Torchbearer `` Reflection | Cliquetober #6 ``

City Walls story follows on from "Paladin Strait" and "The Contract" and serves as the conclusion to The Story of Dema. In the story, Nico attempts to manipulate Clancy (played by Tyler Joseph) into becoming the next bishop, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the Torchbearer (played by Josh Dun) and eight Banditos rush to Clancy in the tower to help him defeat Nico. Clancy fights Nico. Nico tricks Clancy into seeing a vision of the past, of when he left Dema and when he was at camp with the Banditos, which is from three music videos "Heavydirtysoul", "Jumpsuit", and "Levitate", before Nico attacks him and stabs Clancy into the red tape on both his shoulders with his antlers before destroying them. Clancy appears to give up, but his strength remains, as he unleashes a powerful symbol (presumably the band’s logo) using his fingers on Nico. The Torchbearer witnesses Clancy's devastating power before the eight Banditos arrive to help. However, Clancy is found to be different, having inherited the dark side of his powers from Nico and the nine bishops. He then draws a red curtain over himself. Before he gave robes to eight Banditos and Torchbearer to succeed as the new bishops, but the Torchbearer knew that it was not the Clancy he knew and fled the place. Later, Torchbearer and the remaining Banditos were packing up to leave Dema, before leaving, the Torchbearer told the Banditos about Clancy, saying "That's not Clancy up there anymore. He's out there somewhere. And we will try again." Bandito then asked "Again?" to which the Torchbearer replied "Always".

City Walls and Intentions — conclusion:

This is not a cycle — it is a rollback (Intentions are a reversal of Truce). Tyler gives us no consolation that we can overcome these fears forever and finally.

You see, in a city with no entrance there is not a retreat. He teaches us to stop being afraid of it.

But now the night has fallen, Abandoned by the sun.

Now the night is coming to an end, The sun will rise and we will try again.

• And even if the night falls again, there will always be a dawn after it.

Stay alive. Just try to be. Intentions are everything.

He wants us to learn to stay alive and ourselves, and that intentions are everything. They will not let us abandon ourselves, will not let fears limit us.

Entertain my faith.

A line from Holding on to you, where the narrative insists that Tyler is now taking control of his inner conflicts and fears with faith. "Holding on to you" is God for him.

Did you learn a thing?

Embrace faith, have intention, be yourself even if fear will always be there - that's what he wants to convey.

Blurryface will always be inside us.

But now we know how to live with it.

Torchbearer. Real name Joshua William Dun. Usually everyone calls him Torch for short. Quiet, calculating, responsible, kind, not vindictive, honest, ready to do anything to protect what he loves. Strong, muscular, brown short curly hair, brown eyes, a hooked nose and ring piercings on both nostrils. Dressed mostly in khaki. Hoodie, joggers, black tracking boots. Hoodie usually up, black beanie underneath. On missions and forays into Dema, wears a yellow scarf that hides most of his face and leaves his brown eyes exposed. There are two yellow tapes across the entire body, crossing over the heart. The left knee is also covered with yellow tape.

Bishop Nova. Tyler Joseph. The current Head Bishop. Very short haircut under 0.7. Dark brown hair, brown eyes, average build, several tattoos on the chest and arms. Wears a red bishop robe with a hood. The jaw, neck and arms are painted black, the upper part of the face is white. His goal is to break the endless cycle of "Clancy" becoming the "Head Bishop" and to defeat the meaning and existence of Dema.

City Walls story follows on from "Paladin Strait" and "The Contract" and serves as the conclusion to The Story of Dema. In the story, Nico attempts to manipulate Clancy (played by Tyler Joseph) into becoming the next bishop, but to no avail. Meanwhile, the Torchbearer (played by Josh Dun) and eight Banditos rush to Clancy in the tower to help him defeat Nico. Clancy fights Nico. Nico tricks Clancy into seeing a vision of the past, of when he left Dema and when he was at camp with the Banditos, which is from three music videos "Heavydirtysoul", "Jumpsuit", and "Levitate", before Nico attacks him and stabs Clancy into the red tape on both his shoulders with his antlers before destroying them. Clancy appears to give up, but his strength remains, as he unleashes a powerful symbol (presumably the band’s logo) using his fingers on Nico. The Torchbearer witnesses Clancy's devastating power before the eight Banditos arrive to help. However, Clancy is found to be different, having inherited the dark side of his powers from Nico and the nine bishops. He then draws a red curtain over himself. Before he gave robes to eight Banditos and Torchbearer to succeed as the new bishops, but the Torchbearer knew that it was not the Clancy he knew and fled the place. Later, Torchbearer and the remaining Banditos were packing up to leave Dema, before leaving, the Torchbearer told the Banditos about Clancy, saying "That's not Clancy up there anymore. He's out there somewhere. And we will try again." Bandito then asked "Again?" to which the Torchbearer replied "Always".

City Walls and Intentions — conclusion:

This is not a cycle — it is a rollback (Intentions are a reversal of Truce). Tyler gives us no consolation that we can overcome these fears forever and finally.

You see, in a city with no entrance there is not a retreat. He teaches us to stop being afraid of it.

But now the night has fallen, Abandoned by the sun.

Now the night is coming to an end, The sun will rise and we will try again.

• And even if the night falls again, there will always be a dawn after it.

Stay alive. Just try to be. Intentions are everything.

He wants us to learn to stay alive and ourselves, and that intentions are everything. They will not let us abandon ourselves, will not let fears limit us.

Entertain my faith.

A line from Holding on to you, where the narrative insists that Tyler is now taking control of his inner conflicts and fears with faith. "Holding on to you" is God for him.

Did you learn a thing?

Embrace faith, have intention, be yourself even if fear will always be there - that's what he wants to convey.

Blurryface will always be inside us.

But now we know how to live with it.

The Sacred Municipality of Dema is a circular theocratic city loomed by huge concrete walls and was ruled by nine Bishops who each control one of nine districts: Andre, Lisden, Keons, Nico, Reisdro, Sacarver, Nills, Vetomo, Listo (also known as Nico and the Niners). It sits nestled in the lower central region of the large and wild continent of Trench.

The religion in which the city follows is titled Vialism, where the end goal in the religion is to take one's own life as it is the only route to Paradise, and that the bland dystopia they are living in should be embraced. Color is rarely seen, vibrancy is discouraged, and compass directions are distorted to thwart escape attempts. The Bishops hold a strange power called "psychokinesis" that allows them to assume control over dead bodies and essentially turn those bodies into extensions of themselves.

Each year, there is a ceremonial celebration known as "The Annual Assemblage" of the Glorified". At this ceremony, citizens that Clancy refers to as "premiere" gather to die and become the "Glorious Gone" or "Glorified" in a process seen in the "Nico and the Niners" music video. During this process, the Bishops are seen creating glass tubes later revealed in the Paladin Strait music video to be the neon gravestones that marked where the Glorified were buried. Later gatherings involve a lively performance and celebration before the ceremony. In 2018, Clancy's first documented escape with the Banditos occured under the cover of the celebration.

The Banditos are the rebel alliance in the continent of Trench. Their mission is to free the citizens of Dema from the tyrannical rule of the Bishops and wipe out Vialism. They are led by the Torchbearer who has an ability to cast projections of himself into the minds of those he guides. The Banditos help Clancy escape from Dema multiple times.

When distressed and in need of help, Banditos will call out "Sahlo Folina" for assistance.

The bishops can wield a strange power known as psychokinesis. This means that by using a tool fashioned from the horns of Neds, they can extend their consciousness into the body of an "available vessel" and pilot the body around as if they were living inside. This act is called "seizing". The catch is that the vessel always has to be dead, and they have a limited amount of time to inhabit the bodies before they begin to decay. This is a big reason for their push into Vialism.

Clancy's Scientific Miracle Clancy is the exception to this rule, as he is able to be seized while still being alive. This makes him a very important asset to the bishops, as he is a vessel that does not expire. Eventually, Clancy is able to perform psychokinesis with the help of his bishop Keons. Keons betrayed the other bishops by helping Clancy escape the city. He worked with the Torchbearer and Banditos to create a weapon of their own that allowed Clancy to wield the power of psychokinesis. Keons planned for the other bishops to kill him, which allowed Clancy to take control of his body and began setting fire to the main tower of Dema (the events of The Outside).

Vialism is a fictional religion said to have been hijacked by the bishops of Dema and is based around the belief that ending one's own life is the only way to paradise and redemption. The Vialism doctrine is what every citizen in Dema is made to base their lives around. When citizens of Dema pass on, they become the "Glorious Gone" or“vessels”. This means that their body is available for the Bishops to use for their own purposes. Their bodies are buried under neon gravestones around the outskirts of the city to store until needed. It is currently unknown if the bishops derive existential power from this process. In the "Paladin Strait" music video, the bishops raise the Glorious Gone from their graves and they use the neon gravestones as weapons against the Banditos.

In the Nico and the Niners music video, Clancy and the Banditos orchestrated a very loud disturbance during the Assemblage of the Glorified which drew the Bishops and a number of other citizens into the streets. They left jackets with the rebel colors (yellow and green) in the road that were soon picked up by two curious children. The Bishops cannot see yellow. Over time, small items filled with color from the surrounding outside terrain (such as flowers) would find their way inside the walls in the pockets of citizens who had been recaptured after managing to escape and inspire others to venture out. In 2024 during the Clancy World Tour, a network of letters between citizens detailed how many longed to see what lay beyond and how they wished to unify against the Bishops' rule. After Keons captured Clancy in the Bandito camp, the Bishops realized his music could be useful. Upon realizing Clancy's usefulness, the Bishops devised a plan to take better control of the citizens of Dema. They decided to introduce desaturated color and music to the people. After Clancy's distraction, word about his website archive dmaorg,info and his actions began to spread. They didn't want more people escaping, so they sent out the message that "Clancy is Dead".

The Torchbearer is the leader of the Banditos. He has the ability to project himself into the psyche of a person to guide them out of Dema, similar to how he guided Clancy back to Trench. It is theorised among fans that the Torchbearer is some sort of 'God' or 'symbol of hope' who lights the way for the citizens and out of the darkness of Dema.

Ned resembles a furry creature with antlers, big black eyes, and a fat belly. Ned is 45cm tall (18 inches). Their known population is extremely small - about 10 individuals on Voldsøy Island, which is uninhabited and separated from the Trench continent by the Paladin Strait. They mainly live in caves in groups, have social contact and speak among themselves. They are wary of people. Often perceived as a good omen, very rare to meet, as they do not live on the continent (there have been no substantial evidence cases, only stories about seeing them). Their horns are used by bishops to control Glorious Gone, that is, the dead of Dema.

Nico. Nicolas Bourbaki. (Dead) The late leader of the 9 Bishops who governed the fictional city of Dema, located on the Trench continent. Dressed in a red bishop's robe, with a mesh veil over his face. The upper part of the face is covered with white paint, while the lower part is black. Has the ability to apply black paint to the neck with his hands and thereby subjugate it, and also through vialism and the horns of the Neds to control the dead.

Bishops are able to communicate with and see through the eyes of vultures using psychokinesis. They also do not have the ability to see the colour yellow.