The Book of Dema

Preface

The Book of Dema is a work of passion to bring to life the world of Dema created by Tyler Joseph and Twenty One Pilots. We are writing this for ourselves and the fans. We found Tyler's world building within the three album sequence of Blurryface, Trench, and Scaled and Icy to be fuel for many interesting conversations between us before we started writing.

The Structure of the story: Each section is mapped to the band's albums and lore. It begins with Vessel, and while we understand Vessel is not really a part of the Dema concept, we felt compelled to tie it in. In the songs on the album, Tyler and Josh have given us some opportunities to set the foundation for the story.

You might recall the line in Car Radio where Tyler says, 'Remindin' me of who I killed inside my dream.' We have made that one lyric a major thread in the story. You will encounter it in Chapter Two.

Respect for the lore: Once we get into Section Two, which is mapped to Blurryface, we work hard to adhere to the lore. We have referenced https://twentyonepilots.fandom.com/wiki/Dmaorg.info extensively for this project.

Creative License: One other point: We have taken some creative license as we've built the narrative. We assume there are real-life events that led Tyler and Josh to write certain songs. We realize that a song like "Stressed Out" is responding to certain conditions in their lives. We have fictionalized those conditions so that they will fit better into our Dema narrative (that was a fun chapter to write, by the way). This is especially true in light of the Clancy letters. It has never been entirely clear who Clancy is or how his letters were released to our world. Using the content of the letters, we have created avenues for contact between our world and the world of Trench, as well as building out the Trench backstory in a little more detail.

In one or two of TOP's songs, and in the Icy Tour, doors to other places are an important narrative device. We have leveraged this idea extensively. Colors and sounds are also important.

The Importance of Setting: We have also labored to be geographically and historically accurate, although we've taken some license there as well. We call it space compression. We try not to use city names so that the reader can imagine this could happen anywhere, but it will be evident that certain things are happening in and around Columbus, Ohio. Within the city, we have compressed space.

One scene occurs in German Village (which we have visited two or three times and enjoyed sandwiches from the Brown Bag Delicatessen and ice cream from Jeni's, both of which appear in chapters). The very next scene is set outside of Big Fun toy store. While they are not on opposite sides of the city, the distance between is not a quick bike ride as we depict. We do it because it serves the narrative and offers setting options. We love feedback, but we probably won't respond to feedback regarding setting issues (unless we get something really wrong, like saying Dema is at the top of Trench).

One early embellishment that most will notice immediately is the status of Tyler's brother Zach. Questions surrounding his character will be resolved in time. We will say that Zach is a pivotal character in the story. Since Tyler references him in at least two songs, we thought it was appropriate to draw him in. Should they read it, we think Tyler and Zach will enjoy this aspect of the story.

Themes: We set out to tackle topics like faith, hope, love, friendship, loyalty, trust, and courage. We also recognize that people aren't perfect, and that absolutely applies to the fictionalized versions of the real people we've included in the story. Everyone has flaws or potential flaws. We do not try to whitewash those character traits.

There is much more to say about this project. We hope you will enjoy reading it. We welcome your feedback. We will try to respond to as much of it as we can.

We currently have 28 chapters completed with another 30 planned. We will introduce each as we are ready.

You are loved,
Dema Scribes