part 2

Credit where credit is due: this is a story that has been taking shape for over a decade, so putting things together can be...a little difficult. To make things simple, I'll be drawing help from this Reddit post, as well as the knowledge I've gathered after years of being an obsessive fan.

I'll also be sharing two official videos narrated by Tyler Joseph (vocalist, lyricist, Clancy), and Josh Dun (drummer, Torchbearer). You can watch them here (I Am Clancy) and here (I Am Torchbearer), in order. These videos give a general overview of the story and explain everything more clearly than I ever could.

(There are also, like, half a million videos on YouTube about the story, in case you want a deep-dive.)

Everything takes place during TØP's albums Blurryface, Trench, Scaled & Icy, Clancy, and Breach. What you'll be reading is a condensed explanation of the story delivered via the Bandito AU.

In summary: I'll be sketching out the Bandito AU with its ATLA characters, but everything I'm describing is, quite literally, what happens in Clancy's story. I'll give further information in case it diverts from the original narrative.

Within the City Walls

The City (known originally as Dema) sits on the continent of Trench. Inescapable and grim, it's surrounded by a large circular wall that, actually, kind of resembles Ba Sing Se. It is, essentially, a prison ruled by nine Bishops—who each represent a different aspect of depression.

The album Blurryface details life in Dema. The City itself is a metaphor for depression, suicidal ideation, and mental health issues.

In the Bandito AU, the Bishops that rule the City are the following characters:

Ozai as Nico: Also known as Blurryface, Ozai represents everything that's wrong with everything. He's the leader of the Bishops and the Big Bad who must be defeated at the end of the story.

In TØP's saga, Nico is the physical manifestation of Clancy's (Tyler's) own fears and insecurities, so the situation is way more complex than just Good vs Evil.

Iroh as Keons: Described as more kind and caring than the other Bishops. He conspires to help Zuko escape. Iroh is eventually found out and killed by Ozai for his betrayal, but not before starting a fire in the City. He represents fear of standing up.

Azula as Listo: The Bishop who represents fear of abandonment. Not much is known about this individual. While rather unimportant in the original lore, Azula will have a much bigger role in this AU. She'll be the one chasing after Zuko and the Banditos, instead of Ozai/Blurryface himself.

Characters such as Zhao, Long Feng, and Generally Evil or Sad People can also be depicted as Bishops. Yes, I am including Ursa on that list (Sacarver, fear of heartbreak).

Welcome to Trench

Sokka, Toph, Suki, and other characters as Banditos: The group of rebels who aim to overthrow the City. They live in camps all across the continent of Trench. Banditos wear yellow because the Bishops are unable to see that color (which is fun when you consider the exact shade of Zuko's eyes).

Katara as Torchbearer: Leader of the Banditos. Katara embodies resilience and is a guide towards freedom and redemption. Torchbearer offers strength and unwavering support, refusing to turn her back on people who need her.

Torchbearer is Josh Dun's character. He represents a constant in your life, something or someone that keeps you going and never gives up on you.

In the Bandito AU, Katara lived in the City for a short period of time after her mother's death. She has few memories of those months. Eventually, she managed to escape and reunite with her family, gaining the Banditos' respect and loyalty. The red details on her outfit are a reminder of what she's been through. This is the reason she connects so deeply with Zuko.

Aang as Ned: A cute little creature living somewhere in Trench. Overall just a tiny and overexcited...thing. His antlers can grow and be removed, allowing whoever they're gifted to the power to bend an element for a brief period of time.

Ned represents Creativity—Tyler uses creativity to fight his struggles, just as Clancy uses Ned to fight Blurryface. Originally, Ned's antlers seize control of a dead body, but this is an ATLA fusion, so...

Hello, Clancy

Clancy is the character played by Tyler Joseph, and the protagonist of the saga. Zuko will play his role because their individual character arcs parallel each other beautifully.

Zuko's backstory in this AU will be different from Clancy's, but his story will play out in pretty much the same way once he leaves the City. Though the finale should also divert from the lore...

Zuko is on his way to becoming a Bishop (probably Reisdro, who represents self-doubt), but he's...bad at it.

Really bad at it.

When he was a child, his mother told him rumours of ‘the outside’ before disappearing. Those stories fueled a shameful desire to see what lies beyond the City. He keeps it silent for years, until the day of his Naming Ceremony arrives.

He sees things. Things that finally open his eyes to what the City does to its citizens. Zuko stands up to his father—their leader—and claims that everything he's been told is a lie, that what they stand for is wrong. Their people offer devotion in exchange for—what? A neon gravestone outside the City? Imprisonment by their own misery? What kind of life is this? What kind of rule?

As punishment, Zuko is burned terribly and confined to the depths of the City. After years of trying, he manages to escape to the continent.

Zuko explores Trench for a long time. Aimless, he eventually runs into a group of Banditos led by Torchbearer. But then Azula finds him and offers him a chance to return home. He refuses and tries to flee, but is recaptured and dragged down the river. Fueled by evidence that freedom is possible, Zuko eventually escapes again on his own.

The following does not happen originally. Faithful depictions of TØP's lore continue once he reaches the camp.

Alone once again, Zuko wanders until exhaustion takes over. He's discovered by a strange little creature who's too busy fluttering around to nurse anyone back to health. Aang, it presents himself as. An Avatar, whatever that is. Luckily for Zuko (or not), Aang is accompanied by the Torchbearer he saw days earlier. The girl is named Katara, and she's younger than he'd thought.

She interrogates Zuko. Asks why he's dressed as a citizen, what he's doing outside the City, why did he run from that other Bishop, etc. He's tired, irritated, and quite a bit angry, so he does the logical thing: tells her to shut up, swears a little, and storms off.

He doesn't make it ten steps before he passes out.

When Zuko wakes up again, Katara is still there.

“I'm taking you back to our camp,” she says. “Anyone who gathers the strength to escape that place is worth my respect.”

And, well, it's not like he has anywhere to be, does he?

Zuko reluctantly allows himself to be kidnapped. The three of them travel together for a few days, eventually reaching the Bandito camp Katara is based in. Her brother Sokka and their...pet...friend...thing (Toph) greet them.

Zuko spends months with them, learning their ways, seeing the extent of the City's cruelty, finally living for the first time. He cuts his hair, wears their colors, and grows closer to their little group...

Until Azula finds them again, and he's recaptured.

Zuko is thrown into prison for months. During this time, he becomes a bit of a legend in the City. The journals he kept during his escape become common knowledge, and Azula decides to use this new development to her advantage. Zuko's influence is turned into a propaganda tool.

He becomes the perfect citizen.

One of the reasons I love Clancy's story so much is because it parallels not only Zuko's path to redemption and his struggles with realizing his own conditioning—it also parallels his backslide. The fall from grace, the return to the evil he's familiar with. The “I am fine, this is who I'm supposed to be” while everything is crumbling inside.

That's important too.

As Zuko fulfills his duty, one of the Bishops prepares to betray the others. Iroh—after seeing how living in Trench has changed his nephew—devises a plan. He helps Zuko fake his death and escape the City once more. Unfortunately, Ozai finds out and kills him.

Despite Azula's attempts to control the flow of information, news of Zuko's escape and Iroh's betrayal spread through the City, inspiring some of the citizens to begin a rebellion of their own. They wear red as a symbol: this is our color, and it's time to reclaim it.

Meanwhile, Zuko washes up on the shore of a small island he discovers to be the homeland of Aang's kind. All other Avatars grant him the knowledge of how to overthrow Ozai and free the City. Aang gives Zuko his antlers and, as a result, the ability to harness an element briefly.

He now holds a weapon to be used in the upcoming final war.

Zuko rejoins the Banditos and is reunited with Katara, who grants him the strength of will to overthrow his father. The Banditos prepare to invade the City. The final battle begins.

As an army led by Azula clashes against Katara and the Banditos outside the city walls, the rebellious citizens provide Zuko with a way up Ozai's tower. Once he faces his father, it's revealed that the Bishops had been intercepting letters between Banditos and knew of the plan against their rule.

Zuko battles Ozai, eventually wielding the antlers gifted to him by Aang. He uses fire against his own father (as was once done to him), but it does little. He's pushed over the edge... And lightning strikes down.

When Katara storms into the tower, she witnesses Zuko donning his father's—Blurryface's—red cape. It's over, in a way.

He now rules the City.

But this is a story about cycles, and Zuko has been heralded as a character for decades because he's a cycle-breaker. He knows abuse and hatred and violence, and decides that is a path he will not follow.

This is a story about cycles, so it begins again, and again, and again... Always with a new Clancy finding himself in the city of Dema, and the previous Clancy now being a new Blurryface. The fight never ends, though it gets a little bit easier each time.

So, yes, it is a cycle. And Clancy may now exist elsewhere in Trench, and Torchbearer may swear to find him and fight Blurryface all over again. But cycles are made to be broken.