the Regimeverse
The Regimeverse
The brilliant and mysterious storytelling of DPR
(in collaboration with The DPR Record)
Published April 17, 2023
Introduction
It’s funny that when the moment you finally write something you have been meaning to write forever arrives, you suddenly know what to write. After thinking about all the media that Dream Perfect Regime (DPR) has released (to be fair, it has been much more than I initially thought), after consuming a lot of DPR’s content and letting it sink in, and after letting it go through my head in the background of my thoughts; I finally can connect all the chaotic thoughts in my head. Or at least I am trying to do that by writing this document.
So maybe let’s start at the beginning: why am I writing this "Regimeverse Theory" and what is its purpose?
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Short answer: I am impressed by the music and visuals of DPR, and I hope more people will start to talk about the brilliant storytelling that DPR uses throughout their media.
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Long answer: Read the rest of this section. ☺
If you are a DREAMER who is already somewhat familiar with DPR, their music videos and storytelling, you can skip ahead to the next section.
If you have a friend, family member, or other individuals (not restricted to only humans) to catch up on who, what, and why DPR, then they should read the rest of this chapter.
And if YOU are a friend, family member, or other individual (not restricted to only humans), welcome and thank you for reading along and giving moral support to the DREAMER in your life. Maybe by the end of this whole story you will also call yourself a DREAMER. ☺
I promise it’s not a cult...Or perhaps DPR sort of is one, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing? As Dabin (DPR LIVE) mentions in the free Mindset Episode 9:
“I would love a cult fan following, but if I was a, if it was a different cult, it’d be a cult of maybe givers? People who are geared towards making the world better in whichever way.”
Even the "[about]" section of DPR's official website talks about how Dream Perfect Regime is much more than just a group of friends who make music and videos together. They are talented individuals who try to do everything from music to visuals "in-house," which is something not very common in the music industry. Each team member has a different set of skills and responsibilities. If you have been in the DREAMERS corner of internet, then you may have seen one of the "wallet credential" memes (pronounced "meem," not "mi-mi" or "mey-mey") for some of the DPR members. These memes show just how accomplished all of the DPR members are. While we are not exactly sure how DPR put together such a talented group, it must have been synergy. Right?
Meme created by @anyadarkseid (source)
Meme created by @anyadarkseid at the request of @xtiansdadjokes (source)
While DPR likes to maintain an air of mystery and holds their cards close to the chest (for example, they tend to drop new projects and announcements out of the blue), we have been able to piece together most of their story. The DPR Record website was created to be a sort of mega wikipedia page for DPR, since the real wikipedia website is rather lacking in information about them. As of April 2023, Wikipedia doesn't even have a page for Dream Perfect Regime, just individual ones for DPR LIVE and DPR IAN (with old photos of both of them). The DPR Record's Instagram account sums up it's purpose this way:
“Everything about Dream Perfect Regime in one place. Who they are, where they’re from & what they do. A resource for DREAMers”
This website contains sections dedicated to each official "known" DPR team member, which includes general information about them plus their role in DPR. For this Regimeverse Theory, I am assuming you are familiar with the current official "known" members. If don't know who they all are or if you need little refresher, I recommend heading to the "about DPR" section of this website and by watching the following videos:
DPR's Vimeo page describes their work as "MUSIC + VISUAL." I strongly recommend watching DPR's visual work on Vimeo over YouTube because the video resolution is much higher and DPR +IAN's tiny details can actually be seen.
The "ABOUT" section on DPR's YouTube account summarizes the goal of their work as:
“...our primary focus is to engage viewers by producing a unique and dynamic experience of both visual and audio output.”
While I have watched many reactions videos and read reviews about DPR LIVE, DPR IAN and DPR CREAM's musical sound and lyrics, I realized that not many people are going deeper and talking about all of the layers in DPR's visuals. There has been a lot of generic “Wow, that looks amazing and aesthetically pleasing” reactions; however, while I wholeheartedly agree with these statements, DPR is much more than just "nice visuals & editing." After watching and absorbing all of DPR's songs and videos, my understanding is that DPR is also trying to convey a storyline throughout all their music videos. This is the basis of The Regimeverse Theory : everything is connected.
Whether all of their song lyrics play a role in these storylines is (for now) just another speculation, but my thesis is that many of their songs are (in fact) connected to their storyline. Therefore, I believe that is DPR making great multi-genre songs, visuals and editing as well as building an overarching story with its own universe (or universes). DPR has referred to it as their Creative Universe. Here in this document, I am calling DPR's Creative Universe "The Regimeverse." Think of it as being something akin to how the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), the Bangtan Universe (BU), Star Wars, or the Monsterverse movies were constructed and linked together. Only time will tell if DPR is building one gigantic storytelling puzzle or if there are multiple story "franchises" in the same universe or different "realities." (I will discuss this idea more in detail later in this document.)
Another reason for researching and putting together this document is that writing out this theory helps me to order my own thoughts. [Read: I can stop waking up with "epiphanies" about the potential storylines and grabbing a notepad to write fleeting thoughts down before I forget them.]
My last and probably my biggest reason for writing all of this is to show DPR how much DREAMERS care about everything they produce and we value more than just one aspect of their craft. As mentioned above, every DPR member has a vital role in the DPR collective. I think it is best to appreciate every single one of them because without all of them, this whole "painting/puzzle" would not be possible. However cheesy it may sound, teamwork does make the dream work. It is admirable how DPR always finds new ways to ensure they can tell their story. Whether it is by discussing with each other their ideas and opinions about their music, music video outfits, or stage designs and settings (such as seen in "Lift-Off," the IAOT? official documentary) or by learning new skills (aka "paints" or "colours") like wire-work or acting classes, DPR continues to update their skillset by collecting "as much paint as possible" on their brushes, so they can paint the picture(s) they envision. [See DPR LIVE & DPR IAN’s HIPHOPPLAYA interview where they answered this question: Anything more you're learning now to expand on your realm of expression?].
The more I think about this analogy, the more I mentally envision DPR as an art gallery or museum. They have already created multiple paintings in the past (e.g. their various music videos). All of their combined skills were used to make a specific painting. Additionally, each painting is shaped as a puzzle piece because according to my Regimeverse Theory I think they will all contribute to one large story. Just like when putting together those difficult black and white puzzles (the ones that come without a reference picture of the completed puzzle), sometimes you have a piece in your hand but you don't know where it should go yet. Picturing DPR's storytelling as one huge puzzle is another good way to think about it. (Or maybe we are just not able to catch it all because DPR has actually been playing intergalactic chess on multiple levels while we have been thinking we are looking at a regular chessboard…but I digress.)
Anyhow, The Regimeverse Theory tries to offer insights into some of the puzzle pieces that DPR has given to us so far. How correct these insights are remains to be seen. Maybe those upcoming Character Sheets/profiles that DPR IAN promised to DREAMers during his April 3, 2023 Instagram Live will clarify certain things.
“The lore continues, ladies and gentlemen. The lore fucking continues. MITO, the next series. Everybody is asking about Part 2. But that, I feel like, is going to come at a specific time. It’s not- I’m not gonna tell you when. It’s not going to be anytime soon. I’m sorry for that. BUT, there is a good reason for that. With the- As, as far as the lore and the story goes. But I AM excited to tell everyone that I am working on an EP. And this EP is going to be dedicated to my other character. So it’s the introduction to this new chara- Not new character, but I’m sure- people that know, fans that know will know. But it’s a look into the story of-
(...)
So yeah, I can’t wait to open that lore up to you guys. I cannot wait to show you what that sounds like. I have- I already made a couple of songs for that. And uhm, it’s super exciting. Super fucking excited. You know, everyone is doing well. Can’t wait to- So everyone is very updated on the MITO character. So the whole MITO lore is, kind of, imagine it as the main lore. The main story that’s going on with the protagonist and everyone. And then UNDER that, are these mini series. Kind of like how you have. How you have Marvel, and then you have the Avengers where, like it’s a (fall out war?), and then- where all the characters come together. And you have the side movies where it’s like Ant man and all that, and it kind of trails off this main story lore. So that’s technically what my EPs are gonna be like now.
(...)
Q: Is MITO going to be gone forever once the new character comes in?
No, MITO is not going to be gone forever. So, what’s gonna happen is, ah I can’t really give it away, can I? So you have MITO with his main storyline, but you have the storyline that cuts in between. So what I’m trying to do is- You have to piece it together. So this is the fun part, where all- For the DREAMERS. So this is where, this is where a lot of- Your… This is where I’m going to pick your brains out. It’s- I’m gonna put out all these pieces. And- (?) And I’m gonna put out all these pieces, and it’s up to you guys to start piecing them together ☺. So it’s kind of like a puzzle. But I- I don’t wanna give it… direct.** I want to- that sounds fucking weird. I want to put it out there, and I want you guys to start figuring it out, what pieces with what. And that’s, I think the beauty, in THIS, and this album."
(**NOTE: This is the moment I just HAD to ask for a Character Sheet. I did not expect Ian to see that remark, but I am very happy that he did. ☺)
(...)
Q: Can we at least get a character sheet?
Yes you can. Yes you can. I’m gonna do a full rundown on that. Uhm, because the lore is pretty heavy. It’s, it’s actually mind blowing how far we’ve developed the story behind the scenes. BUT, the crazy part- like there is a lot of things where you guys are not gonna expect. Like a lot of things where you guys are going to be like “what the fuck?!?! Like this is connected to this?!?!” Uhm, so I’m so excited. I wish, I wish it was already out. I really do.”
The look on DPR IAN's face in this screen capture from his Instagram Live shows exactly how I felt when he promised us some character information. 🥰
This first Regimeverse Theory edition tries to cover everything up till now, but we might have missed something considering the vast amount of DPR information and content spread across the internet. As DPR's lore is A LOT, this theory section will be updated as we get more puzzle pieces and updates about past puzzle pieces. Seriously, the moment I think I have found all of the possible content out there something new pops up from years ago. [Note from The DPR Record: We've come to call this the "DPR is the world's largest onion" paradox. We keep peeling back layer after layer, and yet we never get to the middle. It just keeps going.]
In closing of this Introduction section, I hope more people will look at the whole painting/puzzle that DPR is creating and not just one single aspect. Additionally, we (as in all DREAMERS) might come closer to actually "solving/explaining" this story because new DPR information or "puzzle pieces" came out at the time of writing. And while we have puzzle pieces, we don’t know for sure if we even understand those puzzle pieces and paints correctly. So let’s try as a DREAMER collective to slowly solve this as much as possible by working together!
Why "Regimeverse?"
By now, you might have wondered: “Why are they using the name "Regimeverse?" Where did it come from?” That’s an excellent question!
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The short answer:
When The DPR Record and I began working on our theory project, we were not aware of a specific name to describe the stories being told in DPR's singles and albums, specifically in DPR LIVE's Is Anybody Out There?, DPR CREAM's Voyager 737, and DPR IAN's MITO trilogy. So, we decided that we needed to give it one name for easier reference in our overarching theory.
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The long answer:
Months ago when The DPR Record and I agreed to work on this theory project together, we began by discussing potential names to address one overarching theory that would show how everything is connected throughout DPR's work. In my drafts, I temporarily named it the "Dream Universe/Dreamverse," all the while wondering if DPR had already picked a name for it themselves. (It turns out that they did. Keep reading.) On September 9, 2022, The DPR Record suggested "Regimeverse" as a possible name because it combined both Regime and Universe. Three days later, I realized that the term "Dreamverse" was already associated with SM's Kpop boy group NCT Dream. After doing some more research, I concluded that "Regimeverse" hadn't been claimed by any fandom yet. (Note: Yes, we are choosing to ignore one "Inferno Regime-verse" search result for now. Shhh.) With that we officially settled on Regimeverse.
Now, If DPR decides to officially give their Cinematic Universe a name, we will change to whatever that is. However, we do suspect that DPR does have a general name for it, which is simply "DPR Universe," because of a specific shot in "Lift-Off | Official IAOT documentary." At the timestamp of 06:52, there is a sheet of paper hanging on the wall with handwritten notes. We looked closer and noticed there were planets and symbols on it to. Then we realized that it is a map of our solar system that includes DPR LIVE's planet for IAOT? as well as DPR CREAM's planet for Voyager 737.
The text in the bottom right corner reads:
“I’ve been on my planet many times… But all this time I thought it was a dream. All this time I was confused because those dreams felt so real. Little did I know, they {here/were?}. Are there different dimensions? Is there a parallel universe? Was it my previous life in existence? All I know is I feel a calling. It’s a feeling, hard to explain. I intend to travel there. Wish me luck.”
Here was a map of DPR's ideas and plan. Simply put, our minds were blown that this document was out there in plain sight, but neither of us had paid attention to it before or even realized it was there. This map confirmed some of our hypothesis and gave us the foundation upon which we could build our Regimeverse theory.
To be continued...
Credits and Citations:
The Regimetheorist and The DPR Record request that anyone who would like to share parts of The Regimeverse Theory on social media or on any other platform please send us a message at thedprrecord@gmail.com to let us know you wish to do so. We want people to know this information, which is the whole purpose of this document and this website, but we would appreciate credit because the research, writing and publishing of this document required months of planning and preparation. We have done our best to cite sources and credit those who already put in work within this document itself, so we kindly request that you do the same. Thank you.