childofcolors

[childofcolors]

Part 2 Ateez storyline

Deja Vu

The beginning of the music video gives me the vibe of sexy spies/thieves that enter a museum to steal something really valuable (which is almost exactly what they are doing, except the stealing part).

From Fever ep. 3- Diary entry

4. Wooyoung

1. The late afternoon of the following day, we finally arrived on the island. From the elongated shadows of the afternoon sun, I could see pensions and sunbeds. When I stepped onto the sand. I could feel the heat rising. The island was considered a tourist paradise in the past. However, nobody had visited this island for their holidays anymore since taking a rest and trip became meaningless and worthless in this world.

2. To escape quickly, Left Eye and the Grimes Siblings stayed in the ship. We walked down the island to look for the place, called the Android Guardian bunker. And we easily found the place, which was blowing off golden yellow steam on this isolated island. When we got there, it was a gallery in the middle of the island. Gallery… They banned all kinds of art - funny of them to settle and build their bunker there. We passed along the empty lobby and went towards the exhibition. The golden yellow steam continually spurted from where an arrow indicated an exhibition route.

‍

3. Some drunk Android Guardians were lying on the floor. And at the end of its view, I could see the Men in Black Fedora were in a glass prison.

*The first part of Wooyoung’s paragraph should be kept in mind when I get to Eternal Sunshine.

After entering the museum, Ateez meet The Black Pirates who are locked up in a glass prison:

5. Hongjoong

1 There was a man at the end of the smoky road. To be more specific, they were there, the Men in Black Fedora that we met in our dreams. One person was leaning on the wall, hardly on their feet and my instinct said that I must save them.

2 I threw myself to the glass wall. It did not move. I bumped into it again. The man finally heard the noise and saw me.

3 “Finally, you are here.”

He said, and he barely took off his mask.

As I saw his face, I was in shock. He was me. The man had exactly the same face as mine.

4 “Listen, we called you here.”

In the midst of these strange incidents, I could only shake my head.

‍

5 “We are captured here, and somebody has to do our work. You may have noticed it. This world needs a change.”

6 “Why does it have to be us? Why do we share the same face?”

I kept questioning him and tried to break the glass wall between us. But not even a small crack.

7 “I don’t have enough time to tell you the whole story. We are going to be seen by the guardians when the smoke fades. Do what I do.”

The man put his hand on the glass wall and told us to copy him. So we put our hands like he did.

8 “We all face walls. Sometimes we think that our lives would be happier without walls but that is not true. If we earn things easily, we could lose them easily.”

The man and I faced each other, and I felt some indescribable energy swirling near us, regardless of this unbelievable reality - the men with the same faces as us, endless questions about this world and everything. Soon after, we were wearing their black suits without even noticing.

As you can see in Hongjoong’s paragraph, after meeting the imprisoned Black Pirates, we finally find out why Ateez were called to the New World by these men in black fedoras:

To pass their roles as the leaders of the rebellion to Ateez because they knew they (the Black pirates) were unable to escape the prison, and somebody needed to lead the rebels. So they found Ateez, who look like them and can replace them without anyone noticing (well…except for the witness…but I’ll come back to this when I talk about Halazia).

With these things in mind, in the Deja Vu MV, we can see this exchange of roles by looking at the difference between them dressed up casually (before the appearance of Black Pirate Hongjoong) and them dressed up in their new suits (after the appearance of Black Pirate Hongjoong). This indicates exactly that the switch happened in the MV just like in the diary entry marked with red.

Before:

After:

(And yes, they are not all in black suits, but I think this has more to do with a stylistic choice rather than lore. The important part is that they are now in suits, or better said, in their new roles as the new leaders.)

At the end of the MV, we see Ateez Yeosang on the ground with the Cromer in his hands while a fragment of Turbulence is playing in the background.

6. San

[...]

4 [...] Android guardians were burning the hope of people and they were drunk from the smoke. I felt a surge of anger coming over me. All of a sudden, Seonghwa shouted,

5 “I can't see Yeosang!”

7. Seonghwa

1 After Yeosang disappeared, we all were in panic and ran instantly to the lobby.

Fortunately, Yeosang also ran to us from the opposite exhibition at the same time. With relief we moved toward the exhibition. While looking back, Yeosang threw a shining object. The object was the Cromer.

2 It was just a short moment of celebration that we are soon going back home when the crowd of Android guardians came up to us behind Yeosang. The biggest guardian grabbed Yeosang’s neck. He threatened us saying that if we do not hand over the Cromer, he would break Yeosang’s neck. There was no way. When Hongjoong, holding the Cromer attempted to approach Yeosang, the Android Guardians ordered not to come near and just to throw the Cromer from a distance.

3 “Don’t hand it over! Once we give it to them, they will take us too!” Yeosang shouted.

It was the worst situation for us. If we did not hand it over, Yeosang would be in danger.

If we just hand it over, everyone would be caught. We cannot let Yeosang sacrifice for 7 members. What can I do?

4 Hongjoong seemed to have the same thought looking at Yeosang and us by turns.

Hongjoong began to speak about his decision. He said that he would throw the Cromer over to them if they would let Yeosang go between us and them.

8. Yeosang

1 This Andoird Guardian could get us whenever he wanted us in this gallery. I don’t doubt that. Is there any way to save myself and get the Cromer? No. These guys are everywhere. It was my fault. I should have been more careful. My friends would not have all been scattered if I had not met them at first. Then we could have not been left in this weird and dangerous place.

2 While regretting my careless behavior, I arrived in the middle of the guardians and my members. The Android Guardian shouted to Hongjoong to pass the Cromer. I saw the Cromer in the hands of Hongjoong.

3 What do we know about that sandglass? I asked myself and an answer popped in my head. It may be a gambling but there was no other way.

4 Hongjoong threw the Cromer to the guardian. The Cromer darted through the air, and I quickly snatched and turned it. The Android Guardians seemed confused, and they immediately started to chase after me. So I smashed the Cromer. The glass broke down and the sand splashed everywhere. I was being dragged away and Hongjoong tried to grab my hand. The light flashed.

Z. Outro

1 “One, two, three, four, five, six… seven.”

San’s quivering voice echoed in the heavy air of Dawn. When we woke up, we were in the warehouse where our journey began, and everything was remaining the same.

Reading the diary entry, we now know what is going on in this scene:

Before I continue the Ateez storyline with Turbulence, I have to talk about Eternal Sunshine because the events from the end of DejaVu happen in parallel with it.

Eternal Sunshine

Please go and watch the music video and tell me they don't look high on something.

I will enter speculation/theory territory right now with this song and MV because neither of them really fit the vibes of the songs up until now. Eternal Sunshine sounds more like the songs found in most Treasure albums.

The little description in Wooyoung's paragraph mentioned earlier in the post, where he describes a vacation resort, is the only thing we might have to connect Eternal Sunshine in the storyline.

Now, what does a vacation resort tend to have?

Hotels, a tennis court, a beach, palm trees.

Now…to put it into the timeline of the story, I think that these are the Black Pirates either under the influence of the yellow smoke or their memories started to be taken from them. Or both. Both sounds right.

Why do I say this? Because the song starts with the lyrics (official translation from youtube mv):

“If you could save only one memory

Which moment do you want to remember?

If I would save only one memory

It will be this moment.”

Singing about what memory they will save while they are imprisoned and the only fate of all the prisoners is for their memories to be taken away from them. Idk, kinda sus.

The events in Eternal Sunshine mv (I think) happen in parallel with the whole Cromer and Ateez Yeosang drama at the end of DejaVu.

From here, the fate of the Black Pirates is that they remain on the island, imprisoned, with (almost) no memories of the past, and are just under the influence of the yellow smoke (more or less).

But for now, in part 3 I will explain the Ateez Storyline (the red storyline) so stay tuned.

[childofcolors]

Ateez storyline

This is how I visualise the Ateez storyline using the MVs in a map-like drawing I created in order to hopefully help 🙃

Big disclaimer! Everything I’m typing here is theory or interpretation, but I am using the Diary entries from the Fever and The World albums as guide for the Ateez storyline. Everything else is pure theory/ speculation on my part.

I also feel the need to thank the team behing atiny.net for providing the diary entries online for everyone to access. And for the team @hala_loretiny on Twitter for providing a very detailed Masterdoc on Ateez lore.

With that being said, even tho I’ve read the Masterdoc a few times, there are things I don't really agree with. So I re-read the diary entries as if I have never seen a single Ateez theory before and came up with my own timeline.

So here we go:

As seen in the guide above, we have 2 main storylines:

The Ateez storyline: the music videos where only Ateez make an appearance.

The Pirates storyline: the music videos where only the og Black Pirates appear (Disclaimer! This part is pure speculation/theory on my part).

There are also two secondary storylines:

The Ateez & Pirates: the music videos where both groups are present.

The Witness p.o.v: Halazia music video that encapsulates a very important part of the story (I will ellaborate when I get to it).

The Diary film

In this short film, we are introduced to each member’s story before forming the friendgroup known as Ateez. There were a few missunderstandings between them that made the friendship fall appart, but after Hongjoong has been visited in his dream by the man in the black fedora (The Black Pirate) and is given the Cromer and the information that another world exists, the 8 friends get back together and the journey begins.

Inception

My interpretation of this MV is that Ateez are trying to understand how the Cromer works by trying to “fall asleep”.

The first one who is succesfull is Hongjoong at the end of the MV, when he is running towards himself sleeping and “falls into his sleep”.

After “falling asleep”, he ends up in a void-like room that can be also seen in Thanxx MV, but I will show it once we get to that part.

Thanxx

This is for the most part a rebellious song about teenagers not wanting their lives to be dictated by adults and that they will choose their own path (wich in their case is to go to this new dimension)

The part that stood out to me the most in the MV was when the sky turned from crear blue, to dark grey clouds:

And then, we see the 8 members in the same dark void-like room (that we also saw in Inception MV), along with a few other elements like cars, a dancing crew, a stage, big baloon animals (i am just as lost as you) and the most important part, the pirate ship (that will help them get from their world to New World).

Inception (left)

Thanxx (right)

The pirate ship:

Celebrate

The music video does give me the vibe that they are singing while on the ship to their destination, and it is a bit ironic how the song is about celebrating individuality, and the next thing you know, they end up in Strictland, a place where self expression thru music and art is forbidden.

As for the visuals of the MV itself, there is a clear shift in color that indicates when they genuinely arrived in Strictlang. Also they are wearing the same clothes that they wear in the Fireworks (I’m the one) MV wich is the very next song on the list.

The shift in color in the Celebrate MV:

The color and clothes similarity between Celebrate MV and Fireworks (I’m the one) MV:

Fireworks (I’m the one)

In terms of lore written in the diary entries, a lot happen so I suggest you read them, or listem to the audio version on Youtube 💕

But for the MV itself, not alot happens other than them arriving in what it’s assumed to be the Strictland garbage dump and The Black Pirates hideout, but no sign of the 8 pirates. This is where (in the books) we are introduced to a character known as Left Eye, the director of the Strictland dump, and the number 1 helper of The Black Pirates.

Strictland garbage dump (left)

The hideout of The Black Pirates (right)

This is the moment Ateez find out (in the books) that The Black Pirates are actually in prison, so Ateez need to go help them. They also learn that the prison (also known as the Android bunker) is on an island so they start saililng towards the island.

*More details are mentioned in the Fever ep. 3 diary entry at Mingi’s paragraph*

After arrival, they discover that the island it is an ex vacation resort, but due to the state the world is right now in New World, taking rest and vacations became meaningless.

*more in part 2*

[childofcolors]

— SPIN OFF: FROM THE WITNESS PROLOGUE ANALYSIS AND PREDICTIONS

1) YEOSANG

We start our prologue video with a flashback of Yeosang turning the Cromer in Deja Vu aka Yeosang sacrificing himself to save Ateez from the Android Guardians, moving them in another dimension and timeline (if confused read here). The fact that this is included, leads me to think that Yeosang in chains symbolises him being imprisoned in the Android Guardian's Gallery.

Paradigm mv seems to reference to imprisoned Yeosang as well, as I said here.

BUT, it could also mean that he's going to be in danger again in the near future 🥲 (let's hope not)

2) THE BELLS?

These metal spheres appear in the sky. They are similar to those in Guerrila mv and, because of the radio sounds in the background of the video as well, I'm thinking they could be big speakers that diffuse the sound of bells to awake the population of Strictland and announce the arrival of Ateez as the new fighters leading the revolution.

Why bells? Because bells sounds were included in the deleted teaser for Spin off: From the Witness, and this prologue says:

"the great sound of a bell resonated through the air"

As twitter Atinys pointed out, they also seem those used during the Ateez concerts, that looked like moons 👀 and we know full moons = being able to use the Cromer to move.

But since in the prologue these spheres are with the black pirates at the mall, i'd stick to the speaker/bell rather than the moon, for now at least.

3) GRAVITY AND YUNHO

"the world lost gravity"

Yunho is seen on his knees on the floor that's covered in sand with three wooden columns: Yunho is inside the Cromer and the sand is running backwards.

We've already seen sand inside the Cromer running backwards and objects floating: in the Fever 1 Diary Film when Hongjoong was given the Cromer by Halateez Hongjoong.

The setting Yunho is in next seems the same as the Answer mv: the windows, the chandelier, the chairs... but why is he there?

As we can see, the clip is distorted and we said that he is shown inside the Cromer: he used it and had a vision/premonition of Answer, like it happened to Ateez in the XR Show Fever: the eXtended edition, when they find themselves in the desert as Halateez before they are captured by the Android Guardians.

Yunho having a premonition of Answer could be connected to his importance and role in Ateez's escape to Utopia (see my Spin Off: From the Witness premonitions post).

4) MINGI AND THE NOTEBOOK

Mingi is the one finding the notebook of the witness!! We don't know yet who's the witness or what he tells in his notebook...

(this is from the ktown4u product page)

Another interesting detail about the notebook is that throughout the Prologue we can hear pages being turned: are the sentences in the video from the notebook?

-> Continues in reblog because I can't put any more pictures 🥲

[childofcolors]

Overall summary of ATEEZ's storyline so far because the other post is too confusing for me (4/4)

Last one for now!

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- The next step would be to install mirrors and remove covering blocking windows. These had been removed/implemented by the government quite early on. People would look in mirrors and remember themselves, getting out of control and rebelling, so all reflective surfaces including mirrors were removed

- When looking through windows and seeing landscapes the government believed it gave one a sense of freedom and oneself, so all windows were blocked by curtains or similar fabrics, and after the early days buildings were constructed without windows at all

- As well as this, large domes were constructed and placed over zones in the new world to block out solar heat, and vitamin/mineral intake needed became controlled by the government

- Using the Cromer, ATEEZ and the Black Pirates were able to move freely between zones, and performed regularly in the hopes of helping more people. However, those that broke free were rounded up by Android Guardians and controlled again, or taken to the Guardians’ bunker

- This technique wasn’t working; their efforts were in vain as all their work in breaking the government’s control was ineffective. Hence they decided that the best way would be to ‘make as many people aware as possible at once’, with the first target point being installing mirrors and removing window coverings at the Prestige Academy, the best school in the new era

- Suddenly and emergency alert rang through the bunker, signalling an intruder within a 1 km radius from the bunker. When ATEEZ checked their monitors, they saw a young boy crying and shouting for their help. After taking the boy into the bunker, the boy asked them to save his older brother

- The boy had been on his way to school when he saw ATEEZ’s performance and the Black Pirates that morning. He used a breaker to stop his chip, and was terrified when he realised just how bleak and violent the school and the world really were

- After returning home that night, the boy had brought this up to his older brother, who attended the same school, and when his brother tried to report this to the Android Guardians, the boy panicked and put the breaker against the chip in his brother

- The boy thought that his brother would understand his intentions after breaking free from the government’s control, but instead his brother felt emotions, the strongest one being pain, and became angry 

- His brother had an exam the following day. This exam was compulsory to finish the 40 year education curriculum, and tested candidates to see what part of society they could be used for, as well as testing for emotions. If they failed the exam they would be sent to Guardians Island

- Guardians Island was the place Yeosang had been held captive at. The people of the new world believed that it was a facility to re-educate the socially maladjusted. However, ATEEZ and the Black Pirates knew it was actually a place where people who rebelled against the government were disposed of

- The boy was very worried that his older brother would be taken to Guardians island because of him, so he had accessed the Black Link and found the area containing the bunker

- The exam wasn’t even the main problem; since the boy’s brother had his emotions back, it would be easy to single him out in school and target him. Mingi, who had a difficult time in school too, was especially sympathetic

- There was a student organisation that included the best students at school. Since the Android Guardians and teachers wouldn’t be able to monitor everything 100% of the time, the student organisation was given the task of keeping peace and monitoring other students and situations

- The worst thing about the student organisation was that Z had certified the organisation, and that the students reported to him too. Because of this, the students were good at what they did, and therefore might notice the changes in the boy’s brother before even taking the exam

- At first, ATEEZ were conflicted; if they did help the boy, the situation would end up with the entire school turning upside down. If they went to a different school, not the Prestige Academy like they had planned, all the research they had done about mirrors and window coverings would be in vain, as they didn’t know the layout of other schools so there was a layer of danger added

- Before coming to a final decision, ATEEZ asked the boy which school he went to. The boy, reading the solemn atmosphere, said worriedly ‘The Prestige Academy’. Everyone was silent for a moment, before ATEEZ spoke: ‘That’s perfect. We were planning to go there, too.’

[childofcolors]

Overall summary of ATEEZ’s storyline so far because the other post is too confusing for me (2/4)

Let me know if this is missing anything!

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- An Android Guardian was burning new energy at the centre of the hall, and San noticed it was people’s memories. He quickly saved some and felt the emotions and sources of hope from them

- The Android Guardians were burning the hope of the people and getting intoxicated off the smoke, similar to Left Eye in the dump. Suddenly Seonghwa shouted that Yeosang was missing

- The members panicked and ran instantly to the lobby, but Yeosang ran from the opposite exhibition and threw the Cromer to them. Hope of going home filled everyone, but a crowd of Android Guardians rushed up behind Yeosang

- The biggest Guardian grabbed Yeosang’s neck and threatened that if they didn’t hand over the Cromer, he would break Yeosang’s neck. They had no choice. When Hongjoong attempted to walk towards them with the Cromer, the Android Guardians ordered him not to come near and to just throw the Cromer to them

- ‘Don’t hand it over! Once we give it to them, they will take us too!’ Yeosang shouted. It was a difficult situation. If they didn’t hand it over, Yeosang might die, and if they did, everyone would be trapped

- Hongjoong came to a decision. He said that he would throw the Cromer to them if they let Yeosang go between the Android Guardians and them

- Yeosang continued to feel guilty about putting everyone in this situation. He saw Hongjoong about to throw the Cromer (and I assume the Guardian took his hands off Yeosang) and wracked his brains thinking about the Cromer

- When Hongjoong threw the Cromer, Yeosang quickly snatched it and smashed it. He was dragged away while Hongjoong tried to grab his hand, and a light flashed

- As the light disappeared, the members found themselves back in their hideout. San counted the members, and saw that Yeosang was missing. All the members despaired and Hongjoong dusted his hands of the remnants of the Cromer

- A knocking sound came from the door. When Hongjoong opened the door nobody was there, but Yeosang’s drone fell onto the ground. All the members felt that Yeosang was still alive

- ATEEZ tried to get back to the new dimension to save Yeosang. Everything looked the same, but the only thing that had changed was the timezone. They had gone back to the past; specifically, they went back to a time not too long before Yunho’s brother’s accident

- The members assumed the timezone was twisted when the Cromer broke, but Yunho was thrilled because he could see his brother again. San deep down in his heart felt bitter towards Yunho for being able to find his treasure

- A trio tried to steal a Mayan relic from the National Museum of Korea. The suspects were caught, and when interviewed one revealed that they tried to steal the relic to save humanity before the end of the world. They were found to be a part of Sciensalvar

- Since the Cromer had broken in the new dimension, ATEEZ thought that there was no way to get there, until Seonghwa found a newspaper article showing the robbery of the Mayan relic, the Cromer they needed

- Hongjoong was able to rationalise everything: the Cromer he received in his dream was from another dimension, so in the dimension they were in currently the Cromer wasn’t broken, so they needed to steal it to save Yeosang

- He reminded them all that they decided not to be stuck in the past, and that they must go back and make everything right. They made a plan to steal the Cromer; one by one each member agreed, except Yunho, who wanted to stay with his brother

Keep reading

[childofcolors]

Overall summary of ATEEZ’s storyline so far because the other post is too confusing for me (¼)

I apologise in advance if this one gets very long I’m just summarising everything I’ve got so far! Let me know if I’ve missed anything!

.

- A religious organisation known as Sciensalvar was created in 1999 by scientist Henry Jo. The religion believed that humans were the collection of energy, and ‘human concerns from an uncertain future could be resolved by science’. In various statements, Henry Jo mentioned a Mayan relic, shaped like an hourglass, which he claimed contained condensed energy that was the key to saving the world

- The Mayan relic was indeed an hourglass artifact that imitated the Moon’s movement. There were many theories about its exact purpose, but one clear, established theory was that the relic was used for ceremonial purposes

- In ATEEZ’s storyline, we know this hourglass relic as the Cromer, which creates new timelines/dimensions whenever it gets flipped

- ATEEZ uses these timelines to travel towards the treasure, and they all have individual treasures (e.g. Yunho’s treasure is seeing his brother again, Hongjoong’s treasure is being a star and performing, etc) but they also have another combined treasure: staying together, as in the 'real world’ circumstances are forcing them apart

- Yeosang’s parents were the ones who got ATEEZ kicked out of their hideout as Yeosang was deviating from his family and routine by singing and dancing with the members, and playing around with machines such as drones

- Mingi voiced his thoughts one day and said that their 'dream was a luxury’, that the time he spent with them meant nothing to him. Jongho got mad and punched him, which reinforced Mingi’s fears of being alone. It was after this incident that they starting drifting apart, then getting kicked out of their hideout heightened that even more

- Hongjoong was upset; he was supposed to be their leader, but he had failed to keep them together. While sleeping at the warehouse a man in a black fedora came to him in a dream and gave Hongjoong the Cromer, telling him about its abilities

- When Hongjoong awoke, he dismissed it until he saw the Cromer beside him. While mulling over the situation, he inadvertently flipped it and the members came back to the hideout. Hongjoong used his thoughts of the members being together and unconsciously transported them to an alternate dimension along with him

- The members didn’t believe Hongjoong about the Cromer at first, because everything looked the same. But giant men (questionable as they 'did not feel like people’) in white suits burst into the hideout, and they were searching for the Cromer

- Hongjoong saw a piece of glass on the ground and threw it at the giants, confusing them and giving the members time to escape

- As this new dimension was similar to the 'real one’, they were able to make their way to a hiding place safely. However, they sensed subtle differences in this dimension (e.g. in their 'real world’ there had been some water flowing and a giant rock near their hiding place, but in the new dimension these were missing); the new dimension was a décalcomanie

- A décalcomanie is the process of transferring pictures or designs to another medium such as glass, but in Korean its meaning is a mirrored image that is only at first glance identical but upon closer look you start noticing subtle differences; basically a doppelgänger, and in this case also gave them a sense of déjà vu because it was all so familiar

- While the members were resting, the giants attacked them. The giants started dragging Wooyoung, which injured his ankle, and the members rushed to save him, but ended up losing the Cromer to the giants. The members were saved by a mute girl, who took them to a cave, where they also met her brother. They introduced themselves as the Grimes (lol) siblings, and the boy explained that the giants had taken his sister’s voice

- According to the Grimes siblings, the fourth industrial revolution in science and technology brought an expansion of human lifespans to 200 years. As lifespan increased, the amount of compulsory education also increased, so 40 years of education was needed to learn basic knowledge and simple principles in the new world

- The central government wanted to create their own utopian society by using an AI system that made it possible to remove and control every unpredictable variable. It was able to predict all possible outcomes, but there was one problem it was not able to solve - human emotions

- By applying deep learning technology, the AI considered human emotions as a 'bug’, and found a new market platform for estimating individual energy, which was known to be unpredictable, and trading it

- The central government prohibited all kinds of art and exercised control over the trading platform, which caused things like sensitivity, emotion and free will to fade away, and society became ruled by efficiency and logic. People were materialistically affluent, but weren’t truly happy

- This new world was presided over by someone known as ‘Z’. Using small chips implanted just under people’s ears as well as other methods of control, Z would regularly preach to the public and assure them that a perfect world would be one without emotions

- However, men in black fedoras began to appear, who would sing, dance and attract people. They helped people escape control of the government, and these people along with the men in black fedoras began to form a Resistance called the 'Black Pirates’

- Obviously the government weren’t too happy about this and put the men in black fedoras on the Wanted list, but were unable to catch them as these men were able to teleport thanks to the Cromer

- The government put in new Android Guardians (the giants in white suits) who were effective and were able to catch the men in black fedoras

- At this point in time in the story, to Seonghwa the Black Pirates and Resistance did not matter, all he wanted was to get the Cromer and get everyone back home to the 'real dimension’

- In order to find the Cromer, they had to get to the Android Guardians’ bunker, but the only person who knew about the bunker was Left Eye, the manager of the 'Strictland’ who lived in a dump

- As they made their way towards the 'Strictland’, Yeosang felt good because he was with his friends and he was able to decide his own life. He felt guilty though because his father had orchestrated them being kicked out of the hideout, which led to all this. Yeosang didn’t want to return to the 'real dimension’ and return to the world his parents had made for him

- When they got to the dump they found that, due to yellow smoke from the continuous burning of trash that was said to cause hallucinations, Left Eye wasn’t entirely sane (same tho)

- Wooyoung was grateful to the Grimes siblings for helping save his life, so he wanted to find the girl’s voice too. Left Eye also had his own story according to Hongjoong and the Grimes Siblings. Mingi found it annoying that they were helping the siblings as well and got annoyed at Wooyoung, calling him unnecessarily nosy

- The members split into two groups: those who would venture into a pile of trash that formed a cave to find the girl’s voice (Jongho, Yeosang and others) and those who would convince Left Eye to help them find the location of the Android Guardians’ bunker (Yunho, Mingi and others)

- Jongho wore a gas mask and safety line before venturing into the cave. The Grimes boy had told them that his sister’s voice looked like a shining bead with blue condensed energy inside. Jongho saw that the bead was deep inside the cave, almost hidden by yellow smoke

- As he went further into the cave he started hallucinating that he was in a basketball match with his teammates. He forgot that he was looking for something and became involved in the game

- It was the same game that had caused Jongho’s ankle injury in the 'real world’ and forced him to quit basketball, so he dismissed everything that had happened so far as an illusion and déjà vu, removed his mask and thought that the game was real

- The safety line around Jongho’s body stopped moving and, getting worried, Yeosang went into the cave with the last gas mask. He found Jongho intoxicated by the illusion and running towards a cliff

- Jongho in his illusion managed to turn the 'game’ around when all of a sudden he was on the ground. He heard a familiar voice through the illusion and he saw someone holding his arm, who looked like a doctor. The doctor began to say that Jongho would have no problem living his normal life, but would not be able to play basketball. Jongho was undergoing déjà vu, reliving his ankle injury and subsequent hospital stay

- Then, he heard Yeosang’s voice and saw his faint outline behind the doctor. Yeosang took the mask off his own face and gave it to Jongho, who began to see clearly and saw that they were sitting at the end of the cliff. Yeosang told Jongho that the Grimes sister found her voice

- Left Eye had been a good man with a small brand shop he founded after studying fashion design. He had been disqualified from the fashion house in the past due to his unfriendly appearance, but he had great skills and was a warm person with a passion. He had a daughter

- However, his daughter had been hit by a speeding car while trying to save a flower on the road. Due to the policies pushed by the government, people who had witnessed the accident thought that moving forward quickly was more important than looking around, so they just passed by, pretending not to see anything

- Left Eye’s daughter had died slowly and might’ve survived if people around her had acted, but unfortunately she couldn’t be saved. Left Eye fell into despair and became a different person.

- He became intoxicated by the illusion of his daughter created by the yellow smoke, and when the government found him wandering around the dump, he was selected by the Android Guardians as the manager of the 'Strictland’

- Yunho empathised with Left Eye as he had lost his brother so he knew what Left Eye was feeling. His intentions changed from just wanting to know where the Android Guardians’ bunker was to helping Left Eye as well

- In order to do this they had to lure Left Eye to a place where the yellow smoke was less severe, so that they could help him realise that the daughter he was looking at was just an illusion

- Left Eye started to attack the members (I assume for trespassing) and they managed to lure him into a smoke-free space. When his daughter’s illusion disappeared, Left Eye became even more furious.

- Everyone was unsure of what to do, but Yunho shouted 'Your daughter is dead! You’re denying it because you don’t want to believe it, but aren’t you already aware of the truth?’ Left Eye got mad and shouted 'I’ll kill you!’ while swinging a large bat

- Yunho dodged the attacks but Left Eye swung the bat even more recklessly, damaging everything it touched. Yunho however was not afraid. Despite his members’ warnings, he approached Left Eye, and saw that the hallucination was fading

- Yunho told Left Eye that his daughter’s death was not his fault, and that he had no thoughts of harming anyone in the first place. Left Eye let go of the emotions that had been locked up inside him and wept, wracked with guilt, thinking 'What if I hadn’t sent her there that day?’ Yunho felt that he was looking at a mirror; he experienced the same when his brother died

- Left Eye agreed to help them find the Android Guardians’ bunker, and everyone set sail towards the island where the bunker was rumoured to be

- On the way, while the members were asleep, Mingi overheard the Grimes siblings saying that the members would save the Black Pirates. They were watching a video of Left Eye’s daughter dancing, and were reminiscing the days when it was allowed to dance and sing

- Mingi, who in the 'real world’ previously expressed that he wanted to die, had a newfound appreciation for the beauty of it all: the sea, the Grimes siblings singing while Left Eye danced, and Mingi was able to let out a small laugh

- The late afternoon of the following day, they made it to the island. The island used to be a tourist attraction, but was unfrequented now that people considered taking trips and rest to be meaningless in the new world

- In case they needed to make a quick getaway, Left Eye and the Grimes siblings stayed on the ship while the ATEEZ members approached the Android Guardians’ bunker

- They found the bunker inside a gallery (ironic since they banned art and yet built their bunker surrounded by it). The members passed the empty lobby, some drunk Android Guardians, and saw men in black fedoras in a glass prison surrounded by smoke

- Hongjoong threw himself against the glass prison, but it wouldn’t budge. One of the men in black fedoras noticed him and said 'Finally, you are here’, and took off his mask to reveal that he looked like Hongjoong

- Hongjoong kept questioning the man, but he wouldn’t respond to those. Instead he simply said 'I don’t have enough time to tell you the whole story’, and asked for all the members to put their hands on the glass wall

- Hongjoong felt an energy sweep around them, and without noticing they were wearing the black suits. The man with the same face as Hongjoong shouted for them to escape before the smoke cleared

[childofcolors]

Random notes + stuff (2)

Just watched the performance video for ‘Paradigm’ and I have a couple of thoughts:

- First, paradigm is a typical example or pattern of something. In the storyline, ATEEZ are breaking the paradigm enforced by the central government, and creating their own, where people are free to choose their life (hence the lyrics ‘whole new paradigm’)

- In the beginning Yeosang says ‘someone calls my name, wake me up’. He also does the eye sign that Hongjoong did in Say My Name, which may be significant (not sure what to make of that yet)

- There’s a theory circulating that Yeosang is a siren, which could be plausible. Sirens are mythical creatures who lure sailors to their deaths by hypnotising them with their singing/beautiful appearances. The intro for this album is called ‘Siren’, which could mean sirens as in alarms ringing everywhere in the dystopian world from the rebellion in action, or could be related to Yeosang, since to me it sounds like him singing in the intro

- Some evidence to support the siren theory: in the storyline Yeosang unknowingly lead his father to the warehouse where ATEEZ met and caused them to separate. When Yeosang was captured by the Android Guardians some of ATEEZ didn’t want to go back for him, but one of his drones flew into the warehouse and changed their minds, which made them go back to the dystopian world to rescue Yeosang

- Yeosang holding the broken Cromer and someone’s hand reaching out towards his (to me it looked like Hongjoong’s hand at the end of ‘Deja Vu’); again calling for their attention towards him. In one of the ‘Paradigm’ teasers he walks into a light, expecting us to follow him

- His character in ATEEZ lore is more influential than we’ve seen so far. There are subtle mysteries and unexplained things; I don’t know if we’ll get an official MV with more lore or a diary version for the album so let’s see 

[childofcolors]

Sources/Reading List/Resources for Baby ATINYs

Although a lot of what I write on the blog is my own ideas and analysis, I will be informed by others, especially when analysing MVs. One of my best skills has always been extensively researching and crediting, so here you will find a list of sources that I often use. I have also included a reading list/list of helpful resources for Baby ATINYs to you help understand the story and ATEEZ, because, well… it can be a lot.

I have merged by old Reading List with my Resources for new ATINYs, as the Reading List was a list of less intensive resources for newer fans, so fit the same purpose.

Good luck, and please remember that my asks (Say Our Name) are always open!

Sources

I will list other major sources below as I use them. If they are particularly relevant to a specific post, I will include them in that post as well.

Bookish Theories - The channel has some great ATEEZ analysis, especially lyric analysis and consideration of particular inspirations for particular songs (for example, Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan for ‘WONDERLAND.’)

Form of Therapy - Want to see someone slowly become an ATINY and learn about the storyline? This is the channel for you! PD also has some interesting analysis of ATEEZ’s cinematography, which I love.

Resources for Baby ATINYs

If you want something a bit longer in runtime,  Form of Therapy is a great bet - you learn about and figure out the storyline along with PD, and get some unique cinematography teaching on the way.

ateez iconic dance moves - by shiber.ateez. A great introduction to how the storyline manifests in the choreography.

This allkpop article is a nice introduction to the storyline and a few of the songs involved.

‘Say My Name’ and ‘HALA HALA’ are essential viewing for beginning to understand the storyline. Also, ‘Answer: Ode to Joy’ is helpful.

This MV reaction by ATEEZ is great - Hongjoong explains some of the key story elements and timelines.

My glossary explains some of the key terms in the storyline to help you understand.

The first guide to ATEEZ that I watched as a baby ATINY - pretty good, not so helpful to the storyline though.

My summary of the storyline for new ATINYs.

Test yourself - do you know all of the members?

If you don’t, there are some hot tips in the comments section of the above video, and videos like this exist for each MV. Another hot tip - Mingi was missing during most of WONDERLAND era and all of ‘Fireworks’ era, and Jongho was missing during a portion of ‘WONDERLAND’ era. If there are 7 members present, it’s most likely Mingi who is missing, and Hongjoong or Seonghwa filled in his rap parts. When Jongho was missing, he was usually seated next to the stage and a backup dancer took his place in the choreography.

[childofcolors]

<3

[childofcolors]

Teemu

[childofcolors]

“Conquor… or Die!” - Megadeth Album Timeline

Created by Minimal-Pulse-Art [minimal-pulse.tumblr.com]

*please do not remove caption*

[childofcolors]

Finntroll

[childofcolors]

the cute blondies of korpilaani 

[childofcolors]

[childofcolors]

Alexi Laiho: “The most important thing is, If you forget a part of the song, just switch off your amp, and jump back in when you can. Don’t panic or think that you’ve ruined everything. That won’t happen.” (x)

[childofcolors]

[childofcolors]