Forewarning: not everything that will be discussed in canon (100% true) and is more theory, but much of it is heavily substantiated by the concept trailer and music videos released. Newer information is more likely to not be accurate. Information will be summarized and not go into as much detail as linked sources.
Glossary
Cromer: an hourglass-shaped Mayan relic used to travel across dimensions and into dreams (in ATEEZ’s case, the A and Z dimensions)
A Dimension: a dimension/world supposed to represent the present that is now the past; deserted, abandoned
Z Dimension/Strictland: a dystopian dimension/world where the people have been taken over and their emotions have been controlled by a central, tyrannical government through prohibition and AI
Sciensalvar: a religious movement started by scientist Henry Jo that promoted the idea that science was the key to answering human concerns
Android Guardians: the soldiers of the central government in the Z Dimension who burn stolen memories from hallucinating people and use them for energy, as well as apprehend Ateez AND Halateez
Android Bunker: the hideout for the Android Guardians; a place where they burn memories for fuel and punish rebels
Ateez: themselves from the A dimension who come together to relieve themselves of their issues through music and dancing
Black Pirates/Halateez: Z dimension’s resistance force group against the central government who use art to fight and free the people of Strictland from intellectual oppression; the alternates of Ateez, who are in the A dimension
Prestige Academy: the most prestigious academy in Strictland where children take an exam and only those who are the most naturally gifted are accepted
Beginning of the Lore
Fever Series (Pt.1-3):
Inception, Thanxx, and Fever Diary
Although the Fever albums weren’t the first to come out, the lore essentially starts with what the Fever era music videos present:
- ATEEZ is a group of friends formed by a mutual interest in music as well as dance and similar personal issues
- The boys were able to enjoy the time they spent with each other, as they were able to escape the realities of their lives and enjoy what they wanted to.
- Each member then starts to experience a new problem that forces them to back away from the group and return to their realities
- Hongjoong has a dream where he is faced with his Black Pirate alternate from the Z dimension and given the Cromer, behind told to use it to do what he and the boys want to do
- The Ateez members broke free from the control of the adults in their lives with the help of Hongjoong’s communication using the Cromer and that is how they find themselves together again
Fireworks (I’m the One), Eternal Sunshine, Deja Vu. and Turbulence
- The Cromer sends Ateez to Strictland, but they end up being attacked by the Android Guardians and have to escape
- Wooyoung gets caught so the members have to save him but sacrifice losing the Cromer to do so
- A little girl who, along with her brother, is a Black Pirate, heals Wooyoung and asks Ateez to find her voice that was stolen by the Guardians so they split up, with one group trying to find her voice and the other looking for the Left Eye, the only one who knows where the Android Bunker is
- The group looking for the girl’s voice finds it in yellow smoke which causes them to hallucinate but they can escape thanks to Yeosang
- The group looking for Left Eye finds him in a junkyard and is directed by him to break into a specific museum to retrieve the Cromer
- In the Museum, Hongjoong meets his Black Pirate alternate and is passed down his uniform along with the rest of the members. They all attempt to escape when a Guardian captures Yeosang and threatens to kill him if they don’t return the Cromer
- Hongjoong throws the Cromer to the Guardian to save Yeosang but he catches and turns it, placing all ATEEZ members but Yeosang to a time before they went to Strictland
- The boys see an article about a Mayan artifact resembling the Cromer and decide that the only way to save Yeosang is to steal it and return to Strictland for Yeosang
Halazia, Say my Name:
- Yeosang is held captive in Strictland along with the dimension’s rebels and has been tortured to the point of wishing death
- The citizens of Strictland are mourning the “deaths” of the Black Pirates who have either been killed by the Guardians or have had their energy consumed
- Men in black fedoras (Ateez) come and fight the Guardians and Seonghwa saves Yeosang as San consumes the energy from the central orb in the air that fuels the Guardians
- The Black Pirates are informed that ATEEZ is back
Treasure Series:
Pirate King and Treasure
- Yeosang has been rescued and now the ATEEZ members are continuing to inspire others to keep singing and dancing
Illusion, Utopia, and Wave
- The members are hit by the reality of the situation as they begin to inch away from the resistance and imagine how it would feel to not have to worry about oppression and art being at risk
- ATEEZ is guided by the Black Pirates to reopen their eyes and remember their cause, leading them to open their eyes and realize they can get through any obstacles as long as they are together
Wonderland and Answer
- The boys are gearing up for the climax of the resistance and the end, which is most likely the Black Pirates
- In “Answer”, they are seemingly celebrating victory with the Black Pirates but the ending scene is an Android Guardian standing in the room they were in; however, all of the furniture is destroyed
The World Series (Guerrilla, Bouncy, Crazy Form):
- Ateez are now wearing the Black Pirates’ uniform in the Z dimension/Strictland and break the citizens free from the government’s mind control
- Ateez decided to target Presige Academy as their priority because it was an area where they could turn many people at the same time
- A boy from Prestige who was able to break free from the control link found Ateez in their bunker and asked them to help who his brother was still brainwashed at the academy
- The members have split up in Strictland and taken up different jobs to disguise themselves as they gather intel on the citizens, with Yeosang as the main link of communication between them
- The main mission of Bouncy was to free the children in Prestige Academy and assassinate an Android Guardian, which they do successfully with the help of a chili pepper bullet
- Crazy Form is essentially a compilation of the ATEEZ members leaning and acting however they want, especially in front of government officials while the Black Pirates continue to free more citizens and enter their dreams to incite a revolutionary attitude within them
- At the end of Crazy Form, we see a broken Cromer with a floating Bluebird, possibly implying a return of a Halazia-like situation