#strictland

A Map of Strictland and the areas around

I was casually listening Cyberpunk but the lyrics literally ring a bell in my mind. If the time in Strictland especially in World Z is manipulated, it means that after Z take the control of the distract, they changed the current time of the dimension.

(Down left corner)

Actually, they may be living in the past or in a time much further ahead than we imagine. Perhaps they achieved this through Cromer. Perhaps after the war Sopro created, they decided that emotions were disease and banned them.

Ultimately, these places called the two worlds are actually different dimensions within a single world. But if time has been manipulated, we can expect history to repeat itself.

There is no easy way to summarise Ateez’s storyline, and trying to do that would mean making an entirely separate post (which I’ll maybe do at some point). Instead, here are some general things to know: in addition to visual storytelling in the music videos that are up to interpretation, there are also Diary entries with the albums that have the canonical storyline. There is a wiki maintained by @tothisemptiness with summaries of all canonical information, and a recent 400+ side ppt made by @/joongiephilia on twitter where they analyse the diaries alongside the music videos, concert extras, and a million other things. Not all of this is necessary to understand Utopia (barring maybe needing to read the diaries to understand the eras) but it is all worth mentioning. 

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Generally when I worldbuild, I like to have a visual of the setting before I get into the details. I find that if a place has a visual identity, it becomes easier to compile features and traits. In my initial designs for Strictland, I wanted to match it to the aesthetics from the music videos. I started, as one does, with the harsh brutalism of the Movement EP. Brutalism is an easy thing to incorporate into a dystopia, it's almost ubiquitous in the genre. Another feature I wanted to integrate (inspired by the song Sector 1) was the concept of several separated sectors of the city that players could explore. The original design was a honeycomb, with each sector walled off, and sector one in the centre, slightly above the rest. I scrapped it because, frankly, it was a bit boring, and somewhat cliche looking in my head.

A second design I had in mind was much more complicated. I designed it to be somewhat staircase-like. It's difficult to explain, so I’ve added a rough sketch sketch. The idea was that the lower sectors lived (literally) in the shadows of the upper sectors, where the ruling class (so to speak) primarily stayed. It would also serve to explain the differences in architecture - the aforementioned brutalism in Movement, and the cyberpunk cityscapes of the Outlaw EP. That way players could decide what their campaigns looked like, if each sector had a distinct space carved out.

The issue with this one was primarily in its design. It's difficult to represent and hard to describe. The concept worked on paper but required too much assembly to be realistic within the somewhat-canonical age of the city. There’s no actual canonical World Z timeline, of course, but it's safe to assume the city’s transformation into the state it is in now was gradual, rather than being constructed whole-cloth to fit into Z’s machinations (I did disregard this when I made Wonderland, but only to allow for folklore/mythology in the world, which I think is an important part of world building). While it isn’t unreasonable that the architecture of the city followed the newer reforms, building a spiral staircase-like structure requires a bit more planning than I think the leader of a city called Strictland can manage.

The design that made it, of course, is the one based on the compass. Apart from fitting in with the themes of Ateez’s storyline and also being based on iconography from several music videos, it also allowed for 8 main sectors (a number that comes up a lot for obvious reasons) and the central Sector 1, which functions as the governing center of the city. The disproportionate sizes of the sectors, with Sectors 2 to 5 being smaller than Sectors 6 to 9, allowed for each sector to be assigned a specific purpose and allowed for architectural dissimilarities between them. Of course, there is some assembly required for this version of the city as well, but it seemed slightly more achievable. Those of you who may be architects or urban planners who are upset at the slightest implication of this being an achievable expansion, I would ask you to suspend your disbelief and not be mean to me.

Each sector being unique in its functions was partially to add to the dystopian-ness of it all, but also to give players the choice to decide what the campaign they were playing in would look like. Would it be in the swanky halls of The Mist in Sector 5 or would they be sneaking through the industrial plants of Sector 8? Each sector’s purpose, seen in the image below, mostly corresponds to what I think would be interesting settings for campaigns, rather than how I think a city would function.

That’s not to say there was no thought into how the city would function. Each sector has a purpose, whether it's economic or just vanity. They’re listed in detail in the official guide, but here are the barest bones of what each sector does. A good deal of the placements of the sectors (like 8 being next to 4) was done to facilitate each sector’s greatest needs.

I also wanted to account for the fact that a large chunk of our audience would not be used to TTRPGs, or PbtA systems, and so we included locations and rumours to kickstart the process of worldbuilding and campaign/character planning. The rumours could be plot hooks, and the locations can be start points for backstories - in the campaign I ran for my friends, each of them chose one location for their characters to be ‘working’ at, anchoring them to the city and their respective sectors in a big way.

GOD OP I'M SO STUPID i didn't reread this ask before starting to write this so i didn't realize it specifically said SLEEPING JOONGIE and by the time i realized i was already 1.5k words in so.... it's not finished and it's WRONG but i screwed up so spectacularly i figured i should post SOMETHING since i don't have the spirit to start over. sorry for making you wait so long for this lakjglai4slt i hope you enjoy it anyway

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Strictland hadn’t always been so befitting of its name.

Once upon a time, the country had been a thriving metropolis filled with color, sprawling architecture, windows and displays glittering in the sunlight, plants dotting every street and planters lining every odd window. The people had been thriving and happy beneath the rule of a long lineage of Parks, the bloodline having given the people some of the kindest and benevolent rulers throughout the ages.

All things changed with time but no one could have predicted the way the city would fade away into tones of gray. It had only taken a few words whispered to the King and Queen; a hissed warning and promise of impending death to their newly born heir. The omen had been vague, insinuating that art and creativity would lead to the death of their beloved Seonghwa, which ultimately led to a culling of all forms of art across the country. Total control fell over the populace - control of nutrition, sunlight, even their very reflections. Where the royal family had once been a warm embrace they now held a vice grip around the throat of their own citizens. 

And it all ended up being for naught. 

Seonghwa was a free spirit in spite of all the restrictions in place since his very birth - or perhaps because of it. Rebellion shone in his eyes and ran through his blood, sparking defiance against each and every restriction. To those among the resistance - those that continued to paint murals across abandoned storefronts, performed in the dead of night beneath neon lights in abandoned pools, sang with all their heart and soul to a small and secluded crowd - it was no secret that Mars, one of the greatest graffiti artists of their time, was the very prince the laws had been erected to protect. 

Masterlist

Glossary

A-World

home of an alternate version of our Ateez

a city made up of a maze of cement walls and deserted side roads

their hideout is an abandoned factory/warehouse

Ateez viewed their music and dance as dull and insignificant due to their belief that it couldn't have an impact on people

the members were about to part ways indefinitely before their journey to the Z-World began

Z-World

Halateez's/Black Pirates' World (also referred to as Strictland)

the 4th Industrial Revolution already took place and led to a 200 year average lifespan and 40 years of education

the central government, aka the Sciensalvar political party, led by 'Z', wants absolute power

-> to remove all possible unpredictable variables keeping them from achieving this, they developed a self-learning A.I. system

-> their ultimate conclusion drawn from this system's gathered data: the only thing keeping them from achieving absolute power is human emotions

-> as a result, they prohibited all forms of art and emotional expression

Cromer

For more details and a full list of its abilities, click here

appearance of an hourglass

enables travel between realities and into another's dreams, as well as teleportation while in direct contact with the object

Sciensalvar

The name "Sciensalvar" is likely just a combination of "Scien" from "science" and "salvar" which is Spanish for "to save, to rescue" - saved by science

In the A-World:

"religious" organization founded in 1999, led by Henry Jo (a scientist of some kind)

ideology: humans are a collection of energy, science can resolve uncertainties of the future, the energy in the Cromer can save humanity

never appeared outside of the Fever Epilogue Diary Version

In the Z-World:

pseudo-religious scientific organization spearheaded by 'Z'

invented the AI simulation for the 'best solution'

created a political party under the catchphrase: "The pursuit of a peaceful world without religious conflict and terror through emotional control."

said party grew in size until they were powerful enough to pass the 'Emotional Regulation Act' which lead to the solidification of the class system to the point where 'defective' people are now being 'disposed of'.

Android Guardians

only exist in the Z-World

tall, wearing white masks, decidedly non-human

burn people's memories as an energy source

-> the resulting smoke gets them drunk

-> this new energy market was created by the government's A.I.

their mission: obtain the Cromer, capture Ateez, the Black Pirates/Halateez and their supporters/sympathizers, as well as anyone deemed 'defective'

take orders exclusively from the Head Guardian, Z and presumably also the Sciensalvar party

guard the prison island (a bunker formerly used as an art gallery) and Z's hideout due to their non-human nature which prevents emotional corruption by revolutionists

Halateez/The Black Pirates

resistance fighters in the Z-World

mission: overthrow the government and free people's minds by returning the arts to Strictland

-> use the prohibited arts as a weapon

-> the alternate version of A-World's Ateez and their supporters

Left Eye

lives in Z-World where he used to run a boutique after studying fashion design

his daughter was killed by a speeding car while trying to save a flower on the road

-> she died slowly while passersby ignored her, too focused on moving forward

the yellow fumes of the Strictland dump made him hallucinate his dead daughter, trapping him

-> the Android Guardians found him there and made him the dump's new manager

he later becomes an ally to the revolution

Thunder

originally a group of elite students at Prestige Academy in charge of reporting any students who show emotions who have now joined the resistance

their leader: a girl resembling the one Seonghwa saw dance back in the A-World who dropped a bracelet inscribed with the words 'Be Free', she was inspired by the Grimes Siblings (who first helped Ateez when they arrived in the Z-World) to join the resistance

as the elitest of the elite who were supposed to be the future leaders of Strictland, they have access to top secret information on Z and are willing to share it with the Black Pirates to free everyone

their home base is located in a forest village away from all surveillance

Sopro

First mentioned in the Golden Hour Pt. 2 Diary Entries, Sopro is the name of a ruby-red stone, which Left Eye describes as follows:

"Sopro is a sort of magical spirit that synchronizes the feelings of those who hold it with those who draw breath around them. According to legend, one of the four priest guardians of Halazia gathered the breaths of all of Halazia to create it."

Here is what we know about it:

It was created in the Z-World by the rebellion which means Z and his followers don't know about it

The creation of it is likely what we see in the Halazia MV, meaning Seonghwa plays the role of the priest guardian who created it

After its creation, we don't see it again until Crazy Form where it appears after the Cromer shatters at the very end and gets carried away by a blue bird (THE bluebird which so often gets mentioned in the lyrics)

It was then used by the Black Pirates/the Rebellion to synchronize the emotions of the people of Strictland which is ultimately what set everyone free and made the revolution a success

Wooyoung later uses it again in the A-World at the very end of the Golden Hour Pt.2 Diary Entries:

Wooyoung: "So if I use this... I can sync my and the members' emotions?" Sopro's red light wavered as though in response to Wooyoung's question. Holding the stone tightly in his fist, Wooyoung brought his hand to his heart and earnestly prayed: "It's as though they've all forgotten what it was like to be happy. Reignite our passion like it was back then, and let us be happy together again. Please."Red light spilled from the gaps between his fingers, a ruby aurora dancing throughout the dark room.

In the Golden Hour Pt.3 Diary Entries, we discover Sopro is a spirit capable of thought and free will, as well as the manipulation of human beings by ways of altering their emotional state

Additionally, it also seems to be growing more powerful as it moves from host body to host body after initially - and unintentionally - getting introduced to human emotion by Wooyoung

Currently, Sopro has moved from Wooyoung to San to a printing factory owner, meaning it is only three hosts in and yet it's already capable of controlling at least an entire neighborhood

Whole Lore Analysis, Lyrics, Mvs and Shows +

Fever Series

Treasure Series

The World Series

https://www.tumblr.com/atinydetective/777728893699424256/journey-of-the-the-world-series-ep3?source=share

GOLDEN Hour General Explanation

Golden Hour Part3

HALATEEZ'S IDENTITY

Light to Ashes album

Black Star -Ash and Future of the storyline

Hongjoong's Captain Armband

Halazia and Black Fedoras

Egypt Myth and Golden Hour

https://www.tumblr.com/atinydetective/753346901172158464/the-real-golden-hour?source=share

And Ateez's Star