An Introduction to the Atmosverse
For the last year and a half or so I've been writing brief continuity notes for the ATMOSPHERE ASMR videos on YouTube; for anyone not yet acquainted with them, they're a series of videos that, while using ASMR triggers for relaxation, also form a singular overarching sci-fi/fantasy narrative that spans several worlds, multiple timelines and a vast array of different characters. It's a wildly creative and ambitious project made all the more impressive because - save for an occasional guest actor, prop or musical assist - it's the work of a single creator, Anastasia, who writes, films and acts each video as well as producing the set, costumes, sound design and digital environments/effects. I highly recommend checking the channel out if you haven't yet, and watching through all the videos from the beginning. I've always loved an unconventional narrative structure and I think that one of the most interesting things about the series is that each video hops around in time and among the various locations and it's left to us, the audience, to follow the links and assemble the overall storyline ourselves. The notes I've been writing (which Anastasia has very kindly pinned in the comments section of each video) have hopefully helped to remind folks in which videos the various characters, places and plot points previously appeared so that they can hop back and rewatch them easily. However I've also had a number of requests for a playlist putting the videos into some sort of narrative order (a rough attempt at which is now up on YouTube) and some sort of summary of the storyline so far; the latter is what I'm going to attempt here. I'll try to keep it as brief as possible, but at the time of writing we are 89 videos into what is quite a complex series so it's probably still going to be quite long - maybe read it in chunks rather than all at once, or at least put on some nice music or a relaxing ATMOSPHERE video as you go! Before we begin, an important disclaimer: the only one who actually knows the whole story is Anastasia herself - this summary is very much just what *I* think is happening thus far, based on the videos and the background material that Anastasia has written on WorldAnvil (always check the video descriptions for links to characters and places she thinks are relevant), and with a heavy dose of personal interpretation on top. As such, much of it is possibly mistaken - and certainly it'll continue to change as each new video comes out and I update this post to take into account new revelations. All of which is just to say that nobody should take this as "the truth" so much as one person's interpretation that might still help you when thinking about your own theories. One of the greatest joys of the ATMOSPHERE videos is to think about the ongoing mysteries and what they mean while the ASMR helps you relax, and I encourage you to do so. With that caveat out of the way, onto the summary. In my mind the story thus far roughly falls into three 'acts' which I will divide into their own sections following a brief prologue covering the very important events that happened before the timeframe of the videos but underpin the whole narrative; get yourself a refreshing beverage, friends, and let's get going. Prologue: Secrets At some point in the past a misguided group of researchers attempted to drill through to the core of the planet ε13Σo1f - responsible for maintaining balance in the universe - so that they could exploit its miraculous properties. Something went disastrously wrong and the planet exploded; chunks of its base element Meterium Lumoxide (a substance that resembles amber save for glowing brightly in response to certain stimuli) were scattered throughout the universe, each creating time-space distortions, loops and dimension breaches. Open Space Flow Other dimensions to that of Earth exist, and in one of them lies the magical world of El-Rah. In ancient times, a secretive society discovered that lucid dreaming could be used to travel between the dimensions; its members named their group the Order of the Sleepless. Although they made great discoveries a divide eventually formed; some of the Order's members wished to use their knowledge for the greater good while others wanted to use it for personal gain. Their internal conflicts grew until the Order's once-noble legacy was tarnished by greed and ambition. WorldAnvil In the Victorian era of Earth the local branch of the Order - the Vita Somnium Breve - was an aristocratic gathering of scientists, inventors, historians and researchers who held their meetings at the castle of Lord Greene as well as Lord Kessinger's Summerhill Manor. On an expedition to Cairo, the society discovered a fragment of Meterium Lumoxide and brought it back to England for experimentation. Kessinger, the Count of Daerington, became obsessed with unravelling its secrets before apparently dying in mysterious circumstances... Fortune Teller in the Train Act One: School In 1984 the POV Character - that is, the person we audience members are portraying in the vast majority of the videos - is a psychology student at Pinecrest University in the United States, planning a study project about witchcraft with their friend and fellow student Angelica Morgan. Seeking a supervisor for the project, Angelica suggests that they seek out Pinecrest's elusive archaeology professor, Lamari. However, when the POV Character falls asleep in class they find themselves, albeit briefly, involuntarily transported to El-Rah; while their body remains behind on Earth they appear as a mental projection in the other dimension. Classroom They decide to keep this mysterious ability a secret from Angelica while the two students prepare to use the university's Halloween party to approach Professor Lamari about the project. Try On Haul Although Angelica's meeting with the professor is awkward, Lamari invites the pair to an 'audition' of sorts held by one of her assistants. 80s Partying Unbeknownst to either student Pinecrest is linked with the Vita Somnium Breve, having been founded as a sister institution to the Mayhorn University of Science and Arts that was established in Lord Greene's castle a century before. 80s Hair Salon Angelica and the POV Character attend the event, a supposed meditation class where the participants are handed 'crystal prisms' - in actuality magical energy vessels called Capacidian Stones - and put through a series of breathing exercises to test whether any of them are affected. The experience activates the POV Character's abilities and they are transported back to El-Rah, finding themselves on Maksti Island. Ballet Class Exploring the strange new world, they accidentally get caught in a magical portal where they are found and rescued by Amanita, a young student mage from the nearby Academy of Magic Arts. You're Stuck in a Magical Portal Initially reluctant to help the POV Character, who appears slightly translucent in El-Rah due to their projected status, Amanita eventually agrees to help them return home. She summons an aquatic spirit, who tells her they must travel to the Meadow behind the island's Trigger Woods. Spells at Night The POV Character finds their mind shifting uncontrollably back and forth between El-Rah and Earth where Angelica, thinking that they had simply passed out, brings them to Pinecrest's medical centre. Under the guise of treating the POV Character the doctor quizzes them about their experiences, evaluating their abilities for the purposes of the Vita Somnium Breve. School Medical Exam Though they keep briefly vanishing whenever they return to Earth, Amanita continues to guide the POV Character through the woods. They are briefly captured by a creature called the Emerald Arania but are rescued by an Avian, a birdlike creature who gives them cryptic hints as to their future. Into the Woods The pair finally reach the Meadow, and Amanita realizes that they have grown close on their travels together... Fairy Meadow Act Two: SleepWalker By the present day the Vita Somnium Breve, now known simply as the VSB, operates from a secret base in the Arctic. They have recruited the POV Character for their natural dream-traveling abilities, which they can now control by the technological means of an enclosed sleep capsule and a device called a sleep valve implanted under their chin. The VSB names them Special Agent SleepWalker, and they undertake both 'dive travel' missions in which they use the capsule to mentally visit El-Rah and 'slide travel' missions in which they use the VSB's time travel technology to physically visit other times on Earth. Pulling Spy Bugs Out of Your Hair 'SleepWalker' is still close friends with Amanita and continues to adventure with her on Maksti Island. Alchemy in the Forest She was expelled from the Magic Academy and now lives in the woods, using her alchemist skills to help local people with their magical problems. Charmed Mill To aid with their missions, SleepWalker also uses one of their trips to El-Rah to commission a set of magical armour that can change appearance and store a vast number of items. Elven Blacksmith On the orders of the VSB SleepWalker time-travels to 1889 to make contact with Anna, the daughter of Lord Kessinger and current Countess of Daerington. Her father had promised to leave her a magical heirloom which was stolen after his supposed death, and she has been investigating his past activities hoping to learn the truth about his fate. The VSB are aware that Kessinger is not only alive but has been living in El-Rah for 150 years, so sends SleepWalker to monitor her investigation. As Anna returns from retracing her father's steps in Egypt, the agent disguises themself and engineers a 'chance' meeting with her. Reading You to Sleep SleepWalker meets Anna again at the Daerington tailor's shop and arranges to attend the Royal Ball with her. Tailor While at the rehearsal for the event the Duchess, one of Anna's contacts, leaves Anna a mysterious Book filled with El-Rah script; inside its pages she finds a scrap of paper with a dual-seahorse heraldic symbol, which she recognises as the device of her father's old friends the Greene family. At the Royal Ball On a trip to El-Rah Amanita and SleepWalker visit the sorceress Astarah to purchase some magical maps. Astarah, a member of the El-Rah branch of the Order of the Sleepless herself, sends the pair on a quest and books them passage on a pirate ship. She also gives SleepWalker a key with the cryptic hint that they will need it later and that 'she' will ask them for it. Unbeknownst to SleepWalker she also implants a message in their mind: 'lead her there.' Preparing For a Treasure Hunt Astarah's secretive actions are related to a prophecy: "You shall meet three wanderers, each of whom is endowed with a sacramental mark. Their fates shall be intertwined through Chrono Realms. Be prepared. You shall give each of them a key. Only one of them shall solve the task." Arcane Artifacts However, not long into their quest Amanita and SleepWalker's ship is attacked. Amanita summons an Avian to carry SleepWalker to safety, then uses a magic scroll to transform herself into a mermaid. Magic Scrolls and Tales From the Big Bird The Avian brings SleepWalker to Arinau, a herbal healer living in the swamps of Sheheron; as the healer tends to them Amanita, still in mermaid form, finds a magic lamp on the seabed. Flower Elixirs Even with the use of the sleep capsule, each extended period of dive travel leaves SleepWalker with their memories jumbled and missing, requiring extensive therapy at the Arctic base. Physical Therapy A senior agent, Ainsley Callahan, is assigned to them to assist in their recovery and aid them on missions. Pulling Spy Bugs Out of Your Hair Together the two of them spy on an artist/inventor who has been smuggling material out of the other world by using simple dream-travel (such as SleepWalker once used as a student) and Callahan suspects that a mole in the VSB has been aiding them. Relaxing Ambush Back in the Victorian era SleepWalker gives Alice, the owner of the tailor shop, a number of Meterium Lumoxide fragments which she makes into buttons, attaching them to a purse which SleepWalker gives to Anna as a gift. Gossips at the Tailor Shop Anna takes SleepWalker with her as she travels to Mayhorn to investigate the Greene's link to her book. Walking through the forest after their coachman deserts them, Anna is surprised when the buttons on the purse start to glow. Approaching a magical doorway floating in the air, she touches the purse to it and it opens on a view of El-Rah, granting her a brief vision of the passing Amanita. Mysterious Carriage Ride Amanita has been wandering through the Sheheron forest since resuming her human form; after seeing Anna through the doorway she runs into a magical House on Chicken Legs. The mysterious old woman who lives within offers to help Amanita activate the magic lamp in exchange for one of the wishes; agreeing to the deal Amanita finds herself drawn inside the lamp. House on Chicken Legs The Djinn inside the lamp makes another deal with her; infinite wishes in return for Amanita fulfilling his own. The Owner of the House on Chicken Legs uses her one wish to restore her own youth before leaving for a festival, and the Djinn tasks Amanita with retrieving an item from the Sacred Prism Hall. Solving the hall's riddles, she retrieves the Book that was given to Anna, although at this point its pages are still blank. Genie and the Sacred Prism Hall Riddles Meanwhile on Earth, SleepWalker returns Anna to their coach and she dismisses the experience with the purse as a dream as they arrive at Sir Dempsey's mansion in Mayhorn. Anna has had her music professor contact examine the Book, and as he has suggested the use of a tuning fork they head into the town to buy one. They are unsuccessful but the sound of the church's bells causes the Book to vastly increase in weight as the symbols within glow with magic. Mysteries of the Book In El-Rah, the Djinn teaches Amanita new magical skills as her reward for retrieving the Book. Magic Lessons For her next task, he asks her to retrieve some special stones from the bottom of a sea trench; she changes back to mermaid form to do so. Mermaid Anna is refused entry at the Greene's castle and so is forced to return home. Aboard the train on the way back, she and SleepWalker are approached by the fortune teller Almaase; she reads SleepWalker's fortune but also warns Anna with a cryptic hint regarding the agent's true nature. Fortune Teller in the Train Once back in Daerington, Anna receives a letter from her archaeologist friend Ali informing her that his own investigations in Egypt are being stymied by a cover-up. Using a tuning fork Anna manages to activate the Book's magical properties again as SleepWalker watches. Mysteries of the Sound Vibrations Agent SleepWalker also slide travels to the cyberpunk future of 2088, where they undergo cybernetic enhancement; they also temporarily use an animated tattoo to disguise the sleep valve on their neck before having it removed. Animated Tattoos Removal Posing as an engineer they gain fame by introducing a revolutionary system, SoulSoftware, that promises to give true life to Androids. CyberLimo Ride with Your Personal Android SleepWalker's own Android personal assistant has the software installed; while altering her as part of the process a technician removes a mysterious glowing crystalline device from her body, one marked with the familiar seahorse design. Android Repair The present-day VSB intercept a message from the hidden Lord Kessinger and send agents Callahan and SleepWalker back to 1889, where SleepWalker commissions Almaase to decrypt it. She manages to retrieve the message but because she used illegal hacking to do so, the El-Rah Magical Security Service revokes her magic license. Fortune Teller Caravan Returning to El-Rah, SleepWalker gets Arinau to take them to the East River Festival in Sheheron. Boat Ride with the Herbal Healer While at the festival they meet with the Rainbow Elf Aya'Leigh, Arinau's half-sister and - like Astarah - a member of the Order. Aya'Leigh guides SleepWalker towards Twilight Elfdales, a region that exists on a different plane or 'layer' of El-Rah, and gives them a package to deliver. Facial in the Elvish Tent Leaving the festival, however, SleepWalker is captured by the owner of the House on Chicken Legs who has learned of Almaase's situation. Almaase is her 'recursive sister' - her counterpart in another world - and so she orders SleepWalker to fix Almaase's fate before using her magical oven to send them on their way to Twilight Elfdales. Baking You in a Stove Once there SleepWalker is received by the governor of the region, who gives them an elixir to resist hypnosis. Baroque Fantasy Back in 1889 Anna, having grown close to SleepWalker, invites them to a gathering of philanthropists in Wellingthorpe. Tailor Shop While staying overnight in nearby Maramures Village SleepWalker is menaced by the sinister Lady Asetti and her fellow vampires, but between an anti-vampire scent provided by Almaase and the anti-hypnosis elixir created by the governor, they manage to resist the creatures. Let Me In That night, and under the influence of another of Almaase's potions, SleepWalker has a vivid dream in which the presence of the vampires blends with the agent's growing guilt from continuing to deceive Anna. Ladies of the Twilight Theatre Attending the philanthropists' conference the next day, Anna and SleepWalker sit for a portrait; the artist is none other than the Djinn from Amanita's lamp. The mystical scent of a protea flower in the room leaves SleepWalker privy to Anna's thoughts; having realized that her companion is disguised and deceiving her - even if she doesn't yet know the exact details - she grows upset and leaves. Drawing You At some point SleepWalker manages, using their various methods of travel, to fulfil the request of the owner of the House on Chicken Legs, altering Almaase's fate and creating a new timeline of events. The original mission that resulted in Almaase's punishment no longer exists in this 'fork,' something Agent Callahan realizes when she experiences déjà vu while briefing SleepWalker on the new timeline's equivalent mission. Spa For the Spy This time the Almaase that SleepWalker visits is allied to the vampires and never warned Anna aboard the train; she opens a puzzle box for the agent, retrieving a mysterious artefact - the same type of crystalline device that was removed from the Android. Fortune Teller Salon SleepWalker's adventures in El-Rah have also been altered in the new timeline; Astarah still sends Amanita and SleepWalker on their quest, but this time aboard a ship of nobles instead of a pirate ship... Preparing For a Treasure Hunt Act Three: Spacetime In the year 2231, Aries is the lone human in a galaxy controlled by artificial intelligences. She and her robot companion Ronnie come across the aftermath of a battle and discover a badly injured SleepWalker among the wreckage. Though she is able to treat their injuries they are left with apparently total amnesia, and the only objects found on them are a Rubik's Cube and the key given to them by Astarah so long ago. Head Surgery Aries decides to take them to the main AI base as per her orders, but en route SleepWalker has a dream spurred by the information Astarah implanted in their head - coordinates and the message 'lead her there.' Aries tracks the coordinates to an abandoned planet where she unearths a metal canister whose lock is opened by the key. Inside are the button-covered purse once gifted to Anna, a copy of The Painted Veil that once belonged to Angelica with a dried jasmine flower pressed inside, a camera, a cassette tape and several pages from the Book. Analyzing the symbols on the pages, Ronnie identifies them as the formulae for time travel and human immortality. Key Paradox Intrigued, Aries takes a detour to station K-Pharaoh-98 to examine the objects and scan SleepWalker's mind. The latter shows that the amnesia is not a natural result of their injuries but was instead caused by a hypno camera or similar device. Zero Gravity Finding that the buttons on the purse and the lens of the camera are all made of Meterium Lumoxide, Aries uses them in conjunction with the sounds on the cassette to briefly open a time window through which she and Professor Lamari see each other. Open Space Flow Aries takes SleepWalker to Planetary Base LM-19 to use a memory-viewing device left by the alien Planarians who once ruled the planet; activating it they see a variety of SleepWalker's past adventures as well as the message that Astarah implanted. Space Vehicle Ride Still processing the information, Aries and SleepWalker embark for a hotel in the Treble Clef galaxy. Amazing Views At a resort on the planet Claire-Tempo, SleepWalker is welcomed by the mystical Amraya, who speaks of love, memories and destiny... Alien Touch Conclusion So there you have it, a quick (?) summary of the ATMOSPHERE storyline as I understand it thus far. I've skipped over a lot of the smaller events and minor characters to prevent it from becoming even more unwieldy and unreadable, but rest assured that if any of them suddenly become vitally important I will add them in as this page gets updated. The summary also doesn't really talk about the greater themes and symbolism of the series, which are just as important as the narrative events, if not more so. Perhaps I'll do another post talking about those if anyone wants a slightly deeper dive into the universe - several paragraphs could be written about the use of the Rubik's Cube alone - or a look at some of the other theories about the series (What if everything is a simulation? What if everything is the dream or delusion of a single character?). Anyway, I hope that if you're one of the kind folks who requested this summary it was helpful in some small way, and if you've somehow discovered this page without any prior knowledge of the ATMOSPHERE experience it has inspired you to check the channel out. Trust me, it's a tremendously rewarding endeavour whether you're interested in a fascinating story, some high-quality ASMR or just the phenomenal artistic achievements of an auteur creator. As ever, if you've found this summary or my individual video notes at all useful and are financially able to do so, please do consider joining Anastasia's Patreon, becoming a member of the YouTube Channel, or donating to her Ko-Fi to help her keep creating her wonderful work. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading, get yourself a snack and I'll see you in the next video!
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