#The Star Seekers

[staram17]

my favorites based on...

‧₊✦˚

current favorite 💚 Junseo (my favorite boy from "my comeback as the youngest member" and I really hope he makes it into the group, I almost lost him two weeks ago 🥲)

comfort character 💙 Soule (of course it's Soule from the star seekers, I often draw him when I'm stressed, mad, sad, etc., also the blue sweater is a *wink* secret sneak peek to something for the rewrite)

by design 💜 Hoshino Ai (I never watched oshi no ko and I don't think I'll ever do but I LOVE her design!! I was amazed by her star eyes and as shown in some of my tss art, it impacted how I draw tss characters' eyes)

by plot ❤️ Soule, again! (this one is also a sneak peek to my tss rewrite but more on soule's character development throughout his nightmare sequences. I don't want to spoil much, but let's just say I have crazy ideas for him in this rewrite)

guilty favorite 🧡 Monika (unironically my favorite girl from ddlc 😅 I haven't seen ddlc in so long so idk what I would think of her now, but me personally, I wanted to know more of her)

all time favorite 💗 Eugene (of course it's Eugene from the star seekers, I relate to him so much and genuinely like him! also his outfit is a sneak peek to what I have planned for the rewrite, you might see more of it next year 🤫)

original template I found on twitter, I fixed up the template in my drawing because it was a bit blurry

[dreamaze]

            the star seekers                          .⟡. the name chapter concept trailer

[binniesoob]

A Summary of Tomorrow X Together's storyline

While waiting for the new album, The Name Chapter: Temptation, to come out, I decided to write a summary of TXT's storyline, focusing on the main themes, motifs and references of the music videos to get a general picture of it!

Feel free to share your insights and/or theories, or to point it out if you see any inaccuracies!

Edit: I'm in the process of correcting a few things and properly add The Chaos Chapter and Minisode 2 to the picture!

— DISCLAIMER

Just a warning that I'm going to leave behind some additional details and references for this, because:

there are way too many and I still don't know all of them (yet) lol;

as I said, this is made to be a summary focusing on the main motifs;

I still need to fully catch up with the webnovel on Wattpad that has lots of more info;

I don't want to overwhelm you, especially if this is your first approach to the storyline!

— PLAYLISTS

I created playlists on both Youtube and Spotify with the songs in the order I'm going to talk about today:

YouTube playlist here

contains music videos in the storyline order to watch while reading!

Spotify playlist here

includes some b-sides, but in this summary I'm only going to focus on those with a music video and the title tracks, so feel free to skip if they are not mentioned!

In this post, I'm going to add only those specifically needed to be watched to follow and understand my analysis. All the others are in the YouTube playlist anyway :)

Okay, now we are ready to start!

— WHAT'S THEIR STORY ABOUT?

TXT's story is about growth: they talk about the transition from adolescence to adulthood and all those changes that characterise it, the fear and refusal to grow up, the desire to stay young forever.

They tackle the theme both explicitly, through music videos and lyrics set in our time, and through symbolism using a fantasy plot with magical elements.

Actually, we could say that their storyline is a story inside a story : the fairytale, in which they find refuge from the real world in a magical one, Magic Island, is the story of the board game (in the Dungeon's & Dragon's style) or the videogame they are playing in the real world to "escape reality". This is why both the fairytale concept and the game concept are crucial to understand the storyline!

— IS THERE A MULTIVERSE?

My answer is yes, there is. As we're going to see, there are various ways in which their story develops and can be developed.

Additionally, last year Hybe announced the release of a Webtoon and a Wattpad webnovel to further elaborate TXT's storyline, both called "The Star Seekers". These two differ from each other and from the storyline narrated through the music videos: they talk about their alter egos called Star One, idols in a version of the real world where magic also exists. However, as I said earlier, we won't go into the details of it and we will stick to the basic storyline related to the music!

— THE STORYLINE

Now let's see how their story unfolds through the albums Chapters, their songs and related music videos. We, of course, start our journey with...

THE DREAM CHAPTER: STAR

– NAP OF A STAR

🎶 Memories of childhood dancing in the sky / Even if it's fading away now 🎶

This song and its music video tell us about the origins and also the final goal of the group. When TXT were still children they met for the first time, played together and made a promise to each other and with a Star: "even if we were to part, we will find each other".

They actually separate and consequently the light of the Star goes out. Why is that? Well, how many points does a classic star have? ⭐ Five, right? And how many members does TXT have? Five! Each one of them is a part of the Star, and without them united there is no Star: the Star symbolizes their friendship. ✨ The power of friendship ✨ is the key to their whole story. This also explains why in choreos often TXT form stars by uniting their bodies.

from: 1) TDC:MAGIC concept trailer, 2) MMA 2019 performance intro, 3) MMA 2022 performance intro.

Years go by and TXT enter adolescence, symbolically represented by the development of physical peculiarities: Yeonjun has horns, Soobin long ears, Taehyun an eye with a star, Beomgyu thorns on his shoulders and Hueningkai wings.

Yeonjun, scared by the horns, runs away into the woods, thinking he has become a monster. Here, for the first time, he meets the blue and green eyed Cat that will haunt us for the rest of our days (😔), he gets wounded in the throat and runs away terrified. The Cat here symbolises all the scary and dangerous aspects of the world we come in contact with once we leave our childhood.

Refusing his new condition (and therefore change and growth), Yeonjun snaps one of his horns. He is then rescued by HueningKai and the rest of the group, and now that they're together again the Star turns on once again! This is what should happen at the end of aaaall the journey, but the road is long and rough...

– CROWN

🎶 Are you my savior who found me alone? / Who you, you? / Are your wings created from the same pain as mine? 🎶

The lyrics tells us what we saw in Nap of a Star: entering adolescence, symbolized by the sprouting of horns, not knowing who you are and wanting to run away. But TXT are not alone in their pain and confusion: when they meet, upon discovering that each of them has something peculiar and is facing the same struggles, they are reassured and no longer feel alone. And so, the horns form a "crown": they are no longer something monstrous to be ashamed of, but a symbol, almost of pride, of what one is facing.

🎶 This moment of my name being called 🎶

This is the first time TXT mentions “names”, a main motif of the storyline we are going to further elaborate.

The symbolism of the colors, mirrors, windows and props in the music video announce events of the storyline we're going to elaborate later as well.

– CAT & DOG

🎶 Oh my God, what the heck is this feeling? / I become a puppy when I see you 🎶

Believe it or not, even this one has relevance to the storyline! 😆

TXT's are dealing with their first crush, they want to be with them always, they are clingy like a puppy looking for affection. It ties to 0x1=Lovesong, Lo$er=Lo♡er and Good Boy Gone Bad, but also to Puma! As we will see, the "dog" represents their "good side", while the "puma" their "bad side".

obligatory FEEL LIKE CINDERELLA NAEGABYONJE LET'S PLAY FOREVER I JUST WANNA BE YO' DOG WOOF WOOF WOOF

Now let's move on to...

THE DREAM CHAPTER: MAGIC

– ANGEL OR DEVIL

🎶 Tell me, what should I choose / Either angel and devil / This struggle in my head 🎶

As it can be read in Cat&Dog lyrics, that are also referenced in this song in the third verse during Yeonjun’s rap, TXT usually act naughty (devil), but with their crush they behave like angels. In this song they talk about struggling with convincing themselves to confess to them.

🎶 "It's gotta be you", "You're the one love" (...) / Again the angel says, "firstly slow down / What if you lose all, forever?" 🎶

TXT's good side (the angel) starts to doubt their friendship and to think that maybe their love for their crush actually is salvation.

🎶 Spinning round and round again, the worries of Moebius 🎶

Reference is also made to the Moebius strip. What is that? Common strips, seen as surfaces like any other, always have two faces. If we walk on one face, we cannot find ourselves on the other, right? In the Möbius strip, on the other hand, you can! This is because it is obtained by joining the two ends of a strip after having given it half a twist.

The Moebius strip has been used in relation to time travel theories, as a possible way to have a loop, specifically an infinite number of possible attempts to change the course of events.

Whether the Moebius time loop is a single universe, or that each "side" is a parallel universe, is something debatable.

So, what does this have to do with TXT? As we will see, someone in the group has the ability to have premonitions about the future and this leads him/the group to try to change the course of events, especially by rewinding time.

In terms of the game they are playing:

rewinding time = playing again;

parallel universe = different modes of action to try change the results.

This song connects to the fantasy storyline not only though lyrics, but also with the drawings in the music video:

the Cat

TXT are divided into two sides: Yeonjun and Taehyun have devilish attributes, Soobin and Beomgyu have angelic attributes. This could symbolise which side of them, good or bad, has more power over the other.

HueningKai, on the contrary, is standing in the middle of the group and has both horns and angel wings, that can be either angel wings, as we see in Nap of a Star (his good side), or demon wings, as we will see in Eternally (his bad side).

– MAGIC ISLAND

🎶 Remember our star song / We were stars in it / The melody that was shining with dreams / Don't forget, forever 🎶

When TXT met again as teenagers but they don't remember the promise (it’s a song, quick, act surprised!) they made as children, nor that they already met.

🎶 Our clumsy promises / A small island from which secrets began 🎶

In the music video we see that Soobin starts having strange dreams/nightmares about the five of them, but he can't seem to open up to the group about it. This is where they start keeping secrets from each other.

In the meantime, they have discovered a magical portal, in this case the train (that references Harry Potter), which leads to a magical world, where they can escape from reality: Magic Island (reminiscent of "Neverland" by Peter Pan), where they spend their time playing.

IMPORTANT DETAILS in the video:

(min 6:40) Soobin's cell phone shows 5:54 pm, one minute after 5:53 pm aka blue hour, the moment when the space that separates the real world from the magical one it's thinner and allows you to travel between them! So, when TXT travel between Magic Island and reality, there’s always going to be 5:53 and the sunset involved.

Soobin hears strange noises: if we connect his peculiar feature, long elf ears, with the dreams, it symbolizes his prophetic being!

Yeonjun hears it too though, and this time it can be noticed that it resembles the sound of a bell. Who often wears bells around their necks? Cats. Moreover, in the story of Peter Pan, the fairy who always accompanies him is called Tinkerbell and it is her magic dust that tempts children, because it can allow them to fly. We could then overlap the elements: Peter Pan = Cat, Tinkerbell = Temptations.

Why are only the two of them aware of this disturbance? We said that Soobin perceives it thanks to his prescient nature, Yeonjun because he is the most tempted of all and he is the one who will make a deal with the Cat.

Yeonjun injures his finger while lighting the bonfire and we need to keep that in mind for the next song!

TXT then have the great idea of making fireworks, in a forest, starting a fire: it can be seen as a metaphor for the destruction that their dark sides can bring, and for the troubles that adolescence leads us to make.

At this point the Cat finally shows up and, in the form of a train, runs over the group. The Cat is a shape-shifter 👀 and he's the one that brought TXT to Magic Island, like Peter Pan did with the Lost Boys.

Each of them is struck by excruciating pain in the parts of the body where their peculiar features are, and in the end, they lay on the ground, dead... in terms of (video)game they lost the current match.

At the end of the video we see a dragon, which symbolizes the biggest obstacle they will have to face. In the (video)game version it's basically the final boss.

Going back to the lyrics for a second…

🎶 A familiar and unfamiliar river (…) / Remember our star song (…) / Don't forget that night / You can't forget this place (…) / Remember us here? (…) / That cat with the different eyes (Mm-mm) / I'm tired of those eyes 🎶

TXT reset the game (or die at Magic Island and then come back to it again) trying to win against the Cat and everytime they do it they forget what happened last time they played: everytime they play as if it was tge first time. With the concept of R, AR, and VR of Minisode 1 this was further confirmed.

This also ties in with their ultimate goal, which is to remember their promise, the star’s song.

– RUN AWAY

🎶 The train is departing / Bibbidi bobbidi our magic island / When we go through this tunnel / When we open our eyes / Our dreams become reality 🎶

TXT want to escape from real life because it's too boring, painful and scary ...the amount of details in this video is scary... we'll only talk about the essential ones:

HueningKai draws two lines on the ground with chalks, one yellow and one blue, which intertwine and surround the school, with TXT inside of it. I won't tell you what that means yet because we'll come back to it later, but keep it in mind 👀

Soobin instead draws a door on the blackboard: a reference to the portals that lead them to Magic Island. We will soon find out why he is the one who draws it. When he puts on the 3D glasses, the door takes shape and opens, and a pentagram appears, a magical symbol consisting of a five-pointed star generally inscribed in a circle and used as a ritual tool.

Remember that Yeonjun injured his finger on Magic Island? His finger is injured at the beginning of Run Away! After TXT died at Magic Island, they went back to the real world, not remembering of having been there, as we explained earlier. If we talk in video game terms it makes more sense: their character lost the game and Yeojun’s got injuried so he has less HP (life points) than before. As for D&D, whenever a character dies or mess up or gets a low roll when rolling the dice, they can go back in time and start again, and this is exactly what they do in Run Away.

Besides, Yeonjun is the one that lights the bonfire in Magic Island, and in this video he is the one who sets things on fire. What does it symbolize? That he's the one who plays with fire, who takes risks and gets into trouble, even if his intentions are good.

Beomgyu puts a plaster on Yeonjun: he is the healer of the group in terms of powers. He’s also the one who brings the fire extinguisher to put out the burning book, but the flames do not go out: Beomgyu can't fix Yeonjun's or others troubles, no matter how hard he tries. The thorns on his shoulders therefore also represent him taking on the problems of others.

Taehyun instead reads a book titled "how to put out the fire": he is the rational one, the observer, the investigator, and we know that his characteristic is the eye.

At the end of the video, they go back to Magic Island during the sunset. This time the magical passage is a door at the bottom of the pool instead of the train.

Again, Yeonjun is the cause of another door (symbolizing coming of age) catching fire, while he leaves behind a teddy bear (symbolizing childhood) which Taehyun picks up.

The "rewinding time" motif returns in the lyrics:

🎶 When this night is nearly ending / Rewind the clock, rewind now / The forbidden games and this magic hour

As we said, TXT move to Magic Island during the sunset, but when night falls they are forced to return to the real world. And so, they roll back the clock (or restart the game) to return, something they shouldn't do ("forbidden games") since this way they are stuck in a loop of childhood, but they should grow up.

– RUN AWAY JAPANESE VER.

The video introduces us to the concept that the fantasy aspect of the story doesn't happen in real life: Magic Island is actually the location of the game they play after school to escape their reality. I still haven't deepened this one, so this is all i'm gonna say about it!

– THE DOOM'S NIGHT

This is where The Dooms Night animation comes in, summarizing their story in all its versions.

Details we are interested in:

connects to Webtoon/webnovel for the idols using magic;

there is an 18-sided dice which symbolizes the parallel universes, and it’s magical: it can open portals and show visions of the future to Soobin, the one who finds it;

Kai is approached by an evil shadow in a moment of "weakness": it's a temptation that is trying to bring out the bad side of him.

Yeonjun makes a deal with the Cat: what is it about? Relating to the Webtoon/Wattpad, having more power to protect and save his friends from enemies, but it comes at a price...

we see TXT playing as children, each of them has a role in the game:

Yeonjun = paladin/knight

Soobin = elf archer/ranger

Beomgyu = druid/mentalist

Taehyun = sorcerer/adventurer

HueningKai = mystic/bard

there's the dragon, and it turns out that the weapon to defeat him is "the song of a star" aka the promise they made as children.

Next we have...

THE DREAM CHAPTER: ETERNITY

– CAN'T YOU SEE ME

🎶 Can’t you see me? / Like on that magical day, say “Believe me” / (…) My friends don't understand me, no 🎶

Remember when with Run Away we talked about Soobin not being able to open up to the members about his dreams? Well, this makes him feel isolated, distance is created between the group as time goes by because everyone feels there are secrets between them. In the video we see exactly that.

Details we are interested in:

"who's a liar? " sings Soobin, and in the choreography he crosses his fingers behind his back: he is the liar, because he doesn't open up completely with the others and therefore omits knowledge that concerns them all.

the lyrics refer to the promise they made as children, e.g. "like on that magical day, say believe me"

Beomgyu with the red light = his dark side. Beomgyu is another member of the group who feels left out, we'll go into that later with another song. Also, him being a druid, which is related to nature, explains his duality: he can be the kindest and most caring person in the world (healing nature), but at the same time he can become violent (cruel nature): we see him smothering Taehyun with a blanket. Why him? The two often clash in the storyline, as we will again see, because they see things and act in opposite ways. It could also be because Taehyun discovered a secret of Beomgyu and the latter feels threatened.

Yeonjun whose hands are covered in tomato sauce, which stands for blood: Yeonjun tries to protect the group and, although his intentions are good, he gets into big trouble putting them all in danger. When fire appears in the video it is particular linked to Yeonjun (the oven, the house on fire), reconnecting to what we said earlier with Run Away. Yeonjun says "save me": he begs to save him from it all.

In the bridge Soobin sings "bad bad, hoping this is just a painful dream". In the concept trailer of this album there is Drama playing in the background, and the only line sung is "I dreamed this drama": Soobin's dreams are coming true, being premonitions.

In the final pose of the choreo, if you look closely, it seems that they are removing masks from their faces: each of them is wearing a mask because they are not sincere with the others, their dark side takes over.

– ETERNALLY

🎶 please stop this recurring nightmare everynight / tell me the meaning of this sad dream / my heart deep in this memory maze, save me 🎶

There is a LOT to say here. The video (which is 19 minutes, after all) is divided into sections and we're going to follow them.

1) Night of the Last day

First of all we see TXT with their monstrous features in a dark version, they are in a stadium destroyed by the dragon (as seen in The Doom's Night we talked about earlier). Soobin looks around and has a book in his hand, takes it to Yeonjun but sees him wounded and gets scared, waking up: this is one of Soobin's visions of the future, the Doom’s Day in which they will have to face their worst enemy.

This song is also connected to the Webtoon/Wattpad because we see TXT as idols in the video. Now, when the alarm goes off in the rehearsal room, not just Soobin, but everyone has visions. Important details:

the clock goes back from 10 to 9 with the second’s hand;

Soobin sees writing on the glass that says "Remember my name".

2) Song of a Star

Soobin finds himself in an amusement park and finds the magic dice on the ground. Then, a little boy arrives: it's HueningKai as a child, Soobin recognizes him by the way he wears his shoes. This upsets him, due to the fact that he doesn't remember the past and doesn't fully understand those dreams that are exhausting him.

A ghost girl comes to console him. As we said before, TXT think that their crush is salvation, that's why they identify the "girl" with the Star. But she's also a representation of MOAs who stand by TXT’s side and support them.

3) Promises

Yeonjun finds himself in the destroyed stadium and sees himself dead as well as the eyes of the Cat. He sees the consequences of his actions.

At the end of his section it reads: "I thought it was salvation, then": Yeonjun is going to think that the pact is the way to save himself and the others, when instead is going to bring them more harm.

3) Room n.17

Beomgyu is in the midst of infinite mirrors, a reference to the parallel universes, but also to the reflection of himself and therefore to its doppelganger, its dark side which we talked about earlier. The mirrors then turn into a door, number 17, and he peeks inside seeing a future version of himself trying to protect a book from an unidentified person who wants to get it. Suddenly the rage becomes such that thorns sprout on his back. The present Beomgyu takes out his phone to film, while the other Beomgyu appears to have attacked and knocked out the enemy, before turning right at the camera.

5) Moratorium* of Rest

(*a period of time during which a particular activity is stopped)

Taehyun ends in a flower meadow in the dark. In the distance he spots a familiar figure: it's Yeonjun. He calls him but he doesn't answer: realizing that there is something strange he approaches him. Yeonjun is unconscious, wounded in the throat and covered by brambles and flowers: it's a similar scene to the one we saw in The Doom's Night animation, only that here Yeonjun is dead, confirmed by the flowers that change into a skull.

At the end of his section it reads: "We will find a way" (to save Yeonjun and all of them too)

5) Girl of Eternity

HueningKai looks at the door Soobin disappeared from earlier, yelling his name. When he crosses the threshold, he finds himself in a corridor similar to the one Soobin went through: it is reminiscent of the effect that distorts surroundings into lines when traveling very fast, usually at the speed of light, through space-time. This makes me think that this is set in a more distant future.

Then stairs appear with a door at the top: once opened, he finds himself in the sky, and in front of him there's another door suspended in the air, from which the rest of the group comes out. Kai tries to walk in the void to reach them and his feet find a surface that undulates like water.

I still haven't fully understood the meaning of Kai's vision, also because it seems connected with the new chapter, The Name Chapter.

7) Beginning of the End

Finally, TXT are all back in the rehearsal room, the clock starts ticking forward again, and Soobin re-emerges through the door of the room. Everyone seems to not remember their visions (like it always happens with the memories when they leave Magic Island) and goes back to what they were doing before. Soobin, on the contrary, looks at the dice in his hand and at the mirror. Beomgyu films him. The song restarts during its dark verse: on the other side of the mirror is the dark side of TXT.

– PUMA

🎶 West side, east side / Didn't know where to, where to go / West side, east side / It doesn't matter anymore 🎶

It is about a real event: a puma was shot dead by the police after escaping from its enclosure at Daejeon Zoo in September 2018. In addition to taking part in the protest for the incident, "the perspective of the puma finally gaining freedom only to meeting its tragic ending depicts the harsh reality that the TXT members have experienced since they debuted in March 2019, where they were faced with heavy scrutiny from people online as Big Hit Entertainment's latest boy group after BTS." (c. Genius lyrics) This can be found in particular in Yeonjun's rap.

🎶 Still too young to stand alone / This world is a jungle full of warriors / The sight is aiming at your throat / A thousand eyes are accessing the internet / Be careful, your enemies spread in an instant / How long does it take to reach your dream? / Only gunshots spread with that question all the time / So that I can continue to breathe, again run up 🎶

For the storyline it is relevant because it is linked to what we said before with Angel or Devil: the crossroad at which TXT find themselves, having to decide whether to stay on the "good" path or move to the "bad" one. With Puma they seem to chose the second one: they are rebelling and escaping in search of freedom, however dangerous it may be. In fact, they end up making the deal with the Cat, that promises more power and freedom when he actually has them under its control.

– DRAMA JAPANESE VER.

Many theorize that it is set in a parallel universe, in any case it is linked to what is told and seen in CYSM. In the video Beomgyu joins the group but is usually not included in the activities and left behind. He abruptly realizes it when he falls off his bike and the others don't go to help him as he would like/dream.

I put Drama at the end and not before because it connects perfectly to the next song, where we see Beomgyu being the target of others' jokes and feeling left out...

MINISODE1: BLUE HOUR

– BLUE HOUR

🎶 In that sky / The orange-glowing magic / Before it comes to an end / Freeze this moment / I wanna stay here / In the gap between the two worlds / I wanna be trapped in magic / Clue to stop the sun 🎶

TXT are at Magic Island sitting in a tree that refers to that of the Lost Boys of Peter Pan. The song revolves around 5:53, when the sun sets in October in Korea, the blue hour in which, as we said, you can cross the border between the magical world and the real one. TXT would like to always stay at Magic Island, not by continuing rewinding the time (or replaying the game) but stopping it (stay inside the game forever), but they can't do that.

🎶 The glow of the sunset on my time machine / I know it that the end will come / The sun is down, down / Before you disappear into the night / I take you into my eyes 🎶

Once the night falls, Magic Island shuts down, and we know that means they have to go back to the real world. Beomgyu, who sings "I know that the end will come", seems to be the only one who is fully aware of it, an important detail for the future.

🎶 At the hour between dog and wolf 🎶

Is a very interesting line: this expression is taken from a French saying “L'heure entre chien et loup” and refers to the moments after sunset when the sky darkens and vision becomes unclear, making it difficult to distinguish between dogs and wolves, friends and foe (c. Genius lyrics annotations). We said that TXT are doubting their friendship after all.

But this also connects to the fight between their "good" and "bad" sides: we said that the docile and obedient "dog" is the "good side", while the wild and dangerous "puma", and in this case the "wolf", represents the "bad side".

In the beginning, Soobin sings:

🎶 I really hate the awkwardness, I just laugh / Baby, I know we were special 🎶

Refers to the tensions that now characterize the dynamics of the group. They look back with nostalgia to the days when this was not the case.

🎶 That look in your eyes, like an emptied gift box 🎶

This instead refers to the real name of one of the members 👀 we'll talk about it later.

At the end of the music video we see that autumn has come to Magic Island: the end of their youth is approaching and they can't help it.

– BLUE HOUR JAPANESE VER.

Very similar to the Korean one and I haven't delved into it yet, so let's move on for now.

– WE LOST THE SUMMER

🎶 Cause we lost the summer / When we lost each other / Return my seasons / Oh, it's all gone 🎶

It's not only a song perfectly depicting teenagers and young adults (but adults as well) feelings during the COVID19 Pandemic, it also references their storyline.

We saw that with Blue Hour autumn arrived, and We Lost The Summer brings winter... it's time to explain the seasons motif!

In literature and art, often the seasons have been used as a metaphor for the stages of life:

spring/summer = youth, adolescence

autumn/winter = growth, ageing, adulthood

So, Blue Hour announces that their time on Magic Island, and therefore as children, is coming to an end, and that they will have to face the transition to winter, to adulthood. They're losing the "summer" of their life, and that means losing their escape, Magic Island, as well, because it's not enough anymore for them to escape reality, as we will deepen with The Chaos Chapter and The Name Chapter.

The lyrics focus on the seasons motif for growing up and on the loss of Magic Island:

We also see s blue butterfly, related to Beomgyu but also Taehyun: in Native American cultures it symbolize the transition from summer to winter.

🎶 We lost the sunset, now don't know what to do / Our time has lost the weather / I'm standing still in winter / Eternal winter / I want to see you again, our bright summer / Long gone we lost the summer 🎶

The loss of Magic Island in real life context can be interpreted as TXT not being able to play the game because everywhere is closed due to lockdown, included the arcade where we saw them play in Run Away Japanese version!

Another detail: mirrors are also included, which, especially in the final scene where Yeonjun looks through it in the dark, refers to their dark sides. These are triggered by the loss of Magic Island, the place where they usually can escape together to avoid being crushed by reality, but now can't reach for two reasons: first, adulthood is approaching, second, the lockdown forces TXT to separate and only see eachother through a screen.

THE CHAOS CHAPTER: FREEZE

The title of this album references two things:

The arrival of winter and therefore their adulthood

The "fight, flight or freeze" instinctive response of our bodies and minds to danger and stressful situations. According to the title, TXT's response to their reality is going to be "freeze" aka the inability to move or act against it, but it's going to be "flight" as well, as we see in...

— 0X1=LOVESONG

TXT are now stuck in reality dealing with the problems that characterise the transition from adolescence to adulthood, but that doesn't mean they have abandoned the magical fantasies that give them comfort.

The main character of this music video is Yeonjun. We see him alone at home, playing videogames to distract himself while his parents are fighting. He then decides to escape by stealing his parents car keys and go for a ride. We see him with the members, but at the end of the music video it is actually revealed that he was alone the whole time: Yeonjun was imaging being with his friends, who turn reality into a fantasy when they escape together. This doesn't mean that the others are gone or dead, they're simply not together, missing eachother and going through the same kind of despair, depression, loneliness, as we can interpret from the clips where they're all separated but together with the others in the distance.

We also see Yeonjun alone in his room watching his fish inside the aquarium, and, later on, one ends up in his room: Yeonjun is imagining of being inside the aquarium. That's the same thing that happens with TXT seeing fish over them while in the pool, and with Kai seeing it on the sky: the aquarium represents the comforting fantasy they run away to. They can't go to Magic Island, so they imagine it.

Yeonjun gets so lost in his fantasy that, when Taehyun falls into the pool and then removes his cast, Yeonjun snaps out of it and doesn't see the fish anymore: he's now imaging his friends being there with him as he wishes. Fantasy and reality are mixing together.

He then starts dancing, and this is a reference to a movie called "Days of Being Wild", where music and dancing is used as a way of expressing the isolation, solitude, lack of direction and belonging, experienced by the characters. That's why Yeonjun walks into complete darkness: he's falling into the black hole of emptiness inside himself, the hole that is referenced in the quote in the beginning of the music video.

Unlike the video, which focuses on friendship bringing relief and happiness, the lyrics tells us about the crush we mentioned at the beginning:

🎶 In this world of zero / I know you're my one and only / In this endless darkness like / Oh my god, so holy / From the tip of my fingers / Everything runs far away / My life before you was a mess / Couldn't win one round of this chess 🎶

TXT believe that their salvation is given by the love they feel for this person. They are used to being "losers" in this life, but they feel like "winners" with them.

🎶 Now I can't stop thinking 'bout you / When I'm sinking alone / Angel who one day appeared to me / Take me away to your hometown / I know it's real, I can feel it 🎶

The pre-chorus references their friendship as well, though: in the music video we see that Yeonjun is "sinking alone" while thinking about his friends, and the "angel" is the same referenced in Crown and in Nap of A Star: it's TXT, and especially Hueningkai, that saved him when he was in his lowest point, sharing his burden. The "take me away to your hometown" could also be interpreted as asking the others to escape together at Magic Island, that feels like a home to them.

🎶 I'm full of problems, love sick / No way to go / I was fine to die / I'm a loser in this game / The only (one) rule of this world / Save me / Take my hand / Please use me like a drug (I know I love you) 🎶

The chorus is foreshadowing for The Name Chapter: Temptation, TXT are willing to be used and consumed by this love in order not to suffer anymore. "Save me" recalls Can't You see Me.

THE CHAOS CHAPTER: FIGHT OR ESCAPE

– LO$ER=LO♡ER

is a prequel-sequel of 0x1=Lovesong! Especially because in the music video we see how Taehyun got hurt and his "LOSER/LO♡ER" signature on the cast was made.

( work in progress )

Frost's music video then came out, anticipating and connecting to the new chapter of the story, The Name Chapter! It's part of The Chaos Chapter, but I think storyline-wise its music video comes after, because the events it contains depend on discoveries that are going to be made during The Name Chapter. Let's talk about Minisode 2 before talking about it then!

MINISODE2: THURSDAY'S CHILD

– GOOD BOY GONE BAD

– GOOD BOY GONE VAD JAPANESE VERSION

THE NAME CHAPTER

– CONCEPT TRAILER

First of all, it's important to specify that it doesn't only concern the album that will be released now, Temptation, but also the following ones that will be part of this chapter (two more mini-albums are expected, like for The Dream Chapter).

We've already mentioned Peter Pan a couple of times before: their story, with the fear of growing up, taking refuge in a magical world that you don't want to leave (Neverland), the temptations to stay there are all clear references to it.

This new chapter is heavily inspired by fairytales, not only Peter Pan, but others as well, such as Alice in Wonderland and Land of Oz.

Let's analyze what happens in the video, going over things we've already seen and adding more...

1) we are at sunset = blue hour = the moment in which one can pass between reality and the magical world;

2) eyes of two different colors = Cat, the creepy smile references Alice's cat. Cat by the window: who is at the window calling the Lost Boys? Peter Pan, who tempted them to go to Neverland, like the Cat tempted TXT to go to Magic Island.

3) blue/purple tunnel/portal: open passage to Magic Island, we saw it in The Dooms Night and we will see it again shortly;

4) we hear a whistle: it is the "call of the devil" (in the past, whistling was associated with the devil), the one who tempts TXT, therefore always the Cat;

5) we hear a reading of the original dark version of Peter Pan and see Yeonjun=Wendy manipulated and tempted by the Cat=Peter Pan;

6) Yeonjun/Wendy brings the rest of TXT (Wendy's siblings), and the Cat/Peter Pan "teaches" them to fly: instead of Tinkerbell's pixie dust, he uses a red potion, connected to the Webtoon/Webnovel. TXT now fly to Magic Island/Neverland;

7) while the narrator says that "Forever will never end (at Neverland/Magic Island)", Beomgyu looks at us and he's the only one who does it, like in Blue Hour: he's the only one of the group aware that sooner or later they will have to leave the magical world.

8) Remember we talked about mirrors and bad alter egos? We see TXT with their doppelgangers, which have the black feathers and masks we had symbolically seen in CYSM, on opposite sides of the mirrors (=the hangers).

Let's analyze the choreography:

The good/white TXTs move and the bad/black TXTs copy them, but then the blacks grab them by the arm and take their place. The good/white TXTs then enter the same side as the bad/black TXTs and HueningKai guides them to put the mirrors one after the other in line: what we saw with Beomgyu in Eternally. Now, if you think about it, even when you go to a place (it is frequent in elevators) where two mirrors are positioned opposite to each other, they create a potentially infinite corridor whose end you cannot see. Remember the chalk lines Kai drew around the school in Run Away? HueningKai locks himself and TXT inside a labyrinth.

Here they fight, first their own dark sides and they win: this should mean that their dark sides are now totally part of them, and therefore TXT can switch from one side of the mirror to the other freely, without being tempted or deceived by anyone: they are the ones who choose it. TXT have embraced their inner Peter Pan, rather than totally rejecting it.

But then, they fight among themselves and the order in which they do it is important:

Yeonjun and Kai, being the most tempted, unite;

Kai fights himself, his fully good side specifically;

After that, Kai collides with Soobin and prevails, (temptations prevail over knowledge);

Followed by Beomgyu, who instead manages to prevail over Kai (awareness of having to leave Neverland prevails over the desire to stay);

Kai is replaced by Taehyun, the one who saw the darkest premonition. The two fight until Beomgyu prevails (the awareness prevails over the fear of leaving), or, perhaps, Taehyun surrenders;

Finally, Beomgyu passes to the other side of the mirror to find only his reflection on the opposite side, which does not react to a possible attack: he hasn't to fight with himself because he always accepted the reality of things.

(I used colors to try making this less confusing, hope it helped 🥲)

Based on this fight, I already connected the names of the versions (Daydream, Nightmare, Farewell, Lullaby) of the album TNC: Temptation with each member, here. I recommend you to read it but only AFTER this summary, because we still need to talk about their "true names".

NOW, the fight scene it's a vision of the future that is not Soobin's, but Beomgyu's, who then opens his eyes.

TXT are now in a flying house, their refuge at Magic Island (which refers to the Lost Boys tree, but also to Dorothy's house from the Wizard of Oz). The house begins to collapse: Magic Island is no longer safe, they destroyed it too many times while rewinding time/replaying the game: they can't postpone growing up anymore.

It is also a metaphor for the tensions within the group, the things left unsaid, the secrets, the isolation, which have led to deep rifts in the friendship between the boys.

Soobin urges the group to leave and everyone follows. Last one is Kai who jumps… ready to enter the labyrinth.

– NEW LOGO VIDEO

Another important detail for what will happen in Temptation has been included in the new logo video! Translation of what Yeonjun says, both in reverse and played normally:

1) “You run after the shadow uselessly”: refers to the shadow that Peter Pan keeps losing. In the beginning of the concept trailer Yeonjun=Wendy is the only one without a shadow: he is losing it like Peter because of the temptations. Talking about it is his bad side, driven by temptations.

2) “It's sweet, but I should find my name": Yeonjun’s good side says that temptation is sweet, but he knows he has to resist and find a way to do it. Why does he talk about "finding the name"?

Having knowledge of one's true name gives you power over them, and knowing your own true name enhances your power and gives you more control over yourself, making it harder to fall into temptation.

Often, in order to get out of a labyrinth, to pass over an obstacle or solve a quest, you have to guess something, a secret word, usually by solving a riddle...

– FROST

🎶 Drawn by the name, I stand in chaos /My fate is what? What's the right answer, really / In an unfamiliar name / There's fate or something else / Meanings that I don't understand 🎶

(I can't add the full lyrics here lol, but I truly recommend you fully read them because they are very exhaustive!)

It's strongly related to the Webtoon/Wattpad storyline, and it's very important to The Name Chapter because it relates to the theme of "true names".

In the video, the spring nature of Magic Island (which we see in the photos of Temptation, Daydream version) freezes: winter arrives, and so their adulthood.

In the video we see TXT escaping from the portal while it's snowing, but then we go back to the past, when they go to Magic Island before it freezes...

Soobin finds a purple/blue glass sphere: it has the same colors as the portal, and what did we say creates/opens portals? The dice.

Taehyun's eye shines purple/blue: his special feature.

Kai finds a playground-style game (a reference to childhood) and sees blue butterflies.

Yeonjun finds a dog, and we'll come back to this shortly.

Beomgyu turns towards us spectators, again, and a gust of wind carries away the flowers. On Magic Island there are dry leaves on the ground, it's Autumn

Then, all together they find a fortune teller's tent, who gives them cards that make them have visions that symbolize their "true names". In the Webtoon/Wattpad novel they are given the riddles to interpret to find out what they are:

Soobin = "the one who is believed by no one"

Yeonjun = "the one who shall not eat dogs"

Beomgyu = "what was in the deepest part of the box"

Taehyun = "the one hanging upside down from an old tree with deep roots"

Hueningkai = "the one who builds the labyrinth"

In the visions of the video we see:

Yeonjun is in the desert surrounded by dog ​​footprints and has to fight against a huge sand snake to survive (the snake of Adam and Eve = the temptations = the Cat);

Taehyun hanging from the tree and then falling down;

Kai with mirrors. The mathematical formulas reference designing the construction of the labyrinth. He is tempted by his doppelganger, enters the mirror and chases it. In the end he, that has now both sides of himself united, breaks the mirror and exits.

Soobin is in a place on fire, sees a rideable horse for children and through the glass sphere/dice he sees a child riding it: the visions of their childhood being in danger.

Beomgyu and the looped box: after all the things that come out, what remains is only him... did you understood what it could be? 👀 (we'll explain it in a second)

TXT wake up and winter has arrived on Magic Island: they escape and with the portal they return to the real world. But Taehyun takes away one item from Magic Island: the fortune teller's BOOK. What Soobin has and Beomgyu protects in Eternally!

We find it again in the Webtoon and in the webnovel: it is a very ancient and powerful spell book that Taehyun studies and uses. It can also be seen in his hand in The Doom's Night when TXT play with each other as children.

— TXT's TRUE NAMES

Their real names, and therefore the solution of the riddles, were actually revealed in their early days, in their individual debut trailers via morse code: they have been under everyone's noses since the start...

Soobin = Tomorrow (based on a Greek myth: Cassandra had the power of foresight, so she had visions of the future, but she wasn't believed by anyone)

Hueningkai = Secret (refers to the Greek myth of the Minotaur, a "monster" that resembles TXT due to its peculiar characteristics, because it was a boy born with a bull's head. He was the son of King Minos, who had a labyrinth built to hide him, also hiding the secret of escape it)

Beomgyu = Hope (the box is that of Pandora, who after opening it unleashes all the evils in the world, and the thing that is at the bottom of it and will come out after everything else is hope. And we have seen that Beomgyu is the last one left after the fights to escape the labyrinth: he is the group last hope.)

Yeonjun = Promise (the riddle is a saying that stands for humans who behave like animals and are willing to use even cruel means to get what they want: what Yeonjun shouldn't do)

Taehyun = Clue (referring to Odin, the Nordic god who hung himself upside down on Yggdrasil, the sacred tree that held up the cosmos, to obtain the "clue", the runes, which would give him all the wisdom and ability to be able to develop writing)

– 0X1=LOVESONG Japanese ver

I think it sees TXT falling down to reality from Magic Island, after they abondoned it once and for all. While they are performing they all have blood in their uniforms: they're all rather dead or injuried at the end of the game. Beomgyu is the only one in an hospital: he's the only survivor, the only player with still some HPs left, after all, we saw that he won over the others in The Name Chapter Concept trailer. Taehyun, on the contrary, has angel wings and in the end he disappeared, leaving his uniform behind surrounded by feathers on the ground: he fully died during the game, perhaps sacrificing himself. A bit more about this, here.

Now they are back to the real world, forever.

And we have, for now, reached the end of our journey! Now we just have to wait and see what The Name Chapter will bring us in detail (and see if my headcanons and theories are right lol).

Thank you so much for reading!!

READ NEXT -> The Name Chapter: Temptation Analysis

Masterlist

[onedreamseeker]

WE WIN QUEER MOAS WIN AGAIN OH THEYRE INSANEEE FOR THIS

[remofastar]

ᵈʳᵉᵃᵐᵉʳ ʷⁱᵗʰ ᵐᵉᵐᵒʳⁱᵉˢ ᵒᶠ ˢᵗᵃʳˢ

✩*⢄⢁✧ about me !

katerina, 20, she/her, infp, capricorn

side blog of @dejagyu i'll prob just post star seekers fics and hcs lol

✩°｡⋆ faves !

txt (gyu biased), illit (moka & minju biased), aespa (winter biased) star seekers (viken biased ?), w.i.t.c.h, ninjago, hetalia

credit to the creator of the dividers i forgot sorry !!

[em1221]

even though nobody else knew,

the stars did

and in that very moment

that was more than enough.

[dejagyu]

here me out....star seekers fanfics????

[wisdomfish]

[taebinstarseeking]

Taho / Taehyun

Taho (타호, Taho) is one of the five main protagonists of the original story THE STAR SEEKERS. He is a wizard owl and member of the tier two idol group Star One.

Hangul : 타호 Alias(es) : Kang Taehyun (former name)

Biographical information

Occupation : Idol singer

Affiliation :

Star One

UVIC Entertainment

Status : Alive

Physical appearance

Species : Wizard Owl Gender : Male Hair color : Sky blue Eye color : Sky blue

Skills information

Abilities :

Interpret magic books

Appearances Portrayed by

Taehyun

First seen

Questioning film - What do you see? (credits for info and pics here)

Lore obtained information

(all the next info is out of theories or they aren't completely confirmed, so have that in mind when reading this)

Code name: clue (-.-. .-.. ..- .) (taken from Morse code in the 'questioning film' teaser)

Pain: eye (right)

Color: purple (from the chasing that feeling mv) or red (from the +u concept pics)

(for the sake of representing every member with a color we'll use the chasing that feeling mv colors for each member since in the +u ones the colors are repeated)

[staram17]

original card below

birthday trading card 4/5 🌌

(happy extremely late birthday taho, I got caught up with stuff)

[thesunshinenotebook]

Sugar Rush Ride Japanese version mv theories!

Starting at the beginning, Yeonjun is driving alone at night. Rather than trying to fit this into a set timeline, I think the idea is deja vu throughout the story, or just a synopsis of what's going on in general. Being a new version of Sugar Rush Ride, it could very well be a different perspective on that same story, a more detailed picture of the events. There are references to other mvs all throughout, starting with the car (Lovesong, Loser=Lover, GBGB Jp. Version), the fish (Lovesong, GBGB Jp. Version), the money (Loser=Lover, GBGB Jp. Version) and the butterfly (Sugar Rush Ride). These things show the fluid nature of the story and timeline. The fish in particular is a sign that at this point Yeonjun is conflicted, caught between beauty and danger. The butterfly distracts Yeonjun until he spins out of control, crashing the car again.

Beomgyu wakes up on the ground next to a bike, but unscathed. Another mv reference (Drama, Loser=Lover, GBGB Jp. Version), which shows that Beomgyu is yet again alone and neglected. He tries to get back on the bike again, but fails. Then he gets angry and throws the bike. This is a departure from the established pattern, meaning he knows it's a problem, that he can't keep giving everything for the others and that they can't necessarily be trusted. It's also exactly how he shows his anger in Loser=Lover, though, meaning he's hit rock bottom, back at the same place he started in. Nothing has really changed.

Taehyun is sitting in the bathtub looking depressed. Water again symbolizing contrast and uncertainty, Taehyun is feeling conflicted about everything that's happened. His scenes are mixed with Beomgyu's, and when Beomgyu throws the bike, it goes through what looks like a bathroom mirror, which seems to connect with Taehyun. Taehyun knows that Beomgyu needs help, and so while Yeonjun and Beomgyu are being led into temptation by the purple butterflies, Taehyun willingly sinks into the water to join them.

Shockwaves ripple through Taehyun's chest. Maybe it's his magic, or maybe it's just intuition, but he knows. Beomgyu is in danger. He remembers the last time he saw the older, riding off on his bike. Alone. They'd all been a little preoccupied at the time, trying desperately to escape, so he hadn't really thought about it. Beomgyu never was great at balancing. That isn't Taehyun's main concern, though. He's sure Beomgyu can bounce back from a physical injury. Still: Alone. Could anyone escape the clutches of imagination without help? Without a doubt, Taehyun knows where Beomgyu is headed. Without a doubt, that's where he's going to follow. Taking a deep breath, Taehyun slides under the water. It's time to go back to the Magic Island.

The water also transitions to Kai, who is standing in the rain. He even cups the water in his hands, further proof that he's behind the illusions, and has some inside knowledge. It could be that the transition means that Taehyun told Huening Kai to bring them all in. Maybe Huening knows something, and now Taehyun knows that he knows, and now they're trying to save them all, because Taehyun isn't going to let Beomgyu get lost on Magic Island alone.

Meanwhile, Soobin is sitting in some sort of corridor looking incredibly miserable when he, too, sees the butterfly that leads him away.

Even in the water, Taehyun's eyes are open and clear. He knows what he's doing. He isn't being tempted, he's trying to save everyone else. There's a brief second where Beomgyu is going towards a cage. While Taehyun is trying to save him, Beomgyu is effectively getting himself caught in a trap. The trap in question is probably using an old, dangerous habit to try to change a new problem, as well as practically getting trapped on Magic Island. 

Yeonjun is the last of the boys to wake up when they make it to the island; the others find him and Soobin helps him up. There's a time of peace as they explore the island. We see proof that the trees and the ground are alive and moving. The island itself is alive. We can assume, then, that, like a living person, the island has both good and evil within it. Kai finds a berry on the ground and smashes it against a tree, leaving a purple smudge with a butterfly outline, building up the evidence for Kai being the culprit.

Though on the island, Soobin's eyes are clear, meaning he isn't being tempted; he is actually present in reality. It might be because he's with Taehyun. He picks up a white feather (another thing we've seen before in Lovesong Jp. Version and GBGB Jp. Version), which can symbolize peace, hope, innocence, and protection. Basically, when they are united together, temptation can't hurt them, and the island is a safe place. This is why we see scenes of the five of them playing around happily. 

Still, there's something watching them, or watching Taehyun, specifically. Maybe it's the cat, or maybe it's the dragon, but either way it probably notices Taehyun because he's the one trying to fix it all. And so Taehyun decides it's time to escape now that they're all together. A car appears, probably from Taehyun's conjuring abilities, and everyone hops in. The feather is stepped on in the process, meaning they're leaning into dangerous territory again. Beomgyu sticks his hand out the window and causes ripples in the barrier between dream and reality. They're currently aware, running away back to the real world together.

It's fun, until the hairs on the back of Taehyun's neck stand up. They aren't alone. Company on this island isn't usually a good thing, but he isn't about to fall for any tricks this far in. Focusing his mental energy, he pictures a car in his mind's eye until the vehicle is really there. The boys hop in with enthusiastic shouts of, "Cool!" And, "Nice job, Taehyun!" Yeonjun hits the gas and Taehyun tries hard not to think about all of the cars the oldest has crashed. It's not like the rest of them even know how to drive. The barriers ripple around them as the drive far away. Leaving the illusions behind. In the past, they were running away from the world. Now they were running to it. Back to life and joy, back to reality.

That's when Kai lets the fish go, releasing his two-faced nature and dangerous motives. This seems to also relinquish whatever power he had to control the temptation before, which might be why a butterfly comes in and everyone is hit by tinnitus. Then they fall asleep, lost in the dream world again. All except Yeonjun.

Feathers fill the road ahead, because their hope can't be discarded that easily, and their bond is still protecting them. Yeonjun spikes the brakes, which wakes everyone else up. They're now back in the real world. 

At the very end, Taehyun notices a cut on Yeonjun's hand, probably from the car crash at the beginning, and gives him a band-aid. This parallels when Beomgyu did the same thing back in Run Away. Now Taehyun probably borrows Beomgyu's healing powers, because he doesn't want Beomgyu to go back to the same place he was before, trying to help everyone at his own expense.

The story ends on a hopeful note, the five boys together and safe.

Huening Kai locks eyes with Beomgyu, smiling slightly. The older looks tired, but then they all do. He returns the smile. Yeonjun has his arm over Taehyun's shoulder, and Soobin stands at the end of the line watching over them all. They gazed into the distance. "We made it?" Beomgyu says it like a question, even though he knows it's true.

"We made it," Yeonjun nods. He taps Taehyun on the shoulder, a sign that he knows who's responsible for their safety.

[binniesoob]

The Name Chapter: Freefall Logo Analysis and Predictions

uh? who would have thought, not me 🥸

you guessed it, it's TXT LORE O'CLOCK! let's start with the new logo motion because there's already a bunch to unpack here 👀

we see the Star shining brightly behind the Temptation logo

the Temptation logo literally disintegrates and the original one, the "X", shows up below it: TXT are now free from Temptation, it's not making their brain foggy anymore, the fake fantasy they were in is dissolving. This was represented in the Farwell, Neverland poster as well (in a sec we'll go back to it)

the logo is FREE FALLING, exactly what TXT are doing: falling back down to earth from Neverland ...and it's not a nice fall, they literally shatter the ground 🥲 we saw some big damage made after a fall like this already 👀 it was in Ox1=Lovesong Japanese Ver. music video (see picture below)

finally, the logo takes its new form, and so does TXT: let's put some bandages (literally Beomgyu) over those scars and OH LOOK THE STAR AGAIN!! Looks like TXT are finally going to remember their true names and the promise they made as children 😎

we also have the color palette for this album: blu as the sky, white as the star, brown/beige as the ground... the same palette they used for the 0x1=Lovesong music video now that i see the picture close to eachother 😮

Now, should we dive into a few more details and predictions for this upcoming album? 👀

During the T:Terview video for TNC: Temptation (minute 12:45) Taehyun gave a spoiler about the next album...

so let's analyze them!

1) CONCEPT TRAILER

You can find my full analysis of it here !

RECAP: after what we saw in Sugar Rush Ride, TXT should leave Neverland/Magic Island because they're too grown up now to keep living in that fantasy. In the concept trailer it's when they jump out of the falling house, the fall back from their hideout in Neverland to the real world... BUT, they'll all have to fight eachother and their inner demons to accept the reality of things now, as we saw in Beomgyu's vision.

2) FAREWELL, NEVERLAND

1) this was my analysis of its poster:

Because of the symbolism of the butterfly and the seasons motif (see my summary for my explanation), since in Sugar Rush Ride it was summer in Neverland, i think that in the next album we are going to have autumn like in Blue Hour, or anyway colder weather.

*months later* And now, WHEN does the new album come out?? October 😌 the timeline is timelining.

HERE you can find my little analysis of the lyrics of Farewell, Neverland that i highly recommend reading :))

here's a little summary anyway:

🎶 Neverland, my love, goodbye now / And I'm free falling / Stars, sleep with comfort / 'Til I be calling 🎶

TXT accept that they have to leave Neverland and they fall back down to the real world. Yeonjun's says that "stars" can "sleep" comfortably until TXT are going to be "calling" them: this is of course a reference to the Star, that is still asleep and is going to wake up only when TXT sing the promise song.

In the concept trailer we saw that TXT are leaving Neverland at sunset, like they always do: Blue Hour is the time of the day when the border between the magical and the real world is tinner and they are able to travel between the two.

And what comes after sunset? Night, of course.

so now let's now take a look at...

3) FAREWELL CONCEPT PICS

First of all, it is night ✨ 👀

each one of them is holding a lantern like in this scene of Sugar Rush Ride:

I'm pretty sure the lantern references the Star, txt's guide/compass to move through life.

And let's not forget that to enter and exit Neverland in Peter Pan you need the "the second star on the right" and they're all holding the lantern with their right hand.

The fact that the night approaching in time is showed through the solo pictures in this exact order is not casual either: we have Yeonjun (there's still some light), Kai, Soobin, Beomgyu and Taehyun (it's pitch black).

Yeonjun true name is "promise": he has to be the one to keep hope alive in the group and persevere to find the star. While Taehyun saw the dangers the future holds through the premonitions (in Eternally mv) so he's not very hopeful towards it.

This is also the exact same order as that of TXT fighting in the labyrinth in Beomgyu's vision in the TNC concept trailer (i explained in the storyline summary):

Taehyun is last one who's defeated (or surrenders) and from the Farewell concept pics that's not looking so good... another interesting detail is that Taehyun's boat is the only one flipped around:

Seems like he's not going to make it, or rather his youth is not going to: he's the one that's going to fully lose his youthful self and fully face adulthood. This was hinted by his object in the Nightmare concept pics: an hourglass. He's afraid of time passing and aging, most of all.

literally.

AND, all of this also explains why in 0x1=Lovesong Japanese Ver. he has wings and disappears at the end of the music video!

If you read my summary you already know, but my theory is that 0x1=Lovesong Japanese music video (click to watch) fits after Temptation and comes with the second part of The Name Chapter. We literally see them falling from the sky! and now that we know that the next TNC album is called Freefall looks like the dots are connecting! 😈

Finally, let's unpack this silly little image they gave us in January...

Since Temptation, being the name of the first album of The Name Chapter, is written in cursive, a very diffused theory was that the words written in the same fonts were the titles of the next two albums: Promise and Unmagic...

LOOKS LIKE THEY FOOLED US🤡

i had a feeling they were deceiving us with this one, it couldn't be this easy, they couldn't have gave away such a big anticipation... but hey, these silly little words still have some kind of importance ☝👀

— Loadstar means "a star that leads or guides, especially (used for) the north star". We just talked about the Star symbolised by the lantern being their guide 👀👍

— Promise is the name of the train that took TXT to Magic Island/Neverland in Sugar Rush Ride, but it's also Yeonjun’s true name, and it refers as well to the promise TXT made with eachother and the Star... and it looks like, in the next album, TXT are finally going to remember it... CAN I GET AN HALLELUJAH? 👼🏻

So these signs were a summary: on Neverland's Ground, TXT are under Temptation through the Sugar Rush Ride. Nowhere can they found their Loadstar, but they need to remember the Promise they made with her. This will lead them Down to Eart, to a world of Unmagic.

And that's all I have for now!!

Thank you so much for reading, let me know your thoughts and theories if you have them, i'd love that 😊♡

Until next TXT LORE O'CLOCK, byeee take care!

READ NEXT -> The Name Chapter: Freefall Concepts Analysis

Masterlist

[1001galaxygal]

New txt album giving me vibes like: throwing up pink bc you ate too much cotton candy and neon green apple hard candy. Like the bitter and gross aftertaste of dark chocolate and colorful lights so bright that you can't actually see any thing, your stomach aching with the feeling that there's something watching you from behind but never quite catching sight of it. Of being caught with your hand in the cookie jar and knowing consequences are coming but not knowing when so you choose to indulge while you still have the chance.

[onedreamseeker]

On TXT's The Star Seekers, The Butterfly, and the Horror of Transformation

TXT’s new album comes out on Friday the 13th of October, which is like PRIME horror concept release date. So I was thinking horror concept? How could they tie that in with their storyline’s current themes about growing up, change, and transformation. The fall back to earth from the neverland of childhood. And I thought about the butterflies. 

Butterflies are most often a symbol of spring. Rebirth. Metamorphosis, Transformation. After the Frost comes the thaw and with it, the caterpillars tucked in their cocoons emerge, glorious, as butterflies. 

In the last few music videos but most notably in the sugar rush ride mvs, Butterflies as a symbol have taken center stage. So I thought about the butterflies. And i thought about transformation. And i thought about horror. 

Can you imagine *being* the caterpillar, suddenly overcome with the urge to cocoon yourself away, and how it feels to undergo physical and chemical changes you couldn’t understand? Coming out the other side.. Different, changed, unfamiliar.

Like waking up one day with horns on your head.

The Unfamiliar is the basis of horror and So many of our cultural monsters are predicated by the idea of Transformation as horrific. Think of werewolves, vampires, zombies, etc. To change or be changed is deeply disturbing to us. 

The first thing we learn about TXT’s universe is a transformation. Yeonjun wakes up with horns on his head, and he feels as though he is a different person, a monster. Changed. 

And its a metaphor for growing up, for that sudden first growth spurt, puberty. And its kind of meant to be cute! In a “oh no! I have horns now! This is a metaphor for puberty!!” kind of way. But the way its portrayed, especially in Nap Of a Star is Horrific. He runs away, freaks out, Rips one of his horns from his skull. And its Bloody. 

This is how I think TXT’s new album will explore horror. Not necessarily through direct horror imagery (though i do hope there is some of that), but through the inherent horror of growing up, of change, of admitting that you are not who you once were. 

In Temptation, the boys realize that Magic Island is all a pretty lie, and now they are going to Freefall back to earth, to reality. And they will be Changed. They’ve finally acknowledged that they have to grow up, they can’t stay in the Chrysallis forever, and they are about to emerge. That is the horror I can’t wait for this new album to explore. 

[hhhoneyed]

narrative concepts in kpop are so under appreciated,, enhypen ateez txt come to mind first but there are definitely a ton more,, even concept wise they help endear me so much to the groups

enhypen especially ive come to appreciate so much more recently. ive always loved the group but when the dark blood teasers started coming out it reminded me how much i love their vampire concept and all i did for days was watch and read as much lore stuff as possible, alongside watching their regular group content which led into them joining my lineup of ults again. its definitely fine when they have slightly different concepts for music videos and stuff but i think the aesthetics were something that felt kind of missing from manifesto day 1 as fantastic as the album was

[dreamaze]

it's only the first 10 chapters . . .