#onlyoneof analysis

[junjiya]

chrOme hearts: choreography/starting position analysis

(A/N: hi! this is an older-ish analysis from when chrome hearts was first released. I originally uploaded this to my twitter, I’ve had this sitting in my drafts for a while to upload here and since I’m currently working on an updated be34 analysis I thought I’d finally post it here. this will basically just be a copy-pasted version of the analysis that you can find more easily here)

ok, so firstly, it’s essential to mention that this interpretation is inspired by @bearybluetea’s incredible analysis of the song and choreo. I’ll be taking inspiration from this part of the analysis specifically (x)

my interpretation is that the starting pose represents all the lovers that have been abused by the manipulative person referred to in the song.

the starting pose shows the lovers trying to hold back/save the current victim before they fall into chemical bath/chrome processing. other past lovers sit still as the metal has consumed them (abuse cycles, mental degradation) causing them to be frozen in place like statues

starting from the left side, kyubin and rie hold mill, the current lover/victim, by his hands to stop him from falling. mill is leaning forward as if he's been pushed or is on the very edge of the chemical bath, the only thing stopping him from falling is kyubin and rie

on the right we see nine, yoojung and junji. yoojung sits with his head lowered, defeated. nine is the only one who seems to be frozen in motion, his hand is extended out as if he is reaching for something. maybe he also tried to save someone but fell before he could save them

junji lies flat on his back, he is the one to break mill out of his submissive trance when he delicately waves his hand in front of his face. mill shakes his head violently, as if he's physically forcing his brain to "wake up" or shake off his state of mind/being

not central to the analysis, but i think it's nice to note the dramatic and dynamic posing of the beginning, it looks like it could be from painting depicting a tragedy. the staging even from the beginning really highlights onlyoneof and their team’s dedication to storytelling and attention to detail, especially through the medium of choreography

[staurora]

Skinz: One Year Later

It doesn’t matter who you are

It doesn’t matter whether you are black, white, Hispanic, Asian, male, or female.

I’m saying that your mere skin doesn’t matter.

All that matters is you.

Instinct Part.2 was released a little over a year ago, to a mixed reception. On the heels of a controversial Instinct Part.1 era, a steep climb in popularity, and then the sad and mysterious exit of leader and main vocalist Love, many fans were in a sensitive spot. The harsh, unforgiving soundscape of “Skinz” provoked mixed responses.

I’ll save my analysis of the Instinct albums for another day. For now, I want to analyze Skinz as a stand-alone entity.

The music video of Skinz tells a tale of obsession and delusion. A desperate and crude yet unapologetic kind of love and desire. Lyrically, it refers love as something parasitic, describing the intense desire to be as close to a loved one as possible, expressed in the lyrics:

“Face off. Show me what’s behind the mask, under skin”

“I can’t take it anymore

Dig deeper into my skin”

The music video seems to directly, purposefully contrast to the Libido video. Where Libido had a clear narrative with the members playing characters inside the story, Skinz steps out of it, going from a dreamlike fiction to something very close to reality. The members become more themselves. Idols, in their practice room, their van, their beach trip. Even the aspect ratio of the videos enforces this. Libido is cinematic, wide with black bars on the top and bottom. Skinz is full screen and opened up, a broader more lifelike perspective.

Additionally, the watcher is now given a perspective. You play a fan of OnlyOneOf. You watch their van. Your hands tweet about them.

The dark sound of the music video really struck me when I first watched. The English words like “parasite” and “delusion” and “underneath the skin” really popped out.

My immediate thought was a critique of obsessive fan culture, and I think that’s a large, important part of it for sure. The fan is watching OnlyOneOf from afar and desires to become closer, to know more, to see every little thing about their idols. It grows to a point of delusion, as referenced in the lyrics “Delusion in my head spread like a parasite”. The fan can barely tell reality from fiction, taking their joy from imagining themself being closer to OnlyOneOf, catching intimate moments they never would have seen before. Member A feeding member B! Member C being shirtless! And then they turn to the fan and pull them in to join the fun!

And the fan blinks back to reality, the bridge between these worlds always represented by the glitching of the music video and their phone screen. And they can feel satisfied having enjoyed time with the ones they love, as much as possible even if it’s only in their imagination.

Now, I use harsh language like delusion and obsession, but is it so severe? That’s… hard to say. I mean it must be right? How can you refer to this love as parasitic and delusional if it’s not a bad thing? But the description of the track, which I wrote at the top of the post, is so kind. The group is saying they love you, the fans, regardless of superficial things. Additionally, though the music is grating and dark, the moments imagined by the fan are not especially evil or invasive. It’s a vacation. Grilling outside and then walking and playing on the beach. The fan is watching OnlyOneOfs van in the beginning, but were they stalking it or did they happen across it?

I believe the morality of the fan is left intentionally vague because there are so many different fans with different beliefs and boundaries. There are fans who truly have problems with delusions or obsessiveness, and there are those who indulge a bit too much, and those who have the mental state to maintain well-drawn boundaries, and casual fans who would never think to cross any lines.

OnlyOneOf is acknowledging the state of Kpop fan culture, with little further commentary. Their clearest message is their description which I put at the very beginning of this analysis. To summarize it, “I love you, your mere skin doesn’t matter.”

That’s exactly what idols are for isn’t it? When someone is lonely, lacking friends or family or other relationships, when a kid needs someone to look up to, when someone’s life is stressful and their dreams seem unattainable, idols are meant to fill that gap.

(Well, they’re meant to make money for their company. But they wouldn’t make that money if they weren’t doing something beneficial for their fans.)

For me personally, idols have held many different roles. An inspiration to work hard, a muse, a companion when I’ve had no friends, a depiction of healthy masculinity… there is something very meaningful hiding beneath the scary fan culture and the money hungry companies.

It’s the relationship between fan and artist. A relationship which I feel is so perfectly captured in this video. Honestly, I’m so impressed looking at it after so much thought. The fan can be read as completely respectful and innocent, or someone as deeply bad and unhealthy as a sasaeng with serious problems.

In fact, I don’t think it needs to be one or the other. I think many fans engage in many different kinds of fan culture of varying degrees of respectfulness. It’s all based upon personal values and the depths of obsessiveness. I think that’s what’s really at the core of this video. That’s why this was truly a fear of artistry once again from the creative team.

I would love to hear any disagreements or additional points from other fans though if anyone would like to add on! I think there’s plenty more that could be analyzed here down to the smallest details!

I mean I’ve been holding these thoughts for… well, since the music video released. OnlyOneOf really has so much depth to their releases. Maybe next I’ll over analyze seoul collection or the underground idol universe or something.

[skinzchoerim]

I've got some stuff to add about the bridge.

"Tasty like a raindrop" is likely a reference to savanna and getting drenched after a long drought. I think the allegory of sex is clear enough here that I can operate solely on metaphors to explain it. A raindrop isn't something tasty in and of itself, but it can seem that way to someone who has been thirsty for a long time and now finds relief. The next line, "I can't get used to it at all", is another one of those lines which could refer to enjoying the experience - it tastes fresh and provides a dopamine rush each time - but not being able to get used to the taste might imply that it's not actually that tasty to him. It's a good way to quench the thirst when he has no other options, but it never starts to feel natural.

I briefly mentioned the line about being afraid of her leaving and what it would imply in the reading of the song in which the narrator is gay, but I want to add more thoughts with the added context of the final line of the bridge, "Give me a chance to kill my doubt." It just reads like he sees her as his last chance at heterosexuality, and he really wants to make this work so he can prove to himself he's straight.

I keep wanting to rant about give me the lOve bitxx, because I can't be the only one who finds this song inherently contradictory, right? Everything is at odds with itself, including the actions and thoughts of the narrator. I can't put my finger on his motivations, on which lines are sincere and insincere, and it's giving me a headache.

I'm always conflicted whether I should approach their songs about women with a queer lense or not. It makes sense to dig deeper into angel and the instinct part 1 songs where religious guilt ties in nicely with the queer themes, but obviously they have plenty of songs about women that don't require a look into the subtext and can be taken as what they are on the surface, aka bi anthems. In the case of this song, I think it makes the most sense to approach it through the lense of what they can't say, and the amount of internal conflict here feels very queercoded to me. On the one hand, it seems like it's from the perspective of someone who cares about the person he's singing about and is aware he wouldn't be a good partner because of his emotional issues, so he warns her not to get too close. On the other hand, it feels like the narrator isn't sure he's attracted to women and he feels annoyed with this woman who keeps clinging to him, but he admits he doesn't actually want her to leave, likely because he wants to maintain a veneer of "normalcy".

The sound of the song itself is sweet and innocent, but the title is passive aggressive. He demands to be given love even though the majority of the song focuses on pushing her away, and calling her a bitch comes across as resentment. The lyric beginning the song and every chorus is "don't make me pull the trigger", which is a very manipulative threat - he puts the blame for wanting to hurt her on her. As @atozmoongazer kindly pointed out to me, the imagery in the chorus is that of a holdup - freeze, give me your treasure, don't make me pull the trigger. The treasure in this case would likely be the titular love, and taking into account the rest of the song, he's not very keen on reciprocating it or treating it gently.

Her covering his mouth when he's talking could be read in two ways (once again thank you @atozmoongazer for pointing out to me what I missed - it's a reference to Yoojung's mouth being covered in the teaser, therefore a pretty important line). One interpretation is more literal, that she interrupts him, makes him feel like his words don't matter, maybe she prefers to kiss him instead of having a conversation, and all of that on top of the fact that he doesn't like how clingy she is results in him feeling bad and resentful in this relationship. The other interpretation is that he feels silenced whenever he's around her, and he blames her for his own inability to express what's on his mind. She could just be the scapegoat for everything and everyone else that's making him feel this way.

Even the lyrics that mention constantly thinking about her face and feeling strange could be read in two ways. The obvious one is that you normally think a lot about the person you like, but I know from experience how confusing it can be when you constantly think about a person you know you're supposed to like, but aren't sure you do. I spent a lot of time in the past going back and forth between "If I actually liked this person, I would know it and be certain of it, and since I'm constantly questioning whether my feelings are real or not, that means I clearly don't like them" and "I'm constantly thinking about them and wondering whether I like them or not, therefore I must like them since I've got this weird obsession with them". When he talks about hiding his feelings, playing dumb and feeling numb because of it, on the surface it might refer to making sure his romantic feelings don't show, but to me it feels much more like a continuation of the lines about feeling broken when they're near each other and continuing to put up with it.

Basically, I think this internal conflict and confusion are an intentional feature of the song, similarly to skinz. The narrator wants to hide behind a veneer of a sweet-sounding boy group love song and make sure you don't understand him just as much as he doesn't understand himself, but lying to the listener about everything makes him feel too silenced. Since he can't hold back all the negative feelings he's bottling up, it's easy to look through the cracks and catch a glimpse of everything waiting to pour out of him, and end up feeling just as conflicted and confused as he does.

[shadowetienne]

OnlyOneOf "give me the lOve, bitxx" Lyrical and Thematic Analysis

OK, so, I have a lot of thoughts about this one! I think that there are several ways to interpret it! So some notes before you start reading:

I am looking at this through a queer lens, if you want to do a non queer reading, good for you, that's not what I'm discussing here

Some of my interpretations are going to go multiple potential ways, and this isn't an essay I'm writing for school or actual publication, so I may leave some trailing thoughts or slightly stream of consciousness style explanations

I am fascinated by the lyrical structure of this song, so bear with the fact that I'm going to babble about that a bit before I dive into the details of lyrics/meanings.

If you've not listened to the song in full yet, here's the official version:

And here is the wonderful translation done by Imbabey on YouTube that I used for reference:

I would love to hear other people's thoughts on this song! It's fascinating to me, and I think that it's a really important part of the lyrical story of the album as a whole!

This is about to get really long, so the rest is under the cut:

SONG/LYRICAL STRUCTURE

So, I'm going to start out with talking about the construction of this song because I think that it's really interesting! We start and end the song with the chorus, and it repeats a total of 4 times within the song. That chorus takes up about half of the entire song! It's important and we should be paying attention to it.

We also have a 2 part Prechorus that repeats twice (before the 2nd and 3rd version of the Chorus) with the very first line of it changed each time. This is interesting in part because that's more repeated lyrics taking up a lot of the song, but that also points to that changed starting lyric as being super important!

Then we have our three other Verses: Verse 1 is short (only 4 lines), Verse 2 is longer with some rap and builds up to the development, and Verse 3 acts as the Bridge into the final chorus and has a really different sound to it. Verse 3/Bridge is also quite short (only 4 lines). So little of the total song is in these storytelling verses, but a lot happens!

THEMATIC CONNECTIONS

I will talk about more of these later, after I dig into the lyrics more specifically, but I want to reference a few songs that I will bring up in thinking about this one.

First off is actually one of their covers, KB and Junji's cover of "Heather":

While this song is a very different angle, like "give me the lOve, bitxx" I feel like it deals with the issues with dealing with being queer in a society that does not want you to be, and how that can build resentment. OnlyOneOf is very thoughtful in how they pick their covers, especially the ones that they make fancy videos for, so I think that they are a lens that we can think about their own discography from. This was actually one of the things that I thought of right away when I got the full lyrics for "give me the lOve, bitxx" so it's worth having it in mind when reading the rest of my analysis.

Another older song of theirs with an MV that I want us to look back at for the context of this song is "angel":

I am considering this song specifically as a lens of how heteronormativity creates a narrative of how people need to react/act in society, and how that can lead to overcompensation, and also sometimes some pretty obsessive patterns (doing relationships right, having the right appearance of interest even if there is not actual interest). Obviously, "angel" is a song with many different interpretations, and I've considered writing something longer form about it, but again, remember that right now, this is a reading through the queer lens. This is a song and MV that I've got in my head as context for "give me the lOve, bitxx" so I want to make sure it's fresh for you as well.

Important note to carry with you in this echo of "angel" in the interpretation: In "angel" the narrator has idealized the idea of this girl, of the perfect straight relationship that will make him fit in society (again I know, among other things). In "give me the lOve, bitxx" he has that relationship, and it hasn't fixed things for him. He still doesn't fit, and in fact kind of seems to feel even worse.

I think that there are themes present in a lot of their songs that are echoed here, but those are the two big lenses that I wanted to bring up before we get into the thick of things.

OTHER OVERARCHING THEMATIC THOUGHTS

We're almost to talking about the lyrics, I promise. But there's a big thing that I want to discuss here that leads to two very different readings of the song.

I think that one possible reading of this song involves the narrator addressing two separate love interests: a guy who he has had his first taste of queer attraction and love with recently and the girl who he has been dating in an attempt to feel "correct" in society.

I will be addressing this potential second person I think getting talked to in a few places in the song, but also try to reference what I think the interpretation would be if these parts are addressed to the girl or not.

THE CHORUS

Don't make me pull the trigger [girl*] Once you know more you'll get hurt Don't come near Maybe I could be dangerous Give me your treasure [what] What's there to laugh at? Oh I can't hear anything right now, freeze

*I have added the two adlibbed words that I caught from what the translation above has transcribed in brackets. However, the first adlib "girl" only appears in Choruses 1-3 and is omitted in the final Chorus.

These lyrics are aggressive, and kind of nasty towards the girl. They are reminiscent of a hold up, an attack, but also a threat to end a relationship ("pulling the trigger" on something to end it). Whatever the case, there is some threat involved in these lyrics. The narrator views himself, or on some level wants to be viewed, as "dangerous." He also seems to want the end to the current relationship, at the same time, he wants to just ignore everything and have things stay where they are and "freeze."

He doesn't think he's good for the girl, he doesn't really think that he's good for himself here. There's a certain amount of hopelessness in this chorus. He's got this whole persona, this "bad boy" image too, and that definitely makes me think of overcompensation. A lot of times, queer people will make the decision to lean really far into heteronormativity to protect themselves, and this bad boy vibe that the narrator has going definitely leads into that.

I think that it is really interesting that the "girl" adlib drops for the final chorus. If the male partner is also being addressed, by dropping the girl from the chorus at the end, it can also be interpreted that what is bringing up these feelings of needing to end the conventional heteronormative relationship is the new relationship with the male partner that has made the narrator realize that this current relationship is creating something dangerous for him, and he can't get the love that he wants in it (and that he actually does want love that is not socially expected/accepted).

THE PRECHORUSES

The first line of the prechorus is the only line that changes between the two. In the first prechorus it is:

It kind of bothers me.

And in the second prechorus it is:

It feels kind of weird.

I think that this change in the lyrics is leading into the feeling that the narrator is figuring out what he wants over the course of the song. It's changed from being something annoying without really having a clear direction of that, to feeling weird or uncomfortable to what the narrator wants.

I've divided the prechorus into two parts in my mind at least. After that first line, the rest of the prechorus goes:

What the hell do you want from me baby? Foreign personality, style Somehow I'm injurious, so dangerous.

I feel like this really draws in the idea of the narrator feeling like he doesn't fit the expectations of society and how he should behave in it. He doesn't know what his partner wants from him, he feels "foreign" and "injurious" in his roles and interactions.

This version of him talking about being "dangerous" also feels much more confused, like he's been told that the way he is would make him "dangerous." That word "Somehow" carries a lot of weight in this. He feels conflicted about it.

We follow this into the second half of the prechorus, which is unchanged between the two:

When you hug me tight from behind I feel broken, I can't explain it Love Don't come near, no way

This set of lines actually really interests me because I feel like it could be absolutely addressed to both or either of the girlfriend and the male partner.

One of those big queer experiences that a lot of us have been through is feeling broken and wanting to hide from it. In the narrator's heteronormative relationship that should make him fit, he's not enjoying these experiences and doesn't want them, and that makes him "feel broken."

But at the same time, if addressed to the male partner, when he experiences these sorts of things, he does enjoy them, and that potentially scares him just as much. He doesn't want to let the male partner near because that experience feeling right makes him "feel broken" by society that has said that it's not an OK way for him to feel.

So either here, he's telling the girl he's been dating as overcompensation to get away from him and leave him alone because he's not feeling it, or he's telling the guy that he's into and struggling against the feeling to stay away because the very possibility of that makes him feel weird and scared and he doesn't know what to do with it.

VERSE 1

This is the verse that gave me the idea of the song being addressed to two different people! It's actually the set of lyrics that initially made me think, oh huh, this sounds like it might be addressed to the guy that he's been thinking of. Especially in the narrative succession to "dOpamine" where he's got some obsession going on. I think that it can be read as addressed to either though.

I think of your face all day long I look strange to myself I can't think about anything else Why do you keep getting stuck in my head?

If this is addressed to the male love interest, it makes a lot of sense that the narrator is sitting there going: I have this "perfect" in the eyes of society relationship, one that I should be so happy with, but all I can think about is this guy that I'm into. Why can't I leave it alone?

On the other hand, if this is addressed to the girlfriend, it can also read as trying to force himself into the right way of thinking about his relationship. And because of it looking "strange" (weird, uncomfortable, not right) to himself. He's getting "stuck" on this idea, and not getting anywhere with it. He can't get that sort of love he wants in the relationship he has, and he's uncomfortable with that.

VERSE 2 (the long verse)

Like with the prechorus, I see this as being divided into two parts. This verse is rap heavier, and it really feels like a lot of the development of the feelings and understanding of his feelings that the narrator has.

Why are you so clingy anytime I see you? I'm speaking, but you cover my mouth Yeah, because of you Again, seeing my sudden bewildered expression makes her stop her words

This is actually another section that I think can be addressed to either partner! And maybe the "her" in the final line of this part of the verse is a translation artifact that I'm reading too much into, but it does make me think, is "her" different from "you" here.

If this is addressed to the girlfriend, it reads as really just not actually wanting the relationship, as feeling silenced from his actual feelings by the demands of society represented in the girlfriend and the fact that he feels the need to have a girlfriend to compensate, and that's starting to really grate on him now that he has seen/experienced another option. It implies that the girlfriend is starting to see the cracks in their relationship and know that something is wrong, maybe she's even trying to make space for him to say something, and he's not saying it.

If this is addressed to the male love interest, it's a really different vibe. It's the questions of: Why are you risking showing this in public? Why are you stopping me from talking? Why are you both showing this so much and trying to keep me from actually talking about it? In this reading, the girlfriend is noticing whatever is going on between the narrator and the male love interest, but maybe doesn't know what to say about it or if there is anything to say.

The second part of this verse is much more focused on the internal feelings of the narrator as opposed to the interaction with others.

I hide my feelings, thinking of each other I close my eyes Well I gotta play dumb, making it pump, sick of it numb, pick up the phone Relax now (Boogie on and boogie on)

So this part of the song is definitely at least in part about sex and intimacy between partners. Who is the "each other" here? Well, I think that it can be the narrator and the girlfriend, where he's closing his eyes to hide from himself and his lack of actual interest. It could also be the male love interest where he's closing his eyes when with the girlfriend to better imagine what he actually wants and his fighting himself over.

I find the part "pick up the phone" really interesting. He's having this unfulfilling experience in the relationship that he's supposed to want, the one that is supposed to be perfect for him in the eyes of society, so he's reaching for his virtual world that lets him get away from that (and where I suspect he can contact the male love interest, or at least see things about him). He's relaxing by getting away from what is supposed to be his important intimate relationship.

VERSE 3 / BRIDGE

There is a big change in tone with this verse, and I think that this is where the narrator accepts what he is feeling, and that he doesn't actually want to be with the girl, he doesn't want what society thinks that he should want. He's still conflicted and scared, actually maybe more scared, but he's starting to realize. I think that that's part of why the "girl" adlib then proceeds to be dropped in the final chorus that comes after it.

Tasty like a raindrop, oh my I can't get used to it at all You know what? Actually I'm afraid you will leave Give me a chance to kill my doubt

I think that the first half of this verse is referring to his experience of queer intimacy with male love interest, the first time he's actually enjoyed it, and referring back to "dOpamine" that "thirst" that he's experiencing (with the "raindrop" lyric).

The second half is another one of those things where it could be addressed to either the girlfriend or the male love interest.

If it's addressed to the girlfriend, even though he's realized what he actually wants, the fact that it goes against the directives of society, and what he feels like he should want, he just wants that one more chance to see if maybe it could work with the girlfriend, that he is scared of what is past this relationship that isn't fulfilling but is at least safe.

If it's addressed to the male love interest, I get the impression that there's an element of the male love interest having basically said "look make a decision," and the narrator has been hesitating. Not feeling safe. And now he's saying, wait I'm more afraid of the idea of not having a chance with you and something that actually feels right than I am of leaving my safe by social standards relationship. Give me one last chance to taste this possibility and make myself sure before I jump into this relationship that feels dangerous but fulfilling.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Whoever the song is addressed to ("you"), the narrator has very much built up feelings of resentment towards social expectations and the girlfriend that he has put those social expectations on.

He's sort of billed himself as dangerous because of how society views what he has realized about himself. He knows he isn't being good to himself, he's not being good to the girlfriend, he's hurting everything in his path because social expectations are weighing down on him and telling him he's awful and hurting him.

A big part of the song is him kind of breaking under that, realizing that he can't keep going the way he is going, but struggling to make that final decision to leave and actually face his queerness and the possibilities that exist in it.

[hongtonie]

sooooo insane

[hhhoneyed]

about me

welcome to my blog hhhoneyed !!

my names sam. im 19 and use he/they pronouns. ive had this blog since 2017, but i recently realised i find tumblr makes me more creative?? so im hoping by being more active here ill be able to draw more :)

im currently studying concept design at university, and my main interest is kpop !! more specifically i currently have extreme zb1 tunnelvision, though i stan many other groups too. some of these include shinee, seventeen, enhypen, onlyoneof, nct, txt, xh, atz, piwon and many more. i also really love nature !!

im hoping to eventually post things i create at university, kpop analysis and thoughts, art, and possibly sometimes gardening photos and my kpop collection. i may also on occasion rb posts of my other interests ♡

my art is under #my art, my posts will be under #textpost

lets be moots !!

[faceglitchsworld]

Here's me trying to understand the storyline and the characters on the beat/beyOnd MVs

Author's note: idk if I just wrote the most obvious things or not. I needed to leave out all my emotions after watching the beyOnd MV. Also, there's some speculation about the background of both Mill and Nine's characters, I would be very happy if you'll reblog this post and add your thoughts on it. Or just using the replies. Also no timeline/multiple universe theory here, I'm not that great at those kinds of stuff. The post might be confusing too.

And that's it. The OOO's undergrOund idOl series has come to an end. What a great way to start 2023. We got a bombastic song and a cool remix and, honestly, I think both the songs will brainrott me for a while. But you're not here for the songs am I right? You're here for me trying to analyze the MVs and see if I've understood the story or not. Well, let's see if I did it, shall we?

What I always loved about the OOO' undergrOund idOl series is the relationships' slow building. Everything is always natural thanks to it. And here we didn't get disappointed at all. We got a very well-made Friends to Lovers story and I'll show you how we got it.

Let's start with the beat MV for a second so we can talk about the entire story as a whole.

So, when I saw Nine on the MV, the first thing that came into my mind was the ending of the book Kanohomo by Naoto Asahara. In this book, Jun, the main protagonist, tries to accept his sexuality while trying to stick into society. Throughout the story, tho, Jun experiences some very heavy stuff and understands that he can't keep being himself and trying to be someone who's not him at the same time. That's why in the end he decides to move into a new city and attend a new school where he can finally be himself without caring about what others will think of him. And, believe me, Nine reminded me a lot about Jun (I was literally screaming "AH, FINALLY I'VE GOT THE KANOHOMO'S SEQUEL" while watching the MV). Of course at the time I immediately projected Jun's story to Nine and I must admit that I was a little reckless in doing this. From what we have known Nine could have just been a happy queer teenager that lives a happy life and his family supports him every time. But then the beyOnd MV happened and...let's say that some of my projections might be true. Maybe.

We see how Mill and Nine's relationship starts as a simple friendship thanks to the lollipop scene. And I admit that when I saw this scene without the beyOnd MV I was a little, um, confused. It looked like everything was going too much faster for me (actually the entire MV seemed faster than beyOnd). Of course, Nine could have just been that friendly, extrovert classmate who wants to be friends with everyone but the lollipop scene happens after Nine takes Mill away from the bullies and this is not something that a simple friendly classmate would do. Unless you didn't experience the same thing and you don't want another one getting hurt in the same way.

The art class scene is how Mill sees his new friend. He's a model, a muse for him. He wants to be like him: extrovert, good in sports, more secure of himself and probably with better hobbies than his.

I admit in this last statement that I'm projecting a little from my own personal experience in middle school, where making art in general (drawing, playing music etc.) would have made you like a freak or a loser but seeing how Mill reacts in the beyOnd MV before knowing Nine makes me think that he's mocked especially for this reason (I mean, he's afraid to show his drawings to anyone. ANYONE). Or maybe it's just me who projected my younger self on him :P

Mill starts to have a crush when Nine enters the art class and decides to pose for him and spend time with him. Probably it's the first time where he sees a friend getting interested in something that he loves. And that might be the reason why he starts to have feelings for him. It might sound off, but he's a teenager after all and probably it's the first time he falls in love with someone. Founding someone that shares the same interests as you can be the reason why you start feeling the love at that age.

In my opinion, the kind of love Mill has for Nine is the idealized one. Now, this kind of love is pretty normal if you're a teenager and you experience love for the first time. You still don't know exactly how a relationship works. Not to mention the fact that Mill has seen Nine only when he "shines". He sees him with his friends, when he protects him from the bullies, when he shares time with him. He never saw him at his lows. Put all of this in the mix and you get your ideological love.

Now, the "problem" with those kinds of relationships is the fact that they immediately fall apart at the exact moment the couple meets their first obstacle. Again, it's pretty normal that this kind of thing happens since teenagers don't know how and what must work in a relationship. They're not mature yet for understanding everything.

That's why the last scene on the beat MV is so powerful to me. Not only for the cliffhanger at the end but also because Mill sees for the first time someone who taught being always invincible and strong getting hurt. That's why he gets scared and worried, he didn't expect to see him in that state. And this is why I got scared and tough that the beyOnd MV would have given us the tragic ending. We're were left at the end with a big question: what he's gonna do now? What will happen to them and their relationship? And I thought for a while that Mill could have abandoned Nine and just broken up everything because of this event.

Ok, enough with the beat analysis, let's talk about the elephant in the room: the beyOnd MV.

Now, the MV confirmed in part what I thought about Nine's character. He surely had some bad experiences at his previous school so he sees this new environment as a new opportunity for him. A fresh new start where he wants to show his true self. Or well, only the parts he wants to show to everyone. Because he likes playing music but strangely he doesn't show this trait to anyone. Anyone except Mill of course.

In the beyOnd MV we have what might be the first actual encounter between Mill and Nine when they clash with each other and Mill's drawings fall on the floor. I think the lollipop scene happens the day after this one scene in particular since we get an actual encounter between them and not just a simple sight.

And I must admit that I projected even more that Nine might have gone through some terrible experience before attending the new school. Probably he also experienced bullying in his old school and when he asked for help no one helped him and abandoned him instead. I think Mill reminded a little of his old self and he decided to talk to and befriend him as a way to help. This is a very nice way to start a friendship if you ask me.

The beyOnd MV seems to confirm that a bunch of scenes happened in the beat MV are set during the beginning of their story and this might confirm that the first one who fell in love is Mill. Nine on the other hand seems to take more time and, again, his past might have played a major role in his attitude. After the first scene where Nine saves from the bullies (which is also one of the last scenes in the beat MV), Nine takes him into what looks like a storage room and they made it into their refuge where they can do whatever they want.

And here we get some scenes where we actually see Nine and Mill's friendship developing. Take the ping pong scene for example, where Nine teaches Mill how to play and, by doing this, Mill starts to become more confident. Or the scenes where Nine watches Mill's drawings and he compliments him for his works. Not to mention the piano scene, my favourite one.

I think it's one of the few moments where Nine decides to show a side of himself that he doesn't show at school. He trusts Mill so much that he knows that he will not betray him. I think this scene is also the one where Nine starts to have a crush on Mill. The reason? Watch the art class scene on the beat MV and you might notice some nice parallels like Nine and Mill laying their head on their partner's shoulder for example.

And when does Nine develop his crush on Mill into something more exactly? During the cake scene for me. I highly doubt that scene happens immediately after the piano one. Maybe we got a sort of timeskip where they're celebrating something (a year since they met and they've become friends? There's only one candle on the cake after all and I doubt they were celebrating a birthday) and, thanks to Wookjin's acting skills, we can clearly see how he loves Mill and wants to kiss him on that occasion. But he hesitates. Maybe it wasn't the best time for that. And that's why we got the final scenes.

I don't know Korean but I think Nine's note was probably about him asking Mill to come to the phone booth that night. And, well, we know what would have happened if Nine didn't meet the bullies, right?

We would have gotten a confession! :D

And a kiss.

Of course we could have gotten the kiss. They love each other at this point, I can see all the other OOO members singing Kiss the girl from the Little Mermaid in the background (lyrics obviously changed to Kiss the boy).

But the bullying scene happened and we got Nine injured. And a continuation of the beat MV. And honestly, I'm so happy that we didn't get any sad ending but a sweet one.

Now, I admit that seeing Mill taking care of Nine made my heart melt, since I crave the hurt/comfort scenes, especially if we talk about well-made scenes. And oh boy, those scenes are well made for sure. The only thing that confuses me is the setting tho. I think it's their refuge where they spent time together but I don't know if it's exactly that, the director was too focused on giving us some symbolism with the light on Mill and Nine (and I'm sure there is but I'm not that much into colour theory sadly). But despite that, I honestly felt how sweet the entire moment was, especially when Mill lays down next to Nine to make sure he's ok.

And by watching this scene I think their relationship and characters evolved so much. Mill didn't just "return the favour" by taking care of Nine for once, he also sees him in another light. He doesn't see him in an idealogical light anymore but in an equal one. He understands that Nine isn't always invincible and that there are times when he'll need his help. And he will be for him no matter what.

Nine on the other hand has finally found someone who didn't abandon him, someone who can trust and give all the love he wants.

The kiss scene at the end marks what will be a new beginning for both of them. They have each other and they'll overcome this stage of their life together as lovers. And I was grossly crying while watching that scene but that is another story.

Oh yeah, I was almost forgetting that here we didn't see the origami birds at all (or maybe they were on some corner and I didn't notice) D:

In my opinion, I think we didn't see them because their love story has just begun in the end. While both begin/be free and because/be mine's storyline talk about love stories that start during their MVs and have some development later on, the beat/beyOnd storyline is much more focused on the beginning of the love story. Sure Nine and Mill have a crush and develop some feelings for each other but they don't become an actual couple until the end. So, since the origami birds are a representation of how the love story and the couple are developing, they would have appeared if both of them have become a couple much earlier. But by doing this probably we wouldn't have gotten the entire build-up so, well, let's hope to see them again if OOO will make undergrOund idOl 2 and they'll decide to bring the storylines once again :D

And that's it, this is my (somehow) analysis of this story. I tried to remember everything but probably I might have messed up or forget something soooooo, add your thoughts on it if you want :D

[binniesoob]

Considering yoojung's photo caption, it could be that the goal is someone or the reciprocation of the feeling they feel for that someone, and then they start "going around in circles", maybe this is part of their punishment for having each other surrendered to libido ???? ANALYSIS

WE LOVE AN ANALYSIS TIME

Excellent observation 👀👌

Instinct pt1 focused on exploring and surrendering to our own desires (libidO, instinct, byredO) while at the same time feeling guilty and scared (instinct, tear of gOd)

Now, coming to the quote

"I know you're lonely. I think you need someone to want you. I do want you. So be brave and want me back."

it could be that through Instinct pt2 the characters (or Yoojung's specific character) look for and/or find someone struggling like them asking them to love and support eachother through what they are feeling and experiencing -> if in Instinct pt1 we explore, in Instinct pt2 we look for support, someone to share these burdensome feelings with.

The fact that the couple from skins with this quote doesn't have a happy ending could also be a clue of what's going to happen to them, together with Freud theories.

(Ofc, all of this assuming that this teaser is for Instinct pt2)

[qazastra]

possible timeline for be mine/because, onlyoneof

so at this point we’ve all noticed that the because mv is not in chronological order! and so i have taken it upon myself to try and make sense of the timeline!

someone probably did this before me and we will def get more clarification in the bts video when that comes out, but in the meantime this is me asking for peer review (feedback from lyonblr). since the characters aren’t named i’m just gonna use stage names.

[reasoning, screenshots, alternative theories, and caveats under the readmore!]

my general hypothesis:

junji is hanging out at a cafe and rie walks in. they start hanging out a lot after junji asks rie out. one day they make paper cranes how cute and symbolic, they hang out at the pool, it’s a whole thing! very fun and exciting 4 them i love that

junji comes to rie’s place to hang out and they run around in the backyard with a garden hose to cool off, then make food. they go take a nap afterwards, rie plays photographer, and then there may be a vague fade-to-black.

the next time we see them they’re on the couch again having a conversation and rie says something that unexpectedly upsets junji, who spills the box of cranes. he doesn’t look so much angry as hurt and rushes out immediately after rie tries to comfort him.

one evening, junji runs into rie at the phone booth and interrupts his call with a knock on the glass. rie looks surprised at first, bashful next, but they are both glad to see each other.

another night, rie meets junji at the same pool where they previously shared that underwater kiss. this time rie doesn’t join junji in the pool. they go together to the cafe, junji holds rie’s hands and kisses him there instead, the end! 

ALTERNATIVELY TO ALL OF THAT. perhaps junji’s solo simply progresses forward in time and rie’s moves backwards, ruminating on what led them to the breakup. but i don’t want love to lose this time!!! so, let’s start at the start. or is it?

junji and rie notice each other at the cafe. 

junji sees rie walking away after ordering coffee and runs after him to ask him out, rie says yeah, and junji is very excited about it! (side note i do NOT know korean so it is impossible for me to lip read what it actually is that they say to each other... we might find out in the bts video but if anyone knows now pls lmk! i think i saw someone suggest that junji asked ‘can i see you again’ but idr where)

ANOTHER THEORY! **if that’s true, if he says ‘will i see you again,’ then it’s possible the pool kiss when rie was wearing (and took off lol) that green patterned shirt was their first meeting! no real evidence for this, and not a whisper of it in the be mine mv, so for my hypothesis i’m deferring to the lowest common denominator, but i think it’s veeeeery possible. could explain that ‘again’ and why rie was at the cafe in the first place when he clearly does laundry at home haha, maybe junji mentioned it and he wanted to see him again too who knows. changes the first sentence of my hypothesis to “junji spots a cutie alone at the pool and introduces himself. they hit it off very well, well enough to kiss underwater.”**

ok now the complicated part that ive hinged my theories on. i counted seven different outfits for each of them across the two music videos; that’s how i organized the scenes to start puzzling out the timeline in the 1st place. so there’s a shot that shows up in both vids, them eating ramen on the balcony with a clothesline above. i was able to identify where 2 out of the 4 shirts were worn in the music videos. the white shirts im unsure of. both characters wear white tees at some point but the print doesn’t match either as far as i can tell and i didnt see the striped white button-down either (it isn’t the one that junji wore during the argument, the stripes are too wide)... hjaelp

i think maybe its just more of rie’s laundry and there’s no use thinking any harder.

regardless. while they are in the tank top outfits with their hair still damp from the backyard date, we can see these on the clothesline:

a) rie’s green button-down from the pool scene that ends in a kiss

b) rie’s yellow button-down from them hanging out on the couch doing origami,  listening to music, n dancing on the balcony

IF we take this to mean that these things have already happened (big if. maybe it’s just random set dressing there is no way to be sure), THEN (**let’s note that i think it’s possible the pool kiss was their first meeting, as i said above!**) before their backyard date/mini photoshoot, they have:

- met at the cafe when junji ran after rie (because it is necessary for them to start actually dating),

- kissed in the pool (shirt is on clothesline), and

- made the paper cranes (shirt also on clothesline).

unsure of what order those things happened in except i think the paper cranes must have come last because of their sheer numbers. there’s so many of them they must have been hanging out for a while to make all those lil guys.

that leaves three more outfits/scenes to be slotted in somewhere, and those are:

- rie’s fuzzy shirt that he wears during the argument and after junji leaves

- junji’s red button-down that he wears when he interrupts rie’s phone call in the booth at sundown, and

- rie’s checked blue sweater that he wears when he meets junji at the pool (separate time from the underwater kiss) and during the cafe kiss. this one’s important because it tells me that these two things happened on the same day, and i’ve thus inferred that the pool could be a special place precisely because it was where they first kissed/first met.

as i see it, junji happened to run into rie (or maybe he was looking for him there) at the phone booth, maybe as he was leaving a message for junji, trying to explain and apologize, and took the opportunity to reconnect. they agreed to meet later and properly sort things out.

rie meets junji at the pool (where they maybe first met), but this time, they don’t kiss underwater in an empty pool where nobody can see them. they go together to the cafe, both a little nervous, and junji kisses rie. 

if, as i’ve seen people speculate (and as i think makes perfect sense! see etienne’s musings here and here, evidence here, and another similar interpretation here), the cafe kiss is a sort of make-up kiss where they re-commit to their relationship, it would make sense for it to be after the fight and the last chronological scene of their story, slightly wary but hopeful and very in love as their relationship evolves!

all that is to say that none of this could be correct in terms of ‘canon’ but it’s what i came up with from what they gave us! thanks for reading :-) what are your thoughts??

[married-2-the-music]

Super interesting analysis! Bump Up Business isn't as good as it should be, but I agree that OnlyOneOf could've definitely related to aspects of it.

Why BUB actually fits into OOO's catalogue

Bump Up Business has been criticised for many things, and don’t get me wrong, it’s far from perfect, but there is one question I have heard a lot: “Why did OnlyOneOf of all people choose to do this? Doesn’t this show play exactly into the thing we have been defending them of?”

My own answer to this is yes and no. But let me explain. 

In this I will not be discussing what the writers had in mind, because I don’t know them. But I’ll talk about why I think it makes sense OnlyOneOf would tell this kind of story, whether they actually had any say in choosing this drama or not.

The main argument for most peoples' criticism I’ve seen is “This show is about/glorifying queerbaiting.” But is it really? Both of the characters are already queer. Jihoon has dated at least one man and is very aware of his own sexuality. Eden is quickly established as being very insecure in his own sexuality, not because he’s straight, but because he’s queer and finds that hard to accept. So the show is about queer characters. 

Okay, so how does the queerbaiting fall into this? Obviously there is queerbaiting present. Their company practically forces them to do it. Eden is very reluctant, but agrees after the company gives him an ultimatum. Jihoon is less reluctant, but also in a tight spot. He has fallen off and this is seemingly his last chance to save his career, something he wouldn’t give up even for the man he loved. So the characters take no pleasure in the queerbaiting, but is it a problem to them? Yes, actually. It is made clear that they have trouble telling apart what is real feelings and what’s just work. In episode 4 for example Jihoon asks Eden if he is struggling with their concept after Eden revealed how insecure he is in his sexuality. The question comes from a place of caring and honesty. Eden then answers that he is okay because it’s "just work". Since emotions and their hidden identities are now part of their work it gets all muddled and confusing for them. 

You might say now “But that’s not the problem with queerbaiting! They’re leading their fans on!” And from a fan’s perspective I agree. They are leading them on. But this isn’t about fans, this show is about idols. What would it be like for a queer idol to work in an industry where you are urged to act queer but to never be queer? How would that affect your personal life?

In the drama the queer characters hide their identity. Even after Hyunbin spread these awful rumours about Jihoon, they don’t reveal their relationship. Evidently having rumours about being with women is still better than revealing that you’re gay. The entire time they keep any real relationships under wraps. 

On top of that, in a way Eden has to out himself for his job. Even though he of course isn’t allowed to be actually queer, acting this lovey-dovey with another man in public sure must feel like he’s coming out and he is clearly uncomfortable with that. Interviewers and netizens are constantly questioning their relationship as well. Are they gay? Are they straight? Do they naturally act that way? Is the company forcing them? Having all your actions be scrutinised and dissected like this, especially as a closeted queer person is terrifying. 

Once again I’m not claiming that the writers wanted to represent queer idols’ struggles, but I think you can understand how this might be able to be read that way, especially by idols themselves. 

Now how does this fit in with OnlyOneOf’s usual work, besides the obvious queer element? For that I’d like to remind you of June 2022. That is the month we started off the undergrOund idOl project. If you’re like me, then that name probably made you question it. What does it mean? I remember theories about it being about struggling as a relatively unknown group and things along those lines. Luckily they gave us hints in several articles by letting us know that the series is about “the inner side of idols who shine on stage”. Okay, cool! So is it about struggles with fame? Like a glimpse behind the mask? Let’s look at the videos! Hm… Not much about idol life here actually… They’re all just.. queer? How curious. Almost as if they want to highlight the queerness so many idols or celebrities have to hide?

So OnlyOneOf, a group whose behaviours and sexualities are constantly being dissected and who is famous for telling and highlighting genuine queer stories, even connecting those stories to what idols have to hide, choose a drama that is about queer idols who have to navigate their queerness in an industry that demands “fake queerness” but has no room for real queer people. This doesn’t actually seem that surprising to me. Does it to you?

Last comments:

I don’t think that BUB is a critical masterpiece tastefully portraying the harsh reality of queer celebrities. I think that the producers and writers did not do a good job and that OnlyOneOf’s own work is a lot better. But I can absolutely see how this story fits into the larger picture and why this could be appealing to them. I don’t know if they even had any say in doing the drama to begin with. But I just wanted to provide a different point of view. Maybe someone found this interesting at least <3

[junjiya]

undergrOund idOl: the symbolism behind the phone booths

since the beginning of the underground idol series, there has been once piece of symbolism that has been used consistently, from begin to because. that symbol being the use of phone booths. my theory is that phone booths are meant to symbolise unsureness and confinement. the phone booths are used to represent each characters journey and state of mind in relation to their relationship

I’d like to thank @designeryeob coming up with the initial interpretation and helping me flesh it out!! <33

#1: begin

there are two uses of the phone booth in begin, one where yoojung is alone, and the other where kyubin joins him

when yoojung is alone at the phone booth, he is shown loitering in and out of it almost casually, playing with the cranes he has folded for kyubin. the casual nature of yoojung’s solo phone booth shots suggests that he could be thinking of this “relationship” as a game, something fun and flirty. he goes in and out of the booth suggesting his undecidedness, he doesn’t know if he should continue this relationship as something fun or if he should commit to it. him playing with the crane is also significant, as the paper cranes have been shown to represent a wish or desire for love. he is also shown examining it and toying with it in his hands, through this action he is metaphorically “toying” with the idea of a relationship, occasionally inspecting it to properly consider what committing would mean.

the context of the phone booth changes when a drunken kyubin stumbles into it. the significance of kyubin being drunk is also important, him stumbling into the phone booth also shows his unsureness about the relationship. this drunken action shows a thoughtless impulsiveness, the desire to be with yoojung but not fully thought through, it comes out of nowhere and we can see this through yoojung’s startled body language

the final shot of kyubin and yoojung in the phone booth shows the moment yoojung decides to help kyubin back to his apartment.

he holds kyubin in his arms and looks off into the distance after taking one last look at the sight before him. he almost has this “oh fuck” look on his face, he realises his feelings and the gravity of them. maybe through this he also sees kyubin’s feelings?

I think it’s important to point out that the phone booth symbol is only used in begin, and not in be free when the relationship has started. the contrast of only having this symbol of unsureness in one mv as opposed to be mine + because shows the stability and confidence in yoojung and kyubin’s relationship rather than junji and rie’s.

#2: be mine

the use of the phone booth is continued into be mine, but with a different result

we first see the phone booth in the scene where junji initiates a relationship with rie. right off the bat, junji runs straight past the booth to talk to rie. he barely acknowledges it’s pressence. this shows how immediately confident and sure he is of himself and his feelings for rie. the concept of uncertainty isn’t even an option for him

the crescendo of the song also takes place in front of a phone booth. junji triumphantly belts his high note as he throws his body back, clenching his fists proudly as if he has finally won at something. this is such a proud moment and junji expresses so much emotion here. the booth is also out of focus in the background. this could be reading into it a bit too much but even the way junji faces the booth as he sings, it’s almost like he’s laughing in the face of the concept of unsureness

the last time we see the phone booth in be mine is when junji surprises rie as he’s inside. junji smiles at rie from the outside, once again he is seen completely separate from the booth. he knocks on the window coyly to catch rie’s attention. rie on the other hand, is completely inside the booth. rie being on the phone could also be seen as him being so wrapped up in his unsureness that the outside world, the world that is free from this fear, becomes drowned out

this is the only time someone is shown inside a phone booth during be mine, the fact that it’s rie is definitely foreshadowing for his continued indecision in because

—

so yea! those are my thoughts. the only time the booth appears again in because is during rie’s solo singing shots. I don’t think this has much significance as we’re seeing rie the idol confidently singing these lyrics rather than rie the character. I think it’s also an interesting detail that during his solo singing shots in the booth we can see junji in the background through the window of the café. I don’t think that means anything but I thought it was cute

hope you enjoyed!

[skinzchoerim]

My Obsession With OnlyOneOf Knows No Bounds - The Sequel

Yes, this time it's even longer. The first chapter is an analysis of the Structural Universe graph, the second points out some of the connections between seOul cOllectiOn and their previous songs, the third dives into seOul drift, the fourth is a theory on how the updated Structural Universe graph would look like, and the fifth is about the units, very broadly speaking.

I hope I managed to communicate all of my ideas clearly. My mind was a little all over the place while making this and I kept noticing little things even in the final stage of editing. My confidence in these theories goes up and down constantly, but I've had enough of it to find decent proof and put it out into the world.

All I hope is that it helps people get a broader picture of what OOO are trying to do and maybe sparks some new ideas!

[shadowetienne]

Lyrical Analysis of OnlyOneOf's "dOpamine"

This is based off the official translation of the lyrics provided in the CC on the "dOpamine" MV. I did transcribe them so that I could look at them all at once, so any errors or mismatches in what I have quoted here are transcription errors (or something having changed in the CC since I transcribed it).

General ideas that I've taken away from the lyrics of "dOpamine" are that this is a story of first realizations of queer love/attraction, and that it deals with the obsession and fascination that can reside within that initial realization.

I think that there is also a question posed within thinking about this song: How can you have a fully happy and healthy love when the world/society seems to be entirely against it and the one possibility you are grasping at feels like the only possibility in the world?

[Note: this is long, I've gone through the lyrics in a lot of detail. I'm really just spinning off my thoughts on what story I think that this is telling. I would love to hear what other people think too!]

I know that we've all seen it at this point, but if you've stumbled across this and want to know what I'm talking about (or just want to watch it again, I get it) here's the MV:

Now that we're all on the same page and thinking about the lyrics, lets break this down!

FIRST VERSE

The song starts in an introspective place with:

Rummaging inside my head When I see you, my neurons wake up.

This introduces us to a place where the narrator is very much in their own head, but he has an immediate, instinctive/not thought out response to the object of the song.

This is followed by:

Like breathing, I want I want, I want, I want What you got

This particular set of lines is really interesting to me because breathing is a need, a very fundamental one, not a want or desire. It frames the entire song that this desire is being compared to breathing. It's sudden, necessary, instinctive. It also isn't normally something that you think about, breathing happens in the background, until you struggle with it and it's all you can think about. As a set up to the ideas of obsession, and potentially unhealthy love, further in the song, the feeling of this love as a need, of this ability to know the self and love in the way that comes naturally like breathing, is an understandable impetus to getting to that obsessive place.

A fantasy called love wakes me up Nobody knows, broken my heart. I used to be so bland But it completes me in a flash.

Calling love a "fantasy" makes a lot of sense in the context of queer love that is just being realized and that can't really societally be spoken. This is something that is heartbreaking to realize when it feels that no one can know you, can understand you, can let you just be you as a person with this sort of feelings of love.

But at the same time, it brings this idea that this love completes the narrator. Before knowing and understanding this about himself, he was "bland" and perhaps just going through the expected motions.

Let's get into it deeper, Even if it gradually ruins me.

This is where I start bringing in my question of "how can you have a fully happy/healthy relationship in these circumstances?" There is such an intense desire to have that connection, to get into a deeper, more fulfilling relationship, even if it ruins the narrator. There is no good option here. Will that relationship ruin the narrator from inside or outside the relationship? Who knows! But this relationship is on some level dangerous to the narrator. There's the danger from society: ruined career, ruined relationships with family and community. And there's the personal danger of an obsessive relationship, one that ends up hurting everyone involved. This is something that is a bigger danger in a relationship with the fearful rush of secrecy.

PRECHORUS 1

The prechorus has small changes each time, and this is my breaking up of the verses, but it feels like it goes here to me.

I can't control, I lose control.

I feel like one of the big things in the process of coming to terms with one's own queerness is losing the need to control and instead moving to accepting and understanding oneself. Feelings get away from you, and if you are trying to control them instead of work with yourself within them, they become this thing that can run away with you and your ability to make good decisions. I feel like that is sort of a part of what this song is about!

Adrenaline circulating in my blood vessels Blood that's gotten hotter.

I think that this framing is interesting because adrenaline can come with excitement, but it is also very much tied with fear, and there's an undercurrent of fear that sort of runs through the sound and the lyrics of this song. The fear of losing control, the fear of not knowing how this is going to go, the fear of wanting so so much that it consumes you. But that fear is also exciting!

Touching, just our reaction Feel it ecstatic emotion I want a stimulating moment. More intense, Endless thirst.

Ecstatic is a very strong word here, this is such an intense feeling, and how much better could it be? How much more could it be. There's definitely a feeling tied in here of finally having experienced something that really reaches the narrator, that makes him deeply feel this emotion, it's not just a physical response to this touch, it's hugely an emotional one. It brings us to "endless thirst" which again, like breathing earlier in the song, "thirst" is a need, not a want. It's also of course used idiomatically. The intensity of these feelings, of encountering this sort of love for the first time, is building into this all consuming need, instead of just a want.

CHORUS

This is what brings us to the titular idea of dopamine, and definitely the framing that this has fully gotten into unhealthy territory, though I'll circle back to that at the end.

You're my dopamine, dopamine Spreading and spreading, throughout my entire body Addicted (Addicted) Addicted to your love Addicted (Addicted) Addicted So beautiful.

This framing of love as an addiction, as something all consuming, and also the focus on dopamine (in itself neutral, but with the idea of chasing "dopamine highs" that you have to do more and more to achieve, which they've discussed some behind the scenes) brings us this idea of the love that is being experienced as overwhelming. It feels good, but it's taking the narrator away from everything else. It's too much for him. It's really interesting to end that chain of "Addicted" with "So beautiful," because it does sort of imply that it's not necessarily fully a bad thing either.

You're my dopamine, dopamine Cutting off and cutting off my rationality Addicted (Addicted) Addicted to your love Addicted (Addicted) Addicted Losing everything.

This half of the chorus does frame the potential problem, the reason this is an addiction, something that is concerning to the narrator: "cutting off my rationality" and "losing everything."

The feelings that the narrator is experiencing are overwhelming to the point that he can't think. He can't make good or clear decisions, he's just chasing the feeling that this sort of love is giving him. He's not sure if he's making good long term decisions because he is so overwhelmed. And that potentially has him making huge decisions that could change his life, that could have him lose a lot in his society, without actually giving it proper thought.

And that is scary! That brings us back to that adrenaline from earlier. And here, the message sort of feels like, the narrator needs to think! He might not even be making the wrong decision, but it's not being made in a way that will help him long term.

SECOND VERSE

This verse really digs into the way that the narrator feels (at least initially) in this relationship/encounter, this dynamic that is making him realize his queer feelings.

I can feel my heartbeat Like walking on a cloud Everything from the tip of my feet feels so light It feels like a dream.

This sort of feeling in a relationship feels incredible, it doesn't feel real! The narrator is almost relieved in how he is feeling light! But still, it doesn't feel real. In the moment of the connection, the relationship overshadows all those fears that we were just talking about.

Perfect visual stimuli I can't keep my two eyes away, I can't concentrate on anything else Feeling dizzy all day If I get to know you deeper I know I won't be able to get away.

Very quickly, we get back to those overwhelming feelings though! This dream is incredible, but it's also frightening, it's something that sucks the narrator in and he can't get out of. He can't step back from this realization, and it's making have hesitations. But even so, he can't back away from this realization.

PRECHORUS 2

This is mostly the same as the first prechorus, but there is an important change in the discussion of adrenaline that shows the progression of what is going on in the story of the song.

Can't stop the adrenaline Engraving it in my cells.

At this point, there's no stepping back. The narrator has learned about himself, about what he wants, about what it feels like. He can't back away, the knowledge is filling his understanding of himself. And he just wants it more and more, to the point of it feeling like a need.

CHORUS 2

We at this point can see a little more about what the narrator means by the love that he is feeling cutting off his rationality, but the bridge/third verse is what all of this is really leading into.

BRIDGE / THIRD VERSE

There is obviously a shift in the music here, also a shift in the tone. This is where we can really see that the relationship has run away with the narrator, what he's been saying about losing control, and losing rationality. This is where the utter overwhelming nature of it, and what is frightening the narrator becomes clear. This is really the pivotal point of the song.

I want you I stay up-up-up-up-up-up-up all night Getting thrilled Feel like Can't live without you, You're my only one, hana [one]

We can see how this is consuming the narrator. I think that the "Can't live without you" like is the one that really got to me. It's this idea that there is no other person who could make the narrator feel like this, and he feels like he needs to be able to feel like this now, now that he knows that it's an option. There's all this fear, all this need and want, and right now, it's all focused on this one person, this first person that the narrator has been able to feel like this with.

And that's a relatable, understandable queer feeling. Up to this point, the narrator has been repressing that sort of emotion and want, not daring to even really think about it, let alone experience it, and now he knows what it's like. But it was so hard to get here the first time! How could there be someone else that he could feel this way with?

What makes me laugh is only one Everything's interesting if it's you Especially, even more so, Just like this, more It's OK for my uncontrollable heart to ruin me

This set of lyrics is so overwhelmed, but it's interesting to me that the narrator is saying that "It's OK" that he's accepted the potential for ruin. I think that there's an element of in all this overwhelm, which is probably too much and not healthy in the long run, at least, finally, this feels right in a way that nothing like this has before.

PRECHORUS 3

We've lost the lines about control, and the lines in general have just changed a little bit, but we come back to our chorus lead in, if abbreviated. We have an interesting changed line:

Touching, new reaction Feel it intense emotion I want a stimulating emotion More intense So crazy oh.

It's interesting to me that at the end, we move to it being a new reaction. The narrator is realizing more and more about his feelings, and maybe starting to see a little further, but this is still something new and growing and evolving for him. It's what keeps him absorbed in all this. It's just "intense" here, not ecstatic anymore. There is no more adrenaline mentioned here, but that sort of build up of fear/adrenaline is remembered here.

CHORUS 3

With the final chorus, we are left on the line to finish the song:

I'm losing myself

I'd say that in a way to lead into the rest of the album, we're going to think about figuring out who the narrator is after this realization and intense, overwhelming set of feelings. The narrator has learned something about himself. He knows now that he has this attraction, that it's intense and feels incredible, but it also scares him, and it leaves him uncertain of who he even is now, of his relationship to his past self and society.

CONNECTIONS AND CONCLUSION

I think that this song is a really interesting counterpoint and echo of "libidO" because it's about instinct and unrestrained feeling, and how frightening and overwhelming they can be. When we look at this song in the body of OnlyOneOf's work and in the context of the rest of the album, and it's eventual conclusion in "gravity" we know that OnlyOneOf is leading to the message of "it's OK" and "you're allowed to feel the way you feel." Even so, these are some really understandable, big feelings for our "lovers who have not been blessed." It's good and scary at the same time!

I also think that this really ties into new relationship energy and the realization that you have to find a place of balance, to negotiate and stabilize the relationship after that initial burst of everything being new and exciting. It can't build forever, it's unsustainable and unhealthy. This song is very open ended, where will this go? It's all so new to the narrator!

I do think that it's also in conversation with many of OnlyOneOf's songs about guilt around attraction, and I like that this song isn't guilty textually, even if it is afraid! That's a feeling of progress in the overarching narrative voice of OnlyOneOf's albums.

[sanstropfremir]

Okay I’ve gotta stop bothering you with all these questions but I don’t have anyone to talk with about kpop and you seem like someone who *knows* their shit about performance arts and I love reading your stuff so I’m going to keep asking questions. I was recently very obsessed with OnlyOneOf’s most recent comeback, Libido. Like from the song to the music video (my god did that make my queer little heart happy), to the DANCE. Like I’ve had dreams about this comeback (and I don’t usually even remember my dreams). So I was wondering how you felt about it cause there was a lot of backlash (though almost entirely undeserved from any angle people tried to take it from).

frankly i’m so surprised these boys are out there promoting with a fucking dick grab. actually i think its been censored but i definitely remember watching at least two music show stages with the full grab. i think the choreo is fun and doesn't at all deserve the backlash that's been leveled at it. regardless of if it is actually intended to be gay, this softer, more explicit take on adolescent male sexuality is nice to see and deserves to be seen as much any other aggressive red-blooded boy group concept. do i think it's outrage marketing or they're being forced to be overly skinshippy or whatever people are complaining about (i don't actually know the specifics i very carefully curate my online experiences)? no, not really. everything kpop is already optimized for marketability anyways so i don’t think it's that much of an issue if they want to put out something that’s aimed at a deliberately specific audience. if they were willing to take the risk with something like this it means they were probably pretty set on the idea regardless of what the backlash was going to be. i've watched a couple of their behind the scenes clips and they all look pretty chill about it; tbh my opinion is the artists should be allowed to do whatever they want (as long as they’re not being exploited, obviously), and it's the fans’ responsibility to respect artists’  boundaries between their public and private lives.

artistically, although i think the choreo is fun, it's a bit messy for me. there's a couple of transitions that could have been done better but eh. i think retconning tape measures and hiding them in their gloves is ingenious and I'm absolutely stealing that idea for reference. obviously this has big chained up vibes, so I'm not sure why people are so pressed about this because it's not like this is the first bdsm-y choreo kpop has ever seen (I know why people are pressed about this, vixx got shit for chained up and like every other comeback they did lmao). i LOVE the mv though, i think it's really beautifully shot and a lot more cinematic than we normally see from kpop group mvs. visually it's got the same feel as troye sivan’s blue neighbourhood trilogy, this soft-blue-filter-close-up-hands aesthetic that we’ve seen a lot of in younger generation lgbt content, so i have to assume its at least not an accidental reference? (it's common in holland’s mvs).

like i said, this soft-explicit adolescent male sexuality is a nice change from the more aggressive takes we’ve seen come before and these boys have stones of fucking steel to be promoting with this choreo, so they’ve got all the respect from me.

[elilirose]

I made a full analysis on OnlyOneOf's LibidO mv a few weeks ago, here's the link if you want to check it out:

Honestly I'm not super satisfied by it but i was told to post it somewhere so here we are. Hope you enjoy it.

[faceglitchsworld]

The song is soooooo good and I can't wait anymore 😭😭😭😭😭