Megathread | LOONAverse Origins: "X X" 🩋

LOONA's debut with [Hi High] brought us what many thought was a closure to the LOONAverse. As new series of teasers now tell us there is more to the story, I want to share some of my thoughts on what we could expect next.

Let's dive in!
*Disclaimer*

Again, this is a compilation of thoughts I had from the teasers. My observations may not be all unique. As all theories go, we can never claim one is absolute. This thread will also be more predictive than analytical, I’m hoping to make another thread after the MV!
This thread is also a continuation of my [Hi High] megathread from August.

For the full experience, I recommend a refresher of what I will now call “Act I”.

<Act I.> LOONAverse Complete: "Hi High"

https://twitter.com/caskerbox/status/1031772654343270401
After [Hi High], I wasn’t too sure if LOONAverse would continue on.

[Hi High] gave us a “closure”, by breaking the Mobius and uniting LOONA.
But I still felt that we didn’t get the full story.

And with the past couple teasers, it’s becoming clear that there is so much more.
I want to step outside the “theory land” and discuss BBC’s approach for a moment.
With such an intricate story, it’s easy to miss the big picture of the LOONAverse.

Although quite faint, I still believe the LOONAverse story unfolds in parallel to LOONA’s real lives and timeline.
This is why I thought [Hi High] was an utterly perfect MV and concept to show the “completion” of LOONA as a full group.

And now that LOONA has debuted, we Orbits long to learn more about the members with each upcoming comebacks: where they come from and what they are like.
How the creators are translating this next stage into the LOONAverse theme, I believe, is by giving us an “Origin Story of LOONA”.

And with that, let's jump into the LOONAverse and find out!
The Contents:

CH 10. [X X]: Rewinding the LOONAverse
CH 11. [one]: Edenism
CH 12. [One & Only]: The Mystic Messenger
CH 13. [X1X]: The Origin
CH 14. [X11X]: The Real Butterfly Effect
CH 15. [Rosy]: The Hidden Message
CH 16. [Let Me In]: The Rescue Mission

EPILOGUE. & Beyond
CHAPTER 10. [ XX ]: Rewinding the LOONAverse

From [Vivid] to [Hi High], we saw the members coming together in a series of events to finally become "Complete".
The LOONAverse timeline is complex and it's hard to say that we can lay it out accurately. I feel that there isn’t enough information yet to do this.

But we can assume that most of the events took place in the “Mobius”, until it was broken in [Hi High]. With a few exceptions.
The [XX] teaser in October was the first signal to the next “Act” of the LOONAverse.

In it we saw [Hi High] in reverse as if we were being taken back to the beginning of the story.
Also, by going from adding [++] to multiplying [xx], we may be hinted that the stories will now “multiply” to a much fuller and deeper extent rather than being “added” together as seemingly unrelated puzzle pieces.

But rewound to which point?
I believe there is this space that comes before the Mobius.

The Mobius has now been broken and time isn’t bound by it anymore.
And so, I believe we are now being taken back beyond the boundaries of the Mobius. A whole new arc of the LOONAverse story.

This is how I depicted it.
In [Hi High], I talked about themes of “gravity” and “completion”.

In where [XX] takes us to, it’s the opposite.
Many discussed themes like Chaos Theory or Butterfly Effect.
I might also call it the “Big Bang”.
It’s all similar ideas, but I think here we can find clues to the series of events that kick started the LOONAverse as we know it now.
CHAPTER 11. [one]: Edenism

Edenism is a very mysterious place.
We know it's highest realm between the three worlds.
It also unfolds the earliest.

In fact, I believe the events in Edenism took place prior to the Mobius.
So far, we've seen 3: [one & only], [one], and [love4eva].
The [one] teaser tells us that the yyxy girls are four but one.
We still don’t fully know what that means.

"I am thou, thou art me" they say.

They seem to be closely connected, with one mission.
To leave Edenism. And do what?
I believe that yyxy members, whether innate or given, gained godlike powers from Edenism.

They are not complete in their powers, but something is surely different about them. Something transcendent to the human world.

Perhaps their mission is to be helpers of the human world.
One of the themes digipedi uses to differentiate yyxy's "power" is “royalty”.

Edenism is depicted by a palace in all three MV’s.

Imageries of chandeliers, crowns, gems, crystals also all refer to yyxy’s “royal”, beyond-Earth powers. (*Note the chandeliers, they'll be back)
CHAPTER 12. [one & only]: The Mystic Messenger

I’ve mentioned before Gowon is such an odd character in the LOONAverse.

I think that her MV, unlike [new], [heart attack], and [egoist] which takes place on Earth, takes place back in Edenism. https://twitter.com/caskerbox/status/1031932232963903489
In it, we see the first theme of metamorphosis, as Gowon takes off her red cocoon veil and her hair turns blonde.

We also see Yves crowning Gowon, as if she was being charged with a mission.
As Gowon leaves Edenism in [love4eva], she looks back at Olivia.

But what if she was also looking back at the palace?
Knowing the weight of what it meant to leave it.

This makes sense with Gowon as bringer of “hope”, whereas infatuated by “love”, Chuu didn’t care to look back.
Another connection is that butterflies are pollinators.
They actually travel further than bees and help spread pollen to "bloom" various flowers.

In the same way, Gowon being a pollinator, was perhaps a perfect candidate Yves chose to deliver and help the girls on earth “bloom”.
Butterflies can also see colors that humans can not see.

This is in contrast to owls, who are colorblind and see in black and white.

Perhaps this why Kim Lip needed her odd eye in [Sweet Crazy Love] to finally see the world in full color. Who gave it to her? Will we find out
?
CHAPTER 13. [X1X]: The Origin

Then we got the [X1X] teaser.

Many have already pointed out the theme of butterflies and Lip’s possible metamorphosis. Each member also had similar effects as their MV’s.

My general thought is it’s hard to read into it too much beyond that.
The teaser being set mostly in black and white makes me think this could be set in the past.

Notice in both [X1X] and [X11X], you also hear a film projector rewinding back.
We’ve already seen videos like [Vivid] and [Sweet Crazy Love] where MV starts b&w and colors are “gained”.
CHAPTER 14. [X11X]: The Real Butterfly Effect

Then comes [X11X].
I originally wanted to wait until after MV to write a thread.
Predictive writing is much harder than analytical theories.

But after seeing how many clues [X11X] gave, I felt it was enough for a megathread.
In <Act 1>, I discussed that there were many seeds planted in the LOONAverse that kick-started a Butterfly Effect, ultimately leading to LOONA's “completion”.

What [X11X] now shows us is that there was a “first pollinator” of these seeds. https://twitter.com/caskerbox/status/1031939784732762112
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen yyxy members planting seeds into stories on Earth.

We already saw Gowon sending a "bracelet" to Hyunjin.
Someone sent a DNA "strand" keychain to ViVi.

All of these little things helped to create innate "connections” between the girls.
In a Korean drama called 'Goblin', there is a character named Deokhwa (played by BTOB Sungjae), who seems like a normal human character for most of the drama.

Only until near the end, it is revealed that he is actually a god, and was helping the people around him the whole time.
And after revealing his divine-ness, he turns into butterflies and disappears.

I feel that Gowon could be playing a similar role as "The Messenger".
Let's jump into [X11X].

My thought is that [X11X] actually takes place “before” [Let Me In].

In the beginning, you see Gowon chasing a truck.
Immediately you can make connections to the yellow truck in [Let Me In].
However, I'm not sure if we can assume Haseul is in this truck.
In fact, in [Let Me In], Haseul is always seen in the passenger’s seat.
As if she was being “taken” to her destinations.
Someone opens the door for her.

This same truck (yes not the exact same car model
) also appears in [Girl Front] before Choerry throws her paper airplane.
There’s also a brief scene of a dreamcatcher as Gowon is running.
Some argue there is actually no dreamcatcher in [Let Me In], but instead just feathers.

Hard to tell, but note that a dreamcatcher has feathers but also often has a gem in the center.
Then, we see a crucial scene of Gowon leaving behind herself.

The imagery of metamorphosis comes back, with Gowon taking off her coat as if a butterfly sheds its cocoon.
Then as the music begins, Gowon finds the broken airplane.

My thought is the broken airplane symbolizes a failed rescue mission.
It is mechanical and old.

Gowon realizes it’s time for a new mission, more organic and complex this time.
Inside the plane, Gowon finds a feather.
After rewatching [Let Me In] numerous times, I think this could be old Haseul’s feather (I will call her Boyseul).

And ther, Gowon realizes who she needed to pass on the mission to.
As the messenger butterfly, Gowon acts as the “bridge” that connects the plane and the bird.

As she sends out the butterflies, she is calling Haseul here.
And consequently many more after her.
(Note there are 12 butterflies to be exact, creds to ©hyunjinsus for the find!)
[X11X] teaser ends with “fljĂșga eins og fiĂ°rildi”, meaning “fly like a butterfly”.

The real Butterfly Effect is beginning.
Also this connection may have been hinted to us as early as [Sweet Crazy Love],
where the plane, the butterfly, and the bird, are seen in order.

Did Jinsoul’s odd eye just show her the future? 
or is it the past?
CHAPTER 15. [Rosy]: The Hidden Message

Before I jump to [Let Me In], I want to share a finding!

It’s the lyrics to [Rosy], a B-side with Heejin, Gowon, and Olivia Hye.
The lyrics were written by Jaden himself, which made me wonder what clues may have been planted in the song.
I want to focus on and go through the entire second verse together.
I am not first to make connections to Rosy.
During [love4eva], many pointed out the first part reminds of its story.

Lips biting red rose petals and “living in the moment” theme reminds us of the youthful escape from Edenism.

Ironically, this part is sung by Olivia, not Gowon.
The next part, reminds us of the next MV, [Hi High].

Subtle smiles and hand held out, and finally able to breathe and relax

immediately reminds of the scene right before Olivia jumps off the diving boards at Yves’ smile and gesture.

This time, it's sung by Gowon, not Olivia.
The next part is where I really want to focus on.
It's what convinced me that [X11X] comes before [Let Me In], and it was completely intentional and planned.

It is Heejin’s rap.
My thought is that this part is scarily accurate, of what I believe is the "message" Gowon is trying to send Haseul.

Read the following from Gowon’s perspective, with Haseul being the recipient”.
(I have tweaked the translations to more accurately convey Korean connotations)
“I found you there, scouring within the heap of thorns”
“People want to put and hold shiny things in their hands”

(*ë‹Žì•„ is usually used for putting into a bag or basket)
“Night is getting late, hurry up before you lose your ways, escape to me.”
“I’ll go ahead and say it. At the end of this night, we will bloom”
This why Gowon chose to travel to Iceland and deliver this message to Haseul.

She perhaps thought although human, Haseul had the willpower to join her on this rescue mission.

And being a pollinator, Gowon metaphorically refers to “completion” as flowers "blooming".
I think we could see more of this.

As I said, I think it had to be the yyxy members that traveled to LOONA 1/3’s human worlds to help their journey begin.
I think there is a reason Heejin sings this line; perhaps points to Olivia’s unfinished story with Heejin to come next.
CHAPTER 16. [Let Me In]: The Rescue Mission

With that in mind, the last MV I want to discuss is [Let Me In].
Keep Gowon’s message from [Rosy] close by.
Haseul “arrives” at Iceland on a truck, and Boyseul opens her eyes realizing there is an intruder.
Haseul finds crystals on the ground and begins collecting them into her bag.
They are lined up as if someone had deliberately placed them there.

It makes sense if you recall crystals represent royalty, something Gowon may have stolen from Edenism when she left.
This eventually leads Haseul to find the broken airplane.

And there she realizes Gowon’s message.
"The mission that the old, broken plane had failed to complete."
She then uses Gowon’s crystal to then kill Boyseul.

There are many theories and thoughts on what this means and who it is, whether is was an alternate version of Haseul or simply represents the fear inside herself.

What we can assume is that Haseul knew this had to be done.
Right before shooting Boyseul, Haseul says “Je ne sais mĂȘme pas oĂč commencer” (I don't even know where to begin) in French.

(*Note: This voice was indeed Haseul’s, she confirmed it on Day 1 of Line&Up)
It almost sounds like a short prayer to the mysterious force that led her there.

"If I goes forward with this decision, what will come next?"
"Will I be okay?"
And this action allowed Haseul to break her own Mobius earlier than many girls and begin her “quest to find”.

I wasn’t exactly sure why Haseul showed such particularly strong conviction to search for the LOONA members. Now we see where it came from. https://twitter.com/caskerbox/status/1031791071221694465
EPILOGUE. & Beyond

There was more I wanted to discuss, particularly [Vivid] and its role.
Heejin is the first member and the rest of girls’ colors “exploded” from her.
Towards the end you get mosaic scenes that look like how butterflies see the world
 or even spider vision?
But I'll save them for later!

Again, being that this is written “predictively”, we will need to wait for the full MV to fully understand the story. I just wanted to share my perspective of what I think we could expect next!

And again thank you for reading this long thread😁
<Act III.> LOONAverse Beyond: "Butterfly" https://twitter.com/caskerbox/status/1109304263640076288
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