cinnaminskies
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Hey guys, some of you in the twitter gc know Emi ( @emikoa20) and I have been writing something for a bit. A new theory/analysis that we'd like to share with you all. ... A quick disclaimer...
We chose to remove these posts due to concerns about protecting the image of both Eric and Solar after the newly revealed k-nampyeon anti-Solar hate mobs have caused both fandoms to become much more protective and start doing their own investigating. While theories are fun, they're definitely not worth stirring up more controversy. If you want to read it, please reach out to the twitter gc.
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hahahahaha it's been a longgg while
hey y'all. back after @emikoa20 reached out to me on twitter. don't know how much i have to add to the discussion, but i really am glad that after all these years stuff's cooled down a bit and we're getting all these moments. like it's a real vindication of all the stuff we felt after the finale about how there was a real friendship there and a real trust and all that. crazy to see how much they've both grown in the meantime and ABSOLUTELY WILD THAT THEY'RE BOTH STILL WEARING THEIR COUPLE STUFF FROM THE SHOW.
anyway, i'd be down to be in a twitter gc or something that y'all mentioned earlier, since idk how often i'm gonna check this page. but definitely still into hanging out and keeping up w them.
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Here it is, as promised. My analysis and explanation of the lyrics of Cave Me In. Sorry it took so long!
Cave Me In
a song analysis by cinnaminskies
Quick Disclaimer before I begin: I am only going to be analyzing the lyrics that Eric wrote as they pertain to WGM. Any other lyrics present here and their explanations are only to give some clarity to those of you who are not incredibly familiar with English expressions and idioms. This is because Eric’s part was the last part written, and so both Gallant’s parts (the main hook) and Tablo’s part (the rap) would not have been too heavily altered/influenced by Eric/his emotional state at the time of writing the song.
That being said, the song itself is put together to tell an entire story, so I will not be full-out ignoring that story. It’s important and reveals a lot about how these three men see the nature of love. Of course, Eric’s would be most heavily influenced by his most recent experiences of the feeling, which is why I’m attributing them to Solar.
With that out of the way, here we go.
QuoteThese flies on my window / Are winners in a losing game / Dip, duck, roll and hover / They barely see a season change
Something Eric does a lot in this song is talk about humanity. The phrase “flies on my window” conjures up one of two images: flies on a windshield, or flies trapped in between the glass and the screen of a window. Flies have notoriously short life spans, and flies on a windshield are most often dead, which is why it’s so interesting that Eric says in just the next lyric that they are “winners in a losing game.”
The losing game he is talking about is, of course, love, since this is, after all, a love song. One look at that lyric and I am immediately reminded of a song that I’m sure Eric is familiar with, since it’s by one of Solar’s favorite artists: Amy Winehouse. Love Is A Losing Game is a song about giving up on a relationship. Really, it reminds me of I Wish You Love in a way. This lyric is a direct reference to Solar’s outlook on love.
The flies’ short lifespans are then referenced again with the lyric talking about how they “never see a season change.” We all know that Eric and Solar’s WGM ended right as the seasons were changing from fall to winter, heading into one of Solar’s least favorite seasons. The flies, he seems to be saying, win because their lives are short and therefore they can not be hurt in love the way Solar and Eric are, being the humans that they are. But, if we look a little closer, the interpretation goes far beyond that.
Really, this section applies very well to WGM. It can be both interpreted as being about humanity, and about people who choose to pursue long-term relationships. Both are things that can end up hurting due to the nature of the way they are, and both are things that WGM kind of gets rid of. The relationships are - somewhat - fake, and they’re also temporary. There’s always an end-date in sight.
In a way, Eric’s saying that the other couples are the winners. They made it through the obstacle course that is the show, avoided the emotional attachment that would’ve made them lose the game, and it barely took any time. Solar and Eric, on the other hand, got caught up in their humanity and their emotions. “Oh,” the lyrics of Love Is A Losing Game go, “what a mess we made.” I think that’s a pretty good explanation of the feeling being expressed here, especially since this section, the section that Eric wrote, was the last part of the song written.
It fits with parts three and four of Eric and Solar’s on-WGM story. And, it fits with him thinking about the ending and slightly resenting the fact that he, if not the both of them, caught feelings while shooting.
QuoteWhile you and me live like birds on a power line / Hands gripping, and our fingers fried
In this section, Eric addresses all the things that are against him, while once again referencing the realism of what they are going through in the midst of ending their virtual marriage. By connecting them to “birds on a power line,” Eric immediately connects his American audience to two things. One: birds cannot be electrocuted on power lines. Two: birds often gather on power lines before migrating.
Just like with the flies, though, Eric has made it clear that they are not the birds on the power line, but rather are like them. The next lyric even brings that up (Hands gripping, and our fingers fried). The first layer to this set of lyrics focuses on the danger of gripping onto a power line, of hanging onto something that hurts you because you’re human, and not a bird. This, of course, is referencing the danger of them dating. Both of them recognize that they could easily be hurt through this endeavor if their fans turn on them because of it. Whether you’re looking at Solar’s comments on the subject - “because he's a "heartthrob", if we were in a relationship, I would feel sad and unbearable. (laugh)” - or Eric’s - “You never know when the public might turn its back on you” - it’s clear that they know exactly what the consequences of them pursuing a relationship would be. And, yet, according to the song, they’re still holding on. Why?
The answer to that question comes in the second layer of the lyrics. The layer that focuses not on the humanity of the songwriter, but the inherent bird-ness of the lyrics Eric has chosen to use. Like I said before, birds on power lines are commonly associated with birds about to migrate. Eric has said before that, when writing songs, “If there are lines from the movie that I really like, I jot them down and refer to them when composing songs. I also refer to a lot of songs or my own experiences.” In this case, I’m about 90% sure that his use of the bird metaphor was inspired from the same metaphor from Frank Ocean’s Pink + White (which we know Eric has listened to, because he liked a tweet recommending it to him), where birds are also indirectly referenced when talking about a rough time in the relationship.
The lyrics go: “If you could fly, then you’d feel south / Up north’s getting cold soon / The way it is, we’re on land.” All three of these lyrics have direct relatives in Cave Me In, even down to the discussion of directions, since Eric references both Northern lights and hemispheres later in the song. In Pink + White, Frank Ocean also builds up the bird metaphor, only to remind his audience that he and the woman he’s singing to are not birds, but people (The way it is, we’re in land).
If we’re going by this migration metaphor, then Ocean’s lyrics suggest a little more of what might be going on in Eric’s mind during the time he’s writing Cave Me In. Eric and Solar are at a crossroads, gathering on a power line before having to make a decision about which direction to go in their relationship. The instinctual, easy, thing to do would be to “feel South,” to go on with their lives the same way they had before, to not remain in the North where things are steadily getting colder. But, things aren’t that simple.
Once again, we dive into the land of English idiom, and I have to - unfortunately - explain to those of you who maybe aren’t quite so acquainted with American sayings, that “feeling South” can mean something a little beyond just migration. We often reference “going South” in terms of someone escaping, disappearing, or quitting. It’s essentially giving up. It can also refer to someone becoming more upset. Due to this, Frank (and Eric, through this extensive bird metaphor that they share) is saying that, despite the fact that the North is getting colder, if the woman he’s singing to could fly, then she (and probably he as well) would give up on the fight and “feel South.”
The thing is, as Frank reminds us in the very next lyric, and as Eric does with his, none of them are birds; they’re people, and so they do not always make the easy, instinctual decision. Eric’s lyrics, “hands gripping, and our fingers fried,” remind us that both him and Solar are still holding on, despite things getting more dangerous, and that brings us to our next set of lyrics, which cement this metaphor in even further.
QuoteGod bless those northern lights / And our own devices, babe
Right away, there’s that reference to North again, suggesting that they have chosen to remain doing something dangerous, rather than take the easy way out and go South, and that is because of two reasons:
Number one is the Northern lights, also referred to as Aurora Borealis, which are often a symbol of hope. A guiding light, if you will. So, going by this whole story Eric is telling, him and Solar are persisting through the danger due to the fact that they have hope. Solar, especially, has let us know that she’s been encouraged by the MooMoos’ support of WGM. She is, and has always been, especially moved by words of hope from her fans in times when she feels she’s made a mistake. She once said that she loves reading the letters that say things like “You made a mistake but I will still cheer you on! Don’t be discouraged and try your hardest!” I suspect the winning of the Best Couple award contributed to this hope on her end, since she was especially thankful of the MooMoos who supported WGM, even to the point that it was her first impulse to thank us when she received the award.
Eric’s reason for hope comes in the second half of this set of lyrics: “And our own devices, babe.” The phrase “our own devices” or “left to our own devices” is an idiom that suggests freedom. If someone is left to their own devices, they are free to do whatever they can on their own. It can be both good and bad, in the way that freedom can be both good and bad.
At KCON NY this past year, Eric was interviewed about WGM. When asked about getting married for real, he said this: “I could get married sooner, but… the moment you get married, you’re not living alone. Like, everything you do, you have to factor in another person and the likes and the dreams and the aspirations of that other person as well. And, if everything is in sync in that sense, like, there should be no problem. But, I think… I don’t know where I’m going to be, like ever, and so it’s hard for me to say that I’m going to get married like at this age.”
Basically, for him, the fans aren’t the largest roadblock to him pursuing a serious relationship (even though their reaction is probably still a definite one). What worries him more is that they won’t be “in sync,” that they won’t have room for each other’s likes and dreams and aspirations in their lives, especially since he’s not quite sure where his future is going. “If everything is in sync,” he says, “there should be no problem.” So, really, the hope here is that, eventually, if they’re left to their own devices, things will line up enough for the two of them that they’ll be able to pursue something together. Unfortunately, as the lead up to the chorus suggests, things aren’t quite that simple.
QuoteEntropy multiplies / Clock’s ticking and I’m mortified
Let’s go back, for a second, to Parts 3 and 4 of my last big article. I know it feels like so much time has passed since then (mostly because it kind of… has? Isn’t that weird?), but that feeling, that worry, that momentum, let’s go back to that.
I believe, due to the dates lining up, that Eric’s portion of Cave Me In was written after he and Solar found out they were ending. So like… post-Run Away With Me. However, I think the meat of this song was found in those weeks after Dubai, when Solar had I Wish You Love on repeat and Eric was… well, Eric was writing Cave Me In.
Dubai was, I think, for both of them, a taste of what things would be like if they weren’t the people they are. Eric himself even commented on how nice the freedom was when they were at the amusement park. They were able to go everywhere, and be together, and hold hands in public without anyone questioning it.
And then, of course, they came back and - here’s the most important part - Solar pulled away. If my analysis of I Wish You Love didn’t do enough to cement that in your head, here’s one more piece of evidence to suggest it, from a song Eric performed only once, very soon after they came back from Dubai. In fact, since he performed it here, I’d say that she’d been pulling away for a while, since they found out they were going to be ending soon.
Here 4 AM is, for your viewing pleasure:
Now, I’m not here to analyze that song, only to pick out a few key lyrics from there: “I’m stuck in a war, babe / And I need you to save me / Save me from me.” Eric is at this point, as both the lyrics of 4 AM and Cave Me In suggest, torn. He’s not sure whether to hold onto something dangerous or take the easy way out and leave things as they are. He’s “stuck in a war.”
I’d say that more than defines “entropy multiplies,” but I’ll take it even further than that. The most confusing part about Solar pulling away would’ve been the contrast to how things were in Dubai. We know they got close there, and she talks about it fondly even now, but we also know that she got distant soon after they got back. You can’t blame her, since she, like Eric, was probably also “stuck in a war” with herself over what to do before time ran out.
“Clock’s ticking and I’m mortified” also suggests that the main conflict in Eric’s head at this point has to do with how little time they have left: “When we started at first, we already knew there would be an end.”
Still, I think it must’ve been as disappointing for them as it was for us to find out the news.
Also, notice the word choice there. Mortified. Not scared, not nervous, not anxious, but mortified. This is a word that goes beyond any of those. It signifies extreme fear, and also shame. I’m not quite sure how to describe its meaning other than to say that it originates from the Latin word mors, which means death. It’s an intense emotion, especially in relation to time running out.
And this fear, this shame, what does it originate from? Well, the answer to that can be found in the next lyrics:
Quote‘Cause in the back of my mind, in the back of my hemisphere / Baby I want you to cave me in / So maybe I won’t have to admit it / Baby I want you to cave me in / So maybe I won’t ask to forget it
Spoiler(It is here I feel the need to have a quick disclaimer that some of this portion may have been written by Gallant and not Eric, but because the lyrics written by Eric flow into the lyrics written by Gallant so smoothly, I can’t differentiate. If anything is unreliable because of that, I apologise).
Eric here refers to his mind as a hemisphere, which suggests that he recognizes the conflict (North vs South) that he faces is all in his head. His desire exists in the back of his mind, though, which means it’s subconscious. It’s a secret wish, possibly even a shameful one if we’re remembering the use of the word “mortified” from earlier.
Secretly, he wants her to cave him in. What does that mean, though? I’m glad you asked. The English phrase of “cave in” means to give into someone or something. He wants her to make him give in, give up, accept defeat. The war in his mind needs a victor. I’m assuming that it’s his own wish of a relationship that he wants her to make him give into, since that is something that I can see him secretly desiring through their whole WGM run.
This also plays into the next lyric, where he explains that he wants her to make him give in so he “won’t have to admit it.” This may seem strange, since it’s a desire for a relationship that we’re talking about, and one would think that that would necessitate him admitting his feelings for her. The thing is, though, Eric’s always been pretty clear about his feelings for Solar, even from the beginning. I think here, he’s wishing that she would, to put it plainly, go first.
By this time, he would already be well-aware that Solar can be forward when she wants to be. She’s even said before that, if she likes someone, she will pursue them “in a straightforward and reckless way.” For most of their time together on WGM, Eric was the one always doing things first, and, due to this, he could never really be sure that she reciprocated his, frankly, quite obvious, feelings until Chuseok, when she kissed him. I think he’d want to start a relationship only after getting confirmation from her that she too wanted it.
And that’s the desire that he expresses in this chorus. He wants her to make him “cave in,” make him admit his own desire for them to try to give a real romantic relationship a go. And he wants her to do this by admitting her own desire for it first.
In the next set of lyrics, Eric even affirms that he wants this - no, he needs this - because, if she doesn’t, and he attempts to start the conversation, he might just ask her to “forget it.” They’re already close friends, and I’m sure he doesn’t want to jeopardize that friendship with her by trying to start a relationship. If he truly is “mortified” about the idea of time running out, it would make sense that he might end up scared enough to get halfway through proposing the idea to her, only to tell her to “forget it.”
And from here, of course, we go into Tablo’s beautiful rap about the contradictory nature of love (which I will explain only for the purpose of explaining, not analyzing, since it was written by Tablo, not Eric).
Love has either got you over heels or overdosed
Spoiler“Over heels” comes from the expression “head over heels in love,” which is just another way to say “madly in love,” or “all-consumingly in love.” Overdosed, on the other head, immediately makes one think of, like, a drug overdose. Of taking too much of a good thing and it having disastrous consequences. So love can be all-consuming in both a good and a bad way.
It’s got you off your feet or on your toes
Spoiler“Off your feet,” comes from the expression “swept off your feet,” which is a way of saying that you have fallen suddenly and completely in love with someone. The idiom itself actually comes from an old practice of a groom carrying his new bride over the threshold of his house due to the fact that newlyweds were believed to be very susceptible to evil spirits. “By carrying the bride over the threshold, the groom is putting a protective space between her and the floor; thus, protecting her.”
“On your toes,” despite sounding like it means the same thing, actually doesn’t, because English is weird and terrible. Someone or something that keeps you “on your toes” forces you to continue directing all your attention and energy to what you are doing. So, love can either be a whirlwind of good emotions, or something that takes all of your attention and is tiring.
It’s got you out your seat or in your place
Spoiler“Out your seat” is a reference to the practice of standing up and clapping when watching a particularly good piece of theater, poetry, music, etc. If something is so great that you give it a “standing ovation,” then it’s something that moved you so much that you couldn’t express your feelings about it just by sitting, you had to stand up and clap as well. In contrast, “in your place,” refers to someone being quiet, and not speaking up.
Through this, Tablo is saying that love can either make you very expressive, or very meek. Someone is either suddenly very open to sharing their feelings when in love, or they are suddenly afraid to.
It’s got you digging it or your grave
Spoiler“Digging it” is a fairly new slang term that basically just means really really liking something. Tablo compares this to the phrase “digging your own grave,” which is an idiom that refers to someone being responsible for their own downfall or ruin. So, love is either something really good, or it can cause you pain.
Love has got you mad about or just about mad
SpoilerTo be “mad about” someone is very similar to be “head over heels” for someone. It means to like or love someone very much, whereas “just about mad” refers to someone being on the brink of going crazy. Tablo is basically saying that there’s a fine line between being in love and going insane.
Got you in a crush or it’s got you in a crash
Spoiler“Crush,” while also being a verb, is American slang for having feelings of infatuation for someone. It’s usually seen as a little less than being in love, so like someone’s first “crush” would be the first person they have feelings for when they’re in middle school or high school. Meanwhile, “crash” is just the verb as it normally is, and Tablo’s use of it makes one think of a car crash. There isn’t a complete description for the opposition here, just basically love can be good or love can be bad, which is the premise of this entire rap.
What used to make your heart sing a hit, sing a smash
Spoiler“Hit” and “smash” are both slang terms used to talk about the act of a song getting really popular and effectively “smashing” the music charts. Think, like, what BTS just did to Melon’s charts.
Will make you wanna hit, wanna smash
SpoilerLike with crush/crash, these are just the actual verbs, referencing actual hitting/smashing of things.
Everything that you had into pieces / But love becomes clear when in pieces
SpoilerIt is here that Tablo gets a little more poetic. Here he is referring to how everything seems to be more clear in the aftermath of a fight. Or, you could take it as everything is more clear when broken down into smaller pieces. Either way, he is beginning to talk about the main message of the song, which is communication.
What you couldn’t see and hear during peace is / Why a heart becomes ears in two pieces
SpoilerFights can often be beneficial for couples, since they force people to admit things that they otherwise wouldn’t have said. People might not voice things they’re uncomfortable with when they’re trying to make a relationship, especially a new one, work.
“Ears in two pieces” refers to how listening to someone’s opinion can help you see both points of view. It’s a really weird, poetic image, I know, but it works for the song. If someone’s ears are in two pieces, they can understand the point of view of the person they are fighting with because they listened to what they had to say.
QuoteGravity makes wonders / But on us it doesn’t seem to weigh / Float like clouds on water / Or waves across an open plain
Gravity is, of course, the force that attracts planets/stars/objects together. Once again, we find ourselves in the midst of Eric’s many space and physics references. In the poetic sense of this song, gravity isn’t attracting two planets together, but two people. (Or, I mean, if you want to think about it from a physics sense, a planet and a sun… That was a bad pun. I’ll stop now.) The first lyric is referencing that attraction can create wonderful things. Eric being the hopeless romantic he is, the “wonders” he’s referring to are the phenomenon of being in love with someone. Or, more specifically, falling for someone.
The second lyric, however, turns things on its head a little. Eric went out of his way to correct this lyric, even posting it on Instagram, since most people (myself included) first thought that the lyric was “but on us it doesn’t seem to wait.” Once again, Eric calls back to a popular English idiom. For someone to be “weighed on” means that they have something burdening them, or worrying them. What Eric implies here with these two lyrics is that, despite all the things standing in their way, it is not the actual act of having feelings for each other that is causing the worry. It is rather, like the first verse suggests, the fans and their schedules. If they were just two people, normal people, things would already be “in sync,” but they’re not.
I also have to mention that this is the point where the Kakaotalk message shows up in the song, meaning that it was a message from Eric’s phone. Now, of course, there is no way that we can know who that message was from, or if it was even anyone relevant to this essay. But, I don’t know, in my own romantic mind, I’d like to believe that it was that same special “You” that Eric was waiting for in Hong Kong.
SpoilerAnd by that, of course, I mean that I’d like to believe it was Solar, which isn’t that far of a stretch since we know that they’re in contact and that Solar likes to contact people through Kakaotalk. But, like I said, I’m trying not to reach too far here.
Back when I’d thought the original lyrics were “on us it doesn’t seem to wait,” I’d seen this song as more of a song about a fight (which, I mean, it is, but I’ll get into that at the end), and this section, Eric’s verses, were about the quiet in the middle of it, where the couple in the song starts to piece things back together. This, of course, makes sense if you look at his two lyrics of imagery that come next: “Float like clouds on water / Or waves across an open plain.”
QuoteFloat like clouds on water
QuoteOr waves across an open plain
The scenes that Eric paints are really calm and beautiful. The second lyric also is, in my opinion, a pretty American image, since, you know, Great Plains. Through this he is reaffirming that there is no anxiety or worry here. Despite the fact that they’re walking a dangerous line, that their fans might be against it, that they might not be in sync with each other, they still not only have hope, they’re also not worried. They’re even calm.
It’s like Solar has said when talking about her second-guessing her career decisions; “When I had [questions about whether it was worth it] I tried to empty my brain. Like a white piece of paper. I chose to do this so I’m going along with it. I just did it.”
Read that again. I chose to do this, so I’m going along with it. Both Solar and Eric share this incredible trait of persistence (“Eric fully gives himself to all he commits to”). If they didn’t, they wouldn’t be where they are today.
I like how this, out of all the lyrics that Eric wrote, is the only part of those that he sings. It really cements that this, not the first verse, is where his head space currently is. Gone away is the entropy, the confusion. Left is only calmness, clarity and commitment, and that brings us to this week, to Valentine’s Day, to everything left to come (and also Eric’s album in March!!).
So, as a whole, what is Cave Me In about?
In reality, this song is a song about a fight. It’s about misunderstanding and confusion. Even the mere act of “caving someone in” is something very active, and that requires a small amount of conflict. The song explains that, because we are human, we fall in love, we make mistakes, and we fight, but sometimes conflict can work out for the better. It’s like Tablo says, “love becomes clear when in pieces.” Communication is a key ingredient in healthy relationships, and I think all three of the artists who worked on this song recognize that.
There is a conversation that the couple in the song needs to have. It is not quite clear what that conversation would be, but it’s something important. Something that they need to talk about before their relationship can move forward. For the purposes of examining Eric’s relationship, it seems to be a confession of feelings, but that is only the perspective of one of the three artists in the song, which really is a part of what makes it so beautiful.
It’s complicated, and messy, but it, like all three of these artists’ works, feels real. There’s enough painful detail in here to relate to and, of course, to analyze. But also enough empty space for the listener to project their own experiences onto, which is really the goal of any song. A listener, no matter what stage of their relationship they are in, can empathize with the situation of the artists. It’s a beautiful song, one of my favorites ever, and I really do hope that Eric continues to write more songs like this in the future.
From here, we go back into the chorus, with one last plea for her to “cave him in,” and then, it goes into that little bit at the end.
QuoteGirl cave me in, I won’t say it again, I want you
And I’m just going to leave this here:
Happy Valentine’s day everyone! Let’s hope things are a little less bleak for Ddongie this year than they were last year (looking at you, Eric, Mr. I’m So Lonely). Happy Cave Me In listening!
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@trowabarton99 That's actually really interesting... I hadn't thought about them eating at two places in a row thing before. I agree with you that we can't be sure of this source's validity, but I do think that every take on Ddongi is interesting, especially this one.
I have an article about Cave Me In cooked up for this week (since it is about to be Valentine's Day) so stay tuned on that one. I know this thread feels kind of dead right now, so if you want to be a part of our conversation in Kakao, feel free to let me know!
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There's something interesting in this new allkpop article I think you all should check out:
QuoteJin Ho Lee is an 8-year veteran in the entertainment industry and works for both CJ E&M and Sports Chosun. He has a channel on afreecaTV (similar to Twitch) and does live streams where he chats with people and talks about a variety of subjects including rumors that he has heard in the industry. Netizens who watched his live streams have compiled a long list of the rumors he gave in an online community post.
Some of the rumors include:
Could be true, might not be. Either way, I think it's interesting... especially since CJE&M is Eric's company...
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Let's discuss something difficult and controversial, shall we?
(It feels appropriate to do this now considering like... timing and recent comments made. I've wanted to talk about it for a while but I waited until I had enough information on the subject that I felt like I could handle it correctly. Thanks as always to Emi for helping me. Thanks to the rest of you for putting up with this. Also, like I don't want to turn this forum into an anti-[insert thing here] forum so like, constructive criticism would be nice, but let's keep our high ground, okay?)
Moon and Sunrise :
what moonsun is, where it came from, and why we really honestly don't need to worry about it
Why Moonsun?: The forming of RBW’s Main Pairings
Quote“The central figures of Mamamoo were Whee In and Hwa Sa. These two were the first to be chosen and the rest were added later. With Whee In and Hwa Sa as the center, I was making a base color for Mamamoo.” - Kim Do Hoon
Within Mamamoo, there are two pairings that are considered the most “real.” One is Moonsun. The other is Wheesa. Now, Wheesa, out of the two of them makes the most sense. They were best friends forever, skipped school together, auditioned together. They’re close in a way most trainee’s aren’t when they begin at a company. Not to mention, they already had a subunit (2 Young Girls) in the making before they were ever signed to RBW.
Moonsun, however, was… an accident. Byul and Solar were the last two to sign out of the four of them. Solar was a shy loner who wasn’t that great at dancing. Moonbyul was an ex-leader of another group (one she claims is now debuted and that we’d recognize…) who’d lost a ton of weight in a short period of time. Both of them saw RBW as their last chance.
From what the girls have said in interviews, two teams were made of the twelve RBW trainees, split into Group A and Group B. “We were on Team A,” Moonbyul explained for DC Inside back during their Mr. Ambiguous era. “It was a survival [competition].” Despite the fact that these girls would eventually become Mamamoo, they had to fight tooth and nail for their spots.
Sometime in there, either before they were the final four, or afterwards, Solar taught Moonbyul how to rap. If it was before, that might’ve been the thing that pushed her over the edge and into Mamamoo. If it was after, it might’ve pushed her over the edge into something else, since we all know that MoonStar was really the first to have the “Girl Crush” label placed on her out of the group.
The original order of Mamamoo did just what Kim Do Hoon said Mamamoo was originally: it put Wheein and Hwasa in the center. Despite what the girls currently say about their order now, they originally were Solar > Hwasa > Wheein > Moonbyul. By Peppermint Chocolate, the order had shifted to where it is now, as Moonbyul > Solar > Wheein > Hwasa.
So, the question is, what happened?
It could’ve been a lot of things, to be honest. It could’ve been the names or the rapping or just the fact that Moonbyul was the first one to reach out and become closes to Solar. In the end, however, RBW’s attempt to “pair the spares” ended up with them discovering a pairing that they hadn’t fully considered before. Solar’s naming ideas finally went up the scale enough to create “SoLa,” they had a charismatic rapper whose parents literally named her MoonStar, and they had a powerful vocal duo who were childhood friends. Things were set for debut. And then one of those pairings, um, eclipsed the other.
Creating an Eclipse: Establishing a Main Pairing Within Mamamoo
So, you’d think, after debut, Wheein and Hwasa would be the main pairing,then? You know, childhood best friends, matching tattoos, been doing whatever this is together since they were in middle school…
Nope!
Despite the fact that RBW itself doesn’t call Moonsun Moonsun, they obviously know that the similarity comes from their connection to the planets. That’s why, in one of Solar’s first interviews after debut, she says something she hadn’t said before: Solar also has the meaning of Sun so it connects with the “Sun” in my real name, as well.
The first notable “Moonsun-y” thing can be found in their shared fancafe memo from July 29, 2014. However, because it’s just a selfie of the two of them together, it’s what I’ll be calling a “genuine” moment - something that they would have done together/posted without RBW deciding to promote them as the main pairing of the group.
The second one, however isn’t a “genuine” moment, but rather a “fabricated” one. In early September of 2014, RBW was given the opportunity to send two of Mamamoo’s members to Hello Counselor (the first variety show the girls ever appeared on). In what now seems unsurprising, they chose to send Moonbyul and Solar. The two girls obviously weren’t ready for variety, and they kind of just sat there quietly the whole time, not knowing what to say. In fact, Solar would later say that she prefers variety shows like Showtime over Hello Counselor, because “If we do shows like that we won’t feel as restrained and can enjoy ourselves.”
Despite how the girls felt, though, it was already clear what pairing RBW was going to milk for all it was worth. At the same time, they were also vamping up Moonbyul’s “Girl Crush” image as seen in this performance, where not only was she the only one in pants/suspenders, her adlib for the night also included her pointing at the audience and saying “My lover is… you!”
Meanwhile, Solar’s the only one of the group in a soft white dress and pearls, adding to the image that she’s the most “traditionally feminine” of the group. This is something I’ll get into later - closer to UOAY - but it’s one of the things I noticed first about the group when I was introduced to it (and then promptly introduced to Moonsun because that ship is unavoidable).
Byul continued flirting with the fans (although that might just be her naturally greasy personality at work) in a fancafe Q&A. A MooMoo asked Mamamoo what they thought of her at a fansign, and Moonbyul responded, saying “You were pretty~~~~ HooHooHoot +_+ (Something about my words and that face together seems kinda pervy…;; keke)”
And then, of course, the apex of this comes in the form of their unit group, name Moon and Sunrise as of this Moonbyul fancafe diary from October 2014. As of this point, RBW has what they want now: a leader pairing set to become a unit group anytime they need them to. Except, that’s not what they do with them....
Moon and Sunrise: Fanservice, Queerbaiting, and One Giant Mess
Quote“A date with Solar kekekekekekekekekekeke (Moonbyul).Moon and~~ Sunrise. We’re official ><” Moonbyul’s fancafe memo, 140809
Quote“Solar is sincere. She’s not the nitpicking type. When we ask her to do something, she’d completely understand and do it. And she’s very stable on stage.” Kim Do Hoon
This is where I start to throw around a lot of terms and talk about a lot of controversial things so I’d just like to preface this by stating I’ve done a lot of research (not just for this article) on the topic I’m about to cover, to the point of, like, reading thesis projects. And, if it turns out I’m wrong and this isn’t one giant RBW mess and they are dating, then like… good for them. I just want Solar to be happy. But I think you’ll agree with me at the end of this that that most likely isn’t the case.
QuoteQueerbaiting: a term used to describe the perceived attempt by canon creators (typically of television shows) to woo queer fans and/or slash fans, but with no intention of actually showing a gay relationship being consummated on screen.
Now, this isn’t new to K-Pop. There’s a whole lot of this stuff going on, and, while we’re obviously never going to know the truth about people’s relationships unless they give it to us, the companies that run the industry both know what it is and know how it works. The thing is, we like stories. And, while rags-to-riches stories are fantastic and wonderful and, in Solar’s case, can make me cry a little, they’re not something exciting that you can follow. Shipping, on the other hand, is. Just look at the past few weeks: Itaewon, the awards, Dubai photos. It’s all so exciting. It’s no wonder that love stories are the one people choose to cling to when they’re looking at idols - they’re easy and universal and also it’s fun to die a little bit every time a new picture comes out. Due to the nature of girl groups/boy groups, they also mostly happen to be same-gender pairings just because of the amount of contact people have with each other when they’re in the same group. And, well, skinship in Korea is different between people of the same gender than it is in say, like, America, where I live. Because of cultural differences, some things can be misunderstood due to that.
For actual LGBT+ people, however, queerbaiting is a taste without a promise. For those who do relate to that taste (not just people who ship it, but who actually full heartedly would love it if their idols were just like them) it’s kind of cruel. Also, it exists for one thing and one thing only: to make a profit.
You all remember the Blue Dragon awards, right? How Moonbyul “asked out” Jung Woo Sung, and suddenly Decalcomanie was at #1? How many of you know that it was her idea?
Yep, Byul knew it would work, because they’d done it before. Do me a quick favor, search “Mamamoo Solar Dating Scandal” on Google. Tell me what pops up.
If that’s what you got, you may have an idea where I’m going with this.
So, a few weeks before UOAY was to be released, Dispatch suddenly caught hold of pictures of Solar and some mysterious guy on a date. Eating ice cream, walking arm in arm, and even, it seems, kissing.
Of course, the guy was then revealed to be Moonbyul, and RBW said that they were pictures taken of them filming the music video. Except, if you’ve even remotely seen UOAY, you know that none of that happens in the music video. It was, through and through, a plot to gain attention. And it worked. UOAY remains, to this day, Mamamoo’s most popular song. Sure, that has a lot to do with their amazing stages, the catchy lyrics, and their ad libs, but you can’t deny that this scandal, this story that RBW was presenting to the world, helped give the song a boost before it even came out.
Then there’s the fact of Solar’s image within the group. She’s the “girly” one, the “feminine” one. Except… she’s not. At least, not any more than Wheein or Hwasa. This is the woman who listens to rap music and chose Sexyback as her Moosical stage - she’s not exactly Mamamoo’s innocent flower. Wheein explained it pretty well today when she said “[Solar] looks really feminine and pretty, but her personality is really laid back and she’s just like an unnie that lives next door. She’s sometimes like a babo (fool) too. I think those are her charms.” Throughout UOAY, however, she was constantly dressed opposite to Moonbyul. For Byul, that’s just what she likes to wear. For Solar, however, well I think we all know she’s most comfortable in jeans and an oversized shirt/sweater. This makes it easy for Solar to become, well, the projection of anyone interested in/biased towards Moonbyul.
SpoilerAka no one really cares about her feelings, they just use her as a prop for their own stories and it upsets me on a daily basis.
Nevermind the fact that both Moonbyul and Solar were out here on the radio saying they wouldn’t date each other. In this interview from June 2015, even the interviewer is struck by how quickly Solar shot down the idea of them dating, and then her going so far as to explain that she wouldn’t because “Moonbyul is kind of greasy…”
(Moonbyul was also out here saying she’d date Wheein over Solar, but that’s a different conversation about a different pairing of mine, so we’ll just leave it there).
Spoiler“Wheein is… Wheein has lots of aegyo. She’s not admitting it herself but it just flows naturally. She makes people feel happy… by using aegyo. She shows ODA to me and it really melts my heart”
So… Solar hates grease. Moonbyul is greasy. Moonbyul loves when she’s shown aegyo. Solar hates doing aegyo. You can see where I’m going with this...
None of that mattered. RBW had created a pairing, baited the fans of it, and just kept the content coming. And, the fan opinion matters, because Kim Do Hoon himself calls Mamamoo’s new direction (as of You’re the Best) “a musician formed by the public.” The fan opinion matters to Mamamoo - it shapes who they are and what they do and, most importantly, how they are perceived. This is important for something I’ll discuss in a minute. For now, though, let’s jump into another reason why Solar and Byul obviously weren’t really dating during/after UOAY: Solar’s love life.
Sting: A Past Hurt, Mamamoo, and the Creation of Solar
QuoteBut in the midst of meeting someone new / strangely I called for you / I really thought I had erased all memories of you - Sting
I’ve talked before about Solar’s first boyfriend. All we know about him comes in little snippets. He was ambiguous. She never ate alone with him. Things like that. Things that make it seem like he was a lot less serious about her than she was about him.
Judging by Eun Ah’s descriptions of Solar in high school, I’d say she dated him somewhere between the ages of 18 and 21 (21 being when she threw her life off course and decided to become a singer). Going by how attached to him she still seemed to be for years afterwards, I’d say it was on the latter end of that, probably around her switching her major, that he left far away.
@enko20has talked a bit about Solar’s past, and the hardships she went through with her parents. In an interview with MRJKPOP during the Piano Man era, Solar described it like this: “Before, I used to be a dark person and had to go through many bad things.” She then follows it up with, “But with the birth of the name and the group Mamamoo, good things happened. Things have changed. I have changed too. I like it.”
Mamamoo, in a way, let Solar start over. No longer was she the “dark” Yongsun of her past, now RBW had given her something precious. In the same interview, Moonbyul said that their company “let us create ourselves.” Hwasa, too, notices the way becoming Mamamoo has impacted all of them. I think this quote of hers describes it best:
QuoteI think [Mamamoo] gives us new identities. Moments when we’re Hyejin, Byulyi, Wheein, Yongsun… And the moments when we’re Hwasa, Wheein, Solar… Now each of us has another identity. Doesn’t that make it even more meaningful to us?
It’s here that I feel the need to point out that our girl has said herself that sometimes she gets confused between “Solar” and “Yongsun” - meaning she sees them as two slightly different versions of herself. She has moments when she’s Solar, and moments when she’s Yongsun, and moments where she can’t quite tell the difference, and that’s okay.
The thing is, while Solar was caught up in all of the Moonsun chaos of Um Oh Ah Yeah, Yongsun received a special visit from someone from her past:
This is just speculation, based on her memos, her diaries, and the songs she was listening to during this era (believe me, I have combed through all of them), not to mention the fact that Mamamoo had suddenly skyrocketed in popularity, but I’m fairly sure she met back up with her ex around this time.
It would make sense; a similar thing happened to Moonbyul. She even said on ASC that that’s why she wrote their song “No, No, No”: “This song is about a guy who I liked but dumped me. But it’s a little bit about revenge and getting back at him.” Both Moonbyul and Solar went through a lot before becoming, well, Moonbyul and Solar, and there were people in their lives who seemed to appreciate them more afterwards.
Take everything under the cut with a grain of salt. It’s me reading too much into song lyrics and memos and stuff again. While I do feel the need to mention that these were the only songs Solar recommended throughout the year in which I’m discussing, they’re also, you know, song lyrics. And she might’ve connected with them for other reasons than the ones I’m guessing at. This section’s not super important to proving my point, as well, so if you’re not into my delusions you can just skip it. Maybe you’ll find it illuminating, though. I don’t know.
SpoilerHer taste in music itself over the span of a year tells a story. She starts out in May (Ahh Oop! era) listening to Warwick Avenue by Duffy. The lyrics talk about “leaving you for the last time, baby.” The singer “want(s) to be free.” It feels like a moving on anthem. Like she’s let go of whatever this guy did to her - she doesn’t need him anymore; she has Mamamoo and the fans to get all the love she needs.
Then in July, she posts a short video dubbing “Grown Man” by Miss B. It’s weird, spontaneous, her only dub (that I’ve found, and I looked through all of her diaries and memos), and, if you look at the lyrics for the full song, it almost feels.... angry? You can see Solar in the lyrics, in wishing for commitment that this guy isn’t going to give to her; “I’m looking for the one not a one night stand.” Someone has come back into Solar’s life now, someone who doesn’t seem to want commitment. I think it would have to be her ex, since she is affected very deeply by this for the rest of the year, and a run in after UOAY stops promoting with some random guy wouldn’t have done that to her.
By September she seems to be regretting pushing him away. On the 10th, she recommends two songs: “Before You Walk Out of My Life” by Monica and “Honestly” by Monsta X. The lyrics of both are conflicting and paint Solar as the one who blames herself for how their relationship turned out.
“I made the choice and you couldn’t decide / I made the choice, I was wrong you were right / Deep down inside, I apologize” - Warwick Avenue
“I don’t want to hurt you but I have to tell you now / It’s not easy to hide my heart / I know you feel decieved, I’m trying to end it / …/ should I be honest? / (You know that I feel nothing / When I see you?) / You were my spring but I pushed you away / I left you all alone when you were so kind” - Honestly
I’m not sure exactly what happened between them. If it was just a chance encounter in July or if something else developed out of it, but from here on out, Solar takes the actual steps in moving away from him. The most obvious step being her Emotions series, the first two parts of which come out in the fall and winter, detailing the story of living like a fool and being left by love.
And then, Solar returns from her January break with a series of memos indicating she feels a little lost. The captions all read things like “Smiling Byul, Blank Yong,” and “Who Am I?” and “Who Am I? Where Am I?” Her music taste in February starts out with “Already Winter” by Vromance (I cannot erase you and throw you away / Keep shedding tears of pain) and “Stronger Than Me” by Amy Winehouse (Cause I’ve forgotten all of young love’s joy / … / He said ‘the respect I made you earn - / Thought you had so many lessons to learn’ / I said ‘You don’t know what love is - get a grip - / Sounds as if you’re reading from some other tired script’). However, the month ends with a different Amy Winehouse song: richard simmons Me Pumps (yes, you read that right). It’s a… weird choice of song, but it’s not quite heartbreakingly sad like all her other recommendations have been for the past year, and the song itself ends like this: “You should have known from the jump / That you always get dumped / So dust off your richard simmons me pumps.” It’s a statement of perseverance. Of trying again and again despite “always getting dumped,” of perseverance found in both Amy Winehouse and Solar herself. She finally feels ready to get back out there, to start dating again, despite thinking that it’s all just going to end in heartbreak.
And that’s good, because things are about to get interesting…
(Or maybe I’m just reading too much into song lyrics again. If that’s the case, smack me in the wrist, ignore this section, and move on).
TLDR: Moonsun couldn’t have been a thing, because Solar wasn’t ready for a new relationship until February of this year. And we all know what happened in April.
In My Dreams: We Got Married, Yongkong-Byulkong, and Where We Go From Here
Quote“In a dream, in yesterday’s dream I saw / The anonymous you I cannot forget / Never having seen you before and not knowing your name / The person that passed by in my dream” - In My Dreams
Quote“[To get to the place where we are right now] we had to sacrifice things people our age do… However, we can do what we love, so we also gained a lot.” - Hwasa
If I’m being honest here, I was introduced to Mamamoo through Moonsun. I have a friend who’s really into Moonbyul and one day she just pulled my whole group together on Skype and was like “Come on, we’re watching You’re the Best.” She then talked about Moonsun for a bit, and I was like okay… whatever… because, like I’ve said before, it takes a lot for me to ship real people, and also at that time I was favoring Hwasa so everything Moonsun was kind of at the back of my mind.
Then I watched Showtime, fell in love with Solar, and then promptly got caught up on We Got Married because I figured my relative disinterest in Moonsun meant it wouldn’t be too hard for me to watch and I’d get to learn more about Solar, and… well… I’m here now.
Solar starts out this chapter of our story joining We Got Married. It seems to be both her decision, and her company’s, since WGM - like Showtime - fits the type of variety Solar wanted to do, and also she’s a fan. RBW knew it would gain exposure for Mamamoo and so they agreed. The fans immediately retaliated, saying that it was a “cover up” or something for Moonsun.
Once again, Solar’s feelings are completely ignored here. Sure, let’s ignore the producer saying the people must first want to come on the show and the fact that Solar was a fan beforehand and all that. Let’s also ignore her newly expressed wish to start dating despite the fact that she doesn’t have any time to. Let’s just… ignore We Got Married.
They made it through the first few episodes, got bored and annoyed, and left it up to a few people like me who weren’t so turned off by the show to keep updated on what happened with Solar.
And, both Solar and RBW watched this happen. Solar’s always been open about her keeping up with the MooMoos and their opinions, saying “I search up Mamamoo performances, articles, even videos too. When I watch them, I see things that I wasn’t aware of at the time.” Beyond that, she’s been caught stalking Twitter a few times, so she knew that there was dislike of her presence on We Got Married. Still, it shouldn’t matter, right? Because everything was still flowing very smoothly in Moonsun land, going all the way to their concert, Moosical.
You all saw that Words Don’t Come Easy performance, right? There was a… lot going on there. What stood out to me the most, however, was how the fans lost their minds at this particular moment:
SpoilerNow, I’m a dancer. Recreationally, not professionally. Still, I’ve seen Mamamoo perform. I know the difference between when they’re doing something choreographed and when they’re doing something just for fun. However, Moonbyul’s face in that moment told me it was choreographed. Here, I’ve even put it to the time stamp for you so you can watch it yourself. Her expression doesn’t change throughout the whole act, despite the fact that Mamamoo’s the type to smile at each other when they’re spontaneously playing onstage. It’s staged. Every bit of it. Still, the MooMoos went insane - as they were supposed to, because everything about that stage was meant for them to go insane. This is where I first started getting my suspicions that Moonsun in general was a little more fabricated than I’d originally thought.
There was also the fact that no one seemed to notice (or care) that this was obviously choreographed. Paired with the incessant screeching that We Got Married was “scripted! It’s all scripted!” after Chuseok and, well, you can see why I’d be a little more than amused.
We’ve all talked a lot about Solar’s feelings during WGM. I’m not going to do that anymore. Instead, I think we should look at what I’ve been referring to as “Damage Control” (or: why there seems to be a Yongkong-Byulkong after every big Ddongi moment). It’s weird, right, that Moonsun is the only pairing with like a thousand V-Apps. I’m usually not complaining because I like learning about Solar and she’s adorable when she makes crafts and things, but there is something strange about it. Especially the last one.
The pattern goes like this: something Ddongi happens, Moonsuns as a collective lose their minds, YK-BK comes on, they all get distracted by one little thing.
Jeju Island Makes things get real? YK-BK’s Worry Counseling wipes that away.
Solar ends WGM almost in tears? YK-BK’s Yaja Time tries to get her to say she’s happy the show is over.
Ddongi wins best couple? YK-BK’s Happy Early New Years gives Byul the chance to say she never really liked WGM in the first place.
It’s weird and still actually pretty smart from RBW’s end. This way, everyone’s happy. We’re happy because we got something. The Moonsuns are happy because they got something. Solar and Byul are happy because they get to talk to their fans and make cute little cards together.
At least, that’s the way it should work. The thing is, Solar is Yongsun too. She doesn’t always do things for the sake of her team or her group or her image. When Moonbyul asks if she’s happy WGM is over, she answers “not at all.” When the award is brought up, she calls Eric “oppa” like twice and calls out the fans who didn’t support her. She can no longer go along happily with everything because she is, after all, a real person under there.
That leaves Moonbyul as the one who is left to make something out of the mess of confusing statements that Solar puts forth. If you rewatch these past two Yongkong-Byulkongs (excluding Byul’s birthday one), you’ll notice (especially in the first one) that she tries to steer Solar along a pre-decided path. “You’re happy WGM is over, right?” she asks. “You’re happy, right,” until Solar says, out loud, that she is not at all, at which point Moonbyul drops her own wild card and seems opposed to it.
RBW recognizes this too. Kim Do Hoon said once in an interview that “[Moonbyul] would put [the other girls] in order. When the other members are fooling around, Moonbyul is the one who is the most calm. She would watch over them and control traffic.”
And then today, in Japan, we get even more confirmation of this, with Byul saying that “there needs to be a decision maker to get through certain situations” and that she’s one of the members who wants to “play that role.” Solar is their leader, but Byul is their compass - guiding Mamamoo in the direction that their company wants them to go, “playing the role” despite anyone’s real feelings. The two of them will plow through almost anything for the sake of their members, their group, and their fans, and we shouldn’t ignore that despite the fact that we don’t ship them together. Moonbyul’s recent behavior is a result of RBW trying to keep the balance between the biggest thing in their fanservice arsenal and the actual feelings of the two people who make up that thing.
Delusions aside, let’s stick with the facts. Byul and Solar are best friends who hang out a lot. Solar has also proclaimed herself Eric’s best friend. Byul and Solar are in contact. Eric and Solar are in contact. She loves both of them to pieces and they both love her too, in their own ways. There is nothing any group of fans can do to change that. Not to mention, Moonbyul herself has praised Eric several times, and, from the few fancams I’ve seen of their interactions, looks friendly with him. There’s no reason to believe there’s any animosity between the three of them.
That being said, I will say this: We Got Married’s slightly scripted nature has given us something that the Moonsuns don’t have - a reality check. We’re not dumb (most of us have been through the WGM ringer before); things are scripted and things are staged and really you have to use your brain to figure out what’s real and what’s not. No one is doing that for the other side of this. No one. And that’s why one comment of Moonbyul going “eh I didn’t really like WGM” can rile up fans so much they ignore the fact that she was squealing and laughing about the award with Solar just a few moments before.
Because of the award she received, Solar now knows that there are two different groups of MooMoos, not just one: MooMoos who “watched us a lot and paid a lot of attention”, who are “the reason for me to receive the award,” and MooMoos who didn’t like them as a couple. Whatever she does now, she knows that there are people who are going to support her, and she also knows that the other side will mostly just ignore whatever they don’t like.
Solar once said that she’s not bothered by the comments that say Mamamoo looks old because “we are not old. And that is the truth.” As of right now, she's the only one who knows the truth about her life and her relationships and her feelings. And, whatever truth that is, she knows we’ll support her through it.
I think it’s also safe to say, though, judging by those very suspicious pictures the night that they won the award, Byul will too. Despite what she claims on camera
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7
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Here we have, as promised.
1. The One by Carly Rae Jepsen
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
Truth is I never thought of us together / you’re just a friend of mine.
*WGM Note 1: “I’m sorry I wasn’t the one you wanted!” - Eric, episode 3 preview.
We should know better / this can’t last forever / but kiss me one more time. / … /
*WGM Note 2: “When we started at first, we already knew there would be an end.” - Solar, episode 33
Romance is fine / pour me some wine / tell me it’s just for the fun of it / … /
*WGM Note 3: “To be honest, I wish it was you. I thought it would be fun. I thought our personalities would match very well.” - Eric, episode 2
Reason For Choosing: Okay, so back in between Jeju and Chuseok when I was still all messed up about whether or not I shipped them but I knew that there was something pulling me back week after week (besides Solar, of course) this song got stuck in my head. I remember just feeling like this song kind of sums up We Got Married relationships as a whole: they’re messy and weird and full of doing a lot of things together that make it feel like you’re not in a relationship when you are in one. It’s a good opener for a playlist that slowly gets more romantic.
Also, the bridge’s chorus of “Don’t fall in love, fall in love, fall in love” feels like the CRJ is reminding herself not to, as if she’s already started falling. That feels very ddongie too.
2. 7 Hours Ago by Honeywater
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
I’d like to think you’ll take it well / free me from my prison cell / … /
*WGM Note 1: “There are many secrets in this cell. Hurry up and escape from here.” - writing on the cell wall, episode 1
‘Cause I’m still in love with an angel /
*WGM Note 2: “I’m not an angel / I’m not a person like that” - Solar, Angel by Mamamoo’s Angel Line
She won’t let me in her head or her heart / now so far away / from the place that we were seven hours ago
*WGM Note 3: “[The moment I started seeing you as a woman and not a friend] was when you started opening your mind to me. You were very shy in the beginning.” - Eric, episode 26
Reason For Choosing: Well, first there’s the obvious. Angel. And then the following “she won’t let me in her head or her heart.” This feels like a song that encapsulates how Eric was feeling during the early episodes. I also like the fact that it’s (kind of) a duet. It makes me think this is the kind of song Eric might record a cover of.
3. Walk For Two by Jack and White
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
Do you really wanna walk home all alone? / Sure you wouldn’t rather have me tag along? / … /
*WGM Note 1: “I’ve never walked this road with someone… So I’ve always walked this street by myself. It’s my first time to walk with someone” - Solar, episode 7
Let me light the way when the sun goes down / I’ll take you by the hand when you get turned around / All I’m asking you is a walk for two /
*WGM Note 2:
Reason For Choosing: It reminded me of their night walk. Enough said.
4. Loving Someone by the 1975
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
My heart is telling me the telly isn’t telling me anything / I need but it needs you to keep selling me / … /
I never did understand / The duality of art and reality / Living life and treating it as such / There’s a certain disconnect to touch
Reason For Choosing: Well, first of all I made a vine to this song for them when I was still falling in love with them. Like The One, I think it talks a lot about the kind of things people would go through while being on WGM. There aren’t any WGM notes for it because I don’t have any direct quotes from them about the whole virtual/real marriage thing. I encourage you to look up the full lyrics, though, because there are a lot of them and I’ve only put a few here.
5. Is There Somewhere by Halsey
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
And I promised myself I wouldn’t let you complete me /
I’m trying not to let it show / That I don’t wanna let this go / Is there somewhere you can meet me?
*WGM Note 1: “Hold on. We don’t know each other’s phone numbers,” - Eric, episode 7
You’re writing lines about me / Romantic poetry
I’m sorry, but I fell in love tonight / I didn’t mean to fall in love tonight / You’re looking like you fell in love tonight / Can we pretend that we’re in love?
Reason For Choosing: I kind of had to, didn’t I? It’s the perfect song about falling for someone when you don’t mean to. I especially like the “can we pretend that we’re in love?” In the timeline I put this somewhere between Jeju and Chuseok, depending on whether I’m looking at Solar or Eric.
6. I Didn’t Just Come Here To Dance by Carly Rae Jepsen
(yep, there’s a lot of her on this playlist. it’s bc eric likes her music and i do too)
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
I didn’t just come here to dance / If you know what I mean / Do you know what I mean / If you’d just give me a chance / You’d see what I see / Do you see what I see
Walk me home / ‘Cause I love every single thing about you
*WGM Note 1: Both Solar and Eric said that their favorite thing they’ve been told by the other person is that Solar “can do anything” and Eric “has no flaws”
Reason For Choosing: My Ear’s Candy is a Thing that Exists and Keeps Me Up At Night.
7. As Long As You Love Me (as covered) by Sleeping At Last
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
Loneliness has always been a friend of mine / I’m leavin my life in your hands
*WGM Note 1: Solar - The Enigmatic Yeba by enko20
Don’t care what is written in your history / As long as you’re here with me
*WGM Note 2: “I don’t have many good memories about Christmas. But this year, I like that I can spend Christmas with Eric.” - Solar, episode 25
Doesn’t really matter if we’re on the run / It seems like we’re meant to be
*WGM Note 3: “They say you can see the true you when you travel. There’s a saying that not getting along when you travel means you’re not supposed to be together. We don’t have to worry about that. That was really nice.” - Eric, episode 31
I’ve tried to hide it so that no one knows / But I guess it shows / When you look into my eyes
Reason For Choosing: If you haven’t gathered from my last two videos, Sleeping At Last’s covers make me emotional. This one made me particularly emotional about Solar, and the message behind it reminded me of their snow date. I think it also goes along with the idea that Solar kind of threw away her ideal type as she started falling for Eric; “I don’t care who you are, where you’re from, what you did, as long as you love me.”
8. Run Away With Me by Carly Rae Jepsen
(you all knew this was coming)
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
*the whole song. just. the whole thing. not convinced? here’s the video i made for it*
Reason For Choosing: Well, Eric covered it right after he found out they were ending, the night before they filmed their snow date/pool convo episode. Also, he brought it up again recently, during their suspected Itaewon date, so… It’s an important song for this couple.
9. Chasing Cars (as covered) by Sleeping At Last
This is another song I made a video for, so instead of going over lyrics and explanations, I’m just going to link you to that, since it kind of explains itself.
10. Tell Her You Love Her by Echosmith
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
You treat her better / Make sure to see it through / Don’t be just everything she wants / Be everything she needs
When she says she loves you / Tell her you love her too
*WGM Note 1:
But don’t you run away, run away when you get tired / ‘Cause this will slip away, slip away / And start a fire / That can never be put out / Oh, hurry time is running out / But don’t you run away, run away before you tell her you love her
Reason For Choosing: This song encapsulates everything I, as a Solar stan first and foremost, wanted to say to Eric after seeing her serenade him in the first Dubai episode. It’s a blessing, in a way, as I felt things get real. Also, I almost titled my first Ddongie fic “Oh, hurry time is running out” but I changed it to a different lyric from a different song instead because I thought it fit better.
11. Wildest Dreams/Video Games by The Queen & King
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
She said “Let’s get out of this town / Drive out of the city / Away from the crowd”
*see: Run Away With Me
Say you’ll see me again / Even if it’s just in your / Wildest dreams / Heaven is a place on earth with you / Tell me all the things you want to do
*WGM Note 1: “I’ll come out in your dreams in the traditional clothing.” “Please come, Arab princess.” “Wait for me.” - Solar and Eric, episode 30
He holds me in his pretty arms / Drunk and I am seeing stars / This is all I think of
*WGM Note 2:
Reason For Choosing: Well, first it was on my Discover Weekly playlist on Spotify. I think Wildest Dreams and Is There Somewhere are both songs that are fairly obvious for WGM couples, but, as you can see, there are a few specific lines that really connected with me. Also, it’s a duet, so it reminds me of them in that aspect too.
12. I Wish You Love by Nancy Wilson
SpoilerNotable Lyrics: the whole song. My analysis for it can be found here.
Reason For Choosing: Solar played it for a full month between Dubai and their next filming. It’s super duper duper sad. Also, she played it for Eric on the yacht. Because she wants me dead.
13. Already Gone (as covered) by Sleeping At Last
(remember what i said about those covers…)
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
Remember all the things we wanted / Now all our memories, they’re haunted / We were always meant to say goodbye
*WGM Note 1: see WGM Note 2 for The One
And I want you to know / You couldn’t have loved me better / But I want you to move on / So I’m already gone
*WGM Note 2: see analysis of I Wish You Love
It started with a perfect kiss then / We could feel the poison set in / “Perfect” couldn’t keep this love alive / You know that I love you so / I love you enough to let you go
*WGM Note 3:
Reason For Choosing: I’m an angst person. I like crying a lot. Also it fits with Solar’s post-Dubai mindset. I almost made my video for their final episode to this song, but I figured Chasing Cars fit the “bittersweet” theme more than this song did. This song is just sad.
14. One Night Only - Disco Version by Beyonce
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
I have no doubt that I could love you forever / The only trouble is / I really don’t have the time
*WGM Note 1: “We fit for each other very well.” - Eric, episode 32
You and I are really running out of time
Reason For Choosing: Mamamoo covered it awhile back (ironically enough, it was at the KBS gayo two years ago) and, because of that, I titled my first ddongi fic after one of the lyrics: you and i are really running out of time.
15. P.D.A. (We Just Don’t Care) by John Legend
(blame Eric for this one, guys)
SpoilerLet’s go to the park /
*WGM Note 1:
I wanna kiss you underneath the stars / Maybe we’ll go too far / We just don’t care /
*WGM Note 2: see: Dubai
You know I love you when you loving me / Sometimes it’s better if it’s publicly / I’m not ashamed, I don’t care who sees /
If we keep up on this fooling around / We’ll be the talk of the town / I’ll tell the world I’m in love anytime / … /
*WGM Note 4:
Oh I don’t care about propriety / Let’s break the rules and ignore society
Reason For Choosing: Eric covered it a few days before their Hongdae park date. Uploaded it as a V-Live with no comments/explanation/etc. Just him singing the song. Also, it fits with what I feel is a sort of… rebellion? coming from him during/after the filming of the last episodes. That half-done cover up of his supporting Mamamoo, uploading Solar’s photo, and also, just wishing WGM didn’t have to end, even if it meant their relationship was being broadcast to the public.
16. Memory (Draw Draw Draw) by Mamamoo
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
The nervous feelings of our first encounter / The fluttering moment, draw, draw
*WGM Note 1:
Every day, every night / The bus stop on the opposite side
*WGM Note 2:
Draw, draw (and then listen) / Day by day fill up my ear / With your comforting voice
*WGM Note 3: “You know you can call me anytime if you feel depressed or lonely.” - Eric, episode 33
Reason For Choosing: Well, Solar helped write it, didn’t she? The first and last set of lyrics are the ones she sings (which means they’re probably ones she helped write since Byul is the other member credited for writing this and she wrote the rap).
17. Let’s Get Lost by Carly Rae Jepsen
(it’s the sequel song to both run away with me and the one… okay… i mean i do love this album with my entire heart and soul but that’s not the only reason it’s on this list)
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
I was never one to want to / Put my trust in someone else completely
But you / You could be the one / You could be the one
*WGM Note 1: see The One
Baybe let’s go get lost /
*WGM Note 2: see Run Away With Me
I like the way you’re driving slow /
*WGM Note 3: Eric said, when Solar fell asleep while he was driving the car on Jeju Island, that it reminded him of his song, Good For You:
QuoteYou’re probably tired / You can doze off / There’s traffic here anyway / I’ll wake you up when we’re there
Keeping my fingers crossed / That maybe you’ll take the long way home
*WGM Note 4: “Eric Nam and Solar, who went by the name ‘Ddongi Couple,’ made the hearts of the viewers flutter through their realistic and romantic virtual marriage,” - MBC Awards Ceremony
Reason For Choosing: Like I said above, CRJ wrote it as a follow up to both The One and Run Away With Me. It feels like a suitable follow up to how both of those related to them as well, so I couldn’t not have it on the list. This is another song whose lyrics I used to title a fic.
18. Money and the Ego by Carly Rae Jepsen
(i swear i swear this is the last one she just has really good lyrics okay)
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
Make my house of bricks / And I’ll stick here when the world comes crashing down around me
Sometimes it’s hard to see / Anything lovely / All the people around me going for / Money and the money and the egoes
*WGM Note 1: Are You On My Side? - A Test of Trust, Wit, and Temper by enko20
Keep your eyes on me / And i’ll look to you so I can see / What I am here for /
*WGM Note 2: “You want someone who is on your side. “Yes. My ideal type is someone who is sympathetic. I like that kind of person.” “Okay. I’m on your side.” - Solar and Eric, episode 5
Pull the wool over my eyes / Please kiss this day goodbye / Only you can get me going
*WGM Note 3: “I want to maintain my friendship with [Solar], calling each other whenever a good or bad thing happens
*WGM Note 4: Eric posted his support message for Mamamoo the same day that Solar’s Decalcomanie kiss scandal happened. Many of us think it was in an attempt to cheer her up after hearing that she was upset.
Reason For Choosing: As I was writing the aforementioned fic, I thought a lot about the things that might impede ddongi’s progress at establishing a relationship (as I am prone to do when writing angst). In the end, things work out because Solar recognizes that Eric loves her beyond who she is as “Solar.” Also, I’d been reading a lot of industry meta fics, so this came about.
On top of that, this song really is, at it’s core, about two people developing a relationship despite the push and pull of general celebrity-ness. I see this as Ddongi’s future, if things work out well…
19. Body by Eric Nam
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
Baby just give me a call / Listen to you all night long / Only one that’s locking me down
*WGM Note 1: Eric was the one to ask for her phone number, Eric was the one to say to call him anytime she feels down, Eric was the one saying he wanted them to call each other whenever something good or bad happened. It’s pretty obvious this is about Solar.
(there are others, but, um… i prefer to stay sane, thank you very much)
Reason For Choosing: He wrote it while he was on WGM. The call lyric makes it seem like it’s maybe about Solar. Also… other reasons. Other My Ear’s Candy related reasons.
20. Countdowns by Sleeping At Last
(my taste in music is becoming really clear here… isn’t it?)
SpoilerNotable Lyrics:
I am happy, I am thankful, and I am proud / Said with a smile for the cameras at the countdown
*WGM Note 1: “First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who gave love to “Ddongi couple.” I think this year was filled with so many dream like events, I… Just recieving this award in front of all the seniors I admire and respect seems like a dream. I’ll work harder in the future too. Thank you.” - Solar, MBC Entertainment Awards
*WGM Note 2: “Thank you for giving us this Couple Award. It’s an honor. Thank you to Solar, who received this with me. I’m also thankful to all the staff members. Our producers, writers, and to all the camera directors who you don’t see but are always working hard. Thank you for loving “Ddongi couple.” I’ll work hard to show you a better side of me next year. Thank you!” - Eric, MBC Entertainment Awards
I’ll be starry eyed for you
*WGM Note 3:
I curse the heavens for pulling you away from me / At the same time / I pray that you find everything you seek
Our blaze of glory turns ordinary overnight
Reason For Choosing: Um. I made a video to it the other day, and then suddenly the song was there, in the playlist. I guess this means I’ll keep updating the playlist as things happen, so let’s all just stay hopeful that things will.
I hope you all enjoy listening to it. Feel free to share your own playlists/songs (I know captain was talking about his...). Happy listening and happy shipping!
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@ventj @macaroonjunkie with Moonbyul, I think it was less about Eric and more about the show itself. I remember in the earlier episodes, when they were looking for a house and Eric took care of Solar, Moonbyul said that she'd been worried about Solar going on WGM but after she saw how well Eric treated her she wasn't so worried anymore.
In my opinion, that makes a lot of sense. A lot of people exit WGM with a scandal, and MB knows that Solar's not exactly the best at saying no to strangers. MB knows and likes Eric, and she was smiling a whole bunch when they were talking about Solar receiving the "Best Couple" award, so I think she really does value their relationship (and unlike some MooMoos, she knows that they're friends). She even walked Solar to the car as she went from KBS to MBC, kind of cheering her on. If you watch the V-Live, you'll also hear her talk about Hwasa and Wheein watching Solar accept the award with her while they were backstage at KBS.
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I'm so happy about the win everyone!!! Let's send them lots of love, okay! I recommend flooding the comments of Eric's picture with Solar like we did after the last episode!
On that note, I made another video because I was so happy about it.
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Let's just real quick walk through the past 24+ hours, shall we? I think we all need to lie down a little bit.
So, first, Solar's been staying up real late these past few nights, marathoning everyone's favorite new drama: Goblin:
SpoilerSince Eric was still in America we joked about her maybe texting him abt the show since his album, their wedding location, and Decalcomanie all show up in it. Time zones are a real killer, after all...
Then, last night/this morning (depending on your time zone), she posted this:
A few of us in the kakao chat noticed her use of "Yong-ddonie" (only a letter away from Yong-ddongie), but we chalked it up as a coincidence since, after all, Solar had that nickname long before she joined WGM. That was, until....
Not only was Eric suddenly (and sneakily) back in Korea, he was at Itaewon, at one of their Ddongie road restaurants (a restaurant owned by one of his friends, no less). Solar also suddenly had an abundance of free time... doesn't it seem like everything's lining up?
Spoiler
Hmm, that almost looks like too much food for one person, doesn't it? (And there's a pulled-out chair on the other side, so he was obviously not eating alone).
And then, today, Eric tweeted about his months-old cover of Carly Rae Jepsen's Run Away With Me (yes, the same one that I made a video to because it fits ddongie so well). The same cover he uploaded to Soundcloud the night before their snow date/DIY cafe/Reasons ILY was filmed.
So, is it all just a big coincidence? Maybe. But it's all we have for now. And I'll gladly take it because the thought of them getting to spend a day together in the winter makes me so so happy.
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Thank you to everyone for being so patient with me as I fumbled my way through writing this! I hope you all have a great holiday season! Thanks to @enko20 for putting up with me as I went back and forth and back and forth while writing this and for helping me put together the soundtrack I wrote this to.
dance of december
QuoteThey're not hiding, per se, they're just... hibernating.
Or: Eric and Solar dance (haha) around each other for a full month.
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@Le_Sanguinea I feel similar. They're hard to write. They're in a pretty good place right now so it's hard to find a conflict to drive the story forward. I've mostly been going the route of "make things worse" --> "okay now fix it" but I'm naturally drawn to angst and hurt/comfort so idk if that'll work quite as well for you. Either way, I'm looking forward to reading whatever you write!
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@Le_Sanguinea you're too kind. I'm sure all of you could do better than me in a heartbeat. Especially you.
Eric's use of You these days has me all delulu so another fic idea may be swirling around in my brain...
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Solar's new song!
Let's give it lots of love!
Also, for any of you lurkers who are wondering why the thread is so dead, a lot of us actually are still having log-in problems, but feel free to hop into the Kakao chat!
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@97jbombs Yes, actually.
During a meet and greet at KCON NY last year something kind of similar happened.
It starts at 7:00. It not as overwhelmingly agreed upon as the one in the fic, but yeah, it happened.
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Well, no episode this week.
What that means, however is that I wrote 10,000 words of fic for you all to try and fill some part of that void these two have left in us.
Quotemaybe we'll take the long way home
"Are you... happy?"
Or: Things post-WGM are more complicated than they thought they'd be.
Thank you to @enko20, as always, for talking with me and helping me figure out things like details and facts. You're amazing.
Also large shout out to just everyone in this thread for making this a wonderful experience. This fic is really for all of you. It's based on our discussions and analyses and even our littler, more delusional talks. Everything you all do makes me smile, so I just wanted to share that.
It's a little angsty, but there's a happy ending. Don't read it all in one sitting. Or do. I'm not quite sure which way is better.
Good night or good morning or good afternoon to you all! I personally am about to fall asleep, so I'm going to go now, but once again thank you all. You're great. Ddongie shippers fighting!
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@Ira Ajja Ahh I feel bad for the 33 couple. It doesn't look like they'll get to go out with a bang like Eric and Solar did. Also, they're always the couple I think about when I read the criticisms that Eric and Solar should've been more romantic with each other. Jota and Jinkyung certainly have that aspect to them, but I'm not entirely sure whether or not they're in contact outside the show. So, their fans are probably not in the best boat right now. Hopefully they at least get a heartwarming final episode.
Hmm... I wonder if Eric's ever gotten to meet Jjing Jling.
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Hey everyone! Finally managed to do all the steps and log back in. Fortunately I wasn't totally cut off from you fellow ddongie shippers since I joined the Kakao chat. You all should definitely join that.
@enko20 I know I already like flailed to you about that article, but just... wow. You're amazing. You know, at first I was wondering why a couple so carefree and easygoing as Eric and Solar had to start their marriage out with something so dramatic, but now I am not only glad they did (for without it your wonderful article wouldn't exist), but also am thinking maybe it was our grand-gesture, movie-inspired Yongddongie who came up with the idea.
And, just... the fans. The symbolism of the fans. I can't even begin to describe how happy that made me.
I am going to try and keep my mind away from the "those pictures kind of make it seem like you're on a date, Eric" place for my own sanity, but.... it's going to be hard. Ahh I've been writing fic for too long.
Speaking of, I don't know if I mentioned, but I started writing a fic, because I figured we all need some new content on Saturday, since there's no episode and no subs to wait for/get excited about. It's been fun, but it's also leaving me a little more delusional than usual, so feel free to call me out on any of that. Still, Eric was the one to go through the tunnel first...
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Oops posted that one twice! I'll delete it when I'm off mobile.
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Solar update
These are oddly... wedding-related balloons. Perhaps a gift from a certain someone?
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@NamSeoYeon18 Nooo. I'm sure they'll see each other again at some point, probably at MAMA or KCON. And, they can still meet up on their own. It's just, now they no longer have that special time carved out in their schedules to meet each other, so it's harder to meet up, and Solar's probably upset about that.
@Ira Ajja Eric's actually confirmed to be going to MAMA! Mamamoo hasn't confirmed yet, but they're not on the list of people who've declined yet, so I think it's a real possibility they're both going.
-- THE DRAW DRAW DRAW MUSIC VIDEO CAME OUT
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@NamSeoYeon18 Oops! That was a typo! It was supposed to be "has as many" not "has any." I just mean that WGM gave the two of them an opportunity to meet in public in a way that fit into both of their incredibly busy schedules. Although both of them are obviously still in contact and probably trying to meet up, it's much harder now, and that's something Solar has every right to be upset about, despite a few KMooMoos' insistence that she's "happy" and "better off" now that the show's over.
It's talk like that that might hurt Solar even more, because not only can she not meet with Eric often, she knows that her fanbase doesn't approve of that, and Solar loves the MooMoos more than life itself.
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Eric has a new song coming out!
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[OFFICIAL THREAD] DDONGI COUPLE ~ (Eric Nam ❤ MAMAMOO Solar) LEGGO~!
in shippers' paradise
Posted
Ddongie August 2020 Updates:
Eric mentioned Solar on Naver Now Hyungdon and Defcon Radio on the 10th:
Jessi has become close with Mamamoo recently and Eric went on Jessi's Showterview on the 13th and her reaction when she found out Eric and Solar were on WGM together was so cute:
Then on the 27th, Solar mentioned on Solarsido that she would be open to collabing with Eric, called him "oppa" several times, and even told their fans to stop fighting. Hopefully we'll see him on Solarsido sometime soon!