Birthday

Birthday

What we know so far: (See full recap in Ateez Lore: The Who, What, When, and Where of it All, Ateez Storyline: Updated March 2024, and Golden Hour Part 1).

Japanese Releases

Here is a quick summary of my hypotheses regarding Ateez's Japanese releases:

• Japanese releases do not further the storyline but rather expand upon it by expressing the inner monologues of Ateez.

• The prism/dichroic cube (as seen in Illusion, Thanxx, Dreamers, Paradigm and The World Ep. Fin: Will Outro) is telling us where to insert the Japanese releases into the Korean storyline. Also, as is the case with Limitless, Ateez's flag/logo could tell us where to place a Japanese release.

In terms of Birthday, I think we are connecting to the storyline through the party scene of Empty Box. Am I 100% sure of that? No, not really. There is no prism/dichroic cube. There is not a flag/logo. What we have is the aftermath of a party in Empty Box and a party in progress in Birthday.

When I wrote about Empty Box, I thought this portrayed how excited they were to work hard to make it to their goal of becoming idols when they returned to World A. How the need to earn money got in the way so they ended up separating meaning their excitement (their party) had ended. This is where I feel Birthday fits. During that time where they were trying to work on their idol goal and maybe starting to feel like it may not work out but hoping to stay in that "party" and not think about the necessitates of real life. So, to be more specific, I think Birthday fits before the "three years later" of Work and Empty Box. Let me make my case.

Birthday Music Video

https://youtu.be/H5AtTIXTbGg?si=iya7rsd4pXN-ZQoQ

"For my birthday I wish I could fly like a bird. Like a real wizard."

The Birthday music video starts with Yunho reading birthday wishes with a voiceover of a young girl talking about wanting to fly like a bird. Other than a letter about someone wanting to eat A LOT of cake, there were several letters with people wanting to fly in some way: as a bird, to the moon, with the angels.

Flying in a dream can symbolize a sense of freedom and liberation. Whether it's breaking free from limitations, constraints, or burdens, it ultimately signifies a desire for more independence and the ability to rise above challenges. At this time in Ateez's storyline lives, they are trying to rise above their challenge of having the money to rent practice spaces and to take care of their daily needs.

"I'm a mess, fearless, don't get in my way. Young and rich, nothing to fear, blow the fanfare! Let the whole town know that the newborn kids. Are now holding the microphone (pick), give it a star, three-six-five"

When you think about the actual challenges Ateez faced while KQ Fellaz, how their CEO/work dad spent his own money to send them to LA for training, how their company was tiny and they had to shorten their songs to even get on music shows and often skip weeks, a desire to rise above challenges is exactly what they had. They were the new kids trying to hold their microphones and live their idol life 365 days a year just like what storyline Ateez wanted to be.

Continuing with the flying theme, we get this image of a bike with wings. The second I saw this, I instantly thought Greek Mythology. It took me a bit to decide between if this was representing Hermes or Pegasus but then, I noticed the lightning and it made my decision for me. Pegasus was a winged horse in Greek Mythology who carried thunderbolts for Zeus, the thunder god who rules as the king of gods on Mount Olympus. As the flying horse of the Muses, Pegasus is a symbol of highflying imagination, which tracks.

Staying on the Greek Mythology path, when I was talking about it with my loretiny friend, Carey, she asked if I thought the Mingi scene reminded me of Percy Jackson. Full transparency, I have never seen the Percy Jackson films or read the books, so she had to explain what she was talking about.

After we both researched our respective media sources, her, the Lotus Casino scene from one of the Percy Jackson movies (I still don't know which one 😳) and me, The Odyssey, we discovered that they are both based on the same myth! So, since I know The Odyssey, I will be explaining it from that perspective.

In The Odyssey, Odysseus and his crew land on the island of the Lotus Eaters and two of his crew members eat the lotus fruit. Odysseus ends up having to force them back on his ship as they were happy to stay on the island forever, partaking in more and more of the lotus fruit. Wikipedia explains, "In Greek mythology, the lotus fruits and flowers were the primary food of the island and were a narcotic, causing the inhabitants to sleep in peaceful apathy. After they ate the lotus, they would forget their home and loved ones and long only to stay with their fellow lotus-eaters. Those who ate the plant never cared to report or return."

"...Like my brithday, like my payday. It's a party so let's toast. We're going bad, skip the Mondays. Form bouncin', it's my errday...Don't want to stop, we're on the top, hey. Show, what you got, feels like a birthday."

Reading these lyrics from the perspective of people forgetting their home and loved ones in a longing to stay with their fellow lotus-eaters, and looking back at the Hongjoong and Mingi scenes, I am very much getting Ateez wanting to "party like it is their birthday" vibes.

They have hypnotized themselves and eaten their own lotus fruit (or cake) and are now in a state of euphoria, like a birthday or a payday (since they probably got really excited when their paydays came, what with needing money to pursue their dream). They are choosing to go bad, to skip the Mondays (forget about their real world where they have to go to work when Monday comes) and party/live fully In their dream. They are living their lives "form bouncin'". As an aside, can we just appreciate how they turned two of their "party" title tracks into a way to describe how they are choosing to live in their denial state? Genius. Also, fun fact that Carey shared with me, the blue lotus flower is a psychoactive plant that can cause euphoria, hallucinations, and drowsiness (see Mingi is over there eating his blue lotus cake).

Which brings us to Jongho and his psychedelics flowers. Not going to lie, these are super distracting to me for some reason. I'm not the biggest fan of the "trippyness" of the flowers, but since they were so in my face, it decided to try to figure out what the flowers were and what they represent. I don't know if I got them all right, so if I didn't please correct me, but what I THINK they are includes: red dahlias which symbolize perseverance and the ability to overcome; cherry blossoms which brings a sense of vitality and vibrancy; irises which symbolize courage and good news and are given as a gift for people facing challenges or new ventures; white lotuses which in eastern religions, are seen as an image of immaculateness, illumination, self-recovery; and peonies which symbolize bravery, honor, and good fortune. To me, these flowers represent their hopes for their dreams and their willingness to work hard for them before the true world forced them to walk away from them.

Additionally, we get fireworks or as they are called in Japan, hanabi! This discovery made me so giddy because one of my favorite games is called Hanabi and it asks you to work together to build fireworks! Japan Rail Press states, "In Japan, fireworks are more than just a light show, they're an art form known as 'hanabi' which literally translates as 'flower fire'. They are not just for creating dazzling displays, but as we will go on to explain, they have a deeper significance relating to Japan's heartfelt appreciation for ephemeral beauty." So in addition to the "trippy" flowers, we are shown "fire flowers". Love it! The Japan Rail Press article goes on to say, fireworks are a "symbol and celebration of spiritual beauty. They have also been historically used to ward off evil spirits, and in the modern era have become synonymous celebrations, from summer festivals and major sporting & music events, through to bringing in the New Year."

"Light up you're twisted heart, unleash the flame. Bada bing bada boom, it's spreading everywhere. Bada boom, chaos but paradise. We're drowning"

Birthday on the surface is a party! We get cake, fireworks, flowers, streamers, and confetti. But when you look underneath, you get a group of boys who are drowning in the chaos of their paradise. They have hypnotized themselves to live in a state of euphoria where they feel like nothing can stop them from following their dream of becoming idols. They desire to break free of their limitations, constraints, or burdens; to have highflying imagination. They don't want to stop while they're on top. They want it to always be their birthday. But we know this doesn't last. Their real word issues crept in and they ended up living outside of their dream because they have to work. They aren't even together anymore and are feeling like empty boxes, but maybe sometime soon, they will be able to reunite and get back on their desired path.