Xikers Full Storyline Explained - Part 2
we're kicking off on a shot of a dark modern city only interrupted by a beam of light reaching down into the center betwen the clusters of skyscrapers
while we're initially focused on Minjae, we're quick to find out that more beams are popping up and they're shining right down on all 10 members spread across the city - they're the chosen ones, but chosen for what?
at the moment, all of Xikers are still in school and they seem to be attending the same one
we find Seeun alone in a class room with a tattoo on the side of his neck - "777-E-7" - throughout the course of the video, we'll see that each member has their own tattoo and they're all different; unfortunately, I'm not yet sure what they all mean
going by the lyrics, we're dealing with a bunch of little rebels who don't care for school rules - they dress messily, show attitude when they so please and really just wanna have fun
they also use the phrase "Ullaeli Kkollaeli" which is both "a Korean word that is used when you’re teasing or making fun of someone" (source) and the title of a song by 1Team, a now disbanded group with two former members that had participated in MIXNINE - the same survival show four of Ateez's eight members had participated in (I just thought that was interesting since Hongjoong worked on the full album as writer, composer and arranger)
throughout the following shots, the world around them begins to change - graffiti appears and begins to move and spread, becoming animated
note that its all kept in white and blue, just as the wisps were in Tricky House
going frame-by-frame, we can also catch a little easter egg as Jinsik is taking in the warped reality spreading around him: a promo for Tricky House
they sing about feeling free, having their worries disappear, being reborn and behind Seeun, the first blue and white flames appear, once again heavily reminiscent of the spirited wisps we saw in Tricky House
the fire billows up from the chalkboard drawing of an eye - a shape we have seen and continue to see a lot throughout the course of this MV
and indeed, the spirits enter the scene shortly after as Xikers perform in what seems to be an abandoned warehouse
they circle them, crowding ever closer and speeding up until they've formed a full on storm
in its center, Hunter captures one of the wisps in his fist; it begins to glow - presumably, the other members did the same
this would mean either A) Xikers are hosting these spirits, collaborating with them in a somewhat symbiotic relationship like Venom and Eddie Brock or B) they're possessed just as the business man was in Tricky House - I personally lean toward the former given the opening of this MV
in the next verse, the lyrics shift from the present to their dreams for the future: getting attention, making it big in the music industry, feeling comfortable with being the center of attention, aiming for the stars
the spirits follow each of them individually as they move separately but the wisps shift from a more comic book style to the familiar blue fiery look as Xikers come back together and leap through the air in this gorgeous shot
as they perform in a large empty building with gray tile floors and glass walls and ceiling, another storm begins to brew and is quick to encase them fully
the lyrics shift to a darker, more vulnerable tone: "The scars I buried in my heart / And the past I hid / Can't kill me, can't stop me / Play the music louder"
caught in the eye of the storm, they all begin to look up
looking down at them is a blue iris, its pupil slitted like a cat's or snake's, likely belonging to whatever being had chosen them to host these spirits
we get a close up of Hunter's eyes as the blue fire brims and overflows behind them - the spirit has become a part of him and presumably also the other members
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