Also amplifying the conversation around LOONA is #StanLoona, the delightfully unrelenting hashtag that took over both the K-pop and queer communities on social media, the latter of which LOONA are “sincerely grateful” for, says 22-year-old Yves, who is known for her fierce dancing talents. Fans had translated the videos for her solo track “New” and Chuu’s track “Heart Attack” as having underlying LGBTQ+ themes. In “New,” Yves appears to experience euphoria during the track’s crescendo as she lovingly takes fellow member ViVi by the hand and roller skates with her, which fans thought could be a nod to accepting blossoming queer feelings. “Heart Attack,” meanwhile, finds Chuu — who sings about “hidden secrets that only I know” — infatuated and crushing on Yves, so much that she is struck through the heart by Cupid’s arrow when Yves smiles back at her. As Yves said recently in an interview with MTV News, “When the song was being written and the video filmed, we didn’t see it like that. For us it was a story about yearning, but we were also thankful when it was translated that way.”

#StanLoona, which can be found plastered all over the comments section under any given YouTube video or Twitter thread, has been supported by celebrities like Kim Petras and Drag Race star Kim Chi. According to 17-year-old Olivia Hye, an avid video gamer, when not training or performing with LOONA, the viral hashtag “encourages us to do our best even more” and inspires the group to deliver “high quality performances and high quality music.”

The relationship between the girls and their global fanbase is symbiotic. “Of course, we all stan Orbits! For international fans who use #StanLoona, that’s where we get our energy from,” says 22-year-old ViVi, who hails from Hong Kong and appears to portray an android in the LOONAVERSE. “We take responsibility for the love we get; we’ve got to do our best. If fans keep #StanLoona [going], we’re going to try even harder and harder.”

Courtesy of BlockBerry Creative

Fans are also a crucial part of the LOONAVERSE — the system of multidimensional mythologies, cosmic concepts, and connected narratives LOONA have been building toward with each release — and the group hopes, in return, their LOONAVERSE can be a safe haven for listeners. “I’m sure that there are no others like us that hold such a huge and systematic universe,” says 18-year-old member Go Won. “We all hope that our fans can listen to our music and enjoy our universe as we study for it.”

“What is the point of the LOONAVERSE if fans aren’t part of it?” quips YeoJin, the group’s maknae at 16 years old. Dozens of performances, promotions, recording sessions, and music videos later (“Hi High” was 18-year-old HyunJin’s favorite video to film because they “all got to be there together”), the members of LOONA are mindful to respect one another’s boundaries. They recognize the necessity for personal time and space. “We are always with each other when we are promoting, training or recording, and even when we go to sleep,” the energetic 18-year-old Choerry explains. “So when we have free time, we try to have independent time... because we all think and agree that we need time for ourselves.”

Embracing each another’s individual differences and coming together is a theme that runs through LOONA’s music and visuals. As hinted in the video for “Butterfly,” the group wanted fans to know that it’s okay to be different. “I think it’s very important [to embrace diversity]. Even though there are people out there we cannot [physically] reach, I think there could be a ‘butterfly effect’ if they get to listen to our music,” says 18-year-old HeeJin, who was the first LOONA member to be introduced.