#Title from HALAZIA (ATEEZ)

[fairyniceyeah]

⌛👑No more, keep your soul

Title from HALAZIA (ATEEZ)

Summary: The morning before a concert Yeosang starts feeling awful to a point where he wishes to just be unable to perform but despite Hongjoong’s protests he is forced to be on stage.

CW: emeto, fainting, medics, hospital, idol mistreatment, self-doubt, open ending

Sickie: Yeosang Caretaker: Hongjoong

„Hyung, I don’t feel well.“

The five words every hyung-line K-Pop Idol dreaded to hear. Especially on the day of a concert. Especially when a few moments ago they had been asleep.

Hongjoong was no exception. Every time one of his dongsaengs was in distress he had to try to keep it together in his worry for their health. San, Mingi and Wooyoung were the members most vocal about their wellbeing and so he heard those words often enough, though he would never get used to it.

Over the years and in the close, shared dorm illnesses used to spread like wildfire. Every time one of the members brought home any virus or bacteria be it a head cold, a common flu, the stomach flu or any other sickness soon most of them would be down. Now, in the new dorms divided into three groups and everybody with their own room, illnesses could be contained to one room or at least one apartment. Most of the time. Still, Hongjoong wasn’t any more happy about the words that had pulled him from sleep.

ATEEZ were to perform in about twelve hours in one of the biggest stadiums in Seoul. ‘At least they were in Seoul and not in a hotel in a foreign country’, Hongjoong thought to himself as he stared at his pale dongsaeng, who was clutching the door frame to his hyung’s room with one arm, the other wrapped around his stomach.

It was unusual for Yeosang to admit to sickness at times, even to his members, so color Hongjoong surprised and, most of all, very very worried. Besides, to have his shy dongsaeng wake him up was enough of a reg flag.

The hallway was flooded with light but as Hongjoong’s room was still dark, he concluded that it was very early. After a quick look at his alarm clock, his suspicion was confirmed. Not even six am. Despite wanting nothing more than curling up and going back to sleep, Hongjoong lifted his covers to invite the younger man in.

They had had a movie night the previous evening and Yeosang had fallen asleep half-way through. Jongho had carried him to his bed, none of them willing to wake him if he was so exhausted, and then had just decided to spend the night in Yeosang’s bed at the dorm he shared with Yunho.

Maybe they should have been more worried about Yeosang’s unusual behavior.

“Come in, Sang-ah, and tell me what is going on”, he encouraged and quickly Yeosang crossed the room and crawled under the covers to press himself to his hyung. It was not often that Yeosang willingly sought out skinship but Hongjoong supposed if he was awake now something must be wrong enough that he wanted a hug anyway.

Hongjoong wrapped his arm around the younger man, letting him seek any comfort he needed. Who was he to deny him that?

He briefly touched Yeosang’s forehead, feeling for a fever. He was warm, yes, but he had been under the bedcovers as far as Hongjoong knew and so he wasn’t warm enough to worry Hongjoong into leaving him to fetch a thermometer.

“Hyung, my stomach hurts and I feel sick”, Yeosang muttered, sounding close to tears. The captain sighed. It was really terrible timing but it wasn’t Yeosang’s fault.

“Did you throw up?”, he asked. Yeosang shook his head. At least something - though if Yeosang was up in the middle of the night because of the nausea, he didn’t doubt that it stood in their near future. How near remained to be seen.

“Think you are going to?”

“Maybe”, Yeosang whispered, “I don’t want to, hyung.”

“If you need to, you need to, Yeosangie. You might feel better after”, Hongjoong reassured him. If Yeosang truly was sick, there was nothing to be done, concert be damned. Either Yeosang got better soon enough to sing sitting down or they would need to perform as seven. It wasn’t ideal but there was no better alternative. After all, they couldn’t just cancel the concert.

Yeosang whined, not sounding convinced at all. “Hyung, I just want to sleep. I’ve been up for hours. Maybe I will feel better when I wake up.” He sounded hopeful but Hongjoong wasn’t.

“You could have woken me up earlier, baby”, he settled on saying.

The younger just shrugged, clearly not wanting to talk about it. “Can I just try to sleep here?”

“Of course”, Hongjoong said softly, running his hand through Yeosang’s hair to try to get him to calm down.

⌛

It didn’t work. Less than twenty minutes later Yeosang, who had fallen into a light sleep, jerked upright, a gag ringing in the otherwise silent room.

“Alright, okay, let’s sit in the bathroom for the moment”, Hongjoong said, pushing himself up to try to get his dongsaeng to the toilet in time. He pulled Yeosang to his feet, the younger not at all steady, and moved them to the bathroom as fast as possible. Hongjoong spared a fleeting thought to Wooyoung, hoping he didn’t wake up from their frantic run. He didn’t feel awake enough to deal with a sick dongsaeng and a panicked one on top.

They crashed to the floor in front of the toilet just in time for Yeosang to start gagging violently again. Hongjoong positioned him so he was kneeling down and sat beside him, one hand rubbing his back, the other gently holding his hair out of Yeosang’s eyes. He retched helplessly, over and over again, but nothing came up. A few strands of spit dangled from his lips but otherwise his efforts weren’t effective. He dry-heaved for a few minutes, Hongjoong whispering comforting nonsense into his ears.

“Baby, try to calm down”, the captain encouraged, heart breaking for his unwell member. Involuntary tears were running down Yeosang’s face and he was gasping for breath. Slowly, with Hongjoong’s help, the younger managed to calm down enough to slump into his hyung. Hongjoong kept running his hand over Yeosang’s back in a soothing motion and settled the younger into a more comfortable position against his side.

“I want my noona”, Yeosang whispered, voice a bit hoarse. Hongjoong took a deep breath. He felt about the same – he never had been that good with sickness and he longed for his eomma, who could comfort anybody who needed it. She would be so much better than Hongjoong in this position. It really wasn’t his forte, no wonder Yeosang wanted the reassurance of his older sister. Yeosang’s family lived so far away and due to their work the younger never had much time with them. He hadn’t seen them in so long – maybe Hongjoong could ask the CEO for a free week at one point.

“I know, baby, I know”, Hongjoong said helplessly. “How about I check for a fever and then you can lie down in my bed? I’ll get you a bucket in case you need to throw up?”

Yeosang nodded slightly but didn’t remove his hands that were clutching Hongjoong’s arm.

“Let me get up”, Hongjoong said and swiped Yeosang’s sweaty hair from his forehead.

Reluctantly the younger let go of him and Hongjoong walked to the cabinet, rummaging around trying to find where Seonghwa had placed the medical supplies last time Hongjoong had been sick. Maybe they even had something against the violent nausea.

Aha! Deep down in the cabinets Hongjoong never willingly opened he found what he was looking for and soon he crouched down next to Yeosang, holding out the forehead thermometer which was so much more hygienic than the in-mouth ones they had before.

“37.9”, he read out and leafed through the instructions to find out if that was a fever already. No matter how often he checked for elevated temperatures he never managed to remember the critical numbers. “That’s a low fever alright”, he muttered to himself, then looked up to the younger. “Do you think you can stomach some anti-nausea medication and something for the fever?”

Yeosang shook his head. “I don’t think I can put anything in my mouth.”

“Alright, let’s see if you feel better later on. Think you’re ready to go back to bed?”, Hongjoong asked. Yeosang nodded.

Carefully he helped the younger man up, letting him gain his bearings before they made their slow track back to Hongjoong’s bedroom. He laid Yeosang down on the mattress, pulled the covers over him and placed a kiss on his forehead. “Try to sleep, okay? I’ll get a bucket just in case and then I’ll join you.”

Yeosang nodded sleepily. Now that he was lying down again he seemed to be barely able to keep his eyes open.

Quietly Hongjoong walked out of the room towards the small alcove in the hallway where they stored their cleaning supplies, towels, bed sheets and so on. He grabbed one of the old, stained towels – a mirage to their constantly changing hair colors – and the designated sick bucket. When he entered his room again, he found Yeosang already deep asleep, so he silently crept the distance to the bed and placed the towel on the ground, the bucket on top. Seeing no possibility how he could crawl back under the blankets without waking his dongsaeng, he glanced towards his alarm clock. 06:09 am. He would take it – he had been up earlier often enough.

So he made his way back out and set about disinfecting the bathroom. While Yeosang hadn’t actually vomited (yet) he wanted to make sure the bathroom was as germ-free as possible. He knew it wouldn’t do much to calm Wooyoung’s nerves – the younger one so terrified of nausea and vomiting that he would probably refuse to use the bathroom nevertheless. Hongjoong sighed, not looking forward to the coming day.

⌛

Three hours and countless cups of coffee later Hongjoong had finished about two lines for their next comeback. Which wasn’t good but sue him, he was tired and he had been more focused on any sounds of distress coming from the bedroom than on his work.

Giving up on that particular task he took his phone out and sent a message to Yunho before calling Seonghwa. About nine o’clock on a concert day, most members would be up.

“Yeoboseyo”, Seonghwa greeted him, voice still deep from sleep. So much for expecting them to be awake.

“Sorry, did I wake you?”, Hongjoong said, hating if he disturbed some well deserved rest.

“Nah, I just haven’t found the motivation to leave my warm bed yet”, Seonghwa said with a laugh, “anyways, what can I do for you? It’s not like you to call so early.” Well, early was maybe a bit of a stretch but Seonghwa had a point. Hongjoong seldomly called first.

Hongjoong sighed and rested his head on his free hand. “It’s Yeosang-ah”, he answered and heard Seonghwa breathe in loudly in worry, “he’s sick. Woke me up at around five because he was nauseous and had a stomach ache. He hasn’t thrown up but I don’t doubt he will at some point. He really isn’t doing well.”

“Oh no, poor baby”, Seonghwa replied, sounding heartfeltly sorry for their younger member. “Does he have a fever? Do you need help? Did you talk with management yet?”

Hongjoong laughed a bit at the rapid questions. No wonder people always called him the mother of the group. “He was at 37.9° earlier. I haven’t called the manager yet, I wanted to do that as soon as I knew if it’s just Yeosang or if the others are feeling bad too. Are you feeling alright?”

“I’m fine”, Seonghwa reassured him quickly, “I’ll go ask the kids how they are feeling. I think Mingi and Yeosang shared dinner yesterday, if it’s food poisoning he will be down too. Otherwise I guess we’ll all soon have the stomach flu.”

“Yey”, Hongjoong said in the least enthusiastic way possible.

“Hold on”, Seonghwa said and then a bit muffled Hongjoong heard him speak to somebody else. He took the time to check his messages to find Yunho saying that he and Jongho were feeling fine and that Jongho would stay over for the day.

“Mingi-yah is feeling fine, he asked me to tell you that you should tell Yeosang to feel better. Sannie isn’t up yet but he was gaming until late, I won’t be surprised if he sleeps a few hours yet. If he hasn’t gotten up by eleven I’ll be worried”, Seonghwa concluded, having put the phone back to his ear.

“Alright”, Hongjoong said, “well, that’s good. I texted Yunho already and it seems like it’s just Yeosang-ah. Wooyoungie isn’t up yet though.”

“He’ll have a hard time today”, Seonghwa mumbled sadly, knowing how badly Wooyoung’s emetophobia was, “if he wants he can come over as soon as he’s up.”

“Thank you, Hwa”, Hongjoong replied, “I wanted to ask that too.”

“Of course.”

They chatted for a few minutes until Hongjoong decided that he better text the manager as early as possible.

To Manager-hyung (09:20): Good morning! Yeosang isn’t feeling well, he was up with nausea and a slight fever (37.9°) earlier. I can’t say for sure but I don’t think he can perform today.

From Manager-hyung (09:22): Good morning, Joong-ah! We’ll have to see if he can sit out. If he absolutely can’t perform I’ll do everything in my power to keep him off the stage but I can’t make any promises. Sorry.

To Manager-hyung (09:24): Please do your best! I’m worried about him.

Hongjoong nearly suffered a heart attack when suddenly a voice next to his ear called a loud “Good morning, hyung!”. He barely managed to suppress the scream but might have hit Wooyoung who was grinning gleefully at him. Hongjoong threw him a dirty look.

“Who are you so intensely texting that you don’t notice me?”, Wooyoung asked with a small and very fake pout. Hongjoong sighed. He was very much not looking forward to telling the younger man about the events of the night.

“Morning, Wooyoungie. I was texting manager-hyung. I was up with Yeosangie early this morning, he isn’t feeling very well. Nauseous and a slightly higher temperature than I would like but he hasn’t thrown up”, he informed Wooyoung who immediately paled and had a slightly panicked look on his face.

“Oh”, he whispered and then: “I was just in the bathroom…”

“I disinfected everything and as I said he didn’t actually throw up. He’s just really nauseous, so you don’t need to wo…”

“Hongjoong-hyung?”, the panicked voice of Yeosang called loudly, followed by a harsh gag. It was like fate hated him.

“Sorry, Wooyoungie, why don’t you go over to Seonghwa’s?”, Hongjoong called over his shoulder, already half-way out of the kitchen.

He found Yeosang sitting on the edge of his bed, the bucket on his lap and his face buried in there. Coughing and gagging echoed from inside though Hongjoong didn’t hear the tell-tale sound of liquid hitting plastic.

“Oh, baby”, Hongjoong mumbled and took a seat next to Yeosang, gently rubbing his back. A glance into the bucket (though he would rather do anything else) revealed what he had already suspected – Yeosang was still not bringing anything up.

“Try to take a deep breath, love”, Hongjoong suggested when it became clear that Yeosang would not vomit at this point. “I’m sorry you’re feeling so sick.”

“I really don’t feel good, hyung”, Yeosang whispered and turned so he could bury his face in Hongjoong’s shoulder. With a sigh, Hongjoong drew him in his arms. He wished he could help the younger somehow.

“I already texted with manager-hyung”, he said instead, “he said you might be able to get out of performing tonight if you don’t feel better.”

Of course Yeosang immediately heard the other part of that sentence.

“I might have to perform?”, Yeosang asked, eyes wide and instantly teary. It was clear that he wasn’t in any position to work that day. Normally he would fight to perform so it must be really bad. “Hyung, I…?”

He was interrupted by the sound of Hongjoong’s phone ringing. As Hongjoong was about to decline he saw it was the same manager who he had texted with earlier. Maybe he had good news.

⌛

“I have bad news”, the manager started, sounding apologetic, “I called a few of the higher-up executives and they said unless Yeosangie is running a higher fever than 38.5°C or keeps throwing up he has to perform.”

“Well, shit”, Hongjoong said, running a hand through his hair. God, this was the worst possible outcome, “Hyung, isn’t there anything you can do?”

“I can’t do anything right now. I’ll have the medics check on him before the show though, maybe they are more helpful. I’m sorry I can’t do more for you.”

“It’s okay, it’s not your fault”, Hongjoong said, “thank you, see you later. Bye.”

Yeosang was looking at him with fear written all over his face. “I have to perform?”, he guessed from the parts of the conversation he had been able to hear.

“Not if I can help it, baby. If you get a higher fever or throw up you won’t set a foot on stage. I’ll try to convince the medics to declare you unfit for performing”, Hongjoong promised. If Yeosang did not want to perform then it really was bad. Normally he never even actively sought out anybody for help. Maybe it was the exhaustion of the past months, maybe it was something else but Hongjoong had a bad feeling about it.

Yet, for now, all they could do was wait.

⌛

Yeosang managed to sleep for most parts of the day. His fever wasn’t rising but it also didn’t go down.

The worst was the moments he was awake, feeling sick and gagging over the bucket for minutes at times without getting sick. Hongjoong was quickly becoming sick of that particular problem. It hurt to see the poor dancer this ill.

The manager was to take them to the venue in the afternoon so after a few hours Hongjoong had no choice but to go see if he could get Yeosang to wake up again. He had slept soundly for longer than an hour at this point and Hongjoong wanted anything but to wake him. He had no choice, however.

“Yeosang-ah”, he whispered, shaking his shoulder slightly. The younger man barely stirred, so Hongjoong tried a bit harder. It took a few minutes until he was looking into Yeosang’s barely awake but already teary eyes.

“It’s time?”, he guessed, his voice full of fear. 

Hongjoong just nodded. “I’m so sorry, baby.”

“It’s not your fault, hyung”, Yeosang replied quietly, sitting up over the side of the bed. “I want to take a shower. Can you get me some clothes?”

Hongjoong nodded. “Do you need help getting to the bathroom?”

Yeosang shook his head and shakily made his way out of the bedroom.

Hongjoong sighed and followed him. He decided to get some of Jongho’s clothes for him - he knew that Yunho could bring over some of Yeosang’s own clothes but he knew it would bring comfort to his dongsaeng to wear borrowed clothes.

As Hongjoong knocked on the bathroom door, he heard the sound of the tap running. Concluding that Yeosang wasn’t in the shower yet, he decided to walk in and nearly dropped the clothes in shock.

“Yeosang-ah? What are you doing?”, he asked his sobbing dongsaeng, who was chucking back a glass of water - not the first one from the splashes of liquid on his shirt. Yeosang didn’t seem to hear him - or just straight-up ignored him - and refilled the empty glass to start drinking again.

Now Hongjoong did drop the clothes and ran over to him, grasping his wrist before the glass could make contact with Yeosang’s lips.

“What are you doing?”, he repeated frantically. He couldn’t make sense of the younger’s actions. Just earlier he had refused a few sips of water and now he was drinking it like no tomorrow?

“Hyung”, Yeosang cried and lowered the glass, “I … the manager said I can’t perform if I throw up, right? So I thought drinking a lot of water would actually make me sick and I could sit out but now I just feel even worse.” He started to cry at that and, feeling helpless and not knowing what to say, Hongjoong just pried the cup from his fingers and set it down before pulling Yeosang in an embrace.

Hongjoong had always promised himself he would never ever let his members get mistreated. Yet, here he was, stopping his dongsaeng from making himself throw up so he didn’t have to be on stage when sick. How had it come to this?

Why couldn’t he be a good captain? But he was too scared to boycott the concert – ATEEZ was just growing in popularity and they couldn’t just refuse to perform for some “minor illness”. Was he really such a coward?

“Oh, baby, I am so sorry”, he whispered and rubbed the sobbing younger’s back. There was nothing else he could do.

“Hyung, hyungie”, Yeosang sobbed, shaking like a leaf, “I can’t do this.”

Hongjoong took a deep breath, scared he would start to cry along with his dongsaeng. He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t force Yeosang to perform. There was no way. He hid his face in Yeosang’s shoulder to hide his own tears.

⌛

“I can’t do anything”, the manager said, “I tried, I promise, Joong-ah. He needs to be on stage…”

“Hyung, Sang-ah tried to force himself to throw up so he wouldn’t have to perform. You know him, Yeosang always wants to be on stage but he can’t do it today”, Hongjoong yelled.

After the whole ordeal he had helped Yeosang take a shower, the younger predictably feeling even worse than before. They had waited for the manager to gather them, hoping that seeing Yeosang would help sway the decision but it was clear that the manager was as powerless as they were.

“I … I am sorry”, the captain immediately apologized, seeing the hurt look on the manager-hyungs face, “I am sorry. Just … I’m so scared.”

“I know, Joong-ah”, the manager said and wrapped him in a quick hug. Hongjoong relaxed for a moment, letting himself and his responsibility be held. “I am too. I even tried to reach the CEO on his vacation but I couldn’t reach him. I know he would let Yeosang sit out. The best I could do was make his substitute allow Yeosang-ah to sit down while singing. He doesn’t have to dance.”

Hongjoong exhaled. At least something. It was like a tiny bread crumb was thrown to a starving man but he would take it. It minimized the risk of falling and injury if nothing else.

“I am so sorry, Yeosangie”, the manager said and bowed to the younger man sitting curled up on the couch with his arms wrapped around his bloated and churning stomach.

“Thank you for trying”, Yeosang said quietly, “at least I don’t have to fear puking on stage from moving.”

That was barely any consolation, wasn’t it?

⌛

“Hello ATINY”, Hongjoong yelled into the mic, causing the whole stadium to start cheering. He threw a glance at Yeosang, who was sitting off to the side on a chair as promised, before he continued: “Yeosang-ah isn’t feeling 100% today so he will stay sitting down. Please give him all your love.” The crowd cheered again and a chant of ‘feel better, Yeosang-ah’ started up.

For the first time today Yeosang smiled.

For the first time today Hongjoong thought they could do it.

⌛

The VCR break was much needed. Somehow it was always more difficult to perform with one member less dancing with them - it threw off their energy. None of them wanted to be on stage when they knew one of eight was off their game.

The members were all so worried for Yeosang and it clearly showed though they tried to hide it. 

Hongjoong was taken to the side by the stylist-noona as soon as he got off stage so he had lost sight of the sick member. He was impatient to return to Yeosang’s side but he knew he had to let the stylist do her job.

Just as she was done fixing his make-up and he was already half-way out of his seat to look for Yeosang, Hongjoong spotted the younger man leaning against the far wall. His face was completely ashen, sweat was pouring down his face and body, leaving him more sweat-soaked than any of them and he was swaying slightly.

“Joong-hyung”, he called out weakly, as if sensing Hongjoong’s eyes on him. All members turned to face him. 

Then Yeosang leaned forward, nearly falling flat on his face, and threw up. Huge amounts of the water he had drunk spilled from his lips to create a disgusting puddle on the floor which was growing rapidly as all of them were frozen in shock, except for Wooyoung who whimpered and was pulled into a comforting embrace by Mingi.

It was what Hongjoong had nearly hoped for but now as he watched his dongsaeng get so sick he couldn’t do anything but stare. How had they come to this? How was throwing up during a clothing change a good thing?

Between a few retches, Yeosang was able to look up at Hongjoong with teary eyes.

There was a smile on his face, so unfitting the position he was in. Then Yeosang mumbled: “This means I don’t have to perform anymore, right?”

Before Hongjoong could respond, Yeosang’s eyes rolled back into his head and it was as if it was in slow-motion that Hongjoong watched him stumble a few steps backwards before collapsing. Yunho, who had been sitting on a nearby sofa, jumped to his feet and barely managed to catch him before he hit the floor.

Everything happened so fast then. The managers called for the medics who came running, swarming him and Yunho, shoving an oxygen mask on Yeosang’s face, taking his vitals. The numbers flew right over Hongjoong’s head as he watched in shock. 

“Hyung”, a small voice said and Hongjoong turned to see Jongho standing beside him, looking on with worry. But he grasped Hongjoong’s hand tightly and whispered: “Yeosangie-hyung is going to be fine, don’t worry, hyung.”

All Hongjoong could do was squeeze his hand back.

⌛

“He’s just exhausted and dehydrated”, the head medic concluded, “that’s why he passed out. We’ll take him to the hospital for fluids and medication but he will be fine in a few days.”

“Thank you”, the manager said, “I’ll go with him. Then I will contact the CEO by all means necessary. Hongjoong-ah, I’ll have the other manager make an announcement that the break will take a bit longer. Take your time to get the team’s nerves together and continue. For Yeosang and for ATINY! Hwaiting!”

Hongjoong closed his eyes and nodded. He didn’t want to watch the medics carry off his Yeosangie on a stretcher. But they were idols. They had to go on. People had paid to see them. 

Suddenly an arm was wrapped around the captain and then more and more until all members held him in a group hug. 

It was going to be a long concert. 

Was it even worth it?

Masterlist links: Fairy's Full Masterlist Fairy's Masterlist - ATEEZ

[loserlvrss]

the world crumbled a long time ago. humanity could've died off—and, some would say it had—but, in reality, all it did was prosper under new circumstances. broken shreds of what remained, nature reclaimed, intertwining with the wires of the programming. some would die just to be in the network of higher-ups, and some would rather watch the world burn a hundred times over. the question wasn't, which are you? it's who are you? In a place where somebody is really nobody.

a place where technology hadn't died: the sector one. the place where nobody who was ever somebody lived. a distant place to almost everyone else. only handing itself out on a silver platter to the, self-proclaimed, elite of the elite—old money, nepotism and pure coincidence—people lied, stole, betrayed, killed and died just for a place amongst the best of the worst. no one deserved the title this place disguised them with, wasting and polluting an already hellish world.

but, there was a whisper against the wind. the monarch's reign would soon come to fall—the reapers alongside. sector one would no longer prosper off the graves of its people. the walls would crumble as the old habits died. all it would take was eight pirates and one so-called princess to overthrow reality and start a revolution where everyone could be anyone.

there weren't mercenaries anymore, just a new world. and, all you had to do was step into it.

all rights reserved copyright © loserlvrss 2025

genre // romance, dystopian, cyberpunk, cybercore, drama, alternate universe, action, enemies to lovers, suggestive, smut, love triangle, multi x reader, jeong yunho x reader, song mingi x reader, first person pov, series, comedy, post-apocalyptic universe

estimated word count // ≈ 50-60k (around 30 chapters total)

theme warnings // language, descriptive death & fights, blood, gore, sexual & suggestive content, substance abuse (drugs & alcohol), mentions of suicide, usage of weapons, physical and emotional abuse from a parent. content warnings will be stated on all individual chapters.

status // ongoing, will post again in 2025.

playlist // halazia ateez, poison love dreamcatcher, virtual angel artms, predator lee gi kwang, xs rina sawayama, pins and needles nessa barrett, do or die dpr artic dpr ian, i’m not a woman i’m a god halsey, coma dvii, silver light ateez, supernova aespa, ganma lexie liu, cyberpunk ateez, ++ more.

author’s note // tag list open !! please send an ask or comment. also if you’ve read chapter one and two, no you haven’t :3

chapter one chapter two chapter three chapter four chapter five chapter six chapter seven chapter eight chapter nine chapter ten chapter eleven chapter twelve chapter thirteen chapter fourteen chapter fifteen chapter sixteen chapter seventeen chapter eighteen chapter nineteen chapter twenty chapter twentyone chapter twentytwo chapter twentythree ++ more to be added.

[atiny-for-life]

Golden Hour feels different and I think I know why...

This album feels a lot less cohesive than all others they've ever released. I'm by no means saying it's bad or you shouldn't enjoy it or support the comeback, but it's still something noteworthy.

They said they were really happy making this album, which is amazing and I'm glad they've been enjoying all the new opportunities they've been getting, but when I listen to most of these songs, I feel like we' we've been given a folder from the producer's computer with all the leftover/unfinished tracks, and I think I may know why that is.

First, I wanna say what I mean by the album being less cohesive: Ateez are big on concept albums. The songs tell a story, they're connected, both conceptiually and lyrically, even as we switch genres. Look to the Fever and World Series where you can track the themes even without knowing about their storyline.

Ateez are also famous for their cinematic songs - Inception, Answer, Guerrilla, Halazia - the instrumentals are layered, interwoven, it feels like you're on a journey as you listen to it. You start in one place and don't know where you're headed until you get there. They're full of unique instruments, random noises, hidden harmonies from Maddox and the vocal line. It's art.

And now move on to Blind, Work, Shaboom, and it's one beat in the back that switches up as we move along but there's nothing new to notice on repeat listens, nothing remarkable to pick out. Wooyoung summed it up as "easy listening" in their KStar Next Door interview. Lyrically, Work is also a lot more repetitive which is something Ateez historically stayed clear of because Mingi and Hongjoong especially are very invested in the writing process and want the songs to have meaning.

Proving my point, they mentioned during the Preview Live that Mingi and Hongjoong worked more on Empty Box and Siren, with Siren even being a contender for the title track and Empty Box being their collective favorite and, hey, look at that, those two are the only songs on the album which are a lot more complex on all fronts, a lot more similar to their usual approach to music.

Looking at the bigger picture, I absolutely don't think it was laziness which led to the slight drop in quality. I think KQ just has a pre-planned release schedule where everything is organized so they can squeeze in comeback promotions between tour schedules and, this time, they had to find a way to squeeze in Coachella, which is an opportunity you simply cannot turn down and they made a judgment call and decided to take preparation time away from the album.

Regardless of how Ateez felt about this, they worked their asses off, and while they're already in the US, they attend interviews, take extra classes, film the music video etc. and thus, weeks of album preparations are now spent on Coachella-related schedules. As a result, there ultimately just wasn't enough time to hole up in the studio as much as they normally would've which, as a performer, must be a whole lot more fun, but isn't so great when you're just a listener.

The Edenary team is still responsible for most of the songs, of course, but they're now also working for Xikers which is likely possible because Hongjoong now has years of experience under his belt and can compose full songs or add finishing touches himself whenever needed while also working on Xikers' music on occasion - we've seen him credited multiple times.

On top of that, they also used a live band at Coachella, meaning their songs had to be translated to acoustic which was most likely fully Edenary's doing and also took them away from preparing for this comeback.

These days, their albums aren't as pre-prepared anymore as they used to be a couple of years ago when we still got song teasers at the end of tracks several comebacks in advance. They've caught up by now, as we've been able to see in behind the scenes footage of Hongjoong in the studio and from his interview with Changkyun from Monsta X (I.M on the Beat) where he largely talked about working on The World - Ep Fin. which was clearly still fresh in his mind.

Normally, this wouldn't be a downside at all, but it does make scheduling conflicts like this something to be cautious about, especially looking back to how exhausted they (and most other K-pop artists) always are between December and February every single year when all the award shows come together.

Whether I'm right or not, I don't know and can't prove, but I think it makes a lotta sense and would explain some things. Either way, watching them perform Work is still fun and it's lovely to see them so happy and thriving, but I do think there'll be a noticable difference when the next album drops without any surprise schedules throwing things off course.

[pandorasword]

Chaeri as the 8th and youngest member of BTS.

CHAERI'S MASTERLIST

Web article

Chaeri: the star who lights up the stage: her collaboration with NewJeans is a worldwide success

For devoted BTS enthusiasts, the name Chaeri needs no introduction. As the eighth member of the internationally acclaimed K-pop phenomenon, she stands as the sole female artist among the group's stellar lineup. Born in 1998, Chaeri boasts an illustrious history with BTS, showcasing her prowess not only as a gifted singer and actress but also as a standout choreographer. Her dance contributions have left an indelible mark on BTS's most iconic tunes, including chart-toppers like "Dynamite," "Butter," and "Run BTS."

Beyond her stellar trajectory with BTS and her role as a choreographer for Ateez (noteworthy for choreographing hits like "Guerrilla," "Halazia," and "Bouncy"), Chaeri has chosen to extend her artistic reach by collaborating with another emerging group: NewJeans.

Debuting in 2022 under the ADOR label, a HYBE subsidiary, NewJeans is a five-member female quintet that has enraptured audiences with their distinctive blend of 1990s and 2000s pop and R&B influences. Their powerful harmonies and captivating musical style shine in hits like "Attention," "Hype Boy," "Cookie," "Ditto," and "OMG."

The collaboration between Chaeri and NewJeans kicked off in 2023 with the creation of the dance for their single "Super Shy." This infectious track narrates the tale of a bashful girl in love with a boy, with Chaeri's choreography adding an extra layer of captivation through fluid and synchronized movements. The accompanying music video for "Super Shy" soared past 100 million views on YouTube in under a month, claiming top spots on charts worldwide.

Yet, the collaboration between Chaeri and NewJeans doesn't conclude with "Super Shy." Chaeri continued to craft captivating choreography for the group's subsequent hits, such as "ETA," "Cool With You," and the latest addition to the idols' mini-album, "Get Up," titled "Gods"—the World Cup anthem for the popular video game League of Legends.

Enthusiastically embraced by fans and critics alike, Chaeri's dynamic creativity and versatility as both a choreographer and artist, combined with NewJeans' skill and charisma as performers, have earned them the moniker of a perfect artistic synergy.

In an interview, Chaeri expressed her delight at working with NewJeans, affectionately viewing them as younger sisters. The members of NewJeans reciprocated the sentiment, conveying their admiration and gratitude for Chaeri's guidance, acknowledging the invaluable lessons learned from her.

A Special Bond: Chaeri and Haerin's Musical Harmony

Within the folds of NewJeans, one member shares a unique and profound connection with Chaeri—her cousin, Haerin. 

Initially, some skeptics within the K-pop community speculated about the potential bias in Chaeri's collaboration with NewJeans, particularly due to the familial connection with Haerin. There were concerns that Chaeri, being Haerin's cousin, might exhibit favoritism in the allocation of roles within the group's choreographies, potentially giving Haerin an undue advantage.

However, as the collaborative projects unfolded, it became abundantly clear that Chaeri's commitment to professionalism and artistic integrity superseded any familial ties. The dance routines crafted by Chaeri for NewJeans were a testament to her impartiality, as each member showcased their unique talents and strengths in a harmonious blend. Haerin, despite the blood relation, had no special treatment in the choreographic assignments, proving that Chaeri's artistic decisions were rooted in merit and artistic vision.

taglist: @alixnsuperstxr | @bts-dream | @enchantingbrowneyedgirl | @ycuvi | @cosmicwintr

[hotteoki]

i dont have twt n im not planning to have one cause its toxic but what the hell is going on? whos' copying who? what tattoo? can you share me the link?

there's too much going on to share just one link, but i'll slim it down for you

disclaimer— i’m saying all these as an atiny, stay and army, i am not generalising a fandom, i’m talking about specific toxic twt stans

1. ateez’s concept photos were 'copying' skz oddinary concept photos because they were standing and looking at the camera as well as the colours. bye.

2. the colour pink used in ateez’s title track poster 'copied' skz’s most recent comeback colour. yes, a colour.

3. the word ‘crazy’ in crazy form copied jimin’s ‘like crazy’

4. the scene/background/circular room 'too similar' to jimin’s. ijbol.

5. san’s temporary ateez lore related moon tattoos on his back 'copied' jimin

context for ateez’s lore— they have had a ongoing theme since their debut of an hourglass called the cromer that works every full moon, this is also their tracklist:

(other examples of ateez using the moon: moon river in 2019, their logo, halazia mv, almost all of their concerts having a moon on the ceiling & i’ll throw in a few more examples below [pics not mine])

6. san 'copying' seungmin's red hair. yes i'm aware seungmin's hair is barely even red.

this is more of an extra but people were making fun of san and jongho (mainly jongho) for dancing 'stiffly' in their tiktok with le sserafim eunchae even though jongho recently got out of a major knee surgery

another extra that MAMA refused to nominate ateez or xikers for anything and even skipped through ateez at one point entirely because they're from a small company

no, i am not joking for any of these.

yes, toxic stays and armys are using these reasons to mass report crazy form mv when it releases tmr.

yes, i feel the primal caveman instinct in me to bash something with a wooden club coming out.

[mysterygrl20]

My Top 9 albums of 2023

I got tagged by @blmpff. thank you 💕

I listen to mainly kpop. So i guess this is my favorite kpop albums of 2023. And my spotify is heavily tied to stationhead for listening parties so it's very biased and unreliable.

First off: Ateez and their 3 EPs they released this year stole my heart and overtook SKZ.

Halazia from Ateez's Spin off: From the Witness was a mini EP. This started my year as they literally released it Dec. 30, 2022 so I didn't add the album cover up there in the top 9. I was also still lowkey freaking out as I had got to see them in concert Nov. 2022 and they had Xikers (pre-debut) perform with them. And I watched this music video way too many times.

1. Outlaw - Ateez. This is a no skip album. I love every single one of these. Don't make me choose a favorite.

2. The World EP.FIN: Will - Ateez. I picked one of my favorite group songs off this but their unit songs are amazing: Everything- Jongho and IT's You (Yeosang, San, Wooyoung)

3. Dual - The Rose. I got to see them TWICE this year: Sept & Oct. 2023 and had a BLAST. This album is amazing. Also I really liked the album cover.

4. Rockstar - Stray Kids. Another no skip album. I got to see SKZ in March 2023 for their Maniac tour. And Mr. Bang keeps me delulu on Bubble.

5. 5-STAR - Stray Kids. [hehe fitting] Another no skip album. My number one song was obviously S-Class. Superbowl shook me to my core. And then they made me cry with Youtiful.

6. Deadlock - Xdinary Heroes. They spelled out FUCK YOU in their title song Freakin' Bad.

7. The Name Chapter: Temptation - Tomorrow x Together. I saw TXT in May 2023... It's an EP of 5 great songs.

8. Dark Blood - Enhypen. My vampires. I literally made a BL gifset to the lyrics of their song Bite Me. Another favorite: Chaconne.

9. House of Tricky: Doorbell Ringing - Xikers (and also their other EP: How to Play) I got to shanty (Tricky House) with them pre-debut. I love their concept too. Also Tricky House some how made it in my top 15 songs for 2023.

Honorable Mention:

FML- Seventeen. There's just something about this album I like.

The Name Chapter: Freefall - TXT. Solely for Blue Spring being on it.

SKZ Replay: I also hold this close to my heart as it was a christmas gift from Stray Kids in 2022. So it feels more like a 2023 album. It also has the most whiplash between songs.

Single: Dum Dum - Jeff Satur (and also Steal the Show) but also Macarena - Blitzers and Baggy Jeans - NCT U [which they also added to an album] and the eurovision winner Cha Cha Cha - Käärijä.

or title tracks like: Shalala by Taeyong or Guilty by Taemin that I want to include for reasons.

Favorite OST from 2023: Let's Try from OFTS. I listened to this every Friday waiting for the new episode to be released. And it should have made it into my spotify 2023 playlist. I almost picked MSP's cover of Tilly Bird's Just Being Friendly.

Tagging but no pressure @trashlie, @thatdamngoodlookingbutterfly, @quadruple-agent, @theteatimechronicles @tinytalkingtina @theelast-straw @aceoflights and anyone else who wants to join in.

[byemambo]

Concert Diaries: ATEEZ - TOWARDS THE LIGHT : WILL TO POWER

Artist: ATEEZ

Tour: Towards the Light: Will to Power World Tour

Date: July 31, 2024

Location: Gas South Arena, Duluth, GA

Tier: SRA/Gen Admission

Time(s) Seen: Fourth time

Favorite Songs (Title Track): Guerrilla, HALAZIA, Youth, Silver Light, MATZ, WORK, ARRIBA, DJANGO, BOUNCY (K-HOT CHILLI PEPPERS), Dreamy Day

Notable Moments (in depth reflection under the cut):

This is the second time I've been to Gas South, and it's a nice venue for the size that ATEEZ has been able to achieve all these years

The stage design was amazing, they really went all out to create an immersive experience for all of us: from props, to stage rigs, to even set props that enhanced the storytelling aspect of the concert rather than focusing on the performance alone

Totally missed Crazy Form and Say My Name because I left my house later than I needed to and I had to pee BADLY

The staff (I asked for his name after the concert was over and it's Howard!) helped me get to my seat because there were too many people within the row for us to tell whether or not my seat got snatched (which it didn't thank goodness) so I was very grateful

Even though the back seating area of the stage is farther than what I'd prefer, I personally think it's better than being on the floor and not seeing shit because everyone's phones are up in the air

I've always preferred to see the entire stage from a further distance to fully take everything in, but the camera directors were really something

In comparison to their past tours, we can see just how much more sensual and adult they've become over the years, which I think is an evolution appropriate for them now as men versus the young boys they once were

Their sensual appeal isn't uncomfortable or cringe: it's confident, it's sexy, it's just the right amount that doesn't become too explicit

Their profound confidence as a group has done them so well over the course of their careers thus far, which is something that I will always admit about them as my favorite group

They spent so much time speaking to us directly in English without using a translator to aid in expressing their thoughts, which made me surprised and I'm neither for or against (since I believe that idols are entitled to expressing themselves in the language most comfortable to them, whether that be Korean or English)

The concert set list was very performance intensive, but with a theatrical approach, which is one of my favorite things about ATEEZ: their performance is beyond knocking out a choreography well on the stage, there is story and motifs significant to them as a group

During certain parts of the ments, some of the members became shy when speaking in English with minor hiccups, and I always find that wholesome with a gentle reminder of them being ordinary people outside of their celebrity personas

The VCR was fairly interesting, highlighting their journey with their group identity within the industry and relying on their "light," whether it be to help confront their obstacles, highlight their confidence, or overcoming the darkness of failure and asking the audience to ignite their light and never be afraid. ATEEZ has fairly complex lore, but we're currently in the era of Strickland, the damnation and government ban of artistic expression and emotional awareness, targeting citizens who perform art, music, or dance. Because ATEEZ has paved a name for themselves for being one of the top groups in delivering performance, this becomes a key player in their story line as they lead an anarchic revolution for society to access their emotions and pave a name for themselves in this world.

There were various members who partook in dance solos, but the specific theatrical performance that caught my attention the most was the transformation Seonghwa undergoes, accompanied by Hongjoong and Yunho as they face the Strickland officers and capture. Once Hongjoong and Yunho were seized by the Strickland officers and leaving Seonghwa behind, their wings were ripped away from them, resulting in a loss in freedom and identity. Seonghwa attempts to free himself from the grasps of the officers, even putting up a strong fight despite being outnumbered. After suffering and struggling to resist, he finally endures the same fate, his wings being torn away from him as he cowers in a deep depression.

However, Yeosang appears behind the cage, entrapped but instead of black clothing, he wears white and seems to be dancing with hints and glimmers of hope. Rather than remaining entrapped in the cage that serves as his confinement, he makes attempts to escape the bars, eventually breaking free. This reminds me of the metaphor associated with a caged bird, only serving its life purpose as a spectacle, an example to be made out of, an example of simply existing to serve for others and sing. I resonate this concept with ATEEZ, a group that I've been a fan of predebut back in 2018, witnessing the ups and downs of their presence within the industry. Along with many moments of support and aspiration, they endured many moments of ridicule and doubt, to the point of discounting their credibility and achievements throughout their career. This never stopped or forced ATEEZ back into the cage the industry and culture wishes for them, as society has always treated such uniqueness and artistic expression with confinement and silence. Instead, it only fueled ATEEZ's passion further, finally tapping back into their own light that guided them down a more fortifying path that becomes their own, that becomes a journey less traveled.

I've followed ATEEZ since the beginning of their career, knowing about their existence as KQ Fellaz (which indirectly claimed Pick It Up as their debut anthem that still resonates with ATINYs today). This year will be six years since their debut in 2018, which makes me excited and proud to be a part of their growth and journey. Their first concert in Atlanta was at Center Stage, a venue I personally love due to its small size fit for intimate connection between artist and audience. This is the same venue that BTS performed at before they became the powerhouse they are today, which only provides more reason to believe ATEEZ's career is following a similar path that BTS had paved prior. A path and road less traveled and embarked, a path that is only possible to travel on as a group debuting under a smaller company, as the industry's prioritization of capitalistic gain creates a saturated market with inequitable opportunities for those who lack the resources. Some groups become fortunate starting their race at the official starting line: other groups start strides behind the starting line, which close minded stans and industry leaders choose to ignore and dismiss such a handicap. Throughout the course of ATEEZ's journey, I've witnessed it all: division within the fandom, demonization of key players within KQ Entertainment that the members themselves look up to and respect, the industry itself failing to protect ATEEZ and instead, make a poor example out of them through alienation and scapegoating, multiple occasions of being plagiarized and ripped off of without pretense for their own hard work and desire to bring more to the industry that has shown to despise them. However, as I align with a similar fate as ATEEZ in my own personal life: we all never chose to give up and allow the hatred and dismissal to consume us whole, but rather idealize ourselves as a burning fire that only continues to grow from being fed wooden logs. ATEEZ will always be known for their raw power and passion, moving not only those who have supported them at various eras of their career, but capturing the hearts of those outside of the community through their connecting in a shared language: music and artistic expression. The amount of pride I carry on my shoulders when speaking about ATEEZ has only grown as the years go on and ATEEZ continues to evolve in various ways, but have always remained with their roots: humble(ness) and kindness. They have given themselves the responsibility to be the mouthpiece for themselves and those around them, they have made courageous strides in modifying the culture, valuing the sheer power of using their voices for the greater good, to have no fear chasing after their dreams no matter what challenges await fro them. They have truly embodied the phrase: failure is the mother of success. That no matter what attempts to bring them down, they allow themselves to endure the falls while still having the strength to get back up and continue marching on. They have inspired many lives to ignite the light that's within all of us, and claiming our time to wake up.

Next Concert: KPOP Breakout Tour w/ TRENDZ, CRAXY, ICHILLIN' and U-CHAE

[wooyoungisbaby]

ATEEZ This or That game ùwú

first choice, second and third choices if applicable. if i've left smth blank it simply means i don't have strong feelings on the matter xox

Albums

Main series || Treasure · Zero: Fever · The World · Golden Hour

Treasure series || All to Zero · Zero to One · One to All · All to Action · Action to Answer

Fever series || Part 1 · Part 2 · Part 3 · Epilogue

The World series || Movement · Outlaw · Fin: Will

Japanese releases || Shift the Map · Map to Answer · Into the A to Z · Beyond: Zero || Dreamers · Limitless || Paradigm · Not Okay

Other releases || Season Songs · Let's get Together || Kingdom: Who is the King · Don't Stop · Spinoff: From The Witness

Songs

Vibes

Bright || Eternal Sunshine · Wave || Illusion · Aurora || If Without You · Time of Love || Dreamers · Dreamy Day ||  Celebrate · Light || Stay · Blue Summer

Simply epic || HalaHala · Say My Name || Answer · Wonderland || Treasure · Fireworks

Resistance™ || Guerilla · Halazia (screaming crying etc) || Cyberpunk · Wake Up || Outlaw · New World · This World

B) fun times || Crazy Form · The Real · Thanxx ||  Bouncy · Work

Swag tbch || Matz · Pirate King || The Leaders · Win · Rocky || To The Beat · Emergency || Django · Arriba || Blind · Shaboom

Yearning || Be With You · Utopia · Take Me Home (sobbing!!!!!) || Mist · Turbulence ||  Dazzling Light · Silver Light (;A;) || Empty Box · Not Too Late

Frenzied || Inception · HalaHala ||  Desire · Precious · Horizon ||  Siren · Not Okay

Hopeful, optimistic || Sunrise · My Way || Better · Still Here || Not Too Late · One Day at a Time (i am in pain choosing this) || Good Lil Boy · Let's Get Together · Limitless

Genres (idk shit about genres, i got help from here)

Moombathon || Wave · Dreamers || Let's Get Together · Promise · Stay

Ballad || Be With You · Everything || Not Too Late · Star 1117

Synth || Cyberpunk · Take Me Home (aaaaaA) || Silver Light · This World · Diamond

Rock || Guerilla · Rocky || Wake Up · Dancing Like Butterfly Wings

Various types of hip-hop || Illusion · My Way · Thanxx || Outlaw · Emergency || Django · The Leaders

Double title tracks on the same albums

Pirate King · Treasure || Illusion · Wave ||  Thanxx · Inception || Eternal Sunshine · Deja Vu (literally why am i doing this to myself wtf) || Turbulence · The Real

Units and solos

Unit songs || Matz · IT's You || Everything · Youth

Mingi songs || Untitled · Tunnel

Jongho songs || Wind · Gravity || A Day · A Fairytale of Youth

Seonghwa covers ||  At My Worst · Angel Baby Yeosang covers || Hug Me · To My Puberty

Hongjoong covers + song  || Space Oddity · Starman ||  Black or White · Purple Rain · Billie Jean || Numb · Lemon Tree || So Long Time · Draw & Draw ||  Last Christmas · Cupid · A Walker

Other covers  || それがあなたの幸せとしても (YH) · Etham 12:45 (WY) || Dear Name (CS, JH) · Breathe (CS)

Choreography

Bouncy · Say My Name ||  Thanxx · Work (i think??) || The Real · Crazy Form || Wave · Eternal Sunshine || Aurora · Illusion ||  Inception · Deja Vu || Answer · Wonderland · Fireworks || Halazia · Guerilla ( :(((( ) || Treasure · Pirate King || Be My Lover · Black Cat Nero || Rocky · Limitless ||  Not Okay · Paradigm || IT's You · Youth ||  HalaHala · Cyberpunk (im kms by the way) ||  Silver Light · Utopia || Django · Arriba · Outlaw ||  Good Lil Boy · Dancing Like Butterfly Wings || Horizon · Sector 1 · Desire

MVs

Pirate King · Treasure ||  Illusion · Eternal Sunshine (crying. tbh) ||  Deja Vu · Inception ||  Answer · Say My Name (once again i am kms) || Bouncy · Work ||  IT's You · Youth ||  The Real · Crazy Form · Thanxx || Guerilla · Halazia (im dying squirtle.) || Wonderland · Fireworks || Wave · Turbulence ||  Hala Hala · Don't Stop ||  Aurora · Promise || Rocky · Limitless || Paradigm · Not Okay ||  Dreamers · Utopia || Black Cat Nero · Be My Lover

Eras

disclaimer: a lot of this is based on their haircolours and official photoshoots, as i wasn't in the fandom for most of these

Put the members' names by your favourite eras for them :) Pirate King [] · Say My Name [HJ] · Wave [YH] · Wonderland [WY3, YH2] · Answer [WY2, CS2] · Inception [JH] · Fireworks [CS] · Deja Vu [] · The Real [SH3] · Turbulence [] · Guerilla [SH, HJ2, YS3] · Halazia [YS, MG, WY] · Bouncy [YS2] · Crazy Form [] · Work [SH2]

Who owned each era? (answers in order with the "winner" first) Pirate King [WY, HJ] · Say My Name [HJ, MG, CS] · Wave [YH] · Wonderland [YH, SH, MG] · Answer [CS, WY, SH] · Inception [uh probably SH??] · Fireworks [CS, WY, SH] · Deja Vu [SH, WY] · The Real [MG and YS i think?] · Turbulence [SH] · Guerilla [SH and HJ joined custody, CS] · Halazia [YS, SH] · Bouncy [HJ] · Crazy Form [idk genuinely they all ate] · Work [HJ, SH]

The Lads™

Bias || Seonghwa · Hongjoong · Yunho · Yeosang · San · Mingi · Wooyoung · Jongho

Dancer || Seonghwa · Hongjoong · Yunho · Yeosang · San · Mingi · Wooyoung · Jongho (incredible. there are tears streaming down my face. it's wild to see this put on paper bc i adore hj and jh's dancing and i love to see it)

Vocalist || Seonghwa · Yunho · Yeosang · San · Wooyoung · Jongho · (Hongjoong · Mingi) (ejecting myself into the stratosphere. goodbye)

Stage presence/performance || Seonghwa · Hongjoong · Yunho · Yeosang · San · Mingi · Wooyoung · Jongho

Rapper || Mingi · Hongjoong · (Seonghwa · Yeosang · Yunho) (this was SO hard to pick but Hongjoong is just such a funky little guy so i ended up putting him in the #1 spot)

Main ships/duos || Matz · Woosan || Yungi · Jongsang

Other popular dynamics || Woojoong · Woohwa ||  Seongsang · Sanhwa (i am Crying) || Sansang · Woosang · Woosansang

Styling

hair unless otherwise specified

Hongjoong Mullet · Oreo || Blue · Orange || White · Red · Soft pink || Fireworks · Grey w/ bangs and eyebrow fun · Rainbow || Cheetah · White bowl cut

Seonghwa Pink · Blond || Sidecut w/ shaved design · Long (wailing loudly into the sky) || Red · Grey || Kingderland coat · Deja Vu zipper outfit ||  Vampire corset · Elle dress

Wooyoung Oreo · Red (crying & throwing up) || Blue tinted · Blond || Pale purple · Dark blond || Hair band · Fur jacket

Jongho Red/Black · Dirty blond · Purple

Mingi Orange · Red || Hot pink · White || Grey · Oreo

San Black with turquoise · Black with red || Oreo · Pink (T_T) || Red · Blue

Yeosang Mullet · Green highlighter || Pale pink · Hot pink || Blond · Oreo

Yunho Turquoise · Soft pink (i am. in pain) || Blond ombre · Red/Black || White · Silver

Kingdom performances

Symphony No. 9 · Answer: Ode To Joy || Wave: Overture · Rhythm Ta · The Real || Colours · Wolf · Love Poem (i have no thoughts<3)

Conclusion: i am in pain. this was so difficult and i chose to do it to myself wtf<3 i am cancelt.

tagging: @hongjoongsgoat @sillyspero @igbylicious @leethinktherefore @sxcret-garden @ubernoona @hwakakeri @baldyeosang @desirehorizon @irlkpop @coffee-addict-kitten @wooyoungbites @sourkimchi @thetypingpup @halavibe @beenbaanbuun @haahka @shinestarhwaa as always no pressure ofc :)) im just promoting my game directly into your mentions lmfao

The blank template is here!!

[barbieb0y]

joining the thoughts on golden hour part 1 bandwagon bc oh boy i have thoughts

obviously my expectations were kinda high bc it's ateez we're talking about here and that this is actually my first comeback ever. none of the title tracks have disappointed me so far – and thats not to say i was disappointed with work. but i would say it's... underwhelming.

i mean, after the world series with guerilla, halazia, bouncy and crazy form, how do you expect me to process the whiplash that is work? we got all these intense songs and performances, hammering in the outlaw concept then... work. this album. there's a reason why i was surprised to hear this is a hip-hop themed comeback bc it's not that it doesnt suit ateez, i was excited to see how they would mess with the genre, but. work sounds like a song another group can pull off. sonically, at least.

i'd like to think that work is a milestone for all their achievements thus far, like "hey we made it this far bc we hustled" and i still think that but it could've been theirs. but this sound isn't theirs. at least not yet, if theyre planning to mess with it in the future too.

i liked the beat when they first leaked it and i still like it. but throughout the whole song, it's just that. it's just one beat. im not saying it cant sound good (360 by charli xcx is a good example) and im not saying it's not good but like i said: it's underwhelming. the mv kinda saves it bc i absolutely adore how chaotic and funny it is but i wish the song itself couldve lived up to the whole chaos of the visuals.

im not gonna talk about the intro bc the intro is just the intro. let's talk about blind. when i listened to the preview, my first thought was "wow they should play this in the world cup" and i was still thinking that when i listened to the whole thing for the first time. then i listened to it with the lyrics and i thought "wowie it's a love song i see". but to put it simply, i like it but thats about it. i wouldn't skip it but i don't lose my mind or put it at the top of my rankings like everyone has been apparently doing.

moving on to empty box, i wasn't expecting to like it much when i listened to it in the preview bc i'm not a fan of slow songs/ballads usually but when i first listened to it on release... it became my first favorite of the album. this is what i mean by they can do simple good and they can make it theirs. even though the song does remind me of another song/artist (ive been struggling to figure out what/who exactly though...), it's not bc it's a song anyone else can do. they took a genre and made it theirs. that's how you own it. the lyrics also hit close to home and i find them incredibly moving.

next is shaboom. this was my initial favorite from when i listened to the preview and i was looking forward to how the whole thing sounds like and well, i wasn't blown away but i do enjoy it. i like the goofy intro and the first verses are fun, like i can imagine a silly mv where they're hosting a house party and inviting you to join in on the festivities. i can't really remember the verses after the first chorus though (idk why but im struggling to remember the non-chorus parts in this album despite looping it for a few times already) but i do like it. more than blind at least.

lastly, siren. my current favorite. ive been looping the fuck outta this song. it is actually so good but i'm not really surprised bc this, alongside empty box, are the ones that allegedly had more time spent on them (hell, siren was battling crazy form to become the title track for the world ep fin will). this is how good they can be when they actually take their time, this is who ateez is supposed to be. and im not lying nor exaggerating when i say this should been the title track for this comeback. i can already imagine the mv, the choreo, the stages that they can do if this was the title track. i sincerely believe that this song is like a mix of bouncy (mostly the vibes), outlaw and crazy form which you should know is a banging mix. i love the goofy intro (of course), i love the chaos from the verses, i love the descent in the pre-chorus down to the chorus itself (i think it's reminiscent of crazy form), the "ringing siren, ringing siren" parts make me ascend (both the post-chorus and at the end of the song), THIS IS ATEEZ. GOD.

tldr my ranking is this:

siren

empty box

shaboom

work*

blind*

golden hour

*work and blind are interchangeable bc i like them the same amount

conclusion? a solid album but it's not their best. it's not cohesive. like it feels like it's creating a creative dent in their discography. so i can't really rate it bc it'll have to depend on what perspective you're looking at.

i can only hope they take more time to prepare for their next album. i do not want another rushed comeback and album. i want these bitches to rest and be at their actual best when they perform! go for quality over quantity of you can't do both!!

[mrsfezziwig]

KQ - The Reason Ateez Don't Win Awards: (Pt 1)

n.b.(Good God I am actually scared of what reaction this may get from other Atiny but I feel like it is something I really need to address!)

Ateez are incredible;

as humans, as a group, as vocalists and as rappers, but their stand out ability comes in the way they perform and dance. I have never seen a group like these eight men when it comes to their star power; all of them could probably be in The Demon Line now they have matured, especially Yunho, who feels more relaxed on stage, more intense and he is most definitely not holding himself back anymore (That YunGi clothes grab in the Wonderland tour version, anyone? This Mrs Fezziwig was fanning herself like a Georgian Regency lady with a hand fan and blaming it on her age - hot flushes, you know... Oof! ). But anyone with a braincell can look at the lack of acknowledgement of their talents in terms of end of year award show nominations and wonder what the hell is going on?! It is incredibly irritating when people who deserve to have their hard work and talents celebrated are passed over again and again.

Now, this is where I just know I am going to be side-eyed, possibly bombastically, because I need to make comparisons in order to make my points as this is only about my opinion, and things I see other Atiny discussing on socials. In addition everyone knows how close the members of these two groups are as friends, hence why I am risking my sanity to say it:

The Comparison - Stray Kids

What makes Stray Kids so well awarded isn't just their agency, which has absolutely helped, with their money, organisation and longevity in the idol industry, but there's also the fact that they have practically carte blanche when it comes to the music they make. No body on this good, green Earth can ignore the sheer genius that is 3RACHA and their most common producer, Versachoi, when it comes to their abilities to write, compose and produce their songs.

Every emotion in the human pantheon of feeling is out there in a song available for fans to discover from their catalogue. Their forte is the musical freedom all the members contribute to the group.

SKZ hits harder because they are performing their own emotion out in song and dance, having three geniuses in one group is fated, no one can ever tell me otherwise... However, Ateez doesn't have that extra layer of connection even though the boys are still insanely versatile and make it work.

That's not the fault of the members, BBTrippin or even on some level the collective Edenary, they're all being told the same thing by the agency. It lies in the fact that those at the top want it to be this way.

I don't say this as a diss against Edenary, and I have yet to find a skip song on their albums. It is all impactful, musically, there is nothing but hit after hit on those but the lyrics just aren't up to par. Guerilla was about a fictional revolution, Halazia was about a fictional revolution from the outsider perspective, Bouncy was about an, um... fictional revolution and Crazy For-... Yeah, I am going to stop here.

KQ CEO-nim, I respectfully say:

Holy Fuck... Drop the fucking storyline into the b-side! Yep, you heard me right - Drop. The. Fucking. Storyline. From. The. Title. Tracks! Plllleeeeaaaaasssseee?

I am pretty sure all the inhabitants of Dimensions A and Z, and how ever many other of these buggers are hiding in the mind of the planners, shall collectively gasp dramatically 'Blasphemy!'

What a cardinal sin to suggest such a thing!!! Pre-debut Atiny are clutching their pearls and Diary Version albums as I speak such foul utterances, wondering how I could possibly have the very cheek of it to say such a thing! Do you think the boys will be proud of the dramatic delivery here? 😂

Yes, there are some moving and heart-wrenching b-sides on Ateez albums that are ignored for the scale of interdimensional time Pirates, which makes it increasingly, painfully obvious that those emotions are rare in their title tracks. So, I will make the point I've been moving up to with the comparison:

KQ need to let loose the reins

I first encountered Ateez in my initial journey with kpop in 2021 and I was in my 'BTS got me hooked, Stray Kids toppled them with Hellevator from my focus, and Ateez seems interesting...' era

Being 38 I felt kinda like some sort of sicko for finding guys I could have birthed attractive and I still have twinges of this feeling occasionally. Thankfully, none of the 5th Gen children are anything other than cute little babies to me, ones that I want to tut at, throwing appropriate clothing their way and ground them for going out in such tiny skirts and dresses. As you can imagine, finding Deja Vu as my first Ateez song sent me screeching dramatically away from the group, hands flapping and looking for a man my age to hide behind [thank you, Rain; you were extremely helpful during my mid-life-ish crisis].

So I continued on my way along up the endurance hike that is the Stray Kids path, again feeling slightly creeped out at myself for buying Oddinary, but also in absolute awe at the music these eight guys made. I still don't have a fucking clue what their storyline is, although it is coming more into focus thanks to the most recent SKZFLIX but that's kinda positive as it allows for their flexibility in terms of what they say and how it's performed and perceived.

At the core, I like their lyrical content better than Ateez, purely due to the fact it's visceral in its emotional impact. With a leader like Bang Chan, I haven't been surprised to find so many amazing fans out there too. Older STAYs I chat with on Discord have been my rock and support as I admitted my feelings of discomfort at the age thing and we figured out it was my STBX husband and his reaction to my new found hobby and likes that left me feeling so icky.

With their help, I finally got the courage up to accept that we were done after 20 years and I haven't missed him except for one occasion [I was facing a general anaesthetic to have a massive abscess on my jaw drained, all alone in a hospital about an hour from home with nobody at all to hold my hand] since he left in March. Every time I faced a backwards step emotionally because of my Ehler-Danlos Syndrome and my limitations, they were there to check on me.

This community is what makes Kpop the best rabbit hole I ever plunged into - stay away from Twitter (No, Elon, it isn't called 'X', it's called Twitter!) and the fans are such magnificently, genuine hearted people who just get me! For the first time in my life my sense of humour wasn't misinterpreted and rather slotted into place like this was where I was meant to be all along. When I found this tribe I was so lonely it was frightful, and it's only by being who I am today with their love and support I can look back at that version of myself and cry for her desperation and black-fog draped soul.

99% of the people in that chat are actually StayTiny, and they were discussing Halazia, insisting I really need to watch the MV. So I did, and as thankful I am for BTS getting me into Kpop and Stray Kids for finding me at my lowest then giving me my coping song in Voices, Ateez overtook them all in one MV. There is something about these guys that I connected with. That began my twisted path in April 2023 in learning names, songs and personality types that lead me to December and the drop of Crazy Form. Yet they may now be my Ult group, Stray Kids are my foundation in the world of idols. And no, I still can't handle Deja Vu no matter how many times I have tried to make it happen. So far I can get to the end of Yunho's opening but I can't take San with that haircut and eyebrows without cringing and backing out, which means I've progressed beyond the sexual feel of the song and am now firmly entrenched in 'Second-hand Embarrassment Station'.

Ateez could be much bigger if...

Despite the connection I found with these seven crackheads plus Jongho, instantly was thrown off by the incessant focus on the story of Ateez and dimension hopping, wondering where they were, as in where were the personal stories; the freedom of expression and grounding focus of reliving your experience in music?

If the story came in the form of a novel, I would be pre-ordering that shit off Amazon faster than I pre-order SKZ and Ateez albums. And I am not alone in this sentiment. After five years in the industry, these guys aren't newbies, they have the experience to handle the responsibilities of writing their own songs with guidance from Edenary and creating their own choreo alongside BBTrippin.

Hearing how the agency weaves the lore into every single MV and title track, I felt angry. I still am and am likely to always be, because if they let up and allowed the boys to display their joy, sorrow, happiness and agony in their songs and choreo, Ateez would be even greater, they'd be a force to be reckoned with particularly in the international market where they just work already. This is where BTS and Stray Kids have Ateez beat.

international fans have come to expect that the music is written and produced by the members of a group. Sure this could be argued as being a side effect of BTS getting so big, it's also a factor no one should discount.

Now, I shall move onto the part I love most: 'saying shit 'people who don't have a genetic pain disorder and who still have two flying fucks to give' won't...

The agency is responsible for the lack of mainstream recognition in terms of awards and fans because that oomph 3RACHA pour into their music is where the disparity lies.

With performers like the eight men in Ateez imagine them being up there on the VMAs stage getting all the praise... And the viral Taylor Swift reaction to match... Her reaction to Chan was just so relatable after all (be still my Swiftie/STAY/Atiny manic heart). I can't lie, the thought of them never being recognised in the mainstream before it's too late and they disband to focus on solo careers makes me tear up. Oh, that's so dramatic of me is what people who don't know Ateez will think,

'Ewwww... it's not that deep 🙄! Go touch some fucking grass and stop being so saesang coded' { Bitch, if I could go outside without dislocating my hip, I'd still be an Archaeologist! Is that enough grass and mud for you all?}

With a massive 'Wooyoung-thicc, baby-girl-twerking' ass BUT(t):

The thing is, it actually is that deep.

I am sick of spending comeback day piecing together the story point instead of looking at the video and lyrics and it's meaning. Which invariably is about the destruction of the dystopian universe. Don't Stop did the story telling in a way that made sense for what the video portrays and it works real fucking well (plus Mingi? Oooh, damn boyyy!). We understood it because it was all there to be found!

Imagine having that every comeback day, the 'falling out of bed at 5am to match KST' would be so much more enjoyable because there isn't any depth to plunder, it would be a {most definitely not} straight shooting banger or bopper or tear-mopper of a track, ALMOST ENTIRELY written and produced by the members for us to enjoy on repeat. Then a few days later the Edenary b-side/s with all the storyline desired would drop and we would be mentally prepared to disect every second of it because our thirst would have diminished to the 'reasonably manageable when those eight beautiful men plus San's chocolate bar abs are in the world' level.

Whilst I intended to make all my points in one post, I will split it up because of the length it's going to be... To be continued...

[domoriu]

thoughts on ice on my teeth??

i haven't heard any of the bsides but i fw the title track, i like the instrumental and yunho's opening a lot, i like that it's a lot more chill than their previous releases but i rlly hope they do something like inception or halazia (!!) again 🫦😩

btw do you like halazia? i think for me it might be the only song in their discography close to topping inception 🤭🤭

irdk wtf mingi be talking about 😨 but that's my mine so imma stick beside him ✊😔 if you listened to the bsides, what was your fav??

i do lovee noisy music but i kinda listen to it in phases, like sometimes all i wanna do is have my ears blasted off with some ridiculous lyrics but sometimes i want something different for a while

i hope you're doing well kiwi !! 🥝🩷🎀🫐🫐🫐 can't wait to read your new works (im tryna lock in and finish this semester 🤞) and ty so much 4 recommending chromakopia i luvvv st chroma bad

its good! i liked it but i really liked selfish waltz… like yeah banger 🤤🤤 i only listened to both of them once tho i haven’t been listening to kpop this week

halazia is good!! i honestly didn’t listen to it much before cuz i would get the ick really bad from the choreo w the eyeroll thing so it just ruined the song for me for a while ??? but after seeing it at the ateez concert i was converted into a halazia enjoyer 🙂‍↕️🙂‍↕️

i like noisy music and i don’t stan groups that music is constantly noisy, like besides some title tracks nct discography is not as noisy as people make it seem 😭 but i used to be a stay… so i have that ear for noisy music sometimes… and outside of kpop i don’t really listen to noisy music

and thank you lovely i hope you’re doing well too!! im sure you’ll do great and pass this semester so keep pushing u got this ! it’s only a few weeks left right ? (my college dropout is showing rn) and yay im glad u like chromakopia!! it’s such a good album and i feel like it gets better with each listen

[gfwooyo]

what songs would you recommend to someone who wants to know what kind of music ateez makes?

ooooh okay this is a hard question bc their discography is SO diverse I feel like they really experiment with everything but this chart (missing their latest album) is a super helpful starting place if you know what kinda vibe you prefer

but my PERSONAL favorites that also show their range are inception, hala hala, turbulence, halazia, promise, take me home, be with you, cyberpunk, mist, guerrilla, eternal sunshine, answer, the real, django, fever, and outlaw (also shout out to silver light, youth, it's you, and crazy form from their most recent album. also everything if u like ballads and matz if u like hip hop) (it's killing me not listing more songs like it's actually painful they're soooooo good)

they're def more known for their anthemic songs and their performances but they have suuuuch a varied discography I feel like everyone could find something they like! also this flow chart is cool if u don't like that other chart

it's missing halazia and the world series but it covers the majority!! and then finally this tiktok is a cool way to quickly see but just know even this barely scratches the surface

sorry I couldn't give u a simpler answer and info dumped but thank u for giving me the opportunity 🫂

ps. HIGHLY recommend looking for performances when u find a song u like bc they're so fucking good. mvs too if it's a title track

[kiestrokes]

✨WIP Game✨

Post the names of all the files in your wip folder regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous they are. Let people send you an ask with any title that most intrigues them and then post a little snippet of it or tell them something about it! And then tag as many people as you have wips.

Tagged by the lovely @seokjinger-ale I am also a slow writer, thanks to the chaos that is my life currently. So uhhh, don't judge the pile too hard. I had emptied out most of my wips, but my personal chaos demon @minttangerines filled it right back up ���

Geonbae Pt. 2 NSFW part of the Dirty Little Secrets au fuckboy!Park Jimin

Say My Name NSFW fratboy!Song Mingi

Netflix & Kill NSFW croptop!Choi San

Halazia NSFW Bouncy MV au brothers biker bestie!Park Seonghwa x OC!Kang Yeosol

double take NSFW idol!Choi Minho

Rock with you NSFW bf!Choi Seungcheol

muse NSFW reworking idol tbd

MUSCLE MEMORY NSFW fwb!reader x boxer!Jeon Jungkook ft. boxer!Seo Changbin

pink skies SFW boyfriend!Song Mingi x reader x ex!Park Jimin

Blue Summer SFW OT8!ATEEZ

Baby, I'm a shadow of you NSFW ex!Jeon Jungkook & ex BF's bestie! Kim Mingyu

no one like me tbd ace rockstar!Kim Hongjoong

Cyberpunk NSFW bodyguard!Song Mingi

Ditto Pt.2 SFW Kim Seokjin

Domestic Idol NSFW escort service x idol au, there are two wips in this series so far: Son Hyunwoo Bang Chan (RIP my drift partner @chans-room)

Life Finds a Way SFW Jurassic Park crack fic with hybrid Jeon Jungkook OT7!BTS

nostalgia NSFW Lim Jaebeom

 Residual Adoration SFW memxmem: Seo Changbin x Hwang Hyunjin

Accismus NSFW modern royalty, arrange marriage au Kang Yeosang

Fear NSFW Bang Chan

Paradigm tbd carnival au OT8!ATEEZ x OT8!SKZ

Sanguine NSFW little red riding hood au alpha!Yuta Nakamoto x beta!Mark Lee x red!OC

Bisexual!WooSan NSFW bi bestie!Jung Wooyoung x Reader x neighbor!Choi San

Untitled Halloween MinChan NSFW boyfriend!Bang Chan x Reader x dom!Lee Minho

© COPYRIGHT 2023 by kiestrokes All rights reserved. No portion of this work may be reproduced without written permission from the author. This includes translations. 

[atiny-for-life]

Ateez's Full Storyline Explained - Part 17

Masterlist

BOUNCY (K-HOT CHILLI PEPPERS) (Z-World)

Throughout the MV, we'll be seeing both Ateez and the Black Pirates and based on the skills we'll be seeing each member display throughout the course of the video, the Z-like symbol we see Mingi paint on the wall in the post-credit scene, and the information we get from the Diary Version of the album, we know the Black Pirates are the Outlaws-

And Ateez are the ones in white infiltrating Prestige Academy toward the end

From the Album Trailer, we already know the following:

They've been planning this mission for 6 months ("they" presumably being Ateez, the Black Pirates and Left Eye)

The Black Pirates split up into duos and have been hiding out in different parts of the city to presumably gather intel from all kinds of civilian groups: Wooyoung and San as manager and underground fighter, Yunho and Jongho as mechanics, fake cops and potentially forgers, Hongjoong as the babysitter of a goat with Mingi who's presumably been bar-hopping (I'm kidding - their roles will become clear later), Seonghwa got himself some grillz and biker friends together with Yeosang who's apparently also a food delivery driver on the side

They've now been called into action to kick off the mission with Yeosang being the communication link between all of them

Side-note: when you watch the trailer, you can see the song titles in the neon signs and the name of the delivery service: "Blue Bird" which is a callback to Halazia where the bluebird was utilized as a symbol of reclaiming your freedom

Another thing of note: To outline the older aesthetic of this MV which takes place in the outskirts of Stirctland, the aspect ratio is kept in 4-by-3 as was the norm here up until the late 2000s

This is in stark contrast to the 16 by 9 widescreen ratio from Guerrilla which was situated in the high tech city center and very much aligned with the futuristic aesthetic by utilizing plenty of polished and sleek CGI effects and backgrounds

With that in mind, let's get into the MV:

We open on Mingi who's heading into a Cowboy/Western Steampunk-looking bar called Chilli Peppers by himself

Followed by Seonghwa with his biker-buddies (he seems to have five of them) and Hongjoong in front of his GOAT sign (I can only assume this refers to the sports term Greatest Of All Time and not the animal but I do appreciate the excuse to have an actual goat in the video and promo-material)

When we see the whole crew together, it seems to be either on the bikes, in front of the Chilli Peppers bar or in front of Jongho and Yunho's garage (aptly named Outlaw Customs) which means we're moving back and forth between seeing their time apart and them post-reunion

A big part of the MV is spent with Wooyoung and San who seem to have become quite well-known during their time in hideout

San has become a successful underground fighter with his own fanclub and Wooyoung has been hustling up quite the amount of cash as San's manager, presumably from bets made against San

We can see a bunch of signs in the crowd with some of them reading stuff like "Quitting is not an option" and "The Champ is here"

Another stick-it-to-the-authorities detail can be seen during this shot of Yunho in the garage: they've managed to acquire a police car and have slapped their own Outlaw sticker on the hood because as Hongjoong said during the showcase: "In an unjust society, doing the right thing can be illegal."

Additionally, we also get a glimpse of Yunho and Jongho's police IDs which I can only assume have been forged for research or investigative purposes, i.e. to question citizens that otherwise wouldn't be willing to speak to them and answer their questions (after all, they've been trying to get into high security places to free as many civilians as possible)

Moving on to the most mysterious part of the MV (which I'm sure will make more sense within the context of the Diary entries later on): we see Yeosang and Seonghwa with their biker friends inside a room reminiscent of the museum we saw in Say My Name

In its center, we see a container on a pedestal hooked up to a bunch of tubes and wires housing a tiny little chilli plant that can seemingly only thrive in a very specific climate, hence the red lighting (temperature regulation) and the tubing (managing moisture and oxygen levels)

I can currently only speculate what these chillis can do but I'm sure they have some properties the government wants to keep away from civilian hands since they're known to use nutrition to uphold their absolute control over the population

These are also the chillis which were used to deliver messages to the other members (as seen in the trailer) and now Yeosang and Seonghwa have stolen presumably the entire remaining supply

We can see these peppers also being served in the bar Mingi entered at the beginning of the MV and upon seeing them, the other bar guests approach Mingi with a threatening air about them

This confrontation quickly escalates to a shootout in which Mingi clearly has the upper hand as he's mowing down everyone but the barkeeper before they can fire as much as a single shot (an exchange which tells me the other bar guests may have been government spies of some kind alerted by the sight of the chillis - maybe they've become a symbol of the revolutionists?)

Meanwhile, San's having a rough time in the ring (some bruises, blood crusting the corner of his mouth) while Wooyoung's trying to keep him motivated and to his credit, it seems to work

San gets up, kicks his opponent in the face and knocks him out cold which puts an end to the fight and secures him the win

Alongside the widespread cheers of the fans in the audience, they celebrate his win by raining down water and money interspliced with choreography clips featuring the full group

This is also where we get the iconic clip of Mingi doing body-rolls in a cropped vest on the pool table after he shot down everyone but the barkeeper

With these wins secured, we can now check in on Ateez who have successfully infiltrated Prestige Academy in white uniforms reminiscent of the one the boy at the end of the Guerrilla MV was wearing and most importantly: the windows are all cleared and sunlight is streaming inside - the kids have been woken up.

We cut back to Hongjoong who snaps one of the chillis in half and finds within a single bullet - as someone who doesn't care for guns in the slightest, I can only say it reminds me of a sniper bullet

What this means in the grand scheme of things, I'm not sure, but I can speculate:

In a society ruled by an oppressive government, weapons are usually kept far away from civilian hands in order to prevent an uprising, especially one with even the slightest chance of success

Side-note: this cannot be compared to gun control in a democratic society where weapons-access is restricted to prevent civilian-on-civilian violence like mass-shootings

Because of that, I assume the chillis are now being used to smuggle ammunition to the revolutionists so they can build up a civilian army with a fighting chance against the Android Guardians and other government-agencies

And this bullet in particular? It's not just any bullet. This is some high-tech futuristic shit - clearly an upgrade from whatever they tried to use against the Android Guardians in Fireworks/The Leaders

We get to see Hongjoong load it into his gun before taking aim and setting it on an extremely well calculated path of controlled destruction. The following shots tracking the bullet's trajectory are deeply satisfying so let's break them down:

First, the bullet pierces right through the climate-controlled container housing the chilli plant and shattering the glass as Yeosang, Seonghwa and crew are stationed there. This has the following implications: the plant can no longer produce chillis for the government and all the remaining chillis in this universe are now in the hands of the revolutionists.

From there, it moves through Prestige Academy where Ateez are gathered and light floods inside through the open windows: the kids have been freed and there'll be no more future generations of government-controlled workers.

The projectile keeps going, moving through the darkened inner city and heading straight for the tallest building in the city center - the one we've already seen in the trailer which they were heading towards on their motorcycles.

It enters through a window, flies down a sterile dimly-lit corridor, pierces through a white closed door and finally finds its mark: the head of an Android Guardian (I hope it was the one who grabbed Yeosang by the neck back in the Fever Part 3 Diary Entries)

The bullet's impact triggers an explosion, which transitions into the celebratory part of the choreo as sparks fly around the Black Pirates gathered in front of the Chilli Peppers bar.

It all culminates in this shot of the Black Pirates walking away from the government skyscraper as it goes up in smoke and flames. The mission was a success.

[kpopmultifan]

ATEEZ has released the 3rd set of concept photos of San, Mingi, Wooyoung, & Jongho for their upcoming album “Spin Off: From the Witness” which which features the title track “HALAZIA” & is scheduled to be released on December 30th.  

[songmingisthighs]

Hey thereee, question time 😈

Favorite era of Ateez style/aesthetic wise?

Favorite era/album/series of Ateez music wise?

Any artist/group in and outside of kpop that you think would make a great collaboration with ateez? And why

What are your expectations for this new comeback (bc I'm dying over here with the twelve tracks, one of those with a title in Spanish, writing credits of all the members, and possible sub-units songs 😭)

If the Ateez members didn't actually debut under kq, what other group do you think they could fit in individually?

Favorite b-sides?

What is a genre that Ateez hasn't tried that you think they could succeed in?

Thoughts on the lore? Idk if you understand it, have your own theories, or maybe just decide to prioritize your peace and not dwell too much on it?

(For this one, I'm assuming Ateez is your Ult group, correct me if I'm wrong) If Ateez didn't exist/debut per se, do you think you'd be as invested in any other group, or in kpop in general?

Aaaand, I can't think of anything else rn, but if I do, I'll probably come annoy you some more later (also please ignore this ask/tell me if it's something you're not interested in answering 😊)

Ok byeee

y'all finally someone who has a question ABOUT ME 😭😭

1. aesthetic wise ???? I'm torn between thanxx and halazia but i gotta say halazia bc even my ateez tattoo is halazia-inspired

2. THIS IS TOUGH but mayhaps guerrilla ?? idk why but i resonate a lot with guerrilla vibe-wise but outlaw ??? man the song, the lyrics... dune haunts me

3. i'm so biased bc i love her but the french singer angele. i do NAWT know nor do i CARE about the hows and the buts, her haunting echo-y vocals + ateez's dystopian vibe would mix well and i will donate my left toenail if their collab ever happens. OR STROMAE OH MY GOD FILLE DE JOIE IS POTENTIALLY ATEEZ CODED AND PAPAOUTAI WAS THE DADDY ISSUE ANTHEM IN MY 2019

4. my expectation for this new comeback is mind being blown and kidneys getting sold and me not surviving (not the kidney harvest but just ateez in general)

5. can't say much about this but i feel like hj would be an underground rapper/producer, hwa would be in a group from a small company that won't survive but he'll be in survival shows, yunho would most likely be in a dance crew but it won't be bb trippin, yeosang would fail his dreams bc he'll be stuck not debuting (agency management's fault) and he'd go back to studying and maybe be a twitch streamer on the side or full time (then got dr0nk and gets cancelled like hongbin), san wouldn't be buff and he'd either be stuck in a vocal-oriented group or was forced by his dad to go home bc his agency kept stalling his debut, mingi would try to become an independent artist but would fail bc i feel like he won't survive alone like he needs a team bc he has his own colours but he likes experimenting but he experiments too much and knowing the audience he'd probably have to make music his second gig and work as a barista (which is hawt smacc me with a cup of joe java daddy), wooyoung won't be able to debut in txt ofc bc he's tinie and let's face it hybe won't pass him from his visuals alone (i'm not saying he's ugli bc he's elmo's hot daddy cousin but hybe would force woo into plastic surgery and even then, it's still a 50/50) and he won't be in skz so i feel like he'd join a dance crew so kinda similar to yunho but his path would be more like lee euijin (unb) but he'll probably survive on his personality and be in a lot of variety shows as a permanent member, and jongho would be a ballad singer and later become a musical artist (i just realized i said i can't say much but here i am rambling)

6. cyberpunk (meimei wants to be the chair san stepped on), dune, and outlaw is in my current loop BUT take me home will always be in my heart same as precious

7. yodelling. idk the genre but i wanna see my boi jongho yodelehihoo, make that step ladder mason shake in his boots

8. i do nawt understand the lore but my theory is these dumbasses has been looking for the chromer or do something with the chromer meanwhile the chromer is san. wdyt man's always throwing his body as a sacrificial potato sack ????

9. oh deffo. kpop is the only genre i can't give up on, i've been liking kpop since april 4th 2009 (yes i remember the date) and i just can't let it go it seem. ateez is my current ult BUT i think i would've still be into svt and ulted txt

pls ask me more questions if you have <3