And all I could think of was Yungi

Mingi: STOP shipping us 🚫☝ we are Best. Friends. Nothing romantic! 👿

Yunho: He's my princess 👸 I'm his prince 🤴 we'll get married next pride month 🌈 you're all invited 💗

Mingi: QUIT TELLING EVERYONE WE'RE GETTING MARRIED!

Aaahhh why would you spring this on me without warning?!?! But this was so fun, I just spent 30 minutes making shitty Pokémon/Ateez collages 😂

Lately I'm pretty fixated on the Eeveelutions (thanks, Pokopia), so I'm going with them!

I really like the idea of all of them starting as little Eevees and then slowly but surely finding their true selves thanks to the support and love they found in Ateez! 💗

I feel like the original 3 Eeveelutions must go to Hongjoong, Yunho and Mingi, aka the original trio of Ateez

Hongjoong: Jolteon

Full of energy and 'spiky': his looks and demeanor don't really invite physical touch, but he secretly loves it from the right people; thrives under pressure, in high tension (voltage) situations ⚡

Yunho: Vaporeon

Bubbly and mermaid-like, he lures you in... and then surprises you with a playful and silly personality. But don't be deceived, he will drown you if it means winning 😈

Mingi: Flareon

Hot and explosive like a volcano 🌋, but also warm and loyal; fire-water dichotomy with Yunho (+ the coloring reminds me of Halazia Mingi, one of his best looks); fire type bc he's a Leo, THE fire sign lol 🔥

Espeon and Umbreon got introduced as a pair in gen 2, it seems fitting they go to Mother and Problem Child; they only evolve after establishing a high level of friendship: the world didn't get them, but Ateez see and love their true selves

Seonghwa: Espeon

I mean, look at those eyes 👁👁; highly intuitive (Psychic type) and caring, the perfect balance to Jolteon's hyper energetic personality, they form a great duo to take care of the whole team; despite his looks (collected, unfazed) he's actually very delicate: you must treat him gently (or Jolteon will kill you) 💜

Wooyoung: Umbreon

Literally the black cat of Ateez; overly friendly but ONLY with people that deserve it, if your vibes are rancid you are dead to him (remember how much he cares about dongsaengs bowing and showing respect?), playful and mischievous 😈

Yeosang: Sylveon

Fairy-like, whimsical, usually underestimated because of his looks, people forget he's super effective against literal Dragons; only obtainable after forming a very deep bond (even deeper than the friendship required for Espeon and Umbreon): Yeosang only reveals his true self to the people closest to him/Ateez; it took years, but he's finally there 💪

(tbh I think Yeosang and Mingi could be swapped? Mingi is all cool 😎 on the outside but in private he's the magical Princess 🧚‍♀️ of Ateez, while Yeo looks calm and gentle, but hides the energy of a volcano 🌋)

Leafeon and Glaceon got introduced as a pair in gen 4, so it feels right that they go to the Choi 'brothers'

San: Leafeon

Mountain -> nature -> greenery, he's gentle but protective and can stand his ground; one time I heard that his parents named him San because his older sister is named Haneul (sky) and thus she's like the Sky always watching over the Mountain and I loved that so much 😭 and it solidified in my mind the idea that San is connected to nature 🌿

Jongho: Glaceon

To everyone else he appears unfazed, untouchable, cold, but to Ateez he reveals his true Baby self, playful, pouty and cuddly (also it's hilarious that Glaceon "hides" his forehead just like Jongho lol) 💙

And that's it :)

On a final note, Mingi being compared to Psyduck when Torchic is right there?????? A literal baby chick 🐤 with Halazia Mingi coloring!

Lil Torchic's middle evolution is Combusken and his final evolution is Blaziken, I feel like all 3 stages represent Mingi in various phases: Torchic when he plays cute and the others baby him, Combusken when he's being his chaotic self, Blaziken when he's Mr. Fix On or when he gives life advice like an old sage. Ah, the triality of man 🔥

For Hongjoong I wish I could say some sort of squirrel Pokémon, but unfortunately I don't like Skwovet nor Greedent nor Pachirisu 😕 so I'll go with Pikachu for him! I feel like he has an affinity for electricity ⚡ Pikachus enjoy cuddles from people they trust but use their electric charge to shock and keep away strangers or people that invade their personal space... tell me if that's not Hongjoong! Pikachu is also the most unusual starter Pokémon a trainer could have, and again it fits Hongjoong: the beginning of his career was quite unusual and unique!

Toxtricity is an option too, for him, Seonghwa and Mingi, since it's connected to punk rock music 🤔

... but I feel like we're going more in a "Ateez's Pokémon teams" rather than "Ateez as Pokémon" direction so I'll stop here lol

I know that this issue is compounded by a lack of solo schedules and all that. But you said it yourself - going to war within the fandom isn't going to solve anything. It's only going to bring hate on both - if not all - members.

Well...

"Ah, tbh weight loss talk is so normalized in the entertainment industry (not only K-pop) that I didn't even pay attention to San being part of the conversation there. The fact itself that a media trained idol like Yeosang let that "slip" is proof that it's not something out of the ordinary for him (for them), in his eyes it wasn't a slip of the tongue at all, he was just describing something that happened to him.

I'm pretty sure that if not San, someone else from KQ would have told him the same. Didn't KQ limit his gym time a few months ago, despite him loving it and being healthy/not injured? I don't think they like that Yeosang wants to be a muscular "dobermann", they very much want him to be the delicate maltese puppy.

I was more upset that the fan told Yeosang he looks better like this, after he explicitly told her that he had never dieted so extremely before. If I ever got to talk to any of them, I'd tell them I like the way they look no matter what

Of course kudos to Mingi for always being kind and supportive in such an environment, I remember him reassuring Seonghwa and I think Wooyoung too? (I'd love if you could send me links about the others) 💗 but let's not forget that he himself tends to limit his food intake during comeback season. This mentality is ingrained in all of them. Mingi simply internalizes it while San externalizes it onto the others.

San can eat and bulk up because that's his persona that KQ approved of 🤷🏾‍♀️

🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️

One thing I'll add is that I think Ateez (and probably all idol groups) are locked in a vicious cycle where if one of them starts dieting, or encourages one to diet, it slowly spirals into affecting the whole group, and they all end up eating less, or training more, or both when it's comeback time (hence Mingi refusing to eat even that small slice of pizza on camera🍕). No one is locking anyone in a room and dictating what they eat, but we can't deny that a member's words and feedback can have a deep effect on another member if not the entire group.

(and it can affect the fans, too, let's not forget)

I also have to say that the translation thing sounds a bit like bs to me, I've seen so many different interpretations and translations trying to sugarcoat things but the literal and most accurate translation is that San told Yeosang he'd look better if he lost weight, and the thing is: I never blamed San for thinking like that.

This is a mindset ingrained in all of them by the industry they grew up in.

And sugarcoating it with "actually, another interpretation could be--" is ridiculous to me. I don't have the patience for it. We all know what San meant and why he thinks like that. The reality is that the vast majority of idols have disordered eating and a distorted view of their own body and the bodies of other idols.

Sugarcoating just gives people the perfect excuse, over and over again, to dismiss criticism of the industry just because it's Ateez perpetrating dangerous mindsets this time.

In Wooyoung's case, so many Atiny think his autoimmune condition affected his diet, and I agree to an extent: diet won't cure an autoimmune disease but it might help manage the symptoms, especially when the issue is related to sweat and some food can induce sweating more than others (alcohol, caffeine, meat, etc.). But I believe that the main reason for Wooyoung's weight loss was that he wanted to lose weight. Managing his skin condition was just a bonus. Things obviously got out of hand and after IYF he said on a live that he lost too much muscle mass and had started working hard to gain it back, but I do believe that for a time he was happy with his looks after he lost that much weight. Interpreting it solely as "it was for his skin condition!", as I've seen so many Atiny do, just gives people an excuse to ignore the elephant in the room.

Just like giving different interpretations of San's words to Yeosang gives people an excuse.

Just like going "ahah so quirky and funny" when Mingi put down that slice of pizza like it had burned him gives people an excuse.

🤷🏾‍♀️

(this is why when that anon complimented Mingi about always supporting the others and telling them it doesn't matter if they gain weight, I pointed out that Mingi doesn't practice what he preaches when it comes to his own body and diet; the only difference between Mingi and San is that Mingi internalizes this problematic mentality, while San externalizes it onto the others)

((San is probably another member that doesn't practice what he preaches: he might promote a balanced diet to Atiny - like Mingi does btw! - but stress about his own diet, his own weight, and the weight and looks of the other members 🤷🏾‍♀️ I think most idols promote balance to their fans; but they still hold themselves and their group-mates to a different standard))

(((side note but I still remember when Hongjoong said he doesn't eat vegetables because he doesn't want to waste calories on foods he hates and I was like 😭 my brother in the yaoi gods, how many calories do you think a vegetable side dish contains? How little do you eat for that to even matter in the grand scheme of things? 😭 And btw vegetables are a great way to keep weight under control 😭 but if you only stress about wasting calories and numbers, I get how cutting foods out seems like the logical thing to do 🥲)))

In Yeosang's case, it's particularly apparent how most Atiny try to spin the narrative over and over again:

"Yeosang doesn't get lines because he doesn't want them!" (Yeosang said several times he'd like more lines)

"Yeosang doesn't have solo schedules because he's shy, he doesn't want to!" (Yeosang was an amazing MC for years and said he'd like more work, but he's constantly made to feel like he has to prioritize Ateez and can't take time to pursue different things, while everyone else can...)

And now Atiny have turned the narrative into:

"Yeosang hated his body before, he didn't like being so muscular!" (Yeosang has always loved the gym and has always beamed with pride when Atiny complimented his muscle gains)

Can you believe it?! Twitter is full of posts like this.

Yeosang is a gym rat. To the point it became a meme in the fandom. The fairy/angel face with a bodybuilder body. But people are spreading the narrative that he actually hated it, and that San told him to lose weight out of the kindness of his heart.

... which begs the question: did Yeosang need San's permission to stop training and lose weight, then?? Like, which is it? Is San Yeosang's handler dictating his diet or not? 😩 Some Atiny say everything and then the opposite of everything in the same breath and then get upset when people point out they're talking nonsense 😭

I think no one wants a fandom civil war, but when one faction is dead set on being toxic and aggressive, on dogpiling on certain members (YS and YN taht I've seen), on ostracizing said member's fans, on blaming a member for something that was said to him by someone else, instead of accepting reality, a fandom war seems almost impossible to avoid 🤷🏾‍♀️

This has little to do with San himself at all.

It's the dismissal and hypocrisy that are getting on people's nerves: I've seen posts where San biases attack the other members and their fans for making fun of San's face/expressions (like during IOMT era), but now that it's San saying something problematic, suddenly it's "different interpretations" and "let's translate it less literally" while at the same time dogpiling on Yeosang biases for "always playing the victims".

As I always say, I know I got it good being a Mingi bias, he always has lines and screen time, and sure, he has to work his ass off to make connections because KQ can't be bothered to support that side of things for him, but they do give him the freedom to work on his personal projects, at least. The more I look at Yeosang and Jongho, the more I realize how privileged Mingi is.

I've seen some Yeosang biases say "why can't Mingi step aside and let an idol that can actually sing have more lines?", and you know what I did? I kept my mouth shut because even though I don't like what they said, I understand their frustrations. I can't imagine how I'd feel if Mingi were treated the way Yeosang is treated. I don't think I'd be an Atiny anymore, to be honest.

Accusing Yeosang biases of "always playing the victim" (by the same people that said "Yeosang should learn to stay in his place" when he got a dance break in Adrenaline...) is just diabolical. It's objective that KQ/Edenary are failing Yeosang.

YOUR BRAIN!!!!!!!!!

I was a bit whatever about it at the time, like yeah it's cute, but now knowing yeosang seems to be even more concerned about his appearance and weight than before, I find it really....I don't know. It's kind of comforting knowing that someone in yeosang's life may be aware of whatever he's going through and maybe offers reassurance at least that he looks good either way and doesn't need to change, that he's always looked good. It's a small gesture, but I'm grateful to mingi for that regardless, esp since he's someone yeosang seems to admire in a lot of ways.

It does make me sad, though, because the reason I like yeosang so much (w/o him even being my bias) has nothing to do with his looks. tbh I was indifferent to him until I realized how funny, kind, and smart he is and what a talented/skilled dancer and performer he is. I could be wrong, but he used to seem a bit indifferent to compliments about his appearance but lately he really lights up at the same kinds of compliments (his smile at mingi's compliment made me want to cry he's so sweet), which I noticed before and questioned the change, but now I feel like its bc of the diet and he might see the compliments as proof it's "working." I really just want him to be healthy and happy. I hope he doesn't think looks are all he has bc god knows what that company has been telling him.

Sorry this turned into a mini vent. Twitter is depressing and hostile (will probably remove ateez from my tl for a bit), and I don't feel like many people here are really going to talk about it to avoid negativity. I try not to get too concerned with idols' lives, but seeing that fan account on top of all the mistreatment he already deals with really did make me feel sad and helpless. I can only hope things will improve for him.

Omg that's trueeee thank you for reminding me of this little MinSang moment 🥹😭

Mingi is so harsh on himself but always so supportive of the others and always seems to know what they need to hear. Yeosang even said so himself, that lately he's been feeling very close to Mingi because during particularly hard times Mingi comforts him and knows just the right words to say 💗

Yeosang... he is HILARIOUS. I love Mingi's bluntness and dry humor, but Yeosang and Jongho are fighting for #1 place when it comes to funniest member, they're sarcastic, playful, such natural entertainers, I love them!

I would have loved a YouTube show with them two just having free reign to be snarky, like give them a subject/target and watch them eviscerate it 😭😭 and the best part is that it wouldn't even come off as mean!

Yeosang has SO MUCH to give 😭 He's so talented and sweet and he really deserves more, not only from KQ but from the fandom as well. People on Twitter are already accusing him of "playing the victim" to "get San in trouble" and I'm like????? Forget playing the victim, if I were Yeosang I would get a GUN. Y'all are lucky he's actually a sweetheart, he didn't think for one second that naming San would cause drama because he's an idol and he's used to that 💩! But now the situation has escalated to the point that I wouldn't be surprised if Ateez caught wind of it.

And I wouldn't be surprised if either he or San did a live soon where they said it was a misunderstanding and San never said that. His biases would believe it and treat YS biases even worse, while the YS biases would see right through the bs and be even more upset by the whole situation.

And the worst part is that KQ could easily mitigate this by giving Yeosang something in terms of schedules, lines, screen time. Really, from what I've seen YS biases aren't asking for much, they're pretty resigned. It would be so easy to do something kind for them in the form of kindness to Yeosang. But KQ can't be bothered.

I haven't got a clue what KQ is doing with him. They're wasting his potential so badly it's almost impressive 😕 I really think they want to push him into the "small and delicate" box, because that would fit his angelic face better. Like, going to the gym is Yeosang's passion (and also why he needs to eat a good amount of food), but in the past KQ has put a stop to that on several occasions, and I'm wondering if it happened this time as well. Then San's words were just the icing on the cake. What else could have Yeosang done? Losing weight seemed like the only acceptable option for this cb.

Which is a... questionable choice? because more than ever this choreo hinges on being muscular and literally popping your chest in the audience's face! This was the cb to bulk up! To play with being sensual in a stereotypically masculine way to contrast with the femininity of the Sopro seducing them, combined with the Latin flavor of the song

(Mingi kind of escaped the stereotype by making it camp and dressing like the girls and dancing with them, but the others seemed to go for a very "fuckboy" vibe in some scenes, especially if you read/understand the lyrics)

Imagine this Yeosang front and center popping his chest:

Instead he was told to lose weight and put in the back where he's barely visible 🥲 it's so unfair 😔

Whyyyyyy?????????

I'm happy for you if you get some Yungi YT content too (I doubt it tho, unless they make San cameo in it 🙄) but making this come out after Bad - their most problematic song to date & where 2 members barely get lines - is a CHOICE.

KQ is choosing virality over quality and clicks over the team.

If you go on X now you'll see so many Yeosang and Jongho biases ready to abandon Ateez. And of course KQ doesn't care as long as the mean ass San biases keep spending their money $$$ even if they make the fandom unbearable for everyone else

I know what you're gonna say that KQ is focused on investors and making bank before enlistment but that's not a justification for completely neglecting certain members while giving other whatever they want like spoiled children

The BBT dancers even said San is the worst dancer because he constantly does what he wants rather than what's good for the team, if even the people closest to them think like this then maybe we should believe them instead of making excuses

And now on top of it we find out that San told Yeosang to lose weight for this comeback????? He gets to eat and bulk up while Yeosang eats boiled eggs and dreads getting up in the morning 🙄 what a coincidence that the closest members to San go on extreme diets and become extra skinny while bulks up. He tries the same with Mingi fyi he always tells him to lose weight and that he's not good-looking

I never meant to excuse KQ's behavior by bringing up investors and enlistment, I was only trying to provide an explanation that made sense from a business perspective. I will never side with any company over the people it employs, especially when it comes to the entertainment industry, which is so incredibly exploitative. I always criticize KQ and even Edenary for the way they treat Yeosang and Jongho (and in the past Wooyoung), I'll never make excuses for them.

I know I have it good by biasing Mingi, who always gets lines and screen time and even his own projects, but that doesn't mean that I'll defend KQ's choices when it comes to the other members.

As you said, KQ is chasing virality right now, and, in my opinion, WooSan have the highest chance of benefiting from the Bad momentum and keep the attention of the public, by virtue of being the most popular ship. This isn't meant to be an excuse, it's just the way I see it.

I'm very aware of what KQ is doing right now and I agree with you: they want popularity and money...

... because they're a K-pop company.

I don't know why they think they can't include Yeosang and Jongho in their plans.

I'm sorry if anything I said in the past made you think I was defending their business choices.

I always tell people to be wary of multimillion dollar companies selling the "we are family!" narrative. 99.9% of the time it means they expect you to sacrifice yourself for them like you'd do for your own family, while they get to control you.

I am on Twitter and I have seen how upset Yeosang biases (in particular, but not only them) are right now, and they bring up incontestable points:

Yeosang only having 1 schedule while everyone else has multiple (HJ up to 17, everyone else close to 10);

When a fan asked him about it, he said that there is no time for solo/unit official schedules or even content, Ateez comes first... only for them to announce a WooSan YouTube project 3 seconds later;

A fan complimenting his voice and expressing displeasure at him having so few lines and Yeosang looking genuinely touched and his hands shaking, like he couldn't believe someone cares;

People making excuses and saying it's Yeosang himself that doesn't want more lines/is too shy/doesn't want attention, when he explicitly said he wants to sing more.

(in the past I genuinely thought his lisp played a role in him not having lines, I thought he was insecure about it, but then he was an MC for, what, 2-3 years? And I think that did wonders for his confidence, now there's no excuse for Edenary not giving him lines; there's no excuse for Edenary making them audition for parts; they've known and worked with Ateez for 10 years and still can't write specific parts for each member? They still don't know what to do with their voices? They make them audition so they can shrug off any responsibility if a member gets nothing; the message is: "it's your fault for not being good enough, not ours for failing to know what to do with your voice and not writing with all of you in mind")

I see you, I hear you. I see and hear Yeosang, too, and I wish we will all see and hear him more in the future.

I don't know what KQ is doing to him or why, and I agree that it can't keep going like this.

But civil war among the members/their fandoms is not the way to push for change.

mmh the difference between Mingi telling the members it's ok if they gain some weight and San telling Yeosang he'd look better if he lost weight... while San gets to eat and bulk up... bad vibes. I hope the San biases won't come for Yeosang's neck for letting that slip

Ah, tbh weight loss talk is so normalized in the entertainment industry (not only K-pop) that I didn't even pay attention to San being part of the conversation there. The fact itself that a media trained idol like Yeosang let that "slip" is proof that it's not something out of the ordinary for him (for them), in his eyes it wasn't a slip of the tongue at all, he was just describing something that happened to him.

I'm pretty sure that if not San, someone else from KQ would have told him the same. Didn't KQ limit his gym time a few months ago, despite him loving it and being healthy/not injured? I don't think they like that Yeosang wants to be a muscular "dobermann", they very much want him to be the delicate maltese puppy.

I was more upset that the fan told Yeosang he looks better like this, after he explicitly told her that he had never dieted so extremely before. If I ever got to talk to any of them, I'd tell them I like the way they look no matter what

Of course kudos to Mingi for always being kind and supportive in such an environment, I remember him reassuring Seonghwa and I think Wooyoung too? (I'd love if you could send me links about the others) 💗 but let's not forget that he himself tends to limit his food intake during comeback season. This mentality is ingrained in all of them. Mingi simply internalizes it while San externalizes it onto the others.

San can eat and bulk up because that's his persona that KQ approved of 🤷🏾‍♀️

As always:

-

"I had never dieted to this extent before"

"I think maintaining it would be better"

I'm seething with rage 👹