#ATEEZ & their staff having one of the best idol/company relationships I've ever seen in this industry: A Much Needed Thread because all this fake woke KQ hate is getting seriously out of hand

This thread will also clarify misconceptions/rumours about KQ, Block B/Seven Seasons, & Edenery producers because some atiny seem to have a habit of blowing things out of proportion to fit certain narratives! Sources will be linked, let's have an open minded disucussion for once!

1. "KQ = Seven Seasons." No. After Block B filed a lawsuit against their old agency and left in 2013, they decided to form a new agency called Seven Seasons with entrepreneur Kim Kyu Wook. Seven Seasons was made to manage ONLY Block B.

In 2016, Kim Kyu Wook decided to expand the company into another sub-company, KQ Produce, where they began to recruit small, independent producers like Babylon and Eden. This was NOT an idol/trainee company; it was a tiny management branch solely for producers and small artists.

Why is this relevant? Well, at the time Hongjoong entered the company as the first trainee, there were only a few staff because it was a startup agency. Even as the rest of the members slowly came along, KQ remained relatively close-knit, unlike other entertainment companies.

During KQ Fellaz (KQ's first attempt at putting together a boy group) they brought only 2-3 staff with them to America for their training program. This all helps explain why Ateez & staff have always had a closer relationship compared to idols from larger companies:

1. ATEEZ & THEIR CEO: Hongjoong always referring to their CEO as "ATEEZ's father" in their award show speeches (wave first win, MAMA global rookie award):

KQ CEO recently giving both San & Mingi designer bags as birthday gifts: https://twitter.com/woobbly/status/1292117673472475138?s=20

2. ATEEZ & THEIR MANAGER: It's really no secret how they're basically friends rather than business partners; these are pretty self-explanatory. Firstly we always see the managers caring for Mingi when he has back pain or is tired in general:

"But he's just doing his job!" On Yunho's DAY OFF, his manager came along with him to Gwangju and stayed with his family -- that isn't just a cold business partner relationship if you ask me lol

And we all know how "manager-nim" is basically wooyoung's babysitter:
https://twitter.com/yutopiia_/status/1227962244924936197?s=20

When ateez didn't hesitate to ask the food truck mc for drinks for their managers/staff too during Show Champion 퇴근길:

TL:DR you can literally see how comfortable they are with each other, nothing like the "controlling" relationship some atiny claim KQ to have over ateez. meanwhile other groups i stan like n*t are VISIBLY afraid of their own staff:

3. ATEEZ & THEIR STYLISTS: Wooyoung doing the say my name driving challenge with the styling staff: https://twitter.com/atzhye/status/1259962231631966213?s=20

When Yeosang literally vandalized the hairstylist's hairspray with hehetmon drawings (writing on the can: "for ms. mirim's (the stylist's name) exclusive use only!...love you~)

jongho pulling an uno reverse card and doing the staff's hair for him (logbook #12)

4. whether it's directors or other company staff, you can find endless clips of them laughing and joking around with each other. here's yunho's iconic refrigerator scare: https://twitter.com/ATEEZofficial/status/1215649420999421953?s=20

always hugging their directors & pd staff after filming! (source: wonderland behind; illusion/wave perf. making film)

5. ATEEZ & EDENERY: To make a long story short, Eden said joining KQ in 2016 was a sort of "last resort" for him--he was in his mid-twenties, a struggling musician with no sense of direction and one song to his name. In the midst of all this, KQ dropped HJ on him to "mentor".

Here comes the controversy that had stan twt in flames, the fact that he tried to make Hongjoong "give up on music" by memorizing 200 composing words in one day. I'm not saying it was right(not at ALL) but the way atiny chooses to ignore everything else afterwards--

--and twists EDEN as some manipulative, ab*sive villain is what becomes a HUGE problem. This man was in the middle of figuring out his own career; he didn't feel capable of 'mentoring' ANOTHER musician when he himself was insecure in his own abilities. He likely wanted HJ to-

-find a better mentor, or to test HJ's potential resilience in an industry Eden had learned himself was extremely harsh. I highly suggest reading through the entire MTV interview, ( http://www.mtv.com/news/3157546/eden-interview-k-pop-producer-ateez/)and forming your own judgements, but I'll leave these quotes here:

During Code Name is Ateez, you can see how Eden always tries hard to balance encouragement and critiques so the boys improve and gain confidence. Not to mention the "Alright, I'll buy chicken for you all today~"--you can see the boys really look up to him.

Ateez interviewing Eden on idol radio:
“Since (Pirate King) was the first song I did with you all, I was also extremely nervous. I wasn’t sure if I could produce good music for you.”

TL:DR It's normal for us as fans to want the best for our idols--lines, screentime, centre!--but when so many instances like this exist, it's extremely hypocritical to throw around things like "kq has ateez on a leash", "eden h*tes ateez", etc. i just wish people would consider--