#creating fandom friendship

[mundrakan]

More interaction

Look. We all want interaction. We eagerly wait for someone else to start a conversation. We want to get tagged, but are scared to tag others. We reblog "come into my inbox" like mad.

And then we don't do it. How can we expect to be the receiver, when we won't be the starter?

So, I will try to start a conversation with everyone who reblogs this. No promises, on how long it lasts, if it's via inbox or direct talk, or anything. But I will try. And I encourage everyone in the notes to do the same. To each other.

All is too much to ask for most, I guess, but... pick one you don't know yet. Because you like the username. Or their blog, or just because they are totally different from you. Or eeriely similar. Pick one who seems interesting. And talk to them. Just this once.

[krash-and-co]

the real 35 portland row is located on tumblr dot com btw

[ishomieokay]

I ship Crowley and Anathema but not in a Straight WayTM. I ship them like you would ship two amigas who go shopping together, hold hands, kiss on the mouth, and have long, nasty makeout sessions when they get drunk at parties. And it's completely platonic, obviously.

(Look at this man and tell me he isn't amiga. I dare you).

[potionboy3]

georgie parsons for @unfortunate-arrow

[partiallypearl]

the urge to bring back 2000s fandom creation memes and games is so strong

[fractempyreal]

Just as an aside while I'm still on my lunch break.... i really did miss writing Vergil. And i missed seeing my friends on the dash :')

[plantsandpies]

Personal opinion: if a fandom has to argue over ships and the main ship is one of lowers options, you didn’t write their relationship well. If they are the main couple but one of them is paired with someone or multiple someones, you didn’t write the main pair well enough.

For a good example: tbhk does have other ships, of course, but the main ships are the intended ones. Yeah some people ship yashiro and Kou, but that’s a rarer ship than yashiro and hanako and Kou and mitsuba, which are the main ones you’ll find.

For a bad example: mha has a like a million ships. But the top one isn’t deku and uraraka. It’s deku with a bunch of different guys. That isn’t the fandom taking over with their gayness. It’s deku and uraraka’s relationship not being developed well. It’s uraraka not being a well done character that the fandom will love. It’s bakugo and deku’s relationship as friends getting more attention than uraraka and deku’s romantic relationship.

When it comes to ships, for me, I’m fine with any ship as long as they are both well done characters with a real, well developed relationship. The reason a fandom becomes so ship filled is because the writers didn’t make the romance right. (And maybe because (at least for anime) male writers aren’t focused on their female characters or literally made them to be girlfriends (that last thing is a particular writer btw) if it’s Disney it’s because they’re soulless and don’t care).

If it doesn’t have any romance, then it’s just the fans. But ships all depend on character chemistry. You need the romance to be obvious. Definitely don’t add a rival if you’re worried though cause that could do the opposite of what you want. Do you remember Edward vs Jacob? Jacob was never going to be an option, but the war happened because they weren’t written well.

[kindlecorner]

god, seeing the gravity falls alive and well from the book is crazy... that show came out 10 years ago, and it's just wild to me how long fandom lasts...

I mean, I knew people were active, obviously, fandom never truly dies, but it just makes me so happy to see people engaging with fandoms long after the media has concluded or released. it's such a unique culture and connection to media and I just. all things said in done, I love the way people collectively love a thing and spend time engaging with each other based on the pretense of loving said thing.

[flintch]

hardest part about making fandom friends surprisingly isn’t the making them part, but the part where you start to lose interest in the thing that brought you all together, until you each split off to enjoy other fandoms and the friendship slowly fades into nothing again. perhaps there’s a metaphor in there somewhere, just not one i can quite put into words yet.

[akechi-stole-my-heart]

opening the dance by saying "you're irritating when calm" lmao makoto cannot let akechi simply exist. later he said she was an eyesore right after she complimented him so he deserved it but still. i love their stupid petty immature rivalry

[ichabodcranemills]

Not the sort of thing I think I should talk about on twitter, because I don't want people to think I'm calling them out on anything, but to say that they're keeping Sauron and Galadriel apart because they don't want people to ship them is so incongruent with what we're shown on screen??? Like, are you for real? Remember how on episode 2 we were privy to Galadriel's daydream of her moment with Halbrand, complete with romantic soundtrack and all? The fucking Mirdania moment? Their reunion being the emotional climax of the season (even if you think that the separation was misguided)?

I pretty promise you they aren't trying to keep anyone from shipping and no, the increased intensity of Haladriel marketing isn't course correcting--it's more adjusting because Bezos is going at where the money--because the show never shied away from the romantic implications of Haladriel.

[shhhhh-a-cat]

Finally finished reworking my ponysona.

He now looks more dragon like and now has pretty eyelashes and a cutie mark that fits his name. I decided he’s now raised by Celestia and Blueblood is his friend. He’s also much older, not as old as Celestia obviously but he’s ancient like her. 

I’ll put his backstory in here once I have it written down.

[effieotto]

U know, Suzanne didn’t have to develop Effie’s relationship with Haymitch so deeply in sotr. She didn’t have to say, with all the words, how much Effie trusted him to not hurt her, implying a kind of trust that is beyond explanation, due to their short friendship. She didn’t have to say that Effie took care of him during his entire process in the Capitol —from his own Games, all the way to the 75th edition—, and how grateful he was for her. She didn’t have to make the last thing he saw before leaving to his eminent death being her eyes. She didn’t have to use a broken metaphor of geese’s mate to represent the way he saw his relationship with Lenore Dove, knowing perfectly well Geese don’t, in fact, mate for life; but grief for a long time —like Haymitch was doing— before finding another partner. She could have spared us the lore and just sell her tragic romantic story of Haymitch and a Lenore Dove, with no further explanation about Effie, so we wouldn’t question the epilogue as much as we’re doing now.But she didn’t!

She gave us it all, knowing very well the fandom she was working with. Knowing that ever since the first book was released —a decade ago—, we never stopped coming up with more analysis. That we kept overthinking about the tinniest details from the books, creating a stronger understanding about the characters. Knowing she wouldn’t get away with the incorrect geese metaphor…we would see though it

There is no way you are looking at all of this and saying we got less material for Hayffie than before…

She really said “they are not mine…but i know they are yours and i won’t take them away from you”

[physical-manifestation-of-spite]

I’d really like to rant more about how our society establishes hierarchical tiers of love and devalues platonic love and how this impacts ace people but I have no idea where to start because it’s such a complex topic, especially in fandom spaces, and how the “it’s platonic” angle was used in history to devalue and dismiss other queer interpretations, especially gay and lesbian relationships. So of course people in queer spaces get cautious when a platonic interpretation is brought up, because it reminds them of decades of bigots insisting they’re wrong, sinful, etc for interpreting them as romantic, and platonic is the only “right” interpretation. Not only that, we are still in a tumultuous climate with LGBTQ+ rights constantly on and off the ballot, and people still fear coming out of the closet not only due to the legal discrimination but the harassment they may face. Thus, it is imperative that we destigmatize queer relationships, that we encourage them to make queer people feel safe and supported.

I believe that we are absolutely capable of achieving that while also creating a space for acespec people that doesn’t devalue friendship. “Their relationship is ‘more than’ friendship,” is upsetting as an ace person to hear because friendship, to me, is the ultimate and absolute tier of love, support, and joy. There is no higher connection. And just because I don’t experience romantic love doesn’t mean that it doesn’t matter, but I want to elevate friendship to that same tier of importance our society sets for romance. I ask that we reevaluate our viewpoint of friendship and not push it aside as if romance and friendship can’t be as important to each other.

Basically, this is a long winded way of asking people to not say, “There is no platonic explanation for that.”

[fandomtrumpshate]

Our Stance On Gen-AI

This year, for the first time, we've had a couple of reports from bidders that the FTH fanworks they received were produced using generative AI. For that reason, we've decided that it's important that we lay out a specific, concrete policy going forward.

Generative AI tools are not welcome here.

Non-exhaustive list of examples:

image generators like Imagen, Midjourney, and similar

video generators like Sora, Runway, and similar

LLMs like ChatGPT and similar

audio generators like ElevenLabs, MusicLM, and similar

Participants found to have used generative AI to produce a fanwork, in part or in whole, for their bidder(s) will be permanently banned from participating in future iterations of Fandom Trumps Hate.

Why?

We understand that there can be contentious debate around the use of generative AI, we know individual people have their own reasons for being in favor of it, and we recognize that many people may simply be unaware that these tools come with any negative impacts at all. Regardless, we are firm in our stance on this for the following (non-exhaustive) list of key reasons in no particular order:

negative, unregulated environmental impact

Over the years, you may have noticed that we’ve supported multiple environmental organizations doing important work to combat climate change, preserve wildlife, and advocate for renewable and sustainable energy policy changes. Generative AI tools produce a startling amount of e-waste, can require massive amounts of storage space and computational power, and are a (currently unregulated) drain on natural resources. Using these tools to produce a fanwork flies in the face of every environmental organization we have supported to date.

plagiarism and lack of artistic integrity

Most if not all generative AI models are trained on some amount of stolen work (across various mediums). As a result, any output generated by these models is at worst plagiarized and at best extremely derivative and unoriginal. In our opinion, using generative AI tools to produce a fanwork demonstrates a lack of care for your own craft, a lack of respect for the work of other creators, and a lack of respect for your bidder and your commitment to them.

undermining our community building impact

One of the best things to come out of the auction every year—we can't even call it a side benefit, because it's so central to us—is that bidders and creators form collaborative relationships which sometimes even turn into friendship. Using generative AI undermines that trust and collaboration.

undermining the value of participating as a creator

Bidders participate in Fandom Trumps Hate for the opportunity to prompt YOU to create a fanwork for them, in YOUR style with YOUR specific skill set. Any potential bidder is perfectly capable of dropping a prompt into a generative AI tool on their own time, if they wish. We hope all creators sign up with the aim to play a role more significant than “unnecessary middleman.”

In general, we try to be as flexible as we can in our policies to allow for the best experience possible for all Fandom Trumps Hate participants. This, however, is something we are not willing to be flexible on. We realize this may seem unusually rigid, but we ask that you trust we have given this serious consideration and respect that while we are willing to answer clarifying questions, we are not open to debate on this topic.

[lieslab]

Dying star

꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎ ꘎♡━━━━━♡꘎

Pairing: Og8 X gn reader

Summary: The group's contract renewal goes in a direction nobody was expecting because of the fans' irrational demands.

Genre: 9th member AU

Word Count: 4.8k

A/N: Realistic or not, the best thing about fiction is that anything can happen because it's not real. Requestee, you wanted Itzy in this and they are here. They're not here a ton, but they are slipped in as you wanted <3

_ _ _

It all started as an accident. Truly, that’s all it was. When Yuna asked you to film a TikTok collaboration with the rest of Itzy, you agreed. Why not? As neighboring groups at JYP, you all saw a lot of each other throughout the building. 

The internet is the belly of a beast. People will chew you up and spit you out, killing your spark before it begins. As the 9th member of Stray Kids, you found your spark a long time ago. It washed over you like a tidal wave on stage. A tape unveiled all the previous harsh memories. 

The tears during the survival show. Late nights and early mornings. The dull feeling of hunger clawing around your stomach, desperately searching for nutrients, but it never found any. Sore muscles. Shaky hands. Lungs without a breath; nearly a heart without hope. 

At least you had the guys. Interlocked and chained around you, you managed to cling onto one another’s spirits and keep them floating above the surface. From the get-go, you always struggled against the masses on the internet. So much so, when the group created personal Instagrams, you didn’t share the excitement. 

You posed with a crooked smile, flashing small hearts, and trying to appease the fans that actually liked you. You always held doubts deep down. You dubbed them pity fans and tried to pull yourself from that self-belief, but it lingered in the back of your brain. It crept down beside you at night and whispered in your ear before you fell asleep. What if you really weren’t good enough? 

They dubbed you the odd member of Stray Kids. The guys told you not to worry. They waved off your anxieties the best that they could. They were all laced with their own, but they couldn’t stand when another member stood toe-to-toe with their own inner demons. Together as one, continuing forever; a train screaming on tracks, one without brakes. 

You loved the members of Itzy. Some of the guys had closer friendships with the girls than you did. Stories swapped in dorms. You laughed when Changbin recounted when Chaeryeong slipped in the middle of the company hall. Her legs sprawled out in a cartoon fashion and she landed with an “oof.” 

Hyunjin fondly recalled memories of Yeji from back when they were friends during their high school days. You picked up tidbits about the girls without meaning to. Naturally, along the growth of your group, you grew fond of their group, just as they were fond of Stray Kids. 

When you danced in that TikTok, it blew up. You didn’t understand why, but you appreciated it. The song went viral and hit some of the top charts. To celebrate, you offered to treat them to dinner. What you weren’t expecting? A worker from Dispatch snapping a photo of your table laughing from across the way. 

When the photo hit the internet, the fandom changed drastically. You didn’t understand it and neither did the group. You’d been a part of it since the start, but the push began. Domino-after-domino fell. When you slipped outside of the company building with Changbin one day, your eyes spotted the protest truck first. 

A demand for you to be booted from the group. The laughter shared with Changbin ceased. The saliva in your mouth went dry. Your happiness dried up. Your heart bled. The words were an unexpected slap in your face. 

You knew people didn’t quite like you. It existed on the internet, but when you saw it in front of your face, it broke something in you. Everyone knew it, but they tried to keep you upbeat. 

“They don’t know what they’re talking about.” 

“They’re just jealous that you’re in the group.” 

“Don’t listen to them, it doesn’t matter.” 

But it did matter. It mattered a lot. 

~ ~ ~ 

You didn’t question why you began making more content with Itzy. When your manager directed you to spots where they filmed content, when you appeared in more of their Instagram photos, you didn’t question any of it like you should have. 

Their fandom was nicer. The Itzy fans took to you instantly. Your Instagram comments became slathered with outpouring love for you. It was a nice change of pace, temporarily. Slathering you in heart emojis, flooding your inbox with warmth, you grew closer with the members. 

On contract renewal day, you spent the evening wide awake. You and the guys already discussed renewing your contracts on your own. The story wasn’t over yet. You all had a lot more plans and project ideas. 

In the hall, Ryunjin flashed you a thumbs up and a big smile. “Cheer up! It’s going to go great!” 

You thanked her with a nervous smile. A hand playfully hit your side as you walked by. She laughed, on the way to her own meeting with her members and their manager’s team. Her touch lingered, a gentle reminder that you weren’t alone. 

In the conference room, the beige walls felt like a prison. Confined to a cell with your fellow members, you picked out an open chair beside Han. He called your name excitedly and shifted closer. “Do you think I can convince them to let us curse freely this year?” 

You shrugged, “maybe. Who knows. Is that your only request?” 

“It’s one of the few I have.” 

They were just as nervous as you. You could see it in the way Chan ran a hand through his hair. Felix squinted at a small list in front of him. He bit down on the end of a pen in his mouth. Jeongin’s knee bounced without stopping. He had to force himself to keep his fingernails away from his mouth. 

Your stomach twisted into tiny knots. You should have skipped breakfast all together. So nervous, you feared it creeping back up and making a mess all over the conference room table. Your fingers tapped along the cool surface, trying to remain calm. 

When your manager came in, you sat up a little straighter. All nine of you greeted him and waited for new contracts to be passed out. Your manager went around placing thick stapled packs of paper in front of each member. 

Worried eyes drifted through the comic sans words. Words, words, and more words. Sign on the dotted line here. A flipped page, another filled with words, and then another signature. 

Your manager reached Han and placed the final contract down before him. He scanned the first few sentences and glanced over to you, expecting yours to appear in front of you, but it never did. Instead, heavy footsteps faded onto the other side of the table. 

Your heart stopped. You couldn’t breathe. Someone shoved a knife through the center of your heart. Why didn’t you have a renewal contract in front of you? 

Han cleared his throat and called the manager’s name. “Why doesn’t our ninth member have a contract? Did you run out of paper in the office?” 

He shifted and leaned forward in his chair. Confusing glances shifted to one another. Chan’s eyes found your face. For a brief moment, you swore he saw your soul. The way it crumbled and slipped into sand before his fingers. 

You looked away, glancing down at the table. Your leader did what he always did. He stuck up for you instantly. “Yeah, why is-” He cut off when the manager held out a hand to him. 

“Yes, I know. Let’s talk about the elephant in the room. I’m getting there, Chan. Let’s just take a moment to breathe.” 

Your fingers dug into your knees. This was it. The moment you dreaded. You wouldn’t be offered a renewal contract. Your time as an idol slipped by in a flash. The last tour was the last and you didn’t even know. What would become of your career now? 

“I’m sure we all know that there’s been pushback from the fans about…” He trailed off, unable to say your name. Deep down, this hurt him, too. He didn’t want to be the one to give you the news. 

He sucked in a deep breath, glancing up, silently praying for the courage to kill off another dream. The wheel turned again. The cut-throat industry killed another dream. There would be no recovery. Not for your ego. Not for your hopes. Without this, you were certain you’d die. 

They dubbed you the traveling member. As an odd number of Stray Kids, when dorms were assigned, someone had to have three members instead of two. You refused. You gave yourself up, not wanting to miss the guys. 

One week, you stayed with Chan and Jeongin. The next, you’d switch to Felix and Seungmin. Minho and Han. Changbin and Hyunjin. You always cycled through one week a month. Sleeping on couches and occasionally, the air mattress if you set it up. 

You didn’t mind it. You didn’t have a personal bedroom, but there were pieces of you in each of their dorms. Your hand sculpted and painted magnets hung papers and grocery lists, on the kitchen fridge, in Changbin and Hyunjin’s dorm. The three of you spent hours playing with air dry clay. Shaping, molding, baking, and painting; attaching the magnets with hot glue, shrieking when you burnt the tips of your fingers. 

The customized XBox controller you purchased sat with Felix and Seungmin’s controllers in their dorm. Each time you were over, the three of you slung over one another on the couch. You smacked remotes out of hands and made loud noises, trying to distract and kill each other in a handful of different video games. 

In Minho and Han’s dorm, they let you hang your family photos. They let you turn the living room into a memory maze. You slathered photos of the band everywhere. Tucking your own family and friends into smaller frames, so they were hidden among the group. 

Chan and Jeongin’s dorm came with an extra closet. They let you use it to house your clothes. You traveled from dorm-to-dorm with a backpack. If you needed something, you let yourself in with their key, snuck in, and snuck back out. 

What would you do without all of that? The laughter when Han made something wrong by accident because he misread the directions. The late night talks with Chan because in the darkness of the night, you knew dark thoughts could appear. You didn’t want your leader to feel alone as you felt sometimes. 

The teasing remarks made by Seungmin when you woke up on the couch, looking like you survived a midnight tornado. Twisted clothes, messy hair, and the occasional dried stream of drool. He never let you forget it. Not once. Your visits left him with morning ritual rights. 

“The fans are threatening to boycott the next comeback and I’m sorry, but we can’t take that chance.” 

“So what are you saying?” 

“Bullshit!” Felix’s hand slammed the table. “You can’t just-” 

“Fuck no!” 

He sighed, lifting up his callused hands again. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t my decision to make. We have to think of what benefits the company. This isn’t their fault, it’s not.” 

“That’s a crazy thing to say when you’re making it seem like it,” Jeongin mumbled beneath his breath. His jaw clenched, eyes narrowed at his contract, and he shook his head. 

You didn’t know whether to laugh, or cry. Your hands tightened around the denim fabric of your jeans. Your group, friends, and family members stuck up for you, but it wouldn’t matter in the end. You knew that. Company decisions were always final. 

“But this isn’t the end of the road for you,” your manager continued. “Just because you’re not working out here, the Itzy fanbase loves you. They’re in a conversation with their own management team right now. If you’re willing-” 

“No!” Felix snapped and shoved himself up. The chair rolled away behind him. “No! You can’t do that! Itzy has been a group for years and we’ve been a group for years! They don’t belong with Itzy, they belong with us!” 

“I know, Felix, and I believe that.” 

“Then why aren’t you trying to change this outcome? Tell the supposed fans to fuck off!” 

“I tried. I’m powerless in this situation. We have investors in the company. You’re one of the top groups in the company. If fans boycott your comeback, it’ll tank the stocks. Our investors will-” 

“We don’t care about the investors! You can tell them to go-” 

Changbin reached over and gently patted Felix’s shoulder. He scowled, but slowly sank back in his seat. “What he means to say,” Changbin took over, “is that this isn’t fair. Not to them, or us.” 

“I know it’s not and I’m sorry, but my hands are tied.” 

Chan stood from his chair with an alarming amount of calmness. “Then we’re not signing the renewal contracts without every member of our family being involved.” He grabbed his contract and began walking around the table, collecting each of the contracts. 

The guys didn’t object. Felix picked his own blank contract up eagerly and handed it to him, but not before glaring at their manager. “Yeah, what he said.” 

“Stop.” 

Chan glanced over at the sound of your voice. 

“So I can still be an idol? I’ll just be placed in Itzy’s group?” 

A hair ran through the manager’s spiked black hair. “Yes. You’ll train with them instead of Stray Kids.” 

“But I don’t know all of their songs. There’s five members and they all have song parts. Their dances are all cemented and-” 

“They’re just finishing up an old era. In a few months, they’ll have another. New dances. New songs. We’ll split it all up evenly. We can handle the rest when we need to. Their team is willing to do whatever it takes to keep you an idol, all you have to do is agree.” 

A heavy silence filled the room. Such quietness, you could hear a pin drop. Your heart ached, but you said the words, anyway. “I’ll do it.” 

“You can’t!” Felix cried. 

“He’s right, this isn’t a good idea.” Seungmin spoke up for the first time. “This is only going to cause more chaos. If you bow down to the fans this time, they’ll become greedy and-” 

“I’m sorry,” your manager uttered again. “I did everything, guys. I tried it all. The superiors are only looking at the business side of things. They’re not budging.” 

Chan softly called your name. He reached out across the table and went for your hand, but you pulled away. “It’s okay,” you whispered. “I’ll manage. Sign your contracts and keep going.” 

You blinked, trying to keep the burning tears at bay. “I’ll figure it out. You always said I’ve been a good problem solver.” 

The stacks of contracts in front of him mocked you with paper snarls. The cruel whispers of fandom mockery grumbled to life in the back of your head. You used the table to push your body up and pushed in your chair. 

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go use the restroom.” 

You ducked your head, hoping to get out of the room before the tears cascaded down your cheeks. Your manager rushed after you, placing an arm around your shoulder. “It’s alright. I’m sorry. I wish it could be different, but let me show you where to meet their team first. The behind the scenes crew can’t wait to meet you. They’ve heard a lot of good things.”

The manager led you away from eight speechless guys. Tears pricked up in Felix’s eyes. Han slumped down in his chair, tugging his sweatshirt’s hood over his eyes. Hyunjin’s eyes went up to your empty seat. 

The memories of paint smearing everywhere and staining your skin during the magnet painting came back. He taught you and Changbin how to add small details with fine-tipped paint brushes. The laughter, the joy, and the memories, he thought that’d last forever. 

You stood up and walked through the door, sucking up all the hopes and dreams, you still carried them within the beating ventricles of your heart. 

~ ~ ~ 

On the outside, you looked fine, but you crumbled on the inside. One week into the new formation, you tried your best. The day you started, you hit the ground running. 

You recorded vocals in a different music studio. Every time the door opened, you expected the guys to appear, but they never did. Producers floated in and out of the room. You all worked hard to get the notes right. 

Usually, you hit higher notes with ease, but not anymore. Just this morning, it took you over twenty minutes to hit a note. With 3racha, it would have taken less than five. Shame crept into your bones. 

In another dance practice room, it laid out similar to the ones Stray Kids used. The only difference? The chaos wasn’t the same. The shared giggles from the girls and inside jokes, you didn’t understand any of it. 

You tried, forcing yourself to laugh at the right times. You followed along with the choreographer. On water breaks, you felt alone. The girls tried to include you, but you couldn’t stop moping. You missed the warmth of the guys you called your family. You loved Itzy, but it wasn’t the same and it’d never be the same. 

It weighed so heavy on your shoulders, it began to affect your dance. You were following the same choreographer that you once used for a handful of Stray Kids dances. They pointed at your defeated posture, gestured to your feet, and lectured you on your poor effort. 

Your cheeks flushed scarlett. Your bottom lip quivered. To make it worse, you were told to suck it up. One of the girls opened their mouth to say something, but the words didn’t come out in time. 

You spun around, storming off, unable to handle the critique. You couldn’t. Not like this. It wasn’t in you. You couldn’t perform and pretend to be someone you weren’t. 

Despite the harshness from your previous fandom, you loved being an idol. Your heart nearly burst on stage when arenas filled with singing fans. The light from light sticks reflected on the tears in your eyes. 

Love locked together. The energy heightened. You grew stronger from it. You were chained together with your family. Without them, you were nothing. At this point, you didn’t care about giving up on the idol life. 

Your career ended the moment your manager led you from the room. 

~ ~ ~ 

Minho hadn’t seen you in a few days. Nobody had. Your absence lingered like a ghost. The parts of you in each dorm, it was all they could think about. The moment you found out you were going to switch groups, you went back to Chan and Jeongin’s dorm. 

Every piece of clothing you owned, you threw it in a suitcase. When that filled, you took it out, dumped the contents into your car, and came back for more. You couldn’t face them again. Not when the hurt still sat so fresh. 

They’d each see you in the halls from time-to-time, but you couldn’t handle conversation with them. You knew how it’d end. Sobbing, breaking down, and in tears. You had to be strong for them. A clean break sounded better. At least, they’d be able to get over your disappearance quicker. 

When Chan and Jeongin came home, a handwritten sticky note awaited them along with all four keys to each of the four dorms. You checked yourself into a hotel. You’d come back at a later date to collect the rest of your stuff. 

Their manager said you’d be transferred over to one of the Itzy dorms. They weren’t sure which one, but he felt certain you’d like it there. The girls were always upbeat and made everyone around them laugh. You’d never be bored. 

Just as Minho rounded the corner, you slammed into him hard. He reached out to steady you, calling your name softly. You glanced up through tears and clumpy eyelashes. “Sorry, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.” 

“Are you okay?” 

You nodded and pulled back. “Yeah, rough day. You know I get them sometimes.” He reached a hand out to grab you again, but you walked around him. “Excuse me, I’ve gotta go.” 

You hurried away, leaving him alone, and speechless. You were on a mission to find your former manager. You joining Itzy was a trial run. A temporary thing. Something you hadn’t yet signed a contract to. 

You could still leave. 

~ ~ ~ 

When Minho went back into the music recording studio, he was supposed to get back into the booth to record. The door opened and Changbin glanced up from the director’s seat. “Hey, you’re back early. I thought you said you were taking a ten minute break.” 

“I’m not doing this.” 

“Huh?” 

“I’m going home. Come with me.” 

“Uh, excuse me?” He raised an eyebrow and gestured to the recording booth. “We have a song to record. A due date lingers and-” 

When he uttered your name, Changbin’s face fell. He frowned and pressed a button on the equipment in front of him. Memories of your devastated look in the conference room came back. He missed you. They all did. 

“I’m not doing this without them.” 

Changbin nodded, toggled another button, and stood up. “You’re right. Let’s go find the others.” 

The pair walked out, nearly trampling a nervous Felix. His eyes lingered on the corner of the hall. Changbin called his name and put a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?” 

“No. Why did-” 

“You seen them, too?” Minho asked. 

“They look so broken. I can’t handle it. I want them back.” 

“We all do, Lix.” 

“And that’s why we’re going to find Chan and raise hell, let’s go.” Changbin marched forward, keeping an arm around the emotional weight of the younger member. 

The rest of the guys were scattered downstairs at the canteen. Chan had just scanned his meal card when footsteps caused him to turn around. He blinked in confusion as Changbin approached him. 

“I thought you said you’d direct until two?” 

“Change of plans. If the fans can threaten to boycott our company, so can we.” 

“What?” 

“You heard me. Come on. Let’s go, Channie hyung. We’re on a mission and you play a part in it, too.” He stepped to the side, revealing Minho hugging a teary-eyed Felix. 

The sight caused him to frown. His fingers gripped around his tray. “You know what? You’re right. Screw this.” He slammed his tray on an empty table. “Let’s go.” 

Changbin snatched the banana from his tray before rushing after him. 

~ ~ ~ 

“I understand you’re upset, but you can’t do this. Your contracts say-” 

“Don’t care,” Seungmin cut off their manager. 

“Sue us,” Hyunjin added. 

“Good luck, considering we’re your money makers.” 

Their manager rubbed the sides of his temples. “You do realize that this might have the opposite effect that you want, right?” 

Chan shrugged, “we’ve talked it over. We’re willing to do whatever it takes to get them back. If they’re gone, we’re gone.” 

“God, I need a drink.” 

They watched as he left the room. In his hands, a stack of handwritten letters from each of the members. Each one went into detail for why you were needed from the group. You weren’t just a group member, you were family, and family fights for one another when times get tough. 

Meanwhile, you wiped your tear-stained eyes. Now smudged with black liquid liner, you looked like a crying racoon. You sucked in a deep breath and pushed open the door to the conference room. You knew this was where he went on his lunch break. 

To your surprise, you didn’t find him. Instead, you came face-to-face with the eight people you loved dearly. They looked up when the door opened. Hyunjin sat the closest and reached you first. 

“Hey, are you okay? What happened?” He grabbed your shoulders, studying your messy face. “Why are you crying.” 

“Because they miss us, you idiot,” Seungmin grumbled.

Hyunjin’s arms tugged you close. You slumped into his body instantly. Defeated sobs rocked your body. How many times had this happened years ago? Back when you were a trainee, fighting for your life in the survival group? 

The members kept you floating then, but they couldn’t help now. How were you supposed to tell them you were giving it all up? All the dreams you wanted to continue accomplishing? The goals. Future plans. The hopes. 

Traveling. Fan interactions. Interviews. Live performances. Ambassador roles. You were done with all of it. The industry finally broke you. The worst part? It wasn’t the industry that put the final nail in the coffin, it was the fandom. 

Congratulations. It worked. The hatred spewing between lips. Slathering twitter threads. The hurtful memes being passed from person-to-person. They got what they wanted and where did that leave you? 

Alone. Miserable. Isolated. Dying in a ditch and for what crime? Being you? Being a little different? Quieter? Louder? Too much? Too little? Too dramatic? Too cold? 

You were hung on the cross and crucified by the fans you adored. Your very own Judas. They gave you up and they didn’t even know. Not yet. The words hadn’t been posted yet. Your transfer wouldn’t be announced until you signed the contract. Now it’d never happen. Not ever. 

They would cheer at your dismissal. The company would dub it personal reasons, so they didn’t tarnish their image. Whatever happened to you from here on out, it was your own problem to mend. 

Jeongin was the second one up. He walked over and wrapped his arms around you and Hyunjin. Felix threw himself from the chair and nearly took out all of you. It didn’t take long before they were all around you. It felt like old times. Almost. 

Only this time, you wouldn’t pull away and enter the shining spotlights on the stage. You’d seal the deal with your manager, sign a few papers confirming everything, and it’d be over. Your time as a k-pop idol would be a thing of the past. 

Emotions ran high. The door to the room squeaked open. The manager walked back in and looked up with a face of confusion. It softened when he saw you surrounded by your eight protectors. They slowly pulled away and your light began to dim. 

When your manager called your name, you shakily let go of Hyunjin. The future knocked. You had to let go now. No matter how scary, you had to let it go. You wiped away tears and straightened your back, just as your seniors lectured you when you were a trainee. 

You opened your mouth to speak, but he beat you to it. A stack of papers stretched out to you. A black pen sat on top. You shook your head, unable to sign the contract for Itzy. You couldn’t betray your group like that. 

“Take it and read it. I think you’ll want to look at this one.” He placed it in your hands and stepped back. You wiped your eyes, trying to read everything. 

When you read the first sentence, catching the words ‘renewal contract,’ you collapsed to your knees. Felix dropped beside you, worrying about what you were handed. He pulled it away and looked at it. 

“This is a renewal contract and-” 

“I’m happy to announce the uppers finally agreed. They won’t risk the group boycotting their schedules. It’s a fight they want to avoid.” 

You collapsed over into Felix’s body. He dropped the stack of stapled papers and quickly grabbed you. “Hey, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” 

“We all do,” Minho added. 

“I said we were family for a reason.” Chan walked closer and kneeled down to the other side of you. 

Changbin huffed and crossed his arms. “Hyung, this was my idea like two days ago! I started this! Where’s my praise? Just because Minho put it in action today, it doesn’t mean that my credit isn’t due!” 

A weak laugh bubbled between your lips. His face lit up and he grinned. “Hey, there it is! That’s my favorite sound!” 

“They’re staying at our dorm tonight!” 

“Nuh-uh! Fuck off, Innie!” Felix clutched you tighter. “We’re camping out on the couch and laying on Seungmin all night.” 

“Woah, no way! I comforted them when they came through the door first!” 

“Shut up, Hyunjin!” 

“Enough!” Minho snapped. “We’re not doing anything until they sign the contract. The ball is in your court. Are you signing it, or are you just going to lay there soaking it in your tears?” 

“Minho, don’t be mean.” 

Chan handed you the pen and you shakily signed your name. The moment the first page held your name, warmth flowed back into your heart. You sniffled and scribbled over and over again, not caring to read the words. Chan flipped the pages and you signed them all. 

Murmurs of excitement buzzed up again. It really didn’t matter where you spent the night. The truth? No matter which dorm you’d pick, they would all turn it into a nine member sleepover to celebrate you. 

Their family was once again reunited and that was the only thing that truly mattered.

| ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡ | ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡ | ♡.﹀﹀﹀﹀.♡ |

Taglist: @lia-linny @seungnishi @stellasays45 @emilyywhyy @rockstarkkami @flightlessackerman @inlovewithstraykids @velvetmoonlght @chrizrizz @ari-hwanggg

Masterlist

Taglist and inbox rules

Ko-fi