So This Anon Is Really Troubling Me But Not For The Regular Jikook-shipper Reasons. If You're Up For

So this anon is really troubling me but not for the regular jikook-shipper reasons. If you're up for a nuanced discussion, continue through the cut. If you're looking for a stage to battle, I'd recommend passing on by. I'll only engage with good-faith responses.

I want to make something very clear in my teeny little corner of our fandom. We can debate whichever ship is real and which member's are closer to eachother forever. These arguments can get into fairly childish statements of stacking human relationships into a competition but if that's how you want your fandom experience to be, you do you, I guess.

The point I would invite y'all to consider when taking an approach like the above anon is to remember that action does not equal attraction. In other words, just because a person does something, does NOT automatically mean they feel a certain way about it. It could, it very well could. But it's not a given.

I'm particularly sensitive to the viewpoint of people trying to call others homophobic for not seeing an action a certain way. Yes, that is definitely a huge part of society's issues currently but not every misalignment of interpretation equates to homophobia.

Specifically I'd like to talk but ace-aro erasure. Now, before any of you jump on me, I AM NOT SAYING THAT I THINK ANY OF THE MEMBERS ARE ASPEC. I just want to remind you that when you make sweeping statements like 'you only have to look at them to know', you are implicitly stating that anyone who chooses to partake in similar actions could ONLY be doin so because of an attraction.

Never in any of my fandoms before have I struggled so much with feeling pushed out as an aspec than i have once I found kpop. I believe it's largely due to the focus of shipping spaces having this weird honor system of needing to gather evidence and prove that yours is 'the one true ship'. It's putting people in this space where they are treating every piece of content like the old land rushes of early colonization. Instead of settlers racing to establish homesteads, it's shippers racing to build narratives.

And thus lies the erasure of all aspecs. Statements like these prescribe what actions we are allowed to take or not take. I realize all identities exist on a spectrum but the ace-aro spectrums are so vast, there can be very little in common between two individuals that utilize these labels. I know I personally will affinities for differing sub-lables nearly day-to-day. So umbrella statements in general set me on edge but any that draw conclusions about someone's sexuality based solely on an outside perspective of their actions? Nope, I can't vibe with that.

I don't have a conclusion to this post other than to invite y'all to remember that even here on tumblr, in our relatively open corner of the internet, there is some work to be done to be inclusive.

For any of you that are interested in discussing more about the viewpoints of aspecs in kpop spaces, I invite you to check out @aspec-kpop .

You casting doubt or saying they could have had other relationships is not the flex you think it is. In all seriousness that is highly unlikely given their consistent behaviour around each other for years now, at least since 2017, ain’t no way they were dating others. It’s actually quite homophobic what you are insinuating again with the video of Jk, there is not a straight bone most likely in that man’s body. He is all about Jimin, all the time, you only have to watch his habits and lives to see that. There is no room for anyone else. If you can’t see that fine but stop clogging the tag with your homophobic opinions. They also were not on a break, their relationship is private and not for us, or the public. We don’t live under their bed for sure, but you only have to look at them, how they act, how they were, how they spoke about each other, the shared concepts, the travel show, the enlistment. Just know you’re wrong to cast doubt and it’s erasing them and what they are showing is by doing so. It’s not about being rational, it’s literally erasure.

Block me then.

I can’t with these fucking anons picking and choosing when it comes to what I write about.

Me casting doubt is wrong? If my opinion is casting doubt on you, then I would question how easily influenced you are.

You say that we don’t know about their private lives and yet, are 100% convinced he’s been in a long-term romantic relationship with jm.

‘There is no room for anyone else’, ‘ain’t no way they were dating others’. Sure, and you know this cause you’re such a bystander who isn’t privy to their private lives?

I was there in 2017. I was there when gcf dropped. I love them beyond anything so to insinuate that I’m being homophobic towards them is so fucking disrespectful. All because I said that they might not be dating. Get a grip.

Seriously, y'all I can't believe it's been a year. This was just a passing idea I had that I assumed already existed on tumblr and when I couldn't find one, decided to just make it myself.

It's the one year anniversary of this blog!

Thank you to everyone that's been a part of this! I may have made some mistakes along the way but I'm happy to say I never missed a day!

In honor of this momentous occasion, I have a gift for y'all, but you gotta answer today's poll question first!

My gift to you is a new blog: @bts-trivia

Unlike here, where the polls are completely subjective, the questions there do have correct answers that will be posted in the reblogs once the poll closes. Head on over to test your expertise!

LAST CALL: What is your initial ranking of Neva Play?

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It's trivia time!

Time to put your Bangtan knowledge to the test! Who thinks they've got what it takes? Unlike @bts-polls , the polls here do have a correct

Y'all know how much I love a poll! If any of you happen to have not seen Storm's poll, please vote to get a better sample size.

Hi, I really like your blog and found no better place to rant.

Before I start, I hope to clarify a couple of points to set a clear context:

1. I'm a baby army.

2. I'm an Asian.

3. I am straight. (Don't get me wrong, my personal belief is that love has no gender)

I ran into Taekook videos when I first discovered BTS with zero to no idea about shipping culture. The fact that TKrs claimed their relationship to be real seemed ridiculous to me. I genuinely thought that people were forcing their weird fantasies on two men who have a good friendship. So I moved away from TKr or 'shipper' content and started to watch BTS as a whole with absolutely no idea that parallel ships had a fandom. That's when I came across GCF in Saipan. That freaking video!!!! There was no way I could turn away from looking at JK and JM differently. The song, the editing and just how ethereal JM looked or smiled irrespective of his weird antics and spontaneous shots seemed pure, full of trust and openness. That's how I discovered Jikook and it has been 2 months now.

This also brought me to another discovery, Heterosexism. I work at a corporate company and had a casual discussion with my colleagues regarding an awareness training about eliminating bias and I was surprised at the reaction for a topic surrounding homosexuals. The media here romanticises that homosexuality is accepted, with a few articles on recent homosexual relationships and weddings. But on a deeper scale, the citizens are still homophobic. I was told off for showing support to the pride community, to the extent where I was asked if I was a homosexual.

Finally getting to my question, I have noticed that a lot of jikook supporters are homosexuals. What about people who are not part of the pride community? Is there a good number of people who are straight but not homophobic? Is there a safe space for us to show our support without being judged for it?

True Allyship is appreciated at most pride events and with most queer people. If you are talking about within the Jikook spaces, I do think a large portion of Jikookers are queer is some sense, but a lot of them are straight too. And as long as you aren't talking over queer voices or making a queer safe space no longer safe, I think it's fine for you to be involved.

I'm pretty sure I've got a fairly large following of straight people here anyway too. But let's do another poll and see. These are always lower engagement than the amount of followers I actually have, but it gets a sample size at least. Lol polls are totally anonymous too, in case anyone was worried.

Last time I did this, there was confusion for my aro/ace friends. Y'all are the A in LGBTQIA+. You count as queer, my loves 💜

If you aren't an ally, you don't get an option and you can unfollow 😂

I've got my issues with fake support and Allyship from shippers, but that's a separate discussion and I do think that there are a lot of people who are true and good allies here.

Y'all...I'm not SAYING I manifested Hobi's weverse post but I just scheduled a poll about his return for @bts-polls and then we get his lovely little letter?? I must just have been picking up on his telepathy or something!

Hey, from a production stand point, do you think Jimin and Jungkook had control of the cameras in the hotel rooms? Ie at bedtime? thanks

Hi anon,

I don't think you're going to like my answer but honestly, there's really no way for us to know and I don't really see the point in speculating either. This would come down to the agreement they each have as talent with their company.

I will say no matter what the reality of the situation is, there is some PR benefit for playing with the line of how much control there is. But that's all spin according to whatever narrative is needed at the time.

In summary: I don't know and I have nothing really to say. A clever edit can easily make it seem as though either end of the spectrum is true.

Sorry,

Good fodder for fanfic but not really up my alley for a breakdown.

I just read your I Am Still review and it makes me curious what namjoon's movie (not sure if its meant to be a docu?) will look like.

I know BH could do better in a lot of ways, but I do think a lot of the stuff tied to bts' solo promotions is really a reflection of where they are at artistically as individuals. Like I'm sure BH lays out a profit plan (i.e. we want an album, a video release, merch, etc.), but other than that, I do think a lot of it is up to them what direction they take. Like if they have something specific in mind or want to go waaaay more artistic, namjoon's solo seems to show that BH will put in the money and allow them to do that. On the other hand, I do think, if they don't have a direction in mind, BH just gives them the memories, in-house BH editor treatment (which could be better and they could at least get an actual docu director if they plan for a theatrical release, I know people felt this way even for Beyond the Star).

I actually love a lot of the songs on Golden (I'm a pop-whore through and through), but I do think jungkook hasn't quite found himself yet, or his unique artistic vision. And I think that flows into the content related to the album. I don't know if its controversial to say as a fan, but I think even calling the album "Golden" and then comments I've seen about the docu, it feels more like him trying to live up to his "Golden Maknae" status of mega pop stardom than necessarily finding himself in this album. And to be clear, those things don't have to be mutually exclusive! But I do think jungkook doesn't necessarily dig deep or get vulnerable in this album, so it doesn't surprise me that the docu might also feel that way. I also feel like this is why JPD might feel a little more cohesive, because I do think jimin is farther along in his artistic journey (being vulnerable, knowing what he wants to say as an artist even if its not fully polished yet, etc.). And this no shade to jungkook, I think all of the vocal line haven't had the opportunity to grow outside the group like the rap line has, especially the younger members whose entire artistic career/view has been shaped within a group setting. Finding yourself takes time, and trial and error. Sometimes I feel like jimin doesn't get enough credit for the fact that his first entirely solo project was so personal and he was so involved in the entire creative conception of it, especially for someone as reserved as him.

I am excited to see what Jin will end up coming out with (I love the The Astronaut song) and it'll be interesting to see the direction each member takes post military service. Even styling-wise, I'm curious what each member will do. I've hated jimin's styling for all of his solo projects (except the sparkly denim LC outfit) and most of jungkook's outside of SNTY. Please let the weird, ugly mullet, lego hair-piece looking stuff die and also extremely baggy clothes. I need fashion to have evolved by the time they get discharged because jimin should not need to be pulling up his pant's leg while he dances.

Hi anon,

Thank you for sending this in. I apologize that it's been ages, I got quite sick for a bit there and didn't have the energy to deal with tumblr. (Sidenote, the feed is kind of a disaster right now. I hope people can return to celebrating content again soon, I'm ready to stop unfollowing people every time I log in.)

Anyway, I'm so glad you brought up Namjoon's film because I'm so INTRIGUED. What are the criteria for this film festival? Is there any hope that it's been handled properly? What do we know about the director? Is this just another Hybe edit and they've strong-armed is into the festival? Is there going to be any way for us to watch it?

I don't really have any answers to these questions yet but it's kind of my only hope left of a decent film that's not just bangtantv content.

I actually really loved the idea of Golden being the album title and many of the choices surrounding it's release. Such great imagery and art surrounding his tattoos and just completely celebrating everything that led to JK as a person. But...it has very little connection to the actual music. Again, other than this idea that JK was actively pursuing himself as an extremely technically-exceptional singer, what does Golden have to do with the music? Other than one (possible coincidental) reference in STNY, this album could have been called anything. It's not the worst offense of an album but the rest of BTS's work has raised my expectations in having all sides of a release being exceptional. And this just wasn't for me. Not bad. But not astounding.

Also, can I say I'm so relieved to hear someone else voicing my same opinions on the styling for JM that last year. I absolutely despised the mullets and the baggy puts that he had to lift during choreo. Seriously anon, how did you get inside my brain?? I didn't mention this anywhere because everyone was gushing about it but it just pulled me out of it. Every.Single.Time. Can we be besties? Lol

Anyway, I'm sure I missed something in your ask. Still not feeling 100% but I don't want to delay this response any longer. Thank you so much for your patience!