#any fandom ive ever seen w/ shipping at the center

[starryjkoo]

I’m not against the fandom wanting to have fun at all!

As long as they are kept within fandom spaces and under a fictional context, things like AUs, fics, and fanart can be great ways for people to express creativity and provide entertainment. But a large majority don't know how to do that.

It’s why we had ARMYs upset at Jimin’s character in an AU in the replies of BTS’ official twitter account. It’s why TKKers are allowed to sell their fic that portrayed Jimin as a vile bully and used the BTS members’ images as an actual book with little to no push back from ARMYs. It’s why “non shipping” ARMYs reply “I like [other duo (mostly tk or ym)] fics more” when questioned about them not liking or even hating Jimin and Jungkook as a duo.

Another thing is the lack of care for the hate that Jimin gets from these fictional works. It gets twisted as “policing fandom spaces” when genuinely problematic creators are called out and reported. Then ARMYs make fics and AUs poking fun at said “policing” and no one (including some “OT7 Jikook Supporter” JKKers 🫥) see the problem, saying “people don’t get to police other people’s art” and comparing the art that inspired Jimin to extended his moon tattoo  down his back to NSFW shipping art from Jimin antis…

https://x.com/YooniesSquish/status/1839005207000228054

Or ARMYs responding to concerns of Jimin getting harassed for the millionth time, with sexual harassment….

https://x.com/vkoobiezluvr/status/1876625003233620031

I’m tired of solos too, but people claiming other ARMYs (not just solos) are overreacting for calling out the harassment Jimin gets, and then choosing to protect antis and fictional creations instead of a member part of the group they stan is insane.

As long as they are kept within fandom spaces and under a fictional context, things like AUs, fics, and fanart can be great ways for people to express creativity and provide entertainment. But a large majority don't know how to do that.

Yeah I totally agree! ARMYs and their odd, complicated, and problematic relationship with shipping is something I’ve thought about a lot tbh. Apologizing for the length of this reply, this one got away from me 💀 going to put it under the cut

I think part of the issue is that a lot of shipping etiquette has been lost as shipping and fandom culture have become more mainstream (and how that’s especially problematic with RPS). Taking something like kpop with its already existing issues with shipping and parasocialism and mixing it with a fandom the size of ARMYs was always going to be a recipe for disaster. So yeah, I absolutely do not think ARMYs are equipped to handle things like fandom-wide AU’s and I personally wish shipping was more contained like it used to be. Basically I think the normalization of shipping within the main fandom is problematic because it lacks a lot of the culture and know-how of navigating these things respectfully that most regular ship communities have (or used to at least).

I noticed you mentioned “non-shippers” & that’s another issue I have with ARMYs & shipping — the way they define what a “shipper” is. Most of them seem to define a shipper as someone who believes a ship is “real” but imo a shipper is anyone who regularly engages with shipping content. So when ARMYs say that they “hate” shippers and shippers “aren’t a part of our fandom” they only mean “serious-shippers” and not the millions of ARMYs who regularly engage with shipping content.

The thing is that again, at least in actual shipping communities (especially w/ content creators) there are some rules/etiquette that people are expected to follow and are somewhat held accountable for. While some of that may have eroded over time in ship spaces, a lot of these “non-shipper” ARMYs have no understanding of those rules at all. They don’t consider themselves shippers because shipping is so normalized in the fandom it’s seen as regular, default fan behavior and not “shipper” behavior. I personally think this lack of self-awareness, and also the absolute zero accountability bc of it, is another reason why these particular ARMYs are so comfortable crossing boundaries and are incapable of shipping responsibly.

Another major issue with the line between the two groups being so blurred is that a good chunk of the ARMYs who claim they don’t “believe any ships are real” still consume & believe content coming from toxic “serious-shippers” such as conspiracies, toxic narratives, misinformation, mistranslations. They then spread all of that into general fandom spaces. I’m sure we can all think of quite a few examples of this (y’all remember how quickly that lie spread about YGs concert and tkks parents? how many ARMYs “joke” about BH preventing the tkk subunit, how many ARMYs thought the “not for the camera” thing was real?).

“for fun shippers” are not rejected the way that “serious-shippers” are (supposed to be) in ARMY spaces, so they basically have free rein to spread those narratives. They also end up platforming, following, interacting and enabling actual toxic shippers & fanbases within ARMY spaces. And yet, they have zero accountability because when you call them out they’re “not a shipper!” “using a duo name doesn’t make you a shipper!” “everyone reads fic!” and they have lots of regular ARMY moots who back them up so… IMO these "for fun" shippers need to be held to the same standards as "serious-shippers" but they think they're absolved from that responsibility because they don't believe ships are real. Meanwhile they're a huge part of the reason why toxic tkkrs are so deeply embedded in our community.

Anyways, ARMYs should never have felt like it was normal or okay to spam official pages about an AU?? And my point on fandom etiquette is that actual AU writers block official accounts and censor names, the idea is to keep it far away from the actual ppl involved, and I don’t think a regular fic reader would ever even THINK of spamming an official account about an AU? But ARMYs normalizing shipping in the larger community without trying to enforce any proper rules/boundaries has made a good chunk of them think that this was an acceptable thing to do.

I mean, even huge ARMY fanbases joke about TH reading tkk AUs, or make CONSTANT shipping jokes (I’m not talking about one here or there, I mean it being nonstop the first thing they joke about when two members so much as glance at each other), that hundreds of ARMYs lined up to buy tkk fanfiction in Paris & thought nothing of it, that things like fandom-wide AUs are common and normalized, and there's a reason why ship content is one of the first things you encounter when getting into BTS… like no wonder these people do not have boundaries when shipping has seeped into every corner of the ARMY fandom, yet there is none of the accountability, rules, self-awareness, or self-regulation that most shipping communities are at least somewhat expected to have (not that a lot of BTS shippers atp follow them 😅 “serious-shipper” culture is a whole other convo, especially tkkrs, but imo at least most jkk content creators & their communities have these boundaries)

Like maybe that’s the buzzkill fun-police in me because I get that shipping jokes are a normal, fun & non-serious part of fandom, and I’m once again not against fic at all (I read it), but with ARMYs it’s just so much to the point it feels like shipping is the main thing a lot of them engage with and prioritize even over the actual BTS members (and I’m going to include Y/N’s in here too tbh). Most of them absolutely do not have the maturity to handle ship content either (like, obviously how many ARMYs fell for tkk narratives for one, but even the way many "non-serious" tkkrs also have a weird attitude towards jkk).

I guess I just feel like I wish there was more of a separation between shipping culture and general ARMY culture, and maybe this is idealistic and unrealistic bc obviously shipping was always going to be a part of the main fandom (and i mean, i find it fun sometimes too!), tkkrs having their own community and platforming their most toxic and insane is what led to this mess so I’m not saying it being separate would solve all that, this is also only scratching the surface of why kpop fandoms are so toxic (so many reasons), Y/N’s are a whole other thing, so are solos, general parasocialism, plus like I said ship communities are not perfect at all (serious-shippers are a whole other beast). but at the very least, ARMYs and their normalization of shipping without the moderation/self-awareness of normal shipping communities is what allowed toxic shippers in our fandom spaces & added to some ARMYs having terrible boundaries with the BTS members.

Another thing is the lack of care for the hate that Jimin gets from these fictional works. It gets twisted as “policing fandom spaces” when genuinely problematic creators are called out and reported. Then ARMYs make fics and AUs poking fun at said “policing” and no one (including some “OT7 Jikook Supporter” JKKers 🫥) see the problem, saying “people don’t get to police other people’s art” and comparing the art that inspired Jimin to extended his moon tattoo  down his back to NSFW shipping art from Jimin antis…

(that AU omfg 😭😭💀) yeah, I agree with you again! I guess that goes into how a lot of ARMYs do prioritize safeguarding ship content over caring about/protecting the actual members. No one was calling for a mass take down of all creative content during that Paris incident, they were calling for the accounts that literally anti members or write/draw some particularly exploitive/degrading stuff to be taken down (and I’m also anti censorship but I’m also atp where BTS shipping is so toxic, I get wanting conversations about how to curb it). And yet that part of the community took such a HUGE issue w/ just the idea of that they decided to literally protect actual full-blown antis over risking some of their ship content… It just shows you where the priority lies with some ARMYs and seeing them get on their soapbox about this was ridiculous to me.

Yes fan content is an important part of fandom and does benefit BTS by bringing/keeping people in the community, but lets not pretend content creators are inherently some sort of benevolent beings doing this selflessly for the good of BTS. Most people simply ship because it’s fun, people also create ship content bc it’s fun and they like it, so why are people being so morally righteous about this lmao? I fully understand arguments about the importance of fan work, and the legitimate concerns over censorship and the alarming cultural shift into right-wing ideologies. But I think some ARMYs are also just being obtuse when they refuse to acknowledge that the objection some people have for this content stems from BTS shipping culture being absolutely out of control and beyond toxic to the point that it has real life consequences. It’s not simply because they are morally against fic or trying to police fanwork (and I'm not saying anyone has to agree with that perspective, but the knee-jerk reaction to it is not helpful either imo). But also lets not forget this discourse arose from a content creator who absolutely overstepped boundaries by selling that book.

And I just want to say literally some of my very fave jkkrs are content creators who are super cool, respectful, chill and write the most beautiful thoughtful things about JM & JK and their music and character, they’re great and kind people who are very respectful of boundaries and all that. This is just my complaint about the specific parts of fandom who prioritize those fan spaces over the actual real life members involved in shipping.

I know that it’s much more nuanced than all this, and yeah I think JM is going to be okay even if someone spams “how could you” on one of his official posts lol, I just think BTS shipping has gotten so out of control this conversation is worth more consideration instead of outright rejection. I don’t think it’s fair to frame that concern as “moral policing” when a lot of people are just genuinely worried and upset by the very real and visible consequences of shipping in our fandom and want to try anything to help curb it. Like if they can not for a second pause and see why in this particular fandom people might be upset with shipping culture knowing the amount of hate Jimin gets over it then… you just can’t convince me they care about him at all. And I’m not saying I agree with policing the creative community, but some of their reactions about all of this were really callous and disappointing.

Or ARMYs responding to concerns of Jimin getting harassed for the millionth time, with sexual harassment….

this particular subgroup of ARMYs are always writing tweets with the corniest, weirdly over-sexualized comments like what you sent, and they think it’s hehe funny not-serious 🤪 “you guys cant take a joke” they’ve always been one of the worst at respecting or understanding boundaries with the BTS members 😬 what a bizarre response to the discourse over the AU. It also entirely validates the people who thought that ARMYs weren’t mature enough to handle it lol.

I’m tired of solos too, but people claiming other ARMYs (not just solos) are overreacting for calling out the harassment Jimin gets, and then choosing to protect antis and fictional creations instead of a member part of the group they stan is insane.

yeah this is better and more concise than all that rambling I just did lmao, I agree. I understand all the arguments about fanworks and protecting those spaces but just seeing the way some people have so much more visible concern over losing their ship content over the very real harassment Jimin receives over shipping is beyond gross.

anyways sorry for yapping on this so much 💀 I do just think ARMYs and shipping is such a bizarre and interesting topic ig, but I think this was the inevitable fate of any fandom this large with shipping at the forefront and it definitely just sucks. and I know all of this is way more nuanced than what I got into, but I stand by ARMYs and their approach and attitude towards shipping being kind of problematic, despite the fact that I’m a shipper that enjoys shipping content lol. maybe a little hypocritical, but oh well (I do think most jkkrs are pretty cool about some of this tho, or they were, everyone got a little crazy in CH2 lol).

[anony-mouse-writer]

this is for @lachryphage because I realized that I have a lot of thoughts and reading them as individual messages is gonna take a fucking eternity. this is basically just a stream of consciousness thing, so basically theres no rhyme or reason to it.

i know i said i like most baku ships, but i lied. I love me some brotp bakumina. (unless we’re talking bakusquad poly but thats a different game). idk, i just love him supporting her dancing and her love for horror-action and her being really good at knowing his limits and keeping him sane when he’s at his limits

other baku hc’s: he’s hard of hearing and he’s demi

I love the hc’s that present mic’s family all have some for of hearing loss.  i dont know if its canon or fanon that he was born with a quirk, but the idea that child-mic seriously fucked up his fam as a kid is great angst-hc. also, him knowing sign language. 

ERASERMIC. this was like. my first real ship of the fandom and I love it so much? idk, they just click so well. theres like two writers on ao3 who provide 90% of the erasermic fic and theyre wonderful.

there’s a fanon that tensei was friends w them and had to Suffer as they did the awkward gay dance and I love it so much

Tensei deserves better. Fucking Stain. 

Also, Tensei is 1000% a meme. There was a fic where he played ‘running in the 90s’ in his helmet during battles and thats basically canon for me now.

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shinsou’s family not talking to him because of his quirk is also a good angst-fic, although i’d personally love to see a fic where his family loved and encouraged him.

speaking of shinsou, I have a bnha management-centered fic I started last year about him that I have many notes about but haven’t updated in like a year and I feel like trash. I should do that.

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chat fics are my fave and I low-key, high-key want to start a post series/fic series with a bunch of just random group chat things with the kids because I live for that shit. Also because I love the kids who dont get enough attention in canon and I can 1000% see them being active in the chat (denki, mina, and kouda being my big three. tokoyami lurks, but he doesnt post often because it would ruin his aesthetic) 

I picture denki posting a ton of memes and ashido being loud and playful. Ive seen kouda in chatfics one of two ways and i love them both: either he’s way more active becuase the mutism thing doesnt extend to electronics, or he just uses kaomojis.

I wish I liked Sato more, but on top of barely any canon, he barely has any fanon and its just painful trying to come up with stuff?? like the only decent fanon for him is that he’s friends w momo and he bakes everyone’s b-day cakes, which is -_-

I also think its hilarious that ppl ship ojiro and hagakure, because im like 90% sure its just because theyre equally unmentioned. I wish we had more of both, but especially hagakure. I REALLY NEED SOMEONE TO DUMP A  PAINT CAN ON HER SO WE CAN KNOW WHAT SHE LOOKS LIKE. I enjoy memeing tooru, but I love the versions of her that are borderline lawbreakers too.

I love shoji. he’s like barely ever written, but the things ive seen him in, he’s always golden. i very much hc that one of his parents was a hoarder and thats why his rooom is Like That.

speaking of rooms... i want to see bakugous.

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Dabi is a Todoroki and you will pry this from my cold, dead hands. I cannot wait for him to give endeavwhore a verbal smackdown (and probably a physical one tbh)

Im weirdly unattached to the villains? like aside from dabi, theres none of them that I love A Lot, which is fairly unusual for me w tv shows... idk.

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okay imma stop for now...