#bts brand collaborations

[jiinjiinjarra]

BTS // Brand Collaborations: BTS X SAMSUNG: Say Yes To Galaxy Buds // MD // Photocards // 2020

Galaxy Buds Live Photocards: 2/7 (1 per member)

Scan Cr. jiinjiinjarra (me)

[cherryxkush]

risky business | pjm, jjk (m) | 1

synopsis: you’re a successful entrepreneur in the beauty industry and after your assistant/best friend sees the spread in Korea GQ magazine of a popular k-pop artist, she gets him on the first flight to California to start a sponsorship deal, and it was none other than the world-renowned fuckboy you met at a product launch party for Gucci two years ago.

pairing: jimin x female reader x jungkook

rating: mature (18+)

genre: enemies to lovers, love triangle, angst, fluff, smut

warnings/content: swearing, employer/client relationship, past situationship, fuckboy!jimin, celebrity!jimin, love triangle, tattoo artist!jungkook, jin is reader’s lawyer best friend

explicit content: varies between chapters, this one is reader x jungkook, protected sex (good job jk), oral sex (female receiving, but mentions of wanting to give a bj), slight hand/veins kink, multiple orgasms, missionary, doggy style, spanking, jk has a daddy kink, jk calls reader babygirl/princess

disclaimer: this is entirely a work of fiction, and in no way does it reflect thoughts or acts of bts in the real world (:

𝗇𝗈𝗍𝖾: 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋 𝗂𝗌 𝗋𝖾𝖺𝖽𝖾𝗋 𝗑 𝗃𝗎𝗇𝗀𝗄𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝗈𝗇𝗅𝗒, 𝗃𝗂𝗆𝗂𝗇 𝗐𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖺𝗉𝗉𝖾𝖺𝗋 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗇𝖾𝗑𝗍 𝖼𝗁𝖺𝗉𝗍𝖾𝗋. 𝖾𝗇𝗃𝗈𝗒 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅𝗂𝖾𝗌 ♡

Next chapter

“Please make sure you actually take off the lens filter before shooting this time,” you told your assistant and best friend, Naiya. You were already behind on shooting and editing the photos for your product line, and you couldn’t afford any more mishaps — otherwise the new launch would be late, and it wouldn’t just be your pay that you had to worry about.

“It was one time!” She rolled her eyes before double-checking that the lens filter actually was off, and then she started taking some photos of the models that were standing against the backdrop. Between each shot, she looked down at the electronic viewfinder on the camera, assessing what could be tweaked and what needed to stay.

She smiled at the models, telling them to take a 10 minute break before walking back over to you. “So, here are the shots so far,” The both of you looked at the screen as she pressed the button to proceed to the next photo, and you were genuinely impressed. “Some of these we can use. They’re great, aside from just a few things to edit. I can do that in post, of course — but, I do think we could use a high-profile male model.”

Your eyebrow rose in question, “High profile? You don’t think we have enough models already?”

“We have a good amount, sure, but finding someone famous will bring more exposure to the brand. Which leads to more inclusivity, more press, more deals — and more coin. Plus, you sell men’s skincare products too, so it’ll look even better for the optics,”

You were actually speechless. Partly because you hadn’t thought of it before (not even the head of your advertising department did, which is a shame), and partly because she was absolutely right. Getting someone with a lot of recognition to model for your beauty brand would create a massive amount of exposure for your business, and could finally land you a spot working with a brand you’ve dreamed of collaborating with since your teenage years.

You were successful in your industry, yes, and it took you a long time and a lot of hard work to get where you are, but that didn’t mean you wouldn’t strive to be even better within the industry. Following your passion came with sacrifices, and you weren’t about to let those dark times be for nothing.

But at the same time, this product line that you were about to put out was going to be the bread and butter of your business, so you needed it to be great. Almost perfect, even, and you didn’t know how long it would take to find someone to fit the bill, for the deal to work in both of your favors. It seemed like it was too risky.

You sighed, “Yeah, you’re right. It would really help and we could get tons of publicity from it, but it’s just cutting it too close, Nai. We can’t have this product launch be anything less than damn near perfect.” You walked over to a work desk that was in the studio, pulling out the chair and sitting down before stressfully running a hand through your hair. “I mean, who would I even reach out to? Would we have to do model calls again? The launch is in less than two months now,”

“Girl, look at these,” Naiya said as she walked over to you before plopping down on top of the desk and reaching over to grab her laptop. She took a sip of her drink, opening up the Adobe Photoshop application before turning her laptop towards you. “These are some of the finished shots from the other day. We didn’t even think we’d be able to finish editing these in time, and look how amazing they turned out,” She wasn’t lying — they were stunning.

“They’re beautiful,” you agreed and she beamed, proud of herself. She was your go-to for everything photo and video and she’d wanted to get into that scene long before she actually started, so she had a lot of knowledge and skin in the game in regard to what would look the best for the vision you were going for. She definitely had your back, but there were still some things you were unsure about business-wise, that neither of you were really familiar with. “You’re great at what you do, but what about the other stuff? Making a deal and all the legal things that go along with it? We’re not just talking about influencers that get a commission from sales here, you know?”

“You let me handle finding the person and closing the deal, you go talk to Jin about starting a contract and all the legal shit that goes with it.”

“Absolutely the fuck not.” Jin eyed you with a blank expression as he sat comfortably with his hands folded, judging you.

“What the hell do you mean?!” You exclaimed before turning to examine yourself in the mirror again. “This is cute!”

“You got asked out to dinner after being dry for like 2 years and you can’t do better than leggings and a sweater?”

You rolled your eyes. “First of all, this sweater was expensive,” You walked over to the rack inside your closet, grimacing at the idea of having to wear a dress or skirt. “Second of all, you just want your women to be as high maintenance as you.”

Jin laughed, “This is true, but you would definitely increase your chances of getting laid if you put in more effort,”

“Who says I’m trying to get laid?”

“Your attitude and the fact that you used one of my charging cables for your vibrator.” You felt your face heat up at Jin’s comment, and you wanted to proceed to crawl into a hole, lie in the fetal position, and stay there for eternity.

“I hate you,” you frowned and Jin smirked.

“I love you, too, and wear the black dress. It’ll suit you.”

You spotted the dress at the end of the rack. It was made of a sleek material, smooth silken fabric with mesh, tulle-like sleeves. You’d bought it about 2 years ago after an event in Los Angeles. It was nighttime and on the way back to the hotel, you walked passed the prettiest little boutique and fell in love with the dress immediately — but you never wore it.

You frowned, silently questioning if you could pull it off. It was a different time back then, one where you felt on top of the world and you thought you’d found someone that would sweep you off of your feet and you’d beam at seeing his glimmering eyes rake upon your beauty in the dress. But it didn’t happen that way. In fact, it didn’t happen at all.

In an effort to distract yourself from your thoughts, you decided to ask Jin about the modeling contract.

“Okay, fine, but there’s something I need to talk to you about first.”

“And what’s that?” He raised his eyebrow in question.

“So, you know how I’m releasing a new product line soon?”

He scoffed, “About damn time! Of course I’m already handsome, we all know this, but men need good skincare too,”

You rolled your eyes, “Hence the reason I’m putting out this line, Jin. Anyways, Naiya proposed the idea that we should have a high-profile male model, preferably someone really famous who can bring us a lot of publicity,”

“Okay, and did you find this person yet?”

“Naiya’s working on that. But I do need your help with creating a contract and all the legal shit that’s included,” You grabbed the dress off of the rack hesitantly.

He brought a hand up to his chin as if he were thinking before meeting your gaze. “Alright, say I do it. What do I get out of it?”

“Um...my love and support as your best friend?”

“Will love and support pay my bills?”

You glared at him, “No, but you sure do eat a lot of my food to not pay my grocery bill.”

He laughed nervously, bringing up a finger to rub at his temple, “Well played,”

“Will a full-size bottle of that serum you like be good enough?”

“Throw in those little eye patches too, I don’t care what anyone says about me for using them — my bags are horrendous these days.”

You laughed and Jin cracked a smile. “Deal.”

jungkook [8:31pm]: i’m outside pretty, buzz me up?

you hearted a message from jungkook

You happened to meet Jungkook about 2 months ago when you decided to get a tattoo for the first time. You were really excited about the journey you were on with your business and the woman you were becoming, so you decided to get a self love tattoo that really resonated with you, and Jungkook was your artist.

During your session you couldn’t stop ogling at him due to his good looks and his many, many tattoos — he boldly asked for your number afterwards and you gladly but shyly gave it to him. After talking for a couple months and your busy schedules finally coinciding, Jungkook had been adamant about taking you on a date.

You walked over to the buzzer next to the door of your luxury condo and pressed the button to let Jungkook through the downstairs entrance. Your heart fluttered at the fact that he chose to come all the way to the fifth floor of your building to come get you instead of asking you to meet him downstairs.

You heard a gentle knock before opening the door, meeting Jungkook’s gaze as he presented you with a bouquet of flowers.

You grinned with rosy cheeks, “Aren’t you the gentleman?”

“I try,” He smiled smugly.

“You definitely succeeded,” You walked over to put the flowers in a vase with some water before leaving out. “You really didn’t have to do all this, Jungkook. This is beyond sweet,”

“I meant it when I said I wanted to take you out and show you a good time,” He grabbed your hand as he met your eyes, just as you finished putting away the flowers. “Come on, we don’t wanna be late for our reservation.”

You blushed even harder. “Y-you made a reservation?”

“Of course, you’re too pretty for me not to,” He flashed you a grin before grabbing your hand and interlacing his fingers with yours, and you felt like your heart was going to beat out of your chest.

The date went well. Jungkook had taken you to a restaurant that had really good food even though it was overpriced, and you liked the vibe of it. It was fancy, with the wait staff dressed in black-tie attire and you were happy that you went with the dress Seokjin suggested. Jungkook took every opportunity to compliment you and he didn’t just compliment your looks, but your conversation as well.

He’d also told you about his career as a tattoo artist and how he’d loved it, having opened up his own shop about a year prior, and you shared details about your journey into the beauty industry. It was almost endearing, the way that he talked about his job, and you felt the same way about yours. Although it could be really stressful, you couldn’t see yourself doing anything else, and you could tell Jungkook shared that with you. It was a connection beyond the physical attraction; it was mental, too, the way it seemed you both complimented each other.

Although, the physical attraction was definitely there.

He’d absentmindedly roll up his sleeves a bit showing his veiny arms as he focused on talking with you, his lip ring glinting in the moody lightning. It made you want to bite your lip, and you shuffled a bit in your seat, growing flustered at the sight of the man before you.

He was fully dressed, engaging in conversation, and you found yourself enamored with him, in awe even though he hadn’t even touched you. Seeing his dimples when he smirked made you want to whimper. Clock it to maybe the fact that you hadn’t been laid in a couple years, and Seokjin’s words had started to creep into your mind, but Jungkook had you hot and bothered without even trying.

“You okay there?” He smirked, not missing the pinkish tint to your cheeks.

Slightly startled because you’d been caught, you replied sheepishly before clearing your throat, “Y-yeah, I’m fine,”

He wiped the corner of his mouth with a napkin after taking the last bite of his food and seeing that you were done with yours, suggested you both do something to wind down, but not end your date so soon.

“Do you wanna take a little walk in the city for a bit? I remembered you saying you hadn’t been to this part of town in a while,”

There go the stupid butterflies again.

You arrived outside of your apartment building, Jungkook skillfully parking his sleek car as close as he could to shorten the walk.

He turned off the engine, the both of you relaxing in each other’s presence before either of you decided to leave. He was mesmerizing, lax in nature yet attractively attentive and his scent drove you crazy; it was an earthy, musky scent, one that made your mouth water and your thighs instinctively rub together.

His eye contact sent a delicious chill down your spine, and you missed the burn that his lips left on your hand after giving it a gentle kiss.

Instead of kissing your hand you wanted him to kiss other places, and suddenly his spacious car became too cramped and stuffy for your liking.

To put it plainly, you wanted him out of the car and in your bed. And even though you were shy as hell, this was one opportunity you definitely didn’t want to let pass you by.

You blinked at him, trying to steady your breath before speaking, but it still came out a little bit more breathy than you’d like, and unbeknownst to you, made Jungkook’s dick jump in his pants. “Would you want to come up?”

His eyes went wide with surprise before he tried to shake it off. He cleared his throat, not expecting you to ask, but he took you up on the offer.

In usual Jungkook fashion, he smirked. “Lead the way, Princess.”

You took the elevator up to your condo, hastily putting in your key once you got to your door. You stepped in, taking off your jacket and offering to hang up Jungkook’s.

He closed the door quietly before pinning you against it, his face dangerously close to yours.

His voice was just above a whisper, thick and gravelly. His gaze switched back and forth from your eyes to your lips, and he absentmindedly brought his tongue out to wet his own. “Let me make this clear, do you want this? Because I do,”

You swallowed thickly, already feeling desire pooling in the pit of your stomach at the hold that Jungkook had on you right now. You couldn’t help but nod to answer him, not finding the strength to use your voice. Jungkook wasn’t too happy about that.

“Use your words, baby,” He moved to your ear before dipping just below it to leave a kiss there, a kiss that added to the fuel that was already him hovering over you like this.

“Y-Yes,” you croaked. “I want it,”

“Want what?” He probed, chuckling softly as he continued to pepper kisses along your skin, slowly moving from your ear and down your neck. He could feel you shifting, your thighs squeezing together to give yourself some relief. “If you want more, you gotta use that pretty mouth of yours and tell me,”

He kissed a particular spot that made you gasp softly and offer more of your neck to him. He sucked on the spot, making you whimper and flutter your eyes closed before he pulled away entirely.

You frowned out of disappointment and opened your eyes to see his smug face, lips curled into an amused smirk. There was a glint in his eyes that made your mouth run dry.

“If you don’t want to use your words, I can’t help you, and by the looks of it, I think you want me to,” He bit his lip as he surveyed you, looking you up and down and your tongue came out to wet your lips, “But consent is important, and I need to know if you want it too, and that I’m not reading this wrong,”

You struggled to meet his eyes, simultaneously wanting to crawl into a hole and crawl under him, having him hover over you with his silver chain dangling in your face. You managed to find the courage, though, and the butterflies turned into searing-hot sparks.

“Y-you’re not reading it wrong, I want you, Jungkook. I want you to touch me,”

He cockily grinned at you before closing the gap between the two of you, “Thought you’d never ask.”

He brought his lips to yours, sending all of your nerve endings on fire and creating a heat that pooled in the pit of your stomach. He grabbed the back of your neck roughly before his fingers found themselves in your hair and he tugged slightly on the strands, causing you to moan.

“Oh, she likes that, huh?” He slid his hand down your body before toying with the hem of your dress. “You look so pretty with this on,”

“It would look prettier off,” You quipped, bothered that he wasn’t where you needed him to be.

“Someone’s eager,” he chuckled deeply before dragging his fingers upwards, letting you feel the rough pads of his fingertips on the skin of your thighs. He lightly grabbed the bottom of your dress before pulling it up to your hips. He traced the fabric of your thong with his finger, “Cute,” he said, distracting you a bit from his hands before he firmly pressed a thumb on your clit over your underwear, rubbing in small circles.

“Fuck,” you whispered, throwing your head back against the door, relishing in his touch. You started grinding against his hand, desperate for relief, and he didn’t hesitate to call you out on it.

“So fucking needy,” he growled, and you felt an electrifying jolt run through your body again. He rubbed harder and you gasped, rolling your eyes back. “I barely touched you and you’re already soaking through your panties.”

You brought your hand up to rake your manicured nails along his scalp before pulling, earning a grunt of approval from him. You smashed your lips onto his in fervor and he grunted, opening his mouth to allow you entrance and your tongues battled for dominance. He held you closer, cupping your scantily clad ass in his big, veiny hands before slapping your ass hard. You let out a small, surprised yelp before relishing and moaning at the sting.

He did it again but harder, and you were positive you were in fact dripping down your legs at this point.

You pecked him a couple of times before grabbing his hand and leading him after you. “Room. Now.”

Once you got to your room, Jungkook proceeded to turn you around to face him and continued kissing you, bringing up a hand to cup your face.

He walked you backwards and when the backs of your heels reached the frame, he pushed you onto the bed.

He stood over you, skilled hands working at undoing his belt and you could see how hard he was. Throwing your head back, your hands reached your clothed breasts and began to fondle them, fingertips enclosing and twisting your nipples, and Jungkook’s mouth watered at the sight.

His belt flew to the floor somewhere and he grabbed the back of your calves to pull you closer to him at the edge of the bed. Your dress was covering too much, he decided.

“Take your dress off, babygirl, unless you want me to rip it.”

You almost moaned at his words. The dress flew somewhere too, and you lie in front of him, clothed in nothing but your thong, tits on full display.

He licked his lips and as you saw his face coming toward you, you could’ve sworn it would’ve been to take one of your tits in his mouth, but he placed a kiss above your belly button. And you shivered as you saw that he kept going lower.

He peppered soft, slow pecks along your skin until he was face to face with the source of your wetness, and Jungkook leaned in to lick a strip on the material of your panties. Your hands fisted the blanket as he teased you at an agonizingly slow pace, moving his tongue anywhere but the place you actually needed him, making you squirm.

He hooked his fingers underneath your underwear before ripping it off of you, the frail piece of lace no match for his strength as it tore.

“Will just have to buy you another pair.” He winked before kissing you again, but this time right above your clit, his breath warm and his touch sending you into overdrive.

You spread your legs for him eagerly and his long fingers spread your lips, stopping to admire you. You self-consciously had half a mind to close them as he gazed upon your lower half, but he held them open and finally licked a strip from your hole to your clit.

“S-shit,” you moaned as he held you open, his tongue meeting your clit as he swirled it in tight circles before giving it a hard suck. “Fuck!”

“Mmm,” He moaned against you, causing you to shiver again, hips bucking into his mouth. “You taste good, gonna make you cum on my tongue first.”

He lapped at you like you were the dessert he craved but never had, as if you were the best thing he’d ever taste. He licked at you, flattening his tongue before circling your clit again, and you had to try your best not to scream.

And you didn’t scream, until he started sucking on your clit again.

“Fucking shit, ‘Kook,” You moaned loudly and he hummed at the nickname. You had never been eaten out this good before, and you were so close to cumming on his tongue in so short of a time that you were almost embarrassed.

One of his fingers teased against your hole before diving in, and your toes curled before he added another. “Gotta stretch you out,” He mumbled against your pussy before swirling his tongue again. He curled his fingers expertly, reaching the spongey part within you that made tears prick your eyes from the pleasure.

You arched your back, hips leading away from his mouth before he tightened his grip around them with his other hand and held you so close you were worried you’d suffocate him.

He made eye contact with you and it had you feeling like you were going to combust. You reached down to tangle your fingers into his hair and he created a faster pace with his digits, darting in and out of you so quickly that you were sure you’d cum in 5 minutes flat.

His let go of your hip to rub your clit as his tongue took a break, and the coil in your stomach tightened even more, tears rolling down your face at how good he was making you feel.

“Look at how well that pussy takes my fingers,” he mused, “Fuck, you’re so pretty,”

Your pussy tightened around his fingers and he slapped your clit lightly, “Fuck, yes!” you were shouting, and it made his heart swell at the pleasure he was giving you. He wanted to make you cum hard, and fuck if he wasn’t gonna taste it. He wanted all of you.

“I’m so close,” you said all breathy, your vocal cords nearly strained, and you had so much more to go. Jungkook’s goal was to make sure you couldn’t walk the next day.

“Cum for me, pretty,” He rasped, before sucking on your clit hard, and watching you come undone on his tongue.

“I-I’m gonna cum, I’m — Jungkook!”

He hummed as he lapped up your juices, tasting you as he let you ride out your high and when you came down from it, you thought he’d give you a break. But he wasn’t done.

He stood up and brought his fingers up to his mouth, sucking them to get every last bit of you off of them. He leaned in to hover over you and kiss you, your tongue colliding with his as you tasted yourself. To your surprise, it only seemed to make you wetter.

He took off his boxers, cock springing up to slap against his stomach. It was leaky, the tip oozing precum and you wanted so badly to have him in your mouth but when you’d suggested it, he declined and you pouted.

He grabbed a condom from you don’t even know where and ripped it with his teeth before rolling it on. “Uh-uh, tonight’s about you. You can take care of me another time, babygirl,” He said before winking at you and pumping himself a couple times before lining himself up with your entrance.

He grabbed your legs by your ankles and put them over his shoulder, pushing into you and you mewled at the stretch. He stopped to let you get acclimated to the size and waited until you gave him a nod to continue before backing out of you and snapping his hips in a pace that was so rough and so fast it damn near knocked the wind out of you.

You screamed so loud that were sure your neighbors would hate you, but you didn’t care, not one bit.

“S-Shit, your cock is so good,” He groaned as he continued his pace while you were clutching the blanket so hard your knuckles were turning white. “Do it again,”

He snapped his hips into you again, hitting your cervix. “Babygirl likes that, huh? You like when I slam my cock into you?”

“F-fuck, yeah, I l-love it,”

“How is your pussy still so tight after fucking you with my fingers like that,” He was gritting his teeth, trying not to empty his load into you already. He can usually hold out but your pussy was too good, so slick and tight and sucking him in.

You clenched purposefully and giggled and he groaned, damn near having to stop to pace himself because of you. Nonetheless he kept going, and he was determined to wreck your pussy and make you crave him afterwards.

He grabbed your legs and pushed so you were bent at the knees and you were holding them in place. Then he started speeding up again, snapping his hips into you and you were seeing stars.

“Fuuuuck, J-“

“Say my name baby, who’s fucking you this good?”

“You are, J-Jungkook, fuck,” you threw your head back into the pillows, eyes rolling back and toes curling.

He was holding onto you so tight, thrusting into you so hard he was going to leave pretty little bruises for you to remember the night by.

“Your pussy is s-so good,” He reached down to rub your clit, and you arched your back again, clenching around him and he moaned. “W-wanna fuck you in doggy before I make you cum again,”

He slid out of you, leaving you feeling empty and missing his warmth before he helped you turn over, positioning you face down, ass up.

He smacked your ass with force and you whimpered at the sting before wiggling your bum and teasing him so he’d do it again.

He did it harder this time and the pain had you gritting your teeth, but it sent a delicious chill along your veins that was intoxicating, and you wanted more.

He lined himself up at your entrance again and as you felt him lined up perfectly, his head peaking at your hole, you slammed back against him, ass meeting his pelvis as he bottomed out. You moaned into the blanket, grabbing fistfuls of it.

“Fuck!” He yelled, eyes rolling back and you felt the coil winding up again at him being vocal. “Babygirl wants back shots from Daddy, yeah? If you wanted me to drill you, Princess, all you had to do was ask.”

Oh shit.

Ohhhh shit.

He pulled almost all the way out of you before snapping his hips again, bottoming out and hitting your cervix so good your toes curled and your back arched so much you knew you’d be sore afterwards.

He continued his relentless pace and you met his thrusts, his balls slapping delectably against your clit and you moaned pornographically in response.

He reached forward to grab your hair and pull you up so that your back met his chest, and the burn made fire ignite in your belly, so much so that the coil was going to snap any second now.

It was too much and not enough all at once. You wanted more and more of whatever he was willing to give you, you wanted to be so drunk on his dick that you forgot your own name.

He reached down to rub circles on your clit and that’s when you lost it.

“J-Jungkook, I’m cumming!” You creamed on his cock with a cry and a shake, quaking from the sheer amount of pleasure of your orgasm. He coaxed you through it as you rode out your high, his fingers still playing with your clit as he rubbed it just the way you liked.

He led you down to the bed, gently as he slowed his pace inside you. “I’m almost there, Princess. Daddy’s gonna cum for you,”

You moaned loudly, leaking even more at the name. You loved how vocal he was and how sexy he made you feel. It was addicting.

And to try to repay him for how good he made you feel, you managed to have the strength to throw your ass onto him, hard, to get him to cum. You wanted his load in you.

“F-fuck baby, I really will cum if you keep doing that,” He bit his lip, toying with the ring and you were glad you had turned around slightly in time to see it. When you faced back forward, Jungkook was in for a treat.

You pushed back with force, arching your back so well that he hit the right spots all while clenching your pussy like you wanted to milk him and he loved it.

“S-Shit, baby, I’m gonna cum,”

“Cum for me Daddy,” you said with a sensual tone, one that had his eyes rolling back into his head as your ass met his hips one last time before spilling his load into the condom.

He came with a hiss and holding onto your hips for dear life. You were sure to have marks tomorrow, and neither of you were mad about it.

After coming down from his post-orgasm high, he gently pulled out of you before proceeding to take off the condom and tie a knot before throwing it away in the bathroom connected to your room.

He was rummaging in there for what seemed like a tad bit too long, and you were puzzled although you were too tired to see what he was doing. You heard the sink run for a few seconds before being turned off, and then you saw him come out of the bathroom, damp towel in hand.

“Sorry about that,” He smiled sheepishly. “I wanted to get something to clean you up,” He gently wiped your juices from your body. It was relaxing and gentle, soothing you. You smiled in appreciation before thanking him, grinning as you met his eyes.

“Still the gentleman,” He winked, sending butterflies roaming around your stomach again. It was becoming a regular thing with Jungkook, and you liked it.

“I try,” He laughed and you threw a pillow at him while laughing too.

You got up to go pee before changing into some underwear and a loosely fitted t-shirt. You glanced at the clock and saw that it said 3 am before turning off the lights and climbing into bed, Jungkook cuddling up next to you and you laid your head on his chest.

The light coming from your phone was bright as it flashed and you heard the familiar tone of an incoming iMessage, but you chose to ignore it, as Jungkook was too warm and this was the best you’d felt in a long time.

You were in for a big surprise tomorrow, but for now, as comfy and giddy as you were, maybe you could get used to having Jungkook around.

2 unread messages

naiyaaa [3:02am]: srry i know it’s hella late, i fell asleep at like 7 while watching my show lmao

naiyaaa [3:02am]: just wanted to tell u i got somebody to model for u!! it’s park jimin, he’s super famous in south korea bitch. we going worldwideee

author’s note: 𝖺𝗁𝗁𝗁!! 𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗌 𝗂𝗌 𝗆𝗒 𝖿𝗂𝗋𝗌𝗍 𝗍𝗂𝗆𝖾 𝗉𝗈𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺 𝖿𝗂𝖼 𝗁𝖾𝗋𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗂 𝗌𝗍𝗂𝗅𝗅 𝖼𝖺𝗇’𝗍 𝖻𝖾𝗅𝗂𝖾𝗏𝖾 𝗂𝗍 𝗅𝗈𝗅. 𝗂 𝗁𝗈𝗉𝖾 𝗒𝗈𝗎 𝖺𝗅𝗅 𝖾𝗇𝗃𝗈𝗒𝖾𝖽 𝗂𝗍 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗉𝗅𝗌 𝗅𝗂𝗄𝖾 & 𝗋𝖾𝖻𝗅𝗈𝗀 𝗂𝖿 𝗌𝗈, 𝖿𝖾𝖾𝖽𝖻𝖺𝖼𝗄 𝗂𝗌 𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗂𝖺𝗍𝖾𝖽 <3 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗌𝗈𝗈𝗇 ♡

if you’d like to join my taglist, you can do so here!

© 2024 cherryxkush.

[curio-queries]

Hi CQ, Thank you for your ask! I would also like to keep this conversation going as it tickles my brain in the most delightful way.

My question is kind of circling back to your comment about the use of Go-Pro's going forward when it comes to BTS content. It's such an easy way to add a very personal and up close pov to the scenes. YET, I feel like the scaled down crew of AYS and the use of Go-Pro's and especially the lack of attention to the audio has led to some pretty egregious technical setbacks. From choppy audio to a lack of proper coverage in certain scenes. This leads to an edit that has to cover a lot of potholes, so to speak. Do you think this is purely due to the intimate nature of AYS (less crew means more comfort for jikook, easier travel in between locations) or something else? Where's that Disney money 😩😩😩?

Hi Sol, I'm loving our exchanges, so thank you for keeping it going and sending me such an interesting prompt! I definitely had to think about this one a little bit to find how to encapsulate my thoughts.

The short answer is, I think this all just speaks to how the BTS production team is approaching experimental content and the financing required for such projects. Some comparables would be Suchwita and Jin's Alcohol Journey.

Let's start with Jin's show first.

(For anyone that hasn't watched it, I highly recommend. I don't drink but I still found it fascinating.) This is a 4 part episodic show that followed Jin as he learned about and made his own batch of a traditional drink. This show was a collaboration with Chef Baek Jong-won.

Personally, I feel this show was a success. Definitely leaned into more traditional filmmaking and storytelling (appropriately given the subject matter) and was a little more heavy-handed with the promo of Jin's solo music. In my opinion, this will lean the content to feeling more dated than it truly is but that may give us a hint as to how it was funded. There weren't any blatant sponsorships aside from the partnership with Chef Baek so it could have been reconciled as part of the promotions for The Astronaut. Wooteo is pretty prevalent in the show and it aired in the midst of the promo content.

I don't remember when the deal with Disney started to become known but I don't recall anyone in my circles angry that it wasn't getting the Disney release. (Could have been happening but I really limit where I spend my time engaging in social media so maybe that's on me for not being aware. Does anyone here remember if this was an issue?)

Now, let's move on to Suchwita.

(Disregard the quote on the above gif, I couldn't find a different one from the first ep.)

If you watch the first episode, it's on a different set and aired about a month before ep 2. When ep 3 airs, they first make it very clear that the show 'survived'. This is what leads me to believe that episode 1 was filmed on speculation. They could use that as a proof-of-concept to shop the show around to brands to secure more long-term funding. Suchwita's main focus as a show in the current events space is very focused on the guest's current projects and promotions.

Getting back to AYS,

We're far enough into the show that I believe we can rule out album promotions as being a financial driver. Not only because most of the member's songs that even make an appearance in the show were long-ago released but the manner in which they were incorporated is indicative as well. They're really only mentioned in the context of bringing us into the member's lives and sharing in the joy they have for eachother's work. (Also hopefully satisfying those fans that only ask the members to mention other member's songs when one of them would livestream...but that's a subject for another day.)

I think there's a strong possibility that the US eps were filmed on speculation as well. That there was no guarantee of a Disney release at the time. Just like the other shows, they knew they knew they could release on their own if Disney decided to pass so the footage definitely wouldn't be wasted. But I believe that's why the scope of the show seems vaguely undefined during eps 1&2.

Everything else that we've been discussing regarding production honestly seems within the typical scope of BTS's content under similar circumstances. Yes, there is plenty of room for improvement, but it's far from the worst show BTS has ever produced. I think one of the points that makes ppl think it's worse than it is is the management of expectations. I mentioned this in my review of Jimin's Production Diary but if we approach that show expecting that we're going to get detailed breakdown of all of the steps to create an album, we'll be very disappointed. Likewise, AYS is not a detailed vlog of how our members spent their time in these mini vacations.

One last thought,

BTS is not really given the space to experiment and explore. True experimentation requires space for failure, realignment, and growth. And that's just not something BTS has been granted the luxury of. There is such EXPECTATION with everything they release. Everything HAS to be success. That's one of the reasons I was so thrilled to hear RM had performed an unreleased song at the D-DAY concert. Crowdworking new material at concerts was a staple of tourning bands in the west and it helps bands get such critical live feedback DURING the creative process. Now, I don't think that was necessarily the goal with RMs performance but it's so lovely to see him able to even take a step in that direction. Such a thing woukd have been completely unheard of years prior. Fans (likely still) would have been clamoring about being led astray if the song changed drastically after that performance.

Anyway, I could very easily be completely wrong about all of this so let's all take it with a huge grain of salt.

[chiskz]

[ 💿💽 ] CHICHI 2nd Birthday Album (Physical) "moirai"

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

♡ teaser/concept photos

⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅

♡ tracklist

⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅

♡ meaning

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Moirai (often known in English as the Fates) were the personifications of destiny (via Wikipedia).

⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅

moirai by CHICHI (Stray Kids)

Studio: JYPE (Seoul), Channie's Room (Seoul)

Length: ~ 33 minutes

Released: 12 January 2024

Language: Korean, English, Japanese

Previous solo album (1st Birthday Album [Digital]): Member Branding

Tracklist:

spotify & youtube links are provided. you can also listen whole album here .

1. TITLE Crazy Fate (feat. Park Junhee of A.C.E.)

2. The Footsteps of My Dear Love

3. LAW (feat. Jurin of XG)

4. Loner

5. Villain

6. Devil by the Window

7. Run Away (feat. Seungmin & I.N)

8. YAMAZAKI (feat. SUGA of BTS)

9. IDOL

10. I Don't Wanna Know

⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅

♡ trivia

➥ IDOL was presented during a performance with Avantgardey at MAMA 2023

➥ YAMAZAKI was previously released as a single and won "The Best Collaboration Award" at MAMA 2023

➥ Run Away with Seungmin and I.N was originally intended to be released as SKZ-PLAYER - the song was written in Paris during Stray Kids' visit to Music Bank Paris

➥ I Don't Wanna Know was created by HAN with lyrics by CHICHI - it debuted as SKZ-PLAYER

➥ with Crazy Fate and Loner CHICHI becomes:

* the fastest rapping idol considering each generation

* the fastest rapping idol whose first language is not Korean

* the fastest rapping artist in general using Korean

➥ Junhee's part for Crazy Fate was recorded right after he got out of the army (he got out of the army on 6th August 2023, and recording was already done in September 2023)

➥ The Footsteps of My Dear Love was written by CHICHI as early as two years ago - however, she did not feel vocally ready to perform it earlier

➥ critics assess the album as "an emotional rollercoaster leading to the discovery of one's own identity by a person lost in their own self"

➥ with the album's release, Twitter is trending #CHICHIselfmaderapper , a hashtag under which STAY and CHICHI solo stans express their pride and admiration caused by CHICHI becoming the fastest rapping k-pop rapper, when until recently she was not comfortable with the Korean language (because of which she was a victim of derision)

➥ CHICHI describes moirai as the most important musical release of her life

⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅

♡ quotes from moirai songs describing the whole album

" No matter how pretty the memories are, everyone will forget it. "

" Let's dream a happy dream, just like long ago. "

" It's love and war. "

" I fight with another me, hiding inside of myself. "

" The villain you failed to notice breathes within you. "

" No, I can't tell what is fake in my reality. "

" When the night is nearly ending rewind the clock, rewind now. "

" If you fall back, you're dead. "

" I cannot accept any version of you other than the one stronger than everyone else. "

" Don't stop me now. "

⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅

coming soon: Crazy Fate M/V & Behind The Scenes

⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅

moirai album cover by my amazing fiancee @moondust-kitten ♡

♡𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭: @amyysfics , @smh-anon , @neohyxn , @stealanity , @alixnsuperstxr , @juliawritingblog , @rizzshimura , @elizalabs3

╰── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╯

[seoul-bros]

Six marvelous months with Park Jimin

January 2023

The year started with the announcement that Jimin had been appointed as the Global Brand Ambassador for Christian Dior (17/01). The occasion was marked with six Awesome magazine covers and the Dior Fashion Show in Paris (20/01). The fashion establishment was blown away by the response to Jimin's participation in the show.

The same month Jimin released Vibe (13/01) , a dream collaboration with his long time musical hero Taeyang from Big Bang.

This was both artists first solo hit on the Billboard Hot 100 at No. 76.

February 2023

Jimin did a live on 03/02 in which he confirmed that his solo music, although a little delayed, was likely to come out in March 2023.

On 21/02, Big Hit announced that FACE would be released on 24/03/23. The next day they published the countdown schedule and on the 23/02 the tracklist for the album.

March 2023

On 02/03, Jimin was named Ambassador for Tiffany & Co which he wore spectacularly in his photoshoot for Vogue that month.

On 06/03, Soundcloud super track Promise along with Jimin's yuletide gift to ARMY, Christmas Love were added to Jimin's Spotify profile. The era of streaming Jimin's profile had begun.

From then on, everything started speeding towards the release of FACE. The Hardware and Software images came out.

Set Me Free Pt 2 exploded into the world on 17/03. Nobody saw it coming and it caused a furore on social media. It was a clear statement of intent. I am here to stay and I am here to slay. It debuted at No.30 on the Billboard Hot 100.

FACE was released on 24/03 along with the Like Crazy MV. Speaking for myself Like Crazy blew me away. Jimin set out to make a statement with that song and I will always be proud to be the fan of such an honest and brave artist.

With the release of FACE we also discovered that hidden on the record was a very special song, Letter, in which Jungkook sings background vocals.

That last week of March saw Jimin appeared on the Jimmy Fallon Show with a live performance of Like Crazy.

In the next 9 days, he gave comeback performances on MCountdown, Music Bank and Inkiagayo. He came live to thank ARMY for turning up to his shows. He won awards. He appeared on the radio, on the entertainment shows Beat Coin, Ddeun Ddeun and Pixid. He even did fan meetings.

April 2023

On 01/04 Jimin gave an unforgettable acoustic rendition of Like Crazy live on Lee Mujin Service April Fools Edition.

And then on 03/04, Jimin made history. The first South Korean to ever make No.1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and the first Asian Artist to do so in 60 years. He came live in the early hours of the morning, clearly shellshocked but brimming over with gratitude to everyone who had supported the album and the song.

Then on 05/04 the promotions were over and Jimin once again expressed his happiness and thanks to ARMY for supporting FACE.

It had been a whirlwind and I think we, as well as Jimin, were caught off guard when the promotions ended so quickly. We had a beautiful album to savour but we wanted to continue to savour it with Jimin.

The focus returned to fashion when Jimin flew to New York at the end of April to attend the Tiffany & Co Landmark opening (28/04).

He attended Suga's concert in Newark on the 29/04 and headed back to South Korea later that week. But why didn't he fly straight back after the concert we wondered?

May 2023

It all soon became clear, he had been filming the MV for Angel Pt 1 from the Fast X movie. The song came out on the 19/05 and debuted at No. 65 on the Billboard Hot 100. This was Jimin's fourth chart entry in five months.

At the end of the month, Jimin made a short trip to London and we are still speculating on what that was all about. He posted photos of his trip to HP World as soon as he got back to South Korea on 27/05.

June 2023

Festa 2023 soaked Seoul in purple for nearly three weeks at the beginning of June in celebration of BTS's ten years since debut. Jimin gifted fans with a live performance of Dear.ARMY on 07/06 and....

,,,,,,on 13/06 BTS released this beautiful live version of Take Two with Jimin adding depth and colour to the song with his stunning vocals.

But there was still more to come, on 15/06 Jimin came live in high spirits and spent quality time with ARMY. It was the same day as the release of Angel Part 2.

On the 27/06 Jimin's solo profile appeared on Billboard and serves as a permanent reminder of everything that has happened in the short space of 6 months. It has been a roller coaster ride and I am still hopeful that we will still get more music from Jimin before he has to enlist. I wanted to make this post so that no one forgets what he has achieved and the permanent mark he has made on the global music industry since he took his first steps towards a solo career.

Post Date: 28/06/2023

[minnymes]

Y'all fake activism is concerning. I didn't even know what the said word represented until Taehyung posted those fries on his instagram page and the chaos that came with it showed me exactly what I needed to know.

And let me say... I'm speechless. I'm trying to understand what blows my mind more: Half the fandom not watching their tones, being aggressive and disrespectful, and later on putting a layer of "educating him" on top, or the cruelty that lives within your bones as you sit there behind a screen sharing tweets and posts about someone and a situation you know nothing about, just to feed that little bubble of hatred you have for him.

I was baffled. I understand where the sudden disappointment is coming from. I really do. But I also trust this man and respect him. When I saw the photo, I didn't even overthink it and it hit me right away that they weren't recent. In fact, it could've been from the beginning of last year or even earlier.

But you say to be a fan and the first thing you do, while claiming to share your "feelings" online and posting the photos everywhere, is making it a big deal and watching silently people being utmost disgusting to him.

I don't know what has happened these past days and I'm still trying to figure out. But I need to ask myself first what did Taehyung/BTS do to ever receive these kind of treatments?

Back to the fake activism.

You don't just do things half and selectively, you all are hypocrites. I was shocked by the number of likes, tweets and trends being shared but I also kind of knew.

These past months, it felt like you wanted BTS to be more than they could. Heroes or a picture you imagine and couldn't accept the fact that it can't be the reality. You come on here, borderline harassing them on how they should be "humans" and how you want them to speak. To do more than, deep down, you know you haven't done 5% of it.

Yesterday, bunch of news about other celebrities, kpop idols, collaborating with the brands yall claim to boycott appeared. And you all just sat there, watched and tried to give bunch of excuses.

I really don't get it. I came to the conclusion that it's a bunch of jobless mfs hiding behind profiles pics, claiming to be fans and then laughing their ahh off when they create the chaos and attention they needed.

Because seriously, if you truly care about Palestine I believe you would have spend your time raising funds instead of harassing celebrities who never heard of you and probably will never heard from you either.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

BPP, oh my god, the MHJ New Jean's news?? Do you have any thoughts? That's actually insane! What do you think is going to end up happening with New Jean's?

*

Ask 2:

Have you read about what’s happening with Ador and Hybe? What do you think?

*

Ask 3:

The TEA today about Ador Ceo was sad but not surprising. BTS is the story of betrayal by outsiders.

I was surprised when Tae worked with HER for his album. I didn't see that collaboration coming.

I have to wonder if she purposefully misled Tae into a "mid" album. Look, Layover isn't a bad album but its not a masterpiece regardless of what Tae solos believe.

The results are so different between albums like JITB, Astronaut, DDAY, Indigo, Face and Layover its crazy. The depth/personal experience reflected in those albums is undeniable while Tae's was all surface.

Golden is departure and its own thing. JK went for global popstar and achieved/ate!! His choreo reflected his status as part of 3J and his vocals were on display. Gorgeous!!! (Had to add that in because in this house we don't leave out members)

I feel bad for Tae today realizing he worked with a traitor. I will always wonder what he could have released if he had just worked with the Bighit team instead of Ador Ceo.

Maybe you have more insight into all this?

*

Ask 4:

Sooo... what are you thinking about this inter-hybe conflict between belift and ador? I know you're a nj fan but I think I've also heard you say that people are too quick to call things a nj copy, so I'm curious what you think about mhj's claims. I'll be honest that I thought that what I've seen so far seemed kind of unhinged-main-character syndrome to me but I also don't follow these groups and don't know how deep this goes. Certainly, I think mhj has been very deliberate and successful in building nj's brand, but I found this public argument unnecessary and potentially damaging to both groups. What kind of fallout do you expect?

*

Ask 5:

Bpp! Thoughts on the Min Heejin Hybe mess? I thought we were done with the corporate drama but tuns out no!

***

There's really nothing to say... yet.

News leaked that HYBE has leveled some allegations and accusations at ADOR, most likely based on a tip off, and launched an audit to ascertain if these allegations are true - in HYBE's statement confirming the audit, they don't name the people accused, but the news leak makes a point to name Min Heejin specifically, keeping the name of the VP who is accused of committing the acts unknown.

Min Heejin has responded in an exclusive interview and statement by ADOR, that she's innocent of most of the accusations and that this dispute started because HYBE has refused to curb inter-label plagiarism of her ideas with NewJeans. She refers specifically to Be:lift's new girl group Illit, noting how everything from choreography to visuals to styling to sound is based on her ideas, without proper attribution to her from Belift, nor an apology for what she calls blatant theft of concepts she's developing at ADOR. She accuses Bang PD of being complicit and prioritizing short-term profit over long-term viability of the new groups he's pushing out.

There are reports (unconfirmed) that HYBE has called for Min Heejin to resign. If ADOR doesn't call for a shareholder meeting by tomorrow, HYBE has indicated they might sue. The fact the meeting is being called before the audit is concluded, has all the hallmarks of a textbook corporate power play move, and implies to me something else than what I'm seeing most people here allude to. But still...

--

...there's nothing to say because what we're seeing is the middle innings of a power play game. There's simply too little info to make any decisive statements.

I immediately get a headache whenever things like this happen in k-pop because, even for more innocuous subjects, there's nobody more mind rotted than the average k-pop stan. And before long we'll have people whose only experience with executive/corporate power struggles is watching Succession, giving us endless takes in endless discourse. And this particular discourse is going to be more annoying because (1) Min Heejin is a woman who is already widely disliked, (2) There's an overwhelming amount of intersectional motives and interests both within and outside HYBE given the nature of the dispute, which typically leads to people infusing moral language into the discussion. It's going to be the HYBE-Kakao-SM discourse on steroids (and even in the HYBE vs SM drama, we had far more information to go on that what's available in this case).

I mean... Anon 3, you're already convinced this is a story of "betrayal", and claiming she is a "traitor", and you're tying a corporate power struggle to BTS. Not like I'd expect to see anything less from most other people to be honest.

This is really a dispute between Min Heejin and Kim Taeho (Belift's CEO), with increased grievance due to Taeho supposedly enjoying Bang PD and Park Jiwon's support and Heejin, supposedly, not.

The fallout, predictably, is going to be nasty. Given all the above. NewJeans is slated to have a comeback next month, Illit is only just ramping down debut activities while ENHYPEN is just starting the final leg of their FATE+ tour. If HYBE is indeed demanding MHJ resign, it's likely they only mean for her to resign from the CEO role but remain as the Creative Director of NewJeans - because the reality is that if there is no MHJ, there is no NewJeans. And it's that reality that in my view, is the primary leverage MHJ has. And she doesn't strike me as the sort to bluff. The worst case scenario is she leaves HYBE completely and NewJeans is put on hiatus, or the members sue to break their contracts with HYBE to follow her while she courts outside investors, similar to the Fifty Fifty situation.

Inter-label competition and drama is expected in a company like HYBE, it's wonderful because it can yield truly incredible results and unique approaches, but also potentally horrible because it can result in cases like MHJ's vs HYBE. There are ways to properly manage this competition to prevent the latter case, but I can't say I've seen any indication that with Jiwon nor Bang have done so. I said above that MHJ leaving HYBE completely is the worst case scenario for NewJeans, but it looks like the scenario most preferable for certain parties given it's one of the only viable outcomes from having this news broken this way. And so, most likely to happen. Unless Bang PD develops some hitherto unseen business acumen... so yeah I'm not holding my breath.

I have nothing insightful to add. My opinions about the suits at HYBE and Bang PD's business decisions for the last 2 years have skewed mostly negative, and that's not changed in this case. I'd rather not share my full opinions because I feel they run contrary to the dominant talking points here, and partly because they're not fully formed and nobody here is paying me to fully develop a view. I'm really not going to do that work for free.

We're all just going to have to wait and see.

What I will say though and something I find particularly interesting, is that HYBE has been accused of what Min Heejin is alleging, since at least the start of last year. Also, Belift in particular has been accused of plagiarism since the start of the year, twice, on issues unrelated to NewJeans. The first was when 'mobiius_music', an indie music producer on Instagram, accused them of lifting his music almost bar for bar for ENHYPEN's 2023 GDA dance break. The second was when Kelley Sweeney, an American choreographer who shares her routines on Instagram and tiktok, accused Belift of using her choreography for Illit's pre-debut practice without credit. Both times it was for low-level offences as it wasn't related to official music releases or album content, and so in that way Belift is better than bigger and more known agencies, but it still reflects a lax vetting process in the best case and unethical creative practices in the worst.

Anyway, my concern is for the artists involved while the suits try to play god with their careers. I can only hope that whatever happens is only the best possible outcome for all involved.

[adancerdiestwice]

Thoughts on ARMY and Consumerism

*Disclaimer: ARMY is used to describe all fans of BTS, despite contention about who should be allowed to use the term. This is critical of ARMY and HYBE. If you are sensitive to that criticism, you are forewarned.*

K-pop itself perpetuates a high level of consumerism with non-stop releases, numerous merch drops, multiple album copies, brand deals, and ambassadorships. Where BTS has been able to break many boundaries traditional K-pop sets, ARMY’s levels of consumerism has gotten unbelievably outrageous.

Just today, Jin was named ambassador of a jewelry company, with photos debuting him wearing the jewelry. One bracelet he wore in one photo got the attention of ARMY and within a few hours it sold out. But, that bracelet was $27,000 USD. This month, teasers of Despicable ME x BTS hinted that there may possibly be a collaboration or maybe a song on the soundtrack – only for it to be a merch popup?? And two mentions of BTS in the whole movie? Yet ARMYs are selling out BTSxMinions collab merch, for what? It was all ugly anyway and the minionifed members looked ridiculous, bordering disrespectful.

There are countless other examples: meaningless FESTA and RPWP merch, fundraising money to buy more albums to boost numbers, changing Twitter layouts for the merch releases.

Like any celebrity, BTS (the logo, the slogans, the BT21, the TinyTan) has turned into a brand, and have been for many years. But, inherently, as fans, we are not a fan of a brand. There may be ideological differences here in the way people are fans, but personally, I am here because I absolutely adore BTS’ music. I find them to be compelling, talented, unique artists creating and conveying beautiful, thoughtful messages through their music.

Of course, how is a group supposed to make money? They sell merchandise, albums, tickets to events and concerts. At some point though, enough is enough. Their messaging, artistry and dedication to their craft gets so muddled when all anyone ever wants to talk about is the new shiny thing HYBE has plastered their logo and faces onto. And more than half of ARMY buys into it.

It has a unique overlap with the spread of unofficial information and photos of the members. Since HYBE has primed ARMY to always be looking forward to the next thing they can get their hands on, especially in a “drought” of a hiatus (its not at this point), ARMY turns to member’s family accounts, Dispatch, media, and military websites just to get their fix of BTS. Their marketable attachments to their brand have turned inward to the members themselves, to the highest degree it has ever been.

If you speak out against the spread of unofficial content, some ARMY will scream at you to say “You don’t know how things work here, educate yourself, grow up, go back to Twitter.” To that I say, maybe the fandom should be reevaluating itself, like many ARMY already have. If we claim to love and support the members, why are we engaging with posts that are an invasion of privacy? Why are we allowing this level of normalization? Why should we be talking about family members that in ARMY’s relationship with BTS, have absolutely no involvement? Seeing the treatment of military pictures, press releases from unofficial sources, and updates is so disheartening, knowing that multiple members wished to go quietly and return to us as soon as possible (which is showing in their actions post-enlistment). Again, whether or not this is normalized does not matter, this is their time to be civilians. They can’t even have their privacy when they are legally out of their jobs as idols.

The manifestation of a perceived love and commitment to BTS as a member of ARMY has lead fans to be disillusioned with the people behind the brand. This is amplified tenfold in solo and (some) shipper spaces. BTS have built a relationship with their fans under the pretense of trust and respect for ten years. Every fan will hold a different ‘relationship’ to BTS, but tying their success to merch sales, streaming numbers, and album sales only pushes ARMY further into the cogs of consumerism. Focusing on every little update you can scour the internet to find, which turns out to be unethically sourced, pushes a fanbase without the moral structures ARMY have prided themselves on for years.

All of this piles on top of each other to reveal a fandom willing to silence ARMY who are using their fan platforms built on the radicalization that BTS has provoked in people to speak up for justice and humanity. When this issue of monetary focus in ARMY is discussed in the name of boycotting HYBE, people cannot even fathom the idea of pausing their spending on their favorite group, possibly for fear of missing out, sacrificing their fan involvement, or simply refusing to see the mission behind a boycott.

This leaves a fandom divided, hurt, and devastated in the wake of destruction from those who cannot see the value in BTS as humans and individuals first and foremost. I hope individuals reconsider what brought them to the fandom, what makes them stay in the fandom, and why they love the members. ARMY is not and should not be characterized by aesthetics and money, despite the current state of this fandom telling us otherwise.

[smallsdotcom]

JUST Y/N THINGS EVERY ARMY SHOULD KNOW ABOUT

she uses the name GRLZILLA for her solo promotions

is a big fan of the GODZILLA franchise

her BT21 character’s name is ZOOLA and is a gray lizard that is often seen wearing a pink sweater with a heart on it

has a cat named patty that she adopted at the beginning of 2020

if she could date one of the members it would hoseok because he buys her anything she wants

there’s an ongoing joke that hoseok is her sugar daddy because of this fact

if she wasn’t an idol, she would have become a video game developer

she still wants to develop her own video game and has labeled that as one of her goals for 2023

the member she was most awkward with during her trainee and debut years was jungkook

her WINGS solo is BORDERLINE

her LOVE YOURSELF solo is EGOIST

her BE solo is DEAD MAN RUNNIN’

is the member with the second most amount of tattoos

has gain several nicknames by netizens like: it girl, villain of k-pop, k-pop’s number one pick me, and that girl from bts

yoongi thought she was a weird girl when he first met her and as such has her labeled as “weird girl” in his phone

did a collaboration with sanrio in 2022 which include exclusive merchandise and even a sanrio pc cardholder

was offered to be an ambassador for a number of brands like chanel, dior, gucci, prada, saint yves laurent, etc. but declined all of them saying she’s not interested in being a brand ambassador

went viral in 2018 because of a meme that was made of her which was called “the disappointed y/n look” due to how she looked during interviews

a big fan of games like legend of zelda and kingdom hearts

she has a life size version of the master sword and the kingdom key that she has hanging up in her living room

has collabed with artist like MEGAN THEE STALLION and SAM SMITH

[bittersbloom]

Cheri (Korean: 체리; stylized in all lowercase), is a soloist and actress under CHROMATIC CREATIVE. She officially made her solo debut on August 25, 2022 with the digital single “Stay Tonight.” Her debut album, LOVERGIRL, was released on October 3, 2022 with the title track “보라빛 밤 (PURPLE NIGHT).” Despite the success of her long-awaited solo debut, many claimed cheri would fail in her new company, and she would always cling to the success of her group. 

cheri has maintained her popularity and stability as a solo artist with her consistent chart-topping releases domestically and internationally. 

 𝑰.  ── ㅤBASICS. 

LABEL. BigHit Entertainment (2013 - 2020), CHROMATIC CREATIVE (current), Republic Records (current)

GROUP. BTS (indefinite hiatus)

DEBUT DATE. June 13, 2013 (group), August 25, 2022 (solo)

DEBUT ALBUM. LOVERGIRL

𝑰𝑰. ── CAREER. 

FANDOM NAME. cherbuds, beotkkots 

FANDOM COLORS. blossom (#ffb7c5) & raspberry (#e308b5d) 

LIGHTSTICK. beottibong

𝑰𝑰𝑰. ── DISCOGRAPHY. 

DREAM  ──‎ ‎ ‎‎collaborative digital ‎single   ╱   2016

HOLO  ──  digital single  ╱   2018

FOR YOUR EYES ONLY  ──‎ ‎  ‎mixtape ‎ ‎ ╱   2019

GLUE SONG  ──   digital  single   ╱   2020 

LOVERGIRL  ──   full album   ╱  2022 

NONSENSE  ──   digital single   ╱  2023

WEEKEND  ──  OST  ╱  2023

PASTEL  ──  full album  ╱  2023

WINTER WISHES  ──  special winter album  ╱  2023

IN COLOR  ──  full album repackage  ╱   2024

NOT MY FAULT  ──  collaborative OST  ╱  2024

CALL MY NAME  ──  japanese extended play   ╱   2024

𝑰𝑽. ── TOURS. 

WORLD OF COLOR  ──  world tour  ╱   2024

𝑽. ── FILMOGRAPHY.

DON’T WORRY DARLING ──  shelley  ╱  2022

BARBIE ──  pop star barbie  ╱  2023

𝑽𝑰. ── ENDORSEMENTS.

VERSACE ── global ambassador 

BVLGARI ── brand ambassador 

CONVERSE ── brand ambassador 

TOM FORD BEAUTY ── brand ambassador

[look-at-the-soul]

The Runway -Part 3

Lenny Miller x reader (Cillian Murphy’s role for movie Anna)

Series Master list

Special thanks to @heidimoreton for this amazing BTS gif! 🥰😍 Look at that smile!

And @zablife for the playlist recommendation to finish this part 💕

Looking at the clock, Y/N felt frustrated because Anna was still nowhere to be seen. A member of the crew talked to the pilot and shoot a long look at the other flight attendant.

“Where are you Anna?” She mumbled to herself, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“Are you going to Paris with those long faces?” Anna appeared with a huge grin on her face, oversized black sunglasses.

Everyone waiting for her sighed loudly as they realized she was hungover, the atmosphere was tense.

“Goodness Anna!” Y/N shook her head embarrassed by her sister’s attitude.

“Oh please just cut the bullshit.” Anna made a face and walked determined to move past them, but Lenny stood up with a death stare in front of her.

“You‘ve a contract, this is unacceptable and so disrespectful from you, we’ve been waiting for you for over an hour.” Lenny spat at her, clearly bothered.

Y/N wanted to intervene but she new Anna shouldn’t have made them wait.

“I really can’t wait to fire you as my agent.” She brushed past him, into the bedroom in the back of the private airplane.

Finally up in the air, Y/N tried to get comfortable in her seat, grabbing a book from her purse, unfortunately it slipped from her lap and landed on the floor, her personal belongings scattered around, Lenny was quick to help her, scrunching down.

“Thank you, I’m sorry about what happened with my sister earlier.”

“Sometimes I doubt you’re related to be honest.”

Y/N made a face. “That’s bold… but I doubt it myself sometimes.”

Lenny was eager to stop talking about Anna, she was a headache. “Are you excited for taking the Runway in Paris?”

“Yes! It’s the first time I’m hired by Miu Miu, luckily it will bring me good luck for the rest of the shows.”

“But you’re scheduled to walk for Luis Vuitton first, Miu Miu is on Wednesday.” Lenny was proud to realize he had both correct; the order and the fucking pronunciation. He spent a good part of the previous night getting involved in the fashion industry, to not look so out of place.

He learned names, trends, important details, designers faces, everything that was necessary. He was also a bit scandalized about the ridiculous amount of money Y/N and Anna got paid just for taking over a runway and he almost got a heart attack when he added the contracts of magazine covers, collaborations, being the faces of make up, shoes, clothing and appearances to the mix.

“Yes, sorry… I always get the dates mixed, but it’s all in my agenda.”

“Right, well I’ll be doing some paperwork right there if you need anything.” She saw Lenny walk back towards his place. “Make sure to eat something.”

She didn’t know what to expect from this trip, Richardson was never worried about her or her needs, on the contrary he used any opportunity to make her feel inferior, insecure, terrified of doing or saying something, he was different with Anna though always cheering for her and he constantly made them fight for contracts with big brands.

Y/N decided then to relax a little by opening her book, but her eyes constantly ended looking up towards Lenny as he was reading something in his computer, typing then leaning onto his hand, completely focused in his task. Unlike, unable to focus on her book, so Y/N decided to put her mask on and take a nap.

Lenny got access to Anna’s photos, nothing relevant, until he found one she sent to a few people personally requesting to not share the information with anyone else as they were invited to an exclusive meet and greet with her. In the message she mentioned the location would remain secret until the date. Lenny was checking for similar photos where she was invited to do a master class of how to walk like a model. Everything looked normal.

He felt like walking in a maze, like going in endless circles with nothing.

Lenny signed one of the contracts, Y/N would wave a flag at the Monaco F1 as the ambassador of a luxury watch brand in a few months, this deal was engaged by Richardson and he realized how unfair was Y/N’s cut compared to what her ex’s-manager got. These kind of inconsistencies had been also present in other of her contracts. He made a mental note to demand an audit later for that.

“You look like you need this.” Y/N offered him a glass of whiskey.

“That’s a nice way to say I look like shit.” Lenny chuckled inviting her to take the seat next to his.

“What’s the matter?”

“The numbers, there are inconsistencies, I’m starting to believe that your ex-manager has been stealing from you. But once we go back I’ll request an investigation.”

Y/N’s face was full of worry.

“I can’t believe it! How long has he been stealing from me?” Y/N asked, Lenny begged her to keep her voice down.

“That’s what I’m trying to find out, do you remember signing something unusual?”

No, everything was legal, Richardson got her the apartment she lived in, signed her assistant, suggested a portfolio as investment, he took care of everything, she barely got involved in those kind of decisions.

“It’s fine, I don’t want you to feel anymore pressure, you have enough with the runway.”

“To tell you the truth, I feel at a much better place now that you’re my manager, I never really liked him…”

Lenny was pleased to hear that.

“Anyways… I was wondering if Richardson told you about the contract I signed with the lingerie brand?”

Clearing his throat, Lenny tried to let his tie a bit loose. “Yes. What about it?”

Y/N smiled but shook her head.

“He wasn’t really excited with the project. Anyway I don’t want to bore you with it now.”

“It’s fine I don’t mind.” Lenny closed the laptop, to give her his undivided attention. “Tell me, what do you like the most about modeling?”

His question seemed to take her by surprise, but it was easy. “Meeting young girls who want to become a model as well.”

“Yeah?” He nodded. “Aren’t you scared of meeting them?”

Y/M shook her head. “No, they’re always nice… most of the people are, they just want a photo, as a matter of fact, I love it when Anna and I meet with fans and take them to a Runway with us for a backstage experience and have a little time you know, chatting.”

Lenny raised his eyebrows shocked to hear that piece of information about Anna but didn’t comment anything else.

“So, what’s your story?”

“Bored compared to yours.” Lenny chuckled, making Y/N giggle. “I’m not a model,” he admitted as if it wasn’t obvious.

“Oh but you could be easily mistaken by one.” Y/N interrupted.

Even if it was for an instant, Lenny blushed by her words. “I can assure you I could never be in front of the paparazzi like you do, I hate it.” He rolled his eyes at the memory of the restaurant.

“You should give it a try.”

“Sadly I don’t have time for a side job, you and your sister keep me busy.” He winked.

Y/N squinted her eyes and a playful look took over her.

***

“Would you believe me if I say, I’ve never been to the Eiffel Tower?” Y/N sighed loudly on their way to the elevator. “Like see it properly.”

Lenny held the door open for her.

“Are you serious?”

“Yeah, and it might be something silly you may think oh but she’s doing the walk at the actual tower, but it’s not the same you know? I won’t see or enjoy a picnic and have a good time, this is my job.”

“No, I totally get what you mean.” Lenny agreed. “Perhaps you could take a day off once you finish the fashion shows.”

“Oh, you’re saying I get to have a little holiday?” Y/N smiled walking out of the elevator.

Lenny walked to the front door of the suite. “Why not?”

“I thought you’d be demanding to have proof of my weight daily, you know that kind of stuff.” She shuddered.

“Oh no, I’m going to my little room in the attic. Way better.”

Y/N was surprised to learn he didn’t request a suite.

Lenny looked behind her shoulder, the room was ridiculously huge.

“Have some rest, you’ll need it for tomorrow.” As he walked towards the elevator at the end of the corridor, Y/N wondered why Lenny was so different to her ex-agent. He was kind and attentive, praised her work, reassuring, his presence made her feel secure and those blue gems made her knees weak.

—-

Y/N was on the cover of every single fashion magazine, the photographers went crazy when she stepped out of the hotel between one runway and another, but she always gave them what they loved, she posed for them and blew kisses to everyone, even took the time to take photos with the fans that asked her. The camera loved her, she was a natural and it didn’t matter that she was wearing a simple pants and top. She looked stunning.

She took over the most important fashion shows; Balmain, YSL, Dior, Luis Vuitton… and now she would be closing the Paris Fashion Week with Chanel. At the very top of everything and everyone. He was proud to learn about her work ethic, Y/N was always on time, didn’t need to make someone feel bad, was kind to everyone around her, treated her stylist, makeup artist and bodyguard with respect, she always had a smile on when a fan approached her for a photo or autograph and still made time have a good laugh backstage.

But by the end of the night, Y/N knocked on Lenny’s hotel room door make up free, glamour long forgotten with her hair in a small bun or a loose braid and sweats and they spent a good amount of time talking, he learned her ex manager forced her to get eye surgery so she didn’t need glasses anymore, he wanted her to get a nose job as well, but she refused that and the other surgeries advised firmly.

And little by little, Lenny started to warm into her. Between backstage chats, walking back to her suite or in the car ride to the venue, whenever she had the chance to talk to someone, she would choose him, he also noticed the way she was flirting back because she started doing a particular head tilt only reserved for him.

There was no use to deny the attraction that started sparking in those days, it’s was a natural thing after spending a lot of time together.

Lenny stared at the screen backstage as Y/N started walking, the cameraman zoomed out and captured the base of the Eiffel Tower, moments later he catched the entire Tower. Those lips pursed in a tight line, eyes focused in some point in the distance, long and firm strides as she walked elegantly. He wasn’t even able to look away, she was stealing the show.

The city lights illuminating every step, this was the longest runway Y/N had ever walk, it was ambitious and the perfect way to close the Paris Fashion week.

It happened too fast. Her heart was pounding as she returned backstage, her ears ringing from the noise and emotions, her hands shaking but not out of nerves, but the feelings of being walking that runway.

“Goodness I thought it was endless.” She was rushed to get changed into her next outfit.

“Four minutes, Y/N.” Someone announced as she started to undress to change into her new outfit.

The dresser adjusted the fabric while someone sprayed her hair and used a small brush to get the perfect look. And she was ready to go and take the runway one more time.

It was impossible to describe the sensation she got once she started walking. But she loved every second of it.

After changing one more time and finally closing the Paris Fashion Week, she rushed to her corner in backstage to change into her clothes, hang the design she was given, place the shoes she wore in the box and she started to remove the make up from her face, Lenny appeared behind her, knocking on the wall.

“Come in.” Y/N joked.

“Are you ready to go?”

“I thought you’d be back into the hotel by now.”

Lenny offered his hand to take her bag. “No, I stayed here watching the show backstage.”

“Oh, did you like it?”

Lenny shook his head and her heart stopped beating. “Loved it. Come on, I want you to see something.”

He showed her the way to a car with a driver but refused to say anything about their destination and she was too distracted by his voice to notice they crossed a bridge and the car was stopping next to a dock until he pointed out a yacht.

“What’s this?” Y/N asked out of breath.

Lenny chuckled, surprised by the sound he was making. “This is your chance to see the Eiffel Tower, we got it for an hour or so, so let’s go?”

Placing her hand over her heart, Y/N touched Lenny’s arm to mumble a low thank you. She was touched beyond words.

As the yacht started to move, she was able to see a first glimpse of the Eiffel Tower illuminated, lights dancing before her eyes.

“Goodness! This is beautiful Lenny!” Clamping her hands over her mouth to suppress a squeal, she didn’t want to blink so she wouldn’t miss a single second of it.

Lenny was pleased to see Y/N enjoying so much the moment.

“Thank you for this.” She repeated, her heart full of happiness, but when she looked into Lenny’s eyes, she found something else, something new.

“No, thank you for making me see things differently,” he let his fingers wander up and down her arm, “you made me realize a lot of things in a very short time.”

A chill ran down her spine by the intensity of his eyes. “Like what?”

“Like I’m starting to fall for you.” Lenny whispered and tilted his head towards her, finding her lips.

But the best part was when Y/N returned the kiss and placed her hand in the back of his head. It was demanding and she gave in when he intertwined his fingers through her locks.

“So am I, Lenny.” She admitted when they broke the kiss. Looking over at the monument and its lights.

Her line of work was somehow chaotic at times, with a crazy schedule, she never imagined to fall in love with someone in the media, but yet it felt so natural, they shared a couple of interests, got to understand each other over work, she noticed he was so serious at the beginning but slowly, he started to warm into her.

Leaning on Lenny’s shoulder, she fixed her eyes on the sight before her eyes, he was so thoughtful for giving her a moment like this.

Y/N sighed. “But this is going to be a huge thing, because I once had suspicions about my sister and my ex agent and I always told her it wasn’t professional,” she chuckled caressing Lenny’s face.

“What?” He asked with a frown, he wasn’t expecting that.

“I’m not sure if they had a one night thing or something…”

Lenny looked up at the sky, during her rehearsal, he got classified information about Anna. He rubbed his chin frustrated.

“There’s something I need to tell you first, but I need you to listen carefully.”

Y/N’s expression changed. “What’s wrong?”

“I really don’t work for the fashion industry, I’m an undercover agent investigating the girls that had been missing from different parts of the country, some even foreigners, I received information about your sister, apparently she’s involved by recruiting young girls for a meet and greet or a model session, after that some of the girls went missing.”

It was a lot to digest, she was confused after all the information he just dropped.

She was shocked. “You’re a spy?”

“An agent.” He corrected. “Not a models agent.”

Y/N took a deep breath, the beautiful surprise took a different turn.

“Are you sure Anna is involved?”

Lenny nodded. “We’ve been tracking her down for a while and recently got access to a couple of messages codified that started the alarms again.”

“Why? She doesn’t need to.”

“Could be a lot of things.” Lenny admitted watching the sadness in her eyes, the veil falling to the ground and the pedestal in which she put Anna breaking. “I’m sorry, but I needed you to know this, since she has involved you somehow.”

“I’ve been to those meet and greet with the girls, the after parties, but everything seemed to be normal.” She crossed her arms. “I can’t imagine those girls wanting to have a dream come true and then not coming back home.”

As it started to get chilly, Lenny took off the jacket of his suit and wrapped it around Y/N’s shoulders, then he pulled her into his embrace and she leant into him giving one more look to the Eiffel Tower as the yacht started to go back.

As much as she loved her sister to death, she wasn’t going to allow her to hurt innocent people.

“What can I do to help you?”

Lenny ran his thumb across her face, giving her a small peck on the lips. “For now, I just want you to be safe.”

****

Part 4

A/N: I found the runway photo on Pinterest but I don’t know what fashion show it’s from ☺️ this was particularly hard to write because although I had the entire idea figured out, I couldn’t get around the document 🤷🏻‍♀️ what do you think it will happen now?

Tag list: @lyarr24 @cillmequick @cloudofdisney @gretelshelby @lespendy @onlydeadcells @fastfan @stevie75 @prettylittlehoneyeyesxoxo @esposadomd @strayrockette @forbidden-forest-witch @ange-thoughts @elenavampire21 @forgottenpeakywriter @babaohhhriley @moral-terpitude @mrkdvidal1989 @shelbydelrey @shaddixlife @sloanexx @cilliansangel @sydneyyyya @camilleholland89 @allie131313 @star017 @babayaga67 @imichelle-l-rigby @lovemissyhoneybee @jyessaminereads @emmanuelle19 @cillixn @polishcrazyone @flippittygibbitts @tinyminxie @shjjpm @viesanterieures @marissat1998 @creativepawsworld @heidimoreton @winchestergirl22 @l1-l4

[jiinjiinjarra]

BTS // Brand Collaborations: BTS x BBQ // MD // Photocards // 2016

Photocards: 9/24 (3 versions: each has 7 individual + 1 group pc)

Scan Cr. 3LIMIT; jiinjiinjarra (me)

[fromtenthousandfeet]

https://x.com/datdidzz/status/1798319901511442509?s=46

Every time I think about what power Hybe possesses I can’t help but worry about Jimin. It’s pretty much established that he is the unwanted child there, but what more can this company may do is what stresses me most. “Free Jimin” but it seems as Mission Impossible part 8

You are right to worry. Sigh. The music business is a dirty industry and HYBE is as unethical as any other label. Jimin's fandom is truly incredible, resourceful, creative, dedicated, you get the idea. They work wonders with streaming and filling the gaping marketing void Big Hit has created, however, there's only so much the fandom can do. If the label refuses to either record or release Jimin's music, there's simply nothing to stream or hype. To me, this is the biggest fear. If Jimin stays with the company they might only let him release solo music when they need an infusion of cash. They 100% use him for generating revenue but do they care about nurturing his growth as an artist?

Consider:

Full priced songs on iTunes. No discounts like for others. The price of FACE vinyl was absurd. $50 USD for 7 songs.

Cheap, homespun fan-facing events rather than proper venues and set designs.

Paid content rather than free content. Jimin's Production Diary being the only one on HYBE-owned Weverse. And it was expensive to purchase.

No or very few ads, no or very little playlisting.

Jimin is a walking bank for HYBE. You know what's most infuriating about this? It's the fact that the company can neglect Jimin and they know his fans will respond by buying more of his albums, songs, merchandise, and they stream more. So the worse the company treats him, the more his fandom buy and consume. The company is laughing while they rake in the $$$. Mistreatment is a good business strategy.

I worry that Jimin has been so acclimated to mistreatment (because I think they've been mistreating and undervaluing him since day 1) that he may not stand up for himself or take the necessary steps to free himself from the company.

Now, why should we be hopeful? I'm tentatively hopeful that Jimin may take his solo career to another label and here's why.

ZM-illenial products and the freestanding store in Japan feels like a move towards independence. I'm sort of surprised HYBE hasn't gone after Jimin's father, especially after the company shut down all the tourist destinations associated with BTS.

Dior and Tiffany global brand ambassadorships. Jimin gained additional world-wide exposure and leaned into and grew the immense earning power of his personal brand.

Collaborations with Ha Sungwoon (WIth You), Taeyang (Vibe), and Fast X's Angel Pt. 1 & Pt. 2 show a willingness and eagerness to expand his horizons beyond HYBE.

The trend among K-Pop idols to open their own companies and sign with other labels for their solo careers. Shinee's Teamin moving to the same company as Ha Sungwoon for his solo career feels like a big deal. And he's not alone. There has been a whole movement of K-pop idols signing with different labels for their solo work. The biggest one to me is Lisa of BLACKPINK signing a contract with RCA (and she keeps her masters!). Considering Jimin's extraordinary success with Like Crazy and his faithful fandom, not to mention the huge success of his brand deals, every western label should be salivating at the thought of signing Jimin.

The last reason to be hopeful is that HYBE has the real potential to collapse upon itself before all members of BTS return in slightly more than a year from now.

First, it's becoming increasingly clear that the company can no longer rely on every BTS solo song/album release to be a huge hit. And judging from the response to the lazy Festa merchandise, fans are feeling increasingly taken advantage of. And then there's the growing frustration solo fans feel about the uneven rollouts of the members' individual projects and the obvious favoritism towards Jungkook. I said months ago and I will say again, Bang PD alienates the fandom to his own peril.

Second, HYBE is skating on thin ice when it comes to public opinion. The Ador/HYBE conflict has made Bang Si-hyuk look like a petty tyrant - at least to the general public in Korea and non-BTS or TXT fans. Fans of other HYBE Labels groups don't care about the Big Hit/HYBE origin story or the mythology of Bang PD being its genius founder and precious father figure. If fans feel like the group they like is being neglected, sabotaged, or simply mismanaged, that will impact brand value and the company's ability to attract new investors. Never underestimate the power of public perception.

The company may be forced to treat Jimin better simply because they need the money he generates. And if they go out of business, I assume he and the others become free agents.

I leave you with this article posted yesterday that actually made me laugh out loud. Nobody with a functioning brain thinks a 0.25% increase in stock price in a single day is considered "skyrocketing" - especially when the stock price fell by 0.75% the very next day.* This reeks of desperate media play.

*I did see ARMY hyping this up on Twitter, though. OMG.

Let's keep our chins up for good things in Jimin's future!

[tzatairovic]

Didn't the original script of the idol included a scene where Lily's character was carrying an egg in her vagina and wasn't allowed to drop it unless she didn't want The weekend to R*pe her ? People are calling out Sam's antics about female nudity and sex in general, always portrayed at the expense and suffering of the women in the show + 3 actresses who said in interviews that they didn't want to film topless scenes that Sam include for no. damn. reason. One of them was chloe cherry, who he casted after seeing her do a porn parody acting like jules (?? how the hell did he found her is beyond me but anyway). Then asked her to go topless just because and she had to confess to another cats member because she didn't know if she could refuse.

Also him basically stealing the spot of two female artists and whole brand with Both The Idol and Euphoria

The sick and twisted label is not because people don't like the "edginess", it's because the way he portray women showcase he doesn't give a damn about them, it's harmful. And the stories from bts (from multiple people!) tells you he isn't a collaborative nor caring leader. it's not just people not like his visuals or whatever, we're talking about real dynamics in the workplace and the way y young women in this industry are being treated. it's a bigger issue than just sam, people are rightfully calling him out

You reminded me of a whole tone of info I wasn’t even aware I knew, but yeah I agree

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

https://www.tumblr.com/reflections-in-a-critical-eye/752192695524589568/so-hybe-treats-fan-songs-also-differently?source=share

May i know what you think of this difference in treatment? I have seen solos talk about it but you know they can go to extreme with their biasness but i have never seen jkkrs talk much about the difference. They only say the comapny hates jm and nothing more than that is addressed. They never say jm is competition or any kinda assume but just comapny hates it so idk what ppl that love both jm and jk thinks of this difference in treatment.

Also did you notice that they put jk's solo logo on that song. I mean why put the logo for a song that's supposed to be for armys and festa.... isn't it his solo logo or it's different..

I think I've talked about differences in treatment of both of them in terms of label management. Perhaps last year, around the Seven release. I would have linked the posts, but I apologize once again for this website not being helpful at all.

Jimin and Jungkook have proven that they are the only two members of BTS with an actual succesful solo career in terms of popularity. I'm mentioning this criteria because it's the one brought to the front in every single debate/insult/you name it. So from that perspective, they are both doing well. The difference is that Jungkook's solo path was a BH project in collaboration with Hybe America, whilst Jimin's was not and took a more traditional k-pop direction. Which does make him a competition because his achievements have had close to zero label support. Does it sound absurd? Yes. But if Bang Si Hyuk wasn't happy with NJ and obviously prefered Le Sserafim, even though the success of both groups made him a richer man, then I believe anything is possible. It may be more subtle in the case with BH and the BTS members, maybe there's nuances there on a personal level, I don't know. I'd expand more on it if other text messages would be leaked. Until then, shall I say that it remains a bit vague.

It's clear that Jungkook's solo career in 2023 has been crafted folowing a very specific model, hence all the promotions and label involvement have been in accordance to that model. I would also want to mention that a concept such as fairness or equal treatment is non existent in such an industry. Perhaps the fandom at large was led to believe that based on the BTS idea of togetherness and unity and whatever meaning they have went for. Solo careers are obviously a very different thing in which a lot of factors are at play. From individual preferences, to financial aspects, to what is worth investing in based on possible returns, to perhaps more malicious reasons. Jimin appears to have gotten the short end of the stick with his first solo album, but nevertheless, has had quite a lot of impact. That's a remarkable achievement, especially when compared to a debut fully backed by the label. I don't know what the treatment of Jimin's second album will be like or even after he returns, but I do know that as a fan, it can be frustrating and as much as I still have some hope left, there hasn't been any indication yet that the situation will change. (Sometimes I wish I had been a casual fan, with no access to details or more insight, so I could just enjoy his music and that's it).

As to your last point, I did notice the logo. Regardless of its use or not, the song is for his fans and army, both words used in the announcement (the same as when Jimin released Closer to You, so I find theories on this subject a waste of time).

That logo is part of his brand, which is now under a trademark. If I recall, there was an application for this right before he enlisted. It is a direction he chose for his solo career and I personally don't have an issue with it. He is a BTS member and a solo artist and those two sides can be interchanged and/or used at the same time. To me, it looks like Jungkook chose to create his own brand in connection to his music career. At the same time, Jimin has done something similar. His dad is making sure of that with the ZMillenial brand, but in a slightly different direction. So far, I believe they are the only members of BTS who have done it and perhaps it's nothing but a smart business decision.

[tomorrowxtogether]

Tomorrow X Together And Jonas Brothers Kickstart Summer With ‘Do It Like That’

The sunny anthem was produced by super-producer Ryan Tedder

Tomorrow X Together and Jonas Brothers have teamed up on “Do It Like That,” a contender for this year’s biggest summer anthem.

The two global superstar groups have joined forces alongside super-producer Ryan Tedder, who helmed the track, crafting a bright and breezy pop banger to kickstart the summer holiday season.

Jonas Brothers take charge of the first verse and chorus before passing the baton to TXT. Later, the two groups come together, unified in awe at the person they are singing about. “Oh my God, don’t know how you do it like that,” they sing in the chorus. “Blow my mind, but somehow you bring it right back.”

In the infectious “You sendin’ signals and those waves go far/Got people dancin’ up on top of their cars” refrain, the two acts swap lines – a back-and-forth collaboration between two icons of the world pop scene.

In the accompanying music video, Jonas Brothers appears behind instruments, while TXT delivers its trademark polished and addictive choreography.

“Do It Like That” precedes Tomorrow X Together’s upcoming Japanese album, Sweet. The record will be the boyband’s second full-length release in the language and follows 2021’s Still Dreaming. It will arrive on August 4 and will feature a total of 12 songs. Among them will be Japanese versions of some of the group’s Korean originals, including The Name Chapter: Temptation’s lead single “Sugar Rush Ride,” 2022’s “Good Boy Gone Bad,” and 2021’s “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)” and “MOA Diary.”

Days after that album’s release, TXT will headline Lollapalooza in Chicago, following in the footsteps of its HYBE labelmate J-hope of BTS, who topped the bill at the festival last year.

Meanwhile, in Jonas Brothers news, the trio released its latest album, The Album, in May via Republic Records. The record features a collection of 12 brand new tracks, executive produced by sonic visionary artist and producer Jon Bellion (Justin Bieber, Maroon 5, Halsey). From stadium-ready anthems to moments of candid introspection, The Album finds Jonas Brothers kicking off a monumental chapter and releasing their boldest, brightest, and biggest offering yet.

Buy or stream “Do It Like That.”