#bts footage is the only content we get-

[nathaslosthershit]

Coworkers?… Something like that (MV33)

Summary: Working in media for a Formula 1 team, you had expected to be behind the scenes, unseen and unnoticed by fans. But catching the eye of one of the drivers and the very public flirting as a result has thrust you into the spotlight Part of my summer event! Warnings: A little suggestive hehe.

It was the perfect job for you. Part of the team you love, far from the spotlight. You were good at it too. Constantly complimented by your boss in meetings on how much engagement some of the content you came up with got. Even the two drivers, who were certainly not known for enjoying media making them do stupid games for the fans, had stopped complaining as much. One driver in particular seemed to really enjoy when you would work with him…

You’d never been a big fan of Max Verstappen. It wasn’t that you disliked him, he was extremely talented of course, and not too bad to look at, but as you had always rooted for the underdog, you couldn’t justify ever celebrating his many many wins. But as you got to know him, as he gave you the warmest of welcomes to the team, you changed your mind. 

You two had been keeping your budding relationship to yourselves. Despite how much you liked each other, until you both had figured out where the relationship was going, it didn’t seem wise to tell anyone, especially while you were just finishing your first year with Red Bull. Despite how much you helped improve the team’s social media presence, if something happened, if it came down to their world champion a few times over, or some girl in media who had only been there for a year…

Luckily, it did get more serious, very serious. After a long conversation, you both had come to the decision that you won’t say anything explicitly, as Red Bull didn’t have rules on dating coworkers that would warrant an official notice to HR, but you wouldn’t hide as much. 

Too bad this decision was made not long before the Drive to Survive team came to film extra content for the show.

It was only supposed to be filler clips. Extra video footage to use with a voiceover to give more time to explain things. ‘Just pretend we aren’t here’ they had told everyone in the office, and oh boy did you pretend. 

It was Max’s fault, 100%. The undisclosed but very apparent relationship between you two was known to everyone at Red Bull at this point, but not the new video crew coming in. And Drive to Survive lives for the dramatics. 

While it wasn’t explicit, a few clips of hand holding (initiated by Max), a kiss on the cheek (given to you by Max), and multiple clips of Max looking at you with nothing but heart eyes, it was hard for anyone watching to ignore. 

Once the new season came out, fans very quickly caught onto all of the content of the two of you that DTS was trying to be sneaky about putting in. That then led to ‘internet sleuths’ finding all of the behind the scenes content they could get of both of you, and then finding your account you had left public thinking no one would care about the random Red Bull media girl. How stupid you were.

“Max, what the fuck are we supposed to do? Do I delete my account and hope people forget?” You asked, stressed by the sudden spotlight.

“That would just make it worse and make them less likely to forget. We will just have to… be honest, give people enough content to keep them satisfied but not spoiled into needing more.”

He was right. It was almost laughable how he was the voice of reason in this situation when media presence was your job. That is how everything started.

There were no ‘official wag paddock walks’, you were too busy working to be Max’s arm candy before a race. But there were a few photos here and there, your team even posted a few BTS moments of the two of you.

“All you have to do is describe the food you are eating to Checo so he can guess.” You explained to Max for the fourth time, but he was still not listening as he was far too busy appreciating the view of the beautiful woman he got the privilege of calling his girlfriend. “Do you understand?”

As Sergio nudged Max, he responded with a quick, “Yes got it”

“Do not say the name of what you are eating.”

“Yes, yes we know.” He absentmindedly said as the two drivers put on their blindfolds. 

Everyone let out a breath of relief as Max went to lift the spoon to his mouth, the entire crew antsy to finish what was supposed to be a quick video before Max ruined it with his heart eyes and lack of comprehension to anything that came out of your mouth. 

“What the fuck! It’s ketchup!” Max exclaimed as everyone groaned.

“Max, you weren’t supposed to say that!”

“I thought I was guessing what it was! That's why I had the blindfold, no?”

They were in for a long day of shooting.

Max had started a stream, hoping to make it quick so he could join you in bed. Unfortunately, when viewers saw that you were walking through the background, they wouldn’t give up until you joined, so neither of you had much of a choice.

Despite how obvious it was that the two of you were together, neither of you had confirmed the status of your relationship. This led to having to ignore about three quarters of the comments you both were getting on the stream.

“Would you like a Red Bull?” Max asked, 45 minutes into what seemed to be a never ending stream.

“No it’s too late, I’ll go get a water-”

“Nope you stay there i'll get it.” Max said, antsy for an excuse to take a moment to himself. The amount of comments about the two of you were starting to piss him off.

He returned to the room to see you answering questions and, while still off camera, he set down the glass and waved to get your attention.

‘End it’ he mouthed, making prayer motions with his hands.

You simply shook your head, you had been having more fun talking to people than he had.

‘Please, I want to go to bed with you’ he mouthed back, wiggling his eyebrows in hopes of conveying he wanted to do much more than simply go to bed. You couldn’t stop the giggle that left your mouth at that.

Seeing all the viewers confused, you simply responded, “Sorry, my coworker was harassing me” which had you giggling again as you saw Max get visibly annoyed at his new title.

“Okay guys, bye.” Was all Max said as he quickly returned to the view of the camera and turned off the stream. He then turned to face you, saying nothing as he dragged you to the bedroom, holding you close as he pushed you down onto the bed with him, causing more giggles to leave your mouth/

Giggles which he quickly stopped with a kiss. And then another. And then another.

The makeout session was in full swing when Max finally remembered why he was annoyed.

Quickly pulling away from you, much to your chagrin, he asked, “Coworkers? Is that all we are now?” He teased.

Giving him a less passionate but more loving kiss this time, you responded with, “Something like that” as you both started to remove your clothes.

[andy-wm]

"Who's been sleeping in MY bed?" the little one asked

I had a comment on my previous post asking if Jimin & JK stayed at the same hotel in NY and I realised I had assumed Jimin stayed in JK's room. But I don't think he did and I have thoughts on this whole situation.

[[ETA a few ppl have mentioned they had to read this twice. I apologise that this post jumps around and meanders and side-tracks all over. Believe it or not i did try to organise it... unfortunately it's an accurate representation of my brain]]

It's taken a few (probably way more than necessary) hours of looking at every bloody room in the Loews-Regency NY, and going back and forth between Are You Sure, I am Still, and the AYS behind clips to work it it but I can confidently say I know exactly* what unfolded on the night Jimin arrived in NY...

*clearly a lie, since we never REALLY know anything... However by collecting all the clues** left in these 3 series I do have a lot of circumstantial evidence. Combining that with a bit of deductive reasoning and a healthy dose of speculation, I have a decent enough theory.

** This cannot be accidental. The same people would be responsible (to an extent) for all three series. They have managed not to re-use any content, except once or twice we get the same scene from different angles. And that means we have a lot of information. BH knows army well enough to know we are absolutely going to gather up the (red) threads of these series and stitch together a story.

This is what i know:

Jungkook was in a Two Bedroom Suite - he had the master bedroom.

A Grand Executive Suite was used as a dressing room (but not much else).

Jimin had a Grand Executive Suite to himself (almost).

This is what I have reasonable evidence of:

Jungkook's master bedroom in the two bedroom suite was clearly used. Clothes on a chair, two open suitcases, personal items on the nightstand etc are evidence of the space being occupied. However when we saw him packing to leave for AYS, the bed looked largely unused. A dent in one pillow (the other pillows thrown across the bed) shows someone lay down on the bed, but the comforter was undisturbed and even the blanket at the bottom of the bed was still in place.

At first i was amazed that JK's suite is shown almost without restriction. It is not treated as a private space. But then i realised we see a number of staff moving in and out of the space too. It dawned on me that even though JK has an area for his own use (the master bedroom) this is considered a work environment, much like the hotels in BV and ITS.

So it's unsuprising that when filming, the staff casually follow JK around as he does his thing, even making a point of showing spaces we wouldn't otherwise see - like the master bathroom with its great big tub. Jungkook himself invites us into the living area when he checks on reactions to the Seven MV. and in AYS we get a glimpse into the kitchen.

We don't get to see the second bedroom or bathroom so I assume a staff member - maybe JK's manager - used those.

Compare this to the way Jimin's space is treated:

Jimin's suite is treated - mostly - as a private space. It's not just careful editing. By the actions of the staff members filming him we can see they are very aware of this.

We see it at the start of AYS when the staff member wakes Jimin up. They stay in the doorway of Jimin's suite, literally not even stepping inside. We see only a glimpse of the (second) bathroom, and the footage is cut when the camera pans away. Jimin seems quite cheerful about being on camera despite his sleep swollen face and his bed hair, but nevertheless the staff member doesn't enter his room.

On both occasions when we see Jimin's suite, the staff member recording him is cautious about being his space.

That's not something we often see when BTS are on camera - especially not as overtly we saw it here. The privacy of Jimin's suite is very obviously being respected.

Packing for AYS: Jungkook vs Jimin (and the MOOD)

In the Behind clip for AYS we see both of them packing for their getaway.

Jungkook seems quite unbothered about having his packing process documented as he moves around the big suite. It crosses no boundaries for him. He hums and haws about what to take, he chats to the staff member, and he talks to the camera as he moves from room to room. He knows he's working and this is part of his job.

Jimin, on the other hand is rattled. He stuffs his clothes into the cumbersome bag with visible annoyance, not even taking the time to open the bag properly.

Now remember, Jimin is a performer. He goes out of his way to be charming and entertaining. He knows how to turn that on for the camera and in this moment he's choosing not to.

He doesn't engage with the audience.

He doesn't talk to the staff member.

He doesn't turn towards the camera.

He gives nothing.

He huffs in exasperation as he struggles with the bag, and his movements are tense and abrupt.

Prickly is the word that comes to mind, but honestly that doesn't even cover it.

When he's done packing, he snatches that bag up and marches out of the room without a second glance.

His hair covers his eyes like a shield as he walks toward the camera but the tightness in his neck and jaw betrays strong emotion.

Yeah he's not happy

He slips through the half open door and strides down the hallway.

I get the feeling that if the staff member didn't move fast enough, Jimin would run them over.

When something like this happens, my response is usually to look closer, so let's do that.

Firstly Jimin is a consummate professional. He can usually put a good face on any situation. But in this case he doesn't even seem to try. I guess whatever is bothering him is not something he can or will just brush off in that moment.

So what's actually happening here?

What is it that's pissed Jimin off to such an extent?

Let's look at it again...

They are filming him pack his bag. The staff member stands closely beside Jimin and focuses only him, his bag, and the sofa.

Let's be honest, there is absolutely nothing interesting about this scene (except the implications we are currently unpacking).

They could have made this count for a little more, maybe by panning around the room or changing the position of the camera in relation to Jimin. But they don't. Even when, by chance, there's a glimpse of what looks like takeout containers on the coffee table and some random debris on the chair behind Jimin, the staff member moves so that we only see Jimin, the bag and the sofa. That is all we're getting.

That's a clear decision and there has to be a reason for that decision.

When they leave the room, we have an abrupt cut before the camera backs out the door and down the hallway. That's another clear decision. The staff member could easily have moved behind Jimin and followed him out of the suite but this keeps them - and us - out of Jimin's personal (private) space and he remains the literal gatekeeper to that room.

Once they are out of the room Jimin lifts his head briefly, shakes his hair out of his eyes, and strides purposefully - defiantly even - on. He still doesn't interact or make eye contact. He still isn't giving them (or us) a damn thing, and even the funky upbeat muzak they've used can't alleviate the tension in this scene.

So why is Jimin in a mood?

We know Jimin was there for one night before they began filming for AYS. So all this takes place before filming for AYS began.

And that, in my mind, is the key.

Jungkook was promoting his album and he expected to be on camera. He knew the space he occupied was a filming location. Jungkook was already at work when he was packing for AYS. but Jimin was not.

Okay, but this a BIG MOOD... what else is happening?

It's not the end of the world to be asked to start your schedule a little earlier, is it? We know Jimin was already awake...

But they came into his room.

I don't believe he expected to have anyone in his private suite - anyone besides Jungkook. And I don't believe he agreed happily, based on his behaviour.

I'm 99% sure Jungkook spent the night in Jimin's suite for two reasons.

Logically it makes sense that they would choose the place they have the most privacy, and even though Jungkook had the master bedroom and a private bathroom in the bigger suite, that is a WORK LOCATION. It's not his private space.

Add to that Jungkook saying he was packed and ready to go, and only needed to brush his teeth which he would do when Jimin arrived. He even told us where he would be putting his toothbrush (future tense).

It's not hard to guess where his toothbrush was. And why.

So we have two healthy young adults who (we are told repeatedly by Jungkook) have barely seen each other. The flirting started at the restaurant, and we've already seen the evidence of a night spent in energetic passion.

And we have a closed-up room. I don't know how much air would be circulating in that room with the blinds down and the doors closed. I don't know how much air would need to circulate to remove the ...how can I put this delicately? the ripe and musky scent of celebration. I expect there was A LOT of celebration...

And we have Jimin. Jimin is MESSY. Jimin breaks mosquito nets and marks people's necks and pushes boundaries even in public. He throws his things about with not a care in the world... clothes, yes, and other things. How many of Jimin's tissues has JK picked up? You get the picture. It's a Biohazard.

Lastly, we have (or had) an expectation of privacy, of no staff, of restricted access.

Now there's a person in his private space unexpectedly. And they have a camera.

So Jimin is pissed off.

I'd be pissed off too.

He seems to be over it by the time they're filming the preamble to AYS, but he obviously felt compromised and deeply uncomfortable. I am glad he made it clear he was unhappy.

This highlights for me the importance of them having agency over their content and their personal time and space. On this occasion he must have reluctantly (and with conditions) agreed but I hope that in future his boundaries are respected.

I hope even more that ARMY (and Jikookers especially. I hold us to a higher standard) remember that their personal time and space is precious to them, and they deserve to enjoy their lives away from the public eye. Like the rest of us they should have the freedom and confidence to do what they want (no matter how messy) without the fear that someone with a camera will invade their space and record them.

Please don't go to Jungkook's house, even while he's not there. It's not a tourist attraction.

[kanmom51]

The story of a JK, a JM and some late night wrestling

Or not, but it definitely ended with a very sore nose for JM.

So this is what we were waiting for, right?

They just couldn't stop talking about it.

On Suchwita.

On their live with RM and Tae.

From all that talk about it I thought we'd be living on that footage for the next 10 months.

At least.

And then this is what we get:

But then again, I guess we got the Jikook treatment.

Them telling us about something and us never getting to actually see it.

The question I ask is: Why?

Why don't we get to see it?

We know there are cameras inside the hut.

We know they are angled at the bed as well.

We know that they were on at night, as we got footage of poor JM at the fridge.

We know the mics were on as well.

*Side note: my guess is there was no worry of anything inappropriate happening seeing that JM was literally out of commission.

So why?

Why did we not get the footage?

Not even of JM showing JK how he hit him!!!!!!

It would have been so much funnier than just hearing about it, right?

Could it be because the cameras were unable to catch them in the dark? Somehow I don't think that's it. Even if it was totally dark why show the hut from outside and not from inside, in the supposed dark?

And it's not because of it being two dudes in one bed. That's not a reason not to show it. We've seen BTS sleep in the one bed. Disney+ has shown the Woogas all in one bed.

It's not about the who (well, maybe it is a little), it's about the how. The who combined with the how makes for too much perhaps.

I think we all know nothing was "going on" there, seeing JM's 'condition'.

My assumption (based of course on my opinion) is that they just couldn't. That seeing them in that bed together was just too much. Too intimate.

Pretty much like here:

You hear how close JK is to JM, seeing that JM is so damn clearly heard on JK's mic. Too close for comfort I'd say. Just like in CT, too much!!

Stop and think for a second.

The only bed that we know the two slept in together we didn't get to see them in bed together in. Not falling asleep and not waking up. And most certainly not during the night when JM was elbowed in the nose.

I guess it was really just too much.

And that is really funny seeing that we got to see those two playing around creating content that could easily be used in a BL drama.

If I'm already at it, this is JM supposedly walking into the hut for the first time.

And why do I say supposedly?

Because that bed is not a "fresh" bed you get in a clean room you just checked into. This bed, my friends, has been laid in. This is not a bed a little creased because staff had to set up cameras. Someone must definitely made use of those pillows. My guess would be that at some point poor JM, who was clearly unwell, had to rest before continuing with the shooting, and this happened before they filmed this. He was probably feeling so bad he needed to lay down for a bit before continuing with the shoot. Understandable. Also understandable that they didn't want to spare us of them 'first' entering the hut and their impression of it.

This my friends is why I keep reminding you that this is edited content, not live running. We have just over 2 hours of Jikook in CT when those two basically spent there close to 3 full days. We get some of the picture, not all of it.

But one thing I do have to emphasize here - as much as content is edited, their interactions, what they have between them, it's genuine. Some we get to see, some we don't, for obvious reasons.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Hey, BPP, do you think this show’s “explicitness” (in the limits, of course, as we saw) is/could kinda put Jimin and Jungkook in a difficult position in the military? I’m not only talking about themselves or the way THEY feel, because they probably knew everything that was gonna be aired ahead of time or what at least could’ve made it to the final editing, so they could just be two bold gays who would show their butts touching to the world if they could. I’m talking, instead, of the environment they’re in, people they’re surrounded by who read what goes on online, see this clips and probably chat about it among themselves. Probably the military environment is described as the trap it is not, but I think it’s pretty plausible for bad and evil people to exist and judge others in there. Because, I’m not into the Korean culture fully and I don’t properly know it, but I still feel like it was very obvious how the skinship limit was kinda crossed. I hope my point is fair or at least clear, thank you already for reading this.

***

It’s expected that people in the military will talk about them, but based on my experience, the way people talk about BTS members in Korea is more about them being BTS, than what they actually do as BTS members.

The veneer of BTS’ fame in Korea is as though it’s its own entity, and it practically dominates all conversation. Meaning, for a lot of people it’s more salacious to talk about them being BTS, than it is to talk about what can be explained away as ‘idol activities’ for BTS. This is the biggest way BTS’ fame protects the members in a sense, in the ‘glass closet’ as some people call it.

Also, while I’ve not served in the Korean military, I have family members who have and they describe it as a fairly insular community. Meaning, what really matters for military people is what happens while in the military, rather than anything happening outside of it (that is for people enlisted in active service, not community service). Jikook could be sucking each other’s toes on screen in BTS content, and while that could generate chatter, what matters more to people in the military, is their behaviour while in the military. Everything else can be covered by plausible deniability.

I’m writing this to say, if you have any concerns that jikook’s jikooking in AYS could generate rumours that makes its way into the military and possibly endanger them, then I think you should rest your worries. By this point, jikook have made acquaintances and possibly even friendships in the military, and so long as their behaviour while there is above-board, they’ll be fine. For all the people who want to maliciously attack them, it’s riskier to try to defame an actively serving BTS member based on ‘idol footage’ and get hit with a lawsuit, than it is to keep your mouth shut and fume in silence.

Unless someone reports jikook sucking on each other’s toes in the military, they should be just peachy.

[jeonscatalyst]

Hello i am new to fandom and while trying to catch up on content I found out about shipping and also found out that Taekook and Jikook are the biggest ships in BTS but didn't Taehyung have a girlfriend? I asked someone about it and was told that it was media play set up by the company to promote Jennie's new show. i sent an ask to a taekook blog about it but their answers made no sense to me so I wanted to get things from another perspective. Do you think it was media play?

Hi anon,

Taenni being media play or a PR relationship is one of the dumbest arguments I have ever heard from the cult and trust me, i’ve heard many.

One thing you need to know about taekookers is that they are gifted at blaming third parties when Tae or Jungkook do anything that debunks that nonexistent romance they are willing to kill for. Tae and Jk say they grew distant/awkward, the cult blames the company. Tae is seen on a romantic walk with his girlfriend in Paris, the company gets blamed. Jk says he doesn’t see Tae on his birthdays the company gets blamed. They have created a win-win situation for themselves where anytime taekook do or say anything that doesn’t go in line with what they want to believe they blame the company or Jimin but when taekook do or say something they like they carry on as if they didn’t juat claim that the company was trying to shove Jikook down people’s necks while trying to hide taekook.

Any taekooker who continues claiming that taennie was mediaplay or a PR relationship just doesn’t want to accept the truth. Listen, I would have understood where these people were coming from if we had never heard or seen anything about tae and Jennie yet jusy got hit with them strolling together in Paris but since 2021, we’ve been getting little bits of information about them.

It started with Tae “accidentally” following Jennie on Instagram. Then we got leaked intimate photos of them and while I do agree that some of those pictures might have been photoshopped, not all were. Those pictures of them in Jeju were real af unless someone wants to explain to me what magic Gurumi had to put Tae in a pair of pants we had never seen him in before and only saw him in months after those pics leaked? Or the scar on his leg, Jennie’s clothing or, or the fact that none of them ever denied those photos? Didn’t YG put out a statement threatening to sue gurumi for invasion of privacy which indirectly meant that the pictures were real? If those photos were photoshopped then why would they be trying to sue the hacker for invading Jennie’s privacy? Also why was Taehyung quiet? Tkkrs claim that Tae is a no nonsense kind of person and someone who likes to sue so how come he sat quiet about it?

The walk in Paris is the one that annoys me the most because Taekookers have done everything in their power to spin things around. Before Jennie posted those pics on her instagram which proved that it was her in Paris, tkkrs claimed they were cosplayers. After that, they claimed it was media play but I am yet to see anyone tell me what those two benefitted from the media play. All they both got was an insane amount of hate, especially Jennie plus kpop entertainment isn’t Hollywood. It isn’t kpop’s idols style to fake romantic relationships to drum up publicity because kpop idols habe always built parasocial relationships with their fans.

These companies are very aware that most of these fans imagine themselves with these idols and that is what keeps them fans of the idols. They are also very aware of ships in kpop and guess what the biggest ship in kpop is, TAEKOOK. Jenlisa is also the biggest ship in Blackpink so which companies are dumb enough to piss off these many people in the name of some publicity? This would be a very stupid thing to do and if they really wanted to so media play to gain the media’s attention why didn’t they use a bigger or more famous paparazzi? Why was it some unknown, local paparazzi from Paris who didn’t even capture the footage with his camera but instead gave us some microwave quality footage?

How do they explain the fact that tae’s and Jennie’s friends run in the same circles? There’s just so much that proves that taennie was/is a real relationship but trust taekookers to always find a way to make themselves more delusional.

Some of them are convinced that Tae couldn’t be dating Jennie because he didn’t defend her when his fans were hating on her so I wonder how they would look at him when we eventually get more decisive proof that he did date her? Besides, even if it was actually media play no one put a gun to his head and forced him to walk around holding hands with Jennie did they? He did it voluntarily and it would have been an agreement they both had so what kind of a person does that make him if he still sat down and let his fans tear that girl to shreds knowing that they had an agreement and both agreed to do it? They really don’t see how terrible their narratives make Tae look.

One thing that I came to realize is that many of them know the truth. Deep down when they really think about it they know the truth but they want taekook to be real so bad that they fight what they know and continue to believe in the voices in their heads. Some of them are just here to fight with Jikookers so when they feel like they have enough points against the rival ship, they come back from their hiding places to fight and prove how real taekook is. I noticed that many taekookers on here went dormant and some even deleted their accounts around when Jimin and Jungkook enlisted together but when Tae posted those pics of himself and Jk in hawaii, they came back like they never left because they now had some material to fight jkkrs with. If something huge happens again in jikookers’ favor, they would disappear again and reappear again when they feel like they have enough amo. It’s just a useless cycle.

Anyways anon, this shipping thing is like an escape for some people. An escape from reality or the real world and it’s issues and some people who are normally very reasonable get sucked into it so much that they lose any sense of logic. Some people become so emotionally invested to the idea of two strangers having this perfect love story that they cannot bear to part with that belief so they choose to challenge and question the bitter reality instead of the sweet fantasy. I feel like that is where so many taekookers are at (some jikookers too)

Someone once told me that anyone who gets into shipping so much that they find themselves fighting against the truth and reality, only do that because there is some void in them that shipping fills and they cannot bear to part with the fantasy/lie because they don’t want to go feeling empty again and I couldn’t agree more.

[ragnarssons]

so... i wanted to be done with this watcher stuff. but then i saw on reddit that one of their eXCluSivE nEw CoNtEnT got leaked, you know "road files" which is basically a behind the scenes video for ghost files. which is a nice idea. ...................... but the video lasts 8 minutes. you pay, 6 dollars a month, the first video you get is an 8 minutes video. opening with ryan saying "well this could be the only time we do that". so. huh, not new exclusive content, then? - since they want to be compared to tv, let's compare that to a behind the scenes video/film some tv shows make, for example the star wars ones, on disney+, that are minimum at least 20 minutes long if not more, way more, like 45+ minutes. and then you have the bts elements of a ghost files. so now, i can truly say: i do not get how their ghost files' seasons cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars. like there's nothing in the video that warrants this video not costing them... like 20k at most. (and i mean that without counting paying the employees/crew, because i'd argue they do that with their general revenues, and not just their revenues out of the ghost files seasons). and that's without even delving into everything that's weird about how much money they're spending by making dumb shit like sending a "scouting crew" (of no less than 5 or 6 people, I don't remember, cuz that ain't too much at all) before them... you're ghost hunting, like what's the point of that?? and as i suspected when they switched to watcher, this video just proved how scripted, over-prepared the whole concept of "ghost hunting" became when they switched from buzzfeed unsolved to watcher. so you gotta tell me that the "unscripted, 100% natural" episode of ghost files, is actually made with like 10 other people in the room, behind the camera, the guys having entered and toured the "haunted building" like 10 times before the cameras start rolling, producers, crews and all and all having scouted the building (here, a small house) dozens of times already. legit. h u h ????? then they went to see dune 2, hung around in their hotel rooms, ate burgers, and the whole thing lasted two days out of their schedule... and then credits roll with no less than like 20 people credited for a behind the scenes video, where most of the footage is from ryan's phone. huh??? and that costs y'all hundreds of thousands of dollars??? and this is the "tv quality" exclusive new content we get if we pay the 6 dollars a month?? 🙃

[bangtannism]

Lol speaking of other shippers being jealous of what JK and JM have and blaming the company for why their fave pair don't have it, I recently came across a reel from a Jinkooker page, showing moments from AYS and captioning it "this is what a friends vlog looks like so the company didn't mind showing it" and compared it to those pictures where JK and Jin took a trip together or something and JK was carrying his camera around, and of course they made the excuse that "the company" is gatekeeping the footage because they couldn't hide how they were a couple😅

I laughed so hard when I saw that. It's really all the same arguments from different subgroups of the fandom, they all cry "Bighit is hiding my ship/Jikook is fanservice". It looks like it's solely a Taekooker narrative simply because they are the loudest and most unhinged, but really, all non-Jikook BTS pair-that-has-JM-or-JK-as-one-half shippers are keeping their ships afloat with this narrative. Yes, including some Vminies (I've seen this lot parroting Taekooker narratives when the joint enlistment of Jikook was announced, and mind you they are the same people who were also so smug about Vmin definitely enlisting together)

I know deep down these people know that even if it was their ship spending so much time around each other and orbiting one another, it still wouldn't be the same. They'd never come across as suspicious. Jungkook was openly spending time with Taehyung and there had been an uptick in Taekook moments since 2022 compared to the few years before then and not ONCE did I see other shippers cry about "Bighit forcing Taekook down our throats" or accusing Taehyung of being a "fanservice king" (those accusations were only coming from toxic Jikookers) and "feeding his minions" the way they've always accused Jimin and still do to this day even though he doesn't mention JK nearly as much as Tae does.

Jikook as a ship was on a little bit of a "break" and Taekook had Taekookers convinced they were doing a soft launch and would become official quite soon & not once did I see Jinkookers, Vminies or Taejinners talking about "Taekook is hiding my ship". Even during that time, still, it was Jikook getting those allegations.

No, what makes the Jikook ship so polarizing was never about the quantity of their interactions but always about that special chemistry, that special tension they share between them. And everybody and their mama knows this - the only difference is that most of us hate it.

"the company" is gatekeeping the footage

yes, yes, a very popular assertion. bh/hybe is apparently sitting on a mountain of tkk, ymn, vmn, and jnkk content. (side note, i usually do not judge peoples ships at all but jnkk .... brother eugh.)

It's really all the same arguments from different subgroups

yup. 🙃 everyone is weirdly obsessed with calling jikook fanservice because it hurts their feelings that jikook not only spend time together, not only enjoy the time they spend together, but also come across more couple like than any other duos. it MUST be fanservice that theyre acting like that! it MUST be scripted!! (the cognitive dissonance goes hard in some of these folks.)

It looks like it's solely a Taekooker narrative simply because they are the loudest

nothing to add to this, i just agree. there's more tkkrs than other sub-groups so of course we would see it more often from them.

there had been an uptick in Taekook moments since 2022 compared to the few years before then and not ONCE did I see other shippers cry about "Bighit forcing Taekook down our throats" or accusing Taehyung of being a "fanservice king" (those accusations were only coming from toxic Jikookers)

to be fair, the uptick happened during ch2, so it wouldn't make much sense to say bh was forcing them (not that some other sub-groups ever feel the need to make sense, but that's a them problem). tkk are good friends and had more time to hang out and i love that for them and i do think most jikookers readily admit that tkk love each other. fuck the ones who don't, because it makes them no better than the people they criticize.

No, what makes the Jikook ship so polarizing was never about the quantity of their interactions but always about that special chemistry

that's exactly it, anon. jikook is viewed as a "threat" to all other ships that have jm/jk in them and therefore they take the brunt of hate. they simply would not get the hate and attention they do from other sub-groups if people were not so hellbent on "disproving" them. (weirdo behavior fr.)

i saw someone asking what shippers actually have some sus proof and underneath the comment mentioning jikook, there were tkkrs trying to tell everyone that jk never wanted to be on ays, doesn't like being around jm, etc. you would never catch me behaving like that or even thinking like that, because it simply does not worry me when jm or jk hang out with other people. it reeks of jealousy and insecurity.

no matter who jm and jk spend time with, it simply will not be the same as the moments they have together. whether friends or more than friends, their bond and chemistry is just special and anyone who doesn't want to admit that is lying to themselves.

[curio-queries]

I saw Jungkook's documentary this weekend and have just a few thoughts. If you're avoiding spoilers, don't click the cut!

The Hybe Documentary Format

So...as a reminder to you all, I do not have professional expertise in the film industry. I'm just a very discerning consumer. I also haven't seen Hobi's documentary and I watched Road to D-Day while I was quite ill last year so I only vaguely remember some bits. (I'll definitely be getting back to those sooner rather than later though as research for a series of posts I'm developing.) That being said, I think we have enough data points to state that Hybe has absolutely no interest in filmmaking techniques outside of music videos.

I did mostly enjoy my experience seeing this film yesterday and I'm always grateful for any amount of footage the members are willing to share with us but this 'documentary ' was worse than Jimin's Production Diary. Any of you that managed to make it through my rambling review will know how dissatisfied I was with that.

I Am Still is not a documentary, it's a mixture of showcase footage and behind-the-scenes clips, most of which has already been divulged in the various episodes and shooting sketches on YouTube. Honestly, if you're not able to see the film, just go rewatch all of the bangtantv content for JKs solo period and the showcase and you'll be up to speed with 85% of what was in the documentary.

There are definitely some expansions to the storylines featured in the bangtantv content; mostly being anything that wasn't overtly optimistic. For example, we learn a little bit more about just how sick JK was during the Seven/3D promotions. That content likely was pulled from the bangtantv edit because it would have put a damper on the promotions and given certain 'fans' a focus to fixate their vitriol. But overall, it feels more like an extended version of existing content rather than a new work. At least JPD didn't continually feed us footage we'd seen before.

I'm someone who gets completely bothered by previews spoiling content so I didn't watch any of the promos until after I saw it and I am so glad I skipped them because most of the 'original' scenes of the film were featured in least one of them. Alas, that's a separate issue of which I'm definitely in the minority.

Was There No Structure?

Kinda. Like JPD, there is a semblance of a structure: Attempting to follow the chronology of release activities for JKs GOLDEN album through the lens of JKs staement trying to prove that he is still worthy of everything he was being hailed as during the BTS group activities but I don't feel this was successfully executed. It jumps round enough and isn't very successful in explaining the events if you didn't already know about them. The film starts with the SEVEN performance at GMA and footage that we've already seen of JK recording SEVEN, not mentioning anything about the music video or really how JK got involved with the song in the first place. The rest of the story beats have similar missing points.

They have a vague narrative with the 'I Am Still' points but that's mostly carried by subs and a couple of moments that JK mentions himself. I'm not saying it's not true or wasn't top-of-mind for JK during this process but it's not the main point of many of the moment/messages he shared with us during this time period so it feels a little disingenuous since everything else jn this film really only makes sense if you've already seen quite a lot of behind-the-scenes content.

Honestly, it makes me question the intended audience. Obviously, they know that ARMY will shell out whatever we need to when there's new content from our members but most of us will have already seen all of the bangtantv content so we are already familiar with the most of the footage in this film. I genuinely don't think this was produced in such a way to be palatable for audiences not familiar with BTS so who does that leave? Our friends and family that are peripherally aware of the content but haven't learned the basics of JKs album? ARMY with short term memories only?

But again, it seems this film was compiled by an editing team and not lead by a director with experience in crafting a documentary. The only new footage that Ican guarantee was captured with the express purpose of being included in this film was the few clips of JK talking in the practice room with the albums displayed by him. But we all know that's where all of the promo clips were gathered as well. I have issues with that approach as well but I'll leave this point alone for now unless anyone is interested.

Suffice it to say, all of these suppositions over the past year about how JKs documentary was getting special treatment or even questioning about investment in a project up front are dead. This was a product assembled with bits of what they already had completely in-house which was sold for distribution.

So, Did We Learn NOTHING?

No, there are a few Golden nuggets (see what I did there?). I can't recall everything having only seen it once (and having a rather disruptive audience - I swear there were only dozen or so ppl in my theater but I forget how obnoxious teenagers can be. I'm glad they're enjoying and supporting but we really didn't need light sticks flashing during a film and how many times does one person need to get up to answer their phone during this runtime? Three according to the row in front of mine.)

Anyway, something I thought was interesting to learn was that Standing Next To You was initially recorded the day after JK heard it for the first time. And hearing a little more about how JK yearned to perform that song definitelygot me thinking a little more about it. We can't reach any conclusions just with this little nugget but it does open the door to some theories. Like perhaps they were initially planning to have JK record two separate albums? SEVEN and 3D would be the singles of the first and JK would perform them as we saw but perhaps STNY was originally planned to be the single of the 2nd album that would release while he was in the military and thus be unable to perform it? Maybe JK loved STNY so much that everything was grouped into one album and Never Let Go was the only track held back for ms? Definitely some theorizing space to be had now.

Final thoughts?

Similar to my thoughts on the GCF: Budapest (which I feel would have had a much better reception if it had been labeled as a bangtan episode rather than a GCF), I AM Still should not have purported to be a documentary. It was much more similar to the annual Memories compilations. But the general public would not have shelled out the $25 to go to a theater to watch a Memories DVD so alas, we have our content packaged as a ~documentary~...

Did my view on the music change at all? Not because of the documentary. We're coming up on the year anniversary of GOLDEN and it's still definitely not my favorite. I completely understand why some people like it but it's just not to my taste. The overall impact falls a little flat for me. Too much breadth and not enough depth. I came into my musical soul during the 00s emo phase and will always be a sucker for music that absolutely drips in an emotional way rather than catchy songs vaguely referencing heartache and love. Again, just a matter of viewpoint.

I do think most of these songs stand much better being shuffled amongst other artists in a Playlist and several of them are significantly better when JK sang them live but I still won't be listening to them regularly. I wholeheartedly believe JK completed his task of proving himself as an extremely dedicated and versatile singer and performer. He's definitely got some solid points added to his resume after this project.

[myobsessionsspace]

I felt the need to write this in light of soo many asks I’ve seen throughout Chapter 2

The crux of the asks that got me here are “I don’t see many moments around Jikook anymore” “We need more Jikook moments” “I don’t think Jikook are close anymore, xx/xx have more moments than them”

*credit to all original owners of art & media

I just want to share *my thoughts*...

How did we meet Jikook?

Some of you may have known of them since debut, some since Blood Sweat & Tears, HYYH era, Dynamite, Butter or even most recently in Chapter Two.

However you became aware of them, you would have also been aware of their group. The reason for their current status. To know Jikook you must in some capacity know Bangtan.

I say this because to have gotten to know Jikook, it would have been through the group using videos, Bangtan Bombs, Bon Voyages, In The Soops, concerts, all of the above, some or none at all.

(I won't mention those that only know Jikook through fanmade edited Tik Tok, fanmade YouTube edits etc.)

We learned more about them as idols, as members, as friends and as brothers. All of what we learnt we learnt with the approval of either the members or their company.

The only other ways to have learnt about them without either theirs or their company’s approval, would have either been through paparazzi, stalker/sasaeng info, fictitious YouTube videos, rumours, guesses and assumptions.

Unless it came from the members directly, from their company, interviews, their music or their filmed content, it wasn’t meant for public consumption. It was most likely not in the members best interest and not in their control.

Now I’m not going to judge our consumption of the above mentioned ‘unapproved’ content. I myself have enjoyed and shared many sighting photos, concert videos, stories from people that had met them etc.

For example when Jikook were spotted heading to Tokyo, prior to that, their private schedule had actually been released, allowing some to know that the two of them had indeed planned to travel alone. They're private concert viewings of other idols & groups, their private cinema and dinner outing and more. This was enjoyable information for jikook fans, supporters and shippers to know but also scary information for the two’s safety, when in the wrong hands.

After their return from their private Tokyo trip that Jungkook organised and paid for as a gift to Jimin, Jungkook published a beautifully directed, edited and produced video of their trip. His first ever Golden Closet Film. On his terms we got full in colour, with meaningful (the permission to use Troye Sivan's song, again paid for by Jungkook) background music, a glimpse of their private trip, through Jungkook’s artistic eye. He shared with us his perspective of what he saw and how he felt felt during their private trip.

I give GCF Tokyo as an example, when we wait for THEM to show US, we get soo much more than 144p blurry images, mistranslations etc.

We get it straight from them, exactly how they see it or how they want us to see it, exactly how they feel it, or how they want us to feel it.

How do we stay with Jikook now?

They are on group hiatus, meaning we just had the last of the Run Bts’ for a while. Bangtan Bombs are now focused on solo endeavours not the group as a whole, to see the group dynamics at present, no group concerts, videos, interviews etc.

Therefore we no longer have company approved content. We still however get member approved content, such as when they go on live, Weverse interactions, music etc.

We still get ‘unapproved content’ such as stalker/sasaeng footage, paparazzi pictures & info, fictitious YouTube videos, rumours, guesses and assumptions.

However with the group just recently celebrating their 10th year anniversary, they are no longer new to idol life, they have learnt from their past, they have reduced their circle. They have increased their security, they are internationally known and more recognisable even with hats, masks & baggy clothes. They also have more money and access now, access to private jets, private rooms, private villas or even just getting whatever they want or need to the privacy of their own homes, no longer shared with a 7 member team.

They no longer have to leave the dorms for a change of scenery, after touring the world, after sharing a form for years, staying home could be said to be their change of scenery at times.

So it’s understandable that the ‘unapproved content’ would be massively reduced in comparison to if they had embarked on Chapter Two 5 years ago.

So we no longer have a lot of company approved content (yes of solo endeavours but rarely of more than 2 members at a time and rarely repeatedly), we don’t have as much ‘unapproved’ content.

What do we the consumers have left?

What the members show us and what the members tell us.

What have the members have shown us/told us?

Since Chapter 2 Jungkook has shown us that he had initially been enjoying down time. Rightfully deserves after training and working since the age of 13/14!

He went through puberty working in the public eye, away from home, away from his parents. Most westerners know how that turns out for some child stars. Bleak. Jungkook has shown the strength of his character by being able to maintain his humility, joy, humour, care for others & love for ARMY.

We know about his down time due to him sharing this with us through his weverse lives. Straight from him, not the company, not sasaengs but him. And we enjoyed it! We love our hours long late night lives with Jungkook. We’ve gone boxing with him, eaten fried chicken with him, sang & danced with him and even most recently had him fall asleep with us TWICE!

Isn’t content straight from the members soo much sweeter?

Jimin, whilst Jungkook was having his down time, was flying all over the globe and in and out of the company's studios & offices. He was having intense music camp like periods with producers and practicing for his solo debut. He didn’t share with us more than a couple of pictures here and there with different producers, but when he did launch his FACE promo and subsequent videos & album, we were and still are GAGGED. Jimin KILLED K-POP in 2023 and DOMINATED (and still is) the industry.

The wait well worth it and we LIVE still!

Jikook

Though the loss of official content for some feels like a Jikook drought, some feel like the loss of official content somehow now means the loss of Jikook’s bond, relationship, whatever you may believe it to be.

Some feel as though the lack of official Jikook means they never were all they felt them to have been. There are a number of things I have seen and heard in regards to Jikook since Chapter 2.

But what have JIKOOK themselves shown us. As I said before, aside from ‘unapproved’ content, which is severely reduced as the members are older, smarter, richer and wiser, we can really only truly rely on the members themselves.

Jungkook

With his downtime, as I said earlier, shared his boxing training, his eating, drinking, watching tv and sleeping with us.

However what did Jikook share with us when Jungkook was boxing?

What did Jungkook share with us when singing?

What did Jungkook share with us on white day?

How sweet was it to see his face light up with each of his interactions with Jimin? How fun was it to watch him stan over Jimin’s music? How cute was if to watch him uwu over Jimin’s interviews?

Jimin

We know had been super busy in being involved with every aspect of his solo debut.

His solo music was and is soo important to him. It was his priority in Chapter 2. However he never failed to show his support with his presence via the comments on MANY of Jungkook’s lives.

Not only that but the biggest gift to ARMY, Jikook supporters and Jungkook was Jungkook’s presence on an album that Jimin clearly stated in multiple interviews had no features. Jungkook’s name is in the credits and his do ring voice cannot be denied, but apart from the credits and the vocals, Jimin has never mentioned Jungkook’s participation.

I guess they really mean it when they say ‘You are Me & I am You’

Letter to *me* is Jimin’s GCF Tokyo. A labour of love, showing us the thoughts, feelings and emotions, this time not through video but through song.

What Jungkook & Jimin have shown us in Chapter two is MORE than enough for me, it’s just as sweet and even sweeter than any ‘unapproved’ or approved content.

If you still need more from them, that is not for their benefit, with their interests in mind or to cement their bond/relationship. That is your issue to deal with.

Whenever you feel like you need ‘more’ from Jikook than they’ve already allowed you to have, go back and watch their labour of love GCF Tokyo (heck pretty much all of the GCFs including Saipan), go back and listen to their labour of love ‘Letter’, go back and read their interviews.

If all of that is still not enough, it’s a you problem.

Not a them problem.

🖤🤍

[akookminsupporter]

Hi, Rosieee! I always take posts of Jikook sightings with a grain of salt, but I always notice how consistent their behaviour towards each other is. Like, it's not so farfetched to see how JK acts this way towards Jimin and vice versa. Throughout the years, multiple OPs who encountered them outside have described/shared Jikook's dynamics and are quite interesting to read about. And it's even more interesting when some of those sightings have been proved. I just know they had an amazing time traveling and doing stuff.

I don't want to be greedy, but if we get behind-the-scene eps like what we had with Bon Voyage or ITS, plus that ep 0 where we have their meeting before they started their actual activities, I'll be over the moon. And if Disney+ sprinkes in interviews with these two like what we had with Hobi and Suga from their shows, I'll be even more insufferable 😭

Oh, definitely. What we see in official content is exactly what others report seeing when they see them off the clock or in the wild, as I sometimes say. In fact, many have described their dynamic as even more intense than what we usually see. For example, there was a time when an ARMY said Jimin's expression softened when he looked at Jungkook, or when a person at a restaurant thought Jungkook was the older of the two because of how he cared for Jimin. And if we add to that what the other guys have said and what Jimin and Jungkook themselves have shared over the years, it makes sense. Honestly, we only have to remember how they behave in the airport in Malta.

Sometimes it's hard to believe these supposed sightings of the boys by fans for obvious reasons, but the funny thing is that when it comes to Jimin and Jungkook together, they're not hard to believe, as you say. The posts currently circulating on Twitter about someone in Japan who saw them and described how they behaved together are not hard to believe, even though there is no proof beyond their word.

It’s hard to imagine that they didn’t have the best time while filming the show. If they hadn’t, I don’t think they would have filmed in different locations. Honestly, I don’t think they would have even made the show in the first place.

One undeniable fact, although many definitely try to deny it all the time, is that Jimin and Jungkook enjoy spending time together. They can entertain themselves with small things and be happy with that. It’s no coincidence that in every BTS DVD, there are always a lot of clips of them laughing, playing, or just being together, and that’s because they like being together. We have often read that people who have worked with them have said that Jimin and Jungkook were always together or were always the last to leave, etc. This will be no different. Or perhaps the only difference is that it will be just the two of them.

I don’t have much faith that we’ll see behind-the-scenes footage like we have with other BTS variety shows, but it would be incredible if we did. Did Tae’s show with his friends have behind-the-scenes footage? I don’t remember.

I think BigHit would miss a great financial opportunity if they didn’t release a DVD of this show with a photobook included. The same goes for not releasing behind-the-scenes footage on Weverse, even if you have to pay to watch it.

It would be great and only fair if Disney+ gave this project the same promotional treatment as they did for Hobi and Yoongi’s projects. I think the BTS documentary in December had some of that, didn’t it? Again, I don’t remember. Sorry.

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

Do you remember all those rumors after the docuseries came out and spare?? It was like summer 2023 and chatter started to heavily pick up that basically Netflix was declining every idea they brought forth because they either wanted season 2 of their life or a bigger chunk of the BRF. And Meghan and Harry knew that the BRF was a non starter, by then they were kicked out of frogmore so they couldn’t even really pretend to film there. I think this is the closest compromise Harry could give, the documentary about polo? I do think they’ll use the BTS footage they shot in spring of 2023 when the rumors first came out. Meghan floating in with a cooking show to see if it will drive more eyeballs to ARO because the launch hasn’t been as successful.

It’s clear they want to part on decent terms with (‘success) instead of repeating what happened at Spotify. That was a shot through the heart for them.

No, I didn't see those Netflix rumors last year.

The thing about Netflix (and all media/entertainment companies) is that they bet only on sure things. They take a gamble once and if that turns into a success, that's all they'll spend money on.

It's why we have more film franchies than independent one-and-done stories. It's why every film studio wants a "cinematic universe" and six-year plan. It's why we have the same shows on every network. It's why every reality competition show is modeled after Survivor. It's why every reality cooking show is modeled after Top Chef. It's why all the books in the women's commercial fiction genre have identical covers (moody background, mysterious cover, title/author lettering in big font with bright colors).

Netflix knew pretty quickly that they weren't going to get a whole lot from the Sussexes. It took them two years to produce six hours. That is a terrible track record and is exactly on par with their Spotify "two years and a 45-minute Christmas special" plan. So once Netflix got the docuseries and it did okay enough in the ratings to make Netflix execs comfortable that they didn't just throw away all this money, that type of content was the only thing they'd greenlight.

So really Meghan and Harry shot themselves in the foot here. Netflix was pretty much banking on the Sussexes being their version of the Kardashians and possibly that's what Meghan and Harry sold them on, but then tried to back out of it when the ratings weren't Kardashian-level.

Meaning that for Meghan and Harry to get more options from Netflix than a Season 2 whinefest, that means they pulled in some help. Real help, actual help, from legitimate industry insiders. That kind of assistance is pretty much the only thing that would've made Netflix comfortable to give them another chance.

(Not that I think it will do them any good. The cooking show genre is overly saturated and, as everyone has pointed out, polo isn't a thing here. Both films/docuseries/whatever they are probably aren't going to do well.)

Finally, the understanding is that the Sussexes and Netflix have a four-year deal. That deal expires this year. The cooking show and the polo thing are just last-ditch efforts to squeeze more money from Netflix.

[andy-wm]

AYS Behind the scenes: behind the paywall

Now that the Disney+ episodes are complete (sob), my attention is firmly fixed on my mailbox as I wait impatiently for the AYS photobook and QR code.

I was always going to buy the Jikook photobook, even though I doubt there will be much we haven't already seen in the episodes. But the inclusion of the QR code was the clincher.

I must admit, Hybe locking up the behind the scenes for AYS was not on my bingo sheet.

Making behind/additional clips available on Bangtan TV would have been more in line with their regular MO. We don't generally have to pay for what really amounts to outtakes.

Okay, yes, we have to pay for behind cuts of Run BTS, but the actual episodes are free. With everything else the behind clips are included when you buy the series (I'm thinking of BV, ITS, and concert boxed sets).

In fact I can't think of any other time a behind/ bonus clip hasn't been available to fans who pay for the main content.

Maybe it is because Hybe was only contracted to deliver 8 episodes to Disney+ and the price was fixed. Maybe they saw an easy way to make the series more profitable.

We know they will take any opportunity to lighten our wallets.

But I think there's more to it

Let's talk business:

If Hybe wanted to make money from this, having the sale point directly on Weverse would make more sense. That way anyone could buy it any time without having to buy the photobook as well. Even if they charged just a few $$ for these extra clips, the return could be substantial over time. Long tail products can be very lucrative and Hybe clearly knows this - they have heaps of old footage for sale on Weverse. Since they're hosting the content already, it makes sense to keep that 'buy now' button active and let the dollars trickle in.

So why reduce the potential pool of buyers? Why limit this to those who buy the photobook??

Well, let's consider who is going to buy the photobook?

Who is going to fork out US$28 plus postage for a keepsake of these two on their third honeymoon?

I doubt OT7 ARMYs would buy it. Even ARMYs who bias JM or JK - if they aren't part of the SGMB they probably don't want it either.

Solos sure as hell don't want it - they are probably wishing the whole thing never happened... sucks to be them haha

Who really wants to see these two living their best lives together?

We do!

And by we, I mean Jikook supporters.

People who want to see more of this:

and this

And this

We are the people who will buy this photobook (and probably never look at it more than once, let's be honest)

But let's get back to the topic at hand....

The photobook/behind combo seems like a chicken/egg situation to me.

Which came first - as a concept - the photobook or the behind clips?

Did they decide to offer a photobook, and then think of adding the extra footage to make it more appealing?

Or vice versa?

Did they decide to make the behind clips, and think of the photobook afterwards?

Hard to say, since behind clips have always been a thing and recently Hybe is putting out photobooks for everything.

But I think I have a fair idea

Consider the price point for this photobook - it's the same price as most of the others produced recently: +-US$28.

AYS photobook & behind is the same price as the Photo-Folios, Tae's Type 1 (magazine version) photobook, and the Beyond The Stage photobook

🗣 So they aren't charging any extra for the behind footage?

No, they aren't. They're basically giving it to the buyers of the photobook as a gift.

🗣 Could they be making money off it?

Yes, the could.

Long tail, remember?

Looking at the profit-making potential, it makes WAY more sense for Hybe to offer the behind footage on Weverse for a few meagre dollars and... wait for their ship to come in...

See what I did there? hahahhaha (laughing by myself)

They really aren't making any money off this!

how unlike Hybe...

So why go to the effort of setting up QR codes and putting it behind a paywall? It costs money to host content this way. They are in fact SPENDING money to bring us this footage.

Not only through the hosting costs there are also production costs to consider.

Wouldn't it make more sense to just freely share it with ARMY via Bangtan TV? Or not release it at all?

Yes, it would...

So there's only one logical answer...

Hybe has chosen to make the content available - but also make it just that little bit more difficult to access.

This whole exercise seems to be about releasing additional footage without releasing it to the general public. It's being shared specifically with those of us who support them.

Does that mean we'll see slightly more personal content?

Maybe it's a little more revealing of their undeniable bond and their hot chemistry...?

Whatever they contain, these behind clips are definitely for a limited audience - and purposefully so.

The only reason for it, that I can think of, is to safeguard Jimin and Jungkook from too much scrutiny and criticism - from within the fandom (unfortunately) and outside of it.

We will find out in a few days I guess.

In the meantime, I'm camped out by my mailbox

[dearweirdme]

https://www.tumblr.com/dearweirdme/750270628226007040/what-is-your-opinion-on-gcf-tokyo-and-saipian-i

If Jk makes another GCF today and places footage of Tae and only tae under certain lyrics more than once would you say the same thing?

You forget that months before Jk made and posted his first GCF, he did a cover of a song and when he posted it, he asked that fans should pay attention to the lyrics because whenever he covers a songs or uses a song, he makes sure he understands what the lyrics mean. This is what Jk said and then a few months later he made his first GCF using Troy Sivan’s “There for you”. GCFT didn’t read to me as romantic on it’s own especially after i read the book and got to understand why jimin and Jungkook travelled together in the first place. Knowing that Jk is a lyrical genius, it all fell in place why he used that song in the GCF he made for Jimin. The lyrics talk about being there for someone and expecting the person to be there for u too and seeing as they travelled because they (especially Jimin) were going through a very hard time, it makes sense.

GCF saipan was where my head started to spin a little because again, remembering the fact that Jk is is concious of the lyrics and their meaning, it is foolish to think that he didn’t know what he was doing when he chose to place Jimin footage at particular lyrics not only once but twice. Someone mentioned that other members also appeared in parts of the song that had romantic lyrics, ofcourse. It was a romantic song with all 7 members so ofcourse they would appear there at certain points but wasn’t it kinda weird that even though he could place any other member or just b roll when those lyrics came up the second time he chose to place only footage of Jimin and the sky and the sea there? And you don’t even have to be a shipper or even a BTS fan to see that. And yes the content did have to be approved before he posted it on Youtube (like most other content they posted since they didn’t want to leave a negative digital footprint) but what matters here is Jk’s initiative. Just the fact that he thought of doing stuff like that means something and the fact that he intentionally never made another GCf for just a single member says alot. We literally have footage of RM asking him to make one of V if he wanted to get a ton of views but Jk didn’t. I think it is also special that GCF Tokyo is the only GCF JK made which wasn’t work. That was just him making memories and choosing to share those memories with the world and Jimin didn’t even know what Jk was planning to do with all the videos he was taking.

You and I know that if all of this was done for Tae instead of Jimin, you would have been singing a very different song now. Tae just mentioning that Jk sings him a particular song was enough to get taekookers in a frenzy even though no one said anything years ago when Jin said Jk would always come to him singing “i love you” in his ears. But i guess this wouldn’t mean anything to you and other taekookers because you don’t see jinkook as anything more than friends.

Hi anon!

Lyrics are up to interpretation, and you have no clue what those lyrics mean to Jk. Troy Sivan himself said the song was for his fans who stuck by him. So what if to Jk it’s about Jm sticking by him in a platonic way? You don’t know what goes around in his head. You also cannot deduce from his statement about lyrics if that is something that always applies. I’m not saying the trip wasn’t important to them, but it wasn’t a romantic trip and BH wouldn’t let Jk release a GCF about an actual relationship.

Lol.. I would totally swoon if Jk was to release a GCF with solely Tae (it will never happen). But at the same time I would know that it was company content and it would definitely not be Jk sharing his romantic relationship with everyone.

I think Jk’s GCF’s became something that wasn’t his intention (and that’s why he stopped). His for GCF wasn’t for Jm, it was for army. Jk does a lot of things and says a lot of things with army in mind. He wanted to share a piece of him and members that meant something to him. GCF Tokyo was the first because it was the forst time he (and Jm) did something that was outside of Army/BTS. I think that trip was very important to him because it made him feel a sense of freedom (😩) and a sense of independence. Traveling on that age is impactful. After that (and the success it had in fandom) I think BH encouraged him to do more, but it slowly became something that wasn’t his anymore.

Right now the history of Tkk and Jkk and GCF’s is very different from what it was when the first GCF was posted, I think comparing a hypothetical Tae GCF with the Tokyo GCF is therefore not really possible.

I am not a Tkkr because of one or two or several situations or instances that look 🤔. I am a Tkkr because of the way Tae and Jk interact mostly. You can take away any Tkk moment you want and it would probably not affect my thoughts much.. while I think it would be harder for Jkkrs to go without Rose bowl, the hicky (it’s a bite), and GCF, and all your numbers and dates stuff.

[marengogo]

Silver Lining - What If #8 : Min & Kook or Busan Brothers?

Neuron by J-Hope (with Gaeko & YOON MIRAE) focused playlist.

[Music is a very big part of my life and I’m MOSTLY INCAPABLE of writing without music, so I just thought I'd share what I am listening to while writing this]

🐺 — 🐺 — 🐺—

Ladies, Gentlemen and Distinguished Enbies: HELLO!

How is everyone? Hope you are all enjoying this little break, if you celebrate Easter, and if for any reason you didn’t get a break either you don’t celebrate Easter, or you are part of the “holiday working class” I hope you are at least safe and serene 💜. All that said, let me tell you;

It’s incredible what a few days off can do, aye?!

For one I've been very vivid dreams and, for two, I’m actually in the mood of writing posts, would you look at that! AND BY THE WAY I keep forgetting to do this, but I will at some point later today I need to write an advisory note for the Sonyeondan Colosseum as I haven’t been there in a while but I still get aspiring gladiators, who are dying to participate, and albeit fun, at the moment, I really don't have that much time, to provide these fighters with the appropriate match they deserve 😫. So it is only right that I rely the appropriate information, as I do believe I run a fine institution and as such I am sorry for allowing my administration to slack real life suddenly got so busy and interesting that I didn’t, and still don't, have time to play, but who knows what the future holds right?! There just might appear a contender so unique, I might not resist the urge for a little tussle.

Anyways, back to the topic of this post, as it is sort of a continuation of this one → Solstice & Equinox, it is indeed about the Jikook Travel vlog we still no absolutely nothing about, but of which I woke up with thoughts/ideas about, hence, why I’ve placed this post, yet again, in my Silver Lining series 🤡. In my previous post I tried to predict the vlogs' scheduling, in this post I would like to talk about the possible style this vlog might take, while making, as always, educated guesses and also diving into JK’s filmmaking style.

⚠️I MOST LIKELY WILL WAX HELLA POETIC OVER A LOT OF FILMMAKING STRUCTURES, SO BE HELLA WARNED⚠️

Let’s start right off the bat with:

Also if you are NOT familiar with “Youtuber” Jimin, below is a little summary:

As you can probably tell by some of the ss because there are so many more, believe me!, JM is very enthusiastic about vlogging and, as we all know, JK is very enthusiastic about producing video related content as well as taking it further when he directed Life Goes On for example. Both JM and JK consume copious amounts of video content, be it movies, dramas, anime or shows and they often seem to be watching the same shows as well. Reason why, perhaps, they often seem to be the only privy of their media related inside jokes.

Now, imagine loving to watch shows so much and having as a significant other someone whom not only has so much footage/pictures of you which will never see btw 🤡 but also has the skills to potentially make a show out of you, or with you, because they also enjoy the same thing, what would you do? Sure, you like travelling and he is not too big into that, but some time 7 years ago this person not only took you on a trip, but also found the most memorable way to immortalise this for you, resulting in this person producing more and more travel vlogs. Not sure if JK has come to enjoy travelling, but one thing is for sure; 

he seems to enjoy making one helluva good vlog out of it.

Now, before we get into the reason for my title (Min & Kook or Busan Brother?) let’s look into JK’s filmmaking style THIS IS WHERE I AM SURE I WILL NERD OUT, and in order to do this we will look into two of particular videos, as I feel like their travel vlog could be a mixture of this two: 

VIDEO 1: [BTS VLOG] Jung Kook l CAMPING VLOG

VIDEO 2: G.C.F in Budapest

Let’s start from VIDEO 1. This was a series of vlogs we got from each of the members and were posted on BANGTANTV between July 9, 2022 and December 10, 2022 as always with the Tannies, the actual filming dates may or may not be close to the time they were posted. There are many different types of vlogs out there, because many are the different interests of viewers out there. When looking at our boys, you can clearly see theri vlogs divided in 3 specific types of vlogs:

“HOW TO”-vlog: In this type of video, usually the hosts want to learn to do something, and so they either attempt or they are a master in said craft to do said something, while showing the viewer step-by-step, with the intent/hope that the viewer can learn or feel inspired to want to do it as well.

Jin

Yoongi

JM

“CELEBRITY LIFE”-vlog: This type of video, we follow a typical/particular day in the life of a celebrity. There is usually not so much editing done, and it gives very much the feeling of watching a reality TV show.

Tae

Hobi

“TRAVEL”-vlog: These are usually specifically about showcasing cities, spaces, activities. They are very action filled, so they will not have as many static shots as, for example, the previous two themes 

Joonie

JK

Even though JK and Joonie have the same style of vlog, there is something that JK has, which all the other 6 don’t, which is his own “colour”.

JK has a very specific style that is unique to himself within the group, and you can notice in the editing, which makes me think he often takes part in, whereas, even though the type of vlog is different for the other 6 members, the style of editing is the same for all of them. When I say that JK adds his own colour, I mean that, for example, he so often breaks the 4th wall in very conventional and unconventional ways and this is something I've noticed only he does actually in Bangtan. 

Aside from JK’s Film Colour, I do believe that this is also an indication of how long we can hope their travel vlog to be. In the end the main event was camping, with other events as well and it was edited to 45mins, which is a long ass video for this type of vlog, it basically means that they realistically had hours of footage and at least 3 type of campers, which I will get into in my next point.

GCF in Budapest has all of JK’s colours as of 2023. 

This video is the result of 6 years during which he filmed, edited and directed different projects. GCF in Budapest is very professional, and even though he didn’t do the final edit on this, he did direct it, meaning that there wasn’t a single shot that he hadn’t planned, requested or approved of. Basically, JK is the person that instructed other camera-people the times he wasn’t filming himself as to what shot he needed and wanted for the final project, all the way from principal, to secondary, footage I DON’T THINK YOU CAN’T BUT I’M ABOUT TO NERD OUT, RIGHT NOW. Following are the notable structures in this GCF, with related explanations/examples:

Non-static self-filming - This is the typical vlog style where the main subject is filming himself. But in his case he seems to favour this type of shots when he is moving the most, as if he wants us to fill like we are really travelling with him, as opposed to constantly placing the camera on the surface, not moving, and talking. 

B-Roll Footage - is also known as “filler footage”. Usually there is no talking or nothing of importance, but they are quite good for either transitions or comic relief. I LOVE B-ROLL FOOTAGE and JK uses it so well. I believe that b-rolls fit JK so well because of his personality, he tends to space out so often that, in the filmmaking context, this type of footage offers a way to show this dimension of his personality, for example, himself goofing off in the b-roll is perhaps what he does in his head when he is spacing out in real life. 

Traditional filming - This is your typical main subject being filmed by a camera-person. As there seem to be two different angles during this type of shot, there were at least 2 different people filming him I will not go deep into the type of camera/s that were you as this is not that kind of post. 

Establishing shots - This are shots that make the viewer know where and when something is happening, and they are extremely important in film-making, but not really in vlogging as the title of the vlog already tells you where and sometimes when, if not you’ll find out in the dialog you are, but it is exactly this kind of touch that makes his work feel very cinematographic.

All the aforementioned, are characteristics that I am expecting to see in their travel blog and I am soooooo much looking forward to check our the whole crew, if by any chance we get a roll end credit scene 🥹 to be honest, going back to video 1, since they were in each known location for more than a day, they could make at least 2 self-sufficient vlogs but hey ….

JK surely came a long way from GCF in Tokyo, didn’t he? And even though he hasn’t produced a GCF with the same colours ever since, there was something that was:

To me, filming is the art of skilfully deceiving, while  willfully being deceived, during a specific amount of time, after which we all go back to our realities unharmed or “not”, depending on the depth of the film.

Films are like magic.

But what is filming for JK? To be veeeeery honest with you, the person who has a future in acting amongst the Tannies is Kim Taehyung, yet, the two people who can for sure act, on the silver-screen, are Kim Seokjin and Kim Taehyung … so why do I feel like Tae is the only only that has a future in this field? Because Tae can live for and with it. Just knowing how to act is not enough, you have to want to be an actor, for real-real. You know how Hobi breathes dancing? Tae breathes out imaginary characters in a similar way, reason why I can see him having a very prolific career as an actor as well.

Now ... why do I bring this up?

If JK just wanted to become a movie director alongside being the amazing musician he is, he’s had the perfect subject/s to do so. So why has he been so fixated with filming JM? JM is not the type of subject you can use for a long film, sure, he likes to act with his friends, but I don't think that cinema glory is one of his objectives in life I may be very wrong. He can perform/dance like hell crazy for the camera, HANDS FUCKING DOWN, but, once again, serious silver-screen acting isn’t what he wants. So, once again, given a choice of Tae and Jin;

Why JM?

TIME FOR TIN HATS Y’ALL HURRY 👏🏾 HURRY👏🏾 HURRY! 📢

I, Marengo, think that JK had always intended to make GCF in Tokyo as merely a video to preserve the happy memories, during a hard moment in their lives, which they spent together. This video-gift was specifically intended, for JM, in the style that JM mostly appreciated at the time, which might have happened to be YT vlogs. While editing his video, JK perhaps realised that it might have been a bit on the nose, so he added establishing b-roll shots of Tokyo, thinking it might have been enough to divert the attention from JM; but unfortunately failed. For a few reasons, but mainly, the lack of any spoken words in my opinion. 

The thing is that for the purposes of what i think his objective was, words were absolutely not needed. “Look! See how happy you were here! It doesn’t matter how shit things are, we can still be happy; You can still be happy!” In the same way, with Life Goes On he wanted us to see their changed everyday life of the time, the sadness, melancholy and hope they all felt. Words were not needed, and this is the type of filming which is closest to the inner colours of Jeon Jungkook. JK is not the best with words, so I believe that he found in filmmaking a form of expressing himself in a more effective way.

HOWEVER, as we all know, even though Life Goes On was well received, GCF in Tokyo’s main critique was “Where is tokyo? All I see is JM”. Yet, his main purpose wasn’t Tokyo, the shots, the song, the editing, clearly indicated that. Nevertheless, if at the time, JM was indeed his queer interest as I don’t believe they were going steady at the time, he wasn’t going to jump out gun blazing to defend his choice; was he now? No, he left us to believe that he was gonna get better, and next thing he did was add more members and better establishing shots, but never forget; gcf in Tokyo is still there and still something he remembers fondly. 

Now as for the title of this post  😂😂😂. Be it straight, queer, interrational or whatever, there is one thing that most of couple YT channels have in common:

Their channel name is either a union of their name or there is and &/and to join siad names. When JM was pretending to have a channel with JK during this live → VMINKOOK LIVE he named their channel MinKook, because he was Min and he was Kook so, MinKook and let’s forget for a second that this actually resulted to be a very funny korean pun. I honestly do believe that if you are a platonic duo on YT you will very rarely use your name with your friends name as it seems like it is a universal YT truth that “” & “” channels are couple channels. So if anything, if JM was talking out of subconscious, he maybe had been watching a lot of YT couple channels, at the time, and thought it okay for them to have a channel name that matched the same energy? … 

🤡🤡🤡

So my question is: will the channel be named something akin to that couple vibe RISKY AF, WHY WOULD THEY DO THAT?? Or will it be something more like the Busan Brothers name that they are often given … HELLA SAFE, MAKES A LOT OF SENSE? I guess only time will tell! 

Ok then, hats off! Let's go back to reality, where we can happily keep waiting for this blasted travel vlog LOL.

Always respectfully yours 💜🫰🏾,

Marengo.

[raguonmynieceandnephew]

ABOUT CR:

Ppl are comparing Beacon to Dropout when Dropout's success is due to having gameshows, a load varied content on top of d20. CR only has CR. And I you best believe I am not paying for a new thing when ALL the content you guys have is the main campaigns plus some spin-offs.

Candela and EXU, for a start, should be new actual shows. It's a fucking JOKE that we get only 3 episodes per season of Candela and they are A MONTH APART. Dropout has D&D, variety shows, gameshows, podcasts, comedy specials, improv game shows, bts footage for EVERYTHING, and much much more. Where is between the sheets? (I mean ik why it got wiped, but still, stay with the point.) Where is All Work no Play? Narrative Telephone? More shows like Honey Heist?

D20 is evergreen and always changing. CR is solid, which isnt bad for a free service, but with Beacon money you would HAVE to make more. I'm sorry you would just have to. Either a second show with smaller, edited campaigns, and much more.

Plus, Dropout still maintains YT membership where ALL. THE CONTENT OF THEIR WEBSITE, is available there, bcs yes, some people prefer the already stablished gigacorp platforms, especially when they are from places where the dollar to home currency conversion is expensive as hell, like me. 5,99 USD = 30 BRL as of typing this comment, and yall can have beyoncé exclusive concerts in that and I still wouldnt pay that kind of money. Meanwhile, Dropout yt member ship only costs 8 BRL.

So yeah, you better find a way to either discourage ppl from subbbing to twitch or incorporate a way for YT members and twitch subs to have access to EVERYHTING Beacon has to offer.

PS.: idk what yall were thinking announcing this when Watcher's corpse is still warm lmao AND in the middle of Chromatic Orb-gate. I will pray for you guys.

[putschki1969]

【GRL】 Current Clothes to Wear 【2024】

Hello, this is Hikaru. Thank you for watching! This time, I'm introducing some of my recent GRL purchases💄 I chose clothes that suit the current season👚 It's been getting really hot lately...☀️ While taking precautions against sunburn and heatstroke, I want to enjoy fashion that you can only wear in the summer☺️ If you have any video suggestions, please leave them in the comment section📝

Note: Those GRL hauls by Hikaru are always such a treat. It's hard to resist not going on a shopping spree when I see all this stuff. Gladly, most of it is not really my style but some items are super cute.

【Vlog】 B-day LIVE BTS

Hello, this is Hikaru. Thank you for watching! This is a Vlog of my "Hikaru B-day LIVE 2024 love Begets love" which was held on 2024/07/02🎼 I am sharing a little bit of footage from the rehearsals, the performance, and backstage♪ Please excuse the distortion during the stage parts😂 (the camera microphone has its limits) Just to let you know, I will be starting my solo tour on 11/30, so if you are interested, I'd be happy if you could come🍀 Details will be posted on X (former Twitter) on a later date! If you have any video suggestions, please leave them in the comment section📝

Note: Oh, what a bummer. I was expecting Keiko to show up in this VLOG.

Rehearsal for YKL Vol 20

As previously announced, Kaori will be taking a break from her live activities to focus on her family, this also includes the final performance of Yuki Kajiura LIVE vol.#20～日本語封印20th Special～ which is scheduled to take place today, on August 3 in Saitama. To make up for a missing vocalist, Yuki Kajiura has decided invite Hikaru as a guest! To accommodate for the changes, the setlist of the main part of the concert will be adapted to include some Japanese songs (we can probably expect a few Kalafina covers!). Here are some rehearsal pictures and a shot from today just before the concert. Tweet 1 & Tweet 2 & Tweet 3 by Hikaru

2024.08.03 Saitama・Sonic City Civic Hall 17:15/18:00 Source: https://fictionjunctionstation.com/contents/765092

Hikaru supporting a C.C.C cast mate Yumi Agawa

The other day, Hikaru also went to see Yumi's show "Little AGAWORLD". She is one of the "Ambient Border" cast members who regularly works on C.C.C projects. Tweet by Hikaru