#i think im doing them a favor by not being a leech on their company

[sqrkyclean]

made a realization today

[beautifulpersonpeach]

bpp im a different anon, but i have some major follow up asks pls. im seeing a lot of narratives and im confused. what do you say to the view that jimin is the most successful soloist in bts and taekook's popularity mainly because of their shippers and visuals not their ability as musicians. it seems true when you see jimin's songs are most streamed. jimin's songs are always most successful, he focuses on music while taekook get clout for their looks mostly. people also join the fandom for jimin. he's the biggest stan attractor. i think big hit is marketing bts using jimin to push other members. people notice jimin first then look at other bts members. jungkook is most favored promoted in bts even though jimin is more talented in things like dancing based on critics reviews. you can't deny it. in addition the other anon you didn't address their point about the weverse article bpp. i would really love to see your reply to why big hit discredits jimin's success in weverse. i want to support jikook fully but my heart bleeds for jimin. im ot7 and love all seven members but it's so clear the company doesn't give him the marketing and support he deserves while they give other members everything.

Ask 2: bpp sorry i forgot to add the way jimin attracts people and men highly. his androgenous look is power. he has real star power and shocked everybody with his billboard win using a korean song!! jimin has the air of royalty so he attracts high end brands, jungkook is like boy next door so big hit market him to common brands like calvin klein. its not wrong to say it. my question is, why doesnt jimin push himself? why does he just accept the mistreatment? he said so many things in his album and now it just feels empty? its like he doesn't want to be a solo star. does big hit not see the power and support he has? does jimin not see it? should we be louder as jimin fans? the way taekook fans are loud? why does the fandom not support them equally? im so confused bpp.

***

Sigh. Y'all, that fandom implosion I keep talking about? It's coming.

Anyone who thinks Jimin fans aren't 'loud', hasn't been to Korea, was probably in a coma when Jimin got #1 on the Billboard Hot100, or probably just doesn't have a Twitter account.

You know, I've known for a while that the closer we get to Jungkook and Taehyung's solo debuts, the more I'll see asks like this in my inbox.

I'm in a shipping space after all, and everyone knows many shippers think like solo stans of their chosen duo. It just can't be helped. It's inevitable because being extremely biased on one member or pairing, you're bound to develop a peculiar type of tunnel vision. It's why shipping spaces get so toxic so quickly - shippers are only one logical argument removed from solo stans and so often occupy spaces directly adjacent to solo stan spaces. In my opinion.

I mean, it's literally FESTA. BTS's 10th year anniversary, but because of the fights, arguments, and narratives happening in akgae spaces for the last couple of days, my inbox has seen about 5 asks about how Jimin is hated by HYBE, how Jungkook is a special golden goose at the expense of Jimin, how everyone in BTS leeches off Jimin, and how he's actually the most successful and most talented, la di la di la da... just in the last 24 hours or so.

In a way, I don't mind it because I know where it comes from. If you're in a space where you see someone you love constantly dehumanized, slutshamed, all his achievements ridiculed and made to seem bought and worthless, people already anticipating his records broken by the next solo release when you feel his solo debut was inadequate, etc, it's not hard to see how the kneejerk reaction to this is to magnify what you believe to be his worth. It's true also that Jimin has faced specific handicaps not seen for other members, deals with a potent mix of prejudices, and is exceptionally talented in performing, acting, and the way he expresses music in dance and vocal tone. He stands out and many people get into BTS because of him.

The thing is, in a group like BTS, it's impossible to do this without disrespecting and putting down the other members, because they are all very talented and are excellent performers, have all made sacrifices and compromises for the team - most of which we'll never know, and have all contributed equally to the success that is BTS.

If you're actually paying attention to all seven members, to what they say to and about each other and their team, this would be obvious. For another Anon who saw D-DAY concerts and asked me if BTS concerts is how you become OT7. I never answered that question, but Anon if you're reading this, the answer is no. The way you become OT7 is actually listening to what they say, putting aside your preconceived notions about what a band should look like (the breakout star and frontman model), and keeping your eyes open and your wits about you.

Just as I said in my post on Jimin's contributions to BTS about how people who downplay him think about 'contribution' in a very narrow way that's centered on what resonates most with them, so too is this view applied to other members' contributions to the team that don't center on dancing, singing, and acts of kindness or sacrifice captured on camera.

Obviously. Well, in my opinion at least.

Also, the comments about Jungkook in this ask frankly make my skin crawl.

I'm not surprised to see it, but I find it no less gross all the same. Then there's the way I'm seeing yet again how Jimin's stans simply do not rate this man. Like, yes Jimin's FACE promo was rushed, but it's clear the man has been working since then? In what world does it look like the sentiments he communicated in Set Me Free Pt 2 feel empty? Because he's not on a tour? Angel Pt 1 is out and Pt 2 is OTW, and he's clearly still working on his projects (as is Namjoon btw) which will come later this year, but I suppose these don't count for you.

It's kinda weird to leave a space where rapline akgaes grumble about how Namgiseok all got less than 10 seconds each on Take Two - a song they wrote, how they've been getting less and less lines in BTS's songs in recent years, how the company pushes the maknae line even though people got into BTS for how good the music, production, songwriting is and blah blah blah.

Then log on here and have the plain surreal experience to see anyone say Tae and JK are popular more because of their ship and are somehow less musicians than Jimin. Like, 'Still With You' Jungkook and 'constantly coming online to share the song I made and deleted' Taehyung aren't musicians? It sounds just as ridiculous as when I hear taekookers say Jimin is mostly popular because of jikook. This is just not a claim that makes sense any way you look at it.

But again, that's just what solo stans do. They genuinely believe their chosen member is simply better than everyone else, and that his company and his team are the reason that member isn't seeing success the way solo stans envision it. They make their lists and have their reasons. And for a lot of groups, that view is actually very true. But for BTS, they simply would not have reached the levels they have, if this were true for them. There's too many eyes on them, their fans too involved, and the members too outspoken, to allow themselves be taken for a ride for 10 bloody years. In Chapter 2 it's expected that different members will see various levels of success for various reasons. One reason I say an implosion is coming, because many of those reasons have become interwoven and tainted with the narratives I listed above. The impulse to root for our favourites is very human, and few things propel people better than a sense of injustice or slight, and so it's easy to see how many will latch onto these narratives in Chapter 2, regardless of what the facts actually are.

Anyway, I've rambled. Neither of us have all the information on what BigHit has done or is doing, nor what the boys' plans are. The only people who know are the members, and so I mind my business, respect their choices, and do what I like.

And Anon, you're right I didn't address the Weverse article in my initial reply. I actually reached out to that 'Anon' right after with a reply, and will copy-paste what I told her, here:

"I just realized I forgot to respond to the point you made about the Weverse article and Jimin. It was written by a well know music critic in Korea, sometimes Weverse articles are written by critics or media commentators well known in Korea, I suspect to drive up local readership. Having writers who don’t always have a glowing opinion on Hybe and its artists, also give the impression the magazine is more credible (though I think this is nonsense). That Weverse article is actually something I reported to the company. Less because of Jimin to be fair, and more because the article was racist. The racist/tone-deaf sentiments in the article are unfortunately common in Korea and I’ve seen it first hand, but Hybe is a global company and has to develop the racial sensitivity that meets basic international norms. IMO. And so I wrote a brief email and left it at that."

I could talk more about the parallel between the racist Weverse article and what it shows for HYBE's corporate structure relative to what the members actually do, believe, impact, or say, but I've rambled and I'm tired. I hope most of what I said made sense to you Anon. Chances are I'll ignore any follow up asks because nobody really changes their mind on the internet, and I've got a backlog of asks to respond to.