#if I had never played it I'd probably have no clue how to draw humans

[wheredidalltheusersgo]

I miss playing tf2

I miss going on public servers, playing as pyro, and lighting those guys up

[parkminijiminie]

Why can't jk just say he ain't banging any of bts members???

For obvious reasons.

Shipping is a part of the idol world. Always has been and always will be. Part of any group's appeal in the K-pop world is the interpersonal relationships, not just the music. Fans have always enjoyed seeing their idols interact with each other. It adds to the fan-idol parasocial relationship because you are not only listening to this person's album, but it feels like you actually know this artist, on a personal level. We as human beings, are inherently curious and nosy creatures and always want to know how "something really is behind the scenes.", "the real this and that. " It's no wonder reality TV shows is so popular, even when we all know it is far from reality.

Entertainment companies know this, of course, and they use it like a powerful tool to draw more attention and engagement from the fans in the form of views, comments, and sales. This is why fan service exists. There are many performarive interactions in the idol world. I'd bet good money there are people who can't stand each other yet play the role of best friends for the camera.

With Bangtan, it isn't like that. They truly care for each other, and the friendships are genuine. Sure, they may amp up the "fan-service" on stage for the entertainment of the fans, but it isn't fake. It's them, but high on adrenaline and trying to keep up the energy during a concert.

Because BTS are actually really close to each other, and it shows, naturally, there are all sorts of shippers in the fandom. I'd go on a limb here and say that probably every other ARMY is a shipper in one form or another. Some are more casual, others more intense. And objectively, there is no bigger ship in this fandom, probably all of K-pop in recent years, than Taekook, neither in numbers of the shippers nor in the size of their delusions. Shipping has always been part of the K-pop world, but it was never intended to be the monster that the Cult had become in recent years. A lot of the people in this fandom are Taekookers. Some are vocal about it, others are in disguise. Even some of the biggest accounts are Taekookers. Jikookers, while marginally less delusional, are in second place in terms of numbers. Both ships are "passionate" in their beliefs, regularly engage with content "looking for clues" for their ship, and pay attention to everything the people they ship do and say.

Unfortunately for Jungkook, this means that a big part of the fan base, particularly *his* fanbase, is made of shippers. Some of them are truly dedicated. These are people who vote, stream, buy, run big accounts, etc. They are not just ingrained in the fandom, they *are* the fandom. Another part are there more for their ship, than anything else. But even if they are not always necessarily true fans, even if they don't stream, vote, or buy as much, they still talk, observe, and engage online a lot.

Like it or not, shippers, as nasty as they can get, significantly contribute to the attention an idol gets, and even bad attention is still a form of engagement. Jungkook knows this , which is why he doesn't care if someone is hating on him because they are still taking their time to pay attention to him.

Directly and undeniably shutting all shippers down and possibly alienating them could affect not only JK's sales and results but the whole of the group's. I doubt HYBE would be very happy about that.

All the members understand this, and that's why not one of them, neither Jungkook nor even Jimin (who undoubtedly have been suffering the most from shipping) have ever come out and outright denied anything shipping related, unless it majorly violated their boundaries. Sometimes shippers get reprimanded and reminded of their place,when they become too much and actually cross the lines directly in front of the idol. Ex. Tae saying "Get out of your imagination," and JK saying "Me? Living with Tae?!" But mostly shippers are left to their own devices. They may get a slap on the wrist or some tough reality check, from time to time, but they will never get the boot out of the fandom and the door shut at their faces.