#let's make that mean something again

[entropic-fantasy]

A frustrated ARMY's perspective on the fandom: Let's do better?

Intro

This post isn't as polished as I would want. My intention here isn't to hate or create division, and I don't aim to call out anyone in particular. As it says in the title: I am frustrated, and honestly merely want to talk with other people in the community about what is going on and hopefully create a space where we can discuss ideas as to what we can do to improve said community.

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Main Text

I have thought about writing something about the fandom for a little while now, but after this particular weekend, it felt more important than ever. For some context: I’ve only been an ARMY for a little over a year now, joining the fandom right before the release of Proof and just in time for that infamous Bangtan Dinner. That is to say, I have no knowledge of what the fandom was like before that point in time – and especially not before BTS became a household name for the mainstream media overseas.

My perspective is limited, but even with this taken into consideration, I am growing evermore appalled at the behaviours I have to witness online.

Let’s take a look at the events, both in real life and in the fandom, that was just too much to ignore: Yoongi’s latest concert in Seoul.

Famously, Jimin, Taehyung and Jungkook (Vminkook) attended, and as expected, the fandom was excited. Which is completely justified – them coming to support Yoongi was speculated on, and seeing them arrive creates hype of course. The turning point, however, was when shippers got involved.

Now, I don’t have a particular problem with shipping as such – I myself am not completely free from it even though I am now actively trying to dial back/remove myself from it – but a line has been crossed, and this isn’t the first time.

When it’s suddenly more important who arrived in a car with whom, who interacted more, than the main event itself (aka Yoongi’s concert), people should take a step back and evaluate their priorities. Especially, when it turns into the starting point of disgusting name-calling and unfounded attacks against the very people they claim to be fans of. And no: no-one here was the better sub-group. It’s not okay to accuse members of “using” one of their friends for PR purposes, and it’s not okay to accuse members of “forcing” their affection onto one of their friends against their wishes.

To put it shortly: are you out of your mind?

Now, of course members of these sub-groups will rush to defend or deflect – saying “oh, that’s just some of us” or “but they started it” or “that’s just solo stans” – but at this point none of this matters. As long as these sub-groups don’t manage to regulate themselves in their safe-spaces, cultivating an atmosphere of respect and love – like BTS actually stands for – there’s no hope for the fandom in its entirety. The “us vs them” mentality will continue to spread, these sub-groups only growing if not in numbers then in ferocity, and that is actually scary.

What they’re doing is trying to create a “canon” for the relationship between real people whose private life we are and should not be privy to. Most if not all of that canon is conjecture and opinion by fans – yes, there’s what some might call evidence for certain intimacies between members but as long this “subtext” (for the lack of a better word) doesn’t turn into “text”, going on a crusade for or against a ship to the detriment of BTS as a whole is insane.

To add my two cents:

No one in BTS is overstepping boundaries with another member. They have been brothers in all but blood for more than a decade. More importantly, they have practice in addressing problems within their group and great rapport because of that. Why would we as fans assume that there is anything fundamentally changed in their bond just because we don’t see them interact as they did before? Just because it suits a narrative doesn’t make it factually true. Yes, BTS are in another phase of their lives right now – a time of much upheaval and change – but like many friends that go through times of physical separation, they are more than able to still be brothers while doing their thing.

Neither BigHit nor Hybe are conspirators to force members apart. They are not showing real preference to one member-interaction over another – that’s not how contracts or business work. Do they engage in fanservice? Yes. They are a company, they know what creates the biggest buzz online and thus know what to highlight when it comes to the interactions between members. Emphasis on highlight. The members still do all the interacting themselves, and no-one needs to force them into doing anything. The only jobs the editors have, is finding the moments that create the most coherent video and make fans happy. Also, the notion that BTS are that constrained by their company is a bit silly – especially Jungkook has shown us how little he cares for the rules they do have (aka alcohol consumption before/during a live-stream and sleeping on stream, both of which are legitimate rules for both moral and capitalistic reasons).

No other company for that matter has any actual insight into the relationship between members, especially not one like Dispatch who does not have the same moral obligation to BTS that BigHit and Hybe have but DO have a monetary interest in them. Anything they post is not confirmation but a clever move by their social media managers that very well understand who the biggest sub-groups in the kpop fandom are.

Clothes mean nothing. We have seen on multiple occasions that various members have the same items, be that from promotional material they were sent as part of an endorsement or just personal preference. Any parallels in dress are just coincidence at this point. Especially for their official schedule appearances where we once again don’t know the details of whatever endorsements going on. That goes for colour schemes as well as accessories like bags.

To sum it up a little bit:

The only people who are overstepping are ARMY, and yes I am including everyone in this. As long as those of us who consider themselves better for whatever reason don’t step up, this is a fandom problem.

Pitting the members against one another, accusing them of paedophilia, sexual harassment of one another or manipulation of their friends for their own benefit is plain disgusting. Sending threats, spouting hate and vitriol online where it’s not impossible for the members to see? Again: what the fuck.

No one is the hero here – no one wins. All that will happen is ARMY as a whole losing whatever good opinion BTS still has of us. RM might not have meant this “discourse” when he said the fandom changed, but let’s not be naïve and think it isn’t a factor. We are, as fans of a kpop act, incredibly privileged in regards to the content we get to see. But instead of appreciating that privilege and using it for the good of the whole band, the focus gets always yanked towards three people who don’t want that and did not ask for that. The maknae-line is not the main character here, and they don’t want to be.

It breaks my heart a little bit to think that them visiting their best friend’s concert, celebrating his and their success at what is easily the highest point in their careers yet, turned into an excuse for their fandom to tear each other’s throats out. And that is just me, an individual so far removed from the real-life situation my opinion doesn’t have any bearing on it.

Imagine for a moment what Jungkook, Jimin and Taehyung would feel if they knew the muddy and disgusting lengths their fans go to in order to “support” a relationship that might not even exist. They deserve better, and we can do better.

[bigfatbreak]

Birds of a Feather previous / next

[bacchuschucklefuck]

they licensed his ass

my finished piece of the FWMS (official name definitely 100%) thing we started a few days ago! I had fun I hope folks had and/or continue to have fun with the sketch as well.

[ciderjacks]

despite Laios low self esteem making him think that if he’d been eaten, Chilchuck and Marcille wouldn’t have helped Falin,

theres a small part of me that thinks the reason Chilchuck stayed with the party and went back in the dungeon in the first place was because he didn’t want to leave Laios alone. That Laios was moreso the reason he stayed.

[egophiliac]

Hi it's just to let you know that the official romanization of Revaan's name is Raverne ! Also they have romanized Baul's name to Baur !

Twst coming back at us again with the least expected romanization! thank you everybody (oh god my inbox) (no it's great, I literally asked for this and the reactions have been INCREDIBLE, thank you all!)

I do like Raverne though, I think it's got a nice fancy sound to it! (I had kinda suspected it was going to be an R instead of an L, so the fact that it's SO close to Laverne except for that is hilarious to me personally.) and Dragoneye Duke is honestly probably the best translation for his title, I wasn't envying the localizers that one. :') Baur instead of Baul I was NOT expecting, but in retrospect I think his name's supposed to be a reference to the Bauru crocodile, so that actually makes way more sense!

someone else also said Meleanor has become Maleanor, which is the REALLY weird one to me, because I was so surprised it was written as Mel instead of Mal in the first place?! oh god no I can't decide which one I like better. 😭 (I wonder if they might change it to Mal...they have made romanization changes before) (like I remember House of Distraction being corrected to House of Destruction in Playful Land) (I did check and she's still Mel for now, but I dunno, they might Mal her up and some point and save me from having to make a decision about which one to use) (HECK I CAN'T DECIDE)

uhhhh thank you for letting me ramble about anime names, let's just say MONOGRAMMED SWEATERS FOR EVERYONE

[almondpiglet]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAREST REIGEN!!

everyone thanks you for entering their lives :')

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

oh hey! i was reading a fic the other day where Wangji was once misspelled as Wangu. which leads me to: MDZS Pingu-style??? noot noot!

Do you think love can bloom on the sea ice?

[wiseabsol]

The Ithaca Saga is banger after banger, but what makes me sob every time I listen to it is Athena's part in "I Can't Help But Wonder." Like DAMN is her arc amazing, especially in parallel to Odysseus'. And the gentle sadness of his response makes my heart ache.

[s0fter-sin]

codtwt is going off on brainwashed!soap bc of his new warzone skin and it’s making me think of ghost deliberately getting himself captured by makarov bc he knows he’ll be given to his dog to try and break him; knows he won’t be able to resist the irony, the cruelty of being tortured by the teammate he lost

he doesn’t fight; welcomes the chains around his wrists and ankles, welcomes the hands stripping him of his weapons and gear until he's defenceless

he wouldn't use them anyway

when he stalks into the room, the muzzle, the scars, not even the blank hatred or lack of recognition could make him mistake his eyes

that's his johnny

he doesn't flinch as he digs knives into his skin; would never shy away from his kiss even if it's tinged with rusted steel. doesn't swallow his screams; not when he always loved hearing him, when he spent so long coaxing his voice from the grave

frustration joins the anger in johnny's eyes the longer he goes without giving up information

just jokes; dark and puns alike

just advice when he can't get the jumper cables to spark right

ghost's not trying to escape; not trying to barter his return to the 141

he's right where he wants to be

[randomalistic]

Wait you guys are actually buying Disney products I thought it was a joke

(READ TAGS FOR FULL CONTEXT Sorry it’s long dies

[lesbiansforeddiediaz]

Buck is the kind of guy to get turned into an animal. Any animal really but especially one with big wet eyes and general pathetic demeanor

[your-ne1ghbor]

Imma just drop this and run away

(Asha when she finally realizes her feelings for Star)

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

We should talk more about the fact Jason got swarmed and attacked by a mob as Robin, like??? Hello. He had to be left there because the mob was too violent with Batman near. He had to be taken to the hospital.

Look at those injuries!!

The next time we see him he's forcing himself out of bed and putting on the Robin costume thinking "I've gotta do what I can to help, even if it kills me!"

The next next time we see him he has walked into yet another violent mob

I cannot stop thinking about this story and the effects it probably had on him honestly. Do you think it's made him nervous in crowds, do you think it made him trust others just that bit less. How long do you think he was being attacked before he was found, the scene had cleared. "I've gotta do what I can to help, even if it kills me!",,,,

Just the concept itself! I don't know about you guys but being attacked and grabbed and trampled into unconsciousness sounds absolutely terrifying! Did he black out, still getting hit, thinking he was going to die? Knowing he couldn't defend himself as his injuries to took their toll? At their complete mercy?

1986-87 Legends, issue #2 (the attack), #3 (the hospital), #5 (getting up), #6 (defending heros from another forming mob)

2010 DC Universe: Legacies, issue #6 (flashback panel to Legends moment)

[jemmo]

i don’t want to jump the gun, but i think hwang daseul might have just done it again. two episodes in to let free the curse of taekwondo and i am obsessed. more than obsessed. transfixed. this show feels special in a way hwang daseul’s touch only can give, and just using these two episodes to compare to her previous works, i love that i can already spot the continuity in the kinds of stories she tells, the messages she portrays and how she portrays them. she just knows how to let her characters exist in harmful and difficult places and show how their experiences affect them while also just showing them as normal human beings. it is so so easy to overdramatise these kinds of stories that have these difficult topics and have it be so surface level, but she has never done that. instead, she shows how those experiences shape a person and how they go about living in spite of them. all the way from where your eyes linger to now, she gives us characters that are wholly themselves and not just the traumas they have gone through and i just adore that. i can’t remember what i was talking about specifically, but i remember talking about this sentiment and how it actually helps to build empathy in an audience as opposed to just showing a difficult topic at the most surface level bc you think that makes it accessible and easier to understand and hence empathise with. i don’t think that ever works. it’s only when you do what hwang daseul does, when you give us characters we can get to know and fall in love with and care for that you help us to empathise with their experiences. it’s hard to understand the weight and the hardship of experiencing something traumatic, but when something bad happens to someone close to you, a family member or a friend, you understand and feel that pain astronomically more. that’s what hwang daseul manages to do. and more so, she makes you feel that while also seeing these people as people. you get to see them away from the hurt, you see them smile in moments of happiness and you see that too with people you’re close to, and you feel even more how special and important those moments of happiness are.

and that’s why, whenever hwang daseul is at the helm of something, i will be seated from start to end with endless boxes of tissues ready. i can’t wait to see what else this show has in store.

[cent-scratchnsniff]

it was just going to be a few warmup doodles but then she infected the rest of the page like the ever eternal and spreading spores. hod!!! hod. hod :)

[saint-end]

safe haven