#like a week after jitb

[hobismilitarywife]

ngl i don't understand whats so wrong about asking people to listen to the album? u dont have to go to extremes and leave a playlist on all night like they do on twitter but i would think if you're a fan, you'd want to listen? we wouldnt have to beg people to support JITB... cause honestly i dont think they'll have this energy for anyone else in the group so its just disappointing im sorry i'll stay petty

ig a lot of people are against streaming because they find it stressful and also streaming does at times really makes us not enjoy the song, it starts feeling like a job instead of enjoying your fav so i get their pov, they aren’t saying that they aren’t listening to the work, they just don’t stream which is fine, to each their own, though i don’t think it’s right for them to shame people who do stream; like i said before let’s respect each other’s choices

but yeah there are tons of people who do stream actively but didn’t stream jitb, they upload top 20 songs being streamed by armies daily on twitter and only 2-3 days back did more started appearing on the list, that too on the number 20 and 19 :// like you said, streaming is pretty easy, just put on a playlist while you’re busy doing something else/aren’t on your phone, and yet people completely refused to stream jitb, all the hobi accounts that i follow on twitter had been begging people to stream jitb since the mama nominations were announced, and yet they were completely silenced and labelled as solos :/ it’s really sad 😞

[goldenhickeysandramen]

Things I dont like of Chapter 2 (the rise of solos)

You have heard me say it more than once that I don't like Chapter 2.

After much thought, and internal reflexions (cause sometimes I catch myself being mad or sad) I want to share with you the reasons (as a therapy):

1. There is no Ot7 content. Obviously, it's not the purpose, but if we want to see our favorites together (e.g. jikook), it's hard, and it makes me very sad 😥. There is only content from those who have something to promote, and so they do crossover, or a 2 x 1 (even in the design department).

2. Chapter 2 is the rise of solos, and maybe the end of the power or strength Army (as fandom) used to have. 

The true face of many accounts that are SOLO has come out. 

And when I say “SOLO”, I mean those who want the artist outside of BTS. I respect all opinions. But, if I knew that was their pov from the outset, I would not follow those accounts. Still, I follow accounts that follow and agree with those accounts... 😓😓 and the fact is that I don't know what the fuck to do, because sometimes I have the feeling that I need to start over and do a clean up, even though that would mean not following moots that I appreciate a lot.

I'm a bit of a solo myself. We all are. With our favorites. It's logical. 

But I want BTS back in 2025 or 2026.  I don't want any of them to leave the group unless they want to. 

And so far, they have expressed their willingness to be back together. I don't know... maybe they are constantly lying to us... or maybe it's the FUCKING TRUTH! 

As solos become more polarized, fandom will lose strength.

3. I do NOT like Hybe's planning at all. I'm sorry for what I'm going to do now, which is to compare, but it doesn't seem right to me that Hobi, for example, had almost 4 months for it (from July 15th when JiTB was released til mid October when Jin released the Astronaut) and Jimin only 4 weeks. Of course, the solution is to give more time to Jimin (not shade to my dear Hobi).

Let's see... wasn't this supposed to have been planned for a long time? This chapter 2.... 

Didn't Suga or RM have some songs already prepared before? 

Why not the vocal line? 

And what the fuck happened to the 3 songs and 3 MVs that Jungkook was talking to Hobi in early 2021?

Something is wrong here? Do you see it too?

4. In addition to planning, it should be added that Hybe is being very negligent in the way it promotes its biggest intangible assets: BTS members. I won't expand on this, because I already made a post.

https://www.tumblr.com/hickeyramenjmjk/714301263540584449/he-doesnt-deserve-this?source=share

But I do want to add something. It is good for all of us to speak out and raise our voices in the face of injustice. But we have to keep in mind that the solution is in Hybe now and the radio issue.

In my opinion, it is not organic to make massive purchases to boost anyone's position. I mean, from my pov, the merit is to take the song to the top 1 because everyone who listens to it, likes it, and then "it sounds more and more" and also they buy it. Army is needed, especially at the begining, but can't be the only source of success of BTS. 

BTS members deserve to be EXPORTED worldwide! Hybe DO YOUR JOB! 

5. Despite some glimpses of change (i.e. Bangtan naked era 😏) some things remain the same, to my own disappointment (but my fault & my expectations).

By this I mean certain very Kpop dynamics, which BTS still respects. Despite their privileged position and sailing between two seas: kpop and more western culture .... I think it's clear to us that where they are living influences their behaviour.

By this I mean all: the subject of women, how they should present themselves in front of Army, maintaining the illusions of the "ships", having  impeccable friends and collaborations (although as drinking is culturally accepted there, that seems to be well seen...).

It is funny to me when I see a lot of my PJMS-moots think that everything Jimin is going to do is always some kind of "coming out". There may be glimpses, and hints, but nothing could be further from the truth. Expectations of him are very high (free him from that burden!).... and they forget that he is one of the members who has the most respect for the elders and for his culture and values. If you talk to K-army they will point out that Jimin speaks with impeccable respect for Army. It's not for nothing that he's always at the top of the reputation rankings.

(Side note: maybe that's why the final part of "Letter" is so important, that it's not written in informal and that Jimin would never sing in that tone to Army).

There are things that have not changed and I wished they would change. For instance:

- I never expected jikook to come out of the closet, if I'm correct and they are together. But I also didn't expect such a level of misguidedness and protection (compared to other members, with whom they seem to go out to the theatre, football or drinking with no problem).

- I expected Taejennie to attend a premiere together, of some of their actor friends, and they didn't even greet each other at the Harry Styles concert. 

I don't think I'll ever get over this. 

https://twitter.com/taenniefacts/status/1643833776986890241?s=20

Even if you don't think they're a couple, and that it was all a set-up (a bit naive, actually), it's impossible to think that they don't know each other, given that they share a lot of friends (starting with the Paradise family). 

But on the contrary, to cover up what for me is obvious, Tae has over-used certain mass-raising behaviours.... you know what I mean.

- I thought Jimin was going to tell us a bit more about his album, and he censored things for the minors in his vlive. I will never forgive our Jiminie for this.😣

I still have faith in Jungkook's recent misbehavior 😂. Although not much either.... But if he comes out in one pic alone with Calvins, I'll adore him for life and think there's hope for change 🥹

Anyway... the best thing about this era is seeing their talent and getting to know their solo works. Obviously. And of course to see how all the top brands want them...

and  how they show more and more skin! hahahahaha....Let's enjoy it...

cr: @taebokkiii

Don't get me wrong.  I'd rather 10 times “chapters 2″ than see them go off to military service.

But I MISS BTS. A LOT. 

AND I MISS JIKOOK, TOO MUCH indeed.

And I needed to make this post, because it's a way to get out the helplessness I feel these months (while I also think about what to do with my twitter experience lately and the rise of solos).

[whysojiminimnida]

Oh you are such a liar. You and your stupid tea. Everything you pulled out of your lying ass can be debunked.

1. Jikook arrived together. How tf X know it ? Wasn't he a guest ? i.e arrived after the party started. But members were already in the company way before the party started.

2. Tae and Jkk not on good terms all because of Jennie and Jkk ?? Lmao who believes it. First of all even if they were not mingling that day it doesn't fucking matter. It was just some weeks before Tae proposed video call with Jimin, which they always do anyway.

3. JK went and put his arms around Jimin, held hands in corner..how confidential it it 😱. As if we didn't saw the exact same moment in the BTB. Didn't X went to party ? And he saw was the same 2 0.3 sec moment we ALL saw in BTB ?

4. Jennie is tae's gf. And how does it affect Jkk ? I don't care who's dating but by the behavior of 2 companies and idols they don't give a fuck to some edited pics on internet.

5. Hobi is bisexual. Yes i heard Hobi announced his sexuality to whole SK a day before the JITB. Lmao. And why does it matter anyway and related to Irene ?

6. The only 'secret info' which is true is JK and JM were fairly drunk. It's not even a new knowledge lol. They are 2 of the members with fairly good alcohol tolerance. And we fucking saw JK all drunk and laying on floor. And Jimin's flushed drunk face.

Please take your confidential infos somewhere else, to kids, to delulu jkkrs who will eat up anything positive related to jkk. We don't want it here.

And I know u won't post this ask because I̶t̶'s̶ a̶l̶l̶ l̶i̶e̶ a̶n̶d̶ y̶o̶u̶ a̶r̶e̶ c̶a̶l̶l̶e̶d̶ o̶u̶t̶ you are high on drunks and won't read this.

Ah, the kids be out here getting mad already. Let 'em froth, I say. Just froth away like the rabid bitches y'all are. It's honestly no damage to my self-esteem in any event, I didn't invite you here. You just... showed up and started yelling without my permission. Like usual. I have nothing to prove. Less than nothing, really. I'm not gonna give you the details on how my source knew when people arrived because I am not going to set up my dude to get doxxed - and y'all will try, I know this. I've seen you do it. To innocent, kind people who did nothing to you. That will not be happening in my this household, okay. One reason I waited four months to post is for this exact reason: your sector of the fandom won't calm the hell down and stay in your own spaces. You wanna be out here busting up boundaries for every other decent human if they breathe the same air as Taehyung and it's gross. It's disgusting. I don't come into your spaces and shit on the carpet so I'm gonna ask you politely to stay the fuck outta mine and wipe your ass before you talk. I'll address the "edited" (hint: they're not but you know that, you're just frothing at the mouth right now) pics at another time because Tae ain't care about those pics and neither do I. I'm not going to bother to address most of what you had to say because as usual, y'all don't do reading comprehension well in the first place. If you did you wouldn't be Taekookers. I stand by what I wrote. You ain't gotta read it. Save me, indeed.

"high on drunks".... lol.

[soullessjack]

so uh suncaptor blocked me and although they can’t see it, i do first want to say i am sorry if I’ve upset them or made them feel like they’re being accused of anything. that wasn’t my intent and never is. but I rlly can’t stress enough that the forefront of the problem with their perspective is inherently seeing jack as an infant within canon. like this isn’t an ableism thing, it’s just a factually wrong thing.

Asmodeus says that Jack is new to the world, but not a child.

Jack says twice that he could not be and is not a child.

The only person to ever call Jack a child is Michael, and he explicitly says so to belittle Jack and make him feel weak.

There is plenty of merit in discussing Jack’s limited experience as a factor in his character, but I’ve only ever seen it taken in the vein that he is infantile and therefore a perpetual victim of everything because of it is, which just wrong by the show’s own portrayal. Not only that, but it does it disregard the actual power imbalance he has with TFW, and how that itself so factors into his character. I don’t know how or why it’s brushed off so much, but Jack is literally “the most powerful being in the universe.” He’s regarded as a threat constantly, and repeatedly expresses the very real fear that he might hurt his family or anybody else in a moment of lost control.

I also feel that the idea of his dynamic being considered as exclusively mistreatment by TFW/the other hunters is just. Not true. Like, Dean’s bullshit lasted for two weeks before he got over himself and he canonically never forgave himself for it for the entire two years he got to know Jack better. And again, Jack is the strongest person in the team. Nothing they have can remotely hurt him, and he’s very much aware of it, hence the sunshiny golden boy act. Jack is constantly trying to make himself appear safer. It’s about being liked, of course, but it’s also about being distinctly Not A Threat Because to jack, That’s Why He’s Hated.

when Mrs Butters states that Jack is so powerful Sam and Dean should be afraid of him, he never outwardly refutes that he’s powerful. he only says “but I would never hurt them.” when Michael is monologuing to him about how powerful he’ll become with age, he “doesn’t want to admit that could be possible.” Jack is very painfully aware of his power and what it means for the people around him, and he’s also very aware of their fear when it’s directed at him. He’s felt that fear.

Jack has an interesting and confusing dynamic with TFW from the start: that he must be protected from harm while also being kept from causing harm himself. re this post about his autonomy, and how he wants to be seen as trustworthy and safe, it’s extremely upsetting to Jack when he thinks that dynamic has shifted or changed. he’s blatantly annoyed to have everybody check up on him and look over his shoulder, to give him food tests for his morality; to not really trust him, especially after all he does for them and to belong with them.

I know a LOT of this stuff stems from Jack In The Box and I understand how and why it did and frankly that episode is its own can of worms so ill be as brief as I can and highlight a few things about JITB first:

• re his limited experience being a factor in his character, jack is incredibly naive to the point of it being a fatal flaw, one he cannot afford to have and is very aware of the cost it comes with. he views his naivety as a weakness, as stupidity, and him “sucking when it matters,” and per his need to be Safe and Trustworthy he is always trying to be Smarter and Stronger and Better and More Capable than his flaws or perceived weaknesses. that is one of the horrors of his character, and one which inherently drives him through all of his arcs, especially agreeing to be locked up under false pretenses because, again, HE KNOWS HE IS DANGEROUS AND WANTS TO BE SAFE.

Dean was reliving his childhood trauma after decades of living with it and never fully recovering from it; he had every reason to be behaving the way he did. His conflict with Jack is very easily summarized as two insanely unstable guys spiraling and hurting each other in their own grief. And again, he spent two years regretting and unforgiving what he did to Jack early on and making concerted efforts to amend for it as a father/friend/mentor. He’s a better parent than he’s given credit for is what I’ll end with.

The box was never going to keep Jack forever. We already knew he would get out. It’s hard to say this in a way that doesn’t undermine the trauma Jack indefinitely has from it, but it cannot physically hurt him and cannot kill him. Sam and Dean tricking him into it is not a threat or imbalanced abuse (and I cannot stress enough, these are not normal healthy people with normal problems or normal healthy solutions). In fact, the entire scene of him breaking out and leering out at them through smoke with pure hatred in his eyes just shows that he is the one on the other side of the imbalance, not them. Jack is the threat, and the dynamic is tense because of it.

I’m kind of losing myself in the ramble, but what I am trying to say is that

A) Jack is not an infant. Never was one, never will be, and he hates being called one because it’s almost always in the context of belittlement and him being weak/incapable. he shows sexual and romantic interest, he has a love interest, he’s regarded as a young adult by everybody who respects him (so not Michael). he wants to pull his own weight, and resents being considered a burden.

B) Jack is not helpless; he is a nigh-omnipotent demigod with apocalyptic levels of power, especially in the case of mental/emotional instability. He deeply fears hurting his loved ones, and strives to have constant control over himself so that he can be safe for them. The power imbalance only lies in his choice to not hurt them, which he has chosen against in those silly fits of rage that nobody ever acknowledges

B+ ) and he isn’t a helpless victim of child abuse either; for all of their dysfunctions and “I might have to kill you”s (which have always been there pre-jack), TFW2.0 does genuinely love each other as a family and make efforts to be better for each other. They’ve faltered before, but again, they aren’t normal people dealing with normal situations and they do not have the liberty to respond normally or even appropriately.

C) Jack’s lack of experience and knowledge is a very real thing, but it’s more about him constantly trying to make the right decisions and earn peoples’ trust in him that he will make them, as well as avoid making the wrong ones because that consistently leads to him hurting people who don’t deserve it. All of which is wrapped up in a little pink bow as to Jack asserting his autonomy/personhood and arguing for his capability/responsibility at any chance.

••

I’m not angry and I’m not ever trying to attack anyone. It’s just incredibly frustrating that this specific misconception fumbles the rest of the discussions people have around jack and only ever makes it harder to have them. which in turn is even more frustrating on a personal level because he’s my special interest and I can never not think about him, but there’s hardly anything to engage with on a broader level

[ask-serendipity-sky]

Im absolutely flabbergasted by army lol. It's the way they show EQUAL hype to all members projects announcement. Idk how can someone pretend it like that. How can you be 24*7 hyped about 7 different people's works which is announced back to back ? I'm still not over FACE. 'Oh Namjoon will release a song aknzkwmxnskzkwms' next second 'oh Tae will release an album znndkwksmsmamnsn' the very next second 'oh JK will release a minialbum akndjwndoowzndks', How lmao, I can't even pretend.

Oh Yoongi release concept pics ? Let's be a cult and change everyone's pfp to same pic. Oh JK announced new song ? Let's add 'by JK' to our dn. Oh hobi releasing JITB ? Let's add a joker card to our username Etc etc. So pumped and so dramatic only to give them 7 different treatments lmao. The numbers don't lie and this over dramatic response to each and every new song announcement is not translated to output.

JK gets a 10M stream on 1st week average, Jimin gets a 6M stream, Yoongi get a 2M stream, Joon barely on chart by end of the week and hobi already out after a day 💀💀💀💀 so all those drama for what ? To show they are as excited and equally supportive of all 7 members ? To prove they are OT7 to the core ? Then why results are not seen lol. There are many factors which affect the numbers but being out of chart in a week too extreme while other member stays for months is not giving 'Army treats everyone equally' shit.

I think people should be really honest with their reaction to members announcements. There's no need to 'pretend' and give fake hype only to drop them after day 2 and let other small fandoms drag them. Idk if it's to get followers or to live upto their pure blooded ot7 agenda lol but either way it's not working and it shows in result. It's like giving members too much expectation during project announcement and release only to drop them after the 2 days of release

Hi anon,

But it's social media and this is expected. You got to be ot7 or you are an anti. You are a Blink!

Like the other day when someone sent me an ask saying they thought I didn't like BTS because I write mean or sad things or don't mention them (something like that). Because I don't live in lala land and write what I see.

But in real life, I buy their solo music. Which is what the guys need. Support in their solo projects. And I add most of their singles or collabs to my Jimin playlists. Most.

I don't make a big deal about it on twitter but then I see the people with the little 7s and Celine and FACE with D-day and Jack and CK with Dior lol

I get your frustration lolol I really do.

But if people were honest, they would all be solos probably. So it's easier to pretend along.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

By the way, you all know the picture that Jk had for a tiny bit on weverse? This one:

So when Jk did that, EVERYONE did that. But that has been my pfp since I opened twitter. And by now, you all know I'm petty as hell and I was so mad because everyone looked like me! And it seemed like I was part of the sheeple copying Jk but I just really like this picture of Jimin.

Jk and I are so alike, I swear. Sometimes, I have dreams where we both go in search of Jimin lol like we are buddies. I get you, Jk. I really do.

[jimimn]

I'm so annoyed by this fandom. Why are so many ppl acting like bts hasn't been talking about how they DO NOT have enough time to do everything before they have to enlist. Yes, back to back releases kinda suck because you can get overwhelmed really quickly but it's not like they are doing this on purpose?? They did not look at Jimin charting on billboard and said ight no more of that, time for another album?? Also for Yoongi's tour they do not book the venues like 2 days before the concert??? His tour was probably decided months ago and so was his album, and Jimin knew and Yoongi knew and everyone knew?? So can people just shut up. And like where is this "Jimin didn't have his chance" or whatever is coming from. He did so much for his promotion, which is STILL GOING BTW like he'll literally still have his studio choom video. And people act like as soon as something new drops, they immediately have to stop listening to Face??? You can enjoy both face and d-day at the same time??? We had a break after JITB and Indigo but I honestly do not think they had any more promo than Face. Like everyone did what they could and wanted to. I'm sorry for venting in your inbox, I'm just annoyed. Time to take a twitter break I guess.

(you sent this before bb100 was announced so i will reply accordingly fhfkjrkrjdk) maybe I'm on the good side of twitter or wtv but i didn't see ppl being negative on my tl. i saw screenshots of jimin solos and yoongi solos fighting (are we even surprised) but that's about it. ppl who are making an issue about this need to realise that it's all fuckin planned. it's not like they didn't know that it would be back to back. but what other choice do they have with so little time on their hands???? they said they want to return and get together as soon as possible so they're gonna have to enlist by the end of this year to come back in 2025. Jimin did not miss any chance his album is doing really well. His promotions are over too. Also people have to realise that the members are two separate individual artists as well. And while two individuals can perfectly have their albums come out on the same day, they still gave us two weeks in between the releases too. Which i think is enough time 😭 people really need to stop making this a fuckin race and enjoy the music that they put out for us. They're on limited time right now and we need to understand that. They wouldn't have been releasing back to back if they had a choice. and even if they did i dont think we still had any right to question that. And exactly like you don't need to stop listening to face just because a new album is dropping? 😭😭 by that logic are you not listening to jitb or indigo then??? 😭 so fucking stupid fr. I'm sorry for taking long time to reply. I hope you take a break and feel better soon 🥺

[love4hobi]

Yeah but even in his own fandom, he's not noticed as much as the others. Maybe it's good that he keeps being their front man for a while? He gets more visibility in this fandom, people keep talking about him, and maybe people will stop treating him as some back dancer? He was a central figure for BTS in 2022 and even now he keeps representing them and people can't pretend they don't see him now. Idk I hope something good will come out of this.

yea thats true i see what ur saying..... but also even now a lot of armys refuse to support his solo stuff like im not into streaming but ive seen so many of those streaming playlists just leave his stuff completely out or big accounts will encourage people to stream all their solo stuff but his, or they will completely ignore the fact that hes also nominated for awards that bts as a group are nominated for despite the fact that theyre aware hes the only one going to collect it........ like bts as a group have won so many awards over the years i bet it would be so much more meaningful to jhope than it would ever be to the group n its just like, :((( but not that its entirely their fault even, its hybe that makes it hard to support him in the first place, releasing the jitb "physical album" over a week after the actual digital release of the album, and it not being available in in-person stores as opposed to his bandmates.......... i fear he may never be treated like the others and its just upsetting

[kookjinnies]

Don’t want to be negative but I wish they’d released Seokjin’s single a week earlier. Maybe they didn’t because of Taylor. But his solo hasn’t been out a full week and there’s already another member’s release confirmed :(

i feel like the release was aligned at the end of october bc of The En📃ment and also since it's a surprise collab (sj rewriting the ENG lyrics to KOR a day before filming the mv and sj saying that TA was not in the plans before) and some members' release dates were probably planned already.

i am also sad and frustrated because this is seokjin's gift to us and we won't be getting any new songs from him in ~2 years and i feel like people are taking TA for granted :(( as to the news of another member's release (happy for joon <3) didn't bh/hyb3 also do this to jitb with the announcement of bad decisions too? it's very frustrating to see this happen again most esp since the release of TA has been very hard in terms of charting (going against big western artists like rihanna, sza, etc; some delivery of physicals starts after the first week of tracking or even as late as dec; promo sched pushed back) and some armys are easily distracted from the goal: giving back the love seokjin has given us by charting TA 🥺 and lbr longevity is our weakness and we don't have the strong support of gp to help us with that 😶‍🌫️

let's just do our best by streaming and buying TA. also it pays to be vocal on social media so be sure to spread links, playlists, listening parties, edits, etc so we can encourage more people to listen to the song.

[nickgerlich]

You Don’t Know Jack

When I think back to high school in Chicago’s south suburbs, I fondly recall going only a half-day my senior year, while working in the afternoons in a co-op program. It was a great deal that gave me a lot of retail experience, from stocking shelves to driving the delivery van. In large part, it shaped my desire to study marketing.

But the memories that elicit the biggest grins are from third-period Journalism. Sure, I wrote stories, edited, and did all of those things, but we also had a yearbook to produce. And since funding was tight even back then, we had to sell ads. Our teacher was oh-so-kind and secured hall passes as well as off-campus liberties for that hour, which my pals and I seized upon like vultures at a road kill. “Wanna go sell ads?” became our rallying cry a few days a week, which meant that we were sneaking off to Jack In The Box for a mid-morning nosh.

I honestly don’t remember if we ever sold an ad, but I got a head start on my “Freshman 15” long before I ever left for university.

I loved the old JITB units back then, because they looked like—well—a jack in the box, the kind we had all played with as kids. The goofy clown played a prominent role. The color scheme was very 70s. I had gone to a different JITB even earlier in my life when we lived in a different suburb, and I remember it being just as family-themed as this one. What wasn’t to like?

But then the 80s hit. I had been off at university in a place that had Burger Chef instead of JITB, and by the time I returned home after graduation, JITB had shed its fun image for one that targeted Yuppies. It marked the beginning of a steep decline for them. It was about as dumb a move as Chuck E. Cheese trying to reposition itself as a gourmet pizza parlor.

The chain has managed to hang on, though, and has 2168 restaurants in 21 states, not bad for a chain that lost its luster. But to be honest, it still feels like a chain that lost its way long ago, much like Burger King and its 7257 shops. Yes, both have many properties, but they’re not exactly top-of-mind.

But JITB aims to position itself better now for the 21C with a new prototype restaurant that is all about drive-thru, walk-up, and mobile ordering. Oh, and no in-store dining.

The goal is to shrink the physical footprint and thereby reduce build-out costs. With land often scarce, and building expenses sometimes prohibitively high, being able to slip in to a narrow strip of land could be very strategic. I’m thinking of all those Dutch Bros and Scooters coffee shops popping up everywhere than can almost be dropped into place.

In an interesting nod to the past, the new shops look like a modern rendition of a jack in the box toy. But today just as then, all that unused vertical space can be expensive to heat and cool, not to mention build. While current shops look somewhat vaguely reminiscent of the original buildings, albeit with earthy hues, they don’t do a good job stirring old memories.

Now I get it, to some extent. JITB realized that McDonald’s had cemented the kid-forward market position, and it can be suicidal to try to simply mimic your competitor. But McD’s has shed a lot of that positioning as well. After all, who wants to send their kid to the ball pit or playground equipment with COVID still very clear in the rear view?

Most importantly is JITB’s embrace of the new way of doing business. COVID also taught fast food customers that interior dining was not a necessity. The pandemic pushed us much farther along the experience curve with mobile ordering, as well as curbside pickup and deliveries. And the restaurants have responded, not just JITB, but nearly all the big chains.

The question remains whether this will be a long-term mistake. Will we once again yearn to eat burgers, tacos, whatever, inside once more? Will we tire of taking this stuff home, or even having it delivered? Or is this the new normal now?

But since there are no JITBs in Amarillo, I’ll just have to wait on checking out all of this. The prototype store is in Tulsa, a mere 400 miles away, and if I find myself doing another Route 66 adventure any time soon, I would most certainly stop by to check it out.

I might even try to sell them an ad.

Dr “Pop Goes The Weasel“ Gerlich

Audio Blog

[btsgotjams27]

safety zone | jhs

when you forget to rsvp to j-hope's listening party, you take it upon yourself to make it up to him.

✨ title: safety zone | ✨ pairing: hoseok x ceo f!reader ✨ word count: 5.3k | ✨ rating: m/18+ | minors dni ✨ genre: strangers-to-lovers, idol!au, mutual pining, pwp, smut ✨ warnings: alcohol consumption, cursing, kissing, oral (m,f receiving), fingering, consented sex, unprotected sex, mc is on the pill, they're both clean, use of the word slut, sex against the wall, I also suck at writing smut, so I apologize in advance ✨ outfit for the night ✨ a/n: this started as a convo with my friend Ana when the JITB party was happening and it turned into this one-shot lol. enjoy.

The invitation to the party of the century was waiting inside a brown package outside of your door when you arrived home from work, but you wouldn’t get to open it until the day after. You grabbed the box, not thinking anything of it, didn’t even care to see who sent it because you always received so many gifts from companies and reps trying to sway you with their products. It was just another box amongst your other pile of boxes. You'd get to it at some point.

Another Thursday, full of meetings. The most dreaded day of the week, so close to the weekend, yet so far. And one may wonder why you’d say yes to being the senior editor of a fashion magazine, and sometimes you ask yourself the same question. Well, because you love the hustle, the adrenaline rush from a deadline, and mostly the freedom of creativity…you love that aspect of your job. The other part of your position included mingling with people in the industry, schmoozing with the rich and famous. Sounds like a dream, right? WRONG. Celebrities were the worst, it was hard to find people you actually liked and could connect with, without someone wanting something in return. Sure, you held a position of power, but at what cost? No friends and long work hours? The closest friend you had was Ari, your assistant, who knew the ins-and-outs of your life, but that was only because it was her job.

Ari knocked on your office door before peeking her head in. “Hey boss…I received an email from HYBE today and they haven’t received your RSVP for the ‘Jack in the Box’ album listening party tonight.”

Tonight? You looked at the clock in the corner of your screen, it was nearly three in the afternoon. Perking up from your laptop screen, your eyes widened at Ari’s statement. “I don’t remember receiving an invitation.”

“They said a package was sent to you last week.”

Shit…You’d been so busy that you didn’t have a chance to look through your packages. “They sent it to my apartment?”

“Yes…” Ari scrolled through the tablet in her hands, “it looks like j-hope personally sent it to you.”

Shit. Shit. Shit. You closed your laptop. “Get them on the phone. NOW.”

She grabbed her phone from her pocket and immediately dialed, and handed the phone over. It rang a few times before someone on the other end picked up, directing you to Mi-na who was in charge of the event tonight. While on the phone, you expressed how terrible you felt for not responding sooner and that you would of course be there at the listening party.

When you hung up, you glanced up at Ari who was sporting a smirk. “What?” You asked, giving her the side-eye.

“You mean you haven’t been texting the one and only Jung Hoseok, aka j-hope, from BTS - the biggest band in the world? How could you not know about this party?” She asked with a curious expression.

You knew his album was coming out, you’d been on the set of his photoshoot, not even a month ago, but you didn’t know there was a listening party. “No…he’s been busy and so have I…and when would I have time to text him?”

Ari grinned, “Mmhm.”

“Besides…he left me on read.” You weren’t bitter about it. You weren’t! He was a busy guy being a worldwide superstar and you were busy running a magazine. You thought there might have been some sort of chemistry the last time you were on the set of his photoshoot, but maybe you read the signals wrong, maybe he wasn’t flirting with you - he was just being nice.

The listening party was being held on the 19th floor of the HYBE building. It was smart to do so, you thought - doing things on their terms and no one else’s, and that’s what you admired about HYBE and their business model. They took care of their artists unlike other companies you knew.

Arriving at a private entrance in the parking garage, you stepped out of your car, dressed in leopard print mini dress, black combat boots and leather jacket. It was good enough for j-hope’s party, right? You threw whatever you had in your closet. There was literally no time to go and shop for a new one.

As you walked through the sliding glass doors, you checked in at the front desk. The receptionist handed you two badges, one printed with the ‘Jack in the Box’ album cover and the other was a white key card. You didn’t think anything of it, stuffing the white key card in your jacket pocket and the other laced around your neck.

When you reached the 19th floor, the party was already in full swing: the bar fully stocked, a line forming in front of it, a few groups forming here and there dancing as the DJ played old school hip hop tracks along with some of today’s latest hits. It was everything you’d expect from j-hope - the vibe, the atmosphere, it was very him.

Your phone suddenly buzzed, breaking you out from your amazement at this listening party. The stupid little green purse you chose for tonight was probably a bad idea, it had no space to hold anything - just your driver’s license, a card, lipstick and phone. But of course, Ari suggested, “the ridiculousness of a bag determines a person’s importance.” Important? You were hardly important. It’s not like you were Anna Wintour.

When you finally dug out your phone, you double tapped the screen, it was a text from Ari.

Ari 8:12PM

Say hi to Jungkook for me

and j-hope too! Have fun boss! 😘

You rolled your eyes and looked up from your phone to scan the crowd. Jungkook wasn’t hard to spot with his tattoos on full display. He was sitting near the stage next to Jin, sharing a drink, and watching a group of dancers show off some moves. You chuckled and shook your head - biggest stars in the world and you found it cute how they stuck to one another, probably a comfort thing, you understood it. You didn’t respond to Ari, rather you just stuck your phone back into the small confines of your green bag.

The line for the bar began to wither down, which called for a drink. The drinks for tonight were, of course, Jack in the Box themed. They were all named after the album track list. When you reached the bartender, you were undecided on your choice of drink.

“Try Pandora’s Box,” a low voice whispered next to you. You glanced over to see RM leaning against the counter, observing the crowd.

“Ah, got it. I’ll take a Pandora’s Box,” taking his suggestion. Just a few minutes later, the drink was in your hand. When you took a closer look at what was actually in it, gin, honey, mint, and lime syrup - you turned to RM, “Thank you,” nodding your glass to him. After taking another sip, you introduced yourself, pulling a business card from your jacket pocket, handing it over to him.

He held it in between his fingers. “I know who you are,” he grinned while taking your card and taking a sip of his drink.

You raised your eyebrow, “You do?”

He nodded his head, “Mmhm..your name has been dropped here and there around this building.” This made you wonder why your name was floating around and from whose lips.

“Have fun tonight,” RM said before starting to walk away.

“Call me when your album drops!” You hollered in his direction, in which he turned back around, smiling and waving your business card in the air, indicating that he would keep in contact.

When you received the call from HYBE themselves asking if your magazine would feature j-hope for the month’s cover, you, of course, accepted with no hesitation. Your magazine was up and coming, and to have a big star featured in it was something to not waver on.

The night continued on as you mingled your way through producers, dancers, singers, etc. You wondered where the man of the hour was - maybe he was making a late entrance, everyone would continue to wait for him anyway. The bartender went heavy on the gin in your drink, almost causing your bladder to burst if you didn’t find a bathroom right away.

You wandered down a hallway, hoping you went the right way to find a restroom, but instead you found the man of the hour, leaning with his head back against the concrete wall, quietly muttering to himself.

When he saw a figure coming towards him, he glanced up, grinning from ear to ear when he saw it was you, “Thought you weren’t going to make it.”

Your eyes crinkled at the sight of Jung Hoseok, though he was absolutely a nervous wreck from the looks of his deep breaths and sighs, you found him rather cute and adorable at this moment. “I’m here,” you said, before mirroring his position against the wall. “You okay?”

“Nervous,” he chuckled softly. “Never done this before.”

Nodding your head, you understood where his head was at. His first big solo project and it was just him, no members to shield him if there was any disappointment or fighting words to come his way. Not that j-hope needed to worry about that, because from the interactions and short conversations you had with him, his art spoke for itself. It would soon be a masterpiece that the world could have a piece of, a piece of j-hope, a piece of peace.

Pushing yourself off the wall, you stood in front of him, trying to get him to look you in the eye. “You’re gonna do great,” you stated, grabbing the lapels of his jean jacket, letting your fingers linger longer than expected from either of you. Quietly, you tapped on his chest, feeling the heat radiate from his body.

A small smile left his lips, “Glad you’re here,” he spoke before finally getting the courage to look you in the eye.

“Me too," your expression now mirroring his.

Another figure dressed in a black suit and tie began making their way towards you and j-hope, prompting you to quickly step away from him. J-hope cleared his throat as the man walked towards him, whispering something in his ear. He responded indistinctly before glancing your way and smiling. “Looks like they’re ready for me. We’ll talk later?”

“Yeah…I’m looking forward to it.” You said as he walked off, making his way to the stage.

Like you expected, j-hope’s album was incredible, full of life, deep lyrics, some fun tracks, some tracks that hit you in the gut - you wouldn’t expect anything else from him. This album was a momentous occasion, and he should be so proud of it.

Once he went through a listen of his full album, there was a sense of relief on his face. Countless people came to congratulate him, as did you when the night was ending.

“Are you…heading home already?” He asked, trying to pay attention to you but others kept interrupting.

“Yeah, I was thinking about it.”

So many others continued to get in the way of your conversation, he gestured for you to wait for a moment while he politely bid farewell to his guests.

Once the crowd calmed down, he made his way back to you, leaning in so only you could hear him, “Do…you want a tour of the company?” J-hope asked, biting his bottom lip, wondering if he was too forward with his question.

The corners of your mouth went up and you licked your lips, a shameless chuckle escaped too, "Sure, I'd love a tour." 

You’ve seen your fair share of music labels and their company but none as extravagant as HYBE’s. They really thought of everything when it came to what their artists would need. From their own hair salon, quiet rooms, gyms, dance rooms, cafe, even a greenhouse (which was input from RM himself).

“This is um, quite impressive.” You remarked as the two of you turned the corner with Hoseok leading the way. “And where are we heading off to now?”

He leaned in towards you, “It’s a secret.” Smiling as he pressed a code to get into the elevator, which you found remarkable. You guessed they didn’t want just anyone to be walking through these hallways - made sense.

The two of you entered as the elevator doors opened, J-hope scanned his card before pressing the '6' call button. You leaned against the wall opposite of him, trying to avoid each other's gaze and suppress small smiles. "What?"

He shook his head. "You look really pretty tonight," he said, biting his bottom lip again. He's never been this forward with anyone, but little did you know you had him wrapped around your pretty little finger. He was just too scared previously to make his move.

Shying away from his comment, your eyes flickered to your boots before glancing back at him. "You know how to make a girl blush, J-hope," noting as the apple of your cheeks began to warm up. Some parts of you wondered if things would have progressed differently if you weren't stubborn and just texted him first, even though he left you on read.

“Just call me Hoseok or Hobi…j-hope seems too formal,” he giggled. You smirked, letting the informal name roll off your tongue.

The elevator dinged, opening up to an empty hallway. Hoseok gestured to follow him, you couldn’t help but try to peer into the other studios labeled for RM and SUGA. After RM and SUGA’s studio doors, you arrived at Hoseok’s studio, the last one down the hall.

You stood in the middle of his studio, taking in the vibrant decor. He indicated for you to sit in his chair, which you did. "So this is where all the magic happens huh? Hours upon hours here, dreaming of big things." You quietly tapped on his desk, before swiveling the chair around to face him.

"Or hours upon hours of sitting and doing nothing," he chuckled, because there were countless days like that. He took a step closer towards you. "What did you think of the album?"

"Loved it. Wouldn't expect anything other than greatness from you," you flirted at him, causing him to shy away with a smile, revealing the cutest little dimple.

“Do you have a favorite song from the album?"

Running through the tracklist in your head, you thought about the song that stood out to you the most, they were all great, but this one was magical. You held your finger to your cheek, tapping on it. “Equal sign, that one is my favorite.”

“That’s a good one. Do you have a favorite lyric from it?” He asked, trying to pick your brain or was he stalling because he was nervous being in the same room with you.

“Not so different, you and I…looking for love in a different light…”

He watched the words roll off your tongue, “Oh–not so different hm?” His feet shuffled closer towards you.

You shook your head, looking up at him, grinning like an idiot. "And are you looking for love?"

He leaned forward, placing both hands on the armrests beside you, causing you to draw back slightly. He was close, extremely close. "Maybe.." Hoseok continued exploring the details of your face, from your eyes to your nose, then lingered on your plush lips. "What about you?"

A breath hitched in your throat as you explored his features too, watching the small dimple appear now and again when he would smile, and you never noticed the faint beauty mark on his upper lip, making you wonder what his lips would feel like against yours. Your stomach fluttered at the thought of his lips.

Snapping out from your daze, you explained, "I don't know…the last guy left me on 'read'," referring to the last interaction you had with him. Again, not upset. He's busy. You're busy. Things didn't happen like you wanted them to, but maybe tonight would change that.

Hoseok clicked his tongue, "That's rude." His face now leaning in closer to yours, so close you can feel his breath, so close you imagined the things he could do to you with that mouth and tongue.

"Very…" you quipped at him, biting down on your bottom lip, curling your fingers underneath his chair as you inched forward to him.

"The last girl didn't RSVP to my party," he said, avoiding your eyes and instead, lingered on your parted lips - curious to know how your rose tinted lips would look on his neck, maybe even on his cock.

"Also rude of her…" you stated, knowing that he was referring to you. It wasn't your fault, per se…

"She didn't RSVP, but she did show up and now she's in my studio." You couldn't help but blush when he said that. So you weren't crazy, because he was thinking about you after his photoshoot. Maybe he had been too excited to have finally found someone he connected with and didn’t want to be overbearing, therefore trying to minimize contact with you, only to find out later you really wanted him to chase after you.

Playing dumb, you asked, "Is that right? Is she hiding somewhere?" Pretending to look around his studio, chuckling at your silly remark. You were just glad the two of you were on the same page now - that the two of you were definitely into one another.

His eyes darted from your eyes to your lips again, "Mmhm…she should come out to play."

You softly giggled, "What game are they gonna play?" Your hand now toying with his necklace, urging him to come closer.

He chuckled, "How about a game where I get to kiss her?"

"Kiss her hmm?"

He slowly nodded, watching your every move, waiting for you to give him the signal to move in.

"Only if you don't leave me on 'read' again."

Hoseok hung his head down before looking at you once more, "I promise you that won't happen." And he meant it.

"Okay…" you whispered, eyes focused on the little beauty mark on his upper lip, before traveling up to his gaze. Licking your lips, you gently pulled him by his necklace towards you. Your lips faintly in contact with his, closing your lips on the beauty mark you so wanted to taste.

He closed his eyes, turning his head to the side to deepen the kiss, pushing you back further into the chair. You cupped his face, continuing to entangle your lips with his, and you couldn't help but lace your fingers in between the hair curling on the nape of his neck.

The two of you let out a moan in unison once you pulled away. You stood up, pushing away the chair from underneath you, his hands now gripped onto your waist, and yours snaked around his neck. He began to pepper kisses down your jawline, then your neck, leaving small traces of himself on you. Tiny whimpers grew louder as you became desperate for more of his touch.

"Hoseok…" you mewled as he continued with his kisses. You began backing him up against the wall, needing to show him how regretful you were for not responding to his invite sooner.

He removed your jacket, letting it drop to the ground, mouths connecting once more, his urgency to feel all of you. He broke the kiss, asking if he could remove the straps of your dress. You responded by letting them slide off of your shoulders, revealing your bare chest.

"Fuck, you're so sexy, better than I could ever imagine," he groaned at the sight, taking his hands in yours, you brought them to cup your breasts - his hands warm and soft against them. He kissed you again, now letting his tongue dance with yours, and his hands in full control - kneading and caressing your breast and nipples.

You suddenly pulled away from him, getting down on your knees, beginning to unbuckle his belt and undo his button. He quickly looked down at you in this compromising position, didn't think he'd get to see you like this so quickly. He didn’t want to let his mind wander too far off - scared he’d blow his load before you even got your mouth on him.

"Thought you were mad," he panted, "and that's why you didn't RSVP." His head rolled back as you shimmied his pants then his underwear off, letting his thick cock spring out. "Ah–fuck," Hoseok gazed at you, all wide-eyed, ready for him to fill you up.

You grinned, "If I was mad, I wouldn't be on my knees right now, would I?" Your hand finally wrapped around his hardened length, pumping it a few times, making him hiss at the sight of you. Faintly, you dragged your tongue along the underside of his cock, running alongside the prominent vein, bringing it to the tip where a small dribble of pre-cum started to form.

“Shit–baby–you’re going to be the death of me,” Hoseok moaned, his hands tugging at his own hair.

You giggled at the cute man of the hour, “Already? I barely did anything.”

“You’re doing a lot–” he beamed. "Driving me absolutely insane right now."

"Good–" you chirped before licking your lips and taking his cock into your mouth, causing him to groan and knit his eyebrows together.

He wanted to keep his eyes open, he did. He wanted to imprint this memory into his brain forever, but your mouth was all consuming, making him forget who he was, and where he was.

You continued bobbing up and down his cock, letting your mouth go further until it would hit the back of your throat, triggering guttural groans from Hoseok. "Wait–don't wanna cum yet," his voice quivered as he looked down at you. His hand caressing your cheek, eyes pleading for this to continue in other ways. He wanted to make you feel good too.

Hoseok took your hand in his, making you stand up and switch positions with him - it was you against the door now. "Wanna make you feel good too," he whispered before placing a kiss in the crook of your neck, then your collarbone, moving it along to take a mouthful of your tit, making you gasp. His tongue flicking against your pebbled nipple, while the other was being pinched between his fingers.

"Hoseok, please…touch me," you pleaded with him. While his cock was in your mouth, your pussy clenched around nothing, you wanted to give all your attention to him, you weren't expecting anything in return but he stopped you earlier than you wanted.

"You're a needy little slut, aren't you?" He asked as he pulled down your undies, letting it drop down to your ankles. Slowly, his fingers dipped into your cunt, gathering your juices to rub your clit.

Surprised to hear those words from his mouth, but it was all the more exciting too - it turned you on even more. "Mm.."

"Say it."

You cleared your throat, "I'm a needy little slut."

"For who?"

"For you Hoseok, only you."

"Good–" he repeated your words from earlier before shoving two fingers into your pussy without any warning, making you yelp and fall forward against him.

"Fuck–Hoseok–"

"You're so wet for me already."

"I was wet the second I stepped into his building," you confessed with no shame whatsoever. You were excited to come to the party, even more excited to see Hoseok.

He flashed a grin as he continued pumping his digits in and out of your pussy, causing the most lewd noises to echo throughout his studio. Thank God it's soundproof.

"Hoseok–ah–" your expression twisted as he pumped faster. "Need you–inside me–now," you said, panting harder than before.

"Can't," he said, "No condom."

"Don't care," you chirped, making his eyes widen. "I'm on the pill, and clean - haven't had sex, been almost a year." Sad to admit, but true.

Hoseok abruptly stopped pumping you, just to make sure he heard you correctly. "Shit–I get to have you raw?"

"If you want to…yeah."

He studied your face again, just to confirm if this was really happening. You leaned in, connecting your mouth with his, telling him yes, you're sure.

Hoseok pulled away, growling into your ear, leaving small bruises onto your neck. You really were going to be the death of him, letting him have you raw.

His cock still erect and poking your thigh, you took it upon yourself to stroke him again. Now guiding his cock towards your entrance, rubbing his tip with your juices, getting yourself ready for him. Spreading your legs apart, Hoseok held his cock, just slightly letting the tip in, causing you to whimper.

"Shit–baby, I'm not gonna last long," he whispered, his head leaning against your forehead, nose nuzzling yours.

"That's okay," you reassured him, as long as you could fuck him now, you didn't care how long it would last. You kissed him again, letting your tongue play with his, as he writhed underneath to get you into a good position. You slipped your underwear away from your ankles, so he'd have better access to you, widespread, on your tip toes as he lifted you against the wall, pinning you, as he pushed his cock into your pussy.

The pair of you moaned together, he held you against the wall for a moment before steadily thrusting into you. Like he said, he wasn't going to last long if you went raw.

"You're so tight–" he grunted as he began fucking you against the wall, causing your head to bump against it every now and then. His teeth sunk into his bottom lip as he watched your eyebrows knit together in pleasure. It's also been a while for him since he's fucked anyone.

"Ngh–Hoseok," you whined before he abruptly set you down on his leather couch, causing him to slip out of you. Another whine left at the loss of his cock.

He let you watch as he undressed himself, then he placed himself in front of you, slipping you out of your dress and boots. Hoseok wanted to take in the view of you, memorize all your curves and beauty marks. "Beautiful," he whispered before getting down on his knees. "Can't wait to see how sweet you taste."

You propped your head up to flash him a smile before covering your face. Now that you were completely naked, you felt embarrassed at the fact you were fucking Jung Hoseok in his music studio.

He wrapped his arms around your thighs, pulling you towards him, peppering kisses along the inside, making his way down to your pussy. You could hear soft chuckles coming from him, it was fun for him to see you squirm at the slightest touch.

His mouth then found your clit, slowly licking it, trying to figure out how many licks until you'd reach your high - it was pure torture, your legs quivering and shifting underneath his tongue. Then he began to lap between your folds, and every once in a while darting his tongue in your entrance making you cry out his name.

The yearning in the deep pit of your stomach started to rise up, edging you closer and closer to climax. As you continued to squirm underneath, Hoseok placed his two fingers inside your cunt, repeatedly pumping it in and out of you, bringing you over the edge and into bliss, legs shaking and convulsing as he rode out your high.

Propping yourself up to see the damage, Hoseok looked up with a grin on his face, wiping away your juices from his mouth. "So sweet," he murmured.

You sat up, pulling him down for a kiss, tasting yourself on him. He's right - so sweet. Smiling into the kiss, you told him to lay down because you wanted to show him your appreciation. He was intrigued and ready for whatever you wanted to do. He was game.

He laid down, hands behind his head, intently watching you straddle him. He couldn't help but grin at the sight of you, couldn't wait to keep having more of you, explore what you liked, loved, and what you'd be willing to try.

You stroked his length, bringing it to your entrance again, rubbing his cockhead with your juices before letting yourself bottom out on top of him. And fuck–this position was much better, you could feel all of him inside your walls.

Hoseok closed his eyes, groaning and breathing heavily as you began to roll your hips, then slamming yourself down, bordering him closer and closer to his climax - it had been building for a while already. He was trying his best to hold onto it, but once you were riding him - it was over.

He grabbed a handful of your ass, smacking it noisily, making you grin at his touch. You didn't make him out to be like this during sex - actually you had no idea at all, but you loved it. You leaned down to kiss him, and he wrapped his arms around you as he began thrusting roughly from below, whispering filthy things into your ear, causing you to moan. He continued slamming harder and harder into you, lewd noises from his cock hitting your pussy repeatedly filled the air, you bit down into his shoulder to muffle your moan.

"Baby–I'm gonna cum so hard for you," he whispered into your ear.

"Please, cum for me Hoseok–" whining back at him.

He moaned shamelessly, panting heavily as he reached his orgasm, painting your walls with white, hair now sticking to his temples as he laid his head back. He laced his fingers into your hair, lightly tugging you back so he could give you a sloppy kiss. As you laid on his chest, he grazed up and down your spine with the tips of his fingers, making you slightly shudder.

You couldn't help but chuckle at the fact you just fucked Jung Hoseok - in his studio of all places. This was definitely not your intention when you showed up at his party. You lifted yourself up, the two of you grinning like idiots at one another.

Hoseok cleared his throat, "Well um, I think that was the highlight of my party."

When you got back to your apartment, you found yourself still smiling like an idiot. You were sure your doorman knew exactly why you were so happy.

Tonight's party was perfect. More perfect than you could have imagined.

Setting down your bag and taking off your boots, you stared at the stacked pile of packages sitting next to your dining table. You walked over to find the package that Hoseok had sent the week before, wondering what could possibly be in it.

Grabbing a pair of scissors to cut it open, you found a white box, scribbled with the artwork from his album, and a small lever on the side - you assumed it was a jack in the box. You began turning the lever and it began playing a melody from his album. Knowing what would pop up at the end, you braced yourself for the inevitable, and our popped the character from his album artwork. Attached to it was a crinkled note, handwritten by Hoseok himself, it said, "Hope I get to see you. Let's also go out on a proper date and get to know one each other better - Your hope."

You grinned at the note, if only you opened your package earlier, then you would have known he wanted to take you out, instead of you just showing up to his party and fucking him.

You 1:27AM

Can I pencil in a date before

Worldwide superstar j-hope

jets off?

Hoseok 1:28AM

Absolutely. See you in a few hours? 😏

You 1:28AM

Come over for breakfast?

Hoseok 1:29AM

What's on the menu?

You 1:29AM

Me.

Hoseok 1:30AM

Mm..exactly what I was craving.

[stormblessed95]

Does it make me a solo if I don't put all of their solo songs into my playlist? I see all over twitter that I'm not a true fan if I don't stream but for example with hobis album I listened to it and watched lolla but didn't add the songs to my playlist because it's just not something I really like listening to. I also didn't finish all 7 members vlogs because I found it hard to focus I guess? I like all member but I definitely like some less and sometimes they might say or do something that would push my buttons but then I kind of feel bad because people say you can't be a true fan if you think anything negative about any of them but then I see tweets with thousands of likes shading jimin or jungkook and I just don't get it. To clarify I don't go spewing hate or anything just when something annoys me I might ask myself "why did they do/say x?" but it doesn't make me dislike them.

Having a bias doesn't make you a solo and preferring your biases content/music doesn't make you a solo. Finding the other members annoying/thinking negatively of them verges on that solo behavior though. But that's the only part of your message that raised my eyebrows.

As for the solo songs into Playlists, no. That doesn't make you a solo for not adding them. You already said you supported the songs as they came out. If you added every single BTS song to your Playlist, the Playlist would be over 20 hours long. And that's not even an exaggeration. They legitimately have over 300 songs in their discography, including solos. That's ALOT. And Playlists are there to narrow down music to certain moods/themes or for whatever you feel like listening to. Not necessarily for entire discographys.

For me, I make streaming Playlists whenever something new drops. Either a single, or a new album, such as Jack in The Box. I create a streaming Playlist of songs I feel like fit the mood of that song as well as mostly just other BTS songs I love. I also usually then tend to add the other most recent releases from the other members/the group to that Playlist as well to give them more streams. Such as my JITB streaming Playlist included Left and Right and With You as Jikooks most recent releases, as well as Yours by Jin.... etc etc. Ill also then usually look up which songs of BTS are close to streaming goals and add those as well. And then after a week or so, the streaming Playlist gets retired and the songs get added to my general BTS Playlist, which contains my favorite BTS songs and I keep updated with the newest releases from them to continue to give them my streams, but if the song isn't a favorite, it will be rotated out of the Playlist eventually. And if nee goals come out for certain solo songs like for their bdays and stuff, those songs get added back into my streaming Playlist rotations. Otherwise I then generally add the songs I like/love to playlists that the songs fit into once the "streaming period" is over. Such as my cleaning Playlist, my workout Playlist, my goes for a long drive Playlist, my needs a cry Playlist, my Queer vibes Playlist, my falls asleep to playlist, reminds me of books Playlist etc etc etc.... but not every solo song will be one of the songs I love and will make it to a Playlist. Not every single bts song will either. There isn't a BTS song out there that I don't really like honestly, but I have my songs I like more than others and that get more streams on my playlists. As long as you are supporting them as artists and you are giving them the initial stream and support, it's not solo behavior to not fall in love with every single song.

Hope that makes sense. A solo is basically someone who only supports one member above any and all others. So if you were only going to support Jungkooks music and collabs and content etc and not ever listen to or watch or engage with or help stream or anything the music/content for the other members. Or would even put down and shade the other members to promote your bias since you think he is the best and therefore better than everyone else. That would be a solo stan and not okay.

[banghwa]

and even IF it isn’t a hoseok specific thing like how irresponsible of hybe to handle all their solo ventures like this. barely gave proof more than a month, crashed and burned jitb leaving hoseok to do 90% of promo on his own instagram. less than a week after release we’re already jumping on to the next thing already announcing the next releases like they won’t even give other members the time to flesh out their work and let the public appreciate it.

[94erz]

It’s been a real good week waking up to so much content from the rap line, between Joon teasing his album, doing an art interview, and releasing a new collab, Yoongi doing a live and posting pictures of being in the studio working on something new (album???), and HYBE just dropped like 20 new images of j-hope over his JITB promo period after he finally came back to IG.

Feeling very spoiled as a RL fan.

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Repost: Ask About BTS and Women

Anonymous: Hi BPP, Hope you're well! I just want to say it's funny that a few days after some people are saying BTS are isolated from women and can't have female friends because of their fandom, Halsey posts about her friendship with Yoongi on his birthday, calling him her twin, and posts pics of him caring for and holding her baby. You were right about antis. Most times they don't actually know what they're talking about, they are uninformed about the group because they only follow BTS to criticize things they don't like, and never out of an interest to actually find out what the group and fandom is like. Which makes their opinions silly at best. I love how you answered by listing some well known female friends of the band. Including the female choreographer that's an ARMY that they've become so close to. I hope you keep doing what you're doing here. There aren't many blogs like yours on Tumblr of people who truly are knowledgeable about BTS.

*

Hi Anon,

Thanks for the compliment.

I have no idea where that comment about BTS and women came from. It has no basis in reality, as everyone can clearly see, but that hasn’t stopped it from being a topic of interest for years, unsurprisingly for the sorts of people who, for some reason, are unable to stop talking about BTS though it’s clear they do not like the group or it’s fandom, nor know a lot about it.

The fandom has always had casual listeners eager to give an opinion, and while these aren’t “antis” per se, in the last few years there’s been an uptick in seeing this sort of fan. When you have a bunch of them parroting the same uninformed takes en masse, it’s just unhelpful.

*

Whenever I mention Halsey some people might think I’m only referring to their musical collaboration or professional relationship, but Halsey has been a good friend of the boys and especially Yoongi for a long while. He’s met her friends and she strongly respects his art.

BTS have known and lovely friendships with many women and all this information is literally public. You don’t need to go to some Exposé website. I get it can be exciting trying to uncover some sinister, unsavoury, angle to seeing seven guys hang out most of the time, but contorting reality to fit an opinion is just weird.

EDIT:

I received a reply about how BTS is isolated from women in BigHit content, which though not true (Sienna, Megan, and Ryujin, among others, do exist), I can understand why some people might feel this way. BTS is somewhat removed from *everyone* in BigHit content, and though this has been happening since 2017 or so as the group’s popularity took off, anyone used to how typical k-pop groups present and then compares that to BTS, might be taken aback. People have commented on how there isn’t a lot of interaction between TXT and BTS in video content, for example. And incidentally, based on Bang PD’s comments over the years, it appears this ‘separation’ is at least partly to give the illusion of independence from BTS.

*

I don’t think it needs to be said that because one is used to seeing k-pop groups interact a certain way which might not align with what they see in BTS, this does not mean BTS members do not have friendships with women, with people in their own agency, or with other people in general. Nor does it mean the interactions we do see of them with women, including footage released by BigHit, are somehow less valid, simply because it doesn’t line up to the expectations of certain fans. This is one of those topics that doesn’t even make sense for me to debate honestly, because most of their friendships are already quite public.

Originally posted: March 8th, 2022 12:19pm

**

Repost EDIT: This post and all the other narratives, asks, theories related to BTS and women that I've seen and talked about before, such as the one referred to in this post, look very funny to me after Hobi's JITB listening party last week. Lol. These last two months have been such a trip y'all...

[banghwa]

like i just saw someone said hoseok fans should “be grateful” that we even got music despite the complete shitshow that was the promo and now this speedrun into new content not even a week after jitb dropped. as if art and music is a gift to us instead of something that is shared jitb wasnt for anyone but hoseok that was the whole point of the album btw.

[banghwa]

everytime i opened twt the last 3 days to search for jitb news or jitb inspired art and edits, all i could see was taexceline or taehyung paris trending and it’s just people still stuck on some photos from last week like.

i understand that tae is one of the more popular members so it’s natural, but it feels disproportionately skewed?? there’s a whole mv dropping in two days, an album in two weeks that has been in the works for 4 years and they’re so fixated on some afterparty. not to sound like a party pooper but can you at least PRETEND to be interested if you claim to be so ot7

omg . i didnt wanna say it bcs i just knew someone would call me a biased cunt for it but literally i noticed this too. the dash was a little slow the other day a couple hours after the first teaser pics so i tried my luck on twitter and absolute fucking radio silence. only trending tags were taehyung and jungkook related even though the pics were fresh. even my own tl which is 30% fanart 30% my 3 mutuals and 30% unfunny rec'd posts that are all the same joke about taehyung hating the party taehyung hating lisa taehyung being drunk taehyung being too "proper" to be drunk total rosary cluthing snore fest. only people i saw posting about jitb were hoseok accounts like. obviously i cant get mad at what and how much people post but it is WEIRD as much as it is frustrating to see ormys more willing to spread videos and make moralistic jokes about taehyung getting a little sloshed at a private event than pay any mind to the solo debut release years in the making in less than a week thats already getting screwed over by hybe . it really is "bts are 7, 7 or nothing ! etc etc" until its about hoseok i have to laugh or else i'll cry !!!!!!!!!!!!