#the obsession with high notes in the kpop industry/fandom is...

[taesenigma]

illicit affairs | taekook

pairing : top!taehyung x bottom!jungkook (ft. jimin)

genre : idol au, infidelity au, acquaintances to lovers, cheating au, taehyung having a daddy kink, usually shy jungkook is a sassy bottom, oral (both receiving), smut (a little bit), anal (both receiving), angst, fluff, messy breakup au, 18+🔞

trigger warnings : infidelity, same sex smut, mentions of abuse and r@pe

summary : it began in beautiful rooms...but will they let it end up in parking lots? it was just illicit affairs and clandestine meetings and longing stares. he made him reach his ecstasy, showed him the different colours through his kaleidoscope and taught him a language only they understood. but, could it ever be more? could it be real?

a/n : i have been hearing too much of t.swift's folklore album and i'm obsessed with this song. so, i recommend listening to the song illicit affairs and also, high infidelity (midnights) by taylor swift while reading this.

note : this is all fiction. i don't support cheating or infidelity in real life. also, taehyung and jungkook are actual people and i do not claim to know them personally. so, their personalities might be totally different in here from what they are in real life. if you're new to this fandom, please don't think that this is how they really are. get to know them before you read it.

PROLOGUE - COCKTAIL PARTY

"Fancy seeing you here, Kim Taehyung. I thought you hated anything bitter.", Jungkook approached him at the bar. "This was unavoidable. You must be well aware why." Jungkook chuckled as he seated himself at the bar, ordering another drink. Unless you had a wish to terminate your career in the kpop industry, you attended Rain sunbaenim's cocktail parties. The two men didn't talk much the entire evening. But no matter how much Jungkook tried to ignore the gorgeous man sitting beside him the entire evening, he felt himself sneaking furtive glances at the composed individual sipping his drink gracefully.

"Jeon Jungkook, you're a difficult man to find these days. Seeing as to how you're our rising star, the industry's very own Golden Boy.", Rain himself came over to the bar to address the shy man. "Sunbaenim, I love the party. And I'm always available to attend your parties, you know that.", Jungkook said effortlessly with a young boyish smile. Rain seemed to be pleased with the answer as he moved on to Taehyung.

"I thought you'd be a no-show at this party too. After all, you couldn't be bothered to show up at the rest of them.", he accused Taehyung as he signalled the bartender for a drink. Taehyung merely sipped on his drink casually while Jungkook watched in gross fascination as to how he had the nerve to make their sunbae wait for an answer. "I simply know where my best interests lie at." "You never change, Kim Tae. The same cunning.", Rain chuckled, not offended at all by the blunt answer as he began talking about the stock market economics which Jungkook decided to tune out.

Perhaps, that was the exact moment he'd pinpoint when he had felt a sort of fascination – no, attraction – for Kim Taehyung, the man two years older than him, known for his voice from which honey notes dripped, literally. But, he also had the notorious reputation of being a player which caused Jungkook to be a bit weary of him. "Earth to, Jeon. Sunbae's been calling on you for the past 5 minutes.", Taehyung's voice invaded his personal thoughts as his eyes shot up to his questioning sunbae's gaze.

"Oh, I'm sorry. It's been a stressful week.", Jungkook apologised softly as he immersed himself into a conversation with Rain. Now, it was Taehyung's turn to admire the youngest star in the industry. He felt himself wanting to capture those perfectly shaped gorgeous lips within his teeth. To make those doe eyes stare up at him in fascination and have sinful moans fall from those lips as he fucked his pert little hole...

At that moment, he felt something twitch between his legs as such sinful thoughts erupted in his mind. Feeling his cheeks turning maroon and blood rushing to his crotch, he felt it best to excuse himself and take care of his little situation in the restroom. "Excuse me, sunbae. I have to leave early tonight.", he said in a composed voice even though his heart was racing and his dick pulsating painfully.

"Oh boy! You haven't even seen my grand finale for the evening yet!", he grumbled. "Perhaps next time, hyung. I have a situation at present.", he said with a shrug although he fixed his dark gaze on the boy sitting beside his sunbae, as if it was his fault that he was going through this predicament.

"Well, it can't be helped now, can it?", Rain said with a small frown on his crestfallen face to which Taehyung merely shrugged and gave Jungkook another pointed look to which Jungkook bit his bottom lip, making Taehyung's head spin imagining himself to be the one biting down on Jungkook's luscious lips.

Mumbling something, he left the bar and almost sprinted towards the restroom and unbuckling his jeans, pulled out his red pulsating dick and tried stroking it to the image of the blonde guy he was dating. "Um.....Taehyung?", a meek voice sounded at the entrance of the doorway. Taehyung's eyes shot up to encounter a shy and timid Jungkook standing at the doorway.

Taehyung's smirk returned to his face as he began stroking himself in front of the boy. "Having fun seeing the crime you've committed, huh? Pretty boy likes looking at dick, doesn't he?", Taehyung shot the words at Jungkook who looked utterly taken aback. "I-I'm sorry...", Jungkook muttered as he averted his gaze from Taehyung's dick.

"Want to help solve the problem, pretty boy?", Taehyung questioned as Jungkook's shocked gaze met Taehyung's teasing and manipulative one. "I-I....do you want me to?", he asked instead. Taehyung shrugged and gave him a knowing smile.

A smile he had seen endless number of people falling prey to. And Jungkook was no different.

[jazeejae]

My Truths...

What is Shipping: Shipping is the desire by followers of fandom for two or more people, either real-life people, artists, idols, actors, and/or actresses, celebrities, or fictional characters, to be in a romantic or sexual relationship. Shipping has been the basis of hate, threats to the artists, sexualizing artists, and editing of artists' photos and videos which has caused shipping wars. The KPOP entertainment industry in South Korea has started to file lawsuits and criminal charges for defamation, misinformation, and threats to their artists which some call idols. If I am repeating this... so be it... Jimin and Jungkook (#Jikook, #Minkook, #Kookmin) do not need to be shipped, because they tell their own Truths. A lot of you think most of the videos out there are created by shippers but they are NOT! They are created by fans who love Jikook and they show their truths!

I don't believe in anything until I do my research. So, I started at the beginning of BTS member's trainee days and after they debuted. I watched the reaction of each member about how touchy they were with one another. I also researched that and learned about the culture of skin-ship between male2male female2female in South Korea. Their parents or family raise females and males that the body is sacred and has certain morals. Females and males learned that they couldn't touch each other until they are married. When BTS did the touchy, sleeping in the same bed, and hugging was okay for them. The ones that stood out to me the most are Jimin and Jungkook, looking like angelic babies. I also know that Jimin and Taehyung were good friends in High School. Taehyung saved Jimin from bullies. Different things start catching my eye even when Taehyung was hanging out with Jimin and Jungkook. Teenagers will be teenagers with roughhousing and all of that. (I raised three sons by myself). I started to research again on YouTube this time and noticed titles named "TaeKook and JiKook." I was watching the Taekook videos first. I notice many discrepancies between what I have already seen from the BTS Runs, Bangtan Bombs, their concerts, and V-Lives. I switched up to watching the Jikook videos and noticed they enjoyed Jimin and Jungkook from everything that I witnessed from other fans. I viewed different types of Jimin and Jungkook videos where they were analyzing them like being the CIA or FBI. I used to holler and throw my shoe at the TV, saying, "Leave them be," "Let them be who they are." I stopped watching the analyzing videos and started to watch the Jimin and Jungkook videos that fans were enjoying Jimin and Jungkook from names such as “Borahae Saranghae," "Army Luv," and "Jimin and Jungkook Luv." Then there was MizGator, who said it all for me. I agreed with everything she put out there. I was alarmed because it became so wrong from what I was watching from the fans who call themselves Taekookers, so I decided to look up the meaning of shipping. I said to myself, okay, that's what the Taekookers did. They developed "Fake Intimate Love" delusions between Jungkook and Taehyung. Then the threats of Jimin started. It's like demons came out of a deep hole in the ground to coerce and intimidate BTS members and other fans. These obsessed fans of Taehyung and Jungkook (not all of them) do NOT care who they hurt just as long as their illusions exist for them. I believe they are not true fans of Taehyung. I even read reports where the sasaengs of Taehyung would fight and bully other teen girls at a South Korean school if their biases were Jimin and Jungkook. I thought it was just the teenagers, but then it was grounds for adult harassers to bully the fans of Jimin and Jungkook on social media platforms or Jimin alone.

NOTE: There is also SOOP (pronounced soup) when I learned that Jungkook and Taehyung met after Jungkook was tricked by Jimin and it was said by Jungkook that they were not as close as they were after they debuted for like four years. Taehyung agreed. Taehyung and Jungkook said that they would start talking and doing things more with each other, but Jungkook said that they will never be close as they were before. I also know things changed between Jimin and Jungkook after their Tokyo trip; it seemed to me that their friendship grew stronger. Every one of the BTS7 is unique in their personality and way of life. When they entertain ARMIES across the globe, they become one! I am ARMY from the USA, and I love BTS with everything I am.

Addendum: Don't think I resent or hate Taehyung for his actions with Jungkook. I love Taehyung for his baritone voice and dance. My grandmother taught me never to hate a person but to hate their bad behavior. I did get kind of upset with Taehyung as he went on VLive to say Jimin was supposed to come and that he felt Jungkook was keeping him away. I became disappointed. I did feel that Taehyung was feeding his fandom, not intentionally but what he said was directing his fans toward Jimin becoming vengeful. Taehyung did that twice in his V-Lives. Those two V-Lives had his crazy fans turned sasaengs and went after Jimin with harmful malicious threats. ARMY who are on Social Media platforms had to defend, protect, proving sasaengs posts are lies and the many threats from sasaengs we reported.

No one has to agree with how I think. We all have our opinion because we are all different. But your honesty and truth should be priorities and know the difference between delusions and illusions. Know that delusions or illusions are nothing but fiction (lies). Please don't say I shouldn't feel that or tell me what I need to say. I'm addressing everyone in how I think. If you want to express how you feel, please do so. My education on BTS includes my research of each member (which provides for their behavior with each other), the South Korean cultures, definitions of words, their morals, and honorifics. I also educated myself on LGBTQ communities and the behaviors of the citizens that reside in South Korea. In my research, I found that a soulmate in South Korea means significant other. Example: When parents or family members introduce a person to a family member to be their soulmate (significant other), it is for marriage. For me, that means that Taehyung and Jimin are NOT soulmates but good friends. A soulmate may mean something different in your culture, but BTS is from South Korea, and I feel we need to respect their culture. If you call yourselves a fan and love BTS then we need to support and protect them 100% regardless of your biases. I also found that most or not all K-netizens or Netizens can be problematic to all artists in the entertainment field. The other thing that I found is that LGBTQ communities are not protected in South Korea because their laws are not there to protect gay communities. Another find is that suicide is rated #4 worldwide with very high suicide between seniors and young folks between 13-28 years of age. We need to do better, and we need to be more careful and stop bullying others on social media platforms.  If you see it than it becomes your responsibility to report the hate and threats.  Don’t turn a blind eye against maliciousness.  I’m out BTSARMY from Colorado USA. 

My Truths:  I don’t have to have psychology in mental illness, nor do I have to have a degree in what I believe in what is right and what is wrong!  HATE is HATE! TRUTH is TRUTH!   Fix it.

[jungblue]

rain is a really good song and it’s so underrated :(

agree! a lot of bts’ older songs with that vibe are underrated. that’s why i love ly her’s outro so much. that vibe gives me a lot of old school bts nostalgia

Anonymous said: Kale and mushroom and onions pizza? Some ppl don’t like just veggies on pizza but I think it’s delicious…😅

disagree ;;;; i’m a plain cheese pizza type of person lol

Anonymous said: 🗣📣BEING A FAN DOES NOT MEAN YOU HAVE TO OBSESS OVER, ALWAYS AND ONLY VOTE FOR, AND HAVE TO LIKE EVERY SINGLE THING RELATED TO A GROUP/PERSON. IF YOU LIKE THEM, THAT MEANS YOURE A FAN. NO MORE OR LESS THAN ANYONE ELSE IN THE FANDOM. Thank you for comeing to my Ted talk

AGREEEEE. honestly the only time i ever really go on twitter is during comebacks just bc i like to keep up with stuff, but that’s also the worst time for manager fans. like i have 17 aneurysms scrolling through those tweets with warped ass views on what a fan is

Anonymous said: People need to stop being disrespectful to other idols. Like asking for another idol during something they’re obviously not around for. Like hobi’s vlives and stuff. If you’re going to stan a group, you need to be respectful and stan each member even if they aren’t your bias.

agreeee. that annoys tf out of me. if someone’s doing a vlive, stop asking for other members. let them talk about what they wanna talk about. also just in general stop asking about bts on other group’s vlives. it’s embarrassing, and definitely annoying for the group you’re spamming

Anonymous said: Hobi shouldn’t feel the need to be 110% excited all the time and be screaming... not everyone can be that high tension all the time and I feel really sorry for him bc i always think about when he said he feels he has to be like excited bc of his stage name..

agree! i wish he didn't feel the need to be upbeat all time just for the sake of others. you’re allowed to seem down or even just sit there neutrally. being the life of the party is definitely exhausting, and i hope he understands that it’s okay to just relax and take time to himself

Anonymous said: Idk if anybody here cares but you know when a band member (not Kpop necessarily) leaves the group and goes to make solo music? Like Camila Cabello left fifth harmony? I feel like the solo music is always better than the group music and idk if it’s because that person gets more creative opportunities or what.

i agree, though i think it depends on the type of music you’re into. often times when people go solo from groups, they all do wildly different genres. so it just depends on your taste i think ;;;; plus once you go solo you’ve been in the industry in a while and grown as a person, so that could also be a reason

Anonymous said: Unpopular opinion: Just because I like to read BTS smut every now and then, doesn’t mean I’m thirsty for them. I just like if the story has a good plot and great writing. Like yours!!!! 😊

i agree. usually i’m not reading a story for the smut specifically. i just want a story. though there are admittedly times when i am just in the mood for a raunchy smut lol

Anonymous said: a lot of people disagree but skinny-shaming is a thing? i always get shit for being flat and having really thin arms.

i agree that it definitely can be a thing. i mean i’ve heard people say insulting comments about people being too skinny. some people legitimately can’t help it. putting on weight is just difficult for them. it’s unfortunate that people’s bodies are always under scrutiny 

Anonymous said: bangtan’s fashion is really fuckin nice but sometimes they wear clothes that are soooo eccentric(?) i mean, they pull it off but any non-celebrity person would look so weird njsjkncs like hobi’s oversized balenciaga shirt lmao

lolol i agree. like i personally would never wear some of the stuff that they do, but hey it’s what they like so that’s all that matters

Anonymous said: Jungkooks undercut 🤤

i agree with and support all undercuts lol

Anonymous said: Jungkook with tattoos ❣ (on that note all of them should be allowed to do whatever they want to their body its not up to anyone to approve or disapprove 💪)

agree that they should be able to wear / do whatever they want to their bodies without other’s opinions dictating them. just let them be

Anonymous said: Yoongi looks better with a lil bit of chub in his face

agree. they all look better with chub. though i’m the type of person that literally never notices a difference in their weights. people are like oh [insert member] looks like they lost too much weight, and i’m like they look the exact same to me but alright lol. though i don’t like speculating on things like their weight in the first place. they’re adults and they can handle their health 

Anonymous said: I think shipping is okay but I doubt any of bts would ever really be in romantic relationships with each other simply bc it’s unprofessional and could cause problems for the group

i agree, but i think most people involved in shipping think this. that it’s not serious. it’s just for fun. but it’s like with anything. the delusional fans get the most attention compared to the normal fans that keep to themselves and don’t harass people

Anonymous said: bts’ military exemption shouldn’t even be considered. they special, but they ain’t that special. ☕️

i agree, but i did read the article that this is in reference to, and it wasn’t just about bts. it was about kpop artists not getting exemptions like classically trained musicians, and kdrama actors not getting exemptions like theater actors, ect. they just used bts as an example to get people to click on the article. military service is an important topic over there, so whatever they decide is their business. i’m not korean, so i don’t have an opinion really

these were the opinions i didn’t get to last night! thanks to everyone that participated!

[beaniegara]

11 Questions

tagged both by @yaboybergara​ and @ricky-goldsworth​ which is great because that gives me 22 questions mwahhahaha thank you folks!! <3 

RULES

1. always post the rules

2. answer the questions given by the person who tagged you

3. write 11 questions of your own

4. tag 11 people you want to get to know better (or however many you want)

now, see, I don’t know what to ask........ so I’m gonna be a little shit and tag folks to pick 11 of these 22 questions and answer them too. nini and gray pls don’t sue me for reusing your questions, thank fdgkfndgfdsk I’m tagging @kaylotta, @queerunsolved, @haunted-gays, @thatmademadej, and @i-am-ghost-proof-baby <3 if yall wanna do it, of course. no pressure.

this is incredibly long (and uncomfortably honest). let’s go lesbians let’s go

first, nini’s questions:

1. How many pets have you had in your life?

one. I’ve always wanted them but my mom and I have always lived in tiny apartments and had no way to care for a pet so it wasn’t until I was 17 that we adopted a kitten!! his name was merlin and he was the laziest, moodiest lil ball of fluff I’ve ever met. I.. had to give him away a year later because we moved to a place even smaller that wouldn’t allow pets so long story short I’m scarred for life and don’t think I can ever take any more pets without feeling guilty to my bone 

this is merlin btw I love him with all my heart and he now lives in a farm. as far as I know anyway.. :(

2. Do you believe in destiny? Why?

mmm interesting question. weird, metaphysical theories aside, I don’t believe anything is set in stone per se, but I do believe that some things are just... meant to be? in a way? for example, you can’t tell me ryan and shane weren’t meant to be friends and find each other in such an unlikely place as they did. one of my mottos, completely stripped from context because it’s from a rather pretentious tv show, is “the universe is rarely so lazy”. meaning that good things happen for a reason, and that you trailed that path for that to happen. yknow what I’m saying? I can’t really explain this without writing a 10 page essay because that’s just how my gemini ass thinks 

3. If you could chose one person on the great beyond, would you take the chance to talk to them? 

you mean someone who has passed away? oh yeah, I would talk to my grandmother. she was raising me and died when she was 4 and that changed not only my entirely life but our whole extended family dynamic... so many questions.

4. From all your hobbies, which one would you love to make a living of?

oh man, writing. I’ve been dreaming of being a writer ever since I was 9 or something. never panned out but that would certainly be the dream. if I could work with videos, subtitling, tv shows, cinema etc that would also be dope as hell!

5. What’s your favorite color palette to wear?

fkgjfsdgiusfdksd I have no fashion sense whatsoever, idk? I do like to wear dark clothes (because weight..) and reds (because pale).

6. What’s your opinion on queerbaiting?

I don’t have the time for it. for starters, it’s something that usually comes from people with very poor writing skills that can’t come up with plots interesting enough to keep viewers/readers hooked in. that already says something. no offense to anyone who is a fan of shows like these, but when it’s mostly written by white men I just don’t have any high hopes for it. you can ask flavs what my reaction was like when I realized the character I had headcanon’ed as wlw in hannibal was actually a wlw. I couldn’t believe it, because what???? since when does that happen, especially in a show run by a white man??? kjdfghsjgd 

I think this is part of a bigger conversation but my point is, don’t fall for it. I know it’s all part of the fight for representation, asking big names to produce big shows with lgbtq+ characters in it and so on, but for the love of god, watch something else too!!!! let GOT rot and die!!!!!!!!! look up different, smaller, cheaper shows, that’s where you find lgbtq+ content creators!!!!!! there’s so many wlw webseries out there, you wouldn’t believe it. you have a choice. don’t give any more of your time and love and word-of-mouth to shows/movies that clearly have no interest in being more diverse. they don’t deserve you. 

and that’s not to say any of it is on us. quite on the contrary, they’re using us. but aside from calling out their bullshit, we do have a chance to boost lgbtq+ content creators. don’t let them fool you into thinking they’re doing you any favors, or that they’re our last chance so we should be paying attention to what they’re doing/saying. fuck them!!!! you can’t queerbait me because I don’t trust you or give you the chance to do it. and you can shove your very straight, very white shows where the sun doesn’t shine, @ hollywood.  

7. Is there a language you would love to speak?

french and korean, mostly. I can understand a little bit of both, but I really wish I was fluent :( oh, will to live and learn, where art thou...

8. Do you have, like, a dream so wild you think it’s impossible?

kjgnsfdkjhjjs having enough money to support myself and my mother??? I don’t have any big, wild dreams, I think. just.......... living comfortably would be a+  

9. How many AUs of your own life do you have in your head?

oh man. I keep thinking about living somewhere in idk iceland or scotland just like... tending goats or something. that’s the most comfortable version of myself I can think of.

I also like to imagine if I could handle being a film director, because that sounds like fun. maybe a screenwriter? anything creative in films, really. 

there’s also the unattainable dream of having a wife and idk maybe adopting a kid? and we’d just. support each other. and love each other. and that’s just. I. [cries]

I like to think how things would be if I were actually hot and not socially awkward.. I’d be someone completely different, basically lol 

10. If you were to meet your younger self, do you think they would think you cool or not?

oh god, younger me would hate present me D: I had such high hopes for myself, I had lots of dreams lol never in a million years did I think I’d be where I am today...

11. Not a question, but please add something postive about yourself, something that you love about you.

IDJFSSIODUGSDFKGDSJ IT’S LIKE YOU KNEW I’D BE A NEGATIVE FUCK, NINI. I................................ I like that I have an easy time with languages? or with classes in general. I like to learn from people, I’m just really unmotivated to leave the house lol 

now onto gray’s q’s:

1. What’s your favourite music video of all time?

straight-up impossible questions right out of the gate huh I SEE YOU, GRAY. I SEE YOU kjdfgjfsdhgkdsjfs

I’ll have to go with a few,

“prototype” by viktoria modesta is just GORGEOUS. I can’t get over this video & song and it’s been years.

“jackpot” by block b looks creepy as shit but the context makes it such a clever yet fun video. take into account that these guys were screwed over by the kpop company that created the group, and that the lyrics talk about hitting jackpot in an industry that’s savage to say the least. to me this video is a visual representation of what a dangerous trap entertainment companies are in the kpop industry, and it also ties in with the groups’ story of being made into dolls by a company and then telling them to fuck off in the end lol 

“treat me like your mother” by the dead weather. I don’t know why I just love it. (cw: gun violence)

“emperor’s new clothes” by panic! at the disco. I MEAN, LOOK AT IT.

“manyo maash” by puer kim. I just love the aesthetic?

honorable mention: “tick tick boom” by the hives because that’s a banger. ba dum tssss.

2. What’s a favourite memory of yours?

I have plenty of good memories, thank god. I think one of my favorites is just hanging out with my friends in 2008-9; one of their older brothers was driving us around town, we were listening to the white stripes at full volume, singing along, all sitting pressed up close together in his shitty car. man, my teenage years would’ve been fantastic if I had stayed there with them!! 

3. Do you play video games? If so, which one’s your favourite?

I DO!!! I mean, not as much as I’d like because a) no money to spare on games/consoles, and b) I suck at basically everything. but I’m obsessed with paladins these days, and I’m also a big fan of LOTRO. I like horror games--mostly the resident evil and silent hill type--and fps. I grew up playing some tomb raider, medal of honor, resident evil... oh, those were the days. 

4. How did you first get into [your fandom of choice]?

with bfu it was that kind of thing where I’d see a meme or two cross my dash and it was always this ridiculous screenshot, or those “that’s it, that’s the show” kinda things with dozens of thousands of notes... until one day I was incredibly anxious, and I needed to watch something or I’d never finish the assignments I had for college. so I just thought “oh hey I should check out that unsolved thing people like so much, it’s buzzfeed so it’s probably good bg noise to work with” lol and it did work, and I did finish my assignments, and that means that I first watched the show barely paying any attention to it because I was busy doing something else. but ryan’s and shane’s voices helped me relax and to this day they still help a lot with my anxiety, to the point that I need to keep coming back every minute or so during episodes because I get distracted just listening to their voices and not absorbing a word lol

5. How did you first get into fandom in general?

uhh.. well, I was a big “pottermaniac” (that’s how I called it) since I was 9, but that was before I realized fandom was a Thing on the internet too. I remember when I was maybe 10 or 11, I entered a chatroom (god, those were wild) just in time to see someone saying in all caps HARRY POTTER IS GREAT AND YOU’RE ALL DUMB FOR NOT SEEING IT or something fkdsjgfdugfsdk and it was this girl using the nickname fawkes. she was older than me, I think that 15 or something, and we exchanged addresses (!!! how am I alive!!!) and were pen pals for a while. but it took me so fucking long to actually find the fandom online that I think my first brush with it was with the arctic monkeys forum I found online in 2008, where I mistakenly said I liked “the muse” and people laughed at me so I never went back to it lol then in 2010 I found out about kpop and that’s when I really dived head-first into fandom life. took me long enough (tbf I was very against the notion of being a “fan” because I was an idiot).

6. What’s at the top of your bucket list?

great fucking question. no idea. I guess.. traveling overseas? if we’re talking wild, distant things. but closer to my reality, getting a job that pays me at least the minimum wage disjgdfgkfsdk #fuckinternships

7. What’s something not many people know about you?

I love dancing and miss it like hell.

8. What’s your favourite medium for storytelling - movie, book, television, musical, comic, internet video, video game, something else? Why that medium?

ohhhhhhh this is an interesting question. as much as I love writing, and think that’s one of the best things we humans have ever come up with, I do love.. musicals? not necessarily theater--although that’s great and I’d sell my soul to see chicago live--but I love the idea of telling stories through music. I really wish we could bring back the custom of telling stories orally, and through music, and that we could as society agree that collective singing is beautiful and should be reintroduced in our day-to-day lives. sure listening to (1) artist singing is great but hAVE YOU TRIED SINGING ALONG DURING A CONCERT WHERE EVERYONE ELSE IS SINGING TOO? best fucking feeling in the world. 

we had two bands in brazil, in different periods of time, that were so incredibly famous they’re still cornerstones in our music history. one was legião urbana, some folk-ey rock band that had a couple of songs telling these really long stories that I LOVE with all my heart. faroeste caboclo is our bohemian rhapsody, most people my age or older know the lyrics to it. and mamonas assassinas was this comical (?) rock band that sang dumb, fun songs that usually told stories too and that was the best. I miss that kinda thing. 

9. What’s your favourite food?

red meat, mainly churrasco. but I also can’t live without chocolate milk AND the whopper. capitalism has me by the stomach.

10. Do you have a joke to share?

fjgfsdgskfdgfsk I don’t.. it’s been so long since I last tried telling a joke, I don’t think I know any?

11. What song/artist helped you through your struggles?

pitty has been a big part of my life for some 14-odd years now. “be ok” by ingrid michaelson and “starlight” by muse were my anthems when depression hit hard during my teenage years. the white stripes has also been a constant, with gems like “blue orchid” and “a martyr for my love for you” turning into sort of theme songs for certain parts of my life. choi sam helped me through college. and even though they were a huge disappointment to the point that I stopped listening to them altogether, block b gave me a good 4 or 5 years of distraction from life.

[aestheticjibooty-blog]

Warning: long rant.

I’ve been reading a lot of stuff today and I just want to say that I'm super disappointed in some ARMYs. I SAID ‘SOME‘ NOT ALL. As much as I want to stand up against the antis and prove them wrong when they say that this fandom is toxic, they’re right. There’s a lot of things that make this a bad fandom. But there’s also a lot that makes it a great fandom. First of all the fan wars are horrible. There’s many people who will disrespect one member in particular while giving all the others attention and there’s the fans that don’t know limits and push Bangtan over the limit.

I’m going to begin with the fan wars because it’s something that bothers me a lot. I’ve always thought that fan wars are stupid. Whether it’s a fan war between kpop groups or American celebrities, I think it’s stupid. They’re unnecessary. There is absolutely no need to go around and try to shame other groups just because you think your ult is better. Being a multifandom this is one of the main things that bothers me. It’s not only ARMY, though. There are many fandoms where people will start fan wars. The main fan war that I’ve heard about though, is EXO-Ls and ARMYs. I am both and I’ve never understood this. They are both successful bands with extremely talented members. I’ve seen so many fan wars start over the most ridiculous reason and it just disappoints me. It shouldn’t be that hard to like a band peacefully without trying to start fights with others. 

The main thing that’s been bothering me is how some members are treated in Bangtan. BTS is made up of 7 amazing, talented, beautiful, caring men who don’t deserve to be overlooked by anyone.  Kim Seokjin, the most overlooked person in the band. Although I’m not a Jin stan, I’ve still taken the time to appreciate him and notice his talent. If no one has learned from Awake, the man has amazing vocals and can hit high notes amazingly. Which leads me to saying this, he deserves more lines. It’s that simple. He barely gets any lines for the comebacks while the maknae line get the most. And people saying that he should leave BTS because he ‘doesn’t do anything’ please, kindly shut the hell up. Jin tries so hard to improve himself. He knows he’s not the best dancer in the group and he’s trying to get better. He does so much to try and make himself better because people make him feel unneeded. Min Yoongi, one of the most thoughtful and emotional people. He pours his feelings into his music. The fact that he’s not afraid to talk about his battle with depression and anxiety with ARMY. The man that would stay up all night to create songs for us. I could rant forever and still never be able to explain my respect and love for Yoongi. I have never had as much respect for anyone as I’ve had for Yoongi. He grew up being told that he wouldn’t ever make it in the music industry. Now he’s a rapper in the band that just won at the Billboard Music Awards. He proved his family wrong and is constantly proving anits wrong. Kim Namjoon, the best leader ARMY could ask for. Namjoon has always tried to encourage the members to try harder. It’s not because he thinks they’re not good enough, he just wants them to be the best they can be. He has done so much for not only the members, but for fans too. He translates Korean to English for I-Armys and English to Korean for K-Armys. Not to mention that he takes the time to try and teach the members English when he has time to. And he’s extremely talented. Is everyone going to ignore the fact that the man taught himself English by watching Friends? And the fact that he was rapping for years with breathing problems. Then people tried saying he was making up excuses just so that he could get plastic surgery. Jung Hoseok, a ray of sun that deserves everything in the world. You can thank this amazing man for all of the iconic choreographies this band has done. Hoseok works hard to come up with the dances for BTS’s songs. And he worked extremely hard to create the Hixtape, which beat BTS’s records that they’d held at the time from DNA. That shows just how powerful he is. He has received so much undeserved hate from antis. Hoseok, nor any of the other members, deserved to be criticized. He has his catchphrase because it’s true. He does give a lot of ARMYs hope. Park Jimin, the most sweet and caring person we could ever receive. The members, especially Jungkook, have talked about how caring Jimin is. Whenever one of the members need someone Jimin is there to comfort them. Jimin always tries to see the best in people. He listens a lot to what others say and takes advice from people. While this could help him improve, it’s also cause many issues. Jimin listened to the antis and starved himself, making himself lose weight. Jimin constantly deals with hate but continuously picks himself up and becomes bigger than the haters. Taehyung, the person who’s not afraid what people have to say about him. Taehyung has big personality, obviously. But that’s the best thing about him. He doesn’t care if people have something bad to say about himself. Taehyung’s always trying to make the other members laugh. My favorite thing about him is how he loves to show off his personality without worrying what people are saying about him, cause he wouldn’t care anyways. People constantly try to put him down by telling him he’s weird or telling him to stop doing things. It’s not your fucking choice what BTS get to do or not. Jungkook, the strongest member. I don’t mean strong as in his muscles, he is the strongest in that way too, though. But he’s strong because he started out in this industry at such a young age. It’s a pretty well-known fact that the kpop industry is a very bad one, but Jungkook got into it at 14. He left his family and was raised by the other members. He was going through hours of hard training while still attending school and trying to graduate. He might not have had the best grades but you can’t blame him for not being completely focused on his schoolwork. Jungkook has gone through a lot to be where he is now, with all the other members. 

Lastly, there are some fans who need to calm down a whole lot. Those fans that are chasing after BTS and trying to grab them, that’s an invasion of personal space. It’s disrespectful and disgusting. They’re humans too and they obviously don’t want you grabbing onto them while they’re trying to walk past. It also represents a bad face for the kpop fandom altogether. There are people who think the entire Korean fandom act like this because they’re seeing how those people act. Not all of us act like that and many have spoken out about how that’s rude. It’s their own personal space and obsessed fans need to learn to step back and just let them be.

Bangtan is an amazing. None of the members deserve to be overlooked and they’ve all done more than some of deserve. But they do it for ARMY. None of the members need to leave. None of the members need to change themselves. BTS is perfect just the way it is. BTS is the way it is today because of those seven men. It wouldn’t be the same band we know today if it weren’t for them. Even without one of the members, it’d still be different. They’re all different individual people and provide something that the others can’t. 

While some of the fandom is toxic, there’ still the amazing part of the fandom. The part that supports them no matter what, streams their music, cheers them on, encourages them, and loves all of them without dismissing any. This is the part of the fandom that makes BTS keep going. 

[crystalzhou-blog1]

South Korea Pop Cultural Analyses

IAT206

Anti-Fandom in Kpop cultural

Introduction

In the world of South Korea, popular music fandom or K-Pop cultural, the radicals are those who overly obsessed or abhorred. Like in Korean fandom cultural, there are a lot of fans who crazily love and support their idols, who are known as Sasaeng fan. However, there are also a small group of people who distress or even hate the idols, known as anti-fans.

Anti-fan phenomenon is common in the Korean fandom cultural, defining anti-fan is a little bit complex. Opposed and yet in some ways similar to the fan is the anti-fan, he or she who actively and vocally hates or dislikes a given text, personality, or genre. (Gray,2005) People produce great uproar and antagonism toward idols due to some notorious incidents, misunderstanding between fans or other private reasons. These antagonisms cause individuals malicious attack on idols mainly online and sometimes in the reality world. People with different opinions attack each other in the comment sections on the forums or other related websites and sometimes cause wars. They attack verbally and/or physically celebrities they hate or anybody with negative or even different opinion about their favorite star. As such, this article studies anti-fandom, and particularly its engagement with discourses of morality, at the online forum discussion area.  

These behaviors not only affect fans’ life but also seriously affects idols’ daily activities. During Tablo’s interview, who is a talented rapper in Korea, he said he can barely trust anyone and hard to figure out who’s the enemy or who’s his supporters when he was involved in the fabricate academic credentials rumor. In a survey of 240 actors, nearly 40 percent replied that they suffer from some level of depression, and have considered suicide. 20 percent took specific steps toward committing suicide, such as purchasing drugs. (T.K. Korean!, 2010).

According to Gray (2005), anti-fandom can involve densely constructed performances and can in its own way be just as productive as fandom. From one standpoint, we could easily say anti-fans as “bad” audiences, they do not or rarely watch working pieces. However, regardless of whether they are “right” or “wrong,” non-fans’ and anti-fans’ readings and consumption can become sociologically relevant and important, as the controversy surrounding Crash amply illustrated. (Gray, 2005) Though anti-fans cause various arguments and tensions in society, however, it has the own positive influence which makes the whole industry more productive.

Anti-fans phenomenon is extremely serious in Korea due to the special ethnic condition. The development of this phenomenon in Korea is caused by firmly interconnected between the special ethnic and the online disinhibition effect. However, this condition brings huge inconvenience for the public figures and also negatively influences the Kpop industry. Researchers on anti-fans group will be conducted by using psychoanalysis and ethnographic which specifically netnography methodologies.

Antifandom

First, I want to introduce the background of K-pop cultural, fandom cultural and anti-fandom phenomenon. Kpop industry is a kingdom produces many various artists, produced by different companies every year. Hence, competition and pressure between each group or each individual are incredibly intense. In order to support their own idols and preventing them fade out from the audience, fans have to gather together, vote during the TV shows and organize events for their idols. Individual fans need to participate in fan tribes, find connections with each other and consolidating a fixed set of fandom practices. Due to the huge amount of idols, they have to share stages or do collaborations, fan activities often overlap. Fans believe their own idols are supreme and better than other groups, arguments, and conflicts caused which lead to the birth of anti-fans. In another word, the behaviour causes the fan tribes go to war. (Beers, 2015)

This phenomenon firstly appeared back to the beginning of the corporate-produced boy/girl bands in the late 1990s. What we know the most famous case of anti-fans involves Gan Mi-Yeon, a member of a girl group called Baby VOX. She was targeted with extra intensity because she was rumored to be dating with a popular member of a boy band. In a recent interview, Gan said throughout 1999 she received scores of "fan mails" filled with razors, after she opened them, along with pictures of her with her eyes taken out or letters were written in blood. Moreover, extreme fans even do physical attack towards the idols. In 2000, Yoon Gye-Sang, a member of a boy band called G.O.D. received a soda injected with bleach. Yoon's mother drank it instead and had to be hospitalized. Similarly, in 2006, U-know who belongs to Dongbangshinki received a soda injected with industrial glue and has to be hospitalized. Moreover, a note writing “Your dances are the dump and your groups are disgusting, I want to kill you.” are given with the beverage to the victim.

Table who is a member of a group called Epik High was really popular in South Korea. He as a main vocal and rapper was called genius in Korean pop culture. Also, he was talented in literature and good at writing songs. He studied English literature at Stanford since 1998 and graduate in advance due to the excellent grade. However, he was involved in a fabricate academic credentials rumor in May 2010. A group of Internet users created an online forum titled "We Request the Truth from Tablo,”. The members of the group participated anonymously and attacked Lee from behind user names such as Whatbecomes and Spongebobo. Entertainment gossip sites reported the existence of the anti-Tablo site and membership swelled to nearly 200,000, many of whom launched their own investigations into Lee's past. Tobias Wolff and Stanford registrar Thomas Black were barraged by emails from Koreans who questioned Lee's educational background. Black alone received 133 emails on the subject. Everybody wanted to know one thing: Was Lee lying?These rumors make him hard to live in the entertainment industry and also make he and his family hard to live peacefully in Korea.(n.d.2017)

Intense and Interconnected

Moreover, anti-fandom is not a local phenomenon but also a globalized product that breaks national boards. Idol groups also have many proximate fans in another area of Asia and even America. For example, Justin Bieber and Britney Spears have a lot of fans since their coming out, rumours oppose did not decrease until nowadays. As of this moment, 52,728 people "like" the "I HATE LADY GAGA" Facebook page. This may caused by the advent of the internet and its ability to compress geographical distance. However, anti-fandom is extremely serious in Korea due to the special ethnic condition, Koreans are intense and interconnected. For instance, if you as an American hate Lady Gaga due to her exaggerate performance and behavior, it’s hard to do anything hurt her personally except leaving comments at the discussion area.

However, all of those conditions are different in Korea. First of all, Korea is physically interconnected. It is a 50 million people country and nearly 20 million people live in Seoul metro area. Everything important like political, cultural, financial is located in Seoul, which means anyone who wants more opportunities and to be success lives in Seoul. The second point is Korea is relationally interconnected. In Asia, it’s your responsibility to be nice and friendly with surroundings, you are expected to be friends with everyone in the group. This does not happen all the time, but it definitely happens frequently. People tends to gather together a lot, aims to build more personal bonds. During every state of individual’s life, classmates, relatives, and colleges dine out a lot. In practicality, this means that without even trying very hard, Koreans get to know a lot more people personally. Finally, Korea is virtually interconnected. Korea is one of the earliest adopters of high-speed Internet. The Internet works in astounding speed, smartphones are widespread. And nearly everyone is willing and affordable to use and abuse the Internet. Anti-fans can organize over the Internet, further escalate their hate through social medias and even schedule flash mob meetings at the current location of a celebrity instantly.

Hence, due to the special ethnic spirit and social condition, anti-fandom is a common phenomenon in Korea.

Network and Netnography

People follow the particular idols since they appreciate their abilities, however, they also attack idols malevolent due to their behaviors or other reasons.  This may vary from having previously watched the show and having found it intolerable; to having a dislike for its genre, director or stars; to having seen previews or ads, or seen or heard unfavorable reviews.(Gray, 2003) As seen from lots of examples, it is often about rivalry and jealousy. But a worrisome number of anti-fans seem to hate celebrities only because the amount of blind hatred in the form of doctored pictures, baseless rumors and vile death wishes is simply stunning. (T.K. Korean!, 2010) Since it is convenient to get information in current society, the Internet makes people lazy to finding truth by themselves. People are so lazy to figure out the truth and easily trust the untrustworthy rumors. There is also someone who attempt to give a rational reason (for example, one commenter at a Girls' Generation anti-fan site apparently hated the group because they were untalented). However, those people are few, and the stated reasons are wildly disproportionate to the intensity of hate expressed on those sites.

“Netnography,” or ethnography on the Internet, is a new qualitative research methodology that adapts ethnographic research techniques to the study of cultures and communities emerging through computer-mediated communications. As a research technique, “netnography” uses the information publicly available in online forums to identify and understand the needs and motivations of the online group of people. (Robert,2002) 70% percent of participants of the online questionnaires claimed that they seldom or never double check the reliability after seeing the report. Fake news is everywhere on the Internet, it is easy to instigate or advocate one unreal information among the Internet.

Morality

Thirdly, I want to talk about the conscious or unconscious motivation behind their behaviors. People dislike particularly items normally due to it’s opposite to their values and cultures. However, different does not mean bad, people who are able to think critically should have their own ideas and also able to accept others’ opinions.

People attack others online due to the online disinhibition effect, researchers and clinicians observed how people may behave online in ways compared with their usual offline acts. Sometimes people reveal suppressed emotions, fears, and wishes, they show unusual acts of kindness and generosity or go out of their way to help others. These behavior are called “benign disinhibition”. On the other hand, people may be rude, critical, angry, hateful, and threatening or they visit places of perversion, crime, and violence. We may call this “toxic disinhibition.”

One of the reason causes this bad emotion is anonymity. While online, one’s identity can be partially or completely hidden. Usernames and emails can be visible but may not relevant to the real information. For the most part, others only know what a person tells them but they have no idea who that person is. For example, Wikipedia is a website let anyone edit information. Most of the entries are edited by experts, however, some of them are subjective and may have bias due to different people, like political or aesthetics. Information online is various and moves fast, a large amount of online information is unreliable. When people have the opportunity to separate their actions online from their in-person life and identity, they feel less vulnerable and constraints. In the case of expressed hostilities or other deviant acts, the person can evade responsibility, almost as if superego restrictions have been temporarily suspended from the online psyche.  They don’t need to worry about being punished and sometimes people might even convince themselves that those online behaviors “aren’t me at all.” (Suler,2005) Hence, individuals acting online won’t be the same as they in the real world, they think they do not need to be responsible for their actions.

Positive anti-fandom

From one standpoint, we could easily say anti-fans as “bad” audiences, be act due to they do not or rarely watch working pieces. However, regardless of whether they are “right” or “wrong,” non-fans’ and anti-fans’ readings and consumption can become sociologically relevant and important. Behind dislike, after all, there are always expectations. Of what a TV show should be like or what an actress act. To study anti-fan, it’s also to study what expectations and what value structure media consumption. Anti-fans is also a motivation encouraging the public figures being better. For example, Suzy as a popular member of K-pop group missA was known as pretty when she firstly debut. After she tried to develop to the acting direction, she was criticized for her bad acting skills. Reports are strict with titles like “She own nothing but a pretty face.” evaluating her performance in her first drama in 2010. After so many negative evaluations, she started training her performance and ask senior actors for advice. In 2016, she’ was the main actress in the new release drama and achieved a good reputation. Learning from this, when we think of the audience or idols in everyday life, are vary we can see openness and fluidity of media as strengths of anti-fandom.

Conclusion

Anti-fandom is a phenomenon extremely serious in Korea due to it’s special ethnic condition.  The origins of anti are varied but bring huge influence to both fans and idols. Koreans are firmly physically, virtually and relatively connected, which makes anti-fandom well-organized and developed in Korea. Also, rapidly development of Internet makes it easier getting information, so that people are lazy to check or think information by themselves is another elements. Due to the online disinhibition effect, people don’t they are responsible for their actions online.Though anti-fandom brings positive effect to the career of idols or the development of whole industry, it is still no doubt anti-fandom bring huge negative effect to the idol’s daily life and the rest of the society.

References:

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Robert V. Kozinets (2002) The Field Behind the Screen: Using Netnography for Marketing Research in Online Communities. Journal of Marketing Research: February 2002, Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 61-72.

Suler,J. (2005) CyberPsychology & Behavior. 7(3): 321-326. dos 10.1089/1094931041291295.