52 posts
Kattfnattt - Untitled - Tumblr Blog
Post Date: 10/09/2024
A layer of fresh snow.
Once we're allowed to focus solely on our main protagonists, the vibe of AYS shifts drastically from playful to softly melancholic. The scenery has a marked effect on them. Is this that youth they keep talking about?
Well, we're seeing it fall through their fingers as they try to grab it with both hands. This is a turning point, and they both know it. Once you've experienced a couple of these, you start to head into them with eyes wide open. One of them is welcoming it with a positive attitude, the other, less so.
The opening scene sets the stage for this mood. I got an ask about this moment because it seems like Jimin is markedly quiet or introverted (just look at his body language compared to other promo segments!) compared to Jungkook, who is laser focused on Jimin. Was Jimin tired, hungover, sick, or sad? Who knows. This is what we're working with, and as the opening scene of season 3 of AYS, it says a lot about the tone they're settling on;
Cementing old memories with a layer of fresh ones.
The show finally landed on the final concept, it seems. There's less of a focus on what they're doing. Making memories is the main goal. There's a focus on the landscape, but it's all emotionally linked to jikook. We're looking at the world through their eyes. It's not so much the surroundings that matter here, or where they are exactly, as it's who they're experiencing it with and how they're enjoying it from inside their little snow globe.
There are whole scenes in which 'nothing' actually happens, no activity, no 'point' to the scene other than its jikook moving from point A to B while enjoying the snow. That's kind of wild, a show with little to no dramatic arc, and the intimacy takes center stage.
The cold makes them seek warmth from a hot drink, a warm cafe, and life is suddenly made simpler. A shelter from the storm. If this isn't a metaphor for their lives at the time of filming, then I don't know what is.
How can we talk about this episode and not mention the Train to Busan Boys scene? It will go down in history as my roman empire. They're enjoying the view while sharing earphones. What makes this moment even more intimate is the fact that we as an audience are not let into what they are listening to. We're not seeing their faces either, but we're seeing the effect this moment has on them : Seeking a shoulder to lean on. Again, the metaphors are writing themselves.
I will never get over this.
— ✰ HAPPY JK DAY ! ig ; twt
I should maybe wait to post this until I cool off a little because I might say some things I regret but...nah, I'm gonna get it out of my system before I boil over.
This Yoongi situation has gotten sick. It's perverse, it's fucking medieval. What the fuck? Is this fucking public self-flagellation in any way necessary? What's next? Is he gonna have to wear a fucking hair shirt? Get driven through the streets while someone shouts "Shame!" behind him? Will that be enough chastisement? You wanna put him in stocks in the middle of Gangnam and have people throw shit at him?
Who is demanding that he prostrate himself like this? I didn't even need that first apology, much less this appalling spectacle. I can't imagine anyone other than some fucking perverted anti wants to see this from him. I can't even...
"...a significant stain on the precious memories I have shared with the members and fans...brought shame to the name of BTS..."
What? What is he talking about? Is this normal? Is this a "Korean culture" thing? Is this something he has to do as a matter of rote just to "display remorse" and settle his case? Someone fucking help me out here. Help me understand why anyone would feel compelled to say such awful things about himself over a routine offense that's barely worse than jaywalking.
"I apologize for putting the members, who have always believed in me, through such a difficult time because of my own actions."
Stop it. They love him. They'll endure anything for him. They still believe in him. They always will.
"I am deeply sorry to the fans who have always given me more love than I even deserve… I know that no words could heal the wounds and disappointment that have set in your hearts..."
Stop, stop, stop. I can't bear this. The "wounds and disappointment?" What? What? I wish I could tell him to his face: I am not wounded! I am not disappointed! You didn't assault someone. You didn't murder anyone. You did nothing violent or vicious. You had a few too many and fell off a fucking putt-putt scooter. Big fucking deal! BIG FUCKING DEAL!! Nothing like that could change the feelings of anyone who loves you and we fucking love you!!!
Uggghhhhh, I've gotta create a Weverse account. I can't just say this stuff here. I know he'll never see it wherever I post it but...
It's sick. This is sick. This is fucking gruesome and morbid. It's inhumane, and I'd feel that way even if I had no idea who he is. If I was still as BTS-ignorant as I was just little over a year ago, and I saw this letter not even knowing anything about the person who wrote it, I'd be like...what the fuck did he do? Set fire to an orphanage?
This has got to stop. I cried over this for the first time this morning. It's sickening. Heartbreaking. Completely unnecessary. It's ritualized public humiliation and that's a fucking human rights violation. I don't even know what the fuck else to say.
If and when this is all over, I hope he fucking emigrates. No one should have to live in an environment that demands such degradation over the slightest misstep. I don't care where he goes, just not there. It isn't healthy. It isn't safe. It isn't fucking normal. It's twisted, archaic shit that certainly shouldn't be happening in 2024 in a country that prides itself on its modernity, sophistication, and alignment with global peers. This isn't a West vs. East thing. It's humane vs. inhumane. No one should have to tolerate inhumanity.
Jesus Christ, I hope he has good people around him right now who are looking out for him.
quick reminder that my own gay ass genuinely supports the hell outta each and every one of you. regardless if i know you or not, im happy to be living in this shithole of a life in the same world with you.
and im proud of you, i know in my heart just how beautiful, amazing, talented, smart, and worthy you are and i hope you can see that too🏳️🌈🌈
Hey so anywayssss you know that you can stream Polar Night, Haegeum, Who and Muse at the same time right? What is this "I see army supporting Yoongi, why aren't they supporting Jimin" stuff I keep getting asks about. You can do BOTH. Make a playlist. Show your support for BOTH. In fact, don't send me asks with demands about why people aren't supporting XYZ member without you showing me records and screenshots of what you are doing to support them. Please and thank you.
Hope you all have a day as lovely as the asks you anonymously send online 🥰 if you need me, I'll be listening to my Jimin x Agust D streaming playlist
Always and forever 💜
The circus that the Korean press has created over what happened with Yoongi is deplorable, ridiculous, and above all, sad. You’d think the man had taken someone’s life. The witch hunt they’ve started, just because they finally have something "bad" to report about a BTS member, is SAD. I hope BTS forgets about the Korean press. To hell with them.
Are You Sure?! - #1: A Vampire’s Utopia
Who by Jimin focused playlist
[Music is a very big part of my life and I’m MOSTLY INCAPABLE of writing without music, so I just thought I'd share what I am listening to while writing this]
–🐺–🐺–🐺–
Hello my JM & JK Loving Gurls, Bois and Enbys!
How have we all been since Thursday? 😌 Who’s watched both episodes at least 3 times? 🤡 Who’s gonna keep watching the episodes until Thursday? 💜 Who’s been left marvelling, yet again, about how intricately beautiful human beings are 🙋🏾♀️…
Oh! Only me?! 👀.
... Well what can I say? If it weren’t for my undying love for movies I would have definitely chosen a job related to psychology. Now whether I would have turned out to be a help or a menace to society, is anyone’s guess, after all, there is no sense, or point, in speculating things that have no way of presently happening due to decisions made in the past. However, do y'all know what we can speculate on? The present based on actions that actually happened in the past.
I’ve admittedly rewatched both episodes of AYS for the fourth time yesterday for research purposes obviously, and what brings me here is that now very infamous moment there are presently ao3 books being written on this particular moment ? The one when my cutie-patootie twin-flame very concisely summarises his and JM’s “solo/chapter 2 relationship”, up to that point (which to be precise, is the period of time between 14 July 2022: Hobi’s Listening Party and 13 July 2023: AYS in USA… exactly 1 year: DAMN!) as per below:
First time I saw this part, the first thing I did was snort and then I immediately thought: DRAMA QUEEN and trust me, I would know. Oh, and let it be clear, I can only attempt to speculate on my twin-flame, especially in cases like this when I strongly feel that my boi has been … misunderstood. If it weren’t clear enough from the title, this is indeed a JK post you know JM-blood thirsting vampire etc etc etc.
Let's start with the fact that I beleive that JM was simply trying to start a simple bit of banter when he said:
And I would sincerely like to apologise to JM cause, indeed, this simple type of banter would have warranted a just as simple type of reply. Something like what JK eventually ended up saying after he allowed his thoughts to come forth and take the stage, but we will address this in a second:
But no.
You see, homeboi over here seems to be the type to hold on to things and will not let go until he’s cleared things, or situations, in the way he has known and/or perceived them to have happened, which tend to happen a lot when you are a very emotional person, who isn’t necessarily as eloquent. The most important thing to understand here, however, is the fact that whatever topic such people decide to discuss is all according to their most sensible account of facts and perceptions. They don't mean to offend or distort truths, they just ... emote for lack of better words. For example, it is a fact that, during that period, JK & JM were both busy, it is apparently also a fact that JK didn’t call, but according to JM it is not a fact that he himself didn’t call.
Does that make JK a liar? In my opinion, not only can't I know what actually happened, but in fact, that is absolutely not the point of the case at hand. The way I see it, this is simply how JK has perceived this particular absence in his life, during that particular period. In fact, let’s dive even deeper.
Because of those two sentences, you’d I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT MANY DO ... think that JM and JK actually never met each other during that particular period of time 14 July 2022 - 13 July 2023. Now, I am sure we all remember him sorta/kinda pining on weverse during the period from 3 February 2023 and 14 March 2023, right?:
But let’s quickly look at a timeline of the 14 July 2022: Hobi’s Listening Party and 13 July 2023: AYS in USA period. Below are dates when they definitely met, with other members, that we are aware of. I’ve also inserted his most relevant weverse pinings, and the period of time they were busy at the same time, just for me to have a time reference:
・14 JULY 2022: J-HOPE’S LISTENING PARTY - OT6 (Yoongi was sick)
・1 SEPTEMBER 2022: JUNGKOOK BIRTHDAY - JM waint with Hobi to celebrate his birthday
・15 OCTOBER 2022 - BUSAN CONCERT - OT7
・12 DECEMBER 2022 - JIN’S ENLISTMENT SEND-OFF - OT7
・most likely FEBRUARY-MARCH 2023 - LIKE CRAZY DANCE PRACTICE - JK went to see JM practice
3 Feb 2023 - 14 Mar 2023 ——— LIGHT WEVERSE PINING - The above collage period
・25 MARCH 2023 - MEMBERS MEET WITH JIN DURING HIS HOLIDAY - OT7
27 March 2023 ——— HEAVY WEVERSE PINING - JK posting “I miss you”, then watching Suchita and reacting to JM content.
・18 APRIL 2023 - HOBI’S ENLISTMENT SEND-OFF - OT7
April - May ——— both JK & JM are travelling around the world for work and/or pleasure.
・25 JUNE 2023 - D-DAY in SEOUL ‘DAY 2’ - VMINKOOK at Yoongi’s concert
・13 JULY 2023 - AYS in NYC - JK & JM (and staff) have dinner at ANTOYA
… If you asked me, it would appear that JK’s issue is actually the fact that they didn’t get a chance to go out alone, just the two of them. Yeah … My twin-flame seems to always have had strong, almost impulsive, reactions when it comes to anything concerning JM, it is actually probably the most vocal he becomes for a non-talkative guy that is.
Can you recall any other member, other than JM, he was ever upset about because he didn’t get to hear their music? Can you think about any other member other than JM, who JK would most likely be spending time rehearsing, eating, doing nothing during band activities? Can you think of any other member other than JM, for whom he’s made a bit more of an effort during birthdays and special dates? Once again ... If you ask me ... JK truly values his time alone with JM, which is why I think his perception felt so fatalistic/dramatic we all know that for example, JM did go to the Golden Listening Party in October ...
And don’t get me wrong, I definitely don’t believe it to be a one-way affair. Are You Sure?! exist exactly because JM would seem to also appreciate his alone time with JK, be it in front of a camera, in a hotel room, or whreever. After all, they were supposed to only go for one trip, but not only did they magically whip out time to go on two more Jeju and Sapporo, but they are now talking about doing this until they are 50. LOL I’ll be in my 60s but I’ll tune in! . And then, to top it all off … They ended up enlisting together. The way JM wanted to “make a video of their adventures and freedom” before enlistment, you’d think they’d be apart for the following 18 months because of said enlistment 😒.
It’s actually quite funny if you think about it. Between the two of them JM is most definitely the shiest, but JM is most definitely the better one at expressing himself. Y’all can obviously disagree with me, but from where I stand, my twin-flame is actually smart as hell one day people will finally acknowledge that, but he is not the best with words. I’m sure in JK’s Utopia, the world is a place where people sing to each other in order to communicate, instead of spoken words. Alas, this is not JM-blood thirsting Vampire Utopia, and in the world where we presently live, JK seems to be the type who’s first reaction to stressful situations is finding the funny side of things and when that fails then he needs to do something about it; anything.
Now, as always, everyone is entitled to their opinions, in fact, many have made it very clear that to them JK was feeling “off” in these episodes, but to me, not only he was being his typical weird self, but I also I discovered a few new aspects, for example, when he truly cares about something, his devotion has really no limits. But let me use some images, and some words, to better explain how I perceived JK in these two episodes. Remember how JK once substituted the word Love with Jimin, in a Boy with Luv lyric Jimin nothing stronger? Well I’d like to do the same thing and sub the word Love with JK in the following very famous biblical paragraph and associate specific moments in both episodes to each line:
JK is patient,
If this is not the testament sequence of a man who’s been waiting to spend time with you, no matter what, then I don’t know what else is.
JK is kind.
He does not envy, he does not boast, he is not proud.
He does not dishonor others, he is not self-seeking,
LOL … one day JK will be able to pull a prank on JM; I believe in you.
He is not easily angered, he keeps no record of wrongs.
I shouldn’t have to say this, but ... there are no “wrongs” done between JM & JK, what they do with each other is joke, have accidents and play around - but gotta say this just in case!
Last but not least, though JK was coughing like there was no tomorrow, wouldn’t you think that JM being vehemently sick, would be grounds for the whole show to be cancelled? In fact, we didn’t even know there was going to be a show, so nobody would have missed anything and at some point they could have used the footage in a bangtan-bomb, or during Festa, or something. … The fact that they were willing to keep going and even show us themselves in such a vulnerable state, the fact that because of it JM was so worried and doubting almost everything, and the fact that JK ultimately wasn’t worried and regretted nothing, kinda reinforced for me just how much they truly wanted to be together on that trip at that time it was basically overdue.
In conclusion, though my Twin-flame’s strongest suit isn’t communication, and his recollection of events may or may not be as accurate due to emotional perception, his heart is ALWAYS in the right place, sturdy, confident and ready to let JK be the best he can be, at all times. I mean, you don’t have to take my word for anything I've just said but below is JK a mere 10 days after they separated from NYC/Connecticut ... look at him ... giddy AF and hella playful if you ask me and once again … weverse pining.
I guess one alone trip wasn’t enough after all 😉.
Always respectfully yours 🫰🏾💜,
Marengo.
ARE YOU SURE?!: SECOND EPISODE
MY IMPRESSIONS
Preface: This is not an analysis post, and honestly, I don’t want to overanalyse their interactions or everything they said and did—many others are already doing that. My intention with this post is simply to share my thoughts on the episodes, my impressions, and perhaps my conclusions.
I’m writing this as I watch the episodes for the second time.
The intro still feels too generic for a show featuring TWO SINGERS, but oh well.
Jimin can never stop praising Jungkook for everything, even the most normal and small things Jungkook does—Jimin will praise him for it.
I also love how Jimin and Jungkook always, not just on the show, make comments that confirm how well they know each other and how aware they are of everything the other does.
Jimin and Jungkook really complement each other well, in everything.
Jimin is more into making plans and wanting to go places, but he’s much calmer. Jungkook isn’t one to plan, but he’ll go with the flow. However, once in those moments, he’s super active. He does everything; he just doesn’t plan it. On the other hand, Jimin plans everything, but even though he participates in everything, he’d prefer to stay sleeping or do it more laid-back, hahaha.
Seeing Jimin and Jungkook hiking reminded me of that episode of RUN BTS, where Jimin says that if he won, he’d make the loser hike a mountain (I can’t remember the name), and he and Jungkook couldn’t stop laughing. I still wonder what that was all about.
Their conversations always seem so interesting to me and say a lot about their dynamic. They talk about mundane things and things that, without knowing how they are, wouldn’t make sense. The beautiful thing is that they follow each other’s flow perfectly. Another thing I love about them is that when they’re together, there’s a certain innocence about them and the way they’re gentle without being childish is just too lovely. They definitely have a tone of voice just for the two of them.
Jimin has a great imagination, no wonder he writes such good songs, hahaha.
Could Jimin really do a cover of Jungkook’s song and vice versa? Thank you.
I’m just now noticing the difference in their clothing styles. Jimin really said, “I didn’t shave my legs for nothing!” Hahaha. But yes, black and white all the time, basically.
When Jimin said he was also a member, Jungkook looked at him as if saying, “Babe, I didn’t mean you,” hahaha.
The conversation about mosquitoes and Jimin’s blood is too funny.
I had to look up what omakase means because I obviously didn’t understand what they were talking about, and now that I know, it makes sense. Jimin was absolutely right.
Maybe it’s just that they really laugh at what they say, but seriously, many things they say and how they react to them make you think they mean something else. Like an innuendo that we’re not supposed to catch, hahaha.
Everyone’s talking about what Jungkook said to Jimin when he grabbed his sweater, but I haven’t seen anyone talk about how Jungkook responded to it! God, that soft and low tone they use when talking to each other kills me every time I hear it. It’s so delicate and so... private. It’s a very good representation of their relationship in general.
Jungkook actually said he wanted to try Jimin’s blood, and Jimin really said ‘bet,’ hahaha.
I love how relaxed and slow the first episodes were. They weren’t there to entertain us; they were there to rest and enjoy their days off, with cameras filming them. The yacht trip was really just that, them enjoying a yacht trip. Nothing more. And I love that they enjoyed it so much.
I LOVE how they kept saying they felt free or relaxed or incredible just being there. That’s all that matters, right?
What is it with them and Titanic, seriously?
Jungkook is so used to Jimin climbing onto his back that he doesn’t even flinch, hahaha.
Okay, I suppose one of the reasons they said this show would be unfiltered is because of all the times they talked about Jimin needing the toilet, hahaha. Poor man.
Jungkook searching for more mosquito bites on Jimin’s body is so... I’d like to say someone explain that to me, but I know no one can, or you’ll just say it’s Jikook being Jikook.
Mate, the way they play-fight is so cute. Like, it’s so damn soft. Delicate. I think I mentioned something about this in my reactions to the first episode, but here it’s more obvious.
Also, the way Jimin ends up on top of Jungkook and Jungkook acts as if nothing’s out of the ordinary? Okay.
Something I love about all the members, in general, is how considerate they are of their staff. They always make sure their staff is okay, that they’ve eaten, or that they’re just doing well. That has always spoken very well of them. The fact that they worked so hard before enlisting and left so much work behind was also a way of taking care of their staff and ensuring they still had jobs during this period of inactivity. The fact that Jin immediately started working, along with his/their staff, is also worth highlighting.
I was so stressed when Jimin was complaining about his stomach one minute or was afraid to go to the bathroom and then the next minute HE WAS EATING GUACAMOLE AND TACOS WITH ALL THE SALSAS?! Like, my son in Christ, that wasn’t going to help you!
Jimin always says everything Jungkook does is cute, but Jungkook also finds everything Jimin does cute. And it’s sweet how Jungkook always points out how well Jimin eats or how much he’s enjoying the food.
Jimin and Jungkook knowing they dominate the charts does wonders for my ego as a fan, hahaha.
I love how in many of their conversations, they speak in satoori. I hope as the show progresses, they speak more in satoori.
Jimin validating that there’s nothing wrong with not writing your own songs and saying it’s efficient that way is the biggest FU he could give to Jungkook’s haters, and I’m sure it wasn’t even his intention.
I really appreciate hearing Jungkook talk a bit more about the direction he initially wanted to go with his single, and I suppose with the album too, and not just that, but what he wanted to achieve with it. Jimin and Jungkook are not new to the industry, and I think both wanted to branch out a bit from what they knew. As Jungkook said, the goals were different. And it’s interesting how their experiences contrast with each other. Jimin wasn’t so used to writing his own songs, so it’s something he wanted to do and ended up enjoying. Jungkook, on the other hand, is someone who has experience writing his own songs, so he already knows the process, and he decided to focus on his voice this time. I suppose that’s why he “sacrificed” part of the process, which ended up being opting not to write his own songs and instead focus on his voice and how he could tell the story others wrote with it. At the end of the day, Jungkook just wants to sing, no matter what story he’s telling or who wrote it. And that’s respectable.
Jungkook really is Jimin’s chef. Jin wasn’t lying. The fact that Jungkook was always willing to make whatever Jimin wanted to eat is just too cute.
I don’t mean to offend anyone, but I will always side-eye anyone who says they like Twinkies. I haven’t tried many Hostess products, but that is one of the worst, and I’m not going to argue with anyone about it!
Jungkook, I love you, but that’s not how you make authentic carbonara. I’m not Italian, and I still know that. Saying that carbonara requires sugar should be a crime, hahahah.
Jungkook apologising to Jimin for not being able to make the pasta exactly as he wanted is just too sweet.
Watching Jimin eat that pasta – which looked delicious, I won’t lie – was more stressful than it should have been, hahahah.
Jungkook, you were right; WHO ended up being HUGE.
Wait, was Jungkook in the room when Jimin was asking if he should sleep with him and if he did, would he hit him again? Also, I still can’t figure out what Jungkook threw on Jimin’s bed.
Okay, the part where they start “wrestling” while brushing their teeth. Something that stands out about that moment is the silence and their expressions; it’s as if they were holding back from saying something. Yes, I know they had toothbrushes in their mouths, but something similar happened on the yacht. Also, it’s obvious they do those poses we’ve seen before, like when Jungkook carried Jimin during one of their rehearsals – I don’t know if you remember which one I’m talking about. That’s why Jimin looked so comfortable when he climbed onto Jungkook’s shoulders and why Jungkook knew exactly how to lift Jimin, and Jimin knew what to do to make it easier for Jungkook. I’d bet all the money I don’t have that they have a complex of Cirque du Soleil members or something, hahahah.
When Jungkook initially goes to Jimin’s room, he wasn’t wearing a microphone. When he appeared in the kitchen, he initially still didn’t have a microphone on, but after a few seconds, it appeared.
Jungkook really loves eating… junk food, hahahaha. Eating doughnuts in the morning is crazy, hahahaha.
Oh, Jungkook didn’t take off the microphone before getting into Jimin’s bed; he faked putting on the one that was on the bed. So, was that his microphone and did he leave it there the first time he went to Jimin’s room? Or was that Jimin’s microphone and he thought it was his? I’m confused.
I don’t want to analyse that moment, but I think I will analyse that moment in their bed. Bro, the way they did all that in silence, with only grunts heard, was intense. The way Jungkook adjusts Jimin’s leg to snuggle up to it is too much for my cold heart. The way Jimin seemed to want to climb on top of Jungkook or something similar and then they pretended to “wrestle” in bed or whatever that was, is too much.
Jungkook spanking Jimin is… bro. The way Jungkook then buried his face in Jimin’s back, making sure to be as close to him as possible is… oh, my crazy heart.
Saying almost immediately after waking up that they needed to buy a sponge to wash the dishes is perhaps the most domestic thing those two have said. My Latina mother would be proud of them, hahahah.
Oh wait, was that actually Jungkook’s microphone?! Then why was it already on Jimin’s bed when he came in the second time?
I LOVE, LOVE how relaxed Jimin and Jungkook were throughout the episode.
Jimin and Jungkook’s light-hearted bickering during the two episodes was delightful. I love seeing more of that side of their dynamic.
MY CONCLUSION ON THE SECOND EPISODE:
I loved the second episode, maybe even more than the first one.
Here, Jimin and Jungkook were more comfortable. It’s as if, after a few hours or a day, they fell into the comfort of their relationship and everything after that was easy. I think they finally got used to the cameras more than anything else.
So, this second episode was about Jimin and Jungkook being domestic. The episode was about them enjoying the tranquillity of their trip. The domesticity of their trip. The slow pace, basically. And I loved it.
I saw some comments from people saying they didn’t like it and even that the episodes were boring, and look, I respect those opinions, but I do wonder what they were expecting to see. The difference with this show compared to other BTS content we’re used to is that there are only 2 people. In BTS shows, when one isn’t doing something, the other four are either doing something crazy or saying something funny. Obviously, it’s different. Besides, I think this is how Jimin and Jungkook are in their normal lives. This is them being themselves. This is them on holiday, and I think that’s something we, as fans, should appreciate.
Jimin and Jungkook are chaotic but in a different way. They’re not chaotic in the sense of doing a thousand crazy things in different places, but rather doing a thousand things in one place. They’re more homebodies. They’ve said that many times. And I think we’ll see a lot of that.
I think I’ve said this in other posts, this show is Jimin and Jungkook genuinely on holiday, only this time they brought several cameras with them.
The most interesting moments certainly were something. I wonder what was cut in the editing room because there were obvious cuts in those moments.
Jungkook saying they should do many more seasons of this is a good testament to how much he enjoyed it. This was confirmed by the interview given by the show’s director.
I can’t wait to see the rest of the episodes. And I REALLY want to see the behind-the-scenes of these first two episodes.
If you’ve made it this far, I’m sorry and thank you—I just couldn’t stop writing ajajajajaja.
Are You Sure - Ep. 1&2
My ‘I should just wait but I can’t and won’t’ - thoughts.
Disclaimer: I don’t like being defensive or playing safe, because I’m on my blog and it should be obvious to everyone that what I write on it is coming from a personal - yet trying to be as much objective and rational as possible - perspective. If you want to read this, and the following posts I’m *willing* - easier said than done, uh? - to make after each episode, kindly keep it in mind. I’m opened to discussion as long as it’s confrontational, respectful and useful. The only thing I’m asking you, if you want to read, is to read it all and then discuss🫶.
So here I am. Nobody asked but my brain is like knocking at my temples, asking me *girl, what are we gonna do? Can I have my moment now?* and I feel bad for denying him that. I’m assuming that by the time I’m posting this, everyone who might read has watched the episodes. If you haven’t, scroll past this post, because there are gonna be spoilers involved and reflections, observations and thoughts that could either influence your own or the way you’ll watch and perceive the show. Also I’m not gonna unfold the entirety of the episodes, but I’m just gonna include what I need for my ted talk. This is so random and felt but still: is gonna be long. I feel like this one is for the “my fingers hurt after writing that” section of the archive. But we haven’t even started yet.
The car talk
The first episode starts in an unexpected way. We’re at Jimin’s place, he’s getting up to leave for America. Jikook meet for dinner at the Antoya restaurant - that beautiful place they were spotted at on July 14th, with flowers and BBQ that Jikook love - and what immediately caught me was the fact that we have almost no footage from that dinner, except for a few seconds of Jimin being really close to Jungkook, touching him a lot, getting physically close with his chair next to the other’s.
I even remember people saying they went to the restaurant twice, the second time being by themselves, but that just doesn’t match with the episode’s timeline so I’m assuming it was false/misunderstood.
Later on they’re in the car. The first put your glasses on and pay attention - conversation happens and it starts with a playful, light vibe but ends… somewhere else. Jimin starts by saying they haven’t gone somewhere together in a while, and Jungkook replies that they were supposed to have a drink together. The drink I’m assuming JK proposed him over and over on live and maybe even privately.
What we had been saying all along - their schedules don’t match often - gets confirmed by Jungkook. “When you were working I was free but I never called” - which sounds like a contradiction, to me, considering how Jungkook was acting when he missed Jimin in early 2023, even telling him “I miss you” when they actually met 2 days prior with the members - “and when I was working but you were free you never called”. Keep in mind that with working here, I think Jungkook is referring to the solo paths. And his own solo path… had just started.
Jimin corrects him. “That’s not true, I called”. And explains how he and Tae struggle with meeting up because plans never end up somewhere concrete and stay words and wishes. They laugh, the realization is funny, but immediately Jungkook says that without this trip they probably would have never met either, “bro you laugh but that’s fucking serious” kinda vibe, due to his strict upcoming schedule, I’m assuming.
Jimin says, here: “That’s why I came here”. Stares at Jungkook, literally glared the shit out of him - and we saw how important shit was through these first episodes - to the point that even the subtitles had to point that out. I felt tension, there, for whatever reason, but I’m not gonna say why yet because okay being in a rush and letting thoughts out, but some things need time to be better understood and explained.
What matters to me during this interaction is Jungkook’s reaction. He immediately says “I know. You’re here, [in english]finally”. Now that’s what I wanna talk about, because people are taking this moment as proof of whatever, as them admitting they haven’t met at all, they’re distant, this or that, and I’m not judging those opinions because I’m sure half tumblr won’t agree with my personal ones that I’m gonna share in this post: none here is better than others. But, if you pay close attention to it… the conversation reveals the entire point and core of Jikook’s bond: their need to be together. Quality time, closeness, moments, memories.
You - general you - see them distant and apart, I see Park Jimin who flew 14 hours straight from Korea to NYC just to be with Jungkook and keep their relationship healthy and alive. Because I’m telling you, something could’ve broke there if he didn’t. You see what happened before, them meeting less often, being busy as fuck, probably just working eating sleeping and repeat, I see what’s happening now - past-now, it’s July 15th 2023 - : Jimin set priorities and took those two or three days available as a chance, a chance to travel, meet up, be together.
That whole interaction showed how fucked up that was, not being able to meet as they used to. We saw how that fucked up Jungkook himself. How he felt, the smile on his face when Jimin popped up in the comments, the silver day live. There’s something, there, that they nurture in a special and attentive way.
To the point that they needed THAT conversation: “we need a trip together, our bond matters to me, let’s do something about it”. That’s intense, y’all. I saw that as special. Jimin made very fucking clear that he went there to be with him, to be together: that’s commitment, effort. And notice how I’m not mentioning romantic involvement at all. The effort you make to be with someone you love and don’t wanna lose. The effort you make with someone you wanna enlist with and… don’t know what’s gonna happen about that yet.
We know Jikook travel when things get tough. We saw it with their first Tokyo trip, we read it in the book. When they struggle for whatever reason - be it work, private life, individually or together - they move. Make experiences, shake things up, share special adventures. And with adventures I mean an amusement park, a kayak ride, grilled meat… they don’t need distractions anywhere in the world, they need each other and far away from their dehumanizing routines.
So yeah, at least these first two episodes, promoted a playful and entertaining vibe but the fact that Jimin flew there and decided, together with JK, to find a whole justifiable reason to be with him, like a travel show they didn’t even have a name for, is a bit more serious. Because evidently something serious is involved, and some fried chicken at their place was not enough anymore: they needed to spend time, quality time, together. For real though. They didn’t know what they were doing, they just knew why, and accepted the challenge just for the sake of their bond.
You focus on the fact that “Vmin video called each other more often, they kept in touch, Jikook didn’t”, I focus on the fact that Vmin kept in touch but never ended up meeting, while Jikook went through it and planned 3 seasons to spend together to fix that. Do you see the exclusive dynamic? But we’ll go back there later.
Something - Jungkook - was… off?
I think a big part of this discourse comes from either people who haven’t really watched Jungkook closely through the years or haven’t really tried to contextualise his behavior in these first episodes of Are You Sure?!. If you wanna know: I did notice a shift in his actions and attitude, but not in the dramatic and tragic way some fans did.
I noticed very very often the funny and teasing Jungkook we all now, the one who does not throw himself all over Jimin - hugs, kisses, caressing, don’t you know at least how Jungkook’s average love language works? - because we know that’s not how he usually acts, let alone on camera. Oh, and if you’re thinking “but he was touchy and physically close during their last live, after the Japan trip”, you’re smart. We’ll go there later too…
So the first reason were cameras, 100%. I saw them recording the car’s dashboard a couple of times and that was full, full, full of stuff, bigger camera two gopros wires that was a mess I could never bear with. Being used to have those things pointed at you is one thing, having them pointed at you while you’re filming something - you don’t even know what you’re filming, what you’re supposed to do, how it will all turn out, and it’s obvious to everybody that you’re doing it just to be together, from the staff and the company to the strangers who see you around and widen their eyes- while you’re with your bro is another.
The second reason is that he was not feeling at his best, throat hurting, coughing, cold and running nose. He’s human, he doesn’t even let his feelings out that much - didn’t hear him complaining about it ONCE -, he had a lot to do in the next days and an overall uneasy schedule to come. Wear his shoes. He was still lovely, smiled quite often, playful, he wanted to enjoy the view and the nature and the food, he was having a good time. And you can see him - in those clips that made it to the final cut and were not edited out - slowly getting more comfortable with the cameras and going for Jimin’s thighs, body, butt, legs, feet. Filming something you know nothing about means also not knowing how far you can go with letting yourself go.
Last reason I’d mention is that Jungkook, among all the members, had one of the most “closing up I don’t wanna talk about it” - reactions ever regarding the military service. We saw him struggling on live because of it, such a huge and forced change shaking up his life, and by the time they were in NY they had no idea they were gonna enlist together. The applications for the companionship opened in August. They were still wandering, so I’d get if he was a bit more lost in his thoughts, I get that he looked angry and defensive to Jimin - his own words - and I get people noticing a certain detachment.
What I saw there was him probably being trapped in his own head and, as a consequence, acting “different”. Again not in the tragic way some people depicted it, nah not at all… he still was a sweet boba ball and I enjoyed him to the last crumb. I wanted to squeeze his face and slap the back of his neck all the time. And then cooking for Jimin, telling him his food was fine and tasted good, that it was okay if he dropped it, telling JM to don’t mind him and go clog the toilet with his explosive diarrhea if he had to. Joking about his curse with water, falling in water, laughing at the majority of Jimin’s jokes, looking for twinkies (the snacks) and guacamole at Walmart. He kept saying he had to put himself on a water only diet after the trip but god forbid Jimin hinting at starving himself.
How can you not see that, how can that not make your watching experience amazing… he’s so authentic.
I agree: he was not at his best. But it could be due to everything I said above and even more. Every human is different and we all react differently to life phases. You never, never, ever know what’s crossing someone’s mind. Just be rational and aware when you state something: would he ever spend days and nights together with someone he doesn’t love or care for anymore? If you noticed such a drastic cold and different way of being from him, ask yourself if he was really having a problem with Jimin or if he was more of… going through it with himself. No?
He was there, he chose to be there. Not anywhere else, not with anyone else. The same Jungkook who was kicking his feet during the Suchwita episode while telling Yoongi what happened in America. “It was so funny after Jimin came”.
And Jimin himself was still drawn to him, close to him, lovely, and kept traveling with him till the choice to enlist together. Reflect on that <3.
Special dynamic - from 0 to 100
Now that we put the toughest points aside, as I was saying their dynamic is unique - not “every friendship is different” unique but “something’s going on” unique - to the point that they leave you speachless.
You see them having fun on that boat, bickering about the parking, boxing at the cashes, relaxing on the yacht, flirting about butterflies and mosquito bites, touching ass, feet, legs, thighs, hands. And you can’t help but wonder both how they act when they’re not being recorded and how -what people- they’d be if they could do that more often, when they want to, waking up and going for a trip, with no worries about weirded out-homophobic looks or fans spotting their hang outs. They looked free, genuine, in tune…they were together. Really present with each other, in those instants.
They go from walking apart at the shops to goofing around, from sleeping in different rooms to being all over each other, no boundaries or self space at all: there was a lack of balance.
And, in my personal and casual opinion, that’s because they were struggling with setting a tone for the suddenly made up-show. You can see them going from holding back everything, even looks and glances, to Jimin riding Jungkook’s hip and threatening him of shitting his pants on his stomach, a gift right from his own guts. And Jungkook’s wide smile while that was happening… that’s a healthy bond. A bond where you can mention diarrhea over and over or even menace the other with sharting on them just to end up laughing about it.
They match each other’s freak.
this pic god Jungkook was so comfortable and happy and Jimin was so spontaneous and lightful I could die
They go from sitting and smiling at each other to Jungkook touching Jimin’s foot, leg, knee, back, teasing him with “bite marks” when he just wanted touch, comfort…he wanted his attention and to give JM his as well.
And talking about feet…
The way Jungkook grabs Jimin’s ankles in the first pic - while they’re brotherly-coded brushing teeth on the bed - is so domestic and adorable. Just like the second picture, where he starts looking for mosquito bites from Jimin’s toes but somehow - after a not noticeable at all cut - ends up facing him and touching his legs.
And we could talk about cuts and deleted parts too but why would we hurt ourselves like that… the jikookery that ends up in the garbage, thrown away like a good sweater no one likes anymore. I’d wear it, m’am, give it to me.
But going back to the brushing teeth picture, something I noticed a lot in these first two episodes is Jikook’s way of pushing each other away just to end up giving the fight up and get all over each other.
They push - or pretend to - the other away, but in the end they surrender - or pretend to - and hug, touch, play, smile.
Just like this moment here… you all know it, right?
Jimin wanting to elbow jungkook back, his revenge right there failing with Jungkook overpowering him (editors, own, words, believe, me, or, not). Jimin turning around, leg forward with the NNNNYYYYAAAASTY arch, and Jungkook goes for the trophy. Smacked. Right there. A cute sound in the background to cover the thickness of it all🫶
Not to talk about the actual elbowing moment, when you can hear Jimin’s grunt but immediately before Jungkook’s loud, very loud snoring. The more I think about it the more I smile, because Jimin shared a bed with him - and chose to share it for 18 months - despite Jungkook being a loud sleeper (if you ever slept with someone who snores you know what we’re talking about…).
We got Jimin being pretty and perfect in every angle every state tummy bug or nose elbowed sleeping next to that loud wardrobe shaped man. What a duo they are.
What would we not do for love, though? Getting explosive repetitive diarrhea, your ankle smashed, your nose hit, mosquitoes eating you alive, falling when waking up and chronic fatigue could not stop two hearts from connecting with each other.
The plague hit my boy Jimin 10 misfortunes fell right on his head but… he made it.
They’re down to earth people
No, the fact that they can get explosive diarrhea did not automatically lead me to this conclusion. The two things are not linked 🙄.
While watching the episodes I could not stop thinking that those two men, who hit incredibly high levels of duality, hotness, power, energy and beauty on stage are actually simple humans who want to be together, live their life and their youth, be themselves, eat yummy food and are clumsy as fuck.
Jimin was so much fun for me. He’s full of life, he kept the mood of the show very high, always smiling and laughing - even when I wouldn’t have - and entertaining us in such a heartwarming manner. He would be the perfect individual to travel with for me and my mild, moderate personality. Finding someone who you feel comfortable traveling with for days and in multiple places is not easy. When you do, it means that your characters get along and compensate each other. But mostly, it means that everything is allowed. Discussing, silence, complaining, being yourself.
And they seemed to have found a beautiful partner for that, to the point that Jungkook wants to do it for 12 seasons till they’re 50…
And have I already mentioned Jimin’s ass imitation of his 50 years old self taking the smile away from Jay Kay? No but like, literally. Jimin’s butt left Jungkook speechless.
😔 sad moment coming.
That one though being one of the cutest things ever because what do you mean you wanna travel with me till we’re 50. What does it mean what does it😟mean.
Jungkook enjoyed that trip so much. He needed it, he wanted it, he felt it. And that’s what leads us to one of the last points…(hoping you’re not bored or annoyed and made it till here with ease).
We - I - should wait
As I said previously, a lot of people are focusing on and overthinking that car talk as if Jikook ended up hating each other when, in reality, that’s how we saw them the last time they showed on live:
Jungkook touched and caressed Jimin’s neck and back maybe 12 times. I have a whole ass post about it. About how much JM was holding back, stopped himself from shaking JK’s hand a ridiculous amount of times, gave life to an overall awkard vibe while talking about the trip, the MMA incident (pay attention to that: RM knew, they were so excited they talked about it with the members as well) and the “I’m used to your snoring now and we’re gonna make it through 18 months of sleeping together” part. Jungkook constantly rubbing, checking if what he was gonna say was okay with his feelings, resting his head on his tummy after teasing him, wanting him to eat well and don’t feel hungry.
Watch the live instead of clips. Watch it all. Those Jikook happened after whatever you’re interpreting these episodes as. I get your opinions and povs, but at least if you wanna stand by that and prove your point, go for a “relationship’s ups and downs, a phase, a moment”, and not for “they stopped meeting they got distant Jungkook’s not the same”. Please.
Sapporo will hit different. I don’t know what I can look forward to with Connecticut - the vibes with the sunset, the cuddles, the big villa, the I am you, You are me in the pool are promising - , but I know that Japan will be way more emotional and profound because that’s the last trip before the enlistment they KNEW, finally, they were gonna share, that’s the last trip before the comfort cute and touchy live I mentioned above.
Not to mention when they were FACING each other on a moving walkway at the airport, and Jungkook rested his head on Jimin’s chest, while the latter was pulling him closer by his sweatshirt.
If I was a parent, I’d be happy. If my kid found someone to spend his time with and traveled with him, wanted to, felt listened to and stimulated by, I’d be happy. And I’d be happy they’re sharing that privately showing the cameras just a small surface (I know slapping ass is not surface, but that’s not what I’m talking about now), leaving everything else they chose not to film, share or edit for… themselves only. There’s a lot, a lot mega lot, that we just don’t get to see.
Final moments I enjoyed
They’re couple coded. None can change my mind. Jungkook telling Jimin to buy the same clothes is couple coded FIGHT WITH ME.
The butterflies one. That gave me 🦋 as well.
The bickering for the parking part. They know how to handle each other and I’m still wondering what Jimin was referring to during that infamous live stating “he can handle” Jungkook’s half naked body.
Finally, this so so so tender moment that nobody noticed because it was subtle, heartfelt and authentic.
The way they must have missed each other… have I underlined that enough? No? I will for the rest of my life just wait for this show to drop…
And so many, little more. Jimin walking while holding onto Jungkook’s shirt, the “your skin tone looks like my mom’s when she wears foundation”joke, the drive and Jungkook playing “My You”, two hours worth of content and yet… so much feeling left out, cut, gone missing.
A lot of birds and trees recording, food, activities…it’s really improvised. Well done but still improvised. And you can tell it was not mainly meant for us. No, not at all. We’re the side hoes, again.
I feel like recognizing them their courage and their ability to handle a possible different and challenging moment for their bond in such a committed and caring way. I want to recognize them how good they tried - and cmon, they kinda made it - to handle cameras everywhere and to match them, the staff presence, the drones and the eyes pointed at them, with the willingness to spend time together after a long time. I can’t wait for the next episode, so that I can eventually reblog this and correct myself, reflect, add things, enjoy it all. Let’s enjoy it, always, till the last drop.
They’re special, precious. You don’t miss someone so much you take a 14 hours flight to see them, and you don’t miss someone so much you feel relieved (“finally”) when they show up, unless you love them.
Never question these two’s love for each other, because they chose to go from New York to Jeju to Japan to the gates of hell, up in the mountains in that military base, together.
Together.
The cutest boys in the world ☺️
Two year anniversary of Hobi's legendary Lollapalooza Stage
Post Date: 31/07/2024
Namjoon did a masterpiece. I wish their album goes to the right target.
JIMIN!!!!!
CONGRATULATIONS, MY BELOVED!!!!
Minimoni Love
Oh Namjoon, my beautiful alien, your honesty makes me so emotional. I've always known that their friendship was important and treasured by them both but it is amazing to have this stated so clearly and unambiguously.
Post Date: 20/07/2023
Rambling in INFJese - Part 10: Queerful In South Korea
SGMB and RPWP focused playlist
[Music is a very big part of my life and I’m MOSTLY INCAPABLE of writing without music, so I just thought I'd share what I am listening to while writing this]
🐺 — 🐺 — 🐺—
Gurls, Bois and Enbies … Hellooooooooooo 📢 Yes, I’m finally, officially, back from my travels.
Am I feeling relaxed and refreshed?
NO.
In fact, I’m pretty sure I’m more tired than when I left 😬. You see, there was more excitement than I thought, or even budgeted for, but, lowkey highkey I knew it was going to turn out like that, so, it was what it was and it was unforgettable 😊💜.
Now, on to the topic of today!
As the title kinda spoils, I would like to bring forth the topic of queerness in present day Korea, touching upon specific sub-subjects within this main-theme, which you will discover as you keep reading.
In order to provide more context and understanding, I’ll have to bring up a bit of Geography, a tad of Politics and a lot of History, and let me make this clear, even though I have been out of politics for quite some time I used to be very invested in world politics … I am presently indeed somewhat annoyed, because there seems to be a lot of misinformation that has been going around with regards to what it might mean to be gay/queer person in South Korea, in the big year of 2024, which is why I’d also like to encourage us to be proactive and do some research, on our own, with the available resources that are out there. I know it sounds heavy, but I promise I’ll try and make it as least cumbersome, and as much relatable to what might concern all Queer people, and JK and JM of course, as possible ✌🏾.
Let’s start with some Geography.
Asia … is a big ass continent. Because it is so big, amongst the people who make these kind of decisions, it was decided that this continent would have to be divided into 5 regions: Central, East, South, Southeast and West. The regions we are going to be concerned with are East and Southeast also known as ASEAN. The East has a total of 8 countries, out of which we are going to focus on 4 being; China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, while the Southeast has a total of 11, out of which we are only going to concentrate on 1, being Thailand … aaand that was all for Geography; painless right?
Great. So now it is time for some of History. We are now going to be talking about the history of the BL genre and the Queer art genre within two particular cultures; Eastern and Western.
BL, otherwise known as Boy’s Love, is a genre that was born in Japan in the 1970s. To properly discuss the world of BL it would take way too many blogs, so I’m afraid I won’t delve too deep into it, but in order to proceed with our discourse I need for everyone to at least understand the substantial difference between, for example, a series like The Eight Sense and Heartstopper. The first is a BL and the other is a Queer Coming-of-Age Drama. These two series are the I most point out very positive outcome of a lot of struggle and progress within both the BL and Queer art genre through the years.
The East and BLs - BL was created by women to be consumed by other women in Japan. It had nothing to do with creating content for gay/queer people, and this is very fundamental for everyone to understand. The thing is that it doesn’t matter where in the world you are, if you are or were a girl/woman you know the struggles are real. Different parts of the world deal with this frustration in different ways, and Japan and eventually the other 4 Asian countries I listed above found this to be one of them. The BL genre is basically having two men in a forbidden relationship, driven by mad passion, and who would always choose each other over the rest of the world. Star crossed-lovers where one of them would always be the Seme/Top or male-male and the other the Uke/Bottom or female-male. At the core of it all, BL was intended to be escapism, which eventually turned into fetishism and now can be all the above and something else entirely; evolution aye?
Mainly Asian women perhaps used BL to feel like their opinions and emotions could matter, in an environment where like also many other countries in Africa men are the ones that have the last say, or just any say at all. So they fulfilled their fantasy of being heard, and having power, while at the same time having the “strongest/most ideal” of men fall desperately in love with this male version of themselves. It is obviously much more complex than my two line sentence explanation, but for now, kindly keep this image in your mind.
Moving on!
The West and Queer Art - The queer genre in the West for the longest time was almost always a guaranteed tragedy. Interestingly enough, even though the first movie that mentioned homosexuality was in the 1960, the beginning of Queer culture in movies was, also for the West, in the 1970s. I can’t tell you the amount of books and films I have read and seen in my day says the woman in her thirties LOL and, despite the heart-wrenching looming tragedy, I would still enjoy finding comfort during those few chapters/scenes when the couple/pairing was happy, even though I knew for a fact that either one of them or both would die, or be eternally separated, or some other kind of tragedy.
The funny thing is that I would just accept it, because why not? Is not like my reality showed any different. It wasn’t like I was aware of happy and successful queer people around me, so why would I expect to read or watch anything else? Also I am a nasty ass angsty person so really I have no excuse.
… are y’all following me thus far?
Now, let’s take a bit of a leap into the 2000s where money-makers finally clocked in on the fact that there is mad-money that can be made with BL in the East and Queerness in the West. In the East we start adopting fanservice within boybands and Asian-Dramas, we start printing thousands of BL mangas, and producing as many animes to match. In the West we keep having the token queer comedian appear on every show as well as making movies of historic queer figures who have impacted the world somehow, so that the queers can feel represented, even though all the actors are for the most part straight, because at this point in time, even though we acknowledge that Queer people exist, coming out is still very meh.
As the 2000s progress and we enter the 2010s thanks to actual progress within some western countries, the interweb and social media it becomes increasingly easier for an Eastern Fujoshi/Fudanshi/Fujin (Bl lover girl/boy/enby) to find themselves in say the UK, which has areas that breathe queerness and queer history and for a Western Queer to find themselves in say Japan where they can easily buy a manga about “queers” in happy relationship or, somewhere in South Korea, can easily see two very attractive boys/girls from a random kpop band openly kiss.
And then, in the midst of this “cultural” exchange, and awakening, something happens.
The Eastern Fujoshi/Fudanshi/Fujin realise that there are actual real queer people in the world sounds stupid, but believe me, it is not. That queer people are not just characters in a book, or anime, and that in fact there really are people in the world who are for example of the same sex and truly wanna be together and, if gay, for example, can also be both very masculine and still want to be together. At the same time the Western Queer realise that they actually can be happy, and that they deserves a happy ending, because some of this BLs aren’t half as bad and they sometimes make valid points and then you find out that actual queer people are now also writing BLs so things start to make some sense.
As I mentioned, society was also changing, Queer people in the West started gaining a few rights, such as being able to get married in America and some European countries, and as a consequence, in the following decade, we now have series and movies that have Queer protagonist, with happy endings to boot! In the East, things are either not moving at all or moving a bit differently, or kinda slowly, but still it is movement. Within the countries that are moving differently, talking about Queerness is still heavy but has finally become something that they “don’t mind” just talking about and the gay neighbour is actually seen as the gay neighbour, whether they will talk to them is debatable, but at least they are recognised as such and not absurdly explained away or their existence ignored.
Now back to geography. The reason why I mentioned those 5 countries (China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand) is because at some point in the 2010s they were the main producers, and consumers, of BL within the Asian continent, and yes, while still being hella homophobic and, but let’s be real for a second, queer people have been around since the beginning of time, so even though BL was made and intended for women, our Queer Eastern Siblings would find a way to secretly also consume BL, being the closest thing to reading about a queer relationship, so added to the westerner consumption as well, it is no surprise that these 5 countries suddenly had a boom, despite having been being homophobic.
Hence, it can be said that these 5 countries were on the same wavelength in the early 2010s, but what about now? With the considerable change in behaviour and thought with regards to Queer people in these countries in the early 2020s where do these 5 countries stand with regards to their Queer people and politics? Well, China has now banned BLs entirely, and I will not delve into their further lack of queer rights. Taiwan and Thailand have legalised Queer marriage. Then there is Japan which is making progress towards trying to legalise Queer marriage with to my greatest joy a successful ruling that happened this year in March related to same-sex unions … so, what about South Korea?
Well … SK is so close 🥹 … Yet so far 😫
It’s like they are taking 4 steps forward and 3 steps backwards, constantly. They are well far from China-levels which is a fucking relief I tell you! but they are dragging their feet to be at Japan-levels (and Japan is very close to Thailand and Taiwan Queer status currently). Yet, it is not as negative as it seems, or as some people try to portray it. You look around social media and they depict SK as if it were China. SK is currently facing a situation where it notices that things are changing and change is scary y’all. Resistance is the usual reaction to change, and the older generations, mainly those led by the Christian groups are not really where is at. SK’s youth and older liberal generations hold the answer to the Queer Korea questions.
So what exactly makes SK look hopeful? Well, time to get back to some History again 😘
The first Queer organisation in SK was formed in 1993 by 3 gay men and 3 lesbian women. The following year the 6 separated into 2 groups and formed the first gay organisation and the first lesbian one respectively. In 1997 we have the first demonstration for gay and lesbian rights, which then lead into 2000, the year of the first Pride Parade, which is one of the events of the very first Seol Queer Culture Festival Daegu Queer Culture Festival will be created in 2009, do keep this in mind … but another major event happened in the year 2000.
Y’all know that saying X walked so that Y could run? Well Hong Seok Cheon was basically forced to walk so that Queer Korean could learn how to properly train to run.
Though Seok-cheon is presently back to being somewhat popular again, his coming out was pretty traumatic. His career as comedian/actor started in 1994 and he was quite popular which landed him a good number of acting roles, and a lot of placements in comedy shows, as well as a kids show. In 2000 he was asked about his sexuality and he had no qualms in replying that he was gay. The show editors decided to cut out that part but a journalist gotta love them 🙃 got a hold of the footage and forced him to “elaborate”. Upon confirming, Seok-cheon lost all his jobs and was shunned verbally abused, discrimination and the lot, oh yes … by his own country.
Not surprisingly, given that nobody in his own country wanted to interact with him, he at first thought of moving to the US to start afresh, but then decided against it. Seok-cheon decided to stay and prove to everyone in his country that he could make it and be successful again. And that he did. In 2002 he opened the first of what now is a high end chain of 9 restaurants in Itaewon. 2004 he joined the Democratic Labor Party and was selected by Time magazine as the Asian Hero of that year and in the following years Seok-cheon will keep racking up achievements 🎶🎵Did you see my bag? Did you see my bag? 🎶🎵 Namean?! (I’m not gonna list them all but you should definitely look him up and learn a bit about him, if you are interested).
But how does that connect to today? In 2008 he started his own talk show Coming Out and though there was a bit of resistance at the beginning as expected, the youth came in force and he started gaining audiences and boom! He was back on TV and slowly he’d get also a few cameos on prominent media, such as the Netflix drama Itaewon Class. Now let’s leave the lime-light for a second and let's look at the military 😬. It is vitally important that people understand that being gay is not illegal in any of the 5 countries we’ve been talking about yes, even China, but the public opinion and beliefs of each country greatly influence how their queer communities are thought of and treated.
Now, SK Military has become pretty infamous within the queer community for conducting witch-hunts in order to find out and humiliate gay soldiers, so much so that organisations such as Amnesty eventually had to step in. That being said, let's be real real real for a second. Though it is appalling what they have done to the queer soldiers, the SK military was also very famous for hazing, assaulting, causing cadets regardless of sexuality to want to unalive themselves and what more. All of the aforementioned, which put SK’s military on the map in a not so positive light globally, added to the increase in suicides, made the government address the situation, and they eventually came up with solutions such as the buddy system, which was first implemented in 2003. But, back to the gays. The most popular witch-hunt happened in 2017 where two soldiers amongst others were outed, but these particular two were found guilty of having sex off-base, during off hours.
In 2022 this conviction was overturned, the soldiers were no longer guilty and it is now no longer illegal, for queer soldiers, to have sex off-base during off-hours. You know what else happened in 2022? SK aired their first Queer reality shows, one being To Me(a)rry Queer and and the other being His Man. In 2023, His Man 2 will give us our first successful real-life queer couple, who are our beloved couple Junseong and Seongho (together known as Junseongho). They are the first queer couple to ever appear on Dazed magazine and we are all familiar with Dazed, it is not the front page like our boys get, but we all know how big of a deal this is, right?
You know what else happened in 2023? Remember that Daegu Queer Culture Festival I was talking about? The Mayor of Daegu (big Christian sympathiser) tried to stop this festival which includes the Parade and many other events, even though the Court ruled it was okay for the Festival to be carried out. The Mayor gathered other supporters and pulled up to the group, but the Daegu Police protected the Festival and removed the mayor and his “friends” from the premises. This was big and made news worldwide.
In fact, Daegu’s Queer Culture Festival is the second largest one in the country, after Seoul’s. This is mainly possible because the Local Authorities (such as the police) are quite independent in belief from their present Mayor and the Christian factions. In contrast, for example, Busan’s Queer Culture Festival had a two year run but was then cancelled in 2019. Unfortunately, in Busan, The Mayor, the Local Authorities and the Christian factions are buddy-buddies making it much harder to get protection and permissions, aaaaaand things like that, kids, is why it is super important to vote for your local administration as well.
Even though these are all very important stepping stones, SK is nowhere close to being the UK, obviously. The LGBTQ community still has to get all their core rights being legalised, and queer people can still be subject to random ass attacks, such as the singer Holland had in 2022, which, by the way, also still occasionally does happen in the UK and everywhere else in the Queer World. Which is a general minority reality I’m afraid.
Furthermore, it is still illegal to have sex on base, which the country maintains that they are upholding because they are trying to prevent possible sexual assaults not too mad about this tbh, which is a valid concern, but most importantly they now know that the world is watching and why is that important? Because, for example, even though they are now separated, one of the boys from the Me(a)rry Queer couples enlisted around the same time with JK & JM and from his posts and photo-booth pictures that other soldiers posted of him, he seems to be making friends and to be comfy as comfy as you can get while serving, kinda like Joonie and most likely JM & JK
Not quite the attitude of someone fearing a witch-hunt, right? But then again, there isn’t much to hunt when you are already out, it is afterall illegal to hunt people and the world is now aware; is there? …
Now back to the general people of SK. According to a survey conducted in 2023 last year, 56% of South Koreans still oppose same-sex marriage (in comparison with only 26% of Japanese). 56% is not bad but then 72% don’t want queer people in their neighbourhoods and workplace, though 81% think that it is not right to terminate people because of their sexual orientation 4 steps ➡️3 steps ⬅️… … … Basically it’s okay to be queer here as in SK, but not here-here, perhaps over there like a queer only neighbourhood or something which at the moment is the Itaewon district.
So yes, 2024 Queer SK is still struggling though they are not going to be overtly nasty about it, because the world is watching. I mean, don’t get me wrong, progress is progress and we love to see that, it is actually amazing, but there still needs to be a general environment where LGBTQ rights in SK need to be recognised and for queer Koreans to not be discriminated against in their social/work/family life. It is also great that Queer media is trying to transition more and more from only BL to actual Queer Drama, for example I am really looking forward to watching Love In The Big City which btw also stars Kim Go Eun.
There is still work to be done, but I think Jung Cueri, a lesbian woman who helps with the Seoul Queer Culture Festival, says it best (here is the full article https://www.dw.com/en/why-are-south-koreans-less-welcoming-of-lgbtq-neighbors/a-68698268 ):
“I think the attitudes of younger generations of Koreans are getting better," she said, pointing out that young LGBTQ+ individuals "tend to come out sooner to their families, in their workplaces and schools than my generation because they are more aware of their sexuality through social media and exposure to various discussions that are more tolerant of LGBTQ+ people." And the cultural festival can help to be a catalyst to change further, she believes. "It will get better," she said. "And that is why the organizers and everyone else involved in the festival are working so hard; they know that Korean society will get better, and they want to contribute to that.
From where I stand it seems Hopeful, Queerful, if you may.
So, Fighting!, Queer South Korea!
Always respectfully yours,
Marengo.
Love THEM exactly as THEY are
I dont know what to say. I truly don't.
Except if anyone doesn't love them exactly as they are, those people are the losers.
They lose at love
They lose at life
They lose at being human and kind and good, because this love is so beautiful and true. If anyone can't see that, the problem is with them, not with Jimin and Jungkook.
Also, this meme, one of my favourites, comes to mind...
Smeraldo garden marching band - JM
Song and MV - My thoughts
Very long post ahead. Seeing that @andy-wm wrote such an amazing post already, I am sending whoever hasn't read it to go read and like it.
I agree with @andy-wm's thoughts and am going to use it as a base to mine, jot down a few points I would like to either add or emphasize. I could have reblogged, but I felt there was just too much I wanted to convey and better I do it in a separate post.
So let's get it.
Where where where do I start?
Maybe from the end, seeing that the song does seem to open and closes with the BTS reference.
I do agree the song is not JM singing his love to Army.
I've seen Army trying to twist and turn it around once again making it all about Army, JM telling us things he couldn't tell us before, the truth he couldn't before - that he loves army? Say what? Since when did he not tell Army he loved us? Since when was that a truth that had to be hidden? Nah. It's funny how people are getting the whole connection to the Smeraldo flower, the connection to The truth untold (will talk about that a little more later on), but are not willing to take that one extra step and see or admit what that thing JM telling us is.
There is a reason this song comes after Set me free Pt. 2!!
This is a different JM. One that decided to live his life as himself, flying away free like a butterfly.
And he connects the dots in the MV.
This is about something that was obviously hidden by him until now, something he is telling us now, a secret he is letting us in on, once he told "all the opps" to fuck off.
These lines here:
All the things we couldn't say before And your hidden feelings too I'll tell you everything now (Just for you) Don't you worry anymore Since we’re together now Let's be a little more honest (Let's go)
Clear as day.
This is about hidden feelings (and not necessarily hidden from the person he loves but from us, as we are the audience and it's time to tell us about it). Same btw with the honesty. Not that he hasn't been honest with that person he loves, but it's time to be honest with us, perhaps practice that same honesty that certain person has been trying to practice throughout 2023.
This is JM's time. JM's secret to tell.
So why, oh why the hell would it be about his love for Army and wanting to hold our flaming hands????? Please make it make sense.
Forget the fact that the lyrics are just not it. Nope. He might love army but he definitley doesn't want army, and spare me any reasoning, JM is a big boy and he KNOWS what it means when he says "I want you babe...", and it ain't him wanting Army. Nope. Nah. No way.
On top of that, by now we know that everything JM does is for a reason, and the 12 June in the lyrics is no different. This is about BTS, not Army, and the idea of the bookending, I love love love that one. This exactly:
That means the events happening in the song, happen within the context of Bangtan. Reading between the lines, the person he is singing to/about is within Bangtan.
Ah, and there is this too:
No special course in reading comprehension needed here.
Not a love song to army. If it wasn't clear from the lyrics then it's said here. A song JM wrote for army to help them express their feelings for a loved one when they are having issues doing so themselves (all part of the layering I will talk about later on).
I'll just say here that JM is the king of layering. One song and MV containing messages within messages.
One more thing about that ending frame from JM though.
When the curtains rise and the lights turn on Everyone is in their places Turn up the music I think we’re ready now Let's begin one, two Put your hands up
These lines.
As I was watching the MV for the first time reading those lines, this is what popped straight into mind (and speaking of popping, I will get to that too, that naughty cutie, sexy, lovely man of ours and his not so innocent innuendos - yes, I do think his mind was going there):
When do you feel your heart connected with another member ?
"...when my eyes naturally meet Jimin's and we high five..."
*Side note: not JK telling us his heart is connected with JM basically all the time...
I guess JK is talking about moments like that.
When I saw/heard those lines in JM's song it felt like the one JM was talking to in that moment wasn't all of the members, but that one person standing on that stage with him, that one person that he just said all his "I love you"s to.
Oh, and a little example of nothing being coincidental and fully thought out by JM:
Ok then.
Just as @andy-wm mentioned, JM gives us hints galore throughout the whole MV as to who that individual is he is speaking to, confessing his love to (again, all while also clearly talking to us letting us in on that secret that he was hiding until now).
We have him hinting to what it ain't.
That the person in question is not of the female variety. The potentially romantic moments are only with the male characters. That "yes sir" add-on.
Ooh, I love you babe I'll come closer to you I love you, babe (Yes, sir) Ooh, I want you, babe I wanna hold your hand I want you, babe
This is no mistake. This is not in the live version only. This is part of the actual lyrics. As is.
We have him giving us hints in the staging, the choreo, the set connecting with Serendipity.
The you are me I am you in the MV choreo
And prey tell, who took ownership of that one, eh?
We have the bubbles.
And specifically JM in a bubble.
Wait, what am I seeing there?
JM in a bubble with sunflowers?
Sun-flowers?
I guess we're in the business of recreating moments then.
Not quite enough, right?
So we have JM literally using Golden hour lighting in his MV. All while the sunflowers (you know, those that grow towards the sun, and usually don't tend to open up and flourish as the sun is going down) are blooming.
Oh, and who are they directed towards if not the recipient of JM's confession? You know, the sun part of the sun and moon duo. Get with it people. You should be reciting this off by heart by now.
Oh, @andy-wm you asked and I will reply. You are not crazy AT ALL. I will say it one more time and clearly:
The sunflowers, that represent the sun as in themselves, are blooming facing towards the camera, in the direction of JM's love confession, all while doing so when the sun is actually supposedly setting, it being Golden hour.
And if it's Golden hour we are talking about, how can we forget this?
Just JK telling us JM is the love of his life during Golden Hour .
See full clip here:
And now we have JM doing just the same.
Who would have thought?
So, basically the flowers are blooming facing (because of) the individual that JM is confessing his love to - you know, the sun to his moon.
Same moon that was doing this:
Every night You spin me up high The moon with you in its arms Let me have a taste Give me a good ride (Oh, I'm fallin', I'm fallin', I'm fallin') It's gon' be a good night (Oh, I'm fallin') Forever you and I
And if we are already drawing the lines between SGMB and Like crazy, then how about this perhaps connecting line:
We know how personal Face was to JM. We know that every single song is him through and through. We know Like crazy is about him struggling during the pandemic.
We saw his breakdown during the MOTS ONE live streamed concert.
This was October 2020, around 6 months into the pandemic. The uncertainty. This is their first performance and from there until Muster another 9 months go by. We know from Festa 2022 that the pandemic screwed up all of their plans. the uncertainty, working on and releasing Be and then Butter and PTD everything leading up to the PTD online concert, a year after MOTS ON:E. For those that performing is their life, standing in front of an audience and giving it their all, it's a hard pill to swallow. The unknown, if they will ever get back to perform on stage in front of a live audience, when this is who they are, their essence, it can be unbearable. JM wasn't the only performer to go through this. It's just that he shared this with us.
And JK was there by his side.
And all he wanted was to make it better.
Just like he did during the concert itself.
So yeah, I do believe it's JK referenced in that song.
And Yeah, like everything JM does, this song too, and it's MV, are layered.
And SMF pt. 2 is him breaking free, flying away like a butterfly and moving on to SGMB. Now he can say what he feels out loud for EVERYONE TO HEAR. And he's telling that someone that was worried about him, that one that stood by JM's side and perhaps JM felt like he was trying to save him, that it's ok, there is nothing to worry about anymore. And unlike in Like crazy, where JM doesn't want to be woken up from that dream, and he is fighting that person that wants to save him, at this point he's eager to wake up and live each day a new with that person he loves blossoming by his side.
Same person he wrote the Letter to?
Yep. Same person.
I do believe that they are all one. Same person by his side in Like crazy, giving him a good ride, in his arms, trying to save JM. Same person he wrote his love letter to. And same person he's telling that he loves in SGMB.
And then there are these lines to consider:
All the things we couldn't say before And your hidden feelings too
Is JM confessing to that person, to us and for that person too? Telling us the feelings are mutual. Hidden until now, from us, and now out in the open.
And yes, although SGMB is JM confessing his love to that person (cough JK cough), he's already done that in a song, right? So what now?
Layering peeps.
JM is telling that person, but more so, I do believe, telling us.
Remember how Letter was hidden? Yes, we got to hear it, but it was hidden on JM's album. Like a secret that isn't to be shared with everyone. Like something that needs to be hidden. And here comes the layering again - it's hidden cause it's a private letter to the one he loves, but also hidden because it's something that cannot be revealed publicly, because he's an idol and 'not allowed' to have such a personal relationship and because the relationship itself is 'not allowed', being with another man.
And now we have SGMB. Not only is the song not hidden away, but it's out there in the open. Loud and proud. The first single released from Muse. How louder or more public can it get than that?
Ok, so feels like a good place to talk about the song's choice of name and its lyrics for a sec.
Much has been said already about the Smeraldo flower, it's meaning and The Truth Untold.
And now we have this:
"The longing to confess and find love on behalf of those unable to articulate their feelings..."
Let's talk about this sentence for a second.
One of the things we get from the MV is cupid or matchmaker JM. Not only is he telling his person how he feels, he is also helping those around him express their love. So, as usual we have a layered message, oh so like JM to do in his well thought out messages. JM 'confessing' to his love, but also to us about his love (first 2 layers) and another layer of JM helping us, his audience, to express our feelings to whomever we wish to and are struggling to do so. Oh and another layer to it all is the one surrounding all three, the one that connects to the Smeraldo flower and it's part in The Truth Untold - that part of allowing to show your true colours, your true feeling, and not be rejected for them, not necessarily by the person you love, but by those that surround you and will not accept your true self or your love for each other.
The connecting lines between the two songs.
And we know who this song meant so much to as well.
"But I still want you"...
So most definitley not a coincidence JM choosing the Smeraldo flower nor calling his band The Smeraldo Garden Marching Band, having them be the ones to deliver this oh so loud and proud message to us all.
One last thing before I leave you for now.
Let's talk for a sec about the new JM dance challenge?
We got cutie sexy lovely JM in this one.
And again, thanks @andy-wm for your lovely post.
Once again, if it wasn't clear already, the one he's paired up with is Loco, sitting there on the sofa, not even dancing with him, just there all googly eyed at JM, struggling to keep a straight face. And the end, omg, that end.
No Loco. That performance was not for you. And fyi, there is only one person JM is accepting flowers from ...
You know...
That one and the same person he was rushing home to pack for their trip to Japan the next day.
Same person he chose to enlist together with less than a month later.
True facts
I am me because they are them.
I am here because they found me.
It's amazing how people on the other side of the world can be so profoundly meaningful in your life, even though they don't know you exist. They told me things I'd never heard, and loved me in ways I'd never been loved. And it doesn't matter if they know ME or not, because I know THEM.
their bond ♡