#bmt asks

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Hey there BMT

Happy new year

So...after today's Tae Wlive...I was left feeling a bit confused

Okay to be honest...ever since the solo chapter two era began...I deleted my twitter account and it has been one of the best decisions I made...but in my journey as an Army...Tae has always rubbed me the wrong way and I couldn't really pinpoint what exactly it was about him because when you first come into this fandom it is ot7 kumbaya all the time....so I can't help but realize Tae doesn't like being left out on being in the spotlight...he is someone who seems to know what goes on in the fandom like how most of his solo stans are shippers of him and the maknae...and how said shippers are one of the biggest reasons this fandom is going to shit and how they portray he's supposed soulmate..so...it's how he always comes online when one of the other members is on the spotlight for some reason and he feels the need to name drop the maknae..like today...he comes on for two minutes,comes back and mentions how he is with the maknae and friends but he decided to do the live cause he was bored...plus I found it a bit weird how he didn't mention Jihope being in Paris....considering he likes fashion...something so big and new and exciting for his bandmates,his family,friends...but instead go on and just rally up his psycho cult by adding innuendos with strawberries and "pineapples?"....and I'm just wondering JK couldn't even pop in his head for a second to say hi but then I sit down and remember he likes to lie?troll?be funny? So many narratives to explain away his behaviour....anyways...what was the purpose of all this....you are one of the bangtan fans who is so level headed and I wanted to know if I'm just tripping..

Have an amazing day/night

Alright, I think it's time for a real talk here. I'm not going to mince my words because I don't care what anyone says. I'm no Army, you all know where I stand, so let's fucking go.

This fandom is made of butthurt, two-faced, kumbaya, fruity bangtan-lover people who are rarely able to show some spine because they're too afraid of losing their clout on twitter and their followers on tumblr. They're so programmned to believe that a bunch of seven men are the epitome of perfection, unable to do something even worthy of mentioning any type of criticism because they all live in this fairytale-like world. They are super human, incapable of actions and emotions that govern the daily lives of us, the inferior human race. Well guess what? Believing it doesn't make it real.

We can like nasty people and we can dislike them for the same damn reasons. We can dislike nice people and we can love those good people all the same. And guess what? BTS are people. Tae is one of them. Rm is one of them. Jimin. Yoongi and so on. And we can like BTS, while at the same time, not like some of the things they say or do. It's not the end of the world, the sky won't fall on us. Just as we have complex emotions and reactions towards the people in our own lives and towards our own self. I know I'm seen as some Tae/RM anti. Unfortunately for those people, I can never give them the satisfaction because I don't have a ''hate Tae today and talk shit about him'' on my to-do list every day. And they can say I'm biased and I only care about two people in BTS and I see them as perfect and I get frustrated when someone else talks shit about them. Yeah dude, I do care only about two of them. There ya go. The Earth is still spinning. And you know what? I can dislike stuff about them too.

I don't like Jimin treating the fandom as if they're all kids and even going as far as to cover a damn photo on a hotel wall. It's stupid and it won't help and he's part of the problem. I once thought that Jungkook is going to do something more artistic in the future because I saw the potential after My Time, but for now, all he did was confirm how damn basic he is from an artistic pov. I think he made a wrong decision making that song for the World Cup in Qatar and it shows that money comes first. I don't like RM because he's pretentious as fuck. I don't like Hobi because he's too damn loud and as a fan, I couldn't give a flying fuck about his presence at FW or what brand deals he gets. I think Jin is severely out of touch and money does that to you.I think Tae is insecure for no fucking damn reason, but he is. I think Yoongi can be so damn insensitive sometimes and he doesn't know when to shut up. And, for the sake of inclusivity and fairness, I'll add myself too in this dislike fest (not that I'm some world superstar and I have no fans, but you know what I mean).I am a selfish bitch that tends to ghost people. I have ex-friends that probably hate me and I don't blame them.

What does all this mean? That my opinions are facts? That the aspects I've mentioned reflect someone's entire being? That when I look at Hobi, all I see is an obnoxius loud guy? No. Of course not. He's not just that because none of us are only one thing. Layers, people. As simple as that. And if I or anyone else ends up thinking that Tae is insecure and doesn't like being left out, then so be it. Just as I mentioned all that stuff that I personally don't like, there are many more reasons that still make me enjoy them. They're not horrible people worthy of being burned at the stake. But one bad word and this fandom acts like that's exactly what one means when they are not a fan of a BTS member. Then they jump to call people antis, bitches, cunt whores and every other insult. Because that's certainly nicer that any sort of criticism made towards BTS, but it's an acceptable and desired form of bullying. If this was twitter or perhaps my inbox after this text is posted, some will jump and say that Tae would burn me to keep himself and JK warm. Oh no, I'm about to cry and do my penance and apply 30 lashes on my naked body.

Everything is so absurd and every day when I go on twitter and come here, I'm taking the bad pill on purpose so I can enter this alternative reality. And I accept that, I made my bed. But I'm also not going to be some sheep that parrots whatever this fandom deems acceptable.

So yes, anon. I don't blame you for thinking this. Yes, it does seem to look like a pattern. Why? I don't fucking know. Why doesn't it seem genuine? Because there's a history of lying for no damn reason. No one in their right mind should be upset that he's hanging out with his bandmate (be it in person or playing online games). That's not the problem here. It's just that it has become such a habit of only him doing this one-side whatever the fuck he is trying to do, that I had a bunch of people in my inbox from one-two weeks ago saying that this exact thing will happen at the right moment. And it did. I say we should place some bets next time. It will be more fun.

Why does he suffer from a bad case of mimetic desire? Is it needed? Not from an outsider pov, but I have no idea what insecurities Tae has. Except from that time he told Jungkook during their ITS talk that he uses weverse to get some love from fans because he was indeed insecure at that time. So, that tells you something. Which means, it's not completely out of the realm of all possibilities that some of the stuff he does can be on purpose. I'm glad I'm not a Tae stan or some ot7 army cause I would feel kinda shitty seeing Tae's attitude towards his fans. He laughts at them on Weverse while they believe they're laughing together. Look at how the others are using a live stream to connect with the fans they so much love, while he uses that because he's bored for 5 minutes. What is he? A teenage girl that gets bored after the guys come over? Is this high school? I didn't know he's some 16 year old cause at least his behavior would make more sense. But his fans thinks this is cool behavior, except he's a rebel without any cause that makes threats when the Paradise heir gets dragged in a scandal and other times he's keeping his mouth shut. Anyway......

And if we're dropping names (which doesn't happen just with JK, it's only that he's the main character lately) and if JK was there too, why couldn't he just give a shout and call him to say hi to his beloved fans? No one would think it's weird. We have footage of all the group hanging out together for years everywhere. Either tell him to shut up cause he's about to be live and doesn't want anyone to know, or actually do something? Cause this is what I don't get? Making situations be odd when it's not necessary. Now, it's not confirmed that JK is actually there, it could be just a theory and people having bad hearing and apparently Jungkook can sing like shit sometimes. We don't know.

And I don't want to hear anyone saying he doesn't know his stans and his shippers. First of all, they all do and second of all, he's on damn twitter and there's evidence of that. No, he doesn't have to call out his fans, but why rile them up? But then again, all of them are like that, so there's no escape.

Tae doesn't need to go live and talk about Paris Fashion Week and what his bandmates did. He's not the news so he can cover all the events that are happening. But the timing...like clockwork, every single time. Sometimes it's during and sometimes immediately after. Now he waited a day. Good for him, he's being considerate. If anyone would have to patience to look at the bts archive for the last half of year, I bet the pattern is more easily recognizable.

The point to all this and I'm going to end this post cause it got way too long, celebrities (that includes BTS) are people like everyone else. They put themselves in the public eye which means that everyone else watching them is bound to draw conclusions. Some are favorable and others are not. And saying that Tae seems to want some spotlight and he's not very nice sometimes is not a smear campaign. Whoever believes that, get a life. You have no idea what that means. But this fandom distorts all sense of reality and the actual meaning of words.

People can like Tae for exactly the same reasons I don't. I wish he would be an actual bad boy. That would make him at least interesting. I like shitty people. I like nice people who do shitty things. I like people who are considered persona non grata. So what? So if his fans like Tae for who he is, then absolutely fine. But then I can also say that I don't. That's the basics of all of this.

And one last thought. I can't truly take someone seriously or argue with them in some weird act of defending men. I value myself a bit more than that. So whoever wants to be an Army on a high horse and call me names, you can take them and shove them.

Happy New Year, Anon!

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Ok there's something that needs to be said about this solo stuff. Hobi focused on the US. Jin went to South America. RM went "exclusive" with his small gig in Korea. So tell me why Jimin is being lambasted for doing a rigorous but wholly normal Kpop promotional period? Are fans really so stupid they don't understand that each person picked what they wanted to do in consultation with their management etc? Are they really so thick-headed that they can't see how the group's western favortism has changed the group and its focus?

Jimin is doing 70 fan calls and going on K music shows, what every other Kpop group does as a matter of course for their releases. THAT isn't favortism. It's a choice to do these promotions. Everyone had this choice, and they didn't take it. Maybe fans should digest that before deigning to speak.

It seems to me the fans are changing their tune depending on what they decide to be angry on any given day. They tell people to "trust the boys and their words" and then when these men actually talk about their own decision regarding their work, all of a sudden "clearly RM and Hobi didn't want this or that and the company failed them". It's impossible to take any argument seriously.

Especially RM and Hobi's projects were conducted and promoted exactly in the manner of how Army wants them and sees them when part of the group. "Bigger than K-Pop", performing on a global stage or promoting it in exclusive settings or American museums. They had opportunities that other idols in the business for as long as they have been, do not have. And it was all thanks to BTS success. What they did was perfectly in line with the status of the group. Their fans complain about delays in shipping or physical releases, all because it impacted negatively their chances of charting high, completely ignoring that being a headline at Lolapalloza is bigger than any of that. Again, they don't see the forest for the trees.

And now they have an issue with Jimin because he embraced and reinforced his professional identity and career as an idol. His other bandmates did not do that. I thought the fans wanted them to be bigger than idols. Again, changing their tune because it's Jimin. Why do they mind so much. Is it envy? Are they projecting their own frustrations? Jimin is only doing the standard promotions for an album release, especially domestically. It's his choice. Just as everyone else had their own choice and control over what they want and how they want their music to be released to the public. The Disney+ documentary on Hobi is a testament to that because it says exactly what we are talking about. Each of these men have free will and enough autonomy to be able to decide how their career to be like. But fans would rather believe they are puppets on a string and invent lies and make vicious comments.

And an underline of this (especially from I-fans) is how army and solo stans infantilize Asian/Korean men and idols by taking away their own agency. Which means they need to be coddled, protected, defended or free from the consequences of their harmful actions, depending on the situations.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Jimin should have used all of Taekooker's narrative in his debut album. Hiding a gay couple pretending to be gay, being a homewrecker and king of fanservice, getting a woman pregnant and cheating on her, fake hickeys on his biological brother from Busan... He could easily get 13 tracks and #1 on global Spotify and Hot 100. Miley and Shakira wouldn't reach it.

The tracklist for a mini album:

Jimin Fatale

Love You Like a Brother

You Make Me Feel Like Giving Hickeys

More Than a Homewrecker

I Shall Be Released (From Business Gay)

The Bitch Is Back (Elton John Cover)

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Steps into solo phase, and brings out Greek mythology, German poetry from 1800s... I don't know what more is coming or whatever I missed noticing...

I want to know what this man, Park Jimin, does in his free time. What are his personal interests and inspirations? Talk to us, Jimin, I beg.

If someone were to write a biography of him, it could be titled Jimin's Enigma. I don't think we'll ever know what's inside that head. Or he'll talk here and there, vaguely mentioning something or repeating about The Notebook. You know, something that is not too deep. And then, as you said, we get the Greek mythology, 19th century German poetry, latin words on the palm of his hands, all from someone who is an idol who freely talks about mainstream interests while supposedly he's also an art collector. Who are you, Park Jimin?

I do hope he addresses the Rilke poem. Even if it only scratches the surface. How did he come up with the idea? Or someone suggested it? Either way, he had to approve it which is still a lot.

I have hopes for Jimin this solo season to freely talk about his album and all the little details that went into it.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

I see a lot of fans calling out the difference of approach in criticising members for doing essentially the same thing at different times. Everyone called out Tae for name dropping JK but no one is calling out JK for name dropping JM or Namjoon. No one is calling out JHope for Name dropping Jimin and no one is calling out Jimin for name dropping Yoongi.

Anon, let's call a spade a spade. The ones who are now taking some high moral ground and calling fans out are taekookers. Cause they saw what other fans were saying about Tae and they feel in the right to talk. They're a bunch of jealous bitches who will never get what they want. And Jimin is their target. Even if he just breathes.

Jimin is not name dropping. Take his last wlive when he did the lego sets. He talked about everyone. And it's not like he just started saying something about Hobi and JK, without being able to or wanting to finish his sentence. He actually talked like anyone would when mentioning something about a friend. He added context, we all knew what he was going on about. He didn't name drop and then just move immediately to another topic. Maybe his friend could learn a thing or two about that.

Jimin talked extensively about Yoongi because he watched his show. He wasn't like "Oh, I just talked to Yoongi....anyway I want to make a lego". Huge difference. I mean, it's quite obvious.

Just how JK didn't name drop NJ. He was all up in his comments during the vlive and that was the starting point of JK talking about him. And don't get me started with him and JM with the latest wlives. I mean, come on...

Do I have to go on?

The day Jimin comes online for 5 minutes because he's bored, name dropping X member or asking for joint live streams in which he has shit to say, then we'll talk more. In the meantime, Jimin tells other members to have fun with their fans and excuses himself for just dropping on a wlive. Because that's the type of person he is.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

Yet another of your followers eagerly waiting to hear your reaction to Jimin's teaser. The music, the dancers, the choir, JIMIN...This is going to be huge, right? Could it be a true kpop crossover hit?

Who is ready to follow warrior leader Jimin to fight at the gates of Mordor? Raise your hand 👋

Anon, I really didn't know what to expect. Perhaps some contemporary, gut wrenching emotional performance? But this is not necessarily better, but different in the best of ways. He's coming for everyone, merciless.

It's quite dramatic and I'm curious to see where Jimin is taking this. It looks like a large scale spectacle that will tell a story. The dancers look like inmates (judging by their clothes as well, they're like wearing a uniform) and Jimin is freeing everyone, starting with himself. The revolution is going to be streamed 💀

I love the choir, the drums, the epic feel of it. I can't wait to see a live performance. And I'll come right out and say it. This is what BTS could have been if they decided to keep doing good stuff after mots7 and not Dynamite. Set Me Free Pt. 2 sounds like the melange of Lie and ON and if there is someone who can carry that on their own, it's Jimin.

Damn, that choir gave me chills.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

"Please me i don’t wanna please me"… is that what I hear? Please me whaaaaat??! The lyrics are gonna wreck us all byeeee

I hear please me, play with me, break me 👀 Oh, Jimin is really coming for us. And given the other clues, who hurt him?

Either way, we're getting a sensual track, probably perfect for pole dancing. It's Jimin's time to really shine. "Please me" "fuck me", I don't really care. I'm here for all of this.

And I need him to show the moon tattoos. Or any other tattoos he might have. Dancing in the rain, mud, with barely any clothes on while singing about separation and going crazy.

[reflections-in-a-critical-eye]

I would love to know your thoughts about the German poem being seemingly corded around his body. Also has your interpretation of the panopticon usage changed at all given that the same set was used for the entire music video and he never left it?

First, I'd like to put side by side the poem and this text that from the very beginning hints at the message(s) in the album.

The first four lines in the Face text are mirroring Rilke's first stanza, like this:

I live my life in widening circles

That reach out across the world

Wave spreads beautifully,

Finding its own flow.

I think it shows being open and willing to experience whatever life brings on. The speaker, and in this particular case Jimin, is at the center of it. His existence is the one that creates the waves, the widening circles that can encompass a myriad of people, experiences. But, it comes with an important observation:

I may not complete this last one

But I will give myself to it.

Despite wounds and distortions

From a smallest scratch.

There a show of resilience here, of accepting that despite how much it can hurt, it's the only way to actually live. It's not an easy task. And that last circle doesn't need to be completed. Perhaps only in death, but until then, it's about the trajectory, of keep trying. Yes, he might get hurt along along the way but let's not forget the hint of optimism of the way in which the wave spreads beautifully. It's not a contradiction, but just the way life works.

I've been circling for thousands of years

And I still don't know: am I a falcon, a storm, or a great song?

The face of unwavering effort

Despite repeated falls and pain.

One ends with a question, while the other one hints at choosing an answer. In Rilke's poem, it is left to the reader's choice to take away from it what one might be after questioning's life purpose. Or perhaps one key of interpretation is that we can be all of those three at different times in our lives, depending on the experiences we have when we let things in.

Jimin might be a beautiful song, but also the falcon. God here can be interpreted as a metaphor. The primordial tower. That can take a meaning depending on what the one thing or more in someone's life that stands at the center of their existence. We each have our own answer to that. For Jimin, it might be himself, "the face on unwavering effort". That's his answer.

The panopticon is not a physical place. That struggle and the reveal of inner demons happens inside, and the metaphorical liberation from the imprisonment takes place at the end. I think Jimin showed throughout the video that he's a falcon, a storm and a beautiful song and lastly, he chose himself.

I found a beautiful interpretation of the poem. I suggest reading it because it can actually help in understanding a lot more the concept of Set Me Free Pt. 2 and why it makes such good sense to have it connected to Jimin.

I live my life in widening circles that reach out across the world. I may not complete this last one but I give myself to it. I circle aroun