One thing I’ve realized since I’ve stopped letting Taekookers and insecure Jikookers ruin ot7 content, is that Jimin and Jungkook are very happy in whatever form their relationship takes, and the other members have always championed that. As well, Taekookers and insecure Jikookers exist in bursts of drama.
Tae and JK look cute in their photo booth pictures, especially the kiss on the cheek, but instead of consuming it with all the other photos surrounding it, both sides have turned it into proof of something being or not being real. In the most hypocritical way, at that. Because whenever Jimin and JK do anything together, Jikookers must be expected to question if it’s fan service or forced, no matter if it’s private or filmed. When it’s Jimin and any other member or JK and any other member, it’s genuine. And when it’s Taekook, it’s true love.
That has been the near fandom wide narrative for as long as I’ve been a fan of BTS, and while it took me some time to truly understand, I am here and have been here for as long as Anonymous has been off on my page, lol, because it’s pointless. This fandom as a whole is full of shippers. It does not matter if people play holier than thou or not. Damn near every ARMY ships a pairing or trio or whatever, even if they don’t view it romantically. The problem with that being something no one wants to admit to however, is that only Jimin and Jungkook as a duo get the shit end of the stick. For whatever reason, them together forces people to push back and rage more than anything else, mind you, Holland just got harassed by Taekookers for daring to say he wouldn’t out them even if he knew they were dating. But that barely made a dent in fandom outrage. Let it have been a Jikooker. The timeline would still be talking about how disgusting asking an out gay man, who was hate crimed for being gay, if their fantasy ship was real.
Point is, I think the pictures and moments of Taekook we just got was pure Taekook. It’s cute and further expands on their bond, which is close-knit and loving, but they’re not a couple. They don’t and never have come across as one, and the push to prove them as one at Jimin’s expense is played out. As is the notion that Jimin and JK don’t hangout off camera, given Vmin literally showed up at his house yesterday, then all three promptly got off live to spend time together. We got pictures recently of them hanging out on Jeju apparently, and JK’s album release party saw him hanging off of Jimin too. Just because we didn’t get the same sort of photos don’t mean they don’t exist, but even if they don’t, Jungkook loving Taehyung and them posing that way does not equal Jungkook loving Jimin any less.
As I keep saying, we don’t know their reality, but at the same time, Jimin and JK telling us they spend time together without showing us, is them maintaining their privacy. Romantic or platonic I do not know (although I don’t think they’re platonic even if they’re not dating), but it’s private. Which, once upon a time, Taekookers prided Taekook on being, remember?
You guys are arguing with a group of shippers who literally do not believe anything they themselves say, lmao! Taekook is private but loud but rebellious but not for cameras even when in front of cameras. Taekook as a ship is one giant contradiction, and the only reason anyone ships it seriously, is because they’re likely a Jimin anti or a Tae solo who doesn’t want him to be presumed straight/attracted to women. Other than that, they have an established friendship like they do with literally every other member, and there is nothing they’ve ever done that crosses the line of suspiciously romantic.
So, for me personally, I’m going to look forward to Jimin and Jungkook’s travel video, because JK was laughing and smiling aboit it the same way he did Tokyo, and that to me means they have a lot of fun, regardless of what I think their relationship status is. Especially because they have been keeping so much of their bond close to chest. They won’t even do lives together, yet we’re about to get a whole video of them sight seeing and experiencing a little tourist life while Jungkook was in the first stages of premiering his solo music. Especially when we know the situation after this video saw them flirting outrageously!
It’s going to be good and fun either way you turn it, and Jungkook being close to Tae doesn’t change that. None of them are rivals and you all need to stop believing that one pair being close negates the other. Tae and JK don’t have to sanitize their relationship to protect Jimin, because they know him in real life. The same way Jimin and Jungkook don’t need to publicize their relationship to prove they haven’t changed. The travel video will likely answer anything we might want to know, if there’s anything to answer, that doesn’t require them outing themselves. If there is anything to out.
The constant competition is stupid and repetitive, and honestly, Taekookers and insecure Jikookers are never going to accept being in the dark. That’s why they’re so braggadocios or whiny whenever Jikook dare interact. They don’t know for a fact what Jimin and JK mean to each other, so they must slam Jikook blogs with message after message demanding answers we can’t give.
Yesterday, I saw someone say “Jimin would have a key to JK’s house if they’re dating.” and it made me laugh, because… duh. All seven members probably have keys/passcodes to each others homes for safety reasons and because they’re close as shit and usually people give their most trusted friends or family access to their home in case of emergency. So I would wager Tae likely has a key or passcode too, but in terms of Jikook, why would Jimin use it if he’s on live trying to surprise JK along with Tae? That defeats the purpose. As well, why would Jimin use it on live, if they don’t want people to know Jimin has unrestricted access to JK’s home????!?
Seriously, it’s as if people don’t use their fucking heads anymore. Even for basic situations. It’s either Jikook need to out themselves or they're not real. There’s no other explanation in these people’s eyes, and it makes no sense to me. Same way all Taekook has to do is breathe near or about each other, and they’re cemented as a couple. Both reasonings are so extreme, that neither side will ever be satisfied. But I’m here for ot7 no matter how it breaks down into pairs, and I’m here for Jikook, because they seem to truly adore one another. Fighting about it was a waste of my two years on here, and I do hope so many other Jikookers come to realize the same.
Taekookers and insecure Jikookers will never be reasoned with, because they don’t ship in reality. That’s not to say what they believe can never come to fruition, because it could, but that’s because in reality anything is possible. But they ship solely in a space of the utmost delusion, where everything they believe shifts to be the right answer at all times. So if Jikook is private and Taekook is public, then Taekook is real and Jikook hate each other so they don’t interact. But if Taekook is private and Jikook is public, then Taekook is not meant for us to consume because they’re real and Jikook are being forced to interact by the company.
There is never going to be a reality where they believe Jimin and JK care about each other, even as friends. Even now, the photo booth picture is Jimin being annoyed with Jikookers and is showing his support for Taekook, yet those same people never say the same when Tae posts Jimin and JK. When Tae smiled or laughed at Jikook being cute. That was Tae suffering in silence watching his best friends betray him for fame and money.
Jikook is the enemy at all time in these people’s heads, and trying to talk to them about why that is is impossible, so stop trying. Let them be miserable and contradictory and hypocritical on their own. You’ll find it’s so much easier to enjoy Jikook and ot7 content without them breathing down your back trying to crack codes that don’t exist.
PRO-TIPS
There's no zero-sum game here because all the members love each other.
If taekook are dating (they aren't, but follow the logic) it doesn't mean Tae or JK hate Jimin.
If jikook are dating it doesn't mean JM or JK hate Tae.
They could've all had crushes on each other at one point or another.
Technically the released photos of Tae and Jennie don't mean that they're still dating 6 or 7 months (or however many years now) later.
Taekookers move like cult (hence their harassment en masse of Holland) and think like conspiracy theorists where everything HAS to confirm their pre-established hypothesis that taekook are dating and if it doesn't they twist it around until it does, or scream it down until it's buried or make up some other untrue shit to distract from the contradictory evidence.
Think about it - Holland told ALL SHIPPERS he's uncomfortable with it, but taekookers were the ones in his mentions so the ones he singled out because they're always looking for validation, or as taekook_lives calls it: "he's taking tkk out of context for clout chasing"
Mind you taekook_lives was "just helping a fellow queer person change the industry" 🙄 when she sent all her minions to him.
Ya know 🤡 Taekookers were the first 🙄 to support him ya know. 🤡
(Mind you she's been bothering him for over three years with the same questions so...)
Irony escapes taekookers cause who were the ones in his mentions looking for clout by mentioning OTHER PEOPLE (*cough* taekook *cough*) FIRST? Oh yeah, TAEKOOKERS! 😤 And who have been in his mentions for YEARS asking about other gay idols and quite willing to break his boundaries, invade the privacy of other idols and then get mad at him and say HE HAS NO RIGHT TO SPEAK??? oh yeah. TAEKOOKERS AGAIN! 🤬
I'm making my point about taekookers being a cult because I don't want jikookers moving the same way.
NEXT PRO-TIP
The thing about insecure jikookers - take a break. For real get off these apps, only watch OT7 content for a time, look after your mental health.
IT IS UNHEALTHY to be so invested in a relationship that isn't your own that you start questioning your own reality, logic, start obsessing over the tiniest details, that you go to other people for answers to make sense of something you've seen or heard, that you feel anxious and feel the need to devalue other friendships to make yourself feel better.
Remove your own emotions and boundaries as you look critically at the media you consume. Feel comfortable saying, "that may not be what I would do (minding yourself, because you're not in that situation), but I'm not them/him and if they're doing it, then they're obviously fine with it." Think about whether you want certain things to happen for yourself or for their own happiness and well-being.
Accept that living in the in-between, in the grey is what we're gonna get. 100% certainty isn't going to happen without a hard and dangerous confirmation.
For example, think about how Tae didn't feel safe enough to confirm his relationship to a woman and extrapolate that to two men trying it BEFORE MILITARY SERVICE IS COMPLETED.
I understand our collective need to 🤯🫨🤧🥴🥳😍🤩🥰🥲🫠 over anything jikook do. I really do. And I don't want us to get to a point where we're blaming people who "don't see or feel" what they used to (warning: some of you were just ✨projecting✨ all along and therapy will help with that). The truth is that we don't see everything. We don't know everything. We don't get ot7 content now. Though we are likely getting jikook travel content which will be fun! 🥳 Truthfully our space is a revolving door. People come, people go. People assimilate new information and that helps them enter the door or leave through it. And that's ok. But you also don't need to announce that you're leaving. You're always welcome to continue to 🥰 over their friendship, but you also don't need to 💩 on anyone else's parade. Critical questions are welcome. In depth discussions are fine. I think we all become better consumers of media by learning from each other (only the good skills and tips, mind you) and sharing perspectives.
Hence my ridiculously long monologue and rather self-important talk of pro-tips. 🤦♀️
TL;DR
Taekookers suck, insecure jikookers need to examine where their insecurities stem from and address the reasons so they can continue in the BTS fandom with healthier parasocial relationships with BTS.
I had no idea Taekookers have been harassing Holland for that long, so I even better understand why he’d use their ship name specifically. If they’re the ones all up and throughout his mentions, why wouldn’t he? It’s actually insane that they tried to flip it on him and call him out for using a specific ship, when they’ve been not so subtly trying to get him to out Tae and JK this entire time.
The thing about that too however, is that if they actually cared about him and consumed his content (not necessarily his music, as it’s not my favorite but I follow him on social media because I like seeing him succeed and be an advocate for queer idols) they’d see the people he hangs out with. They’ve be able to read his captions and know more or less the idols he considers friends or who he has stated have been kind to him over the years. You can also kind of (by making assumptions of course) shape up the queer circle he might be part of, if it is that deep for some people. Which it seems to be for Taekookers, but they’re so tunnel visioned on Tae and JK that they don’t know how to use the “resources” available to them.
As for male idols speaking on or even hinting at their sexualities pre-enlistment, I think it really just depends on the person. I think Yoongi is pretty out considering, but he hasn’t made any blatant statements to the press so people will continue on as if he’s heterosexual. Jimin seems to be in a similar situation. I think a lot of us can confidently assume he’s bisexual and possibly gender fluid in some way, but without him actually saying those words he doesn’t have to worry too much as he goes into the military (hopefully).
Another pairing is Minho and Jisung from Stray Kids. They are currently in such an interesting space among their fans, as they seem to be confirming their romantic relationship, yet at the same time aren’t stating it out right. Neither of them have gone to the military yet either, but in the past two days or so they’ve had to clarify they didn’t sleep together in the back room of a music show. Yet even as they said it, their bandmates had very… “Sure, Jan” expressions. Not to mention this comes soon after they released a song that basically details their feelings for each other.
On the other hand, you have Holland who hasn’t enlisted yet either, who is openly queer and has spoken about his boyfriend and other men he’s attracted to. Which is why I will continue to support him. He is taking a huge risk of life by being out prior to his service, and unfollowing him or condemning him just because he won’t tell us which ships are real, lands Taekook_lives and all her minions firmly in the fetishizer category. Because why is him telling fans to fuck off basically (which he’s said before) wrong? Not to mention he has already said there are shit tons more of queer idols than fans will ever be ready to accept.
And on top of that, there are female idols who toe the line or make songs or give explicit answers about being attracted to women who don’t get even half the attention male idols do. For a reason, I understand, but nonetheless! Taekook_lives and her ilk are not interested in actual queer idols. Because if they were, they’d be more curious about Taemin getting out of the military and (from what I’ve seen) being instantly ready to speak openly about accepting himself and the fact that he has a genderless presentation about himself. That right there tells us he’s likely not straight/cis, which as far as I recall, is not something he’s said or insinuated before going in.
Then there is Jo Kwon, who from what I’ve heard, became much more openly flamboyant and pro-lgbt on social media after his military service. I know nothing about him, but he comes to mind solely because again, it surely varies person to person, but if these guys are suddenly more comfortable talking about or expressing queerness after they enlist… WHAT MAKES PEOPLE THINK NO QUEER IDOLS EXIST?! Why do they think queer idols are going to out themselves or others, particularly BTS members, when people with far less fame and reach than them aren’t willing to risk it?
Because it is a risk, and that’s what Taekook_lives and them don’t get. They just want proof, and now because Holland refuses to give it, he’s an enemy to their ship. Completely ridiculous.
