Whenever I come across an especially atrocious take, I gotta take a moment just to:

Otherwise my head will fucking explode and I can't live that life every night, fam.

A few days ago I responded to an ask, explaining that Korean K-pop stans overall are the more intense version of whatever you see on the international side, and that one way k-fans perceive international fans is that international k-pop stans are easier to manipulate and rile up.

For anyone who is aware of the subway scare and the supposed link to ARMY and BTS, pay very close attention to what’s happening right now as a case study demonstrating what I wrote, happening in real time.

As a quick overview:

1 - This happened about an hour before Yoongi’s live where he showed his tattoo

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2 - About an hour after this happened, an ARMY coming back from Yoongi’s concert, watching his livestream on their way home, reacts to his tattoo by screaming while in the subway. They record themselves and post the video on Twitter. The tweet itself is deleted now so I can’t link it, but I’ll link the OG video in point 5.

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3 - After that ARMY posted their reaction to Yoongi’s tattoo, this Korean k-pop stan claims a fan screamed next to them on the train and caused panic and a stampede. This account’s most recent activity is from 2022, but the first thing they tweet in 2023 is that an ARMY caused a stampede because of Yoongi. Okay.

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4 - One of the followers of that account then retweets that account to post an edited version of the ARMY reaction video, blurring out the reaction on the train, and further linking the two events (1) an ARMY screaming about Yoongi, (2) a resulting stampede that needed police intervention. This video is then used as the basis for user posts and articles written on k-blogs which then get translated as user posts on Allkpop and Pannchoa.

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5 - For reference, this is the OG video from that ARMY showing what actually happened on the train. Note how there’s no panic in the train.

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Basically, two events separated by about an hour are conflated on purpose by linked anonymous accounts on the Korean side, quickly translated into English and spread on the international side through k-pop gossip blogs like Allkpop, which Korean soft media (blogs etc) then picks up and takes as further credit to the underlying claims, though those claims are false.

And voila, a scandal is born.

Now, this isn’t to say BTS, ARMY, and people affiliated with them never do anything wrong and can never have a legit scandal. For example, I think anybody screaming for no good reason in a packed subway train is an idiot and should face some kind of consequence if harm is caused. But that’s not what happened here. What that ARMY did was stupid but harm wasn’t caused and Korean antis instead used it as an opportunity to link BTS with an incident that happened an hour earlier.

Occasionally, some of you might’ve seen me write about ‘manufactured controversy’ before, usually in passing when discussing something else. I remember I’ve mentioned it a few times such as during Jimin’s missed insurance payments scandal, during Jungkook’s Itaewon scandal, and also Min Heejin re: NewJeans (after just 5 minutes of looking at the original claims in Korean. The only thing holding the majority of the claims against MHJ together is sheer willpower and vibes atp). Someone has also asked me about hate ‘slave rooms’ before (context was Twice attacked by slave room hate) and I responded that hate in Korea towards people in the k-pop industry, is incredibly organized and insidious. And the bigger the target, the bigger the fall and the bigger the payout.

Please keep that in mind when you read shit online. Keep your eyes open and your wits about you. Become more media literate and learn how to think for yourself. Seriously. Because in this machine called k-pop, nearly everything about it is designed to suck you in till you have no idea which way is up. Pay attention, please.

2026 is still a long way off and we’ll have many incidents like this before then.

Good luck everyone.

happy one year anniversary to that time my best friend posted a fic and someone got butthurt about it, so she spent three months being bullied by their followers!

This is your not so friendly reminder that if you don’t like a fic, you go tell your friends in PRIVATE and keep your shit out of public places where people can be incited to vile, hateful behavior that causes real pain to REAL people.

It doesn’t matter how much you dislike the way someone wrote your favorite character, they are FICTIONAL. There is no harm done to a fictional character who is written a way you don’t like, but when you air your quite frankly petty and immature feelings and incite people to lash out at the author—you are doing harm and you should be ashamed.

If you can’t keep your mouth shut in public and take your complaints to your friends in private you have no place in fandom.

me who has read a thing 3+ (usually more, lol) times: *talks about racism in the thing*

people who have no actual argument against the racism I'm pointing out: Well clearly you just didn't even read the thing!!!!

i keep telling myself to quit checking up on KM spaces cause there’s literally nothing but bickering and going out of the way to find things to be mad at but I keep ending up coming back 😓 it’s so hard, I still think about them a lot and I generally enjoy doing so! They make me happy to think about, genuinely. it’s been a force of habit for so long but the vibe with no new content (I try and avoid military updates but they waft into my view every so often and I’m glad they seem to be doing ok at least) is just so nasty it’s just like can’t everyone just relax and be happy knowing they’re together??? Obviously I am the problem here and I need to stop but it’s a struggle….do I need to just go completely cold turkey on bangtan? 😂 is that what you did when you took a long break? It’s not like I don’t have hobbies and a job and stuff, but for a long time they’ve occupied a special nice place where I just think of them and generally enjoy reading people’s thoughts about them, but over the past year especially w the solo stuff it’s just gotten kinda rancid

Hello, anon

I understand you completely. If something has become part of your daily routine, on top of other activities and interests, it's normal to get the urge to check up on it. Cold turkey might not help because it increases the chances of going back to it. I'm going through the same thing nowadays. I'm aware that right now, there's barely any point in keeping up with that part of my interests online. KM have enlisted and despite seeing some military updates, I'm not excitedly/anxiously looking forward to it. Like you, I think it's nice to see that they appear fine, but personally I could live without those updates as well. Consequently, I barely discuss it even on my blog, I don't find it necessary.

Most likely, the upcoming show will be the only relevant content that makes me still keep an eye on them right now and that's because the announcement might drop at any time. By not knowing exactly when, it's enough to keep at least a part of the fandom waiting and participating online. Not a bad strategy, but a frustrating one for us.

Likewise, by still checking up tumblr/twitter, I'm also exposing myself to daily fights, endless debates on relationship dynamics and so on. I find it pointless and I'd say a sign of boredom if this wasn't the modus operandi of the fandom anyway.

I made a vague comment recently, but it is terribly annoying having to read left and right troll anons baiting bloggers who then are bringing receipts to demonstrate that KM are close. Really? We're still doing that in 2024? People are talking in circles to demonstrate something that doesn't need more proving. Twitter is worse because they fight like idiots under the guise of defending. The knights in shining armour fighting for the princesses.

As to solo stans, I don't have an issue with the idea of only liking an artist and that's it. If only that would be the full definition. Anyone acting like not only a fanatic, but writing like some miserable 4chan user is someone I really can't stand. It's slowly becoming standard stan behavior and I see this in other fandoms as well, including those of western artists. It's nasty and embarassing.

When I took a break, I unfollowed almost all KM and JM focused accounts. The ones remaining I muted so I had to go to my following list and check each individually if I wanted to see what was up. My point was to not have any of that on my timeline. I think it worked for a while. Now I'm back to how it was before and I don't know how that happened. I should make some changes again.

the post was about me hcing a character as trans btw

Nothing screams more pick me behavior than picking a fight with other Sansa fans just so you look better than them for a group of people who hate you on the virtue of being a Sansa fan.

I saw a poll on this and I wanted to know your opinion: what is the most toxic fandom?

Alrighty, get your snacks and sit back…

I don’t know if there’s necessarily one fandom that’s the most toxic. The toxicity doesn’t come from the product itself because the majority of these shows, movies, games, books, etc. that we all love aren’t morally questionable. It’s individual people that kick up a storm and they’re, obviously, in every single fandom.

That being said, having been a part of online fandom culture since the SuperWhoLock days, here’s my observations…

To this day, the two most toxic fandoms I’ve been a part of are Stranger Things and Star Wars and both have to do with age.

Stranger Things, while being a show that purposefully appeals to many age demographics, seems to draw a lot of younger fans online. Gen Z is completely unhinged with their opinions and, having grown up on social media, see trolling and online attacks as a way to be heard. Cyberbullying? They’re all for it, because that’s what they’ve been taught.

The Byler fandom specifically is the most toxic group of fans I’ve ever seen in any fandom. Again, these fans tend to be on the younger side and have no qualms about screaming their lungs out until they pass out. They’ve gone after multiple actors, other fan accounts, and have taken the joy right out of the show for a lot of us who like to discuss it. I’m not a Byler shipper, but I avoid the stans at all cost just because of the attitudes I’ve seen…

That’s not to say that older fans aren’t part of the problem. The Steddie fandom is intolerable, in my opinion. The Billy Hargrove stans are…otherworldly. And a lot of Eddie fans are straight up crazy. I said what I said…

Bringing us to Star Wars…

Star Wars’ problem lies more with the older fans…it’s straight up racism and sexism. Whenever there’s a POC cast in a role other than Rebel Pilot #64 or a woman is given a lead role, you’d think the sky was falling. And, much like their younger counterparts, hate is the first place they go. They lead online attacks and try to bully and petition the actors either a) out of the franchise or b) off of social media.

Star Wars is a highly political fandom which is hilarious considering it’s a universe about spaceships and little green gremlins that eat blue cookies, but I digress…

Moses Ingram, Kelly-Marie Tran, Daisy Ridley and John Boyega (this is just naming the few that I’m aware of) have all survived so many social media attacks they should have never dealt with in the first place, simply because a bunch of (typically) straight white fanboys can’t deal with representation. Star Wars, in their mind, is reserved solely for the “heroes” and the heroes can only be strapping white males.

And yes, there’s such a thing as forced representation that happens in media to fill quotas or to avoid being cancelled, but so far, Star Wars hasn’t slipped and everyone they’ve hired for their projects has knocked it out of the park. So why does it matter what color their skin is or what their gender is if they’re the best suited to bring their characters to life?

Two fandoms, two different age groups, but the same feral, hateful attitude. One is for representation, one’s against it…but both are wrong.

At the end of the day, these are made up characters in made up universes on made up shows, and there’s fans that take it all a little too seriously. These shows and movies are here for our enjoyment, not to create more discord in the world, and more fans need to realize this.

Not to be a dick or anything, but I sincerely doubt putting a fictional character on trial for any of their alleged misdeeds would ever result in a real world conviction.

bpp im a different anon, but i have some major follow up asks pls. im seeing a lot of narratives and im confused. what do you say to the view that jimin is the most successful soloist in bts and taekook's popularity mainly because of their shippers and visuals not their ability as musicians. it seems true when you see jimin's songs are most streamed. jimin's songs are always most successful, he focuses on music while taekook get clout for their looks mostly. people also join the fandom for jimin. he's the biggest stan attractor. i think big hit is marketing bts using jimin to push other members. people notice jimin first then look at other bts members. jungkook is most favored promoted in bts even though jimin is more talented in things like dancing based on critics reviews. you can't deny it. in addition the other anon you didn't address their point about the weverse article bpp. i would really love to see your reply to why big hit discredits jimin's success in weverse. i want to support jikook fully but my heart bleeds for jimin. im ot7 and love all seven members but it's so clear the company doesn't give him the marketing and support he deserves while they give other members everything.

Ask 2: bpp sorry i forgot to add the way jimin attracts people and men highly. his androgenous look is power. he has real star power and shocked everybody with his billboard win using a korean song!! jimin has the air of royalty so he attracts high end brands, jungkook is like boy next door so big hit market him to common brands like calvin klein. its not wrong to say it. my question is, why doesnt jimin push himself? why does he just accept the mistreatment? he said so many things in his album and now it just feels empty? its like he doesn't want to be a solo star. does big hit not see the power and support he has? does jimin not see it? should we be louder as jimin fans? the way taekook fans are loud? why does the fandom not support them equally? im so confused bpp.

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Sigh. Y'all, that fandom implosion I keep talking about? It's coming.

Anyone who thinks Jimin fans aren't 'loud', hasn't been to Korea, was probably in a coma when Jimin got #1 on the Billboard Hot100, or probably just doesn't have a Twitter account.

You know, I've known for a while that the closer we get to Jungkook and Taehyung's solo debuts, the more I'll see asks like this in my inbox.

I'm in a shipping space after all, and everyone knows many shippers think like solo stans of their chosen duo. It just can't be helped. It's inevitable because being extremely biased on one member or pairing, you're bound to develop a peculiar type of tunnel vision. It's why shipping spaces get so toxic so quickly - shippers are only one logical argument removed from solo stans and so often occupy spaces directly adjacent to solo stan spaces. In my opinion.

I mean, it's literally FESTA. BTS's 10th year anniversary, but because of the fights, arguments, and narratives happening in akgae spaces for the last couple of days, my inbox has seen about 5 asks about how Jimin is hated by HYBE, how Jungkook is a special golden goose at the expense of Jimin, how everyone in BTS leeches off Jimin, and how he's actually the most successful and most talented, la di la di la da... just in the last 24 hours or so.

In a way, I don't mind it because I know where it comes from. If you're in a space where you see someone you love constantly dehumanized, slutshamed, all his achievements ridiculed and made to seem bought and worthless, people already anticipating his records broken by the next solo release when you feel his solo debut was inadequate, etc, it's not hard to see how the kneejerk reaction to this is to magnify what you believe to be his worth. It's true also that Jimin has faced specific handicaps not seen for other members, deals with a potent mix of prejudices, and is exceptionally talented in performing, acting, and the way he expresses music in dance and vocal tone. He stands out and many people get into BTS because of him.

The thing is, in a group like BTS, it's impossible to do this without disrespecting and putting down the other members, because they are all very talented and are excellent performers, have all made sacrifices and compromises for the team - most of which we'll never know, and have all contributed equally to the success that is BTS.

If you're actually paying attention to all seven members, to what they say to and about each other and their team, this would be obvious. For another Anon who saw D-DAY concerts and asked me if BTS concerts is how you become OT7. I never answered that question, but Anon if you're reading this, the answer is no. The way you become OT7 is actually listening to what they say, putting aside your preconceived notions about what a band should look like (the breakout star and frontman model), and keeping your eyes open and your wits about you.

Just as I said in my post on Jimin's contributions to BTS about how people who downplay him think about 'contribution' in a very narrow way that's centered on what resonates most with them, so too is this view applied to other members' contributions to the team that don't center on dancing, singing, and acts of kindness or sacrifice captured on camera.

Obviously. Well, in my opinion at least.

Also, the comments about Jungkook in this ask frankly make my skin crawl.

I'm not surprised to see it, but I find it no less gross all the same. Then there's the way I'm seeing yet again how Jimin's stans simply do not rate this man. Like, yes Jimin's FACE promo was rushed, but it's clear the man has been working since then? In what world does it look like the sentiments he communicated in Set Me Free Pt 2 feel empty? Because he's not on a tour? Angel Pt 1 is out and Pt 2 is OTW, and he's clearly still working on his projects (as is Namjoon btw) which will come later this year, but I suppose these don't count for you.

It's kinda weird to leave a space where rapline akgaes grumble about how Namgiseok all got less than 10 seconds each on Take Two - a song they wrote, how they've been getting less and less lines in BTS's songs in recent years, how the company pushes the maknae line even though people got into BTS for how good the music, production, songwriting is and blah blah blah.

Then log on here and have the plain surreal experience to see anyone say Tae and JK are popular more because of their ship and are somehow less musicians than Jimin. Like, 'Still With You' Jungkook and 'constantly coming online to share the song I made and deleted' Taehyung aren't musicians? It sounds just as ridiculous as when I hear taekookers say Jimin is mostly popular because of jikook. This is just not a claim that makes sense any way you look at it.

But again, that's just what solo stans do. They genuinely believe their chosen member is simply better than everyone else, and that his company and his team are the reason that member isn't seeing success the way solo stans envision it. They make their lists and have their reasons. And for a lot of groups, that view is actually very true. But for BTS, they simply would not have reached the levels they have, if this were true for them. There's too many eyes on them, their fans too involved, and the members too outspoken, to allow themselves be taken for a ride for 10 bloody years. In Chapter 2 it's expected that different members will see various levels of success for various reasons. One reason I say an implosion is coming, because many of those reasons have become interwoven and tainted with the narratives I listed above. The impulse to root for our favourites is very human, and few things propel people better than a sense of injustice or slight, and so it's easy to see how many will latch onto these narratives in Chapter 2, regardless of what the facts actually are.

Anyway, I've rambled. Neither of us have all the information on what BigHit has done or is doing, nor what the boys' plans are. The only people who know are the members, and so I mind my business, respect their choices, and do what I like.

And Anon, you're right I didn't address the Weverse article in my initial reply. I actually reached out to that 'Anon' right after with a reply, and will copy-paste what I told her, here:

"I just realized I forgot to respond to the point you made about the Weverse article and Jimin. It was written by a well know music critic in Korea, sometimes Weverse articles are written by critics or media commentators well known in Korea, I suspect to drive up local readership. Having writers who don’t always have a glowing opinion on Hybe and its artists, also give the impression the magazine is more credible (though I think this is nonsense). That Weverse article is actually something I reported to the company. Less because of Jimin to be fair, and more because the article was racist. The racist/tone-deaf sentiments in the article are unfortunately common in Korea and I’ve seen it first hand, but Hybe is a global company and has to develop the racial sensitivity that meets basic international norms. IMO. And so I wrote a brief email and left it at that."

I could talk more about the parallel between the racist Weverse article and what it shows for HYBE's corporate structure relative to what the members actually do, believe, impact, or say, but I've rambled and I'm tired. I hope most of what I said made sense to you Anon. Chances are I'll ignore any follow up asks because nobody really changes their mind on the internet, and I've got a backlog of asks to respond to.

The internet is telling me I love Pedro Pascal now. I’m obsessed with him, apparently. Suddenly he’s everywhere, on TikTok, on YouTube, on all the stupid ‘shorts’ and ‘reels’. Look at how adorable he is. He’s a cinnamon roll. A heartthrob. Love him love him love him

But nah actually… I mean yeah he is cute and I like his acting but that’s kinda it for me. Didn’t need all this.

you can say "I love this media and highly recommend it" a thousand times but if you criticize any part of it in any way, stans will just immediately accuse you of hating it and wanting to cause problems out of spite.

Even when you've gone out of your way to buy the whole series and read it multiple times and recommend it to other people.

I have a confession 😳

DOES ANYONE ELSE LIKE READING REACTION OR WEIRD CROOSOVER ON WATTPAD???????

No because its the most unhinged, funniest, cringediest and most smile making stuff I can "usually" find.

IM SOOOOOO ADICTED I WANNA STOP BUT I CAN'T

Doesn't matter wish fandoms really I just wanna be super hiped for more then 10S

Like you mentioned, Jimin is among the top successful idols.

And it's important for people to take a step back and think about that. He's among the top successful idols, with little to no push from the label. And that's not a small feat.

Yes, as a fan I do wish his first album was handled better. We've discussed about the company's slip ups. But I agree with you, some fans take it too far.

Well, I think we both know that it's wishful thinking and far from what is the reality of overall reactions. I think anger also fuels people and gives them purpose. Fighting for the idol and doing emotional labor is important for them. We see it in every fandom. Every single one of them. It's a pattern of behavior.

We need to talk about how some of you treat women that plays characters that ‘gets in the way’ of your m/m pairing

I still remember the sh*tstorm that went down in the bbc Sherlock fandom. It happened with the Loki fandom and it’s happening AGAIN with the Stranger Things fandom.

I’m also convinced that if Steve and Nancy wasn’t established in Season 1 you all would have done the same thing with Natalia that you’re doing to Grace right now.

I just feel like this needed to be said cause over the years I have seen this happen again and again! I am so tired of it. You guys need to stop.

Two things to add two more of my cents to.

First, the court proceedings of S* that JTBC got a hold of and shared so far. Just the two things revealed so far are eye opening and disgusting.

Read up on it. Enough proof given including testimonies by S*employees to get him on 29 occasions of procuring prostitution for clients/friends/guests. He was either informed of how the prostitution meet ups were carried out by employees or he was actually on site when they occured. 29 they had enough proof of...who knows how many there actually were?

Also, the court deemed proven that he himself on at least one occasion filmed 3 naked women in bed and then uploaded it to a group chat. This was done right after a fanmeet in China. So...there you go, folks. Proof is in the pudding...and court documents.

Apparently his defense tried to lie and say a Madame sent him the footage, it wasn't him. Then they changed their tune and pled for leniency claiming it was his first offense.

(And I'm a unicorn 🦄😄)

We all know his stans are still going to stay in denial even though they all said they'd wait for what the courts said. So, enjoy that sand y'all keep hiding your heads in.

Second is the crap going around about GD liking certain Seungri posts and having "proof" he is supporting him and his supposed innocence.

Studies showed many were faked by bots because multiple posts got multiple likes all at the same times faster than a human could have done. There were also multiple plans to mass post certain photos GD is known to prefer so as to get him to like one or more somewhere and capture "proof" of support.

Sad. Delusional and sad. So you can disregard the nutjobs running around showing their "proof" he was going Hurray for S*!! on an Insta spree.

I was on a long bullshit free hiatus and enjoyed it but I sure as hell am interested that we're finally getting some facts reported. What the toxic zealots keep attempting and to what end, I don't understand. But trust that we can see through your whack a doodle manipulations.

The man committed criminal acts. He was convicted. He swore he would not lie, but he did. He served a (too short) prison term. Authorities misinformed the public and released him 2 days early at dawn to avoid press because they didn't want any on it.

Buy a clue. Heck, it's on me, I'll buy you one.