confessions of a fangirl mind

[xparrot]

When I got into BTS, I was expecting to have fun with silly variety shows and blatant fanbait, and to appreciate their dancing (which I have and I do!). I seriously was not expecting to love their music as much as I do.

I also assumed that however much I enjoyed myself, I was too old to become one of those fans who gets all excited because their bias* changes his haircolor.

Then there was the sound I made when I went on Instagram yesterday...

(but it's black! it's never black, he always bleaches! awww! :D :D :D)

* One of the things I've liked from the first is the use of "bias" instead of "favorite" -- while I'm not sure it's the intent, to me it carries the implication that you don't have a favorite; of course they're all your favorites! Just that you have a bit of a lean in a certain direction. But after being in fandoms where picking favorites led to fandom rifts *cough*SPN*cough* I very much appreciate the prevailing opinion that true ARMYs love** all seven.

** I will spare you (for now) the extended ramble about parasocial relationships and the differences of having favorite characters in a fictional creation vs having emotional investment in real human beings who you know on a one-sided, controlled, commodified basis...but guys, being into RPF is so interesting!

(and he looks so cute with black hair!!!)

Comments

[hils]

One of the things I've liked from the first is the use of "bias" instead of "favorite"
Same! I really love this too! Wrecker is a fun term a well

Who is your BTS bias btw? Did I miss you saying?

[xparrot]

Heee, bias wrecker is such a great term, yes! and so very descriptive of what happens XD

I didn't say! I'm a bit of a weirdo, it's Namjoon/RM. Between the complete awkwardness and coolness onstage and the legit linguistic and writing genius...

So do you have a BTS bias?

[hils]

*High five* My BTS bias is also Namjoon. I love him.

[xparrot]

Hee, gotta love the leader! 💜💜💜

[hils]

Love a smart and creative boy

[anotherslashfan]

Then there was the sound I made when I went on Instagram yesterday...

(but it's black! it's never black, he always bleaches! awww! :D :D :D)

Namjoon! Embarrassingly, I didn't register the hair color change until you pointed it out - you're totally right, it's such a rare look for him.

The topic of parasocial relationships is very fascinating for me, too! I found this article on it provided some interesting perspectives: https://reallifemag.com/why-cant-we-be-friends/

[xparrot]

Yes, all of the others go black pretty regularly but he doesn't! At least not in stages or photoshoots or anything -- it looked like he might've dyed it when he was in LA last December. I suspect it might be in part because it lets him go incognito, a bit, when he does have time off?

Ooh, thanks for the article -- I don't have time for a full read-through but have it open! For me I find their personal vlives the weirdest, because especially in the age of covid it superficially feels so much like skyping with friends/// (I also do wonder how weird is it from the other side...wouldn't it be strange to have literally millions of people know all kinds of personal things about you when you know almost nothing about them??)

[runpunkrun]

I feel like you should share a photo with us, for the people who cannot identify a single BTS entity. (It's me, I'm the people.)

[xparrot]

Ahahahah the first phase of BTS fanning is not having a single clue what any of them look like. Or how to tell them apart.

The pictures that actually made me squeak were his last instagram post (scroll through all the art; one of the reasons I love RM is because he's this weird art minor deity who blesses museums with internet fame) but the pics themselves are hilarious without fangoggles because he's in a mask and looks like any awkwardly posing 20-something Korean guy.

Here he's the one winking in the silver hair and brown suit:



V (Taehyung), Suga (Yoongi), Jin (Seokjin), Jungkook, RM (Namjoon), Jimin, jhope (Hobi)

[runpunkrun]

I WANT to be able to tell them apart, for the sake of my friends, and my Twitter feed, and for tagging them on fancake. But boy howdy there's so many of them. With your help I can now pick Namjoon out of this photo though. Phew.

[xparrot]

7 is SO MANY! ...I mean, I adore them all and the group seriously could not exist without any of them. But still! And I am so bad with faces, it took me a month of watching stuff daily to tell them apart with any degree of confidence! I was watching "identify the members" vids on Youtube that treated it like exotic bird identification: "note the Yoongi's distinctive down-turned eyes"

(Namjoon is almost always the easiest to recognize, as he's the tallest and tends to always have his hair off his forehead, and his "look" is a bit more different -- he was considered ugly by kpop standards when they started, which was really sad at time but is almost funny now.)

...anyway if you ever have any BTS identification questions or would like a basic primer on who's who hit me up, I would love the excuse XD

[runpunkrun]

If you wrote up a basic primer, I'd definitely read it. I might not retain any of it, but at least it'd be a start.

[schneefink]

being into RPF is so interesting!
Right?? And you have the contrast between RPF fans and other fans, and the role reporters play, etc. etc. (I'm sure it's very different in different kinds of RPF fandom, and I'm only familiar with one kind of sports RPF, but there's probably a lot of similarities too.)

[xparrot]

Oh oh yes I am so curious about sports RPF now! As I've never been into it myself, but yeah, I am betting there is a lot in common and a lot different. Like reporters -- I can imagine how significant they are in sports, with interviews and who asks what, and maybe who is trusted to talk to? For BTS it's less crucial because interviews are a small part of the off-stage content compared to their self/company-produced stuff like the variety shows and behind-the-scenes documentaries and things. But yeah, that RPF is based on "reality" but you are only getting that thin slice of their reality, always curated, and have to read between the lines...

[schneefink]

I hadn't thought of that, but yes, of course in a fandom where the "characters" interact with the fans themselves reporters would have less of a translator/BNF role. And I assume what for sports RPF are team management and the league are record labels and producers for music RPF.

I was never into wrestling but from what I heard it even has an additional layer where you have the people and then the characters they play and you have to manage with glimpses of both of them and guess how they fit together.

[xparrot]

I think reporters were how most fans got music knowledge, going back to the Beatles and then the 90s boybands too! But the internet and social media has shaken things up. Though even compared to most music fandoms, I think BTS has an unusual level of direct contact with fans? They've been doing unmoderated livestreams and things for years (part of how they gained their fans was because they were from a small company so didn't have as much access to the TV programs and things that most kpop groups did, so they started putting stuff on Youtube instead...)

Then there's also the matter of literal translation of course, as only one of the members is fluent in English! (there are a ton of both official and fan translators, but the official translators are mostly anonymous...)

Reporters as sports RPF BNFs -- that makes a lot of sense! (...I don't really have the time or inclination to get into sports RPF now but I am so interested in knowing more about how it works!)

Oh yes wrestling seems wild for that! I had a friend who was giving me a brief intro to the pro wrestling group she was into (sadly in a limited time, I would've wanted more!) and she was simultaneously telling me about the wrestling storylines and then also RL details...