#bts chapter 2

My disjointed thoughts on seeing this:

They have muscles in places most people don't even have places

Uh, is this going to become a competitive activity? If so, can someone sign Yoongi up pls?

Now I'm remembering when Joon took off his jacket in the Butter behind the scenes, and Jiminie needed smelling salts. He isn't going to know where to put his eyes.

(Watch again Here at 4.55)

Tae honestly looks so good with bulk. I hope he doesn't need to drop back too much to accommodate the choreo... for our sake

Jungkookie really looks like the younger brother

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My impression of the fandom these days is... not good. Implosions are irreversible, entropy only moves in one direction in closed systems. We as a fandom are well past the point of no-return so whatever this is, is the new normal. And honestly I don't like it, but it is what it is.

The one bright spot has been how the fandom treats jikook. At least in my corner of twitter. My non-shipping friends have taken to AYS. One particular scene they can't seem to stop talking about is that scene with jikook 'cuddling' in bed - groaning, groping, thighs out, legs tangled, play-fighting, butt slapping... just borderline obscene levels of physical contact. Not even the goofy sound effects can sell it as something benign.

Considering the nature of rpwp, the ”not a fucking diplomat” of it all, do you think we’ll see a bolder version of him, and perhaps by extension bts as a whole, when they’re out? Not that joon and yoongi haven’t always been bold, but politically it’s not like they can just say whatever, even in music. Will it be different now? I wanna hear it all😈

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I hope so, but I think they might tread carefully when it comes to politics in their first few releases.

For one thing, BTS will have to navigate potential fall-out around Yoongi performing with the group. I think while the fandom is firmly supportive of Yoongi after his DUI scandal, the wider public might still be spoiling to draw blood and will scrutinize BTS closely for any perceived misstep. Adding potentially controversial political commentary to their music in that environment, might be distracting and not yield the results the members want.

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The members say they want to last until they're all well past retirement age, so who am I to say otherwise?

It's not like it's not possible, after all. Bands like U2, Coldplay, and Radiohead are still together and touring 20+ years later with most/all of the original line-up. Within k-pop, Shinhwa is technically still active 26 years later even if their performances have long downtime intervals these days.

Think I've said this before, but again, Chapter 3 will be everything we've seen in Chapter 2, supercharged. I assume the first thing on the agenda when BTS returns is an OT7 tour plus one or two OT7 albums. Concurrently or subsequently, solo projects (features, singles, EPs) for the members will continue within two years of BTS returning so they build on the momentum set up in Chap 2. I think its fair to assume a few years dedicated to group work, interspersed with solo projects in music, acting, design, producing etc, every seven years or so. I see things being intense for ~4 years immediately after their military service, before a more sustainable rhythm is set by the company/group.

Reading between the lines in HYBE's quarterly investor calls, the company (1) is desperate for cash and BTS is their primary cash cow; (2) intends to ruthlessly destroy their competition while they still have BTS locked up in exclusive contracts for the next 7 years.

It's anybody's guess on if BTS renews their contracts with HYBE in 2030. I'd imagine HYBE will offer any concession to keep the members so we'll see. There's also been some chatter about one or two members starting sub-labels in HYBE, and while that's an interesting possibility, it's still just chatter for now.

Jin brought the torch into the Louvre gates (or whatever its called) from the city street. Manager-nim and one other guy was run/walking alongside so that was comforting to know. I am so proud of him. What he must have been feeling looking around. Can't wait to see the Bangtan Episode!

I see a lot of people talking about schedules, and release dates and spacing out content, etc. People getting mad about overlapping promotions.

Personally, I am happy that they have so much to give, I will take it as it comes.

But... there's always a but... you know what the most important timeline was/is?