So, Koreaboo posted (yet another) Jikook-centric article, and while most of the replies to the twt post about it were positive, a few of them were... not.

News flash: Jikook ship themselves. If you think otherwise, you're just in denial.

Let me explain... +

So many people seem to think that 'shipping' makes them uncomfortable. While some of the other boys have expressed through various ways that they don't like being shipped together, specifically Jikook... have not. Why do you think that is? +

Surprise! It's because they ship themselves. It doesn't matter if you think they're a couple, or just really close friends with a really special bond. They very obviously like the idea of "them". They're always together. They're not shy about PDA. In fact, they seem +

to get almost irritated at times when they're separated when they're otherwise trying to be close together.

"Well they're just really close friends! Of course they'd be together a lot! They don't show affection for the fans! Shippers are gonna make them stop!" +

Are you sure about that? Cause it seems to me like, as love and support for Jikook has a "unit" has grown exponentially over the years, they've only gotten 'louder'. In just the last few months we've gotten... a lot. +

Need I even MENTION this gem from less than a year ago? +

Here's the thing that y'all don't seem to get: Jikook aren't stupid. They aren't puppets for BigHit, and they aren't ignorant. They KNOW people ship/support them. Whether or not they're actually a couple is completely irrelevant. They KNOW people believe that they're together. +

If they DIDN'T want people to believe they were together, they wouldn't do so many of the things they do together. They're perfectly capable of keeping the skinship to a minimum on stage/camera if they don't want people to get the wrong idea... but they don't. Not anymore. +

For whatever reason, whether it be because they legitimately ARE a couple or just because they like to ship themselves together for the fans, they INTENTIONALLY include these moments together, knowing EXACTLY what fans would think. +

For example, let's talk briefly about Rose Bowl, since I already mentioned it.

Did JK suck on JM's ear for fanservice? No. Absolutely not. He did it because he wanted to. We'll never know the EXACT reason or meaning behind it and what it meant for Jikook in that moment. +

But what we DO know is that Jungkook clearly made the VERY conscious decision to suck on JM's ear in front of 60k people, KNOWING that it would almost definitely get recorded and put online where MILLIONS more would see it.

+

He didn't do that for the fans, but he sure as hell wanted us to see. If he didn't want to encourage the shippers/supporters, why would he do that? If he wanted to "comfort" Jimin like so many people think (which I disagree with, mind you), he could have just +

hugged him, maybe kissed the side of his head. But no.

He sucked on his fking ear, while caging him with his entire body. He's not an idiot. He KNEW how it was going to look from the fans POV, and he did it anyway.

And it didn't stop there. +

A few months later, JK started getting his tattoos, and shortly after, we got this picture (posted by his trainer iirc).

Notice anything... missing? +

If you can't tell, the "J" on his ring finger wasn't present at the time. What does that tell us?

That he wasn't originally planning on getting the J tattooed over the M on his finger, or if he was, he changed his mind. +

I'll say it again: JK isn't stupid. He KNOWS what the combination of "J" and "M" together look like to the fandom. He himself has used JM as shorthand for Jimin's name in the past. +

And more recently we got this example.

Remember, these pics were taken RIGHT BEFORE he started to get his tattoos (roughly summer of last year). +

JK knew EXACTLY what the fans would think if he got a J tattooed over the M on his finger. And guess what?

He did it anyway. +

"But the J doesn't stand for JM! It's to represent his name/other members names/insert other theory here".

You don't know that for certain. He's never said either way, and he likely never will. The fact still stands that he KNEW that the fans would +

see the JM on his hand and IMMEDIATELY relate it to Jimin, but guess what?

He did it anyway. If he didn't want people to be making assumptions about Jikook's bond, why would he do it? For the lulz? Tattoos are permanent, y'all. He wouldn't do it as a joke. +

You know what else isn't a joke?

Flying 12-15 hours from France to Korea for someone's birthday... and sharing the experience with the fans, knowing FULL WELL that fans would lose their gd minds over it. (Surprise! We absolutely lost our gd minds!) +

If Jimin wanted to spend JK's birthday with him, he easily could've done so in private. If he wanted to play a prank on him and make him think they wouldn't see each other for JK's birthday, he could've sent him that video privately.

But he posted it on twitter. +

He wanted the fans to think he was still in Paris just as much as he wanted JK to think he was, so we would realize the real weight of the fact that that boy put himself on a plane and flew straight home to Korea with the SOLE purpose of being with JK for his birthday. +

Of COURSE fans lost their minds about this. It was such a huge gesture of love and support from Jimin to Jungkook, and they shared it with the fans. They didn't have to. It could have been an intimate and private exchange between two close friends/lovers, but they shared +

it with us.

Why would they do this if they didn't want fans to speculate or make assumptions?

Reality check: They wouldn't. They're idols. They keep things from us ALL the time. There's so many facets to them that we as fans are completely oblivious to. +

Despite that, Jikook have REPEATEDLY showed us this part of their lives time and time again. We don't know half of the things that go on for any of the boys behind closed doors, but Jikook have still showed us repeatedly how special they are to each other. +

Jungkook loves Jimin, and Jimin loves Jungkook, whether that be as brothers, best friends, or lovers: it doesn't matter. They love each other and even THEY support the bond they share, and through their actions they are encouraging the fans to ship/support them together. +

Fans aren't making up Jikook's bond. We don't have to make wild theories. We don't thrive off of art or other fictional media to support our 'ship'.

We thrive off of real moments, and real glimpses into the reality that is "Jikook": Two boys that love each other +

so very much, and aren't afraid to show the world. If they ARE a couple, it's clear they want the world to know. If they AREN'T a couple, then they obviously are fine with the world thinking that they are, or they wouldn't do HALF of the things they do. +

You don't have to believe that they're a couple. You're entirely in your right to think they're just 'best friends'.

But stop trying to suggest that their bond is less than it is. Stop acting like Jikookers are reducing the boys down to just a ship or making things up. +

We're not. We're just not afraid to acknowledge the love that these two share, and the moments they share with us.

You're the delusional one in denial. Not us.

p.s: That gif^? Yeah. Once again, Jikook aren't stupid. They knew damn well what a photoshoot together on a rainbow unicorn used in a Seoul pride parade would look like. But guess what? They did it anyway. Notice a trend here?

I rest my case.