#I haven't seen one article of clothing I wore that day since

[humanuser0613]

Touching on Matching: A discussion potential

Positing a hypothesis: when the members match accidentally they draw attention to it and provide an explanation.

Examining the evidence:

Here is a post from Namjoon and Yoongi:

Fans had been talking for some time about their love for FG gear and here they showed up in the same shirt and called it an "interesting" picture. They drew attention to it so the fans would stop joking about them all sharing the same clothes (which we know they already do anyway...and that they stalk stan Twitter 👀).

J-Hope posted:

Hobi posted that he and JM wore the same outfit. He was excited to be on the same wavelength as a team member a year after their debut. He did not have a picture included.

We also have examples of members matching during schedule:

One exception I would like to point out is that for the BE album the members gave direction for what they wanted for the photos and the music video and we had Jikook in a directly matching outfit and in pj's marketed as "Couple's".

Is there a difference for Jikook?

Jikook have drawn attention before, purposely posting on Valentine's Day with a laughing face. Does this mean that they matched accidentally (on a couple's holiday)? No explanation was given...

Here's the valentine's day post:

In the post JK was doing a sort of silly dance. And it was unexpected (a nice surprise for ARMY) for him to appear in frame since the video just started with JM.

Another time JK and JM drew attention to matching rings at 4th Muster. JK put his arm around JM and JM brought his hands up to his mic...which brought the rings in close proximity.

The mic was attached to the opposite side of the hand with the ring, but both hands were brought up to the mic. Did JK bump the mic on the ear when he put his arm around JM's shoulders??? So here is a picture of the same ring on both men on the 4th finger. Of note: in nearly every culture matching rings on the same 4th finger of two people does indicate some sort of commitment.

(They just look so happy in this picture. 🥰 I don't have the 4th muster DVDs and would love to read on someone's take about what happened before and after this moment. Was it a moment where they normally interacted during that song? Did their smiles get bigger? Was anything going on during this particular day?)

Here's a link for what it might mean in Korea. https://www.koreaboo.com/stories/meaning-behind-placement-couple-rings/

Another time we see them matching during schedule, but I think this is sponsored gear. (Correct me if I'm wrong 🤷‍♀️)

We have times where they match outside of schedule and do not draw attention to it themselves. We wouldn't know this happened if not for Big Hit...

Matching pants (note: the dance practice has JK in different pants and he's the only member to have a different article of clothing on between the practice and this picture.) We don't know why he would put on matching pants before or after the practice when he had a perfectly decent pair already. Was this picture unexpected?

In Mastermind gear as they're practicing.

Please don't forget about the Niagara Falls jean shirt matching as well - when Namjoon asked if they were a couple and sounded like he was playing it off, likely because the public would be viewing the footage. It was kinda an explanation...without a real explanation for why they were matching.

Dalloga has a post here 👇 https://dalloga.tumblr.com/post/637068856096145408/i-gotta-ask-about-festa-2020-what-is-your

Now those are the instances and what I saw was other members joking about matching, that matching is expected during schedules, but that Jikook match more often casually as well as (recently) during schedules. I haven't seen them joke about it or play it off like the other members. I have to add on that I'm not sure we've seen the other members match often enough to really say we've got good data here...and maybe that says something as well; we don't even get them accidentally matching behind the scenes, or during casual (meaning not performance or sponsored gear) scheduled events.

I also asked a friend (I'm not relying strictly on koreaboo articles here 😒) who is married to a native Korean man in South Korea if male friends matching is something done purposely or with frequency and the answer was, "no". (This is one man's experience in a country with 51.2 million people so...🧂liberally)

Skinship ✅

Matching 🙅‍♂️

https://www.maleq.org/gay-south-korea/ (only 1 person's, non-native, experience in SK...salt liberally)

https://theculturetrip.com/asia/south-korea/articles/9-things-you-should-know-about-dating-in-korea/

https://www.90daykorean.com/dating-in-korea/

https://gogohanguk.com/en/blog/korean-couple-culture/

I've provided additional links, but you can do your own research.

If you've got something else to add let me know. And I apologize for my ramblings.

[existentialstatesofmind]

Opening Up

Clare: often found new books online by browsing through suggestions of similar reads to past favorites. She was sure this wouldn’t be much different. “I like that feature already. The biggest problem I run into is looking for paranormal romance and getting horror. Yeah if the cover looks gory or violent, I won’t get it.” She grinned at him. “Thank you, if you really don’t mind helping me out. We probably will be using a wok. Unless they are worried about grease fires.” Clare became uneasy at the thought. “There are so many distractions in a classroom and I have slow reflexes.” She laughed nervously. “No problem. We’ll get along fine. I just have to warn Alli.” Her best friend was more outgoing than she was and could easily become defensive. Clare remembered how Alli had taken an immediate dislike to Jenna. Once she made up her mind about someone it was difficult to change it. “Good! I was starting to miss the days when I didn’t care about my appearance and would wear whatever I wanted even if it caused me to be made fun of.” She chuckled. “Yay!” She enthusiastically responded to going to a Cultural Festival. “What is Host Cafe?” Clare knew if it had anything to do with drinking the schools were going to say no. “Oh my god.” She squealed. “If we are doing this, we have to go all out! No point in doing something with so much potential half assed. You have to wear an apron with a big satin bow tying it in the back, gloves, high heels, maid headpiece and feather duster. Everything allowed. Thigh highs with the garter might be against the rules. Though I’d pay money to see you, Kota. Of course I’ll gladly wear a male waiter costume which is probably a vest over a button down shirt, black slacks, a bowtie, and men’s shoes. Can’t forget those. I’m going to have to buy a wig. What color should I go with? I want straight hair too that will make me look different. Maybe Alli and I can draw fake mustaches on each other! I think that would look better than one you glue on. I wonder if I can trick her into letting me give her a goatee?” She grinned mischievously. “I know. I just wasn’t sure how much you trusted him with. I’m glad he’s not like your brothers, you need someone to confide in besides me. So we let everyone think whatever they want? But I don’t have to lie?” Clare was glad she didn’t have to confirm any rumors that might make their way back home. She didn’t care about being thrown out of Jesus Club, however, Clare couldn’t let her parents find out she dared to sleep in the same bed as a boy (even if they weren’t doing anything other than sleeping). “Technically it’s an Irish Claddagh ring.” She doubted many girls would ask the meaning behind it. “I’m not ready emotionally, and I make no promises when I will be. Emi’s good birth control. I love her but I couldn’t take care of her full time like you do. My family’s a mess, I’d have zero support, and a baby is a lot more work. I don’t want us to resent each other because we had to miss out being a normal teenagers. I’m going away for college, I want to live in a dorm and be independent.” If she really got pregnant at 16, her parents and especially Darcy (who looked down on teen moms) would pressure her into giving the baby up for adoption but Clare saw no reason to bring that up. She nodded. “We’ll table it. I obviously am not comfortable with relying on a condom either, I’d have to come up with a way to get around needing parental permission. Or Mom’s head would explode.” Clare didn’t want Kota to change his mind later on and break up with her for a girl who was on birth control. There was nothing she could do about it though. “Seriously? That might be your best kept secret. I mean I have seen tabloid articles with headlines like Melanie Martinez goes on a weekend rendezvous with her younger man! But they never mentioned Toronto.” Clare didn’t feel stupid for not recognizing her own city or Kota if he’d ever been caught on camera too because no one else at school did either. Mostly Clare thought those articles were bogus. But sometimes they guessed Melanie was in some exotic location with an upcoming actor who had a baby face but was really 25. She listened to their crazy adventures, and more they could possibly have. She could never be apart of that. But that was okay. At least she was finally getting to go somewhere AND currently hanging out with Melanie Martinez! Clare smiled. “It won’t be a free for all but it will be parentless.” She walked out of the office and looked at Melanie before answering Kota. “How about starting with Yohio’s lab?”

Kota: looked at Clare when she mentioned paranormal romance and getting horror. "They classify paranormal as supernatural and I've read one supernatural romance that I liked. It didn't have horror, but it was also adult." he explained. "I'm not sure, to be honest I haven't heard of them using a wok, but if you go to someone's house to learn they may use a wok." he shrugged. He listened to her talk about warning Alli and nodded, then laughed when she mentioned her clothes. "A host club is basically a legal form of prostitution without the prostitution. We'd have to wear suits and look nice, the customer will get a list of names of who's on duty and pick which one they want to be with. We'd have to sit with the customer or customers while they eat, we'd be able to drink soda or something with them and we'd have to do what they say. If a girl tells me to flirt with her, I'd have to or we'd lose money. I'd have to kiss her hand regardless though, when the customers leave a kiss on the hand is a proper goodbye." he explained the best he could. Hearing Clare go on about the cafe causing him to shake his head. "You can't do any of that. Everything is supplied by the school. The outfits are decided by votes, the ones that get the most votes are what we will be wearing and they're handmade by our class. The wigs will be provided by the theater committee, the shoes will also be provided for us by the school. You and Alli cannot have facial hair of any sort, you'd have to look like a high school boy and there will already be someone to do your make up and mine. Who knows they may only straighten and style your hair, there are guys with long hair at school. To be honest, I do my hair differently in Japan, there are times when Natsumi stood on a chair and tied my bangs for me with a band on the top of my head. It looked like a small ponytail and it's not uncommon for guys to do that there like it is here." he assured. "No we don't have to lie. If they know you're a virgin who cares? If they think we're having sex, let them." he said honestly. He didn't correct anyone either, he just let them think what they wanted. "I feel the same, I'm not emotionally ready and I don't know when I will be either. I'm actually going to community college because most dormitories won't allow Emi to live with me in them and who's to say if and when my aunt will come back for her. When I graduate Degrassi, I'm getting an apartment to live in wherever I go to school and I'm going to bring Emi apartment shopping with me. If my aunt comes and gets her by then I'll stay in a dorm. I do know that newborns cry a lot and not all of them sleep through the night so continuing high school with a child is nearly impossible and it would be just as impossible to go to an actual college like we want, we'd have to go online and that would suck a lot. I don't plan on having sex until I'm able to take responsibility for whatever happens." he smiled at her and kissed her cheek. "We can worry about that later and I don't think you'll need to get your mom's permission for birth control. I'm not planning on being ready while I'm still in high school so there's no need to worry about that." he said honestly and listened to her. "No, we were in Cali when that happened so don't worry about recognizing the city. I'm able to take small trips between here and America when I want as long as my mom knows. Plus they didn't really get my face, I wore dark glasses and a hat so they couldn't get my face." he confirmed. As Clare spoke, he looked around his office to make sure he had everything and smiled. "Yohio's lab it is." he said before hearing his phone ring and answering it. "Great, I've been trying to call you." he chimed to the person on the other end. "I'm bringing my girlfriend when I bring the jacket to you so..." he trailed off and listened. "That'd be perfect. I'll make sure she's free and I'm willing to pay you back for this. Her name is Clare and please whatever you do don't embarrass her. If you do the IOU you have against me will be null and void." he stated in the phone and smiled. "Great and ok, I'll put paper in my fax machine so you can fax whatever you need to." he smiled. "Ok, I'll see you then and I promise not to tell her. Love ya too." he chuckled and hung up the phone. "Clare, keep your schedule clear for next Saturday. We apparently have plans and I'm not sure what's going to happen since I'm in debt to someone right now." he explained. "Ah, debt that you need to pay with your body." Mel laughed jokingly. "That's not funny, for all I know she could be planning something and though she won't make me her slave I'm still unable to find out what she has up her sleeve." he sighed and stood up. "To Yohio's office." he chimed and lead them down a corridor. "We can't go inside due to the fact he's working and if we scare him or the chemist it could cause problems." he informed and stopped to press a button on the elevator. "What is he making?" Mel asked. "Perfume." Kota answered. "We're selling it in the store downstairs and in Japan first. If the perfume sells well, we'll build him a lab in Japan." he added as they got on the elevator and he pressed the button for the third floor. "The girl you were on the phone with, do I know her?" Mel asked. "Not personally, but you know who she is." he said. "That could be anyone." Mel sighed. "I'll tell you who it is later." he said. "Maybe she just wants to hang out." Mel shrugged. "That's a possibility. I have only been able to hang out with her in America so maybe she wants me to give her a tour of Toronto." he sighed in relief as the elevator stopped and he lead them to a big window. "This is Yohio's lab." he said looking through it to see Yohio and waved at him, in turn Yohio waved back wearing a hooded lab coat, hospital mask, rubber gloves and protective glasses. "Where to next?" he asked.

#ou