I (25F) have been friends with Flower (24F) and Adrian (25M) since university. We've been a close trio ever since. (Fake names.)

Flower had a horrible breakup earlier this year. She was engaged and had a wedding date, but it ended in February. I know she spent months hoping he'd come back, and I don't think she's fully over it.

Adrian recently started seeing someone. They're not officially together yet, but they're serious and refer to each other that way.

A few nights ago, we went to a black-tie event. Flower got extremely drunk—to the point she could barely stand and needed help walking. She was clearly not in her right mind.

At first she got unusually affectionate with Adrian, which we (Adrian and I) brushed off because of how drunk she was. Then she tried to kiss him and said something like, "We should've dated." Adrian immediately shut it down.

Afterwards, Adrian told me he was upset because the girl he's seeing trusts both Flower and me, and he feels that trust was broken. He said he doesn't want to hang out with Flower anymore and would rather ghost her.

I'm conflicted. I understand Adrian wanting boundaries and respecting his relationship, but Flower was blackout drunk and doesn't even remember what happened. I also understand why Adrian feels uncomfortable and doesn't want it happening again.

The problem is I'm stuck in the middle. Adrian has been venting to me nonstop but doesn't want to tell the girl he's seeing because he doesn't want drama. Flower has no idea any of this happened.

I don't want to be the messenger, mediator, or therapist. I don't think it's my place to tell Flower what she did, convince Adrian to forgive her, or manage their feelings. They're both my friends, and I don't want to pick a side.

AITA for wanting to step back and let them deal with this themselves?

Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but... I really don't like Spotify MV premieres.

One of my favorite parts of a comeback used to be everyone waiting together for the MV to drop on YouTube. The countdown, the live chat, everyone freaking out over the same scenes at the exact same time... it felt like a shared experience.

Now it feels... gated. I watched the Spotify premiere and immediately texted my best friend, "JIMIN NKD" (she is jimin biased) She couldn't even watch it because she doesn't have Spotify Premium. I couldn't send screenshots either because Spotify just blacked them out.

And honestly... that made me kind of sad. it really feels like it's creating unnecessary barriers within the fandom.

Not everyone pays for Spotify Premium. Not everyone even uses Spotify.

Some people use Apple Music, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, or other platforms. Why should they have to wait to experience something everyone is excited about?

Comebacks are supposed to be moments the entire fandom experiences together. Having part of the fandom see the MV first while everyone else has to avoid spoilers until it's publicly released kind of takes away that excitement.

Maybe I'm just nostalgic, but I miss when MV premieres felt like a global event where everyone hit play at the same time.

I really hope this doesn't become the new normal

Hi! I'm from Mexico City, and I've been around this whole Santos Bravos thing since the very beginning.

It all started when I visited the HYBE Experience in Parque Bicentenario. It was advertised as an interactive exhibition answering the question "How is a group formed?" The main attraction was an exhibit of signed albums from almost every HYBE artist, official lightsticks, and a store selling leftover merch from previous HYBE pop-ups like Hope on the Street, SEVENTEEN, and TXT. During the last weeks, they even displayed ENHYPEN's stage outfits, and LE SSERAFIM's pop-up was held there too.

The tour lasted about 40 minutes, taking us through vocal training, dance practice, recording booths, and introducing the people behind the project. Throughout the visit, the guides kept reminding us that upstairs there was a group of trainees actively going through those same stages. The funny thing was... almost nobody knew who those boys were.

There were around 20 people in my group, and only one person recognized one of the trainees because she'd followed him before the show.

At the end, we got to design a lightstick, suggest a fandom name, leave encouraging messages, and even create our own debut lineup, which was printed as a sticker. They encouraged everyone to watch the show (it had premiered literally the day before!) and told us we could register on Weverse to attend something called Sesiones Bravas.

So naturally... I watched it. I really enjoyed the show, although I was disappointed viewers couldn't vote since I had expected something like I-LAND. Looking back, I actually think that was the right decision.

A few days later I was selected to attend Sessiones Bravas. The organization wasn't perfect (the waiting area was basically a tent in the parking lot during rainy season), but the showcases were genuinely fun, and getting posters signed by the members made the experience feel really personal.

Then, around week five, everything changed. Santos Bravos suddenly became HUGE in Mexico City.

HYBE was promoting the project almost exactly like they would in Korea: weekly showcases, Weverse activities, and building a fandom before debut. That's something we almost never get in Mexico, so it felt incredibly special. Local media started covering them, every showcase became more crowded, and what surprised me most was that it wasn't just kpop fans anymore. Plenty of people who had never listened to kpop started following the show too.

When the finale was announced at Auditorio Nacional (around 10k capacity), it already felt like the project had exploded. I saw people from all over Mexico trying to get tickets, even before there was an official lineup. Tickets weren't sold, you simply registered through Weverse and hoped to be selected. I did notice that people who attended the earliest Sesiones Bravas ended up with much better seats.

The debut concert exceeded every expectation I had. The production was incredible, and when the final lineup performed 0%, the entire venue sang along to the chorus. Even though people had different ideal lineups, the atmosphere never became hostile... it felt more like everyone processing the results together before celebrating the group's beginning.

Since then, I've mostly followed them online until seeing them again 2 days ago at Campo Marte.

Honestly... that's when it really hit me. Hearing 0% again made me realize how much they've grown. I've literally watched these guys go from trainees at the HYBE Experience to confidently owning huge stages.

The biggest surprise came after their performance. ENHYPEN was performing next, yet as soon as Santos Bravos finished, a huge number of people left. They had gone specifically for Santos Bravos. That completely blew my mind and really showed me how much their own fanbase has grown.

One thing I've also realized is that the fandom is much more diverse than people online seem to think. Yes, there are longtime kpop fans like me, but there are also plenty of DUALs who barely listened to kpop before this project. I think people assume otherwise because the fandom has adopted things like pickets, freebies, photocards, and because Santos Bravos uses Weverse so actively.

Looking back, I never expected that random visit to the HYBE Experience would turn into almost a year of following this group. It's been really cool watching not only Santos Bravos grow, but also seeing the fandom grow right alongside them.

I tried to keep this as short as possible, but I've honestly been around for pretty much everything Santos Bravos has done in Mexico City. If anyone has questions about the HYBE Experience, Sesiones Bravas, the finale, the fandom, or just wants to talk about the whole journey, feel free to leave a comment! I'd be more than happy to share more or chat about it

I'm local, I've attended multiple concerts at this venue over the years, and this is just my experience from Day 1. Obviously everyone had a different one, so please be kind.

Going into the concert I was honestly worried about a few things:

• Whether Mexico would be able to pull off the OT6 "Go Big or Go Home" fanchant (spoiler: I think we absolutely nailed it).
• People camping two days before the concert (always a mess i guess)
• The weather, since the avenue where the venue is located tends to flood during rainy season, which usually turns the whole area into a complete mess.

The queue situation...

The day started getting messy pretty early.

This venue generally allows camping, although they don't officially encourage it. They usually let fans organize themselves, and for this concert that was basically what happened.

From what I saw, the first people camping arrived around 6am on Thursday the 9th (the concert was on Saturday at 7:30 pm). They were mostly Asian fans, and they started numbering themselves with markers.

However, weeks before the concert, some ENGENEs with VIP2 (Saga package) had organized another numbering system through group chats using branded paper wristbands (similar to festival wristbands).

That's where everything started getting complicated.

For those who don't know, there were three standing ticket types:

• General Admission
• VIP2 (Saga Package)
• VIP1 (Blood Package)

According to the official map, they all shared the same standing area. The difference was that Blood Package holders had priority entry, which was one of the benefits they paid for.

When Blood package holders started arriving, they naturally formed their own line because they were supposed to enter first. Some Saga package holders weren't happy because many of them had been waiting much longer.

At one point there were basically three different lines for the same standing area.

The venue sits on one of the busiest avenues in the city, so the lines were already affecting traffic. Add dozens of unofficial merch vendors, people trying to cross the street, and thousands of fans arriving... let's say getting to the venue wasn't exactly easy.

For the VIP queueing situation, I should mention that a friend of mine kept me updated throughout the day, which helped me track the timing and understand how things were moving even though I wasn't personally in the VIP lines.

Things got worse during VIP check-in. People had already started pushing, and this wasn't even the entry into the venue, it was just the check-in process en the surrounding area (+4hrs before the concert even started). By that point, some people were already getting frustrated because of the camping situation itself. Many had spent day and a half waiting with little to no sleep, barely eating properly, and were desperate to get inside and secure a spot at the barricade, which made the atmosphere even more tense.

I had seated tickets (Palco Platino), so my friends and I arrived around 40 minutes after general admission doors had already opened... and it was still chaotic outside.

I honestly felt bad for the staff. It seemed like they didn't really understand why there were multiple queues, people were already getting anxious to get inside, and the venue only has a few access points before the first security filter.

Fortunately, Palco Platino had its own entrance, so we got in relatively quickly. Unfortunately, because of the traffic outside and how slow entry was moving, I know some people didn't make it to their seats until after the concert had already started.

Freebie culture...

This is probably an unpopular opinion, but every kpop concert I attend makes me like freebie culture a little less.

To me, freebies are supposed to be free. If you want to trade, that's perfectly fine. If you want to sell something, that's also fine.

But if you're trading or charging money... then it's not really a freebie anymore.

My friends and I made fewer than 50 freebies. Some people just made faces or looked annoyed before walking away. They're obviously not obligated to give us anything, and nobody owes anyone freebies. I completely understand that. It just costs nothing to be kind.

The funniest interaction we had was with one girl who approached us offering, "Freebie?" We happily accepted it and said, "Thank you!" Then she immediately went, "Okay, that's $50 (MXN)" Girl... We just handed it back and said, "Oh, then no thank you."

The concert itself

Now for the important part. The concert was honestly everything I had dreamed for.

I've followed ENHYPEN since I-LAND, so seeing how much they've grown made me pretty emotional.

I'm not exaggerating when I say I have never heard this venue that loud.

The crowd was absolutely insane in the best possible way. Personally, I didn't see anyone being taken out of the pit.

However, after the concert I saw multiple people in group chats saying the pushing had gotten really bad. Some claimed people threw up because of the pressure, and one person even alleged that a boy peed himself because he couldn't get out.

I didn't witness any of that myself, so I can't verify those stories, but enough people were talking about it that hopefully fans attending the following shows were more aware of how dangerous excessive pushing can become.

I was especially nervous about the "Go Big or Go Home" OT6 fanchant because I wasn't sure how well we'd pull it off. I had already felt a bit of a tense atmosphere on social media after Jungwon's live, so I was honestly a little anxious about how the moment would go. But during one of the ments before the song, Jay said in perfect Spanish, "somos 6" ("we are 6"), and that honestly helped ease my worries.

You could literally see their faces light up. The whole concert you could see them really enjoying themselves.

The only technical issue I noticed was during Blockbuster, when Ni-ki seemed to have some trouble with his in-ear , but he handled it like a professional and kept going.

During encore, Go Big or Go Home played again, several of them even took out their in-ears during the fanchant just to hear the crowd. That was probably one of my favorite moments of the entire night. They spent a lot of time close to the barricades, asking fans for hats, flags, and other little items.

Some highlights:

• Jay has clearly been learning Spanish, and honestly... his pronunciation was really good. he knew "Cielito Lindo" and encouraged us to sing it twice.
• Sunghoon sang part of "Despacito" and gave a really sweet speech saying he didn't understand why it had taken them so long to come to Mexico and promised they'd come back.
• They danced to "Payaso de Rodeo," which is basically a party classic here in Mexico.
• Jungwon and Sunoo both mentioned that it had been a long time since their ears hurt from fans cheering so loudly (in a good way).
• Jake said Mexico's opening night was in his personal Top 10 shows, even when korea lost to mexico in the worldcup.
• Ni-ki said Mexico's style is totally his style... and he even wore our national football team's jersey.

They genuinely looked like they were having a great time.

Overall, I had an amazing time.

Was organization outside the venue perfect? Definitely not.

Could fan behavior have been better? Absolutely.

At the end of the day, concerts are a shared experience. We all want to have the best view and enjoy our favorite artists, but it's important to remember that there are thousands of people around us trying to do the exact same thing.

Be mindful of others, take care of yourselves, and don't forget to have fun.

And to ENHYPEN (if you ever read this lol)... please don't take another six years to come back, see you again this wednesday❤️

So this is my experience as a non-local and as someone going to a concert outside of my city... and country... and continent for the first time. I've probably attended 50+ concerts in my life, so this isn't my first rodeo. This is just my personal experience, so please don't come for me. Thanks 💜

Starting with ticketing, I honestly had no problems at all. A friend of mine managed to get two extra tickets, and I bought them for me and my sister (both ARMY). I started planning the whole trip the week after the general sale.

To be honest, the trip itself was just an addition to the concert. My main goal was simply to see BTS live, and at that point, Madrid was my only option. (Plot twist: I later managed to get tickets for the second date in my own city too, so I ended up seeing them twice. The future really had other plans)

I was lowkey terrified because of the heat wave everyone was talking about, but it turned out to be completely manageable because I prepared. Hand fan? Check. Plenty of water? Check. Light clothes, cap, and constant hydration? Check.

We arrived at the ARMY Zone around 1 p.m. I was expecting massive queues because that's usually how these things go where I'm from, but nope it literally took us about five minutes. Since we had plenty of time, we walked around looking at the merch booths, and I was genuinely surprised they still had a decent amount of merchandise available. In my country, almost everything sold out except ARMY Bombs and XXL shirts... which, as a petite person, wasn't exactly helpful.

We spent the afternoon wandering around trying to find some shade, grabbed food at the McDonald's by the stadium (which was absolutely packed), and met some lovely ARMYs from Ecuador, Toledo, and Valencia. Everyone was so nice. Once it was time, we found our gate and got inside super smoothly. That was honestly another surprise because entering stadiums back home is usually a much more chaotic experience.

Now... the concert. Absolutely surreal. Every single euro I spent was worth it. The first surprise song was Mikrokosmos, and considering I literally have "shine, dream, smile" tattooed on me... you can probably imagine my reaction. (Spoiler: lots of very happy tears)

I don't know if this is controversial, but I actually enjoyed this show a tiny bit more than the one in my own city. Maybe it was because the members themselves looked like they were having the best time. Whatever the reason, it was unforgettable.

Now for the part where the saxophones kept getting louder... the trip back.

Our hotel host had advised us to wait about 30–40 minutes after the concert before taking the metro from the stadium. Sounded reasonable... except the queue just kept getting longer and longer. Eventually security blocked access to the station completely.

That was the first moment I actually got worried because there was basically no phone signal anywhere. We walked around looking for another option, but everyone kept saying the metro was still the best choice, so we waited. FYI, the concert ended around 10:30pm, maybe a little earlier.

At around 11:30 p.m. we finally got into the station. We let two trains pass because they were completely packed before squeezing into a less crowded one.

The good news? We made it back into the city.

The bad news? We were still about 5 km from our hotel 💀

The connecting metro line had collapsed, there were no taxis available, and every Uber/Bolt we checked was over €40.

So... yes. We walked 5 km through Madrid at around 12:30 a.m.

Honestly? It wasn't nearly as bad as it sounds because there were ARMYs walking all over the city. It was actually pretty funny hearing the constant *cling cling cling* of photocards, keychains, and ARMY Bomb accessories echoing through the streets at 1 a.m.

We finally got back to the hotel around 2 a.m. That's when we were finally able to check X/Twitter and found out that someone had apparently pressed the emergency button at the stadium metro station, causing a domino effect that shut down the first metro line. I still have no idea what happened to the second one, but at that point... it didn't really matter.

We got to see BTS live

And honestly? I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat💜

This is something I've been thinking about recently, and I'm genuinely curious to hear different perspectives. Please be respectful of one another's opinions, as I'm interested in hearing a range of experiences and viewpoints.

Yesterday, I went to the cinema to watch Arirang from Busan, and during the ARMY Time, I noticed that most of them from Russia, Vietnam, and Brazil (they were holding flags or it was written on their banners). It reminded me of how global BTS's fanbase is and how many ARMYs are willing to travel long distances for the opportunity to see them perform.

For those of you who have traveled internationally for BTS (or are planning to), what motivates you the most? Is it because BTS rarely visits your country, because tickets are easier to get elsewhere, or because it's part of the overall experience?

And for everyone else, what do you think about the growing trend of fans traveling across the world for concerts? Do you see it as a natural part of being in a global fandom, or do you think it creates challenges when it comes to ticket availability and accessibility for local fans?

I'm genuinely curious to hear different opinions and experiences from ARMYs around the world.

it was EVERYTHING i imagined and somehow even better. i genuinely can’t believe it finally happened. during idol i got to see them up close and i still haven’t processed it.

kim taehyung is actually insane levels of handsome in real life. like unreal. jimin is SO pretty it almost doesn’t make sense. jungkook has such a strong presence, his eyes are really big. jin’s neck is surprisingly long??? 😭 namjoon’s cheekbones are SHARP sharp. yoongi looked sooo pale and hobi looked tanned and omg that smile.

overall they all seemed to enjoy the concert so much, and during the ending ment they honestly looked like they wanted to cry… and same tbh.

the surprise songs were We Are Bulletproof Pt. 2 and Just One Day. my best friend and i LOST IT when Just One Day started because she’d been manifesting😭

now i’m sitting here listening to the setlist on repeat wondering if the only cure for post-BTS concert depression is… another BTS concert?

how long did it take you guys to emotionally recover after seeing them live? 🥲