House of Cards (BTS story)

House of Cards is a popular Jeon Jungkook/Kim Taehyung/Park Jimin BTS fanfic by sugamins, also known as valentinosuga, who later orphaned the work. It is a gangster AU with a warning for graphic depictions of violence, an aspect of the story which has garnered controversy along with the explicit sex scenes. Nevertheless, House of Cards is often recced by fans for its plot and deep dive into the psychological perspective of its characters. Fans of the fic have created a great deal of fanwork for the fic, including art, vids and fanmixes.
The fic is the most popular BTS fanwork on AO3 by hit count, having reached 1.57 million hits by the beginning of 2022, and the third most popular by kudosFound via the Wayback Machine and this count as well as the over 33,000 kudos, 3,800 comments, and 9,200 bookmarks continues to grow.Found via the BTS works search and sorting March 2022. It was updated every Sunday from 27 November 2015 to 22 May 2016 with a planned Yoonmin sequel that was eventually abandoned by the author in response to backlash regarding the story's depictions of explicit and violent content, as well as shippers being unhappy with the ending of the fic.Interview with sugamins about her work House of Cards (Ao3′s second most hit English work and most hit BTS work). Posted 3 Nov 2020. Accessed 14 Feb 2023.
==The Fic==
The summary of the fic on AO3 is as follows:
As the summary implies, the story follows Taehyung's undercover operation into the mob Jungkook is heir to. Jimin lives with Jungkook as his lover and the primary focus of the fic is the fraught relationship between the three men as Taehyung attempts to bring down the entire criminal empire. sugamins was inspired by gangster films such as Infernal Affairs, which was remade in English as The Departed, as well as Denzel Washington's performances in American Gangster and Training Day among other inspirations. She also said she drew inspiration from Wires, a song by The Neighbourhood, and a conversation with her partner. Updates came frequently and the fic quickly racked up many comments and fans who were highly invested in the story, all of whom only had positive things to say when the fic was updating. The controversy came later, after the fic had been finished. When asked about the reasons why she eventually orphaned the fic, sugamins said:
She also recalled that Twitter users expressed animosity toward her, touching upon the relationship between purity culture and fandom in the context of fandom's underground beginnings before expressing that ultimately the work was orphaned because she did not want to engage with the backlash. Despite this, the author is still active under the "sugamins" username on AO3.
House of Cards is still an immensely popular fic in the BTS fandom and has an impact on fanfiction and fandom culture to this day. It is claimed to be the best BTS fanfiction and even known outside the BTS fandom. With over a million hits, House of Cards has inspired writers to write, with sugamins' work being referenced in other fanfiction authors' notes. Her work is discussed in smaller fanfiction circles, that can not be accredited on Fanlore due to the the casual intent of their conversations, and well known to avid Archive of Our Own users. Both House of Cards and sugamins' other works have been praised for their characterization, depiction of explicit content, realism, and well thought-out storytelling. Because of the fic's impact, Charmedseoul interviewed sugamins about the fic and released a House of Cards Interview with sugamins on Tumblr.
There are no approved translation of the fic to any other language from English, but an incomplete and unapproved translation into Italian exists. sugamins also does not approve crossposting the fic to other websites, but a similarly unapproved Wattpad repost for easier reading by KimTaeTaeHyungnh exists. The fic was also featured in BTS K-Pop Superstars Magazine (2019) The Amazing Rise of BTS 100% Tweet by @flirtygcf 
===Planned Sequel===
A sequel to the original fic was originally planned, which would have focused on Jimin and Suga, but was eventually scrapped after the fic was orphaned. According to sugamins, this sequel would have been about them reuniting through Jin and going through the process of coming to terms with what happened to them, resulting in a much more intimate and less violent story.
==Fan Reviews/Reactions==
The fic has 22 reviews on GoodReads, with an average star rating of 4.73 out of 5.
It is the most popular work in the Threesome - M/M/M tag on Archive of Our Own by kudos, hit counts, and bookmarks. As of September 2020, it is the most popular work by kudos in the Alternate Universe - Gangsters, and Undercover tags on Archive of Our Own. It is the second most popular work in the Gunplay, Slow Build, and Romance tags. Found via the tag search and sorting September 2020.
From September 23, 2020 to October 25, 2020, sugamins was interviewed in House of Cards Interview with sugamins about her writing process and thoughts on fanfiction culture.
===Miscellaneous Reactions===
* When a fic becomes too popular and the author deletes their account and/or work. Explained. Reddit Thread on :/r/fanfiction
*Anyone wonder where people who made really popular fanfics are now? Reddit Thread :/r/fanfiction
*Is There A BTS Fanfiction That Is Famous/Infamous Amongst Armys Reddit Thread :/r/fanfiction
*REVIEW: HOUSE OF CARDS BY SUGAMINS ARMY Amino Thread
*"House of cards" is the most fucked fanfiction ever discussion
* House of Cards by Sugamins Review by aunnie-ssi
* Most Popular BTS Fanfics Tumblr Post by inbtswethrrust
* House of Cards by sugamins Tumblr Review by bangtanficrecs
* This is the best BTS fan fiction and the best Kpop fan fiction of all time. onehallyu thread by <Taesthetic>
* House of Cards (vminkook) Wattpad Review by MissRayaSunshine
* Contemplation House of Cards by sugamins Wix Website Review
===Review Reactions===
===Twitter Fan Reactions===
 
 
 
* "House of cards" by Sugamins, fanfic reactions thread. May contain SPOILERS. Twitter Thread by by @Ms_Strafalarius
* Tweet by @the7print
===Archive of Our Own Fan Reactions===
==Fan Creations==
===Fanfiction===
*House of Cards (Epilogue) by cheerfulmyg
===Fan Videos===
*fanfiction trailer created by neversailingships
* House of Cards fan Edit by Lyvnie
* BTS [House of Cards ♣ Crime!AU (Fanfic Trailer)] by Sapphiamur
* House of Cards (vminkook fanfiction trailer) by pommeideas
===Fan Art===
*House of Cards fan Edit by Lyvnie
* ⚜ House of Cards by sugamins ⚜ by noxiim
* House of Cards | Jungkook by artsy-stargazer
* House of Cards | Taehyung by artsy-stargazer
* Fan-made cover for fanfiction "House of Cards" by sugamins by heiwaxx
* House of Cards ff by sugamins by elixrai
* — my favourite fics as published books ☆*:・ﾟ- house of cards | sugamins | by @hyuckIy
* House of cards book covers by kpop-activist
* House of Cards Book Cover by bts-books
* House of Cards Graphics by lxnelystarlight
===Fan Playlists===
* house of cards Spotify playlist by eleonorasalvagnin
* House of Cards Spotify playlist by byrasire
* house of cards; sugamins Spotify playlist by jesus
==References==
✪ This article was featured on the Fanlore main page in 2023How To & About
*About Featured Articles
*How to Nominate
Past Featured Articles
*2024
*2023
*2022
*2021
*2020
*2019
*2018
*2017
Featured Article Nominations
*2024
*2023
*2022
*2021
*2020
*2019
*2018
*2017
Category:2023 Featured Articles
Category:Slash Fanfiction
Category:2016 Fanfiction‎