#it's 2023 ffs I'm done arguing

[valka-arialitan]

Here's that, as a kind reminder for people to BE GENTLE TO KAIDAN.

I saw the ''Wolverine or Kaidan ; who's the best canadian'' poll on tumblr, and had the SHITTIEST idea to go trough the reblogs tags and HOLY SHIT PEOPLE NEED TO FUCKING CHILL ???

Like basically, people voting for Kaidan were like ''sorry Logan, but Kaidan is my sweet baby boy </3'' while people voting for Wolverine were literally shitting on Kaidan and his fans and MAN ?? I DID NOT LIKE SEEING THAT.

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And in the middle of drawing this I thought that I absolutely had to make that second part.

Shepard is in his ''emotional battery'' recharge phase.

[peppertaemint]

Shawol twitter is gonna make me lose my mind. If I see the word overworked in regards to Taemin one more time before he even comes back and has anything actually officially announced I'm gonna come off private and start cussing😭

This is a grown man with almost 15 years in the business who can make his own choices. He wouldn't have agreed to Superm if he didn't want to do it. And ffs, this man has been working a regular 9-5 for the past year and the people talking about how he needs rest when he comes back? He's probably climbing the walls waiting to get back to what he loves to do. This is a man who has in the past said he wouldn't love anything but being an idol, who has said he doesn't want rest.

He probably can't wait to be busy af doing the thing he loves to do after almost two years.

I swear some of these people claim to be his fans and it's like they don't actually know anything about him?

They keep going on about how he was before his enlistment, but that was literally right before his enlistment? He had a deadline looming for something that he not only didn't want to do, but was actively anxious about doing that was gonna take him away from what he loved. Of course he wasnt doing so well, and tried to squeeze as much as he could in before he had to go.

It honestly seems like some of these shawols just don't want him to come back, but they're hiding it behind "concern" and the other ones want him back but only if he does the things that they think he should be doing because he's too stupid to decide for himself.

It's so frustrating, and it's even coming from people I used to think were chill and level headed. Like, they can just say theyd prefer shinee some come back first cause they like them better? It doesn't have to be some big issue about overworking or being forced to do something or whatever.

Anyway, I just had to rant it out. I used to get so frustrated about armys but now I'm seeing a side to shawol twitter that is similarly irritating.

Hi Anon... welp. I’m with you on this. There’s a clusterfuck happening right now as SuperM, Taemin, and SHINee fans all selfishly argue about what they want in 2023. And I agree — it’s giving shades of army, and it’s not pretty. I mean, its giving split the man in three and everyone take a piece vibes. Add in the “what’s your shawol ick” meme going around, and it’s certainly time to log out.

The people who are worried about overwork when he’s done nothing are people who don’t understand what it’s like to do something you love. I’m sorry to be so blunt, but if they understood they wouldn’t have anything to say beyond rooting for him. I used to travel substantially for work, and it was incredibly taxing going from country to country to do my thing. The jet lag alone kills you. If someone took that away from me before I was ready to hang up my passport, I would have been beside myself. Like you say, he’s been doing a 9 to 5 for over a year now, and by all accounts he’s healthier and doing well. So, why are we assuming he’s not rested and raring to go?

The other thing that is giving me pause is how people are rushing to think the D-100 is the discharge date and not the date we’ll see him again in some capacity. It makes much more sense for him to get back to work and have a date set as to when he’ll use social media again. This is Taemin. He’s gonna do something weird or grand or god knows what. Everyone thinks he’s going to discharge and turn on IG Live or something immediately, but I just don’t think that’s what will be happening. I think everything will be planned out, as much for him as it is for the fans. If I’m wrong I’m wrong, but I somehow can’t see him switching on a live stream at home to greet everyone... I think it will be more formal and supportive work environment situation, if that makes sense.

How he was before enlistment ties into the above but also exactly the point you made before. He had a longstanding condition that was exacerbated by a huge change in lifestyle and profession. Finally, he’s already returned home and will be returning to work. Those are not the problem things from my limited, basic human perspective. The other thing kinda grating on me as someone with chronic illness is like people wanting to police what he does. Only he gets to decide what’s right for him. Just because fans could see he was unwell at times that doesn’t mean he should throw in the towel and do one comeback a year. Or that he needs babying or for people people to doubt his capabilities (which is what this comes off like). People need to check their own discomfort at someone else’s challenges and abilities. They’re not your challenges.

Back to the first point, though: what fans want most. I’ve actually seen a lots of shawols just blatantly saying they don’t want a solo or SuperM comeback first, which I find pointless. Personally, I think no one gets to choose but SM (probably not even TM as it’s down to timing and we need to consider Kai’s enlistment etc) so what point is there in having a tantrum? I’d like him to come back as a solo first, and I’m huge SHINee fan, but it doesn’t matter. After almost two years, I will be happy about whatever comes (I mean, if the music sucks I’ll say so but I’ll still enjoy cursed content LOL).

All of this is irritating, but the good thing with shawols/Taemints is that things usually blow over quickly and quiet down because of the behaviour standards. I don’t find it incessant, and luckily there are plenty of people keeping quiet or reminding others not to be so stupid. On another front, though, I’ve already noticed even the shippers are getting a little loud, and I predict with the MinKeyers taking cues from TaeKookers, there might be some nasty moments ahead. Most 2Minners are quiet or on private, but there is one who is just well, a bit loud and out there with a lot of followers, and I’ve already seen them shading other ships, especially MinKeyers. And I get it to an extent; some of the things they say are not okay but it’s the blatant shade that gets me. They are young, and I hate to say it but a lot (but not all) of these negative behaviours do come from younger fans, especially those hopping fandoms because they bring the behaviours with them instead of acclimating to the fandom’s values/standards.