#like minho said... a fandom is a reflection of the artist

[peppertaemint]

I’m going to be honest: I’ve been following you for a long time (I was already following your previous blog) (mostly for your Shinee/Taemin content because I love Taemin) and I used to think you were too judgmental and harsh and unfair about Army. Well, I guess I owe you an apology because now being 3 years and a half, almost 4 years into the fandom, I’m at my limit… yesterday was my last straw. As much as I love BTS I just can’t stand this fandom anymore. Of course there’s some good things but it doesn’t counterbalance all the bs anymore…… I’m so done, the immaturity and entitlement, constant harassment, no criticism policy, my resentment for the fans is almost starting to turn into bitterness towards the members because they never speak up about it. BTS values my ass. Right now I’m waiting for all the members solo to be done - not even sure why cause JK’s solo is utterly boring and disappointing so far - and I’ll probably log off and just engage with their music and past content on my own. I really hope for a change and for things to be said once and for all when they come back but I doubt this will happen. What a mess..

Oh boy, if yesterday was a lot, I hope you're okay, Anon. Koreaboo has already published an article highlighting the backlash around the supposed "pornographic" concept etc. I know Taemin wants to make waves, and he's well old enough to handle himself and he's dealt with so much worse, but it would be nice for this not to pick up on SK news outlets.

Re BTS, I always give this advice to people who tell me what you just did: take what works for you and leave the rest. Create healthy boundaries and focus on what speaks to you.

People (army, lol) like to paint me as some evil bts-anti who is so mean and unfair etc. I'm not; I just have boundaries and standards. When SHINee made those colorist comments in their content a few weeks ago, I made my thoughts known and fully expected them to speak on it. And they did. And the DMs Taemin sent actually meant something.

I expect him and the whole group to be accountable, and that goes both ways. Minho has talked before about how fans are a reflection of the artist. You know, sometimes there are even dress codes for concerts! But really, what I'm saying is having standards and boundaries is a good thing. Don't lose yours. And you can still enjoy BTS content even though the group ethos doesn't match your standards. It's recognizing it and having the boundary that is important.

Please have a pretty Taeminnie to cheer you up:

[6-v-6]

maybe it's just me being nosy, but im really curious about why you don't like bts. im not their biggest fan either, but that's because of people trying to pressure me into liking them. you don't have to answer if you don't want to

Oh man well it’s a lot of things, honestly. Like... a lot. 

First things first, I used to be in the fandom myself, around the I Need U era leading into the Run era, aka the pivotal moment in time where the group went from “okay I guess I know them” to “my grandmother headbangs to bts every night before she sleeps”. At first the fandom was okay, it was normal, just like every other fandom. And then suddenly? It was the worst fandom I’d ever been a part of. And I was in the Supernatural fandom at one point too.... so... that’s saying A Lot. Like at first it was just really annoying things. Like jokes that made fun of their english, or were just really outdated and yet overused to the point of it being Really Fucking Annoying. Like the “infires” joke and the “jimin has no jams” joke that was fuckng Everywhere. And then army literally were commenting on every single damn video I went to on youtube, regardless of if it was related to bts at all or not. So the annoyance started there. 

And then the group got big, got famous, got internationally popular and the fandom thought they were the hottest shit around (and they still do). They started to send hate messages to other fandoms when they’d have competing comebacks. The usual “XX is a flop bts sells way more albums than XX they should just disband”. And it was super shitty?? But really, the thing that did it for me was (Trigger warning: death mention) when Yoongi dropped his mixtape last year, on the same date of the anniversary of Rise’s death. And you know what Army did? They took to twitter to bash people trending #foreverRise in remembrance of her death. They were offended that another tag was trending over yoongi’s and they went so far as to pull shit like saying she deserved to die. If you don’t anything about Rise, well, it was an unfortunate and really tragic car accident that took her life. And to disrespect someone like that in such an absolutely disgusting way just made me 100% sure that not only would I never return to that fandom, but I’d never support that group again either. Like sorry not sorry, Army can tell me “not all armys!!!” all they want but I’m Never going to like or support them. 

Not to mention when 1 of 1 came out last year they were dropping in with the typical bashing and literally sending messages wishing death upon shinee and fyjjong had to shut down her anon option because of it. And the worst thing is that they half-assedly try to regulate and stop people within their fandom doing things like that. It’s always other fandoms calling them out on their shit and never Armys themselves saying “hey, maybe this is ugly behavior and we should stop”. So. This got long. But yeah. That’s why I don’t like bts and why I won’t like them. 

[stringofhearts]

SHINee World is a reflection of SHINee

I love SHINee and a major part of that reason is because I love seeing how much Shawols love them. Shawol, I’m a big fan of yours. When Minho said that “celebrities and fans are like two sides of a mirror,” that a fandom is a reflection of the artist they support, I truly believe him.

I’ve seen a few posts emerge that are problematic to me and I don’t think it is what SHINee would want. Before this issue gets too big, I think something should be said because I think as a fandom we should be introspective and monitor ourselves.

I know it can be so aggravating when people are attacking SHINee relentlessly, making up blatant lies about the situation, and cursing out I-Shawols and OT5-stans, but I don’t think SHINee would want us to stoop to their level. There can be no winning, it is only a race to the bottom. I have to believe that there is a better way to support OT5 and support Shawols than by resorting to abusive language or depicting violence, no matter how jokingly it is done. I hope that when the dust settles at the end of this, SHINee will be able to look at us and still be proud of SHINee world.

And no, OT4-stans, this post is not for you to justify your “love and support” because honestly, disregarding your bias’ feelings, their decisions, assuming you know what is better for them then they do themselves, that is not love, it is not support, and it definitely is not respect. It means that SHINee is probably no longer the right fit for you and SHINee world is no longer the right place for you. You will happier if you realize this and move on and so will the people who are waiting for this situation to reach its conclusion and/or have chosen to stay.

One of my favorite quotes from Jinki is “You don't know how other people will accept words you say by mistake. I believe that you can change a life with just one word.” So the next time an anti-OT4 post comes across your dash depicting violence or using abusive language, I hope you remember Jinki’s words, about how SHINee world reflects on SHINee and you will think twice before you reblog it or make such a post yourself, just as I will too.

As for myself, from now on, I am going to love OT5 and SHINee even harder by buying OT5 merchandise, supporting OT5 in each and every one of their endeavors, making a new gifset or love post, working on one of my many wips, or reblogging even more SHINee/OT5 posts than I usually would and I hope you, Shawol, will consider doing the same.