#missing Taemin a lot

[ohmuqueen]

뮤직뱅크 Music Bank in chile 최면(Hypnosis) - 태민 (Taemin) 20180411

[herewegobebe]

 ♥ ♡∞:｡.｡Adorable｡.｡:∞♡ ♥

[oldshinee]

happy birthday taemin !<3

[cosmojjong]

i cannot wait to see taemin on stage again

[sanstropfremir]

opinions on shinee girls girls girls performance? the one in bathrobes? its so good they really amp up their performances and make it feel like youre watching a musical..... no matter how dumb the song is 😭😭

good fun all around! shinee is historically very good at doing a lot of different types of performances during their concerts, so it's pretty typical for them to do something that feels more like a musical performance. and it feels like a musical bc the choreography is pretty closely matched to the lyrics and very literal; most musical choreography has an element of prescriptivity to it. because the lyrics/libretto of a musical often have the characters singing about what they're physically doing, it translates into the choreography as well. this literalism isn't the most common in forms that focus on one element of performance, like a dancer choosing and choreographing to a song, as they're more likely to take a general idea from the lyrics or pay more attention to interpreting the music itself. and kpop skews much more towards this form, since a lot of kpop songs are not usually written specifically for this type of narrative performance. choreography is obviously made for specific songs and groups, but that narrative element doesn't usually appear because kpop sort of like......reinvented musical performance, but backwards? most types of performance got started FROM the narrative element first, and then various elements like acting, music, and dance were slowly added until we reached musical theatre/opera (in western theatre history) which are generally regarded as the 'pinnacle' performance forms. well, opera is at least, see: wagner. but since that point, it's become common practice to separate out those forms again, and to regard those separated forms as the 'pinnacles' of their achievements (wrong), thanks to postmodern academic art theorists and the artist monolith myth (yes i will talk about this again, you can't stop me). music has always has a performance element, but in terms of pop music, that performance is usually layered back on top after the music has been completed, and usually without a definitive narrative. kpop took that form that western pop started, added a much more significant dance component, and THEN started layering 'narrative' (lore) overtop it finally, in a funny kind of inverse.

i got a bit off track with that, but it's usually more common to see these types of perfomances done by groups that have a 'less serious' image, because it's much easier to do them tongue in cheek/for comedic purposes. it's also easier to do them as concert specific or bside performances, bc having them be performed constantly all the time like in a promo period tends to wear out the charm for people that are seeing it all the time. very, very few people ever see the entire run of a musical, after all. there hasn't been too many performances like this from fourth gen groups (or even third gen ones for that matter), but last year there was blitzers' hop in, which imo has the same stupid boy (complimentary) energy of the girls girls girls perf. also it's quite literally framed as a musical performance lol.

[katrinawritesthings]

Jonghyun/Taemin; the dream tbh (part 2); PG

sometimes you know you just want to be the equivalent of a hamster to a nice fairy so you don't have to deal with capitalism or oppression or anything but then you're still sad sometimes [part 1]

“Wuh,” Taemin says blankly. “For real?” he asks. He knows that in the fae world everything is magic and reality-bending and time-warping and everything, but a portal to another dimension where he won't exist? Sounds fake.

“Yeah!” Jonghyun says brightly. “You go up to them and tell them what you want and then they make you a little pocket dimension just for it.

Sometimes Taemin feels like it's a part of his brain’s code to just hate him for no reason. He turns over on the couch, nestling his face into Jonghyun’s tummy and sighing slowly. He's warm and comfortable and cozy and sleepy, full of good food and validation, safe and content and without any responsibilities. Jonghyun bundles him up and pets him and coos at him and lets him exist the way that he wants to.

Gwi indulges him in all of his weird kinks and lets him fuck as much as he wants. Minho lets him follow fae around the garden and touch all of the plants and nap under the flowers. Jinki chills with him and gets him medicines and fancy fairy potions to calm his joints and his tendons down so his fingers and hands don't hurt all the time and he can relax. He's been able to dance whenever he wants and figure out how to make all of the yummy food that he wants and write all of the songs that he wants without feeling pressured to let anyone actually listen to them and he's even been able to start stretching and be even more flexible than when he was in high school, something that he always thought was just a distant dream.

He hasn't had a panic attack since he was in the human world. He hasn't felt stressed or burnt out or overwhelmed or scared about his survival since he crossed over into the fae world and started living in this house. He hasn't even thought about capitalism or how he was burdening society by existing as a disabled sad gremlin much at all since he came here, except in passing. He hasn't experienced one iota of racism or queerphobia or ableism or any of the other bullshit that he used to have to deal with on a constant basis. His life now is nice and calm and content and fun and soothing and lovely, especially right now, at this exact moment, with Jonghyun’s hand petting slowly through his hair, and yet. He still.

“Jonghyun?” he mumbles into Jonghyun’s warm sweater.

“Yes, sweet honey?” Jonghyun asks, their voice a sweet little smile as always when Taemin is with them. Taemin sighs again, not sure what he really wants to ask, and even if he really wants to ask it.

“Do you ever. Feel like. You don't,” he mumbles, and then shakes his head. It's not a good question. It's not something that he should say to the person and that's done so much for him for so long. Jonghyun’s hand pets his head, slides down to his neck, his shoulder, his side, warm and firm and soothing, their other hand gently thumbing over the shell of his ear, the line of his jaw. A wave of comfort and security and safety washes over him; Jonghyun’s soothing magic that they get from the mermaid side of their family.

“Sure you don't want to tell me, pretty cutie?” they ask. Taemin mumbles nothing in particular in the back of his throat, and then takes a deep breath, feeling Jonghyun’s magic pull up confidence from somewhere inside of him. Jonghyun would want to know and would want to help him.

“Do you ever—” he starts again, and then falters. He still not sure exactly what it is that he wants to ask. “It's just that. I always thought it would be easier. To deal with. Stuff. If I could just get away from it. But.” he shrugs his shoulders, lifts one arm to gesture vaguely behind him to mean his old life in the human world. “I'm here and it's good,” he says slowly, “but it's still just. So much. To be here. And.” he takes another deep breath, hands twisting in the sleeves of his own big warm sweater. It's so much to be here on this plane of existence as a living being and he's so tired of it and he just wants to not have to deal with it.

“Do you ever just not want to exist? For a little bit? Sometimes?” he asks. “For a lot of bit,” he adds in a mumble. “Like, just—”

“Oh, all the time,” Jonghyun says easily. He pats Taemin’s hip affectionately at the same time, like it's super casual and no big deal. Taemin turns his head just enough to peep up at him, confused. Jonghyun smiles pleasantly back at him. “I told you, pretty, remember, about my fucky depression brain,” they say, tapping their own temple. “I know it's hard to exist, honey.” Their smile falters a little bit into almost a pout. “I wish I'd known you felt the same way too,” they mumble. “I would have told you about the null chamber forever ago.”

“The—what?” Taemin says. Now he's even more confused, but in a more general way this time. Jonghyun’s little smile returns and they pick up one of Taemin’s hands to hold.

“The null chamber,” he repeats. “It's this service that we can go to where they—”

“Hey—I feel like—” Both of them look up at Jinki’s voice, looking at him where he is lumped under his usual mountain of blankies on the recliner next to the couch. He's frowning a little at Jonghyun under his sunset pink hair. “I feel like you shouldn't tell him about it?” he says uncertainly. “Like, it's a little intense for, you know, a mortal?”

“What?” Jonghyun asks, baffled. “It’s just another dimension,” they say. “Technically the fae world is already a different dimension than the human world and he's fine with that.”

“I meant about the time,” Jinki says, still frowning. Jonghyun looks even more confused than before, eyebrows all scrunched together in the middle as they squint at Jinki.

“You know I don't do the time thing,” they say. Jinki squints back, mouth open, for a few seconds, before his eyes widen and he gasps loudly.

“Oh, right, fuck I forgot,” he says. He shakes his head with a sheepish little smile and readjusts his blankies better under his chin. “Never mind, then,” he says. “You can tell him about it.”

“About what?” Taemin pouts, papping one sleeve covered hand against Jonghyun’s tummy.

“Oh,” Jonghyun says, looking down. “Sorry, lovely bunny,” they say. They lean down to press a little smoochy to Taemin’s hair. “It's a service where we can go and they create a safe little pocket dimension where you can just not exist and then come back out whenever you feel like it.”

“Wuh,” Taemin says blankly. “For real?” he asks. He knows that in the fae world everything is magic and reality-bending and time-warping and everything, but a portal to another dimension where he won't exist? Sounds fake.

“Yeah!” Jonghyun says brightly. “You go up to them and tell them what you want and then they make you a little pocket dimension just for it. It's real customizable, too.” they play with Taemin’s hand, gently pushing his fingers up to brush his lips up against the pad of each one. They must be able to tell that Taemin is confused again, because they smile again and go on. “You can say for how long you want to be in there and whether or not you want to physically age and if you want real time to pass and if there are certain people that you want to be able to call you out for like emergencies or anything...”

“Hmm,” Taemin hums. Hmm. This sounds like a lot. He can just. Not exist if he wants to. And then still be fine and come back after? What the fuck.

“We can go right now, if you want,” Jonghyun offers.

“Like— right now right now?” Taemin asks, startled. Like right now right now right now? That's so sudden, but Jonghyun nods all the same, humming out a little mmhmm! with a pleasant smile. Taemin curls up into an even smaller ball than he was before. He doesn't think he wants to. Not right now right now. He still doesn't really want to exist right now but the concept of actually not existing anymore, even with Jonghyun’s reassurance that it would be safe, is actually kind of scary to him. Shaking his head, he buries his face back into Jonghyun’s tummy.

“Nnnn,” he mumbles. With Jonghyun tsking softly and making soothing noises in their throat, petting his hair again, Taemin adds, “maybe another time.” Maybe another time when he is more familiar with and comfortable with that idea. For now, he presses close to Jonghyun’s warmth and comfort, slipping his arms around their waist to hold them tight. “Can you do your anxiety soothing thing?” he asks quietly. He's not panicking or anything, just. Uncomfortable. And he doesn't want to be.

“Of course, sweet honey,” Jonghyun says. Soon after, Taemin feels the familiar waves of calm and contentment wash gently over him. Also familiar are the fingers that Jonghyun sifts through his hair, scratches at the base of his skull, rubs behind his ears and down on the curve of his neck. He breathes slowly, letting Jonghyun’s magic soothe and relax him. It's always so nice to be put under their spells like this. So nice and comfy and sleepy. Taemin yawns into Jonghyun’s sweater. “Are you hungry, pretty sweetie?” Jonghyun asks him, thumb rubbing over his cheek.

“Mmm,” Taemin says. “Not right now. Can you lie down?” he asks. He's not hungry, but he wants to nap. He always wants to nap with Jonghyun. Jonghyun says more affirming words with a smile in their voice and gently pushes Taemin up so they can start wiggling into a better position. Soon Taemin is between their legs, head resting on their tummy and arms around their waist. Jonghyun pulls Taemin’s blankie up to his shoulders, then rubs them and trails their hands up his neck and back into his hair.

Taemin dozes off like that, Jonghyun warm under him and on top of him and with their words fluffy and soft in his ears, comforted and with the reassuring thought that if when he wakes up next, or tomorrow, if he still doesn't want to exist, then Jonghyun will help him cope with it, just like they do for everything else.

[fyeahjinki]

(210718) 💭♡

08:13 kst - good morning my jjinggus!

08:13 kst - today is taemin's birthday!

[...]

08:15 kst - but you're already celebrating!! euhaha i wonder if i'm late... hmm...

08:16 kst - 🐰 talked about dreams for awhile, he said he doesn't dream but he likes to hear others' dreams. jjinggus sent their dreams in response & he said they sounded like really fun dreams!!

08:24 kst - he talked about how dreams aren't like "images" for him (?), he also said it's so cool that some people have dreams inside their dreams and that they're even asleep in their dreams ㅋㅋㅋ

08:34 kst - he says he loves it a lot that there's so much to see in 'sea of hope' & that he hopes we have a good day!! he says he likes us a lot & thanks us all the time ㅠㅠ💕

[taerrorize]

Only 60 more weekends until taemin is back

[honeykpop]

i generally think its pointless to be like oh this song or that song doesn’t get enough love or x song is underrated or whatever because i know everyone has different tastes not everything is going to appeal to everyone

but taemin’s pansy is genuinely one of his most beautiful and touching and meaningful songs it is gorgeous it makes me emotional every time i listen to it but i don’t see nearly enough praise for it when I would consider it one of his best songs

[pakuchibake]

i love that technically superstar is taemin’s last mv until he gets back. what a great way of scheduling things :) like we got the dark symbolic intense side with advice but the bright playful won’t shut up about how much he loves SHINee side is just as important and he looks so happy!!

[ohmuqueen]

So I didn’t do this intentionally but I am only now just watching the 13th anniversary vlive and I’m glad I waited (although I didn’t want to wait this long!) bc it feels like Taemin is here since I saved seeing him on Shinee’s anniversary till the one year anniversary of his enlistment 💜

[herewegobebe]

I’m so soft for him 🥺😭💕

[jjongslight]

Okay Idea feels like the precursor to Advice idk how to put it really but in terms of general sound, mixing, intensity and storytelling they kinda feel like a duology

And then if i go back a bit further Holy Water is their ancestor

Am i making sense??

Hm. I don't know about the sound and mixing (I really have a problem with the mixing of IDEA towards the end of the song, the arrangement they added in the lives should've been the official audio, but I digress). But yes, they’re both very intense!!

I totally see where you are coming from with how they can be taken together as a two-parter. If with IDEA he's confronting and rearranging the dualities, pre-conceived notions and shadows that are within him to free himself and become his own ''IDEA'' then with Advice he is presenting that fully formed ''IDEA'' and telling the world that no matter what they have to say about it, this creation of himself will keep being shaped, molded and perfected by him only and on his terms.

He is the sculptor of his own statue, he is the creator of his own silhouette, he is the owner of his own identity. The possibilities are infinite if he is in control of his own narrative. He can be the one to save himself from whatever kept him captive before and prevented him from free expression. So yeah IDEA does seem to create a trail to Advice.

That's why I don't get people who are shocked by Advice when he's been bringing us all one step at a time towards it.

About Holy Water, which tbh, I think I had never heard before (that's the issue with me hyperfixating, I neglect stuff and never come back to them), but I see what you're talking about and it just makes me go back to Taemin's overarching theme of trying to find salvation from his inner turmoil. And it seems like in this song and others, he would try to look for it outside of himself, in something bigger than himself, but in his most recent releases, his quest for salvation seems to have turned inwards. He has decided to become his own messiah, to find his own sense of self and to ultimately find - freedom and peace.

[jinkis]

MY ALBUMS FINALLY ARRIVED AND LOOK WHO I PULLED

[sanstropfremir]

Was reading your kpop tags and what stuck out to me is that looking into kpop as dance first medium is incorrect(?) The permanent staff is musicians and most of idols are singers, actors, models, entertainers first and only minority are in for dance. Also important to note that it probably is the most theoretically lucrative career for a dancer (if you get lucky), but does not really leave time for dancing itself which must be frustrating. So are you into kpop for dance or the whole package?

oh personally i don't think about dance that much unless i'm specifically looking at it. i talk a lot about dance here because people ask me questions about it and i have the experience to be able to offer insight, but i pay way more attention to things like the production design and styling and like, song vibes when i'm just looking at stuff for fun. obvs i like it when a choreo is good and a bad choreo will absolutely turn me off a performance, but fundamentally kpop is about spectacle, and dance is only one piece of that puzzle. just like with rap, idols are never going to be at the forefront of pushing artistic growth in dance as an art form and that's perfectly fine, that's not the reason these elements are a part of the form as a whole. i specifically talk about the differences between kpop/dance to emphasis that it is different and we (fans, the industry itself) shouldn't be trying to push kpop to be something that it just isn't. frankly, i think there should be a lot less emphasis on dance difficulty because the current trend is compromising both vocal training AND performance as a whole. the closest analogue to kpop is musical theatre and you don't see people having twitter fights over how musical theatre actors should be compared with professional dancers. i'm not interested in kpop as a dance forward medium, i'm interested in it as a performance forward medium, and that includes all the parts. i did go to theatre school after all.

[shineesltm]

do i show up here every other week just to yell about how much i miss exo and baekhyun and shinee and taemin?

maybe, yeah, definitely.