yeah i'm inclined to agree! i also kind of feel like the line between 'bbangiz' and 'maettael' fans is quite thin, a Lot of bbangiz fans are rps to some extent even if they don't actually say it publicly. that and maettael are also just a very easy-casual side ship, if that makes sense? one of my dear oomfs kind of observed that a lot of "maettael fujos" are creators who work rather slowly (and i get that because... Yeah That's Me!). or they're multishippers more vocal about other ships ofc!

but yeah, silent but present sounds about right, though i'm pleasantly surprised with the engagement on that tweet LOL. maettael are suuuch a good and fun and juicy dynamic and i also find myself confused sometimes about why they're not more popular because they're just That Great. then again i'm biased lol but objectively speaking let's look at the material... and like i won't lie, i think a little more noise (in fancontent or overall conversation) wooould be nice sometimes! plus i'd like to say we're a nice and welcoming community. THOUGH at the same time i don't really mind things being how they are now because things are chill and we're all here to have fun and it's not a competition + i've seen a fair amount of infighting with more popular ships that we simply don't have to deal with (aside from the few individuals trying to constantly bait out negativity/start discourse/etc anonymously, but those usually are other ship fans with their own agendas i guess). so yeah!! another maettael boom for 2025 would be sickkkk though...... one can dream...