i'm a giant shane lover... but recently i've seen a LOT of hate on him. i don't want to fight, truthfully, but the hate he receives seems hypocritical and often narrow sighted... so let me try to explain why i personally love him!!
"savior complex" vs genuine hope
a lot of people say that the shane community is toxic and has a really problematic savior complex—a desire to be the hero in somebody's story to build a toxic relationship. now, while i do understand this, i personally do not have this fascination with shane. as someone who has struggled with addiction as well, i genuinely feel shane's story deeply. i know what being in the trenches can feel like, and if i can shed light on someone who is enduring similar, i will!! now, most people think this means complete recovery... but shane has been through a lot and addiction isn't something that easily goes away. me personally, i'm not entirely clean either, so even though shane says he'll attempt to be better and still fails a bit, he's trying. his addiction is certainly better than it was in the beginning of the game.
a lot of people think that shane's initial aggression is a turn off... most of these people are also haley fans, which is insanely hypocritical in my eyes. shane probably showed aggression towards the player because he was nervous of letting people get too close... meanwhile haley was just a bitch 🥹 shane is most likely aggressive when the player is trying to get close to him because of previous experiences, which is OKAY!! he's literally just like haley in that regard... but people love haley because she's conventionally attractive
regression vs convalescence
i'm really exhausted of people saying that shane's recovery is too slow or that he doesn't quit alcohol... but i don't think people realize just how hard his addiction might be. again, i'm not trying to excuse it, but he's been addicted and dependent for years... breaking that cycle cold turkey is not easy or realistic. he still drinks alcohol, but it's quite obvious in his behaviour that he isn't doing it solely to find escape anymore. now, to be honest, i'm not gonna sit here and say i don't get pissed off when he says "i'm gonna have a few beers before heading to bed" because i do! but it's also important to keep in mind that these habits are ingrained in his routine, and breaking free from them require a LOT of motivation and effort. again, i'm not excusing it, i'm just trying to put things into perspective.
okay... this is such a pissy ass issue yall have 😭 "his room is dirty" "his room is gross" "easily the worst room!" heaven forbid a guy has a dirty room holy shit it's stupid because they probably have dirty rooms too!! "shane has time to clean!" omg you actually don't get it... so what if his room is dirty? have you met anyone with a few mental health problems with a spotless room? there are haters who will literally hate on anything. in my humble opinion, if you don't like his room, that's totally okay! but to use it as an argument as to why you hate him is absurd and honestly lame... it shows you have no care for the person and only care about the outer shell. he likes his room, it's his little space, i don't care how it looks as long as he's happy and content in it!
anyways, if you feel like you're being shunned or laughed at for having an affection for shane, please ignore it. most people who dislike shane are pushing their own insecurities and problems onto you. shane is a perfectly acceptable NPC to want to know better! don't forget to water your crops...
