#it's better translated as brat and can actually be affectionate at times

[peridot-tears]

Quick addition on the Chinese cultural take: A lot of the things Jiang Cheng says to Jin Ling that white Americans read as "verbal abuse" are normal things that my parents say to me as well. (I literally need a moment in CQL when Jiang Cheng says to Jin Ling in the Burial Moments, "你小兔崽子，给我回来！" because jeeeeeez, that's how my mom talks to me and that's how I talk to my dog. I'm Chinese as well, with parents coming from the mainland. I found that a lot of our families tend to be more verbally direct or "harsh." My grandmother's first instinct, when chiding my grandfather for a mild inconvenience or fumble, is to curse him the hell out. (“你这王八蛋” etc.) I didn't like it as a kid and I don't like it now, but they're in their 90s and just chortle it off. And I know for a fact that this is normal in China and the diaspora. (Not everyone, mind, but it's common enough that when I share it with people from different regions, they're like, "Oh yeah, that's a thing.") I personally suspect that my grandparents have such a barbed tongue because they grew up during the war. My mother, while she doesn't do it as harshly as my grandmother, does the same thing. All this to say that while I'm not in MXTX's head, she's a millennial Chinese woman just like a lot of us. Meaning she's probably seen the same thing. And it reflects in MDZS -- your parents grew up in a horrific war/post-war era? Check. Now you're living in peacetime, and they're not as harsh as your grandparents? Check. But they still have a barbed tongue when they speak with you? Check. Just my little side commentary. The rest of your talk is more well-sourced than my master's thesis, so carry on.

haterisms beneath the cut

this hater poll brought to you by....a series of Bad Mcfucking Takes i had to read with my own eyeballs. seriously did we read the same book or not.

explanations:

"jiang cheng killed wei wuxian": jiang cheng did not kill wei wuxian in any version of the story. in mdzs wei wuxian died from backlash and in cql wei wuxin chose to let go of lan wangji after jiang cheng stabbed the cliff face. you can argue till the cows come home about how responsible jiang cheng is for wei wuxian's demise, but "jiang cheng killed wei wuxian" is just factually incorrect.

"jiang cheng abuses jin ling": jiang cheng does not abuse jin ling. first, the narration goes out of its way to establish that jiang cheng does not hit jin ling, specifically in a setting where hitting children is normalized and expected. in fact, wei wuxian says that jin ling is bratty specifically because he's never been hit. second, jin ling is also clearly comfortable talking back to jiang cheng and needling him in a way jiang cheng definitely was not with his own parents. even when jiang cheng is actively losing it when he captures wei wuxian in qinghe, jin ling remains completely unruffled - which speaks to how much jin ling takes for granted that he is safe with jiang cheng.

"jiang cheng could have easily helped the wen remnants, he just didn't": antis love to act like yunmeng jiang could have easily taken in the wemnants and jiang cheng simply chose not to because he was a hater/super jelly/various synonyms for ontologically evil. which is not the fucking case. learn to read. yunmeng jiang's own position post sunshot was very weak - they were a great sect in name only and were excluded from the alliance tying the three other great sects together - and jiang cheng could not politically afford to protect wei wuxian after wei wuxian alienated lanling jin. that's why jiang cheng says "if you insist on doing this, i can't protect you," and why wei wuxian then tells jiang cheng to let him go. because they both understand this. come on

"jiang cheng forced jiang yanli to marry jin zixuan": jiang yanli as a character makes so many sacrifices for her family and her brothers. her relationship with zixuan is like the one thing she chooses for herself. she loves him!! the tragedy in wei wuxian killing jin zixuan is that yanli genuinely loved zixuan!! ngl i think antis argue this purely to try to exonerate wei wuxian: if jiang yanli didn't love jin zixuan then wei wuxian donutting him isn't a problem anymore, apparently. this is the result of people thinking of jiang yanli as purely a thing for wei wuxian, rather than a human being in her own right.

"jiang cheng should have protected wei wuxian from yu ziyuan": this one is annoying because jiang cheng was also a child. when a child is abused, it is the fault of the abuser, not the fault of another child who is also subject to the whims of the abuser. come on.

[pokemon-ash-aus]

I absolutely ADORE your Teacher Assistant!au, do you have anymore art or hc's for it?

I dooo!!! God what did i write last time? I dint remember so here's a lil baby Eevee eventually evolving!!

Headcanons:

-Ash's Aura isnt something he can turn off EXCEPT when he's under extreme stress or duress that he can't handle. It's akin to a Sensory Overload for him, everything gets muted and it feels like he looses his ability to hear and see even though its still there.

- Pikachu is crazy expierenced and strong, he doesnt tell the Newbies that he's beat up legendaries because he wants them to see him as the fun- if slightly crazy- friend and partner!

- Ash actually has a lot of Eggs back at the farm because of his pokemon either, a) Populating or b)finding eggs at random.

-Because screw Gender evo's. Gender Specific pokemon have a branched evo that is either Nonbinary or including a Male line. The primary account being Bounsweet!

- Ash's Pokemon all know (at least) one move out of their Species normal repitoire. Bukbasaur with Dig and Gust, Charizard with all 3 Elemental Punches, Squirtle with Dragon Pulse. They're not overly good with it, its a lot of testing and mostly used as a last minute resort wih lots of build up.

-The kids recognize that Ash isnt that much older than them and they know he's barely considered their senior but they cant help but admire how he acts and talks and the stories and lessons he can teach. Its better when Ash fully admits he doesnt understand something and asks them questions about it, it makes them feel like he truly sees them as friends (he does)

-There's another student joining in that has yet to be seen (But they are a canon character) mostly for an even amount of students.

- Ash and Lusamine have major beef with eachother. Its hatred on first sight. They do not become friends, they don't become buddy buddy, Ash barely tolerates her and even that drops when she's good and grants the students Ultra Guardian status. *They're CHILDREN Lusamine!*

- Ash is very touch affectionate with his students. Pats of affirmation, small side hugs, shoulder nudging etc. He's not onto full on hugs of comfort, that gives him the heeby jeebies but its still more affection than most of the students are used to.

- Dont be fooled Ash may be expierenced and has stories to boot, But he's still an idiot. "That's an Oxymoron!" "Dont call the strategy a moron, they cant defend themselves!"

- Ash typically defaults to it for Pokemon until he knows them personally. He's especially vicious with correcting older folk on pronouns just to piss them off, most pokemon dont really care but at times its a sweet gesture, especially if the folks are particularly nasty.

- Ash has met Viren before and vice versa. It was a brief meeting on a boat and both of them left extremely bitter about it. Ash comoletely forgot about Viren but Viren remenbers Ash as that "15 year old Brat!" its extremely funny to have a one sided hatred when the other party barely remenbers you

- Ash is bad at matching names to faces, but its not malicious. If you dont see him everyday, he's bound to forget

- Ash and his pokemon speak a lot of languages, but only he and Pikachu can really read, and even then its still trial and error. He has a lot of moments of pausing and trying to translate on slower days.

- Pikachu has trained to be able to feel aura and see like his partner. Its no where near as strong as Ash's and it drains him fast, but he wants to know what Ash sees and feels.

That's all i got for now :D

[tokusaatsus]

SURPRISE PARTIES

ft. oukawa kohaku

© tokusaatsus 2022

warnings: mild mentions of weapons, references to kohaku’s backstory, cursing

Crazy:B is just getting back from a hard day of practice, practice and more practice when they notice a human curled on the doorstep of their apartment.

By which I mean, the apartment that legally belongs to Niki and is currently being invaded by the usual amount of three-to-four freeloaders.

Curled up next to the welcome mat and fast asleep, hands wrapped around your knees, lies none other than you. One L/N Y/N, aka what Rinne means when he says ‘brat (affectionate)’, Niki’s sous-chef, ⅓ of the reason for HiMERU’s rising blood pressure, and the honorary fifth bee. The other four bees stop to stare at you blankly, before HiMERU breaks the silence. “Are they dead?”

Kohaku crouches down to poke your cheek, and you shift with a muttered complaint. “Nah. Jus’ asleep. Hey,” He shakes you. “Hey. Hey. HEY!”

You wake up with your fists flying, and nearly clip Kohaku on the cheek (you actually do manage to hit Rinne-senpai in the shin, but you ignore his grunt of pain and low swears in favour of focusing on what you deem more important). “Uweh! ‘M up, I’m up… Oh,” You blink slowly at Kohaku, who blinks back just as slowly. “You’re here.”

“Yeah, o’ course I’m here. This is Niki-han’s apartment.”

You rub at your eyes, voice heavy from sleep. The older three begin to file into the apartment–though still within listening distance, you assume. “That’s good… Hey, you aren’t too tired, right?”

“Not really… Why?” Kohaku’s instantly suspicious. “I can still fight like this, yanno?”

You look at him with a deadpan expression. You file that away for later examination. Whatever. Not thinking about it. “...‘Kay. Are you free to go to a store with me?”

Kohaku raises an eyebrow. You rarely ever ask him to hang out alone. Something about there being more competition for attention, especially considering you ain’t a real bee, blah blah blah. Privately, Kohaku doesn’t think you’ll ever have to worry about that, because he’s never seen the other bees dote on someone who isn’t one of their own. He’s speaking from experience here. “...Sure. What’s the occasion?”

“No reason,” You shrug. “Just felt like it.” You stand up with a bone-cracking stretch. Then, speaking at a volume that really isn’t necessary, you continue. “Well, me and Kohakkun”–you ignore his grumbled protests at the nickname–“will be at that idol store down the street! We’ll probably be gone for an hour-ish! We’re leaving now! Bye-bye!”

You grab Kohaku’s hand and begin running down the hallways. He goes limp and lets himself be dragged along, knowing that resistance is futile.

When you dragged Kohaku to the idol store, he was expecting it to be something similar to his trips with Love-han.

To translate, he expected a lot of squealing and rambling and excited fan behaviour. You being you, however, instead decide to completely destroy his expectations. You stay firmly in the NewDi aisle of the shop, carefully browsing through the merch.

Your eyes alight on a little plushie of Madara-han in his MaM outfit, and Kohaku thinks, oh God, no.

You pick it up off the shelf with a slight smile. “Hey, what d’you think?” You wave the plushie under his nose, and Kohaku watches the mini Madara-han, with his mini cowboy hat. He has the irrational urge to punch it, and then give it a hug. It’s cute, he’ll admit, but he’d rather die than ever be caught with Madara-han merch–be it Double Face-style or just MaM-style.

The only thing worse than that, Kohaku considers, would be to be caught with Crazy:B merch. Then he sees your eyes wander to the CosPro section, settling on the Crazy:B plushies, and Kohaku decides it’s time to do damage control. 

Madara-han is way better than the bees in this scenario.

He begins steering you towards the cashier. “Yeah, I think the teeny Madara-han looks great. Real cool. Ya should get this one. Totally.”

You give him a wicked grin over your shoulder, but allow yourself to be pushed. You complete your purchase while Kohaku hovers at your side like a short, pink, guardian angel. ¥60, 000 for a single Madara-han?! Crazy… 

“Hm, I think that’s all…” You smile at him, the tiny Madara-han tucked into your pouch. “Safe to go back now, you think?”

Kohaku doesn’t protest your strange choice of words and trails silently after you, checking his DMs on his Whole Hands. Love-han wished him a happy birthday (with lots of emojis and sparkles, as he is wont to do), as did Madara-han… He pauses, stowing his phone in his pocket just outside Niki-han’s apartment. Something feels… different.

He hesitates. It’s quiet.

Then it hits him. It’s too quiet. The bees (Rinne-han specifically) can never shut up for longer than five seconds. But there’s no noise from the apartment. You turn to look at him with your hand on the doorknob. “Something wrong, Kohakkun?” He doesn’t protest the nickname this time, too busy trying to pinpoint any signs of impending attack.

“Lemme go first.”

You look at him quizzically, but step back to let him pass. Kohaku pushes open the door carefully. It’s dark. He holds out a hand, barring your movement. Keeping you behind him. Out of the line of fire.

The lights flick on.

There’s a multitude of loud noises (not unlike that of a gunshot).

Kohaku flinches, moving in front of you to shield you with his body, waiting for the expected attack.

It never comes.

“SURPRISE!”

Kohaku opens his eyes to see… the bees? All wearing party hats? Grinning wildly? What the hell…

There’re banners and streamers strung up around Niki-han’s apartment, and a table spread with delicious snacks and food lies in the center of the living room. A large cake, light pink with a fondant bee on it, takes pride of place on the table. A popping noise (not a gunshot, not a gunshot) sounds behind him and he turns to see you, blowing a sparkly pink…party…popper at him. “Wh–huh?”

You stick your tongue out at him playfully. “Happy birthday, Kohaku.”

notes!

WC: 1k words

reze txt happy birthday kohaku! we love you, our sweet cotton candy bee! may you keep learning and growing and loving <3

additional notes: longest b’day fic i’ve ever written (so far). i don’t produce the bees but as a cospro lvr im obligated to care them. a lil bit. also yes the madara plushie IS kohakkun’s b’day gift from y/n :3 finally, a psa: when throwing ur incredibly sheltered baby assassin unitmate-slash-friend a surprise party pls be sure to remove any potential triggers from the surrounding area or i guarantee u WILL get knifed :( this has been ur bimonthly psa from ur friendly neighbourhood anzu lvr <3 salutes

[11-mulkon-ki-police]

where your eyes linger

The song that reminded me the most of Where Your Eyes Linger was Between Us (헷갈리게) by CNBLUE. Like that song literally screamed gay angst and confusion and pining and yearning and just not knowing what to do, whether to start something or just end it before you get heartbroken. It's just *clenches fist* so poignant. Gawd.

Sooooooooo the lyrics go something like this

헷갈리게 뭔데 왜 이래

헷갈리게 자꾸 뭔데

내가 왜 이래

(this starting packs a punch where the question “You confuse me, what is this? You confuse me, what is this? Why am I being like this?” which basically constitutes the major portion WYEL: questioning and resisting. The song throws this song into the void and it hangs, with tension and no solution)

매일 아침 습관처럼 연락하고

끊어질 듯 말 듯한

답장에 답장을 해

사실 반은 기억도 안 나

(lit. translation: Talking to each other in the morning like it’s a habit, I reply to the reply that seem to be the last, actually, I don’t even remember half of it)

(other sites have it down as “I reach out to you every morning like it’s a habit” which makes sense here because THEY SLEEP ON THE SAME BED, GAWD, and we’re shown multiple shots of them reaching out to each other, not specifically in the morning, but still. And their communication is clipped and ambiguous, ready to be dissected by peeps like us who find homoerotic subtext every-damn-where.)

마치 우린 연애하던 사람들보다

서로를 잘 알았고

확실한 듯 확신한 듯

서로를 부르는 말도 있어

(now this verse right here is what makes me scream like a banshee while thinking about all the scenes in WYEL where Tae Joo and Kang Gook just look at each other lovingly while calling smiling or just having an intense stare moment. This verse literally translates to “more than those who are dating, we understood each other and as if we’re certain, we even have nicknames for each other”. For those who went to WYEL again and again, just to obsess and cry over that scene in the beginning where Tae Joo rubs his head on Kang Gook’s chest while whining, “darling, I don’t wanna go to England” and him calling Kang Gook “darling”, “oppa” and just plainly “Gook-a”, this verse hits right in the solar plexus. Coz that’s what they are, not dating yet understanding each other on a deeper level, being each other’s best friend/soulmate)

Umm 그냥 이 거리를 즐기는 걸까

장난보다는 너무 중요해 네가

이게 우리 둘의 끝일까 시작일까

(ANGST!!!!!! This translates to “are we just enjoying this distance? It’s more than playing around, you’re important to me. Is this our ending or the beginning?” aadjajhdkfdffjdkfgjf gawwwwdddddd. To think that these 2 spent 15 years together without getting any farther or closer, at a safe distance, enjoying each other’s company yet never getting too close to burn each other with their heat. Reminds me of when Kang Gook was actively hostile and aggressive and angsty when he was figuring out his feelings for Tae Joo, and his constant warnings to Tae Joo, “don’t provoke me, don’t do this” even as a joke. Because for Gook, Tae Joo matters and more than any joke or game. And let’s not even talk about how the last line of this verse hits close; is this the ending of their relationship as they know it, which is scary, or is this the beginning of something different, something better, which is equally frightening)

헷갈리게 뭔데 왜 이래

애매한 우리 온도가

헷갈리게 자꾸 뭔데

내가 왜 이래

애매한 우리 사이가

(aaaannnddddd we’re right back to the question that is the result of all these mixed feelings and emotions that these two experience. “it’s confusing – what’s going on? Our ambiguous/awkward temperature, why am I like this, our unclear relationship” which sums up TJ and KG perfectly!!!! They are going through a turbulent time, figuring out what they mean to each other, seeing each other in a new light, questioning themselves and their feelings for each other)

널 보면 숨 막혀

널 봐야 숨을 쉬어

어떻게 해야 돼

(MY FAV LINES FROM THIS SONG!!!!

“when I see you, my breath hitches/I can’t breath; only when I see you that I can breathe, what am I to do?” read these lines and tell me, TELL ME, they don’t remind you of TJ and KG. bring up all those scenes where KG just freezes when he looks at TJ, in various states of vulnerability)                                                    

우리 지금 뭔데

내가 왜 이래

답을 알 것 같은데

답을 말을 못해 지금 난

(“what are we right now? Why am I like this? I think I know the answer but I can’t say it right now” I . am . ded. This strongly reminds of that scene, where TJ has KG pinned down and he’s fuming coz KG is pretending not to notice what’s going on between them and it’s FRUSTRATING, and then he goes, “LET’S CONFIRM IT” akahsjhsjhfgdfjfgdgddasshghdgfdj oh my god.)

가끔 우린 대화 중에 자연스럽게

서로를 터치하고

묘한 눈빛 묘한 공기

속에서 우린 남겨졌어

(this.verse.right.here.killed.me. “sometimes when we talk, we naturally touch each other, the way you look at me/curious gaze, this odd atmosphere, we’re in this situation” this is how we see TJ and KG are with each other, all the time. TAE JOO’S EAR FLICK. They casually have skinship with each other, and slowly they’re becoming aware of how curious, how exquisite their gazes are.)

Umm 더 뜨겁게 너를 느끼고 싶다

뜨거워져도 감당할 수 있을까

이게 우리 둘의 끝일까 시작일까

(“I want to feel you more passionately, but will I be able to handle it?”

let’s just leave this here like this)

Girl boy you got me

Seeing double

Don't know why

You're so much trouble

날 쥐고 흔들어 더

그런 너라도 좋으니까

(this is definitely how KG feels about TJ. “you hold me and leave me shaken, I still like you though” even though TJ acts like a brat, KG has this affectionate look in his eyes, WHICH MELTS ME INTO A PUDDLE OF UWU)

답을 알 것 같은데

답을 말을 못해 지금 난

답을 알 것 같은데

답을 말을 못해 지금 난

(the song ends on an ambiguous note, “I thing I know the answer but I can’t say it right now” and trust me, I imagine the last episode just after this line, when they finally fall into each other’s arms, their feelings finally on the same wavelength)

(I’m gonna go rewatch it and crie all over again)

[terramythos]

Notes from my October Daye reread, #7 Chimes At Midnight. Or, "don't eat evil pie if you're planning to overthrow the government". Advanced spoilers, please read the books, etc. 

Reminder right off the bat that sweet fashion disaster May used to be an eldritch horror of the night???

-the month name in her case seems to be a coincidence? (But like. How could a name like May Daye be a coincidence. Come the fuck on.)

-Goblin fruit is super yikes. Super addictive drug that inevitably leads to death?

- Tybalt and Toby domestic shit hell yeah

Tybalt: arrested for being horny on main

- Toby: let's visit the Queen, who demonstrably hates me, about the goblin fruit problem. What could possibly go wrong (spoiler: a whole lot)

-"i may be a composite of multiple dead people, but I'm not stupid" May is nonbinary, pass the fucking tea

-The Gang Overthrows the Queen

Quentin is such a good kid! Fuck!

-I just... love the characters and how they've developed over the series. Quentin is great, Tybalt is great, The Luidaeg is great... October has changed into a more open and less depressed person. It's great! I mean, everything goes to shit over the next 2 books, but we've come so far!

-Quentin getting extremely upset that The High King didn't notice the Queen didn't have a legitimate claim to the throne? Haha. Haha. *takes another shot*

-Quentin: we could just like... TELL the High King that shes not a legitimate ruler. Like we literally could just call him up and say--

Toby: he would probably kill us and how would we do that anyway

Quentin: *silently screaming*

Have I mentioned I LOVE the Luidaeg? Shes such a great character.

-the implication that tybalt's archaic speech is at least partially just to fuck with Toby is so fuckign funny god they're so cute

GOD...

-Quentin not quite bowing to Arden, or at least not as formally as the others. That's foreshadowing. God damn it.

- The Undersea: is relevant

Me: wow I knew we introduced all that lore 2 books ago for a reason

- "Princesses aren't exciting. I've met Princesses." I am so glad I am not ACTUALLY drinking every time Quentin's identity is foreshadowed, because this book alone would have killed me by now.

- everything: goes to shit

Me: ah, there it is

- Toby becoming instantly addicted to goblin fruit and forgetting 2 of the most important people in her life has me at a severe oof. :(

- fucking props to seanan for making pie legitimately threatening.

- October Daye patch 7.1 notes: due to balance concerns, toby has been shifted back to more human.

Gameplay effects: hair is brown again. blood magic effects and self-healing have been reduced by 75%. Iron resistance increased 75%.

-Theres a line about how Tybalt should have known better than to believe anything could have gone right for very long and. Yikes in context. Yikes with knowing Tybalt's backstory.

- fun lore with the Luidaeg offering to turn Toby into a Selkie to save her from impending death. Being like... technically the Selkie Firstborn. And how much doing that would actually cost. It's certainly something to file away for later because I don't imagine we would introduce a concept like that and then abandon it...

-SUDDEN HEAVY SETUP FOR BOOK 8 STUFF. SUDDEN BOOK 1 BEING RELEVANT. Why did Evening, some random noble, have a fucking ancient powerful artifact just kinda... randomly in her possession? INDEED.

- toby: Why does the name Eira Rosenhwyr sound so familiar?

Mags: Oh she's a Firstborn

Toby: Right, that definitely explains it one hundred percent. Time to not think about it at all ever again.

- TOBY I'm aware you're kind of out of your mind right now but surely you can see the aesthetic similarity between EIRA ROSENHWYR and EVENING WINTERROSE. Ajdjenskkelbsbd

- I fucking googled it and Eira Rosenhwyr translates roughly to "Snow Rose Evening" lmfao

- Mags, continuing exposition: yeah she always had this Snow White thing where like she never stayed dead for long

Me, considering book 1's central conflict and how Evening was described multiple times as Snow White: 🙃

- I really appreciate the fact that whenever Walther shows up in a book he pretty much saves the day in a major way just by making like. A potion

- toby: magic is weird. Candy made from my blood that temporarily curbs the effects of addiction? Right

Walther: you're dating a cat

-I forgot we learn The Luidaeg's actual name in this one???? "Yeah I'm Antigone what up"

-OH THATS WHERE THE "ANNIE" PSEUDONYM COMES FROM. God damn it.

-God I love Danny and his godawful expletives "Oberon's scrotum". God

- I haven't mentioned it too much but there are soooooo many good tybalt and toby moments. They have such a good and loving relationship. Boy I die

-there's a bit where Toby consumes some of the Luidaeg's blood for Reasons and gets a brief Luidaeg-POV flashback.. which shows the Luidaeg protesting Amandine abusing Toby as a kid. So even though they don't really meet until book 1, it puts her first unofficial appearance in a new context. Just some all powerful ancient sea witch checkin up on her niece at Safeway, y'know

- god the first Cu Sidhe shows up in this one and he just looks like a glam rocker who's also sort of a dog. Jesus christ

- they just act like dogs too and it is so funny. Fucking zero attention span, super excited and happy at being told they did a good job.

- arden: there's no way you're amandine's kid. She would never sleep with a human. Her husband would be pissed

Toby: ??? My mom isn't married?

(Oh boy that's gonna be a fun one)

AND, AFTER SIX AND A HALF BOOKS OF SOLID FORESHADOWING:

We get the Quentin reveal. The alcohol poisoning ceases.

-There's some real good irony in like. THE Crown Prince getting apprenticed to Toby, who is a member of Faerie's biggest underclass. And they become fucking BFFs over the course of the series. That's some good shit

👌👌👌some GOOD👌 shit right there

-God just going back there are SO many hints. I noted a lot of them on this series reread but some of my favorites are the real subtle ones. Like Quentin in book 2 being inexplicably amused when Toby orders him to do something.

- Like?? She makes the kid do chores. She's almost gotten him killed like half a dozen times. That's just some... premium good shit.

Well the book sums up that revelation pretty well lmao

- Did... did Arden just imply Toby's mom caused the 1906 San Francisco earthquake...? That is certainly something I either missed or forgot. How is that like even a thing

- The night haunts are cool as shit and I'm glad they're showing up as bigger players. And now we have setup for Toby owing them a favor. Delightful.

ME SIPPING THAT LUIDAEG LORE JUICE

- October Daye patch 7.1.8 notes: oh god we fucked up we fucked up changes reverted

-Blood magic CPR? Canon. Then again I'm pretty sure Toby was established using blood magic to resurrect someone in book 2. So. Book 2 is still relevant

God I'm such a sucker for this angsty shit. And of course this would be Tybalt's solution, considering his backstory. God. Fuck

-I like how they went from enemies to like ridiculously sweet and affectionate lovers.. but it's not 100% perfect, they still have arguments and disagreements. But it all comes down to them caring about each other. That's some good shit right there

- Dianda being a huge badass and just singlehandedly taking out six guards while iron poisoned. a good development.

- new toby power of literally stealing someone's powers by drinking their blood. We're going like full vampire here huh

- and The Queen... who we establish actually traded her name away... manages to escape. Wonder when she shows up again 🤔🤔🤔

- ok god the fucking short story epilogue is SO GOOD. Luidaeg POV!!! Luidaeg lore is always good but this is one of the only parts we have seen Amandine. It reveals that The Luidaeg literally has just been October's guardian angel for years, which explains why some all powerful sea witch just stumbles into Toby's life???. Amandine is a fucking brat. It foreshadows fucking... SOMETHING with the goddamn month names. And it sets up Eira. God next book is going to be so good.

- There are interesting parallels between Toby and her mom. Amandine was trying to turn Toby into a human for fucking years?? As some kind of shitty experiment? Almost succeeded until The Luidaeg intervened. There's all these lines about how Amandine had stolen centuries of Toby's life, how Toby would be defenseless and Faerie would still know who she was even if Amandine succeeded. What does this say about Gillian? Toby turned her completely human in book 4 to save her life. There's no way that's not going to come back in a big way.

-What. Is with. The month names. Seriously we have not had any new ones since 3 but that's still like 5 characters. I know there are several more coming in the next few books and I still don't know why the fuck lol

-This book was mostly the final setup for next book, which is an absolute fucking bombshell. Probably the best book in the series and that is saying something. I'm excited to reread it. But on it's own this one is a good read too... love that we finally got the Quentin reveal!! The horrific Queen is gone for now! Stuff!

[ktaebwi]

Hello, hope you’re well. I wanted to ask, I’m currently writing a fic for the first time. Do you think it’s ok to add “hyung” when used correctly obviously. Or so you think it’s better to avoid it all together. I want to express the culture in my writing but I don’t know what’s ok and what’s not. I know that using words we already have in English is stupid but there’s really no alternative to “hyung/noona” in English. What do you think?

If I were a writer and I don’t know well about the Korean culture, I would just omit it all. it’s hard to know exactly which one to use and where to put it in if you don’t speak Korean (sometimes I find it disrespectful to use without having knowledge about its usage), and using too many suffixes can be distracting to the eyes. Professional translators leave out Korean formalities when translating to English as well. But if you still want to use it, there’re few things you should keep in mind:

🍅 Hyung = younger male to older male, noona = younger male to older female, unnie = younger female to older female, oppa = younger female to older male. These can stand alone (ex. “Hyung, come here” 🔵 “Hyung loves you” 🔵 (Actually I feel 50/50 about this but if it’s not overly abused then I’m okay)) or added after a name (ex. “Jin-hyung, come here” 🔵)

🍅 Older male/female to younger/same aged male/female = name-ie or name-ah/yah.

🐥 Name-ie can be used as the subject (ex. “Jungkookie is cute” 🔵) but can’t be used when calling directly someone (ex. “Jungkookie, come here"❌ It’s not usually used and sounds rly awkward in Korean)

🐥 Name-ah/yah is the opposite (ex. “Jungkook-ah is cute” ❌, “Jungkook-ah, come here” 🔵”

🐥 Use “ie” when the name ends with a consonant: Jinie, Namjoonie. If not, leave “ie” out. Also, DO NOT!!!! double the last consonant of a name when adding “ie"❌🙅‍♀️🚫 This is not English. Ex. Jeonggukkie, Gukkie, Jinnie, Jiminnie❌ Jeonggukie, Gukie, Jinie, Jiminie 🔵💯

🐥 Use “ah” when the name ends with a consonant: Jin-ah, Namjoon-ah. Use “yah” when the name ends with a vowel: Yoongi-yah.

🐥 Name-ie is not necessarily an affectionate term. It suggests the speaker and the person addressed are close, but it’s not an overly affectionate term that brings back a flustered reaction.

🐥 Name-ie can be used for people older than the speaker, but must be followed by hyung/noona/unnie. Ex. Hoseokie-hyung, Jiminie-hyung 🔵

🐥 “Yah” can only be used for people younger or at the same age as the speaker. Using it for an older person (ex. “Yah, Hoseok-hyung"❌, "Yah, Jungkook-ah” 🔵)

🍅 Name-ssi and name-nim are 2 more formal terms than the above. Use this when the speaker is talking/referring to someone older, of a higher position or just met for the first time.

🐥 Name-ssi and name-nim both only work with full name and/or given name only, full name-ssi suggests a more serious tone. Ex. Jungkook-ssi, Jeon Jungkook-ssi, Jungkook-nim 🔵. DO NOT!!!! use name-ssi and name-nim or any of the above with family name 🚫🙅‍♀️❌ Family names are a respected cultural aspect in Eastern countries’ cultures, including Korea. I see fanfics have normalized using family names as nicknames or to show a spiteful or playful tone to the person addressed (the classic “Fuck you, Jeon” for example). But 1) Family name is not usually used to make nicknames, that’d be the job of the first name (there’re exceptions like when a trait is added to the family names, ex. Min Snail, Kim Clumsy ⭕ In this case that trait’s name replaces the person’s given name) and 2) When you refer to someone with their family name, you’re not exactly referring to that person only but their whole family/clan, which includes family members, relatives, elders, ancestors, etc. basically anyone with the same family name in their clan. So “Jeon-ssi” or “Kim-ssi” will not be understood as “Jungkook-ssi” or “Kim-ssi” but instead “Jeon clan” and “Kim clan”. Same with “Jeon” or “Kim”. If the speaker wants to express the hatred or anger or mocking or sth else to the person addressed, they’d use their full name, ex. “Kim Taehyung you brat!”. In short, “Jeon-ah”, “Fuck you, Jeon”, “What the hell, Jeon”, “Jeon-ssi, nice to meet you” 🚫❌🚫

🐥 “Nim” can be used with family names, ONLY IF there’s a job title between the family name and “nim”. Ex. Kim-gwajangnim (Chief Kim): gwajang = chief/manager/boss. But this kind of things already has an equivalent in English which is “chief (name)”, so using this is not necessary.

🍅 📣 “Hyungie” Doesn’t Exist 📣

🍅 Nicknames are usually taken from first name and when they are, they’re usually in two characters. Normally it’s doubled last/first character of first name (ex. Taetae) or last character of first name + ie (ex. Joonie, Jinie, Kookie). It depends on whatever rolls out of the tongue the most smoothly tbh. Jungjung, Jungie (for Jungkook), Seokseok (for Hoseok) or Minmin (for Jimin) aren’t common (I’ve only seen them used as search-prevention terms). (By the way this is not so much related here but Yoongi doesn’t call Hoseok “Seokseok”.)

🍅 Addressing family members in Korean is pretty much exactly the same as in English, like mom, dad, grandpa, grandma etc. If I see one more “appa” in any fic again I swear I’m gonna jump off a cliff 😧

🍅 “Jagi-yah” or any affectionate term you hear in dramas have English equivalent already, ranging from "darling", "honey" to "sweetie", "baby", etc. "Jagi-yah" = 🚫❌🚫🙅‍♀️

🍅 If Jungkook calls Taehyung with his real name it’d be “Taehyungie-hyung” ⭕ NOT “Tae-hyung” ❌

I think that’s it for now, if I remember something else I’ll edit and add to this list later. Just, don’t be lazy or ignorant enough to bring whatever you heard from videos or dramas to your fics without understand its usage, research before using and you’ll be fine.

[spearbe]

sorry to bother you but i noticed that you post a lot of nct content and i was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about each member? maybe even link some videos (don't worry if that's too tedious)? im a new NCTzen and i would like to know more about nct :)

omg hello fellow NCTzen and welcome to this crazy and amazing fandom! it’s not a bother at all, hopefully others will find this helpful as well :) now let’s get this party started!

taeyong:

known for having “2D visuals” bc he’s so handsome but he gets really shy when ppl compliment him IT’S ADORABLE 

super powerful stage presence like just watch any nct u or nct 127 live performance and he will BLOW YOUR MIND

if he didn’t become an idol he 100% would’ve become a world famous chef  

actually pretty sensitive like he seems tough + cold but he just wants to be loved so LOVE HIM PLS

taeil:

vocals voCALS VOCALS 

kind of awkward and a total dork but also really lovable

really likes mark’s ears lololol

would truly succeed if he debuted in nct dream

johnny:

his iconic parrot impression. enough said

1/3 of the foreign swaggers squad (he’s from Chicago) 

really genuinely cares about all the members (not to say that the other members don’t but he especially sticks out to me as such); he cheers everyone on and is super supportive 

is a daddy

yuta:

his healing smile could cure cancer 

loves winwin with all of his heart

so underrated like he can sing, rap, and dance (HE HAS IT ALL) but still doesn’t get much screen time or lines 

secretly the most savage person in nct

kun:

SM did him so dirty bc he has yet to debut in any of the current NCT units (but there are rumors about a china unit debuting soon so hopefully he will debut then or sometime soon!!)

so good at magic tricks like the whole world was shaken when he performed a card trick on one of nct’s v lives

a total sweetheart like you can tell that he’s a genuinely nice person 

nicknamed “fat kun” by his roommate, lucas (who else)

doyoung:

his eyebrows move a lot when he sings

does not and will not deal with anyone’s shit (like a no nonsense sort of guy but in a more relaxed way if that makes any sense lol) 

part bunny 

if you let him mc and host his vroom vroom talk show he will be a very happy camper

ten:

a dancing legend, his hit the stage performances are proof; this one is my favorite

a total scaredy cat 

you honestly can’t not love him he’s so full of love and gives so much love 

surprisingly really funny like some of the things he says will make me cry actual tears

jaehyun:

1/3 of the foreign swaggers squad (he lived in america for four years which totally qualifies him as a foreigner lol)

can go from cute to sexy in half a second

apparently a couple people from his high school find him unapproachable bc he’s too good looking lolol 

has the cutest dimples

winwin:

needs more lines + screen time + appreciation 

ridiculously flexible

used to be kind of lost bc he didn’t speak much korean but he understands and speaks a lot more now! 

needs to be protected

jungwoo:

looks A LOT like taemin

so fluffy and soft i just want to hold him he’s so precious alskdjghada 

can impersonate several of the nct members

sweet + soothing vocals

lucas:

will pick his nose anywhere (especially on v live) if he deems it necessary L M A O 

really wants to be part of the dreamie squad (he knows literally all their choreo) 

basically the most extra member of nct 

justin bieber’s doppelganger 

mark:

so so so hardworking he tries his best in everything and is the only member to be a part of all three current nct units

rly doesn’t want to be a square 

1/3 of the foreign swaggers squad (he was born + raised in canada) 

gets bullied by the dreamies 24/7

renjun:

a true angel but may actually be the devil in disguise? like you do not want to get on his bad side he will FIGHT you 

used to have an adorable snaggletooth but it’s gone now :( 

a good bro to chenle; he used to translate a lot for him but chenle’s korean has improved a lot so renjun doesn’t have to translate anymore! 

early riser maybe idek lol 

jeno:

has a beautiful eye smile :) 

“no jam” meaning he’s no fun (at least according to the dreamies); i beg to differ

animal lover 

goddamn he can dance (he and jisung need their own sub unit) 

haechan:

a very affectionate troll (especially with mark); he will hug you + kiss you + LOVE YOU but he will ROAST ur ass a hot second later 

such a brat but everyone loves him anyway 

in my opinion he’s kind of an underrated vocal like i wish people would appreciate his voice more 

basically the king of covering other groups’ dances 

jaemin:

he was one hiatus for a while due to a back injury 

like it became a huge thing and fans were really worried but now he’s back better than ever!!

his rapping will set you on fire 

lowkey kinda jealous and possessive of everyone LOL

chenle:

has the cutest dolphin laugh 

didn’t really know a lot of korean when he first debuted (renjun translated for him a lot) but now his korean is really good! 

really clingy + affectionate + overall just plain adorable 

has the potential to become a really powerful vocal, especially as he gets older

jisung:

lowkey the most savage person in nct #maknaeontop 

made all the noona fans faint with his lemonade dance challenge

do not let him choose yaja time as a game bc he will go hard on your sorry ass 

used to be such a smol but is now all. grown. up. 

i hope this was helpful and that the videos (credit goes to all original owners) were enjoyable! sorry if this is ridiculously long haha. if anyone wants another “starter pack” like this one for a different group feel free to pop a request in my ask box! anyway, have a great day anon and i hope you learned more about nct and love them even more