#ja particle

[absolutebl]

Hi! I’m curious if you have any insight on the use of the particle “ja”?

My main association of it is as the particle older women use with young adult characters. For example, we see Dean’s grandmother use it with Dean and Pharm in UWMA, and Than’s mother, Kwan, uses it when she meets Praifah. (Praifah: “Sawatdee kha” Kwan: “Sawatdee ja”.)

The impression I’ve always gotten is that it’s a way to capture the “ladylike” charm of politeness without implying any actual formality, social equality, or social distance. But I have no idea if that’s accurate or not.

However, I feel like I’ve heard the actual male young-adult characters using it recently, and not in a way that seems to have any intended gender or sexuality implications like some of the other alternative particles. Instead it seems to be a campy flourish when one is being overdramatic or jokey. Main example is MSP/MSP Our Skyy 2, where I know I heard at least Tinn and Por use it (and I’ve seen Ford use it on social media), and I think Gun as well. For example, when Tinn serves the jumba shaved ice in Our Skyy 2 when he does the weird hip-thrusting joke (which I still don’t understand) and says “Jumba ma laaeo ja” (“Jumba is served”).

Have you noticed this as well? Any idea if this a new usage or one that always existed but just hadn’t made its way into BL previously or hadn’t been popular with “the youths” until recently?

The Ja Particle - Thai Linguistics & Polite Particles

Thai particles and pronouns are pretty unfixed and evolve FAST.

Ja is a bit like ha but much less household intimate, also less soft. It's informal but not rude. It implies a level of familial/friendship intimacy but not over-familiarity or necessary equality. (so not like guu/mueng or wa).

It's most often used by elders to youngsters or amongst peers. I would be super cautious, and liable to pay close attention, if it showed up used by a younger person to an elder. That would be... unusual, and likely impolite. Husbands may use with wives, or parents with a group of their kids, or kids group of friends.

Not something a tourist should use.

For example, we see Dean’s grandmother use it with Dean and Pharm in UWMA, and Than’s mother, Kwan, uses it when she meets Praifah. (Praifah: “Sawatdee kha” Kwan: “Sawatdee ja”.)

This a a softening and acknowledgment of the kid's polite behavior. It's being used to "bring down to earth" the adult character in a way. Implies that the adult is "cool" or less stiff than others of their age might be.

The impression I’ve always gotten is that it’s a way to capture the “ladylike” charm of politeness without implying any actual formality, social equality, or social distance. But I have no idea if that’s accurate or not.

I don't think it has a feminine association, maybe a little bit. You do hear men using it. And queer men all the time. So maybe a little bit. It's more of a code switch.

So if a man is using it with his wife he is softening himself to meet her on her linguistic level. Adult to child, older to younger. Social positioning-wize. It's not lowering, its cross pollinating.

However, I feel like I’ve heard the actual male young-adult characters using it recently, and not in a way that seems to have any intended gender or sexuality implications like some of the other alternative particles. Instead it seems to be a campy flourish when one is being overdramatic or jokey. Main example is MSP/MSP Our Skyy 2, where I know I heard at least Tinn and Por use it (and I’ve seen Ford use it on social media), and I think Gun as well. For example, when Tinn serves the jumba shaved ice in Our Skyy 2 when he does the weird hip-thrusting joke (which I still don’t understand) and says “Jumba ma laaeo ja” (“Jumba is served”).

Yes, notice its emphasis and intonation is much different when used in this context? That's sarcasm and mockery. The WAY THE WORD IS SAID is really important in Thai. They have 5 tonal intonations. 5.

In this instance the ja is a bit like:

A gay boy yelling to his gay boy friends: "Hey bitches!"

Or a dude bro yelling to the other dudes, "'Zup assholes?"

Perhaps not quite so rude but there is a campy insolence going on that's only to be deployed with peers and that's all in the intonation.

Ja is ALSO often used by kathoey, lesbians, and gay men (especially those who request/use the pronoun jay) within the queer community. It's mostly gender neutral so it can sub in for krap/kha if you don't want to ID your gender. As, indeed, can ha.

I have noticed a rise in its use in BL. Recently.

I don't know if this rise is due to:

A rise in its use in Thai common parlance as well.

The general queering up of the BL genre.

Confirmation bias, I am also listening for it more.

The general softening around pronouns and language allowed to appear on mainstream Thai TV.*

(* for those who don't know guu/mueng have only been allowed on TV recently)

My Stuff on Thai Particles

(source)

[cocteautwinslyrics]

i think im properly starting to understand german modal particles and use them more confidently

[deutschhaven]

Ja, Nein oder Doch: Similarities and Differences

Have you ever been asked a tag question where you thought that the answer must either be ja or nein? Well, you probably guessed right except that there is one more particle that can possibly be in use as a response to such questions- doch! In summary: The modal particles “Ja, nein oder doch” are the possible answers to a tag question in German whose usage is dependent on several other factors in…

[nihongonotabi]

Why do i-adjectives and na-adjectives conjugate so differently?

In Japanese, adjectives are categorized into two main types: i-adjectives and na-adjectives. These two types differ in their forms and the way they conjugate.

I-adjectives end with the syllable "い" (i) in their base form and they can directly modify nouns without needing any additional particles. This is how they conjugate:

Base Form: 高い (takai) - "high" or "expensive"

Negative: 高くない (takakunai) - "not high" or "not expensive"

Past: 高かった (takakatta) - "was high" or "was expensive"

Past Negative: 高くなかった (takakunakatta) - "was not high" or "was not expensive"

Na-adjectives usually end with a consonant followed by a vowel other than "い" in their base form. When directly modifying a noun, they must be followed by the particle "な" (na). They do not conjugate in the same way as i-adjectives; instead, their conjugation often involves the copula "です" (desu) or "だ" (da). This is how they conjugate:

Base Form: きれい (kirei) - "beautiful" or "clean"

Negative: きれいではない (kirei dewa nai) / きれいじゃない (kirei ja nai) - "not beautiful" or "not clean"

Past: きれいでした (kirei deshita) - "was beautiful" or "was clean"

Past Negative: きれいではなかった (kirei dewa nakatta) / きれいじゃなかった (kirei ja nakatta) - "was not beautiful" or "was not clean"

The differences between i-adjectives and na-adjectives in Japanese stem from their historical and linguistic origins. I-adjectives are part of the native Japanese vocabulary, known as "和語" (wago), and their conjugation pattern can be traced back to classical Japanese. In contrast, many na-adjectives originated from Chinese loanwords (known as "漢語" or kango) and nouns. When Chinese words entered Japanese, they often carried descriptive qualities but did not fit neatly into the existing adjective conjugation system. As a result, they were adapted in a way that treated them more like nouns that required a particle ("な") to function adjectivally. Na-adjectives can be considered "nominal adjectives" because they behave similarly to nouns. They need the copula "です" or "だ" to form predicates, and they use "な" to modify nouns, indicating their grammatical status is closer to nouns than to i-adjectives.

In conclusion, the distinction between i-adjectives and na-adjectives in Japanese is rooted in historical and logical reasons: this division not only reflects the historical integration of foreign elements into Japanese but also maintains a logical grammatical structure that differentiates between native and adapted forms.

[kykyonthemoon]

Till The Break Of Dawn

That girl was Death, and she came to see me on my twenty-seventh birthday.

── .✦ Zayne (Dawnbreaker) x MC (Female Reader)

── .✦ Tags: oneshot, angst, open ending, multiverse, AU, loops, MC is referred to as "Dawn" in this fic, first pov (Zayne's), side characters: Jas, Astra.

── .✦ Word count: ~3k

── .✦ Ky Ky's note: This fic is for my friend Le Juan, and all the Zayne's girlies out there. Happy Moonlit Orchid Day (or Qixi)! <3

It's also my very first time writing for Dawnbreaker.

── .✦ Masterlist ♡ Request a fic - closed for the time being.

when death

takes my hand

i will hold you with the other

and promise to find you

in every lifetime

— commitment (Rupi Kaur)

Rain. Tiny translucent and frigid particles plummeted into this dark world. The rain fell from the opulent downtown area to the deteriorating, abandoned structures. Under the torrent of water, be it human or monster, it was all the same.

Slow, worn-out steps came to a halt in front of a building that had long since fallen asleep in nature's embrace. Blood trickled over the ground and spread a poisonous tint in the water, yet it had no stain on the pristine white jasmine blossoms flourishing in that desolate place.

Jasmine bid me farewell in my last moments. Perhaps this life was not that dreadful to me after all.

My body crumbled. The rain welcomed me. Cold. The sweet scent of jasmine soared throughout the wind. With my final breath, I extended my hand forward. The hand was smeared with so much blood, from both human and Wanderers, and I knew I was not deserving of it. But I had just the desire to touch it once. My pure jasmine petals.

I had simply sought for one favor; let me dwell in those tranquil dreams with the girl I had always revered.

It appeared as if I heard her voice in the breeze; such melodies to my ears, lulling me into somnolence. I was determined to find her this time, forever.

“Zayne?… Zayne?…”

Someone ran to me from the other side, behind the jasmine bush. She was waiting for me. Just a little more…

“Zayne!”

Her warm fingers connected with mine. I awoke at that very time. Was she calling me, or someone who looked identically to me in the dream?

I opened my eyes and saw her there. She donned a dark robe that swept above the street. She sat down beside me and turned my cold body over. That was her. It was truly her.

Each drop of rain landed on her hair, which had barely emerged from the hood of her cloak, wiping the blood stains from my face. My lips moved silently. I ached to tell her how long I had been waiting for this moment. I had always waited for her. And my wish came true.

That girl was akin to my dream. Her eyes fixed on mine, revealing a mix of astonishment and sadness. But her expression was cold. Where was the brilliant smile that brought luminescence into my otherwise miserable life? I desired it.

Trembling. My fingers moved towards her lips. I begged for her mercy  and to grant me this one wish. Yet she spoke before I could touch her: 

"Zayne." Yes, it was my name. But I knew she was calling me, not the Zayne she had loved in her dream. "Dawnbreaker."

This was the real me, in this world.

"I came here to take you away." Her voice was quite sorrowful. Had I disregarded her with my unkempt appearance and stained hands? This was not the meeting I had hoped for, but I was delighted to have found her. Or it was she who found me.

Winds. The bell chimed midnight. The cold seeped into my thick layers of clothing. The girl's scarlet lips parted again as she drew closer and murmured:

"Take my hand."

She seized mine. There was something in her eyes. Death. Then I suddenly realized something.

That girl was Death, and she came to see me on my twenty-seventh birthday.

It is said that when a person dies, their entire life flashes before their eyes. For me, there was more than just one.

Countless sights that resembled fractured, patched recollections flashed before my eyes. They were my life, yet not really. I knew them well yet felt as if we were complete strangers. I was once a foreseer on the icy throne, I was once a god hidden in the deep mountains, I was once a doctor in the modern day,... Among countless variables, there was only one thing that remained constant: her. 

In each piece of memory, I always found her, my girl. It was always her dying heart, and I was fighting against fate to save her. The instant my life ended, our jasmine flower withered. Then everything went back to where it started.

As midnight was also the time when a new day began.

At first, I could not comprehend what was happening. Everything happened in the same order: I met her, loved her, she was going to die, and I sacrificed my life for her. Our identities might differ, and our decisions might not be precisely the same, yet the ending never changed. I began to vaguely feel that a certain hand had intervened in the flow of our life, driving her and me to follow such a predetermined path.

And suddenly I was Dawnbreaker. In this life, I failed to find her. I had always assumed she just existed in my fantasies. It was not until my death that I discovered she had been seeking for me all along.

When I opened my eyes again, I was in the midst of a thriving jasmine garden. A person's fuzzy shadow appeared ahead of me. At first, I believed it was her, yet as I drew closer, I noticed it was a boy who seemed quite familiar.

"Georgie?"

No, that was not Georgie. The boy with that name had abruptly vanished before my eyes. The individual standing here was someone else who resembled Georgie.

"Hello, Zayne." The small child spoke. I had no idea who he was. However, I got the feeling that we had known each other for a long time, since innumerable lifetimes ago.

"I'm not Georgie." The boy added. "I only took the shape of someone you used to know so that I could communicate to you without causing any disturbance in this reality. If you don't like it, I can turn into a snowflake, a cat or something else.”

“You are?”

"Jas." He responded. "I am Jas. Perhaps you forgot about me. But I remember you, and her."

The name rang like a bell, reawakening something that had been asleep inside me. I asked:

“She… And you. Have we known each other before?”

Jas grinned mysteriously. “Shouldn't all the answers be right in front of you at this point?”

“Who are you exactly?”

The child went around the garden like a butterfly. A moment later, he replied:

“I am nobody. I am merely an illusion created by her and you a long, long time ago.”

“So… this garden is also an illusion?”

“It's all an illusion.” Jas replied. “This garden and all the flowers here are.”

I looked around. Each blooming jasmine brought back memories of a lifetime spent with her. I found myself ready to ask Jas a few questions about the flowers, but as if reading my thoughts, he immediately replied:

"That's right. Every jasmine here represents a life you once shared with her.”

I cast a gaze across the seemingly endless garden. There was no evidence of the girl anywhere. I wanted to find her, to call her name. Yet, I had no comprehension of what she was dubbed in this life.

"She is Death. In this realm, she has no name." Jas said as if he could read the thoughts written on my face. "But you may call her anything you want. She permits you to."

Hence, from that moment on, I decided that she would be my Dawn.

Dawn represented Death in this world. Her duty was to send the deceased to their proper resting place. She had seen me in the abandoned street, where I drained a soul out of torment before they were hauled into eternal darkness, and their body became a monster. She was always watching me, yet I could only see her when life left me. Dawn, like me, had spent her countless existences in this garden. 

Jas spoke again, directing my attention back to him:

“Stop looking. She's not here. But before you go mad and run to find her, listen to the remainder of the story first. Shall we?”

I had no alternative since Jas began shortly before I could say anything. Following along the boy's footsteps, I felt as if I were lost in another garden similar to this one, but in a distant timeline.

In the past, this jasmine garden was once the residence of a goddess. Although she was merely a minor deity, her fate was tied to the survival of that world. That divine being was Dawn.

She was born from the purest energies of heaven and earth. That was why, with each cycle, she would have to sacrifice her life, offering her flesh and blood to continue nourishing that world. Then she would be reincarnated in her former body, forgetting all about her previous life. Just as the end of day gives way to darkness, and the breaking of dawn marks the start of a new day.

Things were always going to be like this, then one day, she fell in love.

The person she loved was chosen by Astra - the god of creation - to inherit his power and pass on his will to humanity. She was originally sent by Astra to assist him in training, but in the end, she proved to be his greatest challenge.

"Zayne…" She cried out his name, the person who had always been at her side. They traveled the world together, battled side by side, and defended each other. In the end, they arrived at Mt. Eternal, which marked the boundary between the human and divine realms. Overcoming many obstacles, they learned the mystery that Astra had kept concealed for so long.

Astra, the deity that Dawn considered her father, turned out to want nothing more than to take away the power of heaven and earth that she possessed. Every time she died, he became stronger by taking her energies. Every time she reincarnated, he would bring her back and care for her as if she were his daughter, earning her trust until she ultimately sacrificed herself for a false greater cause. But in this existence, she met Zayne.

"If divine power can't protect those important to me, then I shall need nothing from it."

Zayne had made a decision. Dawn went with him to search for Astra, pretending that he would personally sacrifice her as a present to him while they plotted for the murder of the god. However, they were unaware that they were sliding into Astra's predetermined trap.

How did both of his instruments slip out of his grasp so easily? Astra separated the two, robbed their memories and encased those in jasmine. The new Zayne and Dawn began a new life, unaware of each other and with no memory of their preceding love.

But they still found each other. The thread of fate had long ago bound both of them. Dawn, like in her previous life, must die in accordance with Astra's wishes. And Zayne was always trying to save her. The moment he surrendered his life for hers, the flow of time halted. The entire world came to an abrupt end, then it started all over again.

Astra experimented thousands and thousands of times. The jasmine garden housed every existence of the star-crossed lovers, trapping them eternally in the cycle of love and death. They appeared to have discovered this secret after their first few lifetimes. Every time the flow of time was reestablished, their memories were erased. However, simply encountering each other again caused them to fall in love anew; and whether Zayne remembered or forgot, he would always give his life to the one he loved.

"Don't cry…" Zayne was lying in her arms. He was standing before her. He was leaning onto her shoulder... Their circumstances would alter, but there was always that final moment when she wept and grasped his hand.

They had just recently retrieved some recollections of their past lives before being forced to part ways again.

"Don't cry…" This time, Zayne had her in his arms. His back was against the debris of the collapsed research room. The blanket of snow sprayed over, bringing chilling temperatures. They were on Mt. Eternal in another timeline. Yet even this time, Zayne gave up his life to save Dawn.

She shook her head, tears flowing. They were so close to discovering the truth they had been seeking for so long. They had almost broken this curse of eternal reincarnation. Yet in the end, Astra was one step ahead.

"Hold my hand…" Zayne clasped hers. Death reached his remaining arm and froze it. "As long as you hold my hand like this… I will be able to find you… in the next life…"

"Do you promise?"

"Yes…"

Zayne had not once broken his vow to her. However, if she did not truly die, Astra could not obtain the power he sought. The jasmine garden grew wider with each new life and reboot. He must put an end to this.

As a result, he designed a life in which she became Death, and Zayne could only find her at his very last breath.

"Astra believes that if you die before meeting her, you won't be able to die for her anymore."

Jas' voice sounded out. We returned to the Jasmine Garden. Although the location was the same, this was not Astra's first garden. Dawn and I had poured our powers into this garden. Many eons ago, we had uncovered Astra's secret and secretly created this place as a safe haven away from the wicked deity. Jas was the spirit that guarded the garden and guided Dawn and me back here anytime we recalled something critical. Dawn discovered Jas before I did.

"There were two mistakes Astra made." He said. "First, he tried to control and take her power, unaware that each time she was reborn, the energy source within her grew stronger as well. Second, he was naive to believe he could separate the two of you. Even if you can't see her, the bond between you two still exists in a different way.”

At that point, I instantly realized something. "Our dreams?"

"That's right." Jas confirmed. "Even if the person you dreamed about was an alternate version of her, it seemed like all the versions in all of your lives knew each other in one way or another. She, as Death, has always dreamed of you and sought you out."

I halted to reflect on what I had just discovered, or recalled.

"Zayne, listen... Astra made another great mistake. That is giving her the status of Death. It implies she now has your life in her hands.

"Does that mean this time, she saved me?"

Jas' nod reaffirmed my doubts, my fears. "You should have died and Astra could have her again... However, she utilized the power of Death to stop your time. Zayne, you are still alive."

I already knew that. The truth was, my life only begun when she arrived.

"I have to find Dawn."

"Wait." Jas spoke up. Almost immediately, vines from the garden seized my limbs. "You cannot go yet."

"Why?"

"She used all of her current power to prevent you from dying. If Astra finds you, she will no longer be able to defend you. She brought you here to keep you safe, Zayne."

Dawn wanted to confront Astra alone. I expected this when old memories resurfaced. I told Jas:

“Then it’s another reason to find her. I cannot bear to lose her again.”

I strained with the vines that were becoming increasingly tight around me, even using Evol to break free of them.

At that point, the garden started to tremble severely. The pure blue sky above broke into fragments and decreased. The jasmine petals detached from the stems, drifted in the air and eventually vanished.

"Jas?"

“I have… completed my mission…” His voice seemed to resonate from far away. His entire body perished before my eyes. “I exist… so that one day… you and she can… find what you've lost… Now… you both have made your own decisions… So I will… disappear… and return… the source of power that you both… gave me before… But remember… If you and she fail in… this timeline… there will be no more Jas, no more… jasmine garden…”

Jas in front of me appeared as surreal as a mist. I knew I had to find Dawn before Astra made a move on her. This was the last chance we had.

“Go, Zayne… I can only… help you get to… her…”

In the middle of the garden, an archway made of plants and jasmine opened. I hurled myself through it, not forgetting to gaze back at the smiling boy Jas, whose body transformed into thousands of jasmine petals before vanishing.

I heard Dawn whisper to me at that moment of life and death: 

“This time, I will protect you…” 

My hand reached out to where she was waiting. My chest ached as I screamed with everything I had:

“Dawn, take my hand!”

And I awoke. Rain splashed over my face. Cold. I was lying on the roadside next to a jasmine with each flower falling and gently dissolving in the water. 

I lifted myself up. In the black of night, I went after her traces. I knew she was so close to me. I knew she was calling my name. And the world would awaken at dawn, once again.

I will find you, in every lifetime.

[visualtaehyun]

MY GIRLS ARE FINALLY ON AIR

Disclaimer: not a native Thai speaker, still learning 🙏

Ongsa and Sun

At first, Ongsa wrongly assumes that Sun is older so she calls her พี่ /phi/, speaks respectfully and wais her:

ขอโทษค่ะพี่ /khaaw thoht kha, phi/

Then they settle into these pronouns:

☀ Sun: เรา /rao/ -> Ongsa (calls her เธอ /ter/ once when she asks her name)

🌐 Ongsa: เรา /rao/ -> Sun

-> เรา /rao/ is an informal 1st pers. pronoun that pretty much all the students in Ongsa's class seem to use

Later, when they're texting, it takes Ongsa entirely too long to catch onto the fact that Sun thinks Earth is a guy because-

คุยกันมาตั้งนาน เรายังไม่รู้เลยว่านายชื่ออะไร /khui gan maa dtang naan. rao yang mai ruu loei waa naai cheuu a rai/ -> นาย /naai/ is a male 2nd pers. pronoun

While we're talking about their texts, the subs have this weirdly mixed up:

1 - ฝันดีนะ /fan dee na/ = lit. dream well/good dreams, 'Sweet dreams' 2 - ราตรีสวัสดิ์ /raa dtree sa wat/ = formal, 'Good night' 3 - Similarly, Sun's มอนิ่งนะ /morning na/ is a more informal 'Good morning' compared to formal อรุณสวัสดิ์ /a roon sa wat/ or polite สวัสดีตอนเช้า /sa wat dee dtaawn chaao/

When Ongsa isn't gay-panic hiccupping, she's actually really clever and witty! I'll get to her ig posts in a second but there's also this moment:

ยังสวยอยู่เลย /yang suay yuu loei/ สวยจะ หมายถึง ซวยอ่ะ /suay ja- maai theung- suay a/

The difference in pronunciation between these two words is just the tone - สวย /suay/ (rising tone) means pretty vs. ซวย /suay/ (middle tone) means unlucky

from.the.earth__

ถ่ายรูป ด่วน สี-ขาวดำ /thaai ruup duaan see khaao dam/ = urgent/express black-and-white photography caption: ยกกล้องมาถ่าย���ทบไม่ทัน /yohk glaawng maa thaai thaaep mai than/ = almost didn't raise the camera in time to snap this

caption: เงา-เหงา /ngao-ngao/ = shadow-lonely -> เงา ๆ /ngao ngao/ is an expression that means indistinctly, faintly

The difference in pronunciation is, again, in the tones - เงา /ngao/ (middle tone) means shadow vs. เหงา /ngao/ (rising tone) means lonely

caption: ว้าว! ปลาทับใจจัง /wow! bplaa thap jai jang/

I love this SO much omg It's a pun on ประทับใจ /bpra thap jai/ = impressed, but also a visual pun!!

ปลา /bplaa/ = fish + ทับ /thap/ = placed on top of + ใจ /jai/ = heart

caption: สู้ ๆ นะ เป็นกำลังใจให้ /su su na. bpen gam lang jai hai/ = Fighting! Rooting for/encouraging [you]!

Another visual pun! This one's only funny if you know what peaches are called in Thai: peach = ลูกท้อ /luuk thaaw/ - but the word ท้อ /thaaw/ in there? It means discouraged!

Alpha, Aylin, and Luna

🔝 Alpha is Ongsa's older sister: พี่ /phi/ (used as a 1st pers. pronoun) -> แก /gae/ (informal 2nd pers. pronoun)

👽 Aylin is their cousin, in the same grade as Ongsa, and speaks pretty curtly, almost like someone would on two-way radio: she doesn't use any pronouns apart from this once-

แกกำลังบุกรุกที่ของฉัน /gae gam lang book rook thee khaawng chan/

Omitting pronouns is possible and not uncommon in Thai but doing so constantly, combined with her monotone speech pattern, low voice, and mostly a lack of ending particles, it does stick out! It doesn't really come across in the subs tbh (apart from including the way she refers to people as humans = มนุษย์ /ma noot/):

ไม่ต้องแคร์ใคร /mai dtaawng care khrai/ = Don't need to care about anyone.

🌙 Luna, Alpha, the two bullies, and Mawin all seem to be in the same grade because all of them use the impolite pronouns กู/มึง /guu, meung/ (=I/you) amongst each other - how very fun to finally hear some GMMTV girls talk like this :D

I love Alpha and Luna teaming up to beat up scold these two dipshits:

Alpha: พวกมึงสองคนแกล้งน้องกูออ /phuuak meung saawng khohn glaaeng nong guu aaw/ Mawin, trying to defuse: พวกเธอใจเย็นก่อน /phuuak ter jai yen gaawn/

While the girls are furious, the guys are clearly fearing for their lives, wai'ing endlessly 😂

Lastly-

Sarah Salola

I gasped when I saw her name in the credits!! She's this handsome singer-songwriter with a lovely voice who's queer herself - she's talked about her sexuality and style before (interview is in Thai) but this Valentine's she revealed her partner :)

Here's a cover of Nont Tanont's รักแรก (First Love) she did with Jan 💕

Needless to say, I can't wait for her OST and the accompanying MV that's surely gonna be super cute!

[todomitoukei]

I went through the old chapters where Dabi and Ujiko are included to take a deeper look at the relationship between these two.

Did you translate the conversations between the two of them into chapters 221 and 222?

I find the way Ujiko speaks to Dabi in the English translation strange. I'm curious if that's really how he expressed himself in Japanese. If I remember correctly, it seems to me that you translated a line of Ujiko's related to Dabi and it sounded less strange than in the English version. That one with "Dabi, you've got sharp eyes!" or smth like this

Hi there!

I only translated that specific line way back when Ujiko and AFO being involved in Touya's backstory was just a theory (long time ago).

I also did a translation of chapter 350, where Ujiko tells us that part of Touya's backstory, which also features a short conversation between the two.

Going back to chapter 221 and 222, here's a breakdown of the parts before the "good eye", starting with this part in chapter 221 (the first two speech bubbles can be found in the other post I linked above)

「そうじゃ違うんじゃこの子らは中位下位とは違うじゃよ～

最上位（ハイエンド）じゃよ

より「マスターピース」に近付いたスーパー脳無じゃ！

凄いじゃろうこれまでとは違うんじゃよ！！！」

「そう ; sou 」 = so 「じゃ ; ja 」 = to be 「違う ; chigau 」 = different 「んじゃ ; nja 」 = explanatory particle 「この ; kono 」 = this 「子ら ; kora 」 = children 「は ; wa 」 = topic particle 「中位下位 ; chuuikai 」 = middle class, lower class 「とは ; to wa 」 = quotation particle 「違う ; chigau 」 = different 「じゃ ; ja 」 = to be 「よ ; yo 」 = emphasis particle 「最上位 (ハイエンド) ; haiendo 」 = High End (the kanji mean the most upper class) 「じゃ ; ja 」 = to be 「よ ; yo 」 = emphasis particle 「より ; yori 」 = than 「マスターピース ; masutaapiisu 」 = master piece 「に ; ni 」 = directional particle 「近付いた ; chikazuita 」 = approached 「スーパー脳無 ; suupaa noumu 」 = super nomu 「じゃ ; ja 」 = to be 「凄い ; sugoi 」 = amazing 「じゃろう ; jarou 」 = right 「これまで ; kore made 」 = until this 「とは ; to wa 」 = quotation particle 「違う ; chigau 」 = different 「んじゃ ; nja 」 = explanatory particle 「よ ; yo 」 = emphasis particle

＝"That's right, they're different. These kids are different from the middle and lower class ones~ It's a High End (top tier). It's a Super Nomu, close to a masterpiece! Amazing, right? It's different from anything up until now!!!"

You best believe he chose the word masterpiece to piss off Touya here on purpose. Unfortunately, and maybe on purpose, we never get shown Touya's facial reaction to that, and he most likely played it cool on the outside, while on the inside wanting to set the whole place on fire.

The next little bit of dialogue between the two occurs in chapter 222:

「ならば荼毘にはハイエンドのテストに協力してほしいのう！！

趣味が！！審美眼がとても合う！！接しやすい！！」

「ならば ; naraba 」 = in case; as for 「荼毘 ; dabi 」 = Dabi 「には ; ni wa 」 = directional particle 「ハイエンド ; haiendo 」 = High Ends 「の ; no 」 = possession particle 「テスト ; tesuto 」 = test 「に ; ni 」 = directional particle 「協力 ; kyouryoku 」 = cooperation 「してほしい ; shitehoshii 」 = want you to do 「のう ; nou 」 = explanatory particle (adds emphasis) 「趣味 ; shumi 」 = preference; liking; taste 「が ; ga 」 subject particle 「審美眼 ; shinbigan 」 = aesthetic sense; sense of beauty 「が ; ga 」 subject particle 「とても ; totemo 」 = very 「合う ; au 」 = to fit/match 「接しやすい ; sesshiyasui 」 = easy to deal with/attend to

= "As for Dabi, I want you to test out the High End for me!! (Good) taste!! Your aesthetic sense matches a lot!! It will be easy for you to deal with it!!"

Obviously, in retrospect, knowing that Ujiko would have turned Touya into a nomu too, the "matching aesthetic sense" line feels even more rude now.

And finally Touya's response:

「話聞いてンのか」

「話 ; hanashi 」 = story 聞いてン ; kiiten 」 = to listen 「のか ; noka 」 = question particle

= "Are you listen to my story?"

The 'story' being him just a second prior to this having said he will go off on his own since he is in the middle of recruiting someone (don't do it!).

[yuk-tepat]

Diachronic change in Yuk Tepat

Yuk Tepat is often presented here as a fixed entity - “Classical Yuk Tepat” - but beneath that has undergone evolution like all languages. The following sentences both mean “A man I didn’t know came in.” The first represents the most archaic layer of old Tepat, and the second is a relatively modern colloquial version from the late Conciliarity period.

Ci niw yan-uk syow mi-yat ku hyew.

*[tsi niw ja nuk sju me jat ku hjew]

PAST enter person 1P REL NEG know to room

(Alternately: Ci niw yan syuk mi-yat ku hyew. (syuk = syu + =uk)

Hûq-khal yan i-wat ôl-yat mul nt’ôl-nyul hyew-iw.

[hɯʔ kʰal ja ni wɒ ɾl̩ jat mu ln̩ tl̩ nyɬ çø wiw]

one CLASS person of 1P PAST know NEG 3P PAST enter room CIS

Let’s unpack this. First, a couple of very notable things:

The modern sentence is much longer.

Only three words are the same in both sentences: yan, yat, hyew.

Digging deeper….

Ci was the normal particle expressing past tense in Old Yuktepat, but it has been replaced by ôl in the second sentence.

The second sentence begins with a subject noun phrase Hûq-khal yan i-wat ôl-yat mul, which is normal SVO word order. The equivalent subject noun phrase in the first sentence comes AFTER the verb. In archaic language, this is an acceptable ordering for INDEFINITE subject nouns (but actually, it would still have been unusual for a complex noun phrase like this).

The subject noun yan in the second sentence is modified by a numeral-classifier phrase hûq-khal ‘one.’ This kind of specification of number - such as ‘one’ for any old indefinite noun phrase - is more common in later Yuk Tepat.

The first person pronoun. In the first sentence, there is a clitic form -uk. In later Yuk Tepat, everything has been leveled to the invariable pronoun wat.

The subject contains a relative clause. In the first sentence, it is relativized by syow, in the second sentence it is relativized by i. I also means ‘of’ and has been generalized to all kinds of situations, while specific subordinating particles like syow - which is only used to relativize objects - have fallen out of use.

(Additionally, syow and -uk might occur together as a fused form syuk.)

The negative. The first sentence uses mi before the verb, the second sentence uses mul after the verb.

The second sentence contains a pronoun nat (contracted to nt) which follows the subject noun phrase, before the verb. Kind of like ‘The man I didn’t know, he entered the room.’

Niw and nyul ‘enter.’ Niw and nyul are the same verb basically. Niw is an older intransitive form. Most verb pairs of this sort have been leveled to only one form. In Yuk Tepat, the originally transitive form nyul has taken over everything.

The first sentence has a preposition ku ‘in, at, to.’ This is missing in the second sentence. ‘To’ is considered implicit in the verb nyul. Ku is no longer used except in fixed expressions.

The second sentence ends in a clitic -iw indicating motion toward the speaker. This is derived from the verb khiw ‘come.’

These examples are very different, but the reality may not be that extreme. Although only 3 words are identical, most words in either sentence are found in all stages of the language, although their usage may have shifted. For example past tense ci is still used, but it has a very archaic sound. It is used for DISTANT past, or in say, historical textbooks, but ôl is now the neutral past tense marker. Hence, either (written) sentence should be interpretable to someone from the other time period. Through this we also see one trend of the language’s evolution, that of reducing morphological variants to a single uninflected form.

[springcatalyst]

My dearest, tell me about your conlang scripts, please❣

Yeassss thank you beloved I will now kill for you <3 Ask me to kill for you.

I truly do not know how long this is going to end up but I'm just gonna go for it.

Montaran

Montaran is fauns' native language: it is alphasyllabic (rather than alphabetic), made up of character 'blocks' that are themselves composed of syllabic components. It's based off a mix of Korean and Sanskrit (mostly Brahmi script).

⬆️ "This is an example sentence" written in Montaran. Pronounced "Bavna mōskadatōk nin."

Components are arranged in blocks of three max, with spaces between words. It's written and read top to bottom, left to right. In three-component characters (called full blocks or complete characters), the arrangement of the components tells you where the syllabic emphasis is.

Here's the same sentence but with the components split up. The first word bavna has it's emphasis on the syllable na, and you can tell by reading because it's alone, as opposed to the other two components, which share space on the top of the block. The second word, Mōskadatōk, has its emphasis on the first and fourth syllables mō and da- the ones that are alone in their vertical placement. For partial blocks, like the last word nin, you can't tell emphasis by reading it.

Montaran is an abugida, which means its alphasyllabary is made up of consonant letters and small, diacritic-like additions that determine vowel sounds. Consonants can exist alone, but vowels must be connected to a consonant.

Where vowels are connected to a consonant can vary- usually there is a standardized method, but handwriting can alter it.

Montaran doesn't use any articles or particles, is written subject-verb-object (though the verb to be is considered an implied verb and therefore not actually written or spoken in sentences which would need it in other languages). Adjectives and adverbs are placed before what they alter.

Homonic

Homonic is humans' native language. It's alphabetic, made up mostly of vowels. The consonants are just 6 'base' ones, the sound of which changes with the inclusion of diacritics. It's based off of mostly English and Japanese.

⬆️ "This is an example sentence" written in Homonic. Pronounced "Goa ja ikaruth zonosh hfow."

Likewise I had more explanation for those weird phonetics but once again I am going to joker out so what the fuck ever. The r is a tapped r though.

Consonants base form is considered the default, while the diacritics change what sound it makes. The handakuten indicates a harder sound (P to B, F to V, L to tapped R), the tilde indicates a softer sound (hard G to Y, L to R, F to a sort of harder H that's not quite an english H), and the dakuten indicates a much softer, sometimes voiceless sound (P to W, F to H, T to Th). I should say now that I wrote out the phonetics of these in a way they make sense to me, so they might seem like nonsense to you. Because I don't understand international phonetic alphabet. But I digress. Vowels are never given diacritics.

Homonic uses both articles and particles, but particles are mostly used for action and subject indication. It's written subject-object-verb: Adjectives go after the noun they alter, but adverbs go before the verb. It's written left to right.

Paitarō

Paitarō is ipotanes' native language. It's an abugida, but unlike Montaran, consonants cannot exist alone. Instead, letters in their 'default' state are assigned the inherent vowel a, and all alterations from that indicate different vowel sounds. It's based mostly on Ge'ez and Eastern Cree.

⬆️ "This is an example sentence" written in Paitarō . Pronounced "Roujih myudae ba raisakō louhayka".

Paitarō has a bunch of different versions of verbs depending on context. They have general vs current forms, constant vs transient, beginning vs ending, and some verbs have a gladly vs reluctantly form. I gave examples, but this is my third time trying to edit this and I can't be assed to write it all out again without becoming the joker.

Rotation and diacritics determine the vowel sound of a letter. It's very consistent, so while it looks like there are 8 million letters, really there's just 12 that are altered slightly for different forms. A clockwise rotation 90 degrees will always result in the vowel ay, an macron will always result in the vowel i, etc.

It's written left to right, subject-verb-object, and uses no particles (but does use articles). It's also one of the harder languages to learn from an outside perspective, because many of the vowels (particularly o, oo, ou, and ō) sound similar to the untrained ear.

Arbor

Arbor is satyrs' native language. It's alphabetic, and has the largest alphabet of any language, with 42 letters (Paitarō beats it only if you consider all rotations and diacritics separate letters, which I don't). It's based mostly on Russian and Japanese.

⬆️ "This is an example sentence" written in Arbor. Pronounced "Shleya bouk dzyañen aotal voh."

It's written right to left, verb-subject-object. It doesn't use articles, but does use particles, which make up far more of the grammatical structure than of any other language. Particles indicate time, possession, location, direction, vocatives, pragmatics, formality, connectives, and conjunctions. For example, in the above sentence, the particle voh indicates certainty- what is being said is fact- not up for debate.

Formality particles are something that is mostly unique to Arbor: Homonic uses some, but they are loanwords from Arbor, and not used near as often. The only circumstance in which a satyr would not use formality particles is when speaking to children (or if the speaker is a child). Because of this, for an adult to speak without these particles is perceived as immature or patronizing or both. There are generally four 'levels' of respectful particles: familiar (for friends and family), peers (for acquaintances and strangers), respect (for superiors or elders), and higher status (for governmental or religious leaders). There are also degrading particles that are only used explicitly as insults, but are naturally not used in everyday life.

There are no true diacritics in Arbor, similar letters (like eh, ih, and uh, or v and fh) are considered distinct, not the same letter but altered).

Shotali

Shotali is nightlings' native language. It's syllabic, written calligraphically from top to bottom. It's made up of common humanoid phonemes as well as a clicking sound that is unique to their physiology. It's mostly based off of Khoisan and Vulcan.

⬆️ "This is an example sentence" written in Shotali. Pronounced "Sikosha taori niloth zhoi."

Here's the same sentence twice, one with the letters and other aspects of the sentence pointed out. The letters are designed to run into one another, where one letter ends another begins. Words are separated by a small open circle at the beginning and end to make clear the joint between the two.

It uses only two diacritics: a handakuten and a macron. In natural Shotali, they are used sparingly, but their usage has since expanded to allow for other sounds to be transcribed into Shotali. The macron traditionally changes just a few letters from an i vowel sound to an e (ri->re, ni->ne, li->le), but now can also be found to alter any letter with an i to an e, even if it was not originally allowed. The handakuten, in natural Shotali, indicates a click, made as part of the syllable alongside the voiced pronunciation, and is not actually considered a diacritic in this form. It's present only on hard consonants (k, v, d). These consonants can be written/spoken without the click and therefore without the handakuten, but only in very specific words or it is incorrect. Some words only define meaning by the presence or absence of this click- this makes things tricky for any other species trying to learn/speak Shotali.

Now, though, the handakuten is also placed as a diacritic on some other letters- not to indicate a click, but to harden the sound (Th to T, P to B, Zh to Z, J to hard G). These characters are not included in the base alphabet as they are considered adopted characters, meant to transcribe sounds from other languages- Shotali has a lot of technically allowed ways to write/speak that arent included in the 'official' alphabet.

Only d, j and th (or t with a handakuten) can exist as a consonantal sound without a vowel, considered a whole syllable by themselves in Shotali. It's written verb-object-subject, and uses no articles or particles. Adverbs and adjectives go before the noun or verb they alter.

Bonus: Chimerae's sign-morse

The chimerae, which live in the depths of the ocean and thus do not interact with any other humanoid species, converse with a form of sign language that utilizes their bioluminescent abilities. It is untranscribable, and so doesn't have a proper name. It's made up of similar signs as that of shallower merfolk: large, slow movements of the hands and caudal fin, but is additionally altered by light. Light carries meaning in: where on the body it is located, how quick the flash is, and what physical sign it accompanies.

Chimeraes have two distinct dialects of this language: a distant and close dialect, both used in conjunction with each other depending on context. Because detail gets much harder to see at distance, and the deep sea is big, the type of sign-morse used when far away from your conversation partner is different than that which is used when you are right next to each other. The former is vaguer, but more obvious, while the latter is more intricate and specific.

[the-daiz]

#12— contemplating your own death

—Angstober day 12: Rotten touch

Pairing; Zombieman x reader

warning(s): !!!! GORE, BODY HORROR, VERY DESCRIPTIVE, vomit, ptsd, blood, squeamish reader

Synopsis; Zombieman had always been reckless, it's not like he needed to be vigilant. He was undying. Yet as he watches you retreat into a shell of yourself, stripping him away from the warmth he once relied on, he wonders if he could've acted differently that day.

✎Word count; 3.7k

♪ Playlist; Twilight

A/N; I'm so late help, I got busy with studying and stuff, anyway I was rlly descriptive with the gore srry , and I rushed this rah

Adrenaline coursed through your system, the muffled sound of your furious heartbeat did little to drown out the gruesome sound of ripping tendons, bending and cracking of bones, and the splatter of blood.

Your brain frantically attempted to piece together the events a moment prior to your current situation. You were walking in the streets, beside Zombieman, then—

Then what? Everything happened so quickly. Everything was so loud. You just remembered being pushed back by something-- or someone,  and falling onto your hind.

You propped yourself up by your elbows as you opened your eyes slowly, blinking rapidly as you tried to make out your surroundings. You coughed as dust and debris particles tethered in the atmosphere encasing you. Your nose crinkled at the smell of sweet iron, more in confusion than anything.

There was something wet and cold on your face, almost getting into your eyes and obstructing your vision. You wiped at your eyes with your fingers, then looked down.

It was red. So were your clothes. You were completely soaked with blood.

Were you hurt? You couldn't feel anything. It was probably the shock stopping you from sensing your wound. Wounds? Maybe?

You frowned as you finally felt the heavy weight pressing down on your stomach. You moved your palm away from your view to get a good look at your body. There was something— you blinked again, your view starting to become static.

It was a irregular cylinder of black cloth, wrapped around something. No- it was leather cloth? Your brows knit together as your disoriented gaze trailed to the side of the object, locking onto something grey at the end of it.

A hand.

It was an arm.

His arm.

Your airway narrowed and your pupils trained at the limp hand you were tenderly grasping only a minute ago. The ringing blared louder against your ear, the chaotic noises around you now muffled as blood rushed through your brain faster. You blinked a few times, mouth agape as you took in rapid, strained gasps, you then whipped your head to the opposing side of the arm: The amputation site.

It wasn't a clean cut, there were long, thin pieces of tissue hanging from its end, coloured with different shades of red, some pieces even sticking to the side of your thigh. The pigment engraved itself into your head.

Dilated pupils watched as the crimson liquid slowly poured out the vein and soaked into your already scarlet uniform.

Your stomach lurched at the sight, your mind screaming and scrambling for solutions, or directions or answers or anything!

After who knows how long of silently, not quietly, leering down at the mass atop you, your gaze caught a shift at the corner of your eyes.

Your neck rigidly craned up, eyes locking with a blurry silhouette of a dismantled, large build standing before you.

Your eyes kept focused for a few seconds, your brain adjusting to the sight.

You could barely make out the outline of his black, leather coat as you stared up at his back. Your gaze first settled onto the socket where his arm was supposed to cling from, blood squirting out but thankfully the noise was muted by the incessant ringing in your ear, lapping with your ragged breath and your pulse.

Something kept you from looking away, despite the utter revolution in your gut.

Your pupils dragged up onto the side of his face. You couldn't make out much, except for the missing half of his lower jaw, the skin once tethered to his face now torn off. It was all a tangle of blood and tissue and bones and teeth and wan skin.

The stinging bile rose further when his head moved to the side, at you, showcasing more of the grotesque scene. Your body is entirely overwhelmed with horror, your stare blows wider as it takes in the view of the eyeball just dangling from his head, somehow having wrung out of its socket.

The next thing you knew, you were hunched over a public toilet in a nearby mall, completely crowded with people who were also escaping the chaos, some hurt and some simply in mental shock.

If you were injured, you wouldn't be able to tell. You lurched forward again as more vomit seared up your esophagus, burning with unrelenting loathe. Tears pricked the rings of your eyes, knuckles painting white as your quivering hold tightened on the sides of the cold toilet cement.

Every time you thought you had already expelled everything there was to possibly expel from your system, the images flash against your closed eyelids then the metallic smell of fluids drenching you stirs inside your nostrils, and your stomach spasms once more. At some point, you were simply just dry-heaving in pain.

Another mental blur. Head exhaustedly pressed against the head of the toilet, murmuring answers to the frantic medic workers, checking you for any wounds so they could know whether to deem you a priority or not.

Then you were home—your home—his home. Then you were in the shower, your clothes from earlier, absolutely marinated in blood like a canvas of filth, discarded carelessly on the bathroom floor, tainting the clean tiles. You just scrubbed.

The water burned your skin as your hand scratched it aggressively with the loaf, reddened by the harshness. You stayed there for hours, constantly applying, rinsing, scrubbing, inhaling, and holding back a heave.

By the time you had finally stepped out of the bath, your fingers resembled raisins. Yet you still felt soiled.

You tip-toed around your clothes, refusing to let the mush red ruin you again. You wrapped your body with a towel and gloomed out.

"Sweetheart?" A familiar voice hums from behind you as you are about to step into your room. Every muscle in you reacts adversely, straining against itself. Your eyes enlarge and your breathing halts. "I was starting to get worried, you were taking concerningly long. I already asked, but you're not hurt, are you?"

How long has he been here?

You stood frozen for a few seconds, then slowly turned your head to glance at Zombieman.

Your body recoiled further, eyes widening as you took in his complexion. He looked completely fine like none of the previous events ever occurred. He was cleaned up with a new change of clothes. Yet while you stared into his red irises, your mind flooded with recollections. The stench hit you again like a wave.

He frowned at your odd behavior and stepped forward, as soon as he did, however, your face morphed into one of utter horror, and you flinched back.

You felt like screaming, you were about to scream but something else blocked your airway instead. You doubled over, your shoulders shaking as you gagged out nothing but saliva. Your neck hurt. You sucked in a few frantic breaths, your eyes screwed shut then another lurch jolted through you.

You were too busy trying to get yourself to stop throwing up, that you only realized how close he was once his palm connected gently with your shoulder. You sucked in a sharp breath and yelled, slapping his arm away as you jumped back, shriveling into yourself as tears began to run down your face uncontrollably.

"Go away!" You wailed, governing your running face with your arms. "Please, please-! Just get out!"

In the middle of your turbulent state lapped with sudden gags and coughs, you couldn't see the absolute hurt on his features. After a pause, with his lips parted but his words coiled in his throat, he retracted his hand and clamped his mouth shut. He was quick to rise to his feet and leave the apartment.

He sat, his back against the door of your home, a cigarette pinned against his index and middle finger. He sat there for hours, his heart cracking with every pained gasp of yours that was dulled by the wall between you. The one thing stopping him from completely losing sense of his sanity was the sweet sting of nicotine scrapping against his trachea.

If it wasn't for the large open window, the hallway would've been a mess of smoke and the essence of sizzling lungs.

His face wrinkled as he recalled that repulsed twist on your face. It made him feel inhuman, the one thing he never felt around you. He brought the bud to his mouth, sucking in a deep puff, his chest rising as the smoke in his lungs wreathed around his anguish. He drew out a long breath,  letting the cigar lightly hang between his teeth.

Another breath escaped his lungs as he shut his eyes and pressed his head back. He tried to remember you. The you from yesterday that gleamed at him so fondly, that looked at him with nothing but sincerity. You made him feel so alive.

He would be lying if he said the way people looked at him for the first time didn't even slightly sting him. He'd grown accustomed to it: The lingering gaze on his skin, or the paused stammer as they stared into his eyes, prominent against his pale skin. But you? You looked at him with every unspoken whisper he had hoped to hear, to consume, to feel.

Sitting there, with the knowledge that you were wracked with agony because of him? It destroyed him. He just wants to hold you and rock you in his arms, to whisper that he's sorry and he will always be there to keep you safe. But he knew he couldn't even do that. You could barely even stand to look at his face.

His eyes slowly fluttered open and he pulled out the cigarette from his mouth, silently listening for any sounds from the house. It had been silent for a while now. No shuffle, no sniffle, no ungovernable panting.

He was vigilant as he stepped into the apartment once more. He steadily made his way to your shared room, his gaze softening as it fell on your form, sprawled onto the bed with little care. Half your legs were off the bed.

He carefully hoisted you up comfortably on the bed and draped a blanket over you. He held his breath as he did so, afraid he might wake you up. But it seemed like the exhaustion from the whole day had completely spent you.

He cleaned the blood trail on the floor that you had absentmindedly left behind. He cleaned up the bathroom and carefully got rid of your soaked and battered clothes.

After a few solemn moments of gazing at your sleeping form, heart clenching at the puffed-up state of your eyes, he left.

He sent you a message, telling you he cleaned the house and took care of everything for you. That he's sorry. That he'll give you space. That he loves you.

The next day when he had seen that you'd replied to his messages, he felt a small sense of ease wash over him.

'Thank you,'

His shoulders sagged for a moment, then rose and readjusted as he started typing away at his phone.

He wrote that you needn't thank him, and he'd do much greater things for you. He followed that by asking how you were feeling and then stating that he was going to be staying somewhere until and unless you were ok with him coming back. He wrote that if you needed anything, just text him.

The shame clawing at your stomach was unbearable. You frowned as you peered down at his tender words, the side of your face pushing further into your pillow. You could hear his voice simply from the soothing tone in his messages. You wanted to hear his voice, to melt against his touch, to seep into his warmth.

Seep.

Your eyes wrinkled shut and your features crinkled as a roll of images flashed in your head. An exhale made its way out your nose as you slowly opened your eyes again to gaze over the texts.

You sent him a few, snipped messages then closed your phone and flipped it so the screen was pressed against your mattress.

You retracted your hand and pushed it under your cheek, the guilt within you coiling further. You wanted to see him, even if it was just to catch a glimpse of him, to see if he really was doing ok, but even the mere remembrance of his eyes made your quenched throat flex. You felt the unpleasant sensation of acid rising once again, which you hurriedly swallowed down.

The rest of the day went by on autopilot, the only way you could physically function without any disturbed thoughts or reactions: with your mind somewhere far and distant from your present.

When you finally decided that you'd like to see Zombieman again, an agonizing few days had passed, slow and unrelenting to you, but nonetheless had given you enough time to process everything. You thought you had, anyway.

Yet as he stood before you in your once comforting abode, where you cradled each other and shielded yourselves from the judgmental whispers of the world beyond these walls, you felt yourself sink into another pit of dread.

A grin, far from reaching your eyes, held up as you gazed at him.

He looked clean, he smelled nice, and the scent of his signature cologne embroiled itself in you. At the familiar smell, your muscles almost allowed themselves to relax but your sight did well to remind you.

His hands were jittering aimlessly at his sides, whilst his hesitant gaze kept fixated on you. He held back the eagerness within him. All he desired was to pull you close and have you cry all your heartache to him, but he knew better than to act rash. He had so much to tell you, so many things he wanted to apologize for.

And so did you. You had rehearsed what you wanted to say as you paced around the room, waiting impatiently for his arrival.

His stare held nothing short of warmth and his soft, riant smile coudln't match more perfectly. It always befogged you how someone with such an intimidating build could look so gentle in your eyes.

but just like sand, the admiration and love you tried to grasp onto slipped between the cracks of your fingers.

Your smile was no longer a smile but a taut tilt, the resigned and shaken look on your temples betraying any little calmness you tried to portray.

You swallowed hard, blinking a few times.

You couldn't keep looking at him. Not his face. Not his eyes. You tore your gaze away and trailed down to his torso. Again he wore black. He enjoyed dark colours. You knew this.

By the time your eyes locked onto his gruff hands, your grin had long been replaced and remolded.

You couldn't stand it.

Your eyes bulged as the grey colour of his skin consumed your vision like blotches slowly spreading and hindering your ability to think.

Grey, red, black.

Grey, red, black.

His skin, blood his eyes, his coat.

The weight of his amputated arm on your abdomen.

Your brain screeched with memories of crimson, so bright against the ashen cells. It was immediate. The deprivation of blood to your dread-filled face. The dilation in your pupils. The rapid thumping of your heart.

The air felt heavy as you gasped to suck in enough oxygen. You shook your head, hands quivering as you slowly lifted them to clutch at your face and turn away from him. You retreated into yourself with a weak tremble and stepped away from him. His brows creased inward at your state and his lips parted in an effort to help.

"I can't look at you." Your voice was strained as you pushed the words out your lungs, as if fighting a battle between your past self and your new corrupted one. "The skin. I can't do it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Just please leave."

You're not looking at him, too engraved in your own muddled mind to catch the sorrow in his own as he turns to leave without another word.

You suppressed the sounds of your wails with your pillow, your face pressed suffocatingly hard against the cushion. Guilt chewed at every part of you.

You felt like a prisoner in your own being, chained and shackled down by the unfortunate sights your mind could hardly absorb. You didn't feel like yourself, and nothing you tried to do helped.

In the two weeks that passed, you had kept contact with your lover through texts. It came easy talking to him through the phone, and it was frankly the best part of your day.

Eventually, Zombieman came back to settle in your shared home. You mostly co-existed than you lived together. You didn't look at him much, at least you'd try not to, despite the way you felt his gaze sear your back as you faced away from him in bed. He'd leave early for his job and would come back late, notably extending his work.

You spoke, though. Well, he did. He knew you didn't mind him speaking, as long as you weren't looking at him. In the rare occurrences where the both of you were awake and present at home at the same time, he would speak about everything and anything, even complimenting you between topics. You chuckle, hum, and smile to yourself in response.

Those few moments helped in easing the twinge of discofitense you felt in his presence. But it did little to dull it out after.

Desperation, perhaps. Maybe yearning. Maybe that is what made him do it. He had always been level-headed and calculated, but that didn't mean he was immune to weakness, not when for weeks he'd been kept at arm's length. So close yet so unbearably distant. Quelling back his aching and the vacancy within him for your sake. He didn't regret it, but he couldn't deny that it had taken a light strike to his own self-consciousness.

You stood before the window, light filtering through and outlining your figure. Your eyes were fixated on your clothes as you ironed out the wrinkles along them, your focus elsewhere as you think of your day's schedule.

Your thoughts screech to a deafening halt as you choke back a yell. There was no mistaking the firm arms encasing your waist and the soft breath against your neck. You froze, pulling the iron off your outfit and gripping it with every ounce of strength you had, trying to ground yourself in any way possible.

Your breath paused but your heart beat with furious intensity and your mind raced with too many thoughts.

He didn't know what he was doing. He just held on, waiting for something. For some sort of receprocation. For anything. He thought maybe if he held onto you for a little while, your mind would quieten and you'd ease into him. And you'd come back to him.

You hoped so too, as you stared straight ahead with slightly widened eyes. For a moment, your eyelids relaxed, and you thought maybe this time you were the one controlling your body.

Then, at the faint un-tensing of your shoulders, his grasp slightly tightened around your waist.

You sucked in a sharp breath, the whole of your frame growing rigid.

The weight. the stomach-- Your stomach, it's crushing you again.

Don't look don't look don't look don'tlookdon'tlookdontlook

You tried to force yourself to shut your eyes and to push away every memory. But you couldn't.

The sound of his breath made your ears ring.

"I'm sorry, ok? I miss you. I miss you so much." His voice vibrated into your skin, but you could hardly focus on his confession as the heavy drag of blood clung onto you, and the scent flushed into your nose again.

You swallowed hard, and he pressed his arms firmer, and you looked.

Your eyes blinked down. His sleeve was black and his hands were grey.

This time, your breath came in a screeching gasp. Your face awashed with horror and you flinched, your hands frantically and sloppily pushing away his arms and pulling away from him.

He quickly let go of you, stepping back in dread. Your petrified gaze fell on his face, and for the first time, you finally saw that sting of hurt lining his features. You didn't know if the jolt that wracked your body was a painful reaction to realizing how much he's been holding in, or if it was your stomach again.

Your hands tremble uncontrollably and you gasp in air. Your mouth opened for a moment. You didn't know what you were about to say- if you were going to yell, apologize, or tell him something else. The words missed the finish line again, however.

You think you bolted? Your mind was in too much of a haze to really process anything right, and the familiar convulsion of your body only made your thoughts ink together in deeper disorientation. Your head was over the toilet again, retching out the contents in your system.

You wanted to sob. You were so exhausted from everything. You strained out an incoherent curse between heaves.

"Easy." The words echoed soothingly beside you. They were quiet, almost hesitant, And so was his touch as he pressed his large palm against your back.

The smooth circles he traced made your scrunched face relax slightly, de-knotting a tad bit of tension in your hunched posture.

Your mind, wracked and exhausted, didn't piece together who the radiating presence beside you was, the one it associated with grotesque clarity.

But you could.

At that moment, where you were in such a vulnerable and feeble state, was the only time you could finally rekindle that small thread of connection you shared with him.

He felt it too. It gave him hope. Maybe things could go back to how they were.

Yet as he kneeled to your aid, tentatively watching your shoulders shake as you gagged and coughed, he rethought his hope.

He was willing to wait. He was willing to let you push him away and cry at his mere touch, and he would ignore the sharp impale he felt, every sting and burn you shot with your conflicted gaze. If it was for you? He'd endure a thousand times more.

But could you endure this tormenting turmoil any longer?

[absolutebl]

And the 2nd part is that I was at the Italian fanmeet and noticed that when Khaotung is referring to himself instead of using Pom he often uses his name while First if I heard correctly either uses pom or nothing (if that is even possible). So I was also wondering about your opinion on that. Because to me as a person not even close to understanding Thai it reads more cute than anything really. 🫣😅 Thanks so much if you're taking the time to answer. 🫶🫶

Khaotung when referring to himself often uses his name.

First either uses pom or nothing.

First and Khao are line mates (1998, only a month or so apart) and also about the same career timelines, which means they are both age & professional piers. Equals.

The use of own name is a bit cute, but Khao is cute, and he plays to that as part of his brand, both with First and his previous pairings. I'm not surprised. First is a little less cute (or at least, when opposite Khao, he is that way) hence his use of pom or nothing.

I wouldn't be surprised if they use informal with each other in private (off screen). But on circuit? Certainly NOT.

These two are good polite GMMTV boys and they always act that way in public. (Unlike some of the OGs. New slips into rude a lot, Tay's all over the damn place as per usual. So is Krist.) FirstKhao are very on point with their promo and very professional about their publicity.

Essentially, what you are hearing is standard informal but polite language between friends and piers in public. Because the pairs are branded with seme/uke leanings this adds another dimension to their promo language.

So in Thai there is a non-codified distinction between formal and polite. In BL you'll hear:

formal & polite (khun/name, nai/chan, younger: pom or name)

polite but not really formal (age gap: pom/phi or even hia, piers: pom/name)

formal but not polite - careful there's implied intimacy in this one, it's old fashioned, and because of that when misapplied can be quite insulting (rao/ter, nong+name/phi, and a few other iterations)

and rude (guu/mueng) which is neither formal nor polite.

All of these can be mitigated by polite particles.

On circuit you will always hear the boys using krap. So for what we see IRL on screen connected to BL promos, particles aren't in play. But in Thailand (in my experience on the ground) ha is super commonly used with friends and family, and ja within the queer community.

Which brings us to the 5th option "curt" which leaves off the polite particles and can leave off pronouns altogether and is basically not formal and also not "really" polite, but not all the way to rude. Usually only heard in males older than their conversation partner (Dean) or older childless females in positions of authority and genderfluid characters like June in Love Area.

Okay, I got a flight to catch!

Bye for now. Hope this makes sense.

[spanishskulduggery]

To continue with the "¡ya vas a ver!", what are the many uses of ya? I thought it meant "already" with an impatient-like flair. What more can it do/mean?

It can be "already", yes. That is how it's normally taught

ya itself is what I have called a "flavoring particle" where it's a word that can be added in to express either urgency or affirmative

I think many other languages have something like this, though for me the closest analogue I can think of is the German word ja which is very similar

As an example, ya can be used as an affirmative response the equivalent of "yeah", a way to show that you were listening or understand, or that something will be done soon. Sometimes people use it in place of sí as an affirmative

A similar offshoot is that ya can also be used to express "and that's it", an air of finality... sort of similar to how English might say "just", a kind of insistence in its finality:

Ya está. = All done. / Already done. / It's ready. [lit. "it is already" or "it is (here) now/already"; think of it sort of like "presto" or "voila"] Ya te digo. = I'm telling you. / It sure is. [lit. "I'm already telling you"; sometimes it can be used in its more literal sense "I will tell you soon" or "I'll let you know"] Si pudiera, lo haría de una vez y ya. = If I could, I would (hurry up and) do it, and that would be that. [lit. "if I were able to, I would do it for once and there/already"; y ya here reads like voila a lot, kind of like "and that would be that" or "and then it would be over"... it reads like someone rushing to get something done once and for all]

Where it gets tricky is that ya is also used as "already", where it can imply that something has been done now. This is probably how most people see it.

Ya te dije la verdad. = I already told you the truth. Ya lo compramos. = We already bought it. Ya me contaron la historia. = They already told me the story.

Similarly in negative ya no comes out as "not anymore"

Ya no puedo más. = I can't do it anymore. [sort of like "I don't have the strength/energy/ability"] Es que éramos amigos pero ya no. = The thing is we were friends but not anymore.

It can in some contexts be "now" or "already" to imply hastiness or rushing like emphasis, or it comes out as "soon" or "soon enough"

Ya se verá. = You'll find out soon enough. / You'll see. [lit. "soon it will be seen"] ¡Hazlo ya! = Do it! / Do it already! [rushing tone] ¡Hazlo, pero ya! = Just do it already! [implies "stop stalling" or "quit goofing off and do it"]

Then you see ya que which means "since", more like "given that" or "that being the case"

Tiene sentido ya que es muy grande. = It makes sense since it's so big. Ya que todo el mundo lo sabe... = Since everyone knows...

In general with ya you have to feel it out because the English translates differently depending on the tone and the context. But I tend to think of it as insistence or urgency

[gallifreyinstituteforlearning]

Hello! I have several questions: 1) if you have a Gallifreyan dictionary, could I please see it? 2) what does "TOTW" mean in your language tags? 3) what's the Gallifreyan word for healer/to heal/doctor? 4) there are a group of chronicles about one of Gallifrey's most infamous children, including audios, books, comics, games, movies, and a TV series. Do your words come from these, or are they from another source?

- @theangelshavethephonebox

Quickfire round!? 😃

1️⃣ If you have a Gallifreyan dictionary, could I please see it?

GIL's dictionary is right now being developed along with a full grammar guide. It's available as a living document for anyone particularly interested in the conlang, as long as they don't mind a bit of a crushing mess while things slowly get organised. A better release is planned when it's a bit neater. Message me for links (and excuses).

2️⃣ What does "TOTW" mean in your language tags?

TOTW means 'Theme of the Week' and goes on all scheduled content on weekdays. I try to be consistent. You can see all this year's old and upcoming themes in the Masterpost.

3️⃣ What's the Gallifreyan word for healer/to heal/doctor?

Conlang answer.

Rikijai - someone who heals (a healer)

Jakri - to heal

Doctor - see below:

This has a few variations for hyper-specificity.

Rikijai = surgeon etc. (one who repairs the body)

Zykijai = psychiatrist etc. (one who repairs the machine (brain))

Rizykijai = doctor/all around healer (one who repairs the body and the machine (brain))

These are more general terms (like for jobs) - you can suffix these with gender particles (po, mo, zo) to specify a particular individual.

Rikijaipo = The Surgeon [male]

Zykijaimo = The Psychiatrist [female]

Rizykijaizo = The Doctor [gender neutral]

Or just add an Honorific to make it their title.

Poja-Rikijai = Honorable Surgeon man

Moja-Zykijai = Honorable Psychiatrist woman

Zoja-Rizykijai = Honorable Doctor [gender neutral]

Ja-Rizykijai = Honorable Doctor [no gender]

4️⃣ [...] Do your words come from these, or are they from another source?

They come from everywhere. This might help:

Hope that helped! 😃

Any purple text is educated guesswork or theoretical. More content ... →📫Got a question? | 📚Complete list of Q+A and factoids →😆Jokes |🩻Biology |🗨️Language |🕰️Throwbacks |🤓Facts →🫀Gallifreyan Anatomy and Physiology Guide (pending) →⚕️Gallifreyan Emergency Medicine Guides →📝Source list (WIP) →📜Masterpost If you're finding your happy place in this part of the internet, feel free to buy a coffee to help keep our exhausted human conscious. She works full-time in medicine and is so very tired 😴

[strixcattus]

Conlang Year Days 206–258

...That's a rather long span of time. I suppose it makes sense because this post is going to cover All The Clauses. I'm not sure if this is my longest Conlang Year post (though it's probably the longest timespan), but it's a big one.

As you will see, the following sections are incredibly nonsequential. To the point where even if I weren't playing catch-up, I still would have had to wait the full fifty-three days before posting.

Days 206–212 and 252–255: Relative Clauses

Relative clauses follow the nouns they modify and are structured in the same way as full sentences, using a relative pronoun. This pronoun is always used with a case particle (similar to demonstrative pronouns) and conjugates for subjective tense.

(Note: Despite having been doing things with -iza vs. -u/oli pronouns for months, I somehow managed to swap the inanimate and animate sets of pronouns and only caught it much later. Hopefully I'm managing to catch any errors that might find their way into the examples I'm putting into this post, but...)

The verb of a relative clause is almost always left tenseless, unless its objective tense is necessary to clarify.

Koikesio ne ja siza zasi tio nasiza ne ja zacio duoko. I see the person who repaired my time machine.

Nesui tio jia gate sage natia deitei ne taoli dio jikata. The birdmeat that you wanted to eat is over here.

Relative clauses always have heads.

Kateiko sou lui keda katu tia sou taoli. I will go anywhere you go. (lit. I will go to any place that you go to.)

Days 214–222: Phrasal Modifiers

Days 215 and 219: Adposition Phrases

Adposition phrases can be as simple as an adposition phrase placed immediately after the noun they modify:

Kai tio ja siza da Kesiniju ne ki jilulu kainanu. The person from Kesiniju gave them (sg.) flowers.

In some cases, context or order makes the meaning clear—while all arguments save the subject can come in any order, placing, say, a locative argument between the subject and object would usually not happen unless it's meant to modify the subject. Of course, there can be ambiguity:

Lena tiona ja siza da Kesiniju sou ja miedegako. The person from Kesiniju came to the library. OR The person came to the library from Kesiniju.

And you can always use a relative clause to convey the same information in an unambiguous way:

Lena tiona ja siza nai timiza da Kesiniju sou ja miedegako. The person who is from Kesiniju came to the library.

Days 216–217 and 220: Active and Passive Participial Modifiers

This is not a feature present in Lecizao. Relative clauses are to be used instead.

Here's a passive relative clause, to prove that they exist:

Kitulano ne jia gate teinai tio nasaoli kao ja juoci duosia. I made the birdmeat that was eaten by your friend. (I'm looking back at my lexicon and I actually don't think kitule is supposed to mean "make" as in "create," but rather exclusively "make" as in "cause"... this can be a problem for later down the line. I'm too tired to create new vocabulary today.)

Days 218 and 221: Infinitival Modifiers

Infinitives can be placed as noun modifiers in the same manner as adjectives (i.e. after the noun). That's, ah, that's it.

Tetesio ne talouli deitei. I have many things to eat.

Days 223–224 and 235–239: Noun Clauses

My entire section on noun clauses is just a reference to the section on embedded clauses.

Clauses (with infinitive verbs) can be treated as nouns by applying a particle to them. This is something I neglected to include when first working on embedded clauses, but in retrospect makes more sense than the alternative. So that's been adjusted.

Gakani ne deisage naneju deitei ne jia gate. They (sg.) said they (sg.) wanted to eat birdmeat.

Koigano ne deitei tiona Keiti ne ja nene. I saw Katie eating the onion.

(Accusative particle underlined in both examples)

Clauses can be put under any case that makes sense. Here are examples where clauses are given nominative and instrumental marking:

Nai tio deikitule kalo naneju ne deitei tiona Keiti ne ja nene. It is wrong that they (sg.) made Katie eat the onion. (That they (sg.) made Katie eat the onion is wrong.) (Check that adjective placement!)

Lenano nalako sie naneju sou Tanu Dato kao deilio. We (excl.) came to Tanu Dato by walking.

Day 225: Subjunctives

There is no specific subjunctive marking in Lecizao.

Tenesio ne deisuonai lako dio jikata. I wish I weren't here.

Days 226, 228–229, and 231–232: Evidential Marking and Communication/Cognition

See: Embedded clauses. Again.

Sidesio ne deitei tiona Keiti ne ja nene. I know Keiti ate the onion. Gakani ciako ne deitei tiona Keiti ne ja nene. They told me Keiti ate the onion. Midani ne deitei tiona Keiti ne ja nene. They lied that Keiti ate the onion. Denano ne deitei tiona Keiti ne ja nene. I thought that Keiti ate the onion.

(Fun fact: Lecizao now has a canonical word for "onion." It's nenetono. But I've been making Katie/Keiti eat onions to show off embedded clauses for a while, and nene can cover almost all edible plant parts, including whatever an onion is [don't know nor care], and I really don't feel like going through and replacing all of them now or ever.)

Days 227, 229, 233, and 248: Conditionals and Reason/Condition Clauses

I posted part of the conditional documentation out of context a while back. Here's a condensed version of the whole thing:

Conditionals are formed in different ways depending on whether the verb is tenseless or tensed. Tenseless verbs just take a prefix ni-:

Miju tiokesi Keiti. Keiti is sleeping. Nimiju tiokesi Keiti. Keiti would be sleeping right now. (Note that there is a tense in this sentence, but it's attached to the case particle.)

Tensed verbs use an infix instead. Whenever possible, the infix is reduced simply to -n-, coming between the full verb and the reduced suffix. Otherwise (which is to say, in 3.5th and 4th person), the infix is -ni- and comes between the full verb and the suffix.

Mijesio. I am sleeping. Mijunesio. I would be sleeping. Mijusipeke. The Time Worm is sleeping. Mijunisipeke. The Time Worm would be sleeping.

Irregular verbs are treated as regular in this construction:

Neiso lako lakui. I am afraid. Nainesio lako lakui. I would be afraid. (The most literal translation of these sentences would actually be "Afraid me exists." This is how adjectives work.)

The word niu pretty straightforwardly means "if." It can be used to indicate external information that a conditional is dependent on, either before or after the conditional:

Niu neisia zunoma, mijunesio. If you were quiet (right now), I would be sleeping. Mijunesio, niu neisia zunoma. I would be sleeping if you were quiet (right now).

Or it can be used to indicate unknown information:

Nemulesio niu deimiju tio Keiti. I do not know if Keiti is sleeping.

Reason clauses are led in with the word node, and follow the clause they give reason for. As you will soon see, this is very typical.

Nemulano ne ja zeneino, node nano kui jia Kamama Taitesi. I didn’t hear about the pandemic, because I was in the Taitesi Mountains. Nemulano ne deigana nanejui, node mijano diaci kogakatia ne goduili. I didn’t know they left, because I was asleep when you said so.

Days 243–245: Clausal Coordination

I already did this.

Days 246–247, 249–251, and 256–258: Adverb Clauses

Adverb clauses are generally formed with conjunctions. There are sequential conjunctions, conjunctions for indicating time and place... and those are all the ones I've already made.

Mijano sezela tei dio gainoudu. I slept after eating in the evening. Zaseiko ne ja zacio duoko seku gana. I will repair my time machine before leaving. (Or: I will repair my time machine, and then leave.)

Mijeiko diaci konai ne la zatuiza. I will sleep when I’m dead. (lit. I will sleep when I’m a person that dies.) Nemulano ne la keni nai tio timiza daida kokimo tio ja dolo. I didn’t see a path at the start of the river. (lit. I didn’t see a path that was where the river begins. [Implying you may have seen one elsewhere]) Galani ne la degako diaci kopasi se la nulo. They read a book while sitting at a desk. (lit. They read a book when sat at a desk.)

That's it. I think. If it isn't, well, I've spent enough time on this post. If I've made a mistake on the days I'm attributing to each category, or forgotten something important, or written something particularly silly, I don't care until at least tomorrow and at most until I've managed to scrape together a full night of sleep, which at the rate I've been going might not happen for a month or several or ever.

And I'm still eleven days behind on Conlang Year and counting. Hopefully I can catch up before September en—before October st—before too long. That's a realistic goal because it cannot be defined.

[visualtaehyun]

Disclaimer: not a native Thai speaker, still learning 🙏

The Fixed Stars 🌌

แก๊งดาวฤกษ์ /gang daao reerk/ = the star gang

ดาวฤกษ์ /daao reerk/ = astronomical term for a (fixed) star, the one closest to us is the Sun

ฤกษ์ /reerk/ = auspicious time

Haplessness

ซวย /suuay/ = unlucky, comes up a lot this episode! It's the same word Ongsa changes her half-delirious 'pretty' (สวย /suuay/) to in ep. 1 when she faints (explained here)

Ongsa's IG post

caption: ลุงกำพร้า น่าสงสาร /loong gam phraa. naa song saan/ = The uncle is grasping a knife/the uncle is orphaned. So pitiable!

-> pun on กำพร้า /gam phraa/ = orphan

-> กำ /gam/ = grasp, clench + พร้า /phraa/ = a large knife

Misc. pronouns and stuff

Tin, Charoen, and Ongsa

Ongsa เรา /rao/, Tin ฉัน /chan/ , Charoen uses her own name as a 1st pers. pronoun

Tin and Charoen use มึง /meung/ with each other but แก /gae/ with Ongsa (they're both familiar pronouns but the latter isn't as impolite), Ongsa uses แก /gae/ with both of them

Ton

whenever he's talking to girls, he uses typically-female polite ending particles ค่ะ/คะ /kha/ -> makes him sound like a playboy/a bit sleazy lol

maybe it's just AJ's delivery of some of these instances but, considering he's Ongsa's ex and Ongsa is a lesbian, there's a possibility he's actually a closeted gay

Ongsa and Alpha

Ongsa: หนู /nuu/ ->พี่ /phi/ + polite ending particles ค่ะ/คะ /kha/

Alpha: พี่ /phi/->แก /gae/

Nida and Bambam

ฉัน /chan/->ครู /kruu/ (title for teacher) or คุณ /khun/ (polite formal 2nd pers. pronoun) + polite ending particles ค่ะ/คะ /kha/

Luna and Aylin

Luna: พี่ /phi/->น้อง /nong/ or Aylin

Aylin: no pronouns and no polite ending particles In contrast- Ongsa and Sun use หนู /nuu/ and ค่ะ/คะ /kha/ whenever they're talking to anyone older, like Luna or the teachers

Luna's little speech to Aylin:

เพราะว่าพี่ก็เชื่อเหมือนกัน ว่าเราไม่ได้โดดเดี่ยวอยู่ในจักรวาล /phraw waa phi gaaw cheuua meuuan gan waa rao mai dai doht diao yuu nai jak gra waan/ = because I also believe that we aren't all alone in the universe. -> โดดเดี่ยว /doht diao/ = solitary, lonely, isolated

สำรวจอวกาศคนเดียวอ่ะ เหงาจะตาย ไปสำรวจด้วยกันมั้ย /sam ruuat a waa gaat khohn diao a- ngao ja dtaai. bpai sam ruuat duay gan mai/ = Exploring all by yourself- that's super lonely. Shall we go explore together?

Books

Alpha is reading Hemingway's The Old Man and The Sea:

The book Aylin picked at the library also shows up as a prop in Ongsa's room later:

[textingtroublesanswers]

*Tala wakes up slowly, but something is immediately wrong. The air is still and stale, particles floating. She sits up, looking around. There was no sign of anyone, at all, the rooms having been cleared out, the mattress bare. There even seemed to be cracks along the walls and ceilings. She knows that to be the sign of structural decay. She'd seen it all too often. She exited into the support hallway, only to see much of the same. The emblems on the door had been scrapped off, leaving nothing but an outline of where they'd once sat on the outside of the door. The rest of the base had been completely emptied too. Nothing left, not so much as a single bullet shell or empty can of bonk. walking through the common rooms and kitchen, more cracks spread across the walls, floors and ceiling. All the windows had their curtains and blinds drawn, or had been so boarded up they might as well been a barricade. Tala didn't even call out for anyone, she didn't exactly know why. It felt like she already knew the answer would be only her echo. Making her way to the front door, she had to use some force to push the rusted hinges open, but once outside all around was nothing but flat desert and sand as far as the eye could see, winds blowing at blistering speeds, just like the first evening she arrived in the past. She just held on to the door, tears streaming down her face, staring out at the endless horizon as the sun set.*

"You're all alone,

They abandoned you..."

*Tala screamed, sitting up right and clutching onto her legs and grabbing her hair at her scalp. She couldn't see anything through the blurry vision of her tears*

-🦖

Ludwig runs a hand through her hair, humming soothingly nearby. The tune seems to enter through her ear & rattle about inside her brain, refusing to exit again.

"Shh, shh, stay calm. I don't need you flailing around while I check you over, now do I? It was just a bad dream. We all get those. Und unless they're prophetic, there's no reason to listen to them, Taube, so just breathe & let me do mein job, ja?"