#the way I become fluent in korean IMMEDIATELY

[into-the-voiddddd]

"What It Means to be King" - Xcalibur (Musical)

#I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE #the way I become fluent in korean IMMEDIATELY #dk #xcalibur #what it means to be king #SoundCloud #spotify/soundcloud doesn't have it :c

[beautifulpersonpeach]

been lurking on your blog for a while and i find your new jeans write ups interesting. it's like the cookie song doesn't bother you so you're okay with it?

***

Hi Anon,

Story Time

Some years back, I moved to the US for work. I'd learned English at a young age, lived and worked with English-speakers and thought myself to be very fluent. Anyway, one day I had a business proposal put in front of my desk. I won't explain what exactly the product was, but the long and short of it is that at some point during the brainstorming session, "two girls one xyz" became the catchiest, most fitting tagline. My team had a good mix of old and young people who came from diverse backgrounds. We could all speak English and considered ourselves well versed in slang, but nobody in the team caught the reference until 2 weeks before launch, when in one of the campaigns, it sounded like "two girls one cup".

Now, for anyone who doesn't know what that phrase is, don't bother googling it. The gist is, I quickly learned that in America, you never say "two girls one cup". At least not in public. Everywhere else, this line doesn't mean anything, but in America and certain online communities, it means everything. By the time we found out, it was too late to revamp the campaign to change it, so we instead tweaked it to become a bit quirkier so those who caught the reference won't be totally put off by it. And overall the project was a success and caught on well in Germany, Poland and the UK, but if we didn't catch that reference in time, the campaign would've been a disaster. The way we caught the reference was someone outside the team, a local American, who immediately flagged it the minute he saw it in our outlook report. All of us fluent English-speakers had some vague idea of the various ways the campaign would look and sound, but nobody attached the meaning of "two girls one cup" to it.

And so, maybe that's why I buy the explanation offered by Ador. I can very easily see how an English professor at a Korean university, a couple of Scandinavian songwriters, and one Korean DJ, wouldn't know a Eurocentric slang interpretation of an innocuous English word. Because I myself, the first time I heard Cookie, didn't get any sexual undertones or innuendos. The song honestly just seemed cute to me… the puns in Korean were cute. Also, “taste it, smell it, bake it…” for Korean sweets and desserts, all that isn't odd to say. I mean, people here plan their whole days around trying out a new café and savouring a new sweet on the menu like it's a life-changing experience. It's fun and cute to attach that level of attention and importance to your sweets. The connection with CDs was obvious at first glance too (the CDs are huge in the MV so it's hard to miss), and given what I would call the ‘café culture’ in Korea, the play on words in Cookie seemed honest to God adorable, and a lot of my Korean friends and family (the few who listen to k-pop) felt the same. It probably sounds like I'm reaching here but overall I didn't think this was a big deal anyway.

International k-pop stans felt differently, but k-pop stans in general are easy to rile up, and even if Ador indeed had some ulterior motive, either way I don't really care.

I don't care for the same reason I don't care that Beyonce used the 'spazz' slang in her song, for the same reason I don't care Chaeyoung from Twice went around the US in a Q-Anon/nazi t-shirt, for the same reason I don't care about XG saying they've got 'opps', for the same reason I don't care that Mamamoo/Shinee have done black/brownface and never apologized for it, for the same reason I don't care that Florence Welch is apparently a Satanist, for the same reason I don't care Bang PD is likely fucking someone half his age...

And so on.

It's not because I don't understand the implications of all these issues, but the standard applied in stan twt for what is considered 'problematic' and 'cancellable' doesn't impact how I feel about music and the artists. I decide all that for myself.

And I like Cookie and NewJeans.

#newjeans #newjeans cookie #kpop #Kpop music #girl groups #ador #Hybe #fandom discourse #kpop fandom

[sw1mmingfoolz]

How did you become fluent in Korean and how long did it take you? Just wondering because I've been studying on and off for almost 2 years and all I can do is read Hangul 😅😅

Hello there!! Honestly I feel this ask so hard and I will try my best not to rant (it is a long answer regardless though, apologies!) but I'm gonna preface this by saying:

DO NOT believe people who tell you Korean is easy.

This goes especially if your native tongue is English. Sure, learning Hangul is easy, and a lot of basic words are easy too, but Korean and English are basically complete opposites, and believing this will quickly cause you to become disheartened. The grammar is entirely different, verb conjugation can take a while to perfect, particle use is incredibly hard to get right because for Koreans it is more of an instinct than something learned and, maybe hardest of all, when self studying is can be hard to sound natural.

The biggest mistake people make is trying to 1:1 translate between English and Korean, which doesn't work because they're so different. For example you don't tend to use pronouns often in Korean like you do in English; using Papago (or, god forbid, Google translate) will often bring up words like 당신 (don't use this word in conversation like, ever hahaha) and 너 (only use this with close friends and people younger than you) or 그녀는/그는 (which are more written grammar and kinda rude to say unless talking about someone younger) instead of teaching you to use a person's name and social title, and this is one of many issues that result from that kind of 1:1 learning. So in theory it's rather easy to learn but you'll sound stilted and textbook-y.

So, in saying that, I want you to know Korean is a pretty big task if you want to speak it well. If you're happy enough with just basic enough Korean TTMIK videos have you covered pretty much (and if you wanna become fluent they really have you covered, as their in depth grammar videos, IYAGI and their cultural/Q&A videos are really helpful when dealing with what I mentioned above!).

I've been learning on and off for the last 8 years now, with the last roughly 4 spent seriously learning and honestly my speaking still kinda sucks because I only really started speaking frequently this year in person with a Korean friend. My reading, writing and listening are all way better than my speaking but I'm getting there with the latter! My main advice is to not neglect any of the four; if you can get a Korean friend to practise with that's incredible as they're easily able to tell you "no one really says that" or something (although don't just get a friend for the sake of bettering your Korean lol), but even if not I used to just narrate everything I was doing to myself, sit and create fake scenarios and act them out, or even talk to my dog (who doesn't seem to know Korean sadly 😤). For listening there's tons of practice on YouTube and Korean kid's cartoons (there's a lot of Korean dubbed Peppa Pig on YT that I've watched plenty of haha). For grammar I honestly recommend you properly learn English (or your native tongue's) grammar as I realised a lot of my struggles with Korean grammar was not knowing grammatical terminology due to English grammar being completely second nature to me. Immersion is more important than sitting down every day to write a bunch of random stuff you won't immerse for an hour; podcasts and even songs are good for learning on the go and flashcards are IMMENSELY helpful for particles and vocabulary! The Korean subreddit is also IMO a very underrated tool as very specific questions are answered on there :)

But my main advice? Just be nice to yourself. Not only is it hard to learn but a huge mistake we as language learners tend to make is wanting perfection immediately. To be crippled with fear so much you don't even speak is a death wish upon your learning. I still struggle with this, but meeting Hyunju helped a lot because she made me realise her English grammar sometimes isn't the best, or she'll sometimes use the wrong word or not know the right word, but I always understand her anyway and it's the same with my Korean. Speak as much as you can, crave the knowledge, watch and listen to as much Korean stuff as possible and you'll pick up words and grammar patterns without noticing, and don't give up.

Sometimes you may feel a little overwhelmed, for it is a lot to learn, by which point you should absolutely step away and just take a break. I think Felix once expressed this as well when he was asked about learning Korean but like, it's an entire language, it's a lot to take in, and sometimes it can really feel like too much. By then it is best to take a breather or you can quickly unravel your passion or want to study at all. It isn't a race, people learn at different speeds, and it does tend to take multiple years to be proficient!

Best of luck to you, and you (or anyone!) can always feel free to message if you need any specific help or a conversation buddy :) 응원하고 있어요~

#sorry this got insanely long ahahaha I'm a passionate learner #a/n #a: anon #korean learning

[baihuamp]

the sacrifice of life.

CWs for death, human sacrifice, intense emotions.

Hua blinks, vision bleary in the darkness of his apartment. The faint ringing of his phone is the only thing piercing the stillness of the room, and he fumbles around on the nearby nightstand, looking for it. When it's not there, his search becomes a bit more panicked, hands shuffling through his sheets until they fall on something hard. By that point, of course, the phone has stopped ringing, and he sighs.

The screen is like a beacon in the black night of the apartment, only the dim light from his bathroom illuminating the floor nearby. He squints as he pokes around on it, eventually finding his way to the new voicemail. Clicking on it, he lets it play as he rubs his eyes. His native Mandarin spills out of the speaker, a welcome surprise from his fluent Korean, and Hua finds himself grinning as the message starts.

Hey, Hua—well, I hope this is Hua. You're a hard fucker to track down, you know that? (The man laughs.) But it's me, Jin. I...uh. I probably shouldn't be calling you right now, I'm sure they can trace this—but I had to tell you this, it's...it's really important. Look, I'm going to try and leave the complex soon, so if you get this, call me back immediately—

He reads his phone number out and the voicemail ends, nothing but static playing on the other end of the earpiece. Hua's grin has faded completely, his fingers already darting across the surface of the screen, dialing his friend back as quickly as he can. Clutching the phone so tightly that his knuckles turn white, he lifts it to his ear, praying to anything that's holy that he can catch Jin before—

"Hello?"

"Jin, thank god." He breathes a sigh of relief. "Listen to me, you cannot—"

"Hua, don't." The urgency in his friend's voice causes Hua to halt mid-sentence, blinking as if the words got stuck in his throat. "Look, the reason I called you..." Jin's hesitation is clear even in just his voice; Hua can only imagine what the other man looks like. He's known him for nearly all his life, Jin being only a few years older than him. Back at the complex, they'd been near inseparable. And Jin was the only one that knew he had gotten out. They were as close to brothers as Hua would ever get; never mind their bloodlines. "It's about your mom."

Hua can feel the blood drain from his face, his grip on the phone tightening. "W-what about her?"

There's an audible swallow from the other end of the line and a lengthy pause before his friend takes a deep breath, continuing in his cracking voice. "Hua, she's...she's gone."

The whole world feels as though it grinds to a halt. All Hua can hear in his ears is the pounding of his heartbeat, the thrumming of his pulse. Gone? Gone how? There's an abrupt noise in his eardrum and his jaw works silently to respond— "y-yeah, Jin, sorry, yes, I'm here." He swallows hard. "What—what do you mean by gone?"

"Sh-she's dead. She sacrificed herself."

Hua's heart drops out of his chest at the words, a numb hollowness taking its place. The sharp pain in his gut twisted on itself, and his mouth dried up as he tried desperately to respond. "...Jin, I-I can't—"

"Don't. Just don't." The other man's voice was just as shaky as his own, and Hua took a slow, shallow breath. Jin had been as close to his mother as he had; likely closer, considering Hua's personal issues with the woman. He was grieving, too. "Look, I can't take this anymore, Hua. I can't. I'm going to leave."

"...but if they catch you—"

"They won't. I'm not dumb, Hua, I know what I'm doing. I...I know the risks. I'll be okay. I—" There's a sharp intake of breath from the other end of the line, and suddenly Hua's fingers are clenching again, nearly pressing the buttons on his phone in his panic.

"Hey!" A gruff voice can be heard through the earpiece, and Hua can hear the rustle of clothes as Jin presumably glances behind him.

"I'll call you later." His voice is tight, taut with fear—and the line goes dead a moment later.

"Jin, please." The words spill out of Hua's mouth into the already dead air with a sob as the phone falls from his hand, thunking onto the sheets in his lap. That building had claimed so many of his friends' lives so far, and it only continued to take. First Uncle, then his friends, now his mother, and they're about to take his best friend. He slams a fist on the bed, tears dripping down his cheeks in anger as his cries slip out, each more pained than the last. The damn group of assholes had consistently taken almost everything from him, and they wouldn't stop.

No. Not quite everything.

Hua wipes his hand across his face, breaths coming in shuddering gasps. Slowly, he swings his legs over the side of the bed, floor like ice against the balls of his bare feet. Padding through the hallway, through the living room, out the door, down the passage, and towards the neighboring room—he knows where he needs to go.

His fingers hesitate for only a second over the wood, knocking firmly. (It's the middle of the night, is he even awake?) His vision blurs with tears as he stands, chest shuddering with barely contained cries. A minute passes, then two minutes, and just as Hua turns to leave—

—the door opens. There's a moment of silence as the two men stare at each other, equal parts sorrow and concern, before Hua falls forward—and falls apart, arms wrapping tightly around his boyfriend. "They're gone," he whispers. "They're all gone." He shakes his head as he sobs, too much of a mess to explain what's going on.

The tears are coming harder and faster, wetting the other man's shoulder, but at this point, Hua doesn't care. He can't care. He just holds him close, in the only place left in this world that he truly cares about. In-soo, Davina, Areum, Ezra, Seungmin, Angela, Hunter—these people were his life now.

And he would cling to it for as long as he possibly could.

#. . . reflections #// this is a piece of hua's character arc i've been planning for a while #// it's also been sitting in my drafts since about the start of may whoospies #death tw #death cw

[lgcrp]

◔ ┈ LOADING … TRAINEE PROFILE INITIATED !

ITO YUKINARI ( READ MORE HERE )

AGE 25 ( 29 JUNE 1998 )

TRAINED FOR 11 MONTHS ( SIGNED JANUARY 2023 )

              INTRODUCTION VIDEO FOUND … PRESS PLAY ?

(Reference song) Yuki recalls his past and the memorable time that was spent as an idol – even if it was a short-lived career, one that didn't really give him the chance to fully experience the spotlight for longer than a few months. That was his past. He was now living in the future, starting from square one all over again in order to make his dreams come true, and it was all thanks to Legacy Entertainment for giving him that chance to prove he wasn't some washed up idol. There would be obvious differences between debuting in Japan versus debuting in Korea but he was more than ready to take on any challenge thrown his way, and if re-debuting meant that he would have to erase his past then he would. Standing there in front of the camera as it records him, Yuki begins singing. It was one of his more praiseworthy skills that even gained him entry into the company even if he wasn't known as the best amongst the rest of the trainees here. He would just have to work harder in order to secure a solid footing within the entertainment industry, taking it one step at a time. Beginning almost immediately he sings one of his favorite songs – he would have chosen a song in Korean but seeing that his skills in the language needed a lot of improvement, Yuki decided to go with a song in his native tongue that he could easily sing without completely embarrassing himself on camera. "Hello everyone!" His voice sounds once he sings a few lines. "My name is Yukinari Ito and as you have probably already guessed, I'm currently a trainee here at Legacy. It's really nice to meet you all." Yuki's broken Korean did manage to help him get by with short introductions but there was obviously room for improvement. One could even tell that he wasn't exactly fluent in the Korean language because of the small moments of mispronouncing a few words here and there. "My ultimate goal and reasoning behind being a trainee is probably the same as most here. I want to become an idol. I know that I still have a long ways to go, but I do hope that you will all support me in the future." A genuine smile is flashed at the camera recording him before he bows and the video comes to an end.

            INTERESTED ? REACH OUT TO THE TRAINEE !

#lgc:accepted #murata fuma #&team

[goyangii]

is it okay if i ask u about your experiences with being fetishized in online and offline spaces?? i deactivated my social media over this but i feel like a lot of non-Koreans make random Korean people feel like we're the spokesperson on all Korean issues??? i've noticed this fetishization happens a lot so i kinda avoid non-Koreans if they're kpop fans or if they act weirdly (they have a way of treating us like fantasies but also act very weirdly toward us)

oh my god yessss. for a disclaimer, i grew up in kr/kr american neighborhoods or at least very predominantly asian neighborhoods for almost all my life so most of my experience with ppl being gross was online and in school only and tbh until like, maybe ~2010 i never had a problem with ppl being weird about korean stuff specifically, mostly just weebs/yellow fever types. but when that started becoming a problem i just never said that i was korean specifically and if i ever made reference to my race i'd say "asian" or "east asian" only lol. if i was around other asians i'd be more open but it's definitely tough, as i've had non-kr asians be kind of weird about it too sometimes unfortunately and i really don't know what to do about that either bc i do not do that to others?? it's so bizarre to me. and yes omfg i definitely see wym about ppl acting like One Random Korean Person is somehow Representative of All of Korea and has to educate/have opinions on every korean-related topic under the sun too, i've had friends (even non-kr asian friends!!) always ask me about any korean related topic as if i was the expert on everything korean or assume i care about X korean show or Y kpop song or Z korean issue or will teach them about [___] korean food or whatever.

it reminds me of white friends expecting me to teach them how to use chopsticks in uni or always asking me how to pronounce any asian name (even if it wasn't korean!) and honestly annoys me a lot bc i would never do this to someone of another race. like i would never go to a chinese person and treat them like chinese person instead of chinese person so idk why they act like this????? and online dating is AWFUL esp as kpop got so big, i legit have had ppl immediately open with "omg i love kpop/kdramas/kimchi 😍" as if i'm supposed to care????????

also i'm korean american, not born in korea so i'm 2nd gen but my korean is awful (i learned japanese growing up instead bc my elementary school had very limited options...my mom is still giving me grief about that 20+ yrs later oof) and i don't consume much korean media outside of what i watch/listen/see with my family, so i'm often a "bad" korean or not korean enough to some people. it's one thing if my family jokes about it bc i can't handle spicy foods but it does hurt when it comes from like, ajummas at church or something. i'm also not "traditionally" a good woman — i have darker skin (maybe from growing up in a tropical area?? i used to be even darker and my mom would always comment on it negatively), i am more masc/gnc, i don't date men, i don't/won't have children, i have no interest in becoming a doctor/lawyer, i am not christian, etc. so my mom has gotten a lot of flak from other koreans for raising me "wrong", even from her own extended family. it really just sucks bc it made me hate her and korean culture when i was a kid and it's taken so long to understand why she tried to pressure me to fit an ideal mold. then on the flip side i can't even just be a "normal" american, i've had ppl assume i don't speak english (i speak fluent english!!!!), say i sound esl (i literally don't T_T this one feels kinda racist ngl), ask me where i'm from, stare at me in more white areas, white ppl randomly try to speak (really, really bad) korean to me, etc so i find i don't really fit in comfortably anywhere but with other asian americans in the end. it's a kind of awkward in between two worlds where i'm never enough of either to count. idk if you experience that too. it sometimes bums me out bc i have friends who are, say, 2nd gen filipino or chinese or viet and we all share that feeling to varying degrees. like a fish out of water kind of feeling.

specifically in trans spaces i've had a lot of issues with fetishization, esp from white tims (though i've had my unfair share from tif kpop stans) but also from non-kr asian tims, but thankfully it's been long enough that i've been out and cut most tims out of my life that i could w/o getting cancelled as a terf that most of my day to day is just frustration with irl (this is like 90% of the problem) and more casual online spaces like twitter, reddit, tumblr, etc. (which i try to be kind of anonymous in nowadays). still i do have to interact with some tims and tifs and it does make my stomach crawl to see full ass white women larping as kpop boys or men posting about how asian women are the ~peak of femininity~ and they just want their ~kpop goddess~ or whatever and nobody calls this shit out for what it is. it's so demoralizing and i'm happy i left the trans community. i just wish there was more of an asian/asian american detrans community (hah...if only) or at least lgb community, bc i only know a very small handful of lgb asians and most of them are bihet women......

interestingly outside of kpop and kdramas most of the fetishization seems to be just bog standard asian fetish/yellow fever, idt most of the idiots who try to hit me up with "i've never been with an asian before ;)" even know what i am lmao. so i guess there's that? i've always had a weird frustration w/ this bc it's like korea is invisible except for kpop/kdramas so they can't even be more specific in their fetishization lmfao

this turned out super long and idk if it helped but if you ever want to message me off anon abt this pls feel free to!! i try to be kind of vague on here bc i am scared adding details will dox me. but i would be totally open to off-anon messaging as this is smth i feel strongly about esp as i've gotten older and moved to whiter areas. hoping to move back to at least a more asian neighborhood soon bc god i am sick of going to the gas station or whatever and being full on stared at by the white ppl there. it makes me very uneasy tbh. unfortunately am stuck rn for work.

#mine #long post #sorry this came out so long i started typing and as i thought more abt it i got angrier lol #U_U i just. sometimes hate it here

[myenterpriseisparked]

So I’m not entirely certain of what the state of non-Federation Standard languages are in Star Trek (and I know there are several episodes of Voyager that totally dispel my little scenario here but, listen, I still like this idea so bear with me) but I just think it would have been really cool if, during Voyager’s journey home the Universal Translator broke for an episode and suddenly everyone on board can’t understand each other because, as it would turn out, no one except maybe Janeway and Tom is fluent in Federation Standard. Like:

- B’Elanna speaks a combination of Spanish and Klingon and there is absolutely no rhyme or reason behind when she speaks which (that anyone else can tell, at least. She does have a pattern of when she uses certain words - usually based on whichever language she feels describes what she is explaining more accurately). Sometimes she switches mid-thought. Ayala speaks only in Spanish so the two of them buddy up during this episode and actually become stronger friends after this.

- Tuvok, obviously, speaks Vulcan. He didn’t think learning Standard was logical since the Universal Translators existed and he would rather spend his time learning more immediately useful skills. He and Vorik also speak slightly different dialects so conversations between them are a little slow since they have to untangle local metaphors and slight differences in their vocabulary. 

- Tom speaks Standard, but he picked up French in his time at the academy and actually preferred that so he has been speaking French the whole time. He can speak Standard but, quite honestly, his Standard has gotten just a little rusty and he keeps accidentally slipping back into French. He swears in English though.

- Chakotay is speaking his tribe’s language. He does speak enough Standard to get by, but it’s been a while so he’s out of practice. He also speaks a little Spanish, so he can somewhat converse with B’Elanna and Ayala. 

- Neelix, obviously, speaks Talaxian. 

- Janeway speaks Standard, but she swears in Irish Gaelic. She also understands a little Klingon (not enough to really keep up with B’Elanna), some Vulcan (again, not really enough to keep up with Tuvok) and, like, one semester’s worth of Modern Bajoran (not very helpful since there are so few Bajorans on board). She’s not having a good day and feels somewhat guilty about how heavily she has been relying on the UT over the years instead of studying her colleagues’ languages.

- Harry speaks Korean and a bit of Standard. The good news is that Tom and Harry know each other so well that they really don’t need to talk, they just kinda gesture at each other and know what’s going on. 

- Seven understands everyone perfectly because of her assimilated knowledge, except for Neelix. Turns out, he actually speaks some backwater dialect of Talaxian and the Borg did not assimilate anyone from his region so she’s only getting about half of what he says. Anyway, Seven ends up having to act as a translator during senior officer’s meetings, but she keeps shortening what people say and removing metaphors for the sake of efficiency and a lot of the meaning is lost in translation. This becomes a lesson for her in the art of poetry or something.

- It turns out the Doctor’s entire language matrix was built into the Universal Translator, so he is unable to speak or understand anything he says. B’Elanna ends up having to type coded signals to send into his matrix in order to communicate with him in any meaningful way. However, halfway through the episode, he discovers a Federation Standard Sign Language subroutine in his coding so he is able to sign with Seven (Sign Language can be interpreted by the UT, but the knowledge of how to actually sign was programmed into the Doctor himself since it is a non-verbal form of communication). The others end up picking up some of his signing as well and it becomes a really good way for everyone to communicate with each other quickly when Seven isn’t around.

- In the end, they fix the UT and everyone breathes a sigh of relief. Tom asks B’Elanna to teach him Klingon and Spanish and she says she will if he teaches her French. B’Elanna ends up making fun of how little sense French makes. Tom actually loves Klingon, but he’s bad at Spanish (even though it’s closer to French than Klingon is. Don’t try to figure Tom Paris out.) Janeway also asks to learn some of Chakotay’s language and he teaches her. They end up speaking in his language a lot after they get back to the Alpha Quadrant and spend time together away from technology and Starfleet. Neelix quickly becomes a fluent signer and pretty much constantly signs while he is also speaking. 

#anyway just some trek thoughts for the evening #i just really think it would have been fun to discover that absolutely no one has been speakign the same language this whole time #also idk why but Tom speaking French is so funny to me #Like I imagine when the translator breaks Janeway turns to him because surely the most Starfleet-bred dude on board speaks Standard #right?? #WRONG. #Tom swivels around and is like 'Que diable se passe t'il????????' #and janeway just facepalms off the bridge #also she thinks Chakotay's voice sounds even hotter in his native language and she blushes every time he speaks #thanks for comign to my ted talk #star trek voyager #voy #star trek voy #janeway #chakotay #tom paris #the doctor #seven of nine #b'elanna torres #Neelix #Tuvok #Harry Kim #also I don't know for sure that FS is English #I don't know that English still even exists as we know it today #but I do think FS has replaced English in terms of popularity on Earth and stuff #so I don't think Janeway speaks english but #rather #Federation Standard #because she was raised in Starfleet #but she swears in Irish

[dreamescapeswriting]

M!!!! i know you’re not taking requests but i had an idea for a skz reaction and i thought i’d send it your way just in case~

so basically… reader can’t speak korean and asks [insert member] “hey what does xxx mean?” and it’s basically an insult. and they get very offended FOR THEM like “where did you hear that? who on earth said that to you?”

and… idk you can decide what happens next~

WORD COUNT: 1.1K

PAIRING: Seungmin x Fem!Reader/ OT8 X Fem!Reader

GENRE: fluffy, humor? boys shocked that the reader says the word

A/N: I know you said a reaction but while I was sitting and waiting for everyone to leave this morning I wanted to do a small imagine for it! I hope thats okay! <3

WARNING: I don't know Korean(im trying) so the Korean used is from google and it's probably wrong...But I hope you like this 🥺 Again if you still like a reaction please let me know and I'll work on a reaction the next time I open requests.

Your eyes glanced over every word on the page in front of you, trying to wrap your head around the Hangul you'd scribbled down onto a piece of paper you found in your pocket. You didn't know if your handwriting was the problem or if you had heard the woman in the store wrong but you couldn't find what the word meant.

That morning you had been out getting some ingredients to cook with for the boys, your apartment was being redecorated and Seungmin had offered you to go and sleep at the dorms with him and the rest of the guys. In doing so you wanted to make sure that you were the perfect house guest that they could have asked for. Going out of your way to cook and clean for them every day and night while you were staying with them. You didn't want to become a burden by being there all of the time and decided it was best that you make yourself useful to them.

All of you had been friends since you began dating Seungmin a couple of years ago and you'd gotten close with each other. Befriending each of the boys and spending time with them whenever you were able to. Chan and Felix were always there helping you study Korean as you weren't completely fluent in the language just yet and right now you could have done with their help.

You'd been out shopping when a woman called you a word you didn't understand, you had no idea why she had called you it though. All you had been doing was shopping around the market for fresh vegetables when you had accidentally bumped into her. Apologising on the spot almost immediately but it hadn't been good enough as she'd spoken to you with such a calm tone you knew it was something you wanted to know the meaning off. You'd grabbed the first piece of paper you could find and jotted down what she had said to you.

Tapping your foot against the side of the table you kept reading through the dictionary trying to figure out what the word could possibly mean. The thought of texting any of the boys to ask was playing in the back of your mind but you knew that they were busy today. They had been preparing for a show that was coming up later in the week and you weren't going to interrupt that because you were struggling with your second language.

"Baby?" Seungmin called out as he walked into the dorms, glancing around the porch to see if you were actually home. Your shoes were waiting there so he smiled in relief, all afternoon he had been dreaming of coming home to the smell of your cooking and open arms. He could smell the cooking but you weren't there waiting for him, he glanced down at his phone to check if it was later than he had originally thought but it wasn't.

"Yn..." He called out again, taking off his coat and shoes before carefully putting them away and going to look for you. The light in the kitchen was on and as he walked closer he could see you sitting there, hunched over with your nose in a book.

"Good read?" He chuckled as he came over to you, pressing a kiss on top of your head as you whined a little turning your body to look at him.

"Hi, good day?" You questioned as you slowly got up from the chair and hugged Seungmin tightly in your arms. The door to the dorms opened again and in walked the boys, all of them coming to the kitchen to see what it was that smelled so good in the dorms.

"Gross, I didn't come for PDA." Jeongin mumbled as he stole a can of coke from the fridge and sat down in the chair opposite to where you had been sitting.

"Studying Korean?" Felix questioned as he saw the books that were open on the table, you let out a sigh and nodded hyour head.

"I was trying to figure out a word. Maybe you'll know it?" You looked between Chan and Felix and then over at all of the boys that were now listening in to the conversation.

"I'll start dishing food." Minho called out as he walked over to the oven, starting to get bowls out as he poured some of the stew into each bowl.

"What's the word?" Seungmin questioned as he looked at you, your hands searched for the scrap piece of paper and you nodded doing your best to read it and say it the way you had heard earlier in the day.

"What does, 문외한 매춘부 mean?" Filthy Prostitute, You looked at the paper when you heard a smash of a bowl hitting the floor, followed by curse words from Minho as he burnt his foot on the hot food that he'd dropped. Your eyes glued onto him,

"You okay-"

"Where did you hear that?!" Chan cried out in a panicked tone glancing at you and then down to the paper that you were holding. All of the boys were so shocked to hear those words falling from your lips as though they meant nothing,

"What does it mean?" Your voice was filled with concern as all of them looked offended for you, Seungmin looked enraged at the thought of someone saying this in front of you.

"Where did you hear it?" He questioned a little calmly as the others helped Minho clean up.

"Who said it to you?!" He snapped this time as he looked at you, complete sadness in his eyes making you whimper a little.

"I-I bumped into someone earlier, when I apologised she said it...I thought it was nice, she said it so calmly." You explained as Seungmin shook his head at you, still in shock that someone had even thought of uttering those words to you.

"What does it mean?" You asked once again as they all turned to look away from you. None of them wanted to be the one to tell you what it meant.

"Filthy prostitute..." Jeongin said slowly as he received a small slap around the back of the head from Hyunjin, scolding him for speaking it out loud.

"O-Oh...Oh." You slowly sat down at the table as you stared down at all of the books in front of you. Wondering what you could have possibly done to offend someone so much to warrant that being said to you.

"She's not worth it baby...Come on," Seungmin whispered as he helped you up but it didn't help. It still stung to know that someone would call you that right to your face when they didn't even know who you were.

Rest assured the boys were going to do everything that they could that night to make you feel better, Seungmin going above and beyond to cheer you up as best as he could.

Tagline: @minholuvs @taestannie @sw33tnight @acciocriativity @mwitsmejk @justbangtanthingz @stillwithlix @lolalee24 @lenorelove @yubinism

#skz #skz x reader #skz imagine #skz drabble #stray kids #stray kids x reader #stray kids imagine #stray kids imagines #stray kids drabble #kim seungmin #seungmin #seungmin x reader #seungmin imagine #seungmin imagines #kim seungmin x reader #kim seungmin imagine #kim seungmin imagines

[taison]

Japanese starter pack

SO you’ve finally said okay, I want to learn Japanese. If you’ve never learned a language before then it can seem daunting but it’s a very rewarding experience! I’m gonna lay out what helped me start and stuff that I think would’ve been helpful for me even early on! But I still recommend doing your own research and trying lots of different methods bc language learning especially by yourself is a very personal experience! This is also meant for absolute beginners just looking to get started so I will try to keep it simple. 

First I just want to say I think your first goal should be “I want to be able to read and write kana fluently” because even just that will open so many doors and send you well on your way, but most importantly because: romaji will not be there for you. At all. And to be able to learn to read efficiently you need to read! Just like when you first learned the alphabet you must try to read everything, try to read tweets, posts, articles from NHK news easy, candy packaging, anything! You don’t have to understand what you’re reading at all, you just have to be able to read it right. And learn this with all the sources I will list in the post don’t try to learn it completely in isolation. Some tofugu kana resources to get you started/supplement other resources: Hiragana guide, Katakana guide, kana charts

Getting started immediately with apps There’s lots of language apps to pick and try out but I think the 2 best options right away are Duolingo and Lingodeer. Duolingo has improved its japanese course so much since I first did it in 2017, finally more lessons so you can use it beyond the beginner stage, separate lessons for katakana finally, and it uses more kanji to really give you a headstart on that front! Its still kind of inefficient in isolation but its so good for getting you started. If you’re fine with spending some subscription money then Lingodeer, a recently paywalled app specially made for asian languages like Japanese, Chinese, and Korean is worth giving a try! Here’s a video review of it by Miku Real Japanese

Textbooks The most famous textbook used in classrooms is Genki! A good book, its concise, streamlined, and efficient! but it’s not really designed for you to study by yourself. Its designed for the classroom and doesn’t really include a lot of content to help you become fluent in reading kana and some kanji. This can make starting feel more daunting and overwhelming for some so a lot self learners myself included recommend starting with Japanese from Zero! Specially designed for self learners and does a slow and thorough approach with an incorporated workbook section! There’s lots more options to explore tho and cough cough pdf versions to check out before you have to settle with a purchase

Youtube  There are so many good youtube channels both old and new to help you at every step! If you need to hear someone explain things for you bc you want to practice listening/pronunciation, you just like lectures, written explanations didn’t help then youtube is a great asset! Japanese Ammo has lessons starting with absolute beginners, if you want to try your hand at doing lessons with no english at all, then Sambonjuku’s basics can help. Japanesepod101′s youtube is also a great place for beginners! This is just a tiny sample of the many youtube channels dedicated to teaching you japanese so if none of these clicked with you then there’s many more channels to try! All linked channels also have videos on kana! 

In summary simply getting started is the first step and when you conquer kana then that’s already big progress! These are the basic tools that helped me simply start so I hope at least one of them can be helpful, and if not then there must be some tool or resource out there that will work for you! And quick note: a book I’m reading right now that I also want to recommend as supplemental reading is Fluent Forever by Gabriel Wyner. Its really good advice on how to approach and start language learning and I agree with everything I’ve read so far, and its just a really encouraging book! I also recommend checking out Tofugu.com which has a lot of great reviews, articles, advice, and resource roundups for you to explore. also shoutout to my fav langblr on here @ohitoyoshi just because. and if anyone reading want to share what helped them get stared then feel free to add on!

#long post #resources #masterpost #i like putting together resources so if anyone also past beginners have any prompts im happy to help 😤

[ravenlesslangblr]

So I did all of the Duolingo placement tests

Related to this post I saw a few requests to post the results of all my placement tests, so let's go! Long post and a lot of rambling ahead! So my friend and I did the tests chronologically (leaving the High Valyrian and Klingon out until the end in case we got too tired), but I'm going to group them up here in an order that makes sense.

Each of the numbers means the number of skills I've tested out of/the number of 'crowns' I got in each language. Since I got to complete the placement test 37 times in total, I could actually find out how it works. It is pretty hard to try and cheat your way through it with a language you don't know, because if the test picks up on a fact that you messed up a 'beginner sentence', it immediately sends you back to the basics. Due to this, some results were a tiny bit upsetting, but later on, I realised that this is just how the test works and is not necessarily reflective on one's language skills. Another thing that is super important - the test reflects your knowledge of the Duolingo course rather than your actual language knowledge. I could actually prove this 'theory' to myself later on with some results.

My 'main' languages aka the languages I did well on and I kind of expected to:

Irish 48 French 42 German 51 Honestly, I was a bit more open not to do so well on French since it's become quite rusty and I'm experiencing some kind of a mental block with it, but I still did quite well! As for German and Irish - I would have been so upset had I gotten a single mistake. And it has not happened in either case.

My native language: Czech 31 This one honestly made me lol, because I have made 2+ mistakes and the Duolingo course is just strange. It called me out on my use of nějaký and některý where I was like 'There's a difference? o.O' and at one point it used the verb 'left' for 'forgot', which I did figure out correctly, but it was yet another sign that the course/placement test isn't very accurate yet when it comes to Czech. Languages I did well on because they are similar to a language that i already speak: Spanish 12 Italian 14 (well, I briefly studied Italian, so some credit there as well) Portuguese 3 (surprising since I mostly guessed) Polish 24 Ukrainian 17 Yiddish 5 (I LOVED the Yiddish placement test! I will definitely try the Duolingo course)

Other languages I have done before: Welsh 3 Esperanto 9 I was quite disappointed in both of these (Welsh broke my heart!) but I think this is just a testament that the placement tests aren't reflective of your language knowledge, but of your Duolingo topics knowledge. I haven't done much of Welsh or Esperanto on Duolingo since I studied them at university. I'm not fluent in either, so it really boils down to what I was taught. More proof are the next languages Dutch 22 Scottish Gaelic 20 These are the two lanuages I have studied almost exclusively on Duolingo only. I also definitely have a better knowledge of Welsh and Esperanto than Gaelic and Dutch. But the tests went much much better for these, because I already knew the topics that Duolingo was going to ask me. And now for the Nordic languages: Swedish 18 Norwegian 16 Danish 7

Honestly, I think it's hilarious that I did better at Swedish than Norwegian, when the only reason I did well at Swedish was because of Norwegian. Also, the articles are still super confusing to me and it was a source of many frustrating mistakes! Speaking of mistakes - I don't think that the test takes into account what kind of mistakes you made. It could be a missing article (which imo is a pretty minor one) or you could pick an adjective for a verb and both of the mistakes will be marked down the same. This one was pretty frustrating and prevented me from doing well on languages that I was actually okay at. Languages I've failed and it was quite upsetting: Korean 0 Russian 0 Latin 0 I have been learning some Korean on Lingodeer (mostly reading Hangul), so I expected to utilise some of these skills on Duolingo. Not the case. My Russian - I can read and understand - just like Ukrainian that I did pretty well on in comparison.... and it all boiled down to me confusing some things and not knowing what 'a horse' was. Boom, 'let's start from the basics'. Same with Latin - I have studied it briefly and was able to understand, but I haven't touched it in a while and completely forgot some minor things, which the placement test picked up on immediately. Also! When you're not doing well, the placement test almost taunts you! They keep giving you the same stuff over and over until you remember it and it feels like there's some hope for you. But no, still back to basics! it's quite mean! haha And here's the languages I have also failed, but it wasn't surprising:

Japanese 0 Mandarin 0 Hindi 0 Arabic 0 Turkish 0 Greek 0 (this is an example of the one I thought I was doing well on) Vietnamese 0 Hebrew 0 Indonesian 0 Hawaiian 0 Finnish 0 (bit sad since I really want to learn Finnish) Romanian 0 (I was super surprised here since I somewhat expected to be able to understand it more) Swahili 0 (again I really enjoyed it! Will check out the course on my actual account) Hungarian 0 (another one i thought I did well on haha) Navajo 0 (also will check out the course!) And the fictional ones - no one's surprised, even though High Valyrian was giving me some hope: High Valyrian 0 Klingon 0 Also, is this a testament of how eurocentric my language interest is? Yep, pretty much. I am quite aware and I'd like to broaden my interests, but then again, it's not that easy. Still all in all, this was so much fun, even though it was a bit tiring and frustrating at times. However, once you find out that there's no point in trying to bs the languages you don't know/recognise anyway, then it gets a bit easier. Let me know if you try and honestly, congrats if you've read up until here, I don't even have the patience to re-read this post :D @dutch-polyglot , @anthropologicle and everyone else who liked/reblogged :)

#language learning #duolingo #polyglot #multilingual

[lunar-girl-fic]

Perfect Girl~ Wonho Oneshot

Warning: Suggestive, mention of dying?

Y/N POV

Word Count: 1591

Wonho x female reader

Disclaimer: The picture used is NOT MINE. I found it on instagram from the artist @bre.lexis. You guys should totally check out her art. It’s my favorite ambw art :).

A/N: I based this one shot based off a dream I had the other day. It felt so freaking real like I even felt the kiss and for some reason that only happens when I dream about him and I. Some scenes were added but this pretty much how my dream went. I wasn’t able to find a photo that matched how I imagined Wonho and a brown girl. In the dream he was literally the same size as he is now and he was wearing that orange shirt from is live the other day... Anyways I hope you all enjoy!

It was a rainy Friday night. You had just left your coworkers at the restaurant you guys went to to celebrate the assistant principals birthday. You called an Uber to get home. Normally you would walk but you weren't in the mood to be catching a cold. The ride home wasn't too long since you obviously lived close by.

When you arrived you thanked the driver and exited the vehicle quickly. However, no matter how fast you ran to the building you still ended up getting soaked. As if it couldn’t get any worse, the elevator in your complex wasn't working so you had to prolong your torture by taking the stairs. 

You finally reached your apartment and immediately took your shoes off and headed for your bathroom. You put your clothes on a drying rack over your toilet. You turned the water on to the hottest setting and got in. The warmth of the water was welcomed and washed away most of the stress you've been feeling with work. But stress from the absence of your boyfriend of 4 years didn't go away. It wasn't as if he was in some far away place where you couldn't see or contact him. No, the problem was he was so busy with his comeback that he did not have much time to call you much less visit you due to conflicting scheduling.

At first, you didn't have much of a problem with it since you knew how important his career was to him. But it has been two months and the separation was starting to get to you. Even though you knew you shouldn't complain being lucky enough to even have a man as sweet as him, you were only a human in need of the touch of her boyfriend.

After you got out the shower you put on some mango butter to attempt to smell good while moisturizing and let your curls fall freely. You grabbed a pair of grey sweatpants and put on the smallest sized hoodie Wonho owned. Being thankful he left this one behind since his others would've had you swimming in it.

You left your room and went to the kitchen to make a cup of calming jasmine tea (can you tell I've been watching atla alot hehehe). As the tea was boiling you gathered your students papers from your work bag and placed them on your coffee table. You turned the TV on and scrolled through the options. Finally settling on the 90s batman animated series as background noise.

You went back into the kitchen and poured the tea in your favorite mug. On the way to the living room you grabbed your phone just in case he called you. He may not have called you in the past week but who knows maybe today would be your lucky day.

Time went by smoothly. Surprisingly grading he papers wasn't too difficult since your students actually followed directions. Since it was easy to grade you decided to raise the volume of the TV and pay more attention to the plot of the episode. You were just about to finish grading the last paper when your phone started to ring. Had it not been on vibrate mode you would have never known it was ringing. When you looked at the caller ID your heart went pitter patter. It was Wonho. You obviously picked up the phone immediately with a joyful tone.

"Hey babe! How have you been? How's comeback? How does your shoulder feel? Are you eating properly"

"Well hello to you too baby, and to answer your questions good, good, good and of course!"

"Well that's good. It's been awhile and I was beginning to worry you forgot I existed."

"How can I forget about the shining light of my life."

"I mean with all those beautiful girls around you everyday it's not hard to think you might forget about an average girl like me."

"You're right."

"Wha- WONHO!"

You heard him laughing and knew that he did that just to get a reaction out of you.

"You know I would never. You're the only girl I have my eyes on."

"Hmph could've fooled me. Don't worry I already got my eyes set on another man." You said jokingly.

"Ya! I was joking."

"I know you dork."

There was a comfortable silence after you guys finished laughing.

"When do you think we'll be able to hang out?"

"Soon, I'm hoping. Everything is just so crazy that I barely have time to focus on taking care of myself. I'm honestly so sorry for not being able to call you. You must think I don't love you anymore."

"Wonho, I know I signed up for this when I first started dating you. You don't have to feel guilty for something you can't really control." You said trying to lighten the mood.

" I know it's just that I- I... I just want you to know that. (In Korean) I am the luckiest man in the world. I know you probably think I take you for granted but the truth is I could never love another girl like I love you. You said that you think I can forget about you easily an quite possibly leave you for another girl? When in reality everyday I worry you might just give up waiting for me an find another guy to replace me. You're my driving force in life. I don't know what I would do without you. I love you so much baby girl that I can't even find the right words to describe how much."

"...You know I hate you. I'm pretty sure you probably said the most beautiful words I will ever hear but I guess I will never know considering you just said it ALL IN KOREAN. Babe you know I'm not hat fluent. Now can you please tell me what you said again." You whined.

He chuckled, "I said, I am the luckiest man in the world. I know you probably think- ah forget it. You're making it so hard to surprise you."

"What? How? And what surprise are you talking about?"

"Turn around."

You quickly turned around almost giving yourself whiplash and that's when you saw your man standing there with a smile on his face and his arms opened wide.

"IT'S YOU!! YOU'RE HERE!!!" You said as you ran to him and jumped on him instantly grabbing his head to pull him in for a kiss. You almost cried tears of joys feeling his lips on yours after not being able to even touch in in 2 months.

You pulled away having the need to catch your breath. But you were still cupping his face with your hands, staring lovingly into his eyes. Eventually you went back in for another kiss but jumped at the sound of an explosion that happened in the show you were watching almost falling out of his grip. Wonho laughed at you while he gently placed you down so he wouldn't accidentally drop you.

"Heeeyyyy, why are you laughing? I could've died." You said while pouting.

"Sorry jagiya, you're just so cute I couldn't help it."

"Hmph. Nice to know you think me almost dying is cute."

"Dying? I'm pretty sure falling from that height wouldn't have killed you." He said amused.

"You don't know that. What if when I fell, I could have broken a bone and punctured an important organ and potentially bleed out."

"That sounds highly unlikely."

"Since when dud you become a medical doctor."

"Since the moment I started dating you. With the amount of times I've had to take care of you because of how clumsy you are, I'm pretty sure I can get a medical degree easily."

"YA! I'M NOT THAT CLUMSY."

"If you say sooo."

You and Wonho couldn't help but laugh at the silliness of your conversation. However while you were still laughing, Wonho stopped to stare at you. The love he felt for you overwhelmed him in this moment. He wasn't sure if it it was because he hasn't seen you in awhile or if it was something else but all knew was he just realized how perfect you are. You noticed the look and asked what was wrong.

"Why are you so perfect?"

"I mean perfect isn't the word I would use to describe myself..."

"I mean it baby, what did I do to deserve you?"

"Hmmm believe it or not all you did was be yourself. I tired of guys who were fake and trying to be something they thought I wanted. You are the only guy I met who was himself and that's all I can ask for. Plus your really good looking."

"I do look good, don’t I?"

"You're supposed to say thank you, you ungrateful little-"

"Just kidding." He said as he put his hands up defensively.

"I'm still waiting."

Instead of answering you, he grabbed your face and pulled you in for a passionate kiss, burying his fingers in your curls.

.After 2 minutes you both pulled apart to catch your breath.

"How was that for a thank you?"

"Hmmm I think you have to do that again to make it a proper thanks."

"I can think of a better way that involves a bed and less clothes." He said as he picked you up and carried a flustered you to your bedroom. And lets just say that by the end of the night you he was able to show you just how thankful he is.

#monsta x #monsta x angst #monsta x smut #monsta x fluff #monsta x wonho #wonho smut #wonho angst #wonho fluff #wonho x reader #curly girl #wonho x brown reader #brown girl

[ignooy-nim]

'A Helping Hand' - Seoul, South Korea

STRAY KIDS EXTRA MEMBER (AU) / JAE-LYNN  m.list

🦋 TW / CW : slight cursing, depictions of anxiety, teenage cringe

🦋 SUMMARY : jae-lynn is about four months into her kpop trainee journey, but has failed to make any new friends.. or learn the language properly, for that matter. turns out all she needed was a helping hand.

─────────────────────

[OCTOBER 2013] 🍂

Chan rushed down the hallway of the JYP building. Earlier that morning he was notified by his boss that he wanted to meet with the boy as soon as possible and to stop by his office later that day. 

With no clue as to why he was being called to his boss’ office, Chan walked nervously to his demise, believing that he was in some sort of trouble. 

As he rounded the corner, and passed several doors on both his left and right side, he ended up making his way to JYP’s office in record time. The heavy door stood before him, like the gates of hell; with a shaky hand, Chan knocked three times on the door, indicating that he was there. 

“Come in!” the man on the opposite side called, letting Chan open the door himself. Expecting to face the man alone, he stood in surprise and confusion seeing that there was already someone else in the room with him. 

There he saw a young girl, with long wavy black hair, dressed in her school uniform, whose leg was nervously bouncing under the desk. 'She can't be more than fourteen years old', he thought to himself.

She turned around to great him, he could hear in her voice that she wasn't fluent in both the language and the Korean culture. He bowed back nonetheless, and looked to JYP with wondering eyes, about to flee the room in embarrassment, as he believed he had interrupted their meeting with one another. 

"Ah! Chan, I wanted to introduce you to one of the new trainees; this is Jae-Lynn." JYP paused for a second to introduce the two, "She just started a few months ago, but she hasn't been able to make any friends yet. She is from America and isn't completely fluent in Korean, so I was wondering if you would keep an eye out for her while she trains?"

"Oh! Sure, of course!" Chan nodded and smiled at Jae-Lynn who was sitting absent-mindedly on her chair, picking at the skin around her nails.

"Great! But if she becomes too big of a burden though, just let me know, so I can find someone else to help—" JYP drifted off, knowing that Jae-Lynn had no clue what he was saying as his Korean was smooth and quick to the untrained ear. 

Chan shifted uneasily and swallowed the lump in his throat before responding to his boss, “She won’t be a burden.” 

"Okay," He stood from his desk chair, and walked around to stand on the opposite side, "Jae-Lynn, Chan is going to help you around for a while. Is that good?" The older man made sure to annunciate his words and speak slowly to her.

Jae-Lynn sat up and processed what he had said to her, she nodded, "Yes, thank you".

"Very well, I should see you both off then-" JYP opened the door of his office for both teens to leave.

Jae-Lynn quickly tried to snatch her backpack off of the floor as well as her skateboard, a binder and her headphones, but ended up dropping the contents of her binder on the floor. She groaned and apologized to JYP, kneeling to the floor to pick them up.

Her boss sighed quietly at the door looking at his watch, whereas Chan immediately kneeled on the floor next to her and helped sort her papers. He saw that her cheeks, hidden behind her hair, were bright pink in embarrassment and her hands were shaking while she was picking up her papers, so he leaned a little closer and spoke to her in English; "Don't worry, I can be a little clumsy too".

Jae's ears perked up, hearing him speak in her first language. She smiled at him, "Thanks."

They got Jae-Lynn's papers in a stack that Chan held onto so she wouldn't drop them again. But as Jae was standing up her phone dropped from her jacket pocket, and she saw JYP rub his face impatiently, which made Jae cringe.

Chan moved quickly to pick it up and pushed Jae out the door while bowing to their boss.

Once they were in the hallway, Jae-Lynn let out a long shaky breath, leaning her forehead on the wall. "That was painful." She mumbled to herself, making Chan let out a laugh.

"Could've been worse. You could have knocked something over on his desk or you could have tripped him." He said positively.

Jae smiled, "I guess that would be worse." She began to place her things on the ground to reorganize herself. "Thanks for your help, by the way... and I'm sorry he's making you be friends with me. You really don't have to-"

"What? Okay, firstly, you're welcome, and secondly," Chan handed Jae-Lynn the stack of papers he was holding onto, "I know I don't have to, but I want to."

She smiled, feeling her face go warm again, "Oh- thank you, then.." Jae placed her papers back into the binder where they belong.

"Of course! It's no problem!" He ensured her, "So, JYP said you're from America?"

"Oh yeah, I'm from New York."

"The city?" Chan asked excitedly. Jae just nodded, laughing at his demeanor, "Whoa, that's cool!"

"I guess— and you're from Australia, right? Which part?" She closed her binder, and was attempting to squish it into her backpack that held some of her notebooks, two textbooks, her clothes for dance practice, her ballet slippers, and her journal.

"Sydney. It's pretty nice, and I actually really miss it." Chan spoke in a fond manner. "So, how old are you?"

"I just turned thirteen, you?"

"Fifteen. I just started training about two years ago, I think? Yeah, about two years or so." He looked at her stuff her binder behind a large textbook, and then his eyes landed on her ballet slippers. "You're a dancer?"

"Oh, yeah. I've been dancing since I could walk." She smiled fondly, attempting to zip up her backpack. “What about you?”

“Well, mostly I’m a singer, but I can dance as well, and rap-” he started to get a little shy.

“Just a little bit of everything, huh?” Jae-Lynn smiled, but cursed when she accidentally got her hair stuck in the zipper of her backpack. “Dammit—”

Jae tried to jiggle the zipper loose, but it wouldn’t budge, so Chan stepped in, “Oh, here let me help..” He kneeled in front of her, gently grabbing the zipper, attempting to separate the fabric from the inside of he bag. Jae could see the tips of his ears turn pink, as he nervously fumbled with the zipper, trying not to tug on her hair.

“So much for being ‘a little clumsy’-” Jae-Lynn laughed, her face growing hot.

Chan laughed back, “I stand by what I said.. Sometimes people just have ‘off-days’. Nothing to be embarrassed about.” He smiled reassuringly, as he removed her hair from the zipper, and closed her bag.

She sighed with relief, and sat back against the wall. “Thank you, again...”

“No problem, maybe you should get a new bag, or maybe pack less stuff”, he chuckled shyly.

“I wish,” Jae started to stand from the ground, “I’m taking like nine classes this year, because I’m behind... Apparently the American education system failed me in more than one way.”

Chan followed her actions and stood up, holding her backpack in his hands. “Nine classes? That’s a lot...”

“Yeah, most of them are language courses to help me learn Korean, but, obviously none of them are really teaching me anything.” Jae-Lynn sighed, gesturing down the hall to JYP’s office.

“Don’t worry too much about it- it uhh- it takes a bit to learn. Ya know, I even still get a little confused sometimes. It can be hard going from English to Korean, or Korean to English, so don’t be too hard on yourself.”

"Thanks— Chan, was it?" Jae asked, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Oh yeah, but if you want, you can just call me Chris." He spoke quickly, contemplating on saying more. 

Jae finished arranging her belongings on her person and turned to fully face him, "Really? Are you sure?"

Chan smiled and nodded, "Absolutely."

─────────────────────

#stray kids #skz #stray kids imagine #stray kids imagines #stray kids extra member #stray kids 9th member #stray kids extra member au #stray kids 9th member au #stray kids au #stray kids oc #stray kids fluff #stray kids angst #stray kids reactions #stray kids smut #bang chan #lee know #minho #seo changbin #hwang hyunjin #han jisung #hyunjin #han #lee felix #kim seungmin #yang jeongin #bangchan imagines #bang chan imagines #kpop #jae-lynn king oc #hwang hyunjin imagines

[thomotomo]

Through everything part.1

Pairing: Namjoon x Male Reader

Summary: You have been dating Namjoon for a while. You’re now seeing him again for the first time in 4 years and both of you agreed on disclosing you relationship to everyone.  

Words: 3.5k

Today was a great day, maybe even the best day of your life, you were going to see your boyfriend after what felt like a lifetime without any physical interaction between both of you. In fact, it had been nearly 4 years since you last kissed you boyfriend.

Your boyfriend was an idol, Kim Namjoon from BTS, so he had a very tight schedule, and when he had breaks it didn’t always matched when you had breaks sadly. But this year, after a lot of discussions with him and him with his manager and the CEO, you were finally able to see each other.

You both met back in High-School when you went in Korea for an exchange that was organised by your school after they set up a pen pal thing between both schools. You ended up in his class, even though he wasn’t your pen pal, you discussed with him and both of you immediately hit off and you absolutely wanted to keep contact even after you left Korea.

It wasn’t easy every day, specially because both of you were in different time zones, so often you were the one who stayed up at night so you could discuss. You also sent each other packages, which was pretty expensive, so you didn’t do it often, probably for Christmas, each other’s birthdays and for each other’s new year (the “common one” and the Lunar new year). Luckily for both of you, your parents were cool enough to come in Korea every two days, mainly during summer break, so you could see each other. You also helped each other in your native languages and with English, soon you became fluent in both Korean and English and Namjoon easily spoke (your language) and English.

Slowly you fell for each other, you easily accepted your feelings, as you always wondered why you didn’t felt the same attraction toward girls like your comrades so in the end you agreed with your feelings pretty easily, but not saying anything to Namjoon, you didn’t want to lose the friendship you both had.

On the other hand It wasn’t easy for Namjoon, sexualities other than heterosexuality weren’t talked a lot, if not at all, in Korea, so he struggled to understand why he had such hard feelings toward a boy, especially when he knew he could still feel attracted to girls. Few times before you, he arbored a kind of a crush on other guys but tried to pass it as just finding them attractive and nothing else. He spent a lot of time online on anonymous servers, discussing about sexuality and trying to understand who he was and what his sexuality was. In the end he determined that he was fitting the definition of pansexual pretty well and thus, adopted it for himself and internet friends.

He thought few times about coming out to his parents, but he read so much stories of Korean who were left by their families once they came out, and even though he tried to drop clues about him and test their reactions to LGBT+ people on TV shows or something he didn’t find the force in himself to come out to them, too scared. He also kept that from you, in case you didn’t want to be friend with him anymore.

You both didn’t talk about your feelings to each other and life followed its pace. You congratulated him when he told you about the song he wrote for another band and when he spoke to you about the group he’ll be in. In return he was happy for you when he learned that you graduated high school and got accepted to the college you wanted to go to.

In 2013, when you were both 18 you organized your trip in Korea, alone this time, so you could enjoy “fully” the trip alone. You met Namjoon at the airport and congratulated each other for graduating high school. You went to deposit all your thing at the hotel, and then you both walked around Seoul, him showing you his favourite places since he started to live at Big Hit’s dorms. He was allowed to go back home so you went and installed a bed for you to sleep in. You were happy to see his parents once again, they were always sweet to you, so it was always a pleasure to see them again. It was the same day that you came out to each other.

Around midnight you were both laid in the bed when Namjoon whispered:

“Hey…”

“Yes?”

“Would you stay by my side no matter what?”

“Of course Namjoon! Why are you asking me that?”, you stood on your forearms, looking at him.

“I… Need to admit you something…”, he was still laid in the bed, looking at the ceiling

“You can tell me everything, I’ll be here to support you.”

He took a deep breath.

“I’m… Pansexual. I can be attracted to everyone no matter their gender...”

You smiled at him softly and sat on the edge of your bed.

“It’s okay, I have to admit something too then.”

He turned his head toward you, frowning a little bit.

“I’m gay, I’m exclusively attracted to men.”

He looked at you, a bit surprised. His brain was trying to understand what you meant as he sat on his bed too.

“You… Really?”

“Yep. Don’t feel ashamed to be you. It’s okay. If it’s not too indiscreet, are you out to your parents?”

“N-No… I’m pretty scared, you know I’ve read a lot of stories about LGBT+ Korean people that got thrown out of their households when they came out… And I’m becoming an idol, it could ruin my career and I don’t want to abandon my dream because of that…” He lowered his eyes, as if ashamed of what he just said to you.

You came closer, seating right next to him and hugged him.

“It’s okay if you’re not out, your safety always comes first. Don’t force yourself to come out if you’re not ready you’re not. I love you the way you are.”

“Y-You love me?”

You blushed, wondering why you said that. You looked away from him and tried to take off your hands from him but looked at you, whispering.

“I love you too…”

You flushed even harder and smiled at him while he was looking at you with bright eyes.

“(Y/N)… Can I kiss you?”

“Yes of course!”

Your faces slowly got closer from the other’s and your lips gently touched, his lips were soft, softer than you anticipated (and fantasized), you felt as if you whole body was set on fire. The kiss was a little bit sloppy, but you didn’t had much experience and you were pretty sure than he didn’t have much either.

You stopped kissing after a few seconds, air already starting to miss. You looked at each other and you observed a pink blush covering a great part of Namjoon’s face. He looked back at you with a bright smile and your heartbeat already fastened by all these emotions, quickened the pace even more.

“So… Boyfriends?”

“Yes Nam… Boyfriends.”

He smiled and hugged you before yawning. You smiled a little to him, touching his hair softly.

“Maybe we should go to sleep, you seem tired.”

“Yes, good idea. Goodnight (Y/N).”, he said as he left your arms and laid back in his bed.

“Goodnight Namjoon.”

You moved to your bed, falling asleep with a content smile.

This is how you spent the next 7 years with Kim Namjoon as your boyfriend, of course it wasn’t easy every day, as living in different time zones, and him being a full-time idol who grown more and more popular every day passing. Like every couples you had your fights and being unable to make up with either sex or cuddles was pretty frustrating. You were able to see him sometimes when he had breaks and you enjoyed and cherished those moments very dearly, but sadly you couldn’t see as often as you would. Nobody except your family knew that you were dating. Of course, at firsts your parents had been sceptical, thinking that it was just some hormonal teenagers feelings, but after noticing that you were serious and engaged in your relationship they supported you.

So here you were, inside your plane to Korea to meet your boyfriend you weren’t able to see in a while. You were quite excited, and the trip was long, so you slept for a long time, hoping that when you woke up, you’ll be in Korea or close enough. Sadly for you, you still had half of the trip that you still had to do.

You occupied yourself as much as you could do but luckily, in the end the trip went pretty quickly. You landed at Incheon airport after around 12 hours of flight, when you took your first steps on the Korean soil you couldn’t help but grin.

You took out your phone, sending a text to your lover, before going to the conveyor, reclaiming your belongings before going toward the public entry, you felt you phone vibrating, you opened it, it was a text from Namjoon that he was going to wait for you in a car at Incheon City Hall to avoid any commotions in the airport, he also gave you the brand, the colour and the first number of the car.

You moved as fast as you could to catch your bus, even though it was hard for you to know that you’ll have to wait for another hour before finally being reunited with him.

Once you reached the station you went to the parking and you looked around before noticing the car Namjoon was in. You grinned and trotted until you reached it. You knocked at the window and Namjoon perked, his eyes lighting up as he saw you. He got out of the car to meet you. Once he was close enough he lowered his mask and kissed you hard.

You felt a laughter bubbled in you throat. You put your luggage on the ground and put your arms around him. After a few seconds he stopped the kiss and put his mask back in place.

“I’m sorry we can’t kiss longer for the moment, but I want to avoid any risks for your to be exposed.”

“Of course don’t worry.”

He helped you with your bags and opened the trunk of his car where you put all your things. He closed it while you went to the front of the car and sat in the passenger sit. He came few seconds after you and took your hand with his, softly kissing it through his mask.

“I missed you so much (Y/N)”

“I missed you too… I’m glad to be able to spend some time with you.”

His eyes crinkled and he started the car, he told you that both of you were going back to his parents’ houses, it had been a while since you saw them (along with his sister) and you couldn’t help but being anxious about it, last time you saw them it was in 2016, and it was before Namjoon came out to them and told them you were dating. He told you they reacted pretty well, and it seemed it didn’t disturb them more than that when you did call with them, but it was the first time you’ll see them as Namjoon’s boyfriend and that was frankly scary for you.

After maybe an hour in the car you reached Namjoon’s family’s house. The car stopped and you felt you hand starting to shake slightly. Your boyfriend noticed that too and he took them in his hands.

“It’s okay, they love you already so much.”

“H-How?”

He snorted.

“I’ve known you for more than 10 years, and you didn’t saw my parents since I came out to them, of course you’re going to be stressed. It’s okay, they love you too.”

You nodded at his reassuring words as he quickly kissed your lips. You both left the car to get you things that were still in the trunk, you suddenly stilled when he closed it.

“I didn’t thought of that before but… How should I call them?”

“Aaah you worry too much love! Just call them as you did before they knew we were dating, it’s okay.”

You nodded and took you bags trying to calm down. You followed Namjoon until he reached the front door. He took out his keys and opened the door. As he did that and entered first in the house you could hear your heartbeat pounding loudly and you took a deep breath before following him.

“Appa! Eomma! I’m back and I brought back (Y/N)!”

As you took off your shoes you heard footsteps coming towards where you were located, when you rose you head both of his parents were here and Namjoon was kissing them hello.

You slightly bowed you head when they looked at you and quickly took your backpack.

“Hello Mrs. and Mr Kim! I’m glad to see you again… Erm here! I brought you a little something from (country) I hope you will like it.”

Behind them Namjoon laughed silently at your stress and you frowned at him discreetly. His parents told you to come closer and they hugged you. His mother spoke first.

“It’s okay (Y/N)-suh-bang, call us appa and eomma you’ve know us for a while and you’re dating Namjoon!”

You flushed bright as she called you her son-in-law, you weren’t engaged to Namjoon and she called you that way. Behind your boyfriend seemed to tell you with his eyes “See?”, you set your gaze back on his mother and smiled shily at her.

“Ah- A-Alright Mr- Eomma.” The back of your neck was burning as you said that, the new appellation being completely different from what you got used to.

His father stepped next, taking you hand in his and shaking it.

“Thank you for being friend and lover to Namjoon, you seem to take a great care of him, I’m glad he met you (Y/N).”

“I’m the lucky one A-Appa, he’s the one who brighten my days when I have a message of him.”

Namjoon blushed hard as you said that, and you flashed him a little grin. His parents thanked you for the gifts and you thanked them for allowing you to stay here for a little while.

“You can put your things in Namjoon’s bedroom, we will let you be lovebirds! Also, your sister will come later, she’s still in classes.”

Namjoon and you nodded before you moved your things into his bedroom. When all your suitcases where put in his bedroom he caught you off-guard by gripping your face with both his hands and kissing you deeply. You were surprised at first but then you relaxed and deepened the kiss. One of your hand slided around his waist, the other putting itself on his face. You sighed as his tongue poked at your lips and you gladly accepted it. You felt like two teenagers, but it was fair, it’s been a while since you got one of his mind-blowing kisses and you just wanted to pounce on him now. Sadly for you, you were in his parents’ house so it wouldn’t be a good idea to go all the way with his parents close enough to surprise you.

You stopped after a while, both of you panting Namjoon suddenly softly rubbed his nose against yours, making you laugh. He watched you with a little smile and suddenly looked a bit more serious.

“I… I’d like to talk to you about something.”

“Of course, you know I’ll always listen to you.”

He took your hands in his and kissed softly your fingertips.

“I’d like people to know about us.”

“What?”

“I want my fans to know about us, I don’t want to have to hide even more than usually to go on dates with you. I want… I just don’t want to hide anymore, the other members know about us because we’re literally living together and I had to tell them. And the company only know that I have a significant other because . We’ve been together for like 7 years, it’s not fair that we have to hide even more because I just want to claim my love for you from the highest building of Seoul and I just can’t…”

You were shocked at what he said, of course you badly wanted to announce how in love you were with Namjoon but you were also very scared, you knew by watching scandals and all that fans weren’t always happy when and idol dated another. How would it be for an idol and a random who’s a male on the top of that?

“Namjoon… That’s… I’d like to do that, but have you seen how fans reacts to straight couples between two idols? How would they about us? What about your company? If they want us to break up or I don’t know, if they don’t allow you to see me anymore? What about your carrier it could affect the group badly too!”

“I’ve thought about that and I know it could badly impact my carrier but maybe it would help other LGBT+ Koreans to not be scared of affirming themselves, and yeah… I want to tell the world how much you count for me.”

You enveloped him in a hug, your eyes were stinging a little bit from hearing his confession.

“I can’t promise everything will be okay but I’ll be with you through every step of it.”

You nodded and kissed his shoulder; you couldn’t help being worried for his safety and yours. You stood there hugging each other for a few instants.

“Let’s stop thinking about that for the moment, we should just have fun. Let’s chill and you can tell me what you did for the last few weeks.”

You both sat on his bed and talked for a few hours until you fell asleep to him talking about his latest concert.

Later that day Namjoon’s parents came looking for you as his sister arrived home. They lightly knocked and opened when none of you responded and found you intertwined, your head lied on Namjoon’s torso as he was enveloping you protectively. His parents smiled and took a picture before waking up you.

You both went downstairs where you saw his sisters. The five of you ate dinner, talking about everything and nothing but mainly catching up with the family. Once the meal was finished you stayed talking a bit more before you and Namjoon retreated so you could go sleep. You had both discussed with the family about Namjoon doing his coming out and announce your couple and they had agreed that you should talk about that to the other members and mainly to the company. Namjoon had sent a text to his manager asking to talk about your relationship with you being present

Once both of you showered (together of course ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) ) you installed the bed and both of you cozied yourself under the blanket and cuddled with Namjoon. You spent a good time kissing and whispering sweet words to each other. After a while you once again fell asleep peacefully together.

The next morning Namjoon woke you up sweetly with soft kisses on your back. You sighed softly as he asked you to wake up so you could take the breakfast with his family. The thought of a real Korean breakfast was making you salivate, it actually had been a while since you ate a real one, as you couldn’t get any fresh ingredients to prepare it in (country).

You were about to put some “normal” clothes when Namjoon told you it wasn’t worth it as everyone would be in pyjamas.

You ate the breakfast with the family, eating a little bit more than usual as you missed that kind of food. After a good half an hour eating and discussing you both left to prepare yourself to the meeting with Namjoon’s manager.

He helped you finding clothes that wouldn’t attract the fans and paparazzi’s attention, hiding the bottom of your face with a mask and putting your hair under a cap. Once you were ready both of you went to the car and you could feel the adrenaline rise inside of you and your body felt suddenly quite hot, and not the pleasurable kind. Namjoon turned his head to look at you and he smiled trying to reassure you.

“I can’t say everything is going to be okay and everyone will accept our relationship easily but I’ll be here for you, I won’t leave you alone with them."

He put his hand on your knee and caressed it with his thumb, trying to calm you down. After half an hour driving in silence, sometimes discussing to reassure you, you arrived in front of Big Hit. Luckily there was a parking underground for employees and idols. Once he parked his car he took your shaking hand in his and kissed it.

“Don’t worry love, I won’t leave your side. Everything is going to be okay.”

_________________

You nodded at him and exhaled a shaky breath before following him outside the car and to the elevator that was going to bring your to your death to where the manager was waiting for you.

A/N: Oh wow finally published this! And I decided to make it a small series of it! Please leave me your thoughts about it!

Well I hope you enjoyed this first part! And don’t hesitate to leave a comment and reblog if you enjoyed it!

#kpop x reader #kpop x y/n #kpop x male reader #namjoon x you #namjoon x reader #namjoon x male reader #bts namjoon #kpop fanfic #bts fanfction #bts x male reader #bts x reader #bts x you #bts x y/n #reader insert #x male reader #male reader

[usergreenpixel]

JACOBIN FICTION CONVENTION MEETING 1: La Seine no Hoshi (1975)

1. Introduction

Well, dear reader, here it is. My first ever official review. And, as promised, this is one of the pieces of Frev media that you have likely never heard of before.

So, without further ado, sit down, relax, grab drinks and snacks and allow me to tell you about an anime called “La Seine no Hoshi” (The Star of the Seine).

“La Seine no Hoshi” is a children’s anime series made by Studio Sunrise. It consists of 39 episodes and was originally broadcast in Japan from April 4th to December 26th of 1975.

Unlike its more famous contemporary, a manga called “Rose of Versailles” that had begun being released in 1972 and is considered a classic to this day, “La Seine no Hoshi” has stayed relatively obscure both in the world of anime and among other Frev pop culture.

Personally, the only reason why I found out about its existence was the fact that I actively seek out everything Frev-related and I just happened to stumble upon the title on an anime forum several years ago.

So far, the anime has been dubbed into Italian, French, German and Korean but there is no English or even Spanish dub so, unfortunately, people who do not speak fluent Japanese or any other aforementioned language are out of luck ( if anyone decides to make a fandub of the series, call me). That being said, the series is readily available in dubs and the original version on YouTube, which is where I ended up watching it. The French dub calls the anime “La Tulipe Noire” (The Black Tulip), which could be an homage to the movie with the same name that takes place in the same time period.

Unfortunately, while I do speak Japanese well enough to maintain a basic conversation and interact with people in casual daily situations, I’m far from fluent in the language so the version I watched was the French dub, seeing as I am majoring in French.

So, with all of this info in mind, let’s find out what the story is about and proceed to the actual review.

2. The Summary

(Note: Names of the characters in the French dub and the original version differ so I will use names from the former since that’s what I watched)

The story of “La Seine no Hoshi” revolves around a 15-year old girl called Mathilde Pasquier - a daughter of two Parisian florists who helps her parents run their flower shop and has a generally happy life.

But things begin to change when Comte de Vaudreuil, an elderly Parisian noble to whom Mathilde delivers flowers in the second episode, takes her under his wing and starts teaching her fencing for an unknown reason and generally seems to know more about her than he lets on.

Little does Mathilde know, those fencing lessons will end up coming in handy sooner than she expected. When her parents are killed by corrupt nobles, the girl teams up with Comte de Vaudreuil’s son, François, to fight against corruption as heroes of the people, all while the revolution keeps drawing near day by day and tensions in the city are at an all time high.

This is the gist of the story, dear readers, so with that out of the way, here’s the actual review:

3. The Story

Honestly, I kind of like the plot. It has a certain charm to it, like an old swashbuckling novel, of which I’ve read a lot as a kid.

The narrative of a “hero of the common folk” has been a staple in literature for centuries so some might consider the premise to be unoriginal, but I personally like this narrative more than “champion of the rich” (Looking at you, Scarlet Pimpernel) because, historically, it really was a difficult time for commoners and when times are hard people tend to need such heroes the most.

People need hope, so it’s no surprise that Mathilde and François (who already moonlights as a folk hero, The Black Tulip) become living legends thanks to their escapades.

Interestingly enough, the series also subverts a common trope of a hero seeking revenge for the death of his family. Mathilde is deeply affected by the death of her parents but she doesn’t actively seek revenge. Instead, this tragedy makes the fight and the upcoming revolution a personal matter to her and motivates her to fight corruption because she is not the only person who ended up on its receiving end.

The pacing is generally pretty good but I do wish there were less filler episodes and more of the overarching story that’s dedicated to the secret that Comte de Vaudreuil and Mathilde’s parents seem to be hiding from her and maybe it would be better if the secret in question was revealed to the audience a bit later than episode 7 or so.

However, revealing the twist early on is still an interesting narrative choice because then the main question is not what the secret itself is but rather when and how Mathilde will find out and how she will react, not to mention how it will affect the story.

That being said, even the filler episodes do drive home the point that a hero like Mathilde is needed, that nobles are generally corrupt and that something needs to change. Plus, those episodes were still enjoyable and entertaining enough for me to keep watching, which is good because usually I don’t like filler episodes much and it’s pretty easy to make them too boring.

Unfortunately, the show is affected by the common trope of the characters not growing up but I don’t usually mind that much. It also has the cliché of heroes being unrecognizable in costumes and masks, but that’s a bit of a staple in the superhero stories even today so it’s not that bothersome.

4. The Characters

It was admittedly pretty rare for a children’s show to have characters who were fleshed out enough to seem realistic and flawed, but I think this series gives its characters more development than most shows for kids did at the time.

I especially like Mathilde as a character. Sure, at first glance she seems like a typical Nice Pretty Ordinary Girl ™️ but that was a part of the appeal for me.

I am a strong believer in that a character does not need to be a blank slate or a troubled jerk to be interesting and Mathilde is neither of the above. She is essentially an ordinary girl with her own life, family, friends, personality and dreams and, unfortunately, all of that is taken away from her when her parents are killed.

Her initial reluctance to participate in the revolution is also pretty realistic as she is still trying to live her own life in peace and she made a promise to her parents to stay safe so there’s that too.

I really like the fact that the show did not give her magic powers and that she was not immediately good at fencing. François does remark that her fencing is not bad for a beginner but in those same episodes she is clearly shown making mistakes and it takes her time to upgrade from essentially François’s assistant in the heroic shenanigans to a teammate he can rely on and sees as an equal. Heck, later there’s a moment when Mathilde saves François, which is a nice tidbit of her development.

Mathilde also doesn’t have any romantic subplots, which is really rare for a female lead.

She has a childhood friend, Florent, but the two are not close romantically and they even begin to drift apart somewhat once Florent becomes invested in the revolution. François de Vaudreuil does not qualify for a love interest either - his father does take Mathilde in and adopts her after her parents are killed so François is more of an older brother than anything else.

Now, I’m not saying that romance is necessarily a bad thing but I do think that not having them is refreshing than shoehorning a romance into a story that’s not even about it. Plus most kids don’t care that much for romance to begin with so I’d say that the show only benefits from the creative decision of not setting Mathilde up with anyone.

Another interesting narrative choice I’d like to point out is the nearly complete absence of historical characters, like the revolutionaries. They do not make an appearance at all, save for Saint-Just’s cameo in one of the last episodes and, fortunately, he doesn’t get demonized. Instead, the revolutionary ideas are represented by Florent, who even joins the Jacobin Club during the story and is the one who tries to get Mathilde to become a revolutionary. Other real people, like young Napoleon and Mozart, do appear but they are also cameo characters, which does not count.

Marie-Antoinette and Louis XVI are exceptions to the rule.

(Spoiler alert!)

Marie-Antoinette is portrayed as kind of spoiled and out of touch. Her spending habits get touched on too but she is not a malicious person at heart. She is simply flawed. She becomes especially important to the story later on when Mathilde finds out the secret that has been hidden from her for her entire life.

As it turns out, Marie- Antoinette, the same queen Mathilde hated so much, is the girl’s older half-sister and Mathilde is an illegitimate daughter of the Austrian king and an opera singer, given to a childless couple of florists to be raised in secret so that her identity can be protected.

The way Marie-Antoinette and Mathilde are related and their further interactions end up providing an interesting inner conflict for Mathilde as now she needs to reconcile this relationship with her sister and her hatred for the corruption filling Versailles.

The characters are not actively glorified or demonized for the most part and each side has a fair share of sympathetic characters but the anime doesn’t shy away from showing the dark sides of the revolution either, unlike some other shows that tackle history (*cough* Liberty’s Kids comes to mind *cough*).

All in all, pretty interesting characters and the way they develop is quite realistic too, even if they could’ve been more fleshed out in my opinion.

5. The Voice Acting

Pretty solid. No real complaints here. I’d say that the dub actors did a good job.

6. The Setting

I really like the pastel and simple color scheme of Paris and its contrast with the brighter palette of Versailles. It really drives home the contrast between these two worlds.

The character designs are pretty realistic, simple and pleasant to watch. No eyesores like neon colors and overly cutesy anime girls with giant tiddies here and that’s a big plus in my book.

7. The Conclusion

Like I said, the show is not available in English and those who are able to watch it might find it a bit cliché but, while it’s definitely not perfect. I actually quite like it for its interesting concept, fairly realistic characters and a complex view of the French Revolution. I can definitely recommend this show, if only to see what it’s all about.

Some people might find this show too childish and idealistic, but I’m not one of them.

I’m almost 21 but I still enjoy cartoons and I’m fairly idealistic because cynicism and nihilism do not equal maturity and, if not for the “silly” idealism, Frev itself wouldn’t happen so I think shows like that are necessary too, even if it’s just for escapism.

If you’re interested and want to check it out, more power to you.

Anyway, thank you for attending the first ever official meeting of the Jacobin Fiction Convention. Second meeting is coming soon so stay tuned for updates.

Have a good day, Citizens! I love you!

- Citizen Green Pixel

#review #french revolution #anime #history #television #frev media #Jacobin Fiction Convention #marie antoinette #French Revolution anime #la seine ni hoshi #la tulipe noire dessin animé #la tulipe noire

[alwaysabeautifullife]

How did you learn so many languages. Do you have any tips?

Yes!!!! Yes I do!!!

Everything I wish I could tell myself before starting my language “journey” lol:

🦩Dont be intimidated

Don’t be intimidated, specifically by doing listening or speaking practice. I know in the US (or for most English speakers), when we hear someone that speaks perfect English but merely has an accent we think “they don’t speak English”, but from experience this mentality is not shared with other languages. When you know even a little bit of a language or can’t speak it very well, natives speakers are really really encouraging. I think since we view not being 100% fluent without so much as an accent, as “not knowing any of a language” we are hard on ourselves and give up pretty easily.

🦩Listening practice is as important as studying vocabulary and grammar

When you listen to native speakers talk, you are training your ear even though you don’t understand it. Listen and listen, eventually your brain stops picking out English words that aren’t even there, but rather, starts to catch patterns in the language (for example, the same words sticks out to you over and over).

🦩Set realistic and doable goals or you’ll get discouraged and quit

If you are a busy person, make small goals to fit language study in. Don’t tell yourself that you need to master _____ within a week. Instead give yourself 15 mins of reading in the evening, and 25 mins of language listening in the morning. It’s also easier to add the language into stuff you do on a daily basis anyway. For example if you are religious, find your prayers you pray daily in the language you are learning.

🦩learn to read the language first (obviously this tip might not be applicable for character based languages like Chinese)

I know everyone says “immersion is the best and most important part of language” but honestly, a lot of our native speaking knowledge comes from our literacy education. When we are taught how to read, it’s through reading we can discover new words through context. It’s also easy to pick up new language reading since it’s available anywhere, where immersion is only available when you are surrounded by native speakers. The first thing I do is learn how to read and write the language, then the entire language becomes accessible to me.

🦩Spend time perfecting the sounds of the language that are most difficult for you

The vocal sounds of a language is the foundation of a language. I know we are all impatient and want to simply learn as many phrases as possible as fast as possible, but if you get down the unfamiliar sounds of a language that don’t exist in English, you’ll have a better foundation of the language and your speaking and listening will be better from the very beginning. So take the time to practice those weird sounds by looking into the position of the tongue and where the sound comes from, from the chest to the lips. Look into how tense the mouth is, how much air comes from the lips, what the sound is like next to other sounds. When you master this speaking becomes more instinctual and it’s easier to pick up the language.

🦩Search YouTube, google, Instagram IN THE LANGUAGE YOU ARE STUDYING.

Don’t search “korean music” or “korean kids tv” or even “korean vegetables” in google. Just translate how to say them in a translator app, then copy and paste them into the search bar. This way native korean information, videos, posts will come up. For example, if you’re in the mood for some horror comics, and want to read/watch them in the language you are learning, go to the translator app, and figure out how to say them, then search it. It works way better, even if the translation isn’t correct or more natural, you’ll still get the information, posts, and videos you want to see.

🦩Find ways to practice speaking the language (I use HiNative) and don’t be discouraged by corrections.

Getting corrected does not mean you’re wrong, corrections are the most useful part of learning a language. If you are the type of person who is sensitive to criticism, you need to remind yourself corrections are NOT criticism. They are NOT a reflection of your progress, they are NOT you failing! You will always be corrected as a language learner and the sooner you are gentle with yourself in learning the sooner you will learn more. Get those first corrections out of the way, allow yourself to butcher pronunciation, get corrected for the first 10 times, let it sting a little and move on. Eventually you will be begging native speakers to tell you every little detail in where you went wrong!

🦩Tv and Books seems to be more useful for immersion and listening practice then music does

So far in my experience music is its very weird and abstract, and the things said in music aren’t really useful in speaking? It’s good for gathering vocab, but if you want music listening practice that’s music based try searching for rap in that language, although obviously you’ll be picking up a lot of informal language in music/rap. Tv shows however are typically how people really do talk, so turn off English subs and just listen! Books are really useful for learning new vocabulary, but sometimes written language is different than spoken (often), although when you speak it the way you’ve learned from a book the worst you’ll sound is “formal and poetic”.

🦩Look up “insert language you are learning phrases and words that aren’t useful or correct”

There so many programs and books that teach you phrases you’ll never use or that are only appropriate in very specific situations. I don’t know why language programs do this, but learning which ones are weird or only in specific settings before you start learning really helps. Chinese Especially does this...like I learned so many phrases and words that natives will never use and have no purpose???

🦩Know the different subjects of learning a language and which apps to use for that

Everyone uses Duolingo, but this app alone won’t make you speak a language. Duolingo and Memrise are great for memorizing vocab, but, is it vocab that in the context of your reading and listening practice? Are you learning words you are hearing and reading all the time? Duolingo is a lot of fun but I feel like the vocab is so broad and it doesn’t go deep enough into the language. Feel free to use it at first to get used to the sounds of the language, but try using flash card apps like quizlet or Anki instead where you can write down and study words you are hearing constantly. Memrise does have actually study sets for many language books and lessons! So you can study words you are hearing in specific programs and books which is pretty useful in regards to vocab.

There obviously is more than just learning vocab. What about grammar, listening practice, speaking practice and reading? If you are wanting to use primarily apps find out which apps are available for your language. Here is an example of the apps I use for each subject. Be aware some languages are not available on them.

Vocab: quizlet, anki

Grammar: books (printed or kindle), YouTube grammar lessons, websites

Reading: books (printed or kindle), beelinguapp, instagram (posts that have text), Netflix/YouTube with both subtitles in the language you are learning and spoken in language you are learning, epic app

Writing: just use paper and pencil/pen

Listening: audio books (beelinguapp/epic/kindle/YouTube), tv and movies (Netflix/YouTube etc with no English subs), conversations on YouTube (search in language you are studying, don’t search “Spanish conversations” or “Japanese conversations”)

Speaking: HiNative (pretty much all I use since it’s all languages, quick, and you get immediately answered and corrected by native speakers), get friends in language you are learning through lots of apps

Translator: it’s really hard to find a good one, most of them are really weird so only use them for words and the most basic or simple phrases and sentences, otherwise use HiNative to ask native speakers directly, or ask people on the apps that connect you to native speakers

🌱I should note that for talking to native speakers I only like HiNative, since it’s built to NOT be a form of social networking at all. It’s not personal in anyway, and there’s no way to private message or speak to other users outside a asking questions publicly. The people on there are only about learning or teaching a language, not usually making friends. I’ve found the sites that are built to make native speaking friends aren’t useful to me personally, as most of the native speakers are either dudes looking for a woman to date or people wanting to only practice English with you, so they wasted a lot of my study time. People who are willing to help you learn are there, but it takes time to filter everything else out. If you would find it helpful to make friends by all means use them but I don’t really use it myself.🌱

You don’t want to really study EVERY SUBJECT every single day (unless you have the time). It can get really overwhelming, and you don’t really absorb information that if you are just cramming. While I would say it’s good to read and listen daily, spread subjects out over the week. Grammar on Monday and Friday, vocab on Tuesday and Thursday. Take one day to review all of what you’ve learned all week. Pick a day you have the largest block of free time. Bi-weekly works fine too.

I have an old post on how I organize my study time for multiple languages: https://alwaysabeautifullife.tumblr.com/post/182817883372/what-do-you-use-to-learn-your-languages-im

🦩Write sentences daily of everything you’ve learned (no THIS I RECOMMEND DAILY)

Write as many as you can. Use all the grammar you’ve learned, the words you’ve learned, everything! Write them in your notes and submit them to be corrected in HiNative. The sentences they correct, put them in flash cards!

🦩It’s ok to abandon languages you aren’t passionate in

So you’ve learned to read the language, and you know basic phrases, and now you just don’t want to do it anymore. If you can’t think of any reason to maintain it and don’t know why you are studying it, learning some of the language is good! Fluency does NOT need to be everyone’s goal. You can hold a conversation, and that’s good enough for you. Feel free to try out various languages, there will be one or some that really are your passion, it’s fine to have the goal of fluency in those and conversational in others.

Don’t abandon languages however because you feel discouraged. Discouragement is just a bump to get over, when you train your brain to maintain study habits through the days you feel discouraged, you make it habitual. Habits are harder to break and abandon! Evaluate your reasonings for wanting to speak a language, and your reasons for abandoning them if you want. Don’t let difficulty, disorganized, discouragement, or poor time management get in your way!!

🦩With all that said it’s ok to take breaks

It’s ok to get overwhelmed and take breaks from language learning. If you can still maintain what you’ve learned by listening to music in your language or staying connected in some way that’s good, but the “you’ll loose a language” isn’t entirely true. I’ve taken year long breaks and refreshing what I learned previously is pretty easy! Your brain really does go “oh yeah I do remember this!” when you’re studying information you studied years ago.

🦩Be gentle with yourself

Be gentle with yourself. People that claim to be fluent in 6 months are selling something or want to be an influencer. Don’t compare yourself to them. Language learning even for natives is a lifetime education. It’s not something you do for 6 months then stop. It’s continual and that looks different for everyone (yes native speakers included). Don’t bother watching YouTube videos on how to learn in 10 mins or 3 months, you’ll only get discouraged about your own amazing progress and all the work you’ve done.

🦩Plan your “can you say something in it” phrase now

This one is just for fun but after hearing you are learning a language the first thing you’ll get asked is “oh cool you speak (insert target language here)? Can you say something in (insert target language here)?” It does not matter what level of fluency you are at, you will absolutely forget the entire language and your own native language when you are asked this because it sends your brain to another dimension. So think of some funny phrases to say to people who ask, master them, then when they ask what they mean you can have a laugh. Other wise you will say something stupid of jumbled words (my go to was ‘we women are fruit’ for some reason thanks brain you’re incredible) you’ve learned that don’t belong in a sentence, or even worse you’ll run a blank and you’ll just look at them like:

🍳👄🍳

So think of inside jokes to tell your friends, funny phrases, even goofy insults! Memorize them and tell them at your friends and family to torture them because they can’t escape sound waves! It’s a good way to memorize the language but also to become confortable speaking it!

Please excuse any errors I don’t wanna go over my mistakes so pretend u can’t see them 🙈

#langblr #learning languages #korean #spanish #italian #portuguese #lang resources #lang apps #lang

[deijnar]

The only one who makes me nervous

Incredible but true - I wrote something! And am posting it!

This is my piece for the great @mysme-rbb and I got to collaborate with @braincellbank, definitely check their artwork out! The CMC used in this is theirs ^-^

You can also find the fic on Ao3!

So here goes a lot of fluffy, cute Jaehee pining~

╰⊱♥⊱╮●╭⊱♥≺

With suspicion, Jaehee squints her eyes at the ingredients on the countertop of her and Lila's brand new cafe. After months of preparation and an almost breakdown when she asked them to become her partner for this adventure, Jaehee's dream finally comes true - a cute, domestic yet elegant cafe that she owns with her best friend.

But…

"There was more chocolate."

Lila's eyes widen and they furrow their eyebrows, looking at the potential crime scene as well. "Huh? What do you mean?" They check the scale. "It's the exact amount we need for the recipe."

Jaehee shakes her head, looking at the pieces in the bowl. "I could have sworn I put more in there…"

"You're probably just nervous! We're about to bake our very first cake for the cafe, isn't it exciting?" 

The way they beam at Jaehee makes her chest feel warm and her knees go a little weak, causing Jaehee to forget what she was just thinking about entirely.

"That must be it, I'm sure you're right. This is what I've dreamed of for a very long time, I feel all… fluttery inside." To hide her soft chuckle, Jaehee turns her head away a little and shields her mouth with one of her hands. Showing emotion is still… foreign to her and she is still shy about it.

Lila clicks their tongue in disapproval. "Now come over here and let me see that stunning face of yours, we have work to do! I'm all excited for this too but I'm waiting for the proper view." Demanding, they motion to the space across from them, followed by a little wink.

As all of Lila's teasing does, their comment makes Jaehee's heart hiccup in her chest, a too familiar heat already painting her cheeks in a soft blush. There’s only one way to deal with them when they get like that…

Speaking Korean, especially if the sentences are long and spoken fast, is the only way for Jaehee to feel like she is still somewhat in control when she is around Lila. Given that Korean is not their first language and they’re still learning, they tend to get really sheepish when they don’t understand something. And, for Jaehee, it’s the only weapon she has to not let Lila’s boldness knock her out. 

Normally, she speaks English around them or slow, easy Korean. But not in moments like this.

“If only you knew what you’re doing to me with such behavior…” 

Jaehee keeps her voice low and talks fast, even a fluent speaker would have had trouble to understand her.

“What was that?” The cocky grin on their face immediately shrinks to a shy expression and Jaehee can’t help but feel a little guilty, although relieved. 

Of course she hates it to make her friend feel insecure, she wants to make them feel just as strong and support them just as much as they do for her. But sometimes she has to do this, only to not combust due to the hidden feelings in her heart.

“Oh, nothing. Let’s start baking.” With a somewhat apologetic smile, she walks up to Lila and stands on the other side of the countertop, looking at the instructions in front of her. Now, she has to fire Lila’s confidence in themself again. “How about you start with the dough while I try out these decorations? Your doughs always turn out amazing.” The proud gleam in Lila’s eyes that Jaehee likes to see so much is back immediately. “They do indeed. What are you making?” Curiously, they get to their tiptoes, trying to get a peek of the picture she is holding. “Some flowers.” Calculating, she leans her head to the side, inspecting the pictures as well, lowering the piece of paper so it's easier for Lila to see. “I’ve never tried to make these before but I wanted to set myself a challenge. Hopefully, they’ll turn out fine.” “I’m sure they’ll turn out perfect. Like you.” One of Lila’s hands lands on Jaehee’s cheek, presumably for encouragement, and Jaehee can practically feel their chuckle as she straightens as if the touch burned her skin. Which it really seems to do, given how hot she feels all of a sudden. “Y-yes. I… Maybe. Yes, I’ll do my best.”

Not knowing what else she could possibly say that wouldn’t give away how fast her heart is beating, Jaehee gets to work. She presses her lips together and tries to ignore Lila’s gaze she can clearly feel on herself as she begins to knead and color the fondant. 

Luckily, Lila decides to be merciful and not make any more comments that get Jaehee out of her concentration, maybe so they can get to work as well. 

It doesn’t take the young woman long to forget everything around herself as she fully focuses on the task at hand. She gets lost in the thrill of trying new, challenging things and the rewarding feeling when an experiment with one of her utensils works out, giving the flowers as they are described in the instructions her own twist. One petal after the next is formed and, after some time, Jaehee finds a routine, the activity having a quite calming and almost meditative effect on her. 

Her thoughts wander.

And, as they do so very often, they wander to the wonderful person standing in front of her right now. 

It’s been a few months since they’ve met, got to know each other and even ended up as close as they are right now. Not much, in Jaehee’s opinion, and yet she can barely recall a time where Lila hasn’t been in her life, much less can or does she want to imagine a future without them. They have saved her from her monotone, stressful life that never would have gained her any kind of happiness and turned it upside down. They have turned it into an unpredictable, exciting adventure, the only goal being to chase their dreams and find joy. Together.

Never again does Jaehee want to be without Lila’s stirring presence that doesn’t only bring spice but also light into her life.

Of course it hadn’t been easy for Jaehee to admit to herself that she’d fallen in love. Of course she had been scared of rejection, of the possible heartbreak. Of the risks that come with loving someone so deeply, even after such a short period of time, only falling deeper for their captivating soul more and more with every passing day. 

But no matter how strong her fears had been, by that, they only became the evidence for her feelings for Lila. And finally, after multiple sleepless nights, Jaehee had not only faced the truth that she’s helplessly lost her heart to the best friend she’s ever had, she also came to the conclusion that all of this turmoil is worth it. That the nagging fear is nothing compared to the exciting tingle that runs from the center of her stomach through her entire body as soon as Lila walks into the room. That a possible heartbreak is a price she is willing to pay, as long as she gets to feel the way she does for a little while longer every time Lila smiles at her, only her.

And now, they’re working together, they’re partners. Maybe they’ll never be more than that, friends and partners, but Jaehee knows that, at least, they will always be together. Even if she should slip one day - Lila won’t just leave her for the way she feels. In that, Jaehee trusts unconditionally. In Lila, she trusts unconditionally.

Before she knows it, she’s used up the last bit of fondant, has created the last flower for the day. Proudly, Jaehee looks down at the decorations in front of her, all kinds of blossoms in many different colors, shades and sizes spreading out on the table. 

"I did it!" The excitement in her voice is very clear and maybe, normally, she would try to conceal it to keep her countenance. But right now, she's way too happy and feels way too safe and comfortable with Lila to even care.

"I knew it!" There's some flour on Lila's cheek as they grin at Jaehee. "I told you they'll look perfect. You did it!"

Far from sick of looking at her own creations, Jaehee smiles down at the sugary decoration in front of her again. Then, she turns her head up to look at Lila again, unaware of the fact that her friend had just started leaning forward to peck her cheek. 

Lila's lips land on the corner of Jaehee's mouth and she freezes. Time seems to stop and so does her heartbeat.

As to be expected, Lila isn't fazed by it at all. On the contrary, they seem to enjoy it quite a lot judging by the amused grin on their face and the fact that they stay much closer than they'd need to. They're not even saying anything and yet Jaehee feels like she will be reduced to an inarticulate, blushy mess in mere seconds. 

There’s nothing she can do but pointedly look to the side to stop her brain from short-circuiting. No matter how much she wants to look at her stunning friend, she can’t, knowing that, if she would, she couldn't rip her eyes off the lips she so badly wants to feel on hers.

And at that moment, there's just one thing Jaehee can do.

"While investing in the stock market, it's very important to maximize the possible outcome for your transaction while simultaneously minimizing the risk you take."

Although she's speaking her native tongue, Jaehee stumbles over her own words with how quickly she is saying them. Also, she's not even sure if what she just said actually makes sense.

Yet, the words have the effect she was desperately hoping for - Lila softly shakes their head, the threateningly teasing expression on their face making way for utter confusion as they subconsciously draw back a few inches.

Jaehee hates it as much as it makes her feel relieved.

"What?"

"Nothing!" Quickly, Jaehee turns to face the table again, unnecessarily starting to sort the flowers still laying there by size. If she's confronted with that gorgeous face any longer, she won't be able to hold back anymore. "We should-"

Before she can bring up her suggestion to give the cake more layers than they'd originally planned, Lila gently places their hand on hers on the table between them. 

If she is honest to herself, Jaehee knows that she wants nothing to be between them anymore, to separate them.

At first, she still refuses to look at Lila. Even without getting lost in those lovely eyes of the person that saved her from the miserable life she has been living - the speed of her heartbeat is already concerning. 

But the light caress of their soft fingers on her skin makes her slowly, carefully, look up at them again, bringing her even closer to the figure she wants to embrace and never let go. 

She really wants the piece of furniture gone.

"Do I truly make you this nervous?"

Lila's voice is low and raw, not hiding the emotions behind their words. They sound surprisingly hopeful and… a little scared?

Not trusting her voice to do what she wants, Jaehee just nods. Shouldn't Lila know about the effect they have on her? With how much they've been playing around with it, Jaehee has been convinced they know.

But Lila shakes their head.

"I mean, is it me who makes you nervous? Or is it the flirting, the teasing? Would you get flustered by anyone acting like this?"

Trying to calm down her rapidly beating heart, Jaehee shakes her head. She swallows, wanting her words to be audible and the truth in them to be apparent. 

"I get flustered because it's you, Lila. It's not just the teasing. Everything you do makes me nervous somehow. But at the same time, you're the only person that can truly calm me down."

As to prove her statement, she nervously averts her gaze. She doesn't know much about friendship and how it works, she's worried she's said too much. And Lila is so close… Concentrating is impossible.

Time seems to be standing still. 

This may be because Lila stands still, a thing they usually never do. It makes Jaehee feel a bit uneasy, she isn't sure what to think of this or what to expect, it's so atypical for her friend.

Her thoughts keep running, trying to figure out what exactly is happening right now and how to act further. Eventually, after not finding any satisfying answer, Jaehee decides to slowly turn her head back to look at Lila again. 

The intensity in Lila's eyes keeps her in place as soon as their gazes lock. Now both of them seem to be frozen in time, just staring at each other.

(by @braincellbank​)

Jaehee has no idea what this means or what step should be taken next, let alone by whom. She just knows that she doesn't want to look away.

When Lila finally moves, it happens suddenly and fast. 

Jaehee's eyes widen when they suddenly jerk forward, and they widen even more as Lila presses their lips to hers.

It takes Jaehee's brain a moment to catch up to what's happening, to understand it. To understand that this is real, that what she's secretly dreamed of and fantasized about for weeks and months truly is happening, right here and now.

But as soon as it sinks in, her eyes flutter closed and her free hand, the one Lila isn't touching, finds their cheek.

The kiss feels like heaven.

Soon, Lila relaxes into Jaehee's touch and the frantic, nervous hectic of the firm pressing of their lips shifts into a soft, loving exploration.

In no time, Jaehee is entirely captivated, forgetting that the world exists around them and even if she would remember, she wouldn't care. All she cares about is Lila. 

Lila's touch, their warmth, their scent. The fact that this kiss feels even better than she could have ever imagined it. 

Her heart beats so fast it seems like it's trying to fly out of her chest to catapult itself into the sky to rejoice.

And Lila's lips taste so sweet…

Too sweet.

With a gasp, Jaehee breaks the kiss.

"You did snack on the chocolate! I knew it!"

Throwing their head back, Lila laughs, their earlier stillness nowhere to be found anymore. Their smile is just as wide as Jaehee's and they look just as happy as her.

Jaehee couldn't care less about the chocolate.

"Guess you've caught me." Another sly smile makes it to their lips. "Guess I'll have to make up for it…"

A quiet, displeased noise slips over Jaehee's lips as Lila draws back. But soon, they've made their way around the table and Jaehee finds herself in their arms, embracing them as well on instinct. 

"I don't think I want to bake anymore today." 

They're both grinning at each other before their lips meet in another kiss.

#mysmerbb #mysme #mystic messenger #mm #mm fluff #fluff #jaehee fluff #mystic messenger jaehee #mystic messenger fluff #jaehee kang #Jaehee Kang Fluff #mysme fic #jaehee fanfiction #mm jaehee fluff #collaboration #braincellbank #braincellsart