think we should abolish ship names and go back to the tumblr days when all the ship tags were like “otp: [quote of something they said to each other]”
— cait 🦋 (@rodrigoswifts) January 17, 2021
if this post looks familiar, it's because i jacked the idea from
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoplight, who responded to my proposition of nominifying it with "omg yes ofc! [knows nothing about nomin] do they actually say things about e/o" which... well... okay, i guess nomin is more of a "one of them (usually jaem) looking at the other like they want to kiss" type of otp, but they do say things! i promise. this is not the pending jaemjen manifesto but allow me to show you some nomin brainrot regardless (.◜◡◝)it's less about the words and more about how they say them ♡
no. 20
"it's exactly what jaemin hates"
who said it: jeno
context: march 2021 huya live — staff bring out a cake for renjun's birthday, jeno takes one look at it and says that the combination of flavors is exactly what jaemin dislikes.
commentary: like unprovoked?? apropos of nothing? when you know someone so much it's just second nature to bring them up as a way to comment on things. knowing each other tally: 1
no. 19
"he's a very unique friend"
who said it: jeno
context: 2020 valentines day baking video — jaemin's making weird noises and generally pulling 4d silly shit during the process of making this brownie cake thing, and jeno just turns to the camera, the office style, and says, "he's a very unique friend, so please be considerate."
commentary: jeno lee our angel who doesn't know anger. this youtube comment says it best: "jeno even roasts people in sweetheart language"
no. 18
"he's like a puppy"
who said it: jaemin
context: 2019 hello counselor backstage interview — jaemin's asked what jeno's charming points are and he says "jeno's charm? he's like a puppy. if i don't get up and make him food, he comes up on my bed and gets me up."
commentary: we get it. you love it when he has to beg you to do things. but also this is the first thing that comes to your mind when someone asks you what's charming about jeno? that he begs u for food like a dog? sdkjfasldkf jeno i am so sorry.
no. 17
"jeno knows it best"
who said it: jaemin
context: hot sauce era: nahyuck dream vs dream — jaemin asks haechan "what's my favorite dog breed" and haechan struggles with it. a lot. so jaemin gives him hints in the form of "jeno." "where's jeno? jeno knows it best, i think."
commentary: NOT to rub salt in the wound (and also bc nahyuck dvd is a whole different can of worms), but jaemin rly can't keep jeno's name out his mouth huh! they know each other. jaemin's confidence in jeno knowing him but also saying this because he thinks jeno looks like a samoyed. the layers to this. knowing each other tally: 2
no. 16
"he matches me well"
who said it: jaemin
context: nct 2020 enquete survey — all of the members are asked to fill out a survey with multiple questions about who is the most ____? jaemin answers "who has the same taste as you?" with jeno.
commentary: jaemin then goes on to clarify that it's not exactly that they have the same taste, but that jeno is kind of... gullible... easy, if you will. his agreeableness off the charts (if you've seen his hexaco results on mental camp, you know). jeno just matches jaemin well :')
no. 15
"it's just... really comfortable"
who said it: jaemin
context: may 2021 fansign video call — a fan asks him what it's like rooming with jeno again after so long and jaemin says, "it's just... really comfortable. we've been roommates before since we were trainees, so even if we don't make conversation, it just feels very comfortable."
commentary: domesticity is the name of the game and nomin are winning at it at all times.
no. 14
"my name is jeno"
who said it: jaemin
context: 180406 smtown in dubai — nct dream is introducing themselves and jaemin confidently, with hand gestures and all, says "my name is jeno," pauses for a whole two seconds while all of his members gape at him, and then hurriedly corrects himself—"i mean jaemin."
commentary: ok i know this sounds like a gag but truly, is there love greater than straight up being your soulmate? the convergence of you and the object of your affections, when you love someone so much that you become them, etc. please excuse the tinhat for what is otherwise an utterly embarrassing moment for not only jaemin but also jaemin stans as well.
no. 13
"but jaemin doesn't like milk"
who said it: jeno
context: 2018 cooking vlive — a handful of members (dream + kun) are making fruit bingsu and haechan insists on adding milk. none of the others seem to care or know what's going on, but jeno tells them explicitly that jaemin doesn't like milk. haechan ends up adding a bunch and renjun says they need it to grow. jeno's words go unheeded and ignored (இ﹏இ`｡)
commentary: ok not to nahyuck on a nomin post but the antagonisms started in their youth, i am 100% sure of that. jeno the world's best boy keeps trying to make a stand for milk-hater jaemin, but haechan is haechan u know... and so jeno just ends up looking at the camera guiltily for the rest of the time. when u try and fail to defend ur bf. it's cute :(
no. 12
"jaemin knows me so well"
who said it: jeno
context: 180922 nct dream everland fansign — a fan asks what the first thing jeno wants to do when he turns 20, he says driving; she asks with who, he says jaemin; she asks why, he says "it's jaemin, because he knows me so well"
commentary: he said the first thing he wants to do when he's 20 is drive around with jaemin ㅠ_ㅠ ok... he is always on the brain i see... coming of age with ur bestie. doing bestie things. also another reiteration of them Knowing Each Other. tally: 3
no. 11
"honey, look here"
who said it: jaemin
context: under the blankets ep 2 — jaemin's trying to get jeno's attention while jeno's washing dishes so that he can take a photo of him. he accidentally calls jeno "yeobo" aka darling/honey when he asks, saying, "yeobo- yeobo? yeogi boseyo (look over here please)!"
commentary: i'm taking this as a freudian slip. this entire series was them playing house anyway. jeno barely reacts to it, and if jaemin hadn't brought attention to it and just played it off, maybe none of us would've even noticed.
no. 10
"i'm jaemin you're jeno"
who said it: jeno
context: oct 2019 bike ride date #1 — jeno's referencing the aforementioned "my name is jeno" moment from smtown dubai during their little intro section for the biking vlog.
commentary: it's one thing to accidentally call yourself your other half but to play it up intentionally is another thing entirely. they are never letting this shit go and i love it. identity theft as a form of affection. <3
no. 9
"i love you, jeno-ya"
who said it: jaemin
context: 2019 jaemjen battle trip — jaemin at the end of their trip unveils the message on the led board that he'd secretly paid to have written the day before. the weather that day was bad and they didn't get to do all the things they'd planned to, but jaemin tells jeno to close his eyes and then basically does this kdrama-esque confession.
commentary: this is so. sooo much. i mean given what we know about the battle trip lore this quote and moment will always be kind of bittersweet to me (and hence why it isn't higher up on the ranking), but jaemin is just so full of love despite his performative bastardisms. T__T jeno he just wants to love u.
no. 8
"you had no choice but me"
who said it: jaemin
context: 191222 fanmeeting — jeno's asked by kwanghee to choose his best friend out of 6dream by hugging them from behind while the rest of them close their eyes and jeno chooses... u guessed it, na jaemin. kwanghee then asks jaemin how he feels about being chosen as jeno's best friend.
commentary: jaemin's smug face as he feels jeno's arms around him, his stupid little victory dance afterwards (accompanied with a "oh yeah oh yeah")... the confidence with which he says, "jeno had no choice [but to choose me] for this. i knew i'd be picked." like okay? he's sooo smug about it!! stop it!! also knowing each other: 4
no. 7
"drink less coffee"
who said it: jeno
context: may 2020 nct dream the stage — they all have to go around and say something to the person next to them in a circle, and this is jeno's message to jaemin. amongst other things: "it's been 8 years" "drink less coffee" "eat less sugar" "it might make you sick"
commentary: jaemin actually echoes some of jeno's words here in the softest voice possible, refuting some of the statements ("i don't drink that much coffee") and resigning himself to others ("i should eat less sugar")... and throughout this entire thing he's like.. hyper-aware of the camera, glancing at it every two sentences and i am just. if u knew how i feel. anyway, looking out for ur resident caffeine + sugar addict's bodily health is a love language.
no. 6
"we have our own world that belongs to us"
who said it: jeno
context: july 2020 arena homme+ interview — jeno's asked the question "it must have felt like you are continuously growing with the dream members without changing classes" and he answers "though i'm slightly tired of jaemin whom i've been seeing for 7-8 years, hahaha. when one of us buys something, we end up buying it together. we have our own world that belongs to us."
commentary: UM. #this_kills_the_man idk what else to say about it. like we get it. everyone else around them is just thirdwheeling or shipping enthusiastically (chenle). also the added mention of their couple items so casually. it's no wonder that chinese nomin shippers on weibo don't even care about matching clothes anymore. it's just standard for them.
no. 5
"jeno is mine"
who said it: jaemin
context: 2019 huya live — jaemin jeno and chenle are introducing themselves as each other, with chenle going "hi i'm jeno" first. jaemin and jeno go to follow, but then jaemin does a double take and says "jeno is mine. 'i'm jeno' is mine." chenle kinda looks at him like "um... ok then"
commentary: the way that this is literally about a joke (even worse it's one of jaemin's most embarrassing moments bc he slipped up in front of thousands of people and yet—). like is this really something worth being possessive over? is it that serious? oh, i forgot we were talking about na jaemin. of course it is. leo men.
no. 4
"then i will give myself to him"
who said it: jeno
context: 2018 banpo fansign — a fan asks jeno what he gave jaemin for his birthday, jeno says he asked but jaemin didn't tell him what he wanted yet. she asks "what if he says he doesn't want anything?" jeno responds with—
commentary: i KNOW. in context it's likely that jeno was trolling or trying to be funny but the words. the phrase. the implication. the gentle devastation of how jeno just says shit like this. iykyk. again. um... anyway i'm sure jaemin would like that very much.
no. 3
"we both are just one body"
"then when we die, we die together?"
who said it: both
context: 190603 battlegrounds gameplay and mukbang — jaemin and jeno are shooting at a pc bang, playing pubg, and jaemin's talking about how they should stick together during the game. the full conversation goes:
jaemin: jeno-ya, we should go together
jeno: come here
jeno: come here
jaemin: please let's go together. we both are just one body.
jeno: then when we die, we die together?
jaemin: yeah that's right.
jeno: then when we die, we die together?
jaemin: yeah that's right.
commentary: ok if you follow me on twitter you already know that i am guy who thinks being the same person is the most romantic thing in the universe! in addition to their bodyswap "i am jeno" and "i am jaemin" moments, this is literally the most incredible exchange that could've ever happened to contribute to this agenda. yes i know it was in the context of pubg, but STILL. it is not everyday ur otp literally has a 一心同体 (one in body and sou,l of one flesh; two hearts beating as one) moment. it is not everyday ur otp says when we die we die together!!
no. 2
"i just know you"
who said it: jaemin
context: 2020 "year of the dragon dream graph" with dispatch on vlive — they're supposed to be drawing life graphs for the (lunar) new year
jeno: before we start!
jaemin: what is it all of the sudden?
jaemin: what is it all of the sudden?
jeno: everybody, 1, 2, 3....
both, bowing in sync: happy new year!
both, bowing in sync: happy new year!
jeno: how did you know that i was gonna do that?
jaemin: i just know you
commentary: the direct korean translation of what jaemin actually said would be "i had the feeling," but that's even worse somehow; like, jaemin has A Jeno Feeling. he just knew instinctively what jeno would do. the onscreen captions for that moment also say "[knows everything without talking to each other]," which is... fine. that's totally cool. the soulmatery continues. jaemin and jeno are already sync in so many of their actions, you would think jeno would know that by now. something something being in a relationship and not knowing u are in one. knowing each other tally: 5jaemin: i just know you
no. 1
"stop liking me"
"you liked me first"
who said it: both
context: nct 2018 yearbook behind the scenes — the first on-camera jaemjen moment post-jaem hiatus, when they were filming for nct 2018 teasers and jeno is half on jaemin's lap on a couch.
commentary: the words themselves are kind of anti-otp? but in a cheeky way. but like, you get it right. neither of them are denying the liking, it's just semantics about how much and who liked who first. like hello?? So You Are In Love With Each Other. idk maybe this ranking is skewed by the fact that it was such formative moment for the jaemjen canon as we know it today... the question of whether their dynamics were going to be affected by jaemin's year-long hiatus, whether they were still like the sopa highschoolers we knew, attached at the hip like magnets; all of these doubts rendered moot by a mere minute-long clip of them flirting on top of each other like jaemin had never left at all.
some final thoughts: finding the appropriate quotes for this was actually a little more difficult than i expected, but the more i thought about it the more it made sense; jeno by nature is somewhat reserved and reticent (at least verbally), while jaemin says a lot of words but somehow manages to say nothing at all. it's hard to find those truly tender-hearting quotes (a la a certain maknae) because so much of their relationship and so many of their moments are defined by disgustingly tender actions rather than words. (also both of them are better at repressing than jisung is, sorry to throw him under the bus like this but it is true). so many of their quotes are just some permutation of "i know you," which, god. they Know Each Other So Much. married couples don't feel the need to constantly and verbally reassert that they're married is the conclusion, i guess.
oh also.
knowing each other total: ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡ ♡
Current Mood: embarrassed
Current Location: jaemjenism
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