#but this is what cambridge dictionary told me

[emrlyn]

something something caged hearts something something

[lawbin-archive]

The chemistry between Law & Robin

Yes, I'm talking about Lawbin's chemistry today.

Before you reading it, I have nothing against other ships. Law and Robin have chemistry with others as well. And I'm not comparing lawbin with any of them.

If you comment something like "[other ship] better" "I hate them" "even [a character] has more chemistry than them" "this ship is boring" etc., these kind of unreasonable, without proofs and rude comments. it's just proving that you are an immature and narrow-minded person that can't read or accept other opinion. Please respect each other and our personal space. I do welcome any other opinion with polite and civilized attitude.

If you are wondering why I need to set up a warning every time, it's because there are tons of annoying people in the internet.

I know I talked about their chemistry on twitter already, but I want to rant more about it lol so let's dive in.

Before everything, let's define chemistry. The definition of chemistry is "a quality that exists when two people understand and are attracted to each other" - from Cambridge dictionary So first of all, do Law and Robin understand each other?

In my opinion, yes and the first evidence is Robin can tell Law told the navy about green bit just by his face. and Law can also understand the danger of CP0. You might say they were just being investigative, observable and knowledgable. But that's the qualities you need to understand each other. In any relationship, you need to be communicative, have the same knowledge and observing each other emotions to understand each other.

Well, that's just the surface of understanding. Other than that, Law and Robin also have the same understanding on how hard is to learn the history (including void century and will of D). It's important to both of them because that's what Robin and Law dream of. Personally, I would say it's really difficult to find a person who has the same dream as you, understand how hard it is to archive and can archive with you. Especially, with all the Ohara's scholars eliminated and Robin searching poneglyph by herself for so long, she almost gave up and finally there is someone who has the same dream as her and can accompany her. I would say this is a very strong foundation of understanding and connections.

You might say, but she's already searching poneglyph with straw hats. But none of them really cares the history. Of course, it's important that the straw hats are supporting her and having her back. But only Law can fully understand her dream and know how hard it is. That's the special bonding they have.

Now that we know they have the same understanding on ponelgyph, isn't the underground Wano scenes more meaningful? Robin was searching poneglyph all by herself and now Law can accompany with her. All what Law did before defeating Doflamingo is to get revenge for Corazon, and now he finally found something he wants to do and he is interested with. And he's not achieving the goal by himself*.

*Note: Yes the straw hats helped him to defeat Doflamingo, but no one - I don't think even Robin knows the real reason. He has been taking all the responsibility and stress by himself. You can tell when he said he want to die with Luffy. That's how much burden he had. He didn't even want to involve the Heart pirates to begin with. To me, he's truly free and looking for what he's really interested after defeating Doflamingo.

side notes: Robin discovered ruins of Shandora by herself on the left panel, Robin and Law discovered ruins of underground Wano on the right panel. They both discovered in a square shaped tunnel, coincidence? On top of that, they have similar background and experience*. Why is this important? Because it makes them so easy to understand each other. They don't need to put themselves in each other's shoes to know how the person's feel. They have been through what each other been through. They already felt what each other felt. They can build connection instantly just by sharing their background. *I will make another post to talk about their similarities - it's kinda crazy to me how similar they are lol, but if you're interested what similarities they have, please read this.

Well Oda hasn't shown they know about each other experience yet, but Law already knew Robin can read poneglyph, with Law's personality and always updated with news, isn't hard for him to figure it out that she's the sole survivor of Ohara which is the same for him. Another thing is Law trusts Robin enough to tell her his real name. You might think is not a big deal, but Law is a distrusting person and it's a family secret, I don't think he would tell a potential future enemy his full name with so little of trust. [he was kinda threatened when he told Baby 5 & Buffalo, he only told Sengoku and Doflamingo he is a D*] Robin is the only member of straw hats that know his full name. *You might asked but Sengoku might be an enemy too, first he's retired, second he's the father figure for Corazon, that alone can let Law trust him enough to tell him the D and third he thinks he might know something about it. And for Doflamingo, I think he just wants to provoke him.

So they did build trust and bonding before he told her real name. It might be she saved him, it might be the alliance, it might also be they talked about their experience. Just one of my assumptions. Robin also told him she's also interested in the same thing. And here you go - they build an understanding and connection with their goals and dream.

Besides, they both have a similar dark humor. It's important to understand each other joke, right?

So they know each other have similar goals, similar background and similar personality. Isn't it really easy for them to understand each other and build bonding?

So, are they attracted with each other?

I would say maybe. Let's define what's attracted means. "If someone is attracted to someone else, he or she likes the other person or is interested in that person." - Cambridge dictionary Let's look at Law → Robin first, because I think that's a more obvious one. We talked about Law told Robin his real name which is something that drawn them closer. So that's one of the evidence. Another scene is when Law finds Robin in flower capital. Yes I'm brining it up again, because their conversation is so interesting.

Law said "You weren't with the others...so obviously I was suspicious." I found Law very cute here, because when did he get suspicious before? LOL From my memories, you can correct me if I'm wrong, Law never get suspicious to any straw hats for the entire alliance, and now he's getting "suspicious"? On top of that, straw hats were separated, Nami was having fun with Otama, Jimbei was having dinner by himself. There are tons of people in flower capital, he only notice Robin is missing and he's only "suspicious" about Robin.* He also searched the whole flower capital and the palace just to find her. I think that's a proof that he cares about her and her whereabouts. *You might say he followed her because of the poneglyph, I already explain it before so I'm not gonna repeat myself again. Please just refer to this post.

Also, when Robin crawled up on the tunnel. Law using his ability to switch places between him and something else. In the anime, it was Robin's sweat, but in the manga it's Robin's hair accessories. (the pop effect on Robin's head) Of course, it's really polite of him to not crawl behind Robin haha But how long did he look at Robin until she reached to the window and searching for something that he can switched place with.(I don't think he can shambles randomly at this point lol) That's also one of the reasons I think he's attracted to her - always paid attention to her and create proximity with her.

Let's talk about Robin → Law, I think Robin also shown she's interested to Law. As I mentioned above, she already told him she's also interested the meaning of D. I think talking about what you're interested is also a sign of you're interested to the person and willing to engage with them with the same hobby. Besides, Robin teased Law twice. The first one is in Dressrosa when she said "You have a sly look on your face." And the second time is the scene above when she said "I'm surprised you sniffed us out."* *Note that the original japanese text didn't indicate the subject in this sentence, but from their conversation, it's implied that Law only suspicious about Robin. I don't think he had interacted with Sukiyaki before lol

If I remember correctly, Robin rarely teasing other people except when she's interested. The only time I remember she teased someone is when she asked Luffy to let her join the crew which when she's interested in Luffy (non-romantically).* *again, I might be wrong, maybe there are other times. Other than that, I found it really cute when she said "No fair...". Robin rarely shown her childish (in a cute way), jealousy side of her. [I think when she said "No fair" means Law used his ability, kind of like jealous of his ability or he's cheating because she crawled all the way up] And it's interesting that she shown this playful side of her in front of him twice in this scene.

On top of that, Robin risked her body to save Law during Dressrosa. She was worrying about Law too. I think if it's someone you don't care, you won't worry or save them. If I really need to pull out another example, she didn't bother to help Bartolomeo when he was falling. But on the other side, she did care about Rebecca and saved her as well. (to provide different views) Also, Robin did worry about Law when she's under green bit and she was worrying about he's losing his arm.

I think it's pretty rare for Robin to worry about other guys outside of straw hats. And that might be a proof that she cared about Law and might attracted to him.

One piece rarely shown mutual romantic relationship, so it's surprised me that it's kinda hinting they are interested to each other especially the scenes in Wano. Although it's not obvious and not everyone sees it in that way, I think their relationship is cute regardless.

I actually found this post is really hard to write especially when you need to explain something that's a feeling and not something logical.

At the end, I think having chemistry or are they attracted to each other are really subjective to every one. Even though I pulled out definition, I think everyone has its own definition on chemistry. In my opinion, I think chemistry can appear in friendship, family or romantically. So if you only see their chemistry as platonic friends or comrade, I think that's totally reasonable. I'm not writing this to let everyone agrees with me. I just want to provide my perspective of their interactions. And personally, I like connections in emotionally & mentally more than physical intimacy, hence, why I like them.

It's really long post again, thank you for reading it. Again, I appreciate any opinion if you comment politely! :)

[intheorangebedroom]

Pleased to meet you, chapter 10

Summary: it's Will's birthday, and everyone gathers at his place for a nice Sunday barbecue. You choose a particular -sensible- outfit, and some decisions are made in the heat of the moment.

Pairing: Frankie Morales x French fem!Reader.

Rating: Explicit 🔞

A/N: it occurred to me recently (thank you Fanna) that some of you had subscribed to the taglist without my knowledge... I'm an unworthy idiot and thought I'd get a notif of some sort, so I never thought to check the form out. I'm very sorry. I'm insanely grateful to anyone who interacts with this story. I will never tire of thanking you.

Word Count: 7.1k (I'm very sorry, I don't know what happened, I'm blaming the Millers on this one)

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Chapter 10: The Deal

(👆🏻 as per usual, from @nicolethered 's treasure trove)

-

Catfish, noun [C] (FISH) : a fish with a flat head and long hairs around its mouth that lives in rivers or lakes.

Catfish, noun [C] (FAKE), informal: someone who pretends on social media to be someone different, in order to trick or attract other people.

Padding out of the steamy bathroom into the adjacent bedroom, you press the home screen button to close the Cambridge Dictionary app and tap open your Larousse translator.

Catfish [‘kætfiʃ] (pl catfish or catfishes), noun : poisson-chat.

None of it makes any sense to you, not in any language you know. Perhaps you should try Spanish? Putain de merde.

Benny’s resounding voice echoes from the living-room, the velvety tones brushing against your naked skin. He’s strumming his guitar to a song you recognise as Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Fortunate Son. The hand holding your phone lowers slowly, your tense shoulders dropping in slow motion as you listen.

Ben’s voice is what you like best about him. It’s the very first thing you noticed, in the hardware store aisle, and also the first that charmed you after your first couple of dates. It trickles down your spine like honey, keeps your inside warm and your mind snug, and when he sings… well, when he sings, on a normal day, it’s plenty enough to turn you on like an electrical wire, and he never gets to play very long when you’re staying at his place.

Only nothing’s normal anymore.

You stood up Rosie at the last minute on Tuesday, unable to face her in the wake of this new reality, instead showing up at work on your day off without an explanation and unilaterally deciding to undertake a thorough inventory of the bookstore. Your boss, Suzanne, was pleasantly surprised, and if something seemed off to her, she didn’t say.

When Benny told you he would see the guys again on Friday night, you attempted to talk him out of it, as subtly as you could despite your nervousness, feeling as though he could see right through you. Which he didn’t.

After closing up that evening, you walked straight to your usual deli, just around the block corner from the bookstore, where the cashier is a Moroccan grandpa with whom you chat in French, much to your delight, and who calls you “cousine”, and bought your first pack of smokes since college.

Back at your apartment, you smoked all 20 cigarettes sitting by the windowsill of your living-room, waiting for a text or a phone call from Benny that never came. He’s not in the habit of texting nor calling you, on Friday nights. He has taught himself to respect your chosen moments of aloneness, with a childlike willingness, eager to please you.

What were you so nervous about, anyway? How likely is it that Frankie would walk up to his friend to tell him, “Hey, I fucked your girlfriend fifteen years ago, and she let me do things to her that she has denied you repeatedly. Want another beer?”

Your manic brain won’t let go about it, however, no matter how sternly you reason with yourself, no matter what logic you employ. Would that eventuality be so far-fetched? You don’t know what these men share. You know nothing of the strength and nature of their bond. Only that they’re like brothers. You’re foreign to that. You’re an outsider. How can you be sure that Benny wouldn’t cut you loose without a second look if his friend told him about what happened between you? Besides, if Catfish looked at you with such unabated anger, he might very well consider it his brotherly duty to warn his friend. “She’s a liar. She’ll never call you.”

The worst being that you can’t make up your mind about what would hurt most. Benny’s abandon. Or Frankie’s betrayal.

If only you knew what the fuck “Catfish” means. If you had this one clue, you might get an understanding of the man he has become. Or so you think.

You put down your phone and retrieve a cotton t-shirt from your travel bag, laying it flat on the bed next to your jeans, smoothing over the fabric with a frown. You brought another choice of outfit, more suitable to attend a birthday party, a cute little white cotton short-sleeves button-up with a red lining around the collar, a yellow one along the button placket and a dark green one on the breast pocket.

Picking up your phone again, you briefly consider running a Google image search, for the hundredth time or so, but instead angrily toss it on the bed, where it bounces off and ends up on the wooden floor with an ominous noise.

“Et merde!”

“Ooooh she’s naked!” Benny appears on the bedroom threshold, dirty blue jeans and shabby Kiss T-shirt, his massive silhouette dwarfing the doorway.

“Sorry, I’m dressing up, I’ll be ready in a minute,” you quickly shuffle back to the bag and crouch down, rummaging through it in search of your underwear. Benny offered weeks, no, months ago, to clear a drawer for you. And a shelf in his wardrobe. You’ve really mastered the art of deflecting, if anything else.

“That’s not what I meant,” he croons, joining you in two long strides, tugging at your arm until you stand up and face him.

“Stop it, we’re bringing the drinks, we can’t be late,” you tilt your head up with a raised eyebrow, your frustration visible.

“I do not care… Come on, I’ll be quick,” he promises with a cocky smile, wrapping both arms around your waist and pulling you flush against him.

“Oh, you’ll be quick? What about me?” you exclaim in mock offence.

It systematically takes you by surprise, every single time, the ease with which this man manages to lift up your mood. No matter how reluctant you are, he just drags the joy out of you.

“I can get you off fast. Three minutes—”

“Three minutes?!” you cry indignantly.

“I like a challenge, come on,” he chuckles, splaying his large hands across your cheeks, drifting toward the cleft of your ass as you try to wiggle out of his embrace.

“Benjamin, it’s late, stop it,” you giggle, but the drag of his lips along the line of your neck is making you weak in the knees already, a small heat flaring up in your belly.

His voice drops another octave and your entire body shudders against his rumbling chest, “Three minutes. Bend over the bed, baby.”

—

Three minutes turned out to be twenty, after what you had to take another shower, and now you’re definitely running late. You’re not cross, however, if anything you feel more relaxed than you have since the beginning of the week. More than quick, he’s been rough, pounding you ruthlessly into the mattress from behind while you frantically rubbed your clit, and perhaps it was just what you needed to straighten your head. To remind yourself that you’re precisely where -and with whom- you’re supposed to be. Because you are. Right?

As you apply mascara in the bathroom, Benny calls in from the living-room, announcing he’s going to start the car. You acknowledge the information for what it means: that gives you five extra minutes, it being the amount of time he likes to run the engine for, before pulling the Mustang out of the garage.

You briskly walk into the bedroom and slip into your sensible underwear and your jeans. The t-shirt you pulled out of your bag earlier slipped on the floor while Benny was fucking you, and you pick it up without looking at it, shoving it back unceremoniously inside the bag. You make a face at the rumpled cotton as you pull out your blouse and lay it on the mattress. As you vainly repeat your earlier motion, trying to smooth the shirt under your palm, you decide that you’re going to ask Benny again about the shelf and drawer, after all, nodding to yourself.

You put on the blouse and start buttoning it up, circling the bed to retrieve your phone from the corner of the room where it fell earlier, and as you pick up the device, the screen unlocks and lights up.

Catfish [‘kætfiʃ] (pl catfish or catfishes), noun : poisson-chat.

You pause for the briefest moment, clenching your jaw and about to rub your eyelids before remembering you’ve got makeup on. Sliding the phone in the back pocket of your jeans, you hurry back to your bag and choose the yellow t-shirt for the second time today.

—

Will is getting a grill for his birthday. An insanely expensive beast of a machine with more knobs than a sci-fi villain’s aircraft. Something he has no use for, since he’s had the same simple, basic charcoal grill since he moved in alone after splitting from Jean. Something Frankie’s dead sure he won’t even like. Pope and Redfly’s idea.

He tried objecting, but he’s no match for the two of them together, and Benny, typically, sided with the two men. So everyone chipped in, Yovanna and you included, he was informed, and Frankie was handed the money in cash and asked to take care of everything, from buying the damn thing, to storing it in his garage and bringing it over to Will’s house on Sunday morning. Everyone else too busy with their respective jobs, kids, girlfriends. He’s the one with the suspension and the big truck parked outside all year round. He’s the one with the empty garage and the empty bed.

When Will opens his front door, bare-chest and his hair still wet, Frankie gives him an eloquent glance from under the brim of his cap, as he moves to the side of the doorway to let his friend see what is hauled up at the back of the red truck.

“Fuck, man, you kidding me?” Will exclaims in his slow drawl. “Why did you let them do that?”

“I tried, brother, I tried. Happy birthday, anyway,” Frankie pats him on the shoulder before walking back to his truck to unload the monster with the help of a trolley.

It takes the two of them to carry it across the soft soil of the backyard, on which the trolley refuses to budge, and position it against the fence at the rear of the garden.

Yovanna and Pope come in soon after with the meats and side dishes, Pope’s winning argument to convince Will to throw a party being that he wouldn’t have to do a thing. While they help set everything on the large picnic table, Frankie starts the grill.

He had flipped through the thick manual the night before, shaking his head and occasionally chuckling at the convoluted instructions. He’d be damned if Will was going to use this thing once, and when he asked his friend whether he wanted him to take away the old grill, Will shot him a “don’t you dare” glance that got him wheezing.

Redfly arrives next with his two daughters, Tess, the eldest, looking like she’d rather stick a fork in her leg than be here with a bunch of old men, her headphones riveted to her head. Frankie notices for the first time, with a pang of sadness, how much she resembles her father, her defeated look reflected on his friend’s face.

The doorbell keeps ringing for a while, more guests pouring into the small backyard, arms full of drinks and food, and gathering around the table. First, the couple from across the street and their two toddlers, and Frankie inquires if they want the kids to eat first, the exhausted father gratefully agreeing to the suggestion. Then the next door neighbour, a cute redhead of indiscernible age named Clare who, Frankie observes, melts on her chair every time Will addresses her, and finally two of Will’s coworkers from the VA.

The table is quickly buried under heaps of food, egg salad, bowls of chips, biscuits and corn on the cob, three different salads, bags of buns and a large plate of homemade arepas brought by Yovanna… So Will neighbour’s suggests to lend him two plastic folding tables to accommodate everyone, that they install after retrieving them from his garage.

Pope plays some music through his Bluetooth speaker and everyone starts loosening up, happily chatting against the sizzling noises of grilling meat.

At which point, Frankie gets fidgety, his carefully crafted composure eroding slowly.

It’s not out of character for Benny to be late, quite the contrary. Even though he’s been tasked with providing the refreshments.

Only, he knows you too will be here. And he came prepared, deciding early on that this day would be a run test for future interactions. Specifically, is he capable of entertaining a polite and distant relationship with you, without feeling like his blood had been turned into lava. Without the need to take the anger out on himself afterward. Without wanting more than just that.

Judging from his increasingly shaky hand clasped around the fancy grill’s spatula, he might have to skip the next couple of happy family gatherings.

—

Will’s house is smaller than his brother’s, although it counts one more room. But being considerably tidier, you’ve always thought it to be much larger.

The front door opens directly into a wide but shallow room, arbitrarily divided into a living-room on the right and a dining area on the left. Beyond this first room, a corridor serves a bathroom and a kitchen to the left, and two small bedrooms to the right, and leads to the well-kept backyard, closed off by a neatly lined white fence.

You’ve been here once or twice before, but when you hang out with the Miller brothers, it’s usually at Ben’s place, or in a downtown bar. It’s not that Will’s house is uncomfortable, the couch is brand new, the fridge well stocked, the TV set modern. But everything about it is spartan, bordering impersonal.

Today, as Will greets you with one of his heartfelt, marked embrace, you can’t help but ponder one more time the contrast between the austere interior and what you know to be the man’s rich, limitless inner world.

“You’re late,” he shoots gruffly at his baby brother.

Ben shrugs carelessly and retorts, “It’s her fault,” tilting his head toward you, before making a beeline to the backyard, carrying a giant beer keg and a cooler filled with beverages with the same ease as if they were fluffy pillows.

Will throws you a skeptical glance and you answer silently with a shake of your head.

“Happy birthday, Will,” you say with a soft smile, and as he moves to follow Ben into the garden, you hold him back, tugging at his plaid shirt. “I’ve got something for you.”

“You mean you weren’t in on the present?” he asks as if it makes more sense, returning your smile.

“Oh no, I am, I wasn’t given a choice, but I got you something else.”

For some reason, you don’t feel comfortable handing him the rectangular, carefully wrapped package you extract from your tote bag in front of everyone, and he senses your hesitancy. He gives you a short nod and you follow him in silence towards the corridor. Somehow, his massive frame looks even more impressive as you walk sheepishly behind him, tall figure, wide shoulders, strong arms. You know him to be slightly smaller in height than his younger brother, but he’s all quiet strength and raw power. You wonder for a brief moment what it must feel like to be facing a man like him in battle, to find yourself on the wrong side of William Ironhead Miller.

He opens the door to the spare bedroom, where you’ve never been before, and before you have the time to withhold it, a faint gasp escapes you.

It’s an office, of sorts, and a cluttered one, with a desk positioned under the single window, covered in notebooks and scattered notes written on loose sheets, an old sofa bed, foam coming out of the thread-bare armrests, and so many bookshelves it looks as though they’re holding the ceilings, the walls barely visible. Rows of non-fiction, philosophical essays, geography textbooks and some exhibition catalogs, several framed military decorations, and framed photos. Dozens of photos.

You’re standing inside William’s brain.

You gape at him in bewilderment, your eyes asking a silent question, to which he replies, “It’s ok, you can take a look,” a knowing smile on his face, and you dart toward the nearest shelf without hesitation.

The picture of the two of them next to the golden retriever is the first one that holds your attention, but there are many more family portraits, some of them with a couple you easily identify as their parents, the boys bearing a striking resemblance to them, and one with a toddler, a girl, holding a very young William’s hand. Everything’s there, a colourful and assorted retrospective of their entire childhood: picnics, mountain hikes, birthdays, first bikes, fishing trips to the lake, graduations… Ben and Will at a variety of stages of their military carriers, lined up in chronological order, as far as you can tell, and because your mind so often works in the same ways as your friend’s.

A growing lump invades your throat, and you begin to blink wildly. You stand here, motionless, numb, unable to pull away from the images, fully aware of the privilege he’s granting you, admitting you into this sanctuary, tucked away from everyone else’s prying gaze.

And then you see it. A group picture of the five of them, siting around a camp fire in front of a large camouflage tent, in what looks like a Middle Eastern scenery. Pope, Redfly, Ironhead, Benny, and Catfish. All of them looking considerably younger. All of them grinning widely. Your heart sinks at the sight of his dimple. How old can he be? Thirty, thirty-five, you assume, his hair short, a soft caramel brown, his face clean-shaven, the wrinkles at the corner of his eyes shallow, still, but the crease between his brows deep, already.

You missed out on so much of him. You missed everything.

It takes all of your willpower to turn away and hand Will the package, without a word, not trusting your voice to be steady enough to speak.

He doesn’t tear the wrapping, instead tugging the adhesive open, until the busy book cover is revealed. It’s an exhibition catalog, Bauhaus 1919-1933: Workshops in Modernity, held at the MoMa in 2010, long before you met each other. The first time the two of you visited the museum together, you swung by the bookstore, and you observed him discreetly as he flipped through the catalog’s pages with covetous eyes, eventually replacing it on its pile, with evident regret. It took you a while, several weeks of getting to know him better, before you could understand why. Priced at $75, the book was an unaffordable luxury to him.

You see the surprise play across his handsome features, and you can tell the exact moment when he registers, the memory resurfacing, that milestone in your friendship, the fact that you remembered. You see this solid, pragmatic man, rarely surprised, always prepared, clearly shaken; and as you finally stir to leave the room, wanting to allow him the space you know he needs, he pulls you into his arms, hugging you so tightly it hurts, and he whispers, “Thanks, sister.”

—

“Alright, who wants some alcohol?” Ben shouts into the backyard, his question greeted by a collective and cheerful holler.

Frankie’s knuckles crack in his grip of the cooking utensil, and he has to make a conscious effort to stop gritting his teeth. Ok, he got this, he reminds himself. If he made it through Monday night, he can make it through Sunday afternoon. He turns around to face the house, and his front collides with Ben’s chest, who pats his back with a resounding grunt. You’re nowhere in sight.

“Hey man, wanna beer?” Ben asks brightly.

One of them had a good morning, at least.

“Yea, is it fresh?” Frankie’s voice comes out a bit tense, but he can work on it, he knows he can.

“It sure is,” Ben answers, cracking a can open and handing it to his friend.

Frankie takes a swig of the cool beverage and feels it flowing down his burning throat, scanning the door to the house. You’re still nowhere to be seen.

“You’re alone?” he asks, and immediately winces.

Off to a great start.

“Nah, she’s in there with Will, scheming.”

Ben tries to pick up a wiener from the grill and burns his fingers, swearing under his breath and mumbling something about the size of the machine. Something that Frankie doesn’t hear. His ears are filled with the frenetic thumping of his blood, even though his heart has stopped beating.

Will’s bulky silhouette appeared in the doorway, and as he stepped into the garden, you materialised behind him, pausing there for a moment to let your eyes adjust to the midday light. You’re wearing these jeans again, the ones that are way too tight on your hips, they’re Benny’s favourite, but Frankie doesn’t know that, and it’s not what he sees. What he sees is your t-shirt. A pale shade of yellow, and the print of a book cover. A black cat in a white bow tie, holding a gun in its clawed paw, winking straight at him, and the title in red, bold letters, etched over your breasts, that spell:

The Master and Margarita.

—

You find yourself behind Will again, walking down the narrow hallway to the backyard, but you have to stop on the threshold, blinded by the sudden daylight. It’s early in April, and you recall a Gainsbourg song about April inspiring love. There’s a stereo playing Jefferson Airplane and the smell of grilled meat fills the air. When your eyes adjust to the luminosity, you’re slightly taken aback. You didn’t expect that big of a crowd, and anxiety immediately kicks in at the thought of having to meet new people and make small talk. Something catches your eyes on your right, Yovanna is waving at you, standing next to Pope.

You smile back, relieved, about to step in and join her, when you see him.

A blue and brown plaid shirt pulled taut over his broad frame, the top two, no, three buttons undone, the dip of his collarbones exposed, rolled up sleeves revealing his forearms, locks of hair curling around his ears and on his nape.

When your eyes lock, a faint, wistful smile tugs at the corner of his lips and oh god, you want to crawl under his skin and forever live there.

—

The guests are all seated, now, divided into groups around the three tables in the cramped backyard, except for the neighbours’ kids, who are running around under the playful supervision of Tom’s youngest, Sue.

You’re sitting between Will and Benny, across from Yovanna and Pope, but more often than not, Will’s up and around, refilling people’s glasses, making sure everyone has everything they need. You know him to be more comfortable in quiet settings, but he makes for a very charming host, nonetheless.

Grilling food and preparing the burgers take up most of Frankie’s time, who has yet to sit down and enjoy his own plate. You’ve never seen so much meat, and you don’t think you’ll be able to swallow any for the next two weeks at least.

When Frankie comes over to your table to ask what your party would like to eat, you notice for the first time that he addresses Yovanna almost exclusively in Spanish, whereas Pope and him mostly use English. He’d told you he was born in Argentina, but you’d never heard him use his mother tongue, and it’s invading all your senses. His voice sounds different, softer, rounder, less gruff around the edges.

You won’t let it carry you back to the orange bedroom, not here, not like that, not with your boyfriend’s hand resting on your lap, his thumb rubbing your inner thigh. If you could just effectively control your goddamn breathing every time he lifts that cap and combs through his hair…

“What about you?” his husky voice jolts you out of your reverie. He’s looking straight at you, hands propped on his hips, “What do you want?”

You stare at him blankly, dumbstruck, an instantaneous acceleration in the rhythm of your heartbeat as you feel crimson creeping up your neck and cheeks. Will’s steely gaze is on you as you shift nervously on your hard plastic seat.

Meat. He’s asking about the meat.

“Burger. Rare. Please,” you answer without thinking, before adding hastily, “Wait! Can I have some extra cheese? Please?”

Pope bursts out laughing and Yovanna shoves her elbow in his ribs. A slow, devastating smile appears on Frankie’s face, so broad, so spontaneous, so sincere, all dimple and teeth, and for the first time in this life you’re facing your Frankie, despite the deep creases at the corner of his eyes, despite the cap hiding away his curls, despite the whiskered cheeks stranded with grey, and it’s more, much more than you can stand, you have to lower your eyes onto your egg salad.

The rest of the meal is a game of avoidance, played knowingly and with unexpected skill by the two of you. Every once in a while, you throw each other sideways glances, facing away mere milliseconds before your eyes can actually meet, holding your stare until the last possible moment. But for the most part, you concentrate on Yovanna, exchanging ideas on topics as diverse as politics or cinema, making plans for a girl’s night out with Rosie and some of her friends.

Frankie cooked the food you’re eating right now. You try not to linger on the thought. And he gave you extra cheese, alright, your burger disintegrating in your hands, nearly impossible to handle with the amount he managed to melt on top of the patty.

He loves the way you eat, grabbing the burger with both hands and unceremoniously pushing it into your mouth until you realise there are people around who might be watching.

Memories are resurfacing now, flowing into the gaping abyss vacated by his receding anger, flooding his brain, and his senses.

And if he can’t recall what the two of you ate during the single meal you shared over the course of the weekend, he remembers your voracity. To this day, you remain his best kiss. Like that first one on the balcony, no, not a balcony, a fire escape, when he hung on for dear life to your hips with a bruising grip as you pulled him in, a minute ago shy and self-conscious, all he had to do was show you the attraction was reciprocal.

And that other kiss you gave him after that meal, only it hadn’t been on his lips.

It was already Sunday, in the early afternoon, when you too had first thought of eating. You were together on that bed where you spent most of the weekend. Lying on his back, eyes closed and a smile dancing on his lips, he was focused on the sensation of the tip of your fingers tracing patterns along his torso.

Your stomach let out a very loud, very angry growl. Your eyebrows shot up and you rolled onto your side to cover your face in embarrassment, both of you bursting into a laughing fit. He wrestled you for a bit, trying to pull your arms away from your face, and he finally carried you out of bed. He couldn’t understand why he found the idea of feeding you so satisfactory, even then, as he still does today.

You slipped on his plaid shirt, the act so natural and familiar, you looked so fucking lovely. He felt a pang of possessiveness, a foreign feeling to him, one he’d never experienced until then. You followed him into the kitchen where you ate together in content silence, exchanging cheerful looks, like two happy puppies.

After eating, however, the atmosphere shifted. He felt your gaze on his bare skin and when he looked up, your hooded eyes told him everything he needed to know. You got up slowly, purposefully, and slowly, purposefully took off his shirt, draping it neatly over the back of the Formica chair. Fuck, he loved your tits, so damn much.

He found himself unable to move, mesmerised by your demeanour, confident and full of intent. It was new, and it was something else. You were not quite the same girl anymore, and he wasn’t sure if “girl” was still the fitting term.

Closing the distance between you in one stride, you kneeled in front of him, gently parting his legs with your hands, and you moved closer, holding his gaze. He felt dumbstruck, at your mercy, like he had when you first backed him against that same kitchen chair two nights ago, and he licked his bottom lips in a futile attempt to snap out of it.

You lowered your eyes to the growing bulge in his black briefs and his cock twitched. With parted lips, you leaned in to kiss him through the warm fabric, eyes closed in rapture under your raised brow. Softly, you nuzzled your cheek against the cottony material, and inhaled. He froze, eyes locked on you, his chest heaving, his mouth gone slack. You rested your cheek on the inside of his thigh for a short while.

Then, flicking your eyes open, you started quietly, “I really want to–” and paused, and it occurred to him you might not even know how to say it in English.

“You don’t have to, if you’re–”, he trailed off, hardly recognising his own breathy, shaky voice. What the fuck was he talking about? He might die if you stopped now.

“Please? Please let me. It’s just that… I know I’m not too good at it.”

He was already fully erect when you took him out of his briefs, hard and heavy, and when you hesitantly bit your bottom lip, his eyes squeezed shut. He felt the curled up tip of your tongue collecting the bead of precome from the head of his cock, heard your satisfied exhale, felt your cold mouth enveloping him -cereal, he remembers it now, you had cold milk with cereal-, felt the contrast of your warm hand wrapping around his base.

If you were fairly inexperienced, your eagerness more than made up for it, and he let out a muffled curse when you began licking up broad stripes, before dipping as far down on him as you could.

He wanted to bury his hands in your hair and thrust deeply into your mouth, fill you entirely, the thought of fucking your throat threatening to tip him over too soon, but a part of his brain somehow still functioning remained in control; instead he gripped the sides of his seat until his knuckles turned white.

Your mouth closed around him, you settled in a steady rhythm, tongue swirling around his fat tip, hand stroking up and down with a maddening twist of your wrist, but you were far too gentle. With his cock still in your mouth, your eyes flicked up to his with a question, to which he gave a short, rapid nod, yes, yes, do whatever the fuck you want with me and you withdrew your lips with a popping sound, your timid smile in complete contradiction with the filth of your actions, before spitting tenderly on the head of his cock.

You were going to be the death of him.

Spreading your spit down his length, you stroked harder, wrapping your lips around him again, this time sucking firmly up and down with hollowed cheeks. He saw you squirming, pressing your thighs together, he heard your moans, you were enjoying this. That realisation, combined with your ministrations, was overwhelming.

His hips locked into place, the muscles in his belly strained, his balls drew tighter, he was too fucking close; he reached for the soft hair on your nape and tried pulling you back before it was too late, but you resisted, sucking harder, looking at him from under your eyelashes with an expression that mirrored his when you had straddled him on that same chair. “Do it, use me.”

He came at once. His head rolled back, an obscene grunt echoing in the room, heavy ropes of spend hitting the back of your throat that you bravely tried to swallow, flooding past your closed lips and dribbling down your chin. You kept suckling him delicately through it and when he came around after a minute, or five, or ten, he noticed he was still holding your hair.

You looked dazed, dazed and pleased with yourself, holding him in your right hand, sitting back on your heels like a proud student waiting to be graded, and he laughed breathlessly.

He’s hoping now, looking at you as you wipe your chin clean of the dripping sauce from the burger he cooked especially for you, that he told you then how well you did for him. More women than he’d care to count have sucked his dick ever since, some of them professionals, none made him feel the way you did. All he can remember is that he had been eager to get you cleaned up.

And what happened then in the bathroom had been the beginning of the end for him.

—

When the neighbours bring their kids back home for nap time, the place becomes considerably quieter. Tom takes his leave shortly after, having to drive his daughters back to his ex-wife, and you’re slightly alarmed that his friends are letting him take the wheel, considering how much alcohol he’s had. Then it’s Will’s colleagues’ turn to go. There’s a pleasant, sated lull in the conversations, as the remaining guests stretch their limbs in the afternoon sun.

When Frankie joins your table, Benny sits up as if remembering something.

“Hey baby, I’ve been thinking,’ he starts, looking at you both, “Fish could help you with the car. He used to be a mechanic, right Fish?”

All the food you’ve ingested makes your body slow and heavy, but you think you could start shaking with the way Frankie’s eyes flick up to you, alight with an alarming gleam.

The car. Benny’s big project, getting you out of public transportation. You didn’t need one in Paris and you haven’t bought one here yet, you like the bus rides, you can read and listen to music and daydream. A real luxury. And you’re more than fine with Benny driving you around in the Mustang.

“We’ve talked about this, Ben, I’m not comfortable driving, here,” you remind him tentatively.

Frankie leans back in his chair, arms crossed on his broad chest, and you avoid the sight of his lean muscles rippling underneath the tanned skin of his forearms.

“Look, I don’t like you riding them buses alone at night. She won’t even take a cab,” he adds for his friend’s benefit. “Fish knows a lot about cars and engines and shit, he could help you choose a good one. I think that’s a good idea, that’s all I’m saying.”

Nothing about this is a good idea.

“Cheers, but I’m a big girl from a big city,” you answer with a hint of aggressiveness. “I mean I’m fine,” you try again, softer, “and I’m used to driving a stick, I would want a manual gear, anyway.”

A manual gear. Nice touch, very European, that was convincing.

“Yea I can help you with that, too,” Frankie lifts his head and you get a better view of his face under the brim of the cap, but you’ll be damned if you can decipher his expression.

This whole situation is throwing you off-balance, you can’t process what’s happening, but you know that you don’t like it, not in the least, what do you want, what does he want, what is he playing at?

He wants you safe. He wants you off the buses at night, is what he wants. Nothing else. Nothing more. Aside perhaps from the opportunity to ask you one question.

Clare provides you with a much welcome way out when she joins the discussion.

“I’ve been to Paris, like fifteen years ago? I loved it! What neighbourhood are you from, exactly?”

The topic seems forgotten and you carry out the conversation for as long as you can before excusing yourself and stepping inside for a glass of water. Talking about your hometown has cooled down your nerves, but you still need a moment to yourself.

Will’s kitchen is cleaner than an operating room. It’s disconcerting, and you wonder if he ever eats in. The hob is pristine, so is the oven, and you hardly resist the urge to open the fridge just to have a peek, refraining out of respect for your friend.

The first cabinet you open contains different sorts of coffee, teas and herbal infusions, canned soups and chocolate, something you didn’t expect. You find the glasses behind the second door you open, but your hand freezes on the handle as you hear someone coming into the kitchen behind you.

It’s him. The understanding instinctual. You recognize his gait, measured, calm, assertive, and before you can decide how to react, you’re surrounded by the scent of him. You were right, of course you were right, you do remember it vividly, only now it’s more potent, and it’s so close, too close, it’s there, you feel dizzy, he’s drawing nearer and you brace yourself for an impact that doesn’t come.

He stops half an inch short of your back, and it’s as if your very skin is reaching out for him.

He leans over you, his mouth to your ear, the thin hair on your nape standing, and his breath fans over your throat when he whispers, “Let me get that car with you.” It’s not a request. It’s not a question.

You feel the heat rolling off of him once it’s no longer there. You stand alone in the empty kitchen, eyes clenched, cold and perfectly still, your hand gripped onto the cabinet handle.

It’s a moment before you can walk out of the kitchen on shaky legs. You’re going to do this. You are really going to do this. You can’t pause to think.

You get to the garden and the sun blinds you, they’re all staring in your direction, if only in your head. You go back to your seat next to Benny and you put on a broad smile, willing your voice to sound perfectly casual.

“Ok you win. I’ll get that car. But a small one.”

Oh god he looks so fucking happy, like a child, and he kisses you deep, you hate yourself already when you notice Frankie’s watching, he hasn’t missed a thing. You recognise the sadness in his eyes, it’s the same that’s pinching your heart.

Everything happens too fast afterwards. Benny signals him to come over, and you exchange phone numbers, an ordinary social interaction that is anything but. The irony of the situation drops like an anvil in your stomach and you fear for a moment that you’re going to be sick. Neither Frankie nor you can look at each other as you tap the digits on the screens.

Your entire body shudders at the sound of Benny’s voice.

“Alright, then, Fish, I guess she’ll give you a call!”

—

Why you didn’t call is all he needs to know. He’ll back off once he knows. And he can’t stand the thought of you travelling by bus, alone at night. Two birds, one stone.

He didn’t recognise your scent. Standing so close to you in that clinically clean kitchen, he breathed in your hair, your neck, and it was intoxicating, but it wasn’t like it used to be. Not that he can remember your old scent. He’s forgotten about that, along with your taste, a long time ago, he just knows it’s not it. New shampoo, new perfume, maybe. New boyfriend.

The only thing he remembers after all these years, apart from your eyes and your face, is your skin. The feel of it under the pads of his fingers, under the palm of his hand, under his tongue, between his lips. How it shivered under his touch. The way it caught at his calloused digits. And your cool back against his burning chest. And your breasts, and your own hands as you ceaselessly caressed him.

Is it better to remember?

Around three years ago, he met a girl from Mexico, much younger than him, dark and beautiful, and she made him feel good for a while, he liked the sensation of her soft body underneath his, and he thought he might be in love until he realised it was nothing but a reminiscence of you. Of your skin. Over and over and over again. Always you. Only you. A life spent seeking you through all these stranger, distant bodies.

He got so close to your skin, earlier. He knows that’s how close he’s ever going to get, now. Benny’s never been this happy. Benny’s in love, it’s all over his face, on display for everyone else to see.

But it’s real. He’s got that. Everything that happened between you and him, has been real. That’s what you gave him, today, you clever, clever girl. He can be content with that, he thinks. If only…

If only he didn’t feel your skin reaching out for him.

—

In the orange bedroom, he’d fallen asleep first and you had fought through your own tiredness to stay awake just a little while longer. Looking at him, committing to memory all his singular details. The size of his hands, the shape of his nails, the colour of his eyelashes, the tattoo behind his ear and the one on his thumb, the curve of his nose, the line of his neck, the pattern of his freckles, the dip between his collarbones, the ones over his hips, the flawless shape of his length, the build of his thighs, the sharpness of his jawline, the breadth of his shoulders, the curls of his hair…

You couldn’t ever be satisfied but you didn’t want to disturb his slumber, so you got up for a glass of water and got reminded of the books piled up by the chair.

Kneeling down on the floor, you looked through a first column of physics and algebra textbooks. A few others, smaller, with eye-catching covers, were fiction. Mostly second-hand, judging by the yellowed paper. Some were in Spanish, from authors unknown to you yet, but some you knew and loved, Hemingway, O'Connor, Remarque, Capote… You picked up a beaten copy of Franny and Zooey, inhaling the old paper scent, and flipped through the pages. Here, some sentences were underlined, there, entire paragraphs. His bold handwriting sprawled in all caps in the margin, his thoughts laid down in ink, something you would never dare do.

You put down the book, resuming your browsing, you couldn’t figure out what you were looking for, only that you would know when you’d find it, and oh! there.

You held the book with both hands and murmured the title like one does a binding spell.

“Le Maître et Marguerite”

****

Taglist (Thank you 💕): @nicolethered @elegantduckturtle @mashomasho @lola766 @flowersandpotplantsandsunshine @littleone65 @bands-tv-movies-is-me @the-rambling-nerd @saintbedelia @pedrostories @trickstersp8

[posi-pan]

dictionary definitions of pansexual and how they can be improved with your help!

having definitions as accurate to our community usage as possible is important, so let’s do something about the way dictionaries define pansexual! some are worse than others, but all of them could use some kind of tweaking to reflect the community definition of “attraction to all genders or regardless of gender.”

i contacted 9 dictionaries since january (three responded and only one made changes), and here’s how you can do the same! i know plenty of people don't know how to go about doing this or have anxiety over what to say, so i've detailed exactly what to do and provided samples of exactly what to say!

oxford languages (source for google's definitions) / contact “sexually or romantically attracted to people regardless of their sex or gender”

fill out the form: write “pansexual” as the word, select “i think the entry is missing information,” and share your feedback.

dictionary.com / contact “noting or relating to a person who is attracted to people of any gender or to people regardless of their gender”

fill out the form: select “dictionary.com,” select “dictionary: other feedback about an existing dictionary entry or definition,” provide the link https://www.dictionary.com/browse/pansexual, and share feedback.

merriam-webster / contact “of, relating to, or characterized by sexual or romantic attraction that is not limited to people of a particular gender identity or sexual orientation” / “not solely gay or straight” / “a pansexual is someone who can be attracted to males, females, transgender people and those who identify as non-binary (not female or male). — mel evans”

fill out the form: provide your name, email, select “question/comment about a definition,” and share your feedback.

you can add “The example sentence that says “males, females, and transgender people” is inaccurate, redundant, and transphobic. Transgender men and women are included in “men and women,” separating them is othering.” to the sample message to address the problematic example sentence.

cambridge dictionary / contact “sexually or romantically attracted to people of any gender”

fill out the form: provide your name, email, and share your feedback.

the response i received from cambridge dictionary defends their definition by saying their dictionary is for english learners to understand the language “as it is currently used” while using a “limited set of words,” however, my “specialized definition” doesn’t use words that haven’t also appeared in definitions or sample sentences found in their dictionaries, only one of which is actually entitled a learner’s dictionary.

collins / contact “someone who is pansexual is sexually attracted to people of any gender identity”

fill out the form: provide your name, email, write “feedback on the definition of pansexual” as the subject line, and share your feedback.

oxford learner’s dictionaries / contact eltdict.help@oup.com “sexually attracted to people without regard to their sex or gender identity”

write an email: write “feedback on the definition of pansexual” as the subject line and share your feedback.

the free dictionary / contact “relating to, having, or open to sexual activity of many kinds”

fill out the form: write “pansexual” as the word, select “adjective,” and provide your suggested definition, such as: “noting or relating to a person who is attracted to all genders or regardless of gender.”

macmillian dictionary / contact “relating or referring to a sexual identity that is not fixed or limited, but expresses itself in many different forms”

fill out the form: write “pansexual” as the word, provide your suggested definition, such as: “noting or relating to a person who is attracted to all genders or regardless of gender.”

vocabulary.com / contact “attracted to people regardless of gender, gender identity, or sexual orientation”

(they told me they were going to add two definitions, all genders and regardless of gender, but that didn’t happen.)

fill out the form: select “email,” provide your name and email, write “feedback on the definition of pansexual” as the subject line, and share your feedback.

sample message:

Pansexual is broadly defined as “attraction to all genders or regardless of gender” by pansexuals and LGBTQIA+ organizations, such as GLAAD (source: https://www.glaad.org/blog/quick-biweek-refresher-20biteen), Bisexual Resource Center (source: https://biresource.org/what-is-bisexuality/), and The Trevor Project (source: https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources?s=pansexual). Hopefully, your definition can receive an update to better reflect the language used by the pansexual, and wider LGBTQIA+, community. Thank you.

hopefully having an influx of people giving them the same feedback will push them to make the necessary changes, as i’ve seen happen before with other queer groups. it’s 2023, it’s time for our definition of pansexual to be widely and consistently acknowledged.

this post on medium 💗💛💙

[controversialhottakes]

I deleted my old tumblr about a year ago but then decided to make a new account with the intention of logging on every now and then to see what was going on in the fandoms I interested in. I wasn't going to interact with the posts or post anything myself but I can't keep my mouth shut anymore. I know that tumblr is a very far-left-chronically-online-teenagers kind of website (where "teenagers" does not necessarily refer to the actual age but rather to the black and white thinking and inability to understand that the real world is much more complex than that) and I'm not a fan of social media in general, plus I'm a very busy person, so I don't really like spending a lot of time on here but sometimes it can be fun.

Imagine my surprise when I created my new account sometime in December or January, only to find out that Noah Schnapp had apparently been cancelled, when only a year earlier he was being praised for being "so brave and queer" (I have my thoughts on all of this too but they're irrelevant right now). Knowing tumblr, I obviously rolled my eyes and moved on, wondering briefly what he might have done to warrant people cursing him left, right, and centre. Then I came across that photo and was like... I have no idea what's going on. Because I literally didn't. I learn about the news from newspaper headlines and only occasionally glance through New York Times, The Guardian, Süddeutsche Zeitung, or some other reputable newspapers when I have the time and nothing better to do.

So I decided to do my research. Cambridge Dictionary told me that Zionism was "a political movement that had as its original aim the creation of a country for Jewish people, and that now supports the state of Israel" which sounded more than reasonable to me, I could 100% get behind that myself. This left me even more confused as to why everyone was freaking out. At that point, I knew that there was a war in the Middle East but I didn't pay much attention to it. But by that point I was so invested in finding out what started this witch-hunt that I decided to sacrifice some time I didn't really have and dig deep into the topic.

Since my knowledge of the history and politics of the Middle East was close to nill at that point, I just knew that it'd been very tense and very messy ever since I could remember, I had to do a lot of reading, and I quickly realised that the situation was extremely complicated. The whole region was a ticking time bomb and I couldn't think of any potential solution to the problem. In other words, I still don't think there was any chance of this not turning into an armed conflict sooner rather than later.

Armed with this new knowledge, I then returned to tumblr, thinking that people were upset that Noah was making a joke about the war, which is perfectly understandable. Instead I found out that the woke American left was now supporting terrorists. Which was an interesting development, to say the least. More terrifying was the realisation that they were getting all their information from Islamic sources, including the Hamas itself, because the West is apparently evil now (neo-orientalism, anyone? just me? okay...) and can't be trusted. Also, the Jews are responsible for that because they're controlling the governments and the media and basically everything else? Correct me if I got that wrong, I'm not very good at conspiracy theories, they confuse me, but I think that's what a lot of people are implying?

Let's take a moment to let it sink in: people believe everything a terrorist group tells them (see sources at the end if you have any doubts that that's what they are) as opposed to consulting different sources from various places where the press are reasonably free to tell the truth... Not only that, they are now "rooting for" Hamas (it's a war, not a football match, but fine) and, on the more extreme end, want to see Israel destroyed. In the same breath, with no sense of irony, they renounce genocide and praise the Nazis (which is what I actually wanted to talk about, but this has got too long, so more on those charming chaps, their modern counterparts, and how the far left has become the far right in my next post).

As for Noah, I find the post itself rather off-putting but not the fact that he might support Zionism (in its original form; people on this site seem to have redefined it and now I see it used as an insult, but I can't for the life of me figure out what you think it means, not to mention that none of you can actually agree on what it means, so I'm just going to stick to the original definition, thank you very much). But he's 19 and teenagers will always be teenagers, they rarely stop to think before doing or saying something. If he was 20 years older than he is, I'd think he should know better, but I've seen kids (and many adults) do much dumber, not to mention dangerous (as in could actually get them and/or other people killed), things in real life. I've done much dumber things myself. It's just that the most of us have the privilege of doing those dumb things in private, without millions of people analysing our every move.

Sources:

EU list of external terrorists (see 9 on p. 6); for more information, including criteria for listing, see this

An article from The Guardian from July 2017. Especially interesting:

The US classifies Hamas as a terrorist organisation, although in the UK it is not banned in its entirety. The Home Office’s list of proscribed groups only includes its military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, for their “aims to end Israeli occupation in Palestine and establish an Islamic State”.

US list of FTOs (Hamas designated as a FTO on October 8, 1997)

[whatslanguage]

What is a word? What is a sentence? And why is the answer "we aren't quite sure"?

This is my first time answering an ask, I'm still streamlining my process. I don't expect each answer to be as long as this one.

Also have a question about something language-related? Check out my ask guidelines here.

I’ll answer your first two questions separately, and then base my answer to the third one on that.

Obligatory disclaimer I put above every post: I am a student undertaking this blog as a hobby. If I am not familiar with the topic at hand, I will do my best to read up to provide the best possible answer, but I may not always have time to go into depth, meaning some answers will be more detailed than others. I also try to keep things as simple as possible, so I may not always go in-depth on theoretical debates, especially not within fields I am not as specialized or interested in.

TLDR:

Both a word and a sentence can be defined in different ways depending on research areas and needs for those research areas. Writing conventions govern how words can be told apart in written language, and the phonological (sound) rules of a language aid you in learning how to separate words from each other in spoken language. I would argue that we do know what a word is and what a sentence is, but formulating an exact definition is difficult because certain nuances and different perspectives are simply hard or even practically impossible to squeeze into one definition.

What is a Word?

This is a very broad question, because there are quite a few ways to interpret it. That’s because from your average person’s point of view, a word already has multiple elements. To name a few: its appearance in writing, pronunciation, and meaning.

As a result, you can come up with the following questions (not an exhaustive list for the sake of oh my god 1.5K words…):

How do we define a word?

How can we tell words apart in writing?

How can we tell words apart in speech?

How do we define a word?

The first of these questions is by far the hardest to answer, and, I assume, the one you meant. I wouldn’t say “we don’t know”, but rather “we can’t agree because each definition serves a different purpose” (we being linguists, though I’m not so sure I can call myself one yet). For example, according to the Cambridge Dictionary of Linguistics, as cited on Wikipedia (my uni library access is messing with me, sorry, I’d have taken the direct quote otherwise) word is “a basic element of language that carries meaning, can be used on its own, and is uninterruptible.” In other words, it has to mean something, it shouldn’t have to be attached to something else, and you can’t cut it short and still have it function as it would have otherwise.

If you just want a basic understanding of what a word is, then I think personally, that’s a decent place to start. This would be a very long post (and a very long week) if I were to go over the different fields in linguistics and the way they’d need to define a word, and how that all causes linguists to seemingly disagree on what a word is (I would argue that depending on a field, one feature of a word, like its pronunciation, for example, may simply be more useful to focus on. That the sun is yellow-ish is important for a painter to know, but an astronomer may be more concerned with idk, its gravitational… something. I’m sorry I’m neither), so I’m not going to do that here, but if you’re curious, I’d suggest to just go through the Wikipedia page for "word" and click on the cited works in the first section, then read through the arguments given for those definitions.

How can we tell words apart in writing and speech

In writing, in the system I use now, it is quite easy: you can tell apart words because they are separated by punctuation, barring specific cases where words are glued together for stylistic reasons (in which case you would be able to figure out what the separate words are from the context). In programming languages (which are not typically considered something linguists study, I think, since we focus on human language, but it seems like a nice example), different variations using case is often used to set apart words without using spaces or special characters. LikeThisForExample. In your tumblr url, you may use hyphens to set apart words, or let context do the job. On AO3, you can use BothCase and_underscore to set apart words in your username.

In speech, it is a little harder. Scroll to a list of languages, pick one you’ve never heard of, and listen to someone say a sentence in it as if they were having a normal conversation. It likely sounds like a stream of gibberish, while in your own language, or even a language you are not very proficient in, but have some understanding of, you can tell where the word boundaries are. A simple assumption would be that pauses in speech set apart words, but then you run into the problem above: we don’t actually always put pauses between our words, especially when speaking to someone we know can understand us.

So how do we know then? Simply put, we are aware of the rules around the sounds in our native language. Before we’re even a year old, barring hearing or cognitive issues, we start being able to tell what sounds are part of our language and how. What sounds precisely we learn to listen to, depends on the language(s) we’re learning (note how often in sci-fi, the conlangs have sounds English doesn’t, it makes them sound more foreign), so the specific things we pay attention to in order to identify chunks, usually whole syllables. A number of other processes and bits of knowledge (first language acquisition is a huge branch I could not possibly cover in a single post, especially given all the things linguists disagree on or have disagreed on there) then help us fit the chunks together (or keep them separate) like a bit of a puzzle, to tell apart words even when there are no pauses between them. There are rules in a language, for example, about what sounds can follow each other in the same word. In English words, “zv” is not a combination of sound that can occur (if you found a word that does have these sounds (not letters) together, then it’s likely borrowed from elsewhere), so, once you’ve realized that’s the case, you’ll know that when you hear a set of chunks word ending with the “zv” combination, there must be a word boundary between those two sounds.

What is a Sentence?

I won’t write as long as a piece of text because a lot of the “disagreements” about the definition of a sentence take place in fields I am not as well-versed in (syntax and I have a complicated relationship called I got good grades but I don’t know how and thus don’t trust myself to write a post on it without doing more extensive research than I allowed myself when starting this blog), and this post is currently twice as long as I intended, but again, different branches of linguistics have different needs for their research, and different viewpoints, and thus define it in different ways.

Though, for sentences, I wouldn’t say it’s as complicated as for words. If you look at it in terms of pure grammar and syntax, you could define it as the largest grammatical “container” in a sense (it then contains one or more clauses, phrases, words, and morphemes). In written language, there are specific written conventions or symbols that mark the beginning and end of a sentence. In this case, a capital letter and a period or question or exclamation mark.

After defining a sentences, you can categorize them too (just like words). An interrogative sentence is a question, for example.

In terms of sound, sentences aren’t as interesting to most linguists because then an utterance (which can be less than, equal to, or more than one sentence, as utterances are separated by pauses the speaker makes) is the central element that is looked at. I imagine looking at sentences wouldn’t be as useful until your research also involves some element of grammar.

“And why is the answer ‘we aren’t quite sure?’”

See, conclusion of the post and this veers into “my personal opinion” territory is that I don’t think the answer is “we aren’t quite sure”. It’s more that it’s difficult to figure out a string of words that precisely defines these two concepts in a way that fulfills the needs of all researchers in the field. You know, intuitively, what a word is. For the sentence that may be the same, although it’s also very possible you had a teacher who gave you a definition at some point. We know what they are, it’s just difficult to put into words effectively.

It’s a bit like colors in that sense. If your language distinguishes between red and blue (I believe the grand majority of languages, if not all, do), and you are able to see both of those colors, then you can tell the difference between red and blue, but if I’d ask you and nine others to draw a precise line (lets be Latin and pretend English doesn’t consider purple a separate color here) to separate red from blue, I’d get a line in ten slightly (or maybe even very) different positions, despite you all knowing when a thing is red, and when a thing is blue. It’s just the exact boundary that gets a little smudgy.

[intimacywith-god]

YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR ADDICTION, AND GOD SEES YOU

What is an addiction?

Cambridge Dictionary:

-an inability to stop doing or using something, especially something harmful

- the need or strong desire to do or to have something, or a very strong liking for something

What can we be addicted to?

By doing a quick search on google I found so many things we can be addicted to: Gambling, Sexual activities, Drugs Alcohol, Shopping, Caffeine, listening to music, Watching Netflix, Food, Gaming, Plastic surgeries, Lying, Cleaning, Work, Love.

Wow! Isn’t that crazy? Me watching Netflix daily can become an addiction, wow!

What causes addiction?

At the beginning we chose to use drugs, shopping, watching movie recreationally, to relax. As we believe we have control of everything we don’t worry about any of these things to become an addiction because “we have control”. 

Why did we chose watching a movie in the first place? Or drugs? 

To take a break from the reality we were in at that time, to quiet the world and to not have to be aware of that reality for a short period of time. But then we chose to do it again because it feels good. And why not try again later on, after work? 

One main cause of addiction is the desire to escape something or at times someone. Another cause can be the desire to feel something.

Of course, later all these mentioned above can become physical and mental addictions, but the root of addiction is this constant need to escape the world and to feel something. If this would be approached and treated from when it starts to grow a root there would be no physical or mental addiction in the end. 

Let’s have a look into The Bible and see what it says about addiction. Is there a solution? We’ll have to find out…

1 John 2:16 NIV

“For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world”

Lust means “a very powerful feeling of wanting something, a strong desire for something.” (Cambridge Dictionary)

Lust is a cause of addiction. As the scripture highlights, the lust of the flesh which can look like a desire to eat, to have sex, to smoke, to take drugs, to drink to self-harm; the desire of the eyes which can look like watching porn or related content on social media and the pride of life which means sinful desires which bring attention to self are not coming from God, but from the world. And what doesn’t come from God and comes from the world, where does it truly come from? Think about it… You got it? Yes, it comes from Satan. 

Thessalonians 5:6-8 NIV

“So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be awake and sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober…..”.

God calls us to be awake and sober with this scripture. When we are physically and mentally “high” we cannot be aware and alert of everything that is going around us. 

Think about it, how many horrible things can happen to someone who is drunk and is not aware neither alert of what is happening around? Someone could take advantage of that person because she/he is not aware of what is happening.

When we become addicted (to anything, physical or mental) we are in danger. Why? Because just how a drunk person can be taken advantage off by someone, the Devil will try to take advantage of us when we are “high”. 

       How is he taking advantage? By tempting us every single time.  Think of it like someone who offers you cake. And then you tell them that you’re on a diet and refuse. But the person doesn’t care and offers you cake again later in the day. 

“It’s just a slice of cake, it cannot hurt anyone, just have a bite!” they say to you. 

And you give up on your diet and have the cake. 

Of course, having cake won’t hurt nobody but what happened here? You gave up on yourself by giving up on self-discipline, self-control. 

You told them that you are on a diet, but they didn’t care and didn’t respect that. But did you have self-respect by giving up on your commitment? What does it say about you? Are you disciplined enough? Do you have enough self-control?

When we lose self-control, it gets easier for our desires to control us.

John 16:33 NIV

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

The world can be a scary place at times, full of malice, sickness, sadness, tragedy, and temptation.

In this scripture there is Jesus talking and He is telling us that we will indeed have trouble in the world. Life won’t be easy, there will be obstacles on the way. But Jesus has already overcome all these obstacles that we might face in our lives, He had overcome ALL of them. And we can overcome ours too when we choose Jesus “So that in me you may have peace”. What does this mean? We can overcome our obstacles with the knowledge that The Bible gives us, by reading and gaining the understanding of what Jesus went through (which we can gain by reading the Bible).

Coping with pain and addiction (of any type) is not easy, but God provided solutions for us. The Bible, along with Bible studies and groups for support can help us heal and can help us replace the coping mechanisms we have with healthy ones.

Corinthians10:13 NIV

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

This scripture is amazing because it highlights God’ faith in us which I’d say all the times is more than the faith we even have for ourselves. 

We can see in the scripture that God won’t let us face any temptation that we cannot bear. The Greek word for temptation also means “testing” and” tested”. Temptation is a test. What do you do when you know you will have an exam coming? You will prepare, right? How will you prepare for the exam, you’ll study, right? You won’t just go to the exam without knowing what subject it is going to be about, what books can you use to study for that subject. 

Why not study for the exam of life? You only need one book, the Bible. 

 I also love how this scripture tells us that first, God won’t allow us to be tested more than we can bear. He won’t send us to an exam a PhD student would take while we are still doing our Undergraduate degree. He allows us to be testes as much as we can bear. And God provides a way. 

Sometimes, we might not be able to see those ways because we haven’t studied enough. I remember in high school in Maths’ class we were being thought more than one way to solve an equation, so it is in life. Sometimes the way we know, might not be the right one for that specific problem. But God provides solutions, and they are all in the Bible, we just must study! Every time you are tempted, He will provide a way!

Romans 5:3-5 NIV

 “Not only so, but we[a] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

Everything happens for a reason. (Jeremiah 29:11) and God allows things to happen in our lives for a higher purpose that we just cannot see right now. In that moment, when we suffer, we can focus so much on the pain that we don’t realise that pain is part of growth.

          Why do you study for a test? Because you want to pass the class, right? If there were no tests, exams at all, would you be as eager to study out the subjects or would you just read through them whenever you remember? 

         Sometimes you might fail, and it will be painful, you will cry about that bad grade, and feel ashamed. And it will really hurt to know that you could have done more, but you didn’t because you chose to go out for food instead of studying. 

 But it’s ok, that suffering will produce perseverance. The next week Instead of going out every day, you chose to study every day. And you do and you feel better. And that perseverance builds your character and hope. Now you have more hope that you will pass the test. And hope, like the scripture says doesn’t put you to shame. 

Well, look at life like it is a test, and the Bible is the manual that will help us get through it. And now all you must do is go and apply all that to the Bible. 

Addiction can be painful, but will you allow that pain to put you down or will you allow the suffering that It brings to push you to persevere and turn to God? Your addiction happened to make you stronger, but if you choose to drown in it, that’s your choice, you have free will. 

But you could also reach out for help, ask God for help and He will provide a way out!

Your addiction doesn’t define who you are! Is just an obstacle on the way which you can overcome by getting to know Jesus and gaining the understanding of how He overcame the world, of how He overcame not one, but all the obstacles. And you can do all that by reading the Bible and joining a Bible study group. (available in my bio). 

Application:

Practical:

Study the Bible today as If the exam of life is happening tomorrow.

Reach out for help!

[cristianoronaldosiuuuuuuuuu-blog]

Stereotypes on The Simpsons

Not all TV series are only about entertainment, a few out there have some meanings behind it, like The Simpsons and their irony, sometimes even with stereotypes. But what is a stereotype? Stereotypes are known for being the first thought that comes to mind about a group of people. According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a stereotype is "a set idea that people have about what someone or something is like especially an idea that is wrong". Blame it on Lisa is a good example of a show of how Brazilians are seen worldwide: love for samba, wildlife, sexy women, and other stereotypes. 

Hitler, monkeys, and samba are portrayed as being part of what Brazilians are like. The episode concerns a mysterious phone bill: someone in the Simpson household was responsible for making a US$400 call directed to Brazil. After discovering that Lisa was guilty, the girl explains that she sponsored an orphan boy in Brazil. Homer's reaction to his daughter's charity already exemplifies a stereotypical view of the country: "Be careful, Lisa. Boys in Brazil are little Hitlers". Why would he think that? One explanation, even though it is absurd, is that he doesn't know Brazil and connects "favelas" and all the violence here, to Hitler. The girl explains that the charity she was helping pressured her for more donations by sending a video of the boy she sponsored. His name is Ronaldo, and he lives in an orphanage in a poor "favela" in Rio de Janeiro. In the video, the boy shows his new shoes, perfect "for a thousand sambas," as this country is known for all the good energy and dancing, and the new door the orphanage could buy thanks to Lisa's help, "now the monkeys cannot bite me," he said, meaning that the Brazilian people live in the jungle and civilization doesn't exist.

Spanish, sex, and money, this is what Brazil is about. After the organization sends the video, Lisa tells  the family that she has never heard of Ronaldo again and that after trying to contact the orphanage, she is told that the boy has  disappeared. Driven by concern and Bart's desire to visit every continent on the planet (except Antarctica, which will be a trip for next year), the Simpsons decide to go in search of Ronaldo in Rio de Janeiro. On the plane, Lisa explains to his dad the basics about the Brazilian lifestyle while reading "Who wants to be a Brazilionaire?". Bart tells his mother, who later corrects him, that he's ready for Brazil as he speaks fluent Spanish. Telling that, only because Brazil is in South America, the language spoken is Spanish, not Portuguese. As the plane prepares to land, the pilot says, "The temperature in Rio De Janeiro is hot hot hot, with 100 degrees of passion". Again, linking it to the Brazilian vibe, a lot of dancing, and the "hot Latinas" 

In conclusion, The Simpsons portrayed a lot of stereotypes of the Brazilian people as these are only a few of them: Homer calling us little Hitlers, living in the jungle and the monkeys, the samba, speaking Spanish, looking for sex, and money. But, most of all, stereotypes can be responsible for falsifying the notion of culture and promoting prejudice and xenophobia. So, in the end, some stereotypes are a little correct but it creates an image of Brazil that is wrong and can lead to misunderstandings and mistaken ideas, which, as a Brazilian, can make me very mad. 

Eduardo Lancellotti

[riverafranchesca]

Preserving the Flow: A Water Conservation Crusade

Story: A connected series of events told through words or any other form of communication.

Tale: A story that might be invented or difficult to believe.

Science fiction: Speculation about alternative ways of life made possible by technological change.

_____________________________________________________________

LITERATURE

It’s 2038. Ecuador finally made it to the FIFA World Cup finals, but lost. Nowadays, everyone wears virtual reality contact lenses, an invention designed by Lucas, my best friend from college. He became a billionaire with this idea, but it also turned him into a greedy and environmentally careless person. Anyway, the world continued to change. However, something that remained the same was water wastage. Countries around the world ran out of this resource one drop at a time and, eventually, a war broke out. I was just a teacher worried about my students.

That night, before taking out my contact lenses and going to bed, an alert popped up. It was a warning from the UN.

Suddenly, I passed out. The image of a woman handing me a green necklace with the word “water” engraved on it stuck in my mind. At this time, I knew that somehow, I had to resolve the water problem.

I woke up and looked down at the necklace; it was shining. Moreover, I noticed I was sitting on a classroom desk, but I didn’t know why.

Undoubtedly, it was Lucas. Did the necklace bring me back to my college years?

I remember when Lucas invited me to collaborate with him. I rejected him then. This time, I had to change the future into a better one for Lucas and all humanity.

Years have passed and we are currently billionaires. I got Lucas to understand the environment’s importance and convinced him to start a foundation. We called it "Fountain of Life" and based it on 2 principles:

1. Encouraging teaching in schools about water waste.

2. Investing in scientific research for the development of technologies that clean water more efficiently.

Finally, we were able to get the UN’ support to create laws that regulate the use of resources responsibly. 2038 was a good year.

_____________________________________________________________

REFERENCES

Cambridge Dictionary. (n.d.). Tale. Cambridge.org. Retrieved October 17, 2023, from https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/tale

Literary Terms. (2018, November 3). Story. Literary Terms. https://literaryterms.net/story/

University of Pittsburgh. (2010). Guides: Science Fiction - Greensburg Campus: What is Science Fiction? https://pitt.libguides.com/scifi

_____________________________________________________________

AI PICTURE

I created the AI image by typing "thin woman teacher with dark brown hair who has a green necklace and travels through time" in a web page called "Hotpot".

_____________________________________________________________

VIDEO

[garciavillacisdaniel]

Integrated project

Story: A description, either true or imagined, of a connected series of events

Tale: A story, especially one that might be invented or difficult to believe

Science fiction: Literature or film that deals with the future and technologies that do not exist yet

tale. (2023). In Traducir Al Español - Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles-espanol/tale

science fiction. (2023). In Traducir Al Español - Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles-espanol/science-fiction

story. (2023). In Traducir Al Español - Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles-espanol/story

I used an IA called Craiyon, which is totally free to create these images.

An unexpected odyssey

Hello, my name is Frank, and what can I tell you, since I was in kindergarten life has been quite abnormal, my family is something that we could call “rich”. Obviously, I don’t remember how they became so rich but well. During my childhood I noticed how the water began to run out, I still remember the day when the water officially ran out, I mean there is water but it is not admissible in any living being, for example, fish, at the beginning when they stay in those waters they melted like chocolate, currently they have been adapted, let's say that they seem like a strange combination between demon, zombie fish.

But who would have thought that one day everything would change, I still remember when I saw that video, which announced that people were needed for a strange project. “You can't,” my friends told me, “It’s crazy,” my family said; I didn't care about everything and I went anyway, apart from this, I was very anxious, but you must be strong, it's for the greater good, I told myself. Many people wanted to go since the pay was more than half a million dollars, and many wanted a year of good water, but many were not suitable, despite everything I did and I went in.  First, they made me sign a consent saying that they had zero responsibilities in case of any damage or loss, second, they explained to me How everything would be from now on. “You will go to another planet by opening a portal, and through portals we will exchange water,” said our new bosses, also, they said that if we said something of this mission to any person that person would die, and, in addition of that we could have several consequences.

They gave us an agenda, where we would write down everything that would be useful, the truth is that I did not use it since one of my characteristics was a good memory, especially in important moments like this, the next day they woke us up at 4 AM to have breakfast and to give us our itinerary, since this was going to be the big day, they told us that we were going to separate into 2 groups, one would be in charge of maintaining the portal while the other would be in charge of passing it and activating the transfer; Unlike what we thought the fish were not wild, and that helped a lot because we had to be in the middle of the ocean to start, finally we achieved our goal and went to the other planet and we could make the transfer in a successful way, and well since that day the planet was a better place and everything returned to normal, and people learned to never lose water and to conserve something as valuable as it is the water.

[samiemily-blog]

Preserving the flow: Water conservation

Story:

The year was 2150, and the planet was suffocating from water scarcity. What had once been an abundant resource had become a commodity more precious than gold. Droughts, pollution and climate change had brought humanity to the brink of collapse. Thirst and desperation reigned in a world that had lost its shine. In the midst of this crisis, three scientists, Andrea and Carla, and me,

Samantha, were determined to change the course of history. We secretly developed a time machine, a last resort to prevent the catastrophe from happening, so once we had the time machine ready, I looked for Carla and told her:

Samantha: “We have created the salvation of humanity, but what year should we return to?”

To which Carla replied:

Carla: “Let's travel to 2023, it was the beginning of the catastrophe.”

We decided to travel 2023. It was a time when access to water was still taken for granted. We were faced with a dilemma: how to convince the world to change its course before it was too late. Carla, with her passion for sustainability, dedicated herself to raising awareness about responsible water management. He organized educational campaigns and conferences around the world. He inspired people to value this vital resource. Andrea, with her background in technology, worked on innovative solutions for water conservation and said:

Andrea: “We must develop advanced collection and purification systems that will become global standards.”

To which Carla responded:

Carla: “It is an excellent idea thinking about the future of our society.”

I decided to advocate for stricter policies and international cooperation in water management. I engaged with world leaders and proposed agreements that

would ensure the preservation of this resource for future generations.

As the years passed, our actions began to bear fruit. Awareness about the importance of water grew, advanced technologies were implemented and policies became more sustainable.

Finally, we return to 2150, with hope in our hearts. We didn't know if our efforts had been enough to change the fate of the planet. However, our mission had been a success and we returned to 2150 to see how we had a clean world without pollution or water shortages.

Generated by Leonardo AI and represents how can be an hipotetic world if we continue wasting water.

Translation of story – English–Spanish dictionary

Story:

A description, either true or imagined, of a connected series of events

Tales:

A story, especially one that might be invented or difficult to believe

Science fiction:

books, films, or cartoons about an imagined future, especially about space travel or other planets

References:

Story. (2023). En translate English to Spanish - Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-spanish/story

Tale. (2023). En translate English to Spanish - Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-spanish/tale?q=tales

Science fiction. (2023). https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english-spanish/science-fiction

[solizjose]

Project

How did I save water yesterday?

Yesterday I had a busy day, and I was so busy that I didn't had the chance to take a shower, I was on my computer doing homework and I was so focused that I even forgot to drink water, I didn't felt thirstiy. Maybe that could count as saving water, because I didn't use it for taking a shower and even for drinking it.

Definitions:

Story: a description, either true or imagined of a connected series of events.

Tales: a story, especially one that might be invented or difficult to believe.

Science Fiction: books, films, or cartoons about an imagined future, especially about space travel or other planets

Story:

MISSION: Water-2077

I remember when we used to have water, the world was a beautiful place, but anything broke down in 2060, water scarcity increase and even people fought for water, also there were wars for water, But when it went off, for stopping wars the government look up for a solution, They created kind a "synthetic water" that taste awful, but it was the only way to keep us hydrated, obviously this was a business created by the government to make millions selling the synthetic water. Not only people know about it, but also they moved on like they didn't care, I was the only one who wanted the normal water back, and my teacher Walter White too. We created a time machine and a water multiplier which works great, Mr. White used to be a chemistry teacher so he knows about all that molecules stuff. The plan was the following, we travel to the past and collect a lot of water, come back to the present and finally multiplying water in the future, for having unlimited water. Before I entered on the machine, Mr. White gave me a special gun which can't kill people but they freeze them for an hour, so I can scape if I have trouble and last, but no least Mr. White told me that I only have 12 hours to turn back, otherwise the machine will self-destructs, Mr. White was clearly with the instructions, so I entered in the machine.

-"Hello? Mr. White, Can you hear me?"

-"Yes, I can hear you, your task is simple, you just have to collect some water and that's all, don't forget that you only have 12 hours to come back, I have to hang up, WhatsApp 3.0 wasn't invented in 2023"

-"Wait... 2023?... HEY MR. WHITE"

-......

-"Oh well, I guess I'll CARRY ON alone"

The task was easy, so went to a river for collecting water, but I don't know how the government notice about my plan, because some futuristic soldiers and robots showed up, they started following me trying to kill me, and that's when I use my gun,  I stopped the soldiers, but not the robots, so they captured me and sent me to their boss, and this part was funny because when the boss tried to kill me by punching me, my gun fell off and I accidentally paralyzed the Boss, so I just escaped. then I was walking around with my water, arriving to the machine, but then I notice that I was too far from the machine, and the machine self-destructs in 5 minutes, so I ran as fast as I could, I was like 100 meters far from the machine, and when there were 3 seconds left, I launched the water and the multiplier in the machine, leaving myself in the past, and giving water to the future, I thought I was trapped, but then Mr. White came with a space ship and he took me to the future, then we started multiplying water and subsequently we saved the world, and that is how Me and Mr. White solved water scarcity.

References:

Story. (2023). En traducir al español - Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles-espanol/story?q=Story

Tales. (2023). En traducir al español - Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles-espanol/tale?q=Tale

Science fiction. (2023). En traducir al español - Cambridge Dictionary. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/es/diccionario/ingles-espanol/science-fiction?q=Science+fiction

Image:

I created this picture using AI, by typing what I would like to see in the image, in this case we can see a futuristic soildier fighting for water, tat's wath I typed in the AI image generator (hotpot.ai), and that is what I got.

Video:

[flowerycoffin]

Stella is bad written villain

I will be honest here - I don’t like the direction “Helluva Boss” series is going and I have a lot to cover, so I’ll start with the most controversial subject in this fandom right now… Stella character.

Trigger warning: I’m going to cover various forms of abuse, so if you are sensitive to those topic please consider if you want to read this.

Spoilers to: “Helluva Boss”(duh), “The Help”, “The Case Study of Vanitas”, “The Owl House”, “Prince of Egypt”, “Pręgi”, “Jujutsu Kaisen”

Sorry for any writting mistakes in advance :^)

Season two came out and fandom is on fire again and I will give a bit more fuel to this. I want to show that Stella fails as a villain, abuser and character all together. I will divide it into few parts so it’ll be easier to separate my points:

1. Stella as abuser in media.

2. How Stella was written in season one.

3. How Stella was written in first episode of season two.

4. What is even Stellas goal?

5. Closing thoughts.

STELLA AS ABUSER IN MEDIA

Let’s start from something simple - What even is an abuser?

Definitions by Cambridge Dictionary

As we can see we definitely can call her an abuser as a person - she is harming Stolas emotionaly and tries to hurt physicaly. No doubt about that. But she is a character of fiction and that means that her behaviour can be used as abuser who is a tool or abuser who is an antagonist. Her behaviour must have a purpose in the story. Let me show how by storytelling point of view those two roles work:

ABUSER AS A TOOL

When I think about this kind of abuser in fiction my first thought is Leroy - Minnies Jackson husband from movie “The Help”

This shot is the only time we can hear him. We don’t see a face, hand or even a shadow. Only panicking Minny and a thrown pot. And that is perfectly enough, because his purpose is not to be relevant to a story but to show one of many obstacles which our heroines have to face in everyday life. Leroy is a tool showing how at the very beggining maid despite having sassy personality is not strong enough to fight husband and system she’s trapped in but at the end of the film we are told that she got a divorce symbolising better changes and finding inner strenght in her.

Another example of abuser meant to be a tool is Veronica de Salvo from “The Case Study of Vanitas”

This time we can see abusers face and have more screen time with her than Leroy, yet girl is still a tool in the story showing a chierarchy in vampire world and destructive power future opponents can have. Not only that; she torments mentally her younger sister (side character) making her fall deeper into depression and guilt trip. Veronica is rotten to the core, having one of the most twisted moral spines I've ever witnessed and yet I doesn’t demand her further exploring. Show wouldn’t change much without her yet having Veronica as a tool to show how cruel vampire world is, is working perfectly.

So what is abuser when used as a tool?

- abuser is showing a world building,

- abuser is an obstacle,

- abuser is not related to a main plot,

- abuser non deliberate cause of characters actions.

And who is abuser used as a tool?

- abuser is one-dimentional,

- abuser doesn’t need a reason why,

- abuser is symbolism.

ABUSER AS AN ANTAGONIST

In order to show what I have on mind I’ll start with one person Stella is mostly compared to - Odalia Blight

Odalia is actively gaslighting her family and use their abilities for her own gain, but what is making her a villain and not a tool is being an active thread to our main protagonists. She is abusing not only side characters but also main cast and is a deliberate cause of heroes troubles. On top of that her behaviour and goal have an impact on the story. Yeah let's talk about a goal - Odalia is not evil for sake of being evil; she is evil because she wants her corporation to grow and her family name to be known by mass. It’s a good reason for villain - she’s not a bad person because she’s a bad person, she’s a bad person because her goal makes her blind on other factors.

Another good example of abuser being an antagonist is Ramzes from “Prince of Egypt”. No wait, hear me out-

Ramzes taking role of the pharaon in the same time is active counterpant in Jews slavery which is (who would’ve thought) a form of abuse and torments his adoptive brother mentaly while tormenting others physicaly even more than before, because sibling wanted to free those people and break a chain of hatred and misfortune. Ramzes’s goal is to make even greater country than his father did with hands of slaves and his reason of thinking it’s right thing to do it the way he does is living in a broken system which empathises slavery and lack of consequences from pharaon side.

So what is abuser as an antagonist?

- abuser is a thread to main protagonists,

- abuser have an active role in the story,

- abuser is a deliberate cause of characters actions.

And who is abuser as an antagonist?

- abuser have a reason why,

- abuser is character with personality outside being evil,

- abuser is enemy to a main cast.

What kind of abuser Stella is then? She sure does have an active role in the story hiring an assasin and is a cause of Stolas and Octavias mental states and actions; Stella is also Stolas enemy making a thread to his life. That should mean she is an antagonist right? But Stella doesn’t seem to have personality outside being awful wife trope and her reason for her attitude towards Stolas is unclear. Also as in season one a reason to kill her husband is slightly on point, while in season two it doesn’t make sense anymore and we’ll see why in a bit. If you decide to make abuser your antagonist you must take into consideration why they became the way they are, no shortcuts.

I remember when one movie was showed to my class at sex education lessons. It was awful, ‘cause it glorified romance with dangerous and easily thrown into physical abuse individual. Thanks to this essay I watched it again :’^) and it wasn’t that bad :^D until glorifying molestation romance plot came in :^[. The movie I’m talking about is called “Pręgi” (”Stripes”) and I’m mentioning this because “Pręgi” is telling hurtful story about domestic abuse and it’s outcome (also throwing at viewer sex-assaulting girl but it’s not about her thankfully).

 We have not one but two abusers as antagonists (both men, one being a main character so more like abuser as protagonist but ssshhh) and one abuser as a tool (a woman). This film can show how every of antagonists have layers, reasons, motivations and different emotions. Something which Stella have none of but sure resembles the only tool-abuser whom doesn’t have any other personality trait besides passive-aggressiveness and no reason for being awful human being beside drinking too much wine. Again - if you put abuser into role of the antagonist, abusers personality can’t be just a plain angry caricature. This is mane weakness of Stellas character - she doesn’t have one! Thats why she fails as both abuser and character.

HOW STELLA WAS WRITTEN IN SEASON ONE

First time we can see Stella’s behaviour is in episode 2 and we are getting introduced by this scene:

We can see she’s pretty self-centred taking a whole sheet around her and probably done with parenting (being woken up by a toddler after whole day of taking care of them ain’t a great thing, trust me). This doesn’t tell us much; just that she’s probably selfish, that’s all. Than the next time we see her we have a small time jump to the present day, but before this we get little, yet informative quote from Stolas during his lullaby

Yes, those are YouTube subtitles, I was too lazy to add them myself.

“I used to think love would be fun” - this can indicate that marriage even if arranged could be merry at first or that Stolas had other potential partners before Stella. Anyhow that means that their marriage is slowly falling apart or something is not like it used to be.

Now to the time jump-

Stella finds out her husband cheated on her with lower class. Don’t want to play devils advocate here but anyone would probably react similar way after finding out they were cheated on. She seems to be the most angry at the fact that a person Stolas cheated with was an imp (the lowest class in hell). It’s easy to see that she is on the verge of her nerves and can’t control herself anymore (according to her daughter it’s yet another time they were arguing so it must hurt deeply).

What else do we have in this episode?

Via’s words “My parents didn’t hate eachother”. If you think that’s not important because people tend to romanticise their childhood, you are only half right here - children are the best observers on the world and soak everything like a dry sponge. Octavia didn’t used words ‘loved’, ‘liked’ but ‘didn’t hate’. This can mean that even if Stolas and Stella disliked eachother they tried to appear well infront of their daughter and weren’t as chaotic as they are now. To justify this point I want to show the last thing what appeared in this episode:

Family picture with whole THREE in the LooLoo Land. Stella is visibly uncomfortable here but still goes with them. What was stopping her to say “No, I’m not coming.”? She’s with her family willingly even if she herself is not keen on spending time in amusment park.

We don’t see her for the next couple episodes until harvest moon festival where Stella is shown at the end of the episode ordering Striker to kill Stolas.

She’s visibly out of her mind and can’t think straight anymore. She wants it all to end and by end she can’t think of anything else except eliminating Stolas for good.

“I want this cheating prick dead” - don't know how about you, but I think she wasn’t mad for sleeping with lower class but for sleeping with someone else at all.

HOW STELLA WAS WRITTEN IN SEASON TWO

We have first episode of second season, we have deep dive into Stolas life, I can’t wait to see what Vivzie’s team come up wit- Oh man….

Wait, she was like that even as a baby? Great character development guys.

What a cold bish. And motivation is a peak of greatness.

No angry wife stereotypes on the horizon.

All of those hints, all of this build up for nothing? Stella is bad because she is bad? What is the point in killing Stolas anymore? How can you burry a great concept like that?

Yeah, all of those theories can be shoved under the rug; it seems like Stella have nothing except sheer enjoyment of tormenting her husband and being angry when he finally stands for himself. She is one-dimentional blank paper page with no motivation. She is made because apparently it’s not clear enough who we should feel sorry for. Spindle Horse really thought it’s a good idea that one of the main villains is just screeching fursona whose sole purpose to exist is to say to the viewers “Look, this birb is a baddie and this birdie is not. Look how deep it is.”. Yes, I am mad. I am mad because everything condensed in season one is worthless, because I am sick of bad wife stereotype, because it’s annoying watching somebody being bad for sole reason of being bad. Spindlehorse Toons have huge impact on mainstream, and rooting character model like that into viewers is just invalidating.

WHAT IS EVEN STELLAS GOAL?

We know Stella wants Stolas dead, but why? If her motivation is love of tormenting him than she doesn’t have much planning comprehension, because she won’t be able to do that anymore. If thats because he shreded family name, divorce should be enough - that litterally means you aren’t bounded with anything at all anymore, If she’s doing it to have her revenge than….. for what exactly? Stolas isn’t making a whole Goetia family name dirty, only his. This will be just dump to see whole family be taken as immoral (whatever it means in hell) because husband made a mistake- HUSBAND; somebody who can be cutted off and replaced.

I wish to add something more here but can’t, because Stellas goal makes no sense at all. She isn’t hurted by the fact Stolas cheated on her, only highly annoyed. Trying to make Goetia name clean also doesn’t make sense, because eliminating one of family members would make the name even worse and because reasons from paragraph before. Stella is litterally this cartoon villain with no motivation except “getting those ugly smurfs/taking back what was once stollen/rule Equestria”. Alright, maybe don’t paint Gargamel, Queen Chrystalis or another Skeletor in a bad light because those are villains from kids cartoons - they’re meant to be easy to interpret. Stella is villain in adult animation. Standards are different.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

I can hear somebody writting carefully “You’re mad because Stella is female, if she was a man you wouldn’t write this.”. Guess what - I want mane abuser and villain to have depth no matter the gender. Making female character awful demon spouse who have no other trait besides being evil is not innovative take; it’s lazy, bad and stereotypical writting. 

I really wish I wouldn’t be so harsh on Vivziepop and her team, but I can’t stand seeing once very complicated situasion in arranged marriage where fault is on both sides getting run over a steamroller and changing into ‘poor manbaby with no friends is chasing his only love and his horrendous wifey is a huge baddie and always has been’.

Stella fails in every aspect, and it says someone who could say “Step on me” to Mahito - a villain hated by whole fandom because he’s bad since day one and hurts main protagonists on daily basis and even kill loved by everyone cinnamon roll Junpei for sake of putting main hero on verge. But here’s a thing - even if both Stella and Mahito are awful people since they were born Mahito somehow manages to be well written villain with his reasons and other traits than mean and bad.

Please people, I know we already have huge favour by having those series for free on YouTube and animation is stellar, but sometimes we need to remember that nothing is perfect and Stella’s character really insulted writting abilities of creators and audience. Just look at all those examples above - there are women and men having different purposes in the stories, screentime and personalities, but all of them are abusers and negative characters. Even if media themselves have isssues here and there, they know how to use their opressors and Spindlehorse is (I believe) capable doing the same. It’s nothing wrong in feeling empathy to a villain (”My Sister’s Keeper”), it’s nothing wrong when villain have fiddling excuse (”The Bookshop”), but it’s wrong to make it insulting, non-motivated way like in Stella’s case.

Thanks for staying till the end. Have this heart as a gift for staying for so long on this a bit negative post

<3

Dividers by @delishlydelightfuldividers​

[humanwheatleyslefttoenail]

why do you ship chell and glados if glados is basically her mom

Okay this is actually a pretty common misconception in the fandom that unfortunately a lot of people have taken as canon, but I’m feeling nice so I’ll answer your question.

Basically, anon is referencing a theory from around 2012 that Caroline is Chell’s mom. The evidence for the theory is as follows:

- The turret opera calls Chell “bambina”, which means “little girl” in Italian

- Chell’s name can be found on a Bring Your Daughter To Work Day science project

- GLaDOS references the possibility of Chell being adopted multiple times

- GLaDOS is significantly nicer to Chell after discovering she’s Caroline 

And, anon, you’re right, it does sound like a pretty good argument at first glance. The problem is that a lot of these points don’t actually hold up to scrutiny.

For example, although “bambina” literally translates to “little girl,” it’s often used in the same way “baby girl” is used in English - it can mean child, but contextually it’s usually a flirtatious term. (Source: Cambridge Dictionary)

For Chell’s science project, it doesn’t work as evidence for the theory because GLaDOS killed the scientists around 1998-ish, when Caroline had presumably been uploaded several years earlier and Cave was already dead. Also, Chell’s in her 20′s, and since we know from Lab Rat/Portal 2 that people don’t age in stasis, and that Doug put Chell at the top of the test subject list only weeks after the takeover, Chell was 28 at the time of the takeover. The science project is really only an Easter egg and doesn’t actually fit into the canon timeline let alone prove anything about Caroline and Cave. 

GLaDOS talking about Chell being adopted is a pretty strong point, I’ll admit, but also it’s important to remember that maybe half of what GLaDOS says is true. And even if we take what she says at face value, she also says there’s a man and a woman in stasis with Chell’s last name, which could not have been Cave and Caroline because they were already dead at that point. And the official book Final Hours Of Portal 2 confirms Cave and Caroline were not married and could not have shared the same name anyway. It was also the 50′s, an an unmarried couple of two likely famous people having a child would’ve been scandalous, and yet we see no hint of something like this affecting their company. 

Also, although GLaDOS is nicer to Chell after the Caroline reveal, that’s not necessarily indicative of a mother-daughter relationship, and neither is any of their interactions. It’s just. GLaDOS being friendlier. 

Finally, when this theory was made (and let’s be honest - it still is happening) Chell was constantly whitewashed to hell and back. 

Chell is Japanese-Brazilian, and Cave and Caroline are white, so it would be a near impossibility for her to be their biological child (and insisting otherwise is kinda. just. whitewashing). And although people will cry “adoption!”, based on what I’ve previously proven, that’s pretty much impossible. This theory that somehow she’s Cave and Caroline’s daughter erases an important part of her identity. [Disclaimer, I am white, but this is what I’ve heard from around the fandom]

With all that said, the idea that she’s the daughter of Cave and Caroline really doesn’t hold weight when you really analyze the canon. It’s surface level analysis that doesn’t hold up. And honestly? The idea kinda cheapens the story. It’s much more powerful that GLaDOS learns to care about Chell and becomes kinder than just. Oh, she remembered she’s related to Chell. 

But to actually answer your ask. 

Why do I ship them?

Well, they aren’t mother and daughter, I think that’s pretty obvious now. But if you actually look at a lot of subtext in Portal 2, without the lens of the mother theory, it’s actually pretty romantic! 

I know that sounds ridiculous, but bear with me!

Now - it’s totally okay if you don’t ship them. I get it. Their interactions in Portal 1 and the first half of Portal 2 are toxic if not outright well. Y’know. Murderous. I completely understand why that turns people off from shipping them, and ultimately, shipping is a personal thing. To each his own. 

But before you judge me, let me present my case.

Exhibit A: Portal 

Portal is kinda gay. No, really. Chell and GLaDOS are enemies in this game, but the entire focus is on their relationship (good or not) and the power struggle between them. They are opposites, two sides of the same coin, different representations of opposite ideologies. People have analyzed Portal as a relationship metaphor, or as a metaphor about women’s role in society - either way, the heart of Portal is the complicated dynamic between Chell and GLaDOS. 

That’s not necessarily enough to code a romance, but a lot of popular (and especially popular queer ones) ships begin with opposite ideologies, symbolic powers colliding. Portal cements their relationship as a toxic one, something on the verge of falling apart and hurting both parties in the end. The ending image, of Chell and GLaDOS side by side after the battle, reinforces the symbolic parallels between the two. 

The companion cube is also pretty symbolically important to this interpretation. It’s literally a representation of someone’s heart, and you are told to protect it and preserve it under GLaDOS’ orders, and then you have to destroy it regardless of how you actually feel about doing that. You are destroying GLaDOS’ heart, so to speak. 

There’s also the ending song, Still Alive. The lyrics speak for themselves.

They hint that GLaDOS’ feelings about Chell are more complicated than they may appear (if she’s not being sarcastic...) and she literally talks about Chell breaking her heart (also, think back to the companion cube. Yeah.). The entire song is structurally similar to many a breakup number, with the laments of “I’m glad it happened, but also leave.” 

At the end, we also see that the long promised cake GLaDOS was supposedly lying about was real the whole time. Before Portal 2 came out, it was mostly interpreted as a stinger ending (along with the nicer lyrics of Still Alive) to make you question GLaDOS’ true motives and intentions.

She actually did have a real cake waiting for you. (Side note - not really evidence, but in Argentina, “torta” means cake in Spanish. It’s also a slang term for lesbians. So. Do with that what you will). The cake is what GLaDOS offers you to lull you into the sense that she cares about you, so discovering that “the cake is a lie” wakes you up to the realization that she doesn’t. Except then the idea is subverted one last time, at the very end, showing that the cake is real and at least some of what she said she meant. 

You also see the companion cube. You know, GLaDOS’ symbolic heart?

Now, okay, you might be thinking I’m extrapolating a bit too much. And you might be right. But Portal is not the only game in the series, and if you’re asking me about Cave and Caroline you obviously know about Portal 2.

Exhibit B: Portal 2

If you thought Portal was gay, Portal 2 turns that up to 11.

Even before GLaDOS wakes up, you’re treated to some visual subtext. A few of Rattmann’s drawings representing the events of Portal 2 focus a lot on the relationship between GLaDOS and Chell, with more of the cake symbolism.

In this, you can see a face layered on top of GLaDOS. This could be foreshadowing about Caroline, and likely is, but also resembles his other drawing of Chell. It insists that Chell is a part of GLaDOS, or reinforces parallels between Chell and Caroline, hinting at something either way. 

In this picture, we also see Chell standing on top of GLaDOS, in the same position where the overlay of the feminine face was, again referencing the parallel. It also presents them as opposites, fundamental parts of the same thing and both connected to the same basis, but on opposing sides. 

When GLaDOS wakes up, she returns to her antagonistic role, but there are more hints to something deeper just like in Portal. 

Here, in her awakening lines, she references Chell not unlike an estranged ex. Also worth noting that GLaDOS is pretty much the personification of testing (in a sense, she is testing since she can control all of Aperture like an extension of her body), and insinuates that Chell loves to test. And that she reciprocates that feeling.

In test chamber 10, she says this:

It’s supposed to be threatening, but it does read as almost... sentimental. 

There’s also another chamber with companion cubes in Portal 2. I already talked about their symbolism in Portal, and the same pretty much applies to them here. However, GLaDOS says something interesting about them during this level:

Once again, meant to be intimidating, ends up coming off as “well, GLaDOS, why were you going to give Chell a heart shaped representation of yourself that says ‘I love you?’” And you might think I’m stretching the GLaDOS’ heart metaphor thing a little far here, and I might agree, if the companion cubes didn’t literally sing Cara Mia for you. 

Cara Mia is the turret opera from the end of the game, which is all about how much GLaDOS cares about Chell. More on that later. But the companion cubes play a song called Love as A Construct, and when you get close to them, they sing a specific part of the song that has the tune of Cara Mia. These things literally exist to sing about GLaDOS’ feelings. 

Which makes this line a lot more. For lack of a better term. Tsundere-ish.

Then, right before the escape, she starts talking about the confetti from her fake surprise. 

I really don’t have to explain this one. What else does GLaDOS consider an inconvenience but might miss anyway? Or, more aptly, who else?

Then, during the escape, she teases a (fake) final test chamber in front of you, and forms the panels in the shape of a heart. No, really. 

Up to this point, a lot of the points I’ve presented are interspersed with a fair amount of antagonization on GLaDOS’ behalf, more Foe Yay than anything actually hinting at something deeper than GLaDOS being conflicted about whether she loves or hates Chell. But things really ramp up after Wheatley’s betrayal, when the two of them are forced to team up. (I should also note here that “enemies to lovers” is a pretty classic queer romance trope.)

Here, GLaDOS is put on an equal level with Chell and they have to rely on each other if they want to survive. For the rest of the singleplayer campaign, GLaDOS becomes a lot nicer and even friendly to Chell. There comes a point where she starts referring to Chell as a teammate, calling them “we.” She begins to consider them one unit, two opposites unified. Here’s what she says after the lemon rant:

You can not only see her using we, but actively talking about how her and Chell are going to fight Wheatley together. There’s also that last line - “let’s explode with some dignity.” GLaDOS has fully accepted the very likely possibility that she and Chell might die together. That she might die on the same level, and the same team as Chell. And she seems... surprisingly okay with that, as long as she and Chell go together. 

It’s during the Old Aperture levels that Chell and GLaDOS also discover that they have a lot in common. This is the part of the game where GLaDOS figures out she’s Caroline, that she’s human. Or, that she’s like Chell. And Chell discovers (from what we can tell anyway) that Caroline is kind, that she’s funny and smart and so many of these things she never noticed about GLaDOS before. Now also with the knowledge she is fighting alongside another human being. 

You can also draw parallels between Chell and Caroline, both intelligent women ultimately betrayed by their seemingly innocuous male friends before being trapped in Aperture and forced to team up with one another in a way that will free both of them. We see that really, GLaDOS isn’t that different from Chell - she too has been imprisoned in this place against her will, but in a completely different way. Once again, the idea of two sides of the same coin applies here. 

I’ve written another meta about this before, but I also think the whole idea of repressing a part of your identity and hating it, before bonding with another woman and then realizing that it’s okay to be like her and to be on her side. It’s okay to be yourself and meeting her is what helps you discover this new part of yourself. Is kinda inherently gay. GLaDOS’ discovery of her own humanity just fits so well into a queer realization narrative, to me at least.

Then, Chell and GLaDOS escape Old Aperture and have to get through Wheatley’s tests. 

Here, GLaDOS isn’t just begrudgingly on Chell’s team. She’s actively helpful. She wants to help Chell solve tests, defends her from Wheatley’s insults, and makes jokes to lighten the mood. Things that can really only be explained by her caring about Chell, especially the part about the insults. See below.

After the two escape Wheatley’s testing track, right before the boss fight GLaDOS has a few other things to say.

GLaDOS is not going to betray Chell, because of some kind of conscience. But she could easily ignore that back in her body, and yet? Here she’s deciding not to, and for no good reason. She didn’t have to say that to Chell, but she did, because she cares and she wants Chell to live.

And then, moments before the fight:

The final lines imply that GLaDOS does not think of Chell as an enemy anymore, and that it doesn’t matter what Chell thinks because they are in this together and they are getting revenge together. It’s pretty heartwarming to be honest, to know that even in a fight that will almost certainly kill you, she is there rooting for you and caring about you, even if you don’t feel the same way about her. It no longer matters to GLaDOS whether you even reciprocate - you staying alive, you making it through is enough for her.

So Chell fights Wheatley and sends him into space, all well and good, and at this point, GLaDOS has the option to kill Chell. But not only does she not, she actively saves Chell, and holds her hand in the process. If you don’t believe me:

And not only that, but when Chell goes unconscious from her injuries, GLaDOS sits and waits for her to wake up. It’s also implied that GLaDOS carries her to the elevator, since it’s where she wakes up but not where she passed out. In the scene where Chell blacks out, you can also hear the part of Love As A Construct that sounds like Cara Mia. Yeah. Yeah.

If you think that this cannot possibly get any gayer, you are wrong again, because then GLaDOS makes her final speech. Which is really just a love confession, let’s be honest.

The “surge of emotion?” Do you mean love, GLaDOS? And the idea of GLaDOS considering Chell her best friend, despite everything these two have done to each other? The idea that GLaDOS, out of all people, forgives someone?

Except this isn’t even Chell’s final send-off. GLaDOS writes her an entire opera of turrets, that sing a literal love song. (Note what I said earlier about the use of the word “bambina”).

It really can’t get any more obvious than that. “My (affectionate romantic term here), my dear, I adore you.” How. Is. That. Heterosexual. In. Any. Way.

So Chell goes to the surface, set free by GLaDOS (think of the saying “if you love something, set it free), and you think that’s the end. Until GLaDOS gives you a companion cube so you aren’t alone on the journey, and from the burn marks, you know it’s your first companion cube. Her original heart, her first gift to you, a piece of her that she wants you to carry with you to remind you that she does care about you after everything. It also gives the lyrics to Still Alive a much more genuine meaning. 

Portal 2 ends, and then the ending song, another GLaDOS number plays. Just like Still Alive, Want You Gone is structurally a break up song and very obviously about GLaDOS missing Chell and “counting on” (read: caring about/loving) Chell’s tendencies and quirks. 

She’s accepted Chell completely, and yet also given Chell the one thing she wants most. Only wanting Chell gone can mean GLaDOS not wanting Chell in her life anymore, but can also mean she wants to give Chell the freedom she’s wanted for so, so long. It’s the best thing she can give.

In the co-op campaign, GLaDOS also references still caring about Chell.

And that’s the end of the Portal series. Except. Brace yourself. Despite the games being over, there is STILL more subtext somehow. It gets. Even gayer.

Exhibit C: Supplemental Evidence

Valve has made a lot of extra/cut content for the Portal series, and I’ll be looking at some of it below.

This official valentine from Valve shows GLaDOS offering a romantic partner cake, which as we’ve established before, is very symbolic of GLaDOS’ feelings about and/or relationship with Chell. 

There’s a lot of other concept art and official art that emphasizes their relationship too. See below.

There’s also some cut GLaDOS lines that are even gayer than the source material and again, sound like confessions or references to a breakup:

The idea of “discovering things about someone”... how much more obvious can it get?

The developers have even confirmed a lot of my commentary on Chell and GLaDOS’ relationship in The Final Hours Of Portal 2. See these quotes from the book/this post:

The devs literally describe it as a romance. They use terms like “cheating,” they wanted to write a romantic duet, JoCo purposefully wrote the endings like love songs. It is literally, blatantly said by the creators of the game that their relationship is interpreted romantically. By the creators of the game. 

And if Word of God confirmation isn’t enough for you, have a song written for a cut alternate ending by GLaDOS’ voice actress, Ellen McClain. The song is literally nothing but GLaDOS talking about caring about Chell, about not wanting her to die/leave GLaDOS alone, about wanting to bake a cake with Chell, about waiting for Chell to wake her up. It’s so genuinely sweet and sad, and really, really romantic in the most heartwrenching way possible. 

JoCo also came back for the Portal levels in Lego Dimensions, writing one final breakup song for GLaDOS to sing about Chell. It comes off as GLaDOS not wanting to admit she misses Chell even though she obviously does, trying to replace their relationship but failing, and even explicitly forgiving Chell/wanting her to come back.

Also, the “finally I understand,” as if only now GLaDOS understands just how deep her feelings for Chell are... What else can I say?

In Lego Dimensions, GLaDOS also outright rejects anyone who isn’t Chell.

In Conclusion:

Why do I ship Chell and GLaDOS? 

Well, ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether I ship them. 

Because I think it’s glaringly obvious Portal does.

[randomstuffhewwo]

Tone Indicators, a Masterlist

Tone indicators are shorthand for words used to convey tone, which the Cambridge Dictionary defines as "a quality in the voice that expresses the speaker's feelings or thoughts". Tone can do so much to change the meaning and implications of a sentence. The intended use of tone indicators is in text, and they are prevalent on social media where miscommunication is rife, and posts and messages are often misinterpreted. Tone can be especially difficult to parse for neurodivergent people. This is not to say that neurotypical people never misunderstand tone through text, or even face-to-face, because they do — but that neurodivergent people may experience and interpret tone differently. They are simply paralinguistic signifiers used at the ends of statements to help readers fill in the blanks. They can also be called written shorthand for the poster’s (OP's) intent and emotion.

It's entirely too easy to use them, simply use them after, or even before, the sentence that you wish to clarify. "Can you explain this for me? /gen"

I'm going to make a masterlist of all the tone indicators I've seen so far, adding some that aren't in popular usage, some I personally use with my friends, some that I believe should exist, under the cut. In some cases, I've seen multiple versions of the tone indicator, in which case I've put the more popular one first (at least by what I've seen).

Tone Indicators I've Seen Popularly Used

/j: joking "i'll have to deactivate my account now /j"

/hj: half-joking "we should definitely date /hj"

/s, /sarc, /sarcasm: sarcasm "i absolutely love being sad /s"

/srs: serious "i'm just so very tired /srs"

/nsrs: not serious "my leg's hurting a little bit but i'm okay /nsrs"

/g: genuine statement "i'm thankful that you're talking to me right now /g"

/lh: light-hearted "isn't is spelled 'unnecessary'? /lh"

/nm: not really mad or upset "i think you got that fact wrong /nm"

/pos, /pc: positive connotation "the movie's back on for tomorrow! /pos"

/neg, /nc: negative connotation "i have work tomorrow /neg"

/ly, /l: lyrics "she's a, she's a lady, and i am just a boy /ly"

/p: platonic "i just want to hug you /p"

/gen: genuine question "are you okay with me talking right now? /gen"

/t: teasing "it seems your sense of humour is horrible /t"

Tone Indicators I Haven't Seen Popularly, but I Have Seen, and Also Sometimes Use

/ref: reference "it's like none pizza with left beef /ref"

/nbh: nobody here, for vague mentioning "i'm just so angry at someone /nbh"

/r: romantic "i really want to cuddle with you right now /r"

/sx, /x: sexual intent (Used for sexual innuendos, or similar hinting)

/nsx, /nx: non-sexual intent (Used to clarify the lack of any such sexual intent in a statement)

/m: metaphorical "i was just swept away by a wave /m"

/li: literal "the fish was as big as my torso /li"

/ij: inside joke "it's a whale on dry land /ij"

/rh, /rt: rhetorical "who even cares? /rh"

/hyp: hyperbole (exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally) "i've told her ten thousand times to stop playing that song /hyp"

/c: copypasta (a block of text which is copied and pasted across the Internet by individuals through online forums and social networking websites)

/f: fake "i saw this post yesterday /f", which could be accompanied by an edited or modified post

/th: threat "i will get you to read that book /th"

/cb: clickbait "this website saved my life! /cb"

Tone Indicators I Use With My Friends, or Believe Should Be Mainstream

/a: affectionate "you're a bitch /a"

/q: quote "get up, get up, there are worlds to conquer /q"

/nf: not forced "do you want to go out with me today? /nf"

/pa: passive-aggressive "looks like someone has been talking to someone else behind my back /pa"

/npa: not passive-aggressive "i think someone has stolen my pen /npa"

[weishenbwi]

Did anyone else get nonbinary vibes from (G)I-DLE’s TOMBOY?

In the Song/MV, they’re not restricted to gender roles. They dress as traditional/mix masculine and feminine in the MV because that’s what they WANT to do. Their clothes and actions are fluid.

The lyrics too:

It’s neither man nor woman Man nor woman It’s neither man nor woman (Just me I-DLE)

It’s neither man nor woman Man nor woman It’s neither man nor woman (Just me loving Tomboy)

They talk about the expectation of women in society and breaking gender norms:

 "Do you want a blond barbie doll? It’s not here, I’m not a doll."

Having Tattoos

Swearing (alluding to and actually swearing on the album version. Your life will change when you hear Yuqi say “fuck”.)

Soyeon “manspreading”. Also notable because female presenting people are often told to close their legs to be “proper.”

Drinking whiskey (which is ~considered a “masculine” drink).  

“I like it even if you don't.”

"I won't change it, what the hell?"

“This is my attitude.”

The aromantic vibes:

"Stuff like love can’t make A single scratch on my body"

I don't want to play this back and forth game (ping pong) I'd rather do what I want (Tik Tok). 

"Swear at me brutally- Stuff like love can’t make me drop a single tear, I’d rather not if I have to smile at your pointless words."

The patriarchy who? (especially relevant considering S. Korea's attack on women's rights, lgbt rights, and more).

"Your mom raised you as a prince But this is queendom, right?"

And some comments I found helpful to explain more about the MV ‘TOMBOY’:

The Cambridge dictionary: a girl who ACTS and dresses like a boy, liking noisy, physical activities Merrian Webster Dictionary: a girl who behaves in a manner usually considered boyish

They are playing with the irony a lot, saying they are not dolls while dressing or acting like one... or even transforming themselves into dolls. (And while being dolls, still in charge of the situation with the kidnapping/killing scene).

You find this mix between girly clothes and more masculine ones: Leather jackets but with pink or fishnets, ripped black jeans with [bloody] pearls and fitted jackets showing the abs/[revealing skin].

They're not saying to not wear these things, but that they'll wear them if they WANT TO. If people or men tell them to wear this stuff, they say no. But in the MV they're wearing them because they WANT TO. This reminds me of CLCs “No” which Soyeon also wrote.

Even the actions are contradictory, Minnie is acting like a doll in a girl's room while shooting a gun, Soyeon is putting [on] lipstick and then throwing a knife or being in the kitchen and "killing" a Ken. (p.s. There are Ken and Barbie heads, body parts, and eyeballs in the kitchen scene.)

This is why Soyeon says: "You get what I mean Tomboy?" And "Neither a man nor a woman, Just me Idle". They are talking about a behaviour...

Being girls and "acting" like girls while also doing and liking masculine things, and more important, taking control or dominance of the situation.

TOMBOY is breaking stereotypes/limitations women have in society and in the industry. Even when Soyeon was a trainee and said she wanted to be a producer like Zico or GD, everyone told her she couldn't because she was a girl. And she proved them wrong lol

Also I'm taking into account that they are one of the few gg who produces their own songs, a thing that [is] not common in Kpop.

Women taking spaces which are usually dominant of men while also plainly telling you “neither man nor woman”. It has a fluidity to it that is unmatched in current Korean pop music - self produced by the “girl group” (G)I-DLE. I LOVE THIS CONCEPT!