#i forgive non native speakers making this mistake when they speak english because i understand how that mistake happens.
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
There is a Rampant and Vicious Cycle in the Online Left That Needs to Be Addressed
Every leftist needs to understand that not every proclaimed leftist is a safe person or one that is acting in good faith. Many people in this sphere --even if they are minorities themselves-- are Abusers. Let me be clear: they are Abusers REGARDLESS of --NOT because of-- them being a minority. Despite this, many of them have weaponized their standing as a minority in order to get away with their behavior and achieve what they see as some form of power and control over others. Let me be clear. I am referring to those that:
Manipulate and lie about pressing situations (especially when it's to harm another person or demographic)
Excessively use idpol to either elevate themselves to holier than thou levels ("listen to ___ people but only when it's something I agree with, which just so happens to devolve from constructive change to making others grovel and plead forgiveness endlessly before me") or belittle others (ie their skin color, gender, queerness, disability, neurodivergence, religion, age, etc.) in order to discount their point or not treat them as equal human beings; yes, even if their skin tone is white or if they are men, abuse does not have to be backed up by systemic issues in order to be abusive or at the very least harmful (sidenote: this does not apply to people talking about their experiences as a minority that is otherwise not experienced or understood by others, the issue I'm pointing out is when it's twisted to cover everything not directly tied to their identity and proclaim themselves as the only ones allowed to be the voice of reason, therefore shutting up everyone else and to avoid any constructive criticism or discussion)
Act on rage and at times even trauma to bring forth harmful ideals (ex: truly hating every person of a demographic, wishing for a genocide, making actual death or rape threats towards someone or a group, conversion, etc)(sidenote: I'm not discounting those that have trauma and even have harmful thoughts, just please seek help and understand that it is not healthy nor sustainable to paint or alter reality to be in line with what trauma makes you believe)
Actively try to get others they don't agree with to either permanently leave the internet or commit suicide and even celebrate when either happens
Excessively test others on their "purity" on unachievable standards to the detriment of everyone and Leftism as a whole (purity culture is fueled by christian culture in order to disguise doomerism, accepting defeat when change is not possible, of which is the very thing that will kill leftism)
Infight over weird made up issues (remember how divide and conquer is a war strategy? To split hairs and discount others for non-issues is to do the work of conservatives and nazis for them)
Shut down people or discussions over minor slights such as using an incorrect word/phrasing or any numerous perceived mistakes (example I've seen here: berating a person with schizophrenia (or a trans person or any other minority) for using a derogatory term for themselves when they're talking about how everyone else is speaking over them and not listening), ignoring the hypocrisy or not taking into account any number of mundane causes such as non-native english speakers, generational gaps, being in the process of learning (either recovering from harmful beliefs or simple ignorance), using those terms to prove a point (such as that example I mentioned above), neurodivergence, etc.
Not letting others talk about their experiences of oppression when those experiences don't match theirs, instead opting to call those people bigoted for contrived reasons
A rejection of nuance, intersectionalism, and even reality to better suit their goals (ex: claiming that every trans man benefits from the patriarchy and can never experience misogyny)
Misuse of therapy speak and terminology in order to water down those terms and render them near meaningless so they can weaponize them under the pretense of their original use (ex: gaslighting), or to cut off any need to connect or sympathize with other human beings and instead speak to them like a PR message (refer to this video by Zena and Poppy for reference)
They never speak on true leftist/progressive ideals or positive change, they only engage in destructive discourse or any behavior listed above
Making baseless dangerous accusations towards someone they don't like. Before you go harr harr you're doing that, I'm not calling out any specific person and am merely listing dangerous behaviors I've seen people here act out. What I am referring to are when someone casually calls someone specific a predator (or whatever else) with absolutely zero proof and expecting everyone to believe them no questions asked. This has been shown to ruin people's lives
Any other similar behaviors not included in this list (as well as classic logical fallacies), but what I've mentioned above should paint you a good picture
Every example I've pointed out were REAL EVENTS I've seen from people that proclaim themselves as leftists or even just progressive, and sometimes are even minorities themselves (some even infight against their own communities using the behaviors listed above, often out of internalized bigotry)(an example of a real event that happened here recently were when several people were making rape threats towards a trans man by the username of @a-faggot-with-opinions). To be blunt, I'm pointing out exclusionism in practically every form, asexual discourse, transandrophobia, TERFs/radfems, TEHMs, tankies, "cornbreadtube", nationalists and ethnonationalists, and all else I don't have the terminology for For many of the people that fall under that bullet list I would hesitate to even refer to them as leftist or progressive, as they never seem to actually show they act on it or even believe in it, only making an appearance in those communities for their own destructive personal gain; hell, often times they have ideals that directly go against what those communities stand for! Examples include TERFs with white supremacist beliefs, transandrophobes that are misogynistic, ethnonationalists that are antisemitic, puritans that are ableist, the list goes on forever. Once you know what to look for, you can see the hidden or overt bigotry behind their false "progressive" statements
No one is infallible No one is better than everyone else You are not immune to propaganda No one is immune from behaving abusively
These people are dangerous, whether they actually qualify as abusers --as I've been referring to them as such for brevity and impact-- or are people that are engaging in hurtful or fully abusive behavior (use this paragraph as a disclaimer, I of course can't know if someone is an abuser in real life unless there is documented evidence of such). Regardless, they are hurting the left and are letting the right win
If you see any of these behaviors either 1) take caution if you're unsure, 2) block them, or 3) if you have the fortitude, call them out. Either way, use your best judgement and think for yourself (or discuss with good faith leftists if you're uncertain). And remember, often times (albeit not always) they are actually fully aware of their disgusting behavior and are choosing to act maliciously, not ignorantly.
Stay safe, log off, do what you can to support your local community and leftism as a whole, don't let these people distract from the real issues at hand. Have empathy, if you don't have empathy then act in compassion, if you don't or refuse to do either please do not engage in politics. Misanthropy has no place in matters concerning humanity.
And remember: we have to stand together in unity so we can create a better future for all
#politics#leftism#online left#discourse#tw abuse#tw rape mention#tw genocide mention#tw bigotry#racism#transphobia#transandrophobia#purity culture#vent#this goes for several issues I haven't mentioned whether due to a lack of proper wordage or expertise due to not being part of those groups#I'm a non-native english speaker who is autistic be aware of that if I do misphrase something#Poppy and Zena: Wholesome Degenerates is an excellent youtube channel please check them out#if anyone argues here in bad faith feel free to use this post as a free block list#had so much to say but now I can get back to shitposting les go
282 notes
·
View notes
Text
How I Learned Spanish
One of my superpowers is that I speak Spanish. No one expects it and I regularly surprise those who hear me for the first time. After asking me where I come from (shocker - not from a Spanish-speaking area or family), the second question people always ask is how did I learn? That is what I want to share today.
To start, allow me to share that I am a non-native Spanish speaker. I learned the language as an adult. I started learning at 20 or 21. In the beginning it was just to make jokes with coworkers and learn the curse words. Soon enough, it became an interest and a passion. I developed a love for the language.
Soon, I discovered that language is not just a combination of words. It is an expression of culture. Many words do not have direct translations, from English to Spanish, and vice versa. When you learn Spanish, you learn the words of course, but you also learn new meanings. You start to see your own native language differently. It is a journey not a destination.
So, how did I do it? Below, I will share what worked for me. I must note though that I did not necessarily learn in this order. Instead, these are all methods that I incorporated into my education. Start with what makes sense for you. Leave what doesn't resonate. There is no wrong way.
1. Music Videos with Lyrics
I give this suggestion to everybody. It is fun, and it is relatively easy.
Go to YouTube. Search for Spanish songs with lyrics ("con letra"). If you don't like the first song, keep searching. Search for genres that you like. Don't listen to something because you have to. Rather, listen to it because you enjoy it and want to learn it. That will make the learning easier.
While listening, pause the video as needed and translate what you need.
There are many benefits to learning the music. You learn how people actually speak. You learn the cadence of language. You learn slang. You learn vocabulary that isn't in your study books. Instead of learning rote rules (which are important but they have their time and place), you learn actual natural language. Also, I have discovered that learning music helps you remember the words. Catchy songs are great.
2. Listen to people or songs or shows, even if you don't understand.
Learning Spanish was never easy for me but it was convenient. I worked in restaurants and half of the staff and customers spoke the language. So, I had access to the language. What helped me is that I listened intently to what they were saying. I didn't do this to be nosey but to aide my understanding. I started to notice common sounds and words. Once I got those down, I could understand the basic gist of conversations. Eventually, I could understand full sentences (sometimes).
After all, learning in a class setting or language app doesn't necessarily translate to understanding. It usually leads you to passing a quiz that you forget a week later. Active listening exposes you to how the language is officially spoken, not just textbook pronunciations. (By the way, people don't usually speak according to the textbooks!)
3. Speak the language
This seems easy. Of course, you are going to speak the language when you are learning it. Right? It's actually harder than it seems. In the beginning, I was so nervous about speaking that I was afraid to do it. I did it anyway. I probably sounded horrible. In fact, I know I did. People laughed when I spoke. And not because I was telling jokes. I said the wrong things. I misunderstood conversations. However, I persisted.
The more you speak, the better you get. Sure, you are sloppy in the beginning, but you improve. Besides, you have to start somewhere. Face your fears. Sound silly. It doesn't matter. It will help your advancement.
4. Purchase some grammar books
So far, I have highlighted some advantages of learning the natural way people speak, of learning what the textbooks won't teach you. However, grammar rules are important. In the beginning, people forgive you for your mistakes, but you do need to learn the official rules of language.
I am not suggesting expensive textbooks. You can go on Amazon and get a couple of books for $20-$30 each. Learning Spanish, I think I purchased 4 books in all. One for Verbs and Tenses. One for Adjectives. "Breaking out of Beginner Spanish" (I highly recommend). " One for Spanish Idioms. They were all great but the Spanish Idioms one was a bit difficult. Each region uses different idioms and it is difficult to know which ones are universal. Try them out but a native Spanish speaker from Mexico may not understand an idiom from Spain. The other three books are fundamental, though.
5. Don't give up.
Some days I felt great. Some days I felt horrible. The more I learned, the more I realized I didn't know. Some days it felt that as soon as I grasped one concept, I completely forgot another. In fact, 14 years later, I still have more to learn. Speaking Spanish is hard, yet completely worth it. It exposes you to different worlds and cultures. When you feel like giving up, take a brief step back and take a break. But never give up. Keep going. The more you practice, the better you will become. The more you practice, the easier it will be. You can do it.
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
Talking about the smidgens we saw of Gale, the wizard of Waterdeep.
[Baldur’s Gate 3 Early Access Spoilers]
Updated, AGAIN, because the hell of new aspects we saw when some bugs were sorted out. Warning: all this analysis was done for game versions 4.1.83 and 4.1.84
Well, I had to rewrite all this because the explorations of dialogue options and the bugs being, somehow, solved, allowed me to see small details from Gale that stand out or end up being more than curious to me. I'll list his main features to make things short (hopefully), and useful for... eventual fics:
Gale is a char who approves any good treatment to animals (and creatures in general). He has a cat, a Library, and writes poetry sometimes.
He doesn't like gratuitous murdering which is implied in the anecdote he told us about how he stopped a massacre in a Waterdeep city inn just by buying a round to everyone. It is also implied in his approval in most situations; even in the one with the ogres having sex.
He gives you disapproval most of the time if you use violence and intimidation as your first approach in solving a situation. He prefers eloquence, diplomacy, and negotiation. However, he is flexible enough to approve a performance-intimidation in front of goblins to avoid bloodshed. Point (2) is primary. So... he truly is a pragmatic char. It's not white and black: “never use intimidation/lie” or that kind of over-simplistic view.
He likes logical and reasonable conversations. An action that earned his disapproval can be undone if the main char (MC) talks to him and explains their reasons. You can disagree with him without having approval penalties most of the time. You can question many situations and, as long as it remains a mental exercise, there are no penalties. That surprised me a lot. Most characters disapprove you if you wonder about a potential situation, but Gale no. He is the scholar, he will allow a safe space to think around things without being too judgemental. We will see if this attitude lasts in the full game. No wonder some players see in him “the Teacher” archetype. Quite so.
He was an Arch wizard while being Mystra's Chosen One, and fell from grace when she put him aside. What is hard for me to grasp is if he remained Chosen One and therefore able to cast silver-fire during that intermediate period when he stopped having Mystra's whispers and his folly with the netherese taint. We know that in that moment Mystra removed herself from his life completely. But before, she has only stopped whispering and sleeping with him. So far I understand, being her Chosen One doesn't imply sleeping with her, most of the time.
He was a teacher (not surprising, since his over-explanation vices and details such as the pronunciation of “Trashj” make us suspect it), and had some students that he could not keep longer since their ineptitudes irked him.
Unlike the stereotypical “scholar” type, he knows how to cook, since he has been doing stews for the party in the camp. He also loves baths. A bit siding with the stereotypical “scholar” type, but a nice change for a “standard adventurer” type, in which most of the time it is implied that they are stinky with “animalistic” scents and uglier descriptors. No, Gale likes his lavender-scented baths. Good.
He is an over-thinker strategist. And also a char who takes responsibility for his own mistakes to the point that, when he dies for the first time, a programmed image is activated to help anyone to revive him. Despite the fact that he is dead and can give a shit about that, he is still responsible of the catastrophe that may happen if that weird magic orb stuck in his chest erupts.
He is also forcing me to check the dictionary like no other game has done in a while... the fucker uses uncommon words a lot of the time. Smidges? really? Gale is a hard char for a non native English speaker.
We can assume that during his teenage time, he was a pretty prideful peacock to the point to be blind at the reality (well, yeah, he romanced a goddess; if that doesn't give you a hell of a ego boost...) He remembers his young self's pride with a thick level of regret. He is now a mature scholar that, for a change, does not patronise you or thinks of himself better than anyone. Sure, he over-explains a lot, but that's something that most scholars/teachers do when they are worried that, maybe, they won't be understood.
He is confident in his years of study (for that reason he is a capable wizard despite having lost Mystra's favours), but he acknowledges his limits. Which is a nice change to see in the “scholar” archetype, the typical know-it-all. He knows a lot, he knows that he knows (it would be ridiculous to hide his knowledge), but he is human, and like he says: “humans are fallible”. However, it’s more than obvious that he has a big ego for everything he does, which makes sense since he follows a motto in his life: “try to excel at everything”. High accomplished scholar lifestyle, indeed.
If you don't share the Weave with him, he will state that nights are lonesome. It seems he truly is looking for some connection with a keen fellow mind. Probably it's this loneliness which triggers his urge to see Mystra's face during the night. We also know he, in general, lives in constant fear due to the Netherese taint in his chest. So, very lonely, and very scared.
I don't know if this is his poet side unable to be switched-off or it's another implication of how he sees sexual encounters: he never says sex (at least in my many runs, he never did it). He always gets around the word: love-making, art of the body, intimacy. For a scholar who is so prone to use the technical word for everything, and has already stated he is not coy at all, the use of these metaphors make me wonder if it's because he always conceives sex as something more than mere physical pleasure. For him, it seems to come with a more emotional connection (which makes sense if we think he will only sleep with those who connected to him through the Weave). Another small detail that may confirm this is when he asks the MC if the “other night” was wonderful. If MC claims it was “fun”, Gale shows a certain degree of uneasiness by that word choice, making us infer that he certainly doesn’t see sex as “fun” but as something else, deeper.
His tadpole dreams are about Mystra (rather obvious). His most desperate desire is forgiveness. Mystra's forgiveness.
Mystra was his first love. The affair did not last long. And since soon after her abandonment he looked for the Primal Weave book and was infested by it; one could assume he has been focused on solving his problem for the rest of his life than putting some energy in romance, especially if we think about (13). It's hard to say with certainty (especially with banters like these), but since he is a char that you can only sleep with if you share a mind-connection through the Weave, it seems less plausible that he could encourage into casual relationships during all this period of his life looking for a solution to the Netherese orb. If he got previous relationships, they may have been meaningful, but clearly not enough to win over the goddess’ and his urges to see her, lol.
He did not mind Mystra having many other lovers besides him. It seems to be the same with the MC, since he will insist in sleeping with them even after the party and even after the MC slept with someone else (however, that only occurs if the romantic connection through the Weave happened.) This fact combined with (13) and (15) make me wonder if he certainly wants to be with the MC too badly, even in an open relationship. We need to see the rest of his romance to be sure.
Since he looks for forgiveness so desperately, he is a char who will forgive most mistakes made by the MC if they acknowledge them.
He is a char who knows how grey and complex situations can be. This is inferred by the way he speaks of the tiefling girl who tried to steal the idol in the Grove: “She is not innocent, but that doesn't mean she is guilty.” (of course there is a lot of self projection there). This is also implied in his (surprising) approval of raising Mayrina's husband and giving her the control wand to search for a solution in Neverwinter. That shows that he can accept the fuckest weirdest situations, recognising that “sometimes we can’t choose situations but we can try to do our best, not always having the best results”. Also self-projection.
He appreciates his privacy to the point to leave the MC if the abuse of the tadpole power continues. However, and honouring (4), you can abuse of these powers and convince him with reasons: if you don't lie to him and explain that you have a responsibility with the group to know what happens with his secret, he will understand, and despite disapproving the MC actions, will remain without major troubles.
Certainly, as long as you give him reasons and logical concepts, he can almost understand everything with no disapproval or at least little one.
Consent and negotiation are vital to him, apparently. However, this aspect reaches a flaw. He was too angry with Nettie when she almost killed the MC, and he made a short speech about how nobody has the right to decide your options for you. Yet, in his romance scene, we see that he deliberately hid his true relationship with Mystra and his bomb-condition in order to sleep with the MC. In fact, during the party, if the MC tells him that doubts if he is the one they want, Gale will drop a curious argument: “That’s because you’ve yet to find out what your’re missing” (implying that he himself is what you need), followed by his most curious “Doubt is a spoilsport. Cast it aside”. That coming from a scholar is rotten, lol. He tries every convincing argument to sleep with the MC (if they shared the moment of the Weave, of course)
This happens in every variation of the path: whether the MC sleeps with him in the party, or afterwards, Gale will always wait for sharing a night with the MC before speaking the truth. It's hard to read this aspect since, he is a char who, apparently, needs a mind-connection with his partner for intimacy (see (12) and (13)); so this terrible strategy is like his way of trying to guarantee that the MC will not abandon him. I guess there is something along those line, specially if we keep in mind the book he explained: a book which is not only about the art of the body and the night and sex, but of other things such as conversation, exploration, and acceptance of oneself and the other. He is expecting with this night to reach the MC to a certain degree of intimacy in which, despite the raw truth, the acceptance will prevail. Remembering (16), he truly wants to sleep with the MC, baaaadly. And somehow everything feels like he wants to push things in a subtle way to a certain degree of commitment. Following the concept in (12), I think he has been alone for too long, and desperately needs someone in his lonesome nights and in helping him to deal with his burden. Finding someone who connected to him through the Weave (such a personal experience for him as it is) made him a bit desperate or eager. We know his emotion for the MC may have grown over those days since the connection with the Weave. In two occasions he or the MC can ask if both of them think about that moment. Gale says yes with such enthusiasm, that it may imply...that maybe, he has been thinking about that more times than he truly wants to tell the MC. The Weave moment had such a strong effect on Gale that, if the MC spent the night with another companion and rejects Gale’s proposition later, he will trail off a sentence that implies he was convinced that the MC and he were heading into something serious and deep.
Of course, once he sleeps with the MC, he confesses the truth right afterwards, accepting--without approval penalties--the harshest responses that the MC can give. He clearly knows that such manoeuvre was truly disloyal, especially contrasting it with all his speech of consent and rights to know about the true situation one is in. In the next morning, he acknowledges it was a rotten thing to do and apologies. But this shows that his principles can be bend and even be broken when it comes to emotions. I'm still a bit wary of his emotional stability, what can I say.
Mystra is more than an ex-lover for him, it’s magic. And Magic is everything for him, even more than life. I wonder if, given the opportunity, Mystra forgives him and asks him to return to her side, would he accept it without second thoughts leaving the romanced MC? It's true he also acknowledges that all that fascination he had with the goddess was a product of his youth; he knows he was a plaything in her hands. But I don't see he got over with it. He still idealises her, as such a good poet does. Idealisation, especially when a Goddess is involved, is a terrible thing to fight against for the next partner. No matter what speech of loyalties and consent he states during the whole game, the MC knows that magic and Mystra are Gale's Achilles’ heel, and factors in which they can’t predict his behaviour.
We also know that, because his bomb-condition, he tries to take all the opportunities to enjoy the little things of life that make him human.
Gale is a straightforward and honest (mostly, let's say) char. But we can see that he prefers to be honest in most situations, except in his Achille’s heel. Even when he wanted to hide all the stuff about the bomb in his chest, he did it by explicitly warning us that he was hiding something he did not want to talk about. Which is an honest approach considering the hardcore burden he carries and the immediate rejection it can mean if the truth unfolds too quickly among strangers.
When it comes to concepts, Gale has the symbol of the storm attached to him. So far, we see he talks comparing things with storms or storm elements: his lack of knowledge to explain why they are not Mind Flayers yet: the silence before the storm; the fear that rushes into his body when the Weave orb asks him for magic to consume: the thunder of a storm reverberating in his soul, the day it will erupt: the lightning striking, the consumption of magic: water running through a sore throat, Life itself: a tempest. When he asked the player if they were a wizard, he explains that he needs an Arch wizard and compares them with a Tempest. If we see the main image of Baldur's gate 3, it's clear that his main element is electricity/storm... so... full witch-bolt-guy here.
[updated later] The Weave moment is important to romance Gale. Leaving the moment in ambiguity will give the MC another opportunity to make their intentions clear during the scene of the Loss. However, remaining vague will lock Gale into a friendship path. What happens during this scene may suggest that the ambiguity in the Weave was enough to keep Gale thinking about the romantic possibility, but he will not engage into it by his own, which confirms (15). Unless the opportunity presents itself clearly before him, he will not pursue the MC. Further details [here].
Last moment detail: Gale says “I cherish you” when he explains he will await death alone if the Netherese orb goes out of control. I was not sure if that meant something more or less than love or like (I can’t not overlook the subtle meaning of the words coming from Gale’s mouth, he is a poet and his word choices matter). Checking the dictionary I found that “cherish” (in a relationship) is defined as to hold or to treat as dear, to feel love for and to care for someone deeply and tenderly. This man went straight into a commitment relationship without thinking it twice, and without (I believe) the MC knowing it either xD.
Let's see how these characteristics shift or develop deeper once the full game is out there. Now we have to wait a lot :(
To see videos where all this stuff is inferred or explicitly said, you can check [here]
More videos added later [here] and [here]
More content of bg3 in general [here]
102 notes
·
View notes
Note
hey Rivkah! I've seen you post about having career goals related to linguistic anthropology and you've also posted that discrimination, especially linguistic discrimination, is one of the worst things about society your opinion. I was wondering if you had any ideas about how one could counter linguistic discrimination, either as part of a career or on the side. I'm especially interested in hearing your thoughts on how one might be able to do this outside of doing ling anth in academia.
Hi honey! I’m really honored to receive this question because it’s so insightful and dedicated to something I’m incredibly passionate about. It overlaps with sociology, law, and politics. So, first I’ll talk about what I’m personally planning to do outside of/past academia, and then I’ll talk about other avenues one can take, both on a large and small scale.
Right now, my goals are to be either a medical or legal interpreter, and I’m leaning toward the latter. What that means, for those that don’t know, is that I want to go through a graduate degree or certificate program in order to be certified to translate specific languages orally in a highly specialized workplace, namely a hospital or a courtroom.
The reason why I’m so passionate about this job is because, while we have laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (which prohibits discrimination based on “national origin,” which is closely tied to the native language you speak) we still see a lot of prejudice and violence against people who choose to speak their native/a different language on their own terms in public.
More specifically, what I aim to do is make it easier for non-native English speakers (especially, but not limited to, immigrants) receive the same services all people have a right to but they may have difficulty getting, such as medical attention or accurate legal representation. Interpretation is incredibly high stakes in my eyes because you have to translate automatically, in person, with a lot of pressure on you to do it quickly and accurately. And that’s really scary, but to me, what’s scarier is that someone might not be getting the care they need or be understood in a courtroom, and that could impact their health, their safety, their freedom, or their ability to get justice.
While someone might not necessarily be actively sabotaged in a courtroom or a hospital, those are high profile environments with a lot of pressure, and not a lot of time for patience and forgiveness if you’re trying to get through a case or to the next patient. The odds are stacked against someone who doesn’t have the specific vocabulary needed to accurately describe their symptoms or deliver their testimony.
And that’s not even counting the ingrained and/or active biases that are found on a serious level in the United States healthcare and justice systems. One of the reasons I’m leaning toward legal interpretation is because I would love to be employed by an organization that protects immigrants from being exploited or abused by our current administration. And that’s so much easier to do when you have bilingual representation to fight with you for your rights.
So, that’s a little background on what I’m specifically studying and fighting for. Here are just a few quick bullets that I always tell people when talking about linguistic discrimination and our role in it.
On a large scale, you can:
Go into a career like mine (law, interpretation, translation, etc) that focuses on combating it.
Support political campaigns and anti-discrimination bill campaigns by volunteering your time to organizations like the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) and RAICES (Refugee And Immigrant Center for Education and legal Services)
SPEAKING OF WHICH, if you’re like me and you use Lyft, you can donate to RAICES with each Lyft Ride. They’ll round up to the nearest dollar on your fee and donate that extra. All you have to do is go to the app and opt in under “Donate.”
Attend conferences, meetings, workshops, and rallies that center around this topic and intersecting ones that you may be interested in.
Volunteer your time to places like housing projects. This is something that I’m on an email/calling list to do. Specifically for me, it’s the Boston Housing Authority, and their volunteers send in a resume, state which languages they have high proficiency in (mine is currently only Spanish) and then attend a training to understand how to do it accurately and with cultural sensitivity. It’s great practice if you need to polish your language skills, are planning to go into a career like mine, or want to use highly-specialized vocabulary. I’ve had to pick up a lot of words that have to do with landlords, rent, housing laws, etc. A lot of the people serviced by the BHA are immigrants or non-native speakers and struggle with things such as reading official letters or making appointments with native English speakers. When they struggle to do this, they’re more likely to get taken advantage of by landlords, evicted unfairly, or mistreated.
Support (through volunteering, donating, etc) indigenous or indigenous-helping groups that combat issues ranging from seizure of land in the Amazon to indigenous groups working on their terms to preserve/revitalize their language(s). It’s really easy for indigenous voices to
On a small (but equally important) scale, you can:
Call out linguistic discrimination that you see, such as people denying individuals service based on hearing them speak in another language, or unnecessarily bothering them in public. Whenever possible, take video of the incident.
Have polite and informed discussions with people who want to know more about it or might not understand why it’s a problem. This is particularly important to have with kids, and while I was volunteering/teaching Hebrew I made sure that it was integrated into the lessons.
Remain informed on cases involving linguistic discrimination.
Call your representatives when cases come up concerning linguistic discrimination or immigration policy.
Vote for representatives who believe in acceptance and equality for people who come from different backgrounds/languages.
Boycott/denounce companies and organizations that improperly handle workplace/customer discrimination or instigate it themselves.
Follow native speakers, particularly indigenous individuals and/or minority language speakers, as well as linguistic/social activists and journalists/academics, on your social media feeds (my preferred one to check is Twitter) for updates and opinions on issues that may help you get more informed outside of a classroom/professorial setting.
Be aware of the kinds of resources you should reach out to (administration, superiors, HR, etc) should you find yourself experiencing or watching someone experience linguistic discrimination.
Disclaimer: before stepping into any confrontations, make sure you assess the danger of the situation (this where it’s really good to go to trainings to learn how to handle these kinds of situations). Your goal is to always de-escalate and make the person being discriminated against safer, as well as of course keeping yourself safe too. If there’s violence or anyone is in immediate danger, call the authorities and document whatever you can safely. I’ve only ever seen people being verbally abused for their use of their language(s), but it’s a scary world out there right now.
Overall, it’s really important to remember that this kind of discrimination does not exist in a vacuum and almost always has ties/roots in other forms of discrimination and racism. While it may seem like you’re only doing something small by stepping into and diffusing confrontation/condemning discrimination, you’re having a ripple effect that lets people who linguistically discriminate know that they should be ashamed of their words/actions.
ALSO, friendly reminder that people who discriminate/harass someone for speaking in another language, having an accent, etc, are not entitled to be put up with due to free speech. That isn’t what it means.
A couple more resources on language discrimination in the workplace:
Language Discrimination & Workplace Fairness
Legal Aid at Work
World Language Education: Preventing Linguistic Discrimination
THIS IS BY NO MEANS ALL-ENCOMPASSING! It is also fed by the researched but incomplete knowledge I have on the subject as a non-expert and a student who is aspiring to meet these kinds of goals. Because I’m a student, I’m always learning, and that means growth must sometimes take the place of changing things I thought I knew and admitting mistakes.
If you have anything else you want to add to this, please feel free to message me or reply/reblog.
If you see any inaccuracies, incomplete information, or other concerns/issues with what I’ve written here, please take the time to contact me and educate me!
I hope this is a good answer and satisfactorily answered your question, @stressfulsemantics ? Please feel free to ask any follow-up or message me for anything you may need!
#stressfulsemantics#rivkah answers#linguistic anthropology#interpretation#about me#career goals#linguistic discrimination#i am so sorry i have been awol so much yall this summer has been pretty freaking crazy and i'm leaving for boston tomorrow#WOOT
24 notes
·
View notes
Text
A couple of months ago, after finishing COUNTER/Weight, I spent about a week in a total hangover, relistening to scenes and having feelings. I took some notes, but procrastinated posting them, and then finally got distracted. But, a) I hate leaving things I intended for tumblr unposted, even if they have value only for me, and b) I also hate posting things out of order, and there's a big TM liveblog incoming. So, here's a bunch of really random thoughts about C/w from past me.
The gnosis virus did go nowhere huh. I was hopeful for a minute when one of the finale intros mentioned it, but that was it. What was the purpose of that arc even. [Note from present me: Lol. At least I feel better about this one!]
Oh, and the patch AuDy left never reappeared either. And the idea from the faction game that Aria's images owned by EarthHome/Petrichor transmit Rigour code… That's the flip side of the coin. On the one hand, it's really cool to see the creative process – on the other, it sometimes feels like you're listening to people write a script for the tv show, but only get to see a half of the finished product. It's fascinating to see the universe grow organically and the players to come up with new ideas and get excited about them – but that means numerous retcons, some of them not even presented as such, because the creators forgot what the previous revision was or didn't thought it was important. It's a unique feature of the medium that player choice directs the narrative and it's not bound by railroading – but that means some roads lead nowhere, and some branches dry and fall off.
It's a bit harder to make peace with something that could have easily been developed more within the existing plot of the show. How come there's a player character whose consciousness consists of three different people in various combinations, but nobody seems to be curious how that works? No PC or NPC ever asked “Which one of you is speaking right now?” or something. The final episodes made a lot of things clearer, but it still felt too little, too late. Hard not to be reminded of that gripe about certain two characters sharing one character sheet one of whom was left underdeveloped and half-forgotten… Both are very ambitious concepts that require a double amount of work from the player, so I feel bad complaining they weren't realized to full potential, but…
Speaking of L&D… I still want to know how the hell did that one engineer all by herself design 4 gods, one of which became a basis for technology that was advanced even for the civilizations 80,000 years later? This woman singlehandedly surpassed any technological achievement of humanity before and after. Who Is She
I saw a “Wake me up: before you go go / when september ends / wake me up inside” meme and thought “heh, this sounds relevant, which member of the Chime is which?” and it already made me sad, but then I realized that I'd never actually heard the september song and looked it up and. The lyrics fit so well. What the fuck. It's an old song everyone keeps joking about. Why is it appropriate for a legitimate fanmix. What. I guess the word “September” will never be the same again for me.
I looked up the rules for Firebrands, the game used for the finale. Oh my, challenges for the dance minigame are so overtly romantic when you see them in a list together! Imagine this cast of characters having to answer to “do you place your hand upon my elbow, shoulder, waist, or hip?” lmao. Also I didn't realize “May I?” was part of the rules for “stealing time together”. (And I found out there's a party version of that minigame with bug-themed challenges. I might have dug too deep…) "Tactical skirmish" is a really fascinating concept, I've never seen such a masochistic combat system! Really faces the player with the violence they're inflicting: sure, you can always fight on, but are you ready to live with what you'll have to do? But for it to work fully, you need a lot of non-expendable NPCs on both sides. The one with the most likeable team wins! (Like Mako did.)
I'm relistening to Three Conversations and it's pretty interesting that Ibex has a bunch perfectly lifelike android bodies, right? There is no such technology seen anywhere else. Did Righteousness develop and privatize that? Are they so complex that only a Divine would have enough computing power to successfully mimic organic life? Can Aria convince Righteousness to help her perform on stage without leaving her duties? Also, like with AuDy, I wonder how Ibex & Righteousness' consciousness works. Is it a single mind, spread across every body he has, or even anything Righteousness is running on, having a bunch of different conversations at once if he needs to? Or is the original Ibex just gone, and what's left is a personality imprint hanging on to the connection to his still living body, imitating his former self like the automated recording Cass saw wore his face? In other words, has Ibex completely fused with Righteousness, or assimilated and destroyed by it? Does he not exist anymore as an independent singular being, or does he not exist at all? Most info indicates the former, but there was also “You’re not in there anymore” “No”.
If Orth and Jace are anime fans with their Kingdom Come and Panther, then Ibex is the guy who's way too into dinosaurs or paleontology. It's as if the heads of various confessions were called Triceratops, Stegosaurus etc. and only one of them knows wtf that means, and also he compares his Divine to… Were there scavenging dinosaurs? I'm looking at an article that suggests T. Rex might have been a scavenger, so yeah he would compare Righteousness to a goddamn T. Rex.
Hey what do you think is the most thematically aproppriate part of the Hieron anime for Orth to watch alone at night during the Kingdom game. What's the best thematic parallel for when he turns off the episode and thinks he made a mistake. Do you think that he once, after a long day and a long month and maybe a long year of feeling helpless and doomed, sits down for a distraction but ends up sobbing “How could they let this happen to Mother Glory”
On Joypark, there are definitely statues of Eidolons, ancient and holy, that were repainted and repurposed as Hieron deities. Imagine a giant Greek or Roman style marble statue of Apote – and it’s painted over as Samot, with an anime face and in really bright plain colors like these “reconstructions of original coloring” that actually only use base colors so they look like cheap action figures.
I was reading Austin's top ten games of 2016 list on Waypoint and he gave first place to The Sprawl! Aww!
The Downloads folder in my phone gallery is funny bc it mostly consists of every freely available f@tt map and also that one photo of Tristan Walker (because I tried to redraw it, very unsuccessfully). I go check a map and every time am met by Ibex just. staring at me. It's unsettling
Some of the many options for how Apostolosian gender could have been presented:
Apostolosians prefer to be addressed by the most neutral available human pronoun, represented as "they" in English, because the human languages don't have anything close enough
Apostolosian pronouns are represented in English by a set of real-life common pronouns and neopronouns
There's a list of Apostolosian pronouns and they're just used in English verbatim (Really impractical because the players need a cheat sheet, but the most fair)
Humans apply human genders to Apostolosians. Apostolosians may be offended, may find it convenient, or something else
As Austin said in the post-mortem, the Eidolon system is not gender. It's represented in English by titles/honorifics/etc
Any of the above, and the creators are aware of the difference between personal pronouns, grammatical gender, and social gender
And that’s not even touching the core problem of what the concept of gender in a futuristic, techonologically advanced society would look like. Yes, I'm complaining about this for the third time but I'm just. So tired of native English speakers' takes on gendered language. They could have made Apostolosian gender look like anything and they made it look like that fucking mess... God, I really hope TM is good enough to make me forget and forgive the experience of listening to “he... sorry, they” for 100 hours. [Note from present me: Well… mostly]
Here’s my take on this: eidolons in Apostolosian language are absurdly broad noun classes with associated classifiers (which fits both the idea that they’re gender but not actually, and that each of them is a patron to several unrelated aspects of life) Apostolosian: the word “(Apo)thesa” is used to refer to people who follow the corresponding eidolon, as well as for counting buildings, heavy machinery, military units, specific strategies and tactics, log entries, historical documents and chronicles, history textbooks and monographs, and eras :) Human: what the fuck
Very critical, imaginative worldbuilding in which 80,000+ years into the future humanity somehow has 21st century gender and 21st century capitalism! TBH, I find any sci-fi set in the far future inherently silly – we can’t really imagine the future technogy and its effect on society. But it feels like C/w barely even tried, and to hear it boast about “critical worldbuilding” is kinda strange. I assumed that meant they build the world critically, not that they recreate modern society or some aspect of it and criticize that! It’s just another Star Trek then! And it was already clear right during the setup when they said “We don’t want Star Trek aliens” and immediately created Apostolosians.
I haven't seen a single piece of fanart with Taako and Mako. Come on, does nobody want to see these two next to each other! Especially considering the outfits artists like to put Taako in!
I really don't understand how and why people do fandom activities on Twitter and Discord where the creators also have accounts. It gives me so much secondhand embarrassment. I can barely peek at Twitter posts before running away. Old-fashioned opinion apparently but I strongly believe the main fandom space and the interaction-with-original-creators space should be separate. I need a space where I can voice my opinions, especially negative ones, with complete freedom. I need to be able to say exactly what's on my mind. But I wouldn't want any of the people on the podcast to read something unfiltered like my complaints above. Being in the same space as the source content creators obliges any decent person to be diplomatic and constructive. And the creators, in turn, need a space where they don't come across complete randos yelling at them about something they said in a podcast three years ago. I'm already feeling uncomfortable because hearing to strangers pour their hearts out for hundreds of hours gives me way too much insight on who they are as people. Of course, nothing’s stopping them from lurking on Tumblr or AO3 and even reading this very post, but a platform where they have official accounts is still a different thing! I even feel uncomfortable talking about the podcast creators using their first names so much. To my ear, referring to a total stranger by first name, especially if it's a shortened form, sounds so rude! I'm not their friend, I don't have that right! But, of course, writing something like “Mr Walker” in my liveblogs would have been even weirder, nobody does that...
Is it a common experience to not even think about fanfiction after listening to Hieron, but going straight to AO3 after C/w? I feel like since Hieron is still a work in progress, writing/reading about it is stepping on the GM&players' toes, and C/w is finished so it's like they gave us the keys to the playground, it's the fandom's turn now. This story has so much blanks and they must be filled! In one of the early episodes they joked that something cute they said would encourage people to ship Mako/Cass and I was like "Bold of you to assume they aren't already" and, indeed, I was right and it's the most popular C/w ship on AO3. Too bad I’m so indifferent to it…
It’s a shame we never had a full scene with Ariadne or even learned what they were up to during the finale.
I still don't understand how Ibex went from “evil CEO” to “leader of a proletarian revolution”, these sound like completely opposite concepts to me
I probably have talked about this too much and have pretty much given up on ever getting a clear picture due to all of these reimaginings but… Righteousness and Voice… Ibex takes Righteousness out of Mako but he still has Voice, that was pretty much openly stated, correct? So how does that work? I’m guessing Righteousness is hidden somewhere in Voice’s code. But if so:
Did Maryland know? On the one hand, she’s too competent not to. On the other, why would she ever allow or accept that?
How did Righteousness not get corrupted by Rigour too? Maybe it did, but broke off the connection with the rest of itself to contain the damage? Or maybe, on the contrary, it kept in contact and was sending intel to Ibex the whole time? But in that case he would have provided more help in the finale.
4 notes
·
View notes
Text
SHARING (ONESHOT) - JUNGKOOKxFEM!CHARACTER
Genre: escort!jungkook; fluff; COMEDY, light mentions of smut
{I’m not an english native speaker and I haven’t checked it before posting. Forgive my mistakes. Enjoy!}
- I bet everyone understands how I felt every damn time I went to my house and all my damn family asked me about my non-existent boyfriend. I was a doctor so I had no time to spare with men. Literally, my previous experiences had been all negative so I didn't really feel like sharing another one with one more fuckboy. And that was the answer I gave my parents everytime. But they weren't content with it.
"You're a grown woman." "When are we going to see our grandsons." Just thinking about that made my stomach turn upside down. Me? Children? Husband? Responsibilities? No, thanks, I already had too many with my patients and stuff. Plus, I wasn't THAT old. I was just thirty years old. I looked younger, though. Who said a woman has to get married early and have children to be a proper woman? If you're going to think like that, just go back to the fucking Middle Ages. Anyway, it got to the point where visiting my parents became a torture to me just because of that stupid question so I decided to come up with a solution. I literally had no male friends that could help me. Well, I had a few, but I couldn't trust them. If I asked them to be my fake boyfriend they would spread the news all around the city and I didn't want that. After speaking to my best friend, we realized there was only one possible solution. I was a doctor so I had quite a lot of money. That wasn't a problem. And after thinking and thinking and whole packages of cigarettes being literally depleted, I finally looked at myself in the mirror and made the decision. His office was... cute. I mean, cute for an escort. My strange imagination had made me think there would be dildos and handcuffs everywhere but there wasn't any. I was waiting on the couch when he finally made his appearance. He looked exactly like my friend had described him. Handsome, tall, dark. He was classy, though. His movements were fine and his little smile when his eyes were finally on me made my blush a bit. —Song Jaehee?— he asked. —If you are Jeon Jungkook, than that's me— I smiled. He chuckled.—That's me. Nice to meet you. We shook hands and he sat down. He asked me to explain what my situation was. —I've got annoying parents. They live in the countryside. Everytime I go to visit them, they ask me about my husband. Clearly, since I'm here, I don't have an husband nor a boyfriend. So I wanted to ask you to come along with me to visit them and pretend to be my boyfriend— I said, quickly. I somewhat felt embarrassed due to his gaze. As expected, he laughed.—This is the first time I am met with something like this!— he composed himself.—But let me ask you something inappropriate. How come you don't have a boyfriend even though you are so pretty? I wasn't the type to just blush and look away when people complimented me. I was most likely to make annoying ironical comments. And I did it in front of him, too.—Well, you know, not everyone has got good tastes. He smiled.—I know, I know. If people had good tastes, I would be a billionaire. —Aren't you?— I asked. —I'm not poor— he shrugged.—But I'm not a chaebol. I nodded and a few seconds passed. I felt like he was... analysing me? —How long is the visit to your parents? —Four or five days— I smiled at his face.—I know, that's a lot. But I see them rarely. —It's going to be tiring— he sighed sarcastically.—But I've got a great sixth sense and I feel like this is going to be fun. —I am an entertaining individual, so why not— I shrugged.—How much will you cost me? One arm? One leg? Both? He laughed.—A bit of your long hair will be enough— he commented.—Anyway, it depends on what you're looking for. But since we'll be in front of your parents, I guess you don't want to get intimate with me. —Unluckily for you, I don't. Sorry. He smiled.—That's your loss, not mine— he said.—Let's say 3000 dollars. I nodded.—I thought you would ask more. That's... a fair price. —Really?— he eyed me.—What do you do in your life? —I'm a doctor. —Wow! Doctor Song! I guess I'll come to you next time I feel sick. Tell me you're a gynecologist. I smirked.—I'm a cardiologist, so I hope you won't have to come to me. He nodded.—That's right. ____________________________________________________ We were in the car heading to my parents' house. He offered to drive, claiming my father wouldn't be happy to see the man standing and the woman driving. I had explained a few things about my household, mainly about my parents being... conservative. We spent some days together to get to know each other. He was really nice, actually. Apart from being an escort, he worked in a publishing house. He was the vice-director. We had some playful "dates" at his house where I even offered to check his health. My 3000 dollars were well spent, I thought. Also, the fact that they were not enough for the time he was giving me kept bothering me. —Are you an only child?— I asked. —No, I have an older brother. He is a soldier— he smiled. —Wow! A soldier! Let me meet him, so that we could play Decendants of the Sun together. Is he fine-looking? —I'm honestly better— he chuckled.—Also, my brother is veeeery serious. I don't think you'd get along with him well. —Are you implying I'm not a serious person?— I asked, fakely offended. —I'm not implying anything— he answered.—I just stated the truth. I scoffed.—I'm a doctor. I've got a reputation. How dare you offend me like that. —You know I'm joking— he smiled and placed his hand on my thigh. I stiffened automatically. He didn't seem bothered by his gesture nor by my reaction. Well, he was used to it. I wasn't, though. But if I said I didn't like it, I would be lying. I liked Jungkook... as a friend. I appreciated his company. I liked the attention he gave me. More than that, I liked the fact that he was giving me more attention than he should. I was aware of that, perfectly. I also wondered why he did that, but I guess the only precise answer I could obtain had to come from his mouth. I would ask him after the stay at my parents'. We arrived and my mother and my father were already outside waiting for us. I immediately felt embarrassed and I looked at him. —Please, if they say something stupid, don't mind them— I pleaded. He looked at me concerned.—Why are you so worried? Relax, sweetie. I shivered at the pet name and I rushed out of the car as soon as he parked. I ran to hug my momma and my papa. Even if they were annoying, I still loved them, and it was a pleasure to see them again. —Jaehee, it's been so long!— Mom cried drastically. —It's literally been two weeks— I laughed. I couldn't even complete my sentence, because mom pushed me aside to reack Jungkook. I could tell from her posture she was already head over heels for him. —Mom! Don't harass him too much— I joked. She grabbed his hand.—You... you are an angel sent from above. I swear. How could such a nice guy get paired up with my daughter? I sighed.—You don't even know him. —Shut up!— she said.—What's your name, boy? He bowed.—My name is Jeon Jungkook— he looked at my father for a second.—Nice to meet you. My father reached for him to shake his hand and I somehow felt emotional. Jungkook wasn't my real boyfriend. But it felt as if he was. He looked sincere. He seemed genuinely nervous. But then I shook my head and I remembered he wasn't accustomed to works like this. For God's sake, Jaehee, don't fantasize. ____________________________________________________ The days passed quite quickly... to my great regret. I was honestly having a lot of fun. The days at my parents' had never felt so cool. Mom loved Jungkook. Dad loved Jungkook. Jungkook loved them both. Also, you know, to make it more real, the boy occasionally grabbed my hand, ruffled my hair, kissed my cheek. The most shocking thing was that mom put us together in one room. With one bed. Jungkook obviously seemed fine with it. I didn't. I had literally never shared the bed with a man. Everytime I hooked up with someone, they either left of I did. Jungkook was being my first in too many things. And all of it combined together, made me feel things for him that I shouldn't. But I was a cardiologist. So I knew better than anyone that you can't control your heart. It was the last night and we were chilling on the couch, watching a film. I had my head on Jungkook's legs. Mom and dad were soon sleepy so they dismissed themselves and went to bed. We were left alone in the living-room but none of us spoke until the film ended. Jungkook stretched his arms and yawned. —What a loss of time. —Why? It was cool— I said, getting up. He followed my movements. —Not even one porn scene— he complained. I goggled.—I can't believe you're already undergoing abstinence from sex. —Four days is so much for me, you know— he smiled. —Can I help?— I joked. —Don't provoke me that much. I'm still a man and you're still a woman. Plus, we're on a couch in a dark room— he commented. —Moreover, my parents are upstairs! If you touch me, I'll get my daddy to kill you. —If I touch you, you'll think your daddy is somebody else— he smirked. I made a face.—Gross. But effective. —Let's go to bed, woman. —Wait— I grabbed his arm.—I need to ask you something. I gulped. The time had come. He looked at me with sleepy eyes.—Sure. —I... I don't really know how to say this— FUCK YOU! I AM HONESTLY SO FRUSTRATED BECAUSE OF YOU. I WANT YOU TO GET IN MY PANTS BUT I ALSO DON'T WANT TO. BECAUSE I AM A MESSY BITCH AND I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT I WANT FROM LIFE. JUST DEAL WITH IT. This is all I wanted to tell him but I couldn't because otherwise he would think I was a crazy idiot. —Speak with your own words, I'm all ears— he crossed his arm. His veins were popping. Fuck my life. —I... wanted to ask you...— I sighed.—Just, why did you make me pay, like, half the price I owe you? You've spent more than two weeks with me. I don't know about your... world. But I think you should have had more. He smiled.—Let's say I don't have a fixated menu. I value many things when I make up prices for my clients. If I happen to like them, the price goes down a lot. Because it's like they're already paying me a bit by keeping me company. I blushed. Did he just say he liked me or something?—Be honest. What was the real price? —10000 dollars. —WHAT!?— I screamed. He tapped my mouth.—Shit, woman, do you want your parents to wake up?! —Do you like me that much? He looked at me.—Please. I looked away and I nodded.—Well, that's not a problem. I like you a lot, too. I slapped myself mentally the moment I said it. I quoted the whole slang dictionary in that five seconds. My face was burning and I could feel his stare on me. How would I wrap that up? Simple. By running. I got up and ran towards the room. Unfortunately, before I could lock it up he managed to enter because he was obviously faster and stronger than me. Fuck my life. Fuck my mouth. Why did I say that? —Did you just confess?— he asked me, trapping me against the door. What kind of question was that? Dang, this boy didn't know any manners.—I didn't. I like you a lot... as a friend! You really are the best company, Jungkook. I was always a bad liar. In fact, he laughed.—You're a liar. You like me. I looked away. —A LOT!— he underlined. —Oh my God! Can you please fuck off? I want to go to bed and forget this embarassing moment forever. Thankfully it's over tomorrow. I brushed past him and headed towards the bed, totally awkward. I heard him laughing and I decided to ignore him even though I wanted to smack him. I was about to throw myself on the bed when I felt him grabbing my arm. He pulled me into his arms and... kissed me. The asshole kissed me. I pushed him away.—This is called sexual harassment! —You're so overdramatic! I was just confessing back— he justified himself. I pointed my finger at him.—Hell, no! You're going to be a man with attributes and say it straight to my face! He scoffed.—You're childish. I was acting like every man would. —Say it!— I insisted. He sighed and pinched my cheek.—Baby! I like you sooooo much!— he exagerated. Then he went back to looking at me.—You're done? I observed him.—Did you really mean it? —Yes— he said, nonchalantly.—I've had this job for years, but it never happened to me to find a client this interesting. —How do you know you like me? Are you sure you don't just... want me? Sexually speaking? —I understood there was something more when I looked at you for about twenty minutes while you were sleeping— he smiled. —Creepy— I commented. He sighed.—You really know how to ruin the moment. —I'm just jealous because your confession was so cool while mine was an awkward mess— I scratched my head. —Are you really competing over this?— he said. —Can you please shut up and come over to kiss me?— I said bluntly. He goggled and whistled.—Wow. That was really cool. I rolled my eyes and attacked him instead. Soon his t-shirt was on the floor and so were my shorts. He grabbed my ass and I insinctively smacked him. —Ouch!— he caressed his cheek.—We're about to have sex and you smack me for touching your ass? Are you serious? —That was an automatic reaction! I'm sorry!— I smiled.—Oh, I forgot to say something. —Go on, you nuisance. —I'm not really into sharing, so I hope you are aware of the fact that you will have to leave your side-job— I commanded. He smiled.—That's obvious. I'm not into sharing either. Is someone at your workplace going after you? —If I say yes will you get jealous and go rough on me?— I asked. —Are you the type to go rough?— he commented.—I think you're pretty vanilla. —I'm actually a very kinky person. But this is for you to find out— I smirked. He grabbed my hips and brought me closer to him. He placed a peck on my lips and then he looked up dramatically. —I'm so glad you're a cardiologist— he said. —Why? —Because you'll have to... take care of my heart from now on!— he laughed. I smacked him again.
2 notes
·
View notes