Dear AR2,

Emotional Masochism works like this you ignored me and I only liked you. It, perhaps, comes with the non-fulfillment and a desire to fulfill--at the very least, because I believe dissatisfaction is what makes affairs and love affairs more interesting. This is how you create want by holding back a smile or a conversation. It is silly how this is the way I sustain this fascination towards you and your great wit and bad hair and bad teeth.

I would like for you to know that I had a dream about you. All I could remember was us running from point A to point B under a deluge. Everything was in technicolor: greens, yellows and red light leaks. And your wrists and your ankles which perhaps is the reason why i am certain it was you I was dreaming of.

I would like you to know that I like you. And that is more than enough. 

DK.

 

"Love You, babes," said Shadow.
"Love you, puppy," said Laura.
...
When they got married Laura told Shadow that she wanted a puppy, but their landlord had pointed out they weren't allowed pets under their terms of lease. "Hey," Shadow had said, "I'll be your puppy. What do you want me to do? Chew your slippers? Piss on the kitchen floor? Lick your nose? Sniff your crotch? I bet there's nothing a puppy can do I can't do."

-Neil Gaiman, American Gods

Believe me, I wince everytime I see the word babes in a sentence. I had only called one person babe. Only because I get reminded of Sir Delfin Tolentino everytime I use the word. Blame it on Jolina Magdangal and Marvin Agustin movies which made the word seem too crude, too commonplace, too cheap. So I stay away from calling people I love Babe.

I do not know about you but I always get the "hon, d2 ka text, load mo ako 150" messages, and I wonder whether hon is the most common term of endearment among Filipinos. Why didn't s/he say baby, mahal, babe, love, darling?

The context of terms of endearment fascinate me. Too banal as that may seem, I like hearing people be called nicknames. Because it is a standing testament that love is all around us. It takes courage and pride to reveal a special nickname you give to the ones you love. The context in each term of endearment intrigues me. Because these names, it always boils down to a moment of choice. Not that that moment is heavily revealing, but it is a moment in itself which made you decide to call someone that name which you and your SO single out for each other.

I had once been called "Bebhe", and there are times when I wince at the unwarranted H.  It reminds me of bakery vendors and coughing kids who buy ensaymadas shirtless. But then again, who is to say that this term of endearment is worse/better off than the next one. I admit, I like being called such. Because it is, in fact, a term of endearment borne out of a context.

To date, I have given three boys I loved animal nicknames: Panda, Fish, Ducky. Maybe next time I shall call him Penguin♥. (yung first definition a) Who's to say?

What about you? Any terms of endearment you had? shared?