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As tensions finally simmered down between Pakistan and India after a ceasefire was announced between the two nuclear-armed neighbours, a new star emerged for young Pakistani social media users — Pakistan Air Force Director General Public Relations Air Vice Marshal Aurangzeb Ahmed.

While the military spokespersons were busy holding press conferences, people couldn’t help but fawn over AVM Ahmed’s charm. Gen Z, naturally, lost their collective minds — in their own vocabulary, of course. Many people on X have seen some new and rather confusing words, such as ‘pookie’, flooding their timelines. Worry not, here’s a breakdown of what Gen Z is saying.

Pookie

Perhaps one word used most for the AVM was ‘pookie’. A strange spin-off of cookie? Nope. Pookie is a term of endearment, used often as a nickname, for someone cute and adorable.

Aura

Another big one is Aura. As one X user pointed out, “You can’t spell Aurangzeb without aura.”

The Oxford Dictionary describes aura, the real word, as “a feeling or particular quality that is very easy to notice and seems to surround a person or place.” The Gen Z slang refers to someone confident and suave, and simply cool.

Rizz

“The entire war and post-war discussion has been completely hijacked by the rizz of this dude Aurangzeb,” an X user wrote.

Essentially a short form of the word charisma, a person with rizz is someone with the ability to attract or charm someone.

Drip

In Gen Z lingo, a person with drip (or dripping) has a cool, stylish, or fashionable look or style. The term often refers to the overall look and clothing of a person.

Cooked

While cooked can have many meanings in the world of Gen Z — and no, it does not refer to your mom making biryani — in this context, it means defeated or destroyed.

Alt Twitter

One netizen quipped that the AVM has a “twitter alt” because he’s a “roaster”. A Twitter alt, or alt Twitter, is an alternative Twitter account, usually reserved for one’s close friends, where a person’s identity isn’t necessarily apparent to the public and they’re free to post whatever their heart desires.

For the even more confused, “roasting” is to severely criticise someone in a funny way.

Trolling

During an earlier press conference, AVM Ahmed said, “As you know, Godzilla got extinct, this one is extinct as well,” referring to an Indian jet and its call sign of Godzilla. An X pointed out that the AVM was “trolling” India.

Trolling, usually about online behaviour, is deliberately posting provocative messages, but it can be done IRL (in real life) too!

Main character energy

Main character energy (or vibes) describes a person who acts or feels as if they are the protagonist of their own life story. It’s used for people who are confident and self-assured.

Simp

A simp is someone who shows excessive attention, concern and deference towards another person, usually someone they like.