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gguk-n · 6 months ago

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can you write lando norris x desi!reader!gf where they go back to celebrate ganesh chaturthi, and yn hosts ganapati bappa in her own house in india and its lando's first time pleaseee

Festive Hearts

Jalebi- dessert made of flour or flour and rice flour fried and dipped in sugar syrup. Kurta Pajama- Indian attire for men made of various material which includes a tunic and a loose fitting pant. Shalwar Kameez- Similar to Kurta Pajama but for women. Pooja- A Hindu ritual of worship.

I'm not an expert when it comes to this so please forgive me if there are any discrepancies

Lando and Y/N had been dating for a while now, long enough that her family knew about Lando, he was very well loved. That's how he ended up in India during Ganesh Chaturthi. Lando wasn't there on the day Ganapati Bappa was being brought into the house due to the race. He got there a few days before the immersion. Lando was like a kid in a candy store. Everything was bright and vibrant. The whole house was decorated in flowers and lights. There was always delicious and new food for him to eat. "Babe, my trainer's gonna hate me" he told his girlfriend while munching on his third jalebi. "These are delicious. Do you eat these every day?" he mumbled with food in his mouth. "No, Lan, no one eats these every day." she laughed. "Your mum keeps handing them to me, I don't know how to say no." he looked at her apologetically. Y/N called her mum out to stop feeding her boyfriend.

There were a lot of Formula One fans in Y/N's home town which meant Lando got recognised and asked for pictures and autographs. Y/N's family was the one hosting Ganapati Bappa this year in their community. So, there was always a crowd of people going in and out of the house, and now Lando brought another crowd along too. But he wasn't complaining, he wanted to get to know the people that got to see his love grow up.

On the day of the immersion, Lando was dressed in a white crisp Kurta Pajama and his girlfriend wore shalwar kameez. The family had woken up early and were busy in preparation since the auspicious time was during the mid-day. Lando could see his girlfriend running around trying to get the things ready for the ritual. Y/N's dad handed Lando some flowers and desserts for offering and asked him to put it away. There was this energy that was running through everyone's veins as the time drew closer. A sense of emotions over took them, it was like watching your family leave for some time.

There would a huge procession leaving with Ganapati Bappa after the Pooja. There would be songs and people would dance along the way from the house to the sea, where Ganapati Bappa would be immersed in the water. Y/N's siblings took Lando along with them to dance. Y/N had only seen Lando dance in clubs and now she could see him dance along with her siblings, learning as he went. It was a beautiful sight with Ganapati Bappa over looking everyone as they partook in the celebrations. "He's a keeper" her mother said. Y/N jumped from surprise. "When did you get here?" she asked. "Just now" her mother replied fondly looking at Lando. "He has really been trying since he got here" her mother spoke more to herself. "To get everyone to like him." she hummed. "Do you like him?" Y/N asked expectantly. "We liked him when you said you loved him" her mother replied. Y/N smiled at her mother and decided to join everyone in the celebrations.

After everything was done, and everyone returned; the house in disarray. Her mother started cleaning up while the others joined. Finally, Lando laid on the cot in the courtyard exhausted from the day's events. Y/N sat near his head playing with his hair. "Do you guys do this every year?" he asked looking up; "yup" she replied. "This is so much fun but I've never been more exhausted in my life and I've driven in Singapore." he chuckled. "You'll get used to it" she hummed, checking around before pressing a kiss to Lando's lips. "Spiderman kiss" Lando mumbled as he placed his hand on her neck pulled her closer. Y/N's mum coughed making the pair pull away, a blush visible on their cheeks. "I get you two love each other, but there's still some cleaning left" she said while the two whined and Y/N got up to help her mum. "Rest for some time and then join me" she told Lando before pecking his cheek and walking away.

Sorry this was short, I felt kind of lost.

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collapsedsquid · 18 days ago

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Classic bit of suburban wisdom I got growing up was that you never went to the Chinese place run by a white dude, similar for Indian food, Mexican food, and so on. Used to expect that the waiters were of the appropriate ethnicity, partly I guess because they are generally family-run businesses. Less so now, although I'm not sure if that's because I've moved or because of changes over time.

Now maybe that raises several questions. Is that Woke? Is that DEI? think we need convene a panel of experts to figure this out.

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chelseachilly · 1 year ago

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when i'm feeling alone, you remind me of home

pairing: reader x ben chilwell summary: you're stranded at uni by yourself for christmas with no flights going to london, but your boyfriend has other ideas warnings: nothing but fluff ❄️🫶🏼 word count: 2.5k

author’s note: here's another holiday one-shot! hoping to write at least one more before christmas. also btw there is no regard for the actual chelsea december fixtures or club rules in this story lol. title from christmas tree farm by taylor 🎄

You’ve always loved snow.

You loved playing in it as a little kid, making snowmen with your parents and going sledding with friends. You loved watching it from your window your first year of uni, seeing the blanket of white make Edinburgh look even more magical. You love bundling up to go ice skating and drinking hot chocolate as the snow falls around you.

But right now, you absolutely hate it.

A massive snowstorm rolling through the UK has caused the cancellation all flights, including the one you were supposed to take from Edinburgh to London tonight. It’s your last year of university there, but you’ve never missed a Christmas at home with your family and your boyfriend.

Now, it’s two days until Christmas and you’re stranded alone in your little flat with absolutely no way of making it home.

“What? You can’t get a train?” Ben asks after you’ve explained your predicament to him sadly.

As much as you feel bad about missing the holiday with your parents, you feel really bad about not being able to see Ben. With your busy schedules, you’ve hardly seen him in months, and you even missed his birthday a couple days ago because you had an exam. Now, you were supposed to finally have an entire week with him in London.

You were going to go to Winter Wonderland and complain about tourists and end up going back to his to snuggle by the fireplace. You were going to have Christmas morning with your family and dinner with his, spending the whole day exchanging gifts and fond memories. You were going to watch his game on the 27th and bundle up in your warmest Chelsea gear to cheer your heart out for your man, which you’ve really missed doing lately.

You miss everything about him, really.

But instead, you’re going to be eating Indian takeaway leftovers and watching Love Actually to try to make yourself feel better.

“The trains are all full, I checked,” you sigh.

“Well, let me see if I can charter a plane-“

“Ben,” you cut him off before he gets ahead of myself. Although it’s quite extravagant for him to spend tens of thousands of dollars getting you there, you know he would do it in a heartbeat. “All flights are grounded, not just mine. It’s not possible.”

“But…there must be something.”

You can picture his disappointed face right now, and it brings tears to your eyes just thinking about it.

“I’m so sorry, baby,” you reply, sinking into your couch. “You know I would do anything to be there with you right now.”

“Don’t apologize to me, love, I can’t believe you’re going to spend Christmas alone,” Ben sighs. “This is so shit. I just wanna see you and hold you.”

“I know,” you exhale. “I miss you so much. The only thing that got me through exams was thinking about being home with you and playing with Oscar in the snow and baking cookies…”

You can feel yourself getting choked up, tears beginning to stream down your cheeks as you think about all you’ll be missing out on. You feel a bit silly, knowing there are people with far bigger problems in the world, but you’ve been working yourself to death for the past month to ace your finals and this trip home was the shining light at the end of the tunnel.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Ben says sadly. “I miss you so much too. I wish there was something we could do.”

“Like control the weather?” you joke, trying to lighten the mood despite the tears running down your face.

“You know I would do it if I could,” he replies seriously. “I’m sorry this is happening, babe. Maybe the weather will clear up in a day or two and you’ll still be able to make it out for a few days, yeah?”

“Yeah, I suppose,” you breathe - some time with Ben and your family is better than nothing, but you’re still going to be alone for Christmas morning. “I should let you go, I don’t want to stop you from having a nice holiday too. Say hi to your mum and Alex for me when they get there, alright?”

“I will, baby,” Ben says. “I’ll text you later and call you in the morning, alright?”

“Alright,” you sniffle, wiping your tears away. “I love you.”

“I love you too. Bye, love.”

The moment Ben hangs up, you toss your cell onto the cushion beside you and bury your face in the pillow, groaning in frustration.

After feeling sorry for yourself for a bit, you reluctantly get up and go to turn up the heat and change into something warmer, as the temperatures outside continue to drop. You grab Ben’s hoodie from your closet, a cozy grey one you stole last time you were in London. It barely smells like him anymore, since that was over a month ago and you’ve worn and washed it several times, but it’s still a small comfort to wear something of his.

You heat up your dinner and put on the film, although the romantic scenes and the shots of London only seem to make you more homesick.

You text Ben during his favourite part, which is naturally Hugh Grant dancing around 10 Downing Street.

The annual Love Actually rewatch isn’t the same without you babe. Hope you’re having fun with the fam ❤️

He takes a while to respond, which you hope means he’s having a better time than you are and enjoying being with his family.

You’re just drifting off to sleep when his text finally comes in.

It’s not the same here without you either. Goodnight baby, talk in the morning 😘

You wake up to the sound of your phone ringing.

You briefly think it’s your alarm, but you don’t remember setting one, certainly not for 7AM, which is the current time according to your watch.

You blearily stretch your arms, a bit of a crick in your neck from falling asleep on the couch, and reach around haphazardly for your phone.

You see Ben’s name and contact photo on the screen and you quickly answer, worried something is wrong if he’s calling you at this time.

“Ben? Are you okay?”

“Yeah, everything’s fine,” he assures you. “Can you go downstairs? There’s a delivery for you.”

“What?” you yawn, rubbing the sleep out of your eyes. “What on earth have you sent me at seven in the morning?”

“Just go check, I think you’ll like it,” Ben promises, and you can hear the smile tugging at his lips. “Quickly, babe. This is time sensitive.”

You roll your eyes fondly as you throw the blanket off yourself and slide on your slippers, leaving the warmth of your flat to go down the stairs and see what’s waiting for you outside the main doors. You can only imagine what ridiculous present your boyfriend had shipped to you overnight to try to make up for your failed Christmas.

You tighten Ben’s hoodie around your body to brace yourself for the cold before opening the door, your eyes on the ground where you’re expecting the package to be.

Instead, you see a familiar pair of Nikes - and your eyes trail up to see the very familiar man wearing them.

You’re not sure if you’re dreaming, so you blink a few times, only to be greeted with the same sight - your perfect, adorable boyfriend standing in front of you in his puffer jacket and hat, his cheeks red from the cold and his smile absolutely blinding.

“Ben?” you gasp. “Why are you - how are you here?”

“I couldn’t let you spend Christmas alone.”

You meet him halfway as he drops his bags to the ground and opens his arms for you to throw yourself at him. You hug him as tight as you can, burying your nose in his neck and inhaling his scent. You can’t believe this is really happening.

“How the hell did you get here?” you ask as he squeezes your waist tightly and kisses the top of your head.

“I drove,” Ben murmurs.

You pull back to look at him, your eyes wide with disbelief.

“You drove? It’s, like, eight hours-“

“Twelve in a snowstorm, apparently,” Ben chuckles. “But definitely worth it for this.”

“You drove all night through a snowstorm for me?”

You can feel tears beginning to brim in your eyes once again, though these are tears of joy. You can’t believe how insanely lucky you are to have a man who loves you this much.

“Of course I did, I would do anything for you,” Ben says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, brushing his nose against yours. “Now, if you don’t mind, it’s been a long night and I would really love a kiss.”

Without hesitation, you grab his face and kiss him passionately, sighing with joy at the feeling of being reunited with your boyfriend. You’re certain that this is the most romantic and wonderful thing anyone has ever done for you, and although you never expected the best kiss of your life to happen on your doorstep at 7am in a blizzard, this just might take the top spot.

“I love you so damn much,” you whisper against his lips when you finally pull away. “But I am also slightly mad at you for driving at night in poor conditions.”

Ben laughs and rolls his eyes a bit. “I promise I was safe, but can we go inside where it’s warmer before we argue about it?”

“Hmm, okay,” you grin, pecking his lips a few more times before helping him lug his bags up the stairs to your flat.

Once you’re inside and Ben’s taken off his shoes and coat, you waste no time in wrapping your arms around him and kissing him again.

“You’re freezing, sweetheart,” you murmur as his cold hands slide under your - his - hoodie to feel your skin. “Want a tea? Or do you want to go straight to bed? You must be exhausted.”

“A tea and a cuddle would be perfect,” Ben smiles, pecking your forehead.

You tell him to go get comfy on the couch while you make tea for both of you, and when you return, he’s waiting for you with open arms and a sleepy grin on his face.

You place both mugs on the coffee table and curl up next to him, your face in the crook of his neck and your arms and legs tangled.

You let out a content sigh as your bodies recalibrate after so much time apart. You knew you needed this, but you didn’t know quite how much until right now.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” you murmur, kissing his jaw. “What about your mum and Alex, though?”

“I told them how sad you sounded on the phone and they encouraged me to go, though my mum was slightly nervous about me making the drive-“

“As she should be,” you scold gently.

“I told you, I was very careful, and there were hardly any cars on the roads,” Ben promises once again. “Anyways, they were all for it. They knew I would’ve been miserable without you there.”

You hug him a bit tighter, hooking your leg around his. “Wait, you have a game in three days. Did the club really sign off on this?”

“I managed to persuade Poch to give me today off to go see my girl, I think he’s a bit of a softie at heart,” Ben jokes. “And we have tomorrow and the day after off for Christmas anyways. We’ll just have to drive back on the 26th, the roads are supposed to clear by then. I know it’s not the same as Christmas in London with both our families, but this is better than being apart, right?”

“Ben,” you say sincerely, cupping his cheek with one hand. “This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me. A cozy Christmas with just the two of us sounds absolutely perfect. Thank you, baby.”

Your lips meet in another sweet kiss, one that quickly escalates as you feel your boyfriend’s hands on your hips and thighs for the first time in a month. You moan into his mouth as he tugs you into his lap.

“I missed you so much,” you breathe between kisses, tugging his hat off to run your hands through his messy hair.

“I can tell, hoodie thief,” Ben teases, fiddling with the soft material. “You look unreal in that, by the way. And I missed you more.”

You smile into another kiss, getting completely lost in him and his scent and his touch. Even after years together, you’re completely addicted to him.

You’re ready to take it further and move to your bedroom, but you’re interrupted by a yawn from Ben. He tries to kiss you again afterward, but you laugh softly and hold his face.

“You need sleep, Benjamin.”

He pouts slightly in protest, but you kiss him again quickly and it goes away.

“Babe, you’re exhausted,” you murmur softly. “We can go cuddle in my bed and continue this later.”

Ben sighs and nods as you climb off him and extend your hand to help him up. He doesn’t let go of your hand, though, instead pulling you into another warm hug. He’s so sleepy and adorable that you could nearly cry as he nuzzles his face into your hair.

He’s always been a very tactile person, and you know that for every time you tell him how much you missed and love him, he will hold you a little bit longer or kiss your forehead to say the exact same thing.

When you finally pull apart, you take him by the hand and lead him into your bedroom. He strips down to his boxers, which is how he prefers to sleep even in the dead of winter. He says you run hot enough to keep him warm, though you’re not sure if that’s true or he just likes to maximize your skin-on-skin contact.

He’s much warmer now than when you found him on your doorstep, so it’s not a shock to your system when you climb into bed with him and he immediately pulls you into his chest.

“I promise once you’ve had a proper rest I’ll make the drive worth your while, baby,” you say with a slight smirk as you wrap your arm around him and nuzzle your face into his neck.

Ben just tightens his grip on you and closes his eyes, a content smile on his face.

“It was worth it the second you opened the door.”

As you watch your boyfriend drift off to sleep, feeling so full of love for him that you might burst, you make a mental note to make it extra worth it for him later just for that adorable comment.

After you’ve both slept a few hours and spent another few making up for lost time, you spend the rest of Christmas Eve watching films and baking cookies.

The next morning, you both wake up early and exchange presents in your festive pyjamas. It’s not the same as if you were in London with both your families, but it’s still perfect because you’re together.

And a year later, when you’ve graduated and you’re celebrating your first Christmas in your new home with a diamond ring on your finger, it’s even better.

i hope you enjoyed this story! and thank you for all your lovely comments on my last fic. if anyone wants to be added to a taglist for my ben fics in the future, please let me know! ❤️💚

#ben chilwell #ben chilwell x reader #ben chilwell imagine #ben chilwell x y/n #my fics

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silverjirachi · 6 months ago

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do these rich people understand how MUCH i want to contribute to the economy and literally cant? every single day i pass by stores I can’t afford and say no to stopping in a local restaurant for lunch or buying an extra treat at the coffee shop because i just do not have the budget for it. Rent takes over half of my income, and the rest is going into basic groceries (which i also slash) and bills. i have a meager budget of like $100 on “fun” stuff a month and that includes extra food and clothing. I just busted a third of it on a candle from a local maker.

But see that’s the thing right? Landlords aren’t competitors with small businesses. They aren’t missing money when I have to choose between supporting Grandma Betty who runs a bee farm and sells handmade baskets from other local artisans and making rent. It is max profit for them if they leech every single last penny out of me and leave me with nothing left over to support the new family-owned Indian restaurant down the street. They don’t care if those immigrants’ restaurant has to close only a few months after opening because no one can afford to go, and the restaurant itself can’t make its own rent. And actually, it is beneficial to landlords if it DOES close and is bought up by a richer owner with more resources who actually can afford to keep a restaurant there. Predatory landlords are an active danger to not just tenants but the rest of the local economy as a whole and I wish people talked about that more.

I make $9 over minimum wage btw

#current mood #i am so fucking angry i am going to spend another day in this city with vibrant life all around me and participate in none of it #despite wanting to

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reasonsforhope · 2 years ago

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"FYI to the non-parents out there, it takes at least 15 pairs of shoes for a child to grow from a toddler to a teenager—that’s a lot of trips to the Footlocker.

Fortunately, an Indian entrepreneur from Pune has designed a line of shoes that slowly uncurl as the child ages, intuitively solving the problem and reducing unnecessary manufacturing waste.

Called Aretto, the shoes were designed by Satyajit Mittal and his childhood friend Krutika Lal. Their innovative knitted uppers are designed with all the qualities a parent would want their kids’ shoes to have—durability, flexibility, and washability.

“Children do not wear the right shoes for the first ten years of their lives,” Mittal, who designed the Aretto shoes with consultations with concerned childhood podiatrists, told The Better India.

“Between zero and three years of age, children’s feet size changes every three months, and you need roughly 15 sizes between zero and nine, before attaining final foot size at 13 years. We figured out the problem that while feet grow, their shoes do not.”

What the podiatrists explained to him was that children have a broader footprint than adults, due to their not having worn shoes for most of their lives like adults. Tens of thousands of nerve endings provide the feedback needed for children to understand how to use the miraculous musculature in their feet to walk and run.

Most infantile and childhood shoes don’t consider this, and based on the frequency at which parents need to buy new shoe sizes, proper foot function is probably never even taken into account, and the occasional stuffing of toddler feet into shoes too small or too large, can disrupt this critical muscle development.

“We wanted to give children the right fit for all cycles. We chose one shoe to cover three sizes that allow 18 mm growth. We took inspiration from how a flower blooms from the bud stage to the fully-flowered stage. The transition happens organically every day. We applied this concept to the shoe,” said Mittal.

“We started working on a shoe that flexes as per the feet. Simply put, as and when the feet grow either from the front or back or sideways, and when a child wears this shoe, it expands accordingly and takes the shape and contour of their feet. That’s why children feel comfortable wearing such shoes,” he adds.

The shoes are priced between Rs 1,800 and Rs 2,600, ($22 – $31) and are available internationally as well, provided that international buyers have either an Indian bank, or Google Pay, Amazon Pay, or WhatsApp Pay.

The shoes are fairly new on the marketplace but have already generated 21 lakh, or Rs 2.1 million ($25,000) in revenue."

-via Good News Network, 4/10/23

Note: This is very mundane in some ways, but it's also something that's going to legit make a difference for some kids/families. One annoyingly regular problem/cost off the backs to parents.

Also, can say from painful experience that wearing shoes that don't fit or aren't supportive can Fuck You Up longterm--some people just get the pain from it sooner than others. So this design sounds fantastic

#india #entreprenuership #parenthood #shoes #baby shoes #toddlers #clothing #podiatry #very mundane in some ways but also something that is going to legit make a big difference for some kids/families #as som

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ash5monster01 · 4 months ago

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Getaway Camp : Sixteen

Pairing: Charlie Dalton x OC!Fem

Warnings: language, mentions of depression, minor angst, reunions, redemption development, fluff.

Summary: It’s family weekend at camp and Charlie hates having to spend it without Valerie. That is until he’s met with a welcome surprise.

word count: 4k

Masterlist

Fifteen ←→ Seventeen

July 29th 1961

Charlie wakes to the camp bugle, groaning softly when he opens his eyes to be met with bright sunlight. He’s instantly sweating, the trapped heat of the cabin and Valerie’s body pressed against his own overheating him. Andy snores through the bugle horns across the room and Charlie chuckles to himself at the current situation he’s in. He should be uncomfortable, maybe even annoyed, but there was something so special about knowing this won’t last forever. That one day he’ll miss sore limbs from sharing a twin bed and how his roommate sounds like a cartoon character when he sleeps. No use tainting the memory now.

“V honey, first bugle went off. Time for work” Charlie mutters against her hair, kissing her head softly as she stirs in his arms. Slowly she lifts up, eyes struggling to open as she faces him. When her eyes finally do flutter open Charlie feels his heart melt at the perfect hazel green color. Yet the moment is broken by one more loud snore from his roommate and the two find themselves laughing instead.

“How do you ever get any sleep?” she asks and Charlie shrugs, hands running down her arms and thankful he didn’t have to spend the rest of the summer without her.

“It’s easier when you’re here” and the sweet comment earns him a morning kiss. When she pulls away she leaves the bed much sooner than he had wanted her too, even if he was sweating.

“I have to shower quick, I’ll try and meet you for lunch but I’m not sure how the day will go” she tells him, collecting some of her stuff before walking back over to the bed. It was family weekend, lucky for Charlie nobody wanted to attend lessons while they had extra family in town, but for Valerie it was a different story. She now had triple the amount of people to make sure they don’t drown.

“I’ll be around, and waiting for you once your shift is over. Be safe” he tells her and Valerie smiles, giving him a much longer and suggestive kiss. She pulls away before Charlie can grab ahold of her and he groans loudly which makes her laugh.

“See you later Ace” is the last thing she says before slipping out the door and disappearing for probably the rest of the day. Another snore reminds him of his roommate and Charlie laughs before grabbing his spare pillow. In a swift movement he’s launched it across the room and hit his friend directly in the face.

“Hey!” Andy shoots up in bed, the ammunition falling to the ground of the cabin and Charlie laughs.

“Family weekend, get to work” Charlie reminds him and Andy frowns before standing and collecting his own items to get ready for the day. Charlie just smiles and closes his eyes, excited to possibly get more sleep before enjoying his weekend off. The last thing he hears is the sound of the screen door slamming close as Andy leaves for his shift.

The first thing the group notices is how unbearably hot it is. The sun already pounding down on them and it was just barely 9am. They instantly regretted wearing the button ups and slacks, but that had been what they were used to. It made no sense that one of them had been living in the woods this whole time and forgone the business attire. They used to complain during the trek to the old Indian cave and now the woods were being treated as a playground for an entire summer. Absurd.

“I think my arms are gonna fall off” the tall boy whines, eyes squinting in the bright and hot sun.

“Only a little further Pitts, I’m sure your arms are fine” Knox says with the roll of his eyes, turning to see the two duffle bags his friend had packed. One each dangling from both of his arms. Maybe he should be more embarrassed they were wimps when it came to nature.

“He’s been studying too much Knox, lost all his muscle” Meeks says, having been the smart one to bring a backpack. The smile he wears shows he’s clearly excited for today. Each of them giddy now that they were here.

“Hey, that looks like staff. Let’s see if they know where Charlie is” Todd interrupts before an argument ensues, walking towards a man in a Captains hat. When he gets closer he sees the name Alex pinned to the lapel of his shirt and a banana stuffed in his hand.

“Hi sir, would you happen to know where rowing lessons take place?” Knox asks and the guy smiles, swallowing the bite of his fruit.

“Sadly no lessons this weekend boys, too many people to fit in those little boats” he answers with a smile that shows he’s amused himself from the comment. Yet Knox sighs at this answer, not wanting to play cat and mouse all day.

“Could you send us in the direction of staff camp then?” Todd interrupts and the boy nods, turning to face a small trail behind the community building.

“Just up that hill boys, have fun visiting family” the director smiles at them and the group of four nod before starting for the trail he had pointed too. It shall hold looks daunting and Pitts lets out one last final whine of defeat before they start up the trail.

“Ha, you guys see those preppy dorks that just walked into camp” Nate says at the morning campfire, thankfully it not lit in this heat but charred from the night before. One bad thing about family weekend, Nate was around camp nearly all day until the dance events at the end of the day.

“I thought they were cute. Would be nice if you boys dressed up around here more. I should ask the short red head one out” Holly says, enjoying not being the only red head hanging around camp. Yet the gears start turning in Charlie’s head. A short, preppy, redheaded boy.

“What else did these guys look like?” he asks, the coffee he got from the mess hall steaming in his hand.

“Well there was a tall one, flat top, sly smile. Then a brunette with floppy hair and pouty lips, very kissable. Then a blonde one, permanent scared look on his face” with each description he lowers the coffee further and further from his face. Realization dawning on him.

“Do you know where they are right now?” he asks through the lump in his throat, trying to not get to excited at the prospect of his friends at camp.

“Last I saw they were by the West showers, looking real lost and defeated” Nate answers and Charlie quickly sets the coffee down on the bench, starting that direction.

“Hey, where are you going?” Holly calls after him but it’s too late, he’s nearly in full sprint as he rushes to find what he hopes are his friends. When he rounds the trail of oak trees, spotting the brown building he finds exactly what he’s looking for. Pitts sat atop a duffle bag, knees practically in his chest and face in his hands. Knox leans against the building, clearly holding back his annoyance with the group. All while Meeks and Todd just stand still, awaiting direction for where to go next.

“I must be losing it, either the cabin fever has gotten to me or the 1961 graduating class of Welton Academy is here” Charlie says just loud enough for them to hear. They all perk up at the familiar voice, eyes landing on the guy in cargo shorts and a white staff shirt, a red eagle spread across his heart. It should be weird considering they’re all sure none of them had ever seen Charlie’s legs before. Yet they’re to excited to care.

“Nuwanda!” they cheer, rushing to him and Charlie is certain he’ll cry when they’ve wrapped him tightly in a group hug.

“What the hell are you guys doing here?” he asks once they’ve let go, the smile stuck to his face permanently as he studies the boys he hadn’t seen in person in almost two years.

“Well when you last wrote you mentioned family weekend, how guests and staff have people come in to visit. We figured your folks weren’t so we would” Meeks tells him and Charlie hugs his red headed friend tightly. He’s quite certain he’s never been as happy as his is right now.

“I don’t even know what to say, thank you so much guys” he doesn’t want to cry, it would be silly, but after all the last time he had been with them like this was at their friends funeral. It was nice to finally change that.

“Yeah plus we had to see for ourselves if you really were living amongst the wildlife” Pitts tells him and Charlie snorts, shaking his head at them. The Charlie who once cared about surface things had gone a long time ago. Maybe even before he was kicked out of Welton.

“I swear it’s not bad, honestly our cabins are exactly like the dorms at Welton. It’s better though because there is no Dr Hager to watch out for” and this makes the rest of the boys laugh, smiling brightly at their friend that looked so much better then the last time they saw him. He had breathed life back into his lungs, was enjoying himself while he can. It was nice to see.

“Does there happen to be room for four men?” Todd asks, specifically looking at Pitts who struggled to even sleep in the twin beds at school.

“No but I think I have someone who wouldn’t mind hosting” Charlie tells them, grabbing one of Pitts duffle bags and nodding his head in the direction he came. “Let’s go, better get you settled so you can meet everyone. Val is gonna be so psyched”

“Really?” Knox asks, eyebrows raised having only known of the girl and their falling out during their last phone call. Charlie nods, a smile on his face confirming things had worked themselves out.

“Oh yeah, Charlie’s girl” Pitts smirks, following along as Charlie laughs lightly. He wished even more now that the girl didn’t have to work today but then again he had never really told her anything about his friends. All of this would be a surprise.

“Yeah and you’ll meet her soon enough, but first let’s get you guys a place to sleep” Charlie’s arms wrap around Meeks and Todd on his either side, smiling from ear to ear and anticipating all the fun the weekend will bring. It’s weird because he thought reuniting with them would be sadder than this, a grief he hadn’t seen face to face coming to the surface. Yet instead he’s oddly comforted, content, and despite the trauma that bonds them, he’s glad they’re all here.

“Well this is quite the clan” Ezra says from his porch when the boys approach, bloody mary cold and half drank in his hands. Not the least bit weirded out by the rag tag crew coming his way.

“Hey Ezra, these are my friends from prep school” Charlie introduces as he jogs up the porch, the rest of the boys slightly uncertain of their next steps. Patiently waiting Charlie to ask this mysterious man for a place to stay.

“Clearly” Ezra teases, eyeing their attire from where he sits. They feel even more silly for thinking it would be normal to show up here dressed like this. Then again none of them had ever even gone camping before.

“Look they surprised me and I was wondering if you could help put them up for the weekend? My cabin sadly doesn’t have that kind of room” Charlie asks, hopeful the older man he had got close to wouldn’t mind. Ezra glances at the group of boys before eyeing Charlie, how he’s practically buzzing where he stands, and realizes in no world could he ever say no when a boy looked as hopeful as that.

“Sure, would be nice to breathe some life back into this place. I’d be happy too” Ezra answers easily, lifting himself from the rocking chair and abandoning his bloody mary.

“Thanks Ezra, you’re the best!” Charlie grins and Ezra waves a hand at him before eyeing the boys who look an awful lot like Charlie did on his first day here.

“Come on gentlemen. You can tell me your names and everything about you while we get comfortable”

Valerie sadly wasn’t able to escape at all during the workday. Thankful for Levi who was able to bring her food in the middle of her shift. Family weekend was a disaster and her own family hadn’t attended since the first year. That was the worst part considering it only made her miss her Dad and brothers more. After the long double shift day she just wanted to curl up in bed with Charlie yet that idea dissolves the second she hears the unfamiliar voices surrounded the campfire.

“Then he uses a bell to imitate the phone ringing, peoples heads whipping back and forth to see where the noise came from when he stands with a phone in his hands. Tells the headmaster it’s for him, says it’s God, and he should let girls attend our school!” laughs echo around the fire, Charlie wearing a smile she had never seen in her life before. Valerie starts to walk slower, assessing the situation as she walks up behind her boyfriend.

“Hey Ace” she says softly when she reaches him, hand brushing along his shoulder. Charlie turns with a grin only meant for her as he realizes she’s finally back.

“V! You made it” he’s pulling her into his lap, kissing her quickly and hugging her close. It’s comforting but yet she can’t help but notice the audience they now have that didn’t include just their normal friends.

“I see we have guests” she says, nodding towards the four new faces beside them and Charlie smiles. A smile that feels brighter than the stars, laced with a nostalgia that reminded her of home. It was the kind of smile she wore when she was back with her family again.

“Val these are my friends from school. Knox, Steven, Gerard, and Todd. They surprised me for family weekend” he explains, perfectly happy and perfectly content.

“It’s so nice to meet you Valerie. You wouldn’t believe how much we’ve heard about you already” Knox says beside them and Valerie smiles, heart softening as she discovers another piece of Charlie. Yet she still feels caught off guard, a little sad that these men knew things about her when she never even knew they existed before.

“You were just missing us telling all of Charlie’s embarrassing stories” the redheaded one named Steven explains and Valerie snorts, only just imagining the kind of trouble the boy had got into. Covering the small sadness within her from Charlie holding things back.

“They’re hilarious Val, we should trade Charlie out for one of them” Levi calls out from across the fire and Charlie shoots him a glare.

“I have to be honest I’m a little shocked. I wasn’t expecting to meet any of Charlie’s friends, he’s very good at being mysterious” Valerie ignores her friend and turns to the boys who all seem sweet. They all have the same look in their eyes that Charlie does. A soft sadness looming within them. She wished she had known more about them before.

“Our Charlie, loud and obnoxious Charlie?” the taller boy snorts and Val tenses in Charlie’s arms. He notices this behavior quickly, realizing how uncertain she is. The words our Charlie ringing through her head like she never even knew the guy she had fallen in love with all along.

“I’ve kinda started to keep to myself boys. Not really fond of bringing up the past” Charlie speaks for her and she’s reminded of his words on Ezra’s porch. How he admitted the version of him he gave her was all he could stomach. It eases her only slightly.

“Either way it’s nice to meet you Valerie, we’ll happily share all of Charlie’s secrets if you’re interested” Knox says beside Charlie and the boy is quick to hit his friend who just laughs. Valerie can’t help the giggle that bubbles past her lips, a fondness of seeing Charlie so relaxed.

“I better grab a drink before we start then” she says with a smile, lifting off of Charlie’s lap which instantly makes him pout. Knox stands as well, smiling at them both.

“I need a refill so I’ll tag along” he says and Valerie nods as they both walk away from the fire, over to the table that held various liquors. They’re silent for a moment, pouring drinks beside each other, before the brunette boy finally speaks.

“I’m sorry you didn’t know about us. If I had known I would’ve told Charlie we were coming and he could explain” he says, covering for his friend and Valerie smiles because it’s something Levi would do for her.

“It’s okay, it was just a long day and I wasn’t really prepared for anything. I forget how much I don’t know about him, after all we’ve only known each other for a month” Valerie explains, sipping from her cup and tryna to hide the jealousy that burns within her.

“I wouldn’t take it to heart. He’s been through more heartbreak than most people have faced in a lifetime. When he’s ready I’m sure he’ll tell you but right now I’m sure he enjoys being loved as himself and not the things he’s faced” Knox explains and it’s the first time the sadness of Charlie’s life has been confirmed outright. Other than the blowup about his Dad this was the first time Valerie heard there was more heartbreak under the surface.

“He’s the best, truly. A little arrogant but kind” Valerie confirms, eyes now cast over at where he sits, laughing with his friends new and old. He looks so happy, content, and she truly couldn’t ask for anymore.

“He’s also head over heels. Last I talked to him he was all sad on the phone about you’re little breakup, didn’t know what to do with himself” and that draws out a laugh, Charlie glancing over at the pair and smiling at them both.

“I shouldn’t be laughing, I was a mess too” Valerie says and Knox shrugs, sipping the drink in his hand slowly. He wasn’t sure he ever wanted to get drunk again after Chet nearly broke his nose that one time.

“Either way you got a good one and clearly he did too. Now let’s get back over there before they start talking about us” and what Knox doesn’t expect is the girl wrapping him up in a hug. Uncertainly he hugs back, unsure where this behavior came from.

“Thanks Knox, you’re a good friend” she says as she pulls back, heart yearning for her brothers who Knox reminded her a lot of. She wished this predicament was different. That one day Charlie could meet her family and she could get to know his friends better. For the first time in her life camp suddenly felt like a trap. A bubble they couldn’t break out of.

When they return to the fire everything is easier. Levi jokes with Knox and Alex surprisingly befriends a quiet Todd. Meeks happily listens to Chrissy’s never ending stories and Pitts bonds with Andy. It’s as if the group had always been together and that brings Valerie to wrap Charlie up in a hug, almost sullen over the fact their lives intertwined so well together and it sadly couldn’t stay like this. A found family brought together by them both.

“You okay?” Charlie asks, whispering against the crown of her head and Valerie nods, smiling as she watches them all interact. Content and wishing she could freeze this moment forever.

“Better than okay” she tells him and Charlie smiles, dipping down and kissing her softly. Pretending himself that this wasn’t a one time thing and the rest of his life will be just like this. Nate retelling tales of married women, Chrissy rolling her eyes every time, Andy clumsily tripping over everything, Levi challenging everyone to a different game every night, Mia always saying yes to him, Alex and his stupid Captain hat, Alice silently watching it all unfold, and Valerie wrapped up tightly in his arms. It was the Dead Poets Society, but a different version. He never needed to recreate that part of his life, he just needed to find somewhere to belong.

Pretty soon the night comes to an end, Levi no longer adding wood to the fire and waiting for it to burn out. When the time comes they all make the walk back together. Charlie’s hand laced with Valerie’s, wanting to take her home before walking his friends back to Ezra’s. His friends trail along behind them, continuing to laugh and get to know Valerie’s friends. When they reach her cabin Nate and Levi get ahead. “Goodnight Ace”

“Night V, I’ll see you in the morning” Charlie says, kissing her quickly and the boys all hoot and holler behind him, Chrissy laughing on the stairs of her cabin as she waits for her friend.

“Alright alright, we’re not putting on a show” Charlie says as they break apart and Valerie laughs before hugging him and joining Chrissy on the stairs. Charlie watching as they disappear behind the cabin door.

“Charlie you think I should get Chrissy’s number?” Meeks whispers beside him, cheeks still pink from having talked to the blonde girl all night.

“You should” Nate answers instead and all the boys look at him confused, Levi and Charlie not expecting this response and the Dead Poets unsure. “She’s a great girl and you would be lucky to have her”

“Thanks man” Meeks responds, not knowing both Chrissy and Valerie are inside hearing every word. The blonde girl looking to Valerie with shock and confusion. She was supposed to hate him for being so terrible to her, treating her so badly, and all this time he actually thought so highly of her.

“Then why didn’t you date her when you had the chance?” Levi asks the dying question and Nate shrugs, actually looking nervous for once in his life as his eyes look anywhere but them.

“I’m not good for her, I’m going to work at this camp the rest of my life and she’ll go on to do great things. She’s better off with a hot shot college guy like Meeks here” Nate says, arm wrapping around the small redheads shoulders, an uncertain smile on his face. The look telling them to no longer bring the issue up.

“Well on that note I better get these guys to Ezra’s cabin, goodnight gentlemen” Charlie says and Nate and Levi nod, starting for their cabin a little higher up the trail as Charlie nods his head away from staff camp. Excited he gets to spend an entire weekend just like this with his friends.

“You found another good group Charles” Knox says, arm wrapping around his neck and pulling him into his side. Charlie laughs and accepts the closeness with his friends that he hadn’t been welcome to in over a year.

“Yeah Knoxious, but there still isn’t anyone quite like you guys” and the boys all smile, walking side by side through the trees and feeling awfully reminiscent about a time that felt like forever ago. Pretending that none of them notice there’s two of them missing that were just as important too.

Taglist: @eden-punk @octaviasdread @pursuedbyamemoryy @poetsinnyc @linmichea1

Comment if you want to be added to the taglist :))

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angelic-daiquiri · 5 months ago

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My valour friend group!! (Teen life dr) Pt 1. (The main characters)

(Add yourself in my dr here)

-Rosanna m k

6teen, born on 14th January, she/her, bi (Pronounced Roz ah-na) Gosh I love her so much, me and her are besties in every reality I can script her in, she's my (platonic) wife, my life, my everything. We write poems to eachother on valentines day and on every 14th of the year She has an older brother (my future s/o, cuz I'll be there until my late 30's so yeah), and her family is very very influential and has a very powerful business. They're up with the high ranking people in society. She has a faint British accent and our families are friends Me and her are the only (women) poc (we're Indian) in our floor (except Dallas and chris lol) -shes an ESFP likes: coffee (but says it like kwa fi as a joke) puppies, her bf, moonlight Sonata, desi movies, lana in her born to die era, marina and the diamonds, Adrianna Lima, German shepherds What she reminds me of: The combo of cream and red, sunsets, little kittens who bite cutely, hugs, jasmines, my mom, caring

-Athena Valour

6teen, born on August 25th, she/they, ace but not aro, we call her Athy like Kathy without the k Her family owns valour, not just the school but also the whole education department along with many businesses, they're the head of the valour society, her British accent is so cuteeeeee. She has a brother (see below), she's a rebel but she wouldn't show it, she was the one who came up to me first to be friends. People think she's intimidating but she actually just gives off black cat energy, suuuuper sweet too -She's an ENTJ Likes: being extroverted, Lana, arctic monkeys, water. Just water lol, caramel+dark chocolate, law, sea at night, fried eggs, business What she reminds me of: Shakespeare's male characters, the meme side eye, faux leather, old money, the moon, woods, soft kisses and playful fighting (all platonic)

-Ares Valour

8teen, born on 3rd August, he/him, unlabelled twink (never call him that, that's just a nickname I give him cuz of his gay ass) he's actually straight tho He's Athy's older brother, a senior, also my first actual s/o at valour Heir to the postion of head of the society along with athena, they're both smart as fugg, well mannered but Ares is a bit more soft spoken on the inside. He's the lalalala to my okokokok. I make fun of him by calling him Air, because when I first met him I couldn't properly pronounce Ares. -he's an INTP (sometimes an intj) Likes: me, his cats, fencing, chess, business, being a leader (along with his little sister), being the smartest in his grade, runs, the neighborhood, Chase Atlantic What he reminds me of: "and if I may just take your breath away I don't mind if it's not much to say", winning, power, cuddles, dnd, old literature works, old money, a prince

(these are the main people in my life, along with yttri who I will add the next post lol)

TELL ME UR THOUGHTS BB I WANNA KNOW SJJS

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srbachchan · 1 year ago

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DAY 5754

Jalsa, Mumbai Nov 18/19, 2023 Sat/Sun 1:13 AM

Chhat Puja (Pratihar Sashthi/Surya Sashthi) Sunday, 19 November

Birthday - EF Rubina Mulchandani ; Ef Pravin Ahuja (noida) 'poet sahab' Sunday, 19 November ... birthday greetings to you and the affection f the Ef family .. ❤️

.. that strain again .. and again .. and again ... at this hour of having just finished work .. no work no play .. yes .. began at 7 am and now in completion .. that is and be the essence of day of us that work .. no work no play .. without it , like the sun never came out .. clouded in its translucent obliquity .. 'abrupt and angular but the very' ... aahh forgot those precious words of Hrish Da's brother on set on one of his films .. 'soul of magnanimity and rectitude' .. found it .. yaaaayyyy !

abrupt and angular but the very soul of magnanimity and rectitude ..

.. he had described the character I played in 'NamakHaram' .. Hrishi Da's film with Rajesh Khanna .. an Indian Becket .. that incredulous film with Peter O' Toole and Richard Burton , playing King and his confidant a commoner , almost .. christenned in the Court much to the dislike of the Church Archbishop .. but what an envious casting and performance abilities of these two giants .. and what a story .. ably adapted by Hrishikesh Mukherjee in the local version of a business tycoon, his empire and his dear friend, whom he has trusted to death and who turns the tide when he discovers the inappropriateness of the labour force that works for his friend's factory and the continued conflict that arises between these two inseparable friends ..

.. the description of the character .. but how mutedly significant in the environment of the day, when the surya devta plays truant ..

o .. lost my thought process .. in the wonderment of the days of this shoot at Mohan Studios .. now sold and converted into a multi storied real estate monstrosity , like many others .. never a word or thought of the massive creativity it encountered during its functionality .. Bimal Roy and his genius, Hrish Da, Prakash Mehra and their huge structured films and so many many others .. lost and gone to the concrete .. but in the memories of archives , now finding it difficult to survive ..

but life and work as I said needs to go on .. each day and enthusiastic run for the glory of the audience- the ones that made and make you !!

i retire ..

Amitabh Bachchan

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nightcolorz · 7 months ago

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hey bro love your posts never stop entertaining us pls

random ass question whats your favorite minor character from tvc?

Thank u ❤️❤️ 😁😁

this is a touch question lol bcus I have so many favorite minor characters, I’m a tvc minor character fanatic. I can’t choose one so I’m just gonna list of all my fav minor characters lmao.

I love Khayman hes so real. He reminds me of a socially anxious large dog who just really wants to make friends but he keeps scaring them off 😭. That part in queen of the damned where he reacts to the popularity of vampires in pop culture like a kid seeing themselves represented in tv for the first time was so funny omh i was living. Vampire from ancient Egypt buys Dracula cosplay bcus he wants ppl to like him was a genius idea thanks Anne rice. Khayman just, his whole personality reminds me of a character who’d be in what we do in the shadows he’s so inspired. Omg remember when he was so excited to go to lestats concert and meet other vampires and then he’s inside for two seconds, instantly gets overstimulated, and then sits outside for the rest of the time 😭 Khayman might be me guys.

I also love Fareed and Seth 😭😭. I love that Anne rice casually wrote an ancient Egyptian vampire and a modern day Anglo Indian vampire falling in gay love with each other and funding an unhinged vampire mad science hospital, and the Egyptian vampire is AKASHA’S SON 😭😭. the reveal that Akasha has a living vampire son who has been quietly living under the radar for the entire book series just practicing science and pursuing his passion for healthcare alongside his long term partner had me clapping and cheering I stg. They also have sm personality 😭 especially Fareed he’s so iconic. This bitch tricked lestat into giving him his sperm for cloning experiments and he served cunt while doing it. I love that they raised Lestat’s clone son as their gay dads, just so much there. Fareed and Seth u will always be famous

BENJI MAHMOUD!!! I love him sm. I’m also a big fan of sybelle but Benji occupies my mind a concerning amount. Like what kind of character?? There is sm going on with him. First of all he’s Bedouin and Palestinian and then he’s human trafficked to America by an insane man who wants him to be the house slave and take care of his disabled sister second of all he’s twelve and he’s a canon genius and he chain smokes to cope with his insane life third of all he is turned into a vampire by Marius and grows up into an immortal child who’s unfazed by being twelve for ever bcus hes such a chad it doesn’t affect him and he becomes a rich and famous business owner who wears fedoras and runs a vampire podcast and he single handedly kickstarts the plot of Prince lestat and causes the vampire government to happen bcus hes such a good activist he convinces all the characters to be better. Anyways wtf. Also I love sybelle she’s such a darling ❤️ Benji and sybelle and Armand’s little family is everything to me.

DENIS??? Wtf even was that. On a similar note Antoine. I love them both bcus they r incredibly interesting and rlly sad and they reveal so much evil about my fav characters anddd they both happened to be unforgivably butchered by the amc show ❤️

andddd last and also least haha kidding, Benedict ❤️. I feel so bad for him 😭but he’s also so real. Ben was the guy who Magnus manipulated and pretended to be friends with and then he chained him up and forced him to turn him into a vampire 😰. I love the concept where he was the first and only vampire to ever be “raped” by his fledgling, and I feel bad that all the other vampires treat him like shit for it 😭. He’s just a little guy. He’s such a pillow princess also. I can’t count all the times in Prince lestat where Bens described as lounging gracefully on the bed or whatever. Forever twink and hashtag loving it. What a dude

#tvc #the vampire chronicles #iwtv #interview with the vampire #vampire chronicles #vc #queen of the damned #Prince Lestat

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simplysedusa · 6 months ago

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My Take on: Sedusa

(Well, this isn't a take, it's more of a backstory that we have been deprived of; an idea of mine as to how Sedusa came to be.)

So, as I've said, I believe Sedusa's real name to be Annalise. (I want her to be a WOC but I haven't settled on specifics just yet, I'm thinking Indian but IDK.) She came from your regular, every day, family of five; she's the youngest and the only girl, which excited her mother. Her mother was the root of Annalise's love for beauty products and makeup, who taught her everything she knows. Growing up, Annalise was a very bright young girl, with beauty to boot. She wasn't particularly a conceited or vain person, but she was still rather proud of her appearance. Her looks caused many to underestimate her intelligence, but Annalise tried her best to not let it get to her. Her extracurricular activities included gymnastics, dance, and karate (the crime rate in Townsville was atrocious back then and her father wanted her to be safe). She graduated high-school with an A/B honor roll, placed in the same advanced, college level classes alongside Professor Utonium, Sara Bellum, and Ms. Keane (though I don't think she's quite on their level, she makes up for it in cunning and cleverness). She then graduated again with a double major in Business Administration and Cosmetic Science from Townsville University, and a major in Cosmetology at a local community college to go into business for herself. For a small startup business in a big city, "Seduce" was relatively successful. From a makeup stand in the mall, to a small corner store with workers to manage and scheduled appointments, she was rather proud of herself.

Annalise wanted more.

She decided to take door-to-door runs to better advertise her product. Eventually, she'd walk into a laboratory. Part of her regretted doing so, considering the female demographic was a bit lower than her usual stops, but many of these scientists could've been married. Money was money.

Annalise tried her product out on one of the few female workers. One of the male scientists were too busy oogling her, instead of paying attention to the experimental Chemical X concoction in their test tube. He tries to chat her up, but she politely declines. However, he's a bit pushy and she tries to slightly push him backwards, causing him to slip. The already bubbling glass test tube combined with Annalise's makeup created a chemical explosion. She was never the same again.

Her skin was much paler, her warm brown eyes were now icy green, and most importantly, her hair had...a life of its own? Annalise attempted to continue on with her life as if nothing happened but given her altered look, not many were willing to give Seduce a chance, knowing what happened to her. She then attempted to hide her new form, but her nervousness only caused her hair to panic and scare off potential customers.

Annalise attempted to file a lawsuit against the research company, only to surprisingly lose.

Despite these changes, one thing never changed: her desirability to mostly men. Annalise somehow found herself with more suitors. Had her pheromones been effected as well? A sudden idea popped into her head, not only to conduct an experiment but in attempt to gain money to save her business from drowning.

She would become a sugar baby.

And the results were conclusive, she had men at her fingertips. Granted, this effect on them wasn't permanent nor completely indestructible, stronger willed men and emotions could break them out of her trance, but Annalise wasn't using this for ill intended purposes. She just needed to get by.

At first, everything seemed to going fine. Her confidence was returning, causing her hair to calm and not potentially harm anyone. Seduce was booming once again, and she even managed to find love. He was almost 20 years older than she was, a former A-list actor who retired in Townsville looking for companionship, but managed to find something more. And he would be her downfall.

Unbeknownst to Annalise, he was married. A supposedly very happy marriage, at that. The wife managed to come home to find her lying on the couch waiting for him in his robe. The husband lied and claimed she was some crazed stalker who broke into the house. The police came, as called, and had her detained for a day.

When she was released, she'd find her face plastered on every newspaper, broadcast on every television, and discussed on every daytime television talk show. This caused bad press to her business, causing her to go bankrupt and for Annalise to be homeless. Former sugar daddies didn't even want to be seen in public with her. She was running out of options.

The only thing left for her to do was to get back at the man who lied on her. So, she robbed him (and left him and his wife tied up). And she became: Sedusa.

Later on, after the Powerpuffs became involved in crime fighting and after the events of "Something A Ms.", from living with the Puffs and the Professor, she'd learn that the same chemical that altered her body is the very same that was used to create the girls. She'd put her cosmetic science degree to use and experiment with strands of her hair to create a hair gel that'd immobilize the girls.

#ppg #the powerpuff girls #sedusa #blossom utonium #bubbles utonium #buttercup utonium #professor utonium #sara bellum #ms. keane

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mariacallous · 9 months ago

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In Israel, you’ll find a patchwork of different communities. Most Israeli Jews originate from Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, but some come from other regions, such as India.

According to the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv, there are about 85,000 Jews of Indian origin in Israel — so Indian Jews make up just 1.2% of Israel’s Jewish population. This small community is divided into four groups: the Bene Israel from Maharashtra, the Cochin Jews from Kerala, the Baghdadi Jews from Kolkata, and the Bnei Menache from Mizoram and Manipur.

Although I grew up in the U.S., my mother’s family is from the Cochin Jewish community in Israel. I wanted to find out more about how this community is preserving our unique Jewish traditions from the South of India.

Many of these traditions are at a risk of dying out. For example, the language of the Cochin Jewish community is called Judeo-Malayalam. Today, this dialect has only a few dozen native speakers left (you can hear it spoken in this video).

According to legend, the first Jews arrived in Cochin during the time of King Solomon. The oldest physical evidence of their presence is a set of engraved copper plates dating from around 379-1000 CE, which were given to community leader Joseph Rabban by the Chera Perumal dynasty ruler of Kerala.

Jewish sailors originally arrived in Kodungallur (Cranganore), an ancient port city known as Shingly by Jews, before shifting to Cochin following a flood in 1341. These Jews became known as the Malabari Jewish community. After the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492, a group of Sephardic Jews also came to Cochin, and became known as the Paradesi (Foreign) Jews. The Malabari and Paradesi Jews historically lived separately and maintained their own traditions, although in modern times this division has become less important.

Today, the vast majority of Cochin Jews live in Israel. I spoke with several community members to learn about current projects in Israel to preserve Cochini Jewish culture.

Hadar Nehemya, a jazz musician and performer, runs a food delivery service sharing traditional Cochin Jewish recipes. Hadar learned the art of cooking from her mother, who learned it from her paternal grandmother.

Cooking her dishes from scratch and selling them at markets and for delivery, Hadar’s goal is to introduce Cochini cooking into the mainstream of Israeli culture. “Many Israelis don’t know much about Cochin Jewish culture. Maybe they met a Cochini person in the army,” she said. “But Indian food is popular in Israel, because Israelis love to visit India after they finish their army service.”

Cochin Jewish cuisine is similar to other types of South Indian cuisine, but also has influences from Iberian and Middle Eastern cooking. One example is pastel, pastries with a spicy filling that are similar to empanadas. Other staples include fish and egg curries, chicken stew, black-eyed pea stew, dosa (thin rice pancakes) and dishes cooked with coconut and mango.

Hadar’s favorite dishes to cook are idli and sambar, which are often eaten together. Idli is a type of savory rice cake, while sambar is a spiced lentil stew. Although Hadar says it’s difficult to maintain an Indian food business from an economic perspective, she’s passionate about cooking and enjoys creating homemade dishes with the right balance of spices.

Along with cooking, music is also important in Cochini culture. In most religious Jewish communities, women aren’t permitted to sing in front of men who aren’t their immediate relatives. However, this prohibition was not part of the Cochini tradition.

In the Cochin Jewish community, women have sung in Hebrew and Judeo-Malayalam for centuries. Piyyutim (liturgical poems) were sung in the synagogue or at people’s homes during holidays. Judeo-Malayalam folk songs were sung at weddings and special occasions, and the lyrics of these songs were recorded in notebooks to hand down to future generations. Later, many women also learned Zionist songs in preparation for moving to Israel. I have memories of my own grandmother singing these songs at home.

In recent years, audio recordings have been produced of Cochini songs, including a collection called “Mizmorim” (Psalms) featuring Hadar’s grandmother, Yekara Nehemya. Hadar then created her own version of one of the songs, “Yonati Ziv.”

Today, community leader Tova Aharon-Kastiel has organized a choir which meets once or twice a month at different locations. In the choir, Cochini and non-Cochini women, mostly aged 65-85, sing songs in Hebrew and Judeo-Malayalam. The older generation is eager for the younger generation to get involved, but since most younger Cochin Jews have a mixed background and are assimilated into mainstream Israeli culture, this is sometimes proving a challenge.

Still, many young Cochin Jews are eager to connect with their roots. The community maintains several Facebook groups, including one specifically geared towards the younger generation. The group description reads: “If you are a young Cochini, you surely know (at least partially) the wonderful heritage of our forefathers and mothers… the sad truth is that this heritage is currently on its way to pass from the world.”

Shlomo Gadot is the CEO of Inuitive, a semiconductor company, and is actively involved with Cochini community projects. His nephew, Ori, runs the Facebook group for the younger generation. Shlomo says events are regularly held at the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv for young Cochinis. “Normally the embassy gives them their office in Tel Aviv, and they invite the young Cochini people to come there and do a trivia contest,” he said. “They do it twice a year, once at Hanukkah and once at Passover.”

According to Shlomo, the embassy also has initiatives to create connections between Indian and Israeli tech companies. “Sometimes they invite people to the ambassador’s house or office to see how they can create connections between Israeli and Indian companies,” he said. “They also have a program to bring young people to India to help them get to know India better.”

Anil Abraham is one of the few Cochin Jews with recent memories of life in India. Born in Jerusalem, his family returned to India when he was 8 years old, and he lived there until age 35 before migrating back to Israel. He says he found growing up Jewish in India difficult, but rewarding. “It was very difficult to move there from Israel and learn Malayalam,” he said. “But it was amazing to be part of the community and enjoy Cochini food prepared from scratch. We used to attend prayers in the Paradesi Synagogue, because right now there are fewer than 20 Jews in Kerala.”

Today, Anil runs tours of Kerala for the Cochin Jewish community and others. “The kids travel with their parents and grandparents to India,” he said. “That’s how our traditions are passed down.”

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thekatebridgerton · 1 year ago

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I want the backstories to all of these weddings

I would love to read about amanda and eloise going dress shopping

Okay so the modern Bridgerton Brides backstory would have been told from the perspective of Genevieve (Ginny Delacroix) who is the Bridgertons jack of all trades wedding planner.

She's organanized all the Bridgerton weddings except Francesca's 2nd and Lucy's 1st. But she still keeps the Dress pictures in her portfolio for future reference.

And I just had this idea of Mme Delacroix just going over her best work and adding little notes on what the bride was like, how the groom proposed and whatever she thought was interesting about the dress. So the story would have been in 3rd person with a very unreliable narrator. Because Ginny Delacroix knows things but she doesn't know everything that happened.

Simon and Daphne: they supposedly were engaged for a long time, Hollywood director x Hollywood starlet kind of romance, it wasn't until Ginny was called to organize the wedding of the century in like a week, that she found out that Saphne was actually a publicity stunt and now they had to get married because Simon's investors were suspecting him of running a long con to get his hands on the movie deals he wanted and give the starring roles to Daphne. Delacroix &Co was given free reign on the budget and to this day it's been the most extravagant affair she's organized for the Bridgertons.

Anthony and Kate: bitter Buisness rivals, Anthony crossed the line by chatting up Kate's sister in a club and Kate made it her mission to block all of his major deals for the next business quarter. Nobody knows what was happening behind the scenes, Ginny always suspected they were banging because come on, those kind of flaming looks they gave each other at the Saphne wedding. But anyway flash forward a few months later, Ginny gets called in the middle of the night to plan a wedding for next week, because all the news trending on Twitter had pictures of the award ceremony in which the paparazzi caught Anthony with his hands on Kate's boobs. Ginny knows that in reality Kate's dress had a bra malfunction and Anthony's first instinct was to cover up her boobs with his hands before she could flash the whole internet. But he claims he was proposing to her in a very intimate way and is now suing the press for invasion of privacy. There was a bee involved in that whole mess, but Ginny never got the whole story. So in the end for the sake of saving face with Kate's family they got married in a wedding that was a mix of Indian rituals and British marriage traditions

Benedict and Sophie: Ginny actually gave them a discount for this one, because Sophie is her friend. Benedict apparently got injured in the racetrack one day and Sophie was hired as his live in doctor. Turns out they had history together, because she had a one night stand with him, back when Benedict was in college and then just never called him. They had some sort of whrilwind romance where Sophie refused to sleep with him, because she felt he really didn't care about her as a person and everyone in the comment section of his Instagram thought that she was holding out for a ring because he's rich. So when Benedict resigned Bridgerton industries to follow his dreams of being a painter it came as a surprise that Sophie was fully okay with being the main breadwinner while he got his feet off the ground. They had a very simple wedding on the beach and Sophie refused to let Anthony fund any of it. Benedict too, paid out of his own earnings, not his family money. And yes, she was indeed waiting to be cleared from charges after a wrongful arrest when Benedict proposed. Nobody has let him live it down yet

Colin and Penelope: long story short Penelope and Colin used to be friends, but Pen realized she was being taken for granted and took a break from hanging out with Colin, which in turn made Colin needy and woke him up to the fact that he couldn't live without her. okay so maybe it's a little harsh to say Penelope got proposed to by a stalker, but that's because Ginny is still mad at Colin for literally tracking down Penelope's wreabouts using Ginny's Instagram posts, since back then, Ginny was in France photographing Penelope for a new ad campaign that was going to be in Delacroix &Co website. And then to add insult to injury just when Ginny thought she'd have 3 months to plan the wedding between her long time friend and the guy said friend had a crush on since forever. Violet Bridgerton calls and asks for the wedding to be ready in 3 weeks because Pen is pregnant... EXCUSE ME! Ginny knows for a fact that Penelope has an arm implant. Colin said whaaat?. Ginny's revenge was that see trough, sexy, wedding dress, the wedding planner wanted to make sure that Penelope's something blue would be Colin's balls. And Portia's outrage was only a bonus

Eloise and Phillip: Ginny really has very few details on this one, Eloise never wanted to have a wedding, never even wanted to get married. But she had to download a dating app for an investigation piece at her feminist magazine and the first guy she met was a Cambridge professor who agreed with everything she said, and they hit it off or so they claim. Ginny was under the impression that Eloise was simply taking advantage of the guy's house in central London since Phillip let her crash there on the weekends without paying for a hotel. But no it turned out that Eloise did like him and she liked his children too. Whatever happened with Phillip and the twins inspired Eloise to go more into activism that focused on domestic abusers. Honestly Eloise only agreed to get married for legal reasons (like being allowed in a hospital if they were sick) and because she felt that Phillip and the kids didn't have enough positive memories in their lives and it would be a shame to rob them of a family moment like a wedding, even a barely there wedding. No matter how much she does still think marriage is a piece of paper. One day Eloise took Amanda to the mall, showed her around the boutiques and told the kid to pick any dress she wanted her new step mom to wear. Phillip let Oliver pick his tux. Everything was off the rack and barely cost much, the rest of the Bridgertons ended up meeting Phillip and the twins the weekend before the wedding. When Eloise remembered to contact Ginny about organizing a quick after-party to soothe her family's anger. She's so independent honestly forgot to tell them she was dating someone, honest. Now, everytime anyone forgets to tell her something, they remind her that she forgot to tell her them she was even getting married

Francesca and John: this wedding is the crown jewel of Ginny Delacroix wedding planning work. Everything was perfect, years in the making, no shenanigans, Violet was so proud! Anthony was so proud! Ginny herself was so proud! St Paul himself would have been proud... aaaand the groom died 2 years later. Yeah not something Francesca likes to talk about

Francesca and Michael: the wedding that made Ginny Delacroix blacklist a Bridgerton! How could they do this to her. Not only did Francesca get married in Vegas wearing a dress that was basically a mini dress with a white tablecloth tied to the hips. But she married the playboy billionaire Rock Star cousin of her deceased husband. Francesca really said go big or go home, went from the cute, interior designer wife of a Scottish lawyer to the ball busting manager wife of a Rock Star. Ginny knows there's a story there! She just knows Michael did some sort of voodoo on Francesca during that trip to Vegas. But she's never managed to pin them down long enough to confirm her theories

Lucy and Ricky: the slimy stingy toad of a man that is Lucy's uncle, planned that wedding, and it shows because it was ugly as hell. Gregory conned Ginny into attending as his plus one and you could tell Don Abernathy was embezzling his niece money by the cheap way the wedding was set up. Ricky Haselby had more chemistry with his groomsman and at one point when the cops showed up to arrest Lucy's uncle and Rick's father, the bride actually took a knife from the buffet table and slashed her dress to make it shorter and run for her life. Good for her! Good for her!!

Gregory and Lucy: Beautiful mess, Ginny pulled every string she could to give them a wedding worth talking about within days of Gregory's dramatic kidnapping proposal. Good for her for wearing pants too! How it happened? Ginny Delacroix doesn't have details either. Something something about Lucy being Gregory's wingman with Hermione and ending up seduced herself. Ginny doesn't care, what she cares about is that Lucy's uncle went to jail ! That was incredible entertainment! Also, she totally gave Haselby and his groomsman her card when Gregory and Lucy were having their first dance

Hyacinth and Gareth: The official story is that Hyacinth and Gareth met as children in his grandmothers Academy and then as adults they reconnected and he proposed in a very normal way, with a flash mob and a boom box, you know, if Hyacinth broadcasting her entire relationship in TikTok is considered normal. I think Hyacinth got so much sponsorship deals just to turn her wedding into a event for her followers that it didn't even matter that Gareth was indeed pretty much flat broke at the time because his father disowned him for chosing Hyacinth over the St Clair fortune and demanded he breakup with her. He proposed instead. She wanted to elope but her mom wanted her to have a nice wedding and so did grandma Danbury so Hyacinth did the next best thing and turn her wedding into profit 🤩🤩🤩. Ginny was impressed by how many internet strangers were sending Hyacinth and Gareth money to film her wedding after she told all her followers that her wedding was going to be a private affair. Well joke is on St Clair senior because the bank Hyacinth's TikToks made with Gareth, actually covered all of the wedding expenses. And After that they just decided to become full time content creators. Last Ginny heard of Hyacinth and Gareth they had a great TikTok and YouTube variety channel

And that's more or less the backstory of this au

#bridgerton #genevieve delacroix #Bridgerton modern brides au #polin #Kanthony #Saphne #Philoise #Franchel

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klausysworld · 2 years ago

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Happy holi !!!

So holi is a indian festival celebrated in the month of march .this year it was on 8th of march

Can you do a one shot were reader and her friend play holi with mikelson family .

For you, my love i would do this every day

I wasn’t sure whether to mention the festival to the Mikaelsons, I planned to go with my other friends to celebrate but i wanted the Mikaelsons to come, they were my family now.

I had just finished oiling my hair, making sure i was protecting my scalp from the paints and colours that were bound to get all over it tomorrow. I was slipping into my kurta pyjamas when Klaus came into our room. His arms slipping around my waist as he pressed his warm lips to the crown of my head

“you look beautiful my love” he whispered touching the fabric between his fingers

“no bright colours for bed tonight?” he asked with a tilt if his head as he looked at me through the mirror infront of us

“no not tonight” i muttered with a small smile before walking out his gasp to our bed, curling up, i reached my arm out to pull him closer. He wrapped himself around me and gently felt my hair

“you’ve oiled it? i thought you didn’t do that too often?” i smiled to myself listening to him, his fingers scratched at my scalp lightly

“i actually um i have this thing tomorrow with a few friends…you’re welcome to join- all of your family, it’s a festival- course if you’re busy its fine” i rambled not noticing his hands holding mine as he sat up to listen to me

“My love, my family is your family, you know this and we would love to join you and your festival, what is it for?” he asked softly kissing the back of my hand

“Holi…it’s for spring and love. It’s a festival of colour, so you throw coloured dye at one another, often the children have water guns with brightly coloured water inside, Hope would love it i think” i smiled brightly at him as he returned it with a loving gaze

“is there anything in particular we need to prepare for you?” he asked

“i’d wear something plain, something you don’t mind being covered in paint. we’ll go to my friends where we can eat and drink before the celebration begins. It doesn’t really start until the evening ish so Hope won’t have to wait to eat or anything, everything’s ready you just need to turn up” he grinned as he kissed my forehead

“i’ll tell our family of it and I’m certain they will attend, Hope in particular will be overly excited i am sure, and i have plenty of clothes ready, i am after all an artist” i laughed lightly and shuffled closer

“i truly adore you” i uttered and his eyes glazed over with a shine as he smiled

“i love you, i always will” he whispered as he held me close, his chin resting on top my head as we drifted to sleep.

The next day all of the Mikaelsons were ready, dressed in appropriate clothing and Hope was running all over the place

Klaus had followed me around all morning like a lost puppy, willing to do anything he could

“are we leaving yet?” he asked making sure he had packed all the spare clothes for everyone

“mhm yep lets get on our way, who’s driving?” i questioned

“Elijah of course, heaven forbid you fail abide to each and every driving law. Honestly it’s ridiculous, i speed one time and he refused to let me use his car”

“it’s more of a family car though” i reminded him, in response eh only rolled his eyes.

Finally there, i greet each of my friends and introduced everyone to each other. Dishes of colourful substances were set up everywhere, buckets of coloured water with sponges lined up. Hope looked ready to have a filed day and the other kids were quick to involve her.

As soon as it began Kol had dumped a handful of dye over Elijahs head. His white suits instantly ruined making Niklaus burst out laughing resulting in Elijah drenching them both in pink water. I threw my head back as i laughed before Hope chased my around with her water gun.

Music was blasting as i smeared a mix of paint down Klaus’s neck and chest, he only smiled widely before wiping light blue solution across my cheeks

“you know you said this was also the festival of love…” he said while bringing his lips closer to mine

“mhm and spring, should we get a pet bunny?” asked with a giggle seeing the distaste on his face as his nose scrunched up

“absolutely not”

“but daaad” Hope sounded from behind us with her arms crossed. Before he could reply Rebekah had thrown a significant amount of lime green paint over his side making him gasp and return her with a deathly stare. She run past at a human pace, grabbing Hope on the way and spinning her around

“you gonna come again next year?” i asked amused

“for you, my love i would do this every day”

this family would be the thing that brought an indescribable happiness to my life and i loved each of them in their own way.

(this could have been better! I’ve been struggling the past week to actually get ideas down but i hope its still something :) I hope everyone who celebrates had a wonderful Holi!!)

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