#Other Cities News in Hindi

[reneesghostinthelivingroom]

Lunch First

|| poly!plastics x fem!reader

|| Warnings; reader speaks multiple languages, not a whole lot of dialogue, brief swearing and mentions of feeling nauseous/death but nobody dies, hints at smut at the end but nothing actually said

|| Summary; when taking a trip to New York, reader gets to show off her language skills! The girls are pretty damn impressed.

Started; December 12th

Finished; December 12th

Anon Request; Poly!plastics x fem!reader- r is polyglot (fluent in several languages) but the girls never knew until one day while they were all in the city R is approached by someone not speaking English, looking for directions, and they girls are confused, but r jumps straight into helping them. Then when the girls go out to lunch Gina wanted to go to an authentic Italian restaurant, and the restaurant owners are a family-friend to r, so r breaks out into her Italian when greeting the owners and when ordering. And the girls becoming shocked slightly turned on, because r knows yet another language. And then when the girls go shopping at whatever luxury clothing store they go to, r brings out another language. So they ask how many she knows, so r list all of the languages she’s fluent in, one of them being Hindi, and Karen’s like “So that’s why you’re my parents favorite” ~🌱

Author Note; appreciate the patience, 🌱 Anon! I know this one took a while to get out. Hope you like it 🫶 Accidentally posted it by mistake before it was done, whoopsie 😬

~~~

The plastics had taken you out to the big city for a little fun, the trip paid for by Regina. The four of you walked around New York together. Gretchen and Karen had their arms linked while you held Regina's hand. Worried about getting lost in the large crowds. You knew this city could get busy, even on their sidewalks. But clearly you'd underestimated just how busy. The movies never do it justice. You'd been here before too and every time it still shocked you.

That's when someone approached the four of you. Looking a little nervous, lost even. They were asking you for directions in a language that clearly confused your girlfriends but rolled effortlessly off your tongue. You told them where to go, helping them through the map they held. They thanked you before heading off in the direction you'd given. Your girls stared at you. What language even was that? Heck if they knew but damn. It sounded hot coming out of you. Regina instinctively pulled you a little closer to her. A possessive need to her touch. One that didn't go unnoticed by you.

The girls decided to leave their questions for now, after all the four of you were getting pretty hungry. So, you worked together to come up with some idea of a place you could go for lunch. Finding that to be more important. Besides, it wasn't unusual for someone to know more than one language. The plastics knew at least one other themselves.

"What about an authentic Italian restaurant?" Regina suggested, glancing at her phone to look at the places New York had to offer. Your shoulders relaxed at that one, you had family friends here who owned a restaurant like that. Part of the reason you'd been to New York before this trip was to visit them.

"That's perfect! I know a place," and now you were the one leading the way. It actually wasn't too far from where you were anyways, luckily enough. So, you went by foot.

Gretchen and Karen exchanged a glance with grins, both excited for this. They'd get to go to a fancy restaurant? Sign them up.

"Ooo, I bet it just looks the cutest!" Gretchen smiled, Karen giggled and nodded in agreement.

"I bet it will have plants!" Karen replied, both girls continued talking about their ideas of what the restaurant will look like. Regina occasionally throwing in her own idea. If only to amuse Gretchen and Karen, because you were focused on getting them there. Regina wasn't going to distract you. Not yet, anyway.

Getting there was easier than you'd thought it would be. You were glad you remembered the direction your parents had gone with you in. The doors opened with that familiar bell, being greeted by the host. Who was the son of the owner and one of your friends. He smiled when he recognized you. The two of you talking excitedly in Italian. He was surprised to see you, but happy nonetheless. Your girls found themselves shocked again. You knew Italian, too? At this point, what language didn't you know? They'd have to find a chance to ask you about it. Curiosity winning the battle against them. Lunch first, though.

When lunch was done, you and the girls took some photos. You made sure to have a long catch up conversation with your family friends. All of them happy to see you and meet the plastics. Having heard quite a bit about them before.

It wasn't long until you and your girlfriends were onto the next thing. Shopping! A personal favourite to your girls. This time Regina led the way. She knew where all the fancy spots were in New York. She was going to hit as many as she could before nightfall.

Regina led them everywhere. By this point, your feet were honestly starting to kill you. You weren't even in heels, unlike Regina and Gretchen. Seriously. You didn't know how they did it. You'd be dead if that were you.

"We have to go to this one!" Regina pointed to a store that's name was written in French. You wondered if it would be French owned. Regina dragged the three of you inside. The shop was stunning. Way out of your own pay grade, that's for damn sure. Some of the prices in here made you feel nauseated at the thought. Regina, however, seemed to be in perfect bliss. Rich people. You shook your head at the thought, though it was a little amusing.

"Baby, come here! This would look stunning on you!" Regina called you over with an impatient hand wave. You followed her over, looking at the outfit she picked out for you. Your mouth went dry at the price. Jesus, fuck.

"Ah! Celui-ci fait partie de notre collection vintage! Aimez-vous?" The employee asked with a smile, you looked to her with a nod.

Translation; This one is part of our vintage collection! Do you like it?

"C'est bluffant!" You chatted with the employee, her telling you everything about the outfit. Answering the questions you had for her. Speaking in fluent French. Regina stood next to you, wide eyed. She could only catch a few words here and there. French was never her strong subject, that's for sure.

Translation; it's stunning!

When you were done talking with the employee, you looked to Regina. Who was eyeing you with more interest than usual. Even Gretchen and Karen had popped their heads around the corner when they heard your voice speak yet another language.

"Okay, this is just getting stupid. How many languages do you know?" Regina asked.

You had to actually think about it before you gave them a pretty big list," oh. And I speak Hindi too," you finished.

Karen seemed to come to an understanding at that last bit," so that's why you're my parents favourite."

You shrugged, feeling a little proud at all the languages you could speak. Especially with the bedroom eyes it earned you from Regina.

"I think we can go back to the hotel now." Regina stated, Gretchen nodded in agreement. You were able to read between the lines of that and your cheeks flushed. Feeling that familiar heat.

[melhindips]

Day 362

🟡 Hezbollah forces repel 2 IOF ground incursion attempts. Hezbollah says it killed & injured 80 IOF soldiers; Israel says only 8 killed, 30 injured. ~5 IOF tanks reportedly destroyed

🇵🇸 90 Palestinians killed in Gaza in 24 hrs

‼️ IOF massacres 53+ people incl. 19 from 1 family, in hours-long ground incursion backed by artillery fire in Khan Younis (south)

‼️ IOF bombs orphanage in Rimal neighborhood + school in Tuffah district + residential buildings in Gaza City (north), massacring 25+

‼️ Gaza Civil Defense: Gaza Genocide has erased 902 families from registry. 1,374 families have only 1 survivor

🇯🇴 Jordan officials to CNN: Jordan intercepted Iran missiles. Israeli official says “other Middle Eastern countries” also helped

🇺🇳 Israel bans UN Secretary-General from entry for “insufficient condemnation” of Iran

🇱🇧 46 killed, 85 injured in Lebanon in 24 hrs

🚀 Hezbollah fires 240+ rockets, sparking fires in Israeli colonies

🇱🇧 IOF attack kills 5, injures 8 in west Beirut. 3 other airstrikes on Beirut leveled buildings

🇱🇧 Israel threatens 19 new towns in south Lebanon to fully evacuate

🇵🇸 Central Gaza: IOF attacked tents & evacuation centers, killing 23 people

🇸🇾 3 people killed, 3 injured in IOF attack on Damascus, Syria

🇬🇧 UK says its fighter jets played role in “wider deterrence” of Iran attack

🇺🇸 Biden discusses Israeli attack on Iran w/ Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Japan & UK

❌ Israel imposes new curfew on Hebron (West Bank), abducting & abusing several men

[eretzyisrael]

by Bassam Tawil

According to the textbooks used in UNRWA schools, Jews have no rights whatsoever or any legitimate status in Israel. A Jewish presence in the country is denied historically, geographically and religiously. No reference is made in the books to the history of the Jews throughout the region, either in Biblical or Roman times. Any connection is also denied of the Jews to their ancient capital, Jerusalem, which is presented as an Arab city since its establishment thousands of years ago. The Jews' presence in Jerusalem today is bewilderingly presented in the books as an aggression against the city's Arab character.

Beyond the textbooks, both UNRWA administrators and teachers have proudly displayed their approval of terrorism and hatred on countless occasions, including Hamas's recent October 7 massacre, according to a report published by UN Watch, an independent non-governmental human rights organization, as well as IMPACT-se.

UNRWA math teacher Adnan Shteiwi, for instance, glorified Diaa Hamarsheh, the perpetrator of the March 2022 Bnei Brak shooting attack -- in which he murdered four Israeli civilians and one policeman -- as a "martyr" whose name should "forever remain in letters of fire, might, and magnificence."

UNRWA's Asma Middle School for Girls B encouraged schoolgirls to " liberate the homeland by sacrificing 'their Blood' and pursuing jihad."

Roni Krivoi, one of the Israeli hostages recently freed from Hamas captivity, reported that he had been kept prisoner in an attic for more than a month and a half, mostly starved and medically untreated. His jailer was an UNRWA teacher.

In Gaza -- as with Ahmad Kahalot, Director of the Kamal Adwan Hospital, who admitted that he was the equivalent of a brigadier general for Hamas and that 16 of the hospital's staff were also "terror operatives for Hamas" -- the mesh of Hamas and UNRWA is also illustrated in the high-profile case of Dr. Suhail al-Hindi.

Al-Hindi served as both the principal of an UNRWA elementary school and as the chairman of the UNRWA employee's union in Gaza. In 2017, UNRWA suspended al-Hindi after it received information that he had just been elected to the Hamas political bureau. UNRWA announced that al-Hindi no longer worked for the agency, but did not say whether he had resigned or been fired. Al-Hindi first said he "resigned" from UNRWA, but later clarified that he was taking early retirement.

The case of al-Hindi and other UNRWA employees suspected of supporting terrorism makes the point that UNRWA is "the money," while thug terror-groups such as Hamas are "the muscle."

UNRWA tries to keep up public pretense that its hands are clean, and has taken a belligerently defensive stance against these and other accusations, as it publicly claims that it has a "zero-tolerance policy for hatred."

The Israeli news site Ynet , however, wrote recently about a UN Watch report:

"In it, some 47 documented cases of school staff promoting antisemitic material are recorded, as school staff openly violates the official UNRWA policy... "It was only two years ago that UNRWA apologized for similar instances, claiming they were done erroneously and will not occur in the future, but with this latest report, that promise rings hollow."

One UNRWA employee portrayed Adolf Hitler in a favorable light: "Wake up Hitler, there are people left to burn."

[octuscle]

What's up bro? After that lunar landing, India seems like the place to be! Problem is, I don't think the suitcase I brought will be enough for me to last seeing everything from the Taj Mahal to the golden temple. Can I borrow one of the DEL suitcases?

There is actually another suitcase. A fairly new aluminum suitcase from RIMOWA. Looks very expensive. And doesn't necessarily match your dusty and sweaty tourist outfit…. But since no one else has contacted me: Have fun with it!

Delhi… A really huge city. But also really challenging for a tourist who doesn't speak Hindi. But slowly you get used to the strange English they speak here. And somehow you finally find the Airbnb in the old city, a stone's throw from the Red Fort. It smells of sweat, urine and exotic spices in the stairwell. The stairs are steep and you are pretty tired. Heaving your suitcases up is really exhausting. But you have made it. You'll see what's in the big new suitcase tomorrow. You just want to sleep. It looks like the bed in the room hasn't even been made yet. You don't care about that now. Just sleep…

When you wake up the next morning, your old suitcase is gone. But also your old pajamas are gone. You lie naked in bed. And something is different… Your morning wood is hard as steel. Hehehehe, that's not bad… But it's also darker somehow. A shade like a coffee with a shot of milk. Coffee! Yes, you need it now. You get out of the silk-sheeted bed and your boner leads you like a divining rod to the coffee maker in the alcove between your dressing room and the master bath. After the first coffee, quickly take a shower and then get dressed.

And then a second coffee. Your driver will be here soon. Good thing your suitcase is already packed next to you.

You don't like Noida. But many of your friends live there because they have located their startup companies there and it is easier to find capable software developers. But that's not your world either. Your family made their money generations ago in real estate and in the textile industry. And you now head the banking and finance division in your family holding company. After all, you have financed some of your friends' startups. And today one of your friends is getting married. In Noida. You'll survive that, too.

The journey was long, as usual. Getting out of Delhi takes time. But at least you were able to make a number of phone calls while your driver navigated the car safely through the traffic chaos. Now you have moved into your suite. In the corridor hectic movements between the rooms. Bridesmaids and other guests scurry from room to room. You hate this hassle. In life, you would never think of getting married. But the bellboy who carried your suitcase upstairs was hot. You call the front desk and ask for someone to help you unpack your luggage and get dressed. The hotel is one of the most preferred locations for weddings in Noida. You are a regular guest here. They know your preferences. And the bellboys love your cock. You can already imagine that now there will be a fight again, who is allowed to blow you and gets the tip for it.

Yes, that was good… Your cock dangles relaxed between your legs. Your clothes fit perfectly. So on to the ballroom. And let's see who is your boring dinner companion this time.

[ineffable-opinions]

Do you still read BL novels? What languages do you read/understand? :0 what do you think of ‘queer’ literature in the west versus other places? Do you ever read such work?

I read translations of Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Thai BL novels. While I understand a bunch of languages (Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada, Hindi, Urdu, English), I am dyslexic. So reading is anyway difficult.

Since I have been reading for a while now, I can understand Chinese, Korean and Japanese works even when they are not translated well. Over the years, I have learnt enough BL vocabulary and separately learned some of the most common words, popular slang, etc. in those languages. I am still new to Thai novels, so they are a bit difficult to machine translate but I am getting the hang of it now.

I sometimes listen to danmei audio drama adaptations on MaoerFM. And in case of BL manga, if their drama CDs are available, I usually read while listening to them.

As for distinction between what's considered 'queer' literature in the west and elsewhere, honestly I don't care since I read everything. And I am always quick to notice the similarities. Here are some 'queer' works that might give you an idea of what I mean:

Bei Cheng Tian Street (北城天街) by FeiTian YeXiang - for the fans of Love in the Big City

Less by Andrew Sean Greer - PSA for Malayalis, Less machan visits Thiruvananthapuram at one point and it goes as you would expect it to 😑

Faggots by Larry Kramer

This Arab Is Queer

The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy

Hot Head by Damon Suede

Pride by Gengoroh Tagame

Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima

Ang Ang: Hard-boiled Love by Gwendolyn

BLT by Konohara Narise

I have delved into some interesting differences in my pervious posts 😅

I also read a bit of academic output, especially (auto-)ethnography, to get an idea of the ground realities of queer people in BL producing countries.

[stephensmithuk]

The Sign of Four: The Story of the Bald-Headed Man

The Victorians were rather into what is known as chinoiserie, the European imitation of Chinese and other East Asian artistic traditions, although the popularity had somewhat peaked by this point.

The stethoscope had been invented in France in 1816 by René Laennec and the two-ear version was commercially available from 1852. The practice before and without one - see A Study in Scarlet - was to listen to the chest by applying your ear directly too. This was a bit awkward when dealing with a woman, the reason Laennec invented it in the first place.

We've seen Tokay before, in "The Last Bow".

Since tobacco came to Europe, there have been people who couldn't stand the smell. James I of England/James VI of Scotland wrote A Counterblaste to Tobacco in 1604, one of the earliest anti-smoking works. He would impose an import tax on tobacco, then later made it a royal monopoly.

It was also considered taboo to spoke in front of women for much of this period; hence the use of smoking rooms. It was also seen as unladylike for a woman to smoke at all; if she did, it evoked an image of prostitution. Unless you were working class, in which case women widely smoked.

Hookah comes from the Hindustani word "huqqa". Hindustani is also known as Hindi-Urdu; Hindi being the Devanagari-written version used in India and Urdu the Pakistani version written in the Persian alphabet. Both countries have tried to make their two versions somewhat distinct; Hindustani is not used in official terminilogy in either. In speech, the two are pretty much mutually intelligible, if you keep things simple.

The hookah remains popular in South Asia and the Middle East; smoking is not specifically prohibited in the Quran, but in recent decades, a number of very prominent clerics have declared it haram (forbidden). In much of Europe and North America, indoor smoking bans cover hookahs, places that offer them have had to switch to tobacco-free version.

In any event, hookah smoking is really bad for your health - you're basically inhaling the equivalent of 100-200 cigarettes in a single session.

Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot was a French realist painter. Works of his can be found in the Louvre and New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, among various other galleries.

Pondicherry, which we've seen mentioned before, is a city on the south-east coast of what is now India; it was a French territory at the time - the British had taken it more than once, but returned to them each time, the last time in 1814.

The lightweight division of boxing today covers weights of 130 to 135 pounds. The current British lightweight champion is James Tennyson, but he has not fought a professional bout since a technical knockout to Jovanni Straffon in 2021.

Agra, located in Uttar Pradesh, is best known as the location of the Taj Mahal, built on the orders of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan between 1631 and 1653 as a mausoleum for his wife Mumtaz Mahal after her death in childbirth in 1631. He is also buried there himself.

£500,000 in 1888 would be the equivalent of over £54m at 2024 values. Not a bad chunk of change.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Characters I headcanon as Pakistani because I am Pakistani.

Jason and Thalia Grace.

Beryl was on popular Pakistani Dramas in her hay day and made sure both her kids were fluent in Urdu.

Jason ended up forgetting it when he was taken by Lupa who spoke to him in Latin. And then Camp Jupiter demanded he speak English.

But then he lost his memories and could only speak his mother tongue. And only Thalia, Annabeth and Grover could understand him. Urdu was Thalia’s first language too. She knows enough English to get by and can’t be arsed learning any more.

Annabeth because she demanded Thalia teach her and began doing her own learning. And Grover because he’s Indian in the to series and I head canon speaks Hindi, which is very similar to Urdu.

Steve Harrington.

Parents tried to assimilate and outside the home just try and hide their heritage. His grandparents spoke to him in Urdu as a child but he didn’t retain much of it. Definitely had a “wish I was white” phase (and probably had fair and lovely pushed on him as child.)

As he began to grow and accept himself, he desperately tried to reach his roots. Got in touch with his grandparents again and began to heal.

Ain’t no Farah Fawcett here we be oiling that hair. Cooks recipes his grandmother used to make him (which the kids demand more of once they get a taste.) Re-learning Urdu with his grandparents and Robin.

He’s done the kurta over jeans look.

(Probably very much watched over by Lucas’s parents after they find out because he’s one of the only other people of colour in this white ass town.)

2012 Casey Jones.

Grew up in New York with an American father and Pakistani mother. Even after her mysterious death he’s still beloved by his family and goes to all the events.

He’s the cool cousin.

He’s always had a deep love for his culture and his city. And always been unapologetically himself no matter what. He has won over Splinter with karak (desi) tea. Has also definitely worn a kurta over jeans and trainers.

Bought mithai as an apology gift after bringing a footbot to the turtles lair and became Mikey’s best friend.

Blake Belladonna

Loved her culture, her home still ran off with a white man Blake tried to leave it all behind and assimilate to life in Vale. But she never felt like she belonged, but also believed she’d changed too much to belong back home.

But as she grew to accept herself and all that made her Blake Belladonna, that feeling begin to lessen. It’s still there, but maybe she can exist in two worlds instead of one. She shares stories with her friends, practices and teaches them (particularly Weiss) her mother tongue and traditions.

And they embrace her just like they always will.

Ozma

He assimilates to each new life but he’s still him under it all. It’s under lock and key, who he was but in the quiet moments he shares those little things. He’s not a fan off tea, he drinks only coffee and yet there’s a certain pink tea that he will always accept.

He and Salem smh ran off with a white woman had a grand wedding, there were no attendants but they more than made up for it. His girls all had bangles around their wrists and there was a once a time where wrapping them in his mother’s dupatta was the most magical thing of them all.

He’d leave a plate off apple slices in their rooms and smile as they happily ate them. The old men at the market would gently pat him on the head when they meet. Some of them still do, as if they know and maybe they do.

Things from the past hurt so much now, and yet he loves them.

[candycryptids]

Should really just make a post with all my silly little oc Spotify playlists. Might as well be this one.

Non-Specific XIV playlists (made up of XIV songs and some remixes of them, includes songs from Canon Crossover Raids like NIER and Ivalice) [Battle] [Relax]

Chuusday’s playlist [Workshop] (factory noise/boss themes/electronic) and [Dreaming Of electric Kaarakuul] (gramophone graininess and blues)

Tuesday’s Playlist [Chores Simulator] (Louie Zong, Piano, Waltzes, the feeling of being in a new small town possibly on the coast)

Ishi’li’s Playlist [Dazzling Eorzean Adventurer In Purple] (Creepy Nuts, hip hop, 8-bit/chip tune, J-rock. The most vibe varied playlist so far imho, but Ishi has a wider range of musical tastes because of their background…)

Levraut’s playlist [Pirates + Investigations] (Sea shanties, drinking, sailing songs, hints of harpsichord, occasional tension)

Tangy’s playlist [Internal Thoughts] (Basically All Elevator Music BayBee) and [Orange Jams] (shoegaze/garage rock, crunchy)

Mochiie’s Playlist [Doesn’t have a Name Yet] (sprinkle of traditional Mongolian, Bollywood, romantic Hindi songs, XIV music) not nearly as long as my other playlists yet.

Swydghem’s (and Solkmyna’s, they’re sorta blended, I was listening to it the whole time I was writing [This]) playlist [The Sea Rises To Meet You] (Somber, more women’s vocals than men, longing, Gaelic)

Maltagliati’s playlist [Haunting Hours are 24/7] (Halloweenish and Video Game Chill-hop with some Dungeon Crawling sprinkled in. Laid back hanging out in a haunted house or perhaps in Haukke Manor’s basement on a dare, summoning Creatures. Or, low stakes hide and seek with a monster. I dunno.)

Bonus round: Chuu+Tue’s combined playlist, a very small mix of music I’m slowly cultivating. [Marriage Of Flesh And Machine] (Electro, Piano, Crunch, Dance Hall, Orchestral??? tempo and vibe vary wildly between chased by Wolves In An Abandoned City and Trendy Department Store Introspection. They are more than the sum of their parts; it is a chaotic collision of Viera and Machine into something new and beautiful and strange.)

[jopetkasi]

Of weekends and things in betweeen...

The thing with having your own place is that when it's hot and humid, you simply run the airconditioner and walk around your unit, naked. of course, I had the drapes spread across less a snooty neighbor from the other building report me for exposing myself.

Saturday came and like any struggling adult out there, it meant errands. But first, lunch. Again, we should normalize and respect people who eat their meals alone. Period.

I went to Watami to satisfy my sashimi cravings and boy, it was a bit expensive. although hindi naman sya Wolfgangs or Antonios young pricing, still it was mahal (sorry na) I ordered a plate of their salmon which was really good mind you (because of the taba) and paired it with ebi tempura which failed my expectations given the price lol.

After lunch, i went to my favorite barber shop for a haircut and had a pedicure. the barber did wonders and the post-cut massage was a welcome relief. manang rose who does my toenails knows I hate the feeling of nail files swiping and applying gamot na pula to make one's feet look rosy red. they know my peculiarities well and i both gave them hefty tips after. done with pampering i did groceries to replenish my pantry. as you can see, if you reach my age, CheezWhiz is essential and so are sulfur soaps to thoroughly wash off bacteria, and yes, a little bit of alcohol wont hurt. the rest of my cart are the usual staples.

the rest of the afternoon was spent solitary with me playing some video games only to realize that my Switch controller is probably busted as the left trigger does not seem to function as it should.

by 5pm i decided to leave the city and be at my parent's house for the weekend. i missed them especially my adopted siblings who now call me "ahiya" which is "elder" brother in Chinese.

early dinner, done. the rest of the family decided to watch The House of Dragons and Piolo Pascual's Mallari since my kuya lent us his projector to give that cinema effect (since we are still scared shit to go to the movies lol) I sat down for a couple of minutes but left since I was already sleepy.

by 10pm, i was roused from sleep thanks to the incessant calls made by Carla. She is asking demanding that I be her plus one (+1) at Francos and I was like "gaga ka ba, galing na ako ng Makati kanina tapos babalik ulet ako?" Too late, she was already parked at our gate and gave me ten minutes to change into a fresh shirt.

of course, being the supportive friend i obliged with the condition that I would sleep during the drive. Thankfully, JanJan was in the passenger seat to keep Carla company because I was way too tired to talk.

Yun pala, the plus 1 was made up for me to meet the guy they introduced me the other night. Carla's real plus one was JanJan pala.

guy: oh you're here!

me: yeah, small world no?

guy: Carla invited me. she said you wanted to see me...

me: uh yeah (liar) i wanted you to join us (liar)

we joined the rest and listened to the ongoing conversation which was mostly payabangan stuff between balding guys in their thirties with the belief that their new vehicles are extensions of their dicks to entice girls.

i am not having that shit down on my throat that night so I excused myself to smoke outside. and surprise, the new guy followed...

guy: bored ka no?

me: sorry I am really sleepy....and the convo

guy. i know. full of shit lol. do you want to go somewhere else?

me: are we having sex? sorry di ko kaya pagod ako sobra.

guy: you are really weird in funny way, jopet.

and so that was how my Saturday night came to an end. Me having a nice chat with this new friend over balut, chicharon, and coke zero at the parking lot.

hours passed and with Carla not showing any signs of wanting to go home, I decided to go ahead and book a grab car (deadma na sa 1 thousand pesos na rate) but the new guy was kind enough to offer me a ride tutal we live in the same village din.

so that was my Saturday...that crossed over to Sunday.

[arzuispolitical]

so I've been having a little bit of a linguistics hyperfixation lately, and I decided to educate myself a little on the several languages of India - more particularly, their history and how they came to be the languages we recognise today, because I'm a bit of a history nerd. there was also this one insta reel living rent-free in my brain about how both the languages urdu and hindi came from meerut apparently and wasn't endemic to pakistan or something??? which is obviously a bunch of hogwash how can a language just be born in a city but whatever it bothered me enough to learn about it.

now i'm not a linguist so take this with a grain of salt but it turns out. hindi and urdu used to be the exact same language.

"but what about the script? the two languages look completely different - hindi is written in devanagari, and urdu in modified persian!"

there are many languages in the world that do not have their own script - this is especially true historically. that's why virtually all of the western european languages share a script - roman - because when the empire collapsed and new kingdoms began to take its place, they found that they didn't have to invent an entirely new script for administration - they could just take rome's. this is a vast oversimplification, but you get my meaning.

our language did not have this problem. if you were a person living in early 18th century india, you could write the vernacular used in the north of the country (it's collected a lot of names - hindu, urdu, hindustani, rekhta, hindavi, khariboli, etc.) in Kaithi, Devanagari OR Persian; granted you knew how to write, of course. this is what kaithi looks like:

if you're at all familiar with hindi/urdu, then you must also know what devanagari and nastaʿlīq looks like, so i'm not including them here.

all of these scripts would have been used at different times by different people in order to do different things - hindustani written in nastaʿlīq (which would later become urdu) would have been used for admin work by local lords and the like; kaithi was used by the kayasthas, a caste of scribes and accountants, and devanagari was popularly used by brahmins to write down religious scriptures.

over time, however, as colonial influence expanded and the british began to teach themselves the language, communal sentiments - mostly hindu brahmins that despised the influence of the 'urdu' elite - began to spread. they made literature and taught the english a version of "hindi" that had many sanskrit words and had removed all arabo-persian ones. on the other hand, poets and writers that had once been formerly empowered by the patronage of the mughals began to feel disillusioned with how much power had been stolen from them - so, they began to make their "urdu" much more arabicised and persianised.

the british also began to allow the use of the devanagari script in courts. and then then later - through malicious ignorance - recognised hindi and urdu as separate languages in some acts relating to official employment and education. this, combined with cultural factors and the aforementioned communal sentiments, led to hindi and urdu becoming different languages in the popular imagination.

so yeah. the only reason they're two different languages now is because of divide-and-rule. thanks, britain!

[sanguisxferox]

{ THE ESSENTIALS }

Name: Henry Cohen Age: 130 Species: Blood Witch / alchemist Familiar: Eric Draven (Crow) Powers: Other than typical blood witch powers, Henry and his family are able to create 2-way fixed portals anywhere in the world that can be activated with a specific powder and their blood. The doors are noncorporeal and invisible. They are located all around New Orleans (and the world), giving Henry access to any places he wishes to go or take others with him without being seen. His homemade powders are mixed with his blood for quick use and to skip usually long rituals, different colors for different things, hence why his fingers often look stained when he uses them a lot. Deity: Primarily, the God of Travelling (deceased), but highly regards similar ones that guide souls; like Anubis, Fengdu Ghosts, Charon, Shinigami, Xolotl, Veles, etc. Gender, Pronouns, Sexual & Romantic identities: Cis-male. He/him. Homosexual. Homoromantic Residence / Years: Lakeview / 50 years Affiliation / Years:  N/A Job / Workplace: Portal Maker/Guide & Owner of Wyrmwood Apothecary (French Quarter) Relationship status: Single Positive traits: Loyal, reliable, resourceful, witty, honest, loving Negative traits: Sassy, inconsiderate, short-tempered, self-serving, obsessive

{ FAMILY TREE }

They are, for the most part, alive, but none of them currently lives in New Orleans other than Henry. They can be found all around the world.

{ HEADCANONS }

Henry was born in England and of Jewish descent. His birthday is on October 23rd, making him a Scorpio.

He can switch back and forth between a Londoner accent and a New Orleans one.

It was while visiting his uncle in New Orleans that he fell in love with the city and decided to settle down there. His uncle left a few years later, leaving Henry to be the last of his family in town.

He speaks English, French, Spanish, and Louisiana French. He can understand Hindi well enough, but isn’t very good at speaking it.

One of his most common nickname (like the rest of his family) is The Traveller(s)

The Cohen are rumoured to be descendants of the God of Travelling; hence why they can make portals and guide people through them the way they do.

Henry owns and run an Apothecary in the French Quarter called Wyrmwood Apothecary.

He can get dangerously obsessive when he wants something/someone and he’ll go to great length to get what he desires.

The Cohen's divinely blessed bloodline is something the Higher Ups of the Deathrunners found out; resulting in them making a deal with the family a long time ago. The purpose was to get some of their blood for the corruption of Mathias Attano, which was a good deal until the Higher Ups became too greedy.

Recently, their greediness led them to almost draining Henry out of his blood, but he managed to escape. The direct attack has put the Deathrunners at odds with the Cohen Family all across the world.

Unbeknownst to Henry, the attack on him wasn’t as random as he thought, nor only out of greed and no one other than the Higher Ups know what provoked the attack.

As a consequences, any know members of the Deathrunners are turned around by the Cohen family (or killed on the spot) who now refuses to make portals for them and in Henry’s case to let them enter his Apothecary shop.

Standing at 1.80m (5'11"), Henry has a charming presence to him. He has wavy, slightly curly hair that falls just below the nape of his neck, accentuating his striking turquoise-like eyes and a full, short beard. As a blood witch alchemist, his fingers are often stained from creating vibrant powders for quick use, hinting at his craft. He prefers a casual style, typically wearing dark denim jeans, a plain white t-shirt and an assortment of leather jackets he loves to flaunt. With an attractive, mischievous aura, he effortlessly draws attention while exuding an intriguing blend of danger and allure.

{ CONNECTIONS }

Ricardo Jimenez / Best friend: He’s also his closest one. Henry would kill just about anyone to protect him. They have known each other for 15 years. But the incident with the Deathrunners has caused a crack in the foundation of their friendship as Henry is now cautious and distrusting of all Deathrunners. He knows his best friend had nothing to do with it, but knows that the Higher Ups could do something to control him.

The Deathrunners / Enemy: Although, his hatred for them is mostly targeted at the Higher Ups of the faction, he still stays away from them as much as possible.

Rus Saint-Cyr / Physical therapist: He's Henry’s obsession. Someone that Henry wants and someone he wants to want him. Henry met him after the incident with the Deathrunners. He was extremely helpful in Henry’s recovering.

Mathias Attano / Cautious acquaintance: Henry knows about Mathias more than Mathias knows about what has been done to him. It's because he too is a victim that Henry talks to him. He's also aware of Mathias' real position amongst the Deathrunners.

Suresh Lal / Business partner: For as long as there was a Cohen in New Orleans, they had the Lotus Eaters’ leader as business partner. Exclusive potion ingredients in exchange of fast travelling through the Cohen’s portals.

Versipellis Singh / Business partner / Close friend: They met a few years ago, when Versi was starting his business and become friends and part-time business partners when Henry’s portals came in handy for fast travelling. Unknown to Versi, Henry has quite often used his blood powers to control human customers and made people (including Versi) that the customers were possessed by a ghost.

{ WANTED CONNECTIONS }

Friends, Employees at the Apothecary Store, Frenemies

[melhindips]

American activist shot dead in occupied West Bank

A 26-year-old American woman has been shot dead in the occupied West Bank during a protest.

Aysenur Ezgi Eygi, who is of Turkish descent, is reported to have been taking part in a protest against Jewish settlement expansion in the town of Beita near Nablus.

Ms Ezgi Eygi was allegedly shot by Israeli troops, according to local media reports. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) say they are aware of the incident and looking into it.

The American activist was rushed to a hospital in Nablus with a gunshot to the head and was later pronounced dead, AFP news agency reported.

According to reports by Palestinian media, the 26-year-old had been involved in a campaign to protect farmers from Israeli settler violence.

It comes after Israeli forces withdrew from Jenin city and its refugee camp in the occupied West Bank, following a major nine-day operation there.

During the operation, at least 36 Palestinians were killed - 21 from Jenin governorate - the Palestinian health ministry says. Most of the dead have been claimed by armed groups as members, but the ministry says children are also among those killed.

In the past 50 years, Israel has built settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, where more than 700,000 Jews now live.

Settlements are held to be illegal under international law - that is the position of the UN Security Council and the UK government, among others - although Israel rejects this.

[chevvy-yates]

"New in town? Me? Nah — been living here since I can think!"

—

[NC_RES]_27022048-NCA steyr_j_portraits_003_LC_TD.file ///core:_jaysen_steyr.file\\\

—

⚠️ READ: Please do not repost/reupload any of my art here or to any other platform, or I will be forced to do anything to get it annihilated.

So here's a lil info on him:

As you may have noticed through tags, Jaysen is the twin brother of Vijay. V didn't know about him until in 2078 — Jaysen found out about his brother earlier but was never able to find him until 2078 as well bc V is hard to find.

Jaysen was given away because his and Vijay's parents weren't able to handle two children (you may already know they weren't good parents for V either since they only had work in mind devoting their lives to Corpos, so Vijay grew up with a nanny looking after him instead).

Jay was adopted by a caring pair living in Night City. His foster dad worked as an officer at the NCPD. Jay thought to be their blood until he got to a certain teenage age starting to ask questions where they couldn't hide the truth from him anymore, telling him he was adopted and he was born with the last name 'Steyr' in Monterey and not 'Grayford'. His foster parents knew that he has a twin brother but not his name. So it was all they were able to tell him. After that Jaysen got obsessed with wanting to find him and his real parents.

So, like Vijay, he got himself into exploring the net more and more, collecting data, trying to find out more about his family tree. Over the years he managed digging out data of his parents and finds out his brother's name is Vijay but V seems to have vanished (because V went to live with that gang and deleted his data during that time, giving himself an alias also when moving to Night City because he still did netrunning service for people wanting their data removed (like Ryder)). This is just first thoughts on all this. Details might change a bit and ofc there is more about his backtory, but it's just bits and nothing final so this info should do for now.

On the other side i can add that Vijay already gets foretold by Arki (and Misty), that he's not one only but one of two through tarot cards.

"Wait — why does it say it's two of you. You're an only child, right?" "Yeah, I am." "Like I'm doing this for the fifth time now and it says two. Two of you." "Must've read wrong then. Or those cards are cursed." "Oh, they are never wrong. I'll go to Misty. Can't shake that there is something to it."

Misty confirms that as well but the cards won't say more so it will be the usual investigation to look into but the team has other important stuff and problems right now to do and it happens that Jaysen is the one finding his brother before Vijay can even start to look. How this is going to be, I'll keep for another time. :D

But:

If you ask yourself now where the idea of a sudden brother for Vijay came? Simple: I looked up 'Vijay' again; it derives from 'Vijaya' (Hindi for victory). Vijaya, alongside Jaya, is a gatekeeper of the abode of Vishnu. Due to a curse both (demonic) brothers were forced to reincarnate three times on earth.

A long while ago I defined for Vijay that he believes in soulmates and other more spiritual stuff. E.g. when you die and get born again, that you will find your soulmate, even if it takes centuries. I don't want to say that V's soulmate is Jay here, no, because his soulmate is Arki (hence they fall for each other so rapidly). Arki, too can't shake the feeling that Vijay must have been some ancient divine centuries ago (I did not start this, haha), they both do not just get to know each together, it's more they discover each other again.

Maybe it is similar with Vijay and Jaysen but I see them more like they are one mind in some cases. They have different likes, tastes and character bc they didn't grew up together but also are very much alike.

And what can I say other than this Vijaya and Jaya stuff was not too far away and I thought why not?

This is basically the idea behind giving Vijay a twin brother now just because of looking up name origins, tarot and ancient (soul) stuff, yo. That is how my inspiration works, yeah. And @nervouswizardcycle is always super inspiring and helping if I have doubts.

[avatarvyakara]

So let’s just say I have some catching up to do…

What happens when the cast of Strands of Webbing meets the cast of Across the Spider-Verse? Take a sneak-peek:

409. Reflect

“So, let me go through this one last time. Your name is Pavitr Prabhakar.”

Spider-Man beams through the mask.

“Right on, new guy!”

“And you were, what, bitten by a radioactive spider? Made the avatar of the spider who protected the Linga of Lord Shiva? Woke up one day to find yourself an enormous bug?”

“I prefer to keep my backstory mysterious, because, you know, it’s cooler that way.”

“And your girlfriend is Gayatri Singh, not Meera Jain?”

“Well, I can’t blame you for being interested, but I don’t think she’d be very interested in you. She’s a wonderful person and very faithful.”

“And you live in Mumbattan?”

“What, like it’s a bad name? Where are you from, anyway?”

“Kolkata,” says Pavitr, in a deadpan that he must have picked up from Other Peni.

“Oh, that explains your old-fashioned accent and antiquated fashion sense!”

“I—” Pavitr looks down at his shirt and pants, and then up at this new fellow. “Dude, you’re glittering like a Bollywood star, I don’t think you’re one to talk!”

“I’ll have you know that Bollywood copied me.”

“What’s Bollywood?” asks Mayday, who’s been tagging along.

“Wasn’t this my universe?” Roshni says out loud. The Web-Weaver looks around the enormous city in bewilderment. “But this isn’t Navayurka, it’s Mumbattan. It’s not Amrika, it’s Bharata. Somehow the events in our histories coincided enough that we managed to create almost identical buildings, but the names are completely different—”

“How long have you even been at this job?”

“Oh, uh, I think maaaaaybe a few months? Not much over a year. It’s been so easy the time kind of rushes by without you really thinking about it, doesn’t it.”

“Easy, what—fighting rakshasas all the time is easy?”

Spider-Man, who as they speak has been gallivanting over the rooftops, settles on a spire with a quick somersault. “What do you mean, rakshasas? No wonder you don’t like my costume, you’ve actually been sold on that whole gimmick? Hah! What, are we going to get a naga invasion too?”

“That happened,” says Pavitr, woodenly.

“Dude, you seriously need to chill. And maybe cut down on your caffeine intake.”

“But then I recognize that building and I recognize that traffic jam and I even recognize that graffiti because it annoys me so much and the sound even shows up in Hindi but there’s no holograms so how does anything actually work around here—”

“I cannot believe you’re supposed to be me!”

“Whoa, whoa, easy, guys,” Spider-Girl interrupts. “Why don’t we just relax a bit, get our bearings before anyone glitches, maybe have some chai tea to calm the nerves?”

Both Pavitrs stare at her.

“Mayday…” Pavitr begins, long-suffering.

But Other Pavitr looks downright horrified. “What did you—chai tea? ‘Chai’ means ‘tea’! You’re just saying ‘tea-tea’!”

“Thank you!”

“It doesn’t make any sense!”

“Would I ask for a coffee-coffee with extra sugar-sugar?”

“Of course not!”

“Foreigners, am I right?”

“Americans.”

“I’m right here, guys.”

“Maybe there’s just some kind of mixup, or is this world the past version of my own? But it’s the same graffiti, did someone just keep redrawing it exactly the same way for seven hundred years? On another continent entirely? Or maybe there was some kind of split where a past version of Navayurka provided a psychic template for Mumbattan somehow? Or is it the other way around? I don’t know what’s reeeeeeal!”

Well, at least the Pavitrs are finally getting along.

“Although why you’re asking for sugar-sugar instead of cream-cream I won’t pretend to understand.”

“You absolute heathen.”

Maybe not.

“At least Baby Mayday only throws up on me from time to time,” mutters Mayday to herself, patting a hyperventilating Roshni on the shoulder.

[chaplinlegend]

In September 1931, Charlie Chaplin, during his second tour of Europe promoting his new film "City Light's", met Mahatma Gandhi in London. It was a meeting of two giants from completely different fields of work. One of them was a legend of politics, a nationalist, a lawyer and a father of the nation, and the other was the most important idol of cinema, the greatest entertainer and a legend of cinema. Unlike Charlie Chaplin, Mahatma Gandhi was not a fan of films and watched only two films in his life, one in English and one in Hindi.

Mahatma Gandhi did not know Charlie Chaplin's work, he did not know who he was.

The meeting was widely commented on in the media, with a lot of journalists and photographers.

Mahatma Gandhi opposed the abuse of machines. Charlie Chaplin asked him about his views on the "abhorrence of machines", to which Mahatma Gandhi replied:

"Machines have in the past made us dependent on England, and the only way in which we can free ourselves from this dependence is by boycotting all products manufactured by machines."

On hearing Gandhi speak about machines, Charlie Chaplin wrote in his notebook:

"I received a clear lesson in tactical maneuvering in India's freedom struggle, paradoxically impressed by a practical, manly visionary with an iron will to endure it."

He also attended a prayer with Mahatma Gandhi.

Charlie Chaplin was greatly impressed by Mahatma Gandhi, who inspired next film, "Modern Times". It was one of Charlie Chaplin's best films!

[biff-adventurer]

today i met tiny chris

poor wean's da got et by a 'bon. now he wants 'em all dead. wiv' crossy eyes like them as drawed in the picture shows. dinnae get et and ye might be his new da.

he actually made me think about two things - the npcs/people we've helped along the way, and the writing of accents.

it's no secret i gave biff this accent - it tells you he ain't a city slicker but rather a rural boy, it tells you his folks ain't got a lotta money (at least, one would think), and it associates him with a specific cultural/ethnic profile (gaelic, i know/studied a little more about irish than scots so i lean irish)

i think we should, as a society, be wary of continuing to associate class with specific ethnic communities, but i'm not learned enough to make a post dedicated to my specific thoughts on that (yet? tbd)

mostly, i think it's important to look at the way characters speak as a vehicle of writing. when you write a character's accent, is it useful for what you're trying to establish in the scene? is the noble supposed to fail to understand the vernacular of his server? is it useful if the character is always going to say "dinnae" instead of "do not"? when dealing with non-western characters with accents, how far is it okay to go until the dialogue goes from representation to racist charicature?

writers have the power of flexibility. writing is about persuasion more than anything else, and we should remember to persuade our audiences that these are people. they aren't real, so don't bother with "realistic" - but they represent real ideas, concepts and associations in our world. it's important to be careful what you do with these, intended or not! and if you make an oopsie? acknowledge, accept and continue on your journey to being your best.

my preferences for writing accents based on my experiences, observations and education lean thus:

pick and choose what words require emphasis. if the whole sentence requires it, then so be it! but make conscious choices. words weigh differently, and they carry double the weight when they're written out to represent an accent. just really think about whether or not this is the point you want to say to, t', ta, or tae. the whole sentence doesn't need to be written out phonetically b/c avoiding doing that helps us steer clear of reiterating caricatures.

include culturally specific verbiage. "what's the craic" or "how's it hangin'" depending on who your character is. in india, lots of people greet each other with religious phrases (in english, it'd sound like saying "god is good"/"good is god" call and response) - so a thavnairian character could say anything between "sisters be with you" to "mindhurva guide your path today" (and also yours, brother/sister). but also: wain, wean, child, sweetling,

be careful which non-english words your character uses. i don't call it chai tea latte, i call it chai latte. my wife doesn't call it green tea latte, but matcha latte. i actually don't drink chai latte, i drink chai. but i call it both chai and tea interchangeably; so, when i want someone to know how to prepare my tea, i might ask for chai instead of tea. because with chai, you get half or whole base milk instead of water. you get dried ginger or an array of spices depending on the auntie. with tea, you get dried up leaves and some hot water. big difference for me.

above all, make sure it's legible most of the time. you can do this by avoiding writing a character's accent out completely phonetically. this isn't to say "conform your character to what people think they should talk like". this is about being aware that writing implies an audience. if you want your writing to connect with people, the important parts should be clearly communicated in the text. especially if you're writing in english. if i wanted my characters to speak hindi, why would i bother writing the story in english at all? you want people to see your character a specific way. write them the way you hope they'll be seen--if you've done a good enough job, it will lead to so much joy and satisfaction. if you haven't--it's back to the drawing board! but you get the chance to learn even more.