#chale moment

[coco-loco-nut]

Fresh Out The Slammer

pairing: Arthur Leclerc x Reader

summary: Maybe you have always loved the Leclerc boy you grew up with.

masterlist ttpd masterlist

________

You board the plane from America to Monaco, never happier to get away from your home and get to the Leclerc home. The flight seems to pass quickly since you sleep through most of it, and you are picked up by Arthur from the airport. You look different, more mature, more beautiful, but it was clear something was weighing on you from the months you were away.

"I missed you," Arthur hugs you, you hide the blush that covers your face. You aren't sure when your crush on your childhood best friend developed, but what you don't know is that Arthur harbored one for you too.

"I missed you too, 'Thur," you climb into the car, looking out the window on the familiar drive. After you told the Leclerc family you were arriving a month earlier than expected, Pascale had been asking your mother what happened to cause you to come early, but no one had been able to get you to talk.

"Come play on my stream with me, I'll let you use my sim," Charles begs once you get to the Leclerc home. Arthur had to go do something, and Pascale enlisted her middle child to drag you out of your room.

"Only because you offered your sim," you grumble, sliding on your shoes as you follow Charles to his car.

"We will be back for dinner, Maman," Charles calls to his mom. When you get to Charles's apartment, he quickly starts the stream and hands you a controller. After a couple hours of gaming and sim racing, he ends the stream.

"Okay, what's really going on. You're never that distant around Arthur and Maman," Charles asks, moving to sit across from you on the couch.

"Let me think of how to say it in French," you tell him, your brain switching to English for a moment. You only speak French or Italian when not in America or England. "My boyfriend cheated on me and we broke up a few months ago, just don't tell anyone," you say. Charles is basically your older brother.

"I'm sorry, do you want to talk about it? I promise it will stay between us," Charles gently offers. You throw your head back and sink into the couch a little.

"Things got rough. He couldn't -wouldn't- understand why I was always away for racing or training. Last summer was hard, when I got back in the fall things just got worse. Dinners were silent and we were just bitter. We fought more and more. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and he'd say her name in his dreams," you fight the tears back, wanting to power through.

"It's okay, you don't have to say more than you need to," Chales's hand rests on your shoulder.

"I was chained to the relationship. It was like one good hour cast a spell of hope that things might be okay, and the two years of working for the relationship would be worth it. I never thought I'd think of that relationship like jail," you let out a bit of a cynical laugh.

"It will be alright then, no? You did your time," Charles gives you a little grin, one that you return.

"Yeah, I'll be alright, just gotta get away from all of it," you reassure Charles.

"Alright, let's get back before we are left without dinner," Charles changes topics.

"Thanks," you really are grateful that Charles listened.

"I only have one question. Why haven't you talked to Arthur about it?" Charles asks as he buckles his seatbelt.

"I don't know. I guess I didn't want to prove him right that it was a toxic relationship," you know you are lying to yourself, and Charles knows it too, but he accepts your answer.

Dinner runs smoothly as you and the Leclercs catch up, you effortlessly skirt around the topic of your ex. Later that night you sit outside, lost in thought. Arthur watches you for a couple minutes before moving to sit beside you. Both of you don't say a word. Artur wraps an arm around you and you rest your head on his shoulder. He notices your tear-stained cheeks but still doesn't say a word, electing to wait for you to take the initiative.

"We broke up," you whisper after a few minutes. Arthur still says nothing, the only way you know he heard it is because his hand gently rubs your shoulder.

“I feel like I'm finally free from being locked up. I shouldn't be this happy yet this sad," you say after another minute of silence.

"You were too good for him anyway, he didn't even like racing, so he didn't understand what an amazing person you are, and how lucky he was," Arthur doesn't quite say 'I told you so', but he does try to bolster you.

"I know. You have said as much in our letters," you can't help the small grin that forms. You and Arthur write to each other when you are in America, despite texting it is a fun way to talk. It's expressive, intimate, every word chosen carefully. Sometimes you sent him the latest poetry you wrote, a hobby you picked up while travelling, and othertimes it was mundane life updates.

A week later, you and Arthur attend an F1 driver's preseason party. You are thankful that you look good as the cameras flash when you and Arthur trail behind Charles. Arthur has an arm wrapped protectively around your shoulders.

A couple dances and drinks later, you find yourself leaning against a rail on one of the clubs outside patios. You don't smoke, but you have a recent habit of lighting a cigarette and letting it burn, watching the ashes fall onto the ledge. You gather the ashes and brush them off as the Max Verstappen approaches. Charles introduced you to him once, but you didn't get to talk much, even though you are in the Red Bull Junior Team.

"May I?" He pulls out a pack of cigarettes, you hand him your lighter. With a nod of thanks as you light the cigarette, he takes a drag.

"I didn't realize Formula One champions smoked," you break the ice.

"I didn't realize future Formula Three champions did too," Max gives you a small smile.

"I don't, I just watch them burn," you shrug, eyes searching for Arthur in the crowd.

"Then I don't need to worry about Charles saying I'm a bad influence on his future sister-in-law," Max chuckles and you blush.

"It's not that obvious, is it?" you look at the older driver who also turns to look at you.

"No, but you and Arthur have looked at each other like that for years, since I met you. Good luck in Prema, you have a lot of potential," Max compliments you, snuffing the cigarette and tossing it to the ground. You mutter a thanks before following him in, looking for Arthur. You find him chatting, a smile on his face, making the butterflies in your stomach more noticeable to you.

"Want to dance, Arthur?" you hold out your hand. He quickly excuses himself from the group and joins you on the dance floor.

Arthur watched as you'd disappear from the house to walk to the local park, probably to write poetry. Sometimes Arthur would join you, sitting beside you on the swings as you wrote. At night when the house was quiet, he'd sit beside you and read, or watch a movie, listen to music, anything to keep you going and healing before the F4 season. What Arthur didn't know was all those nights were what fueled the poetry you wrote the next day. You kept them in a shoebox, hidden in the closet in your bedroom in the Leclerc home.

As the season starts, you stand at the starting line with Arthur, ready to take on your first F3 free practice. Charles gave both of you some advice, but he trusted the two of you and Prema.

You and Arthur both do well over the weekend, placing highly and spending time in your respective development teams' garages.

Something changes after that, natural flirting and seeking each other out. Once night, sometime between Australia and Imola, you kiss. The tension and build up started when you arrived in the winter, and something between you snapped. The two of you are at the starting line of something great.

You and Arthur were walking along the beach when it happened, a full moon, empty beach, the mediterranean waves crashing gently on the shore. He held your hand gently as you walked, physical touch being more and more common between you too.

“I’m glad that your ex broke up with you,” Arthur says out of the blue. You whip your head around to look at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. Arthur lets go of your hand.

“Because I can do this,” he whispers, bringing his hands up to cradle your face as he kisses you. You wrap your arms around his waist for stability and to bring him closer.

That moment changed everything. He’d wait for you to get back from late night runs with hot chocolate and a cuddle. When you traveled with Prema for races, the two of you were inseparable, and you found yourself in the Ferrari garage a lot more than a Red Bull driver should.

Despite Charles inviting the two of you out after the races, you and Arthur go out with your group of friends in F3.

“You are the American girl of my dreams,” Arthur tells you, lips close to your ear as you dance to the music.

“I love you,” you reply, “I think I always have,” Arthur pulls you impossibly closer to him, capturing you in a kiss.

“I love you too,” his smile brightens the dark club.

“Get a room you two,” your teammate yells at you. As Arthur drags you from the club, you make a silent promise to yourself that you won’t screw things up. Because maybe one day, you could see yourself marrying the Leclerc boy who looks at you like you are everything.

[allzelemonz]

After: Charles Smith X Male Reader

Pronouns: None Mentioned, implied masculinity Primary Sex: None Mentioned Secondary Sex: Omega Rating: M/References to sex Warnings: Alpha Charles Smith, a/o, mating cycles/in heat, scenting, kissing, cuddling, aftermath of heat, heat recovery, begging, referenced anal sex, soft Charles Smith, references to breeding Summary: After your first bonded heat, Charles wakes up with his omega still fast asleep.

Charles feels warm when he opens his eyes. He feels warm and comfortable. A pleasant scent fills his nose as he takes a deep breath. Then he’s reminded. He looks down at his sweet smelling Omega curled into his chest, face buried there. Poor thing, such a long heat. Charles thought it would never end, he had started to worry last night after he’d knotted you for the… he’d lost count of just how many times he’d done it at that point. You begged so sweetly each and every time, no way he could deny you. But seeing you so exhausted, scent strong in his nose but void of that enhanced hint of heat, he can’t help but think he might’ve been a little rough.

And somewhere in the back of his mind he worries about how long Hosea’s mix of herbs lasts. He doesn’t think anyone could have this long of a heat, this intense and heavy. Something to talk about once he’s sure you’re okay. He can feel the dampness around him now, the soft blanket of the nest weighed down by slick and sweat. It makes the Alpha part of him proud that he brought so much out of you, but he still worries about so many things. This is your first heat since you bonded afterall. Maybe that’s why it was so intense. He hopes his rut isn’t this harsh, he doesn’t want to push you into something so intense. He knows how his instincts can make him act when he’s not thinking clearly. Of course he knows you’re strong, an outlaw in your own right, if you knew his thoughts you’d argue with him.

For now he focuses on your sweet scent that’s returned to normal. He’s always loved it, from the moment he first met you he couldn’t get enough of it. Sometimes he’d volunteer to help on jobs with you just so he could enjoy it. He knows he’s not the only Alpha in camp that did things like that, though he might be the only one that feels a little guilty about it.

You stir against his chest, your limbs stretching out as you wake up and settle back against him. He reaches down and tilts your head up to look at him. Your eyes are still full of sleep, a bit of that heat bliss lingering there too. It makes him smile.

“Feeling alright?” He murmurs, careful to be soft in your sensitive post-heat state.

You hum pleasantly, situating yourself so you can rest closer to his face. He doesn’t hesitate to press a kiss to your lips once you’re close enough. Both of you have a bit of a swell to your lips, spending most of the heat using kisses to keep whimpers and moans from traveling back to the others a few yards away in camp. But he kisses you all the same, your scents mingling in the air as you do. Even when he’s done, he presses soft little residuals until he finally settles his head against yours.

“Nothing hurt?” He asks softly.

You snuggle closer to him. “Not right now.”

He hums, settling again. His questions and worries can wait for later, after all this heat scent has faded and you’re more awake. For now, cuddling is perfectly fine for Chales. His sweet Omega, all bliss and warmth in his arms.

[hi-avathisside]

okay a little storytime, puraani baat hai but aaj bhi woh insaan bohot yaad aata hai, toh uske liye storytime hehe

So i used to go in a van to school, like other children obv, toh wahan par we had this little group of friends (my best memories about school okay imma cry if i talk about school more so moving on) Toh wahan par ek ladka tha, and we all were good friends, group main the and all, chhote the so no phone numbers or whatsapp groups, only friends irl. And he was in the singing club. He used to sing very good. toh hum log antakshari khelte the usually and he used to sing, so one time, randomly, uss time par hum chup chap behte the, matlab sab apne main gossip kar rhe the koi ek saath collectively koyi game nahi khel rha tha, this is like 2017s ki baaat hai, god i feel so old, so main aur woh aamne-saamne baithe the, khidki ki side, baaki sab bachhe apni baatein kar rhe the, aur ek dum se I looked at him, and he looked at me, and the world went silent. dead silent. that moment, that eye-contact I won't ever forget.

Fir ek aur baar aisa hi kuch hua, hum aise hi antaakshari khel rhe the, fir na sabka ghar aagaya tha, uska stop last tha, aur mera 2nd last, toh sa chale gaye, it was me, aand him, and a few little children, uske saath hi utarte the, same colony. So he then looks at me, and I'm look at him, and I smile a little and he smiles back. Fir fir fir OKAY OKAY

he asks me "Tera favourite gaana konsa hai?" Main uss time par zyada gaane nahi sunti thi, only on radio and agar van main bajj rahe hote the toh woh sun leta tha. Uss time par popular gaanon main se ek joh mujhe bohot pasand tha it was "Tum hi ho" so I said, Tum hi ho, aur fir uss bande ne mere liye woh gaana gaaya. YES USNE LITERALLY GAANA GAAYA. I WAS BLUSHING SO HARD AND THEN HE SMILED AND I SMILED AND I SAID A LITTLE "thank you" and he smiled again and for most of the time i was looking at him, he was looking at me.

ek aur baar, hua kya I was in the bus, he was also there, but mujhe aane main thoda late hogaya tha so I had to stand in the bus, that guy, stood up and gave me his seat. I- I was speechless. And again him and I had that eye contact again and uhhhhhh I melted. he was so cute, probably he still is. ab toh bohot saal hogaye baat kiye hue lekin khuda ki marzi hai sab :)

(plus i was a really quiet kid, a really really quiet one, and I did not talk to anyone, not even him, group main sabse chup main hi rehti thi, bit still the eye contacts were enough. and he was the outgoung social type, sabse baat karni, saare dost the uske, he used to smile and laugh all the time, probably, uske liye dost banana aasaan hota hoga )

ek aur baar kya hua, since woh paas main hi rehta tha, He and I met accidently, main mummy ke saath thi we were going, and he was in a car, red light thi, and he got out of the window, like peeked(lol) and he was like( my name!) aggressive waving, and I smiled and waved back, at first jab usne mujhe nahi dekha tha, mujhe pata hi nahi tha he was there lol, fir then he called my name, so I noticed him, he was looking very sweet that day.

fir uske baad usne na school chhod diya, aur phir yaar usse baat hi nahi hui kabhi. I don't know how aur why I suddenly remembered him, but I did and so we are here.

that's all. plus a lot of eye contacts an romantic tension.

Let's name him Ak <3

Aaj pata nahi kaise yeh story aur woh insaan yaad aa gaya, so wanted to share :) Thank you for reading it till the end.

"दिल ने चाहा तो फिर मिलेंगे,

खुदा ने चाहा तो फिर मिलाए जाएँगे। "

[bullet-prooflove]

Binge watching One Chicago franchise last seasons since the weekend and blaming on you, Donna. Chicago Fire cause wanted to see the new guy Sam Carver - gotta say lots of similarity with Jeff Clarke, the new guy with mysterious past, a bit shady and police problems, I read that he'll probably be a major role since Severide left and Casey is probably done, We'll see. Chicago Med cause Seam & Mitch, so watching S8 & S9, gotta say I liked Kai Tanaka-Reed, know it all arrogant resident. Sean is our precious baby boy and enjoying the development of Dean's character after/before Sean appeared; Mitch and Dr Chales relationship is also very interesting, Charles's guilty for Mitch's past is a huge part of how he behaves with Mitch, let's see what they do with it.

Sending love and hugs

Hahah so I have been thinking about picking up Fire again but it just breaks my heart all the time. I did adore Jeff so Sam maybe right up my alley, what’s the jumping on point for him? I started rewatching S8 and I need to watch the rest of S9, I haven’t’ wanted the endings to any of our shows yet and I know I need to! I just know they’ll give me super inspo and my head will explode.

So I could never work out Kai’s deal? I love him because he’s a bit sassy. The Dean/Sean development is something I loved, like that moment when he gets out of prison and they’re both not sure whether to hug or not floored me. Mitch is a really interesting character with his issues and I do like the whole Doc Charles seeing his effects on a patient that long down the line.

[lo0cifer]

The greatest plan, a love story (sun wukong x charles)

Charles woke up in the middle of the night, realizing that his helicopter shaped nightlight was missing from his room and being met with a disturbing, pitch black room. He went to get up out of bed to search for it, feeling a rush of nervousness as he reached for the light switch, only to be met with the feeling of… stone. As if he were in a cave???? "Wooaaah….what the heck?" he mumbled, finally snapping abck into reality. Not only was he in a cave….he was in THE MONKEY KINGS CAVE!!! AKA SUN WUKONG AKA THE COOL GUY AKA THE MONKEY KING!!!!!!! Charles had to calm down for a moment before he slowly made his way through the dark cave. Eventually he ended up bumping into something furry. Or someone. "What the-" Charles staggered back into the dark before triping and falling. But he didn't hit the floor because someone caught him. "Woah there, bud. You alright?" They locked eyes in the dark and their eyes sparkled as their gazes lingered on eachother. "Woah…Yeah….Im fine. Thank you for saving me…." Charles muttered, blushing and averting his eyes sheepishly as he couldnt bare to make eyecontact with the handsome 4'7 monkey man any longer. "Of course, of course! Itss kiinndaaa what I do…" Sun wukong chuckled, still holding Charles. "Wow. Me too…" Charles looked him in the eye again and chuckled." "Woah! Thats awesome, man…" Sun wukong looked amazed "Yeah…I…always have a plan…" "Whats that…?" Sun wukong asked, leaning in. "The greatest plan………….." Chales said as he went to kiss sun wukong, cupping his face with his hands as they kissed PASSIONATELYYY by the waterfall in the cave.

[ishuess]

I love us...more?

(This chapter is set before the South Africa mall date. It slightly deals with body image issues if you squint really hard. I am missing my babies so here you go.)

Ishan: *staring at himself in the mirror*

Shubman: You must be tired admiring yourself. Let me do it for you baby. *hugs Ishan from behind* look now it looks perfect

Ishan: Do you think I have lost weight?

Shubman: Did you want to lose weight?

Ishan: Maybe

Shubman: This "maybe, maybe not" is my thing. *makes pout*

Ishan: Be honest do you think I have lost weight?

Shubman: Darling you look perfect and who fills this nonsense in your head?

Ishan: leave it *tries to move away*

Shubman: *holds him in place* Let me look at us a little longer? Please.

Ishan: Why are you always cheesy? *kisses him on cheek*

Shubman: Why are you always cute?

Ishan: I love this. I love us.

Shubman: I love us too and most importantly I love you.

Ishan: Mhmm I love you more

Shubman: Wanna fight on that.

Ishan: Not really...I know you'll win somehow. What did I do to deserve this? To deserve you?

Shubman: Must have been the 16 somvaar ke vrat.

Ishan: *punches him lightly*

Shubman: Tumhe toh iss duniya ki har khushi ka haq hai..Ek baar haq jata kar toh dekho.

Ishan: Filmy..very?

Shubman: Sirf tere pyaar mein..

Ishan: Sab kitna badal gaya...hum kitne badal gaye.

Shubman: And I wouldn't trade this for anything. *Kisses Ishan on his earlobe*

Ishan: Me too.. Shopping chale?

Shubman: Moment kharab kar diya!!

Ishan: *moves away* chal na mere aashiq gill

Shubman: Agar tujhse pyaar nhi hota toh..

Ishan: Toh? *puppy dog eyes*

Shubman: Toh abhi ho jaata..Chalo jee

I hope y'all got the movie reference..also I love replying to y'all so do comment if you like this. Lots of love. Toodles <3

[yourinaudiblename]

HELP WHAT DID I WRITE

Oh pord he went super sayen ultimate rizz they had the level 5 sigma battle only in Ohio they went Kirby freestyle Johnny razer they had more rizz then the circle guard he sticked out his gyatt for the rizsler but luckily he countered by hitting the griddy with prime in hand after noclipping into the backrooms they watched the wensday show and found a alpha hybrid half demon half angel eagle wolf princess with fairy dust for hair and ultimately rizzed her up with their special sticking out your gyatt for the rizzler blast in canon

Oh pord part 2After successfully succeeding to rizz her up they decided their ultimate rizz battle would continue, goku strikes first pulling out the sticking out your gyatt for the rizzler, your ro skibidi, you're so famum tax, I just wanna be your sigma. Barely avoiding it he pulled out the uno reverse card but he was suddenly rick roll stickbugged, greatly lowering his bing chaling level but attempting to raise it he said ok boomer but his opponent temporarily turned into the among us imposter from among us from drinking the among us potion at 3 am, feeling very trollface. But angel said "Hey gamers! Wow what an epic gaming moment would rather be playing video games and would sell sister to play video games with my gamers and furries on roblox/fortnite but seeing the among us he gave them a bombastic side eye and played a vine boom sound effect making the other one feel very giga Chad and say L+Ratio deez nuts what's the dog doing I like pokemon go. A wild butter douge came singing we live we love we lie and drinking the grimace shake. Angel said your mom baldie basics looking ass get put you polish cow 🤭 and he said damn you need free real estate posters UwU but the among us came back, weakened saying OwO you are a big changes. The butter douge said what yall doing. The among us imposter from among us said I forgor so stfu u homophobia dog Yuri isn't that scary and angel make a mile wasoski face and a Walter white face. A sirenhead screamed BEANZ IM A POTATO :3 rizzing everyone up with that skibidi toilet level 5 gyatt in canon

[hinsaa-paramo-dharma]

Storytime:-

So, when I had recently shifted to south delhi, our colony only had like 5 houses (abhi 20-35 se jyada honge) and out of them 4 were rich 2 storey houses while one was a jaisa-taisa rented apartment ghar with 4 floors (where I lived). So, sabse gareeb log apartment me rehte the and others were so fucking rude to us like- gajab insaan the. I and other children of the flat would be playing outside and they will be shouting at us to go to home and to get disciplined and other nonsense. Auntyji I am literally 5 what do u expect? The worst one was this woman who loved to call us "uncultured" (in a time i didn't even knew it's meaning) (she was A TEACHER i feel bad for her students). She had 2 sons like 5 yr older than me and at first we used to play together then vo bhi apni maa ke disha mein chale gye. That woman made kid-me's blood boil. The Adults were also tired of her (she would throw literal tantrums if a cow enters our gully and then would fucking hit the poor animal with a broom cuz she can, like Bhai itne laadsahab ho toh society me raho gully mein toh Aisa hi chalta hai). I am usually a nice obeying kid but I started insulting her in HER face. One time she told the baccha party "Shoo! Shor machate rehte hai, headache kar ke rakha hai" and I replied with "Aapke papa ke Ghar mein khel rhe hai jo aapki baat maane?" (Yeah, that is the most rebellious I can get). Her sons specially didn't like my new self and started y'know gaaliyaan aadan pradaan karna. I didn't even knew most of their meaning, I was literally 8 that time. Though, ek baar mera sar aisa ghooma ki I literally slapped one of them. MAHABHARATTT. Yeah, i fought with 2 boys ages older than me all alone (still one of my proudest moments, specially since meine ek ki shirt faar di thi ha vo alag baat hai ki mujhe sprain ekdum ganda waala aaya tha). After that, that aunty went around trying to blacken my name (that worked greatly) uss ne yeh nhi bataya ki uske ladko ne Jo shabd bole the. For the next few years, I was the infamous ladaku ladki of my gully. Which I loved and hated at the same time.

[cassiachales]

༘♡ ⋆｡˚☄. *. ⋆ please wait a moment. cassia's on the phone.

♡ cassia chales | fifteen | straight | lover of poetry and the sun | anee is my best friend <33 | i stand with palestine | taylor swift fan | professional redhead and green-eyed freak | five foot four | the twenty-sixth of april is like, my day | hopeless, hopeless romantic | evajacks and judecardan are my lifeline | i'm a grayson girlie <3

♡ once upon a broken heart | the folk of the air | the inheritance games | percy jackson and the olympians | shatter me | grishaverse | not your typical reincarnation story | my demon

♡ taylor swift | sabrina carpenter | blackpink | nct127 | le sserafim | bts | alec benjamin | halsey | maisie peters | olivia rodrigo | shawn mendes | one direction | camilla cabello | ariana grande

archive of our own: cassiachales

masterlist

[hum-suffer]

Grihlakshmi

A treat for you all (whoever is interested) on Sankranti! Enjoy yourselves as I did while writing this!

This is a fanfic on my favourite YouTuber and it can be read without context! Better context: Medha and Savitri are OCs and Medha is a medical student while Savitri works in philanthropy. Everyone else has a YouTube channel.

____________________________________________________

Medha is half asleep by the time they reach Ayodhya. She tried to stay awake because everyone else was sleeping in the car and she didn't want Lakshay to feel like some unimportant driver but even the power of tea has some restrictions.

The stereo plays a song that she doesn't recognise but Lakshay is singing along so she doesn't say anything, focuses on the way his fingers tap on the steering wheel in time with the music.

"Sunn," he says softly, aware that all their friends are asleep. He steals a glance at her before going back to the road,"You can sleep."

Medha nods, clenchs her jaw to stay awake and answers him,"I know. I'll sleep in the hotel."

"Vini, you literally can't keep your eyes open. Go to sleep. It's only fifty kilometres more, I'll be fine." He says, lips twisting in the way that shows how dismissive he is trying to be.

Medha rolls her eyes. "Focus on the road."

The next song on the stereo is a Jagjit Singh Ghazal. Medha sings along, playing with the anxiety ring on her hand. She laughs at the deliberate voice cracks in Lakshay's voice and they end the song, harmonising with one another.

"Aap Mumbai bilkul nahi aa sakte hai." She tells him laughingly. "Aise gaano se Tony Kakkar darta hai. Aap vaha chale Gaye toh uski rozi roti chinn jayegi."

Lakshay snorts and swats her shoulder lightly. "Aise dhoke degi tu ab?" He shakes his head dramatically as he begins singing, "Accha sila diya tune mere pyaar ka—"

Medha shakes her head with a laugh.

____________________________________________________

Lakshay raises his eyebrows at her when she grabs his phone to record a small part for the vlog. Her phone is in her purse and she's too lazy to look for it in the darkness.

"So, we're finally in Ayodhya!" She does a little gesture that seems half hearted to even herself. It's 3:23 am. The car slows down as Lakshay parks and she pans the camera towards him and points,"Taaliya ho jaye humare talented driver ke liye dosto."

Lakshay gives her a deadpan look from the driver's end. "Vapas jate wakt tujhe try karna chahiye drive karne ka. Main gaadi mein helmet pehen ke baithunga."

Unable to find a retort, Medha pushes his shoulder. "Haa chal, get out."

"Apna saman khud nikaliyo."

"Arre yaar Lakshay!"

____________________________________________________

He gives her an unimpressed look as he sets her bags down in the room she's going to share with Savitri. Medha gives him an overly sweet smile. "You just can't leave me, even if you want to."

He scoffs,"Want to? Do I look blind to you?"

Medha laughs, ignoring the indignant squawk that leaves Savitri, flops on one of the twin beds, face down. "Go to sleep," she says gently, giving him his phone back after she's paused the recording. "And turn off all your alarms. You deserve all the rest you can get."

Lakshay gives her a satisfied smile, the same easy going, relaxed body language with the face that says,'don't fuss, I've got it and I've got it well.'

Medha rolls her eyes. She's more done with him than the receptionist was with them— checking them in at 3:30 am, checking identifications of six people, four of whom were sleeping on their feet and other two had been arguing back on forth.

She makes a mental note to leave a tip for the receptionist.

Lakshay yawns, stretches along with it almost dramatically and then keeps his eyes closed for a moment longer than necessary. "You go and sleep too. And don't wake up early, it's already an empty day today. Diwali is tomorrow, get your rest today."

Medha nods, eyes drooping on their own. This time, she yawns and blinks at him. "Good night, Lakshay. Ram Ram."

"Ram Ram, Vini." He says awkwardly and shuffles away from the doorstep, almost rushing to the room he's going to share with Harsh, two doors down, across the corridor. Medha doesn't care about his lack of formal manners— he's always been awkward.

Lakshay stops at the door, his hand on the door's handle as he gestures with his head for her to head in her room. Medha doesn't bother suppressing her smile and returns the gesture before she heads inside.

She stays with her ear pressed to the door for a moment longer, hearing the other door open and close through the probably hollow door.

It's only after that, that she kicks off her shoes and removes her rings, falling on the unoccupied bed gracelessly and pulling up the blanket over her face.

____________________________________________________

She wakes up to the sound of Savitri speaking. "I don't even know when I fell asleep, to be honest. I was so tired from the travelling, plus the atmosphere of the car was so silent." She's saying, sounding as if she's reminiscing the car's atmosphere.

Medha pulls the now haphazardly strewn blanket over her head again, kicking her foot to detangle the part of the blanket that had gotten tangled around her whole foot. She grunts and turns on her side, trying to sleep.

"Even I don't know," Harsh says,"I did sleep after you but I don't know when. Probably because of those songs that Medha was playing."

From under the blanket, Medha raises her hand and flips them the bird. Harsh chuckles spitefully,"I'm vlogging!"

She waves her finger more obnoxiously before getting her hand under the blanket again and closing her still heavy eyes.

"Medha," Savitri calls out,"wake up, it's 9 already! The breakfast lounge will close at 10."

Medha groans and buries her face deeper into the pillow that smells of her own perfume because she hated the idea of smelling any generic detergent in her pillow and had sprayed some of her first available perfume on it.

She doesn't have any thought or energy to wake up when she feels a weight over her whole body, knowing it's Savitri being annoying deliberately, Medha whines. "You people slept in the car yesterday, we didn't! Let me sleep, for fuck's sake!"

"Haa toh who told you to be awake?" Akshit says from somewhere in the room,"Lakshay was driving, not you."

Medha throws off Savitri as she rises on her elbow and narrows her eyes at Akshit. "One, I have manners. And two, I wouldn't have had to stay awake and he wouldn't have had to drive for five consecutive hours if SOMEONE didn't fall asleep like a lightweight."

Medha doesn't need to see him to know that Harsh is rolling his eyes. "It was the best sleep I've had in a while and I'm not apologising. Ab tu uthegi ya uthake feku tujhe niche?"

Medha glares in the general sound of his voice and begins to sit up, yawning and blinking away the sleep.

____________________________________________________

They're starting their breakfast when she gets the call.

"Let me talk to Lakshay," her brother says the first thing as soon as she picks the call, without greeting her. Her volume was at full since last night and its obvious everyone at the table heard it.

She lowers the volume instantly and gets up, leaving the table to a safe distance. "Kya hua?"

"Seriously? You don't know?" Bhaiya sounds exasperated and furious at the same time. "Usne kal roast dala tha na vo Dev Tyagi pe?"

Medha is taken aback at his language but hums in affirmation. A glance back at the table confirms that Lakshay is looking over at her with a frown while everyone else is talking in hushed tones, clearly spooked.

"Uss gadhe ki stories dekh private account se." Dhanajay says. "Teri bhabhi mere sath abhi na hoti toh main uss chutiye ke ghar jaa ke uski taange Tod deta."

In a flash, she remembers her school. She remembers the senior boy who had hit her with his bat to bully her. She remembers her brother had chased him down the whole school. She remembers the scene clear as day— the boy sprawled on the floor with her brother stradling him and punching him.

He changed schools next semester.

"Bhai," she says softly, going back to instinct to be quiet (quiet, or they'll hit you, quiet or you'll wake him up, quiet or—). "What's wrong? Take a breather and tell me. I'm listening."

"I'll send the videos to you." He hisses out, his voice sounding hoarse in a way she knows. It gets like this when he's clenching his teeth and the veins in his neck pop. "I need to talk to Lakshay."

"Don't blame him for anything," she says hurriedly. "Usne thodi uss chutiye ko kuch karne ke liye kaha hoga. Samjhiye thoda."

"I'm not blaming him, Medhasvini." He's fully raging if he's calling her by her full name, Medha knows that much. "But if Lakshay doesn't do something about that motherfucker, I will. I'm attached to the two of you and Lakshay's name is attached to that Dev. Uske naam pe bill phat jayega. Usko bol first step khud le le, varna kuch bachega nahi uss chutiye ka mere marne ke baad."

Medha gulps. She's known her brother to be short tempered, and she's also known him to be truthful. Something must be outrageously wrong.

She nods out of habit. "Haa bhai. Vo chhodo, bhabhi aur Amrita kaise hai?"

She knows that he knows she changed the conversation to get his mind off of the thing. But he doesn't protest. He tells her about the newest order that bhabhi's construction firm had, tells her about Amrita's drawing of their house. He tells her how he bought roses for bhabhi and tells her how he took Amrita to learn cycling yesterday.

He doesn't realise it.

"I'm so proud of you," she tells him, her voice heavy. He makes a quizzical sound. "You're being a great brother, husband and father. I'm so, so proud."

"Thank you, Medha," he says warmly. "But this doesn't subtract from the duty I have as your brother. Either you or Lakshay do something or I will."

She takes a deep breath, looks back at the way Rachit is looking at her with an almost knowing look.

____________________________________________________

"Kya ho gaya bade Bhai ko?" Lakshay asks when she's getting seated back. The conversation stops flowing and Medha looks down at the phone in Harsh's hand pointedly.

It's only after the camera has stopped recording that she speaks. "Apparently Dev Tyagi posted a story about me. Kal Rachit pe tha, Aaj mere pe hai. Bhaiya told me to check out the stories he posted. Kuch action karna padega meko Varna bhaiya will fuck him up."

The air goes from jovial to tense. Samrat Bhai leans forward. "Kya bola vo?"

Medha purses her lips as she starts viewing the stories her brother has sent her, pointed out.

She doesn't cover her flinch well as he calls her a whore. He says she's Lakshay's girlfriend and is cheating on Lakshay with him. He says other things that make bile rise up in her throat. Something about using her is also peppered there.

Her brother's angry messages follow the stories and she tells him she'll take care of it.

She doesn't know how, but she will.

She flinches back hard when Akshit tries to touch her shoulder. He looks at her with sympathy in his eyes and she loathes it. Akshit gives a half assed grin,"Don't worry, we'll kick his ass."

Lakshay, who has Medha's phone in his hands hasn't spoken. She looks at him in suspicion and it only takes a second but he's off of his seat, the spoon falling from his hand and making a clattering noise in the plate of poha.

Medha instantly goes after him.

He's typing something on his phone, her phone secured in his shirt's pocket. He's muttering to himself,"Bhadwa sala, kya hai iss ko behenchod—"

"Chaudhry Sahab, shaanti!" She grabs his elbow to stop him from literally running off. He narrows his eyes at her. "Calm down, Lakshay. I'll deal with him, do not ruin your YouTube over these petty words."

"Petty?" He scoffs. "Vini, I call you my Grihlakshmi. These insults are a different deal, agar vo tu karke bhi tujhe bolta hai toh mere liye vo vyajbi Karan hai uski faad Dene ka."

Warmth unlike anything fills her. She suppresses the smile and pulls Lakshay closer. "I know. And thank you for that. But this is just a naive boy with little to no sense. A legal notice and he'll go back to the hell he crawled from."

Lakshay shakes his head. "Your exams will come up next month. I don't want you distracted. Give me three days, isko toh main muh kholne layak nahi rakhunga."

"Nothing illegal." She half jokes, she knows just what contacts Lakshay has and what they can do. She's one of said contacts and so is her brother. Her brother and Lakshay together could ruin everything they've built brick by brick— just because some upstart said something about her.

Lakshay nods. "Nothing illegal. But I promise you this; agar isne tujhe official apology nahi di, toh ya toh uska career bandh, ya vo jail me bandh."

She doesn't know how else to show her appreciation and squeezes his elbow lightly, giving him a smile.

[radiomonkeys2]

A Yaban Watches 2 Saiyans, courtesy of Salvamakoto

Yulaan watches more Dragon Ball. The inherent absurdity is not lost on her. But that's why she's doing it. Everyone told her she needed to watch Dragon Ball Z, referencing it the moment she arrived on Earth Prime. So here she is, watching the original Japanese airing. (And don't worry, Zillennial Americans, she does also see the cringily nostalgic FUNimation Ball Z)

What's interesting is that she actually prefers the other two major wuxia/kung fu fantasy shonen anime over Dragon Ball— Hokuto no Ken and Yu Yu Hakusho. Not that she doesn't like Dragon Ball. She just prefers the bloodier and gorier stuff. She's already a Saiyan, even if she's specifically a Yaban rather than a Getabaru like Kakarotto and Bejita.

On Friday after school, there is no fighting ring, and Yulaan instead decides to head over to Chale’s house to spend the weekend there, and the first thing they do after watching Toonami (especially FUNi Ball Z) is decide to head out to Blockbuster. They’re getting pizza, Mountain Dew, Doritos, the whole shebang, and then they’re going to raid Blockbuster. They have to stress to Yulaan they only mean that as slang; don’t actually steal stuff. Kevelnege will hold her to that.

Esmeralda wants to watch Toy Story, and she can do that in the living room while the boys get the upstairs room. Yulaan commits to memory to get her Toy Story; Yulaan herself wants to watch some old grindhouse and adult comedies like Master of the Flying Guillotine and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. But they have to go to Blockbuster first.

I think it finally dawned on me that LMS's first real arc (a slice of life arc within a slice of life story) is essentially made for a tiny handful of Zillennial manchildren geeks who:

Were reasonably young, preferably children between the years of 1997-2004

Indulged heavily in whitebread middle-class Anglo-American pop culture, especially for kids (e.g. Toonami, Pokémon, Blockbuster video, old school Cartoon Network and Nickelodeon, pop punk, X-treme sports, etc.)

Are nostalgic enough to care

Aren't put off by the idea of sharing that indulgence in nostalgia with a mook villain archetype from an 80s Japanese children's show

Also enjoyed a particular slice of early internet history

Basically the RebelTaxi audience.

This is, thankfully, the closest I ever plan on Little Miss Savage dancing towards the core of the fire of utter schmaltz trash, mostly just to get it out of my system and maybe make me hate the taste of it going forward, because after this, there's much different stuff happening. Consider this just the "nostalgic Zillennial manchild hook"

[partiallyderived]

assign ur moots to a desi song!!!

ooh i love this questionnnn

okay so, i'd like to start off by saying that if i forget anyone — my brain is fried. you can always come into my inbox asking for a song, okay? these are just the people i can relate to a song off the top of my head at the moment.

songs under the cut

@taerrrrrae — moni is always so level-headed and optimistic, which makes me want to give her a more mellow song like sawaar loon.

@daintydongyoung — bae. baeby. jaanam. the partner to my 10 pm breakdowns on insta. for her, a song that reminds me of her nakhre: tinku jiya.

@mins-fins/ @luvjiun / @itsmattchou / @itaerae — for the explanation, kindly search up the meaning of the lyrics to chanda hai tu, mera suraj hai tu.

@jaylaxies — for aria di, the lyrics "raat bhar nahi sohndiyan" fit best, no? we've spent so many early morning hours freaking out over jay bhaiyya. so: mumbai dilli di kudiyaan.

@terazono-keita — misa is quite infamous for their love for keita. in honour of their love, i give them yeh fitoor mera.

@zerobaseonefics — for someone as hilarious and entertaining as venom — chale jaise hawaien.

@incorrectzbone — tu jaane na. it's in the lyrics, lexie.

@urielphix — for uriel, who is one of the first people i screamed about bp to (after it had finished airing), i give: ehsan tera hoga mujh par.

[playermagic23]

Crew: Kareena Kapoor Khan on sharing screen with Tabu: “I am super excited…”

Kareena, in a candid moment, shared insights into her experience working alongside Tabu, reflecting the mutual respect and admiration between the two accomplished actresses.

In their much-anticipated film Crew, set to release in theatres on March 29, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Tabu, and Kriti Sanon grace the screen together for the first time. Following the release of teasers and two songs, the unveiling of the trailer on March 16 heightened excitement. Kareena, in a candid moment, shared insights into her experience working alongside Tabu, reflecting the mutual respect and admiration between the two accomplished actresses.

At the trailer launch event on Saturday, March 16, Kareena Kapoor said, “I am super excited because I got to work with Tabu for the first time. Lolo (her sister Karisma Kapoor) has worked with her so many times. I had the opportunity and the honour of finally sharing screen space with her.”

Kareena was talking about Tabu and Karisma’s bond as they had worked together on Hum Saath Saath Hain, Biwi No. 1, Saajan Chale Sasural, and Jeet among others.

Directed by Rajesh A Krishnan, this film from Balaji Telefilms and Anil Kapoor Film & Communications Network is set to hit theatres on March 29th, 2024.

[bollywoodirect]

Dilip Kumar’s tribute to Dev Anand 12th March 2017.

I am just a year senior to Dev Anand. All three of us, Raj, Dev and I, started our careers around the same time in the mid-1940s. I still have fond memories of Dev and I travelling by local train to look for work in various studios. We developed a good rapport within a short period and Dev became a dear family friend, especially of my younger brother, Nasir Khan.

By the late 1940s all of us were able to gain a strong footing in filmdom. Raj and I achieved stardom with “Shaheed”, “Andaz” and “Barsat”. Dev rose to heights with “Ziddi” and “Baazi”. We shared a decent professional rapport and a mutual set of unspoken ethics right from the beginning. Though nothing was put into words, we shared a silent regard for each other.

There were frequent meetings between us when we would discuss and analyse each of our works. We had humorous moments also when Raj would imitate me and Dev immaculately. They were such beautiful moments as we were competitors, not rivals.

Dev’s plus point was that he was very co-operative with every co-star and technician. He had devastating looks and a smile which till date no other actor has. Whenever he received the right script and an imaginative director, he gave superb performances as in “Kala Pani”, “Asli Naqli” and “Guide”. Among us, he was the best in performing romantic scenes.

I had the good fortune of sharing space on screen with Dev Anand in Gemini’s “Insaniyat” in 1955. Directed by the respected S.S. Vasan, it was a costume drama. So generous was Dev that he cancelled dates of his own production shooting to accommodate dates with me. I personally saw how he helped junior artists by giving them take after take so that they could prove their worth. He never neglected anyone.

We made it a point to attend each other’s family functions. I attended his sister’s marriage in the mid- 1950s and daughter Devina’s marriage in 1985. Dev was present with wife Mona throughout my marriage function with Saira Banu in 1966 and also other events at our Pali Hill residence. We met like family members and never did our profession come into our relations.

Perhaps the most important visit, I, Raj and Dev did was to see Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, then India’s Prime Minister, prior to his demise. We discussed many issues together. Just as I addressed him as Dev, he addressed me as Lale.

I am shocked and grief struck to learn about his sad demise in London suddenly. My 89 birthday will be my saddest one as I will miss my dear Dev who I am sure would come, hug and greet me saying, “Lale, Tu Hazar Saal Jiyega.” Dev, Kahan Chale Gaye Mujhe Chod Ke.”

[bakingrecipe]

why is no one online right now the moment i came online sab post banake chale gaye

[ask-keith-the-basement-dweller]

Keith.. Keith listen to me…

It’s Chales.

Pat is coming to help.

But I need you to be brave…

And hold my hand…

Er. Tentacle…

Hold my hand close and listen to my voice…

[The boy sluggishly turns his head to the side and stares at the octopus-like doll from almost across the room, haven been put their by his mom to be removed immediately in the morning as to "get rid of any item that could remind you of that horrid place."]

[He didn't know if he was losing it or if the doll had actually just called out to him right now...the former was more likely in his eyes as he was pretty much out of it at that moment....his mind felt fuzzy, he could barely say anything coherent besides pained nonverbal noise for help...]

[Even if he was sure he was going crazy, he still wanted the doll back. He didn't care if his mother would be mad at him in the morning, "what could she do to make the situation worse?" He thought.]

[And so, he slowly reached a hand out to the doll while trying to keep his mother nice and asleep, a daunting task as he needed to practically drag her body along to reach the doll. But he did it. He managed to grasp a tentacle firmly, causing him to smile just a bit.]