#gods bless him honestly

[valiantstarlights]

Chef Hob's family and the food truck's origin story

Hob is half-English and half-Indian. His father, Mr. Gadling, is from London. His mother, Mrs. Dandekar-Gadling, is from Mumbai. Hob was born in the UK.

Unfortunately, Hob was orphaned at an early age. And since his father had no remaining living relatives, (his paternal grandparents died a long time ago and his father was an only child), Hob was taken in by his maternal uncle's family in Mumbai.

His uncle, Sanyam Dandekar, is the current head of the family-owned and operated restaurant in Mumbai. It's small but thriving, and is well-regarded in the community. As the restaurant is on the ground floor of the building where the Dandekar family live, it's hard to escape the tantalizing smell of food wafting constantly from below.

It's from Sanyam that Hob learns to love food, to cook well, and to love making people happy through his cooking.

His aunt, Priya, always encourages him to go after his dreams. She was there for him every step of the way when he applied for a scholarship to go to a fancy culinary school in the UK. When he was accepted, she was the first person he told the news to, and she was so proud of him that she immediately called up her friends to share the good news with them. (Hob had had to endure maybe half a dozen aunties trying to introduce him to their daughters and nieces.)

His female cousins, Kala and Daya, love Hob very much and treat him as their older brother.

Kala has always been very intelligent even as a child, and she got bullied for it at school. Hob was quick to put an end to that and told her to reach even higher so she can leave everyone in the ground while she sails among the stars. Kala shyly told him she would build a spaceship for their entire family so she wouldn't have to sail the stars alone.

Daya was the more easy-going sister. She tried her best to teach Hob to dance, and never made fun of him even when he eventually accepted that he had two left feet. When she was rejected by a boy who told her she was so ugly that she'll never find anyone who'll love her, Hob got in trouble for beating the shit out of him, but he has no regrets about it. (Kala did not get in trouble for setting the boy's schoolbag on fire because she didn't get caught.)

Hob was so afraid when he found out that he was bisexual, but his family accepted him and treated him the same as they always did. His aunt Priya even promised not to matchmake him with anyone even though he's such a catch. They'll all just wait and see who he brings home. No judgment or pressure whatsoever.

He misses them fiercely when he gets to the UK. Especially when Kala gets married and he couldn't travel back because he had back-to-back exams, both theoretical and practical.

Still, he pushes himself to study hard, graduates with distinction, and eventually becomes a professional chef at a fancy hotel.

Hob's family are very proud of him and always call him to tell him so. Daya begs him to return and cook for them. Hob says he's still saving up enough vacation days. Rajan, Kala's husband and the current CEO of a major pharmaceutical company, offers to pay for his transportation. He graciously accepts because he's not an idiot.

After a couple of years, he finally accumulated enough vacation days to travel back to India for a long visit. The first thing he did is to cook a feast for his family (which now includes Rajan). He cooks traditional Indian food as well as food from other countries that he thinks they'll like.

(He adjusts the recipes to fit into their religion-based dietary restrictions, and adjusts some more when some ingredients are not readily available. He's a professional chef, after all.)

Daya is all about the taiyaki. Kala is in love with the vegetable lumpia. Rajan has strategically rearranged the dishes on the table so the plate of jollof rice is always close to him. Priya asks him to give his uncle his recipe for the vegetable moussaka. Sanyam is in tears because of how proud he is of Hob and how delicious everything is. He tells Hob that when he dies (far, far into the future), Hob is welcome to take over the restaurant.

Hob spends most of his time in India in the restaurant's kitchen with his uncle, and they experiment and add new things to the menu. Hob gets to talk to customers he's known ever since he was a child. They are all very proud of him and sing praises for the restaurant's new menu items.

Hob leaves India a month later with a much lighter heart.

When he returns to being a chef in the fancy hotel though, he finds that he is increasingly frustrated and unsatisfied. He feels like he should be happy and grateful. Instead he feels burned out.

He calls Kala, who is the closest to him age-wise, for advice. She simply asks him, "What do you want?"

He sighs and says, "I thought I wanted to be a chef. But now that I am one, I feel lost."

Silence. Then Kala says, "May I say something potentially controversial and not have you hang up on me?"

Hob chuckles and tells her to go ahead and say what she needs to say. In fact, maybe he needs to hear the potentially controversial thing to snap him out of this wretched state.

"I don't think you really want to be a chef."

Wow. "So far, so bad. Go on."

"No, listen: you have always loved cooking for us. You and dad. It's how you show your love. But where you're working currently, it's like you're a machine. Day in and day out, you're just completing orders. How many times since you started working there did you go out of the kitchen to talk to the guests? How often do you get to experiment with new culinary creations without anyone trying to stifle your creativity?"

Kala's tone implied that she knew the answer. "You might say that it will get worse before it gets better, but will it really? If I ask you now what your happiest memory is of your workplace, what will you tell me?"

"I--" Hob clears his throat and blinks away the tears that had snuck up on him. "When the hotel called me to tell me they had accepted my application. I immediately called home and all of you were so proud of me. I even heard Uncle announcing it to the entire restaurant in the background."

"Oh, Hob..." And now Kala sounded like she was gonna cry too. "I wish I were there so I can give you a hug."

"Virtual hug accepted. Is that the end of your controversial pep talk or is there more?"

"I think that's enough controversial things for now," Kala says. "Rajan and I are going to London in a couple of weeks for pleasure. We should meet up so you can show us all the good spots to eat at and then we can talk more."

They said their goodbyes soon after. Hob spends a lot of time that night just looking at the ceiling, not wanting to go to work but inevitably has to when his alarm goes off.

Kala was right. Being a chef granted him all sorts of qualifications and symbolized that he is a master in the field, but he isn't in it for the title. His uncle isn't a professional chef, yet Hob wouldn't claim to surpass his skills. And between the two of them, he knows who the happier one is.

Rajan and Kala arrived with a couple of bodyguards named Vikram and Wolfgang. Hob remembers them from his visit to India. Vikram is as stoic as bodyguards come, but Wolfgang has a different, more dangerous kind of intensity.

Hob shows them all the good dining spots he has discovered over the years, and all five of them eat well.

It was during their outing that Hob notices the food vendors on the street. They look...happy. They work just as hard as the other chefs in the hotel, with the main difference being that the customers are right in front of them, and they get to see their reactions.

It was very heartwarming to see tourists trying the local street food and seeing their faces light up after their first bite.

At the end of the day, Hob tells Kala of his food truck idea. It's almost embarrassing how excited he sounds, but Kala is excited too. She grabs Rajan and tells him about it. Rajan grabs Wolfgang and asks him about it. Hob almost expects Wolfgang to grab Vikram too, but Vikram just looks on, looking amused.

In the end, Wolfgang shrugs and says it's doable, and just like that, they're drawing plans and trying to come up with names.

("What about 'Gadling's'?"

Kala hummed. "I guess...I mean, that is your name. No one can argue that."

"I feel like you just insulted me, my father, and my paternal ancestors."

"Hob, our family restaurant's name is Dandekar. We are all basic here.")

("Glad Tidings?"

Wolfgang huffed a laugh. "No, Rajan."

"I think it's a good name."

"I think you need to go to sleep. How many hours has it been since you slept? Forty-eight?"

"Are you the sleep police now, my wolf?"

"Kala, I'm taking Rajan to bed."

"Alright," Kala says distractedly. She is currently looking at the kitchen plans, specifically the stove set-up. "Have fun. Don't hog all the blankets."

Hob's eyebrows have migrated to the ceiling. He doesn't think they quite know what they let slip, but he isn't going to pry until they're ready to talk to him about it. He looks at Vikram to see his reaction, but the man just looks like this is a thing that happens often and isn't bothered in the slightest.)

They videocall six people all over the world--mutual friends, Kala says--and all of them put their heads rogether to make Hob's food truck idea into a reality.

Hob is overwhelmed by their support. Rajan has promised to fund everything if Hob lets him eat for free when he's in town. Sun from Korea seconds him and agrees to lend monetary support as well, and to help him expand to Korea if the venture is successful. Capheus, the matatu driver from Nairobi, is flying to London to help customize the food truck. If possible, he sounds even more excited than Hob himself. Nomi from San Francisco and Will from Chicago volunteers to get the papers and forms sorted. Actual famous actor Lito Rodriguez from Mexico promises to promote his foodtruck when he goes to London to shoot a movie.

"When and where did you meet and befriend all these people?" Hob asks Kala. They all sounded like old friends and had inside jokes that Hob didn't understand. (What in the world is a tequila-squared?) Kala just smiles at him and says, "The internet exists for a reason, you know."

"Let me guess," Hob said in a low voice so the others won't hear. "An online dating site?"

Kala shrieks with laughter and hits him with a throw pillow.

Soon, the food truck is ready and Hob is in awe of everyone who pitched in and helped. He literally could not have achieved this so quickly without any of them.

Kala hugs him tight. "You deserve to be happy, Hob."

Hob hugs her back. Every person they videocalled (and Wolfgang's brother Felix) is coming to visit with their plus ones and twos to try out Hob's menu to taste-test before opening, and will stay until the grand opening a week later to help in promoting the foodtruck. They even have Riley from Iceland going to DJ for them.

"Should we invite aunt and uncle and Daya?"

"Do you really think we could stop them if they want to be here?" Kala asks him incredulously. "Have you met our sister?"

Hob has handed in his resignation notice as soon as the food truck's kitchen had been operational. That had been two weeks ago. He feels like a huge burden has been lifted from his shoulders the moment the e-mail was sent.

It can only get better from here.

--

P.S. I'm basic as hell at naming, so if you have ideas on what Hob's food truck should be called, speak now or forever hold your peace.

[hinamie]

morning glory

[nothazellevesque]

with the additional context of wicked, you know that fiyero’s scarecrow ass had to be sweating the entire time that the wizard of oz plot is happening. like… literally every major character that Dorothy comes across has crossed paths with him before, and they could all potentially expose him as one of elphaba’s associates and as an animal rights sympathizer. like… you mean to tell me he and boq (the tin man) don’t recognize each other from school??? that boq hadn’t heard that fiyero was engaged to glinda before he publicly left her and ran after elphaba??? like sure, the man’s a scarecrow now, but his voice doesn’t change. and fiyero was with elphaba when she freed the lion cub. the lion would’ve likely heard his voice then. he’s literally Glinda’s ex, and you mean to tell me that she wouldn’t recognize him??? that the Wizard (a known associate of Glinda’s) wouldn’t have met that man and known what he sounded like?

honestly props to fiyero for not losing his nonexistent mind keeping his identity secret from everyone around him and successfully getting himself and elphaba the hell out of oz with no one suspecting a thing in the end, because my god that entire situation must’ve been so stressful

[navree]

my adventures with superman turning deathstroke the fucking terminator into an anime twink is the single greatest thing i've seen in the history of animation i have not been able to stop laughing

[verflares]

🌩️ oooh girl..... you shock me like an electric eel....... bapygirl........ 🌩️

[ratatatastic]

the things ekky has done or said that i cant stop thinking about. the 4 minute cut.

[seiwas]

instagram dump with your selfship! (model/actor!au sel x satoru ver.)

seltoru behind-the-scenes dump — work days and winding down~

liked by sstoru and others

sellybelly last week's shenanigans ✨ 1: shoot day! 📸 2: nails sponsored by mr. gojo satoru 💅 3. loved our outfits for the awards 🥺 (thank you dior! 💫) 4. that feeling when you change into home clothes tho >> 5. maybe he's pretty sometimes 🙄 6. caught him in the act (texting me during a meeting 😭) 7. satoru in hair & makeup (some good sleep he's had there 🤧) 8. our lil treat to end the week 🍓😋 9. phone hijacked by mr. gojo satoru 🧿🧿 👁️👁️

sstoru knew you were obsessed with me 😌

thanks for the tag my love @tteokdoroki this was so so fun 🥺 tagging: anyone else who wants to do this!! it's so pretty and so fun 🥺

[largishcat]

I can't wait to debate the guy—that is, if he's willing to get off the couch and show up.

- Tim Walz fucking GOING there abt JD Vance

[self-indulgentmanic]

eyes that are down to fuck + eyes that are down to kill = Blue Demise Mashita

[bacchuschucklefuck]

riz gukgak is SO distressing to have as a favourite character I can never funckign rest out here

[imafraidoftomorrow]

Listen, I know Jun Wu has done horrible, unforgivable things as a result of his bitterness and his anger and his grief and his resentment, and nothing can make up for the suffering and the anguish that he caused so many people, especially our sweet Xie Lian. I know that.

But... I still can't help but wish that someone, anyone, just one single person, had listened to his story and told him,

Hey. I'm really sorry that happened to you. That was a horrible thing to have to go through; no one could have deserved that. You tried your very hardest. You tried everything that you could think of to do. I'm sorry that not a single person appreciated your efforts. I'm sorry that they only used you. I'm sorry that they scorned and ridiculed and renounced you. I'm sorry that everyone left you all alone in the end. The fact that you tried should have counted for something. The fact that you even thought to try should have meant something.

I just think, maybe if someone had told him those words at any point in time, then things might have been different. Maybe he could have changed. Maybe his heart wouldn't have frozen over. Maybe he could have turned himself around.

For as much as he wanted to corrupt Xie Lian and make him his 'successor', I think maybe deep down, a part of him actually just wanted to be vindicated. To have his suffering be understood. And while Xie Lian did not owe him a single ounce of sympathy, if he had shown him even a little bit and said the above, I'm willing to bet the great White Clothed Calamity would have broken down crying.

Xie Lian himself was saved by a single act of compassion, after all.

There's just not enough empathy in stories.

[sisislair]

God the way the fight with Lang Qianqiu is another lesson, Xie Lian's never stopped being his teacher. A different lesson than the ones that he learned as a child, but he's not a child anymore, and Xie Lian knows that he needs different teachings to reflect the ways he's grown.

Xie Lian reprimanding Lang Qianqiu for putting him on a pedestal! That it's something he despises for the ways it's hurt him and the people around him. Letting us know ahead of time before he ever brings it up to Hua Cheng that it's something he deeply fears.

"You've changed, I'm not sure if you're past or current self is the real you."

And Xie Lian replying that it's always been him!!! Reflecting the conversation Hua Cheng has with him later on. It's always been Xie Lian, at his best and his worst.

Lang Qianqiu echoing the words Xie Lian spat at Bai Wuxiang, that he'll never change, never become like him. And it's the best thing Xie Lian's heard! This is exactly what he hoped to achieve by putting all the blame on himself. That Lang Qianqiu would keep his ideals and rule both groups peacefully as one.

Xie Lian's so proud of him.

[chaoticlandworlder]

What is with the practically psychotic hate for Lance Stroll? I'm not even his fan- more indifferent- but the hate he gets is sickening. Like just see the recent 'Never have I ever' vid- so many top comments on youtube, instagram etc. are just spouting shit about him (attacking his looks, calling him window licker wtf etc.) based off the 'Never have I ever stood up someone question' (and of course they conveniently ignore all the other drivers that also said they have because it's trendy to hate on Stroll).

Of course, standing up someone sucks but first of all we have no context at all, and more importantly, it's clear the commenters don't actl give a shit about that because they're only hating on Stroll. This is literally just one instance of the way these F1 'fans' are so quick to seize any opportunity to put down Lance. Honestly, it's so off-putting, pathetic and sad.

[lord-squiggletits]

The thing about forged medic hands is that in my personal headcanon, I feel like all forged medic hands baseline should act like Pharma's Luna-1 hands; not the ability to transform into (basically) anything, but because from what I can recall, Pharma is the only instance of a TF medic who isn't just holding tools in his hands and operating that way, but he literally has panels in his arms opening up while his hands are transformed into another tool so he's operating like 3 or 4 tools at once and I think that's so fucking cool.

Especially since they're alien robots whose most prominent feature is transforming so it really feels like having hands/arms that can split or transform into a bunch of tools like a hyper-advanced Swiss army knife should just be like, baseline. It seems like a much better way to take advantage of worldbuilding based on alien robots instead of having forged medic hands just be like, normal shaped hands but extra speedy/flexible/graceful or something.

Just look at the way that real life robotic surgery systems have multiple arms with different tools-- because the fact that they're machines means they're not limited to human physiology's limitations of movement and using hands to perform.

Makes way more sense that forged medic hands should be able to transform their fingers into different tools or have extra limbs stored in their forearms to hold even more tools. Plus it would lead credence to Ratchet's claims that forged hands have certain abilities that constructed hands can't replicate. (After all it makes sense that building medic hands, as opposed to just finding someone who was forged with them naturally, would be really complicated and resource intensive, so in Functionist Cybertron no one would bother building cold constructed hands to the same standards as forged medic hands bc they're not seen as having the same value.)

Granted if all forged medics had similar capabilities to Pharma's Luna-1 hands, it'd be hard to make Pharma's Luna-1 hands stand out as distinct. Then again the fact that "they can transform into anything" seems like it would be extremely special considering that you can only pack so many transformations into a single pair of hands. Plus, in Lost Light, Pharma-Adaptus is shown being able to transform his hand into a freaking blaster which means due to Luna-1/Adaptus' blessings or whatever, his hands don't just hold sets of doctors' tools but can turn into things completely unrelated to the function of medicine at all, including apparently multiple kinds of weapons. Quite literally infinite transformation.

[gasstationpopcorn]

[seeminglyseph]

I know everyone hates M Knight Shyamalan's The Village, and "oooh it's modern day all along" seems like a lame twist, but consider:

A) wool cloaks fuck and that's always a cool look and I won't apologize for the fact that I definitely just wanted to wear cloaks instead of coats even though I live somewhere that experiences winters in Hardcore Mode and that was not viable

And B) the concept that your parents decided for you that you had to live in a dangerous and reductive environment and raised you on fear and punishment and secrecy because they hated the way society was developing and didn't want you to have access or choice was like. Extremely real fore as someone raised Catholic with multiple friends raised either Jehovah's Witness or Mormon. Like, obviously, it was extremely exaggerated as a 2000s horror-thriller type movie, but like.

It's no Lady in the Water. I honestly haven't seen The Village in a bit, but in concept, I think it does make sense as a cult movie. It's just that too much is like... "oooo it's a twist!" Rather than, like... "damn, the adults of this movie have a cult compound that they have used to isolate, indoctrinate, and control their children, literally creating and becoming monsters that haunt and torment them to keep them in line to maintain a way of life in line with their own moral values"

And like. If you look at it through the lens of like. The emotional impact of how much betrayal goes on within the film in the families and the cult and for the children who had no choice to be there and no information, like. That's much more impactful than simply "it was modern day all along"

It's "your parents have been lying to you all along, and all of your pain and fear has served no greater purpose. Half of these rules were not to keep you safe. They were to make you obey, and you have no way of knowing which are which. The people you trust have deeply and intentionally fractured your relationship with reality as a way to keep you contained and docile and under control. You have been betrayed on the most fundamental level by the people who were supposed to raise you and guard you and keep you safe."

And that's like. That's good horror that sticks in the back of your brain forever? Idk. Maybe my imaginary Village is better than the real Village but like. I think it's a better movie than it gets credit for.

And I want more excuses to wear wool cloaks, like damn.