#i was watching this one bollywood movie the other day

[gguk-n]

Hi could please write one where the reader is bengali and celebrates Durga Puja with Lando in india ( ollie or kimi works too but I'm not sure if you write for them)?

I did a ‘spin the wheel’ and got Ollie.

Puja Vibes

Ollie was as white as white gets and his girlfriend was the embodiment of the Bengali culture prancing around. She had helped Oliver expand his horizon; taught him new experiences and delicious food. She will argue, that there’s no dessert like Bengali dessert.

So, when it was time for Y/N to return home for Durga Puja, Ollie would be joining her too since he had no races or prior commitments.

They hadn’t dated for long but Ollie had showered her with gifts on Christmas and taught her all his family traditions. Y/N just wanted to do the same for him.

At the airport, they landed together with Ollie in tow who was enamoured by the hustle and bustle of the city. He saw cows crossing the road like it was another Tuesday and no one batted an eye. Y/N pointed out all the building explaining the significance and the reason behind their construction during the colonial era on the way to her home.

At home, preparations for Durga Puja were in full swing. Y/N’s uncle and aunt had decorated their house ornately. Oliver greeted everyone.

The festivities would start the next day. Everyone was up bright and early for the invocation (bodhon) Oliver was mesmerised by the shining lights and the bright colours and the beautiful way Goddess Durga was dressed.

The main event was Maha Ashtami which Y/N’s father had great pleasure in explaining to Oliver. Oliver was like a kid in a candy store; eyes wide open and mesmerised by the events unfolding in front of him.

You would find the poor boy following Y/N around like a lost puppy. It was adorable watching him hold onto her saree palo as she walked in front of him. “Lemme hold your hand” Ollie whined. “Everyone is here for the festival. What will the elder’s think?” Y/N reasoned. In Indian culture, blatant show of affection was frowned upon especially in the older generations, the younger ones couldn’t care less. That’s why Ollie was walking around holding her palo.

They were stood next to each other while Y/N’s mother made the preparations for Maha Ashtami. “Your dress looks so beautiful. Red truly is your colour” Ollie said. “Thank you babe” she said. “How did you do this?” He asked playing with the folds. “My mum helped. I’m still pretty bad at tying a saree” she said. “Is that what it’s called? A saree” he said enunciating each word. “Yup, it’s an Indian traditional wear but everyone wraps the cloth around them differently, depending on the region of the country” she explained. His mouth formed an O in understanding.

They finished up the celebration with all the rituals being done and Oliver asking way too many questions each step of the way.

On the last day after Vijaya Dashami, after the immersion in the water everyone returned back home, exhausted by the events of the past days when Y/N’s cousin showed her a video; actually a few.

One video, had Ollie following her around like a lost puppy. The other one was of him holding her palo so as to not get lost. And the last one was straight out of a Shah Rukh Khan movie where Ollie’s watch had gotten stuck in her palo and he tried to free himself while actively trying to follow her and not let her know that he might fray her outfit. Eventually, he did free himself but his eyes never left her as he walked behind her.

She showed the video to Ollie and the Shah Rukh Khan scene from Om Shanti Om. Ollie was seen laughing, “didn’t know I would be getting my Bollywood moment this year during Puja” she said. “I’m happy I could be of service, m’lady” he said tipping his imaginary hat. “I would still have loved if it was Shah Rukh Khan” she teased. “Wow! I can’t believe this.” He acted hurt with his hand on his chest. “You are unbelievable.” She muttered pressing her lips on his cheeks. “Don’t try to bribe me with kisses” he huffed. “I’m not. I love you my cute little bear” she cooed. “I’m not cute” he huffed again. “Sure, my rasgulla” she laughed pinching his cheeks. “I like that dessert. Can I have some more?” He replied lost in thought. “I’m sure my mother will find great pleasure in feeding you” she said laughing. “Let’s go” she said pulling him along. “I love you Y/N.” Ollie called out while being dragged along. “I love you too” she replied turning to look at him.

Y/N’s family cooed at them, young love

Hope you liked it! I tried my best

[julymusings]

Jason Todd x South Asian!Reader HCs

requested | reader is fem, i tried to keep it non-specific so it applies to the whole region, not just india, hopefully i succeeded😬 read dick's hcs here !

i looooved writing this it was so much fun. drop an ask with anything else you want to see!!

When you show him Bollywood movies, at first he’s like “Why are these so damn long?” But watches them anyway because you’re so excited to show him

He obviously sobs at K3G (because he has daddy AND big brother issues)

But his favorite is probably 3 Idiots or Bhaag Milkha Bhaag (he just seems like the type to looove an underdog story am I right)

Since Jason likes cooking, he’s learning how to make all your favorite foods. He’s eaten a lot of Indian food before (duh, it’s New Jersey), so he’s familiar with the flavors and spices, but some dishes are easier than others. He tries to make dosa after you mentioned liking it but it does not go well

He’s trying so hard to impress you but they all keep breaking😭 and the ones that don’t break come out burnt. When he finally relents and lets you help him, you hold his hand and guide him to make the proper movements; pouring the batter, spreading it into a circle, and gently flipping it so it doesn’t break

He loves chai, and is always experimenting with different recipes and flavors and asking you to test them

You're taking him to the Indian market so often, by the end of the month he knows the names for all the vegetables and spices in your language and where to find them

He thinks you with mehendi/henna is the most attractive thing ever

Your friend’s getting married? Of course he’ll feed you while your mehendi’s drying, you don't even have to ask

When it's still fresh and at its darkest color he's actually going batshit insane (pun intended); he loves interlacing your fingers together and seeing the contrast of your dark, decorated fingers against his large, strong ones. His phone background is a selfie of you guys where your faces are squished side-by-side and one of your mehendi'd hands is cupping his cheek

And when you're on top of him, the sight of your adorned hands pressed flat against his bare chest, flushed and heaving...he thinks it belongs in a museum

He just loves doing little acts of service; one day you’re complaining offhandedly to him about how the price of eyebrow threading keeps going up, a week later you’ve forgotten all about it but he’s like “I learned how to thread your eyebrows”

He figured it would be easy enough, and as someone who’s life often depends on steady, surgical aim and precision, it is

Roy’s walking around looking messed up as fuck for a couple weeks but that’s beside the point because he’s got the hang of it now 

When it comes to putting on a sari, he'll put the pins in the hard to reach places if you ask, but for the most part he just loves watching you put it on. he thinks it's so cute the way you scrunch your face in focus as you make the folds and tuck in the fabric with such concentration (Jason Todd domesticity agenda)

One night you're getting dressed up for some party, but no matter what you do and how many times you take it off and try to re-drape it, it just won't come out good and you get so frustrated and teary-eyed that he has to intervene

He makes you take a break, brings you a snack, and kisses you until you feel better, and then he pulls up a youtube video to do it for you— but he can't do it either😭

So you both decide to give up and you wear a lehenga instead

It’s a fairly modest one, and even though he's seen you wearing more-revealing clothes (and none at all), he's going crazy over that one inch sliver of exposed skin on your midriff

He already loves seeing you dressed up in traditional wear but if you put jasmine flowers in your hair with it??? The fragrance coming from you makes him feral. It lingers in your hair for a couple days and he can’t stop following you around and sniffing you LMAO

The first time you get a kurta for him, it’s actually impossible to find one that fits because he’s so big and buff (drool) so you just end up buying the fabric and getting it custom stitched

There's only a few scraps of the fabric left and you get the wonderful idea of braiding the scraps into a bracelet so you have something to match with him and it makes him go crazy

Early on in your relationship, you’re a little afraid to have oil in your hair in front of him because you’re worried he’ll think the smell is too strong

Jason is probably familiar with the practice of hair oiling from his time with Talia (but you don’t know that yet)

He actually LOVES when you oil your hair around him. Just something about him being the only one who gets to see you when you’re comfy and unready is so intimate to him and makes him feel so special and trusted and loved🥹

Time for some of my physical touch x touch starved!Jason propaganda

After a particularly difficult night of patrolling, he comes to you stressed and anxious and unsure what to do with himself. So you make him sit on the floor in front of your bed, warm up some of the oil, and seat yourself on the edge of the mattress. He leans back against your legs and you massage the warm oil into his scalp. It feels heavenly. You’re using the perfect amount of pressure, hitting all the right spots, and it feels so good he wants to cry. Later, when you pull him into the shower to shampoo it out, he actually does cry, hoping the water falling from the shower head hides the tears (it doesn’t, and it breaks your heart)

(If you were raised Hindu) I think he'd be very interested in the belief in reincarnation, past & future lives, oneness with the universe, etc...it might help him make some sense of his coming back

You bring mediation into his life, and that also really helps him

You wear Kajal/kohl/surma on your eyes, and whenever he’s looking especially good, or before he goes out as red hood, you smudge some onto your finger and put a mark behind his ear, just to be safe (it’s believed to deflect jealousy/bad intentions from others) (yes I’m superstitious sue me)

Or you just tie a black thread around his ankle

When you first explain to him that you want him to wear a black thread around his ankle because of a superstition, he thinks you’re joking. He can’t believe you actually believe in that 

But he can’t say no to you and he secretly likes that you also have one so it feels like you’re matching 

He considers it a good luck charm, not because he believes the superstition but because it’s from you

[universalitgirlsblog2]

💞🍮CELEBRITY MANIFESTATION🍮💞

I wanted to add these celebrities in the first part but I thought it would be easier to make a second part

💞ZENDAYA

Zendaya admitted that her first date was at a Spider-man movie and she was a big fan of spider-man . Now she is a part of Spider-man movies , she spoke her desires into existence. She also mentioned that she realized If she doesn't like something she can change it and she feels she can do anything. She also admitted that she cried when Hannah Montana came out because she wanted to be like her and Miley was her inspiration . After a month , Zendaya interviewed Miley !! I would recommend you to read this post on reddit since it explained how Zendaya manifested everything in detail - click me !!

🍮KENDALL JENNER

Kendall scripted about being a model when she was a teenager. Now she is considered one of the top models.

💞SHAH RUKH KHAN

Shah Rukh Khan said that he would rule over Mumbai one day , now he is the known as the Bollywood's King Khan. He is ruling over Mumbai. He also bought the exact same house he wanted to. His movie "Yess Boss " had a song called " Chand Taare " and he is living that song in real life. The song was about manifesting. Moreover , He also admitted that he felt he was special. Also, his mother told him that he would become a superstar one day .He spoke his desires into existence.

🍮ICE SPICE

Ice spice manifested a collab with her role model Nicki Minaj . She admitted that she manifested everything and she expected or assumed ,it would happen .

💞OLIVIA RODRIGO

Olivia was nine years old and she told her mom that she was going to be a Olympic gymnast even though she could barely do a cartwheel, her mom thought she was joking but she was super defensive . The next week , she told her mom that she was going to win a Grammy, her mom was very supportive , she thought she was a little dreamer. Olivia spoke her desires into existence and she always believed in her dreams . Dreams do come true !

🍮MICHAEL JACKSON

Michael Jackson wrote a letter to himself when he was a child , he mentioned in the letter how he would be a incredible singer and dancer that would suck the world and he would be magic and a perfectionist. Like other celebrities, he used scripting too ! I would recommend you to watch these videos - click me and click me !!

💞VANESSA HUDGENS

Vanessa admitted that she manifested everything in her life - her relationship with Cole Tucker, her home and career .

🍮DRAKE

Drake said that things he repetitively think or say about , he is able to manifest them.

💞BTS

BTS said that they wanted to work with Olivia Rodrigo, they sat next to Olivia and Olivia had a cameo in their performance. Remember the iconic moment when Taehyung whispered in her ear ? They said that they wanted to win Daesang and now they have countless daesangs .Alot of times BTS spoke their desires into existence. They are known for having positive and encouraging lyrics in their songs too.

🍮DOVE CAMERON

Dove said that she really wanted to play Bubbles in live action Power puff girls . After eight years , she got casted in live action Power puff girls. She also spoke her desires into existence.

💞CRISTIANO RONALDO

Ronaldo said that in his mind , he is always the best and he does not care what other people think or say about him . He also said that we should think that we are the best in our area . Tell yourself that you are the best and you will become the best !!

💞🍮 IF YOU TRULY PUT YOUR HEART INTO WHAT YOU BELIEVE IN,EVEN IF IT MAKES YOU VULNERABLE, AMAZING THINGS CAN AND WILL HAPPEN - EMMA WATSON💞🍮

💞🍮FEEL IT . BELIEVE IT . BE IT 🍮💞

[starryalpacasstuff]

Fire (1996): A Mostly Spoiler Free Pitch Because You Should Watch It Immediately

It's time for "An Indian QL bulldozed past my expectations and I am reeling in awe", Part Two!

A few days ago, @neuroticbookworm told me about Fire, an old lesbian Indian movie she'd been wanting to watch. Me being me, I promptly tracked it down and settled in to watch it.

Very loosely based on the 1942 short story Lihaaf, the movie follows Sita, a newly wed bride who is settling in with her in-laws, which is how she meets Radha, who is married to her husband's brother. Both in unhappy marriages, they find solace and company with each other, quickly falling in love. Length: 1 Hour 40 Minutes TWs: Homophobia, C-word mentioned once, some depictions of domestic violence Release: 1996

The is almost entirely in English, and while one generally expects Bollywood movies to be in Hinglish, it's definitely a conscious choice here, which does make me wonder if the movie was supposed to be promoted to a greater international audience. You can find it here on Youtube, most of the (very few) Hindi dialogues have hard subtitles. I think it's also available on Prime? It wasn't available in India though, which is odd, but I didn't bother investigating. Let me know if anyone can figure anything out about this!

Going into this movie, I expected a melodramatic, emotional movie with a bittersweet tone. I did not expect a biting, incredibly engaging movie with excellent satire, symbolism, discussions of chastity culture, and an incredibly sweet, beautifully written romance. And I was certainly not prepared for how incredibly horny this movie is??? Both in subtle tension and overt sex scenes. There's also partial nudity, which again, completely unexpected. If you're going taboo, go taboo all the way I suppose. It's also very well directed, and while I'm not nearly as good at identifying details like that as some of the people on here, I did pick up on some colour coding and interesting framing. It's just overall packed with little details that I think a lot of us would have a field day analysing.

Honestly, I could talk about the cultural nuances in this movie for hours. Contrary to my assumption about the reasoning behind making the movie fully in English, the movie seems to rely on the viewer's understanding of North Indian customs to deliver a lot of it's messages, particularly with its satire, more on that below. While I don't think it's necessary to enjoy the movie, it definitely does add some meat to the story. Then again, I'm a biased party, so it'll be hard to determine just how many messages may be lost to someone from outside of India without someone to compare notes with (this is me shamelessly trying to get you to watch the movie). Honestly, I'd be 100% down to write a more detailed, spoiler-including post that goes into the implicit nuances if people are interested.

There's two main selling points for the movie; the incredible way it shuts down purity and chastity ideology and the absolutely adorable relationship between Radha and Sita. The movie is set on ruthlessly tearing down and emphasizing the ridiculousness of purity culture. A lot of the messaging is indirect and uses metaphors, but there's also several explicit scenes addressing the issue. It's one of the main themes of the movie and I'm almost convinced the real reason it's titled 'Fire' is the sheer number of burns it dishes out on this subject. The romance portion of this movie is one of the thing's that completely defied my expectations. It wasn't sad and dramatic, it was heartfelt and silly and adorable. There's several scenes of the two subtly flirting, laughing together and just being lowkey in love. But that's not to say there's no emotional depth—they're also there for each other and are quite vulnerable with each other.

The movie used a lot of metaphors, but my favourites were the almost satirical representation of mythological stories. In a religion as diverse as Hinduism, every holiday has two dozen stories behind it and each story has two dozen versions, so it's to be expected that you'll find a number of problematic or otherwise kind of ridiculous stories in the mix. The stories were told completely seriously, but the context of the movie highlights their absurd facets in a truly brilliant way. I'm not going to give too much away, but I will say, it was a delight to watch the juxtaposition of the myths and the storyline of the movie, particularly it's ties to the purity culture discussion. You'll understand when you watch it. I'm not turning this into a Hindu mythology lesson (yet) but one interesting tidbit is that Radha and Sita are both names of mythological figures; namely the partners of two of the most worshipped avatars of the god Vishnu: Krishna and Rama respectively. And I was overjoyed to find that their names do have relevance to the metaphors in the story, particularly Sita's.

When the movie was first released, there were massive protests against it, I'm talking hundreds of people storming into theatres to destroy them and drive away audiences. I don't know what to say here beyond this, but what I will say is that I think Fire is an amazing movie that absolutely does not deserve to be lost to the sands of time. I hope you give it a shot, and if you do, tag me in any posts you make about it!

Tagging people who seemed interested in recs from my last post, let me know if you'd rather I not tag you!

@lurkingshan @impala124 @bengiyo @letgomaggie @winnysatang

@watertightvines @nutcasewithaknife @blorbingqls @twig-tea

@waitmyturtles @cryingatships @benkaben @usertoxicyaoi

@befuddledcinnamonroll @flyingrosebeetle

[famemonsterrr]

Astrology observations part 5. 🪽

- Aquarius placements make someone soo smart ass and witty. Especially mercury 🤌🏻

- Gemini and Sagittarius are the type of people who will be killed by curiosity.

- 11th house placements make someone really popular and well known even if they don’t hang out with everyone. Same goes with the 3rd house placements maybe because of your siblings

- Pisces sun with Capricorn Venus is the most random and sad placement in a natal chart.

- Gemini sun with cancer placements are softies and more sensitive than all gemini placements

Men with all gemini in the personal planets is a red flag. Immature and easily influenced

- people with 4th house Venus will want their home to be comfortable and keep memories from their family house. You will see a lot of childhood pics on the walls or maybe a lot of photo albums.

- i love how passive aggressive a cancer can be. Like they are soooo unserious in serious situations. They will piss you off.

- it might be unpopular but the sister sign is a big fat lie. I have seen couples and friends with the sister signs not lasting long. For example every friendship I have a Virgo was good of 1 year and then became toxic.

- Pisces with 8th house placements or Scorpio placements is the person that will have temporary obsessions. Maybe they will find a song and play it for months and then will find a new song and then again. Maybe it would be a crush,maybe a movie character.

- Gemini and Sagittarius placements love cultures and they know a lot of things about them.(My mom is Gemini sun with Sagittarius moon and when I was young she showed me a lot of cultures. One random day she mention how much interesting Bollywood is and bought some dvds and we watched them together. Also had a lot of Arabic cds and we love to listen together and thanks to her my love for cultures became huge)

- i love LEO a lot but having it in your moon is pain in the ass. DRAMA QUEEN but I applause you for being open and expressive with what u feeling. Vulnerable queen💅🏻 but high maintenance moon. Constant admiration and attention.

- Pisces moon/rising people have dead inside eyes as for the other placements I can’t see it. (I’m Pisces sun and Venus and I don’t have this type of eyes)

- air moons scare me. You don’t know how they feel and what they feel. They are just there breathing and existing and inside their head their tiny version maybe burning the whole place💀 (SpongeBob brain scene if u know u know what I’m saying)

- I kinda feel bad for all my Scorpio moon people. Are you okay? ☹️

- Aquarius and Pisces will say things to get a reaction out of everyone. I have seen myself doing that just because I want to annoy them. I don’t believe half of the things I’m saying but I will do it to get a reaction for fun. Also 7th house placements do that.

- earth suns with Sagittarius placements make them super fun and cool. (My bestie is Capricorn with Sagittarius moon and she is so fun and witty)

- have you seen a Pisces sticking into anything? No me neither these bitches changing everything when they getting bored. It’s a mutable thingy ✨

- libra mercury is the devils advocate. ALWAYS

- never date someone who has the same mars sign as ur moon. Unless u want PAIN💅🏻

- always date someone who has the same Venus as ur sun. They will see you as their ideal type vice versa.

- Virgo women love cleaning and organising and Capricorn men love cleaning and organising. Match in heaven? 😏

- just to know the biggest liars are libra and Leo not Gemini.

- Pisces aren’t competitive at all they even let you win. They just don’t care (that’s me unless I’m playing uno) also really unpopular but Aries aren’t that competitive.

- Aquarius love internet friendships because they can have their space and not meet all the time with people.

- Taurus are more obsessive than a Scorpio. (I had a dude who said to me that he was stalking his ex for 3 years straight. It’s the dedication for me💀)

Speaking of these two. THEY ALWAYS BELONG TOGETHER. both insane and obsessed over each other in relationship. Maybe not the best of friends but everything is possible

- I haven’t see Gemini and Pisces be able to concentrate for more than 10 min.

- this is a personal thing to say but as a Pisces I tend to connect people with colours,smells ect. (One of my besties is white and always imagine her as cotton candy.) also I tend to bring in any conversation my closest people. I just love to mention them anywhere I can. If any Pisces reads this please tell I ain’t the one.

- libra sun with Virgo placements is a person with perfectionism and anxiety.

- fixed dominated individuals are like Patrick’s house. Like big rocks 💀

- cardinal dominated individuals need to learn manange their hidden anger issues

- mutable dominated individuals need to learn to end things they started 😒

Thats all 🪽

Okay guys this one was loooong. Sometimes I have a lot of ideas in my head and I get stimulated so thank u for making it till the end. Appreciate it sooo much 🥰 stay healthy and hydrated 💅🏻

[aoioozora]

Sharing an umbrella with the Ghosts

I shared an umbrella with my boyfriend the other day and I can't help but wonder what the Ghosts would do if you told them you forgot your umbrella and had to share one with them.

Logan Walker:

He owns only one umbrella, and it's a small one, but he shows up anyway

When you get under it, he makes sure to tilt the umbrella more to your side so that your shoulder wouldn't get wet

He eventually gets his shoulder so wet that he goes, "Fuck it we ball," and hands you the umbrella and just begins frolicking in the rain like he's in a Bollywood movie

"Aren't you cold?" "Hell no! I love this!"

Comes back home sneezing and drenched, but not regretting it.

David 'Hesh' Walker:

He takes the only one he has (which is also Logan's) and comes to get you.

When you get under the umbrella, he puts his arm around you and pulls you close to him to keep both of you from getting wet.

"It's so cold, isn't it?" he quips, chuckling. He's definitely not holding you close because he feels cold.

Both of you chat while you walk and it's smooth sailing; both of you are mostly dry when you reach.

He secretly hopes you'll forget your umbrella the next time so he can do this again.

Elias 'Scarecrow' Walker:

He shows up in a CAR.

And he's annoyed that you forgot to take an umbrella with you.

"I told you countless times to take an umbrella when you go out. It's been raining cats and dogs lately!" he scolds you and shakes his head as soon as you sit in the car and strap on the seatbelt.

And when you apologise, he sighs and then proceeds to pat your head and your face to see if you're cold, and when he does, he turns up the car heater and begins driving.

A car is technically an umbrella, right?

Thomas Merrick:

He smartly owns more than one umbrella and brings one along for you to use.

He gives you a very girly looking umbrella, which you are not sure why such a manly man like him owns, but umbrella is umbrella so you use it anyway

Until you find that there's a small hole in the fabric. You inform him of it and he frowns, realising that it could've been gnawed off by pesky bugs after being inside the storeroom for too long. "Need to call pest control," he mutters under his breath.

When you tell him you can manage with the hole since it's just a minor thing, he refuses point blank. "Come here," he gruffly beckons you under his umbrella.

He takes the girly umbrella and holds it for you, not wanting you to carry a burden in addition to your bag.

He lets you hold on to his arm while you walk so you can keep up with him and not stumble (he may or may not have flexed his bicep as you did)

It's a comfortable and quiet walk back.

Keegan Russ:

He also owns only one umbrella, but it's a big one

When you get under the umbrella, he shakes his head and gives you a playful knock on your forehead with his knuckles.

"I'm not doing this again, you hear me?" he chides.

He then shoves his hand in his pocket as both of you walk. When he sees that you're getting a little wet, he holds the umbrella in his other hand and then proceeds to put his arm around your shoulder, keeping you close to his side.

"Getting wet even under the umbrella, just what I would expect of you," he complains, but his voice is affectionate. You roll your eyes. "That's not my fault. You're not holding the umbrella properly." It becomes a bicker-banter fest from there.

He'd do this again. A hundred times.

Kick:

He has more than one umbrella, but deliberately comes with only one.

"I can't believe you forgot your umbrella. Is this a ploy to share one with me?" he asks jokingly. "Yes." you answer. "Oh." He didn't expect that.

Both of you begin walking together, and he appears to be a bit jumpy.

"What's wrong?" you ask. "I kinda want to play in the rain." he replies.

And just like Logan, he hands you the umbrella and goes frolicking while you walk alongside him, watching and smiling.

Your smiles are short-lived when he does the opposite of keeping you dry by kicking water at you from the puddles.

By the time both of you are back home, both of you are far from dry and just cold, wet, and miserable.

"That was fun. We should do it again!" "NO!"

You enjoyed it anyway.

Alex 'Ajax' Johnson:

He's got a variety of umbrellas, but he brings a big one.

"Let me carry those for you," he says, pointing to your bags. "Oh no, it's alright, you don't have to," you say, but he insists and you give him some of your bags. "Come on, give me all of them," he presses. "Why?" "My mama raised a gentleman and I'm not letting a lady carry heavy bags in my presence." You relent, but question him, "But then how are you gonna hold the umbrella?" "Oh." He then gives you a sheepish grin. "Will you hold it?"

You end up holding the umbrella up for both of you, but you don't mind it at all. He is happily carrying the heavier burdens for you.

The walk back has you secretly admiring his strength.

Riley:

The sweet little boy comes dressed in a cute yellow raincoat, holding an umbrella in his mouth.

He's a smart dog! He knows his way around and is well-trained enough to be focused on his mission.

When he delivers the umbrella to you, he happily trots by your side while you hold his leash, offering you his scary dog privileges.

[unpredictable-easty]

Stree 2 From Feminine Gaze

Bollywood has always been known for its Masala movies. Though there has been a slight turn towards more serious topics these past few years, it is refreshing when one of these entertaining, silly, music-filled movies makes a presence in front of us. 

As a person who likes to dissect a show or movie scene by scene, Stree 2 is a good study. Though it can be classified as another Bollywood masala with a mix of horror thrown in for good measure, there are factors to it that my feminine gaze has caught, scenes that perhaps, if we delve deep into it, would show the societal position of women.

I am sure I would have missed a lot more things than I caught but I would still like to put focus on the scenes that have caught my attention.

Scene 1: In the beginning of the movie we listen to the conversation between the characters where they talk about how women have been leaving their small town for better opportunities. Though at first I thought it was normal but when we delve further in the movie, we find out that the women they are talking about, have supposedly left the town without informing anyone about their intention, they disappeared overnight and nobody heard from them after that.

This scene rankled me. It also shows a significant truth about society. Girls with ‘modern thinking’ somehow become this other creature in our society. They somehow become the enemy of society and their life or well-being becomes an unnecessary thing. So many girls disappeared in the middle of the night and the only conclusion drawn was that they left themselves, without any investigation or even a try at contacting them. 

This problem, when considered for longer, can show why crimes against ‘modern women’ may be dismissed so easily, as if they were not done against a living breathing human.

Scene 2: The scene when they get to know only women with ‘modern thinking’ are getting kidnapped and all the household ladies argue that they would be safe from the monster because they are not modern. 

Pankaj Tripathi points out that if women had social media if they were educated or they went out, all these things also make them modern.

This argument brings out the age-old situation of women themselves not realizing how they have benefited from feminism. Every generation there will be women who will scoff at feminists fighting for rights and they will not realize that whatever freedom they have at the moment came from feminists before their generation. And thus the cycle continues.

Scene 3: The biggest thing to watch for and observe is the way the monster ends up controlling the male population’s mind and makes them revert back to the thinking that is centuries old. 

Here’s a comparison to be made, in the first movie we can see that Stree haunts the village, that she takes away men in dark, she calls their names and if they turn, she takes them. At no point in time is there a difference in men’s societal position, no women tell them to stay in their home the whole day or lessen their importance in their household. While the first thing done to women when the monster controls their minds is just that, control over women in every aspect of their life.

 We can’t blame the male population over it of course but it's the symbolism of it all. One can always argue that the monster was created in that way but we have to remember that what happened in the movie reflects the real life that so many women still live.

It also reflects how women's freedom eventually ends up being an illusion and how it can be taken from them if they don't constantly fight for it.

There is another incident that made me laugh a lot. When JD says to Varun Dhawan, ‘You’re a werewolf, don’t behave like an Animal.’ I don’t think it will take a genius to guess what this was in reference to.

At the end, I would just like to say that this movie not only proved itself entertaining but it’s subtle nuances make it clear that the writers, directors, and the whole production team put a lot of brains behind its planning and making sure that there were a lot of messages that should not be missed. Perhaps if we had more movies like this, the old spirit of Bollywood would be back and we could be entertained while being aware of the social spirit that art should always carry.

[jgroffdaily]

‘A Nice Indian Boy’ will be released theatrically early next year, and then will be available on streaming (no further details available yet)

Jonathan Groff singing Bollywood tunes is the centerpiece of “A Nice Indian Boy,” a groundbreaking gay rom-com that’s heating up the BFI London Film Festival.

Director Roshan Sethi and stars Groff (“Mindhunter,” “Glee,” “Doctor Who”) and Karan Soni (the “Deadpool” franchise) are challenging Hollywood norms with their cross-cultural love story, which debuted at SXSW. It aims to bring a fresh perspective to both LGBTQ+ and South Asian representation on screen.

The genesis of the project traces back to 2019, when Levantine Films optioned Madhuri Shekar’s play of the same name and Eric Randall adapted it as a screenplay. Sethi came aboard in 2021 after the producers saw his previous film “7 Days.” He then approached his real-life partner Soni to co-star. Groff signed on after watching “7 Days.”

“I do think what’s interesting about the current era of ‘diversity films’ is that they tend to be very homogeneous. They’re all Asian or they’re all Indian, or they’re all black or they’re all white, in the exact opposite case, and the reality of our world is that we’re all mixed up with each other in tangled, messy ways. And this movie very much reflects that, because you have a meeting of cultures,” Sethi says.

For Groff, who plays a white character adopted by Indian parents, the role required immersing himself in a culture he was largely unfamiliar with. “I had never seen a Bollywood movie. I didn’t know anything about this culture in general,” Groff says. His preparation included watching the Bollywood classic “Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge” (DDLJ) to nail a pivotal musical moment in the film.

This scene, featuring Groff’s character singing the evergreen “Tujhe Dekha To Ye Jana Sanam” from “DDLJ,” is a highlight of the film. “I didn’t know that he was going to do, like, a falsetto, la, la, la, la, la – that trilling thing,” Sethi says. “Everyone was turned on,” Soni adds.

Despite the cultural specificity, Groff found the family dynamics surprisingly relatable. “I, immediately from the first take of the first scene, couldn’t believe how familiar it all felt,” he says. “Even though there was a stark difference in culture, it was so heartwarming to see that families are families, no matter what culture you’re in.”

The production faced significant challenges, primarily due to a compressed timeline. Sethi reveals they had just four weeks of pre-production and a 21-day shoot with six-day weeks. “We were just like this tiny indie movie that was crammed in between these other much larger, broader circumstances,” he says, referring to Soni’s commitment to “Deadpool” and the then-looming SAG-AFTRA strike.

Financing the film also proved difficult. “We barely got this movie made. We barely found the money. We struggled for years,” Sethi says. He notes that Groff’s involvement was crucial in securing funding. “None of the Indian actors are deemed meaningful enough to obtain financing,” Sethi explains, calling Hollywood “one of the most racist industries in America.”

For Sethi, who still practices medicine, the film represents a personal milestone. “I was closeted six years ago, and now I got to make this movie, which is highly personal,” he says. “I could never have imagined when I was like, walking around the hospital as a straight doctor, watching [HBO’s] ‘Looking,’ that I was going to like be out, much less like be making this movie.”

“A Nice Indian Boy” is set for a theatrical release in the first quarter of next year, with streaming plans to follow. The filmmakers are optimistic about its commercial prospects, citing positive responses from diverse test audiences. “When we were testing the movie among audiences, the highest scoring audience was always white women,” Sethi notes.

The team hopes the film will resonate beyond niche audiences. “Part of the other issue with the so-called diverse film and representation movements is that they’ve made those movies feel like they are for niche audiences,” Sethi says. “The truth is diversity should be an opening up of storytelling where you’re finding more and more interesting and more new stories to tell people, but just vitalize art. They don’t splinter it, they don’t make it more niche. They vitalize it.”

As they prepare for the film’s wider release, the cast is moving on to new projects. Soni is set to star in the thriller “Fade to Black,” while Sethi is working on a new romantic comedy script where he’s “going back to straight people.” Groff, fresh off his Tony win for “Merrily We Roll Along” on Broadway, is returning to the Great White Way with “Just In Time,” a new musical about the life and times of singer Bobby Darin.

[liaazhang]

april • she/her • intp • 16 • indian • bi • multifandom mess • bollywood enthusiast •

Free Palestine 🇵🇸

other accounts: goodreads |

i don't do chain asks anymore, so please don't send them <3

currently watching: gossip girl ; how i met your mother

currently reading: song of silver, flame like night ; legendary

prev urls: isnt-it-delicate15 -> timelessstv -> gxldrushh -> lovestrucklovelorn -> rachellelizabethhdare -> gethimbackpdf -> rosaadiazs -> bedchemmp3 -> liaazhang

artists I love

taylor swift • olivia rodrigo • sabrina carpenter • conan gray • halsey • gracie abrams • maisie peters • renee rapp • chappell roan and most importantly - random bollywood songs

movies

pride and prejudice (2005) • mean girls (2004) • the star wars films • legally blonde • little women (2019) • into the spiderverse and across the spiderverse • the school for good and evil • bollywood films like yeh jawani hain deewani, jab we met, dil dhadakne do, 3 idiots, zindagi na milegi dobara etc etc

tv shows

friends • brooklyn nine nine • modern family • how i met your mother • the good place • parks and recreation • gilmore girls • loki • ms marvel • wandavision • a series of unfortunate events • never have I ever • julie and the phantoms • 911

books

keeper of the lost cities • the pandava quintet • riordanverse • grishaverse • the land of stories • hunger games trilogy • a good girl's guide to murder • the seven husbands of evelyn hugo • the inheritance games • the lunar chronicles • lockwood and co • daisy jones and the six • pride and prejudice • emma • the naturals • five survive • the reappearance of rachel price • the one of us is lying trilogy • the school for good and evil • I hope this doesn't find you • and too many more to count <3

• I may listen to and like taylor swift's music but i most definitely do not support the problematic things she has done, nor do i support her silence about the ongoing Palestinian genocide

• dividers by @cafekitsune !!

• you're welcome to send asks and interact :D DMs are always open as well!!

• feel free to tag me in any post you think id like! (bonus points if its related to cats)

• I tend to swear sometimes

• DNI : basic dni criteria - creeps, racist, homophobes, transphobes, zionists, jkr supporters etc

• I do not like colleen hoover and booktok. at all. and yes I will always complain about her shitty books and other atrocities that booktok (or tiktok in general) has unleashed upon the world

• I make a lot of typos and it's up to you to decipher them <3

• my biggest flex is that my birthday is on world book day <3

• english isn't my first language so please excuse me if I make any grammatical errors!!

moodboard by @skeelly <33

[rooksamoris]

I just read your thoughts about Scarabia and Leona's arc development in game, and I got very interested.

There's very little info on Arabian culture online, at least that I've seen, and also African. A thing that makes me very curious is about their mythologies, folklore, and also music. We know a lot about food, since it's something so universal, but the rest is hard to get info on, unless it gets popularized or romanticized by someone else.

The scarabia arc is one of my favorites for a reason, and that is because I'm very sympathetic with Jamil, and very sad how his and Kalim's story together got so "twisted" so fast (ehe). Honestly there are so many layers to it that it would take many many chapters, and events, to close the situation. But I think it's good they left the future open like that, since it's something that can't be fixed overnight.

And also, *gets down* PLS PLS PLS PLS 🙏 I love the fluffy fics, are you going to also add Bolllywood songs? They are so good seriously it's so dancing and fun! I love Jamil so much and I MELTED with the headcanon short fic where we are taking care of him. I wanna hold his precious handsome face and just kiss it all over! He is so cute I will go FERAL-

hey qamar 💕 this was a pleasure to read! honestly, i feel like both the scarabia and savannaclaw chapters were too short? of course, we were introduced to the themes and then the whole conflict—resolution mountain for stories, however i just feel like they could have done more with the both of them.

also, i think the reason why the southwest-asian and african themes aren’t covered is because the source material is literally disney films 💀 like we get a warning before rewatching aladdin since they just now realized it was kind of racist (still a major part of my childhood though 😭 “a whole new world” in arabic is delicious). based on how yana has written other characters that are meant to be from south asia, there’s a big chance it would have been disappointing anyways.

plus, with scarabia in particular, there’s too many cultures trying to be represented due to how colonizers deemed all of the countries to be the same thing in different fonts 💀 you’d never confuse a nepali with an omani, but winston churchill sure did not care.

the original aladdin movie was meant to take place in baghdad, a city in iraq, but due to political conflicts at the time (george bush a war criminal regardless of saddam hussein’s crimes. the usa literally gave saddam weapons to kill kurds and then turned around and invaded when he wasn’t convenient anymore 💀). baghdad became agrabah—but the culture is still an amalgamation of west asian, south asian, north african, and like eurasian/turkish culture. im sure they’ve got stuff from central asia too 😭

the issue with this is that from ethnic group to ethnic group/country to country, the culture varies a lot. yemenis and palestinians are both arabs, but our cultures are vastly different, with yemenis having more eastern african influences and palestinians having mediterranean influences. i personally headcanon the scarabia duo as arab, but honestly, they could be from anywhere. for all we know, kalim is afghan and jamil is tunisian—it’s all up in the air due to the original source material. but i digress!! i rambled a lot 😭

ON THE BOLLYWOOD NOTE! omg this brought so many good memories back. we used to watch bollywood films with shitty arabic dubs 🥹 i miss those days. i love that idea and ive always wanted to write bollywood inspired fics, like based on the crazy and unrealistic romantic moments in bollywood. it’s just so much fun lmao. honestly, i think that’s a great idea especially when so many bollywood songs just lead the listener through a story anyways. im so glad you enjoy my fics!!! that’s very sweet 💕 have a great day, qamar, and take care of yourself

[eisukevint]

eisuke ichinomiya x desi!reader headcanons !!

im so bored so here are some headcanons bec i love being desi

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

• he hates it when he has to wait and initially when you started dating you tried your best to be on time whenever he paged you but as your relationship progressed, its game over. whenever u have to go out, you ALWAYS leave at the the desi time and he slowly got so used to it, the one and only time punctual eisuke was late to events.

• eisuke has a massive sweet tooth so when you first made him kheer, he absolutely loved it although his only words were ‘not bad’. He definitely asks you to make it again so you feed him other ‘mithai’ (sweets in urdu/hindi) like gulab jamun, rasgullay, JALEBI etc and he loves it so much.

• you make him desi food from time to time and actually requests it like you him ask ‘eisuke what do you want for dinner today?’ and he just says ‘you made nihari last time, it was good. make it again’ he finds it very flavourful.

• he’s very familiar with other cultures since he’s a businessman and often interacts with foreign businessmen. he knows about the clothes and customs of your country. imagine eisuke in kurta or sherwani EISUKE IN A KURTA A BLACK KURTA AT THAT (i would actually die). Whenever you go to family events, you always wear traditional clothes and once eisuke is invited to them, he initially just wears his suit but after some time he starts to indulge you and actually wears your traditional clothes.

• he finds it very sexy when you talk and swear in your mother language.

• eisuke is multilingual (as its mentioned in the story) so if he doesnt know your mother langauge he would DEFINITELY learn and boy his pronunciation would be so good (thats a perfectionist for you)

• he says he hates bollywood movies because theyre so extra but thats a lie. whenever u play something like ‘kabhi khushi kabhi gham’ or ‘kal ho na ho’ he always watches it with you because he’s intrigued but ALWAYS says ‘this movie is so bad i wonder why you waste time watching this stuff’

• you go around singing bollywood songs or songs in your mother tongue around the penthouse and he just enjoys it so much but he definitely wont say it out loud

• eisuke was FLABBERGASTED when you told him or rather showed him a desi wedding like why is everyone wearing such fancy clothes ??? and he’s even more surprised when he finds out there’s actually three days to a wedding and even more pre wedding events.

• he loves it when you wear mehndi on your hands, he sees mehndi as something that adorns your hand and whenever u apply it, he brings your hand up to his face and smells it because he loves thr scent.

• when you told him about all your family and by that i mean family on your mother’s and father’s side, he has to do a double take because why the fuck do you have SO many cousins? he’s trying to keep up but there’s just so many.

• your parents love him more than you. they literally said it to your face ‘oh my, such a handsome boy, how did you ever end up with our incompetent daughter’ you cannot convince me that this wont happen.

• baba asks you to teach him bhangra and other desi dance steps and you, ota and baba have the time of your life dancing to chammak challo and nach punjaban in the penthouse lounge and eisuke just looks at you like youre comitting a crime

a little something for myself bec im a self indulgent bitch (not exactly a desi headcanon but i wanted to add this)

• every eid you spend with him, he makes sure to spoil you thoroughly. he gives you so much eidi (literally) like he straight up handed you car keys once and went ‘eid mubarak ___, i know you’ve been waiting for your eidi’ and then he just smirks while you think what did you do to deserve so much. he enjoys eid festivities with you and eid ul fitr is his favourite eid.

[thenwhatthefukcisthis]

Inception 30 day challenge 2024

Day 07: if you had to change a scene from the movie to have a musical number, which scene would it be?

@inception30daychallenge

I grew up watching hindi movies so *rubs hands* what if inception was still inception but the arthur and eames scenes are bollywood-ifyed?

1. the meet : as their names are told with such with such wistfulness and yearning, sprinkled with regret and longing, the first song has to be sth which shows their broken love, the happy earlier memories and the sorrowful abrupt ending, (?) where one didn’t stay long enough and the other didn’t wait long enough. Agar Tum Saath Ho : if you are here with me

my favourite bit : “there are dreams in your eyes they are filled with hatred, there are talks of heart which feel deceptive”

2. the rekindling of and old spark : slowly but surely inching closer. kicking and screaming, pulling and pushing, sure, but both realising how the smiles long forgotten smile start coming to them both easily, remembering how before everything else the comfort they found in each other’s presence creeping in, and wondering whether they could go back to how things were, silently hoping the other would just take that one step towards each other. Mitwa : Companion

my favourite bit : “what’s unsaid, what’s unheard of, could you please tell me what those stories are”

3. when everything inevitably goes to shit. that car shootout, those warehouse scenes, emotions running high and lies and betrayals keep piling up, threatening to tear them apart, but somehow both of them keeping the other grounded and drawing strength and comfort from each other. old endearments slipping in need of comfort, calm cool exteriors shattering when their lover is in danger. you know. the works. Shiddat : Passion

my favourite bit : “I’ll make you a habit which I can’t leave behind, I’ll make you the centrepiece of my heart”

4. the sweet sweet reconciliation. the entire conversation with arthur and eames asking each other to be safe and come back to me. both of them slowly blinking their eyes open and realising they made it. the waiting at the airport for the other bag. them holding hands and leaving together. neither of them looking at their own spinning tops and enjoying the togetherness. the happy ending. O Maahi: My beloved

my favourite bit : wherever you go, I will follow you, cause I can only find refuge in the safety of your arms

[universalitgirlsblog2]

💗SELF CONCEPT ICONS PART 3💗

1)Jang Wonyoung ( Kpop idol )

Wonyoung is so young , but she is SUCCESSFUL & MATURE for her age . She really lives up to her name " won " & " young " . She is not only gorgeous but also very smart and talented . Although She gets alot of hate but she doesn't let others negativity or haters get to her & its evident that those people are jealous of her. She is ambassador of luxury brands like MIU MIU , skin care brands like Innisfree & all brands chase her like crazy. She is 4TH GEN IT GIRL. She also admitted in one of her interviews that she gives herself love and focus on the things she likes about herself . Her self concept is one of a kind.

" YOU ARE YOU , I AM ME " - Wonyoung

@magic-irl has made affirmations on wonyoung ( click here ) & @vanillablankie also ( click here ) I also made affirmations on Wonyoung - click on this . @heejinisoutofideas made affirmations on her too - click here

2) Pooja Sharma aka Poo ( kabhie khushi kabhi Gham )

Poo is ICONIC . She knows her worth and never settles for less. She knows how BEAUTIFUL & AMAZING she is and only puts herself on a PEDESTAL . She pampers herself and always compliments herself. It's clear that she loves herself alot . She is like Indian version of Regina George but she wasn't as mean as Regina . I dare you to watch K3G movie and I'm sure you will know why she is a self concept icon.

3) Jennifer Check ( Jennifer's body)

Jennifer knows that she is that bitch and she acts like it . She is confident, pretty and popular. The song " Maneater " by Nelly Furtado was made for her 🤭💖

@angelicbarbiedoll has made affirmations on Jennifer check . Click here

@fragileheart444 made affirmations on her too ! Click here

4) Chanel Oberlin ( Scream Queens )

She is confident in herself, she knows that she is pretty , smart and rich. She is also witty and funny. Her self esteem is higher than burj khalifa .

@taurusbae222 has made affirmations on her . Click here .

5) Maddy Perez ( Euphoria )

Who doesn't know her ? She has the CONFIDENCE one would die to have . She is the bad bitch who has it all , everyone either wants to be with her or BE HER . She literally won the IDAF mindset war .

@awhkacey has made affirmations on Maddy Perez . Click here

6) Shah Rukh Khan ( Actor )

Shah rukh khan also known as KING KHAN . He is 58 and still ruling bollywood since 3 generations . He is not only the king of BOLLYWOOD but also the king of hearts . He is the fourth richest actor. Few years ago, his films weren't doing so good & everyone said how his " time " was gone coz he was old . Haters would make fun of him since his movies weren't able to cross more than 300 crores. He took a break for 3 - 4 years . Now when he came back , he literally broke records . His movies Pathaan and Jawan , both made 1000 crores. He literally shut the " boycott bollywood " gang and proved his haters wrong . Also , SRK came from a very poor background and he had no connections and directors said that he couldn't become an actor coz his face wasn't "chocolaty " enough but guess what ? He still did . He said that he would rule the city of Mumbai one day and he did !!! Not only he is a versatile actor but he is charming , has a great presence of mind & gives witty replies , is respectful to women & elders and he is very HUMBLE. When asked in an interview if he had any competition, he said that he didn't have any competition & he didn't come to compete but rule . In other interviews he said how he felt that he was SPECIAL & how he was the " LAST OF THE STARS " . Be like him , be confident in yourself & don't let others determine what you are capable of 💓

7) Geet ( Jab We met )

Geet is HER OWN FAVOURITE . She loves herself and is cheerful & optimistic . She tends to follow her heart .

8 ) Kokomi Teruhashi ( The disastrous life of saiki k )

Kokomi Teruhashi is aware of the fact that she is the prettiest girl . She is confident in herself , knows that everything will work out for her and because of this assumption everything works out for her . Life is always easy for her. She knows She can get anything She wants .

@magic-irl has made affirmations on kokomi Teruhashi . Click here To know why Kokomi is an ICON , check out this post by @awhkacey and this one by @taeriilight

9) Tomie

She knows that she is pretty , charming and Intelligent & she uses her beauty and intelligence her advantage. She is confident in herself. She knows that she is hard to forget . She has a mysterious charm .

@magic-irl has made affirmations on her too !! Click here

@thaticonicgirl has also made affirmations on Tomie . Click here

@wishfulfilled has made a beautiful & detailed vaunt on tomie . Click here

[everythingne]

Out Of The Woods, 6 (ls2)

Logan and Dhanishka finally have the necessary breakthrough, Olivia delivers some bad news that Dhanishka already has a backup plan for. Logan just has a really good time at the end.

warnings/notes: panic attack in the beginning, mentions of alcohol, i don’t really think much else? ok i KNOW viscaal is an actual dude but like. i forgot. so just imagine he has a brother or smthn idk. bit shorter but hey. this is for logan bc fuck williams man

(series masterlist) (ch 7)

-

“Isa!”

I, despite my best efforts, cannot get a solid breath in. Someone's hands are on my face, trying to rouse me from whatever's got my eyes squeezed shut. I gasp again and they're brushing tears off of my cheeks. When I hold my breath, choking on an inhale, the voice is panicked, telling me to breathe. Then blowing a gust of air on my face.

Somehow the air is what snaps my eyes open.

"Christ, Isa." Logan's saying, holding a phone to his ear as he presses my hair down with one hand, "hey, hey, it's okay..."

"Lo-Logan?" I rasp and he nods, a tiny, worried smile crossing his face as he turns to the phone and speaks in a hushed tone.

"I've got her, thanks Anya. I'll text you when I get her in bed."

When he puts his phone down, he hands me a water bottle but holds the bottom of it as I take small slow sips and try not to burst into tears yet again. He doesn't say anything, not even when I lower my hand from where it's been resting over his thudding heart.

"You called my sister?" I ask and he pauses, before nodding.

"Yeah. I figured Anya would know how to help you out of a panic attack." He says and I nearly choke on my water.

"I had a panic attack?" I ask and he stills, before he is everything around me. His hands are gentle, tucking me against his chest, one hand carding through my hair as the other holds me tight.

“Oh, Isa—“ He murmurs into my hair. I whisper out confusion, I had a panic attack? I never have panic attacks? Is that why I blacked out? When did he get here?

“Oh, Isa, I’m so sorry they’ve turned you into me.” Logan presses his hands to either side of my face, lifting me back so I can look at him. I remember how a week ago I was afraid of loving him, how I was terrified I'd lose him, and yet here he was as stubborn and comforting as always. As he had been in China. As he had been in Miami. As he now was in Imola.

"I can't do this Logan." I hiccup, letting him bring me into his arms once more, kisses trailing my forehead as he keeps me locked in tight, "I can't take another day of this comparing bullshit! They hate me, all of them in Ferrari. I don't even know if I still have Charles, and they keep pushing and pushing and I just wanna be good!"

"You are good. You are so good." He murmurs, "You're doing better than I did my first season. I had panic attacks almost every race, I still have them sometimes."

When I look at him in disbelief he sighs, "the difference between us is that you have Ferrari and I have Williams. Alex and I are actually cared for within Williams. They care about our health, our wellbeing. Ferrari always has and always will put you below Charles because he's the predestined or whatever. It's stupid. It's what drove Carlos out according to Oscar, who heard it from Lando so who knows--but my point still stands."

I sniffle, nodding, wiping at my face and huffing when I realize I had cried. Logan convinces me to swap seats with him, and he drives us back to the hotel. He follows the same procedures as he had with my migraine and we settle in to watch Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara-- one of my favorite Bollywood movies I'd forced him to watch with me before. Surprisingly, he remembers a lot of it and then embarrassedly admits,

"We watched it on your birthday every year, I kept up the tradition. Even though Dalton thought it was stupid I did that."

I can't help but kiss him then, fully of my own decision and his hands comes to my waist as he pulls me down to slot against him. I throw my right leg over when he bites my lip, groaning in the back of my throat. The Señorita scene is playing from his laptop, Hrithik Roshan is dancing his heart out, Logan's lips are soft against mine.

He pulls back.

"What are we doing?" He whispers, pausing Netflix by closing his laptop and leaving us in the soft ambient glow of Imola from the half curtained windows.

"What do you mean?" I say, because I know theres more weight behind his words. He just laughs when I press a kiss to his forehead, his arm secure around my waist like he never wants to let me go. I don't want him to.

"Do you love me?" Its so vulnerable it makes me stop and he brings his hand to my throat, but just to dance his finger tips along the side of my jaw until he takes my chin in his hand and pull me a bit closer.

"Because I've always loved you in the way soulmates love each other, but I think you love me like I'm just a casual fuck."

"If you always loved me like that why'd you break up with me?" I ask and Logan sighs, letting go of my chin to place his hand on one of my thighs, the right one I had thrown over his torso when the kisses got a bit more than playful.

Logan takes a long moment to answer, like he's picking each word with the upmost care, but he just says, "I was scared."

"Scared?"

"Of you. Of racing. Of everything." He sighs and I go to slide off his lap when his fingers dig in, keeping me rooted in my seat. Just like earlier, when he was calming me in the car, just like when he had eased my migraine. He needed me.

I card my hands through his hair, being them to his shoulders and smooth the tenseness I can feel. He closes his eyes, leaning his head back as he just lets everything finally break and he hands my his heart once more.

This time, I cradle it to my chest, trying to heal it while his heart tries to smooth out the sharp edges of mine.

"I had been doing so well. I had everything in my finger tips, just within reach and then... fucking Trident rips it out from underneath my feet. I didn't know what to do, and as far as I was concerned, you were just as guilty as everyone else. I... I needed control."

I had been right when I guessed that?

"And control was breaking up with me because it was a decision you could make without having to consult anyone else?" I say and he nods.

"I regretted it every day after. There were so many times my mom had to stop Dalton from calling you or Anya." A light smile crosses his lips and I giggle, taking the hint of his slight pursed lips to press a gentle kiss to them.

"Anya was so mad at you when we broke up, she told me she was gonna go to BWT and cut your brakes." I murmur against his lips and he starts to laugh, his hands slide up to rest along my ribs as he smiles against my lips and innocent pecks.

"I wouldn't have been mad if she had. I beat myself up over it for weeks." Logan shrugged, "but uhm... I talked with Viscaal last week. He was at the race for some sponsorship thing and he stopped to congratulate me on my placement. I asked him of you were involved and he and I talked about the crash for a long time."

"And?"

"And he convinced me you weren't."

The conversation hadn't been easy. Viscaal was sort of up in arms about the idea of even discussing it with Logan, but once let in on the PR nightmare the two were going through... he relented. But he wasn't easy on Logan, he hadn't been the whole time they stood in the blistering sun over the track.

"She literally was inconsolable, how do you think she had anything to do with it?" James Viscaal had said to Logan, eyes narrowing underneath his Formula E cap, "You seriously think Dubey had anything to do with it? She'd rather hurt herself than hurt you."

"I just... I can't shake the feeling--"

"Well you better figure out how, Sargeant, or you're gonna lose a perfectly good girl."

Logan sighs as he replays the conversation two or three times, then gnaws the inside of his lip before saying, "Sorry for saying that shit to you, about not trusting you... it was childish."

"I said stupid shit too, I'm sorry." I say and he presses a more firm kiss to my lips.

"Consider that an apology accepted." He says and I smile,

"Guess I'll have to keep apologizing--" I'm cut off when he sits up abruptly, pulling me to his chest just to lay me on my back under him as he cages me beneath him.

My phone vibrates. A few missed calls from Charles. I ignore him in favor of kissing my boyfriend.

I'll tell him I was sleeping.

-

Monaco is the race for publicity. Everyone knew Monaco, and if they didn't, they just didn't know it was called Monaco. I'm snuck into Williams the day before practice, when it's mostly just vendors setting up and some meetings happening in each paddock. I'm led by Logan to a back office, where I meet with two women, and JAmes Vowles.

Who... is sitting in on the PR meeting for some reason?

The woman who leads Logan's PR is named Astrid Marina, and while I fight to figure out while that name is familiar, Logan idly pokes at my leg. I look over to read what he's showing me and groan internally.

'Ferrari and Williams in talks over suing Sky News reporter Anthony Davis for blackmailing and harassment.'

"Too much is happening this season, I don't even wanna bother." I complain and Logan nods, coaxing me to rest against him as I yawn. It's been a long week of harrowing, exhausting training with Charles. Ferrari gives me no reprieve and as I work to show them I am a capable driver, they still beat me down. Still say Charles is better. It's grown to be annoying for both me and the Monegasque, and something we bond over now in the late hours between a bottle of wine.

"How has your season been with Ferrari so far, Dhanishka?" James asks and I give him a cordial answer that has him raising an eyebrow in question as he says, "Logan's told me otherwise."

I whack Logan's arm, making the Floridian laugh as he raises his hands in defense of his actions. Something in James' eyes tells me it’s alright to say, so I do.

"It's been a terrible time if I'm honest," I sigh, "Charles is praised, I'm ignored and blamed for every mistake, they barely talk to me on radios so I kinda have to figure it all out myself, I'm hardly given real strategy and kinda just make it up myself as I go."

"And with all of that you still place in the top ten every race, and have podiumed twice. That's an incredible feat, Miss Dubey, you should be very proud of yourself."

Somehow, James saying that to me makes it all click that, yeah, it was an incredible feat.

"Alright, Jasmine is here so lets get started." Astrid settles in her seat in front of us and Logan and I sit back up from our lazing positions as Jasmine--my PR manager of several years, takes her own seat next to Astrid. James leans back in his seat as well, taking on a more observing role to this. I wonder if its because he's worried about this, or if Olivia and Lando have told him to keep an eye on it. Not that they knew who Logan's manager was, as far as I was aware.

Jasmine shuffles her papers a bit before asking, "How are you both feeling? You're almost tied for points this season."

"Feeling pretty optimistic." Logan smiles softly in greeting to her, "The car has been preforming well and I've been doing better than where I started last year."

"I'd be a lot better is my damn car worked half the time." I mutter in complaint, making Logan laugh softly as he squeezes my knee.

"I'm glad you both are feeling better." Astrid smiles, "but lets not take up too much time here for small talk, you both have busy days tomorrow."

Yay. Qualifying.

"Dhanishka, social media is your forte here. Keep posting, keep promoting the relationship. You've been doing a fine job with that. Public appearances have been fine, though I've noticed a bit of tension? Is there anything we want to confirm or ask about..?"

"How long is this going on for?" Logan asks and I feel a weird pain settle in my chest. Why did he care?

"Uhm... well..." Jasmine hums, "I'd say you guys can decide when to call it off. Astrid wanted to make sure that, unlike with Lando and Olivia previously, you both have complete control of this situation."

"Oh, Dhanishka, work on befriending some of the WAGs. I know you and Olivia are decently close, but befriending the Lily's or even Carmen would be a good look." Astrid says and I nod, opening my phone to follow them on Instagram. I was already close with Lily Zneimer, she just needed to come to a race other than Australia.

"Logan, we need you to start posting Dhanishka as well." Astrid says and Jasmine nods softly, looking like she's a bit uncomfortable by how strict Astrid is being.

"Yeah, got it." Logan nods. Theres a few more formalities, some publicity things they want us to do and a joint 'couples trivia' gave they want us to play with a bunch of the drivers before the next race on the calendar.

We're dismissed with the promise of posting each other more on social media.

"Lets go to dinner tonight." He says, taking my hand in his and kissing the back of it. I smile and bump his shoulder with mine.

"Alright." I smile, its easy to be in love with Logan and he threads out fingers together and presses a soft kiss to the back of my hand.

Before I can leave though, James speaks, "Jasmine, Dhanishka, can we speak privately? I have Dhanishka's manager Lucille inside my office already.

And I nod, and follow James into his office after a quick goodbye kiss from Logan with his playful grin to match.

-

dhanishkadubey made a new post!

liked by alexalbon, lilymhe, lilyzneimer, and 459k others...

dhanishkadubey: the muse and her artist 💙🩵

tagged: logansargeant

lilymhe: blue suits u sooo much wow

logansargeant: sei incredibilmente bella (i think.)

⤷ charlesleclerc: you think right?? wtf??

user1: MY PARENTS. PARENNNTTSSSS.

logansargeant: you in blue... woof or whatever. xx

anyadubey: blue has ALWAYS been ur color.

user2: dhanishka in blue?? williams dhanishka?? please james vowles.

williamsracing: wow. logan better know how to fight.

⤷ logansargeant: which intern is this i have WORDS.

⤷ williamsracing: LOL CATCH ME FIRST FLORIDA MAN !!!

landonorris: LOGAN TOOK THESE???

⤷ dhanishkadubey: hes an artist ✨

user3: oh to be someones muse...

-

I'm walking through the apartment building Lando had sent me the address for ages ago. Logan's hand is firmly tucked in mine as he idly talks about the desserts we'd brought for the little dinner we're all having tonight. Olivia had invited over quite a few people, her family (consisting of Oscar and Lily, Ophelia and her wife Rosalind, and Oaklynn), Lando's siblings, (sisters Cisca and Flo, brother Oliver with his wife Savannah and their daughters Mila and Athena), Max, Kelly, and Penelope, Alex and Lily, Charles, and me and Logan. It was some sort of dinner party, and due to Logan's training running a bit long we were late.

Which, wasn't surprising.

Olivia said they'd be out on the balcony, so we let ourselves into the spacious apartment. Logan helping me with my shoes while I joke about balancing the three plates, but Charles cursing in Italian sharply makes us both freeze.

"Relax." Olivia scolds, almost like a mother, "she's gonna be fine, I've been in talks with multiple teams and--"

"They're just dropping her?! For Lewis? She's been beating him every damn race save for Australia!" Charles all but roars and I can hear the balcony door slam. Logan tenses, his jaw setting firmly and he tries to coax me back outside but I'm stubborn, I won't move until I know whats wrong. But I have a gut feeling I already know.

"Charles, calm down," Olivia tries again and then there's an overlap of a few voices I can't fight through.

"It's nothing set in stone! Relax!" Max's voice chimes above everyone else's and the room quiets as a soft sigh escapes Logan's mouth. He draws his arm across my back and hushes me softly, pressing a kiss to my hairline.

"Checo's moving to Formula E. I'm taking his spot next season, or I'll go to RB if they choose to move Daniel instead." Alex says softly, "which means Red Bull is set for next season regardless. Mercedes is taking Carlos to race with George, so they're set as well."

"McLaren's got me and Lando, so they're set. Neither Haas or Aston Martin are gonna change." Oscar sighs, "safe bet that Alpine and Sauber will stay the same too."

Max asks, "Is Logan staying with Williams?"

"Can we stop talking about this, they'll be here soon. Dhanishka doesn't even know yet." Olivia complains, "I don't know why you're all so surprised when Ferrari's been treating her like shit! They could care less if she's dead or alive on that track as long as Charles comes out on top. Plus, the FIA is going to investigate them for malpractice."

"Oh, actually?" Lando hums and I hear Charles confirm, and I bury my head against Logan's chest where I can hear his heart pounding. I'm trying to fight back the sense of dread forming in my gut.

"I know Logan's been trying to get her to talk with James." Alex says softly, "As far as I'm aware, Williams is resigning him with the second seat open."

Logan's grip tightens when he realizes I've figured it out and I push past him to enter the main room of the Piastri-Norris apartment. The warm Monaco air feels unwelcome as it floats in from the open balcony door where I can see the kids are being preoccupied from the inside argument. But inside, all the drivers plus Olivia stare at me like I'm not supposed to be there. And then theres movement and--

"Dhaniska!" Olivia's voice chimes and the Aussie to wrap me up tight in her arms, "Oh, honey."

"They're dropping me?" I hate the way my voice sounds so broken and despite what I want, Olivia nods.

"Last week I got both Daniel's and Alex's data from last season to sift through to help the Red Bull team figure out which driver we want next season." She starts to explain, running her fingers through my hair, "I knew some big changes were happening when we also got files for Lewis and Fernando. But.. Lewis just announced he was racing with Ferrari next season, while Charles was here. No one knew except Lewis and Vasseur. I-I can try and get you with some other teams but--"

"Olivia, I love you truly, but that's not your job." I say softly, squeezing her forearms, "A-and besides, I... I might've made a contingency plan."

The whole room pauses.

"Huh?" Logan says, tightening his grip on my wrist and I laugh. It's so stupid, how he thought his and Alex's little plan to have me replace the latter Thai driver would've gone overlooked by James. Who bit down at the chance to have me.

James pulled me and Jasmine into his office, my manager Lucie already inside. When I give a confused look, both women are motioning for me to sit in the middle of three chairs. Lucie on my left, Jasmine on my right. When I do, James takes a seat at his desk and hands me a file in the beautiful William's blue. The logo stamped on front, with words written under that make my heart pause.

'DUBEY CONTRACT DRAFT 1 - 2025'

"Dhanishka." Lucie starts, placing a reassuring hand on my knee as she sets down an identical folder, "Ferrari isn't going to renew your contract next year. I've known since Miami. Lewis is coming to race for them instead, which I thought I'd be more surprised about, but it is close to his retirement I suppose."

"He did always say he'd retire in a Ferrari." James nods, and the conversation continues, still led by Lucie.

"So, I've been in talks with almost every team--thanks to Olivia, who has an almost... deus ex machina power within F1. She got me write up contracts from Mercedes, Alpine, RB, and Stake... but they've all backed out."

James, taking this as his cue, sits forward, "Williams is going to need a driver next year. Alex is moving to one of the Red Bull teams. We'll be resigning Logan."

"Me?" I ask, "you seriously want me? The girl who almost destroyed one of your drivers PR?"

"PR is repairable," James waves a hand, "Your skill on the track is something I can relate to a young Alonso or even someone like Senna or Vettel. It's talent like yours, Charles' and Max's we wont get again soon. To podium on your first race, to stay consistently in the top ten with no support? That's unheard of."

"Williams is offering a three year contract." Lucie says and I finally thumb open the folder and stare down at it. The weight of it all becomes real when I see it all printed out.

James stands to leave as he says, "I'll leave you to speak in private."

So I can’t hide my smile as I announce, "You are looking at the second seat for Williams in 2025!"

I don’t think in my time of knowing Logan had he ever hugged me as tight as this. I can’t help but laugh as his chest presses to my back, his lips finding my cheek and undoubtedly smudging my makeup. I can’t find it in me to care.

Alex decides to make a show of giving me his seat (which includes him physically handing me a chair) and when I turn to hug Olivia and Lando in celebration, Olivia whispers to me, “I knew you guys would figure it out.”

Charles just about squeezes the life out of me with his hug, thanking me for driving with him, and I thank him for teaching me. I know later on we’ll have a more in depth conversation but for now he allows me to celebrate with Logan’s arm tucked firmly around my waist.

Kelly ends up pouring us all shots to celebrate, and when I smidge my lipstick drinking various glasses of champagne and other drinks, Logan fishes my compact and my lipstick out of my purse.

It feels full circle to have him hold the mirror while I fix myself up.

-

logansargeant made a new post!

liked by dhaniskadubey, oscarpiastri, alexalbon, and 345k others...

logansargeant: heres to second chances 💙

dhanishkadubey: AAAA MERI JAANNN <333

- logansargeant: MERI JAAN????

- dhanishkadubey: YEAH U FUCKING COLONIZER. MERI JAAN.

sebvettel: looking good rookies 👍🏻

user1: dhanishka in blue pls be a sign. pls.

dhanishkadubey: i am going to kiss u on the mouth

user2: the girlfriend effect on logans insta shut upp

oscarpiastri: loganishka since day 1

- dhanishkadubey: LOGANISHKA. IS THAT OUR SHIP NAME SHUT UP!!!

-

f1 made a new post!

liked by anyadubey, charlesleclerc, danielricciardo, and 783k others…

f1: Admist the starting investigation into malpractice within Ferrari's team following @ dhanishkadubey ‘s treatment over the past few months, Dubey released a statement about leaving the team.

“Ferrari was a dream, but the reality of Ferrari is that we are not compatible. I will continue to give my best performance for the team, wish them the best of luck next season, and send my love to the tifosi. Thank you for welcoming me.” - Dubey via Twitter this morning.

comments have been disabled for this post!

--

taglist (open, and thank you to those on it now!)

@chasing-liberosis @justsomejess @struggling-with-delia @daemyratwst

[anhed-nia]

BLOGTOBER 10/11/2024: V/H/S BEYOND

There was a moment in this movie where I thought to myself, "What if this is the one V/H/S installment that doesn't have anything in it that totally sucks??" V/H/S is always a minefield, and I usually find that I'm just hoping at least one thing will be good enough to justify the ~120 minutes. Sometimes the "one good thing" is just little elements of a few different segments, and finding them can be an exercise in masochism. This anomalous example features a couple of decent things, two things that are truly amazing, and one thing that sucks so hard that it makes you want to write a letter to your local representatives. It doesn't even feel like it's bad in good faith. It's like an act of vandalism.

Jordan Downey's extremely video game-y "Stork" is a solid opener whose moderate goofiness doesn't interfere with how exciting it is. The rampage though a house full of alien-possessed zombies is impossible to take your eyes off of--I mean, I might have had an extra visceral reaction to this because it reminded me so much of House of the Dead: Overkill aka one of the world's best games, but it will show anybody a good time. I like that for some reason the aliens have a culture; they have a religion, they put up photos of their abduction victims like they're family portraits, which is senseless but very funny to me. Did part of it remind anyone else of LOOP TRACK?

I have one major complaint about Virat Pal's "Dream Girl," which is that it is WAY too jiggly. I don't usually get motion sickness, but this is less stable than any other found footage movie I have ever seen and it started to get to me. It's also a problem because it makes it hard to properly see the FX; I started to wonder if it was meant to hide something, though a few relatively-stable closeups don't look so bad. But I liked the zany story about a soft-hearted paparazzo who convinces a beleaguered Bollywood idol to can her controlling manager, which turns out to be a bad idea for bizarre reasons. It makes no sense but who cares, it's a fun idea.

Justin Martinez's "Live and Let Dive" is totally astonishing from beginning to end. It reaches out of the screen and throttles you. A group of friends have unfortunately chosen to go skydiving on the day of a saucer attack, and what ensues makes this segment one of the most daring and thrilling genre films I've seen in a while. I hardly know what to say about it. Even if the entire rest of V/H/S BEYOND failed, this alone would make it worth the price of admission. Just watch it.

And with that said, it is an unforgivable act of emotional violence to chase the greatness of "Live and Let Dive" with Justin and Christian Long's insulting and debased "Fur Babies". The euphoria induced by the former segment is abruptly shattered by an infantile and unfunny grossout black comedy about a group of animal rights activists who go after a doggy daycare owner for...taxidermy. Which they keep referring to as a "mutilation". Which is truly idiotic, is it supposed to be funny that these guys are so stupid that they can't tell the difference between animal cruelty and the repurposing of animal remains, which is not-vegan at worst? Or are the writers so lazy that they couldn't bother coming up with a real animal welfare crime, because they were so committed to the shtick of making TUSK-but-with-dogs? (Which is a terrible concept for a movie and this should not be ambiguous) Certainly they were too lazy to come up with a story that actually matched the sci-fi theme of the rest of the anthology. Is it that the horror community is afraid to say no to Justin Long? He owes me a personal apology now.

Thankfully this is followed by another violent mood swing with Kate Siegel's "Stowaway". This is definitely my favorite thing with Mike Flanagan's name on it. The story about a UFO nut who neglects her family to chase alien encounters in the desert gets off to a slightly awkward start, but once the encounter is underway, the segment becomes frankly magical. Siegel and co-writer Flanagan valiantly attack the challenge of creating an alien world that does not at all resemble the rules or structures of our own, nailing the cosmic horror subgenre in a way that has rarely been done. It is scary, sad, and often beautiful. It's a good place to land.

The wraparound story is sort of poorly resolved, but I found it very funny for occult-minded motivational speaker Mitch Horowitz to chase his Discovery show Alien Encounters: Fact or Fiction with this pseudo-show featuring other paranormal talking heads. Cute thing to do. Unfortunately it doesn't feel that well-resolved, but all things considered, that's not a major crime.

[blackswaneuroparedux]

Anonymous asked: Of all the many languages you speak which is your weakest one? Do you use those languages?

It’s privilege to learn any language that isn’t your mother tongue. As Ludwig Wittgenstein correctly observed, “The limits of my language means the limits of my world”. If English is our native tongue we put ourselves at a disadvantage because we expect every other nationality to take the trouble to speak it. There seems no incentive to learn a foreign language. We become lazy not just in language but also in other ways including our cultural enrichment, our imagination, and a misplaced sense of our self-importance in the world.

Of the European languages I know, I probably think German would be my weakest. When I was in school in Switzerland you’re brought up in three languages: French, Italian, and German (even if the Swiss speak Swiss German). When I say weakest I mean I can converse fluently, but I don’t have time to read German literature in the same immersive way I would say with French literature or take any special interest in German affairs.

I would say I’m fairly fluent in French now but still prone to silly mistakes. I’ve been told that I can speak without an accent and that is heart warming to know, because that was always the goal once I moved here to France. I don’t really use French in my work as it’s a multi-national entity and so English is the default language of corporate world, but I’m speaking French pretty much the rest of the time outside of work.

I was extremely fortunate to be born into a multi-lingual family where Norwegian and English were spoken from birth. All my siblings were being versed in Latin (not Greek which came years later after doing Classics at university) by the time I was 8 or 9 years old because my father was a classicist and he felt Latin was the building blocks to mastering other languages.

All this occurring whilst we moved lived and moved around a lot in the world such as China, Japan, India, and the Middle East. When I was initially sent to one of the first of my English girls boarding schools I was horrified that most of the girls only spoke English. I thought I was the stupid one for only knowing 6. Boarding school, if nothing else, gave me a great privilege to hone in on the languages I did know and start to learn others.

My parents didn’t take the easy way out and put us children in international schools like all the other expat children. That would have been too easy given how tight knit the British expatriate community was out there. Instead we were left to sink or swim in local schools in places like Tokyo and Kyoto in Japan or Shanghai in China or in Delhi, India. It was a struggle but you soon find your feet and you stumble towards some basic level of fluency.

I’m fortunate that before Covid my corporate work took me often to the Far East and it was a great opportunity to hone what I already knew. The result is I can converse and take business meetings in Chinese and Japanese (though English gets thrown into the mix too).

I would say Chinese is more of a struggle for me these days because I’ve not been back since before the Covid lockdown in 2020. Chinese is one of those languages that can easily melt away if you don’t get the chance to converse in it on a regular basis. Japanese less so, probably because the culture had more profound impact on me than Chinese culture.

Hindi is less of an issue because I have close Indian friends and also I watch Bollywood movies as well as converse with Indian immigrants here in Paris who have local stores. Urdu I learned through the backdoor because Urdu has a spoken affinity with Hindi (if you know Hindi then you know spoken Urdu, more or less, especially in Northern India and cities like Delhi where Urdu was born in the burnt ashes of Mughal India). Reading is another matter because they each use different scripts - Sanskrit for Hindi and Arabic and Persian script for Urdu.

Strangely enough when I was doing my tour in Afghanistan years ago with the British army, I would speak Urdu with local Afghans who served as official translators or were selling goods on the base. These Afghans knew Urdu because an entire generation of Afghan boys and girls grew up in refugee camps on the Pakistani border during the different phases of the Afghan war. I have very fond memories of their friendship and hospitality, but less so of the war itself. 

With Arabic, it had lapsed woefully until I did a posting in Dubai in the past year (as catalogued in my blog) and I found myself suddenly remembering a lot and asking Arab friends. Soon I was able to hold my own amongst my colleagues and corporate clients. In these cultures it’s really hard to stay focused because so many of them speak very good English. So it’s hard to get them to stick with their own language because you want to learn from them - but they want to show off their English proficiency - and so you have to be polite but persistent to stick with Arabic.  

If you’re learning a new language then I hope you stick with it. There’s almost nothing more rewarding in your life than the disocovery a rich culture through language. The key is to find a way to make it fun rather than a trip to the dentist chair for a root canal operation.

Thanks for your question.