#jalebi over answers

[julymusings]

jalebi baby !

or; Dick Grayson and his Indian gf hosting Diwali 🧨☄️🎆

dick grayson x indian!fem!reader, like one euphemism i originally wrote more but it was kinda off-topic so i didn't include it. but if this ends up like...resonating particularly deeply with anyone i'll make another part also never quite got an answer on that friends question... Read Jason's version here !

In the years you’ve been with Dick, he’s celebrated multiple Diwali’s with you. He’s familiar with the customs and practices by now, knows the story behind the holiday, and has space in his closet for the several traditional garments he’s collected over the course of your relationship. But this year is different; this year, you are the hosts.

The day before, you were a mess. Rife with stress and nerves over your first time hosting the family party, an unspoken rite of passage into adult life. He had to basically drag you away from your checklist so he could sit you down and pamper you, massaging coconut oil into your scalp so you could relax. You can’t lie, though, it did help. That, and him being extra generous while washing it out in the shower later. You slept like a baby that night, worries long forgotten.

When the time for the party comes, he’s looking so…

He’s wearing a kurta that perfectly matches the cerulean of his eyes and has a shimmering silver paisley pattern, and he wears it with the sleeves pushed up to his elbows to put his tan, muscled forearms on display. (*Barking*)

Like the gentleman he is, he helps you drape your sari. He presses the pleats flat, secures the pins in place, all with a graceful precision that makes the finished product better than you could ever achieve. He’s pouting the whole time, though, because no matter how much you insist that it’s magenta, it still borders too close to red for his taste.

“It’s magenta, Dick.” “That’s basically red! Why don’t you just wear one that says ‘I Hate Nightwing’ in huge letters?” “Dickie, don’t be ridiculous…you know the pleating would hide the words.”

You thought that was hilarious, but he’s EXTRA pouty after that.

He can’t be mad at you for long, though, not when you’re looking like that. The gold border of your garment, the sparkle of your gold jewelry, and the rosy color against your brown skin with a bindi to match…you’re practically glowing. And if you’re wearing paayals (bell anklets)…that dainty twinkle that follows you when you walk— hold on, he needs a minute. He thinks he’s died and gone to heaven because there’s an angel in front of him.

While you’re spending the whole party running around and looking after everything, he’s looking after you. He’s making sure you take sitting breaks, he’s bringing you water, he’s feeding you while you’re cooking, and taking over the cooking (when you let him) so you can take some time to actually enjoy the party.

For dessert you prepare his favorite (jalebi) but every time you remove one from the pot and place it in the serving dish, two seconds later it’s gone. He tries to pin it on one of your relatives, which results in said relative calling him lode (lode-eh), and you having to sequester him in another room so you can finish cooking.

While you take him on his walk of shame, he asks you what that means and you lovingly reassure him that it’s nothing bad. (It isn’t, technically…I mean it is his name, right?)

I didn't include this in Jason's version but I think while Dick likes jalebi, Jason is a gulab jamun kinda guy

divider from here

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

Hello, Jalebi! With respect to your answer to Gold Anon about Arnav’s softer behavior after over hearing Khushi lying to friends and Garima about him and their wedding: as you mentioned, could this confusion have been the final straw that drove Khushi’s irrational thoughts and then led her to try and commit suicide? Also, why do you think the suicide was never a flashback when Arnav looked back at all the wrongs he committed against Khushi?

Hello Anon!

I, to be honest, do not understand Khushi at that point because the show is absolutely daft in portraying a mental health crisis, especially when it comes to their female lead.

I find it infuriating how Arnav's every emotion was validated and Khushi's drive to suicide was invalidated.

To be really honest, I have NO idea on how the show even viewed the suicide. Cause, clearly it was comedic to them. The last time this was referenced was in Ek Jashn with Arnav chuckling over how irrational Khushi could get to write a suicide note.

So... it's probably meant to be a 'funny' scene of how silly, dramatic and over the top Khushi is to believe a news report and believe a stupid thing of Arnav marrying her for birth chart issues.

So how do you expect a flashback of a scene that the main creatives probably didn't even write/direct/see as a horrid thing Arnav pushed her to?

It's very much from the POV of the audience that we see how horrifying it is. Not to them.

So a flashback of an error Arnav did will never include the suicide scene because it is presumably presented as a moment when Khushi is being her ridiculous self, not a result of the traumatic marriage Arnav put her through.

Best,

jalebi

[chutkiandchotte]

Who Owns Sheesh Mahal; and Why?

This post is inspired by this post by @jalebi-weds-bluetooth in which she discusses with great clarity and insight the question of what exactly happened in Arnav's past, his trauma due to it, and how he finally overcomes it on his second marriage day. Do go and read it if you haven't already! It's an extremely well-detailed answer. It inspired some thoughts in me about the inheritance laws, the legal implications of Chachaji's actions, and Arnav/Anjali's motivations in that period.

One larger question I find interesting is why Chacha-ji could usurp all the property over Anjali, the eldest child and Arnav, the direct male heir. Why didn't anybody fight it? Anjali? Mamaji? Dadiji? Arnav himself? Here's some context:

1. What is the actual Indian inheritance law and how did it apply to Sheesh Mahal/Arvind's wealth? Indian law does not allow ANY child in a Hindu family to be disinherited completely in favor of another heir from ancestral property. Which is to say, if a person has accumulated wealth of his own during his lifetime (such as Arnav, for example), he may will it away as he wishes. However, any ancestral property - defined as any unified property or wealth passed down over 4 or more generations - MUST be distributed equally amongst all children. Once it's divided, that property no longer counts as "ancestral" for the next generation. So, for example if the owner of an ancestral palace dies, ownership must be legally shared between his every child or it must be sold off so that every child can get a share of the profits. But those inherited profits would not be considered "ancestral" property and the next generation could dispose of it how they wish. Arnav's dad and his grandfather might have accumulated personal wealth through various means in their own lives but at the very least, Sheesh Mahal was an ancestral property which, after 1956 (when this law was instituted), would have to be equally shared between all children upon the passing of the owner (ie Arnav's grandfather). Exceptions:

If any/all legal claimants voluntarily signed away their rights.

Daughters: they are entitled to claim an equal share of their father's property under this law, even IF it's not strictly 4 generation ancestral - they can argue 2/3 generation inherited property to be ancestral property - this is a bit of legal grey area.

2. So, what was Chachaji's actual claim to the ancestral property and why didn't he fight his brother for it sooner? Now this all depends on things we have no idea about - years in which various people died, legal agreements, and so on. If Arnav's grandfather passed away before 1956, the ancestral property would have smoothly passed on in its entirety to a very young Arvind, no problem, and Chachaji would get nothing and could claim nothing during his brother's lifetime (cue the Shakespearean jealousy and resentment motivation). But that's not likely considering ages and timelines - most probably, Arnav's grandfather passed away after 1956. Then legally, Chacha-ji could have fought for his share of Sheesh Mahal upon the death of his father. However, the family could have settled on Chacha-ji an equivalent monetary amount (from their personal coffers) in lieu of his share of Sheesh Mahal, to prevent the palace having to be sold or shared. I could guess that some amount of emotional blackmail, coercion, bribery might have been exerted by elders of the family on Chacha-ji to not claim those rights and agree to take the money instead of it - but unfortunately, I don't think they made him sign a legally enforceable declaration stating this. Another possibility is that in the 60s, 70s or whenever Arnav's grandfather passed away, the Sheesh Mahal property maybe wasn't worth all that much as an old building in need of much repair and the monetary value he received would have seemed like a much better deal to Chachaji that he happily grabbed. Properties like that in tier-B cities of India greatly increased in value between the 1950s and mid-1990s - as towns became cities and cities became prosperous and commercial, what once was a crumbling, high maintenance, old fashioned mansion on the outskirts of a small city becomes a high value piece of real estate in the middle of a prime commercial area with certified heritage value to boot.

No matter what, I simply cannot imagine a greedy character like Chachaji not finding ways to use the 1956 Hindu inheritance law to his benefit if and when he most profitably could. It's highly possible that in the wake of Arvind's death he defended his claim to the property by arguing that he was unlawfully cut off from his due share during the time of his father's death and he was legally owed at least half the property. And the remainder also got in his control as the self-proclaimed "financial guardian" of his underage nephew which he could easily prove himself as. This is a likely scenario especially if Arvind/his father didn't bother to make Chachaji sign any official documents waiving off his rights and merely trusted to their family ties and good faith that he wouldn't try to push Arnav out in the future. Here are another few lessons from his family history that Arnav took to heart - trust no one, money talks loudest, and always secure your deals, entries and exits with tight legal contracts.

3. Let's go back a bit. Why is Chachaji middle class and covetous? If Chachaji didn't get his property pay-off at all (ie if his father died before 1956) it makes sense. But if he did get his pay off, why would he still be middle class/poorer than wealthy Raizadas in the flashback? I assume because unlike his brother/father, he may have got a substantial fund to start with but lacked the talent or drive to increase or even maintain it. He also likely lived in an extremely lavish way. He probably whittled a lot away in gambling, women, stupid business ventures, bad investments. So there he was at the time of Anjali's wedding, having spent much of the money he got in lieu of his ancestral shares, also having got used to his lavish lifestyle that probably burned that money up, and loathe to let go of it. Sidenote: I can imagine that maybe a short time before Anjali's wedding he came begging to his brother/mother for more money, or made a scene about his "rightful" share as per law but could get nothing and with Anjali's wedding and dowry costs coming up, not to mention Arnav's expensive education and personal rights on the inheritance, they insisted they did not have any money to spare for him. This probably created a huge amount of resentment in him and fuelled his spiteful and excessively cruel actions in throwing out Anjali and Arnav at that critical moment in their lives.

4. So we see how he swiped the property from Arnav. Then the next question is what about Anjali's legal claim and why did she never exercise it? For all his sociopathic greediness, Chachaji can't change the laws. One thing we CAN be sure of is that the 1956 ancestral property law definitely applied to Anjali as well as Arnav, in fact, twofold: as per that law as a daughter she had a legal right to fight for not only ancestral property but also as an adult she had the right to fight for an immediate share in all of her father's property and wealth. However, and here's the kicker, she most likely could not do so because her father himself probably made her sign away all her rights to her inheritance at the time of her marriage. And THIS one, I am sure, would have been legally enforceable. This is a common practice in wealthy families. See, these laws are made to breakdown patriarchal norms but as long as the patriarchy exists, sexism finds a way. It's a widespread practice to ask your daughter to sign away all of her rights to the family property just before her marriage, to avoid her or her in-laws laying claims to it at a future date. Considering Anjali's youth at the time of her first marriage, she probably didn't even know what she was signing; or belonging as she did to a loving and conservative family, she trusted her elders to make the right decision and signed it happily knowing what it was, thinking she was merely ensuring her Chotte got his due. It's also very likely that Arvind did not leave a will naming Arnav as his heir. A legal will is extremely hard to contest or sideline, even if the beneficiary is a minor. But in the absence of a will, wealth inheritance becomes a legal nightmare that often is solved by he who gets there first and he who can afford the most expensive lawyers. Who could have imagined the nightmarish events of Anjali's first wedding that would have made a legal will extremely important? But once that happened, Chacha-ji probably didn't waste any time. He used Arvind's lack of a will, Arnav's young age, Anjali's legally enforceable disavowal of her legal rights, and his own status as the only adult heir with legal rights to first, get control of all of Arvind's wealth and properties, and subsequently use expensive lawyers to get them legally all in his name. Yet another one of his father's mistakes that Arnav vowed not to repeat: as situations changed, remember how quick he was to make a new and clever will that cuts out untrustworthy relatives like Shyam (and Khushi in that period I guess 😭😭😭) and protects his loved ones like Anjali? It's that lesson that most likely saved his life from Shyam's murderous intentions in the kidnapping period!

5. Why didn't Mami, Nani, fight this inheritance situation? Chachaji may have neatly usurped everything but I still think there is enough ambiguity in the situation here that if taken to court by efficient lawyers, Chacha-ji could have been defeated. However, it would have been an extremely stressful, years long affair (these things can last decades), and extremely time and money intensive. I think Nani/Manohar would have been willing to fight for Arnav's rights, but Dadi would NEED to be involved and make regular court appearances, sign several documents, give testimony as part of their efforts. But she disappeared off to her ashram. Maybe she didn't want to fight her own son in court; maybe she resented Nani/Mama as being Ratna's family and responsible for this whole affair; maybe she just didn't have the selflessness or courage to fight a weary legal battle for her grandchildren. I can imagine her regularly skipping court appearances or refusing to sign documents that painted her or her husband and son in a bad/negligent light. Her total lack of interest and cooperation on this matter probably scuppered their chances or petered out the case before it even started. I can also imagine a young Arnav himself asking his Nani/Mama to give this up - we know he has a HUGE ego (he would hate others fight his battle for him) and a relentless burden of responsibility for his loved ones and a strong sense of duty in terms of what he owes people (he'd feel guilty at how stressed they are getting and how much money they are spending, money they probably couldn't afford, all for him...he'd already be feeling like a burden and hating it and this would exacerbate his feelings of humiliation). And then of course that would birth in him the intense and burning desire to ONE DAY get his ancestral rights back on his own merits and efforts, and complete his revenge on his Chachaji. And he did, and pretty spectacularly at that, as we saw in the events of the first episode.

6. Why didn't Arnav just legally fight his Chachaji to get the property back instead of the expensive buyout we saw in episode 1? He definitely could have, and probably would have saved some money in the process. Young Arnav probably did aim for a legal battle as the means to get his properties back, working towards, among other things, being rich enough to afford the kind of lawyers who can win this case. But probably just as he got that level of rich, his investigations into the current state of affairs would have told him that his Chachaji was on a rapid financial decline anyway; a legal victory would have been long-winded, maddeningly bureaucratic and piece meal, ultimately unsatisfying - and the humiliating "buy-out" plan would have occurred to him as a much more fun not to mention a more direct and vicious way to snatch the properties and complete his revenge. As we saw in the show, it was a well-thought out, long-term plan: keeping tabs on Chachaji's declining financial status, doing what he could to make it worse, then waiting for the perfect moment to strike when Chachaji's helplessness, humiliation, and suffering would be devastating and complete. Arnav would always rather go for one direct and efficient hit via a business deal than pay his lawyers to fight a never ending legal battle in the background of his life. Arnav is not greedy and he does not covet money for its own sake. Neither does he care about "saving" Sheesh Mahal. It was never about the his birth "rights" or an emotional connect to an ancestral property or regaining lost wealth for him. It was always about revenge for the suffering his uncle inflicted on his sister and himself, payback for the humiliation they endured, and closure for that moment of traumatic abandonment.

P.S. -

This is basically like a fanfic, I know, and that's because we have a bit of gap in the details of what happened in the past on the show so I had to fill those out myself. A lot of it is hinted but not confirmed, maybe that was part of their intention in creating an aura of horrific trauma around that past event? I do think after a certain point on the show, they could have explored some of these past events a little more, and particularly we could have got some more development on the Chachaji front. Since we didn't get that, I guess we can enjoy writing speculative posts like this one!

Speaking of fanfics, this OS titled Sheesh Mahal (once again by the super talented @jalebi-weds-bluetooth!) beautifully captures what I too think would have been Arnav's attitude towards this much contested piece of ancestral property after he's actually got it. It's also an amazing slice of happily married Arshi life, extremely cute and awww-worthy.

[arziaisfrench]

▪︎ IPKKND Ep 30 recap : Love

"Sister, I'm not stuck with old memories. If that would've been true, then probably you would've seen me crying over my fate. But now, I'm making my own fate."

I think Arnav's obsession with fate and control are the after-effects of his trauma. He's very sacred of having to deal with another tragic event, to have to deal again with that heartbreaking and painful feeling of losing someone so close to him.

He's very scared of breaking again. He has not only lifted himself up but also his sister and his family with much more hardship that he lets us know.

We rarely see him complain, he's a really lonely person. When sometimes, he brags about being Arnav Singh Raizada, he never really tells people he had to go through a lot of hardships, and he never let the world sees him as someone who can be vulnerable, someone who can actually break.

Because when he showed vulnerability in the past, to someone else that his sister, those people betrayed him. His own uncle betrayed him but this wasn't the most heartbreaking betrayal he had to go through.

His own parents betrayed him in the worst way. They chose to d*e instead of choosing to stay alive for their children. They betrayed him by choosing to d*e and they abandonned him by actually dy*ng ! (I'll explain this theory of mine later in details.)

To be betrayed and abandonned are the deepest fear of Arnav, to be betrayed and abandonned by someone he trust and love, but also to be betrayed by himself because of love. And not any type of love, there is a specificity, that I'll elaborate later at the right moment.

That's why he always tries to control everything and creates for himself opportunities rather than letting incertainty enters back his life.

That's why only Khushi makes him feel really alive. She's someone he never intended to meet. She is a risk, she is an incertainty he can not control !!!

"You're getting lost somewhere. What's in your heart … why isn't in your face? What Anjali says will echo Khushi's observation of Arnav "Why does people aren't what we see them to be?"

"Why are you bothering her so much?" Arnav can't answer this question. He doesn't know why. From the first time he met her, he treated her fiercely as his equal. You might mistakenly think he views her as an enemy, and that's partly true. Asr think of Khushi as an ennemy, a danger to Arnav's well being.

She was able to make him feel too much and to trigger him too easily. Asr needed to make her pay for that. She was able to make Arnav forget everything else, Arnav wanted to keep playing with her, together, without thinking about protecting himself. That's why Asr had to intervene.

" -What have she done? -I don't know what she has done …" "I don't how she could enter my heart, I barely know her. How? What is she doing to me? What have you done Khushi?"

"Why don't you want to believe that you're getting worried for her?" Anjali has no idea that he's more than just worried about her being sick/hurt. He knows he's worried about her. That's not what irritates him, it's about how worried he's getting, the intensity of it !

He is way too concerned about her, he cares way too much. He knows she is becoming very special to him. That's why he gets angry and tries to avoid her and fight every thought of her. He refuses to admit he's falling in love with her. Love isn't part of his life plan.

"He's a devil !"

I think Khushi is not just angry of what happened, she's also disappointed with Arnav. She knows how he can be mean, but she wasn't expecting him to be this cruel. She still thinks he tried to scared her purposely (not to actually hurt her) for her to quit her job and therefore to win their challenge.

I think Khushi was hoping he would have tried to fix what he did, to apologize to her family at least.

Her rushed, almost compulsive way to prepare jalebi is also very telling of how Khushi tries to cope with her emotions. It must be a way for her to fight against the intense feeling someone or something caused.

I think the origin of that behavior is directly linked to her suic*dal thoughts. Just like Arnav, Khushi lost her parents. Khushi deepest fear is to be seen as "unworthy" to the people she loves.

And here, it's probably caused by the intense pain and disappointment in Arnav's behavior. She thinks the man "who made her feel like a woman", not only hates her so much but also might be actually a cruel man !

Khushi denies her feelings for him but indeed she started to catch feelings. And the man she likes seems to despise her so much to the point of risking her life. Her denial can't control the way her heart feels, she is very hurt.

[primordialruin]

𝐏𝐄𝐎𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐈'𝐃 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐆𝐄𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐊𝐍𝐎𝐖 𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐑!

tagged by: @lcftcult

tagging: I don't know many of you 💔 so anyone that finds this fun! Would love to learn about you!!

alias / name: Kotys

birthday: March

zodiac sign: Pisces

height: 5'0... 5'1? I don't know, it keeps changing lol sometimes I shrink, sometimes I grow

hobbies: Learning about psychology as a treat for myself, drawing, hiking, wildlife watching, writing, interpreting mythological texts

favorite color: Orange

favorite book: Whatever I'm currently reading that managed to absorb my attention. I will never be able to answer this.

last song: Jalebi Baby from Jason Derulo & Tesher

last film / show: Cleopatra's lost tomb (documentary)

inspiration: Books that interpret Lilith as a positive and feminist force. This interpretation is very recent as it's only about a century old. I go by the information Charlie said about Lilith in the first two minutes of the first episode. The AUs are inspired by fan theories that believe the Lilith we saw in the show was fake & the somewhat accepted theory that believes Lilith is Rosie in disguise.

story behind url: It's meant to match my fandomless Lilith over at @primordialchoice. This Lilith was originally just a verse I had available on my other blog, but then the show dropped and I wanted to separate the two Liliths since they were so different from each other. At first, she was on a sideblog, but I eventually caved and gave her, her own blog.

fun fact about me: I have a huge sweet tooth for fruit. My YT feed is full of people eating all sorts of fruit and my mouth WATERS every time. My goal in life is to eat as many different fruits as I can afford. I had dragon fruit about a month ago, and papaya last week. I have to find a new interesting fruit next week.

[jalebi-likes]

Issues With 4Lions Heroes

from @rae-blogging:

AJ! Here I am, back to annoy you yet again (also planning on starting a blog just to rant about Indian serials because I do that way too often on my main blog, what do you think?) so I'm back to watching Ishqbaaz (idk if you can answer this here because it's unrelated to IPK) but I want to know your take on Omkara character and the absolute mess it became in DBO, like Omkara was my favourite 4Lions male character probably (I have not seen Qubool Hai past the first season so idk anything about Aahil) but why did they make him into a complete douche in DBO to the point where he was okay with practically handing Gauri over to be assaulted? And the fact that they never really talked about all her trauma in Ishqbaaz? Do you think they were conscious decisions on the part of the makers? Also do you have a favourite timeline from the show?

P.S. Sorry the ask got long and I probably spoke more than I asked

Dearest Rae,

Starting your own blog is always a great idea! I started Jalebi Likes with that motto - to discuss everything non IPKKND. Lol, so I posted your ask here to talk about Omkara from Ishqbaaz.

(that, my dear, is probably Omkara's own reaction at what he became to begin his 'angsty' love story).

It was unfortunate that they made him Shivaay 2.0 when in reality out of the three brothers it was Omkara who kept me hooked in Ishqbaaz. There was something very real about him. His character was, by far, the most interesting and intriguing one. We don't understand the level of his traumas given he appears 'sorted'. Has suicidal/addiction issues perhaps given his own screwed up parents and is really relatable in the form of he's wise, he's mature, he's aware that his family is screwed up but he's hanging in there. It's a daily effort for him to not be what his parents are and he's trying to be a better human being.

But one day, just one day given his untreated mental health he might even end up dead.

Ugh my heart for this man. Especially when in the initial episodes when Shivaay is being whiny about his family and like how he is a damaged human being in lieu of them, Omkara quietly snaps and reminds him that he too has a terrible family YET he's NOT using that as a crutch for anything unethical.

Them destroying this - THIS - man for whatever the hell DBO was is one of the many sins committed by 4Lions. And what's sad is Gauri-Omkara has the potential for an angsty love story even if they kept Om as what he was initially planned.

But no - they reduced him to a hair flicking abusive misogynist and God knows what (I heard he returns Gauri to her abuser, wtf) so as to they can have 'tashanbaazi'.

And the biggest problem with all of this is Omkara was never written as an anti-hero.

The only anti-hero 4Lions ever wrote well was Arnav, and he too had his own share of problems.

At this phase of 4Lions, they really thought abusive men ARE everything. This is a show where Shivaay-Annika are touted as 'the' couple where Shivaay has sexually harassed/threatened Annika MULTIPLE times.

And the sketch for that is given to characters as 'romance'. I remember Nakuul saying that the first 'romantic' scene Annika-Shivaay have is one in the pool. I only like Shivika as an established couple, platonic banters, or their few angsty bits. Scenes like below are a torture for me:

By this you can understand how the scene was briefed by the producer/director to the actors - they thought Shivaay harassing Annika was romantic?! Like thank the heavens they never thought Arnav tearing Khushi's blouse was romantic! In fact from Sanaya-Barun's interviews you can understand it wasn't explained as a 'romantic' moment.

But the fact is in IB the producers, directors and writers were at an all time high and off about what's romance (sometimes they still are? with Aryan they're very right actually for a change).

They couldn't think of romance beyond what they laid with Shivaay-Annika. And hence they morphed Omkara into being this abusive asshole and I have no idea what.

To be the devil's advocate though,

Gauri and Omkara have really good angst and redemption once they get their heads straight. And this angst was really worth it.

But yes, how could the makers talk about trauma when they literally use 'traumatizing' women as a way to show angst? They really went into this hole of a man pushing a woman to the most absolute worst situation possible and then showing him as a 'hero' for saving her.

Which is why my favorite part of IPK and why I even watched it is when Arnav saves her from the guesthouse - nobody is remotely impressed by it. He's not given a hero's glow up and everyone is like "you put her there, there's nothing heroic about saving her from a situation you put her in."

I had hoped the same for Ishqbaaz but the issue with the show - as you'll see - is that they spend an 'n' number of episodes showing the man causing torture/troubles for the woman, and then just one episode or two 'atoning' for it or even not traditionally atoning for it at all cause 'the character isn't one to say sorry'.

The only saving grace with Omkara and Gauri is that she does not forgive him easily and she has stellar moments in calling him out for his actions.

I won't be able to exactly say what timelines are the best for I haven't seen IB in full (and imagine I have so much to say, lol) so I will take the help of IB resident expert @tellywoodtrash (please address when is the best timeline of IB)

Also, yeah having these toxic relationships and toxic men in general is very typical of 4Lions and definitely a very conscious decision. You see their next show - IPK3 - and they really were so confused in how to deal with a villain for a romance hero and they ended up in a scene where Advay threatens Chandni of rape on their wedding night (which is 'ek raat ki dulhan') and all of that.

(The channel actually put a disclaimer when Advay was threatening her - it was that bad)

So yes if it was just one scene where the male lead is being torturous then we could say it was on oversight or they didn't realise how things would look ultimately and etc.

But if it keeps happening, the identical patterns all over for years then I can safely say that this is unfortunately a very conscious decision.

And why would they stop? Ishqbaaz ran for 750 episodes! People still lap up anything that production house produces. So... unfortunately that's the thing. Whatever they create is almost always a success.

And I do remember one of my television friends saying that yeah, for this production house, unfortunately misogynistic behaviors are paired with a perfectly good modern women for those fundamental thought differences stand out for 'tashan' when in reality it should be far removed from that.

Even see Haider - it was a web series with complete creative control and yet they created a man who literally ran away from his fiancee, ghosted her for six months and only returned to her when someone else told him that Meera and his best friend weren't involved.

The only thing is, she gets the base of such really good complex characters, with amazing casting and chemistry, and phenomenal production with serious good rom-com writing that 4Lions shows are never completely trash. They're the only escape from the saas-bahu nightmare TV otherwise provides.

There's always something to enjoy.

There's always something that gives you feelz

To share with you - there's something I found even about IPK3 charming. The idea of this rakish villain all set to seduce the heroine to get his goal (while getting attracted to her in reality) and the heroine who has gone through so much is actually enjoying the ability to feel desire for once and obviously not choose to marry him because he's a pretty face with sketchy thoughts.

(I love how the heroine is like, damn, loving my hormones but also shut up cause I knew you're not one to be trusted - but hey l don't mind the feelz). Dark comedy excellence if it went that way!

And I wish they'd work on their strengths! Imlie and Aryan seem to be their healthiest pair as of now (which they very nearly f'd up with forced wedding). Except the heroine isn't quite rootable as other heroines so that's the only reason why it isn't the best pair.

Lol sorry this was very less about Omkara and more about 4Lions shows cause everything that went wrong with Om is very much in line with how 4Lions writes male leads in the first place.

So it was obvious they'd screw him up once they started writing Om from a 'male lead' perspective.

Best and lots of love,

S

[phati-sari]

Greeting PS,

Your assignment - if it hasn’t been requested already by another agency - is to answer question 1, 12 and 16 for the fanfic ask. We hope your health has been doing well.

Over and out,

- Agent Jalebi

P.S: Sending another shipment of virtual gulab jamun cause that Advay-Shivaay gif made my DAY! 🥰

Heeyyyy AJ :)

Thank you for the assignment! Grateful you took all other assignments into consideration :D

1. If you’re an author, how many WIPs do you currently have? (Be honest!)

Six. *winces*

12. Friends with benefits or secret dating?

Ohhh, neither. Definitely neither.

16. Describe your WIP that currently has the highest word count.

That would be Charade, at 72k words. 

Charade begins immediately after Arnav witnesses Shyam and Khushi on the terrace. Written predominantly from Khushi’s point of view, it makes one small (tiny) change to the canon and plays it out over months to see how life might have changed for everyone.

I think I’ve answered all the questions now?

You know ... I had to go looking for the episode again, luckily I’d live-blogged watching it and made gifs. Thank you for the gulab jamun express :) Super appreciate it! Hoping you’re having a great day.

[my-carousel]

another somewhat (soft?) nsfw excerpt i'm in middle of writing.

-

his king has a home in his heart, a love which he hides in the scars littering his body, in the letters he keeps in his bedside drawers. in the peaches he asks for every thursday evening in the garden of poppies, flame lilies and camellia while he answers whatever letter has reached him in a castle away. in the green and silver he wears when a lord pays a visit, the colors of his house and the color in which they were bound to each other in a land far away, a land of red stone and marble, of his parents and of his home he now only sees in his dreams.

in the dreams which are more memory, the days were hot and nights cold. slipping away to pillared kiosks with falooda and jalebi to share instead of learning lead to their mother calling for them, no reprimand on her lips. where marriage was out of question and his years were spent exploring and visiting the many places in their kingdom, of trying new things and meeting new people. of either being holed up in the library with his tutors with languages tripping over his tongue or in the courtyard with a sword heavy in his hand and sweat soaking his shirt. of sitting with his great aunt when his mother was busy with her work, imagining the sea and the island on which she came from, a land from which he’d be shipped gifts from.

sometimes the king would make an appearance, an out of place sculpture sweating in the heat and a smile which was made to cut diamond. they’ll sit in the gardens, and tom will tell him stories of his own home while harry will make him try melons and mangoes and follow the trail of juice with his mouth. or they’ll be behind a lattice screen in the summer palace, during the few months he has visited his home with the floor cool on his back and tom’s cold hands underneath his clothes, pulling the sash off him and muffling his cries with deep kisses which makes wake up, wanting.

[sly-merlin]

softerory asked:

Hi hi Simmi di, it’s me again. I read you’re taking requests, may I get a fluff type thing, a bit desi if u may (coz why not) hehe, with my jaaneman jungwoo uwu Also how are you today! I’m butt shit exhausted hahahaha.

“do you even know how to use this?” you huffed at jungwoo who was busy trying to find the right location. he was sure he had correctly entered the address in the maps or maybe he didnot!

“yes, i do. now lemme concentrate.” without even glancing at you, he started using his thumbs rapidly as if to show you how he was a master in using maps.

it continued for a while until you saw few people with heavy shopping bags coming out of what seemed like a back door of the building. to confirm your doubt, you left jungwoo’s side to inquire on your own. and you were right!

“umm woo , can you repeat the address please?” you asked him strictly.

“st no 45, k convention center , gu-

“then what are we doing at the back of the center?”

“whatttt? who told you that?” he questioned cluelessly.

“there! those people are just coming out . the entry is from 54th street jungwoo. we are at the wrong side!” you pointed towards another group of people coming out from the designated exit door.

“then why are you doing a slo-mo drama. we should hurry. you are so lazy!”

you repeatedly hit jungwoo on the arm as he led you both through the street to reach the right place and finally after 10 minutes of walking in sun, you were there!

                     “SOUTH ASIAN CULTURAL EXPO”

since jungwoo was free for the weekend , you both decided to attend the fair but jungwoo’s amazing sense of direction made the simple task harder than you thought!

you and jungwoo felt like little kids as you entered after taking the tickets. his face was covered in a cap and glasses but you could feel his excitement through your hands which were squeezed in his own. the building was tightly packed with small booths which represented different countries and kind of articles they were offering. everything was super colourful, from food to clothing to handmade gift shops!

but ofcourse, the only thing that jungwoo could eye was food!

“i’m hungry y/n.” you playfully rolled your eyes at him before replying,

“let’s get tired first! we’ll shop then we eat and it’s final!”

“ugghh! hurry up then!” he knew you weren’t gonna budge so he had to give up.

after 10 minutes of wandering, he himself forgot about the food and was more interested in the pointed north indian shoes that he wanted to buy for jaehyun.

“which colour is better y/n?” you smiled, as he pondered over different shoes to choose one. apparently it was not so easy to please jaehyun!

“take the black leather ones.” you suggested before turning to face the seller, “how do you pronounce the name of the shoes?” you waited as the translator sitting beside him parroted your words in his native language.

“punjabi jutti!”  he exclaimed happily.

“ohhh..jungwoo say it once.” and 5 minutes were spent on the same place trying to perfect his pronunciation.

after buying several gifts including silk scarfs, bandana patterned authentic clothing and some handmade wooden items, you made your way to food stalls. the aroma that filled your nostrils made you feel like you were hungry from many years. you both glanced at each other before nodding in sync. that was the code language that meant you both would divide and raid. jungwoo on right and you on left. the shops bags were already left at the makeshift lockers and tokens that were being provided to all so there was plenty of room in your hands and stomach to grab anything and everything.

after few minutes of window shopping, you decided upon some sweet things along with spicy varients. you knew jungwoo would avoid sweet so you took charge on that.  

after 15 minutes you both met at the center with several plates of food placed on the table you had luckily found.

“what did you got?” you asked him, watching his plates.

“these are called fritters or pakoras. in both veg and non veg varients. they are from pakistan and indian stalls. then there are some south indian food,dosa and all. i can’t remember all the names but these things are similar to sauces! what have you got?”

“umm. this is a sweet called jalebi! they were piping the mixture in a big utensil and then putting them in a syrup. it’s yummy though . and then there is this chilli fritter just like your ones! and this sweet is made from carrots. it’s so orangy right!” you gleefully pointed to each food just like he did.

“we’ll buy some more for hyungs! “

“oh yeah?? how are we gonna carry all this in a public transport. we didn’t use the car dumbo!” you scolded him as you both chewed on the delicacies.

“let’s call manager hyung. he likes food as well . it’s not like he’ll refuse!”

you answered his mischievous wink with one of your own. you loved how his brain worked sometimes!

“yeahhh! it’s not like he’ll refuse.” you repeated playfully before continuing with your precious sweet jalebis!

life was heaven with jungwoo and food!

{{for those you don’t know , JANEMANN as she said in ask , is a affectionate word for sweetheart or loved ones, for ones whom you love just as your life or sometimes even more!}}

[laadgovernorandsankadevi]

IPK Rewatch: EP 03; Urs

Yesterday's highlight, the pearls scattering and then Gupta's uttering the words of Khushi being a foster child, an adopted child in the family started with Khushi asking Arnav, "Aap ki didi ke bare mein koi aise bole, toh aap kya bolenge ge!"

Yesterday, Arnav simply threatens by showing her the destruction he can cause when someone even utters the name of his sister with the idea of malice or ill thoughts. Today, the reason for Arnav to truly scatter Khushi's life begins.

We see the episode opening with Khushi recalling the harsh words she's heard the night before and preparing to light something on fire. I absolutely love the inclusion of Arnav's taunt of status and wealth in the recollection. Arnav made an impression on her and as much reason Khushi has to dislike him, their is no denying that like the magnetic pull Arnav felt towards the girl whom he refused to let go until she removed her hand from his collar, Khushi also felt his pull towards her. Arnav is here to stay in her mind.

The implication that Khushi might take a drastic step aligns with how every single action of Khushi can appear more exaggerated than it is only because of who Khushi is. In this instance, we see the unraveling of Khushi to some extent. She doesn't claim to be put together, and we slowly begin to understand that how Khushi's strength lies in her ability to embrace her vulnerabilities and mistakes. The moment she hides something is when she becomes weak.

While making jalebis, there are I believe prices next to food items on the board. 16, 7, 10. I can't read Hindi so I won't go much into it but every single shot in IPK to include numbers, colours, and even ambiguous dialogue had something layered behind it. I absolutely loved the metaphorical alignment the script used.

I also loved the shape of Khushi's jalebis. With unfathomable amount of ruckus caused, the jalebis reflect her inner turmoil. We later see the significance of it when she ends up writing Arnav's name in jalebis. The growing pile of it is also reflective of how much distress she finds herself in and feels responsible for.

Returning to Lucknow hasn't been fun for Arnav's PTSD, however for now he's able to think clearly enough to know that the news of his show being ruined shouldn't be coming out to the masses. For someone who is private, hard to reach, only shows up in selective events, and keeps a close circle, a major company event being ruined with his presence there, and him being involved is a scandal for AR and can tarnish his own reputation at being a perfectionist. Funny, how few words of Khushi completely eat away at any semblance of brain for whatever time-being she is present.

Anjali is still lurking around, and she's a catalyst in us understanding Arnav outside of ASR. His anger is fake. A shield. Being ASR for the world protects him in his own eyes. Also bitwa eating oats when he's on his own but indulging whatever his family puts out on the dinner table whenever they are around shows that even if he disagrees, he respects their choices. At her insistence, and prioritising her comfort, Arnav agrees to go to the dargah in her place. Unintentionally it is Anjali and Shyam who bring Khushi and Arnav closer to each other. Yesterday's mishap included alluding to Anjali's presence by Khushi. Today, Anjali who only wishes for her Chotte's happiness has sent him on the way to meet the girl who'll be his world for the second time. Shyam's relevancy doesn't find its footing without Anjali being the reason for Arnav's wrath unleashed on Khushi.

Back here Khushi betiya has been in full swing with Jalebi Everests. There are three stacks in sight.

Khushi strives to make things right for her family. Even on the two occasions when they remind her of her orphaned status, she truly doesn't give up on their love and acceptance and finds a way back. It's symbolic of how Khushi as a person rarely gives up on love when it means something to her. She is willing to do anything which translates into her rather crooked moral compass which is also ruled by what bring happiness to those she loves. After all, the internalised message is "Khoon ke rishte se, Dil ke rishte bare hote hain!" Shashi assures Khushi of the blessings in disguise. I love his validation of her intentions. It is clear throughout the series, that if Khushi walks with her head high even after some of her decisions appear misplaced, it's because of Shashi's upbringing that she finds herself confident in her own ability to manoeuvre because she believes in the purity of her intentions and hopes that Devi Mayyian is able to understand the reasons behind her actions just as much as she does even if no one else does so.

I find that besides Shashi, occasionally Payal, the only other person to truly understand Khushi for her intentions is Arnav. While he eventually goes on to find the chaos she leaves behind her amusing, his respect for her cements through his understanding of how her moral compass is governed by love and intentions to do good for others rather than herself.

If Arnav is Anjali's Chotte, then Khushi is Shashi's Chutki. Ah, how I wish Shashi would've manage to recover somewhat by the end of the show. His and Khushi's relationship is a beautiful one.

The support of their neighbours seems to put Garima and Bua ji at ease a lot more than earlier when people were gossiping about the returned barat. One of the old ladies in this scene is also present in Bua ji's Laxminagar and kisses Arnav on the forehead. Ah, ipk truly had it's moment with recycling of background actors.

Khushi tends to stand behind people who support her when she is being vilified or attacked from all sides. She moves behind Garima when the goons try to come after her. In this scene with the neighbours, she stands behind Shashi. The only other person she seeks protection from besides her parents is Arnav.

Gupta gang on their way to the urs have their car stalled whereas Arnav directs his driver to drive faster. A contrast in the way the Raizadas and Guptas world works.

As Khushi steps out of the car, a red chunni flies on her face. Blessings all around.

Arnav on the other hand, I think, he sensed the difference. He even goes onto remember the dupatta on his face. This episode is the first instance of Khushi nicknaming Arnav, Laad Governor.

Throughout the entire Dargah sequence, the lines "muramat kardo muqadar ki maula!" repeat over the two when they are in the same frame. Their fates intertwined are going to find solace in each other, find their ability to heal with each other. Poetic!

Also, as they both are walking towards the shrine, they are offered blessings which Khushi readily accepts however Arnav rejects. It's an interesting juxtaposition from Khushi rejecting a lot of Devi Mayyian's signs of accepting Arnav as her protector and companion where as it doesn't take Arnav long to understand the effect Khushi's had on his ability to think since the very first moment.

Also, it's hilarious how she's asking to be able to see him once again so she can make him realise how wrong he'd been and all the while he's sitting right across from her. 

While Arnav sits silently, making no prayers, Khushi prays for her sister's happiness. But it's after this moment that their journey really starts. For now, it's been the divine stars, the blessings, the coincidences. With this confrontation between the two, Arnav turns the coincidences into a string of events he begrudgingly has to take credit for. Of course Devi Mayyian aided in these decisions, but ASR wanted to play god as well, so here we are;

He recognises her voice. If it's wishful thinking on my part that he sensed her presence and her dupatta, then this one is no wishful thinking. Bitwa is finely attuned to betiya's voice and presence, and he realises that his sense beforehand weren't betraying him. He isn't surprised to see her, she IS.

Khushi's who just vowed to make this man realise his mistake runs after he tells her to throw the mannat ki chabi he dropped. We all can go on and on about the significance of this key because it plays such a huge role in Khushi's ability to practice her Haq and ownership over whatever simmers between them but most importantly I found this scene as a foreshadowing of how Arnav treats his happiness. He goes to the mazar on the insistence of his sister. He trusts his feelings about Khushi later onwards using his sister's words as a backdrop except that once Khushi falls from his eyes (Shyam & terrace), he begrudgingly ties her to himself mostly because even in pain he finds himself to be the only one to have the right to hurt her. And here he doesn't care for whatever the key might hold. Khushi who doesn't give up when it come to love whether of family's, or his', holds on to the love just like how later onwards, Khushi holds onto the love that was between them whereas Arnav does his best to to remove memory he possibly could.

Arnav Singh Raizada, running 10-15 mins late to his meeting stops for this girl when we just saw him a day earlier walking past people he didn't care to answer. But he stops here. Arnav stopping to listen to this girl, heaving and panting with her hair falling off pins goes to show how important Khushi has become.

Also, god, Khushi truly does come as a storm. Rushing past she tells people she'll come back to apologise. 

[distapata]

Hello, it's been such a long time! I'm back here with an ask - what is one of cliche/trope that you absolutely love and love putting your characters into. Love, J (jalebi)

Hi Jalebi !!!!!!

It has been a long time, mostly due to my exams which are going to take a little over a month to finish (I have a ten day break in the middle but during the first half of my break I had forgotten about this ask, you have a scatterbrained individual as your friend, Jalebi, kindly get used to Sandesh messing up). I love you and I hope this is a coherent reply even if I wrote it running low on sleep, way past midnight when I should have been - yes, you got the right answer - sleeping.

My most favourite trope - well, not much of a trope but a concept, is ambiguity in a relationship, where the people involved are simply doing their thing without putting a conscious thought to the matter of finding a label or definition to suit their needs, where it is just that easy to simply be. How powerful is that, having comfort and s connection that makes sense because it exists, and you don't need to take a moment to sit down and think of it because it just - is. That's beautiful, and I love exploring various shades (or sides) of this idea.

The angst, oh the angst !!!! The potential for angst is so, so high, with the occasional doubt as to if there really is a relationship or if they are clutching at straws, the fear of destroying what they have by rushing into things and losing the essence of themselves while scrambling around for a label that fits. The anticipation, not knowing if the other is thinking the same thing, if they too are imagining a future, if they too are weaving a dream. The heartbreak when it is just one of them building castles in the air while the other is ignorant and is simply living in the moment.

The simply domesticity, the sweet comfort, the love of two people who exist side by side, going through the motions, with their expectations and their faith, without the need for a label, when it comes to them as easy as breathing. I swoon !!!

The conscious effort to not dig too deep and enjoy what is instead of wandering into the territory of what could be, dancing around the question of giving a name to the connection lest they lose it all to the expectations that come with the label - yes, Sandesh loves her angst.

I love when there is no verbal affirmation, no mention of the word love, consciously or unconsciously, even if it fits into the equation, even if it is the only possibility. Don't get me wrong, I love it when characters are cheesy and go all "I love you, my life is a fresh canvas, waiting to be splashed with you colors" and all that lovey-dovey stuff, whether cheesy or deep or somewhere in between, but - but, I also love it when there is none of that. When two people don't even pause to think if they are in love because what does it matter, they are, and that's that. And when two people don't address the elephant in the room because acknowledging the feelings and saying it out loud, putting a label on things is restrictive and it is better to simply be.

That's one trope I love, and I inevitably write it into my projects, one way or another. Mostly with my side characters because obviously if I am writing fanfiction (which is what I write nine times out of ten) and the focus is on the romance then there needs to be a clear, tangible element of love and a relationship that mentions itself, one that attaches itself to a little pink glow sign. But yes, I usually write in the ambiguity one way or another. Sometimes it is the happy sort, but mostly it is the angsty side because Hah, the sickly sweet quota has been fulfilled by the main couple. And I find it easier to write the non-fluffy side.

Tying into this trope, I love marriages. To be more specific, I love the days of marriage when that is either the only thing tying down two individuals, or, and I have a special spot for this second kind, when the marriage has fallen apart but the people involved still remember almost every detail and they are bitter, they are mad, but they care. I feel that spending a lot of time in close proximity and being seen as one unit by the outside world, and sometimes putting up an united front and sharing secrets and inside jokes and little pieces of themselves does have an effect. Not to push the ITV brand of 'love definitely happens after marriage', I don't believe in that, but I do believe that something happens. It is human nature to form connections to everything, even inanimate objects, and that's a real, flesh and bone person. So yeah, I love exploring these two tropes too. The latter more than the former, because the second one has more potential for angst, but also because, sometimes it can give in to really tender moments where I don't always have to think about their level of comfort and intimacy because there is a base, even if it has holes in it, and I my writing flows better, more naturally with the second (or third, counting all three tropes) one.

And that's all !!! Thank you so much for sending this in, I know I am really late in responding and I am terribly sorry about that, this ask means a lot to me, so once again, thank you, I love you ❤️

[jalebi-weds-bluetooth]

Hey jalebi, what would arnav do if khushi haven't given into his threats and not married him and believed in her gut that akash wouldn't leave payal? What ways would arnav come up with to tie her to himself? This changes the entire plot line but I wanna know your thoughts on this 😅

Hi Anon,

You’re right, this would change the whole plot and Arnav was very convincing. The writing is so water tight that there’s no way that Khushi wouldn’t have agreed to him. There’s no believing her gut because Akash will leave Payal, even if heartbroken by it, if Arnav says so because Akash always believes his brother 💯.

BUT YOU HAVE GIVEN ME A FANFIC IDEA SO HERE IT IS!

What if Khushi refused the ultimatum?

From a tragic point of view, Khushi is more likely to believe that Arnav wouldn’t do this to her, she knows what love they share, she wouldn’t be able to believe he’d cross all these lines. She would perhaps think more from her heart. She loves this man. Intensely.

But Arnav would pull it off. Because the hurt he has is immense. Because this is his only leverage to Khushi. And despite his good judgement he’d cancel the wedding.

And despite much chaos and uproar and Akash choosing to side with his brother (I think Arnav would privately tell him the truth which Akash, despite his own judgement, would agree with Arnav because his brother is never wrong), the wedding would be off leading to Nani’s ill health and Buaji and Garima collapsing.

I believe Payal would unfortunately try to kill herself, unable to take the trauma and that would shock Arnav and the rest of the Raizadas to now demand answers.

Khushi would go ballistic on Arnav and essentially become another Arnav Singh Raizada with having her sister in coma and family destroyed over his decision.

And imagine, just imagine the shock to know it was all over a misunderstanding! She would vow to never forgive him and burn all his gifts and everything that reminds her of him. Anjali would be completely destroyed but seeing Payal would remind her of herself and she’d chose to separate with Shyam (especially with all the suspicions she was having over time).

Arnav would rot in guilt. He gave her the same trauma he had. NK would agree that nope, his cousin wasn’t in love with Khushi, because love cannot be this.

Akash would just become a stone.

The Guptas would all head to Lucknow with a comatose Payal. Akash would come over to face severe rejection but he would be there to marry Payal, to be with her. The doctors say she might not wake up ever but Akash would happily spend his life looking at Payal sleeping.

That’s what the vows were about anyway?

Khushi seriously takes up the business and gives her all. Payal gets conscious and Akash patiently helps her heal. Khushi’s business starts booming and one day the Raizadas come over to ask for Payal’s hand. They promise to treat her like a queen.

Khushi is enraged and would outrightly refuse it! Arnav comes in front, asking for his brother and her sister’s happiness but Khushi wouldnt agree. Rather yell at him for his hypocrisy.

Arnav starts negotiating with Khushi for the marriage to happen. Anything. Khushi refuses all of them. Arnav asks her about Payal’s medical treatment, Khushi retorts that he would only help once she’s a bahu?

Arnav rages at that accusation and Khushi scoffs at his attempt at empathy. Arnav calms down and tells her her anger is valid, and so is her hatred. But it’s ultimately about Payal’s life.

Khushi storms away and realizes her family has been taking the healthcare expenses from the Raizadas. She feels insulted and angry and refuses to speak to any of her family despite knowing it has actually benefited Payal.

Payal, on the other hand, is getting slow with her recovery and gets upset on akash for sticking up with her when she doesn’t want to stay in this state but he lets her be, letting all her anger out until she cries and holds onto him, the guilt of burdening Khushi with everything on her head.

Khushi soothes Payal when Payal wishes she should’ve died instead of becoming a burden Khushi but Khushi shuts her up by stating that if she died then there’s nothing Khushi has to live for.

Khushi reluctantly agrees for the wedding but gets upset when her family hopes for hers - she lashes out at them to the point where she crosses all the lines and then feels guilty for having done so. Arnav finds her at the edge of the road and fears the worst, pulls her away from a speeding car and yells at her out of concern. However it’s clear that she wasn’t paying attention and not attempting self harm.

Khushi, hesitantly, shares what transpired at her home and Arnav hesitantly consoles her by stating that there’s no fun in being an Arnav Singh Raizada.

Her anger, her hatred, everything should be directed to him. They have a fighting match where essentially Arnav’s pain of Khushi hiding the truth and Khushi’s pain of Arnav not even asking her clarification hits. Ultimately Khushi yells that she cannot hate him, she cannot be angry at him because- and she cuts off, and runs away back home where Akash has consoled the family and patches up Khushi with her family.

The wedding begins and Anjali is uncharacteristically quiet, apologetic and slightly frightened. She promises her brother and Khushi only happiness in the world. Meanwhile Khushi makes it clear that she’s doing this for Payal’s happiness and she may never find it in her to forgive him and Arnav agrees that there’s something similar in them - he may never find it in him to forgive himself either.

With the wedding sparks fly between Arshi with them exchanging banters and wits. They come closer and Khushi finds herself falling again when it is revealed Shyam has been blackmailing Anjali for money in exchange for peace in her family.

Arnav and Khushi team up to get rid of Shyam and both regret the fact that neither of them punished the one man who was responsible for everything.

Much to the families’ happiness Akash finally weds Payal much to everyone’s happiness.

The family concoct ways to bring arshi clpser. It’s hilarious because all the plans backfire. Finally accidentally Khushi thinks Arnav’s life is endangered and she runs over to him about thinking of life’s cruelty at her to keep seeing the ones she love in danger.

Khushi tells Arnav she loves him and accuses him of being careless and not loving her back and Arnav gets angry because he loves her and she doesn’t love him back and they yell back and forth until they realize they confessed and well - that leads to another wedding and a happily ever after!

Best,

- Jalebi

[villainrps]

rules: answer 30 questions and tag 20 blogs you are contractually obligated to know better.

i was tagged by: @howlscifer, literal angel??

name/nickname: Nav or Neetu usually

gender: cis female

star sign: gemini

height: 5′3 3/4

time: 12:00 M.M.

birthday: june 20th

favorite bands: civil wars, the landers.....the way i listen to music is really chaotic, i just know the song usually, i’ve never been the type to be super hype about a band??

song stuck in my head: ra ra rasputin...like always

last movie: LAILA MAJNU !!!! it was so good, i legit individually made everyone in my fam watch it with me.

last show: afili ask, turkish shows have taken over my life atm

when did i create this blog: um............a while ago.

what do i post: there is no rhyme or rhythm, only chaos.

last thing googled: the house of cb site

other blogs: just caucasiantears to thirst post

do i get asks: not so much anymore, cause tbh i ghost this dash sometimes, but i’ve got years worth of ask memes i keep meaning to reply to

why i chose my url: wanted to be cute with @herorps

following: 476

followers:  974

average hours of sleep: anywhere from 5 to 8, the moment i feel the sun, i’m usually up. 

lucky number: 20

instruments: um...does the recorder count, i do a mean in the jungle

what am i wearing: sweatpants and a tshirt

dream job: to own a cute little bookshop in a small town....i just wanna be a city girl in a small town so badly.

dream trip: greece, turkey, japan, hong kong, spain, morocco 

favorite song: jalebi baby - tesher i’m trash, i know it.....

last book read: pinjar

top three fictional universes i’d like to live in: inuyasha, literally any rom com universe where you can do the bare minimum and skate through life, any turkish drama universe (i can just imagine my power if i could be styled by their wardrobe artists...)

people i tag:  literally pls anyone that sees this <#.

[ffxivimagines]

Daring Dalliances | Main Story | Rating: G | Part 1

Summary: 

Wherein the Warrior of Light makes a questionable decision for the sake of homemade jalebi, Thancred attempts to be the voice of reason, and the Crystal Exarch wingmans his way into the rapidly developing hellscape that is getting them a fake fiancée. 

Or, the fake-dating canon-slightly-compliant AU wherein which the Warrior of Light values dessert more than their morals. 

Part One of MSQ (non-character oriented route) under cut!

Never let it be said that the Warrior of Light is not challenged. While the might of gods and mortals has grown stale over the years, the affairs of family visitation have not. If anything, they’ve become more perilous than ever, the Warrior’s found family of sorts clamoring for dinner together, a letter, for them to answer their linkpearl without sounds of battle and death ringing through the line. They would love to visit and take a day (read: week) off, but even with everything settled between the Source and its inhabitants, there is work to be done. They simply do not have the time.

“Visit us soon, my star! Valeryn has been working on that shawl you sent her the pattern for and wants to show it to you. Her skill has improved by leaps and bounds, as of late.”

“Yes, Mamá,” they agree, knee-deep in swamp water and covered very thoroughly in mud, “I will visit as soon as I am able. Could I possibly bring my f—what the hell?” The line erupts into static, crackling snatches of speech filtering through with no incoherence to be found, they wait, face scrunched up in discomfort. It isn’t like they can remove the earpiece when their hands are nearly more dirt than skin. 

“—did I hear that right? A f—“

“Yes? Mamá, the transmission isn’t clear. I can’t hear you. Can I call you back once I’m back in Ul’dah?” 

They wait for an answer and slog through the water all the while, searching, searching, finally. It only took them an annoyingly long time, but they’d found a good few baby morbols. Now, all that’s left is to kill off the parent and bring a couple babies back to the coliseum. They listen to the static even while aether drips from their hands and makes the water bubble as if ready to boil, the fight over in seconds and quarry acquired in less than a minute afterward. 

They’re halfway back to their chocobo when the line clears again.

“Am I coming through?”

“Yes, Mamá,” they reply. “Did you hear me earlier?”

There’s the sound of excited giggling and then about three voices speaking all at once, layering over each other when they say, “Your fiancée, right?” and “Congratulations!” 

“I said my friend, Mamá—“

The woman on the line laughs brightly. “No need to be shy about it now, my star. You shine so bright it was only a matter of time before someone saw it too!”

They groan, scrubbing a hand over their face and regretting it the moment mud gets in their mouth and nearly into their eyes. “It’s not like that—“

“Did you hear that, M’aaiho? They proposed!”

“Mamá! You’re misunderstanding!”

“Bring them to dinner when you visit,” Mamá invites (or, as anyone with a particularly opinionated parent would say: orders). “They need to meet the family!”

The Warrior sighs. This is a battle they will never win. “Okay,” they acquiesce, “but only dinner.”

“Not even dessert?”

“Dessert, too,” they agree, thinking of the pastries Mamá and M’aaiho made last time they visited. Those had been heavenly.

Cheers crackle loudly in their ear, but for the sake of pastries, they will prevail! For food! For the sweet taste of saffron syrup! For their stomach Eorzea!

They regret agreeing about five hours later when Thancred nails them with a look of absolute disbelief and says, “Wow, I have been surprised by you many a time, but this is… new.”

The Warrior gestures wildly, agitated to the point of breaking their usual habits of excessive nodding and stoic wall-staring, as if their frenzied hand-flapping will get the point across without words. 

“So, what are you going to do about it?”

They open their mouth, close it, open it again and get out a vague squeaking noise. Whatever part of their brain that is in charge of speech has clocked out early and left them to flounder, unsure of how to verbalize the radical thought of “I need a fake fiancée who is convincing enough that they’ll be able to convince M’aaiho we’re a thing while also being someone I trust enough that them being affectionate like we’re courting won’t make me want to crawl into the Crystal Tower and die from embarrassment or discomfort.”

“Need a minute?”

They nod violently enough Thancred fears for their neck. 

“Okay. Take your time. I have until—“ he glances at one of the chronometers within their inn room “—a bit past eight. Give or take a few minutes, we have an entire bell.”

They take a moment to try and calm down, bouncing their legs and cycling through ideas before coming to a seemingly flawless conclusion. “Thancred, I need you to fake date me.”

Thancred, to his benefit, does not laugh. He instead smiles genially and asks, “And you would not see my hand severed from my arm should I place it on your hip?”

The Warrior pauses, thinks, and replies, “Now that you put it that way, I need someone who isn’t as forward.” 

“So that leaves… Urianger, possibly?”

“Does he even have a romantic bone in his body?”

Thancred huffs half a laugh. “You would be surprised. Antiquated speech aside, he is quite good with women.”

“Need I remind you that I am nowhere near his type,” they say, “nor particularly capable of decoding his prose.”

“His hands do a lot of talking,” he answers, as if that is not terribly misleading and otherwise incriminating evidence of their nearly-joint-parenthood of Ryne. 

They raise a brow. “Do they now?”

It is only by the grace of Lyna’s intervention that Thancred is saved a well-intentioned ribbing. “The Exarch asks for your presence, Warrior.”

“And he will have it in but a moment. The Ocular, as usual?”

“Aye,” she agrees. “I will inform him forthwith.”

Thancred stands from his seat and stretches. “Back to work for both of us. Do tell if you’re departing to world yet unseen.”

They nod and stand from where they’d been half collapsed on their bed. In a shift of stance, barely even a half-second, they have gone from their civvies to adventuring gear. “Be safe, Thancred,” they say, tacking on, “and do not tell Urianger about this! I would die before the fae let me live it down!”

“Good luck with your fiancée,” he replies, striding out of the room with them close behind. They part ways at the end of the hallway and they jump straight over the railings to skip the stairs on their way to an aethernet crystal. 

“The Ocular, please,” they whisper, and it is done. They flicker into existence in the room itself, the Tower directing them from the well-traveled paths right to where the Exarch needs their presence. “Evening,” they greet. “Finally looks like it, too.”

“Good evening,” he replies, smiling softly as if they could not see it. “I hope my summons did not interrupt your day off.” 

They shrug. “Wasn’t much of one back on the Source, if I am completely honest.” They pause, fiddle with their hands, and ask, “Could I trouble you for your counsel?”

“Always, Warrior. What troubles you?”

“What about─”

He interrupts, sitting down on the steps by the dais and patting the floor beside him. “The matter of summons can wait. Sit and let your troubles be known. You─we have time.”

They sit down with a thump, tension visible in the way their shoulders are drawn tight despite the looseness of their facial expression. “I need a fiancée.”

“You are… to be married?”

“A fake one! Not a, um, real fiancée,” they amend, voice wavering. They stare at their pants and pick at a loose thread. “I would like to court someone, but I fear my life being what it is… you know?” They laugh hollowly, scars on their hands and callousing making something like holding hands or touching someone softly feel foreign, not for them. “I am not exactly desirable, see, and there’s nothing I can do to take away what marks I bear that would make me whole again.”

They very clearly do not just mean the many deep grooves cut into their skin. Being the savior to Eorzea, the Source, the First, to him, the Crystal Exarch knows how much it can take away from a person. However, he thinks no less of them for it. If anything, he thinks more. 

“Maybe to a coward,” he replies arily. “Not like someone who knows of your boundless devotion.”

“Was that a hint of G’raha I heard there?”

The Exarch flusters. Even with his hood down and identity known, to hear his name curling off their tongue once more is too much! Spare him, oh Warrior of Light! “I... forgive me. That was likely strange of me to say─”

“It was nice,” they say, sigh turning to a smile toward the end. “Thank you, Exarch.”

He redirects the conversation shortly thereafter, seeking to avoid further embarrassment for want of a better verbal filter, and learns of the situation in full shortly thereafter. He cannot even find it in himself to be surprised when they groan and flop backward to lay fully on the crystal floor. 

“I have no words.”

They gesture as is to say “and you think I do?” before groaning. “I can’t believe I let my craving for jalebi win me over.”

“It must be good, if you’d brave the waters of betrothal for it,” he comments. “Why not think of it as an adventure?”

They sit up fast enough he can hear their back crack (ouch) and place their hands on his shoulders, leaning in. He panics at their closeness for all of a second before remembering, this is the Warrior of Light. This is the person who once went seven months while being actively courted by the head of House Borel before they were spirited away to Doma, subsequently breaking the courtship off without knowing what it was. They are just affectionate and endearing and very, very close. 

“I love you, G’raha Tia.”

And this is just another mode of devastation, he supposes, when they lean in a little further and hug him fiercely as if to physically shove all their emotions into him. His ears ring and he flicks them as if to get rid of the echoes of “I love you” by force and subconscious reaction. 

They release him, stand, and say, “I am so sorry, but I need to go and I need to go now! I had an epiphany!”

Within a breath, they are gone and he is left alone in the Ocular. He presses hands to his cheeks and allows himself to flush. Ye gods, do they even know how many would kill for the chance to so much as play at being within their sights? Sending a desperate prayer to Hydaelyn, he hopes this will end well. Given their track record, however, he sincerely doubts it. 

A moment later, he realizes that he was not informed as to what their epiphany entailed to have them in such a hurry. He fears to know the answer.

[paramsiddharth]

#1: Hello, World!

Hello!

This is perhaps the first post on this blog. I am quite excited to see where things go from here. Anyway, I was going to tell you about my day. To be honest, it was a horrible day. Let me start from the beginning.

6 days ago was my birthday. As I expected, everybody had forgotten about it except a few people who remembered and wished me. I wasn't too excited either, because I was aware of the fact that I am just like an abandoned puppet in a world full of puppets. I was trying my best not to be upset over anything that I know is going to happen and will tend to upset me.

I was working on my new song, Infinity. It was supposed to be the second track of my album Divine Love. I thought that is would be a great idea to release it on my birthday. So did I. You might want to listen to it on YouTube, so here is the link: Infinity.

I was a bit disappointed, though. Since it was my first pop song, and I had been learning lessons from my previous songs, I was trying my best to make this song better and not repeat the mistakes I did in the previous songs. Still, due to lack of proper equipment and financial support, there has always been some flaw in my work. Anyways, I was expecting great response over Infinity, which I didn't get. However, I got over it.

At the college, I was surprised by a few students who did wish me my birthday. I didn't expect anybody to remember anyway, so a few felt better than nothing. Even more surprisingly, a few of them even gifted me things, like chocolates, biscuits, and a beautiful ball-point pen, with a crystal on the top.

A few people, from whom I always expect a lot but never get anything, I was trying to avoid, so that I don't get disappointed on being completely ignored by them.

Then, on my way back in the van, as always, everything was shouty. A lot of troublesome quarrelling and cursing, as these 'educated' people always tend to do, went on, agitating me even more. However, one friend in the van was really sweet to me and gave me a gift the next day, to whom, I was very thankful for not letting my day become a complete waste.

In the evening, a been-long friend of mine phoned to wish me a happy birthday. I became happy. Then, they told me that they won't be able to talk to me anymore, because they are too engaged in studies to do so. I became unhappy. It was a neutral event. I became sad because I really longed to spend some time talking them.

2 days ago, I was embarrassed by my teacher. I asked a question. I hadn't even completed asking when he completely avoided me and started dictating to the class. I tried to continue my question, but he still ignored me as if I was not even there! That really hurt me. I felt heavily humiliated. Consider this: You approach a group of people and say something. None of them responds and they continue talking to each-other. You think probably they couldn't hear you. You repeat your statement, but they avoid you and don't even look at you. You feel like you are not even there. You get to attention. What will you do? You will want to flee. How will you feel? Exactly like I did when my teacher did it to me.

It was unfair, because I didn't do anything wrong. In an ideal educational society, a teacher is supposed to acknowledge their students irrespective of their varying thought-processes and recognize their efforts to communicate their difficulties and get their doubts cleared. However, most teachers now-a-days aren't like that. Things aren't ideal, and we have to deal with them our own way. Since then, I try not to ask questions in the class and try to find out answers to them myself. It is better to be quiet than invite embarrassment and humiliation towards oneself.

Yesterday evening, I met a friend of mine, who fed me spring-rolls and watched me play a kazoo. It was fun. Today morning, another friend fed me jalebis. Today afternoon, yet another friend fed me chhole-bhature. I almost feel like a baby who needs to be spoon-fed. Haha!

Yesterday, I had a lot of work to do. I was quite busy with a variety of things to do, and getting exhausted as well. Suddenly, I received a message from the same friend who had phoned me on my birthday. I was surprised. Since it was a message by them after a really long time, I couldn't disappoint them by telling that I was busy. I couldn't converse either, because my hands were busy carrying heavy load. So, I just managed to type few messages to talk while hurrying with my work on the the other hand so that I could sit down peacefully to talk. Weirdly, they mistook it as my lack of interest in conversation and left. I was shocked. I planned to confront them the next day and tell them that they are thinking the wrong way.

Today was a comedy day. I was heavily embarrassed when someone mistook my actions for misbehaviour and shouted over me in public in a threatening manner. I felt heavily humiliated, because I didn't do anything wrong and was falsely accused and shouted over. I am always unlucky. I am getting the hang of misfortunes and such events don't make sadder anymore. I am always unlucky.

Anyway, my friend is back with me now and I love them very much. Also, I have bought some material for making bracelets. I want to gift them to some close and dear ones. Also, I am trying to manage my studies better. Let us see if I am successful with it.

That's all for now! I hope to come back soon with another post.

Goodbye!

[lavender-icerays]

Rules: Answer 21 questions and then tag 21 people who you want to get to know better.

Tagged by: @aph-mr-puffin  thank you :)

Nickname: i don`t have one IRL, but I go by `rinder or Reith online :)

Zodiac: the W A T E R bearer that`s actually an AIR sign?? like wth

Height: i dont know and i dont want to know :’)

Last movie I saw: the Bird Box (Netflix)

Last thing I googled: “what do historians do”

Favorite musician: i don’t really have a favourite? but i do love Owl City and Cavetown...

Song stuck in my head: “Oh Klahoma” by Jack Stauber

Other blogs: i have a lot (most inactive bc i don’t update them anymore) but i still use @reithf-arts for my art

Do I get asks: not really lol

Following: 452 - though i need to unfollow some tbh

Followers: 237

Amount of sleep: hmm usually 8 hours on weekdays and idk bout weekends

Lucky number: 11 or 4 i think

What I’m wearing: an over-sized red shirt and pink sleep pants

Dream job: i want to do something with history tbh? i used to want an art-related job but i don’t think I’ll enjoy it. I’m more enthusiastic about history, especially the Renaissance and revolutions. i may go into architecture though since I’m already taking a Drafting course next semester, that’s my “back-up”

Dream trip: really want to go to Europe and eastern Asia! so maybe a couple of weeks in each country, I’m interested in the scenery and famous structures :)

Favorite food: jalebi, bread pakora, chocolate, and pasta

Play any instruments?: nope, but in elementary school i had to play harmonica for a year for Music class

Languages: english, and to a degree, punjabi - i’m illiterate in it and cant speak it properly but i know enough to hold a basic conversation with family members. also french, in school, but i’m horrible at it

Favorite songs: “Vanilla Twilight” (Owl City), “Bones” (Emily Finchum), “This is Home” (Cavetown)

Random Facts: uhhh i don’t know anything that’s particularly interesting about me :/

Describe yourself as aesthetic things: the beach sand during a cold night; a sunset dotted with clouds like cotton; branches and leaves on the forest floor; soft looking prickles on flower stems

Tag 21 People: @lovi-no ; @enigmaticprinxiety ; @togestiin (never tagged you in these things yet lol >:) ) ; and uhhh whoever else wants to do this!