First and foremost : WHYYYYY SOOO LATE?!
You took a whole YEAR… MORE THAN THATTTT!!! Itna time kyuuu?!
I was genuinely starting to think you had left PBD again because you felt you couldn’t continue it. Pleaseee don’t abandon PBD, okay?
Also, I’m saying this beforehand itself ..next chapter humein time par chahiye. No disappearing acts this time
Now...where do I even start with this chapter
The way you started with Jodha mentally preparing herself for the absolute apocalypse that would follow if everyone found out about Jalal .. could feel how genuinely terrified Jodha is especially after everything her family has already gone through.
Then the whole Tathayya bit broke my heart. It ISN'T Jo's fault.. bechari Jo 
the golden charm girl became a grim reaper; the prosperous house became Vasthu deficient; the family lineage became a legacy of cursed diseases and untimely deaths.
This.. to me.. is the emotional backbone of the entire chapter 
Because suddenly her hesitation isnt simply about her family agreeing for a muslim boy .. It's much more ..
Jodha has watched what death did to her family. She's watched what people did to her family after death. She's seen her own existence become associated with the losses of her parents. And now she has these two people..Badepapa and Maa...who took her in despite their own grief and continued loving her 
And then comes our man with the most Jalal-ish response possible -
There is no apocalypse coming at you, Meenu fish. Nor are you held at gun point. Breathe!


But Dii, Jodha explaining how she used to imagine her “one”… THAT. The sketch. The man whose presence would make her forget the whole world. And then :
the MD, the affluent, the married, the Muslim, the elusive are gone. And only YOU remained. JALAL!
THIS was SOOOO beautiful 
She simply got to know the person underneath all those labels until eventually there was just Jalal. And that felt so true to everything we've watched happen between them 
And now she's standing at the point where she knows exactly how difficult the consequences are but the feeling itself is no longer negotiable!!!
And then she calls him the motherly, the fatherly, the brotherly, the friendly, the husbandly… You’re the home! The Summum Bonum! ... Dii WHAT was thatt loved it totalllyyyy.. blush blush
Her whole explanation about Badepapa and Maa… That entire portion was bit sad... She knows what they gave up, what they endured, and how they chose to love a child who constantly reminded them of their own loss .. you wrote that part veryy nicely
Loving me - a walking, talking reminder of losses isn’t easy - I love this line.
Also that part where she says either she becomes his wife or stays his lover forever .. but no man after that ... Uff .. The confidence and the vulnerability in that one statement together… 
And then Jalal...

Who’s that man?
I SWEAR TO GOD
ye expected nahin tha 
and somehow it doesn't feel like the emotional scene was cheapened. Feltt like thwey were allowed to be themselves after being painfully vulnerable 
Jalal is suchhhaaa pareshaan
And then the Tvam Eva scene. All hearts. Dii, I genuinely think this was one of the most beautiful parts of the chapter. Pehle bhi that was my most favourite in the saree chapter.. and here also... simply beautiful
And I loved that even in such a sacred, emotional moment Jalal's brain is still Jalal's brain. You said I! Not we!
But then when he explains why that bothered him… THAT got me .. she thinks love means protecting him from the battle, while he is basically telling her love means I am standing beside you in the battle. Aww.. thats sooo Jahnavi Dii-ishhhh type of writing ... then her hiding in his neck because his scolding feels like her mother's scolding and hug… that was one veautiful part too
And then obviously because these two cannot remain serious for more than five minutes .. we go from emotional devastation to baby monkey and all 
Then the whole kissing pampering sequence and the way Jodha just completely melts into him… and then the panic attack claustrophobia hits.. itna kuch badla har moment mein but nothing felt out of space or rushed .. you are very talented Dii .. really liked the way this was handled
Wear button down shirts, J.
Ek toh I LOVE IT when she calls him J .. and i agree with her .. sexyyy J 
and ofcourse after an emotionally traumatic episode.. her first complaint is still about his damn sweatshirt zipper .. dono ek jaise hi hai .. monekyssss
The entire latter half was just them being ridiculous together and I was enjoying every second of it. Wilting ascetic, Vishwamitra-Menaka, midnight paradise, the fifty rupees per hour nonsense
Jalal's tapori side really came out that night haan...this mannn
And then... ahem ahem 

masttt scene .. poor J 
Such a PBD chapter to me because it had EVERYTHING ... the emotional depth, the family baggage, the religion/culture conflict, the vulnerability, the absolutely ridiculous banter, the old callbacks, the physical chemistry, and then those tiny moments where Jalal and Jodha understand each other without even needing to say much
I don't know how you manage to make me laugh like an idiot in one paragraph and then sit quietly staring at the next one, but you did it AGAIN. This chapter was an emotional rollercoaster + Fun in the most PBD way possible!!! Loved it.
Btw, where's the climax you told us about.
also, was looking forward to more of Badepapa's thoughts post their meeting.. but you updated such a chota chapter 
Similarly more of Ameena-Usman thoughts on their son's prem leela 
ANDDD when will they both realize ki they have met eachother already???? Uff the wait 
Waiting for next update... till then byee tata take care
Whats up with you... all good?
Edited by nushhkiee - 10 hours ago
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