Fangirl Problems

Being a fangirl in a mostly male fandom can be... challenging, to say the least. Life as a fangirl can be tough, when you're the only girl around who is really into Marvel/DC or Star Wars.

Here are just some of the problems we face. I'm sure some lonely fangirl in a distant corner of the globe can relate to this.

1. Shopping woes: Tell me if this story sounds familiar. You are shopping for clothes... Girls t-shirts - glitter, flowers and some random quote about love that makes absolutely no sense. Boys t-shirts - official comic merchandise that is every fan's dream. If you're going to look for Avengers t-shirts in the girls section, you might as well look for water in the desert. I would say I have gotten used to the strange looks the store employees give me as I try on different boys' t-shirts. But then, what choice do I have? The world we live in is anything but fair. 
2. Forever alone: The geek stuff is not something you can talk about with your clique. The girls in my clique don't care who played the best Spiderman or that Aquaman has got a sick new look. Finally finding someone to geek out with is like finding a needle in a haystack... that one, rare, precious needle you never want to lose. 
3. Watching in theaters: I am jealous of how guys can just grab their buddies and go to the cinema every time a new comic book movie hits the theaters. Not having fellow fans to go with really sucks, and crippling social anxiety prevents me from going by myself. So, in the end, I'm left stuck at home, missing out on so much. 
4. Blatant sexism: "Why do you like that? It's for boys." "You like superheroes? Are you a boy?" "That's not very lady-like." *deep breath* Why don't you do the world a favor, and shut up?
5. Certain misunderstandings: This has happened on more than one occasion. Some distant relative or cousin brings a present that is clearly some pretty cool merc, and gives it... wait for it... to my brother! NO! I'm the one who's into it! Me! Not him! He's into pro wrestling and pokemons. I'm the one who's collecting Marvel merchandise! Give it to me! What follows are two hour long negotiations with my brother, discussing what I would give him if he were to give me the stuff. I have to fight for merchandise every single time. 

 So, there you go. Just some of the many problems faced by us fangirls. Sure, life is tough. But we'll get by. Right now, we're just counting down the days left for Logan.

Just 35 days to go...

 

Pulled into a book

Every successful writer has a writing style that they have made all their own. A style so complex, advanced and evolved, that they are truly its masters and creators.

I was asked who my favorite author is; I didn't really have an answer. I am an admirer of different styles; styles that evoke entirely different moods and emotions.

On this occasion, I must admit, that it took me a long time to finally get started on the Harry Potter franchise. It is something that I've, rather embarrassingly, missed out in my childhood, and, as of now, I am yet to read the last three books.

Thursday night, I finished Goblet of Fire, and that book left me in a puddle of my own tears. I was depressed all night, as though a Dementor had been in my vicinity. It was not a pretty feeling. But it was a great book, as only the great ones manage to squeeze out a tear from the reader. And it's purely due to the way J. K. Rowling has paced the story, and her style of writing.

It is soft, sweet and emotional. Vulnerable. Moving. Engaging. Like a river, soft in itself, but able to cut through mountains; cut through the hardest hearts. With this style of writing, she had me at her mercy by the end of the book. I was lost, saddened, confused... I was an emotional wreck.

I needed comfort. I needed solace. I turned to books that I trusted to wipe my tears. Those of Lee Child.

I grabbed my copy of Never Go Back to pull myself out of my misery. And it worked. Partially. It was like crying on the shoulder of an old friend, over a lover who gave you an amazing time and then left you with a broken heart.

Reading Lee Child was like getting the big warm hug I so badly craved. There was no pain in this. No slow, soft stabs with deaths of beloved characters.

Child's writing is more or less the opposite of Rowling's. It's hard, unemotional, sharp and edgy.  It's very technical and has got a certain mechanical smoothness. Cold. Relentless. Unapologetic. The kind that translates to, "Stop crying and get over it."

That is what I love about these writers and their specific styles. They have the power to engage the reader with their writing. To grip us by the throat and pull us into the deepest fathoms of their imaginations, until we are one with the characters. One with their journey. One with the story. They are more than just words on a page. It is an experience, forever remembered and cherished.

So many different styles; all so powerful; incomparable. I will always find peace from this busy world, between the pages of a good book.

Stop Waiting

Time flies.

Here we are, at the beginning of 2017. The previous year flashed by in the blink of an eye. There is so much each of us have to do. And we are running out of time.


There is nothing as harmful and destructive as waiting. What are you waiting for? Waiting for the exams to finish. Waiting to get out of school. Waiting to get out of college. To get a job. To have a home. To start a family. Waiting for your life to finally begin?

If so then, buddy, you'll be waiting all your life. Waiting for nothing but sad, pathetic little excuses to keep you confined to the bland, boring normalcy. You'll be watching from the sidelines as your life rushes past you. Because you cannot pause time. You cannot pause your life so you can make a living. Because life goes on.

This is 10th grade. Don't go about writing books now; wait another year. They said.
This is 11th and 12th grade. Don't do anything but studies for now. Wait a couple of years. They said.

There was a part of me, screaming from the inside, suffocating under the stress. There was a part that wanted to be let out, to be heard, to be free. Every moment was precious, and I was done waiting.


Passion is like a fire, burning inside you. How long are you going to ignore it? Your dreams haunt you, making their presence known. How long are you going to keep setting them aside? All that gives life meaning, makes it beautiful, is rejected, disregarded and replaced by the chase after success as defined by society.

Life is too short to keep waiting. To live someone else's dreams. Your time is valuable. And it is limited. You have just one life, and you have to make the most of it. This is your life, and it's ending, one minute at a time.

Stop waiting. Go out there, and do all that you need to do. Take risks. And live life to the fullest.

Have a great year ahead.

What makes villains so great?

There is no good without evil; and there is no hero without a villain.

In every story, the hero and the villain are two opposing forces, fighting against each other to come out on top. In some cases, the villain is the obstruction that the hero must overcome to fulfill his dreams. In other cases, however, the hero exists simply to prevent the villain from achieving their goals.

A great story is defined by a great villain. In most stories, we see that the villains are often much more complicated and developed than the heroes they face. The presence of an underdeveloped villain can completely ruin the experience of the story, no matter how entertaining the rest of the story may be.

So what makes a villain great?

1. Backstory (or lack thereof) : A backstory is the best way to reveal the motives and history of a villain. We understand why the villain is the way he is rather than just having to accept that he is bad for the sake of the plot. Loki Odinson, the villain of the Thor movies and The Avengers, is one of the most engaging villains in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His backstory shows us how a young, adopted boy, 'living in the shade of [his brother's] greatness', grew up to be resentful and angry towards his father and brother. This sets him off on a quest to prove his worth, wanting to rule the Kingdom of Asgard to show his greatness.However, in certain cases, a lack of backstory may be what works best for a villain. Heath Ledger's interpretation of The Joker in The Dark Knight went down as one of the greatest villains in the history of cinema. In the movie, The Joker appears out of nowhere and goes about doing what he does best - causing chaos. There is no explanation given about the past of the character which makes him all the more mysterious; and threatening.
2. Embodiment of Fear : The villains are not only the polar opposites of the heroes, they are also the embodiment of their deepest, darkest fears and nightmares. The villain is everything the hero despises and fears. But it is not enough that our rebellious, freedom-loving protagonist must face a fascist dictator, the hatred must be profoundly personal. Luke Skywalker does not just want to bring down the Empire, he wants to take revenge on Darth Vader for the death of his loved ones. Great villains are made when things get personal.
3. Sympathy : No one is all bad. Villains are no exception. All the great villains have something good about them, no matter how bad or evil they are. Wilson Fisk, from the Netflix series Daredevil, is a ruthless kingpin who shows no remorse over the people he has killed. However, there is another side to him - he cares deeply for his ill mother, is madly in love with his fiance and only wants to rebuilt the city because he loves it. Every great villain has such a side. And this helps humanize them. This is what makes them deep, complex, three dimensional; real.

Villains are only villains because we haven't heard their side of the story yet. When we do hear a story from the villain's point of view, then they cease to become the villain. They become the anti-hero. So, how well does this translate to real life? Simply with the realization that there is no absolute right or wrong. No absolute good or bad. There are only perspectives. There are two sides to every story. Great villains reflect real life, showing there is good and bad in everyone. That's what makes them memorable, and fascinating. Look around you. There is good and bad in all people. You may be the hero of your own story, but you're the villain in someone else's.

Art imitates life; and life imitates art.

Have a nice day.

Stranger at a museum

I walked into the museum expecting nothing out of the ordinary. It was a school trip to a science and technology museum and I couldn't wait for it to be over so we could all go shopping later. Science was never my strong subject.

I was surprised at how interactive this museum was. Just as we walked in, there was huge dinosaur, complete with moving arms and a loud growl. There was also a full scale model of the Wright Flyer, hanging from the roof. Hey, maybe this wouldn't be so boring after all. 

We moved on to the lever and gear exhibits. I couldn't wait to keep moving because the last thing you want to see while on a trip are the same stuff in your text books that you stare into all year long. But then... I saw him.

He was tall, with gorgeous sandy blond hair. Bright blue eyes behind thick rimmed glasses. Casual clothes; beige shorts and a blue shirt over a grey t-shirt. He held a camera in his hand. He was leaning on the railing, waiting for this noisy group of school girls to pass by. He had a calm resting face, his thin lips pursed into a smile, hardly detectable. I should be ashamed, but I couldn't take my eyes off him. He was a beautiful man, straight out of my wildest dreams, and I stood there, smiling at him like an idiot.

He saw me and smiled back, probably out of politeness. Foreigners in India are often extremely polite. I coolly stepped over and leaned on the railing, while my friends checked out the functioning of gears. I had something much more interesting to check out, right were I was.

I wanted to say Hi. There was so much I wanted to know. Where are you from? What accent do you have? Would I be able to recognize your accent? All I wanted was to hear him talk... just say a word.

But the school group moved along, which means I had to keep moving too. As I looked back, I saw him left alone with the gears, and he proceeded to enthusiastically take photographs of the exhibits. Maybe I'd see him around.

The whole museum had a total of three floors. And for the next two hours, while pretending to be interested in the science of it all, I scoured the entire museum searching for this one man, while dragging my friend along with me. But there was no trace of him. It was like he had vanished. Disappeared completely.

I looked for him everywhere, every single floor. Every nook and cranny. Nothing.

After a long search, I gave up. He must have left, in which case, I'll never see him again. I sighed resignedly as  I crawled down the steps. My class mates were waiting near the exit to regroup.

So this is it, I'm leaving too. I'll never see him again. Oh, what I would give to see his perfect features one last time...

I heard footsteps behind me. I turned my head slightly and there he was, coming down the steps, just behind me. I caught a whiff of his cologne. I quickened my pace and got to the bottom of the stairs, then turned around and looked at him.

The soft smile still adorned his face. The school girls were crowding the exit. He walked into the crowd, and brushed right past me.

As I stood in line, waiting for them to take my number, I saw him walk through the door and out of the museum. He paused there, got the feel of his surroundings and then moved on, out into the big city.

This mystery man. This beautiful stranger. Now, I'll never see him again. 

Spoiler Alert

Ever had a major book, movie or TV show spoiled for you? Ever had to fight off the urge to strangle that person who ruined it? Then you'll probably know what I'm talking about...

Spoilers are one of the hardest things to avoid on the internet today. If a major movie comes out, before a week is over, social media is crawling with spoilers in the form of memes and the safest way to avoid seeing something you don't want to see is staying away from the internet altogether, until you've watched the movie. The heartless folks who post spoilers just days after the initial movie release have just one answer when us normal people ask why they would do such a thing - "The movie has been out for a week! Why haven't you seen it yet?" Oh, I don't know... maybe it's because we have a life. -_-

As an avid moviegoer, I want to watch a movie, peacefully, in my own time, without having to worry about anything that would ruin my experience. Maybe that's a little too much to ask, unless you're willing to cut off all human contact for fear of the dreaded spoilers. Because spoilers are more than just accidental little slips of the tongue. They are weapons. Cold, hard weapons; lethal in the wrong hands. "No, I don't want to know what happens at the end of [...]! I have some pretty bad-ass [...] spoilers up my sleeve and I'm not afraid to use them!"

Books and TV shows have it worse than movies because we can't finish them in two hours. A spoiler attack can come midway through and ruin what's left of it. It's very annoying how a small, simple sentence can destroy what would have been a great experience. Something like... He dies at the end...

NO!!!! Why? Why would you do something like that to me?!? The cause for sadness is not just having an entire book ruined. It's also the fact that a character you know and love won't make it. And I'm just not emotionally ready for that.

These are the times when you desperately wish you could un-hear what you just heard. Times when you wish an MiB Neuralyzer actually existed. Times when all you can do is lament over what is lost.

Avoiding spoilers does not work all the time. The surest way is to immunize yourself by watching the movie or reading the book as fast and as soon as possible. By that, you arm yourself with spoilers which you can use when necessary. This is possibly the best and most powerful way to take revenge because spoiler attacks are still legal.

But please, don't do it. It's one of the most cruel and heartless acts you can ever commit. A spoken word cannot be taken back. At least give a fair warning. But sometimes, accidents happen. They just .... come out. I've been there. It's not a good feeling. So, try. Don't deliberately have someone hate you for the rest of their lives. Spoilers can be more dangerous than you think.

Now, here's my fair warning. If you spoil something for me, I will take it as a unforgivable act of betrayal.

So don't. Just... don't. For your own sake.

Have a nice day.

Abandonment

They all walked out, one by one.
There's hardly any trace of them left behind.
I think I always knew this was going to happen.
But, come the day, I was powerless to stop it.

They held such promise. I was proud to call them friends. Even best friends. It's crazy how you can find someone, similar to you in so many ways. There's an instant spark and a connection you never knew before. Before you know it, you can't live without them. They've become a part of your life. They are the whole cause of your happiness. You would do anything to be with them. Because they are awesome, and all you can think is, how did a bum like me get to be friends with someone as cool as them?

And then, just as quickly, they are drifting away. The spark has died down. The connection is lost. And I'm left stranded, wondering where it all went wrong; where I made a mistake. Just as quickly as strangers became friends, friends have become strangers.

It has happened way too many times. And it's still happening. Why? Why do those friends, who make you feel so good to be around them, just pack up and leave one day, out of the blue, with no explanation? I may still see them, but now they are just a few people I've shared some past secrets with. It doesn't matter anymore.

And now I'm afraid. I'm afraid of enjoying hanging out with someone, because of the fear deep down inside me that if I have too much fun with them, they'll pack up and leave like everybody else. I can't go through that anymore. I've had my fair share of friendships with glorious beginnings and abrupt endings.

So if you're a friend of mine, in whom I've confided a decent amount of secrets, and if you know for a fact that I really like hanging out with you, then I implore you. Don't leave like they did. Leave if you must, but not like that. Not without a word. Not after making me feel its all my fault. Because if I like hanging out with you, then I really like you. And I don't want you to be dark patch in my history of relationships. Don't be one of those people who swore they'd be there for me, only to leave when I wasn't cool enough for them.

How many more times must it happen again, before I can laugh with someone without the fear of desertion? Here's hoping, never again....