#does this mean she’s technically a poc in this Gen??

[worm-in-a-trenchcoat]

AHHHHH!!!

Gen3 Venus doll leaks!!!

She looks so good!!!

When I heard that she was gonna be a “pink goth” I thought they were gonna make her skin pink, but I see what they meant now lol.

[mskatesharma]

Even physically, ignoring skin tone, everything about Kate Simone embodies. The whole Too much of everything and not classically beautiful but captivating nonetheless. So I’m partial to the study/kids scene. It’s a scene I hate to love. But I think having a lot of buildup to that would make it less douchey and more “okay okay the tension”. I know you’ve mentioned in an ask before that you hate that scene. But building on the sexual tension and banter before then would make that scene better, no?

Also Charitra as edwina? Couldn’t be more perfect. so yeah I hope they stay away from cringy stereotypes. Cause technically Kates not 1st gen Indian or maybe even 2nd. Who knows but there still should be something they could touch on culturally gay would resonate with a lot of the poc fans who belong yet dont belong in society today. Im 2nd gen and you never fully belong in either world, yaknow? But Im hoping they dont ruin things in the name of “represntation” cause they already messed up in s1

(Related to this ask.) (I hope you don’t mind that I’ve combined your asks together?)

So I think with Simone and Charithra they’ve cast Kate and Edwina really well? Because Simone is stunning, and extremely captivating, but at the same time, her beauty is actually quite intimidating in a way? She does have sharper features (I would actually pay her to cut me with her jaw line), which they could play off as not being ‘fashionable’ for the time the show is set.

Whereas as I think with Charithra, she is gorgeous, and her softer features make her seem more approachable and open? They’re both very beautiful women, but their features are very different, which I think will play into why Kate is so overlooked in comparison to Edwina?

(The rest is under the cut because it got a little long)

Okay so I’ve talked about my issues with the study scene here. I know some people love it, and I can understand why you might, but personally, I would feel differently about that scene had it been properly resolved in the book, by Kate and Anthony having an honest discussion of what happened, instead of the frankly pathetic apology we did get?

Kate’s first ever kiss occurred because Anthony wanted to scare her, and he didn’t like that he was attracted to her. It’s never properly confronted that Anthony was a monumental prick for how he treated her, and Kate never gets an explanation for it; she doesn’t get closure for something that left her feeling extremely rattled and vulnerable. It just leaves me feeling...uncomfortable.

Like I said, I think there are ways to keep the overall tone of the exchange without needing to get that physical at the start of the interaction, and without it ending with Anthony humiliating Kate? You can keep the passion and intensity, with their furious and charged conversation, without Anthony being extremely cruel? I mean there are going to be barbed words, yes, but there’s no need for outright humiliation.

If they had more interactions before we get to the kiss, then it probably will help build the sexual tension that you need for their first kiss, and that way you can make their kiss more consensual because it’s both of them that want to break the tension that’s been building.

Obviously it’s just my opinion, and I know not everyone agrees with me and that’s fine, but personally, some of the specifics need to change if you want the general audience to root for Anthony and Kate to end up together, especially with how a lot of them feel about Anthony after the first season.

Feelings about cultural touches are also going to depend on how they treat the British colonisation of India in the show, and whether they address it all, because that’s just going to be another thing that sets the Sharmas apart from everyone else? It could get so very complicated, which is why I hope they don’t go overboard and try and fit in as many Indian markers as possible.

Charithra and Simone have already talked about the Sharmas as outsiders, so they’re already different. If you keep bringing up their Indian heritage as well, especially when no one else’s heritage is mentioned, it’s just going to other them even further, and tbh, I already spend enough time feeling like I don’t fully fit in, it would be nice to escape that feeling for a while lol.

[briek58454521]

Let’s rant about bigotry in media and fake allies.

.Look. I get it. You want to believe that your cartoons, media and celebs are completely perfect darlings that can do no wrong, but let me be frank. I don’t care how much you don’t want to talk about it. I care about the creators who keep inviting the discourse their way through their idiocy. Whenever a creator gets in trouble for doing shit like making jokes about slave hats on a live stream, or including a blackface caricature in an art book, or killing off their gays the very episode they come out or are introduced, there’s always a subset of people who say shit like, “it was a mistake, they didn’t mean it. It kinda gives us as a leftist community a bad name when we keep attacking each other like this”.

Let’s dismantle that. And let’s break this down in three basic points I’ll use throughout. 1. It is not your place to accept an apology that was not for you, especially when in regards to racism, sexism, anti-LGBTA+ bigotry, and anti-semitism. 2. We need to stop lumping in actual criticism with alt-right idiots being shitty about marginalized groups existing, because ultimately, infighting is not the end of the world, and disagreements are not inherently bad. They are a fact of life. 3.  Most importantly of all, just because these people claim to be allies, that does not mean that they are. Because make no mistake. CARTOONS ARE NOT ANY LESS EFFECTED BY THE BIASES OF THE ENVIRONMENTS WHICH PRODUCED THEM THAN ANY OTHER WORK OF ART.

Now. Let’s break down that shit completely.

1. I used those examples as a jumping-off point, but in general, this shit always happens. A creator fucks up, they get criticism which was unquestionably earned, they get rightfully dragged, and the creator uses the backlash to garner sympathy from their audiences and paint their critics in a bad light and whine about Cancel Culture. NOW, I already talked about that in another post, but basically, it doesn’t exist, and is used as a weaponized shield from criticism. 

Thing about all of that as well is when the creators keep bringing up how they didn’t mean it like that. Most people would answer this with, “doesn’t matter, what matters is what you did”, but there’s something else that people don’t talk about. This is usually a bunch of white people excusing this shit. Or otherwise, a bunch of people who weren’t actually affected by the latest controversy. And therein lies the rub. Allies, let me put it this way. WHEN THE SUBJECT OF THE CRITICISM IS ABOUT THE PORTRAYAL OF MINORITIES IN MEDIA, YOU ARE IN NO POSITION TO EXPECT SAID MINORITIES TO FORGIVE THOSE CREATORS WHEN YOU WERE NOT AFFECTED BY IT.

Remember the Lana Del Rey controversy, where her dumbass ended up getting shit for her statement filled with venom towards other artists? Could have been cleared up if she had just accepted that she messed up and didn’t word her statement correctly, but no. She lashed out at the people who told her it was kinda racist to lump a bunch of black female artists into a conglomerate of artists who just, “twerk, cheat, have sex, and get money”, and dismissing feminism as needing to accommodate women “like her, who were more delicate”, perpetuating inadvertently to the idea that black women are less delicate, white women are petite, demure, and need to have a place above the others. AND LOOK, it’s how she responded that sealed it. Accusing her critics of being the actual racists, who hate women, and conflating the criticism with.....ugh....a FUCKING RACE WAR. Do I EVEN need to explain the problem with that?

The point is that it was idiotic of her to assume that she didn’t deserve the criticism because she “technically didn’t mean it”, when ultimately, she wasn’t the victim, she wasn’t the one who ACTUALLY got hurt by all of this, and that most of the criticism WAS NOT ANYWHERE NEAR as vitriolic as Lana accused it of being. And people do this to minorities all the fucking time. Where the praise for the work is what matters, but then they’re just upset and looking to be upset about things when they....sorry, when WE have shit to say about the fuckups. Constantly, minorities are expected to praise bare minimum bullshit lest we have self proclaimed “””””allies””””” get pissy that we aren’t playing along. Well, sorry, but, I think it be time to stop with that shit. It doesn’t matter how pure you think that person is. If the people who are the actual part of the controversy have shit to say about it, MAYBE LISTEN TO THEM instead of trying to force people to accept the apology that wasn’t even yours to accept, nor was it for you to shove in our faces to shut us up. And if you dislike that I’m saying that, just know. That’s exactly what you’re doing when you pull that shit.

2. As simply as I can put it, complaining about how a trans person is portrayed badly is not the same as complaining ABOUT the presence of a trans person, and to lump that shit onto the other pile is dishonest and willfully ignorant. When we keep getting upset about the tone, or upset about, “WAAAH, they said a me-no-like”, and lump that in with the actual facists looking to erase us from the history books, we are doing half of their job for them, and normalizing shit like what I saw the other day, where on Twitter, some asshole complained, “Anime is supposed to be an escape from reality. Adding black people to it kinda ruins the point.”

I’m gonna talk about it in the next point, but for now, understand this. NO ONE says shit like that just out of the blue without having it come from somewhere, and that attitude is all too prevalent.

In cartoons especially, criticism of the NB lizard from She-Ra is not being bigoted towards non-binary people, because the use of a fucking lizard to portray them is the ACTUALLY bigoted thing. And to lump in criticism of that with the criticism of She-Ra not being conventionally attractive enough for men to masturbate to the fucking minor is only going to long-term HARM any discourse. Because having these conversations as well as discussing these issues and educating each other about them is how we AVOID THEM. Criticism is not just a vector for asshole conservatives to be pissy about your existence. It’s also a veritable TREASURE TROVE for how not to fuck your shit up. And when we all get it, we learn. I get it, you don’t want to do shit wrong, but when you do, as everyone will, the backlash will burn itself out, and once you’ve fixed it, people will be very forgiving. Because, and it’s gonna sound mean....THAT’S HOW AUDIENCES WORK. THEY WANT TO FORGIVE YOU FOR WHEN YOU DO SHIT WRONG. So just...fix it. And listen. Yeah, you’ll get called stupid, you’ll get called “moron”, but you will have saved yourself from getting that shit ten times worse later on down the line. BEAR IN MIND, THOUGH, any of you already typing about how that’s enabling cyberbullying under the guise of critique, IT’S NOT. There’s a wealth of difference between the two, and trying to distract from the point with that is just a red herring. So stop with that.

And now....for the biggest one of all.

3. See...here’s the thing. About that anime douche. That doesn’t happen in JUST anime. It’s been around for decades, and has been a thing to this day. The WoW community got upset about womz being in power for the past 15 years, and have gotten on their high horse about black people being in the game, stating that if they were around sooner, maybe it wouldn’t, “SEEM TOO POLITICAL”, with that Asmongold jackass trying to start a second wave of GamerGate because one of the people at Blizzard said, “Black Lives Matter”. Fantasy as a genre has been so rooted in racism, that the inclusion of goblins for the most part is synonymous with anti-semitism towards Jewish people. Captain Marvel was pilloried for the past two years because the mean lady said that shit needs to change and wasn’t too nice, and also, me don’t like her too much. Basically, tone policing over a personality that we still give Howard Stern a platform for. In cartoons, the inclusion of black people is seen as an inherently political opinion. The rumors of Gen 6 Apple Jack possibly having a black voice actress prompted comments such as:

“The thiing with AJ is clearly anti-white/conservatist as a response to Trump America. What is opposite of country redneck female? Of course, and urban black woman.”

“It’s the fact that she’s black that bothers me.”

“Killing a blonde freckled Southern character for some political agenda is the last thing I want to see.”

The news of Velma Dinkley being gay was immediately pounced upon with shit about a homosexual agenda, and constant bullshit about how it was so forced, or whatever. This shit always happens, and is gonna keep happening. You know why?

Because the entertainment industry is not ready to accept minorities. The games industry is not ready to accept minorities. Cartoons are still not ready to accept minorities. They accept them for a moment, until those minorities challenge someone’s ego. Fans embrace a character until they’re a woman, or a POC, or on the spectrum, or LGBTA+. The existence of us is denigrating to these idiots’ escape, not from reality, but from us. It’s bad enough that they have to put up with us in the real world, but even worse that they have to see us in fictional shows that aren’t real.’ Us merely BEING AROUND is a bad thing, and to ask for some improvements is met with bemoaning about agendas.

Supposed allies begin and end their support with how much money we put in their wallets and how much we stroke their egos about how woke they are, and actual allies are lumped in with actual offenders. If we get upset that a show they’ve posited as so enlightening is actually the utter pits and not in any way healthy, they get upset. Tell a Reylo they’re shipping something toxic and dangerous, they’ll get upset and yell racial slurs at John Boyega for sitting next to Daisy Ridley. Say, “Fuck Arthas”, people get upset jump down your throat about how you hate forgiveness. Tell people that the Grinch ought not to be forgiven, people get upset you’re strawmaned about how you hate forgiveness.

They just don’t understand, or care about the essential fact about all of this. As I said earlier. The environments which produce the worst of offenders in these fields, and the problems we hate seeing so much are in no way less affected by the biases that they were cultivated by. And media has never been any more ready to accept minorities as people and as worthy of being portrayed as people than literally anywhere else right now. And speaking up about that is what gets these fake allies mad, especially when they LIKE the media. What makes these people so mad is not the troubling portrayal of POC, or women, or minorities. Not that we are routinely ostracized for existing in cartoons, not that this shit happens at all. They don’t give a flying fuck about any of that. It’s the thing that they have to put up with as a result of that that makes them the most upset.

Criticism. And they don’t like that.

And no matter whether or not these cartoons are made by bootlickers, or this movie was made by a TERF,  or if this creator has a history of blackface, racism, or has made garbage statements about women, if you aren’t nice and considerate enough towards their feelings, you’ll make them, and us, the allies, feel uncomfortable. NO DWAMA, just not too divisive feedback that’s ultimately worthless as it was made purely to try to appease idiots and the people most affected by these issues at the same time, meaning it had to be watered down past the point of no return in order for us to factor it in with our jaded mindsets and worldviews that are the direct cause of the problems we complain about, yet keep exacerbating through our ignorance and unwillingness to change.

If you aren’t like that, and don’t believe you should be lumped in with that, don’t behave as if you are that sort of person. But, even then, if you aren’t...listen to the actual experts. Stop listening to some white guy’s idiotic hot takes about black rep, and actually listen to black people. Listen to trans people instead of some cis white chick with no understanding of trans issues. Stop platforming the worst of offenders within these communities as the bestest ever. And most importantly....

remember that horses don’t exist.

[topconfessions]

Ok I want to ask here because I feel like anywhere else I’ll get shouted out lmao but after the post about gd and his gender like I’ve never really gotten it. What is gender? I don’t understand how gender is different from sex? And I’m not trying to be provocative I’m young myself so I hear this language the whole time but it just confuses me. Like how can someone be a man but be a they? I’d love if you could explain lol because if I ask people they get quite tricky or annoyed if you question it, hope you understand

tbh? I'm going to be extremely textbook by this and everyone will be beyond pissed with me for this: gender & sex by science, evolution, medical standards and just from human history is strictly male & female.

Sex

Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male gametes or female ones.

Gender is more of a social construct these days. If you are at least 25-33+ you arguably know regardless of what social backlash or pressures you would get from people /now/ that let's say from the 40s-2010, there was socially across the globe on a mainstream level no such thing as all of they/them/we/etc. This is all very complex and would take a documentary style deep dive, but all I am going to tell you is it's all right now a new shift and product of this Gen Z and other younger generations (most millennials too) ushering in a new era of the LGBTQ being equals to "cis" people. Cis globally especially in the professional relam was never a thing either, you were either male or female.

You're asking how can a man be a "they" this is all one individual's choosing. Basically they are saying that they are a male biologically and still identify as a male (loosely) but see their masculinity / femininity/ position in society as well as viewing themselves as either gender fluid or not specfically a man. I mean, deep down, I think I was a man in a past life and I could technically go by she / they / them cause of how I look. I easily get mistaken for a man due to my height I'm very tall for a woman and cause I'm tall I can carry more weight than most people combined, I have a wider and broader structure body wise than most women (not brolic or overly masculine) so I used to always get disprescted by pedestrians no matter HOW i presented myself publicly. I could be dressed up in head to toe pink kpop girl style outfits to HIGHLY show I am a female but still have some old ass punk or disrespectful poc passively call me a man just because of my height. So with that being said if I threw in the towel and said fuck it. I'll be both and just do whatever I felt one day i.e being very traditionally masculine one day then very feminine the next? I could pull it off and people would assign me my gender based on how they precieve what a man or woman looks like?

ANYWAYS

honey it's what we as people have defined and made. Not myself, but human kind in the west and some people overseas as well. I can't go any further cause this is very slipper territory. I'm just going to tell you straight up none of this existed about 10-15 years ago and that's a fact at least on the broader level. Nobody was walking down the street in collective pacts saying they were all of those things very openly. they may have defined themselves as that but there was a not a big liberation for that. This is why I used to always bring up age in past kpop talks cause age does have an affect if you can remember how things have evolved since like maybe 2001?

that's all. it's strictly by science male x female unless you are born with a defect that makes you have 2 gentials which you can get surgery to correct. but gender identity is a social construct and nobody implements this onto you but you yourself.

[deans-asscot]

I am not white so your accusations that I’m using POC when I am one myself is ridiculously wrong. I own up to not liking Gen, that doesn’t mean calling out the nepotism and white privilege isn’t completely justified. I genuinely like Lindsey and think she really does deserve better. Since Jared is EP he has more control and a lot of responsibility lies with him. She is a great woman, the kind of woman I would’ve expected Jared to end up with. Not an ugly loser like Gen. She didn’t put her career on pause btw. They didn’t have kids right away, she was just sitting at home jobless for two years before their first kid. No one must’ve wanted to hire such a terrible actress.

Hello again (guessing this is the same anon). I don't know if English is your native language but seeing as how you were able to dump this garbage and the previous one in my ask, I'm gunna assume you're fluent enough to understand what I wrote and you're simply electing to ignore it. I LITERALLY said that I dont care if you're a POC too. My point stands. POC are just as guilty as white ppl when it comes to using other POC for convenience. Exhibit A being you. Except when POC do it ppl are less likely to call them out for fear of potentially crossing a line. Unluckily for you I am a latinx, and since we are specifically talking about a latinx person that you are using, I have zero worries about calling you out.

Interestingly enough I brought up 5 points and your only real defense is your ethnicity/race (which we have already established doesnt grant you immunity). You continue to degrade a woman out of jealousy, so again I doubt you really care about WOC much less women in general. You cry nepotism (again) so like I said blame the network not the woman who is trying to do her job that she is technically qualified for. And finally, nobody cares who you THINK Jared should have "end[ed] up with", he is a real person not a fictional character you can ship. He makes his own decisions. Just like Gen does. Whatever she chose to do or not do with her life is none of your business.

If you admire Lindsey so much then go support her. But stop using her as an excuse to attack others. Supporting Lindsey does NOT equal hating on Gen. You're making Lindsey look bad. Come off anon and let's see if your blog rly holds up to what you say. Give me the CHANCE to block you and other hateful ppl like yourself. Or better yet just block me and be over with it. If you're staying on anon cuz you're a minor (which you honestly sound like it, with your logic) then please stop interacting with me. I am not a teenager, I'm an adult and I dont feel comfortable dissing a teen online 🤷🏽 I haven't gone on Jared/Walker stans posts or blogs to drop hate or disagree, I made MY OWN posts stating my opinion and calling out the horrid behavior I see. I suggest you make your own posts and stop trying to defend yourself with me, cuz it aint working.

[breadzine]

Module 103

Editorial practice for the fashion environment

Save the dates : visiting lecturers , Denzel currie(curry goat , influencer , illustrator)

12th of March

Rachel Thomas : creative director worked with Hermes , off. White , Nike , Victoria Beckham and vogue

8th of June 12pm deadline , digital submission

Checklist

Digital zine featuring fashion editorial content

Needs to me aligned the themes , launches , community , sport of music

Choose A/W 21/22 autumn winter or newest collection

Think of new brands , why they are interesting at the moment

POTENTIAL BRANDS

- [x] ESSENTIALS FEAR OF GOD

HOUSE OF SUNNY BRAND

SISTERS AND SEEKERS

MYAEMADE

500-700 words with accompanying 3-8 images

Chosen brand has to appeal to the same reader as your chosen theme

Interview or investigation

Ask to interview

Olivia grace herring

Lissy Roddy

Lauren Crowe

Leah abott

Lecture

Look at the themes and industry partner

What’s the usp

Unique point/ preposition

Format of the zine is up to you

A zine is independent, very diy and independently published , niche and tangible

We will be working with size

Launches -

Launches of a new product that’s coming out

Opinion pieces

One product that’s going to be launched on one date eg supreme drop or exclusive trainer drop

Think about a LOOK-BOOK

Community- eg enthusiasts

Feminists , blm movement

Culture

Sport -

Athlesuire ? Sort that has influenced fashion

Sporty spice

Music -

Old school hip hop linked with fashion

Drum and bass

Format needs to be A5

Minimum of 7 DPS (14 pages )

(8pages )

TASKS FOR 103 TO GO INTO WORKBOOK

Task 1

What is a zine ?

Zine short for fanzine

It’s a creative platform kind of like a blog

Definition from wiki : self-published work of original or appropriated texts and images, usually reproduced via a copy machine. Zines are the product of either a single person or of a very small group, and are popularly photocopied into physical prints for circulation

How does it differ ?

What’s the history of zines ?

Look at 3 examples of zines

3 examples of zines

1. ILLUMINATI GIRL GANG -about feminism started with a tumblr blog addresses online debates surrounding women in the art world.

https://www.peopleofprint.com/collective/illuminati-girl-gang/

https://www.polyesterzine.com

2. Polyester zine - a print magazine by ione gamble

3. Based in New Jersey and made "by teens, for teens," Crybaby is only a year old, but has already gained a cult following, each issue selling out almost as soon as it's released. This zine is all about growing up, and its contributors have no issue getting into the nitty gritty of adolescence — experimenting with your style included. GEN Z zine

4. Hate zine - explore politics and social justice through art, photography, writing, poetry and music. In print and online. Representing people from different backgrounds; female voices are important; giving young artists and writers a means to publish their work; articles that touch upon the shit that's going on; and not presenting real issues in an ignorant, glossy way," she said. All these zines combine visuals, fashion, and social justice in a way that mainstream media often seems to struggle executing. Not only will you be able to learn about current issues alongside underground trends, as well as discover new creative talent both in the beauty industry and outside it, but by supporting these independent zines, you'll know that you're money is going to those who can use it to further the causes you care about most.

https://www.hatezine.co.uk

Source - https://www.bustle.com/articles/150513-7-fashion-zines-to-support-if-you-love-underground-political-style-photos

Task 2

Potential title : How black artists paved the way for old skool hip hop

What is your angle ?

To show how black culture has always played a huge part in fashion and music

Theme - Music

How POC changed the music game with “old skool hip hop “and how this influenced the fashion industry and still does

Key words

Nas , biggie , Tupac , eazy e , n.w.a

Chosen brand

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theatlantic.com/amp/article/557474/

Task 3

Look at at least 3 journalists I’ve screen-shotted that I don’t already know seek out their work & start with their SM or a google search

Make a note of everything that I’ve read in the workbook

Recap on tasks

Module 103- the editors letter

“Welcome to my world”

What editorial is

Anything that’s not paid for or sponsored content

Features

Articles

Interviews

Opinion pieces

Photography

Design

Illustrations

Listings

Editors letter - editorial overview or policy

Can be called a mission statement or manifesto as well

Gives

Reputation, integrity

Promise ethics and niche

Should welcome and intrigue the reader

What are media kits?

Useful for if you’re looking at certain groups of consumers

Look at vogues media kit or pack in to google

Not all kits have them

The kit comes from the publisher

500-700 words

“ for the people by the people “

Think about pages colour matte black looks nice

Research Poster zine & club sandwich

Potential titles

Ninety

Or something to do with 90’s slang

“noventa”

Look into rappers second ethnicity’s choose most popular language to write ninety’s in

103 lecture 3

Editor / editor in cheif

Lots of different types

Junior stylist / fashion assistant

They would be working for the main stylist or creative director

More organisational work , it’s about co ordinating , working on set , getting the samples in , sometimes planning shoots and meetings

Director of photography

In charge Studio manager of photographyer

Helping prep things , looking at casting equipment, studio hiring, helping with hospitality and technical aspects

Digital / social editor

Social media person would be the leader

Would be helping to create content

Would be analysing what’s worked in the past , what trends are popular

Art director/ creative director

Responsible the visible style and the publication of the object and the branding in the bigger picture

Working with stylists and photographers and content creators and designers

Big role

Graphic designer

Thinks about how they can design or suprise the customer base

Publication design

The branding of the magazine

They might work on pos , store identity & visuals

More often called designers

The flip side of working with the press

Working with the press

Pr intern assistant

Would work under press officer

Helping a brand reach out to press and get editorial content

Doing press influencer days

[jinxedncharmed]

Have i ranted lately about how much I fucking love “City of brass?” I fucking love this book. I don’t know how many times I’ve reread it. I’m slowly annotating it. I have “kingdom of copper"s release date on my calendar. Why isn’t everyone talking about this book? It’s incredible and pushes all my book buttons. I can’t even express the reasons I love it in full depth. I can’t like adequately convey why I love it and how much I love it. I mean, broadly speaking, one reason I do is the setting. Unique, you don’t see a lot of western fiction setting its stories in 1800 Afghanistan, with characters both nonwhite and Muslim. I haven’t read many fantasy stories about a realm inspired by Islamic and Arabic folklore and myth. "Aladdin,” of course, Scherezade, and I’ve read some Conrad and Kipling, and HR Haggard, and probably a random short story or two, but not a lot. And of course given our political climate, why risk featuring anyone Muslim at all? So it’s great to read a fantasy featuring PoC and an amazing pantheon of mythic creatures and stories that I’m not familiar with. Second reason to love it is the incredible story. So much political intrigue! There are so many mysteries remaining at the end of the book, driving me nuts! What is the truth behind Dara’s ring, is it just his enslaving charm or is it a counter to the seal? Is Nahri actually Menizheh’s daughter, or Menizheh in disguise, or not related at all? We dont even know if she’s a shafit or a daeva. Was anything the king said to Nahri and Dara in their first meeting true? Was Menizheh his lover? Was she really a friend? Or is he just playing the game, making the soothing remarks expected by constituents who wait to hear what a politician says about a dead rival? How’d she fake her death? Or did she? Is Ali the king’s true son? Did Zaynab try to murder Nahri that first night, not just get her drunk? What’s Nasreen’s real story? Is Jamshid secretly a Nahid? Are all Daevas now descended from the Nahids, as part of a rebellion plan? This isn’t even like a tenth of the questions I have. Very engaging and entertaining story. Related to that, the writing is, in the technical sense, near flawless. The narrative technique of alternating point of view characters per chapter is nothing new, but it is utilized to great effect, allowing chakraboty to control the pacing of the book, and boy does she, keeping readers on a roller coaster of cliff-hangers and gasp-inducing betrayals. Textbook tricks of conflict-driven storytelling, such as misunderstandings, just-missed-each-others, deliberate sabotage, multiple players with unique motivations, and plain dumb luck, are employed perfectly, keeping the story realistic and playing fair with your reader, keeping them guessing with misdirection that would be the envy of any master magician. The catty politics are deliciously indulgent, better than anything on daytime soaps. The players are all so clever, and sometimes they’re devious and sometimes they’re shameless, and it is fun! The way it is written is phenomenal, the way that writing tools are used is perfect. Like, when you’re teaching writing, use “City of brass” to illustrate what those tools are, how to use them successfully, and how to tweak but not break them. Now well I will say this, that I thought some of the dialogue, particularly regarding the syntax and vocabulary of the speakers, is sometimes anachronistic. There is also a lot of information that is tough for a reader to absorb, such as unfamiliar/made-up terminology, unfamiliar character names, and a complex and unfamiliar setting. I caught and better understood a lot more of the various plot points and political thorns in my second read-thru, thereby further enriching my experience of the story. So all that world building exposition can be overwhelming and move a bit too fast in some places. Another huge reason to love this book is its morality. For me, this is a book where it’s hard to label your hero and villain. Who’s in the wrong, and who’s in the right? Was it wrong for the Nahids to murder shafit? Their covenant to Suleiman was to leave humans alone, and they were terrified to let the djinn breed with them, so does that justify killing shafit? Is Dara right when he says in his time the shafit were treated like animals, as subhuman? Does that justify his prejudice, if that was all he was ever taught? Sins of the parents passing to children and all that; bigotry learned from parents’ example? Are the Qahtanis morally justified in overthrowing the Nahids in order to protect the shafit? Or is that last disqualifier a dealbreaker, and they overthrew the Nahids for their personal benefit, not for the shafit? Does it matter whether they give the former or the latter as their reason? If they aren’t morally justified in their coup, is Dara ethically right to start a rebellion? After all, Qathani killed his family well not personally. Was Dara right to take his revenge on his human masters, after he was enslaved and heavily abused? Why or why not? I love that I can’t parse out in a logical, moral process with empirical evidence, which party has a legit grievance and which’s being a drama queen. I really applaud chakraboty for pulling off this immensely difficult technique in creating a true morally ambiguous story. She does it better than Rowling, as in HP good and evil were the usual cliched stereotypes and people were easily sorted into the correct side, good or evil. The gray morality is a massive plus for the book. And finally, the characters. I have strong feelings for these characters, and that's what writers want, for readers to react in some way any way to their character. I like Nahri, she’s clever and jaded and trying to survive political machinations, and I want to know who wants her and why, who her family is, why she was abandoned. I want her to come out the winner in this trilogy, whatever that means. And I ship Nahri/Dara, it is the OTP, as is Muntadhir/Jamshid, Jamshid on top, shut up its my headcanon. I hate Ali, and it’s fun but also a little shameful to do so. He is the oldest 18-year-old ever. Hes a sanctimonious prick, a holier than thou cultist. But boy does he have a rough time, everything goes wrong for him despite his nauseating piety and seriousness, and at first it’s funny to see him get suckered but then the stakes go up and you sympathize with him. I’m interested in his emotional development, what the psychological arc is going to be for him. I mean he needs to get fucking laid so bad. Also he’s like half crocodile now so we’ll see where that goes. And of course Dara. I fucking love Dara so fucking much. He’s just so extra all the time. Raising those shedu, breaking that glass table with his bare fist, calling the king a sandfly to his face, tipping over his teacup and pouting, the way he killed the rukh, the way he reacts to nightmares. Dry and witty, and more clever than you think, and cunning. Unbelievably fucked in the head. Fragile, outrageously delicate, like two triggers away from a complete and murderous breakdown. A serious PTSD sufferer with mental trauma from an actually horrible life, even before his 14 centuries of slavery. That boy has suffered, and it’s made him hard and focused and isolated, even while his high intelligence keeps him spewing shrewd insults and nailing his power moves, and his emotional self remains a soft gooey ball buried deep inside. Honorable, racist, judgmental, a man who follows his moral code with integrity, arrogant, powerful, a hero, a war criminal, a legend, a demon, a scourge, a victim, a pawn, a master of his own destiny, clever, rude, obstinate, dead?, genuinely kind, noble, grieving, dignified, mysterious, gentlemanly, depressed, and dangerously fucked up. Oh I love it, ahhh, the angst tastes so good, i'm creasing my eyes in pleasure lol and the hurt/comfort aspect, ooooooh it just hits every nerve ending in a perfect ping. It won’t be a happy ending for him, a tragic hero like that always dies, ask Shakespeare, but I really wish he would make it, not just live but have a fucking happy ending, he gets the girl, he gets the throne, he gets a therapist and a bottle of Cymbalta and a recommendation to smoke one joint twice a day. Please he deserves a happy ending, what with all his suffering. The way Sirius and Remus both deserved happy-ever-afters. The way Gen does too, in the “Queen’s Thief” series, and which he also probably won’t get. But oh man I want Dara to be happy, whatever that means. Anyway, this book rocks, dying for the next one, everyone should read this book, it is fucking fun.