Why You Should/ShouldN'T Play DOTA2

Defense of The Ancients 2- a popular game in the geek world, filled with your classic characters, the tanks, the mages, the support and the thrill of battle between the classes. I got hooked up to this game by my brother earlier this year (sometime after summer) and I'll admit, the game is enjoyable and fairly easy to conduct. However, there are a couple of downsides to this game too. 

What is DOTA2 about though? Basically, it's a game set in a closed arena. You'll have five characters on each side with a base and a couple of towers, making ten characters in play. You have creeps spawning after every few minutes. Your job is to take your creep wave into the enemy land and destroy their base (called Ancient, thus Defense of the Ancient). 

If I had read an article like the one I'm going to write- before I had started playing- I probably would have thought twice about downloading it and stopped playing without thinking twice. But that's just what I would have done and what a lot of people wouldn't do. Nevertheless, here's all you need to know about-

Let's talk about why you should play DOTA2 and what is it exactly that makes this game enjoyable and addicting? (I'd ask my brother but he's kind of busy in a match at the moment) DOTA noob Kanra is here to do some game promotion!

First of all- the graphics of this game are amazing. From the characters, to the creeps, to the entire arena, the look of everything is amazing. You'd think such a detailed game would lag and go really slow but actually, game play is smooth and you can just sit and watch your character run here and there and be amazed. The characters (called "heroes") are produced to appear lifelike- while standing, they appear to be breathing and if you leave them alone too long, they'll probably do a tap dance to entertain themselves. (Oh and if you write LOL in chat, they actually LAUGH OUT LOUD). (I just had to say that).

The arena, or the battlefield has great graphics too. Change between day and night causes the arena to appear completely different during the respective time. Heroes running over water creates ripples and if you happened to have used a tango on a tree, you can watch it disappear and then suddenly shoot up in a rapid replay of growth several minutes later.

Developers don't make games for beauty though. They make it so that you find yourself challenged. I said, earlier, that conducting the game is fairly easy- you direct your Hero to a location with a mouse, move the camera with the keyboard, select spells and target with your cursor. It sounds easy but the game is dynamic. You have five Heroes on each side (ten players in all, including you) and each of them acts individually (whether playing against Bots or against Players). Then you have the Creeps who come out wave after wave, trying to push into enemy territory. Oh, also, remember how everyone is individual? That means they have a Hero who also has their own unique powers which they can use whenever they want and maybe end up killing you over and over and not letting your Hero do anything heroic. (see what I did there)

The game isn't that simple, we conclude. There are lots of things that compound to this fact. There is no easy way to play the game. You must fight if you want to level up and get money- but if you die, you lose a whole chunk and your respawn time increases after each death (along with the cash needed if you want to get out early). However if you manage to kill a Hero, you might get a substantial increase in cash (depends on how much the Hero was carrying) along with a boost in experience. Each character has different stats- mages are squishy, tanks are tanky and carrys love to gank. But guess what- there's a shop in the game and you can build up your character in ANY way you want. You could take the squishy Crystal Maiden and make her a tank by boosting her strength stats, increasing her health and raising her defenses (provided you manage to hoard enough money without getting killed- which would be really difficult considering how squishy she is, but okay).

Point to be noted? DOTA2 has a variety of characters and playing styles to choose from. You could turn a support based character into a carry, or a mage into a ganker or whatever, really. You take your character and you build it up the way you want. There are three major stats in each character, being strength (increases health points) agility (increases the number of attacks per second) or intelligence (increases your mana pool). Personally, I'm a big fan of agility characters- I like watching my Heroes hit rapidly and pull down someone's health points. But you could give your Hero lots of health and have them survive longer in fights (and maybe be able to get out alive, thus saving you money) or give them intelligence based items and have an enormous mana pool to spam spells from without burning out! The choice is completely yours.

Remember what I said about there being ten players in all? And each of them being individual and unique? DOTA2 is a game based on strategy and teamwork. I've seen some of the Bots of DOTA2 play really cleverly- luring a player with a loner Hero deep into enemy lanes to have the rest of the team gank on it and wipe you out (and I've been wiped like that, honestly). This is a game where, along with your own playing, you have to keep an eye out on what your team mates are doing and lend a hand in if possible. Everyone's Hero is different and has different abilities- there's definitely a time for each of them to shine- provided you know what you're doing. Also, if you've done teamwork sort of work, you'd know how hard it is to get everything just right- so it's going to be doubly hard doing that, whether it's with Bot teammates or Player teammates, adding to the challenge of the game.

What are my favorite Heroes in DOTA2? Well, I'm biased towards long range characters. I love the way I can stand outside the fight and get a few hits and run away before I get killed (which doesn't happen that much, sadly). At the same time, I like female Heroes. (I'm incredibly biased, amn't I?) Nevertheless, here are top three heroes in my list who are..

Female

Drow Ranger (Agility based Long range Hero), Legion Commander (Strength based Melee Hero), Lina (Intelligence based Long Range Hero)

Over Powered

Bloodseeker (Agility based Melee Hero), Viper (Agility+Intelligence based Long Range Hero), Sniper (Agility based Long Ranged Hero)

Personal Favorites

Legion Commander (because she's so awesome), Viper (because he poisons and how cool is that), Sniper (because running away with him sounds easy and he mega kills around level 15ish)

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We talked about the dazzling side of DOTA2 but I promised to write why you shouldN'T play as well! And that's exactly what we're going to talk about now. The game sounds amazing and intriguing but- why shouldn't you play it?

First of all, this game is highly addicting. You'll be having so much fun building up your character in each game and trying to kill other people and dying that you won't realize how much time you've spent on one game (which is an average of at least thirty minutes to a full hour- if we're talking about the shortest time span). Think about it. You need to level up your character, carry your creep wave to the enemy, destroy towers, kill Heroes, advance deeper in and then raid the base- while your enemy is doing the absolute same. It's definitely going to take quite a bit of time.

On top of that, since every game starts with all the characters at level one, it's going to add to the addiction. How about I build this character in that way now? How about I take another character? How about I play as a jungler and just farm next time? There are a variety of Heroes, build up styles, playing styles and not to mention the situation itself, making each and every game you play unique. The possibilities of game play is endless and just as engaging as the first. 

On the other hand, DOTA2 can also get extremely frustrating (doesn't that happen in every game?). It is difficult to "learn" to be a pro player- even by practice- so if you're a newbie who didn't click in to the set up, chances are you'll never click in (yeah, that's me). If you mess up in a game once, chances are that you're going to be targeted (whether by bots or players) because your mistake will make you look vulnerable. Even if you're strong, all your enemies are going to go for killing you first because you'll look easy and against a big group, you will be the first to fall. All because of that one tiny mistake.

So you frequently mess up your game and keep getting targeted and you want to improve your playing style. Let me tell you something- I've been playing for a while and I haven't figured out how to level up my own playing so I can't advise anyone on that. Also, I don't like admitting I'm a really bad player. Conclusion? More frustration while badly playing a game you're already bad at and can't improve in.

Last but not least, DOTA2 has the option of online play. Oh, let me warn you. The DOTA2 community is harsh and unforgiving. Online rules aside, I'm talking about the players. If you die, you're stamped as a noob loudly and if you repeat that mistake (even after repeatedly announcing your own noob-ness) there are high chances of being abused. Oh and you know what I do? I mute all my team mates and don't get to see what they're saying and then I do whatever I want and make the team lose. This is going to happen every single time so I just stick to bot games nowadays.

But if we decide to put aside the issues put up by players in online play, we end up with two other problems. First of all, while playing online, you cannot PAUSE the game (because there's other people playing and they're not going to like the pause) so forget playing online casually. You would really have to sit down and dedicate a solid hour to your game, playing online. Next, if you lag, you can say "Game Over" for you because not only does only YOUR game stop, but your character is going to be stranded and (1) miss out on experience and loot (2) become easy killing targets if abandoned near your area frontier. Easy solution to online play would be to just play offline with bots. Much less hassle.

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So here's why you should and shouldn't play DOTA2. I've put my reasons forward, coupled with my own experiences and now it's your turn to decide on what you're going to do. Are you going to dive into this rich world of Heroes and battle or just do the smart thing and walk past?

Five Reasons to Watch The Legend of Korra (GIF heavy)

With Season Four almost halfway done and most of the fandom crying about how only a couple of weeks are left and compounded by the release of the last Naruto chapter which concludes the decade running series, I decided to publish this post.

It sounds simple enough, I try convincing you to watch The Legend of Korra and, depending on your perspective, you start watching it! But here's where two things about this post stand out. First off- GIF spam. I love GIF files and tumblr has a mega database for Korra GIFS. Second off, I'm going to sit down and be realistic- there are some negatives to this show and I will tell you what I think about them. However, good things first! Let's talk about why you should watch "The Legend of Korra", starting with an introduction.



The Legend of Korra is an animated television show (later shifted to internet releases) hosted on Nickelodeon and created by the same team that produced Avatar: The Last Airbender. It takes place after ATLA and focuses on the next Avatar, a waterbender girl (named Korra) who is technically from the country and moves in to Republic City to do her Avatar business! Oh- and check this out. The world is already introduced to cars and radios! So it's pretty interesting seeing old fashioned technology in this alternate universe. (Usually you have no technology at all or extremely high tech stuff in animated series).

Now, why should you watch the Legend of Korra?

Realistic and Individual Characters

Example #1

Varrick- the mad scientist and rich investor guy who is actually the smartest person in the entire series but seems really whimsical and selfish- until you find out what he's been doing to contribute to the ending. Also, when I mean selfish, he is REALLY selfish- but manages to get people to support him. Also, he's starting to develop a conscious (Season 4 spoiler xD)

Example #2

This is Bolin. He's comedic relief but often turns out to be doing EXACTLY what you want to do or makes happen what you want happen. One such example is his display of fangirling over Lord Zuko (yeah, the Zuko from the first Avatar The Last Airbender).

Example #3

This is ice princess Eska (Season 2) who is... literally made of ice. She's also super awkward (along with her twin ish brother, Desna) but seems to have no idea about it or doesn't care at all (I think it's the latter). Also an interesting character.

Example #4

Say hello to Asami Sato- beautiful rich girl who is also super smart and business-savy. She runs an entire tech company which produces cars and robots but that doesn't stop her from getting into business with Korra and lending a hand during fights (whether it's in a plane or on ground). And yes, her father is a diabolical genius (more on that below).

The Importance of Family
Both series, Avatar The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra focus on the importance of family relationships- and a wide variety too.
There's Mako and Bolin, the two brothers who manage to get along pretty well and find their distant family from their dad's side, including a lovely grandmother who adores them.
Then there's Asami and her father who was one of the villains in the first season- who try patching up their relationship in season four while portraying the journey towards that goal (Asami trying to hurt her father by saying how she hates him but her father still loves her and it's sincere).
Korra's relationship with her parents is also explored in depth in season two where she finds out a lot of things she hadn't known about her father, her original anger and sense of betrayal followed by acceptance, understanding and further strengthening of bonds.
The relationships between Aang's children and Tenzin's children is also explored quite a bit- each ending with the conclusion that no matter how different your family is or how weird they are or how much they annoy you, they're the ones who will always have your back and stick with it.
I think the messages given from this aspect are amazing and are definitely a major reason to watch the Legend of Korra for!

Amazing Animation and Battle Sequence

Example 1

Example 2

I

I love how they included the little detail of sand falling off the rock as she brings it over.

The best animation- ever. I haven't seen anything that is on par with the beauty that is in each and every Legend of Korra fight. You will not a find sketchy details and characters twisted during the fight the way you have in animes like Naruto (*cough* Pain arc *cough*). Each scene is detailed and the characters are portrayed realistically- they DO get tired and exhausted- they're not war machines rampaging till someone's dead.

The Strong Female Cast
Most hit cartoons and animes have leads that are male, for example animated Marvel and DC shows like Batman and Spiderman or animes, like One Piece or Bleach, and yet shows like these manage to target both, the male and female audience. Although these shows target 50% of viewers that are male, you'll find more than that watching without being judged for it.
If they happen to be female, they are usually used to target the female audience and dismissed by the male audience as girly or stupid. An example of a show like that would be The Powerpuff Girls- where the three main characters are strong, female, individual and pass on worthy messages to the audience. However, the show is dismissed by the male viewers and this tends to affect the female viewers as well. (Oh so you like PPG! That kids show! You need to grow up!) (Excuse me, Teen Titans is a kids show too)
There are exceptions to these two cases though. We have shows like Teen Titans which has two female heroines, both strong, independent and have a fleshed out character. Then there's anime like Attack on Titan which also has a strong female cast- not as thoroughly developed- but individual and self standing.
If the female lead is in a show aimed at both genders, it's probably a shoujo anime with lots of romance and stuff- where you'll have the lead sexualized, stereotyped, unrealistic and filled with fan service.
(This point is open to discussion, If you can present to me a show or anime with a female lead who is strong, individual and presenting a worthy role model and not reduced to fanservice, comment below and please don't write something like Asuna because she is not the main lead, Kirito is and plus, that anime borders the harem genre also don't say Sakura because tbh it's all about Sasuke and Naruto- ONLY)
The Legend of Korra is basically the Legend of Korra. This is all about Korra. She is the character who runs the show and the show manages to have a balanced audience of male and female viewers. Korra has been built in a way that appeals to both genders- she is strong, aggressive and powerful while being feminine, individual and realistic. But she's not the only female character here!
You'll find that there are more female characters in the show without you even noticing. And they can be on both sides, good and bad. None of them have been portrayed as weak or dependent on a male character. Every single one of them is self-standing and has more than one dimension. There is no gender stereotype or fan service or anything causing it to fall into a category other than it's own.

Strong Fandom

And you know what strong fandom means?! It means LOADS of beautiful art, lots of discussions, GIFS and you'll definitely find lots of little tid bits you wouldn't have noticed in the episode if you hadn't met this fandom. (Plus, someone who's going to ship your ships with you).

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Now- why SHOULDN'T you watch The Legend of Korra?

The only reason I found to put in this section was that THERE'S ONLY FOUR SEASONS.

Okay, but in all honesty, I did find some things lacking. For example, the romance in the first season was awkward and difficult to watch but thankfully, it got better afterwards. Then some people complained about Korra seemed to lack developement as a character- she kept on charging into battle first and thinking later- but in my opinion, this was something she had been doing right from the beginning and it's begun to change in the fourth season, so all you Korra haters, calm down!

Mako was frankly a really annoying sort of guy but he has his moments and he has also vastly improved in Season Three. 

So, what are you waiting for? The first three seasons are available online- as well as the fourth season episodes which are being released every Friday. Sit down with some coffee and enjoy your winter evenings with some Legend of Korra. ^^

The Ideal Blogger (#1) Follow and Feedback

I've had a lot of spare time on my hands and I had been spending it on browsing fresh blogs, leaving comments and adding a blog or two to my personal follow list. I think I've seen a lot of blogs that seemed to be missing a spark or so and after reading "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie, I have understood what it means to be an ideal blogger. 

I'm not saying my blog is ideal, but that we could all work together to the goal of being so with the blogging epiphany I had. I'd like to share my ideas and opinions with you and it would be fantastic if you guys shared something back. So, without further ado, I present to you my blog post trilogy.

Following and receiving feedback is something you cannot achieve without your readers. If you want more comments and more followers, you need your readers to do it for you. So here's the question.

How can you make your readers do what you want them to do?

"The only way I can get you to do anything is by giving you what you want.

What do you want?" 

So what do most bloggers want? Let's make a list.

--> increased traffic on their blog
--> comments on their posts
--> new followers
--> a feeling of importance or pride for their blog and their writing.

Let's face it, people are usually thinking about themselves whenever they do something. When bloggers design their pages, they think along the lines of "this will make my blog beautiful" - "This will increase my traffic" - "This will make me look better" instead of thinking along the lines of "this will make navigation for my readers easier" - "this will help readers find something they want to read" - "this will keep my readers interested".

There is a subtle difference between the two streams of thought. One focuses on what you want, the other focuses on what your readers want- and I think we all know how important attitude is!

"If there is any one secret of success," said Henry Ford, "it lies in the ability to get the other person's point of view and see things from his angle as well as your own"

 If you want someone to comment on or follow your blog, why should they do so? Would talking about how feedback makes me happy or how feedback makes my day better or how much I love feed back make you want to do it? No it doesn't! Think about it this way.

Reader: Hmm, this blog is nice, I suppose. The posts are average but it has over 50 followers. Perhaps I should leave a comment with my blog linked in it.
Blogger: Please leave a comment! I love comments! They make me happy!
Reader: I know they make you happy- heck they'd make anyone happy! The question is, will you actually look at what I had to say and will you come to my blog and see what I write about too?
Blogger: I have 200 followers! I'm too busy to comment back- did you see the 160 comments on my last post- let alone follow a noob blog like yours that only has 10 follows! I have better things to do!
Reader: Then why should I bother commenting on your post or follow your blog?
Blogger: To make me happy of course!

This is an imaginary conversation a reader has with a blogger who "loves feedback" but hardly ever gives anything in return.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Trying to appreciate your readers before they comment is not a good idea and is fairly annoying if that's your tactic for garnering more comments. What you need to do is offer your readers and incentive to comment and later on, follow. Here are some example for the text that appears before the comment form

Bad: I love comments!
Good: I reply to each and every comment!
Bad: Please share your thoughts on what I wrote!
Good: Please leave a link to your blog so I can comment back!

All this discussion was for new bloggers and new traffic. But how can you get your current followers to engage with you on their blog? Here's a list!

#Give Them Honest Feedback

No, this doesn't mean you point out their errors or start arguing with them. It means you take the best of their post and trying making the blogger feel important. You must be

"...hearty in their appreciation and lavish in their praise..."

No flattery! Sit down and read the post! Think along the following lines.

"What part of this post stood out? What part did I find interesting? How would I describe this post? Did it inspire me in any sort of way? Did it amuse me? Did it remind me of something I used to do myself? Would I like to read something similar again?"

Did anything positive come to your mind? Good! Write it down in the comment section.

#Tag Them in Awards

Here's your chance to talk about the things you love and answer questions made just for you and  keep your readers engaged- because they're the ones who are going to be nominated! Make sure you correctly mention their names, their blog's name and link it properly. It also wouldn't hurt to write a couple of sentences about each nominee- maybe about why you nominated them, what kind of blogger they are or just a heartfelt compliment. Remember, we are aiming for our readers to feel important. Your words should make them realize that you read everything they say and that you are genuinely interested in what their response to your tag/award would be.

#Add Their Blog to Your Blog

There are lots of ways you could do this. Here are three such ways.

• Swap buttons with your readers
• Place their blog on the blogfeed widget that can be put on your sidebar
• Mention their names and blogs on a post that was inspired by something they wrote.

#Utilize Social Media

Do you have links to your twitter/facebook/tumblr/other media? Are you giving out your blog email for contacting? Well and good- but remember, you need to CHECK up on those links too! There WILL be occasional bloggers who tweet to you or decide to email to you (they will be uncommon, or even rare, but they exist. Trust me, I'm one of those random people) but what I've noticed is that once a social media profile is set up for a blog, it is usually abandoned or simply inactive. But- there are some brilliant bloggers out there who are on social media and who actually take the time to reply to you.

One of my favorite bloggers, Riley Sinclair tweets every now and then and I tweet back to her. She's super nice and makes me feel really special when she thanks me for my responses to her updates. Learn from the pro bloggers who make YOU feel worth it. Remember, blogging is a social platform. You're not getting a fan-following on your blog- you're making a circle of friends!

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Let's sum up what we're going to try to aim for from today onwards.

*A change of attitude- focusing on what your readers want instead of what you want and find something that satisfies both parties.

*Offer your reader incentives to comment/follow

*Make your readers feel important as an individual blogger.

*Be genuinely interested in your readers and encourage them to talk about their opinions.

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Everything highlighted in pink are excerpts from the book "How to Win Friends and Influence People" by Dale Carnegie.

Part Two of this post trilogy will be Content and Consistency.

Did you find anything lacking or any new point that could be added? It would be my pleasure to add your insights and examples to this post (I'll credit you, of course).

INQILAAB! REVOLUTION!

I don't know if this shows up on your news feed or news channel or whatevers but Pakistan is currently having a revolution which is... not exactly a revolution. Basically, there's this guy called Imran Khan who won us the Cricket world cup some decades ago and now he's here to try winning us a Democracy cup (cause yknow, Pakistan looks like it's either run by families who take turns on the seat of power, or the military). Now, let's get this clear, I don't have much to say against Imran Khan because honestly, he seems pretty cool most of them time, but that was until he decided to bring this "inqilaab".

[Inqilaab means revolution]

This was brought about by the Azadi (Freedom) March which was around the 14th of August which is also Pakistan's Independence Day. Of course, at first we thought it would fun and games, a march on Independence Day and more festivity and nationalism and patriotism and all the other isms that suddenly makes us emotional slaves of our country for those precious 24 hours of the year where EVERYONE decides to take a selfie in green and tag it as #OMGIHEARTPAKISTAN and #ILOVEMYCOUNTRY while the rest of the year its something like #IwishIlivedinUSA or #PakistanIsSoLame or whatever. I'm not judging this bit, but what I AM judging is how this day got mixed up with Imran Khan's march and suddenly, it wasn't "Happy Independence Day"- it was "Azadi! GO PTI!!"

[PTI is Imran Khan's political party, it stands for Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf, or Pakistan Movement for Justice]

Like, excuse me. What? WHAT?!

And you know what was even more unforgivable? It was how Imran Khan was suddenly equated with Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan. If you ask my opinion, I haven't seen Imran Khan do anything as good on such a large scale as what Jinnah did- he cannot be even placed parallel to Jinnah.

I think I'll say this again, I don't have a problem with Imran Khan. But I don't have a problem with John Green and TFIOS either- but I just didn't get the hype about them. Same with Imran Khan. My newsfeed is FLOODED with #ILoveImranKhan and #ImranKhanIsMyLeader but honestly, he has been sitting in the capital of this country for almost a week now (maybe less, but the city HAS been semi-locked down for a week) and he hasn't got anything to show for it except for tons of biased updates where people are like

OMG I HAVE NEVER SEEN SUCH SOLIDARITY IN PAKISTAN

IMRAN KHAN WILL DEFINITELY BRING INQILAAB

THE MARCH IS GOING GREAT

(GOODNESS GRACIOUS PEOPLE, GET A GRIP. THIS CROWD HAS BEEN SITTING HERE FOR DAYS AND NOTHING HAS HAPPENED YET. OBVIOUSLY SOMETHING IS NOT GOING VERY GOOD)

The thing is, Imran Khan has the support of all the wrong people. He has the undying support of the youth- more than half of which can't even legally vote yet. They'll all come out in the streets and party and go wild and have fun, but they can't give him their votes because they DONT HAVE IT TO BEGIN WITH.

Oh, while we talk about Imran Khan's youth support, I want to bring up the immaturity of his fans. The things I see, posted proudly by underage Imran Khan fangirls and fanboys mind boggles me. I cannot fathom how such young minds can jump from supporting Imran Khan to deciding to take matters into their own hands and insulting people of the opposite party.

Translations:-

"Hopefully I am not disturbing you, lady with the make up"

"We don't like you AT ALL"

"When you ran away to get married, didn't baldy say anything?" 

"Why don't you run away with someone again, and take baldy with you?"

"You are so lame"

"BTW. You ran away and got married, right? Awww :p If the Prime Minister can't get his daughter to listen to him, how can he expect the same of his nation?"

[Ganjay, or baldy refers to the current Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif]

I think it's fine if you tweet to the person things like "I don't think you should comment on this" or "I don't support you" or "I don't agree with your stances" but it's a completely different story if you decide to drag in that person's personal life and mix it up with their politics and then spew it out venomously- especially if you're underage and don't even have a vote.

Let's take away the political affiliations from the example I quoted above. Instead of a bunch of PTI supporters insulting the married daughter of the Prime Minister, it can also be seen as harassment a woman has to face from children a decade- if not more- junior to her. Blatant display of discourtesy to elders- something that is not respected in Islam.

On top of that, it's also against Islam to speak so foully against another person. And since Imran Khan is also marching around Islamabad saying things about Iman (faith) and being Muslims and stuff, I seriously expected better behavior from both, his online fan club and the fan club present at the march (the latter fan club has been seen to be enjoying the concerts set up to entertain them as well as dancing along in shameless ways).

I tried explaining this to the person who was so proudly displaying this on their timeline by commenting about it. I immediately got a private messaging saying "You didn't need to comment that" and instant removal of it (my comment, not the post in question).

This new generation, I swear, is the most jaahil generation I have ever had the fortune to meet. 

Let's talk about the March. It has been almost a week and Imran Khan's demands seem to be getting crazier and crazier. He wants the current PM to step down and he has already declared himself as the Prime Minister of Pakistan ("Prime Minister Imran Khan will never lie to you!"). Can we talk about how wrong this is on so many levels?

First of all, Nawaz Sharif has only done one year of his term. If he does step down, doesn't Imran Khan realize that this would boost Nawaz Sharif's chance at getting hold of the PM seat again? Why? Well, firstly because 1. Nawaz Sharif has NEVER completed a term 2. He can always blame Imran Khan and say "The nation owes me another chance at fixing this country" 3. When Imran Khan messes up, Nawaz Sharif would be like "HAHA LOL I TOLD YOU IMRAN KHAN WAS NOTHING- MAKE ME PM AGAIN GUYS!"

Imran Khan should have waited till the next election before trying to display his strength as a political leader- he should have tried to become the Prime Minister in the "democratic" way- the same way he is fighting for right now. Not only would the remaining four year increase his vote bank as more fanboys and fangirls become legal, but he could also try harder to win the votes of the older population by actually doing something with the province he has won through the last election. I personally think it is hypocrisy- him demanding Nawaz Sharif to step down early and at the same time, demand democracy. It seems everyone loves using the word democracy when it means YOU get the chance to sit on the seat.

Last but not least, Pakistan has much more important problems to deal with right now, much more important than an accused feudal Prime Minister who has only done one year of his term. Pakistan has national debts, a failing economy, terrorism, health issues, power issues, security issues and growing intolerance among its people for minorities. It seems to me that Imran Khan is being used as a decoy to ensnare the attention of the masses and to keep the media busy from reporting the actual dangers Pakistan is currently facing. (Quite possibly a cover to get General Musharaf out of the country and safe from the punishment his nation wants to see inflicted on him).

May Allah protect this country from those who seek to destroy it from within.

In Search Of Humanity

Very recently, someone said to me "Nukes will bring peace". This statement is, in my opinion, the greatest contradiction I have ever heard and apparently, whoever has this opinion doesn't know about the Israel-Palestine conflict, which isn't really a conflict any more, its oppression. Has this news flashed by your eyes yet? With the World Cup and what not going on, it's hardly surprising. That's what the media is good at- diverting people's attention to what is totally unimportant.

Don't you dare contradict me to say that the World Cup is more important that the open slaughter of Palestinians, or more important that brutality comparable to the Holocaust that is happening today. And don't you dare try to make a point like "The Holocaust cannot be compared to what Israel is doing!" because excuse you, it IS comparable- or would you rather wait until this has become history taught in textbooks, or a controversial issue decades later when, no matter how much you debate on it, it can't be changed?

A lot of people are passionate when it comes to discussing the Holocaust and how inhumane that period of human history was, how thoroughly "ethnic cleansing" was carried out, how efficiently planned the entire procedure was. Well, looks like it's that time again. Where are you, when it's your chance to raise your voice and change the course of history? What makes you think that this is really just a question of terrorism and security and not of humanity?

Perhaps we should start from the beginning? Keeping  things simple, Israel is a "country" created on borrowed Palestinian land. You'd think this displaced nation would have been content to finally get their "promised land" delivered to them through the US and the UN but that's not the case at all. Now that Israel has the power to be an oppressor, it seems determined to try it out. Don't believe the oppression? Look at the figures.

And this is in just the span of three days. And if figures don't do it for you, take a look at this.

shadowhunterhalfling  shadowhunterhalfling

m-o-o-n-l-i-g-h-t-o-f-l-i-e-s: I have to say something. Everywhere, it’s a norm to teach children how to use the microwave and how to count their money — how many cents equal a dollar. My friend’s paternal family are in Gaza. She went to visit them a few years ago. When she came back, she told us about things she did with her cousins. Her aunts and uncles and her grandmother. It was the normal things you do with your relatives, you know? Except for the part where they drop to the ground when hearing an explosion nearby. They do it like it’s as natural as breathing, like it’s an everyday routine. It’s so casual, nothing new, to watch the house right next to yours being blown into pieces. Children in Palestine know the right position to be in during a nearby bombarding. And it’s not just that your house can cave in on you while having lunch that’s a norm. It’s a norm for a couple of Israeli soldiers to get into your house, take all your belongings, hit you in the head with the butts of their guns, and leave like they’re walking out a restaurant. It’s a norm to leave your house and never come back. Men and women and children in Palestine live in homes that can’t shelter them. But do they live in fear? No, they don’t. And that’s sickening. Why? Because being blown to pieces while walking on the pavement is as natural there as being approached by a mosquito. Your child is going to school, but they might never come back. Your husband’s going to work so he could afford dinner for you, but he might never come back. And you’ll have to suck it up and be okay with it and move on, because it’s a norm, and there’s nothing you can do about it. And there’s no one to care and no one to help you. It’s disgusting how even here in the rest of the Middle East, people are gathered in coffee shops watching Argentina vs Netherlands and ignoring what’s happening to their brothers and sisters in Gaza and the cities near Gaza. I see a lot of things. I see beautiful posts about acts of kindness, with hundreds of thousands of notes. I see a lot of things on Tumblr that make me feel like my faith in humanity isn’t a stupid thing I convince myself with for comfort. But look at this post. It’s about my relatives and my friends’ families and strangers who are dying in their own homes for absolutely no reason. It’s about children and young people having their lives taken and loved ones taken. It’s about a people who never knew peace, who get accused of terrorism and awful actions when in fact they’re walking in a world where wolves are out to get them and no hunters care to look their way, to offer a helping hand. I know you won’t reblog this post. But why? Please tell me why. Why are the lives of these people — not only the ones lost, but the ones existing in suffering — less important than the world cup or Dean in gym shorts? Why are you scrolling past this? #important things

2,069 notes

shadowhunterhalfling

Are you telling me that Israel’s means and ways of ruining my family’s lives are justified by their so-called intentions? Have you been to Gaza? Have you seen their homes? Can you speak in defense of those who destroyed homes? You said nothing to the video I mentioned, dear. Have you any proof that all the abuse I’m talking about isn’t true? I don’t think you can prove that to me. I’ve never met an Arab who would blow up a building. Does that make you believe that Arabs aren’t terrorists? You don’t have proof. Maybe I don’t have proof I can present to you. We can conclude from that that continuing to argue about this will get us nothing but frustration, both you and I, so I don’t think we should continue talking about this. Nobody knows everything, and every story is true according to where you stand, where your point of view is. And I completely understand why you want to argue with me about this. I’m bad-mouthing your people. I don’t want to bad-mouth anyone, and you can be angry about me telling you that Israelis are doing horrible things. You also have the right not to believe me, because I wouldn’t believe you either if you told me that my people are assaulting individuals in their homes. Israel wouldn’t have had to provide Palestinians with limited water and electricity if it hadn’t taken everything and left over a million Palestinians living in slums. We can keep talking about this, but I don’t think arguing is useful to anyone. Do you have anything else to tell me before we stop this back-and-forth talk? I’m all ears. I want to know how things are from your point of view. I told you mine. I told you that I’m not allowed to go home, that Palestine has always been like a fantasy land to me. When I was a kid, I used to ask my dad if grandpa had flying horses in his farm (silly, I know). My family always lived back-and-forth around the Middle East because they couldn’t go home. It’s a home I never knew. And even if we were allowed to go back, what are we going back for? There’s nothing left. That’s what I have to tell you, sweetie. What do you have to tell me? I’m all ears. #answered

4 notes

I stand with Gaza. I will not sit back and let Israel do what it wants. People say that commenting, posting, raging on the internet won't solve problems, but I believe that awareness IS what can solve problems. I want you to know that no matter how small my voice is, its still a voice. And as long as there is a voice to condemn these atrocities, there is hope. I want you to be aware and spread awareness. I want you to show the world that we still have humanity. This isn't a question of Palestinians or Muslims or whatever other racism that's rampant right now. This is a question of being human.

The Fault in Our Books (1)

Look what I just found on tumblr.

the-emo-wolverine-writes  annatheprincess

annatheprincess: i showed my older sister (who’s going on two years thyroid cancer free) the trailer for the fault in our stars and she thought it was ridiculous she also had this to say 'i mean, yeah it shows teenagers going through shit, but they're not showing it in the right perspective. they need to show it in more of a my sister’s keeper tone. like i know lots of people with cancer that died without falling in love, and when you have cancer you don’t go on a journey to find out who you are, it just hits you like'oh shit, i really gotta get myself in check'. you don’t automatically go 'oh you're a boy so you're the one' either. it’s not like when you have cancer you’re gonna be able to go out and go on a journey. i was laid up in bed on radiation, god. this is ridiculous.’ (i interject with a ‘what about those teen girls who are gonna see this movie and romanticize it’) ‘god they’re all gonna go to tanning beds and get cancer now like 'ALRIGHT I GOT CANCER NOW I CAN GO ON A JOURNEY AND FIND MY LOVE LIKE THE MAIN CHARACTER IN THE FAULT IN MY STARS'. it’s not something they’ll want. trust me. ’ in short, fuck tfios

Interesting take on TFIOS coming from a cancer patient.

The Fault in Our Books

I should really be studying but I don't feel like it. I mean SAturdays are Saturdays. On a normal Saturday, I would be doodling something as I did my homework and then spending the rest of the afternoon watching episodes of Doctor Who but UNTIL THESE EXAMS ARE OVER I CANNOT DO ANYTHING REMOTELY FUN. BUT I have made a list of all the fun stuff I want to do which include

• Catching up on book reading
• Writing more for the blog
• Starting a book on wattpad
• Painting and drawing all the stuff I want to
• Watching all the freaking episodes of everything ever.

Unfortunately, I can't seem to wait and started on point number one before I even finished my exams. Yes, I has finally read the famous tragic novel called "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green. It was an interesting book, considering I had never read one about chronic illness and dying without doing anything substantial. I suppose you can say I enjoyed it.

♣Because every post needs pictures♣

However, it wasn't exactly a tearjerker. I have had several people tell me that TFIOS is something you read with a tissue box right beside you but I didn't even feel remotely sad (am I heartless?). I mean, yes it was a realistic book in some aspects and I loved Hazel's relationship with her parents (her mother was adorable and so was her dad) but I wasn't compelled to cry (maybe I was too focused on finding sad parts, that I over expected and the sad parts didn't seem like sad parts with the heavy impression I read the book with).

Augustus was fine too. The only thing that creeped me out was how they had such weird conversations with big words and funny concepts that I never thought about. I guess it just shows how different life is for cancer patients who don't get to do things the way we do and probably spend a lot of their time thinking about things we don't bother about that much.

I do plan to re-read TFIOS because there were some paragraphs I skimmed over that I really should have sat down and analyzed carefully. Until then, I'm just gonna keep on going through all the books I have downloaded and making a list of re-reads.