u/HlaBeRelaLain

Personally, I believe it is history. Yes we do have the occasional period piece and some historical thrillers, but dedicated well-researched and well-made historical shows are rare. Even Indian movies are pretty sloppy with history. So many periods of Indian history have no film potrayal or the visual potrayals are so obscure/bad-quality that people have forgotten.

I understand the factors behind this. The issues with budgets, the dearth of records in some areas, the sensitivity of some topics and the potential for misleading audiences.

I would leap with joy if the Gupta Empire or Vedic Period received any authentic potrayals.

What do you think?

One decade and a half of Ekta Kapoor's Saas-Bahu cringe enacted by Balaji Telefilms finally opened up the valve of creativity by force.

We used to have amazing series like "Bharat: Ek Khoj", "Detective Byomkesh Bakshi" and "Malgudi Days". But come 2000 and the well of artistic eruptions was closed by the genius of Ekta Kapoor who introduced us to the amazing format of weekly endless drama of Indian households. It made Indian television so bad, my house's matriarch forbid anyone from watching serials.

The coming of "Permanent Roommates" by TVF in 2014 eventually inspired others to take heed and produce decent quality webseries. Little by little, we had content that contributed to the return of the prestige associated with tv series.

It's not that everything from 2000 to 2015 was dogcrap. We had some fun with things like Best of Luck Nikki, although such shows were usually remakes of foreign series. Good horror shows like "Aahat" and stuff like "CID" were started in the 90s . I am not even counting "Ssh koi hain" and "Crime Patrol" because they are anthologies different from the type of series I usually look to.

Barely anyone watches genuine cable television anymore, so it is poetic. Even once famous shows like "Tarak Mehta ka Ulta Chashma" are declining. So looks like we hit the peak on one place and rock bottom on one.

In the 80s and 90s, Indian television had its Golden era. After the broadcast of India'a first series- Hum Paanch- Doordarshan exploded with content. There was diversity. Topics ranged from historical documentary like "Bharat:Ek Khoj" to social commentary like "Nukkad" to epics like "Mahabharata". Watching tv was worth it, not just for reruns of movies or sports/news.

Then hit the year 2000. Ekta Kapoor had the brilliant idea to produce a serial with a very soap-esque format about housewife and mother-in-law struggles which appealed to housewives working at home. It was dear and somewhat forward-looking for its time, but the way it was executed was the cringiest thing possible with the greatest exaggeration in every aspect of life. Balaji Telefilms' formula was so appealing that it spread everywhere and Indian television became overflowed with the same type of unrealistic long-running household dramas. Anything trying something new barely passed through.

India's tv serials became associated with cringe to the point where serials were banned in my house by our matriarch because of how they distracted people.

Soon comes 2014 and we have "Permanent Roommates" released by TVF. It is nothing revolutionary and has a rather simplistic plot but can be loved by many. The fact that it was released online was a trend noticed by many.

Following this we have stuff like "Pitchers", "Official Chukyagiri" slowly building the environment up. Till we get masterpieces like "Panchayat" and "Paatallok". India's first Netflix series "Sacred Games" set the stage for a lot of crime thrillers.

The only thing I dislike about current day OTT is the oversaturation of crime dramas. Yeah, I understand why they appeal to people but I want diversity. Which is why I love "Yeh meri family" and "Inside Edge".

We can officially conclude that India's Golden age of serials has been revived due to the internet. Online platforms have given us what we could never have. Barely anyone even watches cable tv anymore so it all ties together. Ordinary cable tv is already losing viewers and turning low-quality, being on its last legs.

Seriously, as soon Vicky was staked, I knew this was serious business. Sad that they didn't just put her out of commision by snapping her neck, but Stefan is usually desparate when it comes to Elena. Caroline got through her early phase so that works too.

Lexi, I thought would be regular character while alive but that line of thought got drained away like vervain. Even characters you thought would last long don't always outlive their fates, such as Logan Fell.

If I had any doubts about how merciless the show was to its characters, then Pearl's demise at the hands of John Gilbert sealed the deal. No going back after that.

Some deaths sucked and some characters deserved to go. But it started to suck way more by Season 5 when they began reviving people. Death's meaning felt cheapened. It didn't feel like a show about Vampires, Werewolves and Witches anymore. It felt like Dragon Ball Z. The stakes kept escalating, with villains not as memorable after Silas and the characters didn't even behave like Vampires anymore.

I enjoyed the Vampire Diaries during its run. The deaths, tortures, betrayals, alliances and relationships were fun. But they lost track of the plot later on.

Ironically the same fate Game of Thrones received after Season 4. Isn't it funny both shows became shit after 2014?

I know internet gaming forums have existed as far back as 1992. They would discuss about games and it surprised me when I realized "Why I Am Afraid Of Bees" was set in 1994 since it featured the MC seeking guides for how to kill a boss on a fantasy MMORPG.

And Doom certainly had the LAN option along with Quake.

So do tell me.

I know gaming forums existed online as far back as 1992, but India mostly received the internet after 1995.

I wonder how intertwined the experience of internet and video games was in India in the early stages? How many Indians used PS1? How many played Doom and Quake?

Vampire Blood can heal any illness or wound but none of the characters, even the good ones seem to be interested in systematically helping society using their abilities.

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Damon and Stefan don't even have a job but live luxuriously due to generational wealth, investments and compulsion(Stefan has scrupples about compelling people for free stuff but Damon is okay with that).

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People like the Originals can just do whatever they want. They are essentially nobles.

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And that's not even counting how many useful or useless members of society they kill either by accident or on purpose and all the damage to infrastructure that might take place in fights.

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Blood banks and blood bags should also be a factor.

I don't really have anything against these genres. It's just that I feel like these genres have been oversaturated in Indian Webseries. I need some other avenues. Panchayat was a good one.

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What are others?

In the Vampire Diaries we were introduced to The Originals- these powerful, nigh-indestructible beings who can compel vampires and were the first ones of their kind. The premise was clear. They could be daggered and incapitated. But the means of actually killing them were few. Only the White Oakwood stake would work and it was limited. Even when the sole remaining stake was turned into indestructible metal, it was still limited. Magic was an option, but few had that level of power.

They captured every scene they were in and managed to stick around for three seasons. As villains they were amazing. But they had to go otherwise they would lose their threat factor.

In a spin-off of their own, the biggest issue would be providing conflict and challenges. Immortality and strength are their obvious quirks. How do you make up threats for a being that can't be killed or overpowered most of the time. The show had a good chance of failing despite the amazing concept.

So how do you think it worked.

Sieges were the moments,

Where I unlocked the door

Holding away my desires,

Was it you or was it them?

A raider they call me,

But it is you who raided my heart Removing any portions of doubt,

Yet still unable to strip an ounce of love.

The arrows of the enemy,

Pierced my palms

But for me it was

As if we were holding hands.

No matter how many bodies I make fall,

Yours will be the one I will hold

When I roared in victory,

It was as if we were conversing.

As the spears entered my flesh,

I remembered your face

When the swords were drinking my blood,

I wished to kiss the swords

For they shined brightly like your smile

The ten encircled me all around,

With no end left in hand

It was your eyes that my eye met then,

Through the distance across existence.

There are no nights, only days

With shadows governing the sun

The shadows loomed over the moon,

But the light of fires gave us the entry,

Just as your love soothed my despair.

Sieges were the moments,

Where I unlocked the door

Holding away my desires,

Was it you or was it them?

A raider they call me,

But it is you who raided my heart Removing any portions of doubt,

Yet still unable to strip an ounce of love.

The arrows of the enemy,

Pierced my palms

But for me it was

As if we were holding hands.

No matter how many bodies I make fall, Yours will be the one I will hold

When I roared in victory,

It was as if we were conversing.

As the spears entered my flesh,

I remembered your face

When the swords were drinking my blood,

I wished to kiss the swords

For they shined brightly like your smile

The ten encircled me all around,

With no end left in hand

It was your eyes that my eye met then, Through the distance across existence.

There are no nights, only days

With shadows governing the sun

The shadows loomed over the moon,

But the light of fires gave us the entry, Just as your love soothed my despair.

Sieges were the moments,

Where I unlocked the door

Holding away my desires,

Was it you or was it them?

A raider they call me,

But it is you who raided my heart Removing any portions of doubt,

Yet still unable to strip an ounce of love.

The arrows of the enemy,

Pierced my palms

But for me it was

As if we were holding hands.

No matter how many bodies I make fall, Yours will be the one I will hold

When I roared in victory,

It was as if we were conversing.

As the spears entered my flesh,

I remembered your face

When the swords were drinking my blood,

I wished to kiss the swords

For they shined brightly like your smile

The ten encircled me all around,

With no end left in hand

It was your eyes that my eye met then, Through the distance across existence.

There are no nights, only days

With shadows governing the sun

The shadows loomed over the moon,

But the light of fires gave us the entry, Just as your love soothed my despair.

Buddhism has been around for long and there have been critics since the beginning. Some have pointed out some flaws within while others have fabricated so-called "flaws".

One I have seen is the claim that Buddhism is a nihilistic cult that believes in self-decimation.

One of the most underexplored themes in Attack on Titan is how deeply the revelation of the truth about titans, the island and the world must have affected the people of Paradis. Yes, the show did talk about it, gave us some reactions and narrate the reactions at first, but it was all done in broad strokes. General characterizations were limited and there were only passing mentions.

A fanfic that explores this dimension would be amazing.

I usually like reading story patches of the various heroes. Seeing how they formed, how they related and create a cohesive narrative brings me great joy.

I tried other mobile MOBA game lores but none of them satisfied me like MLBB.

But I have noticed how they revamped several characters and completely retconned their nature in the lore. For example, Vexana used to be a vengeful spirit spawned by the misdeeds of Alice, along with her husband Faramis and Leomord her devout servant who would always obey her. She had her own domain in necrokeep and was a villain completely independant of the Abyss. In the revamp, she was turned into a fairy tale princess archetype, even giving her stereotypical plastic model looks.

The worldbuilding has amused me with various NPCs, locations, conflicts and histories which only vaguely connect.

I wanna know what you think.