.925

I had never heard of it, so I looked it up, and discovered that it was a fantasy book written by an Indian author which heavily draws from South Asia for its worldbuilding

Needless to say, as an Indian, my interest was piqued, so I told my friend I would indeed like to have it

When I picked it up from her, she mentioned that it wasn't all that great of a book but that she really liked the worldbuilding, and so I went into it with pretty low expectations

What I didn't consider was that my friend is white.

To be fair, I'm not saying she doesn't have a point. Maybe this isn't the most beautiful prose or most intricate plot I've ever read

To be perfectly honest, I don't really care

You see, to her, the cool worldbuilding that she liked was just that: worldbuilding. (No hate to her whatsoever I adore her)

But this is my culture. I didn't even know how much it meant to me to see my culture in my favorite genre of book until it was right in front of me

I couldn't get enough of it

At every chance I got, I was reading

I was in the middle of a vacation and all I wanted to do was keep reading

And then

This happened (mild spoilers for the book):

And I was like ",,, oh??"

I read it again

Then I kept reading

And then a few pages later, this:

OH??????

I just kind of sat there and I processed what I'd just read

And then I took pictures

And then I read it again

And again

And again and again and again

And now I'm just sitting here

I can't

I can't handle this

I'm just sitting here, in the middle of a hotel room, unable to read another page of this book or look away or do anything at all other than stare in wonder

Because it's GAY

I can't handle this

I don't know what to do

I want to cry

I want to scream

I want to curl up into a ball

I want to track down the author and,,, I don't know? Hug her? Kiss her? Thank her? Ask for her autograph? Stand there grinning like an idiot? Offer her my services as a court jester? Kneel at her feet and swear fealty? Those last two probably go hand in hand tbh

Regardless, it doesn't matter what I want to do

Because I can't do anything at all

It's not just South Asian fantasy

It's GAY South Asian fantasy

This,,,

This means so much to me

Thank you, Tasha Suri.

From the bottom of my heart,

I am not talking something like Suits, because in Suits a lot of the comedy is derived from hijinks and wisecracking. nor am I talking about something like Boston Legal with the whole bunny-ears lawyer thing providing a lot of the jokes.

ALL the satire about the System.  ALL the frantic dashing between departments - it becomes a running joke that the protagonists can’t speak to each other when morning arraignments are happening, they have to dash past each other at full speed exchanging increasingly comedic shorthand.  ALL of the Weird Cases that come up when you just have to stick your head out of the office door and shout BOB, the HORSE guy is back and they DENIED MY MOTION to allow the chihuaha in the courtroom! 

I mean, this show wouldn’t even need to hire writers to make it bizarre, submissions from counties all over the country would just start pouring in.

An ongoing list of recurring Client characters in [as yet unnamed Public Interest Law Show]:

In One Ear, Out The Other (alternatively: I Showed Up To My Drug DUI Arraignment In A Bong T-shirt)

the Sovereign Citizen (no, you actually don’t have a fundamental right to do that, and the cops Will GET YOU)

the Better Lawyer Than You (because Google is totally the same as a J.D., right?)

the Flirt (you’re literally in an orange jumpsuit behind glass for violating a restraining order, please STOP)

Your Anger Is Reasonable, But That Doesn’t Make You Any Easier To Deal With (please stop screaming, or the front desk will call security on us again)

The Scary One (please understand that when I smile, I’m trying to be friendly and professional and I am NOT laughing at you)

The Heartbreaker (catchall client for the ones who are getting screwed over repeatedly by the system but your office isn’t resourced/designed/allowed to give them the help they need)

An ongoing list of recurring Opposing Counsel characters:

Tired Old White Man In Wrinkled Suit (bonus wild tie)

Tired Old Person Who Still Finds Time To Be Demeaning To You (tries for parental vibe, actually is condescending)

That One Kid You Hated In Law School (got the internship the same time you did.  This is a three-episode arc for one of the protags)

How Did You Get This Job When You’re So Bad At It (with bonus Imposter Syndrome on the order of “if they’re that bad and still have a job, I must also be that bad”)

The For-Profit Lawyers (swans into court whenever they want, files whatever they want, constantly and undeservedly smug. bonus points if they’re from The City)

The Fool for A Client (says they’re going to represent themselves, proceeds to look stupid in front of the judge and everyone else, and you, protagonist, have to try to negotiate with them like a reasonable person)

1. “actually this is exactly like [other legal media property]”

Public Pretender

Baymax in the new Baymax! show buying pads for a girl who got her first period and getting help from people, including a trans man.