@bold - You're kidding right? If you're serious, then with all my solemnity intact I promise you, the longer the merrier 😳😆
the first thing that struck me about your FF was the architectural description in chapter 1...an image of Hogwarts flashed across my mind( cant help it...Harry Potter fan)...it always helps when the reader is fed with something to perceive the surroundings in which the story takes place...it takes the imagination process to a whole new level...so, i'm glad u did that...good start there...
Oh my! You're going to find the back story to this very interesting then. One of the major units at the Uni I attend for Grad school is what I was imagining when I wrote the description, it wasn't conscious, it just started to happen that way, and about a third way through I knew what i was thinking of - the picture in my head - and then it was just about putting into words. The interesting part is, this unit has often been compared to the Hogwarts Castle post the book/films release, by avid followers of Rowling. The central quad of that section is a sight one can never get over or get enough of. On snow days, or rather snow nights, you stand right in the middle and the silence, the scene, the setting is eerie and enchanting all at once - very magical, to be precise, and its hard to not compare! However, to my school's credit, this structure has been in existence for over half a century now, so yeh, we didn't ape Hogwarts! 😆 But it certainly is one of my favorite areas to walk through, on my way back after long school/library days. Unlike Navya here, I quite like the ancients! 😆
But yes, to conclude my point, I'm very delighted you point out the Hogwarts similarity from merely words, because what I was trying to portray was in fact... uncannily similar!
The 'Macbeth' hangover...ahhh well..i, for one cannot relate with it...being an engineering student, its always been equations and maths 4 me...but losing yourself in a fictional character is an entirely different experience i suppose...and this is where i shall bring in Navya's character...i dunno if its just me or u felt the same way as well...to me, Navya has this habit of reading too much into a situation...the 'everything has to be about macbeth' thing, accusing Anant of spiteful intentions ( she quite planted the seed in his mind), rushing to the library as soon as she received the msg...these were some of the examples i could think of...and i like the dash of ego/ arrogance ( dunno how 2 name that quality) u have added to Navya's character...the quintessential modern girl i guess...and whats with Navya and vodkas??
You do make interesting analysis about our lass here - and since I was hoping for readers to put the blatant and subtle pieces together, I'm glad you've done such a good job. I'm not really a History/Literature major myself, a far cry in fact, but I admit to indulgence of them as my guilty pleasures. I like dwelling in the fascination of history/fiction and the coming together of two is sure winner with me! In general, I related the idea of Navya having a queasy feeling post exam to all the attributes that I did list even though she ruled them all out. It's like that done with finals + exhaustion getting to you, more so when you've been obligatorily involved with reading gory/morbid stuff, and further analyzing it as deep as it gets, cause that's what your study is about. It the way a movie/book affects us, when we're overtly engrossed, and it sort of subconsciously keeps hovering around our being for a while - an hour, a day... or something...! So what I was trying to showcase in that bit of Macbeth's transient hangover on Navya's mind...In the wake of which she was not exactly irritated, but sort of touchy, or a little more on her nerves than relaxed usual - added up to her exhilaration on being free bird was a bunch of high power emotions - and boom the fireworks! High modes can do that, I think, lol!
blimey...btw, do i smell an after-party hangover there?? and something tells me that Sonia's not-to-be beau is our boy...and if i am right their third encounter for the day is in the making...Anant bumping into navya who is in a very messy state...another showdown perhaps, with Navya emerging victorious??
Okay so I won't leak the tale yet, about what's coming... but I'm still hopeful about springing a surprise - cause I've not gotten concrete guess backs coming close to what my idea is, so yay, I'm excited! (: Let's see how you all receive it!
shifting gears to focus on AB (that was cool)...i'd like 2 see him from Navya's point of few..silly, annoying, rude...yeah agreed...but he's quite a charmer...the unkempt Asian locks, the infectious grin, pulling off the 'cocky rock', the sexy hushed tone...good enough to throw any girl off her guard...he doesn't have a stable job, but ummm, i dont think he's from a humble background... courtesy this line," he doesnt mind doing things which are direly mundane or below his stature ( if his family was asked)"...what i could gather from this line is that he is from a well-off family, but likes to stand on his own leg...and there was another line that had me speculating, when Anant tells Navya, "I've faced enough reproach from the civilised society" or something like that...could it be possible that Anant went against his family in pursuing his passion??...that apart, the boy is quite a character...he wants to learn a little of this and a little of that..and he's not bad, is he...not intentionally at least... i mean he wouldn't have played that prank on Navya if she hadn't sparked off his male ego ( i'm still unsure about the ego part though)...i guess i'm done with Anant as of now...but i shall continue analyzing him as your story progresses..
Again, you've figured plenty of details very accurately, just as I was hoping readers would. Most subtle details do infact point to more than just trivial characteristics about an individual, and you've certainly done the figuring out well. More on Anant will be unraveled along the way, as will be more on Navya, but until then - you're going the right direction, mostly!
i'm not sure, but Anant and Navya ( in your ff) remind me of Ron and Hermione...to them, it is their opinion or their point of view that matters...but differences apart, they can hit it off quite well i guess..the smile exchanged between them after that showdown was an indication...i mean, here is a guy who likes to be pitted against a girl, but at the same time was vulnerable to her tracing her tresses...same goes for the girl as well...to her, his actions were nothing less than harassment, yet she was flustered by the way he winked...i shall not leave behind the showdown either...believe me, i thought Navya was gonna scare the hell out of him...but the guy seems 2 be pretty smart huh...jack of all trades, as you described him...she lost her steam towards the end
...i dunno, i sort of felt Navya was giving up..or rather giving in to Anant...any possibility of such instances in the future??
Haha, really?! Ron and Hermoine?! Whoa!!! So Ron has been my standing second favorite, after the Weaseley Twins and Sirius (who are all tied at spot 1) in the Rowling series. But I don't think of Anant here as Ron, I'd give the former somewhat more credit for A) active thinking on his feet, B) lesser impulses?! Maybe... I can't think of any fictional popular character I know who's quite like this Anant in fact, which is surprising, cause a lot about him is cliche in a way - only put together to a new package! Have you read A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth?! The closest I can think of is Kabir Durrani from that book... (: Or I don't know, like Arjun from the movie Aisha, who was actually an inaccurate adaptation of the original Knightley character from Emma - because he wasn't half as reserved or grouchy, or even preachy for that matter, and more, like Anant is, the let's get even kind! 😆 Okay, so yeh, I'm doing sadly at thinking of fictional parallels!
moving away from the leads, what really kept me hooked on to ur ff, were the finer details u concentrated on...top of the list, the Louis Vuitton bag...i just went mmm on reading that bit...such fashion fundas really add to the youthful flavor of the ff...i would give u extra brownie points just for that...second spot to Mr.Rhett Butler...the man definitely had some of the best lines in 'Gone with the Wind' and hearing it from Anant's mouth was quite intriguing...i'd say your overall usage of literature in this ff is admirable...u dont try to thrust it upon us just for the love of it...instead u try to bring out some of the aspects of your characters through these literary references ...that is just great if u ask me...third spot goes to your description of library procedures...i never hit the library much..i never know how it works..so reading all that locking and unlocking thing was quite new for me...fourth spot goes to the 'end of examination euphoria' in chapter 1...been there, done that...that part was a instant hit with me...
finally, the Mark Knopfler tee...is Navya a fan? if so , she must be a music enthusiast...and our guy here is a musician..my guess precisely, music will bring them close..something that they will bond over, big time...
Oh I'm so happy to read this part of your reply, it really makes my day! I have to admit that trivial nothings take so much more thought that the bold outlines of characters and plots - they, imo, not only add greatest credibility to a story, but also make it more relatable than all other attributes put together! And for however insignificant they are in general, they also happen to be the easiest things to challenge, if gotten wrong! So yes, I really appreciate your pointing out of that effort - I like writing stories like building doll houses - where you want to get those little details like ivory is not off white is not cream is not white right! 😆
just one last thing...your vocabulary is wow...as Kankshita mentioned, i too kept my Google window open to get the essence of some of the words right...this is professional stuff...and i'm enjoying every bit of it...hope u will keep us entertained in the coming weeks...
Aww! Can I say one more time how humbled I was, and am, by your comment! I wasn't gloating about that smile, it did stick around all day 😃 Thank you so much, and I'm going to look forward very eagerly to your future reviews as well! (:
p.s. Shakespeare and Margaret Mitchell would have quite happy reading this ff...i never thought their words meant much in the contemporary sense..but u are changing my opinion...
Oh boy! I have no words. Truly. Those are some legends we talk about. I honestly don't think I come anywhere close, but you really really flatter me! (:
