6 September 2013

DIARIES OF A STARFIRE LOVER



I have been ill for the longest time. And I've been putting away writing, sketching and all those little things like a good little vegetable. I'm still recovering but I decided to get at least one post done. Being ill takes up way too much of my time and I do not like that one bit. The only part I do like is the excessive drinking of hot-warm-lukewarm things. I'm usually a drinker of icy things, such as Iced Tea and chilled orange juice but after the recent health scare of sorts, I've taken to warmer drinks. Proper tea, warm water and any sort of soup (clear, tomato, mushroom, corn; you name it, I've drank it all in the past few days!) are my things now. Seeing how the erratic weather change has brought upon its own sort of epidemics and other non-sparkly things, the warm drinks helps us to calm down. I get it now. I get why tea is so popular. My state is super famous for its tea. Okay, now, I'll get to what I really want to talk about.



In the midst of an extremely tiring week, I found quite a little time to actually sit and watch the TV. I decided to watch some sort of old cartoon when I felt better, which usually was in the evenings, and the animated goodness I chose to revisit was 'Teen Titans'.

'Teen Titans' was my jam ever since it was aired in my country. It was aired when I was in the third grade, in the year 2004. I remember successfully tricking my classmates into thinking I could levitate after murmuring Raven's chant of 'Azarath metrion zinthos'. Of course, they never asked me to do it in front of them because they weren't half the wise cracks they are now. Now, when I rewatch the show, I can't help but wonder if I liked the balance amongst all the characters or just watched it for the pure fun it provided. I'm sure it's a mix of both. However, there's one thing that had me fascinated in the third grade itself and still continues to do so. That 'thing' is:

Starfire. Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran. The glorious golden-skinned, flame haired, emerald eyed equivalent of a goddess. Maybe it was voice actor Hynden Walch's take on the character that made her so endearing. The voice played up her innocence as well her her strength, her frustrations and her joy. Green, having been my favorite colour since childhood, was also one of the many reasons I instantly loved Starfire. The fact that her power bolts were green, her eyes were green made me excited – she vanquished evil with the help of bolts in my favorite colour.


Sure, Beast Boy and Cyborg provided most of the laughs in the show but there was a certain charm to the humour Starfire provided. And she could fly. Who doesn't want to fly? It was perfection. All her cute antics made me love her even more. For instance, there was this one scene where her friends ask her what pizza topping she'd like and she replies, very politely, “Pickles, Bananas and Mint Frosting.” The way she'd mix up idioms and use Tamaranean words to express herself would habitually delight me. Her ability to pick up on a new language through lip contact has always fascinated me. That's a pretty nifty superpower, right? *wink wink* 

I remember this one episode ('Switched') where Starfire and Raven's powers get interchanged along with their bodies and they have to rescue the boys from an evil puppeteer; that is definitely one of my favorite episodes ever. The loyalty and love she showed for her friends throughout the series still inspires me. Also, her bonding with her pet larva, Silkie, presented to her by Beast Boy, made my heart melt.


Despite living on earth, I have always loved that she still cared for the people on her planet. One of my absolute favorite episodes is 'Sisters', the episode where she gets a visit from her elder sister, Blackfire. Okay, now, Blackfire may be an antagonist but she's pretty cool too, right? Someone please agree... I dunno, I have quite enjoyed Starfire and Blackfire's recurring clashes, but that's just me. Also, I had a thing for her purple star bolts. Not more than Star's green ones, no, no.



Back when foreign comics were distributed in my city, my brother would always grab some sort of superhero comic or another. There's one thing I sort of regret and don't regret to this day: In 2004, comics were distributed in the local book stores as well as a few department stores and they only cost 10 rupees, which is insane when you think about buying those same comics online now. I remember spotting a 'Teen Titans' comic at a book store with Starfire on the cover. While she was very different from the Starfire I was used to, she was still my favorite Titan. Neither did I flip through the comic nor did I purchase it, despite its low price. I regret that part. The part I don't regret is actually pretty much the same – Had I bought the comic, it would have greatly diluted my image of Starfire. Now when I scrouge online, she's a different character altogether in the comic. Since I was pretty young back then, I'm kind of glad I stuck with the innocent and animated version.

  
Now, I saved the best for last, haha. Robin/Nightwing and Starfire is one of my favorite fictional couples of all time. I enjoy their awkward tender moments like a huge weirdo. I was so overjoyed when they eventually kissed in the Titans movie, I think I cried. I love that even if Robin is the leader and has many responsibilities, he tries his best to not let Starfire down. His fits of jealousy, his endearment towards her bumbling nature is the reason why I love how Robin fits into this love story.

Okay, this was a rather long and pointless post about Starfire and the 'Teen Titans' in general, but, hey, it made me feel a lot better! Maybe soup isn't always the answer, maybe being positive and smiling even when you're ill makes you feel better. That seems to be the case for me anyway.

~AB