#Karna Converse

[pyaari-naari]

I want a man who's taller than me. No. Not for aesthetic purposes or because we'd look good together with the height difference.

It's not a want or a need, it's more like a feeling. Someone who can make my inner child feel safe, inside and out. Because all my life I've been the support pillar, the "caring" one in everyone's life.

I want to be "cared for".

I want to be sat down and told that I don't have to work so hard all the time. I want to be spoilt but not for counting favours later on. I want to have the freedom of choosing any kind of food for my own liking. I want to be bundled up, warm inside and out. I want my heart to feel heavy with love and care the other feels for me. I want to be held. I want to be told that it's okay to lean on someone, even when things are alright. I want someone to listen, to let me curl small in their arms.

I want him to care for me. To make me feel like a person of myself. To prioritise me over anyone else.. even for a fleeting moment.

And I want to be able to be given the space to be vulnerable. The space to be myself for once.

I'll take it even if it's pretend. I'll take it even if it's for a day.

I'll take it even if it's for a moment. . .

I'll take the moment of being 'cared for' and live my entire life 'caring' for everyone.

But I think I'm asking for too much.

[lightheaded-dullahan]

Imo; as I insert it here; Karna really has no reason to begin caring for them.

He finds out rather suddenly; and the man has already spent so much of his life without caring for them. They’re his best friend’s enemy - and thus his.

The only reason I can see og Karna caring for them is because of Kunti — and only if we choose to interpret his promise to her to be out of affection instead of his obsession. He spent much of his life also obsessed with the mother who abandoned him (and remember; we have to look at it from Karna’s prospective of being an infant at the time ; he likely would never have the additional context she herself was still a child) — but in a far less obvious way. It shaped his personal identity, and fueled part of why he’s so steadfastly loyal to Duryodhana. Part of why he’s so obsessed with his own standing.

Karna also had no reason to care for them when; a lot of the time - they straight up antagonized him as well. Bhima at multiple opportunities mocks his caste, they as a whole (depending on the version I think this does not include Arjuna) mock him when he initially challenges Arjuna — he is a grudgeful man who very rarely actually forgave. Theres a reason ‘Anger’ is used so often with him. (No that doesn’t discount his charity, but we are shown time and time again how that charity is also detrimental to his own self).

Karna - in Fate, shows a great deal more affection towards them all in his lines and interactions. This could be interpreted, if we include the og source, of him finally taking his mother’s request into a proper effect. He is more affectionate in referring towards her in fate after all.

But the more I consider fate Karna - his affection is awkward. He doesn’t seem to know how to properly be affection with his half brothers, and so he defaults to this weird half antagonism because it’s what he knows. He praises them - but only as opponents. He uses brother affectionately— but at the same time it’s clear there’s still an emptiness. That’s probably why Arjuna is so weird about things as well — the older brother he hated and then mourned is an absolute fucking weirdo and somehow more so NOW.

Anyways; tl;dr: Karna in the OG myth probably only cared about them at the end of his life , and even then he had people he cared about more so the affection is lost. He is mentioned being included in Yudhishthira’s hell nightmare thing though iirc, so at least one brother cared enough for that to have been included.

quick question that you dont need to answer but did Karna in his og source care for Arjuna or any of the brothers???? Or was that just Arjuna?????

that sure is a question. its debatable but i think its more likely that he didn't.

on the one hand, he told kunti he would not kill any of his other siblings when she revealed their relation to him but i think that's more likely because he didnt consider them to be as worth killing as arjuna was? (although i believe bhima had defeated him a couple times prior) Even after learning they were his brothers when he fought with them he could be incredibly insulting to them, and i don't think his behavior was out of any affection so much as it was that arjuna was the only one he had any interest in and so they weren't worthy of his attention or respect in his eyes. of course, different versions do write him differently, so it may change in those.

[sambhavami]

If you don't mind, I would like to ask about how is krishna described appearance wise, was he described to be very handsome/pretty? (it's a silly question ik sorry)

Also, I rather perceive kanha to be quite queer and genderfluid, is there any point about that or implication to it there?

thank you sm!! <3

Sure, love to talk about him any time! ❤️ Also please don't feel weird about asking a question...they're all valid!

Let me just compile all that I've read in various sources and their respective commentaries.

Krishna's main draw for any person, is, more than his looks, his charm and personality. He is an extremely talented orator, who can carry an entire, unruly sabha on the edge of each word, and is also very dramatic.

He is really dark, tall, slender. Sharp features. Long curly hair down to his waist. Peacock feathers woven into his hair. Yellow/amber/white/beige-toned clothes. Likes nose rings [always has between 1-3 nose rings attached and fluttering]. Likes to wear heavy-ish anklets [these jewels were mostly common to young boys, Krishna just never outgrew them, and ignored the people who made fun of him for that], and fish/crocodile shaped earrings. Some sources also mention snake-motif armlets, and intricate bangles. Also, for young Krishna it's mostly flower-jewellery and kadamba-seed anklets.

The flute-and-bugle are there during his time in Vrindavana, but later is almost exclusively replaced with the paanchajanya[conch]-sudarshana[discuss]-shaarnga[bow]-nandaka[sword]-kaumudaki[mace] set of battle get-up.

He is a really great wrestler, but his opponents often think he can fly, since he uses gymnastic techniques like big jumps and all [he also sometimes uses this as a sort of a party-trick to scare the heck out of common people when he's out in public].

His body build therefore is that of a gymnast (as opposed to a modern day pro-wrestler), and his opponents often underestimate his because of this.

Krishna and Arjuna are physically nearly identical [to the point that no one but their families can tell them apart without the feathers]. I am guessing in that case both boys must resemble Vasudeva/Kunti too, since they are the common link.

Most of the time, another separator is that Arjuna most of the time has a mustache, and Krishna only grows one out right around the time of Kurukshetra since there is a rule that men without facial hair would not be allowed in the battlefield [I think Krishna did get rid of it after the war though].

Krishna does often dresses and behaves in 'conventionally feminine' ways, like how he just presents himself in general- not very 'manly'. I think there is a dialogue in a Sanskrit play (or most probably I am hallucinating this), where Duryodhana and Karna have a full-fledged in-detail conversation about how much like a woman Krishna looks from behind with his jewellery, flowing hair and general gait.

In a rarely-followed mini-epic retelling called the Prabhasa-Khanda by Ishwarchandra Sarkar [1973], Krishna meets his Lava-Kusha-esque sons (Radha's and his kids that he didn't know about) during Yudhishthira's Ashwamedha yajna after Kurukshetra when the kids have killed BANS (dude literally copied and pasted Uttara-kanda and just changed the names). Here, the kids mistakenly think that he is Yudhishthira, but then they see his anklets, and they ask him [they still think it's Yudi] to wear a saree to 'complete the ensemble' and then dance for them. [Krishna says yes without hesitation, just for your info.]

In southern retellings, there is obviously the Mohini-Iravana story, where Krishna 'becomes a woman' for a night, to marry Iravana before he is to be sacrificed in battle.

In Sabha Parva, Krishna and Arjuna often go out on picnics usually with Draupadi and Subhadra, where they watch dance performances and take off and throw their jewellery and even clothes at the performers as tips. Usually, after some more drinking the two of them retire to more private spots where they usually talk, or just go to sleep with heads on each other's laps.

In Dwarika, Arjuna did not have his own room since Krishna would just keep him in his own bedroom, and they shared everything, from beds to food to seats in sabhas. When Krishna captures Arjuna near the end of his first vanvasa from Prabhasa, they spend the night, Arjun lying on his back on the bed, and Krishna lying beside him in the traditional-Vishnu posture [head held up in his hand], and Arjuna falls asleep in the middle of telling a story about his travels, and that scene ends with Krishna watching over him as he sleeps.

In Udyoga parva, when Sanjaya is describing his experience in Upaplavya he narrates a very interesting little story, among many other things: since he didn't know the layout of the palace where the Pandavas were staying and given Virata didn't give them much of a staff, Sanjaya accidentally wanders into the women's quarters. There he finds Arjuna, Krishna, Draupadi and Satyabhama, all drinking as they pass around the same cup amongst themselves. Here, Arjuna's feet are on Satyabhama's lap, and Krishna's feet are on Arjuna's lap. Sanjaya reports that when they see him, Krishna is too drunk to get up, and he put his foot down, allowing Arjuna to stand up only after the latter has blushed into oblivion. The ladies however are not embarrassed.

Sanjaya makes a comment here that is noted specifically by Dr. Bhaduri, which is, "When Arjuna and Krishna are together, forget about Abhimanyu or the Upa-pandavas, not even Nakula or Sahadeva dare to walk into that part of the house." This one comment among many others is a solid implication, though Dr. Bhaduri insists otherwise. [Personally, I mean just look at the wording of that!]

There are also many folk myths about Krishna cross-dressing in Radha's clothes and enjoying it. Sometimes the gopis also take initiative and forcefully doll him up, which Krishna only pretends to resist.

[friend-shaped-but]

RATING EVERYTHING I'VE READ ABOUT THE MAHABHARAT(INCLUDES DNF)

The Navneet Mahabharat for Kids: 11/10, it did things to my brain and got me into the mahabharat in the first place. Have you SEEN the shikhandi in it?

13th day: 6.5/10 for the angst, 4 points taken off for the unnecessary yudhishthir POV and I think the author exaggerated on the abhimanyu POV a little bit sooooo. But ig it was necessary to provide exposition. There is this one conversation between bheeshma and karna which is just. really uh. thought provoking and interesting. Cis shikhandi warrants another point taken off, but she is actually so awesome that im gonna give half a point back. Also one more thing about 13th day I love is how ABHIMANYU IS SHOWN TO HAVE THE 'i gotta kill my family' CONFLICT IN IT BECAUSE HE HAS TRAINED WITH PEOPLE IN THE NARAYANI SENA. It's very blink-it and you miss it but it's Interesting. Krishna is a footnote(which, true, krishna and arjun being away from the battlefield and not being able to save abhimanyu is the whole point of that story and I found it really funny how yudhishthir was like. "Arjun's charioteer Krishna")

The Broken Sun: 8/10 the next book in that series, broken sun is the sequel to 13th day and covers arjun's vow to drona's death. I really loved bheem, ghatotkach, and the arjun POV and this book's insistence on solely referring to Karna as radheya. One point taken off for Slight Misogyny(ON THE AUTHORS PART. IM NOT TAKING POINTS OFF FOR PERIOD TYPICAL STUFF), and another point taken off for That Poop Scene.

Yuganta: 8.5/10, you clocked the Krishnarjun very accurately, mam, but I did not really like constant uh. comparisons? yeah. And the period typical touch of victim blaming. But you did shut down some other researchers that blame draupadi for things so. yeah points for that too ig. It is an awesome and well-researched book tho pls pls go read it.

The Aryavarta Chronicles Book 1: Govinda: 7/10. Points taken off for some of the weird sing-songy shit, the WMDs, and cis shikhandi. But shikhandi is very cool so like. 2 of the 7 points are because of that. And the firstborn-firewright thing which was so confusing it made me stop reading. DNF but I might go back for the awesome characterizations of everyone. Author matches my freak wrt not liking arjun that much.

Mrityunjay: 9/10, one point taken off because the prologue says this book is gonna be in "simplelanguage that everyone understands" but then shivaji sawant writes like everyone has swallowed a thesaurus. DNF because the marathi font was sans serif. If I manage to get it in a devnagri font easier on my eyes I will read it. It's just an well written book from a guy who was very excited about his blorbo and I respect that!!

Draupadi: 9/10, one point taken off for a take about satyavati I disagree with, but the rest of the book is so juicy and delicious. Aruna Dhere is COOKING and I want to meet her please and thank you.

Madhyamavyayoga: 10/10, actually. Bhasa, sir, I would like to invite you to tumblr for your hot takes and how clear it is that abhimanyu is your blorbo.

Pancharatra: 10/10. Well-written what-if by a guy who is excited about his blorbos. I respect that. btw his blorbos are bheem, abhimanyu, and karna.

Karnabharam: 8/10 because I had to study this in 9th grade(and that too in the midst of covid and my mental health going to shit) and it ruined it for me a little bit but hey I love it. Props for naming your work "Karna's issues". Sometime I might post the

On my list, haven't read these yet but I plan to:

Radheya, Ranjit Desai

Rashmirathi, Ramdhari Sinha Dinkar

Vyasaparva, Durga Bhagwat

Pandava Quintet, Roshni Chokshi

Yugandhar, Shivaji Sawant

Mysticism in the bhagwat gita

Mahabharat by NC Panda

At least a children's book edition of the mahabharat in marathi. Need to interact with the mahabharat in marathi more

Karna the sanskrit hero of the epic mahabharata: Kevin Mcgrath

Urubhanga

And any other interesting books I come across.

[timetravellingkitty]

hiii, yesterday your blog and masterposts was the first time i came across the notion that india is actually colonising kashmir and it should be made a separate country. i was quite confused ngl because this was the first i'd heard of it but i decided to research and look through all the masterposts you linked. read everything on the sources you linked but i'm still kinda confused. before you read ahead, letting you know some things so you don't come out with all claws beared. i am just genuinely curious and trying to have a civil conversation here. i am a firm hater of modi and his whole party and their fucked ideology of hindutva. i think they should all die right the fucking now. but i also know and recognise that hinduism and hindutva are different. the former is a religion and the latter is a political ideology created by v. savarkar. i was born in a hindu family but i am not a religious person and do not practice hindusism. but i also know that because there is right to religion i won't instantly hate someone due to their religion be it hindu or anyone else. this being said hindutvavadis and hindu supremacists should die :) also i wasn't celebrating the strike yesterday and calling for a war on pakistan because that is not a fucking joke and ultimately it is the common people who are going to end up suffering and dying which some people fail to understand. now coming to what i read and why i am confused. point out where you think i went wrong according to you. kashmir has always been a part of india innit? like even before partition this whole landmass that includes kashmir pakistan and bangladesh was what was referred to as india and whose liberation as whole from the british was being fought for in the whole 200 year struggle of independence, right? but then in 1947 again because of politicians and their greed, partition happened and two countries were created aka india and pakistan wherein kashmir was a part of india and pakistan had two parts- east and west which later became bangladesh. so then how is india colonising kashmir when kashmir was always a state of india? (that's like saying india is colonising any other state that's part of it like aren't kashmiris also indian in the same way haryanvis or marathis or tamilians or biharis are indians? they are indian citizens unlike palestinians who are not israeli citizens are are the ones actually being colonised which is why it does not make sense when some people try to compare this situation to that. like there is no ethnic cleansing going on here. like the word genocide doesn't apply here. aren't kashmiris indians themselves?) and then after 1947 and independence, when pakistan waged war on india, they occupied a portion of it which is the pok and when china waged war on india they also occupied a portion. so like obvs now saying pakistan is part of india and usko annex karne ka attempt karna ya uspe kabza karna will be an attempt at colonisation because it is its own separate country. it got liberation alongside india but kashmir ke liye how can you say that because it wasn't like it was an independent country jispe india ne kabza kiya. isn't kashmir a state that is part of india? unlike what israel did to palestine which some people try to compare it too. palestine was its own separate entity before zionists from europe, a whole another continent came and made a country of their own there, kicking out indigenous people. like india itself was colonised by the british who came from outside and kashmir was a part of that very colony. they didn't colonise it separately like they did sri lanka. sri lanka was never a part of india even tho it was colonised by the british at the same time. it was always a separate entity unlike kashmir.

i come to you genuinely curious so i hope you'll answer like that.

rapidly summarising: j&k was a princely state that was given the option of joining india or pakistan when the british left and they chose to remain independent but then a few months later the maharaja was made to sign the instrument of accession when it was under attack and he asked for assistance (which happened after the poonch rebellion against him). nehru promised that a plebiscite would be conducted but it has not happened. when it went up to the UN a referendum calling for pak to withdraw its military presence and for india to keep its military presence to a minimum, which also never happened. the election that took place in 1987 (two years before the insurgency started properly) was rigged by india. the very last maharaja of kashmir was widely despised by his muslim majority subjects because of his policies that impoverished them + his complicity in murdering muslims in jammu. this is only a part of it but it's not fair to them at all

[thatstolenpayal]

"kab tak chalega aise, ab bade ho rahe hai hum, aur yeh sab bachpana, band karna padega"

dear aditi from yjhd,

i understand and feel you completely today. you have always been my favourite among everyone. you knew it all, you accepted it and told bunny to not give up on his dreams, yet felt everything deep down. i sense something, today, the end.

this separation, from people i've known since childhood, my room, my neighbourhood, the air that surrounds me, seems to be fading away, every moment. my shoulders feel lighter, detached of something i don't want to let go. it's not like everyone is leaving today, but the realization that stabs me in the back drive these sudden waves of sadness through me.

they say this feeling is beautiful, you let go of things only to keep sweet memories to cherish forever. but is it okay that i feel terror in my heart, a fear of losing myself, this place, and an unwillingness to face what's next?

i have not had enough of it yet, there is so much more left, so many memories left to make, songs to be sung together, and late night conversations. i miss everything already.

i am so scared. growing up isn't beautiful after all.

i wish it could stay a little longer. just a little.

ban liya apna paighambar, tar liya tu saat samandar, phir bhi sukha man ke andar kyun reh gaya?

kabira, yeh jawani hai deewani

[stxrrynxghts]

Mentions : cursing ahead. Please refrain from reading if it bothers you. DO NOT BASH ME IF YOU DISAGREE. I am up for all forms of civil conversation on this topic.

Now, let's start.

So, like the useless human I am, I spent my time scrolling through Instagram. And what happens? Post after post praising Karna pops on my feed. See, you can like anyone who you want, I don't give a flying fuck. But, what I hate, is how people just make up some random shit, and then make a reel saying that it is "true" And written Mahabharat.

Now, I don't consider myself an expert or smth, but I have read 3 versions of Mahabharata, in two different languages. I think that I can say that I know some stuff about Mahabharata.

So, despite being PISSED af, I did my research. I saw these reels, scrolled through some comments, and even saw some stuff on Wattpad related to this.

Some of you might say that "if it bothers you then don't see it". Yes. That's what I have been doing. But now I am fucking pissed, and this is how I release my anger.

As always, Karna HAS to be compared to Arjun. How Arjun is such a weakling, that without Krishna he wouldn't win at all. First, if Karna is so good, and Arjun so bad, then why is Krishna supporting Arjun? Surely a god had better judgement skills than we do.

Arjun fought against SHIVA, THE GOD OF THE GODS. THE SUPREME GOD. Yes, Arjun didn't win, and he never stood a chance, but SHIVA was pleased by him, and blessed him. He gave him the Pashupatastra.

Some idiots say that Karna had it too. In a quote someone wrote that Krishna said that Karna was undefeatable as he had Brahmastra and Pashupatastra. Kindly enlighten me as to when did Karna please Shiva, and get this Astra as his blessing.

Then some people say that Shiva blessed Ravan too. Don't you dare. Don't you DARE compare Ravan, the man who ABDUCTED Sita, to Arjun. Arjun was a human, and he had his flaws. He committed mistakes. But he is, in no way, comparable to someone like Ravan.

People are writing stories where Abhimanyu respects Karna and shuns Arjun as a result. ABHIMANYU, WHO CHOSE to enter the Chakravyuha because he wanted to make his father and uncle proud. Abhimanyu, who wanted nothing more than to avenge his father. He hates Arjun in these stories.

Don't get me started on the Draukarn and Karnbhadra fandoms. Don't, please. I don't have the energy left for that. I just wish to say that you are so brave to pair Draupadi with her abuser.

Now. These are the more controversial ones. There are ppl writing stories where Karna is SHIVA'S SON.

Oh wow. Karna is comparable to KARTIKEYA AND GANESH. Speaking of Kartikeya, did you know that Karna is a better warrior than Kartikeya, THE GOD OF WAR?!

And ofc, Karna was a farrr better King than Ram was. And he was a better person too. It isn't like Ram had made a gr8 example of how to run a kingdom, that Ram Rajya has been so revered since centuries. Ofc not. That has nothing to do with this.🤡

Also, Karna had a better claim to the throne than Yudhishthira did! He was Kunti's son, and according to dharma, a wife's son is considered the husbands son too. It doesn't matter how Karna wasn't conceived when Kunti was married to Pandu, or with Pandu's permission. He STILL has a claim to the throne guys. 🙄

Last, but not the least, do you know how Krishna absolutely hated seeing Karna die, even when he was the one who had instigated Arjun to chop off Karna's head? *gasps in shock*

Also, saving the best for the last, but apparently, Krishna couldn't have defeated Karna when he still had his armor and earrings!!!! Gasppp!!!!

Okay. So half of this post is written a sarcastic manner guys, do understand my sarcasm TvT

It's fcking hilarious how Krishna, who whooped the asses of literal demons as a kid, who gave INDRA PTSD and who LIFTED THE FCKIN GOVARDHAN MOUNTAIN ON HIS LITTLE FINGER FOR SEVEN FUCKING DAYS CONTINUOUSLY is weaker than Karna. And this is just 1% of what he has done.

Like cmon. Karna is a gr8 warrior, I won't deny. But he was NOT a good person, and definitely not comparable to the people I mentioned above. Karna was defeated multiple times during the Kurukshetra war. He ran away from many battles as well. If you like him, then gr8. Do so, no one is stopping you. But don't compare him with the likes of Ram and Krishna.

Ohmigawd. This post has gone a bit out of hand. Sorry loves. 😞

[yoddhasblog]

Mahabharat is and will always be my favourite tale to reflect upon and talk to people about. This book was immensely hyped up along with the author. I have now read three of her books. The Last Queen, which admittedly I adored. Then, the Forest Of Enchantments, the book I'd been looking forward to for such a long time. That one left me in a rage.

I went into this book expecting to be pissed off and disappointed. And I wasn't let down on that assumption.

The Palace Of Illusions is a retelling of the great Indian epic-Mahabharata. A tale incorporated so deeply into our hearts that everyone has their own takes and beliefs and opinions about it. I sincerely believe that you cannot write a retelling without angering a number of people. Well, I'm one them.

The writing style:

I didn't have too many issues except i did not get why there were so many rhetorical and philosophical questions? Literal, paragraphs that were nothing but questions.

Draupadi, the enigma, the fire-born, the one person I would fight for as long as there is life in me, why was acting as though she was a little more than a sullen child? In the book that was supposed to be from her point of view, the person, the author did the most injustice with was-Draupadi.

The plot assassination:

As I mentioned above, most of everything in the plot of the epic was butchered and mangled to fit into the author's narrative of women, good-men,bad. It is common knowledge that women's position in society was as downtrodden as depicted here. Don't get me wrong, horrific crimes happened against women and justice was also delivered adequately but the author pulled apart the entire social structure only to be able to say that every bad thing happened to Draupadi was because she is a woman.

~ In the very first chapter, Draupadi said it was egoistic of her father to give her a variation of his own name when her brother, Dhrishtadyumna got an original name. In Vyas Mahabharat, her birth name was Krishnaa but like many people in Hindu beliefs, she was also known as Draupadi, though that is the most commonly used name. So, no points to the author trying to convince everyone that this was sexist.

~ Draupadi was highly educated and trained in many things including economics and she was the one who was in charge of the treasury of Indraprastha. She was a finance minister of sorts. So, saying that King Droupad refused to let her train because she is a woman is stupid.

~Also, I've grown up listening to that Draupadi stepped out of the fire as a young woman. She wasn't a child. Some sources say she was around 16 some say around 25.

~ Are we still stuck about 50 years ago that we're going to be okay with authors portraying that all women in power are evil? Kunti and Draupadi viewed each other as rivals? Draupadi throwing temper tantrums over other women? wtf

~ Draupadi as a pick-me? Half the book Draupadi's internal dialogue is nothing but I don't know how to socialize with other women, they're jealous of each other, they're always giggling, I won't survive the world of women, I can't dance, people don't find me pretty because of my dark complexion(where did white supremacy even came in this conversation) but suddenly out of nowhere Draupadi just knows that every woman is envious of her. She adores the saris and jewellery that she used to find impossible to handle.

~ Maharishi Vyas giving Draupadi Divya drishti to see the battlefield of Kurukshetra came out of nowhere. It felt a forced action done only to show Draupadi's emotions about the deaths.

~ Draupadi harbouring hidden feelings for Karna and him secretly returning those feelings felt like a teenager's fever dream. A teenager who's hellbent on sexualizing everything they come across.

~Bhagvat Gita was witnessed by everyone on kurukshetra including the Virat roop? Again, it felt like a move forced that was done in order to show Draupadi's internal dialogue. How did the author even think she could fit Bhagvat Gita in half a chapter?

~The Pandavas just had no personality whatsoever outside of being obedient to their mother and scared of Draupadi's temper tantrums.

~Krishan ji was told to be this charismatic, carefree, silvertongued diplomat but he was simply shown as someone who randomly showed up and gave unsolicited advice.

~And I don't know what that ending was but you can't be serious telling me that Karna and Draupadi somehow end up together in heaven?

~WHAT WAS THE AUTHOR'S PROBLEM WITH RESEARCHING ABOUT MAHABHARATA???

There was no way the entire plot of Mahabharata could've fit into one book. She tried too but this book sucked. I understand it's a retelling and sometimes had to change but everything here felt so forced. The author broke everything in context to fit into her supposedly feminist ideal. Don't get me wrong, i dislike the Pandavas, the Kauravas and their elders with all my heart but they all had one dimensional personalities. They had caricature-ish depositions. I had no emotions attached to anyone in this book whatsoever. This was a headache.

[rambheem-is-real]

Karna vs the (Modern) World

-

prequel to Bujji's Analysis

Karna wakes up in Bhairava's body, and now has a disembodied female voice calling him partner. The holy mother is tied up in the backseat of the strangely autonomous vehicle they're riding in, and Karna has no idea what's going on.

-

They were on a journey from Shambala. Karna lingered in Bhairava’s mind, watching the guy in charge of their body move a horse-less vehicle with his hands and feet, talking to a disembodied voice. He had no idea what was going on, but he recognized the woman tied up in the car, or rather, her offspring. There was no mistaking that illustrious aura, even if he was currently just a fetus in the woman’s stomach. 

For a second Karna was tempted to take over their body, release the woman, and just go with her. He had no idea when or where he was (he assumed it had been a few thousand years, give or take), so he would hope she at least knew how to survive here and follow the woman. Karna had no untoward intentions, he just wanted to be with the woman when the baby was born. Would a fully formed adult Krishna spring out, with golden black skin and that damned peacock feather in his hair? He hoped so, because if anyone would have answers it would be God himself. Why he was here now of all times, why he was in someone else’s body, what happened to the world, he wanted to know. 

Karna stopped himself, because what if it was just a baby? Lord Rama wasn’t born like that, right? Then Karna would just be left with a random woman and a random baby, albeit a very powerful baby. He tuned back into the conversation. Bhairava had been saying something to soothe the voice right before Karna got lost in thought. 

“I don’t know what’s wrong with you, Bhairava,” the voice said. “What do you mean you don’t remember why you killed Commander Manas? I thought you said we were partners. You can tell me anything.” 

Karna mentally shuddered when the voice said they were partners. He had a suspicion the voice was the vehicle itself, and that was terrifying. Unless the fetus had somehow become great friends with Bhairava in the last few days, and also learned to talk with a female voice, but that was unlikely. Karna could tell there was no magic involved here, which made the voice all the more scarier, as otherwise he would assume a god had bewitched the vehicle or something. This was just wrong.

“Sorry, Bujji,” the sound came out of his mouth. The dialect was wrong, and so was the timbre of his usually deep voice, but Karna pushed down the automatic nausea. Then felt sick for a different reason. Bujji? This Bhairava… was flirting with a vehicle?

"Partners", the vehicle’s, or Bujji’s voice, echoed in Karna’s mind. 

“Mpfffh!” Karna’s eyes glanced in the rearview mirror to see the woman had managed to get the thin substance off her mouth, some kind of gag, although the rest of her was still tied up. “Please, Bhairava. I haven’t done anything to you. Just please leave me and my child alone,” the woman begged. 

“Sorry, labs papa,” Bhairava said. “Would’ve reconsidered if it wasn’t a 5 star bounty. I’m finally gonna be able to pay off my debts with this.”

Money?? Bhairava had kidnapped the mother of the universe for money? 

Well, that settled it. Karna had no intention of giving baby Krishna over to whoever was willing to pay what seemed like a large sum of gold to get the woman. Sure, he had faced Keshava many times on the battlefield (technically he had faced Arjuna, but he had suspicions that the charming God had a few tricks up his sleeve), but it was nothing personal. He would be a great ally to have in this time period, and maybe he could finally have a friendly spar with the man. His troubles in his past life were because he had allied himself with the wrong people anyway. 

Not his beloved Suyodhana, though, never. Karna had been happy to bleed on the battlefield, and would have given his life ten times over just to see the loving smile on Duryodhana’s face once more. He had been good friends with Ashwa, his brother-in-arms as well. Karna pushed down a pang of loneliness as he thought of both of them. Ashwa was here, anyway. He vaguely remembered seeing him chained down, but it wasn’t like those chains could stop Karna's friend of all people. 

Just as the thought hit, so was the vehicle. The impact of something bouncing off of Bhairava’s side made the vehicle flip over several times. Karna gladly gave up full control for a few seconds, retreating deep into Bhairava’s mind until the experience was over. He peeked out when the vehicle stopped moving.

Oh. It was Ashwa.

Karna watched through eyes half-closed with Bhairava’s pain as Ashwa quickly made his way over to the woman (who unsurprisingly had come out unscathed), and made sure she wasn’t hurt. He knew what would happen, but it didn’t make it less disappointing to have Ashwa turn to give Bhairava’s body a glance, sigh, and carry the woman back into the woods where he came from. It was for the best. Ashwa probably assumed Karna was gone again. Besides, this would solve the problem of the woman being hunted down. 

With a rumbling noise, the weird white lamps in the vehicle came back on, along with the floating blue ones. Karna bit back a yelp as the voice came back, proving Bujji really was the vehicle. “Bhairava! Are you okay?” 

“Okay? I’m okay?” he heard Bhairava breathe, and realized it was coming from within. He quickly ceded control once again. If he had his way, Bhairava would never find out Karna was also there inside him. Bhairava continued talking, oblivious to the fact that Bujji hadn't heard what he said right before. “Just peachy, Bujji. I think our little lab-experiment-gone-wrong has disappeared.” 

“It was that angry old man, he’s the last thing my sensors registered before the impact! He must have taken her away.”

Karna didn’t recognize what Bhairava called the woman, the words Bujji used for Ashwa, or exactly what part of her registered the impact, either. He had also missed some of the earlier sentences. Fuck, he would have to learn a new language, because clearly everyone here was multilingual. Besides that, though, he’d have to make sure Ashwa and the woman weren’t followed. 

Slowly, making sure Bhairava wasn’t alarmed by his presence (until he was Karna again and clearly Bhairava wasn’t strong enough to stay aware when not in full control), Karna emerged. 

“We shall go home,” he told Bujji, which was nerve wracking in a way that felt embarrassing for a war veteran. What if this artificial being could somehow detect lies? What even was this thing capable of? Karna loved to fight, loved knowing he was a well seasoned machine when it came to beating people in battle, but of course that was only when he knew his opponents. Or at least knew they were somewhat human. He didn’t know what the hell this Bujji was. 

A pause. “I thought you just said you wanted the reward?”

Karna guessed she was talking about the money. “I will figure something out. Wealth can be obtained through other means. It will be dangerous to keep pursuing such a formidable foe as him.” He hoped it was at least somewhat believable as Bhairava’s voice, although he hadn’t quite figured out the modern speech patterns yet. 

Another pause. “Right… maybe we should head back.” She sounded more worried now. “And get you checked out. Plotting coordinates for Kasi, then. You sleep in the meantime, I’ll get you there.”

Karna was grateful he didn’t have to speak more with Bujji. Bhairava would be confused again when he woke up, but would probably write it off as a decision he made with a head injury. An embarrassing part of him wished he’d wake up and be back on the battlefield, holding up that chariot wheel. Maybe this was some hallucination he was having before death, and any second now he'd start smelling the smoke and feeling the old battle wounds again. At least he knew what he faced there.

Or maybe this was Yama’s abode, and this was his personal narakam [hell], designed to punish him for all of the atrocities he committed. Draupadi's beautiful, vengeful face came to mind. Maybe Bujji was a new modern version of Yama's attendants. He shuddered before falling asleep, hoping that the scary thing wouldn’t kill him (he trusted she wouldn't kill Bhairava, at least). 

-

tagging ppl who interacted with the last part

@ahamasmiyodhah @mahi-wayy @vijayasena @celestesinsight @n0tm3g @prettykittytanjiro @lakshana-ke-lakshan @sometimesbrave

[sheeezu]

aggressive yet exuberant knocking on your bedroom window

HELLO THERE AGAIN, well i didn’t think i’d see you here, lounging about in your striped attire. and yes, i’m well aware i’m showing up, totally unannounced at your bodacious abode, but my audacity was built into my software.

sweetheart, they’re not boots. they’re Bottega Venetta’s, my love. and apologize about the rugs! you know i’m as clumsy as they come :(

yes i will ask that question because i am a woman freed from the shackles of shame. cryptically interrogated? why yes absolutely!! the crimes you’ve committed have become core memories. yes i was salty that you spilled my fenty beauty on my porcelain, but me chasing you around my room after that, screaming at you like a woman robbed, is etched into memory. my beloved ysl love shine-candy lipstick, rest in power sweet angel. i’m not mad! it’s not in my bones to ever be mad at you, but yes i will forever be a salty cunt x

your gummies will always be eaten by me. it’s code. you signed up for this when we became friends all those years ago, it’s not my fault you didn’t read the fine print!!!

points to plants

THESE???? ARTIFICIAL???? WOW!!! that is INCREDIBLE QUALITY!!!!

why yes of course, our romance is insurmountably better than all the stories i’ve ever read, and probably more than the ones i plan on reading too!!

also, you need new pyjamas. seriously. these sailor stripes are not doing it whatsoever. and no, don’t you dare pick up the floral ones i swear to god!!!!! i’m buying you that pair from Italy, the black ones, the beautiful silk pair. and yes you will accept it, because i said so.

do it again????? whore.

Aap aakhri shakhs hain jis se main raat ko sonay se pehle baat karna chahta hoon….

much love, forever and always, yours truly and lovingly - J

first and foremost, don't even joke about excessive vitamin overdose. I care about your internal organs. i don't know why we're having this conversation when you already know I am as knowledgeable on fashion as i'd image a mole rat to be. I wear everything on the go much like i'm given 5 minute by the police to change before my arrest with respect to our valuable relationship, i will do as i please. which means picking out the floral pjs, and eating soap and kissing obviously rabied wild animals

provocative. suggestive. crosses all parameters of affection, physical, but will do..... for now.

[rake-rake]

Berserker. “Arjuna”.

The name "Arjuna" is employed, however this divinity lacks all memories, personality, and feelings that formed that man. "Arjuna" has no memory of who they were before what they are now.

No more war, no more pain, nor more evil, no more Arjuna. In their pursuit of good they became the very evil they first sought to destroy. Creating and destroying for millenniums, taking away anything that did not fit their picture of "good" and wad deemed "unnecessary", It reached the point were they could not even remember why they were doing so anymore, a machine working by inertia.

Karna is the one trigger that is able to pull something human from them, flashes of memories that mean nothing to them anymore even when they're aware they should. They cannot put a name to what they feel around their "brother", or if they're even feeling something at all.

Up until Peperoncino arrived to the Lostbelt, Arjuna did not as much as remember their name. It was Ashwatthama that recognized them as Arjuna and called them that, a name the god hadn't heard in almost three thousand years.

Talking with Arjuna can be a struggle, their mind resides too far away from the human vessel in heights humans cannot reach. It's normal for them to take long moments before focusing on the person speaking to them, and even longer to respond. Since Arjuna was alone for such a long time they have lost any semblance of human communication, even forgetting their own language and needing long moments to remember the right words and effectively communicate.

Besides of difficulty in communication, Arjuna is very much lacking of many other human characteristics. They do not breath, blink, eat, or move in the unconscious way humans do even when they try to be still. The being that was found at the Lostbelt looked like a marble statue, beautiful and terrifying. A naked body with both female and male characteristics, covered in yantras and gold adornments, bone white hair cascading down a body severely emaciated and atrophied. When they have so much power there's no need to use the vessel for things such as walking or moving in any other way. They have simply forgotten how to as much as move their legs.

Due to the disconnection between mind and vessel, Arjuna struggles to receive external signals of all the kind, not just attention directed towards them but even situations directly affecting the vessel. Were they to be injured, it would take a incredibly sever amount of damage before they realized it, to then fix the imperfections without as much as a second thought. As long as the vessel is functional, they would not realize.

At Chaldea, Arjuna has begun acclimating to the human environment to the point they're able to have simple conversations, and have been slowly introduced to basic human knowledge that had become foreign to them. They maintain an open and cordial relationship with Karna, who has become the first person they will seek when in need of pretty much anything, and can be often seen conversing with him when not meditating or reading.

[hi-avathisside]

*RANT AHEAD LONG POST

I told my mother that I might have ADHD and I may need to see a psychologist to diagonose it properly and correctly.

Guess what happened?

She gaslighted me. She fucking gaslighted me. It took me so so much courage to face her and tell her this and do you know what she did? The moment I finished speaking, she said I'm just lazy and my sleep schedule is fucked up and I'm faking it all. I don't need no psychologist. I should rather just focus on my studies and stop reading about this bullshit.

She said that "So you're saying that you want to focus on a task, but you cannot and keep thinking about it the all day?" I was hopeful here thinking that maybe, maybe just for once she understood me, but what was I thinking? She proceeded to say, "You're just faking it and you're lazy"

Why would I think about my parents understanding me? Stupid fool. Thinking my own mother would give me some love and understanding. Stupid Stupid.

The conversation(a shame to call it that) or more like lecture:

*I explain what adhd is and what executive dysfunction is and how I feel like it affects me*

"Achha matlab tu yeh keh rahi hai ki tu kaam karna chahti, tujhe lagta bhi hai ki tu kaam karegi lekin tu kar nahi paati? [Name] Yeh sab karna na chhod de tu bas aalsi hai aur kuch nahi. Tujhe sach main lagta hai tu yeh sab bolegi aur humein samjh aajayega *(now yelling) Apni na padhai par dhyaan de aur na time se sona aur uthna shuru karde. Ye uljulool cheezein padhne ki aur mujhe batane ki ki zaroorat nahi hai. tujhe koi adhd waghera nahin hai sab paagal pan hai padhai karle wahi bohot hai."

"Aisa nahi hota hai logon ko sach main yeh sab ho sakta hai"

"Yeh sab na bekaar ki baatein hain aur humare paas iss sab faaltu cheezon ke liye paise nahi hain."

"Thik hai" * I proceed to leave the room, to breathe for 5 minutes. I come back again, and all I hear is more taunts "inhe kuch bol do toh yeh toh sunenge bhi nahi, kamre se hi bahar chali jaati hai" etc. etc.

I don't know what to do. Why would she even say all that? Is it so hard to even try to understand your own child? Give them a little bit of thought and not just spew out nonsense? I guess it is quite hard for the parents.

[sambhavami]

Hi again!!💕💕

Thank you for the answer!!

Krishna having a gymnast build is exactly how I imagine him!

He seems quite feminine even for those times, I love that for him, embracing his feminity and being confident in himself!! <3

Do you think he was a feminist, like most people believe? I do think he was in his own way, and considering the time and setting too. What stood out to me, is how women feel comfortable around him and find it easy to confide in him too!

Also, how was his relation with his other 16000 wives, did he have a platonic relationship with them? I imagine he would treat them like humans not victims or refugees, giving them back their freedom and establishing them as women with power, very amazing of him. What do you think?

Personally speaking, Krishna is not a feminist in the exact way that we'd like him to be in the 21st century, obviously. We know that every activist/important person throughout history has picked up consistently a single, focused issue they tried to solve, and for Krishna that was not sexism.

He is definitely more considerate towards women than other men of his time, and he usually doesn't pass offhanded derogatory comments about them, unlike some of his peers. That being said, he also doesn't think twice about gifting 'slave/servant' women on any occasion, or the infamous incident where he 'offered' Draupadi to Karna in exchange for a change of loyalty before the war.

Krishna and Draupadi share a unique relationship, which is neither romantic nor familial. It's a pure platonic friendship, with a level of intimacy that does raise questions of underlying-romance to an observer not aware of the true kerning of their acquaintance.

The kind of relationship that is described for Draupadi and Krishna in the romantic context, to me personally, is in fact the relationship that Krishna and Satyabhama had, to some extent. This seems more likely from the friendship described between Draupadi and Satyabhama (except for the Vana Parva conversation, that seems out of character for both the women).

Krishna and his wives are slightly a different issue. For the primary 8 wives he has a pretty traditional man-led relationship (except for Satyabhama in some parts) for the most part. He holds most of the chips in the relationship, but occasionally does give in and does what his wives want such as bringing the parijata tree for Satyabhama or doing tapasya to get a Shiva-powered son for Jambavati. All considered, he is definitely not a bad husband, but not an extraordinary one either.

For the other 16100 women, I personally believe he had marriages on paper only. Unless I am misremembering, he tried to reunite them with their families- fathers, brothers, husbands, but the society denied them a place, and they were considering just ending it. It is at this time Krishna [and Satyabhama] come up with the plan for Krishna to marry all of them [he got 'married' to a lady called Rohini, who served as the representative of all 16100] in order to allow all of them to draw a pension from Krishna's parliamentary salary and live with dignity on Dwarika's soil.

Many of those women were much older/younger than Krishna, and they would have each had a unique relationship with Krishna, and not all of them romantic. Later there is this subplot of Krishna 'catching' Samba in an inappropriate state with some of these women and 'cursing' him [not what happened, but the popular version of this part is definitely a reflection of what society expects of women in general]. These women most probably did not get much 'face time' with Krishna, but yes, Krishna gave them the bare minimum respect, going against most of even his own people.

[zelphin124]

LCB-3 -> Canto 1: Chapter 18

I've said it once and will say it again! Be emotionally prepared, for this hits home if you like Jatayu. Chapter 19 is the predicted last chapter! Woohoo! Masterpost Chapter 17 <--> Chapter 19

~o0o~

“Let’s head out,” Mark pressed after Mallo and Dante returned inside. He glanced at Lenore. “You stalked up on wine, yeah?” 

“Yeah, it might be useful,” Lenore lifted a drink. “And it’s good.” 

“No one else has to hear about it. There’s some clause in our contract about drinking on the job, but who cares?” Mark smirked, taking a sip himself. 

“It builds up me.” 

“What are you, a robot?” 

“I’m usually on fire a lot of the time,” Lenore explained. “Which seems to worsen when I have a lot of cocktails. I’m curious to see its effects on me in combat, good or bad.” 

The conversation was mostly Lenore continuing it, with Mark trying to dismiss the small talk and get on with climbing the spire until Dante joined. 

“I’m not going to rat anyone out for drinking,” Dante shrugged. “But, in that case, shall we head up?” 

“We got nothing better to do,” Mark implied. 

Lenore grabbed the manager’s attention. “I do apologize if I explode.” 

Mark furrowed his eyes. “Don’t use the ID, then.” 

“I mean with the sin feathers collecting on my back.” 

“Oh, fair enough.” 

“Are you sure you don’t want extra?” Dante asked. 

Hyde flipped her head to watch them from the counter. More? We want more explosions even after—she inhaled a deep breath and turned back around. You know what? I will not deal with this stupidity right now. 

“Won’t that just make me blow up faster?” Lenore countered. 

“Better now than when we are facing an actual threat.” 

“I would need lots of feathers for it to reach an explosion point.” 

“It takes about twelve before they go haywire,” Mark added. 

“I guess I should’ve thought more carefully about it,” Lenore shrugged. 

Their conversation continued, but Hyde decided it was not worth her time to tune into any more of it. She spun in her seat before resting her elbow on the counter. Glancing up at the bartender, she raised an eyebrow. I could go for something to numb my pain right now. “What’s the best drink you got?” 

Her mandating tone caught his attention. The faded man turned around to face her. “Ah! Shynei! Where is Gerald? I thought he accompanied you.” 

Hyde’s stare hardened. “With the others,” she lied. 

“Very well! What kind of drink would you like? Some soda, water, or sweet tea?” Karna smiled softly, putting the bottle of liquor in his hand out of sight. 

Does this guy take me for a weak drinker? Hear my question, bartender. “What’s your favorite drink?” She repeated it in the most chill tone she could muster. 

“A good, long, hard vodka." The bartender eyed her carefully as he poured a glass and slid it over toward Hyde. 

Hyde took the small glass and downed it like a water shot in one sip, not making a face. Dull. “Got anything harder?” She lifted the glass with her hand as if it were useless to her. 

Before the concerned bartender could speak, Mark strolled over and spoke up. “Gotta try one of them fireballs; it hits right on the spot.” 

Jekyll nudged Hyde. Try that. If anyone would know good taste in wine, it would be Mark. 

Karna smiled. “Old friend, welcome back. I have your favorite for you.” 

“This is everyone’s favorite to your memory,” Mark glanced down at the fahoola served to him. “You don’t actually know us.” 

Karna did not reply. 

Mark leaned over to face Hyde casually. “Ignore him; he’s a figmented memory, and he cannot register us as new people.” 

Hyde nodded slowly before knocking on the counter, grabbing the man’s attention again. “Hey, lemme have one of those fireballs.” 

There was a moment of silence as Mark stood there, staring at her for a moment. Karna simply did as he was told and slid a fireball drink in Hyde’s direction right into her hands. The bartender scooted away, letting them be. 

“Is there anything more you can do to make you two stand apart from one another?” The prisoner asked, leaning on one of the support panels of the bar. 

Hyde took the fireball and leaned back in her chair, resting her elbow on the back of the seat, and lifted her foot onto her knee. She tilted her head and gestured to him. “Any ideas?” 

“Well, Jekyll is a lot more passive and calm,” Mark began his tone in a friendly manner, one similar to the one that Hyde had to dig through the first time they met. “She’s someone you can talk to without getting under her skin,” he offered a smile as his passive-aggressiveness came to light. 

Hyde downed the drink, feeling the kick. She sat the glass aside and frowned, staring right at Mark’s eyes with no wavering soul. If you wanted to insult me, I expected more from you. She nodded, waiting for him to continue. 

“Versus you. You are the more aggressive one who cannot get along with others. I don’t know; maybe if you put on like a paper crown when you are fronting or whatever, that might help.” Mark’s tone was just friendly enough to hide his intentions of poking at her buttons. 

However, Hyde only tilted her head to the side. You’re lucky. I quite enjoy watching you and your silly temperament. 

Is he stupid? Jekyll raised an eyebrow. We have the hair and the monocle and—

Hyde shrugged. We are under no obligation to please him. He doesn’t have to like us. Nor do we have to cater to his request. Her expression took no offense to Mark’s words, and she replied calmly. “I think the monocle should be enough.” She glanced the prisoner up and down, indicating that was her final answer. 

Mark stared for a bit as if something about the response struck him oddly. He snapped out of it and gestured for Hyde to get up. “Let’s go then, Hyde,” he cracked a smirk and finger-gunned Karna. “See you next time, bartender.” 

Karna lifted his hand with a bright smile. “Hey, until next time!” He replied cheerfully. 

Hyde slowly got out of her seat, shaking her head as the wine kicked in. She made her steps carefully out of the bar before joining the rest of the party up the fifth floor. 

They walked along the path silently, with Dante being the only one to talk to the party as they continued upward. Mallo kept a fair distance away from Hyde, with Mark and Lenore as a buffer between the two. 

The floor quickly evened out as the plateau smoothed over the path. The party slowed and looked at their surroundings, trying to find anything remotely familiar. 

…You’ve been here before. Jekyll glanced through Hyde’s memories and found a very similar landscape. 

Yes. Hyde glanced around at every sound, gripping her paintbrush. That distortion is around here somewhere. I’d rather not face it again. 

We might have to, Jekyll shuddered as she watched the memory of Hyde falling off the spire. It seems it morphs the peccatulum together. Just... don’t fall off again. 

Not the plan, Hyde glanced around. Her instincts were on alert. She knew she was being watched. That horrible stare was all too familiar. The distortion was close, watching all of the party carefully, but it was nowhere in sight. 

Before them lay the same bar from the last two floors. The only difference was the bar was on fire, burning to a crisp in front of their eyes. The billowing, blazing flames scorched the windows and whatever was surrounding them. The smell of burning corpses rose in the air, and a ghastly silhouette of a figure could be seen in the building. It was burnt and charred with heat, screaming a horrendous cry endlessly as it withered in pain, trapped in the windows. 

However, no one in the party moved to help. They sat there, observing the scene. Some of them realized there was nothing they could do; others couldn’t care less to help the poor soul. 

Around the bar, corpses of monsters lay at rest, their blood coloring the ground in various puddles. There were a few demon syndicates and ordeals scattered among the dead victims as well. Hyde recognized the corpses she had slain under newer ones, and it sent shivers down her spine. A dormant creature lay in front of the bar’s door, unscathed, unarmed, and at rest. 

Dante sighed. “I don’t like the look of this. Something went wrong... This… This is why Niskakara called Jatayu the Burner of Surya, isn’t it?” 

Hyde clicked her tongue quietly, leaning on her hip as she observed the situation. He only burned a building. That’s it? He got so upset over something as little as that? 

As if it were on cue, the world once more shifted to the black-and-white colors of Jatayu’s memory. 

A familiar, recognizable engineer sat inside the building, which was no longer on fire. He was hard at work, fidgeting with objects in his hands. It was clear renovations were being made to the building. The memory of Jatayu toiled late in the night as he was preparing for something. Sounds of stretches and sparks were heard as he installed something into the bar. 

The party slowly moved into the bar, or at least some of them. Lenore and Mark stayed outside, while Mallo and Hyde walked in after Dante. Hyde watched Jatayu carefully. He almost looked real. It was clear that whatever was in his hands was something akin to P. Corp’s singularity. The oddity of the situation was how Jatayu was doing it alone. There was no team to assist him. 

Footsteps were heard behind the group in the bar. Hyde turned her head to see the older brother entering slowly, concern the biggest emotion on his expression. “Ah, Jatayu. I thought I’d see you here.” 

The engineer looked up. “Mm? Sampati? It’s quite late. What are you doing here?”

Sampati approached slowly. “Looking for you, brother. It’s getting close to the Night in the Backstreets time. It won’t be safe for you to work right now.”

"Oh, that. Worry not... I will be fine. I am nearly finished here, and even if I am not, the door remains locked for the Sweepers. Ah... you may want to... uh... lock the door, seeming as you came in. Just in case.”

Sampati nodded slowly before turning around, phasing through Mallo as he locked the door. He gripped his fingers on the handle for a moment, taking a deep breath. It was as if he was composing himself before he approached his younger brother. “Jatayu. Do you... uh... got a minute?” 

“Huh?” It took a moment for Jatayu to stop his work. He placed his tools on a table gently and turned to give his full attention to his brother. “Of course. Always, for you. Oh, how is Sita doing?”

The older brother cracked a smile. "Hehe. Sita is just fine; you saw her just yesterday.”

“You know that I always want to make sure she’s okay; I would have thought you’d come to expect that! Besides, you forget that I only saw her after being away for months trying to expand the Nest’s borders towards Kollam, to noticeable improvement. ”

“I know, I know. You care a lot... but that's partially why I’m here.” His words caused Jatayu to raise an eyebrow, but he took a deep breath and continued. “You’ve been very, very hard at work, Jatayu. You... you hardly get out anymore. I haven’t seen you in four months.”

Jatayu’s face deadpanned. “I was working on the Shelter technology, improving it. You know this.”

“I know, I know, just... let me talk.”

“...My apologies, Sampati.” Jatayu lowered his head, which did nothing to help the growing tension in the room. 

Sampati stood straighter, adjusting his posture. “You’ve been away for so long. I get it, I know. Wing business is important business; you are trying to... make the whole backstreets safer, working through all sorts of legal loopholes with the city to try and make it work, that I’d never be able to understand.” He paused, leaning his hand on the back of a chair, staring towards the tools on the table. “You’ve given me this gift; it’s kept me safe for so long. Saved my life so many times. You’ve done so much for Kollam, Jatayu. You are making a genuine effort to make this world somewhat better, and it’s working, to some extent. Infinitely better than most, and what I could dream to do.”

The younger brother was not convinced by his flattery. “This... this feels like you are building up to something negative.”

It was clear Sampati was struggling to tiptoe over the subject. "You’ve done all of this, but... you are..." He cursed, giving up. “You’re neglecting yourself.”

“Hm? That’s all…?”

“I’ve heard from Lahkshama how you are within your office: staying cooped up for days on end. You are getting food given to you by others because you can’t leave your workshop. I was told you were avoiding sleep at night just to work on things that could blow up in your face.”

Jatayu tilted his head. “Sampati, what is this?”

“Now, Kollam is suddenly getting a surge of new equipment for upgrades to its technology, for free, and is constantly being worked on by no crews.” The older brother continued as Jatayu nodded slowly. “It’s easy to figure out that you are the cause of it, Jatayu. I’m just worried for your sake, is all; that you are... maybe working a bit too hard... you might need to take a break.”

“Oh? Is that all?” Jatayu shrugged lightly, not taking his brother’s words seriously. He turned back to his work, grabbing a tool with his hands and feeling its tip to identify which one it was. “I can’t do that, Sampati. There’s too much work to be done; this place needs to be made safer.”

The first look of frustration crossed Sampati’s face. “But why? You already did that years ago!”

“The technology is outdated. Ever since I became Head Manager of the Architecture Department, there’s always been more and more innovation that’s made to be better, stronger, and safer. I’ll likely need to return to these buildings in a few years to redo the fortifications.”

“Fortifications from what?!” Sampati slammed his hand on the chair, not causing too much of a ruckus, but it was clear he was getting worked up. “Who could possibly ever threaten this place? Your technology is good enough as is, Jatayu; you’re overworking yourself, and it’s beginning to show. You need to stop and rest. You’ve done enough good work; why not rest? Hang out with your niece more! Find someone to settle down with and have a family of your own! Even just... be with your brother more..." He trailed off, looking to the floor as he heaved a sigh. 

The younger brother paused his work, slowly glancing over his shoulder. “I’m sorry. Are you... getting upset with me about trying to make sure that my home village is safe?” He set down his tools and slowly approached his older brother, his voice raising with each word as if the topic kicked a nerve in his brain. “Are you getting upset with me because I want to make sure that my family is safe?”

“No. That’s not what I’m upset over, Jatayu!”

“Then what is it? Why are you getting upset at me?”

“Because I don’t want you to get yourself hurt doing something dangerous!” Sampati huffed as he stared down at Jatayu, stoically standing. “I made a promise that I would never let you get hurt, Jatayu. We made that promise. That we’d do all in our power to make sure that the ones we loved weren’t getting hurt.”

Jatayu’s voice did not lower in volume like his brother’s. “Exactly! I am doing all that I can!”

“And I love you for it, brother. You are doing amazing... but you cannot expect me to stand idly by, watching through the sidelines and word of mouth from others that you are slowly decaying yourself from lack of care! Sleepless nights alone in a dangerous workshop, here even! You planned to place your faith in this unfinished technology to keep you safe from the Sweepers and night in the backstreets.”

“In fairness, the door is locked.”

“Now! Because I locked it! It was unlocked when I came here! Imagine you missed the time, Jatayu! If that door was unlocked, and I wasn’t here for you!”

The younger brother seemed tired of the conversation, dismissing his older brother over and over again. “Nothing bad would have happened. I can assure you, I am not so reckless as to just forget the very thing that haunts the backstreets every night.”

“But you did get distracted," Sampati grunted and started to pace. “Just—the point is! I can’t just let you do your side of the promise endlessly and watch my closest friend kill himself slowly over his work.” 

“Sampati, it’s alright. You are overreacting to this.”

“No! No, I’m not! The last time I saw you was 4 months ago! You are trying everything in your power to change the entire world for us, and I can’t just sit by while I hear about you not caring about yourself! Think of what Father would say—“

Something inside Jatayu snapped. “Father would say that I wasn’t doing enough.” A deep nerve had been struck, and his face boiled with anger. He grunted, facing away from Sampati. “Father… would say that I am not doing enough for Kollam; that I could be doing more! And I could be; there’s always so much more that I could be fixing! Father would say that I was doing the impossible—that I would never be able to do! Father, would say that you would be the better man for keeping the family safe!”

The older brother stopped pacing, his eyes wide as he listened to Jatayu. He stood in stunned silence, unable to counter. 

“Because you are stronger! Faster! You’re a Grade One Fixer, Sampati. You’re a celebrity star prodigy who has saved countless lives. You could do it. You could make this world better; be the better man. While Father would tell me that I shouldn’t get in the way of that! …So I’m not.” He paused, turning back towards his brother with bawled fists and gritted teeth. His eyes started to tear up as he couldn’t contain the hurt within him. “Father would promise me that I wasn’t as great a man as you could be. And he’s right. The only thing, the ONLY thing, that I could ever do, ever dream of doing to help keep the ones I love safe in the slightest, is dedicate myself to my machines. You are amazing, and I look up to you, Sampati, and I love you to death. And knowing that you constantly face death as well terrifies me. Because if a better man like you dies, what hope does this world have? What hope does your daughter have?”

The fixer grew pale in the face, gripping the table as he listened. 

The engineer couldn’t keep himself together. He stepped forward and grabbed the shirt of his brother, looking him directly in the eyes. “The only things that I have are my family and my machines... That is the only way I can ever make a difference. So if my machines can keep you, Bhumi, and Sita safe, then I am obligated to do nothing more in life than to make those machines better, stronger, and safer.”

Sampati’s voice was only a whisper. “Jatayu...”

The tears finally fell from Jatayu’s eyes. His grip loosened and he stood back down on the floor. 

The older man stared for a hard moment before he lightly lifted his arms, extending them toward Jatayu and embracing him in a warm hug. “Jatayu. You are so much more than that. You have your heart... it hurts me to hear you say that because I look up to you.”

The little brother started to weep. He gripped Samapti’s shirt more as he rested his head on his shoulder. 

The older brother consoled him gently. “You have saved my life countless times and have done so much good. You are a better man than I am. I am he who stands by and lets the world be as it is. You are seeking to change things for the better while I stagnate in the status quo. You are infinitely better than I am, brother, and you are my inspiration for becoming stronger. I want to make sure that my loved ones are safe, which includes you.”

The moment would be seared into both their memories as they stood in the familiar embrace of one another. It was as if when they clenched each other, their hearts were exposed to one another in a rare, brotherly comfort. 

Hyde sighed and glanced away. Jekyll was nervously watching. This all goes to crap, doesn’t it? 

Yes, Hyde shook her head. It has to. 

The fixer continued to speak. “You are enough, more than enough; I can promise you, Jatayu. You are one of the best men I’ve met and have had the pleasure of being related to, brother.”

The engineer couldn’t find the words. “…that… I...” He paused, another heavy weep escaping his throat. He wept alongside his brother as they solemnly hugged each other. “...I could say the same to you, brother.”

The peace that resolved the tension was noticeable to the party. The duo shared a moment, relaxing and bringing themselves together, but were interrupted by a large clock that echoed the time. They both turned their attention to the nearby wall, seeing the time. 

"Oh, it’s getting awfully close to time.” Sampati patted Jatayu’s shoulder. “Come on, let’s go home. You can stay the night at our house.”

“Thank you.” Jatayu watched his older brother step away from him as he rubbed his eyes. “I truly am sorry; the last thing I want to do is be a worry to you. Still... I do, genuinely need to remain here. There is a safety risk if the work I’ve done isn’t finished. It could end up with Surya deflating overnight.”

"Hmm... fine. How long will it take to finish?”

“Alone? About an hour and a half.”

“Convenient. That’s just about how long the Night in the Backstreets will be. At least, a good 10 minutes before its end, at least.” Sampati paused as he huffed lightly at his brother. "Right. I will. I will go home for now then. Just... stay safe, please. I will be back in the morning after. I have to go make sure Bhumi and Sita are okay.”

“Of course, I promise. I will be okay. You take care of them, and lock the door on your way out.”

“Will do. If something happens though—” 

“Nothing will happen, I’m sure. Here, we can bet on it. I bet you... breakfast, lunch, and dinner tomorrow that nothing will happen~”

The fixer stared as the engineer tried to lighten the mood. He took a deep breath before releasing a sigh, smiling softly and wiping his eyes. “Alright, fine. You’re on. I’ll see you tomorrow with doughnuts with some glazed icing, just how you like them.” 

"Thanks, Sampati. I love you; good night, brother.”

“I love you too, brother. Stay safe.”

With the passing exchange of farewells, the duo parted ways from one another. Mark turned around and followed Sampati outside, along with Mallo. Lenore and Hyde stayed inside as they watched Jatayu turn gently back to his work. 

Hyde took a few steps toward the memory of her coworker, observing him carefully. Her thoughts couldn’t form into words, but there was an overall feeling of regret coming from Jekyll as she looked at him. 

I wish I had the chance to tell Lanyon that I was sorry, Jekyll grieved. I didn’t… I didn’t realize—

His pain? You literally gave him therapy. Hyde rolled her eyes. How could you not know? 

I didn’t realize all of this connection stuff was behind it. Jekyll clenched her arms. I didn’t realize someone could love their family like Jatayu does. 

It’s in the past; no need to dwell on it. 

Yet we haven’t changed, Hyde. We haven’t learned from it. 

We don’t need to. 

Jatayu continued to work tirelessly on his machine. The dull light of the closed bar continued to glow as the sounds of sweepers hustled outside in their usual busy manner. It didn’t take long before smoke filled the air. Jatayu didn’t notice, shrugging it off as if his own tools were causing it. However, the bar started to get oddly hot. A dangerous warmth filled the air with an unnatural heat. The engineer took a moment to step back and glance around. 

That was when he spotted it. The flames along the bar grew and grew with a bright, gleaming, unnatural color. Golden, orange, and ruby flames danced and twinkled around sparks and embers of teal-ish green with an unholy contrast of color bleeding into the floors and walls of the bar, spreading with a great speed unusual for fire. 

Smoke quickly devoured the fresh air in the bar, and more sweepers grew in number outside. The flame in the middle of the room began to glow brighter as Jatayu continued to screw up his machines. 

Mark and Mallo could be heard drawing their weapons, trying to avoid the sweepers as Lenore and Hyde looked around the bar for a way out for Dante. The flames wouldn’t necessarily hurt Lenore in the ID she was in, but it definitely would claim Dante. Clashing from the outside and sparking from the inside did not bring anyone ease. 

Well crap, Hyde backed up toward Dante, who desperately tried to get the door open. It was locked, and he couldn’t figure out how to open it as if it were jammed. 

“I don’t like this." Lenore used the wings on her ID to wrap around Hyde and Dante in a safe corner of the bar, trying her best to protect them. 

Hyde cursed under her breath and used her legs and arms to shield Dante from some of Lenore’s weak points, feeling the heat growing behind her. She knew the flames were spreading quickly and would consume them if they got any closer. Seconds turned to minutes as the flames quickly claimed the entire bar, burning every nook and cranny. Lenore and Hyde started to feel the fire on their skin and clothes as it closed in on them from the walls and floor. Cracks were heard in the ceiling. 

Despite Jekyll’s panic, Hyde was surprisingly calm. Her heart pounded, but she could not inhale in stress. I will pass out if I panic. Hyde quickly tried to assess any exit for the manager. There were none where he could not get hurt. “Heh,” Hyde winced as the flames started to claim her skin, eating at her health. Lenore grunted in pain as well, taking the brunt of the damage. The painter looked at the manager. “Still can’t get yourself out of trouble, can you?” 

The joke didn’t land in the moment of peril. A loud thud slammed on the jammed door. Through the smoky, burnt windows, Lenore and Hyde could see Mark and Mallo trying to break down the door while avoiding the sweepers that closed in on them. Tensions rose again as they tried and failed. 

However, despite Mallo backing up to catch her breath, Mark did not stop. He tore into the door with everything he had. He seemed rather passionate as he finally broke through the door, seeing the flames of the building consuming everything in his path. He coughed, running in to reach for Jatayu as if he were cynical and acting out of character. It was like he was reaching out to someone else who reminded him of the memory of Jatayu. 

Hyde looked at him with curiosity. What the hell are you doing? 

“Don’t speak too soon, Jekyll!” Dante got up and started to push Lenore and Hyde toward the broken door. “Come on, let’s go!” 

Lenore obliged and met Mallo’s hand as the coworker pulled her out of the bonfire. Mallo almost tossed her aside before she reached for Hyde, who accepted her hand and got pulled out as well. 

However, the manager refused to accept Mallo’s hand, resisting. “I can’t! Jatayu and Mark aren’t out here!” 

Mallo looked panicked and annoyed. “You can’t be revived! Get out of there!” 

“I can’t leave them!” 

The flames grew ever closer to the manager as he glanced back at Mark rushing to Jatayu, his hands falling through the fragmented memory. Despite being unable to grab him, he still tried as if he were in a demented daze. “We have to get out of here; the building’s burning; let’s go!” He spoke with a unique panic the party hadn’t heard before. 

“I can get them for you,” Lenore offered, also extending her hand out toward the manager. “I’ll handle this!” 

“I can’t control you,” Mallo almost hesitated to retract her hand. “Don’t be stupid!” 

The memory of Jatayu coughed profusely, which only made the panic in Mark’s eyes worse. He acted as if there was someone else he was seeing. “Please,” he mentioned a name that was not Jatayu, but the flames made it difficult to hear it clearly. “We…. leave—” 

Dante finally took Mallo’s hand. She yanked him out of the bar as fast as possible. He gasped before ordering Lenore. “Get Mark out of there as fast as possible!” 

Lenore flared up her wings and nodded before diving back into the flames, her words inaudible as the ceiling cracked further, groaning as it lost its structure. She stopped in front of Mark and grabbed his arm. “This Jatayu isn’t real!” She tried speaking to Mark but paused as she observed his state.

Mark didn’t seem to budge. Whoever he saw amid the flames, he was trying to protect them from a fire, desperation in his voice. 

Lenore didn’t stop, recomposing herself as the flames licked at her clothes. “Mark, it’s going to be alright! We need to help the real Jatayu. We don’t have time for this!” 

The prisoner retaliated. “What do you mean he’s Jatayu?! He’s my—” There was a long pause. He turned back toward the memory. “Come on, the fire is going to burn you. We need to get out of here! Come on, come on!” 

Hyde tilted her head curiously, searching her memory for any recollection of who he could be possibly seeing. 

Jekyll helped her search. He talked about his old lady and brother; she remembered when they first encountered him. Is he... trying to save one of them from the fire? 

Hyde shrugged. It’s going to get them both killed if they don’t snap out of it. Perhaps someone was important to him after all. It seems he hasn’t grown out of it quite yet. 

Jekyll sighed. Is this the whole connection being a weakness thing? 

Can you not tell? Hyde gestured with her head toward the fire as she watched the ceiling bend in. If he didn’t care about anyone, he would be out of there. 

Lenore was clearly tired of his excuses and watched the bar slowly cave in. She grabbed Mark’s arm firmly and started to drag him away from the scene. 

Although Mark resisted, he was no match in the weak state he was in to stop her. 

Lenore safely dragged him toward the manager as they all stood outside the bar in a safe area, watching the interior blaze from the windows and broken door. 

Hyde heaved a relieved sigh. Good, they finally got out. 

Some party members assembled themselves to cover Jatayu’s back as they watched the sweepers outside. However, most of them didn’t seem to be paying too much attention to them. 

The memory of Jatayu inside the bar panicked, entering a stunned state. He hadn’t realized how quickly the flames grew until it was too late. As if it were on cue, the flames finally reached the door and blocked his exit. He tried to back away from the fire, but there was no escaping the rising smoke, taking away his air. He cursed loudly, groaning as he stared at the sweepers outside. The morning dawn slowly crept up on the horizon, but the night was not quite over. 

The wooden beams in the ceiling cracked further as they turned to ash. The damage had been too much for the bar to support its weight any longer. The steel melted and crashed, releasing more smoke into the air. Jatayu gagged and gasped for air as the fire grew. The orange and green flames surrounded him quickly, snuffing out any hope he had for surviving as he saw his end approaching him. 

“JATAYU!” 

The familiar voice of the fixer filled the air. Sampati phased through the party at a blinding speed, charging into the building and bursting through the doors. He stared around frantically, searching for his brother. 

Jatayu coughed and fell to his knees, his eyes wide as he saw his brother. “Sampati?!” His voice was in a loud shout.” R-Run! It’s not safe here!” 

The machine Jatayu worked on earlier quirked and turned on the table. The walls of the building remained unscathed and upright, versus the floor and ceiling, as if the technology Jatayu worked on was only partially working. 

The older brother pulled out his iconic spear, using it as leverage against the flames, pulling them apart as if he controlled them. He tossed them aside like objects. Fighting the fires, he burst through the large panels of rubble, wood, and steel, struggling to get towards his little brother. “JATAYU!” 

“Go! Leave me! It’s too dangerous! You could be crushed!” 

“No! I won’t leave you! I can’t!” 

“SAMPATI!” 

Their screams at each other soon get overshadowed by the ever-growing flames. The hazes grew as the ceiling crumbled more and more, about to give way at any moment. 

For a brief, single moment, there was an opening between them—a moment where the brothers could see each other amid the miasma and flames. Sampati wasted no time and pulled out the gift Jatayu made for him, clutching it in his hand. He pressed the button on it quickly and threw the machine, flying through the opening and moving toward Jatayu. 

The machine lands against Jatayu’s chest, thudding hard against him. Jatayu grunted from the force of impact, only to see when he opened his eyes a large, blue bubble around him. It shielded him as he recovered. He stared back toward Sampati, seeing the soft smile on his brother’s face. “S-Sampati?! SAMPATI!” 

The ceiling comes crashing down on them. 

Jatayu was forced to watch through his shield as the building deflated, and his brother was taken from his view by the falling debris and rubble. The shield bounced the rubble off of where Jatayu knelt, and it stopped him from reaching out further as his brother vanished under the smoke. His lips parted as his tears formed, trying to break through the shield as if he were trying to stop what had already happened. “BROTHER!” 

* * *

There was a long, unpleasant silence as the scene slowly shifted. Most of the party shifted uncomfortably as they witnessed what took place. The smoke subsided as the scene returned to a slight color. The memory of Jatayu sat alone, hugging his knees and weeping as he shook. His current, distorted voice surrounded the plane. “I never saw him again. I sat there for what felt like years, waiting for someone to help me. Eventually, help came, but only I left the building. They never found his body... no one says that they blame me... but I will forever blame myself for the loss the world suffered that day—the loss of a better man.”

The sweepers disappeared along with the memory. They were replaced by the peccatulum, like on every floor...

Only to be accompanied by a distortion. 

Hyde slowly turned around, her eyes dull as she laid eyes on the distortion she spotted the first time she climbed the spire. The dormant creature unraveled itself, and it was clear that this was the thing that was watching them the whole time. Rage filled her heart as she gripped her paintbrush, setting the scene she just watched aside. That bastard—

Jekyll took the memory in and stared at it. Hyde, wait, we probably should process this. In therapy, we—

Do you not see what is in front of us, Jekyll? Hyde sighed, shaking her head. This is what stopped us from helping Jatayu properly the first time. I’m not letting it escape us. 

Dante also turned with the rest of the group, fiddling with his panel as he selected IDs. “That’s a distortion... No, it used to be. This used to be someone, but whoever they were before is no longer here.” 

Mallo shrugged, watching her ID change to that of Magic Bullet. “Doesn’t matter; we shall kill it.” 

Mark transformed into a T Corp ID, and Lenore stayed in the same ID she had used for the past three floors. Hyde watched her outfit slowly change into an ID she recognized: Shi Hyde.

Wait, no, I thought we agreed—silence. Jekyll had been removed from Hyde’s thoughts. 

Hyde grunted as she felt her tongue disappear. It felt odd to have the ID she first faced the distortion with. Wouldn’t it recognize her? What was Dante doing? Manager, I told you not to use—

“Kill it quickly; we don’t want Jatayu to succumb to the same fate,” Dante ordered, backing up slowly. 

Dante’s orders were interrupted by a familiar, robotic giggle. The group turned around as they saw one of the purple robotic drones floating their way. It made its way between the distortion and the party as if it were halting the fight. "Oh, how beautiful! The pain and suffering are more glorious than I imagined them to be! So that’s why he fights!” 

Mark raised an eyebrow. “Do we know you?” 

“I know you,” the drone cooed as if the thought was more terrifying. “I don’t recall you being in T Corp… Oh, but I got what I came for. Why Jatayu fights… it’ll make this next part so delightful!” 

Mark furrowed his eyes and leaned toward Lenore. “Does Jatayu have a weird creepy ex?” 

She shrugged. “Not sure, let’s kill it anyway.” 

“Another demon core to use as a bomb, then?”

“Yes.” 

There wasn’t anything else to say. Mark charged forward and slammed into the drone’s side, sending it flying toward the other end of the party line-up. It laughed all the way, mocking them. “You wish to kill me, so why don’t I go ahead and make it easier for you?” It tried to self-destruct, igniting itself to explode. 

But Hyde was faster. 

Hyde drew her sword and lunged straight for the drone, slashing her red sword across its eye. The force she wailed on the robot sent it flying toward the distortion. 

“Se la ve~” The robot exploded in the distortion’s face, killing the majority of the peccatulum alongside it. They lay dead at the distortion’s feet, withering in a horrid, black pain. 

Mark didn’t seem to approve. “There goes the demon core.” 

Hyde glanced at the tool abnormality on her back. She debated throwing the box to try and hurt the enemies this time. Gerald, please come back; she pressed the button. It’d be great to have you right now. 

As she threw it, the distortion was the only one left on the battlefield thanks to the explosion. It dodged the box entirely. The box hissed and shook before a small peccatulum came crawling out. It rolled on its glass ball as its eye glanced at the party. 

Hyde’s heart sank as its eyes narrowed. This peccatulum had set its mind against the party and joined the distortion. It was identical to Gerald, save the mustache-like claws. It was not him, and it discouraged Hyde from hitting it. I… I was hoping you would prove me wrong about my assumption, old friend. It seems the first version was truly too good to be true. 

The distortion continued to dance as it sang, more peccatulum coming out of its skirt as it did the first time Hyde faced it. 

The evil Gerald lunged for Mark, who quickly saw its attack and evaded accordingly. Mark then rushed to attack the new gluttony peccatulum and the boss. He succeeded and was able to land a few hits on them. 

Mallo set up her gun and started firing at the rest of the peccatulum, splitting her bullet beforehand so it would hit more targets. She aimed for a sloth peccatulum. As she shot, the bullet split, killing the sloth peccatulum and the alternate Gerald on the spot. Mallo fell over and clutched her chest, feeling the pain of the shot. 

Hyde leaped to the side, avoiding a few attacks before intercepting the distortion when it targeted Mallo. She blocked before rushing at it, slicing a big, open gap in one of its legs. She was careful enough to not get trampled by its feet. 

Every time the party made significant progress on the peccatulum, more and more kept spawning. It was clear the distortion wanted them dead. Hyde shuddered as she remembered the peccatulum coming in swarms and how grateful she was that there were not as many. Perhaps it had finally run out of stimuli. Hyde knew the abnormality could sow the peccatulum together to make them stronger... Why was it holding back? 

Mark and Mallo worked side-by-side in the fight, tag-teaming every peccatulum that lunged their way. They made quick work of the minions, with Mark taking their attacks and Mallo using the opening to obliterate them with her gun. 

Their tag-teaming let them easily take a few shots on the distortion as it staggered. Hyde twirled her sword, heaving a large breath as she prepared to finish it off. 

Until it entered phase two. 

The distortion did not take any more damage as it transformed. It continued to dance, but it quickened its pace. It spawned twice as many peccatulums and instantly started to morph them together, sowing them together to make them stronger. It was a sea of rainbow enemies. 

“New plan!” Lenore came back out of the bar in the One Who Grips ID. “Dante is changing IDs now!” 

Hyde felt her tongue return as her eye disappeared. She slowly morphed into the One Who Shall Grip ID as Mark and Mallo changed into Kurokumo IDs. We could do this mid-combat? Huh. Hyde smirked, feeling the insanity claim her mind. 

The party adjusted to their new IDs and welcomed Lenore into the battle before working together. Each of them took turns making sure the distortion bled from various wounds they laid across it. The sight only straightened all of them.

The peccatulums were almost ignored as Hyde saw the opportunity to strike. She rushed toward the distortion, slicing a wound across its head before landing on the floor, watching its blood spill onto the plane. The peccatulum gazed in fear as Mark charged forward to finish it off, Mallo and Lenore facing the peccatulums as the distortion fell to Mark’s hands. 

The fight was mostly a blur to Hyde. She couldn’t remember everything the party did, but all she did remember was the satisfaction of watching the abnormality bleed to death before the party.

[aslam-rp]

Plot Idea: Gharelu Hinsa Aur Anjaan Mard Se Dosti Ka Natija

Characters:

Ishita (40 saal) - Ek school teacher aur do bacho ki maa. Wo apne jawaan aur suljhe hue vyaktitva ki wajah se aksar logon ka dhyan kheench leti hai. Uska pati ek ladke ki chaahat rakhta tha, lekin do betiyon ke paida hone ke baad se unka rishhta kharaab hone laga. Uska pati na sirf uske saath misbehave karta hai, balki kabhi-kabhi haath bhi utha leta hai. Ab uska pati apni naukri ke chalte jadatar ghar se door rehta hai, jiski wajah se Ishita ko ab thoda sukoon milta hai.

Aslam (45 saal) - Ek fitness trainer aur PT teacher, jo apni jawani aur charm ka pura fayda uthata hai. Wo shadi-shuda aur teen ladko ka baap hai, lekin apne affair aur flirt karne ki aadat ke liye mashhoor hai. Har naye shehar mein wo ek naye shikaar ki talash mein rehta hai aur apni muskan aur body se aksar auraton ko apna bana leta hai.

Background Story:

Aslam ek mashhoor fitness trainer hai, jo bade-bade shehro mein apna naam kama chuka hai. Uski personality ka asar har aurat aur ladki par hota hai, aur wo iska galat fayda uthata hai. Dusri taraf, Ishita apni shadi mein khush nahi hai. Uska pati uske upar shariirik aur mansik atyachaar karta hai. Wo apne bacho ke liye chup hai, lekin dil hi dil mein wo pyaar aur apnapan ki talash mein hai.

Story Beginning:

Ek din Ishita staff room mein apni classes ke baad baithi hoti hai. Tabhi Aslam ko naye PT teacher ke roop mein introduce kiya jata hai. Sab log uska swagat karte hain, lekin Aslam ki nazar staff room mein beti auraton par hoti hai. Uski nazar Ishita par tik jaati hai. Uske suljhe aur sharmile vyaktitva ko dekhte hue, Aslam usey fasane ka sochta hai, ye samajhte hue ki wo ek unmarried ladki hai.

Conversation 1:

Staff Room Scene

Aslam (dheere se): "Aap yahan ke senior teachers mein se hain na?"

Ishita (halka muskaan dete hue): "Ji, kai saalon se yahan hoon."

Aslam: "Aapko dekh kar toh lagta nahi... matlab, aap toh kaafi jawan lagti hain."

Ishita (sharmate hue): "Shukriya. Par meri betiyan mujhe jawan rehne ka mauka nahi deti."

Aslam (surprised): "Betiyan? Aap mazaak kar rahi hain, hai na?"

Ishita (halki hansi ke saath): "Nahi, sach. Do betiyan hain meri."

Aslam ki chaal:

Aslam apne charm ka istemal karta hai aur Ishita se baatein shuru karta hai. Wo usey halke-hulke tareefon aur casual touch ke zariye apne kareeb laata hai.

Ek din, jab Ishita apne pati ke saath hue jhagdon ke baad school aati hai, Aslam uske chahre par udaasi dekh leta hai.

Conversation 2:

School Campus

Aslam: "Aap theek toh hain na? Aaj kaafi udaas lag rahi hain."

Ishita (thoda chauk kar): "Nahi... bas thoda sar dukh raha tha."

Aslam (soft tone mein): "Aap mujhse baat kar sakti hain. Kabhi kabhi mann halka karna zaroori hota hai."

Ishita (dheere se): "Kya farak padta hai... ghar ki problems hain. Kisi se share karke kya hoga?"

Aslam: "Farak padta hai, Ishita ji. Shayad aapko pata nahi, par kabhi-kabhi ek ajeeb sa insaan bhi aapka sabse bada dost ban sakta hai."

Bechari Ishita Ka Vulnerability:

Ishita shuru mein Aslam ki baaton ko ignore karti hai, lekin dheere-dheere wo uske kareeb aane lagti hai. Uske tareefon aur saath ka asar us par hone lagta hai.

Ek school trip ke dauraan, bus mein baithe hue Aslam Ishita ke kareeb aata hai aur students ke beech Ishita ko chhedne ki koshish karta hai. Ishita sharmati hai, lekin chup rehti hai.

Conversation 3:

Bus Scene

Aslam (Ishita ke kareeb): "Aapka pati aapko kabhi appreciate karta hai?"

Ishita (muskaan dabaate hue): "Mujhe lagta hai aap zyada questions poochte hain."

Aslam: "Jo insaan itna khoobsurat ho, uska appreciation hona chahiye. Aap deserve karti hain."

Ishita (sharmate hue): "Aap galat baat kar rahe hain."

Aslam: "Galat ya sahi toh tab hota hai, jab insaan samajhe. Abhi toh bas main jo feel karta hoon, woh bol raha hoon."

Climactic Scene:

Ek raat school ke ground mein, jab parents late ho jaate hain, Aslam Ishita ko kone mein le jaata hai. Uska pati usse phone pe daant raha hota hai, aur wo Aslam ki baaton mein aakar uske kareeb aa jaati hai. Aslam usey apne moh ka shikar banata hai.

Ye kahani ek shikshit aurat ki vulnerability ko dikhati hai, jo apne dukhi jeevan se chhutkara paane ki koshish mein galat faisle le leti hai. Kahani samajhati hai ki emotional weakness ka fayda uthana ek bade sankat ka kaaran ban sakta hai.

[pyaari-naari]

"""Mumma ki help karti hun Ghar ke kaam me. Mumma is my employer 🫡"""

Arey 24 ki hogyi ho kuch kaam dhandha kro na 😭

"""I think I'm kind. I don't want to hurt people because I know what it feels to be hurt. / Maybe something that I try to make people welcomed into the conversation/gathering/group. No one should feel left out. 🫶🏻"""

Arey tum toh bilkul ich meri jaisi nikli

Sardiya kaun enjoy krta hai yaaar 😭😭 I'm a professional sardi hater 🔪

Ask daalke gayab hojana fitrat meri, anon hai naam mera huhaha 🥹🎀

Arre karna chahti hun I'm looking and trying!!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭 Tum to bilkul mumma jaise dantne lage mujhe 😭😭

Aree waah! Same pinch ho gaya ye to 🫵🏻🫶🏻

Sardiya main enjoy karti hun. I'm an avid winter enjoyer.

Nope. Not allowed. Tumko ijajat nahi hai gayab ho jane ki 😤

Ask dalo and we'll have chit chats. Iklauta 🎀 Anon hai mera. Itna to haq jama hi sakti hun 😤🫶🏻