#hindu mythology aus

[pbnmj]

i deserve a spider-woman nepal..... miles doesn't have to be the only teen spider with a terrible bisexual mentor (enter my own sketches of the world's most annoying spiderperson, who i fling towards pavitr, complete with a design that's subject to change)

[flowerakatsuka]

[ messy ass sprite edit ] youkai au, but if it was cooler & sexier ( aka they let these losers have anything besides their fuck ass bowl cuts. )

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Varun and Ariadne made them do it.

Dionysiaca AU

[zeherili-ankhein]

The way Hera insulted Artemis in this epic and then Apollo just rushes to hug her 😭😭

I think in our retelling we can make the Hindu Gods go like "Damn Hera that was a little too harsh" and all cuz...

Artemis was SO CLOSE to having a breakdown 😭😭😭

I still remember those words

"Virgin marriage-hater" 😭

OOMGGGG 😭😭

“virgin marriage-hater” HERA HERA NO- DON'T SAY THAT

Yeah make all of them disapprove and feel disappointment at her (not much tho we still love her)

Like Vishnu, Parvati, Shachi, Indra (because they are the closest to her here) and everyone is just “ok that was too much yoo” so maybe she'll feel bad, not exactly but like rethink her words something?

Poor Artemis tho... 😭

[as-the-stars-foretold]

रे दानवीर​—

कस्य धर्मम् अनुसरति?

भवान् कार्यं कस्य कृते करोति?

भवत: कर्तव्यं किम्? कर्तव्यं कस्य कृते?

O, generous one Whose path of life do you follow? For whom do you do your work? What is your duty? Who is your duty for?

(Alternate shots and thought process/explanation under the cut!)

(Click for better quality – Tumblr kills it </3) Free to use/save with credit and/or a reblog!

OKAY. YAP TIME. This is a Hindu mythology/Mahabharata AU, and this art specifically is of Wolfwood as Karna. I'll explain who Karna is first + give context about his role in the Mahabharata, and then explain the symbolism and everything.

Who is Karna and what is his role in the story?

Karna was the illegitimate son of Kunti and Surya, the sun god. Due to being unmarried and young at the time, Kunti put Karna in a basket of sorts and allowed the river to carry him away where he was later found by his adoptive mother and father.

Thanks to his divine heritage, Karna was born with a kavach and kundal— a chest plate and earrings. These were immensely strong, even to the point of being unaffected by celestial weapons, and, most importantly, they were inherent to his being. I mean that very literally: the chest plate and earrings were literally parts of him. Taking them off would leave him bloodied and vulnerable (cough cough).

Eventually, through his prowess with archery, he made his way to the Kaurava palace–the Kauravas being the corrupted, power-hungry side of the conflict (oversimplification, but the Mahabharata is way too long for me to summarize here)–and became fast friends with Duryodhana, the leader of the 101 Kaurava cousins. Now, the issue with that is that his half-brothers, the Pandavas, were technically the rightful heirs to the kingdom, Hastinapura. This is where Karna's conflict begins: who does he have a responsibility towards? The family that housed and loved and fed him, despite the wrongdoings they were committing, or the family that was his birthright?

In the Mahabharata, Karna chooses the family who raised him, hurt by the fact that his mother gave him up. While this seems like a perfectly logical decision, the fact is that the Kauravas were cruel and deceitful— adharmi, or straying from the path of righteousness. In enabling and aiding them, when he had a responsibility to his blood family AND to keep the Kauravas from committing evils, Karna damned himself.

That isn't to say that he was a horrible person, however— he was notoriously humble and generous (which is the epithet that I used in the title!), incredibly dedicated to his cause and his family, and burdened with the knowledge that his birth mother gave him up. Karna is a morally grey character: put into his shoes, we, too, would struggle with choosing a side.

Leading up to Karna's death, during the war, Lord Indra, disguised as a brahmin, asked for his kavach and kundal. Karna gave them away without hesitation, leaving himself bloodied and vulnerable. This tremendous, selfless display of generosity is the main sticking point for so many people; how can a person so devoted and so generous be wholly evil?

I'm sure that idea rings true for many of you, since it's a point of contrition in Trigun, too. This leads me to the next part:

Why is Wolfwood Karna? What does this imply?

If you're familiar with Karna or you read my explanation up there, I'm sure you can see the connections now. Both Wolfwood and Karna struggle with choice— who do they have a duty towards? Karna has to choose between the two sides of his family and, symbolically, between right and wrong. Wolfwood has to choose between his obligation to Hopeland Orphanage (and, by extension, Knives as his contractor) and the obligation he brought upon himself in regards to Vash's ideals/quest. The conflict is near analogous: he's stuck between the people who raised and loved him, and the people who are working for a better future.

Another important thing to consider is Karna's generosity and how he, quite literally, gave someone the skin off his back. Wolfwood, too, is unerringly generous— he posits himself as selfish and mean, but he gave up everything for the people he cared about: his adolescence, his morals, his basic nature, his life. They are both so, so generous, and it leads to their downfalls.

Finally, the most important thing to remember is that neither Karna not Wolfwood are inherently good or bad. They're humans making very human choices. They're both selfish, yes, but they're also generous and kind and caring. In the end, Karna recognizes his mistakes and regrets what he's done, and Wolfwood, similarly, is forced to make peace with what he did and how his life has come to an end.

Artistic choices!

Wolfwood's arm bands and bracelets are gold and mimic both the Eye of Michael's insignia as well as the sun(s), which is a nod to Karna.

He's shown holding his kavach instead of wearing it to symbolize both his dedication and generosity (again, a nod to the original story), as well as to serve as his cause of death. He's forsaken his protection for what he believes in and wants to protect. In my original planning, the kavach and kundal were actually way more analogous to the EoM juice lol.

I replaced the Punisher with a crossbow because a giant cross-shaped gun would, unfortunately, be even more idiosyncratic than a crossbow (apparently ancient mainland India didn't have crossbows! Assam did; however, the Kurukshetra War happened in Haryana so boo hoo). Despite that, I tried to keep the coloring similar to the Punisher from Trigun (1998) as well as including a skull motif under the bow.

The pose is referenced from Wolfwood shooting up at the rubble during Badlands Rumble! I just modified it for the drama lol.

Wolfwood is pointing the crossbow at the sun for a purely Wolfwood reason (meaning it is NOT a reference to the Mahabharata). Despite his best efforts, he ended up backstabbing both of the twins in one way or another; you can imagine the sun as either brother, but I'd probably imagine it as Knives, since he "remade" Wolfwood, so he'd step into the role of Surya (Karna's father).

[blackknight-100]

MAHABHARAT THEATER!AU FIC

Chapter 7 is up!

Excerpt:

[Arjuna] catches up to Karna at the landing and together, they make their way down the hallway. The smoke is somehow worse this time around, and every step feels like the last. There’s no sniping – neither of them have the breath to spare, but they keep throwing dirty glances at each other. The fire, instead of dying down, has grown even bigger, and little flakes of ash and wood float about in the air.  Karna peers into one of the rooms on the left, and Arjuna hears him wince. The door has collapsed, and a bar of wood burns diagonally across, making it impossible to get inside. Arjuna pokes his head behind Karna’s shoulder, waits for his stinging eyes to adjust. Through the pall of smoke, he makes out a prone figure sprawled on the ground, clad in white.

[samissobsessed]

'What did the characters of Mahabharat go to prison for?' Pt1.

Pt2.

[lilavatilikeslemons]

"Narayana, Narayana!"

Prologue.

---

Disclaimer: this is no way shape or form, accurate to the itihasa- and is not meant to hurt anyone's sentiments, views or beliefs.

Thank you.

Unedited- you've been warned.

---

-------

Ram looked at the sunset in the horizon from Sarayu. Oh, he loved the sunset- but dawn was his favourite.

One foot.

It reminded him of new beginnings. Of how everyday could start anew.

It reminded him of the time he'd wake up, in the forest- and see the Sun- a reminder of how the days were passing till he would return to his home.

Two feet.

The dawn was Sita's favourite, too. Maybe that was another reason why he favoured it- but then again, he could never compare the Sun to her. Everytime he saw her, it was dawn for him. It was a new beginning- a fresh page.

Oh, what he would do to see the Dawn with her.

...How long had it been?

He lost count.

Five feet.

He had dreamt of watching the Dawn with his sons, together- when they were in his wife's womb- but it seemed that fate had other plans.

Ten feet.

Perhaps, in another life.

Black.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

It was the end of not just a great king, that sunset- it was the end of an era.

But ofcourse, a sunset is followed by a dawn. A new beginning.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

A figure chuckled in the skies, looking down upon the bustling city.

Millennia had passed.

"Narayana, Narayana!"

It was time.

-------

---------

जय सीतारामलक्ष्मण की!

HEY GUYS!!! I got a hit of inspiration out of nowhere SO HERE I AM

Hope y'all liked chapter one of my new Ramayana theatre AU fic!!!! (Yes you heard me right, theatre AU- this is gonna be an interesting one)

You might be asking, 'Lemons, you said theatre au, but where is theatre?'

ShHHH- we'll get to that part soon hehehehehehehehe

Constructive critisism is always welcome, and please share your thoughts :D

Chapter two will be out soon, so keep an eye out!!

Stay safe, hydrated and healthy, and have a good one, folks!

[sambhavami]

So, someone had asked me what would’ve happened if Bheeshma had given in and married Amba. Now, this is just a rough sketch I came up with in like an hour…but if someone wants to come up with a full-fledged, really dramatic, dynamic story…please let me know, I’d be honoured to read it! <3

First, I imagine, Vichitra ji had 0 actual power in HP, given administration of the country, post Shantanu and until Pandu, had always remained in Bheeshma's hands. Also, given the guy was not even interested enough to go pick up his own wives (I mean let Bheeshma fight, but at least he could've given them a ride!) I do not feel he would've given much importance to Amba's complaints anyway.

As to what if Bheeshma and Amba had gotten married, if we go with the version where they just get a legal sign-off but continue to live separately, then I don't think MB would be changed much...only there'd be a lot more gossip about dear old Pitamaha! :) Now the case if they got married, and actually fell in love. Even in this case, if they had a girl, nothing major would change (unless the kid turned out trans...I'd pay to read that!). Either Satyavati would still bring in Vyasa and the 3bros would be born, or the daughter's kid would be adopted into the family, like Chitrangada and Babhruvahana.

In case Bheeshma and Amba had even one boy, that would drastically alter the line of succession. I mean, given Satyavati talked Bheeshma's head off about marrying every time they were at this crossroad, I'd think she would be jumping for joy and would personally crown the kid or whatever.

Now, ideally in this case Vyasa would not come into the picture at all, and none of the next drama would happen at all. But for the sake of making it spicy, let’s consider maybe Satyavati got paranoid (can't really blame her) about having just 1-2 kids from Bheeshma, and the 3bros were born anyway.

For some time, I guess, it would have progressed the same way as it did. Dhritarashtra would still be blind, so Bheeshma would get him Gandhari, and with her would come Shakuni. Kunti would still choose Pandu (as I personally choose to believe she came to HP because she knew where Karna was and wanted to be close), and Vidur is well...Vidur. That man is untouchable!

Now, 3rd gen would complicate things. Here if Bheeshma's kid became Bheeshma part 2 and didn't have kids, then again, same as it is. If they have children, then it would depend on the birth order. Simplest resolution: this kid is oldest, Yudi is relieved to be the spare not the heir and probably just becomes an ascetic somewhere, and Shakuni doesn't get the 'in' to start poisoning Dury because Dhritu is also not the king. Honestly, probably 5Ps wouldn't even be born, given Pandu's issues, if there was already an heir, Kunti probably wouldn't bother with her boon.

Now, I believe, since Amba and Bheeshma are both pretty stand-up people, their 100% involved upbringing would surely have some positive impacts on their kid(s) and grandkid(s), so if there is a conflict, they would most probably side with the Pandavas. Although, if Bheeshma had his own kid, he would probably be more proactive about protecting the kid by paying proper attention to both Dury and Bheema's escalating conflicts and nipping it in the bud. And probably, they would think about the kingdom divide a lot sooner, and three ways instead of two.

[inc0rrectmyths]

Laxman and Shatrughan sick fic.

(Modern Day AU)

Note: artemis and apollo won in the poll, but since @hobgoblin-meat provided me with Hanuman and Vibhishan hcs. So i owe him this cuz he requested it :)

and also ik this is really bad lmao, I wrote it in a hurry but hope you like it.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

It was one of those days when Ram and Bharat and their wives were off to work at the same time. Meaning Laxman and Shatrughan were left all alone and were expected to take care of the house.

Laxman had proposed the idea of him going out to get some snacks for them. It was raining heavily outside but Shatrughan after refusing for a few times did agree to the plan.

"I will be back in fifteen minutes, Shatru. Don't worry for me. " Laxman said as he jumped out into the rain and Shatrughan saw his figure disappear in the foggy, rainy weather.

Shatrughan said a quick prayer to Indra and walked inside to close the windows. Or bhabhi Sita will be annoyed because of wet curtains.

An hour passed away but Laxman was nowhere to be seen. And Shatrughan started worrying about his brother. He knew his brother had an allergy from rain water. And to top it all, it was raining more profusely than before.

The boy decided it would be good to stand outside the gates and look for his brother. And he was correct. Just minutes after standing near the gates, with an umbrella in hand. He spotted his brother. A bag in his hand. Walking weakly towards him. Forgetting about the rain, Shatrughan ran towards Laxman, the umbrella falling from his hand.

"What in the heavens Laxman? " he supported his brother. Laxman was drenched and his body felt hot.

"I thought the rain would stop, so I didn't bother to take an umbrella. " he muttered weakly.

"You're an idiot. You know you have allergies. It's kicking in. Your body is boiling. "

The duo walked slowly inside the house. Shatrughan and Laxman had almost the same physical proportions and it was hard for the younger one to lift up the older one. So in a painfully awkward way, he supported his brother and climbed up the stairs to their shared bedroom. He gently placed Laxman on his bed. Quickly running to the washroom and grabbing a towel to dry himself and the sick idiot who sat and coughed on the bed.

"How are you feeling? " Shatrughan asked, his hands slowly drying his brother's hair with the towel.

"Terrible. My head hurts, my limbs hurt, everything hurts. " Laxman said weakly, his voice hoarse.

Shatrughan's anger finally went away as he finished the drying session and sat beside his brother. Slowly touching Laxman's forehead. They both shared an understanding look and Laxman dropped his body on the bed, quite hard. Shatrughan let out a giggle.

"You're a drama queen. '' Shatrughan got up and grabbed the medicine box. Carefully selecting a couple of pills and a cough syrup.

"Do not do anything dramatic. I will be coming from time to time and feeding these to you. Ok? And tell me if you need anything. I'm… " the younger boy trailed off. "I'm there for you. "

He said and left the room. It was not very common for them to be affectionate with each other. Laxman who was always sticking with Ram never actually spent a lot of time with his twin. And it wasn't completely Laxman's fault. Shatrughan himself preferred the company of Bharat over others.

The day went by with Shatrughan handling the whole house alone. Cooking dinner for both bhaiyas and bhabhis, cleaning the house and taking care of Laxman. Since it was an allergy, the fever went away pretty quick. But Laxman still complained about body aches. And after a lot of whining, Shatrughan finally agreed to give him a massage.

"I can't believe you're doing this Shatru. " Laxman laughed, as he enjoyed a good head massage.

"Shut up. Don't tell bhaiya about this. You have a habit of spilling every little secret of ours to Ram bhaiya. "

"As if you don't do the same thing with Bharat bhaiya. " Laxman acted annoyed.

Silence fell upon them. Laxman closed his eyes, trying to avoid the awkward atmosphere.

"You know, you can also spend time with me. We are twins after all. " Shatrughan said, his voice soft, unlike the manly deep voice he actually had. Laxman could clearly hear the pout that was forming on Shatrughan's lips.

"You know I love and care about you, right? " Laxman opened his eyes. Looking directly at Shatrughan. "You are just always so distant with everyone. Sometimes it feels like you only recognize Bharat bhaiya. " Laxman slowly sat up, flicking the pout on Shatrughan's lips.

"Hey! It hurts! " Shatrughan yelled, gently slapping his brother on the arm.

"Sorry. "

"It's fine. But Lax, have you ever considered spending time with me? I was young, the only person I considered mine was you. But you left me for Ram bhaiya. I had no one. And Bharat bhaiya treated me like his son. The love which I wanted from you, I got it from Bharat bhaiya. " Shatrughan was fiddling with his fingers. A thing he did when he was nervous.

"I think we both are at fault. " Laxman held Shatrughan's hands, stopping the constant fiddling.

"Don't use that brain too much with that sickness still in you. I don't want a mad twin. " Shatrughan laughed.

"The only one mad in this house is you. "

"Urmila agrees with me. "

"Shrutakirti agrees with me! "

"Our girlfriends don't have a say in this. Let's just stop. " Laxman raised his hands in defeat.

"Take rest Lax. I don't want the elders to come and find us in this condition. "

"Stay with me. "

"Yeah no way! I don't want your allergy. And also your feet are freezing what the hell. " Shatrughan jumped out of the bed.

"Shatru please I need warmth. Listen to your older brother. "

"We are twins?!? "

"Still I came out first. "

"Die. "

"Don't wanna. I almost died in the war, remember? " Laxman immediately regretted his choice of words. The smile on Shatrughan's face vanished.

"Hey sorry. " Laxman reached out to hold his brother's hand and pulled him closer. Hugging his waist.

"I know it was traumatic for you. We both were young back then. " Laxman rubbed his cold hands on Shatrughan's warm ones.

"Lax, what would have happened if Hanuman failed to bring sanjeevani for you? " Shatrughan whispered, his hands freeing themselves from Laxman's grip, and gently placing them on his brother's shoulders.

"Why think of something that's never going to happen. I'm alive and healthy. In front of you. " Laxman kissed his brother's arm.

"I guess I'm just scared of losing you. I don't like most people, like you said. But my brothers mean everything to me. Ram and Bharat bhaiya are of course almost like a father to me. But you, Lax. You're half my soul. And I can't function without you. I don't hate you Lax. I never did. "

"I know. I know meri jaan. "

"Stop. "

"You'll never lose me. You'll never be alone. I'm blessed to have you as my twin Shatru. I thank the gods everyday. You're forever going to be my favorite. "

"Cheesy stuff ew. Go sleep, I will cover up for us to the elders. " Shatrughan pulled himself away from Laxman's embrace and stepped out of the room, taking a peek in to make sure Laxman was going to sleep.

Oh Narayan, please do not ever repeat something like this. Shatrughan thought to himself. The exchange he had with his brother today was something he never expected.

So I guess Laxman and I do love each other. Interesting. He laughed to himself. Some feelings were better unsaid. And he will make sure that Laxman and him never ever verbally express their love for each other again.

[eremin0109]

"A catastrophic war, an unimpressive death and six millennia later, here they were, still playing the same old game."

This fic takes place in an universe where the events of Mahabharat actually happened. The modern setting is about 6000 years after the end of the war.

Both the Pandavas and Kauravas have been reborn into a prominent criminal family, together known as the "Kaushik-Pancholi" clan. They're the most notorious crime organization in the subcontinent, with influence extending well into parts of South-East Asia and the Middle-East.

Jay Pancholi is Arjun reincarnated, the most skilled hitman of the clan as well as a key member of the family. However, he's also essentially the black sheep because he doesn't approve of the brutal working of his family. Nonetheless, he's extremely loyal to them.

Kanan Yadav, Krishna reincarnated, is an undercover agent of a special task force created to disassemble this terrorist organisation from inside out. He first befriends Jay and later more important members of the family to gain information on them and the organization's activities. But somewhere along the way, his morality and allegiance is put to test when he starts developing feelings for his charge.

This fic takes place after Jay finds out Kanan's true identity and is absolutely livid with anger and heartbreak when he confronts him, violently.

[incorrect-au-master]

If the UnderworldCon thing is still opened, may I ask but do you have any headcanons for the Hindu God of Death (Yama)?

Sure! I haven't thought much about him, but i'll give it a shot.

My headcanon/thoughts about Lore Olympus’ Yama:

Appareance: He's indigo skinned, has pointy tusk-like teeth and dark tied hair.

Personality: mild-tempered. He's also very organized and likes to keep things tidy. Altho, that doesnt mean he can't get serious or strict when needed as king of Naraka. He's the kind of guy who doesn't like to cause trouble. He's hella scared of Izanami.

About Naraka: Naraka Company is divided in many sub-divisions, pretty much like towers in UnderworldCorp. It has docens of demon workers that manage the passing souls of India and China like a telemarketing office.

Japan used to be part of Yama's territory untill Izanami's arrival.

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Now the third part of the headcanon (and now I get to talk about my favourite goddess)~

There is a lot of unrest in the Hindu God Council as war is most certainly happening and now Varuni and Varuna have made it official that they side with the Greeks. There is especially a lot of tension between Indra and Vishnu because Vishnu’s plan failed.

So as they are fighting, guess who enters in?

Yep, that’s right. Hera. Queen of the Greek gods.

They capture her (she doesn’t resist because she knows it’s about to go down) and then she spills the tea about everything while reassuring them that Ares and Hephaestus are definitely on their side and she can call Eris from time to time as well.

OMG YESYESYES

THIS IS PERFECT. I HAVE NOTHING TO ADD.

OH HERA.

AND YES. Also also

Hermes and Shiva remain the most neutral among both the pantheons! And break off any divine strife that goes on so that they revert their focus back to their mortal armies.

[zeherili-ankhein]

OMG what if Mitra gets severely wounded during the war and Varun nearly "dies" after he hears the news.

💀💀

WHY DO YA WANT THEM TO SUFFER SO MUCH WTH 😭

Who hurt him tho-

But also is Varuna raging and bring a big ahh Tsunami??

Also they are on the opposite sides so what if Mitra gets injured because of... Varuna's ahem mistakes?? That would make him feel even worse... And then he can try to drown everyone idk

Yeah we both are psychos-💀

[angstandhappiness]

INTERESTING

It is finally finished!! I am done and is so happy!!!

This is an AU exploring the concept of Sūn Wùkōng/Dàshèng as a Yaksha and Tu Di Gong, rather than being a Yaoguai Warlord during his later years reigning as the Monkey King.

This AU follows the beginning (with some changes here and there) up until Wùkōng's shenanigans with Ao Guang, then he went on a separate path from Wu Cheng'en's novel.

In this iteration our favourite Monkey explored the realms as he burned up time, but then he took a particular interest in the humans' ways of producing food. Since Dàshèng was so used to the grandeur and bounties of Huagoushan (being surrounded by such lush forests and mountains that never withered nor died) he sort of took pity on them before deciding to help them grow their crops much better.

But this is just the very much shortened summary of the beginning of this AU, and I have compiled some research and even more lore in my Google Documents just to expand on this idea more.

This— Westward To Tathāgatagarbha Lore Google Documents

This is the Google Document of my AU, which I highly recommend for you to read! It explains all the other details and such on this story! I did my best on making them but there would be still mistakes that I have yet to find, but it should be decent!!

This is a more casual look for Dàshèng/Wùkōng for this AU as well as some brief pointers! I made this before the portrait so some things might have changed.

(Don't mind him holding a cup of beer it's fine.)

Taken from the server (with some hints for the next half of the archives/docs) which instantly kickstarted this whole thing haahahjjjss, but it really was so fun talking about it to others! They gave me more inspiration that I can handle.

And what is Tathāgatagarbha you ask? (Brief)

In Buddhist philosophy, Buddha-nature is the potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all beings already have a pure buddha-essence within. "Buddha-nature" is the common English translation for several related Mahayana Buddhist terms, most notably tathāgatagarbha and buddhadhātu, but also sugatagarbha, and buddhagarbha. Tathāgatagarbha can mean "the womb" or "embryo" (garbha) of the "thus-gone one" (tathāgata), and can also mean "containing a tathāgata". Buddhadhātu can mean "buddha-element," "buddha-realm" or "buddha-substrate"

The Chinese translated the term tathāgatagarbha as rúláizàng (如来藏), or "Tathāgata's (rúlái) storehouse" (zàng). According to Brown, "storehouse" may indicate both "that which enfolds or contains something", or "that which is itself enfolded, hidden or contained by another." The Tibetan translation is de bzhin gshegs pa'i snying po, which cannot be translated as "womb" (mngal or lhums), but as "embryonic essence", "kernel" or "heart".

The term tathagatagarbha first appears in the Tathāgatagarbha sūtras, which date to the 2nd and third centuries CE.

There will be more to this in the future when I'm finished researching more about it.

Also, speaking of people that inspire me, I'm calling my dear friends here who I think might like this: @digitalagepulao @kaijufluffs @sketching-shark @lavaflowe @sixteenthchapel @jttw-monkeybusiness and @hcdragoncat !!

Special thanks to Pardal and Grandpa Sun for getting me to write more of this too :D I had such great fun!

I have so much more to add to the docs and here but this is all for now :) and honestly this is one of the greatest projects I've started aside from the older ones. I'll come back again soon with more additions and art! And lore (And maybe some interactions with a few West Heaven occupants??)!!!

[blackknight-100]

So remember the Medusa in MB AU we were discussing in the comments of the Zombie AU post the other day? @chahaa-piun-ja and @friend-shaped-but

I have been thinking about it a lot, and now I have a detailed outline for it (this is only part 1):

1. Perseus, in order to free his mother, pursues the Gorgon Medusa, helped along by Athena and Hermes.

2. Medusa learns about it beforehand, and realizing it would be almost impossible to defeat a demigod son of Zeus who is backed by two Olympians, does the sensible thing and bolts. Her sisters, who are immortal, go to Phorkys to hide.

3. Unfortunately for her, one of the gods helping Perseus is Hermes, god of roads and travellers, so all types of accidents keep happening her on the way.

4. In the end, she makes for the sea where hopefully Poseidon would look the other way, climbs into the cargo hold of the first ship she lays her eyes on (because she can't really talk to people) and books it.

5. But an Olympian's ill-will is hard to shake off, so even though Hermes is no longer actively trying to hinder her, she ends up far from Greece and in India, turns a bunch of people into stone when she disembarks, and then horrified with herself, disappears.

6. Medusa wanders about for a bit, veiling her face* and going out only at night, and ends up in Jarasandh's hands when he is beseiging the Yadus. Jarasandh does not really like Medusa, he is even a little afraid of her, so he sends her to Dhritarashtra in Hastinapur. The idea is that either she turns everyone in the palace into stone, creating a power vacuum in Hastinapur which Jarasandh can take advantage of (because the Kauravas and Pandavas are going to fight) or Dhritarashtra and Gandhari (both blind) use her to get rid off their political opponents and reward Jarasandh by becoming his ally against Mathura.

7. Unfortunately, in this whole journey, another bunch of people get turned into stone, and news reaches the Hindu Gods, who are all very confused about this random, undocumented issue that popped out of nowhere, and which was not supposed to happen dammit! Indra calls for a council meeting, where Pushan, god of roads, agrees to try and look into her history and where she came from.

8. Medusa meets Dhritarashtra, who is overjoyed by her existence and immediately offers to help Jarasandh against Krishna. He is, in fact, so pleased with her powers that Medusa is flattered beyond belief (even though she knows he's going to use her) and agrees to turn all of Dhritarashtra's enemies to stone. Krishna, now trapped between two powerful empires, retreats from Mathura and brings the people to Dwarika, putting more distance between himself and his enemies.

9. Krishna weds Satyabhama in Dwarika, after they kill Narakasura. Unfortunately, Narakasura's son Bhagadatta, King of Pragjyotisha, immediately becomes their enemy. Less unfortunately, Indra remembers Krishna exists, and pleased with Narakasura's death and Swarga's freedom, forgets about his insult and becomes his friend again. This is how Krishna finds out about the widespread pertrification of people.

10. Meanwhile, Pushan, in his enquiries, runs across a very angry Hermes, who rants to him about how Some People^(TM) need to listen to their King and think about the consequences of their actions and that is an actual monster UNCLE!! This is how the Hindu Pantheon learns about Medusa and the Greek Pantheon realises where she's hiding.

11. Fortunately, Perseus is still raring to go kill Medusa and free his mother. Unfortunately, Indra and Zeus are now locked in a political headlock because Zeus cannot keep his monsters within his kingdom and Indra refuses to let a random greek demigod (who just so happens to be the son of the other God of Thunder) show up in India, insisting Krishna can take care of it.

12. Zeus sends Athena and Apollo and Hermes to intercede on his behalf, Indra sends Krishna, Mitra and Saraswati. They agree to let Perseus kill Medusa, but his fame will be shortlived in human memory, and in return, Dionysos will not show up to attack India. Zeus and Indra are unimpressed with these terms, because Zeus refuses to deny his son his well-deserved kleos, and Indra refuses to let intruders into India, whether Perseus or Dionysos. It kind of spirals out of control from there.

13. Meanwhile Duryodhana** and Medusa are having the time of their lives turning people into stone, although Gandhari thinks they shouldn't be using this ability so indiscriminately. So far their victims include Vidura, Kunti, Yudhisthira and Bheem (I'm sorry, they'll recover, promise). Dhritarashtra is conflicted about all of this, because at the end of the day these people are his family, but he doesn't protest either.

14. Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva are left alone because Dhritarashtra refuses to allow them to be petrified; not only are they not competitors for the throne, but they could also be prevailed upon to become assets. They are not idiots though, so they leave for Madra, to take asylum under Shalya. Bhishma is given to understand that this is a sickness/disease, but he has his doubts.

*I don't really know whether you have to look into Medusa's petrifying eyes or just gazing at her face overall is enough, so she has a full face veil of a very dark colour. She had the idea for this when she noticed other women wearing this and remembered that Greek women also used veils. In true Indian soap opera style, she has a black veil so everyone knows she's the villain.

**Duryodhana operates through his father, because Dhritarashtra refuses to let him see Medusa. So although he might ask for a lot of things, Dhritrashtra almost always has a say in what happens.