#i mean ravana

[thecosmicsleep]

it's amazing how quickly i went from "alphinaud, if you don't shut up–" to "if someone so much as breathes in my little brother's direction wrong, i will break all of their bones"

[tritoch]

in general trying to write a fully canon-compliant wol, as i conceive it, is an interesting project because the wol's life involves such a staggering amount of direct interpersonal violence it is almost beyond comprehension. the only people in the real world who did anything comparable are like, certain executioners for totalitarian states, and that's obviously a very different form of violence.

and like obviously combat in FFXIV should not in any way be taken as a 1:1 with real world violence, not least because the game repeatedly points to the idea that combat can in some sense be a joyous and glorious form of personal expression (as with ravana, susano, zenos, etc.), which doesn't really square with the reality of doing violence. but to even begin to conceive of a character who's capable of doing what the WoL does from ARR on and trying to take it somewhat seriously means basically making an extremely detached killing machine, who's fine using those skills for any rando willing to call the hit they're hiring you for a "quest".

it ends up dovetailing really nicely with the games as written, though; you start ARR being like "i am an instrument of violence directed by others :)" and not talking much or ever registering your own thoughts on anything, because who cares? you're a violence-doing machine. and then one of your friends gets mind-controlled and you gotta fight a might-makes-right fascist and you meet multiple people who think you personally are a really cool person with inherent value in their own right just by being a person and it's like, hm. maybe there are other ways to live. and that parallels really nicely with DRK in HW, and then you and alphinaud deciding that you are tired of endless sacrifices in the name of progress and you are going to save estinien, and then the WoL getting to walk into stormblood having really consciously chosen this fight rather than letting someone else choose for them.

obviously there are a lot of stories you can tell with your WoL but to me this is a big part of why my approach to it necessarily revolves primarily around violence and regret. you spend the core game and two expansions becoming a terrible angel of death and then get teleported to another world where you learn that some people literally consider you a psychopomp who escorts the dead to their final rests. then in the next expansion you meet someone who was unfortunate enough to be on the other end of things during your implacable killing machine days. THEN you accidentally cause the flower that symbolizes grief to be invented. the wol's whole life is haunted by overwhelming grief (mostly that of other people) and terrible violence (mostly their own).

[astra-ravana]

Basic Numerology

Every letter of the alphabet holds a numerical weight. These numbers each vibrate with a different frequency and affect our energies and lives in different ways. The value of each letter is:

1: A, J, S

2: B, K, T

3: C, L, U

4: D, M, V

5: E, N, W

6: F, O, X

7: G, P, Y

8: H, Q, Z

9: I, R

Each person has their own set of numerical frequencies which influence our lives in various ways. The most significant influences are as follows:

Life Path Number-

Arguably the most important numbers in your personal numerology. Represents one's path in life, their greatest lessons, and their greatest areas for opportunity and growth. This number is calculated using only your date of birth.

Example: A birthday of January 1st, 1999 would equate to: 01/01/1999= 0+1+0+1+1+9+9+9=30 =3+0=3. So the life path number is 3.

Note: Never reduce the numbers 11, 22, or 33. These are master numbers.

Soul Number-

Your soul number reflects your innermost thoughts, habits, and instinctual reactions. It is also representative of your talents, innermost desires, and the subconscious. Similar to the Moon placement of astrology. To calculate your soul number add together the values of all the vowels in your full birth name.

Example: Ann Marie Smith, vowels and values are- A(1), A(1), I(9), E(5), I(9), so 1+1+9+5+9=25=2+5=7. The soul number is 7.

Personality Number-

The personality number is like your book's cover or mask and reveals insights into your social persona and how we present ourselves to others. It can be calculated by adding together the value of all the consonants in your full birth name.

Example: John Allen Dover, consonants and values are- J(1), H(8), N(5), L (3), L(3), N(5), D(4), V(4), R(9), so 1+8+5+3+3+5+4+4+9=42=4+2=6. In this case the personality number is a 6.

Destiny Number-

Destiny numbers can help reveal our life's purpose, our reason to keep going, even our greatest goals and desires. To calculate this valuable number, add the values of all the letters in your full birth name.

Example: Tasha Lynn Cole, values of letters are- T(2), A(1), S(1), H(8), A(1), L(3), Y(7), N(5), N(5), C(3), O(6), L(3), E(5), which becomes 2+1+1+8+1+3+7+5+5+3+6+3+5=50=5+0=5. So this destiny number is 5.

Name Numbers-

You can also calculate the numerological value of your preferred name, nickname, witch name, alias, etc. This will reveal the hidden power behind the chosen name as well as that aspect of yourself.

Example: Astra Ravana, values of the letters are- A(1), S(1), T(2), R(9), A(1), R(9), A(1), V(4), A(1), N(5), A(1), this becomes 1+1+2+9+1+9+1+4+1+5+1=35=3+5=8. So the name's number is 8.

Number Meanings

1

Element: Fire

Planet: Mercury/Sun

Color: Orange/black

Positive Traits: Leadership, intelligence, courage, creative, positive, independent, focused, drive, confidence

Negative Traits: Stubborn, selfish, tactless, egotistical

Keywords: New beginnings, innovation, manifestation

2

Element: Water

Planet: Moon

Color: Green/pink

Positive Traits: Patient, tolerant, agreeable, diplomatic, charming, supportive, nurturing

Negative Traits: Shy, unmotivated, oversensitive

Keywords: Trust, harmony, partnership, balance

3

Element: Fire

Planet: Mars/Jupiter/Mercury

Color: Red

Positive Traits: Popular, friendly, passionate, artistic, versatile, strong, hardworker

Negative Traits: Self centered, critical, vain

Keywords: Abundance, adventure, raising consciousness level

4

Element: Earth

Planet: Mercury/Uranus

Color: Blue/magenta

Positive Traits: Proud, reliable, dedicated, loyal, patient, down-to-earth

Negative Traits: Stubborn, jealous, stingy, extremists, disruptive

Keywords: Trust, inner wisdom, practicality, guardians, stability

5

Element: Air

Planet: Jupiter/Mercury

Color: Yellow

Positive Traits: Adventurous, dramatic, passionate, free-thinking, intelligent, humorous

Negative Traits: Unreliable, greedy, envious

Keywords: Change, life lessons, adaptability, resourcefulness

6

Element: Earth

Planet: Venus

Color: Grey/light blue

Positive Traits: Peacemaker, charming, artistic, loyal, intelligent, kind

Negative Traits: Selfish, picky, nagging, brooding

Keywords: Love, home, family, temperance, balance, equalibrium

7

Element: Water

Planet: Saturn/Neptune

Color: White/silver

Positive Traits: Mystical, thoughtful, intuitive, quiet, analytical, spiritual, philosophical

Negative Traits: Shy, moody, critical

Keywords: Psychic abilities, introspection, learning, spiritual awakening

8

Element: Earth

Planet: Uranus/Saturn

Color: Teal

Positive Traits: Power and fortune, wise, charitable, brave, confident, successful

Negative Traits: Egotistical, materialistic, depressed

Keywords: Struggle/delay, research, wealth, infinite possibilities

9

Element: Fire

Planet: Mars/Pluto

Color: Purple

Positive Traits: Pioneering, adventurous, inspirational, curious, emotionally intelligent,  heroic

Negative Traits: Unconcerned, lost in thought, self-pittying, guarded

Keywords: Courage, energy, major events, conclusions, prosperity, rewards

Master Numbers

Less is known in regard to the (sometimes controversial) master numbers, but the following information is what is generally agreed upon.

11

Positive Traits: Psychic, intuitive, visionary, deep thinker, powerful, influential a

Negative Traits: Perfectionist, impatient, reactive

Keywords: Gifts, answered prayers, wishes, good luck, aligned karma, synchronicities, serendipity, enlightenment, validation of beliefs

22

Positive Traits: Master manifester, lucky, practical, creative, innovative, talented, dynamic, successful

Negative Traits: Materialistic, workaholic, stubborn

Keywords: Ideas, creative vision, new projects, home/where you belong, influential conversation, growth, good choices, manifestation

33

Positive Traits: Compassionate, determined, courageous, altruistic, generous, wise, brilliant, kind

Negative Traits: Moody, picky, critical

Keywords: Deep spiritual knowledge, the occult, the beauty in life, self-love/care, perfection, peace, significant improvement, Spirit's support

[wickedsick]

We start being able to see the difference between what people say when de-languaged. The 'moga' is still common, but it starts to differentiate itself. Bau even used a completely new construction in "gabagobe".

We've finally reached the 11 pods from last loop. Nico's back in full force.

Oooh, this is cool. Those precepts share the same 'fu' beginning as every Japanese negation, so it's practically like Nico just invented ten new negations!

Oh, boy. We've reached the lore dump part of the fight! You know what that means- Language is going extinct.

The way Nico now refers to the "I" instead of the "previous me" is great to see. I have trouble connecting my own self-perception with the me from 10 years ago, let alone 200!

Ikutachi: the 'great blade of life. Owned by Susano'o the Storm God.

Chandrahas: an indestructible sword gifted to the rakshasa Ravana by Shiva.

Also, get fucked.

I adore how these two are being all lovey-dovey while Feng is just DBZ powering up in the foreground.

Hey, his aura is literally spikier than most souls! He's so shōnen his soul looks different!

And the 'game arc' comes to a close in an incredibly Undead Unluck way- with the antagonist getting mad and flipping the table.

[tamblr]

Intro to Tantric Shaivism

Shiva as a god is someone who has been deeply influential in my personal spiritual journey. From watching both Lord Ram and Ravana pray to him to seeing the relationship between Shiva and Shakthi, I was always intuitively fascinated by him and that led naturally to intellectual curiosity. In the previous write up I had summarised the meaning of Tantra, this is a small introduction to Shaivism. 

Shaivism is the worship of Lord Shiva as the supreme being. It is an ancient Hindu sect that is an amalgamation of pre Vedic and Vedic traditions. As such, some scholars have dated the sect to the Indus Valley civilisation at 2500-2000 BCE. 

Shaivism has many schools of thought, two of the most popular ones being: Saiva siddhanta and Kashmiri Shaivism from which we will draw most of the metaphysics, philosophy and cosmology from but first…

Who or what is Shiva? 

The answer to this question itself could be a series all on its own but here’s two etymologies from two of the most ancient languages: Tamil and Sanskrit.

I was reading this incredible novel called Kottravai where the author describes the etymology of the word, Sivam, this is my very rough translation of the tamil text, “from the word meaning, life (Siivam), the people named their lord sivam”. From sivam comes siivan, more predominantly pronounced as jiivan meaning soul or living being. 

Indeed, one of the most ancient names of the lord is pasu-pati, lord (pati) of animals (pasu). In Saiva Siddhanta, pasu is has a further meaning of soul so the lord of souls. 

According to Monier-Williams, the Sanskrit word "Shiva" means "auspicious, propitious, gracious, benign, kind, benevolent, friendly". The root words of shiva in folk etymology are śī which means "in whom all things lie, pervasiveness" and va which means "embodiment of grace”.

While the Tamil etymology talks about who he is, the Sanskrit one gives a description of his characteristics. 

But what is he? 

He is sat-cit-ananda (being-consciousness-bliss). Or more succinctly, the universal consciousness. Kashmiri Shaivism talks about the universal consciousness as having two characteristics: prakasa (light) and vimarsa (reflective awareness) and talks about the universal consciousness as being the efficient cause whose effect is the vibration of consciousness (spanda). Here it should be noted that cause and effect are reciprocal processes where cause leads to effect and effect back to cause.

While we talk about Shiva as masculine, it is important to note that Shiva and Shakthi are a dual principle, like two sides of the same coin where Shakthi is the instrumental cause whose effect is pure energy (kundalini Shakthi). Symbolised in Ardhanadishwara.

Similarly, while Shaivism and vaishnavism are at odds with each other in many aspects, the old name for Visnu in the Tamil was Mayon, the personification of Maya (material reality, illusion) and Shaivite traditions agree that Maya is another aspect of Shakthi. The duality of Shiva and Vishnu is symbolised in Hari-Hara.

Proof of existence 

Saiva siddhanta, a school popular in South India is a philosophical school that is based on theistic realism and therefore offers a rational argument for why the universal consciousness should exist. The proof first begins with 3 laws:

All existing things have arisen and must at some time be destroyed. 

Law I, to the thesis that the world in its entirety must have been created at one point of time, and, again at one point of time, will in its entirety be destroyed; the world has a beginning and an end. 

Everything that gets destroyed must arise again; something that exists cannot become a nothing. 

Law 2, that the world's history will not end with its destruction, but that after a certain time it will be created anew out of itself; a new world-creation will follow a world- destruction. 

Whatever arises must have existed before; a nothing can't turn into an existent something

Law 3, that an eternal living something must form the basis of this world, out of which it was created, and into which it will at some time be resolved, and from which it will at another time again be created.

But why Shiva?

Why is Shiva the personification of the universal consciousness? The answer given is quite simple. 

There is a popular Tamil saying: ‘Anbe Sivam’ which means ‘love is Shiva’ or ‘shiva is love’. To quote from Saiva siddhanta: “You must worship what engages your love, you disciples of advaita.” Advaita means non-duality of subject and object and talks about the relationship between the individual soul and the divine. So from their perspective, anything that fuels your love is your personification of the divine and for Shaivites due to the history, culture and religion, Shiva is who engages their love and hence their devotion.

This is where the idea of Tantra comes into play. ‘The exploration of the inner cosmos is Tantra that helps one discover the inner architecture of one’s self and its relationship with the outer world.’ Tantric Shaivism is essentially the exploration and recognition of the soul and its relationship to Shiva, the personification of the universal consciousness.

Why use a personification?

the soul has three faculties: knowledge, will, action 

it needs something to lean on, which it then imitates and assimilates

its faculties need to be set in motion by some impulse from outside.

When you love something, you desire to understand it, be with it and you immerse your thoughts in it. In other words, you develop devotion. This is what you lean on. The qualities of the personification of the universal consciousness as being auspicious, benevolent, full of grace enable the soul to be able to imitate it and assimilate with it. This love is fuelled by culture, mythology and other personal experiences unique to each individual so theology helps set in motion the faculties of the soul. 

Knowledge - Knowledge can roughly be of two types: intellectual knowledge and instinctual knowledge. Instinctual knowledge is brought about by faith and the faith is strengthened through intellectual knowledge gathered from reading scripture, philosophy etc. Sometimes instinct can give rise to intellectual curiosity and other times intellectual exploration can give rise to a deity that is instinctually recognised by the soul. 

Will - the will is simply the ability of a person to concentrate completely on the divine and is fuelled by devotion and resilience of one’s faith and this initiates action.

Action - action is the performance of inner (meditation, chanting mantras) and outer (puja, yoga) rituals acting as a symbolic union from which the actual union with the divine occurs

One of my main resources was the book Saiva Siddhanta: An Indian School of mystical thought in addition to other resources which I would be happy to link if anyone is curious.

[incorrectmahabharatquotes]

What really makes me laugh with sadness is rhe Fact that I'm a dravidian and trust me when I say that there is like a clear cut division between how we think about the Hindi speaking (coughs cough) belt heh.

Like I'm seeing their thoughts behind Ravana and I'm like lol he was a brown dark skinned king

Like these basic af people can't even bring in the nuance - from my perspective, and from many dravidians perspective, Rama the person was a colonizer + imperialist lol

He travelled from place to place disrupting the people around him and didn't understand different cultures and they have literally demonized the dark skin of the dravidians

They are not going to learn until it's too late

((I'm willing to come off Anon if the these people attack you))

Exactly!

I've always had this question about how all these aesthetics and shit never really had much in the way of festivals like Onam. Because Onam is a festival that throws a spanner in Hindutva canon. Its a direct opposite to idk, Vamana Jayanti or whatever bullshit that has been invented to counter the significance of Maveli (or Mahabali) coming back to earth.

Also like yeah! The Ramayana continually refers to people of the south as animals and uncivilised beings. Like even if Kishkindha was referenced as some civilisation, if you notice the way Sugriva and Vaali, and that whole civilisation was portrayed, you see more of this disgust for their hedonistic tendencies from the narrative. Which, according to the 'civilised' Ayodhyavasis, is absolutely disgusting.

Seriously, people need to put some brains into the epics they love. Whenever we bring this kind of discourse up, Dravidians only ever get stupid responses like 'India is one country lol'. So? One country means we all have to forget our own cultures and line up to whatever single idea of India these Hindutvavadis have? I urge people to think a little, geez.

-Mod G

[malcontentmathador]

Idk if I am reading too much into it but I love how weird Agni and Vayu look, even compared to other Atma avatars. Varna, Prithivi, Dyaus look fairly close to human with extra teeth, Indra just looks cool, but I feel like Agni is fairly monstrous, and Vayu is just bizarre.

For Agni, I think what gives me that vibe is the weird hunched up posture and the double-head action. The former in particular really gives the vibe of a prowling predator, and his physical move animations have him jumping around very suddenly like he's pouncing on prey. @goatwithaplan also mentioned in a post that the 2 mouths are probably representative of how willing he is to abide by the new laws of the Junkyard; my guy needs two mouths cause he do be eating a lot. It's really cool; I think "this guy is kind of violent and means trouble" is clearly communicated through Agni's design

The clearest inhuman thing about Vayu is the insect-like elements of its design, like the elytra. The Atma avatars that are clearly animal inspired draw primarily from mammals, since we have an easier time projecting humanity onto them; Cerberus and Hayagriva, for instance. Insects, by contrast, are harder to project onto; we're used to thinking of eusocial insects which have little or no individuality to speak of. It fits well for early DDS1 Gale, who is preoccupied solely with the Embryon's success and relatively little for his comrades ("Bat would make a better ally than Cielo"). This is totally vibes based, but Vayu always makes me think of a praying mantis.

Vayu's split head and idle animations also contribute to that alien vibe. The former is, again, clearly inhuman; all the other Atma avatars have recognisable head shapes and mouths. And unlike the subdued idle animations of other demons, he does that very noticeable side-to-side jerking motion over and over again, like he can't quite find his balance, or as if his body was constantly jolted by an electric current. It's weird!!

Those things play in the general autistic pattern I've mentioned in the past for Gale. Autistic people often relate with robot characters because they struggle with social cues and emotion, and because they are othered and isolated from their peers due to their nature. Those aspects of Gale's character translate into his Atma being bizarre, inhuman, and othered even when compared to the rest of the monstrous cast

(also the side to side swaying reminds me of physical tics)

I have fewer opinions on villain atma avatars. Rahu is very weird, but Mick is not really much of a character, so I don't want to read too much into it. Ravana is also very weird, in much the same "clearly alien" way that Vayu is, but I'm not totally sure what it's meant to convey about Beck. Opinions welcome :)

[dailycharacteroption]

Deity Drop 7: Aksha

And we’re ending off the week with a rakshasa immortal, those rakshasas that have ascended through their cycle of reincarnation to become minor demigods in their own right... wait, no…

Rakshasa immortals are the greatest among their kind, earthbound avatars representing the greatest evils so that evil may be defined… huh?

Ah, well, it seems that at the time of writing, rakshasas are undergoing a bit of a face lift with the advent of the revisions to Second Edition with the Remastered books.

Originally, rakshasas cleaved a little closer to their D&D counterparts what with being reincarnating evils, but Pathfinder actually gave them lore as to why.

Essentially, Rakshasa represent thoroughly evil souls that, through dark ritual or absolute refusal to move on, become twisted into monsters that reincarnate by forcing a fledgling soul out of a newborn and taking over their future, awakening as a rakshasa into adulthood and transforming into whatever monstrous form their current incarnation happened to be. Such fiends are defined by an act of cruelty and theft every time they reincarnate, and depending on the events of their past life, may move up or down in power level and form.

The whole “stealing newborn bodies from the rightful soul” actually lines up with how rakshasa are described in Islam, however, in the original Hindu, rakshasa are akin to demons or fey in that they are earthbound inhuman creatures of great magic and viciousness (though good rakshasa that fight alongside the goodly gods are also mentioned).

I believe that it is the Hindu version that Pathfinder is now trying to emulate with this new lore for the monster group, but the lore for them leaves a little to be desired in depth and interest. “Born to be living examples of evil with no capacity to change or grow (and therefore, no longer able to shift positions on the hierarchy between incarnations). It’s just… lackluster. A creature born to do evil acts over and over again with no variation or free will is just an automaton, and kinda brings into question why they were necessary when so many other fiendish outsiders exist, some of them arguably even older than these new rakshasa, such as the qlippoth.

But that’s the new lore, which means that rakshasa immortals like Aksha here will probably be heavily rewritten the first chance they get.

With that in mind, I’ll detail her and other such immortals as they were originally, but also include notes on how they might be interpreted later.

And with that, I present, Aksha!

I tried looking for any figures called Aksha in mythology, but the only one was one of the male children of Ravana, who was killed in battle, and seems to have little to do with our Aksha.

In any case, Aksha of the Second Breath is a curious creature because while little is known of here in print, she is described as having been a mortal sorceress who sold her own soul to Mephistopheles himself in order to gain the ability to use hellfire as a weapon in her breath. How exactly a perpetually-reincarnating being sold their soul and somehow keeps reincarnating is a mystery to me. Perhaps she exploited a loophole, or the collection will come later. Or maybe the story is apocryphal or a deliberate deception to conceal how she managed to add hellfire to her arsenal. Hard to say.

If we assume she’ll survive the revisions, her Earthbound Evil version may paint her as a rakshasa of sorcery, deception, and theft, and a successful one as she managed to steal the fires of hell for herself. But that’s just speculation on my part.

Very little of Aksha’s appearance has been described, but she is supposedly a tiger-headed rakshasa with two mouths, one of which is a sibilant and eloquent speaker, while the other breathes hellfire.

Her realm is never given, though it can be assumed to be some fancy estate in Vudra somewhere, likely hidden in plain sight.

It can probably be assumed that Aksha is worshipped by those who seek to learn from her and her mastery of hellfire and other magic, as well as those seeking to emulate her deceptive nature. However, that same nature means that dealing with her even in the role of a supplicant is dangerous indeed.

Her relationships are not known either, but it can be assumed that she allies and schemes against other immortals as she sees fit, and ignores all other divinities until the servants of such beings get in her way.

She is likely served by multitudes of lesser rakshasa, particularly marai given their own interest in magic. Additionally, she likely also has many mortal slaves and servants under her control as well.

What is known for sure is her domains, which include Animal, Evil, Law, and Trickery, with the subdomains of Deception, Fear, Fur, and Tyranny. However, it is worth noting that all rakshasa immortals grant the same domains, reflecting their nature as tyrants, deceivers, and beasts.

No information on her has been given in Second Edition, so we don’t know what she might grant there. Probably for the best since they’re still hashing those details out.

She does grant a lesser obedience though, the one part of her divine kit unique to her. Those that mediate under a scented torch for an hour gain resistance to fiery effects. What’s more, her boons are all spells, allowing the faithful to attack with beams of heat, ward themselves with flame, and call down superheated winds on foes.

No info is given on her in Starfinder either, so it is unknown if she still exists or has been permanently killed by now. If she survives, she is likely in the upper echelons of society, having wormed her way in, and probably has easy access to some academy of arcane learning given her interests.

And that does it for this week, and we’ve almost made an entire loop of the various types of divinites in First Edition, so that’s progress! For now though, enjoy your weekend and see you next time with more character options!

[the-martyrfication-of-the-matron]

I think you might appreciate this but I have accidentally done a fantastic characterize thing and I need to tell someone.

So despite the fact that Liochant's name is a translated version of Lais Ravana, meaning Lions Roar or Lions Chant, I heavily associate him with snakes. Creatures who get a bad rap despite the fact that the majority of the time they are just defending their territory.

Another thing about snakes is that they seek out warmth so orphan-immigrant Liochant being alone in a foreign country all while trying to find his own place and a family? The man is just trying to find his own warmth in the world!

Shit, sometimes I need to analyze my own lore like I analyze yours

i need to post more lore for you to analyse actually, now that i think about it. i just never know what to talk about... would love a suggestion

anyways, snakes are fucking rad, and i agree with any character being associated with snakes.

[arwenkenobi48]

My thoughts after seeing Ramayana: The Legend of Prince Rama

Rama and Lakshman are the best brothers ever (also Rama literally killed multiple demons with divine weapons as a teenager and that’s honestly more than I accomplished at 15)

Sita has Disney Princess powers

“I will cleave your filthy brain in two!” is not a line I expected to hear from a PG rated movie

Bharata is underrated

Surpanakha needs therapy (and a nose job)

Why is Maricha kinda- 😏

Ravana seriously needs to keep it in his pants (I was mentally shaking his shoulders and yelling “when will you learn that your actions have consequences!?” at him the entire time)

Rama furiously declaring he’ll hunt Ravana to the ends of the universe and then Lakshman just casually telling him to calm down was way funnier than it had any right to be

RIP Jatayu

The sentient mountain turning out to be a demigod literally felt like an NPC side quest in a fantasy RPG

Hanuman is the GOAT

I love how Jambavan just randomly drops the bombshell on Hanuman that he has divine powers, also his voice is weirdly amusing

Hanuman gets swallowed by a sea serpent, then promptly chops the thing up into sushi

Ravana’s giving off vaguely yandere vibes and I’m all here for it

Hanuman introducing himself to Sita with a beautiful song legit warmed my heart so much, he’s so wholesome

Ravana filing his nails while listening to Hanuman’s speech only to be like “kill him” was darkly hilarious

“alright, but set fire to his tail first, then let him go home” Ravana WTH-

Then Hanuman subsequently commits arson and burns down half the city of Lanka (cue the theme from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia)

I have only known Vibhishana for a minute and a half but if anything happened to him I would kill everyone in this room and then myself /j

Bridge building montage woohooo

Why do all the rakshasas sound either animalistic or flamboyant?

Speaking of which, there’s no way Indrajit is straight, no man who wears indigo eyeshadow, a crop top, no trousers and knee high boots isn’t at least a little bit bent

“Oh, what a nuisance! This is bothering me!” Ah yes, just how I’d describe being in the middle of a battle between literal demons and very floofy monkeys

Rama’s speech about respecting life was genuinely one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard

Kumbhakarna is the best boi

Kumbhakarna is the best round sleepy boi in the history of everything

His sons were absolute badasses and their deaths made me sad (not at all helped by his heartbroken expression when he found out)

I love how it literally took being waterboarded to wake up this giant

Vibhishana just casually mentioning to Rama that Kumbhakarna would become immortal after sleeping for SIX WHOLE MONTHS

Literally everything about Kumbhakarna is immensely endearing to me in a way I cannot explain, I just wanna smoosh his cheeks and feed him strawberry mochi, also he so ROUND

Kumbhakarna, don’t eat the Vanaras ffs

Kumbhakarna getting increasingly frustrated by the flying demons buzzing around him like mosquitoes should become a meme/reaction gif, purely because of how he yells “yOu ArE aNnOyInG mE!” at them

*two strikes of a divine sword later* NUUUUU MY BABYYYYY 😭

“I wish I’d known him as a friend, Vibhishana” that’s it, happy AU where everybody lives and they’re all besties let’s gooooo *crying inside*

The way Ravana’s voice quakes when he hears he’s now sans a brother 🥺

Indrajit is horrible but I love him

HANUMAN JUST AIRLIFTED A FUCKING MOUNTAIN HOLY SMOKES-

Omgggg an aerial battle this is so cool- INDRAJIT NOOOOO

RAVANA WHERE DID YOU GET AN AEROPLANE???

Yikes, Ravana, you’re really laying on the body horror here 😳

Awww Rama and Sita are together again yayyyy

Yasssss happy ending we love to see it!

Why are they flying to the moon in a glittering gold helicopter???

Basically, I love this movie and everything about it, especially Kumbhakarna 💞

(Also for the record I mean absolutely no disrespect by any of this)

[blackknight-100]

☔

for the ask game

Thank you for the ask!

☔Is there a fic concept you have that you'd like to just explain and share because you're not sure you'll ever write it? If so, what is it?

Not sure if I will ever write this fic because I have too many wips already, but I really like the idea of a Ramayana AU where Kaikeyi demands the throne for Bharata, but does not send Rama to exile.

This means Dasaratha does not die, and Bharata has significantly less guilt over Kaikeyi's maneuvering, because, as noted, his father does not die, and his brothers and sister-in-law are not sent to exile. And while he is pretty angry at her, Bharata does not disown her.

Having Rama around, however, creates great drama, and despite Rama's efforts to the contrary, fuels political discord between the queens and among the people. Koushalya does not like having her status as eldest queen and potential queen mother taken away by Kaikeyi. Kaikeyi hates that Dasaratha is gradually starting to favour Koushalya over her, shifting public opinion from her and Bharata and onto Rama's side. Dasaratha has postponed his plans to retire to the forest, in order to, as he puts it, secure my other sons' futures. Sumitra, torn between her two sons and their dual loyalty and painfully aware that neither of her sons will ever be king, is on the sidelines, waiting to pounce on a proper political opportunity.

The people are extremely divided as well - some refuse to believe that the kind and upright Bharata, who still cedes certain ceremonial functions to his elder brother, would have ever orchestrated a plot to usurp Rama. Others see him as a seasoned manipulator in cahoots with his mother, pointing out that not only does he not disown his mother, he also does not try to persuade his father to do otherwise either.

Lakshmana and Shatrughan are in a strange situation, because they're twins and always together, but they're also supportive of different brothers - so Rama's advisors and well wishers stop sharing every detail with Lakshmana (despite Rama's insistence that his brother would never wish him harm), and the same happens to Shatrughan. Their meetings are now largely seen as Sumitra and the twins arranging their chess pieces all over the board and playing both parties at once.

The tension, predictably, spills over to Mithila and Samkashya, because while Kushadwaja has never expected his daughter to be queen, Janaka has (rightfully so, because he married her to the eldest son and heir apparent of a kingdom as vast and prosperous as Kosala) and although the two brothers are still very close, there is an undercurrent of political rivalry between them now. I'm not sure how Mandavi would react to this, so her and Sita's relationship is still up in the air, unfortunately.

Ravana remains in this AU as an external hostile force eyeing the mainland, now with the added benefit of having a political turmoil for the succession to the biggest kingdom in Ayodhya. Rama's still slays Bali, earning Sugriva's loyalty and causing even more speculation and political panic in Ayodhya.

I'm not sure if I want this to end with a succession crisis or whether I want it resolved, but this seems like a fun idea to explore.

[purposeastro]

Hello 👋

This is a bit controversial question Can you also post about when can we water shivling. Thank you!!

This is such an interesting question. IDK if it's controversial but the priest in the temple near my home often tells that people should not water shivling in the evening but I think that you can water shivling anytime. I read Shiv Purana and Vigyan Bhairava Tantra and it all explains that God is beyond time they're not time bound. They're not bound with anything at all. That's why we say God is with us 24x7. We are with God 24x7 and can worship them anytime. And in Shiv Purana it's mentioned that you should water shivling in midnight but at that time most temples are closed 😅 you can get or make a shivling on your own and pray at home, make a small one and do offer water in midnight 😃 Also in Shiv Tandav stotram where Ravana mentioned that Pradosh kaal too is the best time. It's the 1 hour time after sunset. People in my hometown offer water to shivling anytime too 😅 I wish that people follow what's actually God want. We are Universe. If we are God then would we ever stop anyone from praying to us anytime? No! so God never ever stopped anyone to worship or offer water in specific time. It's just that as the time moves forward and yuga changes the people writing these scriptures changes it's real meaning. Understanding God is easy yet difficult at the same time but they never ever stopped anyone to worship or offer water in evening at least. 🙂

[runwayrunway]

No. 38 - SriLankan Airlines (Air Lanka)

Thank you to anon for requesting SriLankan Airlines! This was a lot more interesting of an airline to talk about than I expected.

To begin with, take a look at that logo. I love that. The stylized bird looks fantastic and the typeface really matches it well. This is good.

But I will talk more about the logo in a bit. Let's talk about the planes they fly.

A gay plane has...taken off?

And in the process reflect on planes of years past.

An old plane has also taken off.

SriLankan Airlines, which was known as Air Lanka from its establishment in 1979 until 1998, is the second flag carrier of Sri Lanka. It was launched after the demise of former flag carrier Air Ceylon as a fully government-owned company. Though it was briefly partially privatised, it is now re-nationalised. There are apparently plans to potentially re-privatise it, but we will see. They're very recently announced and tentative.

Based on the wording of anon's ask, I get the sense they want me to specifically talk about Air Lanka, and to be totally honest I think I would be doing the airline a huge disservice if I didn't.

I can't read Sinhalese or Tamil, which impacts my ability to really fully understand the apparently quite eventful history of the airline. There are a few op-eds in English written for Sri Lankan publications, but as I'm not the intended audience I would need to research a lot of context before I could really understand much of it. It's a shame, because I am now curious about this.

Thankfully images transcend language, so I can understand how its livery has developed over time. Well, 'developed' is sort of a strong word. They had one livery, and then they had another. They really don't like to switch up their liveries every ten years how many airlines do, and I actually really respect that. Don't get rid of something good if you don't need to.

But was it good?

I never really thought about the landing gear on the L-1011. It feels like it's located so far back. Is it similar to the Trident's sideways gear to leave space for its massive electronics bay that it used to autoland? Also, that's not that many wheels for a plane that big.

This livery looks sort of standard for something invented in 1979, but it has hidden depths. Even just in terms of its broader design I prefer it to a lot of 70s cheatline liveries. The way it loops down to envelop the tail is nice and the smaller line outlining the main block of color feels almost anachronistic in the sense that it's quite a modern choice. Somehow the two lines on the nose make it look distinctly beaklike, which I think is neat. The wordmark is...acceptable, though unfortunately it seems to only be in English. They primarily used TriStars, which is quite discerning of them. But what's that thing on the tail?

I like the modern logo but I prefer this one far and away. It's really pleasing to look at and looks graceful despite its sharpness. Just very nicely designed. I think, if a good modern designer was given this logo, they could design a truly fantastic livery incorporating it.

Actually, although it undeniably looks like a peacock, it's got a bit less immediately visible of a meaning. Aviation is actually a pretty big part of Sri Lankan folklore, and according to the airline itself that peacock is actually the Dandu Monara, a flying machine flown by the legendary king of Sri Lanka Ravana in the Sinhalese version of the Ramayana. This is incredibly cool. Apparently, flying machines in a broader sense are a common feature of Sri Lankan folklore, and they are generally described as being wooden peacocks. I'm genuinely quite sad that I can't find very much about this in English, except for this article by an American researcher, so if anyone knows of any books in English on the subject please let me know.

It's a very elegant execution of the concept. It's easy to buy this blocky, geometric peacock as a machine, without it losing the ability to be recognized as a bird.

The red, meanwhile, is taken from the Sri Lankan flag. I would honestly love to see a livery for this airline that's on a base of yellow with these gorgeous secondary blue-green, orange, and the absolutely stunning burgundy shade used on the largest square. I think it's very unfortunate that Air Lanka chose a redder shade, because I think the warm hues of the flag are both uncommon in combination and very, very harmonious with each other. Normally I would find four distinct colors a bit busy for a livery trying to be on the simpler side, but with the yellow as a base, the burgundy making up most of the design, and the other two colors used for accent something truly great could be created.

The red they chose, while a more conventional pick that I feel is a bit of a let-down relative to what they could have done, is still a very nice vivid red. The logo is well-positioned on the tailfin, the entire design looks clean, and especially for the time this was thoughtfully designed and well executed.

I'm giving Air Lanka (1979-1998) a C+.

That grade, though, is for the livery. If I were just talking about the logo by itself, this would be one of my favorites I've covered so far.

And then in 1998 something happened.

Remember Air Lanka? This is them now. Feel old yet?

Just kidding. They only owned 40% of Air Lanka. In 1998 Air Lanka was partially privatised and Emirates purchased a minority state. One of the first things they did was completely rebrand the airline.

Well, it's certainly more modern. It is...very very white, and it looks...very much like the Emirates livery. Different colors for the text, different literal logo, but otherwise much is the same. The placement of the text, of the logos on the engines, and of the design on the tail - a sort of swoop from the tip of the fin to the fuselage body.

I think I prefer the old logo. While the new one does incorporate the rest of the flag, which I like, it distinctly feels alive. It feels like a bird. Normally I would like that, but given the inspiration of a wooden flying machine it feels a bit harder to recognize. The original logo was just...really really fantastic.

That said, the way it looks like the peacock is climbing up the tail, and the way it flows onto the main body, is nice.

I'm not sure how I feel about the blue underbelly on some of their planes. I mean, I'm kind of a fan of just telling everyone on the ground to visit Sri Lanka, but the blue feels very strange. If it were up to me I would have just done something which occupied more of the plane for a primary design, so it didn't feel like the wings and tail have a wholly different color scheme from the wordmark and underbelly, but that's how it feels.

It also feels...distinctly Emirates-y in a way I don't like. I actually think Emirates's execution of this particular concept is uninspiring but acceptable, but I just don't like the amount of resemblance here. It isn't exactly Continental and Copa, but it's far from KLM and Air France either.

These planes are mostly all white. Whether or not that's jarring or not really depends on the angle, and I think more often than not it looks okay. Nothing here bothers me, but I feel disappointed. Maybe my visions for how fantastic a livery based on the Sri Lankan flag and the Dandu Monara emblem could be were a bit unrealistic, with how airlines are, but it's a shame to see traces of Emirates in an airline that hasn't even associated with Emirates for over a decade now (it was renationalised in 2008). This is not fantastic, but this is not bad. It is not Lufthansesque, and if I saw this in 1998 I think I would actually be slightly nicer to it. But it's also mostly white, doesn't do anything spectacular, and passes up so much unique potential which could have made it one of my favorites.

I'm giving SriLankan Airlines a C.

I did debate taking that down to a C-, but I ultimately don't even think I can say I dislike this. I just wish it was more. I hope, whatever its future is, somebody commits to making SriLankan Airlines the legendary flying machine it has always had the potential to be.

[the-monkey-ruler]

I saw your sea monkey post and had to check something cause it reminded me of Hanuman for some reason, and I was right a version of Hanuman has a kid with a mermaid princess

I'm sorry but I don't think I know which post you are talking about sadly, do you mean Wuzhiqi? That sea monkey?

But wow Hanuman getting a BOO!

Suvannamaccha (literally "golden fish") is a daughter of Ravana appearing in the Thai and other Southeast Asian versions of Ramayana. She is a mermaid princess who tries to spoil Hanuman's plans to build a bridge to Lanka but falls in love with him instead.

They parted as lovers part but it was not to be the end for them. Hanuman had left a seed with Suvannamaccha and soon she would give birth to their son, Macchanu.

DAMN! Even when helping his friend save his wife he GETS HIS OWN SON AND LOVER. Looks like Hanuman doesn't get a chance to raise his own kid but WILD story to find out! Thank you for telling me this! I would have never known!

[lovelaughsimp]

I know this is a love song but I can't help but think of God when listening to this song.

"Muskaata Yeh Chehra, Deta Hai Jo Pehra". ( The smiling face, the one that is protecting me )

God is always smiling, going through every situation with a smile. He went through alot of struggles in his every lifetime and yet kept smiling, doesn't matter how dire the situation was. The smile was always gracing his face. Even then he was and will always protect us.

"Jaane Chhupata Kya Dil Ka Samandar". ( Yet no one knows what is he hiding in the ocean of his heart )

We always ask God for things, God give us this, God give us that. God doesn't protect us, God doesn't do this, God doesn't do that. We tell him all our problems yet no one ever ask him if something is bothering him? If he's okay? If he can share what's bothering him as well? Does anyone ask him how is he doing? Do you think just because is always protecting someone that means he's always doing okay? Just because he's perfect doesn't mean he doesn't feel anything.

"Auron Ko Toh Hardam, Saaya Deta Hai". ( He gives shade to everyone else )

We all know, God has always protected and given us shade, let us never feel anything except love. He had always been so giving, so forgiving, so lovely. How beautiful he really is. How great he always is.

"Woh Dhoop Mein Hai Khada, Khud Magar". ( While standing in the sun himself )

I think in every religion, God has always sacrificed himself. He always had to sacrifice himself for us, who are always so ungrateful. He always had to give up his loved ones for us, for everyone. Doesn't matter how much of a sinner you are, you can always ask for forgiveness from him. Yet, no one ever think of him. Does no one love him? Does he not deserve love?

"Chot Lagi Hai Usse Phir Kyun,Mehsoos Mujhe HoRaha" ( Even when he's wounded then why am I feeling the pain? )

God has always been like that even when we do or make any mistakes, he's the one who's effected the most. My Mahadev drank all the poison. He is so kind. When no one was willing to take responsibility of their own actions, they called him and being the kindest soul he is, he drank it to save us, save everyone. Does no one ever feel how much pain he must have gone through? He gifted his city of Gold to Ravana and himself lived in a barren place. How much kind is he, how can anyone ever hate him? I know alot of must be wondering that how can he feel any pain when he's the one who created all that? Idiotsssss!!! Do you not know we all are a part of him and if we can feel hurt, pain then how can he not? My kanha went through alot since he was born, he had to give up on everything to protect us and even till now people call him a Playboy when he was the only one who stood up for everyone.

Ahhhhh sorry this was just like the four lines but this initiated a reaction in me.

[herawell]

For the choose violence asks: 1, 2, 12, 13, 16, 17, 18, 19, 23 and 24 for the Ramayana?

1. the character everyone gets wrong

Ravana, especially the people who believe he treated her better than Rama did. Not raping her doesn’t mean he didn’t kidnap her, imprison her, and threaten to kill her.

2. a compelling argument for why your fave would never top or bottom

I believe all top-bottom discourse is homophobia by another name, so I’m passing on this one.

12. the unpopular character that you actually like and why more people should like them

Nalkuber. Jerk with a heart of gold who gets himself turned into a tree for his vices, but also believed his wife when Ravana raped her and laid down a curse that protected Sita generations later.

13. worst blorboficiation

Kaikeyi. While I do believe she had her reasons to act as she did, the characterization of her as a political mastermind doesn’t ring true to me. She demands at the eleventh hour for Dasharatha to exile the universally beloved crown prince and put her own son in the throne, that too while Bharata is gone and without consulting him. She ensures that Bharata was crowned with a cloud of suspicion hanging over him, and poisons her relationship with him forever. To me, that’s an act of mad desperation, not rajatantram.

16. you can't understand why so many people like this thing (characterization, trope, headcanon, etc)

Vali. Ravana I can understand why people like him, as he was a powerful and learned devotee of Shiva, and it’s natural to cast him as the antithesis of Uttarakanda!Rama, but I have zero idea why people like Vali and gloss over the imprisonment and rape of Ruma, a step Ravana never took.

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

Any fic or art, tbh.

18. it's absolutely criminal that the fandom has been sleeping on...

Luv and Kush post-canon. There’s no way that the story was a happily ever after.

19. you're mad/ashamed/horrified you actually kind of like...

the Uttarakanda, for all that I hate what it represents. The tragedy and the cyclic nature of it could have been so powerful, had it been handled better.

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to

None really, tbh?

24. topic that brings up the most rancid discourse

Rama was actually right in exiling Sita.