#yudhishthir?

[incorrectmahabharatquotes]

IMQ Server Starbharat Samuhik Watch Party Memes #22

Credit to the dazzling @sharngapani.

-Mod S

[zeherili-ankhein]

I am fucking wheezing 😭

Credit: @ekdum.wholesome on Instagram

[hum-suffer]

It's A Farce

It's a farce, Sahdev thinks, as Yuddhishthir smiles at him and tells him that he's fine, it's not a big deal. The wound on his eldest brother's bicep bleeds and curls, and for a moment all Sahdev can think is: I did this. I asked him to accompany me. I should have seen that uneven field. How could I let any animal near my brother? The skin on the inside of his mouth turns red as he keeps biting it, and Yuddhishthir laughs, throwing an arm around Sahdev and the curve of his elbow matches the curve of his wound.

It's a farce, Sahdev thinks, as Bheem tells him about a grey coloured flower, about how it's the nature of the flower and not Sahdev's neglect of the tree and he feels the ache of a lifetime rush in his eyes as he stares at a flower, dead and cold, because he forgot to give it to Mata. Bheem puts the dead flower in his hair with pride, claiming Sahdev as a new botanist, and Sahdev swears that he will make something that will have Bheem's name echoed through the world, name a flower after him.

It's a farce, Sahdev thinks, as Arjun holds him close and tells him tales untrue about their father. Neither of the boys remember his voice, and Arjun holds him all the time when he realises that Sahdev doesn't even know that he has a maternal uncle— he barely remembers how his mother sounded like. Arjun tells him long tales, laughable pranks, and tales of victories. Sahdev falls asleep in his arms, and as his eyes close, he feels a tear that isn't his, rolling down his cheek.

It's a farce, Sahdev thinks, as Nakul pretends that he isn't hungry anymore and fights with Mata about eating the same sweet fruits and pushes all of his fruits in Sahdev's direction and stomps off to find some other fruits for himself. Sahdev waits for him, even as everyone else falls asleep, and even if he can't see that well in the dark of the night, he knows there are no residual fruit juices on Nakul's fingers. Sahdev sneakily wipes his dirty hands before Nakul can see and feeds his brother the fruits that he collected, even when Nakul says he's full. Nakul eats all of the fruits, even the too ripe ones, with a crooked proud smile.

It's a farce, Sahdev thinks, as Mata tells them they'll be safe with their cousins in the royal family. Cousin Suyodhan seems to take it as a personal insult whenever Sahdev and his brothers are more comfortable in their asharam, their years of experience in forest comes handy and Sahdev feels eyes burning into his hands as he starts a fire for the food. Sahdev burns his fingers that day, and Sushasan says he's sorry for accidentally bumping into Sahdev.

It's a farce, Sahdev thinks, as Mama Shakuni tells them about their stay in a palace built especially for them, which doesn't require fire to be illuminated because there are mirrors all over the palace that reflect the moonlight. The palace is drenched in silver light, and Sahdev takes a deep breath as he appreciates the beauty of it and it is then that he smells the wax and turns around, just in time to see Yuddhishthir's hand almost slip from the wall he is leaning on.

It's a farce, Sahdev thinks, as Vasudev tells them that they may go home and live a happy life after being married to Krishnaa. She doesn't talk to anyone for days on end, but he sometimes catches her whimpering in the night, and he can't help but run a hand down her hair when she pretends to sleep on the hay. It's his first time comforting someone, and his hand is trembling and unsteady, he worries it'll be too heavy to rest on her head and hovers awkwardly. Her eyes don't open until morning, but the next night onwards, she sleeps beside him and doesn't open her eyes until dawn.

It's a farce, Sahdev thinks, as their land is divided and everyone seems so pained but no one will say anything to cousin Duryodhan and uncle Dhritrashtra and Sahdev feels the burn marks on his fingers go tighter and Mata knows him too well because she sends him a look and he keeps his words in his throat, burning again.

It's a farce, Sahdev thinks, as they receive an invitation. It's a farce. It's a farce. It's a farce. It's a farce.

No one looks at him to ask what is wrong as he kneels and chokes on air that night in his room. There's no arm around his shoulders, no flower in his hands, no stories in his ears, no fingers that pinch his cheeks, no comforting presence beside him, and no wise words.

It's a farce, Sahdev thinks, as he sees his own nephew burn in a pyre. He wishes he was burning instead. Fire kissed, the heirs of Pandu. Scorched. Yuddhishthir's burnt hands, Bheem's burning eyes, Arjun's scorching words, Nakul's furious sword, Sahdev's burnt fingers and— Abhimanyu's burnt body.

It's a farce, Sahdev thinks, as he kneels and holds his sosn to his chest, telling them that the war will end soon and they'll go home and it will all be fine and they're doing the right thing. He presses kisses to his sons and nephews, telling them all that they just need to pass this time, it's a whirlpool of death and they just need to hold steady and it'll all be fine.

It's a farce. It's a farce. It's a farce. It's a farce. It's a farce. It's a farce. It's a farce.

The day his children die, Sahdev uses his dagger to scrape off two birthmarks that he had passed onto his sons. Shrutsena, his wise child, had a dark blotch of a birthmark that Sahdev had passed on. Shrutsena wore it with pride on his neck and Sahdev scrapes off his own birthmark that rests on his clavicle. Suhotra had an almost half moon shaped birthmark passed onto him, he touched it whenever he was angry. The skin around his mark on his elbow was always red, just because of his temperament and the consequential habit. Sahdev scrapes off the same mark from his left calf.

The blood feels like a farce.

Does blood really matter, these days?

[friend-shaped-but]

Reunions

Thirteen years ago, Krishna had taken Dhrishtadyumna and Shikhandi aside and told them in no uncertain terms that they would not be taking out their anger of the Pandavas on their sons. Thirteen years later, Shikhandi takes them aside and looks them in the eye, telling them with pride, and a hint of warning that their boys have changed and grown into men. Nakul knows why his tone holds warning, even if the others may not get it. He gets the message loud and clear.

They have changed, and you are not to fault them for that.

So he doesn't.

He just observes.

He observes Draupadi's brothers run into the room, Yudhamanyu and Uttamaujas running to her and each of them grabbing one of her hands and pulling her ahead to join the rest of them. They're twins, just like him. She's a twin, just like them. Just like half of Panchal's sons. Kumara and Panchalya tackle her in a bear hug, with Prince Satyajit shouting 'careful, careful' in the background. A rare exclamation of joy, rarer in these years, slips out of her mouth when she sees a laughing Shikhandi and a softly smiling Dhrishtadyumna. She shakes off her younger brothers and runs to them. After all, they are her favourites.

With her husbands, she cannot afford to have favourites. With them, she cannot be free. She is always their wife, their queen, and although she gets love in both Panchal and Indraprastha, she gets freedom only with her brothers. It reminds him of himself, a memory flitting across his mind of rambunctious young boys, one getting him in a headlock, another trying to pull it apart, one leaning tiredly against the wall and yet another pulling him to join his brothers. Call him soft-hearted, but his heart always clenches when she laughs freely, like she hasn't done for so long, and that can only be done with her brothers.

But then, from behind them, her sons show up. He observes Kalyani tear up, hands on her mouth, and how Prativindhya is quick to put an arm around her and pull her close and wipe her tears. He towers over her now. He'd always wondered how his second-eldest nephew was doing. A part of him had died after that day, and Nakul feared it wasn't coming back anytime soon. He'd always been close to his mother. Sutasoma and Shrutakarma, he notes, are probably crying more than her, and his heart does a little flip-flop. Shatanik is stone-faced, thoughts flitting through his mind and flickering in his eyes, but his mouth doesn't betray any of it. He looks calm, and absently, Nakul murmurs, 'you've changed, duckling,' and promises himself never to say that out loud. The children are painfully aware of that fact, they don't need to be told. But when she hugs the four of them, Shatanik looks up, caught in the moment as if a deer in the headlights, and then hugs all of them, shifting them and almost picking them up with the force of his hug. Nakul shakes his head in fond exasperation. He had never been good at showing people he loved them. And being trained by the Parshatas would have exacerbated that. But it was alright, he knew how to read emotions from the slightest curl of a fist, the minutest furrow of eyebrows, and the tiniest twitch of an eye.

He observes Prativindhya, turned away from his father, his face painted with slight disgust and his hands crossed. He observes how Sutasoma is quick to swallow, unsuccessful at hiding the lump in his throat, his eyes murky with the film of tears on them. He sees Bheem look at him for only a moment before nearly crushing his son in a hug, picking him up like he was feather-light and asking him about his health and his food and what he'd been up to. He sees Shrutasen stand stiffly as Sahadev looks at him, really looks at him, both of them so stiff and awkward it makes him want to tease his brother and push them closer for a hug. But he knows Shrutasen was barely eleven when they left, and does not know how to interact with a man he scarcely remembers. He also has more important things to do, namely, seeing his own son.

This time around, Shatanik observes him. He's rough around the edges, and his arms on his father's and he is intently looking at him, his eyes narrow and searching. "I've missed you kid," he says, gruffly. He does not call the man in front of him duckling. He does not feel he would like that. Shatanik nods. "Same," he whispers.

But Shatanik's eyes keep darting across the room, and he turns to look. The sight makes a deep, deep discomfort buried within him resurface, and he rolls his eyes at how predictable his brother is being. Shrutakarma is ecstatic to see his father. After all, Yudhamanyu must have told him a lot of stories.

But Arjun has walked right past him to see Subhadra and Abhimanyu. Arjun probably doesn't even realize what he has done in his excitement. But Shrutakarma walks off to stand in a corner, downcast. The action had been done, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, and Shrutakarma cannot see intentions. He can only see effects. But despite all that had happened, Nakul smiles. He remembers the kid.

He remembers a five year old, running through the stables with Shatanik and the stablehands running behind him and stopping only when he came to the strange horses Krishna had given him. He remembers Shatanik listening to him patiently as he rattled off about each of them, his face alight with joy and excitement. Nakul looked at the two of them, how their eyes seemed to search for each other in a crowded room and deduced that he had continued being loyal to Shatanik, and Shatanik, in turn had morphed his patience into a fiery protectiveness.

Shatanik guides him over to his youngest nephew and Nakul just smiles and opens his arms. He bites back a gasp at how quickly Shrutakarma comes to him and hugs the poor boy back. Shatanik rests a hand on his brother's back, and a thin smile splits his face. Nakul drags him into the hug, pressing his head Shatanik's neck, taking a deep breath and smiling to himself. Vindhya and Shatanik are taller than his brother and him respectively. Shatanik awkwardly pats his shoulder.

Shatanik needs time, he senses. To come to terms that this is real. There is a lot going on behind that large forehead, and it needs to settle before his son comes to him.

Nakul decides to wait. They have time, don't they?

[piyatosenainanalaagere]

Yudhishthir : *does not even look back as his siblings and wife fall to death*

Also Yudhishthir : *refuses heaven because they didn't let his dog in*

---------------------------------

The gods : *reviling themselves informing him that he passed their test*

Yudhishthir(who just wanted a dog) : W H A T

[warriorbookworm]

Prativindhya Headcanons

Draupadi, after his birth, has a bit of PPA. 

His mother and father are both people who were deprived of a childhood in their own way, so for a while(like the 1-2 years before Sutasoma is born and he’s pretty much rocking that only child rizz) his parents entertain all his antics. They live vicariously through him and are quite indulgent.

He is a very inquisitive child, and his curiosity complements Yudhishthir’s patience perfectly. He’s the only one patient enough to answer his son’s questions after questions after questions. 

Speaking of that, they have a tradition where no matter how busy Yudhishthir has been throughout the day, he always spares some time for Prativindhya in the evening/night. This inadvertently turns Prativindhya into a night owl. But he loves the sunrise. He’s the kind of person who will stay up through the night just so he gets to see the sunrise. 

However, this inquisitiveness takes a dark turn when he begins to pick up on his father’s addiction and begins to ask some. Ahem. Uncomfortable questions. Their relationship takes a bit of a dark turn, though things don’t go totally downhill until the Dyut sabha. 

Draupadi and Prativindhya have issues in the sense where you know. The parent without addiction takes their ire regarding the other parent out on the child. I think she is hard on her kids when they make mistakes because she fears that one unchecked mistake will become their ruin. It hurts, but he also kinda gets it. He hates that he gets it.

His brothers are free to call him out on his bs, he does not want the unquestioning respect. 

You know that narrative where kids whose parents have addiction have inadequacy issues? On the ride to Panchal he’s pretending to sleep but he’s still thinking, thinking, ‘was I not enough?’ ‘Was my love not enough?’ ‘why did he do that?’ 

He’s also quite pessimistic. 

When he gets to Panchal, he develops a drinking problem for a bit. What snaps him out is a night when he gets blackout drunk. The hangover involves him SOBBING SHAKING CRYING as Shikhandi holds him, “Uncle, please, make it stop, make it stop mama, what did I do? Why is this happening to me??” 

He becomes a gym rat after that to cope with everything. 

He loves the spear, but tries to distance himself from any and all aspects of his father, and even stops fighting with the spear. Only to miss it. He has to psych himself up even to look at a spear after that. At first, he practices in secret, in the dead of the night, but later begins to not care about the associations anymore and reclaims the spear, becoming one of the greatest spear fighters of their generation. Would have become the best overall if he had lived longer but we are NOT gonna go there. 

He’s one of the few people who can get the high-strung, tightly-wound Shatanik to let loose and enjoy things. He is actually a pretty nice brother when he gets his head out of his ass and stops being scared of himself. 

He loves perfumes, and is partial to deer musk.(Kasturi)

 After a long day, all he wants is sutasoma’s cooking. He loves his brother’s bitter gourd curry and freshwater fish fry. 

He’s very close to Yudhamanyu and Uttamaujas because there’s a less age gap between them and they become his go-to adults. They’re ready to call him out on his BS when needed, but also really cool and supportive. More like big brothers than uncles, honestly. 

He’s a mama’s boy through and through, though, maybe even 2013 mahabharat Arjun levels of mama’s boy. They have their own issues, but he is BAWLING when he sees her for the first time in 13 years. 

He has said, multiple times, during the war, “I am doing this for mother, not father,” 

He beats up shakuni within an inch of his life one day when the upapandavas are dealing with the gandhaar army on the 5th-6th day. 

He was born before Indraprastha happened. He knew Lakshman Kumara, even if just as kids. He feels sad about his death. He never gets a chance to process those complicated feelings.

He's beheaded.

tags under cut

@chahaa-piun-ja @preyasi @niharikaaa2 @incorrectmahabharatquotes @sharngapani

[aru-loves-krishnaxarjuna]

Yudhishthir: when i die, i want to be remembered as the best Chakravarti Samrat

Bheem: when i die, i want to be remembered as the strongest man alive

Nakul: when i die i want to be remembered as the most handsome man to exist

Sahadev:...it is ominous to speak of death so i cease to be out of this conversation

Draupadi: when i die, i know i will be remembered as the wife of one talented, manasvi, woman and four idiot, stupid, men

Krishna and Arjuni: *snorts*

The Pandava brothers:...

Arjuni: when i die—

Krishna: bold of you to assume i am going to let that happen!

[h0bg0blin-meat]

Duryodhan: Hey, you want a tarot reading?

Yudhishthir: Those are Pokemon cards.

Duryodhan: You got a magikarp.

Yudhishthir: ...

Duryodhan: It means 'fuck you'.

[kanhapriya]

Drauapadi: BEHOLD, the field in which I grow my fucks! Lay thine eyes upon it, and thou shalt see that it is barren!

Yudhishthir :

[livingtheparadoxlife]

Moodboard: Yudhishthira

[incorrectmahabharatquotes]

IMQ Server Starbharat Samuhik Watch Party Memes #25

Credit to me.

-Mod S

[sambhavami]

Obligatory note: It's been a long time since I read the actual text...and this was originally written for me to hash out some character relationships stuff for my fictional works. :)

Now, welcome to my personal conspiracy-headcanon mashup. To understand Arjun/Bheem's reactions we need to understand Yudi first, right?

During the Dyuta Sabha, the Ps had a lot of things going on. To blame what happened entirely on Yudi's gambling would probably not be fair. As others here have pointed out, they were cornered both physically and politically (especially with Krishna very perfectly, for the Ks, locked in a deadly war).

Many people think (me included, up until a few months back) that Yudi's a weaker character, controlled entirely by Krishna, and that he sort of falls apart when Krishna isn't around. But, that isn't entirely true. Yudhishthir is remarkably smart. His only problem in this regard is that he associates the greatest with Krishna, the record-smashing, powerhouse of a politician, who dwarfs everyone else simply by being in the room.

Hence, the only times we get to see Yudi's strategies playing out independently are during Varnavat, and Dyuta Sabha (Vana Parva shows his standalone intelligence, and Udyoga Parva features his farsightedness).

During Varnavat, when they are leaving...this is a small detail, but Yudhishthir creates a proper ruckus before they leave. He's crying and sobbing, he's falling on everyone's feet- solidly weirding out at least half of the extended family elders...as one writer so eloquently put it: like 'a bride on her bidai'.

Point is, Yudi smells out that something's wrong with this sudden all-expenses-paid trip, even before Vidur gets to him with his hints and stuff. What Yudi is doing here is that he is acting weird (and loud) to the point that even a commoner seeing their chariots from afar would notice something's fishy.

Yudi's style is always to play the long con. And he values the common man. Rather, he knows the value of public support. This is something even Dury values, but his method of securing said support is just to throw money at them mostly.

Yudi always wants to make a more permanent impact in this department.

You remember how in Varnavat, Kunti leaves a nishada mother and her 5 sons to die in the fire? I was thinking, did Yudi not inherit even 1% of that steadfast (cruel?) determination? (I mean Krishna is Kunti's suyogya nephew in this regard!). Yudi sure didn't object to his mother's plan then.

Then, after Draupadi's swayamvar, Yudi is the one to recognize the seeds of discord b/w the brothers, and nips it in the bud by using Kunti's words. Once Krishna is in the picture, we see Yudi kinda sorta let up, he lets Krishna make some executive decisions regarding Indraprastha, and the rajasuya. Obviously, he trusts Krishna fully, and even Krishna gets the time to really recognize Yudi's subtle undercurrent-ish strategies.

So, it's not totally weird that the younglings trust him so much. The dice game might have activated Yudi's gambling issues exacerbated by his somewhat compulsive desire to be polite at all costs, but he wasn't rendered completely senseless.

On IF I saw one member theorizing about how Yudhishthir is phrasing sentences when the guard is sent to Draupadi at first. It's like he's almost sending a message to Draupadi.

Combining the above, with my own little theory here...Yudi realised pretty much immediately that he is walking into a trap, and so walk he did. He had faith that even if his brothers (and wife) were furious with him, they would still not react, and let Yudi play it out first.

The seeds of Kurukshetra were sown generations back. If we want to push it, we can push the origins of this conflict to the very first Deva-Asur war itself!

Even in their generation they had Krishna and Jarasandha, Drupada and Drona, Kauravas and Panchalas, the growing intra-Yadav complications, the Kaurava family matter, and so many other such conflicts. The world was already barrelling towards the mega-war at record speed. With Krishna and Drupada aligning themselves with the Ps, and Duryodhana rapidly filling the vacuum left by Jarasandha, Yudhishthira would also have guess that the war would happen in their lifetime. And in this uber-polarized situation, situated right between Krishna and Duryodhana, Yudhishthira would definitely end up in the middle of all of it.

When Yudi found the war to be inevitable, he gave up trying to really stop it and instead focused on how they could come out of this smelling like roses. In case of war, Yudi was never getting Dury's loyal vassal kingdoms. Obviously! And Krishna had antagonized more that half of the subcontinent while fighting Jarasandha (none of whom would fight on the side of Krishna's friends!), so Yudi wasn't getting them either! Then, the only remaining option was to somehow drag the sort-of neutral kingdoms into this mess.

The neutral kingdoms all had remained neutral for a reason. These people never really got involved in anything. The only thing that would drag them in, would have to be something outrageous. Something, that no conscientious person/kingdom could ignore. Something like a royal woman being assaulted mid-sabha. Something that would hit two birds...force the neutral kingdoms to choose a side, and irrevocably tip the public opinion in the Pandavas' favour.

If Yudi pushed Draupadi into this intentionally, then he was also ensuring that the Kaurava soldiers would fight against, but with a broken heart all that time, just like the elders of the family (and consequently will be about half as effective).

Now obviously, this is just a theory, and I'd be a lot more afraid of Yudi if this were indeed true. However, it is still fun to imagine, and I can't resist that!

But then, when Draupadi asks Yudi directly if what he did was legal or not, he stays silent. See, normally, Yudi LOVES a good debate. If he had genuinely thought he was right (or at least legally in the clear) in doing what he did, he would argue with Draupadi to the end of the world, but he doesn't!

Again, Draupadi is a legal genius herself, there's no doubt about that. So, when Draupadi is asking that question, she isn't actually asking the question. Draupadi is only further appalled when nobody acknowledges that she's right in saying that Yudi had no right to stake her. A law after all, is only a law if the wider society agrees that it is. In Drau's case, no one had the guts (except Vidur and Vikarna) to stand with her and support the law that she cited.

Maybe, Yudi had anticipated this would happen? That the Ks would let their animalistic side win over the logical one, and dig themselves a hole they can't really climb out of? But then again, I would be very scared of the man, then.

Coming to the brothers' loyalty. Obviously, they've (and Draupadi) lived with the intelligent Yudi for a long time. Long enough to know how he plays his game, and even if they don't like his approaches, they know that it will still help them achieve their final goal, which is to obtain and then stay on the throne of Hastinapura (the staying part they can't do without solid public support in the long run).

As for how much they value Draupadi, I think the brothers have proven themselves several times after that. Bheem a little louder, Arjun a little quieter, but they have.

[hum-suffer]

Devout

Bheem has always been a devout man.

He is the one who takes Sahadev to the nearest Mahadev temple in the forest, built by some anonymous and obscure person. Bheem had to walk several miles in several different directions everyday for a week before he found the temple. It's abandoned, and Bheem spends another day cleaning it up while everyone else goes about their tasks. The next day, when he takes Sahadev there and they're both sitting down in front of the Shivling, Bheem stares at Sahadev as his youngest brother mutters mantras and chants, almost shaking. Sahadev's skin flushes red and Bheem, he doesn't know what else to do. He uses the water meant for Shiva Abhishek and splashes it on Sahadev.

Nakul has always loved spring— he has been a connoisseur of everything regarding nature. Nature looks even more beautiful in spring, Nakul says, and Bheem agrees, even though he really prefers the orange and red huges of autumn. Nakul picks flowers, says they are for the spring god— Vasant dev— and Bheem follows his lead, picking more flowers from the ground. He doesn't exactly know what he's doing, so he keeps the flowers in his arms even after Nakul lets his flowers flow in a nearby river with a soft prayer. Later, when Nakul is laying down, his hair in Bheem's lap, Bheem puts the flowers in Nakul's hair.

Arjun grows up way too fast, Bheem thinks. He carries around a carved wooden plate that shows Narayan and Devi Lakshmi, sitting together on different lotuses. Arjun carved it two days before Pitashri and Mata Madri died, he had intended to give it as a gift to Mata Madri, knowing that she was a devotee of Lakshmi-Narayan. The tiny wooden plate leaves scars in Arjun's hands as he holds it tightly as they escape the Lakshagrah. Bheem holds his hand, the wooden plate squeezed between both their hands, and it leaves imprints on Bheem for days to come. On the following Ekadashi—which was just the next day— when Arjun bathed the plaque in kumkum, Bheem washes Arjun's hand with tumeric and Chandan.

Jyeshth doesn't really have time for himself on a lot of days. He's either busy with reading reports, preparing plans and policies, listening to the public's complaints or going on an inspection in some area or the other. He often forgets to eat. When Bheem takes up as his second-in-command and starts shadowing him, jyeshth laughs and says that Bheem need only relax— for the politics is the sole responsibility of the King, and he cannot pawn it off to the Crown Prince, younger brother he may be. When jyeshth prays at the Hanuman ji temple at noon everyday, Bheem, who has now taken to carrying around food, quietly puts down a leaf plate and serves jyeshth food while his eyes are closed.

Krishnaa is younger, by days and by mind. She is extremely easy to excite and she believes in fickle things like equality. Bheem hasn't known equality since they were kids and they lived in a forest in a happy family of eight, eating the same fruits everyday. She has a routine, a strict one, and she adheres to it in a way that is almost manic. Everyday, after bathing, she dresses a small murti of Kali Mata, always in reds and always in different patterns. She has custom made sarees and gajras for the murti. And only after dressing Mata Kali, does Panchali dress. Bheem helps her drape her saree, pressing down creases and straightening out pleats. Even in her open hair, Bheem curls a gajra on the back of her hair, going from ear to ear.

They laugh with him when he overeats— he doesn't know how else to burn down the energy that is threatening to come alive under his skin. He wants to scratch the surface and draw blood and see if it is as hot as it feels. Bheem curls his palms into fists and he sees his veins bulge and the blood caked under his nails and wonders if that is all he is worth— the fight, the blood, the strength.

The powerful one, they call him. Bheem wonders if he hadn't been powerful, what would he be? A poet, perhaps. He would write sonnets on the way Krishnaa's eyelashes curled when she blinked twice in the same sentence— a tell tale sign of her lying. He would write a poem on the way Sahadev always cracked his knuckles loudly, uncaring of the situation. He would write about Nakul's slight limp, which formed when they were escaping Lakshagrah. He would write about the barely visible scars on Arjun's forearm and palms, all because of blisters from holding his bow and arrow. He would write about the way jyeshth curls his hand in the air and closes his eyes, as if beckoning a melody that only he can hear.

Bheem would perhaps write about the horror he feels when he thinks of his abandoned wife and child— when he knows he kissed Hidimbi's ankles and promised her that he is but a slave in her service. He remembers that he washed his hands five times a day and perhaps even more— to the point where his skin had started to shed layers— just to make sure he wouldn't get any blood on Ghatotkach. He would write that he broke his nails, trying to get out the blood and skin from under his nails, before he embraced his son after 13 years. Bheem would write, that his sons were proud, valiant, and chivalrous.

And perhaps, in the last page of a ballad to never be spoken and repeated, Bheem would write, in hushed breath and hurried hand, about himself. He would write the rush of power he feels every time he hears bones break under his grip. He would write about the snarl that he knows that takes over his lips when someone angers him. He would write that he doesn't need weapons to kill— he's always been a weapon, the best among them.

Bheem would write that he still splashes Sahadev with water when he gets panicked about the future, he would write that he still brings flowers to Nakul, he would write that he still washes Arjun's blisters with tumeric, he would write that he still serves food to jyeshth, he would write that he still drapes Krishnaa's saree.

In the last line, Bheem would claim himself a devout man.

But, alas, he was not a poet.

[friend-shaped-but]

inspired a LOT by my baby cousin and also @theramblergal's thing about prativindhya and yudhishthir!!

Yudhishthir barely noticed the shout of “Baba, catch!” before the ball landed right on the papers he was looking over. The papers fell to the floor, saving them from the toppling inkpot, which spilled all over the table. The king grimaced, and picked up the ink stained ball at the parts where it wasn’t covered in black, and set it aside. 

“That wasn’t very nice, Vindhya,” he admonished. 

“I wanted to test your weflexes!” Prativindhya exclaimed. “I didn’t mean to make your papers fall!” 

“It's reflexes, and by the way, where’d you learn that word? And where’s Sutasoma? Why don’t you go play with him for now, and I’ll come once my work is done?” Yudhishthir asked. 

“He’s playing with the baby. I don’t want to play with the baby, all he does is cry and sleep and poop!” Vindhya pouted. “Everyone likes the baby, no one pays any attention to me, and I don’t like the baby!” his lips quivered and his voice rose in a crescendo. He crept to Yudhishthir’s chair, looking up at his father, and said in a tiny voice, his eyes welling up with tears “Does that make me a bad brother?” 

@randomfandomtraveller @chucklingmaniacally @chahaa-piun-ja @preyasi @demigod-of-the-agni @h0bg0blin-meatgoblin @chaanv @livingtheparadoxlife

Here's a snippet from the fic I was writing on these two!!! It's not finished yet but I am TRYING to do things here- please be patient I'll finish it after the exams

[blackknight-100]

HINDU MYTHOLOGY FIC MASTERLIST*

*Not Tumblr specific. Some of these are on my Wattpad, and some on AO3 (in light of recent AI nonsense, mine has been locked and cannot be accessed without an account. It's easy to get an account if you want, you just have to put in your email and wait for like, a week)

Disclaimer: These are works of fiction where creative liberties have been taken for entertainment purposes. Works may include regional and folkloric events/beliefs and may not always adhere to source material.

Warnings: Some fics may contain non-explicit discussions of assault, violence, abuse or discrimination, and may include allusions to intimacy. Please proceed with caution.

Multi-Chaptered Fics/Major Works:

The Heart of Gold (Mahabharata, fin.) (AO3, Wattpad)

Hands of God (Mahabharata, wip.) (AO3, Wattpad)

Mukhaute (Mahabharata, Theatre!AU, wip.) (AO3, Wattpad)

Daughter of the Mountains (Durga's Story, wip.) (AO3, Wattpad)

Ramayana

Falling (in love with you): Lakshmana/Urmila (OS)

Sundaralekhan AU: Sita does not go to the forest (OS)

Janak and Sunaina visit Ayodhya after Sita's Bhumi-Pravesh (OS)

AU: Lakshmana Dies (OS)

Rama goes to visit Sita at Valmiki's aashram (OS)

Lav-Kusha arrive at Ayodhya after Sita's Bhumi-Pravesh (OS)

5 times Rama hears about Sita + 1 time he tells someone about her

3 times Rama bows his head + 1 time Sita does not (Uttar Kaand)

Mahabharata

Arjuna and Karna - Character Swap

Duryodhana and Dushashana - Brothers

Duryodhana and Lakshmana Kumara

Vrishasena and his secret lover (3+1)

Ashwatthama after Drona's death (OS ft. Karna)

Yudhisthira - The End

PRIDE: Shikhandi

Ashwatthama-Karna-Duryodhana Bromance (ft. Vrishali and Bhanumati)

Abhimanyu Does Not Die (Fic I: Sad Ending)

Abhimanyu Does Not Die (Fic II: Kind of Happy Ending?)

Draupadi Does not Accompany the Pandavas to Exile (5+1)

Krishna's Birth - A Little Janmaasthami Fic

Arjuna and Vrishasena - 3 Times Vrishasena found his Uncle + 1 Time it was otherwise

Vrishasena Backstory Fic

The Kauravas and Pandavas Spend a Happy Day (ft. Karna)

Arjuna and Vrishasena Fluff

Krishna and Sudama - Moments out of Time (AO3, Wattpad)

Extra

Shesha Reflects

Saraswati and Lakshmi: Sisterhood

Shiva x Mohini (ft. Parvati and Lakshmi)

[stxrrynxghts]

While someone is on diet

Krishna

Support depends on person dieting

"Yes Parth, I will eat salads till you do."

"Hey, Bhrata Duryodhan, check out this tasty paneer roll I made."

Arjun

Helps genuinely

Sacrifices food for the person

Diet doesn't make sense to him as he eats "ghas-phoos" on a daily

Bhima

Hates the term diet

Why such torture on a person ? *confused Bhima noises*

Force feeds the one on diet

Yudhishthira

Explains the pros and cons of dieting in detail

"Well, in my opinion, you should consult a nutrionist and get a diet chart made-"

Makes charts on the difference between boiling and stewing

Nakul

Deliberately eats elaborate meals at that time

Sends Mukbangs to the one on diet

Describes foods that he has eaten in extensive detail

Sahadev

Is the one on a diet

Wonders why he made this decision

Gives up diet after 1 week of consistent efforts for the same by ppl mentioned above