Kaanha-ki-barkat - There Is No Charm Equal To Tenderness Of Heart.

Prompt: Sita & Rambha (victim of Ravana who cursed him, thereby protecting Sita)

A woman remains behind when the gods descend upon Lanka to bless the captive Sita with security and sustenance, and Sita need only look once at the stranger’s eyes, bright as the dance of sunlight against water, and her hair, shining like the waves of the river to know: an apsara.

“Their Queen, in fact,” says the woman–Rambha herself–confirming Sita’s guess, and inclines her head in response to Sita’s folded hands.

All the world has heard of what she suffered at the hands of the demon king, but Sita must know for sure. “Did he–Did Ravana try–” She breaks off, unsure of how to phrase her question delicately, but it is unnecessary. The apsaras are hardly undiscerning, and Rambha no exception.

“He did more than try,” she says bluntly, and Sita, now knowing all too well what it is to know such powerlessness, shudders with sympathy.

“I am sorry,” she says awkwardly, words insufficient to express what she feels, but Rambha shakes the words away.

“Perhaps, it was for the best. At least it is now such that he can never do so again, not on pain of instant death. If my suffering was necessary to bring that to be, then as Queen I would have accepted the cost regardless.”

Sita marvels with this, enough to dare ask the question that has haunted her. “And your husband–he forgave you?”

Rambha shakes her head. “No,” she says, “for he said there was nothing for which he needed to forgive me. His punishment fell solely on Ravana’s head, to ensure it should be split into pieces should he attempt such atrocity again. Ah yes,” she confirms, smiling at Sita’s clear relief, “such is the nature of my gift to you; to us all, I suppose. And even were it not so—allow me to reassure you again, dear one: you are blameless and innocent, come what may. Whatever sin has been committed is on Ravana’s hands; you need carry none of it.”

“As are you,” Sita dares reply, and Rambha’s smile in return—the smile any number of gods, sages, and demons would have died to earn—remains with her, even into the flames.

Rama and Krishna trading places

for @medhasree

“You killed him,” says one of Kaliya’s wives in a voice devoid of all feeling, even as her husband sinks deeper into the waters of the Yamuna. “He was poisoning our waters, and the very air we breathe,” Balarama says, even as his heart yearns after the greatest part of him lying coiled at the edge of the universe. Almost he could slip into the waters himself and, unaffected, slip his arms around his kinswomen to comfort them. Rama, on the banks, cleans his arrows and slips them into a quiver comically big for him, and says, “I killed him, as I kill all monsters who trouble my people.” “We are ourselves everywhere hunted by Garuda,”another wife protests. “If you retaliate by poisoning mortals, you turn from victims to villains yourself. Betake yourselves to Ramanaka Island, and live unharmed.”

“I would love nothing more,” Krishna reassures Surpanakha, “for I cannot remember when last I saw a woman so divinely lovely, bedecked in all the treasures the world can offer and yet needing none to add to her own beauty.” The rakshasi pauses, and the following smile has a distinct gleam of fangs. “You flatter masterfully, mortal, but I can hear a lie. You would love nothing more, yet surely you will find a reason to refuse me.” “I would love nothing more,” Krishna repeats, “but I have a wife already.” “An obstacle easily removed,” Surpanakha suggests, grinning wider than her slender face should allow. Lakshmana springs to his feet, outraged, but then sits again, arrow unnocked, at Krishna’s amused gesture. “But if you kill her I would mourn a hundred summers and scarcely be in a mood for love. You are far too intelligent to think otherwise.” “Since when do mortal men limit themselves to a single wife?” the rakshasi queries. Krishna grins back at her, sunny and careless. “My own father has three queens, and the jealousy of one has brought us to this forest. So I cannot take you for a wife unless you renounce your royal life and live with us as a mendicant, for to do otherwise would cause resentment in my wife. Yet I cannot ask you to sacrifice your life and all its many enjoyments to live with us as my wife does, for that would anger you. You see my dilemma?” “I… yes,” says Surpanakha. “I will have your brother then, if I cannot have you.” “You could marry him,” Krishna allows. “But he is sworn to celibacy, so I would not advise it for one so given to pleasure as you are, O sensuous one.”

“Of course we will fight for you, with all the might Dwaraka has,” Rama assures the Pandavas. “I could hardly do less when my kinsmen are offered insult, and one I have long called a sister.” “One might argue,” says Prince Satyajit, “that it was Yudhishtira who offered insult to our sister, by waging her as he might his slaves.” It is the position Panchal has been taking on the matter, Panchali not excepted, and even Yudhishtira has grown inured enough to offer no ,ore than a tired flinch. “If he were playing against an honourable man, such a wager would not have been accepted, any more than you would trust a drunkard with your beloved child,” Rama says. “It makes no matter; we go to war not for petty faults, but because of dharma and adharma.” “Then must we wait,” Draupadi asks, “while the world grows heavy with adharma? What keeps us from war this instant?” “A vow binds you,” Rama reminds her, gentle and inexorable as a god. “But it does not bind us,” Satyajit points out. Rama’s answering laugh lights up the day, shakes birds from the trees.

Krishna is the one who fetches his wife from the Asoka grove, swings her off her feet laughing, kisses the tears from her eyes, and tells her, “I know this will be difficult for you after all our years in seclusion, but we must do it for the army, and to stifle any rumours before they raise their heads.” In front of the army he embraces her again, this time a conquering hero and not a relieved husband, and says in the voice that massed regiments can hear in the din of battle, “Now is my life lit up again, with Janaka’s chaste daughter in my arms. All my war has been but for this, that I may have my wife by my side once more.”

there are actors that people refer to as shapeshifters bc theyve played in so many movies in which they look nothing like their other parts and then. there’s michael sheen.

Heh *casts RUDE spells on you*

Aziraphale: doesn’t remember which side was responsible for a historical period 🤔 🤔

also Aziraphale: remembers exactly what food they were eating three centuries ago on his lunch date with Crowley 😍 😇 😈🥞

This is sooo cute!

Aziraphale: *does anything* Crowley: *is fond*

Movie Rec: "Jab We Met" (Bollywood)

“Jab We Met” is a pretty traditional romance narrative at surface level, which is also quietly but very effectively subverting a lot of the common romance tropes.  It’s one of my favorite Bollywood movies, but it’s rarely one that I use to convert people mostly because it isn’t a movie that could only exist in Bollywood.  It’s a pretty universally awesome romance narrative, all around. 

HOWEVER, there is an aspect of it that makes it more subversive given the cultural context, which is that the heroine, while wanting a romantic happy ending for herself, wants one that’s traditionally frowned upon by her culture.

While the narrative starts with the premise of a Brooding Hero meeting his Manic Pixie Dreamgirl, that’s where the similarities end.  Because we find out a lot more about Geet, her hopes and dreams, and her family than we ever do about him.  One of the only things we do know about him is that at some point in his childhood, his mother ran off with another man because she didn’t love his father.  The language used to describe her elopement will give you an idea of just how huge of a deal elopement is in this culture, and what kind of social disgrace Geet is possibly setting herself up for by wanting to elope. 

However, the movie has Geet identifying with the mother pretty early on, and before the movie ends, this turns into an epic commentary on women and their choices and about doing what makes you happy rather than following social conventions that stifle you.  So the most important thing we DO know about him still becomes about her.  <3 

I never have much to say about men in fiction, but the male protagonist of this movie is one that I quite like.  He spends a good part of the movie being in love with her, but never even telling her, because he sees that as his own issue, and nothing *she* should be burdened with.  Like, he has ZERO need for his feelings for her to be validated or returned.  Which NEVER happens in romance narrative (except for in “Pride and Prejudice,” and that’s why it’s my favorite.)

And Geet!  <3  Geet is one of the most self-assured and confident heroines I have ever come across in any narrative.  She knows what she wants, and she has no hesitation or doubts about how she’s going to get it.  She has a strong sense of self that briefly wavers in the face of the utter force of everything that’s against her, but comes back stronger than ever. 

This is, by all means, set up as a narrative where the heroine would Learn Her Lesson about Wanting Unconventional Things, but the entire movie sets out to show HER way of life as the correct one, with everyone around her adapting to her worldview.  Even though the specifics of what she wants for herself change, she still gets the exact kind of happy ending she set out to chase for herself.

 I also love her need to create drama and constantly strive to write out a more interesting narrative for herself than the one life would otherwise give her.  She reminds me of Jane Austen’s Emma Woodhouse or Catherine Morland, except that both of these women had to learn a lesson about Needing to be Serious/Mature (from the men they loved), while Geet keeps on being herself, and the guy has to change himself to adapt to her viewpoint.  <3

Like, the speech that both Emma and Catherine get from the Men Who Love Them and Know Better?  Geet gets that about halfway through the movie, only to totally set the guy straight, and that is literally the actual moment he falls for her.  BECAUSE SHE REFUSED TO SUBSCRIBE TO HIS WORLD VIEW.  And then he subscribes to her awesomeness.  You should, too.  

Some countries have trained builders in the informal sector in safe building techniques.

*puts on a wizard hat*

<|:)

it’s a super short scene in the show but it says so much. crowley never does anything that really harms anyone (see: paintballs & pennies & phone lines), little of it is cruel in the ways that humans can be cruel — which makes it even more meaningful that he chooses humanity in the end. sure, he needs to drink for days to deal with it, but when he’s sober again, he stays