#mama deva

For @ratnas-musings, and all the more fun because I really can just make random stuff up for all of them!

Grandmama Baahu

1. In contrast to all the other queens in this family, Grandmama Baahu in my head is both born in Mahishmati and to the royal family--albeit a distant and rather lowly branch. Naturally this gives her rather more confidence than Sivagami and even Devasena ever have, and if she had wanted to, she could have brought about significant change. 

2. The problem, of course, is that the amount of political scheming and deals she ends up having to do leaves her so jaded that she never really does bother. 

3. Her eldest son takes drastically after her, and, in keeping with this family, has significant amounts of mother issues. If, though, one were to accuse her of being responsible for all Bijjaladeva’s subsequent scheming and destruction, she would only point out sharply that whatever she might or might not have done, her son must be accountable for his own choices, not her.

(It is not quite the same thing as saying she has no requests.)

4. Her daughters-in-law both frustrated her by never quite living up to the sparks of strength and spirit she occasionally saw to them--and she would have been satisfied to see how they rose to the occasion once she was safely dead. 

5. Honestly, her not-quite-romance with a Kuntalan prince is one of the most interesting roads not taken. Aditya Varma’s bitterness at having been jilted is the cause of much of Kuntala’s bad blood in the present day--but taking that away comes at the cost of none of the main characters, with the exception of Sivagami and the Kuntalans, being born, so YMMV if it’s worth it. 

Mama Deva

1. She was Queen in her own right, and--unlike her children--came to the throne in her early twenties, after she’d had a chance to prepare. This is while she has some regret to the freedoms she gave up in doing so, she is altogether rather better-adjusted than either of them were. 

2. She resembled her daughter to an uncanny degree--something her son vaguely remembers, but that the daughter in question does not.

3. She was a marvelous storyteller, and collected stories from every traveler that passed through Kuntala in order to trade; the number of tales she knew, therefore, was staggering. 

4. She was quieter and gentler than her daughter--and so, for that matter, was her husband (at least comparatively). That did not mean her temper couldn’t be just as terrifying when provoked. 

5. She dies of illness at a young age. It’s thought to be contagious, but actually turns out to be a malignancy instead, tragic and, in those times, impossible to treat. 

Crack! Bhalla

1. His favorite color is a nice tasteful gold, nothing too overwhelming--but, if necessary, he will settle for a crimson. If he must. 

2. His favorite activity is smashing anything that stays still enough: pillars, fences, the occasional bull.

3. On which subject, he has no idea where one-quarter of the royal herd has disappeared to. No idea at all. 

4. He might grumble about his brother’s insanely idealistic plans for public improvement, but that doesn’t mean he wants the throne--does he seem like he has either time or patience to listen to the complaints of odious, odorous farmers all day? He’ll leave that to Baahu, who’s too foolish to know any better. 

For @ratnananda!

*Three promises she kept and one she did not

1. “I will always tell the truth,” she assures the man who teaches her the magic of words and how best to use them, and keeps her promise: she might twist it and turn it as she needs, all for the greater good, but never does a falsehood cross her lips.

2. “Kuntala’s wellbeing will be my own,” she recites obediently at her coronation, and however reluctant her heart might be, she knows she is bound by her oath. 

3. “Until I die, I will be yours,” she swears on her wedding day, and the one consolation her illness provides is that she must not watch her husband die first.  

&1. “You will never know anything but happiness,” she babbles to both her children when they are born, half-dazed with joy; and perhaps it is fortunate she does not live to see herself proven false. 

*Three secrets she kept and one she revealed 

1. She is twelve when she calculates out her family tree, and realizes her own great-grandfather was only the acknowledged natural child of his mother; it is not shame she feels, not really, but still she keeps it from all who ask. 

2. She returns to her chambers too early, to find two of her ladies-in-waiting stepping away from each other and blushing: she only winks and steps back outside.

 3. On the eve of her coronation, she plans to run from her responsibilities and gets so far as climbing halfway out her window: but duty drags her back into her rooms. 

&1. “I love you,” she admits all in a rush, words she had hoped might die with her, because they suddenly seem too mortifying to share; but the foreign prince before only smiles, somewhat shyly, and she allows herself to hope. 

*Three letters she sent and one she didn’t (or vice versa)

1. The Chalukyas, despite the danger they pose, are always civil; and she can never quite decide if she appreciates it or not.

2. Letters to and from Singapuram always require a battle of wits— even as she does her best to keep all of Kuntala from being swindled, she is hard pressed to keep from laughter.

3. Those diplomatic missives she must send to Mahishmati are short and strained: what relief comes from Vikramadeva’s reign is short-lived. No harm ever came of such silence, however—and far better that than outright warfare. 

&1. She means to leave letters for her children, a last reminder of her love, but by the time her end comes, she is too weak even to lift her pen and too weary to give dictation. As it turns out, there is no need: her son and daughter have all the proof they need of her adoration, and every confidence that even death cannot take it from them. 

*Three names she considered giving her child/ren and one she did (or three names she refused to give her child and one she didn’t)

1. Akshara, she thinks, when first falling in love with her letters as a girl; but once she comes to womanhood, it seems unfitting. Stories are her great passion, but perhaps not her children’s; and she would not have them begrudge her for it.

2. Vidyadatri is the name her husband most favors, similar enough to his and hers to do them both justice; and it is with some surprise (and some disappointment) that she finds it is a boy instead.

 3. She is certain her second child will be a boy, and Veerasena, she thinks, will make the perfect compliment to his brother. “I like it,” Jayasena adds, and she needs nothing more to settle upon it. 

Spring

the circumstances of his/her birth | favorite (or least favorite) family member | first word | happiest birthday | gender swap au

When she is eight, her father the King arranges a grand feast to declare her his heir. The praises showered upon the young princess are many; the gifts given her almost innumerable. Again and again, she is reminded that she is her parents’ only child and the pride of the kingdom: what more could any girl wish for?

But that is not what she remembers best from that evening: instead it is the musicians who play on unobtrusively. Their every note is sad and silver: and she wants nothing more than to join them someday.

Summer

fantasy | love language of choice | a pet or other animal companion| the decoration of their bedroom| fusion au

In keeping with Kuntalan tradition, she trains a beast to her hand. Where some might select a sweet-mannered calf or a placid pig, however, she tames the pheasants that prowl the palace grounds. They are stubborn and selfish, breeding rebelling in their beady eyes: she loves them still. How could she not, when at times they come to her hand, plumage gleaming in the sunlight?

“Take care,” teases her mother; “display too great a talent with difficult creatures, and the gods will simply send their souls again to serve as your children.”

Fall

the one person/cause/ideal they would sacrifice everything for| storms| nightmare | the lie(s) he/she has told | hero/villain reversal au

The conqueror queen of Kuntala prefers not to be reminded of the carnage she’s caused: the invasion of Mahishmati was necessary to secure her kingdom’s interests, and so justified.

“That may be so,” says her daughter, so unruly, so outspoken, so like the Queen herself when she was still young and idealistic; “but why the other kingdoms?”

She does not know how to convince Devasena that once a taste for victory has made its way into one’s blood, it is difficult to dissuade; that questions of justice and duty can be outweighed by the need, always so pressing, for more, more, more—

Devasena is only at a difficult age, that is all, her natural adolescent rebellion aggravated by a —hopefully temporary— friendship with the ousted prince of Mahishmati. One day, she will come to understand.

Winter haunting | tarot | then and now | gods and mortals | reincarnation au/historical era swap

Saraswati has always been her patron, in every way possible. It is by the goddess’s grace that she creates her stories, conjuring worlds and characters from nothingness; it is by the goddess’s grace that Kuntala is surrounded by music and merriment. Such grace, though, is granted only a select few: and the gods rarely smile upon the descendants of their favorites as they do the favorites themselves.

1. Those present at the seemantham regard the Queen Mother’s cool greeting of her daughter-in-law with dismay but no real surprise, not after months of studied indifference on her part. But what no one expects is to hear a voice snap: “Is that all you mean to say?” and to see the Queen of Kuntala, frowning, make her way to the front of the crowd.

“Mother, please,” exclaims the Princess Devasena, rising to her feet, and if perhaps her husband can be heard to comment on the absurdity of Devasena trying to persuade anyone else to hold her tongue, it goes unremarked.

Grudgingly, the Queen of Kuntala obeys, but in the face of her son-in-law’s ignominious demotion, rises to protest yet again.

2. The following argument with the Queen Mother is considered by far to be the worst to occur within the palace, rivaling even that of the Princess her daughter. The audience, caught between horror and admiration, watches spellbound, failing to notice even when the host and hostess make their escape halfway through.

“If she had not spoken,” Devasena admits to Baahubali in confidence, “then I would have, but—did she have to be quite so loud about it?”

3. One unanticipated effect is Sivagami’s new conviction that Devasena isn’t to be blamed for any insubordination and, in fact, cannot know any better, having been raised by a mother such as hers. Instead she resolves to take her daughter-in-law under her wing, striving to teach her to know better by example, while pointedly not commenting on the behavior of her counterpart.

“I’m not certain if I should be insulted or touched,” wonders Devasena.

4. For her part, the Queen of Kuntala sends letter after letter imploring her daughter to come home, where she might be treated with the respect her rank deserves. At first, admittedly, the string of criticisms of the Queen Mother Sivagami is somewhat entertaining, but soon enough, they grow tiresome.

“I’ve begun to burn them unread,” Devasena can be heard to confess.

Three ornaments/clothes/accessories that had sentimental value for her and one weapon she mastered

1) Among the royal jewels of Kuntala is a fine strand of pearls, enough to be twined around the neck twice over, and this is the birthright of the King or Queen alone, to be granted to their successor. She receives it on her twelfth birthday, a solemn gift from her father, and it is nothing so much as confirmation of her destiny: she prizes it until the day she dies, and regrets only that she cannot pass it on to Jayasena with her own hands.

2) Her hair, unlike her daughter’s, curls unmercifully; and throughout most of her girlhood, her inability to control it is her despair. Her husband’s wedding gift to her is a set of fine ivory combs he carved himself; but still, he admits longingly, her locks look so much better loose. It is enough; it is, she realizes, all she has ever wanted to hear, and the combs, however prized, stay in her jewelry box from then on, never actually worn.

3) When she is fifteen, she is given permission to see the world by herself, with only the smallest of entourages to guarantee her safety. It is easy enough to slip away from them, however, and instead she stops to work among commoners in disguise; to collect wages, just as they do, and to share their burdens. Before she returns, she indulges in buying a set of golden bangles, bought of her own labors, and they quickly become her favorite.

(Her daughter wears them, years later, into the throne room of Mahishmati; keeping them close in hopes of having some her mother’s luck.)

and

E) Five sentences from the fairy tale fusion that fits them best:

(blame @forestpenguin for getting Kuntala and the Swan Princess associated in my mind.)

By day the young Queen of Kuntala is beautiful, wise, and remote, devoted to the demands of her people. By night, however, she escapes to the riverbank, where she can be herself: a woman barely grown to adulthood with responsibilities far beyond her years. Dignity is forgotten at last, and only delight exists in its place. Sometimes she dances, her white drape fluttering behind her like the rustle of wings; sometimes she only dips her feet in the water, despite how much her mother and her nurse would scold to see it.

Afterlife

She loves no place no more than Kuntala, and so there that her spirit returns.

End of Childhood

She laughs and cavorts as a child far longer than any would expect; it’s not until she has lived two decades that she learns something of gravity.

Epistolary/Social Media AU

It is the worst of fates, Devasena decides disgustedly, to have a mother far more popular on Instagram than you.

Fusion (or Fusion AU)

She rules over Themiscyra instead of Kuntala; her daughter honors her legacy nonetheless.

Fix-it

The Queen recovers, against all expectations; her country rejoices, but none more so than her two children.

Future Fic

“She takes,” Sivvu’s grandmother declares with no little pride, “after me.”

Genderswap

Kuntala, Hayagrivadeva thinks contentedly, may be the only place in the world where it makes little difference to be born a man or woman.

Historical Era Swap

“My dear Gayatri Devi,”-- her friend of many years smiles-- “will you take tea?”

Role Reversal

Kuntala has always loved and nurtured her, and the realization the day after she is crowned, that is her turn to love and nurture it makes her stomach turn.

Sibling/s (or lack thereof)

1. Being Queen might be her birthright, but traveling the world to find more stories to share is her passion; and in the end, she chooses her dreams over her duty.

2. Her daughter is stillborn; her heart is broken.

3. “Your Majesty,” says young Shashank, bowing, “the best defense is an offense, and considering the recent death of their King, shall we everagain have such another opportunity to neutralize the threat of Mahishmati?”; reluctantly, she gives the order to invade at dawn.

4. “I have taught you better than that,” she says sharply when her daughter thinks to send a scathing reply to the Queen Mother of Mahishmati; shamefaced, Devasena relents.