Epics of India

- The Giant Crab is a beast tale, but it has potential as another Cyberpunk tale. The idea of a location where locals convene for something they need can be added to the world of Night City, and instead of an ever growing crab, some individual with evil intent could be placed in that location, surviving and growing strong off the locals that arrive looking for something. - The elephant seducing the crab is a method used in many mediums as it follows the trope of men being easily seduced by women, so the antagonist in the new tale could be a male and fall prey to a woman. - Rather than ripping the crab's claws off, the antagonist could have cybernetic arms ripped off instead and sold or used by someone else. A giant crab Bibliography: The Giant Crab, and Other Tales from Old India by W. H. D. Rouse

-The tale of the Two Pigs is a jataka holding a message about love. Most of the stories I have been adding to my portfolio have just been chronicling the adventures of V without sending any sort of important message to the reader. It may be a nice change of pace to write a story with some deeper meaning. -The Two Pigs can also be rewritten as another day in the life of V and Jacky and how they outsmarted people coming after them. The deeper message can be removed from the tale and turned into another gritty story in the world of Night City where V and Jacky must survive their adventure. -The Patient Buffalo is a short story that has potential to be condensed into a micro fiction. The point of the story can be translated into any other setting involving two characters where one has power over the other, and then the message of the original story would still hold the same weight. Monkey on a buffalo Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales , by Noor Inayat

 - The Monkey-Bridge is a moving story of sacrifice and benevolence, one that would be a great addition to the Cyberpunk universe. The general idea is the secret of a tasty fruit, but once discovered, for the safety of a specific group they must flee. A hidden treasure in Night City would fit this story. - The Guilty Dogs looks like a tale that could fit the world of Night City, as a kill order on a certain demographic would not be surprising if there was gang-related activity going on. V could clear a misunderstanding between gang leaders and save an entire group of people. - The Jataka Tales in this anthology are short but sweet, which is an element that needs to be kept to the shorter portfolio stories. Hit every essential point while building towards the climax appropriately. The fruit that was so coveted by the monkeys, mangos Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales , by Noor Inayat

 -In the world of Cyberpunk, there are nomadic tribes living in the Badlands outside of the city that sometimes do work for corporations. The deer could be replaced by the tribes, and the offerings of deer can be replaced by volunteer workers of some sort being sent into the city. -There are two herds of deer in the original story, so the replacement of them with two differing nomadic tribes would be easy as there are multiple in the world of Cyberpunk. -The element of hunting could also be replaced by some sort of sick bloodsport by the extremely wealthy folk of Night City getting off on hunting human beings. The story could have a different ending where they end up killing those hunting them for fun. The Banyan Deer Bibliography: Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web source.

 - The Wise and the Foolish Merchant is not a comedy story, but I think I would be able to turn it into a comedic buddy adventure for V and Jacky on the road, with Jacky falling for some sort of scam that V has to end up saving him from, like con artists. - I might keep the element of merchants, but rather than having them travel, V and Jacky would be selling goods from their adventures in a night market of sorts. Jacky would try to get a good deal on his goods, and end up losing it all thinking he made an excellent bargain. - There are no demons in Cyberpunk, but there are plenty of gangs and lowlifes in the world that prey on unsuspecting folk like Jacky. There are also "hacks" known as "daemons", so Jacky could get robbed via his cybernetics by an outside hacker. A futuristic night market Bibliography: Jataka Tales, by Ellen C. Babbitt. Web source.

- The Sandy Road is a short but riveting tale, as the men are put into danger within a few sentences thanks to a poor decision and unfortunate event. The setting of the Sandy Road would fit perfectly into the setting of the Badlands in Cyberpunk. - Oxen in the futuristic world of Cyberpunk would not make that much sense, so I could replace their method of transport with normal vehicles, but keep the element of having a pilot lead them with either a physical navigator or some sort of AI navigation system. - The plot of the Sandy Road is extremely short, with the story being finished within a couple scrolls of the webpage. This means when I write my own story on it, I need to flesh out each section of the story, and add some dialogue so that it is entertaining to read even though it is longer than the source. A desert scene, easy to get lost in without a pilot Bibliography: Jataka Tales , by Ellen C. Babbitt

 -The story of the Ox Who Won the Forfeit would be an easy tale to rewrite in the Cyberpunk universe, especially with the elements of a man boasting too much and being unable to deliver. This would be a perfect scenario to write Jacky into. -Rather than have the ox be a person or an animal, it could be a piece of machinery Jacky does not understand how to operate and attempts to flaunt off to the public as some amazing piece of tech. -Most jataka tales involving tricksters seem to follow a pattern where I can insert Jacky into the stories as his personality is one that matches the energy being carried by the stories. Ox pulling one wagon with the help of another Web source: Jataka Tales , by Ellen C. Babbitt

 - The Turtle Who Couldn't Stop Talking involves two geese transporting a turtle since he doesn't have the means to travel with them, so I could write a story in Cyberpunk about someone from another district who doesn't have the funds or status to move elsewhere. - If it is a short story, add photos with little captions showing actions so that there is some form of progression.  - Instead of having someone fall from the sky to their death, the reason the new "Turtle" dies could be from getting shoved out of the car onto the highway or falling off a bridge. With a human element there's many different ways I could write in the downfall of the Turtle, especially in Night City. Geese and the turtle Web source: Jataka Tales , by Ellen C. Babbitt

 - The Merchant of Seri's storyline is one that fits the Cyberpunk universe easily. There is a black market in Cyberpunk, so a fair amount of bartering and trading objects of worth is present in the world. Rather than trading brass and tinware, I could have merchants trading cybernetic implants or weapons and ammo. - A story can be told in a few conversations. The Merchant of Seri is nothing more than a conversation between the grandmother and the first merchant, followed by an exchange with her granddaughter, and then a conversation with the second merchant. Keep dialogue interesting and moving so that it does not feel like extra fluff. - In the original story the merchant escapes across the river by boat, but there's no dividing segment like that within Night City. Instead that could be replaced with access to a housing area for the elite, or just a new apartment. A golden bowl Web source: Jataka Tales by Ellen C. Babbitt

 -First paragraph to a story can be used to explain the relationships between all characters and layout the context of where everything is happening and how they will. Not all stories can be jumped into because the reader won't always have prior knowledge of the main characters in the writing. In Kincaid's Mahabharata the introductory paragraph does nothing but explain how the main characters came to be and their relationships with others in the story. -When writing multiple short stories in the same post, remember to lead into the next story with a short transition sentence at the end of the previous one. This gives the impression of an ongoing adventure that the reader is following. -Introducing new characters in the middle of the story can be done in a way that doesn't halt the flow of storytelling. In Kincaid's Mahabharata, new characters are dropped and their relations to others are quickly explained in the same sentence without pausing the story. Burning of Khanda...

- The use of third parties to interfere with the plot can make for more interesting stories, like how the gods intervene during Duryodhana's inveraction with the Pandavas and foil his plans to embarrass the Pandanvas. - Some people may have preconceived notions of certain terms due to influences from other forms of media, so remember to explain significant words specific to the source material if other meanings are suspected. - Stories with many characters and overlapping relationships may get confusing, so whenever a character who hasn't been mentioned from a while ago shows up, it could be helpful to remind the reader of their relation to whoever is relevant at the time. -Web source: Narayan's Mahabharata , by R. K. Narayan The meaning of Brahmin was a mystery until now, I used to think they were mutated cows from Fallout

-Having a story with good pacing is essential, don't focus for too long on one story and then go light on details for the following segments because it is noticeable when lack of attention is given to writing. -An ending must also be written after the climax, so that the outcome of the climax can be created and bring closure to the story for readers who are seeking that emotion. -Killing off characters is a solid method to keep readers invested in the plot but characters can't be killed left and right. Important side characters must die at the right moment for maximum emotional response. -Source: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana , by Laura Gibbs Rama departs

 -Stories don't need to be wrapped up in one chapter, plots can be carried over for continuity, similar to the story of Vali Torments Sugriva crossing over into Hanuman Meets Rama. -Third person perspective can be used in different wants, and speaking from the point of view of a character then alternating to an overview helps speed between actions and dialogue -Every short story in Tiny Tales follows the same structure, with the intro outlining the context of the story, dialogue occurring between characters, action being taken, and then either ending with dialogue transitioning into the next story or a statement by the narrator outlining the end. -Stories sourced from Tiny Tales from the Ramayana, by Laura Gibbs. Hanuman with his tail on fire

 -When writing stories with many characters within the same universe, be sure to keep track of the overall plot if there's multiple stories happening at the same time, i.e. Lakshmana killing someone that happened to be related to Ravana and was planning to kill Indra -Add correlations between elements of the story and real life objects or concepts, like how Sita-fruit and Rama-fruit grow in India in the present day -Sometimes leave things up the imagination of the reader, other times use good graphics to illustrate full scope of a scene, like Hanuman leaping for the sun - Tiny Tales from the Ramayana , by Laura Gibbs Hanuman being struck down by Indra

-Tiny Tales has a bunch of bite sized paragraphs covering stories, useful technique for a long story line that needs to be condensed to the essential plot points. -Every story is different, even with recurring gods, the setting is different with different interactions at play, so keep things interesting' -Most stories introducing new characters have a short introduction to backgrounds before moving along with the plot, so remember to give depth to new characters being introduced -Remember to track nicknames, certain gods like Ravana have different names -Use images to showcase setting if its not mentioned in story -Story used: Tiny Tales from the Ramayana , by Laura Gibbs Example: Shiva crushing Ravana with a mountain

In the story of the Crocodile and the Monkey's Heart , compiled in a book by Marie L. Shedlock, it is interesting how at first glance one may see the monkey as the main character, but from a practical standpoint the crocodile is also a character who has done no wrong. As a husband he wished to provide for his wife, and as his wife was a carnivore by nature who consumed animals, he simply wanted to please her. While the monkey is easily sided with because no one wants the monkey to die, in terms of the food chain the crocodile is just trying to be a predator who can catch their prey, although rather than using the usual method of hunting he attempts to employ some wits instead. I could see this plot being rewritten as a comedy show for television where the crocodile and monkey meet under unfortunate circumstances or a misunderstanding, and end up becoming friends even with their opposite natures. The story is riveting because as a reader I wanted to know right away whether the croco...

 I'll be reading the version Tiny Tales from the Ramayana  since being an entirely new idea for this semester seems interesting and having bite-sized stories allows me to get a taste of every tale and figure out which ones would pull me in deeper to read more on my own.  The Lord of Lanka: The Rise and Fall of a Demon King  and  Vishvamitra: The King Who Became an Ascetic  are the comics that pique my interest the most, with a chronicle of a fallen demon king having a cool title by nature, and the rise of a king to a spiritual leader also seems heavily interesting. Ancient Technology - Atlantis and India  and Rama and the Ramayana: Crash Course World Mythology #27  seem cool because I'm wondering what they'll cover about Atlantis, and Crash Course is just always an enjoyable watch. I added this image of Hayagriva and Brahma because I'm curious what's going on in the photo since it seems like one is blessing the other with an object of some sort. H...