Week 5 Story: Hanuman Meets His Biggest Fan (OC don't steal)

PRESENT DAY, 9:22 PM, NORMAN, OK, USA: 
A young man sits at his desk in his room. It just so happens that today, the 26th of April, is this young man's birthday! And yet he is spending it sad and alone in his room. What is this young man reading?

Dan Plaff reading his book like a nerd: Personal Image

Narayan's Ramayana!?!??!1 The classic adventure of good versus evil and the cornerstone of Indian mythology? You are unimpressed. Who does this nerd think he is? Some kind of scholar? You think that you're probably smarter than him, and you're right. You're always right.
The young man looks around, as if he could hear some kind of narrator talking around and about him. You say, "What's your name?"
He looks a bit scared but responds, "Dan Plaff?" into the void. You then realize he had old name tags hanging up in his room, but no one needs know that.
He shrugs, blames the weird voices on a lack of sleep, and continues his reading.
"Hanuman..," he dreamily whispers to himself. "What a monkey."
You get the sense that this Dan kid really likes this monkey character. You wonder what he would do if he met this monkey guy, and then you realize that you're an omnipotent narrator and can make that happen. So you snap your fingers that don't exist and bring Dan into the world of the Ramayana.

UNIVERSE CYCLE #271273, 9:39 PM KISHKINDHA KINGDOM, INDIAN SUBCONTINENT (about 7000 years before present day)

Hanuman reading in the forest: BlogSpot

A large monkey-man hybrid is studying diligently in a library in a forest. The title of his book is something along the lines of "Ten Asthras that Ravana Can't Live Without - And Why You Need Them." He is all alone in the building, and seems to have sequestered himself in the corner.
Suddenly, a void is ripped in his world and out pops our favorite young nerd, Dan. He looks around,  completely bewildered at his sudden displacement.
The monkey-man reacts to this development by quickly hiding the book behind his back, and holds it there with his tail as he folds his hands in front of them to seem more put-together.
"And who are you?" The monkey-man asks, quickly running through the list of gods in his head, comparing their descriptions to this scrawny boy in front of him. Well, he must be important, he thought, there's no other explanation for this sudden appearance.
"Uh" is all that Dan can utter in his dumbfoundedness.
"Are you a god, a demon, human, yaksha, or some other creature?"
"Uh"
Maybe this creature cannot speak, or cannot understand me. The monkey-man thought. "I am sorry to dismiss you, but I must return to my, uh, research."
"AREYOUHANUMAN? OMIGOSHYOUARESOCOOLANDICANTBELIEVEIMHERE-" Dan shouted at once.
"Slow down, boy. I can hardly understand you!" Hanuman seemed a bit worried from this sudden outburst. "I must return to my research."
"(this is so cool) What are you reading?!" Dan asked, excited to be talking to this miracle of a monkey.
Giving up completely with understanding this interaction, Hanuman responded, "I am researching the weapons of that evil Ravana for my lord Rama. I spend my entire days know in pursuit of any knowledge that could help defeat Ravana. In only a few months, we will begin to search for him in order to reclaim Rama's wife."
Dan nods knowingly. "Yeah, Ravana has some deadly weapons. So you haven't fought him ye- I mean, you haven't found him?" Dan patted himself on the back for his quick thinking and not ruining the timeline.
Hanuman, the great scholar and god-incarnate, immediately understood that this boy was from the future, potentially as some sort of omen. But good or bad, he still could not tell. "No, we are patiently awaiting the conclusion of the rainy season, as was decreed by my lord Rama."
"Why do you go on with all that 'lord Rama' stuff?" Dan did indeed use air-quotes as he spoke.
"Because Rama is Vishnu-incarnate, and I have pledged my life to serve him."
"But why? You are- I mean, you seem so powerful. Why not adventure on your own?"
"Because what glory is there in personal fame? What fulfillment can be found in worldly riches? I seek the highest service in life: a life spent in devotion to the gods. I consider myself lucky to be blessed with so many gifts, the greatest of which is serving my lord Rama."
"So its a cult thing or what?"
Hanuman sighs. "It is not a 'cult-thing.' It is my deepest belief that this is my purpose and I seek to fulfill it." As the true scholar he is, Hanuman did not use air-quotes.
"Huh." Dan had not considered Hanuman's loyalty as a purpose before. "I guess that makes sense."
And on that abrupt note, you snap your metaphorical fingers and return Dan to his own time. Hanuman looks you in your eyes and asks you to never do that again. He returns to his 'research,' and you, indignant, go to leave a comment on this site saying how much you hated loved this story.
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Author's Note: That was fun! A huge departure from my earlier stories, I had a lot of fun with a more self-referential, meta-narrative style of writing this week. Since he was my favorite character, I knew I wanted to write more about Hanuman, so I delved into how he spent the rainy months in between seeing Sugriva take the throne and leaving to search for Ravana. I decided to write Hanuman as a devoted scholar to serve as a cool parallel against my nerdy main character Dan (of no relation to me, Daniel Pfaff, also a cool scholar). I also took a lot of inspiration from an online webcomic called Homestuck (often referred to as the Ulysses of the internet for its length). If you've heard of Homestuck, I am sorry. That's it. Just I'm sorry. For bringing it up and for whatever trouble any misguided fan has given you. But its writing style is so unique and felt like a fun style to try for this story. Hope you enjoyed it!

Narayan, R. K. "The Ramayana"