#Lotus Temple History

[tripgurugo]

#Lotus Temple #Lotus Temple History #Lotus Temple Timing #Lotus Temple Entry Fee #Ticket Price

[apollosgiftofprophecy]

Statistics of Apollo's Lovers

I was wondering just how unfortunate of a love-life our boy Apollo had, so - as one does - I did the research, math, and writing of said love-life.

such is the life of an adhd teen :)

In total, there are 59 people on this list. I have them separated into eight groups; Immortal, Immortal & Rejected, Lived, Died, Rejected & Died, Rejected & Cursed, Rejected & Lived, and who were Rejected by Apollo

Disclaimer: I am not a historian nor an expert in Greek Mythology, I am just a very invested nerd in Mythology, and in Apollo's mythology in general, and got curious about what his rap sheet actually looks like.

Sidenote: There will be some "lovers" not on this list. Reasons being;

No actual literary sources behind them

Said literary sources are dubious at best

Not enough information is given about the nature of their relationship to make an accurate take

So if somebody isn't on this list, it's because of one of those three reasons. Although there is still a chance I missed somebody! :)

Also, no RRverse lovers include in this list. Sorry my fellow ToA fans.

(Edited 04/29/24 - Currently adding in sources/references/expanding on the myths themselves. bare with me lol)

Let's begin! :D

Immortal Lovers

Calliope: muse of epic poetry. Mother of Hymenaios and Ialemus by Apollo.

Clio: muse of history

Erato: muse of love poetry

Euterpe: muse of music

Polyhymnia: muse of hymns/sacred poetry

Melpomene: muse of tragedy

Thalia: muse of comedy. Mother of the Corybantes by Apollo.

Terpsichore: muse of dance

Urania: muse of astronomy

Boreas: the North Wind. yes Apollo dated the North Wind. Who knew? It's mentioned in the Argonautica by the Boreads - they call Apollo "beloved of our sire" so...hmm. wonder what happened there because that's all we get.

10 lovers total here.

9 Female, 1 Male

Immortal & Rejected

Hestia: goddess of the Hearth

1 Interest. Female.

Lovers Who Lived:

Branchus: mortal shepherd, gifted prophecy

Rhoeo: mortal princess, eventually married an apprentice of Apollo

Ourea: demigod daughter of Poseidon, dated Apollo during his punishment with Laomedon; had a son named after the city of Troy

Evadne: nymph daughter of Poseidon, Apollo sent Eileithyia & (in some texts) the Fates to aid in their son's birth

Thero: great-granddaughter of Heracles, described as "beautiful as moonbeams"

Cyrene: mortal princess-turned-nymph queen, kick-ass lion wrangler, and mother of two of Apollo's sons - Aristaeus (a god) and Idmon (powerful seer)

Admetus: mortal king, took great care of Apollo during his second punishment, Apollo wingmanned him for Alcestis's hand - basically Apollo doted on him <3

Hecuba: queen of Troy, together they had Troilus.

It was foretold that if Troilus lived to adulthood, Troy wouldn't fall - unfortunately, Achilles murdered Troilus in Apollo's temple. When the Achaeans burned Troy down, Apollo rescued Hecuba and brought her to safety in Lycia.

Hyrie/Thyrie: mortal. mothered a son by Apollo. Their son, Cycnus, attempted to kill himself after some shenanigans and his mother attempted the same. Apollo turned them into swans to save their lives.

Dryope: mortal. had a son named Amphissus with Apollo, who was a snake at the time. Later turned into a lotus flower, but it had nothing to do with Apollo so she's still on this list. (noncon; written by Ovid in Metamorphoses)

Creusa: mortal queen. had a son named Ion with Apollo. Please check out @my-name-is-apollo's post for more details because they make some good points about what's considered "rape" in Ancient Greece.

Melia: Oceanid nymph. Had a son w/h Apollo named Tenerus. will expand on her in a bit

Iapis: a favorite lover. Apollo wanted to teach him prophecy, the lyre, ect. but Iapis just wanted to heal :) so Apollo taught him healing :)

Aethusa: daughter of Poseidon & the Pleiad Alcyone. Mother of Linus and Eleuther. She is the great-great grandmother of Orpheus.

Acacallis: daughter of King Minos. there's a lot of variation on whether or not she had kids with Hermes or Apollo. Some say she had a kid with each.

Chrysothemis: nymph queen who won the oldest contest of the Pythian Games - the singing of a hymn to Apollo. She had three daughters, and one of them is said to be Apollo's.

Corycia: naiad. had a son with Apollo. the Corycian Cave north of Delphi is named after her

Leuconoe (also Choine or Philonis): daughter of Eosphorus, god of the planet Venus, and mother of the bard Philammon.

Melaena (also Thyia or Kelaino): mother of Delphos, member of prophetic Thriae of Delphi. Priestess of Dionysus.

Othreis: mothered Phager by Apollo, and later Meliteus by Zeus.

Stilbe: mother of Lapithus and Aineus by Apollo.

Syllis (possible same as Hyllis, granddaughter of Heracles): mothered Zeuxippus by Apollo. 

Amphissa: Apollo seduced her in the form of a shepherd. They had a son named Agreus.

Aria (or Deione): had a son named Miletus. Hid him in some smilax. Her father found him and named him.

Arsinoe: she and Apollo had a daughter named Eriopis.

Queen of Orkhomenos (no name is given): Mother of Trophonius (my fellow ToA fans will recognize that name haha).

Hypermnestra: Either Apollo or her husband fathered her son Amphiaraus. (sidenote: @literallyjusttoa suggested that Apollo was dating both Hypermnestra and Oikles, and I, personally, accept that headcannon)

Manto: Daughter of Tiresias. Apollo made her a priestess of Delphi. They had a son named Mopsus. When Apollo sent her to found an oracle elsewhere, he told her to marry the first man she saw outside of Delphi. That man turned out to be Rhacius, who brought her to Claros, where she founded the oracle of Apollo Clarios. Later, another man named Lampus attempted to assult her, but was killed by Apollo. She is also said to be a priestess who warned Niobe not to insult Leto, and to ask for forgiveness. Niobe did not.

Parthenope: granddaughter of a river god. Mothered Lycomedes by Apollo

Phthia: prophetess. called "beloved of Apollo". Mother three kings by him; Dorus, Laodocus, & Polypoetes

Procleia: Mother of Tenes, son of Apollo, who was killed by Achilles before the Trojan War. Daughter of King Laomedon, king of Troy.

Helenus: prince of Troy. Received from Apollo an ivory bow which he used to wound Achilles in the hand.

Hippolytus of Sicyon: called "beloved of Apollo" in Plutarch Life of Numa. I don't think this guy is the same as the Hippolytus, son of Zeuxippus (son of Apollo), king of Sicyon Pausanias talks about in his Description of Greece. That would be a little weird taking the whole family tree into account - though it's never stopped Zeus before, I guess.

Psamathe: nereid, said to be the personification of the sand of the sea-shore. There are two versions of her myths, both very different, but I'll only explain the one that explicitly states her and Apollo's relationship, which is by Conon's Narrationes. She and Apollo were lovers, but never had any kids. When another man assaulted her, she had a son and abandoned him. (He was found by some shepherds dw - wait, he was then torn apart by dogs. Nevermind.). Back to her, her father ordered for her to be executed and Apollo avenged her death by sending a plague onto Argos and refused to stop it until Psamathe and Linus (her son) were properly given honors.

(I really like how even though Linus isn't Apollo's kid, and that Psamathe wanted nothing to do with the kid, Apollo still considered him worth avenging too <3 )

(also would like to say that I found her on another's wiki page and that page said she was raped by Apollo - this just proves that you shouldn't take the wiki at face value because as shown above, that is not what happened.)

Alright. 34 lovers here.

5 Male. 29 Female.

33 are 100% consensual. Creusa is questionable, depending on who's translating.

The last one is Melia, who I will expand upon here.

Melia was said to be kidnapped, and her brother found her with Apollo. He set fire to Apollo's temple in an effort to get her back, but was killed. Melia and Apollo had two kids - but here's the interesting part. Melia was highly worshiped in Thebes, where her brother found her. She was an incredibly important figure in Thebes, especially when connected with Apollo. She and Apollo were essentially the parents of Thebes.

As I read over their story, it sounded like (to me, at least. it's okay if you think otherwise!) that Melia just absconded/eloped with Apollo.

Was kidnapping an equivalent to assault back then? Perhaps. But it's still debated on whenever or not that's true. However, one thing I've noticed reading up on these myths is that when Apollo does do something unsavory, the text says so.

It never says anything about Apollo doing anything to Melia. Her father and brother believe she was kidnapped, but, like mentioned previously, it seems far much more likely that she just ran off with her boyfriend or something.

But that's just my interpretation.

Moving on! :)

Lovers Who Died:

Hyacinthus*: mortal prince. we all know this one, right? Right? one and only true love turned into flower

Cyparissus: mortal. his DEER DIED and he asked Apollo to let him MOURN FOREVER so he was turned into a cypress tree

Coronis: mortal princess. cheated on Apollo w/h another guy. mother of Asclepius. killed by Artemis.

Adonis: yes, THAT Adonis. he's in this category because. well. he died. rip

Phorbas: at first I was going to keep him off, till I went "hOLD UP!". Listen, this guy's story is contradictory in Hyginus's De Astronomica - he's a rival of Apollo, then all of a sudden his (dead) lover. My first reaction was the above, then it was "OH MY GODS CANON ENEMIES TO LOVERS??? WITH DEATH???"

There's also a second account of Phorbas - he ended a plague on an island and became Apollo's lover that way, and when he died, Zeus turned him into a constellation - Ophiuchus.

(*In some texts, Hyacinthus was resurrected.)

6 lovers.

5 Male. 1 Female. All consensual.

Sidenote: QUIT BURYING THE GAYS GREECE!!!!

Love-Interests Who Rejected & Died:

Daphne: do i nEED to say anything? Nymph. turned into tree to escape.

Castalia*: Nymph. turned into spring to escape.

2 Interests. 1 debatable.

2 Female.

(*Castalia's myth was written in 400 AD, VERY late in the myth cycle, and was strictly ROMAN. In every other case, the Castalian spring was already at Delphi before Apollo was born.)

Love-Interests Who Rejected & Cursed

Cassandra: mortal princess. Promised to date Apollo if she was given gift of prophecy. when he did, she rejected him and he cursed her to never be believed for her visions.

1 Interests.

1 Female.

Lover-Interests Who Rejected & Lived

Sinope: mortal. got Apollo to promise her anything; requested to remain a virgin. he obliged.

Marpessa: mortal princess, granddaughter of Ares. Idas, son of Poseidon, kidnapped her and Apollo caught up to them. Zeus had Marpessa chose between them, and she chose Idas, reasoning that she would eventually grow old and Apollo would tire of her.

Bolina: mortal. Apollo approached her and she flung herself off a cliff. He turned her into a nymph to save her life. Nothing happened between them, although some texts may say that she eventually dated him.

Ocroe/Okyrrhoe: nymph and daughter of a river god. asked a boatman to take her home after Apollo approached her. Apollo ended up turning the boat to stone and the seafarer into a fish.

Sibyl of Cumean: mortal seer. promised to date Apollo if she was given longevity as long as the amount of sand in her hand. he did, but she refused him.

5 Interests. All female.

Okyrrhoe's story is the only one with any iffy stuff, although, like stated in previous sections, when something iffy does occur, the text usually says so outright.

Rejected by Apollo:

Clytie*: Oceanid nymph. turned into a heliotrope to gaze at the sun forever after the rejection.

1 Advance. Female.

(*Clytie's story was originally about her affection for Helios. When Apollo got conflated with him, her story also changed.)

In Conclusion...

59 people total (includes Castalia & Clytie)

48 Women (81%). 11 Men (19%).

19% were Immortal (Including Lovers & Rejected)

66% Lived (Including Lovers & Rejected)

14% Died (Including Lovers & Rejected)

1% were Cursed

2% were Rejected by him

57 people total (Not including Castalia & Clytie)

46 Women (82%). 11 Men (18%).

18% were Immortal

68% Lived (Lovers & Rejected)

12% Died (Lovers & Rejected)

in that 12%, one was apotheosized - Hyacinthus.

Meaning 10% died permanently, while 2% were resurrected.

2% were Cursed

0% were Rejected by him

Additionally, I left off three male lovers and two female lovers - Atymnius, Leucates, Cinyras, Hecate, & Acantha.

Atymnius has no references to being Apollo's lover, only to Zeus's son Sarpedon.

Leucates is another male "lover" left off the rack - apparently he jumped off a cliff to avoid Apollo, but I couldn't find any mythological text to account for it. There is a cliff named similarly to him where Aphrodite went (by Apollo's advice) to rid herself of her longing for Adonis after his death. Also Zeus uses it to rid himself of his love for Hera before he cheats on her again.

Cinyras was a priest of Aphrodite on the island of Cyprus. He was also the island's king. Pindar calls him "beloved of Apollo" in his Pythian Ode. However, looking further into Cinyras's life throws a bit of a wrench into it. He's also cited to be a challenger to Apollo's skill, and either Apollo or Mars (Ares) kills him for his hubris.

(honestly, I kinda like the idea that Mars went into Big Brother Mode)

I did consider leaving him on the list, since technically you could argue it was a romance-gone-bad, but among every other source Cinyras is mentioned in, Pindar's the only one who puts a romantic label on him and Apollo.

Hecate, the goddess of magic and crossroads, is said to be the mother of Scylla (like, the sea-monster) by Apollo, but Scylla's parentage is one of those "no specific parents" ones, so I left her off the list.

Acantha has absolutely no classical references. There's a plant like her name, but she's made-up, so she doesn't count.

(Of course, I could be wrong about any of these. Again, I'm not an expert.)

With all this in mind, this means Apollo's love life actually isn't as tragic as media portrays it, and he isn't as bad as Zeus or Poseidon in the nonconsensual area.

Does he still have those kinds of myths? Yes, with Dryope & Creusa, though Creusa we could discount because;

1) Depends on who's translating it; and

2) Euripides (the guy who wrote the play Ion) contradicts himself on Ion's parentage in another play, and honestly Apollo's characterization in Ion just doesn't quite match up with the rest of his appearances in the wider myths (in my opinion, at least - feel free to ask why)

So that leaves us with just Dryope, who comes from Ovid. Now I'm not saying we should throw her out because of Ovid's whole "wrote the gods even more terribly to criticize Augustus" thing, but it is something to keep in mind.

So overall, I'd say Apollo has a rather clean relationship past. It is far better than Zeus or Poseidon's for one, and he is miles ahead of Hermes and Dionysus.

He's doing pretty damn good.

#ramblings of an oracle #greek mythology analysis #apollo #greek myths #greek gods #greek myth #ancient greece #still gonna tag this as toa #just because #;) #the trials of apollo #toa #trials of apollo

[lazycranberrydoodles]

its prosecutor jiang wanyin!!!! oh fuck!!! / gifs + au rambling below the cut / follow for more mdzs x aa crossover stuff :3

all the gifs i made (poses traced off franziska):

hes so similar to franziska when you think about it. theyre both deeply insecure tsundere adoptive younger sibling of successful main characters. who carry whips. something something edgeworth choosing death and wwx actually dying also

his share code is HWFEFF if you wanna use him in a trial! you can't share backgrounds but heres the scenery from the donghua i used.

the easiest way to put custom stuff into objection.lol is to send it in discord and then use the link from opening it in your browser :)

a whole lot of AU stuff

the art im making is for if mdzs was an ace attorney game, playing from WWX's POV to solve various mysteries/cases over the course of the plot. so this scene would be from turnabout goddess, which would loosely cover the dafan mountain mystery.

cases include:

Turnabout Revenge (Mo Manor, quick introductory first case)

Turnabout Goddess (Dafan mountain, the good times flashback)

Turnabout Saber (the man-eating castle (omg hiii nhs))

The Blind Turnabout (Yi City arc)

Turnabout Deviation (the Koi Tower conference, Empathy on NMJ ala turnabout memories or beginnings. opening cutscene is his qi deviation)

The Blood-Soaked Turnabout (second Burial Mounds siege, flashbacks: Xuanwu, Sunshot, YLLZ, Nightless City massacre)

Turnabout Lotus Seeds (testimony about JGY, tree scene, golden core reveal, bathtub scene. opening cutscene could be JGS' death but that would make it canon rather than ambiguous)

Turnabout Confession (Guanyin temple)

the problem with splitting novel!mdzs into turnabouts is that flashbacks are a huge chunk of the book but they don't have mysteries/ cases to solve so they've gotta be lumped together with present day stuff. imo? many of the flashbacks would likely have to be abridged so they could be retold ala DL-6, SL-9, or the fourth grade incident, where characters talk about it over some pieces of art. this is really difficult when theres a metric ton of unspoken, complex, and signifcant history between every character lmao

there's not as much of a problem with the cql timeline but i have not finished it. so.

the opening cutscenes in ace attorney always show the murder and/or the murderer plotting. the first cutscene of the game would be MXY summoning WWX, muttering about getting revenge on his family (it would also be good for him to mention the yllz being dead because that's how the novel starts.) cut to WWX's POV as he wakes up covered in blood and the investigation segment begins.

for investigations of monsters (goddess, saber, etc) the cutscene would be a scene of some poor throwaway cultivator getting their shit wrecked.

it would be cool to make a breakdown for JGY but again I need to review that scene cause I don't know who I'd base him on. maybe Vasquez or Dahlia.

tell me your thoughts!! i'm working off of a mdzs summary/ skimming the novel because i don't remember it too well so if i get anything wrong please yell at me

Jin Ling's sprites & Nie Huaisang's sprites / masterpost

#PLEAAAASE send it to me if you do actually use my animations in a case🥺 #here im adapting mdzs to aa gameplay rather than making a mdzs AU where they are lawyers #so jiang cheng is not a prosecutor in this hes just angry. and on the right side of the screen #that man has not graduated law school but then again no one in ace attorney has either #the names are based off of how ace attorney cases are either named after a distinctive item/location (bigtop bridge samurai etc) #or the main emotional/character type thing that happens (goodbyes reminiscence farewell) #the mdzs/aa au where the stories get blended (ie my tags on the nhs post) is very interesting but i would have to think about it very hard #and i dont want to . i would rather think about what the court record would look like (its full of severed limbs) #MDZS' EXPLORATIONS OF MORALITY MAKE ME CHEW ON ROCKS #urrgh i got carried away writing this post & wrote a couple hundred words comparing aa and mdzs' attitudes towards morality & public opinio #i could write an essay on this topic tbh. #can i call this an au? its the same story in the same universe just in a different format. hmm #mdzs #aa #art #mo dao zu shi #ace attorney #grandmaster of demonic cultivation #cql #the untamed #jiang cheng #jin ling #objection.lol #flashing image tw #pixel art #animation #my art #franziska von karma #i guess?? #mdzs aa au

[talonabraxas]

Blue Lotus: Flower of Intuitive Ascension

Blue Lotus (Nymphaea caerulea) is a beautiful, water-dwelling flower with mild psychoactive properties. Sacred to the Ancient Egyptians, depictions of Blue Lotus flower are ubiquitous in Egyptian art. Though alluring to our modern imaginations and worth further investigation, Blue Lotus is rarely used in Western herbalism as it is not currently a well-understood plant, nor is it native to or abundant in North America.

Etymology & Botany Blue Lotus is a tropical, aquatic plant in the Water Lily family that features day-blooming, light blue flowers which sit on the water’s surface. Long petioles connect the visible leaves with the deep, underwater rhizomes. The star-shaped flowers typically bloom for 3-5 days, moving with the sun and closing at night; Ancient Egyptians noticed this solar attunement and believed the flower’s golden center to be where the sun god, Ra, emerged from. All parts of the Blue Lotus plant (flowers, leaves, rhizomes, petioles) can be used medicinally.

Traditional Uses Once naturally abundant and extensively cultivated in temple lakes and along the Nile River, Blue Lotus was a highly revered and sought after crop. It was exported throughout the Mediterranean, Greece, the Middle East, Tibet, and as far as the Alexandrian empire extended.

Origin While it’s rare to find this flower growing along the Nile now, it is native to northern and central Africa. Ancient Egytian temples and monuments are a testament to how well loved this emblematic flower was to their culture; Blue Lotus can be seen embossed on everything from thrones to calcite drinking chalices to papyrus. The herb was used ceremonially but was also made into cosmetics and perfumes; imbibed as a tea or elixir; and simply inhaled for its relaxing, intoxicating fragrance. The flowers and buds were often used recreationally as well, for their narcotic and aphrodisiac effects.

Spiritual History In addition to being the birthplace of the sun god, Ra, this herb came to be associated with the afterlife and rebirth in Egyptian culture, specifically the Osiris myth. Brought back to life by the assistance of his sister and wife, Isis, Osiris became a symbol of life after death and rebirth through the legacy of Egyptian royalty. Thus, this herb was also considered to be the symbol of royalty and rulers, and indeed many royal accoutrement featured depictions of the flower; King Tutankhamun’s mummy was found covered with dried Blue Lotus flowers when exhumed hundreds of years later.

Herbal Indications for Blue Lotus Blue Lotus is bitter, aromatic, and warm energetically. In modern, Western herbalism, it is considered a sedative, febrifuge, aphrodisiac, antidepressant, antioxidant, anti-convulsant, and anti-inflammatory herb. It has been successfully used to purify the blood, treat tuberculosis, expel worms and parasites, relieve edema, enhance libido and treat erectile dysfunction, improve lactation, alleviate anxiety and depression, staunch internal bleeding, and balance blood sugar levels. Blue Lotus has a particular affinity for the kidneys, heart, and nervous system.

[difeisheng]

qiao wanmian and di feisheng's first appearances in the present-day narrative are mirrors of each other, orbiting the presence of li xiangyi and li lianhua. episode 5 introduces them both in the same way, stepping back into li lianhua's life while he watches from out of sight. di feisheng emerges from seclusion, qiao wanmian meets xiao zijin in yucheng. and what other information this episode gives us about these characters is the inverse of what we would've expected. where we assumed qiao wanmian might be the ex-lover, still mourning after ten years of missing li xiangyi, the first thing we (and li lianhua) see is that she's happy with someone else. it comes to be more nuanced than that, but the first impression we get is that qiao wanmian has moved on. di feisheng's first moment he gets by himself, meanwhile, is him drinking his grief over li xiangyi's absence away. he has jinyuanmeng bowing to his feet and and a tremendous amount of power in the jianghu he could use against anyone, yet here is, seemingly, above many other things, lonely.

the next arc serves to reinforce this idea, that where qiao wanmian by normal genre conventions should be the one who couldn't get over li xiangyi, it's di feisheng who continues to cling onto his history with him instead. during the liansanjiao's trip to baichuanyuan and pudu temple, we see qiao wanmian trying to work through her lingering emotions about li xiangyi over and over, and eventually (thanks to li lianhua's intervention) achieves some kind of tenuous closure on that part of her past. all of we see of di feisheng, on the other hand, is him becoming increasingly obsessed with what he views as unresolved events, until he finally chokes li lianhua against a wall to interrogate him about it. mysterious lotus casebook swapped what might be more typical framing of these characters. qiao wanmian is not a sad figure waiting for her sweetheart to return, but someone who realizes she was more attached to what he represents than to him, and in finding him as a person manages to become friends in this new life of the present. di feisheng isn't someone who moves on from an existence measured against li xiangyi and finds a new way to define himself, but rather a person who wound up isolated and frozen in time for ten years after losing him, and still struggles to leave their relationship behind or allow it to evolve.

tl;dr the real jilted lover of li xiangyi by the choices of the story is di feisheng, not qiao wanmian

#hi i know i've said this before but I HAVE RECEIPTS NOW #this was gonna be a section of di feisheng gender meta but i've been keeping this to myself for months and needed to scream #some of y'all insist that the narrative rivalry over llh is qwm vs fdb but why would you pit two bad bitches against one another #when the real parallel/foil is qwm and dfs #mysterious lotus casebook #feihua #li xiangyi #qiao wanmian #di feisheng #mlc meta #ashton originals

[comradekatara]

Who first suggested the book club: Mako or Jinora? And who picks the books?

i think it probably started organically as a natural progression of jinora getting to know mako better. they're on a roadtrip (airtrip?) across the earth kingdom in search of new airbenders and they're both a little bored and irritated. mako has no escape from the budding bestieship of his two gorgeous ex-girlfriends who he fumbled. badly. jinora has no escape from her generally chaotic extended family. they're both introverts who need space that they cannot find on a relatively large but still altogether much too cramped airship. mako walks in on jinora reading a book on the history of ba sing se. he apologizes for interrupting her, but then he's like "is that book interesting?" and before he knows it, jinora is rambling about the history of dai li and the various earth dynasties, and mako is listening intently trying to absorb all of it. normally jinora's interests are shot down as being (ikki and meelo) "too nerdy" or (tenzin and pema) "extraneous to her air nomad studies" (even though, she argues, air nomads have historically been very worldly, and besides, she's part water tribe!) so when mako seems to actually appreciate knowledge for the sake of knowledge, she lends him her book after she's done with it. and for a while, that's how it goes: jinora finishes one of her books, and then she gives it to mako to read, and they discuss it. their conversations primarily focus on their literary pursuits; neither has an interest in discussing the interpersonal drama currently surrounding them.

then, jinora develops a crush on one of the new airbenders. and suddenly jinora regrets befriending this teenage boy who won't stop barraging her with his motherly concern and disapproval. "he's not good enough for you," "he's untrustworthy," etc. etc. everything they read somehow turns into a didactic lesson, even as jinora directs them to books on the most mundane, innocuous topics possible (mako is actually fascinated by the mechanics of the omashu mailchute system, but he still somehow manages to turn it into a moralizing tale about how careless disregard for authority can lead to life-ruining danger). eventually, the red lotus becomes more of a threat than mako's obnoxious presumption that he knows what's best for her, and their attentions are diverted elsewhere. gradually, mako's opinion on kai turns around, and he gives jinora his approval (not that she needed it, he's literally just some guy?), so they can once more go back to reading and discussing literature without any distractions.

jinora is usually the one selecting the books, since she has more free time to read, but mako lends her some books of his own. there is no obligation for it to be a formal thing, since mako is on air temple island frequently enough that they don't need to create an official schedule to plan for their meetings, but for some reason they still do because mako prefers to live a highly structured, ordered life. they meet on the second and sixteenth of every month, and exchange notes on their primary takeaways from each book – what they were most interested to learn, whether the author was convincing in their rhetorical style – and then they deliberate over which book to read next while drinking tea. they have a strict "no 'personal life' talk" rule. occasionally jinora ventures to suggest that they read a work of fiction together next, but mako always swiftly shoots her down. he is here to expand his mind, not to rot it with fluff! jinora would be annoyed if she didn't find it charming being friends with the world's most boring guy. and eventually she does manage to tease out his entire convoluted backstory with korra and asami, as well as some of the least unpalatable details of his childhood, and some of his more exciting moments as a detective. jinora's just like "damn, no wonder you don't read fiction. your life is already five different genres of insanity." and mako's just like "yeah. do you have any more of those plain, unsalted rice crackers? they're my favorite food."

#loopy777 #asks #mako #jinora #jinora&mako #idk if that's a tag i've ever used but they're my favorite implied totally offscreen friendship in lok #they share books and he disapproves of her boyfriend!!! it's adorable!!!!! #in the lok rewrite that lives in my head this is a prominent subplot and is explored with the full depth it deserves

[death-himself]

BRO this episode is definitely my favorite holy shit ok here are episode 4 thoughts

the starting scene of percy learning how to swim was so cute I love every percy and sally interaction

also I kind of love the way they make sally speak kind of erratically and sort of stream-of-thought like, I don't know why but something about it is really interesting and a unique spin on her character

when percy brought up thalia I was BEGGING for a flashback and i'm so sad we didn't get one, probably my only critique of this episode and even then it's not even really a critique

I also love how they're emphasizing grover and annabeth's friendship and history in the series because I feel like it wasn't a thing at all in the books

their dynamic is just getting better and better each episode istg

grover says "2 days until we reach los angeles" which makes me kind of nervous about the lotus casino scene. the whole thing with the casino in the book was that fear realising that they wasted an entire week, so i'm kind of worried that they're only gonna be there for like 5 minutes now, but I guess we'll see in an episode or two

I love echidna greeting them on the train, I think it actually makes more sense than her just being there at the arch at the same time as them

also love echidna's actress she's incredible omg

the arch being a temple to athena is SO FUNNY to me

also love the little hint to annabeth's love for architecture and how she infodumps a bit about it

i love the conversation percy and Annabeth have, them coming to an understanding on the different ways they view their godly parents

also annabeth still worshipping and loving athena because she's both never really had a loving family and because she's been in the godly world for a large amount of her life AND because she doesn't know what it's like to be loved without having to earn it

versus percy not worshipping or caring about poseidon because he's had a loving mother and knows what it's like for a parent to care about him unconditionally and realizing he doesn't need poseidon's attention because he has his mother and she's more than enough

them splashing percy with water in a fountain aslkjdgakljgh

"my impertinence wounded my mother's pride" and she just looks SO DEVASTATED i'm gonna cry

percy tricking annabeth to get her to leave with grover was such a percy thing to do, him knowing he's already dying from the venom

it seems like every time there's a big dramatic fight they always cut the music and i think that's such a cool interesting choice

very sad they didn't just teleport the river over but that shot did look really fuckin cool

i LOVE how they're setting up for percy to have such complex mixed feelings about poseidon, and them ending with him taking a breath and trusting his father was a cool choice

also about that teaser at the end, we're getting the chair hephaestus built in the myth??? i'm so excited to see how that goes

"she said this is what the gods are like to each other. this is the kind of family they are." i feel like that just explains every problem in the riordanverse

with episode 3 probably being my least favorite out of what we have so far, I'm so so happy with this episode. this is the first episode where I don't have a single real critique, and I just know the next 4 episodes are gonna be absolute bangers

#pjo #percy jackson #pjo spoilers #percy jackson spoilers #pjo disney+ #pjo disney+ spoilers #percy jackson and the olympians

[jedineedlove]

LMK VS Legend

Peng:

The Golden Winged Peng

Korean- King of Bungma (Bungma= Dapeng)

LMK:

Powerful but a coward, we all know their story along with Azure and Tusk. All of them were former Celestials. The three ruled over Camel Ridge and became sworn brothers to Monkey King, Macaque, and Demon Bull King forming the brotherhood. After the "betrayal" of Monkey King they separated the brotherhood the trio stayed together and reunited with Wukong but only to battle and lose. Trapped in the scroll for hundreds of years. Were realized causing havoc to the cosmos. The rest is history For Now.

JTTW:

A demon born from the Primordial Phoenix, Given a high position in heaven which gave him his ego. He gave himself a humanoid form ate all the residence of the Lion Camel Kingdom ruled it for 500 years and then befriended the Azure Lion and Yellow-Toothed Elephant Demons.

Note: LMK and JTTW had Peng and Azure Switched In JTTW Peng was the leader and Azure the follower. Which of course is switched in the show.

His weapons are a ji and a Flask of Yin and Yang Essence which can suck in unsuspecting victims.

Flask of Yin and Yang Essence: After a while, the victim trapped inside the flask will be reduced to a bloody mash. (The flask was broken during the fight between him and Wukong)

In the book, it was the Buddha who subdued the Peng and returned him to Vulture Peak. He confessed to enjoying his demonic life and eating humans., but was left no choice but to abandon his evil ways and he was redeemed. He then became a protector of Buddhist law. He was later sent to destroy fake scripture without text by the Buddha. He is depicted perched above the Buddha's thrown as a guardian deity.

The Ming dynasty suggests Peng was a guardian of faith who watched over the world from an exalted position at the top of the Buddhas' throne.

Legend:

Dapeng Jinchi Mingwang/ Golden-Winged Great Peng His origins are derived from the Indian bird god Garuda.

Penig is one of the eight demi gods of Buddhism, he guards Mount Sumeru and Trāyastriṃśa. Pengi is depicted in the JTTW and General Yue Fei, mentioned in Chinese Buddhist literature.

The famous patriot General Yue Fei was believed to be the incarnation of Dapeng Jinchi Mingwang.

A demonic Peng born from The Primordial Phoenix the leader of flying beings. He also has a sister The Peacock Mahamayuri who once tried and failed to consume the Buddha. When he tried to kill her he was stopped and convinced to promote her to his godmother. Which makes the Golden Winged Peng the spiritual uncle of the Buddha. There is a tale of when Nü Tofu the bat spirit listened to the Buddha sermon on the Lotus Sutra at Leiyin temple. The bat spirit accidentally "broke wind" which stained the pure land. Peng snatched the spirit and killed her. For this Buddha exiled Peng to earth. He reincarnated as Yue Fei and the bat spirit reincarnated as Lady Wang. She married Qin Hui and Lady Wang killed Yue Fei in revenge.

For Backstory On These Two: Qui Hui and Lady Wang were the most hated couple in China for a thousand years. Qui Hui was a politician who gained his status by getting rid of political opponents, framing war heroes and was a sycophant to a foreign emperor. He and his wife both conspired to kill the Great War Hero of the Dynasty Yue Fei. He even becomes a puppet ruler. Qui Hui did not like Yue Fei because he was a great guy loved by all and became very popular even being more popular than the emperor. So Qui Hui had him returned and imprisoned. They torture Yue, but Yue Fei refuses to confess to something he did not do. They had him sentenced to death but in another story, Qui Hui's Wife Lady Wang poisoned Yue Fei. However, Yue Feis' story does not end at his death after a few decades Emperor Zhao Chen absolved Yue Fei and dedicated temples to him. Qui Hui and Lady Wang's betrayal and part in the war heroes' death were made public. In front of Yue Fei's temple, two iron statues of the couple were built for public shaming. People spit, abuse, and flop the statues and they get replaced when damaged they have been replaced 11 times since 1475.

Other Ledgends:

According to the martial arts master Laing Shouyu's book he was a great bird that was the guardian that could get rid of all evil in any area. Not even the MONKEY KING was a match. He was sent to China to defend China from invaders and was reborn as Yue Fei.

Yue Fei

The Shurangama Mantra: A mantra of Buddhist practice in China, Japan, and Korea, pertains to the Great golden-winged Peng bird, the Garuda it includes all species of birds. The Peng is the king among birds. He feasts on dragons, his being span measures an astounding 4,950 km, and when he flaps his wings the sea waters part to the deepest seabed.

Thoughts:

Peng's history and legends paint him as a far more powerful being than we have seen so far in the show if the writers do take anything from legends MK and the gang are in some serious trouble besides the ten kings. Also, it really is crazy that maybe even in the LMK universe Peng might have some serious power he was the last standing of the Sworn brothers in the final fight but that was mainly due to him running away. Peng does get redemption in the book with the LMK writers it's a 50/50 on the show. Also, love it when a character has a historical reincarnation to do some digging into.

#jttw #lmk #lego monkie kid #fan thoughts #journey to the west #lmk peng #research #ledgends #history #chinese mythology

[forgotten-bharat]

Qutab Minar, New Delhi.

Qutab Minar or “Tower of Victory” 73 m-high tower of victory was built-in 1193 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak. Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque was the first mosque was built next to it.

Mughal Architecture are famous world wide, but are those really Mughal architecture or stolen pieces from the indigenous people that lived there, that were subjected to slavery and unspeakable tyranny?

Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque was built by pieces and carvings of 27 destroyed Hindu temples, as it is stated clearly below -

As it is a known fact that Mughals destroyed approximately 40,000 Hindu and Jain temples during their ~300 years of invasion in India.

There are many deities in the complex that are placed in the most disrespectful way. It is not a doubt that this complex, the minar especially was to mock the Hindus that it belonged to. There is carvings of Cows, a holy and sacred animal in Hinduism, that can be seen in many Hindu temples to this day, but not in any mosque whatsoever.

According to Islam, The bell being instrument of Satan, yet there are carvings on pillars of Bells - an instrument that is widely and always used in Hindu Practices.

There are Brahmi and Sanskrit inscriptions found in various spots in the pillar and around the complex.

So what Exactly was Qutab Minar.

The township adjoining the Kutub Minar is known as Mehrauli. That is a Sanskrit word Mihira-awali. It signifies the town- ship where the well known astronomer Mihira of Vikramaditya's court lived along with his helpers, mathematicians and technicians. They used the so-called Kutub tower as an observation post for astronomical study. Around the tower were pavilions dedicated to the 27 constellations of the Hindu Zodiac.

The Hindu title of the tower was Vishnu Dhwaj (i.e. Vishnu’s standard) alias Vishnu Stambh alias Dhruv Stambh (i.e., a polar pillar) obviously connoting an astronomical observation tower.

The Sanskrit inscription in Brahmi script on the non-rusting iron pillar close by proclaims that the lofty standard of Vishnu was raised on the hillock named Vishnupad Giri. That description indicates that a statue of the reclining Vishnu initiating the creation was consecrated in the central shrine there which was ravaged by Mohammad Ghori and his henchman Qutubuddin.

Presence of lotus flowers on the minar’s inscriptions. Lotus flowers do not feature in any Islamic structures of that era. Lotus flower buds have been covered with verses from the Quran. Lotus flowers if we observe are seen in Hindu temples.

Know your history.

धर्मो रक्षति रक्षितः

#qutab minar #mughal architecture #hinduism #hinduphobia #sanatan dharma #indian architecture #india #bharat #pseudo secularism #new delhi #mughal invasion #ancient india #colonization #hindublr #desiblr

[somethingclevermahogony]

OC Questionnaire

I was tagged by @elsie-writes , thank you! These are some of my favorite tags!

My Questions are:

What is your favorite piece or part of history?

What is your biggest fear?

What is your favorite flower?

These are characters from the first three books of my WIP series (formarly just one book), Testaments of the Green Sea.

What is your favorite piece or part of history?

Narul: "History? Um...I guess I never really thought about that sort of thing. Do legends count? Huma the Spiritblood is a story I really like...but I don't know how true those stories were."

Ninma: "Seha! Princess Seha! She was from Makur, but when she dueled Tamel, she almost won too. Tamel was so impressed that he made her his general! And then when Tamel came to Kishetal he sent her to find a place to found a great city! So she sailed down the Aratshin River and discovered the Great Lake and so she killed all those monsters and she talked to the ancient Kiriki and that's how it was decided where Labisa would be founded!"

Otilia: "The Arkodian kingdom. My father used to walk me through the old crumbling temples, the mantle of our fireplace was made from a piece of an old Arkodian temple. It's hundreds of years old but I still remember the paints were so vibrant. People still wear Arkodian jewelry when they can find it, it just seems like everything was so beautiful back then, I wish I could have seen the mountain sanctuaries of the spirit mothers."

Akard: "The reign of Tamel, 500 years of peace and prosperity, when Kishetal was one kingdom, when Kishites built the greatest palaces that the world has ever seen. Some day we will see that world again, soon I hope."

Istek: "Last night, I had wine, food, and these two." He gestures to his partners, Dati an Sihunu. "Does that count as history?"

Penetinos: "Arkodai, I would have loved to see the great furnaces where the sages and smiths worked together to make magic metals, to trap the elements themselves in mortal tools."

What is your biggest fear?

Narul: "That I'll forget the people that I care about."

Ninma: "That I'll end up like my family."

Otilia: "Hmm, I'm not entirely sure, once I would have said that it was my old husband trying to find me. But now I'd love to see him try it."

Akard: "I fear that when I die all of my work, all the work I've done to better this land will fall apart and that all of the terrible things I've had to do will have been for nothing."

Istek: "Being helpless."

Penetinos: "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. For most of my life it was death, especially after I found about my illness, but now I've accepted it. I suppose I'm scared of dying and feeling like I'm not ready, like there was more I could have done."

What is your favorite flower?

Narul: "A hasir flower. You only see them in Kishetal, they bloom in autumn and they are so many shades of red and yellow and orange, it makes the hillside look like its on fire. And they smell sweet. I pick one any time I see them. I know I don't really look like the sort but..." He gestures to his massive frame "But, I like putting them in my beard and hair."

Ninma: "Hasir flowers! Narul gives me them."

Otilia: "Around Kalmanati where I grew up there were fields and fields of red poppies. I think I would say that those are my favorite."

Akard: "An apunina lotus, blue like a sapphire, when they bloom the entire river is perfumed."

Istek: "Flowers? Flowers hmm...not many of those at sea..." He turns to Sihunu. "What were the flowers growing around the spring where we met, those little purple ones?"

"Lavender?"

"That's it! Lavender!"

Penetinos: "The saffron crocus. They used to leave them at the temple where I served."

Your questions:

What is one embarassing memory from your childhood that you can't shake?

What would you take with you if you were trapped on a desert island for one week?

What is your favorite animal?

Tagging @roach-pizza , @pluttskutt , @illarian-rambling , @kaylinalexanderbooks and anyone else who is interested!

#testamentsofthegreensea #writeblr #writing #narul #queer fantasy #oc questions #tag game

[ancientegyptdaily]

“The “helicopter hieroglyphs” is a name given to part of an Egyptian hieroglyph carving from the Temple of Seti I at Abydos. Some have interpreted the hieroglyphs as an out-of-place artifact depicting a helicopter (above the nine short vertical bars) as well as other examples of modern technology.

The "helicopter" image is the result of carved stone being re-used over time. The initial carving was made during the reign of Seti I and translates to "He who repulses the nine [enemies of Egypt]". This carving was later filled in with plaster and re-carved during the reign of Ramesses II with the title "He who protects Egypt and overthrows the foreign countries". Over time, the plaster has eroded away, leaving both inscriptions partially visible and creating a palimpsest-like effect of overlapping hieroglyphs.” [source]

“The Dendera light is a motif in the Hathor temple at Dendera in Egypt. It depicts the Egyptian creation myth, and the text surrounding the pieces confirm this. The motif became famous when the History Channel claimed it depicts an ancient light bulb, something that the text around the motif disproves.

The temple contains several reliefs depicting Horus, in the form of a snake, emerging from a lotus flower which is usually attached to the bow of a barge. The so-called dendera light is a variation of this motif, showing Horus in an oval container called hn, which might represent the womb of Nut.” [source]

#egypt #ancient egypt #egyptology #archaeology #historyedit #mine #my edit #abydos #fake history #debunked #dendera

[verdantcrimson]

Lotus and Vows - 1

Writer: Umeda Chitose

Season: Autumn

TL: verdantcrimson

(Unproofread)

1 | 2

Kuro: Phew, we’re finally here. Are ya tired, little miss?

Souma: You’re sorry that I have to carry your luggage…? Fufu, worry not. To be of service to you, Anzu-dono, brings me great joy.

Keito: Sorry about that, I live in a temple on top of a mountain. I mean, climbing this long stone staircase is perfect for training your body, but...

Kuro: All three of us are pretty proud of our physical fitness, but it must’ve been hard for ya, right? We’ve been coming to visit now and then, so we’ve gotten pretty used to the trek.

Souma: Umu. That was back during the ‘Harouin Paati’, when we came to visit Hasumi-dono to consult him…

Keito: I was a little surprised that you two showed up all of a sudden back then.

Keito: Now that we’ve successfully finished working on the Halloween Party stage, I can look back and say that it was a good experience, struggles and all.

Kuro: I guess. Check it out, with the trees on the mountain turnin’ into all these bright colors, ya can really feel the seasons changin’.

Souma: The scenery is quite picturesque as well. The atmosphere is serene and comforting…♪

Keito: The temple is a fair distance from ES, so it’s the ideal spot to pass the time leisurely after performances.

Kuro: Come to think of it, little miss Anzu approached us just as we were makin’ plans to hang out.

Kuro: Now that the Halloween Party is done and dusted with, we were thinkin’ about spendin’ some time relaxin’ as a Unit before the SS began in earnest.

Souma: We had thought that we could relax and enjoy ourselves at his parent’s temple, and if perchance we wished to have a ‘ressun’, it would provide an ideal location. Hasumi-dono proposed the idea to us.

Keito: Then Anzu approached us…. The rest is history.

Keito: You said that you wanted to discuss my ‘Special Outfit’ whenever I felt comfortable, so I took the opportunity to invite you over as well.

Keito: Though truthfully, I asked you to accompany us in part, for our own convenience. Are you sure that this isn’t a bother?

Keito: … I see. It’s a relief that this doesn’t disrupt your schedule.

Keito: Well, we can’t make any progress by just standing around and talking about it. I’ll lead you to the temple nave. Anzu, both of you, follow me.

Keito: … Anzu, what’s the matter? Why are you looking around like that?

Keito: Ah, you’re asking about your luggage? You can leave it where you please, I don’t mind. This room is large enough that you can make use of the space in any way you’d like.

Keito: It isn’t like I can offer exceptional hospitality, but I would like you to relax and take it easy for once, since you're always busy and working

Keito: Of course, the I feel the same towards Kiryu and Kanzaki. I’ll bring you all some tea. Would you prefer it iced, or hot?

Kuro: ‘ppreciate the sentiment, but I don’t really feel like sittin’ down. My body’s gotten perfectly warmed up from climbin’ that stone stairway.

Souma: Umu, I feel the same. If Anzu-dono and Hasumi-dono do not mind, I’ll leave my suitcase here and go on a light stroll.

Souma: I thought I would enjoy a bit of ‘uokingu’ and admire the splendid autumn foliage.

Kuro: Oh, sounds sweet. Then I’ll join ya, Kanzaki. Let’s go visit the storeroom for a bit.

Keito: … Hm, I understand. You want to practice in the storeroom like usual? Then I’ll give you the key.

Kuro: Haha. It ain’t that far, so we’ll just turn around and head straight back as soon as we reach the storeroom. Right, Kanzaki?

Souma: Umu ♪ I shall bask in nature together with Kiryu-dono.

Kuro: Danna, little miss, see ya.

Keito: … You’re asking why I didn’t go for a stroll as well? I don’t particularly care to observe the scenery in the yard or the mountains behind the house, since I’ve admired it time and again since I was little.

Keito: Ah, no, if you’d like to have a look, then I’ll give you a tour at the very least.

Keito: There’s something you want me to see, not something you want to see?— Hm. So you’ve already put down some costume plans in this sketchbook.

Keito: … All these drawings with sticky notes between the pages, are these ideas for my costume?

Keito: I assumed you’d just have me choose from several options, but I’m surprised to see that you thought of a detailed design, including various alternative patterns and accessories.

Keito: I've always taken good care of you, and so you wanted to show me how much you’ve grown… Well, I don’t really think I’ve been able to help you nearly as much as you’ve helped me recently.

Keito: But still, you do respect and rely on me.

Keito: I’m always available for you to occasionally consult for advice. It might not feel easy, but you can call me whenever.

Keito: In regards to the designs, is it alright if I look over them now? I'm afraid you'll just have to sit idle in the meantime…

Keito: You’re asking if I’d like some tea? Hm… I wouldn’t mind some hot tea, but… Sorry for making you serve me, even though I invited you over to my house in the first place.

Keito: The kitchen is down the hallway, to the right. Feel free to use the teapot and tea leaves on the shelf.

Keito: In the meantime, I’ll repay your kindness by looking over these designs meticulously… ♪

[Later]

Keito: … Thank you, Anzu. I had a look through the design proposals.

Keito: Now, don’t look so worried. The thought of lecturing you hadn’t even crossed my mind, rather, I’m overflowing with praise.

Keito: Maybe it’s due to the fact that I’m the one that’s going to wear it, there were an abundance of Kimono-style designs.

Keito: I could discern from these design proposals that you tried your hardest to figure out how to make it feel like ‘me’.

Keito: Some of them felt inspired by the design of costumes I’ve worn in the past. They reminded me of Tsukimi Live and Daikagura, so it made me feel a little nostalgic.

Keito: And the ideas on this page, they were inspired by the Halloween performance from the other day, right?

Keito: Taking into consideration the fact that this is my ‘Special Outfit’, I felt that a Kimono would be best. I was also drawn to this idea because of the beautiful ornaments and accessories.

Keito: … Thank you for coming up with so many different ideas for me.

Keito: As I looked through each of your ideas, I could feel how much you’ve grown, and it deeply moved me.

Keito: You definitely aren’t the same person as the ‘you’ back in the days of the ‘Quarrel Festival’ that would think up unhinged plans. Something like the ‘Wasshoi festival’ or whatever, you’d never—

Keito: Oi, wait. Why are you looking at me like that. Don’t tell me you haven’t given up on the ‘Beat the Heat! Wasshoi something festival’?

Keito: …Just to be sure, I’ll check. You haven’t made any such designs for my ‘Special Outfit’…

Keito: Don’t be in such a hurry to deny it, it makes you look even more suspicious. If you haven’t actually proposed it as an idea, I won’t say anything.

Keito: Well, I’ll let you off the hook. The idea seemed to have crossed your mind…. But you managed to exercise self-control this time, so I’ll let it slide.

#lotus and vows #Keito Hasumi #Kuro Kiryu #Souma Kanzaki

[reileinaxiu]

How I became Anti Jiang Cheng/Wanyin and Anti Jiang in General

Fair warning/s:

Dramatic story sharing. MDZS meta that blur with some fanon pet peeves. Jiang family bashing (yup includes YZY, JWY, JFM, and even JYL). Lengthy story/experience sharing. Some cursing/foul language, okay a lot of cursing that I censored might have missed just in case. Some ranting I guess. And maybe some leaps in logic. Chaotic writing.

.

So long story short:

I've read a fic with the JC bashing tag, enjoyed it and browsed and read more content about it and I was thoroughly anti JC by the end of it all.

An example is

"All will be well when the day is done" by abCEE. If you haven't read it I recommend it if the Lan clan still hasn't been ruined in your eyes.

.

Long story not so short:

Okay as you all might know or not know, I was introduced to the MXTX fandom through a fanfic crossover and entered through the donghua.

When I watched the donghua I was sort of indifferent to the Jiang family as a whole. I thought YZY was just this super stern drill sergeant type of woman. Maybe unfair to WWX because of her own bias towards his heritage. JFM was this timid person in front of his wife who doesn't want to get into conflicts. JWY was this broken grieving person after the Lotus Pier Massacre. And JYL was this mother/sister role model that had an unfortunate end.

I did not like them(probably never will at this point), I did not hate them (I should have hated them more), thought they were developmental to WWX as a character (still true but for a completely different reasons). But that was it, they were characters that had fulfilled a role.

Oh what a foolish uninformed lamb 🐑 I was back then.🥲 The donghua did not even begin to skim the surface of it all. Or maybe it did in an artistic license type of view and it was the kind people on the internet who analyzed the story and the original work that just pointed out to me what was obvious now. 🤔

.

Thank yous especially to: @flautistsandpeonies ,

@jiaoji2 , @withthewindinherfootsteps , @ladypfenix, @ninjakk and many more that I might have missed or yet to discover. Your mxtx content are entertaining and enlightening.

And thank yous to your works on AO3: Hauntcats, Karmiya, FlautistsandPeonies, Vrischika, miixz, glitteringmoonlight, justdoityoufucker and many many more great writers out there.

I definitely 😁 recommend their works.

Their works and posts have opened my eyes. 👀 And many others who I might have missed.

.

This was how knowing more both ruined and saved my love for MDZS.

.

It started when I began delving for fanfic on ao3, after finishing the donghua. Naturally, I began with the fics with the most Kudos, so I set my filters with the most words or the most Kudos along with the WangXian tags (Lan Wangji/Wei Wuxian).

.

Lo and behold one of the top fics at that time was a Jiang Wanyin centric time travel fic that I shall not name but bury deep within my reading history/bookmarks. I do not want to horrify you guys too much who are anti JC like me but the short synopsis was JWY travels back in time and fully supported WWX 🤢 throughout the Sunshot Campaign doing all the the things JGY pointed out in the Guanyin Temple incident getting a happy ever after of everyone lives(even JGY 😰) and noone dies(except mostly the Wen Sect not the Dafans) and JWY marries WQ 🤮.

Yes. I can't believe myself to have thought that was actually good. I got ulcers just thinking about it 🤢. What's worse 😱 is that I've read through several similar fics with JWY as a good brother, anger misunderstood trope and thought nothing of it at the time.

One of the worse of the worst were my ignorance when reading fics with side JWY/LXC tag.☣️🤮 If I knew I would have never touched any of these fics. But I absorbed the MDZS content through various media sources so my understanding was obscured at best and completely reconceptualized at worst. I hope my realization wasn't too late that I ended up reading about a homophobe in a same-sex relationship.

.

My poor ignorant self,😔 I forgive you for ever thinking any of those were acceptable homage to the masterpiece that is MDZS. Alas those fics in my read history will be part of a dark past that I might visit some day again only to treat it as the radioactive ☢️ toxic waste it truly should be handled as.

.

Don't get me wrong. It doesn't make any of those God awful plot devices better but at least those fics were still very entertaining and I appreciate all the work and effort the author had put in to writing them despite their uh...😦 misconstrued outlook on the actual canon personalities of the characters. Some of those fics were really long and well-written at least. So I find it a shame their great writing skills have gone in this direction.

.

Maybe 🤔 if I read those as extremely, extremely OOC then I guess they could be slightly acceptable. But till today there are plenty similar fic being written out there, and published everyday. I must sometimes cope by completely erasing JWY or any OOC Jiang from my mind whilst reading these types of mistagged fics. OOC JC tag should really be common so I can filter them out of my searches. I will always be grateful for ao3's sort and filter system.

.

Another, when exploring the fandom at first was that I was intrigued, amused and even confused 🤔 by all the controversy. On youtube, there were content creators fawning over JWY. So hey, I thought he seemed like a decently popular character.

.

Then someone pointed some things out to me and I was like " OMG 😱 What sort of deranged sick scum is this person and why the f*** out of all the villains that got their karma he still lives with a position of power".

.

Then I realized again after reading more mdzs meta, "Almost everyone in the Cultivation World except WangXian, the juniors(of every sect), WN, WQ, LQY and maybe NHS at some point are all corrupt assholes that deserve some sort of karma still lives with positions of power" 😱😱😱

.

So yeah. One of my problems when identifying good not OOC fanfics was because tags like the good sibling jc, yunmengbros reconciliation, etc.😖 was normalized by a lot of writers that other writers started referencing OOC fanfics as the true personality of those characters. That's why a newbie like me entering the fandom just binge read anything that was popular at the time and thought that it actually somehow corresponds to the original work. I am sometimes tempted to unsubscribe from certain MXTX content creators because they are JC stans. But I am conflicted cause they make really good WangXian content as well 😰.

.

For example:

Like when writers completely disregarding WWX's most important character traits to fit him into an OOC template @withthewindinherfootsteps discusses this very soundly and points out WWX's core philosophy. Writers have gone to create completely new characters and stamped them with the same name. They have lots of reblogs and discussion with this particular post

.

Maybe it's because I haven't read the entirety of the original work yet (I've only watched the donghua, the cql, followed the manhua, and skipping to favorite scene in thenovel translations) but further evidence pointed out by readers of the original work had thoroughly converted me. I do not commend any of the Jiang Family's treatment of WWX.

.

Feel free to skip to the rabbits if you prefer not to read some of these heavy criticisms about the Jiang Family and some cursing. Oh and maybe a bit of conspiracy theory meta.

.

.

.

Let's begin with this literal raging b*tch, YZY.

.

YZY was a child abuser, a hypocrite, and liar.

.

"What do you mean what do we do?! Can't you see yet? They came here prepared. Today's fight couldn't have been avoided. Soon afterward there'll be herds of those Wen-dog arriving. Leave first!"

"Shut your mouth! It's all because of you little...!"

-Exiled Rebel Scans Chapter Poisons (3)

.

These lines had been itching at me from the very beginning so... This was the Lotus Pier Massacre. A lot of others (particularly those who stan her) might think it was a sad heroic sacrificing moment as a mother that made a lot of people misconstrue YZY's true nature. She was neither self-sacrificing nor a mother.

.

She knew. She logically knew that the Wens were prepared and the fight couldn't have been avoided yet she still had the absolute gall to blame WWX of all the people present just because she can and just because she saw him beneath her. After punishing WWX herself as an act of 🤬 subservience to the Wen Clan she couldn't admit it that she herself was the one that escalated the entire situation to the Wen's advantage when WLJ taunted her about the supervisory office. She made everyone including the children to fight in that bloodbath just so her pride as a lady of a great sect remain unquestioned only saving her child and asking the disciple she abused mentally, emotionally and physically to give his life for JWY's sake. And look where it got her. If you ask me now, I'd say she totally deserved that humiliating death and WN should have left her and JFM's body to rot compared to my tragic first impressions.

.

JFM is as much as an abuser as YZY was. He was an abuser through neglect, and some form of exploitation. A lot of context clues lead to YZY regularly punishing WWX excessively. It's never really mentioned that JFM stopped any of these especially since it is most likely those punishments were handed indiscriminately without just cause other than YZY's hate for WWX.

Shown in the Lotus Pod Extra where it's only WWX who gets punished despite every other disciple doing the same thing. Punished with a whip a that!😨 And that was just an Everyday probably casual occurence in the summer.

.

The exploitation I have less evidence on that but from what I can understand (or don't) is that a disciple of a sect is more or less an employee and that they at least have some sort of regular stipend besides the facilities, housing and education given to them, otherwise why bother to become a cultivator of a sect when your financially challenged. I'm sure there's at least a few disciples who would send money back to their families because a cultivator's job has some monetary benefits that attracted them to Cultivation sects.

.

(Ps. Someone argue the flaws in my logic or support it with further evidence that you can find, I'd be grateful)

.

This isn't the case for WWX though. From the novel it was said that WWX explored the markets in Yunmeng and took whatever he pleased because the locals knew to send the bill to Lotus Pier and maybe he got an allowance that only equates to pocket money. It could be seen that he was well taken care of at least financially.

.

But from my point view its an indirect form of exploitation. This could be seen as WWX not having his own money to spend for himself making him monetarily dependant on the Jiangs generosity (which was barely existent). It made WWX all the more differentiated from the other disciples who were compensated for their rendered services. Especially since he was made the head disciple at such a young age he should have gotten a comparatively larger paycheck(ancient china payrolls) maybe even equal to the senior disciples because he takes on a teaching job.

When WWX was in the Burial Mounds with the Wens I don't think he had his own assets to claim and fall back on when JWY removed him from the sect. He was one of the key figures to victory in the Sunshot Campaign don't tell me he wasn't properly compensated for his contributions? If someone out there thinks that he gave his spoils of war to the Sect, then f*** the Jiang Clan, I call fraud and exploitation.

.

That's right folks! Lotus Pier was equivalent to a Japanese Black Company! Modern laws, on child labor and treatment addendums aside, at least in regards to WWX that is. Not only was WWX put to work in abhor conditions (abused; verbally and physically) he was also barely compensated, if not at all, for his services. YZY didn't make it any better siting unreasonable excuses of immeasurable debt that WWX took to heart. JWY also follows her mother's footsteps even when she died he also imposed this debt on WWX even when WWX already went above and beyond what stipulates on what a head disciple or even regular disciples owe to their sect. I could really care less how JFM didn't want to upset his wife or some other excuse, he is Sect Leader! He couldn't have not known what was going on. This has got to be some form of exploitation. 😡

.

I should write a separate post for all the things messed up about JWY. But to sum it up he expected WWX to abandon his moral code to pander to his sect leader position and Sect's reputation and leave to the Cultivation World's bloodlusts what was essentially a village full of civilians, children or weakened cultivators. He blamed WWX for JYL's death when he clearly witnessed what actually happened, it wasn't WWX who landed the killing blow(WWX even killed that stupid attacker the moment that happened, JWY saw that as well). He went on torturing to death anyone who slightly resembled WWX or was suspected of practicing unorthodox cultivation (keywords on slightly resembled and suspected never proven or justified) for years! Also hellbent on torturing and killing WWX in his second life by using his fears and guilt and that d*mn whip he inherited from his b**** of a mother. And he is an overall bitter and unpleasant character to be in the presence of. I could keep going on and on because there's a whole lot more and there is not enough words to describe how much of a terrible person he was by the end of the book.

.

Lastly, there is JYL. 🤨She wasn't very significant as the person WWX made her out to be. She wasn't a bad person but she also didn't make any strides to be better or do good. She always tried to make compromises but it was usually for the sake of others especially JWY and at the cost of WWX because she viewed him as being capable of carrying any burdens with a smile and not as a person that struggles or gets hurt by superficial or personal remarks. A peacemaker, timid like her father, avoiding conflicts instead of actually solving them. She claimed WWX a brother during the Phoenix Mountain Hunt and demanded an apology in the name of her sect but that all crumbled like a sandcastle on the beach and forgotten as dust in the wind when JZX confessed publicly and she secluded herself in her happy little married domestic life.😤 Either she was just an oblivious fool just like her husband and would have caused WWX's death by asking him to stand down when he was clearly being attacked or she really believed everything would go well if everyone calmed down or something. Or she was just incredibly gullible to the point of trusting her marital sect that repeatedly put down WWX. She is like LXC in this regard, and I have a lot of negatives and barely-there positives about him as well.

.

What frustrates me in fanfics with her in it is that she acts like both her marital sect or natal sect could never be in the wrong and that it should be WWX who should adjust is behavior when they were literally trying to kill him.

Is it appropriate to rant about other fics that pissed me off on tumblr? I won't cause it feels rude on some level.

Also I hate the line she said about WWX being born with a smiling face. That's like putting unrealistic expectations on WWX's head. Just because he can bare a lot of things with a smile doesn't mean he cannot get hurt? Newsflash putting up a smiling front is just one way WWX protected himself emotionally from all the rumors and vitriol from YZY. I know I'm being overly harsh but I can't help but feel infuriated. WWX is a strong person for putting up with the Jiang's bull****, horse****, dog**** whatever **** I can think of under the sun and still manages to be an inherently good person but that doesn't really justify everything that was done to him.

.

🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇🐇

.

@righteousinadversity sums it up pretty well WWX's sufferings in life and a good chunk of that list is because of the Jiangs or could be traced back to the Jiangs.

If these realizations weren't enough to get me to go anti Jiang Family, I'd be wondering where my common sense went. I became extra wary of those fics tags with something like Good parent YZY & JFM🤬, Good sibling JC 🤮, Yunmengbros feels🙄, and a surprisingly eye watering amount of word vomit. 🤢

.

This doesn't mean I condemn all the fics out there that don't adhere to canon personalities even the ones I've already read. If the ficwriter was reasonable enough in writing a life altering event or tagging that the characters are going to act OOC. Then sure I might read a modern AU where JC is a reasonably less asshole of an adopted brother. Or an AU where the JWY and JYL try to makeup for their parents wrongs etc. I could probably stomach it with minimum nausea. Still doesn't mean I have to like it, I am just a poor deprived soul that seeks to consume as much mdzs media in my free time.😔

Although Post-canon fics where WWX or LWJ get along with JWY, 😑 yeah I'm drawing the lines where lines need to be drawn. I might make the time to delete a lot of bookmarks from my archives.

.

The only thing that saved my love for MDZS was WangXian and that speaks for itself because there's a lots of scummy characters (scummy as irl people, they were perfectly fine characters that drove the plot) and WangXian happens to overturn all those flaws because they are the exact opposite to such toxic relationships and toxic people. Plus just because I bash the Jiang Family so much doesn't mean I should stan WWX for the novelty of getting behind the hero or protecting a victim.

.

It's because WWX is genuinely a good person that I will stan him with all my squishy beating heart🫀!

.

He sees injustice and seeks to correct it. He had literal life costing wrongs done to him and he does not seek further resentment . He knows not to forgive and not to forget but also knows when to let go. And LWJ learned a lot from WWX and he became his moral compass. God 🤩 they are just so good together, good for each other, and good for everyone.🥲

May they forever ♾️❤️ be a happy couple.🥰

.

The rest of the trashy cultivators of the Cultivation World can get eaten by the Xuanwu for all I care. 🙄#turtlefood

I might get started about how I came to dislike the Lans in general or wished fiery deaths for most of Cultivation World. But that's for another time.

.

Is it hypocritic of me to continue reading these awful OOC Jiang fics? Maybe a little. 😐

Does it take me away from potentially great reads?

On my sane days I'd avoid them like WWX avoids dogs. If I'm feeling curious or just really hoping to find something fresh to read, I'd suck it up and pretend the poorly characterized Jiangs are florid mouthpieces used by the author that I can probably forget and ignore.😖

.

I think I have the same problem with Postcanon fics where WWX gets along with his in-laws. I read them ignorant of how the original work actually ended. Now I despair at how awful my reading history looks and I became very critical of the type of fanfics I presently enjoy.

.

Taking a page out of @FlautistandPeonies

Jiang family stans don't shit my post. I have literally tagged this anti-everything I can think of the first few lines were literally in big font titled "How I became anti JC"

Fellow mdzs meta readers come at me with gentle criticisms or discussions or comments (emphasis on gentle please 🥺, I'm a sensitive soul that easily loses confidence)

I got the courage to post this after reading a fic with YZY being her petty bitchy self. It was gloriously infuriating that I console myself with the WangXian ending. I might recommend that fic after it's gotten more chapters out (I don't want anyone getting conniptions from the cliffhanger) along with other anti Jiang Family fics.

#How I became anti jc #How I became anti jiang family #How I became anti cultivation world #mdzs #modaozushi #anti jc #anti yzy #anti jfm #anti jyl #anti jiang family #some lan sect bashing #How I floundered through the mdzs fandom at first #wei wuxian #lan wangji #Wei Wuxian's struggles #WangXian #I love wangxian so much 😭 #Dramatic story sharing #Long rant #mdzs meta #Mdzs fanon pet peeves #Some author and Tumblr user recommendations #am I hypocritic? Sometimes #Was some of the content hypocritic? probably #Point out my flaws in the conspiracy theories or add evidence #I'd be grateful either way #Fellow mdzs meta readers come at me with gentle criticisms or discussions or comments #Emojis are great and people should use them more often to highlight their words 🐱 #I got the courage to post this after reading a fic with YZY being her petty bitchy self #lots of cursing

[k1ngdom-of-thieves]

Hi! I hope this follows your rules but could I have a headcanon of Vil, Malleus, and Jamil as gods? Please and thank you!

This is such a cool request omg, thanks so much for waiting while I wrote this :) you can tell I had a Percy Jackson phase huh

Vil, Malleus, and Jamil as gods!

Vil Schoenheit

The God of theatre, beauty, and self reflection. Vil is often represented by Swans, the Astrantia flower, and mirrors.

Vil is seen as one of the major gods, and having some of the most influence over the others. There are very few that wish to anger the god who nearly brought Death to his knees.

While it is unknown how he was born, Vil was found by a wealthy lord in the center of a dying forest. The god was still just a baby so the lord took him in while being unaware of Vil’s true lineage. Vil was shown all sides of the aristocratic lifestyle, which is where he fell in love with the arts and learned of the ugliness that many of the wealthy hid inside themselves.

When Vil’s truth of being a god was revealed, the lord and his family were blessed for lovingly raising him like their own blood. There are rumors that no curse can touch that family, even to this day.

There are many tales of Vil forcing corrupt nobles and shallow performers to see the errors of their ways, either by cursing them for their stupidity or forcing them to do humiliating acts to escape his wrath. They incur his wrath anyway. They always do.

His followers do a yearly performance in his name about the many stories about him and his companions. The sky turns a dark purple for the entirety of the day and it’s said that Vil watches their show every single time; even if it’s a story that’s been done to death. The entire crew gets a dream telling them what they could do better next time

Malleus Draconia

The God of magic and the night. He is often represented by dragons, ravens, and green flames.

Malleus is also seen as one of the major gods alongside Vil. There are only a select few gods who he doesn’t have influence over.

His followers are very few and far between, but they are immensely loyal. They built the largest temple in history as a birthday present for him. Legends say that one of his followers were so loyal, he became a member of the gods just to follow him through worlds.

Malleus wasn’t born in a human form, but instead as a dragon. The fairies that lived by the dragons saw how he had something that none of the other dragons did; a heart. Wishing for Malleus to be able to live amongst others with a heart, the fairies all worked together to give him a human form. The fairies used too much magic and ended up making Malleus powerful enough to be considered a God.

At first, Malleus was unsure of how to control his newfound power and his first spell flew directly to the sky. The sky immediately turned dark and the weather became colder. This is what became the first night in Twisted Wonderland.

The god of the fae quickly came to find who casted the spell to end the day and found Malleus, in a new form, horrified at what he had done. The fairy god warmly welcomed him into his newfound godhood and brought the sun back to it’s rightful place.

Jamil Viper

The God of knowledge, revenge and hidden truths. He is represented by snakes, specifically the Saw-Scale Viper; lotus flowers, and is often described appearing in mirages.

Jamil was formed by the desert sand in the middle of the night. When the god of day was bringing the light back to the world, he saw the wandering Jamil just barely stumbling through the dunes. The day god came down to him and asked Jamil to come with him to be with the other gods.

Jamil was a gifted magician even when just formed by the sands. That ability only improved the more he interacted with the world. He is credited with giving humans the ability to think freely after realizing it was unfair that the gods had basically full control of them.

Just because Jamil gave a person free thought doesn’t mean he can’t take it away. There have been many of stories that have Jamil forcing hypnotizing people into giving information or doing favors for him. There’s usually a reason for his harsh treatment. That or you gave him a beetle.

His followers are often people who’ve been mistreated by those they’re surrounded with. They come to his temples, which are mostly hidden from the public save for the one built next to the day god’s; as a means to get away from the outside world. They hold small festivals where they dance in honor of Jamil.

There’s a couple tales that say Jamil wasn’t the only person born of the sand. They say that a few years later, a girl was born from the sands like he was. Jamil never answered questions regarding these tales but never directly denied them either.

Want to know the truth of these tales? Guess the only way to find out is to gain his favor. Spoiler: that’s gonna be a pain in the ass

#twisted wonderland imagines #vil schoenheit #twst vil #twst hcs #twst headcanons #malleus draconia #twst malleus #twst imagines #twisted wonderland headcanons #jamil viper #twst jamil #twisted wonderland x reader #twst x reader

[lierrelearns]

安養寺（倒蓮華寺） 浄土宗西山禅林寺派に属する寺である。由緒はきわめて古く、寛仁二年（一O一八）恵心僧都が奈良県當麻に建てた蓮台院が当寺の起こりで、次いて恵心の妹安養尼が居住して安養寺と改名した。天永年間（三O頃）隆暹が京都に移し、鎌倉時代に入って証仏が大いに寺連をひろめた。天正年間一五八〇頃)豊臣秀吉によってこの地に移された。本尊は阿弥陀如来立像で、八枚の蓮華を逆さに置いた上に立っているのが特徴で、このことから倒蓮華寺と呼ばれる。伝説によれば、本尊をつくる際、連座がとうしても壊れるので、蓮華を逆さにしたところ、無事完成した。これは女人は業が深く、心の蓮華はさかさまとなっていて極楽往生できないので、これを救済するため、わざと蓮華を逆さにしたのだといわれる。この本尊にまつれる伝説によって、昔から特に女性の信仰が深い。　京都市

Anyo Temple (Face-Down Lotus Flower Temple) This temple, which has a very long history, belongs to the Jodo sect Seizan Zenrinji faction of Buddhism. Its origins date to the year 1018, when Eshin, a Buddhist monk, built Rendai Temple in Taima, Nara. Anyo, a Buddhist nun, and Eshin’s sister changed the name of the temple to Anyo temple, when she took up residence in the temple. Around 1110, Ryusen relocated the temple to Kyoto. In the Kamakura period (1185-1333), Shobutsu brought great prosperity to the temple. Around 1580, Toyotomi Hideyoshi relocated the temple to its present location. The statue of a standing Amitabha Tathagata is the central icon of this temple. One of the major characteristics of this statue is that it stands on 8 faced-down lotus flowers. Due to this characteristic, this temple has been called Face-down Lotus Flower Temple. According to the legend, the creators of this statue were unable to complete a lotus stand for this statue since the stand kept falling apart. Consequently, they carved the lotus flowers of the stand face down. In so doing, they were successful in completing the statue. It is also said that they made the lotus flowers of the stand face down to save females who were too sinful to enter paradise, as the lotus flowers in their hearts were face down. Owing to this legend, this temple has many female worshippers. Kyoto City

Vocab 安養寺 （あんようじ）Anyo Temple 倒蓮華寺 （さかれんげじ）Sakarenge Temple 浄土宗 （じょうどしゅう）Jodo/Pure Land sect (of Buddhism) 西山派 （せいざんぜんりんは）Seizan sec (of Pure Land Buddhism) 禅林 （ぜんりん）Zen temple 属する （ぞくする）to belong to, be affiliated with 由緒 （ゆいしょ）history, pedigree, lineage 極めて （きわめて）exceedingly, extremely 寛仁 （かんにん）Kanin era (4/23/1017-2.2.1021) 僧都 （そうず）Buddhist priest 當麻 （たいま）Taima 当寺 （とうじ）this temple 起こり （おこり）source, origin, beginning 次ぐ （��ぐ）to follow, come after, come next 尼 （あま）Buddhist nun 居住 （きょじゅう）residence, abode, dwelling 改名 （かいめい）name change 天永 （てんえい）Ten’ei era (7/13/1110-7/13/1113) 隆暹 （りゅうせん）Ryusen 鎌倉時代 （かまくらじだい）Kamakura period 証仏 （しょうぶつ）enlightened buddha 大いに （おおいに）very much, considerably, a great deal 天正 (てんしょう) Tensho era (7.28.1573-12.8.1592) 豊臣秀吉 (とよとみひでよし) Toyotomi Hideyoshi 本尊 (ほんぞん) principal object of worship at a temple 阿弥陀如来 (あみだにょらい) Amitabha Tathagara 立像 (りつぞう) standing statue, image 枚 (まい) counter for flat things 蓮華 (れんげ) lotus flower 逆さ (さかさ) inverted, upside down, reversed 倒 means the same as above in this context 伝説 (でんせつ) legend, folklore 連座 (れんざ) lotus seat (under Buddhist statues) 壊れる (こわれる) to break, fall apart 無事 (ぶじ) safely, without incident 女人 (にょにん) woman 業 (ごう) karma, result of one's karma 極楽往生 (ごくらくおうじょう) rebirth in paradise, peaceful death 救済 (きゅうさい) (religious) salvation わざと deliberately, intentionally まつる to pray, worship 信仰 (しんこう) (religious) faith, belief

#日本語 #japanese language #japanese vocabulary #Japanese langblr #Kyoto #Japan #Buddhism #Japanese history #日本 #京京都 #日本歴史 #仏教

[infraaa]

Hi ^_^ LITERALLY JUST ANYTHING LOTUS DRAGON I DONT CARE WHAT IT IS IM GONNA START VIOLENTLY FOAMING AT THE MOUTH I LOVE THEM SO MUCH, thank uuu 😋

『you just gave me a looooot of power…. normally I would go back and ask for the reader’s pronouns but,,, ill let it slide just once 🤭』

𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐇𝐎𝐍-𝐉𝐈

lotus dragonxgn!reader (non descriptive— pronouns not set)

baker’s notes // this is actually inspired off of the ruined temple in Japan by the same name. You can find an article about Shihon-ji here if you wanna keep reading about it. This was fun to do, thank you loves!

Who knew what perfection amongst ruins could clash the way they do?

You, a simple historian, have been everywhere. From the heat of the hot sands, to the coolness of the cacao kingdom, all in search of historical remnants worthy of study. You would walk the ends of earthbread to find something truly remarkable, and every time you did you would gain a giddy feeling in your chest You we’re sitting with some of the locals of a new location you were visiting one day, sharing a cup of finely brewed tea. Elders sat at the table with you, recounting an old fable that they were taught as children. You listened intently to their words, wanting to grasp this opportunity to see a landmark that struck history in these gorgeous lands.

The Lotus Paradise was a cooler land akin to a fine zen like marsh, filled with lily pads adorning the most beautiful flowers, croaking frogs and the cleanest of lake water. The air was cool and crisp, smelling slightly of freshly bloomed wildflowers and a perfume lingered in the air… something fresh, yet not very recognizable, not even to a local.

Being told of a distant prefecture some ways away from the legendary Lotus Palace, you were told of a temple that was the resting place of revered poets. You gasped in excitement, and prepared immediately to set out to locate this said temple. In kind, the elders you were acquainted with gave you a boat to sail on through the waters of these lands so you wouldn’t tarnish your already crisp crust. And off you went, with the boat in kind you gave them fair for their generosity, and they waved you off on your expedition across the Lotus Paradise.

A tape recorder in hand, and a backpack at your feet on this meek, yet strong boat, you calmly floated through the clean clear water, looking around at all the lush plant life and trees that coated the evergreen ground. Even for a lake it wasn’t humid, it was just right as a breeze gathered in your hair, making you smile and take in the scenery. Not so far off you saw a few signs amongst some of the trees to your east. This drew your curiosity, and through the croaking frogs you were able to find a small yet withered dock, setting your boat to rest there. You took your compass out of your pocket and took to walking, the thick grass reaching your ankles, slightly coated with dew from days prior. Following the signs with Japanese print, eroded away and chipped by the rainy days of centuries passing by, you came across the temple… except the temple was… destroyed.

All that remained of a once great temple was two columns of wood, connecting a third at the top, and a wooden sign at the bottom. The rest of the wood and other supplies used to make this temple were nowhere in sight. This was the temple they were talking about? You crouched to get a better look at the sign. It used to be well polished as it sat there on the ground amongst loose twigs and leaves. The wood was chipped, you could see the patches of polish still trying to cling onto the wood as though it was loyal to it ever since they met during creation. The kanji, 藤原清輔家集、albeit withered, still clung to the wood in faded black ink, engraved for all eternity. The same kanji was found on a stone tablet leaning against a nearby tree.

Suddenly, amongst the light breeze you heard the soft sounds of the strumming strings of a mandolin. You looked over your shoulder to see a large flat rock by some trees, and positioned on the rock was a beautiful cookie, strumming their mandolin with steady darkened teal fingers, clean nails gracing the strings with each pluck and caress. They smiled softly, enjoying the sense of peace. Pearly white sleeves hung loose on their arms, as sea blue hair decorated their lily adorned head. They suddenly looked to you, stopping their movements. With a gentle smile they blinked towards you. It was the Lotus Dragon themselves, motioning for you to come greet them.

You slowly walked to the gentle dragon and bowed in respect. “Your Grace,” you whispered amongst the trees. The leaves could make anything echo outward with a small gust of wind. You had to be careful. To be seen in such a place with such a cookie— no, with the ruler of the Lotus Paradise… that would mean tragedy for your morale. “Might I ask what brings you here?” The dragon’s sea blue reptilian pupils fixed on you in a bid of focus, curiosity lingering on their perfect features. “I was drawn here because of a historical artifact. I wanted to check it out for my records.” They nodded, and with a gentle huff they slithered off of their rock, moving towards the abandoned temple with earnest. “This temple here?” The dragon attempted to confirm, which allowed you to answer with a quiet nod of your head. You followed the dragon with a curious twinge in your step. They smiled and looked to you, looking over their clean shoulder. Sweeping shiny hair from their face, they held their kimono sleeve with a steady hand. “Indulge in me for a moment.” You nodded, wondering what the dragon was about to reveal.

“A long time ago, when dragons ruled these lands with iron wings,” the dragon started slithering towards one of the columns of the temple, “there was a family that lived here in these forests. The Kukonomi clan, as they were referred to, was known to be one of the most prestigious artistic clans of their time, and they would often gather and drink tea, soft floral wines, and recite poetry here. Here, where this wooden plaque sits, lies one of the poets, named Kukonomi no Hitomaro, and was revered within this focal point as a veneration, that being this temple, as a god of poetry. Unfortunately,” they took a moment to catch a breath, sliding over to the other column and taking it with sharp nails, being ever so careful of the eroded marks, “in the middle of the Dark Flour War, an army of the north took refuge here and often fought off Southern forces. However this resting spot was never it’s true location. This temple was relocated here out of respect to the Kukonomi clan, and these grounds were taken into the care of many other poets along it’s time, and was later abandoned at the start of the Peace Era, after the war.” You looked to the dragon with amazement as they told this tale, recording it secretly on your tape recorder for further documentation. Your arm tensed behind your back, causing them to smile upon noticing this bodily function.

“What do you think, little one?” Lotus asked, slithering over to you with curiosity. Really what they were trying to do was get a hold of your tape recorder without making it obvious. You giggled nervously, yet excitedly at the actions of the dragon and put your free hand to your cheek. “What a wonderful story, great dragon. You surely are packed with knowledge.” They chuckled and swept you from your feet, making you yelp with surprise, dropping your tape recorder on the ground beneath the two of you. Putting you down, they picked up your tape recorder with a graceful bow. The looked at the small device in their hand as they once again chuckled lowly under their breath. They pressed a little red button at the top, stopping the tape recorder from taking in any more audio into its tapes. You suddenly felt your face rush red with fresh jam as your hand shot up in nervousness, “I’m sorry, great dragon, I didn’t mean to-“ “Now now, calm down little one.” You stopped, and looked to the dragon with wide eyes. “If this helps you understand the Lotus Paradise’s lush history, then I will permit this.” You smiled thankfully as they handed you back your tape recorder, and in taking it you bowed deeply at their mercy. “Thank you, oh great dragon, for sparing me.” They laughed at you, and waved a hand. “You’re too delightful, rise, little cookie.”

They soon sent you off after spending time with them, sitting with them on their chosen rock amongst lush trees and patchy yet somehow evergreen grass. They strummed their mandolin, humming softly in your company, sometimes adding words to their melodies. And when the time came, the sun setting on the fresh horizon, they send you back on your boat, back to the main village closer to the Lotus Palace, with the elders and the other common folk, before muttering to themselves,

“And furthermore, little one… you can call me Lotus.”

#infrawrites #infradelivers #cookie run kingdom #cookie run overbreak #crob x reader #crk x reader #lotus dragon cookie #cookie run #crob #x reader #platonic