#&&. ❛ VERSE ❪ conquer from within . ❫

[hyvyinjie]

hi! Can I ask for a headcannon about Minamoto teru x childhood friend reader? Where teru is really over protective and gentle towards the reader. Reader is a lazy person, and often sleepy, the things he likes are reading comics and playing game in their phone. They also refuses teru's invitation to join the student council. Thank you! :)

why of course! it’d be an honor to grant such an ask. apologies for taking quite a while to do so—though i hope my work meets your expectations, wonderful nonie!<3

—LOST IN THE HAZE OF YOUR DREAMSCAPE.

featuring ; minamoto teru & you as our star.

+ small akane & aoi mentions.

ah, minamoto teru; the very embodiment of perfection—as he was hailed and as he carried himself with utter conviction.

a master of powers, a paragon of academic prowess, and a maestro in all things extraordinary. could there be anything he did not conquer?

yet, his persona, a labyrinth of complexities, as if harboring a multitude of souls within his very being.

now, here you arrive in his peculiar life—meeting with the intricacies of his existence.

when your paths converged, it ignited a tempestuous collision, a clash of peculiar forces.

initially, your mere presence held no sway over him. in truth, he perceived you as an encumbrance, burdened by your languid nature. for he, a relentless pursuer of flawlessness, demanded nothing less.

but lo and behold. fate—that cunning trickster—wove its intricate threads, meticulously mending the frayed tapestry of your connection.

through the passage of time, a tapestry of happenstance encounters and the subsequent flourishing of interactions—a nascent camaraderie took root. he slowly, but surely grew attuned to your idiosyncrasies, harmonizing with your rhythm. while the power to surmount every obstacle at your side eludes him still, he persists, striving to offer his utmost.

oh please have mercy on this young man—forever enmeshed in the whirlwind of his exorcist duties. and yet, even amidst the chaos, his devotion knows no bounds when it comes to those he holds dear.

one might assume that quality time would be sacrificed for the trivial, but fear not, for you found yourself on the fortunate side—the one he’d willingly carved out moments to be with.

initially, your encounters were fleeting, brief snippets of time. however, as the sands of time trickled down, these fragments transformed into meticulously planned sleepovers. he meticulously orchestrated these occasions, ensuring they did not encroach upon his demanding schedule.

your bond thrived during these cozy gatherings, or tranquil rendezvous, where he wholeheartedly immersed himself in your passions—comics and video games.

though not extensively versed in these realms, one might imagine that you—with your infectious enthusiasm to the field—was the catalyst for his exploration and understanding of the realm of entertainment. this was evidenced by the gradual increase in invitations to game nights and his newfound willingness to engage in discussions about captivating narratives. perhaps, you both even exchanged recommendations for comics, as kindred spirits often do.

as the both of you and the world grew older—it became evident that he honed his social skills; presenting himself as a complete package. every aspect of his being held an irresistible allure, captivating the hearts of women, and even some fellow men. many yearned and openly expressed their desire to be the chosen one by his side.

however, even amidst the clamoring crowd, his gaze remained steadfastly fixed upon you.

of course, as the old adage goes; with great power comes great responsibility—the price of his popularity gradually revealed itself.

certain students, teetering on the edge of obsession, noticed the distinct tenderness he displayed towards you, surpassing his general kindness towards all. seizing upon this perceived vulnerability, they occasionally resorted to devious methods, seeking to eliminate you from the equation, taking advantage of moments when slumber claimed you.

naturally, he swiftly uncovered their plot, intervening before they could execute their nefarious intentions.

needless to say, the number of such audacious attempts dwindled significantly. what exactly he did to deter them remains a mystery known only to him and his would-be victims.

still, worried that the possibility of a recurrence and his absence to intervene, he took it upon himself to practically implore—some might even say beg—you to join the student council. this would ensure that he, or even akane if needed, could keep a watchful eye over you with greater ease.

however, true to your nature, you steadfastly rebuffed each futile attempt to persuade you. despite his persistent efforts, you remained resolute in your refusal.

eventually, your golden boy relented, recognizing that his endeavors were in vain…but that was just because he found an alternative solution.

he encouraged—forced—akane to be the one to look after you discreetly whenever he couldn’t. only choosing to partially reveal his intentions to avoid alarming you at the time, as you were unfamiliar with akane’s existence.

or so it had been until he observed that you and the school’s vice president shared a rather unique bond.

although akane would occasionally scold you for being so excessively somnolent, mistaking it for you being irresponsible, hence, occasionally comparing you to the greatness of his lady aoi—teru—ever vigilant and mindful of akane’s every interaction with you, ensured that his usual brutal tendencies were significantly tempered. still—it remained a part of the deputy’s essence, defining his very being, just albeit subdued in your presence.

it could be surmised that akane once attempted to tease—or rather, foolishly inquire, about teru’s subtle yet perceptible shifts in behavior whenever you were involved.

“it’s almost as if you like them.”

in an almost immediate reaction—the president paused, slowly turning his head to gaze at akane, a shadow casting a smile that concealed the upper portion of his closed eyes.

the ginger-haired vice executive, feeling an ominous presence despite the absence of visible eyes, found himself sweating profusely as he cautiously added,

“—to the point where anyone could mistake you for family!"

sensing the gravity of his words, akane mentally vowed to never broach the subject again. he restrained himself from ever mentioning it whenever he witnessed the two of you together.

curiosity gnawed at you as you noticed his all-knowing gaze transform into one of horror whenever you turned your head, as if peering behind you; at none other than the pretty blonde himself, who seemed to be doing nothing wrong, merely proven to have been innocently smiling the whole time, or so he put up whenever you looked back at him.

oblivious to the truth, you always dismissed it as ‘akane’s peculiar moments of ptsd flashbacks’ whenever he saw teru.

however, let me share a little secret with you.

did you know the true reason behind teru’s death stare? no? well, do you wanna know?

then do allow me to spill it for you.

it was simply because akane, using the keyword; "like," insinuated that teru had a ‘liking-only level’ romantic feeling for you. the misconception provoked such a reaction from teru, for he wanted to correct that statement because he loved you, not just liked you.

seriously, can’t people let him finish what he’s saying?

[talonabraxas]

Green Tara Matrix Talon Abraxas

Green Tara Prayer

21 Praises of Tara

The 21 Praises of Tara is a series of verses that honor the 21 manifestations of Tara, each with specific attributes and benefits. These praises celebrate Tara’s various aspects, from providing protection to granting wisdom and compassion.

Verse 1: Swift and Heroic Tara (Nyurma Pamo)

"Homage to you, Tara, swift heroine, Your eyes like a flash of lightning, Your water-born face arises from the blooming lotus Of Avalokitesvara, protector of the three worlds."

Verse 2: White Tara (Yangchen Drolma)

"Homage to you, Tara, whose face is like One hundred full moons in autumn, Radiant with the dazzling light Of a thousand stars."

Verse 3: Golden Tara (Sönam Tobche)

"Homage to you, Tara, born from a golden-blue lotus, Your hands adorned with lotus flowers, You who are the embodiment of giving, joy, effort, Calm, asceticism, patience, and meditation."

Verse 4: Tara Who Dispels All Fears (Dudsol Dakyi Drolma)

"Homage to you, Tara, who crowns all Buddhas, Whose actions are endless, Who has attained every perfection, On whom the Bodhisattvas rely."

Verse 5: Tara Who Bestows Supreme Virtue (Jigten Sumle Gyälma)

"Homage to you, Tara, who fills the realms of desire, Form, and space with your splendor, You who have attained the pure essence Of the realm of non-attachment."

Verse 6: Tara Who Bestows Auspiciousness (Tashi Donje)

"Homage to you, Tara, adored by Indra, Agni, Brahma, Vayu, and Ishvara, And praised by the assembly of spirits, Raised corpses, and all yakshas."

Verse 7: Tara Who Dispels Darkness (Rabzhima)

"Homage to you, Tara, whose TRAT and PHAT Destroy entirely the magical wheels of others. With your right leg bent and left outstretched and pressing, You burn intensely within a whirl of fire."

Verse 8: Tara Who Brings Forth Light (Jigje Chenmo)

"Homage to you, Tara, the great fearful one, Whose letter TURE destroys the mighty demons completely, Who with a wrathful expression on your water-born face Slay all enemies without an exception."

Verse 9: Tara Who Accomplishes Goals (Tsugtor Namgyalma)

"Homage to you, Tara, whose fingers adorn your heart With the gesture of the sublime precious three; Adorned with a wheel striking all directions without exception With the totality of your own rays of light."

Verse 10: Tara Who Dispels Suffering (Sengdeng Nagchi Drolma)

"Homage to you, Tara, whose radiant crown ornament, Joyful and magnificent, extends a garland of light, And who, by your laughter of TUTTARA, Conquers all demons and gods of the world."

Verse 11: Tara Who Eliminates All Poison (Drolma Nyurma Pamo)

"Homage to you, Tara, who are able to invoke The entire assembly of local protectors, Whose wrathful expression fiercely shakes, Rescuing the impoverished through the letter HUNG."

Verse 12: Tara Who Provides Prosperity (Drolma Pagme Nyingje)

"Homage to you, Tara, whose crown is adorned With the crescent moon, wearing ornaments abundantly, You who have the potential to give The entire activity of the Buddha, with your two eyes."

Verse 13: Tara Who Averts War and Disputes (Drolma Magyalma)

"Homage to you, Tara, who dwells within a blazing garland That resembles the fire at the end of this world age; Surrounded by joy, you sit with your right leg extended And left withdrawn, completely destroying all the masses of enemies."

Verse 14: Tara Who Brings Rejoicing (Drolma Jigten Wangchugma)

"Homage to you, Tara, with your hand on the ground by your side, Pressing your heel and stamping your foot on the earth; With a wrathful glance from your eyes you subdue All seven levels through the syllable HUNG."

Verse 15: Tara Who Grants Long Life (Drolma Yullama)

"Homage to you, Tara, O happy, virtuous, and peaceful one, The very object of practice, passed beyond sorrow. You are perfectly endowed with SOHA and OM, Overcoming completely all the great evils."

Verse 16: Tara Who Removes All Obstructions (Drolma Jigten Sumle Gyalma)

"Homage to you, Tara, surrounded by the joyous ones, You completely subdue the bodies of all enemies; Your speech is adorned with the ten syllables, And you rescue all through the knowledge-letter HUNG."

Verse 17: Tara Who Protects From All Fears (Drolma Jigje Chempo)

"Homage to you, Tara, stamping your feet and proclaiming TURE. Your seed-syllable itself in the aspect of HUNG Causes Meru, Mandara, and the Vindhya mountains And all the three worlds to tremble and shake."

Verse 18: Tara Who Gives Joy and Strength (Drolma Sengdeng Nagchi Drolma)

"Homage to you, Tara, who holds in your hand The hare-marked moon like the celestial ocean. By uttering TARA twice and the letter PHAT You dispel all poisons without an exception."

Verse 19: Tara Who Dispels All Sorrow (Drolma Jigje Chenmo)

"Homage to you, Tara, upon whom the kings of the assembled gods, The gods themselves, and all kinnaras rely; Whose magnificent armor gives joy to all, You who dispel all disputes and bad dreams."

Verse 20: Tara Who Brings Complete Victory (Drolma Yullama)

"Homage to you, Tara, whose two eyes are like The purest sun and full moon, You who by uttering HARA twice and TUTTARA Dispels all violent epidemic disease."

Verse 21: Tara Who Is Beyond Suffering (Drolma Jigje Chenmo)

"Homage to you, Tara, adorned by the three suchnesses, Perfectly endowed with the power of serenity, You who destroy the host of evil spirits, raised corpses, and yakshas, O TURE, most exalted and sublime!"

[bones4thecats]

Why is no other Transformers: Prime account writing about this guy?

Spoilers for: Transformers Prime; Predacons Rising

As everyone should know if they understand the basics of the Transformers franchise, they know the two main characters for both sides of the war.

As the series progressed, the main antagonist, that being Megatron, was shown to be a very despicable and horrendous. But, while he was far more shown, there was another antagonist hiding behind the scenes and actions of the warlord.

That being Unicron, the embodiment of everything evil in Cybertronian mythology (I guess...?)

In One Shall Rise; Part 3, which is season 1's 26th episode, it is highlighted that while the dark energon was just previously laid within his spark, he could reanimate hundreds of fallen soldiers inside of the Earth from the years past.

This is also shown to partially happen far ahead in the series, specifically in the film (Transformers: Prime ; Beast Hunters - Predacons Rising), that while Unicron possessed his body, his optics (or eyes) would begin to emit a fog-like substance which was colored the same kind of purple as dark energon.

Now, after the whole battling Unicron and wondering of Megatron is possibly existing inside of his body, Team Prime eventually gets the Destroyer of World's anti-spark stuck inside of the machine that once held the spark of Primus' inside throughout the war.

It is shown from Starscream assisting the once-again-revived mech up from the ground that Megatron once again has been revived. Most likely from the extreme amount of dark energon, which is known to revive beings from death.

And when Starscream tried to convince Megatron that they could now conquer Cybertron with little resistance against their opponents, the Autobots, you could tell that he was tried and kinda wore out, since earlier it was shown that he was being tortured by Unicron while trapped inside of his own mind-scape.

The next verse, which is straightly quoted from the film, it shows the main meaning of this post;

" Your new battle armor will take things to the next level, my Liege. Together we will reunite all Decepticons and once again grind Cybertron under your mighty heel- " -> Starscream " No! " -> Megatron " What? Why? " -> Starscream " Because I now know the true meaning of oppression and have thus lost my taste for inflicting it. " -> Megatron " You've clearly been traumatized, Master. A good power-down and a stroll around the smelting pit will put you back in touch with your inner warlord. " -> Starscream " Enough! The Decepticons are no more and that is final. " -> Megatron

When I first watching this just the other day, I was shell-shocked. I knew that at some point that he had disbanded the Decepticons, but not in this way.

Honestly, when he was exiled by his own mind ordering him to do so was something that made me go: Is he really that bad of a character here?

I believe that instead of focusing on him while he was possessed, we need some pieces of the Reader approaching him after his exile and just trying to be very helpful with his obvious trauma. It just sounds amazing to me. If you write something like that, do please tag me in it so I can read it!

[inocennt]

in your own words, describe the story suburban legends is trying to convey

aaaa i'm so sorry it's taken me literal months to answer this 😭 this is just such a Fascinating song and i realized i did not have many pointed thoughts on it at the time, so i wanted to properly sit down and try dissecting it and put as many thoughts as i could into it

On its own, I think Suburban Legends tells a story sort of similar to imgonnagetyouback: this sort of undefined, on-again off again relationship that is sort of romanticized within the narrator's mind as being a "quest" to conquer. imgonnagetyouback feels like it has more history to its story, while Suburban Legends feels a bit newer and rawer, but ultimately, I think the gist of their arcs is similar.

I will admit, I don't particularly find this general interpretation of Suburban Legends to be all that interesting to me just on its own. However, I am extremely obsessed with how many lyrical and thematic parallels there are to other songs--especially to ones written after 1989. A few days before TTPD came out, I made a playlist chronicling a narrative that (at the time lol) I felt might be relevant to fathoming what we might hear about in TTPD. I also wrote up a breakdown of said playlist, because even though it included like 4 hours worth of songs, I made it in large part because I could not stop thinking about the sheer amount of parallels between Suburban Legends. I break them all down there, but some of my favorite ones are:

"You were so magnetic, it was almost obnoxious" vs "your magnetic field" and "it's gravity keeping you with me," in addition to this general idea of magnetism in the first verse also paralleling the themes of songs like Invisible String, Glitch, and Willow

"I didn't come here to make friends" vs "I don't want you like a best friend" and other friends-to-lovers type lyrics that tie into the magnetism theme ("I hate accidents except when we went from friends to this," "We were supposed to be just friends")

"I broke my own heart cause you were too polite to do it" vs "I broke his heart cause he was nice" and "I pushed you to the edge, but you were too polite to leave me"

The second verse using the setting of high school as a metaphor for becoming a public power couple trying vs the high school metaphors/setting of Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince and the Folklore trilogy

These parallels (among many of the others that are a bit too intertwined in the playlist to break down here lol) are a big part of what compels me about Suburban Legends in the context of her discography post-1989. It feels like it slots perfectly into the relationship breakdown that preludes TTPD, specifically in how it echoes the same sort of nature of how the relationship came together in Reputation and Lover. This sort of cat and mouse, will we or won't we undertone of behavior, coupled with an underlying sense of this inevitable, fated pull. We were born to be suburban legends. Our mismatched star signs would surprise the whole school. You were so magnetic it was almost obnoxious. Somehow, this was always destined to happen.

And that makes considering the ending of this song all the more interesting.

Because there's a sort of Cardigan-like premonition running throughout the entire song. You kiss me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever. I broke my own heart cause you were too polite to do it. You don't knock anymore, and I always knew it, that my life would be ruined. All of these feel very "I knew everything when I was young" to me. Which is definitely apt for this song; "suburban legends" as a concept in and of itself plays on the idea of an "urban legend," a form of modern folklore. They are propagated via word of mouth and the waves of popular culture, not tangible, scientific proof--which again highlights the inevitability of the central relationship. (Small additional side note about "urban legends;" though not all of them are inherently based around horror and the supernatural, those are still very common themes of many well-known urban legends. Which, taken in conjunction with how she is positing her relationship with this person as being a "suburban" legend, draws an implicit line between the gossip regarding their relationship, and the horror undertones of urban legends, indicating that there is some sort of component about the relationship which is to be feared. Which just! Food for thought next to songs like The Albatross, Blank Space, Slut, etc)

Ultimately, that Cardigan-like premonition isn't enough to deter the narrator from pursuing this relationship. Despite this story ending with her leaving, despite this only being a temporary moment in time and not something that would last forever, she still sought to pursue it. Because as depicted in the second verse, her fantasies about what could be consume her so fully, she is incapable of letting it go, even though she is well aware that she will likely be "screwed up forever." She simply cannot let any "what if?" come to pass. Which is just the quintessential theme of so much her discography, truly, and why TTPD ultimately became the powder keg that it is.

And if I may go on a bit of a self-indulgent diversion for a moment.... I once again must highlight how this feels like an evolution of the aftermath of the Speak Now narrative, and how the impact of those experiences affect the narrator's choices and behavior in the aftermath. Though I've been going insane about how well you can use Suburban Legends to analyze and enhance that storyline of Reputation through TTPD, I also think there's room for interpreting it in the opposite direction, and seeing how it reflects the mindset of the narrator at the time of Speak Now/Red:

"You had people who called you on unmarked numbers in my peripheral vision. I let it slide like a hose on slippery plastic summer, all was quickly forgiven" vs songs like Foolish One, Superman, Babe, Girl At Home; calling back to themes of infidelity/lack of commitment on the part of the muse, and the narrator's tendency to forgive and forget in the face of being personally hurt (you could also thematically tie Innocent into this, of course).

"You were so magnetic it was almost obnoxious, flushed with the currency of cool. I was always turning out my empty pockets." vs songs like Dear John, The Story of Us, Foolish One, Treacherous, All Too Well, I Almost Do; connecting directly to the prior themes of forgiveness and calling back to that running theme of being so completely taken in by someone that it feels like fate, or a gravitational pull. Comparing the muse to something rich and out of reach ("flush with the currency of cool") in opposition to her ("my empty pockets") in order to highlight how unaligned they are vs the age/experience/maturity gap explored in Dear John, Foolish One, and All Too Well.

The entire second verse being her living in a fantasy of being able to be a public relationship with this person, specifically in part because she gets to spite everyone who doubted her ("our mismatched star signs would surprise the whole school") vs Ours.

"You'd be more than a chapter in my old diaries with the pages ripped out" vs Foolish One and Superman, and the distance she depicts between her and the subject of those songs in contrast to the relationship she wants with them; the way the reality of the diary in Suburban Legends contrasts with the fantasy of the class reunion, and also how the association of a diary with childhood contrasts with the association of a class reunion as something attended by adults later in life. The way this yearning for a fantasy out of reach and pairing childhood with the yearning for adulthood is simultaneously depicted in Foolish One (and later, The Manuscript): "Maybe someday when we're older, this is something we'll laugh about over coffee every morning while you're watching the news."

"I know that you still remember [...] when you told me we'd get back together, and you kissed me in a way that's gonna screw me up forever" vs, once again Foolish One. And also the implications of "I know that you still remember" vs All Too Well.

This was a very broad spiel because I am completely incapable of ever doing anything succinctly, lmao. But ultimately, I think that Suburban Legends' story is generally straightforward on its surface. To me, it's a song about being consumed by the best possible fantasies presented to you by a relationship and indulging in them despite the shaky foundation of the dynamic. To me, it's shaking hands with songs like Treacherous, IKYWT, I Can Fix Him, etc. in how it depicts a scenario of someone seeing the red flags in a relationship, but choosing to pursue it anyway, because being haunted by the "what if" would hurt more than the actual pain of the relationship ending.

Because at least that's something she knows will happen. At least that's something she's in control of. This time.

[thelovelygods]

While reading this week’s Torah portion of Ekev in the book of Deuteronomy, I was reminded of a conversation I once had with a friend in Israel. The friend, an Israeli physician, told me of a strange experience. He had gone to Madrid, he said, for a medical conference, in the course of which he made the acquaintance of a Spanish colleague, a Madrileño. During a break in the proceedings, his new acquaintance suggested showing him the nearby Catedral de la Almudena, the city’s largest Catholic church, to which my friend gladly agreed. As they entered the cathedral, the Spanish doctor crossed himself and muttered something under his breath. Afterwards, my friend asked him what he had said.

“Oh,” was the answer, “just some words that my family always says when we enter a church.”

“What are they?” asked my friend.

The Spanish doctor was embarrassed. “They’re not really Spanish,” he said.

“But what are they?” my friend persisted.

“They’re sakes sakenu taeb tabenu,” said the doctor. “Just don’t ask me what they mean, because I don’t know. I was taught to say them as a child and I do.”

“Odd, isn’t it?” commented my friend as he finished the story.

Something clicked in my head. “Suppose I told you what those words meant,” I said.

“Suppose you did,” said my friend.

Which brings us to the Torah portion of Ekev.

Ekev, like much of the last part of Deuteronomy, looks both backward and forward, speaking of what the Israelites, who are about to conquer the land of Canaan, have experienced so far and of what God expects of them in the future. Regarding Canaan’s idolatrous inhabitants, they are told by Moses in chapter 7:

The graven images of their gods shall ye burn with fire, . . . for they are an abomination to the Lord thy God. Neither shalt thou bring an abomination [to’evah] into thine house, lest thou be under the ban like it; but thou shalt utterly detest it and thou shalt utterly abominate it, for it is a cursed thing.

Strong words! And, from verse 26, what is “thou shalt utterly detest it and thou shalt utterly abominate it” in the Bible’s Hebrew? Shakets t’shaktsenu v’ta’ev t’ta’avenu—the very same sakes sakenu taeb tabenu of the Spanish doctor!

There are many stories about Spaniards, as well as Latin Americans and Hispanics in the American Southwest, practicing strange customs that are, unbeknownst to them, relics of Jewish life from the period of the Spanish Inquisition and before. Rarely, though, have I encountered one as remarkable. Just think of it. A Jewish family in Inquisitorial Spain converts to Catholicism under duress while continuing to observe Judaism in secret. To keep its neighbors from suspecting its conversion of being a ruse, it regularly attends church services, which causes it shame and guilt for betraying its ancestral religion. There is one thing it can do, however, to ease its conscience. Each time it enters a church, it whispers shakets t’shaktsenu veta’ev t’ta’avenu, “Thou shalt utterly detest it and thou shalt utterly abominate it,” thereby proclaiming its loyalty to Judaism and letting God know that it is acting under protest and has not forgotten His commandment in the Torah portion of Ekev.

Time goes by. The years pass. At some point—who knows if it was sooner or later, within a generation or two or only after centuries?—the descendants of the converted family become sincere Catholics who no longer remember their Jewish roots. When they now cross themselves upon stepping into a church, they do so in piety and reverence. Yet one thing has remained with them: the mysterious words they were taught by their parents to say at the church door. They no longer pronounce these words correctly. They no longer know what they mean. They would be shocked if they did know, for they naturally assume them to be an affirmation, in a cryptic language they do not understand, of their Catholic belief. Sakes sakenu taeb tabenu: a devout Catholic family’s heirloom declaration of faith!

Remarkable!

And yet the Jewish ancestors of our Madrid physician were far from unique in associating the verse in Ekev with Christian houses of worship. In the Middle Ages, especially in medieval Spain, to’evah or bet-to’evah, a “house of abomination,” was a common Hebrew term for a church, a usage that survived in some places into modern times, as it did in Judeo-Italian.

Here is a passage from the celebrated author Primo Levi in an essay on the Jewish speech of the Piedmont, his native home, in the early years of the 20th century. Concerning “the few terms that allude [in this speech] to things pertaining to the Catholic faith,” Levi wrote that “the originally Hebraic form [of the words in question] is corrupted much more profoundly [than in other cases] . . . because comprehension by Gentiles would have entailed the danger of being charged with sacrilege. . . . The church (Catholic) was called tônevà, a word whose origins I have not been able to reconstruct, and which probably takes from Hebrew only its sound.”

Levi was wrong about tônevà, which is the Hebrew word to’evah with its pharyngeal ayin (indicated here by an apostrophe) nasalized into an “n,” as it commonly was in Judeo-Italian. (This phenomenon occurs, too, although more rarely, in East European Yiddish. Thus, for instance, the biblical name of Jacob, Hebrew Ya’akov, is Yankev in Yiddish, or in its affectionate form, Yankl.) Levi knew little Hebrew and clearly consulted no one who knew more. This was why he could also say, “Completely cryptic and indecipherable . . . is the term Odo, with which, when it was absolutely unavoidable, one alluded to Christ, lowering one’s voice and looking around with circumspection.” Cryptic, Odo may be. Indecipherable, it isn’t, since it comes from the Hebrew expression oto ish, “that man,” a circumlocution for Jesus found often in Jewish sources.

But Levi was right in pointing out how such words were meant to conceal Jewish feelings from Christians who might overhear them, just as were the words shakets t’shaktsenu v’ta’ev t’ta’avenu of our Spanish doctor’s forefathers. In the end, they succeeded so well that they concealed themselves even from those who still said them.

[bardic-tales]

Nurturing November: Day 14: Quotes and Sayings

Throughout this month, I’ll be sharing character-building exercises that I have completed that will bring out my ocs’ more tender sides. This can be anything from snippets to oc questions to character analysis.

“Strength lies in what we survive, not in what we conquer.”

"To love is to protect, even at the cost of oneself."

"Even in darkness, you can spark change."

"I fell in love with you because you loved me when I couldn’t love myself."

"I have sacrificed EVERYTHING for the one I loved. Can you say the same, Strife?" 👀

"Murder is an art. An art that I have become well-versed in."

"Sephiroth, my love for you isn't something I can put into simple words. It's a connection that defies explanation, one that's grown from the depths of our shared experiences. Your strength, your complexity, your unwavering determination—all of these facets of your character resonate with me on a profound level. I see the person you are beyond the surface, beyond the darkness that has surrounded you. It's not about perfection; it's about embracing the entirety of you. You've shown me glimpses of your true self, and I believe in the potential for growth and change within you. Loving you isn't a conscious decision—it's a part of who I am, a bond that's formed as we've faced the challenges together. You've become an integral part of my journey, and my love for you is woven into the very fabric of my being."

"You are no monster. You are a murder, yes. A bad man, yes. But you are not like those monsters in the tanks in the reactor. You aren't a monster."

[bipolarman2022]

The first to arrive did so discreetly, almost like shadows at dawn. They came from the East, descendants of an ancient Arab dynasty, wrapped in an aura of serenity and wisdom that seemed to defy time. They carried neither swords nor armies, raised no flags, nor delivered grand speeches. They simply arrived, and with them, an unusual calm began to spread across the Iberian Peninsula, like a soft breeze heralding a storm of change.

At first, people observed them with suspicion, keeping their distance, as if something about their presence challenged established certainties. Their gaze was different: deep, penetrating, capable of touching the innermost fibers of the soul. It was not a hostile or inquisitive look but one filled with ancient wisdom, silently inviting introspection. Little by little, those who dared meet the eyes of these travelers found themselves changed, as if something within them had awakened from a long, heavy slumber.

They sought neither confrontations nor conversions. They did not impose their faith, nor preached with the urgency of those who wish to conquer. They spoke of life with a simplicity that both puzzled and attracted. They mentioned Allah with a softness that seemed to resonate with the very pulses of the earth, as if the entire universe confirmed their words. “Everything in the world is part of Allah’s plan,” they said, and those who listened, initially out of mere courtesy, ended up nodding, captivated by the spiritual logic that emanated from their phrases.

At first, these encounters seemed insignificant, but gradually, like drops of water eroding stone, they left an indelible mark on the minds of the Spaniards. Initially, the conversations were sporadic and trivial, but they soon transformed into deep dialogues about the soul, death, the universe, and the purpose of life. The answers the Arabs offered were not wrapped in rigid dogmas but in a wisdom that seemed inherent to humanity itself.

The churches were not destroyed, as many had initially feared. Instead, they began to transform. Their tall towers echoed with the adhan, the call to prayer, while the bells continued to mark the passage of time. It was as if two worlds, once distant, had found an unexpected harmony. Cathedrals and mosques coexisted not as rivals but as reflections of a shared spiritual yearning.

Gradually, and without imposition or violence, the Spaniards began to pray. At first in secret, then in community. They did not do so out of obligation but because something within them demanded it. The verses of the Quran, read under the stars, seemed to answer questions that had gone unanswered for generations. The Arabic language began to flow naturally from their mouths, as if it had always been there, latent, waiting to be awakened.

The Arabs did not consider themselves superior. In fact, they rarely spoke of themselves. But there was something in their serenity, in their way of moving through the world, that inspired admiration. Their faces radiated a peace that seemed unattainable for others. Those who observed them couldn’t help but feel that these men were closer to something sacred, to a universal truth that everyone longed for but few could understand.

Over the years, Spain transformed. It was not a conquest, nor a forced conversion. It was an awakening. Islam did not arrive as an invader but as an echo of something that had always been there, waiting to be remembered. The faith unified the peninsula not through imposition but by offering answers that resonated deeply within people’s hearts.

For the Spaniards, embracing Islam was not an act of submission but a return to the essential, to a truth that seemed older than the mountains surrounding them. And so, without wars or bloodshed, Spain became a land of mosques and adhan, of peace and serenity.

The whisper of Allah had come to stay, bringing with it a new dawn. And with it, the hearts of an entire nation found the peace they had sought for centuries.

And in the end, under the stars shining over a transformed peninsula, someone asked softly:

“Was this our destiny from the beginning, or was it we who chose it?”

[lucky0stars]

Greetings, if i may, can i request a platonic headcanon for terra, aqua and riku with magic talented reader, who Was studying magic by themselves (and sometimes tutored by yensid) went to pass an exam for sorcery(and characters eent with them as an audience to cheer them on). Imagine their reaction that reader with literally no effort passed the exam, while other participants were struggling. "I thought that meant to be hard??"

Hey there!

I saw Exam for Sorcery and I had to hop on it! It’s always fun to write out spells and magic. I had a great time writing it and I hope you enjoy it!

**Exam for Sorcery**

Word count: 955

———————————————————

It’s the day that changed everything. Aqua was holding an exam to show off control over the magic in all its forms, and you found yourself on the edge of your seat all week. You were going to go up against some of the most powerful and intimidating Keyblade Wielders. But you were motivated, you were trained. And you were ready. Granted, you drew the short straw and would go last, didn’t change the fact that you were going to step with your best foot forward.

Terra approached his target with a nonchalant roll of his head along his thick shoulders, flexing out his arms and legs before casting out his arm and summoning to his hand his massive blade. He pulls his blade back and in a terrifying executioner’s swing, a torrent of ice is blasted out of the keyblade and shred through the dummy. Ventus and Roxas cheered on in surprise. Terra was a runner up for Master, he fought Master Xehanort and Vanitas, and his will to fight for his friends was so strong that he animated his own armor. Of course, he was powerful. Didn’t mean it wasn’t an impressive display nonetheless. 

Riku was next and within their right hand plumed and blossomed a Dark Firaga that shot out the palm of his hand and slammed against his target. The straw dummy bursts into flames, to the cheers of Sora and Kairi who begin cheering with excitement. Riku was one of the Keyblade’s chosen, conquered his own demons and found himself on the road to dawn, with control over the darkness in his body. It was admirable, and his strength in his darker power was evident in his equally strong display. 

“Alright, y/n,” Aqua’s voice spoke out and broke the fog of your mind. You straighten your stance and prepare to listen to the instructions of the master. She points over to the straw training dummy about two dozen feet away. Your hands tremble slightly, with your eyes focused on the task at hand. It was one thing to practice your technique and skill in the same fields and forest of your homeworld, or under the tutelage of the supreme sorcerer Yen Sid, it was another thing entirely to be performing your magic in front of a crowd of accomplished warriors and wizards. Especially so many that have been tried and tested in the field of battle. “Your turn to show us what you got.” 

This is it. This is what it was all building up to. 

Your eyes focus upon the straw dummy in the distance, your hands flexing and popping with anticipation as you prepare to show off your skill. Terra and Riku both had some pretty impressive displays of power and finesse. Both of them having been familiar and well versed in the ways of combat. Your right hand focused on the center mass of the dummy, fingers flexing and curling thoughtfully as you pondered what to do. Blizzard and Fire would be extremely effective, but Terra and Riku both showed off their skills with those elements already. Which meant that you could still show off your proficiency with Thunder. 

With the sparks of electricity tickling your fingers as the ricochet off of your digits as you prepare for the attack. With your right arm swinging in the motion of a javelin, you catch a single spark of pure thunder, in its jagged and sharp shape resting in the palm of your hand. The power surging through your arms and causing your heart to start hammering in your chest. Your eyes flicking from its typical shade to bright and shimmering gold. Mimicking the power that you held in your hand. 

With a targeted and precise strike, you send the bolt of power singing through the air, the winds whistling from the unparalleled and pure power. Once the bolt makes contact, a dozen of pointed bolts of lightning slamming into the dummy with the force that would bring Zeus himself down onto his knees. The sound of the thunder clapping and ringing the ears of those a mile within the struck dummy. 

A following flashing of incandescent light and of glamorous gold dazzling and deafening the audience with its display of complete and undeniable strength in the arts of sorcery and magic. 

A few moments of silence followed, with the crowd trying to orient themselves and find their bearings. It was the rousing cry of the mouse monarch that broke the quiet world first. 

“Hot dog!” King Mickey Mouse shouted with a hoot and a holler! The clapping echoing through the air before being swiftly followed by the almost deafening sound of whistles and screams of wild impressed cheers. Roxas and Ventus’ yells of enthusiasm and roars of applause. Lea and Isa were dumbstruck, having never seen such control and poise before. Terra and Riku were flabbergasted to say the least, Terra’s face sinking into the palms of his hands and Riku scratching the back of his head and wondering what exactly happened. 

However, wounded pride was aside and they too began to join the crowd in a congratulatory hurrah. Terra with a two finger whistle that echoed for miles and Riku with subdued but still very impressed subtle clap.

“What can I say, Aqua,” You mutter with a slight bounce to your step, a cocky smile breaking across your face as your eyes feast upon the bright burning sight of your target. The straw bag was crispy and charring from the heat of the devastating lightning bolt. Holding its form just long enough to look as bewildered as the rest of the crowd before it crumbled into smoke and dust. “I thought this meant to be hard…”

—————————————

— Mod Stranger

[rocks-d-xerxes]

Chapter 3

Crazy talk

How Ace understood the prophecy.

The card of Ace

The sword of king

This here talks about the names

Luffy wanted to name his firstborn Ace after his brother

Now, in Luffy's mind he thinks Ace was named after the card, the card of Ace, right?

But what Luffy doesn't know is that Ace was named after Roger's sword, the sword of a king.

So.. One Ace was named after the sword of a king, while the other was named after the card of Ace

One born a lion a bear become

The other a dragon one shall come

Ace was born from the bloodline of Roger, Roger who conquered the ocean in itself. Ace was born to be a Lion, to rule over all other animals..

But.. Ace was born a lion but became a Bear, a ravenous predator that has a chance of killing the lion itself if wishes to.

While in the second line, they don't actually mention Luffy's 1st born (Ace).

but mention Edrick, the 2d born who took all the poison, the one whose name means "the one who is prosperous and noble"

Noble, that's what Edrick was and will always be, even before he was born, he was the noble one who sacrificed his own existence for his younger and older brothers to live.

Like a Dragon protecting its hoard.

Yes, dragons ARE selfish and mean and possessive.. But

Edrick was also a brother as much as he was a dragon

His own blood ran thick deep within his brothers

He shared blood with them, there's no way for him to not share his life, and give it all to them.

He was also selfish in a way that allowed him to take everything around him, even poison, he took it all.

And kept only the minimum to his older brother out of respect for his well to too protect the youngest.

Two will die

Too soon

One in a crib, the other in flames

These two lines talk about the fate of the two Aces

With Luffy's son dying in a crib at the hands of Teach's assassin, too soon to be able to have lived mere hours after being born.

The apostrophe, a sign that this is were the fate of Luffy's son separates from Luffy's brother..

what follows it is a past spoken truth.

Prophecies are not like destinies

Destinies are written in stone, and no one is able to change them.

While prophecies are just a series of actions taken by one person to determine their life and death..

A warning one can call them

Luffy changed Ace's prophecy by taking an action against his brother's fate, and Ace changed Luffy's prophecy by running away with him and not getting hunt down by Akainu's provocative.

The other in flames

Ace was meant to die in the flames as a prophecy.. But Luffy changed it

But.. Luffy couldn't change his son's prophecy cause he never knew of it..

That's another way to show how Teach is the complete versa of Luffy.. He changed the fate of Luffy's firstborn by killing him

And Luffy changed Ace's fate by rescuing him

Two will perish

Too soon begone

This verse

THIS FUCKING VERSE

It doesn't just talk about Luffy's two death sons

It talks about all of Luffy's family

His brothers

His grandpa

His father

This verse shows how much little time Luffy had with his blood family

And that doesn't include Garp beating him up

Dragon left his son too soon as a baby.

Garp spent too little time as grandpa with Luffy (he perished too soon) he deserved more time to express his affection to his grandson in a proper and good way.

Ace left Dawn island after ten years of knowing Luffy. Now, I know you might think this is enough for the both of them, but it isn't. Ace hadn't been loved since he first breathed in his life. That's what apostrophe is for, Ace is different than Garp, Garp was satisfied with the time he spent with Luffy.. Ace wasn't, I can feel it in his tears, Ace wanted more, he NEEDED more of Luffy's love.

And then we come to Sabo.. These two lines, they're not separated when it comes to Sabo. He perished too soon..

Now I want you all to focus on the meaning of perishing... Is it dying? Disappearing? Or is it getting removed from Ace and Luffy's lives without even knowing it?

The answer is, all of them, all of these possibilities are a resemblance of Sabo and his brotherhood relationship with Ace and Luffy.

And then we come to Ace And Edrick

I don't think I need to explain how this verse is resembling them.. We got over that point already..

And the king shall be crowned when his two sun's gone...

NOW, for this one, I'mma leave it to you guys to explain and analyze this verse as your mind wishes.

[its-time-to-write]

ch. 5 - hustling for the good life

table of contents

your boots beneath my bed

You, on the other hand, had done your proper research. Watched his highlights on Lust Conquers All and everything. You want to know what exactly your stupid brain is doing, thinking someone like that is cute or (retch) boyfriend material but who gives a shit because you’re probably not going to see him again. 

You’re out of the hotel and in some tiny little cottage just outside of London. No paps, no PR agents or what-fucking-ever, just you, Natalie, and loads of fresh air. She finds you in the yard one morning, plucking a tune on a guitar and humming.

“That’s new,” she grins. “Gonna have a new single out soon?”

You raise a shoulder. “I don’t know. Maybe. Might just keep this one to myself.”

Natalie says hmm then turns on her heel to go back inside. 

“Oh,” she says after a few steps, “you should at least send it to him. He might like it.”

“It’s not about anyone!” you call after her rapidly retreating figure. 

“Sure!” she yells back. You flip her off and she says, “I saw that!”

—

Natalie’s booked some coffee shop concert for you, so you’re a little preoccupied with sound checks and meeting your temp band and promising to drink a latte as soon as you’re done singing because fuck sleeping.

It’s sold out which isn’t hard because the place is small, but it’s fun to sit on a stool and sing into a small microphone and be able to talk and joke like you’re the small-town artist you began as.

The crowd goes crazy when you strum the first few notes of Mango, as they sing along to the whole thing. You finish the set and begin thank everyone for coming when you see an oddly familiar face in the very back of the room. You’re not even sure how you caught it because again, it’s crowded, but there it is. He’s with some other people who you’re pretty sure are part of AFC Richmond, but you don’t care about that now.

You pause in the middle of your goodbye and say, “You know what, I’m actually going to play one more song. It’s a rough draft right now, so be nice to me. The working title is Poolside, and you guys are the first to hear it.”

You begin to pluck the repeating melody that’s been playing on repeat in your brain and start the first verse.

I know it’s a bad idea

And I can’t have you anyway

But you’re like a tiny bit of sunshine

I can’t seem to chase away

It’s terrifying and vulnerable in a way you’ve never been before. You’ve played songs for boys before, but never like this. 

You were in a hotel room with Austin one night after one of his movie premiers and just giggling about how stupid it all was. 

“I already have our breakup song,” you’d said, hopping down from the table. “Wanna hear it?”

Austin thought that was hilarious so he said, “Obviously,” so you grabbed your guitar from your room and strapped it on. 

“Alright,” you said while strumming a bouncy tune, “this one’s a little more line-dancey than my usuals. So.”

Austin had tapped his foot while you sang, “A long time ago/in a land not so far away/we met in a bar/and you fucking said ‘hey.’”

It was silly as you both bounced around the room singing about your impending split. Neither of you cared because it wasn’t real, and you had recorded him singing a harmony on your phone. 

You snuck it into the actual track months later, too faint for anyone to actually notice. 

But that was the closest you’d ever been to directly singing someone their song. It was different with Mango because it wasn’t romantic. 

And now it’s different with Jamie, because you’re singing about how dumb it is that you keep thinking about him asking if you were ok at that dumb fucking party. 

You end the song to thunderous applause, and you’re pretty sure bootlegs are going to end up on YouTube within the hour. You don’t care. All you can think of is slipping to the back of the café to claim that latte then sneaking out the back. 

“Nice one, girl,” Natalie remarks as she hands you a cup. “The label’s gonna love that.”

You smile. “They don’t care. I make them too much money for them to care.”

She rolls her eyes and opens her mouth to speak but just stops. 

“Hello? Earth to Nat?” you say, waving a hand in front of her face. 

“Hey,” says a voice from behind.

You spin around. It’s Jamie. 

And god, he looks fucking fit in trackies, Gucci slides, and a neon orange shirt. 

You can feel Natalie sneaking away behind you, and for once, you’re glad to be alone. 

“Hey,” you reply. “How’d you get in here?”

Jamie smiles. “Keeley. She can talk her way into anything.”

You nod, still holding your latte. “Well, usually we have a strict policy about fans who try to come talk to me unannounced, but I guess for you, I’ll let it slide.”

Oh god, are you fucking flirting?

Jamie smirks. “Babe, I ain’t any old fan. Probably number one.”

You raise an eyebrow. “Uh huh. Right. And when did you decide you could call me babe?”

Jamie takes a step closer. “Right about the time Keeley convinced me to ask you out.”

You almost drop your coffee. 

All you can say is a weak, “Oh.”

“She would love to,” Natalie pipes up from behind a stack of coffee beans. “I’ll get you her number and you can set it up.”

Jamie’s looking at you expectantly, and you suppose he probably wants your consent, not just Natalie’s. 

You nod and say, “Sure,” with the same lack of conviction the oh held. Jamie’s expression ripples for a moment, but then he’s grinning and saying “Mint,” before saluting Natalie and exiting the way he came. 

“What the fuck, Natalie,” you say. Your bones feel like jelly. “I can’t go out with him.”

“Yes you can,” she tells you. “And you are. It’s settled.”

Oh fuck. 

—

He texts you the next morning.

hey it’s Jamie :)

I can’t be seen with you, you write back before you chicken out. The press would have a field day. I’m not looking for something public, so if you’re only in this to gain popularity, you’re out of luck. 

It’s a little harsh, but you’re going to be open about this.

no worries, he says. paps r fuckgn annoying. we can do smthg small. 

Turns out something small means sneaking into a restaurant where Jamie’s been going for ages. It has a small room in the back with windows you can see out of, but no one can see in.

“John’s been getting me back here for ages,” he says. “Haven’t had an issue with the press yet.”

It’s all so normal, the way he pulls out your chair and tells you what he likes to order. The way he’s making you laugh and asking you questions about your life, not the ones about your music, but the kind that are actually about you. 

The server comes around with a bottle, and asks, “Wine?”

Jamie looks to you and you shake your head, barely suppressing a grimace.

“All good here, mate,” he says.

“Not a drinker?” he asks once the man is gone. 

You hesitate. You’re about to cross into point-of-no-return territory. 

“I- I don’t know, I can’t really smell it without thinking of my family. They’re all…”

Jamie nods. “I get it. Like me dad. Prick’ll be sober when he’s dead.”

“Yeah,” you say slowly. “Yeah, never had a family event without someone fighting. My mom’s the first one to get out, because she’s the youngest. She saw all that shit and decided it wasn’t for her. She went away to college, met my dad, and never looked back. Course, my uncles started showing up once I got famous. And my aunt, too. She’s probably the worst of all of them. She actually broke into my first apartment asking for money. She smashed a bottle and cut up my face pretty bad… I was nineteen and still trying to figure out my music career and stuff. I still have a scar on eyebrow from it. But, I wasn’t so famous that it ended up on the internet, so…”

You trail off again. Jamie’s looking at you all thoughtful. You’re not sure when he started holding your hand across the table, but there it is. It’s warm and calloused, and he doesn’t seem to care that yours is sweaty.

“My dad’s the same way,” he says softly. “Showed up a month back at a match. Fucking prick. But… can’t seem to cut him off, y’know? He’s fuckin’… family or some shit.”

“Hah,” you say, “That’s what Margarita’s about.”

Jamie’s silent for a moment. “Thought it was about how you really fucking liked limes,” he says finally.

That gets a laugh from you. “I do actually really fucking like limes. But enough about me. How’d you get into football?”

By the end of the night, you’re properly smitten. This boy knows how to flirt, knows all the right compliments and ways to brush his hand against yours or brush a stray strand of hair out of your face. 

This is bad, you think as his lips touch yours. This is very, very bad.

table of contents

[talonabraxas]

Green Tara Matrix Talon Abraxas

21 Praises of Tara

The 21 Praises of Tara is a series of verses that honor the 21 manifestations of Tara, each with specific attributes and benefits. These praises celebrate Tara’s various aspects, from providing protection to granting wisdom and compassion.

Verse 1: Swift and Heroic Tara (Nyurma Pamo)

"Homage to you, Tara, swift heroine, Your eyes like a flash of lightning, Your water-born face arises from the blooming lotus Of Avalokitesvara, protector of the three worlds."

Verse 2: White Tara (Yangchen Drolma)

"Homage to you, Tara, whose face is like One hundred full moons in autumn, Radiant with the dazzling light Of a thousand stars."

Verse 3: Golden Tara (Sönam Tobche)

"Homage to you, Tara, born from a golden-blue lotus, Your hands adorned with lotus flowers, You who are the embodiment of giving, joy, effort, Calm, asceticism, patience, and meditation."

Verse 4: Tara Who Dispels All Fears (Dudsol Dakyi Drolma)

"Homage to you, Tara, who crowns all Buddhas, Whose actions are endless, Who has attained every perfection, On whom the Bodhisattvas rely."

Verse 5: Tara Who Bestows Supreme Virtue (Jigten Sumle Gyälma)

"Homage to you, Tara, who fills the realms of desire, Form, and space with your splendor, You who have attained the pure essence Of the realm of non-attachment."

Verse 6: Tara Who Bestows Auspiciousness (Tashi Donje)

"Homage to you, Tara, adored by Indra, Agni, Brahma, Vayu, and Ishvara, And praised by the assembly of spirits, Raised corpses, and all yakshas."

Verse 7: Tara Who Dispels Darkness (Rabzhima)

"Homage to you, Tara, whose TRAT and PHAT Destroy entirely the magical wheels of others. With your right leg bent and left outstretched and pressing, You burn intensely within a whirl of fire."

Verse 8: Tara Who Brings Forth Light (Jigje Chenmo)

"Homage to you, Tara, the great fearful one, Whose letter TURE destroys the mighty demons completely, Who with a wrathful expression on your water-born face Slay all enemies without an exception."

Verse 9: Tara Who Accomplishes Goals (Tsugtor Namgyalma)

"Homage to you, Tara, whose fingers adorn your heart With the gesture of the sublime precious three; Adorned with a wheel striking all directions without exception With the totality of your own rays of light."

Verse 10: Tara Who Dispels Suffering (Sengdeng Nagchi Drolma)

"Homage to you, Tara, whose radiant crown ornament, Joyful and magnificent, extends a garland of light, And who, by your laughter of TUTTARA, Conquers all demons and gods of the world."

Verse 11: Tara Who Eliminates All Poison (Drolma Nyurma Pamo)

"Homage to you, Tara, who are able to invoke The entire assembly of local protectors, Whose wrathful expression fiercely shakes, Rescuing the impoverished through the letter HUNG."

Verse 12: Tara Who Provides Prosperity (Drolma Pagme Nyingje)

"Homage to you, Tara, whose crown is adorned With the crescent moon, wearing ornaments abundantly, You who have the potential to give The entire activity of the Buddha, with your two eyes."

Verse 13: Tara Who Averts War and Disputes (Drolma Magyalma)

"Homage to you, Tara, who dwells within a blazing garland That resembles the fire at the end of this world age; Surrounded by joy, you sit with your right leg extended And left withdrawn, completely destroying all the masses of enemies."

Verse 14: Tara Who Brings Rejoicing (Drolma Jigten Wangchugma)

"Homage to you, Tara, with your hand on the ground by your side, Pressing your heel and stamping your foot on the earth; With a wrathful glance from your eyes you subdue All seven levels through the syllable HUNG."

Verse 15: Tara Who Grants Long Life (Drolma Yullama)

"Homage to you, Tara, O happy, virtuous, and peaceful one, The very object of practice, passed beyond sorrow. You are perfectly endowed with SOHA and OM, Overcoming completely all the great evils."

Verse 16: Tara Who Removes All Obstructions (Drolma Jigten Sumle Gyalma)

"Homage to you, Tara, surrounded by the joyous ones, You completely subdue the bodies of all enemies; Your speech is adorned with the ten syllables, And you rescue all through the knowledge-letter HUNG."

Verse 17: Tara Who Protects From All Fears (Drolma Jigje Chempo)

"Homage to you, Tara, stamping your feet and proclaiming TURE. Your seed-syllable itself in the aspect of HUNG Causes Meru, Mandara, and the Vindhya mountains And all the three worlds to tremble and shake."

Verse 18: Tara Who Gives Joy and Strength (Drolma Sengdeng Nagchi Drolma)

"Homage to you, Tara, who holds in your hand The hare-marked moon like the celestial ocean. By uttering TARA twice and the letter PHAT You dispel all poisons without an exception."

Verse 19: Tara Who Dispels All Sorrow (Drolma Jigje Chenmo)

"Homage to you, Tara, upon whom the kings of the assembled gods, The gods themselves, and all kinnaras rely; Whose magnificent armor gives joy to all, You who dispel all disputes and bad dreams."

Verse 20: Tara Who Brings Complete Victory (Drolma Yullama)

"Homage to you, Tara, whose two eyes are like The purest sun and full moon, You who by uttering HARA twice and TUTTARA Dispels all violent epidemic disease."

Verse 21: Tara Who Is Beyond Suffering (Drolma Jigje Chenmo)

"Homage to you, Tara, adorned by the three suchnesses, Perfectly endowed with the power of serenity, You who destroy the host of evil spirits, raised corpses, and yakshas, O TURE, most exalted and sublime!"

[basementdoll]

Wait And Bleed

Murderdolls were on a high with their 2002 debut album. Before Joey Jordison knew it, Wednesday 13 had 30 new songs written…but was going it alone.

Words: Dom Lawson

On July 12, 2003, the band that Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison had formed with his friend, vocalist Wednesday 13, as a bit of light relief from the relentless touring and ferocious intensity of his day job, performed to a sold-out Brixton Academy in London. Within a year of releasing their debut album, 2002’s brilliantly snotty Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls, this goofy, sleazy horror-punk side-project had evolved beyond all expectations, like some kind of many-headed Frankenstein, and won the hearts of thousands of fans. In the UK in particular, Murderdolls rocketed from nowhere to the brink of hugeness, accruing a hysterical army of red’n’black-clad admirers who had fallen wholesale for the band’s party-all-night-and-fuck-the-consequences philosophy. What started as a liberating side-project had mutated into something with the potential to conquer the world…all of which makes the fact that Murderdolls left Brixton, buggered off back across the Atlantic and then vanished for seven years somewhat confusing.

But now it’s the summer of 2010 and Murderdolls are back at last. And so, as Joey Jordison and Wednesday 13 settle down on a small leather sofa in the air-conditioned downstairs bar of a swanky Soho hotel to speak with Metal Hammer about their reunion, imminent comeback and brand new studio album, Women and Children Last, it’s finally time to ask the question: Gentleman, where the fuck have you been?

“We don’t bullshit and there’s no reason to lie.” says Joey, shades on and as serious as hell. “After we got done with the tour for Beyond The Valley Of The Murderdolls, we ended on a high note at Brixton Academy, but then of course I had to go back and start up Slipknot again. Me and Wednesday were still in contact and he had demoed like 30 songs and sent me a CD, but the next thing I know, he’s doing a solo record and he didn’t tell me! I didn’t understand it. I was like, ‘Don’t you wanna do another Murderdolls record?’, but I can’t tell him not to go and do what he wants to do, you know? So I had to go and do my stuff with [Slipknot album] Volume 3 (The Subliminal Verses) and we did the whole tour, and we met up again during that tour. We hadn’t talked in a while, so it was kinda weird, but once we talked and crossed paths…”

“We met in a trailer at Rock Im Park in Germany.” recalls Wednesday. “It was 100° and all the crew people were like, ‘Get in there and work it out!’ and they threw us in there and shut the door! That’s when we sorted everything out.”

Having patched things up after what sounds like a fairly minor falling out, Joey and Wednesday still didn’t exactly rush into a Murderdolls reunion. In fact, another five years have passed since the initial exchange of apologies and explanations. In terms of squandering momentum, this hiatus will take some beating, and yet Women and Children Last oozes a level of intensity that was never even hinted at by Murderdolls first time round. Apparently absence makes the fire blaze harder…

“To other people, eight years [between albums] must seem like a long time.” says Wednesday. “But if you think about fuckin’ everything that Joey’s done and everything that I’ve done in that period, that’s a lot of shit! Combined, we’ve done more than bands do in a 20-year period. Joey did two Slipknot records, a Ministry tour, played with Korn, did Roadrunner United, produced 3 Inches Of Blood and played with Satyricon and I did three solo records, an EP, two country records and started a whole new band…”

“We were never enemies at all.” adds Joey. “We just got confused. After we met up again, we were on speaking terms and having conversations by texting and we were thinking that maybe we’d just let Murderdolls be the band with the cult following that it was and let sleeping dogs lie. But then the moment of clarity came to me about two years ago. I was at home on a break and I was sleeping on my couch and Headbanger’s Ball was on and there was this spark that jolted me awake. The metal scene in America and also in Europe, it’s all the fucking same now. There are some great bands, trust me, but everyone’s the same now. Labels are trying to survive because they’re going down the tubes. It’s all about who can play double bass the fastest. There’s no rock stars anymore. I called Wednesday at that point and I’m still in a sleep haze and I said, ‘Wednesday, I want to make another Murderdolls record!’”

A world apart from the comic book kitsch and pun-filled sloppiness of their debut, the second Murderdolls album might as well be the work of an entirely different band. Although still imbued with the hook-packed sleaze metal sensibilities that made old songs like Dead In Hollywood and Grave Robbing USA so irresistible, the new songs seem to have been beamed in from somewhere much darker and more real than their predecessors. There is no shortage of macabre humour lurking amid the pounding riffs and roar-along rage of Chapel of Blood and My Dark Place Alone but while Beyond The Valley…was all about taking the listener into a grim but ludicrous fantasy world, this record sounds very much like the work of men on a sincere and heartfelt mission. Murderdolls 2.0 mean every last fucking word, and as a result they have become a hundred times more believable. 

“I said, ‘If we’re gonna do this, it has to be full bore and we have to make a real record.’” says Joey. “The first record is great for what it was and I love it, but I consider this to be the first Murderdolls record. This is the first time we actually sat down with a vision and wrote songs together, and it’s been one of the most gratifying records I’ve ever made.”

“We wrote all these songs from scratch, a few feet away from each other in the studio.” grins Wednesday. “The first song we did was Homicide Drive, and the drum take you hear on the record is the first take we did. It all happened that naturally. It was really easy and it was fun. We had a fuckin’ blast making this record.”

Just like their favourite band, Murderdolls fans may well be a little bit older and wiser eight years on from that first flush of anti-hero worship, but the goofy, light-hearted side of the band was always a major part of their appeal. As a result, there may be some who find the idea of a more serious Murderdolls a little alarming, but despite injecting their sound with a little more substance, Joey and Wednesday are still firmly committed to delivering the rock ‘n’ roll goods. It’s just that this time round the fire in their bellies is for real and not just cheap whiskey afterburn.

“It’s still fun but it’s more fun for me because I get to sing about personal stuff now.” explains Wednesday. “I’m not the same guy you saw before. This band has changed - this is a whole new Murderdolls, in terms of what we’re bringing to the table. When I sing My Dark Place Alone, that’s very personal to me. I’m going deep into the lyrics, and that’s something I’ve never been able to do before.”

“The first record, you could say we were a dumb horror punk band or something like that.” adds Joey. “The new one, this is like my other Slipknot, even though they’re like apples and oranges. On this record you go from a song like Chapel Of Blood to Drug Me To Hell, and then songs like Nowhere and Summertime Suicide and it starts getting poppier. It’s kinda like Slipknot, with all that diversity, even though we’re a rock ‘n’ roll band. That’s what’s gratifying to me, having a band that has its own style but is able to inject its own identity into each song. When I used to play in death metal and speed metal bands, it was easy to sit there and write a million riffs. The biggest challenge is to write an actual song, and only then do you know you’re a real songwriter.” 

If everything goes to plan, the new Murderdolls album should swiftly restore the band to the levels of popularity they were enjoying when they took their extended hiatus. But if anyone needs convincing that Women And Children Last is the real deal, they need only acknowledge the presence of no less a figure than Mötley Crüe guitarist Mick Mars, who lends some hair-raising solos to Drug Me To Hell and Blood Stained Valentine, two of the album’s grittiest anthems. Mick doesn’t put on his top hat for any old rubbish, and Joey and Wednesday are visibly thrilled when they talk about his involvement in their new record.

“Mick’s one of the great underdogs and never got the respect he deserved.” says Wednesday. “We see him as one of the great rock ‘n’ roll villains, so what better guy to come out and play for us? It was so natural. He loved it!”

“We didn’t want any guests on this record whatsoever, but this was a little bit different.” smiles Joey. “It was definitely an honour to watch him play on our dumbass songs! I was just sitting there, almost blacking out, thinking about when I had Shout At The Devil on vinyl in my parent’s basement and I was thinking, ‘Man, this is fucked up!’”

Mick Mars aside, Murderdolls remain very much a two-man operation in the studio, but live performance is plainly a major part of what the band stands for and so, with that in mind, Joey and Wednesday have recruited a brand new lineup to assist them in their new crusade. Original members Acey Slade, Eric Griffin and Ben Graves have been usurped by new lead guitarist Roman Surman, bassist Jack Tankersley and drummer Racci Shay, who previously played in Wednesday 13’s solo band. Again, as with the songs themselves, fresh blood seems to have invigorated the whole Murderdolls enterprise. 

“The first lineup and the first everything that we did, it was really thrown together.” admits Wednesday. “We did our first video without ever having played together in a room before. Me and Joey did the record by ourselves and then we found these guys through friends of friends and, of course, it was complete chaos. So this time, we purposefully picked people we knew and that we were friends with, and it’s been great. When we finally got on stage, it was like ‘Holy shit!’”

“What we’ve done now and the people we have now, they’re great players and they’re there for the job.” continues Joey. “They’re not there to fuckin’ party. They believe in the songs and they believe in the project and this is a big chance for all of ‘em. They’re all amazing players. I wouldn’t do this if my heart wasn’t completely in it.”

With a new warcry of “We live, we breathe, we bleed rock ‘n’ roll!” the all-new Murderdolls can hardly be said to have altered the main thrust of their philosophy, but everything about the new lineup, the new album and the intense demeanor of the two men steering the ship suggests that they are in this for the long haul this time, ready to do whatever it takes to bully the world into joining in the fun. Serious men on a serious mission, perhaps, but surely there is still plenty of room for a little chaos, mayhem and debauchery? 

“Before, when we walked off stage, everything else was complete madness too.” Wednesday laughs. “It was a fuckin’ circus, but it was great. But we’ve moved on. We want to take the chaos from backstage and put it on the stage!”

“Now it’s just the most violent, fuckin’ sleazy, hideous, heaviest fuckin’ rock ‘n’ roll you can possibly imagine.” concludes Joey, with a snarl. “It’s a real band now.” 

Women and Children Last is out August 30 via Roadrunner Records. Murderdolls will play Ozzfest in September.

-

Six Stringer Joey Jordison’s Weapons Of Mass Destruction

Which albums inspired you to play the guitar?

“The first record that turned me on was the Stones’ Tattoo You. I remember my dad coming home with the album.”

What was the first guitar you owned?

“A harmony, which was like a Fender Stratocaster. I played it in my first metal band in fifth grade. I started playing drums aged seven and soon ditched the guitar.

How do you achieve your sound?

“I don’t normally tell people how I do it! Ha ha! I used a modified JCM 900 amplifier and a MXR distortion on top of that. I’m always involved with mixing and production and everything, so that has a lot to do with the sound on the record. My amp’s been modified.”

Who’s the most underrated guitarist?

“Probably Johnny Thunders (New York Dolls). He had something about him. Guitar is all about passion and playing with soul and style.”

How often do you practise?

“Right now, three hours a day! I’m going on tour with the Murderdolls so everything has to be up to par. It’s odd talking about guitar instead of drums. Drums always came natural to me. I still practise but I’m pretty much in the groove, but for the guitar I have to work real hard.”

What guitar do you play?

“I recorded with my custom BC Rich Bich. I’ve been using Gibson SGs and a BC Rich Warlock, plus I have my signature guitar coming out.”

[themuslimaharchive]

ASH-SHAHEED / ASH-SHAHID

(The All Observing Witnessing)

ASH-SHAHEED MEANING:

The Witness, The All-Observant, The Testifier.

Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is Ash-Shaheed (in Arabic: ٱلْشَّهِيدُ) meaning the one who is omnipresent and all-observing. There is nothing that we do that goes unnoticed, as He is ever-present and sees everything. His knowledge comprehends all, and He will be the ultimate witness on the day of judgment.

MENTIONS OF ASH-SHAHID:

FROM QURAN & HADITH

Arabic Root:

From the root shin-ha-dal (ش ه د), which has the following classical Arabic connotations: to bear witness, to offer testimony, to have knowledge of, to experience, to be present with.

An Attribute of Ilm (knowledge):

To be a witness is an attribute of knowledge. You cannot be a witness without being present or having knowledge or so unique insight or perspective on some matter. Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is Ash-Shaheed, THE witness. He is the knower of the Ghayb (the unseen), the things that are concealed or invisible to man. It is because of the attribute of being Ash-Shaheed that on the day of judgment, He will reveal Himself as being the witness to all that has happened.

"Return to your father and say, "O our father, indeed your son has stolen, and we did not testify except to what we knew. And we were not witnesses of the unseen," — (Qur'an 12:81)

This verse also helps us establish a connection to the previous name, Al-Ba'ith - The Resurrector. When we are raised from the grave, we will be held accountable. The only one who can be a judge is the one who has knowledge of the truth, "we did not testify except to what we knew." Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ knowledge is all-encompassing. He is Al-Alim (The All-Knowing) and Al-Khabir (The All-Aware). The explanation of the name Ash-Shaheed is similar to that of those names. We recommend reading the write-up provided for those names to become acquainted with the name of Ash-Shaheed.

Now, as a name of Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ it is mentioned throughout the Qur'an a total of 18 times.

Tip to help memorize the meaning of this name:

To help remember the meaning of Ash-Shaheed, it can be useful to make the connection in your mind with this name and the shahadah (the testimony of faith), Ashhadu an la ilaha ill-Allah was ashhadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasuluh (I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is his servant and Messenger).[1] Here ashhadu means, "I bear witness," "I testify" and the name of Allah Ash-Shaheed is, "The Witnesser," "The Testifier."

Reflection:

The believer benefits from knowing Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is Ash-Shaheed. As we mentioned in previous names, it makes us cognizant of our actions. We will be held responsible on the day of judgment, so unattractive qualities within ourselves (e.g., envy, anger, pride, back-biting, etc.) should be conquered as these emotions work against you. This name also encourages humility, admitting mistakes, taking ownership over your actions, and seeking forgiveness from Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ. So on that day, these mistakes will already be wiped from your account.

Remember Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ is enough for you as a witness. Whatever good you do, if no one sees or recognizes it, it doesn't matter as Allah سُبْحَٰنَهُۥ وَتَعَٰلَىٰ sees all. Nothing goes unaccounted for. Having this knowledge allows a person to drop all forms of pettiness. Who cares if you did something good for someone and it wasn't reciprocated. You invited them to your wedding, but they didn't invite you. Allah is the witness, don't let others' lack of care affect the good you can do.

References:

[1] Sahih (Darussalam) Sunan An Nasai (632) and Sunan Ibn Majah (470) | The Messenger of Allah ﷺ in the hadith said: Whoever performs Wudu and does it well, then says the shahadat. Eight gates of Paradise will be opened for him, and he may enter through whichever one he wishes.

[burnnouts]

--There are sons who hate their fathers, and in a stroke you will make him Lord of Karhold.

--Even if Harrion were that sort, he could never openly forgive his father’s killer. His own men would turn on him. These are northmen. The north remembers.

Name: Harrion (Harry) Karstark Base Canon: Game Of Thrones Alternative Verses: House of the Dragons, Star Wars, Marvel, Original Universe Age: Verse dependent, but default is early 30s

QUICK BIO: No matter the universe, Harrion (Harry) is a man with a complicated family relationship. He has two younger brothers and a younger sister, who he cares for deeply. Whether in war or a crime related incident (verse dependent), he lost his brothers and was imprisoned himself for years. While he was locked up, his father, in a fit of anger and grief over the loss of his sons, committed an unforgivable murder and was executed. Harry is now free and trying to find his sister and decide where his loyalties lie.

Verses Under the Cut

GAME OF THRONES

When Robb Stark called the banners to Winterfell, Harrion accompanied his father Lord Rickard and his two younger brothers, Eddard and Torrhen to join the war. When the Northern forces split at the Twins, Harrion marched under Roose Bolton toward the fords and was ultimately kidnapped during the Battle of the Green Fork. Though Tyrion Lannister offered to trade him for Willem Lannister, he was freed instead by Roose Bolton's conquering of Harrenhal. Meanwhile, on the other side of the war, his brothers were killed in battle by Jaime Lannister and his father, set on revenge, killed two Lannister boys when Jaime was released. Lord Rickard Karstark was executed by Robb Stark for his crimes, causing the Karhold forces to abandon the Northern cause and making Harrion the new Lord of Karhold. Due to Roose Bolton's calculated betrayal of the North from within, however, Harrion and many other Northern men under his control were sent on suicide missions, resulting in his repeated capture and his cousin, Arnolf, acting as Lord in his place. Arnolf attempted to have Harrion killed and his own son married to Arnolf's sister, Alys, in order to take full control of Karhold. This plot was foiled by Jon Snow and Harrion was released and finally able to take his proper place as Lord of Karhold. Flag: white sunburst on black background Words: The Sun of Winter Note: Harrion does not exist in the HBO show. His character was merged with others to create a new and different character, Harald.

HOUSE OF THE DRAGONS

When Cregan Stark declared support for Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen in the dispute over the Iron Throne, the Northern forces rode with him, nicknamed "The Winter Wolves." These forces included Lord Rickard Karstark and his three sons: Harrion, Eddard, and Torhen. Though they achieved success in the Riverlands, the Winter Wolves were defeated in the First Battle of Tumbleton, causing Harrion to be imprisoned and his brothers killed. In his grief, his father took it upon himself to execute some of the North's own prisoners and was killed in the process (or executed; this could be discussed with a Cregan writer). Eventually, Harrion was released, and he rode South with Cregan once more when he sent in the second Northern host to take the capital.

ORIGINAL UNIVERSE

Harrion (Harry) is the oldest son of three siblings (two brothers and one sister). Though he was his father's favorite, praised for his strength and cunning, he grew increasingly concerned with his father's criminal activities and the influence this might have on the other children. He did his best when they were young to shield them from the truth of their father's "job" and would often take on questionable tasks for his father in order to keep his attention and allow the younger children to live in peace. However, during a bank heist gone bad, Harry was arrested for armed robbery and served six years in prison. During this time, his father enlisted his two younger brothers into his 'business" and got them killed accidentally in the process. Livid, Harry set out to confront his father the moment he got out of jail, but his father was killed by a rival "business man" before Harry got the chance. With most of his family now gone, Harry set out to find his sister and mend their relationship.

STAR WARS

Same as "original universe" (above) but his father was a smuggler, and Harrion was imprisoned and served his sentence on a different planet. He is now trying to find transport back home to find his sister.

MARVEL

Same as "original universe" (above) except that he was caught by Spiderman. In prison, he was approached by a goblin-influenced Harry Osborn who offered him a chance at "revenge" against Spiderman. When he was released, he was injected with an experimental serum from Oscorp that gave him increased strength, healing, and speed. He is still unsure whether he even wants revenge against Spiderman but is in an uneasy alliance with Spiderman's enemies.

[ragesin]

gonna be adding and redoing the formatting for verses so here's a quick summary of available verses for moots. alternate universes and alternate timeline under the cut.

main verse

midnight sun: the firstborn prince of the demon clan. leader of the ten commandments, acting as a leading force in his father's armies to conquer everything and in service to the god of death. cruel, vicious, and evil. he eventually meets and falls in love with elizabeth, the daughter of the supreme deity of the goddess clan. he abandons everything he knew for her and inadvertently starts a holy war which culminates in both of them being killed by their godly parents. meliodas is cursed with eternal life and elizabeth with eternal rebirth.

sunrise road: meliodas wanders the world for thousands of years, traveling far and wide to figure out how to break the curses and going through over 100 different elizabeths. he makes many friends and loses just as many to the forward march of time, even as the curse saps at his emotions. [ the general interaction verse ]

daylight moon: an unassuming owner of a moving tavern. he meets an elizabeth who is the princess of a kingdom and agrees to go on a journey with her to find the rest of his scattered knighthood of criminals to overthrow the knights who have taken over her kingdom and act with tyranny.

epilogues & aus

king of chaos: after the second holy war, for the first time ever a tenuous peace seems possible for all the clans. for elizabeth's sake, meliodas agrees to become the king of liones and they have a son together, tristan. however, it doesn't take long for him to realize that his lenience and sentimentality has betrayed him yet again. with the power of chaos seemingly acting as a corrupting influence, king arthur has declared his intent to craft a world solely for humans by killing whatever does not fit in his mold. unable to enter camelot and confront him directly, meliodas set his sights instead on protecting the inhabitants of britannia and seeing that the prophecy foretelling an end to arthur's plans comes true.

branching paths: after breaking the curse and killing his father, meliodas keeps his godly powers and doesn't become the king of liones. either he lives in the demon realm with elizabeth, or they take the time to sort themselves out without the weight of the curse shackling them together and separate for a while, leaving meliodas struggling to move on after being emotionally dependent on her for so long.

king of demons: the vampire rebellion happens before meliodas abandons the demon clan, which forces him to intervene on his brother's behalf and quickly explodes into a full scale civil war that ends with him usurping the throne and becoming the current demon king.

modern: continuing his elongated existence after the curse was broken, meliodas lives well into the modern age. he teaches british history in the liones university part time while running a new bar, occasionally making trips around the world to sight see. in many ways, the world has changed a lot in the millennia since, but in others it's as if nothing changed at all. will adjust to other modern setting verses.

mafia: meliodas is a powerful gangster leader well known within the expansive criminal empires, mafia gangs, and mystical elements crawling throughout the treacherous underbelly of a 1920s liones. he has goals to pursue and secrets to bury as he ruthlessly works to play multiple sides for the sake of his own long con.

crossover aus

tekken: while doing research into the devil, heihachi summons meliodas from the demon realm and awakens him from a deep sleep he had fallen into. things go wrong, leaving meliodas with a spotty memory, a seal on most of his abilities, and frustrated about what's going on. he'd rather have the war breaking out across the world be dealt with sooner rather than later so he can get back to looking for heihachi to shake him down for answers.

zelda: for the most part he takes on an observer role after regaining his godly powers. one day the world goes completely kaput and these 'goddesses' come in to fix things up. he basically watches the events of hyrule's creation and history unfold. he only actively intervenes if the world is really at risk of being completely destroyed again, otherwise he wanders the lands just to see what happens next.

hoyoverse: in an attempt to break the curse, he has himself sent into another world. in one instance he lands in teyvat and becomes an adventurer, drifting across the varied continents and flying under the gods' radar, caught up in another's revenge mystery regarding the tsaritsa. in another, he's adrift among the stars until he was picked up by elio and sam. his memory's spotty from the time spent dying repeatedly on end in the vacuum of space but they claim to foresee the death of his father and an end to his curse so he accepts becoming a stellaron hunter going by an alias of lucifer, following their plans and becoming a passenger of the astral express a few months prior to the trailblazer to ensure they tread the path laid out for them.

pokemon: a top trainer of a foreign region who unofficially resigned from the position of champion to travel and would rather travel than deal with the criminal organization his father operates or it's feud with the opposing factions throughout the region.

kingdom hearts: thanks to his father, meliodas is one of the thirteen darknesses and becomes a fledgling kingdom hearts in the flesh. he still experiences all the suffering he would have if that hadn't been the case and he may leave the world and see new sights, but he is essentially doomed to one day be rejoined with the true kingdom hearts.

my hero academia: meliodas is a top hero in britain and is known across the world as being the leader of the hero group, the seven deadly sins. well, this current iteration of him anyways. meliodas had lived several 'lives' over his existence, from villain to vigilante, restarting anew whenever his body suffered a fatal wound. it dates all the way back to the age when the very first quirks emerged and he was the son of a man who started his story by seizing the entire criminal underworld of the british isles.

final fantasy: long after the holy wars, meliodas lives in a world shaped anew by the relentless currents of time. chaos, as fate would have it, stemmed from deep inside the void and so meliodas is tangentially a voidsent. when seen in the new world he retains his original appearance more often than not, but there is another form by which he is known as: diabolos. a lucky few may interact with his summonable incarnation. fewer still may even come to know him as a companion throughout their adventures. can take place within any final fantasy game.

[journeytothewestresearch]

sorry to bother, but I've got a question that's been bugging me for a little while. In chapter one of Anthony C. Yu Translation, it states the monkey kings birth rock as an 'immortal stone' then goes on to describe its size. how could a stone be immortal, or is a just a way to say it was favored by the heavens?

I'm not sure, but I've always considered it to be a kind of "scholar's rock" (gongshi, 供石), a category of gnarled, pitted stones that develop in nature. They are often seen in Chinese gardens. The rocks were historically viewed as stand-ins for qi (氣)-filled mountains far away from the cities and towns where scholar-cultivators lived. I wrote the following in an old college research paper:

It’s important to point out that the very first reference to Chinese gardens appears in the Book of Changes. The aforementioned material also states that “Grace [can be found] in the hills and gardens” (賁于丘園). Here, gardens are associated with the wilderness and not a plot in a private residence. The first unambiguous mention of gardens comes from the Songs of Chu (楚辭, Chu Ci, 4th-c. BCE), an anthology of poetry written during the latter part of the Zhou Dynasty. One famous verse known as “Summoning the Soul” (招魂, Zhao Hun) describes how a shaman (巫, Wu) struggles to entice the meandering spirit of an ailing king to return by reminding him of the beautiful women waiting for him “in your garden pavilion, by the long bed curtains”.[7] Such imperial gardens took on a new significance during the following Qin (221–206 BCE) and Han dynasties (206 BCE–220 CE) as certain emperors became obsessed with Daoist immortality and built microcosms of landscapes—rocks for mountains, ponds for rivers, and trees and plants for forests—within their palaces. The hope was to entice lofty immortals to settle there and teach them their secrets of longevity. The first private pleasure gardens arose during the Han. There were two kinds, the extravagant park owned by the wealthy and the simple scholar’s retreat. The former was based on the great imperial hunting parks that served as a symbol for the emperor’s power since such spaces were stocked with exotic plants and animals gifted by conquered territories. Thus, the extravagant nature of these gardens served to broadcast the wealth and power of their owners. On the contrary, the latter were most likely born from privately owned vegetable gardens. The Book of Odes (詩經, 11th–7th-c. BCE), the oldest known collection of Chinese poetry, suggests that scholars during the Zhou dynasty already viewed their simple food gardens as relaxing places of leisure. The idea of a garden serving as a proxy for a mountain retreat was made popular by Tao Qian (陶潛, 365–427), a poet of the Six Dynasties period (220–589). His philosophy is best exemplified by poem number five of his “Twenty Poems After Drinking Wine” series: I built my hut beside a traveled road Yet hear no noise of passing carts and horses. You would like to know how it is done? With the mind detached, one’s place becomes remote. Picking chrysanthemums by the eastern hedge I catch sight of the distant southern hills: The mountain air is lovely as the sun sets And flocks of flying birds return together. In these things is a fundamental truth I would like to tell, but lack the words. ​Here, shear concentration of will transports an individual to the mountains far away from the hustle and bustle of daily life. This implies that any setting can be one’s own personal Eden, even a garden.