#all hail mo

[batbusiness-schooldropout]

Jiang Cheng: Where is Jin Ling?

Wei Wuxian: You know, I went through a lot of trouble to name him Jin Roulan. And nobody calls him that! It's the best name I've come up with ever! And! He's a very important young man! You should address him properly

Jiang Cheng: Where. Is. My. Nephew?

Wei Wuxian: As you know, he needs some life experiences-

Jiang Cheng: I hate every word of that sentence in ways I don't fully understand

Wei Wuxian: -So I asked him what he wanted to learn. But it appears the boy has no interest in larceny or vandalism, obviously he's too young for whoring, so to keep the whole excursion from being a complete waste of time, I threw him in this alley and told him he wasn't allowed out until he killed 6 rats.

Jiang Cheng: YOU DID WHAT!!!?

Wei Wuxian: Yeah. But he's doing something strange

Jiang Cheng: Children do that sometimes. What's he doing

Wei Wuxian: I'm not sure. But if I had to guess-

Jin Ling: I AM THE RAT KING!

Wei Wuxian: -I'd say he's being crowned to rat king

Jiang Cheng:..... You're going to the ancestral hall and explaining this to jiejie

[sergeifyodorov]

I think the funniest part about every leafs season is the 5-10 game stretch where they announce they're putting a different puck-moving defenceman on PP1 to "try it out," "improve our power play," or historically anything in between, and then inevitably go back to putting Mo at QB. You can't outdo the doer!!!!

[bi-the-wei]

[pyjamacryptid]

Not to intrude on op's post but I literally drew my own antlered oc, Duirith, in mishaps like this.

Fun fact: this was my reason for giving him antlers in the first place, poor guy. Listen, I just couldn't stop giggling, utterly endeared, at the imagery.

horned ttrpg characters are fun in theory but realistically speaking they would get every cobweb and vine hanging from the dungeon ceiling tangled in their horns in minutes like a cat that went behind the sofa

[ao3topshipsbracket]

honestly I'm kinda disappointed all the popular/well known ships are gone/eliminated

the semis look kinda boring now tbh

(ps: I don't mean to hate on the ships winning. I'm sure they're winning for a reason. it's just they're all kinda unknown/not mainstream)

We're definitely surprised to see some of the highly seeded ships go down early, but personally, I think that makes the remaining matches more exciting, not less! Who doesn't love an upset, after all? But of course, with Bubbline in one half and Destiel in the other, there are definitely some significant heavy hitters still in the running!

That being said, we know we have some underdog semifinalists that people are less familiar with, so here's a brief primer on each of them!

Hualian comes from the Chinese novel Tian Guan Ci Fu, or Heaven Official's Blessing. If you've heard of Wangxian of Mo Dao Zu Shi/The Untamed fame, TGCF comes from the same author. It is a xianxia love story about ghost kings and fallen gods. Here's the plot synopsis from IMDB:

Eight hundred years ago, Xie Lian was the Crown Prince of the Xian Le kingdom. He was loved by his citizens and was considered the darling of the world. He ascended to the Heavens at a young age; however, due to unfortunate circumstances, was quickly banished back to the mortal realm. Years later, he ascends again, only to be banished again a few minutes after his ascension. Now, eight hundred years later, Xie Lian ascends to the Heavens for the third time as the laughing stock among all three realms. On his first task as a god thrice ascended, he meets a mysterious demon who rules the ghosts and terrifies the Heavens, yet, unbeknownst to Xie Lian, this demon king has been paying attention to him for a very, very long time.

At #58 in the Tumblr 2023 top ship list, they're solidly middle of the pack in terms of seeding, but they did take down Buddie at #10, and Davekat of Homestuck infamy: a very impressive showing!

Sulemio hails from the latest installment in the Mobile Suit Gundam anime franchise, The Witch from Mercury; as with all Gundam series, it is a sci-fi military drama featuring giant robots and space warfare. This one happens to also feature heavy inspiration from Revolutionary Girl Utena. Official synopses seem a bit lacking, and I unfortunately don't know enough about the series to summarize it myself, but I'll link this very helpful guide that someone left in our notes!

They're the lowest seeded of our semifinalists, ranking #59 on Tumblr's 2023 top ship list, so the fact that they've taken out the top seed is truly a feat; having a rallying force with @demilypyro has certainly helped their cause (and our very busy activity feed 😅) a great deal!

Regardless of who wins the next rounds, there are very fun underdog journeys present on both sides of the bracket. Plus, it's always good to remember that polls like these are not meant to be indicators of popularity, but of passion.

[sunderwight]

thinking about reverse SVSSS AU where the demon characters are human and the human characters are demons (LBH is still both), but cultivation society operates more like MDZS so that the demon characters can preserve their ruthless clan politics and inheritance systems, and but demon society (which the formerly human characters are now part of) operates more like the ghosts in TGCF, where it's mostly a free-for-all of powerful demons establishing whatever kind of system they please in whatever space they can carve out. I think that'd preserve the meritocracy elements and "twelve different sects in a trench coat" qualities that cang qiong has as an organization.

so the peaks are instead these sort of liminal space cities which are ruled by the most powerful/influential demons, who choose their successors (at least ostensibly) based purely on talent and ability. instead of the sprawling alternate dimension demonic realms of PIDW, they're more like pocket dimensions which can only be accessed if you know the secret ways, existing in the shadows of otherwise seemingly normal towns, mountains, cities, forests, etc. humans sometimes wander into them by mistake, although whether they can get back out again or not depends a lot on which demon lord's domain they were unlucky enough to stumble upon.

Mobei Jun and Sha Hualing are still the heirs of their respective sects/clans, which are among the most powerful sects around. The CQMS peak lords are the rulers of twelve allied demon settlements. Tianlang Jun was the heir of the strongest sect, sort of like Wen Ruohan if Wen Ruohan's biggest motivation was to have his Hot Girl Summer rather than conquering everything, but after his and Zhuzhi Lang's disappearances their sect lost a lot of clout. Su Xiyan hailed from a wealthy demon phantom palace, known for its exceptional hostility towards humans (this version of HHP definitely literally eats people).

The demons-turned-humans are still exactly as cutthroat and dubious as in PIDW. Sha Hualing still wants to kill her father to take his position, Mobei Jun's uncle still tries to assassinate him, the cultivation world has an underground business in trafficking demon body parts (officially decried, but unofficially often consumed to help boost cultivation or create certain tools), the sects often go to war with one another and tend to wreak havoc on the secular human governments and societies whenever they do. All that sort of stuff.

On the humans-turned-demons end, demons in this setting are sometimes born the same way as humans -- two parents of compatible genital orientation get it on and some months later etc etc, which is how siblings like Liu Qingge and Liu Mingyan happen. But sometimes demons also just sort of manifest out of concentrated pockets of demonic energy. Some demons come from humans (SJ and YQY were both born from the unquiet ghosts of slave children), some come from animals (SQH was a pet hamster who was tormented enough to become a demon hamster, and then cultivated enough to take on a human shape), some come from collisions of powerful elemental forces such as volcanoes or floods (Su Xiyan).

So demons have a lot of apprenticeship and teacher-and-student style familial relationships, and demons looking to build families often will risk venturing out into the human realms and trying to find other isolated demons to bring into their fold. Demons alone in the human world are highly vulnerable to being hunted, killed, or enslaved. This is also why there's such a high percentage of "orphans", and contributes even more to a demon like SJ (no parents) resenting a demon like Luo Binghe (found and adopted by a kindly older demon almost right away).

So in the original PIDW, Luo Binghe is a kid who thinks he's a demon and grows up under the cruel and resentful talons of the Lord of Qing Jing, Shen Qingqiu. Every twenty or so years the demon settlements manifest much more strongly in the human realms, during which time they are a lot more vulnerable to attacks from humans. To help deal with this this, the demon rulers traditionally host big, dramatic, scary events that bring everyone within a certain geographic range together, the better to put any righteous sects off the idea of trying to single them out and attack. Most of the smaller settlements clear out entirely in preparation, leaving "ghost towns" where the buildings appear but the demons and anything too valuable to risk leaving behind are all gone.

This Demonic Alliance Conference is a time for contests, trials, matchmaking, partying, festive hunts, trading, and big displays of power. What could be a massive weakness instead becomes a big celebration, and a time for mingling and making new connections.

In PIDW, after suffering years of abuse at the hands of his cruel master, Luo Binghe attends the DAC in hopes of securing some better place for himself in demonic society. But when the righteous sects launch an unprecedented attack on the event, his human heritage is revealed, and Shen Qingqiu tosses him into the twilight space between realms in disgust. Binghe is forced to navigate the hollow and desolate place, locked into his newly-revealed and very weak human form, until he bonds with the legendary Xin Mo blade and effects his escape. Then he sets about bringing the righteous sects to heel (his bloodline means he's heir to one of the biggest sects around, even if they've fallen on hard times the past 20 or so years) and of course conquering the demon realms, and taking revenge on Shen Qingqiu, all while accumulating a record number of wives.

Shen Yuan transmigrates into Demon Lord Shen Qingqiu, ruler of Qing Jin settlement, a haunted bamboo forest in the most cursed mountain range ever.

Downsides -- he's of course destined to be dismembered and/or shoved into a pickle pot by the protagonist.

Upsides -- he's a demon with amazingly awesome demon traits! He has talons! Fangs! WINGS! Also, Binghe is a little demon bun and he is so cute, like a puppy with his fluffy wolf ears and baby claws and darling bright red eyes. Who could ever persecute such an adorable monster boy?! His tail literally wags when he's excited!

Plus Shen Yuan gets to spend as much time investigating cool beasts and other demons as he likes. He's in heaven. Well, not literally of course, but for his standards. Pretty close. Almost worth the price of admission!

[sandwichmoforgot]

ALL HAIL THE TIANSHAN TREE

THE CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL IMPACT OF THIS TREE IN THE ROMANTIC PROMISE HELD BY HE TIAN AND MO ON THIS AUSPICIOUS DAY CANNOT BE UNDERSTATED

[the-arcade-doctor]

[[ STOP KOSA ]]

[[ RULES ]]

[[ GAMES AND GAME RULES ]] [[ PRIZE CORNER ]]

Some context: Text Doctors are a collection of Tumblr-based RP blogs featuring plague doctors made out of ASCII symbols with their own unique lore, they're mostly variants of the first one to don the title, Doctor Screech, a eldritch monster who hails from the abyss and landed in a world of violet occupied by walking fungal-infected-corpses and other such nasties.

HEY YOU! ARE YOU BORED? WHO AM I KIDDING, YOU FOUND THIS BLOG SO OF COURSE YOU ARE, LUCKILY FOR YOU, THIS IS AN BLOG FOR THE MOST… INTERESTING PLACE ON THE WEB!

WELCOME, LADIES, GENTS, AND EVERYONE ELSE TO

A PLACE OF INTRIGUE AND DANGER, MYSTERY AND WONDER! WHERE GAMES FEEL ALMOST ALIVE AND THE OWNER IS OVERJOYED TO MEET NEW FRIENDS!

ARCADE SCHEDULE

OPEN - 9:00 OR 11:00 AM

CLOSE 11:00 PM AFTER HOURS - 12:00 PM TO 6:00 AM MORE INFO BELOW, ENJOY YOUR STAY!

ENTRY #1: THE DENIZENS J:\\ THE MAKER \\\\

>> Jay. a 5’8, 17 (now 18) year old boy (when he feels like) with tan skin, wearing a black hoodie with a green “87” on it, grey sweatpants, and black shoes, under his hood lies a led visor displaying green animated eyes. He runs an arcade, overseen by a plague doctor suit made out of keyboard symbols, it has a parasitic relationship with his soul that enhances his ego. he runs an arcade as a front to gain more power to cut the strings of fate the gods have cast upon him.

[ jay speaks like this. ]

Jay, he found his way into a mysterious world occupied by a lone plague doctor, a beast who wore a mask of violet, the first ever "text doctor", at least, that's what he called himself, the plague doctor made out of... ASCII symbols? His name was Screech (@the-text-doctor), they got to know each other, the beast was wiser, older, had a family and most of all? POWER. Jay eventually stumbled onto a stray portal, and found a dimension with a lone arcade in it. It was empty, abandoned. It was quiet at first. Then the trials began with new technology Jay founded. His suit. A green, distorted form of the plague doctor made of symbols he met from days before. it was a beast forever crying emerald tears.. It took over the dimension. Slowly at first, but then rapidly, the floors turned black, the walls turned a dark shade of green, the arcade grew, seemingly floating. It was all falling into place. J:\\ THE SUIT \\\\ A green plague doctor made out of ASCII symbols, slashes make up his limbs and torso, and tear streaks fall down his mask. His left arm is corrupted heavily, with claws made of black triangles. He also has one corrupted wing made out of corrupted textures and glitch artifacts, on his chest lies a dark green mantle with two mirroring "J"s. His belt is made of square brackets and equal signs. This suit was made a host of the place it is now known for, but also to fight, and fight it does, it would be unwise to pick a fight with it in it's unnatural habitat.

thanks to @just-hyper-active for jotette's neck fluff [ J:\\ JOTA SPEAKS LIKE THIS. ] [ ♀J:\\ JOTETTE SPEAKS LIKE THIS. ]

The suit, when worn, made him agitated, angry, violent, egotistical, envious, and any other sense of the words, so much so that it took over his very soul, encasing it in a green hue, and wings, ever since, everyone wanted that exotic, digitized soul for themselves. The Jotette side grade makes Jay feels as if he's the prettiest thing on two legs, still as pyschopathic.

It was perfect for what he needed. He's been researching other worlds for a while, so they were next, but until then? He needed somewhere to cover up his research... the arcade would do just fine. He'd get to lounge around all day, and work on gaining more strength by night. Eventually, he opened the arcade, and attracted quite a crowd. He didn't feel much for them, just lambs to the slaughter, he thought. but eventually he grew fond of some of his visitors, some he loved seeing, some less so. his power grew... but he needed more. He eventually found other worlds, more creatures like his suit, “text doctors” as he calls them, more forms to take, more things to assimilate into his growing matrix of code and hate. J:\\ THE LESSER GODS \\\ In the world of digital evils known only by "EXEs", there lie creatures who couldn't get their hands on the vessels everybody knows them for, Sonic, Mario, Pac-Man, the like. These creatures have been festering inside unknown and uncared for video games, i.e one-off titles or edutainment games. They all think the ranks of Sonic.EXE have it too easy since they have more recognizable vessels, so they've decided to form in gangs of sorts, Jay has felt pity for them, and built a refuge for some of them called Circuitboard City. ENTRY #2: THE DIMENSION, THE BOARDER BETWEEN THE PHYSICAL AND DIGITAL REALMS

J:\\ OUTSIDE \\\\ A vast, black expanse, adorned with grid-patterned green lines and shrouded mountains that conceal Circuitboard City. Green floating stairs serve as the arcade entrance, the space under the arcade leading to an underground subway entry point for access to Circuitboard City.

J:\\ SUBWAY \\\\ The Subway, a dark green and somewhat dirty underground passage, links the arcade to the wonders of Circuitboard City, some Lesser Gods have taken refuge here as opposed to Circuitboard City.

J:\\ CIRCUITBOARD CITY \\\\

helped by @just-hyper-active The cyber-city sprawls beyond the mountains, initially visible like a distant skybox. However, the true nature of this place is revealed when you journey there through the Subway, unlocking Circuitboard City in it's fullest. Jay shelters Lesser Gods amidst the skyscrapers, surrounded by advertisements for JOTA's Arcade.

J:\\ ARCADE INTERIOR \\\\ Inside the arcade, a surreal extension of JOTA's twisted yet whimsical persona unfolds with moving wall patterns and nonsensical floors. Rows of cabinets, a prize corner, and a maintenance room entrance mark the journey. As one ascends towards JOTA's office, the rooms defy Euclidean logic, with unconventional door placements, and other such glitchy mishaps.

J:\\ HALLWAY \\\\ A simple hallway stretching to both the left and right of the office. J:\\ MYSTICS ROOM \\\\ A room where Jay's been studying various deities and other such creatures, such as Zalgo, Screech, and more. This room is to the left of the office hallway.

J:\\ JOTA'S OFFICE \\\\ JOTA's office, a dark green room adorned with silver accents. A faux bird rug lies in the center, and a dark green desk bears a lunatic's scribbles. Nearby stands a simple polygon statue of a pixelated emerald-textured plague doctor. Wall sketches depict a green heart with expansive wings and stylized plague doctors drawn from simple lines and shapes. Above, a mounted skull with a "GAME OVER - JOTAPHOBIA" plaque completes the room.

J:\\ JAY'S BEDROOM \\\\ Jay's bedroom, features a beanbag bed, the sole Sega Genesis in the arcade ever since a run-in with Sonic.EXE himself, Sonic posters, and invisible ink-laden posters of the other text doctors, the Cade Crew, and Jay himself. The dark green room houses a simple stand with drawers, holding obscure games, and a basic TV. This room is to the right of the office hallway.

J:\\ JOTA'S THRONE \\\\ On the main floor, JOTA's throne, a giant green chair, stands amidst corrupted textures and computer parts, adorned with a "GAME OVER" banner. J:\\ SUIT JUNGLE \\\\ Behind the curtains of the throne room lies the enigmatic Suit Jungle, featuring towering, unreachable arcade cabinets and one of them stands far above the rest, displaying myriad copies of JOTA's suit, glaring at whoever roams by, amid twisted metal trees and digital leaves, static falls like water and error messages are the closest thing to clouds, more copies of the suit are found crawling around, acting as birds, glitching green messages, seemingly written by Jay himself adorn the place's floors and walls.

the voices I have for all of my anons unless said otherwise: https://tts.cyzon.us EXE

Jay first encountered Sonic.EXE, also known as "X," during an event called Incident X. This voidspawn manifested itself as Sonic and attempted to claim Jay's soul. The encounter took place fashionably late at JOTA's arcade, following the Halloween EXE Takeover in 2023. Since then, X has been engaging in periodic battles with Jay's suit.

X derives pleasure from toying with human souls, leaving Jay concerned about how long he can keep the entity amused before facing potential death. In the aftermath of the incident, Jay discovered the existence of other entities similar to X, collectively referred to as The Lesser Gods or The X Underlings.

[aziraphales-library]

hello!!

i love what you guys do with this blog, firstly. i really appreciate it, as im sure many others do.

second, is there any fics with gabriel telling mary of her pregnancy? i have the image in my head but cant find any fics about it and i honestly want a good laugh [i cant take it seriously]

thank you for all you do!

Hi! Here are the couple of fics i could find...

Great news! by Nyariewen (G)

It's the Annunciation day! Gabriel is on earth to deliver the great news to Maryam (aka Mary) that she'll be the mother of God's son. Aziraphale assists.

Ex Maria virgine by haemey (T)

Gabriel famously was the angel at the Annunciation, telling Mary that she would give birth to Jesus. Yikes. Excerpt: “Allow me: Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. I’m Gabriel.” “What,” said Miriam. “Gabriel,” said Gabriel. “That’s my name. You have one of those, too, right? Ma… Mo…” “Miriam,” said Miriam. “Miriam!”, Gabriel repeated. “Right! Good name. Very good name. Now, Miriam, as I was about to say…” “What are you doing in my bedroom?”, asked Miriam, who refused to think about this situation any further than she had to.

Gone Away by Beckers522 (T)

What if Gabriel wasn't always so horrible? What if he cared about humanity, a long time ago? What if he even loved them once, before they rejected the Almighty and Her greatest gift. Before they chose to murder an innocent man. Before they turned their backs to the suffering of the one person who could save them all. What if, when Jesus took his final breath upon the cross, everything changed? This is a story about Gabriel's interactions with the Son of God throughout the course of his life and what exactly happened to the Archangel that fateful day to fill his heart so full of hate.

How to Make an Antichrist by Varjo (T)

This is a collection of four short stories, detailing possibilities of how an Antichrist baby might come to be born, mostly because I was wondering about Adam's biological mother while everybody was in terror of his father. Plus, here is a little bonus chapter in the end, poking fun at how the other side might have gone about handling Virgin Mary and her pregnancy.

- Mod D

[radiojamming]

Hey guys! We're looking at another severe weather outbreak tomorrow evening/night and it's shaping up to potentially get nasty. Like, bad enough that storm chasers I know are already either leaving for southern Kansas and northern Oklahoma, or backing out entirely because they're worried about what's going to happen. Last time, the post I made got a little bit of traction, so I thought I'd go for it again on the off chance that it's helpful at all.

Here are the following regions currently set to be impacted, according to today's (5/24) outlook from the Storm Prediction Center:

MODERATE (MDT): Oklahoma City, OK; Tulsa, OK; Wichita, KS; Norman, OK; Lawton, OK

ENHANCED (ENH): Kansas City, MO; Overland Park, KS; Kansas City, KS; Topeka, KS; Olathe, KS

SLIGHT (SLGT): Lincoln, NE; Springfield, MO; Abilene, TX; St. Joseph, MO; Fayetteville, AR

MARGINAL (MRGL): Dallas, TX; Columbus, OH; Fort Worth, TX; Cleveland, OH; Omaha, NE

The SPC will update this forecast tomorrow (5/25) morning and will monitor it throughout the day and make changes if need be.

Here are my tips (as well as @fruitsmother's great advice!) from the outbreak two weeks ago.

Another great resource for right-to-the-minute weather updates is Ryan Hall, who will more than likely livestream tomorrow and is great about providing watches and warnings as they come in and giving advice about what to do. He also runs a 501(c)(3) non-profit The Y'All Squad that provides assistance and relief in areas hit by severe weather events.

Just to hit some key points for this forecast and reiterate the biggest pieces of advice:

These storms are forecasted to produce damaging winds, large hail, and potentially strong or violent tornadoes. These storms may hit during the night, meaning there will be low visibility. Do not just rely on sight to monitor the weather; rotation may occur right above you and not all tornadoes are immediately visible. Listen to NOAA weather radio, news stations, or any other resource you may have.

If the weather gets bad, go to a basement or the lowest level of a building. If the building doesn't have a basement, go to the most interior room (usually a bathroom or closet) with no windows. If in a bathroom, consider bringing in couch cushions, pillows, or a mattress to cover yourself in case of falling debris.

Stay away from windows, especially with the potential for high winds and hail. Do not open your windows (see: common tornado myths).

DO NOT GO OUTSIDE TO WATCH. Even if there isn't a tornado, flying debris and huge pieces of hail falling at incredible speeds are a real issue! If you've never gotten clocked in the head with an ice chunk, now is not the time to find out how it feels!

If you haven't already done so, now is the best time to consider your severe weather plan and set up your safe place. Some items you might want to have on hand are things like flashlights or lanterns, extra batteries, phone chargers, food, water, clothing, blankets, several days' worth of medicine if needed, and a first aid kit. If you have pets, it might be best to put pet carriers, extra food, water, leashes, or anything else you may need in this area as well.

Review some basic first aid skills and tips.

If you're on the road, do not go up under an overpass. This is very '90s advice and has been proven either ineffective or outright dangerous. Go into a ditch and try to get yourself as low as possible.

In the worst case scenario of a tornado or other destructive event (microbursts, derechos, etc.), be a help, not a hindrance! Don't clog roadways; allow emergency personnel to get where they need to go!

Just as well, this is not a day for amateur storm chasers. Chaser convergence has been a real problem this year and as we've learned (unfortunately) in the past, tornadoes don't always follow their usual rules, which can put even the most seasoned chaser in danger. This is going to be a great day to watch Pecos Hank or Skip Talbot videos while being as safe as possible.

I'll keep you guys updated as the models from the SPC change or if anything else comes up. Mostly, stay safe!

[talonabraxas]

Avalokiteśvara Talon Abraxas

"Om Mani Padme Hum"

Avalokiteśvara Mantra Meaning

Oṃ, as I’ve explained elsewhere, has only a mystical meaning — suggesting primordial reality, or the potential for enlightenment that pervades the universe.

Mani means jewel.

Padma means lotus (why the form in the mantra is “padme” is explained below).

Huṃ, like Oṃ, has no conceptual meaning.

Both jewels and lotuses are important symbolic elements in Buddhism.

Jewels represent what is most precious, so that Buddhists worship not just the Buddha, but the three jewels (Buddha, Dharma, or the teachings, and Sangha, or spiritual community). and jewels were considered indestructible, which made them an excellent symbol for eternal truths.

The lotus represents purity, in terms of how the enlightened mind is untouched by the negativity of the world. Just as the lotus can exist in muddy water without being soiled, so an enlightened being can exist in an impure world without becoming contaminated by its greed, hatred, or delusion.

The mantra is often “translated” as “Hail to the jewel in the lotus” but the Sanskrit simply can’t mean that.

The central element, manipadme, seems to be a name, Manipadma (“The Jewel Lotus One”) with the -e ending signifying the vocative case, meaning that Manipadma — is being invoked (“O Jewel Lotus One”).

But if this is the case, then according to the rules of classical Sanskrit, then Manipadma would have to be a feminine figure. And Avalokiteśvara is male.

However, if the mantra was originally in a non-Sanskrit language with different grammatical rules, and the vocative -e ending was applicable in that language to a masculine figure, then Manipadma would simply be another name for Avalokiteshvara.

The mantra of Avalokitesvara would then mean “Oṃ, O Jewel Lotus One, Hūṃ” — the “Jewel Lotus One” being an alternative name for Avalokitesvara himself.

[irishmammonagenda]

Catholic MC Gets Sent Into Hell?! Not Clickbait! (part one)

introduction, part one, part two, part three warnings: light swearing, religious theme(s), GN (though implied AFAB mc, they/them pronouns used.) It's implied that MC knows prayers in irish,idk how to word that but😭😭 (i'm new to writing so i dont think i'm too good at characterisation yet)

A strangled scream rips itself from their throat as they lurch downwards into what can only be described as an abyss, the plastic river rock bottle and their phone almost rip themselves from their blazer, MC grips onto them for dear life, the only familiar things in this vacuum of darkness.

The fear almost paralyzes them, and through their years of catholic conditioning, MC does the only thing they can think to do, they pray. Muttering out a prayer to the Patron Saint of Protection, Archangel Michael, MC finds theirself falling onto cold, tiled ground in some bastardisation of wonderland.

They almost sigh in relief, if not for the group of people they catch in their peripherals, on their knees MC looks around, pulling their school skirt further down, it unrolls slightly from where it was rolled at the waist. MC lends wide eyes to the 8 men around the....court room...? They're met with a range of reactions. A man with hair red as blood stands, his arms extended out at his sides in some sort of attempt to be welcoming, to his right is a stoic, though calmly smiling man with green ombre-esque hair. Arguably the most unsettling of the two.

Nevertheless, MC looks to the 6 others in the room, their instincts going haywire, a blond with eyes so green they could be neon, a beautiful man-not that the rest weren't-with hair that reminded MC of the rose coloured shloer they'd get to drink at Christmas.

A man with...indigo? hair...MC was never good with colours, but it didn't matter as he was more focused on his gameboy and glaring at the tan white haired man who looked like the epitome of chaos than them. MC could live with that. They could also live with not having seen the ginger inhale a cake whole, but that was by far the least strange thing that had happened. Then they set their eyes upon the last man of the group, standing to the left hand side of the red-haired brown skinned man, a brunet, or would it be more fitting to say noirette? MC didn't know, either way his hair was black as night, with the slightest hint of silver....or was it grey? Either way, he meets their gaze with his crimson eyes. MC's breath hitches. Falling, only to land in an emo pinterest board looking courtroom with a bunch of men, all of which with strange hair and eyes? They needed to leave.

The man with scarlet hair begins to talk, "Hello MC and welcome to the Devil-"

"Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy na-" MC begins to mutter, their eyes shut tight. The tension in the room grows thicker, they can no longer hear the game on the indigo haired man's gameboy, he must've shut it off.

"Lucifer....What's the human doing?" Scarlethead man asks hesitantly, the name spurs MC on, their prayer ups an octave, "By kingdom come, thy will be done-"

"-Praying. It looks like, Diavolo." A sadistic sounding voice responds, offence dripping in this 'Lucifer's' tone.

"-on earth as it is in heaven-"

"-Oh."

MC drowns out the squabble that begins between these...demons. They pray over and over again, the fighting only continues as they get started into the ten Hail Marys.

"Sé do bheatha a Mhuire, atá-"

A new voice joins in. "Ohh?~ What's with the strange words? That doesn't sound like latin."

A sigh can be heard afterwards, "Neither was the praying in English, Asmo. Besides, humans pray in all of their languages now."

"Really?"

"Feck."

Now that gets MC to stop praying and to look up in surprise at the sound of the voice, "Of course demons can be Irish. Of fucking course." They mutter before meeting several pairs of eyes and immediately lowering their head and muttering once more.

"Satan! You visited humans way more t-than us! D-do something!" MC doesn't hear the chain of responses, only picking up, 'worthless otaku like me!' and 'i'm not a human whisperer!'

The name Satan though....

"Saint Michael the Archangel! Defend us in battle!-"

"-Michael?" The strict tone says aloud. Tension was growing thicker.

"-Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil!-"

"-now thats just mean!"

"-Yeah! Human who do ye think yer messin' with?-"

"-May God rebuke him we humbly pray!-"

"My Lord, would you like me to fetch Simeon?"

"That would be a good idea!" The scarlet haired demon, the 'Lord' says, there's laughter? in his voice though.

"-And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host!-"

Silence takes over the room. Until it doesn't.

"Hmm?~ Wasn't that Lucifer's role?"

"W-whaa?! Don't bring that up! He l-looks like he's about to rage quit during a campaign!"

"Diavolo. How long will Barbatos be in fetching Simeon." That annoyed, stern voice asks, although it's less of a question and more of an order. That must be Lucifer.

"-bY the Power of GOd, cast into hell SataN! And all-"

Snickering can be heard.

"L plus Ratio plus ROFL!"

"Shut up Levi." A voice hisses.

"-other eVIL Spirits who pROwl around the wORLD seeking the ruin of souls!"

"Uhhh...*munch* why's the human glowing?"

...

"nevermind."

[kaar-ne]

I just had a horrible (read: nice) idea for GhostSoap hurt/comfort (?). I think @cod-dump would appreciate this. And other GhostSoap peeps out there, too. :D

So.

Team 141 are on a mission and the enemy is loading their position with bullet hail. They're all sheltering behind collapsed walls when all of a sudden, a grenade is thrown at their position.

"GRENADE!" someone yells.

While others take cover, Soap doesn't even hesitate to throw himself over the grenade.

"JOHNNY! NO!" Ghost yells in panic.

But... the grenade doesn't explode. It should've exploded. Turns out, it's a dud.

Soap was so ready to die for his team that when he realises the grenade didn't go off and he's still alive, still in one piece, he ever so slowly and carefully gets off the grenade and scoots away from it. When he feels a wall behind him, he slumps against it, panting and shaking.

Everything around him is distant and in slow mo. Every sound is muffled or nonexistant. Only when Price touches his shoulder, does Soap snap out of it and look at his captain.

"Soap!" Price yells, "You solid?"

To that, Soap can only nod a little.

"I called us evac! 5 minutes!" Price yells over the hail storm of bullets.

Eventually, Nikolai comes pick the team up and get them the fuck away from the battle field as fast as he can while dodging bullets and what not.

After a while, Nikolai gets his helo to much calmer skies and everyone can heave a deep sigh of relief. Figuratively.

Price and Ghost can't wait for debriefing because what the fuck happened there?!

Soap just stares blankly out the window, watching how the terrain speeds past underneath them. The adrenaline rush has ran out and he's exhausted. He lets his eyelids close.

They arrive back at the safe house and exit the helo, Soap last. He stumbles a bit but manages to keep his balance. He heads to the main house but Ghost pulls him aside, forcefully, and slams him against the wall and pins him there by his shoulders.

"What the fuck were you thinking?!" the lieutenant hisses.

"I wasn't", Soap mumbles.

"Exactly", Ghost snaps, "You weren't."

Soap can't look his commanding officer in the eye.

"Never do that again", Ghost growls and gives Soap a shake, his voice betraying how worried he was and still is, "Ever. That's an order."

"Yes, sir." Soap's voice is so quiet, making him sound so small and vulnerable.

Ghost lets out a long, frustrated huff through his nose before ripping his mask and gloves off. He cups Soap's face in his large hands and kisses him. He needs to feel Johnny's warmth. Needs to feel him. Needs to make sure he's alive.

Soap is taken aback by the kiss. It's... forceful but not demanding. It's desperate but also hopeful. It's full of worry but also full of joy. It screams 'I thought I'd lose you'.

After the initial shock, Soap's eyes slip close and he melts into the kiss the best he can after a certain death situation, his hands coming to cradle Ghost's face.

They stay still for a moment longer before Ghost leans back and presses his forehead to Soap's.

"Please..." he whispers, begs, his hands holding Johnny's face still, "Don't ever scare me like that."

"I thought you weren't scared of anything", Soap says quietly.

A long pause.

"'guess I was wrong", Ghost says quietly.

[dale-gekarios]

Latin Spell chants for BG3

I did not make this list! It was made by ExoZilla in r/BaldursGate3 but I wanted to share it here! This list is from early access, so it only has up to level 2 spells, but honestly the chants stay similar for higher level spells. Some of these might have also changed since EA so take that with a grain of salt, anywhere here’s the original post:

Disclaimer: I do not speak Latin. Some of my spelling/translations/syntax are going to be wrong. Most of them are from Wikipedia, random websites, and context clues. Also, if anyone knows the chants I wasn't able to translate/translate correctly, feel free to correct me.

Cantrips:

Fire Bolt- Ignis (Fire)

Ray of Frost- Glacies (Ice)

Acid Splash- Acido (Acid)

Blade Ward/Guidance/Thaumaturgy- Maior et Fortior ("Greater and Stronger")

Chill Touch- Timere ("Be afraid!")

Dancing Lights/Light/Produce Flame- Fiat Lux/Sol Invictus (“Let there be light”/“Unconquered sun”)

Eldritch Blast- Dolor* (Mental/Physical Pain)

Mage Hand- Veni et iuva me ("Come and help me!")

Poison Spray- Venenum (Poison)

Resistance- Resisto ("I resist")

Sacred Flame- Incende ("Set fire!")

Shillelagh/Flame Blade- Para bellum/Canto te ("prepare for war"/"I enchant you”)

Shocking Grasp- Fulgor (Levin or flash)

Thorn Whip- Flagellum, Flagello/ ?? verum (to flagellate, whip/"?? sweep")

True Strike- N/A

Friends- N/A

1st level Spells:

Armor of Agathys/Barkskin/Bless/Enhance Ability/Jump/Mage Armor/Shield of Faith- Macte virtute ("Be blessed with virtue")

Arms of Hadar/Inflict Wounds- Morere ("Die!")

Animal Friendship- Obedi me/Obeus temeum lupum ("Obey me"/??)

Bane/Ray of Enfeeblement- Tu est nihil (“You are nothing”)

Burning Hands/Scorching Ray- Ardere (To burn)

Charm Person- Impero te/Tempora muntante ("I rule you”/“Temporary change”?)

Color Spray/Blindness- Te occludo oculos/Caecus te("I blind your eyes"/"I blind you")

Command/Ensnaring Strike/Sleep- Impero tibi (“I rule you”)

Create Water- Lues/Aqua pura (Plague, pestilence?/“Clean water”)

Cure Wounds/Healing Word- Te curo/Vis medicatrix* (“I cure you”/"healing power")

Destroy Water- Arescere/Arere decimos ("Become dry"/"Become ten times as dry"?)

Disguise self- Mutatis mutandis/Omnia mutatio (“With things changed that should be changed”/“Change it all”)

Dissonant Whispers- Dolor ("Mental/Physical Pain")

Entangle- Voco vinae/Vinum est et gloriat ("I call forth vines"/??)

Faerie Fire- Te video/Ubi est ("I see you”/“Where are you?”)

False Life/Aid- Vitae extollato/Dum vita est spes est ("Life raised"?/"While there is life, there is hope")

Feather Fall- Non fit injura/Se neme ("There will be no injury/harm"/??)

Find Familiar/Goodberry/Moonbeam- Ex textura (“Weave from the outside”?)

Fog Cloud- Voco nubes ("I call forth clouds")

Grease- Voco arvina ("I call forth grease")

Guiding Bolt- Facula/Flagra ("Little torch"/"Blaze/be inflamed")**

Hail of Thorns- Dia denum (??)

Hellish Rebuke/Flaming Sphere/Spike Growth- Ira et dolor ("Wrath and pain")

Hex- Maledicus/Te exsecror (Abusive, scurrilous/“I curse you”)

Hunter’s Mark- Est praedae mae/Mos certa (“You are my prey”/"Certain death"?)

Longstrider/Expeditious Retreat- Proprae/Ocior/Citium (??)

Magic Missile- Tormentum (a piece of artillery/missile)

Protection from Good and Evil- Tueor/vincit qui patitur (To watch over, protect/“he conquers who endures”)

Ray of Sickness- Inficio ("Infect")

Speak with Animals- Amicus animales/Loqui ut tibi placet (“friend of animals“/“To speak as you please”?)

Tasha’s Hideous Laughter- Rezum teniates??/Reza sabuntat?? (??)

Thunderwave/Shatter- Detono (Thunder/"Expend one's thunder")

Witch Bolt- Harures (??)

*Non-Tav/NPC exclusive line

2nd level spells:

Blur- Incomodo?/Nullus sui ("Inconvenient"?/"None of him/her/them")

Darkness- Tenebrum/Umbra (Darkness/Shadow)

Darkvision- Lux en tenebra/Secretum curaro (“Light in darkness”/??)

Detect Thoughts- Video veritatem/Virtus est scientia (“I see the truth”/“Virtue is knowledge”)

Hold Person- Non movere/Ad lapide (“You do not move”/“To stone!”)

Invisibility/Pass Without a Trace- Evanesco/Invisibilis (To vanish, disappear/ self-explanatory)

Lesser Restoration- Te absolvo/Vincere est vivere (“I absolve you”/“To conquer is to live”)

Melf’s Acid Arrow- Dissolvae (Self-explanatory)

Mirror Image- Fronte nulla vides/Mundus vult decipi ("No faith in the front"?/“The world wants to be deceived”)

Misty Step- Inveniam viam/Ad alibi (“I will find a way”/"To elsewhere")

Prayer of Healing- Fiat voluntas Dei/Ad maiorem Dei gloriam (“May God’s will be done”/“For the greater glory of God”)

Protection from Poison- Résistance venenum (“resist venom/poison”)

Silence- Silencio (Self-explanatory)

Web- Voco arenea ("I call forth a spider's web")

[furbygoblinxiv]

And finally, the entire reason I started this mini svsss design series, part three, some iconic misc demons: Meng Mo, Six Balls, and Sha Hualing ft Liu Mingyan. Close ups and headcanons under the cut!

Ok so first up is Mengo Mo. I gave him a more space and night themed design since I thought it'd be interesting if he hailed from a clan connected to that sorta thing, hence why he was able to keep his spirit alive and so powerful in the dream realm after having been smited lol. Like a sort of magic only those demons learned all those years ago, hence why there aren't many other master dream demons. Based completely on nothing but "hey dream magic and shadow teleporting powers could be similar if you squint", I gave him design elements to match my design of Mobei Jun's mom from part 2 of this little series. Are they distantly related? Eh who knows lol 🤷‍♀️. Beyond that, I gave him clothing pieces from other demon cultures to show how much he's been Around. I made his hair all billowy since I thought it'd be fun for that to be part of his smoke like experience.

I wanted to maximize the Little Guy energy, and also wanted to only use six colors on him. I like to think hes a fun and colorful mix of scales and feathers. I also made him have a similar outfit style to Sha Hualing as if they hailed from similar areas of the demon realm, which I made the west. I have his only piece of jewelry being the supposed clan crest on the waist bc hes a lower class demon. If he unbraided his hair he'd have a flowing mohawk of sorts...anywho

Queens, icons, legends. For Sha Hualing, this is more of a casual fit, I imagine she probably wears wayyy more jewelry than this. I wanted her outfit to be fun, revealing, and very easily blown off in battle lol. Liu Mingyan, by contrast, is wearing the head disciple uniform of Xian Shu, which covers 100% more of her lol. The light color fabric with color accents paired with the grey shoes and grey belt, which has drapery and embroidery that matches the theming of the peak is something I tried to match for the inner/head disciples, like Ning Yingying and Luo Binghe in part 1 of this mini series. I like to imagine that Xian Shu specializes in textiles and fabrics, and thus the disciples there would have an enchanted piece or two on them at all times. I mean, an enchanted face covering would ensure that no one unwanted saw your face, right? Anyways, I gave Sha Hualing purple on the earrings and Liu Mingyan red and gold on her hair crown to symbolize…something lol.

Anyways, not as much to say this time, except that I love Six Balls. Also I miiight post peak lords next? It really depends. Anyways, thanks for reading o7

[asnowperson]

Where it all started...

Platypus, the preserver of manga history, showed this page he scanned from a 1978 issue of Monthly Manga Shounen (月刊マンガ少年) to me. It was great seeing a manga artist, Minamoto Tarou, acknowledged the importance of Fire! even back then, and hailed it as the grandmother of the 70s bishounen manga.

Here's a quick translation for you.

Monthly Manga Shounen, issue no. 1978/8

Minamoto Tarou

Speaking of show business, when I was watching Yamaguchi Momoe sing “Playback” on TV the other day, I was suddenly reminded of Takakura Ken’s youth. Her dreamy gaze when she sings, how she looks slightly bashful when her song ends... She was almost the spitting image of Ken-san of the past. Is it that there’s something "manly" in a woman’s charm? Or does a man’s masculinity has something akin to femininity? ...And it brings me to the topic of male-male romance manga drawn by women. Things took off after manga like Mo-sama’s “Gymnasium” or “Thomas”, and Takemiya Keiko-shi’s “Yuki to Hoshi to Tenshi to.” And until now, there has been a plethora of works in that vein, and every magazine you pick up today sure to be full of such works. But when did it really start? When I think about it, Mizuno Hideko-shi shines bright. Yes, I'm talking about “Fire!” “For the first time in my life, I loved someone more than I did my mother: Fire Wolf.” Didn’t this whole world came to be in young Aaron’s cries as he was breaking down in tears  before the flames of the explosion that killed Wolf? This is what I think.

**Insert fangirl squee here!**