#yellow tooth elephants demon

[the-monkey-ruler]

Sun Wukong Raids the Lion Camel Ridge (2022) 孙悟空大闹狮驼岭

Director: Guo Yulong Starring: Miu Tse / En Jing / Li Faguang Genre: Action / Fantasy Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Duration: 90 minutes Type: Retelling

Summary:

In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong occupied the top of the mountain, became a demon king, made havoc in the underworld, changed life and death, fought against the heavenly soldiers, and disturbed the heavenly court. Sun Wukong has never been afraid of all kinds of anti-sky behaviors in the past. However, when he passed Lion Camel Ridge on his way to protect Tang Seng to learn scriptures in the West, Sun Wukong was afraid, and here, he even cried twice in a row. So, how terrifying is Lion Camel Ridge? How could Sun Wukong be so scared?

Lion Camel Ridge is a personal hell, and it is even worse than the bloody scenes of the 18th hell in the underworld. In addition, all the people living in Lion Camel Ridge Country were ordinary people, but the three demons in Lion Camel Ridge ate up all the people in the city, which led to the terrifying scene where the city was full of monsters. The strength of the Three Demons of Lion Camel Ridge is even more terrifying;

The three demons of Lion Camel Ridge are the Azure Lion Spirit, the White Elephant Spirit, and the Golden-Winged Roc. Among them, the Azure Lion Spirit, like Sun Wukong, once made troubles in the heavenly palace and swallowed hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers in one gulp; the nose of the White Elephant can make a person with an iron back and a bronze body immediately lose their souls; the Golden-Winged Roc's fighting speed is extremely fast. Relying on its own speed advantage, the Roc once beat Sun Wukong in seconds, and he also has a magic weapon "yin and yang two gas cylinders" that can turn people into pus and blood. It was because Sun Wukong was taken by this magic weapon that he was burned in pain by three fire dragons in the bottle, so he cried in the bottle. And this is also the first time Sun Wukong cried at the level of Lion Camel Ridge.

Of course, Sun Wukong listened to the rumor that Tang Seng was dead when he had nothing to do with the three demons of Lion Camel Ridge, so he ran to the Tathagata Buddha and cried loudly. This was the second time he cried in Shituoling. From the two cries of Sun Wukong, it can be seen that he is scared. The first time he cried was because he was afraid that he would die in the "two cylinders of yin and yang"; plus listening to rumors that's why he cried again. The Tathagata Buddha saw that Sun Wukong was in such a mess, so he led the strongest lineup on Lingshan to the Lion Camel Ridgeto to subdue the demons. The Lion Camel Ridge are not only powerful, but also have a powerful background behind them. The Lion and the White Elephant are the mounts of Manjusri and Puxian Bodhisattva, and the Roc is the uncle of the Tathagata Buddha. It can be said that the background behind the three monsters of the lion camel mountain is more terrifying than their own strength. Facing such a powerful opponent, Sun Wukong's defeat is a reasonable thing.

Even though Shituoling is terrifying, but as high-level figures in Lingshan, Tathagata, Manjusri, and Puxian indulged their subordinates to go to Lion Camel Ridge to cause disaster, and even created such a terrifying scene, this should be the level of Lion Camel Ridge Scariest thing ever.

Source: http://chinesemov.com/2022/Sun-Wukong-Raids-the-Lion-Camel-Ridge.html

Link: N/A

[starsfic]

Valentine’s Day, Part 2

Summary: Sun Wukong walks in on his sworn brothers working together. (Sworn Brothers, fluff.)

“Okay. This is fine.”

“This is not fine.”

“Where are the corner pieces?”

“We had all the- wait, hang on.”

“WE’RE MISSING ONE?!”

This was the scene that Sun Wukong walked in on. Completely taking over his living room was his sworn brothers, gathered around his coffee table and arguing. Qi Xiaotian, Red Son, and Long Xiaojiao sat on the couch. Xiaotian looked concerned while Red was flipping through a book and Xiaojiao was recording the scene at the coffee table.

“What’s going on?” Qi Huiying asked. The kid, freshly picked up from school, dropped her bag and scrambled over to Macaque’s side. Macaque's tail wrapped around her waist without even looking up from whatever they were squabbling about. “Ooh, a puzzle!”

“A puzzle?” Wukong didn’t have puzzles… except for… “Are you doing the-”

“The Deluxe Sun Wukong puzzle?” Xiaotian said, picking up a familiar lid. “Yeah.”

Wukong hissed. “Yeah. That puzzle gets hard around…” He craned his head and paused. The five of them were crowded around a honestly tiny chunk of the puzzle. “It's a 4000-piece puzzle and you've finished maybe 100 pieces max. How long have you been doing this?"

“For three hours,” Xiaojiao reported.

DBK looked up with a frown. “It has not been that long.”

She glanced at her phone, probably checking the time, before doing a slow nod. “Oh, yeah, the clock must be totally wrong.” Red chuckled at the thick sarcasm, not looking up from his book to offer a high five. “We offered to help, but-”

“If you help, you will slow it down,” Azure said, picking up a piece and squinting at it. “Does this look like…” Macaque squinted at it and shook his head.

“Yeah, and I’m sure Peng getting angry and breaking the coffee table really sped up the process.”

Peng did what? “You broke my coffee table?”

There was a pause and then three awkward “No.”s as Peng and Elephant shuffled to hide the stack of books propping up the table. Wukong blinked. He glanced at the kids.

Xiaotian gave an awkward shrug. “You were gone for a while.”

“Yeah, and that’s why this puzzle was banned.” Ugh. Wukong turned to the kitchen. “I’m grabbing some wine and you better make room for me and the kids.” He could faintly hear Azure take a breath before he yelped.

Hopeless. All of them.

That’s why Wukong liked them so much.

[jedineedlove]

LMK VS Legend

Peng:

The Golden Winged Peng

Korean- King of Bungma (Bungma= Dapeng)

LMK:

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

JTTW:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Legend:

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

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

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

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

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

Other Ledgends:

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

Yue Fei

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

Thoughts:

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

[loyaltykask]

LMK Wukong’s Sworn Brothers clear up

For LMK fans wondering who this peeps are I just wanna make a post where I think LMK is taking Wukong’s sworn brothers

So in the original novel he has six Sworn Brothers

Female Macaque King 獼猴王

Snub Nose Monkey King (a gibbon) 禺狨王

Demon Bull King 牛魔王

Dragon Demon King 蛟魔王

Lion Demon King 獅駝王

Peng Demon King 鵬魔王

All these were brothers, who fought with him in the battle verse Heaven and there are many interpretations of how they could have had a falling out since Wukong showed preference over his own monkeys compared to the non-monkey soldiers. Only one of these brothers was seen again within the journey and that is the Demon Bull Kung. Otherwise WuKong has never addressed any other demon as his sworn brother, or claims to have known them as as such as he has done with DBK

The demons we see in the picture are as follows

Yellow Tooth Elephant king 黃牙老象

Azure Lion King/Lynx-Lion King 青毛獅子 / 獅猁怪

Golden Wing Great Peng 金翅大鵬雕

Now within the book, it is clear that these are not meant to be seen as the same demons as his brothers however, I believe LMK is going to make the creative decision to have these three demons be Wukongs sworn brothers as they are given more book time not only as villains, but I’ll give them back stories as well, allowing LMK more creative freedom to tie them with Wukongs OG Sworn brothers.

While I am sad that the original six sages are not going to be part of the series, nor will they probably be given designs, I do find this very creative and interesting, take of having future villains having personal connections with Wukong! Can’t wait to see what they do!

[wildwitche]

Three new demons from lmk season 4 and their true story from the novel

Well, I did a little research and I think some lmk fans will be interested to know about the three demons from season 4, what they were like in the novel "Journey to the West" (especially for those who haven't read the novel) and compare what they are like we were shown in the series

And let's start with the novel! (a small warning: I have not read the novel 🥲 so all the information I will write here is taken from the Internet)

Soooo Azure Lion, Yellow Toothed Elephant and Golden Winged Great Peng, a trio of powerful Demon Kings infesting the Lion Camel Ridge. The former two dwell in the Lion Camel Cave, the other rules over a nearby city

The Lion Camel Mountain of Journey to the West to exist like a nightmare in the original work. The seventy-fifth chapter of the original book describes a terrifying and terrifying Lion Camel Mountain, even Taibaijinxing specially came to persuade the master and the apprentice to take a detour and not step into this demonic realm

( @fansids answer to anon's question about them):

(I think it’s clear after that, those guys were so bloodthirsty, dangerous and powerful /// and yes, the information that they ate people really surprised me p.s. and yes, you don’t need to write to me, lol they are demons, what did you expect? I was just very surprised by the description of this cave and the mountain of bones)

What happened in the chapters with Wukong and his friends there, I will not tell, but if you are interested, you can read a short description here

But we have gathered here not to discuss the plot of the novel, but to hear interesting things about these characters (which most likely will not be mentioned in the series). And we start with the Golden Winged Great Peng:

The Peng (a mythological giant bird, which is this case doubles as a Garuda)

The Thousand Ri Travelling Peng is a villainous bird demon

The Peng can fly so fast he can catch up with Sun Wukong's cloud leap in just two wingbeats.

The Peng, son of the Phoenix, brother of Mahamayuri, adopted uncle of Buddha himself. Yet he runs off to become a demon because Paradise is boring (wow, he has great connections in the family of )

The Peng devoured all the citizens of the Lion-Camel Kingdom, and then set himself up as king, recruiting demons to be his subjects

All three are pets of Buddhist deities. The Peng, in particular, is the adopted uncle of Buddha, and he uses this to do whatever he wants

In the novel Peng is actually the strongest of the three

And here will be the difference between the series and the novel. If in the TV series Azure Lion played the main role in their trio (spoiler: he became the strongest at the end of episode 10), then in the novel Peng is the strongest. And I was very surprised by this fact, because Azure Lion interested me so much that I could not think that there was something different in the novel

And now also some facts about the other members:

The Elephant and the Peng. The former has a spear, the latter has a ji with a beautifully painted shaft

The White Elephant is a man-eating monster whose trunk can make people faint by sucking out their soul

The Lion actually shows up earlier as the impostor king of Wuji

The Lion wields one, which is supposedly an Absurdly Sharp Blade

All three are pets of Buddhist deities. The Peng, in particular, is the adopted uncle of Buddha, and he uses this to do whatever he wants

Unlike other demons, these three guys work together against their foe Wukong

I think that these are really interesting facts that we will soon hear about in the series, since the plot about them has already been slightly changed. I was enthralled when I read it all, and all night I couldn't stop thinking about how different they are in the series and in the novel. And even if you tell me that it is not appropriate to compare the book and the TV series, I still like to do it and watch how the directors of LMK slightly change the history of the original characters from the novel))

Here is a little more detailed information about each of them:

The Azure Lion (青毛獅子) is actually the steed of Manjusri which previously appeared in an earlier chapter as the Lion-Lynx Demon. He is armed with a bronze saber. He is capable of transforming himself into several times bigger or smaller than his normal size. It is said that he once showed up uninvited at a peach feast hosted by the Queen Mother of the West and wanted to fight for the rulership of Heaven. The Jade Emperor sent 100,000 celestial troops to capture the demon, who turned into a giant monster and devoured the entire army in one gulp. The Azure Lion swallows Sun Wukong, who causes trouble inside his stomach. The Lion then pretends to agree to open his mouth and let Sun Wukong out, but intends to bite him to death when he comes out. However, anticipating the demon's intentions, Sun Wukong sticks his Ruyi Jingu Bang out-ahead of him instead and the demon breaks his teeth after biting on the staff. Sun Wukong later creates a long rope, ties it around the demon's heart and plays with it after leaving the demon's stomach. The Azure Lion is eventually subdued and taken back by Manjusri

The Golden Winged Great Peng (金翅大鵬雕) is armed with a ji-polearm and is capable of flying over great distances. He possesses a Flask of Yin and Yang Essence (陰陽二氣瓶) which can suck in unsuspecting victims (similar to the Purple Gold Red Gourd and the Suet Jade Flask, two of Taishang Laojun 5 sacred treasures, mentioned-above). After a while, the victim trapped inside the flask will be reduced to a bloody mash. He uses the flask to trap Sun Wukong but the latter breaks out and the flask is rendered useless because its essence has been spilt. The demon is later revealed to be actually a brother of the peacock Mahamayuri (the Buddha's godmother), as both of them were born to the Fenghuang. The Buddha shows up to subdue the demon and take him back to Vulture Peak

The Yellow Toothed Elephant (黃牙老象) is actually the white elephant that the bodhisattva Samantabhadra rides on. He appears as a giant with an elephant-like face, and is armed with a spear. He has a long nose capable of trapping enemies and crushing them. While fighting with Zhu Bajie, he uses his nose to wrap around him and capture him. He is eventually subdued and taken back by Samantabhadra

[nixthefanartist]

Theory about season 4. SPOILERS BELOW!

So the Azure Lion claims that Sun Wukong betrayed them by surrendering to the Jade Emperor (which is very different compared to how Wukong technically lost a bet with Buddha, which is canon in the LMK universe since it was stated earlier on in season 1, I believe). But I don’t think the full story was shown (nor does the Azure Lion have the full story).

It was shown that just prior to Wukong surrendering, the Azure Lion, Yellow-Toothed Elephant, Golden Winged Great Peng, and Macaque were surrounded by Celestials. What if Sun Wukong was given a choice: surrender or have his friends die. It’s likely he could have won against the Jade Emperor but at the cost of the other four’s lives. So he surrendered, maybe then had the bet with Buddha and lost again, and during his 500 years of imprisonment, Azure/Peng/Elephant built that city that was shown (which was then destroyed by Wukong and his companions).

I also kind of theorize that putting Peng and Elephant in the memory scroll was Wukong’s idea over the Celestial Realms (they likely would have wanted the three demons dead over being imprisoned).

Thoughts?

[luminouslumity]

I would've done this way sooner, but I wanted to wait for all of the episodes to come out in English first before I finally did, including the special! So, without further ado, here's a summary on the villains for S4! And much like last time, I'm going off of the order they'd appeared in the book.

YELLOW ROBE DEMON (黃袍怪)

I've actually technically covered Yellow Robe a few times already, but to quickly reiterate, the Pilgrims meet him after Tang Sanzang banishes Sun Wukong for him killing three supposedly innocent people (really the White Bone Spirit in disguise), he quickly incapacitates them, Pigsy goes to get Wukong back, Monkey goes to rescue Sanzang, finds out that he's actually a celestial named Kui Mulang (奎木狼) who wished to be reunited with his beloved Yunü (玉女) after they were separated upon her reincarnation as Princess Baihuaxiu (百花羞), who he had also previously kidnapped. Monkey eventually has Yellow Robe apprehended and returned to Heaven, the princess returns to her family, and Wukong happily rejoins the group.

GOLDEN WINGED GREAT PENG (金翅大鵬雕), AZURE LION, (青毛獅子), AND YELLOW TOOTHED ELEPHANT (黃牙老象)

And now onto the main trio first!

Before the big confrontation with all three, Azure Lion actually appears in an earlier chapter as the Lion-Lynx Demon (獅猁怪), who had killed the ruler of the kingdom of Wuji (烏雞國) after throwing him down a well and ends up impersonating him for the next three years (cue Among Us jokes) before he's finally confronted by the Pilgrims after the king's ghost informs them of the impostor sitting on his throne. After the king's brought back to life thanks to the Lao Tzu's Pill of Immortality, the group go to expose the demon, who then disguises himself as Tang Sanzang, but it doesn't take long for his cover to be blown when he can't recite the Tight-Fillet Spell.

Before any fighting can commence, however, they're interrupted by Lion-Lynx's owner, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, who goes on to explain that his steed was actually meant to be an obstacle for the Pilgrims in order to test their resolve before adding that the king had actually had him tied up and thrown into a river for three days and nights, leading to Lion-Lynx seeking retribution on his master's behalf.

The next time we see him, he's residing in in Lion Camel Cave (獅駝洞) at Lion Camel Ridge (獅駝嶺) with Peng and Yellowtusk. Sun Wukong first learns about them from one of their minions, Xiaozuanfeng (小鑽風), after—say it with me now—the Pilgrims get captured! Unlike the show, however, Peng seems to be the one in charge rather than Azure. Either way, Monkey manages to call upon Ao Shun (敖順), the Dragon King of the North Sea, for assistance, but Wukong is the only one who manages to completely escape their grasp and a rumor quickly spreads that Sanzang had been eaten alive.

After mourning and blaming Buddha for this latest predicament, Monkey goes to ask the Patriarch himself for advice, which Buddha proceeds to explain that not only is the lion demon the same one he and the others had encountered before, but much like Lion-Lynx, Peng and Yellowtusk have a connection to Hinduism as well, with Yellowtusk being the steed of the bodhisattva Viśvabhadra, while Peng is none other than a brother to the peacock Mahāmāyūrī, and long story short, this technically makes him and Buddha family.

For further context, to quote Anthony Yu:

Tathāgata said, “At the time when Chaos parted, Heaven opened at the epoch of Zi, Earth developed at the epoch of Chou, and Man came into existence at the epoch of Yin.

When Heaven and Earth mated,

Then myriad things were born.

The myriad things consisted of beasts and fowl: of the beasts, the unicorn was the head, and the phoenix was the head of the fowl. After having been fertilized by the aura of procreation, the phoenix also gave birth to the peacock and the great roc. When the peacock first came into the world, it was a most savage creature, able to devour humans. In fact, it could suck in a human being with one breath from a distance of some forty miles. I was on top of the Snow Mountain, having just perfected my sixteen-foot diamond body, when the peacock sucked me into his stomach. I could have escaped through his anal passage, but fearing that my body might be defiled, I cut my way out through his back and rode him back to the Spirit Mountain. I was about to take his life, but the various buddhas stopped me with the observation that to hurt the peacock would be like hurting my own mother. That was why I detained him at the mountain instead and appointed him Buddha-Mother, the Bodhisattva Mahārāja Mayūra. Since the great roc had the same parent as the peacock, it could be said that he was somewhat related to me.”

On hearing this, Pilgrim said with a smile, “Tathāgata, according to what you’ve told me, you should be regarded as the nephew of that monster-spirit!”

The three demons are then subdued by Buddha, Mañjuśrī, and Viśvabhadra, and Sanzang of course turns out to still be alive, albeit trapped in an iron chest, which Monkey quickly frees him from. The Pilgrims then carry on with their journey to the West afterwards.

[acoraxia]

from what I just read (take it with the BIGGEST grain of salt because I did read it from wikipedia of all places), Peng is the Buddha's spiritual uncle.

And he was there long before Azure and Yellow tusk:

For an unknown reason, the Eagle transformed himself into a humanoid form, the Golden Winged Great Peng, ate all residents of the Lion Camel Kingdom, ruled it for 500 years, and befriended the Azure Lion Demon and the Yellow-Toothed Elephant Demon to eat Tang Sanzang. Great Peng's powers and position of being the Buddha's uncle fuel his ego as he regarded himself above everyone else. He is armed with a ji and can fly over great distances. Peng has a Flask of Yin and Yang Essence (陰陽二氣瓶) which can suck in unsuspecting victims.

So, there you go.

SEETHING as I learn that fucking Peng was the original leader of the Camel Ridge Trio and not Azure Lion.

ohhh my god

[gabrieldrawsstuff]

Aight fellas, I'm doing a list of canon descriptions of dw characters for future reference, might do a second part with more minor characters

SPOILER ALERT OBV

STRANGER

-THE JOURNAL : "Somehow I'm wearing a coat, so I must've changed my clothes on my way here. I don't recognize myself anymore. I can barely hold this pencil. Has my body changed?"

-DOCTOR : "I see you haven't regained your speech. You need to find another doctor."

-SNAIL : "Your face... What happened to you?

The snail's jaw falls so low, it almost detaches itself from the rest of the body.

You scared me... You barely resemble a human... You should cover yourself..."

SNAIL : "You're so ugly, I feel like puking... You barely resemble a human being..."

THE CRIPPLE : "You, lad. You've got your hands and legs. Strong arms. I beg you!"

MAMA ELEPHANT : "Can't you speak? Did someone take away your voice?"

MAMA ELEPHANT : "Your gob looks like that because of this fiendish air, do you know? I bet you can't speak, because you didn't keep your mouth shut when walking through the woods."

MAMA ELEPHANT : "(...) I know you want something, you leper demon."

MUSHROOM GRANNY : "(...) But you're young and strong."

CHICKEN LADY : "Whaddaya need, poor soul? Hungry, eh? I'd give ya some stew, but what good will it do?"

(I think in polish version it was closer to 'how will you eat it' although I can't be sure)

MIRROR : "You are one ugly bastard. I guess you got what you deserved."

MUSICIAN : "This is our doctor, yes? He is just as brave and good as you are!"

MUSICIAN : "You're not af-fraid of anything!"

WOLFMAN : "Even from afar I can smell your putrid stench. Be glad I don't have an appetite for carcasses, Meat"

WOLFMAN : (after the church dream sequence) "Meat, what's with the big eyes? Hehe... Scared?"

WOLFMAN : (when you nod to a question if you're making a joke of him) "You're a brave piece of meat... and what's more important, one with a sense of humor. 

WOLFMAN : "Are you pretending to be human, or are you just cracking jokes?"

WOLFMAN : "You look tired, Meat. Busy night?"

WOLFMAN : "Have fun, Meat... Just remember to hide that disaster of a face or it's no dancing for you"

WOLFMAN : (when you spare the sow) "My heart sings with joy when I see such selfless kindness. Tell me the truth, Meat. It was you, wasn't it?"

vvvvv

TRADER

-A man, roughly my size, is standing before me.

I can barely make out his disturbingly familiar features through the matte visor of his helmet...

The massive helmet is covered with an old sack and seems to be an integral part of the unnaturally pale body.

-The man reaches out to me with his black hand. It's covered in charcoal... There's something written on his worn, woolen glove.

-Visibly struggling, the man drops the sack from his back and bends in half, as if out of breath. He shakes the dust off his clothes, then rolls up the sleeve of his, seemingly too small, jacket. 

-The old sack covering his body slides down, revealing his chest, covered in horrid growths. It is fused with a porous helmet, pulsating to the rhythm of his breath.

vvvvv

WOLFMAN

THE JOURNAL: "If I'm not delusional, the man whom I met... had the head of a wolf."

FIRST ENCOUNTER: The figure hides its face under the hood. It smells of wet soil and fur.

WOLFMAN: "(...)I barely believe my beautiful eyes... (...) The Wolf smiles, revealing a row of sharp teeth.

AT BARN RUINS: The Wolf makes a quick leap and, bouncing against me with his swollen belly, he puts his paws on my shoulders. He ostentatiously licks his face. (...)

-I notice fresh bloodstains on his fur and feel streaks of his saliva dripping onto my coat. 

-The Wolf takes two steps back. I can only see a row of filthy, sharp teeth underneath his hood.

-The Wolf squeezes my arms and starts licking my face. Once from the left side, once from the right side. (...) His breath stinks of rot.

WOLFMAN: "Thanks to you I feel fulfilled! I got my girl, my sweet little lady back."

-Suddenly the Wolf sends me back with a powerful push and reaches into his coat pocket.

WOLFMAN: "(...) and then nothing wil keep you from getting the fuck out of my part of the woods! Do you get me, Meat? You will pack your bags, dive into that stinking hole of yours and dissa-fucking-pear!"

-Finally he snorts, his thick, yellow spit landing on the photo.

-The Wolf grabs the box and starts sniffing it from every angle. I could swear I've heard his tail moving under his coat.

WOLFMAN: "And what am I supposed to do with it? Bite it until it opens? Your brain must be rotting if you think I will break my fangs for this shit."

WOLFMAN: "An electronic game, eh? About a wolf stealing chicken eggs... hehehe. Good one!I've a soft spot for games, how about you?"

-As I produce the key, the Wolf's pupils widen with excitement.

WOLFMAN: (about villagers) "Those selfish, deceitful wretches! They think they're superior, because they have human gobs. They treat us like lepers! But you know what? Fuck them. We're buddies, aren't we? And them? They deserve to be punished, Meat..."

-The Wolf pierces me with his look and grins. A string of saliva lands on his hole-riddled jacket.

-The Wolf puts his paw on me. I can feel his claws puncturing my skin.

WOLFMAN: (about piotrek) "Meat! Fucking hell, seen that? Hahaha! Seen that? Hahaha! Off he flew, didn't he? OFF HE FUCKED!!! Hahahaha!"

WOLFMAN: "If you wish to spend some more quality time basking in the striking, yet natural beauty of my features before you head off to the Silent Forest, you will find me in my camp in the Dry Meadow."

vvvvv

DOCTOR

THE JOURNAL: "What I do know is that the insane fucker took my key. My only chance to get out of the woods. He also tore out all the pages from my journal."

THE JOURNAL: "The doctor has escaped. So be it. He would only be a hindrance anyway."

CHICKEN LADY: "My sisters! Where did ya find it? It's all that godless quack's fault - devil brought him! All he did was prescribe this and that, scribble this no-good drivel! To hell with them papers!"

-I can feel the doctor's cold hand grab me by the jaw, (...)

-He removes his dirty glasses with a trembling hand and freezes.

DOCTOR: "First they begged for help, now I need to hide from them! I'm just an ordinary doctor! How the fuck was I supposed to help them?! How?!"

-With shaking hands, he reaches for the cigarrete butt between his yellow teeth.

DOCTOR: "I used to come here to treat people. I pulled out kids' milk teeth, delivered babies... (...) Last time I came here was three or four years ago. Then the trees blocked the path."

-The Doctor is visibly pleased with himself and his theory. His hands are no longer trembling. He produces a hand-rolled cigarette and lights it.

DOCTOR: "(...) I have no idea where it leads. I'm a shitty diver. (...)"

-The Doctor stares right into my eyes. Mud drips from his face. He hasn't blinked in over a minute.

- (...)His glasses are so dirty, I barely see the eyes hiding underneath.

-A chunk of mud falls down on his exposed tongue. He chews it slowly and swallows with satisfaction.

-The Doctor puts the muddy hand into his mouth, grimaces and pulls out a yellow tooth. He puts it into the pocket of his torn trousers. The tooth falls through a hole. He does not notice this...

-Slowly he bends down and grabs a thick branch from the ground. He starts biting the bark off of it. He swallows the bark with an effort, but also great satisfaction. He places the stick among other ones sticking out of his mud-covered head.

WOLFMAN: "Well, well. I know this quack. A nonentity, a third-rate witch doctor. Useless fucking clunker... But he still managed to screw you over with that key. Eh, comrade?"

MUSICIAN: "This is our doctor, yes? He is just as brave and good as you are! He helped me. He is helping all of us! He gave me this beautiful mask, so I could be healed of my afllictions. Maybe you could have one too..."

vvvvv

vvvvv

MUSICIAN

THE JOURNAL: "I met a boy in the village. He told me that the "Chicken Lady" keeps the "Pretty Lady" locked in her house. The boy really wants to see her, but the old woman won't allow it."

THE JOURNAL: "I decided to give the key to Chicken Lady's room to the little boy. He thanked me and asked me to bring him his mom's violin (it's hidden behind the wardrobe). He's afraid to go himself, as his parents are supposedly angry with him."

THE JOURNAL: "The boy sure was happy to see the new violin. (...)The kid also told me I should visit him in his parent's home someday."

CHICKEN LADY: (after musician's death) "Maybe it's just that me ears are getting worse, but it's been a while since I've heard that monster outside me windows..."

CHICKEN LADY: "Holy Mother, this creep again! May the devil take him and his blasted violin!"

MUSICIAN: "The Pretty Lady? S-she's... the most beautiful lady in the w-world! I w-watch her through the cracks in the window. S-she ch-changes when I watch her... g-gets more beautiful. I p-play for her... I want her to be h-happy..."

MUSICIAN: "I fished out the Pretty Lady's w-wreath from the river! (...)Oh yes, I will become the Pretty L-lady's husband! We w-will walk hand in hand, s-sir. I will play for her, mister s-sir."

-A skinny little hand emerges from beneath the tractor and grabs me by the ankle.

MUSICIAN: "They will not l-listen to me, they w-won't hear how sad I am, sir..."

-One of the strings securing his mask falls off, together with his ear. The boy reattaches it as if nothing happened.

MUSICIAN: "My m-mom has this beautiful violin! I would ask her to b-borrow it to me, but she's too angry with me... Could you p-please c-convince her to b-borrow it to me? I'll g-give you a card with drawings for her. To apologize."

-The boy turns the game in his hand for a while, but he can't find a way to reach the buttons with his overgrown fingers. The game slips out of his hand and drops to the ground. The wannabe musician freezes.

MUSICIAN: "(...) maybe you could take a wee piece of... m-meat for me? I've never eaten a pig and I've h-heard it's very tasty! W-would you take s-some for me?"

-The boy sniffles and rubs the mask with his deformed hand.

-From beneath the mask you can hear a horribly distorted, resounding voice... of a child?

-The figure tries to turn its head, but its enormous neck makes this task impossible to complete.

MUSICIAN: "P-please let me stay. P-please, don't chase me off. I've got nowhere to... go. The villagers don't a-a-allow me to live in the camp. I p-p-promise I won't p-play anymore! I'll be quiet. You can c-cover me with something, if you don't w-want to look at m-me..."

MUSICIAN: (after gifting you a rat) "(...) I mean, she jumped on my hand and s-started nibbling on my f-finger! I quickly clasped my h-hand and b-bit through its neck!"

-The corners of the boy's mouth turn up in a grotesque smile, exposing rows of overgrown teeth, which even his mask couldn't hide.

-The boy clumsily grabs the ball in his hand. He carefully hides it under his legs, so that it doesn't roll away.

MUSICIAN: "S-sorry! I didn't want to! T-this thing is coming out of m-my body. I... I tried to stop it, but I don't think I can... N-now the whole room is covered with... this. I didn't want to make a mess, I s-swear! Please, don't t-throw me a-away!"

-The boy leans over the violin lying next to his overgrown left hand. He plucks one of the strings with his right hand, clumsily trying to keep the rhythm.

MUSICIAN: "Recently, I've grown quite a bit. My mom always used to say that I need to be b-big and s-strong... to help her out in the field..."

The boy tries to hug his frail knees with the disproportionately massive torso.

"But I... I don't want to be big anymore. It's v-very hard being big. You need to be so... so strong! To even walk.Now my v-violin is... too s-small for me!"

vvvvv

vvvvv

[the-monkey-ruler]

Do those who are expelled from heaven become demons? I think you told me something like that about Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing. I also didn't understand the story of the Yellow Robe Demon very well. about the part about his romance with Jade Maiden and the whole reincarnation thing. Was he a demon in the beginning? Or did he become a demon when he left heaven?

So I have explained in a past post here of how demons are made.

From there you can see how people in heaven, or rather celestials, either leave or are expelled from heaven and turn into demons. Yellow Robe Demon has said that he left heaven from his position as one of the 28 constellations in order to be with his love the Jade Maiden. The Jade Maiden for whatever reason reincarnated into a human instead of just leaving heaven (maybe this was an easier path considering that leaving heaven without permission is a harder thing to accomplish for a servant). But in any case, she didn't remember the Yellow Robe Demon or their prior love and thus he kidnapped her. Tragic romance.

But once he was caught he was brought back to heaven and lost the demonic powers that he gained while eating humans on Earth. Here is a lost of demons that were once from heaven and became demons.

People

Zhu Bajie (豬八戒) deity - pig demon

Sha Wujing (沙悟淨) deity - river demon

Tang Sanzang / Golden Cicada (唐三藏 / 金蝉子) Buddha disciple - human

Yellow Robe Demon (黃袍怪) wood-wolf star - robe demon

Golden Horned King (金角大王) furnaces blower - horn demon

Silver Horned King銀角大王 furnaces blower - horn demon

Yellow Brows Great King (黃眉大王) Buddha disciple - brows demon

Baihuaxiu (百花羞) Jade Maiden in Heaven - human

Princess of India (天竺) Immortal Su'e - human

Honorary mention: Princess Iron Fan (鐵扇公主) wind goddess - Rakshasi (this is only mentioned in the Zaju play to be a former goddess, otherwise she was always a Rakshasi in Xiyouji)

Please note that Sanzang, the Princess of India, and Biguaxiu were the only fallen celestials who are human because they reincarnated properly. Zhu Bajie also reincarnated but he didn't lose his cultivation when he went to earth and therefore became a demon pig rather than living out his animal form in peace and waiting to be reincarnated into a human. All other fallen celestials choose to leave, with the expectation on Wujing who was banished, and it is to be expected that they turned into demons for giving into their desires and started to consume human flesh.

Animals

Yellow Wind Demon (黃風怪) pet - yellow marten (owner Lingji)

Lion-Lynx Demon / Azure Lion (獅猁怪 / 青毛獅子) pet - azure lion (owner Manjusri)

King of Spiritual Touch (靈感大王) pet - gold fish (owner Guanyin)

Single Horned Rhinoceros King (獨角兕大王) pet - Azure Bull (owner Laojun)

Scorpion Demoness (蠍子精) animal in heaven - scorpion (no owner)

Sai Tai Sui / Great King Jupiter's Rival (賽太歲) pet - golden hair wolf (owner Guanyin)

Yellow Toothed Elephant (黃牙老象) pet - white elephant (owner Samantabhadra)

Golden Winged Great Peng (金翅大鵬雕) pet - roc (owner Buddha)

White Deer Spirit (白鹿精) pet - white deer (owner Old Man of the South Pole)

Lady Earth Flow (地涌夫人) pet - rat (owner Li Jang and Nezha)

Grand Saint of Nine Spirits (九靈元聖) pet - Nine-Headed Lion (owner Taiyi Jiuku Tainzun)

Jade Rabbit Spirit (玉兔精) pet - moon rabbit (owner Chang'e)

It is noted that most pets or animals that escaped heaven were only spared because their owners came in time to stop Wukong or Bajie from killing them, with the exception of the Scorpion Queen as she had no owner and thus was killed. Pets have a far easier time to cultivate in heaven as they have access to scripture or magic items to aid in their escape and power growth, giving them a large advantage if they make it to earth and become demon rulers if they so wish.

[darkfalcon-z]

so, we get the backstories of some Journey to the West characters

Outstanding Culture is actually Bodhisattva Manjushri ( wikipedia gives 4 different names for him in Chinese characters and pinyin, so I don’t know which to give you, go to wikipedia) and  Dragon Head, the green lion, is Azure Lion (青毛獅子 - apparently Chinese characters actually mean green haired lion, curtsy of google translate)  and also Lion-Lynx Demon (not sure how he got the time to be both, but hey)

While Universal Virtue is Samantabhadra (普賢菩薩 Pǔxián Púsà) with Fairy Spiritual Teeth, the white elephant being  Yellow Toothed Elephant (黃牙老象)

[casadefreewill]

Ok like just for starters off the top of my head (will probably add more later when I’m not actively falling asleep)

- Red Boy is reformed -> now Shancai, not going to be going around cooking up “evil” schemes. Could possibly miss his parents (derive angst from this/different angle on the desperate to impress his father thing idk)

- Princess Iron Fan has gone off to practice self-cultivation -> could maybe see her son again by the time, also not going to be going around trying to expand the Bull Demon empire or whatever.

- Bull Demon King is carted off to face the Buddha, could still wind up under a mountain as punishment (there’s precedence eg. Sun Wukong, Yang Chan, etc.)

- LBD - very very dead

- LEMH - very very dead (could maybe derive angst as having ever been an internal aspect of swk but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

- Spider Queen - part of the spider sisters? If so then squished to death aka very dead > if maybe another sister, a younger eighth sister that escaped being killed by not being part of the group to take Tang Sanzang, could possibly still be around to do her stuff

- Golden Peng -> with the Buddha

- Yellow Tooth Elephant -> with Bodhisattva Viśabhadra

- Azure Lion -> with Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī

— not in any way SWK’s sworn brothers but it’s possible they could technically escape again if we want them to cause trouble <-actually I need to double check if Mañjuśrī’s lion didn’t also escape in an earlier chapter yeah wait back in chapter 39

"Bodhisattva," said Pilgrim, "so this is the green-haired lion who serves as your beast of burden. How was it that he had been turned loose so that he could become a spirit here? Aren't you going to make him submit to you?" "Wukong." said the Bodhisattva, "he was not turned loose. He had been sent by the decree of Buddha to come here." Pilgrim said, "You mean that this beast's becoming a spirit to usurp the throne of a king was a decree of Buddha? If that's the case, old Monkey, who is accompanying the Tang Monk through all his trials, should have been given several imperial documents!"

Ok so not escaped but whatever multiple instances of interaction

- SWK is a buddha -> probably more of a lotus lantern deal with Xiaotian’s training /// gotta figure out what Xiaotian’s whole situation is

- Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, Ao Lie, and Tang Sanzang all would still be alive (aside from extended lifespans from the ginseng fruit a bunch of other people who are the same age or older are still kicking in the lmk timeline) -> I mean they possibly could have drifted apart? Or something. Actually this makes me think, there is a non 0 chance that their deaths (and subsequent reincarnation) were forced by unnatural means

Sometimes I lie in bed and contemplate what if lmk but jttw actually happened?

[jedineedlove]

LMK VS Legend

Azure Lion:

LMK:

He was a Lion Demon who previously served the Jade Emperor as a Celestial Warrior but subsequently defected to the Brotherhood, a group established by Monkey King with the aim of deposing the Jade Emperor and improving the world. He was able to escape the memory scroll with the help of an outside source. Went on a quest to finally defeat the Jade Emperor. With the help of his recently freed brothers Peng and Tusk, he was able to but was unable to handle the power. After the battle with MK and Wukong, it became too much and with the cosmos at stake, he had to make a choice.

He sadly died at the end of season 4 as a hero.

JTTW:

Azure Lion / Lion- Lynx Demon He was the steed of the Bodhisattva Manjusri.

Weapon a bronze saber. Powers / Abilities: Grow several times bigger or smaller than his normal size. He was first seen in the novel as the revel form of the imposter of the King of Wuji Kingdom. He was sent by Manjusri to punish the king after throwing a designed Manjusri into a river for three days to drown. He did this by designing himself as a Taoist to save the kingdom from drought, thus being made brother-in-arms with the king. He then tricked the king by throwing him into a well killing him. He was stopped three years later by the pilgrims he was mercyed from being killed by Wukong from Manjusri. He went back to the Celestial Realm as a steed.

He was seen again in Camel Ridge this time a demon king. Ruling side by side with the Golden Winged Great Peng and the Yellow-Toothed Elephant Demon. Once again he fought Wukong after drafting the monkey and the Zhu Bajie multiple time the pilgrims seek help from the deities and is taken back by Manjusri.

In one of their fights: The Azure Lion swallows Sun Wukong, who causes trouble inside his stomach. The Lion then pretends to agree to open his mouth and let Sun Wukong out, but intends to bite him to death when he comes out. However, anticipating this, Sun Wukong sticks his staff out ahead of him instead and the demon breaks his teeth after biting on the staff. Sun Wukong later creates a long rope, ties it around the demon's heart, and plays with it after leaving the demon's stomach.

Legend:

It is said that he once showed up uninvited at a peach feast hosted by the Queen Mother of the West and wanted to fight for the rulership of Heaven. The Jade Emperor sent 100,000 celestial troops to capture the demon, who turned into a giant monster and devoured the entire army in one gulp. 

Thoughts:

Azure doesn't have a lot of legends that I could find besides the one involving the peach festival which is kinda funny how similar that kinda sounded to Wukong minus the pills, wine, and peach eating. For the LMK universe with how the brotherhood was I don't think that earlier chapter with him as the designed king could have happened. But if it did it was either not Azure but another celestial, or it was but for a different reason, I don't see him helping the celestials test Wukong and the pilgrims.

Hope you all enjoyed:)

[crystalized-cove]

【White Elephant】

[ I read your rules, but I was wondering if you can do a platonic friendship with the reader and Grimm? Hearing about his unknown past in ch. 4 rule want me to give the little guy some love. How about a oneshot with reader celebrating with him? It can be a holiday or a birthday you decide. And if you want you can add other characters to make it more interesting.🙂 ]

Very interesting indeed… You seem to worry about Grim, little guppy. Is he truly worth your attention? Maybe. I merely wish to watch out for your safety.

[ I legit felt a small pain reading that Grim could have potentially been alone all his life, and it makes me sad! I’m hoping we all have a Christmas feast with Octavinelle and Scarabia by the end of Chapter 4…

Also, I apologize if this isn’t good, begun writing this between a stressful time ]

Platonic [ Grim x Reader ]

    “Winter break alone, huh? At least we don’t have to do anything crazy like fighting some magic-ridden dwarves or hypnotized mermaids, yanno?” Grim muses in thought as he rested on her shoulder. Having always forced her to carry him around when he felt extremely lazy. Turning her gaze down as she nods, moving to the cafeteria as it was the last day before the break would begin. Everyone gathered about and spoke bluntly on their plans to return home. Learning about all their different traditions and returning agendas that occurred for each and every student.

    Yet something felt missing to the two from such a rambling shack of a dorm. They stayed around in the Hall of Mirrors for their friends. Watching them leave one-by-one, the woman felt her spirit seem to slowly drain from her. 

    Phone for emergencies? Check. Wood logs for keeping the fire spirits happy? Check. Presents?

    Her mind paused for a moment. Winter break always meant the holidays. Seeing family and relaxing with them. Yet at that moment, she knew she was alone. It was as if all motivation and steam for doing anything left her. Sitting on her bed, she was just in her room alone. But the door swung wide open, exposing a familiar feline to call for her. Yet he didn’t even get a sound out once he saw her melancholic mood. Tilting his head to the side, he padded over and jumped into her lap.

    “What’s wrong?”     “What do you mean ‘what’s wrong’?”

    “I mean, you’re not happy. That’s as clear as day, yanno?” It took her a moment to realize what he was saying. Raising her head to look at herself in the mirror, noticing her lips were in a flat line as her eyes were just… blank. Turning her attention back to Grim, she began to run her fingers through his fur. Stroking his head as if to distract him for a moment.

    “I just… miss my family. You’re lucky to not really have anyone…” She assumed instantly as she shook her head. “Sure, every day we have Ace, Deuce, Jack, and such… but, it’s really frustrating to know my family is somewhere else. Missing me.”

    Listening and not saying a word, Grim just watched her rant. Rant about the cold mornings that turned warm from the fire being lit early. Rant about the large feasts that occurred due to family all overcoming over for a week, sometimes less, sometimes more. Rant about the stories that were shared around that time after eating, drinking, and laughing. Ranting about how much she wanted to go home.

    Scurrying down the hallway, it was late into the depth of the night. Not many would be up, but the little demon knew a certain someone who would. Jumping through the mirror, he hurries into the one-room he knew he’d be in. Seeming to make his way before he pauses, the two doors opening. Bright flashes of yellow staring down at him as familiar shark-toothed grins meet. Almost cowering in instant fear, he stood up on his hind legs and puffed out his chest. Walking through the doors to head into the perfectly lit office. Gloved fingers interlocked on top of the desk, a chin resting upon them as spectacles watched the feline’s every move.

    “And what brings you so late into the night, demon?”

    “I want to spend every single point on having you join me for dinner!”

    Taking a moment to register his request, Azul fixed his glasses upon the bridge of his nose. Clearing his throat, “Excuse me… Join you… for dinner?”

    “Yes!” Grim frowns as he spits out a bit of fire, “Join me for dinner in a week! At 18:00! With a present, wrapped up, frilled, whatever! Make sure it comes from whatever you can call your money-hand-grabber heart!” He then leaves as fast as he ran in. Muttering to himself as the silver-haired male had to take a moment to register what just occurred. Jade stepped up as he looked over at him with a smile.

    “Shall we prepare a gift for you?”     “L… Let us all bring something. It seems he wishes to plan something. Just be prepared, Jade, Floyd.”

    “Grim, stop snoring…” Her hand traveled up and plopped on top of the feline’s head as if he were an alarm clock. Barely cracking an eye open as he grumbles and starts to bite at her hand as if she was a fresh can of tuna. Her eyes narrowed at him before tossing him off the bed. Curling up even more underneath the warm and comfortable comforter of her bed. The sudden toss having woken Grim up, seated upon the floor now looking around for what caused him to leave the soft warmth of the bed. Noticing she was falling back asleep as his tail swayed in a rapid manner, upset.

    “Yanno, it’s rude to throw the great Grim around!”

    “It’s rude to snore in someone’s ear so early in the morning…” she began to groan as she sat up and stared down at him, “So shut up and let me sleep.” Her body falls back onto the bed. Closing her eyes before opening them, only to let out a short yelp in panic as bright blue eyes stared down at her. Quickly sitting up and throwing a pillow, it phased through as the ghost stared down at the pillow before looking up at her. Giving a lazy smile as he floats closer.

    “Good morning! Happy Holidays!” The ghost hums as they were holding up a plate of gingerbread cookies. The cinnamon wafting through the air as she pauses, sniffing the cookies. Looking up then down as she takes one, biting into it.

    “... It’s delicious. What’s this for?”

    “The holidays! We should celebrate it together.” The slender ghost phases through, spooking the poor feline demon who jumps and hisses. Scurrying back to the bed to cling to the young woman. Grunting softly at this as she looks over and holds Grim up.

    “Well… How can I say no to such generosity? Despite how… random it is.” Her voice was soft as she stood up. Heading downstairs only to suddenly see more than just a ghost in the kitchen. A very tall man standing there as he kept a gloved hand on his chin, inspecting the gallery of food.

    “My, this is quite an arrangement just for the morning meal. I assume you cannot eat it all.” His back straightens as she was met with two pairs of yellow-slate eyes now. Arms wrapping around her shoulders tightly with the other twin rubbing his cheek against the top of her head.

    “Shrimpy~ Good morning!” Floyd’s voice hummed as she just stood there staring. Seeing Octavinelle right there in her kitchen, with the ghosts just floating around preparing plates. Rather confused as Grim ran down the steps and looked up.

    “Ah! I said later! Later!” He growled a bit as his tail stood on end. “What are you three doing here?!”

    “We came here since you invited us. We just thought maybe you’d enjoy more company earlier, rather than later with less time.” Azul glanced over as he was seated at the table, already taking a bite into some waffles. Jade moved to his side and gave a polite smile.

    “Apologies for the intrusion.”

    “Apologies my ass, you crazy eel! I had everything planned for today! You weren’t supposed to be here until dinner! I was going to take her out sledding, and throw snow!” He huffs as his hair was on end, clearly having used his brain for once. The young woman stepped closer as she stared down at the fur ball that was on edge. “We were supposed to exchange presents later! Later, yanno!” He stomps his paw against the creaking wood, clearly upset as even a bit of his fire spat out from his mouth. Her gaze on him as they all had listened to Grim’s rant. A rather heavy silence following after that made him just as uncomfortable. Shaking his head before yelping as he was picked up. Feeling slender arms and hands hold him as he looks up, his eyes widening. Not expecting to see such an expression on her. The others were just as surprised. Her eyes glazed over with tears, yet she held them back as she smiled. Kissing between Grim’s ears as she held him against her chest. Almost cradling him as she wasn’t expecting such kindness. His own ears flattening against his head, his eyes watching her. “... Are you okay?”

    “... I’m perfectly fine. Thank you, Grim. Thank you.” She smiles a little more and nuzzles into his head, giving a rather fine amount of affection he wasn’t used to. Almost… loving it. Patting her cheek lightly as he looked away.

    “Of course I look after my vessel, yanno? Happy Holidays.”

[carmenlire]

After the Fall

read on ao3

He wakes up early that Saturday. Alec isn’t a morning person-- shadowhunters are notorious night owls-- but on that first Saturday of the month, he sets an alarm for six and doesn’t even groan when the chorus of I’m Not Okay starts blaring in the dark of his room.

He turns the alarm off and lays on his back, staring up at the ornate ceiling of his bedroom. No one else will take note of the day but it’s important to him and Alec will quietly celebrate in what little ways he can.

It’s the first of June.

He’d collapsed into bed just a couple of hours ago-- he’d been on patrol last night and is scheduled for another patrol tonight-- but he feels energized.

The energy is a little frenetic and a lot anxious but he decides not to pay too much attention to the way his stomach is jumping and the way his hands aren't quite steady.

He showers and dresses in his usual all black ensemble. Lacing up his combat boots, Alec grabs his stele and cell and leaves his room. It’s early yet and there’s still only a skeleton crew in ops. He bypasses them with minimum effort and then he’s swinging open the front doors of the Institute and breathing in heady June air. It’s already a little warm and the humidity will be miserable in a few hours but it doesn’t matter.

There aren’t too many people out yet and as Alec starts walking a path he knows as well as any other, he looks around and his chest aches, just a little, every time he passes a business with a Pride display.

He doesn’t let his eyes linger too long, though, just stuffing his hands into his jean pockets and moving forward.

But he notices every single one and it fills him with something he can't quite definite, all of them a jumbled mess.

Resentment. Shame. Yearning.

It’s a nauseating mix but Alec’s long grown used to the way bile scalds his throat whenever he thinks about-- about that.

Rounding the corner, he reaches for the first door he reaches and pushes it open. A cheery little bell sounds in the relative quiet-- on the weekends, this coffee shop doesn’t grow busy until midmorning-- and there are only a couple of people in line.

He studies the menu while he waits and browses the pastry cabinet. His eyes latch onto a sugar cookie display and his mouth goes dry.

It’s a colorful little thing in the shades of the rainbow. He takes a surreptitious look around the shop and his heart hammers a little painfully just at the sheer idea of buying it.

He doesn’t know why he looks around. It’s not like he thinks someone from the Institute is lurking in the corner, the Consul herself waiting until Alec buys something gay, only to jump out and draw a spectacle to it.

Still. There’s a lump in his throat and his hands are a little clammy.

As he makes his way up to the cash register, he’s greeted by Maris. He’s a regular here-- has been for a couple of years now-- and she smiles as she greets him.

“Morning, Alec. The regular?”

Swallowing hard, Alec replies, “Yeah, but can I also add a cookie?”

“Of course! Which one did you have your eye on?”

“The-- the rainbow one?” His voice is hushed and he looks around one last time as he says it. When his eyes meet Maris’s again, he sees the same warmth that’s always there and a new level of understanding.

“You got it,” she answers in a soft tone. When Alec goes to pay, she shakes her head gently.

“This one’s on the house.” She winks. “It’s the first of June, after all, and I’m in a good mood.”

Opening his mouth to protest, Alec abruptly closes it before he smiles. His shoulders relax as he nods in her direction. “Thanks, Maris.”

She nods back in acknowledgement before gesturing towards the end of the counter. “Don’t mention it, hun. Everything will be ready at the end.”

He takes a few steps over and is greeted by her wife who throws a grin over to him as she mans the espresso machine.

Smiling back, Alec leans against the pick-up station and idly watches the room. He’d stopped in here one afternoon when he was desperate for a fresh breath of air, away from the dozens of prying eyes at the Institute, and jonesing for enough caffeine to fell an elephant.

He’d wandered in here and at first, he’d just thought the two of them were friends. He’d liked the feel of the shop, though, the quiet and easy atmosphere, so he’d kept coming back. Eventually noticing the rings, Alec had almost tripped over his feet and went crashing to the floor one morning when he’d opened the door and saw Maris and her wife making out in front of a table they were ostensibly cleaning.

The place was empty and as the bell overhead had dinged cheerily in the shop, Alec had expected the two of them to spring apart, mortified.

Instead, they’d lingered for another kiss before breaking apart with an easy laugh. They hadn’t apologized, hadn’t seemed the least bit bothered.

It had struck something in Alec’s chest to see the blatant, unapologetic affection.

His thoughts break off as he’s handed his white chocolate mocha and cookie and he heads over to a table in front of the window as he takes a sip of his drink.

Carefully-- much more careful than he knows is appropriate. For God's sake, he’s opening a pastry bag not defusing a bomb-- Alec reaches inside and takes the cookie out.

He stares at it for a few moment and it holds his interest far more than a colorful sugar cookie should.

Studying the bright bands of color, Alec allows himself these few moments of quiet pride.

It’s not much. It’s barely anything, really. But it’s more than he allows himself most days and he’ll take what he can get.

He bits into the cookie gently and he swears that it’s the best cookie he’s ever had.

It could be dirt and still taste wonderful.

He takes his time, savoring every bite, mourning a little when he finishes off each color. By the time he’s finished it, his sweet tooth is satiated even if he’s a little sadder than usual, a little more empty.

He throws the bag in the trash on his way out and steps back into the June sunshine. The rest of the morning is spent wandering around. His head is in a fog and he doesn’t pay much attention to where he’s going. Eventually, though, he starts seeing color spill onto the streets and when he looks at his watch, Alec sees the parade is due to start soon.

Taking in his whereabouts, he dips into an alley and activates his speed and glamour runes before taking off.

The New York City Pride March is something to behold and Alec had found a spot five years ago that had the best vantage point. He jumps onto a fire escape and goes up to the roof of an apartment complex along the route. It’s close enough to the end that he can see the festivities planned for the rest of the day and the crowd amassed.

It’s a riot of color and his throat aches.

He’d have to be living under a rock not to know about Pride. In June, the streets of New York are wonderfully, brazenly gay. He sees more couples not giving a fuck, he sees rainbows everywhere he turns, he sees what he hopes for himself every damned day.

As the opening group turns the corner and starts down his street, Alec looks down and sees what he could have in another life. He wonders at how amazing it must feel to be someone in the crowd below, to be surrounded with acceptance and joy and revelry.

It’s something that’s not meant for him-- for any shadowhunter-- but Alec stands on the sidelines and his gaze soaks in every detail like a sponge.

He’s so hungry for what the scene below promises. It feels like he’s starving, like every day that goes by and he denies who he is and what he wants, that a piece of him turns to dust and blows away on acrid air.

Distantly, he wonders how much is left before he’s nothing but a shell, empty and wasted.

The truth is, most days he figures he’s already there.

Alec spends most of the afternoon sitting on the ledge of the apartment building and watching the people. He sees couples kiss and he sees angry signs and he wishes he were someone else, someone free to to do the same.

He spots a couple of people crying and doesn’t even notice the tear tracks on his own cheeks.

The sun starts setting all too fast and with a heavy sigh that seems to come somewhere deep inside, Alec stands. Taking a last moment to sear this year’s pride on his goddamn memory-- for memories and dreams are all that he has to get him through lonely nights and trying days-- he turns his back on Pride and drops back down onto the street.

Alec makes his way back to the Institute and signs in for duty. The night is humid and it’s still hovering close to eighty no matter that it’s two in the morning.

His head isn’t really in the game, though, and he lets a couple of demons take easy swipes at him. Hissing out a filthy curse when one gets his shoulder, Alec decapitates the thing in the next instant.

It’s a grueling patrol and Alec’s so tired, his eyes are gritty and stinging.

His heart feels so heavy that it’s a wonder he can still move, can still duck and swerve and attack.

When the last battle before the end of his patrol is over, Alec’s breathing echoes harshly in the evening. His partner for this shift is Jace and, surprisingly, his parabatai had been quiet tonight.

Deciding not to ask any questions-- he doesn’t want to encourage talking, thinks keeping up a conversation right now seems more effort than he can manage-- Alec just nods his acknowledgement as Jace says that he’s got a date with a Seelie at a breakfast cafe and that he doesn't want to be late.

Waving him on, it’s just Alec in the empty alley. Swiping the sweat on his brow, Alec wanders over to collect his arrows.

He walks to the opening of the alley and squints as the sunrise peaks over the horizon. Orange and yellow and the tiniest hint of purple steal his vision for a minute and when he cautiously opens his eyes again and blinks rapidly, he looks down for the arrow he’d seen glinting on the cement.

What he sees steals the very breath from his lungs. It makes his chest shudder and the back of his throat aches in a sorrow so profound that he’s worried his knees will buckle for a split second.

He feels like an old man as he bends down slowly and gingerly picks up the item, ignoring the arrow for the little rainbow flag that’s laying innocuously on the sidewalk.

It’s a little dirty and folded. It looks a little worse for wear. Laughing a little to himself, Alec decides it looks like shit.

It looks forgotten and a little sad.

He marvels at how much he has in common with the cheap little thing.

Alec stands on a New York sidewalk at dawn and grins down at a rainbow flag. His heart squeezes his chest and his breaths come in choking gasps that sound a lot like sobs as sunlight spills over him in a golden wave.

He feels like the only person in the world. For the millionth time, he wishes that was the case.

Bitterness chokes him and self loathing is a thousand tiny daggers that shred his skin until it’s a wonder that he doesn’t bleed out, right there on the street for all to see. The flag in his hands is everything he wants and everything that terrifies him.

Swallowing hard, Alec carefully, painstaking rolls up the flag before shoving it to the bottom of his quiver.

He turns his back on the sunrise and returns to the Institute, working the whole way to measure his breathing, to regain his equilibrium.

The past twenty four hours have been hard, so damned hard.

There were pockets of happiness, though, even if misery and bitterness wrapped around the joy.

The Institute’s walls are cold and as Alec walks into the patrol center, he feels like suffocating.

He’s achingly aware of his secret and its manifestation underneath all his arrows.

Closing the door behind him, Alec leans against it and takes in his bedroom. Perfectly nondescript, it could be almost any other shadowhunters if not for the pile of books on his desk of the pictures of his family scattered around. Carefully reaching into his quiver, Alec takes out the crumpled up flag and smooths a hand over it before clenching it in his fist.

Squeezing his eyes shut, Alec sighs a little.

It’s such a small token but it means the world.

Alec’s not ashamed of who he is and he wishes to Raziel that he could be as unapologetic about it as others, as mundanes.

That life was never meant for him, though.

Grieving for all the lives he’ll never live and all the foolish dreams he just can’t let go of, Alec delicately places the flag in his bottom drawer, underneath all the clothes he hasn’t worn since he was Max’s age.

It’s a cold comfort but he needs everything he can get.

Soul bleeding, Alec straightens and heads to the bathroom ready to shower and collapse into bed.

-

A few years later, Alec doesn’t even notice when someone bumps into him.

He can’t feel anything except awe and happiness and raucous pride.

Magnus is a steady presence beside him and as he pulls his husband closer, Alec’s breath comes in shuddering exhales. For the dozenth year in a row, he doesn’t feel the tear tracks on his cheek.

These tears are cathartic, though. They’re cleansing. They taste of renewal and hope and so much love that he feels like bursting.

Magnus turns toward him and Alec catalogs the little bi flag on his cheek and his purple, pink, and blue highlights.

He swears he can feel the little rainbow on his own cheek-- the only sign he was comfortable with this year, his first pride amidst the crowds, not a silent mourner above.

Wiping away the tears, Magnus leans close and smiles at Alec. “Happy Pride, my darling.”

Alec takes in the words, letting them wrap around his heart and heal him from a million micro fractures that he never thought could be acknowledged, let alone purged.

Alec grins, then laughs and it echoes around them, bright and happy.

“Happy Pride, babe,” he replies. He's still grinning as leans in, kissing Magnus in the middle of the crowd. He tastes Magnus's smile against his lips and when they break apart a second later, Alec rests his forehead against his husband's and sinks into the moment.

For the first time, he feels like he belongs. He looks around him and feels welcomed by his community that he ignored for so long-- that he had to pretend ignorance of in a desperate attempt at self-preservation.

He feels light and happy and like all those missing pieces have finally been returned to him. He feels whole.

He feels free.

[crystaloccult]

The 108 Names of Lord Ganesha

Akhuratha | One With A Mouse As His Charioteer

Alampata | The Ever Eternal Presence

Amit | One Who Cannot Be Compared

Anantachidrupamayam | Personification of Infinity & All of Consciousness

Avaneesh | Master Of The Entire Planet Earth

Avighna | One Who Removes Obstacles

Balaganapati | The Beloved Child Ganesh

Bhalchandra | One With The Moon As His Crest

Bheema | Huge In Size

Bhoopati | The Lord Of All Gods

Bhoovanpati | The God Of All Gods

Buddhinath | The Lord of Knowledge And Wisdom

Buddhipriya | The One Who Bestows Knowledge

Buddhividhata | The God of Knowledge And Wisdom

Chaturbhujeti | One With Four Arms

Devadeva | The Lord of All Devas (Lords)

Devantakanashakarin | The One Who Destroys Demons

Devavrata | The One Who Accepts All Types Of Penances

Devendrashika | The One Who Protects All Gods

Dharmik | The One Who Is Charitable

Dhoomravarna | One With The Smoke-Colored Body

Durja | One Who Is Invincible

Dvaimatura | The Son Of Two Mothers

Ekaakshara | The One Who Represents The Single Syllable (Om)

Ekadanta | The One With One Tooth/Tusk

Ekadrishta | One With A Single Tusk

Eshanputra | The Son Of Lord Shiva

Gadadhara | The One Who Wields The Mace

Gajakarna | The One With The Elephant-Eyes

Gajanana | The One With An Elephant Head

Gajananeti | The One With An Elephant Face

Gajavakra | The One With An Elephant Trunk

Gajavaktra | The One With An Elephant’s Mouth

Ganadhakshya | The Lord Of All Ganas

Ganadhyakshina | The Lord Of Every Celestial Body

Ganapati | The Lord Of All Gods/Ganas

Gaurisuta | The Son Of Gauri

Gunina | The Master Of Virtues

Haridra | The One Who Glows Like Gold

Heramba | The Beloved Of The Mother

Kapil | The One With A Tawny Complexion

Kaveesha | The Lord Of Poets

Kirti | The One Who Loves Music

Kripakaram | The One Who Is Merciful

rishapingaksha | Black- Yellowish -Brown -Eyed

Kshamakaram | The Center of Forgiveness

Kshipra | The One Who Is Easily Appeased

Lambakarna | The One With The Large Ears

Lambodara | The One With A Huge Belly

Mahabala | The One With Extreme Strength

Mahaganapati | The One Who Is Omnipotent And All-Powerful

Maheshwaram | The Lord Of The Universe

Mangalamoorti | The One Who Is Completely Auspicious

Manomay | The One Who Conquers All Hearts

Mritunjaya | The One Without Any Death Or End

Mudakaram | The Repository Of Joy

Muktidaya | The One Who Grants Eternal Peace

Musikvahan | The One With The mouse As His Vahana/Vehicle

Nadapratithista | The One Who Loves Music

Namasthetu | The Destroyer Of All Sins

Nandana | The Son Of Lord Shiva

Nideeswaram | The One Who Grants Wealth And Treasures

Pashin | The One Who Sits Like A Rock

Pitambar | The One Who Dresses In Yellow Clothes

Pramod | The Lord Of All Places

Prathameshvar | The Foremost God

Purush | The Highest Authority

Rakta | The One With The Red-Coloured Body

Rudrapriya | The One Who Is Loved By Lord Shiva

Sarvadevatman | The One Who Accepts All Celestial Offerings

Sarvasiddhanta | The Bestower Of Skills & Capability

Sarvatman | The Protector Of The Universe

Shambhavi | The Son Of Goddess Parvati

Shashivarnam | The One Who’s Complexion Is Like That Of The Moon

Shoorpakarnai | The One With Large Ears

Shuban | The One Associated With Auspiciousness

Shubhagunakanan | The Keeper Of Virtues

Shweta | The One Who Is White Colored

Siddhidhata | The Bestower Of Achievements And Success

Siddhipriya | The One Who Grants Great Boons

Siddhivinayaka | The One Who Bestows Success

Skandapoorvaja | The One Older To Lord Skanda

Sumukha | The One With A Pleasant And Auspicious Face

Sureshwaram | The Lord Of All Lords

Swaroop | The One Who Loves Beauty

Tarun | The One Who Is Ever Youthful

Uddanda | The Punisher Of Evil

Umaputra | The Son Of Uma

Vakratunda | The Lord With The Curved Trunk

Varaganapati | The Lord Who Grants Boons

Varaprada | The One Who Grants All Wishes And Boons

Varadavinayaka | The One Who Bestows Bounties And Success

Veeraganapati | The Heroic Warrior Lord

Vidyavaridhi | The Repository Of Knowledge

Vignahara | The Destroyer Of Evil

Vignaharta | The One Who Removes Obstacles

Vighnanashin | The One Who Destroys Obstacles

Vighnaraja | The Lord Of Obstacles

Vighnarajendra | The Lord of All Obstacles

Vighnavinashanaya | The Destroyer Of Afflictions

Vigneshwar | The Lord Of All Obstacles

Vikat | The Possessor Of A Huge & Gigantic Figure

Vinayaka | The Lord Of All

Vishwamukha | The Master Of The Universe

Yagnakaya | The Accepter of Sacrificial Rituals & Offerings

Yashaskaram | The One Who Grants Fame And Glory

Yashvasin | The Ever Popular Lord

Yogadhipa | The Lord Of Yoga & Meditation

Why does Lord Ganesha have 108 different names?

Each name conveys a different meaning and symbolizes a different aspect of Lord Ganesha.

source: The 108 Names