#zen the night

[hecalledme-jagi]

The Ponderings of a Man In Love

I've had this FanLore for Zen strewing in my brain for a little over a year and finally decided to write it out into a one shot!

Enjoy!

What does it mean to experience first love? 

Zen wondered as he watched you doze off beside him to the sound of a movie you both had forgotten about halfway through. He smiled to himself softly, gently brushing away a strand of hair that had fallen over your face, planting a tender kiss on the top of your head. The comforting gesture caused you to snuggle further into his side, cozy and loved. Treasured and wanted.

Zen often thought about the meaning of first love when he was with you. He always felt a pang of guilt over dating other girls before you, even if you weren't bothered by it. He knew you were his yesterday, today, and tomorrow--his dusk and dawn. His moon and stars--leaving him with the fact that you weren't his first, which felt wrong in every way imaginable. So there he sat wondering, and really pondering, what it meant to experience first love. Had he experienced it before? If so, that idea devastated him, leaving his heart aching, poking, splintering, and desperately wanting your comforting. Hoping all his wondering meant nothing. 

He snuggled in close, soaking in your warmth, soothing his self-inflicted wounds, nuzzling your hair, blinking back the sting of tears.

Slowly he doze off to the sound of your steady breathing, calming his anxiety. Slowly learning to bask in the simple pleasures of a quiet evening. 

His breathing steadied, finding rhythm with your own, and in complete unison, your chests rose and fell. 

He found his peace in his small basement apartment.

But absolutely and entirely, he found his peace here with you.

And in his slumber, there came a dream. Or, more accurately, a nearly forgotten memory.

Zen was younger here, much younger than you knew him now. His hair barely reached past his shoulders, fashioned into something of a mullet. His leather jacket just a size too big, but in a year's time, it would fit him perfectly. And he stood in a place filled with familiarity. His secret mountain hideout. The view was the same as it had always been, and somehow, that comforted the young boy, here now, and the man he would come to be. 

The cold evening air nipped at his cheeks and nose, a gentle breeze passing through his hair with the faint smell of cigarette smoke. Following the scent with his eyes and nose, he found a scene this young boy very well knew but was far from the scene his adult counterpart adored. There stood a girl who simply wasn't you.

Ji-an, a younger, much more boyish Hyun, recognized with an air of giddiness coating his thoughts, and in like manner, she was viewed with rose-tinted glasses. 

He admired her long black hair as it gently swayed in the passing breeze, her sharp and unusually dark eyes staring down at the view he found so much comfort in, reflecting nothing of the setting sun or the city lights flickering on one at a time. And her lips turned in a slight frown with a lit cigarette in hand. Ji-an was a girl made entirely of mysterious beauty, and for a long time, Hyun might've considered her the most beautiful girl he'd ever met. She was in the same gang as Zen, that's how they had met. She was older than him, but only slightly, maybe sixteen or seventeen. She was a force to be reconned with, a calm before a storm. Freedom and rebellion. Anger and desperation. Loneliness and devastation. But other than that, she was a total mystery. Hyun never knew more about her than she let him see, and maybe that was part of why he clung to her so helplessly. Or maybe it was because he envied her and how free she seemed to be. Maybe he wanted to live reckless abandoned where he was allowed to be who he wanted to be, the way Ji-an seemed to. Or maybe it was because bad habits always seemed more attractive than good ones at the start.

Ji-an sucked on her cigarette, holding the smoke in her throat until it burned. 

“You know,” she began as she turned to look at Hyun, “I think if we had met before everything hit the fan, I would’ve fallen in love with you for real.”

Hyun watched and admired the rugged elegance she exuded. Marvalling, despite how her words cut him deeply. His heart secretly wondering--when will anyone ever truly love me?

“For one thing, you’re a real looker,” she leaned in and kissed Hyun's lips softly, leaving the faintest taste of cigarette smoke and strawberry lip balm on the tip of his tongue. 

Is that all I'll ever be? A pretty face barely worth loving? Another secret wonder he wouldn't discover until much later.

“You’re not so bad of a guy either,” she reached out, with her free hand and gently played with the fringe that hung over his forehead. “If I wasn’t so damaged, I’d probably be able to appreciate that heart of yours,” she poked his chest playfully and with a tone of self-mockery, sucking another puff of cigarette tar into her lungs. 

“But instead, here I am, giving you cigarettes, beer, and bad memories,” she scoffed. 

Hyun took a step closer to Ji-an, standing shoulder-to-shoulder with her. He peered into her face, hoping to read the meaning in her words by seeing her expression more clearly, but there was nothing he could see. Her eyes continued to stare dispassionately at the scenic view, and not for a moment did she meet his searching gaze, nor did she acknowledge his presence at her side. Instead, her brow furrowed, and irritation fizzled in her vacant eyes.

"We shouldn't have met," she said, tossing her cigarette onto the ground and stomping it out under her boots. 

Hyun felt his heart drop.

Ji-an turned on her heels and walked towards her motorcycle.

"W.. wait! Ji-an, where are you going?" He called.

There was no answer except the loud roar of a motorcycle engine starting.

"Ji-an!"

She paused, looking towards Hyun, with more emotion in her eyes than Hyun had ever seen before, "Get out of here. Become something." 

And that was it. 

She rode off, the rumbling of her motorcycle fading the farther she got. And Hyun could only watch, confused, lost, and entirely too alone for a boy his age.

Zen jolted awake, beads of cold sweat running down his back and his heart dropping into his stomach, leaving his chest feeling hollow and unbearably lonely until he heard you.

"Hyun?" you said, coming back into the living room with a glass of water, "Are you okay?"

He looked at you, and the frenzy in his eyes became calm. A deep breath entered his lungs, and it was exhaled smoothly.

And that's when his wondering all made sense. 

Zen realized it then as his hysteria calmed at the mere sight of you. He knew then that perhaps in all possibility, before you came and before he had forgotten what life was like in your absence, he would've considered Ji-an his first love experience. And in some way, maybe she was. Maybe she was his first love, but that thought didn't seem to bother him so much anymore. Because maybe love was more about changing than firsts and lasts. 

(Although, admittedly, he was perfectly enchanted by the idea that you would be his last. You would hold all his ending chapters, and perhaps, that was far more important than keeping all his opening phrases.)

Ji-an encouraged his flaws but neglected his strengths. He knew now that they were bad for each other, beasts ravenously hungry for love and acceptance. In love with their shared self-pity. Wanting each other because of the addictive nature of cigarettes, loving the nicotine clinging to their clothes and mingling in their mouths. Loving the faint taste of strawberries after every kiss that made the bitter taste of tobacco seem pleasant and sweet. But even still, she inspired his drive for freedom.

And you? You came and captivated him.

You nurtured his strengths and loved his flaws, and for that, he loved you, but as his feelings began to grow, he wanted to be better for you. He wanted to change. So maybe, just maybe, it was for the best that you came at this moment in his life. You came at the point in his life when he still had room to grow but was mature enough to treasure you wholeheartedly. Perhaps now was the best time to love you--not to say it was the only time he could love you, nor was it the perfect time, for he knew that if he had met you ten years ago or ten years from now, he'd be ready to love you precisely and honestly--so now as Zen looks at you, finally finding his moment of lost peace, he realizes that all this wondering about "first love" was for not because all that matters is that he loves you.

Zen nods, gently grabbing at your waist and pulling you in. He rests his forehead against your torso, hugging your waist tightly.

 "Never better, honey~"

˚✧₊⁎𝒥𝑎𝑔𝑖𝑎⁎⁺˳✧༚

I do not own any characters, all ownership goes to Cheritz. Thanks for reading!

[spiritofthemeadow]

July 2024 Buck Moon

ig - afternoondreams

[yinwaryuri]

We need to find the person who got the throuple to pass in Deep Night and grant them rights to all future Thai BL scripts I am not kidding

[melanodis]

William and Henry being gay?

[I am losing braincells from studying]

been wanting to draw something with them based on this picture of steve jobs (left) and steve wozniak (right) in the 70s (I believe?)

[yoga-onion]

[Image above: Kyoto Sanzenin Temple, statue of Mahāsthāmaprāpta]

What is the 23 nights temple? [Part 1]

Thank you for your continued support of the ‘A Message from 23 Nights Temple’ blog. We have received quite a few questions from our readers about the ‘23 Nights Temple’, so we would like to answer them here in two parts.

23 nights is one of the folk rituals on the night of a specific moon phase, such as the 13th, 15th, 17th or 19th night, to wait for the moon to rise, make offerings, eat and drink together. Hundreds of years ago, halls where these events used to be held were scattered all over Japan, but unfortunately most of them have now been demolished and replaced by parking lots and modern ossuaries, especially in urban areas. The moon-waiting rituals of the Mid-Autumn Moon, 15 Nights (Full Moon), are still practised today. Although most modern Japanese are agnostics, some ritual events incorporating Buddhism and Shintoism remain.

The moon phase on the 23rd night is the ‘waning moon’, the half moon after the full moon, when the left half of the moon appears to be shining. The moon on the 23rd night is characterized by appearing late, around midnight, and in some mountainous areas surrounded by mountains, it can appear as late as 1 a.m.

In moon-waiting, the object of worship was determined by the time of the lunar phase at which the event was held. The object of worship on the 23rd night was Mahāsthāmaprāpta (bodhisattva mahāsattva), who was also said to be the incarnation of the moon. The light of wisdom possessed by Mahāsthāmaprāpta was thought to illuminate everything, freeing people from suffering and giving them strength.

In Shinto, Tsukuyomi-no-mikoto (Ref) is another name for Mahāsthāmaprāpta. He is also known as the god of agriculture and fishery, due to his characteristic control over the moon calendar.

The widespread ritual of waiting for the moon on the night of the 23rd lunar phase can be attributed to the worship of Mahastamaprapta, the savior of all things.

In “ A Message from 23 Nights Temple,” one of those shrines is featured. However, 2 years ago, the shrine, built over 1,000 years ago, was removed and converted into a commercial ossuary (August 2022), and the monk who left many of his messages died at the same time, but we continue to present the Zen words he left behind.

And personally, I am posting this not quite as a religion, but with the hope that as many people as possible will remember the philosophy of the prehistoric people, who lived with a sense of the cosmos, worshipping nature and enjoying the beauty of flowers, birds, wind and moon.

『二十三夜堂』とは何ですか？[その1]

日頃から『二十三夜堂からのメッセージ』ブログをご愛読いただきありがとうございます。読者のみなさんから『二十三夜堂』についてご質問が多々ありましたので、ここでお答えしようと思います。

二十三夜とは、十三夜、十五夜、十七夜、十��夜などの一つで、特定の��齢の夜に、人々が集まって月の出を待ち、供物を捧げ、飲食を共にする民俗儀式のこと。数百年前までは、こうした行事が行われるお堂が日本各地に点在していたが、残念ながら現在ではそのほとんどが取り壊され、特に都市部では駐車場や近代的な納骨堂に取って代わられている。中秋の名月、十五夜（満月）の月待ちの儀式は、今日でも行われている。現代の日本人の多くは無宗教だが、仏教や神道を取り入れた儀式行事も残っている。

二十三夜の月齢は、左側半分が輝いて見える「下弦の月」、満月の後の半月のこと。二十三夜の月は深夜0時ごろに現れるのが特徴で、山に囲まれた地域では深夜1時ごろに現れることもある。

月待ちでは、行事を行う月年齢の時期によって崇拝の対象が決まっていた。二十三夜で礼拝したのは、月の化身ともいわれた「勢至菩薩 (せいしぼさつ、梵: ﾏﾊｰｽﾀｰﾏﾌﾟﾗｰﾌﾟﾀ) 」である。勢至菩薩が持つ智慧の光は全てを照らし、人々を苦しみから解放して力を与えると考えられていた。その名は文字通り「大いなる力の到来」を意味する。

神道における「月読命（つくよみのみこと: 参照）」は、勢至菩薩の別名。暦を支配するという特徴から、農耕や漁業の神としても知られている。

二十三夜の月待ちが人々の間に広まった理由は、万物を救済する勢至菩薩を崇拝の対象にしていたからだといわれている。

『二十三夜堂からのメッセージ』では、それらの一つを取り上げています。しかし、2年前、1000年以上前に建てられた祠は取り払われ、商業的納骨堂へと改装され(2022年8月)、またメッセージの数々を残した僧侶も同時期に亡くなっていますが、彼の残した禅語を継続してご紹介しています。

そして個人的には、宗教というよりは、自然を崇拝し、花鳥風月を愛で、宇宙を感じて生きていた先史時代の人々の哲学を、一人でも多くの人に思い���してもらいたいという思いで投稿しています。

[zenxenophilia]

Skateboarding accident 🛹💋

[mjulmjul]

Nighttime

[srisrisriddd]

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS

From the one all things originate What a waste of time to choose Since the voidless void gives birth to all Embrace them all and let prejudices die - Dr Devang H Dattani

Good Morning

Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (See Video)

Quote / Poem / Poetry / Quotes Of 

Bhagwan Sri Sri Sri

Doctor Devang H Dattani

Infinite SriSriSri DDD

Posted By TheBlissCity DDD Team

See The Media Photo Video For

Quoteoftheday

God Morning

#One , #All , #things , #bliss , #TheBlissCity , #philosophy , #mindfulness , #DrDevangHDattani , #nature , #awareness , #InfiniteSriSriSriDDD , #quotes , #life , #art , #zen , #awakening , #quote , #spiritual , #photography , #Video , #meditation , #psychology , #poem , #poetry , #motivation , #inspiration , #quoteoftheday , #love , #words , #thoughts , #joy , #pun , #enlightenment , #health , #mental health , #consciousness , #good , #god , #life , #thoughts , #nirvana , #tantra , #yoga , #void , #voidless , #orignate , #prejudice , #birth , #time , #choose , #photooftheday , #panorama , #mountains , #comet , #video , #Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS , #astronomy , #science , #skyscape , #night sky

[allura-raine]

[blasteffect]

Night Skiing, Norway,

Photo By @itseriksen

[hecalledme-jagi]

@cheritzteam seriously spoiled us Zen Stans this year 😭 IT FEELS LIKE ITS BEEN FOREVER SINCE IVE SEEN MY BEAUTIFUL BOY IN SUCH HIGH QUALITY.

[spiritofthemeadow]

May 2024 Flower Moon

ig - afternoondreams

[jazzjlan]

doodle sheet with a shit ton of games

it's 3 am now and i'm very tired goodnight

(it's not in the tags but upper left corner lady is alice aduraice from mario the music box)

[melanodis]

A gay William with a burning building behind him while Henry is running from the fire-

heart eyes motherfucker

[terracemuse]