#i.e. banishing the demons

[punksocks]

Black Moon Lilith: And Your Untamable Femininity

*based on my experiences, please take this with a grain of salt

Lilith herself is from Judeo mythology, she was Adam’s first wife but she saw herself as his equal and that didn’t work out too well so Lilith got banished and Eve replaced her. Because this comes from a traditionally patriarchal perspective, Lilith was too much of a seductress and an unfit woman so she literally was cast out and became a demon. (Side note: it’s so interesting that the stories all demonize Lilith but Eve had too much receiving feminine energy herself and received the devil’s instructions and ate from the forbidden tree. It’s a very damned if you’re too feminine and damned if you’re not feminine enough sort of myth)

Lilith aspecting your planets and your houses will often charge the native with almost Plutonian energy. Like imo Pluto and Neptune combined, because you’re charged with this dark feminine energy that’s the opposite of light/traditional feminine energy and on top of that people tend to project on to you based off of this energy. You bring a lot of people’s biases to light.

So Lilith charges the native with energy they need to “tame” in order to be considered proper feminine women. Lilith’s interpretations have expanded the more autonomy women have gained.

Nowadays being being a naturally sultry woman is less shameful right? Well no. Never mind how progressive they may act, many people will expose their real behavior to that sort of energy. It really weeds out those who are actually well intentioned from those who aren’t. Even if you say that you want progress for all types of women you may not have done the internal work to become the person that truly acts that way. Do you actually respect women that carry that sexual/untraditional energy or are you only advocating for a traditional/untouchable feminine person?

With friends, family, possible love interests, peers, and even strangers this question is act every time someone with heavy Lilith energy interacts with them. Because of how these relationships tend to go in a patriarchal society that encourages one kind of good femininity, Lilith natives often find themselves being “tamed” (i.e. shamed) for having this energy.

A lot of Lilith natives get ashamed growing up “not acting like proper women”. Because of that Lilith natives tend to try to force a version of themselves that fits this feminine mold. It often doesn’t work and just gives people the impression that you’re hiding something from them. Like you’re acting as a wolf in sheeps clothing when you’re just trying to exist the way they told you you have to and you cannot fully mute your energy to do so.

Most interpretations of BM Lilith are of women/femmes/people reclaiming the power and alternative femininity they tried to stamp down for ages and embracing the often revealing effects that Lilith has for the shadow sides of other people. I think it’s no coincidence that interpreting Lilith as a more complex figure comes with waves of feminism and discourse around what femininity means exactly.

The real trick is balancing Lilith’s energy- being proud of the advantages and strength that can be found in her energy without being consumed by dark aspects of how her energy may manifest.

Lilith in Aries/1st House: You’re fire and passionate incarnate. You stand out as a leader in any room you’re in with your confident aura. You were probably shamed for being head strong and impulsive. But your braveness and how you embrace yourself at your core is admirable. You need to tame your me first behavior, and to be careful not to bully and bulldoze others while still standing in your strength.

Lilith in Taurus/2nd House: You’re so sensual and tactile. You live for the pleasures of food and luxury, whatever your idea of luxury may be. You may have been shamed for being “lazy” but you can be very grounded and sensual. You have to tame your inner hedonist and make sure you don’t get too lost in worldly pleasures and that you don’t use others to achieve these ends. (Don’t swing to other extreme and deny yourself any pleasure either, you deserve to have a good life, just not to be consumed by having one.)

Lilith in Gemini/3rd House: You’re a charmer with wit to spare. You think about everything and analyze all of your thoughts on what is good and what is bad. You were probably shamed for how you spoke and what you spoke about in your youth. You have to tame your desire to be the smartest one in the room and the impulse to reject all learning. We all have to learn from some source that knew better before us, otherwise knowledge would be empty and cyclic. You’re not lesser if you do not know everything.

Lilith in Cancer/4th House: You have an in depth relationship with your femininity. You may have grown up in an chaotic environment with family scandals and secrets and intense emotional dysfunction. You need to tame your desire for total emotional control over people in your life. Through your fear of feeling lonely you may have poor boundaries with others by way of doing too much and intern expecting too much emotional devotion/sacrifice. If you don’t manipulate others to be emotionally tied to you, you’ll open yourself up to genuine emotional connections and healing.

Lilith in Leo/5th House: You’re so fun and seductive. You’re a star that turns heads and knows how to have a good time. You were probably shamed for enjoying attention and affection you received in your youth and you could’ve been shamed for having crushes and such before you even began dating. You have to tame your desire to be the center of attention at all times and to escape away from the problems of life into frivolous affairs. (This another case of balance, which I’m finding a lot with fixed Lilith placements. Don’t run away from attention and close yourself off from affection either. It’s okay to receive attention and to enjoy it, the same with dating and healing and finding emotionally fulfilling relationships)

Lilith in Virgo/6th House: You’re a hard worker and a very efficient one at that. You rarely get enough credit for how many problems you solve and how many people you’ve saved with your smarts. You may have been shamed for being too uptight in your youth when no one was giving you any support to actually be able to relax. You have to tame your inner overworker. It’s okay to take a break, it’s okay to make a mistake, you work very hard but you’re human at the end of the day. It’s okay to take care of yourself. (And to be honest about your s*xual desires) Also watch out, your co-workers may not be trustworthy.

Lilith in Libra/7th House: You’re a beauty and a radiant individual, and you probably have a lot of admirers. You may have suffered a lot of injustice/unfair experiences at certain stages of your life. You need to tame your desire for balancing everything. I’ll explain lol, you probably attract a lot of people that have extreme personalities and you pour a lot of energy into them in order to help balance them out. You may also become anxious or vindictive if you’re rejected romantically. It’s okay to understand where the line can be drawn and to understand that harmony cannot be brought to every person/situation, especially not through the efforts of one person alone. And that’s okay.

Lilith in Scorpio/8th House: You ooze s*x appeal and you probably have a mesmerizing presence. You have a very powerful energy. You were probably shamed for your interest in s*x/sensuality throughout your life. You need to tame your desire to escape from your emotions/trauma into your s*xuality. You also need to tame your tendencies to become obsessed with the taboo. (This needs to be balanced of course. You shouldn’t deny your s*xuality or your interest in the taboo. It takes a special type of person to explore these sorts of ideas. Just make sure it doesn’t consume your inner world.)

Lilith in Sagittarius/9th House: You’re a firecracker with a sense of adventure and a need for freedom on your own terms. You were probably shamed for being outspoken and questioning the institutions around you throughout your life (heavy emphasis on higher education and/or your family’s religion). You need to tame your need for freedom to a degree. If you have interest in traveling to certain places but a fear of becoming too attached to that place you should still go and have that experience. If you have an interest in a certain religion but you’re afraid of being trapped in that setting you should still learn about that religion. Institutions are old and carry their own hierarchies but they shouldn’t scare you away from exploration. (Be careful not to become obsessive either)

Lilith in Capricorn/10th House: You’re a powerful person. You have a certain air about you that gives off dominant/authoritative energy. People in power tend to listen to you. But you were often shamed for having such a domineering presence, whether you were exerting power over others or they were just intimidated by the weight you held. You need to tame this desire for status and power and any urges to become cutthroat in order to social climb. I believe this is why this position can be prone to having a scandalous reputation. It’s important not to lose yourself to gain power because you’ll lose respect. (Saturn lessons bby)

Lilith in Aquarius/11th House: You’re the definition of a free spirit, you’re really a one of kind person in how you express yourself and your tastes. You could’ve been outcasted socially from a young age, and you may have dealt with bullies/groups turning against you. You need to tame your urge to disconnect from the humane. (Again it’s a lesson of balance, embracing what makes you unique and gives you your ability to think outside of the box, but also not going out of your way to socially detach from all people to the point of embracing truly bizzaro behaviors just to feel that freedom.)

Lilith in Pisces/12th House: You are a person with a deeply ethereal sense about you. You tend to ride the line between the hidden and the mundane in all things you experience. It’s the hardest placement to pinpoint where you were shamed exactly, it probably has to deal with your receptive energy and your sensitivity to other energies outside of yourself, and due to your conscious or subconscious experiences you carry effects of this negativity. You must tame you natural inclination to drift, to detach and separate yourself in an effort to escape. You must balance your understanding and acceptance of the spiritual and the internal with your experiences in the world in order to not be lost to the tumultuousness of this placement. (also stay empathetic but prioritize taking care of your mental health)

[hualianisms]

new quanyin or yin yu crumbs/changes in the revised tgcf novel:

a new scene where QYZ is riding a boar, spots YY and yells "Shixiong!" while YY tries to put his mask back on and tries to avoid him (read a translation here by falin_tgcf and there is fanart of this new scene here)

instead of the quanyin flashback happening bc HC simply shows it to XL, it now happens bc a mountain demon tried to swallow yin yu's consciousness whole. HC casts a butterfly dream spell on YY so that hualian can enter YY's consciousness to see if there's a way to wake him up. they then enter YY's dream where he's dreaming of his memories of when QYZ joined their sect, leading up to YY's banishment (i.e. the same quanyin flashback scenes in the original novel).

YY's memories are now expanded a bit and we get to see the scene of young YY going to his Sect Leader Shibo to ask him to take in 10 year old QYZ as a disciple of their sect. Sect Leader Shibo says that they should consult the sect Leader Shizun. YY says "With sect Leader Shizun's temperament, it will be hard to get him to agree. However, Shizun is willing to listen to you about everything..." Shibo agrees to ask Shizun to take QYZ in. (**In this dream, HC and XL ended up in the roles of YY's Shizun and Shibo, who are co-sect leaders)

In the original novel, the quanyin flashback ended with XL asking HC to stop the flashback. In the revised version, the flashback now ends with this same scene of YY screaming at Jian Yu to stop reminding him of his QYZ-related grievances (it's the same scream at the end of the quanyin flashback) - except that his anguished scream is strong enough to break him free from the mountain demon's hold*.

(*btw, Hua Cheng said earlier on that to avoid one's consciousness being swallowed by the mountain demon, one has to focus on one's most painful/awful memories in order to wake up,, so it's implied that YY's memories of the events from QYZ joining their sect leading up to YY's banishment, are YY's most painful memories... 😭😭😭)

[dead-venge]

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vincent | he/him | 21

welcome to my blog. i’m a full-time psychology student interested in a few different areas of research.

this is just where i ramble/talk more about my ocs and headworlds. expand this post to read some basic information on the ocs i mainly post about + their universe. more detailed info about individual characters can be found on my toyhouse.

feel free to ask me questions in my inbox or send a comment!

haunted

The paranormal have always lurked the mortal realm, and have been extensively documented by humans since the dawn of time. Their presence, though uncomfortable, is accepted by many and denied by some. However, where exactly they originate from is unknown to many - if not all - mortals. I was raised as a Christian and have since left the church a long time ago, so the “origins” of the paranormal/demons tend to follow a more Christian backstory and or explanation. Certain words, i.e “Heaven” or “Hell” are nonexistent and have been replaced by other words in this story.

above: haunt's secondary form The Paranormal

Entities derive from demons themselves. Demons were once holy beings or angels, once cherished and loved by God. Typically, demons have committed a grave sin of some form and were then banished from the Ether to suffer and wander mindlessly on Earth, stripping them of their wings and holiness. Demons learned to feed and harvest off of human souls by means of emotional, mental, and physical torment to survive. It didn’t take long until Lucifer, one of the most powerful fallen angels, manifested a separate realm to hide his demons and entities away to keep them safe. Due to the nature of the realm existing between both the moral and Ether realm, this realm is known as The Inbetween. Often, Lucifer uses the fact that he “saved” and protected the other demons and entities against them. In Lucifer’s eyes, if it hadn’t been for him, then it’s likely they would still be aimlessly wandering and barely thriving.

When a demon has too much power through feeding, an entity will split from the demon and form itself - usually beginning as a shadow and working itself up with time. Demons do not view their entities as their children. Instead, they view them as extensions of themselves to get what they want. Each entity typically has a marking somewhere on their body that serves as a branding, each brand is unique to the demon they serve. For example, Haunt has an inverted crucifix on his back (not to be confused with an inverted cross/st. peter’s cross) that serves as his brand to Lucifer. Because demons have a higher risk of being hurt in some way, usually by means of sacred protections, demons send their entities to do their bidding. Under the watchful eye of Lucifer, the highest order of demons, entities serve under various demons to provide sustenance to their leader by means of haunting or harvesting lost souls. In turn, the leader (a demon) is able to grow stronger and thrive.

There are several higher ups that guide The Inbetween alongside Lucifer, many of which were once angels that were deemed sinful and stripped of their righteousness. Bloody Mary is typically viewed as Lucifer’s second hand, though she secretly may not agree with many of the things he does or believes in.

Classifications of the paranormal, such as poltergeists, phantoms, wraiths, etc. were formed by mortals based off of similar traits/powers and are not used by demons to distinguish their entities.

Entities can produce their own unique look. Haunt is a prime example of this ability. Not all entities possess this ability, or at least are not as strong in it as they are in other areas. Entities will appear as orbs or shadows until they develop a form. Young entities will often struggle with leashing their powers and may struggle with certain powers. However, as they age, they become more powerful and or are able to control their powers more.

above: haunt’s primary form

It’s very difficult for an entity to escape from their demon. Typically, demons can relocate their entity by their bind. However, if that bind is disrupted or destroyed, then it can become significantly difficult for the demon to determine where their entity is at. Entities can do so by entering sacred places, obscuring their being by manipulating their own energy, or having another powerful demon destroy the bind for them - which is highly unlikely. Haunt, for example, was able to successfully disrupt his bind with Lucifer by stealing a priest’s cross that had been previously blessed and fixing it to his suit as a brooch. Additionally, Haunt avoided highly populated areas. This would not be permanent, but it allowed him more time than others.

Unlike demons, many entities are unable to be harmed by holy items or areas because they are not innately evil or sinful, but rather under the guidance of something that is. Because of this, Haunt was not able to be hurt by the cross he carries, nor is he able to be harmed by things like holy water or other similar items. He keeps the cross fixed upside down because it’s a statement that Lucifer couldn’t touch him or find him for an extremely long time, almost in a mocking way.

destroying/killing an entity

Entities can be destroyed, or “killed.” However, demons tend to be more difficult to destroy completely. If a ghost is haunting a building and has no other place or object to latch onto and haunt, that building can be destroyed (usually by burning it) to rid it of the ghost. The same applies to people if that person the ghost is latching onto is killed. Entities are typically killed by demons only if they refuse to serve them. Mortals can also kill entities by previous methods mentioned.

[hermeticphoenix]

Hello Morgan Phoenix, are you knowledgeable about Astral or Etheric Parasites?

What are the dangers? And what can you do get rid of it yourself?

Hi, thank you for your question! I think it is important to talk about it since it is quite challenging to detect these entities. I've encountered lower beings from the mental and astral planes. They are different types of beings, from strong thought forms to seductive astral beings created by human beings. These entities are parasitic and rely heavily on their host. The host is usually the creator of these beings, or the victim/target. These parasites can be created through repetitive thinking and intense emotions over a period of time. They will try to survive, usually by triggering the host so the person becomes attached to them unconsciously. They will also perish if the person no longer pays them attention, thus they cannot receive energy, but not all mental-astral parasites are like these. The types of man-made parasites I mentioned earlier reside in the mental-astral regions and are called larvae and phantoms. They can take different forms, depending on their original purpose. They can also take the form of a human being familiar to the host, so they could also appear as ghosts. However, not all so-called ghosts are mental-astral parasites. The other types of parasites are made centuries ago by different methods. They were created by repetitive thinking, intense emotions, and magical rituals and evocation. They are usually demonic and most often mistaken as demons. They can also be very clever and would trick weak-minded human beings. They would also attempt to deceive people who are of negative orientation.

What are the dangers? They can affect you psychologically, emotionally, and physically. They can potentially cause severe mental health conditions. But of course not all people with mental health issues have encountered these entities. These parasites can also drain you energetically, thus affecting your physical body. In some cases, they can make your body extremely tensed or excited, even sexually. In extreme cases, these parasites can lead a person to unalive themselves. However, it can be difficult to determine whether a person's condition is scientific or caused by something supernatural such as this case. These parasites seem to be a bit more challenging to detect compared to other astral beings, such as nature spirits or demons.

How can we get rid of them? I'd recommend doing meditation, but I know many people are not ready and comfortable doing this. I particularly like doing Akashic or void meditation, which can be difficult for beginners. Some mental parasites can make themselves appear as your nasty inner voice, at least in my experience, so I have to talk to them and banish them. But if you encounter a stronger parasite, perhaps it is recommended to do a magical ritual. I usually practice deep introspection to understand the unknown aspects of myself. This can also be helpful. There are also many different types of banishing rituals that can remove these entities. But since these beings are parasitic, they rely on you, so giving them food (i.e. your attention and energy), would make them stronger. I also ask for the assistance of positively oriented beings, such as angels and benevolent interdimensional entities, to banish unwanted energies in all planes of existence. Thus, it is important to understand different planes of existence. Each type of parasite has different purposes and would do different things, but their goal is harmful to us.

Have a good day/night!

[insomniac-jay]

Hell lore pt.2

Geographical

The nine circles are home to souls of deceased humans

Limbo is where the souls of dead, ordinary humans who were not sentenced to eternal damnation reside in Purgatory. It resembles various locations humans live in (i.e. cities, suburbs, rural areas) to make the souls feel at home

The seven rings are the home of both the Hell born Demons and Fallen Angels. The cities of Dis and Pandemonium are also located there

The rings represent the seven deadly sins with the pride ring housing both the royal family and elite

Time is dilated in Hell the same way it is in Heaven so spending a day in Hell is the same as one minute passing on Earth while spending a whole week there is the same as an hour passing

The Demon realm (the place that Azriel has the keys to) is where people who were once humans but became Demons in one way or another live

Hell's landscape changes based on whoever the current ruler is. When it was Lucifer, Hell vaguely resembled Heaven but dark. When Jezebel took over, it resembles common depictions of Hell mixed with futuristic architecture.

While Heaven advanced at the same time Earth did, Hell advanced at a faster rate than both. Even more so after Jezebel took the throne

Other locations include the Valley of Shadows, Praetori, and Ament

The lowest parts of Hell are call the Infernal Pits. It currently houses Lucifer's true form and the original seven princes after they were banished and exiled in light of Jezebel's victory in the Demon Wars

Demon lore

If there's one thing about Demons and their kin, it's that they're extremely territorial. They do not like sharing a space with humans, dead or alive

Demons and Fallen Angels alike are aware of human customs--they just don't care about them. Especially when it comes to marriage

Succubi and Incubi are the only Demons unable to mate with each other. To learn more about this, I will direct you to this post

Magic and powers are used in everyday life

Pre Holy Wars, Demons never really worried about attacks from Angels until a certain one came down, took out Mammon's eye, and left

Speaking of Mammon, him and the other seven princes acted as interim rulers during times when Lucifer was leading the armies

Unfortunately for him, he got his last eye taken by Jezebel before being sent to the Infernal Pits

Hellfire feels like regular fire to Demons. To humans, it feels like fire and a pressure cooker had a child

Fallen Angels retain their human forms since their true forms were stripped from them by the Angels

[waeirfaahl]

Plot hole? A lie? Or simple exaggeration?

I noticed this weird moment not so long time ago. Like, Jack meets Rotti and his friends, and they tell to him that during archeological discoverings they found some rare jewls, so after Aku found out about it, he forced the dogs to dig it. And one of Rotti's friends describes these crystalls as "a key source of Aku's power", and now Rotti's people are enslaved and so on.

So, I have some questions to this moment. 1. "The key source of Aku's power" — what kind of? That these are some particularly precious and rare minerals for which you can grab a lot of money? Is it some kind of raw and important material for building robots or any other technology? Or that Aku feeds on crytals and minerals?

The exact same words (well, similar, at least) also came from Jack's father, that crystals somehow make Aku stronger or whatever. Well, the demon showed himself as a very strong being well before this (he successfully conqured Jack's kingdom and later the whole Earth as well). So, again, what did they mean, describing some random jewls as something what makes Aku stronger? Or they made up this story for getting Jack's help?

2. If they said in context "It's all started with such crystals in ancient times" (because the jewls, found by Rotti and other canines, are very similar to the ones Emperor and other enslaved people dig in 1 episode of 1 season), then what's the point for Aku to force dogs to dig crystals he doesn't need anymore? Like, he already rules for many thousands of years successfully. And he has magic, technologies and robots, which will scan the ground and find any jewls and crystals and etc. There's no need to use Rotti and his friends for this.

3. How and from where did the dogs even find out /consider that these jewls are the so-called source of Aku's power? Did he tell them that himself? Why would he tell them about it himself then? And, again, there's no need to use Rotti and his friends for this. I'd say that if it's so important thing, then Aku should keep it in secret, banish dogs from these territories and use only robots and other technologies in these mines.

It seems to me that the dogs were just bluffing, so Jack would help them to escape from working in the mines... Despite the fact that Aku would find out about their escape no matter what and either killed them or forced to work again... But actually Aku simply ignored them after Jack's battle against Aku's insect-drones, he didn't kill them, didn't punish them and so on... I'd assume that their working in mines was either punishment for excavations without a permit next to Aku's official mines or they conflicted with Aku in therms of "Hey, don't dig your jewls here! These artifacts are important for history! There's possible keys for revealing mystery of our canine ancestory! You can destroy them forever!". And although Rotti and friends show to Jack some crucified(?) dogs (apparently, already dead), there's no any guard (demons or robots, and there's no hint about who crucified them), and Rotti and friends were very far from these mines in restaurant, i.e. they're allowed to relax and eat.

[journeythroughjourneytothewest]

Chapter 29 Recap: Free of his peril, River Float arrives at the kingdom; Receiving favor, Eight Rules invades the forest.

This chapter begins with a reminder that though Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing fought with Yellow Robe for over thirty rounds, neither one had emerged the victor. They were, in fact, able to withstand Yellow Robe’s assault “only because of the fact that the Tang Monk was not yet fated to die [and so] his followers could count on the help of certain deities,” i.e. the Six Gods of Light and Six Gods of Darkness, the Guardians of Five Quarters, the Four Sentinels, and the Eighteen Guardian-Spirits of monasteries. While this collection of gods and yaoguai are battling each other, Tang Sanzang is left “weeping piteously in the cave and thinking about his disciples,” primarily about when or if they’ve realized that he’s been captured. Yet even as he’s lamenting his lot, a woman suddenly walks over to him and asks why he’s here. Tang Sanzang assumes that she’s another yaoguai, and tells her that if “you want to devour me, go ahead.” Yet this woman reveals that she’s as human as him, that her name is Hundred Flowers’ Shame, and that she’s from the Precious Image Kingdom, some three hundred miles west of the cave. She goes on to tell Tripitaka that thirteen years ago the Yellow Robe Demon had kidnapped her and forced her “to become his wife for all these thirteen years and to bear his children.” Tang Sanzang in turn tells this princess about his journey to the west and how the Yellow Robe Demon wants to eat him and his disciples. Hundred Flowers’ Shame assures the monk that she’ll be able to save them all, and that all she asks in return is for him to deliver a letter from herself to her parents. Tripitaka agrees.

The princess writes her letter and unties the monk before telling him to leave through the back while she herself goes to the front of the cave to intercede on the pilgrims’ behalf. Tang Sanzang thanks her and, after leaving the cave’s back entrance, he hides in some bushes to wait. For her own part, Hundred Flowers’ Shame calls Yellow Robe over from his fight, and tells him that she just had a dream where a golden-armored deity demanded that she fulfill an oath she had apparently took as a young women to feed monks if life granted her a good husband. She further takes this as a sign to let Tang Sanzang go, and Yellow Robe agrees to do so, stating that if he “wanted to eat humans, I can catch a few anywhere.” He also tells Zhu Bajie that for the sake of his wife he won’t fight with them anymore, but if they trespass again he won’t spare them. Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie, hearing this, “felt as if they had been released from the gate of Hell!” Now sufficiently terrified of Yellow Robe’s power, they “darted like rodents past the Current-Moon Cave” on their way to its back, where the sand monk picks up Tang Sanzang and puts him on Bai Longma. As a group the pilgrims hurriedly leave the area, all while Sha Wujing and Zhu Bajie are “trying to put the blame on each other, and Tripitaka had to spend all the time attempting to pacify them.”

A bit at a time the pilgrims travel two hundred and ninety-nine miles, and finally reach the Precious Image Kingdom. Tripitaka soon gets an audience with the king, who gladly certifies Tang Sanzang’s travel rescript. The monk also hands over the letter Hundred Flowers’ Shame gave him. The king starts crying, and reveals that after the princess’s kidnapping, as he had no idea what had happened to his daughter, he had “banished countless officials, both civil and military, and we did not know how many ladies-in-waiting and eunuchs we had caned to death throughout the palace,” along with having “interrogated countless households in the city.” The king’s hands are shaking too badly for him to open the letter himself, so the Grand Secretary of the Hanlin Academy does so in the king’s stead. It is through this letter than the king and court learn of what happened to Hundred Flowers’ Shame; how Yellow Robe had forced her to become his wife, forced her to “suffer such ignominy for these thirteen years,” and how two “monster children were born to me, all seeds of this fiend.” The princess ends her letter by begging her father to “send his noble generals quickly to capture the Yellow Robe Fiend…and bring your daughter back to the court.”

The king bursts into tears as soon as the letter is finished. After he weeps for a long time, he asks if any of his civil and military officials will lead his troops to go rescue Hundred Flowers’ Shame. None of them dare to step forward. The king starts weeping again, and a few of his officials try to offer what advice they can. They note in particular that the king’s subjects are “merely mortal creatures,” not the kind of beings who can face an entity which “comes by the fog and goes with the clouds” like a powerful yaoguai. They then suggest that Tang Sanzang, as a “holy monk from a noble nation…must know the art of subduing monsters.” Tripitaka, however, hurriedly assures everyone that while he “knows a little of chanting the name of Buddha…he does not know how to subdue monsters.” When pressed as to how he made it as far as he did without that power, Tang Sanzang reveals that he has “two disciples, most capable of opening up a pathway” in his journey. The king chides him for not bringing them into the palace, with Tripitaka protesting that they are “rather ugly in their appearances…I fear that they might cause too great a shock to your Majesty.” The king proclaims that he isn’t afraid of seeing them, even after Tang Sanzang gives a detailed description of their monstrous appearances, but after he invites them in he was left “shaking so hard that he fell down from his dragon couch.”

Despite this shock to his system, the king soon calms down and asks Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing if they’re any good at subduing yaoguai. Zhu Wuneng gives a lengthy account on how he was once a celestial warrior, nothing less than the Marshal of the Heavenly Reeds, and that on earth he has become “the one most capable of subduing monsters.” To demonstrate his power he also grows up to a height of eighty or ninety feet. Delighted with this demonstration of Zhu Bajie’s magical might, the king sends the pig yaoguai off to try and save his daughter with a cup of special wine and the promise that getting the princess her freedom comes with the reward of a huge banquet and a thousand pieces of gold. We are also informed that while Zhu Bajie is “a rude and rowdy person, he could act courteously when he wanted to.” Draining his cup in one gulp, the former marshal then rides the clouds back to confront the Yellow Robe Demon. Sha Wujing follows afterwards, noting that in their last confrontation they were only able to battle Yellow Robe to a draw, so his assistance will be needed. Tang Sanzang is left behind to chat with the king.

Zhu Bajie is glad to have Sha Wujing’s help, and notes that their efforts to catch Yellow Robe will likely “spread our fame a little in this kingdom.” They soon reach the Current-Moon Cave, and Zhu Bajie hits its door with his rake, gouging a huge hole in it. Yellow Robe is quick to storm out. He grows even more enraged when confronted with kidnapping and rape charges (he tells the pilgrims that “It’s none of your business, so stop meddling!), and proceeds to battle with the former marshal and sand monk. Yet this time the fight goes much more swiftly, and in Yellow Robe’s favor. In but nine rounds Zhu Bajie is at the end of his strength. This is because with Tang Sanzang gone, the dharma-protecting deities that had been secretly assisting the pilgrims in the first fight with Yellow Robe aren’t present. And so Zhu Bajie tells Sha Wujing to “come up and fight with [Yellow Robe] for awhile. Let old Hog go shit first!” And then, “not showing the slightest care for Sha Monk,” he dives through a thicket of bramble bushes and lies still, only poking one ear up so he can hear how the battle is going. Sha Wujing is left “completely flustered” and is quickly captured by the Yellow Robe Demon. And it is here that the chapter ends.

[tilapia-goulash]

I've gotta say, out of all the MXTX novels, MDZS definitely feels the most "different" to me. Is it a bad thing? Not really. Is it just because of my own biased perception (MDZS was the novel I read last)? Maybe. But as I've thought about it more, I've realized the main thing for me that really separates MDZS from the other two novels isn't its more surface level differences (different flavor of ML, more political drama-y, arguably good sex, etc etc) but rather one simple thing: the scale.

TGCF and SVSSS are stories that have larger scales by necessity of the plot. SVSSS not only has its main setting introduced as a book summary, but is also meant to be a parody of an existing genre, so it stands to reason there'd be the odd worldbuilding monologue where Shen Qingqiu curses out Airplane for his bad writing and whatnot. Worldbuilding is the primary tool through which the reality of Proud Immortal Demon Way as a setting (that being that it's a shoddily written but still fully system-expanded porn novel) is communicated to the audience.

TGCF is about a wandering banished god and a ghost king, so of course there's going to be lore about different kingdoms they've gone through and their histories with each other. Of course there's going to be a general picture painted of all three realms of this world and what each is like. Of course some defining points of our leads' character journeys are when one couldn't prevent a whole kingdom from collapsing and the other was rebirthed in a volcano as an unimaginably powerful super being. It's a fantasy novel. It only makes sense.

In contrast, though, MDZS feels incredibly zoomed in. All of the conflicts are between individual people or clans of maybe 50-100. There aren't any threats to the world at large (aside from maybe the criticized aspects of society like mob mentality and whatnot, depending on how you view it) and, hell, we don't even know what the kingdom it takes place in is called! The "world" of MDZS (if it can even be called that, as small as it is) is its own individual entity that isn't really connected to the greater universe around it. There's barely any worldbuilding at all--aside from the clan-sect thing, it's a bog standard cultivation setting, and there's no "wider impact" of any of the events of the story* outside the people the story chooses to focus on, because, simply put, there doesn't need to be.

In that way, it definitely makes sense that MDZS has the biggest impact on a lot of people. A smaller scale and more personal stakes might make the story feel more grounded and easy to connect with than, say, a giant statue kaiju mecha battle. (Absolutely no disrespect to the giant statue kaiju mecha battle from me, though. That shit was great)

Also, slight tangent, but this might be part of the reason there are more "serious" crossover fics (i.e. ones with more developed plots then "hey wouldn't it be fun if these characters interacted") between TGCF and MDZS than anything involving SVSSS. MDZS's lack of real connection to everything outside its story bubble makes it very easy to just drop in as a random thing going on in the background of TGCF, so it's not a big stretch to imagine. Hypothetically, this would also work with dropping MDZS into the world of SVSSS, but the tones of the stories are so wildly different that they feel a bit harder to reconcile.

In the end, though, it is still nice to see that even though MXTX has written three cultivation danmeis by now, there's still noticeable variety in not just the stories themselves, but the lenses through which they're told. It makes me very excited for whenever her fourth novel comes out, because because who knows what she'd do with a whole new setting...

[carelessflower]

So me and a friend were talking and we were discussing how Raziel and Johnathan Shadowhunter were together, they were dating, but the other angels caught wind of it, and angels werent allowed to date humans/demons

So Michael had to interviene, Raziel got pissed, and in his last attempt out of spite gave Johnathan the mortal cup, to remember him by, and if needed to summon him, Raziel was then locked up.

Johnathan and his fellow friends drank from the cup making them shadowhunters..now Lucifer heard about this and was angry on how he was banished to hell, when Raziel was locked up, so he sent the demons after the shadowhunters again out of spite...

Now Ithuriel comes into the picture, he loved humanity, he loved the Herondales so he helped them (i.e. Tessa and Will)

Later Ithuriel heard of Valentine, and he decided to help Clary.

Ithuriel was going to pay his nephew a visit but decdied against it, and went back to see Raziel and told him about Valentine. Raziel only gave the mortal cup as a remeberwnce gift, he blamed himself as if he didnt give the cup, then none of the murder and attempted genocide was going to happen. And his neice and newphew wont get hurt

(A long headcanon)

anon this is amazing

[theunfairfolk]

Are vampires stopped by all holy ground or only by their own respective religions? i.e. Can a Jewish vampire go into a cathedral or an agnostic vampire into a synagogue or mosque?

good question! it depends! a lot of vampire myths are told and treated as homogenous so like. in america, a christian dominant nation, the things that repel vampires are all christian. i recently watched a demon scary movie set in indonesia and they used a necklace of bamboo (and something else. red thread? can’t recall) to banish/trap/kill the spirit. not a cross or bible in sight.

i like to think it has more to do with the person wielding them or the belief behind it. so a vampire setting foot into a church hurts them because christians believe it, but the vampire might be fine at a shinto shrine because they don’t believe that sort of sacred space would harm a vampire (or maybe they do, that was a random example).

but who knows all the differences between cultures’ vampires and such. maybe yokai would be fine in a temple maybe catholic demons could hang out in a mosque. go find some and try it out!

[satanachia666]

Hi! May I ask you if you know any ritual , spell or prayer for healing? The thing is that last summer I had an illness and I was really bad . I had been cured but it's coming back again and I don't want to go through all that again . It was terrible , the doctors I went none could cure me completely.

But I trust my father Satan and I want to please be well again 🖤

Hello! It's sad to hear you're sick! I hope you recover ASAP.🖤

Beelzebub helped me so much when I had COVID. During that time, I wrote my own Beelzebub healing prayer. It took me a while to make a full recovery, but I'm confident that Beelzebub guided me to the care and solutions I needed the most. I've found he's very helpful with all things related to health. He rules over the body as well as the processes of decomposition and regeneration, so he is an expert when it comes to healing. He even helps banish/protect you from medical discrimination! For example, he has protected me from medical fatphobia multiple times because I prayed to him before my doctor appointments.

I recommend praying to Beelzebub daily or, if not daily, as frequently as you can for healing. Praying to Beelzebub before you go to a health-related appointment ensures you'll have his protection and healing powers on your side. Also, if you need mental health support for matters related to health, Beelzebub is also willing to help with that. If he finds he can't help, then he will refer you to another demon or entity who's more willing or able to help you.

One more thing: Nothing in your message communicated to me that you would do what I'm about to warn people about. But just so we're all clear: It's important to always follow your doctor's advice and take your prescribed medication for you to heal to the fullest. Prayer is a supplement to medical treatment, NOT a substitute. There's magic in medicine and that magic is called "science." If you feel you can't trust your doctor's advice, then if possible, try to find another doctor to get a second opinion.

With that being said, I realize that isn't always doable for a lot of people due to the cost of healthcare in certain places (i.e. United States). Healthcare is a human right. Please know that it's not your fault if you live in a place with a government and society that fails to recognize that. You deserve all of the care you need to get back to a place where you're healthy and comfortable.

Good luck with your healing!🍀 I hope you recover or at least get to a point where you're comfortable.💖

[magpiejay1234]

So, let’s talk about Yuya’s name, since apparently there is some interesting stuff going on here.

The Kanji for 榊, sakaki, refers to the sakaki plant, a Japanese plant that is believed to be the tree where Yata no Kagami (Mirror of Yata) was placed on.  

The Kanji for 遊, yu, is the standard Kanji for Yu-Gi-Oh! protagonists, and it means to play. 

The Kanji for 矢, ya, means arrow, likely alluding to arrow-shaped scales of a Pendulum Card/Zone. BUT.

Ya here likely refers to hamaya, which is the name of the arrow used by Minamoto no Yorimasa to vanquish a demon that infested royal palace, and made the Emperor ill. The bow is called hama yumi.

But, but. ARC-V generally uses more specifically Buddhist inspirations. Let’s dig a bit deeper.

In Buddhism, there is a tradition that the golden bow and arrow held by Umarekkya, one of the Four Nightfellows who follow the Blue-Faced Vajra, is the origin of the demon arrow, and the Dragon God Demon Arrow is sold at Rinnō-ji in Nikko, where the Four Nightfellows are enshrined.[1]。

The “Nightfellows” here refer to Yasha, the Japanese spelling of Yaksha. Vajra here refers to Vaiśravaṇa, who is known in Japan as Bishamonten. 

https://www.nikkostation.com/taiyuin-temple/

Umarokya’s statue can be seen here. His name is written as 烏摩勒伽 in Kanji, and うまろきゃ in Hiragana.

Information about this guy is very scant.

(Of course, there is also the arrow from Jojo, Yuya’s VA is Giorno after all.)

Anyway, the likely meaning for both is likely this:

Since then, hama yumi have been used in Buddhist and Shinto rituals of purification (i.e., Shihobarai, the Purification of the Four Directions). In Japan, it is believed that merely the twanging of its bowstring will frighten away ghosts, evil spirits and negative influences from the house. A miko will carry a hama yumi and a set of hama ya as part of their religious regalia, while back in Feudal Japan, they were used quite literally in defence of the shrine or temple.

As a result, hama ya (破魔矢, lit. 'evil-banishing arrows'), decorative arrows, are sold even today at shrines as Engimono (good-luck charms); smaller replicas have been placed in shrines and people's homes. It is believed that even just one Hama-Ya which has been blessed by a Shinto Priest carries great spiritual power, will bring protection against the forces of evil, and for purification, and they are also believed to have the ability to attract vast good fortune. Hama ya and hama yumi are often given as gifts to celebrate the first New Year of a male baby's life.

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%A0%B4%E9%AD%94%E7%9F%A2

Chinese wiki page goes into more detail about various practices involving this.

Kanji for the Dragon King Hamaya is 龍神破魔矢.

Addendums:

**Other meanings of Yuya can be found here.

**Arrow here is also a pun, arrows fly in an incline, or an arc, so this fits with the arc theming going in ARC-V.

**Arrow pun is the likely inspiration of Shingo’s initial Dart Deck, but also Shinji’s Battlewasps.

**The Kanji ya can also mean night (etymologically it seems to be same root as Yami/Yomi), which is likely an allusion to Z-ARC’s weird Samael connection, though it might be referencing to specific Yaksha here.

***Tomatos, and eggplants are nightshades, but the Japanese name of the family has no reference to “ya” (it is called  ナス, nasu, which means eggplant).

**Sakaki is a decently common surname, it seems, though it is more frequently used in animé than anything. Weird to have Shinto symbolism in a heavily Buddhist inspired show, but I guess the flower theming here is because of En Flowers, since Yuya is technically a manifestation of En Flowers interacting with Odd-Eyes.

***Sakaki name also seems to have a common earthy theme, because it can be read as slope tree. Giovanni from Pokémon’s Japanese name is Sakaki, for example. This might be further evidence towards my personal conspiracy theory of Odd-Eyes originally being intended to be EARTH attribute.

**Yuya in Gongenzaka’s Deck is symbolized by Wakaushi, who is supposed to be Yoshitsune, and Reiji’s Deck’s Pendragon seems to be his symbolization of Yuya (joke is Pendulum Dragon->Pendragon, and its Japanese title is Supreme Dragon King), who is supposed to be King Arthur of course. Neither of them have allusions to Yorimasa, which suggests the ya Kanji here is more because of the practices involving hamaya, not its origin.

**Apparently:

Hama-yumi replicas are scale versions of the sacred Japanese bow, coated with urushi, wrapped in fine rattan and accented in gold leaf. They are displayed in a stand, along with two arrows tipped with yanone (traditional warrior tips); one representing male and the other female, yin and yang (vermilion signifying male energy (yang), and black representing female energy (yin)).

This might be where ARC-V producers got the idea of symbolically associating the Pendulum Arrows with Zarc/Ray, and their respective counterparts (but this theming seems to go with other heterosexual couples of ARC-V, see Leo/Himika, Masumi/Hakuto etc.)

***Red-Blue theming going with the het couples is probably a reference to Urashima Taro, though the same theming also occurs with Reira/Ayu, and of course Ayu’s literally references the story. Though I guess their case still works, since Ayu’s Deck includes Aquaactress Tetra, who is a female fish playing the role of a male.

**Hamaya is the inspiration of two DM-era cards as well, Anti-Magic Arrows, and Spell Shattering Arrow. 

[philosophiums]

👀👀 ok pls indulge me and tell me all about your ocs starting with moren than youuuu love youuu

HI THIS IS SO OLD IM SO SORRY I AM BAD AT SEEING/ANSWERING ASKS

also god i have.... so many ocs i will handpick a few for you

okay so there's two dnd ocs that i can tell you about

Moren (pronounced morn), a human who was born from a ritual that her parents participated in trying to bring this really obscure local god (who has a nice facade but is evil) back into a pocket of real power. Her parents were struggling to have a kid and this god "blessed" them, proved through the child's appearance being very similar to the facade of this god. Through the rise of the god's power and its desire to fuck with its worshippers, Moren's parents started to resent her, thinking of her as a curse instead of a blessing (also the recognition of the self through the other i.e. her parents seeing this innocent child and realizing that they themselves are guilty in many ways). So they tried to kill Moren and didn't have the respect for their child to bury her, which is ultimately what saved her. She was dumped in the woods and found just hours later by the luck of a half orc just taking a stroll. This half orc decided to raise her himself, teaching her how to be a blacksmith and how to be a decent human being. Of course, she's also heavily cursed and has to figure that out eventually, but.... y'know. She's hot-tempered and doesn't speak a lot (she often pretends to be deaf or uneducated so that she can avoid having conversations she's not interested in). She's a rune knight fighter.

also Lavinia (my pfp), who is a half air genasi who got possessed by a (demon? old god? manifestation of human fears and pain and resentment?) and killed her father and two younger siblings. Her mother came home because Lavinia's younger brother tried to call for her on a sending stone before she killed him, and she was able to bind Lavinia and use her status to get Lavinia transferred to a penitentiary. She was mostly okay there while they were trying to get this thing out of her, but she did end up becoming fully possessed again and killing a bunch of people before a paladin (who had become protective of her after the clerics and staff treated her weird post finding out that she's actually a tiefling) managed to banish the thing from her, but not before several other paladins stabbed their swords through her chest and killed her. She was revived by a goddess of stars and stories and chaos, plucked from the lifestream and put back into her body because the goddess knew that Lavinia's life would turn into a great story some day. She's very big-sisterly and often the voice of reason, preferring not to do dumb things because she wants to keep everyone safe (she's usually overruled and has to keep her friends alive). She's a twilight cleric.

also some ocs for you after the conversations that we've been having!

there's Chuya (the mc we were talking about), who you know quite a bit about backstory-wise, but I will describe him for you. He's about 5'3" with black eyes that are often narrowed as he observes the world around him, like he's passing judgement or looking for something that's never quite there. Before he forged his chain, his hair was black, but afterwards (due to the physical and mental strain) it turned white. It goes a little past his shoulders and he usually has it up in a half ponytail to keep it out of his eyes but still keep his neck covered. If he's running around the city, he's wearing a black face mask to cover his nose and mouth (both because his lungs are weak and the smog is heavy, and because he's trying to remain as anonymous as possible). He's got kind of a bitchy personality, especially when people ask him for things or to do things for them (though he often does them anyway, just complains the whole time). He's impulsive and a little reckless, but also lazy about things he doesn't have immediate interest in. He is also very Gender™ and is as comfortable wearing a dress as he is a suit and tie. Incredibly loyal! Very family-oriented! A bit self-sacrificial! Will push himself to his death for what most people think are not good reasons!

and then there's Umbrius (aka Riu, Chuya's partner), the demon dragged out of hell and chained to a fragile man with a will to fight and a bloodlust that knocks Umbrius back on his heels. Umbrius is tall and strong and knows it. He's confident in his power and lazy to do anything that might make him stronger, lest he alienate himself from his peers even further. He's feared/respected even by demons of the same rank, and has become incredibly lonely (though he won't admit it) in the face of no one willing to do more than show him the utmost respect. Who would have thought that a frail little human with paper-thin patience would catch his attention and hold it long enough that he might develop feelings... His hair is short (a bit fluffy on top) and black, and his eyes are a very odd shade of shifty gold, sometimes without pupils. He can control shadows in two ways: 1) he can steal them from people around him and gather them into physical objects that he can stab/slice with, and 2) he can teleport short distances through shadows, though he has to have clearly seen the shadow he teleports to, including its specific shape, which means that there's often a time limit on the teleport as well. Not loyal at all and would leave someone to die to save his own skin (except Chuya bc he's the first bit of fun Umbrius has had in millennia)! Incredibly territorial about what he considers "his!" Very smart and kind of a dick!

special shoutouts to Kara, who is a caffeine-addicted lesbian with ADHD and major daddy issues, and Hina, who is a mute banshee with no social skills and an affinity for stabbing people to keep her gruff and reluctant New Dad safe

[dudefromwormhole]

Things I really want to see in Hazbin Hotel

Tw: mention of suicide; would be excited to hear your thoughts:D

1) Why there were no sinners who were ready sure that they are in Hell for no reason?

I don’t know your thoughts but I think these types of people would be first to go to Hotel no matter what people talk about it. Cause “I’m here by mistake and you are the Princess of Hell so save me”.

And like, there are also a lot of people I know that will go for anything if it means they will het what they want(i.e financial pyramids, some weird health stuff, taro, ads etc). So yeah, why there weren’t any?

I mean, also Hotel is kinda free place to stay and I highly doubt some sinners would just refuse such option(but okay, maybe they don’t know about this one yet).

Honestly, I just want my “EXCUSE ME SIR! THERE MUST BE SOMEONE YOU CONFUSED ME FOR!!” okay?

Moving on.

2) Suicide

I want to see people killed themselves. Especially if suicide was the exact reason why they are in Hell.

I just think it’s so heartbreaking to see a person who genuinely cared and was good enough to be but just… yeah.

3) Atheists

Yep. This one is for pure meme potential.

Give me the sinner who’s like “wtf am I hallucinating??”.

Bonus point if they made it to Heaven(don’t know about this one cause apparently not believing in God is also a sin so… yep).

4) I want to see sinners having deals with Imps, hellhounds and hellborns.

Like, it’s kinda make sense to me for sinners to make a deal, because well sinners cannot go to other Rings like Lust, Greed, Sloth etc, so maybe some made a deal for imps/hellborns to supply some shit. Maybe some weapons or tech or even some exotic food

(I once imagined a scene with a sinner who wanted to drink cocoa but there was no cocoa in Pride Ring so they tried to sneak to other Rings, failed until they found a supplier)

5) God

I know there’s like 10% chance of this happening but I really want God to be in Hotel world.

It’s like… give me my burnt out celestial being who just wants to have a new purpose in life without wiping off his previous creations.

Give me the being who is thought to be “too old to rule Heaven” for creating demons and stuff. So God just goes and does whatever God wants to do, because who’s gonna stop this being? No one.

6) Hierarchy of Heaven

7) Cherubs(because we’ve seen in Helluva Boss how they were banished and I think there’s a chance they might went to Hell) and more non-sinner people in Pride Ring

[justthatspiffy]

.

[mochiwrites]

solar eclipse au bonus lore

right, so! amor solis wrapped up a few months ago and I completely forgot to post some bonus lore, so I'll do that now !! :D

let's start at the very beginning, at the creation of the universe. in which xisuma and evil x are born, the gods of protection and chaos respectively. it was prophesied that evil x would plunge the world into darkness. it kind of makes the watchers wary of him (hence why he looks into a way to become human).

shortly after the birth of the brothers, keralis and a few other older hermits are born (i.e. ren, doc, tfc, joe, beef etc ), and things are pretty peaceful for a while.

until evil x is punished by the watchers and as a result, he begins a rebellion. xisuma is forced to fight against his brother along with the other gods. ren has martyn, who's his right hand (martyn is an angel) though martyn is killed in the war (later reincarnated alongside grian). during the war, impulse (a demon) seeks out shelter from xisuma and masquerades as the god of joy.

in the end, evil x is banished and the war ends.

years later, grian, mumbo, scar are all born.