#// I'VE BEEN SCREAMING SINCE I GOT THE ASK EEEEEEEEE

[fcrir]

     Aerith just hugs him and refuses to let go. Nope. He's not moving anytime soon. 🥺🥰

     Periods of stillness was something the soldier learned to appreciate,   to bask in the simple happiness of the company of a loved one instead of needing to be active at all hours.   He would credit Aerith fully in that regard as she often found ways to keep him grounded   &.   a little less-absent minded with all the troubles that awaits his every return.   There was a beauty in that stillness he had never paid attention to,   little by little had he began to see the world from a different point view,   from her point of view,   where the world still glimmered with the promise of a new dawn.   Hope was everywhere to those who look close enough,   she was the kind he had been seeking for long.   He had been observing the patch of flowers for a moment,   until his gaze follows the thin rays that slipped from between the plates above.   One day   ...   I'll show you a pretty sky.   He smiles at the thought,   smile widening as he feels her smaller hands wrap around his waist.        ❛❛   Hey,   you !   ❜❜        a warm laugh escapes him as arms return the gesture almost instantly,   it's strange to be with someone more affectionate than him,   but he doesn't why away from surrendering into her warmth,   &.   that sweet scent of lilies that always stuck to her hair.   This was no new gesture of theirs,   yet   ...   it seems to last longer than usual                 as a matter of a fact,   her grip was growing tighter by the minute.

       ❛❛   You okay ?   ❜❜         he asks,   peeking down at her to see if he can catch something from her expression,   but she held on stubbornly and didn't let go.        ❛❛   Hm,   you need your battery recharged,   that it ?   Well don't worry,   see these arms ?   They were made for hugging !   ❜❜        a tight squeeze is given on cue,   lifting her off her feet momentarily to bring out a laugh from her.        ❛❛   I'll be here for as long as you want me to.   ❜❜        his tone softens as he leans to press a kiss to the top of her head before resting his cheek there.   I've got you.

@sacredflorist // is holding the puppy captive

[novelcain]

When you did your version of wukong did you have a specific species of monkey in mind to base him of? Or was him a mix of some monkeys?

It got me curious when you said you know a lot of monkey facts and I wondered if you used this to concept him?

EEEEEEEEE! You have no idea how excited I got when I woke up and saw this ask! I literally don't even care that it's the newest one I'm answering rn!

And also! Before I get into how I made the design for ITTW Sun Wukong, something I wanted to throw out is that a few people have asked for me to give more monkey facts after I foolishly /j divulged that I am an encyclopedia of monkeys, so I've been thinking of doing like a Monkey Facts Monday cause alliteration where I post a bunch of monkey facts on mondays! So lemme know what you guys think of that idea cause I absolutely am willing to do it! :D

Now ONTO THE MONKIE MAN!

In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong is described to be that of demon Rhesus Macaque.

Rhesus Macaques can come in a variety of browns, greys, whites, and blondes, but for the most part are largely this stunning platinum gold color like in the picture above. I personally love this this color and wish we could see more golden furred Monkey Kings instead of just monkey=brown.

In addition to golden furs, a Rhesus Macaque's skin is largely a pinkish-peachy color with darker, nearly black, fingers and feet (You can see this in the first picture as well :)). And males tend to have more redish saturation around their eyes. (The saturation of this "mask" on males has been linked to levels of testosterone and therefore the dark/more red the mask the more potent the male, meaning it may be a sexual selective male trait as females have been observed preferring males with redder masks.... *looks at LMK Macaque simps*)

However, one thing about Rhesus Macaques is that they have very short tails. (As depicted below)

And that just wasn't quite the look a was going for. So while I was thinking "Eeeeh I could just say that he's a Rhesus Macaque with a long tail" but as I was sifting through my monkey knowledge I remembered another macaque species!

The Crab-Eating Macaque! Aka the Long Tailed Macaque!

These macaques very closely resemble Rhesus Macaques in facial features as well as fur as they also come in a variety of gingers, browns, greys, and blondes with their main color variation being this brownish-gold. (below) Tho their pelts tend to range darker than a Rhesus Macaque's.

And instead of having mainly peachy skin with a few black tones around the hand and feet, they largely have very dark skin with the brightest parts being around the eyes and the darkest being their pitch black ears, hands, and feet.

And come on, you can't tell me this isn't a Monkey King face:

Plus I might be just a liiiittle biased because my favorite monkey picture is a Long Tailed Macaque:

Just look at this dude! He's so done with life! 😂

But along with just physical characteristics, Rhesus Macaques and Long Tailed Macaques share many behavioral qualities as well.

They both display threats in similar ways, such as baring teeth paired with screaming to frighten predators and other monkeys. Though, Rhesus Macaques tend to be more aggressive and bold (accurate to Wukong) while Crab-Eating Macaques are very cautious and skittish. A Rhesus would much rather fight while a Long Tailed would much rather run.

Another thing they share is their open affection for each other. Both Rhesus and Crab-Eating Macaques have extremely tight knit bond within their troop and with even form best friends from a very young age. Just look at this family unit and how the younger two hold the elder monkey! So sweet. 🥹

All in all! In the end, I went with a mixture of these two species for my ITTW Wukong design, leaning slightly more toward his original species, the Rhesus Macaque, and gave him the proportions of a human since he's a monkey demon.

The traits that I took from the Rhesus Macaques were his blonde fur and peachy pale skin tone as well as his more saturated peach mask, which I blended with a darker blackish-red at the bottoms to pay homage to the Crab-Eating Macaque's darker faces.

The traits that I took from the Crab-Eating Macaques were their long tails and black tipped ears. (as well as the blended mask)

And the traits I took from both were the black tipped hands and feet as well as their long fangs.

While his eye come straight from the book.

And this was the result!