#Acolyte Sun and Moon Show

[solarflaresdaddyissues]

”Goodbye. My Acolyte…”

I kid you not, SAMS fans, Creator is was in a romantic relationship with Acolyte and no one can change my mind.

I may be getting too invested into this because Acolyte is my favorite character and I’m coping with his death, but this had been a running joke for a long time with me and now I don’t think it’s a joke.

Going way back to episodes I’m not going to bother researching the names for just for a simple post I’ll forget about, Acolyte and Creator have always has a relationship similar to that of either toxic exes or an old married couple. Sure, they clearly don’t like each other, right? WRONG!

In the episode where Taurus confronted Creator, after Taurus was already gone and Acolyte was listening to Creator go on his long rant, we get that one scene. (Yes, I don’t have the video pulled up and I don’t know the exact quote, sue me) “I will rule this godforsaken planet, and you shall rule alongside me!” Oh? Will be now? What happened to you treating him like a servant? Now you want him to be what, the queen to you as the king? Cause if he’s ruling alongside you, I doubt he’s a servant anymore.

Next, in the Creator’s death episode, Solar had his whole monologue about how no one would miss him but maybe Earth. Then he leaves and Acolyte comes in. He spots Creator and he’s upset. His breathing’s shaky, he’s kneeling down at his body brain, he’s clearly very shaken about Creator’s death.

HE TRIED TO CALL HIM SVEN! We hear Acolyte say Creator multiple times, trying to rouse him in a vain hope that he’s still alive. Then he makes to say Sven and cuts himself off. He knows the Creator wouldn’t want to be remembered as Sven Isnolov. He’s Creator, through and through. So he stops. He knows it won’t wake him. He’s gone.

And then we get the recorded message. Made just for the man kneeling over his “body” at that moment. “Continue our plans.” “I can’t do this without you…” “You’re probably saying something like, ‘I can’t do this without you. You sentimental fool.” So you knew exactly what he was going to say? In a prerecorded message? My my, Creator, I think you’re a bit attached, if you know him that well.

And then Acolyte goes and messes with forces he absolutely should not have just to bring him back. (Side note: Despite how much I hate Creator, I am willing to have him live. Because that’s what Acolyte wanted. It may as well have been his last wish. Let him have this.) So he goes to Rez, right. And he asks him to revive him. He knows what the Creator wanted and he knows that Creator is useful to Rez. Win-Win. For them, anyways. Creator is brought back. Yippie, I guess.

Creator immediately figures out what’s going on and is, deservedly, disappointed with Acolyte. He didn’t want this to happen. Human emotions get in the way. But he’s back. Beat Eclipse’s respawn speed run. And he works for Rez. Great.

Now, Rez, I am now hating. Was my third favorite star, now he’s lower than that. Way lower. You can’t go killing my favorite characters like that, buddy.

Then, we get Rez’s command. To prove loyalty, kill Acolyte. Excuse me? Pardon? Now, I don’t think I heard you right??

And Creator APOLOGIZED to Acolyte for it. He knows that this would all be useless if he’s just killed again. And Acolyte might die either way. Creator doesn’t have emotions. But he felt sorry for killing Acolyte. And his speech?! He was trying to protect Acolyte by telling him to continue? He knew that something like this would happen and he would have to kill him. He didn’t want to kill him. That’s astounding.

“Goodbye. My Acolyte.” My Acolyte? MY Acolyte? I know acolyte as a title means “Attendant”, he’s calling him his servant. But that’s what he was called. Besides Felix. Which, lovely name, by the way. Never really thought much about it until now. He was called Acolyte. That was his title. And the Creator called him his before he killed him. That’s so sweet. And incredibly gay, man, what in Polaris’s galaxy made you get sentimental! I ain’t judging, I’m loving this.

I can’t talk about this enough. These two are my life right home. I love this.

(Also, petition to make their ship name BrainRot? Because Creator is a brain and Acolyte was Trashcan Man at one point. Best glowup, honestly)

[sketchysspace]

So pretty and for what?...

[notyourmoon4528]

I have done nothing but laid down and watched my mom get obsessed with lost

And I regret nothing

Do I know what she's talking about?

No

But she's all happy and gushing like I get

So no

I did not

Make

A

Video

Plus I wanted to reverse a specific part but it was taking too long so I rage quit

[homeagainrose]

So, I am a Zutara shipper, I have been for a long time. We all know the importance of “You rise with the moon; I rise with the sun.” I was reminded today that he says it while she’s almost unconscious and he’s backed by the rising sun.

Truly stunning visuals. Certainly, what seems like a once in a lifetime ship. Not even canon! They’re the OTP I always end up going back to. And for the longest time, the only one I wrote for. Until I made fandom friends, but I digress.

So this discussion today got me thinking. Where else have I seen quasi enemies where the man recites poetry when the woman is unconscious with the sun rising? Because that feels very familiar right now. And then it hit me.

“What extraordinary beings we are. Even in the revelation of our triumph, we see the depths of our despair.”

I mean I knew there were similarities between Zutara and Oshamir – I didn’t realize how many. So now I have two OTPs that I’m going to end up going back to, over and over again. I feel it’s odd this happened twice…

The heart of it is this, yes right now The Acolyte is a singled season, a canceled show. But if you like Zutara, I still say give it a shot. And no, you don’t need to know any other Star Wars. Definitely ignore the naysayers. They’re just annoying.

Well, I guess now I have two ships that never got that one kiss. Well that’s why we have fanfic.

[kalinara]

(All-New X-Men #6)

I've kind of blogged something about this before but I never get tired of seeing posts about Logan/Scott/Jean as a throuple (I will literally die of spite before I use a portmanteau) that talk about them as two godlike, immortal beings and "just some guy".

Because on some level, of course, it's absolutely true. Jean is the living embodiment of a Universal Cosmic Force. She can sneeze and wipe out entire star systems.

And Logan is basically immortal. There are a good number of timelines that go forward hundreds, if not thousands of years (see: Powers of X in the Krakoa era) that still show Logan at the prime of his life, always fighting and surviving.

Scott, is, by that standard, just some guy. He's got lasers coming out of his eyes, which is kind of cool admittedly. You could do some interesting analysis on the fact that they seem to be infinite - the only time we see them give out is when HE gives out. Or doesn't get enough sunlight or whatever. But for practical purposes, they've got one real use, the guy's just a very decorative portable cannon.

But what makes Scott special, and on level with the other two, isn't what he is, but what he does.

This is a dude who's led the X-Men since he was a teenager. And as a teenager once talked an entire fleet of Sentinels into attacking the goddamn sun.

This is a dude who co-led a guerilla war against Apocalypse in the future for 10-12 years (admittedly with his goddess wife), then came back as though nothing happened.

He's also the reason for his own last name, because in ANOTHER time traveling bout with the goddess wife, he managed to inspire his own orphaned ancestor to take the name "Summers" in his and Jean's honor.

This is a dude who got possessed by Apocalypse, and repressed him to the point of amnesia, got a sliver of the Void stuck in his head, and repressed that too. Even Phoenix possession took a while to shake that guy.

This is a dude who became the "Boy King of Utopia", uniting the entirety of the mutant race under one banner. Magneto KNELT to him and named him Caesar.

There's also that time he stared down Dracula. Was it a bluff? Dracula thinks so. But he still backed the fuck down. And for a brief period of time, even Namor followed this guy's lead. NAMOR.

This is a dude who, after becoming possessed and ostracized, led a "mutant revolution", becoming a household name among bitter college students everywhere.

He's the kangaroo trial symbol of the entire mutant race, sentenced to death, and his only response is a call to arms published through his lawyer, She-Hulk.

This is a man who's slept with Jean Grey, the Phoenix (back when they were considered separate entities), the Goblin Queen, Emma Frost, and Frenzy, and every single one came back wanting to fuck him again.

Speaking of Frenzy? That dude's sub game redeemed a fucking acolyte!

"God took less time than that to make the world!". Okay, take a fucking breath, Joanna. (X-Men Legacy #248)

His kids are practically gods in their own right, and he was only involved in the conception of one of them. The others just kind of showed up one day with a DNA test and got invited in for dinner.

The closest thing he has to a hobby is plotting how to kill dinosaurs:

(Uncanny X-Men #495 - and he's fought a LOT of dinosaurs.

Sinister's been obsessed with this man's DNA for years, and yeah, if you're just looking at it in terms of powers, it doesn't make a lot of sense. There are much more powerful mutants out there after all. But when you start thinking about the rest of this, yeah, I kind of want to put him in a petrie dish too.

Heck, he's even argued with the narrator! In another timeline, he could have become an incredibly boring variation of Deadpool!

(Uncanny X-Men #96).

I'm just saying, yes, by one point of view the Moon Throuple is two godlike immortal beings and dude who is "just some guy".

But on the other hand, if you had a chance to fuck the unholy combination of Mr. Rogers, Alexander the Great, and the Death Star wouldn't you?

[dr9com9ge-ix]

And here’s the last of em unless I make another one with some backstory characters! The (kind of) Non-Sprunkis! More info below (This one is a doozy!) And I also wonder if there’d be any interest in an askblog with this AU- I’ve been thinking about it.

Black (Tenebrae)

[Has existed for as long as the world has.] He/It

- A primordial god who once engulfed the entirety of the sprunki world in a far distant past (aka The Sunless Era), his epithet is “The All-Consuming Darkness” as saying his true name was considered a horrible curse to bring upon fellow sprunkis.

- In this far past he was universally feared as he was virtually everywhere and feasted upon ancient sprunki which had caused their civilizations to fall into ruin and scatter. Advancements made by one community would become artifacts for others due to Black’s voracious appetite. Though he never fully wiped them out as his strength was supplied by their “sacrifice”

- He eventually grew bored of being able to simply show up and feast on whole communities of Sprunki, As the novelty of their fear and desperate ritual sacrifices wore off after all these many years.

- So at the end of one of his feasts he stopped a moment, looked at the last two survivors. Two sprunki children, one determined to protect the other and one who cowered behind their foolish protector. This defiance made Black choose them as his new adversaries, To give them more of a chance to fend him off as a little game to make his mealtimes more interesting.

- Though in Black’s arrogance he did not realize how powerful he’d made the pair, the child who stood in his way became Solatium or The Sun, His bright light would burn Black’s physical form and drive him back into the shadows. The child who hid behind The Sun became Imago or The moon who was much weaker than her counterpart- Only able to ward black at her fullest state which unfortunately allowed him to hunt during the night.

- As the centuries went on Black became weaker and weaker as The Sun had been determined to stop him at every chance he could from harming the sprunkis. Black in the eyes of the sprunkis became a mere myth- A boogeyman who had been long gone. His first physical body had long been destroyed by the Sun’s harsh rays.

- The only way he could manifest in the shadows to someone is if they learnt his true name, Tenebrae. Which had usually been obscured in texts and other artifacts due to fear of him coming back. Though these attempts to omit him were never thorough enough. He would be found again in some way.

- Those who learn his name are haunted by Black and he calls him his “Acolytes”. Usually these Acolytes seek his name in order to gain power and get revenge. But some are merely unfortunate sprunki who had heard an utterance of his name and are driven mad by the shadows speaking to them.

-To gain a physical form Black needs his acolyte to sacrifice one sprunki to him in order to create his body. Black usually takes the form of whatever he believes his current acolyte would want him to be in order to manipulate them further.

- With these acolytes he usually manages to wipe out and devour whomever they desired revenge against but past these he is unsuccessful in having them longer than that as most will carry on with their lives, which causes Black to eventually eat them or get them killed out of frustration. This usually means he lays dormant once again as most will keep his name a secret to keep their power to themselves.

- One of his more recent Acolytes is a young Jevin whom he had attached to after his previous acolyte, a researcher named Flapswell had decided after she slaughtered the sun monastery’s inhabitants that she’d become more dedicated to her actual work and stop killing on Black’s behalf due to the belief that his body being destroyed meant he was dead for good.

- Though Black was never able to get Jevin to kill anyone due to his want to never harm anyone especially after his family in the monastery had been brutally killed and generally how he is. Jevin is not aware that Black had caused this and only believed Flapswell was the sole culprit. Black compounded on this belief and made Jevin believe that Black saved him both from the massacre and his seemingly endless nightmares.

-Black’s first attempt to get Jevin to kill was years later when he had coincidentally lead Jevin to an elderly Flapswell’s cabin. Jevin could not get himself to kill a seemingly sweet old woman who offered him a place to stay and many books to read despite Black’s insistance. This stay had ended with Black driving Flapswell to “Do what Jevin was supposed to” to herself.

- Though Black was frustrated initially by Jevin’s refusal to hurt people even causing himself more trouble than necessary, Black had started to find it fascinating and endearing in a pitiful way. “How much suffering until this poor fool snaps?” he’d ponder. He’d prod and push on occasions to see if Jevin would ever but is mostly interested in watching him and having him. freak

- When Jevin had adopted Sky, He had told Sky that “Tenebrae is the kind god that saved me and keeps us safe” and thus made Sky an acolyte as well, Though Sky’s opinion on Black is very much different from Jevin’s being consistently annoyed by Black’s attempts to manipulate his father as Sky is very protective of him. Often taking a lantern to the shadow which disperses him. Black hates this kid so much but can’t get him killed due to not wanting to blow his “benevolent forgotten god” persona to Jevin.

- Does get incredibly jealous and huffy when Jevin and Tunner started to be closer and closer to each other and tries to guilt Jevin into avoiding Tunner. He’s so petty about it but cannot do much without a physical form. Probably swipes at Tunner to no avail.

- Can eat without a physical body which is how he takes the sacrifices, hilariously enough Jevin feeds him food he cooked himself as offerings but they are not enough for Black to make a body with as he needs Sprunki flesh. Though he does not reject this offerings, often wolfing them down as soon as its poured onto the shadow he inhabits.

- Non-Acolytes cannot see Black’s non-physical form or hear him. So if anyone saw Jevin feeding Black they would just see a guy spilling food on a shadow and it disappearing. Of course Jevin does not interact with Black when he’s in the company of others as this behavior has gotten him and Sky kicked out of villages they had previously stayed in

- Eventually gets Wenda as an acolyte and convinces her that the town only had bad people in it- People who hated her and didn’t appreciate anything she did, causing her to sacrifice Oren and give Black the chance to manifest physically and assist with slaying the rest of town.

Mr. Sun (Solatium)

[Slightly younger than Black but still way too old for me to comprehend a number] He/it

- Was once a sprunki child back in the Sunless Era who tried to protect his friend Imago who became the Moon from Black.

- His and his best friend’s ascension was not a painless one. As Black took their heads to eat as he granted them godhood. Their bodies only return partially when they go down to the ground, having their respective celestial body replacing their orignal heads.

- He is usually just appears as the sun in the sky, Though his friendly face distorts into a singular eye when distressed.

- Mr. Sun is determined to keep sprunki-kind safe and sound as it’s what he couldn’t do for his family all those years ago.

- He thought that sprunkis would immediately get along and all become friends once they were all safe from Black, was initially horrified to find out that wasn’t the case as wars and conflicts happened. Has kind of accepted that “Thats just how it is and it makes me sad.” but wanted to have a small utopia for them somehow. That is how The Town was made. Mr. Sun is the mayor of that town which is called “Sunshine Suburbs”

- Due to Mr. Sun’s want to protect the town from Black or anyone else, It is eternally daytime there which utilizes the Sun’s bright rays of light. The only times it gets even a bit darker is during “sunset” (The sun never truly goes down, causing a perpetual sunset sky until actual morning) and when it rains heavily.

- Is aware that some sprunki worship him and form religions based on him. He’s mostly flattered but is freaked out when they start doing things such as the Sun Cult Monastery did like carve his image into their flesh and sever their wings as “Humility”. Mr. Sun usually avoids cults like that as it reminds him of Black’s victims desperately sacrificing things to him.

- Does somewhat yearn being a normal sprunki kid living an actual childhood with Imago but is aware he can’t undo what Black gave him both because he doesn’t know how and his absence might just be Sunless Era part 2.

- Is quite childish due to never actually properly growing up. Loves bright colors and idyllic fairytales.

- Rarely comes down to the ground for fear of not being able to cast his light enough to protect people and scaring them. Or worst yet he comes down and there’s fanatics down there.

- Loves his two assistants Glowe and Therman very much like they’re his little blorbos who actually listen to him unlike most sun cultists. Though is concerned about Glowe’s ever increasing blindness due staring at him directly while they talk.

- Also loves his townspeople but never speaks directly to them for fear of freaking them out, Watches from way above and is merely happy that they’re living good lives.

-Pities Jevin the most out of them due to knowing whatever things happened to him before were because his family were devout sun cultists. Seeing Jevin’s odd state as his fault.

- Is utterly devastated when Black manages to have Wenda assist in killing most of the town, to the point were he cannot stand being there and leaves. He knows he shouldn’t but his utopia being shattered like that broke him. Thus this left the town in an unnatural darkness.

Ms. Moon (Imago)

[Same age as Mr. Sun] She/it

- The weakest of the god trio and knows this all too well. She thinks Black made her light much weaker as a sick joke. Never wanted to become a god but was made one anyways alongside her friend.

- Before her ascension she tried to bargain with Black to spare her and Solatium by offering one of her eyes. This was not enough for Black to do so but he took the eye anyways which is why she is missing an eye even in her godly state.

-She has premonitions and often tries to stop whatever she thinks will happen next.

- Though her light is weaker she uses her control over dreams to warn sprunkis of potential horrible future events and especially if Black is anywhere near. An unfortunate side of this is this often gives the sprunkis insomnia and there is no guarantee they will understand that the dreams are warnings.

- She had constantly tried to warn a younger Jevin through his nightmares for various events such as his wings being removed, having the sun’s imagery carved into him and eventually the monastery massacre. Her dream messages had since been intercepted by Black which caused her great distress.

- She is quite gloomy and often sulks, not wanting anyone to actually acknowledge her godhood or existence what so ever especially when she sees the cults dedicated to the sun. She feels powerless enough with her position.

- If someone does end up worshiping the moon she usually tries to keep them in check using their dreams. Deathly afraid of them committing terrible acts in her name. Might physically intervene if it ever comes to that.

- When she weeps it rains down during the night which is a less than rare occurrence as she mourns quite alot of things often.

- One of the things that do make her happy is watching the ocean and controlling its tides as it’s peaceful and does not remind her of the lives she’s seen snuffed out or even her own before her godhood.

- She barely sees Mr. Sun as their positions always oppose eachother though on the rare occasions they are both up they’re very happy to see each other again.

- Once Mr. Sun abandons the Sunshine Suburbs after Black and Wenda’s massacre, Ms. Moon attempts to step in and try to lead the survivors to safety but is scared of confronting Black.

- Her moonlight reanimates the dead in the town post-killing as she desperately wants to save them but unintentionally extends their suffering due to the damages they have sustained.

Mr. Tree

[At least older than 50, They don’t remember] They/He/it

- Was once a young man traveling with their family on a trail with some other sprunkis. Got lost and almost starved to death in the woods.

- Mr. Sun saved them by essentially turning them into a tree with a sprunki’s soul trapped within, This is because Mr. Tree talked to the sun like he was a friend rather than a deity (albeit possibly out of delirium.)

- Where Mr. Tree got turned into a tree is where Sunshine Surburb’s park is now located. Also them and Durple are neighbors- Durple kind of pretends he doesn’t know that his lake is next to a talking tree… Mostly so he can watch people get startled when they find out on their own.

- Is a bit lonely and will talk to anyone who sits underneath his their canopy- That freaks people out initially. He mostly talks to Vineria because she thinks a talking tree is cool and didn’t freak out at first (Though cautiously asking if they were some kind of tree-mimic or Ent which are ambush predators that resemble trees) And Sky as he hangs under there and tries his best to not look afraid and actually enjoys trading stories with Mr. Tree.

-Talks about his previous journeys when he can’t think of anything else to talk about. Misses his family.

- Does frequently mention how it’s cool that he never feels hungry anymore due to being able to photosynthesize.

- Has a stone that sort of functions as a grave marker for their old body buried below their own roots. The flowers near his roots had been planted a bit after the town was established.

- Sometimes birds move into his face holes and its unpleasant for him as he still tries to talk with a face full of bird. Nothing will stop his yapping really.

- To him a friend of Mr. Sun is his friend too- Regards Mr. Sun as their bestie.

- Gets decorated every time a holiday happens and loves having neat little baubles, gets sad when they have to be taken down.

- Wishes he still hand hands but can use his roots (albeit painfully slowly) to move around and wrap around objects to hold them.

[katyspersonal]

I am doing something awful

OKAY SO yeah, Dark Souls 1 doesn't use typical color sliders for character creation, so these colors are brought from just zooming screenshots in very much! Black names are canon, grey are "easy to conclude" ones, blue ones are those I had to use my imagination for! This is just a self-reference that I will probably keep editting anyways. I tried to focus on DS1 characters specifically but some characters only introduced in DS2 and DS3 were too hard to exclude for lore reasons!

Some notes:

- Nito is (was) a Grey Giant, we know he is a Giant from his size, his coffin's size and place in the Tomb of the Giants, but proportions match Grey Giants in my opinion! Would also make sense if he was one of the "latest" ones since he evolved enough to be the first to die! Ariamis is a Grey Giant too!

- Like I said, I need to know for sure whether the screenshot I found for Ciaran is legit or fanmade, so just put a pin on that. Same for Darkmoon Soldiers who waded Sen's Fortress only to join Gwyndolin's forces; they seem to have appearances but I never saw screenshot of their mug and hair, nor I know whether they just use placeholder data! Just need to wait for a good look!

- Where coloration is halved I used the 'before'(above) and 'after'(below) colorations as some characters changed significantly from their "real" look! With some characters I forgot tho

- Chester is from Yharnam, he has profound beasthood mutation and strangely yellow and red eye same as what his mask reflects (normally BB beasts have either yellow or red eyes)

- Andre's heterochromia is based off this closeup:

- Nito's (EX) wife, Fina and Flann are same 'type' of Gods who have much weirder features compared to very average 'just large human' Gods! So Nito's Wife, Goddess of Water, has fish scales and horns rather than hair, Fina's skin is literally golden with estus flask liquid-like "blood" showing through transparent spots in some places and literal flowers for eyes and Flann has feathers (you know, like phoenix)!

- I feel like despite there being two Knight Lady NPCs in Forest Guardians, it is safer to assume this is just one character! They are absolutely identical in all except for their idle pose, they both do not respawn, but Japanese book only refers to one character Americus! No other Guardian repeats, but everyone is referred to except for this "second" Knight, but if they were twins or so, would not the second one be mention too....? So I decided it is one character, that is """doubled""" only to make your playing more painful and not out of lore implication!

- I decided that Velka's white hands were not glowed hands but just her skin! Although Gods are creatures of Light, she is associated with the Dark, and I think that is not a natural feature but something she assumed! What was natural though, is being 'night' light (moon and stars) rather than 'day' light (sun and fire)! Ironically, just like Gwyndolin, considering he later does the function in Anore Londo that she used to do!

- I assumed that Pinwheel and other acolytes of Nito have blue skin, like Fenito and Leydia Witches (and Navlaan I guess, that fits since real one was a Necromancer)! Caitha is also literally his daughter, so there is that too.

[thatgirlinskullz]

The Acolyte SPOILER THOUGHTS after the s1 finale

okay, now that the season is over, i guess i can try and sum up my thoughts on the show overall..

is it a perfect show? absolutely not. but what Star Wars is perfect? NONE OF IT. and i say that as someone who LOVES all the star war i've consumed so far.

wonky dialogue and delivery IS an essential part of sw at this point, starting with the originals and don't even try to argue with that. no point. but we love sw anyway, right? because of the overall story, the characters and the messages it tries to convey.

so yes, the acolyte does have some weird dialogue in parts, delivery is not always perfect, seems a little.. unnatural? might be the best word i can use for it.

there's also pacing issues, which can mostly be attributed to the UNBELIEVABLY SHORT episode runtimes.. most episodes were 30-35 minutes EXCUSE ME???? of course they can't fit in story, character moments and scenes that set up the world/environment they're in. omg that annoyed me so much. establishing shots have ALWAYS been a huge part of sw, showing the scenery, the sky, multiple suns or moons, showing space, the area in which our characters will appear, showing the animals and people of the planet, etc. that has always been important to make the galaxy feel real and lived-in, but this time, with the short runtimes, unfortunately it all feels like wasted time, that we could instead be spending with our characters and progressing the story. and i kinda hate that. don't get me wrong, i loved all the establishing shots but i couldn't help but feel like "damn, move along, i wanna see the story, we only have 10 more minutes left". and i think that's one of the biggest issues with the show. not the wonky lines or their deliveries, but how it feels like it didn't get enough time to shine, and some parts feel unnecessary, while others feel rushed. and i'm about 90% sure that this is NOT on the writers but the executives who only gave them 8x 35min episodes....

but i don't want to just focus on the """bad""", because the show IS GOOD!! firstly, all the actors are gorgeous, talented people, and imo gave the best performances they could given all the above as their circumstances, i wouldn't be surprised if some of the deliveries felt off because cuts were made. the actors all embodied their characters fully, they made you fall in love with them right away, and THAT is an accomplishment.

Lee Jung-Jae is a phenomenal actor, who stole my heart immediately as Sol, and i was 100% convinced he's like Qui-Gon, BOY WAS I WRONG. but he made me believe in him, and love him. all his lines carried so much weight, because he IS JUST THAT GOOD! he sold me on Sol with his first minute on screen and i didn't want to believe he could ever do anything wrong. I loved this character and Lee Jung-Jae's portrayal deserves awards imo.

Amandla Stenberg has been someone i've admired for years now, they are such a talent, so underrated and underutilized in film. they can evoke such emotion with just one look, it still blows me away. i really like both Mae and Osha, tho i wish they had more time together so we could have seen more of their dynamic, instead of just misunderstandings, fights and running away from each other - but i guess that's part of their dynamic too. Amandla did a great job with the emotional scenes AND the fights (tho i'm never sure when it's them or a stunt person), and i can't wait to see more of Mae and Osha's story. I am so happy Amandla is in SW.

Manny Jacinto is one of the most beautiful men on this planet, AND he's talented, and i am so happy people are finally realizing it! he pulls you in no matter what version of his character he's playing. he just makes you want to know more and spend more time with his character, and i find that incredible. The costume department also knew what they were doing cuz DAMN that outfit showing those arms and his physique. DAYUMMM. (i'm sorry) I don't think i've had such high interest in a dark side user since Maul, and that's saying something. i really hope to see more of Qimir in SW and Manny Jacinto in more films/big shows because HE IS SO GOOODDD. he deserves the recognition he's finally getting 100%!!!

some other things i loved about the show that are very spoilery:

more force witches because the nightsisters can't be the only ones!!

the returning idea of twins, possibly a force dyad.. love how twins are utilized throughout sw, kind of showing the duality of a person in a more physical way.

the use of "a certain point of view" was incredible in this show. i loved how they showed different perspectives of the same events, and how they emphasized that the jedi are not always the "good guys" if you're looking at it from the outside. i dont think this undermines anything about the jedi, only expands on the idea of the jedi imo.

a wookie jedi swinging a lightsaber -- we've only seen Gungi until now as far as i know, so having Kelnacca actually do stuff, (even if not exactly the way i wanted it to happen), was such an amazing experience. GIVE MORE WOOKIES LIGHTSABERS PLEASE!!

bleeding the kyber crystals. OMG I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR SO LONG and it was beautiful. they did such an amazing job with putting it on screen. what a time to be a sw fan.

lightsaber throwing!!!! OMG THAT'S MY MOVE IN ALL THE GAMES!!! no, but seriously, that's such a cool thing to see in a canon sw show, i don't think we've seen a lot of lightsaber throwing in sw outside of the games, and it was so fun to see on screen!

lightwhip?! hellooo??!! i really wanna see more of it, and i wanna learn how and why it exists and how it works (i guess i need to read the books, huh?)

a variety of saber designs for all the jedi to signify their personalities and styles, AND cool-ass lightsabers like Qimir's???? omg that was was a really good design, how he could pull it apart into a big and small saber.

possible plagueis cameo??? idk if its him but damn that was cool. would be a shame if we didn't get a s2....

yoda in high republic era???!!! i knew it would just be a cameo, and i knew it would be right at the end, but it was still nice to see his lil green head

i've had the whole day to process the episode and think this over, but overall, despite its issues i loved this show.

i think they had some really great ideas, amazing actors and costumes and sets, the only problem is, the show was not given enough time. and i don't know what the problem was - highly doubt the writers or showrunner wanted it this way but i could be wrong.

i think this story, this era in SW has a lot of potential, and if/when we get a season 2 i really hope the creatives are given more freedom and more time to delve into more aspects of the world and characters. this COULD BE one of the greatest Star Wars stories IF given enough care and time. idk if it will be. so far so good, in my opinion, but there's definitely room for improvement, and i just hope they will take all the actual valid criticism from the actual fans, and make this a SW story that will live on for generations.

anyway, I LOVE STAR WARS

i did not come here to fight or argue, so if you don't agree or don't like the show, good for you, just let others enjoy it and share their opinions.

be nice to each other please.

and watch more star wars.

[deprivedmusicaljunkie]

tlc couples as hozier songs

i’m feeling nostalgic and i love hozier so bear with me <3

kaider

explanation: tooooootally not teasing @winterrhayle’s newest artwork that will debut in a few months……. but i really do think this song suits them. kai’s malewife energy PLUS the uncanny lyric parallels to luna. i mean,,, he was forced to marry the queen of the moon and compared his true love to the sun. isn’t that metal

lyrics:

betray the moon as acolyte / on first and fierce affirming sight

and at last can grant a name / to a buried and a burning flame

wolflet

explanation: this song is literally comparing the narrator to a stray dog begging someone to not show them too much kindness. self-explanatory. wolf in his lsop era.

lyrics:

jesus christ, don’t be kind to me / honey don’t feed me, i will come back

you should never know how easy you are to need

i’ve known the warmth of your doorways

give me mercy no more / that’s a kindness you can’t afford

cresswell

explanation: i kinda struggled with finding one for cresswell. i’m not the biggest fan of their relationship. personally, i think the age gap combined with both of their maturities doesn’t make for a healthy relationship. i chose this song because 1) its a falling from the sky metaphor like hello and 2) it’s about relying on codependency to save you from yourself, and placing your trust on something that will lead to your downfall. this song could be coming from either perspective, but it makes the most sense coming from cress.

lyrics:

if anything could fall at all / it’s the world that falls away from me

if you need to darling, lean your weight to me

if these heights should bring my fall / let me be your own / icarian carrion

jacinter

explanation: jacin has this deeply deeply repressed longing and adoration for winter. they also have soulmate energy. i think abstract represents that really well, because the journey of love and decline is way more subtle but also more inevitable. and i definitely think that the person showing compassion to a run-over animal can be compared with winter and her wolf.

lyrics:

the poor thing in the road / its eyes still glistening / the cold wet of your nose / the earth from a distance

streetlights in the dark blue / the moment i knew / i’d no choice but to love you

all my love and terror balanced there between those eyes

[mercurytrinemoon]

Random observations: (Gemini-coded) celebrity edition part 3

💫 WILL SMITH RETURNS???

Well apparently Will Smith somehow made a comeback and somehow everyone's fine with him all of a sudden? Would be surprised but astrology backs that up.

Will is a Gemini rising. What planet just ingressed into Gemini? Jupiter. We all know that Jupiter, aside from bringing luck and sometimes fame, is the most forgiving and permissive planet out of all of them. It entered his first house of the self and suddenly he's the cool guy again that everyone likes. It does help that his Sun is in the first degrees of Libra so Jupiter is also trining it.

When I was discussing the Oscar slap gate, I was mentioning how he's going through a progressed New Moon, which will make him go into hiding for a bit or be "banished" somehow. Well the New Moon has passed (although it's still relatively close to the Sun) but the progressed luminary is at least not in Scorpio anymore.

Transiting Saturn is still in his 10th house though and when it leaves Pisces, his Saturn return will start so we'll see how that will go for him.

💫 TRUMP GETS CONVICTED AND ALMOST KILLED

There's a lot to talk about the most obnoxious Gemini to exist but today we'll focus on the latest events.

Trump got convicted for felony when Mercury and Uranus conjoined in Taurus right on his MC. Saturn was also t-squaring both of his luminaries at that time (and will t-square them again when retrograde). It's very fitting as Saturn digs up events from the past, judges them and brings potential restrictions. He's also in a Saturn-ruled profection year aaaand… his natal Saturn is in the 12th house - the house of secrets, fiddles and all forms of jails.

And again, Jupiter, which is transiting the sign of his Sun is too forgiving as his court sentencing has been postponed to September (Mars will be transiting his 12th house at that time so we'll see who's going to have the upper hand here - Jupiter or Mars).

UPDATE SINCE I WROTE THE DRAFT FOR THIS POST A FEW DAYS AGO: As it turns out, Trump's MC gets another hit in a form of a Mars-Uranus-Algol conjunction. Quite literally. The assasination attemp happened just one day before the nasty conjunction and was extremely close to sensitive points in his chart. His MC is at 24° Taurus, his natal Mars is at 26° Leo (that's a square) and his ascendant at 29° Leo. On the day of the rally shooting Mars was at 25° of Taurus - barely moving away from his MC and applying with a square to his natal Mars. Uranus sits at 26° as well.

Just as a reminder: Mars rules violence, sharp objects, war, hatred and accidents while Uranus is explosive, sudden and destructive. That's enough to cause shootings and assasinations but add the fixed star Algol to the mix, which signifies violence and… beheadings, we get an extreme version of the above (and unfortunately someone did die from a shot in the head).

💫 THE ACOLYTE = VENUS CAZIMI IN GEMINI (potential Acolyte episode 1 spoilers?)

This one is my favourite. I was watching the first episode of Star Wars Acolyte and something hit me: the show came out on a Venus cazimi in Gemini and the main protagonist is a twin (!) whose supposedly dead sister emerges from hiding and turns to the dark side. It's a show about twin (Gemini) girls (Venus)! And it shows the geminian polarities: in this case of good and evil. The re-emergence is also symbolized by Venus cazimi as after the conjunction, it starts coming out of the Sun's shadow and can be seen on the sky again.

But that's not all. The twins were separated at the age of 8 and the events of the show take place 16 years later. 8 is a Venus synodic cycle, 16 is, well, two synodic cycles.

You want more? Okay, the actress playing the main protagonist and her twin, Amandla Stenberg, was born just a few days before Venus cazimi in Scorpio.

💫 MARGOT ROBBIE EXPECTING A BBY

I've just read that Margot is pregnant! It's always interesting to me what transits accompany pregnancy (spoilers: it's often Jupiter).

Margot just entered her 11th house profection year, ruled by Venus. Her natal Venus is in the first decan of Gemini and the news broke around the time when Jupiter was right on top of it. I've been mentioning Jupiter quite a lot today in terms of luck and forgiveness but let's not forget that the great benefic also grows things as it signifies fertility. And Venus is one of the significators of womanhood.

The 12th house transit is not surprising either as some themes of the house do match carrying a child: the psychology behind it, sometimes having to draw back from the world in one way or another or just changing habits; being in labour is very much a 12th house thing as well.

💫 MESSI DOWN DURING A MATCH

We're changing areas to talk about… football (I know, shocking).

Lionel Messi just suffered a major injury during the Copa America final. Messi is a Cancer Sun and he just entered his 2nd house profection year in Pisces. As we know, Pisces is currently occupied by Saturn at 19° and is squaring his Gemini Moon exact (0°11’ orb on the day of the accident). Traditionally Moon is associated with body but in his case it's even more pronounced as it rules his 6th house of injury. It's important to add that with Sun, Mercury retrograde and Mars natally in the 6th house any damages to the body are very likely in general.

Transiting Saturn is also applying with a 3° square to his natal Saturn (his ascendant ruler) in the 11th house - this is not only a pivotal moment in his life but also in the sphere of his career as a teammate (11th house). Hopefully the recovery will be quick!

[selunesdreams]

Chapter 26: Too Sweet

Chapter from ongoing fic Forms of Imprisonment. Full chapter/story on AO3.

Pairing: Spawn Astarion (post-tadpole) x OFC

Word count: 1.6k

Warnings: 18+. This chapter is mild, but the rest of the story contains explicit themes. withdrawal references, manipulation, poisoning (if you squint?), fluff, preexisting relationship, part of a series (that is generally explicit). See other chapters or AO3 for chapter-specific warnings please, and be gentle, please. I do my best.

“And we’re just going to wait idly until when, exactly? We have one of the world’s most powerful wizards and an artifact that could allow us to alter reality, and we plan to stow it away like a family heirloom?”

Astarion’s arms are crossed as he faces Gale, Celeste, and Shadowheart, the three of them fixated on the Tear of Selûne resting on a blanket in Gale’s bunk. Sunset casts a red glow against the stained glass windows, its harsh light adding to the atmosphere of tension. In the days following his recovery from the bloodroot, Astarion had become increasingly irritable and prone to outbursts. His friends’ patience is wearing thin, clear in their exasperated expressions.

“Since when did you start showing an interest in planning anything, ‘Star?” Karlach asks, swinging her legs from over her bunk and joining them. Minthara remains in behind, feigning disinterest as she absentmindedly picks at her nails, fooling no one in particular as she not-so-subtly hangs on every word.

“Since we now not only have the Sharrans’ attention, but a vampire lord’s as well. If anyone else finds out what we have, we’ll soon have the entire magical community knocking on our door.”

As Astarion stands close to the Tear, he feels a subtle stirring in the air. However, the quickening of Celeste’s heartbeat resonates with him even more, a sign of the magic coursing through her veins. The threads of magic that bind him to unlife pale compared to the largely untapped power pulsating within her. The summation of the Moonborn forged from Selune’s own magical shards.

He shudders at the thought of what Keresta could want with that kind of power.

Gale carefully wraps the artifact in a cloth and places it in the trunk at the foot of his bed. “He’s right,” Gale concedes. “If Keresta is in Waterdeep, we should return as well. The tower will be the perfect place to protect the Tear, and we can strategize our next move.”

Astarion raises an eyebrow, his gaze drifting towards the trunk as Gale secures the lock. “Surely there’s a better place we could keep that,” he remarks, his voice tinged with skepticism and ridicule.

“I’d say casually tucked in the bunk of, how did you refer to me, one of the world’s most powerful wizards, who could draw on it at any time to defend it, is a suitable spot.” Gale smirks.

“We should work on getting to Waterdeep as soon as possible.” Celeste says, speaking for the first time in their conversation. She had been far off in thought for most of it, working something out in the back of her mind. “Perhaps an acolyte at the Temple of the Moon could help us.”

“I wouldn’t trust just any Selûnite with this, dear,” Astarion interjects. “We’re in the perfect position to find ourselves swiftly stabbed in the back.”

Shadowheart’s sarcasm seeps into her words as she cuts in. “Clearly you have a splendid idea, Astarion. Why don’t you share it with us?”

“We go to Waterdeep, use that thing to burn Keresta and the Sharrans off the face of Faerûn, banish Shar’s hold over Celeste, and then Gale finds a magical workaround to let me walk in the sun. Maybe everyone else gets a little wish, too.” He says in a melodic voice of confidence.

“I’d have to caution against using the stone just yet. We don’t know what it can do, what the consequences could be…” Gale adds tentatively, walking on the eggshells that make up Astarion’s fragile ego.

Celeste notices Astarion’s scowl and lays a gentle hand on his forearm. “Gale has a point, Astarion. We should learn more about it, not act too brashly…”

His frustration bubbling over, he snatches his arm out of her grasp. “Forget this,” he snaps. “I’m getting some air.” The doors of their rooms slam behind him, leaving his friends exchanging concerned glances.

“That went well.” Minthara chimes from her bunk.

———————————

“You’re working late.”

Astarion steps into the wizard’s office, the grandiose top floor of Sorcerer’s Sundries’ tower. Grand bookshelves adorn the room, with their contents meticulously arranged, and artifacts gleaming in their display cases and on tables. Through the large windows, Astarion catches the moon peeking over the rooftops of Baldur’s Gate. Rolan, startled by the interruption, looks up from his desk, the scratching of his quill coming to a halt.

“Astarion? What are you doing here?” He carefully sets the quill down on top of a stack of tomes.

Astarion strides slowly across the room, like a cat hunting prey. He leans against a bannister made of dark, polished wood, overlooking a seemingly endless abyss below. Crossing his legs, Astarion exudes an air of calculated confidence.

“I came to ask for a favor. Or I can tear your throat out for letting my lover go to a vampire lord on her own.” His voice drips with condescension. The tiefling gives a doubtful snort of laughter as he stands up from his ornate desk.

“You wouldn’t make it three steps from where you stand, but I’ll hear you out anyway,” Rolan responds skeptically. He appears genuinely concerned as he adds, “I assume she’s alright, did you find the ring?”

“Celeste is fine,” Astarion replies, his finger tracing the polished surface of the banister. “The ring turned out to be a fake.”

“I’m sorry to hear it,” Rolan says, his sincerity evident. Astarion waves, dismissing the matter.

“It’s no concern of mine anymore. But I will give you a chance to make it up to me.”

“My power is limited, Astarion, I’m no more able…” The wizard begins, only to be interrupted by Astarion.

“I need a sending spell.”

“You came to me for a sending spell? That’s child’s magic. Gale is more than capable-”

“Yes, but I need your discretion.”

Rolan cocks his head to the side, suspicious. “What are you up to?”

Astarion pushes off the railing.

“Just hoping for a few words with an old... friend.”

————————————————

The door to Celeste’s room creaks faintly as it swings open. She snaps her book shut, glaring at Astarion as he sheepishly runs a hand through his hair. He holds out a goblet of wine as a peace offering.

“Is this what we do now? Storming off and leaving without notes or goodbyes?”

Astarion strides across the room, placing the goblet on the bedside table and removing his cloak. It falls to the floor with a clatter; the weapons strapped within hitting the wooden surface. He crawls onto the bed towards her, tossing her book aside.

“I brought wine,” he says with a mischievous grin, bargaining for good favor.

Celeste’s eyes narrow. “Are you going to tell me where you were?”

“No.” He presses his mouth against hers with a groan of pleasure, but Celeste breaks the kiss, her stare filled with annoyance.

“We keep secrets, too?”

Astarion lets out a frustrated sigh and leans over the edge of the bed. “I got you a gift,” He says, pulling a longsword from inside his cloak and tossing it on the bed next to her. “So you don’t have to carry Artor’s. You’ve earned a proper weapon.”

Celeste sits up and weighs the weapon in her hands. Her fingertips glide over the hilt, feeling the smoothness of the metal and the small topaz gem embedded in it. She traces along the decorative etchings along the blade, feeling the slight indentations.

“Where did you get this?”

“From Rolan. He owed me,” Astarion replies smugly. Celeste’s head snaps towards him.

“You didn’t.”

“We agreed it was only fair after he let you go to Artor alone.” When Celeste gives him a doubtful look, Astarion rolls his eyes. “Oh, come off it. I paid for it. Can’t I do something nice?”

“Yes, sorry. It’s beautiful. Thank you,” Celeste says appreciatively, setting the blade down carefully. She falls back against the pillows and pulls Astarion closer. “I love it.” Her voice brims with affection, sending a pang through his chest. He suppresses the emotions beginning to rise there.

“Are you done fussing?” Astarion growls. He kisses her and presses her deeper into the bed.

“Maybe the wine will help,” Celeste says with a smirk, stretching towards the nightstand and grasping the goblet’s embellished bronze stem. She brings it to her lips, drinking deeply, elderflower and a syrupy sweetness lingering on her tongue. Astarion’s eyes follow her every movement.

“Too sweet.” She grimaces and sets it back on the table.

“Apologies.” Astarion says, forcing a smile and threading his fingers through her hair. He takes in every detail of her face as a distant look haunts his own. Celeste feels an uneasiness settling in her stomach.

“Are you alright?” she asks softly, studying his expression. Astarion shakes his head, caressing her cheek with his thumb.

“I hate to have to do this.” He says wistfully, voice just above a whisper.

Celeste’s brow furrows as she begins to ask why, but the words fall dead on her lips. The borders of her vision begin to darken and pulsate.

“What the hells did you do to me?” she hisses, panic edging into her voice. She tries to throw herself upright, but the room sways, disorienting her. Helpless, she collapses back to the mattress.

“Shh,” Astarion holds her chin with his thumb and forefinger, his eyes somber as they hold her gaze. “You’ll be alright.” He reassures her softly.

Celeste whimpers and reaches for her necklace, but he pins her wrist to the bed. His touch is firm yet gentle, exerting little effort against her weakening muscles.

“See you soon, darling,” he murmurs, his voice a mix of sadness and resolve. He presses a kiss against her forehead, his lips lingering against her skin, until sleep overtakes her.

Thanks for reading! Please like/reblog/kudos/follow/interact on AO3/whatever if you did? It helps so much!

[solarflaresdaddyissues]

More of my TSBS Headcanons

Solar and Moon have lists both on them and in their workspaces on all times covering all commonly known (and uncommonly known) weaknesses and cures for different cryptids since the whole “Vampire’s Thralls” incident

Solar hates counting and feeling sick every time he does it because of, once again, the Vampire’s Thralls incident

Creator kept the faceplate of Acolyte’s mechanical body after Rez had left and keeps it somewhere hidden in his robot suit thing.

Kerian likes and collects shiny things like an actual raven or crow does. Rez gets annoyed by it constantly

Kerian is like Dazzle (the Beast), Noctyra, and Kray’s silly, cool uncle // stepfather role. Rez is the tired dad who hates his life and his kids

(Dark) Sun misses his Moon immensely and harbors a hatred to Ruin for killing him, even if he hated his Moon too (there’s a reason he couldn’t kill him himself, after all)

Cetus and Taurus are in an ex-courtship. That’s why Taurus felt more emotional about it than anyone else.

Eclipse kept his glow feature in case it gets dark or the power suddenly turns off (especially in his lab). He claims it’s so he can see and fix it, but it’s really for two reasons:

1. So Jake and Drew can find him and don’t get scared

Because he’s scared of the dark himself

Ruin misses his Monty the most. He has a small tattered picture of them together from right after the merge.

Sven and Felix are were married for “tax reasons”

Everyone thinks Rez and Kerian are in a courtship. Rez is painfully aware and threatens to kill anyone who mutters anything about it near him. Kerian is absolutely oblivious to even the idea.

Kerian likes bad puns (Once made a “Early bird gets the worm” joke and pecked Rez on his helmet hard only to be promptly attacked)

Creator and Felix watched (some of) the Barbie Movies with Earth. Earth showed them to Taurus

Eclipse once saw a kid walking around with a furby in the Pizzaplex and was painfully reminded of Tattletail. The moment the kid set the thing down and wasn’t paying attention, he took, broke, and burnt the thing. He doesn’t want to risk it just crawling out of the trashcan like a little demon

Dark Sun feels slightly bad for what he does to Neptor, but won’t rebuild him because there’s no point, in his eyes

Jack found old Security footage from before Sun and Moon were separated when he was trying to hand out with Puppet and found some recordings of Moon singing lullabies. That’s how he knew how to sing so well for Solar’s Christmas present

Eclipses V1-V3 are all in a separate Uno Hell game arguing for all eternity. Old Solar, Lord Eclipse, and (the dead version of) Swap Eclipse sometimes join too.

Molten had trouble sleeping and sometimes has flashbacks to what happened with his old code, which sometimes even leads to panic attacks or nightmares. Moon is always immediately by his side to help him, before anyone else (besides maybe Solar, who’s still coping with Jack and doesn’t want to lose another kid) (Yes, maybe I think of both Solar and Moon as Molten’s fathers. I do not ship Solar and Moon.)

[sketchysspace]

A little personal project of mine I've been working on for a hot minute but IT'S FINALLY (MOSTLY??) COMPLETE! :D

A playlist of all appearances of Felix/Acolyte (including his previous forms as well)

Let me know if I happened to miss any vids with him in it!

[oscarpiastriwdc]

@omigodyall this came in as a submission and i am very tired and not very bright and cannot figure out how to add text to it before posting it so. screenshot it is.

🌙 your zodiac (Sun, Moon, Rising)

triple gemini baby!

🚗 can you drive?

❤️‍🔥 what character do you simp for most often?

boone carlyle from Lost... my dearly beloved failson acolyte CW character dropped in a damon lindelof show, instantly killed

[sketching-shark]

Jiaozi is a character from the "journey to the west" of the yuan zaju dynasty, daughter of king huolun jinding and wife of sun wukong, the great sage of tongtian. Sun wukong once said, "I stole fairy clothes, fairy hats, fairy peaches and fairy wine in my heavenly palace. My wife will happily enjoy them." So jiaozi is not only sun wukong's wife also is the mother of his children. Jidu and luohou and daughter yuebei. The eclipses twins and the moon star comet

@maidenofthecloud hmmmm apologies if I'm missing something but as far as I knew "Jiaozi" is just a kind of dumpling (X_X). HOWEVER, this could very well just be due to my own ignorance and the fact that I've never encountered an English translation of the Zaju Xiyou Ji. If you have the link to one please share it!

As it is pretty much all my knowledge of that play comes from the scholar Hongmei Sun's overview of different versions of the the Monkey King throughout the centuries. Here's a few things she has to say on this earlier version of the westward journey:

"The six-part, twenty-four-act Zaju Xiyou ji is attributed to the fourteenth-century playwright Yang Jingxian, who lived during the late Yuan and early Ming periods. In the few hundred years between Shihua [an even earlier version] and Zaju, the story of ‘Journey to the West’ is not only more expanded, containing many of the stories that can be found later in Journey to the West, but the monkey figure in Zaju has grown into a character strikingly different from Hou Xingzhe [the monk's faithful companion in Shihua]. If Hou Xingzhe in Shihua is depicted as an advisor for Tripitaka, as respectable albeit mysterious deity, and a brave fighter, the monkey in Zaju is pictured as a rowdy clown, an untamed demon and ill-qualified Buddhist disciple.

The monkey’s name in Zaju now is almost the same as in the sixteenth-century fiction Journey to the West. He refers to himself as ‘Tongtian Dasheng’ (Great Sage Reaching Heaven), only one word’s difference from ‘Qitian Dasheng,’ the title Sun Wukong receives from the Taoist heaven in the sixteenth-century book. In some versions of the Monkey King story, including the Zaju, Qitian Dasheng and Tongtian Dasheng are brothers…

Although Tongtian Dasheng is the monkey’s title, in the drama everyone calls him ‘the monkey’ (husun), including Guanyin, even though she is the person who gave him the names Sun Wukong and Sun Xingzhe (Acolyte). When Guanyin presents Sun Xingzhe to Tripitaka as his disciple, she gives the monkey an iron fillet, a cassock, and a knife….Even with the headband’s control, Tongtian Dasheng’s behavior and language indicate that his mind remains that of an irreverent demon.

As in the zaju theater tradition, Sun Xingzhe introduces himself to the audience with a poem at his first appearance. Vaunting his celestial birth, his power, and the troubles he could create, in colloquial expression rather than elegant traditional terms as others’ opening poems, the monkey’s poem describes himself as a celebrated ape demon, referring to himself as the King of a Hundred Thousand Demons. In the following statement he introduces himself and his four siblings as his demon family: His elder brother Quitian Dasheng, a younger brother Shuashua Sanlang, and two sisters, Lishan Laomu and Wu Zhiqi Shengmu. This genealogy of the monkey shows that Sun Xingzhe in Zaju is already much more localized, settled into the local religious/cult culture. Unlike the monkey in other versions, this one has a wife, the abducted princess of the Country of the Golden Cauldron. He also proudly reports to the audience his famous misdeeds, which is also the reason that heaven is after him: he has stolen the Jade Emperor’s celestial wine, Laozi’s golden elixir, and the Queen of the West’s (Xichi Wangmu) peaches and fairy clothes. He also makes upfront ribald references about himself in this very first speech. The monkey’s demonic heart is indicated by his intention to eat Tripitaka immediately after Tripitaka rescues him from beneath the mountain. He never shows any seriousness about his business of pilgrimage, and his behavior does not improve during the journey. When the team arrives in India, he uses crude language in a conversation with an old lady about Buddhis ideas of the ‘heart.’”

---

@journeytothewestresearch also writes that in Zaju Xiyou Ji the princess is eventually freed from her forced marriage to this monkey by Heavenly King Li Jing (Li Nezha's father) and the Bodhisattva Guanyin. Here Sun Xingzhe/Sun Wukong definitely bares more similarity to magically powerful and sexually violent monkeys in other stories from Chinese folklore! And that remains true even though the quote you provided makes it sound like he wants the princess to enjoy nice things.

So given these literary and historical circumstances, especially with Jidu, Louhou, and Yuebei Xing not appearing until the 17th century Journey to the South, it might be a stretch to say that the princess of the Country of the Golden Cauldron is a likely candidate to be their mom. This is especially true since as far as I'm aware there's no mention of Sun Xingzhe and the princess having any kids, or even of her being pregnant...ON THE OTHER HAND, it must be acknowledged that she might also be the best candidate given that no mom is mentioned in Journey to the South and that there is a historical precedent for her being Sun Wukong/Sun Xingzhe's wife for awhile. If that narrative thread is followed then it might mean Jidu, Luohou, and Yuebei Xing have more than one similarity to the children of the Yellow Robe Demon, who also kidnapped a princess and had two children with her. In that situation I'd actually hope that she isn't their mom, given that that would make Sun Wukong a rapist and them the product of a forced marriage. ON THE OTHER OTHER HAND, given that the Monkey King's characterization and many aspects of his history from Journey to the West and Journey to the South (as far as I know lmao) is so different from Sun Xingzhe's in Zaju Xiyou Ji , and that all of this comes from folkloric roots in which stories are very different from region to region and even one year to the next, I could see there being an argument made for bringing her into the more recent continuations of Xiyouji as Sun Wukong's wife and the mother of his children while the rapey aspect of the earlier version of their relationship is dropped for something more loving or at least consensual. So even with my ignorance on what precisely happens in Zaju Xiyou Ji and Journey to the South, it seems like as with Xiyouji itself there's a lot you could potentially do with "the princess of the Country of the Golden Cauldron is Jidu, Louhou, and Yuebei Xing's mother" idea, from the sweet and loving to the absolute grimdarkest context.

[thesugarjar]

The Goddess’s Story

~Then

In the beginning, there were few humans who saw the pleasures in life and took them for their own. Yet I drew them to me, like moths to a flame. Some who saw only my beauty and chose to follow me for that and others who saw me in all my carnal mystery and worshipped me for it. They saw what I could give them, what I could do for them, and how worthless their lives had been before me.

I do not take their worship lightly. No, I hoard it to me, basking in it like the rays of the damnable sun. Their dark desires call me to them, give me what I need to know them before they know me. Some cry, some scream, and others try to flee when I appear before them. The chase may be my favorite part. Still, none who have called me, have ever walked away from my touch.

My Acolytes desire to be one of my Priests or Priestesses. They themselves desire to be my favorite. The one I call to my chambers at night to feast on. The pinnacle is being chosen for my altarpiece. Displayed before all in my temple as a tribute to their Goddess. The crowds scarcely make a sound, holding their breaths until I take my first taste. A priest or a priestess, it matters not for their tribute will be the same. I’ll take their pleasure for my own until they’re unable to move or think of anything but the Goddess.

~Now

It’s been many centuries since the glory days of my temple. Humans began hiding their desire and lust. Yet, still there are those that call for me.

Tonight, it’s a faithful priestess. Beautiful and fierce in her desires. Her dark auburn hair always beautifully curled and her makeup perfectly done. A wisp of a gown to hide what she’s desperate to show, but I demand decorum.

“Goddess, you honor me. I worried my prayers would go unanswered.” Her voice is low as her head stays bowed. She speaks only from instinct as I’ve made no sound, entering her room.

“You mean your desperate pleas while you play with yourself, Claire?” I chuckle, tilting my head to the side, trying to decide what game to play today.

“Do my daily prayers and work not please my Goddess?” She peaks up tentatively through her bangs and supple lashes.

“Mmm, such a sweet little tease. Have you been good enough for what I know you want from me? When was the last time you brought me a new offering?”

Claire clenches her thighs together and curls her fingers into fists on top of them. Her jealousy coats the air around us. We both know she hates not being the center of my attention. Such a greedy little priestess.

“Oh Claire, such an ugly feeling for such a beautiful woman. You just want to be greedy, don’t you?” I circle her slowly. Running the tips of my fingers lightly across her shoulders to make her arch her back.

“I’m sorry, my Goddess.. I do want to be greedy..” her lips and voice tremble from my touch.

“Good girl being honest. I’m in a good mood. I think I’ll give you what you want.” I pause, watching her again as her glassy eyes try to focus. “I think a ritual is in store. Tomorrow night on the full moon. I’ll give you just what you want and put you on my altar so everyone can watch me devour you.”

“Oh thank you, Goddess!” Claire gasps and clasps her hands in front of her chest.

“Of course, my devout and dirty little priestess. I want you to wear my favorite gown. Do your hair and makeup just as beautifully as you always do and I’ll be sure to ruin it by dawn.” I lean down to whisper the last part almost against her lips. Chuckling as I disappear before she can move to close the minuscule gap between us.

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