#Monkey Buddha

[journeytothewestresearch]

Can you please tell me what abilities sun wukong have because am always confused about it i even hear some people says that sun wukong is omniscient and omnipresent and can control time or that he is is a boundless character

At no point in JTTW is Monkey ever depicted as a boundless character with omniscience, omnipresence, and control over time. Anyone claiming that has never read the novel. Never ever trust any online claims about Sun Wukong unless a cited quote is provided.

Having said that, I am slowly compiling a comprehensive list of all of Monkey's magical abilities and skills, complete with corresponding Chinese terms and citations. However, I am nowhere close to being done (and won't be for years), so I can only give you a general list at this time. But I will link to my past articles where applicable.

The following is based on a list I wrote a few months ago for someone looking to make their D&D campaign more authentic.

Immortality - He has six layers of immortality. But these are more like layers of invulnerability. As a "bogus immortal" (yaoxian, 妖仙) he is still susceptible to injury and death because he hasn’t yet achieved Buddha-nature and broken free of the wheel of rebirth (see note #1 here for an explanation).

Invulnerability - He has an adamantine hide that can't be pierced or hurt by earthly or heavenly weapons and elements (this doesn't count the times that he allows himself to be cut). This is thanks to all of the immortal foodstuff he had eaten in heaven being refined within his body by his samadhi fire, giving him a "diamond body" (jingang zhi qu, 金鋼之軀). Sometimes he uses this invulnerability to freak out demons by blocking a sword strike with his bald head. However, he can still be hurt. For example, he is twice wounded by special elements born from spiritual cultivation, samadhi fire and wind (the book treats cultivated and heavenly elements as two different things). Also, one villain, a scorpion demoness energized with Buddhist dharma power, is able to successfully penetrate his skin by stinging him in the face with her tail.

72 changes - He can transform into anything. The only flaw is his tail, which doesn't always change the way he wants it to. Or, a character recognizes him because of his red butt.

Cloud somersault - This allows him to fly 108,000 li (33,554 mi / 54,000 km) in a single leap. The skill is actually a metaphor for instantaneous enlightenment, for those who achieve it will immediately arrive in the Buddha's paradise.

Magic hairs - He can change any one of his 84,000 hairs into anything he wants (tools, random objects, living creatures, etc.) These include hair clones, which are autonomous copies of himself that can range into the tens, hundreds, thousands, millions, or even billions. However, he only deploys these on a small scale in the novel. He never uses the power to its full stated extent.

Super strength - His greatest feat is carrying two mountains while running "with the speed of a meteor." But there are characters physically stronger than him. For instance, Monkey cannot escape the grip of the Great Peng bird once he is caught in his powerful talons.

Martial arts - He is proficient in armed and unarmed combat, being able to go toe-to-toe with deities with centuries more combat experience than him. "Short Fist," a historical style, is listed as his preferred boxing method. But he mainly relies on his magic iron staff for fighting.

General magic - Monkey is shown capable of calling forth gods and spirits, growing or shrinking to any size, parting fire and water, creating impassable barriers, conjuring wind storms, casting illusions, freezing people in place, putting anyone to sleep, unlocking any lock, bestowing superhuman strength, bringing the dead back to life, turning invisible, changing someone's appearance, traveling to and from heaven and hell, etc.

Magic Eyes - He can see through illusions. But this isn't always portrayed consistently, for I know of several times where Guanyin fools him, and even a god of the soil, a lesser deity, is once able to do the same thing.

Medicine - He can diagnose maladies and concoct medicines to solve the issue.

You can see that omniscience, omnipresence, and control over time are not listed. I think the problem is that people are confusing Sun Wukong at two different points in his character arc. The powers listed above come from the journey itself (ch. 13 to 100). The omni-level powers would come after he achieves Buddhahood at the end of the novel (ch. 100). However, it's very, very important to know that the story ends before Sun Wukong, now the "Victorious Fighting Buddha," performs any feats (i.e. he has no feats as a Buddha). I'm sure people could assign him powers ascribed to other Buddhas in religious literature, but what happens after the story ends is beyond canon.

I hope this helps.

[fluffyartbl0g]

Everyone thank mr vegapunk 4 delivering a handy explanation!!!

Time Travel/Speedrun AU masterlist

Okay I wont put everyone down but special shoutout to @asperanna who correctly predicted i was gonna funkily utilise law and kid's awakened powers in someway XD

Awakened powers require both mind and body to reach a certain level of strength, so I won't say the captain trio *spontaneously* become overpowered,,, maybe law because I thibk it was mostly his repressed trauma holding him back, but for everyone else I will say that it's a lot easier to get to that point (esp if they have a shortcut to do so,,, ig ;o _ O?)

[multifandomnonsense]

[ningadudexx]

art trade with my bro @stitchedsuguru (ollie4maze on bluesky)!!! go check my dawg 🔥🔥🔥 these are our monkey sonas having fun

guess who is my favorite character. just try . 1 gazillion zollars reward for the lucky winner

[m1nsur0]

“In Mount Huaguo, a day unlike any other unfolded. The Mandrill Chief was leaping through the mountains when she suddenly saw the celestial stone on the mountaintop explode, producing a stone egg. As the wind blew over it, the stone egg transformed into a stone monkey. The Mandrill Chief approached to observe, and the stone monkey began to mimic, learning to crawl and walk.”

- Mandrill Chief In-Game Journal entry

[dontatmeimrandom]

"Keep those eyes wide open. Watch me rip it off and break free!"

[dykealloy]

the only way to escape is to figure out what they all have in common with each other

[firstpetal]

small dialogue in keep reading

[lostuzumaki]

Happy Halloween!

(Reincarnated Luffy au special 🎃)

Link for those who want to know about this au and read it: Part 1

[eroguron0nsense]

Garp Rant #11543

Because I'm something of a Certified Garp Hater/extremely obsessed with this man, and because Tumblr people seem to like my Garp takes and/or find them extremely pain-inducing, here's another one for funsies! Again, Garp is an incredibly written character and I massively enjoy his moral failings and human shortcomings, hence why I won't shut up about how much he sucks. So we all remember Garp crying in front of Ace during his imprisonment and awaiting his execution, lamenting the fact that his son and grandson could have maybe avoided this horrible horrible fate that awaits them at Marineford if they'd just become good marines like he'd tried to press them into. Every time he says it, he sounds more desperate, sadder, and angrier, like he's experiencing the stages of grief and going through denial, anger bargaining all at once, lashing out at his grandkids for supposedly causing him grief by defying his wishes, or maybe praying or wishing for a world where they could have followed in his footsteps and lived happily ever after. And when Ace hears that again at Impel Down, he says this:

Here's the thing though: Ace is unequivocally correct Garp should, by all rights, know this. He lived through the fallout of Roger's execution. He knew long before that exactly what would happen to Roger's loved ones and anyone the government could get their hands on who'd ever associated with him. Even before they started committing femicides/infanticides in Baterilla trying to end Roger's bloodline, he knew that the Marines were going to target completely innocent people in the name of purging the bloodline and cementing their "victory" over the greatest threat they'd ever faced. He specifically had to smuggle Rouge out of there so she could give birth to Ace, and all the while dozens of families were being brutalized by his peers and having their lives torn apart. That was the cost the Marines were willing to incur to kill a hypothetical infant, and years later, when that very same child is set to be executed, Sengoku goes on a remorseless public tirade about the necessity of killing babies and the horrible trickery and audacity Rouge displayed by dying so that they wouldn't kill her baby too.

Garp knows every single piece of this information in painful, excruciating detail. He's so horrified by it he feels the need to fulfill this wish of Roger's because he knows blameless people will die. He has Ace raised in secret to protect him from Marines who are figuratively and literally out for his blood. And yet, throughout this boy's childhood, he clings to the notion that maybe, just maybe, the people he knows regularly commit atrocities, who have carried out at least 3 genocides that we know of in Garp's lifetime, who were willing to commit mass infanticide for a woman and child they hadn't verified the existence or identity of at the time, would have accepted him within their ranks and turned a blind eye to that information when it eventually, inevitably surfaced. That Ace can find salvation from the people who stole every loved one he ever had before he was even born, who slaughtered his mother's community and pushed her to her death, and were slavering at the opportunity to kill her. That even though Ace was born in direct opposition to them, has had a target trained on him before he was born, these people who tried so goddamn hard to kill him would surely welcome his presence and not murder him the second they found out if he could just be a compliant model soldier and make himself useful. It's hammered home pretty effectively–especially in the manga– and One Piece has never been known to be subtle in its messaging, but I swear to God I see so many people echoing the notion that Garp's attempts to force his grandchildren into serving the Evil Empire was done because he knew was their only shot at safety from the WG, and I fucking despise this take. Ace saying that he could never be a marine here in Impel Down isn't some young man's rationalization for his (beyond valid) desire not to subscribe to the preset path Garp laid out for him; it's literally the only logical conclusion if you know literally anything about the circumstances of his birth and upbringing, and Garp only thinks that the leopards wouldn't eat Ace's face because he's fucking delusional This in and of itself is extremely telling of how horribly warped Garp's perception of the Navy is, and how deeply he's willing to buy into the Marines and their warped propaganda no matter how many glaring examples he sees throughout his life that counter his worldview, but let's not forget that this applies to Luffy too. This is slightly hairier, in that if Luffy was a) the sort of person who could willingly accept a career in the marines and b) managed to cling really, really tightly to his grandfather's coattails and legacy, there might have been a very, infinitesimally small chance that he could have joined the Navy. The higher ups know that Dragon is Garp's son and therefore Luffy is Dragon's by logical inference, but I could see some AU where Luffy is a fundamentally different person and manages to build himself up in the Navy if not for two things I think warrant examination. It's pretty evident, and Dragon explicitly confirms, that Luffy being known as his son would have put him in incredible danger, only feeling comfortable with acknowledging it and the possibility of actually reuniting with his child after Luffy was both publicly recognized due to factors beyond his control, and proved that he was more than capable of holding his own. But I want to draw attention to this one otherwise pretty silly little gag moment between Garp and Sengoku when they learn that Luffy's broken into Impel Down, and present a theory that's kind of a reach but also not really

Now the phrasing here kind of interests me, in that it ties back to earlier demonstrated patterns that the Navy uses repeatedly in collective punishment for the families and loved ones of their primary targets. Rouge and Ace barely escaped the mass murders intended for them because of their connection, but Tom was also originally sentenced to death for having had a connection to Roger, and ultimately chose that as the offence he wanted to be sentenced for at Enies Lobby. Law, as a child survivor of Flevance, has multiple hospitals try and turn him in to the World Government to be killed when Cora tries to find someone to treat him because their policy is to pull out the roots and salt the earth whenever they deem a person or population politically inconvenient. Robin's flashback shows us Akainu blowing up a refugee boat on the off chance that one of those people that they were planning to evacuate might have gotten past their initial screening for archaeologists/poneglyph readers. At Marineford, Akainu specifically targets Luffy not because of his prior offences or even his attempt to rescue Ace, but because he's Dragon's son and his and Roger's bloodlines need to be eradicated. This is not an institution that is in any way reluctant to destroy anyone tangentially affiliated to a designated enemy, and Luffy being the son of the worst criminal in history seems to put him right in line with all of those other cases. In light of this, and Garp's massive blind spots and wishful thinking regarding his peers and employers, it's not that much of a stretch to assume that the only reason Garp's exempt from being targeted like Dragon is because of his popularity/symbolic importance/utility, and that Luffy likely wouldn't have been safe even if he weren't a pirate. Garp's circle of confidantes/friends in high places is powerful, but clearly there are factions (Akainu, Ryokugyu etc) that would be substantially less willing and who are given preferential treatment by the Elders and Celestial Dragons. There might be something to read into based on the fact that Garp is the only known person from a D bloodline who's achieved massive success in service to the World Government and not defected from the Navy after realizing its true nature (props to Saul), and therefore he might project the fact that he's been rewarded by the system despite being a "sworn enemy of the Gods" onto his family, but that still doesn't account for the massive, delusional arrogance he displays in insisting that, despite everything–especially, especially the murders committed in pursuit of Ace, that robbed him of his birth mother and community–the Navy is the best and safest place for either of those boys. TLDR Garp not wanting his grandsons to have a bounties on their heads is one thing, but it says a lot that in spite of everything he knows, he's willing/determined to put Ace and Luffy in an environment that's extremely dangerous for them –and in Ace's case 100%, unquestionably fatal– because he's so convinced that compliance and the platonic ideals of "justice" and military service/hard work being rewarded by the system could supersede all of that.

[journeytothewestresearch]

Thai Monkey Buddha

Move Saknarin, a fellow member of the ศรัทธาอากงไต่เสี่ยฮุกโจ้ว (大聖佛祖) Thailand Facebook group, has posted a lovely drawing of Sun Wukong as a Buddha. I love all of the little details.

[digitalagepulao]

"Let me make a wager with you."

"[...] He'd be an immortal, a Buddha, if he's good; Wickedness would cloak him with hair and horn. Endlessly changing he runs amok in Heaven, Not to be seized by fighting lords or thunder gods."

the mental image of Sun Wukong absolutely twisted into a horrifying demonic form by his rage and ambition, moments before that fateful bet, make me go batshit insane <3

[xraiyax]

Sengoku: So, Monkey D. Luffy huh?

Law: Yeah, I still wonder too

Sengoku: Well, the Monkey D. ones may be idiots but they are very lovely and very passionate idiots. They get directly into your heart don’t they?

Law: Yeah

Law: …

Sengoku: …

Law, looking shocked at Sengoku: Wait… you and Garp?

Sengoku: The heart wants what the heart wants.

[grandpuppylight]

Check out this amazing AU from ReynaAtTheEnd

This not my story but the person who owns it doesn't have tumblr. So I decided that the one piece tumblr fandom needs this in their life. The synopsis is that king finds out the seraphim exit 7 days before marineford. Three hours before the execution is to acure Sengoku gets a call from Egghead. Chaos insues. Chapters 1-20 up now the author does not have an upload schedule. Now for just one interesting insight to the story, the author is making Moria a bigger threat than he already was.

Ch. 1-17 arc 1

Ch. 18-24 arc 2

Ch. 25-33 arc 3

Ch. 34-43 arc 4

Ch. 44- ongoing arc 5

The author has decided to call it the "Age of Emperors AU"

[greeneyedsigma]

Garp: *is throwing stones at Sengoku's window*

Sengoku: You have a phone for a reason, Garp!

*THUD*

Sengoku: DID YOU JUST THROW YOUR PHONE AT MY WINDOW?!

[mo-the-gremlin-dandelion]

While I do like the Crocodad theory of Luffy's other parent, I just read a fanfic about Donquixote Rosinante (Corazon) being Luffy's other parent. And while it was a bittersweet fanfic, I find the idea of Corazon and Dragon being a couple quite funny.

Like I don't have an otp in anything, I follow ships based on two things:

How much comedic potential it has.

How tragic it can be.

Point 1:

Imagine Sengoku's reaction. Your annoying (begrudgingly friend) co-worker's son, who is the most wanted person in the world for being a revolutionary, gets together with your adopted son. They have a child that causes SO much trouble for you. AND your now in-laws with said annoying (begrudgingly friend) co-worker and co-worker's most wanted (not in a good way) son.

Also, the Straw Hats reaction to Garp being Luffy's grandpa? What if his other grandpa was the Fleet Admiral of the Marines?

Law not being able to escape the alliance because Luffy is his kind of brother.

Corazon survives being shot because they don't go the marines, they go to the revolutionaries instead? Dragon himself picks them up? Or Corazon still gets shot and then the revolutionaries pick him up? Or he still dies and it's just Law that gets found? Ace, Sabo, Luffy, and Law (possibly Bepo, Shachi, and Penguin as well) all growing up together perhaps?

When the Straw Hats meet Law and the Heart Pirates, Luffy is like: "That's my other brother! :D" Meanwhile the Straw Hats are freaking out.

Doflamingo getting kicked around by Luffy and losing everything made even funnier due to him being his nephew.

Also, Luffy not only being a D but also partially Celestial Dragon.

Point 2:

Doomed relationship from the start/star-crossed lovers.

Dragon is the one who is pregnant and Corazon dies not knowing about Luffy. Aka kind of like the fanfic I read that started this whole train of thought. It's called "I can't be with you (I want to be with you)" by Torens on AO3.

Or they were planning on raising Luffy together, but then Corazon died and so then Dragon left him with Garp. Maybe due to:

Grief

Feeling like he can't protect Luffy (canon).

Luffy has so much of Corazon in him that it hurts to look at him like it hurts to look at the sun for too long. (Aka play into the grief factor real hard.)

Luffy reminds Law of Corazon not just because he acts kind of like him but also due to having the same smile/looking like him.

I know Luffy probably wouldn't care, but imagine Law telling Luffy of his other dad that he never got to meet.

-

If anyone wants to take these ideas and write/expand go right ahead. I can't write and there's only three fanfics on AO3.

Also, I can't decide on what to label Corazon x Dragon. If you have another idea, put it in the tags and I can run another poll or something.