#Monkey King Online

[allhailkingsquest]

I picked up two of Molly Nemecek's (@jakface) double-sided King's Quest/Monkey Island charms at Fan Expo! 🎉 If you're in Toronto for the con's final day tomorrow (Aug 25), drop by Artist Alley booth A28 for your own, or buy it online here.

[archiesoniconline]

Sonic Universe Online #53 is now live!

Sonic Universe Online #53 is now live! South meets east in an explosive confrontation for Bunnie as she not only does battle with the disgraced Iron King, but her own inner darkness, in a finale you have to see to believe!

[cjbolan]

The Monkey King (2023) would've been much better without...

*WARNING: SPOILERS*

Lin secretly working for the Dragon King. It overly complicated the movie and felt like a Disney "Hercules" rip-off. You know what would be better? If after days of Monkey King mistreating Lin and her finally realizing he's a jerk…THEN Dragon King would ask her to betray the Monkey King. Given her bad experience with Monkey King she'd be much more willing to betray him, and possibly more conflicted about it later.

[hungryhungryhenry]

Doodle Dump but we're all autistic and hyperfocused on LMK </3

[siixkiing]

Whelp, looks like I’ll have to order the Monkey Mech kit online somewhere...cause the stores I went to didn’t have them in stock BP

[g4zdtechtv]

THE PILE PRESENTS: X-Play - What All True Gamers Strive For | 5/15/08

Do you Agen-see what I see?

[itsabouttimex2]

Fun fact: In China, Chinese criminals were marked on their faces for life. Hot knives cut the flesh of prisoners, engraving characters on their foreheads. Later the ink was inserted into the open wounds to form words like “murderer”, “thief” and etc.

That’s such a morbidly neat fact, and thank your for sharing it with me! It actually got me looking around online, where I found a few articles about it!

It certainly provides some “encouragement” for Y/N to play along with whatever the kings want, after they tried to steal from the royal kitchen- there’s always the threat of a permanent criminal marking on the table.

(They wouldn’t actually do that to a kiddo, but Y/N doesn’t know that.)

Or worse- Y/N has already been punished for their former acts of theft, without the jurisdiction of either king who would have absolutely vetoed the notion of essentially mutilating a hungry child for stealing scraps from a graveyard or windowsill.

MK learning from his loving baba that only “bad people” get these tattoos and growing very, very upset no matter how his fathers try to comfort or soothe him, and for all they remind him that it “only happens to bad people”, it just pushes him closer and closer to the brink because-

“Y/N is not bad,” the boy wails, tears gushing from his big black eyes, sopping uselessly away into his golden father’s robe, both monkeys gently trying to comfort him.

“Shush, shush, shhh… Xiaotian, baby, please! No one said anything about Y/N!” Macaque tries to soothe, bouncing his son lightly.

“You did,” he bawls, kicking his little feet like any other toddler throwing a tantrum. “You did! Y-you said “bad people” have those tattoos! And- and- and Y/N is not bad!”

“Y/N has… someone gave them a penal tattoo?” Sun Wukong queries, unknowingly tightening his grip on the gilded handles of his throne. “…someone gave a starving orphan the mark of a dangerous criminal?”

“…I think we need to take a trip down to the village.”

[singlebraincelledgoat]

Metamorphic Rift

A few months ago me and my friends @starstrvckfool and @/basiltaztic oc-ified Lego Monkie Kid for funsies. I didn’t really share my contributions much but I think I’m getting the hang of tumblr so what the hell. Sure

Sky is the main character, having just graduated high school. Every summer his family travels to China, namely to visit extended family but also this time Sky gets to pick where they went as a graduation gift. Sky chooses Flower Fruit Mountain, being a huge Monkey King fanatic. FFM is a very popular tourist spot, but little does Sky know that the myths are real and they’re about to find the real Monkey King

And River is Sky’s best online friend from mainland China (I made an error in her ref where I reused the China flag when I meant to put down the omnisexual flag 😭 oh well). River is a decently size social media influencer known for her incredible cosplays. No one knows her secret to making them so realistic!

anyways, here’s some more doodles (ErLang is designed by fool, Azure made by basil)

haven’t made any official refs for Metamorphic Rift NeZha and Redboy. But tl;dr NeZha often takes Redboy to enjoy the mortal realm. They’re very much like an uncle to Redboy (also hasn’t fully gotten over their friendship falling out with ErLang but that’s a work in progress). I had an idea where Redboy butts heads with the Yellow Wind Demon, but again all a work in progress

[the-monkey-ruler]

Greetings! I hope you're having an at least decent weekend. Is it just me or is Stephen Chow involved in a lot of jttw/swk centered media? & do you have anything to say about any of Stephen Chow's jttw/swk centered work?

Stephen Chow WAS Sun Wukong in what could be considered the most iconic Sun Wukong that changed the game. I'm not kidding that there could be a butterfly effect on how Stephen Chow's Wukong in the Chinese Odyssey became such a classic we see how it has affected games, shows, and movies even years later. Dare I say it but I think Stephen Chow could have been just as influential to Wukong's development in modern media as much as even Liu Xiao Ling Tong with how IMPACTFUL his Wukong was.

I have to say that Stephen Chow does have a certain scene of humor that you see in all his movies, not just Journey to the West. He can be raunchy, violent, and nonsensical so I would say that his style of movies might not land with everyone but Stephen Chow undoubtedly always puts a lot of heart into his characters which is what really makes people connect with his movies. He is a master of incorporating meaningful connections through the most ridiculous and insane situations that humans could find themselves in and that is part of his charm seeing both the humor and the tragedy in life as they often go hand and hand. I would suggest reading more about his style here since I think it puts into words how his art form is expressed.

But there can be a fascinating conversation to say just HOW much his Sun Wukong has influenced even modern Journey to the West media. Chinse Odessey was nearly 30 years ago and yet its impact is still being seen today in movies that are directly related to his films, versus movies and shows that he is directly or indirectly involved in today.

Journey to the West Conquering the Demons (2030) (tv remake on Chow’s Wukong)

Black Myth Wukong (2024)

The Monkey King (2023)

A Chinese Odyssey 1 (2022)

A Chinese Odyssey - Origin (2022)

Journey to the West - ARPG (2019)

Bio of Wukong (2017)

The Legend of Sun Wukong (2017)

A Chinese Odyssey TV series (2017)

Journey to the West Demon Strikes Back (2017)

A Chinese Odyssey Part Three (2016)

Honor of Kings (2015)

Taste of Love (2015)

Journey to the West Conquering the Demon (2013)

Asura Online (2010)

Even in movies that he is NOT involved in like Monkey King: The One and Only (2021) 大圣无双 where the Wukong actor is basing his performance clearly on Demon Strikes Back (2017) Wukong. Not to mention nearly EVERY SINGLE Wukong x SO plot line where the SO dies in the end could be traced back to Chinese Odyssey. If you hate how much Wukong's love interests are killed off in media, you can somewhat blame Stephen Chow, not for doing it first, but for doing it WELL and then dozens of directors for years to come trying to recapture that magic but falling short of what made people love that tragic romance in the first place.

Chinese Odessey was made in 1995 and led to the light novel Bio of Wukong which was made in 2000 and at least 4 more movies and its own TV show. The Bio of Wukong was so popular that it led to the inspiration of Asura Online game based is the story and its own movie Immortal Demon Slayer. Stephen Chow continued to make his own movies Conquering the Demon and Demon Strikes Back. He also goes on to help produce Monkey King 2023 and even makes plans to help produce an entire TV series based on his own universe. Asura Online was worked on by Game Science who continued to work on the creation of Black Myth Wukong. This isn't even to mention the spin-offs, sequels, and prequels to Chow's movies and still how they are influencing directors today.

I can't express how much Chow has impacted the very image of Sun Wukong from being a fighter to a tragic hero. I even took from an ENTIRE CHPATER from Transforming Monkey: Adaptation and Representation by Hongmei Sun bout the CULTURAL impact that fans had with Chinese Odessey and how it became such a cult classic. He was the one to really reshape what Wukong could mean to people, not just a hero in an action movie, but a tragic figure that is forced to give up his individualism for the sake of saving the world because no one else can. That the burden of being 'Sun Wukong' can be relatable to anyone and anyone can see their own struggles with how Wukong tries not just to fight demons, but also fight himself.

I have so many feelings on the intricacies of how Wukong's character changes throughout each generation and each audience across countries and what he means to each new audience but never loses what makes him so beloved and keeps him still going strong after 400 years. And I think that Stephen Chow plays a huge and critical part in how Wukong has changed yet again in the public eye. Wukong going from a pure heroic figure to now a tragic hero who has all the power in the world but still finds himself falling short of what he desires in life. I think that this was a vital step in show the complexity and having more directors and the audience toy with the notion of Wukong's internal battle with his identity versus him always just fighting physical battles.

I will say that Chow's influence did lead to the popularity of the Journey to the West Conspiracy Theory which I am not personally a fan of. It is not that it can't be fun or interesting but moreso I believe that this theory has been drawn out far too long in the past 20 years and that it is time for a new nuance perspective to take its place. Genres have waves of new tropes and cliches and I do believe the 'heaven bad, yaoguai misunderstood' has been played out a tad too long to be charming anymore. I think this was a vital step in Wukong’s and Journey to the West adaptions but I also believe that now more can be built upon this premise to allow for more creative ideas that reflect a more modern audience.

I think that the audience that has grown up with Chow's work (Chinese Odessey at least) is now at the age where they can produce and create their own material and we are still seeing how this audience is echoing the same statements of Chow's Tragic Hero standpoint. I don't know what else I can say that I haven't said before but the sheer magnitude of changing a character's image is shocking and I hope that we see what new form Sun Wukong shall take!

[mask131]

What Oz could have been: The Great and Powerful

I first heard about the original script for Disney's "Oz The Great and Powerful" through a fan art of Theodora by the brilliant artist hwilki65 over at DeviantArt. The fan-art in question is gone now, but do not hesitate to go check the artist's gallery over at DeviantArt, he is one of the most thorough Oz artists of the Internet with tons of clever and beautiful takes on the Ozian world.

Everybody remembers Disney's "Oz The Great and Powerful", right? This Disney movie that attempted to be a prequel to the MGM movie, and yet couldn't really because Disney didn't have the rights? This VERY divise 2013 movie which was a big flop in terms of Oz adaptation? You remember, this thing which took a very cool concept of prequel, a lot of beautiful visuals and impressive visual effects and just... drowned it in cliche plot points, wasted opportunities and the most insufferable characters you ever met?

Yeah, this movie.

In his description for his fan-art, hwilki65 evoked the original scenario for the movie. His fan-art was of the "original" Theodora, not the one from the movie - and while the final product might seem like a simple cash-grab attempting at reclaiming the MGM heritage, these early drafts proved that the movie ACTUALLY started out as much more faithful to the Oz books and more sincere in its attempt at reconciliating the various Oz heritages into something new.

Of course, the idea of a better original version of the movie, that eventually was butchered into the story we can see today, was very intriguing. So I checked out the original script for the movie (but not after YEARS of searching it around, because it wasn't disponible online at first). And OH MY! The original scenario is indeed very different from the final movie, and quite better in term of overall quality! I did a full breakdown of this script back at my Oz side-blog (@witchesoz ), but to give you a taste of what we lost, and to encourage you to go seek this original scenario, here are some key points different from the final movie:

Oscar, the Wizard of Oz. In the movie? A selfish, greedy, womanizing jerk who starts out as the villain of the story, and his evolution arc is basically just him learning to be a decent human being. In the original script? He was such a positive character - in fact I will dare say he was a saner and cleaner version of Jack Sparrow. He was this kind-hearted, goofy, extravagant stage magician VERY good at his job (he was also a ventriloquist like in the novel, AND an escape artist/contortionist), but unfortunately unappreciated by the folks of 1900s USA, so he was forced to do snake-oil selling just to survive. He wasn't motived by greed or lust, but by his day-dreaming and ambition at being the greatest magician of all time, acclaimed by the masses - and the reason he played into "Yes I'm the Wizard of the prophecy" wasn't because of some girls or riches, but simply because Oz was the first place where his magic tricks actually impressed someone.

Remember this little winged monkey fella that Oscar saves the life of in Oz, and so the monkey swears a "life debt" to the wizard and becomes his funny sidekick? In the original script it was the reverse situation. Oscar was helped by a winged monkey, and thanked the talking animal for saving his life, swearing he had a "life debt" TO THE WINGED MONKEY, not the reverse.

In the final movie, when Oscar is in the tornado, he just whimpers and begs for his life. In the original script? He underwent a King Lear-like monologue, insulting the winds and defying the storm, insulting the tornado and daring it to kill him.

Theodora... Oh, Theodora! The character was originally designed as the very opposite of what she ended up as. She wasn't a shy, naive, nice girl - she was this strong, confident, majestic witch. Oscar didn't manipulate her like a teenage girl: she was the one who manipulated Oscar like a puppet by pretending to be a good witch and forcing him into the role of The Wizard of Oz. Yes I say "by pretending" to be a good a witch. Because originally, Theodora was a wicked witch FROM the start. She knew and was in league with her sister's evil plan. The only difference between the two is that Theodora, as the younger and less experimented sister, still had some humanity left in her - feelings of kindness and human decency that the wizard managed to "wake up" by just... being nice to her and treating her like a regular human being. There was the whole "I give you the music box" scene, but it was the reverse? In the original draft Oscar didn't lie, he just gave her a random music box as a gift for helping him in Oz, just out of kindness without expecting anything in return ; and that DID touch Theodora because indeed, since she is a wicked witch, she never had such a genuine gift out of pure kindness.

Originally we would have the backstory of the Cowardly Lion. Theodora, wishing to "test" if the Wizard truly had powers or not, secretely turned a rabbit into a lion, and had it attack Oscar while he was alone and presumably defenseless... Only for the Wizard to shoot it with a gun, causing in this rabbit-lion the fear of humanity.

Originally the servants of the Wicked Witches were the various terrible tribes of the novel "The Emerald City of Oz", monstrous outsiders the Witch sisters had Oz invaded with. The Growleywogs, the Whimsies, the Nomes (well rather the Gnomes)...

In the movie Theodora "turn to evil" is literaly just "Oh, a guy cheated on me, I'm heartbroken, let me nomnom on some evil". In the original draft? SO MUCH BETTER! Evanora, noticing Oscar had rekindled the last piece of goodness in her sister, first tries to convince Oscar he should kill Theodora because she is "in league with the wicked witch". When Oscar refuses to commit murder, Evanora tries to convince Theodora Oscar was trying to kill her... But Theodora doesn't buy it and, even though the Wizard knows she is a Wicked Witch, she still helps him escape Evanora in return for the kindness he showed her. And afterward, Evanora spends many, many scenes abusing her sister, at first verbally, psychologically, finally physically, to convince her to give up on the last of her humanity and enter a deeper, more monstrous stage of wickedness. Theodora does end up burning her skin due to the tears - but they're the tears her sisters make her shed with her torture. And Theodora resists' Evanora poisonous words, only to give up when Glinda causes a siege on the Emerald City and the Witches must prepare themselves to directly confront and fight Oscar.

And can we speak about Glinda? She was SO MUCH closer to the Glinda of the books! She was this majestic, beautiful and powerful warlord-witch living in a grand palace in the south, all on her own (because, since she is a witch, she literaly needs no servant). As soon as she saw Oscar, she cut through his bullshit and shoot down his dream of grandeur, because she knows what real magic is (all Witches do, but the Wicked Witches played along to better manipulate Oscar). She gathers an ACTUAL army of thousand of people to besiege the Emerald City ; and during the war she uses so much more her powers, bu unleashing blinding mists and huge snowstorms, and literaly stopping or unleashing the winds. Oh yes, and all possible romance between Oscar and her is also clearly made impossible when it is revealed that Witches cannot kiss humans - else humans DIE (which also puts Theodora's loneliness under a new light).

Oh yes, and in the original draft, Oscar's development was actually him going from this ambitious daydreamer who only wished for a fantasy land to escape to, where he would be a great and acclaimed wizard... to him actually being fed up with Oz where everybody wants to kill or manipulate him, and dreaming to return to Kansas to settle down with those he truly love, and live there a mundane, quiet, normal life, as a regular man... Something he ends up being forced to give up, because he is needed to prevent the Wicked Witches from overtaking Oz, and so he literaly is trapped within his own dream and forced to give up what he realized too lat was what he wanted all along...

Seriously, the original draft for the movie was SO INSANELY COOL. It was still a rough draft and it had pacing problems, and some cheesy stuff that definitively needed to be cut, and also some weird phrasing that made it sound somehow racist sometimes? But outside of that, the characters and plot were truly so much better than what we got!

[britt-kageryuu]

Pretty sure MK never went to college/university (whatever), but he would probably take online classes, around the various chaos and his delivery job.

I only thought this because I thought of MK on Flower Fruit Mountain, sitting under or in a tree, and various monkies are climbing over him. While he's working on something for a class on a laptop.

They are either curious, just want to be near him, or maybe a random older smart Monkey is attempting to 'help' MK with pretty outdated knowledge. (The older monkey is very smart because of Monkey King, maybe 'immortal', or it's one of the Generals)

Then again he can be plopped almost anywhere since he's on a laptop, like Red Sons room or workshop listening to Red Son rambling as background noise while he works. Or in the background of Meis stream and randomly asking her chat if they know how to answer something.

And while asking Sun Wukong or Macaque about some subjects would get him some answers, they also might be very outdated.

This was just the Monkeys part, but then the rest just made an appearance and just made sense.

[newkatzkafe2023]

The BALLADS OF SUN WUKONG

Yandere Monkey king harem x Manipulative Queen Reader

Chapter 5 Youthful indiscretions part 2

The Wukongs were currently back at Flower fruit mountain, each of the men were making plans to impress and improve your opinion on them. Nezha Wukong was doing some online shopping ordering real diamond jewelry and dresses.

(Nezha Wukong) Ohhhhhhhhhh she's gonna love this😁

(Netflix Wukong) She's gonna look like those big beautiful movie stars🤩

(Lmk Wukong) Are you sure this is a good idea for you to spend all that money??🤨

(Nezha Wukong) Oh please, this is all pocket change. Besides, this is all for our beautiful Y/n🥰

While Lmk, Netflix, and Nezha continue alot of online shopping shopping to impress you🛍. HIB, BMW, MKR Wukong, and the destined one discussing stage two of their plan.

(HIB Wukong).......Did you guys see the ranking?😐

(BMW and MKR Wukong) We did👿

The Destined one nodded, but he was just as pissed off as he and the monkey kings looked at the date rank chart the one we posted for the suitors to see

Jin Zhāng

Fu Gao

Aizen Cai

Ming Li

Kai Du

Rui Bai

Pai Wang

Monkey kings + Destined one

the very bottom of the barrel, the destined one felt the audacity of the ranking board. Making him low-key angry but he remained calm because the group had a plan to better their chances with you.

(BMW Wukong) So we were able get info and made a folder on our queen y/n😌

(MKR Wukong) But we are still missing a few possibly crucial details on her, fruity had did his best but we still need more material😑

(Destined one)(So any ideas on what are we gonna do now???)😥

Meanwhile you had went out to a local park. You looked around in your mini binoculars looking for something...............or someone😈

Across the playground you had gone to for your daily yoga Exercise was Luier and Silly girl, you watched as HIB Wukong went to a park Kiosk to get food when the kids got hungry and that when you made your move.

(Queen Y/n) Bingo😈

You then grabbed your yoga mat and head for a part of the grassfeild, and set up your place and begin your Routine feeling relaxed as you felt the wind in your long fur but also made sure the kids see you

It didn't take long at all for Luier to notice you a tall pretty monkey lady, and Silly girl looked over and giggled at you and started to waddled and crawl to where you are.

(Luier)(nervous) Wait Silly girl Don't bother the lady😥

Luier ran to stop his baby sister but she already reached you, as you went into your child's pose you hear giggling and peaked to see a baby girl.

(Queen Yn)(cooing) Why hello little one🥰

Silly girl giggled as you held her close, she was the cutest thing you have ever seen and reminded you of a baby monkey with how she would climb on you.

(Luier)(nervous) I'm sorry about my sister miss😥

(Queen Y/n)(smile sweetly) Oh don't even apologize she's adorable😇

You sit and and drink some water as silly girl sat and tried to catch your tail, from behind you and that's when you introduced yourself

(Queen yn) My name is Yn, who are you little man???😇

(Luier)(shocked) Oh uhh I Luier, that's Mt little sister Silly girl😮

(Queen Yn) Oh nice to meet you know, are you both alone?

(Luier) No my dad is here he's buying lunch 🙃

(Queen Yn) Oh he sounds like a good daddy😏

(Luier) Oh yeah he's the best father ever😄

(Queen Yn)(smirking) Really tell me more???😏

Then Luier ran his mouth like a wheat-eater on rocket fuel, as he talked about anything and everything. Mostly about his dad, his friends and about the other kids too. You smirked remembering fruity, so they know each other good. Then, after a while, Luier started to ask questions about you, which kinda surprised you, but you were more then happy to answer😈

(Luier) so what's your favorite color?🧐

(Queen Yn) Black😇

(Luier) What's your favorite animal?🧐

(Queen Yn) Cats😇

(Luier) what's your favorite food?🧐

(Queen Yn) BBQ, seafood, spicy food, Etc😇

(Luier) What country did you always want to go to?🧐

(Queen Yn) Fuji😇

(Luier) What do you like to do?🧐

(Queen Yn) I like going shopping, sparring, traveling, spa days, throwing parties, and I hope to one day go to Saturn😇

(Luier) wowie🤩😯........Are we friends now🫣

You pause and smile at him, before Silly girl began to mumble

(Silly girl)Ma........ma......ma........ma👶

You froze and looked down at the human girl

(Silly girl) Ma...ma...mama...mama...MAMA👶

You smiled happily at Silly girl's jumbled words, before you turned to Luier

(Queen Yn) We are more then that Luier☺️

Luier Smiled cheerfully at you before you noticed, that Wukong was coming back with a bag of food. You decided to take your leave as you gently place Silly girl in his back basket.

(Queen Yn) it's time for me to go dear, it was nice meeting you

(Luier) Bye Miss Y/n, see you later

HIB Wukong finally arrived to see Luier by the grassfeilds, looking in the distance

(HIB Wukong) Hey you Two are you both ok?😧

(Luier) Ohhhhhhhhhh yeah Silly girl, wondered off to bother this lady but she didn't mind😀

(HIB Wukong) Oh, didn't I tell you not to talk to strangers🤨😠

(Luier) but Y/n was so super nice to us, and even didn't get mad a me asking questions

HIB Wukong spat his peach soda out at the info that Luier shared

the love of his life was here, just now talking lovingly to his two children. This immediately messed with his fatherly instincts, especially when Luier explained how you happily played with Silly Girl and how you answered every question Luier had with out a problem.

(HIB Wukong)(shaken) Umm it's getting late, we need to go home now

Luier was confused but nodded as him and Silly girl was hastened out the grand park, he needed to know what the conversations were about and why did you choose to approach Luier.

Meanwhile you walked home smirking you knew already that the monkey kings were spying on you, Fruity being a bit of a give away but...

What's wrong with making the ball roll faster😈

Phase two complete On to phase 3😈

FEEL FREE TO REBLOG😈

[archiesoniconline]

Sonic Universe Online #53 Behind the Scenes!

Hello again, people! Since last time we covered the behind-the-scenes for StHO #52, today we'll be covering the next and final issue of the Bunnie arc, StHO #53! Admittedly, I might not have as much to say about this issue compared to the last one since I had no involvement in it's production, but I'll still do what I can!

As usual, let's start with the cover. There isn't much to say here since Crim penciled it fairly early into the arc, even before the cover for 52 was made. The biggest change that was made was adding to the bulk of her robotic arm, and moving the sleeves on her coat as a result.

This issue was fully penciled by @dariidrawsindreams, but @katonuchiha4525 provided the thumbnails to use as a reference. Although there had been some issues with artists coming and going, we managed to stick to a remarkably consistent style in this issue thanks to them.

Meifeng was designed by our former artist Pooj, who was meant to be a junior/daughter figure to Conquering Storm, though not her Kommissar. She's obviously more polite and less battle-hardened than her Grandmaster, and although she doesn't personally get involved in the action this issue, she's definitely not to be underestimated. Whether or not she's as easily impressionable as portrayed in the off-panel is yet to be seen.

When Khan has his flashback to issue 92, @alusniper had to correct the colors on the Overlanders' uniforms. But since the flashback was later given a sepia filter, it ultimately didn't make much of a difference.

On page 16, the positions of Bunnie's legionnaire partners ended up being swapped, due to not matching up with the order of the word bubbles in the panel.

One thing that keen-eyed readers may have noticed is that Bunnie is missing her jet pack throughout the issue, even in scenes where she's clearly flying. That was really nothing more than an honest mistake, and by the time it was noticed it was too late to add it back in.

Back in 52, we made sure to add a line about the coil generators carrying the oil shipment throughout the arc, so their role in defeating Jun Kun would be properly foreshadowed. We also made a reference to Espio providing the Fan of Fen Xing to Khan in issue 211, which is how Jun Kun was defeated in that issue.

@riggo-draws had actually drawn the final page at one point, but after he left the team we ultimately stuck to the version that Darii made.

Finally, there's the preview picture that we teased the day before the issue was released. @leroyalmess had made several drafts of Genesis-style pictures to use, but we ended up opting for a parody of the Sonic & Knuckles logo, but with Bunnie and Khan instead.

That's it for this one! Maybe a bit short compared to the others, but no less work involved in making it a reality! We'll have to say goodbye to Bunnie for now, but until she returns, keep your eyes peeled for the upcoming Blaze arc, and beyond!

[ainnur]

BUD! I have a question 🙋

Okay so after seeing that photo Mei put up in Wukongs house of her and Wukong being close and smiling, do you have any Mei and Wukong headcannons? (Don't know if they have a official duo name. I just call them LimeSoda)

Their besties no one can convince me otherwise.

Hei BUD!🧑🏻‍🏫

And YES Mei and Wukong are bestie 😌 I belive people call them Wasabi Duo or something. Here some of my hc of them!

(I need whole story of that picture)

•They got close after season 3 with Wukong actually reach out to her and apologise about the whole Samadhi Fire thing. Mei also apologise for almost burn Wukong. They friend because they just guilty with each other at first.

•After sometimes they got close Mei ask about Ao Lie and whole Samadhi Fire thing and other. Talk about Samadhi Fire is kinda hard for Wukong but later he love telling story about Ao Lie. Talking about him just simple and Mei always listen

•They are two mf who pay for everyone shit. They rich, rich okay? Mega rich

•Mei judge Wukong exes HARD

•For some reason I hc them as smoke buddy. It's just Mei offer a cigarette to Wukong while they talk about MK. Them smoking because cigarette can't harm them. Something about being dragon and immortal

•They bakes cookies once and it's end up with Mei burn down whole house and Wukong scolding her after

•Wukong call out Mei of having cameres on her friend

•Boba tea addicts

•They read fanfic once and burn down material evidence as they both traumatize for life

•Judge people and talk shit online

•Mei calls Wukong at 3 a.m only to ask about her bikes

•Mei sometimes randomly sent Wukong peach flavor things she find in the city

•Mei cuts hair using her sword only for her to beg Wukong making magical medicine to fix her hair. She have bowl cut and huge bald spot for two whole weeks as Wukong refuse to help her because he already tell Mei that was bad idea

•Wukong always likes on Mei stream even he doesn't know what the fuck going on in all her stream. Even the monkeys are worry of what their king watch

•Pranks buddy~ Mei make right decision choosing legendary tricker himself as her partner

•Random but ONCE Mei accidently kill a cat with her bike while racing with Wukong. They quickly burried the body and promise never talk about it anymore. Wukong comfort ber after.

[1karuga]

LMK Story Ideas & Prompts + AUs

I have a bunch of ideas for AUs and various plots that like to bounce around my head like screensavers, so I'd rather share them online to maybe entertain or help give ideas to anyone that might like what I'm posting.

But this first idea is for an AU that I've been expanding on extensively for a while. It's a universe where after attaining Buddhahood, the Jade Emperor managed to trick Wukong and seal the Great Sage away in a realm hidden between the Mortal and Spirit Realm.

MK still becomes the Monkey King's Successor because he can wield the staff and has the Monkey King's power, but he never physically meets him and can only see him in dreams. But to expand on that idea, MK had dreams of meeting the Monkey King before the plot starts and is a huge part of his backstory then MK stopped having those dreams for years only for them to reappear once he gets the staff but they're not as clear as they used to be.

So with the staff in hand and the Monkey King's powers, MK decides to try and find a way to free the Monkey King and goes on a journey with his friends (and Red Son whom they forcefully take along) to find a way to break the seal trapping the Great Sage in the Hidden Realm.

This AU is going to also take some creative liberties with the addition of the spirit realm and its inhabitants, Erlang Shen is present and a major player in the story (along with his relationship with Sun Wukong), then Macaque is also very different from how he is in the canon.

There's also Guanyin, wrecking shop in the Demon Realm, a whole heist plot in the Celestial Realm, Nezha content, and just a lot of stuff concerning MK's backstory which will be the same but kinda different from canon.

I could honestly write an entire lore dump on this AU honestly, but that's because I'm a sucker for worldbuilding. I'll be posting more of these AUs every once in a while, or talking about story ideas that could be interesting, or expanding on anything if it's interesting enough.

I'd love to hear what y'all think, whether it's more info on this AU or anything else. So if you would like a Part 2... just let me know (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

[tobiasdrake]

Any thoughts on how Dragonball handles Death, narratively

To be honest, I find the status quo created by the Dragon Balls and their easy free resurrections to be interesting. The setting of Dragon Ball is a unique and creative place, and part of that is because the characters live in the knowledge of death's impermanence.

From the moment Goku first climbs Karin Tower and meets the God of Martial Arts, Dragon Ball has a strong spiritual side to it. This is not a grounded story of a guy living a life in a mundane but fantastical world. Son Goku, an adaptation of the Monkey King Sun Wukong, brushes elbows with gods and learns sacred arts of the heavens to carry him along on his journey.

As I've said before, there is no one correct way to write a plot. There are no universally good tropes to use or universally right interpretation to employ. Every story is a unique creature, and the elements that make up the story should be suited to what that story is trying to do.

I'm not saying that Dragon Ball's approach to character death is better or worse than other approaches; Rather, that it's unique, and that uniqueness makes it interesting and adds to its identity. The way Dragon Ball does things wouldn't work for other series, but it works for Dragon Ball.

Dragon Ball is an individualistic story about the never-ending journey of self-improvement and personal development. It's about Goku coming into his own and growing up as a person and as a martial artist. The ultimate stakes of the story surround how Goku will grow and change and whether he will be able to prevail in this new predicament he's been placed into.

It's not about the world. It's about him and his emotional, physical, and spiritual journey.

With that in mind, Dragon Ball's relationship with death suits its story. Essentially, the stakes of any given Dragon Ball adventure are Winner-Take-All. If our heroes prevail, then all the damage is reversible. But if they fail, then all is lost.

This allows Dragon Ball to have its cake and eat it, with deaths that feel meaningful in the moment.

These deaths become motivating factors that drive the plot forward. But the tantalizing promise of revival is also a motivating factor that drives the plot forward.

While also building on the relationships between characters, which can then be followed up on when the character next returns from their grave.

The thing about Dragon Ball that sets it apart from other settings where death is often reversible is that Dragon Ball has a consistent mechanism for its reversal. One that the characters are fully aware of. This is precisely what makes its setting so distinctive, because it plays into the movement of the plot. Goku up there is going to meet God in order to bring resurrections back online.

The cast goes to Namek later on for the same reason. Piccolo's death means Kami dies means Shenron disappears from the Earth means no resurrections on the table for anyone Nappa and Vegeta killed; However, Krillin was paying the fuck attention during the battle and realizes that a slim hope exists for their friends.

The impetus for the entire Namek arc comes from the existence of resurrection as an option for the characters. Everything that happens on Namek is a quest to undo the damage Vegeta and Nappa inflicted.

This is the third time the possibility of resurrections has driven the plot. The second time was when Goku met God in Heaven. The first was when Goku went to war with Red Ribbon in the climax of their arc.

This is what I'm talking about when I say the stakes are Winner-Take-All. That characters can consistently return from death as long as conditions are right drives the plot forward at multiple points.

It also introduces new calculations into the decision-making of the cast themselves.

"Krillin, you've spent your 1-Up but I've still got mine so if one of us dies here then it should be me, not you." That's a choice Yamcha made, that would go on to pay dividends through this arc and the next.

"Can I come back to life if this goes bad Y/N?" is a real consideration that characters have to take into account when making their choices. Goku easily sacrifices himself to kill Raditz.

He's able to take us to visit the afterlife, meet Enma-Daio, and discover a great martial arts master in the heavens beyond life and death because of it.

All because he knows he's still got a revival on the docket, that he can trigger once he's ready to come home.

The Majin Buu arc takes the Winner-Take-All stakes to their absolute extreme with arguably the darkest moment in series history.

Majin Buu's been promised a great opponent to have a good fight with. In his new Super Buu state, he's impatient and wants his fight now. To buy time, Piccolo takes advantage of the fact that Shenron can revive the world to make Buu an offer: Finish exterminating humanity and then come back, and your opponent will be ready.

It's a bid for more time. It backfires in the most horrific way possible, when Super Buu uses this vantage in Heaven to fire Human Extinction Attack and kill all living humans at once.

What a fucking moment this is. Made possible by the reversible nature of all those billions of deaths - If, and only if, we can beat this guy. Winner takes all.

These are angles for the story that couldn't be explored without Shenron providing convenient resurrections. It's part and parcel of what the world of Dragon Ball even is, and a core component both in its storytelling and character decision-making.

Dragon Ball simply wouldn't be Dragon Ball without it.