#Monkey King Returns

[the-monkey-ruler]

Monkey King Returns (2020) 大圣重生之斗战逆天

Director: Zhan Bo / Zhang Yongsheng Starring: Dong Haoran / Zheng Zihao Genre: Fantasy Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Chinese Date: 2020-10-31 (Mainland China) Type: Reimanging

Summary:

Under the guidance of the Golden Hoop Staff, the Stone Monkey was reincarnated as Hua Xiaotian, attracting the covetousness of the giant spirit. The fairy Acuo was ordered to find Hua Xiaotian and persuade him to take on the mission of protecting the people. The giant spirits frequently cast poisonous schemes, repeatedly putting Xiaotian in danger. Acuo's desperate fight made Hua Xiaotian gradually understand the responsibility he must bear, and a generation of war gods was finally awakened.

Source: https://mov-20.chinesemov.com/2020/Monkey-King-Returns

Link: N/A

[ninjasmudge]

jail

[ne-cocoa]

His lil valentine! ˅ɞ♡⃛ʚ˅(⺣◡⺣)♡*

[inpursuitofnunchi]

Thoughts on post timeskip strawhats:

Luffy: 10/10 before, 10/10 now 😡✌🏼🛐

Zoro: mmmm DADDYYYY 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤

Sanji: my adorable pervy baby, why did they do you dirty with that goatee 😩😩

Nami: her long hair made me go NAMIII SWAAAAANNNNNN 😍😍😍😍😘😘😘😘

Usopp: YAAASSSS SOGEKINGGGG throw them venus flytraps

Robin: mmmm MOMMYYYYY 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤🛐🛐🛐 i miss her bangs 😭

Chopper: cutieeee pieeeee with his blue and pink hat and cotton candyyy 🩷🩷🩷🩷 not him going ✨✨✨ eyed at seeing the fake straw hat pirates 🤣🤣 perfectly on-brand

Franky: hentai ultra pro max 👯‍♀️👯‍♀️👯‍♀️ i miss his old hair tho

And then there's Brook:

[count-alucard-tepes]

Op hotties with an S/O that after 3 months of their childs birth somehow dissapears into thin air. But after like 11 they find that S/O didn't abbodent them but instead was kidnapped by marines/pirates and had to fight tooth and nail to get back home to the Hotties and their child.

Which Hotties would believe S/O and who wouldn't?

Would believe their S/O:

Fujitora 🐅

Kizaru ✨

Katakuri Charlotte 🍡

Killer🔪

Queen👑

Buggy🤡

Marco the Phoenix 🦅

Rosinantè Donquixote aka Cora-San💕

Karasu🐦‍⬛

Koby🦸💘

Wouldn’t believe them but accepts them back:

Akainu🌋

Ryokugyu 🌱

Doflamingo Donquixote 🦩

Sir Crocodile 🐊

Benn Beckman 🔫

Kaido🐉

King 👑

Izou🔫🔫

Dragon D Monkey 🐉🐒

Oven Charlotte 🍞

Eustass Kidd🤘🎸

Who’s-Who ❤️‍🔥👹

Gecko Moria🦇

Iceburg💜

Gild Tesoro⚜️🏅

Rob Lucci🐆

[siixkiing]

"Guess who found their favorite head wear just now? This guy~"

[jumpscaregoose]

why you should vote for my boy yoh in the protagonist poll

(the cool one on @protagonistpolling)

he is named weed basically (yoh means "leaf" and he wears explicitly weed-based shirts all the time)

yes that is canonically a weed shirt I saw a reddit argument about it two years ago and also in the manga it says hemp

goodest boy to ever boy

like so good he rewired my moral philosophies good

one of his abilities is a comically large sword

ain't that just the most coolest thing ever

he has a dark reflection catboy twin

he forfeited his dreams in a tournament twice and deserves to have a win

if he won round one and fought jim trollhunters round two that would be both my boys in the same room and I'd be very very happy

he got two entire tv adaptations he was so cool

sounds like sonic in the 4kids dub you guys

can see and talk to ghosts

also kind of a dumb baby who threw a ghost once

anyways please vote yoh in round one of protagonist poll so he can get ratioed by jim trollhunters (who you should also vote for) round two and I get a sick nasty crossover event

also shaman king is very cool and you should watch it but also it's so so stupid look at him he's named WEED. VOTE FOR THE WEED.

[journeythroughjourneytothewest]

Chapter 14 Recap: Mind monkey returns to the Right; the Six Robbers vanish from sight.

Though both Tripitaka and Boqin are driven to fear by the voice, the assembled houseboys state confidently that it “must be the old ape in that stone box beneath the mountain who is shouting.” Boqin agrees, and then explains to a perplexed Tang Sanzang that though the mountain is currently known as the “Mountain of Two Frontiers,” it was once known as the “Mountain of Five Phases.” Boqin states that he had further heard from his elders that the mountain had long ago “fell from Heaven with a divine monkey clamped beneath it,” and that this monkey had “lasted from that time until now, surviving both cold and hunger.” Boqin then suggests that they go see what the monkey is shouting about, and Tripitaka reluctantly agrees.

The two and the horse don’t have to travel long before they encounter a stone box that does indeed contain a sentient monkey currently covered in dirt and greenery. Said monkey greets Tang Sanzang as “master,” and states that he’ll protect the monk on the way to the Westward Heaven. He then asks Tripitaka if he is indeed the scripture pilgrim and, having that confirmed, reveals himself to be “the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven…who greatly disturbed the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago.” He also claims that he is now sworn to protect the scripture pilgrim, and that he is willing to become Tang Sanzang’s disciple.

Tripitaka is delighted at this turn of events, but isn’t sure how he can free the monkey from the stone box. The Great Sage tells Tang Sanzang that it’s an easy task, and that all he has to do is remove a tag with golden letters on the top of the mountain. Boqin and Tripitaka make their way up together, and upon seeing the seal Xuanzang prays to the Buddha to only let the monk remove the seal if the monkey’s speaking the truth. He then removes the tag easily, and it blows away, with the prison guard of the Great Sage also letting Tripitaka know that the seal is being returned to the Buddha.

After going back to Sun Wukong and letting the monkey know that his imprisonment is over, the delighted simian tells Tripitaka that he should “walk away from here so that I can come out.” The group of humans then retreat some five or six miles, but Sun Wukong yells at them to go further. Finally, after they had left the mountain entirely, “at once came a crash so loud that it was as if the mountain was cracking and the earth splitting wide open.” The next second a completely naked Great Sage is bowing in front of Tang Sanzang, thanking Boqin for “shaving the grass from my face,” and goes off to get the luggage in order. We’re also informed that Sun Wukong’s time as the BanHorsePlague gave him such authority over all equines that “the horses of this world inevitably would fear him when they saw him.” The monkey also informs the monk that he already has a religious name in “Sun Wukong,” and Tripitaka gives him the nickname “Pilgrim Sun.”

Boqin, now seeing Tang Sanzang is protected by “an excellent disciple,” makes his leave. The “stark naked” monkey and the monk continue on the journey west, Sun Wukong carrying the luggage, Tripitaka on his horse. They are soon menaced by a tiger which Pilgrim Sun takes on with delight, pulling out his as-you-will cudgel from his ear and giving big cat such a ferocious blow that he “caused its brain to burst out like ten thousand red petals of peach blossoms, and the teeth to fly out like so many pieces of white jade.” Tang Sanzang immediately falls off his horse in fear at this display of strength, noting that it had taken Boqin all day to defeat a tiger whereas Sun Wukong had reduced the tiger “to pulp with one blow of his rod.” An unperturbed Pilgrim Sun asks Tripitaka to sit down for awhile, and proceeds to make himself a loincloth from the tiger’s skin.

As they continue their travels, Tang Sanzang asks Sun Wukong a litany of questions about his cudgel and about his abilities, which the monkey is only too eager to boast of. Tripitaka is “more relieved than ever” upon hearing that his new disciple and his new guardian possesses “boundless ways of transformation” and ways to protect him, and the two continue travelling and chatting until sunset.

They find shelter for the night after some difficulty, with an elderly man who opened a door they knocked on being left “panic-stricken by the hideous appearance of Pilgrim,” but who is soon mollified upon seeing “the handsome features of Tripitaka.” Monk and disciple are soon invited in, and Sun Wukong relates how he had seen the old man when he was a child collecting vegetables and firewood. The old man, for his own part, recounts how his great-grandfather had told him about how when “this mountain dropped from the sky, it had a divine ape clamped underneath it.” Tripitaka and the old man also discover that they are from the same clan as they both have the secular family name “Chen.” Sun Wukong then asks “Old Chen” for some boiled water so that he and his new shifu can clean themselves; old monkey in particular hadn’t taken a bath “for five hundred years.” Pilgrim Sun further requests a needle and some thread from Old Chen after the bath, which he uses to properly stitch his tiger skin. Wearing that and one of Tripitaka’s shirts which the monk had left out specifically for the monkey, Sun Wukong “paraded in front of his master,” and Tang Sanzang compliments him, saying that his disciple now truly looks like a pilgrim.

Pilgrim Sun and Tripitaka are back on the road the next morning, continuing the journey west. Soon enough the seasons change, and early winter is upon them. It is then that master and disciple are suddenly accosted by six bandits, who demand that they leave their horse and bag behind. Tang Sanzang is terrified enough to fall from his horse. Sun Wukong, however, calls this robbery a trifling matter, and that the bandits are “just some people coming to give us clothes and a travel allowance.” The monkey then nonchalantly lets the bandits hack away at him about eighty times before deciding that “it’s about time for old Monkey to take out his needle for a little entertainment.” He then proceeds to “beat every one of them to death, stripped them of their clothes, and seized their valuables.” He brings these spoils back to Tang Sanzang, smiling broadly.

Tripitaka, for his own part, is horrified by his disciple’s actions and soundly reprimands him. Confused, Sun Wukong notes that if he hadn’t killed the bandits, “they would have killed you!” Tang Sanzang, however, is adamant that “As a priest, I would rather die than practice violence.” Pilgrim Sun then states that “when I, old Monkey, was king on the Flower-Fruit Mountain five hundred years ago, I killed I don’t know how many people. I would not have been a Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, if I had lived by what you are saying.” Tang Sanzang retorts that “It’s precisely because you had neither scruples nor self-control…that you had to undergo this ordeal of five hundred years,” and that because even after entering the fold of Buddhism the monkey insisted “on practicing violence and indulge in the taking of life as before, you are not worthy to be a monk, nor can you got to the Western Heaven. You’re wicked! You’re just too wicked!”

This monkey, so the story next informs us, “had never in all his life been able to tolerate scolding.” And so he flies off, leaving Tripitaka to “set off sadly to the West.” The lonesome monk doesn’t travel long before he meets an old woman holding “a silk garment and a cap with a floral design.” He tells her about his mission and about Sun Wukong’s spat at her questioning, and she gives him the garment and cap, claiming that they used to belong to her son who “had been a monk for only three days when unfortunately he died.” She also gives Tang Sanzang a spell called “True Words for Controlling the Mind, or the Tight-Fillet Spell.” She tells the monk that when Pilgrim Sun returns he must give the monkey the garment and the cap, and then recite the spell silently “if he again refuses to obey…He will not dare do violence or leave your again.” Tripitaka thanks the old woman, who transforms into a shaft of golden light and vanishes towards the east. It is then Tang Sanzang realizes that he was speaking with the Bohisattva Guanyin.”

Sun Wukong, for his own part, heads straight to the Water Crystal Palace of the Dragon King of the Eastern ocean. The two kings start chatting, with Pilgrim Sun telling the dragon about his refusal to listen to the monk and his desire to go back to his mountain, having only stopped by the palace “to come visit you and ask for a cup of tea.” While the Dragon King indulges the monkey, he soon tells him that if he is “unwilling to exercise diligence or to accept instruction, you will remain a bogus immortal after all.” Sun Wukong does soon agree to go back, even running into Bodhisattva Guanyin on his way. Once he reunites with Tang Sanzang, Pilgrim Sun moves to get his shifu food from a bag, and sees the silk shirt and flower cap. Tripitaka tells the monkey that he may wear the fine garments if they fit. An eager Sun Wukong tries them on, and no sooner had he put on the cap than Tang Sanzang started reciting the Tight-Fillet Spell.

The monk “went through the recitation several times without ceasing, and the pain was so intense that Pilgrim was rolling on the ground, his hands gripping the flower cap.” When he touches his head again, Sun Wukong finds that “it was tightly bound by a thin metal band; it could be neither pulled off nor ripped apart, for it had, as it were, taken root on his head.” It can’t even be removed with the as-you-will cudgel. And Tripitaka doesn’t give Pilgrim much time to try, and this time goes through the recitation of the spell until it was “so painful that [Sun Wukong] did cartwheels and somersaults. His face and even his ears turned red, his eyes bulged, and his body grew weak.” The monkey promises to obey the monk if only he stops the recitation. Yet right afterwards he tries to kill Tang Sanzang, and after he’s brough to heel a second time expresses a wish to beat the Bodhisattva Guanyin up. Yet soon after, “Pilgrim gave up all thoughts of disobedience or rebellion.” Whether he will keep with this new mentality is a question that will have to be left for the next chapter.

[junichan]

The Return of Flower Fruit Mountain

Part 4

Content warning: None, TW: None

Based on The Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en and the Monkey King graphic novels by Chaiko

The Monkey King’s cloud was a familiar sight arcing across the sky over the mountain. Sometimes the vapor trail left in the cloud’s slipstream caught the sunlight just right and lit up with a rainbow iridescence, like a glittering banner trailing in his wake. And sometimes Wukong made it happen on purpose just to show off. His subjects were always amazed and delighted by the display of their Great King’s prowess.

This time when the denizens of Flower Fruit Mountain looked up to watch their King fly by astride his mystical nimbus they noticed something new. Mere moments after he passed over their heads, the dormant trees and plants around them burst into bloom. Naked branches that had shed their leaves for autumn were now lush with bright new foliage. All around them the air was warm and sweet with new growth, as if spring had miraculously supplanted the grip of fall.

Thrilled by his wonderous new power the monkeys all over the mountain began to race back to Water Curtain Cave, eager to exalt their beloved Handsome Monkey King.

Wukong couldn’t help grinning, able to clearly see their figures moving through the trees and clambering over rocks even from miles above. He made sure to circle the mountain several more times, wanting every one of his subjects to take notice. By the time he was satisfied most of the forest had been made green and flourishing by the young goddess’ power.

He entered the cave to a chorus of cheers and whooping from the gathered tribe. His chest puffed with pride at the sight of so many simians gathered on the Iron Bridge and in the courtyard of the Stone Mansion, all shouting in admiration for their Great Sage. Oh, how Wukong had missed this feeling.

Once again looping an arm around Sying’s slender waist he jumped down from his cloud, landing in the space they had cleared for him in front of the mansion gate. Almost at once monkeys began chattering inquisitively about the strange female beside him. The feeling appeared to be mutual as Sying gazed around at the different simians gathered in the remarkable cave with wide, fascinated eyes.

Most of the tribe consisted of macaques and langurs, but she could see orangutans, baboons, and even tiny tarsiers among them. She even spotted the three children she’d met earlier in the forest, hopping up and down and waving wildly to get her attention. She smiled and gave them a little wave in return.

“My children!” Sun Wukong’s voice echoed through the cave and captured everyone’s attention. “Your King presents the Heavenly Princess of Eternal Spring, Sun Sying. The Princess has sworn herself to me and her service to my kingdom.”

The announcement inspired a fresh round of chatter. It wasn’t hard for the monkeys to figure out it was the Princess that had caused the astonishing change in seasons. Less obvious was why she shared their King’s surname. Did the Monkey King have a sister? Surely he wouldn’t have taken a wife without telling them, right??

“Tonight we welcome the Princess with a feast!”

That got their attention again. Most of the older primates began shrieking with joy, louder than before. Even the young ones were excited, even if they weren’t entirely sure why.

“Feast! Feast! Feast!” the crowd began chanting.

Wukong had to bang the butt of his staff on the stone at his feet to get them to calm down and even then, it was only just enough so he could be heard shouting over them, “Go, my children! Go out and gather all the food you can find! Bring meat and wine! Go! Go!!”

He sent them off with a whoop, lifting his golden staff above his head like a banner. His subjects rushed off, most of them heading out of the cave and back down the mountain to scour the newly revived forest for its bounty. Tonight they would eat, drink, and party till they passed out, just like they used to do before Wukong was imprisoned beneath the mountain.

Beside him the Princess unexpectedly sagged and fell to her knees. “Sying!” Wukong dropped down beside her, his anticipation instantly becoming apprehension. “Are you alright??”

The silver-furred female looked pale and sweat beaded her brow. “I am only a bit tired, my king,” she reassured him. Her breath came in labored pants, and Wukong realized she had been willing herself to stand until everyone left. “I have never used my power to that extent before…”

“Then why did you-??” Wukong paused, then a knowing smirk split his lips. “You were showing off, weren’t you?”

A bashful pink colored Sying’s soft cheeks and he knew he was right. Wukong let out a laugh and she blushed deeper.

“That’s alright,” he chuckled quietly. He lifted her into his arms and carried her into the mansion so she could rest, “I do that sometimes too…”

Sying would soon learn the Monkey King showed off quite often.

[hinacu-arts]

Baby On Board AU!

[the-monkey-ruler]

Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015) 西游记之大圣归来

Director: Tian Xiaopeng Screenwriter: Tian Xiaopeng / Liu Hu / Mi Li / Jin Ran / Jin Cheng Starring: Zhang Lei / Lin Zijie / Wu Wenlun / Tong Zirong / Liu Jiurong / Wu Di / Liu Beichen / Zhao Qianjing / Zhou Shuai Genre: Drama / Animation / Fantasy Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Chinese / Cantonese Date: 2015-07-10 (Mainland China) Duration: 89 minutes Also known as: Return of the Monkey King / Monkey King /Journey to the West 3D / CUG: King of Heroes / 西遊記之大聖歸來 / 大圣归来 / 猴王 / 西游记3D IMDb: tt4644382 Type: Retelling

Summary:

The all-powerful Monkey King, Sun Wukong, is imprisoned by the Buddha within an ice cage deep within the mountains for rebelling against heaven.

500 years later, Mountain Trolls attack a group of travelers, all except for a baby boy named Liuer are killed, and Liuer is adopted by a monk after floating down a river in a basket. (The name Jiang Liuer means River Flow Child.) Several years later, the same trolls invade a small village and kidnap 49 young children. Liuer saves one of the baby girls and is chased by the trolls for doing so. He stumbles into the cave where the Monkey King was imprisoned, and unknowingly releases him from his curse. Sun Wukong defeats the trolls, although he is only able to use physical attacks, since a remnant of Buddha's seal prevents him from regaining his magical powers, causing him pain whenever he tries to harness his magic.

Wukong attempts to break the Buddha's seal to no avail. Liuer and the girl enthusiastically greet Wukong, not knowing he has lost his powers, and pester him with endless questions. (One example is when Liuer asks if the god Nezha is a boy or a girl. Wukong answers, a girl.) Annoyed, Wukong attempts to avoid the two, but is unable to evade them. A stone monster, created by the Buddha to keep Wukong imprisoned, attacks the three. Liuer manages to undo the spell on the monster, but falls off a cliff in the process. When he awakes, he finds out Wukong has saved him.

The three come upon Bajie, the Heavenly Immortal "Tian Peng Yuan Shuai" (Marshal of Heavenly Canopy) that Wukong defeated when he rebelled against Heaven 500 years ago, now reincarnated into a pig demon. Though Wukong is again hesitant, Bajie joins the group as well. They also run into a white dragon that attacks them and tries to eat Liuer but Sun Wukong scares it off. (This also happened in the original canon, although unlike in the original books, the dragon does not turn into a white horse.)

They stay overnight at an inn, but its owners turn out to be Trolls in disguise, who try to kidnap the baby. More trolls arrive and Wukong fights them off. The leader of the monsters, Hun Dun, appears, defeating Wukong and capturing the girl. After Wukong refuses to pursue them, Liuer goes ahead to save them on his own.

Hun Dun reveals his plan to sacrifice all the children they have kidnapped in order to gain magical powers. Liuer meets with his mentor, Fa Ming, to try to rescue them but nearly get captured. Wukong finds a doll of himself that Liuer had and realises how important of a figure he is. He and Bajie go to help Liuer. Saving Liuer and the 49 children, Wukong defeats the monsters. However, a solar eclipse occurs, and Hun Dun turns into a giant monstrous beast. Liuer is seemingly crushed by the rubble from Hun Dun's rampage. Upon seeing the boy's apparent death, Sun Wukong is devastated. Full of fury, he forcibly breaks Buddha's Seal, regaining his original supernatural powers, and easily defeats Hun Dun.

The final part of this movie connects to the themes in the original canon. Sun Wukong only regains his powers when he fights for someone else rather than himself, as Sun Wukong's powers are meant to protect the monk Xuanzang/TangSeng/Tang Sanzang against evil and lead the monk to enlightenment. Sun Wukong as a character is also meant to represent an enlightened mind, which is why Sun Wukong's staff emerges from his head. Jiang Liuer himself is the younger Xuanzang, since he only received the name Xuanzang after he was ordained.

In the end, Liuer is shown to have survived Hun Dun's rampage, and they return the abducted children to their families.

Source: https://movie.douban.com/subject/26277313/

Link: https://ww16.0123movie.net/movie/monkey-king-hero-is-back-6781.html

[sketching-shark]

Personally I think it could be some peak dark humor & actual moral complexity if Flying Bark goes with the og classic backstory between Sun Wukong and the Six Eared Macaque. Because then instead of yet another “Macaque did nothing wrong & Sun Wukong is genuinely terrible & fully deserves all the hatred he gets” story arc that seems to be pretty popular in fanon & kinda in canon, we’d have to deal with the fact that Macaque did some pretty heinous things & Sun Wukong had pretty legitimate reasons for wanting to off him but because it’s told through the lens of a silly goofy lego show it’d be presented like this: 

[cave-monkey]

Monkey King 2009 Episode 9

The one where Stone Monkey blows up a mountain I guess.

TIME SKIP

TIME SKIP

Old Monkey King is BACK BABY. And Stone Monkey immediately mellows out! Fancy that! Literally all Old Monkey King has to do is go, "He's not that bad, actually." at the four generals complaining and Stone Monkey is immediately chill, full of love and benevolence for the world. All the tension he's carrying just drops, basically (or at least resets him to late Episode 5/very early Episode 6 levels of frustration, basically the same thing compared to where he's been at recently), and you can practically see the relief when he realizes someone with actual weight is in his corner again. He's so happy he's even calmly accepting a pretty harsh punishment for something that was, uh...only sort of peripherally his fault at best? And even defending his deserving of it to Ginseng Fruit.

Amazing how well offering a kid just a little bit of security works, amirite. Almost like he no longer feels like every vaguely confrontational interaction is the death knell on his right to exist or something.

At least until those people go behind Old Monkey King's back to harass the kid to the point he finally gives up and leaves and they don't even try to stop him. Old Monkey King is so done with their shit, too. Between him flat-out telling them that if anything happens to Stone Monkey it's on them (and himself too, and the entire troop to a lesser extent, but the message was for them) and earlier in the episode when they came up to him and he immediately went from 😄 to "...What do you want? 😒" it's a wonder these guys even have the confidence to pull this shit. They're on such thin ice. I have the distinct impression they've been skating here since Episode 4 too, so like, there's thin ice and then there's the vaguely frosty condensation layer these guys are tapdancing on.

Six Ears's entrance was super cute, though. Him sliding in determined to cheer Stone Monkey up and the way Stone Monkey lit up at seeing him. The half-hearted "You should go rest" but knowing Six Ears won't leave him, and Six Ears laughing at him about it, and how easy they were while working together later. Six Ears appears and Stone Monkey's day is immediately 500% better. The sun has risen. It is a new dawn. They are so cute.

...Even though I am chock-full of questions about where, exactly, Six Ears was. He came "back"? So late at night? Like, come on, but this just keeps happening. He's often off somewhere by himself and this time it wasn't him taking himself off on a mission to track Stone Monkey down since Stone Monkey was actually sticking close to the troop for once. All the four generals were asleep, so who was keeping track of him? What was he out there doing?

They're not sending him out on his own, right? Because I feel like we all know why that's been proven to be a very bad idea. Not that I expect the four generals to make solid decisions there, exactly. Heck, maybe they think he's good bait (they had better not think he's good bait). Maybe they don't care as long as it keeps him and Stone Monkey separated. Maybe the timeskip means Six Ears and Stone Monkey are actually getting something approximating real responsibilities now instead of ones they just sorta give themselves, and the wonky schedules are just...actually maybe also an attempt to keep them separated. I think the likeliest possibility is he was tagging along with a patrol or something, but. Hm.

Anyway. Tangent over.

Him desperately throwing himself between Stone Monkey and the four generals trying to defend him was just...really sad, though? Who in the writer's room okay-ed this? He's trying so hard to protect Stone Monkey and his voice actor did a really good job getting across the desperation and nerves, a kid trying to talk down grown adults, and it's just. Ugh. Ow.

And Stone Monkey watching him beg for him and watching it get him nowhere, knowing that the four generals don't want to change their minds, and just. Losing it. Finally. My heart was in my boots during this scene. Stone Monkey taking off, and Six Ears turning back to the four generals and now he's nearly screaming, "You can't do this, it's not safe, what's going to happen to him?" but it still doesn't touch them at all, and Six Ears turns back around, the anxiety and fear, going in circles, but Stone Monkey's already gone. And then that sad little wave and it's all straight to the heart for me. Ugh. UGH.

*drags hands down face*

UGH.

I don't blame Ginseng Fruit for losing their temper, even if the results were like this. It was not a good way to handle it, but they beat themselves up for it so much throughout the episode already it's pointless to condemn them. They're young, and angry that their friend is being mistreated, and they lashed out. It was maybe inevitable.

Ginseng Fruit and Stone Monkey's relationship was really nice this episode, actually. The timeskip has helped them smooth out some of the rougher edges of their relationship, and they're apparently together all the time these days, for reasons sort of touched on in the episode? They exist in very similar states of loneliness, and that similarity pushes them together even if they aren't naturally very compatible. They still clash, they still fumble and don't quite succeed when trying to give each other the support they want to give, but they choose to make it work anyway, even if it's not especially smooth all the time. It's a good relationship.

I should talk more about Old White Deer, but I'll admit my entire reaction to the Stranger Danger PSA that was the latter half of the episode was primarily:

CHILDREN. CHILDREN NO. CHILDREN PLEASE.

And, honestly, I feel like that sums it up. There was not a single point past encountering Old White Deer where I wasn't screaming some variation of the above in my head. Creepy man.

Like. The tea. The fucking tea. Stone Monkey, please.

In Stone Monkey's defense, the last time he was approached by a random person in the middle of the forest and they asked him to follow them home, he met his best friend and it worked out sort of okay for him. He's also predisposed to a fondness for trickster mentors after Old Monkey King. He's learned all the wrong lessons for this encounter, okay. Some very alarming wires got crossed somewhere in his head and it did not do him any favors here.

But it's okay though, because he blows up the mountain.

!

!!!

Just! Sets that big hunk of rock on fire! He did not have to do that, but I can't blame him for feeling a little pyro-y, I suppose. He can have a bit of arson. As a treat. Make the creepy-crawlies from being drugged and left tied up on the floor of a creepy old man go away, maybe.

...This episode was so viscerally uncomfortable, though. Good job, writers. I hate it.

I hope Old Monkey King on the horizon is looking at this giant flaming mountain in the distance like, "...Well at least I know where he is."

[inpursuitofnunchi]

Wait a minute did they make Robin whiter post-timeskip? Or am i imagining it????

[incorrecthsrquotes]

Dangeresque! I should have killed you the 58 times I had the chance!

Perducci, probably

[siixkiing]

❛❛ I’m sorry. I should have asked first, just… it reminded me of you. ❜❜ Rai's here to comfort monkey dad uvu

☯ soft caring sentence compilation ☯

"Aw, kiddo...you really didn't have to do that."

Still the action touched the golden simian's heart more than words could ever properly express right now. To think that this young man — one who had come to view as his own son, would think of him in that moment. It only solidified in his heart that this was HIS kid, blood didn't matter.

Reaching a hand out to playfully ruffle those brown locks, bright smile adorning his face. Raimundo soon finding the Great Sage pressing a forehead against his. A gesture that was meaningful and practically sacred — showing a great level of care and love with it.

"Thank you — "

" — don't know what I did to deserve you in my life."