#demon kings of lion-camel ridge

[sketching-shark]

Who are your favorite jttw artists? I've been looking for more content lately and you seem to be dependable on these kinds of things >.>

Hi there @thebeastandthehedgegrowth! Many thanks for your vote of confidence :)

So I would say that my current definite favorite JTTW artist would be Dongzi Liu, who's created some phenomenal Xiyouji-based pieces. Here's a small sampling that I yoinked off of his twitter:

The Pilgrims:

A close-up of Sun Wukong:

And just check out these kings of Lion-Camel Ridge!

Another artist I very much like is Chen Huiguan, who's created some really endearing presentations of the pilgrimage. Irwen Wong has a really good collection of them as part of his extremely helpful summary of Journey to the West. Here's a small sampling of the work:

The stone monkey leaving Mt. Huaguoshan in the quest for immortality:

Sun Wukong feeling the full effects of the headache spell for the first time:

Zhu Bajie trying to convince the Monkey King to return after his first banishment:

Cartoonist Chaiko Tsai has also recently come out with a lovely graphic novel version of Journey to the West, and while other people have posted some really adorable images from it I'll give some samplings of the art that I found online:

Zhu Bajie, Tang Sanzang, Bai Longma, and Sun Wukong looking apprehensive near a body of water:

A student Sun Wukong learning how to fly:

Those are the professional artists that come to mind, but if you're interested in something a little "closer to home" as it were (i.e. hobby artists on tumblr), then I'd say that the best JTTW artists would be @antidotefortheawkward-art, @archrui, @lavaflowe, @sixteenthchapel, @kaijufluffs, and @sunny-days-and-warm-mournings

These are the artists that first come to mind, and as you can see there's some really amazing styles present! I hope you enjoy all this art as much as I do, and it goes without saying that everyone should feel free to reblog with their own favorite JTTW-inspired artists.

[mysticmonkiebusiness]

Happy 5th Anniversary!

[lego-loving-loser]

Ask Blog Request List/Rules

Heya! My name is Scarlett, and I am the one running this blog! Here is the list of characters you can ask as well as my rules! :3

Characters:

Monkie Kids 🐵

MK

Mei

Sandy

Tang

Pigsy

Immortals☁️

Li Jing

Nezha

Wukong

Macaque

Chang’e

DBK Family 💨🐂🔥

Demon Bull King

Princess Iron Fan

Red Son

Camel Ridge Trio 🦁🦅🐘

Azure Lion

Peng

Yellowtusk

Rules! I will not answer any asks that have to do with:

discrimination of any kind

I will not answer anything that would stir up any drama

I WILL NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT HAVE SHIPPING INVOLVED!!!

I will not answer anything involving gore or body horror

If people fight in the inbox, I won't be answering those asks

I will not answer anything NSFW/18+ 

No OC's

You are allowed to simp and flirt with the characters, just keep it SFW

NEZHA IS NOT A MINOR IN ANY OF MY POSTS, TAKE IT SOMEWHERE ELSE IF YOU WANNA ARGUE!!

Magic Anon asks are now permanently allowed! I as the blog owner have the right to not answer any magic anon requests if I do not wish to.

ASK BOX: OPEN <3

Anon List:

🪀 Anon

🧅 Anon

🌙 Anon

🌺 Anon

☕️Anon

⭐Anon

🏹Anon

🌻Anon

🐍Anon

🥭Anon

[lmk-aus-galore]

Slice-of-life AU where the Brotherhood actually quit while they were ahead.

Like,the Camel Ridge Trio were like ‘Actually killing the Jade Emperor is not worth it, let’s change the world in our own way’ (Plus that plan was half-baked) DBK didn’t do world domination and is actually a good father and Macaque and Wukong make up while he’s still on the Journey.

Slice-of-life because we get to see them hangout normally.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Sun Wukong Raids the Lion Camel Ridge (2022) 孙悟空大闹狮驼岭

Director: Guo Yulong Starring: Miu Tse / En Jing / Li Faguang Genre: Action / Fantasy Country/Region of Production: Mainland China Language: Mandarin Duration: 90 minutes Type: Retelling

Summary:

In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong occupied the top of the mountain, became a demon king, made havoc in the underworld, changed life and death, fought against the heavenly soldiers, and disturbed the heavenly court. Sun Wukong has never been afraid of all kinds of anti-sky behaviors in the past. However, when he passed Lion Camel Ridge on his way to protect Tang Seng to learn scriptures in the West, Sun Wukong was afraid, and here, he even cried twice in a row. So, how terrifying is Lion Camel Ridge? How could Sun Wukong be so scared?

Lion Camel Ridge is a personal hell, and it is even worse than the bloody scenes of the 18th hell in the underworld. In addition, all the people living in Lion Camel Ridge Country were ordinary people, but the three demons in Lion Camel Ridge ate up all the people in the city, which led to the terrifying scene where the city was full of monsters. The strength of the Three Demons of Lion Camel Ridge is even more terrifying;

The three demons of Lion Camel Ridge are the Azure Lion Spirit, the White Elephant Spirit, and the Golden-Winged Roc. Among them, the Azure Lion Spirit, like Sun Wukong, once made troubles in the heavenly palace and swallowed hundreds of thousands of heavenly soldiers in one gulp; the nose of the White Elephant can make a person with an iron back and a bronze body immediately lose their souls; the Golden-Winged Roc's fighting speed is extremely fast. Relying on its own speed advantage, the Roc once beat Sun Wukong in seconds, and he also has a magic weapon "yin and yang two gas cylinders" that can turn people into pus and blood. It was because Sun Wukong was taken by this magic weapon that he was burned in pain by three fire dragons in the bottle, so he cried in the bottle. And this is also the first time Sun Wukong cried at the level of Lion Camel Ridge.

Of course, Sun Wukong listened to the rumor that Tang Seng was dead when he had nothing to do with the three demons of Lion Camel Ridge, so he ran to the Tathagata Buddha and cried loudly. This was the second time he cried in Shituoling. From the two cries of Sun Wukong, it can be seen that he is scared. The first time he cried was because he was afraid that he would die in the "two cylinders of yin and yang"; plus listening to rumors that's why he cried again. The Tathagata Buddha saw that Sun Wukong was in such a mess, so he led the strongest lineup on Lingshan to the Lion Camel Ridgeto to subdue the demons. The Lion Camel Ridge are not only powerful, but also have a powerful background behind them. The Lion and the White Elephant are the mounts of Manjusri and Puxian Bodhisattva, and the Roc is the uncle of the Tathagata Buddha. It can be said that the background behind the three monsters of the lion camel mountain is more terrifying than their own strength. Facing such a powerful opponent, Sun Wukong's defeat is a reasonable thing.

Even though Shituoling is terrifying, but as high-level figures in Lingshan, Tathagata, Manjusri, and Puxian indulged their subordinates to go to Lion Camel Ridge to cause disaster, and even created such a terrifying scene, this should be the level of Lion Camel Ridge Scariest thing ever.

Source: http://chinesemov.com/2022/Sun-Wukong-Raids-the-Lion-Camel-Ridge.html

Link: N/A

[quitealotofsodapop]

Mentioned in a Post a while back about a Jttw/LMK AU I had regarding the "Yellow Robed Demon" Arc when Tripitaka got turned into a tiger.

Book Summary;

Tripitaka manages to escape his capture (for once) and passes on a message to the King of Baoxiang from his daughter, Baihuaxiu, explaining that she was kidnapped and made the forced bride of a demon (ironically making it a magical version of what befell Tripitaka's mother when he was a baby).

Kui Mulang rolls in with a human glamour and goes: "Nu-Uh! I'm but a humble human hunter. THIS guy is a tiger demon who attacked a girl some time ago. I save her and we've been living a simple life for the last 13 years!" (Lie)

So the dude pulls an Uno-Reverse and transforms Tripitaka into a tiger (or in some versions, glamours him into one). The King and his subjects believe this 100% since Tripitaka and the Pilgrims don't look so great without Wukong there to act as PR (he was exiled at the time for the White Bone Spirit incident).

Tripitaka is apparently aching-beautiful no matter his form though;

Wukong even feels kinda bad for his Master, since the transformation is so good that he can't even see through it with Gold Vision. Also imagine a sad giant kitty, that would bum anyone out.

Of course things are resolved by the end of the arc; the gang reunite with their monkey, Ao Lie gets his own badass chapter, the Princess is saved, Bajie kills the couple's two half-demon wolf children, the Yellow Robed Demon is revealed to be Revatī - the Wood Wolf of Legs after Wukong catches the demon commenting on his performance during the Havoc (Wukong has a few Columbo moments in the book like this), and Tripitaka is transformed back into his squishy monk self.

Bonus - Tripitaka as a tiger from a book illustration + the 1999 cartoon.

The book illustration + description suggests he's a rare Pseudo-melanistic "Black Tiger" seen in India, possibly an Indo-Chinese Tiger, or a South China Tiger with a darker back.

So here's where the timeline shifts...

The Wood Wolf of Legs ain't happy to be dragged away from (what he believed to be mutual) his true love on earth + his two kids, so he curses the Tang Monk to not only retain part of the glamour he imposed upon him, but to transform him fully into a carnivorous feline demon. Also as an extra "F-k you!" to the Jade Court he and his past love fled from, since the Queen Mother is a celestial tigress herself.

The Pilgrims freak out, obviously.

Guanyin is called up and is like;

Guanyin: "Well, you did unjustly punish and exile your best bodyguard because you didn't trust his judgement, seeing him only as a murderous beast... so *your* punishment is to deal with the rest of your Journey as one of the very same creatures you see as mindlessly bloodthirsty." Tripitaka, now cursed to stay a catboy: "Dang it." (≽^╥⩊╥^≼)

He still gets to wear the robes and walk upright -think Master Tigress from Kung Fu Panda but as a wimpy, twink-shaped, monk.

Tripitaka aint' having fun. He's a life-long vegetarian who's suddenly an apex hypercarnivore. He tries his best for the longest time to stay on the veggies (and durian weirdly enough since tigers like those), but eventually he will need to chow down on some bleeding protein.

And his team literally consists of the main diet of a tiger...

Wukong, a monkey: "Master isn't looking too good." Zhu Bajie, a pig: "I don't like the way he's been looking at us. I burnt my finger making the campfire and he looked ready to pounce!" Sha Wujing, a fish: "I'm not surprised. Cats are of few beasts that absolutely require meat protein to survive." Ao Lie, currently a horse: "If he goes feral, I vote we sacrifice the pig first." Wujing & Wukong: "Agreed." Zhu Bajie: "HEY!!" (₍•̀ ⚇•́ ₎) Tripitaka, meditating hard: "Perhaps if I eat a watermelon, it would sustain my desire for flesh?"

What worse?

Tripitaka is still considered smoking hot. Now by demon standards too!

The Trio of Lion Camel Ridge prepare to attack the Pilgrims when;

Azure Lion: (*sees that the Great Monk is actually a beautiful tiger.*) Azure Lion, lowering his sword: "Guys, do not mess this up for me." Peng & Yellow Tusk: (*annoyed groans!*)

[semisolidmind]

“he won't say it aloud, but...had it been him who'd been found and tended to by reader, azure couldn't be sure he wouldn't have made the same choice as his brothers.”

…Semi, could I persuade you to make a little something (art, fic, headcanons, whatever you wish) for this concept? Please?

If you’d rather not, totally fine. Please feel free to delete this. No worries!

(this got longer than expected:))

he'd try to persuade her, at first.

after she found him in her backyard, in a crater of his own making having fallen from battle, battered and bleeding, after she brought him into her home and cared for him...

...he'd gotten attached.

the two became close, and as azure got stronger he began to realize that he'd have to go home eventually. he and his brotherhood had a job to do, and he couldn't abandon it to play house. but— but he'd become so used to waking up with reader by his side. he'd learned so much about mortal life while living with her, and his sympathies towards humans had grown.

noone had ever treated him as gently as reader had. even knowing what he is, the potential threat he posed to her, she still saved him. he's eternally grateful for her help. azure doesn't want to leave her behind.

the night he decides to leave, he asks her to leave with him, to go with him to his home in camel ridge.

she declines.

she's fine here, she says. it's a very kind offer, but she doesn't mind her work or her employers, and– and what would a handsome demon lord like him want with a human like her, anyway? he should go and be with his brothers, she says (reader internally panics, she'd hoped this wouldn't happen, she'd hoped those stories about demons kidnapping women were fake, she really really hoped she wasn't about to be stolen and potentially eaten—).

azure pauses, standing silent before her. what he wants with her? he can't give a proper answer to that (at least not in polite company), but he wants to show his gratitude. he wants to at least reward reader for her kindness. please, just go with him, he'll give her a good life, he promises.

but reader declines again, stepping back from him. her eyes betray her growing fear.

azure is silent. the gentle, pleading expression has dissapeared from his face, replaced by a cold dissatisfaction.

he didn't want to do it this way.

but he is a demon. and demons are inherently selfish creatures, no matter what noble lies they choose to live by.

azure steps forward. reader steps back.

please don't, she begs, voice wavering. he doesn't respond.

reader doesn't have time to even scream before azure seizes her by the waist, putting her over one broad shoulder. she beats her fists on his back, kicks wildly against the paw holding down her thighs, begs him please, please don't do this. azure solemnly opens a portal gate with his regained powers, stepping through it, carrying reader back to his home.

–––

some time passes.

once reader has better settled into her role as azure lion's..."companion" ("captive" is more fitting, she thinks. or perhaps "pet"), the demon decides to bring her along to a council meeting at the home of the demon army's leader, the monkey king. azure is unsure what his simian comrade will think of reader, but if his closest brothers could come to accept her place at his side, then perhaps wukong could be convinced as well.

the first meeting goes smoothly. perhaps too smoothly, azure thinks with slight bitterness.

he saw the way wukong looked at his human companion throughout the council. he didn't say much beyond asking her name and purpose, but his interest was clear. azure wrote it off as a simple fascination with a mortal companion; it is fairly uncommon for high-ranking demons to keep humans for much beyond servants or food.

azure continued to bring reader along to their council meetings (unable to leave her at home unsupervised), and the monkey king began to speak with her more and more (occasionally running off with her when he wanted to show her some orchard or village on the mountain, to meet his people... the two would be gone for a while). azure didn't think much of it at first beyond a light sense of caution. however, every time reader laughed at wukongs antics, or followed him away from the group...there was a sting in the lion's chest he would hesitate to identify.

he wasn't sure if the king's friendliness was a ploy to harm reader in some way. wukong was known to dislike humans, having dealt with hunters attempting to capture and kill his ilk more than once. so to see him take an avid interest in reader, to seek out her company after the meetings were over and the brotherhood took time for leisure ... azure wasn't sure what to make of it. the infamous monkey king, known for his cruelty, determination, and bloodlust— befriending a human woman.

it sounded ridiculous, even as azure watched it happen before him.

however, when wukong himself approached the lion demon to none-too-subtley ask that he give reader up, the absolute madness of it all struck him.

wukong, in his winding roundabout way, suggests that azure allow reader to stay on flower fruit mountain. see, she and wukong have been talking; she obviously loves it here, she's here all the time during meetings anyways, and she's clearly gotten attached to the monkey citizens... sooooo why not just let her stay? not like there's much for her on camel ridge, he says flippantly.

oh, and not to mention the fact that reader doesn't seem to be all that attached to azure anyway. oh she's his friend, maybe, but that's it. just following him around, speaking when spoken to. she's clearly dissatisfied with her placement. at least wukong plans on wooing her properly; he'll make her his queen, not just a glorified pet.

azure has to restrain the thunderous growl that wants to escape his grit fangs at this absolutely ludicrous suggestion. the jealousy that's been bubbling in his chest begins to seep through to his words. wukong can't just, just—demand reader from him! he hates that he has to word it this way, but he took reader fair and square. finders keepers, by demonic rule. the answer is a resounding no, and a "polite" request that the monkey never bring it up again.

a moment of silence, the two demons staring each other down—before wukong seemingly shrugs it off. oh well, he sighs. so be it.

wukong walks away, calm as can be, not even an aggravated twitch of his tail to indicate his true feelings.

but azure's hackles are raised. he knows wukong well enough to know that he hasn't actually dropped this.

the monkey king is simply biding his time.

---

after azure's vehement refusal, wukong rolls his shoulders and sighs. he tried asking nicely, but if azure won't play fair, then neither will the monkey king.

besides, he's more of a "ask for forgiveness, not permission" kinda guy anyways (and he doesn't expect forgiveness). later on that evening, he signals to macaque (who has also grown quite fond of reader, though more secretively) that it's time to roll out plan b.

because y'know, wukong's been thinkin.' maybe his and azure's interests haven't exactly been lining up lately, and not just in the reader department. the monkey king has noticed that azure and his allies have been changing their minds about this whole conquesting on earth business. they want to pool their forces and take on heaven.

now, wukong knows a thing or two about that, and he knows that even with all the might of the demon armies at their disposal, azure and the gang stand about three quarters of a chance. it doesn't help that the original brotherhood members (namely peng and yellowtusk) have been getting kinda uppity lately.

so, why not hit two birds with one stone? or in this case...one bird, one elephant, and one lion.

wukong has macaque take a lil' trip down to the underworld to steal the scroll of memory, an artifact that allows one to trap anyone in a hell of their own making. the darker-furred demon makes quick work of the assignment.

the monkey king and the six-eared macaque then pay the lords of camel ridge a little visit to announce their...severance from the demon alliance.

---

reader wakes up in an unfamiliar bed.

or rather, an unfamiliar...pile of pillows and blankets? in a pit? in the floor? it's surprisingly comfortable all things considered.

however, a drowsy look around the room tells her this is most definitely not the den of her feline captor, and she certainly isn't in her chambers at the palace in camel ridge; the presence of greenery inside the room clued her in there. her nerves began to rise. where is she?

her question is partially answered by wukong pushing his way inside the room, macaque in tow (both are dressed far more casually than normal, wearing simple pants and robes that she's never seen them in). reader startles, scooting back as they move closer. the boys step into the pit and sit across from her. the two simian demons wish reader good morning and ask how she slept.

reader is too stunned to answer.

macaque laughs at the expression on her face, a fond look overcoming his own as he takes in her sleep-disheveled appearance. you're in the royal chambers in the stone palace, to answer your question, he says. he's sure she wants answers about how she came to be here, and he's about to speak when wukong excitedly talks over him.

something has happened to azure and his brothers, he says. it must have, because the king and the general found reader knocked out in a peach grove not far from the entrance to water curtain cave. they brought her inside, of course, but were unable to wake her. perhaps a sleep spell, macaque suggests.

when the monkeys went to investigate camel ridge, they could find no sign of the brotherhood. the warlords admit they have no idea what could have become of their allies, but insist that reader must stay with them until this mystery is solved. she doesn't mind, right? she'll be well taken care of here, and she's more than welcome to stay in the royal chambers (she'll want the two monkey demons to keep her warm, after all the stone palace can get so cold at night—). the monkey citizens will be excited to see her, they'll be glad to hear she's staying. it'll be great! wukong happily assures.

reader admittedly isn't... unhappy about this arrangement. she doesn't want to be rude, but flower fruit mountain is much more hospitable than the lifeless sandstone of camel ridge. quite frankly she's come to prefer the company of wukong and macaque over her once captor, and the friendly mountain residents over two impassive demon lords.

if reader had to choose into whose hands her chain and collar would be placed—she could think of many worse than these two.

[jedineedlove]

LMK VS Legend

Peng:

The Golden Winged Peng

Korean- King of Bungma (Bungma= Dapeng)

LMK:

Powerful but a coward, we all know their story along with Azure and Tusk. All of them were former Celestials. The three ruled over Camel Ridge and became sworn brothers to Monkey King, Macaque, and Demon Bull King forming the brotherhood. After the "betrayal" of Monkey King they separated the brotherhood the trio stayed together and reunited with Wukong but only to battle and lose. Trapped in the scroll for hundreds of years. Were realized causing havoc to the cosmos. The rest is history For Now.

JTTW:

A demon born from the Primordial Phoenix, Given a high position in heaven which gave him his ego. He gave himself a humanoid form ate all the residence of the Lion Camel Kingdom ruled it for 500 years and then befriended the Azure Lion and Yellow-Toothed Elephant Demons.

Note: LMK and JTTW had Peng and Azure Switched In JTTW Peng was the leader and Azure the follower. Which of course is switched in the show.

His weapons are a ji and a Flask of Yin and Yang Essence which can suck in unsuspecting victims.

Flask of Yin and Yang Essence: After a while, the victim trapped inside the flask will be reduced to a bloody mash. (The flask was broken during the fight between him and Wukong)

In the book, it was the Buddha who subdued the Peng and returned him to Vulture Peak. He confessed to enjoying his demonic life and eating humans., but was left no choice but to abandon his evil ways and he was redeemed. He then became a protector of Buddhist law. He was later sent to destroy fake scripture without text by the Buddha. He is depicted perched above the Buddha's thrown as a guardian deity.

The Ming dynasty suggests Peng was a guardian of faith who watched over the world from an exalted position at the top of the Buddhas' throne.

Legend:

Dapeng Jinchi Mingwang/ Golden-Winged Great Peng His origins are derived from the Indian bird god Garuda.

Penig is one of the eight demi gods of Buddhism, he guards Mount Sumeru and Trāyastriṃśa. Pengi is depicted in the JTTW and General Yue Fei, mentioned in Chinese Buddhist literature.

The famous patriot General Yue Fei was believed to be the incarnation of Dapeng Jinchi Mingwang.

A demonic Peng born from The Primordial Phoenix the leader of flying beings. He also has a sister The Peacock Mahamayuri who once tried and failed to consume the Buddha. When he tried to kill her he was stopped and convinced to promote her to his godmother. Which makes the Golden Winged Peng the spiritual uncle of the Buddha. There is a tale of when Nü Tofu the bat spirit listened to the Buddha sermon on the Lotus Sutra at Leiyin temple. The bat spirit accidentally "broke wind" which stained the pure land. Peng snatched the spirit and killed her. For this Buddha exiled Peng to earth. He reincarnated as Yue Fei and the bat spirit reincarnated as Lady Wang. She married Qin Hui and Lady Wang killed Yue Fei in revenge.

For Backstory On These Two: Qui Hui and Lady Wang were the most hated couple in China for a thousand years. Qui Hui was a politician who gained his status by getting rid of political opponents, framing war heroes and was a sycophant to a foreign emperor. He and his wife both conspired to kill the Great War Hero of the Dynasty Yue Fei. He even becomes a puppet ruler. Qui Hui did not like Yue Fei because he was a great guy loved by all and became very popular even being more popular than the emperor. So Qui Hui had him returned and imprisoned. They torture Yue, but Yue Fei refuses to confess to something he did not do. They had him sentenced to death but in another story, Qui Hui's Wife Lady Wang poisoned Yue Fei. However, Yue Feis' story does not end at his death after a few decades Emperor Zhao Chen absolved Yue Fei and dedicated temples to him. Qui Hui and Lady Wang's betrayal and part in the war heroes' death were made public. In front of Yue Fei's temple, two iron statues of the couple were built for public shaming. People spit, abuse, and flop the statues and they get replaced when damaged they have been replaced 11 times since 1475.

Other Ledgends:

According to the martial arts master Laing Shouyu's book he was a great bird that was the guardian that could get rid of all evil in any area. Not even the MONKEY KING was a match. He was sent to China to defend China from invaders and was reborn as Yue Fei.

Yue Fei

The Shurangama Mantra: A mantra of Buddhist practice in China, Japan, and Korea, pertains to the Great golden-winged Peng bird, the Garuda it includes all species of birds. The Peng is the king among birds. He feasts on dragons, his being span measures an astounding 4,950 km, and when he flaps his wings the sea waters part to the deepest seabed.

Thoughts:

Peng's history and legends paint him as a far more powerful being than we have seen so far in the show if the writers do take anything from legends MK and the gang are in some serious trouble besides the ten kings. Also, it really is crazy that maybe even in the LMK universe Peng might have some serious power he was the last standing of the Sworn brothers in the final fight but that was mainly due to him running away. Peng does get redemption in the book with the LMK writers it's a 50/50 on the show. Also, love it when a character has a historical reincarnation to do some digging into.

[starsfic]

Macaque was impersonating Red Boy all those years ago, resulting in him getting forced into becoming Guayin's disciple.

The palace of Lion Camel Ridge was usually quiet at night. At this time, the trio of kings would be off in their rooms, doing their own things until sleep or morning came. It was a routine that had been set for over five hundred years.

Tonight, however, was different.

Another array arranged itself around the screaming babe, dulling down the flames but not the heat. Azure Lion was the only one brave enough to stand close to Demon Bull Prince Red Son, studying the half-blood. He tsked. "He barely resembles him. Are you sure the rumors of Jade aren't true?"

"I did the tests, just to be sure," Yellowtusk said, huddling away from the baby with scrolls. Ever since the child had arrived to the mountain, his screams and cries hadn't died down, and neither had the Samadhi fir. "He is the son of Bull and Princess Iron Fan."

A growl leaked from Azure. It was still a twist of the knife, Bull's abandonment of their crusade, in the news of Sun Wukong's return to the world. The plan to kidnap Bull's child was a hasty one, but one that would work out.

He was sure of it.

Wings flapping alerted the two kings to the arrival of the third.

"Macaque has been captured," Peng reported, their wings shrinking down. "They got to the ceremony site and realized their mistake there. He is now in the custody of Bodhisattva Guanyin, supposedly to atone."

"There is little we can do for him right now," Azure huffed. A thought sparked to life. "Has he told where the child is?"

"No," Peng rolled their eyes and stepped closer to Red Boy, who's wails had died down. Now he just looked grumpy. "One good thing about that simian, he can keep his mouth shut. Although that might just be because Wukong was there."

A flick of his tail was Azure's only reaction to the name long cast in evil at Camel Ridge. "We have our weapon then," he said, gesturing to Yellowtusk. The ball of arrays lowered with Red Boy, sinking into Azure's hands, allowing him and the grumpy toddler to eye each other. "Since Bull has become soft, we will raise this child into his full potential and then claim victory for ourselves."

At the news, Red Boy sneezed out a mixture of blood and flame.

[our-happygirl500-fan]

LMK/LEGO MONKIE KID SEASON 4 SPOILERS

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Something I was thinking about was what if the Camel Ridge Trio, were each supposed to act as counterparts to DBK, Macaque & SWK

When we see SWK’s brotherhood in season 4 we see six characters at a table set for eight this could be a reference to how in JTTW had a brotherhood with six other great kings/ great sages going from memory they were:

The Demon Bull King

The Dragon Flood Demon King

The Peng Demon King

The Lion Camel King

The Snub Nose Monkey King

The Macaque King

Out of the characters that we see as part of SWK’s brotherhood in LMK the Demon Bull King is the only one who was actually part of SWK’s brotherhood in JTTW.

It appears that LMK might be combining various characters that SWK faced during the journey with members of his brotherhood, most likely to create more tragic relationships; combining Macaque with The Macaque King, the Azure Lion with The Lion Camel King and Peng with The Peng Demon King.

Along side LMK combining those three characters, it also appears that LMK has changed SWK from having a brotherhood with six others to seven others in order to include the Yellow Tusked Elephant who was one of the three rulers of Lion Camel Ridge along with the Azure Lion & Peng

It might be possible that the two empty seats we see are supposed to represent the Snub Nose Monkey King & the Dragon Flood Demon King who are the remaining members of SWK’s brotherhood that have not yet appeared or been combined with another character.

Going back to the theory that each member of the Camel Ridge Trio, were each supposed to act as counterparts to DBK, Macaque & SWK the first clue that that might be the case are how all the characters at the table are seated; Azure Lion & SWK are both seated at the heads of the table, DBK & Yellow Tusk are seated across from each other and Macaque & Peng are also sitting across from each other.

If the positions at the table are clues on how each member of the Camel Ridge Trio, were each supposed to act as counterparts to DBK, Macaque & SWK, then Azure Lion is supposed to be SWK’s counterpart, Yellow Tusk is supposed to be DBK’s & Peng is supposed to be Macaque’s.

MK: Is this what dying is like?

SWK: Relax a little telepathic communication never hurt anybody, I think

Mei: Is this what dying is like

Azure Lion: Eh a little astral projection never hurt anyone

SWK: You

Azure Lion: Me

At the start of season 4 Azure Lion presented himself as a helpful mentor figure to MK & Mei in SWK’s absence before his true intentions where revealed even saying lines similar to SWK. It might not be much of a stretch to view SWK & Azure Lion as possible counterparts in the story that LMK is trying to tell as they both seem to be opposed to one another. 

DBK: A true leader should be big! Strong!

Yellow Tusk: The Demon Bull King was our last hope of reforging the brotherhood

In regards to DBK & Yellow Tusk being counterparts to one another though we do not see DBK & Yellow Tusk interact much it’s clear that they had held respect for one another, on a more meta scale DBK & Yellow Tusk could be regarded as counterparts as in contrast to LMK adding Yellow Tusk onto SWK’s brotherhood, DBK is the only member of SWK’s brotherhood in LMK who was actually part of SWK’s brotherhood in JTTW

Peng: You always were the most cowardly of the bunch Macaque

Peng: Your characteristically quiet Macaque 

Peng: As for Macaque, well, that coward has tucked himself away somewhere even I can’t sniff him out 

In regards to Peng & Macaque being counterparts it’s clear that Peng is the one in the brotherhood who interacted with Macaque the most outside of SWK as Peng is the one in the brotherhood who talks to Macaque directly & includes him in conversation. Peng’s focus on Macaque might be that LMK is trying to form some form of connection between Peng & Macaque that is similar to the connection between Azure Lion & SWK as similar to how Azure Lion would say similar lines to SWK, Peng appears to taunt Mei in a similar way to Macaque in season 3

Macaque: Little girl you can shoot me all you want it won’t do you any good

Peng: Greetings little girl

This is all mostly just speculation but I thought it would be interesting if each member of the brotherhood was meant to act as counterparts to one another.

[journeytothe-legos]

✦ Welcome Welcome! ✦

to begin, my name is verity and i am the one keeping this blog afloat. ae/aer or they/them pronouns are what i go by. the characters open to ask and any rules will be added below! i hope you enjoy!

⊂Character List⊃

Monkie Kids

MK

Mei

Sandy

Tang

Pigsy

Demon Bull Family

Demon Bull King

Princess Iron Fan

Red Son

Immortals

Sun Wukong

Six-Eared Macaque

Nezha

Chang'e

Li Jing

Lady Yin (note: she is based off my design for her)

Nuwa

Nine-Headed Demon

Brotherhood / Camel Ridge

Azure Lion

Peng

Yellowtusk

Miscellaneous

Jin & Yin

Lady Bone Demon

(Not) Mayor

Ao Lie

Little Girl / Host (Bai He)

Princess Jade Face (note: based off my design for her)

⊂Rules / Asks I Won't Answer⊃

if an ask implies discrimination of any kind from the asker i won't answer it, characters on the other hand may have questionable wording on topics.

no asks involving real life drama that could lead to controversy, only situations that exist within the show will be answered.

for the most part no shipping will be explicitly stated, but there is a chance there may be hints of things i ship. but nothing outright shown or stated.

if any of you guys start fighting in the inbox your asks will be removed. however, referencing another person's ask is fine as long as the question/comment is directed towards a character still.

no nsfw or 18+ content.

debated on ocs, but i will allow them. however, the characters will answer as if they don't know them / your oc being a minor or background character.

simping and flirting with characters is allowed, just make sure it follows the other rules.

nezha will be portrayed as an adult on this blog, if that bothers you i recommend you find another ask blog. i will not be budging on this.

i will be allowing magic asks (if not for a specified amount of asks [max. 8] than i will automatically set it to last for three asks with the characters afflicted]

⊂Anon List⊃

🐺 anon

🌠 anon

🎀🐐 anon

🌺 anon

🌙 anon

🩹anon

🥀 anon

🕷️🕸️ anon

🔎 anon

☕️anon

🖌 anon

💘 anon

gyatt anon

⭐longest rat anon

💎 anon

🐝 honey anon

sleepy cupidromantic <3

🪷 anon

[sketching-shark]

I saw your post about how you say that western interpretations of swk are just taking his goofy side and not much his violent side, but didn't you say before that western interpretations were just taking his violent side without understanding his character fully? and that he was more than just an evil/violent monkey? you said it with lmk for example, when they show in the past that wukong just wanted the powers for ambition and became ''evil'' and you said it wasn't right they interpret him like just a violent monkey

Im confused here

Complaining below, so if you (understandably lol) don't want to read all of that feel free to ignore.

My apologies for the confusion anon! And I will admit that I don't remember exactly what I wrote in this regard, though I do remember spending more time than I should have whining about both the goofiness and solely destructive aspects of SWK's character being given prominence in a lot of western interpretations lol. Maybe it was a combination of the two & me complaining of the prevalence of the "destructive meathead" interpretation of SWK? That IS a pretty common personality given to this monkey in western interpretations (see Netflix's The New Legends of Monkey & The Monkey King for example), and is a combination of goofiness & violence that shunts the "intelligent" part of "intelligent stone monkey" into the background.

THAT SAID, I am aware that I'm EXTREMELY picky in terms of Sun Wukong representations, and that it would be completely false to pretend there aren't a ton of Chinese presentations of the Monkey King that don't lean heavily towards a goofy and/or destructive characterization. Hell, I have heard and seen some pretty nasty examples of the Monkey King interpreted through the grimdark genre that ended with me hoping I manage to forget about them posthaste. And when it comes to children's media it makes sense that there would be a focus on the silly side of SWK's character. As I've said many a time before, it's not like you'd want to expose kids to a monkey running around smashing people's heads into meat patties.

I guess a lot of my personal frustrations come from the way there's a bit of a monoculturalization in the ways that western interpretations tend to lean heavily on the silly and violent sides of SWK's character while doing away with a lot of his intelligence, attempts to resolve matters through less violent means, and cutting out a lot of the actually pretty understandable reasons and contexts for why SWK does what he does in the classic. To give an example, one of the things that I find really interesting about SWK in JTTW is how he is undoubtedly a very violent monkey, BUT he's a very violent monkey in a world where many of the major power players, from the yaoguai kings to the Jade Emperor himself, are just as (if not more) violent as him. So you do for example have yaoguai like the Brotherhood of Lion Camel Ridge and the Demon Bull King being vicious man-eaters, with the Brotherhood in particular being described as living in a charnel house of human gore; the Tang Emperor, who Tang Sanzang is sworn brothers with, is literally described as a man who killed countless people to get his power, and we do actually see a lot of their ghosts his tour of Diyu; and the Jade Emperor, besides meeting out such vicious punishments as having Bai Longma hung in the sky and whipped 300 times before he was to be executed for accidentally burning some pearls, basically ordered the genocide of the Mt. Huaguoshan monkeys because Sun Wukong wouldn't surrender after stealing a bunch of immortality-granting treats that were grown/made, i.e. stuff that could all be replaced. So while SWK is definitely a vicious and frequently remorseless and ruthless monkey, this is taking place in a world where so is every other leader to a greater or lesser extent; Sun Wukong's just the most brutally honest about it. And the Monkey King seems fully aware of this and respond accordingly; his very first kill, in fact, was that of the Demon King of Confusion, who had kidnapped a lot of the children of the Mt. Huaguoshan troop. As is, you don't see SWK starting a lot of fights (he even often gives his opponents the chance to strike the first blow), but he sure is willing to escalate to get his way! Not to mention how it's ever-more painfully obvious that Tang Sanzang, who is always preaching nonviolence and compassion, would have been killed and eaten from the very start of his journey if he didn't have an ultraviolent monkey and multiple deities guarding his every step. And that dynamic does as such raise such disturbing and disturbingly relevant questions as: what chance does empathy and nonviolence have of surviving under these circumstances? What would it truly take to create a world were nonviolence and compassion are the rule of law? Can any ruler truly justify their violence based on higher purposes, or are we always dealing with a situation where might makes right? How do we persuade others, even those who can and have wield horrific violence, of the necessity of nonviolence? And does violence ultimately have a place in a world where acts of destruction take generations to heal, if they do heal at all?

IN CONCLUSION, I personally think that there's a lot of really interesting and important questions that the Monkey King and his story in Xiyouji raise, and while I am more understanding now as to why a lot of retellings don't even try to tackle half of them, I do find if frustrating that there seems like a real reluctance to even make the attempt. So you do end up with a lot of simplified versions of SWK, with a good chunk of them falling into the silly monkey, violent monkey, or silly violent monkey sides.

Like as far as lmk goes I'm kind of sad and pretty frustrated that even though they keep hinting at deeper or more understandable reasons for why their SWK is such a mess, Flying Bark now has a history of showing everyone and their mother yelling at SWK for being stupid and destructive and then going out of their way to show this monkey being stupid and destructive, and then basically waiting until the last possible second before suddenly pulling an increasingly unconvincing "maybe he doesn't suck THAT much" conclusion. Like...it's now been revealed that this dude, besides never even having a monkey yaoguai family he loved and was protecting, literally though it was a good idea to instigate a war against heaven with a grand total of 4 other guys even though that was clearly doomed to failure (vs. book SWK who was stuck waging a clearly defensive war against heaven with the entirely of his hundreds of allies and their troops), & even though it was definitely inadvertently he played a massive hand in almost exploding the entire universe with the Samadhi fire debacle. And that's to say nothing of how it increasingly seems like lego SWK is the worst Monkey King shifu out there. Could be that a lot of this is because the stakes are so much higher in Monkie Kid than they are in other stories where SWK has a tudi--as with Liu Chenxiang (who wanted the ability to fight his uncle Erlang Shen so he could free his mother Sansheng Mu) or Li Yunxiang (who was being targeted by powerful yaoguai and dragons for being Li Nezha's reincarnation & needed someone to protect him & help him control his abilities until he was ready to stand on his own), and certainly the unnamed Indian prince in the og classic (who was impressed with SWK & wanted to learn martial arts skills under him & who's life was never in danger)--but its genuinely disheartening how much Qi Xiaotian has now suffered specifically because of his shifu-tudi relationship to Sun Wukong. That's a reality that isn't even partially true in these other cases. It's the kind of thing that drives you to ask if the ever-more traumatized monkie boy would ultimately have had a happier life if the Monkey King never became part of it :(

Anyway, I hope that clears things up anon! If anything, just keep in mind that the Monkey King's character in the og classic is rich and varied enough to act as the baseline for a vast variety of interpretations and retellings, and that a lot of my complaining is about feeling that a particular retelling is going too far in its flanderization. People have come up with all sorts of characterizations for this monkey for literally centuries--and they range from a irresponsible and foolish demon to a honest and diligent holy being--but it does pay to remember what an important literary and religious figure he is, and what sorts of interesting and relevant possibilities he offers.

[ryin-silverfish]

Chapter 39: The Mystery of the Blue Feline

"Is it the same lion, or a different lion?"

Hmmm…a mystery for the ages.

Context: Manjusri/Wenshu's Azure Lion appears twice in JTTW, first here, then in the more well-known Lion Camel Ridge arc, both of which ended with Wenshu showing up and dragging his steed back to Mt. Wutai.

On the former occasion he was actually a good king, despite pushing the actual king into a well and taking his place, as stated by Wenshu himself—a stark contrast to his later apperance, where he had gone full demon-king and started eating people, and the Azure Lion of LCR shows no sign of having recognized SWK from before.

This naturally rise some questions. Are these two the same lion? If not, is Wenshu basically the Big Cat Dad of Bodhisattvas, who adopted a whole pride of lion cubs as his steeds /j

Well…the best theory I can come up with is that JTTW novel is a compilation of Journey tales over the years, and two stories happened to involve Manjusri's lion and the final author-compiler just put both in, without much thoughts about making them logically consistent.

Like, JTTW in folk storytelling and opera format had a lot of "episodes" that could be told in different places and time, out of sequence, with only the barest knowledge of context needed.

And unlike novel written by one author from the beginning and exists first and foremost in book format, if you are a Ming Precious Scroll preacher or opera play writer, you can tell Lion Story A in one place and Lion Story B in another place and the two group of audiences would never overlap.

Or, you could tell both to a single group of audiences, but bc so much time have passed between the two performances, they had already forgotten about the previous one.

The "Wuji Kingdom Lion" story certainly appears first in the evolution of the JTTW story cycle, though: in the folk opera collection 礼节传簿, there was an excerpt of a play's act names called "Tripitaka Seeks the Scripture in the West" (唐僧西天取经), which already included the "Wenshu Subdues the Lion at Wuji Kingdom" story.

Also, there was an entire Zaju play about Wenshu subduing the lion by the Ming prince Zhu Youdun that I could not find any digital version of, only summaries, and Nezha and his embroidered ball was somehow involved.

Sidenote, we also see how SWK's golden vision has limits here. When the lion transforms into Tripitaka, SWK had trouble telling them apart, and stated outright that it was because "his Qi and body are the same" (气体相同). This supports the theory that SWK's golden vision doesn't actually see through demonic glamor and perceive their true forms, but merely the aura they are radiating.

On a more annoying note: popular modern reading of JTTW tends to see Wenshu as this petty asshole in the Wuji Kingdom chapter. "Sure, the king might have dunked a disguised Bodhisattva into the palace canal for three days, but you insulted him first, and besides, that's no reason to make your pet murder him and leave his body at the bottom of a well for three years!"

Which…is a lot of presentism, and people just not getting the saying that "Each peck, each drink, is predetermined" (一饮一啄，莫非前定). It is very much going by the popular understanding of karmic retribution, where every consequences have a cause.

But I do have a HC about this. In the text, the King of Wuji was known as a generous and pious ruler, who greatly venerated Buddhism and priests, and it was because of this that the Buddha sent Wenshu to evaluate him for potential Arhat-hood.

Wenshu, in the disguise of a poor priest, met the king, got dunked into a canal for cheek, yadda yadda yadda. Fast-forward, a great drought had descended upon Wuji kingdom, and no amount of prayers seemed to help, until Azure Lion showed up in the disguise of a Daoist sage, summoned a much-needed storm, and became the king's sworn brother.

But what if Wenshu had come to the kingdom with another goal in mind?

As the wisest Bodhisattva, he knew a drought was imminent, and if the king was virtuous and faithful enough to be a potential candidate for Arhat-hood, he would certainly use this knowledge well. Yet, upon a closer observation, cracks began to show.

Sure, the king loved Buddhism, but his way of showing it was building all these lavish temples and golden statues and spoiling the clergy, with no regards for the burden placed on commoners and the corruption he fostered. As such, his kingdom would be woefully unprepared for a natural disaster.

Which was exactly what Wenshu told him; just like how Vows are but empty promises without Practice, Practice without Wisdom and Mercy, without the awareness of causes and consequences and what people truly need, is a receipt for disaster. If you spent half the money you used to construct these temples on irrigation projects and new granaries, you'd have done more good than all the prayers of your monks combined.

Annnd the king didn't take it well, bc how dare this lowly monk bit the hand that fed him, and, egged on by some equally pissed-off monks, ordered the fateful three-day-long dunking. If the monk was a regular monk he wouldn't have survived that, and in true karmatic fashion, the attempted murder was going to come back to him.

That tangent aside: when Wenshu defended his steed by saying it had not committed any crimes as a king after the murder-replace thing, SWK was like "But he sleeps with the queen while disguised, right, how's that for 'No crimes committed'?" And Wenshu responded with "Oh no worries, my pet is neutered", and Bajie actually checked by trying to grab its nonexistent balls…

Funny. As. Hell.

@journeythroughjourneytothewest

[wildwitche]

! lego monkie kid 4s spoiler !

When I read this tweet I had a crazyyyyyy idea in my head about who this man we saw in episode 1 could actually be (at least a theory about him!!!!)

Let's start with the novel. The novel mentions a certain Manjusri who appeared twice or somehow interacted with the Azure Lion!

Unfortunately, I cannot give much information about who it is, but I can assure you that such a character was indeed in the novel. If we talk briefly about the plot, then: "Years ago, the King of the Wuji Kingdom (烏雞國) was going to be promoted to be a deity by Manjusri, who posed as a regular monk. The King, however, unsure of his being good, tied Manjusri up and drowned him into the water for three days, until when he was rescued by the Buddha. The Buddha ordered the Lion to ascend into the mortal realm to let the King pay back for it". After some events: "As Wukong is about to kill the Azute Lion, Manjusri showed up, told him to stop and explained the reason of his works to Wukong. Manjusri then took the Lion back to Heaven".

"The second time Sanzang's group met the Lion, he was a demon king at the Lion Camel Ridge". Again after some events, Wukong was forced to meet the Deities. The Azure Lion is eventually subdued and taken back once again by Manjusri!

Who is this man to the Azure Lion? Is he his patron? Mentor? There really is some connection between them, BUT WHATTTT???

And this tweet got me thinking, what if this Manjusri is the one who just uses the Lion as one of his pawns? Someone had to lead the Azure Lion to the emperor, to heaven. He couldn't just appear there and become one of the Jade Emperor's soldiers.

What if Azure could not do what this "unknown" expected and he simply left him, but after the events that happened between the Azure Lion, his brothers and Wukong, this man decided to somehow influence the Azure Lion again???

What if the Azure Lion is actually only a secondary antagonist, and in fact something worse and more dangerous will come after him?

But of course, let's not forget that LMK does not completely take the original plot from the novel, and this man can be a completely different, newly created character who was not in the novel or better and a more powerful version of some character from the novel (as was the case with LBD)

Unfortunately, I know almost nothing about this character. Did he appear in the book more? What role did he play in the novel? And in general, give me more information about him

[journeytothewestresearch]

What about the trio of the Camel Ridge? I know in LMK, they're basically demons, independent demons so are they like still that in the novel?

The demons of Lion-Camel Cave appear in chapters 74-77 of JTTW. Two of them, the "Yellow-Tusked Elephant" (Huangya laoxiang, 黃牙老象; a.k.a. "White Elephant," Baixiang, 白象) and the "Azure Lion" (Qingmao shi, 青毛獅; a.k.a. Qingshi, 青獅), are holy beasts (pusa zhi shou, 菩薩之獸) that escaped from paradise to become demons. The elephant belongs to the Bodhisattva Viśvabhadra (Puxian, 普賢) and the lion belongs to the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī (Wenshu, 文殊). On the other hand, the "Peng or Roc of Ten Thousand Cloudy Miles" (Yuncheng wanli peng, 雲程萬里鵬; a.k.a. "Great Peng or Roc," Dapeng, 大鵬) is a spiritual uncle of the Buddha and a supremely ancient and powerful demon king.

Here is a woodblock print of the three demon king brothers fighting the pilgrims from the original 1592 printing of JTTW.

And here is a splash page print of the three demons being conquered by the Buddha (top) and the two bodhisattvas. It comes from an 1835 Japanese translation of JTTW.

[the-monkey-ruler]

i was curious, does the novel ever mention how tall the kings of lion camel ridge are? Cause I saw some art where they were absolutely way too tall and it was kinda terrifying.

It never really says their height but I have seen a lot of people compare them to Bajie's height so around 11 ft perhaps with at most Wujing's height of 13 feet. Hard to say but this is mostly in how each of the Camel Ridge Demon went against each of the pilgrims one-on-one and conjures the idea to me that they are of similar height. With the expectation of Wukong being unusually short for a demon as this is said many times he is small.

This is an image that is commonly used to refer to them so in a modern sense they are accepted as tall.

It should be noted that most demon king are considered to be taller than 'normal' demons as it is a sign of their power and cultivation. An intimidation tactic at most but one that isn't unfounded.