#four monkeys return of sun wukong

[the-monkey-ruler]

The Havoc in Heaven Monkey King Returns (2021) 大闹天宫之猴王归来

Date: 2022 Platform: iPhone / iPad / Andriod Developer: Hangzhou Miaorui Network Technology Co., Ltd. Publisher: Hangzhou Miaorui Network Technology Co., Ltd. Genre: Strategy Type: Retelling

Summary:

Anniversary celebration begins grandly! The prosperity of Huaguo Mountain is unprecedented, with new fashions, magic weapons, comrades, pets...all new! Welfare activities are unprecedentedly intensive, and celebration gifts are given out every day! "Havoc in Heaven: Return of the Monkey King" is a Journey to the West theme placement RPG mobile game jointly developed by Miaoju Games and Migu Interactive Entertainment and officially authorized by Shanghai Animation Film Studio. You will play the role of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King who has returned from studying martial arts. You will wield the Ruyi Golden Cudgel and fight from the Water Curtain Cave of Huaguo Mountain to the Lingxiao Palace and the foot of Five Elements Mountain, turning the Three Realms upside down! The game cleverly combines roguelike and place-and-picture gameplay, with 24-hour random adventures, allowing players to always be in the mythical world of chaos in heaven.

Source: https://apps.apple.com/cn/app/%E5%A4%A7%E9%97%B9%E5%A4%A9%E5%AE%AB%E4%B9%8B%E7%8C%B4%E7%8E%8B%E5%BD%92%E6%9D%A5/id1618891283

Link: https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1zt4y1p7t8/

[itsabouttimex2]

Dude Tang sanzang really sound like a gentle but also....ya know-

and maybe we could get a fic of him?I kinda curious actually-

Taken Aboard

Yandere Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong

(I’ve noticed recently that I enjoy writing yandere introduction fics- them meeting you. The content is a bit softer, but I enjoy establishing these things!)

You don't really want the shiny little key, no matter how important it looks. You just know that it's important. Made from polished silver and ending in many prongs, with a large gemstone set into the bulb... it was clearly valuable.

But you don't want it. Not the silver, not the jewel. You want what comes with taking it- a chase. And if these people didn't want to play your games, why would they come into your forest?

They’re only at the very entrance of the forest, where the trees are thinnest, but it’s still a foolish expedition that they’re surmounting.

There's easier ways to get through the area, after all. The forest is thick with trees and sharp vines, running with many rivers and populated by thousands of different animals. Clearly, these strangers are in no rush and have supplies to spare if they're traveling directly through instead of around.

So what's the harm in one little game?

You’ve learned all the creatures in this forest by heart- their scents and sounds and shapes, each palm-sized critter and earth-shaking beast impossibly dear to your heart.

Your hands; diminutive and deft, shift from tight skin to soft feathers. And as nail curves to talon, the bones of your fingers slide around your palm until they’ve diminished from five to four. In a sudden. startling flash of golden light does the rest of your form fall away.

As the aureate rays that wrap your body burn away from your reducing frame, the new truth of your body becomes clear- you’ve taken the form of a diminutive songbird. Were it not for your green-flecked wings, you would be entirely indistinguishable as a demon by the eye alone.

There’s just enough wind filtering through the dense forest to aid your feathers, sending your small form skyward.

You gather speed by twisting around clustered branches and thick tree trunks, breaking through a canopy of foliage and soaring to the warm sky.

Wings close to your body, you zip overhead the group and unfurl them in what would be a grand display, had you a more imposing form.

Tucking your wings tight, you dive haphazardly, snatching the key from a very startled monk all dressed up in a fancy cossack with a jangly golden stick.

Prying the metal free from his fingers, you retreat to the denser woods, taking a moment to perch as he calls out indignantly for you to return.

But you don’t even have time to gloat to yourself before a multicolored hawk comes at you, red and blue and ginger feathering.

Barely you manage to dodge, watching the bird soar past. The wind left in it’s blazing wake is so fast that your feathers are nearly torn out by their quills.

It rounds sharply, lurching at you again, only missing when you drop from the branch and dip towards the ground. The hawk turns and dives, losing you as you loop a low-hanging branch. It curves the bend with you, only inches away. Through the leaves, it misses by a hairsbreadth, mistaking a browning leaf for your insignificant form. Over the river your shadows startle the koi, causing them to retreat to the muddy depths. All across and through the forest are you hounded, slowly falling closer to the talons of the glorious hawk.

And you finally slip, diving too slow to avoid the clutch of avian claws.

But cold keratin is not what cages you.

Furry fingers tightly enfold your fragile form, stuck fast between the palms of the Monkey King.

He drops from the sky with some measure of grace, tail swaying in glee born of victory.

Exhausted from the chase, you concede defeat in the form of birdsong, melodically peeping and chirping to the simian from the cage his hands form.

Sun Wukong pauses at your display of surrender. It’s not often that a demonic enemy accepts being beaten. He carefully opens his hands to view you- and, to his disbelief, you hop onto the pointer finger of his right hand, holding the little key in your beak.

“You’re a funny little demon, aren’t you? So cute, but so darn troublesome… here, give me that.”

You don’t protest or fight as he snatches the jeweled key, stuffing the metal into his pocket.

“Wukong! Wukong, don’t hurt them!” Says a worried voice from just a few paces away, clearly out of breath from running. “Wukong do not make me recite the… sutra?”

His voice trails away at the sight of you, cupped in the simian’s ginger-furred hands.

“…they aren’t running, Master. They just… gave me the key after I caught them.”

The monk approaches slowly, then takes you into his gentle hands, a note of pity in his contemplative eyes. One soft finger brushes against the green spots that speckle your quills.

“Demon, I kindly ask you- reveal to me your name and form.”

With a giggling peep, you do as asked and immediately return to your true form- in his palms.

Tang Sanzang gasps from the sudden shift in weight, pulled to the ground before he can right himself. You giggle again, sprawled half on his lap and half on the dirt. And Sun Wukong laughs too, enjoying a moment of indignity from his oft-stoic master.

There’s a flash of irritation that fades the second the monk gets a good look at you- gods, you’re only a child. And so thoroughly ragged too. Mud and leaves in your never-cut hair, your fingernails chipped and uneven. Shredded clothing and no shoes.

“Have you been out here long, little one? In the forest, all on your lonesome?” Pity in his voice, compassion in his eyes. “When was the last time you had a meal? A drink? Come, quench yourself with my canteen,” he commands, lifting the fur-wrapped metal to your lips.

“They’re not a baby,” Wukong argues, tapping one clawed finger against your nose. “And don’t act like they’re harmless, Master.”

You pull away from the canteen after a long sip, sticking your tongue out at him. “No one asked you, Hóutóu!”

“Are you getting cheeky with Sun Yéyé? Maybe I should chase you all around your own home again, brat!”

Tang Sanzang sighs, not cutting into the squabble. Petty arguing was better than outright violence, and neither of you seemed all too serious about the verbal spat.

All he can really do is change the subject.

“I can hardly leave a little one all alone out here- even in the forest, it must grow cold at night. Come, you may rest in my tent when the sun falls. Then we shall find your parents, and-“

“Nope!”

“…excuse me? ‘N-no’, little one? You mustn’t joke with me like that-“

“I’m not joking,” you cheerily and confidently respond. “This whole forest is my home! And I don’t have parents, anyways! I was born from a fallen peach tree!”

That didn’t sound… too implausible, honestly. Strange things gave birth to demons, after all. Rocks, in Wukong’s own case.

But, even if you were a demon born of nature and the wilds…

Wouldn’t it be horribly cruel to leave a child out here, all alone?

You were small enough to still fit in his lap, small enough that you only came to Wukong’s hip even when you stood on your toes.

A child. Gods, how could you have survived on your own for so long? Demon or not, you were a child. Gods above, he couldn’t leave you here.

It couldn’t be that you’d leave easily. You had just declared that this forest was your home. And with the powers and skills you had, simple force wouldn’t be enough.

He… had some praying to do. To Guanyin, and to another blessed length of golden metal.

You would not be staying here a night longer.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Holy crap! I can only imagine how the Stalwarts are dealing with all this.

You mentioned that they have been keeping an eye on Wukong all these years. Did they know about the mysterious Stone Egg their King took in before his disappearance, or did Wukong keep it secret?

Did they know about the fight that cost their King his memories, or did they find him after the fact once they were informed that he disappeared?

If so then why haven’t they come forward? Why haven’t they said anything? Why are they only here when Peaches already has a new life and family? Why are they only here when he’s having a full blown existential crisis? This is what’s going through Peaches’ head as he’s essentially being info dumped to by these strangers who claim to know him.

No doubt Peaches is feeling so overwhelmed by all of this. So, Dadsy puts his foot down and shoos everyone away because he can see that his eldest is seconds away from a breakdown.

I feel like, despite his grumpy exterior, Pigsy is the more emotionally sensitive parent. He’s not and did not start out perfect, but he has learned read his boys like the back of his hand. Peaches, particularly, he found quite easy to read and understand his quirks and habits. He doesn’t know how, or why they sometimes made his feel strangely nostalgic. Oh, well 🤷

+ bonus anon ask;

The Stalwarts were def panicking when they checked in on their King and found evidence of a scuffle. They knew he had been tending to an odd rock for a while, but they had assumed at first it was a case of him brooding like a hen over a regular stone.

An alarm is sounded off across the Realms when the King fails to return that morning.

Eventually it's Nezha who finds a patch of destroyed woodland just outside of Megapolis, along with scraps of the King's nightclothes and pieces of shell-like rock...

The Stalwarts had debated for a while over whether or not to walk in and claim "Peaches" as their missing brother, but after seeing him with a newborn Stone Monkey and a pair of his Pilgrim brothers reborn, they decided it was better for him to heal where he couldn't be harassed by Heaven or Diyu.

They also made sure to keep the *Amnesia-thing* to themselves. The Celestial Realm nor Wukong's enemies need to know about that. They had found the smell of a suspicious-smelling liquid on the King's clothing scraps.

The Stalwarts take care of the island with it's King away, driving out villains and humans alike to preserve the Monkey King's home.

The four also keep a close eye on their King and future Prince. A gym teacher here, a kind granny there, a grumpy regular here, a market stall owner etc... just to make sure they stay out of world-ending trouble.

Their little brother deserves a happy childhood after all he's been through.

They do reveal themselves however, after the chaos of New Years throws Peaches/Sun Wukong's condition into the limelight. He's not just some kid claiming to be Sun Wukong's successor - he IS Sun Wukong with his memories stolen!

They help his adoptive family with the cleanup around the city, and formally introduce themselves as Peaches' *first* found family. There's a minor panic that they've come to "take him away", but the older monkeys quickly calm that fear - they've been around for a while, and have no interest in ripping their brother from his present troop. They explain their side of the story, and how they felt it would be a kindness to let their little brother live happily and for his little miracle to have a normal childhood. Had they come forward, he would have been immediately recognised and targeted for his condition.

Peaches does get a little overwhelmed by all this lore though, and the Stalwarts take the cue to leave from a concerned Pigsy, promising to continue protecting him and his family from harm. Pigsy appreciates their ability to read the room (unlike Tang, who's been interviewing them for the past hour or so).

They do however joke that Pigsy is now their Dadsy too since he's adopted their baby brother! And MK is now the "baby-est" brother of their little family to spoil! Pigsy grumbles a little at that, but doesn't object. XD

[nekohime19]

Heart behind the lie # 12 : eyes of truth

MK comes to visits! Things turns south

Sun Wukong was rummaging through his cupboards, pushing snacks and fruits aside, tail lazily swishing behind his back. He sighed when he didn't find what he was hoping for, there were no peach chips in there. He wondered if he could push Macaque to buy some without outing himself, but he quickly disregarded the idea, he wouldn't risk this peaceful life for just some chips.

The sage took some peach pastries leftover and returned to the couch. Macaque didn't let him eat too many sugary treats, apparently he was a “pain in the ass” when he had too much sugar in his blood, which was unbelievably rude. Sun Wukong was a delight to be around regardless of the situation. He forgave the warrior pretty quickly, the bastard was lucky to give mind-numbing head pets, the sage could forgive anything with good head scratches. 

Said Macaque was sleeping soundly on the couch, it wasn't unusual for him to sleep, especially considering the late hour, but nowadays he slept even through the day. Sun Wukong had to shake him awake multiple times already. Seeing the warrior be so still, be so frail was frightening, the sage was almost afraid to close his own eyes, scared that Macaque wouldn't open his if he didn't keep guard. 

Tonight, Macaque looked particularly rough. He was pale, unnaturally so, and his breath was faint, almost disappearing. Sun Wukong sat beside him, trying to eat his stress away, but failing to do so. He leaned over the warrior and softly caressed his cheek, Macaque didn't even react to his touch. The glamor veiling the warrior's face was weak, if he pressed a little bit too much it would shatter in a million pieces, leaving the other vulnerable and raw. 

Sun Wukong wished he could take his pain away, but he didn't know what to do. Some disgusting part of him was also scared to be discovered if he dared to do something, scared to see his lies unravel. So he let the evil spread, festering inside of his warrior, while selfishly enjoying the care he was given. 

But tonight, he couldn't turn a blind eye to his moon's suffering. Even if it could shatter this peaceful illusion, even if Macaque could discover his lies, anything was better than to let his warrior suffer. The sage used his golden eyes, he growled when he saw the state of the other, his body was barely holding itself together, falling apart, piece by piece. 

Sun Wukong remembered how he, sometimes, felt his magic being given when he was cowering behind the wall of his mind. He felt stupid to not think of this sooner. The sage put his forehead on his moon's own, and eagerly gave his magic away, feeding the warrior. Macaque hissed, eyebrows furrowed together, but any discomfort quickly disappeared, and colors returned to his face. 

"Why didn't you ask me?" Mumbled the sage, Macaque had obviously received some of his magic before, for one reason and another he seemed to need it, so why did he stop asking for it now? Was he ashamed? Mayhaps, in his feral state, Wukong gave his magic away without being asked. But still, why did he keep silent? "You fool." Whispered the King as he softly nuzzled him. 

Sun Wukong rose once he was certain that the ebony monkey was feeling better, once he was certain that his heart was beating strongly. He walked on his two feets (the need to walk on four disappearing after one week, he only did it to feed his lies) and entered his nest. He took the softest blankets and the fluffiest pillows, some part of him wanted to lay Macaque here, within the safest place of his home, but he knew the warrior wouldn't be happy to wake up in his nest. Wukong laid the blankets on the floor, beside the couch, and began to build a large nest. He put some of the couch pillows in it, the one covered with the warrior's scent, to not frighten the ebony monkey, being put in a nest only made of another scent could be quite appalling. Once he was sure the nest was fluffy enough, he carefully took the warrior and put him in it. 

Macaque immediately curled around the pillows, ears flapping happily. The sage cooed at the sight, he leaned over the warrior and lightly nuzzled him. Macaque huffed, perhaps not liking the heat of his fur, and pushed him away. Sun Wukong chuckled and backed away. Red veiled his cheeks when he realized what he just did, nuzzling Macaque was becoming something so familiar (so addictive), he feared the moment it would stop. 

Because even if he wanted it to, this charade couldn't last forever. There would be an end to his lies, an end to this soft existence, an end even the mighty Monkey King couldn't prevent. The sage shook his head and darted outside of the shack. This wasn't the time for somber musing. He crouched on all-four, returning to his feral state, and chirped, loudly. Immediately after, monkeys began to barge in the place, each eager to heed his order. 

“nest”, “macaque”, “pile”, chirped the King, the monkeys nodded and eagerly flooded the shack. Some of the elders came to him to ask about the situation, they seemed a little hesitant, as if he was some frightened wild animal. The sage felt bad to lie, to trick them into believing he wasn't healed, but he ignored the feeling, replying as vaguely as he could. 

Sun Wukong entered the shack and squeezed himself in the nest, pushing some of his subjects to be beside the warrior. The King curled protectively around Macaque, hiding him in his arms, while some of the monkeys climbed him, nesting in his golden locks. Monkeys piles always felt unbelievably good, it was comforting to lose yourself in soft fur, to be covered by love. Monkeys were social by nature, touch was a need, not a want, it was something that soothed every hurt that covered them. 

Macaque dived happily in his arms, and the sage couldn't hold the joyous chirps bubbling in his throat. He felt slightly ashamed when he caught some of his subjects' very smug faces, he shook them off with angry flicks of tail, and they snickered, hiding themselves in each other's furs. 

Sun Wukong didn't sleep, he spent the rest of the night looking after his warrior, grooming him when tremors seized him, purring when he whimpered, nuzzling him when he searched for soft touches. The sage prevented any monkeys from disturbing his slumber, gently pushing his subjects away with his tail when they were being too loud. When dawn came, most of the monkeys were sound asleep, their snores the only thing echoing in the living-room. Macaque was hit by a ray of light and he hid further in the sage's arms, Sun Wukong chuckled and hugged him tightly, hiding him from the rising light. 

Macaque ears flickered slightly after a few more hours, and Sun Wukong lightly released his hold, knowing the warrior would soon awaken. Macaque yawned and opened his eyes, he blinked a few times and looked around with a confused pout. The sage chirped, trying to soothe him, and the warrior furrowed his eyebrows. 

"Did you do this?" Mumbled the ebony monkey as he looked at him, eyes still veiled by a drowsy mist. Sun Wukong chirped again, something akin to “yes”. "Hm, you gave me your magic." Sighed the macaque, he put an arm over his eyes and bit his lips. "I thought I could last a little longer, sorry kid." Sun Wukong made a worried coo, he nuzzled the warrior, but Macaque didn't nuzzle back, he only petted him lightly.

Macaque tried to rise, but the moment his muscles twitched, Sun Wukong instinctively tightened his hold. A deeper, more feral, part of him didn't want to let the warrior wander away. The sage, even if he didn't always look like it, was the protector, the defender of his troop. He often had the need to hide away those he cared about, to cover them with his body until nothing could hurt them. It wasn't something he could fully repress, the need to protect so powerful it sometimes overwhelmed any rational thoughts. 

"Wukong?" Mumbled the warrior, the sage whined and hid himself in the macaque's fur, not willing to let him go yet. "Okay, just a few more hours." Sighed the ebony monkey, Sun Wukong cooed happily and pushed the other in his arms, smothering him in his chest, taking as much as he was given, almost as if he could imprint the feeling of the other fur on his skin. 

He reluctantly freed Macaque after a few more hours, the warrior chuckled at his clinginess, and escaped swiftly, running away in the kitchen. The moment the ebony monkey left, Ma (one of his eldest subjects and one of his trustworthy marshals) woke up and rose with a drowsy “mmrp”. She narrowed her eyes at the fleeing warrior and followed after him, climbing him the second she reached him. Sun Wukong chuckled at the sight, heart seized by light flutters, warmth flowing in his chest. He turned towards the poorly concealed cackles he heard on his right, Beng was snoring like the heavy sleeper he always had been and Liu (another one of his marshals, a red buttocks female with a taste for mischief) was snickering like a little gremlin. Sun Wukong huffed and flicked her with the tip of his tail. Liu pawed at his tail and stuck out her tongue, Sun Wukong rolled his eyes, but he couldn't hide the smile veiling his lips. 

"You wanna sleep in today?" Asked Macaque as he approached the nest, a large wooden basket nestled in his arms. Sun Wukong perked up when he heard him, he rose and trotted after him. Liu shook Beng awake (the poor guy was slapped awake) and the two marshals joined them with a few other monkeys. "‘kay, I’m heading to the river." 

Macaque grabbed the clothes lingering around the house and threw them in the basket, Ma didn't leave his shoulder once, nestled there as if it was her personal throne. Sun Wukong caught himself wishing he was little enough to be there too, he blushed when he realized what he just thought, and vowed to take this embarrassing secret to his grave. 

They left the shack and walked towards one of the nearby rivers. Macaque crouched down beside the water and began to dutifully wash the clothes. For the little time Wukong had been awake (something akin to two and a half weeks) he hadn't seen Macaque do laundry that much. Granted, Macaque wasn't feeling well for the last few days, doing laundry was probably the least of his problems. But still, he never struck Wukong as the type to do this sort of thing, especially with his nemesis’ clothes. 

He looked peaceful while washing the clothes, his shirt's sleeves rolled up around his forearms, face veiled by a drowsy serenity, tail flickering lazily behind him. Sun Wukong didn't gawk at the way his arms shined under the morning sun, absolutely not, he wasn't this shameless. He stopped his mooning when one of his marshals, Liu probably, pushed him in the water. 

The sage was hit by cold water, embraced by the gentle current. He emerged, fur all over the place, and glared at the cackling gremlin rolling around on the edges of the river. He splashed her with a flick of tail, and greatly enjoyed her surprised squeaks. Poor Beng was caught in the middle of their fight, splashed unfairly. He glared at them, obviously unhappy, and trotted towards the warrior with a trail of pitiful coos. 

"Poor little guy." Chuckled the ebony monkey as he stopped his laundry and carefully dried the marshal, while Ma was lamenting something about “grown-up children”. Beng seemed to enjoy the drying session, the petty bastard even threw a teasing glance at the two soaked monkeys. 

Sun Wukong was absolutely not jealous, he was simply wondering which unfortunate accident would befall Beng tonight. The sage ignored the way Liu was wiggling her non-existent monkey eyebrows, and left the river with a few grumbles. It was unfair, how each of his marshals knew about his infatuation and used this knowledge to tease him. He was supposed to be their King, but sometimes he felt like the little brother they liked to pester. Well, most of his marshals knew about it, he didn't know if Ba knew before passing away (burnt by heavenly fire), the guy had always been quite dense. 

Macaque finished the laundry after a bit, he hung out the washing on the trees beside the waterfall and admired his works with a satisfied smirk. 

"Now they won't stink of you anymore."Teased the macaque as he turned towards the sage. Sun Wukong gaped, outraged, and began to chirp about how “he smelled good” and how “Macaque was the one smelling”. Macaque only chuckled, amused by his annoyed chirps. "Oh yeah, the kid is coming today, it's been a long time."The sage immediately perked up at this, his tail wagging without his consent." You're that excited? Guess he's been growing on you." The King grabbed his tail to stop it from uselessly wagging, cheeks on fire. 

Macaque returned inside of the shack, Ma still on his shoulder. Liu left wandering in the forest while Beng chose a nearby tree to nap. Sun Wukong hesitated a bit, before following after the warrior, not wanting to leave him alone after the way he suffered. 

The sage sat on the couch, beside the macaque, and watched the last few episodes of Monkey King : the animated series with him. It was quite surprising to learn of Macaque's liking for this series, but Sun Wukong wouldn't complain, he liked the series. The sage shyly scooted closer, gluing himself against the warrior's hips, Macaque shuddered, like every time he was caught off guard, and patted him awkwardly. 

There were times when Macaque was hesitant in his touches, as if touching him would burn, as if he wondered if it was alright to do this sort of thing. He also lingered, sometimes, in vulnerable places, and the sage could feel the way his claws would tense, ready to tear open his flesh, but never dared to. Sun Wukong said nothing of it and allowed it to happen, because he knew the feeling, he knew the oddness of their situation. Even if the sage enjoyed being so close, being cared for, there were times when hurtful thoughts passed through his head. Times when, huddled close to the other, he thought of hurting him. Not because he wanted to (even if the hatred still poisoned his heart sometimes) but because it was something imbued in him, something they did for so long it became second nature. 

The moon rises at night, time flows endlessly, and Macaque's blood will be on his claws. 

It would be easier, if he could throw away this habit at will, if he could forget everything with a flick of hands, but hurt lingered, their bodies remembered their fights, and their minds remembered their betrayals. So Wukong allowed it, when he felt the other tense, claws ready to draw his blood, he backed away, letting him breathe. When he, himself, tensed, he latched closer, breathing in the warrior's scent, focusing on his beating heart to chase away the hurtful thoughts seizing him. 

He hoped that one day those hurtful, disgusting thoughts would disappear. He hoped for one day to be freed of his hatred. And he feared when Macaque would learn of his lie, he feared what he would feel, what the other would say, how he would see him. 

It was tiring to live with this fear, but it was worth it if he could keep living so close to the other. 

His somber thoughts were broken by the kid's arrival. MK entered the shack with a bright smile, face lightened up by his trademark endless enthusiasm. Sun Wukong jumped on his feet and ran, on all four, towards the kid, he pounced on him and aggressively snuggled him. 

"Wha–okay, I missed you too Monkey King." Chuckled MK, he returned the hug, diving in the sage golden fur. Sun Wukong could spend eternity there, pressed against his mentee, soft purring escaping him. But MK had to breathe, and even if he didn't like to think about it, Sun Wukong was quite heavy. 

MK joined Macaque, sitting beside him, Sun Wukong settled between them, squished between their two comforting warmth. 

"Hey, Macaque. It's been a long time." Greeted the boy with a soft smile. 

"Yeah… You're, hm, you're alright ?" Nervously asked the warrior. 

"Yeah, you can say that. Oh, you've been watching Monkey King : the animated series again ! Cool. Never thought you would be a fan."

"I'm not a “fan”, I watch it because it's bad and I need a good laugh."

"Yeah, you can pretend to be a hater all you like, but I know how you work by now. You're a tsundere." Snickered MK. 

"What even is a tsundere?"

"Someone that pretends they're tough and doesn't like anything, but they're very sweet on the inside, or something like that."

"I am not like that." Gasped the macaque, MK barked a laugh and Sun Wukong hid his snickers inside of his palms. 

"Come on, Macaque, you are so like that."

"That is slander. I do not act like that."

"Yeah? Then how about the way you treat Monkey King, hm? You can say you're doing it because you have to all you want, but you're really giving with him."

"I am not."

"You give him belly scratches all the time!" Chuckled the boy, Sun Wukong perked at this. He really hoped they were joking, because belly scratches sounded very embarrassing. 

"Because he asked for it. Besides, I didn't give him any these last two weeks."

"Whaaaat, you deprived him of his belly scratches?? You monster!" 

"He didn't ask." Poorly refuted the warrior.

"Because he's a good monkey that doesn't want to bother you, right Monkey King?" Sun Wukong chirped “yes”only because it pleased his successor, he was still trying to process the idea of belly scratches. "I say you give him belly scratches now."

"Really, now ?" Huffed the warrior, MK squished the sage's cheeks and pushed him towards the macaque. 

"Come on, you know you can't refuse this face."

"Are you even sure he wants this?"Asked Macaque as he gazed at the sage's flaming face. 

"Monkey King always wants belly scratches." Sun Wukong loved MK with all his heart, but by Gods this kid was going to kill him. 

"…okay, but only because he's been good these last few weeks." Relented the warrior, he grabbed the sage and put him on his lap, belly facing the ceiling. Sun Wukong was too dumbfounded to do anything, letting himself be manhandled without any fuss. The warrior began to scratch his belly, and the sage let a few stuttering chirps escape him. 

“Fuck, that feel so good. Better than massages.” thought the sage as he closed his eyes, letting his tail trash around excitedly. Even if the idea of belly scratches was embarrassing, Sun Wukong was ready to ask for it anytime now that he knew it felt so heavenly. The macaque was rubbing him just right, not too heavy and not too light, it was a feeling close to the pleasing tingle he felt when someone was grooming him, but ten times stronger. 

"Sooo, you've been alright? Hm, did you… have some magic ?" Carefully asked MK, Macaque scratches stuttered, and Sun Wukong perked at that, listening closely while still enjoying his pets. 

"Yeah…he gave me some this morning."

"This morning only?" Macaque flinched and looked away. "That's… maybe you should not wait this long."

"You're the one that told me to not take too many." Mumbled the warrior, a growl hidden in his voice, he stopped scratching the sage, and even if Sun Wukong lamented the loss of the feeling, he stayed perfectly still, intently listening. 

"That was before knowing you're…" MK sighed and rubbed his face. "I shouldn't have said that without knowing your situation."

"No, you were right. I was using you." Replied the warrior with a weary voice. 

"Yes, maybe you could have talked instead of doing this. But… it's okay, I understand, really I do." 

"And you shouldn't." Snapped the ebony monkey, he winced once he realized he raised his voice. "Sorry, it's just, you shouldn't, really kiddo. You shouldn't say it's okay just because you understand me. It's not okay."

"Maybe it's not. But I want it to be, I want us to be okay." Insisted MK. 

"It's not that easy."

"It could be. Look, I know you have a lot to unpack, and I'm willing to wait for you. But I'm still worried. This is… I'm worried you're going to…" 

"You shouldn't have to worry about that." Sighed the warrior. 

"How could I not !? Macaque I care about you, of course I'm gonna be worried, especially considering your situation." Sun Wukong was becoming more and more worried, he remembered the way Macaque had been so still the night before, and coldness flowed through his veins." Look, I've been talking to Red Son and we're working on something…"

"It's no use."

"You don't know. Don't give up, I thought you didn't want to…" 

"Of course I don't want to! I think. I don't know. I'm just tired of hoping."

"Okay, okay. This talk is not over, young man, but I will let it go for now. How's Monkey King? You said he's been good these last weeks?" Sun Wukong didn't want the talk to be over, he wanted to shake them, to force them to talk, but he was powerless in this situation, if he wanted to keep lying that is. 

"Oh, he's been less childish. Less destructive. But somehow more clingy?" 

"More clingy? How is this even possible?" Chuckled MK, and the sage huffed, cheeks veiled by a light red. 

"I know, right ? Didn't think it could be, but it is." Snorted the macaque. 

"…You think this change of character is a good thing?" Quietly asked the kid.

"…I don't know, surely it is, I think. We could take him to Red Son if you want."

"No, Red is really busy… Maybe I could check on him with my gold vision."

"Yeah, good idea." Sun Wukong felt a bucket of ice-cold water fell on him, this was a terrible idea. Gold vision was the power to see through lies, there was a chance MK wouldn't know what to make of what he would see, but there was also a chance that he could discover the truth. The sage backed away, but he was held by the warrior. 

"Hey, why are you so frightened ?" Mumbled the ebony monkey, he tried to soothe the King with gentle pets, but it didn't work. 

"You think he's alright?" Worriedly asked the kid. 

"I…it's been a long time since he was this scared."

"Maybe something really is wrong. I'm checking." 

Sun Wukong tried to escape, heart hammering inside of his chest, head swimming with dreadful thoughts. Macaque was going to leave him, he was going to disappear inside of his shadows, hiding forever, out of reach. The sage at last freed himself from the ebony monkey gentle hold, but it was too late. The kid's eyes were already shining. 

"What the… Monkey King you’re-" Sun Wukong pushed his mentee away, MK fell back on the other side of the couch with a groan. The sage was immediately drowned by guilt, he tried to approach his kid, but MK flinched. 

Memories flooded him, unclear images of him hiding under a bed, of his kid's gentle voice, of the way his claws teared the skin of his mentee. 

Did he… did he hurt MK when he was cowering inside of his mind ? Gods did he… what did he do ? Sun Wukong was beginning to tremble, air escaped him, breathing faster and faster until everything seemed blurry. 

"Kiddo are you alright ?" Asked the warrior. 

"Yeah, it didn't hurt." Replied MK, he turned towards the King with a gentle gaze. "It's gonna be okay, Monkey King-" 

Sun Wukong ran away, ignoring how MK and Macaque called for him, ignoring the surprised chirps of his subjects when he passed by them. He ran on all four, heart beating madly inside of his chest, it almost felt like it was bleeding. He stumbled on a large root, and fell on the floor, snout in the mud. Sun Wukong crawled towards a nearby cave and curled up on himself, wanting to disappear from here, to hide away from everything, form the world itself, from the disappointed gazes of his mentee and Macaque. 

Outside, the sky was graying, the weather changing to reflect the state of his heart. 

Sun Wukong hoped the storm would be loud enough to hide his sobs. 

Ch1 / Previous / Next

[itssbriar]

It’s time, for Black Myth Wukong, my thoughts after finishing. I havent watched any actual explanation videos yet, so this is my interpretation too.

Tldr is give this game, game of the century

Spoilers proceeding —>

With how Journey to the West is and how it’s got Buddhism massively mixed into it from Chinese culture, I’m honestly not surprised it showed so much emphasis on life and such

This game heavily focuses on life, death, misdeeds, truth, and what it means to take a journey and move forward.

Bit of context:

Sun Wukong denied the opportunity to ascend to buddahood, to have immortality, so that he could live amongst the world and be free. He is killed, and you start your characters journey to collect Wukongs lost relics to allegedly revive Wukong.

However, by the end, its revealed you were always in a cycle, a cycle that meant you would always come back to this place after journeying to the west collect Wukongs lost relics, and that you would die and the cycle would restart.

The true ending however, after collecting the armour and staff, allows you to travel to a previous area and fight Erlang, the person from the start of the game, once again. Upon killing the four heavenly kings and defeating Erlang. Its revealed that he was never an enemy. In fact, Sun Wukong and Erlang werefriends. And another truth is revealed. Erlang had infact hidden the sixth relic of Wukong (mind) the entire time, and after you defeat him, he returns it too you. And with that, after defeating the Wukong boss, this time, before the crown is put back on you, you remember in one of the most beautiful sequence I have ever seen, it flashback replays the real Journey to the West story in reverse order, showing how by regaining the memories, you can refuse to wear the crown again and break the cycle.

You were always Sun Wukong, trapped in an infinite cycle from that old monkey. However the old monkey was infact, by reading into his outfit and the text, a member of the celestial court, creating this cycle and grooming you into your supposed path each time.

The most important parts are each of the chapter endings, and prior to the Sun Wukong boss fight.

The chapters each always show an important lesson. A missdeed of mortals in some way. Each related to the buddhism ideals. And this links into the other part, right before the fight. You travel in a boat, with the old monkey telling the acts of Wukong through his life. The things he did wrong, and badly. And they all relate to the chapter endings, on how the final bosses you defeat also comitted these same acts. The greed of Yellowbrow, the lust of Baijie. How everyone always wants to be free, but also to ascend to buddahood, but one cannot have both, and shouldnt have both.

And the entire point of the true ending, is that you are meant to overcome those misdeeds and wrongdoings, by learning from not just those you take down, but from Wukongs past itself too. And you do this by finding and fighting Erlang and killing the four heavenly kings. Thats the way you unlock the real ending, because you overcome those past trails and you finally break into being better. Your journey the entire time, it wasnt about resurrecting Sun Wukong, it was about learning to be better, to move forward.

Wukong wasnt perfect. He did a lot of bad things, but the one thing he still remained was that he was infact a hero to many, and a villain to others. But the most important thing too him, was that he was free. Freedom he lost the moment the crown was forced on him at the start, and ever since he died right at the start and generations past, he had been in a cycle over and over and over.

The journey all along was about finding the way to be better than those wrong actions, and in doing so, you find englightment. You find peace. And with that true ending, it takes us all the way back to the start of the story. The start of the real Journey to the West story.

PS: Chapter 5 was the real start to the tease of the cycle. The ending story part was a big hint. And in a past cycle, you actually killed the fox girl that was the daughter of the bull. Well, Baijie did, so she was never even alive by the time you played that Chapter. It was always the son in an illusion. Its why the bull says that wherever you go you always leave a broken family. Its why the water guy says you dont even know what you are destined for. Its why a lot of the bosses make reference to you coming back not just from death. Youre stuck in the cycle.

[pompomqt]

Journey to the West Chapter 15

In this chapter of Journey to the West with @journeythroughjourneytothewest we are introduced to the world's most underutilized character. So let's get into it shall we?

So Tripitaka and Sun Wukong are traveling west, the atmosphere frigid in more ways then one I'd imagine, when they come across a stream that Monkey says is called Eagle Grief Stream. They don't get to admire said stream for long however before a certain dragon emerges from it, and heads straight for Tripitaka. Monkey panics and tackles Tripitaka off his horse, abandoning all of their luggage in the process, and hauls Tripitaka off. The Dragon decides to take the horse as a consolation prize, and eats it and it's harness in one bite.

After setting Tripitaka down, Monkey goes back for their stuff. The good new is that he finds their luggage no problem. The bad new is that their horse is no where to be seen. Monkey zips into the sky and looks in all four directions for it, before coming to the conclusion that the dragon must have eaten it. Tripitaka isn't pleased to hear that and at first insists that it must have run off and that Sun Wukong should look again. But Sun Wukong brags about his superior eyesight saying that he could see a dragonfly within a thousand miles let alone something as big as a horse.

Upon hearing that the horse really has been eaten Tripitaka bursts into tears at the thought of having to walk the entire journey. Monkey gets mad at Tripitaka for being such a crybaby about the whole thing and yells at him that he will just make the dragon give them back the horse. Tripitaka however clings to him, not wanting to be left alone without his super powered body guard in case the dragon comes back to eat him to. This makes Monkey even more mad, so he yells at Tripitaka for being a weakling some more, and how despite the fact that Monkey can absolutely be in two places at once- can't be in to places at once and has to leave if Tripitaka wants a horse to ride on.

I feel like this whole situations is to give the other pilgrims a reason to be on the journey despite Sun Wukong being so powerful. You know- despite the fact that Sun Wukong's power set gives him multiple ways he could solve this situation- from leaving a duplicate to protect Tripitaka, to making a duplicate horse. I guess he's probably still salty about the whole fillet situation though and doesn't feel like being that helpful.

Luckily the situation is resolved by some deities who have apparently been assigned by Guanyin to secretly protect the scripture pilgrim. So now that Sun Wukong has gotten some babysitters for Tripitaka, off he goes to bully the dragon into giving them their horse back. With Tripitaka telling him to be careful. I think it's cute that Tripitaka always tells him to be careful despite how powerful he is.

So Sun Wukong goes to the shore of the river and starts shouting for the Dragon to return his horse making sure to call him a 'Lawless Lizard' for good measure. The dragon takes offense to this and returns to the surface, in which Sun Wukong takes the opportunity to attack, while still yelling about his horse. So the two fight for a while, before the dragon gets tired of getting beat up by Sun Wukong and goes back to hiding in the river. And despite Sun Wukong heaping on the insults the dragon doesn't return to take another beating.

Left with no other option, Sun Wukong returns to Tripitaka empty handed and explains the situation to him. Tripitaka then points out that earlier when Sun Wukong had killed the tiger he had claimed that he could 'tame dragons, and subdue tigers' and asks why he can't subdue this one today. Sun Wukong can't handle his badass status being thrown into question and leaves to try and pick another fight with the dragon. This time rather then just hurling insults into the water he uses his magic to turn the clear still water of the river, into a raging current.

Eventually the dragon gets tired of getting churned around like he's in a washing machine and exits the water again. After which Sun Wukong once again declares that he wants his horse back. The dragon points out that he ate it and can't give it back. And Monkey's like 'Well that sounds like a you problem, because if you don't give back the horse, I'm just going to kill you instead.' So the Dragon gets beat up by Sun Wukong again, but this time he transforms into a water snake and escapes into the marshes.

Monkey grows frustrated that he can't find him, so he summons the local spirit and mountain god. After threatening the gods with some violence he manages to learn that the dragon is actually here on Guanyin's orders to wait for the scripture pilgrim, and that all he has to do to capture the dragon is bring Guanyin here and have her sort the whole thing out. So Sun Wukong takes the two gods with him to explain the situation to Tripitaka, and Tripitaka is still wary about Sun Wukong leaving him, but luckily one of the gods volunteer to go fetch Guanyin instead. So Sun Wukong has the two gods guard Tripitaka while he goes to patrol the stream.

So the god finds Guanyin and tells her the situation to which Guanyin wonders how the dragon could have botched her orders so badly and eaten Tripitaka's horse instead of being Tripitaka's horse, and decides to go sort out the situation personally. Guanyin arrives to see Sun Wukong hurling insults at the water again, and as soon as he hears that Guanyin arrives, he switches course and starts yelling at her instead about the whole fillet situation.

Monkey complains that Guanyin should have just told him to serve the Tang Monk with diligence and that would have been enough. But Guanyin points out that he if he went on a rampage again, they wouldn't be able to control him, but if he gets through this adversity he will enter the gate of Yoga. Monkey concedes and switches course to complaining about the dragon. Guanyin says that she sent the dragon here to serve as transportation because a normal horse just can't cut it. Monkey then complains that he scared the dragon off and that he won't come out, but Guanyin simply tells the guardian to call for him and tell him that Guanyin is here.

The dragon arrives and transforms into a man and thanks Guanyin once again for sparing his life, and says that he hasn't heard about any scripture pilgrim. Guanyin points out that Monkey is actually the first disciple of said scripture pilgrim while the dragon says that Monkey never once mentioned that. Guanyin just sighs and says that there will be others joining them on their journey and that Monkey should be better about about telling people about their mission when asked.

With that handled she then changed the dragon into a white horse. Guanyin then tells him that once he overcomes these trials he will acquire a golden body. She then tells Sun Wukong that she will be taking her leave now, but suddenly Sun Wukong becomes the clingy one and refuses to let her leave. Saying that he doesn't want to go, and that the way is treacherous, and that he might die. Guanyin says that this is the path to enlightenment and gives him permission to call upon heaven and earth whenever he needs help, and that even she will come to his aid when he needs her. Guanyin then takes three leaves from her willow branch and transforms them into three hairs and placing them on Monkeys head. Guanyin tells him that these plot resolving hairs will save him from whatever hopeless situation they manage to get into. Finally placated Monkey allows Guanyin to take her leave.

So Sun Wukong leads the horse back to Tripitaka. Tripitaka is pleased by the new horse, and bows respectfully to the South to thank Guanyin, but is rather upset by the lack of harness, and about being forced to ride bareback for now. With the help of the local river god they manage to cross the stream and continue westward until they come across a house.

Since the gods can never be straightforward about anything, a local mountain god disguises himself as an old man in order to give them the necessary riding gear. This shocking reveal causes Tripitaka to fall off his horse again. Tripitaka then begins to bow his respects again, which causes Monkey to laugh at him. Tripitaka asks why Monkey isn't bowing, Monkey points out that he's to cool to bow down to anyone and that he didn't even bow to the Jade Emperor or Laozi.

After Tripitak scolds Monkey for being Blasphemist, the two continue traveling for another two months with only minor incident, before they finally arrive at another monastery.

Current Sun Wukong Stats: Names/Titles: Monkey, The Stone Monkey, The Handsome Monkey King, Sun Wukong (Monkey awakened to the void), Bimawen (Banhorseplague), The Great Sage Equal To Heaven and Pilgrim Sun. Immortality: 5 Weapon: The Compliant Golden Hooped Rod Abilities: 72 Transformations, Cloud-Somersault, Ability to transform his individual hairs, super strength, Ability to Summon Wind, Water restriction charm, and the ability to change into a huge war form, ability to duplicate his staff, ability to immobilize others, the ability to put others to sleep, and the Fiery eyes, Diamond Pupils, intimidating horses and churning large bodies of water. Demon Kill Count: 1+ Unknown Number of Minions Human Kill Count: 6 God's Defeated: 19 + Unknown number Defeats: 2 Crime List: Robbery, Murder, Mass Murder, Arson, Theft, Coercion, Threatening a Government Official, Resisting Arrest, Assault, Forgery, Employee Theft, False Imprisonment, Impersonating a Government Official, Treason and attempted murder. Cry Count: 3 Mountains Trapped Under: 1

Current Tang Sanzang stats: Names/Titles: River Float, Xuanzang, Tang Sanzang, Tripitaka Abilities: Curing Blindness, making branches point a certain direction (allegedly), reciting sutras. Cry Count: 11 Tight Fillet Spell Uses: 4 Paralyzed by fear: 4 Bandit Problems: 2 Kidnapped by demons: 1 Falling Off Horses: 4

Current Bai Long Ma Stats: Names/Titles: Bai Long Ma (White Dragon Horse), Prince of the Western Ocean, and third prince jade dragon of the dragon king Aorun Abilities: Transforming into a human, a water snake, and a horse, eating a horse in one bite, and flight. Crime List: Arson, and Grave Disobedience. Contributions to the plot: 1

[frostedclock]

'Reunited'

----

You were getting used to this life. As the centuries crawled by on the mortal world, you grew used to being stuck at this old mountain temple. As far as punishments go, yours wasn't so bad you thought, the old local mountain relished in the company, and the local villagers brought you offerings in winter for a good growing season, burned incense in your name , and even named children after you. But every day you were reminded that this wasn't the Mountain of Flowers and Fruit, and as much as you enjoyed the company of the mountain god, you missed the moments you shared with Sun Wukong in the forests and streams of his kingdom. The freedom you had felt in those moments.

They stayed with you through five hundred years.

The day felt like any other to you, crisp early spring air made your breath visible as you sat and enjoyed the small comfort of watching the sun rise in the east and the sound of birds returning from the south. You ran you hand along the soft fabric of the offering table in front of the small temple, the bowls were empty of course being how early it was. You knew the villagers waited till the sun had warmed the earth before they moved about the mountain side.

Clack. Clack.

Something hard thumped and clattered up the stone steps.

You look over your shoulder, you hadn't been expecting anyone at the temple for several hours. Several voice began to carry on the wind and up to you. You felt your hands clutch at deep green fabric, you listen close to the voice.

" The Monkey was right! Hahaha finally a place to eat!" A rough snorting kind of voice, getting louder with each thump across stone.

" Bajie, didn't you just eat the leftovers from breakfast?" Deep but soft tones like rippling water.

" Yeah, but that was barely a snack! And we've been on the move since dawn. Can't I look forward to lounging around an old mountain temple?"

" You act like you've been carrying the luggage. Wujing been carrying the Master's bags since yesterday, you've barely lifted a finger for the past week, piggy." A voice so familiar, but you dared not believe it.

You turn your head towards the stairs as a group of four and a horse reached the top of stairs. You couldn't forget that voice, five hundred years or a thousand.

Wukong.

There he stood, hand holding onto the bright red reigns to a white horse. He looked just like he had once had, and yet he looked completely different. His fur was shades darker and there was a redness around his eyes, he was clad in more commen clothes then he had dawned in his own kingdom. His attention was on horse for a moment as he lead it up the final step steps, then charcoal eyes surrounded by red looked ahead.

A smile broke out on your lips.

" Wukong..."

[6em4k]

" 'Sup."

(indie RP blog for Lego Monkie Kid's interpretation for the Six-Eared Macaque. Living Details below)

Character Overview:

The Buddha once revealed the existence of Four Celestial Primates, existing outside of the natural designation that all other creatures were divided into. Of these four, the Intelligent Stone Monkey and the Six-Eared Macaque were sworn brothers, their deep friendship going beyond even the bonds of blood they did not share, nor had need to.

This was until the death of the Macaque, at the hands of the Stone Monkey - now Sun Wukong, the Monkey King and Great Sage, Equal To Heaven.

---

The past year hasn't been the worst to Macaque - or, well 'The Six-Eared Macaque' is, y'know, his full name.

His re-emergence in Megapolis - the city that the heroic Monkie Kid, MK, makes his home and ward - was one that brought change for the world as MK knew it. While his return to obtain the powers of the Monkey King for himself was successful, it unintentionally heralded the return of a long-sleeping enemy. This enemy was the Lady Bone Demon, to whom Macaque had sworn his insincere and easily-abandoned fealty in exchange for being brought back to life.

A person who would swear loyalty to different masters to get what he wants, Macaque's ultimate loyalty is to himself and his own desires, abandoning bargains and promises as easily as he makes them. It was then a true pain and labor for him to have bargained for his resurrection with her of all demons. Not only did she have a strong sway over his life, and the ability to pin him down and force him in ways no one else could, she was also an enemy to MK, for whom Macaque developed a sincere fondness for. His attempts to defy her orders to bring him in, do away with the Monkie Kid and King, were quickly realized and neutralized by her, forcing him at crystal-shard point to do her will.

Despite his deceits and aggression, despite the near-destruction of all life on earth, MK's faith in Macaque's 'deep, deep down, not a bad guy' self was rewarded with rare genuity and devotion. Macaque agreed to risk his life in order to help the student he'd deceived and save the world he'd aided in ruining.

With the end of the end of the world, Macaque had been granted a long-abandoned goal of redemption.

S5 Update: Now, resting on his laurels, Macaque finds himself in a transitory period, should he allow it to be one. His long-gone dojo home leaving him wandering and to the elements, his relationship with the Monkey King in a state of mutual uncertainty rather than vicious gnashing of teeth, and a pseudo-student to think of him, and deliver a fresh bowl of noodles on occasion, for no other reason than he could. But with his powers suddenly morphing into something unfamiliar and chaotic, these new progresses in his life could become even more unstable than they currently are.

(That's quite unstable)

[Icons are a combination of my own screengrabs and icons from poms-resources ]

Macaque Power-set:

Very good hearing, up to a thousand miles standing still.

Mastery of martial arts and kung-fu.

Incredible speed, strength, reflexes and agility.

Shadow manipulation - the ability to control the shadows movements and solidity. A great tool for combat or other stealth situations.

Shadow-transportation - the ability to slip into the darkness literally. He can either hide in those shadows, moving through them, or emerge through another side, within knowledge and range. This makes him extremely hard to get ahold of - Macaque, mostly, cannot be held down when he doesn't want to be. Notable exceptions have been Wukong, the Lady Bone Demon and her personal lackey.

Immortality, to an extent - Macaque can still die from battle or other extreme situations such as a particularly aggressive poison, but old age and sickness cannot touch him.

Underwater breathing and communication - no, really, he can do and has done this. Though this may be less an innate ability and more to do with him having...

"All Of Monkey Kings Power"- having stolen the abilities of the Monkey King's protégé MK, Macaque has obtained copies of many, but not all, of the abilities of Sun Wukong. These include Self-transformation into various animals and people, flying, superior strength (than what he'd had before), the ability to create multiple clones of himself, and more.

Shadow-puppetry - in the artistic and transfigurative sense. Macaque can puppeteer his own shadow into a tangible, physical entity, mirroring himself. This ability has expanded to creating more than one, after obtaining MK's powers.

"Smokey" - A colossal manifestation of smoke and shadow into a solid entity. It does not seem to move or operate itself outside of direct influence and action from Macaque. While it is overwhelming and powerful, the true extent of it's strength, ability, and history, are largely unknown to all but the person who controls it.

Mecha-Monkey - Macaque is able to construct a massive themed mech for himself to pilot and operate.

[More added when needed]

Mun Rules:

Anons accepted, don't be shy, he only bites Wukong [<- threat, not promise]

Mutuals preferred, but if you're following me and wanna try some RP, feel free to send anything over, interact with memes or hmu for conversation! I don't interact first unless we're mutuals just so I know I'm not crossing any boundaries and because I'm a tad shy.

Relationships discussed after development.

Related to the above - I am not exclusive, multiships encouraged.

Outside of roleplay/direct interaction, bog runs on a 'default setting' -posts/other roleplays where he mentions tormenting Wukong do not mean your Wukong unless specified.

This meaning, this blog is multiverse unless asked about a specific scenario/'verse.

Related to the above, specify a particular blog/person if you send asks about someone else's played character - aka Specify which blog I'm playing with that you're curious about, otherwise I will answer with blog-lore. Don't tag them if they don't want to be tagged (check their rules first)

Be aware - Mun is an adult (32) and prefers to RP with other adults. Minors can follow/interact with meme games, but no rp.

Personals are similar - follows are fun, so are asks/anons, but please don't try to RP with me, nor reblog my rp posts.

Headcanons abound! I try to keep as close to the character as I can, but I do play Macaque in my own way based on these as well as the canon. I try to integrate and adhere to both equally.

Mun has bipolar II and this can affect my roleplay timeliness, due to how replies/roleplay can affect my energy and excitement and how those things impact my judgment, my characterization/writing and other factors. Sometimes I'm in a good place and can reply right away, other times I need to step back for hours, or a few days, in order to reply properly and in character.

If I'm answering others before you or you before others, it's not preferential treatment and I am excited/interested to play. It's related to the above.

I won't shy away from darker themes if they come up, but I prefer fade-to-blacks for sexy stuff.

I will not do pet death. Please tag animal death. Particularly with dear pets. Hard no for dogs and especially cats.

Mun has no patience for proship/antiship BS. Follow/softblock/block at your own desire, I sssssssuper do not caaaaaaare about this discourse.

Obligatory American-Leftist disclaimer about basic human rights here, you know the drill, I will cut any shitty behavior to the quick.

[More to be added if needed]

This Macaque's Timeline/default blog canon:

-Was, in fact, killed by Wukong. No ifs, ands or buts. It's a complicated mess that resulted in Wukong killing Macaque.

-Resurrected shortly after the death of Tang Sanzang, spending some time recuperating under The Mayors care. After a short while, he absconded and ditched the key at the same time, on the run from him and her ever since.

-Immediately went to torment Wukong over it, going so far as to mock Sanzangs death and provoke Wukong into an out-and-out brawl.

-Spent a good hundred years in a state of recurring grief attacks, coping with this new life without Wukong backing him up, and a newfound, deep and true loneliness. Realizing Wukong wasn't going to come apologize to him anytime soon, he picks another fight - and likes it.

-Stirring slightly from his fugue state, spent the next, approximately 300 years in an unhealthy cycle of picking brutal fights with/bullying Wukong, a significant depression spiral, get somewhat okay, bully Wukong and lose it all again.

-Got his wits somewhat about him about his health, about 100~ years ago, enough to leave China and try to expand himself and Get Over It (Didn't Work, but he's well-traveled at least - try to ask sometime). Found a bit about himself, but it really amounted to running away from his Wukong problem more than facing it.

-Eventually came back to town and found out about MK, series begins.

-Blog is a general post-s3 canon, with S4 and onwards incorporated in play/asks. General posts will behave between s3 and s4, with timelines/relationships changing within roleplay, as deemed fit. This is because I like writing out Macaque's development from pathetic, vicious and dangerous into reliable, mean ally, even if we're doing threads post S4 or post S5

Mac Deets:

-Clones are literal shadowpuppets - they don't move without Macaque's intention nor do they talk without Macaque throwing his voice. If he's not conscious, they aren't able to be conjured.

-Can only shadow-portal to places he's been to before. If the location is gone (building destroyed, streets changed, etc), he can no longer access that spot.

-Thief-y and bum-ish. Don't be surprised if he's used your shower without you knowing - he likes your shower pressure better than the bathhouse.

-He's not open to details about "Smokey" (large, spiritual form), but speaks about it/treats it like a pet (it is not)

- He's a dick. You know he's a dick. Soft spots don't make him less of a dick. To Wukong, he will be even more of a dick, potentially downright hostile.

- He likes abundantly sugary fruits - plums and mangoes are a given, but you can coax him with pomegranates, figs, watermelons, and pineapples too. Basically search 'sugariest fruits' and you have his diet.

Tags:

Macaque tags for himself! All brackets are mun tags. Out of brackets, it's Macaque.

[The one and only] (Selfie/pictures of Macaque)

[and others] (images of people not Macaque - typically tagged in tandem w/Macaque pictures)

[sign of a good story] (planned/in-depth roleplay)

[Stoned in paradise] (Havoc in Heaven, Brotherhood and before)

[You are the weapon] (RP games/prompt posts/memes)

[the sun and the moon] (blog-lore related asks/posts/headcanons)

[Shadowtalk] (asks)

[Shadowchatter] (Macaque original posts, talking on dash, light/unplanned/unplotted roleplay. Not directly anything. Chatter can become a plotted roleplay and will switch tags when it does)

[Shadowplay] (opener/open roleplay)

[Flair for the dramatic] (Vibes/mood/Macaque-core without being Macaque-intended)

[Under Moonlight] (nsfw/raunchy stuff. anything explicit/more intimate but not fade-to-black worthy will be tagged this. Anything beyond will still be tagged nsfw)

[backstage]/[anything in brackets] (important details about the blog)/(Mun)

[sketching-shark]

PLEASE I NEED TO KNOW—

How were the Huagou monkeys doing when SWK returned? And what happened to them, their home, after SWK became a Buddha (the other too?)

OKAY @sunny-days-and-warm-mournings so the story actually ends pretty much right after the pilgrims complete the journey and receive their new religious designations, so there's no word on what happens to the Mt. Huaguoshan troop afterwards. From what little I know of the 17th century fan sequel Journey to the South, however, one imagination is that Sun Wukong went back to live with them presumably as their guardian and king, and even had at least three kids (Quidou, Luohou, and Yuebei Xingjun).

In Journey to the West itself, however, the Mt. Huaguoshan monkey yao go through one tragedy after another. The first time we see what happened to the troop was right after Sun Wukong returns home after being banished for the first time from the pilgrim group. Here he sees the devastation that the war with heaven left in its wake even 500 years later, which basically left Flower-Fruit Mountain a withered and barren wasteland since Erlang Shen and his sworn brothers had burned it "to total ruin" after Sun Wukong was captured.

While he's grieving the state of his home, a few little monkeys run out and after excitedly greeting SWK tell him that in addition to living in a wasteland they're also being relentlessly hunted by humans. SWK furthermore learns that between the heaven's fire, migration to hopefully more fecund lands, starvation, and the hunters, the Mt. Huaguoshan troop was reduced to "no more than a thousand" from a population of 47,000 monkeys in Mt. Huaguoshan's heyday.

The monkeys beg SWK "'to take care of us,'" and the Monkey King starts this by slaughtering about a thousand of the hunters persecuting his "little ones," along with their horses. He then tells the monkeys to strip the human corpses of their clothes and weapons before dumping the bodies in a lake so that they can "ward off the cold" and start up military drills to learn how to protect themselves again. He also orders the horse corpses to be stripped of their hides to be made into boots and for their meat to be cured for consumption. After this, Sun Wukong "gathered together more fiends and beasts by the day, and he stored up all kinds of foodstuff...As he enjoyed wide friendship and great power, he had no trouble in borrowing some sweet, divine water from the Dragon Kings of the Four Oceans to wash his mountain and make it green again. He next planted elms and willows in front, pines and cedars in the back; peach, pear, date, and plum--he had them all. He then settled down to enjoy life without a care."

Soon after Sun Wukong restores Mt. Huaguoshan to something close to its former fecundity and violently ensures the safety of his "little ones" for a time, of course, he's called back to the pilgrimage. The monkeys beg him not to go, but Sun Wukong tells them: "Little ones, watch what you are saying. My accompaniment of the Tang Monk is no private matter, for Heaven and Earth know that Sun Wukong is his disciple [and therefore he's compelled to resume the journey]...You all must take good care of our property and don't fail to plant to willows and the pines in due seasons. Wait till I finish accompanying the Tang Monk and taking the scriptures back to the Land of the East. After that merit is achieved, I'll return to enjoy the joys to nature with you." So SWK does leave the monkeys in much better shape with both lots of food and the means to protect themselves, and seems sincere in his promise to to come back.

BUT NO ONE EXPECTS THE SIX-EARED MACAQUE. The second time SWK returns to Mt. Huaguoshan he finds an imposter on his throne who he describes as having "take[n] my descendants [the monkeys] captive," and indeed before they meet Xiyouji made it abundantly clear that LEMH doesn't care about the Mt. Huaguoshan monkeys outside of how he can use them as tools to achieve his own journey. Hell, after Sha Wujing kills the monkey that was impersonating him, LEMH instructs the others to "have the dead monkey skinned. Then his meat was taken to be fried and served as food along with coconut and grape wines. After their meal, that Pilgrim selected another monkey monster who knew transformation to change into a Sha Monk. He again gave them instructions on how to go to the West..."

So yes, not many fun times for the Mt. Huaguoshan monkeys after the war with heaven. Even so, their love for Sun Wukong and Sun Wukong's love for them is consistent.

[immediatebreakfast]

Can we talk about chapter 27, and how weirdly unhinged it was? In the sense that it's so far one of the chapters in which Tripitaka completely ignores, and downright misunderstands every single thing that Sun Wukong did?

Conflicts, and how to solve them are (by what I read) a crucial part of the journey to deliver the scriptures along with actually understanding why they happened, and how to solve them. Like the last conflict in which the three disciples (Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, and Sha Wujing) let their own gluttony dictate their actions that led them to steal from the Ginseng Fruit Tree, and to Sun Wukong basically uproot it in a fit of anger.

At the end the answer was with Guanyin (love her <3), and all parties managed to heal the tree with the important lesson of forgiveness with reason since a great offence had been mended. However, this chapter with the bone spirit feels almost like a comedy? Because there is so much happening in such a simple problem that could have been avoided by listening.

The Lady White Bone demon managed to fool Tripitaka three times with the same trick, made Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing look like incompetent disciples that can't protect their master, and made Sun Wukong feel hopeless as his warnings were never heard.

Tripitaka was like a very selective wall depending on what side he decided to give the reasoning. I wonder if it was a moment of resentment regarding Sun Wukong that did not left after fixing the Ginseng Fruit Tree, or simple misplaced anger that came from hunger being fanned by Zhu Bajie's words.

Because it was so weird to read Tripitaka agree again, and again with every single accusation that the pig threw at Monkey without even stopping once to actually think how Zhu had always showed bias for beautiful women. Which the Lady White Bone demon transformed into to trick them because she wants to eat Tripitaka!

When Idiot saw how pretty she was, his worldly mind was aroused and he could not refrain from babbling.

This pig I swear to god. If Sun Wukong is seen as unfilial by refuting Tripitaka every time they come to a truce, then Zhu Bajie was very disrespectful by pushing the one who is supposed to be his teacher to eat food brought by a stranger without even checking if it's poisoned. While also spouting rebutal after rebutal against Sun Wukong thanks to his own resentment for being either tricked by the demon, and simply being against Monkey that morning.

"There are coundess priests in the world, but none is more wishy-washy than this old priest of ours! Here's ready-made rice, and three portions to boot! But he will not eat it. He has to wait for that monkey's return and the rice divided into four portions before he'll eat:'

On top of Tripitaka not once considering that maybe famous trickster, Heaven disrupter, and Void Chaos monkey Sun Wukong might have a leg to stand on in his argument. How it's too convenient that a seemly beautiful young lady, then an old woman, and finally an old man suddenly appeared on the road (that Monkey made!) of a mountain that was inhabitated by monsters before Sun Wukong scared them off. One after the other every time Monkey struck down with his iron rod.

Which was, at the end, a mistake on Sun Wukong to repeat three times without thinking of a solution which did not include hitting what the others perceive as a human person with a weapon that has beaten powerful monsters. That is something Monkey did in the wrong by not thinking outside of his own perspective to explain the demon situation.

When I was a monster back at the Water-Curtain Cave, I would act like this if I wanted to eat human flesh. I would change myself into gold or silver, a lonely building, a harmless drunk, or a beautiful woman.

Now that I think about it, do the three of them know that Sun Wukong has fiery eyes, and diamond pupils that can see through the disguises of evil spirits? Because this is mostly a miscommunication problem. Where the three characters involved scream at eachother, excepto that one points at the godanmed demon while the other two ignore the actual threat stalking them on the mountain.

It's so wild that the chapter ends with Tripitaka giving Sun Wukong a fucking written certificate stating that he is no longer his disciple, and Monkey going back to Flower Fruit Mountain while crying his eyes out. Downright bawling with tears!

[the-monkey-ruler]

Do you know what other Chinese media have the Six-Eared Macaque and the Macaque King as the same being?

I only know that the Lego Monkie Kid has this take like officially. Like it is far more popular to have the Six Ears as Wukong's brother, adopted or sworn, but they are never given the title 'King', and in fact a lot of movie plots are were the Six Ears is mad that he isn't the king and wants to take over wukong's life. The jealous brother trope. Let me make an updated list of Macaque in media that I am aware of!

1928 True and False Sun Xingzhe 真假孙行者 - evil self

1950 How Nazha Thrice Tricked the Six-eared Monkey 哪宅三戲六耳猴 - some guy

1952 Journey to the West 西遊記 - evil self

1983 Real and Fake Monkey King 真假美猴王 - evil self

1986 Journey to West 西游记 - evil self

1996 Journey to the West 西遊記 - adopted brother

1999 Legends of the Monkey King 西游记 - evil self

2009 Monkey King 美猴王 - sworn brother but not a king

2010 Journey to the West 西遊記 - evil self

2011 Journey to the West 西遊記 - evil self

2015 Journey to the West: True and False Exchange - 西游之偷梁换柱 - evil self

2015 The Grow 2 金箍棒传奇2：沙僧的逆袭 - some guy

2016 A Chinese Odyssey Part Three 大话西游3 - some guy

2017 Journey to the West The Legend of the Merman 西游鲛人传 - some guy.

2017 A Chinese Odyssey: Million Years 大话西游之爱你一万年 - some guy

2017 Winning Buddha 斗战胜佛 - evil self

2018 The New Legends of Monkey - evil clone

2019 The Monkey King: The True Sun Wukong 美猴王之真假孙悟空 - adopted brother.

2020 The Real vs. Fake Monkey King 真假美猴王之大圣无双 - some guy

2020 Monkey King 大圣 - evil clone

2020 Lego Monkie Kid 乐高悟空小侠 - Macaque King

2020 Golden-Banded Staff 降妖伏��之定海神针 - some guy

2021 Monkey King: The One and Only 大圣无双 - evil clone

2021 Six-Eared Monkey 六耳猕猴 - clan members? adopted dad?

2021 Marvel Monkey 六耳猕猴之妖王重生 - some guy

2021 The Legend of Flower Fruit Mountain 花果山传 - twin brother

2022 Journey to the West: True and False Monkey King 西游记 之真假美猴王 - adopted brother? Maybe sworn but not a king?

2022 King of Confusion: The Rise of the Great Sage / Four Monkeys in Confusion 混世之王：混世四猴 /混世之王之大圣崛起 - clan member?

2022 Dislyte - twin brother

2022 Wukong Returns (2022) - evil self

2023 The Legends of Monkey King 凌云志 - some guy

2023 I’m Not a Great Sage 我不是大圣 - some guy

2024 The Monkey King: True and False Monkey King 齐天大圣之真假美猴王 - adopted brother? Maybe sworn but not a king?

2030 True and False Monkey King / Dare to Ask the Way: Apprentice Chapter 西游记真假美猴王 - some guy

Evil Self - 10 (Just Wukong but Evil) Evil Clone - 3 (Created by an outside force) Some Guy - 11 (Just villain, no previous connection) Adopted/Twin Brother/Clan Member - 6~8 (Family connection) Sworn Brother - 1~3 (Friends) Macaque King - 1 (Literally says that they are the Macaque King)

I see a lot more fan content per say that has the Six Ears also have the role of the Macaque King so is it more on a low-key scale where you see the theory really being popular. It is a really fun theory and has a lot of people that enjoy it, but narrative-wise it wouldn't fit in a casual Xiyouji tv show/movie without making major changes. Most mainstream or individual projects have it that Wukong is facing his literal brother/family member, or that he is just facing SOME GUY that he has never met before. Or that it is his evil clone or physical embodiment of his violent thoughts which is what a lot of the older movies do since that aligns with the book's symbolism and narrative meaning of the story.

[itsabouttimex2]

In Primal Moon,reader is stuck with Sun wukong,mk and magaque and they seem smart enough to know to leave doing this week if they live with them or are they not living with them,like I imagine the reader is a friend/ally of theirs ,and all I can imagine is their confusion when while there walking in the city they suddenly get confronted by Sun wukong who wants his cub,he’s all like you can’t be alone your a baby/cub,so basically Sun wukong tracking reader down and kidnapping them and treating them like a cub.I imagine reader puts up a fight,because I think they can fight at least a little.

Primal Moon: Four

(Part One) (Part Two) (Part Three) (Part Four)

(This fic has a paired bot!)

Twice a year; once in spring and once in autumn, a verdant moon rises to bring the bestial instincts of non-humans to light. Celestials and demons alike struggle to keep hold of themselves, something ancient welling up within them and shifting their thoughts and feelings to a more animalistic state.

Today, the first Primal Moon of the year has risen.

Now, with almost all your supplies ruined, the need arose to maneuver the newly viridescent Megapolis. And certainly, capitalism prevailed- in the name of making money, more than a few stores stayed open and pressured young workers into taking jobs during the most dangerous week of the year.

You had thanked the poor kid manning the counter as you left, two sacks held under your arms. Before they could even respond, you were beating a hasty retreat from the store and running back through the alleyways to return home.

But nothing is ever that simple, is it?

As a non-human yourself, you could be called one of the “lucky ones”. The haze of viridescence does not cloud your eyes, nor does it loess you astray.

The draconic horns upon your head tingle under every raindrop, newly sensitive. You’ve never been quite so on edge.

Rain can only dilute a scent so much- and the impact it has in doing so is almost null under the increased senses brought on by viridescence.

Especially if one is being tracked.

The constant rain and foggy streets only buy you a few further minutes than you would have had otherwise, a mystical beast tailing you with each step taken. The demons lurking around shady corners do not halt his search. Even the minimized scent trail does not deter him.

And all too soon, he’s just a breath away.

You barely have time to shiver before the demon is upon you, bounding footsteps that come down with enough force to shatter the paved streets under his feet.

A ginger simian; radiating power and boundless age, sharply turns the corner to greet you.

You only get a few seconds to register the sudden situation before he’s upon you, clutching your forearms with a manic smile.

Sun Wukong.

You had met him several times, engaging with the Mystic Monkey on amicable terms after being introduced to him by MK. He was always affectionate and kind, but now?

Hazy pits of verdant madness swirls within eyes that were once a mystic gold. His now-reddened teeth are stained with the scent of copper. Ginger fur that was once well-groomed and left in wild curls is now slick and flat from cold rain.

“My cub!! My precious, darling cub!! Bába was looking all over for you!! Come here! Come here, little one!”

Wukong snags both of your hands, pulling you into his chest for a freezing cold hug. As soon as he does, a heavenly white cloud phases into existence, fluffy vapors spilling from the white mounds.

“C’mon, cub! Bàba will take you home!”

Pulling away as much you can in shock, your fearful eyes fall upon the monkey’s manic eyes.

Wukong doesn’t notice the fearful look, only the fact that you’re trying fruitlessly to pull your hands away. “There, there, cub… come back to Flower Fruit Mountain with me! Bába will make sure his cub is nice and warm!” He cheers, jumping upon the cloud, holding onto your hand and tugging you onto the solid vapors with him.

The cloud kicks off from the ground, blazing across the sky with fervor. Miles of expanse whip by in seconds, the expanse of grey and neon that is Megapolis fading before you can even take a breath.

Only now does reason find you, leading to a prompt protest of:

“You- no, you can’t be serious! I’m-“

“Oh, I’m very serious, cub,” he interrupts with a coo, pressing a kiss to your scalp.” It’s dangerous out here- but Bàba is gonna keep you safe!” The simian responds, wrapping his arms around your back and pulling you tightly into his lap. He’s cold and soaking, but refuses to let you pull away. “What if some nasty demon hurt you with the Primal Moon? I don’t want my little cub to get hurt!”

Before you can truly respond or argue, Flower Fruit Mountain is in sight, and the cloud is touching down on lush grass. The Monkey King’s return is heralded with a massive troop of fluffy white Rhesus Macaques, clustering around the fading cloud at their king’s feet. The downwards lurch leaves your stomach queasy, shutting you up quickly.

Wukong laughs and grins with wild motions that are far too fluid, waving one hand and calling out to the troop surrounding the pair. “My little monsters! How have you been? Have you been taking good care of the mountain for me?”

The monkeys respond with loud chatter, screeching and waving their little white paws. They move closer, hopping on the Great Sage with glee and trying to reach over the his shoulders in a bid to touch your hair, already attuned to Wukong’s view of you.

If you’re one of his, then you’re one of theirs.

“Alright, alright!” He laughs, nudging the grabby furballs away with his tail. “We can have a grooming session later! I’ve gotta find something warm for my cub to wear!

The thought strikes you that he may well not be alone. Maybe there’s others here, people like him who are similarly affected by the Primal Moon.

“Does, um… does anyone else l-live here with you?”

(God, what is wrong with you? Why can’t you muster up anger? Or the will to fight?)

“Well, not usually! But I wrangled my sneaky little brother into staying the week, kiddo! He’s your uncle, remember? Macaque? With the black fur and the gold- well, they’re green now, but usually his eyes are gold. Ince I’ve got you something cozy, the three of us are gonna have a grooming session, pumpkin!”

“…Macaque?”

The destroyer of your home. The black-souled beast that dared to level your beloved palace.

The demon that crippled your father, Ao Guang.

“He’s here?”

The Great Sage slams his foot into the door, nearly breaking the hinges as he rushes you inside.

“He is! I can’t wait to introduce the two of you!”

Wukong ushers you into the bathroom and then the tub from there, running the hot water without even allowing you a chance to remove your clothes.

“I’ll be right back with something-“

“Wait!”

Here is your long-awaited chance. A silver lining in a heavy dark cloud.

Revenge, so clearly in sight, and for so little effort on your part.

“Just you and, um… “uncle” Macaque, then?”

The familial word tastes like bile on your lips, but you mange it all the same.

“You, “uncle” Macaque… but no MK?”

Wukong pauses, a sad little sigh sounding from his downturned lips. For a moment, his gaze darkens, eyes flicking away from your face. “He’s…” The Great Sage pauses, an unfamiliar expression crossing his features for a sparse moment. “…not doing well. It’s best for my little cub to stay away from him until this week passes.” In truth, the boy had grown… feral and violent, necessitating a temporary divide. “But don’t worry about him. Just get ready to go say ‘hi’ to your uncle, huh?”

“…can you bring me a big hoodie? With one of those combined front pockets,” you ask, widening and wetting your eyes like a sad puppy- a trick you had won your real father over with a few times. “They’re really cozy and make me feel really safe…”

And… they’re a great way to conceal a weapon. It seemed as though the Great Sage hadn’t taken note of the dragon-tooth dagger strapped inside the sleeve of your silk robe. You had forged it by hand, for the sole purpose of carving that damned black-hearted simian into pieces for all his misdeeds.

Who would’ve thought that the Primal Moon would accomplish so many steps of your plan for you? That it would bring you so close, so quickly?”

Wukong doesn’t bother with a response- he years off through the house with hurried feet, shredding through all of his clothes to find what you’ve asked for- anything for his cub, after all.

Leaving you to wash and warm your scales, plotting and planning and scheming.

Maybe, just maybe… this Primal Moon was going to be a good one.

[journeythroughjourneytothewest]

Chapter Recap: Chapter Twenty One: The Viharapalas prepare lodging for the Great Sage; Lingji of Sumeru crushes the wind demon

This chapter begins with the fifty little demons, which Sun Wukong had soundly trounced in the last chapter, fleeing back to their cave and telling the Yellow Wind Monster that “the Tiger Vanguard was no match for the hairy-faced monk.” The “old monster…was terribly upset” by this news, and becomes even angrier when informed that the “Tiger Vanguard was beaten to death by the hairy-faced monk and dragged up to our door to provoke battle.” Calling for his armor, the Yellow Wind Monster states that even if the Monkey King “has nine heads and eight tails, I’m going to take him in here to pay for the life of my Tiger Vanguard!” And so the old monster grabs his steel trident and leads the rest of the yaoguai out to do battle.

The find Sun Wukong resting “one foot on the carcass of the Tiger monster and the compliant iron rod in his hands” and demanding that they release Tang Sanzang. The Yellow Wind Monster, however, laughs when he sees “the diminutive figure of Pilgrim—less than four feet, in fact,” and proceeds to call the Monkey king “only a sickly ghost, with nothing more than your skeleton left!” Sun Wukong laughs in turn, telling his opponent that “if you have the courage to hit me on the head with the handle of your trident, I’ll grow six feet at once.” And he does, which both alarms the Yellow Wind Monster and compels him to begin battling the Monkey King in earnest. The two fight for thirty rounds without either one being able to gain the upper hand. So Sun Wukong uses his trick of “body beyond the body” to use his hair to create “more than a hundred Pilgrims; all having the same appearance and all holding an iron rod, they surrounded the monster in midair.” Yet the Yellow Wind Monster now reveals his “special talent”; he “turned to face the ground to the southwest and opened his mouth three times to blow out some air. Suddenly a mighty yellow wind arose in the sky” that was so ferocious it “blew away all those little Pilgrims formed by the Great Sage’s hair and sent them reeling through the air like so many spinning wheels.” Sun Wukong, for his own part, grows alarmed enough to both retrieve his hairs and to try to attack the yaoguai himself, “only to be met by a mouthful of yellow wind right on his face. Those two fiery eyes with diamond pupils of his were so blasted that they shut tightly and could not be opened.” The Monkey King is thus forced to flee in defeat, while his opponent retrieves his wind.

Meanwhile, Zhu Bajie had led Bai Longma and the luggage to a place of refuge “when he saw the violent yellow windstorm arriving and the whole of Heaven and Earth growing dim.” During this episode he had “crouched on the ground and refused to open his eyes or raise his head, his mouth incessantly calling on the name of Buddha and making vows,” but when it is over he peeks out in deep distress and uncertainty until he sees “the Great Sage approaching from the west, grunting and snorting as he came.” Sun Wukong tells his swinish companion what happened, including on how in terms of the martial arts the Yellow Wind King is “just about the equal of old Monkey,” and further can’t stop exclaiming on the power of the wind. Concluding that they’ll “have to wait to rescue Master,” Sun Wukong also wonders if there’s any eye doctor around who can help him with his “sorely blasted” eyes. He also doubts that “the monster has the gall to harm out master,” and so the Monkey King proposes that he and Zhu Bajie find a family to stay with for the night, and that they’ll “return to subdue the monster tomorrow when it's light.”

As dusk is setting in, the pair come across a small cottage. Calling out, they are soon confronted by an old man and “several young farmers, all holding rakes, pitchforks, and brooms.” Sun Wukong explains their situation, and the now sympathetic old man apologizes for their suspicion, as their location “is a place where clouds are more numerous than people, and when we heard you calling at the door just now, we were afraid that it might be someone like a wily fox, a tiger, or a bandit from the mountain.” Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie are thus invited in and given tea and a vegetarian meal. Yet before they lay down to sleep, Sun Wukong inquires as to whether there’s anyone around who sells eye medicine, and goes on to explain the reason behind why he’s “weeping constantly.” The old man, however, wonders why a “young priest like you” would lie, and goes on to explain that the Great King Yellow Wind wields the Divine Wind of Samadhi, which kills mortals instantly. Sun Wukong merely says that while he “may not be an immortal (for they belong to the younger generation, as far as I’m concerned) …it will take some doing to finish me off!”

Now seemingly convinced of the monkey’s merits, the old man offers Sun Wukong the “three-flowers and nine-seeds ointment,” which is “capable of curing all wind-induced eye maladies.” He dabs some onto the Monkey King’s eyes and tells him that he will be well by morning. After some squabbling with Zhu Bajie and exercising “to cultivate his magic power,” Sun Wukong does fall asleep, and wakes up the next morning with sight “a hundred times better than before!” The pair then look around and find that the cottage had disappeared and that they were “actually lying on a green grass meadow.” It’s soon concluded that it was the deities who were ordered to guard Tang Sanzang which were behind this, and while Sun Wukong is annoyed at their trick he’s soon mollified by Zhu Bajie reminding the monkey of all the help they just gave. They soon go back to their bickering, however, when Eight Rules tells the Monkey King that he should “find out whether Master is dead or alive; if he’s dead, each one of us can tend to our own business; if he’s not, we can do our best to discharge our responsibility.” With that final spat, Sun Wukong goes back to confront the Great King Yellow Wind.

When he arrives at the Yellow Wind Cave, the Monkey King finds all its inhabitants “sound asleep.” He thus transforms himself into a “tiny and delicate” spotted-leg mosquito and gives a ferocious bite to the yaoguai “who was supposed to guard the door [and] was lying there asleep, snoring.” After this little yaoguai opens the first door upon finding that it’s dawn another door inside is opened, “Pilgrim immediately flew in.” He finds the old yaoguai king “giving orders to all his subordinates to be especially careful in guarding the various entrances while they made ready their weapons,” as if the Divine Wind of Samadhi hadn’t killed Sun Wukong, “he will certainly come back today. When he comes, we’ll finish him off.”

The monkey turned mosquito flies further into the cave, and crawling through a crack in a door near the back, discovers “a larger garden, in the middle of which, bound by ropes to a pole, was the Tang Monk. That master was shedding tears profusely, constantly wondering where Wukong and Wuneng were to be found.” The Monkey King “stopped his flight and alighted on his bald head,” and tells Tripitaka that they “must first capture the monster before we can rescue you,” and that while “the wind of the old monster is a powerful weapon…we should be able to capture him today. Relax and stop crying.” Message relayed, Sun Wukong takes off.

The monkey turned mosquito finds the Great King of Yellow Wind at the front of the cave “making a roll call of all the commanders of his troops.” Yet a little yaoguai soon rushes in with the information that he encountered “a monk with a long snout and huge ears…But I didn’t see the hairy-faced monk who came here yesterday.” The Great King of Yellow Wind concludes that Sun Wukong must either be dead or off trying to find help. He then hubristically reveals his only weakness; in reassuring his troops that he’s not afraid of any “divine warrior,” as only “the Bodhisattva Lingji can overcome the power of my wind,” he handed the Monkey King the key to his defeat. And sure enough Sun Wukong immediately goes back to Eight Rules to inform the pig about his discovery, though there is still the problem of neither one of them knowing where the required bodhisattva lives. Yet fortuitously an old man suddenly comes along, which both soon realize is the Gold Star of Venus, and who gives Sun Wukong the precise location and direction for where to find the Bodhisattva Lingji, who resides on the Little Sumeru Mountain. Having given the directions, the Gold Star of Venus transforms himself into a gentle breeze and vanishes, and Sun Wukong tells Zhu Bajie to hide himself and guard the luggage and the horse. Eight Rules agrees to do so, stating that “Old Hog has mastered the law of the turtle: withdraw your head when you needn’t stick it out!”

Pilgrim Sun travels at an astonishing speed to the Little Sumeru Mountain, where he finds a temple where a Daosit is “reciting the name of Buddha.” After they bow to each other, the Monkey King inquires as to the whereabouts of the Bodhisattva Lingji, and is soon led to the room where the bodhisattva is worshipping the Buddha. After Sun Wukong explains his plight, the Bodhisattva Lingji in turn relates how he “did receive the command of Tathagata…to keep the Yellow Wind Monster here in submission. Tathagata also gave me a Wind-Stopping Pearl and a Flying-Dragon Precious Staff.” We also learn that after the bodhisattva had captured the Great King Yellow Wind for the first time, he had “spared the monster his life only on the condition that he would retire in the mountain and abstain from the sin of taking life. I did not know that he would want to harm your esteemed teacher and transgress the Law.” Recognizing that the situation is “my fault” (especially since it was confirmed this yaoguai had a habit of regularly snacking on humans), the Bodhisattva Lingji takes up his staff and travels with Sun Wukong to the Yellow Wind Mountain.

In no time at all they arrive. Bodhisattva Lingji tells the Monkey King that as “this monster is rather afraid of me,” Pilgrim Sun should lure the yaoguai out of his cave so that the bodhisattva can work his magic. Sun Wukong agrees to this plan and, whipping out his iron rod and smashing the door of the cave, demands that the Great King Yellow Wind return Tang Sanzang. This causes the old monster to take up his armor and steel trident as before, but now with the intent to “use that divine wind to blow [the monkey] to death.” The two fight for a few rounds before the Great King Yellow Wind resolves to summon the Samadhi wind again, but at that moment the Bodhisattva Lingji “threw down the Flying-Dragon Precious Staff as he recited some kind of spell. It was instantly transformed into a golden dragon with eight claws, two of which caught hold of that monster’s head and threw him two or three times against the boulders beside the mountain cliff. The monster changed back into his original form and became a mink with yellow fur.”

Sun Wukong is about to kill this small animal, but the Bodhisattva Lingji stops him before then telling the Monkey King the story of this yaoguai: originally, “he was a rodent at the foot of the Spirit Mountain who had acquired the Way. Because he stole some of the pure oil in the crystal chalice, he fled for fear that the vajra attendants would seize him. Tathagata thought that he was not guilty of death, and this is why I was asked to capture him in the first place and banish him to this region.” Yet now that this yaoguai attempted to kill and eat Tang Sanzang, the Bodhisattva Lingji will take him back to the Buddha “so that his guilt may be clearly established.” This decided, the Bodhisattva, after receiving Sun Wukong’s thanks, leaves for the West, mink in tow.  

Soon after, the Monkey King reunites with Zhu Bajie and relates everything that happened. The two then go to the Yellow Wind Cave together and “with their rake and rod slaughtered all the wily hares, the vixen, the musk deer, and the horned deer.” They then rescue Tang Sanzang, who thanks them profusely. Reunited, the pilgrims then enjoy some vegetarian food they found in the cave along with tea and rice before going back on the road West. What struggles they face next is a question that will have to be left for the next chapter.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Family of Sages

I mentioned in this post about possible Celestial Water Monkeys; that one Ming-dynasty opera (written nearly 200 years before the Jttw novel) depicts the "Wuzhiqi" (a simian water demon) as a sister to Sun Wukong.

@journeytothewestresearch did an article or two on this particular play, and how there's a possibility of there being multiple "Great Sages" throughout folklore.

The play itself is pretty bawdy given that it's writer was known for adult comedy; with "Sun Xingzhe" being a bit of horndog (only stopped by the circlet), based on a popular cryptid of the time infamous for stealing women.

Other details include;

Red Boy (true name being Ainu’er) being the son of the Bodhisattva Manjushri and the ancient demon-mother-goddess Hariti (comparable to the Echidna of Greek mythology).

The nine skulls on Sha Wujing's neck representing the nine previous lives of the Golden Cicada. (cool af)

Zhu Bajie being afraid of nothing (hah!) but Erlang's dog Xiaotian Quan.

Princess Iron Fan being unmarried, to which Sun Xingzhe offers to be her husband (guess people were shipping them even back then, explains Goku and Chichi).

Tripitaka returning to Chang'an without his pilgrim buddies, instead the Buddha gives him four bodyguards of his own for the return trip. The demons aren't allowed go back East. Kinda sad.

So it's best to take the characterisation with a grain of salt, though it has some cool ideas.

The family sound off is presented as this:

"We are five brothers and sisters: my elder sister is Lishan Laomu [離山老母, Venerable Mother of Mount Li], my second sister Wuzhiqi Shengmu [巫支祇聖母, Holy Mother Wuzhiqi]; my older brother is Qitian Dasheng [齊天大聖, Great Sage Equaling Heaven], I myself am Tongtian Dasheng [通天大聖, Great Sage Reaching Heaven], and my younger brother Shuashua Sanlang [耍耍三郎]"

Wukong introduces himself as "Tongtian Dasheng [通天大聖, Great Sage Reaching Heaven]". But his older brother has the title of Qitian Dasheng [齊天大聖, Great Sage Equaling Heaven].

Another later story mentioned in the article has the "Cinnabar Cloud Great Sage/Danxia Dasheng"; a red-furred staff-wielding monkey who acts as an antagonist towards the main goddess character. Curiously is described as both a peach thief, a survivor of Laozi's furnace, and a frequent identity-stealer (possible Six Eared Macaque?). He is punished for being so naughty by getting neutered (ouch).

And of course there is the God of Thunder Leigong aka "Sire/Duke of Thunder", who is often depicted as a celestial monkey/ape working as the muscle and executioner for the Jade Emperor. Became immortal after eating a Peach dropped by a fox demon (Jiuweihuli?) arguing with Celestial soldiers. Is married to the Goddess of Lightning Dianmu, who lights up the sky to help her husband see his targets. He is said to be one of Five Brothers, leading to more connections.

So theres;

Lishan Laomu/"Venerable Mother of Mount Li" - Eldest sister/sibling. Curiously named after a popular goddess of the same name said to be equal in power to Nüwa, and possible Mother Nature itself. Said goddess appears in Jttw as a companion of Guanyin, and helps out Wukong when the rest of the hang were poisoned.

Wuzhiqi Shemu/"Holy Mother Wuzhiqi" - Second elder sister. Her name is associated with an aquatic flood demon with a stretchy neck - bound to the bottom of mountain/sea by Yu the Great (original owner of the Ruyi Jingu Bang) with iron chains.

Qitian Dasheng/"Great Sage Equaling Heaven" - older brother. Has the traditional "Great Sage Equal to Heaven" title. Makes me think of Dasheng from HIB.

Tongtian Dasheng/"Great Sage Reaching Heaven" - second brother aka the version of Sun Wukong/Xingzhe in the play. Is closer to "Quagmire" than Sun Wukong tbh.

Shuashua Sanlang/"Playful Third Brother" - youngest brother. Not much is said about him. His name literally means "Playful Third Brother". Might be the baby of the family.

+Danxia Dasheng/"Cinnabar Cloud Great Sage" - red-furred Wukong double. Got neutered for being naughty.

+Leigong/Duke of Thunder - Actual thunder god.

This gang of monkeys siblings is likely what led to the depiction of the "Four Stalwart Generals" who are Wukong's closest monkey companions. But now I'm imagining an universe/au where the Stalwarts are all similarly orphaned celestial monkeys of deferring elements who adopted one another.

Danxia/Cinnabar Cloud is an odd mix of both Wukong and the Six Eared Macaque. Possible kid? Maybe inspired ideas of Wukong being red furred. His shenanigans even remind me of Monkey from the netflix Monkey King (2023).

And of course Leigong... Jade Emperor sends a monkey to kill a monkey, and is shocked when Wukong survives. Leigong is like an old blue-collar worker who refuses to work if it violates his union rights - even orders from the King of the Universe.

[skellebonez]

Cotton Tails and Borrowed Time: Chapter 11 (Final)

Edited (and planned) with the help of my friend Bucky! Couldn’t do this without you!

Well. Here we are.

The final chapter.

Thank you everyone for for coming along with Bucky and I on this wild ride. We wouldn't have gotten here without you.

Please enjoy chapter 11! Check out the AO3 link.

“Are you sure this is where Sun Wukong said to meet up?” Nezha asked with a grumble. “We’ve been waiting for over half an hour.”

“Well, MAYBE if someone didn’t drag us here from the cheese tea stall forty-five minutes before we were supposed to be here we wouldn’t be waiting on everyone else!” Bai He retorted.

Nezha sputtered. “I simply like to be more than punctual during important events!” he defended, flushing a bit over being called out in such a way.

His much younger friend smirked. “You were excited to see them again,” she continued.

The Third Lotus Prince refused to respond to that, crossing his arms with a scowl. The laugh and pat on the arm he received in return only made him feel a tiny bit less embarrassed at being found out.

It had been a while since they had all gathered together.

“You, uh...” a voice began, and Nezha and Bai He looked over.

Jin peered up awkwardly from his place at the nearby table. He was slouched down, almost barely noticeable over the large basket of fruit that Nezha and Bai He had brought with them. “You didn’t have to actually pick us up.”

“We’re not even sure we’re actually, you know, welcome here, after the... everything?” Yin added.

“If you were invited, it must have been for a reason,” Nezha countered firmly.

It was an odd sight. Nezha and Bai He sitting across from the Metal Brothers at an almost comically large table on the beach of Mount Huaguo. They’d all received an invitation to be there, but Nezha had received very specific instructions regarding the brothers. As it was, the twins were currently on a mission. Which was to avoid any and all confrontation with anyone related to MK.

“Well, I don’t see any reason there could be outside making us feel worse,” Yin muttered almost imperceptibly under his breath. Without warning, he let out a yelp and jumped in his seat. “Who kicked me!?”

“Punched, actually,” a new speaker corrected. But it did not take long for the others to identify who it was as a shadow lengthened on the ground. Red fabric swished in a flourish as Macaque emerged from the darkness, giving a quick wink to Bai He. “You should listen to the Flower Boy,” the monkey said, pointedly ignoring an outburst from Nezha. “It’d be rude to ignore an invitation.”

With perfect poetic timing, a cloud descended from the sky to challenge the shadow demon.

“Like being rude ever stopped you before,” the Monkey King scowled. His harsh expression softened briefly softened as he carefully helped someone down from the cloud. But it was back again in full force as he whirled back on the source of his ire.

“If I had any say in this you would have been told the wrong date,” Sun Wukong muttered under his breath.

"I can HEAR YOU, Wukong,” Macaque stated flatly as he helped himself to the basket of fruit.

“OH no, what a NIGHTMARE,” Sun Wukong gasped dramatically. “My harsh jabs have offended our semi-reformed villain.”

“You’re only jabbing me because you’re still upset I got that couch out without you realizing it.”

“I HADN’T SLEPT FOR 4 DAYS.”

The laugh from Macaque at the Monkey King’s outburst was only met with a frustrated growl. But any fear at the possibility of a fight was dismissed when both monkeys paused and blinked at Bai He’s barely suppressed giggles.

Nezha snickered. “Look at that. Even a mortal child has more maturity than you two.”

“HEY!”

As Macaque and Sun Wukong wheeled their focus on Nezha, another duo found their attention entirely taken by another guest at the table.

“Hey,” Yin said as he shuffled his feet awkwardly.

Scorpion Demoness said nothing as she sat down on the opposite side of the table and not quite across from them.

There was an awkward silence between the four of them. Even Tudi, who had apparently hitched a ride along with Scorpion Demoness, was unusually silent.

“We... heard you got a job in the city,” Jin attempted.

“I did,” Scorpion Demoness answered. “I was offered one, at any rate.”

That was the most she had said to their faces in weeks.

“Do you.... Think you’ll take it?” Yin asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Maybe.”

It was rough, seeing her again. After everything that happened, Scorpion Demoness had moved back to her castle. She hadn’t entirely cut contact with the brothers—thank goodness—and still popped into the group chat MK had set up for them from time to time. It was a way for her to take some time to herself and see how she felt about... everything that happened.

Yin and Jin had really, really screwed up. As much as they hated it, they understood if she needed time away from them. At the very least, they knew that she wouldn’t be gone forever. Tudi still came by to visit from time to time. And every food picture she shared in the group chat was proof that she didn’t want them out of her life.

The brothers complimented every single photo.

“Are you taking care of my apartment?” SD asked suddenly.

“Best we can,” Jin replied. “Little easier now that MK had his dragon friend help us set up work stuff in there.”

“...You have jobs now?” Scorpion Demoness asked, seeming genuinely surprised.

“Yeah!” Yin chimed in, excitement building in his tone as he spoke. “We’re working on our own VR game on the side, but we managed to get a few jobs for online games as well as set up our own little area in the storage room none of us used to make customized tech equipment. You’d be surprised how many people want to order rings that have tiny little powerful flashlights in them!”

“...Sounds like you two finally found your place,” she said. There was a tiny, fragile smile on her face. SD looked away, wringing her hands as she did. “I... might move back in. The job I was offered is nearby.”

“It’s your place we’re staying in,” Jin frowned. “You should take it. We’ll move out if you want us to.”

“I don’t want you to, though.” The scorpion’s hands reached up and thumbed at the jewel pendant she wore. “I want to trust you again. You promised me that you would find jobs the last time we saw each other so... I want to try living together again.”

Before either brother could react, the sound of heavy footfalls shook the table.

“Dr. Speckles!” Sandy shouted, followed closely by one Demon Bull King and one Princess Iron Fan. Right behind them was a very bemused Red Son and Mei.

The Dr. Speckles in question was a small cat that had gotten away from Sandy and had bolted toward the sound of people. A small tortoiseshell cat, which made the name... make some sense. Leaping onto the table, the cat made a beeline toward the end of the table before jumping on to a very much shocked Nezha. much to the immortal’s shock. Before the immortal could grab the fleeing feline, it scrambled on to his head.

“Don’t move!” Sandy exclaimed, grabbing the kitten before it could fall off Nezha’s head and possibly hurt itself. Both him and Nezha sighed in relief when the kitten was safely caught. “You could have just scruffed her, she would have been alright,” Sandy noted.

“I am... still not used to feline behaviors,” Nezha admitted with a frown. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay! They seem to like you, at least!” Sandy comforted. “Maybe you should finally take Mei and MK up on their offer to hang out on my boat?”

“...Perhaps.”

As the rest of the group made their way to the table, it became clear that there were only a few seats missing. DBK took the end of the table, sitting on the ground and definitely not throwing a very pointed but not overtly hostile look in a certain simian’s direction. Princess Iron Fan sat across from her son on her husband’s right, and Red Son sat next to Mei. There was some space between her and Scorpion Demoness, and even more between her and Bai He and Nezha. They sat across from the twins, with Sandy taking a direct seat beside them. That left only two monkeys, two monkeys who were very much trying to ignore each other, standing.

Sun Wukong flitted about as he checked to see that everything was set up properly and in order.

“Who are we missing?” the Monkey King asked, looking over the group. “Just MK and...” he trailed off, counting his fingers for a second. “Yeah, looks like the three of them are it.”

“I already said I would bring them here when they call me,” Macaque said through a mouthful of mango and plum—eaten at the same time. “So just MK.”

“I think he said he was picking up something for Pigsy,” Mei said, scrolling on her phone before laughing. “And it looks like you don’t need to take a trip! See?”

~

Mr. Jiang smiled, making sure that he walked the new pathway as MK instructed.

It had taken a lot of convincing to get this done. But in the end, Sun Wukong was much happier with there being a safer route for everyone to visit Mount Huaguo. No more having to fly and disturb the monkeys, no more picking up people on the cloud. Just nice smooth sailing.

Mostly smooth.

“So what’s this shindig all about?” Mr. Jiang asked as he carefully sailed them through the choppy water near the Flaming Mountains.

MK thought it was way cooler going through here when someone wasn’t trying to kill him.

“Not sure,” the Monkie Kid shrugged. “Pigsy and Tang wanted everyone together. After everything they’ve been through, no one is going to tell them no.”

“I see, I see,” Mr. Jiang chuckled. “Well, I am sure it’s something important!”

MK looked back at his dads—his DADS—and smiled.

Pigsy was sitting calmly in the back of the boat, Tang slightly leaning over the railing to let the salty ocean breeze run through his fur.

It seemed he’d gotten used to it all by now. He seemed happy. That’s what mattered.

“Are you sure you won’t join us, Mr. Jiang?” Pigsy asked as he stood, giving Tang a quick tap on his shoulder to let him know they were getting close.

“No,” the old sailor answered with a shake of his head. There was something... sad about the way he turned down the offer. “No, I wouldn’t want to impose. Besides! I have a job to get ready for.”

“Aw, man,” MK frowned. “But you’re practically like... an uncle at this point, I’ve delivered that much to you. You’re more than welcome to come for at least a few minutes!”

He did not miss the way Mr. Jiang jolted, clearly shocked. Nor the way Tang and Pigsy sent the sailor a knowing look.

“It wouldn’t hurt to at least see the mountain for a moment, you know,” Tang said with a firmness in his voice. “After all, this is a one of a kind opportunity. Live a little.”

There was some kind of unspoken conversation going on between the older adults that MK... did not want to question or interrupt. Not until Mr. Jiang gasped.

“Well, what do you know! We’re here!”

Without a moment to lose, the sailor docked his ship at the new dock the Monkey King had set up before helping his passengers off the boat in no time at all.

“MK, go ahead and let everyone know we’re here,” Tang said as he stretched. At his new height, he towered over everyone else. “We’re going to take our time.”

“Okay, Pops!” MK exclaimed, grabbing everything they had brought with them before rushing off. “I’ll set everything up! Take your time!”

~

Tang sighed, shaking his legs as he tentatively took a few slow steps up onto the island.

“This is so different from the city,” he laughed, walking slowly on his new feet.

Well. Paws.

Not everything had gone back to the new normal after... whatever the heck his Golden Cicada powers did.

All he remembered was Pigsy kissing him. Then a bright warm, but not too hot, light. And then: exhaustion. He returned to his normal height to his relief, but it wasn’t obvious to him what had actually happened until later.

Sun Wukong—and Tang Sanzang in private later on—explained it to the best of their limited knowledge.

The curse had a weakness due to how it was created. Once the final transformation was triggered, it was never supposed to stop. But his powers and Monkey King’s seal had stopped it temporarily when his memories started to fail. When he admitted his feelings to Pigsy, the curse stopped a second time—which should not have happened. The rush of emotions he felt at Pigsy’s own confession summoned his powers, undoing what they could of the transformation.

But there was only so far they could go, even as powerful as they were. In addition to the physical transformation, it seemed Tang had inherited some more rabbit features. He retained some more intense instincts that went a tad further than normal rabbit demon instincts, such as his more intense desire to burrow as well as some of the more strict dietary restrictions. But the most notable things to remain were his ears and legs.

His ears remained longer than normal, almost resembling long flowing hair at the right angle.

But his legs had been... troublesome.

They resembled rabbit legs more than human legs, with the paws to match. Tang had to relearn how to walk on them.

But he was here now. Walking on his own two feet again. It wasn’t easy, and he still needed to take lots of breaks and have someone there just in case he needed help. But he was doing his best and that is what mattered.

“I would imagine so, my disciple,” Mr. Jiang stated once MK was out of earshot. “But your tenacity and recovery have been quite remarkable.”

“You sticking around when I have to work in the shop helped a lot,” Pigsy said as they made their way down the path. “Thanks for that, uh... your Monkness?”

“I’ve told you that it is perfectly acceptable to just call me Tripitaka,” Tang Sanzang said with a sigh. “It was a title given to me, after all, and it lowers the confusion.”

“If you say so,” Pigsy shrugged.

Tang was just glad they were getting along.

~

“They’re coming!” MK announced as he rushed to the table and plopped down a tower of boxes. “Monkey King, can you help me put on the tablecloth first? Sandy, can you get the cooking gear set up?”

“On it!”

“I shall... assist,” DBK offered, surprising at least a few people there. But not the ones who could see he was awkwardly sitting there and clearly looking for something to do.

“Thanks!” MK said gratefully as Monkey King laid the cloth. With the two of them working, it took no time at all for the table to be prepared. “Red, can you help me set the food out for cooking on this other table?”

“I’ll set out the drinks!” Mei said, rushing off once she grabbed the boxes with everything she needed.

“It’s Red Son,” the bull prince corrected before a small smile formed on his face. “But sure, Noodle Boy.”

“This’ll be ready in no time then!” MK grinned, handing Red Son two boxes. “Man... I’m glad everything worked out as well as it did. Or you wouldn’t be helping me right now!”

“Well, I imagine that it would have worked out even if you had been the one stricken with the curse,” Red Son noted off-handedly.

“Oh, it wouldn’t have done anything to me.”

“IT WOUL—how do you know that?”

“Scorpion Demoness,” MK explained. “When we all rushed into Pigsy’s place after getting back, we took the time to make sure Tang was okay. From what Monkey King said, it looked like the curse wouldn’t affect anyone who doesn’t have anyone they’re interested in. Which is good, because then SD could have worked on that counter-curse without worrying!”

“You’ve never been interested in someone?” Red Son gaped in surprise.

“Nope,” MK answered with a shrug. “Well. People ask if me and Mei are a thing, but nah, we’re just friends.”

“Huh.” Red Son hummed under his breath as he looked up at the clouds above them. “Do, uh... Did you ever have anyone you wanted to date?” There was an uncertainty in his voice, not of curiosity but something else.

“Nope!” MK answered, popping the word. “Dating and that kind of stuff never interests me.”

“What, uh...” Red Son paused, rubbing his hands so much until they sparked. It was a nervous habit of his, MK had learned. “What if... you. Hypothetically... also never had any interest until you started hanging out with someone and then you thought it might be nice if you... held... ohthisisstupidI—”

“You have a crush on Mei.”

“WHO TOLD YOU!?”

Had it been anyone else, such shouting would have immediately been returned with worry and concern. But Red Son’s sudden outburst had everyone staring for only a moment before it was shrugged off as ‘Red Son being Red Son’.

“It’s kind of obvious, dude,” MK said with a laugh. “I’ve seen enough romance movies to pick up on the signs.”

“Like... wanting to hold her hand and take her to see a movie and... maybe... play with her hair?”

“That’s the most stereotypical crush admission I have ever heard.”

“But how do I know I... you know?” Red Son asked, waving his hand around in a gesture of uncertainty. “Actually LIKE-like her?”

“You literally just told me you want to hold her hand and take her to the movies and play with her hair,” MK replied. “I’m aroace and I even I know you LIKE-like her.”

“THIS IS NEW TERRITORY FOR ME, NOODLE BOY!”

“And yet, despite it never being mine, I seem to know the lay of the land better than you.”

Red Son could only stare at the other, mouth agape in shock. Before he could think of any kind of comeback, a shout drew everyone’s attention.

~

“We’re here!” Tang announced, walking faster once he saw everyone there. “We’ll get started as soon as you finish setting up!”

“And that is my cue to leave,” Mr. Jiang hastily announced, clearly tense despite his best effort to hide it. “I hope you have a good get together, I—”

“Hey, hey, you don’t have to rush off,” Sun Wukong cut in. “I know it’s a bit weird to be here with a bunch of strangers, but I promise we don’t bite.”

“I-I-I-I...” Mr. Jiang stammered.

A smile as bright as the sun spread across the Monkey King’s face. “Starstruck?”

“You fucking wish,” Macaque snickered.

“LANGUAGE!” Sun Wukong yelled. He sighed, turning back around to see a shocked expression on Mr. Jiang’s face. The Monkey King grinned sheepishly. “Ah, sorry about that. That’s Macaque—yes, that Macaque from the stories—and he’s annoying. You’re the sailor guy from the noodle shop, right? You’re more than welcome to stay for lunch. It is a long ride back to the mainland after all.”

Mr. Jiang didn’t respond for a moment, instead looking over to Tang. When all he received was a smirk and a nod, the sailor sighed. “I-I suppose... I suppose I could stay for a moment. I have a very particular diet so I understand if you can’t accommodate, I can go.”

“No worries! Tang and I have strict diets so we have something for everyone,” Sun Wukong said with a laugh, pulling out chairs for Mr. Jiang and Tang. “Do you have allergies?”

“...I’m a vegetarian.”

“Oh, cool! I am too! Actually, I think vegan would be more accurate but whatever. Anyways, we should be good to start soon.”

To Mr. Jiang’s immense relief, Sun Wukong was correct. It only took a few more minutes for everything to be finished and for everyone to take their seats. MK sat between Mei and Scorpion Demoness while Sun Wukong and Macaque sat on opposite sides of the twins. Pigsy sat beside the Monkey King while Mr. Jiang took a seat next to Nezha... who looked at the sailor with surprise, confusion, and worry.

“Well, now that everyone is here and settled,” Tang said. “I’m going to be honest, being cooped up inside for most of the last three weeks made me want any excuse to have a party. But it’s for a good reason! As many of you know, I’ve been in a sort of rehabilitation after my transformation. While I will still be attending many, MANY more physical therapy appointments, the doctors say I should be able to walk without issue again in the future!”

The table erupted into applause, elated by the good news.

“Combined with finally adjusting to my new hearing and my new glasses?” Tang continued. “I’m going to be fine.”

“We are glad to hear the good news,” DBK nodded. His wife did as well. “When the Little Thi—MONKIE KID, informed our son of what happened, we had been concerned given the nature of the curse. But why gather us here as well?”

“We heard that you’ve been busy helping people in Lantern City and thought you deserve a bit of a break!” Tang admitted with a chuckle. “But... well, we uh... We have one more thing we wanted to announce...” the scholar trailed off. His eyes drifted over to Pigsy.

“Tang’s moving in with me,” Pigsy finished, taking Tang’s hand. “Closer to the shop, more accessible than his old apartment, and—”

“FINALLY!” Princess Iron Fan interjected as she threw up her hands in joy. There was a beat of silence as everyone stared at her.

“What? It’s obvious that they are a suitable match for each other.” she explained.

There was another beat. And then, laughs broke out across the table.

“Yes!” Tang said through his laughter. “Yes, we are.”

And before anyone could say anything, Pigsy jumped up and kissed him.

He ignored the laughs and awws and “KISS HIM HARDER” from someone in the back.

He ignored that anyone was there at all for a moment.

Tang wrapped his arms around Pigsy—his boyfriend who might become more than that in the future—and passionately returned the kiss.

He may not be the fastest or strongest of their little group. He still felt very foolish at times.

But Tang knew at that moment no one else was possibly happier than he and Pigsy.

And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

(Art provided by @smallpwbbles ! See you all soon. With something special.)

[sayuricorner]

ROTTMNT x Monkie Kid crossover prompt idea: Teenage Mutant Ninja Monkey

Warning: English is not my first language so sorry if it’s confusing.

Warning 2: Spoilers for Monkie Kid S4

Hey everybody! ^^

So for a good time now, I have been obsessed with rise of the tmnt and Monkie Kid and when I learnt those two shows were from the same studios, I couldn’t just miss this opportunity for a crossover!!! ^^

So here’s a crossover idea with in addition an OC of my creation! ^^

If you want to use this AU go ahead, just tag/credite me in return please! ^^

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Prompt concept:

So, times ago before the turtles’s “birth”, Draxum was still researching to create the perfect soldiers.

He found one day a way to travel through dimensions and time and decided to use this to travel in a dimension to find the “perfect DNA”.

This travel lead him in the Monkie Kid universe a very long time before the Monkie Kid events during the time Sun Wukong was still close sworn brother with Macaque, Azure Lion, DBK, Yellow Tusk Elephant and Golden-Winged Eagle.

Draxum met the demon group and “sympathized” with them, seeing this as a perfect opportunity to get the DNA he was searching for.

However, due to some circonstances, he was only able to get Sun Wukong’s and Macaque’s DNA and was forced to quickly disappear and go back to his world.

He tried to mix both monkies DNA with animals from his world to create powerful mutants without any success but was able to use the DNAs to create a monkie like Sun Wukong and Macaque.

Than thing go like in the ROTTMNT canon: Draxum found the perfect DNA in the form of Lou Jitsu, kidnap him and use his DNA to create the turtles.

He also use Lou Jitsu’s DNA on the young monkey he created to had another powerful mutant.

And like in canon, Lou Jitsu escape and burn the laboratory to the group and escape with the young mutants, the young Monkey include and mutated into a rat.

Lou Jitsu, now Splinter, adopt the four turtles and the monkey and the babies got named: Raphael, Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangello and Sandro.

Things go like in the ROTTMNT canon with Sandro being the fifth member of the Mad Dogs.

Fast forward to after the ROTTMNT movie, the Krangs were defeated, the planet was saved and the Hamato clan thought that things will be more peaceful.

That was until one day Sandro begin to develop abilities which, much to everyone’s confusion, had nothing to do with the Hamato Ninpo.

New abilities which powerful and that Sandro didn’t had contol at all making him dangerous for others around him and for himself.

Wanting to help their brother, the Mad Dogs turned to Draxum, hoping to get answers which could help and learnt about the origins of Sandro’s creation.

To the Hamato clan one thing was now clear, only two people would be able to help Sandro to control his abilities: The two monkies whose DNAs created Sandro, Sun Wukong and Macaque.

And to ask for their help they will had to go to them, in their dimension.

Prompt details:

-ROTTMNT setting: After the ROTTMNT movie

-Monkie Kid Setting: After season 3

-Sandro’s personnality: In the group, Sandro is the Sneaky Guy, often the one who scout around for traps and to discretly spy for informations, he is good at reading people’s personality types and had a smooth talk, which is why he often work with Leonardo when it’s come to do talking and negociations.

-Sandro’s appearance: Is a fusion of Sun Wukong and Macaque, his fur is dark brown with the fur on his head being long and tied in a low ponytail, he wear a ninja attire and his main color is yellow.

-Sandro's name is a reference to the artist Sandro Botticelli.

-Like his brothers, Sandro like to goof around and tend to do stupid things, by the end of the ROTTMNT movie, he and his brothers get more maturity.

-Because he is good at reading people, he often use it to either fool them either “encouraging them” to do something.

-The rest of the Mad dogs often describe him as a good manipulator while Sandro like to playfuly retorck he prefer the therm “good negociator”.

-Is one of the nicest in the group and is very social.

-His current weapon is a metallic bo staff, others often comment on the fact it’s the same weapon than Donatello’s to which the two always deny it.

-He love to eat fruits.

-Sandro love pizzas but had often debates with Leonardo on if hawaiian pizza is good or not(spoilers: Sandro think it’s disgusting while Leonardo love it)

-Sandro is very close with his brothers and is protective toward them.

-Sandro’s age: 16

-Abilities: Is the most agile of his brothers, at the start of ROTTMNT, he had a little shadow ability which permit him to litteraly fade in the shadows, at the end of ROTTMNT he develop his Hamato Ninpo, as well as new poweful abilities which he had no control.

-At the start of ROTTMNT, like his brothers, Sandro wasn’t a very good fighter.

-The Hamato clan finding a way to go to the Monkie King universe to find Sun Wukong and Macaque to ask them to help Sandro to learn to control his new abilities.

-The Hamato clan meeting the Monkie Kids group and befriending them.

-When Sun Wukong and Macaque meet the Hamato clan and saw Draxum, they had a “YOU!” reaction toward the Yokai.

-The lmk group being shocked to leanr that Sandro was created from Sun Wukong’s and Macaque DNA like “WHAT? SUN WUKONG AND MACAQUE HAD A KID?!”

-Sun Wukong and Macaque not being very happy to learn that Draxum had stolen their DNA, they’re not upset about Sandro himself but they’re still not happy to learn their DNA was stolen and experimented on.

-Michelangello being like “wait! Does that mean Sandro had FOUR DADS?”

-Akward moment regarding the situation.

-Comical shadowpeach references.

-The Hamato clan and the Monkie Kid group bonding and befriending.

-Sun Wukong and Macaque training Sandro and bonding with him.

-Sandro having difficulties to learn to control his new powers and feeling inferior to Sun Wukong and Macaque.

-Michelangello, April and Casey Jr getting along very well with MK and Mei.

-Raphael befriending Sandy.

-Raphael having the time of his life with the baby monkies from Flower fruit mountain and Sandy’s cats.

-Tang and Donatello being nerds with each other.

-Sun Wukong getting along with Leonardo.

-Splinter and Draxum bonding with Pigsy and Tang.

-The Hamato clan helping MK to fight demons who attack the city. 

-The Hamato clan meeting the Demon Bull family.

-Donatello and Red Son becoming rivals.

-How the rest of the prompt go and finish is up to whoever who use it! ^^