#golden fillet jttw

[professionalwaterbender]

does anyone have an idea for the MK wears The circlet fanfic? rn, the main problem (and only problem) is that we're still trying to figure out how/why MK has the circlet

if any of yall have ideas, i will give you a hug

@tabsters for record

[journeytothewestresearch]

Fun JTTW Text Reference for Artists

I've written at length about Sun Wukong's golden headband (here, here, here, and here). Anyone who has read the novel will know that it is used to rein in Monkey's unruly behavior through the application of pain. Such events have been portrayed by artists like Chen Huiguan in his Newly Illustrated and Complete Journey to the West (Chen Huiguan Xinhui Quanben Xiyouji, 陈惠冠新绘全本西游记, 2001) and Tianwaitang in his piece Tripitaka's Curse (2010).

But I've never seen someone depict the instance with the greatest potential for an everlasting visual impact. In chapter 27, Tripitaka angrily recites the tightening spell 20 times to punish Monkey for killing what he thought was an innocent woman (it wasn't). This causes our hero's head to deform like a cartoon character!

The sight so frightened the Tang Monk that he fell from his horse. Lying on the road, he did not speak another word except to recite the Tight-Fillet Spell back and forth exactly twenty times. Alas, poor Pilgrim's head was reduced to an hourglass-shaped gourd! As the pain was truly unbearable, he had to roll up to the Tang Monk and plead, "Master, please don't recite anymore. Say what you have to say" (Wu & Yu, 2012, vol. 2, p. 23) 唐僧一見，驚下馬來，睡在路傍，更無二話，只是把緊箍兒咒顛倒足足念了二十遍。可憐把個行者頭勒得似個亞腰兒葫蘆，十分疼痛難忍，滾將來哀告道：「師父莫念了，有甚話說了罷。」

The original Chinese lists the "double-waisted" calabash gourd (yayao'er hulu, 亞腰兒葫蘆). I hope this gives artists an idea of what Wukong's head would look like.

I've previously noted how the novel describes Sun Wukong as an actual monkey, and it's because of this that the headband would likely rest on his eye orbits. I imagine his head being squeezed into the shape of a calabash gourd would make his eyes comically (or grotesquely) bulge, too.

[jedineedlove]

Macaque's Death & Samadhi Fire Timeline?

Hello Everybody I am currently making a LMK Fanfic for the first time and I thought to go back over the episodes for more details and research for it. As I did I had some thoughts come to mind and thought I share them with all of you for some feedback.

I am far from saying this is canon or anywhere close to facts but something about the Samadhi fire and Macaques death has me puzzled I went back to episodes and scenes of those shown or mentioned and I came to a conclusion.

Once again I am not saying this is fully true but I think we have the timeline of those events of the LMK Universe wrong. Many and I mean many say and even draw out the events of those two being during the Journey of the West but I thought something about that was off as I looked through flashbacks of those events.

Let me start from the very beginning. It started with seeing the flashback of Macaque's death as LBD threatens him and reminds him that she brought him "back to the mortal plane".

In this picture, you can see Macaque & Wukong fighting against each other staff to staff. This is a scene paired together with Macaque's death this is advertised as the fight that ends him. Many even a majority believe that Macaque died like he did in the JTTW to Wukong after he tried to interrupt the journey.

But I don't think that is true something caught me off guard, it was the outfit that Wukong is wearing in this scene. He is wearing his armor and he is lacking his golden fillet. Many may say the fillet is glamored and he was allowed to wear armor somewhere down the line on the journey but I don't think so if you look at what he looked like during the flashbacks the show gives us.

In these flashbacks from the memory scroll, Wukong is solely in his pilgrim clothes with the fillet in clear view. Not only that but the book image of Wukong has the fillet with no armor in sight.

You may argue but what about the Samadhi Fire scenes. Well, I also believe that did not happen during the JTTW either. In this universe from what I have seen and heard the Samadhi fire was not added to the novel. Tang referred to the Fire as "said in legends" when he retold what he knew about it not "as said in the JTTW".

Also When Mk and Tang went to FFM to find the Vase. When Tang told MK about the history of it. He mentioned that the goddess Quan Yin filled it with an immense amount of water to help Wukong fight a demon Tang could not remember the name of.

In our JTTW there is only one demon we know of that could be referring to, Red Son. BUT Tang does not seem to recall the name of a major enemy of the JTTW being the fanboy of the novel as he is. Also, he does not mention the fire begins the need for the water only a demon.

The two legends are not linked until DBK and PIF tell their story of it. Even during the tale of the vase he refers to the story as being from legends not from the novel JTTW again.

This brings me back to the outfit that Wukong wears his pilgrim (fillet) outfit vs the armor using the mechanism of using character design to tell a timeline. As well as the JTTW itself some are going to argue that maybe he was let loose from the fillet early but I doubt that the fillet in the original telling could only be removed by Buddha.

Tripitaka had no control over that and during Sun Wukong's journey to redemption no way would Buddha remove it and even give Wukong the armor to go fight Macaque unless like I said earlier this fight happened after the JTTW.

That also goes for the Samadhi fire during the ritual Wukong wears the armor but no way would the pacifist and leader of the group allow his violent streaked student on the journey to enlightenment and spiritual journey to wear armor anytime for any reason or take off the fillet if he could. I do believe that the fights between Macaque and Bull King from the story happened but instead of dying on the journey Macaque died after the journey after a fight went too far. Even more, I believe that Macaque was revived sometime before or after DBK was sealed under the staff as by this image.

In this image from Macaque's point of view (During Shadowplay) you can see the feathers of Wukongs hat but also notice he is fighting fist to fist this is also not a flashback from his debut episode. Looking back at the fight again and there is nowhere anywhere during that episode was this scene possible. It was cloudy and Wukong did not use that much power, this image shows it being during a sunny day or a full burst of Wukong energy in the background.

But he never burst during this fight to make that light possible and the only time he did lift a similar pose was at a clone of MK that Macaque made he was not actually there to see this view. Meaning this had to be some time before this episode.

You can tell this was also after his death because Macque already has the X over his eye.

I also say it was after DBK sealing because of it being fist to fist from the first image I showed aka the death scene photo it was staff to staff but Wukong here is staff less. I wonder where it is?

I followed the change of Wukongs outfit and his lack there of a staff during scenes to come to this conclusion

To check out I do not accept the shadowplay Macaque made for references because he uses Wukong fillet and feather headgear together.

He uses that outfit when describing them still as friends but we saw in season four that Wukong wore the yellow hat, not the feather especially not the fillet when they were the closest of friends like he described.

Nowhere had the two headgears been seen together except here and I think that was because Macaque just wanted to drill it into MKs head who the hero character was meant to be because at this point Macaque saw him as too naive and not very smart. So used the two iconic pieces of Wukong to let the kid know.

[ryin-silverfish]

How would have the original audience of JJTW view Sha Wujing punishment for acciedently breaking a war chalice?

Would they viewed it fair? Or would it been taken as commentary/critique that the Heavens/ Chinese bureaucracy are insanely disproportionate in their punishments?

To quote my friend @Luminece on the JTTW Discord:

I think there is a level of critique of Ming capital punishment going on here on a meta level in the book. During the 1500s, there was an increase of corporal and capital punishment, both being put into law and in action. At the same time, the Tang dynasty was being hailed as a golden age of Chinese culture and society - a period known for decreasing the use of capital punishment (it was supposed to be only used as punishment for certain types of murder and treason).

She is discussing the use of the fillet spell, but I think it can apply equally to disproportionate punishments like what Sha Wujing received.

As for me: I know there's the common fandom theory that Sha Wujing was punished so harshly because of the "breaking a cup as signal of revolt" connotation.

However, I never quite buy into that. Rather, Sha's mistake reminds me more of officials messing up and violating rules of propriety during courtly gatherings.

And since he is the "Curtain-raising General", the guy responsible for announcing the beginning of JE's court sessions, my HC is that there's an element of "You should know better" in his harsh punishments.

Also: Heavenly Laws are notoriously harsh in general. Here's a collection of these laws in 道法会元, which involves ones such as "Any non-righteous god who scares children for fun and makes them cry get their head chopped off" and "If a mountain god can't guard the divine medicinal plants growing in their mountains and get them stolen by ghosts and other gods, they also get their head chopped off".

For formally ranked heavenly gods, it's no less harsh: just revealing "heavenly secrets" or not greeting a superior/official of the Law during the morning assembly are both punishable by death.

Oh, and this one for gods of the Wind Bureau: "If an official of the Law or Daoist submits a petition to the heavens (via burning), and their wind blows the ashes into the air, they get their heads chopped off. If it's intentional, their forms are dismembered (分形, which seems to be the disintegration of the souls and body?)"

...Through this lens, Sha Wujing's punishment really isn't out of the ordinary.

[lavaflowe]

JTTW BOOK CLUB

CHPT 7-9

@journeythroughjourneytothewest

Chpt 7

•”All this was probably refined in his stomach by the Samadhi fire to form a single solid mass” I know other deities can use the fire but I’m wracking my brain for when it used before(this point) specifically- My understanding was the furnace refined the immortal elixirs and fruit- I’m going to assume Laozi is just theorizing and doesn’t know what actually happened

•Diamond body….👀

•Erlang gets absolutely DRIPPED out, he earned it FR

•eyes permanently irritated by the smoke churned up the the Xun trigram, someone get this man some eye drops

•he is extra pissed

•HE JUST BODIES LAOZI IM YELLING😂

•”this cosmic being fully fused with nature’s gifts passes with ease through 10,000 toils and tests”

•Big war form out to beat serious ass, he’s not jokin bitch

•” bright and luminous; ….illustrious pearl of mani he is indeed” MMMMM comparing him to a mani- a flaming (wish granting) jewel is hilarious 💀

•Tathagata bringing in the big guns (himself)

•”how tf do you know The Way and not know who I am?? And you’re so….violent” I can sense the side eye

•I wonder if Wukong has previous incarnations?? Buddha says he just reached human form this incarnation but if his rock was there at the beginning of creation, wouldn’t his soul be ‘baking’ (for lack of a better term) the whole time until he hatched?

•” and with a total lack of respect he left a bubbling pool of monkey urine” Iconic moment LMAOOOO

•smart for Wukong to leave a momento- too bad it didn’t matter lol

•ah so he was jumping to visit the pillars again, not run away(supposedly)- he’d rather prove he’s right than escape💀 that checks out

•monkey has been squished, it is now party o’clock

•are you allowed to give the Buddha drugs if it’s an offering? Like wine??🤔 “wtf is this allowed? Wtf”

•”Wukong is wiggling out”

“Dw, take this”

*slaps tag on the mountain like flex tape*

•enough room to breathe and move his hands- I would lose my mind

•Molten copper & iron pellets mimic punishments in hell (just learned this🙏), shedding the Karma like water -I feel like 500 years is pretty good tbh considering everything

Woe molten metal and iron upon ye

Chpt 8 + 9 under cut:

Chpt 8:

•lots of lovely poems in this chapter

•a paragraph recap of the past 7 chapters

•wonder what Feast of the Ullambana Bowl is? (the notes say it’s a mass for the dead and is also know as the Ghost festival, practiced by Taoists and Buddhists)

•”the Chan mind shines bright like a thousand rivers’ moon; true nature’s pure and great as an unclouded sky.”

Lovely poem, and I’m beginning to realize this book is very heavily focused on the Chan school, which I don’t know why I didn’t pick up on sooner? White-Robed Guan Yin is a Chan specific form, usually depicted in their bamboo grove

•Tathagata reveals his 3 baskets of scripture after everyone is done presenting their poems, feels almost like he suggested the celebration to announce these

•Each basket corresponds to scriptures of Heaven, Earth, and the Damned- a total of 15,144 FUCKING SCROLLS

•oooo Guanyin poem!! “ a golden body filled with wisdom, fringes of dangling pearls and jade, …dark hair piled smartly in a coiled-dragon bun. With brows of new moon shape and eyes like two bright stars, her jadelike face beams natural joy. …Her orchid heart delights in green bamboos; her chaste nature loves the wisteria. The living Guanyin from the Cave of Tidal Sound.”

•5 Talismans: Embroidered Cassock that will protect him from falling back into the Wheel of Transmigration, a 9 ring priestly staff that will protect him from poison or harm, 3 tightening fillets- the Golden, the Constructive, and the Prohibitive Spell.

•Guanyin thinks this will take about 2 to 3 years💀 hooooo boy….

•FLOWING SAND RIVER!!! MY 2ND FAV BOY!!!

•Green and Black complexion, Gleaming eyes like the lights beneath a stove, forked mouth with teeth like knives and swords, and disheveled red hair

•like that Wujing is using a priest staff he def took from one of the monks he ate lol

•Wujing fighting Moksa for his life only to drop everything to apologize and talk to Guanyin LMAO

•MOKSA PICKS HIM UP BY THE COLLAR AKFKAKDJDJ

•ah, so Wujing didn’t reincarnate, he was changed, STABBED OVER 100 TIMES EVERY 7 DAYS AND FORCED TO COMMIT CANNABILSM SO HE DOESNT STARVE AS PUNISHMENT- THATS JUST LOVELY😭

•I like the interpretation that he could have been trying to signal a coup by breaking the crystal cup

•Guanyin hearing about Wujing’s string of skulls: it’s a surprise tool that will help us later

•BAJIE TIME

•this idiot bro “HOW DARE YOU TRY TO GET FLOWER PETALS IN MY EYES!!” “IDIOT THAT WAS GUANYIN” “…Guanyin is here??” “LOOK UP”

•Wuneng is reincarnated, he got beat to death in Heaven for hitting on Chang’e LMAOOOOO GET REKT

•ah yes, casually mentions killing his pig family and then his life of eating humans. Lovely.

•AO LIE TIME

•I committed a little accidental arson, please bail me out

•Damn, he got a really short intro

•interesting that Guanyin id’s the Peach Banquet as Wukongs fall from grace. I would def agree with this- eating the peaches like he did was extremely reckless and the beginning of the end imo

•”who tf is talking shit up there”

•No one has ever visited Wukong, I’m guessing the Guards were horrible company

•I like how both Guanyin and Sanzang try to give Wukong a religious name- Guanyin is very happy to hear he has the Wu- prefix as well lol

•arrived in Chang’an, let the hunt begin

Chpt 9:

•Chang’an bb, all blooming flowers surrounded by 8 rivers (DAMN, that’s a lot of water)

•Guangrui got first place in the examination, good for him UwU

•SURPRISE WIFE

•”gave the girl to Guangrui as his bride” UM I THINK SHES THE ONE WHO GRABBED HIM LMAO

•Guangrui has some fated beef with these two random boatmen, Liu Hong and Li Biao- states that he was destined in a previous incarnation to be enemies with them, is this a result of bad karma?

•NOOOOOO MY GUY GUANGRUI

•Liu Hong reminds me of Liu’er Mi-*gunshot*

•since they’re at the bottom of the Hong river, which Dragon King is this?

•Golden Carp coming in clutch, nice

•LADY YIN IS SO METAL LETS GO “she hated the bandit so bitterly that she wished she could devour his flesh and sleep on his skin” DO IT GURL, KILL HIM

•damn, too bad she’s pregnant with Sanzang….dw Girl I know you would kick his ass otherwise…

•there goes his toe…

•get named River Float idiot

•damn bro chill, that wasn’t very monk-like of you

•homie got called an orphan and cried JAKDJSJFJ I FEEL BAD

•she didn’t even check the toe I THOUGHT SHE DID- WHAT WAS THE POINT LMAO

•nvmnd

•I guess licking the eyes is better than spitting on them…sigh…

•GODDAMN THEY RIPPED LIU HONG AND LI BAIO APART….good for them, deserved in fact

•Lady Yin committing suicide even after she was reunited with her husband makes sense, as there was a trend where wives whose husbands died or they were assaulted, killed themselves. This was show loyalty to their husbands and add weight to their claim of SA- Lady Yin’s husband coming back does not change the fact that everyone knows she was forcefully married :((

(I use the term ‘trend’ only as a way to describe the rise and fall in wife suicides tied to either a husbands death or as a response to SA)

[digitaldoeslmk]

I find it interesting that MK basically has to learn the opposite lesson his mentor did when it comes to violence. from what I understand swk slowly learned that not all conflicts had to be solved with bloodshed. and MK has to find peace with the fact that not all conflicts can be solved peacefully. People minds can't always be changed, not every villain is broken/misunderstood/misguided, and sometimes people are just pure evil. its no wonder his mental health is unstable, and i'm sure swk isn't thrilled seeing this sweet kid have to struggle so much with it.

yes!!!! yes you got it!!!!! :D

on a deep level too, JTTW has a running theme that the more violent one's response to a crime, the more violent is the reprisal for that response if it fails. the whole arc of the Havoc in Heaven is about a monkey and yaoguai warlord being thrown into an environment he wasn't equipped or prepared to handle the expectations of, and that punishing him instead of properly preparing him for his role has consequences. also you can interpret it in a symbolic way: as Wukong is the Mind Monkey, the restless and unrestrained human mind, you can't punish yourself into becoming better, you must stop, learn, and understand your situation before moving forward. otherwise what you get is just, a mess spiritually and mentally.

meanwhile, MK was brought up in a very loving and understanding environment. yes, the show portrays his friends and family (Pigsy and Tang are his dads, you cannot change my mind) as far from perfect, but they are altogether a circle that loves and supports each other even through their mistakes, and it's their flaws that makes them stronger. however, in esoteric Buddhism there's the concept of a ruthless compassion, in that sometimes you need a heavy hand to stir people towards the right path; in this article my friend JTTWR shares how even Wukong's golden fillet is a display of that concept.

and yes, an understanding and kind approach can take you very far; in my au, MK manages to befriend and help turn around most of the enemies he encounters, not unlike the show! but sometimes, that's not enough, and sometimes, it only makes things worse and drags you down with them. sometimes, violence is a valid and even necessary answer for the good of the majority.

as for Wukong... as a bodhisattva, he knows that suffering is necessary for learning and that he can't shield MK from everything. one must face adversity to learn to overcome it. but as a grandpa himself, he's not keen on the suffering of beings, much less those close to him. he can offer an ear to MK's vents, a shoulder to cry on, a hug, a joke, a few matches of games to take his mind off things. MK needs to learn these harsh lessons, but Wukong's not letting him do it by himself.

[quitealotofsodapop]

So what's your opinion on Tripitaka/Sanzang?

A lot of people tend to write him as abusive. Granted the fillet was messed up. Though a lot of people tend to forget that he was only human. Not just that but he was surrounded by confirmed human eaters, I mean Ao Lie wasn't confirmed but I'm pretty certain he ate people too.

This doesn't also consider the fact that Tripitaka was sheltered his whole life, had a complicated and convoluted family, and was basically shoved into this journey with no warnings whatsoever.

My hc for Tripitaka was that he was a sheltered, neurotic, mess surrounded by ex-convicts.

He falls so often for dirty tricks and traps partly because he doesnt *want* to believe that there's so much evil in world. He's human compassion personified.

He probably thought that the fillet was given to him for a reason, no matter how messed up it was as essentially being a shock collar for SWK. But tbf SWK did pretty much tell Tripitaka that he'd kill him if he p-d him off enough. Sooo the monk has reasonable doubt.

A huge aspect of Jttw is that Tripitaka became almost a fatherly figure to Wukong - someone who was willing to geniunely guide his emotions. But Tripitaka was also 20-something human parenting a 1k+ monkey demon. He didnt have books or experience to tell him how to deal with SWK getting murder-y on bandits, or even emotionally tackle the possibility of SWK killing an innocent person.

However from an outside observer (i.e, Macaque), Tripitaka looked like an unreasonable man holding the key that imprisoned a hero just to keep a moral high-ground. If Tripitaka had *known* of Macaque ahead of the deception, then likely would have welcomed the other monkey to the pilgrimage with open arms.

Ofc Macaque would rather die than join some "worthless" holy mission that kept his best friend/mate away from returning home and to him. So...

In the end, Tripitaka *tried* and that meant the world to Wukong.

But the existance of Tang in the present suggests an interesting contradiction to Tripitaka's ending...

Tripitaka was meant to be the *last* Golden Cicada incarnation... unless someone he did/or felt that he did led to him not obtaining enlightenment.

Maybe the monk felt guilt for Macaque's passing? For the pain that could have been spared if he'd just trusted Wukong's judgement? The demons that he could have redeemed rather than let be killed?

Perhals in shedding his mortal form as a cicada does his childhood shell in Chapter 98; Tripitaka may have decided that he still needed some time to "grow up" so to say. His presence at Red Son's ritual many years on suggests that he atleast stays in the mortal realm for some time.

And maybe keep an eye on the next generation, unlike real life cicadas are unable to.

Tldr: Tripitaka is a fascinating character, (especially to a high-empathy, bad-with-detecting-lies autistic person like myself) and its way too easy for writers to interpet him as an abusive jerk when in reality he was just trying to be a good person and survive whilst surrounded by so much danger and corruption.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Going back to that anon that ask about the pain swk went through bc of the fillet

—yea theres r no time ever that this fainting ever happened in the novel nor do the bleeding. Yes it does happen in various other adaptations when the fillet does that but not in the novel.(not in the Anthony c yu verse at least. Idk about the tge other but im less likely to recommend them bc they either miss a fuck ton of jttw thing OR Very icky authors who is sinophobic af)

I think ppl who already tends to have a more negative idea of tang sanzang(bc of OSP iteration n more)tends to make his character far worse than it actually is.

Like w the fillet.(no hate to various adaptations who do the usage of the fillet that make swk faints. Love me that honestly but my gripes is w those who make it that it applies to alll swks and even in the og novel.) even going so far as to make tang sanzang as the abuser to swk. <that could not be more farther than the truth. It is in fact a very skewed power dynamics that make both characters be in the same but different positions of powers depending on the situations>

Im pretty sure he ended up doing it less as much as ppl assume he did pre-LEMH ARC. (Bro did not use the spell day to day basis pls ppl stop using it in argument bc its not even supported in the og txt itself. He called his disciple as good guys yet are ugly af—hes a asshole but not that much of a asshole. Hes so so naive but he trying his best even if he get swung w traumatizing shit every arc back to back. He like a perfect example of how imperfect traumatized person would act.

My gods these pilgrims need sm therapy

He didn't use it for years before the Six Ears Arc and didn't use it years after either.

It always surprises me when people say he used it too much considering that he only used it in frequency in a single day and then did not touch it for literally YEARS cause he really doesn't use it that often in the book.

The only real times he does overdue it is in the White Bone Demon Arc where he uses it multiple times and in the Six Ears Arc as well. Otherwise, there was that one-off with like Sanzang being misplaced with a fake Sanzang and they had to find out who was the real one, I think with the Black Wind Demon on their first adventure solo, and maybe the Lion-Lynx Arc with the dead king. Otherwise, that's about... 30 other arcs. (that is about 5 arcs out of 30~ other demon arcs)

So over the course of 14 years, I really don't think that should be considered 'every day whenever he could' ....cause he really doesn't. Wukong pulls a lot of tricks and schemes that do give him a mischievous air but the point is that the pilgrims had distrust for one another at the start that is question and put them to the test. And it's only when they face that collective battle and do they come out with a deeper understanding, not only of each other but themselves that they gain their merit.

Sanzang says they are ugly yeah (rude) but he always defends that they are good people to humans that are terrified of their looks, always trying to help even if he can't offer much but a helping word and an ear to listen. He always trusts they will save him and even not he has prayed over them because he thought they died and wanted blessings in their next life for being such good people in this one. This is his journey too and I think it's unfair for people to ignore how his character also comes to get closer to the gang. Especially after he found his long-lost family only to imminently lose them again. I mean even at the start he was made fun of for being an orphan and found his parents, but one commits suicide just weeks after meeting him and the other is the same age as him since he came back from the dead unchanged and he can't even rely on as a parent.

He was kinda put through it with that family drama.

It was just one thing after another at the start for him and I think he never had a chance to have a close group of friends to rely on.

And I hate when this idea that Sanzang is a bad person or that is an abuser when there are so many ways that they are similar and both trying to overcome their challenges on this journey while learning how to rely on other people. They mean too much to each other and while it is hard for them to see eye to eye they have that bond of loyalty that was hard won and grew with time. Sanzang is just a mortal man that can be killed with a single blow in charge of three demons and a dragon on their parol. While each one of his disciple (one that more likely than not ate his past lives) have unthinkable magic and power that no mortal can dream of fighting against.

And he is supposed to lead them to enlightenment?

It is so funny it could be sad.

And they still did it.

It was literally them against the world.

And I hate how people are comparing the fillet to a shock collar as well considering its lore with Buddhism. Like it has so much more meaning both culturally and literally but people always want to overlook its real meaning as 'it's a torture device' like... no... it's really not.

No, I agree that pain is not a good answer nor that I condone that behavior but people got to remember that this was written 500~ years ago when training the body was having a similar mindset to training the mind. That doesn't make it right but it was also to show that Sanzang was never meant to be an abusive teacher and that yes while he is wrong on multiple accounts that weren't meant for him to be seen as a bad person, jut a misguided one.

The fillet does have more history to it as well even seen in other Buddhas as a symbol of self-discipline. It was to be a sign of restraint when it comes to bettering oneself and Wukong need to accept that the world doesn't and shouldn't revolve around him. I understand it’s not as common to see in America and but it's far more than just a symbol of pain, it holds a lot more meaning when it comes to personal growth and being able to recognize flaws within yourself to better them.

That's why in the end only Wukong can be the one to take off the fillet. There is no Fillet-Loosening Spell. There never was one. The Fillet is a part of Wukong and only when he has that full control over himself, that he masted his impulsiveness and attained true enlightenment and immorality did the fillet disappear because it wasn't needed anymore. Wukong at first has to overcome his own ego and arrogance to accept that he has a problem in order to overcome that.

I thank that’s why GuanYin also gave Wukong a fillet because she knew Wukong could overcome his anger and take it off she believed in him that much.

It reminds me of that Wizard of Oz with the red shoes scene where the good witch was like "You could have gone home the entire time" and the same way Wukong could have taken the band off at any time if he learned to control himself and his impulsive. The band wasn't there to teach him to learn through pain, but rather that he can go on the journey and go through that personal growth of facing his inner demons and being able to mature as a person.

At least that's how I always saw it.

[tang-aus-by-quill]

What happens in the journey to the west part in your CS!AU?

I AM SO GLAD YOU ASKED BECAUSE I SPENT HOURS FIGURING OUT THE LOGISTICS OF THIS SWAP AND HOW IT WOUKD AFFECT THE TIMELINE AND CHARACTERS!!! Basically, the pivotal moment of this au that changes LITERALLY EVERYTHING- Is the moment where Wukong made to guard the peaches. Instead of getting drunk, eating the peaches, and stealing the pills, he was instead the most valued guard in the orchard. The responsible nature he’d shown had made the Jade Emperor decide to entrust him with leading the Journey To the West, gifting him immortality so that there wouldn’t be any casualties. Sun Wukong is given two peaches, one which he takes for himself, and one which he gives to Macaque, as he decides to take Macaque with him on the journey. (This is very fucking important and another pivotal moment which changes our canon timeline.) Wujing, now being a river prince (as he swaps places with Ao Lie) acts as the guide. With Ao Lie, a dragon guardian of the mountains, tagging along. Macaque takes the place of Zhu Bajie in this, meaning Bajie is left to his own devices and never really getting redeemed as he does in the original journey (this plays into Pigsys role in the canon timeline) Tripitaka is swapped with Wukong, being a monk that falls into temptation too easily.

And you may be thinking “But how does he train tang if he’s not mortal and Tang is his reincarnation?” And to that, I say FUCK OFF I’M GETTING THERE.(/lh) Much like how in JTTW, Wukong was meant to reach try self restraint before the fillet could be taken off, Tripitaka was meant to learn,, basically the same thing, learning to not give into selfish desires and instead exist selflessly. Tripitakas own “golden fillet” in this au would be uh,,, possession, basically. As a monk that gave into temptation too easily, and being an earthly reincarnation of the golden cicada, Tripitakas own soul would become more and more like the golden cicadas each time he fell to temptation. If he never learned to exist selflessly, he’d lose himself and become the omnicidal god once more, basically. However he reached enlightenment and learns blah blah blah and because of that, (mixed with accidentally erasing his name from the book of Yama) he gets to keep a soul of his own, while the Golden Cicadas is expelled to live through its other earthly reincarnations, one of them being Tang. And that’s basically how the Swap affects the JTTW timeline and how it trickles its effects into our Canon timeline

[digitalagepulao]

what does Atreus think of each member of Wukong's JTTW group? Like Baijei, Wuinji, White horse dragon and the Monk? Sorry If i spelled some names wrong T^T

it's Bajie or Wujing, Wuneng, Bai Longma, and Tang Sanzang xDD or you can go with the classic Pigsy, Sandy, Horse and Tripitaka respectfully!

and well, Loki is a pretty chill guy overall, he doesn't stir the boat unless someone rubs him the wrong way. the group seems pretty alright all things considered; he doesn't appreciate the golden fillet Wukong was tricked into, but considering how much of a menace the monkey can be when left to his own devices, it's out of his hands.

he's learned in Buddhism so him and Tripitaka can hold a pretty good conversation about it, and having been both a member of the Heavenly host and a demon warlord in his own time, he can relate quite well with the other pilgrims. he still gets along the best with Wukong, but the rest of the group can vibe with him.

[fluffypotatey]

I wonder if there's a "I need to be on the winning side" version of something SWK might have said about the JTTW companions...

if there were then definitely during the beginning and i wanna say before meeting all the companions. it’s just Wukong and Tripitaka, and Wukong is bitter and angry and upset that he has to be stuck with this devote, pacifist monk because he had only sworn to protect him as a means to escape his divine punishment. unfortunately for Wukong, bargains are not made one way, but rather is a two way street, so he gets his freedom for the price of protecting Tripitaka, and when he tried to escape that, he was saddled with the golden fillet

so yeah i can see a swk towards the beginning of the journey, post-fillet moment, trying to argue against Tripitaka about how stupid the monk’s ideals are and to survive, you gotta choose the winning side

[journeytothewestresearch]

More on the Origins of Sun Wukong's Golden Headband

I've previously suggested that the Monkey King's golden headband (jingu, 金箍; a.k.a. jingu, 緊箍, lit: “tight fillet”) can be traced to a ritual circlet mentioned in the Hevajra Tantra (Ch: Dabei kongzhi jingang dajiao wang yigui jing, 大悲空智金剛大教王儀軌經, 8th-century). This is one of the "Five Symbolic Ornaments" or "Five Seals" (Sk: Pancamudra, पञ्चमुद्रा; Ch: Wuyin, 五印; a.k.a. "Five Buddha Seals," Wufo yin, 五佛印), each of which is associated with a particular Wisdom Buddha:

Aksobhya is symbolised by the circlet, Amitabha by the ear-rings, Ratnesa by the necklace, Vairocana by the hand ornaments, [and] Amogha by the girdle (Farrow, 1992, p. 65). [1] 輪者，表阿閦如來；鐶者，無量壽如來；頸上鬘者，寶生如來；手寶釧者，大毘盧遮那如來；腰寶帶者，不空成就如來。

Akshobya is known to have attained Buddhahood through moralistic practices (Buswell & Lopez, 2014, p. 27). Therefore, this explains why a headband would be used to rein in the unruly nature of a murderous monkey god.

The original Sanskrit Hevajra Tantra calls the circlet a cakri (चक्रि) or a cakrika (चक्रिका) (Farrow, 1992, pp. 61-62 and 263-264, for example), both of which refer to a "wheel" or "disc." The Chinese version uses the terms baolun/zhe (寶輪/者, "treasure wheel or ring") and just lunzhe (輪者, "wheel" or "ring").

One of the more interesting things I've learned is that these ornaments were made from human bone. One source even refers to them as "bone ornaments" (Sk: asthimudra, अस्थिमुद्रा) (Jamgon Kontrul Lodro Taye, 2005, p. 493, n. 13). [1]

Can you imagine Sun Wukong wearing a headband made from human bone?! How metal would that be? Finger bones would probably do the trick.

Note:

1) Another section of the Hevajra Tantra provides additional associations:

The Circlet worn on the head symbolises the salutation to one's guru, master and chosen deity; the ear-rings symbolise the yogi turning a deaf ear to derogatory words spoken about the guru and Vajradhara; the necklace symbolises the recitation of mantra; the bracelets symbolises the renunciation of killing living beings and the girdle symbolises the enjoyment of the consort (Farrow, 1992, p. 263-264). 謂頂相寶輪者，唯常敬禮教授阿闍梨及自師尊；耳寶鐶者，不樂聞說持金剛者及自師尊一切過失、麁惡語故；頸寶鬘者，唯常誦持大明呪故；手寶釧者，乃至不殺蠕動諸眾生故；腰寶帶者，遠離一切欲邪行故。

2) For more info on the association between Hindo-Buddhist practices and human remains, see "charnel grounds".

Sources:

Farrow, G. W. (1992). The Concealed Essence of the Hevajra Tantra: With the Commentary Yogaratnamālā. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.

Jamgon Kontrul Lodro Taye (2005). The Treasury of Knowledge, Book Six, Part Four: Systems of Buddhist Tantra (The Kalu Rinpoche Translation Group, Trans.). Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion.

[jedineedlove]

Monkey King Refrence.

Hello Everyone, I needed a hiatus from stuff. But as I was relaxing, I was watching old shows from childhood. The one being Hero:108.

This was a wakey show about humans and animals fighting and two sides: Big Green, trying to bring peace and an Evil King named Highroller, trying to ally with the animals so he can rule over the humans.

When I was re-watching it I knew a lot about this show but after getting into Sun Wukong and the JTTW I realized now that the show made reference to the Monkey King a few times.

WARNING: This Show in MY Opinion is awesome recommend watching before reading in case of spoilers!!! Thank You!

One of the references is one of the main characters he is in nearly every single episode. Commander ApeTrully he is the leader of Big Green and tries to bring peace to the animals and humans.

But here is the thing, this whole appearance is actually a disguise. The Commander is actually .........

A Monkey but not just any monkey, his name is later revealed to be Monkey King. However, he is not THE Monkey King from his wiki page he is the 33rd Monkey King. BUT, in the scene, this image was taken from he is pleading with a diety.

That deity being called Stone Money

A skeletal monkey made of stone, that is wearing a familiar golden fillet. This being is able to grant powerful "favors." One of those favors is granting another one of the main characters lazer eyes.

Like his first power when he shot lasers into the heavens. When the Stone monkey gave this character these new eyes he littelry replaced them from the normal white and black to gold and red. Once again another appearance trait of Wukong. Red and gold eyes.

Other Notes:

The one thing that really seemed to get me was how odd Apetrully was he clearly was not meant to be too much resembling Wukong as in the show Apetrully was a pure pacifiest with shows' of pure disgust at even the slightest thought of violence ever being used even on there own enemies and their troops of armed guards. He would always, always try to talk things out first. He constantly falls for the lies and tricks of his enemies. And in EVERY EPISODE he is GETTING KIDNAPPED and Has to be rescued. To me, Apetrully might have the title of Monkey King but instead, he had the full personality of Tripitaka. HE is literally Tripitaka in pure monkey skin.

[slime-sandwhich-nom]

Anyway monkey fandom, i am BACK.

i was looking around and i found a couple of stuff about my monkey guy, and i wanted to share what i think of it!

First of all, it's about jttw.

We all know in the jttw universe, it happened already and we are watching what happens AFTER it,

We got reincarnation ect.

But most importantly,

Wukong.

well, how he changed,

Now from what we saw of him in the amnesia episode, he seemed rather happy, energetic and actually playful to say.

Going along with everyone, and obviously being reckless and impulsive as always, but!

Someone made me notice, how it might just be because of his good mood.

now, i strongly think that wukong during and before jttw he was a total asshole, like. Seriously he was an awful person.

If he wasn't, why would he needed to be redeemed?

Of course he became a bad person because of trauma and people well, mistreating him.

but let's see, maybe he had anger issues as in the book, he is very feared for his bad temper. Especially when he goes on a rampage.

so maybe, he had this little short temper, then he showed to have a sadistic humour and also kind of just.

Giving the vibe of not wanting to be there, as he was literally forced to.

But we see him growing, growing into something more calm, more relaxed and especially better at controlling his anger.

Now, i have a few ideas of what wukong and macaque friendship was like, and i can explain it another time, but considering wukong.."horrible personality" in the past, it probably influenced macaque and swk didn't notice.

But anyway, we see during the present wukong hardly or even never gets mad, or seriously pissed.

Of course he can get frustrated, annoyed and serious, but never ever mad. Or even snapping and going on a rampage unlike he did a lot of time in the past!

he seems more relaxed chill. Maybe even lazy, but he's still strong.

But unlike the past, he holds back.

He has no intention on actually hurting someone, even kill them.

until the LBD he never actually went into a fight! (not counting the spider queen.)

We see how he has grown into a more chill dad vibe, which it's a progress.

especially from how he started,

But we need to see why and how he changed,

He surely changed during jttw, it was his redemption journey after all.

but how?

The golden fillet.

i also strongly believe that his tendencies of doing things alone, not talking, hell his communication issues as a whole! Are from the golden fillet.

After all, he always got ignored, accused and punished unfairly.

He was always the one who got the worst punishment, he was the one who was always ignored and talked bad about,

So wukong has no choice but to change.

and he did! But he had his flaws.

He bottles up, he dosen't speak, he knows it's better if he does things alone and he knows he has to be CALM.

he's a Buddhist. He can't afford to show his real emotions.

But don't get me wrong, Buddhism has nothing to do with this! It's just how wukong think it works.

he has to bottle up anger, pain, sadness.

He has to be the perfect hero, he has to be calm and he has to stay silent because, what's the point? No one's listening to him anyway!

let's say.. Tripitaka teaching didn't work as good as he thought.

let's just say.

Trauma kicked in.

Keep in mind that wukong, or anyone of the crew in jttw aren't evil, please keep that in mind.

But this is all my interpretation! It's how I see it!

And I'm not putting or antagonizing anyone here.

[lunar-wandering]

I really want the golden Fillet to come up in the next season of Monkie Kid, if only because it could so easily be used to cause a big problem in not so benevolent hands

i know that in the end of JTTW Wukong takes the circlet off of himself, but like. there’s NO WAY of knowing if that’s still canon in LMK and i REALLY want to know why they haven’t brought the circlet up yet

[fluorescencefuture]

West Coast Odyssey: Celestial Havoc

I started thinking way too hard about the logic and how and why every myth and legend and pantheon are mixing together in West Coast Odyssey and I ended up making a prequel

White Bone Demon's sudden change of heart is because in JTTW a lot of Wukong's enemies inexplicably become his friends the next time they meet, while Red Boy's situation is based on how he pretended to submit to Guanyin at first and tried to attack the moment her back was turned. Then he got golden filleted and NOW he's compliant

Oh, and Red Boy's a teenager now. He was also supposed to have horns but I forgot to draw them, whoops. Everyone's got human glamours on, by the way.

The title is a reference to Havoc in Heaven. The working title was "Supplement to West Coast Odyssey"

More focus on the gods and heros here. For West Coast Odyssey I preferred to focus on the famous monsters.

Morgan le Fay is a disciple who strays from good to pursue power but is eventually redeemed into a good guy who guides the protagonist to their destiny. Sounds kinda familiar, no?