#it not just ao guang

[the-monkey-ruler]

How do you differentiate between dragons that have the water element and those that have the fire element? I assume that Ao Guang's family would technically be dragons that can use only water. And according to jttw, dragons can control the weather (clouds, water, etc.). However, how do you know which dragons can control fire? Or can be assumed that all dragons can handle these two elements? Or a sea dragon that controls water couldn't control fire?

I guess I would ask you what makes you think dragons can control fire? I know that European dragons that it’s a common connection to their folklore, but Chinese dragons are connected to water such as rivers, oceans, and rain. I don’t think I’ve seen Chinese dragons that control fire if it wasn’t connected to the weather in some way.

Like I'm sure there are but I guess I don't understand what makes you think that dragons would have a fire element instead of a water element. Can you give an example from maybe like a story or something? I've read a lot of chinese tales but certainly not ALL so it would be cool to see how other tales could show dragons in a different light.

[dr-chalk]

Ao family reunion

[viridianvulpine]

These bitches gay good for them 👍

[steamedlotusroot]

reminder that ao guang, dragon king of the east sea, has a son and a daughter named “third kid” and “dragon girl” respectively

[deliveryboysomewhatequaltoheaven]

The Macaque Problem

I would definitely say Macaque's character is an issue for the show. His redemption arc is not good, and it brings down the other characters and takes up their time and arcs.

When we first see him in S1 and 2, he is an old frenemy of Wukong's bitter over an unspecified falling out. He is angry and lashing out at MK and his friends, projecting this feud onto them. He claims MK didn't notice his friends were gone, but we see him trying to call Mei, and that the others were resentful, but we see tang looking upset being forced to attack MK. Seems like a clear enough villain concept with some room forward right? But S3 and 4 derail that.

Chronologically, we can talk about the Brotherhood, (which he was not a part of in JTTW, and he complained abt being left behind in S2 but here he was?? Eh) He claims that Wukong pushed ahead without thinking or listening and that's what got him trapped in the mountain. But what do we see before Wukong surrenders to the Jade Emperor?

The rest of the Brotherhood trapped by the Celestial Army. We don't see Wukong fight the Jade Emperor. He was an immortal shapeshifter, I have no doubt Wukong could have escaped. But he turned himself in to save his friends. Was he in a bad mood in the mountain? I mean, yeah, but Macaque doesn't seem to consider that he's free because Wukong is not.

We still don't know about the final falling out and Macaque's seeming death, though S5 implies that Macaque pushed the situation. Still, it's not good, because if they can't properly resolve it, than it's just going to remain between them and Macaque's grudge against Wukong can't be properly moved past, which hampers his arc.

But then S3 happens, and honestly I think Macaque's motives are dumb. Why is he trying to get in the way of them stopping LBD if he also wants to be free of her? It's a positive for you! But they also start trying to portray him as someone who 'calls Wukong out' because S3 and 4 really try to make Wukong out to be a jerk. He made mistakes but it was a desperate situation against the Lady Bone Demon. I love Mei and Pigsy but they also call him out when they said nothing about the Fourth Ring/visions.

'You will make things worse for MK when I personally attack and threaten him and his loved ones for my own gain' OK Macaque!

But the S3 special is the real kicker. Macaque apparently changes his mind and we don't know why. They show some mistrust at first until MK says he knows Macaque is not a bad guy deep down... but doing one or two helpful things after three seasons of stalking, threatening, and attacking the gang doesn't exactly convince me.

And then this bit from the S3 special finale:

Uh, how??? Wukong is right, Macaque was until very recently willing throw everyone under the bus so he could get away from LBD. It's pretty rich that he would call Wukong self centered. Whatever Wukong did was trying to stop her and protect MK from having to deal with it.

In the S4 special, they also have Macaque talk about Azure Lion, and again I'm not sure why we are listening to him on characters' morality

Says the guy who wrote a play about how 'Sun Wukong is a big old meany who hurt my precious little fee-fees' if I never see or hear the hero and warrior monologue again it will be too soon but I will say he at least seems to consider he might have been wrong, though they don't really dwell on it...

Even in S5, we get this bit.

Once again, Wukong is right!! After 3 seasons of attacking and harassing MK I don't think he really gets to give advice. Plus WUKONG WAS TRYING TO TALK TO MK ABOUT IT RIGHT BEFORE THIS! But MK was not doing well emotionally and Wukong was trying to be mindful and not push!

And honestly I think they all let Macaque off easy for the S3 events, he literally choked out Mei and threatened to kill her! (Sidenote: he can call MK and Tang by their names, but Mei was just 'the girl' throughout S3... urgh)

But when Wukong gets mad at him, Macaque says "I didn't do this!" Well you forced the gang to do something that you didn't know what the consequences of would be! But Tang intervenes saying he did it, even though he awkwardly admits Macaque forced him but that he felt he should because of the golden cicada. Macaque later decides to leave the situation he forced. He later does help some, but doesn't really get held accountable for his part in everything.

But I guess it's fine bc at the end of the special MK gives him this drawing. This is actually kind of really upsetting and again makes little sense considering how much he and Mei care about other otherwise. But nah Macaque is cool now it's fine...

And Ao Guang! This is a tougher one, but in S5 they had Macaque let himself get sent to the Pagoda to buy others time... well I just say that's karma!

And Macaque comes back, of course, but we never hear more about Ao Guang. Even when they send the power of the Stones out, we do in fact see the East Sea Palace and the attendant, but not him, so his fate is unclear.

So yeah, overall, I think he was forgiven too fast, the root issue of his fight with Wukong unaddressed, and he takes up time from the others characters.

[mintaikk]

I don't think the fandom talks enough about how Mei can turn into a gigantic fucking dragon

[imagobin]

More Ao Guang Sillies

Finally got to color these old sketches! First two are inspired by scenes from the movie, and then... I had to draw him getting his snoot booped, that was very much a necessity

[weaverpop]

So in this post:

@quitealotofsodapop brought up Ao Bing being potentially trapped in the progoda. And honestly? It fits.

Think about it. Your son’s best friends dad has your son litterally sacrifice himself or else he’d tell the Jade emperor. In it’s for killing Bing, in others it’s for Nezha bathing in the river. But each time it’s Ao Quang who treatens to tell the JE (like a child). And Nezha, not wanting his parents yo get in trouble, does so.

Cut to both kids being revived, Jing is still lowkey- MEGA pissed at Ao Guang, and let’s say Ao Bing says some comment or another to insult Nezha.

Jing see red. And whoops, he’s been progodaed.

Nobody knows until after s5, when so Bing angrily demands Jing fight him for the whole progoda thing. Everybody’s confused… until Ao Bing makes a wild insult in regulars to Nezha, and everyone watches Jing go near berserk. And with No progoda to put him in? Jing does the next best thing and tries to maim the other.

Thankfully the others manage to stop him, and drives Ao Bing away. But not before Ao Bing sees a certain monkey boy getting a bit too chummy with Nezha…..

[imminent-danger-came]

Mei: "We trusted you! All of us! How could you lead us into the fight without a real plan? Time and time again I've watched you put MK in danger leaving him to figure out EVERYTHING on his own. Don't you realize you're hurting the people who care about you the most?"

(3x10 The Samadhi Fire)

-

Mei: “Inaction is careless! If you’re not giving everything you have to protect the people you care about, you are nothing! I would watch my sword shatter into pieces a thousands times, so long as I used it to protect the ones I care about. If you're just gonna sit here and screw around, the maybe you don't deserve power.” Ao Lie: "And perhaps with greater caution you would still have your sword. I know a thing or two about disappointing people, about feeling powerless to protect them, but I do not sense that you are a disappointment! Even now, locked away in imminent danger your thoughts are to protect others!" Mei: "But how am I supposed to protect everyone if I don't have my sword?" Ao Lie: "A sword is powerless, without the hand that wields it."

(4x05 Court of the Yellow Robed Demon)

-

Mei: "How dare you! My friends are in danger because of you! And you're not even going to stick around to finish the job!?"

(4x14 Better Than We Found It)

-

Something something "I just wanted to protect the people I cared about—to be strong enough. I lost sight of why I was doing any of it." something something the people your trying to protect being put in danger anyways something something, Mei was so upset at Wukong in s3 because she felt SWK had failed at protecting the people he cared about, aka "If you’re not giving everything you have to protect the people you care about, you are nothing".

[acoraxia]

no cause shipping is fun and all until you start shipping actual worshipped gods like the Jade Emperor or Nu Wa with LMK characters tbh

I cant explain why but it makes me personally feel… iffy

[foxgonyoom]

If the sets do indicate what’s going down and the group really are going to be visiting Ao Guang again, I hope Ao Guang effectively has a heart attack when he sees Nezha with them (assuming Nezha doesn’t get sidelined by one-punch ice or something like that again).

Not cause I hate the guy, I think he’s pretty alright honestly (compared to other figures of authority in Journey to the West at least).

But rather because it would be hilarious to see the esteemed Dragon of the East metaphorically shit his pants upon seeing the first person (as far as I know) who kicked his ass, accompanying the now very glitchy, furry, and crater-creating-prone disciple of the Monkey King, who also made Ao Guang effectively eat the seabed (at least in regards to pride. I don’t think they ever actually fought in the book as far as I know).

You can’t tell me he’d have fully moved on from that. He definitely hadn’t moved on from Monkey King stealing the staff, at least not completely. And the monkey guy only got it cause he was intimidating the dragon, who didn’t wanna get beaten to a pulp again. Nezha kicked Ao Guang’s ass when the former was a kid. Not to mention killed his son, or at the very least kicked his ass too. That MF is gonna remember!

[angstandhappiness]

LMAO MURDER BABY

I would love to have some vanilla Nezha please

[astrcthesiai-archived]

orange lily ; a flower of hatred .. for a time where my muse was made (or nearly made) physically ill or unwell due to hatred for someone. (Feiyu)

Feiyu would most likely dislike Blackbeard. For Feiyu, they did not have to kill someone for their devil fruit. Sure, they had to knock out some people in order to steal, but Feiyu felt it was not necessary. Even if the official, who was promised the Ao Guang devil fruit, was corrupt.

They are disgusted by the means by which Blackbeard stole Whitebeard's devil fruit ability. They nearly gagged on their dumpling when they heard it from Miyuki and Ana.

The only way the thief feels comfortable killing someone is if it is the only way to protect someone important to them.

[kefi-catfish]

Soulslike AU

Once upon a time, Wukong looked up to the sky with eyes full of light and aspirations. His soul sang with dreams and desire to touch the heavens. To become part of the Celestial Order, one of the many stars illuminating the mortal world - the brightest, the biggest, outshining all the others.

Not just for himself, at first. For his subjects, his lands, his moon that kept him warm on cold nights. But it was hardly magnanimity that was at the top of everything. Behind the desire to give to others sprouted just as much a desire to take, to appropriate only for himself.

In canon, Wukong is humbled and shown the right path where cruelty has no place. In this AU, Heaven fails to catch the skittish monkey. In his greed, the Sage ceases to see boundaries. There is not a single living being who can stop a wild animal who thinks he is a god. There are no rules. Only greed.

With unlimited power, Wukong continued to climb forward. Further, higher. Why stop there? Why worry about the pitiful lives crunching beneath his claws and teeth? Ahead, at the very top, lies the forbidden poisonous fruit. The deities and other celestial creatures meet the blood-intoxicated monkey in all arms. Even with sweat dripping down their necks and weapons in their trembling hands.

The Celestial Realm loses with a cacophony of alien screams and falling debris from buildings.

Many years pass before one wanderer meets one child in a devastated world.

Wukong hardly had a plan, but his treacherous actions were clearly sequential. Heaven fell first, then the bloody gaze traveled lower. Dragons were a race that had been despised by the Sage long ago. Only the most skittish and the most unsightly survived, hiding their brightly colored skins at the bottom of the seas and oceans. One of the first places Wukong decided to visit with his bloody march was the palace where the staff was located, whose iron he was using to take lives.

Ao Guang was the one who decided to fight back against the madness that enveloped the King's mind. He fought desperately, with the realization that he could not win the battle. This gave enough time for those who also realized their own and the world's hopelessness to escape.

Nailing the dragon's body with his staff, Wukong kept the old man awake long enough to show him what happens to those who go against the Great Sage. Mei, being the youngest and most confident at her misfortune was a gift of fate to Wukong. With her help - Wukong could give a perfect lesson to the surviving worms that called themselves dragons about the foolishness of the idea of fighting back. Having shackled the girl, he left her at the very shore, with no way to get back out to sea. The bayonets-strong ribbons glinting in the sunlight from every attempt to break free of the shackles-clenched the bulky body with scorching pain. She remained there, still struggling to break free, unable to see the light of the sun that had long ago hidden the stench of death Wukong had brought.

And Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.

He wears a Macaque scarf and a cape made of Azure Lion skin.

(if you find any errors in the text, I apologize in advance. English is not my first language)

[deliveryboysomewhatequaltoheaven]

If Ao Guang is still around, I wonder about the other Dragon Kings. If Ao Ji and Ao Lie/The White Dragon Horse are gone, will we find out what happened to them? And what about Ao Lie’s elder brother, Ao Moang? And what about Ao Qin (Dragon of the North) and Ao Shun (Dragon of the South)? And any other children of theirs? Or their sister who had nine sons including minor antagonist  Tuolong? (There isn’t an official family tree, sadly, so I can’t say who else those might be)

I imagine Ao Bing won’t come up, since that story was from Investiture of the Gods, not JTTW. Also, Nezha and Ao Guang are both heroic here, so Nezha murdering Ao Guang’s son might be tough to spin here.

Still, it would nice to know about them, and also have a potential big family of these four clans and their branches! I really would love to see it.

[thaylepo]

Definitely the bit about consequences over punishment and the emphasis on support for becoming better, but also consider that, literally canonically, this is a lego world where devastating collateral damage can be fixed very quickly, on the regular.

"We gotta get better about not smushing the city" is not the normal reaction after an enormous explosion took out the downtown core during the New Year's Festival.... unless the fallout from that and every other major disaster can be fixed with lego physics, in a similar manner to cartoon/episode conventions, where things go back to normal between each ep, except when they don't for story reasons XD

LBD's attacks were more devastating because she froze everything as she destroyed it, people included, to keep it from being fixed. She was trying to remake it, after all. And the entire universe cracking apart at the seams in s5 is terrifying for the same reason. Legoworld physics lets you rebuild a street pretty quickly after Pigsy's ping pong rampage, but it takes a lot more to rebuild reality itself.

That, and the show just doesn't have time to show the fallout of every single thing that happens or who it happens to, it has to keep the optics on its main story pretty tightly. Macaque definitely cleaned Ao Guang's clock in season 3, and for sure left the Dragon Kingdom of the East Sea in underwater shambles. But I would not be surprised to find the damage of that was less permanent than say, Flower Fruit Mountain's brand new configuration following Azure's battle XD

Wukong definitely "got more light up in there" like he wanted lolol

Do you think narrative wise,wukong gets more punishment than macaque,since macaque hasn't gotten much punishment in current show,not even got punishment for what he did to the dragon of the east sea kingdom in s3,wukong gets punishment for his past mistakes and fuck up more then macaque,wukong also get call out more for what he done,while macaque doesn't or bearly any at all.