#legend of luzhen

[linggluu]

当初

[quitealotofsodapop]

[The ones who manage to unearth their version of Luzhen clutch the newborn Stone Monkey tight, sobbing at the joy of finding another of their kind.]

That’s those that do have them. Their universes aren’t identical, so there is likely some that don’t have a Luzhen because their moms mate did perish in the flood: like, say, TMKATI-verse.

Mostly because I was looking through the old posts and one way for Luzhen to be born was somebody locking Peach into the furnace, but not turning it on and that counting to start the process. Obvs different rules now, but variety, you know?

That and the rest of the SWKs can quickly learn why Stone Eggs are a last resort kind of deal, with Peach nearly croaking during birth. Like, ‘Damn, there is a way for us to die, even with all these immortalities’, you know?

Also: [Cherry, holding his little bro up like Simba: PEEEEEBBBBBLLLEEEE!!!!!!!]

If none of the modern kids do the Circle of Life, I will be disappointed.

Recall that back then also were going by the thought of Nuwa having a hand in SWKs creation? Well, thought here: she’s responsible for Reborn-Luzhens creation. Don’t know, just had the idea of a small undefined soul causing some havoc near Nuwa – because it wants a family, it was promised a family, why won’t it be getting its family anymore – reminding her of the Havoc and she ends up making a little clay monkey for the soul to inhabit.

Kinda like TMKATI, just less pregnancy and more clay.

Then she drops the little troublemaker off at Smokey’s, “He really wanted to be born” she shrugs and peace’s out.

Smokey, who was doing his best to suppress his grief at the apparent fact that his dad had died in his world, just now has waterfall levels of water coming out of his eyes. His little brother harassed a god to ensure his own birth! Truly, they are related.

[The knowledge that he might be considered divine royalty under Celestial Law would be a bit much for him right now.]

Honest question: what do the rest of the SWKs think about that? Like, that has to knock the wind out them, for sure.

referencing the Wukongverse learning about Stone Matriarch au + our older post about Nuwa and Houtu making Luzhen on accident + Furnace - Fire = Stone Egg.

I should really do an updated TMKATI timeline post once my exams are over. Currently I'm thinking of altering it so that the twin boys of the Nodelets - Jidu and Luohou - are the ones created from one of the parents getting trapped in the Furance without the fire, likely from LBD stealing the Furance/capturing one of them. I'm thinking Luzhen (like possibly Canon!MK) would be created by Nuwa since TMKATI!MK got found by the Shadowpeach parents as a "broken" egg and they accidentally became his parents.

The Stone Matriarch au likely doesn't apply to many of the other universes since it is in of itself an Au. If any of the SWKs find an egg at the bottom of FFM/Mount Huaguo, it's like a million to one chance.

The one that does is super hyped/sad though. Not sure which.

-

I love the idea of Reborn!/Smokey's Luzhen getting created because Nuwa encountered a little chaotic soul wanting to be born + realising that she shoudl probably give him to someone with a similar origins.

And let's just say; what if... Reborn!Luzhen's soul was created as a reincarnation?

The Reincarnation of a *certain* Primordial Demon who has just died? And may need to be raised in tandem with it's Qi Energy counterpart in order to grow into a (mostly) balanced monkey?

>:3

-

As for the method in which: (Stone Monkey + Furnace) - Samadhi Fire (or they waiting too long) = Egg?

Most likely candidate would be Netflix!SWK/Cherry.

Because he's the exception of Monkey Kings who haven't been "furanced" yet.

I'm just imagining the next Wukongverse he pulls up looking SUPER rough.

Starfruit: "Wow, you look like Hell." Cherry, covered in burn scars: "Don't remind me. Ran into some jerks who stole a bunch of alchemy supplies from the immortals." Sugar: "Calabash?" Cherry: "No thanks I'm not hungry. Well anyway this guy working for Heaven thinks I'm too dangerous to be walking around, and he tosses me into this big pot. I run out of air and somebody turns the heat on! For like a month!" All the SWKs who Know: *winces of sympathy* Ace, jokingly nostalgic: "Ah the Trigram Furnace. Usually happens before the Buddha's hand though." Cherry: "Yeah don't remind me. Luckily my new friends got me out and woke me up." Dawn, suddenly pauses: "Wait. Woke you up?" Cherry: "Yeah I sorta passed out just before the worst of the fire started." Dawn, gettign concerned: "And were you asleep for that whole time?" Cherry, getting nervous: "Yeah??" Dawn: (*shares a look with the other monkeys. A bunch nod their heads with nervous expressions*) Cherry: "Why, what's the problem? Did you guys not fall asleep?!" Smokey: "How could we? The flames of Samadhi nearly turned me to ash. Only way me or any of us survived it is because the Wind corner has a higher pressure." Cherry: "There was corners in there?" Dasheng: "You didn't train in alchemy under Subuhti as we did. The Trigram Furnace is made up of eight corners according to the major celestial elements, with each corner having the properties of that element. The Wind element feeds but also suffocates fire, so even True Fire weakens there." Cherry: "Oh. I think I survived cus I just went into a dissociative state and became a statue." Dawn, now convinced: "YOU PETRIFIED!?" Cherry, getting scared: "NOW I AM!?"

Cue the monkeys who know about how Stone Eggs are formed dragging Cherry to see Guanyin. The bodhisattva explains that; yes, Cherry is carrying a mini-him all wrapped in a stone casing, all because the lack of air in the Furnace caused his body to believe that it was time to bud off into a new monkey. Cherry faints. Joyfully.

Cherry, rambling excitedly: "A mini-king! No! A Prince! NO! A PEBBLE! And he'll be *just* like me!" Dawn, stressing: "Aren't you worried that it could kill you!?" Cherry, brushing him off: "Pff! I'm immortal. Can't die. If I was really worried - I'd just grab a few more pills or peaches." Dawn: (*grabs Cherry by the collar of his armor and pulls him closer. eyes glowing red*) Dawn: "I have over twenty times the amount of immortality you have, and I almost f*cking died. The only reason I'm here today is because Guanyin, the goddess of safe birth, was at my side. And because my Macaque would have dragged me back from Diyu if I had. So. Be. Worried." Cherry, nods fearfully: "Y-yes sir."

But the young Monkey King is still super jazzed about his upcoming mini-him. Even if he's now looking up other ways him can become immortal so that he can meet his little pebble and give him the hugs he himself was denied as a baby.

-

Lastly this part might need to be it's own post due to the amount of thoughts I has.

[The knowledge that he might be considered divine royalty under Celestial Law would be a bit much for him right now.] Honest question: what do the rest of the SWKs think about that? Like, that has to knock the wind out them, for sure.

Send in more of your thoughts :3

[the-monkey-ruler]

Besides Chenxiang, has Sun Wukong had other apprentices? I know this question had been answered in another blog on the subject or I don't know if it was here.

Officially Wukong only has had one other disciple being the unnamed First Prince of the Kingdom of the Nine Headed Lion Arc. Bajie trained the Second Prince and Wujing trained the Third Prince.

Chenxiang is considered his second cause he is another legend and this time tying Wukong and Erlang back together.

There have been lots of media where Wujing takes on disciples like Monkey King (2022) 悟·空 with Xiaosheng, Westward Journey Online II (2002) 大话西游2经典版 with a monkey mix of Wukong and the Six Ear's magic, LEGO Monkie Kid Series (2020) 乐高悟空小侠：英雄出世 with Qi Xiaotian, Post Journey to the West (CMS) (1988) 后西游记 with Sun Luzhen and so on and so forth.

I think that Sun Luzhen is also a popular one as he as in the Later Journey to the West (Hou Xiyouji, 後西遊記, 17th-century) novel, another old story but nowhere near as popular as Lotus Lantern has become in recent media. I think that is any other disciple would be considered 'official' then he would be considered the official third or second disciple personally.

[qserasera]

ooooh thanks also for Mengfei as a parody of harem dramas, im definitely going :eyes: at it!!

just for my own ref, im copy-pasting all the other replies here so it’s easier to find - w -

dangermousie said:                                                                                                  @qserasera there are also court lady and royal kitchen that would meet your requirements. I didn’t like them myself but that doesn’t mean you won’t     

hmmm not sure the court lady trailer grabs me...i Think i watched royal feast (if that was the same as royal kitchen??) all the way through and def enjoyed Looking at the food but i was very ???? at what felt like some random plot jumps/feeling of incoherency          

dreamyklutzsblog said:                                                                                             cosign @dangermousie about Schemes of Beauty and Virtuous Queen of Han, i think those will ft your criteria. legend of Hao Lan has almost the same cast and same production as Yanxi Palace. Rule the World with Raymond Lam has an happy ending too, i think. if you wanna try xianxia, Lost you forever and LBFAD Advisors Alliance, Secret of the Three Kingdom and royal nirvana if you liked joy of life. Advisor Alliances and Royal Nirvana has no happy ending tho…Good luck!                 

*whispers* i’ve watched like 5 episodes of rule the world and forgot about it.....xianxia just makes me want to rewatch love between fairy and devil all the time now it’s a Struggle HAHAHA. i might put legend of hao lan on a to-watch list though it sounds good!      mercipourleslivres said:                                                                                        Imperial Doctress has some scheming in the palace though the FL is on the periphery. Legend of Luzhen with Zhanilia Zhao maybe? Rise of the Phoenixes and Royal Nirvana have sad endings so those are nos…xD There are a lot of good ones listed already though, I’m having a hard time coming up with others. 

oooh, i see....i would prefer FL to do Some of the scheming preferably, so i might not be up for watching imperial doctress just yet.....i’ve heard good things on rise of the phoenixes but i don’t think i have the emotional wherewithal to watch beautiful exquisite tragedy for fifty-somethingish episodes xD but thanks for bringing those up!!                                              

almost-autumnal weather has me in some kind of mood, so i'm looking for some harem cdrama recs, or at least ones that adjacent to that in a social intrigue/courtyard drama way

i know @tavina-writes Tried to help me with this previously (unsuccessfully :'')) seeing as i had seen like. most of them ; w ; but im just listing out most of the ones i Have seen so maybe someone has some other suggestions?? (*whispers* if @dangermousie has some recs i would love them)

harem/courtyard/social intrigue-related cdramas i have seen legend of zhen huan/empresses in the palace story of yanxi palace story of ming lan (my beloved!!) bu bu jing xin jade palace lock heart the sword and the brocade (went over halfway, dropped) chang feng du love like the galaxy unchained love the eternal love (watched s1 and s2 dropped later) the rebel princess aka monarch industry (watched like 60% of this, dropped)

bonus mention of not harem dramas, but extra dramas i've liked a lot twisted fate of love a dream of splendor new life begins (enjoyed this a reasonable amount) joy of life im not fond of super-tragic endings and prefer happier endings overall, so i've been avoiding legend of ruyi. also prefer competent heroines with all things considered so.....any help with any recommendations??

[the-writer-who-lives-next-door]

陆贞传奇

Omg I am so mad right now Lu Zhen is so annoying, don’t let him keep the child she’s always so stupid she’s gonna make Ah Zhan crazy. I’m going to get a heartattack I’m so mad angry skalslskls omgomffsl fuck I hate ah bi she’s so ugly and Lu zhen is ceying over her own fucking idea oh now she duh ugly too just shut up luzhen!! I wanna kill her, someone omg stop crying

[linggluu]

当年真的是很甜啊啊啊啊

[linggluu]

you're probably not a bad person

[linggluu]

2013 her though

[linggluu]

you're not an ordinary person, are you?

[linggluu]

⚔⚔⚔⚔

[linggluu]

lmao

[linggluu]

好青涩的两个人；；

[linggluu]

Throwback to 高湛

[linggluu]

阿湛

[quitealotofsodapop]

[At least a few Wukongs are out chasing any of the three gods for answers.]

Would probably be easier if he got a lawyer with official summons involved. Can you picture that? Threatening a god with possible legal actions XD

[He had his identity crisis over a thousand years ago.]

Oh, so he's experienced. What about the other LEMs?

[the idea of LMK!Wukong waiting for everyone else to be done with their identity crisis so he can have his in the middle of the night is so in-character for him.]

Just because his starts in the middle of the night doesn't mean he's over it by morning - Mac waking up to a SWK in the fetal position, practically petrified and barely breathing. Either the kids are little monkeys are playing Jenga to see when or what finally makes him move.

[Also him sneaking in more Jttw fankid names into his family as much as possible. XD]

A good name is a good name - can't blame him.

[Little Luzhen being an almost copy of SWK is so adorable, and also terrifying to his parents.]

I see a lot of "Oh...so, that's what I was like...I hope he's not as dense as I was..."

[Running around getting into mischief, annoying the gods, only difference being that he has parents and siblings to rein him in.]

That does make my brain itch in a way - how do the SWKs feel about Luzhen. Peach Kong here obvs takes whatever issues he might have, shoves them in a suitcase and yeets it way past the Andromeda Galaxy and is being The Good Dad the kid deserves. But what are the others thoughts on Luzhen? Like, he's their sibling, clearly baby, adorable at that. But how many hard reboots they need to get through in a day since he was literally dropped on them?

[SWK, horrifed tone: "Oh sweet buddha no."]

"I once heard a mom cursing her kid to have children as unruly as she was acting. I think she might've cursed me by accident." "Go to sleep, Wu."

[Thankfully this version of Luzhen seems to idolize MK more than the Monkey King, which is a small blessing.]

Let's hope Luzhen's a bit better with names and identities then either MK or the Eclipse Twins XD

Actually, how do the rest of the kids feel about Luzhen? Imagine going out for the day to let the old folks have fun time and come back to see a whole ass new sibling!

[Would probably be easier if he got a lawyer with official summons involved. Can you picture that? Threatening a god with possible legal actions XD]

AhHa! LMK Wukong does canonically have a lawyer (my hc its the Fire Star of Mars). Now I'm imagining a Judge Judy or Maury-esque trial over the custody/parentage of Sun Luzhen and the other SWKs vs their universes' respective Nuwa, Houtu and Fuxi.

Reborn SWK/Smokey is the most furious since he has a whole complex over not having parents.

[Oh, so he's experienced. What about the other LEMs?]

At least a few LEMs are watching the scenario like "huh weird." until one brings up a very good question.

Mihou, a bit worried: "Hey, if the Wukongs are made by the same people, what about us? Were we made by Nuwa too? Are we related!?" Plum: "Nah. Chang'e cleared it up for me thousands of years ago. I was made by lady Taiying Xingjun on accident." Lilac: "WHO!?" Plum, realising that he probably shouldn't have said that: "The... the supreme goddess of the moon?" (o_o;) Other LEMs: "THE WHO?!?"

Cue multiple LEMs having their own simultaneous identity crisis, Not everyday you discover that you might be an illegitimate lunar royalty. The more "feral" LEMs (Zhanshi and Spice) take it the hardest, while some like Mihou are having a fairytale fantasy moment.

[But what are the others thoughts on Luzhen? Like, he's their sibling, clearly baby, adorable at that. But how many hard reboots they need to get through in a day since he was literally dropped on them?]

Different SWKs reactions ahoy! Some are kinda lumped together cus of similar reactions. Note; this may also be them in response to recieving their *own* Sun Luzhen >:3

Dasheng: "Oh sweet Buddha. They just made one of me?" Has a small brainfart on whether or not Luzhen is his clone or his sibling. Eventually just sighs and lets the little guy cling onto his back as a baby monkey do. He's used to sudden children by now. Actually gets a little proud when people assume Luzhen is his - cus heck yeah, I'm dad, not our neglectful creators.

Smokey: "No." Extremely bitter. He doesn't want anything to do with Luzhen - it's not his fault another him got made! And whats more he's furious at their creators for "allowing" another Stone Monkey to be born to face the same crisis/trials he did. Might soften to the kid overtime, esp if his Liang gets parental on the little guy, but its a long journey.

Cherry: *hugs Luzhen for a long time before he starts sobbing* He immediately feels a kinship for Luzhen, one he lacked when he was "born". He feels like he has to protect the little guy, cus who else will? His cub now, their creators can screw off!

Ace: "Oh no. Oh no. My love! My love! It happened again!" Immediately overwhelmed and getting flashbacks to how him and his LEM obtained their "MK". Joker (his LEM) is a lot more calm about the situation.

Shihou: *delighted chirping!* He is just... fascinated. He was born partially grown, so to see a Stone Monkey thats an infant? Its the coolest thing in the world. They do have a little brain itch of what this could mean for them tho. Immediately takes on Luzhen as his little brother, but may require help to understand how to care for him.

Ganzhe: "AH! So that can happen!" More suprised than angry. He doesn't want Luzhen to face the same injustices he did as a newborn Stone Monkey, so he probably makes it his mission to keep the little guy a secret for a while. Wants to be Luzhen's mentor someday.

Starfruit: "Ok, guess I have a baby brother now. Cool" Secretly kinda mad that nobody in the different Realms bothered to like, tell him who their creators where. But a baby is a baby. Introduces Luzhen to his fellow fighters as his little brother/understudy. Gets him his own little Wukong outfit so he can show him off.

A few reboots are required for everyone involved really XD

["I once heard a mom cursing her kid to have children as unruly as she was acting. I think she might've cursed me by accident." "Go to sleep, Wu."]

Had to comment on this cus it's so in character, esp for the TMKATI au. Poor Wukong thinking his chaotic kids are like karma for his past crimes. (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

Meanwhile Mac is just like; "He's a toddler. They all want to fight heaven."

[Actually, how do the rest of the kids feel about Luzhen?]

MK is a little overwhelmed and supressing his shock, canon and au; since this would make the three earth gods his parents or grandparents. Interally screams for like three days before he can approach the topic. Later starts to see Luzhen as a little brother, albeit one thats technically his uncle(?) he's not gonna worry about that part.

Most of the Shadowpeach kids are just like "Oh cool! Free brother!", while LMK Nezha is staring off into the distance like he's having war flashbacks.

Hero!Liuer def starts obsessing over Sun Luzhen, esp if his verses' MK hasn't hatched yet. He's a *baby* Sun Wukong! And he's so fluffy! Immediately starts telling Luzhen all the Havoc in Heaven stories, much to Dasheng's dismay.

Netflix's Lin would go "Aww... wait." cus she's seen her SWK in baby form, and knows how chaotic one of these stinkers can be. Warms up to Luzhen tho, may even start to see him as her own little bro.

This is all I got rn. You send so many great asks!!

[quitealotofsodapop]

[Now I'm imagining a Judge Judy or Maury-esque trial over the custody/parentage of Sun Luzhen and the other SWKs vs their universes' respective Nuwa, Houtu and Fuxi.]

Goodness, that guy has to earn a LOT of overtime to deal with SWKs and the fams nonsense. Hope they invite him to family events too X)

[Reborn SWK/Smokey is the most furious since he has a whole complex over not having parents.]

I wanna write something funny, but all I can make up is the image of Reborn Nuwa shoving as much money and stuff as possible as Hush Money so that their connection stays a secret. I feel like that would make Smokey super-duper mad.

[Plum, realising that he probably shouldn't have said that: "The... the supreme goddess of the moon?" (o_o;) Other LEMs: "THE WHO?!?"]

Plum, poking head into the room with the SWKs: Sorry about that, but I think I broke your partners.

Damn, so Mac's also royalty! Although, how well known was that if he worked as PIFs attendant in the Celestial Realm?

...now I am curious how Babs and Gibs came to be...what's their lineage? And do they know of it?

[Different SWKs reactions ahoy!]

Hmm...how do the LEM's (and rest of the Pilgrims if they are around) feel about Luzhen? He has to quite literally rock their world with the revelations.

[He's used to sudden children by now.]

Peach, hearing Dasheng's footsteps in the house: Hey, bud, what's ahhh... *Sees that Dasheng has 10 kids, all hanging from his limbs...* Umm...

Dasheng: I walked by an orphanage...

Peach: Wow, your dad vibes are over 9000, huh?

Dasheng: What does that even mean?!

[heck yeah, I'm dad, not our neglectful creators.]

I am picturing Dasheng looking at either of the gods in question and going, "Oh look at that, the deadbeats are here. Have you brought the child support or do I have to boot you off my mountain again?"

[it's not his fault another him got made! And whats more he's furious at their creators for "allowing" another Stone Monkey to be born to face the same crisis/trials he did.]

You know, I once read that we grow up to be the person our younger selves would have felt the safest with. Paraphrased a bit, but the idea is there. They are two different people, but, maybe he can help heal his inner child in this way.

[His cub now, their creators can screw off!]

I have this image: One of the parents in question coming in hot to claim parental rights or something, only for Cherry, handling his Luzhen off to somebody to keep safe, to launch an attack so brutal and bloody Buddha took one look at the carnage and noped out of there, going like "Not even I am willing to fuck with that. Nope."

[They do have a little brain itch of what this could mean for them tho.]

Not the brain itch you or Shihou were having, but mine is itching with the question of...how would SWK and/or LEM handle a child with cognitive disabilities - like serious ones at that?

[Meanwhile Mac is just like; "He's a toddler. They all want to fight heaven."]

Well, he's not wrong. I am told as a small child I advocated for burning the government whenever the adults complained about something relating to politics. I was quite the anarchist.

[albeit one thats technically his uncle(?) he's not gonna worry about that part.]

I did one read a book where the middle-school-aged-MC had a two-year-old Baby Aunt. I also thought it was odd - but also one hell of a way to find out your parents/grandparents are still getting it on.

Gonna have to be my replies under Read more soon cus gotdang you really give me a lot to talk about! /positive :D

[Goodness, that guy has to earn a LOT of overtime to deal with SWKs and the fams nonsense. Hope they invite him to family events too X)]

SWK's lawyer def gets a yearly holiday card, and invites to family events. He's practically family after the first couple of scandals.

[I wanna write something funny, but all I can make up is the image of Reborn Nuwa shoving as much money and stuff as possible as Hush Money so that their connection stays a secret. I feel like that would make Smokey super-duper mad.]

F in chat to poor Smokey; who wanted a meaningful relationship/an apology from his creators and now only has worthless hush money, and a small son/brother(?) to take care of.

[Damn, so Mac's also royalty! Although, how well known was that if he worked as PIFs attendant in the Celestial Realm?]

The Celestial Realm recognised LMK!Mac as *belonging* to the supreme Mood Deity, but were unsure exactly how. He's a monkey after all, and Taiying is human (they think). Maybe he's her pet? Alchemy experiment gone wrong? Either way, he was a calming influence on the young and frustrated Princess Tieshan, so he was at least treated with the same respect as a lady-in-waiting - although not as much as humanoid celestial would be.

If the Celestial Realm knew the Six Eared Macaque was the child of the Supreme Moon Deity, then he might have had some weight to throw around the court - if Lady Taiying recognised him as such. Otherwise its another aspect they would have mocked him for - whats more to them than another illegitimate noble?

Also; Plum accidentally breaking all the other LEMs cus he didn't realise that they didn't know about their origins. XD

[…now I am curious how Babs and Gibs came to be…what's their lineage? And do they know of it?]

Odds are those two were created by separate star entities long before the modern earth even existed. Earth is were they spent their teenage/college years essentially before they retired to space. If they know of their origins, they don't care much.

Rest of replies under Read More!

[Hmm…how do the LEM's (and rest of the Pilgrims if they are around) feel about Luzhen?]

Most of the LEMs are shocked silent for the most part.

Plum/LMK!Mac: in particular a little annoyed but adoring that a tiny copy of Wukong has been dropped onto his lap. But hey, free baby is free baby. Will kill anything that dares to inflict any of SWK's trauma onto Luzhen.

Zhanshi/HiB!LEM: immediately goes full mom-mode on the infant monkey. Little guy needs a stable home after all! Hunting down his primordial in-laws for answers can wait... for now.

Liang/Reborn!LEM: is a little faster to accept Luzhen as their responsibility than Smokey, and helps to be the "softer" parent of the two. They def agree that the gods can screw off tho.

Olive/Netflix!LEM: is initially so freaked out that they don't want anything to do with Luzhen. But the moment the little guy reaches out for a hug... who is Olive to deny him? A bit colder, but is warming up fast. Is the one who holds Luzhen while Cherry fights the gods - like the infamous "Get his ass baby, I got your flower" except flower is baby.

Joker/NewGods!LEM: is already bouncing the kid on his knee. Its a shock but hey, its like how they got their MK. Little guy is stinking adorable too. Is also very mad at the gods for being so irresponsible. Probably gets really defensive when people ask if him and Ace are Luzhen's grandparents tho.

Spice/2000s!LEM: is scared. So very scared. Mostly out of worry. He's just coming to terms with his own creation/identity, and now there's a bonus Wukong?! What if the gods take Luzhen away!? He needs to sit down a bit. Takes him a while to see Luzhen as more than a extension of SWK, afterwards its more mentor and tudi vibes.

Meihouwang Mihou: is... still in shock. He reacted badly enough to Shihou's arrival, and now an entire infant version of Shihou needs food and parents to take care of him. Its overwhelming. And then Shihou approaches him for advice? On how to raise Luzhen? Oh gosh, maybe this was a sign from the gods. His ears are flooded with the sounds of wedding bells and laughing infants. This oz his and Shihou's baby now. Still asks the Elder monkeys for help tho, since he barely knows what to do more than Shihou does.

Lilac/Smash!LEM: is hesistant to get close. They feel that they can't just drop everything to raise a whole kid, not with their career quicky on the rise. Their Wukong is such a good caretaker tho, and Lilac feels a little guilty when they can't join in on family time. Def dedicates a song about "little falling stars" to Luzhen, and has frequent video calls when he's away. Vows to spoil the kid anytime they're together to make up for any time lost.

The other pilgrims are having bluescreen errors every time they try thinking about the ramifictions of multiple earth/creation gods pulling up to drop lore like that.

The Tripitakas are torn between "Oh its a blessing!" and "Oh sweet Buddha, theres two of them now." HiB!Liuer has already claimed his Luzhen as his little brother/fellow tudi.

You know the Zhu Bajie's are laughing their butts off once the shock wears off. Lots of child support jokes. Declares themselves the different Luzhens' uncles.

Sha Wujing is a little more... unsettled. Why did a bunch of gods just show up- oh sweet buddha they're Older Brother Sun's creators?! And theres' a little Sun now!? Reborn!SWJ def has a small breathing-into-a-paper-bag anixety attack. Afterwards though they feel a greater kinship, with their Luzhens and SWKs. After all, they feel "discarded" by the gods also.

[I am picturing Dasheng looking at either of the gods in question and going, "Oh look at that, the deadbeats are here. Have you brought the child support or do I have to boot you off my mountain again?"]

The idea of Dasheng looking the earth gods in the eye and calling them "deadbeats" is the most perfectly in-character thing for him ever. I love it.

[You know, I once read that we grow up to be the person our younger selves would have felt the safest with. Paraphrased a bit, but the idea is there. They are two different people, but, maybe he can help heal his inner child in this way.]

That is literally the most sweetest and heartbreaking thing. Smokey considers himself "broken", but Luzhen as "still good enough" to help. By being a good protector and influence, he secretly hopes to heal the scared child he once was. :']

Meanwhile, Netflix!SWK/Cherry is fighting any gods that dare threaten to take his mini-me away.

[how would SWK and/or LEM handle a child with cognitive disabilities - like serious ones at that?]

Honestly? Pretty ok. They know that people can be born "different" and have different hurdles to overcome. In the wild, macaques are known to pay extra attention to troop members with disabilities, and treat them kindly.

I hc MK as having adhd, which really affects his attention and short term memory, so Shadowpeach have been working with that for a long time. Wukong and Macaque themselves are very autistic-coded (which makes my autistic butt very happy), and would have a lot of insight to how the kid might be feeling.

If one of their kids has another serious cognitive impairment, like being non-verbal, they'll find a way to adapt to it. SWK 100% has learned both forms of CSL over the years, and does a refresher in prep for MK's arrival. Helps a lot when the more monkey-ish side of the kids means that they don't verbalize for a long time compared to human kids.

[one hell of a way to find out your parents/grandparents are still getting it on.]

MK had that crisis at age 19 when the Lunar Nodelets were on the way. Like when he found out it was at a high-stress moment so he barely had time ot process it; "We had just saved the world from the Lady Bone Demon and you two were...?! Ugh! I need to wash my brain out."

Nezha had a more firey reaction when he learned of the Eclipse Twins years prior. He didn't even know the monkeys did that stuff. He was uber-grossed out in an almost cooties sort of way, but also in a "please for the love of buddha, don't fill the celestial realm with your spawn"-kind of way.

Tysm for sending so many cool questions in! You really rock my create brain <3