#lmk jttw gang

[passions-and-pupils]

amnesia rules is so much funnier if you think of it as Sun Wukong’s reaction to one of his brothers calling him a manipulative jerk and asking him him to be more enthusiastic.

Like, imagine the whole episode he was just doing an elaborate bit that Tang and Pigsy didn’t get because they didn’t know how Sun Wukong normally acted.

some moments that stick out with this context

Wukong shaking his master saying “you have to remember!” After getting the smallest hint he might not

His true self comes out when pigsy suggests bonking him on the head “what’d you say Piglet”

him spending all night talking to the Sage after finding out where his master is (it’s almost like he was trying to take as long as possible)

Him nonchalantly eating while the demon monologues, clearly not actually scared for his masters safety.

“Eating me won’t make you immortal,” “of course it will! He’s the great monk Tang Sanzang!” Again it’s like he WANTS his master to be eaten, or at least ruffed up a bit (depends on when in the journey he is)

He only attacks the Scorpion Queen after his staff is broken

“We’re friends?” “Of course we are! Everyone needs friends! Can you imagine what I’d be like without friends? I’d probably turn into a real manipulative jerk or something,” it’s like he’s quoting someone

[lmkreblogs]

Thing with my tags to get around my blog easier

Lego monkie kid:

[nightmarebunnyking]

[byfulcrums]

I'm making a headcanon thingy for stableboys bc there isn't enough content about these two

Ao Lie was the second one Sun Wukong opened up to. The first one was Sha Wujing. Part of the reason why Ao Lie wasn't the first is because he spent most of the time shapeshifitng into a horse

SWK avoided him because he is a horse person at heart and didn't want to befriend anyone on the journey. He was there to protect his master, but when it was over, it'd be off! (He failed, in case that wasn't obvious)

When they had to eat, Ao Lie and SWK would always go to find food together. Sun Wukong always hurried him up due to being worried for Tripitaka's safety, but they still had a good time

It wasn't uncommon for them to roll in the dirt and end up being covered in mud and grass. Tripitaka has long since given up on trying to get them to stop

Eventually, when SWK finally accepted that he thought of these ppl as family, he would brush and clean Ao Lie's hair (basically grooming him the way monkies do) after these moments. He really enjoyed doing this bc it reminded him of the monkeys back at his mountain

Ao Lie was the only one he could do this with since he's the only one with actual hair (Sha Wujing is a fish, Zhu Bajie is a pig and Tripitaka's just bald)

Ao Lie sucked at grooming SWK's fur but he tried anyway. It was common to watch them argue over this. He got better after a while tho

Sun Wukong is the one who drew the art from some of the storybooks from the current timeline. He always drew Ao Lie as a horse, ignoring him when he yelled about how he should at least make me more dignified, Elder Brother!

SWK would answer with "it's not my fault you spent the entie journey as a horse!"

Ao Lie died first, in Wukong's arms

Ao Lie started to swear a lot after the journey. He picked it from Sun Wukong, who picked it from Zhu Bajie

Sun Wukong had long... hair? Head fur? That he only cut when it was getting too uncomfortable. Cutting it used to be Macaque's job, but now it's Ao Lie's

Sometimes Ao Lie cut his own hair too to match with him

To add to the long hair HC --- SWK kept his hair on a braid for most of the journey, since he didn't want it to get in his face. He kept the braid Macaque gave him for as long as he could, but it wasn't very durable and he spent 500 years in that mountain, so it didn't last long

He wishes he could say he liked to have Ao Lie braiding his hair, but honestly, he sucked almost as much as he sucked at grooming his fur

Surprisingly, Zhu Bajie is the one who makes the braids that always last the longest. Is he rough and careless? Yes. Does he always accidentally/on purpose pull SWK's hair, ending up in yet another fight Tripitaka has to stop? Absolutely. But his braids are the most durable

While Zhu Bajie's are the most durable, Sha Wujing's are the prettiest. He's rated second for this reason. He sometimes (if Wukong lets him, which doesn't always happen) even puts flowers in it

Tripitaka didn't know how to braid hair and every attempt at learning ended up in utter failure and ugly hairstyles. He got better later though

And last but not least! SWK may be decent at braiding other people's hair (learned from the moon n shadow themed bitch) but he sucks at braiding his own. He had to do and undo his hairstyle all the time before he started to trust the JTTW gang enough to do it for him

Ao Lie is the only one SWK got to say goodbye to. When the others announced they were joining the cycle of reincarnation, he screamed, angry, and left. He learned of their demise days after it happened. It's something he regrets to this day

Sometimes SWK would shapeshift into a horse to walk besides Ao Lie!

Ao Lie joked that Sun Wukong should be the one to carry their master, since he can also turn into a horse and that way he cam keep track of him, but SWK took it seriously and got very offended. Ao Lie gave him a bunch of peaches in hope of earning forgiveness. SWK can barely remember this happening (it's been like a thousand years, after all)

[real-sun-wukong-fan01]

Hello! I hope you're doing well so far into this month. I really like your Time Swap AU, especially with chaos gremlin SWK. Question: if Canon Macaque were to meet TW SWK, how would they react to each other? Who'd win in a fight between them, pre s3 and post s3? Macaque definitely is more powerful and dangerous than his TW counterpart, but TW SWK has no such attachment to Macaque the same way his canon counterpart did, thus he would have no reason to hold back in the usual fight-to-the-death match Macaque would initiate, so I'm putting my money on SWK coming out on top. How would the canon Monkie Crew react to Time Swap's story of their version of LBD arc and SWK's possession, given that TW JTTW fam had no idea of their SWK's daily demon fighting hero activities until LBD's takeover? And the fact that SWK wasn't even going after LBD, but was still taken over by her after she went after him instead?

I hope I'm not bothering you with these asks. I am truly intrigued by the differences between it and canon one. Eat your fruits and vegetables!

AYY!! no hours of sleep so if I miss something or if something doesn't make sense, you can ask again !! I'll make it more clear.

Also you're not bothering!

Alright, so,

1) TW! Swk would just be confused, not much of a reaction since he doesn't know or recognize the guy. Maybe some resemblance to his macaque, but nothing else.

lmk! Macaque though would recognize wukong because the two versions aren't that different. TW is just taller because he's a "human", and has no tail.

So, macaque would be confused and kinda taken back, and TW wouldn't really care unless he's an obstacle or a foe.

now, depending on the season, tw can either win or not. Before S3 for sure tw would have a lot of struggling with macaque. One has way more experience in fighting and using powers than the others.

After S4 wukong might outmatch macaque, he has better controls on his powers, and with s4 he is even more powerful.

and.. macaque might be struggling because of bad memories TW wukong might give him with his powers and him not holding back.

2) the time swap au version is way different, in the show at least, because unlike in lmk, where possessing wukong was her being desperate, in TW possessing wukong was part of her plan. (Kind of like Bai he, he was possessed while he was alone, and it wasn't until he showed up possessed that the others found out.)

so, they might hate lbd way more with it, because despite it being wukong being possessed, this wukong is basically just a poor "human" who is dragged into this mess, forced to fight his own family.

Lmk! Swk would make sure his own counterpart is really okay, he can understand the possession part more than anyone.

The TW jttw fam instead would want to check on lmk wukong because he willingly went after lbd, and in their eyes, it's still their brother/son, so.

(wukong will cry later because those are his dead companions bro.)

[fluffypotatey]

Hello! Hope you're doing well. Got any other meta about LMK Sun Wukong, the Brotherhood, or of the Stableboys duo, Ao Lie and Wukong? Have a great week, eat your fruits and sleep early regularly. Thank you for your LMK posts!

hey! tbh my week has been shit :) but i’ll have you know that the best place to find stableboys meta is from the account Dr. Chalk on Twitter. literally get my heart ripped out every time (also their art is fire).

[I ended up having a lot to say about SWK under the cut lol]

As for some delectable Sun Wukong meta/headcanons, I’ll have you know that I am a firm believer of this immortal monkey having such shit survival/preservation skills for himself bc of his 7-fold immortality that he will pull suicidal/heroic feats as the “easier solution” (see s3 where this monkey thought it would be a brilliant idea to place the Samadhi Fire INSIDE himself (even when that is like one of his greatest weaknesses as the JTTW book details) as an easy way to ensure none of MK and his friends would get hurt and he could (probably) spare LBD’s host)

Also, notice how the s4 special revealed to us that Sun Wukong feared death so much he went ahead to finding ways to ensure he never dies. Ever. (Not to mention that this fear stemmed from the fear of failing the people he cared about and that since he was the strongest in FFM and their king, if he died, they would be defenseless bc that is literally what happened when Wukong first left to train under Master Subodhi). But now, Wukong has lived for a very long time (longer than he even thought possible). And he is t i r e d (i will NEVER forget that quick cut to Wukong’s face as he said “focusing on the fact that I am an immortal being, who will never die!”)

Although, my theory is that his suicidal tendicies isn’t because he is that suicidal (or maybe not cognizant if it) but because he knows that even with experiencing something super brutal (such as the Samadhi Fire or drowning in Sandy’s sub), better him than anyone else. Like a “I don’t intend to die, but so be it” that I think really concerns me (in a “I wanna study you under a microscope but also give you cocoa” way)

honestly, it doesn’t help that Tripitaka found himself in such dire situations where Wukong would need to save him from, and some of them were suicidal but you kind of brushed it off bc “he is the Monkey King, immortal 7 times over, and crossed his own name out of the underworld” (and I know we definitely did since everything would work out in the end but like…..come on!), so that kind of life risking behavior was met with positive reinforcement so like….I would not put it past Wukong to unintentionally throw himself into these circumstances in order to help or fix an issue (especially if it concerns MK 👀 he will not hesitate and my heart cannot take it T^T)

but yeah

[siixkiing]

I know I’ve complained about this in the past, I know I can simply turn beta on and have my posts unrebloggable BUT it seems its not just my HC posts anymore either...so that solution would only solve half the problem.

BUT, I am once again saying this to whomever keeps reblogging my stuff for Sun Wukong to FUCKING STOP. It should be a written rule and just common sense that less stated otherwise, any post made by an RP Account is not FREE to reblog by anyone - Mun Post, Headcanons, IC Post (less you are a fellow RPer), Threads, and such are OFF-LIMITS.

I am getting sick of seeing notes on my posts and noticing the reblog is private, which means I can’t actively find the user to block them. It’s making me want to post less and less for my muse too. 

[sneepity-snoop-snorpity-sneep]

assuming that this post by @journeytothewestresearch is correct about SEM = the Macaque King, then this is supported by jttw, as I found out today while reading it on my lunch break

(EDIT 7/28: updated post on the SEM by @journeytothewestresearch - which includes an explanation of arguments against SEM = Macaque King, which apparently includes the Macaque King actually being female - altho this is also pointed out to not really be backed up by anything substantial and that the OG chinese calls the Macaque King 'fifth brother'

...all of which could be potentially moot given another solid theory explained: that in jttw SEM is an aspect of SWK, specifically the immoral part and wouldn't really have a past separate from the monkey king. I admit this one goes over my head a little bit, and in both the OG novel and LMK's adaptation I like it better if SEM is an actual character, but that tis only me preference)

(literally my reaction)

Okay guys. The years long argument is over. It's finally time to know the truth

.

.

.

Macaque is taller than Wukong

[itsabouttimex2]

Ahhhhh the Tang Sanzang and Wukong fic was so good! I adore the interactions between demon reader and them- though i am curious how did the rest of the JTTW crew react to the mischievous scamp of the forest?

Taken Aboard

Pilgrim Reactions:

(I had to use this gif again because there is jackshit for Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing in the LMK gif community. Give me my boys….)

Ao Lie is… rather confused that his master saw fit to bring along a child on this dangerous journey. After all, the path ahead is fraught with many dangers and perils. Perhaps the little one would be safer in the care of a monastery? Or even a kindly pair who had long wished for a child? Sure, they may be a demon, but they’re clearly not malicious or cruel!

However, the monk is set in his actions. Your wrists are cuffed with blessed bands, set to restrict when a sutra (separate from Wukong’s) is chanted. Your ragged clothing is replaced with a proper, covering cossack and walking shoes that they had to force your feet into as you screamed and kicked.

But in spite of the confusion he bears, Lie is a little happy, too! He’s got a little sister/brother to dote on now! As one of the gentler and less troublesome members of this little gang, he’s often tasked with watching over them, especially when the group is attacked by demons.

Though it takes him a while to coax you into actually taking him up on it, the white dragon horse frequently offers you rides. At first, you’re a bit too proud to accept, trudging along even as you tire from walking. He wants so bad for you to trust him, and maybe; in time, to consider him an older brother. And if that means he has to pester and push you into accepting a little bit of doting? So be it!

And one day you will accept. Worn to exhaustion from another demon attack and thoroughly admonished by your master after another escape attempt, your body is worn and sore. The fillets around your wrists have ground your skin raw, leaving you to whimper with each step that makes the cuffs jangle against your fresh wounds.

So, finally… you clamber up and onto his back with a few pained noises, sniffling into his lavish white mane.

“Brother Lie,” you hiccup, arms snaking around his neck. “Master got angry with me again.”

“Oh dear… did you try to run away again? Little one, it’s much safer to stay with your brothers and master!” Though his voice is not without compassion, he clearly sympathizes more with the monk who’s been intent on keeping you around. Mostly because he agrees with not letting something as small and precious as your little self take even a single step out of sight.

He… he just doesn’t want to lose you, that’s all! It’s not strange to want to protect a fellow demon! Why, you’re hardly more than a baby! Look at you, you poor thing! Tiny features and scrawny form and big eyes!

How could he risk you being unhappy? How could he risk you being hurt?

“Stay with me, little one! Big brother will find you something nice to eat! And then I’ll see if master has something for your poor wrists, hmm?”

———————————————————————

Sun Wukong is somewhat baffled that you’re being brought along, honestly.

Baby? A baby? A little forest-dwelling baby?Why, you’re no taller than his hip! Here, come here and “let him check your height” and then he snatches you off the ground with a grin.

“I may be no tree, but you’re hardly even a flower,” the monkey teases casually, throwing you into the air. “You haven’t even sprouted, bud! How are you going to keep up with such little legs? Aren’t you supposed to be the ‘Keeper of Great Beasts’, Y/N?” He catches you, then another throw, higher into the air. “Kiddo, they’d crush you under their feet and not feel a thing!”

“Wukong! Be gentle with the child! And stop teasing them!”

“Aww, but they like it,” he calls back to his master, patting your head as you flail to gain purchase from the arm he’s tucked you under, strangled by the accidental grip he has around your throat.

He’s, uh… not the gentlest or most responsible.

But- he makes for a good playmate! And that doesn’t sound all too serious or important, sure… but Y/N has a lot of skills they need to build, and socialization is one of them. Under Sanzang’s watchful eye are you pulled into many games and chases, helping you build basic skills and strength as you and Wukong wrestle or race.

I like to think he carries you on his back like a baby monkey when you get too tired, clinging tight to his strong-as-iron fur, nestling against the near-invulnerable fluff from behind.

“Brother Wukong, tell me your titles,” you say sleepily, having gaining some modicum of respect for the simian through constant playing and occasional training with him.

“And then tell you how I got them?” “And then tell me how you got them.”

This exchange essentially boils down “tell me a bedtime story,” and “sure, sweetie” but the only one who realizes that is the Great Monk, Tang Sanzang- who is trying very hard not to melt from the cuteness of it all.

Y/N getting to enjoy some measure of a happy and harm-free childhood in the form of the Great Sage’s furry arms, one hand thumping your back as he recites an old tale or two.

This massively improves Sanzang’s opinion of him, too. Seeing Wukong genuinely tamper down the ego and potential bloodlust (assuming he’s anything like in the novel) to be truly gentle with someone who definitely needs someone to trust and rely on… it’s quite redeeming of his character, certainly.

Probably tampers down his yandere behavior the best… until you get injured, and then all the other pilgrims get to see the strength with which he used to wreak havoc on Heaven.

And there will be blood. And bone shards. And brain matter. And eventually, the utter and thorough destruction of what was once a demon. No one can sway him from the carnage, not even the tightening-fillet sutra.

After all, isn’t every “big brother’s” job to protect his little siblings?

——————————————————————-—-

Zhu Baije is probably the most resistant to having you along, mostly because he knows he’ll have to be “polite” and “patient” with you around, some whelp dragged to the world from the root of a fallen fruit tree.

Often tries to trick you out of food, but gets petulant when you try the same thing with him. And then he has the gall to ask you to help him identify poisonous plants and berries for him to snack on. Under threat of the sutra being recited, you grudgingly give him proper advice.

Now, it’s not that he can’t be sweet and doting-

It’s just that he doesn’t want to be.

Also, he brings out the idiot in you very quickly, causing Sanzang to try and supervise any and all interactions between the two of you. Because when he doesn’t, you get this:

“Y/N, there’s a stronghold of demons here! What are we supposed to do?!”

Y/N, who has lived in a sprawling forest with big scary animals from the moment they were born: “…maybe we should try to make ourselves look bigger.”

“Brother Swine, come and help me overturn this log!” “S-Swine?! You little brat, you better call me by my name!” “Or else what… Brother Swine?” “Or else I’ll-“

“Enough,” calls the Great Monk, stern and tired. “Enough squabbling, my disciples! If we are to see this journey to the end, we must all cooperate! Please, Zhu Bajie, lend your hand to Y/N. They asked not out of laziness, but as acknowledgment of your strength!”

“…huh. Alright, then! I can help!”

But, slowly, he does come to care about you. Letting you rest your head on his gut like a squishy pillow, carrying you when you get hurt, making sugar-sweetened herbal tea to share with you, letting you hide behind him when Sanzang is looking for you…

And then he eats the first human being who tries to hurt you. All across you is a messy shower of splattered gore and sundered organs, painting your face and body.

It’s proof, crimson and wet, that he really does love you, in spite of everything.

——————————————————————-—-

Sha Wujing, to start off- adores Y/N. They’re tiny! They’re cute! They transform into adorable animals! They can talk to beasts and trees!

And… they treat him like a person. An actual, thinking, feeling, person.

He definitely tries to dote on the kid, and I think he’s a strong contender for being their favorite person. How monstrous he is! How powerful! Like the great beasts that lived in their forest, tall and proud and imposing!

Wujing reminds them of home, essentially. Y/N is constantly crawling all over him as they would the beasts of their grand forest. He allows the strange behavior, understanding that the kid’s never had real interaction with other people outside of toying with travelers or waylaying attackers.

Always kneeling my down to their level and trying to make the child feel safe and heard. He often shares tales of his river and interesting passerby, and Y/N responds in turn, speaking of their forest. The two of them laugh and bond over their shared experiences.

And off the side, Sanzang is listening in with horror all across his face as they compare stories of killing and eating invaders who dared come to their homes.

Lots of piggyback and shoulders rides, and just barely being able to peel over his red mop of hair. He’s also one of the only people who you let mess with your hair, allowing him to comb and braid it.

“Brother Sand,” you call aloud, a nickname just a touch more affectionate than those you’ve given his companions. “Come look at the creatures I have found in the riverbank!”

And man drops everything to spend a little more time with you, happy to let you push little creatures into his massive palms as he teaches you their names.

And maybe, if things go wrong… the bloody butchering and head-piking/skull-stringing of anyone who even looks at you wrong. Maybe.

In general, just an absolute delight.

——————————————————————-—-

Tang Sanzang believes entirely in the possibility of anyone becoming a better person through hard work and effort.

So little Y/N, the Guardian who Spreads Growth, Keeper of Great Beasts:

Put flatteringly: Is adopted by five men and treated as a cherished; if troublesome, little sibling who is doted on and allowed to become a better person. Lots of good food and cozy clothing, and they never go hungry or cold again. They’re taught to read and write, and never are without unconditional love.

Put unflatteringly: is forcibly displaced from their home and made to adopt new customs and styles, severed from that which they know and love to become someone else’s idea of “right”. Also they get torture bands slapped on their wrists.

Sanzang tries to be fatherly and kind with Y/N, attempting to delve into the “why” of any mischievous or cruel actions you commit instead of simply writing them off as “bad”.

“So… you thought that man was going to hurt you?”

“He smiled at me! With all his teeth! It was a threat, Master! And then he walked towards me with a hand out!”

“…I see. You were scared of being hurt, then?”

“I- No! No! I didn’t say I was scared! I wasn’t!”

Lots of “therapy sessions” to help work through your feral mindset and improve your problem solving skills.

In general, solving problems while trying not to be frustrated. For example:

Given that Y/N has never once cut their hair, it’s even longer than they are tall, and proves to be quite a bit of trouble. And they respond violently to his attempts to cut it, screaming and swiping like a feral cat. It takes a few weeks of nudging and asking, but Sanzang gets them to submit to a “trim” that cuts more than five feet of hair away and still leaves the little demon’s locks dangling down to their ankles. He’ll try for more later, but allows you to be for a while.

Then, cutting your nails. And washing the grime from your body. And getting you into shoes that you’ll keep on. He settles for boots with laces, given that you can’t tie or untie them. Y/N, you’re sitting on the ground in front of him seething because you aren’t flexible enough to bend forward and chew through the twine lacing. Also, in order for him to get them on in the first place someone has to restrain you, so one of your “brothers” is getting the silent treatment. (It’s Wukong.)

He won’t ever be “Brother Sanzang” or “Brother Monk”, but he will get something better:

“…father,” you’ll finally say after a full year of traveling with him, lying in a puddle of tears with your head in his lap. “Please… please forgive me, father.”

“Oh, Y/N… of course, of course. Come now, sit with me. Let me tend your wounds and wipe your tears. All will be well.. my child.”

And maybe, just maybe… he’ll think about taking one of your circlets off.

[quitealotofsodapop]

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

Book Summary;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So here's where the timeline shifts...

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

The Pilgrims freak out, obviously.

Guanyin is called up and is like;

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

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

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

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

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

What worse?

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

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

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

[ryin-silverfish]

LMK and the Problem of Li Jing

If my browsing in the Nezha tag is any indication, I'm not the only one who has...opinions about the interesting writing choice in S5.

Namely, it's awkward, completely out of left field, and forced.

I am also gonna try and calmly dissect my feelings on the matter, so that it doesn't become a "me sassing Li Jing for ten pages straight" post.

See, my biggest problem isn't "Li Jing is a good/sympathetic dad instead of his more mythos-accurate portrayal".

There are adaptations that make him a good father (Nezha 2019), or at the very least, a flawed but still sympathetic figure (Legends of Nezha cartoon).

And even though FSYY and JTTW's Nezha both have their Attempted Patricide Arc as part of their backstory, when JTTW's Nezha showed up in the novel proper, he was overall more obedient towards Li Jing, so it's not completely without basis (tho crucially, JTTW's Li Jing is also terrified of him picking up the "Patricide" hobby again).

The key, however, is Show Not Tell.

See, the adaptations above are all Nezha-centered works that have plenty of screentime to show where they diverge from the original mythos, and build their takes on the father-son relationship off that new foundation.

LMK, however, doesn't have that. We don't know if either version of the Patricide Arc is true for the show, or even given Nezha's particular backstory for this setting.

We don't know if we should just assume that Nezha's backstory in either JTTW or FSYY went down the same way, or given clues as to where it differs.

All we have are the on-screen interactions, and these consist mostly of Li Jing being his typical Lawful Stupid self.

Sure, there are weak attempts at making him more sympathetic: we are told, through Nezha, that he had been "working sooooo hard" to keep everything running after taking over as basically regent of the Celestial Realm, but again, we aren't shown that properly.

All I see is this guy who...I dunno, went out to get Starbucks or something when JE was kill, then showed up after everything was over to play the loyal minister and prosecute SWK and the gang for bullshit reasons.

(Which is coincidentally very accurate to his overall role in FSYY. Except FSYY's Li Jing was anything but the most sympathetic father figure.)

And because we are given no context for their relationship, their confrontation and reconcillation also feel rushed, falling completely flat when it comes to emotional impact.

Like, if we are to assume their backstory are mythos-accurate, then the whole thing makes no sense——neither "returning your flesh and blood" or attempted patricide can be shrugged off that easily.

If we are to assume it differ from the mythos...HOW and WHERE? Does the birth from a flesh ball happen? Is Nezha destined to be the Vanguard of the Zhou Army, or just a supernaturally powerful kid who can wreck the dragon king's crystal palace three days after his birth?

If he did kill Ao Bing and not just some random dragon, was it an accident, completely justified, or FSYY-accurate? Is his suicide forced or a willing sacrifice, done to save his parents? Did Li Jing destroy his temple? If the Attempted Patricide Arc happened, how was it resolved?

Change one of these, and it will have completely different implications on the Li Jing-Nezha relationship, yet we don't get a single answer to any of these questions.

As a result, the show's version of their relationship and conflict also feels very shallow and generic, your standard "The obedient son must finally stand up and find the courage to voice his opinion to his harsh but loving father——no real anger involved, of course!"

Which is a narrative divergent enough from the mythos as to require proper explanation, instead of being left up to the audiences' imagination, and also, in my opinion, far less interesting than it could have been.

For example: instead of learning to speak his mind (like he'd ever be afraid of doing that), the high point of their conflict is Nezha realizing that he has legitimate reasons to express his anger towards Li Jing for his short-sighted, unsound and overall Lawful Stupid decisions in the here and now, without it being a continuation of their old grievances or exploding into Patricide Arc 2: Electric Boogaloo.

And for someone whose limited characterization has been nothing but an unbroken chain of putting laws and loyalty above reason and common sense, it should take something a lot harsher and undeniable than "They aren't bad guys, dad!" to convince Li Jing.

Lastly, instead of the very cliched "I'm sorry, there's so much left unsaid, I'm proud of you" line, I'd prefer something that was less blatant and, though still awkward, more in line with the rewritten conflict above: sth like "You are right to be angry at me, and I won't mind if you never stop being so."

[passions-and-pupils]

Stable boys headcannon

Stable boys definitely had deep late night conversations during the journey. They’d keep watch together and talk about shapeshifting and how they sculpted out their forms to create the perfect versions of themselves. They’d discuss how it felt to be constantly treated like animals without higher intelligence and how it felt to come so close to being put down like dogs. They talked about the parts of human culture they would never understand like the taboos and abstract gender roles (Ao lie let slip that they wish they could live as a women once and they never brought it up again). Really their stories mirror each other quite well, the only difference is Ao Lie was raised royalty and always made to worry about being in conplete control of his image and powers where as Sun Wukong came from nothing and thrives on chaos.

They learned quite a lot from each other. Sun Wukong learned to be more humble and think of himself as a part of the bigger picture rather than the scissors meant to destroy it. Ao Lie learned to stop caring so much about what others thought and embrace the animalistic and improper parts of him without caring what others thought. neither of them have ever told anyone about these talks, although Tripitaka always suspected they were closer than they let on.

[lmkreblogs]

Fan fiction written by a anonymous author

Chapters: 1/1

Word count: 6,135

Description:

Ao Lie sighed, shutting his eyes to a fleeting moment in battle—where his eyes caught on ruby, and in turn ruby caught his back. He hadn’t a moment to warn Nezha before the demon saw the opening and aimed to kill. “Prince Nezha can’t even look at me. I suppose it's my similarities to Ao Bing, but…”

Wukong sucks in a breath above him. “I think he’s just afraid of you.”

Ao Lie, Nezha, and the sunspots between.

[nightmarebunnyking]

I am thinking about all the time. wukong must have seen his friends reincarnate,again,again over the centuries since the journey to the West,before they become mk gang,it must of hurt seeing them but not actually them.

No wonder he keeps himself away in his mountain and isolated in his grief

[alastair-1205]

You know what I just thought of tho? Why does nobody in the LMK universe know what happened to Macaque?

Becasue IRL we know it's Very likely that Wukong killed him (Or at the very least severely maimed him) in the show becasue we know the events of the Actual Real Life Book "Journey to the West". But we also know that the same book exists in the LMK universe since both Tang and Macaque himself have made reference to it. So like. Why isn't what happened to Macaque common knowledge?

MK apparently hasn't read it and never found out through any other means (we see him ask Macaque outright about it). Hell, Macaque is so unknown to him, MK gets deceived by him in the first season. But he does still know the stories becasue of media about it in the show universe (Monkey King the Animated Series tm) and from Tang who presumably did read the book, and while I can imagine an in universe show omitting something like their main character killing their bestie, I can't think of any reason why Tang wouldn't have told MK if Tang had known.

All that to basically say, yea MK apparently is lowkey uneducated outside of pop culture - which is really funny to me - but even their resident scholar seems to have no idea so what gives? Who the hell wrote Macaque out of the history books? Was it Wukong? Was he so guilt ridden and angry that he made sure that was the one major event that didn't get preserved? Was it some of the other original JTTW gang, knowing Wukong would hate the general public knowing anything about it? Those are literally the only two theories I can think of - and the first is the one that I think is most likely.

And on top of that, imagine how Macaque felt when he realized this. That his death and even existence at all was the one thing that wasn't remembered. Idk it's just a really interesting bit of accidental world building that I don't think will ever get explained, but it'd be really cool if it did.

[phoenixeclipse-lmkau]

So like imagine if the lmk world gets messed up because readers there, they had a "destiny" to follow (lmk characters)

Esp because readers not from there she has no set destiny, so she's creating a butterfly effect sorta.

But since the reader exists in their world now and has to warlords in love with her, i kinda feel like it would be funny

Reader: That wasn't supposed to happen yet

Wukong: wdym not YET?!?!

* As he's trapped under a mountain 100 years earlier than hes supposed to*

(Sorry, English isn't my first language but i really love your fic)

Hahhahahahhahaha!

Sooo... about messing with the lmk world. Yes. Yes it gets completely turned upside down while sort of following the plot.

Especially with how the jttw arcs end. Though I’m not sure if I should say how they end quite yet. I’ll eventually tell everyone but for now I’ll keep quiet.

I do call this series semi-canon for a reason. There will be a lot of things that are the same and A LOT of things are going to change, especially with the introduction of Reader as well as Spirit.

Just a few SPOILERS

Only a few.

DBK is not the only one who is freed by his wife and sons.

Yes, in this au, DBK and PIF have two sons. Red Boy and Red Son.

DBK had been sealed away with the rest of the Brotherhood.

PIF and her sons are the ones to free them from their imprisonment.

The city of Megopolis isn't where they are sealed away. Because of how dangerous this gang is, they are far away trapped under a deserted mountain.

A mountain that no one has been able to ever get to… besides a single woman. One who can’t help but leave a cluster of lavender and dandelions in front of the sealed rock gate that traps those within.

Along with a possible small addition or two.

Hehe~ That’s all… at least for now. HAHAHA