#lmk xiwangmu

[violetjedisylveon]

Shadowpeach AU, where Macaque was originally the guardian of the Immortal Peach Trees, and Wukong had to get past him in order to get an immortal peach...

But Past Wukong ISN'T as strong as Current Wukong, so Macaque keeps preventing him from getting a peach...

One day, Macaque mockingly bites a peach in front of Wukong...

Wukong suddenly has an idea; he kisses Macaque on the lips, to get the peach in Macaque's mouth...

Macaque was frozen, as Wukong smugly takes the peach from the stunned Macaque's hands...

But once Macaque unfreezes himself, he knocks Wukong out with a single punch...

Wukong wakes up, in love with Macaque! 😍

Oh fun!

The idea of a celestial realm dwelling macaque makes me think of @anxiescape's Celestial Bodies au, which is, in their own words, sleeping beauty with gay monkeys and war crimes, and their art is super pretty too! Their Macaque has galaxies in his fur!

As I was answering this, the idea of Macaque having been adopted by the Jade Emperor and Xiwangmu (Queen Mother of the West), popped into my head, so now the Jade Emperor's issue with Wukong isn't just that he's wrecking his shit, but he's flirting with his son and making a fool of him!

This idea just became a whole lot funnier.

This could have been a tragedy, it became a comedy. I might find a way to get some angst in here

Macaque works in the peach orchards with his sisters, sometimes the peach maidens are Xiwangmu's daughters, because he enjoys it and it's a natural habitat for a monkey like himself.

He was not expecting the new stable boy to be so brazenly bold as to kiss him, a celestial prince, as a ploy to steal from him! He punches Wukong in the face for it and hopes nobody saw that, it's so embarrassing.

Meanwhile Wukong is absolutely smitten with the guy who could knock him out like that and thinks he's super powerful and strong and pretty. So he keeps visiting Macaque specifically, he doesn't know that he's the Jade Emperor's adopted son, he just thinks he's pretty.

Macaque is super confused and annoyed, he's just trying to do what makes him happy and be a good son and this stupid cute monkey keeps getting in his way!

He confides in his big sister Iron Fan, she immediately clocks in that the other monkey has the hots for her little brother and is not a fan. She asks their cousin (Erlang) to keep an eye on Wukong just to make sure he doesn't do anything.

Erlang, who is also not a fan of this monkey with the hots for his cousin, completely understands.

So now Xiaotian Quǎn follows Wukong around whenever he's in heaven, giving his the upmost disapproving looks whenever he interacts with Macaque.

But then! Horror of horrors!

Macaque catches feelings for Wukong! And he wants to die, it's so embarrassing and unbecoming! And it'll never work out! Wukong isn't a celestial, and relationships between celestials and demons or mortals are forbidden!

Macaque is super easy to fluster now and any time Wukong shows up to talk with him he is a blushing mess and is not hiding his affections very well.

Luckily Wukong is as dense as the rock he hatched from, and doesn't get the hint.

Unfortunately, nobody else is and everyone thinks he's toying with the six eared prince's heart. This just makes the rest of Macaque's family like Wukong even less.

Wukong tells Macaque about his cool friends and how they are all about taking on the injustices of the heavens, (he hasn't done anything super destructive yet he's just been a nuisance).

Macaque challenges their ideas with the question of how they would fix it, and how much suffering their war would cause for the mortals, and does a former celestial like Azure really know better than the being who's spent millions of years keeping things balanced?

They are good questions.

Wukong is left doubting the brotherhood.

Man's gay crush is giving him second thoughts.

The Jade Emperor and Xiwangmu still don't really like Wukong because he's clearly got a thing for their son and they are protective parents to say the least.

Once Macaque admits his feelings to his family, and that he wants to date the most infamous"bad boy" in all three realms, well something like this happens:

Jade Emperor: Where do you think you're going, young man? Macaque: Wherever he'll take me. JE: I forbid you to go out with that hoodlum! Macaque: But Daddy, I love him! JE: Go to your room! Macaque: I don't even live here anymore! JE: Well, then, go to your old room that your mother turned into a scrapbooking room!

It's from a Looney toons episode, someone actually made a comic of a similar idea only LBD's the parent in that situation, it's so funny.

So Macaque is grounded now, JE and Xiwangmu have already lost at least two daughters to their lovers (their over reactions to the relationships are what really caused those tragedies but the royal couple doesn't want to admit that, @quitealotofsodapop has a lot more and better detailed ideas about this concept on their blog).

Good news for the brotherhood! Azure can turn this in their favor by making Wukong think the monkey he's in love with is being held prisoner by the Jade Emperor. He still doesn't know Macaque is his son, because macaque liked being around someone who didn't know that and never felt the need to tell him.

So Wukong is amped up to fight the Jade Emperor to rescue his crush/friend!

Meanwhile, Macaque is stuck in his room listening to the dumbass he fell head over heals in love with.

Will this end good? Bad? Who knows! Not even me!

I have ideas for a good and bad end, but I might put it to poll for the decision of what really happens.

Thanks for asking! This was a really fun one, hope you like it!

[thymorningglory]

It’s summer, I hope we get lmk season 5 sooner..

Anyways here’s some drawings:

Ofc, these are just concept art of XWM and young Yudi. I’m still having trouble in deciding XWM’S colors cheme.. With Yudi however, it’s kinda easy, since he already has a canon design in lmk.

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Doodles:

I’m slowly getting into Metal cardbot- the show feels like if Pokémon and Transformers had a lovechild… And I love it, really love Blue cop he reminds me of a cat.

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[tsa-smth]

The one who supports women’s rights and women’s wrongs

[weaverpop]

Remember how I said people find out?

Let’s just say that certian Silver and Gold Demons find out via a hang out with a certain six eared snitch.

And the rumor mill starts up. Mostly Demon and celestial. Whispers of the JE’s cruelty to his own perceived family. Whispers of forbidden romance behind palace walls. Whispers about how a certain lion may not have killed the JE for power- but to save his love.

Rumors question the Queen Mom. They wonder if she knew.

And well, all romours make it back to the rumoree eventually.

Ref

[muavenusphoenix]

Xi Wang Mu by weiyi1995

[dorothygale123]

Since I've made a lot of mythology sh*tposts, I decided to make a masterlist for anyone who wants to skip around quickly.

The 5 Emperors

Red Son and the Red Emperor

Xing Tian, the headless giant

Red Emperor 2, the Reddening

Chiyou causes problems

Yellow Emperor makes a corpse drum (yes, really)

My fellow nerd and I have a lot to say about weeds

Dragons

The dragon princess and the dumbest in laws ever

The Dragon Kings who don't do anything

Ao Qin shows us why we shouldn't give in to peer pressure

Moving branches on the dragon family tree

China has a dragon problem

The Sun and Moon

The very similar stories of Hou Yi and Shen I

Erlang Shen killed the suns too

Why the 10 Suns were being jerks

The 12 Moons

Ancient Chinese Alice in Wonderland

More fun stuff about the 10 suns

Does Hou Yi have a backstory?

A dramatic retelling of the 10 suns myth

Earth and Sky

Eggs come up a lot, actually

Nuwa cleans up a big mess-

-But there was still more for Yu to clean later

Why is the sky all the way up there?

Sun Wukong

The 4 Spiritual Primates + 4 Elements

The Old Mother of Waters gets some bad takeout

Sun Wukong's first crime (they grow up so fast)

A more dramatic telling of how Monkey became Monkey King

The Underworld

The Chinese underworld is very judgy

But it also has a wholesome grandma who feeds you

Kuan Yin

Kuan Yin, Goddess of Mercy

Kuan Yin 2, Electric Boogaloo

Kuan Yin 3, This Time It's Personal

Rulers of the Cosmos

Xiwangmu, the Jade Emperor, and Nuwa

The Jade Emperor is someone's OC

Possible line of succession for the rulers of the cosmos

Was the Jade Emperor in charge for Wukong's entire life?

Shangdi and the void where his characterization used to be

Miscellaneous

How the Jade Emperor got his badass wife

I go down a rabbit hole trying to iron out the family tree of a mythology that was never meant to fit together

Si-Men Bau is a genius

The very heterosexual fox and his 'drinking buddy'

This fox had one job and he decided to create footbinding instead

Seriously, what are the 8 trigrams?

Erlang Shen plays Sidekick while th 4 kings get their asses whooped

The 5 members of the 4 Guardian Beasts

The 5th Element isn't just an old movie

The cow can jump over the moon, but not the Milky Way

Cute figures I don't need got my research blood pumping

And I needed 2 posts to geek out appropriately

More info on some cool critters that happen to have adorable minis

Oops, is that Plato in my Chinese Mythology?

Dragon Ball Parallels

Bulma Briefs, Great Tang Monk

Tien Shinhan, Lord of Sichuan

Yamcha, River Spirit of the Desert and Puar the Dragon Horse

[yourlocaleggperson]

WELCOME TO ME GOING CRAZY THEORIZING ABOUT LMK

So who the hell is this woman?!

I already saw some theories of she being Guanyin (Wich doesn't make sense because she does appear one time with the leaves that were forgotten in jttw) and theories of she being Nüwa, the creation goodness... So Wich one of them is she???

WELL NEITHER, because I think she is The Queen Mother of the west ( or Xiwangmu)

But first.. Who is Xiwangmu? She is the most powerful goodness in the Chinese pantheon, she is also married to the Jade Emperor, the owner of the garden of the peachs of immortality and In some versions has complete control over life, death,creation and destruction. She went to various changes during time, but the most famous version of her is that she used to be a Demon that brought disasters to the world, causing her to be depicted sometimes with tiger features, and after repenting her evil ways she achieved enlightenment.

So why do I think Queen Mother is the mysterious woman? Well, since she has completed control of disasters, chaos and creation, and we assume that she created MK and MK is know for Harbinger of chaos, then it is safe to assume that she is Queen Mother

But why can't she be Nüwa? Well, Nüwa is only know for creating mankind and some animals, monkeys not included( As far as I know, I might be wrong here) and we see a bunch of stone animals on the next scene, so that only leaves us with queen mother, wich yes.. I don't have that may proves but we only got to see one frame of her, so I guess it makes a little Sense

That's it, I might be completely wrong, just wanted to share my thoughts

[acoraxia]

My knowledge of fyss!Kui Mulang is not the best because since the fyss version is in English and the book is extra dense with many characters with different names, it has not been easy for me. I know more about Jttw!Kui Mulang. Jttw is easier for me because there is a version in my native language. But about Kui Mulang and his wife, Kui Mulang kidnapped his wife against her will. He also does not hesitate to hurt her If she does something agaisnt him. Furthermore, the moment Kui Mulang is caught, he betrays his wife and tries to put all the blame on her, saying that she was the one who seduced him.

Many fsyy characters have different names. So I think that's why not many recognize Azure Lion. He was part of the Jie Sect but is later turned into a mount when he loses. I think lmk is not taking fsyy as a prequel to Jttw like New gods. However, I feel like it gives more depth to his character? You know, imagine fighting on the side that accepts you because the other side doesn't really like your kind (from what I understand, there may be good reasons as well as discrimination against the Yaoguai) and then you're humiliated into being the mount of an immortal. And many centuries pass, and you gain respect and connections, but they still don't see you anymore than that. He also becomes very angry when he is not invited to Xiwangmu's peach banquet. I'm not saying this to defend him, but the topic of the Yaoguai and how they are perceived is interesting.

this person is answering questions about fsyy. It's the only blog I've found, so they might be able to give you the info you want to know about fsyy!Kui Mulang. I hope it helps you a lot if you ever need it! :)

https://www.tumblr.com/ryin-silverfish

I'm sorry if I send a lot of asks to reply. I tried to send a response to my ask but apparently my reply is too long??? I'm still not very familiar with Tumblr

Checked my inbox after me and my sib discussed media and honestly it made my mood go from “aw” to “OOOH” so quickly haha

Fyss!Kui Mulang will remain a mystery for a while… we gotta accept this fate my friends. At least until I do a little digging and end up launching him on top of my faves like I did with Erlang and Red Son— AHEM anyways!

I did not know he tried to victim blame his wife.. what the HECK dude… what is wrong with you… my guy.. my dude! What the heck!

Also Yaoguai were always very interesting imo… like at some point it makes you wonder if the hate and judgement they get is justified or not. Yes there are yao that eat people or kill them and do things that aren’t great but what of the ones that are just living? The ones who fight on the side of “good”? Makes you wonder about it. (I did learn that yaoguai stands for creatures that stand outside the natural order/cannot be explained. Which is fun!) Kind of interesting how he was turned into a mount… hm. That’s.. certainly something! Especially for a sentient being capable of thought and speech as eloquent as any other immortal he comes across!

I kind of wish they’d taken fyss as an inspiration ngl.. they did show the Nezha and Ao Bing fight scene but it was obviously shown as more aggressive (in the book, Nezha just smacked him while Ao Bing was the one who launched the first attack—meant to he comedic but also horrifying moment for the Ao family) and it’s funny how they introduced Nü Wa.. because they’ll have to address which version of her it is (in some myths she is the Jade Emperor’s daughter (fyss iirc), in other’s she marries her brother—options!) —but! Anyways, this was a fun read

Definitely makes me think about Azure Lion and Kui Mulang’s characterizations… hm hm hm

[violetjedisylveon]

Cracked Family AU - Family Tree, Wukong's Side

This is the family from Wukong's side, I'll do Macaque's side later, he has a lot more sworn sibling relations.

Wukong has a lot of moms. I guess he was just that adoptable ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

He is not genetically related to Nuwa. She accidentally created his stone egg while repairing the pillar when it broke the first time, that's why they have different colored relationship than the typical parent-child one.

Chūn is the reincarnation of Yin Wuming, also known as Lady Yin, Nezha's mother. Lady Yin did not ascend back to the celestial realm with her then ex husband and sons, choosing to stay in the cycle of reincarnation instead. She got reborn as a demon monkey on Flower Fruit Mountain about a century before the stone egg on top of the mountain hatched.

I have a much more detailed post on her here, with a picture! (Featuring lesbian monkeys)

Cracked Family AU Masterpost

I'm rambling under the cut, check it out if you want

I went into Erlang's family because I needed Chenxiang on the board, and oh my gods, is Erlang's family a tragedy.

First his dad and older brother get killed by his uncle, who then sealed his mother under a mountain, all because his mom fell in love with a mortal. Then! His sister falls in love with a mortal and his uncle orders him to seal his own sister under a mountain and kill her husband and take her from her son. Talk about generational trauma and cyclical abuse.

I hc he's secretly scared that if he has kids, the brother will be ordered to seal his sister under a mountain for falling in love with a mortal, it happened twice before he's not risking it again. He is happy being a dog dad. And a decent uncle to his monkey brother's kid.

Wukong and Erlang become bros in Jttw, though I imagine him sealing his sister under a mountain caused some strain in their relationship, I feel like Wukong might take that personally. Maybe that's why he taught Erlang's nephew how to kick his ass really hard.

And adopted said nephew. Chenxiang was like 8 when shit went down, monkey brain said "cub has no parents, it's free real estate".

Nuwa is the Jade Emperor's sister in some myths, and I had fun(angsty) ideas with it so I'm using that, but because Nuwa is big snake, and Jade Emperor is presumably something similarly reptilian, they would probably only know that they share a mother, because that's how reptiles work, hit it and quit it. So they are at best half siblings.

Guanyin being the reincarnation of one of Jade Emperor and Xiwangmu's daughters is a fun idea I've seen from @quitealotofsodapop, and it's more funny to me cause she and her sister's reincarnation adopted the same chaotic monkey at different points in his life. So I'm rolling with it.

[quitealotofsodapop]

The incident with the Samhadi Fire, as well as Wukong's distraction of Azure being the turning point that allowed the Queen Mother to escape being killed alongside her husband, Li Jing himself being spared from dying at the Rhino King's hand by Wukong deciding to take offense at him and attack during the Journey, and many other incidents where Wukong had dome soem seemingly selfish or impulsive thing that ended up inadvertently saving someone often without them even knowing are all gathered together as evidence that this is a thing that happened. Mainly because the concept itself is so unbelievable to them that they built a whole conspiracy board to try to find the link to why so many fates got averted and they all led back to a certain monkey

Prev.

The Celestials connecting their avoided deaths and times Wukong was involved like:

Though many have a newfound paranoia for the Monkey King, others find a new appreciation.

Erlang, reading his Draft Scroll: "What on earth? Why does this say I died of old age soon after the Investiture crisis?" Erlang: (*mentally computing the dates*) Erlang: "Ah. Me and the Plum Hill Lads were given Lao Tzu's pills as reward for capturing Wukong. I suppose if I hadn't pulled that off, Uncle would have been content to let me die as a half-mortal..." Erlang, putting his scroll away: "Thank you, old friend."

The Queen Mother herself both thanks and damns the monkey. For although his actions saved her and her daughters, they still caused her to be forever separated from her husband. But she admits that she would have also torn Heaven asunder to secure her mate's health, as the King had done for his Warrior.

Li Jing is shocked of course. When the Rhino King had stolen everyone's astras and weapons, the Heavenly General was left unarmed. Had the divine beast decided to attack head-on, it was likely that Li Jing's mortal origins would have betrayed his body.

And its not just Wukong who's been unknowingly saving people...

Mei, deep into her family's draft scrolls: "Hey Pigsy! You want to see what your's says?" Pigsy: "Absolutely not! Knowing that kinda stuff just spells disaster." MK, panicked holding Pigsy's scroll: "BUT THIS SAID YOU DIED TWENTY YEARS AGO!!" Pigsy: "WHAT!?"

Yup, right there on the bamboo in white and black.

Twenty years ago, January 15. Kitchen gas explosion?

Pigsy scrunches his face with confusion. When the heck was he around bad kitchen equipment? He treats his restaurant like a temple!

Well... except for when he was starting out obviously He was a younger boar then, and a lot more pig-headed. He had wanted to open up immediately, no matter if the equipment that came with the building was decades old and could probably give him tetanus.

But Pigsy had ultimately decided to take a few weeks off and renovate the restaurant. it had been a huge hit to his pockets, but luckily Tang pooled his meagre inheritance together to help out.

Pigsy is pretty sure that Monkey King wasn't involved in all of that.

MK, super worried: "Pigsy, are you 100% sure that nothing weird or Monkey King-related happened on that date twenty years ago?" Pigsy, thinking: "Weird? I mean uh..."

Pigsy, trying to play it as normal: "I mean. I did have to do some baby-proofing, but nothing out of the ordinary." Tang, half-teasing: "Liar. I caught you crying at 4am on the kitchen floor, tearing up all the electricals because you didn't want your little piglet touching anything with a sketchy wire." Pigsy, defensive: "He could climb, Tang! And he chewed anything he got his teeth on! I had to put that bad-tasting spray they make for dogs on all the extension cords!" MK, quietly: "Did... did I help Pigsy avoid that explosion? When I was a baby?" Mei, supportive: "Well... you are Monkey King's mini-me. It makes sense that you inherited some of that changing course of planets and fate power!" MK, thinks back to the Pillar: "Oh."

So yeah. Monkeys of positive chaos, saving their friends and enemies with their presence.

[quitealotofsodapop]

There will be a massive debate/argument between them all when they find out. Because the first reaction Li Jing will have upon putting two and two together that Wukong and his protegè is somehow related to the strange changes in fate they've found in the draft copies is to summon them once more to Heaven. Which, considering the last time he did that, does not go well and it takes a lot of fighting before Xiwangmu finally gets tired enough of the squabbling on her front yard to intervene and explain WHY Wukong and his friends were summoned to Heaven once more.

Xiwangmu: With the Ten Kings of Diyu gone, Heaven and the Underworld have been forced to use some... archaic means to keep the balance between life and death. The Scrolls of the Dead have a drafted copy so to speak, one that is constantly updated but holds none of the powers the original document held. Whilst going through it, we discovered something... rather disturbing."

Wukong: And that involves kidnapping me and my friends... how?? Also there was a SECOND COPY!?

Nezha: Don't worry, we verified that while your name remains in this copy, you still retain the stolen immortality wiping your name from the true copy did. Twas one of the first things we did considering the reason the... original was covered in graffiti.

Wukong: I'm not apologizing for that. Meant to die or not, mortally wounded or not, I was not dead when they dragged me down the first time.

MK: Wait, what was that about being meant to die? When was this??

Macaque: *sighing* MK. When he removed his name from the Book of the Dead. Didn't you say you'd read the book!?

MK: It's so long and has weird vocabulary that makes my head spin!

Li Jing, trying to steer the conversation back to the to the point: Sun Wukong. There's been a series of events where many a being, whether they be mortal, celestial, or demon, was meant to meet their end where said fate was averted. While it isn't unusual for such a thing, the amount of time and consistency is rather strange. And... all of those instances point to some sort of interference related to you.

Xiwangmu: We summoned you here in hopes of understanding how that might be. Particularly in regards to that considerable feats that my general and grandson witnessed you and your heir perform recently. One does not simply break a cycle of destruction and rebirth so easily."

Prev.

The monkeys all get summoned like "AH! Not again!"

And reoccurring gag of MK not reading the book cus it's so dense and flowery. I think in canon he mentions Wukong erasing his name from The Book of the Dead though.

The squad are on close monitoring and/or house arrest until Heaven can figure out what the heck Wukong and MK are exactly able to do.

Macaque's own hearing powers mentioned in Jttw could also be similar to Wukong's fate-changing ability.

A sensitive ear, Discernment of fundamental principles, Knowledge of past and future, And comprehension of all things.

Macaque is able to know, but Wukong is able to act. Macaque has knowledge of the past, present, and future through his ears, but can't do much to change it. Wukong meanwhile has broken down so many barriers and saved so many lives completely unknowing.

The celestial primates as a whole could be individuals with these specific "screw destiny!"-powers gifted/created by the Universe to defy expectations of the Gods.

I would also like to mention an idea we had in DMs about Nüwa and her mate Fuxi the ape-man - that MK (and possibly even Wukong) were created specifically so they could have the choice to save/restart the world when the apocalypse came to past.

Cus whats the most powerful thing in the universe besides the chaos entropy? The ability to choose your fate.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Does that last ask mean Nezha is on MK’s side the whole time during the MK Egged au?

Ref.

Yup.

The second Nezha learned about MK's Stone Egg, his loyalty has been to his role as Protector of Children.

To ensure that the youngest Stone Monkey (whether that be MK himself or the future infant) is safe outweighs any other duties Nezha may have. Except perhaps finding safe place to hide the Emperor's power.

So when Li Jing treats MK like animal that needs to be tamed and caged, Nezha's trust in his father falters.

Nezha busts the monkeys out on purpose. And pretends he sees nothing when he attends the Dragon-Tiger festival.

Li Jing: "You let them get away!? Why didn't you react?!" Nezha:

When the gang jump into the Pagoda, Nezha is jumping in after them cus "Gotdang it! Gotta make sure MK is safe!"

Also once the Queen Mother of the West arrives on-scene to see what the commotion is about, Li Jing gets the crap beaten out of him for putting a pregnant person in distress.

Xiwangmu, destructive power lashing at Li Jing: "You are truly the worst son-in-law I have!" Li Jing, dodging her flames: "Do you forget the Bull!!?" Xiwangmu: "HE WOULD NEVER HURT A PREGNANT PERSON!"

Xiangliu barely has the screen time to explain their plans since they get a War Form Lotus Prince and Primordial Destruction Goddess squeezing them like a stress ball. Meanwhile, MK still puts himself in harms way by sacrificing himself to the Pillar, only to pop out moments later with Nuwa's permission to destroy the heavenly stones.

Once the baby Haoyu is finally born/hatched, Nezha holds them and prays; "Please, do not be as much trouble as your parent."

Haoyu sneezes and flames spit onto Nezha's face. Nezha sighs fondly.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Just read through the MKEgged tag, and where's Redson? I want to see the roller-coaster he goes on of "A baby!? Wait, who's the father If it can't be me? Oh, okay, no other parent. I'll step in and help, what do you mean the pregnancy has a high mortality rate!?"

Just this guy trying to figure out what he's feeling and how to handle things with this baby, because yay baby, but also No you're not allowed to die!"

Prev.

haha yes! XD

Red Son's bull-brain tells him "Whomst is the father!?" immediately, even if him and MK aren't in a fully romantic relationship yet. His infatuation tells him that only *he* can father Noodle Boy's progeny!

The fact that the pregnancy was magical in nature calms him down only a little bit... until he learns that MK's true species have a high maternal mortality rate due to this unique form of reproduction.

Red Son, busting on into MK's prenatal appointment: "Noodle Boy!! Who said that you're allowed to die!? I strictly forbid it!"

Red Son goes out of his way to investigate what knowledge is available on Stone Monkeys so he can devise a way to help MK survive and recover. He knocks on the door of every soul he can think of who would hold some idea of what to do; Lao Tzu, The Gold Star of Venus, and even Guanyin herself.

The alchemist and planet god both only had second-hand accounts of how Stone Monkeys lived, but provided copies of their literature all the same.

Approaching her old master was a little awkward, but the Bodhisattva Guanyin is a patron god of safe childbirth, and Red Son wanted to have their input on the matter. To her surprise, Guanyin was equally concerned for MK's well-being - and had already offered to attend the birth to ensure that they could monitor MK and the baby. Red Son learns from Guanyin that Sun Wukong himself had such questions many centuries ago, but curiously dropped the matter sometime after the Journey. Former master and disciple share a warm goodbye, finally reunited by their worry over a noodle monkey-boy.

Xiwangmu was still mourning the loss of her husband, so Red Son thought it improper to bother her on such a matter - but clearly Lao Tzu or Gold Star blabbed. The very next time Red Son stepped into the Celestial Realm, he found himself swept into a suffocating hug by the Queen Mother of the West.

Xiwangmu, weeping: "Oh, my little fire opal. You are so proactive! Scouring the Heavens and Earth to find a way to save your mate and child!" Red Son, confused: "EHH!?!?"

Turns out, the Queen Mother had a gut-reaction to hearing that her grandson's beloved ("WHO TOLD!?" shrieks Red) Monkey Prince was pregnant. And that reaction was; "GREAT-GRANDCUBS?!?!"

Red Son barely has a second to object. The Queen Mother weeps how the Jade Emperor is to miss the birth of his first great-grandchild, but that the pregnancy is a light in a very dark time for her and the court. She orders her court secretary to give Red Son unlimited access to the celestial library so that he can continue his research.

After the whirlwind of discovering that apparently even Heaven itself blames him for MK's Egg, Red Son turns to only two known members of the Noodle Boy's species.

Sun Wukong and the Six Eared Macaque.

The Macaque was the most difficult to get information out of since he kept slipping into the shadows whenever Red brought up questions on his species. Luckily one attempt/battle (it got out of hand) lead to the appearance of Sun Wukong on the scene.

Wukong: "What's the issue, firecracker?" Red Son, holding thick notepad: "I need to understand your species so I can devise a way to prevent MK's stone egg from killing him!" Macaque, turns off powers: "Oh! Why didn't you say so? I thought you were trying to dissect me or something!" XD Wukong: "We know almost everything there is on our species, so fire away kiddo." Red Son: "Yes! Finally! Question 1; in the case of self-spawned eggs, is the child a genetic clone of the parent?" Wukong & Macaque: (*both shake their heads*) Wukong: "Oh no. Its not a clone. You see, the Egg absorbs Dao from it's surroundings - not just it's parent. So it steals bits of DNA from whatever troop happens to be around. You know like friends, family-" Macaque, slyly: "Former mates." Wukong: "Former ma- hey!" (*glares*) Red Son, thinking: "So an additional source of life energy could supplement MK's own depleted supply?" Wukong: "Yeah... but the healthiest option is usually a dear friend or life partner. Someone who can cling to them and supply the most juice. Also helpful if the pregnant person wants their kid to look like their fave person." Macaque, knowing smile: "Or... whoever they have a big crush on." Red Son: (*hair-flames briefly flicker pink in blush as he imagines a red-furred baby monkey with calf hooves*) Red Son: "Wait. How come you both know so much about this topic? I know Sun Wukong has access to the celestial library, but Macaque has been barred from the palace grounds since the rebellion! Why do you share the same knowledge?" Wukong & Macaque: (*both start spluttering and choking on air*) Wukong, trying to find words: "You see-! We uh...!" Macaque: (*fades into background at 50% opacity, hiding face in scarf*) Red Son, realising: "Ah. I see. Thank you for your input, gentlemen." Wukong: "Where are you going now?" Red Son: "I'm going over to Noodle Boy's place. I have been invited for company." (*Red Son leaves. Macaque phases back in*) Wukong: "Well. The Egg might not be her doing. But she certainly wishes it was." Macaque: "I'm just glad they didn't try getting more out of us." Wukong, cheeky grin: "Like what? How we both know so much about Stone Eggs because once upon a time we wanted some of our own?" Macaque: (*hides face in scarf again*) "Shut up, peaches."

As for the Demon Bull parents? Well..

PIF, calmly writing letters: "Even if the child was not made the traditional fashion, we will both adore them all the same. I expect any grandchildren of mine to be as beloved as a prince or princess ought to be." DBK, arms full of baby shower gifts: "Make sure to note the exact hour, day, month, and year of the child's birth! It's very important for divining the calf's fortune!" Red Son, flames twitching: "Are you two-!? ARE YOU PLANNING A ROYAL BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENT!?" PIF: "Do not shout dear. My mother visited shortly after you left. Seems that a certain child of mine has been asking around about celestial monkeys and safe magical birthing practices, and it's stirred the court's rumour mill. Me and the simians are planning a formal announcement once the child arrives." Red Son, blushing pink: "I would have gone through the same effort if I only considered them a mere ally." PIF: "I know you would. But a mere ally, does not donate so much life energy to the parent in hopes that the child becomes theirs." Red Son: (*blush grows even bigger, flames spit embers onto the surrounding furniture*) PIF, brushes embers off of desk: "Hopefully, Xiaotian doesn't experience the terrible heartburn I did whilst carrying you." Red Son: "Mother!" DBK, wincing with sympathy: "Only exacerbated by your cravings, my love! You had a great desire for charcoal and spiced meat on the bone."

MK texts Red Son a few hours later asking if he'd like to go out for some barbecue; "Just started craving it for some reason. Oh! And we should make sure to get cheese tea too! Acid reflux acting up rn and I need something to quench the flame."

Red is so down bad.

It's not all sunshine and baby monkeys though - there is genuine worry across the families about MK's condition. None more so than the men who raised him.

(*Red is leaving MK's place after a hang out session, when a certain pig-man in the kitchen speaks up*) Pigsy: "Hey... thanks for being there for him." Red Son, surprised: "Huh? Oh! No problem..." Pigsy: "I know you like him. Like, like-like him. I don't exactly approve but.... you've been going out of your way to find ways to help me. Make sure he..." Pigsy: (*trails off, eyes puffy*) Red Son: (*quietly approaches, awkwardly places a hand on Pigsy's shoulder*) Pigsy: "Promise me something." Red Son: "Ok." Pigsy: "If the worst happens... I want you to still be there. For them. Not just because you like him. But because you really care about him and his kid." Red Son, certain: "I do. I truly care for Xiaotian. And I wish to be there for him through it all. And if the unthinkable were to occur, I would still be there for them." Pigsy, wipes tears with sleeve: "Thanks, punk." Red Son: "Again, no problem." Pigsy, changing tone: "Now! What's with this letter I got saying MK and his baby are gonna be presented to the Heavenly and Infernal Court?" Red Son, remembers previous encounters: "oops."

Once he fully explains the misunderstanding in heaven, Pigsy whacks Red with a spatula.

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When Tieshan told Macaque of the scarf, she knew what she was doing. She may not know much of Ancient Stone Monkey culture, but she had 500 years, a mountain full of lost stories and secrets regarding the clan, and quite the incentive to learn as much as she could. After all, it could literally be the difference between life and death for Wukong and his second try at parenthood. She wasn't going to risk sowmthing as simple as a lack of knowledge from stopping her...

So somewhere on that island she came across a depiction of Stone Monkey mourning rituals, including how some monkeys would choose to bury themselves beside their mates during the Stone Egg ritual, or lacking a proper resting place, with their mate's former items so that the dao of their mate would be absorbed by their Egg. A way for their mate to live on through their child, so to speak. This means she knows what it means for Wukong to have buried himself with Macaque's scarf and continue to wear it as a waist wrap even now. And she knows Macaque and Marshall Ma knows it, too.

Pigsy asks her how she knew mentioning the scarf would get Macaque out of his funk.

Pigsy: How the hell did you know that would work!?

Tieshan: Because despite not being raised by them, Macaque is still a Stone Monkey of the Lotus-Eared variant. In their culture, to bury oneself with something covered in their mate's dao is to wish for the cub to absorb the dao and have a piece ofntheir mate pass on to the cub, if not in blood, then in spirit. We can see in Xiaotian's coloration how Wukong and Macaque's dao had mixed together to create a child that looks like both parents.

Marshall Ma: Wukong would have known about this as well, the Elder whom led us before Wukong had taken the throne of the Stone Matriarch had raised him with as much knowledge about the Stone Monkeys as he could before he passed.

Xiwangmu, interested: Stone Matriarch? I have not heard of such a being.

Marshall Ma: 'Tis the title of Wukong's predecessor, the one whom Azure claims to be Lady Sonzi's reincarnation. We know her as the Stone Matriarch of Flower Fruit Mountain. She had led our predecessor tribe before the Floods. It is said she had left an egg bearing her Heir upon the Mountain, the very same one Wukong had hatched from. It is why we made him the Monkey King once he had discovered the ancestral palace behind the Water-Curtain Cave.

Prev.

Tieshan did spend about 500 years watching the island as it's vigil, and protector. She and the Stalwarts had many times come together for meals and chats. The topic of mourning rituals came up when she expressed a comparison to Wukong's state to that of a funeral burial. The Stalwarts were quick to show her the murals inside of Water Curtain Cave, relaying the stories Elder passed on to them from his time. How the Stone Monkeys not could form a vestal child from their own Dao, but from the Dao of lost spouses - given that they buried themselves at their side or with their belongings so that the couple had a chance to produce a shared child.

Tieshan recalls how her sworn-brother's favourite scarf was last seen in Wukong's arms...

The reveal that Macaque is Xiaotian's other parent (spiritually and genetically) is enough for him to shake out of his funk - not only did Wukong still love him after all that happened, but he made an effort to ensure that his second child would be born with Macaque's life energy!

I like to think that before they leave Flower Fruit Mountain; Xiwangmu and the Jade Emperor make a point of finding one of Shíhuā's shrines/statues and sitting down to just... talk. Both to each other and to their daughter (or whomever she became). They ask her if she was happy in that life. Mention how her son can be such a handful at times but they care for him still.

Guanyin witnesses this from a distance. Tears roll down their face as it hits how the two royals truly see them their kin. They weren't lying when they called Guanyin their daughter, and Wukong their grandson.

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How do the courts react to Haoyu? I mean, this is the youngest stone monkey in existence and also looks like, in Pigsy's words "a Lisa Frank" piece and a mixture of Spicynoodles, so...

Haoyu arrives + Royal court confusion.

For those confused by the "Lisa Frank" comment; Haoyu has been imbedded with the power of the Five Heavenly (or Five-Coloured) Stones, and comes out with bits of rainbows in his features - notably his eyes. Add in Red Son's absorbed life energy, and you've got a ginger-furred baby monkey (reference pic is a langur) who sneezes rainbow fire.

The celestial and demon courts are jubilant, if not very confused. Haoyu's birth is the greatest news all of the Celestial Realm has had in months since the passing of the Jade Emperor. But the knowledge that the parents of said child is the Emperor's recently-recognised half-bull grandson + the surprise stone monkey successor of Sun Wukong = makes everyone baffled at the same time.

The Queen Mother has gone all out on the celebration ever since she learned that both parent and baby were safe and healthy. She's been planning the whole event for at least five weeks. Xiwangmu's great-grandson is the shining light of the universe as far as she's concerned!

MK shows up to the royal birth announcement wearing sweatpants cus monkey boy be exhausted. Red Son appears in traditional court attire, happily showing off MK and the baby like they both didn't just roll out of bed that morning. Also his big royal robe makes a great impromptu blanket once the three of them become too tired with the festivities.

Haoyu himself is still in "will not stop clinging to mom or will scream"-stage of development. So if a hard-headed noble or servant tried to take the baby off of MK; they get hit with the loudest screeching a barely-1-pound baby monkey can make. And a near-death experience courtesy of all baby's protective family members. MK has to stop Xiwangmu from reflexively tossing the offender off a cloud.

Many of the celestials and trusted demons of the party at first assume Sun Wukong and the Six Eared Macaque to be MK's parents, only to be shocked to be introduced to a stout pig-man and a gangly human scholar.

Tang, proudly: "He takes more after me, as you can see." MK & Pigsy: (*fond sighs*)

Wukong and Macaque still proudly refer to Haoyu as their "grand-student". Especially Macaque ever since the baby saw his real ears and started making his own wiggle and glow as some sort of wordless communication - Mei calls it "baby rave mode".

DBK is trying his best not to cry or explode out of his clothing. Haoyu isn't even the size of a human baby, and the old Bull sobs whenever he sees him. Haoyu loves his big purple Yeye Bull, and has started doing little calf-headbutts to greet him. DBK would destroy heaven itself for this little orange puffball.

DBK and Xiwangmu have also come to a tentative agreement; even though the Queen Mother didn't approve of the method in which DBK and PIF eloped, he's still the better of her son-in-laws (Li Jing has been kicked down the celestial food chain ever since the incident with the Stones).

PIF is busy making her presence known since this is her first time presenting to the celestial court in centuries. She's worse than Red for showing off MK and the baby; bragging to any curious ear that dare listens.

PIF, talking to another noblewoman: "Well clearly Xiaotian and my son would produce the first great-grandchild! Red Son has had an infatuation for the boy ever since they met!" Red Son, embarrassed: "Mother!" MK, laughing: "Aww!! Babe! You had a crush on me?" Red Son: "MK, we're legally married with a baby." MK, giggling: "Still!"

Nezha's hackles are raised, watching over MK's shoulder like a guard dog. Not only keeping to his duty as Protector of Children - but also because part of the ceremony is him giving Haoyu his 100-day blessing (his Man Yue was a lot smaller and personal). It's a big deal for him. Erlang thankfully provides him some backup. At least the little guy isn't keen on being anywhere not attached to his parents anytime soon.

At the end of the day Mei and the rest of the Noodle Gang manage to distract the party so MK and Red can get out of there and relax. it's been a busy day for these two, and an even bigger one for the baby.

Xiwangmu goes searching for them frantically after noticing her Grandson and Grandson-in-law missing from the party. She finds them curled up in their guest room with little Haoyu snoring away between them. She quietly grants them her blessing and leaves the three sleep on. Her little rainbow quartz has a big universe to see.

[quitealotofsodapop]

TMKATI!Li Jing During his mourning period. And the little Dolly XD

Ref.

OHHhh!!

Sad Papa Li Jing!!!

All of Heaven knows not to mess with Jing rn. It was bad back when he lost Nezha the first time, now he isn't even sure if he's able to find his son's soul again!

To make matters worse, Nezha hadn't even a choice in the matter. The Jade Emperor, furious to a degree nearly uncharacteristic of him, had declared the young god's interference in Wukong's mission punishable by "divine banishment and exile" - cutting off Nezha's hair and sending him to an unknown fate to the Realm below.

Li Jing had been witness to it all. He had planned on scolding Nezha for blindly interfering with a mission he wasn't part of, but had relented when he himself discovered the remains of the Harbinger's Stone Egg. His son is the protective deity of children - he shouldn't be judged for coming to the aid of what he believed to be (and going by the reactions of Sun Wukong and the Queen Mother; was) an unborn child.

And he has so many regrets... So many words left unsaid.

Jinzha and Muzha/Moksa join their father in mourning. Both sons feel a great deal of regret in indirectly leading their little brother towards his "death". They do not comment on the poppet made from familiar black hair and red ribbon. It's their father's main source of comfort at the moment.

Jade Emperor be banished to the royal couch for the next eternity after Xiwangmu learns that all of Heaven thinks her grandbaby is dead. The whole "banishing Nezha to the mortal realm" incident, combined with the discovery of the broken cosmic Stone Egg, causes the Queen Mother to head down to Earth and do her own covert investigation into wtf is going on.

The truth of the matter only makes the Queen, and Li Jing even more furious with the Emperor!