#louhou and jidu

[centuryberry]

Flourish AU

Me, looking back at the Replanted AU after posting the recent Unpaid Babysitting update: Yishan needed better parents. Also, I wish I could incorporate Shanzha and RinRin into the Sundown Era AU without more dimension shenanigans.

Me:

Me: Wait -

And so, this AU came to be. Say hello to Iceflower's Son!Yishan, everyone. He's here to bring Shanzha and RinRin into the Sundown Era AU, grow up better than he could've been, create a myth or two, and - most importantly - father Yue, Louhou, and Jidu so all four Celestial Primates can have grandbabies to spoil.

Background: The Land of Eternal Snow still doesn't exist in the Sundown Era AU. Shanzha and RinRin are also nowhere in China during the Rebellion against Heaven. Why? Because they're in Goryeo (Korea) and Nippon (Japan), respectively, making a name for themselves. After inheriting the powers of the Celestial Primates and shaking up their respective pantheons, they headed over to China to retire together since one of their own ascended as Jade Emperor.

In one another life, Yishan was the firstborn son of a prestigious clan who grew up viewing almost everyone as his enemy. In this one, he was the son of legends posing as common herbalists living in the mountains.

What does a more well adjusted and untraumatized child Yishan look like? Well, he has more friends growing up. And when I mean friends, I mean animals. He likes animals more than people. He also has a habit of bringing home wounded animals for Shanzha to treat. (He begs to keep them every time but his moms keep telling him no.) He’s also incurably blunt and judgy - even to his mothers.

Shanzha makes sure to train her son in healing and martial arts while RinRin teaches him how to socialize and act. These are very necessary lessons since Yishan tends to piss off a lot of people just by being himself.

(Despite being raised by Shanzha and RinRin, there are some things about Yishan that stays the same lmao.)

Yishan ends up being a nerd over medicine and poisons. As for his social skills, he technically knows what to do in theory but doesn’t bother to extend the effort towards those he considers stupid.

As a late teen, Yishan became a traveling doctor so he could leave the nest and explore the world.

While Yishan heals people and battles against stupidity (and make more animal friends), he gains a reputation for being an amazing healer with the worst bedside manner. He also beat up a couple of powerful yaoguai because either 1) they were in the way of a key ingredient of a medical breakthrough or 2) he pissed them off first.

During his travels, Yishan meets and makes his first non-animal friend: a soldier named Mensheng. He turns down the offer to serve the soldier’s Ivory Lady and continues his journey.

Eventually, Yishan is kidnapped invited to the Celestial Realm by some very pushy attendants (one of whom he gives a nasty black eye) so he could become Laozi’s new apprentice.

Despite Yishan kicking and screaming through the entire process, he ends up being Laozi’s favorite. The man wouldn’t let him go.

Yishan frequently conspires with Laozi’s Bull to break out. They fail every time. The only reason why Yishan wasn’t as successful in leaving was because of the cool shiny new medicinal plants Laozi kept waving in front of his face.

Then, Yishan was tasked to assist Laozi in checking up on the health of the Princess of the Celestial Realm and acting ruler of Flower Fruit Mountain.

"Princess?" All of you are probably asking. Yup, Wukong and Macaque did end up having one (1) kid and it's Sangshen. Because of an attempted poisoning incident, she came out weak and sickly. Sangshen is adored by her parents but is seen as a disappointment to the Celestial Court (since she's female, weak, and takes after Macaque), so she prefers to stay in FFM.

Still, because of her poor health, Wukong would frequently send Laozi down to check up on her. At this point, Laozi spends more of his time at FFM than in the Celestial Realm. He even has his own room and lab there.

Laozi's plan was to drop Yishan off to FFM and take over in keeping tabs on Sangshen's health.

When Yishan first laid eyes on Sangshen, he was a complete goner. It was love at first sight. As for Sangshen, she fell slower, but no less harder. Yishan was so considerate and charming and devoted that she couldn't help but develop feelings. (Everyone else who knows him: Are we talking about the same Yishan?!?!)

Yishan being Yishan beings ridiculously rare and hard-to-obtain stuff to shower Sangshen with. With his attention (and daily offering of super rare medicine), her health improves by leagues.

Sangshen eventually breaks it to Yishan that he probably shouldn't be courting her since her parents would kill him where he stands if they caught wind of this. Her parents established pretty early that they wouldn't let anyone marry her unless they lasted 15 min in a battle against both of them.

Instead of being deterred, Yishan takes this challenge and asks for some PTO to visit Shanzha and RinRin.

Yishan: Hey moms, how do I stay alive in a spar against the Emperor and Empress of the Universe? Shanzha: What RinRin: What happened to "hi"? Also, wtf Yishan: I'm in love and it's the only way I can get permission to marry her

*Cue intense training montage*

After training his tail off, Yishan presents himself to the Emperor and Empress as a suitor for their daughter's hand. They are less than pleased and put him through the wringer for daring to ask. They beat him to the ground.

And yet, Yishan lasts for 30 minutes. So, after recovering, Yishan happily accepts the begrudging permission of his future in-laws and heads down to FFM to tell Sangshen the good news.

FFM: You mad bastard, you actually did it. Yishan: Obviously. If I didn't, Sangshen would cry and that's unforgivable.

Yishan wasted no time in proposing and Sangshen wasted no time in accepting. A wedding was then arranged in the Celestial Realm and Yishan's mothers were invited. Shanzha and RinRin come, of course.

An official freaks out at seeing Shanzha since he recognizes her as the Godslayer who wiped out the entire court of Korean Primordial Gods.

Another official flips his lid when he recognizes RinRin as the Trickster who swindled him during his time abroad in Japan.

When Shanzha and RinRin's identities as Celestial Primates come to light, the entire Celestial Court is filled with dread. Oh no, there's FOUR of them now.

Shanzha and RinRin get along with Wukong and Macaque like a house on fire. They trade unhinged stories of their youth and make plans to hang out. Shanzha jokingly offers to take out any Celestial who annoys Wukong too much. Wukong takes this offer very seriously, making many of his ministers sweat.

Yishan and Sangshen get married and spend many years of wedded bliss before Sangshen announces that she's pregnant.

Say hello to Yue~

This cutie pie made Wukong cry. At first, he was a little disappointed to see that she took mostly after Yishan's side of the family. Then, she sneezed and lo and behold, six ears popped out. Yishan had to fight with his father-in-law to get his daughter back.

Wukong wasn't any better when Louhou and Jidu were born. He might've been reluctant to be a father, but he took to being a grandfather like a duck to water.

Shadowpeach would squabble with Iceflower for grandbaby time. In the end, Iceflower simply moved into the Celestial Realm so all of them could have grandbaby time.

Extra Facts about Iceflower:

Shanzha used to be a devotee of the Primordial Korean gods. An event shattered her faith and took away everything she's ever cared about. Eyes opened to their cruelty, Shanzha started her quest in wiping them all out. Shanzha trained under the Long-Armed Gibbon as the Celestial Primate was sympathetic to her circumstances. She's very much inspired by Kratos as she was very unhinged during this period of life.

RinRin, on the other hand, was a pet monkey of a daughter of a samurai who evolved into a yokai after a tragedy. She sowed discord as a shapeshifter until she was killed by an angry god. The Red Buttocked Baboon found her in the Japanese Underworld and found her amusing enough to be his successor. RinRin then proceeded to cheat death, harass Japanese deities, and become a Loki-like figure.

Shanzha, born as “Nari” (Lily), renamed herself after a Chinese Hawthorn fruit usually used for medicine solely to outsmart a god who could cut a life short by calling out their name three times. The new name kept the god guessing long enough for her to shoot them down. Since it helped her keep her life, she ended up keeping the name.

Since RinRin had many names and faces during her time as a trickster spirit/deity, she was much more attached to her true name. Fun fact: Her name means “dignified bell” in Japanese.

[centuryberry]

@void-writing You made me a literal movie poster, Void. Oh my god. This piece is so dynamic and it captures both the determination and desperation of everyone there. It makes me giddy that this is the last thing that Peng sees before the entire group gets teleported away.

Where do I start? The details of the dress Yue wears is exquisite and I love the callback to the crown you gave her in your past works. And you gave Red Son his HORNS!!! Xiaotian Quan looks so menacing! Love the design you gave her! (Poor Louhou and Jidu, they look so scared.)

I knew I recognized Xiaotian’s pose! Thank you for referencing Sokka to the fullest! And, while it was only used during that battle, an honorable mention to the boomerang. You were used as a reference and a convenient surprise attack. You will be missed.

Gosh, this must’ve taken so much time and effort to make! You’re amazing, Void!

Escape from Flower Fruit Mountain

"What can you do? You were all trapped. Either you all die in Peng’s hands or the celestial flames burn you all alive. You never should’ve sent your brothers inside. There’s no exit, no - wait.

There was a way out. The transportation circle in your room you never quite got to erasing."

Chapter 15 of "Queen of the Mountain" by @centuryberry

[icekingofhope]

One thing I wish people talk about more is wukongs kids

yuebei xing Luzhen and Jidu and louhou (and others but that’s a story for another day)

cause in a way they are still detites but also I love thinking about dadkong and how much he loves each of his kids no matter what

so I decided to draw them when they were children and make cute shit

(also without text verison of the second image-)

[the-monkey-ruler]

Do you know all of Sun Wukong's children? I understand that King Paramita is Lady Iron Fan's son with Wukong(?). and that Yuebei Xing and her brothers are maybe children of Taiyin xing (the theory). Obviously I understand that they are not like something canon, however, it is interesting to know about them.

I can’t say that I do know every iteration that Wukong has kids but I can try to make a list of what I got at least! There are the non-canon kids of Sun Wukong that I know of at least right now. I'm sure there is more but these are the ones I know from media at the moment.

A Supplement to the Journey to the West (1640) 西遊補 (this is just a dream) Paramita 4 other unnamed sons

Journey to the South (1570) 南遊記 (unnamed partner) Jidu Luohou Yuebei Xing

Later Journey to the West (17th-century) 後西遊記 Sun Luzhen (adopted)

Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (2000) マーヴル VS. カプコン 2 Sonson

Westward Journey Online II (2002) 大话西游2经典版 Mind Monkey (unintentionally contributed to new Rock Monkey)

High School DxD (2008) ハイスクールD×D Bikou

The Monkey King's Daughter (2009) Meilin Cheng

New Journey to the West: Unexpected Jingxi (2017) 新西游之意外晶喜 Unborn child (with White Bone spirit) (also might not be his)

Adventure in Journey to the West (2018)大闹西游 Sun Wuyuan (disciple, but like it's obvious he adopted)

God of High School (2020) 갓 오브 하이 스쿨 Park Taejin (adopted)

DC Festival of Heroes: The Asian Superhero Celebration #1 (2021) Sun Marcus (hair clone treated as child)

The Chronicles of the Ranger (2021) 游侠战纪 Hou Mo (stone monkey, hard to say if direct descendant)

Monkey King (2022) 悟·空 Sun Xiaosheng (disciple, might be adopted)

American Born Chinese(2023) Sun Wei-Chen

Honorary mentions:

Monkey King: Hero Is Back (2015) 西遊記之大聖歸來 Jiang Liu'er Anan

My Dad is Monkey King (2021) 我的爸爸是齐天大圣 Li Yiyi (this is more symbolic than real dad)

Lego Monkie Kid (2021) 悟空小侠 Qi Xiaotian / MK (stone monkey, possibly related)

So this is NOT ALL of the children I'm sure but I'm sure as I keep posting media that the list with increase!

[loyaltykask]

I made a fanfic about the non-canon kids for Supplement JTTW, JTTS, and PJTTW!

I do wanna say that I started the chapters with Wukong being mostly inspired by 1996 Xiyouji dynamics and who Wukong is mostly based on. The first chapters are about Paramita and the four unnamed kids in Supplement! All named after paramitas in buddism.

I try to base each kid off one of Wukong's inspirations in media! I hope y'all enjoy!

I'm not the best artist but I did have fun trying to draw them

Pink - Jnana, fifth born

Red - Paramita, first born

Yellow - Bala, fourth born

Green - Pranidhana, thrid born

Blue - Upaya - second born

[centuryberry]

@darkonyxdraws First you drew Yue’s war form, then you design her travel clothes, then your make a comic, and now the twins?!? What did I do to deserve your consistent flow of artistic creativity?

Also, you draw pretty adorable lil cuties for someone who doesn’t draw children often. Their cheeks are so squishable and their expressions scream kittens (one ready for mischief and the other politely waiting for a treat.)

I love them so much. Thank you for making this ❤️

@centuryberry

i drew the twins!

I don't really draw children often, so it was nice practice.

[lmk-aus-galore]

Incorrect quotes for most of my AUs

Primate Brotherhood AU

Wukong: You lying, cheating, piece of shit!

Macaque: Oh yeah? You’re the idiot who thinks you can get away with everything you do. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD!

Wukong: I’m leaving you, and I’M TAKING MK WITH ME!

Chikao getting the monopoly with me: I think we’re gonna stop playing now.

Primate Brotherhood AU

Wukong: Everyone, synchronize your watches

Macaque: I don’t know how to do that.

Chikao: I don’t wear a watch.

Tongbei: Time is a construct

Children of the Sun AU

Louhou: Is stabbing someone immoral?

Wukong: Not if they consent to it.

Jidu: Depends who you’re stabbing

MK: YES???

Children of the Sun AU

Jidu, setting down a card: Ace of spades!

Louhou, pulling out an Uno card: +4!

Wukong, pulling out a Pokemon card: Jolteon, I choose you!

MK trembling: What are we playing.

Shi Hou reborn AU

MK: So, what, now I’m just supposed to do anything that Shi Hou does? I mean, what if he jumped off a cliff?

Macaque: If Shi Hou were to jump off a cliff, he would’ve done their due diligence regarding height of the cliff, the depth of the water, and the angle of entry, so yes. If you see Shi Hou jump off a cliff, by all means, jump off a cliff.

MK: You jump off a cliff!

Macaque: Gladly. Provided Shi Hou did first.

Shi Hou reborn AU

Macaque driving Shi Hou and Macaque: So how was your day?

Shi Hou: We almost got surprised adopted!

Macaque: What?

MK: We almost got kidnapped

Macaque: *slams breaks* WAIT WHAT?!

Ghost Tripitaka Au

Tripitaka: Tang, stop! This isn’t you, you’ve gone mad with power!

Tang: Well of course I have.

Tang: Have you ever tried going mad without power?

Tang: It’s boring

Ghost Tripitaka AU

Tripitaka: Tang…

Tang: Oh no, Tang in b-flat

Tang: You’re disappointed

Villain Tripitaka AU

Tripitaka: I went through an entire character arc during death

Tripitaka: I’ve become more evil if you’re curious.

Tang: We’re still alive, don’t worry, there’s time for redemption arc still!

Tripitaka: I’m going to get worse on purpose

Villain Tripitaka AU

Tripitaka: I’m a reverse necromancer.

Tang: Isn’t that just killing people?

Tripitaka: Ah, technically

[sketching-shark]

Jiaozi is a character from the "journey to the west" of the yuan zaju dynasty, daughter of king huolun jinding and wife of sun wukong, the great sage of tongtian. Sun wukong once said, "I stole fairy clothes, fairy hats, fairy peaches and fairy wine in my heavenly palace. My wife will happily enjoy them." So jiaozi is not only sun wukong's wife also is the mother of his children. Jidu and luohou and daughter yuebei. The eclipses twins and the moon star comet

@maidenofthecloud hmmmm apologies if I'm missing something but as far as I knew "Jiaozi" is just a kind of dumpling (X_X). HOWEVER, this could very well just be due to my own ignorance and the fact that I've never encountered an English translation of the Zaju Xiyou Ji. If you have the link to one please share it!

As it is pretty much all my knowledge of that play comes from the scholar Hongmei Sun's overview of different versions of the the Monkey King throughout the centuries. Here's a few things she has to say on this earlier version of the westward journey:

"The six-part, twenty-four-act Zaju Xiyou ji is attributed to the fourteenth-century playwright Yang Jingxian, who lived during the late Yuan and early Ming periods. In the few hundred years between Shihua [an even earlier version] and Zaju, the story of ‘Journey to the West�� is not only more expanded, containing many of the stories that can be found later in Journey to the West, but the monkey figure in Zaju has grown into a character strikingly different from Hou Xingzhe [the monk's faithful companion in Shihua]. If Hou Xingzhe in Shihua is depicted as an advisor for Tripitaka, as respectable albeit mysterious deity, and a brave fighter, the monkey in Zaju is pictured as a rowdy clown, an untamed demon and ill-qualified Buddhist disciple.

The monkey’s name in Zaju now is almost the same as in the sixteenth-century fiction Journey to the West. He refers to himself as ‘Tongtian Dasheng’ (Great Sage Reaching Heaven), only one word’s difference from ‘Qitian Dasheng,’ the title Sun Wukong receives from the Taoist heaven in the sixteenth-century book. In some versions of the Monkey King story, including the Zaju, Qitian Dasheng and Tongtian Dasheng are brothers…

Although Tongtian Dasheng is the monkey’s title, in the drama everyone calls him ‘the monkey’ (husun), including Guanyin, even though she is the person who gave him the names Sun Wukong and Sun Xingzhe (Acolyte). When Guanyin presents Sun Xingzhe to Tripitaka as his disciple, she gives the monkey an iron fillet, a cassock, and a knife….Even with the headband’s control, Tongtian Dasheng’s behavior and language indicate that his mind remains that of an irreverent demon.

As in the zaju theater tradition, Sun Xingzhe introduces himself to the audience with a poem at his first appearance. Vaunting his celestial birth, his power, and the troubles he could create, in colloquial expression rather than elegant traditional terms as others’ opening poems, the monkey’s poem describes himself as a celebrated ape demon, referring to himself as the King of a Hundred Thousand Demons. In the following statement he introduces himself and his four siblings as his demon family: His elder brother Quitian Dasheng, a younger brother Shuashua Sanlang, and two sisters, Lishan Laomu and Wu Zhiqi Shengmu. This genealogy of the monkey shows that Sun Xingzhe in Zaju is already much more localized, settled into the local religious/cult culture. Unlike the monkey in other versions, this one has a wife, the abducted princess of the Country of the Golden Cauldron. He also proudly reports to the audience his famous misdeeds, which is also the reason that heaven is after him: he has stolen the Jade Emperor’s celestial wine, Laozi’s golden elixir, and the Queen of the West’s (Xichi Wangmu) peaches and fairy clothes. He also makes upfront ribald references about himself in this very first speech. The monkey’s demonic heart is indicated by his intention to eat Tripitaka immediately after Tripitaka rescues him from beneath the mountain. He never shows any seriousness about his business of pilgrimage, and his behavior does not improve during the journey. When the team arrives in India, he uses crude language in a conversation with an old lady about Buddhis ideas of the ‘heart.’”

---

@journeytothewestresearch also writes that in Zaju Xiyou Ji the princess is eventually freed from her forced marriage to this monkey by Heavenly King Li Jing (Li Nezha's father) and the Bodhisattva Guanyin. Here Sun Xingzhe/Sun Wukong definitely bares more similarity to magically powerful and sexually violent monkeys in other stories from Chinese folklore! And that remains true even though the quote you provided makes it sound like he wants the princess to enjoy nice things.

So given these literary and historical circumstances, especially with Jidu, Louhou, and Yuebei Xing not appearing until the 17th century Journey to the South, it might be a stretch to say that the princess of the Country of the Golden Cauldron is a likely candidate to be their mom. This is especially true since as far as I'm aware there's no mention of Sun Xingzhe and the princess having any kids, or even of her being pregnant...ON THE OTHER HAND, it must be acknowledged that she might also be the best candidate given that no mom is mentioned in Journey to the South and that there is a historical precedent for her being Sun Wukong/Sun Xingzhe's wife for awhile. If that narrative thread is followed then it might mean Jidu, Luohou, and Yuebei Xing have more than one similarity to the children of the Yellow Robe Demon, who also kidnapped a princess and had two children with her. In that situation I'd actually hope that she isn't their mom, given that that would make Sun Wukong a rapist and them the product of a forced marriage. ON THE OTHER OTHER HAND, given that the Monkey King's characterization and many aspects of his history from Journey to the West and Journey to the South (as far as I know lmao) is so different from Sun Xingzhe's in Zaju Xiyou Ji , and that all of this comes from folkloric roots in which stories are very different from region to region and even one year to the next, I could see there being an argument made for bringing her into the more recent continuations of Xiyouji as Sun Wukong's wife and the mother of his children while the rapey aspect of the earlier version of their relationship is dropped for something more loving or at least consensual. So even with my ignorance on what precisely happens in Zaju Xiyou Ji and Journey to the South, it seems like as with Xiyouji itself there's a lot you could potentially do with "the princess of the Country of the Golden Cauldron is Jidu, Louhou, and Yuebei Xing's mother" idea, from the sweet and loving to the absolute grimdarkest context.

[children-of-the-sun-au]

Okey give them to nezha

Louhou; Huh? What happened?

Jidu: He drank the tea…

Louhou: HE WHAT?!

[mentality-of-wukong-au]

Zammy:Yup!

Jidu: Well then…that’s good…

Louhou: Dad’s over there talking to the inky version of himself…

[centuryberry]

Summary: Now that you’ve reunited with your family, all that is left is to head over to the Bull Family’s territory and wait there until Heaven handles the Erlang Shen problem. Everything is all good, right? Well, not exactly. Also, you find yourself faced with life’s greatest question: Would you or would you not kiss your clone?

[void-writing]

Escape from Flower Fruit Mountain

"What can you do? You were all trapped. Either you all die in Peng’s hands or the celestial flames burn you all alive. You never should’ve sent your brothers inside. There’s no exit, no - wait.

There was a way out. The transportation circle in your room you never quite got to erasing."

Chapter 15 of "Queen of the Mountain" by @centuryberry

[icekingofhope]

I had decided to draw wukong kids when they become adults

Not the best designs I’ve done but I love it

[the-monkey-ruler]

Hi! I don’t know if you happen to know, but I’m trying to research Journey to the South (as I am currently reading Journey to the West) but I can’t seem to find any translations of it available to an English speaking audience. Would you happen to know of any translations?

Thank you

Funny enough I happen to know quite a bit! I helped create and edit the JTTS pdf together and it is publically available thanks to @journeytothewestresearch

Feel free to enjoy!

[rebeltigera]

About Wukong's children, they're actually non canon. In total there are about 9 non canon children from different fan sequels.

Paramita and his four brothers from supplement of journey to the west. (Wukong jumped inside PIF's stomach and thus she had quintuplets)

The lunar node triplets Jidu, Louhou and Yubei Xing from Journey to the south.

Luzhen from later journey to the west. (Basically its a repeat stone egg birth but Wukong is a spirit and there's decendents?)

Still

Wukong went for milk

[samadhifired]

Okay, a long ramble time:

Some people might already know this, but apparently the JttW has a semi-canon sequel called the Journey to the South (Though it seems like JttS was written first: 1570 and 1580 vs JttW's 1592. So technically that would make JttW a "prequel-sequel"?)

And as you probably also know, Wukong has three kids in it: Two kids who are only name dropped (Jidu and Luohou, assumably sons) and skull throwing, "I can curse immortals to die within 3 days", daughter (Yuebei Xing).

The funny thing is; they all are named after deities found from China's version of Hindu Astrology. Jidu and Louhou refer to planetary bodies associated with the moon (namely ascending and descending Lunar nodes where eclipses happen), while Yuebei's name comes from a planet representing the lunar apogee (Moon's furthest point from Earth).

But to tie this to LMK fandom and make things even better..

The people in this fandom has pretty much given Macaque three kids as well: Rumble, Savage and Bai He. Two shadow clone sons (I think they are boys?) who are only name dropped in a non-canon toy set and a human daughter who was possessed by a demon/goddess who has a strong association with bones.

Is this just me or are these description sounding awfully familiar?

I'm not saying that we should start referring Rumble, Savage and Bai He as Jidu, Luohou and Yuebei Xing...

Buuuut I'm definitely headcanoning that they are the alternate universe versions of each other.

It just fits way too well!

(Also, if these three were to be part of LMK universe, there is no way they wouldn’t be Macaque's kids as well. Because why else would Wukong have 3 kids who all have Moon themed names?

Unless their mother is some other moon themed being like Chang'e. Which most likely is the JttS's explanation.)

If you are interested: This blog has couple posts about Wukong's kids in general [1, 2] (Journey to the West Research also has a Tumblr).

While this one paper that explains some of the history of Daoist astrology. Luohou and Jidu (who are referred with their Hindu names Rahu and Ketu) are first mentioned in the beginning of “Musée Guimet, Painted Banner” section, while Yuebei comes up in “Ruiguangsi 1005 CE Print: Planetary Roadmap” right after the Figure 12.