#shangdi

[dorothygale123]

Let's talk rulers of the cosmos, shall we?

There's at least one in every religion, but really old mythologies like Chinese and Egyptian have the head honcho change a few times over the millenia depending on whose popular.

The ones I've found for Chinese mythology are Shangdi, the Jade Emperor, the Yellow Emperor, and Di Jun. You could also count Xiwangmu and Dongwanggong since they ruled the west and east respectively, but some people might not count them since they technically shared power. What I want to do today is put these gods in a rough chronological order as to when they could have been in charge to give a line of succession to the throne of Heaven.

Let's start with Shangdi, the oldest deity here who gained his popularity in the Shang dynasty from 1600-1000 BC. He's called the supreme diety, but came up before the Daoists established the Heavenly Beauracracy so he was never officially king of the gods.

Next is the Queen Mother of the West and her lesser known husband the King Father of the East. As I've stated in previous posts, more modern sources will portray Xiwangmu as the consort to the Jade Emperor, so Dongwanggong gets shoved to the side a lot. A modern writer could interpret this as the two of them getting a divorce, freeing Xiwangmu up for a second marriage. Perhaps their split is what lead to the end of their reign as rulers of the universe?

Third is the Yellow Emperor, largely because he's credited as the first sole emperor of all China, so it makes sense to slot him in here after Shangdi, who had a less official role, and the couple who shared power equally.

After him I'm gonna put Di Jun, who some might remember as the father of the 10 suns from yesterday's post. The fact that he was the head god is probably why later myths gave his role as their dad to the Jade Emperor in later myths when the latter god was more popular. However, he isn't the first emperor but should definitely come before our jaded boy, so we're putting him here.

Finally we have jolly green himself, the Jade Emperor who, and I cannot stress this enough, was literally made up in 1005 AD to cover up an unpopular military decision. He presumably then married Xiwangmu and continued ruling the cosmos indefinitely.

Let's reiterate that this is not meant to be taken as fact, it's just me taking different pieces of mythology and making my own timeline with it in a way I think is cool and makes sense. If anyone disagrees, feel free to tell me how you'd structure your list and why.

Now, for my LMK people, as of the end of season 4 the Jade Emperor's throne is empty and waiting for someone to fill it. Who will it be? Who could possibly replace him? Well, my hope is that we get who I'm going to call the Lotus Emperor, Nezha. Strict and dutiful, but willing to bend when necessary and always trying to do the best he can. Not to mention he's also the Jade Emperor's grandson. It remains to be seen if it'll happen in the show, but that doesn't stop us from making fan content about it!

Sh*tpost Masterlist

[pleasantbluebirdcycle]

[ID: The character 'Di' in oracle bone script. End ID.]

I'm being gate-keepy, probably, but I really dislike the word Shangdi being used by Christians as one of the Chinese translations of God, which has become the only meaning of the word for many Chinese people. The earliest appearance of the word Shangdi was on oracle bones in Shang Dynasty, over 3000 years ago. Shangdi (most often just called Di; Shang means it's from the upper realm) was the most powerful god of the Shang, but it was never the only god. The Shang royalties worshipped their ancestors as gods, and some scholars believe they considered Di as their ancestor as well. They also worshipped gods of nature. After the collapse of the Shang Dynasty, Shangdi remained present in Chinese mythology although changed its presentation over the millennia. Chinese folk religions and Daoism still use the term Shangdi for one or several deities, but most Chinese people only think of the Christian God when encountering the word, even though the majority of them aren't Christians. I just don't feel it should be like this, idk.

[hotelbooking]

Super 8 Hotel Shangdi Welcome to Super 8 Hotel Shangdi, a charming 2-star hotel located in the bustling city of Beijing, China. With its prime location just 27.0 km from the city center, this hotel offers a peaceful retreat away from the hustle and bustle, while still providing easy access to the city's main attractions. Built in 2008, Super 8 Hotel Shangdi boasts 81 well-appointed rooms, ensuring a comfortable and enjoyable stay for all guests. Each room is designed with your comfort in mind, featuring modern amenities and a cozy ambiance that will make you feel right at home. Whether you are visiting for business or leisure, you can expect a pleasant and relaxing stay at this hotel. Check-in at Super 8 Hotel Shangdi begins at 02:00 PM, allowing you ample time to settle in and start exploring the city. The friendly and attentive staff are always on hand to assist you with any queries or requests you may have, ensuring a smooth and hassle-free check-in process. Check-out is until 12:00...

[dgrailwar]

Round 9, Day ? - Avenger, Alter-Ego, Gunner, Foreigner, Pretender

Time slowed to a halt.

The world caught fire.

Or perhaps simply the perception of the world, as a figure descended. Evening shifted to night, crawling flames leaving little meaning to the things they scorched.

The star of Fomalhaut glittered- no, burned in the distance. Its light scorched the night sky, painting it a deadly azure, the warmth edging its way into one's mind, improbable things manifesting and descending upon this new perception of the planet.

A new world order, as a voice rang out--

"Edict. Wage war. For the Shangdi, the eternal heavenly firelight."

She did not introduce herself. That was for later.

Combat, that was the decree of the foreign entity, her form draping the heavens and wreathed in fire. The consort of the ever-burning.

Thus was an imperial edict declared.

In other words--

'Second verse, same as the first'.

This was simple, cold combat.

Avenger: +3%

Alter-Ego: +5%

[greentrickster]

Okay, so, just so you all know, I'm aware of what many of you have probably been thinking in regards to the Great God Airplane AU: "Yes yes, blah blah Shen Jiu blah blah Bingge, WHERE IS THE MOSHANG, IT'S AN AU CENTERED AROUND SHANG QINGHUA, WHERE'S THE MOSHANG??!"

Thank-you for waiting patiently instead of saying this part out loud, because up until this point Moshang has mostly been doing the literary equivalent of sitting in a corner of my head with head pats and juice boxes being just the goodest boys whom I love so so much, you know?

Here's the Moshang:

It's a few days after the conference where Shang Qinghua got outed as Airplane Shangdi, and that's exactly how long it took Shen Yuan to get used to the idea and go back to treating him like normal (because he's read too much of SQH's terrible porn to ever truly take him seriously for an extended period of time). Which, as it happens, on this day includes razzing Airplane for the fact that, after everything that's happened, his sex scenes still have 'written by a virgin' slathered all over them.

To which our favorite divine hamster, newly imbued with some actual, legit self-confidence and tired of being razzed for this, snaps back that yeah, so he's a virgin, so what, he's been literally too busy his entire time as Shang Qinghua to get around to finding someone to do something about that with! Besides, Mobei-jun's also a virgin, and no one gives him shit about it!

Shen Yuan: ...like hell he is, you're telling him a guy like that's never had sex!

Shang Qinghua: Yes I am! (arms folded and nose in the air) He's the sort who's only interested in doing stuff like that with someone he wants to spend the rest of his life with and he doesn't have any love interests because I didn't write any for him, because I wrote Mobei-jun for one person and that's me! He is my perfect man, no one else's, and we're both virgins, and I'm God, so there! And if you have anything else to say about it, I'll- I dunno. I'll have Precious Blossom shrink Binghe's dick or something!

Shen Yuan: ...

Luo Binghe: A slightly smaller pillar might be more convenient, actually, but don't threaten Shizun. >:(

Our favorite hamster then gets to choke on his own spit, spin around on his cushion (half falling over in the process), and gape at the portal he hadn't noticed Luo Binghe and Mobei-jun just use to sneak into Shen Qingqiu's house.

There is silence for a moment before - in the most daring display of disloyalty he's ever made - Mobei-jun calmly pushes Binghe out of the way, ignores his indignant 'I am your emperor how very dare you-!' squawks, picks up Shang Qinghua by the back of the robes, and walks back through the portal with him.

Shen Yuan: Well that just happened.

Binghe: Husband, what did Shang shibo mean about not having written any love interests for Mobei? What does his writing have to do with that?

Shen Yuan: ...I don't have enough tea and snacks for this.

(also there will be more of this, and we're gonna cut over to our icicle/hamster duo, I'm just very tired at the moment)

[darkfluffydragon]

THEORY: PEACH BLOSSOM COOKIE and Dark Cacao's relation to Journey to the West

Okay okay, so hear me out. Peach Blossom Cookie is based on the Chinese Goddess Xiwangmu.

I'll start by how I got to this conclusion. The entirety of the Dark Cacao storyline so far has had a lot of Journey to the West elements to it.

Stormbringer Cookie's legendary costume: Splitter of the Seas for example. Inside the video trailer advertising the costume, there is a scene showing the Heaven Splitter glowing underwater. This is a scene highly reminiscent of the Golden-banded staff Ruyi Jingu Bang, a treasure of Ao Guang, the dragon king of the Eastern Seas.  The staff would eventually come under the ownership of Sun Wukong, and upon finding its true master, the staff would flow. This can be seen happening in the image below.

Not only that, but Stormbringer's costume also has a dragon scale-like texture on it referencing Ao Guang, and she also wears a golden headband much like Sun Wukong.

Continuing on with this theme of Journey to the West, the mountain in the Beastraid parallels Wuxing Mountain, which is the mountain Buddha traps Sun Wukong underneath. The Mountain is also known as the Five Elements Mountain or the Five Finger Mountain, another piece of evidence pointing to the similarities between Journey to the West and Buddha since the Beastraid attacks mainly using hands.

With the connection to the mountain and Journey to the West secured, I can move on to Peach Blossom Cookie. The first hints of Peach Blossom Cookie's inspiration were the peach tree and the peach tree surrounding him. In Journey to the West, there is one type of peach that is heavily involved in the story, called the Peaches of Immortality.

In Chinese Taoist folklore, the Goddess Xiwangmu lived in her palace on the mythological Mount Kunlun, where she was said to have grown an orchard of peach trees that bore peaches every three thousand years. The peaches, once ripened, would bestow immortality and longevity on any human who ate them. The third type especially has a striking similarity to Dark Cacao and Mystic Flour's SoulJams. "The third variety is the most extraordinary. These Peaches of Immortality have purple streaks and their stones are a pale yellow. They ripen only every 9,000 years and whoever eats them lives eternally and enjoys a rank equal to that of the Sun and the Moon (which are actual living beings in Chinese mythology)."

In the story of Journey to the West, Sun Wukong was asked to guard the immortal peaches. Instead, he ate them all himself and continued to create chaos. As punishment, he was imprisoned for 500 years under the Five Finger Mountain. This helps connect the peach trees on the Beastraid mountain with the story. Peach Blossom's skill is also called "Heavenly Fruit", again suggesting the similarities.

Now to focus on the Goddess Xiwangmu herself. She was the one in charge of the Immortal Peaches and was known as the Queen Mother of the West. Coincidentally enough, The Flour Peak of Transcendence is also located at the bottom west of Beastyeast.

In multiple old artworks of the Goddess Xiwangmu, she is depicted to share a very close semblance to Peach Blossom Cookie. Such as the colouring, and even the hair bun, which has been replaced by a literal peach.

Another feature that suggests that Peach Blossom may be of divine nature is the floating ribbon he wears, which is called a Pibo, or Pei. These were most commonly worn by women and are often used in media to showcase that a character has a high amount of spiritual energy. Stormbringer, Mystic Flour, and one of the five characters shown playing Go (A Chinese strategy board game for two players in which the aim is to capture more territory than the opponent by fencing off empty space) all wear a pibo showcasing their powerful status.

(Also, since I'm talking about them, they are likely the Wufang Shangdi, the "Five Regions' Highest Deities" or "Highest Deities of the Five Regions". They can also be known as the "Five Colour Deities", as each is known for a specific colour representing them. The Bluegreen Deity, The Yellow Deity, The Black Deity, The Red Deity and The White Deity. Each has an animal form that is the dragon corresponding to their colour.)

The Goddess Xiwangmu was also the only deity in the Chinese Pantheon with the ability to talk directly to humans, using her peach tree as a link between Earth and Heaven. However, she did not speak to just any human.

She would speak exclusively to Chinese Emperors in order to give them the Mandate of Heaven and teach them the secrets of immortality. The Mandate of Heaven was considered the emperor’s divine right to rule. The first emperor to claim the Mandate of Heaven was Emperor Shun of Shanxi, and it is said that on the day he was crowned, five planets had aligned. Though in most of her interactions with the mortal kings, they would always fail her tests and remain mortal.

This can be seen within the newest Cookierun Trailer where Dark Cacao encounters Peach Blossom Cookie at the peach tree and he offers him a place to sate his hunger.

It should also be noted that Xiwangmu lives at Mount Kunlun, which is one of the longest mountain chains in Asia and extends more than 3,000 kilometres. Dark Cacao wonders about "How many steps" he has climbed and is shown to be exhausted, which suggests that he has walked a very long way.

Taking another close look at the scene, there are three birds settled around the small pond. The twelfth chapter of the famous Chinese text Shanhai Jing, or the "Classic of Mountain and Seas", describe Xiwangmu with three birds:

'She is the controller of the Grindstone and the Five Shards constellations of the heavens. Xiwangmu rests on a stool and wears an ornament on her head. She holds a staff. In the south, there are three birds from which Xiwangmu takes her nourishment. They are found to the north of the Kunlun mountains.'

However, Xiwangmu was also thought to have been a demonic figure who caused disease, floods, and other major disasters. The opinion of her began to change around the time of the Tang Dynasty, and following this shift, she was seen as a repentant, benevolent goddess. Whether or not Devsis will include this aspect of her in Peach Blossom Cookie is unclear, especially with the interactions between Cloud Haetae Cookie and the Pale Ailment.

(And here's an image of Emperor Shun, doesn't that hat look familiar?)

Dark Cacao's newly awakened title as the "Dragon Lord" is interesting too, as it ties back to Stormbringer and the origin of the Ruyi Jingu Bang (which parallels the Heaven Splitter which had been used to split the Black and White dragon into two. The two dragons are now apparently helping Dark Cacao.)

[nogetron]

Nyame, the great weaver of the Akan gods. Nyame was ever present, existing before time flowed. It was by their hands earth was formed, manifesting the spirit of the earth: Asase Yaa. In the form of Nyankopon, Nyame grew intimate with Asase Yaa, with the two creating the sea goddess Bosompo and the rock god Abo. Like Nyame and Asase Yaa before them, Bosompo and Abo gave birth to the Abosom, the gods of the world, each sharing a portion of Nyame’s power. After a night of intimacy between Nyame and Asase Yaa, the earth goddess gave birth to Nyame’s children, Bia and Tano along with the spider Anansi. Nyame sought to create something himself, forming the embodiment of death Owuo. Owuo’s first action upon being born was to kill his creator. Though Nyame was felled, their unmatched power greatly dwarfed that of meager death, resurrecting themselves. Nyame greatly adores their son Anansi, together the two created humanity and after a test Nyame gave the spider god Anansi all the world’s stories. Nyame consists of a trinity with Odomankoma and Nyankapon, the two are separate aspects of the same divinity. Odomankoma is the force by which the universe was created, Nyankapon however is the personality or ego to that force, and Nyame encapsulates all of them a supreme and ineffable existence.

Nyame is one of the many omniscient supreme gods in Africa, placing Nyame with the Egyptian Ra, the Dogon Amma, the Yoruba Olorun, the Malagasy Zanahary, and the San Kaggen just to name a few. Nyame’s omnipotence can also connect him to the supreme gods of other lands, correlating with the Canaanite El, the Chinese Shangdi and the Slavic Rod. Nyame has many names and titles, some of which could’ve started off as separate regional forms that were absorbed back into Nyame. The Fante patron deity Bobowissi is believed to have originated as a regional form of Nyame, possibly focusing more on Nyame’s connection to storms, but with the contact with other Akan people and his own development Bobowissi became its own god separated from Nyame. Each of their names have meaning, Nyankapon translates to “the great Nyame”, Odomankoma translates to “creator” or “the only one who gives the universe” or “infinite”. Nyame holds many epithets as well, Odomankoma wuo and Oboo-wuo translates to “creator of death”, Oboo nkwa translates to “creator of life”, Borebore means “architect”, Amaomee translates to “giver of plenty”, Otumfoo means “the powerful one”, Amowia translates to “the sun giver”, and Opanyin translates to “the great ancestor”. One of Nyame’s popular titles; Ananse Kokuroko, translates to “the great spider”, leading some practitioners to believe that Nyame was a spider god, similar to their son Anansi. Asase Yaa is sometimes believed to be the feminine manifestation of the Nyame trinity, with Nyankapon being the masculine.

[bubbleaestheticnikkitea]

I lowkey forgot to post these two reference sheet. O-O

Here are the Children of Apathy; Wheat Kernel Cookie and Sesame Mochi Cookie.

Wheat Kernel Cookie(밀알 쿠키, mil-al kuki)

Older son of Mystic Flour Cookie and Older brother of Sesame Mochi Cookie.

34 years old(Same age as Dark Choco Cookie).

Cunning, ambitious and cold but caring and loving towards his mother, his sister and Cloud Haetae Cookie.

He and his sister were titled, 'Children of Apathy; he is titled, 'Son of Apathy'.

Under the custodianship of Cloud Haetae Cookie along with his sister as teenagers after his mother and the other Beasts were sealed away years ago.

He challenges countless Cookies over the years.

Appeared in 'Dark Resolution's Glorious Return' along with his sister as a mini bosses where they challenged Dark Cacao Cookie to duel with them if the Ancient Hero wants to get passed them and face their mother then the two had lost against the king.

His design is based on Chinese Deity from Chinese Mythology, Shangdi.

He is voiced by Nolan North(Tobi/Obito Uchida from Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2).

Sesame Mochi Cookie(참깨가루 모찌쿠키, chamkkaegalu mojjikuki, "Sesame Flour Mochi Cookie")

Younger daughter of Mystic Flour Cookie and younger sister of Wheat Kernel Cookie.

26 years old(Same age as Dark Brownie Cookie).

Calm, jaded and malicious but caring and loving towards her mother, her brother and Cloud Haetae Cookie.

Shee and her brother were titled, 'Children of Apathy; she is titled, 'Daughter of Apathy'.

Under the custodianship of Cloud Haetae Cookie along with her brother as teenagers after her mother and the other Beasts were sealed away years ago.

She challenges countless Cookies over the years.

Appeared in 'Dark Resolution's Glorious Return' along with her brother as a mini bosses where they challenged Dark Cacao Cookie to duel with them if the Ancient Hero wants to get passed them and face their mother then the two had lost against the king.

Her design is based on Chinese Goddess of War and Longevity, Jiutian Xuannü from Chinese Mythology.

She is voiced by Janice Kawaye(Peko Pekoyama from Danganronpa).

(BONUS: Mystic Flour Family)

[ekcportfolio]

So I recently got into Honkai: Star Rail in the last year. I like it way better than Genshin Impact as I have terrible dexterity and can't play that game well. It took me a month to just do the flying quest properly because I couldn't do the controls well on my phone when I was starting out. HSR in comparison is turn based. The turn around for the banners is a lot shorter, but I love the story more too. There's also a lot of really pretty guys. XD

Dan Heng is one of them and this is his Imbibitor Lunae form, that I just love. I think it's a bit similar to my interests recently in The Untamed/Mo Dao Zushi where it reminds me of my Dad's kung fu movies he used to watch with me when I was small and like long-haired Chinese men. Also dragons. Because I have a dragon obsession because of Hiei. But Dan Heng is just a cool character on his own and I love his backstory and his abilities. Also, Vidyadhara lore is like all Wufang Shangdi related and I'm just like, "Wait, I know those things!"

Apparently a lot of the player base at least in the West didn't like the Xianzhou Luofu part? I don't understand because I loved that part? I want to know more lore? I'm Chinese though so maybe that's why.

But anyway, I made this wall with a bunch of different layering effects. There is a bit of scenery of Scalegorge Waterscape in the back that you can maybe *barely* make out, but that's on purpose because it's in his past. Dan Heng wants to basically keep moving forward and while his past is there and all just like the scenery in this image, it's not really noticeable just like it doesn't have a major impact on his current life and what he now wants. I played a lot with a bunch of lighting though to try to get him to stand out in a specific way. Like I wanted the colors from the original image to pop a bit, but I also wanted the major color to be darker because of the darkness of space travel. Text gold coloring because he's Imaginary elemental, but also it goes along with the gold details of his outfit and basically the gold markers of him being a former leader of the Luofu Vidyadhara as imperial yellow and such is also a special color.

[starsfic]

would Azure ever try something more extreme regarding xaiotain? mean after the gala incident (providing mk knew it was him that called the cops on his dad which I'm assuming he does) i'd think he'd be fairly upset with Azure, even if he explained his reasoning. so his plan to manipulate his way to wukong threw his son won't work out, but still, mk promised to help them get back together right? He can still do that, even if he's not as willing to help the next time around mk is a good boy, he's just very naive and has been misled to think his current lifestyle is fine when it could be so much better. Azure is the better choice for both him and his baba and he'll see that in time surely. he just needed to get Wukong to stop being so stubborn and actually talk things out with him. which unfortunately might mean drastic measures have to be taken. azure would never deliberately harm mk of course, he could...just take him away from Wukong for a bit, a surprise getaway of sorts for the boy. it was a dirty tactic, even if he ensured mk was well looked after, but it would force wukong to have a proper conversation at least..

Azure Lion gets handed everything he's been working for the night of the gala. His former boss has been arrested thanks to some evidence Azure found of misuse of power and anyone who would've taken over the job while Yuhuang Shangdi's on trial either got arrested themselves for misuse of funds or related charges or didn't want the job. And thanks to a clause that Yuhuang Shangdi made to spite his nephew, Azure is handed temporary control over the Jade Emperor Company and the city.

Everything's he's worked for...except for his love and his son.

Qi Xiaotian knows that Azure is the one who arranged for the justice department and immediately blocks Azure after the gala. Xiaotian's grandfather Subodhi takes over from there. The man is terrifying, but Azure is determined.

Gifts and bribes are sent to Xiaotian, pleading for a chance to talk things out. That's all Azure can do. He showed up at Sun Wukong's doorstep once, and Subodhi threatened to have Wukong and Xiaotian put a restraining order on him.

So Azure's stuck until he does something that makes Wukong angry.

[the-monkey-ruler]

Saiyūki (1978) 西遊記

Director: Toshi Aoki / Jun Fukuda / Kazuo Ikehiro / Yusuke Watanabe / Daisuke Yamazaki

Screenwriter: Wu Chengen

Starring: Masaki Sakai / Masako Natsume / Shiro Kishibe / Toshiyuki Nishida / Hiroyuki Yuki / more...

Genre: Drama / Action / Fantasy

Country/Region of Manufacture: Japan

Language: Japanese

Date: 1978-10-01 (Japan)

Number of seasons: 2

Episodes: 52

Single episode length: 54 minutes

Also known as: MONKEY / Monkey Magic

IMDb: tt0078659

Type: Retelling

Summary:

Monkey (孫悟空, Son Gokū), the title character, is described in the theme song as being "born from an egg on a mountain top", a stone egg, and thus he is a stone monkey, a skilled fighter who becomes a brash king of a monkey tribe, who, the song goes on to claim, was "the punkiest monkey that ever popped". He achieved a little enlightenment, and proclaimed himself "Great Sage, Equal of Heaven". After demanding the "gift" of a magical staff from a powerful dragon king, and to quiet the din of his rough antics on Earth, Monkey is approached by Heaven to join their host, first in the lowly position of Master of the Stable (manure disposal), and then—after his riotous complaints—as "Keeper of the Peach Garden of Immortality".

Monkey eats many of the peaches, which have taken millennia to ripen, becomes immortal and runs amok. Having earned the ire of Heaven and being beaten in a challenge by an omniscient, mighty, but benevolent, cloud-dwelling Buddha (釈迦如来, Shakanyorai), Monkey is imprisoned for 500 years under a mountain in order to learn patience.

Eventually, Monkey is released by the monk Tripitaka (三蔵法師, Sanzōhōshi), who has been tasked by the Boddhisatva Guanyin (観世音菩薩, Kanzeon Bosatsu) to undertake a pilgrimage from China to India to fetch holy scriptures (implied to be the region of Gandhāra in the song over the closing credits). The pair soon recruit two former members of the Heavenly Host who were cast out and turned from angels to "monsters" as a result of Monkey's transgressions: Sandy (沙悟浄, Sa Gojō), the water monster and ex-cannibal, expelled from Heaven after his interference caused Heaven's Jade Emperor's (天帝, Tentei, Shangdi) precious jade cup to be broken (his birthname is also later revealed to be Shao Chin, having been abducted as a child, but meets his long-lost father, in "The Beginning of Wisdom"), and Pigsy (猪八戒, Cho Hakkai), a pig monster consumed with lust and gluttony, who was expelled from Heaven after harassing the Star Princess Vega—the Jade Emperor's mistress—for a kiss.

A dragon, Yu Lung (玉龍, Gyokuryū), who was set free by Guanyin after being sentenced to death, eats Tripitaka's horse. On discovering that the horse was tasked with carrying Tripitaka, it assumes the horse's shape to carry the monk on his journey. Later in the story he occasionally assumes human form to assist his new master, although he is still always referred to as "Horse".

Monkey can also change form, for instance into a hornet. In Episode 3, The Great Journey Begins, Monkey transforms into a girl to trick Pigsy. Monkey's other magic powers include: summoning a cloud upon which he can fly; his use of the magic wishing staff which he can shrink and grow at will and from time to time, when shrunk, store in his ear, and which he uses as a weapon; and the ability to conjure monkey warriors by blowing on hairs plucked from his chest.

The pilgrims face many perils and antagonists both human, such as Emperor Taizong of Tang (太宗皇帝, Taisōkōtei) and supernatural. Monkey, Sandy, and Pigsy are often called upon to battle demons, monsters, and bandits, despite Tripitaka's constant call for peace. Many episodes also feature some moral lesson, usually based upon Buddhist and/or Taoist philosophies, which are elucidated by the narrator at the end of various scenes.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monkey_(TV_series)

Link: https://archive.org/details/monkeymagic1/07+-+The+Begining+Of+Wisdom.mp4  https://archive.org/details/monkeymagic2

[dorothygale123]

So, yesterday when I talked about Monkey stripping a guy and Buddha showing off his middle finger (no I won't give that more context) I didn't mention a couple other cool things I read in my source about Wukong and his rampage through Heaven. Namely, the fact that my source never once calls the ruler of the cosmos the Jade Emperor, as well as Kuan Yin referring to Erlang Shen as said ruler's grandson.

For those of you who aren't as big a nerd as I am and don't memorize mythological family trees this may not seem all that strange, but in mythology Erlang is consistently depicted as the Jade Emperor's nephew, the son of one his sister. One of my mutuals, @quitealotofsodapop has a pretty good visual for the Jade Emperor's possible family tree over on his blog, which I recommend checking out.

But I digress, what I wanted to do here was bring this back around to my previous post about rulers of the cosmos and my proposed order for them: Shangdi, the first ruler who reigned before the Court of Heaven was founded, Xiwangmu and Dongwanggong, the couple who ruled the Heavens together until they separated, the Yellow Emperor, the first singular ruler of all of China, Di Jun, the father of the 10 suns and 12 moons, and the Jade Emperor, the figure more modern texts point to as the ruler of the gods after some guy made him up to get out of trouble over a controversial military decision.

No I will not stop mentioning that, it is hilarious.

Anyway, I won't go into detail about my rationale for choosing those figures and giving them those placements here, but what this implies is that my source got this story from a time before the Jade Emperor was commonly seen as the head god of the Daoist pantheon. However, if we get out creative licenses out and overthink things a little, I could also imply that Monkey's rampage through Heaven, or at least his birth, could have happened BEFORE the Jade Emperor ascended to the Heavenly throne, and that the Jade Emperor is either the son of the previous ruler (who we are presuming to be Di Jun) or that one of his siblings was married to one of Di Jun's children.

Personally, I like the thought that Wukong was born before the Jade Emperor took the throne, but the fiasco with the 10 suns and Di Jun stepping down happened in his lifetime. And on the Jade Emperor's side of things, I'm leaning towards the second option where the Jade Emperor and Di Jun are in laws rather than outright related, but it could be cool either way.

I just want to restate that I'm not claiming any of this is canno to actual chinese mythology, it's just me taking a look at a cool culture and putting pieces where I think they'll fit. What do you think?

Sh*tpost Masterlist

[treuallahtreuvulieou]

Shangdi to Dio and Dios Towns

Haneunim

AppleEpic Gaming Studios.

EpicApple Electronic Technology Gaming Corporation

Apple subsidiaries

Applecott Aquatics by Apple and Hawkins Zaibatsu And imperial resources, TH ONE yacht front door sales income.. 50 / 50

You keep 50 Yachts, and Distribute 50 Yachts where would projectedly are is secured, Resources material and concept via internet sharing photo album copies.

[necromancy-enthusiast]

"Kill them with kindness" WRONG. CURSE OF SHANGDI

一二三四五六七八九草擬祖宗十八代

“kill them with kindness” Wrong. CURSE OF RA 𓀀 𓀁 𓀂 𓀃 𓀄 𓀅 𓀆 𓀇 𓀈 𓀉 𓀊 𓀋 𓀌 𓀍 𓀎 𓀏 𓀐 𓀑 𓀒 𓀓 𓀔 𓀕 𓀖 𓀗 𓀘 𓀙 𓀚 𓀛 𓀜 𓀝 𓀞 𓀟 𓀠 𓀡 𓀢 𓀣 𓀤 𓀥 𓀦 𓀧 𓀨 𓀩 𓀪 𓀫 𓀬 𓀭 𓀮 𓀯 𓀰 𓀱 𓀲 𓀳 𓀴 𓀵 𓀶 𓀷 𓀸 𓀹 𓀺 𓀻 𓀼 𓀽 𓀾 𓀿 𓁀 𓁁 𓁂 𓁃 𓁄 𓁅 𓁆 𓁇 𓁈 𓁉 𓁊 𓁋 𓁌 𓁍 𓁎 𓁏 𓁐 𓁑 𓀄 𓀅 𓀆

[dgrailwar]

Round 9, Day 3 - Team Pretender

"Figures it wouldn't end so quickly. I guess that 'Shangdi' isn't satisfied yet. So, now what?"

"Imperial Edict. Wage war.": Boosts and demerits will be doubled for the upcoming round, as part of the Imperial Edict!

Damage has the potential to be doubled in combat upon reaching a certain threshold!

SERVANT DETAILS:

HP: 2/3

Team Pretender has no Command Spells remaining!

Oberon's True Name has been unveiled! His power has increased, but he's lost the ability to recover!

Evening Shroud and Morning Lark (EX Rank) - In the cover of night, even the most unscrupulous warriors can at least feign greatness. When the sun rises, warriors gain the morale to fight another day. When engaged in combat, gain a +5% boost.

Affection of the Fairy Princess (Unranked) - A 'false' skill. The fair Princess of the Autumn Forest fell in love with the vile King of the Mors, who was cursed to never love. A tragedy almost Shakespearean in nature. When Oberon would take his final wound, Blanca will take the damage in his place, killing herself in his stead. This does not work against 'red'-grade Noble Phantasms, that possess a power that can destroy both Oberon and Blanca together.

Fairy Eyes (Unranked) - When 'Playing Defensively', increase your +5% combat boost to +7%. He also cannot be 'Ambushed'.

A Midsummer Night's Dream (EX Rank) - Rather than just reducing the effectiveness of Servant-imposed demerits, he is immune to them entirely. Unlike other demerit immunities, this ignores the effects of Servant traits and Free-for-All demerits as well. He gathers 'Curses' from combat, which can be used to fuel his Noble Phantasm (baseline +1 for participating, +2 for winning, and +3 for winning with more than 20% over your opponent).

Current Curses: 1

NOBLE PHANTASM: Lie Like Vortigern (EX Rank)

A strange, all-consuming Noble Phantasm. Enemies caught in it suffer from a -20% demerit during that round, and Oberon-Vortigern gets a +20% boost and deals 2 wounds to anyone caught within it, where they are unable to act for the following round. It only becomes available for use once Pretender has accumulated at least 3 Curses, which is spent upon activation. It can entrap up to 3 enemies at once, expanding the Free-for-All to 4 Servants rather than 3.

Due to observing Alter-Ego's technique, he gains a +2% bonus against her!

Due to observing Foreigner's technique, he gains a +1% bonus against him!

Due to observing MoonCancer's technique, he gains a +2% bonus against her!

-

Class-Trait:

PRETENDER-CLASS Servants possess an inherent trickster nature. If they fall in last place during a Free-for-All, if there is a gap of 3% within their final score and that of the Servant in 2nd place, they can evade taking a wound. Additionally, if they're victorious against other Servants, other teams cannot attempt to study the Pretender in order to gain a percentage bonus against them.

[greentrickster]

For the Great God Airplane AU, this time I've been thinking a bit more about Airplane and Shen Jiu having another, proper meeting after Shang Qinghua's regained his divine memories. Because, while it was... nice to hear that open acceptance, that Shangdi was glad that Shen Jiu managed to become Ninth Road, that even his creator thought the fate he'd written for Shen Jiu was too harsh... the fact remains that he still wrote it. Still allowed it to happen.

(He came down from Heaven and incarnated to witness these long-destined events, and to save the world... but not early enough to save Shen Jiu.)

And that sort of thing leaves questions, especially after having had a bit over ten years to think on it (to stew on it (for, for all that they love him, his heavenly siblings openly love Airplane Shangdi best of all things, so he's never even considered speaking to them on this subject))). And the most important question is simply...

Why?

Why allow this to happen?

If you love this world and its people so much, if you wanted to save them from destruction, why let the events leading to it play out in such a way? Why try and change it as a man instead of an all-powerful god?

Why?

They're sitting in one of An Ding's gardens, near enough Shang Qinghua's leisure house to ensure privacy, but nowhere they ever encountered each other in Ninth Road's first life. Shang Qinghua had been getting a breath of fresh air before his newest Official chose this moment to pop up next to him again, as refined and skittish as a street cat still learning how to trust. And, as the one who created him, Qinghua knows exactly how close to truth that comparison is, and mentally rearranges his schedule to prioritize this discussion before doing his best to answer in a way someone who hasn't been there from the beginning will properly understand. In the end he pulls a book out of his sleeve, holding it in his hands.

"Okay, so, books have a lot of words in them, right? And when you're first writing the book, it's fairly easy to go back and check over what you've written, make changes, correct mistakes. But once- once it's published? And there are people out there reading it, buying their own copies? After that it's- I can edit my own copy as much as I want, and it'll be the most accurate version, because I'm the author, but I can't go and just... edit everyone else's copy as well, you know? Maybe if it was just one or two copies that I gave to friends, but not-not everyone's.

"And this- my story. About you and Luo Binge. 'The Grand Fate of the World,' if you want to use your heavenly siblings' term for it... Imagine that as a book. Not just one book, a whole series of books, a series that's millions of words long, and everything in this world has its own set of them. Like, look," he bends down and scoops up a handful of dust, letting it sift between his fingers to blow away in the breeze once he's upright again. "Every single particle of dust I just picked up? Had the equivalent of its own copy of that story inside it. And it's the same for every speck of dust, every drop of liquid, every sliver of bone, every breath of air, every tiny piece of anything that makes this world. And- and I couldn't go through and edit every single copy of those stories, not even as Shangdi, not without- ...not without taking the world apart into nothing again and completely remaking it.

"And by the time it all started to feel really real to me, more than just a chance to tell a story I'd wanted to write more than anything in my last life, but tell it right this time.... by the time I reached that point, it was- hundreds of years had passed, and- and the world was full of people, real, living people, and I had my Officials, and they were part of this world too, and- and they were all real and I couldn't just... erase them like they were words on a page, you're all full of stories, but you're not just words on a page, you're real people."

He says it with such quiet intensity that it's startling. Ninth Road is so used to seeing Shang Qinghua as slippery, untrustworthy, nervous, perhaps overworked, he's never seen him talk about something he's truly passionate about.

About something he truly cares about.

And it is obvious, in this instant, that Shang Qinghua, that Airplane Shangdi, truly cares about this world and its people. Cares about them more than he has words to properly express, even as a god or a writer.

"And I couldn't fix it as Shangdi," Shang Qinghua continues, oblivious to Ninth Road's musings, "I couldn't- I'm really powerful like that, but for something so big and delicate, it's either scrap the whole project and start over or get right down deep inside and try to fix things from there. And I just- what would be the point of making it all again, if I did just start over? It wouldn't be the same, and this world's kinda a hot mess in a lot of ways, but... that's part of why I like it so much! But I broke it, or set it up to get broken, so... I had to come down and fix it. But then I couldn't do it on my own, so... so I asked for help. And you answered. And Cucumber-bro answered. And... now we're here, and- and I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I didn't- I should have done it better right from the beginning, I should have- fuck, thank-you. You saved my world. You saved everyone. You saved me. I'm so glad you're the one who answered when I asked, thank-you."

It's... sincere. Too sincere for one with a face as thin as Ninth Road's, and praise too high for the part he played. "It was Shen Qingqiu who did as you say, not this Official."

Shangdi fucking scoffs at this. "Cucumber-bro may have done the legwork, but he wouldn't have been able to do a damn thing if you hadn't answered my call. And I know you, Ninth Road, I know you didn't actually believe you'd actually get anything for doing what you got asked! Nothing can get done if there's no room to do anything, and you gave it all up to make room. And I'm god and I'm right, so just- just be polite and say 'you're welcome' for once, because I'm an obnoxious little shit and I won't stop thanking until you get that you genuinely did something worth being thanked for! So there!"

...

...there's not a lot you can really say to a rebuttal like that, other than the world's stiffest, most awkward, "You're welcome," to which he gets a big smile, another equally big "Thank-you!", and some free gossip on what stupid things Shang Qinghua's martial siblings have done recently.

It's... kind of nice.

Not nice enough for Ninth Road to feel inclined to inform Airplane that there are technically two Luo Binghes running around in this world now, but still... nice.

(And it's not like he needs to tell him, he'll figure it out for himself.)

(Eventually.)