#with: Monkey Mountain Alliance

[every-monkey-d-luffy]

[acoraxia]

(i wrote this while sick before going to the movies and then finished it after watching a movie so forgive me if it's incoherent or whateer im laying down)

do you ever think about how Azure Lion groomed Sun Wukong from a young age into being this perfect people to act as the poster child for the Brotherhood, abandoned him at his worst, was confident he could manipulate him into working for him again and then tried to do the same with Xiaotian and Xiaojiao upon first meeting them? And that, by association, he almost groomed Macaque and you can see how his manipulation affected Macaque even into adulthood when he first met Xiaotian?

No?

Azure Lion groomed Sun Wukong, tried to groom Qi Xiaotian (and Long Xiaojiao) and heavily affected Macaque's world view on Sun Wukong.

EDITOR'S NOTE:: grooming in this case does not mean anything sexual between the characters, grooming is a common trope in media and it's commonly seen as a power imbalance and manipulation tactic (see: when a father grooms his son to take over the company by inflicting him with his own ideals)

Azure Lion has a tendency to display Sun Wukong on this high pedestal and sound very confident in how he describes him. The very first thing he says in his debut is this:

“I'm flattered, truly, but if it were not for Sun Wukong bringing us together, right? Without you, none of this would be possible. Your courage to stand up to the Celestial Host has inspired us to finally take a stand. To make a true difference in the world. And I could think of none other more suitable to lead us on our conquest than you, brother.”

notice how throughout this episode sequence Azure is spoken about like he's the leader and right in every word he says. The other adults at the table (Peng, DBK and Yellow Tusk) smile and turn to him as though he's in the right. They hang on to his every word. something interesting is the fact Macaque and Sun Wukong are talked down to like they're the younger pair of the brotherhood — Peng's insults to Macaque, the way DBK asks SWK to repeat what happened during Havoc in Heaven—

heck even the way they laugh at Sun Wukong when he's being silly is a clear indicator that they see him as... silly.

It isn't until Azure Lion speaks up that they turn to him and start seeing Sun Wukong into a new light.

Not only that but the way that Azure talks to Sun Wukong raises several red flags. He looks at all his brothers the same way (e.g when he's helping Peng during a flashback in Episode 8) but it raises so many red flags when he looks at Wukong like this.

And Wukong hangs on to his every word.

Because Sun Wukong believes in what Azure Lion is saying to him. Everyone believes him in that moment. he sounds so confident in the way he says none of this would be possible without sun wukong. It's a way to manipulate him especially considering Sun Wukong was not the one to form the Brotherhood - Azure was. Azure decided to form this trio after seeing Sun Wukong for the first time according his own flashback:

And guess what? It works. Sun Wukong was minding his own business up until that point, the only thing he'd done (if the timeline matches up correctly) was become immortal and return to Flower Fruit Mountain to train his monkey army. In JTTW at this point he would've turned into a giant version of himself, scaring the other spirit kings into joining alliances with him just from witnessing that—instead we get Azure Lion believing him to be the perfect idol for his plan to come into fruition.

Fun Fact: Macaque is the only one who looks at Sun Wukong like this during Azure Lion's little speech about him and being the rightful leader of the brotherhood.

He seems more confused and shocked than the rest of them are. Mind you, he's known Sun Wukong longer than the rest of them have.

He hears Azure Lion, a veteran celestial warrior, praise his best friend and put him up on a pedestal and it confuses him. because his best friend is not like that. at least, he thinks so—but Azure sounds confident, right? he's speaking so confidently about this, so he must be right... right?

It will, eventually, lead to Macaque changing his view on Sun Wukong entirely. this is why we have shadowplay.

"That's what I believed. What Azure would have you believe."

Azure Lion affected not only Sun Wukong but Macaque in his manipulation — the timeline does not show us where Macaque went after his fall out with Wukong but the theory that he ran into the Camel Ridge Trio before fighting Wukong again works considering that line.

(Not only that but Macaque also tries to do this with Xiaotian: he introduces himself in a easily approachable way and trains him, takes him under his wing, then stomps on him the moment he stops being useful to him. he uses him to get to Sun Wukong. Xiaotian reminds Macaque of Sun Wukong and he uses similar tactics that Azure Lion used to get to Xiaotian — and it isn't until the Samadhi Fire Ritual that he realizes what he's done by being reminded of his and Wukong's fallout. He, a bystander, was also affected and influenced by Azure's manipulation.)

Additionally, Sun Wukong defends Azure Lion. He justifies attacking Heaven during Havoc in Heaven, he justifies the brotherhood's plan to go to war against Heaven—none of these plans are Sun Wukong's ideas. They are Azure's influence. In the original book, the reason why Wukong attacks Heaven in the first place is because they refuse to grant him the respect he wishes and thus Heaven is angry at him for dubbing himself the Great Sage Equal to Heaven. They ask the Jade Emperor to take care of Sun Wukong and he does—which, y'know, ends up with Wukong imprisoned afterwards. But in Monkie Kid it's all because of Azure's influence on Wukong.

Because he groomed him into being a faithful right hand man. And he is so confident in that that he gives these grand speeches and pep talks and says every perfect little line to make Sun Wukong want to follow him to Hell and back.

"When we triumph in this rebellion, the people will never live in fear. We're about to change everything. It's all because of you, brother!"

And, of course, he tries this on Xiaotian and Xiaojiao, too, when he first meets them.

When he presents himself to Xiaotian and Xiaojiao, he comes to their rescue. He already introduces himself as a savior and protagonist because he saves them from the scroll—even seemingly displaying himself as non-threatening because, while he laughs at them, he does so in a manner that's sincere and genuine. It's a goofy laugh. He's being goofy. He's playing to their good side.

It's the way he talks to them and laughs, introduces himself with such flamboyance and loudness that he mirrors Sun Wukong himself. He is such a direct influence to Sun Wukong that it carries throughout the few scenes we see of him that resemble what Sun Wukong has done with Xiaotian: the astral projection, the goofy displays of excitement, the sarcastic tones when talking about Tang, the way he greats his brothers when they are freed as old friends and all cheery and genuine.

He allows himself to be called uncy lion and romanticizes the past of the brotherhood while not elaborating on the fact he lead Sun Wukong and his brothers to a war while still blaming the aftermath and defeat of their party on Sun Wukong.

"Ah, well. The Sun Wukong isn't exactly the easiest person to get along with. He has quite a habit of keeping people at arm's length. We were young, mistakes were made... and some mistakes can't be undone."

He speaks of him in a way to spark doubt between Xiaotian and Xiaojiao and it works in the way they react to what he says. They are disheartened and Xiaojiao even mentions, later, how Sun Wukong has had a habit of keeping things to himself. I wonder why that is.

" [...] If your friendship with Monkey King meant anything to you—" "It meant everything to me." [....] "We're brothers. Nothing could ever change that."

It's the way that Azure talks to them about Sun Wukong. It's the way he still thinks he is close enough to Sun Wukong to say that nothing will change their relationship. It's the way that he tries to plant these ideas into Xiaotian's head when they first meet, because he is the Monkie Kid.

That and the fact that later, when Sun Wukong is bursting through each and every memory, he reaches Xiaotian and goes to him and tries to comfort him and say they'll get to safety soon and they just have to deal with the scroll curse—it's the fact that the moment

that pigsy

mentions Azure Lion

all of that gets paused for a moment

"Oh he says his name like that because he put him in the scroll, he shouldn't be here—" there is also the fact he's not fully blown surprised by this. he's also wary. he's hesitant. sure you can say he's surprised to hear they've met Azure Lion,

but then you get this

this is hatred. this is anger. this is not what Sun Wukong feels towards Macaque during Season 3 — he lunged at Macaque for putting Xiaojiao in danger, for putting Xiaotian in danger, for ruining his plan, and he hesitates to attack him, to deliver that final blow, his fist is shaking and Tang's interuption easily causes him to lose focus and he drops Macaque. He lets go.

THIS? This is him protecting Xiaotian. this is him not wanting Xiaotian near Azure. Xiaotian looks at Azure with wide eyes and a gaping mouth because "oh Azure's here?" but Wukong knows better.

And you cannot tell me Sun Wukong was not heavily hurt by Azure Lion's actions without looking at the way that Sun Wukong puts himself between Azure and Xiaotian immediately, how Sun Wukong tries to be a better person by putting Xiaotian's safety first, always, even if it means he gets possessed or hurt or thrown around.

You cannot tell me Azure Lion wasn't a manipulator or abuser or a person who used Sun Wukong's admiration of him against him, to turn him into an obedient follower and devoted friend, when the very first thing he does when he sees Wukong step between him and Xiaotian is sigh.

Sighs like an older mentor looking at their pupil and going "didn't I teach you better than that?"

And then he imprisons Sun Wukong.

Because he is of no use to him at that moment.

And the fucking kicker: Xiaojiao modeled her new sword after Azure Lion, then is blatantly disgusted by this when she figures out how much of a bastard he is and openly says so. Xiaotian looks distraught and confused. Because Azure admits to being guilty of using them and manipulating them. He aims for sympathy with them.

He aims for sympathy with Xiaotian.

He twists the narrative again when he and Xiaotian are alone.

He's manipulating him. He's using him.

He keeps painting Sun Wukong in this negative light. he keeps putting himself up as the sympathetic victim of it all.

"My former brother was sent to destroy us and all we had built."

and yet he still talks about Wukong as though he has a grasp on their relationship. he calls him brother. he has not abandoned that title. he still thinks of Sun Wukong as his brother and will continue to use him and his name in whatever way possible to get ahead.

Maybe it is not on purpose and Azure thinks he is being true and genuine with Xiaotian but it does not erase the fact he twists the narrative to paint Sun Wukong in a negative light in front of his successor. Because Sun Wukong and Xiaotian have a strong relationship, a bond so strong that Qi Xiaotian bursts with power and strength when he realizes Azure will not give him back to him. It's precision and control and Qi Xiaotian could wreck havoc among everyone for keeping his mentor away from him but he is so controlled and careful with his movements that he manages to not attack Azure, but throw him off balance to get him to release Azure.

All because Sun Wukong is important to him.

Because Sun Wukong was not going to treat his successor as though he were a weapon or a pawn in some major scheme like he was.

Azure Lion showers people with praise that they do not deserve nor want and does so in a way that makes the party feel either delighted to have aided with his success or horrified at the revelation. He does so when Sun Wukong brings the brotherhood together (which wouldn't have happened if Azure Lion hadn't seen Sun Wukong with his subjects that one day) and he does so when Qi Xiaotian for returning his brothers to him (which he didn't know he was doing, because Azure Lion told him he needed to defeat the curse without mentioning his friends would be released too, at least from what I can remember).

"His betrayal, his brutality. He took the only friends I had from me. I would have done anything in my power to bring them back. But it wasn't in my power, it was in yours. You saved my friends. You returned them to me. And for that, I am eternally grateful."

This is similar to what he says to Sun Wukong when he was thanking him for bringing the brotherhood together.

And then, what happens when all this manipulating and tricking does not work? When Qi Xiaotian teams up with Sun Wukong instead of siding with Azure Lion?

"After all Sun Wukong has put you through, how much he's let you down, you would still meet your fate trying to protect him?! (...) He doesn't deserve such loyalty, yet you insist on learning the hard way, just as I did! I should've never trusted the Monkey King! The False Sage, Equal to Nothing!"

He fucking insults Sun Wukong. Sun Wukong who rushes in to protect Xiaotian, who shoves Azure Lion out of the way, and checks on Qi Xiaotian when he glitches out and starst to lose control of his powers.

And when he's losing against Xiaotian? When he struggles to keep up with him?

"Look what he's done to you! Reduced you to a mindless, savage animal."

Again, Macaque's obsession over Sun Wukong makes sense now. His obsession is a result of Azure Lion's doing. His obsession is what Qi Xiaotian could have been had he not known Sun Wukong for who he really is: his mentor and friend.

What gets to me is what Xiaotian says to him when he's losing:

"That's what you were pretending to be, right? To be my friend? To care about me? When really, you were just using me to get what you wanted! To turn me against my own mentor! Well, put your hand in the monkey cage and expect to get bit, son! Come on! Come on! Come on, Uncy Lion! You're the big hero, right?! Then prove it! Show me!"

It's a perfect way of snapping back at Azure for all his manipulation.

And then Azure dies.

He learns he's being manipulated for someone else. He cries and smiles and dies.

What for?

He doesn't save anybody.

He doesn't suffer consequences of manipulating people. He doesn't do anything heroic and he doesn't even save the world by sacrificing himself because Nezha is the one who seals away the Jade Emperor's powers in the end.

He's a natural manipulator.

He's not a hero.

he's a loser

[sliver-lioness]

Okay random idea but court drama (not exactly) with shadowpeach.

Macaque comes from a ruling family that resides near flower fruit mountain for years they can been considered expanding and taking over the mountain as it seems uninhibit until a scouting squad returns with a message from the new up and coming monkey king.

Wanting to get on the good side of this new king Macaque’s family invite him to their palace as a way to smooth over any problems they might have caused and discuss a possible alliance.

The family is well renowned because of them being able to tell the future, and what they seen/heard of Wukong looks pretty promising from the ever shifting futures.

Macaque is very much unhappy with this idea since alliance within this kingdom usually means marriage. What’s a better offer? Someone who knows your future and can steer you away from disaster. It’s a great honor to many demons and celestials as those futures are kept a secret only spoken of to family.

Wukong who up to this point only had the monkeys of FFM to rule and has no idea of the flashy side of demon courting and just confused why the royal family is putting on big display of power and gifts. He’s just having fun following and spending quiet time with Macaque who reads him books, he could read them himself but he likes the way the prince reads it, they paint together, spar, and watches his plays.

Macaque who didn’t like Wukong at the start is slowly falling for the obvious king who on more than one occasion beating back both his and Macaque’s potential suitors. He would normally drop them into the distant ocean using a shadow portal when no one was looking but something in his chest flutters when he watches Wukong stand up and fight the more pushy ones, even if it does start up less then flattering gossip about Wukong in the court.

Macaque’s aunt and grandmother teases him about his very obvious crush since he started waiting to guide Wukong around, picking out books that Wukong like. They also saw Macaque’s scarf wrapped around his neck on more then one occasion which got him a lot of teasing from his older siblings/cousins about hearing wedding bells it his future.

They actually do hear weddings bells for him, through they are trying to keep an eye out for a certain blue lion so the wedding bells aren’t after many great tragedies for the pair. But it’s one future out of many surely it will be fine.

[pompomqt]

Journey to the West Chapter 59

Welcome back to this week's chapter of Journey to the West with @journeythroughjourneytothewest. This week we get to continue our ongoing segment of Sun Wukong getting into trouble with members of the Bull Demon King Family. So let's get into it shall we?

So the gang is traveling along, and soon enough autumn once again comes along. However, it's feeling rather hot for this time of year, which- mood. The gang debates why this might be for a while, before Tripitaka finally just sends Monkey to ask one of the locals about it. So Monkey asks one of the locals to tell them where they are, and also if there is any particular reason for the extreme heat, you know- since global warming wasn't really a problem yet in the 7th century. And after the usual song and dance about how the disciples are so ugly and frightening, but Tripitaka's pretty boy face is enough to make up for, the random villager invites them inside for tea and exposition.

Turns out they are currently in the region known as The Mountain of Flames- aptly named after the on fire mountain that is right in the middle of their path westward. While Tripitaka is waiting for the latest bad news to finish sinking in, Monkey spots someone selling rice-puddings, and transforms one of his hairs into a coin to buy one. The rice pudding is super hot, so while Monkey tosses it from hand to hand like a hot potato while waiting for it to cool off, Monkey asks how they get any farming done under these conditions.

So the rice peddler tells them that there is an Immortal Iron-Fan who has a palm-leaf fan that can extinguish the fire with one wave, summon a breeze on the second, and on the third wave it summons rain. The times when the Immortal does this are when they can get all their farming done.

After hearing this Monkey goes back to Tripitaka and hands him the rice pudding to eat while he asks their current host where the Immortal Iron-fan lives. The villager tries to tell them that asking for the fan won't be easy, since they don't even have any offerings for the Immortal, but Monkey is insistent. So the villager tells him that they live on Jade Cloud Mountain in a cave called Palm-Leaf Cave, about 1450 miles away from here. Now that he has directions, Monkey decides to take the trip to ask for the fan. The villager tries to offer Monkey provisions for what will surely be a long and hard Journey, but Monkey just waves him off saying he's fine and takes off in a cloud somersault.

So Monkey fast travels to the mountain, but decides to gather some last minute information before going to the Immortal. Monkey spots a local wood cutter and asks for where the Palm-Leaf cave of Immortal Iron-Fan is. The Woodcutter doesn't quite know of an Immortal Iron-Fan, does he mean Princess Iron-Fan instead? You know- wife of the Bull Demon King?

Monkey, who has ran out of hope of previously being sworn brothers with the Bull Demon King getting him any special treatment in this family around the second time he had to fight a member- isn't overly pleased to hear this. Monkey isn't overly optimistic about his chances for negotiating for the fan, but decides to give a shot anyways.

So Monkey makes his way to the cave and bangs on the door, asking for the Bull Demon King to come out. Instead a young servant girl opens the door, so Monkey asks the girl to announce him to Princess Iron Fan. So she asks for his name to pass along to the Princess and Monkey tells her he's a priest from the land of the east called Sun Wukong. So the girl goes back inside and tells Princess Iron fan that a monk by the name of Sun Wukong is hear to ask to borrow the Palm-Leaf Fan.

Unsurprisingly, upon hearing this the Princess flies into a rage, and gets dressed in her armor before going out to meet him, weapons in hand. Unable to read the mood, Monkey politely greets her as 'sister in law', and tries the whole 'I had an alliance with the Bull Demon King five hundred years ago' spiel one more time. The Princess however doesn't care about any of that, what she wants to know is why Monkey got her son in trouble. Monkey tries to explain that RedBoy started it by trying to eat his master, and honestly he's in a much better position serving Guanyin now a days anyways, so really he did him a favor. However the Princess is still upset, since even though her son wasn't killed, she is still unable to even visit him now.

Monkey tries to suggest a compromise, if she loans him the fan, then after he puts out the fire he'll pay Guanyin a visit and bring RedBoy here so she can see how well he's doing herself, and he'll return the fan to her at the same time. Which I personally find a pretty fair offer, it's nice to see Monkey trying to work things out through negotiation rather then jumping straight to violence. However the Princess offers a compromise- he should instead just stand there and let her hack him up with her sword, and if he can endure it she'll lend him the fan- if not, well he'll be dead anyways and no longer her problem I guess.

Monkey is more then happy to agree to this new deal, and honestly, getting whacked a few times with a sword is probably easier for him then going all the way to Guanyin for a visit anyways. So Monkey just sticks out his head for the Princess to hit until she gets tired and tells her to have at it. So the Princess hits him about fifteen times, but doesn't accomplish anything, so she tries to flee, but Monkey insists she hand over the fan first. The Princess refuses, so Monkey pulls out his staff and the two begin to fight in earnest. The two fight until it starts getting late, and finally realizing that she'll never beat him, the Princess takes out her Palm-Leaf fan, and fans at Monkey, creating a gust of wind that blows him out of her hair.

Monkey is left blowing on this wind throughout the entire night, unable to stop or touch the ground, until he finally manages to catch onto a mountain and bring himself to a halt. And Monkey actually recognizes this mountain from a previous adventure. It's where he defeated the the other wind themed demon the Yellow Robed Demon with the help of Lingji. While he's already in the neighborhood, Monkey decides to visit Lingji to ask for directions back to where he came from. So Monkey goes to Lingji's place, and Lingji asks him if he's acquired the scriptures already. Monkey explains that there's been a slight hiccup in that plan, and that he was actually blown all the way here by Princess Iron fan.

When Monkey asks how far away he is from the Mountain of Flames, Lingji, explains that he is about fifty thousand miles away. Also that he is impressed that Monkey managed to stop when he did since the fan is capable of blowing people eighty four thousand miles. Monkey then asks if Lingji knows how they can overcome this trial, and Lingji explains that it's actually good fortune that Monkey ended up hear again. Because way back when, the Buddha had given Lingji two different items to deal with the Yellow Robed Demon, the first is the dragon staff, that they used on the Yellow Robed Demon. The second however is a Wind-Arresting Elixir that they hadn't needed to use back then, so he still has it. With the Elixir, the fan won't be able to work on Monkey, so Lingji helps sew the pellet into Monkey's collar before sending him on his way.

Monkey once again arrives at Princess Iron-Fan's doorstep, and once again bangs on the door demanding the fan. The Maid from earlier once again reports his presence to her boss, who is surprised he's back so soon, since if he should still be getting blown away by the fan right about now. This time she resolves to blow him away three or four times so that he won't be able to come back at all as she heads back out to meet him. When Monkey see's her, he once again asks to borrow the fan, and says he'll bring it back after he's done. The Princess however isn't having it, since it isn't even about the fan, not really, it's about her not being able to see her son anymore. So the Princess attacks, but this time when she gets tired of fighting and tries to blow Monkey away the fan doesn't work on him. Unsure what else to do, the Princess feel's and seals herself inside her cave.

Rather then banging on the door again, Monkey instead transforms into a tiny mole cricket and sneaks inside. And just in time to, since Princess Iron-Fan is currently calling for tea, which gives Monkey inspiration. So while the maid is pouring the Princess a cup of tea, Monkey takes the opportunity to dive into the tea. Once the Princess drinks the tea, and Monkey finds his way in the Princess's stomach, he decides to make his presence known to her. From inside of her, Monkey once again calls out to borrow the fan. The Princess is horrified and asks how he's inside her house since they locked the doors, but the maid points out that it's worse then that, he's not just in the house, he's inside her.

Monkey confirms to Princess Iron-Fan that he is indeed in her stomach right now, by punching her intestines and causing her unbearable pain. And Monkey keeps up the torture until Princess Iron-Fan finally gives in and begs for mercy, and agrees to loan him the fan. Princess Iron-Fan has one of the maids fetch the fan, once Monkey confirms it's there, he finally leaves through her mouth and transforms back into his usual form. Monkey then thanks her, before taking the fan and returning to Tripitaka and the others.

Tripitaka is delighted to see Monkey back, fan in hand. Monkey then explains his latest adventure and about how Immortal Iron-Fan is actually Princess Iron-Fan and the wife of the Bull Demon King. All caught up on current events, the group travels on-wards towards the mountain until it gets to hot for anyone but Monkey to go any further. So Monkey tells everyone to wait here for him while he goes to the mountain to extinguish the fire.

So Monkey goes to the mountain and fans the flames once, only for the flames to burn even hotter, he fans a second time only for it to become even more intense, and the third makes it even worse until the flames have increased a hundredfold. Seeing that this has not gone at all according to plan, Monkey retreats back to the others, and warns them to run since the fire is coming. After they have retreated to a safe distance, Tripitaka asks Monkey what happened. Monkey throws the fan away saying that he must have been tricked which causes Tripitaka to start crying again.

Monkey explains everything that happened to the others, and said that if he hadn't gotten away in time all his hair probably would have burned up. Pigsy asks why that is, since Monkey is usually pretty fire proof, but monkey explains that he has to prepare ahead of time with a fire repellent sign or magic to protect himself, but this time since he was expecting to put out the fire he wasn't prepared for it. For now though they have to decide what to do next since the fan was a bust.

Before they can get to deep into discussion however, the local mountain god stops by with some lunch and information. He tells them that the fan they have is indeed a fake, and for the real one they are going to have to talk to the Bull Demon King himself.

Current Sun Wukong Stats: Names/Titles: Monkey, The Stone Monkey, The Handsome Monkey King, Sun Wukong (Monkey awakened to the void), Bimawen (Banhorseplague), The Great Sage Equal To Heaven and Pilgrim Sun. Immortality: 5 + 94,000 years Weapon: The Compliant Golden Hooped Rod Abilities: 72 Transformations, Cloud-Somersault, Ability to transform his individual hairs, super strength, Ability to Summon Wind, Water restriction charm, and the ability to change into a huge war form, ability to duplicate his staff, ability to immobilize others, the ability to put others to sleep, and the Fiery eyes and Diamond Pupils, intimidating horses, churning large bodies of water, sleeplessness, seizing the wind, enhanced smell, discerning good and evil within a thousand miles, Spirit Summoning, lock picking, object transformation, distance reduction, vanishing in a flash of light, super healing, transforming others, Invisibility and Wind Resistance Demon Kill Count: 10 + Unknown Number of Minions Human Kill Count: 1039 God's Defeated: 23 + Unknown number Defeats: 7 Crime List: Robbery, Murder, Mass Murder, Arson, Theft, Coercion, Threatening a Government Official, Resisting Arrest, Assault, Forgery, Employee Theft, False Imprisonment, Impersonating a Government Official, Treason, attempted murder, failure to control or report a dangerous fire, desecrating a corpse, breaking and entering, trespassing, violating Tree Law, looting corpses, trading counterfeit goods, criminal threat, animal abuse, Assisting or Instigating Escape, Damage to Religious Property, contaminating a substance for human consumption, Identity Fraud, and Disorderly Conduct Cry Count: 9 + 3 fake cries Mountains Trapped Under: 4

Current Tang Sanzang stats: Names/Titles: River Float, Xuanzang, Tang Sanzang, Tripitaka and the Tang Monk Abilities: Curing Blindness, making branches point a certain direction (allegedly), reciting sutras, pretty privilege, memorization, Heart Sutra and Meditation. Cry Count: 31 Tight Fillet Spell Uses: 63 Paralyzed by fear: 6 Bandit Problems: 3 Kidnapped by demons: 9 Falling Off Horses: 10

Current Bai Long Ma Stats: Names/Titles: Bai Long Ma (White Dragon Horse), Prince of the Western Ocean, and third prince jade dragon of the dragon king Aorun Abilities: Transforming into a human, a water snake, and a horse, eating a horse in one bite, flight, Magic of Water Restriction, Singing, and Sword Dancing. Cry Count: 1 Crime List: Arson, and Grave Disobedience. Contributions to the plot: 3 Kidnapped by demons: 1

Current Zhu Wuneng Stats: Names/Titles: The Marshal of the Heavenly Reeds, Zhu Wuneng (Pig who is aware of ability), Zhu Ganglie, Pigsy, Idiot and Eight Rules. Weapon: Rake Abilities: 36 Transformations, parting water, fighting underwater, cloud soaring, size enhancement and CPR Demon Kill Count/Kill steals: 5 Kidnapped by Demons: 4 Human Kill Count: 1 Failed Flirtation/romances Attempts: 4 Cry Count: 2 Crime List: Sexual Harassment, Murder, Kidnapping, arson, defamation, Damage to Religious Property, contaminating a substance for human consumption, Identity Fraud, Theft and Forcible entry

Current Sha Wujing Stats: Names/Titles: The Curtain-Raising General, Sha Wujing (Sand Aware of Purity), Sandy and Sha Monk Weapon: Monster Taming Staff Abilities: Fighting underwater, Cloud soaring, and fetching water from a well. Demon Kill Count: 1 + Unknown number of minions. Kidnapped by Demons: 3 Human Kill Count: 1 Cry Count: 1 Crime List: Breaking a Crystal Cup, murder, desecration of a human corpse, Damage to Religious Property and contaminating a substance for human consumption

[crzyimp]

Centuries of consequences finally caught up to our favorite monkey that the Jade Emperor called Buddha to help him. I definitely missed on my first time reading that Buddha was to defend the throne. I was confused at first since Buddha isn't part of Heaven, but then after a brief reflecting; I realized this could be an alliance between religions over ancient China. Keeping the peace and helping allies in need.

During the chapter was the fact Sun Wukong was quiet compared to earlier chapters and attacking anyone in his way. Up until Buddha showed up, new face and person to Wukong. Someone who had no part to what's been happening to him up till now and he (somewhat) peacefully talked to him and listen to Buddha deal. I strongly think if Wukong haven't PISSED ON BUDDHA'S FUCKING HAND and asked for a do over, he may have not be under a mountain.

(Writing on my hand? Eh, I'll get over it and I can wash off, but pissing on my hand? Haha! NO. Asshole move and some crimes can't be forgiven. 'Pisshead ape' go to naughty jail for 500 years to think about his (Piss) crimes)

The rest of the chapter was about the Heaven court asking Buddha to stay, party, and receive gifts. Everyone, but Buddha and his disciples cause their monks and don't drink at all, was getting drunk and celebrating that Wukong's gone.

Once Wukong got his head out of the mountain, Buddha used a golden seal to ensure he can't escape and gave instructions that someone will come to remove it 500 years later. And giving Wukong iron pellets for food and melted copper to drink. There has to be a reason or symbolism for this, but right now my mind is drawing blanks. Or there is none and really hammering in on punishing Wukong for crashing the festival.

I think that's all I have to say right now, but up for discussions!

@journeythroughjourneytothewest

[digitalagepulao]

Sun clan AU character directory

[this directory will be edited and updated as time goes on and the story progresses]

THE ELDERS: older generation, live on the deeper chambers of the Shuilian Mansion and enjoy the respect and honors by all the beings in Huaguoshan.

An-kong Tudigong (Grandpa Earth God)

Earth God of Huaguoshan, appears mostly as a moss-green furred orangutan but has many forms. Reclusive and reticent, but loves dearly all the beings living on his mountain. Adoptive father of Wukong.

A-ma Longan (Grandma Dragon-Eye)

Matriarch of a monkey troop, Francois Langur. Dry yet caring, often serves as a protector of the monkeys of the mountain and a middleman between spirits and mortal creatures. Her duties were mostly taken over by Wukong after he became king. Adoptive mother of Wukong.

I-bo Lanye (Auntie Orchid-leaves)

Granddaughter of Longan, and second in command, Silvery Lutung. Fond and overbearing, takes care of the troop whenever Longan leaves to maintain the peace. Biological mother of Jinju.

Shandanmao (Coral lily cat), also called Au-bo Shanhu (Stepmom Coral)

An asian golden cat who once attempted to eat Longan, and was made to atone for her attack on the mountain's Tudipo by serving as her bodyguard.

Wukong, also called Shihou (Stone Monkey) and Xiaoshi (Little pebble)

King of Huaguoshan. Rules over several troops that live on the mountain and shelter in the Water-Curtain Cave, and helps to keep the peace and balance among the creatures and demons.

THE FOUR STALWART MARSHALS: The Monkey King's trusted second-in-commands in the kingdom's hierarchy, and Wukong's closest confidants.

Liu Jinju (Golden-Orange)

Ma Yuehua (Moon-Flower)

Ba Hongteng (Red-vine)

Beng Maqaw (Mountain-pepper)

THE GOLDEN CAPTAINS: Trusted soldiers directly under the command of the Stalwart Marshals, but especially under Jinju/Marshal Liu

Songzhen (Pine-needles)

Second-oldest of the group, a laidback Ebony Javan Langur.

Suanguo (Sour-fruit)

The youngest and grumpiest of the bunch, a red-shanked douc.

EXTENDED FAMILY: Members of the sworn brothers' kingdoms who end up joining Huaguoshan in some manner.

Erwangzi Xiangjing (Second Prince Fine-Fragrance), also known as Prince Rougui (Cinnamon)

Wukong's mate and trusted friend, Cat Ba langur. One of the rescued monkeys from the Monstrous King of Havoc's lair, trusted advisor and cousin-in-law of Yurong Wang (Golden Snub-nosed Monkey King). Charming, eloquent and wise, but wears his heart right on his sleeve. After the two kings build an alliance, Xiangjing and Wukong become quite fond of each other, and after some failed courting attempts, Wukong accepts Xiangjing's affections.

Rinrin, also called Xiaohuo (Little fire)

Ranked sentry and scout, Rhesus Macaque demon. Once part of Niu Mowang's kingdom, she sought to earn further rank and merit by learning exorcism techniques to dispel minor demons who'd dwell on the edges of the mountains. She became emotionally attached to a human demon hunter, and when she left the mountain in shame, said human followed her. She earned the friendship of Wukong swiftly, which also earned her a spot in his court despite displeasing the Bull Demon.

Xiaojie Duan

Skilled demon hunter, human. While she's accomplished in exorcising and conquering demons and spirits, her true goal was to find someone she loved to settle down and raise a family with. What luck, that said person turned out to be a demon monkey in disguise! Not one to back down from her affections, she followed after Rinrin and together they settled in Huaguoshan.

THE SEVEN PRINCELINGS: Wukong's children by order of age.

Wumiao (Witch-sprout)

Adopted first daughter, fairy crane demon. Eternally youthful and ethereally beautiful lady. Often bears a feathered fan in her hand and a pinewood sword at her waist. Gentle and demure, adores her father and siblings. Head priestess of the Huaguoshan Daoist temple, and protectress of the Heavenly gate there.

Bailian (White-face)

The largest of the quintuplets, Bailian has snow-white pale skin no matter the season or weather, and fur like clouds at dusk. Despite being the firstborn son and the only one able to walk on clouds and water, Bailian has frail health and a sickly disposition, and thus seldom interacts with the world at large. His father and siblings tend to be overprotective due to this, much to his dismay.

Liangwei (Two-tails)

The second daughter, Liangwei has a head of golden fur and two prehensile tails. She has a cunning mind and a sharp tongue, always quick to reply and twist people into knots with her words. She enjoys entertaining guests and kindred with masterful poetry and rhymes, as much as others enjoy hearing her. Her eyesight is quite poor, and she often relies on Sanyan and her tails to help her find her way around.

Sanyan (Three-eyes)

Second-born son, with a somber and dry temperament. Though his appearance seems at first not to stand out against his more visibly magical siblings, Sanyan possesses a third eye often hidden in his fur when closed. It can see the true nature of all things, though what he knows he seldom shares. Sanyan is selectively mute, and communicates through sign language or by borrowing Liangwei's sharp tongue when she's around.

Shuashua (Playful):

Third son among the five, and by far the most energetic. Most well known as a never-still blur, Shuashua is nimble and covered in colorful stripes of fur and has a snub nose. He's known for never sleeping or ever seeming to rest at all, and spending most of his time with some activity or another. Not the sharpest tool in shed, but his bright and hard-working disposition more than makes up for it.

Si'er (Four-ears)

Third daughter, and by all measures the runt of the quintuplets. She has a calm and sweet disposition, but her particularity of having four calf-like ears and sensitive hearing often tends to put off the others of her family and kingdom. Reincarnation of [redacted], aware of past life. Deeply devoted daughter and sister, tries her best to right the wrongs of the past. Has terrible tinnitus and migraines that turns her physically monstruous. Keeper of the sealed temple of [redacted].

Danxia (Cinnabar Cloud)

Adopted fourth son, human. An orphan left in Wumiao's temple. Despite growing up surrounded by demons, immortals, and fairies, the boy had no contempt for his peers, instead striving to learn as much as he could to keep up with his siblings.

THE KING'S DISCIPLES: newcomers to Huaguoshan after the fire, brought in thanks to the pilgrimage west.

Xiaoyu (little fish), Congcong (verdant), Jiazao (hearth)

Three female macaques Wukong rescued from being stable monkeys, and have stuck to the group to cater to the artifacts and run minor errands. Trained in combat by Wukong, and later joined the mountain kingdom as warrior nuns and established a Buddhist temple.

[gorillawithautism]

I appreciate your positivity. On a note about primates, are there any particular organizations that support primates that you recommend?

thanks i try :3 i'm not really a super positive or optimistic person naturally but i feel very driven to help people i care about and express my love :)

anyway

primate organizations i recommend:

pan african sanctuary alliance - pasa is a great directory for conservation efforts in africa, so if you want more places to look at, definitely look at their website. i would say any organization in their alliance can be trusted to adequately provide for the animals in their care.

lola ya bonobo - lola ya bonobo/friends of bonobos is the only!! bonobo rewilding program in the whole world and the only sanctuary that's specifically dedicated to bonobos

dian fossey gorilla fund - this one is specifically dedicated to the protection of mountain gorillas as well as research of the surrounding habitat. they've also done some substantial research into one of my favorite monkeys, the golden monkey (cercopithecus kandti).

gorilla doctors - the gorilla doctors do veterinary field work to maintain the health of wild mountain gorillas and eastern lowland gorillas. they also work to address human and domestic animal health in the area in order to help maintain gorilla health.

the orangutan project - the orangutan project works with various organizations in indonesia for the conservation of orangutans. one of the organizations they fund is the bos foundation which is a personal favorite :) the smithsonian show "orangutan jungle school" is about bos!

duke lemur center - duke lemur center is a research center and conservation effort for lemurs (of which they house 200 btw). all of their research is minimally invasive and not harmful to the animals. they kind of do a lot of stuff so it's a little hard to summarise... also binx lives here............. i love binx.......

vervet forest - the vervet monkey foundation is basically exactly what it sounds like. they rescue pet monkeys and laboratory monkeys and give them a better life. one thing that's particularly interesting about them is their foster mom program where they give orphaned babies a monkey family :)

lwiro primate rehab center - lwiro works to rehabilitate all kinds of primates impacted by the illegal (and unethical) pet trade. this means they primarily work with orphaned primates and primates with significant physical and psychological trauma

tacugama - tacugama works on preservation of wildlife in sierra leone. they're pretty famous i don't really know what to say about them except that they care for a buttload of chimps

fauna foundation - the fauna foundation the only chimpanzee sanctuary in canada and it rehabilitates and provides a safe place for chimps traumatized by the pet trade and laboratories. plus they have a nature reserve that's part of their conservation effort. shout out to sue ellen

monkey haven - primate rescue center i'm really just mentioning because xhabu lives there and he's like a celebrity to me. like they do good work but i just really love xhabu

[astronnova]

How is the true sun wukong that nobody will love??

nobody in the show loves the true sun wukong. everyone views him as something that he is and also isnt

MK thinks of wukong as this flawless idol in the beginning. there's no room for failure on wukong's end; he has to be perfect because MK expects that of him. after the bone demon arc, MK's perception shifts, but he still holds wukong to an incredibly high standard while also bringing him down by constantly reminding him of his failures.

macaque doesn't love the real wukong, he loves the old idea of him, if his lines like "the old you would've leveled this mountain range to stop me. but now you're scared of hurting some kid? pathetic!" prove this. macaque wants the old, strong, intense wukong that only cared about himself, his monkeys, his demon alliances and his ego. macaque for s1-3 just wants to make wukong feel inferior and upset, he's constantly putting wukong down.

mei, sandy, tang, and pigsy are all incredibly disconnected from wukong. mei doesn't seem to have any bad blood, but it can definitely be assumed she has some sort of a grudge due to the samadhi fire incident. when the fire's active, she berates him. (of course, she has a reason to be doing that,not saying she doesn't.) tang views wukong as this untouchable legend, and pigsy honestly seems to dislike wukong the most out of the main five. sandy seems like he'd be the most level-headed tbh

tldr: people only care about what they perceive wukong as, and don't actually care about him as a person. they care about him as a king, as a hero, as an idol, etc. they put him so high up onto a pedestal, that when eventually he does something that contradicts that mindset people get mad at him.

MK's kinda gettin it by the end of s4, at least understand why wukong is so distant and chooses to not explain anything, but he's still falling into the habit of idolozing wukong to the point of copying his behaviors subconsciously (and consciously); both the good behaviors and the bad.

[immediatebreakfast]

His sole concern was to eat three meals a day and to sleep soundly at night. Having neither duties nor worries, he was free and content to tour the mansions and meet friends, to make new acquaintances and form new alliances at his leisure.

Me: Wow, I didn't believe that giving Sun Wukong an empty title (again) would work, but it seems that this time is actually working! Who knew that simply leaving Monkey be just like in Flower - Fruit Mountain would have such good results, they only needed to leave him happy!

The fucking title of the chapter:

Disrupting the Peach Festival, the Great Sage steals elixir; With revolt in Heaven, many gods would seize the fiend.

Me: Oh.

[rarepears]

You know the other way you can crossover SVSS with Journey to the West? Before being sealed under a mountain, Sun Wukong was a Daoist practitioner, which is what xianxia cultivation is strongly based off.

Therefore; Sun Wukong, freshly banished from Master Puti's side and forbidden for ever telling one he had been a student, spitefully declares that he'll be a much better teacher than Puti ever was. Shen Jiu just happens to be in the right place at the right time, and he's going to be the best cultivator whether he likes it or not.

It may not fit the themes of the spiritual journey quite as cleanly as Shen Jiu being the representation of trauma, but making it earlier means Shen Jiu gets to be part of all the best times of Sun Wukong's story. You know, the parts where he terrifies all the demon kings into alliances, ruling a monkey empire and causes so much trouble waging a single-man war with the gods for which they never fully mentally recover the trauma of. The fun parts.

Bonus: as Sun Wukong's apprentice, Shen Jiu gets to learn the shapeshifting, dopplegangerism, and gets to eat immortal peaches.

And then Shen Jiu eats some other immortal peaches  (‿!‿) 

He eats a lot of immortal peaches ◑.◑

[More in #shen jiu becomes Sun Wukong's apprentice instead AU] [See also: #SVSSS x Journey To the West AU]

[every-monkey-d-luffy]

[violetsmokes]

LMK AU ~ TJTTW Part 2

Wow okay, so some of you actually like my au idea so here I think I'll go over how exactly Macaque becomes the Monkey Queen, immortal, and a different punishment instead of everyone getting a mountain thrown on them. Comment, leave some questions or suggestions <3

First things first Macaque is just as immortal as Wukong, it's why during his fight with Wukong he doesn't die. Macaque ate the peach, drunk the wine, and took the pill. He fought heaven and they tired the same punishments to kill him, no luck but someone did get their hand bit and spent the rest of the day wondering if they got magical money rabies. The smirk Mac had didn't help. Wukong didn't get trapped under a mountain for 500 years, no Buddha decided to use a different punishment for the to monkeys that seem to be attached at the hip. "The hero and warrior were like the Sun and Moon." Buddha trapped Wukong in the Sun and Macaque in the Moon. Wukong could only walk the Earth in the day while Macaque could only walk in the night this kept the two separated for 500 years untill Wukong would leave for the Journey of the West. Side note getting trapped in the Sun and Moon had a few unforseen consequences, such as our monkeys gaining powers usually connect to the Sun and Moon. Powers such as the ability to control fire and water along with healing abilities, they can now control Sun and Moon when either one loses control of his emotions. Yes this is why Buddha will not fight them again. He didn't realize the punishment would somehow make two already overpowered monkeys even more OP and is afraid that fighting them again would tear the universe to shreds. No he will never let the monkeys know this mainly because his think Wukong would tear the universe apart for fun and Mac keeps no secrets from his mate. Buddha doesn't know how to tell the Jade Emperor that if the monkeys go crazy again then there is nothing anyone can do to stop them. He is 68% sure the Jade Emperor already know tho.

So that how we get two OP immortal monkeys but how does Macaque become Monkey Queen because currently his is still know as the King's Warrior. Well when Wukong leaves for the TJTTW Macaque for the first time ever doesn't go with him and stays to guard Flower Fruit Mountain and to care for the monkeys. Well a troublesome Baboon King hears about a beautiful mountain with rich fruit and water and many other resources. He hears how the king of this mountain had left for long journey leaving his beautiful mate and their hoard of monkeys without a leader. The Baboon King gathers his army and heads straight for Flower Fruit Mountain when they arrive he sent and small group of baboons to attack any near by monkeys. This quickly gains Macaque's attention and he confronts the Baboon King who tells Macaque to surrender and be his mate or the baboons will enslave the monkey army and kill the cubs. Macaque is given one day to make his choice and being the warrior his is chooses to fight for the only home and family he's ever known. This leads to years and years of a bloody and vicious war but also this is when Macaque makes an alliance with the Spider Queen and the Scorpion Queen trading food and gems for venom, weds, and a few illusion spells. Meanwhile the Baboon King was growing crazier by the day, especially when his general and number one supporter died is battle. A battle that took a heavy hit on the baboons, many missed home and were growing desperate and defeated. The new general just want this war to end and was ready to surrender. This general and many of the other baboons were losing respect in their tyrannical King. Finally the war came to an end when Macaque lead a small group immoral monkeys to ambush the baboons camp leaving them open to a large attack from the rest of the monkey army and hopefully driving the baboons off Flower Fruit Mountain for good. The attack went as planned until the final battle between Macaque and the Baboon King, the Baboon King was losing and noticed his general had managed to sneak up behind Macaque and yelled for the general to strike Macaque but as Macaque turn to defend against an attack the Baboon General dropped his weapons and raised his hands is surrender begging Macaque to let the remaining baboons leave the mountain. This gained the attention of every monkey and baboon as they paused to see what was happening between the leaders. The Baboon General's surrender angered the King and in a manic cry threatened to kill the general and any baboons that didn't fight. With that the baboons turned on their King dropping their weapons and bowing before Macaque, the general knelt down and loudly proclaimed Macaque as the Monkey Queen followed by the monkeys bowing with the baboons and everyone chanting for their new Monkey Queen as he read out the former Baboon King's crimes and landed the killing blow. From here the baboons and monkeys joined forces and lead by their new Queen built a strong kingdom on top of Flower Fruit Mountain.

One last bit before I end of this post with some songs. After the war and rebuilding a kingdom Macaque misses Wukong and is worried about his mate. He had been gone for so long and they hadn't heard anything. The monkeys were both hurt and angry, they loved their Monkey King but felt betrayed that he was always leaving the mountain and causing trouble. It didn't help that during the long war Wukong had not been seen or heard from at all. When Macaque announces that is leaving to find Wukong his monkey generals try to convince him to stay and opened up about how they should forget about the Monkey King for betraying them. Macaque sees through the anger and finds their pain in being left behind and their fear that if Macaque leaves then he will never return. Macaque reminds everyone that Flower Fruit Mountain is his home and as long as he is Queen Wukong is King and that he will bring Wukong back for good. Everyone respects their Queen and knows to trust his words. Macaque leaves unaware of the mess Wukong has gotten himself into and the Journey East he will soon face.

WOW MY GOD THIS WAS A LOT! And I have so much more! How Wukong and Macaque met, the actual journey to the east, does MK or Bai He play any roll, Mayor is still a fucking gremlin, Macaque and Tripitaka become friends and respect eachother!?!?!??!??! But as promised some songs that go along with the AU one in way or another.

This just matches with the punishment between Wukong and Macaque and how the only time then could see eachother was when the Sun and Moon shared the same sky.

Remember the small ambush on the baboon camp well Macaque gives a similar speech to his troop like Odysseus. But I guess the last bit of the song could be considered foreshadowing. For what? That is for another post, but incase anyone wants to know what Macaque fights for its for his King and their home.

For this one its mainly at the end of the song, 3:06 onward, were Odysseus confronts the cyclops. Yes Macaque gives Baboon King the same speech before kill the lunatic.

Part one https://at.tumblr.com/violetsmokes/thank-you-sasunaru22fy-and-everyone-who-got-me-to/uuaxds90kupm

[ceiling-karasu]

Other Countries in the AUs: Part Two, Plus OCs

Chambelli Koh (Flower Hill, Urdu)

(Hyena AU, mostly)

Background:

A nation in Africa, with a large population of Urdu speakers, explores the world, and forms an alliance with Chaand Hadia, as they are also Urdu speakers with some of the same values. To the left of Chaand Hadia, a colony of African Spotted Hyenas is formed to allow for easier trading.

But the country the hyenas came from is now defunct (joined up with another country peacefully), as suggested by the flag above, granting independence to the colony, which expanded into its own country as more hyenas join.

The Weasels took over the coastlines of Chambelli Koh with the help of the Wolf Unit, establishing a few bases there, but found a lack of workers they could intimidate into working the fish farms. The Wolf Unit then took over several villages, forcing the larger hyenas and other residents into working as troops for the unit, assuming that they are as blood thirsty as them, with the promise that they will not go after 'weak prey' like Flower Hill. The central government is playing the long game in allowing this to happen. After all, it is only a few villages on the coast, and discretely sabotaging the weasels and wolves will result in victory in the long run. Besides, the hyena soldiers will revolt, eventually, and no one will be able to stop them.

I have the idea that Nurse Eomin from her AU will have been conscripted from the coastline when she was visiting family. The Weasel Unit has no idea she is actually a resident of Flower Hill, just as they have no idea that the hyenas have an incredibly strong bond with the hedgehogs to the point of a few romances.

Location and Geography: Shares a border with Chaand Hadia. Mostly fertile farmland surrounded by mountains, but has a rich coastline of fish.

Government: Stratocracy, although local villages may have their own rules. Central government usually, but coastlines are controlled by the weasels

Economy: Mostly just an agricultural and mining society. They trade minerals and weapons to Flower Hill in exchange for silk, and to Chaand Hadia in exchange for paints and dyes.

Demographics: Much of the country is striped and spotted hyenas. Other species include Swinhoe's striped squirrel, three striped ground squirrels, red squirrels, deer, ermines, pigs, sheep, goats, and monkeys.

Culture: Peaceful, but pragmatic and can switch to warlike. Dark humor with loud laughter is a staple of the populace, but the art scene is booming.

Foreign Relations: Mostly Isolated for now, as most creatures are scared of them, and they are a relatively new nation. They are also far louder and m ore brash than everyone else.

Relation to Flower Hill: Flower Hill was concerned by these massive newcomers, so they invited the hyenas to engage in diplomatic discussions. It was discovered that both countries are called 'Flower Hill,' in their own languages, completely by accident, breaking the tension. The hyenas were impressed and thrilled that the hedgehogs were not at all terrified of them and happily formed peace treaties

Traditional Clothing Style (When not in Military attire): Hanbok, shirts, blouses, large robes, and pants, elaborate beaded necklaces.

Hyena OCs

It's not going to be a serious or long AU, once I get to it. I might combine it with the Nope AU and create a series of stories involving Chambelli Koh and Flower Hill. Otherwise they will be mentioned as existing in the AU, maybe in passing, but they won't be big players in The Rod That Blocks the Lightning, if at all.

Really, the name for this one will probably be One Mind All the Time. The hyenas are super intimidating and powerful, but if they are not in a fight, then they are big friendly goofballs who share one brain cell. But still smart, in the way they can plan for a battle, as well as subtly indicate to Flower Hill that they are being coerced.

Honestly, I could set the location of the prison for the Kidnapped Scientist AU somewhere around in this country, perhaps. Or at least near one of their borders.

Jindo Dog Island

This isn't made up, I just straight up took an actual island around Korea. It was supposed to be a one off gag for an inconsequential chapter, but afterwards I had ideas!

Location and Geography: Down near the Southern part of the Weasel Territory, but not part of it. Island nation with lots of fertile farmland and mixed with birch trees.

Government: Imperialistic, yet willing to trade with other countries.

Economy: Large soju exports, necessitating large wheat and rice fields, as well as a large variety of fruits and vegetables for taste. They also have a large export of xylitol made form imported birch trees, although their uses for it remain mysterious, as it is not used in the soju. Sugar, fruits, silk, and vegetables are large imports.

Demographics: Jindo dogs, pigs, deer, mice

Culture: farmers, loving the peaceful life, paintings, but everyone is conscripted for a short period of time when they become adults, and are very reserved to outsiders. They have never been successfully invaded, but young males of important families are expected to enrich themselves with travel to foreign countries so they can better run the family and the nation, so the country is not completely shut off and behind the times.

Foreign Relations: Open to trade, but due to being an island nation, they have a massive imperial fleet of a highly trained navy. This is also how they are able to trade soju safely despite being so close the weasel territory, in addition to the Myeongnyang Strait, which provides heavy protection to the islands. Stories abound of assassins from the country poisoning enemies with mysterious powders, but the diplomats assure that those are simply rumors. It is only a coincidence that enemies who tried to invade their country, or seriously talked about invading tend to wind up mysteriously dead or in comas.

Relation to Flower Hill: Flower Hill gives them wood and silk, and they trade with exquisite soju. Flower Hill has been sure to treat visitors from there very well for generations, in order to secure alliances.

Traditional Clothing Style: Loose clothes, pants, dresses. Higher classes wear robes, everyone has armor they can use.

OC Character: Jinro the Jindo Dog

Gender: Male

Country and Alliance: Jindo Dog Island

Attire: Western clothes

Skills: Cooking, soju production

Job: drifter, cook

Backstory: He and his twin, Hite, were born to the nation's largest soju production factory in the kingdom. On a trip, he was conscripted by the Weasel Unit as a cook. He escapes with a group of friends he makes in the barracks. Now, as per tradition for the family, he wanders to earth searching for new food and soju recipes.

Just a funny guy I'm going to have wander in and out of stories.

Wolf Country

I don't really have a whole lot of ideas on this right now that I have not spoken of in my previous post. To be honest, I don't think the actual country will feature too much, if at all, since the action is around Flower Hill and other nations nearby.

But, I'm guessing the wolves represent America, and the alligators/crocodiles are Mexico that has been occupied by the Wolf Unit. I'm still working on personalities and such for this group, but I'm guessing they are very strong, and see the smaller animals as weak and beneath them.

I want to call this one Steven or Miguel.

I still say the alligators/crocs are good for underwater reconnaissance in the absence of the underground study data, Dr. Dudeoji, or his assistant, Bamsaegi. Disarming mines Flower Hill has planted in the water is also probably a good use for them. They are, however, cold blooded, and this comes with its own problems when doing their jobs.

It is possible that the alligators/crocs may want to take over Flower Hill for themselves, but they would want to get out from under the thumb of the Wolf Unit first.

[themissdnl]

Familial Bond

This is the "Brotherhood" in this au of JTTWC. The group was founded, like in the original text, after Wukong displayed his power in fit of excited after showing his Golden Cudgel's power to his people. The goal of the group was to unify the demon/spirit-animal population. This was by taking out wild and unruly bands and keep peace between each other. Similar how ruling humans do.

Listed in order of membership,

Sun Wukong: Considered the founding and core member of the group, due to his display of power drawing them all together. However, aside from his friends, he had little interest in what happened outside of Flower Fruit Mountain. Of which was often used as the central get-together point for the group and he had the final say in who joined or didn't due to being the strongest, wanting to keep those worth having in his bonded group.

Six-Eared Macaque: The only member of the table (those seated at meetings) who wasn't a Demon Lord himself, instead he was his top general-tactician, advisor, and elder brother. His seat at the table was, openly, due to his connection to Sun Wukong.

DBK: The first demon lord to recognize Sun Wukong’s immense power, seeing it as a good opportunity to further his family’s influence he sought to create an alliance with the Monkey King. While flattered, greatly, and pleased to be recognized outside his kingdom Wukong wanted to see if this potential ally was worthy of him. Understanding, and ready to prove himself, outside of gifts, the two spared. Impressed, on both sides, the alliance was struck. The two getting along well they soon called each other brothers. DBK was the one to plant the idea of forming more alliances, on the basis of creating a firm foundation and quelling fighting between the demonic kings. The idea backed by Macaque, they decided to create a bond of worthy allies.

Garuda Demon: This demon was one of the one’s nearby on a tall mountain in Aolai. He was young but renowned for his swiftness in flight and swiftly rose to the top in his island home (separate from Flower Fruit Mountain). In truth though, Garuda was rather cowardly when it came to taking chances. Always wary of someone much stronger showing up and falling because of it- worried of making himself a fool or dying. On his home turf though, he often acted more self-assured, knowing he was the strongest there.

When Sun Wukong displayed his might, Garuda panicked. Worried a challenge was at his doorstep. However, when an offer was given to him, by said monkey, he felt elated! This powerful being saw potential in him, or at least worthy enough to keep at his side. His people urged him to accept and he did.

Golden-Headed Lion Tamarin: A demon queen centered on the smallest island in the Aolai chain. She is known for her size, being the smallest member of the alliance once joining. She was well aware of the fact that she needed allies to protect her people from humans that hunted them, finding them an easier target than those on Flower Fruit Mountain. Population and resources weren’t as easy to come by compared to the main island or at least not a plentiful. She finds Wukong too loud and boisterous not to mention arrogant, but, this was for her people so she endured it. His power was respectable and she could see why he was well liked but his loudness was a draw back that couldn’t be ignored. The pluses of the alliance being made though, out weighed the cons. Readily all her people’s needs were met and life became comfortable.

Black-Water Dragoness: Taking the place of the river demon related to one of the Dragon Kings. She is estranged to her family due to not wanting to be married off, wanting instead a domain of her own to rule over nor wanting to live the stuffy rule-ridden society that they lived under, being extensively workers of the Celestial Realm. So, one day she up and left, taking a handful of those loyal to her. She took over the Black-Water River being that the deity wasn’t high on the totem-pole. Basically, telling him to mind his own business and they’d leave him well-enough alone. They lived there contently for much of the time their family not knowing where they went off to. Though, the lack of search wasn’t very heartening but not expected. She had plenty of sisters so it wasn’t a loss for the family, marriage wise.

She came to learn of Sun Wukong after his stunt with his Golden Cudgel. Finding it amusing that her oh so proud family was made to kowtow to a monkey. Curious they entertained meeting him, which by then Wukong had already begun to gather up allies. Show casing skill in magic, as well as gifts, they managed to secure a spot- noting they had no water-based allies at the time helped.

Lynx Demon:  Another demon that was relatively close to Flower Fruit Mountain, instead of being stationed in Aolai, this demon king lived in Pūrvavideha, along the coast across from the island chain. Known for being elegant and beautiful, yet vicious in protecting their territory against other demons and humans alike. Yet, yearned for making alliances but couldn’t find anyone worthy of their time- outside of DBK. The two had long been friends but the distance between the two of them left little in the way of aid, aside from each other who could both fly. They both wanted to unite the demons, but were choosey about whom they’d do so with. When Sun Wukong demonstrated his power to the world at large, they both knew they’d found what they were looking for. Still, after being invited by DBK in the alliance, they wanted to test the monkey’s power for themselves. The swift defeat that followed, instead of angering them, won their respect and they formally joined the alliance.

Ape Demon: Another demon from the Pūrvavideha continent, his home was made in a dense mountain range and was scouted by DBK and Wukong to join their alliance. Seeing no reason not to turn away such a big break he joined up. A jovial burly member, he got along readily with everyone and would often smooth over disagreements in the group. He took the family aspect of the alliance rather seriously and wanted it to last as long as possible. Due to this he found it difficult and refused to take sides between members. This left him rather stuck as he watched the Monkey King’s and his brother’s relationship deteriorate over time. The revelation that Macaque wouldn’t be able to use magic stuck a cord in him and he tried to console him…but it only pissed him off further so he left it be, much as he wanted to comfort him he didn’t know how.

Iron-Fan: Born to a family without sons, Iron-Fan took any measure to build alliances to prolong her family lineage. Her dedication to magic made her a powerful demoness in wind magic that was only bolstered further with the Palm-Leaf Fan, sending any interlopers and would-be overthrowers of the Iron-Fan territory packing and splattered wherever they landed. Even so, she sought connections to secure the family future. While she like many others’ witnessed Sun Wukong’s staff reach the heavens, she wanted to first learn something about just whom the weapon belonged to. Not wanting to walk right into a situation whilst knowing nothing about whom she’d be dealing with. Upon hearing it was a rowdy monkey-spirit, she was left…uncertain about perusing a partnership with a wild animal, in clothes. While she mulled it over, she received an invitation, at the behest of DBK, to join an alliance with he and the Monkey King: Sun Wukong. While reluctant she was intrigued that another demon king had already allied with him. Out of curiosity she agreed to a meeting.

After displaying her wind magic, she was then added to the bond. Though she tended to stick with the other female demons, or DBK. Who the two well-began to have a rather obvious courtship. Sun Wukong, while, mostly, matching what she expected impressed her with his overall battle prowess and tactical thinking- albeit he was too on the fly for her, but nonetheless, she was satisfied with the alliance. The parties were something to enjoy and the together they readily had the demonic world under their grip and the humans kept in check.

Lady Bone Demon: Expelled.

She came to learn of Sun Wukong after his stunt with his Golden Cudgel. Finding it amusing that her oh so proud family was made to kowtow to a monkey. Curious they entertained meeting him, which by then Wukong had already begun to gather up allies. Show casing skill in magic, as well as gifts, they managed to secure a spot- noting they had no water-based allies at the time helped.

[mythologyfolklore]

Liù'ěr Míhóu joins the jttw gang, or: How to redeem an all-hearing celestial monkey with a superiority complex and a seriously bad attitude

(A/N: tw: cannibalism, assault, identity theft, implied SA)

Chapter Twenty-Five: The confession of the Sixth Ear

.

Wùkōng sighed, wished his master a good recovery and returned to the pagoda.

“We really need to find a healer”, he said to his youngest brother. “His back is getting worse by the month. At this point, Master will become paralysed, just like Bājiè said.”

“Yeah”, said Liù'ěr Míhóu and added: “I didn't mean to give him permanent spinal damage back then. I just wanted to hit him hard enough to knock him out.”

“Hm. Good to know. Speaking of which, there's something that's been bugging me the whole time (you know, apart from the obvious stuff). You could have killed him with ease back then. Why didn't you?”

Liù'ěr Míhóu's expression tightened. He started swaying his head from side to side, as he seemed to debate with himself, whether he should answer that question or not.

To Wùkōng's relief, he chose to do so.

“I'm not gonna lie, that was my original plan: kill him and the others, get rid of the evidence and then steal all your stuff, because I wanted it. But … I heard something in the future. Several potential futures, actually – did you know, that the future is fluid and determined by our choices? – and one of them … I liked it. That's why I didn't kill Xuánzàng. Because I knew if I killed him, that future wouldn't come true.”

Wùkōng tilted his head.

He thought he understood, what the other Spiritual Monkey was saying, but just to be sure …

“Was it this one?”, he asked.

“…”

“Liù'ěr Míhóu-”

“I don't speak of the future. To anyone. The future's supposed to be-”

“It's not the future, if it's happening right now”, the Monkey King pointed out.

“…”

“Sūn Wùhuàn.”

Liù'ěr Míhóu stared at him. “You've never used my Dharma name before.”

“Well, it got your attention, didn't it? Come on. You just have to say yes or no. I guess the answer is yes, but guessing isn't knowing.”

The white monkey lowered his head and his six ears were laying flat.

He's afraid, Wùkōng realised.

“I won't judge. And I won't tell anyone”, he promised.

“… Yes. Yes, it was.”

“So you heard us being kind to you.”

“Yes.” A shaky smile. “I … I heard you guys accept me for what I am. I heard you be angry at my misdeeds without blaming me for things that were beyond my control. I heard promises of support and safety. I heard myself laugh with you. And … I wasn't sure, if it really was a possible future, or just a wishful dream. But I wanted it. Oh, I wanted it so badly!”

Wùkōng frowned: “But then, why did you pull all that crap? Why did you steal my face, my mountain, my grandchildren? Why did you eat one of them? Why did you harm Master at all? If the Buddha hadn't been there to stop me, I would have beaten you to death for what you did! You know that, right?”

Liù'ěr Míhóu sighed: “Of course I do. Well, it's true, I wanted all that. But at that time I wanted your glory even more. Your fame, your greatness, all the good things you have. I heard how Heaven feared you, how your subjects adored you, how powerful demons hurried to make alliances with you to either protect themselves or benefit from your sheer power – and it made my blood boil, because you were living the high life, while I knew nothing but struggle. I'm an envious creature, Sūn Wùkōng. As for why I ate one of them … well, the fresh body was there and I'd hardly eaten in weeks, so I wasn't gonna let the meat go to waste.”

The Monkey King shot him an unimpressed look. “I know I promised I wouldn't judge, but … wow. Just wow. Well, I sure hope that meal satisfied you, because that'll have been the last time ever that you ate flesh. Also, you will apologise to my babies.”

“That's fair.”

“And why did you hurt our master?”

The white monkey arched an eyebrow. “Have you forgot? He insulted me, when I offered him a cup of water! I don't care, if he thought I was you, I will not be offended like that!”

Oh yeah. Those words …

Liù'ěr Míhóu finished: “And that's when I decided 'fuck it' and hit him on the back. I still can't believe that action alone didn't blow my cover! Like damn! They just assumed that was totally something you would do! Kinda depressing, really. One would think, after eight years they'd know you better than that.”

Sūn Wùkōng felt a little bitter, knowing the Six-Eared Macaque was right.

Would his master and brothers ever stop thinking the worst of him?

The other monkey continued: “But … in retrospect I'm glad my plan failed. Not just because that would've been my death, but … now I have something better. For the first time in my life, I actually feel … okay. You have no idea, how good that feels. To finally be respected and get to interact with someone, who'd never … hurt me like countless others did.”

To Wùkōng's dismay, a single tear ran down Liù'ěr Míhóu's cheek.

The Monkey King let go of his irritation, threw away his broom and pulled the taller monkey into a hug.

“Listen to me”, he murmured. “What those disgusting bastards did to you … that's over. And we will never ever even think about doing that to you. What I'm trying to say is … if you ever can't defend yourself, we'll keep you safe. You're our little brother now. And if anyone even tries to touch you, they'll regret it. If I won't kill them, our fellow brothers will. Remember when you told us what happened to you and we all started fantasising about the horrible things we would do to your rapists?”

There was a watery chuckle: “Didn't you four come up with a plan involving castration, removing their eyes and hands and shoving Bājiè's rake or your staff up their asses?”

“M-hm. And we all meant it. That aside … I don't know how it feels to go through … that, because it never happened to me. But when you confided in us, I couldn't help but think … that could have been me. If the Celestials had wanted to do that to me, when I was imprisoned … I would've been powerless to stop them from living out whatever perverse fantasies they might've had. It didn't happen, but it could have …” He tightened his hug around Liù'ěr Míhóu, who hugged back just as tightly.

“Scary thought, isn't it?”, Wùkōng heard him whisper.

“Yeah. The thought of anyone touching me like that …” He shuddered. “Who knows, they might even have considered it!”

“Some did.”

“… What?”

“Before I pulled the identity theft, I listened into the past to learn all I could about you. At some point during your punishment, after Èrláng Shén burned down your place, but before the monk freed you, a group of Celestials suggested, that Heaven could make you their concubine. Guān Yīn scolded them for suggesting something so horrible, some child yelled at them and apparently kicked them in the crotch, because next thing they were screaming profanities-”

Must have been Nézhā. Good kid. I'll have to send him a fruit basket.

“-and then another screamed in agony, because someone stabbed them in the face.”

“What.”

“That's not even the craziest part: the one doing the stabbing was Èrláng Shén.”

“What!”

“I know, right? Trust me, if I hadn't heard it with my own ears, I wouldn't have believed it either. But yeah, one of the proposers screamed in pain and then someone said 'Did the Illustrious Sage just stab a fellow Celestial for the sake of that rabid ape?'. Not my words. And then the Jade Emperor kicked them out, saying the Celestial Realm is not a brothel.”

“What the fuck …?” Wùkōng's legs gave out and Liù'ěr Míhóu had to catch him. “What the fuck?!”, repeated the Monkey King, like a mantra. “What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuuuuu-”

“Maybe you should sit down?”, the Six-Eared Macaque awkwardly proposed and helped Wùkōng lean against the wall. “There. Now listen, I know this makes no sense-”

“You're damn right, it doesn't!”, hissed the Monkey King. “I can see Guān Yīn and Nézhā defend me (kid has a heart of jade, I will die on this hill), but Èrláng Shén?! He captured me, sic'ed his dog on me, burned down my home and killed my children, while I couldn't protect them- and then he suddenly decides to save me from possible sexual assault?! What?! This is unreal! What the hell is it with that guy?!”

Liù'ěr Míhóu shrugged: “Perhaps same reason as when he shot you for turning into a female bustard? Or he had a moment and secretly felt bad for burning down your mountain and killing your kin for your crimes against the Jade Emperor? I dunno, man. I couldn't hear him give an explanation and believe me, I listened closely.”

“I … this is too much! I … I can't even-”

“Maybe ask him next time you meet?”

Wùkōng scoffed: “Right! That's gonna be fucking hilarious! 'Hey, Èrláng, why did you stab that one guy in the face for suggesting I be made Heaven's sex slave, when you had no problem with murdering my innocent subjects?' Hah!”

“Okay, damn! Calm down! It was just an idea!” The Six-Eared Macaque sighed and stood up. “Let's get back to work. Maybe that'll help us get this shit off our minds.”

“Sounds good”, Wùkōng muttered and picked up his broom.

They went back to sweeping the stories of the pagoda in silence.

But as they were sweeping the twelfth, Liù'ěr Míhóu paused all of the sudden.

“What's wrong?”, Wùkōng whispered.

“Do you hear that?”, the other whispered back.

The Monkey King stood still and listened.

Indeed, he could hear something. Voices from the thirteenth floor – talking and laughing.

“Who the hells is still up there at this hour?”, he wondered. “Must be demons.”

“Wanna sneak up and beat a confession outta them?”

“Pfsh, who do you take me for?”

[two-dolla-bills]

AAAAASWWEDHFHFHFHFHFHFHFHFHT MONKIE KID SEASON FOUR LET'S GOOOOOOOO

THIS IS GONNA BE JUST ME GUSHING ABOUT DETAILS IN THE INTRO AND IT'S GONNA BE LONG AS HELL SO I'LL PUT IT UNDER A READ MORE BUT AHFHDJDKGKKFKGKGKGKGJK

First thing I'd like to point out, LBD's defeat being added to the intro which yes rip in rest you damnable bitch

Athough the main cast is still shown with their JTTW counter parts in the background, the animation for them changed (I can't put a side by side because of image limit so just trust me on this). Might this be indicative of a darker tone or more backstory as to what the fuck is up with Mr. Tang, Pigsy, and Sandy? Idk I'm just pointing fun stuff out lol

Something else I noticed was that instead of getting this season's rogue's gallery we got flashes of something else, which all contain tablets that HEAVILY resemble the scroll shown at the end of s3

We have Macaque and Wukong... coexisting in the same space without trying to fight each other

This peak at a new character that looks a remarkable amount like Sandy (I feel like I should point this out despite it not being pictured but the figure has pink eyes which is a little 👀👀 to me for some reason but idk)

This shot of DBK, Wukong, and two others hanging out, which seemingly takes place in the distant past on account of them being on friendly terms and DBK looking how he does during flashbacks to the original journey. Also, I'm willing to bet anything that the two other guys are the other demon kings. Like, who else could they be???? Context for those who don't know, before Wukong embarked on the journey to the west, he formed an alliance with the other demon kings of flower fruit mountain

And we have this shot of this figure. Idk who it could be, but I think that's probably the Jade Emperor.

Last but certainly not least, we have this. Instead of MK getting yeeted by Wukong, we get this shot of MK charging at... something... with blue glowing eyes and that heavily resembles a monkey, more specifically, Wukong. Idk what this could be, but it looks cool as hell and I can't wait to find out!