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the-monkey-ruler · 5 months

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I understand the rules for gods and their hierarchy, but do we know how the hierarchy and rules for demons work? I understand that there are demon kings, and could we say that they have their own territories and subjects? Do demons always walk alone? They have clans or groups? How do female demons differ from male demons? Or do you know articles or people who know more about it? I understand that Wukong was like on a political mission to talk to the demon kings and have a good relationship with them, right?

I would like to know more about how their "society" (their politics?) works in JTTW and other legends and stories.

but do we know how the hierarchy and rules for demons work?

It's hard to pinpoint ranks in Yaoguai society per se, but from what we can tell they follow a similar structure to heaven based on their military ranks. They have Kings, Generals, rear generals, soldiers, servants, and carriers. This is most likely to reflect how the military was structured in the same time period as well.

Royalty or Yaoguai with Princess, Queen, or King in their name are often the heads of their armies, with both soldiers and servants under their command. We see this often in Xiyouji where Demon Kings are in charge of their forces and depending on the demons directly interact with servants or soldiers. It should be noted that for Women Demon Queen/Princess they only had other women servants as that was considered proper in human society as well at the time and it reflected in yaoguai standards of what is 'proper'.

I understand that there are demon kings, and could we say that they have their own territories and subjects?

Each Demon King has their own Cave. As you would notice that many caves owned by Demon King have titles to their names, Wukong for example has the Water Curtain Cave. And with a Cave often as their own Moutain. I can't say if EVERY Demon King has a Mountain, perhaps they have a valley or plains, but every Demon King certainly has a Cave and the surrounding area would be their territory.

Do demons always walk alone?

Are you asking if demons travel in herds? No more than humans do. Demons often group together under a King for both security under their king and said power. But demons can be by themselves, making them more vulnerable to attack but this could be for training purposes, undercover work, or they are trying to integrate into human society. In most cases Demons are alone, they are trying to either cultivate or trying to trick humans, so the fewer people, the better. But in most stories, we see demons either being a King and thus having subjects that follow their command or demons are the subjects of a King. It's similar to why humans form villages or nations, security in number, and organization under a military leader. In stories where a demon is alone they are often trying to tick/attack humans and this can be considered part of them trying to cultivate, perhaps trying to get stronger without being limited by being a subject to a king.

They have clans or groups?

I cannot say if they have clans as most demons cultivate to become what they are. FEW demons are biological families as we see a reoccurring pattern that Sworn Brothers are far more common. We only see two examples of demons having children in Xiyouji, that being DBK and Iron Fac having Red Boy and Yellow Brows Demon taking on a human as a wife. It is far more common for demons to steal both male and female partners to be their wife/husband rather than demons marrying each other. For whatever reason I can assume it is often that demons find humans irresistible whether for a human's life force or beauty (or even that they were in love in a past life, revenge on the human's spouse, power, maybe actually true love, etc.) but we don't see a lot of demon with other demons romantically. And fewer pure demon-born children such as Red Boy. White Snake and her husband are an example of having a half-demon child for example. This makes it harder for 'clans' to form.

A good example of a demon 'family' is that the Nine-Headed Lion Spirit adopted around 8 lion grandsons to be under his protection. Rather than having them as subjects he calls them family. Similar is that Wukong did the same with his entire mountain, adopting 47,000 monkeys and naming them after himself as the Sun Clan. I have never seen another demon do such a thing and would not call it the norm, rather Wukong being the exception to the rule. Wukong has been depicted as more eccentric than most demons with his power and charisma.

It could be that demons have a harder time creating children with one another, and perhaps it is easier to create children with humans or have more human (therefore more life force) in the child. It is VERY hard for demons to reach the form where they have a humanoid state, despite how MANY demons we see in Xiyouji, demons finally reaching the human statue takes thousands and thousands of years, so it could just be hard for demons to both reach that state AND then cultivate a child within their bodies if they do not have enough power to spare to keep their human form. This could be another reason demons are more inclined to have human spouses as they would be given their demon spouse the needed qi naturally rather than having to create so much qi themselves.

A rare example of this is like with Jade Face Princess, she is the daughter of another fox king who was 10,000 years old or so but we never see in the novel. It is hard to say that if she is his bio daughter (most likely) and that is how she inherited her wealth but that she could and would still end up so weak in battle. She shows that her true form is a fox, so it is unlikely she is half-human but also hard to say if he was a born demon as well. We so see an example of adoption in the same like as White-Face Fox was adopted by the White Deer Spirit as his direct daughter, despite them being two different pieces. This is just another thing to consider when it comes to how these demons create bond with one another, their godfather/godmother to their god-son/god-daughter being stronger than alliances.

How do female demons differ from male demons?

Females and male demons are pretty easy to differentiate in that the demon will CHOOSE how their physical form will look like. As a reminder demons are animals, plants, and objects that have gained cultivation and thus their physical forms are illusions. They are allowed to choose how the world sees them and thus once they gain a humanoid form (which takes a very long time) they can choose how to look and thus how they with the world to address them as. Green Snake is a good example of this as she was a male snake in her animal form and was able to choose to present as a woman so that she could stay close to White Snake when they cultivated into humans.

Or do you know articles or people who know more about it?

I can recommend a few books if you wish to read but I cannot say if there are articles about this subject.

A CHINESE BESTIARY Strange Creatures from the GUIDEWAYS THROUGH MOUNTAINS AND SEAS

Fantastic creatures of the mountains and seas : a Chinese classic

Chinese Mythology: An Introduction

Handbook of Chinese Mythology

I understand that Wukong was like on a political mission to talk to the demon kings and have a good relationship with them, right?

Wukong was less taking a 'political mission' and rather Demon Kings came to HIM. When Wukong showed off the power of the staff.

Wukong explored many areas in his time and found a lot of friends but that was for his own sake of having fun, rather than trying to make political connections. Rather Demon Kings understood that Wukong was far more powerful than any of them and all 72 made sure to come and pay respect to him to get on his good side else they would be killed like the Demon King of Havoc. This is why you see in some media Wukong be The King of the Demons, as in he isn't just a Demon King but THE King of all Yaoguai. Out of the 72 demon kings, 6 were able to impress him enough to be his sworn brothers. I personally feel that the demon kings were the ones to refer to Wukong rather than Wukong trying to make alliances himself.

I would like to know more about how their "society" (their politics?) works in JTTW and other legends and stories.

From what we can see it is to be expected that Yaoguai society works similarly to human society. Heaven is to be a reflection of human society with ranks, servants, and duties and Yaoguai appears to be the same. But Heaven is supposed to be the prime of example of a perfect society, and rather Yaoguai rather have the "might is right” methods. to show the flaws of society. Demons that are particularly powerful, such as demons with humanoid forms, are the ones in power. The stronger a demon is, the more powerful and influence they will have. Kings are not born, but rather made when a demon has cultivated enough and gained a large following, and thus they are able to claim a Cave and Mountain of their own and their subjects. From there demons are either terrorizing humans or even being able to form diplomaice relationships with humans. We see this with the Nine-Headed Lion Spirit trading with humans are a regular basis (until his grandsons stole the pilgrims' weapons and ruined their relationship with their neighboring kingdom). Powerful Demons turn into Kings and thus have subjects, so it is fair to think that when demons are on their own and interacting with humans so much they are more likely trying to cultivate to gain more power. Weaker demons are either under a Demon King or interacting with humans to eat them to gain enough power to be a Demon King perhaps.

I don’t see a lot of demons interacting with each other if they are not sworn, I would imagine that there is a lot of postering and a lot of double-edged sword dealings. Demons are always run by their own desires, similar to humans but to the extreme, they don’t consider consequences or express empathy more often than not (there are exceptions to this rule just this is the norm I have seen). Demons can form relations and close bonds but as we have seen with DBK and Wukong these relationships are not concrete, as when Wukong was no longer a warlord and was no longer in a position of power over DBK, DBK saw no reason to help Wukong in his plight. Nor do we see Wukong's other sworn brothers after he loses his warlord status. This can be assumed that these relationships are only as strong as long as individuals are useful, but if any of them lose power or status then the relationship will dissolve when it is no longer profitable to keep them. There can be goodwill and we have seen more genuine care between demons such as White Snake and Green Snake but that seems more of a familial relationship over a political alliance.

#anon ask #anonymous #anon #ask #jttw #journey to the west #sun wukong #xiyouji #monkey king #Bull demon king #jade face princess #green snake #legends of the white snake #white snake

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imthepunchlord · 6 months

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Marinette's Elemental and Miraculous Matches (Zodaic)

Wu Xing, Bagua

Being of Wood and Metal, of the Zodiac, Marinette is set to thrive with Leopard, Rabbit, Monkey, and Rooster.

Leopard can play into Marinette's meddling nature, her elusiveness, precision, and her interest in working with thread. Like any cat, Leopard thrives as being a stealthy ambusher, catching targets off guard and throwing a monkey wrench in their agenda as the user can puppeteer them. Marinette would swiftly use this to restrain her opponents, and be a means to string people along and get them out of safety. She may not like the implications of fully physically controlling anyone, but she would use it well to secure it's used well and efficiently.

Roaar would be delighted in Marinette's confidence and cunning, she'd be the ideal leopard, knowing when her presence needs to be known and when it's time to be hidden. She would though work on Marinette's tolerance level with others, especially when wronged. When someone strikes with the intent to hurt/upset, it means war, it's not to be tolerated and let go, and if Marinette's to be discouraged from fighting back upfront, there are stealthy ways around that.

Rabbit plays off Marinette's energy, her swiftness, elusiveness, and even her multitasking capability. With super speed, Marientte will be delighted and thriving to get all done that she wants to get done, it also works off her flexibility in the field, evading her opponents and working off any opportunities she sees. Rabbit also works off her observation skills, for an eye for detail is required to take in everything around her before she zips past it.

Fluff would work well with Marinette, being gentle and bubbly, if a little flighty. Fluff does encourage productivity, and would have an appreciation for the arts and encourage Marinette's artisan interests. She would work with Marinette's preference to be busy, and help her learn to focus her energy for most productivity. Fluff herself is also a trickster, and if Marinette is ever dealing with anyone she can't be upfront with, she'll be quick to help Marinette learn how to outsmart and outrace her enemies.

Monkey is a Miraculous Marinette can pull off well as she is someone who rolls with and rides the chaos, and for a sporadic power of shapeshifting into animals or altering the size of her or the staff, this delivers Marinette the diversity in capability that she would thrive with. The extra nice thing is this power is incredibly flexible in it's use, allowing Marinette to act as she desires, whether she goes stealthy or toes the line of being a little more direct.

Xuppu has a lot of the same appeal as Plagg when paired with Marinette, for he also would eagerly roll with the chaos of her thought process and relish the shenanigans. Unlike Plagg, Xuppu would be much blunter and direct with his thoughts, keeping Marinette on her toes with his temper, impishness, and energy. He would work with Marinette to learn that fun matters too, and she shouldn't be stressing over others or duties all the time. Also, if dealing with something unfair, he'll be furious, and stress to her that this is not ok nor should it be something she tolerates/let's go. He'd readily scheme with her in doing petty pranks back to her enemies.

Rooster works off her creativity, ingenuity, quick and elaborate thinking. It works off her liking things to go a certain way, but able to be flexible and adjust. It also works off her eye for detail, thinking outside of the box, and figuring out what to write out for each singular rule.

Orikko is bold and cocky, he has a charisma and eagerness that Marinette can work off of, though his head may be a tad too big at times, but he does insist upon her own value and self-pride and worth. To not be afraid to state her opinion and to stick to her guns. He would engage her her creativity, relish to to see her thought process and how she structures things, working with chaos.

Of the Zodiac, Marinette is viable for Mouse, Ox, Carp, Snake, Horse, Goat, Dog, and Pig. Some of the Earth based Zodiac she may even be better paired with, as the Earth acts as the in between the other four elements and echoing some of those elements. The Earth Zodiac are set up to be best-viable for her. She'll pull them off well but there may be some struggle or something not clicking right away between power or kwami.

Mouse works off Marinette as a team player and her multitasking. Largely, biggest appeal is that it works off her strengths of working on the fly, working with others, and able to cover a various of tasks. And when you have a team of Marinette on the same page, all able to work off the same complex idea, you have a very scary force to face.

Mullo being mischievous and liking to startle and prank her humans for fun would keep Marinette on her toes (much like Xuppu), and luckily Marinette can roll with this chaotic little imp. Mullo would also encourage Marinette to keep working off her intellect, and also to push for her to prioritize herself, as Rats aim for success, any means necessary. Only big issue between these two is that Mullo would recommend sabotages against her competition that would go too far, much farther than Marinette would like (which Marinette isn't one for sabotaging, but she may be up for pranks and underhanded tactics to slight against those who go too far and deserve it). Mullo also does think Marinette is a little too soft.

Ox works off Marinette's strong resolve, determination, and ambition. With how determined and motivated she can be, she'll be one of the strongest Oxes and solid invulnerability. Only slight is that this is meant to be a powerhouse Miraculous to be tanking hits and hitting hard back. As Marinette isn't one for confrontation in fights, not entirely up her alley, but would make it work.

Stompp would be delighted with Marinette's strong sense of responsibility, her big heart for others, and how determined and ambitious she is. These are all traits Stompp likes his humans to have. Only thing to bother him is that Marinette's not one to let her anger out and openly challenge her opponents, that is something he would push for her to do.

Carp is a Miraculous that doesn't quite click with how Marinette likes to function, with it being designed to be a powerhouse and overwhelm opponents. Marinette though prefers to toe the line, which her draconic form will consider, designed more for speed and evasiveness, so there is something there for her to work off of. And her element, air, will be well used as air isn't as quickly harming as the others, and she would use it to blow back opponents or means of deflection. Not the best fit right away, but she would make it work.

Longg being patient, formal, and calm, he's a kwami Marinette can work off well, and would have the perks to be the calm and source of logic against any of Marinette's spirals. And if Longg starts to ramble away, Marinette would have the patience to let the kwami get him words out. Longg is a kwami who likes to urge his humans to discover and let loose their hidden potential, and Marinette would be a human Longg would be excited for, seeing the inner strength that Marinette's easing out. She just needs help to fully let it loose and to thrive.

Snake works off Marinette's subtlety, creativity, her tendency to prefer to control the outcome of things, and her elusiveness and tendency to dabble in trickery/underhanded tactics. As hypnosis can be more than having full control over someone, it can be it's own unique illusion, her means of warping how people perceive reality through music, and can allow her to move about unseen. This power is meant to be used for means of full control (playing off Fire's tendency to overwhelm and seeking positions of command), so Marinette's not one to fully use the power as meant to, it'd be rare and saved for extremes where she must have full control over someone.

Sass is set up to be a kwami to work well off Marinette, being calm, wise, and flexible. He'd be similar to Plagg in being vague in his advise, preferring humans to figure things out and come to their own conclusions, though he would be manipulative like Trixx, good with his words to influence their thought process and actions. While benevolent, he can be morally gray, and does adjust his guidance depending on what sort of human he's dealing with. A human that's eager to control others he's going to advise against, though one reluctant to take control is someone he's going to sway to be more open to it, and Marinette would be one he'd bring up the perks of having full control over others (like hypnotizing Lila to make a fool of herself, or getting Chloe to actually be a good person). Sass would wind up Marinette's little shoulder devil, who can sound tempting and is reasonable in his suggestions, but also toes the line of what's morally right for Marinette.

Horse similar to Rabbit, Horse works off Marinette's mobility, evasiveness, eye for detail, awareness of her surroundings, and liking to hop around her opponents, keeping them on their toes while she maneuvers around them. This can work off her multitasking, making use of portals to hurry to where she needs to or grabbing what she needs. It's one of those powers where it's Marinette's dream boat. One of her favorite powers.

Kaalki would be an interesting pair with Marinette as she has a personality similar to Chloe, being an open elitist and the snobbiest of the kwamis. Chances are good the two do clash here and there, between Kaalki being picky about who Marinette lets into her herd, to Marinette's background or living situation not being up to her standards. On the more positives, Kaalki would acknowledge Marinette's strong potential for stardom, and do what she can to guide Marinette to the greatness they both deserve, Kaalki would also be pleased with Marinette's noble heart, integrity, and natural instincts as a hero. Biggest thing Kaalki would do is to try and help raise Marinette's standards and help achieve her full potential, even if it means butting heads in disagreements.

Goat expertly plays off Marinette's creativity and quick thinking, and her having high ambitious for herself to achieve. It is flexible in use and can allow her to be elusive and out of sight, make her plans, and make use of her essentially making physical illusions. They may not wind up as real as Fox's, but there are perks to the physicality of them that Marinette will use well.

Ziggy is eager and creative and friendly, so she'll work off Marinette very well, engage in her creative thinking and artistic skills. She can be brash and thoughtless though, which sensitive Marinette and take to heart, and has a tendency of (affectionately) ramming her head against her humans. Being more for independence and self-reliance, Ziggy doesn't fully understand Marinette's needs to be considerate and helpful to others, and sees it as needlessly busying herself. She'll support however she can if it really matters to Marinette, but will try to urge Marinette to focus more on herself.

Dog works off Marinette's thieving habit, but also her desire to provide and help. She would be very active as the Dog, using it help all who's lost or had lost items they want back, probably to the point she may over help. She would also be quick to use this power to help bring back anyone who passes very recently, and may frequent hospitals. Honestly, this power feeds a lot into her nature, and could turn these strengths into flaws and risk developing an Atlas complex. Side note, if this power is what Marinette used against HM, he'd probably be a broken man between Fetch and Marinette's eye for detail, getting that item within minutes of her joining the field.

Barkk is a kwami who knows how to toe the line between hard work and duty, but also times of play and fun. Barkk is a kwami who will adjust herself and what she advises depending on the human, so with Marinette, she's not going to discourage that strong sense of responsibility Marinette has, but will try to urge Marinette to take breaks, have fun, and let loose. Potentially it's a hard concept for Marinette to grasp (as her fun involves being productive and delving into her interests), so the mindless fun Barkk insists on may not click with her right away.

Pig is an interesting match up as the power to alter who someone is I don't see being up Marinette's moral alley. But I can see her using it as a means to give boosts to others to help get past what they're struggling with, having her act as a small Guardian Angel giving that little boost/push in the right direction. And even if temporary, the effects may stick and help someone grow past those issues. Juleka's struggling with confidence and not being heard? A slight adjustment to her color to make her more red, and she's a lot more confident and outspoken. She would also use it as a means to disrupt akumas, altering who someone is so what's upset them doesn't upset them as much, throwing off HM's game. And if she's petty or fed up enough, she may use it as the extremes on Chloe and Lila (get them to stop bullying/lying), though that can toe some dangerous territory. Pig can also work off Marinette's preference to be more a background user who doesn't have the primary attention on her, and allow her to be clever in how she uses this power, and will make it work to be the most beneficial to majority. Though I can see her toeing taking things too far or getting too involved.

Daizzi would immediately click with Marinette, finding her cute, loving that her color is pink, that she loves pink, and she's so clever and observant, what a promising Pig. He is very empathetic and always has a good sense on what to advise when dealing with emotional problems. Similar appeal to Plagg and Valrr, as bubbly and optimistic as Daizzi is, he is also incredibly lazy, and if given the chance, will spend his days napping and snacking, and would do what he can to help Marinette slow down, enjoy her time, and not work herself so hard.

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