#jttw inspo characters

[quitealotofsodapop]

I have many thoughts on this.

First and foremost, Wukong has extra stones. Since the pendants don't just represent the bond between a mated pair. It's supposed to represent the Monkey themselves in a way too, their family history and those important to them. It isn't uncommon for parents to weave pieces of their own stones into their child's pendant, so when that child gives away their pendant, it's not just to initiate courtship but to officially invite their mat into their family troupe and give a piece of both themselves and their lineage to the other monkey. I imagine Shitougushi had been the one to teach Wukong how to braid and weave his fur, and had added pieces of his own stone, and perhaps a piece of Jade his mother had left him. As for Ye Lin, unfortunately Shitougushi does not have any of his stone, but he knew what it looked like from Shíhua's marriage pendant (which was buried with her) and could fashion a replica.

Macaque, who knows nothing of his lineage and had no such relics form his parents to weave into his pendant, simply chose a simple pendant, but he had a slightly more complicated and secure braid to keep it together to make up for that. I imagine that Macaque had spent hours using hours deliberating over the perfect stone until Chang'e eventually had to step in and tell him to just pick one before he loses his chance and loses the famous 'Peaches' he'd been talking her ears off about for years! She's a romantic and understands the importance of picking the right stone. She gets it, but at some point, it's just delaying the decision. When she later sees Wukong with the pendant during his trial and execution, it had taken all her self control not to intervene when she spotted him clutching to his necklace.

@soniclozdplove;

(Prev Century Stone Egg post)

We were discussing the designs in messages! I love the idea if Wukong's pendant including his parents' stones + the Elder Shitougushi (you know that old stone monkey smiling hard when Shihou asks to include him in the pendant's design).

Wukong using his pendant as the ultimate show of trust towards Macaque, welcoming him into not only his troop but to the life/knowledge of what they both are.

And ofc Macaque being dense at first and not realising the significance until Elder (+ the stone monkey spirits of FFM) smacks him over the head, explaining how much the pendant means to Wukong. Macaque then panicking and running/shadow portal-ing to his sister's place to ask for help choosing part of his birth stone real quick. XD

I love Chang'e being the sibling who's waiting impatiently as Macaque chooses a "wedding ring", but is overjoyed to see him do the exchange! And oh! Her seeing the pendant on Wukong so many years later, especially during his original Trial for the Havoc, and later after Macaque's passing during Jttw when they met in India, and even later still in the modern day, and trying her best not to squee at the romance of it all!

And oohhh Chang'e wanting to intervene during Wukong's original trial/executions in Heaven, but not having the power to do so as a goddess pretty much on house arrest.

The pendants just mean so much to these monkeys, its no wonder that for the longest time the celestials believed that the black-corded amethyst on Sun Wukong's neck was his secret to immortality.

Tysm for this as always! ^_^

[dorothygale123]

For today's mythology sh*tposting, I'd like to give some inspiration to the fanfic writers out there by giving you an antagonist that has a beef with a certain monkey.

Way back when, there was a goddess called the Old Mother of the Waters/Shui-mu Niang-niang who was notorious for causing floods. The other gods kept trying to catch her, but she always slithered out and kept being a problem. What was heaven to do?

Call their OTHER recurring problem and have HIM deal with her! So good old Sun Wukong went down to deal with the Old Mother, but even though catching up to her was no problem (this is Sun Wukong we're talking about) he couldn’t stop her from slipping away again. Naturally this got him very frustrated, so he went to HIS go to solution:

Guanyin!

So he motors over to her palace in the Southern Seas and they hatch a plan.

Now, the Old Mother was getting pretty hungry. This running from the law business takes it out of you at that age, you know? So she decides to take a little break at a food stall and get something to eat.

JUST AS PLANNED!

For you see, the owner of that stall was Guanyin herself and the food the Old Mother just ate were actually really heavy iron chains that very painfully revert to their true form! Unfortunately for the Old Mother, she was already halfway done with her meal by the time this happened, so she was stuck with iron in her gut and chains coming out of her mouth (honestly I'd just be thankful they weren't coming out the other end...).

So with the flood lady all tied up Sun Wukong drags her to a well at the foot of a mountain in Hsu-i Hsien and locked her up tight, where I'm sure she'll NEVER cause anyone problems EVER AGAIN. There's no way this ancient and powerful goddess of primordial oceans is sitting there, steaming while she waits for escape and dreams of monkey leather boots. Nope, she'll stay there forever, just like the Demon Bull King!

..... oh. OH NO.

Sh*tpost Masterlist

[fluffypotatey]

Don't cancel me Fluffy, but I like to separate LMK from the OG text. NOT because I hate themes and motifs and classical novels, nah. But rather for the regular amount of separation fans need in acknowledging when the show puts its own spin on things. And also because a subsection of fandom is very persistent that everything that happened in JTTW is canon in the exact same way to LMK and like to bash on characters for that. A lot different from writers pulling inspo is assuming LMK is a 1:1 adaptation when even the writers said it wasn't what they wanted.

yeah see that’s different (also i don’t have nor want the power to cancel you)

my personal beef is when people butcher the themes and character dynamics from jttw. (Tripitaka for example 🤨 like wtf is UP with that???? also, HISTORICAL CONTEXT PPL 👏👏👏👏👏I WILL TAP THE SIGN HOWEVER TIMES I NEED TO!!!! this story is old, old so reading with footnotes that provide context on what the original meant to convey is ok. if you need it for Shakespeare plays, then you’ll need it for the older shit too) lmk very clearly isn’t being an honest adaptation and this story is old as balls so i don’t expect it to. if it holds the heart of the story then it’s an A in my book.

Red Son’s origin isn’t even the same from jttw, and PVD is shown to be more of a threat than she was in the book. so, lmk is taking plenty of creative liberties where they feel they need to.

my thing is mostly with the Western audience who aren’t as familiar with not just the og text, but how much this story has an impact on a lot of cultural stories in Asian countries.

in a way it’s like Arthuriana to me (except jttw is older than Arthuriana lol) because there’s not a lot of “canon” beside Arthur is king, dies in the battle of Camlann, Merlin is a powerful wizard, Morgana is an important antagonist, and Mordred makes the killing blow. but despite that, many Western audiences are vaguely familiar with the legends enough to have their own interpretations. some people like theirs to be closer to the course materials and some like to keeps theirs a little loose

there is a ton of jttw adaptations (you can go ahead and watch this video by The Dom where he lists a plethora of adaptations from the most “honest” to the least) and i am sure many Asian cultures and communities have their own personal interpretations and omissions from the legend

so yeah. long story short: when it comes to lmk, i agree that ppl should if he holding the jttw as gospel since it is used as a source of inspiration (sure the main source but you get what i mean). however, that shouldn’t discount it from your analysis and interpretations when looking at the themes and character dynamics

[theweepingmortician]

Hello i REALLY love your fic!! the way you write macaque is *chef's kiss* i have always been a sucker for more JTTW like characterization. I would like to know Macaque and Wukong's exact clothing though, if that's alright. I am not fully sure, since Macaque seems to wear fur, while Wukong seems to wear commoner(?) clothes, maybe. Or maybe his JTTW fit.

hi!! thank you so much! i really love taking inspo from the og text when it comes to writing their characters bc jttw is just. so good. if im being honest i don't really have concrete outfits in mind when i write unless the outfit is significant to the story. otherwise i tend to leave it up to reader interpretation LOL

you mentioned the furs so im assuming you're talking about entombed? if so then yes, mac does wear furs. i imagine his wardrobe mainly consists of those, and old worn down clothes with really bad stitches from his trying (and failing) to repair them. he definitely stole them off of dead people and knowing him they're barely washed LMAO

and wukong is just in a simple commoners robe and trousers. he doesn't really get more outfits beyond that since he's. well. yknow. knocked out.

i can imagine his clothes having similar elements to his jttw outfit though! a similar color palette maybe?

[antidotefortheawkward-art]

Post-journey formal wear for the Victorious-in-Strife Buddha

[quitealotofsodapop]

HiB Spider Sisters idea:

I mentioned the 7 Spider Sisters in a few previous HiB sequel/au posts and I had a cool idea of how they'd work, inspired a bit by the 1999/00's cartoon + LMK's spider gang.

Gonna put these lovely ladies in one photo set to reduce arachnophobia.

Sister #1: Black Widow Spider - the leader of sisters. Not the largest but definietly the one with the biggest ego. Based on the Spider Queen

Sister #2: Joro Spider - thin and spindy, and obsessed with her beauty. Likes short men.

Sister #3: Signature Spider - the more bookish of the elder sisters. Enjoys caligraphy and decorating her webs.

Sister #4: Huntsman Spider - Frustrated middle child. Is a pursuit hunter rather than a web weaver. Ends up having a crush on Sha Wujing. Based on the Huntsman from LMK.

Spider #5: Chinese Fawn/Bird Eater - A lazy web maker who nonethless has a massive heart. Based on Goliath/Strong Spider from LMK.

Spider #6: Ant Mimic Crab Spider - An amatuer actress who takes on most of the chores around the home.

Sister #7: Java Yellow Jumping Spider - Youngest sister. Barely a teenager by demon standards. Can leap great distances.

The HiB gang encounter these fine gals and immediately are on edge about having Liuer or Fa Ming near them (cus demons + monks = bad), only for the seven arachnid demons to crowd around the kids and coo;

Spider Sisters: (*pinching Liuer's cheeks and fussing over him*) Spider Sisters: "Oh he's so short!" "Barely a hatching!" "And he's so chubby, look at these cheeks!" "He's so cute I could eat him up!" Liuer, terrifed cus of what the adults warned him about: "Dasheng! They're gonna eat me!" (;﹏;) Spider Sisters: (*immediately give him more space and make sad aw-ing sounds*) Spider Sisters: "Oh no sweetheart!" "We don't want to eat eat you!" Spider Sister #4, joking: "Yeah, you're not ripe enough." Liuer, sarcasm failed: "....WAAAAHHH!!!" ｡･ﾟﾟ･(>д<)･ﾟﾟ･｡ Other 6 Sisters: (*disapproving glares at #4*)

Because an aspect of the Sisters from JTTW thats often glossed over; is that they are described as the adoptive mothers to seven baby bug demons.

These broody spiders take one look at Liuer and Silly Girl and start cooing at how much they want one of their own. <3

After the confusion is cleared up with the HiB gang, they quickly gain some new friends in the form of seven giant spider demons. The eldest three sisters do flirt with Fa Ming though - so the monkeys gotta keep on eye on that. And the fourth one has a crush on Sha Wujing. The only one of the demons that show any interest in Zhu Bajie is the youngest jumping spider having a bit of a puppy-crush on him, and that rightfully freaks him out a little too much.

[quitealotofsodapop]

[The little comparison between her and Zhu Bajie - he's talking to her at hip-height. Why he think he ever had a chance? XD]

Add in Zhanshi being tall and Rose Quartz shaped, now you have Dasheng and Bajie on the side going, "giant beauty that can snap you in half?" "giant beauty that can snap you in half."

referencing.

Dasheng's type is his partner-in-havoc who he's known since youth. But he has to admit that Zhanshi's height does something to him.

Zhu Bajie's type of woman is someone completely unattainable to him; i.e Chang'e (happily married/longing) and Sha Wujing (lesbian). He wonders if he somehow has a radar for women not interested in him. Zero "guy-interested-in-him radar" though.

[quitealotofsodapop]

I have made Lego versions of my "Monkey King Hero Is Back" & "Monkey King Reborn" versions of Liu'er Mihou/Six Eared Macaque using the Lego OC Picrew.

HIB: "Zhanshi" - once the Great Sage Informing Wind, now current regnant of Mount Huaguo in her mate's absence. Zhanshi has been awaiting Dasheng's return with baited breath, though not standing still. She's become the nightmare of human hunters that target the "defenseless" island thinking it's an easy mark for demon trafficking. Zhanshi has recently discovered a Cloudy Stone Egg that almost every mercenary she encounters seems to to want. She quickly becomes attached to cubs, Liuer (or "A-Liu" as she affectionately calls him) and Silly Girl, her mate returns with. They did talk about having a big family!

Reborn: "Liang" - Considered an annoying shadow by many that knew them growing up on Mount Huaguo. Liang would consider Sun Wukong (who've they nicknamed "Smokey") their closest friend, rival, begruding fellow brotherhood sage, and greatest eneny. Things might have gone smoother between the two monkeys if they hadn't had a falling out just after the Havoc in Haven, but so is life. Liang has taken up a morbid career of guiding passed demonic souls to the afterlife/revival when no other person would. They recently got their hands full with a massive battle that just occurred outside Five Village Abbey, and decides to take an oddly-shaped rock left by the Ginseng Tree as payment. The "rock" quickly hatches into the new stone monkey form of Qi Energy. Whoops. Time to track down Wukong so Liang can blame him for this. Xiao Qi is super cute though.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Okay, so Wukongverse - LMK!SWK is Peach Kong...what are the others?

LMK!SWK= "Peach Kong" aka "Peach": The SWKs joking call LMK!SWK that cus he's obsessed with those tasty mfs, and his face marking sorta looks like one too. LMK!Mac = "Plums" because of LMK!SWK calling his beloved by the petname. This leads to multiple monkeys getting fruit-based nicknames.

HeroIsBack!SWK = "Dasheng" [great sage]: Unofficial nickname in his film via Liuer. They either call him that, or they call him "The tall one". His HeroIsBack!LEM = "Zhanshi" [Warrior] cus of his more up-close fighting style compared to the other LEMs.

Reborn!SWK = "Smokey": Accidental on the kids part cus of his eye markings looking like smokey eye shadow. Initally refuses to be known as any nickname, but it just stuck. Also known as "Fruit Dad". Accidentally calls his Reborn!LEM "Liang/亮" ["bright/clear"] (cus of his silver-white fur) when complaining about the nicknames, and that stuck too. His Macaque/Liang thinks the nickname is lovely.

Netflix!SWK = "Cherry": Unoriginal nickname based on the fact that he's the most red furred of the monkeys. Netflix!LEM ends up being called "Olive" to keep with the fruity theme. They think its cute - its become their version of the LMK!Shadowpeach's Peaches/Plums petnames.

Meihouwang = "Shihou" or "Sunshine": Since he doesn't go by the SWK title in casual convo, he keeps the name Shihou. "Sunshine" is used cus he's a walking piece of it. Meihouwang!LEM is just "Mihou" or "Moondrop" to the other LEM's keep it simple.

NewGods = "Grandpa" "Ace": Cus of the fancy gambling suit. NewGods!LEM = "Joker" cus of the playing cards theme, and the fact that they're terrible for pranking the other monkeys.

2000sCartoon = "Sugar" or "Ganzhe/甘蔗" ["sugarcane"]: The gang think he's such a sweet heart... also is on a constant sugar-high from all the modern candy he's been exposed to. His LEM has yet to officially named, but they sometimes call them "Spice" so they can be "Sugar and Spice".

Smash Legends = "Starfruit": Pun on him being a celebrity. Also called "Big Shot" by the older SWKs. Takes a lot of names for a single one to stick. Smash!Mac is currently sticking with "Lilac" (one of their fave colors), but also responds to "Diva/The Idol".

These are unofficial, mostly cus I legit be wracking my brains for if these monkeys would use chinese or english for the nicknaming

[quitealotofsodapop]

[Netflix!SWK: "And let me tell you, sifu Tripitaka was very shocked when our Xiaotian made his presence known!"]

....So, either those two did NOT realize they made a baby until said baby was leaving its first home...or it took the kid punching innards to realize something's there?

More that Tripitaka didn't know XD

At least one elder on Flower Fruit Mountain had given the young monkeys The Talk at some point. But the two mystic monkeys hadn't cared for precaution after a fight where they almost lost one another.

And they sorta forgot that they "did things" not appropriate around celibate monks (or wise for the temple of a certain fertility goddess they were crashing at) XD

Cue a few weeks later when Wukong uses his gold vision, looks near Macaque and... whoops. They both mutually agree not to tell Tripitaka until it becomes too obvious too ignore.

It takes until the Kingdom of Women for Tripitaka to start asking questions. When he gets his own "Egg" from the river, he starts putting two-and-two together for why Wukong has been so protective of his mate recently. Tripitaka asks to feel Mac's stomach for comparision to his own tremors. Mac's stomach kicks back at him. Tripitaka faints. Wukong and Sha Wujing are a little puzzled when they get back + a misunderstanding occurs where Zhu Bajie panics assuming Mac had also drunk the river water.

Mac has Xiaotian around the time of "His" chapter. Macaque joins Sun Wukong in his banishment and they make it in time for their infant to be born on Flower Fruit Mountain. They're happy just to stay there for a while.

Then Guanyin busts the door down and warns them that Tripitaka is about to be eaten by demons at the flaming mountains. Shadowpeach take their baby with them, cus clearly Tripitaka is gonna need more than two monkeys to protect him in future.

Tripitaka is saved, and promptly faints once more upon meeting the infant monkey strapped to his diciple's back. Each of the other pilgrims vow to destroy any creatrue that dares pose a threat to their newest member.

By the time of the pilgrimage's end, Xiaotian is a teenager and has grown up surrounded by the all beauties and horrors of the world. He has no interest in enlightenment; just sharing what he's seen and might see through the arts. His parents and adoptive uncles love him very much.

[quitealotofsodapop]

So now that Netflix!SWK and NewGod!SWK have a MK, does that mean HeroisBorn and Reborn will get one too? Well HeroisBorn does have Liuer so maybe not yet?

It'll be cute if the kid somehow helped him in meeting/winning over HeroisBorn!Mac though. 😅

I just finished watching the film properly, and Wukong/Dasheng in it is so "I didn't plan to be a single father, but I guess this is my life now"-coded. His interactions with Liuer and the baby "Silly Girl" just solidify it.

Jiang Liuer in "Hero is Back" (2015) is actually meant to be that timeline's Tripitaka! The creators of the film stated that Liuer is the 9th Golden Cicada incarnation, and that he pretty much released the Monkey King "early", hence why the seals/measures around the mountain were actively trying to restraint SWK. It's believed that the machinations of Hundun/Chaos in the films is what caused this new timeline to occur.

HeroIsBack!SWK finds his Macaque clutching a strange stone oval that the hunters targeting FFM are very adamant on stealing...

Liuer def would be the little kid that wants their parent to find love and a partner, and now that there's another special mystic monkey in the team with a weird stone baby monkey? Perfect! Parent Trap shenanigans most certainly ensue. Uncle Pigsy is all for it! He can taste the wedding banquet already...

As for Reborn!SWK, his MK has already lived it's first life... and now must be reborn as something new.

Maybe that six-earred monkey demon Wukong keeps seeing in his dreams can help them figure out why a bunch of demons/celestials are so adamant that the two never meet...

[quitealotofsodapop]

About the smash au one of the best parts about them being streamers is LMK macaques currant VA is a popular Vtuber named CyYu. Smash Mac being one too would be funny because of that and the fact that Smash Wukong would never be able to recognize him in public and call him a coward for hiding his face or something.

omg you're right. Alejandro Saab is CyYu - mf does a bunch of video game and anime voice acting and youtube vids. Smash!LEM being an active Vtuber is so in character - poor Smash Wukong wouldn't be able to recognise him by face details alone cus the virtual ai avatar covers his irl features.

Smash!SWK, on discord voice chat: "Face me irl coward!" Smash!LEM: "You can't even face me in vrchat - get over yourself Princess." Smash!SWK: "DONT CALL ME A PRINCESS MOTHER[beep}! I am the Great Sage Equal to Heaven and I will not be talked down to this way!" Smash!LEM: "Well you just did. Toodles." *disconnects* Smash!SWK: *rage mode screaming* *ping on phone!* Smash!SWK: "Oh hey my minecraft bf is texting me. Apparently they just had a rough interview and need to chill for a while." :3 LMK Shadowpeach: "......"

Smash!SWK and LEM's relationship really do be like this one tweet:

[quitealotofsodapop]

I can imagine newlywed Red Girl just kicking down Red Son's door, bridal-carrying Netflix!MK to show her honorary big brother because now she has a beautiful and kind and creative husband! Look at him! Perfection incarnate!

Netflix!MK: "I have no idea what's going on, but I'm happy to be here."

Red Son: "Yeah, yeah, that's Noodle Boy."

Netflix!MK I imagine is a delighted-looking, orange-furred stone monkey demon, with the personality of lovestruck golden retriever - just in completely in love with his scary fire demon princess wife. Fur is almost perma-stained with paint, chalk, and ink from his projects. Looks similarly more feral monkey-ish like his parents.

LMK!SKW, cheeky smile: "What's this about As If I'll ever have kids?" Netflix!SWK, bashfully: "Well uh... during a certain point in the pilgrimage..." *pauses to think of a kid-friendly analogy* "Egg." LMK!Macaque: *nods in understanding* "Egg." Netflix!LEM, bluntly: "He means we had-" LMK!SWK: "We get the picture." Netflix!SWK: "And let me tell you, sifu Tripitaka was very shocked when our Xiaotian made his presence known!"

Thats how they learn that the monkeys still on pilgrimage are *also* able to have their own MKs.

I imagine Netflix!LEM as having the vibe of Aubrey Plaza as April in Parks & Recs.

[quitealotofsodapop]

[At least a few Wukongs are out chasing any of the three gods for answers.]

Would probably be easier if he got a lawyer with official summons involved. Can you picture that? Threatening a god with possible legal actions XD

[He had his identity crisis over a thousand years ago.]

Oh, so he's experienced. What about the other LEMs?

[the idea of LMK!Wukong waiting for everyone else to be done with their identity crisis so he can have his in the middle of the night is so in-character for him.]

Just because his starts in the middle of the night doesn't mean he's over it by morning - Mac waking up to a SWK in the fetal position, practically petrified and barely breathing. Either the kids are little monkeys are playing Jenga to see when or what finally makes him move.

[Also him sneaking in more Jttw fankid names into his family as much as possible. XD]

A good name is a good name - can't blame him.

[Little Luzhen being an almost copy of SWK is so adorable, and also terrifying to his parents.]

I see a lot of "Oh...so, that's what I was like...I hope he's not as dense as I was..."

[Running around getting into mischief, annoying the gods, only difference being that he has parents and siblings to rein him in.]

That does make my brain itch in a way - how do the SWKs feel about Luzhen. Peach Kong here obvs takes whatever issues he might have, shoves them in a suitcase and yeets it way past the Andromeda Galaxy and is being The Good Dad the kid deserves. But what are the others thoughts on Luzhen? Like, he's their sibling, clearly baby, adorable at that. But how many hard reboots they need to get through in a day since he was literally dropped on them?

[SWK, horrifed tone: "Oh sweet buddha no."]

"I once heard a mom cursing her kid to have children as unruly as she was acting. I think she might've cursed me by accident." "Go to sleep, Wu."

[Thankfully this version of Luzhen seems to idolize MK more than the Monkey King, which is a small blessing.]

Let's hope Luzhen's a bit better with names and identities then either MK or the Eclipse Twins XD

Actually, how do the rest of the kids feel about Luzhen? Imagine going out for the day to let the old folks have fun time and come back to see a whole ass new sibling!

[Would probably be easier if he got a lawyer with official summons involved. Can you picture that? Threatening a god with possible legal actions XD]

AhHa! LMK Wukong does canonically have a lawyer (my hc its the Fire Star of Mars). Now I'm imagining a Judge Judy or Maury-esque trial over the custody/parentage of Sun Luzhen and the other SWKs vs their universes' respective Nuwa, Houtu and Fuxi.

Reborn SWK/Smokey is the most furious since he has a whole complex over not having parents.

[Oh, so he's experienced. What about the other LEMs?]

At least a few LEMs are watching the scenario like "huh weird." until one brings up a very good question.

Mihou, a bit worried: "Hey, if the Wukongs are made by the same people, what about us? Were we made by Nuwa too? Are we related!?" Plum: "Nah. Chang'e cleared it up for me thousands of years ago. I was made by lady Taiying Xingjun on accident." Lilac: "WHO!?" Plum, realising that he probably shouldn't have said that: "The... the supreme goddess of the moon?" (o_o;) Other LEMs: "THE WHO?!?"

Cue multiple LEMs having their own simultaneous identity crisis, Not everyday you discover that you might be an illegitimate lunar royalty. The more "feral" LEMs (Zhanshi and Spice) take it the hardest, while some like Mihou are having a fairytale fantasy moment.

[But what are the others thoughts on Luzhen? Like, he's their sibling, clearly baby, adorable at that. But how many hard reboots they need to get through in a day since he was literally dropped on them?]

Different SWKs reactions ahoy! Some are kinda lumped together cus of similar reactions. Note; this may also be them in response to recieving their *own* Sun Luzhen >:3

Dasheng: "Oh sweet Buddha. They just made one of me?" Has a small brainfart on whether or not Luzhen is his clone or his sibling. Eventually just sighs and lets the little guy cling onto his back as a baby monkey do. He's used to sudden children by now. Actually gets a little proud when people assume Luzhen is his - cus heck yeah, I'm dad, not our neglectful creators.

Smokey: "No." Extremely bitter. He doesn't want anything to do with Luzhen - it's not his fault another him got made! And whats more he's furious at their creators for "allowing" another Stone Monkey to be born to face the same crisis/trials he did. Might soften to the kid overtime, esp if his Liang gets parental on the little guy, but its a long journey.

Cherry: *hugs Luzhen for a long time before he starts sobbing* He immediately feels a kinship for Luzhen, one he lacked when he was "born". He feels like he has to protect the little guy, cus who else will? His cub now, their creators can screw off!

Ace: "Oh no. Oh no. My love! My love! It happened again!" Immediately overwhelmed and getting flashbacks to how him and his LEM obtained their "MK". Joker (his LEM) is a lot more calm about the situation.

Shihou: *delighted chirping!* He is just... fascinated. He was born partially grown, so to see a Stone Monkey thats an infant? Its the coolest thing in the world. They do have a little brain itch of what this could mean for them tho. Immediately takes on Luzhen as his little brother, but may require help to understand how to care for him.

Ganzhe: "AH! So that can happen!" More suprised than angry. He doesn't want Luzhen to face the same injustices he did as a newborn Stone Monkey, so he probably makes it his mission to keep the little guy a secret for a while. Wants to be Luzhen's mentor someday.

Starfruit: "Ok, guess I have a baby brother now. Cool" Secretly kinda mad that nobody in the different Realms bothered to like, tell him who their creators where. But a baby is a baby. Introduces Luzhen to his fellow fighters as his little brother/understudy. Gets him his own little Wukong outfit so he can show him off.

A few reboots are required for everyone involved really XD

["I once heard a mom cursing her kid to have children as unruly as she was acting. I think she might've cursed me by accident." "Go to sleep, Wu."]

Had to comment on this cus it's so in character, esp for the TMKATI au. Poor Wukong thinking his chaotic kids are like karma for his past crimes. (ᵕ—ᴗ—)

Meanwhile Mac is just like; "He's a toddler. They all want to fight heaven."

[Actually, how do the rest of the kids feel about Luzhen?]

MK is a little overwhelmed and supressing his shock, canon and au; since this would make the three earth gods his parents or grandparents. Interally screams for like three days before he can approach the topic. Later starts to see Luzhen as a little brother, albeit one thats technically his uncle(?) he's not gonna worry about that part.

Most of the Shadowpeach kids are just like "Oh cool! Free brother!", while LMK Nezha is staring off into the distance like he's having war flashbacks.

Hero!Liuer def starts obsessing over Sun Luzhen, esp if his verses' MK hasn't hatched yet. He's a *baby* Sun Wukong! And he's so fluffy! Immediately starts telling Luzhen all the Havoc in Heaven stories, much to Dasheng's dismay.

Netflix's Lin would go "Aww... wait." cus she's seen her SWK in baby form, and knows how chaotic one of these stinkers can be. Warms up to Luzhen tho, may even start to see him as her own little bro.

This is all I got rn. You send so many great asks!!

[dorothygale123]

Question:

Where the heck is Ao Lie?

Like, I can understand the other Pilgrims dying. Tripitaka is human, and Baije and Wujing were former celestial warriors cast out from heaven and a mortal life span could have been part of their punishment (or not... *looks at Sandy suspiciously*). But Ao Lie? He's an immortal dragon, direct descendent of one of the 4 great Dragon Kings and a badass in his own right. Why is he not in the show proper? I might have an answer, and it involves Mei.

See, despite being part of the Dragon Clan, Mei and her parents are oddly... human. Like, she still has cool dragon powers from the start, but they seem to have mortal lifespans. For example, Mei calls Ao Lie her great-great-great-times-a-thousand-great-grandfather, but that wouldn't make any sense if she were a full blooded dragon. Dragons, while depicted as different than demons and celestials, are implied to have similarly long lives as evidenced by Ao Guang, who Wukong knows from at least 1,000 years ago, if not more.

Mei's branch of the family, however, can't be more than 700 years old because she inherited the Samadhi Fire from her ancestor. He was not a host for the fourth ring until after the ritual, so he must have married/had children after that. As I stated in my last post, that can't have happened too much more than 500-700 years ago considering Red Son's age. Considering that timeframe and how long dragons probably live, if Mei were a full blooded dragon she should be Ao Lie's daughter, or maybe granddaughter. So she has to be at least partly, if not mostly, human.

Now, here's a question: do you think Ao Run, a Dragon King, would have approved of his son settling down with some human woman? Do you think he might have, oh I don't know, forbade his son from seeing her? Do you think Ao Lie listened?

My answers are yes, yes, and a big fat no.

My theory is that Ao Lie was punished for getting in a relationship with a human woman in defiance of his father, but quietly, so that no celestial monkeys come in to try and help their bestie. And in order to keep the Great Sage Equal to Heaven from asking to many questions about where his sworn brother has gotten to, they come up with a lie that Wukong won't think too much about. Perhaps he got sick and died, or maybe he ascended and is doing Very Important Things for a Buddha or Bodhisattva. No matter what, he's not coming back and can't see his friend ever again.

That still leaves his wife, now a very single mother. Moang or Longnu could have intercede and convinced their father not to do anything to her and their brother's child, but not welcome them into the clan either. Maybe Ao Lie even took the punishment under the condition that his family wouldn't be harmed, but they were also banned from asking a certain monkey for any help. Thus, Mei's branch of the Dragon Clan spread into the human world and prospered because they were part dragon after all, but not really welcome in Ao Run's court either. This would explain why her part of the family seems a bit separated from the rest of the clan. Ao Guang, for instance, didn't know about her at all, despite her being his brother's great-something-granddaughter. You could chalk that up to him not keeping track of every member of a very large clan, but it could also be that his brother tried to keep his son's 'shame' a secret.

This theory probably isn't cannon, but damn if it isn't a good tragic love story!!! It also holds the possibility of Ao Lie escaping his punishment and coming back....

[quitealotofsodapop]

[Now I'm imagining a Judge Judy or Maury-esque trial over the custody/parentage of Sun Luzhen and the other SWKs vs their universes' respective Nuwa, Houtu and Fuxi.]

Goodness, that guy has to earn a LOT of overtime to deal with SWKs and the fams nonsense. Hope they invite him to family events too X)

[Reborn SWK/Smokey is the most furious since he has a whole complex over not having parents.]

I wanna write something funny, but all I can make up is the image of Reborn Nuwa shoving as much money and stuff as possible as Hush Money so that their connection stays a secret. I feel like that would make Smokey super-duper mad.

[Plum, realising that he probably shouldn't have said that: "The... the supreme goddess of the moon?" (o_o;) Other LEMs: "THE WHO?!?"]

Plum, poking head into the room with the SWKs: Sorry about that, but I think I broke your partners.

Damn, so Mac's also royalty! Although, how well known was that if he worked as PIFs attendant in the Celestial Realm?

...now I am curious how Babs and Gibs came to be...what's their lineage? And do they know of it?

[Different SWKs reactions ahoy!]

Hmm...how do the LEM's (and rest of the Pilgrims if they are around) feel about Luzhen? He has to quite literally rock their world with the revelations.

[He's used to sudden children by now.]

Peach, hearing Dasheng's footsteps in the house: Hey, bud, what's ahhh... *Sees that Dasheng has 10 kids, all hanging from his limbs...* Umm...

Dasheng: I walked by an orphanage...

Peach: Wow, your dad vibes are over 9000, huh?

Dasheng: What does that even mean?!

[heck yeah, I'm dad, not our neglectful creators.]

I am picturing Dasheng looking at either of the gods in question and going, "Oh look at that, the deadbeats are here. Have you brought the child support or do I have to boot you off my mountain again?"

[it's not his fault another him got made! And whats more he's furious at their creators for "allowing" another Stone Monkey to be born to face the same crisis/trials he did.]

You know, I once read that we grow up to be the person our younger selves would have felt the safest with. Paraphrased a bit, but the idea is there. They are two different people, but, maybe he can help heal his inner child in this way.

[His cub now, their creators can screw off!]

I have this image: One of the parents in question coming in hot to claim parental rights or something, only for Cherry, handling his Luzhen off to somebody to keep safe, to launch an attack so brutal and bloody Buddha took one look at the carnage and noped out of there, going like "Not even I am willing to fuck with that. Nope."

[They do have a little brain itch of what this could mean for them tho.]

Not the brain itch you or Shihou were having, but mine is itching with the question of...how would SWK and/or LEM handle a child with cognitive disabilities - like serious ones at that?

[Meanwhile Mac is just like; "He's a toddler. They all want to fight heaven."]

Well, he's not wrong. I am told as a small child I advocated for burning the government whenever the adults complained about something relating to politics. I was quite the anarchist.

[albeit one thats technically his uncle(?) he's not gonna worry about that part.]

I did one read a book where the middle-school-aged-MC had a two-year-old Baby Aunt. I also thought it was odd - but also one hell of a way to find out your parents/grandparents are still getting it on.

Gonna have to be my replies under Read more soon cus gotdang you really give me a lot to talk about! /positive :D

[Goodness, that guy has to earn a LOT of overtime to deal with SWKs and the fams nonsense. Hope they invite him to family events too X)]

SWK's lawyer def gets a yearly holiday card, and invites to family events. He's practically family after the first couple of scandals.

[I wanna write something funny, but all I can make up is the image of Reborn Nuwa shoving as much money and stuff as possible as Hush Money so that their connection stays a secret. I feel like that would make Smokey super-duper mad.]

F in chat to poor Smokey; who wanted a meaningful relationship/an apology from his creators and now only has worthless hush money, and a small son/brother(?) to take care of.

[Damn, so Mac's also royalty! Although, how well known was that if he worked as PIFs attendant in the Celestial Realm?]

The Celestial Realm recognised LMK!Mac as *belonging* to the supreme Mood Deity, but were unsure exactly how. He's a monkey after all, and Taiying is human (they think). Maybe he's her pet? Alchemy experiment gone wrong? Either way, he was a calming influence on the young and frustrated Princess Tieshan, so he was at least treated with the same respect as a lady-in-waiting - although not as much as humanoid celestial would be.

If the Celestial Realm knew the Six Eared Macaque was the child of the Supreme Moon Deity, then he might have had some weight to throw around the court - if Lady Taiying recognised him as such. Otherwise its another aspect they would have mocked him for - whats more to them than another illegitimate noble?

Also; Plum accidentally breaking all the other LEMs cus he didn't realise that they didn't know about their origins. XD

[…now I am curious how Babs and Gibs came to be…what's their lineage? And do they know of it?]

Odds are those two were created by separate star entities long before the modern earth even existed. Earth is were they spent their teenage/college years essentially before they retired to space. If they know of their origins, they don't care much.

Rest of replies under Read More!

[Hmm…how do the LEM's (and rest of the Pilgrims if they are around) feel about Luzhen?]

Most of the LEMs are shocked silent for the most part.

Plum/LMK!Mac: in particular a little annoyed but adoring that a tiny copy of Wukong has been dropped onto his lap. But hey, free baby is free baby. Will kill anything that dares to inflict any of SWK's trauma onto Luzhen.

Zhanshi/HiB!LEM: immediately goes full mom-mode on the infant monkey. Little guy needs a stable home after all! Hunting down his primordial in-laws for answers can wait... for now.

Liang/Reborn!LEM: is a little faster to accept Luzhen as their responsibility than Smokey, and helps to be the "softer" parent of the two. They def agree that the gods can screw off tho.

Olive/Netflix!LEM: is initially so freaked out that they don't want anything to do with Luzhen. But the moment the little guy reaches out for a hug... who is Olive to deny him? A bit colder, but is warming up fast. Is the one who holds Luzhen while Cherry fights the gods - like the infamous "Get his ass baby, I got your flower" except flower is baby.

Joker/NewGods!LEM: is already bouncing the kid on his knee. Its a shock but hey, its like how they got their MK. Little guy is stinking adorable too. Is also very mad at the gods for being so irresponsible. Probably gets really defensive when people ask if him and Ace are Luzhen's grandparents tho.

Spice/2000s!LEM: is scared. So very scared. Mostly out of worry. He's just coming to terms with his own creation/identity, and now there's a bonus Wukong?! What if the gods take Luzhen away!? He needs to sit down a bit. Takes him a while to see Luzhen as more than a extension of SWK, afterwards its more mentor and tudi vibes.

Meihouwang Mihou: is... still in shock. He reacted badly enough to Shihou's arrival, and now an entire infant version of Shihou needs food and parents to take care of him. Its overwhelming. And then Shihou approaches him for advice? On how to raise Luzhen? Oh gosh, maybe this was a sign from the gods. His ears are flooded with the sounds of wedding bells and laughing infants. This oz his and Shihou's baby now. Still asks the Elder monkeys for help tho, since he barely knows what to do more than Shihou does.

Lilac/Smash!LEM: is hesistant to get close. They feel that they can't just drop everything to raise a whole kid, not with their career quicky on the rise. Their Wukong is such a good caretaker tho, and Lilac feels a little guilty when they can't join in on family time. Def dedicates a song about "little falling stars" to Luzhen, and has frequent video calls when he's away. Vows to spoil the kid anytime they're together to make up for any time lost.

The other pilgrims are having bluescreen errors every time they try thinking about the ramifictions of multiple earth/creation gods pulling up to drop lore like that.

The Tripitakas are torn between "Oh its a blessing!" and "Oh sweet Buddha, theres two of them now." HiB!Liuer has already claimed his Luzhen as his little brother/fellow tudi.

You know the Zhu Bajie's are laughing their butts off once the shock wears off. Lots of child support jokes. Declares themselves the different Luzhens' uncles.

Sha Wujing is a little more... unsettled. Why did a bunch of gods just show up- oh sweet buddha they're Older Brother Sun's creators?! And theres' a little Sun now!? Reborn!SWJ def has a small breathing-into-a-paper-bag anixety attack. Afterwards though they feel a greater kinship, with their Luzhens and SWKs. After all, they feel "discarded" by the gods also.

[I am picturing Dasheng looking at either of the gods in question and going, "Oh look at that, the deadbeats are here. Have you brought the child support or do I have to boot you off my mountain again?"]

The idea of Dasheng looking the earth gods in the eye and calling them "deadbeats" is the most perfectly in-character thing for him ever. I love it.

[You know, I once read that we grow up to be the person our younger selves would have felt the safest with. Paraphrased a bit, but the idea is there. They are two different people, but, maybe he can help heal his inner child in this way.]

That is literally the most sweetest and heartbreaking thing. Smokey considers himself "broken", but Luzhen as "still good enough" to help. By being a good protector and influence, he secretly hopes to heal the scared child he once was. :']

Meanwhile, Netflix!SWK/Cherry is fighting any gods that dare threaten to take his mini-me away.

[how would SWK and/or LEM handle a child with cognitive disabilities - like serious ones at that?]

Honestly? Pretty ok. They know that people can be born "different" and have different hurdles to overcome. In the wild, macaques are known to pay extra attention to troop members with disabilities, and treat them kindly.

I hc MK as having adhd, which really affects his attention and short term memory, so Shadowpeach have been working with that for a long time. Wukong and Macaque themselves are very autistic-coded (which makes my autistic butt very happy), and would have a lot of insight to how the kid might be feeling.

If one of their kids has another serious cognitive impairment, like being non-verbal, they'll find a way to adapt to it. SWK 100% has learned both forms of CSL over the years, and does a refresher in prep for MK's arrival. Helps a lot when the more monkey-ish side of the kids means that they don't verbalize for a long time compared to human kids.

[one hell of a way to find out your parents/grandparents are still getting it on.]

MK had that crisis at age 19 when the Lunar Nodelets were on the way. Like when he found out it was at a high-stress moment so he barely had time ot process it; "We had just saved the world from the Lady Bone Demon and you two were...?! Ugh! I need to wash my brain out."

Nezha had a more firey reaction when he learned of the Eclipse Twins years prior. He didn't even know the monkeys did that stuff. He was uber-grossed out in an almost cooties sort of way, but also in a "please for the love of buddha, don't fill the celestial realm with your spawn"-kind of way.

Tysm for sending so many cool questions in! You really rock my create brain <3