#like friendship with dbk ended

[the-monkey-ruler]

how hardworking is bajie in the novel? fanart gives off the impression that he’d rather do anything but work

And he WOULD! HE DOES NOT LIKE TO WORK! Rather nap and kick back.

But honestly, next to Wukong, he does do the second most amount of work when it comes to fighting demons and getting food.

Don’t get me wrong man will complain the whole time while doing it but he is a competent fighter in many regards. Man was the Marshall in Heaven that only answered to the Jade Emperor himself, a navel officer so he knows a thing or two about fighting and tactics he just doesn't apply himself often. Not since being pig shaped.

There are many times he was the one to fight demons alongside Wukong, sometimes they even coordinate attacks with one another to get the drop on their enemy.

He was able to kill Princess Jade Face, Great King Fox Number Seven, the Wansheng Princess, all six of the tree spirits, White-Faced Vixen Spirit, King of the Southern Hill, King of Heat Protection, and King of Dust Protection. That isn't even included in the assistant kills that helped with Wukong and in enemies such as the Pythron Demon.

Funny enough he gets pretty protective of Sanzang when it comes to him being sexually harassed as well. I like to think that is his own personal turning point when it comes to respecting other people's boundaries.

But also he 'sacrifices' himself for Sanzang's place XD

I've always read it as it's more of a threat than a promise. Because he also knows that women won't go for him being a pig. Which is a little sad but also him using his appearance to his advantage to scare women in the Women's Kingdom. Says he won't be turned into a fragrant bag cause no one would even want him.

The main reason he is so antagonistic is that he IS THE CLOWN. There is a scene Bajie is being cooked by a GAINT streamer and he complaining he is going to come out wrong if the fire tenders (that Wukong is stopping) don't cook him RIGHT. Also that Bajie knows Wukong in diguse by seeing his cheeks and thinking "I KNOW THOSE CHEEKS ANYWHERE!"

Literally, his role in the book is to make laughs and to be the verbal and literal punching bag. Wukong himself is funny, absolutely, but he needs someone to play off him as well. It is very like that one group of Abbott and Costello vibes in some scenes where they just verbally poke on one other, and often there are cases were they pull pranks. Mostly Wukong at Bajie but still.

Like Wukong letting Bajie get captured by an enemy just so he can save him later. HE DOES THIS TWICE. He was mad Bajie thought he died (legit thought he died) in the first one and he took money from Bajie the second time he saved him XD told him it was the 'groups' money and they should share.

And I know people give Bajie hell for being a shit to Wukong but also… Wukong is ALSO a shit back to him. Wukong isn't one to be walked over and he definitely has his fair share of making Bajie feel that revenge for being a shit in the first place. They are shits to each other. Which makes them ever more enjoyable. Wukong is even the one to put a paper saying "I can heal the king" in Bajie’s back pocket when he falls asleep FACING THE WALL NOT TO SCARE ANYONE WITH HIS FACE. Man was legit trying NOT to get into trouble and Wukong knew this was going to be hilarious.

HE WAS PRANKED.

Also Bajie carrying Wukong thinking he could 'trip' and send Wukong flying. But Wukong anticipated this and made a clone of himself to be on Bajie so when he trip the clone drifted away as Bajie and Wujing just looked on in horror as their brother MELTED before their eyes. And Wukong turning into a woodpecker to peck at Bajie to wake him up.

That one was elaborate.

He does have some good ideas even from time to time despite his laziness. He knew how to get Bailong to walk across ice safely and for once USED THE RAKE AS A RAKE to clear a forest. Also that he knows a bit about farming because he was a farmer for a least three years with the Gao family.

So again he is capable and knows a bit despite his ignorance in other matters he just hates to admit he is wrong and hates to admit even more when he can’t do something. Which is hard to do when you are working with someone with MUCH more knowledge and power like Wukong.

I really think that Bajie looks up to Wukong while also being incredibly jealous of Wukong as well. That he relies on him as a companion but lets his own insecurities and jealousy get in the way of working with him, rather purposefully trying to make things harder for Wukong as if to get back at him. But I really think Bajie knows they need Wukong. Even when Wukong is knocked out and unconscious from the Red Boy fight Bajie doesn't believe for a second he is really dead, rather just going straight into reviving him. He also tells others they should treat him with high respect, make it sound like Wukong is danger but also that he is just so powerful in general and that he deserves to be regarded as such.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Bajie is the one after Wukong's first banishment that he has to go get him to save the rest of the group. Because he is the one that messed up by convincing Saznag Wukong was lying. But he also knows they can't do this journey without Wukong. He might be big talk but I think he's going to get Wukong was a humbling moment for him too cause he knows they are going to lose. Another way he shows that is when he thinks Wukong really dies he gets MAD. Because he knows now there is no chance, they are really going to DIE and he is upset.

I still think that Bajie just wanted to get back at Wukong for making fun of him in when GuanYin strung him up to a tree after the Ginseng Fruit arc. But he really didn't know what the fillet implies as he has never seen it used until then. It doesn't make it right but I do think it explains himself a bit more.

And even when Bajie went back to get Wukong, Wukong gave him a tour of his mountain AND STILL pulled a fast on him by having him think he wasn't coming when he was right behind Bajie the whole time. He just wanted Bajie to sweat a little longer. But there was something about Wukong having Bajie see how whole home and what he is leaving but also that Bajie really enjoyed seeing where he lived�� even if the Little Suns threw Bajie around like a sake of flour weighing nothing… BUT HE STILL HAD A NICE TIME.

Bajie seems to have a lot of faith in his brothers, even if he rather run away and avoid a fight altogether because he is a bit of a coward he is more often overconfident on taking on demons with his group.

But when he thinks Wukong might actually die after they think they lost Sanzang to a demon he tells him he can't else they will have too much to grieve. And how he only feels confident in battle when he knows Wukong is behind him. I do love it when Bajie and Wujing look on in awe at Wukong and his power he thinks they might be gossiping about him and gets suspicious, leading to another prank.

And I feel like he gets that kind of confidence only later throughout the series, where he actually stops trying to divide the luggage when things go bad and tries to see to the end of the journey to get the scriptures. He is still a lazy guy that rather sleep and eat all day but he gets a bit better along the way, participating with his party in the journey and starting to see the goal to attain the scriptures as something he also wants to and actually trying harder to prove that to himself. It takes him a lot longer than Wukong and even Wujing but I think he really comes around to being a team player.

This kinda turned into a Bajie apologist post but I just really love this pig. He is a lazy asshole that starts shit he needs a good slice of humble pie because he cares a lot

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Drunken Shenanigans

May 2023 Wk 4

Being a highly subjective assessment of one tiny corner of the interwebs. Organized by which ones (in each category) I’m enjoying most.

Ongoing Series - Thai

Step By Step (Tues WeTV & Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - this is Thai BL living its best life. Wait, who is Kong? Another ex? Ah just a Boy from the Past. (HI BIG, I love you, when you gunna lead a BL?) Chot & Pat’s friendship is giving me LIFE! It is the best thing in BL right now. Also this show is defining slow burn. Jeng & Pat both primping for their date? Come on! I am so glad I get to start my week with these boys. Also I would like to see the BL (within this BL) staring Up & Rice. They are VERY pretty together.

La Pluie (Sat iQIYI) ep 5 of 10 - I end my week with this one and it’s almost as good as starting with Step. The brothers relationship is pitch perfect younger to middle. P’Pat is serving up yacht rock visuals. (I’m not mad about it. Reminds me of Tay in DBK.) I do like them as a couple I just mistrust Pat’s constancy and motives. Although I am beginning to wonder if his motivation might feel suss because it’s pure lust (and we see that so rarely in a BL we innately mistrust it). Meanwhile, I like that Tai has a younger guy interested in him and with whom he has chemistry too. And it’s the one his brother likes. This is messy gay in a good way. 

Our Skyy 2 (Boss & Babe) eps 11-12 - I was drunk for this one, so I thought it was mostly just foolish. While Book seemed to be having a bumper of a time with his role as Lord of Misrule I fast forwarded through a lot of it. It did make me laugh with some of the wordplay, but the fact that they involved an entire office (non-consenting) in their kink rollplay was a bit weird for me. 6/10 

Luminous Solution (Sat Gaga) ep 1 of 6 - The subs are truly bonkers (including a few captions that seem the be the subbers notes to themselves). There are 2 lead couples: 1 is an LTR with an overworked doctor & his recently fired husband and the other is an E2L jock+nerd with high school students (way more my thing). It’s actually pretty good for a pulp, the acting is decent and the pacing on point. I’m not mad at it especially now Dome has shown up. 

Be My Favorite (Fri YouTube) ep 1 of 10? - I’m doing a trash watch! I was drunk, it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting, but the first 1/4 of a JittiRain BL never is. 

Past-senger (Weds Gaga) ep 12fin - thank fuck that ended but also: WTF is with that ending? Guess that’s a massive prospective age gap relationship. I’m… unsettled. (And age gap doesn’t bother me.) Anygay, anydaddy that’s the lingering flavor from this BL: unsettling. You know I tend to judge on endings... full review below. 

The Promise (Weds YT & WeTV) ep 10fin - did’t air to YT this week

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

Our Dining Table AKA Bokura no Shokutaku (Japan Thurs Gaga) ep 8 of 10 - I love this show. I know everything that’s gonna happen and I’m still riveted. Sweetly awkward confession. 

Star Struck (Korea iQIYI & Gaga) ep 3-4 of 8 - I’m enjoying the complexity of this one. It’s like a combo of Shoulder and 8th but somehow easier-going than either. Not totally my cup of tea, in a way because of that complexity, but also I faintly mistrust its BL-ness. Also: That was one of the most painful confession scenes ever. Ouch. (Meanwhile, have I mentioned recently I hate icky’s interface? Well I do. Also iQIYI is now officially icky henceforth!)  

Love Mate (Korea Thurs Viki) eps 7-8fin - The asshole ex was perfectly cast but I felt a touch let down by this ending - it didn’t have the strength of its convictions. Full review below. 

Naked Dinner AKA Zenra Meshi (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 7 of 12 - I like the Taiwanese boss, he knows what’s up. Cool dude. Arranged a sleepover and everything. Also... we win when there is experimental kissing but odds are Japan is faking us out. 

Vian the series (Vietnam YouTube ) - is it me or did this not drop? If it did I missed it. 

It’s Airing But ...

My Story (Pinoy Sat YouTube) 10 eps - I bounced at ep 4. Someone will tell me if I should bother with the rest after it ends.

House of Stars (Thai Mon iQIYI) 12 eps - I bounced at ep 3. Will binge if told it is worth it at end.

The Day I Loved You (Pinoy YouTube) eps 6-7 of 10 - Terminal illness for the sunshine. I bounced at ep 6. DNF. Ends next week, someone tell me if it’s as bad as I thought it was gonna be. 

Takumi-kun Series 6: Nagai Nagai Monogatari no Hajimari no Asa (Japan Sun ????) ep 1 of ? - NO ONE ASKED FOR THIS and no, I have no idea where to get it, why would I? (Say it with me everyone: Oh Japan, must you?*) also I’m really not inclined to hunt. 

Ended this week

Past-senger - Marc (My Gear & Your Gown) & Copper (My Engineer) star in a time slip story of a 90s kid who travels to 2022. The central premise was solid and the actors gave it their best but the show was bloated with unnecessary awkward side couples and the ending went from confusing to unsettling to plain old (and I do mean OLD) not good. 4/10 NOT RECOMMENDED, FATALLY FLAWED

Love Mate - Launched very much openly gay older uke with commitment issues and a romantic if arrogant younger seme with no respect for boundaries. Workplace harassment much? That’s BL for ya. (Also a nonBL Kdrama specialty.) So yeah it’s questionable, but so is my taste. The ultimate premise that someone badly hurt shuts themself off to romance is very similar to Happy Merry Ending or 8th Sense but this version was more about fear than abuse or trauma. For me, this made Love Mate more relatable since fear of love makes it about the couple rather than one person’s self-acceptance journey. However, because the denouement in Love Mate was driven by a late in the run faen fatal and not the central relationship, the conclusion felt forced. I can, however, see myself rewatching this one, so if falls into the general rank of 2023′s KBL AKA solid high standard and eminently watchable. 8/10 RECOMMENDED 

In Case You Missed It

Both the Egoist (Japanese movie) and Tie The Knot (Pinoy series) got picked up for international release. Tie is coming to Prime. Not yet sure who bagged Egoist but at least it has distribution. These both seem more “messy arse gay” than BL but I have been waiting for them. About Us but Not About Us (2022 Pinoy movie) is also coming to Prime. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Starting: 

6/2 Stay (Pinoy YouTube) 7 eps - Andre, a film maker from the Philippines, works in LA. He finds a Korean-American roommate, Joshua,  who helps him navigate the challenges and uncertainties of living in America. The two develop a bond, but then it’s time for Andre to go home. It’s mostly in English and set in LA so I won’t watch this. 

6/3 Let’s Eat Together AKA Aki wa Haru to Gohan wo Tabetai (Japan movie) - Japanese cinema release means no inter distribution. Looks cozy: daily lives of college students and roommates who enjoy meals together, and a v codependent, adaptation of yaoi Let’s Eat Together Aki and Haru. I’ll keep an eye open for it but assume we can’t get it for now. 

June 2023 Line Up

6/7 Love Tractor (Korea iQIYI) 8 eps - announced in 2022 from WATCHA (Semantic Error) I've been WAITING for this one. About a stressed-out law student who family obligations force into the countryside where a series of strange encounters and misunderstandings with his hunky young farmer neighbour. Will this be an extended version of Strongberry’s Some More? Or Korea’s take on Restart After Come Back Home? I'm chuffed. Country boy meets city boy is a very underused romance trope in BL.

6/9 Boys Love Omegaverse AKA The Boys Love sequel no one asked for (Japan movie) - everyone jockeyed to release the first ABO but it looks like Japan will take it. They do like to do all things BL FIRST. This seems to just be borrowing the branding of Boys Love, showing little resemblance to either original, since it's about 4 men in an idol group. (But could go very dark with that title. Boys Love is technically the first and one of the darkest BLs ever made.) Movie+Japan = no inter distribution. 

6/15 Tokyo in April AKA Shigatsu no Tokyo wa (Japan ????) 8 eps - Based on a yaoi, this is a reunion romance that takes place in an office. Japan does Our Dating Sim? Cool. Of course no idea where to watch it. Oh Japan, must you? 

6/22 About Us but Not About Us (Pinoy movie from 2022 on Prime) - A professor grieving the loss of his partner meets an ambitious literature student.

6/24 Why You (Khmer BL ????) - Billed as a horror romance, not sure if this is a movie or a series where it will air... nothing except that it exists.

6/24 Tie The Knot AKA Under the Same Sky (Pinoy movie on Prime) Trailer - I guess Prime is coming for our Pinoy BL? From OXIN Films (Rainbow Prince), announced for 2022 based on a true story, Briggs's family runs a bridal business but he has never had a chance to fall in love until he meets Shao, a groom to be.

6/25 Dinosaur Love (Thai ????) Trailer 5 eps - from Ultimate Troop about a cute uni student, Rak, whose partner cheats on him with Rk's best friend. This gives bad boy hazer Dino an opportunity to hit on Rak at last. From The Yearbook people so I will not watch this as it airs. After Remember Me? Never again with them.

2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED)

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

This bit made me bark laugh. The more Thai BL I watch the more I get the word play jokes the funnier they are. Language is so cool. 

Dear Boss & Babe your ForceBook is showing. 

Yes! One of my favorite dishes too! Nam Khao! Try it some time, you will not regret it. (Step by Step) 

These too are gonna break us. (Star Struck) 

(last week)

Current Kpop earworm? P1Harmoney’s Peacemaker  

[quitealotofsodapop]

Where did the idea that Macaque and PIF are swirn siblings come from? I've seen it in a few other fics and while I'm not in any way against it I am curious. Is it just fannon or is there evidence for it in either the show or the original text? And how did the two of them meet in your au?

I believe it's a popular fanon idea. I think it spawned from the fact that Wukong and DBK are canonically sworn brothers, and thus Macaque and PIF would have interacted back in the day through the Brotherhood - both were/are not looked upon the best by the leaders of the Brotherhood, so they may have found friendship in one another. They are also both cool af characters that sadly never interacted in the show proper.

Macaque ( -_-)/\(-_- ) PIF: Being bad b*tches with wind powers and impulsive spouses who got trapped under a mountain for 400+ years.

In "The Monkey King and the Infant" au they're sworn/adoptive siblings due to mutual past history, even before The Brotherhood. They met as young children (an incident where little Princess Tieshan stole her big sister's bag of wind and got stranded on the moon), and later became eachother's confidants when they reunited as teens (Macaque becoming PIF's attendant). When the Brotherhood started up, Macaque accidentally introduced PIF and DBK while sneaking out for a meeting. When PIF was disowned by her family for falling in love with a demon; Macaque was one of very few from her old life that stayed by her side. They supported eachother emotionally through thick and thin - SWK being imprisioned + his and Macaque's breakup, PIF's banishment and troubles having a child etc...

Then Macaque "died".

And so PIF lost the closest to a little brother she ever had.

DBK finding out about Macaque's death (or whatever version someone spun about it), combined with Red Son being taken away by Guanyin after the Samadhi Fire ritual, is partially what drove him into a rage + his own imprisonment under a mountain. And so Princess Iron Fan was left (almost) completely alone for roughly 400+ years. It's no wonder why she fcking hates SWK's guts.

By the time of the fic start, she straight up decides "fck this I'm taking my kid back and finding a way to remove the staff. I ain't waiting around on earth alone anymore."

Then a month or so later she recieves a knock on her door;

Macaque: "Hey, jiejie [big sis]. I uh... kinda got revived???" PIF: "...how and why?!" Macaque: "No idea [lie]. Ok, long story short; Wukong knocked me up-" PIF: "THAT SON OF A BIT-" Macaque: "Yeah I was mad too. We're kinda *still* on a break right now so can I crash here until... I dunno either he apologizes, I stop being mad at him, or you know... forever?" PIF, (trying to hide tears of joy): "Forever sounds like just long enough."

The emotional reunion is interuppted by toddler Red Son charging head-first (bull calf style) into Macaque out of excitement.

After realising that his sworn uncle is very upset with the Monkey King; Red Son declares war on Sun Wukong and later secretly begins devising a plan to kidnap him and force him to lift the staff. PIF thinks its adorable how protective Red Son is over them, while Macaque is reading the kid's revenge corkboard like "Oh dang, he's really going for it. I'm so proud of him. Wait... is this what having a kid feels like??"

When SWK shows up looking for Macaque, PIF pretty much wind-fan kicks his ass straight out of the mountain. Cue Wukong thinking he has to do something; Big, Dumb, Dangerous, and Extremely Hearfelt in order to get back into both Macaque's and PIF's good graces...

Small spoilers:

Macaque, extremely touched but confused af: "Peaches, I would have accepted an apology and some flowers!" PIF, non-stop cuddling DBK since he got back: "Not me. This barely gets Wukong off my hit list."

Its a huge thing. The citizens of Diyu are shooken. By the end of it, the fam is extremely confused but happy to be reunited. Red Son declares it his first ever evil victory.

[menaceoffandoms]

LMK analysis rant: What happened to the great companions?

Since the release of season 5 and discovering the nature of the cycles, I've head cannoned that the knowledge we as viewers have of the Journey to the West from the novel was what happened in a previous cycle of the shows world. This makes sense to me since several things we see in the show, whilst being inspired or referenced from the original novel, are very different from the source material.

Whilst each cycle is different, they all have to be somewhat similar, given how Nuwa insists that "they will all live again". Or at least that's how I take it. I started really thinking about this because I wanted to know what happened to the great companions -- other than Sun Wukong -- since everyone has been reincarnated more or less.

It seemed weird to me seeing as one of the rewards from completing the Journey is enlightenment and true immortality. If all the companions became immortal, then how did they die and get reincarnated? How did that work and why is Wukong the only one left?

Now, all my knowledge of the jttw comes from Overly Sarcastic Productions videos, which I highly recommend you watch if you haven't, but since the novel is so long their summary isn't finished yet. So, I decided to look up how the story ends. What I found was rather interesting...

The main set up for the great companions is pretty simple. Tang Sanzang is the monkest monk in the east who the Goddess Guanyin picks for the quest, Sha Wujing was a disgraced Celestial General looking for redemption after breaking something in a fit of rage and getting banished for it, Zhu Bajie was also a disgraced Celestial General who got Drunk and hit on Chang'e too much which got him banished (which isn't that hilarious when compared to Pigsy in the show), Ao Lie was sentenced to death by the Jade Emperor for accidently burning his Dads palace but Guanyin got his changes dropped and Sun Wukong was Sun Wukong. So basically, 4 out of 5 of the group are looking for redemption and Tang Sanzang is their baby sitter. They keep him alive and he shows them the Buddest way. The Journey it the important part of the story, hence the novels name, but every tale has it's end.

So, what happens at the end of the Journey to the West?

Welp with the scriptures delivered the gang is rewarded by gaining places in Heaven. Tang Sanzang and Sun Wukong ascend to Buddhahood, Shu Wujing and Ao Lie become Arhats (a few steps down from Buddhahood) and Zhu Bajie, who is unable to let go of his base desires, becomes an alter cleaner. They all get immortality basically, even tho Zhu Bajie doesn't reach enlightenment like the others, so none of them should be able to die.

Obviously, I've already said that the events of the novel are from a different cycle -- things are different in LMK -- but now I'm even more curious as to what happened to the other great companions. Sun Wuknog in the show doesn't seem have reached Buddahood -- that wouldn't be interesting for plot reasons cause then he'd be all powerful and all knowing -- and all his friends are dead! What the fuck.

The likely explanation is probably something lame, like the reward they all got for completing the journey was a lot less grand or the friendship they forged was the real reward or their places in heaven didn't come with immortality attached. There are multiple kinds of immortality -- agelessness, super hard to kill and completely unkillable -- so the other companions could have all been killed at some point even if they did get immortality technically, which would be really interesting for Wukong honestly!

Shu Wujing and Zhu Bajie are characterised as demons in LMK (which isn't accurate to the novel but they are seen as monstrous so fair) so the two of them having the ageless/hard to kill kind of Demon immortality I imagine DBK and Red Son have makes sense. I've heard some theories that Sandy is Shu Wujing -- as in the same one who went on the journey and not a reincarnation -- but I think the show has a lot of evidence against that.

Dragons are super important in Chinese myth and are defiantly immortal in the show, seeing as we've met the Great Dragon of the East, but whether or not they can be killed is very up in the air. There aren't any myths where a dragon dies and they can apparently "shed their mortal bodies" which could mean Ao Lie's spirit is still lingering around and has maybe attached itself to Mei, but then that begs the question of why he would leave his body behind in the first place. Just like with the theory about Shu Wujing, I have seen some theories that Ao Lie is still alive -- given that Mei isn't his reincarnation as I've covered in a different rant -- but if he was still alive I think introducing him to us in the scroll in s4 wouldn't mean as much.

Tang Sanzang is completely mortal so if enlightenment doesn't equal immortality then his death makes perfect sense. He is also the reincarnation of Golden Cicada -- one of the Buddha's original disciples who was punished for not listening to him, forcing him to live out 10 mortal lives in the east before being given a chance to re-enter "paradise" as Tang Sanzang -- which is interesting but doesn't really help us figure this stuff out. It just reinforces the reincarnation thing honestly.

Sun Wukong is obviously still alive in LMK and his entire motivation at the start of the novel -- even more so in the show I'd argue -- was to become immortal and never die, which he succeeds at before the journey even starts. Him being unable to die is the whole reason he's sent on the journey at all, seeing as the Jade Emperor can't execute him for his crimes and I don't think anyone expected that mountain to hold him down forever.

So... What killed the great companions?

Something dramatic I'm hoping. I can defiantly see the five of them risking their lives to protect the world, all of them dying except Sun Wukong for obvious reasons, or maybe just 4 of them did the sacrifice whilst Wukong kicked ass. There's a lot of angst potential here to be unpacked that I would love to see someone take advantage of, especially if in someway their deaths were Wukong's fault. It would give reason to why he stayed in isolation after sealing away DBK or even for why the Heavenly host doesn't seem to like him at all despite his redemption.

I did a lot of research for this but I'm no expert, just an enthusiast, so I'm sure I've messed somethings up. I've tried to source where I got my information from but I'm also dyslexic and probably have some undiagnosed neurodivergence effecting my attention span so research is kind hard for me, but I've tried my best.

I'm very interested to hear what other people have to say about this. I doubt it'll be covered in the show, but then again I didn't think self sacrifice would be a major plot point so who knows! I think covering the deaths of all of Wukong's friends would be a bit too dark but anything can happen! I just hope it's interesting.

[chuitu]

I’m curious to know how Yeva’s family tree :00

AND ON THAT NOTE HER RELATIONSHIPS WITH CANON 🔫

Here's a little family tree explanation! :D

...

Anyways, moving on to "Yeva's relationships with canon characters she encountered/will encounter!"

(Warning: May contain spoilers of future chapters of "LMK: Rescripted AU")

Chang'e:

Just after Yeva was somewhat teleported to the moon, she encountered Chang'e after she snuck in her kitchen and took about 4 mooncakes off the plate,

It was quite difficult for Yeva to communicate with her (As she was from Russia, and her english wasn't very good at the time), yet the Goddess was kind enough to take care of her,

Soon after she pretty much adopted Yeva, so in summary,

She is Yeva's mom now.

Ne zha:

A couple of years (alot actually) pass by and it was during the pre-modern timeline, (Post-pre-modern timeline???)

Just after Yeva's little power awakening caught the attention of the celestial realm, They tasked Nezha to go and fetch the little... "unexpected new celestial".

As far as i could summarize, Yeva sees Ne zha like an older sibling, Though she sometimes gets quite uncomfortable with his rough mannerisms, she also appreciates him for the times he helps her try to understand her new powers.

Sun Wukong:

She doesn't exactly have much thought about him, but she respects that he is a quite strong being,

although sometimes she questions his motives on becoming immortal and alat stuff, at some point she witnessed his little escapade with the Peaches of Immortality,

it's safe to say she has mixed feelings about that simian...

Redson:

It was during the pre-modern era (probably 500 years before the present timeline).

Yeva went back to earth for funzies and nothing serious exactly.

She was just minding her own business until a young Redson confronted her, let's just say stuff happened and Yeva wanted to befriend him, despite Redson putting down everything about who he is, she just brushed it off and thought he was just playing pretend and being silly, she just played along for his sake,

at some point, for some sane reason they became friends, she influenced him a lot to the point that his bossy and rude behavior slightly decreased by 30%,

Although, it's sad that their friendship was cut short...

Mk:

She meets the monkie kid himself during the events of "The end is here" (Specifically that episode where the LBD possessed the DBK)

After she steps in to save an old friend from getting crushed to death, and assists in getting rid of the source of the problem,

She only had first impressions about Sun Wukong's protégé;

"He seems new to all this... quite a familiar sight, yet, he's a little naive too..."

Mei:

She also meets Mei, but after the events of "The end is here",

Her calm, dull and reserved nature clashed with Mei's slightly hyper, fun and chaotic personality,

Yet she does her best to befriend her, rather, Mei made the request to become friends,

Her first impressions about her being;

"She's an odd one..."

As for the rest of the characters...

in summary, mostly neutral.

[imminent-danger-came]

I might be misremembering but I assumed the "just a story" line in AHiB was referring to the legend of Wukong sealing away DBK, not JTTW/SWK's existence as a whole

I guess if you wanted to you could interpret it that way (and it is totally applicable there), but it also applies to the broader narrative in lmk itself. Jttw is also notably referenced a decent amount throughout the "A Hero is Born" special:

Tang: “The thing you need to understand about the old legends, is that the story is never finished. There maybe be no more pages left to turn, but there’s always more to the journey."

Which, this line by Tang is the first instance of story motif in LMK as a whole. It's then "book ended" by another narration by Tang later in 3x14:

Tang: “The curious thing about legends is the way we can continue to be moved by the same stories. We’re comforted by familiar tales of friendship, courage, redemption. At times, the path of the hero might seem unclear, and the stories chaotic and directionless. Sometimes it may seem as though we’ve ended back where we began, but it’s clear to see how much we’ve grown on the journey—for although the story is over, there’s always room on the shelf for another.”

Like, even if some details don't match and some things changed, the AHiB special is foundational. It's constantly referenced back to in one way or another, and is the first instance of a significant amount of motifs and themes, for example:

Hand Motif

Reflection Motif

Theme: Identity (1) (2) ("You might have that old fool's staff, but you are not the Monkey King." in AHiB -> "Well, I'm not the Monkey King! Okay!" in RoTSQ)

Running Away

Theme: Self Belief ("Just believe in yourself! Even a smidge makes all the difference"/"Nothing is impossible if you just believe in yourself!" -> "It's always my fault!") (1) (2)

Turning Around Motif

Kneeling Motif

So, when thinking about "the story never being finished", it reminds me of MK's recent conflict of wanting things to stay the same, of not wanting to move forward:

MK: “Honestly? I’m kinda liking the world as it is, right now. So...if it could just stay like this, forever? That would be awesome.” Sun Wukong: “Yeah well...forever’s a long time bud...trust me.”

(4x01 Familiar Tales)

-

MK: "You ever wish things will just- stay like this, like they are right now?" Sun Wukong: "Pssshhkk, where's the fun in that?"

(4x14 Better Than We Found It)

-

Ultimately, MK wants his story to be finished, but that's not how it works. There is no "final chapter" so to speak, there's just life, and you have to keep going and picking up the next book and moving through the next chapter.

I made a whole comic around this idea if you wanted to go look!

But yeah, DBK's sealing is the first instance in a long line where the story "isn't finished" because the seal doesn't hold, and plans move forward. This happens again with LBD and then later with Azure. It can even apply to things like the Samadhi Fire (and most likely the Jade Emperor's Seal in the future)—supposedly, sealing these things away should have been the end of the story, of their story, but it wasn't. So it's interesting to take that line and use it as a sort of framework to view the rest of the show in

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

ONOT THE NEXT ONE “BETTER THAN WE FOUND” IT LAST PART I’M NOT READY BUT I SO AM

Ngl tho better than we found it is kinda a nice last title it has an air of lightness to it

.

it better hecking be reflected in this episode if it ends on a cliffhanger or angsty note i’ma lose it

okay here we go

(s4 special pt 4 spoilers ahead)

STARTING IT UP HECK BREAKS I’M JUST SITTING HERE

OOP

MK COMPASSION COMING THORUGH AGAIN

WELP THAT’S EVERYTING

SHIFU JUST WATCHING IT

OH ITS THE LITTLE GIRL

HI LITTLE GIRL

OH CHANG’E HI LOVE

HAHA PENG TRYING TO DIP

MEI

MEI’S NOT GONNA LET THEM

SHE WANTED TO FIGHT

AHA

AHAHAHAHAHA

TURNING WORDS BACK ON THEM NICE ONE THAT’S FUNNY

HAHA

MEI AND MACAQUE TEAMING UP IS SO GOOD

HELPGN;LDKMDS

JUST CHOMPS HIM UP

YELLOW TUSSKK COME ON BUDDY

SANDY

ABSOLUTE BELOVED

THAT’S NOT REALLY HOW WE ROLL HERE

AWWWW

YESSSSSS

LETSGOOOOOO

THEY FUN

I LOVE THEM

B TEAM MOVE OUT

MK JUST

QUIET

I LOVE HIM

HE’S SO GOOD

HE’S SO KIND

AFTR BEATING THE GRAP OU TO FHIM BUT Y’KNOW

OOP

THEM LOOKING AT WUKONG AS HE GOES PAST HECK

JUST STOP

HECK DUDE

I PUT YOU IN THE UNDERWORLD MYSELF?

HE WAS DEAD?

OH SHOOT

OHHHH

YEAH SOME OTHER THING HAPPENIGN

CACKLES

OKAY

YEAH RIP DUDE JSUT RELAX

IS HE GONNA DIE MAKING IT BETTER?

PROBABLY HUH

YEAH I GET THE FEELING WHOEVRE THIS IS IS AFTER YOU MK

OH YEAH THERE HE GOES

WUKONG STOPPING HIM

HECK DUDE

WHY DO YOU LOOK SURPRISED SHIFU

OH WOW HE’S

HECKING DISINGTERGRATING

YEAH OKAY BYE BUD

I’M

I DON’T REALLY FEEL SUPER BAD FOR YOU BUT

OH HECK UH

WHATS THAT WHO’S TAKING IT

IS THAT THE JADE EMPERORSPOWER YEAH

UH

SO WHO’S GONNA HANG ON TO THAT

OH NEZHA TRYING TO GOT THIS

I DONT’ THINK YOU WILL BUD

UH WHAT ARE THOSE CHAINS

HECK DUDE

oh nice hair tang  very fluffy we love that

OOP

TANG U GOT THIS

YES FRIEND GROUP POWER OF FRIENDSHIP MOMETN SURE YES

AND YELLOW TUUUUSK ILY

YEAHYEAH WE KNEW MAC WOULD HELP

ARE THEY GONNA LOCK THE JADE EMPERORS PWOER AWAY?

OH WOW NEZHA NICE

BRO

NICELY DONE

FFM IS NOT DESTROYED TAT’S AWSOME

HAHAHGHDFJKSDAF

UYEAH CHECK ON HIM ITS THE LAD

OH MAN DUDES BEEN THROUGH IT

HELPGN;LDSKFMAE

ILY ILY YOU PIGSY

ILY SM

DADSY REAL

TANG CALM DOWNG;LSKMF

SANDYGDS;FKAMGWEFIMAWF

MAAAAN

THEY SURE ARE FAMBLY MOMENT

GO ASK BUDDAH NEZHA

YOUR’E GONNA GT ATTACKED BY WHOEVER WANTED AZURE OUT IN THE FIRST PLACE

SEASON 5 IS TERRIFYING ME RN

ngl compared to the lbd one so far this felt a little anticlimactic and i porbably just jinxed myself but i dont care. that one also had 3 seasons of build up tho so… yeah hjGKL;SJADF MK THO

DANG

HELPGMSDFK

PUSHING WUKONG AWAY YUP

GOOD MOVE NEZHA

DESERVED

RED SON RED SON RED SON RED SON

OH THEY ARRESTED HIM HUH

AWWWWW

WELP

WHERE ARE YOU TAKING HIM MAN

JADE EMP IS DEAD

WHERE’S THE FUN IN TAHT

ALL THAT

SO LONG AS WE LEAVE THE WORLD IN BETTER SHAPE THEN WE FOUND IT… THEN ITS ALL GOOD RIGHT?

MK’S INJURED GET HIM TO THE HOSPITAL

AND UH

OKAY WHERE’S THE OTHER BOOT DROPPING

I LOVE THEM SM

THEY ALL SO FANCY

HUG

SIDE HUG

.

HELPGN;DSAFKLMAWE

BEACH DAY

SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP

I’M WAITIN FOR THE BOOT DROP BUT I’M IGNORING IT NOW I HAVE TO APPRECAITE ALL OF THIS RIGHT NOW

THE SHIRT

THE HAT

THE SUNGLASSES

THE SHORTS

HE’S THE UNCLE THAT JUST GOT BACK FROM PICKIGN UP THE SNACKS

THE MEI MK AND RED SON, THE WAY RED SON’S STANDING, TANG WITH HIS UMBRELLA DBK AND PRINCESS IRON FAN STYLIN PIGSY IS THE DAD AT THE BBQ I’M GONNA CRY

PLEASE TANG’S FIT I’M CRYINGNS;LDKFM;AOWEF

NEXT FRAME MEI WITH THE WATER GUN RED SONGHL;KFAJ;OWIEMFASFD MK DECKED OUT IN SWIMMING GEAR I’M CRYING

PLEASE PRINCES IRON FAN PLAYING VOLLYBALL WITH THEM I’M SCREAMING

MEI LOOKS LIKE A DUDEBRO GAL I KNOW AND I’M LIVING FOR IT RED SON’S FACE PLEASELKMGOASDF I NEED THESE ALL FRAMED

PLS SANDY GETTING BURRIED TANG CARVING HIS MUSCLES OUT OF SAND PIGSY GIVING HIM A DRINK MO DECKED OUT IN SAND GEAR, RED SON’S SUNGLASSES ON A SAND SNOWMAN AND LOOKING ANNOYED ABOUT IT MK’S SMILE I’MGN;LSDKFM

I’M SCREAMING NEXT FRAME IS DBK AND SWK THE DADS FISHING THE BROS FISHING TOGETHER I’MGN;LSDFMAOWFIMSADF

SUNSCREEN

BEST FRIENDS IN THE WORLD

YOU’RE GETTING SO SUNBURNED

SUNSCREEN NEEDS TO ABSORB FIRSTN;LDKMSD

yeah that’s parent energy

.

i didn’t know sunscreen needed to absorb first-

OKAY MOVING ON G;LSDFNAB;OGAI;WEOFIM

PIGSY IS SUCH A DAD

UYUP THATS HOW WE ROLL

you don’t understand the moment i’m having here with MACAQUE AND HIS PINK SHIRT AND YELLOW PANTS AND PROBABLY LOW HANGING TANK TOP I’ SCREAMIGNDF;LAMEF;OAIWEN;OIAFM

“cute” WOW WHAT AN ANGLE

art for this show is so nice tho m a n

this is gonna make me cry

Wukong with his

overdramatic sarcasm

and Macaque just seeming kinda tired

and

hECK LEAVE IT A LTTEL BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT

HECKING

PEACH POPSICLE

NOT THE SAME BUT

SO FMAILAR

THAT CAN BE A TOMORROW PORBLEM

MACAQUE DOESNT’ QUITE SMILE BUT

WOW HE SURE DOES PLOP HIMSELF DOWN RIGHT NEXT TO WUKONG

MAN

MK IS SO SUNBURNED

HE IS SO SUNBURNED

RIP MY DUDE

RED SON SOAKED AND THERE’S A FISH IN HIS HAT

I’M SO SAD WE DIDN’T GET TO HEAR HIS VOICE BUT I LOVE THAT THEY UNCLED HIM HAVING FUN WITH THE DUO THEY ARE EVERYHTIGN TO ME

OKAY YES, OTHER SHOE, HIT ME WITH IT

OKAY WHO THESE GUYS

WHO’S THE PARTY

WHATCHA DOIN

K

KAY IS THAT IT??

REALLY THAT’S ALL YOU GIVE US??

FINEEEEE FINE OKAY

I’M FINE

.

all in all i actually really enjoyed that special like  A LOT

give me like two days and i’ll process what i saw in pt 3 and

ehre and

there

and everywhere

actually i kinda enjoy how vague it is 10/10 the montage of them on the beach hanging is so nice Mk applying sunscreen is so cute he’s so good he’s so fast I love how wukong’s Shifu energy of just like cause mk is monkey like him so its “yeah that’s how we roll” n stuff

Macaque’s style is killing me

Wukong’s is just dad

Macaque’s is just

I don’t even know how to categorize it and i’m okay with that

WELL

JADE EMPERORS DEAD

AZURE’S DEAD

PENG STILL OUT THERE

YELLOW TUSK IS ARRESTED

MK IS MONKEY

MACAQUE IS VIBIN WITH THE CREW

WUKONG IS BETTER AT COMMUNCIATING

I’M CURIOUS IF THEY EVEN HAVE HIM HAVE THE SAME POWER LEVEL AS MK

OKAY

UH

THAT WAS ALL A BLUR

I NEED TO WATCH IT SIX MORE TIMES HAVE A GOOD ONE

KNOX OUT

[ryansjane]

I've been seeing people say that Gawin exudes straight guy energy and I'm not sure about how to feel about it. I think he just doesn't know he likes him yet? Or maybe it's only First and Podd who can make Gawin seem more like a gay man.

I think it might have to do with the fact that Gawin looks more masculine than what people have come to expect from bl characters. Like they can't fathom that gay men can be masculine and like men. Not saying everyone thinks like that just saying it could be a contributing factor.

I'm not a gay man by any means so i can't tell if he is a good representation for them.

But as a queer person I think he's fine. I feel like First really made him seem more queer, but at the same time Gawin's chemistry with Krist isn't too bad (at least for now it seems like friendship which is what they want it to be)

okay so I'm sorry but gawin is literally a queer icon for me, his energy & chemistry as mork in dbk & dan in not me is literally PERFECT, and his irl vibe exudes so much soft masculine energy I literally adore him for it. that being said, I feel like this judgment of pisaeng is so fucking unfair?? like yeah pisaeng is a very different role for gawin, he's more popular, masculine, rich, perfect, etc. but his forming crush on kawi is already so fucking obvious imo. but even if it wasn't the case bc they're just friends rn, I feel like it's normal lol, like let the pairing develop some chemistry as the characters actually fall in love. and like yeah obviously after gawinfirst literally INVENTED CHEMISTRY, it's literally impossible for gawin to have better chemistry with krist (it's already a miracle they have any to begin with lmaooo), and even with podd they slayed morksun so hard, but people have no fucking patience lmao it's so annoying. also the idea that people don't see him as queer bc he's too masculine is dumb. 95% of thai bl characters are masculine af whereas feminine characters are barely acknowledged or even the butt of the joke so saying it's just bc he acts masculine simply makes no sense. ALSO I'm sorry but the tension & longing pisaeng has when he escapes his wedding to come kiss kawi instead at the end of ep 2???????? so fucking queer it hurts. gawin brought out his whole ussy for that scene. people are fucking blind. I just feel like people are bringing so much bad faith to their commentary of bmf & it's giving me flashbacks to not me LMAO, let this show actually go on for more than five seconds before complaining please :')))

xxx

[mariposiel]

LMK S4 THEORIES

A/N: Okay, so below are my thoughts about Wukong’s past, his mountain imprisonment, how the Brotherhood was defeated, and how Macaque was “killed.” Just some headcanons, theories, and character introspection!

Initial theory in the first paragraph is credited to @/nixthefanartist!

—

—

—

—

—

When the Brotherhood had originally gone to fight the Jade Emperor, they had lost and Wukong surrendered along with Azure Lion, Yellow Tusk, Peng, and Macaque. However, Sun Wukong was given an ultimatum, and that was to surrender, or have his friends die. He actually might have won against the Jade Emperor but that would’ve been at the cost of the other four’s lives. So, he surrendered in the end. The Brotherhood goes back to Flower Fruit Mountain (FFM) where Macaque and Wukong have a talk that escalates into a big argument, fueled by their loss against the celestials. (Or maybe, their friendship becomes strained over a longer period of time, which eventually accumulates into a huge fight/argument).

In a fit of frustration, Wukong leaves, traveling back to the celestial realm where he has the bet with Buddha over his claim of wanting to replace the Jade Emperor (“If you can jump from my palm, you, or whoever you want, can become the Jade Emperor in his stead” - Buddha). However, Wukong loses again because Buddha is able to hold the universe in the palm of his hand, and as punishment, he is not let off so easily, spending 500 years of imprisonment under the mountain.

During this long period of time, Azure, Peng, and Yellow Tusk built that mountain ridge city, deciding that they didn’t need Wukong’s help, seeing that he had seemingly abandoned ship. DBK had left to try and conquer some smaller lands in the meantime, desiring more power (this was the reason why he wasn’t at the city, the reason why he wasn’t sealed within the scroll). On and off during these centuries, Macaque also tried to take care of Flower Fruit Mountain in the King’s absence, looking after the various monkeys.

Macaque thinks Wukong abandoned him and the sworn brothers but really, Wukong was trapped under that mountain for 500 years after losing the bet to Buddha. And after that time period was up, he was freed by Guanyin and Tang Sanzang, going on the JTTW to make up for his crimes against heaven. This was basically his only choice in the matter, plus the fillet practically forced Wukong to follow the orders of Tripitaka, like a dog on a leash. But over time, Wukong became fond of the pilgrims despite it all during the 14 years of the JTTW.

All the same, Wukong had thought Macaque and his sworn brothers had abandoned him because the Great Sage had tried calling out for help, thinking that at least Macaque would be able to hear him with his six ears. But no help came and he eventually gave up as decades turned into centuries. Though, he didn’t know that the reason Macaque couldn’t hear him was because of a magical spell surrounding the mountain, blocking out his calls from underneath. It was only when Guanyin and Tang crossed the threshold upon the mountain, that his calls were finally heard.

All in all, they both thought the other abandoned them but really, it was miscommunication and tragic events being orchestrated in the background.

The Brotherhood eventually learns that Wukong had sided with the heavenly realm, for reasons unknown to them. So, all they had known at the moment was that the Great Sage had abandoned them for centuries only to appear one day as heaven’s lapdog basically. Not sure on what to think about this, Macaque leaves to FFM to clear his head and to sort out his feelings. However, in his absence, the mountain ridge city is destroyed by the JTTW group. And as punishment ordered by the Heavenly Court, the celestial officials had originally wanted the three demons dead but Wukong instead gave the idea of sealing them inside the scroll as an act of mercy.

Before Azure Lion was taken away, he shared some final words with Wukong, words that the monkey did not like the sound of, knowing that Azure would not give up so easily on his quest to dethrone the Jade Emperor, even if it meant showing no mercy to his old friend. Azure Lion believes that defeating the Jade Emperor would be best for everyone, and he wouldn’t let anyone get in his way for “justice” by the time he’s free from the scroll. This is the reason Wukong is wary of Azure during S4. Plus, the hurt of Wukong’s betrayal probably fueled Azure’s last words to him as well.

To be noted, Macaque wasn’t with the three other demons when the JTTW group destroyed the city; he was at Flower Fruit Mountain but even from there, his six ears caught wind of the encounter so he rushed over there only to see the celestial guards holding the three demons in magical restraints. And then he finally saw Wukong and he was about to go over there and demand to know where he’s been until he’s stopped in his tracks upon seeing the golden fillet around the simian’s forehead. At that sight, the darker monkey manages to slip away in the shadows. The three other demons are transported to the underworld, sealed within the scrolls of memories.

And from there, Macaque eventually tracked down the pilgrim group, attacking Tripitaka and the others, believing that they were forcing Wukong to do their work for them, believing that they were the reason why Wukong had abandoned and betrayed the Brotherhood. However, by this time, Sun Wukong had already grown fond of his allies, and he was still wearing the golden fillet, so the Great Sage protected Tang Sanzang from Macaque, giving the dark haired monkey that scar on his eye. Having to continue on with the journey, Wukong left him with a heavy heart, his emotions in disarray upon seeing his old friend after centuries of no contact. Plus, the last time they had talked involved an argument, which didn’t help either.

From this battle, Macaque was simply knocked out. However, by the time he came to, the Lady Bone Demon had found him, having witnessed his defeat. She thought she could use the darker monkey in her plans, believing that she could utilize their broken friendship against them. So, in order to drive them further apart from each other, she had disguised herself as Wukong to make it seem like the simian was just finishing the job and killed Macaque, which he was tragically awake to experience. Then, she resurrected him later on and tried to make him work for her which he subsequently refused, escaping even though it had seemed like he owed her for “saving” his life and that “Wukong” had killed him. Because even Macaque could sense something was wrong with her, even if she had seemingly saved his life. Then, LBD was sealed away in the tomb by Tripitaka, having been caught by the pilgrims after she tried attacking them by disguising herself once more, which Wukong detected and called her out on.

Seeing that Macaque has abandoned her, even after she gives him new life, LBD forces him to help her later on during the events of S3. It’s the reason why she says that she’s capable of erasing the very memory of him because she basically already altered the very memories of his death.

After Wukong finished his 14 years during the JTTW, he finally encountered DBK later on, the bull demon rampaging on several villages. There were two reasons why he was attacking them: one to gain power and to cause destruction and two to expel his anger and frustration upon learning that his sworn brothers were sealed within the memory scroll when he was gone. This is that famous scene at the start of LMK S1 where Wukong defeats DBK, trapping him under a mountain for 500 years, leaving his staff on top of the mountain.

There were probably even more conflicting emotions stirring within Wukong upon seeing DBK again. It wasn’t such a heroic tale as described by Tang, but one of pain, and regret. Wukong was still angry at the Bull demon for not answering his pleas for help when he was trapped for 500 years, so he sealed DBK under a mountain, as a taste of his own medicine. This was, of course, also to prevent the demon bull from further laying siege to the villages. However, Wukong still felt regret for his actions, for sealing almost all of his old friends away, from driving away his closest companion (Macaque), so he left Ruyi Bang on the mountain, believing that he did not deserve such a powerful artifact anymore, not after all the mistakes he had made in the past. And he left, disappearing to Flower Fruit Mountain in isolation as his own form of self punishment.

[mythicalmagical-monkeyman]

Who wants some Sandy lore?~

(No? what do you mean no?)

Ok so

Role in Story: Initially Wukong's mentor and later he becomes a regular member of the crew

Physical changes: Has webbed fingers and toes. Has fin looking ears. Has gills that appear if he's in water or been doused in it. Has green eyes that can see in the dark. Elbow fins.

Class: Water demon

Backstory: (@hyperfixation-tangentopia it's all here :3 look)

Sandy was born in Ao Qin city (like most of his class) to a rather big school (family of water demons) where he spent his childhood surrounded by many family members. With so many members in his school however no one noticed when he went missing one day.

Sandy went missing because he had wandered off one day and had accidentally found himself on the demon train which took him on a trip to the famous Yigong city.

Upon arriving in the new city Sandy meets a blue cat named Mo and immediately becomes attached to the blue fur ball. The pair then eventually meet the protector Mal-chin the Miscellaneous who takes them home and introduces them to his two sons, DBK and Ruyi, and his lovely wife. Mal-chin later let Sandy and Mo stay under his roof and Sandy formed a brotherly bond with DBK and Ruyi.

Eventually Sandy joins DBK and Ruyi in the training they were receiving from Mal-chin but on the fateful day when Mal-chin's wife died DBK and Ruyi were forbidden from continuing their training but Sandy was allowed to continue his train on one condition: he could never show his enemies mercy.

With this condition Sandy became ruthless, a man with no qualms with killing, a beast in a fight.

He did have humanity left however as he managed to befriend Pigsy one night while on the surface with Mal-chin.

Mal-chin and Sandy had been tracking down a rouge demon on the surface when the pair got separated. Sandy wandered around before coming across Zhu Noodles and a pig demon locking the doors to the restaurant. Surprised to see a demon outside of Yigong Sandy approached the pig demon and well...

both of them were very shocked to see another demon. But they were also very curious and got talking and then got to know each other. This budding friendship was cut short by the return of Mal-chin who took Sandy back to Yigong. A few days later however Sandy returned and this marked the beginning of an interesting friendship.

One day near the end of this friendship Sandy took Pigsy to see Yigong city and asked if Pigsy would want to live in Yigong city, (a place where Pigsy would be accepted for who he was). Pigsy declined however as his mother had recently taken in two young boys, MK and Wukong, and Pigsy wanted to be there for them. Sandy understood and let the topic drop even though he thought Pigsy would be a lot safer living Yigong city.

A few days after Sandy had shown Pigsy Yigong city, there came the day known as the Twilighting.

A demon attacked Yigong city, a gloopy fear demon (that looks kind of like toh's belos's monster form) known simply as Di. It rampaged through the city destroying and killing anything in it's path. Sandy went in without a plan thinking he was strong enough to beat Di in a fight, but he couldn't. This caused a split second decision from Mal-chin to block a blow aimed at Sandy with his body.

The blow was lethal, Mal-chin was slain. (And Di was imprisoned in a tablet by Mr. Wei).

After this Sandy was heartbroken, he had lost the only ever father figure he had ever had, and DBK and Ruyi cut off their already strained ties with Sandy.

Sandy then decided to renounce his violent ways and go to therapy. He started drinking tea, doing yoga, etc. Doing everything he could to become a better person. Unfortunately he also cut himself off from the rest of the world (including Pigsy) in fear of hurting anyone thus he became a local hermit who's only friend is his cat Mo.

(done! for now :3) (who mal-chin is post here)

[aroacenezhaanddainsleif]

i heard you had a tlt royalty au? 👀

TRAFFIC LIGHT TRIO ROYALTY AU

Okay so. This started off with my own self-indulgent high-fantasy projection that i injected some of the LMK cast into and then went “oh shit! an au!!!” 

The core of this is basically based off of this one comic where somebody brought up the idea of TLT being a second generation of their ancestors… DBF vs Wukong vs Dragons… and their friendship being a story about how to forgive and be better than the past. And they are still that in LMK! That theme just isn’t as strong for the trio specifically, so. this AU where they're kingdom heirs and have to work through the issues of their parents and their own roles in life. This is supposed to be roughly based off of old (imperial) Chinese bureaucracies but I know very little so take this as gen royalty fantasy AU vibes.

MK: Celestial Court

Red: Demon Court

Mei: Dragon Court

Sandy: water spirit from the dragon kingdom who is really just vibing and into building stuff

Pigsy: was a personal chef for DBK (they got along) and PIF in the Demon Realm until MK arrived in the Celestial kingdom, went “that’s my son now” and completely switched over bc that’s his son now

Tang: Pigsy’s husband. Originally from the celestial kingdom but didn’t like it there, but he was willing to follow Pigsy back bc why not

Nezha: the Celestial kingdom’s top general/realm guard and also basically MK’s babysitter. he has a tense relationship with some of Mei’s family due to his past with Ao Bing, although Mei's chill with him.

Guanyin: an advisor at the celestial court and basically MK’s aunt-uncle

and obvi, TLT are the heirs!!! their kingdoms have… tumultuous relationships due to past grievances, but the trio are trying their best to work past their parents’ issues and create something better for all their kingdoms, but it’s a long road ahead. but before i get into that, i’ll address everyone’s obvious question: ‘where’s Wukong?’

that is where stuff gets messy.

see, Erlang hated his uncle for (gestures to his backstory) obvious reasons, and just kind of… fucked off because he had no interest in being the JE’s heir. he’s still an on-call general, but stationed far, far away and without claim to the throne. although having an heir was not urgent (bc immortal), the JE was getting tired and so looked around for another powerful person as an heir; enter Wukong.

Wukong was technically in line to be the next Jade Emperor/smth similar, but it's Wukong, and that was *obviously* not his style, so he took a group of his friends and went on a very long pilgrimage/adventure. things in general ended a bit... messy, and he also managed to piss off DBK and the dragons, so Wukong basically went into self-imposed exile.

then MK popped into existence (from Wukong power residue), and Wukong went "grand! new son/protege!"

turned out that raising a still mostly-humanish boy in an entirely monkey kingdom with no friends was perhaps slightly detrimental to his growth. Wukong realized that he was probably more fit for being a weird uncle/cousin figure than an actual DAD, and this didn't follow "standard monkey raising protocol", and he reluctantly traveled back to the Celestial Kingdom.

after much convincing, Wukong was convinced to stay alongside MK, the boy being raised as the Celestial Prince instead of Wukong, and that’s how the Celestial Prince MK came to be!

(p.s. before you ask, Macaque is Wukong's ex bf(f) who launches an attack on the 3 kingdoms later) (p.s.s. MK was basically a young monkey prince when he first arrived due to Wukong raising him around monkeys, so the entire celestial palace and guard, ESPECIALLY Nezha, basically had to deal with Wukong all over again, aka MK climbing on stuff and getting into meetings he should not be in.)

Nezha: you have a meeting in five. Wukong: now i don’t. Nezha: WUKONG- — Nezha: you have a meeting in five. MK: now i don’t. Nezha: MK-! Nezha: (I have a feeling this is what I’m doomed to do for the rest of my existence.)

now for Traffic Light Trio, the real fun of this AU:

as the next royal heirs grew up, people kept desperately hoping for an alliance or possibly even an arranged marriage between at least 2 of the 3 bc of the kingdoms' tensions. what they didn't expect was for the trio to instead grow up to become best friends who had sleepovers and judged plays together.

Mei and MK were fast friends, but it took them forever to get Red Son to be friends with them. they used the "it's to build a political alliance" excuse a lot so Red could rationalize it until he eventually realized that "oh shit, these idiots are my FRIENDS now”, and she had to deal with the political and social implications of that, esp with the Celestial Realm being the most powerful of the 3 realms.

they're all pen pals tho, and all of their kingdoms whisper about marriage alliances and whatnot, but in truth Mei and MK will just be bullying Red into ruining his public image by trying to eat plastic or something, and at balls they try to do 3-person jigs just for fun and everybody sees these powerful heirs just falling over each other and laughing like madmen.

roles and life: hey you guys shouldn’t be friends and even if you are connected, say through marriage, you guys have political roles and duties to think about- TLT: no thanks. we’re gonna do this our own way.

[polese65]

YUN FANG REFERENCE SHEETS

NEW OCCCCCCCCC. MEET FANG. After the realise of S4, I had an idea, (inter dialogue) " I made DBK and Wukong granddaughters, I have my verion of Macaque's twin, so I made 4 kids from 6 original member of the brotherhood. Since one is in prison and the other is dead, leaving Peng left, (insert evil laughs)" So Fang is born, he is the product of a short relationship (if we can call it) between Peng and Yun Lifen, Huang's younger sister, so yes Fang is Huang's nephew. After Lifen told Peng then she made an egg, Peng left her. So Lifen, after realizing the Peng left her, she decide to keep Fang and raise him as single mother, with the help of her brother. For the record, how you can even abandon baby Fang, look at him, is tiny yellow and fuzzy, I LOVE TINY YELLOW FUZZY THINGS, also I never immagin my self one day researching on how peacock grew, result the male one became blue during puberty. Going on with time, when Fang was 5yo he and his mom moved form the south to Megapolis city, and there he meet Ember, Elzy, Rumble and Savege, their first encounter wasn't the best start, basically he and Elzy had a dispute over the slide, so Elzy, for insert dominance on the new kid, she hit him with her head. In the end he entered their group. With Ember he have a good friendship, in fact Ember is super happy to have him in the group, finally someone alse with a consciousness. With Savege, he stay a safe friendly distance. The best relationship he have is with Rumble, they are bast friend, they are loke two brain cell who have find each other and make some dumb synopsis together. But the relationship then influences his life the most is the one his half sister Rong, like him, she is also one Peng abandon offsprings, but he never known about Peng, but his mother after seen Rong she decide to tell Fang on how he was born. Rong so for making fell better decide to introduce him to "The Nest", basically a safe place for all Peng offsprings.(I'm gonna talk about The Nest on ther day).

[wu-kongs]

The energy absorption does have its backdraws for Wolf! The more energy she takes, the more energized she feels, but since her body works like a battery/vault, if she is too full of energy she tends to go into like, a dormant state, where she wont wake up until her body has burnt through enough energy to continue as normal (its kind of like a self-preservation mechanism, too much energy could potentially kill her, so her body shuts down to burn through the stored energy before she can get to that point lol) She cannot fight this "coma" state and is absolutely helpless and vulnerable as long as her body thinks it has too much energy.

Wolf first met Macaque bc the monkey had the gall to pass out in her garden, and he looks so pathetic and small she goes "eh, its a slow day, might as well" since she was kind of bored. Macaque wakes up from getting his ass beat to suddenly finding himself in temporary house arrest by a doctor known for eating her patients, and instantly goes "Self-preservation doesn't exist, i am going to annoy and threaten this very dangerous demon as long as I can". Macaque, though, was in such a bad state, that its like if you were being annoyed and threatened by like a fucking ant, Wolf initially found him too pathetic to kill, but as Macaque healed, she found him just too funny to kill. They have somewhat of the Pigsy-Tang friendship dynamic, except Wolf is just vibin with this funny and pathetic little monkey who's too poor to afford anything while Macaque thinks he is just one (1) second away from getting killed and eaten but refuses to stop because free healing in exchange of small favors is too good of a deal to pass up.

Wolf is strictly forbidden from meeting DBK or PIF in the present by RedSon, mostly bc Red very firmly thinks his mother would either hate or love Wolf, and he is not ready to see the disaster it could bring. Wolf only allows this bc she will meet either parent at one point or another, she is just letting Red dream a bit and let him think he has some control over this whole situation. Wolf does have a vaguely godmother/cool aunt vibe towards Red, neither really directly acknowledges it though besides Wolf using it as teasing material. But Red does spend a lot of time at Wolf's clinic though, and Wolf does allow Red to ramble abt his petty drama, so they do have this vague familiar thing going on that neither will acknowledge until the other does (Wolf bc she thinks is amusing to see Red fret, and Red bc he internally already accepted Wolf as some sort of figure in his life he just forgot to say it to Wolf lmao)

ok see i like those drawbacks because they make sense in my head—when i used to be into BNHA, i of course made an OC whose quirk was empathy/emotional energy absorption/manipulation and if they absorbed too much and didn't expend it, rather than a coma, it sent him into a severe uncontrollable episode of mania. i think all that's real fun :3c

i really like her relationships with maq and red, they're fun goofy dynamics that are easy to digest and not loaded with a bunch of drama, but also that she seems to stand on equal ground with them. it also reflects on her really well as a quick-witted character with a kind of elegance to her.

which of red's parents does she end up meeting first? does red end up being right about iron fan's reaction? eye think they'd get along famously tbh and i'd love to see them interact. wolf has that no-bullshit behavior i think iron fan would like, though she doesn't have iron fan's slight flare for the dramatic lol

[falsementor]

i saw this theory in the tag last night talking about lady bone demon possibly being the demon that manipulated/influenced macaque so that he would try to kill swk only to get killed instead and thus have no choice but to be indebted to lbd for saving him and i haven’t been able to stop thinking about it

[winterpower98]

Here's something that I didn't share about "Following the Supernova"

Before the events of the show take place, Mei and Red meet up by accident one day and end up becoming friends. A friendship that doesn’t last long after Red finds out that Mei is the same Xiaojiao who was Sun Wukong’s daughter. They argue for a bit but, with tears in her eyes, Mei finally manages to convince Red that Wukong isn’t her father anymore, and he destroyed her life just as much as he destroyed Red's. And it takes a while but the two start to be friends again. Between that moment and when the show takes place, the two develop romantic feelings but neither of them confesses, not because they don’t think the other reciprocates, but because with DBK getting freed soon it doesn’t feel like the right time.

Things do change when MK gets the staff (and Xiaojiao does pay a quick visit to Wukong which mostly consists of her yelling at him and then leaving) but ultimately Mei never directly fights Red and in exchange, Red goes easy on MK and Co when fighting the heroes.

Fast forward to what we assume it's going to happen during S3, and Red joins the band of heroes.

But before they can go look for the samadhi fire they need a place to lay low and recover, and Mei proposes Ma’s place (the dragon girl is mostly hopping Macaque will be there too since he disappeared not long before LBD’s attack and he had yet to show himself). No one on the ship recognizes that name, but they trust Mei, and Sandy lets her insert the coordinates into the ship's navigating system. No one knows what that name means, except for Wukong. Who up until that very moment, was convinced that all his stalwart generals had died.

There’s a whole thing that happens between Ma and Wukong when they arrive, but we’ll ignore that for now. Just know, there is no yelling or throwing insults, doesn't mean the words that get shared hurt less.

They don’t stay at Ma’s place for long, something like a couple of days at most, but it allows them to breathe for a little while (I might let the Mayor pay a quick visit and scare everyone into running away again, but that’s yet to be fully decided).

But, while Red and Mei didn’t officially get together, it’s not like everyone is blind to the way the two interact with one another. Iron Fan knew very well what was happening between the two but she didn’t say anything, too preoccupied with getting her husband back. But she does tell DBK once he's free (and you can imagine how these two already jumped on at the idea of having a daughter-in-law and have already made all the preparations). Macaque also caught up pretty quickly to it and he talked about it with Ma, joking about young love and all of that.

But the only one who didn’t know was Wukong.

And here’s the thing, there is a little moment that happens on the airship between Wukong and Mei

“DO NOT call me Xioajiao. Very few people are allowed to call me that and you, Sun Wukong, are not one of them anymore”

Do you want to guess who does call her that during the entire trip and when they are at Ma’s house? Red Son

[absolutebl]

So can we take a second to talk about He's Coming To Me. I couldn't help but just feel good after watching it. Ohm and Singto made me laugh, cry, and everything in between. They were so soft and sweet with each other and the whole cast was great.. However, when Thun came out to his friends and him mom I was an emotional mess. It was handled so beautifully and let Thun be truly vulnerable which was so nice to see. I saw on one of your posts that your goal is to get everyone to watch Seven Days and honestly both shows left me feeling the same warm way. Anyway, it got me thinking, what are some of the other great coming out scenes in BL?

WE CAN ALWAYS TALK ABOUT HE'S COMING TO ME!!!

It's a fantastic BL that just never gets the recognition it deserves. Such a good story and wonderful acting. I mean, come on, there isn't miss in the whole cast. It's GMMTV at its absolute best.

(If you haven't seen them, different tenor entirely, but 3 Will Be Free and Great Men Academy are the other 2 of Thailand's forgotten golden children. Precious gifts of beautiful story + killer casting.)

I couldn't agree more. HCTM has one of the most dramatic and best coming out sequences in BL. it's AWESOME. In the gym. With the dropped balls. The symbolism of it all. Gah. And with Thun’s mom? So good.

Suddenly I feel compelled to go watch episode 6 all over again. It was this episode that made me fall in love Ohm's acting. (And I’d seen Dew & MIR already.) 

I happen to be one of those queers who fucking adores a good coming out scene. But honestly I really like the supportive parent ones the most.

So let me think, some of my favorites off the top of my head. 

In no particular order.

BEST Coming Out Sequences in BL

Okay so I think we can all agree that He's Coming to Me is the best. *holds up hand* no contest, but there are other really good ones.

Arthit in SOTUS in front of his friends with his arm over Kong shoulder. ALSO in SOTUS S in front of his coworkers. I just a love a grumpy tsudere being “yeah, he’s mine, I’m gay, deal with it.” 

Dean in Until We Meet Again kneeling in front of the grandmother he's never met before, explaining that not only is he gay but that history is repeating itself and he will absolutely not let it end badly this time around. And then bringing her long lost brother HOME to meet her? OMG I tear up just thinking about it. 

Pete's dad. I mean, who doesn't love Pete's dad in the Kiss series?

And of course, also Kao's mom in Dark Blue Kiss, with his head in her lap? And then later in the same series with both parents and then their friends just teasing the shit out of them for unsuccessfully keeping it secret.

And how Pete comes out accidentally to everyone in a live video with a teddybear?

DBK has to be up there as one of the best long form roll outs of coming out. (More realistic in my experience.)

I thought Golden Blood’s PitchBank coming out to the girls was really cute. 

Tein’s coming out to his bestie in Tale of Thousand Stars was great too. I don’t have a screen grab but I wrote about it at the time. I can’t remember the character’s name but White plays him, which was fun given the last entry on this list.  

Can publicly kissing Tin in A Chance at Love in order to shut his sister up is probably the most outrageous version of coming out. 

I love Shi Lei coming out to his mom in Be Loved In House: I Do. 

The only one from japan I really like is in Life: Love on the Line. Both characters' coming out sequences are so different and we know why, as a result, only one of them ever had the courage to live honestly.

It’s beautifully done. If sad.

Although Shun coming out to his whole village in His is really good, it’s also SO awkward. 

HIStory 3 the bL that shall not be named has a GREAT friendship coming out sequence. Where Bo Xiang comes out first, and then Hao Ting is like,

“Wait, you didn’t realize I was courting a boy too?”

Our bi himbo king is the best! And HE DIDN’T DESERVE WHAT WAS DONE TO HIM. 

Stupid writers. 

I am well aware it has been years but I am STILL BITTER. I’ve had breakups that wrecked me less than this show did. 

Let’s see, Korea isn’t big on coming out sequences. But in Light on Me the bit where Shin Woo tells the story of his first crush to Tae Kung in order to make him feel better after his heart got broken, and says, sort of softly, 

“It was a boy.”

Is basically a coming out moment and I LOVE IT. 

And one of my first favorites, of course, is Noh’s friends basically dragging him kicking and screaming out of the closet in Love Sick.

Normally I wouldn’t like this kind of exposing behavior, but they all know, and Noh knows they all know, and they’ve been running a long con just to get him to be honest with himself and then they are all SO CUTE and teasing and supportive about it. It’s adorable. 

My Top Parents in BL

The supportive straight best friend.

That’s MY BOYFRIEND! 

(source)