#samadhi fire part 3

[imminent-danger-came]

Red Son: "The Samadhi Fire is more than just an inextinguishable flame, it's an interdenominational weapon with the destructive power to burn through the very fabric of reality!" Mei: "You mean—if I lost my cool on any of the million training exercises we've been doing, there was a chance that I could have exploded and destroyed the whole universe???"

Red Son: "Yes, that could of happened, but it didn't. My guess is that somehow your dragon ancestry has protected you. And if your strong enough to contain the Samadhi Fire, you're strong enough to use it."

(3x11 This Imperfect World)

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Yellowtusk: "Perhaps our ambition to take the Jade Emperor's throne was premature. We miscalculated." Azure Lion: "No- This wasn't quite what we expected, but I will master this power! I will use it to create a new world order! If the Jade Emperor can contain this power, then so can I!"

(4x12 The Plan Man)

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Yellowtusk: "No more japes Peng! Azure can not control this power—he's tearing this world into pieces! I have done all I can to aid in containing it, but when he loses his hold—and he will—there will be no hope for this world!"

(4x12 The Plan Man)

-

Containing reality destroying power!

[abessive-art]

-- I'm gonna LOSE IT! [2/2]

[avisisisis]

No but Sun Wukong is so much... less alone(? now

He's been alone for centuries, with only the company of his monkeys. He hadn't left his mountain in 500 years; the first actual interaction he had with someone outside FFM was MK, and even then, it was just one person. He only met the rest of the gang at the start of season 2 and then he left

In season 3 he was literally stuck with MK, Mei, Pigsy, Tang and Sandy. He didn't have a choice; he was hurt, MK didn't have his powers and if he left then who knew what LBD could do to them? Besides, Macaque was looking for them. He couldn't leave (probably didn't really want to leave either)

Even though he had to interact with MK and the rest during season 3 because, well, they were literally living together, he was still hiding so much. No one knew about the fourth ring nor about what his initial plan was. He hadn't told MK about LBD when she first appeared and everyone was still upset at him for it (which, okay. Deserved. But also- angst)

In the scenes where the gang is having fun with each other, SWK tends to push himself away? He stays at the corner, a little too far away, showing that he doesn't consider himself part of the group. These MK's friends, not his, and even if he cares about them (and even if they're his family's reincarnations + descendant) he still distances himself from them. He keeps secrets, doesn't trust them the way MK does, refuses to tell them all about the Samadhi fire. Hell, they don't find out about his plan until it's already gone wrong!

At some point in pretty much every season, MK is hugged by his friends after some life threatening stuff happens. SWK (if he's present) smiles fondly and stays out of it. After he finds out about LBD and the gang are having a good time together, celebrating (and also being so excited to meet the Monkey King), he gifts them some hair food and leaves

Also, at the start of Revenge of the Spider Queen it's shown that he wants to either celebrate with MK or spend his day alone like he's been doing every year for centuries

In the final episode of season 2, MK's friends rush to his side and no one goes to check on Wukong, even though he looks pretty hurt. Heck, they're (rightfully) angry at him! It's only after they convince him to let them accompany him to the West that we see him patched up, and that's on the first episode of season 3 (also it's already nighttime when that happens)

When the gang hugs Pigsy in Cooking with Chang'e (I think that was the episode?) he smiles, looking happy for them, but he doesn't join them

I'm not saying that they don't care about SWK, because they really do! But he mostly keeps to himself, never tells them what's going on and left when MK needed him the most without explaining why. Besides, he's a legend. No one can know what's happening inside his mind. How can they trust him when they don't even know when he's being truthful?

In all of the scenes where they're all together in one place, SWK either stays closer to MK or leaves. There is no in between. Really shows how MK is pretty much his only friend lol

Also, all of his relationships went wrong. Macaque, Azure Lion, the rest of the brotherhood — all of them, thrown to the ground because of 'his' mistakes and 'his' bad deeds (not all of it was his fault, but there's no way he doesn't blame himself for that. He and MK are very similar). He (assumedly) killed Macaque and Azure Lion, Peng and Yellow Tusk were left in the scroll and he sealed DBK under a mountain. The friendships he did manage to keep are now gone not because of him fucking up, but because they're dead. MK is the first friend he's had in a long time and he is very afraid of messing that up too

When Mei gets the Samadhi fire (“Can't you see you're hurting the people who care about you the most?!” she said people, not person. She wasn't only talking about MK. They care about SWK too!), the first thing he does is leave again. He pushes everyone away, leaving MK and the others to take care of everything himself, and it fails. He fails, and MK is almost killed because of it. In the end, it was only because MK was accompanied by the people he cares about that he won. This makes Wukong see stuff differently

Post-season 3. SWK realizes that he doesn't have to be all alone. He notices how MK is doing so much better than him because he has friends (his support network or whatever that's called) and is like “Ohhhhhh okay. Yeah that makes sense. Alright-”

After the whole LBD fiasco, SWK is willing to trust other people more. He not only cares way too deeply now, but he also tries to share what's on his mind a little more! He's doing his best to show that he trusts them too and I think he's doing a pretty good job!

When Inky separates them, he says that he won't let some dumb curse keep him and his friends trapped. His friends. They're no longer only MK's buddies. They're not strangers he might've known once anymore; they're his friends. And some day they will be his family

The reason why they seem more like friends now is because of Sun Wukong himself. Sure, he might've needed some help, but he finally started to try to just. Stop pushing everyone away. This is why he's so much closer with the rest. It was all him

Also, I love this because it shows how you're the only one who can make the final decision that will change your life (dying or living, staying or leaving). You're more than allowed to ask for help and you can get it from anyone, but in the end, it's all you.

In the season 4 special, Sun Wukong shares his plan. He hadn't told MK about Azure Lion and the brotherhood before, sure, but that's because he thought that was over. In the scroll, when Macaque and MK go to find him, he opens up to MK. Shares his worries. Lets MK (and Macaque too I guess, with that smile. Ugh that SMILE) comfort him. And he, most importantly, fights alongside MK in the final battle. He gives the team the information they need for MK to come up with a plan. They fight together

And when the season 4 special ends, Yellow Tusk says something about true heroes (I can't remember the exact line) and the camera shows all of them, SWK included. The only one who is not there is MK, and even then it's clear that Yellow Tusk was talking about him bc the camera cuts to him sitting all alone at the edge of the cliff

SWK goes to sit with MK, but this time the rest of their friends are there. Sun Wukong, immortal or not, is a little less lonely now

[yurious-george]

LMK is pretty wishy-washy on whether the Monkie Kids are descendants or reincarnations of the JTTW pilgrims, often flip-flopping between the terms. The actual answer? It's a mix, but they haven't clarified. Here's a quick-and-dirty guide based on show canon:

Pigsy and Mei: Descendants. Mei's heritage as a direct descendant of Ao Lie is a central part of her character. Pigsy's link to Zhu Bajie isn't explicit, but Pigsy's family (recipes "passed down through generations") is a central part of Sweet N' Sour, and Zhu Bajie's status as a cook allows easy extrapolation. They may be reincarnations as well, accounting for their deja vu in The Samadhi Fire.

Tang: Reincarnation. Buddhist monks, famously, do not have sex. There is no mention of Tang's family but the Golden Cicada - heralding the unlocking of Tang's powers - appears in season 3, clarifying that Tang, like Sanzang, is the next reincarnation of Golden Cicada.

Sandy: Unknown. His family is never shown nor is there proof of reincarnation. He may even be the original Sha Wujing, owing to his flashback in To Catch a Leaf. It stands to reason that a river demon would live as long as the river does, but this doesn't explain the (inconsistent) difference in hair color, Wukong treating him like a stranger, or Mo.

MK: Neither. We can be reasonably confident SWK didn't hook up with anyone. Speaking of, SWK is still alive, so MK is not a reincarnation. Oddly, MK seems to be associated with the underworld (a sticker depicting him as the skull in a skull-and-crossbones in Pig Pong Panic, his eyes glowing blue in Minor Scale) and possibly born or even constructed out of a stone (The monkey statue & stone cracking in S4). Just what are you, MK...?

[quitealotofsodapop]

haha I love the "slow-boiled stone egg" name for this au thats adorable! I have some to chew on now thank you! I will be drawing some funny moments for this au now <3

[Many foes back off just by the tired firey glare in the King's eyes.] Wukong's presence is enough to scare most off, and the most of the rest who think about still trying end up taking one look at him and just knowing it's not worth it XD

[Wukong never managed to tell Macaque about the Egg in that lifetime.] it breaks his heart. later, the fact he never knew breaks Macaque's heart too, he'd always wanted a family with his king

[he's convinced that the Egg's presence at the Samadhi Fire was what caused the Rings to Split and hit Ao Lie.] I didn't mention it in my first post but it was part of my thought process that the stone egg started "kicking" mid-ritual, and try as he might to keep control of the situation the pain from that is what causes Wukong to slip allowing the creation of the fourth ring.

[By isolating himself, he accidentally causes his body to *turn down the heat* and extend the process even longer.] awww no, nore isolation! he's gonna be so mad when he realizes he prolonged the whole thing more. but maybe it's better that way, it wouldn't be good to have the egg be born while his mental health is that bad and he doesn't have a support network. egg is like, "no troop? no family? not suitable conditions, I'm staying in here for now". [he geniunely believed that keeping MK whilst the Stone Egg was still draining life force could kill the cub. So SWK is forced to give the little toddler up to save his life.] on the same note it's also (unfortunately) for the better, he wasn't in the right mind to care for a kid, and ebven if that isn't the direct reason he acknowledges as he reason to give MK up the fact he recognizes he might not be safe for a kid right now and does things to ensure MK still gets a good life says a lot. bonus points if he still watches over MK as he grows and giving up MK leads him to trying to better his mental health for the sake of his unborn infant.

[When him and MK finally reunite, its a little awkward but MK immediately understands the reason for the Monkey King's retirement.] wait, did MK remember he was with SWK first here or was just "meeting my fav legend irl" kind of awkward? also MK assuming it's a bad break up situation is super funny when you remember that it was his break up with Macaque that led to Wukong's body finally reaching peak egg making conditions. in a way, it is a bad break up situation, just not in the way that MK is assuming.

[being "like this longer than even Lao Tzu's mother". He returns to Pigsy's that evening silent with a horrified look on his face.] SWK def brags that he now holds the record for the longest pregnancy from any immortal. when MK goes back to Pigsy's the othres notice, and MK having already told the others why SWK wasn't doing hero work himself anymore (with SWK's permission ofc) explains what Wukong told him and the whole shop is silently horrified/very sympathetic the rest of the night.

[New Years does not go smoothly. The Spider Queen can sense that there's a new life within the King, but she decides its an issue for after the takeover.] Wukong is very surprised she doesn't immediately try and exploit the obvious weakness but she's like "I hate you but I still have some honor ape" but still goes and drains him. he's very surprised to see LBD present, and her being there when he's caught is how she learns he's carrying a stone egg. her having this information freaks him out, especially when it doesn't take her long to start making passive threats. after the spider queen debacle SWK def make a really quick tri to the south sea for a check up with Kuan Yin to make sure being drained like that didn't hurt the egg.

[DBK frees himself, not only from the fear of losing his wife and his son, but also out of fury that Wukong had been hiding his condition for so long!!] LBD approaches SWK who is tied up close to DBK, so DBK hears the whole conversation, including the parts about Wukong's condition. he spends the whole time he's trying to escape grilling Wukong about keeping it secret from even him.

[Any resentment surrounding the Bull's imprisonment is forgiven due to a certain offer... + PIF demands a proper baby shower when she hears about it from her excited husband later.] it is surprisingly easy to get back into the bull family's good graces after imprisoning DBK with that single question, as well as making up for not telling them. DBK picks up red son and runs back home super excited, he busts down the doors to his family's castle and just yells "DARLING WE'RE GONNA BE GODPARENTS" to both PIF and RS's confusion until he explains everything.

[Macaque has... suspicions when he and Wukong finally meet again in S1. He makes a comment about the king being "out of shape", but becomes concerned when his Sun refuses to fight in any way that leaves his stomach exposed.] Macaque's "comprehension of all" be coming in clutch here baby! he's instantly concerned about Wukong so closely protecting a certain part of his bidy, that usually means there's a vulnrability, a big one, but it's only when he's laying in bed later that night that it occurs to him just what that vulbrability may have been. it causes many sleepless nights after that, driving himself insane trying to figure out if he;s right or not with the information he has at hand.

["The Shadow Play" becomes more a plan to trap the Monkie Kid gang for answers. MK spills the beans. Macaque stares blankly for a minute before yelling in frustration. It's too much emotional baggage to process right now!] the endless speculation becomes too much and he just needs answers, now. but with that question out of the way there's a couple more lined right up. how far a long is he? who;s the other parent? when did it happen? but ofc he ends up not having the chance to answer those questions before LBD decides to shake things up some more.

[now with the additional threat that she will harm the Stone Egg if Macaque fails her again...] even without all the answers he wants about the stone egg Macaque knows he can't let that happen, he may have hated Wukong for a while and they have yet to even begin reconciling but he would never do anything to harm Wukong's baby if he ever had one. he wasn't going to bring an infant into their conflict. but Wukong doesn't know that. he knows Wukong doesn't know that from the way he hunches in on himself to protect his stomach the second Macaque's voice is heard above the airship. Wukong is at first terrified when Macaque gets involved, he hates the idea of having to choose between him or his unborn infant again, but Wukong already knows what he'll choose if he has to. but Macaque barely even acknowledges him, specifically doesn't target him, a noteworthy thing since Macaque's quarrel is most personal with the sage. SWK doesn't complain, he doesn't want to have to choose again.

[She tries to offer protection for the Stone Egg in exchange for the world - but Wukong refuses to answer and gets the drop on him.] clever considering his love for children in general let alone his own, but what good is having his little one alone when he so desperately wants to share that love with his family? [Macaque breaks the King from his possession by casually placing a curious hand on his swollen stomach, smiling in a way Wukong hadn't seen in centuries. "I know," is all that is said as the two monkeys allow their foreheads to touch.] Macaque is very mindful not to do anything that would risk the stone egg's life during the fight because LBD doesn't care to protect SWK's stomach the way he himself did back in s1. still, Wukong was so stressed by what was happening while he was possessed that Macaque's gentleness+pregnancy hormones causes him to ust start bawling his eyes out. loud, ugly crying tears of joy and relief.

[She did not count upon the Egg recognising her as a yummy source of spirtual energy as she was possessing it's parent. LBD soul is literally devoured as the Stone Egg responds to Wukong and Macaque's reconcillation.] the mental image of the stone egg's magic just chomping down on LBD's soul is super funny, stone egg be like "you hurt bama and then try and leave like nothing? i think not! nom". SWK sensing the egg absorbing some powerful magic and is just like "oh gods".

[Until the newly unpossessed Monkey King doubles over in pain and cries for the Bodhisattva to help him. Guanyin is on the scene in seconds, glaring at her little brother angrily. Half the gang stare jaws dropped at what is happening while the rest are panicking.] the stone egg go the last of the magic it needed and later during the celebrations felt that SWK finally had his whole family present and didn't feel isolated anymore and was like "huh, guess it's time, is it? okay" and that's that. with how close he was to popping these days Wukong had Guanyin on speed dial in case of labor finally occuring, comes in handy now with how quick they shows up but they're not happy with Wukong for putting himself and the egg in so much danger with what was happening with LBD. he shouldn't have been fighting her! he shouldn't have been fighting at all! and the smadhi fire again? they're gonna skin Wukong.

[After many hours of painful labor with Macaque clutching his hand for support, Wukong *finally* greets his baby for the first time.] Macaque is def worried on a few occasions that his hand is gonna break, but he ends up only losing feeling in his hand for a while. it's also bruised and sore for a while but it's the price he's willing to pay to be present for the stone egg's arrival. Wukong, holding his new born infant after the egg hatches def joke that she "kept him waiting".

[Her dark fur is hard to ignore. As well as the ice-blue eyes that stare between the two monkeys with wonder.] ice blue eyes as a side affect of LBD's soul getting devoured at the end there, but what if the dark fur is actually because of SWK constantly yearning for Macaque to come back after their fight during the early stages of his pregnancy, SWK's desire and longing worsened by hormones causing her to shift in appearance to fit not just her parent but his wants. [And the little excited chirps she makes that sing the tune of Wukong's favorite songs. Everyone in the Monkie Kid gang, the Demon Bull family, and any present celestials are crying with joy.] I headcanon Wukong hums a lot, so his infant picking up on the sounds of the tunes he hummed in the later stages of his pregnancy is very cute, but he probably thinks every sound she makes is like music even when not trying to mimic him. he bursts into tears the first time she chirps. Macaque def cries at her having dark fur like him cause it makes him feel more like a bio parent. DBK tries to hold it together but starts crying when she can fit into his cupped palm with ease. Kuanyin cries and gives Wukong a hug when he holds her for the first time.

[Gold Star comes down from Heaven in person to bless her arrival.] he is thanked for his blessing and also thanked for being to busy to read the specifics of Wukong's imprisonment, seeing as if he had Wukong wouldn't be holding the most precious little furball in the universe right now.

[Her eye lazers come in a little later than expected... singeing Azure Lion's fur as he goes to take the Jade Emperor's throne. All present, including members of the Brotherhood, laugh at the coincidence.] it's hard not to laugh given the context, there ends up being a joke mad that every new Jade Emperor will have stone monkey lazer eyes shot at them when they try and sit on the throne for the first time. Wukong is insanely proud.

[Yuebei's whole family are willing to *destroy* the divine animals if even dare touch a single hair on her little head.] Azure would likely try deluding himself into believing that he, Wukong, and Yuebei could be a perfect family once justice is brought to Heaven, or try to blackmail the MKrew. or both. you can imagine that won't go over with anyone too well.

[The retrieve Yuebei after they enter the palace and see the three usurpers beaten to a pulp. The infant monkey rolling around on her butt as she giggles. Azure begs the crew to "please take her back".] Azure was so busy fantasizing he didn't notice Yuebei starting to get playful, and playful+super power do not mix. she starts tugging at him to play and the rest is history.

[Wukong and Macaque are so proud of their super-delayed baby girl. :3] they will always be super proud ;)

sorta mirror post to this one.

[it breaks his heart. later, the fact he never knew breaks Macaque's heart too, he'd always wanted a family with his king]

Macaque having the mega-regret when he finds out all those years later about the Stone Egg, feeling like a dad who wasn't around for their (ex)partner and unborn baby and barely having enough time to adjust when baby arrives.

[I didn't mention it in my first post but it was part of my thought process that the stone egg started "kicking" mid-ritual, and try as he might to keep control of the situation the pain from that is what causes Wukong to slip allowing the creation of the fourth ring.]

Ooh he'd feel so bad for allowing the slip-up to happen cus of being distracted by the Egg moving (likely responding to the Samadhi fire like it would consumable dao like; "Hey, can I eat that- OOO NO SPICY!!!"). Whats worse is that his slip-up indirectly hurt his baby's godfather, and nearly killed his master :(

Wukong's mental health was not good after the ritual, no matter how greatful the Ironbull couple were for the safety of their son. Wukong risked his own baby for them, and the couple don't learn this until centuries later.

[on the same note it's also (unfortunately) for the better, he wasn't in the right mind to care for a kid, and ebven if that isn't the direct reason he acknowledges as he reason to give MK up the fact he recognizes he might not be safe for a kid right now and does things to ensure MK still gets a good life says a lot. bonus points if he still watches over MK as he grows and giving up MK leads him to trying to better his mental health for the sake of his unborn infant.]

Bonus sad detail: Wukong probably didn't need to give up MK. The Stone Egg would have sensed MK as a fellow baby monkey, and hence "troop/sibling, no eat". But Wukong could not take that chance with the limited knowledge he had. He'd rather silently watch over MK being raised by other parents, than risk the Egg's magic killing the older cub. And ofc he was in a mental health pit and just *couldn't* raise MK on his own in that state.

[Wukong is very surprised she doesn't immediately try and exploit the obvious weakness but she's like "I hate you but I still have some honor ape" but still goes and drains him.] + [after the spider queen debacle SWK def make a really quick tri to the south sea for a check up with Kuan Yin to make sure being drained like that didn't hurt the egg.]

Ohhhh, imagine post-New Years the Spider gang hears some furious knocking at the entrance to the sewer-cave. Spider Queen turns, only to see Guanyin/Kuan Yin glaring her down like the vengeful goddess she is.

Quanyin: "You hurt my little brother and his unborn baby."

[even without all the answers he wants about the stone egg Macaque knows he can't let that happen, he may have hated Wukong for a while and they have yet to even begin reconciling but he would never do anything to harm Wukong's baby if he ever had one. he wasn't going to bring an infant into their conflict. but Wukong doesn't know that.he knows Wukong doesn't know that from the way he hunches in on himself to protect his stomach the second Macaque's voice is heard above the airship. Wukong is at first terrified when Macaque gets involved, he hates the idea of having to choose between him or his unborn infant again, but Wukong already knows what he'll choose if he has to.]

Ohohoho the spicy conflict. Wukong not wanting to choose his baby's safety over Macaque again, not knowing that this time Macaque knows about the Egg and is trying his damn best to ignore Wukong so he won't have to.

Instead of the infamous "OH WUKONG!" while flying overhead at the end of S2, Macaque instead announces hos presence to MK specifically. Wukong and the gang are confused when Mac is actively trying to pretend Wukong isn't there until it clicks that he knows.

[clever considering his love for children in general let alone his own, but what good is having his little one alone when he so desperately wants to share that love with his family?]

Wukong gets the drop on him cus it's such a paradoxial offer. If he agrees, his baby will be a lonely little cub in the world like he was + he'll lose all his found family and the world at large. If he refuses, LBD might just decide to aim for the Egg directly, taking away something Wukong has been incubating/nuturing for centuries away from him and using the energy accumilated within to fuel her mech.

It gives him enough pause that LBD manages to target her possession onto him.

LBD does not think about feeding Wukong in this timeframe ofc, since in her mind he's an immortal self-sustaining puppet now. It's ultimately what leads to her demise...

[the mental image of the stone egg's magic just chompingdown on LBD's soul is super funny, stone egg be like "you hurt bama and then try and leave like nothing? i think not! nom". SWK sensing the egg absorbing some powerful magic and is just like "oh gods".]

Oh gosh I'm trying to think of how terrfying that would be to witness.

You know when the Mayor gets un-possessed by LBD? Think that, but the soul energy is getting eaten like a string of noodles and slurped into Wukong's body.

Yuebei, from deep within Wukong's body: *burp!* Everyone present: 0_o Wukong, very concerned/proud(?): "Uh... I guess the Egg... ate her???"

[the stone egg go the last of the magic it needed and later during the celebrations felt that SWK finally had his whole family present and didn't feel isolated anymore and was like "huh, guess it's time, is it? okay" and that's that.]

The Egg needed Wukong to gain a couple few more family members before it could "hatch" into Baby. XD

[I headcanon Wukong hums a lot, so his infant picking up on the sounds of the tunes he hummed in the later stages of his pregnancy is very cute, but he probably thinks every sound she makes is like music even when not trying to mimic him. he bursts into tears the first time she chirps. Macaque def cries at her having dark fur like him cause it makes him feel more like a bio parent. DBK tries to hold it together but starts crying when she can fit into his cupped palm with ease. Kuanyin cries and gives Wukong a hug when he holds her for the first time.]

The whole squad is crying.

The baby does a little series of chirps that Wukong swears sound like a piece of music he hummed to himself when alone. He can barely explain it until he just buries his face into his (!!!) baby's dark fluffy hair. She smells like new beginnings and Wukong has to constantly wipe his eyes to prevent his tears from wetting her little face.

Mac's crying cus he's finally coming to terms with why Wukong hurt him all those years ago + he's meeting his former mate's little cub who looks like him!! He makes a sound akin to a dying squeaky toy when he's asked how he thinks of little Yuebei.

DBK holds it together until he has Yuebei in his palm. Smaller than even Red Son was as a baby. DBK does one deep breath... and quickly has to pass the baby to PIF cus his eyes have turned into waterfalls. She's so small!!

Quanyin has cried many times in their life as a goddess... but holding Yuebei is the first time in a long time she makes a joyful snotty sob. The baby monkey is confused by the bodhisattva's reaction, and tries kissing her tears away. This only makes her honorary aunt/grandmother cry even harder with pride and joy.

Not to mention how hard MK cries when Wukong introduces him to Yuebei as "your honorary big brother". Mei has hundreds of timelapsed photos of MK as his face contorts into an ugly cry as he holds Yuebei for the first time.

[he is thanked for his blessing and also thanked for being to busy to read the specifics of Wukong's imprisonment, seeing as if he had Wukong wouldn't be holding the most precious little furball in the universe right now.]

When Gold Star arrives to deliver his blessing, he finally gets a good look at the baby and is like "Oh!!" His previous divine demeanor immediately drops like an old coat, cus this is the first Stone Monkey infant he's seen in thousands of years!! And she's so beautiful!! He reminds himself to say sorry to Wukong for not checking if the Buddha's punishment was Stone Monkey friendly. Wukong and Mac laugh him off cus the Gold Star of Venus is currently having his beard nearly yanked off by the playful newborn cub.

[it's hard not to laugh given the context, there ends up being a joke mad that every new Jade Emperor will have stone monkey lazer eyes shot at them when they try and sit on the throne for the first time. Wukong is insanely proud.]

Wukong most certainly is proud!! His little girl is already developing ways to defend herself! She's supposed to be kidnapped after all.

[Azure would likely try deluding himself into believing that he, Wukong, and Yuebei could be a perfect family once justice is brought to Heaven, or try to blackmail the MKrew. or both. you can imagine that won't go over with anyone too well.]

Azure: "What do you think little cub? Am I not a fine Emperor and guardian? Do you think your mother will warm to being at my side?" Yuebei, hungry, frustrated, and bored: *glares and makes a distinctly "Macaque"-sound as her ears glow* The Brotherhood: "..." Peng: "She must be hard to impress. As any princess ought to be." Azure: *feels a little better* :'3 Yellowtusk the Wise, internally: "I'm telling Guanyin. I am not going to be held responsible for what nonsense Azure gets up to regarding Wukong and the infant."

[Azure was so busy fantasizing he didn't notice Yuebei starting to get playful, and playful+super power do not mix. she starts tugging at him to play and the rest is history.] + [they will always be super proud ;)]

If Azure still had a tail, Yuebei would have taken it as a chew toy long before the MKrew (love that name) got there. And Wukong would have let her keep it as a trophy.

Hope you enjoy this slightly different version of the other ask! I hope I managed to get to some details I forgot/overlooked in the other one!

[starrclown]

Sometimes I think the vast majority of the lmk fandom forgets that it was the Bull family, who freed Lady Bone Demon from her prison.

Even in the series they forget about that, unless I remember wrongly, at no time does another character point it out

They don't even show remorse for that, although they are villains so of course they don't care because it doesn't affect them directly but still I never understood why Sun Wukong is blamed so much for not dealing well with Lady Bone Demon, at least he tries, not in the best way but try

I'm only commenting on this because Demon Bull King's attitude towards Sun Wukong in the episode "The First Ring" bothers me, as if he had never done anything wrong in his life, Monkey King wouldn't have to use fire samadhi if only lbd continued. sealed, Literally none of this would have happened if he hadn't freed her in the first place.

Also I think it would have been interesting if: red son feels guilty for participating in the liberation of lbd, that's why he decides to help the protagonists defeat her, that and rescuing his parents too

what do you think

The only time I think that it was pointed out that The Demon Bull Family helped free Lady Bone Demon was when Bone Demon mentioned it herself. She makes a comment about how Redson and his family helped free her and Redson looks both angry and guilty. He's the only one that shows a hint of remorse.

I think people forget that Sun Wukong didn't do it. What he did do was not tell Mk about the Lady Bone Demon and he didn't tell Mei about the Sadhami fire. That's his part in this.

Honestly I think Redson participated in Lady Bone Demons defeat for 3 reasons.

1. He helped free her.

2. His parents.

3. It's litteraly his power. (I'm still kinda angry he never got that back.)

I kinda wish people did bring it up that it is The Demon Bull Families fault and not Sun Wukongs. It really bothers me when Wukong gets blamed for things he litteraly couldn't have stopped or inticipated.

Just my thoughts though.

[jedineedlove]

LMK Memory Scroll / Bull Family

I want to post my thoughts on what went on in the memory scroll for the Bull Family.

So to begin, is to go over what the Scroll of Memory is.

The Scroll of Memory is an ancient artifact created from magical bamboo planks from the Underworld. It was designed to be a prison for its captives as they were forced to relive their past misdeeds, making them relive the sinful parts of their past.

For the Bull Family, they were in the scroll for a while and we don't see what they went through inside. The scroll is meant to make them relive misdeeds as a form of punishment.

There is also the question, the scroll would show them mostly memories they would actually feel bad for I mean there are people that do bad things but not regret it. So it would not really affect them. Remember these are demons doing bad things like trying to conquer the world and terrorizing innocent people is just part of the plan. So for demons, it would be more personal things.

DBK

For him, it could be a number of things he is a demon king he has probably done a lot of bad things. One thing he has done wrong that would leave a bad memory for the scroll to use would be when he attacked the village and Wukong sealed him under the mountain.

But if the scroll is using things that they themselves consider sinful like deep regret filled memories then.... I have a few ideas

As a father and husband he was sadly absent for 500 years there must be regret and when he realized he was a bit too emotionally distant from his son. he most likely has regret as being unable to really help his son control the samadi fire and make him go through a risky ritual. He most likely regrets the words and actions he said and did as he was possessed by LBD. Finally, with the battle against his former sworn brothers, his wife took a hit for him and he was captured making him leave his son to fend for himself.

PIF

The former Celestial: Princess Iron Fan a sinful action she did in their universe by celestial standards is she left her realm for a demon king. She left her station for the Bull King to join him in conquering the world.

She most likely has many regrets that have memories that the scroll could use. Feeling helpless as your husband is imprisoned. She may have made some tough choices over the 500 years leading a kingdom and raising her son. Her emotional distancing from her son she can see more that it left scars. Red Sons' early childhood and being unable to help him. If you look back at the ritual even though her son and husband are there she is not. Because the fire would have burned her. Even though she loved Bull King she must have had people she cared for in the celestial realm and left them behind never to see them again. During the fight with the tree she was captured but Tusk and when she was caught she was unable to help her husband and son.

Red Son

I can't really think of anything he himself has done that would be considered sinful and have affected him the closest thing would be the damage he did when he had the Samadhi Fire.

He probably has the most personal regret even though he should have too. The feeling of being unable to meet demon royalty expectations. During his father's imprisonment, he was unable to help until 500 years later. Even though he did not know he had the samadhi fire until later in season 3 he most likely had memories of the destruction by his red jack pattern on the back (bottom right image.)

[splendentmoon]

MASTERPOST

well, here I will leave the masterpost, thanks to the person who recommended it to me, now everything will be organized. Thanks for the support you have given me! It makes me so happy that you like what I do! Say that, I'm off! Byeeeeeeeee!✨

ABANDONED PRINCE AU

Two princes, the star and the eclipse.

Secret of the princes.

MK(the monkey prince of the eclipse, Xiaotian)

MK's team/family

MK info.

THE LADY BONE DEMON NIGHTMARE

The music festival

MK's DRAWING

Spider Queen

Bai He met MK

Fight between siblings

Spindrax possession

MK's relationship with...

The reason why MK was abandoned.

MK possessed

Resounding of hearts.

Guilt

Red Son and  possessed MK

END OF THE NIGHTMARE PART 1

END OF THE NIGHTMARE PART 2

Dream

MK monkey form

Haircut

Parents part 1

Parents part 2

DBK and PIF

Bull Dad and Iron Mom

brotherhood and MK

Spider Gang

Nursery

Mk protection squad

Peng hugs MK

Spicynoodles first kiss

Azure Lion

Scars

BAI HE DESIGN

FLUFF

Baby MK Part 1

Baby MK Part 2

Baby MK Part 3

Baby MK Part 4

Baby MK Part 5

Baby MK Part 6

Baby MK Part 7

Baby MK Part 8

Baby MK Part 9

Baby MK Part 10

Baby MK Part 11

Baby MK Part 12

Baby MK Part 13

Baby MK Part 14

Baby MK Part 15

Family cuddle pile

SPICYNOODLES

Baby MK part 16

Baby MK Part 17

Baby MK Part 18

Baby MK Part 19

Baby MK Part 20

Baby MK Part 21

The creator/author appears

Baby MK Part 22

Baby MK Part 23

Baby MK Part 24

Baby MK Part 25

Baby MK Part 26

Baby MK Part 27

Memes✨

Wukong and Bai He learn who MK is (Part 1)

Wukong and Bai He learn who MK is (Part 2)

MK meet his whole family

Samadhi Fire

Date Fail

Monkey Form

Movie and Kiss

Baby MK and Momcaque

Yin and Jin first meet MK

Uncle Azure

Brotherhood  and Red Son

SPINDRAX SEASON 2

I'm going to finish this later, my eyes are hurting xd

[i-am-a-fan]

Dude. I need to know about the tails.

I

Am

Invested

In that headcanon. I wanna hear a whole lore dump on your thought process on the latest peice

(If ya want ofc)

so. You wanted to hear my whole lore dump huh?

Please keep in mind that I am well aware that this is SUPPPEERRR off script for the show. This is just kinda like me playing with it like silly putty.

Link to artwork

Spoilers underneath and also long text.

Okay. So it stems from a lot of places.

First I’ll talk specifically about the tails since I think they’re the easiest to explain.

Tails:

The tails from from the season 4 special and the idea that Mk’s Kaiju form has three tails. That’s kinda what inspired it at the beginning.

I’ve outlined what I believe to be the tails in red so it’s easier to see.

Then we have Mk’s name sake in the Chinese dub (I think) Qi Xiaotain which roughly means “little sky” or “little heaven”.

If Wukong is the Sun, and Macaque is the moon, then would it not make sense that Mk, the one caught in between them is the sky?

I always try to draw Wukong’s tail to look like a fire ball, Macaque’s tail to look like a crescent moon, and Mk’s tail to look like a cloud.

Thus, you get the three tails that make up the controlled Kaiju form :D!

I also added the detail that the cloud swirl, what it outlined in orange, comes before wukong’s and Macaque’s tail to show that this feature is special to MK.

Samadhi Fire/ Teal Coloring:

The real thing that started everything was my crazy theory that Mk is the next person to get the samadhi fire.

The original smashing fire was also blue, which is why I made the painting be mixed with teal and yellow.

Link to Mk and the Samadhi Fire

I go into a LOT more detail in that post, but I’m almost certain that one of these 3 things happened to the samadhi fire in the show.

1. It got destroyed with the Lady Bone demon

2. Redson got it back and is unaware of it

3. Plot armor/ unexplained disappearance.

If it’s the first one, then onto the next topic.

Celestial Monkey(?):

I really hope that Mk turns out to be yet another celestial monkey, and if he is, I think it would make the most sense that he’s the “Connected Arm Gibbon” who can “seize the sun and the moon, shorten a thousand mountains, distinguish the auspicious from the inauspicious, And manipulate planets and stars.”

To me it makes the most sense since Mk is already somehow connected the the heavens and the planets.

More so, when Mk uses the Skeleton Key on himself, we get this frame… one that shows us a type of cosmic entity.

Plus, all the times that Mk has a cataclysmic power that shakes the universe.

If you combine this with the eye theory by @ imminent-danger-came , it seems like there’s some other version of MK that is watching and controlling what is happening to the Mk we are following.

- Eye Theory/ Eye Motifs with Mk

- Other Mk theory

There’s also the saying that the fate is written in the stars, and there’s a storyline relating Mk with destiny/ fate and how he can either be doomed to repeat it or change it.

If a version of Mk can truly control the stars, maybe by doing so he can change his fate as the harbinger of chaos.

Adding on, and with @spoofyleaf ‘s contributions, other Mk might be some protective seer of our MK. As seen in “Cooking with Chang’e” episode, Mk seems to simply be able to gain abilities from time to time and lose them.

Tang even comments on this and questions it, and if tang is our Normal Guy ™ who stands in as a Narrator and informant for the audience, then we can assume that this is not normal.

Referencing back to that image, look at the protective stance that the celestial version has over Mk, it’s almost protective of them (how I got inspired for the stance in the image).

Which brings me to the last part:

Reality Manipulation:

If Mk can gain new abilities when it is needed, and has the ability to control fate, does that entail that he has some sort of affect on the reality he’s placed in?

If so, that’s where I took creative liberties. If the Samadhi fire WAS destroyed, and it WAS the ultimate weapon for anything, wouldn’t someone who is obsessed with keeping everyone safe, try to reforge it? Wouldn’t the perfect person be someone who can change reality as they see fit? Wouldn’t that be someone who can distinguish the promising from the unpromising? Wouldn’t it be someone whom the bone demon tried to recruit again, and again? Wouldn’t the ultimate wildfire be wielded by chaos itself? Wou-

[magpiepaws]

LMK S4 THEORY TIME

So I was thinking about the box art that came out recently and thought of something we might see in season 4, involving Mei, the Samadhi fire, and her love for the game Monkey Mech.

[!This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS for previous seasons of lego monkie kid, especially season 3!]

Inspired by this thread by colesmonkies on Twitter!

The thread above talks about how season 4 might take place inside a video game, specifically Monkey Mech, or maybe even the unnamed game that Wukong made from S2E6 "Game on". This theory is supported by the fact that Monkey Mech has been a big part of the show since the very first episode, and that it inspired MK's physical monkey mech power - which is the sole thing that separates him from Monkey King as his successor.

This journey into the game (instead of actually traveling to the past) would help tell the story of Monkey King's adventures that were never covered in Journey to the west, like his relationship with Macaque. Because let's be honest, that monkey would never talk about his past problems out of his own free will, especially not that part of his life.

Some people have pointed out that it was suspicious how MK's arcade machine was highlighted next to MK's staff and the scroll in the end scene. We know the latter is definitely going to be important in season 4, and we know Pigsy removed the game from his store when it kept distracting MK from his work too much.

So why does Wukong have it? Did he just want to have the game for himself to play? Or maybe there's something special about it? And most importantly, how would they get INTO the game in the first place?

Mei has a big role in MK's Monkey Mech obsession. It's also her favorite game and she's an expert at it, easily beating him (or anyone else, really) every time they compete against each other.

Very early in the series, in S1E3 "Coming home", she reveals a bit about her childhood, her personal life and her family, and obtains her dragon sword. She has grown a lot since then, going through character development comparable to that of MK himself and other major characters.

In S3E6 "The first ring" she is shown to be able to create, or at least modify, other vehicles and transform them into her own, very much like MK's physical monkey mech. She does this by plugging her dragon sword into it like some sort of overpowered USB stick. This particular vehicle is white gold and blue instead of her usual green, the same color scheme as her Monkey mech horse character (and her outfit on the new box art).

Also why did Red son have an input specifically for Mei's dragon sword in his car? I could go on about this but that's a topic for another post

Mei is insanely powerful even without the sword, or her dragon powers. She has created a fully stocked futuristic secret base, owns multiple personalised motorbikes, put a totally-not-creepy digital tracking system on all of her friends, and probably much more i forgot about while writing this post. She is a massive tech nerd much like Red son, the previous holder of the Samadhi fire.

Thanks to him, Mei has now learned to make the fire her own. This is a huge development, something i assume they won't just gloss over in season 4. I fully expect to see more of her abilities now that she has the fire under her control, especially combined with her dragon powers. We've only seen a snippet of what she can do with it (Including nearly cooking MK alive on like... three separate occasions).

I was watching the season 3 specials again, and one thing Red son said stuck out to me:

The samadhi fire is more than just an inextinguishable flame. It's an interdimensional weapon, with the destructive power to burn through the very fabric of reality."

Season 3 put emphasis on the fact that the fire could destroy reality. But what if through some training, the fire could also modify it, BEND it? We know Mei can teleport now, so it wouldn't be too far fetched to assume she could use this INTERDIMENSIONAL weapon to travel between realities.

We've seen that Mei can plug her sword into things to give them a "power up". So what i think might happens is that she will use it on the Monkey Mech arcade machine, and using the samadhi fire's interdimensional abilities, somehow transport herself and her friends into the reality of the game where (a big part of) season 4 will take place. She will need to leave her sword plugged in while being in there, which could explain why she doesn't have it with her in the box art.

TLDR: My theory is that the plot of season 4 will be about Mei plugging her dragon sword into the Monkey mech arcade machine, and transporting herself and her friends into the game thanks to her new samadhi fire powers.

I don't really have an idea for why they would enter the game and how the scroll could to this. Maybe they just wanted some fun, or it was an accident? Either way, they would need to find a way to get out back to their own reality, either by finishing the game or with help from outside. (Red son on Guanyin? Flying Bark? pls?)

Let me know your thoughts!

------------

EDIT 3/12/2022: MORE THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS BECAUSE MORE SETS CAME OUT!

The man antagonists of the new sets are the yellow tusk elephant, azure lion and golden-winged eagle which are minor characters in Journey to the West. The Rhino king was a character from JTTW that made a cameo in Wukong's game in S2E6, so it's likely that these three new animal-based characters will have a similar antagonistic role.

But what stood out to me are their sidekicks, called "ink demons". These demons are original characters, never appearing in JTTW. @/sonofwu on twitter pointed out that heir names imply that there's a possibility our main cast will dive into the world of a book (the scroll from S3E14?) instead of a video game, or that the characters in the book come alive into the real world of Monkie kid.

Since Mei gets a lot of focus in the sets, and her and MK being the only ones not as their past selves unlike Pigsy, Sandy and Tang, I believe there's still a possibility of her using her sword to take MK and herself into this dimension (either into the book or the game) instead of traveling to the past.

Something that stood out to me as well was the backgrounds for these sets, which appear very similar to the scenery in Wukong's game from S2E6. This could support the theory that they'll travel into this game instead of Monkey Mech.

In one set, MK, Mei, and the original versions of Pigsy and Sandy are shown to be vendors of some kind of stores (for example, Mei being a blacksmith). Maybe this implies that they'll take part in the game as NPC's too, like how the original Tang did in Wukong's game.

Also, you know how I said Pigsy, Sandy and Tang looked like their past selves in these sets? They also have VERY similar outfits to their game counterparts! I wonder if this means anything....

Let me know your thoughts!

[imminent-danger-came]

Was anyone going to tell me that in 2x07 after Macaque says "In the darkness, the warrior was forgotten by the hero" it then immediately cuts to a picture of Mei:

Hero Mei is so real. Don't let anybody tell u otherwise

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

Day 2: Fire/Ice

Prompt list

 Pt. 2 of The Empire of Samadhi AU

Pt. 1 | Pt.2 (you are here) | Pt. 3

(This is day 2 of the Monkie Destiny Challenge Prompt Month October 2023)

Wordcount: 4k (this one got away from me a little)

Summary: Red Son is the son of an old empire, Mei is the daughter of a new one. Red Son, consumed by fire, was put into an induced stasis sleep to stop the world from burning until his family can find a way to safely remove the fire. They find a way but he never wakes up. Hundreds of years later he awakes to discover his power resides within another as she stares at him with wide eyes on fire. 

Red Son and Mei set off on a journey to separate the Fire from its current vessel. They travel through the desolate wasteland that was once both their homes. In the ashes, Fire meets Ice once again.

They started towards the fire at dawn. 

Red Son attempted to think his own thoughts, but it was difficult to do with The Dragon King of the West’s descendant’s incessant chattering in his ear. 

300 years. 

He had been trapped, slumbering without end for 300 years. He was in turmoil. Of course he was in turmoil, why wouldn’t he be? He had been trapped, his Father’s Empire was gone, replaced by the Empire of the West Sea, a part of which had been practically vaporized by fire--his fire that someone else was wielding as their own. 

I will return for you, his father had said. 

Liar, Red Son wanted to snarl. 

They took his fire and they left him buried underground in a tomb of their making. They were likely dead. 

And this descendant of the Dragon of the West.. Wouldn’t. Stop. Talking. 

“Would you shut up for five minutes,” he finally snapped at her.

She beamed at him. “Nope!” Then off she went, chattering again like she was determined to talk him into insanity. 

“I can’t wait to melt the flesh from your bones,” he snarled. 

“Sure, sure,” said Mei lightly. “When do you think we’ll get to your fancy temple?” 

“If you’ve given me the right information, we should be there within a week,” Red Son told her. If he had his fire he could be there in no less than two days, but this idiot had no idea how to wield it and he wasn’t about to give her an idea on how lest she get attached. 

“Sounds good, Mr. The Demon.” 

“Your highness would suit me just fine.” 

“HA!” said Mei. “No.” She then changed the subject back to some nonsense Red Son wouldn’t admit to not understanding. 

If Red Son could, he would have burned her hair off. 

He dragged his hand down his face with a long sound, something between a groan and a sigh. Maybe both at once. He watched her as she walked, then glanced at the fire in the distance. 

The Demon of Samadhi…

He wouldn’t deny it had a certain ring to it. A title accurate to his greatness and power. He supposed the Emperor of Samdhi would have suited him better, but he could adjust that later. Later, when he dominated the current empire. It was in shambles due to the fires anyway, it wouldn’t be too difficult to take over once he retrieved his fire from its current vessel. And he would create an Empire far greater than Father and Mother ever managed. 

“Hey, Mr. Grumpy Face,” Mei said, tearing him out of his thoughts abruptly. 

“What?” he snapped. 

“Fire can be blue right?” 

“Of course it can,” he snorted. “My fire is blue when its at its hottest-” 

“Ohhh okay cool,” Mei said, interrupting him and ignoring his explanation completely to his annoyance. She was staring at something. “Good to know then.” 

“What are you looking at?” he seethed, coming up beside her, following her gaze until his eyes fell on what had caught her attention. 

There was a line of blue in the distance. It… seemed to be moving, but not as was common with a forest fire. Red Son may have been thrust into a new world, but it was not so new that he could not recognize fire when he saw it. And this was not fire. 

And it was getting bigger. 

“Dragon girl,” he said. “That is not fire.” 

“Oh,” said Mei. “I didn’t think it was.” Her voice was more tense than before. 

Red Son turned his head to her. The rings hovering above her head had lit up, deep red flames flickering dangerously with each breath she took. He glanced down to see her hands clenched at her sides. 

“A friend of yours?” Red Son asked, dryly. 

Steam came from her eyes, startling him a bit. 

“I don’t know,” she whispered. 

He blinked. Then scoffed. “Pull yourself together then. If we’re to battle whatever that thing is, you will have to handle it until I’m able to retrieve my fire.” 

“But-” Mei started. 

“But nothing,” Red Son snapped, folding his arms. “You have my fire. You will fight.” 

“I-I can’t,” Mei said, looking down at her hands, her voice small. “I don’t… I can’t.” 

“Of course you can’t,” Red Son scoffed. “Did you think it would be easy to control my fire, that I spent nearly twenty years of my life creating? You don’t need to control it. Just aim it in the direction of your opponent and my fire will do the rest.” 

“N-no,” Mei choked out. “You don’t understand, I can't.” 

Red Son rolled his eyes. “And why is that, peasant?” 

“It’s Mk.” 

“Who in this blasted world is Mk-?” 

Ice exploded in front of them.

The sheer force of impact from it blasted them backwards a good twenty feet. The second impact that came from Red Son’s landing on his back knocked the breath out of him and left him with the taste of ash in his mouth when it kicked up a large amount of it. He coughed and pushed himself to sit up, glancing back at what had hit them. 

Mei sat just a few feet ahead looking up at someone. 

“You idiot!” Red Son coughed. “Destroy them already!” 

“Oh my, Xiǎojiāo,” came a sickly sweet voice that sent chills down Red Son’s spine. “You seem to have made another friend.” 

It took him a moment to see where the voice was coming from. An older woman. Not old but not exactly young either. She was ghostly pale with white hair. She had an ageless sort of appearance and her eyes were what had him on edge. They were empty pools of cold black. 

“Dragon girl, just kill these fools already,” he spat, brushing himself off as he stood up. “We have places to be.” 

Mei didn’t respond so he glanced her way and found she had not moved from her seat amongst the ash and dirt and was still staring up at the person looming over her. The fire on the rings grew larger, reflecting the anguish of their current vessel, but they did not touch the figure. 

“What is wrong with you?” Red Son snapped. 

“Oh, what a funny one you are,” the white lady giggled. It was annoying. “You must be new. I do wonder how you managed to survive so close to the fire.” 

Red Son scoffed. “Fire does not scare me, Witch.” 

Her smile sharpened. “My words… always wasted on you mere mortals. Is that any way to address the savior of this new land?” 

Red Son threw back his head and laughed. It was a shrieking cackle he’d practiced in front of the mirror when he was young and in front of his enemies when he was older. It was carefully crafted until it grated on their spines and sent hot and cold flashes through them until they sweat.  

“You?” he snorted. “New? Witch, this land is old. Older than her and older than you. You are no savior. You are no ruler. I will be the ruler of this pathetic world, and you are nothing but ashes under my feet.” 

“Such arrogance… How unfortunate you did not die with the rest of them.” 

“Dragon girl, if you could please incinerate this witch-” 

He realized Mei still wasn’t paying him any attention. For the first time he bothered to get a good look at what had her on her knees. 

Blue eyes were the first thing he noticed. Fully blue. From the whites of this young man's eyes to his pupils they were engulfed in a glowing, empty blue. His head was tilted down at Mei, but it was clear he was seeing nothing. His clothes were in dull blues and whites, perfectly pressed, a mix between what looked like the armor of a warrior and the clothes of a servant. He looked startlingly pristine, like a life-sized doll, he would have looked nearly perfect were it not for the burns stretching across his skin. 

Steam rose from Mei’s eyes as she kneeled at his feet. 

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. 

Red Son pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course he was stuck with someone who felt bad for burning people. Of course his fire’s vessel was going to be absolutely useless. 

“Dragon Girl!” he snapped loudly. 

She jolted and glanced at him. Her expression as anguished as the fire above her had warned him of.  

“Pull yourself together,” he hissed. “If you want to stop this fire you’ve created you'll burn this woman to ashes so we can move on before the rest of your precious empire is burned to the ground.” 

“I can’t,” she said again, brokenly repeating herself. “He’s my friend.” 

Red Son scoffed. “Not anymore it seems.” 

“Oh you foolish boy,” the white lady said. “You do not know these children at all.” 

“Call me boy again and I will kill you myself.” 

“I can’t,” Mei choked again. “He’s my best friend-” 

Red Son groaned. “You and your sentimentality.” He stormed over to her. Mei did nothing to resist as he grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet, his fire licking across his arm harmlessly. “If you’re going to be this useless in fighting, how do you expect to win?” 

Mei shook her head. She wouldn’t look at him so he grabbed her face and forcefully turned it to him. 

“Hey-” she choked and he ignored her. 

Quiet and hushed so the woman wouldn’t hear him, he spoke. “If you want to free your friend you will burn him.” 

Mei gaped at him. “Killing him is not freeing-!” 

“You’re not listening,” Red Son hissed, tightening his grip. “Mine is the fire of Samadhi. It requires focus and calm to wield, it is cleansing. If you control it properly you can burn her out of him. Do you understand?” 

Mei’s eyes were wide. “You mean…I can save him?” 

Red Son released her face with a scoff. He folded his arms across his chest. “If you want to call it that.” 

Mei didn’t seem to hear him at all, talking to herself more than him now. “I can save him.” 

“Yes, yes-” 

She grabbed his face with both her hands, cutting him off and startling him. His cheeks were squished and he flailed, unable to escape her crushing grip. 

“How do I do it?” 

Red Son choked. “Let go of me you peasant-” 

“How do I do it?” she said again, fire flickering in her eyes, something dangerous and almost rageful, an insanity he recognized all too well seeing in reflections before mirrors melted before him. 

“That’s enough of that,” the white lady said, sounding bored. 

The young man lunged. 

Red Son had only had a moment to choke out a warning. 

Mei, with reflexes that rivaled his own, shoved him by his face into the ground and threw herself out of the way. 

Once again, he was greeted with the taste of ash and dust on his tongue. 

“Kill him,” Red Son heard the white lady say as he coughed. His head shot up in time to see empty blue eyes and a fist headed straight for him. 

Red Son sunk his hand into the dusty ashy ground, gripping any non-melted pebbles and dirt and ash he could and threw it with all his might into the young man's eyes and rolled out of the way. 

The young man landed where Red Son had been a moment before, with his arm over his eyes. No pained sound escaped him, but it was clear the sensation of ash and dirt in his eyes was unpleasant. 

“Careful!” Mei cried out at him, a flicker of fury in her voice. “You’ll hurt him!” 

Red Son spluttered. “He’s the one trying to kill me-” 

“Just tell me how to save him!” Mei yelled at him, flames covering her until she was completely engulfed. 

“Just grab him!” Red Son yelled back. 

“I’ll burn him!” 

“That’s the point!” 

He sidestepped a punch that the young man blindly threw at him. He wasn’t exactly slow, and Red Son was no longer exactly fast, but he at least had the upper hand due to temporarily blinding his opponent. He grabbed his wrist tightly before throwing him at the white lady who was standing just above them upon her throne of ice. Her eyes widened in alarm and she moved out of the way, so fast Red Son nearly didn’t see it. 

Mei’s friend crashed into the ice. 

“CAREFUL,” Mei roared. 

“SHUT UP,” Red Son roared back. 

It was clear the white lady didn’t want Red Son to tell Mei how to free her friend from her grasp. If Mei wasn’t holding back like a fool for her friend, the witch would have been incinerated by now and she knew it. The lady wasn’t giving Red Son any openings to explain the effort and focus required for such a task of burning away possession. 

He growled in annoyance. There was one thing she couldn’t stop. But he wasn't sure it would work. Still, he lunged to grab Mei’s wrist. 

The moment their skin made contact the ice and ashes around them vanished.

Red Son sat on the floor, his legs crossed and his fingers intertwined, shoulders relaxed and posture straight. His breathing was steady and he could feel his fire rising and falling with it. It burned through every part of his flames flickering across his skin. 

It found the curses left on him by those he had destroyed, whispered in their last breaths of life, promises of hauntings and revenge, and wishes of a restless existence pushed upon him before he’d silenced them for good.  

His fire burned away influences from the last few weeks, the souls of those that he destroyed that were still clinging to him were wiped from his skin and banished from their haunting into the underworld. 

The curses floated away like embers and ashes. 

A little bit of himself burned away with them. 

He opened his eyes. 

Mei gasped, tearing her arm away from him again. 

“What was that?” She demanded.  

“Don’t ask stupid questions,” Red Son snapped. “You should know what to do now, so burn them.”

Mei glanced down at her hands. 

Red Son glanced at where her friend was pulling himself up from the ice. 

“What have you done?” the white lady demanded. 

“Nothing,” Red Son grinned, baring his teeth at her. “I simply gave a quick lesson.” 

He could feel when Mei inhaled next to him. His fire reacting and growing brighter. Red Son could feel it steady. 

“Kill him,” the white lady ordered Mei’s friend, her voice tinged with more urgency than before. 

Red Son simply stood, arms folded smugly, watching Mei’s friend grow closer in his charge. 

Mei moved in front of him just before he reached him, intercepting her friend and wrapping her arms and her flames around him. 

The screaming started. 

It was a familiar sound to Red Son, but likely not to the current vessel of his fire. 

“Keep it together, Dragon Girl!” Red Son shouted at her through the noise of the crackling flames that engulfed the entire area. 

The white lady and the young man screamed in a chorus of agony.  

Red Son could feel Mei’s determination faltering, the flames flickering and threatening to dig into her friend's flesh on their own.

“I am not your coach, Dragon Girl,” Red Son yelled. “Either do it or don’t, you fool! Pick one!” 

“Shut up!” Mei shouted back. 

“Don’t speak to me like that-” 

He felt when something clicked into place. It was enough to startle him into silence. 

Mei exhaled. 

The fire around her flickered. Her eyes were squeezed shut with concentration. The fire was loud and roaring. 

Red Son watched in surprise as it flickered from red to green. 

“How-” 

There was an explosion of light and flame. The white lady was blasted backwards. Red Son shielded his eyes, the green flame feeling different than the red, unfamiliar. Not his. 

What was she doing to his fire? 

The flames died down. Slowly they lashed and fluttered until they faded and the only fire left was over Mei’s head on the rings. His fire’s prison. 

Mei held her now limp friend in her arms. She slowly sunk to her knees and hugged him to her chest, hunched over him and gripping tightly. 

“Did-did it work?” she choked out. 

Red Son approached with a scoff. “Of course it did. It's my fire.” He grit his teeth a bit for a moment. Then he glanced up to see that the white woman and the ice that had once surrounded them was nowhere to be found. Evaporated by the fire likely. He didn't bother wondering who she was or how she was associated with his fire's vessel. It was none of his concern. Satisfied they wouldn’t be seeing her again, he turned back to Mei who remained hunched over her friend. 

“Dramatic,” he sneered. “Embracing him wasn’t necessary, you know. It would have worked just as well if you’d just stepped on his head.” 

Mei gave him an annoyed, almost threatening look, hugging her friend's head to her chest. “If you touch him I’ll-” 

“Why would I want to touch that,” Red Son snorted. “Your little friend is nothing to me. I only care about retrieving my fire.” 

“Right,” Mei said. She glanced down at her friend. Her face softened. Red Son hadn’t realized it could do that. “I’ve got you, Mk. You’re okay.” 

Red Son rolled his eyes. “Let’s get moving. We don’t have time to stand around.” 

‘But Mk-” 

“What are you too weak to carry him? He looks like he weighs less than a child.” 

“If he’s hurt I don’t want to move him,” Mei snapped at him. 

“The only thing that’s likely hurting him is how tightly you’re holding him right now. You’re practically crushing the insect.” 

That at least made her lighten her grip on the poor unconscious fool. 

“He’s not an insect,” Mei scowled. “He’s my friend.” 

“Right, sure,” Red Son snorted. “Whatever you say. Why don’t you pick up your friend so we can get a move on?” 

Mei glanced down at Mk. She was quiet for a moment. 

Red Son tapped his foot impatiently. 

“I don’t want to hurt him,” she finally said, her voice quiet. 

Red Son growled. He didn’t have time for this. “Fine then,” he said. “I’ll meet you at the temple. You can stay here and mope and cry and embrace your pathetic friend. I am not carrying him just because you’re too weak to control my fire.” 

Mei looked at him. 

Red Son folded his arms across his chest. “No.” 

A slow, almost frightening smile spread across her face. 

Red Son would sooner cut off his own hand than let anyone find out about this. 

Mei’s friend was drooling on his shoulder. His face was partially squished against Red Son’s and his arms were limp over his shoulders. Red Son’s arms were under his thighs to keep him from slipping off his back, and Mei was prancing ahead happily, weightless and without a freezing human backpack snoring in her ear. 

“I hate you,” said Red Son. “I hate you so much. I’m going to burn you both until not even your ashes exist in this world.” 

Mei completely ignored him, humming to herself as she skipped forward, swinging her arms. The rings hovered above her, a dangerous heavy air around them in contrast to her light playful gait. 

“I could drop him,” Red Son threatened. “I could throw him into a ditch.” 

“You won’t,” Mei said lightly, not even bothering to look back at him.

Red Son seethed for the rest of the walk. 

He did drop Mk when the sun started to set and his legs were strained and shaking. He released him and let him crumple to the ground unceremoniously before announcing they would stop there for the night. As it turned out, 300 years of inactivity had done a number on his physique, even with the spells freezing him in time. Something that likely would not have been a problem if he still had his fire. 

Mei bounded back to them, far too chipper for someone who’d had a heavy depressed air only a few hours prior. 

There wasn’t much to set up for a camp. There was nothing to burn, nothing to put up, only ash and dirt to lay in for softness and heavy smoke above them as a cover. 

“He’s cold,” Mei said, after Red Son had sat down with a long groan. 

“Of course he’s cold,” Red Son scoffed. “He was surrounded by ice. Not to mention being possessed. Don’t you know how anything works?”

Mei ignored him in favor of pulling her friend close and wrapping her arms around him so he was half sitting on her lap, apparently assigning herself a designated blanket.

“Can you hold him tonight?” Mei asked. 

Red Son choked. If he still had his fire his hair would have been alight instantly. “No! Why on earth would I-?” 

“I want to make sure he stays warm.” 

“So you hold him,” Red Son snapped. Outrage made him seeth. The very idea--

“I don’t want to accidentally burn him while I’m asleep,” Mei confessed quietly. She brushed some tangled hair out of her friends’ face in what Red Son could only think to describe as a tender manner. “Nightmares ‘n stuff.” 

Her actions were soft and gentle and it felt like something that should have been happening in private rather than in front of someone else. 

Red Son turned his head away with a disgusted sound. “Why don’t you keep your affection private. I didn’t know he was your betrothed.” 

Mei was startled. “What?” She shook her head furiously, as though shaking something out of her ears. “What? Gross? No? We’re not- Mk’s my best friend, we’re not courting.” 

Red Son glanced back at her, skeptically. 

“We’re not,” she said firmly, almost aggressively, hugging Mk close as if to protect him from Red Son’s observation. 

“Right,” Red Son said, sarcastically. “Silly me. Of course you’re not. That’s why you’re practically kissing him.” 

“Dude,” Mei said. “Stop. You’re being gross.” 

“You’re being gross. Save your embracing and touching for when you’re in private, or better yet for when you’re in the afterlife where I can’t see it after I incinerate you both.” 

“I’m just holding him, dude,” Mei scowled. “There’s nothing wrong with holding your friends.” 

“Is this etiquette now?” Red Son scoffed. “You are all disgusting.” 

Mei blinked. Then she laughed. “Ohhh, got it. You’re a grandpa.” 

Red Son bristled. “What?” 

“You’re a grandpa,” Mei repeated. “Old school, back-in-my-day, public displays of affection aren’t proper, neither are displays of affection between close friends, family or anyone at all in general.” 

Red Son, for some reason, felt his face heat up. “You,” Red Son said, “don’t know what you’re talking about.” 

“Sure, old man,” Mei snickered. She snuggled, pulling Mk even closer and resting her chin on top of his head. Making eye contact with him, she pressed her nose into her friend's hair. 

It was an intimate action, it was inappropriate. 

Red Son’s face exploded with heat and he stood up. “What is wrong with you-” 

“Relax,” Mei laughed. She hugged Mk, shaking with laughter hard enough that tears started to creep from her eyes. “Please, I’m just messing with you. Man. You’re funny aren’t you? Big ol’ scary Demon of Samadhi, afraid of a little affection.” 

“I am not afraid,” Red Son hissed. “You- you--ugh! Whatever.” He stormed off a good distance away before sitting down with his back turned to the lunatic he was stuck with until he could get his fire back. 

Mei giggled on and off for a while. He could hear her shift now and again, making his ears burn for some reason when he was provided with the visual of her adjusting Mk, making sure he was comfortable and warm in her arms. 

It was disgusting. 

“Are you sure you don’t want to hold him-” 

“SHUT UP!” 

Mei laughed.

| beginning | next |

[digitaldoeslmk]

By The Book AU Timeline

[this will be edited as things progress and the au gets more fleshed out]

less of a timeline and more the a brainstorm chart for the plotbeats i have so far

Prince > Little Sage > Pilgrim > Immortal

ACT 1, PRINCE: 2 years, S1 plus some of S2

ep0 special, MK becomes Monkie Kid

Fated Feast (tm) and dealing with it

MK learning how to use his powers

pretty much all the episodes of S1

Beijing Opera sideplot

first New Years is a Lion Dancing competition special

Macaque introduces himself

Spider Queens get exorcised, LBD reveal

Nezha and Muzha introduction

some more filler episodes of Monkie gang dealing with small easy stuff

MK gets invited to meet Guanyin

MK learning the Dao and Dharma, starts cultivation

Macaque causes trouble (basically Shadow Play ep but not), Wukong finds out

spicynoodles start becoming a thing late in the arc

S1 finale special, except it's LBD and some henchmen

Celestial Realm sightseeing moment, introduction to several immortals and gods

ACT 2, LITTLE SAGE: about half a year, part of S2 and a lot of changes

Red Son's investigation gets serious, Nezha is helping

Wukong gets more present to teach MK

most of what's left of S2, with some changes

Yingge and Longnü intro

Tang starts helping MK and Mei with magic

Mei starts training her dragon powers in FFM

Guanyin meets the Monkien gang, reveal of Tang's past reincarnations

MK gets deeper on training with his monkey form and powers

"recollections of red and blue" is set in this arc

DBK and PIF start making amends with Red Son

qpr chimera fully established, Red Son and MK get serious enough to tell their parents about it

more LBD shenanigans

S2 season finale, except not

LBD tries to trap him in a pagoda, everyone joins the fray, MK escapes because Macaque underestimates him, Wukong gets kebabed, Megapolis is lost and the gang flees for their lives

ACT 3, PILGRIM: about half a year, S3 in spirit but almost every plot gets scrapped cus its just filler anyway

they aren't on a ""journey to the west"", they are gathering allies and tools to use against LBD and Macaque

plan is, burn the motherfuckers with the Samadhi fire with the help of the four dragon king's armies to spread the fire with rain, and use some artifacts to then control the fire and put it out

drastic measure but it do be drastic times

LBD used the skeleton key to open the gates of the Diyu, so the world is slowly getting overrun by runaway spirits, as well as channeling the waters from it to freeze the land

apparently Macaque wants to consume every living thing he's trapped to fuel something, and nobody is sure what

anyway it's crisis politics time, nobody is having fun, everything sucks

time to check in with the past pilgrims for advice and some tricks they know, Monkie gang power up time

the dragon king of the north and his family are missing, time to find them

Shen Gongbao intro, he's involved but they figure it out

it's also time to draft some immortals, we love owing favors to people in this house amiright??

Mayor starts to think the henchman career isn't for him, time to dip

he fucks a plan cus he uses a pill of immortality to heal himself but oops the gang needed that

Mayor spills the beans on Macaque's plan, MK gets impulsive and runs off to face LBD

S3 special time except not

MK exchanges himself for the girl LBD got possessed, which builds the group time to wrap up lose ends

final battle time, hoards of the underworld versus whatever immortals got convinced to help despite going against the Jade Emperor's decree

MK sends a clone with his staff before he loses control back to the gang

Mei in dragon form fighting possessed MK, so that Red Son and Nezha can take a shot at MK to exorcise LBD out of him, Erlang and Muzha helping to hold Macaque back

MK gets shot with the Samadhi Fire, to explosive results

MK vs Macaque kaiju monkey battle time

Macaque gets nuked, LBD gets carbonized, Mayor dies saving people from the city before the fires get to them

everything is put back where it belongs, but there's a lot of loose ends to wrap up, ends in a bittersweet note

ACT 4, IMMORTAL: two years, S4 solely in name, basically a full overhaul lmao

oh man oh man shits gonna hit the fan lmao

the city is saved and the bad guys are gone; time for Consequences

Jade Emperor isnt very happy with the amount of unauthorized actions taken just now

MK goes to fucking trial for the crime of saving the world, it goes as well as one would think

luckily Guanyin comes in clutch and gets his sentence lightened to "community service"

there is an absurd amount of undead still walking around, which means MK has to get on that

also yknow. the devastating amount of damage in the mortal AND celestial realm

MK is given an assignment in the heavenly bureocracy, to help keep him in check and accountable to stuff. is great innit.

another part of his job is, dealing with Wukong's past sworn brotherhood cus they've been uppity since Macaque's attack and threatening to break the human-demon truce

Qi "two dads nuclear family" Xiaotian learns to deal with distant extended family relations with very specific social cues. again, goes as well as expected

under all that, Red Son still hasn't been able to get the missing memories situation fixed

also turns out even Wukong doesn't remember who MK was but he used to know. he doesn't anymore. and he doesn't know what happened. Red Son did not like learning that.

the celebration of Ulhambana in the Celestial Realm is approaching, and Red Son thinks he can get himself and MK invited to it so they can yknow, ask Buddha wtf is going on

so yknow, time to earn the trust of the Celestial Realm again, in a year. that's doable right? ahahah

and because he doesn't have enough on his plate, MK traded off a lot of his merits in exchange for LBD and Mayor speedrunning their time in hell so they can be reborn under his care

MK becomes An Uncle, what could possibly go wrong!

oh, jumpscare, Macaque is still around but Different

[fluffypotatey]

Hello there! I hope the month has treated you kindly enough. I don't have much questions right now, but there are a few buzzing in my head:

Why did Wukong tell MK at the start of S2 that he was going on a vacation, instead of maybe just saying that he has some unfinished business, maybe a serious one, that needs attending to now that MK can sort of look after himself? Probably to set the tone into something less alarming but I think if he went with that kind of excuse maybe MK wouldn't feel so resentful about his mentor apparently chilling while away. Or rather why not say that he's going to the Celestial realm and that he may not be available for a while because time runs differently between the two realms?

What effects do you think that being imprisoned inside a mountain has on Wukong instead of being trapped under it like in the OG JTTW book? I mean, both are pretty bad but at least the one in the book gives him fresh air and sunlight instead of complete darkness in the isolation.

Do you think that just like the battle that lead to the Havoc in Heaven 2.0 is different in LMK compared to the original book version, the peach thievery and banquet disruption also has a different story to it than the book one?

How's your writing for SWK and The Reaper series going? If you're having a bit of an inspiration fatigue, take your time to recharge. But are we going to see the White Impermanence's successor in that series though. How would the s4 and its specials' events go?

Have a great week, eat your meals regularly and not too late, take your medication if you have any, and eat your fruits and vegetables!

oh dear, oh honey, you’ve done it now :3 the floodgates are open :) hope you don’t regret it

imma have to answer these by short answer to long, so that first one is definitely placed last

anyway,

How's your writing for SWK and The Reaper series going?

tis marinating my good friend! tis on the slow cooker rn and might be for some more days or weeks depending on my uni stuff and motivation levels T^T but yeah, it’s not abandoned (far from it!) just needs some more mental plotting (ESPECIALLY because I added Xié Líng to the story and kind of want them introduced in the upcoming chapter/installment/part(?))

Are we going to see the White Impermanence's successor in that series though?

so yeah, you will see the White Impermanence’s successor soon! their involvement in the story takes place more in what I have in mind for s4 :3 and I don’t remember what I mentioned about them, but Xié Líng is basically Júhua’s only friend in the underworld (not to mention that the two are basically soulmates no thanks to what they have/will inherit). they aren’t that big of a fan of Sun Wukong but tolerate him bc it’s Júhua’s uncle (a label she only ever confessed to Xié Líng). also, hoping they will help me explained Júhua’s magic a bit more since I now have 2 reapers in this verse :)

and for s4…..no, I shan’t say…….more Diyu and Júhua playing sleuth while MK goes through the horrors

Do you think that just like the battle that lead to the Havoc in Heaven 2.0 is different in LMK compared to the original book version, the peach thievery and banquet disruption also has a different story to it than the book one?

I honestly would not be surprised if that was the case. lmk already differentiates a lot from the book with specific details or chapters (Red Son’s chapter/Samadhi Fire lore, the reason behind Guanyin’s vase, how the JTTW crew met Pigsy, how they met Sandy, LBD’s chapter). so, while the feel of the show sticks with that adventure and high stakes and moral dilema that JTTW had, it also is its own piece of work (which you could argue for many JTTW adaptations tbh since there are sO many and many are very different from each other)

anyway, yeah, I have an inkling that the stolen peach story is not exactly book accurate.

What effects do you think that being imprisoned inside a mountain has on Wukong instead of being trapped under it like in the OG JTTW book?

oh ho ho! what a question 👀

I certainly think being trapped inside the 5 Phases Mt has a different impact than being trapped under it. for one, like you mentioned, book!SWK had the “luxury” of being able to see outside and breathe fresh air. lmk!SWK???? he is in the heart of the mountain. he is seeing nothing but rocks (stalactites and stalagmites), he can hear nothing but the drips of cave water, he can breath nothing but stale and dusty air….for 500 years :)

how do you stay sane in such conditions?

spoiler: you don’t!

you cannot stay sane or impassive to being trapped inside a mountain with nothing but rock and golden chains for 500 years!!! we all remember that clip of a freed swk, right?

see that? that’s the look of a monkey who’s just been released from a 500 year prison and is ready to tear the world apart just to feel better :)

so how would one stay some-what lucid in this imprisonment? my guess is the man hallucinated the shit out of it. bored of seeing nothing but rock and more rock and even more rock? how about visualizing that Macky returned after your horrible fight and is apologizing for snapping at you. how about believing that you good pals the Brotherhood and you didn’t fail your war with Heaven! how about thinking that the darkness and loud echos of the cave hold more creatures and demons who heard of your downfall and want to finish the job. how about envisioning being back at FFM, Macky and your monkey subjects are so happy to see you and you were actually never imprisoned! how about believing—

listen to me, listen to me: Wukong’s experience of being held inside the mountain, other than being smushed under it, is more psychologically impactful and I bet this monkey could not sleep well after being freed for centuries. Wukong sleeps with a night light still!

Why did Wukong tell MK at the start of S2 that he was going on a vacation, instead of maybe just saying that he has some unfinished business?

short answer: because he’s an idiot

long answer:

Wukong is very used to solving issues on his own. he is aware that MK is human (maybe) and a mortal (now debatable, but at this point, MK believed that and that’s what’s important). he is aware that MK’s an anxious kid and wants to prove himself but also has great power within him. he is very aware that MK still needs to complete his training and isn’t ready for what Wukong is about to embark on (also who Wukong would potentially fight against with no one being none the wiser to).

and, as I stated prior, Wukong is very used to solving issues on his own. he did it in his time before JTTW and even during JTTW because he was the overpowered stone monkey who was FFM’s trump card and the JTTW savior when situations got rough (barely any of the other companions are able to beat off an opponent without Wukong’s help). thus, Wukong is not someone to ask for help or even allow other to be aware that help is needed because he is not used to asking (he only will if push comes to shove and he is out of ideas, which he wasn’t in s2)

however, I’m sure we’re well aware of SWK’s almost allergic reaction to acknowledging help or admitting that something is most definitely wrong! but imma get that statement out of the way so that when I delve into the question, we all have what I said above in mind :)

now, why tell MK he’s going on vacation? why not give a lie that could be a little closer to the truth?

well, as said before, Wukong has an aversion to admitting when there are things going wrong that only he could recognize and probably worries that hinting to MK that Wukong is off to investigate something would possibly entice the kid to join Wukong or ask the monkey a lot of questions about it he isn’t inclined to answer. also, if Wukong were to say he needed to complete something in the celestial realm that would also bring on more questions he would not know how to respond to

thus, vacation! it’s already established that Wukong retired himself from helping duty by s1. and what do retired people do? go on vacation!!!! they hit the road, take the most tourist heavy sites, go radio silent and relax! therefore, if Wuking were to tell MK he is going on vacation, then MK would not ask him too many questions about where he’s going or ask if he can join! I would not be surprised if that’s Wukong’s thought process. this answer is merely the simplest way for Wukong to subtly get rid of the LBD problem while MK protects the city and learns more about how to hone his powers (it’s not like the kid needed Wukong, the kid’s a fast learner and his powers are growing pretty quickly).

‘course this undermines MK’s insecurities of not being good enough and brings to light his abandonment issues and his low self worth but, uh, yeah

in conclusion: Wukong dun fucked up for saying vacation because he’s an idiot

[quitealotofsodapop]

"The Monkey King and the Infant" details Part 3 - and likely last for now before I go on Spoiler lockdown so I can write:

links to Part 1 and Part 2:

The Jade Emperor sees/is aware of the canon Monkie Kid series. He thinks the whole situation as a big waste of time. So... remove Monkie Kid = no Monkie Kid series, Monkey King stays retired, and less of a headache for the big man up top. Win win.

The Jade Emperor shows Sun Wukong visions of the worst parts on the series inc; LBD's return, the Samadhi fire being reignited, The Jade Emperor's death and the potential breakdown of the universe etc... This is also how SW learns on accident that Macaque is alive again.

Internally SW is very conflicted cus... the universe might end? But more importantly he might actually die? But also consider; Free Son and a return to his beloved.

Other characters occassionally get tormented by visions of canon events/death omens - likely a side effect of the altered timeline, or the Jade Emperor subtly trying to turn them against one another.

Erlang and various other mythos characters show up. Erlang is tasked with ensuring that SW destroyed MK's egg, but is knocked out by Moksha (on command of Guanyin) to give SW a chance to reconsider. In the egg's place, Erlang found a "shell" of obsidian. This isn't enough to convince Erlang... but it's enough to convince the Jade Emperor and the few members of the Celestial Court who knew about the Egg that the task had been completed. Erlang is sussing SW hard for this... but wants to see what the big deal is with the undercooked Stone Monkey before he says anything.

Moksha is acting as Sun Wukong's parole officer as a "Sorry I bonked you" favor to Erlang. Shows up in glamour at Pigsy's as customer to keep an eye on things. Big shipper under her no-crap cop attitude.

Guanyin herself is Very Against the idea of scrambling MK (Mercy personified yo). But she doesn't appear physically, meaning that not even the Jade Emperor knows that she techincally betrayed Heaven.

Nicknames/familial titles MK calls his fam through out the story:

Sun Wukong = "Dad" "Baba" "Baba Wu" Macaque = "Mom" "Bama" "Baba Mihou" "Mama" (when he was really young) Pigsy = "Dadsy" "Pops" "Boss" (at work) Tang = "Papa Tang" "Pama" (verbal slip as a toddler that stuck) Sandy = "Shúshu/Uncle" Mei = "Meimei" " (little sister - techically she's older but the title is also a pun on her name) Nezha = "Tánggē" "Gege" (grew up thinking Nezha was an older cousin)

When it comes to finally training MK when he comes of age; Sun pulls a "Lego Batman and Bruce Wayne" - hoping that by separating the personas, he'll be able to reach MK better as a teacher. And MK 100% falls for it. Cus "The Monkey King" and his dorky "Dad" are two completely different guys! Right?

Macaque meanwhile has a very different style of teaching:

Macaque, in his series outfit, manifesting from the shadows: "MK, we need to talk about-" MK, battlemode: "AH! THE SIX EARED MACAQUE!" Macaque: "I'M LITERALLY YOUR OWN MOTHER! YOU PUT THAT STAFF DOWN THIS INSTANT MISTER!" MK: "yes sir"

This leads to a funny misunderstanding later on when he sees Macaque and The Monkey King interact during training:

MK: "Wait... if my mom is the Six Eared Macaque... and I've got Monkey King's powers..." MK: *"GASP!"* MK: "MOM!? Did you you cheat on Dad with The Monkey King!?" Macaque: "...really???" SW: *laughing his ass off*

Ok imma punch out and try to finish the first chapter. Will probably post a spotify mix soon. Pls tag or reply, or ask if you got any thoughts/questions. I love feedback!

[lmkobsessedperson]

Probably should've done this sooner, but whatevs.

Meet Himori-Lí.

Info about Himori.

-Himori Can speak 4 different languages Fluently.

-She actually has a human Form.

-After living nearly 20-35 years as a mortal, she would occasionally stop by pigsy's noodles, Nobody knows why.

-When Macaque had gotten his eyes ripped out, Himori didn't want him to be sad (She was his last friend that had stuck around) so she ripped her eye out as well, which was extremely painful to see.

-When Himori First met Azure lion, peng, and Golden tusks, she would occasionally give those specific 3 death glares, she had an off feeling about them from the start.

-Himori actually Found DBK quite cool. All though, his height did scare the crap out of her.

(Next part spoils some Lore)

- during the fight with LBD, Himori actually ends up getting Killed trying to help Redson rescue mei from The LBD (The Samadhi fire burned her so badly that she barely looked recognizable. And imma say this, Macaque was definitely the most devastated)