#yet chang'e is immortal...

[yoku-yukihime]

MY MORTAL ENEMY

[violetjedisylveon]

I know you talk about Macaque being moron sexual.

But like imagine Wukong TYPE of moron sexual toward Mac. Because like that dum dum really make Wukong his centre of life and orbit around Wukong. Mac follow Wukong like lost puppy. And dispite everything he's obsess with Wukong. That dum dum also blame Wukong of everything because all he see is Wukong.

Wukong is the ✨girlboss✨ in every way possible as he earn everything like fame, power, immortality, forgiveness to heaven, love and family. Wukong study hard and work hard to archives all that all by himself. He is also smart, strong and pretty.

And there's Mac just some guy who obsess him. If anything Wukong get Mac wrap around his pinky. And that dum dum really think he can be at Wukong level. (He not and will never be)

Yet somehow Wukong still love that dum dum. Like movie trope of popular girl and loser dating. People around just wont understand why someone as good a Wukong would date a loser like Mac. Wukong really find Mac dumbness is "cute"

Nezha: Seriusly Wukong what did you see in that guy?🤨

Wukong: He make me 'laugh'😊

Chang'e: I doubt that 😒

-🍰

I describe Macaque as moronsexual as a joke more than anything super serious, and yeah, he did make Wukong the center of his universe and followed him forever.

Them as the popular girl and the loser dating immediately reminded me of that one Tumblr post about a movie about a Jock Girl x A Nerd, and I personally find that visual hilarious.

They're both dumbasses (affectionate) at the end of the day.

Thanks for asking!

[fanged-fanfics]

🐍💚 Xiangliu x Celestial GN Reader — A New Chance (Drabble) 💚🐍

Genres: Romance, Hurt/Comfort || they/them pronouns for reader || Warnings: Mild angst, S5 spoilers

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁⋆˚｡⋆୨🐍୧⋆˚｡⋆✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖

A new cycle. Another. New. Cycle. Xiangliu couldn't remember how many he'd been a part of at this point. But he knew it was far too many. He was still in Nüwa's game, her plan for the universe keeping him trapped from the chaos he so sought. These binding loops of time and space itself were restricting him, keeping him from the freedom he knew lay beyond. How much longer? He'd woken up the Harbinger eons early, and yet his salvation still hadn't come. Surely the Harbinger would make the right decision. Anyone would want freedom, if they were as trapped from it as he was. So why...

Xiangliu was interrupted from his thoughts by a sound from the hallway. He broke out of the daze he'd been in thinking to himself, turning to look at you. Your nightly attire clung to you as you shuffled into the room of the Jade Emperor's Palace that Xiangliu had been pondering in. You went to the balcony with him, letting out a yawn as he wrapped an arm around your shoulders. "Dearest, what are you doing up so late? Lady Chang'e gave us the moon this night to aid our rest" Xiangliu said to you with a gentle smile.

"Looking for my husband," You replied sleepily, leaning against his shoulder "Only to find him staring into the gardens". Xiangliu chuckled, looking to the immortal growth below. He couldn't tell you why he had been so lost in thought, the truth behind his thinking stupor. So instead, he gently kissed the top of your head. "I had trouble sleeping" He said softly in place of the truth. You chuckled as you nuzzled into his scaly neck "And what was that you said then? About Lady Chang'e and all her work?" You said playfully. Xiangliu gave a small laugh, rubbing your shoulder. "Head back to our quarters, my love. I'll be back with you shortly".

You complied with a soft smile, leaning off of him and letting him go to walk back the winding hallways of the heavenly palace. Xiangliu looked back to the gardens before turning, walking just a few steps behind you. Once back into the room, he climbed into your large plush bed after you. You scooted in, snuggling up to his chest and laying your head upon it. He kept a soft smile on his face as he leaned back against the pillows, petting your hair as he nestled in.

Damn these cycles. They took everything from him. His chance at freedom, at chaos, at finally showing everyone what lay beyond the bounds of what Nüwa had trapped them in so long ago. But not you. After all this time, he still had his spouse. He was forever grateful to the gods that he could stay nestled in your embrace every night. These loops could have everything in the universe, but they couldn't have you. Xiangliu was rather proud of his Prince Consort position. It gave him some degree of respect and riches, and most importantly of all, it let all the Celestials know he was yours. He was determined that nothing was going to change that. This was another chance to have you safe in his arms and blissfully unaware of the greater battles between he and the heavens.

With a kiss to your forehead and a bit of adjustment, Xiangliu was finally set to be fully wrapped up in your warmth. The immortal heat you emitted was still the perfect balm to his cold blooded form and scaly skin. He curled into you, the snakes in his hair leaning in as well to fully embrace the moment. He was your husband, and if there was one thing he was keeping in this universe, it would undoubtedly be you

[lint-beetle4]

Starfruit (Chang’e x Ao Lie) headcanons

And maybe a sketch of the two of them on a date

Please 🙏😊

Tea Time (Ao Lie x Chang'e) Headcanons

There's something so beautiful about the way the ocean dances with the moon

How both are mighty yet delicate, and between their gravitational pull, they can shape terrains and sustain life

Ao Lie didn't know why he came to the moon, be it her light that followed him through his journey and back or the fact that her gaze pulled him closer and closer

Chang'e didn't expect a dragon to be parading through her gardens, but his gentle nature and rather kind exterior was something to be admired

They met through fate, and they stayed through their own will

Despite his lavish upbringing, Ao Lie was a simple man who never wanted much out of life, only peace and a sense of fulfillment through it

Chang'e too desired a simple life, yet her immortality and troubled past had forever stripped her of such dreams

Chang'e knew the void of her late husband couldn't be filled, but Ao Lie was more than a replacement, he was a friend who she grew to love

Likewise, Ao Lie was very attracted to Chang'e's positive nature and optimism despite her eternal prison, he admired her for such strength and became eager to learn more about her as a result

Ao Lie wanted his life to be filled with Chang'e's joy just as much as Change'e wanted to be filled with Ao Lie's contentment

A friendship blossomed quickly between them, and almost in sync, their love had grown

Ao Lie became more bold around Chang'e, likewise Chang'e became more at peace, and in a simple lunch, they had confessed their love at the same time

After sharing a nice laugh, they were official and ready to fight the celestial court over it

No such fight came, as petty as they could be, heaven didn't see any sense in trying to separate them

Through the time they spent together, Ao Lie constantly asked for hugs, Chang'e gave the best cuddles

Chang'e would always cook for Ao Lie, finding that his palate was impressively accurate, he would always improve on recipes

After Ao Lie's time had passed, Chang'e would cast his image in the stars, making sure that the heaven's knew of the great dragon who could soothe the ocean and the moon

[menaceoffandoms]

LMK analysis rant: What happened to the great companions?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

So... What killed the great companions?

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

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

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

[py-dreamer]

I can't believe this is the first goddamn video I post.

But times are funny like that aren't they?

Ok so as the thumbnail says, this is specifically for the first lmk fic I've written:

"When the sun sets forever."

Yes it's shadowpeach, how on earth did you guess. And if you've floated around my dreamscape for a while, you'll know my...

...very enthusiastic opinions of Macaque...

(I promise I do still like him, he's a great character, it's just I get pretty peeved by how the majority of the fandom portrays their relationship a lot of peeps bashing Wukong and saying Mac did nothing wrong-

I have a whole other post about this and the fic, I'm tired man, here're the links:

https://www.tumblr.com/py-dreamer/751398212493000704/oh-its-macaroni-learns-the-consequences-for

https://www.tumblr.com/py-dreamer/751119540805632000/rant-about-shadowpeach-warning-mac-slander)

But regardless, if you enjoy some Macaca slander, hop on board!

If you don't , good for you! Please don't harass anyone who thinks otherwise.

But to sum up:

In this fic we explore a scenario where Macaque finds a time alterating artifact after a huge spat on the mountain (that resulted in the clip above), uses that artifact to make it so he killed Tripitaka during JTTW. Then we see his pov in this universe where things have certainly changed drastically

...and not necessarily for the better.

People change. Friends or foes found dead or alive. Cities fall and some thrive.

But one thing I can assure you?

Neither of our mystic monkeys are having any fun until the end.

But yeah! Formal announcement post for my fic!

Yes this is a big reason why I've been absent for like a month

No I won't stop posting art. I'm taking a short break rn to get into the rhythm of drawing again

No there isn't a formal posting schedule, but I do have it in mind

No this isn't the big BIG project I've been working on for a few weeks

(Forgive me if I missed anything from s5, this was planned and written before that and I haven't watched it yet)

But enough about me!

I want to thank anyone who's already seen the fic and/or left kudos or comments

And I want to give an especially huge shoutout to @furornocturna for beta reading this thing!

Their work is great! And is one of the most enjoyable reads I've read in a long while

And since I haven't seen an official post for it yet...

SHABAM!!! Another great fic! She recently updated it too! It's about amnesiac Wukong who thinks Macaque is still his mate and MK is their child!

Wham bam, pajama sam's christmas ham: hijinks ensue

Very entertaining, good ol Macaque bashing

(she and I like to stand around him in a circle and give him a good whack with the consequences stick sometimes. It builds character.)

And parental Shadowpeach is always appreciated here. 10/10

I have not linked it but also check out:

Fractured pieces make a mosaic

Also written by her! Another great fic that delves into more of the sins of Macaque against EVERYONE not just Wukong

But about the video, yea just heard the audio and thought it'd be funny

I feel like Chang'e would definitely comfort a friend after some harsh words like what happens in the 1st chapter

Or at least she'd hear what Macaque did from Wukong and give massive side eye

(Especially since I figured she'd have a damn well knowledge of bad men *cough* *cough8 the reason Zhu Bajie got kicked out of heaven in the first place *cough* *cough*

I know they've rarely interacted in canon but hey, they've at least met on screen and we know Wukong can build a rocket to visit. Plus both being lonely immortals with cute animal subjects being theri only companions for centuries...

I have a feeling they'd get along somehow

They remind me of friends who exchange pics of their cute pet, only it's more like children for Wukong since they're literally his Sun family

And anyway the fandom pairs Mac and Chang'e just because they have a moon motif so let me have this goddamit.

[the-river-of-light]

SIGMA: You're not alone up here, though. You know that, right?

AKANE: Well, technically speaking, they were never really the only ones on the moon.

I...said when I made the post to my main that I wasn't going to do this but I clearly don't know myself that well. More info on the story below the cut!

It isn't always strictly pills of immortality. Sometimes it’s an elixir instead. The rabbit on the moon pounding something is part of both Japanese and Chinese folklore, but in Japanese folklore it's pounding mochi, whereas in Chinese it's a mortar and pestle. So in the version where the method to gain immortality is through pills, the mortar and pestle contain the ingredients to remake the pills of immortality. As for the "love or selfishness" bit, what's being alluded to is the varying reasons Chang'e becomes immortal. The version that's about love is one in which to prevent people from stealing it, she takes the entire dosage (meant to be split in two). "Selfishness" is her taking the pills because she wanted to. Sometimes that's because they only gave Houyi one dosage; sometimes it’s because Chang'e and Houyi were gods before and Chang'e wished to get her status back. It's a complicated story -- I believe the version I learned in my Chinese classes is slightly different from the version I have retold in a book written in English, though it's been many years since then. I think it's interesting how many interpretations are available for Chang'e's actions; maybe she became immortal because she missed the heavens and wanted to go home, maybe she saw there was only one dose and wanted to have it more, or maybe she took it because someone else threatened to.

And if you're wondering what happened to Houyi afterwards...he tries to shoot a message up to the moon, but he fails every time to reach her.

I picked ZTD!Akane to replicate because I thought it was the most fitting. I still haven't started it yet, but it’s also the last time she saw Junpei before the beginning of VLR, so...I think that the projection makes sense. Also white is traditionally the color of mourning :)

As for the caption...what I'm specifically alluding to is Yuelao, who in Chinese folklore is responsible for connecting the red string of fate. I think you can see the ways in which that could correspond to Sigma as Zero.

[icy-watch]

Ok, so they're going on a journey... to the west. To retrieve something. Still not clear on what, but apparently 1 of the stops is the Moon. Which means Chang'e!

Legend and folktales about her break my heart. The main 1 I know is of Hou Yi, her husband, shooting down 9 of the 10 suns and being rewarded with to elixirs of immortality. He wanted to take them with Chang'e, as he didn't want to be immortal without her, so he waited.

While he was out hunting, his apprentice went to steal the elixirs and was caught by Chang'e. She drank both to keep him from drinking them, and she floated up to the moon.

When Hou Yi found out what happened, he laid out cakes and fruits for her as he mourned losing her.

I doubt that'll be touched on in the show, but yeah. That's the 1 I know.

We're definitely going to see the other places marked on the map. I just don't recognize what they are yet. But I recognized the moon bc of the rabbit.

So those weapons were shown last season, maybe they need to collect all of those and... something will happen? Or maybe just 1 of those weapons are important.

I've set my Something's Strange with MK list to the side temporarily. I'm going to reevaluate it after I've gotten a good night's sleep and can maybe rethink a few things. But something is definitely Up with MK.

I can't think of anything else at the moment, so tomorrow I kick off s3! I haven't decided how many episodes I'll watch yet. It might be just 2. We'll have to see. Until then!

I'll post correct and incorrect predictions tomorrow.

[occasionaltouhou]

Hi, chang'e theory anon here

I read it in a youtube video, reddit and 4chan. It states that Renko is Chang'e because:

>Renko talking about the elixir of immortality

>Maybe rescue Renko was the cause of the first lunar war

>Yukari asking lunarians for help in grimoire of Usami when she saw Junko

>Okina tried to form an aliance with Hecatia and Junko againts the moob but Yukari doesn't seem fine with it

Then their conclusion was: Maribel travelled in time with Renko, something happened and Renko was trapped in the moon. Because she was a physics student and had a lot of knowledge in the string theory she was able to help lunarians with their barrier. She bacame a goddess and things happened. When she drank the hourai elixir lunarians couldn't exile her because she was useful.

Maribel wanted to rescue her. She bacame a powerful youkai and form an army. Youkais were defeated.

Years later Yukari didn't want to join Hecatia and Junko against the lunarians because they want to kill Chang'e.

i never know, in my heart, whether or not i like learning about stuff like this. it's a glimpse into a completely different perspective, an analysis of the story that i had never contemplated, and yet. it's fundamentally skewed, flawed both structurally and thematically in a way that holds no appeal to me whatsoever. there are things happening out there in the world that are incomprehensible to me, and in a way, that's a testament to the incredible variety of the human race. on the flipside it's a reminder that most people simply cannot cook

but yeah unfortunately this is basically all total bullshit and honestly just kind of flavourless

[yoku-yukihime]

"The end of our gripping drama is finally upon us... Isn't it?"

"Stare into the eyes of wrath itself. A bottomless, burning pit of malice that calls your name. Were you watching, Chang'e? Did you gaze down upon me for all those millennia watching my suffering? I hope you did. I hope you saw me tear HIM apart limb from sorry limb.

Look at you, what a pathetic display. You are the goddess of the moon itself, yet you stand here gawking in fear. I can feel it, you're terrified of me aren't you? You're immortal, you can't die...

But how true is that really? You know what I am capable of, don't you?

Hmph. I've entertained a fraction of your eternity for now. The time is finally upon us. This began with me, and it shall end with me. My accursed enemy, Chang'e... I hope you are prepared to feel the anger of four thousand years."

[rennsdeaddoves]

journey to the west book one, thoughts

so this post is going to be really messy and jumbled, i will take my thoughts one chapter at a time. since this post contains all the chapters in book one imma but everything under the cut and warn ya'll that this is HELLA long.

ok so, before we get into it i just wanna let you guy's know that if the first 13 chapters seem like they have less it's because i only really started to do this on chapter 14 and had to go back through chapters 1 - 13 and look at the notes and tabes i left to gage my reaction to them. some of them have a bit more than others and some have like none at all.

that being said enjoy the absolute crack house that is my no cotext thoughts of Journey to the West volume one!

Chapter 1

monkey is born!!

and he's already being impulsive...

calling him the handsome monkey king is gonna go straight to his head

lier! you are a certified shit disturber and you know it!

ohhhhh so thats how he got the name Sun Wukong, gotcha gotcha

Chapter 2

the dao art seems real complex

love how they casually have the way to immortality written in this book lol

teaching a suicidaly impulsive monkey how to shape shift and fly wasn't a bad idea at all!

he's showing off- of course he is-

aaaaaand he got kicked out for showing off! idiot-

oh damn- thats actually sadder than i thought it would be...

HE CALLS THEM LITTLE ONES!!! CUUUTE!!!!

HOW DARE!?!?!

Chapter 3

holy hell....

op much???

not a monkey scaring a dragon ffs

he is just a menace this entire page! LAMO

GOD DAMN-

THEY WANT HIM OUT SO FUCKING BAD XDDDD

bruh-

ooooooop foreshadowing alert

THATS BULLSHIT!! THEIR EXAGERATING THE HELL OUT OF IT!!!

oh- oh he really fucked up the life and death cycles- damn...

smart!!!!

he was thinking of paying a visit to heaven himself?? without an invite?? oh- that would not have ended well-

Chapter 4

here we go! first rampage through heaven!!

deva

NEZHA!!!!

ITS GIVING "who's this sassy lost kid?" VIBES XD

Chapter 5

does he not have a reputation yet???

Wukong is in so much fucking trouble oh god....

idiot

going to war over wine is a very Wukong thing to do-

Chapter 6

when did Nezha get here?

shapeshifter duels man... they be confusing af

oop he got caught-

Chapter 7

they seem to have forgotten what the meaning of immortal is

oop- he's being refered to as a monster instead of a king by the narrator- thats how you know he's pissed beyond all belief...

OH HES MAD MAD

HOLY FUCK

"i have to go exorcise a demon to defend the throne." pg 193

"he ligit just wrote "sun wukong was here" oh the fucking finger lmao

man... calling the banquet that is just salt in the wound.... really it is...

Chapter 8

sandy's got green skin, red hair, noted

it's pigsy -n-

he flirted with Chang'e..... this bitch

i already can't fucking stand him

Chapter 9

so he does have parents! lets see if they ever pop up again-

WHAT!?!?! WHY!?!!

Chapter 10

i didn't take in a sing thing that this chapter sad.... why is it even here-

Chapter 11

no thoughts head empty, why are we still on this? is there any plot relevance or???

Chapter 12

awwww their cute

good for him, coming from such humble beginnings

wow- ok thats kinda a really great honour to be called brother by the emperor

Chapter 13

lots of scenery! neat!

wft....

oop divine intervention o'clock

abuse???? hello??? what the actual fuck sir???

COWARD!!!

i am going to get so sick of him so quickly....

WUKONG!?!?!?!!!!! YER BACK!!!!!! YEEEEEAHHHHHHHHH

Chapter 14

wukong- bud... YOUR FUCKING FILTHY

yell that your not lying makes you less believable

HE'S NAKED?!?! OFC HE IS

brutal.... nice

ight show off, keep rambling about the shit you can do.

gay? /j but fr- i get that a naked monkey coming to your door may be a cause for concern but there was no reason to disrespect him like that-

he has a son??? when???

gross man- like i get you were trapped under a mountain- but gross

brutal... nice

EXCUSE YOU WHAT?!?! NAH, NAH HE DID NOT

A FEW WORDS?!?! FAM YOU READ HIM FOR A WHOLE PARAGRAPH SHUT YOUR MOUTH

thats not teaching tripitaka- a lecture is NOT teaching

GUAINYIN IS HERE!!! oh... Guanyin is here...

oh... fuck...

why is his name just 'Pilgrim' like i get it but i also don't... idk

oh he's gonna do it out of spite now for being called a bogus immortal by the dragon king

that entire painting is just of two gay lovers putting on shoes and getting immortality for it

well, he actually is really convincing, i can see why Wukong went back after those words...

yeah i'd be taken aback too bud

.......YOU COULD FINISH THE JOURNEY RN.... but he won't, that defeats the entire porpoise of it all

THIS BITCH!!!! I WILL ACTUALLY KILL HIM

HE ONLY STOPPED CAUSE I WAS AFRIAD THE FILLET WOULD BREAK

ON GOD I WILL THROW HANDS WITH A MONK I WILL

HE STARTED UP AGAIN?!??!!? STOP!!!!

OH OH! so you stop when you see how the pain is LITTERALLY TEARING HIS BODY APART! fuck you

HE ACTUALLY TRIED TO KILL HIM!?!?!?!? oh my god- i mean.... jesus.....

yes. its a great idea to go to the south sea and beat up the goddess who did this to you... super smart /s

all thoughts of disobedience and rebellion? no shot

Chapter 15

ah yes, lets start the chapter with Wukong hauling ass to save Tripitaka

Jesus them some powerful eyes

omg SHUT UP

YES YELL AT HIM WUKONG!!!

namby-pamby??

lawless lizard XD

harsh

they talk about him like he's not the son of a dragon king...

OH SHES PISSED AT HIM

so he's called 'third prince Jade dragon' gotcha

he's a fucking idiot

why are you being such a baby all of a sudden??

neat, he got the get out of danger free leaves now

if Rue had been in this part of the journey she would have been pretty interested in that

plot armour be like-

impressive

more divine intervention! oh my god-

so now it's early spring. jesus that means its almost been a year

Chapter 16

i don't know wether to be annoyed or what- were only a page into this chapter

"he may be ugly" BITCH WHAT

yeah... ight... i'd be annoyed with him too

somesones butt hurt that hes oooooold~

everyone is starting to get on my nerves like jesus-

wow the murder plots are real

he askin' for favours like he didn't just beat their asses 500 years ago

he's a little arsonist

LMAO UNO REVERSE BITCH

damn- he's already on shockingly good terms with him

HE SAVED YOU AND YOUR GONING TO PUNISH HIM FOR IT!?!?!

I'M GOING TO THROW HANDS WITH A MONK ISTG

and after all that your response is still murder??? really????

goddman.... he so mad he defiled a corpse- that wasn't very buddhist of you tripitaka

Chapter 17

not tripitaka using wukongs temper against others-

jesus christ man

"thunder god mouth" XDDD best way to describe it 10/10

THE THREATS

XDD the arrogance!! he called the demon "my son" before starting a lecture XDD

he gets annoyed when people call him the BanHorsePlague now, thats so fucking funny to me

he's so real for that though, i'd wanna eat in the middle of a fight too

he is actually a menace to humans goddamn

HE REDUCED THE DEMON TO A BURGER

love how their calling him 'old carcass'

there is a lot of seemingly nice senery in this chapter

how'd they know all of that just by seeing a goddamn meat patty on the side of the road???

this is gonna be a pattern isn't it-

conversations with these two go no where but damn they do be giving me L O R E

he's being so nice now lmao

wft....

ok *fine* she gets a pass but jesus

GRAPHIC

jesus wukong

HA got'em

"don't start trouble again" "i won't" LIES

Chapter 18

oooooh this is the pigsy chapter!!! i can't wait to see some ass be beat!

i- i don't think i like these people...

Wukong really just said don't judge a book by it's cover

why does he always say "your poor monk" it's grinding my gears

"tell me everything!" .... "from ancient times-"

his surmname meant hog....

i can only picture that one manga panel in jjk where Yuta is dragging Yuji along lmao

ancient toilet humour?

"where are you going darling" he says as he returns to his original form

love that wukong is described and then called "virtually a living thunder god"

"i'll follow you to the ends of the earth" (menacingly)

Chapter 19

why do they all have caves?

it is pigsy

damn- Wukong's reading him

are they really throwing celestial law at one another??

he's bragging... really?

ah yes, a summary of the first seven chapters

he really said set your house on fire and follow me

man's really stripped him of all he was worth and then dragged him by the ear... he's like a mom...

HE'S REFERED TO AS IDIOT! oh this just got so much better

lmao both of them going "wine? oh we still drink that"

Wukong admitted to being a light weight XD

pigsy, trying to say a heart felt goodbye, the other two; hurry the fuck up

"you know him and not me? what kind of fuckery is this?"

"he insulted me and the pig?!" "how?" *proceeds to tell tripitaka exactly how he and pigsy were insulted*

Chapter 20

just by the title alone i know imma start to have beef with pigsy

they still call him idiot! YES

it's pigsy getting bullied hours!!!

that- that was a very round about way of calling him a dick Wukong

annnnnd he's boasting again...

huh? flying bricks, talking pots, and dancing tiles... interesting...

this old man has balls

"fix your ugliness" DUUUUUDE

i'm about to highlight each and every time Pigsy is refered to as Idiot! shits too funny!

ahhhhh pigsy's first kill steal!

OH SHIT NVM

dude just ripped off his own skin! what a power move!

jesus-

and we get to the first time tripitaka is truely captured!

"for you culinary pleasure" XDDDD why is that so funny?

this guy's actually quite smart for that

damn...

good wisdom wukong

i love how wukong is so often describes as "the one with the thunder god mouth and hairy face"

he's got a good sense to be this scared of him

monkey-monk?? (why is that so funny to me???)

he just told wukong he was a 'buy one get one free sale'!! AND HE'S THE FREE BIT XDDDDDD

KILL STEAL!!! +1 for butality, pigsy's score is now -99 points!

Wukong actually let him have credit for the kill? goddamn- is that character growth i see?

Chapter 21

no he does not!

Aqua man?????

Really?? *face palms*

why does he insist on calling himself grandpa?

is he about to disapline him like a grandpa too??

Coward

the divine wind of Samādhi? like the Samādhi fire? NEAT!!!

more divine intervention i see

the trend of calling pigsy an idiot continues and i am thriving in this enviornment

can he be any less annoying?

*crybaby beings to play on loop in my head*

idiot

it was the fucking gold star of venus

very humble wukong

lawless ape! XDDD

love that offending the great sage is quite possibly a crime punishable by death now

Chapter 22

its sandy time!!!

wouldn't that be qualifies as an inland sea?!

i don't know how to feel about that entire passage

cloud surfing lessons

he called Wukong his assistant- oh boy if he had heard that...

he can be there in half an hour?! wild...

sandy is aquired

Chapter 23

still love that his nickname is practically idiot

please- stop refering to your staff as a rod- i can't take reading "you'll get a ___ from this Huge Rod!" anymore T-T

you fucking idiots- your banter has now left the master stranded and he's gonna get captured by demons!

serves you right

Wu kong being so shocked he actually acted poliet?

Unreal and nonexisting- well those are some red falgs if i've ever seen em in this book

SHIT JUST GOT SO MUCH FUNNIER OMFG

she just keeps going!? dude- please- how can someone have so much

omg- this is all a test of character isn't it...

tripitaka; wukong you stay! Wukong; the fuck you mean me!? make pigsy stay

the entier latter half of this page pisses me off. fuck you pigsy

OH EW! SEVEAR ICK- GROSS

I FUCKING HATE YOU YOU GREEDY WHORE

I KNEW IT WAS A TEST OF CHARACTER!!!!!! I WAS RIGHT!!!!

Chapter 24

serves him fucking right

i agree with Wukong, leave the pig and go

holy hell they haven't even covered one tenth of the distance yet?

this is the chapter that that one monkey king animated movie was about.

to cowardly to do it himself so he's gotta wait for Wukong lmao

thus begins an entire two-ish pages of Wukong stealing fruit again

Wukong makes me nevious frfr

if it were so embarissing maybe you shouldn't have done it in the first place

Chapter 25

wukong.... buddy.... no.....

good plan boy's

dude can pick (break?) locks.... good to know

why do you fight first and ask questions later....

he escaped thrice, got catpured thrice, kept playing tricks..... dude just wouldn't fucking stop....

[digitaldoeslmk]

If not the originals that wukong faced, cause not all super immortal, then family and descendants maybe. Filled with the tales of wukong and how he almost "destroyed the whole family" sort of lies/story.

Repeats yet different from the original challenges that our bodhisattva had faced once eons ago.

so far we've not seen a whole lot of the demons that JTTW depicts, tbh we've not seen half of the ones in the flashback scene yet. we do get a goldfish demon in S3, and a Chang'e episode which can be a Jade Rabbit callback, but that's about it. that's why i think those statues are the original Journey demons.

[sleepynoons]

under the same sky author's notes.

first, thank you so much for reading under the same sky! i know it's a beast of a piece, so thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to even just skim through what i put together.

i'll try to keep this explanation very short. at its core, this fic is my interpretative retelling of the story of hou yi and chang'e. the story of hou yi and chang'e is, in fact, the story behind the mid-autumn festival that is celebrated annually by chinese people all around the world today, and the plot of it is the skeleton for under the same sky.

that being said, there are different versions of the story of hou yi and chang'e, as is the case for most folktales. part of my research process included talking to my mother, who is from beijing, so the northern half of china. the version she grew up hearing was that chang'e, the wife, stole the elixir of immortality from her husband hou yi, and feng meng's role as a character was greatly diminished. however, she thinks the plot that i ultimately used is arguably more accurate, because it is believed that the folktale originated in the southern side of modern-day china. even if it was less historically accurate, though, i'm not inclined to portray a horribly selfish or greedy reader/lead, so i stuck with the southern version. i cross-checked this with some other chinese friends of mine whose families are from the hubei province.

even though the story is told quite often, i found very little information about the story itself, if that makes sense? in that, there aren't a lot of details to go off of. there wasn't an explanation for why yudi's sons wanted to scorch the earth, exactly how hou yi's campaign proceeded and how he shot down the suns, why feng meng wanted to steal the elixir, etc. maybe if i had spent more time researching, something would've come up, but i just decided to take a lot of creative liberties, which is part of the pain and joy from retellings. on a slight tangent, this is why translation is so difficult, because there are so many things, from word choice to phrasing to tone, that you have to consider, but not every language can accommodate for all of those choices. that means you need to sacrifice certain aspects of the reading experience, and in the case of a retelling and this specific fic, it means portraying history inaccurately at times and making it more contemporarily relevant and understandable.

one confession i have to make is that i'm not actually at amphoreus yet in hsr. i did watch playthroughs of the quest and spoiled myself on some reddit threads, but i understand that the exploration itself lends a lot to character understanding and development. if mydei isn't portrayed in a way that you can agree with, that's totally fine, and it's kinda on me for choosing to write about a character that isn't playable yet and that i haven't interacted with either. that being said, i really couldn't think of anyone else in hsr who would've fit the character of hou yi as well as mydei does.

mydei is deeply loyal to his people, yet is spartan, and therefore, loves to fight. he is also deeply serious and, frankly, not very good at mincing his words, so those traits made him very compatible with the reader's personality. i do think he would be a very passionate lover, and he can lose his patience! and it's not like he's very reserved or spare with his words. with all of those things considered, i thought mydei fit the role for hou yi very well, even if his name is... not very chinese lol

i'm recognizing this explanation is... not very short anymore, so i'll just conclude with this: i did try to stick to the folktale of hou yi and chang'e as best as i could. it is true that mooncakes and their rabbit motifs are inspired by chang'e's love for cakes and her rabbit friend that she took with her when she was imprisoned in the moon. it is true that we honor our ancestors during this holiday. this story is meant to evoke a sense of romanticism and longing and nostalgia, and i hope i was able to convey those emotions through my writing as well.

[pastedpast]

Jade Rabbit and Sun Wukong, the Monkey King.

Colour woodblock print on paper.

From the series 'One Hundred Aspects of the Moon', by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1889.

Source: Brooklyn Museum website, link here.

I'm aware I rarely feature anything on this blog relating to the Sinic world and the reason for that is simply because I tend not to enjoy much of its art. So, I'm happy to include this splendid image I've found portraying the Yutu ('Jade Rabbit') in conflict* with the immortal Sun Wokung, the Monkey King, with the huge, white Moon lighting up the scene.

I had vaguely heard of the rabbit in Chinese folklore who lived on the Moon. Apparently, acc. to the book I'm currently reading, it is commonly depicted with a pestle and mortar, churning an elixir for the goddess of the Moon, Chang'e. (In Japanese and Korean mythology, the rabbit grinds rice cakes instead.)

The modern Chinese space programme honoured this cultural history by naming the Chinese Lunar Exploration Programme 'Chang'e', and the lunar rover it sent to the Moon in 2013, Yutu.

Source: 'The Sky Atlas: The Greatest Map, Myths and Discoveries of the Universe' by Edward Brooke-Hitching, (2019), p. 37.

I've yet to read the chapter on 'The Sky-Watchers of Ancient China' fully, but it is on my 'To Do' list.

* Acc. to the info from the Brooklyn Museum, the rabbit and the Monkey King are not in conflict with each other but, rather, they are dancing.

[uncontrolledfission]

The Mooncake Festival

There are many versions of the story of the Moon Goddess, Chang’e, but one thing remains constant: the fact that she is remembered every year. The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Mooncake Festival (for reasons that should be obvious, but will be revealed momentarily anyways), is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month every year. This year, the holiday lies on the 17th of September (today!). 

Dedicated to my friend, Lauren. Hope you enjoyed your mooncake :)

The story of Chang'e

In one version, ten suns had risen into the sky, which scorched the Earth’s land, meaning life became very difficult for the ordinary person. A man named Hou Yi had enough and shot down nine of the suns, effectively ending this problem. The goddess Xiwangmu, the “Queen Mother of the West,” gave Hou Yi an elixir of immortality as a reward.

Through this arose a dilemma. There was only enough elixir for one person, and he didn’t want to drink it and see a life without his wife, Chang’e. So, he merely stowed it away while he decided what to do.

Chang’e found the elixir one night and drank all of it. 

Hou Yi woke up to see that his wife was no longer in bed with him; worried, he dashed outside, only to see his beloved wife drifting up into the night sky, becoming one with the Moon. 

Though he was originally resentful, over time, Hou Yi began to miss his wife. Every day, he left out desserts and fruits that she liked, one of said desserts being mooncakes. He did this every day until he died. It’s for this reason that Chinese people tend to celebrate this festival by eating mooncakes together.

An alternate version

Other versions suggest Chang’e did not, in fact, steal the elixir. Instead, it is said that Hou Yi’s apprentice broke in one night, and, Chang’e, not wanting to give in to the apprentice, drank the elixir and drifted off to the Moon. 

Yet another alternate version

In what may be the most famous version of the story, Hou Yi did good things for the King and received an immortality pill in return. He kept this at home, not wanting to take it on his own, but thieves broke in one day in the hopes of stealing it. Chang’e, in a bout of shock, accidentally swallowed the pill and drifts up to the Moon, living with a jade rabbit up there: this is why, in some pieces of art depicting her, she is seen holding a rabbit. 

(Link to the original is in the photo.)

As is with the other versions, he put out her favourite foods every day until he died. 

[magicallwomen]

Rose nods, letting her thumb make patterns on Chang'e her hand. "Exactly, there are so many who don't know how to deal with immortality and the loss that comes with it. The amount of people you see dying. Some get afraid to get close to anyone mortal after a while." She paused for a moment, deep in thought before continuing, "I am not. I will love that mortal being with all that i can, take care of them and be grateful for the time they were in my life." She smiled, thinking back to some of her lovers from the past.

" Witches can get burned up, depending on how much magic they have to sustain themselves. i've yet to meet a witch who was over 700 years of age. Have you?" Rose was really curious if the other knew something about this that she didn't know. You are never to old to learn after all! Even if you have lived for over a millenia. "Do you ever take mortal lovers?"

★ THE DIFFERENCES IN MORALITY FLATTENED over time. Chang'e didn't place much stock in whether she was seen as benevolent or otherwise. Logic was either a tool or weapon depending on the hands that wielded it. Everybody had their own reasoning, making the line between retribution and revenge nonexistent. All to say, she supported Rose without judgment.

The corners of her lips pressed into a shy smile when Rose took her hand. The breeze carried Rose's mention of loneliness like an echo within cavern walls. Chang'e felt the chill beneath her skin. "I am grateful for your company too. There are many immortals I've known who gave up their immortality to live as humans again. When you're human you fear that everything ends, but when nothing ever ends, people can end up missing the beauty of impermanence." Not that she shared the same sentiment yet.

"I didn't know witches can die of old ages. I always assumed you'd discover or create new magics to keep aging at bay."

( @magicallwomen )