Oooh yeah! Dude could eat three large pizzas all by himself!!
Azure has never been so grateful to know how to cook, because Jing has so many different flavor combinations that he wants, on top of the stupidly large quantities, that just ordering takeout would drain half their bank account! Poor pigsy too. He’s happy that Jing loves his food, but he’s learned to order extra ingredients specifically for when they Visit.
Of course, this isn’t without consequence. Jing, already round from the babies, gains a few extra pounds as well. Mostly in the belly, but his thighs get a bit bigger as well, as does his behind. He works out and stuff while pregnant, so unfortunately he got the Pixar mom treatment.
Of course, Jing would notice this. He sees that his pants don’t fit at ALL, even more than when he was pregnant with mocha. And, having four babies making him extra emotional, Jing spirals bad. He keeps eating, because hello four babies, but he’s on the verge each time. He eats slower and he cuts back some of his portions.
Azure notices this, and when he asks, Jing bursts right into tears, shrieking about being fat and ugly and why would azure ever want him after this?! Azure desperately assures Jing that he’s perfectly fine, and Jing has never looked more beautiful!! But Jing won’t hear it. He’s like this for a majority of the later pregnancy, and it never really goes away. He never gets quite that big again, but he’s def not like he used to be now that he’s got the mama bod.
Wukong actually helps him work though a bunch of it, since he himself had gained a bit of weight after centeries of being toned.
You’d think he’d love it, but nope! He hates it, despises it with a passion. Yes he has to use some because of FOUR babies eating… but he still isn’t happy. Generally uses what he pumps from his chest.
It isn’t just with the quads, but originally started with Mocha. Jing breastfed her until they litterally weaned her, wouldn’t even so much as LOOK at baby formula.
Nezha is so confused, because wouldn’t formula make feeding easier? Eventually manages to convince Jing to try it out. Within a week Jing is refusing to use the formula, going back to the old method. When asked, Jing explains that while yes, formula is easier…
Jing: “I just- i miss the bond. I feel like I’m closer to her when it’s me.” :(
Nezha: “But father, doesn’t it get tiring?”
Jing, avoiding eye contact: “Yes, but I- I just… I don’t want to fail her.”
Nezha, softly: “Father, not breastfeeding Mocha doesn’t mean you failed her.”
It gets easier after the quadruplets, since azure puts his foot down and points out that this was legit starting to hurt Jing, and that he HAD to start using it. Over time he gets more ok with it, and allows azure to buy and use the formula with the rest of their kids.
In fact, because of the PPD with the last baby, Jing doesn’t breastfeed her at all, only formula.
(Seems like the good ol’ Jade Emperors words still haven’t left Jing have they?)
What if what happened between JE and Jing was what caused Jing to take a good, long, hard look at how he treated Nezha and realize exactly what he did to his son?
The thing about abuse is that it’s a cycle. Jing grew up in a very different time, especially under confusionism (why he doesn’t cut his hair).
But while Jing loved Nezha, he DID do some awful things that will need to be addressed. Like when he burned Nezha’s tenple, refused to listen to him, the progoda, and a lot of season 5.
And to his credit, Jing is trying to be better. He actively listens and considers Nezha’s words, the progoda is broken so they settle their fights with words instead of fists, and Jing apologizes when he says or does something that may upset Nezha. But it’s still hard.
They have bad days. Days where they scream at each other. Where they can’t stand to be in the same room at the same time without it turning into an argument, a fight, or both. But those days are slowly getting further and father apart, becoming less and less frequent.
Nezha is learning to tease his dad the way his brothers do. Jing is re-learning how to interact with Nezha as a son, and not a warrior. They are getting better.
But yes, when Jing looks back on it, he sees the similarities. And he hates it. It keeps him up at night, gives him nightmares, and makes it hard to look Nezha in the eyes on their bad days.
Does anyone ever try using Nezha's allergies against him?
Call me crazy, but if you potentially wanted to take down the next in line for the thrown, using something that the crowned prince is deathly allergic to would be able good way to take him down without weapons or actual poison.
Of course, you'd have to get rid of all epipens within the vicinity.
Oh yeah, a few try.
Not many of them are aware of the EpiPens of course, so they’re caught fairly quickly. But in the case that an EpiPen is unavailable… yeah things get dicey quick.
But the worst of it comes from those who don’t believe in food allergies. They insist that they just need to “get over it” and to “stop overreacting.”
Case in point, a few celestials gave both Jing and Nezha Crab and bananas respectively to prove it. What you expect would happen happened, and both ended up being rushed to the er because they couldn’t find the meds bag.
Gave everyone nearly a heart attack!! All those involved were punished of course, and nobody questioned if after that.
Until a certain Gorgon bitch tried to off them in the middle of a gala because they wouldn’t let him near Muzha.
The battle was awful, and Jing and Nezha damn near didn’t make it. But Mk managed to send the snake bitch packing, and he and azure managed to give out the stolen EpiPens! Still went to the doc just in case, but it was def traumatizing for the two men. Especially since Jing had been preggo at the time…
Ref
I already talked about what Jing was allergic to. So let’s talk about Nezha!
• Nezha is lactose intolerant! He struggles to eat anything
Tw mild angst, insults, and mentions of emotional manipulation and abuse.
“-and to think that I was so gracious to give such gifts!-“
Jing stubbornly refused to look at the furious emperor, keeping his arms firmly crossed. This display only served to anger the man further.
“You ungrateful *tǔbāozi!! I should have your backside beaten for this!“
“It wasn’t my fault!” Jing finally snapped, turning his head to glare. “It was an accident!”
“That book costed well over seven gold!” Jing faltered when he heard the price. But the emperor wasn’t done. “It was from a mortal whom only made so many! I gave it to you as a sign of good faith, and you drop it in the pond!”
“I’m sorry.” Jing stressed, and his hands gripped the sides of his shirt anxiously. He turned his eyes back to the ground. “I’ll pay you back for it.”
“You should be,” the older man snapped, before he sighed and rubbed his temples. “and it’s not about the money. It’s about the fact that I trusted you with it and you failed me.”
“It’s just a book. I don’t see why you’re making such a big deal out of nothing.” Jing muttered under his breath. “You’re being so overdramatic about it.”
The emperor stopped his pacing, and turned his icy gaze back to Jing. “Repeat that.” His tone was just as cold, and he began to make his way over.
Jing felt shivers go down his spine, and a large lump had formed in his throat. He did not respond, and did his best not to react to the heavy footsteps heading his way.
“I said. Repeat. That.” The emperor stopped in front of him. There was a tense silence.
Finally, Jing swallowed, and met the Emperors eyes. “I said,” he managed, “It’s just a book.”
“No, the other part.” Jing’s breath hitched, but he did as told.
“I- I didn’t see why-“
“No. The other part.”
“Y- you- you-“ Jing swallowed again, and his eyes flicked to the side. But the emperor grabbed his chin and forced him forward.
“Say it again, Jing, I will not repeat myself.”
“You’re being so overdramatic!” Jing finally blurted, hands flying up to tug at the emperors tight hand. “It’s just a book-!”
“It’s not about the book!” The other shouted, and shoved Jing back. Jing stumbled only long enough for the emperor to grab his arm and yank him out of the office. Stunned, Jing looked around, and realized that nobody was around. It didn’t suprise him, considering how late it was.
Jing yelped when he felt his feet leave the ground, and his arm was suddenly released. He grunted when his back hit a familiar surface, and Jing discovered he was being held in the hands of the now gigantic (normal for him) Emperor.
Jing remained silent, too stunned to say anything at all, as the Emperor made long strides to another part of the palace. Looking around, Jing vaguely recognized the decor, but not from where, which was odd considering he’d walked nearly every inch of the place. The emperors quick pace made it impossible to keep track, however.
Jing yelped as he was jostled, and was met with a face full of fabric. He blinked pulled back out enough to see the emperors somber expression. Jing tugged against the hug, confused, until the emperor spoke again.
“Perhaps some time in the tower will teach you some responsibility.”
“You can’t be serious.” Jing’s voice was quiet, before slowly rising in volume. “It’s a book!”
“It’s not about the book.” The emperor repeated, still holding Jing firmly.
“I hate you!” Jing hissed, smacking the emperors shoulder as he pushed away. But the emperor simply continued to hold him to his chest. “I’m an adult! You can’t do this! You can’t put me back in there!” “I can and I will.” The emperor said sternly A familiar door came in view, and Jing growled again. “I hate you!”
The emperor paid him no heed, and simply opened the grand door. He set Jing down with surprising ease, and gave his back a small tap to shuffle him in further.
“I hate you!” Jing snapped one final time, whirling around to glare at the giant looming over him.
The emperor was silent for a moment, before he responded. “You will stay here until further notice. I’ll have Erlang cover your duties.” With that, the door slammed shut.
For a while, Jing stood there. Stood in the center of the small, nearly barren room. No. Barren tower. His tower. His eyes turned uoward, and he could see how high the ceiling went, likely just being covered by the roof.
Slowly, Jing slid down to sit.
A minute passed, then two, then ten. At twenty minutes, Jing was convinced the Emperor would come back any minute. Surely he would have calmed by now? Thirty minutes. Fourty. Any minute, and Jing could go home. One hour ticked away, and it turned to two, and by the three hour mark, Jing realized the harsh truth, that the Emperor was serious about this.
“Fine!” He snapped, throwing his hands in the air. “I apologize!” Nothing. Jing ran his fingers through his hair with a growl. “I… I spoke out of turn. I admit I was wrong. You can stop now.”
Nothing.
Jing’s chest constricted, the reality of the situation set in. He stood fast, and in a blind rage grabbed and threw one of the decorative porcelain figures against the wall. It shattered into pieces, but it didn’t satisfy Jing in the slightest. He repeated this process over and over, with figures, cups, plates, and anything he could get his hands on.
But eventually, he ran out of objects to throw. Jing stomped to the bed while breathing heavily, and yanked off his shoes. Tossing them, and his armor, to the side, Jing flopped onto the suprisingly comfortable bed. He turned onto his side, staring at the wall.
His eyes pricked with tears, and he stubbornly tried to hold them at bay, but it was no use. A single warm droplet trickled down Jing’s face, followed by another, and another.
“I’m sorry.” Jing words rang as hollow as the cold room. He huffed, bringing his knees to his chest as he repeated the phrase. “I’m sorry. Please, I didn’t mean it. I won’t say it again. I- I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” He buried his face in his arms, shoulders shaking.
But no reply came.
Muffled sobs escaped Jing, the light outside fading from a a violet to a deep twilight. With no candles, and only a single window for moonlight, the room was plunged into darkness. Jing shakily pulled the blankets over himself. They were suprisingly warm, but all Jing could do was quiver with each gutwrenching cry.
The silence was unbearable to Jing, too used to having noisy children at 2-3-4 am wanting snacks and arguing over bathroom turns. Now there was nothing but the crickets outside and the echos of his own weeping.
“I hate you..” he garbled between muffled cries, barely above a whisper. “I hate you. I hate you- I’m sorry! I’m sorry i’m sorry!” His voice grew louder, and and Jing curled up even more. His hands moved to claw at his thighs. “I’m sorry I’m sorry Please I’m sorry!!” Each sob wracked Jing’s body with violent trembles.
“Forgive me! Please Tàishān! Let me out! Please let me out!!!”
All this over a book…
“I’m sorry Please I’m sorry!”
“Let me out! I wanna go home! Please! Please!”
“Tàishān!! I’m sorry!”
Jing’s sobbing went unanswered. His cries slowly turned to agonized wails, bouncing off the walls of the tower and reverberating back at him.
“Tàishān! Tàishāāān! Tàishāhahahaaaan!!!” Jing was practically screaming, each word failing off into an intelligible wail. But of course, it couldn’t last forever. Eventually… Jing ran out of steam. He laid there, weeping softly into the pillows of his near empty tower. Cold, alone, and miserable.
(End of pt 1)
( *tǔbāozi referring to peasantry, typically a country bumpkin. Since Jing was from the northeast in ancient china)
(*Tàishān - very formal Chinese term for father in law.)
We all know even the healthiest relationships have fights and arguments, times were they just need to be apart to sort out emotions before they can properly work it out.
Lionsword and lotusnoodles wouldn't be an exception to this naturally.
Oh yes, most definitely. And unfortunately we know how Jing is. He’s getting better, but you don’t change overnight, and while most of azure and Jing’s fights are just petty disagreements, they have their moments.
One day Jing and Azure are having an absolute spat. Not sure over what, bc sometimes things start small and just escalate, but whatever it is, it’s pretty damn bad. Like, Azure storms out bad. They weren’t living together yet, so Azure had been just visiting, but still.
They didn’t talk to eachother for over a week. Azure sulked on FFM, and the Brotherhood had no idea what to do. They’d never seen Azure this way, and nobody even knows what the stupid fight was about
Jing hemmed up in his room, and cried into his pillow like he was 16 again. Nezha came home after hearing from Mk about Azure, and is very suprise to find not only Jing’s door locked, but Jing near hysterical behind it. It took him hours to finally calm Jing down enough to convince him to open the door. After that he learned very quickly not to bring up Azure or the fight, as both made him burst into tears all over again. It was disconcerting, since Jing wasn’t the type to get all emotional like this.
Suprisingly it was Jing who broke first, and he called up azure late one night, crying on the phone and begging through sobs not to break up with him again. Azure of course immediantly comes over to reassure him that NO, he’s not breaking up with Jing! It was a dmb fight! There there it’s ok…
Eventually, Both Nezha and the gang manage to catch them in the together and ask what on earth happened!? What caused that whole tiff?? You wanna know their answer?
They didn’t know! Both had completely forgotten what the damn fight was even about!
That was the worst fight they’d ever have, but it was enough to leave a VERY big impression.
Poor Nezha tends to inherit a lot of things from his dear old dad, the way he handles arguments being one of them. While he and Mk haven’t had a fight to THAT scale, they’ve had their tiffs. Mostly an ongoing argument about Mk being overprotective. But it’s mostly just petty shit like Mk leaving the seat up, or Nezha washing Mks clothes in warm water, stuff like that. So it’s not that bad.
Of course Jing only birthed 11 of them. Three of them are the Zha boys (srry for the confusion 😅)
But yeah, Jing would absolutely be exausted by the 11th kid. Especially with them all being so close together. Like, mocha would be on her way to adulthood by the time the baby of the fam is born.
Azure is delighted of course, but also a bit concerned when Jing starts… well when Jing starts slowing down, to put it bluntly. They still love eachother, but constant pregnancy isn’t exactly healthy, physically, mentally, or emotionally.
Suprisingly, Jing never suffers from Post partum! … until the last baby. If hits him HARD, and even after the baby is almost one… it’s still rough on Jing.
Jing loves his children. He wouldn’t trade them for the world, and he wouldn’t have done anything different but he’s tired. You have to remember he already raised three boys to adulthood, one of whom took centuries. Now he has to deal with 11 kids of varying ages, including near adulthood, teen hood, preteens, children, toddlers, and a not even one year old baby. So, He and Azure have a long talk about it.
Their done. Jing gets (ahem) fixed, as does Azure (again). It’s a rough decision… but it was needed.
Ref
How many kids do Azure and Li Jing have?
~ In the loud house~
~ In the loud house~
~ Duck doge push and shove! That’s how we show our lov
Idk how you feel about Wukong x Erlang Shen, but I think it would be funny if DBK looked at Azure and Wukong, looked at their respective lovers, looked back at them and had an evil older brother "I knew damn well you two had similar tastes as me" grin. DBK would also have bragging rights because HIS lover chose him with ZERO HESITATION (unlike other celestials)
I don’t really see Wukong x Erlang, mostly because Macaque, but also because Erlang would be more attracted to Azure.
And yeah, DBK would absolutely have bragging rights. Thing is he wouldn’t use them.
It’s not that Jing didn’t WANT to choose Azure, it’s that he genuinely couldn’t. Courtnabbed Au aside, in the OG timeline Jing is very much under the JE’s control, and it would have been too dangerous to leave in the middle of the war because of how young Nezha had been.
Even in the Courtnabbed au, there’s still that underlying tension of the JE at any moment. Because yes, Jing’s happy and he stays… but only because nobody in the celestial realm knows he chose to stay. They all assume he’s been kidnapped.
