First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Arian and Xanthe Khan (61)

Project: Comedy film (Western Road Trip)

Known as: No nicknames

Real name: Arian and Xanthe Khan

Group affiliation: Flat Peak Antiques

Physical description: Arian is 17 and good looking, with striking silver hair. Xanthe is 15 and pretty, with golden blond hair. They both have olive skin. Both are too thin and take their attire very seriously (Arian wearing silver and white and Xanthe wearing gold and purple.

Personality: The Khans are snobby and condescending. Most of the world is beneath them and the only other opinion each respect is the others. Planning their attire, fixing their hair, and generally making themselves presentable is a multi-hour effort. They speak to other people only as needed and rarely manage to do so without an eye roll.

History: The Khans were born to a well-to-do family and have not wanted for much in their lives. Despite this, they have found many things to complain about. Chief among them is being born in the village of Flat Peak, as opposed to a fashionable metropolitan area (such as Paris – or New York in a pinch). They find the world to be an ugly place and only in the perfect world of fashion can they find beauty. Not because they love fashion, but because they were born insufferable, they find that those around them willfully ignore fashion trends and deserve their unattractiveness as a result. They are very fortunate to have each other, as even those who love them find them tedious while most others find them unbearable.

Which suits them fine – after all, who cares about the distain of lessers?

Trip and his companions come across them in an unlikely place: the Flat Peak Antiques store. The store is owned by their grandfather and is far from posh enough for them to spend too much time in. However, it does have a few valuable and elegant items, and the siblings are quick to try to claim anything they want. Trip and company have come there as they are in need of a McGuffin to help move the plot along, and they have heard that Flat Peak Antiques might have one.

Arian and Xanthe are the only ones at the store and don’t seem too interested in helping. Trip is patient and respectful, though, and aims to charm them into sharing if they have a McGuffin. The two Khans are condescending as usual and Sun quickly loses patience and begins searching the store. Ultimately, he finds a McGuffin but decides people as insufferable as the Khans don’t deserve payment. In fact, he notices a few more items that deserve liberating:

• A purple, gold, and red ashtray
• A silver hip flask with jade inlays
• A golden neck chain where each link is a monkey with its arms wrapped around its fellows
• A silver letter opener with seven stars etched in the blade
• And an Elvis 40^th anniversary folding hand fan

Why does Sun feel he needs these items you wonder? Ask Sun.

Unknown to Trip, Sun stows the item in White Dragon Horse. Only later does Sun reveal he has the McGuffin and Trip is most upset that Sun robbed the place. Ultimately, the Khan’s grandfather returns and discovers that items are missing. It turns out that Arian and Xanthe were only supposed to check on the store while he was on vacation, but they had opened the store impulsively just to be dismissive of potential customers. Eventually the grandfather recovers his lost items, and Trip gives him a fair price for the McGuffin.

Role in the narrative: Minor antagonists.

Abilities: Keen fashion sense – not much else.

Inspirations: These are my versions of the Gold and Silver Horned Kings from Journey to the West. I only wanted to include them because Journey to the West is filled with a bunch of cool artifacts (e.g., the Seven-Starred Sword and the Suet Jade Flask) and I wanted them represented in my story. Not having worked out the plot, they are a little forced in at the moment (I’d like for each of them to have a purpose).

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

A special 3-for-one today. I need some members to flesh out the Demon Beasts gang, but I feel like I’d be padding if I made them each a separate entry. Since the Wikipedia entry groups them, I’ll group my version of them as well (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Journey_to_the_West_characters)

Tiger, Elk, and Antelope Demon Beasts (60)

Project: Comedy film (Western Road Trip)

Known as: Tiger, Elk, and Antelope (often called “Lope” for short)

Real name: Stanley, Leo, and Ester Kubanowski

Group affiliation: The Demon Beasts motorcycle gang

Physical description: When the Kubanowskis stand together they exemplify small, medium and large – provided “small” is a 6’ tall woman (Lope). Tiger is 6’4”, and Elk is 6’8”. They all have brown hair and there is a definite family resemblance (they wear similar scowls). Lope is lithe but muscular, Tiger looks like a body builder, and Elk could play on an NFL defensive line. They are in biker attire, an each has a stylized, demonish face corresponding to their animal on their jackets (in addition to the Demon Beasts symbol).

Personality: The Kubanowskis are generally calm and matter-of-fact. They do enjoy their work (crime) and are some of the Demon Beasts’ best enforcers (when cracking skulls it is rarely personal – just business).  They are loyal and would not betray King. They were once in the Heretical Monks but felt abandoned by Sun so they have no reason to favor him over King.

History: The Kubanowskis grew up in a family of criminals in a community of criminals. Not that they reveled in cruelty or were particularly mean. They simply grew up in a society where if you couldn’t take care of your own stuff or didn’t have people to watch your back, the world would take advantage of you. If they happened to play the game better than most then that was no reason for them to feel guilty.

The “have your back” part of their philosophy meant that the only real sin was to betray your family or gang. Like many, they were drawn into the Heretical Monks because of Sun. The strongest, most competent, most clever person they have ever met, they had great success working with him. Still, Sun’s frequent absences made the Kubanowskis question his ultimate loyalty. The Kubanowskis knew that they lacked the vision to lead the gang themselves, so when Sun did not return for a long period, they were among those Monks who threw in with King.

When Whitey reports that Sun is back, King calls on the Kubanowskis to be the primary hunters. While some wondered if former Monks were the right choice, King knew the value they had on loyalty and was unconcerned. As mean as King could be, the Kubanowskis never questioned his loyalty to the Demon Beasts (after all, the Demon Beasts WERE King).

The travelers will have a few brushes with the Kubanowskis, ending with a dramatic showdown (Sun will handle Tiger; Sandy will outmaneuver lope; and Hawg and Elk will have a massive and destructive fight). Even after being trounced, the Kubanowskis won’t take it personally. After King’s downfall, they’ll ultimately end up traveling with Hawg.

Role in the narrative: Hard to have a motorcycle gang of one, so I need to flesh out the cast some.

Abilities: Skilled riders, fighters, and marksman. They lack vision, but are experienced at a number of different types of crime.

Inspirations: The supporting characters above were also supporting characters in Journey to the West. They were truly their animals, evolved into demons. Sun Wukong tricks them into their ends.

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Zane Juan, Organic Farmer (59)

Project: Comedy film (Western Road Trip)

Known as: The Organic Farmer

Real name: Zane Juan

Group affiliation: None

Physical description: Zane is as brown as a walnut, though it is hard to tell if it is due to ethnicity, so much time in the sun, or both. This thinning white hair is feather-light and it usually floats around his head like a dandelion seed. He is tough and wrinkled, and all in all looks like some sort of root vegetable pulled from the ground.

Personality: Zane is a passionate hippie type. Off the grid, living off the land, all-natural. Yet he lacks the mellow aspects and there is usually more than a little mania coursing through his veins. He is almost always in motion, working, and if anyone is in earshot he’ll be talking the whole time (usually pontificating on the merits of different fertilizer types). He is usually warm and kind but his intensity can turn to anger when he feels wronged.

History: Zane was born to hippie parents but had a bit of a rebellious streak and manic intensity. He went a bit Alex P. Keaton on his parents and pursued a business career. For a time, he was an extremely successful trader on Wall Street and was living life hard (ever seen Wolf of Wall Street?). Then lost it all in a recession and had a nervous breakdown.

Reinventing himself, he reembraced his parents’ teachings and became an organic farmer and part of a commune (at least, he was somewhat a part of the commune; they let him live on the fringes of the commune, but most couldn’t take his intensity). Industrious to a fault, it wasn’t enough for him to live in peace, he still wanted to make his mark on the world. He began to diligently cross-breeding plants, hoping to create something truly remarkable.

At last he feels may have succeeded. Through some unknown alchemy, he has crossed ginger, valerian, Siberian ginseng, black cohosh and okra to create a vegetable that he believes may extend life indefinitely (I mean, with all that goodness, how could it not?). Unfortunately, the part one eats looks like a small, slime-covered disfigured human infant (it smells terrible as well). It is not a high-yield plant and only fruits every other year, and he’s only gotten one plant to survive.

The travelers meet Zane and as Trip is so respectful and curious about Zane’s rants, Zane takes an intense liking to Trip. Zane currently has five ripe fruits (he calls his plant “Lifefruit”) and he decides to share with Trip. Serving one to Trip, he is surprised when Trip simply cannot eat it. In fact, Trip becomes ill and has to leave and Zane walks him to White Dragon Horse.

Two of the commune teenagers who sometimes help Zane with his farming (in return for…medicinal herbs) seize upon the opportunity. They each quickly consume one of the fruits in front of the startled Sun. The teenagers don’t know if the Lifefruit extends life, but they do know they provide one of the best highs they ever have had. They tell Sun that they will blame him for eating the fruit when Zane returns. To sell that they tried to stop him, they smash a few of Zane’s project plants.

Sun figures that if he is going to get the blame, he might was well enjoy the crime. Impulsively, Sun takes the three remaining fruits (figuring he, Sun, and Sandy might take a little “side trip”) and, upon brief reflection, grabs the plant as well. He sneaks his ill-gotten gains into White Dragon Horse and makes his escape. Zane returns to his hut, sees the smashed plants, and assumes that not only has his Lifefruit been stolen, but the plant itself has been destroyed.

In addition to the Demon Beasts, Zane Juan (Organic Farmer) is now on their tail as well.

Role in the narrative: Zane is a mild antagonist. He’ll doggedly pursue Trip and company with manic zeal but is unclear on what he’ll do if he catches up with him (his trader ruthlessness seems to be fighting with his current peaceful outlook – he debates himself out loud on what he’ll do). Ultimately when he finds his plant is still alive and it is returned to him, all is forgiven. In fact, when Sun reveals that Hawg and Sandy did indeed have nice trips from eaten the stolen goods, Sun didn’t consume his and returns it. Zane is so happy he makes Sun a blood brother on the spot (if you haven’t picked up on it yet – Zane is a little crazy).

Abilities: A brilliant stock trader (out of practice), skilled organic farmer, and surprisingly successful botanist.

Inspirations: In Journey to the West the Immortal Zhenyan offers two of his life-extending ginsengfruits to Tripitaka (they only produce fruit every 30 years; but eating one adds 47,000 years to life). More specifically, he has instructed his servants to offer them as he is on a journey himself when Tripitaka arrives. Tripitaka cannot eat the fruit (they look like 3-month old babies) and Sun Wukong sees the servants use this as an opportunity to eat the fruit themselves. Sun Wukong decides to steal three of the fruits (for himself, Pigsy, and Sandy). Angered when he is accused of the theft (which he did), Sun Wukong destroys the tree. When Zhenyan hears of all of this, he is (understandably) upset and ends up capturing the questers a couple of times. Ultimately, Sun Wukong begs a goddess to restore the tree, and all is forgiven (Zhenyan even makes Wukong his sworn brother).

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Damon King (58)

Project: Comedy film (Western Road Trip)

Known as: The King

Real name: Damon King

Group affiliation: Demon Beasts motorcycle gang (leader)

Physical description: King is likely in his 50ies and is in great shape. He has salt-and-pepper hair and a goatee. He is a commanding presence, with a steely gaze.

Personality: King values obedience and loyalty – at least, when they are pointed at him. He rules the Demon Beasts with an iron fist and a sure way to end up in a world of hurt is to question his authority. He’s smart, though, and the gang has been successful in many nefarious undertakings while he’s been leading it. He’s ruthless and holds grudges, so if you are an enemy it is not a question of if King will strike, but when.

History: King has been trouble since the beginning. Abandoned and raised in foster care, soon enough King started to spend time in juvenile detention. He inadvertently made crime is primary area of study (sadly, he was bright enough he could have done about anything). By the time he reached adulthood he had mastered his craft. Though an active criminal, the authorities regularly failed to catch or convict him on any major crime. This success drew other criminals to him and he was soon running a small organization with fall guys in place.

His group eventually came into conflict over territory with a loosely affiliated gang called the Heretical Monks. While King’s group was larger and better organized, the Monks had one asset King could not overcome: Sun. Sun had founded the Monks and as undisciplined and as unorganized as they were, when he was around, they were unbeatable. Sun’s ability to predict how things would unfold, his gift for improvisation, and his unpredictable moves made him more than a match for King (not to mention Sun’s martial prowess). This enraged King and greatly pleased Sun (many suspected that Sun didn’t finish off King for this reason).

The Monks’ downfall, though, was an inattentive leader. Often Sun would get bored and travel. The Monks never knew when he’d be back. It was during an extended absence (it turns out Sun was in prison) that King finally was able to defeat the Monks at take over their territory. With no other options, more than a few of the Monks joined King and a new gang was formed: The Demon Beasts. Each Beast was to choose one animal to be their totem when they joined the gang, with one restriction – no one was allowed to choose a monkey (Sun was known for his monkey tattoo).

In our film, Whitey will report to King that Sun is back (not knowing that he is only passing through). King will lead the Demon Beasts on a cross-country chase after Sun and his companions. King’s sole focus will be to finally eliminate Sun once and for all but he will be constantly watching for betrayal (since some of the Beasts are former Monks).

Role in the narrative: He’s the main antagonist. The gang will cause problems for the travelers over and over.

Abilities: Smart, good fighter, competent strategist and leader. Exceptional criminal.

Inspirations: In Journey to the West Sun Wukong became the king of the monkeys by entering a cave behind a waterfall. He made this the monkey’s home but left them to learn magic. In his absence, the Demon King of Confusion took over the cave and drove out the monkies. Eventually, Sun Wukong would return and reclaim the monkey’s home. This is the overt inspiration for “Damon King,” though plenty of motorcycle gang characters out there (I think maybe I had Ron Pearlman in Sons of Anarchy in my head while writing this).

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Whitey Ossein (57)

Project: Comedy film (Western Road Trip)

Known as: Whitey

Real name: Barney Ossien

Group affiliation: Demon Beasts motorcycle gang

Physical description: Whitey is small and thin. He has few remarkable features, which assists in his skills of disguise. He has always had pure white hair, so even when not in disguise people are often wrong about his age.

Personality: Immoral and selfish, Whitey is a bad dude. There is not much he wouldn’t do if he felt there was an eventual payoff. He is not particularly egotistical and is large immune to disgust. This means he doesn’t mind spending a long time in disguise, hiding in sewers, and is usually the member of the gang who does the truly dirty work.

History: When we meet Whitey, he is in the midst of a long con. In order to ingratiate himself with an older, infirm woman with no family he has disguised himself as an elderly woman as well. Under a false identity, he has become friends with the woman and has commenced swindling – with an eye towards convincing her to update her will.

On a break from their journey, Trip, Sun and Hawg are at a park when Sun spies Whitey and his mark. Sun recognizes Whitey from prison (although his disguise is very good) and in typical Sun directness walks up and punches Whitey in the face. Thinking Sun has just assaulted an old woman, Hawg attacks Sun. While they are fighting, the women make their escape. Ultimately Trip separates Sun and Hawg before Sun soundly trounces Hawg.

Trip is upset with Sun, even though Sun explains it was an ex con he knew. Hawg is adamant that it was just an old woman and Trip has his doubts. Minimally, Trip would have expected more caution from Sun. After the falling out, Trip leaves the group (don’t worry – he’ll be back). Meanwhile, Whitey reaches out to some of his biker buddies…

Role in the narrative: Antagonist. Also causes conflict in the group.

Abilities: Very gifted at disguise and mimicry.

Inspirations: The White Bone Spirit (Baigujing) can change its shape and appears as three different women. Sun Wukong with his fiery eyes can see the demon behind the disguise and the others cannot. This causes Tripitaka to chastise Sun Wukong for slaying random people. Sun Wukong leaves the group – but he is needed later. I made Whitey part of a motorcycle gang (Demon Beasts) as many of the villains in Journey to the West are demons with animal ties/motifs.

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Sandy Rivers (57)

Project: Comedy film (Western Road Trip)

Known as: Sandy

Real name: Maybe Sandy Rivers – though it sounds fake

Group affiliation: Trip’s protectors.

Physical description: Sandy is an older Chinese American woman of indeterminate age. She is grizzled and wrinkled but in no way frail. She wears biker leathers complete with chains, a necklace of small silver skulls, and has a tattoo of a water buffalo on her arm. She looks like the toughest person you’ve ever seen, while also being small for an adult.

Personality: Despite her attire, Sandy is unfailingly polite and well-spoken. She is loyal to a fault and would do anything for her few friends. She is smart, but not in a showy way. She is relatively quiet; it is not that she avoids speaking but more that she enjoys listening and observing more. She is extremely resourceful and remains calm/logical in crises.

History: Sandy is a bit of a mystery when she shows up in the story. Cruising on a badass chopper, the way she is dressed she looks like she might be a small demon looking for souls to steal. Sun notices her a suspicious number of times on their journey (enough that it becomes implausible that she is just heading the same way). But he also notices her helping them out in small ways.

Eventually she talks to them, needing to warn them that a biker gang they had angered earlier in the film are planning an ambush. Sun senses no malice in her (the opposite in fact) so he allows her to travel with them (she usually rides ahead of or behind White Dragon Horse). Trip loves her. She is exactly the type of person he felt like he was missing out on in his sheltered life. Easy to judge one way, but beneath it not what you expected. Her politeness and intelligence puts her on par with Trip, and they become fast friends.

It will eventually be revealed that her presence is not simply coincidence. She is a former colleague of Trip’s parents (having been a literature professor). Willing to do about anything for a friend, she agreed to shadow Trip on his journey (good old Find a Friend kept her from having to stay too close). It turns out she has an additional reason for the trip, as she has recently lost her husband and Trip’s parents thought the journey might distract her from her suffering.

Role in the narrative: Sandy is here to defy expectations. She is a biker and at times seems like she might be an antagonist. The more the travelers interact with her, though, the more layers she has. It’s not an accident she is a literature professor (don’t judge a book…). She is also the one who cares most about Trip; while Sun and Hawg have more selfish motivations.

Abilities: Like all of Trip’s protectors, she is a gifted individual. She is a surprisingly adept fighter but is most striking in her resourcefulness. She is smart and caring and can tell stories extremely well.

Inspirations: Sha Wujing from Journey to the West. I opted to gender swap the character, which has been done before (the TV show “The New Legends of Monkey”). I was on the fence about this, but I’m not sure I’ll add Guanyin to the story so I wanted another female (aside – Guanyin seems maybe a little too revered for me to use; that and in the narrative she is the ultimate safety valve that can swoop in at any time to solve any problem, a character I want to avoid). In the original story, Sandy agrees to protect Tripitaka for redemption and to avoid punishment (he’d get stabbed by swords from the sky daily unless he hid in a river until he agreed to help Tripitaka). Sandy was also probably the most loyal to Tripitaka, so my Sandy is overtly on the journey to protect Trip but is also using the trip to avoid suffering.

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Ben “Hawg” Zhou (56)

Project: Comedy film (Western Road Trip)

Known as: Hawg

Real name: Benjamin Zhou

Group affiliation: Trip’s protectors.

Physical description: Hawg is mixed race, but mostly appears Chinese American. He is very large. He carries a lot of extra weight, though some of it is hidden muscle (he is very strong). He has a notably short nose that is turned up at the end. He is not in any way handsome but he carries himself with confidence.

Personality: Hawg is id on legs. He is either eating, thinking about eating, pursuing a love interest, or thinking about pursuing a love interest (and combinations thereof). Gating his success in these pursuits is his laziness, which is prodigious. Hawg wears his vices on his sleeve.

This is not to say he is not without his good qualities. He is tolerant and open-minded, and never pre-judges anyone based upon their appearance or physical qualities. He also has protective instincts and once he decides you are a friend, he is loyal. He has a soft spot for anyone he perceives as weak (he is the sort to walk through traffic to save a kitten). Despite the vices he carries, how his appearance causes him to be treated by others, and how he has thus far seemed pretty unlucky in life, he maintains a positive outlook. He believes things will generally work out and is not given to extremes of emotion when things look bleak.

History: Born and raised in a small town in Texas, Hawg stood out from his peers at an early age. Both sides of his family had lived in town for generations, so while his apparent race made him unusual for rural Texas, it wasn’t an ongoing issue (especially once he started thumping anyone who made it one). He was unusually large and strong, but his husky body type sometimes led to ridicule (at least, until he thumped the offender; at the same time he owed it by introducing himself as “Hawg”). His ugly face probably got him the most grief (at least, until…well, you probably note the trend by now).

The challenge was he had a nose for trouble. When it came to eating or wooing, he tended to push his luck (you wouldn’t want to leave him unsupervised around a wedding cake). His optimistic outlook largely made him a loveable scamp, at least until he got bigger (both physically and by way of his infractions) and started to get into a few too many fights. Combined by his laziness (a sin in rural Texas), both his family and the people in town had become a bit strained by his presence.

It was unclear how much enlisting was his idea, but Hawg soon found himself in the Navy. He looked forward to the adventure, seeing the world and its people, and sampling exotic foods. While still fundamentally lazy, he managed to rouse himself enough to be generally adequate in his duties, and it appeared as if he’d have a long life and career in the Navy.

This went south after a drunken evening with a captain’s daughter. Though he often approached the line of inappropriate (and sometimes step over), he would never force himself on someone. The daughter was clear on this but the captain angry confronted Hawg and insulted Hawg’s ugliness. Predictably, a thumping and court martial followed.

After the Navy and time served, Hawg became a drifter. Trip and Sun come across him on their journey. He was working as a farm hand for room and board but even though Hawg did a substantial amount of work the farmer was concerned she was losing money as a result of how much Hawg ate. Trip both takes a liking to Hawg and senses the farmer’s plight (she is reticent to dismiss someone for eating too much), so he invites Hawg to travel with them. Sun is angry at this – he considers Hawg an idiot. Hawg is rather jealous of Sun (it seems that Hawg’s allotment of luck was awarded to Sun), but at the same time admired him and called him “brother.” Ultimately Sun senses that Hawg will be a loyal friend to Trip (he has a knack for such things) and Trip gives Sun a headache with his lectures on how they should help Hawg, so Sun relents and Hawg travels with them.

Role in the narrative: Hawg is a jolly fellow and lovable loser and will offer some comic relief. He is more than willing to let Sun take care of any problems they encounter, but at the same time he ends up being pretty handy to have around. At the same time, he is almost as likely to get them into trouble as get them out.

Abilities: Hawg is a great fighter (not the equal of Sun, though, who is great at everything). During his time in the Navy and his wanderings, he’s picked up quite a few skills (e.g., he could fix White Dragon Horse if necessary). He would win any eating contest he entered.

Inspirations: In Journey to the West, Zhu Bajie, or Pigsy, is one of Tripitaka’s protectors. As with all the characters in this project, I had his Wikipedia entry open while writing the above; so these are very directly inspired by the original characters. You probably see echoes of Hawg in many characters you’ve encountered – which either shows the influence of Journey to the West or how it includes common elements of many stories.

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

White Dragon Horse (55)

Project: Comedy film (Western Road Trip)

Known as: White Dragon Horse

Real name: Unrevealed

Group affiliation: Trip’s transport.

Physical description: White Dragon Horse is a white van with a creature painted on the side (unsurprisingly, it looks like a cross between a dragon and a horse). It’s a newish van – a 2016 Ram ProMaster Cargo van. It has been modified extensively inside.

Personality: White Dragon Horse has a ton of personality – for a van (after all, it has a cool painting on the side). But it is not a supernatural van – no talking or anything. It is very reliable transportation.

History: Early in the film Trip and Sun hit the road in Trip’s graduation gift: a new Audi sedan. The two set off on their trip but Sun says they need to make a quick stop for “road supplies.”

Sun takes them to a rather shady-looking place: Yingchou Salvage. It turns out the proprietor owes Sun money from a “business deal” completed before Sun went to prison. At least, in Sun’s opinion Sun is owed – the proprietor sees things differently. While they are debating, the proprietor’s son decided to “accidentally” ram the Audi with their tow truck (believing it to be Sun’s). The proprietor immediately sees they have gone too far, as a murderous look appears on Sun’s face. They reassure Sun that they can repair the Audi – but Sun says that they must replace Trip’s car immediately as they have to drive cross-country for an appointment. They try to give Sun a POS but then Sun spies the White Dragon Horse van.

With reassurances from Sun that the Audi will be fixed, the two set off in White Dragon Horse.

Role in the narrative: White Dragon Horse (Dub-Dee-Aitch) is the group’s transport (and at times mobile hotel room).

Abilities: WDH is reliable and surprisingly fast. A few times in the journey the group finds exactly what they need stashed somewhere in WDH.

Inspirations: In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong forces a dragon to serve as Tripitaka’s steed after the dragon eats his first horse. I really wanted to somehow represent this in the movie and when I got an image of a white van with a dragon horse painted on the side, I thought I’d have my solution. A classic road trip element is car trouble/car swapping (remember the Family Truckster?). That being said, I feel like this entry is a bit of a dud (I bounced around several ideas in my head). It’s causing me to rethink the project a little. I had planned to have it be a reality-based work with only hints of supernatural elements. Given that Sun Wukong solves so many problems by martial skill in the novel, I may have to revisit that (maybe demons need to rise because Trip’s journey fulfills a prophesy – we’ll see).

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Sun (54)

Project: Comedy film (Western Road Trip)

Known as: Sun

Real name: Unrevealed

Group affiliation: Trip’s protectors (usually Sun isn’t affiliated with anyone – people are affiliated with him).

Physical description: Sun is Chinese American. I sometimes refer to characters as good-looking, but Sun is head-turning, movie-star good looking. He eternally looks like someone in their late 20ies, and his body is chiseled (despite the fact he doesn’t deliberately exercise). He has a 10,000-megawatt smile, that is mischievous, appealing, and dangerous at the same time. He has a tattoo of a monkey wearing a crown on his chest.

Personality: Sun is irrepressible, impulsive, and arrogant. He is also brave and curious, and all of these attributes make him one of the poorest rule-followers ever. He is a storm against the status quo. He feels he is better and knows better than everyone else and that the rules are only there to try to keep his lesser in control of him.

Yet he is quite likable. Part of the reason people like him is that he’ll say and do things they often wished they could. Another part is that he is usually joyous and finds wonder and fun in many situations. He’s the sort to smile through a bar fight (perhaps he smiles most in a bar fight).

He has never really taken on being responsible for someone else before. It will be strongly suggested (or even stated) that he is protecting and mentoring Trip because someone suggested that he might not be good at that (Sun is big on showing everyone that he is the best at whatever he does). Naïve and unworldly as Trip is, he will challenge Sun’s worldview and give Sun new perspective (e.g., that Sun is just as controlled by society by being motivated by breaking the rules as if he were following the rules; and that Sun has put off deciding what is important to him).

History: Much of Sun’s history will not be revealed to keep an air of mystery about him. His exact connection to Trip’s family is unclear. Trip calls him “uncle,” but whether Sun is actually a sibling to one of Trip’s parents is unknown (e.g., he may just have been a friend, or someone who once helped them). Both of Trip’s parents react to Sun like he is a grenade with the pin pulled and would not send their precious son on a road trip with him. It is Trip’s act of independence that he has selected his uncle for such a journey – which may also be part of what draws Sun into it (Sun is very pro-rebellion; and while he has genuine affection for Trip’s parents, they are people who would tell Sun how to live his life, which rankles).

There will be no recitation of Sun’s history in the movie, only references to the nearly mythical things he has achieved. As I haven’t fully worked out the plot, here are a few of the beats I’d want Sun to hit in the course of the film:

• Sun will saunter out of prison like he owns the place. If I can make it plausible, he will tear up some official piece of paper he is given (after maybe slapping it on his forehead like something annoying).
• There will definitely be a classic bar fight and it will have the classic element of Sun picking up a pool que and kicking everyone’s butt. And I mean EVERYONE’S butt – people will be calling friends from home to come and try to fight Sun. After soundly trouncing a cartoonish number of foes, Sun will return his pool que lovingly, go to the register and buy the bar a round of drinks, pick up a toothpick and put it behind his ear before walking out of the bar.
• Sun will show he is exceptional at about everything: fighting, driving, singing, you name it.
• At some point Sun will mention not liking horses due to a job shoveling horse manure he once had (his employers had promised him it was the first step to a management position; when it became clear it was not, Sun let all the horses go).
• One of his friends will tell a story about how they worked for a caterer who was providing food for a fancy party. The caterer was rude to Sun, so Sun ate all the food for the party himself (it will be unclear on how literal these stories about Sun’s past are).
• Sun will refer to himself as handsome and will assure Trip that he (Sun) knows more and can teach more than a bunch of university professors anyway.
• Trip’s moralizing to Sun will give Sun headaches. Sun will claim he never had a headache in his life until he started listening to Trip. Sun will even start doing what Trip asks sometimes just to avoid the lectures and headaches (the source of the headaches will be that Sun will start to suspect Trip is right about some things).
• Sun will punch a grandmotherly-looking woman in the face, to Trip’s horror. It will turn out that it is an ex-con in disguise Sun recognizes (and who intends something nefarious for Trip).
• Later in the film, when Sun has learned some selflessness from Trip, he will save people from a burning building only to have it collapse on him. Everyone is convinced he is dead but he finds a fire-proof nook to hide in with an air source.
• He will overcome many of the obstacles put in the path of their journey, which seems to be cursed.

Role in the narrative: Sun is nearly a co-protagonist. Technically a secondary character to Trip, Sun is the type to steal the show. Sun is a character who is incredibly gifted but gets in his own way. His “enlightenment” will come when he realizes that living his life around rebelliousness alone controls him, and he will end the film a better man (monkey).

Abilities: Sun is naturally good at about anything he tries. He could have been a professional athlete, performer, or any number of other things but a lack of discipline and his rebellious streak forestalled all of that. On the surface he might not seem book-smart but he has read quite a bit in prison and is very smart.

Inspirations: Sun Wukong.

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

(Note – On to a new project, Western Road Trip. Check out the index page for an overview).

Tang “Trip” Seng (53)

Project: Comedy film (Western Road Trip)

Known as: Trip

Real name: Tang Seng

Group affiliation: None

Physical description: Trip is a young (18) Chinese American. He is handsome but in a very boyish way. He is a skinny, slight person (a stiff breeze might take him away). His hair is short and neat and he is always well groomed.

Personality: Trip is naïve and compassionate, a dangerous combination for those who might want to take advantage of him. He is also brilliant. Scientifically gifted he has been accepted to Stanford and plans to study neuroscience. At the same time, he is also very spiritual and wants to use neuroscience to explore concepts of identity and the interconnectedness of people. He does not see his interest in neuroscience and his faith as completely opposed to each other (raised Buddhist, he does not believe in a “soul” – an unchanging, permanent self; he is therefore curious on how the brain contributes to who we see ourselves to be).

He is also very dedicated to his family and fully intends to return to New York once he has gained the knowledge he seeks in the west.

History: Born in New York City, “Trip” (his English name, selected because he liked the sound of it; his real name is Tang Seng) grew up with two professors as parents (both teach at Columbia; one in Anthropology and the other in Chemistry). His intellectual, musical, and spiritual gifts were evident from an early age. Like many parents, Trip’s parents saw him as extraordinary (in this case, they might have been right). They strongly suspected he was someone great reborn.

Wanting to protect him from poor influences and maintain high standards for him, they decided to home school him. Often times this meant he was “Columbia schooled” as he tagged along with them and studied in their offices when they were not actively teaching him. Their friends at the university would often pitch in to teach Trip the basics of their disciplines and without a doubt Trip had the finest of elementary and secondary educations.

However, this meant that Trip lived a cloistered life in the ivory tower. His parents endeavored to show him the brighter side of life and tended to only expose him to the best people. Of course, he got glimpses of the “real world” and realized in his teenage years that he had a very narrow perspective on what the world was like. A very compassionate person, Trip frequently volunteered to help the less fortunate. However even in this one of his parents would typically join him to help protect and shelter him.

When the time came to choose a university of course his parents anticipated him staying at Columbia (his grades, volunteerism, and test scores gave him his choice of schools). He surprised them by selecting Stanford. He felt he needed to be away from his parents and see more of the world on his own (he assured him he would learn what he could at Stanford and return with new knowledge and perspective to Columbia).

If his parents were surprised that Trip chose Stanford, they were stunned by what came next. Trip has taken his black sheep uncle, recently released from prison, up on his offer to drive Trip across country to the school. They don’t know if they should be relieved that their naïve son has a worldly protector for his journey to the west, or terrified that he might be the worst influence of all.

Role in the narrative: Our protagonist. He is the idealistic/noble half of our odd couple paring.

Abilities: Brilliant – a surprising breadth and depth of knowledge. Zero street smarts.

Inspirations: This is an overt mash-up of a road trip comedy (Planes, Trains, and Automobiles; Vacation; take your pick) and the classic Chinese novel Journey to the West. Trip is Tang Sanzang, the monk on a dangerous pilgrimage to recover holy scriptures and return (his English name “Trip” comes from “Tripitaka,” one of several names he is known by – though I am pleased with the wordplay that they are taking a trip). In Journey to the West, Tang Sanzang is compassionate but not worldly and the gods decides he needs protectors (this will be his uncle and his uncle’s friends in my version).

I do have some motivations here. I think Asian Americans are woefully underrepresented in American film. I also think that Journey to the West doesn’t get the credit it deserves in the United States (a bizarre statement for such a famous work). It has characters and a plot that form the bones of so many things you have seen and read. However, if I am being most honest, I love Sun Wukong and really wanted to do a modern interpretation of him (to me, he is one of the first super heroes). My intent is to provide an homage to Journey to the West – I hope my effort isn’t received as disrespectful in any way (I’m not going to have too many overt references to Buddhism / Taoism to try to avoid that; though I also worry there may be disrespect in my avoidance. So rather than let concerns seize me up – just understand this is coming from a positive place and I’m open to feedback on where I miss).

Also, nod to the Cohen Brother’s “Oh Brother Where Art Thou?,” the genre mash-up/retelling of a classic tale that is one of my favorites.