szynkaaa

[szynkaaa]

Black Myth Wukong Monkeys: LORE/HC stuff

I’ve had some recent thoughts about BMW and Wukong/Destined One.

So everyone has their own “Wukong looks like this” idea based on different chapter animations, in game armor, some back end files, etc. *I will not be proving or disproving anyone fyi*

I decided to take a little bit of a deeper look.

A lot of people have different head canons about “how much fur” WK/DO actually has under his armor (Valid question 😏). This is based on ‘monkey types in real life’ or some hints / glimpses we see in game or even other media for Wukong. So I wanted to set out to look at the other monkeys we see in game. The issue? Blurry background monkeys LOL. (Some images will be…blurry ish…)

I was watching some TikTok’s with some Spider Monkeys - if you know the family youre awesome - and while looking on a first glance they look nearly identical. But looking closer you’ll start seeing the differences in fur, face color patterns - down to freckles, mannerisms etc etc etc. I already like anyone else was expecting Monkey demons to have some diversity to them but just like any ‘real life’ animal sometimes it’s not a lot of diversity between a same species. (I’m not thinking about house pets or birds, I’m thinking on the generic “lion” or “tiger” look if that makes sense).

Pulling up the game the first other monkey we see besides Wukong is the old Monkey - he has white hair and very thin fur (even a fur less tail). He almost looks like Destined One too in structure but not quite, he holds some less human mannerisms than even DO. (Will come back to that)

Shen Monkey was also the next monkey to look at - brightened up images show him to be dark in skin & fur color. He also has patches of fur and places like his under arms missing fur. He has a thin thatch of hair on the center of his chest with a bushy head of hair/fur and his face is a bit more ‘monkey’ than WK/DO’s. His feet are shorter than WK/DO’s too (toes also just a bit). Also, he has POINTY ears.

Link to the post I got these from @/aulostheremin https://www.tumblr.com/aulostheremin/773263251799687168/i-might-be-asking-too-much-but-can-we-have-fanart (wasn’t sure if you’d be okay tagging youuuuuuu)

After looking at him I took a look at the blurry background monkeys in that opening scene and started to notice something….interesting.

The background monkeys looked almost generic right? But on closer look I started to realize they had many differences.

You can see their fur colors vary for starters, some being tan, to brown, to that onyx greyish blue color. Same with skin color - some have peach/pail skin and others have that grey blue skin that Shen Monkey has.

*See above different color furs / skins.*

Most of them also have fur less chests, but this varies too - some having more fur less skin and others having a little less on their chests. For instance - these two monkeys *SEE BELOW*. Both are ‘wide’ bodied but one has a more square fur less pattern while the other has a more upside down triangle pattern. ALSO - the triangle pattern monkey seems to have thinner/furless skin on the underside of his arms where as the square pattern monkey seems to have full fur other than on his chest. (Also, is that war paint on the triangle monkey?? The two lines - one shown running down his pec? If so, that is a neat idea I am absolutely head canoning that they used tribal war paint for warriors for certain meanings be it rank or things like courage/bravery - maybe they have trials and such etc)- mini note yes I am incorporating stuff like this in future fics.

The next thing I noticed was their clothes. Some apparently wear loin clothes, pants only, shirt and pants, or nothing at all. Most seem to wear clothes though in some fashion. (You can see in above images some of those clothes.

Below - also as a note I think the tail placement here wasn’t supposed to be noticed because honestly its a little uh off - but there is a Monkey that runs in front of the camera at the beginning of the game. Fully nude. This monkey appears while blurry, to have THICK FULL body hair. Even on that booty and it’s hard to tell, but honestly it looks like he has fur on his chest.

As another note, we cannot tell, but based on look alone they have ROUND ears mostly vs pointy like Shen Monkey. So, we have different fur patterns, colors, states of dress/status where next? (Maybe pointy ears are something less common? Interesting thought)

Their mannerisms.

Watching the scene its clear these background monkeys really lean into ‘monkey’ walk and actions/behaviors. They are VERY bow legged and have that sway you see in Planet of The Apes. Their chests are a bit wider/barreled and their limbs a little thicker too than WK/DO. Some of them have their arms curled up to their bodies as well. They squat too (mostly) instead of sitting and remain closer to the ground, but looking around you’ll see another interesting thing - outside of WK/DO, the old Monkey, there is one other monkey deep into the background that ISNT squatting like the rest. Instead they are sitting like a person, like WK/DO was in that scene before he stands up.

Shen Monkey ALSO sits like a human (see above pics of him).

Even the way WK/DO & the old monkey walk is more ‘human leaning’ with WK/DO being even more so than the old monkey. It shows me that WK/DO is still an anomaly even in those that are ‘human leaning’ because he is a true blend of the two but also something all his own, the old monkey being the only one closest to him in this.

Why does this all of this matter? It shows me the difference and diversity between the monkeys. Some are very heavy in their ‘monkey’ appearance and body movements (maybe slightly even brain function on a more primal level?) and others lean into more human aspects. BUT the more human leaning monkeys are not as common it seems. Essentially this makes my brain run. It shows a level of difference that is somewhat on par with how humans are diverse as well which again was what caught my eye and made me wonder about these Monkey Demons. Such as are there preferences of appearance, or do certain features make them more warriors/gatherers or what about intelligence of some? What differentiates leaders & followers or what genes get passed on? (Yes I’m adding this shit to my head canons LOL)

As another side note, I think WK/DO is just taller than his monkey kind. Mainly because he stands so far upright. Also also also, paying close attention in that opening scene the background monkeys tails are so cute LOL we get to see a little tail movement.

Okay so what conclusion does this bring us to? They are suuuuuper diverse. Meaning, if you see WK/DO with specific fur patterns vs another person? It works either way you see it because genuinely there are so many different variations, be it mostly furry with a small patch on his chest furless or the fur running down most of his torso…or even missing fur on the underside of his arms or having fur on the underside of his arms. Also the booty discourse of does he have furry cheeks or not honestly….up to you. Also I think it shows WK/DO is truly a 1 of a kind (which we knew duh) but ‘human leaning’ is such a rare feature (I’m assuming) and WK/DO doesnt even quite fit there either.

So at the end of the day……theres no wrong answer here. Just was doing some digging 🧐☺️ this was to help ME because I have ideas 😉 and I can’t wait to start digging into them in fics.

@szynkaaa has another in depth look at this too sharing the same thoughts 😉 https://szynkaaa.tumblr.com/post/769217021192945664/the-shape-of-monkey

[szynkaaa]

I just read that Donald Trump and his circus took down a website called reproductiverights.gov

This was a website to help women learn about their reproductive rights in the US and to find health care.

This is absolutely disgusting so I’ll share in this post some resources in case you need them:

https://www.plannedparenthood.org/learn

[szynkaaa]

Here for you!

*hands Oz and Sun Wukong some peaches*

when your boyfriend casually drops lore about himself during one of your outings and you're too stunned to reply back in his language.

[szynkaaa]

Some animal crossing art I did

[szynkaaa]

was talking with some friends about the old monk set again, specifically the peek to his fur on the backside, and this is what we would do:

smush face into fur for recharging

reason 1934 why I'm sad the Old Monk Set did not make it into the final cut of the game:

the peak we got at the fur on his neck and backside 😭😭😭😭😭

I will forever be sad about this loss. It genuinely feels like the final model in the game doesn't have much or any fur on the neck. idk if it's because most armors have a high collar so they removed the fur on the neck there?? But ugh, I love how much fur we got see in this old set.

just close your eyes and imagine wrapping your arms around him and kissing that fur exposed spot on his back ok. and now open them and weep at the loss.

[szynkaaa]

EDIT: 20/01/2025

Queen's Studio is releasing a 1:3 Zhu Bajie figure, currently open for pre-order

according to the website, the figure stands 50cm tall with the stand

This is my current measurement for how tall the stand is

42cm * 3 is 126cm, so we know that Zhu Bajie stands at 126 cm tall.

If we got with DO being 180cm tall, then this is their height difference:

which does track with what we seen in the game (beside the Zhu bajie boss fights. I am convinced all the bosses are scaled up for the fights)

Will try to take a screenshot of DO and Bajie standing next to each other when I can!

kicks down everyone's door folks I might have figured out how tall Sun Wukong/Destined One is in Black Myth Wukong.

Starting with a disclaimer that this is just my speculation and nothing is confirmed unless the dev state otherwise

So y'know how the collector's edition came with this amazing Wukong figurine:

amazing right? I want one too.

The description states that the figure is 40cm tall (according to playasia)

The figure is made by Queen Studio, specifically the INART team that makes 1:6 figures.

So we know that the figure is 40cm tall. It is not clear if that includes stand or not, and I was not able to find any information how tall the stand is

On another website (which I don't want to name because I don't know how serious the website is) lists up the figure as 315mm/31.5cm

If that is the height of the actual figure without stand, and it's a 1:6 figure, that means 31.5cm * 6 = 189 cm

So that means it is very possible Destined One/Sun Wukong is 189 cm / 6 feet 2 inch tall.

that is TALL. a lot taller than I thought he would be tbh LOL cause in the books he is usually described as the shortest (cause well, monkey)

which ALSO means.

Wukong better be paying for her chiropractor with the amount of crancking her neck up she has to do.

EDIT 07/01/2025

Some more evidence that the Destined One / Sun Wukong may around 180-190cm tall in the game:

Justin's Collection posted a very detailed and unboxing and review video for the 1:6 scaled figure that came with the Collector's Edition, which you can watch here.

There is one where the Destined One stands next to the VTS TOYS Ghost of Tsushima ~Jin Sakai figure, which is also a 1:6 scale

I tried to find how tall the Jin Sakai figure is, and according to this reseller website, it is listed up as 30 cm

30*6 = 180 cm

if you look at the eyebrow level as pointed out by @blackknight-kai, chances are our Monkey is a wee bit taller

My previous math put DO/SWK at 189cm without base, and 180 - 190cm does sound about right.

I know that in some game screenshots, Monkey looks very tiny compared to the enemies, with NPCs also sometimes being 2-3 times his size.

I personally think this was done for the gaming experience, because it is easier to see enemies and their moves when they are bigger, but when you look at the opening cinematic of SWK and Erlang fighting, Erlang is just a bit taller than Wukong

Here is a screenshot of Pingping next to DO, we don't know how tall Pingping is but say she is average women height (160cm?) the height difference would make sense

So yeah. Please keep in mind the height is not officially confirmed, just what my math is mathing base don the officially released figure!

[szynkaaa]

missed drawing those two idiots

I started watching the 1996 JTTW adaption and the monkey king is so cute there grabbed few screenshots to redraw them

proposal ref from here

[szynkaaa]

sealed away forever in the sketch heap

[szynkaaa]

Just gonna leave this one here, this book better stay fiction

[szynkaaa]

aaaah AAAAAAAAH AAAAAAAAAH OH MY GOD???? she looks so fucking smug and BADASS like she knows she can steal the throne right off wukong fjksljf thank you so much for drawing my girl TToTT

@szynkaaa,s OC: Oz.

I really like Oz and her story. Her blood bending powers is really badass and it was really interesting to learn about her and her liniage.

Reference

Go check out @szynkaaa, she is really REALLY talented and she has so much info on BMWK and the artists who worked on some of the concepts for the game.

[szynkaaa]

"Can he be fucking normal" redraw

[szynkaaa]

[szynkaaa]

I FUCKING DID IT

I got the lil monkey leaving home achievement tattooed because I love that drawing so fucking much.

It's peak. Look at him with his hand looking forward. And holding all his belongings on a stick? The classic. And the lil curly tail UGH I'm dying.

Went to a stick n poke tattoo artist because I think that handpoke captures the brush like style of the original art well

[szynkaaa]

Black Myth Wukong Journal Entries getting a physical release in China

China is releasing an officially published Black Myth: Wukong Journal Entries book, as announed on the publishers weibo (One of the co-founders of Game Science also commented on it)

It comes in two different versions:

159 RMB / ca. 21 EUR

exposed spine, sewn textbook

comes with a satchel for the book and a bookmark

342 RMB / ca 45 EUR

Chinese stab binding

Comes with a special mural scroll

Monkey hair incense stick (LOL) (also side note the text on the incense box is the dialogue mountain keeper says in the game to DO, telling him to hurry quickly light an incense)

Gourd Grandpa Yuan Shoucheng table screen

Pre-order period was between January 9th - 11th at an exhibition in Beijing, not clear if it is a limited print run, or if it will be available after Chinese New Year, will post an update once I have found more info!

Also gonna shamelessly plug in my own version of the journal entries, that I bound myself at home

[szynkaaa]

Black Myth Wukong has launched their own official merch, here is the Taobao storefront

They launched products such as tote bags, t-shirts, jewellery

Some of the products:

Gourd shaped cross bag

Zhu Bajie plush in two different sizes

Tiger Vanguard plush

Black Bear plush

Necklace and ring based on the headwear from the game

tiger rug

[szynkaaa]

Official Black Myth Wukong Merch Announced

Game Science released a merch teaser video in celebration of Chinese New Year

here are some screenshots and personal highlights:

Loving the new monkey doodle we are getting holding a peach, Bajie plush and a tote bag:

Along with Bajie plus, there is also Tiger vanguard and black bear blush

Also the license plate was briefly shown in the video, hinting at something might be announced/released on 20th August 2025

Dates in China are listed up Year/month/day + the first gameplay trailer for Black Myth Wukong dropped on 20th August 2020, and the game was released 20th August 2024, so it would make sense that they continue sticking to 20th August for releases / announcements.

Merch is currently only available in China, Game Science is looking for global distributor

I will update this post once I found the link to the official Chinese store

EDIT: 15/01/2025

here is the link to their Taobao store!

[szynkaaa]

Official Black Myth Wukong Merch Announced

Game Science released a merch teaser video in celebration of Chinese New Year

here are some screenshots and personal highlights:

Loving the new monkey doodle we are getting holding a peach, Bajie plush and a tote bag:

Along with Bajie plus, there is also Tiger vanguard and black bear blush

Also the license plate was briefly shown in the video, hinting at something might be announced/released on 20th August 2025

Dates in China are listed up Year/month/day + the first gameplay trailer for Black Myth Wukong dropped on 20th August 2020, and the game was released 20th August 2024, so it would make sense that they continue sticking to 20th August for releases / announcements.

Merch is currently only available in China, Game Science is looking for global distributor

I will update this post once I found the link to the official Chinese store

EDIT: 15/01/2025

here is the link to their Taobao store!