#And every time MK is hurt by Wukong or see's how Wukong has hurt someone else I'm like. MAN. OH BOY OH BOY

[imminent-danger-came]

So I'm like, utterly obsessed with MK and Wukong's relationship, because it's like, Wukong has borderline unreasonable faith in MK and MK is willing to put pretty much anything on the line for Wukong (risking the curse being released in 4x02, ready to "meet his fate" FOR him in 4x13), yet MK is also purposefully ignoring SWK's mistakes/flaws and thinking in binaries of "good guy" and "bad guy". And at this point I'm not sure what they wouldn't do for each other, or where is too far to go for each other, and let me tell you girl it's edging on unhealthy.

[i-am-a-fan]

I saw a post talking about how there’s a deep mischaracterization of Mk in the fandom specifically about his monkey form and I’m here to dissect it. (WIth doodles!)

Tldr: Will Mk end up hurting his family in season 5 due to his new Monkey form? Most likely no, but it is possible that he indirectly hurts them by not understanding the limits of his power.

First things first let’s collect a list of attributes that we know Mk has from past seasons. This will serve as a spine or checklist to see if certain actions are possible. A thing to keep in mind though is the ranking of each attribute as the writers of LMK wrote there are characters as complex and sometimes abandon certain character values if their center value is threatened. 

Mk’s character value list (in my opinion) is as follows: 

-Family 

-Strength 

-Freedom 

-Dependability 

with family and strength being so close to each other, so sometimes strength ends up as Mk’s main concern. Of course, all of these end up mixing at times and in the first seasons we see the mixing of these values gets him in trouble 

Desiring the freedom of choice over listening to Wukong (Pig Pong Panic). Wanting to be dependable but overestimating his strength (Duplication). Wanting to be strong but forgets his family in the process (shadow play). Eventually, he gets his priorities in check and has ended up sticking to this list for most of seasons 3 and 4. 

Now his flaws (in no particular order): 

Impulsivity 

Forgetfulness 

Stubbornness 

Blind devotion 

He’s overcome a lot of these when he was forced to learn them in season 3. His stubbornness to not tell anyone what was happening with the LBD got people hurt. His impulsivity with his actions ended up crashing the ship, and almost sold his family to a goldfish demon.

(Text: Mk's Fault, Good Intentions, Trying mentor)

So he’s had to come up with methods of working around that. Mk’s blind devotion to Wukong almost got Mei killed, and we see how he changes because of it. At the end of season 3, Mk doesn’t explicitly say that he sees Wukong in a new light but he heavily implies it with the metaphor of a bowl of noodles. 

So… Will Mk go crazy and end up hurting his friends? 

I highly doubt it. While I toyed with the idea, Mk is a lot smarter than the fandom usually gives him credit for. He knows Wukong is flawed, and he still trusts in him because he knows Wukong is trying. Mk has faith in Wukong’s strength and the fact that Wukong also heavily values family, even if his isolation makes it a lot harder for him to do so. Just rewatch the ending of season 3 where Wukong apologizes to Mk and watch as Mk comes to the realization that Wukong is trying so hard to make up for his past. (They also drive this point home in season 4 with how disappointed Wukong sounds at himself for not finding Mk in the scroll in the season finale.) 

(Text: He's flawed and trying, Has to accept harsh reality, Dissociating Coping mechanism)

So what about Mk’s impulsivity? I doubt that’d be something that directly harms his friends. He’s worked on his impulsivity by working with others (Redson in season 3 and Mei’s planning in season 4) to help fill in the gaps in his plans. In order for his impulsivity to harm others, you’d have to break that family value first or raise that value of strength and freedom. Most likely this flaw can manifest in Mk overdoing his Monkey form ™  and sending a shockwave that accidentally hurts the people around him.  Probably manifesting either in training or while having fun with Mei (think about how Mk was in the Bad Weather episode). 

Okay, what if Mk is tricked into it like he was in Season 4 (back to the flaw of blind devotion)? Mk has spent every season backstabbed by someone he trusted. We see him snap at Azure after he finds out that he was going to keep Wukong in the scroll. He snaps at Macaque in season 4. It’s safe to say that he’s learned, at least partially, to not trust others so blindly. Mk is also supposed to have gotten the “skill of self-reflection” in “Revenge of the Spider Queen” but his reflecting has mostly just impacted the other flaws. 

(Text: Side note, Monkey Mk doesn't have a nose)

But there is one possibility I toy with, bottled up emotions. Mk has extremely big emotions but hates showing any emotion that can be seen as negative. He loves being happy and he’s not afraid to show it, but as soon as those emotions turn to doubt, anger, or sadness he bottles them up fast. He knows he can rely on his family, but he’s stubborn and thinks that his emotions aren’t worth that hassle. Take the ending of season 3 where Mk states that “he tries not to think too hard” about his own place in the universe, which could be due to a fear of losing the value of freedom if he has a specific role to play in the universe.

(Text: Guys He's so avoidant, forced to think about his identity, 18-early 20's and Identity crisis)

It’s worsened by the fact that every. other. character. avoids. their. emotions. No other characters in this series are open about their emotions except Tang and Sandy. And from season 3 (and a bit of season 4) we know that Mk doesn’t view Tang in an extremely positive light.

Not exactly negative, but his admiration lies more on the rest of the team. Macaque points this out in season 2 stating in “Shadow Play” that Mk should talk out his insecurities, but no one else does that. 

That being said Mk isn’t entirely forgetful either. Macaque was a season 1 villain with his betrayal going through season 3. Mk’s high value of family, and flaw of blind devotion, make him want to give him a chance as Macaque’s past is connected with Wukong’s. HOWEVER, Mk is also stubborn and hasn’t forgiven Macaque’s actions. That’s why he snaps, plus the fact that Macaque is terrible at direct communication. Like I said before, Mk won’t directly hurt anyone he cares about, but if his monkey form is highly connected with his emotions (as most magic tends to be) having those bottled-up insecurities might accidentally cause Mk to unleash more power than he means to.

(Text: Normal, Fed up Meter, rage (on jar))

I have no idea where season 5 is going to go, but I’m so excited about the possibilities. 

(Text: Terrified of his actions hurting his family. UNSTABLE!!!)

[itsabouttimex2]

Not sure if you have covered this, but I’ll ask. How would you have gone about Macaque’s redemption arc…if it’s possible with how he was written before season four? No hate or debate, just curious. I like alternate takes on characters :3

Hmm okay I thought on this for a little bit, and the crux of my problem with Macaque’s arc is that he’s established late Season Three to be “not a bad person” when-

1. He enjoys hurting people

2. He goes out of his way to hurt people

3. He hurts many people

4. He expresses no regret or remorse for hurting people

5. He faces no consequences for hurting innocent people aside from his intended victims winning their fights against him

6. His victims are reduced to a hivemind of non-autonomous set dressings who have no feelings on his presence or past crimes

And he promptly just becomes a person that everyone is okay with despite everything. So, if we have to keep the “one good action is enough to redeem you for betrayal, deceit, slandering, multiple counts of assault and attempted murder”, then we need to shift some things.

So I think the best thing to do if we want the actual “redemption arc” to hit the way it’s supposed to in canon is-

1. Thin his list of victims

2. Thin his list of crimes to the point that one good deed is actually a reasonable atonement for all of them

3. Play up his victimhood at the hands of the Mayor

4. Establish his inability to escape from the Lady Bone Demon much sooner

If the crux of his arc is just being forgiven by ONE of his many victims and then becoming a good person, then we just need to sharply reduce the amount of victims he has to make the immediate and all-encompassing forgiveness feel more realistic.

When he’s “sieging” the city in Macaque, the Smoke Demon ignores everyone who isn’t MK and deals no structural damage, creating no victims aside from the Monkie Kid.

When he’s performing in Shadowplay, Macaque portals MK away to fight him alone, leaving everyone else unharmed, creating no victims aside from the kid.

Then, when he’s stolen away by the Mayor, either:

1. Lady Bone Demon implants him with her powers right away, preventing him from running away and immediately establishing him as desperate, or, what I’d argue for-

2. Send the Mayor with him.

When he receives the compass and is released, Macaque pulls a Bone Key-

and throws it away, trying to shadow portal away, only to be greeted by

The Mayor, who proceeds to outright accompany Macaque on this journey, thereby serving as a foil to Tang Sanzang.

Where Sun Wukong was taken under the wing of someone who genuinely cared for him and wanted to see him improve, Macaque is forcibly dragged along by an outright malicious figure who wants to see him rot.

(Fuck, have Lady Bone Demon give Macaque an ice circlet to seal the “foil” deal! Have him be forced into these actions in outright agony! It would help Sun Wukong sympathize with him, expediting the “forgiveness” that a redemption arc needs!)

In fact, every time Macaque tries to leave, or steps out of line or even just fails? You hear an offscreen thud and yelping and then when we get to see him next, there’s new bruises on his body, new tears in his clothes. His fur becomes messy. His eyes grow haunted.

Play up his victimhood to coax the audience into sympathizing with him.

Macaque tries to run. The Mayor hurts him. He tries to stall. The Mayor hurts him. He tries to argue. The Mayor hurts him. He tries to fight back. The Mayor beats him back into subservience.

Establish that Macaque has utterly exhausted all avenues of “escape” before he resorts to attacking the Monkie Kids, and even then, have him try to avoid the majority of them in favor of MK, only to be forced by the Mayor into actually fighting Mei, Tang, Sandy, and Pigsy.

So now every character understands why he’s doing this- and don’t have a reason to hold it against him or expect any further atonement because none of his worst actions (like sieging the Dragon Palace) actually need to be addressed- they aren’t his fault.

That basically solves all the problems I have with the “arc” as it stands, honestly.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Wukong still, very clearly, makes the fact he doesn't want Macaque near him or his son very apparent. I like to think it wasn't Macaque forcing a demon attack but rather the group just... ran into each other at the grocery. Like maybe Wukong offered to help out after MK's developing powers ruined Pigsy's stock or something??? But then they run into "Mr. Liu'er" who immediately sets alarm bells off in Wukong's head

Yeah, Wukong pretty much threatens Macaque to stay tf away from him or MK. He doesn't care that Macaque has suddenly returned after centuries of being missing/dead - Wukong only cares about keeping his cub safe.

I like the idea of Wukong and MK running into Macaque (in glamour as "Mr Liu'er") at the grocery store. MK's powers are super unstable, and he accidentally takes out a bunch of ingredients in Pigsy's kitchen (lots of broken eggs), and Wukong offers to grab replacements for the lost ingredients.

Then cue Wukong seeing a dark-haired man at the store wearing a familiar red scarf - staring at the products like he's never seen them before.

A quick flash of Gold-Vision confirms his suspicions.

MK: "Baba! You used Gold Vision! Is there another demon here?" Wukong: "Xiaotian, my beautiful little egg, please don't shout when you see me do that." Macaque, sly smile: "Oh my gods, Wukong? Good to you you bud. How have things been?" Wukong: (*annoyed groan*) "Hello Macaque." MK: "Baba makes that sound when he sees someone he doesn't want to talk to." Macaque, chuckling and kneeling down to shake MK's hand: "I know it well. The name is Liu'er Mihou, Macaque to my friends. Is this little scamp yours, Wukong?" Wukong, defensively: "Yes. He's mine." Macaque: "Is there another Mr Sun or...?" MK, a bit too enthused: "Nope! Baba isn't married! How do you know my baba, Mister?" Macaque: (*glances at Wukong*) Wukong: (*glares back with "You say anything you die"-energy*) Macaque, hesitates: "We're old... friends." MK: "Oh! Then... how come Baba doesn't talk about you?" Wukong, wanting to Leave: "OK! We're leaving! C'mon MK! We need to get these ingredients back to Mr Pigsy!" MK: "Oh ok! Bye bye Mister Liu'er!" Macaque, waves: "Take care MK. You too Wukong~" Wukong: (*annoyed growl!*)

Wukong later tells MK that the glamoured monkey demon was an old friend of his, but they fell apart over something bad Mr Liu'er did. MK is a little confused.

MK: "What did Mr Liu'er do to make you not like him anymore?" Wukong: "It's not that easy, kiddo. Mr Liu'er tried to steal the important scriptures from Master Tripitaka, and we had a really bad fight about it." MK: "But you and Uncle Bull were enemies for a long, long time, and you became brothers again!" Wukong, sighs: "It's not that easy, kiddo." MK: "...do you guys need a play date?" Wukong: (*blushing with surprise*) "What!?" MK: "That's what Mei says people do when they haven't seen each other in a long time. Her parents have a date every time they have to go away for a while. If you had a play date with Mister Liu'er, could you be friends again?" Wukong: (*in deep though, but admires his child's innocence*) Wukong: "I don't think Mr Liu'er would agree to a play date, MK. We hurt each other a lot in the past, and it takes a lot more effort to patch things up after that. Do you understand?" MK, disappointed: "Yeah..." Wukong: "Aww, it's ok bud - maybe in future we can be friends again, but not right now. C'mon! Let's get these groceries back to Mr Pigsy before he gets worried! I may have also bought us a treat or two for after dinner." MK: "Peach buns?" Wukong: "Peach buns!" MK: "Peach buns!!!" (*Wukong & MK start walking back to Pigsy's, arms swinging happily. The younger monkey deep in thought*) MK, thinking hard: "Must find way to make Baba and Mr Liu'er talk again..." Macaque, watching from the shadows: "Hmm. Thankfully, the kid seems more open to talking than Wukong is. Wonder how I can make sure we run into each other more often?"

[theghostoficarus]

MK Brain Rot Part 2 :D

I need help.

Part 1

Still, her death haunts him and this is seen so clearly at the start of season 4, now I wouldn't say this is another stage as much as a continuation of stage 3. With how she died and that planting of the idea that all his actions and choices will lead to one single result he has no way of escaping from, how could he talk about that with his friends or family? Why would he choose to make them all the more stressed? Mk lets these ideas fester in the back of his mind and you can see that in the way he acts. He's more mature now, he's less funny, he doesn't go out with Mei as often and he's always either working or training or fighting. this constant cycle prevents him from ever-improving that mindset and if anything he just gets so much worse as time goes on. He blames himself for every single attack on the city, every action he's ever made he thinks of as a mistake. When he once used to see things so happily and in such a bright light, now he can only see the worst because that's what he sees in himself and it's eating him alive. Once he opens the scroll his fears are only even more confirmed no matter how hard Wukong tries to back peddle and take back the responsibilities he gave to MK he can't MK won't let him. That sort of change in their dynamic, from fanboy and superhero to apprentice and mentor, to the fixer and the broken is just so interesting. Mk feels obligated to take everything on his own if there's a chance his friends will get hurt. When Azure lends that helping hand that knowledge that MK wants so badly is the power, the authority, and the ability to actually help. Azure is what MK wants to be. Unbothered, kind, respected. Mk holds Azure to the standard he used to have Wukong on, and because of that reverts back to that mindset of happy-go-lucky, and childish because there's a stronger more authoritative figure he can rely on when needed. yet when MK finds out what Azure's plan is, his goals, MK FLIPS. He was betrayed and lied to by someone he had trusted there was no being eased into that realization that they are human and flawed no sign of Azure trying to improve. Mk sees what he aspires to be and now knows the flaws and faults of that goal. Because of that, it makes MK wonder even further what he wants to be WHO he wants to be who he IS. WHAT. HE. IS. Enter, Ink MK. the embodiment of his fatal flaws. The physical form of his fears, of what he sees himself becoming. His mistakes take the form of a monster with his face, it's terrifying. But what's even scarier is the fact that there's this little voice in MK's head that gets louder as the show continues that Ink Mk was RIGHT. Ink Mk verbalizes the questions that had been festering in MK from the start of stage 2. Who is he? Why is he here? and, does he have a choice in all of this? Enter stage 4. The final one. Mk runs. Runs from his friends and headfirst into his problems thinking some way somehow he has to figure it all out while the world is falling apart. Enter Macaque. Showing Mk that, no matter the choice there will always be a consequence and he just has to live with it, and that's okay. There's no one right or wrong he has to forge his own path. This doesn't really sink in for Mk even into season 5. He's so stuck in his ways this mindset that he can't choose anymore that it hangs on his shoulders, but at least now he realizes he doesn't have to make that choice alone. An improvement, even if it's just a small one. he reforms those connections and even though he's terrified of himself he fights. Now throughout stage 4, MK is still very much so terrified of what he is of who he is, he doesn't want to realize this because he fears change. in comes season 5 now I don't want to spoil anything so I won't yap as much here also because I need to rewatch it again BUT stage 4 of Mk's Arch is pushed full force in season 5 especially when it comes to the ending and that final choice MK makes. The stage 4 arch ends with, in a weird way, self-acceptance. Even if it's the smallest dose it's still there.

This was my Ted Talk.

[bilbo12]

Wukong cares about people. Macaque isn't a saint.

Alright, I've wanted to write this for a while, so here I go. English isn't my first language, so sorry for any typos.

I've been watching so many fananimations of LEGO Monkie Kid. They're all gorgeous, top of the top, excellent, chef kiss and I'm glad the fandom seems to be growing every day.

But I HATE how so many people have portrayed Wukong as an asshole who doesn't care about anyone. Love the animations, they're great but I don't think Wukong is the villain people make him out to be.

Now don't get me wrong, Wukong has made many, many, many, mistakes throughout his life. The thing is, people don't seem to realize that while he messed up, his intentions were good! "Yeah, right, then how is he such a bad mentor?" I'm gonna shut you up right there.

When MK first got the staff, he didn't know how to use it, I agree with you. But Wukong is a milennia old stone monkey who has gone through a lot on his life, getting stronger and stronger with each fight.

"Pfft, what about DBK? You can handle it! Consider it a trial"

That's what he tells MK when said boy asks him what to do with DBK, because for Wukong that fight is easy. He then reassures him that with enough confidence in himself he could take him on. He trusted MK since the first moment and even told him to consider it as a trial. He was evaluating MK during his fight to make sure he had picked the right successor.

And just in case and most probably noticing how nervous he was on his first fight, he kept an eye out on him to make sure to intervene in case MK needed help. Wukong already knew that MK was invincible before locking away some of his powers in the second episode, therefore he was confident that he would succeed. And even if he already knew he was going to defeat DBK, he still watched over him to make sure he wouldn't get hurt.

Following this battle, in the first episode "Bad Weather", MK doesn't call for Wukong's help. He's confronting Red Son when suddenly the staff acts on its own and takes him down to the ground and who appears afterwards? The Monkey King himself! Almost as if he had sensed that MK needed some help with defeating Red Son. Almost as if he had been the one to call for the staff so he could talk with his student. Again, he showed up on his own because he cares.

"Then what about that time he abandoned him?"

He didn't abandon him. To abandon someone is to stop supporting them, to give up completely in someone. Monkey King knew that LBD was coming back but he didn't want either MK or his friends to get hurt.

He's used to doing things on his own! I mean, on JTTW Wukong was always sent ahead to see if there were any demons that would kidnap Tripitaka. And even though he warned his companions numerous times that there were demons under the disguise of innocent people, they wouldn't believe him. So why should he tell MK and his friends that there's an enemy approaching? Every time he had warned other people of other threats, they had never believed him, so why should MK be any different?

I think that's one of the reasons why he didn't even try to defend himself when Pigsy snapped at him. Because he's used to taking the blame. What's the point in trying to do something right if you're going to be blamed for everything going wrong, regardless of how much you try to make it okay? He even tries to keep helping MK through his training with the astral projection throughout the whole season!

So, he searched for the map that would lead him to the rings of the Samadhi Fire, knowing full well that he could end up dying.

"This wasn't supposed to happen! I thought if I could somehow get the Samadhi Fire out of you, without hurting you of course, then I could put it inside myself. Then, I don't know, use it to burn up the Lady Bone Demon or something?"

Let's remember that while it's difficult to hurt Wukong, the Samadhi Fire is one of the powers that could actually kill him. He was willing to risk his life so he'd be able to save not only the whole world, but his friends as well. Do you realize how crazy that sounds? To be willing to give up his own life to save the Earth?

He even says that he wanted try to get the ring out of Mei without hurting her.

Would someone who didn't care about anyone try to make something as painless as possible for the victim? I don't think so.

Alright, let's focus on Macaque now for a bit.

My biggest beef with this guy is that some people seem to paint him as the misunderstood character who never did anything wrong because "Oh, my best friend abandoned me and woe is me!". Yuck.

While Macaque has many good reasons to be angry at Monkey King, that still doesn't give him the right to kidnap and trick MK. It doesn't give him the right to taunt him and make him feel like shit, nor the right to manipulate him and make him think that he's not a good successor.

"Well, you know what that means! There really isn't anything special about you. You're just some kid with a heavy stick!"

Macaque knew that if he hurt MK, eventually Wukong would come out to save him, because he knows that he'll protect him. This is a little theory of mine, but Macaque manipulates shadows, right? Who knows how many times he's watched MK from them? Because I don't think his plan to steal MK's powers was something he thought of in just one minute. No, I'm pretty sure that plan took a while to be thought of.

"Ah, MK. You really are dense, aren't you? You saw a story about a hero who got handed everything? Who didn't have to work for anything? And you thought you were the other guy? The second the hero got real power, he couldn't care less about his friends. That's you, bud."

He tricked him into sharing his insecurities, knowing full well that MK was vulnerable and stressed out about the whole LBD situation, then blamed him for not caring about his friends. He made him doubt whether he truly cares about his friends or not or whether he was even a good person.

And we all know how hard MK's worked to try to get control of his powers, especially after he lost them when LBD took away his staff. MK can be a lot of things: optimistic, a bit smug at times, a bit forgetful... But if there's one thing I'm sure of is that he worked hard to control his powers. He even asked Wukong to limit them so he could control them better, knowing that it'd be harder but he still did it.

And let's take into account that Wukong apologized to MK for how he acted towards him. Macaque, still to this day, hasn't apologized at all. And yet, he keeps mocking Wukong and saying he's the same old Wukong, while he himself is still stuck in the past.

I get that Macaque is angry at Wukong, I really do. But if he were really so angry against him, maybe he should've brought it to Wukong himself instead of using MK. He isn't a saint. He's made mistakes as well. These two are very complicated characters who have gone through a lot, but neither of them are blameless. Macaque isn't a saint, but he does care about some people. And although Wukong has made many mistakes, that doesn't mean that he doesn't care about other people.

Anyways, to finish it off, as MK once said:

"Uh, you know you two are the same, right?"

[teddy-bear-queen]

Bro I have to say this I swear-

I see people trying everything to make it seem like Wukong is a lot worse then he is. I understand you like Macaque, I do too! But the entire point of their relationship is that they’re both in the wrong. The difference is, Wukong got, well, character development. It just feels super annoying to discredit Wukongs hard work in JTTW because of things he did prior.

I’m not saying Wukong is some saint, or an amazing person even while the story is taking place, but he is NOT as bad as some of the people in the LMK fandom make him out to be. I assume it’s because Macaque is the goth shy boy (/hj? /lh), but Macaque literally comes out just to manipulate MK and steal his powers. He’s making the exact same mistakes Wukong did, fighting for power so that he can protect himself. Get stronger. Etc.

Season 4 Special Spoilers:

I don’t think Wukong was ignorant in saying that Macaque doesn’t come to help him. I mean, he got beaten by the Jade Emperor and presumably everyone just left him there and ran off. I’d be pretty mad too. Of course, Macaque was hesitant to begin with, and that’s fair. But he was already there, he could’ve tried. But Macaque has a habit of shying away from fights, only really fighting others to settle a score (S1 E9) or if he has to (LBD arc - both working for and against her, but the S1 E9 relates here, too.) I’m not saying this as an insult, more of an observation. He’s not a coward by any means, a coward would be Peng, who leaves mid-battle in fear of being hurt or losing. Macaque finishes his fights (still knowing when it’s reasonable to retreat), but more often then not prefers to prevent them in the first place. (WHICH IS WHY THE DIVORCE SCENE HITS SO HARD, you know he’s been bottling that up ;v;)

ANYWAY back on topic. I definitely think everything Wukong said there was true. I don’t think he was trying to lie or manipulate Macaque by saying “everything I did was for us”. This is further confirmed when we see him later, tired and completely defeated.

He has nothing to hide here. He’s at his lowest point, stuck in a mountain, tensions high from being abandoned by his sworn brothers, being abandoned by people he held dear. Macaque was trying to be nice, but if I were stuck in a mountain and offered food from someone who left me in such a vulnerable state? I probably wouldn’t take the it either. ALSO. We still have NOT seen these things from Wukongs perspective! Every single time something is revealed from his past, it’s narrated by Tang, Azure, Macaque, etc. Wukong has never (from my memory) spoken about his trials first-hand. This is why I love the guy so much!! What’s going on in his head? How does he feel about these things?

These are such complex characters who have been through so much, so it really bothers me when people look at Sun Wukong and decide to demonise him because of the past which, not only has he moved on from, but we have never even seen his side of the story on. Why did he kill Macaque? Did he kill Macaque? (I’ve seen theories he didn’t, we don’t know rn tho)

Wukong went through a lot of pain to change. Wukong is haunted by his past and in genuine distress over it. You can’t tell me this isn’t a man filled with deep remorse for his actions.

He’s not perfect, but he’s a hell of a lot better. It just really frustrates me that people disregard and discredit the work he put in to get to this point.

THATS IT THATS THE POST

This is really disorganised I’m sorry, I just keep seeing people act like Wukong is the scum of the earth and I honestly just do not get it.

Please don’t send asks about this post, just reblog or comment.

I don’t want to deal with passive aggressive (or just straight up aggressive) people.

As a final note: No, Wukong is not perfect. He’s still a deeply flawed character even with his development. No, Macaque isn’t the scum of the earth. They both have their own problems and they both fucked up. They both did something wrong. That’s the point.

[lmk-aus-galore]

Oh hard core agree. I can't tell you how baffling it was begging for people to actually read the source material in animanga fandoms because they would just go on trashing on the heroes and simping for the villains and making up false crimes characters didn't even do, then walking into LMK and it was the exact opposite. Everyone is obsessed with the source material, they HATE the villain. What the pepperoni. Seeing people go "well of course Wukong hates Mac what did he expect when he killed and ate a monkey and stole stuff" he didn't do SQUAT. And just because LMK combined demons with Brotherhood characters of similar names doesn't mean they were the same character in JTTW so seeing THAT and the assumptions people bring from that is. huh. I think JTTW is too advance a book for the 14 year old age demographic LMK attracts. I'd also like to study this wild phenomenon of villain redemption demands because nobody complained about Red Son and it makes me laugh everytime someone says "Macaque needs to show more actual want to change" like, fam. Maybe if he was an actual villain to BEGIN WITH instead of *checks note* a one off instance of villainy where all he did was fight Wukong post-stealing MK's powers and be a bullying jerk, another instance of ambiguous LBD warning and trauma projecting lore dumping, and then a following season of being an unwilling henchman who kept telling us 50 times he didn't want to do this, that LBD forced it bc he "already had a taste of dying" and just wanting to be free of it and never talk to MK and his friends again *points very deliberately at the "and then I'm done with you all." line. Pretty dang hard for a character to pull things out of a hat to convince others that "they no longer have those motives and desires" when they didn't have them in the first place. Love the way you're calling out the Bull Fam and Tripitaka those are so trueeee. Zhu Bajie too lmao. My thoughts exactly. Twinkle toes over there is going to be a fun character to witness when we get context on the "Monkey! No violence!" line in LMK. And by character, I mostly mean the fandom response.

I can spend all day listing how much almost all the villains hold MK responsible for Wukong’s actions nearly 90% of the time or at least shit on him all because he’s Wukong’s successor.

But that’ll take literally all day…

It’s also the same with Every SINGLE inaccuracy in LMK that gets glossed over because every single fan’s bias of certain things.

Like you can condemn Macaque and make him all villainy but what about Zhu Bajie? Or Tripitaka? One of the reasons I dislike Zhu Bajie is because not only did he not change he was a pervert. I really disliked him for that. But it looks like LMK COMPLETELY changed that because we barely see any mention of his wife and the flashbacks show that Wukong met him in the same village Tang, MK and Mei were in. So clearly there has been a change. But I barely see hate for Bajie about it because half the fandom villainizes Tripitaka already for not disciplining him as much as Wukong.

If you want to acknowledge how Macaque was in JTTW you also have to acknowledge EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER in the JTTW. If that’s how you really want it to go.

One thing I think would be the reason as to why the whole ‘Macaque cannibalized one of Wukong’s grandchildren’ was changed is because Macaque and Wukong KNEW EACH OTHER before the Journey. It is also implied that Macaque has been with Wukong the longest, (In the context of Shadow Play) and it is implied that he possibly resided or at least stayed in FFM. Which meant that Macaque is also attached to the Monkeys. Remember: Macaque’s motive is to hurt Wukong and only Wukong. Which is why he goes after MK because he knows that will hurt Wukong. But if he is attached to Wukong’s grandchildren and has lived with Wukong it’s also gonna hurt Macaque if he killed them. (Though Macaque is not overly affectionate like Wukong, the fact that the monkeys trust him enough to literally sit on top of any part of him they can sit on proves that Macaque did tend to them while Wukong was away.)

The only reason I can think that Wukong hates him is because of Tripitaka and the whole ‘using Wukong’s face’ jig.

Macaque can canonically pretend to be Wukong, he did so with MK in Season 2 and did trick Wukong into thinking he was MK in Season 1. There is a likelihood that the whole ‘pretending to be Wukong’ still happened in LMK.

Remember: In the Flashbacks of Macaque and Wukong’s confrontation, there is no circlet on Wukong’s head. This is further confirmed in Season 3 during the Samadhi Fire arc. In the Amnesia episode, Wukong confirms they are still in the Journey AFTER the Samadhi Fire was sealed (Because he said Four Rings which means the Samadhi Fire was sealed in rings already) And notice in the flashback when they were sealing the Samadhi Fire, Wukong doesn’t have his circlet, compared to the flashback with Azure where he DOES have a Circlet. No matter if Macaque’s flashback was faked, it does confirm that after some time, Tripitaka trusted Wukong enough that he removed the Circlet.

Which possibly means that Tripitaka and Wukong grew to have a mutual understanding of each other. Till Macaque showed up and proceeded to ruin everything.

So yeah if you need a reason as to why Wukong hated Macaque there’s a possibility it wasn’t about cannibalism in the context of LMK.

[chubbyheadquarters]

Genre: Yandere Pronouns: Gender-Neutral TW/CW: Yandere Tendencies, Stalking, Guilt-tripping, etc. Character(s): Mk

He loves spending time with you, dreamily looking at you and listening to whatever you may be talking about. You could be talking about the most technical thing and he'll remember it all, word for word. What can he say? Your voice is absolutely entrancing. That's why Pisgy uses it to his advantage, since he'll actually get the work done if you ask him to.

He has such strong feelings for you, it's not even funny. He could go on about how kind and supportive you are, how gorgeous you are, what you told him the day before- Literally anything that has to do with you. The others find it cute at times, but sometimes, it can get a bit much when that's all he wants to talk about.

Mk trusts the others when it comes to you, since you see Sandy, Tang and Pigsy as guardians, whether it be as dads or uncles. He knows Mei and Red Son would never try to hit on you, since they're his best friends! Best friends don't hurt each other like that!

He hates when your attention isn't on him. It's not as bad as Wukong, since he's somewhat good at hiding it, but not as good as Macaque. He'll do what he can to pull your attention back to him and jump for joy if you do. If not, he'll wait patiently, albeit sadly, for you to finish talking to that other person.

He'll stalk you when you leave the shop, whether it be a trip to the store, maybe when you're heading back home, heck, even a simple walk garners his full curiousity. He needs to know what you're doing, what you're getting, see who you're talking to. He can keep in mind what snacks or drinks you like and get more affection. And he can keep track of the workers who may be getting a bit too bold...

He hates how wrong a part of it feels, cause the other part makes him so happy! He's seen how healthy relationships are portrayed in media, and he knows that his feelings are more... intense than others. He's thought about going to someone to talk about it, but decided against it. Doesn't need some stranger hearing about you. They might try to steal you away from him.

It absolutely does not help that Monkey King somewhat encourages it. "You just have a strong love for them, that's all!" Macaque is also no help and even adds more fuel to the fire. "Show them a few moves, give them a taste of how great you'd be as a partner. No need to fear what you feel." Mk takes those words to heart and believes them with all his heart.

Should you start showing interest in anyone, he'll become devastated. His brain will kick into show off mode, upping the things he can show off. If that doesn't work, he'll stay cooped up in his room. He can't bear going out there and seeing you talk happily about someone else. Usually that worries you enough to call off your day out and spend it with him. And yes, he absolutely soaks that time up.

If that doesn't work, then he'll resort to guilting you into not going. He doesn't want to! But he refuses to lose you to some random person who could end up hurting you! He's been with you for longer, given you so much of his time and love, so why should they get any? They don't deserve you. They don't love you as much as he does!

The confession can go one of two ways. The first one being that you accept his feelings and everything's good. The second one's a simple rejection, one that's taken surprisingly well. But truthfully, he's making sure that every person you pursue/pursues you breaks up or leaves. He won't hurt them, but he's very persuasive when it comes to their safety.

He will NEVER kidnap you, nor will he ever force you to do something you hate or find uncomfortable. He can't even imagine doing so, since he wants you to be HAPPY with him. He will break if you begin to hate him.

He's sure it'll just take a little while, but you'll see his love for you soon! He knows it! And when you do, you'll be able to go on the best dates, exchange all the kisses you want, cuddle in bed, exchange sweet words to each other, etc. And the future-

Don't worry your pretty head about it! He's got it all planned out! From the perfect wedding and honeymoon, to the place you'd both start living in and how many kids you'll have/adopt-but if you don't want kids, that's totally okay! You can get a pet! If you want it to be just the two of you, then he has no complaints whatsoever.

He'll do anything he can to make you happy, to gain your love, to even have you in the same room as him. It's sickly sweet, disgustingly so at some points, and can sometimes turn a bit sour, but you won't notice it. He'll always have the perfect excuse. After all, you see him as adorable and innocent Mk! And if that's what you want, then that's who he'll be.

[generouskittentidalwave]

COMING IN TO STRANGLE THE FANDOM ONCE AGAIN, COME'RE AND SIT DOWN

WHAT ON EARTH IS UP with the fandom and not understanding friendship bonds? First Wukong and Tripitaka, and now Wukong's relationship with the main gang (not counting Mk) is being seen as Wukong desperately trying to make friends with ppl who don't want to be his friend WHICH IS FALSE ON SO MANY LEVELS THAT IT'S ACTUALLY INSULTING.

I'm THIS close to trapping you all UNDER A MOUNTAIN.

LISTEN, COME'RE COME OVER HERE FOR A MINUTE

Did Wukong make mistakes? Yes.

BUT THEY SHOWED CLEAR SIGNS THAT THE MAIN GANG SEES WUKONG AS A CLOSE FRIEND REGARDLESS.

Sandy already saw Wukong as a goof friend since the beginning, he made that one clear ever since he fully believed Wukong wouldn't just randomly steal immortal peaches.

Amnesia rules was when Pigsy and Tang had their bonding episode with Wukong, and in the end of it Pigsy said that Wukong isn't a bad mentor for Mk after all and Tang even hugged the monkey with tears in his eyes when they brought back his memories. Sure Pigsy was still distrustful, especially with Wukong talking about the rings, but his comment on Wukong's mentorship hasn't changed.

Mei and Wukong had a rough start I'll give you that, and it's easy to understand why, but people are forgetting that SHE LITERALLY TOLD HIM THAT HE IS HURTING THE ONES THAT CARE ABOUT HIM MOST. KEYWORD, "CARE ABOUT HIM MOST". Meaning they care A HELLA ALOT ABOUT HIM.

Yes do they call him out sometimes on things? yes. Does that make them any less friends with him? NO, NOT ONE BIT. Being friends doesn't exempt someone from being free from their problems and mistakes, just because you are friends doesn't mean everything gets pushed under the rug. Being friends is knowing about these problems and mistakes, but choosing to stay anyway because you know they are a good person that can slip up sometimes like everyone else, AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT THE GANG DOES WITH WUKONG.

Here's a funny lil teeny tiny thing that really makes this interesting is that- THEY LITERALLY WENT TOGETHER TO SAVE WUKONG FROM THE SCROLL. And do you wanna know what happened while they were IN the scroll? Together they established the fact that not only did the past gang see Wukong as a friend, with each giving him a shoulder pat of reassurance, but they also showed how they are not only part of the current current gang, but that the current gang backed up Wukong and stood by his side BECAUSE THEY ARE FRIENDS. And Wukong already has trust issues with making friends already because bro had past terrible relationships until the JTTW gang, and in that moment of reassurance from both his old friends and his new one's Wukong said "I won't let some curse bully me or my friend a second longer!" And that was the first time he really called them friends and they all worked together to stop the ink demon. The beautiful moment established the fact that they are all close friends.

And do you wanna know what sealed the deal on this? The big home run? At the end of the season 4 special, they all celebrated by having a beach party together, and do you know what they did right as Wukong showed? EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM GAVE HIM A SMILE, A GENUINE AND HAPPY SMILE.

Are they all perfect? No. Do they still have some things to work out? Yes. Are they all friends anyway? YES. Actually no, even more than that, THEY ARE *FAMILY*. Families and friendships aren't always going to be perfect, but that doesn't mean the friendship isn't there at all. The gang all sick together despite their flaws and few mistakes made not because they are forced too, but because THEY CARE ABOUT EACHOTHER AS FAMILY.

And THAT is what makes true friendship. That's how the current gang Wukong has befriended are ALL HIS BEST BUDS.

[tastybluesprite]

LMK Tickle headcanons

-Macaque is a sneaky lil mf, he can come out of the shadows and attack you when you least expect it. And you better believe he's not above using his shadow clones or shadow ribbons to inmobilize you by pining you down or holding your limbs or just join the fun by teaming up with original Macaque when wrecking you, Wukong knows this by first hand expierence.

-On top of that, if you try running away, tough luck cause his superhearing makes it hard enough to hide from him as he can hear you by your breathing, heartbeat,blood flow and your limbs moving. Sometimes he likes messing with his victims by taunting them into revealing their ubication or making it seem that he genuinely doesn't know where they are just to ambush them a second later.

-His ears are his weak spot unfortanately, just softly brushing or blowing air on them gets him to yelp. Wukong loves doing that and he pays for that every single time.

-"Did you think you can attack me and get away unscathed? Think again, bud" is something he likes to say when he's getting revenge >:)

-The "Oh, Wukooong~!" is something he used to say when Mac chased SWK wanting to make him pay after the trickster pulled a prank on him.

-Macaque's laugh is actually soft which can shock people since he honestly looks like hed have a villain like laugh

-Wukong loves using his tail as an extra tool and, similar to Mac, he uses his powers to locate his victims like with his golden vision to find them or using his clones to help him and join the fun

-He loves taunting people by teasing them during tickling them like commenting on their laugh, how much they trash around, dropping the T word occasionally (which Mac absolutely cannot take) or making his lees ask for tickles (he loved doing that to mess with Mac)

-Wukong has a dad bod and his chubby tummy is a great spot to attack him as I imagine he's weak to raspberries or nibbles there.

-Wukong is more squirmy whereas Mac just takes it, going limp

.-Wukong laugh is louder than Mac's

-Wukong is not above cheating to get out of tickle attacks nor using his shapeshifting powers like turning into small animals to run away or using his clones as an escape

-Both Mac and Wukong are snitches about eachothers tickle spots. -Also I can totally see SWK and Mac putting their differences teaming up to gang up on someone. Like when MK is being a lil sassy or mischevious for both of their liking.

-Both genuinely like the feeling but are too stubborn to recognize it (Mac more than SWK)

-And as a fun fact,monkeys can also show attention by tickling eachother so I imagine the baby monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain might have snuck on Wukong occasionally to give him cheer up tickles.

-Red Son and Nezha both will rather die than admit that they're ticklish anywhere on their body. The only people who know are those close to them like Wukong with Nezha and Mei plus MK with Red Son.

-Nezha's laugh is actually softer and more childish like than he'd like to recognize.

-Since MK and SWK came from the same stone they have similar tickle spots like their sides and belly

-Mac, SWK and MK have fangs so they give little nibbles that although dont hurt, tickle like hell.

-Also MK just has lee vibes, whenever he tries being a ler, he gets taken down a peg.

This is so cute 😭❤️

Lee!Macaque and Lee!Wukong is everything to me ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you for sharing these headcanons it was wonderful

[imminent-danger-came]

So- we all agree that MK will at some point fight his friends.

But what do you think would cause an actual fight to break out? I can imagine a CONFRONTATION. Arguing, a small scale brawl or scuffle. A full blown, all out, cataclysmic battle however? HOW???

Yeah, MK did lash out at Macaque when he was pretending to be Wukong. MK was definitely upset, but the thing that made him want to straight up fight Wukong was Macaque antagonizing him and hitting him where it hurts.

Mei and the real Wukong wouldn’t do that. They love MK too much. And vice versa. I just can‘t imagine them fighting eachother while fully aware.

Do you think it would be a loss of control situation? That MK‘s too powerful to contain? Brainwashing 2.0? Golden Circlet? Someone pretending to be MK and leaving the real one to deal with thr consequences? I‘m just listing all the different tropes at this point oof

Or do you have a specific scenario in mind that you think could realistically happen or hope for?

So! I think it'll be a combination of a loss of control, good ol' fashioned manipulation, and MK learning something that pushes him over the edge.

Like, you know in 4x13 where MK says things that distinctly don't feel like MK—"We'll alright then", "Oh there's nothing mindless about me friend"—and he's smiling and very much unhinged, and it's all kinda scary? I feel like there's gonna be a lot more of that next season, all aligning with MK and his fate vs what he actually wants. Like:

Subodhi: “Who or what you are, even I do not know the answer—but of one thing, I am certain: fate has plans for you! Great plans, or foul? Time will tell.” MK: "I- I can't be! I'm just MK!" Subodhi: "The Monkie Kid?" MK: *Gasps*

(4x06 Show Me the Monster)

-

"Great plans, or foul?" - "Remind me how this 'game' is supposed to convince me I'm not destined to turn into an evil monkey demon thing again? Cause every option I pick takes me to this same screen!" - Aka, despite your choices the final outcome is inevitable. MK wants to be MK, but he's also the Monkie Kid, and he can't separate himself from whatever he is—i.e. MK is gonna have to reconcile the different parts of himself, including the parts of himself he refuses to acknowledge.

The conclusion Macaque helps MK come to at the end of s4 is that no one can decide who MK is for him ("Only you get to decide who you are kiddo."), and what I LOVE to point out is that the person who decided who MK is, who he will be, was in fact himself—or at least the curse version of himself:

(*sigh* this wasn't supposed to be super long and then it was. The rest under the cut!)

Curse MK: “Haha, seriously? You still think we’re just some, noodle delivery guy? You can’t remember where we came from, and we got ALL this power, and you never once thought, WHY US? What are we? What is our purpose?”

-

Curse MK: “You can’t escape it, this thing, whatever you are, embrace it. Embrace your destiny.”

-

Curse MK: "You can see it, can't you? This is your fate. Your friends will turn on you, seeing you for the monster you will become. They will destroy you, harbinger of chaos."

(4x07 Pitiful Creatures)

-

It's this interesting mess, where it seems like MK is spiraling towards becoming something else, something he doesn't want to become. So let's add a little check mark next to the "loss of control" box for why MK is fighting his friends next season—I'm not sure he'll be entirely "himself" if you catch my drift (maybe a kinda Samadhi Fire Mei situation, similar to the way she loses control).

Next point: good ol' fashioned manipulation.

So, just like LBD we got another puppet master on our hands, the person who was pulling the strings and released Azure.

AKA whoever the fuck this guy is:

Hooded Figure: "There will of course be an inquiry into how the scroll of memory was stolen in the first place, and what is to be done now that the Jade Emperor has been dethroned. The universe is perilously close to tipping into chaos. If it comes to light that any of this party were involved, you can believe the consequences will be dire—but only a fraction of the price compared to what shall come to pass should you succeed."

(4x14 Better Than We Found It)

-

The thing about this guy who wanted Azure to become the Jade Emperor and lose control—perhaps they wanted the Jade Emperor's power without a host so they could use it for their own purposes?—is that we don't know what their plan is, but we can assume it's going to include MK ("Great plans or foul?", MK as a "harbinger of chaos" with this mystery person trying to tip the universe into chaos, etc.—I'd argue they're the next stand in for destiny)

Which gets me to my point: our hooded figure is going to manipulate MK the same way they manipulated Azure, and the same way LBD manipulated MK before, which means gettin' all up inside MK's head. Making him doubt both himself and Monkey King and his friends.

And well, people trying to turn MK against Wukong has had a track record of MK absolutely losing his shit and going into Monkey form before (which admittedly may be the very thing the hooded figure wants):

1.) The very first time MK glitches into Monkey Form is after the curse insists that "We're just like Wukong—a fraud! A trickster! Destructive! Why would our legacy be any different? Actually, no no- the chaos and destruction we'll bring upon the world will make Wukong's past look like nothing."

2.) Then, first time MK fully enters monkey form is after the curse insists that "It's just like the Lady Bone Demon said—all you'll ever do is cause pain and suffering!", which in itself is tied to the words Mei says to Wukong in 3x10 "Don't you see you're hurting the people who care about you the most?" which is ALSO tied to 4x08 with the reason MK decides to run off to begin with—he's afraid of hurting the people he cares about (just like Wukong) and that perhaps he really is only destined to cause pain and suffering.

3.) After 4x07 MK goes into his Monkey Form again in 4x08, but this time it's after Azure tried to destroy MK's faith in Wukong ("Monkey King's a hero he wouldn't just-" "You saw it with your own eyes! His betrayal his brutality, he took the only friends I had from me."). MK really starts to lose it after he learns Azure won't release Wukong from the scroll ("I won't let you take Monkey King away from me again!").

4.) Next, in 4x09, MK starts glitching into Monkey Form after Macaque insults Wukong ("Or, he was just doing his usual Wukong thing and being a lazy peach eating idiot—ignoring all the worlds problems."). It's also directly after MK wonders why Wukong stayed on flower fruit mountain all those years: "You think Monkey King ever felt like this? Maybe that's why he stayed up on this mountain, just having a good time with you guys. You know cause- cause he knew he'd be out of the way where he couldn't hurt anyone he cared about."

5.) Next instance of Monkey Form isn't until 4x13, but I'd argue it's the most relevant of the bunch. For the entire special MK hadn't flickered into Monkey Form once, but he does after Azure starts insulting his loyalty to Wukong: ""After all Sun Wukong has put you through, how much he has let you down, you would STILL meet your fate trying to protect him? He doesn't deserve such loyalty, yet you insist on learning the hard way, just as I did. I should have never trusted the Monkey King! The false sage, equal to NOTHING!"

And then after this we have the scariest instances of Monkey MK I ever did see:

MK is ripe to be manipulated in all the wrong ways, specifically around his relationship with Monkey King—and perhaps even his friends if the situation gets bad enough (though I would imagine it being something more like MK trying to leave to protect them [again] and the gang not letting him) (Other side note: there are literally 5 examples of MK going into Monkey Form because of how his relationship/view of Wukong is being called into question, all at the end of s4. That is so many).

I think a la 2x05 and 4x07 MK will also have his perception of himself pushed to it's limits via our new antagonist. So rather than Wukong or Mei antagonizing MK for him to lash out, I'd say our puppet master will be the one to antagonize MK. To push him towards whatever they need MK to be for their plans.

And with that, I'm checking off box number 2 "good ol' fashioned manipulation".

Now onto point number 3, MK learning info that pushes him over the edge (which will be helped by point number 2 and lead to point number 1, FULL CIRCLE BABY).

So the special definitely set up the fact that there's more both MK and the audience don't know about Wukong's past, particularly around Macaque:

Macaque: "Every choice has consequences kid, for someone." MK: "Okay come on man! What happened between you two, for realzies!"

MK: "Seriously! Come on man I need answers!"

(4x11 A Lifetime of Mistakes)

-

Oh sweet MK, answers you will receive! They just won't be the answers you want. (The fact that MK is questioning Wukong's past at all, along with the curse saying "We're just like Wukong" as proof they were destructive, leads me to believe that uh, maybe your boy is having some doubts! One of the things MK is specifically upset at Azure about is that the Lion attempted to "turn him against his own mentor". That's all gonna lead somewhere)

Which, the implication is clear:

For undoubtedly some important reason, Wukong had to either kill Macaque or bring him to deaths door. But, MK over there who refused to abandon or hurt Mei even when she was going to burn away reality, who refused to abandon his friends even if it might risk unleashing the curse into the world, might not understand the nuances (hi "good guy" V "bad guy" binary mentality) of whatever happened between Wukong and Macaque.

Lego Monkie Kid is a show where plot points and arcs line up—the fact that MK's faith in Wukong is being questioned, the origin of SWK and Macaque's falling-out is just around the corner, and MK losing control is a very likely possibility, it all means I would be surprised if it everything wasn't going to be acknowledged at around the same time. All these things will build off of one another, and MK is going to spiral HARD (and SWK probably will too. Sorry boys)

The Macaque and SWK backstory alone would be enough I think, or WHATEVER other Wukong past plot points they want to introduce, but we also have the matter of MK's origins—his purpose. Why he was created and why he exists (again that who MK wants to be VS what fate has in store for him, and acknowledging the different parts of himself). MK, without any real knowledge of what he is, already believed that he was destined to bring chaos. Say, MK were to learn that he was either created for such a purpose or was something that caused chaos before (hello EAMK), this would absolutely RUIN MK's perception of himself.

So then combining all of these different problems and the culmination of MK's series long crippling self-doubt/identity arc, we're like, fucked? Honestly I can't imagine MK not having a full blown, all out, cataclysmic battle and breakdown.

There have also been certain things building up from s2 that MK never really talked about with Wukong. MK was willing to punch Wukong in 2x07 (the og "hey MK your mentor kinda sucks" episode). He was clearly hurt by Wukong's decision to leave in s2, Wukong proceeded to lie all through s3, and after Monkey King apologizes to MK in 3x14, he sort of brushes it off:

Sun Wukong: "I know I can never make it up to you. Honestly, I- I never thought I'd live as long as I have let alone be someone's mentor—turns out I'm not very good at it. I guess what I'm trying to say is...I'm sorry MK. For all of it." MK: "It's okay—I can always get another bowl of noodles."

Sun Wukong: "Wha! No! Not the noodles! Ugh! I mean, I'm sorry for being a bad mentor and making you clean up after my mess!" MK: "I know—sometimes I just play dumb to lighten the mood."

(3x14 Destiny Fulfilled) (Crying look at that face full of love. Oh my god. Fuck. Fuck me. How dare I write a meta on why these two are going to fight)

-

To me, this scene reeks of MK going "oh thank god things can go back to normal", and then trying to sweep everything under the rug without actually acknowledging or processing anything. He does something similar in 4x11, wanting to brush past Wukong's mistakes and rush to SWK's "path of the good guy" and "good life choices" so that he can move on.

When it comes down to it, MK doesn't want to have any issues with Wukong, but unfortunately there are very much issues. Wukong has tried his best to make amends and be better for MK, but MK isn't letting himself heal. He's running from himself, and he wants to pretend things are much simpler than they are.

And, once MK is forced to come face to face with how complex and messy both himself and Wukong are? I am expecting that kid to break and an all out fight to emerge. SWK V MK, Mentor V Student, Monkey King V Monkey Kid.

But, because Wukong is Wukong, he's not going to be able to go all out against his student (he couldn't even go all out against Macaque or Ne Zha), which, with how powerful MK is, that's not going to go well. That's where the gang steps in—they're going to have to try and put a stop to MK, and get him to see reason, to come back to himself. "Mend the fracture between [him]self and Wukong" if you will. Perhaps even Samadhi Fire Part 3 if we're lucky.

Or at least that's how I imagine it could go down!

[sunsage]

partner drabble to this one

There are no lights turned on in Monkey King's house, not when he's there alone, so he doesn't recieve the warning Stars were 'kind' enough to give them. He simply blinks, closing his eyes on the bed in his house and opening them in the middle of a clearing near his mountain. The night chill seeps into his fur and he blinks again, but the stars above remain the same. He checks his phone for the date and when that doesn't help, checks the message app. Last message is from MK, listed as today's afternoon.

Was his time on the island all a dream? A stress hallucination of some sort (he never had one this long before but who knows)? Or was he really somehow brought to a different world for- what, over a year? - and only returned now, same moment as he left? Well, it doesn't really matter, he supposes. He's home now.

It doesn't matter. Even if it was real, he still always knew that place was a temporary haven (a forced vacation spot, he called it under his breath) and sooner or later he'll have to come back. It shouldn't matter, except-

If it was real, he wonders if Gabriel also returned to his world or if he is still in the city, without him. The idea sends an unexpected pang of pain thorough him. Of course he wouldn't want to be the source of the angel's pain, wouldn't want to inflict the hurt of someone you- care about leaving. But he can't deny that there's more to that. There is no way to control whether he ever goes back to the city. And if he never does, they will never see each other again.

He will never see Gabriel again.

One hand comes up to hold onto his chest when something inside contracts, hurts, bleeds at the thought and he's not going to pretend that he doesn't know what it means. Fuck, he was really trying to avoid that. He was supposed to be more careful- except he wasn't at all, jumping straight into it, blowing past every warning sign as if he didn't know how it will end. Falling for someone means either getting caught or hitting the ground, and maybe one of these days he will stop slamming himself down in front of people he knows can't stay with him.

Ha. As if.

==

Old rhythms are easy enough to fall into, at least, even when his heart isn't in it. Monkey King works on fixing up his home, takes care of his subjects, hangs out with MK and, on occasion, the rest of the gang. Tries to contact Macaque a couple times to no avail, but that's nothing new - the guy is evasive and likes his space at the best of times. Would've been nice to at least ask if he also remembers the Spiral city or not, but Wukong lets it be. They'll see each other sooner or later.

Even with all the distractions, trying not to think about - well - isn't easy. More than once Wukong catches himself noticing things he'd like to show to Gabriel, places he'd want to take him to. Looks up over his shoulder at nothing, reaches for a hand to hold that isn't there, writes texts to a number that doesn't exist.

He tries to at least not be too obvious about it and fails there too.

("Monkey King, are you ok? You've barely touched your noodles." "I don't know, kid, I... I think I'm in love." "Ooooh, with who? Oh, wait, it's Macaque, isn't it?" "What, no. Well, I mean that- That's a different thing." "Uh-uh, sure. Wait, but who is it then?" "I'd rather not talk about it." "...Okay, if you say so. But that's a good thing, right? I mean, I've never felt it but, yknow, they always say how wonderful love is on TV. Do they love you back?" "Yeah. I think so." "That's great!" He doesn't have the heart to tell the kid that no, it really isn't.)

===

He knows he shouldn't feel relief when he steps out of his junk treasure room only to tumble into a semi-familiar street of Fibonacci, but he does anyway. Of course, nothing is ever simple in this world (any world, he'd come to learn) and right away he's forced to focus on saving his universe first, and his feelings second.

(He wants to see his angel so bad that it hurts, but he's used to ignoring his own pain for the good of the world. It's fine. He wouldn't be able to rest knowing his home is in danger anyway).

So he seals off all the portals he can find, pulling them closed by force, much like what he did in the scroll except in reverse. Not the most elegant solution but it works, and he really is in a hurry.

Soon enough there is only one portal remaining and he walks through, planning to check for stragglers so nobody who shouldn't be there gets locked in a wrong world. His clones rush off in every direction to cover more ground while he takes off for the Flower Fruit Mountain. The first portal he saw was in there after all and he very much doesn't want to leave anyone in his house who shouldn't be there. Especially not in his treasure junk room.

He's so focused on his task that the sound of water curtains sliding open catches him off-guard (MK? Oh no, were they supposed to train today?). And he barely gets half a second to process what is happening before he's trapped in an embrace that would knock the air out of anyone more mortal than him. Gabriel. Here, in his world, in his home. Looking for him. Hugging him like he thought they would never see each other again. All the tension leaves his body in an instant and he'd fall to the ground if Gabriel wasn't holding him so tightly, if he wasn't clinging back in return. He thinks he says something, a joke probably, anything to stop the burning in his eyes from spilling over in front of-

-oh, right, MK.

"Hey bud, can you wait outside for a second?" Monkey King rasps out, his face, burning hot, pressed against the cool armor. MK, a wonderful kid but not the brightest one, thankfully gets the hint and backs out the entrance with a nigh incomprehensible 'ohoksureuhyoutwotakeyourtimeimjustgonnacallmeiaboutsomethingrealquick'. There is a splash of the waterfall and then they are alone (as alone as you can be, at least, on the mountain). Wukong takes a steadying breath and pulls back, not enough to break the embrace but just enough to see the other's face again, enough to reach up a little and place a kiss on the front of the helmet.

"Missed you too." He smiles, soft and warm and loving before leaning in to press his cheek against Gabriel's. "My angel."

Later, he'll probably have to explain things to MK, and maybe he will have just enough time to take Gabriel on a quick tour of his world before they have to leave. Maybe they'll even have enough time for a quick date, somewhere nice. Maybe they can even sneak into Heaven for a look. And later still, they can go back to the city and spend as much time- ah, what's the point of hiding it anymore- they can spend as much time being in love as the Stars allow them to and it will never be enough and it will always be worth it.

But all that will happen later. Right now, held so tightly by the man he loves, there is no other place he'd rather be.

[swimmingmoonking]

Hi it’s me the one who burned the water (I am not writing my whole overly complicated name)

So should we continue to talk about Macaroni and him sucking because the writers forgot to give him a redemption arc

Yeah!

Honestly, I hate the fact that all the characters just forget what he has done.

1 he has hurt so many people!

He trapped MK under his staff after stealing his powers and tried to murder him.

He kidnapped the Gang and use them to attack Mk in the same damn episode!, where booh ho he was telling how much Wukong hurt him. So like any 'good' person would do:

you take the will of innocent good people

use them to attack a innocent person, who mind you have already attack and traumatized before, knowing full he had no way sgape and form hurt you

Make it seem like is the kid fault and a lession to be learn. Like he stoped becausa Mk was already too traumatized to be traumatized some more?! And we are supposed to like him and think 'oh he isn't too much of a bad guy!'

He attack the dragon palece and probably destroy it! Killing so many! And yet is never talked again! Not even Mei, who character is based about loving her family, ask what happened or is suspicious of Macaque (in season 4, she didn't bat a eye when Mk had to be alone with Macaque. Wukong get reminded of his innocent mistakes and yet Macaque deliberte actions are immedetely forginven by one good action)

he even attack a well known pacifist for what reasons? Nothing!

He beated his friends till they scream in pain and yet is ok. He wasn't even controlled by Lbd at this pointbin time!

He hurt Tang, someone we know that Macaque doesn't see as a threat and why? Once again no real reason were given.

He tried to manipulate the latter and when it didn't work, he hurt him (hmm, why do I feel he tried the same with Wukong. Because of it, he lost his eyes? Hmm🤔)

He chocked Mei! Not only that, he forced the ritual to happen for his own selfish reasons (no, he wasn't posseses. So he did the action with his liberal albritio)

He was the reason on why Wukong's plan failed (thankfully, because that was a suicide plan). Yet is all Wukong's fault and Macaque didn't do nothing wrong! (The cast and half of the fandom)

2 he still hasn't apologize for it

No helping the Gang doesn't count, the world was about to be destroyed! Helping them was in his best interest!

Then with Azure, macuck show up after Wukong got trapped in the scrool, waste Mk's time with a shity game and lesson (you can't tell me that, a game with every route a dead one is a good metaphor with Mk's situation. Sorry sir, but telling someone that makes them feel depressed and fail). Plus he was here to only save Wukong, you can't convice me other ways. So it was still in Macaque's best interest!

Do you see what I mean? No interaction feel genuine becausa is always the end of the world, so helping the Gang is everyone best interest! So Macaque helping them feel like a cheap way to redemption.

Do you want to know who apologize for his mistakes even if some aren't his fault, gives Mk's good lesson at the right time, learn and become better everytime, always there for the Gang?

This Princess peach! He always tries his best. But no! He is the one that nedss to be better!

Bullshit

(Ps. Sorry for answering so late. Using Tumblr is hard )

[quitealotofsodapop]

Honestly if it were up to Macaque he'd adopt Bai Zhe right then and there. Dame with Wukong. The problem is, Macaque is technically legally dead. Or at least, he legally doesn't exist at all since he died in the Tang dynasty so there wouldn't be records for him at all. Wukong is not much better because while he does have a lawyer for things like copyright and such... he still spent 500+ years in near isolation and doesn't technically exist in the legal system either outside if being represented by a lawyer of some sort. Not ideal for adopting a child, especially since adoption would include things like home visits, employment, a shit ton of paperwork. Luckily PIF cab get him in contact with Fire Star and Gold Star owes him for the whole... Mountain thing. Between those two he's able to at least legally adopt her in the eyes of the gods, but the eyes of mortals are a little different. It ends up being this weird situation where Bai He is being fostered by Pigsy and Tang while Wukong goes through the legal BS that is trying to get custody of a human girl when he is effectively a myth as far as mortals are concerned.

Then there's the matter of Bai He's possession. Possession of a demon is, sadly, not as uncommon in the LMK universe as you'd think it is, and it has lingering effects beyond just the trauma if done for an extended amount of time. The LBD had, effectively, turned Bai He half ice demon by possessing her for nearly a year. This means someone is going to need to tea h this little girl how to control her previously nonexistent magic.

Wukong's and Macaque's earth-legal situation is like that one joke in SU:

Especially seeing how Bai He has been declared Missing for the last few months - I'm not sure if the Metropolis CPS has a protocol for dealing with possession victims. Just walking up to anywhere and saying "Yeah, she's my kid now." wouldn't fly in the mortal realm.

I feel like Pigsy and Tang wouldn't mind fostering Bai He while the monkey duo sort out all the legal nonsense. It kinda makes the two nostalgic for when MK was smaller. I feel like they already got used to the kid showing up almost every day to eat noodles (a new comfort food for her since it was the first thing she ate after LBD left her body) and pet Mo.

I also love ideas where Bai He's possesion leave her with demonic abilities - mainly ice powers and maybe some bony markings on her body. Beyond the usual hurdles of adapting to become something other than human, Bai He takes it in her stride.

Bai He, making her eyes glow blue with power: "You're gonna have a Bad Time." Macaque (is training her): "...Is that a pre-battle call you've been working on?" Bai He, now embarassed: "No... its from Undertale." Macaque (knows she means a video games): "Oh. What does the character do after saying that?" Bai He, excitedly: "He grabs your soul and destroys you with magic bones and giant skull lazers for hurting his family!" Macaque: "Wicked."

Despite being opposite elements, I could see Redson and Nezha helping Bai He out with her new powers. They remember having an element they can't control. Plus the little girl is like a sister they never had.

[its-malarkey]

No no you’re right and it took me a little while to realize it too, although I think he was actually revived shortly before Skeleton Key. It’s probably why his first move was to drop the skeleton key (because she says he betrayed her with his first breath) and then to try to kill Wukong. But that’s what gets me— he doesn’t give a reason for wanting to kill Wukong at all. Wukong doesn’t even react when he sees him aside from with anger, let alone with guilty. And he says “are you ever going to get sick of living in my shadow?” and moves straight to the fighting.

Something AWFUL must have happened between them to give them both that kind of reaction, because after that, Wukong is still mad even though he supposedly killed Macaque. Macaque is bitter and petty but it’s mostly a sad bitter and petty. He tries to convince MK that Wukong ultimately isn’t worth his time because he thinks Wukong doesn’t really care about MK, but Mac isn’t trying to kill him. Which is the world’s most confusing attitude flip to me. It says to me that the entire episode was a mix of post-death rage against the one who killed him, petty manipulation to get back at his student too, and testing the waters to see how far Wukong would be willing to go.

Wukong isn’t in the mood to joke, refuses to banter, and takes their battle seriously. This is his kid that Macaque is messing with, and he won’t let anyone do that. But he doesn’t go full-out. “Show me the real Sun Wukong! The old you would have leveled this entire mountain range to stop me! But you’re scared of hurting some kid? Pathetic!” Wukong must have done exactly that in his battle against Macaque before he killed him. And we know exactly how powerful Wukong is when he’s going full-power— he was able to beat LBD once and almost beat her a second time. But he isn’t going full-out this time, so where did that anger go? Why isn’t he attacking Macaque with killing force? Why is Wukong so concerned about this stupid kid? Why did Wukong change his attitude about killing his enemies just to protect him from getting hurt in the crossfire?

And he reaches the conclusion that Wukong has replaced him with yet another person he doesn’t see as an equal— someone who is exactly what Macaque was before Wukong broke him, who doesn’t know any better than to blindly follow the Hero.

Now that Macaque’s rage has cooled from “bitter enemy” to “bitter ex”, he seems more concerned about convincing MK not to be as naive as he was and to stop following his master before he gets hurt. He’s gone from genuinely trying to mess with MK to projecting his own experiences into MK’s life and pretending that he’s only trying to mess with him. It just seems like he’s trying to teach him a very specific lesson. Every word he says about Wukong during Shadowplay (and less-so during season three, when he just wants to escape LBD) is a cry of “can’t you see that we’re replaceable to him?” He does the same thing with Tang in Benched.

But never (except for two in-show moments that I mention in another post from like two weeks ago) is he visibly afraid of Wukong. We know this is probably because he himself said that he internalizes everything and should probably talk it out with someone. (Ironically he’s literally doing that in Shadowplay as he says that. He talks about Wukong ALL the time.) Aside from maybe three occasions, he acts like he’s completely prepared to face Wukong— those three occasions being 1) that time he fought MK in Shadowplay and had a flashback to Wukong swinging his fist down form above 2) that time Wukong flew at him in a rage after he tried to escape after unleashing the Samadhi fire and 3) when he was about to fight possessed Wukong in the special. Possessed Wukong who has a weirdly blank expression on his face during all of his scenes (except for one, when he’s about to punch MK??) which is the exact same expression he made in all of the flashback pictures to Macaque’s death.

But he’s not reckless enough to kill those he’s close to anymore or even to physically harm them. He still hurts them by keeping information close sometimes, but he’s working on it, and, dare Macaque actually believe it— he’s learning from his mistakes. Wukong may not have completely changed, but he’s still far from the same monkey who recklessly challenged the Jade Emperor and laughed off all of the people he’d made angry.

I think that conclusively we can say that Wukong did kill Macaque, but even after that and all of the hurt the two of them are throwing at each other, Wukong still looks to Macaque first when the idea of forgiveness and making things better is introduced. And Macaque, in a moment of hope he hasn’t experienced in hundreds of years, shows him he’ll forgive him.

They make me feel so much 😭

I JUST now realized that Macaque was only revived after Skeleton Key in season 1. Like, yeah Ik everyone else realized this, but lemme rant about shit for a sec

I mean, yeah it makes sense, since thats when LBD was set free. But man... I always assumed he was revived hundreds of years ago and just doing tasks for LBD. But knowing that he was revived during the series just makes his story more heartbreaking to me. Like, can you imagine how he felt being revived, knowing that his ex bf (your choice if it's best friend or boyfriend) killed him and he's been dead for what? 500 years? It also means that he hasn't had much time to process it before being pushed around like LBD's puppet.

(And even despite all that, he still longs for him and smiles softly at him and seeks out his company and I can't do this right now-)