#SO MUCH POTENTIAL FOR MACAQUE BEING THE WORST

[redysetdare]

Rewrite Macaque ain't gonna be so easily redeemed srry. I think his character is best when he is actively self destructive and at his worst. Redeeming him turns him into bland hot topic emo boy imo 🙄

I think he deserves to get worse. I think MK deserves to show him that he won't be pushed around and I want macaque to be pissed that he doesn't have a punching bag anymore. I want him to be at his limit in s3 where he is so destructive he is willing to help the bone demon to get back at Wukong. That is... Until the power of the samadhi fire is brought to his attention and he wants that power himself. Who needs the bone demon when you'd have an all powerful fire, right?

[ryin-silverfish]

I really like Azure Lion as a character. Yeah, you can stop following me now. /j

But no, seriously, I like how LMK has adapted this particular character, given him way more potential complexity than his novel counterpart——not that it's a high bar, the LCR trio of JTTW are just demon warlords living in a literal human slaughterhouse.

Which is why I deeply dislike the take that "Oh, Azure manipulated SWK into fighting the JE! He's just using him like a pawn!" Like, wow, way to completely butcher two characters' personality and agency in one go.

Such takes reduce SWK to some innocent kid, when he is at most an impulsive, daring teenager who haven't met a single real obstacle so far——he robbed the dragon kings blind, and they couldn't do a thing! He struck his name and all his monkeys' names off the Book of Life and Death! What couldn't he do?

And Azure's failing isn't him telling a toddler: "You know what? Driving your tricycle into oncoming traffic will be real fun, trust me kiddo." It's letting his friend go way over the speed limit and not telling him that he should maybe, y'know, slow down, bc he'd seen his epic driving skills, SWK's the bestest driver he ever met, surely nothing would happen!

(And also, no one in that car is sober, except Macaque.)

What I'm getting at here is, even without Azure, SWK is not gonna be content with sitting on his mountain, eating peaches forever. Hell, he sure doesn't in the novel, where his demon king brothers are little more than namedropped NPCs.

He is always gonna want more, chase after greater destinies, drown out that existential ennui and fear of death at the back of his mind with bigger and bigger power-ups and the laughters of his companions.

He told himself he would be content after getting this one thing he wanted. That he could stop at any time. But alas, like any ADHDer, he will not stop at this one exciting thing, and sooner or later, the boredom sets in, and he gets ideas and impulsively leaps into making them reality.

That is the Mind Monkey at his worst: being a whirlwind of chaos, while unknowingly enslaved to his own chaotic mind.

(In the book, this is Wu Cheng'en's reminder to the reader that, even though you shouldn't keep your heart constantly under lock and keys, Neo-Confucian style, the other extreme——letting it go completely wild, disregarding all external rules and consequences, can be equally disastrous.)

And when that car was driven through the Celestial Palace's front door, off a bridge, and straight into a ditch, it was him in the driver's seat, steering the wheels the whole time.

Everyone else in that car failed terribly as friends when they didn't voice any objections, or try to get him off the driver's seat, or realize that cheering and egging him on is an awful idea, however genuine their blind trust was.

Like, they are certainly not helping, and made the situation much, much worse. If you let your buddy drive while under influence and hand him more beers in the car, even if you are also drunk out of your mind and aren't actively trying to get him into a traffic accident, you are a shitty, irresponsible friend.

But the thing is? SWK is still responsible for the consequences of his decisions. He could have stopped, by his own volition, and no one was holding a gun to his head and forcing him to drive. He, too, wanted this.

That, to me, makes a much more interesting narrative than "Poor innocent baby SWK was puppeted into becoming the Great Sage in Heaven by shady blue cat, how awful!"

Oh, and since I'm feeling particularly salty today, I'll also ask some last questions: is SWK so weak-willed and devoid of self-agency to you that he couldn't even OWE his most famous title, the Great Sage in Heaven, 100%, without being manipulated into it?

Is SWK so immature and unintelligent to you that he is incapable of being a genuine idealist or rebel, that he cannot agree, out of the depth of his heart, that the Celestial Realm sucks balls and needs better management?

TL;DR: Havoc! Era Azure Lion isn't some cult leader brainwashing this kid into becoming his figurehead. He's the dumbass who's too busy staring at his teenage crush to care about the blaring police sirens.

Also, I had a bit of an epiphany after writing this: why am I so annoyed by people reading Azure's idealization of SWK as him intentionally manipulating and love-bombing him? Because it is a very western and modern reading.

For someone with traditional Confucian beliefs, it is perfectly normal——it is what you are supposed to feel, as a liege who has found your just and virtuous lord.

If Romance of the Three Kingdoms existed back then, he would probably describe himself as the Guan Yu to SWK's Liu Bei, however wonky the analogy was.

(Gosh, now I want a "Four Classics read each other" crossover.)

I'm not saying it is healthy or wise. But under this context, putting your lord on a pedestral was normalized, and even encouraged, as the virtue of a righteous gentleman. It was the sort of ideals romanticized culture-wide. NOT having such beliefs would probably make you look weird.

And since the Celestial Realm in the novel is a parody of Confucian hierarchy in a Daoist trenchcoat, it was really no surprise that an idealistic ex-celestial soldier would hold the same beliefs.

To torture the analogy further, the problem is that he was trying to be the Guan Yu to SWK's Liu Bei, when the Brotherhood had more in common with the Bandits of the Marsh, down to their giant downer ending.

[itsabouttimex2]

May I ask

Which characters will include in the primal moon scenario ?

Essentially, whichever characters I can think of scenarios for- writing Monkiefam was pretty easy, because monkeys have complex hierarchies to draw from. I spent a while observing different species at a local zoo (they’re mean. God, they’re so mean.) and decided to write a fic based on the behaviors I saw. (I’ll post that video at the bottom!)

Despite their status as the lowest ranked member of the ‘troop’, Wukong sees Y/N as his biological child. He won’t listen to any arguments about the difference in age or species, no matter what evidence is presented to refute him. Macaque is seen as his ‘little brother’, their rivalry temporarily forgotten. (Though only on Wukong’s end.)

The Great Sage is just lucid enough to recognize MK as his cherished student, and tries to give him advice… but his mind is a little too muddled by viridescence to offer anything sound. He also accidentally enables the worst of Primal!MK’s traits by complimenting and comforting him whenever things go wrong.

He’s thankfully rather laidback about the whole thing, only getting violent when he feels that his ‘family’ or status are threatened.

Macaque returns to his long-forgotten docile demeanor, a remnant of his days as a member of the Sworn Brotherhood- though he tries to fight the shift. It butchers the simian’s pride to resume a position of submissiveness, especially now that it’s to two people- one of whom may well be a teenager. Also, he’s sincerely desperate for comfort and companionship, so he spends most of the week fighting himself to not participate in any bonding activities.

He’ll make a ‘rank-scaling’ attempt or two, only to get beaten down and potentially pushed behind even Y/N in terms of status if he does it enough.

Sun Wukong->MK->Macaque->Y/N is the troop ranking, and it’s pretty rigid.

MK is, uh… in a pretty rough state. He’s never had any preparation for the Primal Moon, thinking himself a regular human for almost the entire time that he’s been alive.

———————————————————————

Honestly, it’s Tang that gives me the hardest time! assuming we can call upon his cicada ancestry, he’s- got absolutely nothing. Female cicadas use their ovipositors to slice into thin branches many times, leaving clutches of eggs as they go- that’s about as far as parental instincts go for them, given that they and the males die soon after breeding. (The males, in fact, die pretty much directly after.) I guess I’d place him with Princess Iron Fan and Ne Zha as the ‘normal’ guys.

Pigsy is, as you know- a male pig. Who are notorious piglet-killers. Eating piglets, stepping on piglets, rolling over and crushing piglets- intentionally killing entire piglet litters to force females back into estrus- it gets pretty brutal. So I still haven’t figured out what I want to do with him for this story- though I imagine he’ll be aggressive/hair-trigger, with Tang being the one thing that holds him back.

———————————————————————

Mei was pretty easy to write, but I did a lot of research on Chinese dragons in order to keep my representation of her respectful. Dragons in the west are usually reduced to bloodthirsty beasts of pride and rage- creatures to be slain and overcome as monstrous final obstacles. This portrayal even dates back to Beowulf, with the dragon portrayed then going on to characterize many dragons that came after it. (For example, Smaug was based partly on Beowulf’s dragon, and partly on Fafnir- so if any others dragons are based on Smaug, then they too call back upon the original.

In Chinese culture, dragons are considered wise and powerful beings. They’re worshipped as symbols of prosperity and good luck, and considered very auspicious beings.

So, Mei seems more composed in this AU- but it’s all an act. Given the stigma that non-humans have on account of the Primal Moon, she spends a lot of time pretending to be something that she’s not so that no one ends up being afraid. Mei’s obsession with with Y/N primarily stems from their complete acceptance of who she is, inside and out. Instead of having to pretend to be dignified and wise and rational, she gets to be the real Mei. She can goofy and energetic with you, not afraid to roughhouse or throw hands.

———————————————————————-

For Bullfam, I think Princess Iron Fan very much would be the ‘only sane man’- if two things weren’t occurring:

1. Her husband wasn’t trying to talk her into having a second child and worshipping her every step, his tongue spinning crude admirations of her beauty and battle prowess.

2. Her son wasn’t clinging to her waist and arms, begging for validation and attention, futilely trying to drag her into his workshop to compliment his blueprints and machines.

So she has her boy (after some headpats and a little bit of buttering up) run off to the surface and snatch a suitably young human who’s been left unattended, imposing them as a temporary ‘second child’ and ‘younger sibling’… before getting attached. Even though they were supposed to be disposable, she works them into a more permanent fixture of her family.

Given that Red Son is the one who picks you out, he feels a special bond with you. Instead of being more aggressive or even prouder- Red gets clingy. His desire for love and respect comes to the forefront, leading him to latch onto Y/N as tightly as possible. Hugs, headpats, back rubs, hair combing- he wants affection in as many forms as possible. I like to think he temporarily grows horns during the Primal Moon, and that he really likes having them rubbed and polished.

And as for Demon Bull King… this man is already aggressive as hell and pretty damn tempestuous, seeing red at the drop of a hat. So, with very little inhibition as is, he’s the sort of demon hit hardest. Bull King’s mental faculties degrade by a touch or two, rendering him very animalistic. He’s the opposite of Mei here- she puts herself through a ton of suppression and training and it all pays off spectacularly. He actively leans into the instincts and new power the viridescence brings, reveling in a more bestial state.

So, while Y/N openly and freely gives Mei love and affection, they instead cower and hide from Demon Bull King.

He wants more kids. Wants to spend more time with his wife. Wants to fight and break and feast. And when Y/N is abducted brought home, his aggression outright doubles. This is kinda good, though- now he’s so protective that he’s pacing the fortress in hourly patrols, wearing himself out as he digs deep grooves into the earth, carving his sigil into the stones around him many times over, marking the territory as inextricably his.

And all he wants upon returning home is a nap- with his entire family piled onto the bed, of course.

———————————————————————

Also, if anyone has recommendations for how characters should act, I’d be happy to hear them!

[lucagray813]

Better to Forget

Rating: T

Word Count: 1,567

Main Characters: Macaque

Minor Characters: Wukong

Relationships: Macaque & Wukong, could be interpreted as Shadowpeach

Summary: Macaque is running out of time and options.

Additional Tags: Hurt No Comfort, Angst

CW: Implications of death and suicide

Link to AO3 Version

----

You'd never catch Macaque complaining about being free from the Lady Bone Demon's chains but in the months following her demise he was coming to appreciate how much her magic had been doing to keep him sane.

Although, he thought that the constant struggle to resist her, combined with an all consuming lust for revenge, had to be given credit for keeping him from truly acknowledging the horrors he had endured in the pits of hell.

Either way, he was haunted by what his soul had endured in the attempt to cleanse him of his sins. No living creature should be able to remember what torture their soul had suffered, their minds simply weren't made to comprehend it.

In the light of the day he could find ways to occupy his mind, even if on occasion that meant finding ways to drown out the memories, to numb the phantom pains, if only for a moment.

But at night, there was no such escape. In his dreams he returned to the Dìyù and, so terrible and agonising was the experience, he could almost believe his soul was being stolen away in his sleep to continue with its eternal damnation.

Nothing stopped the nightmares.

They came from his very soul and nothing he could do to his mind or body could force it to forget what had happened.

Increasingly it seemed there were only two outcomes - he went mad or he returned to the Dìyù. Although if he was being honest it was more likely he went mad and then returned to the Dìyù anyway. If his soul wasn't so vehemently against it he might have been tempted to just speed things along to their inevitable conclusion.

He couldn't say his mind and body were on board with such an idea either - after everything he had suffered through to come back to life he was just going to throw it all away? No, there had to be a way to overcome this.

Souls were reborn millions by the minute with no memory of their time without a body - there had to be a way to forget what had happened to him. It would be much easier to search for a solution though if he could manage even a moment of genuine rest, free of torment. But that wasn't going to be happening anytime soon.

His soul was in tatters, his mind was on the countdown to joining it and then god knows what would become of his body.

He needed a solution and he needed one now.

After an excruciating period of desperate searching, he found himself making a deal with a truly ancient demon. And if his soul ever did find its way back to the Dìyù then the atrocities he'd committed in order to uphold his end of the bargain all but guaranteed it would never leave. So irredeemable and dangerous would the Ten King's judge his souls to be they'd probably just destroy it on the spot.

Regardless, he now held a potential solution in his hands. Yet, despite the fear of the Dìyù and the terror of the ever encroaching madness, he still hesitated to free himself from his hellish existence.

He didn't have time to find another solution but the one he had...

All it truly amounted to was a death his soul found palatable.

The spell in his possession would reset his mind, body and soul to exactly as it had been when he first took form in this world, with no possibility of it being undone.

The Six-Eared Macaque had been born from Wukong's runaway shadow on a lunar eclipse during the worst storm Flower Fruit Mountain had ever seen before or since. He'd emerged as Wukong had - fully grown, cognizant and capable.

He could almost muster up a fond smile at the memories of he and Wukong's first meeting - the latter furious over his stolen shadow. He had refused to give it back, mocking him for losing it in the first place... Wukong had chased after him for weeks trying to retrieve it.

If he were to start again, he would not need to worry about being helpless. In fact, starting again he wouldn't know to have a worry in the world. Nothing that haunted him now would continue to do so and yet...

He wouldn't be him. He would never be him again. The Six-Eared Macaque who had started life as the shadow of the Intelligent Stone Monkey would be as good as dead.

He grappled with this knowledge even as he prepared things for his rebirth. He would give himself the best start in life, he would leave himself with not only the knowledge to survive any potential danger but also his wisdom on how to thrive in this world - to appreciate it in a way he had failed to.

Although admittedly, that "wisdom" could simply be boiled down to "For the love of the gods, don't do what I did!".

Knowing who he had once been however, he knew he would not be satisfied without answers to how he came to be in this little piece of paradise Macaque had painstakingly carved out for him. He would need to provide some level of explanation.

He also knew that no matter what he did there was a not so insignificant chance that his new self would find his way back to Wukong somehow - whether it be intentional or not. And he had to stop him from making the same mistakes.

So he wrote his memoirs carefully, painfully aware of the dangerous ego he had once wielded. He didn't want to goad himself into trying to one up him, convinced he could do better nor did he want him to think that a bit of revenge was still in order.

He tried to impress upon himself that his life would be better off spent as far away from Sun Wukong as possible but if, for whatever reason, he wanted proof of who he'd once been then he'd need look no further than Flower Fruit Mountain but he warned him not to expect a warm welcome.

Despite all he was dedicating to his new life, he grieved for his current one. Some days he had to stop himself from burning everything he was trying to gift to his new self to the ground.

He didn't want to forget, he didn't want his suffering to have amounted to nothing. And in moments of true madness he even found he didn't want to forget the happy moments that made the bad so unbearable.

As he neared closer to his rebirth he had a quiet moment where he considered if he should say goodbye. It was a hysterical thought - say goodbye to who? Wukong?

The demon that had ruined him? That had driven him to this point? The demon that had promised him forever if only he stayed by his side? That had never truly loved anyone as much as he had loved himself but had easily convinced him otherwise?

No. There was no goodbye necessary.

But he had one last errand to run before the end - he needed to steal a peach from Flower Fruit Mountain to eat when he awoke for the first time. And as he held the pilfered fruit in his hand, his traitorous ears picked up the steady heart beat and gentle breathing of Wukong fast asleep in his hut.

His mind screamed at him to leave and yet before he knew it he found himself standing beside Wukong's bed and looking at him one last time. Numbly he thought to himself that he must have finally lost his mind because, despite everything that had happened, in that moment, his heart ached with a love he'd never managed to kill.

He took a shaky breath and quietly leaned over to place a tender kiss on his forehead before resting his head against his for a moment longer.

He stood and whispered, "We'll meet again. I know myself well enough to know we will."

He left before he could do anything more foolish than he already had.

Everything was ready, he had done everything he could to give himself the best start when he began anew. All he had to do was perform the spell.

He looked at himself one last time in the mirror - glamours and clothes off - and he saw a body worn down by life. He brought a hand to his blind eye, it and all his other scars would be gone. The slate truly wiped clean.

He moved away and laid a hand on the letter he'd left for himself, skimming over even though he knew the entire thing by heart. He was stalling. But he thought he could allow himself these last moments of weakness.

Eventually he brought himself to the bed and lay down, the spell in his hand.

Perhaps he should have prepared a eulogy but it was too late now. He laughed as tears escaped his eye, "Here lies the Six-Eared Macaque... May he who rises in his wake live a better life than he did..."

He closed his eye and the spell started to hum in his hands, he managed what felt like it could have been a smile.

"Don't mess this up, kid... You've got everything to live for."

--End--

LMK Fanfic Masterlist

[imminent-danger-came]

Hi there! Anon sent reeling by S1E6 again! And I would just like to say that your response to my ask made me So Normal. Especially you bringing up S2E6, which is why I’m currently setting up a lawn chair here on the brink of insanity, because apparently I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. 

Because yes, you’re completely right about S2E6 demonstrating this cycle of pushing others away while pushing themselves towards greatness and accidentally leaving pain in their wake that MK and SWK have managed to stick themselves in, but ALSO now I can’t stop thinking about how we get Shadow Play IMMEDIATELY afterwards. 

Like… how much do you think Macaque had seen? Obviously he could see MK getting too caught up in his own head (*cough* and trauma *cough*) and shutting out his friends, but… how much had he seen seen, you know?

And now I also can’t stop thinking about how immediately after Shadow Play, we get To Catch a Leaf. Which is obviously an incredible episode in its own right, but it’s also the first episode since Minor Scale where MK is surrounded by his friends and he lets them help him. Because in S2E6, Mei and Sandy are with him, but he’s not really with them. He’s focused on getting stronger, to the point where he ignores them telling him exactly how to do so. And in the beginning of Shadow Play, we learn that he’s been further isolating himself off screen and blowing off activities with them so that he could focus on ‘[being] ready’. 

But then To Catch a Leaf happens. And it starts off with MK surrounded by the others, having recently done something fun (curses aside) with Mei, and it’s not a big deal. He’s not stressing about getting stronger or being ready, he’s just… there with them. Present and in the moment, at least as much as he can be, and it’s fine. He’s fine, and more importantly he seems to be letting them in and being a bit more open with them. 

And this carries on into 72 Transformations! Because obviously he still hasn’t told them The Thing, but he does go from ignoring/avoiding them while trying to get more powerful to calling them all up so that he can involve them. Figure at least some things out, together. And it drives me insane because he was getting better! He may very well have worked his way up to telling the others about LBD! But then she came a-knocking with more trauma, and it blasts him two steps back and it’s just… AHHH! He was SO CLOSE!!!

Also, side note: Do you think MK believes he has a body count? And I don’t even mean the nebulous potential casualties from all the recent disasters that MK blames himself for, I’m talking about Spider Queen specifically. Because MK isn’t an idiot. If he didn’t know she was dead (or whatever getting sucked into the furnace counts as) immediately after the sewers, he would have put two and two together after Destiny Fulfilled. And considering this is the guy who blames himself for DBK getting out despite knowing that SWK was right next to him in bird form the entire time, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that he probably thinks it’s his fault. So… do you think it’s possible he sees himself as a murderer? Or, like, murderer adjacent? And if he does, how much more layered and messed up do you think that’d make the potential ‘Wukong reveals he killed Macaque’ moment?

Sorry for the long ask, the monkey show has changed me for better and worse. I will never be the same. *reclines on my lawn chair, gazing out over the precipice of madness with a thousand yard stare*

One: never apologize for a long ask, especially when it has so much good stuff in it! Two: I KNOW RIGHT. The monkey show really does change you for the better or for the worst. I'm still reeling from s4 and it's been 4 months, and then the s4 special came in and permanently altered my brain chemistry once again. I have a house next to this abyss.

ANYWAYS.

The back and forth of MK's character is one of my favorite things about lmk (of which I have many)! He takes 2 steps forward and then 4 steps back, and I think that's a testament to what getting better can look like—it's not linear. Sometimes, it's not even moving forward, and that's hard.

I think a great example of this "2 steps forward and then 4 steps back" phenomenon is MK's growth in Revenge of the Spider Queen:

MK starts believing in himself, smiling at that face in the mirror. It's not a strong belief, not yet, but it's a start. You can even see him making this attempt to improve in 2x01:

(this got a little long so everything else under the cut!)

MK: "Ah! Ugh, come on MK you can do this! Self-confidence! That's Monkey King 101!"

"Wait! I am worthy! Definitely worthy!" I'm Monkie Kid! Basically the new Monkey King—might have heard of me? You know, the next chapter? I'm totally worthy!"

(2x01 Sleep Bug)

-

MK's even trying to mimic Monkey King here, the person he thinks he should be:

But then, as you've mentioned, LBD and 2x05 comes along.

And it's funny, because now we know MK did become more like Monkey King, just like he wanted, but it's in all the wrong ways.

((Kind of a side note: We also know that Monkey King couldn't have "picked the wrong successor", because there honestly wasn't another option for a successor to begin with. MK grappling with like, 3 levels of Wukong lies is what makes s2 so delicious to watch))

And then we have 2x06, and THEN 2x07, and I'm sure that's exactly why Macaque stepped in! He saw MK going down the same path Wukong did. The drive to become stronger, pushing his friends away—Macaque in Shadow Play knows exactly what he's talking about:

Macaque: "Well, with ol' Monkey King not around I thought someone should teach you a lesson! Ah MK, you really are dense, aren’t you. Haha, 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." (2x07 Shadow Play)

("Everything I did was for us!" "You did it for yourself!" *head in my hands .png*)

Wukong leaves. That's what he does, and that's what he did to MK in both Revenge of the Spider Queen (leaving MK to fight Spider Queen and her mech alone) and 2x01.

And honestly, MK in s2 is simply doing his best to pick up the pieces, to be Monkie Kid alone, without SWK or even his friends. But it doesn't really work—hiding LBD's return from his friends didn't save them in 2x10, and it didn't stop the Lady Bone Demon, just like Wukong hiding LBD's return from MK didn't protect MK from any of it.

This pattern, of walking in Wukong's footsteps and making the same mistakes, keeps repeating itself.

MK's 2x08 parallel to Wukong in 3x10 is another good example of that.

MK's terrifying of hurting the people he cares about, so he leaves. He runs off, and this only hurts his friends further. ("Can't you see you're hurting the people who care about you the most?" and "I can’t risk hurting the people I care about—the one’s I have left.".)

And so, tying this all back to the s4 special, we're starting to see MK take 2 steps forward again:

MK: "You ever wish things will just stay like this, like they are right now?" Sun Wukong: "Pssshhkk, where's the fun in that?" Tang: "Uh um, Monkey King, we need to have a serious conversation about your idea of fun."

Mei: "At least we fixed something for a change, instead of destroying it!" MK: "Yeah! So long as we leave the world in better shape than we found it, then it's all good right?"

(4x14 Better Than We Found It)

-

And I'm waiting for the eventual 4 steps back.

Because well..."At least we fixed something for a change, instead of destroying it"...it's not that they didn't fix anything, but plenty was broken:

Flower fruit mountain was destroyed. Azure died. Whoever orchestrated all of this is still out there.

So, MK's current answer to "doing what you think is right" leading "to pain" might just not hold up. Because well, MK can try, that's for sure, but all that effort might still not make it a net positive, you know?

I think MK will blame himself for Azure's death, for SURE tough. He might have residual guilt about Spider Queen and everyone else harmed along the way, but Azure is the one I'm certain on. MK feeling like he's a "murder adjacent" and that compounding with the "Wukong Murdered Macaque" reveal and being "just like Wukong"...OH BABY. IT'S ALL COMING TOGETHER.

Like,

MK: "I just- I just want to be me. To be MK!" Curse MK: "Yeah well...we all know exactly where that leads." LBD Voice Over: "To pain."

(4x07 Pitiful Creatures)

-

Identity and destiny are very much intertwined in this show, and MK doing what he thinks is right and being himself leads to pain. That's exactly what happened to Azure—he took the Jade Emperor's throne to try and make the world a better place, but all he managed to do was barely fix what he himself had broken.

MK: "Yeah well...I'm kinda always the one getting the world in trouble to begin with so..."

(4x01 Familiar Tales)

-

All it's going to take is one antagonist speech towards MK that hits a little too close to home, and everything else is going to come crashing down.

I am very much getting geared up for my s5 lego tragedy, thank you very much!

[sketching-shark]

I really hope macaque's death was by his own hand.

Like a Disney villain

What you mean with that, well, love when the villain's actions end up causing his own destruction, I love that so much, it's so charming and poetic.

So here's a theory

Macaco's shadow powers are not original to him, he was not born with those powers, just like sun wukong, macaco learned from them somewhere maybe a demon taught macaco about them, but told him that those powers come with a curse. From time to time diyu chains would come to look for it, But it would only be once and can escape the chains if it is veils or struggle hard enough

So the chains appear to take him to the diyu at the worst possible time.

After losing his battle against sun wukong (which started because monkey attacked the tripitaka monk) monkey cannot move because he is exhausted and cannot teleport because he has no strength,

He tries to escape and ask sun wukong for help, but he had already left, Not knowing that macaque was sent to the diyu.

Ooooo you know @maidenofthecloud @ar-blackshaw came up with this really neat theory awhile ago that LEMH had made a deal with the Red Python Demon to get his shadow powers, as if memory serves correctly that snake was a pretty vicious yaoguai that had powers over darkness and reasons for a massive grudge against SWK (and could have potentially helped explain/helped create LEMH's henchmonkeys Rumble and Savage from the lego sets if Flying Bark had included them in the cartoon, as those two monkey yao do have some pretty snake-like fangs in addition to their red and black coloring).

Also I have to say I quite like proposal for what happens to the shadow simian here, as it does fit quite well with the Six-Eared Macaque of the og classic likely being partially an embodiment of the Buddhist saying (and I'm likely getting this somewhat wrong) that teachings should not be transmitted to the third ear; that is, teachings can only be best understood if transmitted from shifu to tudi, and someone else listening in on that private conversation or getting it secondhand won't truly understand what's being said. So since one proposal for how LEMH was able to copy SWK so perfectly was due to his ears letting him listen in on everything the Monkey King was saying and doing, including his lessons on gaining immortality from Puti Zushi, but in his actions was very much little more than a twisted version of SWK, that could very much explain how he was able to cultivate an imperfect form of immortality where instead of just having to avoid the three calamities and be immortal forever after he has to frequently avoid chains from diyu. This proposal could also make SWK at least a little bit less of an entire a-hole than the lego show as it currently stands would seem to suggest, as it's become downright baffling and pretty frustrating the level to which LEMH fully believes SWK killed him for purely selfish reasons & has spent like 3/4th of his screentime yelling about how horrible the monkey king is (but suddenly changed his mind about that & decided that his monkey king induced death wasn't worth mentioning even when asked directly lol) and yet for the entire show SWK has acted like nothing that bad happened lmao.

Also tbh it could make for a pretty neat story for LEMH if he gained an ally or even a genuine friend in the Red Python Demon but then left the snake to go confront SWK on the journey & then abandoned the serpent completely once he died & became violently obsessed with getting revenge on the monkey king in a parallel to what SWK seems to have done to him, & then got a chance to acknowledge that and start making a life for himself outside of the monkey king's orbit. Said it before, but I do think it sucks that there's still like nothing defining LEMH's life outside of his obsession with SWK, & I genuinely think it would do both him & SWK's characters a world of good if they were given opportunities to grow outside of each other's influence instead of the plot now routinely forcing them to interact.

[amazingdeadfish]

What would wukong tgink of the bond that macaque and mayor develop? Does he ever find out?

Within the context of the Blue and Violent series? Well... I suppose the answer is complicated.

Let's go under the assumption that it's after the season three finale, but potentially before season four. If Wukong were to say, stumble upon Macaque and the Mayor talking and chatting as if they were not enemies (perhaps I could go as far as to say they were bickering like an old married couple), then he would be confused and very very concerned for the most part.

I mean, all it would look like to him is that Macaque is 'scheming with the enemy's after all'. He would be awfully suspicious. But of course the more he listens (probably secretly) the more he realises that no, this is not schemeing. It was merely two old friends (acquaintances? Lovers? Wukong wouldn't know) chatting. And he knows Macaque is more than capable of handling himself if the Mayor really still poses as a threat.

Nonetheless he would eventually confront Macaque about it (probably in the worst way possible, both unintentionally and intentionally somehow). Macaque might explain that the Mayor is harmless (sort of) but I don't think he would actually ever tell Wukong his history with the Mayor. But Wukong is smart enough to not be told to know that the history between Macaque and the Mayor is... Certainly something. And so Wukong might back off a bit.

In a nutshell? Wukong doesn't approve. Of course he doesn't, how could he? But Macaque doesn't need Wukong's approval. The extent of what Wukong will ever know about the relationship between Macaque and Mayor is that somehow, at some point, they were close to each other, fell apart, and are... Somehow still talking. And somehow, in some way, Macaque is not holding as much of a grudge on the Mayor as he is on Wukong. Which, understandably, makes Wukong incredibly confused. Because how bad was Wukong to Macaque really if Macaque seemed to have more fun being with the Mayor compared to him? Why was Macaque finding it easier to make amends with the Mayor of all people, rather than him?

Wukong doesn't know. And he'll probably never really know. Is he jealous of it all? No. Just confused, and maybe a little sad that his old friend found better company than him, in the Mayor of all people. So he might find it all degrading against himself actually, haha!

[deadnoodle]

This is something I have been joking about recently, actually. That if anyone deserves the credit for the derivative works when they qualify as derivative, it's the AI, not so much the person feeding it prompts. And especially the programmers as well, who help design and create the programming itself. We aren't anywhere near the level of tech where the AI programs really "think" in the same way a human person does. To be clear, the artists who create the art that's basically stolen for these databases deserve the credit for the most work being done here, but I can actually see a potential hornet's nest of issues with the way this has been settled. I'm extremely curious what metric the court case establishes for how much human input there has to be for art to be considered to have "human authorship". There has to be an established line somewhere. It's obviously somewhere between "feeding an AI prompts is not enough human input to be considered human authorship" and "I used technology to make art," - but there's so many interesting situations I can think of where this might become problematic? For example: Someone designs an AI art generator that somehow does not require a database of art to create new art. Is that art all public domain or is that considered enough human input (the programmer creating this is considered the artist) to be "human authorship?" Or, what if in the future we do have AI on the level of human thinking? What if we do have androids in the future capable of creating art but do not yet have the rights to their own creations? Having that work be non-copyrightable isn't the worst case scenario I think, because the worst case scenario then would be an android artist never being able to get credit for their own works and someone else always being able to profit from it. So with this ruling the android doesn't have to worry about being exploited for profit, but they aren't legally able to make art for a living. I'm thinking about writing something about a future where this happens to androids. Because they, like in bicentennial man, aren't considered human or sentient in that way, they do not have the rights to their own art. Originally I was going to make it in a universe where some jackass like Elon Musk could use androids like this for their own profit, and the androids are seen as second class citizens, slave labor, similar to the androids in the Matrix before the second renaissance. But now that I know this ruling, another version of the story where the androids can't be exploited but their art still isn't legally recognized as their own, that's interesting too. They can only create public domain art at best, and aren't taken seriously as artists/creative beings. Someone else is welcome to use those ideas, but I just wanted to say I'm thinking about it, too. Also I don't trust anyone in the US government to really understand the issue deeply enough to make the best judgements about this type of issue. There's so much to the ethics and philosophical issues involved, and the government has almost no one's best interests at heart while simultaneously being tremendously tech stupid. So while I'm glad that someone just putting prompts in to a generator to create a comic with AI rehashing stolen art from a database lost the right to copyright (I hope they go on the create the same comic with their own art or hire an artist!), and I'm glad that Peta lost that case (condolences to Naruto the Macaque), I am a little bit worried (my normal state of being) about the long game consequences of this. The ruling seems imperfect / it will need to be adjusted most likely as art continues to evolve and change.

So the AI art industry might be done before it had a chance to get started.

In other news, PETA might have accidentally done something good, for once.

[cheesecakezyum]

How about some competition? Like there's this character Who is also courting SWK and Macaque's s/o A LOT. How much annoyed and jelous would they be? Bonus scene: They came over just when s/o speak back at the other:"Look, I appreciate your feelings, I really do. But I am already in love with someone else"

Vying For Your Endearment

It continues, it continues. I really liked this idea though! Don’t know how I did thoughh

Didn’t put too much in this because of the fact that I want to keep some info for my fic. Mischief mischief mischief.

I like to think that while the scent of a demon is super pungent to them— when it comes to non-demons its rather faint to barely recognizable actually.

Scenting headcanons are so quirky

I’ll fix anything later we’re on that grind boyssss

Enjoy!

─────────────────

─────────────────

Sun Wukong

♡- At first? It really wouldn’t trouble him too much. He feels unintimidated, especially if the two of you have been courting for quite some time. If it’s around courting season, it’s only expected.

♡- The only thing he truly worries about in the beginning is certain traditions for demons who take interest in a potential mate; worst case scenario is you being kidnapped by this demon, and no way is that happening on his watch.

♡- It’s way more rare nowadays, but that doesn’t mean it’s essentially out of the question! Definitely would keep a better eye on you and take you home more often himself.

♡- If nothing changes though, and he notices that the other suitor just won’t bug off after a week— that’s when it starts getting to him.

♡- Catches you talking to the other demon in public? Definitely the one to impede on the conversation. He’ll just slide on over there, wrapping an arm around your waist.

“Mind if I just borrow them for a bit? Yeahh, thanks!”

♡- If Wukong happens to visit and notices you with any slight smell (Stench, in his personal opinion.) related to the demon— boy are you in for it.

“Let go already! That’s enough!”

“Just 5 more minutes.”

♡- Not just to provide more overall affection but to drown their scent with his own. A threat on his part.

♡- Kind of but not kind of a property thing. He doesn’t want to own you of course! Never. But.. wants it known that you’re being courted by him and him only. Wukong’s personal smell of peaches is rather recognizable as well— so he wonders why such a lower class demon would attempt getting their hands on you. Do they not realize who they’re competing with?

♡- It's nothing but confusing to the monkey king. What do they have that he doesn’t? Why you of all people? Did they have a personal grudge against them with hopes of stealing you away? Why haven’t you just turned them down already?

♡- Don’t even get me started if you mention the demon in question in front of him. Expect a pouting menace.

The monkey king spoke under his breath, grumbling.

“I can do that.”

“What did you say?”

“Nothing!”

♡- Even after an explanation of demon courting by Wukong did you not realize this new demon was trying to compete for your affection. You considered them more of an acquaintance, really.

♡- So when you got the sudden confession of their admiration for you with bold claims of wanting to make you his mate?— yuck.

“I’m sorry. I appreciate your feelings, really! But I already love someone else.”

♡- If he caught you in the act like that, rejecting the demon attempting to steal his place by your side? Fist bumping the air. I mean— cough cough, he never doubted you! Himself too, yeah.

♡- Would act as if he never saw it, brush it off and wait until that poor, poor rejectee finally left you alone to interact.

♡- It’d probably be the first time you told him you loved him as well! I mean, not up front just yet, but still said it! Wouldn’t actually mention it until way later, when you’ve most likely forgotten. It was an in the moment thing!

“You know, I love you too.”

─────────────────

─────────────────

The Six-Eared Macaque

♡- On Macaque’s part, it’s an instant alarm when he’s noticed another demons aura around you. Wouldn’t make it immediately known, but try to pry out as much as he can without sounding desperate.

“So— how was your day? Anything new?”

♡- When it turns out his suspicions are correct, he already knows their intentions. Courting season would give it out immediately. Not just anyone would attempt going for you— but then again, he did.

♡- He’d definitely be overprotective in the aspect that you’re at risk of being kidnapped. Would try to follow you around way more than usual. Going to the market? He’s been needing something actually. Taking a walk? He could use one too!

♡- Basically anything that would keep him closer to you. He respects courting rituals and wouldn’t go against them until absolutely necessary, so he takes the competition. Macaque isn’t letting you get away that easily.

♡- Similar to Wukong, your scent is a big thing to him. If you don’t smell like yourself or even him, man would it irritate him beyond belief.

♡- So coating his scent over the other demon’s will always be the #1 priority when he has you alone. Maybe leave in gentle bite or two for good measure depending on how far into courting the two of you have been.

♡- Macaque also takes it as an opportunity to be more bold with you— overall way more flirtatious. Any opportunity the six-eared demon has? He’ll take it.

“Aren’t you a pretty little thing for me.”

“Let me get a good look at you.”

♡- Whether it be spontaneously cornering you while the two of you walked in an alley, wrapping his tail around you in public when no one else can see, WAY more eye contact. He isn’t going down that easy.

♡- He wouldn’t really be too scared to point the other suitor out to you too.

“What did they bring you today?”

“Next time, just call me.”

♡- I mean, he wants anyone else to know that you belong to him. You leaving is just, something he dreads. Let alone to a low class demon.

♡- Definitely would think it’s someone he’s wronged in the past trying to get back at him. I mean, who would be stupid enough to go for his prize?

♡- So catching you in the act utterly rejecting the poor guys feelings? He wanted to crack up right then and there, but stayed behind and watch the beautiful scene unfold before him.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t return your feelings. I love someone else,“

♡- That last part caught Macaque off guard. You’ve told him you’ve cared about him, but never said loved. Not like that. He was quick to take residence in your shadow once the demon took their leave, and waited for the perfect opportunity to speak up as you walked home.

“Yeesh. Who knew you were so cruel?”

Startled by the all too familiar voice, you jumped and turned behind you, only to see a pair of violet eyes and a cunning smile replace your shadow.

“Macaque?!”

“Really liked that last part, though.”

[purble-turble]

Been thinking about the Journey to the West, and how if Macaque had been less of an out and out villain and more of a nuisance they had to deal with, and how each of the members would view their occasional stalker.

Bajie is probably having the time of his life seeing Wukong have to deal with this evil little shit of an ex bestie, and rotates wildly between mocking Macaque for being second best and how he’s no longer part of Wukong’s life, and running in fear every time the other monkey snaps.

Tripitaka just sitting in concern that his student’s ex boyfriend won’t leave him be; and is worried his continued meddling in his adventure is stopping Sun Wukong from reaching his potential.

Bai Long Ma isn’t going to say anything, but the fact that this monkey is coming around so much in an elaborate game of pulling Sun Wukong’s pigtails is… kinda funny.

Sha Wujing considers Macaque a serious threat and just wants to stop running into him, and the fact he seems to get Wukong all excited in the worst ways isn’t lost on him.

And then there’s Sun Wukong, who keeps being dragged back in by Macaque- whether he even realizes that he’s being flirted with (albeit in a schoolyard, childlike way) is up to interpretation.

This is a fun idea for an AU of the original journey.. I can't imagine the Sun Wukong who's still in the middle of the journey would put up with Macaque showing up and embarrassing him if he wasn't actually into it, secretly or not. Also Macaque showing up several times and causing mischief and trying to get Wukong to come back with him or steal him away from his journey is a super fun concept. His flirting probably manages to lure Wukong into trouble a few times too, and he has to be chased off by the others. (a good opportunity for Sun Wukong to be rescued by the others, which isn't the typical formula for JTTW adventures lol)

I think the thing that would really bring this conflict to a head is Tripitaka deciding they have to do something about him and confronting Macaque by himself. He's trying very hard to get Sun Wukong to be a better person, and every time Macaque comes along he seems to get into trouble and drags Wukong back down with him. He tells Macaque that he should leave and let Sun Wukong grow into the person he's meant to be, and, hopefully, without Wukong to distract him, Macaque can reflect on himself and work on being a better person in his own way.

Obviously the Six Eared Macaque is not going to take orders from some stupid monk, especially not one who has imprisoned his friend and forces him to act as a body guard.. Tripitaka objects to this because that's not the situation at all! It's much more complicated than that! But of course Macaque doesn't care about nuance. And he definitely doesn't care about anyone who's trying to keep him from his Peaches. He attacks, easily overpowering the monk, and then has a bit of fun with it by handing him over to some powerful local demon to eat him... then he decides to have a little more fun. He waits for Wukong to leave the group for a bit, then shape-shifts into Sun Wukong and beckons his three brothers to follow because their master has been captured by a demon.. y'know. Again. There's nothing suspicious about this because it's happened a billion times already. So they follow easily, but when they arrive at the demon's stronghold to rescue their master, while their backs are turned to him, Macaque changes back and attacks all of them, allowing THEM to be captured by the demon as well.

With all of the others now out of the way, Macaque returns to their abandoned camp to find Sun Wukong there looking confused. He asks Macaque if he knows where the others went and he just lies saying he doesn't know... maybe they got sick of him and left without him. That's okay though, he doesn't need any of them. All he and Macaque have ever needed is each other! So they should just go home together, now and forget about the others.

Sun Wukong has kind of enjoyed Mac's flirtations up til now and it seemed mostly harmless (to everyone except him of course) so he's a little confused by what's happening now. The others clearly haven't moved on without him... they wouldn't have left all their stuff in their camp like this. Everything was left behind except their weapons... wait..... oh. And that's when he realizes that his master and brothers are in danger, so he turns on Macaque with a snarl and demands to know what he did.

[talesofsonicasura]

Sticks and Stones AU

What's up everybody? This is SonicAsura here with another AU. If any of you are curious, a good chunk of these have been discussed in the Discords I follow. I just yet to put them in an actual draft outside of these discussions. So you can count these as personal reminders for myself.

Now, I thought Sun Wukong deserved his chance at the dad role for an AU since I usually delegated it to Macaque or a non-LMK character. I honestly like the potential chaos of it all. Anyway, the Sticks and Stones AU!

In this AU, Sun Wukong is actually MK's father but in a more peculiar way. One day, the Great Sage decided to look over his hoard of artifacts and treasure. Something he usually does (although he doesn't do any tidying up or proper organization). He knows every artifact in there but is confused when he sees something out of place.

A mysterious orb that the Monkey King had no recollections of collecting. This strange item made from pure gold and beautiful gem at the center would be set somewhere in his room like a trophy than collect dust. Being naturally curious, Sun Wukong fiddles with the device only to activate it by accident.

Using bits of ambient magic from the deity, that orb transformed into a monkey-like being of gold and stone.

(I went with a Knack type design for this particular MK.)

Sun Wukong named the strange golem, Qi Xiaotian, and took him in as his own child. The newly born Xiaotian was loved by the Monkey King and all of his subjects. Playing games with the monkeys, drawing his island home, even training with his father Sun Wukong. Everything was all good until one day...

On a trip to a mountain top near Megapolis, Qi Xiaotian had gotten separated from his parent and was attacked. The Monkey King's magic that dwelled within the cub's chest came out full force in self defense. As a result, a nearby forest was obliterated and Xiaotian broke into pieces. His spirit sleeping inside the chest orb that held their soul.

His chest orb will later be taken to Megapolis and Sun Wukong finds the broken pieces of his son. From here, a lot of things about the story greatly changes.

Demon Bull King- In this AU, DBK wasn't sealed away by Sun Wukong. Instead the Monkey King brutally injured his sworn brother near the point of no return and left him there. Red Son and Princess Iron Fan helping DBK recover in medicine, technology or magic. His appearance will be that of the show but heavily scarred. His relationship with Red Son will be much better however there are still some kinks but not canon awkward.

Demon Bull King hates Sun Wukong but his fury is more tame than early canon. He thinks rationally and knows when to stop if a plan goes south. The DBK family are more prominent in Megapolis as a small chunk of the city is under their control.

Residents living here are given fair treatment and even protection in exchange for payment. The pay can be made in money or quality scrap metal. Retrieval of any destroyed Demon Bull Clones can also serve as decent payment. Any betrayal of these rules can lead to the dungeon or getting kicked out. Demons have a rougher punishment than humans.

Sun Wukong- After the disappearance of Qi Xiaotian, the Monkey King becomes a dangerous vigilante. He scours Megapolis in search of any clues on Xiaotian's whereabouts. If he comes across any crime, Sun Wukong will beat the ones responsible badly. Ambulances are always on the scene alongside police as the Monkey King leaves all his opponents with broken bones and bruises.

He has his staff on him and only the worst scum get a taste of it's heavenly steel. The biggest target being anyone who assaults a child. Sun Wukong's grief for his missing son made him more rough personality wise as he's taking it unhealthily. He's a bit more cagey and closer to his JTTW days with strangers. The monkeys on Flower Fruit Mountain are the only ones who see his true personality.

MK- After falling apart and being taken, Qi Xiaotian takes on a human form but his memories are missing and what remains is now a mess. The familial bond between him and Sun Wukong has been changed into admiration similar to a childhood hero. He doesn't know he isn't human until a faithful clash between Sun Wukong and DBK.

From there, MK tries to piece together his jumbled past with the help of his friends. However different forces are now after him. For good or bad, they won't stop until MK is in their grasp.

Thanks to the incident, a good chunk of his parts are held tight near MK's chest in 'adult form' by a glitch. A weakness that makes it easier for opponents to hit him. He can now switch between human or golem with some difficulty. MK will still have some of the Monkey King's powers but also abilities from the Playstation series, Knack. (Any knowledge of Knack isn't needed.)

MK's main ability is the power to change size by adding or subtracting parts of his body. The smallest being 2'0 and the biggest being 35'7! He can also manipulate his parts in various ways: creating platforms, increase his reach, shield and even as projectiles.

Sun Wukong's powers can let him transmute his parts. This is how he can create clones or shapeshift since he isn't true flesh n blood in golem form. His human form mimics it but isn't truly organic.

His body breaks apart with strong enough force but will put itself together if given time. However, any damage to MK's chest orb can potentially kill him. It contains his soul. He has one more ability but I'm keeping that to myself. 😏

MK is still capable of using Riyu Jingu Bang but it isn't his main weapon. There will be some times where he has to use the staff but most of the time MK is going to rely on martial arts.

Now, there is one part of this AU that I have up in the air. Your opinions will decide whether I keep or toss it. It revolves around some Spicynoodles ship angst.

Red Son- He meets MK when the latter is around 18. The two end up dating to the point both thought of proposing (ironically and unknowingly) on the same day. That is until Sun Wukong and Demon Bull King have a big fight(MK is 21 at this point). The shockwave bringing out MK's true form for all to see.

MK's chest orb was an item Red Son sought out in hopes of healing his father. He had heard about an artifact of potentially great power being recovered from a ruin forest (ground zero of MK's meltdown.) So realizing that his soon-to-be fiance is actually an entity made from that very item tilts everything he knows on his head.

He doesn't know what to do but Red Son does know that he NEEDS to find MK. Maybe everything will become clearer if he recovers his 'supposedly mutual' fiance. (MK accidentally left the ring case with Red Son's ring behind.)

Give me your opinion if I should implement it or not! Until next time folks, I'll see you back in Megapolis.

[skellebonez]

Stop Lying To Me (Monkie Kid Cursed AU fanfic)

I was super inspired by @winterpower98 's Cursed AU and the fanart @kitkat1003 did for it soooo... I kinda wrote my own interpretation of this revelatory scene in an anon and now I am rewriting it here as a fic. I'm going off all the info in the masterpost and the hints in tags combined with my own flair so I'm probably off in places, but hey I had fun writing it and I hope you all have fun reading it and that's what counts! (also I have never posted fanfic to Tumblr before so if the formatting is off I apologize.)

Warnings: mild but vague depictions of some nasty injuries. And angst.

EDIT: I forgot to add the Read More! I fixed that!

------------

"You LIED to us."

Macaque looked up, eyes wide at the amount of venom that should not have been held in that voice. "Kid I-"

"You LIED TO US!" MK yelled, words tapering off with a disbelieving laugh as his tail swiped the air violently behind him. "You lied to Monkey King, to- to ME! You used me! Again! ... you used me again..."

Oh. He didn't realize his chest could hurt as much as it did when he heard that. That second again, soft but somehow like breaking porcelain against a hard surface. Macaque didn't realize he could hurt like that. He watched as MK slid down to sit on the ground, turning away from him to check on the still resting Monkey King. "Kid..."

"Was this your plan the whole time?" MK refused to turn, busying himself with checking on his mentor's injuries, injuries he was now fully aware were caused by his own claws thanks to Macaque's confession. "Pull a harmless 'prank', come up with an excuse to get us all away from everyone, pretend to start coming around, make me think you actually liked me this time?" He turned, teeth bared in a half smile half grimace. "Wait for me to start losing control so I could do the dirty work of getting revenge against Sun Wukong for you? What did you tell me last time? 'You are the weapon'? Is this what you wanted? A weapon!?"

There it was again, that pain in his chest. Macaque looked away, unable to keep eye contact with the kid. Not when he could see the shimmer of moisture starting at the corner of his eyes. Heaven, he was going soft! When had he started going soft? "It... I wanted..." Why were the words so hard now? Words were never hard before, he could let them flow like sweet honey at any time he pleased but now they stuck on his tongue like tar. "... yes."

A confirmation. The silence between them was thick, and from the edge of his vision he could see the tears as they finally started to roll down MK's face. "I thought you could change, Macaque."

"I am changing!" Macaque insisted, turning back to look at the younger with what he hoped with a gentle smile. "Yes, I had a plan originally, but it's changed! I don't want that anymore!" He took a step forward, not missing the flinch back and the way the kid curled into himself. When MK said nothing he took another step forward, slower this time, and another. "I'm going to stop this, WE are going to stop this, you won't be a weap-"

"Stop lying to me!" He had messed up. Gotten too close, too fast, pushed too far. When he reached for MK the kid swiped instinctively and his claws made contact, just barely, slicing into the side of Macaque's neck as he made to dodge just a bit too late in shock. Everything froze for a moment.

"I..." MK's eyes widened in horror as he looked at Mac's neck, then his hand. "No, I. I didn't. I didn't mean to. To hurt. I." His eyes flooded more red and as he looked to Macaque his breathing grew faster. He let out a sob. Then a yell. Then a scream.

"Shit!" Macaque took a quick few steps backward before stopping and going forward again, holding his hands up in front of him. "MK, MK listen to me please. You have to calm down ok? You just recovered from the last time, your body cannot handle another transformation without you being hurt!"

A step forward, a step back, scream growing strained and more red but this time from the lengthening claws digging into MK's own arms. The kid was trying to fight it, he could tell, but Macaque had messed up too much. He knew about the plan, that he had hurt Wukong, that he had been manipulated. He didn't know everything but he knew enough. And Mac knew MK wouldn't be able to stop it, even as tempered by exhaustion as it was.

So he did the only thing he could think of that wouldn't hurt him. He leapt forward and held MK. Knelt on the ground and wrapped the kid in his arms as tight as he could. The kid fought harder, both at the transformation and at the hold, grabbing Macaque's arms to pull them away and slicing his sleeves to ribbons and grabbing at his back when he failed.

Macaque did not let go. Not when those claws ripped through his clothes and drew more and more blood, not when MK smashed his forehead into his mouth and split his lip, not when the kid twisted and grabbed his arm and widened his own mouth and BIT, hard and furious and tearing into his bicep down to the bone. Not when the power radiating off the kid scared him more than he would ever admit. Macaque did not let go. 

"I'm not lying kid," he whispered. "Not anymore."

Eventually, too long for comfort, MK stopped fighting. It was like a switch was flipped. One second he was fighting and then next he just. Stopped. Had he not been breathing so hard Macaque would have sworn he has simply ceased entirely. 

They stayed like that for a moment, Macaque getting his own unsteady breathing under control before he gently maneuvered the kid to pick him up. He walked them back to where Wukong was fitfully resting, no doubt disturbed by the recent events, ignoring how his back was rapidly growing warm (but somehow cold) and wet and how one arm shook with effort it should not have needed. "You're gonna be ok Kid. You're gonna be ok. I promise."

"N.." So he wasn't completely drained. Yet. "No more... lying...?"

"Yeah. Yeah, no lying," Macaque said as he laid MK down, wincing as he turned in such a way that the worst of his injuries would be hidden away, if the kid was aware enough to see them that is. "Not about this, not anymore. I promise. Get some rest kid, you're gonna need it."

MK let out a halfhearted chuckle, nodding his head. "K. I... I won't. Give up on you yet." And with that he finally passed out.

Mac sat and watched, afraid to move lest the kid just suddenly transform. But he didn't. He rested and Macaque knew he had a lot to fix. He had gotten attached. Damn it all but he got attached to the kid.

That was the last thought he had as his body finally gave out, sending him sideways into the dirt. He thought he heard a yell, a voice more familiar to him than MK's, angry and scared sounding. Why was it scared? He was the Six Eared Macaque. He would be fine, he always was.

Even if that was potentially another lie.

[itsabouttimex2]

Monkie Kid Villain Fates

A more in-depth look (especially for Macaque) down below!

(I know I’ve been posting a lot of content that’s outside my usual, and I hope no one minds too much! I’m cleansing my palate to prep for Season Five, which I am very excited to write for. ((Especially for Li Jing and Nuwa!!!)) So here’s a slew of my thoughts on the villains, and which one is my least favorite!)

(Spoilers: his name is written in purple above.)

Disclaimer 1: I am not counting instances of “throwing your lot in with the heroes when the world is at stake” as redeeming moments. If you only do something because it personally benefits you at the moment, it’s not exactly selfless.

Disclaimer 2: Redemption means three things-

1. The character acknowledges their wrongdoings.

2. The character works to become a better person.

3. The character makes amends/reparations for the harm they’ve done, without the threat of death hanging overhead. Good must be done of one’s own will and volition.

Disclaimer 3: A character not being redeemed doesn’t make them a bad character. In fact, some characters work better without redemption. (Like the Lady Bone Demon.) I just wanted to make a villain tier list and talk on some of the people it contained.

Red Son: Decently humanizing interactions with Mei, but ultimately uncaring of all the damage and harm that he’s caused, especially in regards to potential deaths during his attacks on the city. Unfortunately, the first example of “pretty much unrepentant but universally-forgiven”. (Fix: Have him interact with people harmed by his villainy, and resolve to help them- even if only by repairing their destroyed vehicles. Something small enough to be reasonably in line with his pride and arrogance, but enough to show that he’s become a better person.)

——————

Macaque: The worst villain here. Utterly unrepentant and shameless, outwardly cruel and violent… but still got a “you’re not a bad guy” speech before actually showing that he wasn’t a bad guy. Despite being able to skip fights with his shadow portals, he intentionally stuck around to raze the Dragon Palace of the East Sea to the ground. (AO GUANG AND HIS PEOPLE’S STATUS ARE STILL UNKNOWN) This still hasn’t been addressed in canon, not even by Mei, who was related to those who lived there. Instead, she has a team-up with him, never addressing the still unknown fate of her uncle. Never apologizes, never makes amends, never tries to repair the damage he’s done… but allowed to stick around all the same. Where characters like Azure or LBD do what they do because they truly believe in their causes, Macaque is just having fun hurting people. Again, given his ability to shadow-portal, he doesn’t even have the “I’m trying to save my own life” excuse. He could’ve just skipped the torment and violence, but explicitly chose not to, and is always happy to inflict harm- even bragging about what he did to the Dragon Palace.

Also, I don’t give a single shit that Peng “bullied” him. It doesn’t make Macaque more sympathetic, it makes him less. He knows what it’s like to be insulted and berated for your nature, then (unhesitatingly and gleefully) does the same to MK, who may well be a child?

Yeah, no. Then, his “awesome” team-up with Mei only serves to rip agency and nuance from her character, turning this caring and energetic warrior into an amnesiac that doesn’t care about her family for the sake of “Boo-hoo, Peng hit me once to protect someone they care about!” So, Mei holds grudges, right? That would make her a more interesting character! But no! No, no, no! That’s just for Peng! Her grudge isn’t against the man who essentially attempted genocide on her people and razed an ancestral palace full of innocent people to the ground, no!

OF COURSE NOT, SILLY!!

Because then Macaque’s actions would have something called “consequences”, and the writers just won’t allow it! Because he’s just a murderous, violent, manipulative, cruel, spiteful, villain! How dare we expect any actual comeuppance for his crimes? No, we can’t have that!

Oh, and how does he help MK in the fourth season? How about he outright tells (great storytelling, btw) MK about how delusional Azure Lion is- a character with which he has no tie with beyond a tenuous past oath and no actual interactions. This moment could have easily been given to, you know, Wukong! Or Yellowtusk, if they were going the full redemption arc route for him, but no!

We have to pretend that Macaque’s input on a character he has no interactions with is important! Oh, and they let him play mentor to MK, who he has: manipulated, betrayed, violently assaulted, stole the powers of, berated, and attempted to kill.

Does MK care about any of this?

OF COURSE NOT!

But MK is absolutely furious and heartbroken at Azure for doing maybe half of those things, and with an honestly noble reason to boot.

Ugh.

I think it’s only made worse by the fact that people get so mad when there’s any criticism of Macaque “redemption arc”. Throwing actual fits and constantly arguing when someone dares to say “everyone allowing Macaque (and many other villains) to get away with the worst of his actions and not holding him accountable for being a genuinely dangerous, unrepentant and violent criminal is bad and makes the “heroic” characters around him look worse.”

And you can’t use the “well, he didn’t get a redemption arc!” The writers didn’t try to redeem him!” defense.

Because, yes. Yes they did.

We are supposed to think this guy is better now. The series wants you to think of him as redeemed.

MK leaves him handmade food and a drawing. His “you’re not a bad guy” speech is supposed to be taken as truth. Wukong is making amends with him (sharing smiles and offering food) and no one has any personal problems on the guy sticking around (which makes them all seem blander, given that at least one of his victims should be upset), which is portrayed in a positive light.

This is portrayed as good.

THE WRITERS CONSIDER MACAQUE AS DESERVING AND WORTHY OF THIS. THEY THINK HE HAS EARNED IT.

So yes- he is supposed to be “redeemed”.

But he isn’t. He really, really, isn’t.

(Fix: God, where do we start? Some remorse? An apology? Have every character not forgive him immediately? Have Mei not forget about the razing of an ancestral palace? Have Pigsy threaten to kill him if he tries to hurt MK again? Have Tang refuse to interact with him? Anything would have been nice.)

——————

Jin and Yin: No redemption arc at all. Essentially forgotten about by the show. They show up with the Scorpion Queen, but don’t have a satisfying send-off. It’s just a little funny scene. (Potential fix: more interactions with them as stagehands, working for the community. Why make them neutral only to shift immediately back to evil? It could’ve been nice to see them integrate into society instead of being turned evil again and written out of the story with little fanfare.)

——————

Demon Bull King: Same as Red Son, but without the humanizing interactions with a heroic character. Bonus points for putting his life in danger to save Wukong and MK, despite gaining nothing for doing so. Unfortunately, aside from that, another “pretty much unrepentant but universally-forgiven” character. (Potential fix: Would’ve been nice to have more positive interactions between him and Wukong. Maybe talk about how hard it is to open up and be soft when they dedicated so much of their lives to being strong? Chat about his struggles adjusting to the modern era? Have him show clear remorse for mistreating his extremely loyal son?)

——————

Princess Iron Fan: Not much to say. Same as her husband, same solution. Really wish she had gotten some more screen time outside of her family. (Fix: Maybe flesh out her bond with Jin and Yin? I know it was supposed to be a funny “noodle incident”, but learning about their past could’ve been nice- maybe we could’ve gotten a scene of her with little Red Son to humanize her a bit?)

——————

As it says on the tin. I’ll do this all in one quick chunk.

Nothing much to say here- but it would’ve been nice to have one of the spiders survive and redeem themselves, especially since that it was teased for Huntsman.

I wish Goliath (not even his real name btw) hadn’t been such a nothing character. Like, we really don’t learn a single thing about him.

I pity the Ink Curse. Created to be a tool of torture, never allowed to love or be loved. Poor thing.

——————

Mayor: One of Season Four’s biggest flaws is that it could really feel disconnected from the previous three, which all felt very tightly interwoven. Example one: Mei “no longer *wielding* the Samadhi Fire”, when it had previously been established that she fused with it. Example two: The mayor’s fate is never addressed, despite being such a prominent enemy. (Fix: Just… tell us what happened to him. Is he in jail? Did he escape justice? Did someone just… murder him? I don’t care if “it’s being saved for Season Five”. It’s weird to just forget about someone so dangerous in universe.)

——————

Kui Mulang: Presumably either dead or returned to the Celestial Realm for punishment. Unlikely that we’ll receive further information on him.

——————

Peng: Probable that we’ll receive an update on their status in Season Five. Very interesting character with a few humanizing moments (being close to Yellowtusk and Azure, being upset when Monkey King was trapped in the scroll) that keep them from being irredeemable. Actually a better person than Macaque, given that they never remorselessly razed a palace of innocent people to the ground. Or tried to murder an innocent kid who wasn’t involved with their fight at all. Or held a young lady’s life hostage and threatened to murder her. But they’re sort of mean, so I guess people consider them irredeemable? Super weird.

Like, Peng is an asshole, sure. They clearly aren’t in this fight out of the goodness of their heart. But the awful way they get treated in the fandom is insane, especially with the babying treatment that other villainous characters (like Macaque, the Mayor, and Red Son) get.

——————

Azure Lion: Macaque, but better written! Letting MK be angry at a person who: manipulated, lied to, and betrayed him? Not having his misdeeds be forgotten and glossed over? People actually being upset at what he’s done further than a few minutes after he’s done it? Incredible character! This is what I’ve wanted from Monkie Kid for so long! Ultimately, Azure accepts his failures and sacrifices himself- a punishment for hurting innocent people and wreaking havoc? A villain acknowledging their misdeeds and making up for them? God, I love Azure so much!

Probably my favorite character!

——————

Yellowtusk: I love this grandpa so much, for mostly the same reasons as Azure. His crimes aren’t immediately forgotten! Everyone doesn’t immediately forgive him! And he has to head back to the Celestial Realm for actual consequences?! Damn, this is what I’ve wanted from LMK villains for so long! Real redemption arcs, my beloved.

Also, this proves that the writers do know that people who commit crimes should be held accountable and punished for it? Can you give some of that to the others, please?

——————

Scorpion Queen: Another character I don’t have much to say about. She acknowledges her mistakes, ceases her villainy, and seems to have made genuine friends in Jin and Yin. Given the very little harm she caused, redemption was never going to be outside of her reach- but I’m happy for her anyhow.

——————

Finishing Points

1: I do not “hate” any of these characters. Though I definitely dislike how some are written, each one is lovable and enjoyable in their own way. I enjoy writing for all of them, and will continue to do so. I just wanted to take a break from fanfiction and talk about my perspective on some villains.

2: What do I mean by “punishment”?

Essentially, a consequence delivered to the character on account of their villainy. Someone tripping and eating dirt isn’t a “punishment”, unless they’re being shoved down by an old victim. Losing a fight isn’t “punishment”, it’s a matter of self-defense. Additionally, the punishment has to be actively performed as a consequence of misdoings- tripping and breaking an arm after doing evil things isn’t a punishment, but having a victim of the villain actively choose to break their arm is.

3: This is not an attack on you or your “fave”. This is not me saying that the show is bad. This is not me saying that I could do better. This is not me saying that you shouldn’t like these characters. This is not me trying to change your mind. This is not me saying you should feel the way I do. These are just my personal thoughts on the villains listed, and some of the “flaws” that I personally have with their portrayals and depictions.

[strange-lace]

My first thing to do knowing hyperfixating on LEGO Monkie Kid is making a role swap AU because of course, though I was also inspired by @cassidyisnowdrawing ‘s Yellow Light Verse (that I really hope it doesn’t look like I’m copying you, I did my best to make them different from each other)!

So in this role swap, while everyone’s roles in the story are swapped (Mei’s the Monkie Kid, Red is her partner in crime, and MK serves DBK and PIF) their backstories haven’t changed, if that makes sense. Now while I keep their personalities similar to canon, they’re going to still have some differences due to their different circumstances.

Mei:

Mei would be a lot more insecure and eager to prove herself, both as Sun Wukong’s successor and her worth as a person since while I’m having backstories for the characters stay the same, I could see Mei and MK both being worse off self-esteem wise without having each other around growing up. 

She’d still just as bubbly, excitable, protective, and phone savvy as Canon!Mei, if not more so on the protective aspect. Tends to go absolutely apeshit the most when someone threatens Green, Pigsy, Tang, Sandy and eventually includes MK and her own mentor, Sun Wukong, under this umbrella.

Case in point: when she sees Sun Wukong and Macaque fight. Through sheer protective anger and hurt about being betrayed allows her to lift the staff and decimate Macaque.

Sun Wukong would get attached a lot quicker to his successor in this AU because Mei just has that energy which activates Parental Instincts he didn’t even know he had.

Does noodle deliveries for Pigsy but has also makes vlogs of what it’s like working at Pigsy’s Noodles. She says it’s to better advertise the shop, but really she just likes making memories that she can look back on and show others. Starts doing it while also being the Monkie Kid and training with Wukong.

Was genuinely scared/intimidated by Demon Kid upon first meeting him but was quick to find that while he’s got the dramatics of being a villain down, he fails at the aspect of actually partaking in villainous behavior. After that, they’re quick to transition from enemies to frenemies to just being friends.

Makes no effort to hide her wanting to be friends with Demon Kid and finds his quiet bewilderment at her friendship adorable but also kind of sad. 

A troublemaker despite her innocent face, which definitely makes Sun Wukong proud to see her causing chaos and get away with it. That, alongside her kind nature, are the reasons he chose her as his successor.

Creates tech for the team alongside Green, though their differing styles of inventing can cause complications or make the inventions backfire on them both, though she takes these more in stride compared to Green.

The undefeated queen in DDR and Monkey Mecha despite Green’s multiple attempts to dethrone her.

Mei: Hey, hey DBK look at me. DBK: [turns towards Mei] Mei: [ready to kick his ass] B I T C H!

A slight bit better at focus and following Wukong’s lessons compared to Canon!MK but still tends to get ahead of herself in wanting to learn flashier techniques before even getting the basics down.

Likes to wage psychological warfare on her enemies. By that I mean, she essentially likes pulling Bugs Bunny level antics to frustrate them to do stupid stuff in combat out of anger, allowing her to fuck them up with a smile on her face.

Green (AKA Red Son)

The most changed personality wise due to different circumstances in this AU, a lot more calm and composed to counteract Mei’s hyperactive demeanor and less prone to losing his temper. Though he’s still pretty uptight.

Is still the son of DBK and PIF but he had ran away some time after DBK had been imprisoned. Makes an effort to make sure he’s not recognized by anyone, dying his hair and wearing makeup. Still wears Canon!Red Son’s shades but they’re larger and he still dresses like a rich bitch because he has standards. He refuses to wear the color red for unknown reasons to Mei and the others, at least until they find out about his family.

Just as protective of Mei as she is of him, to the point he had some objections to her being chosen as Sun Wukong’s successor but eventually let it go once he saw how important it was to her. Begrudgingly chose to fight alongside her, thinking he might as well and avoid her getting herself killed. His way of showing he cares can appear condescending but Mei has known him long enough to know he really doesn’t see her incapable of taking care of herself.

Works alongside Mei to use their combined tech knowledge to combating the threat of DBK and his demon forces. However, his inventions can also have a tendency to backfire or not work as intended, much to his frustration.

Enjoys racing on his motorbike, participating in races across the city and often winning in 1st place. He is most definitely a cocky little bastard about his skill in racing, one the few things about himself that he puts a lot of pride in.

Had a complicated relationship with Demon Kid at first. At first, he resented the other for essentially being his parents attempt to “replace” him after he ran away and led himself to believe that he was much more appreciated by his parents for his control of his flames and magic power. However, that illusion is soon shattered once he sees how Demon Kid gets when they foil his plans since he’s familiar with that look of worry and resigned accepted that he’d have to go back to DBK and PIF with another failure on his back. Tries to show empathy after that without revealing his true identity, which only causes confusion for Mei and Demon Kid on how he’s so familiar with DBK, PIF, and demon culture as a whole.

The exhausted voice of reason among the team alongside Pigsy.

Often challenges Mei to video game championships which devolve to them play fighting once Mei inevitably beats him at everything.

Has his own façade of confidence but often fears not being strong enough to keep his found family safe but is too proud to admit until someone gets injured and he starts fearing for the worst.

Sun Wukong enjoys messing with him due to his uptight nature, especially at the Monkey King’s impishness.

Goes completely feral in combat once he gets the Dragon Sword. Even before that, he was willing to run over Demon Kid’s demon puppets with his bike to give Mei a hand.

Demon Kid (AKA MK)

A kid who’s a lot like Megamind: he lives for the dramatics and presentation of being a villain but fails at actually acting villainous when it comes down to it. Does his best to appear serious, intimidating, and someone not to mess with but that façade slips very often when it comes to things like being complimented or when someone mentions the Monkey King and he turns out to be a complete dork.

Not the son of DBK and PIF, but rather a low level demon that PIF had chose to be help her free DBK after Red Son had disappeared and she was left alone. Mainly because Demon Kid had no one else either and she saw potential with his strong magic, though it was rather out of control when they met. PIF had decided alongside DBK that they’d keep him around as an assistant/minion of sorts once he had helped her free DBK.

Since he doesn’t have Canon!Red Son’s prowess with technology, I considered instead that he’s skilled with magic and his own fire powers, using them a lot more in combat or during his schemes against Mei’s team. Still a major contributor to DBK’s army, but instead of the mechanical Bull Clones, perhaps Demon Kid instead supplies his king with sentient demon puppets given life through his magic. The armor can run the same, except with a magical angle instead of technology.

I have this idea that he’s actually able to pull out Sun Wukong’s staff on his own, much to his surprise. He’s quick to try and say it was due to a spell when PIF questions this. He’s left both amazed and terrified at the mere possibility of him being worthy to wield the staff of Sun Wukong himself.

His first meeting with Mei plays out similar to the show’s canon, though instead he intended on teleporting Mei away with a spell under the guise of “eliminating” her for DBK. Even while chasing her through the city, he was going to simply take the staff and scare her enough to never cross the Demon Bull King again. He tries to convince himself it’s to allow fear of DBK to be spread by leaving her alive but really, he just could never bring himself to kill or seriously harm someone.

Though like Canon!Red Son, he’s prone to losing his temper with others before immediately apologizing afterwards out of reflex. Also tends to teleport away from situations when he’s embarrassed himself, often saying he’s only allowing Mei and Green to win this time but next time will be different.

Spoiler alert: It rarely ever is.

DBK and PIF are often frustrated with Demon Kid because they know he has potential to bring Sun Wukong’s successor and her team to their knees with his powers and knowledge of magical spells but he fails to fulfill this because of his own inability to be cruel. They’re both like that episode of Spongebob where Plankton tries to teach him to be assertive/aggressive except they’re both Plankton and Demon Kid is Spongebob.

Quickly becomes attached to Mei and Green since they’re genuinely nice to him and while he insists that it’s because they’re his “personal archenemies”, he most definitely sees them as his friends and is constantly coming up with flashier schemes to impress/amuse them as well as get feedback from them. Was actually really lonely before meeting them, having to use his demon puppets for company. His attachment to Mei and Green can quickly evolve to possessiveness when he thinks someone is trying to take them away, whether they be other enemies that decide to fight them or a friend who is simply spending noticeable amount of time with them.

In the case of someone else trying to kill them, Demon Kid would be quick to shut that down and make that person immediately regret it since, in his words, he’s the only one allowed to destroy the two. This is one of the few situations where he gets completely serious and doesn’t bother with the theatrics.

Does his best to make himself look scary such as shoes to make him appear taller, jagged face paint, and perhaps sharp eyeliner to imitate PIF since he sees everyone fears her.

[atlasllm]

Honestly yeah; being a tumblr sexyman is not bad at all, its only con so far is the over-focus on one specific character that can probably get annoying if you're trying to scroll tags for content of non-sexymen in the same universe

In sexypedia you can see trends of what archetypes sexymen tend to fufill, but even sexypedia mentions there are some outliers; Prince Sidon from Zelda, for example (I don't know enough about him to confirm or deny that he has minimal sexypedia archetypes, but its definitely enough that sexypedia itself lists Sidon as an odd outlier to the sexyman archetypes)

Overall being a tumblr sexyman isn't really a measure over how "good" a character is; Macaque and Red Son are both listed as such but Macaque I find more compelling from a story and character standpoint while Red Son is compelling because he's just funny to watch because he was never the biggest bads of Lego Monkie Kid (similar to why I enjoy Reigen Arataka so much, he's a morally bad character but he's not treated as THE worst of the worst)

But definitely, Sans and The Onceler are The tumblr sexyman BECAUSE they had something that the tumblr masses just enjoyed; I think tumblr sexyman can be good, actually. I wonder if there's potential in following those sexypedia archetypes in character creation because they're all so massively appealing

Hell, without tumblr sexymen like The Onceler, I feel like The Lorax (2012) would've had NOTHING positive about the movie and would've gone down as another one of Illumination's mediocrity marketing

One of the things about The Lorax (2012) that I'm surprised is as controversial as it was is the decision to show The Onceler's face, since his facelessness in the original book/movie was meant to add on to his relatability because anyone could put themselves into his shoes

However I feel like The Lorax (2012) does it better in my personal opinion BECAUSE we see the Onceler as a living, breathing human; we see him, we feel for him, we follow his character and therefore people feel the need to RELATE to him; I think quite a few Onceler fans do in fact see themselves in him in different ways

I guess both versions did it in completely separate ways; 72 is more akin to Frisk and Chara where we have minimal connection with the "character" that most of the time we're meant to fill in the blanks* with our own personal answers

12 Onceler is more akin to Kris where we definitely /do/ have a connection to his character because we see them as fellow humans to relate to, granted this did lead to him becoming a tumblr sexyman but characters become tumblr sexyman because the masses just happen to fall in love with A Character, whether it be attractiveness or just a general love for what his character was able to accomplish from a story standpoint

[sketching-shark]

I think on some narrative levels in LMK, Qi Xiaotian represents Sun Wukong's best traits (like his love for his family and friends, his potential to grow as a person, and so on). Just like Liu-er Mihou represents Sun Wukong's worst.

(And I have so many thoughts that the two monkies are reflections of Qi Xiaotian in turn.)

Because Qi Xiaotian is a person and has his own flaws and insecurities, and he's genuinely kind, it's inspiring and loving rather than overwhelming.

I wish I had more coherent words. Just. The power that Qi Xiaotian and Sun Wukong as their own characters care so much about each other. It's choosing to be kind, to believe in each other. It's what saves Sun Wukong in the season 3 special.

Also, Qi Xiaotian demands better, of Macaque included.

And on a narrative level, it's being kind to yourself. To look at yourself and decide to love the whole of you, which also demands of you to improve as a person when you can and hold yourself accountable.

OOOOOOOOOOOUGH anon the idea that Qi Xiaotian embodies/represents the Monkey King's very best traits while the Six Eared Macaque embodies/represents the very worst traits is SO genuinely big brained on so many levels.

Like yes just to scratch the surface of this idea you are completely right about Qi Xiaotian and the Six Eared Macaque standing as narrative foils to each other perhaps more than even LEMH and SWK themselves specifically because QXT, while still being a major Monkey King fanboy as well as the literal successor to SWK, has a LOT going on in his life outside of his interactions with SWK. He's got a busy job, at least two(2) father figures, a best friend, an uncle figure, a love of art, games, and sports; just a lot of people and things that he really cares about that while they sometimes make him exhausted and distracted do keep him grounded in the here and now. So even while he does mess up and does occasionally act pretty selfish and thoughtless, I feel like his genuine kindness and happiness with living in the present provides a solid foundation for him to truly want to actively work towards forming friendships and connections while striving to do the right thing. Hell, he's even conversely compared to the Lady Bone Demon in that she became so disgusted with reality that she thought the only way to make it better was to burn it all down, kill everyone and everything, & make it start over, whereas QXT recognizes the suffering in the world but sincerely believes that it's worth protecting and saving and trying to make better anyway. Macaque, by direct contrast, is so obsessively enraged with one(1) person that by all appearances he has literally nothing going on in his life except his attempts to get revenge against SWK. Now maybe it is due to his limited screentime free from the Lady Bone Demon's control, but basically every single thing he's done throughout the course of the show right up until the 25th hour was either A) Trying to kill/beat the tar out of SWK and/or QXT or B) Tell everyone who might listen what a terrible person SWK is in an attempt to make them turn against the Monkey King. Aaaaand that's kind of it. That's the grand total of the things that define the Six Eared Macaque's life. From what we've seen he has 0 friends, 0 family, literally nothing that might draw him away from his centuries-long endeavor against the Monkey King. It's like he's STILL playing out his JTTW role of "SWK except worse," except this time instead of trying to replace the Monkey King he wants him disappeared, dead, or completely alone. Either way, he's stuck in one mode of being and seems to have no intention or ability to behave in a different way (at least right up until the very end of season 3, where there's some hints that he MIGHT start acting differently but we'll see).

And then you have the Monkey King himself, which at present seems pretty tenuously suspended between these two positions. Like gosh dern just thinking about it I feel like you really hit the nail on the head in terms of how lego show Sun Wukong seems to keep getting jerked around by two seemingly contradictory parts of his character; his decision to become someone's shifu does indicate that he wants to do good in the world & make things better for others and himself & live in the present with all its potentials, but he does mess that up a lot mainly because he still thinks that when push comes to shove he has to do everything by himself, just like it often was during this time as a yaoguai warlord & during the journey. And then on the other hand there's always this distance between him and his tudi because SWK is still very much living in the past (just like LEMH) & the guilt and regret that it brought. I mean, this monkey literally exiled himself for 500 years after imprisoning the Demon Bull King, and since that he has repeatedly shown that his go-to solution to him messing up and/or for a major threat to manifest is to leave his companions and try to fix everything by himself, again just like he did when he was a yaoguai warlord (he fights against the entire heavenly army by himself) and during the journey (he frequently faces the various yaoguai by himself). These are just a few of the things that indicate lego show SWK genuinely thinks that he can't and perhaps even shouldn't live in the present rather than dwelling on the past, because what the past ‘taught’ him is that if he tries to accomplish anything with anyone else he’ll fail & get everyone killed & he’ll be left alive, alone, and despairing of life. 

QXT’s and SWK’s relationship is really so interesting & so full of potential in a lot of ways, but one of the big ones (for me) is that both the monkey and the young man seem to have a lot of doubts about themselves, but also seem to ultimately believe completely in the goodness and worthiness of the other person in their shifu/tudi relationship. Like I know people get angry at SWK for his “believe in yourself” lines, but his behavior does indicate that he really does believe in QXT, and he does see his tudi score victory after victory even while SWK keeps to the background but will intervene if he thinks he needs to. And the season 3 special showed just how completely QXT believed in SWK in that he had his back deliberately turned on a charging possessed Monkey King because he trusted SWK to be able to shake off the possession before he hurt him. That, of course, is a level of trust and a willing show of vulnerability that we don’t see from SWK, and in a very real way QXT was able to save the day because Qi Xiaotian is NOT Sun Wukong and believes that A) He can fully count on his loved ones to be their best selves and help him and B) He can show “weakness” and still be okay because his loved ones would never truly hurt him. Like dang this dude believes so much in the inherent or at least potential goodness of the people around him that many can’t help but be positively affected by it (notwithstanding QXT’s very obvious willingness to violence if need be). But yes altogether this level of reciprocal care does in a real way indicate that loving yourself and the people around you does mean being willing to acknowledge when you’ve messed up and what you need to improve, but not sinking down so far into the pit of guilt or obsession over past mistakes that you stagnate and come to believe that being better is impossible. Kind of does make me hope that season 4 of Monkie Kid will focus more on the quieter aspects of the relationship between QXT and SWK in a way that lets SWK let down some of his carefree untouchable hero persona to be more genuine with QXT, and for QXT to feel that he can be more honest with SWK about things that he’s uncertain, angry, or upset about. 

Also would be nice if we could get some more background on these two to get some sense of what the nelly contributed into shaping them into the monkey and man that they are aaaaaaaaa.