#SWK V MK

[imminent-danger-came]

Monkeys + Hand over Hand

[4filen0tfound4]

I LIED. only thinking ab monkie kid again the mandarin trailer dropped....

[fluffypotatey]

I was perfectly fine until I realized that in both "don't force my hand" scenes to Macky and MK, Wukong's eyes are glowing.

:3 yeah you’re right :33333

SWK v Macky:

SWK v MK:

parallels, parallels :) they just love to sneak up on us, don’t they?

[starcatttt]

lmk Season 5 trailer spoilers below the cut! (Bonus ramble about my thoughts about it too lol)

Link to the trailer if you haven't watched (first one I found): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEYwtKDD9NE

Sooo uh, I have some thoughts about the new info regarding the switch from Flying Bark to Wildbrain Studios. Literally just some random opinions I have about it so far, nothing super serious lol.

First up though, definitely no hate to Wildbrain or the animators who worked on this whatsoever, animation is SO difficult to do, and the expectation for the show's quality was definitely set very high early on, even in season 1. Other people have probably said this better than me, but absolutely no hate or harassment to them.

For my opinion on the animation in the trailer, I can't say I'm the biggest fan? I don't think its horrible. I think it will definitely get better when the episodes actually start releasing.

But for now, some or a lot of the shots looked stiff and kind of like they were sliding a PNG for the movement in some scenes.

Speaking of, I found this and idk (a scene in the trailer)

Its the same PNG face, just flipped. Not super happy that they just used the same image you can find just by looking swk up, but it's not terrible? Just wanted to bring it up ig.

For me, I think the biggest thing was the proportions and movement. It sort of felt low budget, and I'm not sure if that's the case, or its just the studio getting used to the monkie kid style.

I'm not a big fan of the rigging animation either, probably because of the stuff I said earlier. Again, how its done in the trailer looks really weird in some shots, same in how its very obvious how they use rigged puppets instead of handrawn animation. It makes me kind of worried that we won't get any of those cool fight scenes we got before (like swk and Nezha or MK and Azure). I hope it'll get only better in the future, and I'm pretty sure it'll at least be decent.

I think its going to take a WHILE to get used to the change, and it personally really threw me off this morning. It feels pretty sudden, mainly because 1, the trailer dropped out of nowhere, and 2 nothing about the switch until today gave me emotional whiplash lol.

I actually am still excited about the new season, and will definitely watch when the English dub drops! Guess I just wanted to dump my thoughts here and see who agrees ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

tldr: I thought the animation looked off, same as the style and stuff, but I'm pretty sure it'll get better once the season actually comes out.

Can't wait to watch it though! AND remember to tag spoilers if you post about it!

[imminent-danger-came]

As the resident "MK will hurt his family and almost destroy the world" truther, I thought I'd throw my hat into the ring!

I think the main thing I want to preface this with is that "valuing family" does NOT equal "never hurting your family". A main point of s4, especially 4x11 "A Lifetime of Mistakes", is that Wukong wanted to "protect the people he cared about", but by taking those actions to get stronger, he hurt them. The very choices he made to protect his loved ones did the exact opposite. In this case, Wukong's "devotion" to his friends isn't wholly good.

It's the same with MK.

I think this is especially highlighted in episodes like 3x03 and 4x08. In "Smartie Kid", MK exchanges his friends for a chance at power (his gold vision), in order to "save his friends". It's backwards logic, but it's the one MK utilizes (and it's pretty much beat for beat Wukong pre-jttw—the Risk MK took was calculated, but man is he bad at math). In "The Brotherhood", MK can't "risk hurting the people [he] cares about, the ones [he] has left" (an obvious parallel to 3x10 "Can't you see you're hurting the people who care about you the most?"), and so he leaves. Through leaving, MK hurts his friends in the exact way Wukong hurts him in 3x10:

This is, dare I say, a character trait consistent from s2, where in trying to protect his friends, MK only hurts them by not revealing the truth about the Lady Bone Demon. MK just "needed to be ready", in the same way that Wukong always needed to be ready, to be strong enough for what ever came his way. Episodes like 2x06 and 2x07 that show MK's obsession with power, and his foil to Wukong, stress this consistent character flaw.

Now, let me list my version of MK's flaws:

Impulsivity (We Agree!)

Selfishness/Insensitivity (Giving away Mei's sword (3x03), Refusing to listen to anyone in favor of his own wants/beliefs (2x03), all of 2x06)

Shortsightedness (Kind of tied to "forgetfulness"; Failing to return the trigram furnace (RoTSQ), Never asking questions like what Wukong's plan for the Samadhi Fire was or what SWK new about his origins, "I try not to think to hard" (3x14))

Idealization (Kinda Blind Devotion, but Idealization is a coping mechanism that: "reduces anxiety by protecting the person from emotional conflicts that might emerge in a relationship. Rather than deal with the fear that the other person isn't perfect or that the relationship might not work out, idealization allows them to keep the fantasy of perfection intact." [---] *cough cough* MK and Wukong *cough cough*)

Self-hatred (Bestie thought his friends just abandoned him in 2x07. MK. He was legitimately BETTER in s2 idk how we got here)

And also his character motivations:

Friends/Family

Being dependable/living up to the version of the "Hero" in his head

Strength

Returning to Normalcy

Sometimes other people/the world when he remembers lol

When it comes to strength for MK, MK's whole motivation to become stronger is for his friends. "Strength" is a means to an end, that end being his family (or you know, being dependable and getting to return to his "normal" life as well). So, I wouldn't necessarily say that he ever puts becoming more powerful above his friends, it's just that it's a way for MK to express his love that is ultimately harmful.

Now, I have a whole SWK V MK tag, and I do sincerely believe that those two will eventually fight, but I also think that MK will eventually doom the world.

I don't feel the need to repeat myself too much, so let me quote my own "SWK V MK" meta of sorts:

MK's feelings of abandonment in s2 were never fully resolved. Of course Wukong finally makes his return in 2x10 and is able to explain himself, but "having a good reason" doesn't undo the hurt you caused. Wukong doesn't apologize for his actions until the end of 3x14, which is an apology MK doesn't actually accept ("I can always get another bowl of noodles" ; "Sometimes I just play dumb to lighten the mood"). I'm not here to argue whether or not MK should or should not have accepted Wukong's apology, or if Wukong has "done enough" to make up for his mistakes (I don't think that's productive), but I am here to point out how the characters themselves feel about the situation. MK, as it stands, completely refuses to even acknowledge or engage with the ways Wukong has hurt him. It's not like he wants to have a problem with Wukong, but because he hasn't let himself heal it's going to become an issue later (and monkey form is all about repression). This is a consistent habit with MK, where he's hurt by someone, then sweeping that emotion under the rug because whatever hurt him was "justified". In 3x10 Mei yells at Wukong on MK's behalf, but we don't actually get to see much of MK's feelings on the situation, which he definitely has: his beloved mentor put his best friend at risk of destroying the world because he couldn't communicate. [...] Throughout s4, MK is haunted by LBD's words that doing the right thing leads to pain—that no matter what action he takes, he's inevitably going to hurt his friends and make everything worse. The curse capitalizes on these fears, functioning as a way to make MK's internal thoughts/beliefs external ("I know about you than you'll even admit, to yourself, or to others." ; "I have been dying to hear us say it, out loud"). And you know what the curse says? How he digs his teeth into MK? "We're just like Wukong, a fraud! A trickster! Destructive! Why would our legacy be any different?"

Here I dip my toes into MK's idealization of Wukong, his "good guy bad guy" mentality, his "But Monkey King is a hero, he wouldn't just-" but he would, MK. He has. MK, deep down, is afraid of being like Wukong—but he also refuses to truly acknowledge those flaws, and represses his feelings.

Two of the things that gets to me the most about the s4 special are:

The fact MK is forced into Monkey Form because his loyalty to Wukong is called into question by Azure. ("After all Sun Wukong has put you through, after how much he's let you down, you would still meet your fate trying to protect him? He doesn't deserve such loyalty, yet you insist on learning the hard way just as I did!")

Sandy's 2x08 parallel to 4x13: "Cause at the end of the day, helping my friends is more important than anything else in the world!" -> "We get it! I'd do anything to help my friends—but at the cost of the world?"

Why include the Sandy parallel at ALL if it wasn't going to lead to a choice the main gang has to make, a choice where it's their friend at the cost of the world? (Which, I could go on and on about lmk's exchange theme, the trade-offs and trolley problems). Why have so many direct MK and Wukong parallels, if it didn't mean that MK wasn't going to hurt his family "just like Wukong"? Why have Monkey form involve MK's repression? Why call MK a "harbinger of chaos", if that wasn't a role we were going to delve into?

I often think about MK's s4 arc in relation to 1x01, which boils down to this:

"Anytime I try to do anything, I just gunk everything up! Somethings wrong." (Hurt his friends because he rushed into battle without a grasp on his powers) -> "No mater what I do, it's going to lead to pain. It's just like the Lady Bone Demon said—it doesn't matter if I want to help or not, everything I do it just- it just makes things worse!" (Hurt his friends because he rushed into battle and that just lead to more problems)

To me, LMK's main theme is all about the fact that the people you love will hurt you, and you will hurt the people you love, and you still stand by each other anyways—something that would be beautifully encapsulated by MK hurting everyone around him with his own power, and those people coming together to save him anyways.

I don't have a way to wrap this up, but ready for s5! *sandy voice* I have some theories!

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

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

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

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

-Family 

-Strength 

-Freedom 

-Dependability 

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

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

Now his flaws (in no particular order): 

Impulsivity 

Forgetfulness 

Stubbornness 

Blind devotion 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[ghost-likes-drawing]

Hello LMK people of tumblr dot com

I'm back on my shit (watched the season 4 special) and present to you some freenoodles.

Minor spoilers under line the line v

They hold hands 🥺

The married couples!!!! 🥰

More will be added later when I get the screenshots off my computer or when I get tumblr on my computer.

update: got Tumblr On my computer.

why is Pigsy winking? answer. flirting

I wish I could crop but they tend to be in focus and I can hopefully fix on mobile later

okay but genuinely what were we supposed to think of these two when the artists always put them RIGHT next to eachother

they are both Tired of MK's BS and don't want to have to teach SWK their parenting info now

bgjckdgodhnsf

Update 2: thank you Tumblr mobile for allowing me to crop in app!!!

[rebeltigera]

Ok, I have more confidence to actually ask pronoun stuff so, what's all the aus pronouns like

Headcanon

Sl!M He/Him and or they/them

P!M They/Them or it sense they are two people.

V!swk He/Him trans masc or just cis male (I usually headcanon that all swk are trans masc since my huge headcanon is Mk is trans and his story is like swk)

Sl!Mk as said in swk trans masc!

Redson genderfluid

Mei she/her

And more, just saying what I think they could be and my opinion but I wanna know what your headcanon is and what you think!!

-🐉 (just FYI I'm the one who asked your pronouns it's just I get scared but since you were nice about your own I wanted to ask about the charas!!)

And here I am breaking the fun, please don't bite , my mind is pretty simple. However I find interesting swk trans male ( cuz it makes sense in some way) however I don't portray him that way

Pretty much all of them are cis male

V!Swk , Redson ,Mk, SL!SWK

Exceptions are SL!Mac and P!Mac - He /him they /them both

Mei is She/Her

[fellow-fandom-fruitifier]

@mythicalmagical-monkeyman asked me 4 my LMK headcanons & I have SO many it’s insane (most r 6EM bcz I have yet 2 stop hyperfixating on him in specific)

Six-Eared Macaque Headcanons:

I love the headcanon that he either used to have white fur or he glamours it away.

My headcanon for his “birth” is an amalgamation of several others I’ve seen (I forget their tags). Basically a piece of the moon broke off and hit the ground, the big ass flash caused a shit ton of shadows (hence shadow powers). The wind formed a mini hurricane around the moon-rock-egg and broke it, which is why 6EM can hear the wind.

6EM glamours a lot, everytime he dislikes something he glamours it away. This led to him hating how his glamored self looks (bcz it looks nun like him), but also hating how his unglamored self looks (bcz bad memories & imperfections & shit).

The shadows are semi-sentient, they’re also very picky with who they “serve” but extremely loyal. (Kinda like a dog.)

Rumble and Savage were 6EM’s first clones. (Their more sentient/have their own kinda personality bcz his 1st time w/ clones was a lot like MK’s.)

6EM & Chang’e are besties.

DBK introduced PIF 2 them all & PIF gave this guy 1 look & went “uhm, excuse me sir, but what r u doing here w/ these bozos?🤨 ur 2 smart 4 this, now come forward let us bond 😌”

The classic his ears are colored & they glow.

Purple blush.

He had to learn to cook bcz ✨homeless✨, but he sucks @ cooking so he learned, like, 2 dishes & cooked them until he perfected it.

Trans

Autistic

Was great w/ kids when he was younger and still is but he’s more awkward w/ them now (besties insecure, think he’ll taint them or sumthing emo like that🙄. CAN’T BELIEVE THE HEADCANON THAT THE FFM MONKIES LUV HIM IS CANON NOW)

I have an entire headcanon for his backstory (b4 he met SWK) but that’s,, long💀

Non-prehensile tail

Sun Wukong:

Gold blush.

Trans (THEYRE ALL SO TRANS CODED 2 ME OK??)

ADHD haver and probably autistic as well (no 1 in that show is neurotypical, u can’t convince me they r)

Wasn’t good w/ kids when he was younger but he’s great w/ them now

His fur used to be a gold color but it turned more brown after the mountain (permanently stained)

He’s extremely dense, not stupid. He’s also v selective w/ his knowledge (if he wants 2 know sum there won’t b a single piece of info he doesn’t learn, if he doesn’t want 2 know sum then he won’t know shit abt it)

He loves dresses, rarely wears them bcz he prefers his armor but he loves dresses

Headcanon that the armor he wears all the time is a comfort object & thats y it’s almost always on

The classic “can’t drink/eat hot shit” & red eyes come out when angry/flustered/ect

Will fight Erlang on sight. Literally won’t even listen 2 a word any1 says, it’s all over if he even catches a glance of this mf (Bonus: 6EM totally would 2 but he’s actually scared of Erlang, burning alive will do that 2 u)

He can sew & loves 2 do embroidery & shit

Others:

Sandy sumtimes acts like a mad scientist while making tea & Mei will join him

Nezha & 6EM bond thru the power of Mo & loving cats (also bcz 6EM destroyed the sea palace💀)

Red Son has vitiligo (BCZ COW SPOTS & I THINK IT WOULD B SO CUTE AND AND)

MK is trans (“ur making so many ppl trans-“ SHUT)

Nezha thinks gender is a scam but is fine w/ any pronouns, mainly uses he/him tho

Red Son is gender fluid (CANT BELIEVE THIS IS CANON, CRAZY BRO)

Ao Lie is a Demi-boy

Speed running through sexuality headcanons: SWK = panromantic/demisexual, 6EM bisexual/demiromantic, MK & Mei r both bisexual, Red Son is unlabeled, Tang is MLM & Pigsy is homoromantic but bisexual, Sandy is AroAce and Mo is Mo

Extra is Spider Queen being pansexual but aromantic, Scorpion Queen being AroAce (they’re in a QPR), the mayor being LBDromantic/j (guys prolly AroAce actually) (that’s all I have rn I think)

[byfulcrums]

SEASON 5 SEASON 5 SEASON 5!!!!!!!!

I think it'd be cool if this season showed MK internalizing the negative stuff people have said about him but instead of it being “I'm not good enough to be Monkey King's successor :(”, him showing more and more concern over the possibility that he'll turn out to be an exact copy of SWK (wouldn't it be really fucking funny if he was just Nuwa's attempt to create smth as powerful as the Monkey King lol)

The thing with MK is, everyone compares him to the Monkey King. From one point of view, that's great! He's his mentor, and being compared to a literal legend you looked up to throughout your entire childhood must feel great. From the other, though...

Ignoring that "MK didn't read JTTW" joke (nope, out of character, don't like it). MK knows about the bad stuff Sun Wukong has done and he's more aware than anyone else that Sun Wukong has changed. He knows that the point of the Monkey King's story, of his journey, was that he was a bad person and became better. It's a positive view on it (that kid loves SWK so much there's no way he'd think of him as a terrible person)

However, while MK is definitely aware of the fact that SWK is way more good now and would be living his best life if it weren't for people who don't understand that, he is also very much aware that SWK's actions ruined his life

The entire plot of JTTW is that a group of not-so-good people get together to help a much-better-but-still-not-perfect person deliver some scrolls while also earning redemption in the process. MK knows (or at least the rational part of his brain that isn't clouded by pure negative feelings and trauma and probably PTSD and also his self-doubt that having ADHD doesn't help with does) that if he truly was just like Monkey King, he'd grow and eventually end up better than where he started

But! As I said before, SWK's actions made everything go to shit in the past. He may be good now, but he still fucked up so badly that he's still facing the consequences of what he did and didn't do

SWK was alone for thousands of years. If MK turns out to be just like him, then what does that mean for him? He doesn't want to lose his friends, couldn't stand to live without his family

Sun Wukong lost everything back then and he might've gotten something different later (better in the sense that his past friendships were pretty fucking toxic. But MK's aren't — they're the best of the best! Does that mean that, unlike SWK, he'll end up alone forever?), but he still suffered and made other people suffer. MK doesn't want that to be him

So! I think it'd be cool for season 5 to be mostly centered around MK going down a similar path as SWK's past self, but realizing it before it can get too bad

Basically what I'm saying is that I want season 5 to explicitly say that no, SWK and MK are two different people with different minds and support networks, and the decisions MK will make won't lead him to where SWK is but instead to something entirely different, because unlike SWK, he already knows many of the lessons SWK had to learn throughout his journey (namely not killing people)

SEASON 5 THEORY (S1-4 SPOILERS)

You guys have probably already heard this but I cannot stress enough how much this is definitely a foreshadow to season five, possibly.

In the season 4 special after they defeat Azure, Yellow tusk says that they look like real heroes. BUT MKS NOT THERE WHEN HE SAYS THAT???

So either, 1: I'm mega delulu, or 2: MK turns into the mirror image of JTTW SWK. Because in majority of the instances where MK does a big hero scene on his own, there always HAS to be a like SWK reference. ARE WE GONNA IGNORE THAT HE'S WEARING THE FRICKIN CIRCLET IN THIS SCENE??

Also, to all the people saying that Meis gonna be the Macaque in MKs story; no hate but I just don't see that. Meis a descendant of Ao Lie. From what we've been shown in LMK so far, Ao Lie and SWK are chill guys. So unless MK hits her with the staff 3000, I just don't see it happening without any beef prior.

Maybe MK just won't take anyone's eye out guys, maybe he'll just cook them all and hit Pigsy with the "you're not my dad!" Then run away or smth silly.

Also, MACAQUE LITERALLY SAID MK AND SWK HAVE A LOT IN COMMON GUYS.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Gosh I absolutely ADORE your wukongverse stuff! They're so silly and fun :}, and it delights me whenever there's a new one out there! My absolute fave are the ones with Lego swk and mk (especially the one where mk was a stone egg that the two monkeys, swk and Mac, took care of alongside freenoodles!!) It's so darn adorable I would give my life for them ur honor

Oh and I've seen you post a lot about hib too! And I know an artist you might like since their blog is mostly abt dasheng stuff (as far as I know, I'm mostly about lmk things :v).

Their arts reminded me of your dasheng! Very cute and tender

(this is them btw: @sunny-days-and-warm-mournings)

I also have a question about mk stone egg one that you have! Did mk ever get an accident when he was younger? Like accidentally got doused on noodle soup because he wasn't paying attention to what he was seeing? And what were shadowpeach's reactions to that?)

Thank you! That au is how my blog sorta spiralled XD

The main "The Monkey King and the Infant" au started off as a silly idea reacting to a few "Horse and the Infant" animatics. Wukongverse started methinks cus of an unrelated joke about the Celestial NATO idea (different pantheons of gods = different Jttw "pantheons"/verses).

And I am aware of @sunny-days-and-warm-mournings! I love their art and their deep research and theories into chinese mythos and Journey to the West lore. I especially love how they draw Dasheng compared to a baby monkey, so tall and imposing and then theres a tiny fluff ball he'd kill everyone for.

Little TMKATI au MK def has had a few bumps and minor injuries that sent shadowpeach into a whirlwind of panic. Wukong doesn't remember how much damage a mortal monkey can take, while Macaque is working with 6th century medical knowledge. So if MK ever got scalded, either by a kitchen accident or by an irrate customer? Shadowpeach start sobbing on the spot. Especially if they were the "cause" of the soup spilling. Even if MK's injury is really small, they're beating themselves up about it for the next few weeks.

Freenoodles meanwhile is like; "Eh, it'll build resistance. He'll probably end up getting burned once or twice in a busy kitchen no matter what. Just cold compress it and bandage up."

Thank you for such a nice ask!

[imminent-danger-came]

Rn I'm dying because apparently MK does something really fucked up to Wukong during their fight and like it's so over for me

[sketching-shark]

Do you like the sun and moon allegory that the show push for swk n LEMH n to a lesser extent how the fandom r pushing it futher by including mk as the star??

I dont rlly get why that of all symbolisms gets to b hammer in the most. My feelings for it is v much went from neutral to dislike bc it box in swk into this sorta narrative that ‘oh things were easy for him n hes so bright!” And oh poor macaque he got stuck in the shadows of swk bc he the moon! Like huh?? Definitely didn’t spurred me bc of how some ppl were quick to equate “sun” as what it mean in sun wukong name.

I just rlly don’t like this inclusion to the whole LEMH v SWK. I got more to say but this just it for rn soo thoughts?

Monkie Kid spoilers below

asdfrgerwredsff well as the local "guy who gets stupid angry at how completely western canon and fanon refuses to engage with the og classic true & false monkey king arc" I can't say I'm a fan anon. And yeah the automatic equation of the "Sun" in Sun Wukong to the English word "sun" was a bit goofy if understandable at first (we all work under particular assumptions based on the cultures and languages we were raised in after all), but now in a lot of ways it seems to stand as one more example of how many people in a dominant culture won't take the time to even do a quick google search to see what a word's meaning in its original context was.

But aside from that I personally don't feel like this sun and moon allegory & the underlying insistence on a close relationship is doing either Sun Wukong, the Six-Eared Macaque, or even Qi Xiaotian any favors...I've given my thoughts about this in other posts, but a quick summary is that even though Monkie Kid appears to have veered away sharply from the interpretation of the Six-Eared Macaque as a living manifestation of SWK's worst aspects and made him more of an independent character, his ongoing violent obsession with the Monkey King still means he has basically 0% traits or things in his life that aren't defined by SWK in some form or another. Everything from his apparent goals to his artistic expression is focused on the Monkey King, and given how thoroughly he hates him in the show's present well that is not a good situation for anyone to be in. In regards to SWK himself, the decision to give his and LEMH's relationship more importance through pushing the sun and moon allegory also has been a pretty big part in the presentation of the Monkey King as a worse and worse of a person. Because in Monkie Kid LEMH was originally introduced as an antagonist, but the route that's been chosen partially to make him more sympathetic was to repeatedly frame SWK as a betraying power-hungry bastard, just like LEMH claimed in his shadow puppet play. So now it's like we started with an image of SWK as genuinely heroic, but as he keeps making disastrous calls in the present and and information about his past comes out it's like him as a sun wasn't so much about providing life-giving warmth as it was about blinding and burning everyone around him, with the show itself being like "psych! turns out SWK lies all the time. psych! his plan to stop the Lady Bone Demon was indeed hot garbage. psych! actually all he ever does is hurt those who loved and trusted him. psych! it's been hinted that even Qi Xiaotian in his deepest and darkest truths is now convinced that SWK is nothing but an agent of chaos & destruction & he's terrified he'll turn out just like him." And then of course Qi Xiaotian is there having been repeatedly traumatized not just by the main big bads but also by LEMH repeatedly beating him up and also by the disastrous consequences of SWK's carelessness & bad judgment. So. Lmao.

Now of course I need to note that there's still a lot of unanswered questions about what precisely happened in the past from SWK's perspective, whose answers may indeed help clear up this toxic morass that is the current dynamic between SWK, LEMH, and Qi Xiaotian. And chances are good I'm forgetting more positive stuff or making the context appear worse than it actually is. Even so, I think you can point to the "the hero and the warrior were like the sun and the moon" as being one of the main starting points for the "SWK actually sucks and LEMH is the main victim of his terribleness" thesis that seems pretty popular in fandom and increasingly in canon. Again, I might just be carrying too much of a negative nancy pessimism about all of this, and of course it must be acknowledged that the overall situation is more complicated, but at least to me as it currently stands the sun and moon allegory seems to have not accomplished much except flip the "good" and "evil" designations between SWK and LEMH (X_X)

[imminent-danger-came]

Out of curiosity, is this post out of frustration from my response?

I want to highlight, I don't think Wukong is actually going to be "in the wrong", and I don't think everything is his fault (and neither do the writers, I'm positive). There is a difference between my views as an audience member, the writers views, and what MK's biases are. So let's separate MK's feelings from the writers feelings.

LMK is all about false narratives and faulty memories. It's also about deconstructing the hero villain binary, so saying something is "good" or that something is "bad" goes against the very core of the show. Honestly, I think calling anyone past s1 (maybe s2) a "villain" isn't quite 100% correct, antagonist would be more apt.

Like, I think saying "these feelings are right" or "this response is wrong" is counterproductive. I just wanted to point out the feelings MK has, and how that may manifest next season. This isn't a simple situation, it's unnecessary to put anything in "good guy" and "bad guy" boxes.

Like, during SWK V MK, I personally think MK will probably be in the "wrong", if that's how you want to view it. I even think it's likely that Macaque and Mei will rush to Wukong's defense (which will be fun, since MK and Macaque have had opposite character progressions). Like, sure, MK could yell at the brotherhood, but he's not narratively as connected to them as he is to Wukong. It's not personal. It's not a representation of his identity as MK and the Monkie Kid (which then all tie back to Monkey Form).

With Macaque, MK has actually confronted him. They've actually fought, MK's actually chewed him out (3x13), and there's been more resolution there. Still, I honestly think MK will fight Macaque too! He'll fight all of his friends (Mei V MK I adore you)! And I wouldn't mind a direct Macaque apology either.

Ultimately it's like, yeah, Wukong has grown and developed and gone through his own redemption. He's suffered plenty. But you also don't stop growing, and you don't stop needing to grow, or hurting people, and things don't stop happening because you've "suffered enough". That was a main focus of s4, the fact that "nothing lasts forever", and change is constant. You know. It's not about what characters "deserve", it's about what you do with the hand you're dealt.

If swk get blamed for everything in the next season I swear I'm going to lose it not everything is his fault he had enough he doesn't deserve to be yelled at idc what anyone say he had enough sure he made mistakes in the past but he already redeemed himself and that's alot more then all the other characters wukong is mature enough to say sorry when he's wrong like the end of season three that's more then any other characters (macaque let's be real) he's a good person other characters deserve to be yelled at come on! like the brotherhood and macaque leave wukong alone I swear he get treated worse than the actual villainess in the show

[birbs-n-cats]

Im really curious on your thoughts on monkey mk = evil mk

That take makes me sick but I'm curious on your opinion on this or on lmk in general

It disrespected everything that swk had ever done.

Bc it absolutely reduces him as one note character by implying mk monkey form as evil. Do you get how disrespectful that is to the original novel? Bc i assure you not even og swk was considered absolutely evil.

I know im talking mainly about swk but by implying mk monkey form as evil disregard why swk never had the will to changed himself. Bc all that layer of complexity of being something that defied the natural order if what make swk the stone monkey be much more compelling than evil me bc form is evil!! Bc hes a monkey but actually he isnt hes a stone monkey. Oh so hes a yaoguai? But then not really bc he became part celestials? But then again no bc he *is* quite malicious and brutal but that because his actions is not because its in his nature then again he managed to receive enlightenment and gained buddhahood sooo…he all of it at the same time as hes not just simply one or the other.

Bc honestly by saying mk monkey form is evil is just like saying swk’s human form is evil!! Like huh?! That just out of nowhere—theyre still they same person.(despite the fact swk will never ever have a human form but pls bared w me)

Mk is still just mk—he cant just simply become evil when its just himself becoming apart of him again. Also it makes his circumstances be like the og novel of swk v lemh except it mk n his monkey form.

What makes a demon a demon is in his actions to be quite malicious and brutal to humans and disregards their lives to the point of eating them to achieve a higher standing of power. (Like og bdk, OG the camel ridge trio, FUCKING OG LEMH AND WHITE BONE SPIRIT SO MANY OTHERS

And thats why swk was considered evil in the sense he was being brutal and malicious in his actions and would have continued that path of destruction if weren’t for his redemption arc being the journey to the west.

And mk never got to the point of disregard lives bc theyre beneath him and that why his monkey form shouldnt be considered evil bc its a monkey form. Had he did then it should have been shown throughout the show that he was being corrupted in his actions due the addiction of powers way before his monkey form was ever reveal.

Actions dictate the nature of a person’s not their state of being.

(Ima edit this once i get a full night sleep but yeah, jttw is complex that i do reccomemd @journeytothewestresearch for more in-depth info

[angelfoodcake222]

***claps hands together in a vice-like clasp, hunched over desk & phone.***

I have no clue which idea would appeal to y'all more. Not. One. BIT. I can't pick a single one to focus on either... However! I've decided to make a poll to include you lovelies in helping decide JY's story from options I've already typed up roughly. The way to do this is simple enough; multiple choice! Pick a corresponding letter to your desired story plot. You get to be included & I get some sleep. Win-win. Read on if you'd like!

🍎A. Illegitimate offspring/product of a violent, possibly lethal interaction between SWK & Mac. Fathers & daughter arch, NSFW Is limited to violence & gore/brutality.

🍌B. Weapon made by Heaven using bodily elements from SWK & Mac to end them both along with Gibbons & Baboon. (possible/likely) Fathers & daughter arch, NSFW Is limited to violence & gore/brutality.

🌽C. Originally supposed to be a pacifying gift between SWK & Mac not too long before the interaction mentioned in "A", but LBD has scouts steal her & raises her to do the same as "B" but sends her after whoever &/or whatever she [LBD] views as a hindrance to her plans. Fathers & daughter arch, NSFW Is limited to violence & gore/brutality.

🐉🥝D. One of the handfuls of members from SWK's original troop (whom he made immortal for erasing their names from the Book of Mortality) who was snatched by a lone poacher who sold her & the others to ancient scientists who were in league with a certain life-snatching GN bird beast to do as Heaven did in "B". Not a familial-based arch at all, NSFW is not limited to violence & gore/brutality. Expansion on this is still being pieced together atm.

🥚🍳E. Outcast of a wholly separate troop not too far from SWK's due to physical &/or cosmetic appearance, behavior, etc. Follows "D" but only on the poaching & experimenting parts. The rest is plain, old-fashioned humans playing divinity & messing up horribly similarly to their "D" variant.Not a familial-based arch at all, NSFW is not limited to violence & gore/brutality. Expansion on this is still being pieced together atm.

•🍎Please note that within (the first) Family-based storylines will have a feathered (not Peng) love interest for JY leading to Doubled Dad instincts; Tripled & Quadrupleded if Pigsy & Tang get involved. The family will be formidable as JY would be a sort of niece to PIF & DBK along with Red Son's cousin. MK viewing her as a sort of relative might not ease matters at all. Angst & drama will ensue but not the type of violence that includes blood & gore, just regular punches & bruising. Like in the show. Happy, fun stuff mostly.

•🍌🌽🐉🥝🥚🍳 Also note that in the Not-Family-Based storyline, relationship-based angst will be a major part as well. The Blood & gore type of violence will be present as some plot pieces wouldn't make sense if it weren't for said violence. SWK v. Mac for JY's affection will result in primal violence. Like the kind in most of the fics I've been finding on here [Tumblr]. Somber, not-so-fun stuff mostly.

Take your pick, lovelies! *Cue the "Jeopardy: thinking" theme*

If you have suggestions, please send an ask, message me, or leave a comment below! Have a nice day/night!

[imminent-danger-came]

Me rn: ....okay so next season is the MK Wukong fallout right