#at least from MK's perspective

[imminent-danger-came]

So, what are your thoughts on the "omg what if MK breaks the staff" of the MK vs SWK predictions?

So, admittedly I have never thought about this or heard of this. But now that the idea's been presented to me...

I kinda love it.

Post s3 I was expecting the staff to have a little bit more of a negative connotation moving forward (since MK tends to use it as a crutch/feels he needs it in seasons 1-3). In 4x08 we get MK saying "It's always my fault! Ever since I picked up Monkey King's staff I-" echoing Tangs words in 3x13 "MK, from the moment you picked up the Monkey King's staff, their stories became our stories. It's our responsibility to write the final chapter, no matter the outcome." and LBD's words in 3x14 "You're right MK. If you had never found that staff none of this would have been possible. A delivery boy to the end."

But, other than that—even despite the fact MK had assumed his powers came from the staff and he felt "incomplete without it"—in s4 MK returns to using the staff like normal.

Now, in s4 we also see Wukong using the staff more than we ever had before. In 4x07 he grabs the staff to attack the curse, and in the s4 special MK both gifts back Monkey King the staff (a moment I will never get over) and MK/SWK trade off using the staff against Azure. Whereas Wukong had given the staff to MK in AHIB, it seems now they have a sort of dual ownership over it. Which, I'm super excited to see how that plays out moving forward—but I also wonder if they're saving MK's eventual departure from the staff for later. One thing that I always notice watching s4 is the fact that while MK's in Monkey Form, he never uses the staff to attack. He only uses himself as a weapon ("You don't use a weapon, you are a weapon!" anyone?) so I think it's definitely going a "MK is going to no longer need/use the staff" direction.

And now, if the writers were to force this to happen by having MK break it during his fight with Wukong...that would be super interesting. I would quite possibly lose my whole entire shit, and I don't have many of those to spare.

[dcmkanswers]

What are your thoughts on Nakamori Aoko? And about her role in MK?

-

I'm torn, because her role as a character could be good, but it's insultingly underutilized.

Her personality is fine. Strong side being that she's known Kaito long enough to not get chased off by his real less than stellar personality, and she fiercely supports the police because her father is on the force, giving her an overall 'talk shit get hit' attitude towards criminals. Pretty loyal, too. Vulnerable side stemming from the fact that her father works too much and it seeming that none of the people close to her overtly support her -(which I say in a wordy way because Kaito does support her, but he'd die of embarrassment if he did it in an obvious way)- leaving her alone with some self esteem issues. ...Which may also have something to do with why she's friendly around new people, for better or worse. Altogether, she initially comes across as strong willed, but actually gets hurt easily. She could be a complex character to work with...

If she ever got any focus outside of being a convenient tool for Kaito in his heisting.

The Sun Halo chapters gave a lot of potentially good ideas, and then essentially tossed them into the trash because the writing had to stick to a three chapter format. KID and Aoko kidnapped together by another criminal, KID injured, Akako and Hakuba getting in contact to find them with magic and detective work, etc. But the biggest tease was the idea of Aoko realizing that Kaito might be KID. An idea that's been in MK fans minds for as long as the series has existed, build up by Ginzo suspecting Kaito while Aoko defended her friend, the knowledge that Aoko has a personal dislike of the thief and shows that anger every single time she sees KID, probably the most complex subject regarding Aoko that people like to mull over.

And it's just. Given half a chapter, a few frames of her questioning things in her thoughts, and then dropped. Given a handwave and implied to be ignored.

I could go into other details, but the best way to sum it all up at once is to say that Aoko is someone trying very hard to do and be good, and the narrative works even harder to just constantly cut her down behind her back. She 10000% deserves better than what she's being given in MK, moreso than pretty much any other character, because at the moment she's just a slow burn tragedy with her protag friend lying to her and using her as much as he can get away with, and that he will continue to get away with because of main character privilege.

[sairenharia]

MK's First Dad

The snakes represent my many, many dads!

Why yes, MK, they do represent your many, many dads.

Or rather, one dad, many times.

This dad.

So very clearly, the world of Lego Monkie Kid has been experiencing timeloops. Nuwa made MK to collect the stones and when the cycle of the world ends, he yeets himself into the pillar, and restarts everything from the beginning. Without outside factors, everything happens the same as it always did.

The Celestial body establishes itself, demons run amok, the journey happens, society builds, further and further until at least the Jade Emperor and maybe the other Guardians reach the end of their life and the Heavenly Pillar starts to crumble and has to be rebuilt and start the cycle.

Until THIS cycle where the Nine Headed Demon decided to wake MK up early.

And you know what?

I believe every single word the NHD said after he revealed himself was one hundred percent the complete and utter truth. He never ONCE lied to MK or any of the others, at least not from his perspective.

From the explanation of his motives, to the idle comments.

We see this in what he says he's doing. NHD said he isn't trying to push MK to a choice. What he wants is for MK to MAKE a choice. If MK chooses to sacrifice himself, NHD said he's going to save everyone, affirming his choice. By that same token, when MK comes back out of the pillar, he says he choose to face the end together in a supportive tone, affirming his choice again!

NHD didn't lie. Whatever choice MK made, he supported and encouraged MK in it.

His tune only changed, ONLY changed when he was terrified he was going to be trapped in the cycle again. And even then, it was only a brief moment. Once he saw he didn't have to be trapped, he was back to supporting MK, and he was relieved.

Even with the way NHD interacts with the others shows this. NHD allowed them to SPEAK. He only interfered when they tried to PHYSICALLY take MK's choice from him. NHD was fully enabling them to convince MK to make the choice they wanted him to make. They were allowed to persuade, because it was still ultimately MK who got to decide what he was going to do.

From start to finish, NHD had two goals. One was to leave the cycle, which he saw as happening either way. Either everything fell apart, or he had a way out when the cycle reset. MK's moved changed his gateway and that's when he got upset, but he had no issue with MK's CHOICE, just the fact he would be trapped again.

And two, that very choice.

But why? NHD manipulated Azure. He manipulated the Yama Kings. Potentially a lot of people in heaven and those below, which is pretty against people making choices. So why does he care so much about MK's choice?

Because the cycle wasn't supposed to end for another eon.

Because this cycle wasn't the first, it wasn't the second, and it likely wasn't even the hundredth.

Which means MK didn't have Pigsy. He didn't have Tang, or Mei, or Sandy, or anyone else in his life. They were long dead by the time the Harbinger is released in every other cycle.

Now with MK having longer to cook, he may be fully grown. Or he may be a kid again, but I think with what NHD said about wanting to give the Harbinger a chance to have a life, the Harbinger is usually grown enough to be able handle the trials.

But he's probably not got a lot of personality going on. Nuwa may have chosen an extreme way to maintain the pillar, but she does seem to be trying her best to minimize suffering. She is repeating the cycle because its the only way she can see in protecting the world from chaos. She makes Harbinger because a sacrifice is necessary for the pillar, to remain as a building block like I think she is. Harbinger has to be someone who EXISTS, but if he's largely a blank slate, then the loss is not so great.

Harbinger lives to sacrifice himself. He has no family. He has no life to lose.

But this means someone who is blank and potentially easy to lead astray.

This is why the trials. Because really, Harbinger is suppose to just live, grab the stones, yeet. Why does he need TRIALS? But then there is what the trials actually teach, as we know them.

A trial of resolve, to push through to the end despite the dangers. To endure danger and hardship to the end. Then the other trial, of focus on self, on what he needs to do in the present. But what's interesting is the DANGER of this one. Its not to Harbinger, but whoever is with him.

These trials are to make sure Harbinger has the nerve to go through danger and hardships to get to the end of the quest...and to keep his focus to PROTECT OTHERS.

Harbinger is made to be a sacrifice. He is made to protect. He is made to save. What happens if he sees people in danger on the way to the pillar? He would get distracted, but in delaying, he puts them in MORE danger. He has to be able to ignore those in smaller danger, and focus on his inner task, to make sure he focuses on the greater goal of sacrificing himself to keep them ALL safe.

I'm sure the dragon and tiger would have something similar.

So the trials help train Harbinger into some personality, but he still has to GET there. More over, he needs to have SOMEONE for the Black Tortoise.

The Yama Kings also know about the Harbinger. They know when he should be released and what he is supposed to do. They likely know what he is supposed to be like, and likely they are also how MK is supposed to even GET to the Jade Emperor.

The Harbinger needed a guide.

And I think that is the Nine Headed Demon.

Because here is the thing. NHD says he's not a monster. And he's tired of being the hero. And he isn't lying.

Here is the cycle.

The world starts. The Celestial body establishes itself. Demons run amok. The Journey happens. Society builds. Nuwa at some point puts the Harbinger in the stone. Eons pass. The Jade Emperor hits the end of his life.

The Harbinger is released.

And NHD is there, as a representative of the Yama Kings who know enough to know this will happen and what is expected. NHD helps the Harbinger to the trials. He helps him to the pillar. He watches the Harbinger sacrifice himself.

The cycle begins again.

He is there again.

The Harbinger dies again.

Over and over, until at some point, perhaps after the first time, perhaps later on, NHD is exposed to chaos. Likely when the cycle is ending and resetting, there is a window that chaos seeps in and NHD is able to see all that is beyond the world.

This is likely why he thinks he's fine regardless of MK's choice. Either he left during the brief window of a reset, he everything fell apart, so he was freed. He didn't account for continuing on beyond the reset.

NHD sees beyond and he sees beauty. NHD sees beyond and now he can REMEMBER. Why is hard to say. Likely he made a deal with whoever "he" is, but regardless, NHD loves chaos and he retains his memories.

But NHD was chosen to help the Harbinger for a reason. He is not cruel. He is not heartless. He loves the masses. He wanted to save and protect them, even at a cost, so he was chosen to help the Harbinger.

It is why even after he saw chaos, he chose to return. He had seen something so GOOD in his eyes, and he wanted to see if he could change the mind of those in the world. To convince Heaven to LET the chaos in. To end the resets and allow chaos and life to CHANGE beyond.

But no one listens.

They reject him.

Call him a monster.

The cycles continue.

He tries. He tries persuasion. He tries trickery. He likely tries force, but the Harbinger is too strong to stop and he will fulfill his destiny. He asks for help.

He even asks the one person who might stop the Harbinger.

Sun Wukong.

NHD said they were old enemies and old friends. NHD sought a solution, so he would ask who he could for help. Sometimes he could convince Wukong to help him. Others, he couldn't. And sometimes, he managed to get Wukong enraged enough to become an enemy. But unfortunately even with Wukong's power, he's never quite strong enough to keep the Harbinger from the pillar.

Likely because the Harbinger wants nothing more than to get to the pillar, and ultimately, the Harbinger is just some kid getting used, and Wukong can't bring himself to kill him. Allowing the Harbinger a moment to get through regardless of how the fight is actually going.

Which could be going far in Wukong's reaction to MK.

NHD said that MK is a remnant of chaos. Which means either the clay he was made from...or from Wukong's stone. And since the Celestial Primates are ODDITIES, its likely Wukong's stone that has that bit of chaos in it that Nuwa is using in her sacrificial building block. No one is gonna be able to make Wukong do anything he doesn't want, and likely none of the other primates, and Nuwa doesn't want to ask anyone to end their life either. Start anew is better.

But likely this bit of chaos may be why Wukong feels a draw to MK. Some part of him remembers the Harbinger. Remembers his strength. Remembers he's a kid being used, who hadn't been allowed to live, who did so much for the sake of others. A kid who idolizes him. A kid who can use his staff.

I think it says something with how much Wukong focuses on MK becoming self confident and choosing things for himself and why he steps in with the Spider Queen because its a fight MK desperately doesn't want even though he SHOULD be capable of handling it, instead of thinking the fights are too much for MK like the Lady Bone Demon. Wukong wants MK to decide things for himself, he wants MK to LIKE himself. Wukong wants MK to choose to. There is a bleeding of the timeline because of Wukong's connection to chaos by being a Celestial Primate.

The Harbinger is a blank slate...but he is a person. NHD, at first, just wants to help the world. He wants to be the hero. He wants to move beyond the cycle. But in trying to find that path, he introduces new elements to the Harbinger.

The Harbinger starts to show signs of development. Of change. The Harbinger starts to laugh. The Harbinger starts getting cheeky. The Harbinger starts crying when fights break out at the end. There is LIFE in the Harbinger.

Yet another beautiful thing this cycling world rejects for the sake of continuing to spin.

NHD tries to find a third solution. He tries over and over again. He knows the Harbinger will continue to the pillar, to save the world, over and over again, and he doesn't have the power to stop him. The Harbinger will always choose to sacrifice himself. He cannot end the cycle by preventing the sacrifice. He looks for a way to move past the eon. Maybe if he had more TIME, he could convince people to give chaos a chance. Perhaps he could allow the pillar to crumble more slowly, allow the sun to peak in over time. If he could just get the box to OPEN, then that would be enough.

Except nothing works. He can't fight anyone strong enough to replace the guardians. He can't find another means to fix the pillar. He tries over and over again.

There are several consequences to this and I'll get into one of those in another post. (Red Son has some INTERESTING things going on.)

NHD cannot find a means to move beyond the cycle. He is getting disillusioned. He wants to save everyone. He wants to bring them to the sun. He just can't.

He knows...he knows he doesn't HAVE to keep trying.

He sees it every reset. He has a window. He can LEAVE the cycle himself. Let everyone stay in their cave forever.

Except.

He sees the Harbinger throw himself into the pillar. The one he's sees sacrificing himself countless times for a world he never gets to truly experience. He only gets slivers of it. Moments of joy. Moments of triumphant. Moments of pain. Moments of truly being alive, when he deserved so much more.

NHD is tired. His sanity is fraying. He could simply go...

But he decides one more time.

He would live the cycle one more time.

Because the Harbinger deserved to fully experience the world. The Harbinger deserved to DECIDE whether or not to keep the cycle going, or let the world fall apart.

He manipulates the world in a different way. He's lived this cycle countless times. He knows much of what happens. He chooses a time.

He knows DBK gets released. He knows in short order, the Lady Bone Demon also gets freed, whether this is by the Demon Bull Family, the Mayor, or perhaps even Macaque (I haven't gotten a solid theory on what Macaque's deal is YET, but I have a suspicion his revival may not be a consistent thing.) Either way, DBK getting freed gets Wukong off his mountain because DBK is running around with HIS staff and while Wukong isn't interested in being a hero, that is HIS staff, thank you very much.

And the Lady Bone Demon is simply too big of a threat to ignore.

Its the first time where Wukong HAS to be active.

Its also the first time, in a while, where Wukong leaves his mountain. At times, visiting this city because its the first time in a while where the incarnations of the pilgrims are in close proximity and Wukong can't help himself. He just has to check things are okay.

Its the perfect set up.

The danger of releasing the Harbinger early is people noticing him. He will feel compelled to help people. NHD is pretty sure there is no way to be rid of that. So he needs something to justify this powerhouse running around.

This is the perfect time. Pigsy is a family man. If he leaves the Harbinger nearby, he will at least take care of the kid, and hopefully take him in. NHD can't be sure, but perhaps he has an idea depending on if Mei always finds Pigsy and Tang independent of MK's existence.

It works though. The Harbinger becomes MK and he's in place to be noticed by Wukong, who NHD already KNOWS experiences some bleed. Has seen Wukong react to the Harbinger with familiarity. Knows Wukong will be intrigued by MK enough to stay close.

Then DBK's freeing comes and Wukong is acting on suspicions, and maybe NHD is manipulating other things, but MK ends up with the staff, and Wukong is declaring MK his successor and NHD is thrilled.

MK now has the perfect smokescreen. The Celestial court has no say of what goes on with Celestial Primates without direct force. They don't know how they WORK. If Wukong says MK is his successor, then clearly he's done some weird primate magic on the boy and that's why he's powerful. The fact DBK and the Lady Bone Demon appeared, it screams of potential destiny to Wukong to. Throw in a few more of Wukong's enemies, keep him thrown long enough to not risk him thinking too much. Not like its hard, Wukong doesn't often think too much.

Even if this set up did present a few unexpected challenges NHD didn't account for. Macaque was largely an unknown because without MK's influence, IF Macaque is ALWAYS revived, Wukong and him likely never make up. They have too much bad history and too much stubbornness to actually work through their issues without MK calling Macaque out on his bullshit and enabling them to have to be around each other without turning into a huge fight. NHD got lucky that it took as long as it did because while Wukong doesn't overthink, Macaque certainly does and his plan may have been in more danger if Macaque had longer to explore those questions from episode one.

But no one knows MK is the Harbinger.

MK is allowed to experience life and what is means to save and have people to care for and he gets to make decisions on the scale of restoring the pillar and its perfect!

MK not only can make a choice, but will have the experience to do so.

Its all NHD ever wanted for him.

He's likely been doing something to the Jade Emperor to hasten his decline, or perhaps an eon really counts for the end of the man's life. Either way, he just has to free someone who is strong enough to take on the Jade Emperor in that state, but isn't strong enough to keep the stone functional.

The cycle can finally end.

MK can make a choice.

He can be free.

NHD never lied to anyone. He wanted to save everyone. He wasn't a monster. He wanted MK to have the freedom to chose, whatever it was.

He was only ever against MK the brief moment when he realized the world would continue and he wouldn't have his gap to escape. He didn't know WHAT would happen after that moment. Chaos had a chance to come in. There was a chance chaos wouldn't be able to, or at least wouldn't be able to for a very long time and he was so TIRED, he just wanted out, and for a moment, he was afraid to lose the thing he wanted for HIMSELF.

But as he stands on those stairs, as he sees the chaos, he is relieved.

He is HAPPY.

His words to MK are genuine. They are full of care and perhaps love. The child he had sent to die was finally alive. He was brilliant and clever. He found a third option that he hadn't been able to do for eons past.

He knows chaos is coming and that there will be a battle. The chaos MK feared may still be allowed through. So he warns him there is danger, that he will have to deal with the consequences of what happens Next.

He wishes him luck and thanks him. Sends him to a home he is glad his Harbinger is allowed to experience. For better or worse.

[itsabouttimex2]

I've seen people say that Mei's samadhi fire arc was rushed, I never really thought about it that much, but I wanted to ask more LMK fans about their opinion on it. I can't stop pondering about it sometimes.

The Samadhi Fire Arc

Honestly, in my opinion? The Samadhi Fire plot is probably the least rushed arc in all of Monkie Kid.

Season Four to me is rushed because they try to squeeze in lore about the Pilgrims, MK’s heritage, Pigsy’s feelings on being an adoptive father, the Monkie Crew’s feeling on their ancestors/forebearers, the Brotherhood, the Ink Scroll, and then try to set up for Season Five while they’re at it.

Season Five to me is rushed because they try to squeeze in Xiangliu, Nüwa, and Li Jing and flesh all three out with very little time to spread between another fetch quest (this makes four in total through only five seasons) while also trying to give attention to Mei, Tang, Pigsy, Sandy, Red Son and MK while not even having a special to help take some burden off of the 100-minute crunch the writing team unfortunately has to deal with.

However…

Because the writers set up the Lady Bone Demon beforehand, she’s not given too much direct attention in this season until near the end, instead getting occasional appearances throughout by interacting with Macaque and then Wukong and to some degree infecting both with her power.

Which means that we get a full ten episodes plus a special for essentially only two things- the Samadhi Fire foremost, with the Lady Bone Demon in the background until about the special, from my recollection.

This means Mei does get her fair share of character development throughout Season Three, which you would think might allow us to see her perspective and thoughts on the world around her. We do get to see a little more of her desire to “live up” to her ancestors very early on, but it’s addressed quickly and then entirely dropped.

Like, this was a heavily Mei-centric season! We should’ve gotten some thoughts and backstory and personal views and whatnot, but the Samadhi Fire basically took full control over any narrative that could’ve allowed the story to delve deeper into, well, Mei.

But it feels kinda like Mei herself is… secondary to the power inside of her at times, where she’s very much just an unlucky and draconic vessel.

Now this wouldn’t have been such a big deal if we had gotten something beyond the already seen “Mei wants to live up to her family’s expectations without comprising her moral values and self-identity”, but, uh… they dealt with that in the first season and resolved it pretty neatly. Her conflict with Ao Guang is just retreading water in the same way, when it would’ve been nice to have a deviation of some kind.

On a more positive note, one of the best things the season gives us is learning how she’s come to view Sun Wukong in the form of a tearful rant about his actions and the impact they’ve had on her and her friends.

That only matters to her for a few minutes, unfortunately, but it’s a highlight of the season, and I wish it hadn’t been dropped so quickly.

Now, her not being allowed to interact with him or Macaque past the third season in regards to the ways they’ve continuously endangered and hurt her is a horrible letdown that severely undermines the character growth of all three, which is part of the reason I think some people call it rushed.

Mei’s possession of the Samadhi Fire is dropped until season five, so it feels ultimately unimportant. Red Son; in spite of being fundamental to Mei’s mastery of his power, gets shelved from season four the next time we see him. Sun Wukong’s recklessness and threadbare “planning” is essentially forgotten about, because the next two seasons just find new shit for people to scream at him about. All of Macaque’s… everything, really, goes entirely ignored by the characters, narrative, and story.

And obviously that’s not exactly satisfying from a watcher’s perspective, because it feels like everything just has a strangely neat bow tied onto it in spite of there being lots of messy business in the past that still needs to be addressed, but just isn’t because there’s they’ve decided to write another “the world is going to end plot” instead of taking a breath and working through existing issues instead of circumventing older ones as irrelevant.

I think people are disappointed when they look backwards that these plot points or emotional beats were dropped and left unaddressed or only resolved with a heavy dose of “secretly all alongs”. For example…

Red Son somehow tracks Mei down without any real explanation. (No biggie, probably some kind of tech or magic. Him getting there isn’t as important as what he’s doing, so it can be ignored.) He decides to train her. For some reason he's good at teaching people to control themselves, even though he was barely able to control himself in seasons prior? Off-screen character development is never exactly satisfying, at least to me.

Throughout all of this interaction, he never once expresses the slightest of desire to reclaim or recreate the Fire for himself, and is content with Mei having it. Red even openly declares that the power is “hers” at the climax of the story.

(I could get into how fans treat Red Son + Samadhi Fire ((plus pandering from the writers)) in comparison to Mei, but that’s a rant for some other time…)

With his encouragement, Mei harnesses the Samadhi Fire and helps defeat LBD! This has a lot of longstanding implications for her place in the story and her role as a parallel force to MK! How exciting!

Sike! The Samadhi Fire is fucking gone, only one mention of it in the season, where an omniscient old man inside a hell scroll tells us that it’s gone.

Sike! Mei secretly all along still has the Samadhi Fire and also secretly all along has an insecurity complex over thinking she lost it but all of this is handled in about a minute.

Red Son secretly all along wanted to learn where the Samadhi Fire came from and is trying to recreate it...? When he's seen and felt how dangerous and uncontrollable it is and home of this was established before??

So, when you build up all these things for a full season and then drop most of them the fourth and wait until the fifth to resolve them, I think it left a very jarring impact on viewers who came to view the season as “rushed”… but only in hindsight.

It’s not a flaw I would attribute until I’m on the fifth season and thinking “this should’ve been addressed in an earlier season.”

Now, personally, there are some plot points I’m not really a fan of, like, again, the “macguffin fetch quest” nature of the Samadhi Fire rings. Normally I wouldn’t mind but again, this is Monkie Kid’s third macguffin hunt in total, and we get a fourth in Season Five. (Spider Venom Cure ingredients, LBD’s Mech Building, Samadhi Fire Rings, Power Stones)

Though I think the City of Lanterns is a cute bit of worldbuilding, like with most Monkie Kid worldbuilding it’s basically “Look at this cool thing! Enjoy it now, because we’re never coming back or addressing it again!” like they did with the Team Hideout, the Cloud and the Weather Station. “Look at this cool place! Okay we’re done showcasing a potential Lego set, change the backdrop!”

Or another is Sun Wukong just being… magically immune to it once he gets possessed?

Like, the whole reason he had to set out on this fetch quest was because the Lady Bone Demon was distinctly NOT immune to it? And he also was NOT immune to it? Because the Samadhi Fire is a wildly dangerous all-consuming fire that could destroy all of existence, but apparently all it takes to be totally unaffected by it is powerful person + possession by another powerful person? But again I guess the world-building and power systems of Monkie Kid have always been patchy and thin but it’s still frustrating AUGHHH

But I personally don’t think it’s “rushed” until it’s revealed later on that actually, “There’s more to the story!” when a lot of the story we have is just kinda… left hanging.

TLDR for anyone who skipped down here: It’s only rushed in hindsight. If someone theoretically stopped watching after Season Three I don’t think it would be called “rushed”.

[my-secret-shame-but-fanfiction]

Perfect Find

Steven Grant x GN!Reader • Rating: PG •Masterlist• ao3• want to be tagged? | request info • MK Bingo 2024 Masterlist • ko-fi •

Summary: You and Steven look through the local charity shops.

🌛For @moonknight-events MK Bingo Spring 2024 Event🌜

A/N: Just some fluffy old fluff.

Warnings: swearing, set in the UK, please let me know if I've missed a warning!

Word Count: 590

You gasp excitedly as you hold up the shirt. “Steven, what about this one?” 

His eyes light up when he sees it and rushes around from the other side of the clothing rail. “It’s perfect!” He touches the material lightly, it’s cotton, or at least some kind of cotton blend. Whatever it was, it doesn’t make him feel like he needs to peel his skin off after coming into contact with it. 

“This charity shop has everything,” he laughs as he takes the shirt, a short sleeved button down, out of your hands and looks at the price. £6.00, not bad. 

The shirt itself is a vibrant sky blue, intercut with swirls of white that in all honestly neither of you are one hundred percent sure if they are meant to be clouds or waves. Though most likely the latter considering the main pattern of the material. It is covered with swimming goldfish, all from a bird’s eye perspective. 

You notice the black t-shirt slung in the crook of Steven’s arm and point to it. “Found something else?” 

It takes him a moment to drag his eyes away from the goldfish before he looks up to you and smiles. “For Marc.” 

You’re about to say how thoughtful that is of him, until Steven holds the t-shirt up and you can read the text on the front. ‘My depression is chronic, but this ass is iconic.’

You can’t help the sudden bout of laughter that spills from your lips. “Oh my god…”

“I know, right?” Steven gives you the biggest shit eating grin.

“He’s gonna hate that.”

“He is.” Steven says with an almost perverse glee. “Loathe it, utterly, utterly loathe it.”

You walk with Steven as he takes his purchases to the till. “Is this payback for him hiding your Hanukkah jumper?” 

“Not in the slightest.” He grins. “Just part of the payback.” 

You giggle. 

“I’m gonna wear this t-shirt every time I know we’ve got planned switching time. See how long it takes before he notices the writing.” 

“Could be a while.” You smile. 

Marc was very observant when it came to outside things, other people, the landscape, he wasn’t however so concerned with what he was wearing as long as it was comfortable and fairly plain. The writing on the t-shirt was just small enough that there was a good chance he wouldn’t pay attention to it straight away. Especially if Steven put a hoodie or a plain-ish shirt over the top (unbuttoned of course). 

“Oh, I intend to make sure it is.” Steven beamed as he then turned to the cashier, greeted them and paid for the shirt and t-shirt. 

You absentmindedly touch the t-shirt as you put it into your canvas bag and sling it over your arm. It’s soft, comfortable. And you smile. You know, just as Steven does, that deep, deep, deep down, Marc will quite like the t-shirt. 

He’ll grumble a little of course, probably give you both a playful roll of his eyes and tut. But he won’t take it off. He won’t throw it away. 

You’ll find him wearing it of his own free will in bed, and on lazy mornings in the flat. And even outside when the urge takes him. 

“I can carry those, love.” Steven smiles at you as you carry the bag, but you shake your head. 

“It’s fine.” 

He tuts, a sound that is so different to Marc, and kisses your cheek as you both head outside into the high street and the next charity shop. 

____________________________________

Thank you for reading!

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[evilbihan]

Congratulations, OP, on making the most factually incorrect post I've ever seen on this hellsite.

Let's take this trainwreck of an "analysis" apart step by step, shall we?

Oh, good lord, now I'm seeing Bi-Han stans say his father was abusive. There is literally nothing in MK1 implying that.

In the previous timeline, Bi-Han's and Kuai Liang's father literally kidnapped them and killed their mother and sister, then raised them to become assassins against their will, but now we're supposed to believe that man's a saint?

I've said this in a different post before and I'll repeat it here too: The core essence of every character in MK1 is basically still the same as it was in the old timeline. Geras is still loyal to his creator (previously Kronika, now Liu Kang), Scorpion might be a different person now but he's still vengeful, Sindel is good now, but she's still a merciless ruler, Kung Lao is still ambitious, etc. Not a single one of these characters is a completely new and different person. Following that logic, the same thing would apply to the old grandmaster.

At first glance, it may seem like nothing implies that Bi-Han's and Kuai Liang's father was abusive, but that's only if you ignore anything outside of the main story.

I made an entire post about it here, but I'll give you the short version:

Additionally, there was a node in the previous season of invasions mode that involved another fight with Bi-Han, titled "second best". Second best at what? We know that in the old timeline, Bi-Han was the Lin Kuei's best assassin. Therefore, this could have only been referring to the new era's Bi-Han, again confirming that their father had a favorite son, Kuai Liang, not Bi-Han.

Believe it or not, this is a form of emotional abuse.

Y'all (thirsty fandom bitches) are so obsessed with your villain faves being victims of parental abuse, even when canon doesn't imply that or literally says otherwise. I've seen it in the Scream fandom, now it's in the MK fandom, too.

Still not convinced? How about we change perspectives from my favorite character to my least favorite one then? Everyone who's been following this blog knows I can't stand Kuai Liang, but I even believe him to be a victim of abuse at his own father's hand, albeit in a different way than Bi-Han.

Nitara: Had you ever known hunger, you wouldn't judge us. Scorpion: I have, and I will.

So, what does this intro tell us?

Kuai Liang has known hunger, so there must have been a period in his life where he has been starving, but why? Poverty seems highly unlikely. The Lin Kuei seem well organized and in his tower ending, Bi-Han talks about how many of their resources were spent on the cyber initiative, so I doubt the Lin Kuei were ever poor or he wouldn't have been able to afford all that technology at all. The brothers also come across as quite arrogant. Growing up poor would have probably made them more humble.

So, why was Kuai Liang starving? Would loving parents let their children starve? Was it perhaps part of their training or a way to punish them for disobedience? And if so, why does Kuai Liang still think and speak so highly of his father? Stockholm syndrome maybe.

And let's say it wasn't the grandmaster's fault that they were starving, then wouldn't it make Bi-Han's ambition to give the clan more wealth and power noble instead of selfish? It would mean no more starving for any of the Lin Kuei in the future.

Regardless of your takeaway from this, the end result remains the same: Bi-Han is not evil.

Bi-Han has always been an asshole. He's power-hungry and he is a bad person. Him murdering his father (whom his brothers haven't implied anything bad about) is no surprise, and trying to make up completely non-canon things to justify it because you can't handle liking a fictional villain is moronic.

Bi-Han has always been an asshole? Always as in previous timelines? Because by that logic, his father has always been an asshole too. See how you're contradicting yourself here? Secondly, Bi-Han is not a bad person. That's straight up wrong.

Ashrah said he's redeemable.

Kuai Liang said he and Bi-Han were once close.

Bi-Han shows genuine regret over Sindel's death.

Tomas, one of the nicest characters in the game, used to look up to Bi-Han.

Kitana's announcer voice when selecting Bi-Han: "You were a decent person once."

He's flawed, not evil.

The only person making up completely non-canon things is you.

Oh, and for the record, I'm a huge fan of Homelander and there's no saving grace to that man. I don't care though, I love villains.

Here's the punchline though, Bi-Han isn't a villain, he's an anti-hero/anti-villain type of character. Do some research.

It's Bi-Han. Bi-Han would sell his little brother to Shang Tsung for a single corn chip! (And I don't mean Tomas; he'd give away Tomas for free.)

Bi-Han literally refused to deliver Kuai Liang to Kronika in MK11 as Noob when Geras told him to.

Geras: Bring your brother to Kronika. Noob Saibot: The dead are my clan. Geras: Do you serve or do you not?

Bi-Han doesn't wish harm upon either of his brothers in MK1 either, he tells them multiple times to surrender and join him. Just watch their intros, it's all there. He even admitted that he wanted Kuai Liang to rule by his side. In his intros with Shang Tsung, he also mentions that he regrets ever trusting him.

The whole original post is a joke. Implying that people who are upset over mischaracterization and bad writing must be thirsting over a character is just ridiculous.

How wrong do you want to be?

OP: yes.

[starrclown]

(I liked the last post so I decided to make one from Mk's perspective.)

Am I the Asshole for telling my mentors ex boyfriend that he's obsessed with my mentor and that he needs to move on?

Awhile ago, a popular post made its way to my best friends reddit home page. Me (as that story referred to her), showed me and I decided to make my own post.

I am M. I'm W's successor and his best friend!! Something that OBVIOUSLY bothers him!!! Let's call the writer of the original post Mac.

He is OBSESSED with my mentor!! Recently he started sticking around for my training with W. He used to just mess with us and leave but now he stays in this big tree and just stares at W!!!!!!!

Me thinks he's bothered that I AM the one to train with W and take up his time. I ABSOLUTELY think this is right!!!

He also lied!!!! Like alot!!!!!!!!!! >:(

He says that only stares at W cause he's a messy eater??????? Uhhhhhhhhhhh nooo????? W is PRETTY NEAT with eater because of table manners and BARELY gets food anywhwre!!!!!! Mac just sits at his table and eats his noodles slowly while he stares at W laughing with my Dadsy!!!!!!!! >>>>>:((((

He follows W like a lost dog. When W leaves a room for more than 30 seconds than Mac will make up a excuse to follow him. Me and W once went to the market and I saw Mac IN HIS SHADOW FOLLOWING US!!!!!!

Mac talks about W more than my other dad does. We could be talking about something completely irrelevant and Macaque will ask me about W. We were training I his theater and he asked me how W was dealing with the cold weather cause he knows W hates it!!!! (Also, "long lashes" and "puppy dog eyes"???? Just say you find him pretty and move on 🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄)

After Mac brought up W AGAIN, I told him he needs to move on!! W is WAY TOO good for Mac!! I don't know what W saw in Mac anyways. (Me thinks Mac used to actually be attentive and nice. My dad thinks W was just lonely and took pity on him.)

Mac then told ME to back off and that he wasn't obsessed!!!!!!! Total LIES.

Well I accidentallyyyyyyyyyyyy told W what Mac said and he must have gripped at Mac cause now Mac is glaring at me. At least he's not staring at W. A win!!!!!!!!!!!

Can you tell me if I'm the Asshole? I think Mac is WYA TO obsessed and he needs to leave my mentor alone!!!! 😠😠😠😠😠

(I tried to distinct Mk and Macaque's typing style. I think I did it well.)

[purble-turble]

i can 100% see Nezha and mk's relationship (regardless if it's platonic or romantic) being equally beneficial and detrimental. like there so much they could help each other with but also subconsciously cause serious problematic habits/ thought processes/ coping mechanisums for each other and themselves the biggest thing my brain latched onto was how MK could become Nezha's first truly safe space.

Nezha going what i know and understand about his lore and what we can glean from the little we know in the show's canon, definitely has it rough in the celestial realm. he had a very troubled childhood and is clearly haunted by his past and is being defined by it despite his efforts to grow and prove that he's better now. he can command respect for his strength and power but people still question him as a person, always waiting for him to slip up. what relationships he does have he probably doesn't feel fully safe expressing his real self and thoughts because it poses potential risks. then mk comes into the picture. Nezha's given him a safe place to talk openly and he'd want to offer the same to the prince. even if he can't help directly he knows just having someone to vent to can help. its small stuff at first, little complaints here and there about work and the celestial realm, but slowly nezha starts to open up about more personal stuff. stuff with his family, with other celestials, and about his past. and to his amazement and relief is met with only empathy and understanding from mk, even after learning about the darker stuff MK never judges him. Nezha doesn't have to mask anything about himself around mk, infact he's being encouraged to relax and just be his natural self around him. he's truly safe when its just him and mk, that feeling has to be euphoric for the poor guy used to being on guard constantly even around the people he loves.

but of course, could easily lead to a mutually unhealthy co-dependency. nezha's already been isolated to some degree having never had much of a positive support structure, and mk's slowly isolating himself away from his established support structure. resulting in an echo chamber of two very well-meaning but very mentally ill people.

(i'm so sorry this turned into a short essay I've been waiting three hours to get of shift so i can spill my brains out about this. i have more but I'm going to end it here in fear that i'm being a bit much about these two)

Noo don’t worry about this being long, I absolutely love it!!

You’re so right, Nezha and MK are at the same time a good counterbalance for each other while also being accidentally self-destructive. MK is a chaotic lil gremlin who follows his emotions and worries about consequences later and Nezha (in LMK at least) seems to be trying very hard to come at things logically and approach from a more grounded, duty-based perspective. They both could use a splash of the other’s energy in that manner, so in that way it’s for sure a good thing that they’re getting closer.

Problem is, like you said, these boys are sooooo mentally ill 😂 The feeling that they need to constantly be proving themselves, giving a little more away every time, pushing their own boundaries and suffering in silence because it’s what someone else needs- these are things they might accidentally end up encouraging in each other…. Actually, probably not even accidentally. They see the other working crazy hard and being run ragged physically and probably emotionally too, and they’re like “I am SO proud of you for sacrificing so much!” ..and both of them have never felt so seen as when the other says that to them. It’s validating their worst impulses to just keep going and giving because their own feelings about it are less important than everyone else’s.

Also, the fact that they feel like they can expect to get that praise when they admit to being stressed might even make them be more open about it. Only with each other, though… if they were to mention feeling overworked or burdened to their families, they know already that they would not get the response they were looking for.. but again, even if it means they’re being more open, it’s still not a super good thing that it’s reinforcing destructive behavior. :U

[fandomzwriterk]

Ya’ll (hypothetically) who would win?

Tomas Vrbada or Remy LeBeau? I ask this cause I had a WILD dream last night 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 (this’ll be told from Reader’s perspective)

Okay like hear me out… just stay with me on this one, I’m gonna write out some crack-head shit

MKI meets X-Men

-> Okay… you, an interchangeable universal being, landed in the ‘97 X-Men timeline… on accident

-> OFC, Remy is attracted to you

-> You, however, did not intend that, being from the MK timeline for a little over 10 years

-> Your other “lover” was Tomas

-> Currently, your mission was to get home, at least the one you grew up in and not the one you originally came from

-> Of course the X-Men freak the fuck out and everyone is like “timelines are real?”

-> Remy genuinely wanted to help, but as the days grew longer you start to lose hope

-> You spend about 3 months trying to get back to your home

-> Meanwhile, Tomas is freaking the hell out

The conversation goes something like this:

“Do you know where she might be Lord Liu Kang?”

“I cannot tell. Perhaps Sindel or Geras might know. Universal travel is not my expertise, especially outside of the timeline.”

So, he goes to Geras:

“So she’s… there?”

“Yes. Unfortunately, she is. Do not worry, she has a friend watching over her.”

“A friend?”

“A friend in the timeline. His name is Remy. That’s all I know.”

-> Tomas goes straight to Liu Kang, saying he needs to find you especially since he knows about Remy

-> Remy is almost like your best friend, probably your favorite out everyone there

-> Granted, you’d seen him in other timelines happy with his life so you knew not to interfere with this one

-> In this one, he was happy with you

-> You admired each member of the X-Men for their individual strengths, yet your mind always came back to Remy

-> For whatever reason, even if your heart was Tomas’, the universe pulled you and Remy together

-> You kissed once, about 8 months into getting stuck there

-> After that, Remy would be at your every call and he’d come running to find you

-> And of fucking course, Tomas never forgot you

-> Remy loved you as did Tomas, and now you’d dug yourself into a deeper hole

-> It isn’t until the 18th month mark that Tomas finds you, in the middle of a fight with Magneto

-> Immediately begs you to come back home

-> The fight goes like this:

“Mon Ami you had your chance an’ now it’s gone. She ain’t goin’ with you.”

“Like hell I’m letting her stay here with you.”

So, they start throwing blows while half of the X-Men fight Tomas and the other half protect and hide you.

-> As much as Remy may be at moving fast and agile, Tomas was faster with his ability to disappear and reappear whenever he wanted

-> Tomas came alone, you knew that

-> He would never let anyone stop him from finding you

-> Remy, however, wouldn’t go down without a fight

-> It’s funny though, during the whole thing Tomas turns back into his Czech accent and Remy goes back to his full Cajun-French

-> However you want it to end is up to y’all

[lozfanchick]

Hello, a little bit too much obsessed with your Parent Trap Au but I really need to ask.

What is Azure's real reason to send Macaque away? Is he good, is he bad.. Is he none? What's his plan? Does he really only adore Wukong because of his wealth and population?

Is his goal to manipulate? If yes, who? Maybe just from jealousy, envy?

Thank you!

Hey again!! No worries I LOVE talking about my fic so questions and rants just make me super happy and proud!!! :DDD

So Azure in the show is manipulative. He manipulates MK into going into the scroll to get his brothers. He tries to talk MK into leaving Wukong. Plus he's the type that sees if the ends justify the means then it's worth it. I mean he destroyed the area around his paradise, but he got Camel Ridge so it was worth it (nevermind all the death literally surrounding it). And once he has his mind set then there's no changing it. In his eyes DBK and PIF are traitors, even tho PIF betrayed Heaven and has lived as a demon for a super long time. And DBK had literally just recently "retired" his demonic war-waging ways. But I guess only his people get to beat on demons and the like then betray Heaven and join the cool kids club; PIF was late so she doesn't get a seat at the table idk (can you tell this is a big issue for me lol). Anyway, he's charming and has got a lot of charisma and wields it well. So in my fic I just expanded on that.

Now to put his mindset in the fic into perspective think of the biggest current day superstar. Someone most people in the world would recognize or at least have some familiarity with the name. If that person suddenly started dating someone, everyone would then know their name and they would ROCKET up to new heights. That's a SUPER tempting promotion and seems so easy to get. Date the biggest celebrity, stay with them for awhile and then BAM you're now a known name, not just someone in the credits. That's the main goal for Azure.

And now we get into my headcannon's for Azure and Wukong in LMK:

In the show I got STRONG lionpeach vibes because I mean...Azure looking at Wukong with those eyes. BUT he only saw what he wanted to in Wukong, a strong and caring leader. But Wukong was also reckless, greedy (left his people and his island often for power and titles), and clearly was a prankster/jokester. Now I don't believe this is even shown in the show, but I think part of the reason Azure is so mad at Wukong isn't just him betraying them but him not being everything he thought Wukong was. Wukong not fitting the mold Azure's mind had him in. Wukong couldn't defeat the Jade Emperor and instead gave up (not fight till the end), Wukong wasn't strong enough to win, Wukong wasn't a leader but a follower of a human monk. So many let downs and that's why he was ready to turn on Wukong before the fight between the jttw crew and Camel Ridge crew. Yet he still loved or at least wanted Wukong or some control over him. So he didn't want Wukong dead, he just wanted him trapped and then he'd decide when to free the monkey. All this is to say that's also what I did in my fic. He may like Wukong, but he doesn't love him because Wukong isn't just a good actor, he's also a dork who prefers to eat fruit all day and has a pool even tho he can't swim and refuses to learn.

tldr: I HC that LMK Azure saw in Wukong what he wanted to see and got disappointed at the real him, so I also emulated that in my fic

[lazilybeinglassie]

THE MAIN VILLAIN IS EVIL!

Season 5 spoilers below!

I think it's really easy for people to say Nine Headed Beast (I know the show calls him a demon, but the sets have him as the beast, so I'm sticking with it) is not really a villain. Or that he is a very poor one. Thing is, this is something I think a lot of people are getting wrong about him.

Here is the thing, 9HB is very much like Azure. Believing his intentions outweigh his actions. Justifying them by the fact he is doing the right thing and being helpful when really, he isn't. Both were in the wrong and did bad/horrible things to accomplish their goals. The difference being that Azure's plans were to benefit others, 9HB was attempting to benefit himself.

If you're not entirely convinced, let's actually address his crimes. Cause this should not be swept under the rug so easily.

Accelerating the Apocalypse

For the love of everything, this cannot be excused. He was willing to cause a genocide for his own selfish goal. Even if he stated "if there was another way, I would have done it", that does not put him in the clear. This was a conscious choice to end lives in order to return to his pool of addiction fix. He is so obsessed with the chaos that he would rather risk everything to get back to it.

I don't know why, I'm not sure I will understand until next season, but he is very much acting like he is addicted to it. As if he is nothing without it. Right when Macaque cuts him off from it, he is howling in desperation.

It's just something I cannot look pass.

2. Killed The Ten Kings

That's like, ten bodies right there. Honestly, that's just murder. I knew they were red herrings but they did not need to be offed like that. Anywho, that can be just left there as it is.

3. Everything He Does To MK

Nothing, and I mean nothing, can justify this. Sure, we could speculate his intentions and beliefs all day, but it cannot excuse what he did.

This is also where I think the show really got me thinking about the themes of the season. MK choosing to sacrifice himself to save his friends, as tragic as it is, tends to be justified for the sole purpose that it will give way to a better outcome for everyone else. The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, yada yada. Putting aside the idea that Nuwa's plan didn't intend for everyone to survive, that it just resets the world, at the time, I sided with MK and even know had I been in his position, I would have done the same thing. MK's sacrifice is being seen as suicide, which yes, in this season, he is dealing with suicide thoughts throughout it (at least i think he does, anyone would honestly). Though that just makes the whole context of this theme to be complex with the kind of subject matters that surrounds it.

That being said . . . I also have to side with MK's friends too with this. One of the biggest things about this plotline that makes it stick harder is MK's willingness to not talk to his friends about it. He doesn't consider an alternative, he commits to it cause he is convinced that it is his destiny. And it's not hard to see why since it is literally the whole reason why he was made. For some people, having a purpose or knowing what your purpose of existence is means everything to them. So it makes sense why MK would be upset, yet submitting to this idea, because it's like answering the meaning of life to him.

But the biggest cavoite to it is that he accepts it without looking into it. YES, it feels like you have no reason to look into it when you find out what your purpose is. Yet the biggest theme of this season is that there is another path to it all. Another option that you need to find out. Much like how Tang's speech is at the end, it takes stepping back from the black and white perspectives to see what other options there are. And that is what MK should have done. But he doesn't because he is caught in this idea that he needs to protect his friends from being hurt or stopping him from doing what needs to be done.

I cannot guarantee that I would look for another way, but if a time were to come that I had to make a choice, I would hope I could learn more about my situation before I do it. MK's friends were smart in believing this needed investigating. Thinking things through before the final decision. This is though a part of MK's flaws that I love, and I can't really blame the story for going this route.

9HB through all of this is only being an echo chamber for MK though. Even if he is valuing choice and letting MK do the heroic thing, the problem is that 9HB would only endorse it because either way, he was getting what he wanted out of it. The only reason why MK's third choice did anything was it undid what 9HB was doing and making his plan flop. The mere chance that he got to reunite with the chaos was pure coincidence.

I cannot condone him doing what he did to MK because all he is doing is being harmful to MK, justifying his poor choices. That is not what MK needs. He needs someone to tell him "hold on, let's think this through". Not someone that is a yes man.

That's where I am caught. I can see myself both in MK and in the main crew trying to save him. 9HB is just enabling this behavior, and no one should say this is considered agreeable. His philosophy should not be the justification because it's just his excuse. Only order is suffocating, but pure chaos is destructive.

Anywho, thank you for coming to my ted talk. Hope you enjoyed!

[modtheartifex]

i wrote this into a youtube comment like moments ago, but i feel strongly enough that i will put it out here as well;

Lego Monkie Kid Season 5 does NOT have villains. it has characters that are antagonistic forces and layered with nuance on top of nuance.

not to say previous seasons didnt do this, but this season ABSOLUTELY is entirely filled with characters like this

lmk season 5 spoilers, as well as anything from previous seasons just in case cause idk. might get long too tbh oopsies JINNGFDOIJN

we have a few characters to consider for LMK s5's "villains".

we have Ne Zha's dad (i forget his name, ill probably call him pagoda man), nine headed dragon (consort, 10th king, xiangliu) and nuwa. we could theoretically consider thousand eyed demon, however hes only relevant in one episode so id hardly count that

pagoda man is the easiest to explain, he is an antagonistic force because hes trying to hold onto what little order there is left of the world, he is trying to be the duct tape keeping the sawed in half boat together, and hes trying to minimize risks. does that excuse how he treats ne zha? fuck no, but thats a whole different discussion and depending on your interpretation of how much of the chinese mythos you use for this work will vary. he is just like mk as mk himself points out, it doesnt have to be just pagoda man doing the work, theres people willing to help, and then he joins the heroes side for the end.

cool, great, now. what the fuck do i mean by nuwa?

this is where interpretation is strongest, where it is key. ill just be sharing my perspective. when i was first watching season 5 my partner pointed out to me that in chinese mythos chaos is a core element of the world, it is necessary. this, coupled with the fact that nuwa made mk to fix a cycle she created (which we also dont know how many cycles the world has gone through, it could be one, it could be two, it could be in the hundreds if not thousands, whos to say.) and to keep chaos out... she is keeping the world from being complete. her little cave without the outside world, without proper balance, her little people living blissfully apocalypse to apocalypse. "but theyll all die!" "theyll live again" nuwa says, smile on her face.

she is disconnected from her cave, her world her people, her creations, who knows how long shes been in the limbo, how well she can perceive time, how many times a sacrifice comes in, they get a few words exchanged before they just leave, her in the pillar, only getting glimpses when the cycle is ending of the world, only to be shut in again.

neat, ok, but xiangliu??? hes who was gestured at from the BEGINNING of season 4.

see. heres where we get into the GOOD shit.

this is why it is important to establish that we dont know how many cycles have happened. we do not know how long he has been stuck, how many times he has tried to fix the world over and over. he makes it clear in his ending dialogue, if only he knew how to fix it, that sharing the power of the stones was the key to his freedom. the fact that he goes from what most would consider the least important title to the most important one, his own name, the fact he states he was wukongs friend, his enemy, both, wukong just doesnt remember

that implies longentivity. that implies so many cycles and lifetimes lived inside this cycle, being aware of everything, being so damnably aware of what one considers true freedom, and having to sit at the precipice of that.

it is agony.

xiangliu for the majority of the season is the only one to call mk by his name. mk gets so often called child, kid, nicknames by the others, maybe mei refers to him as mk, but xiangliu has it be DELIBERATE. he altered the course of the cycle to give mk a life, to let him HAVE a life where nuwa didnt care for one, he WANTED mk to grow enough that he would be able to choose. because everything is about mks choice, his ability to choose it all matters on HIS. CHOICE.

the only time this falters is when xiangliu thinks he is trapped for good. he rushes at mk, one final chance at freedom seemingly taken from him. xiangliu never fights mk. he only fights the others when they start fighting him. when its just him and mk at the edge of the world, at the edge of chaos, he talks to mk. tells him what to expect, mentions a mysterious "he" now that mk has opened the cage. and he pushes mk back so he gets to go back to his life. so that mk can have choices still. xiangliu got what he wanted, so its only right mk gets what he wanted too. to live with his friends and let everyone live a life where they can figure something out.

that is why i do not think there are villains in lego monkie kid season 5. they are antagonists with layers of nuance, nuance we arent privy to for reason or another, be it episode count, length, screentime, or that were just not supposed to yet. season 5 does not have an obvious bad guy, a villain, because the nuance is right within our grasp.

thank you for reading this. fucking essay apparently oopsies JINNGFDIJN

[kineticpenguin]

It is not. Despite this enticing thumbnail:

Let me save you some time: This guy manages to stretch a couple minor inconsistencies or contradictions in the documentary Tread for an hour and fifteen minutes by playing Killdozer's advocate. I will say that he does a reasonable job arguing for Heemeyer's perspective in his disputes with the Docheffs and the city. However, he does omit some details and indulge in some cherrypicking to do so. He is fully committed to painting Marv Heemeyer as a reasonable man, and by the time he gets to the actual rampage, he lapses fully into fanboy mode.

See, he'd done a passable job painting Heemeyer as a reasonable man, or at least, not quite the town crank, right up until he starts building the MK Tank. At no point does Heemeyer run into a situation where he is forced to do unreasonable things. He makes absolute bank selling his property. He could've left town and started over anywhere else and never have to worry about the Docheffs or Granby's sewer lines again.

What actually changes is that Heemeyer starts believing that God wants him to bulldoze the town, and sees the total lack of anyone or anything stopping him from building the Killdozer as signs from God.

A rEaSoNaBlE mAn

I could go into more detail but Lore Lodge does an embarrassing amount of arguing in favor of Heemeyer being of sound mind and harmless at this point and frankly, I think this sums it up well enough.

[itsabouttimex2]

A lot of people go with the “you can’t hold fake characters to real people standards” with the SE Macaque discourse

thoughts?

“Real Life Standards”

I guess if these nebulous individuals are holding ALL characters/actions to that standard then yeah it’d be fair…

But they don’t, and they aren’t.

If it was a situation where someone said “MK is so brave for putting himself in danger to save the city!” and these people whipped around and said “Erm, he’s not a real person! Don’t hold him to real life standards! He’s not at risk of dying, so he’s not brave!” Then I’d understand their viewpoint of “not holding fake people to real standards and rules”…

But instead of any of that, this perspective is entirely one-note in defending Macaque’s less than stellar redemption arc, which just makes it… deflective of criticism at best.

If these people were also saying things like, I don’t know, “Stop saying Sun Wukong is bad at communicating! He’s fake! He can’t miscommunicate with people! He’s not real, no one is! They have no agency to be communicated with!”

Or maybe “Sandy is not pacifistic! He’s not a real person living in the real word, so we can’t judge him by our standards of non-harmfulness!”

Or something like “Tang is not a mooch! He’s not real, so there’s no point in attributed a real-life negative word to a character who doesn’t even need to eat on account of being a moving drawing!”

And maybe even “It’s not sad that MK wanted to sacrifice himself! He’s not a real person, and is only doing what the writers want him to! Stop applying real world logic and views to fiction!”

Then I’d at least respect their iron-grip on fiction≠reality, but instead it’s literally just a desperate attempt to defend some awkward writing.

It’s only ever in response to “Macaque was kind of an awful person, and everyone is just… okay with him? They should like… have thoughts and feelings on that. And they don’t, which worsens them and Macaque as characters.”

It’s never a situation where this is applied to any action or character except for Macaque and all the shit he pulled, you know?

​I just personally think that you can like a character with flawed writing while accepting those flaws, and also without… for arbitrarily deciding ‘actually THESE actions are worth disregarding when you take into account the character” and not applying it evenly?

(I criticize Macaque’s writing all the fucking time, and I still like him enough to write for him? That shouldn’t be like… a rare perspective. It’s healthy to criticize the things you like. Being able to pick out good from bad is a fundamental life skill in every area that you can theoretically apply it to.)

But the arbitrary nature of “no real-life standards” UNLESS it’s in a good/positive way… is silly and deflective.

So I don’t really care for that perspective at all, I guess, especially since I’ve gone on at length about all the things I don’t like about his arc?

And how I wish he was able to face like… actual narrative consequences for his actions? And not in way where it’s like… The Gang Tries to Arrest Mac but instead a way where it’s like…

Mei is violently angry at him for hurting her friends and family. She doesn’t want to work with him. MK has to talk her into it. She can’t say no to him. Not over so kind a request as “Give him a second chance, Mei”. So she does, after some grumbling. She pretends to be okay with it. But she’s scared, deep down. Hurt. Secretly, she covers up her old bruises before going to have dinner with her parents.

Secretly, she’s scared of being hurt again.

Sandy is grateful to him and supportive of this newfound morality. Offers up tea and clean clothes. Lends an ear to complaints and frustrations. Lends a bed, if maybe he doesn’t have one. Keeps the monkey fed. Tries to lend self-help books. “You helped me. Maybe there’s something I can do to help you,” he says.

Maybe Macaque actually takes one, eventually.

Tang is scared, doesn’t want to be around him. He’s read the book. He remembers every word. He’s seen Mei and MK and Pigsy suffer at Macaque’s hands. He doesn’t want it to happen again. But he trusts MK, and wants the kid to be happy. So he bites back any fearful words and instead just… frets. Quietly. And far away, thinking: Sanzang insisted on mercy for a demons before. Tang got to see firsthand how that turned out. He had to help put her down.

What if it happens again?

Pigsy is tired. His friends, his kids, always, always in danger, always battered and beaten and hurt. Broken, sometimes. Tears and blood and bruises. He’s not sure how much longer his heart can take the stress. He wants to be angry, but can’t. Between Tang and the store and MK, Pigsy has too much on his metaphorical and literal plate to be angry. So Macaque gets a bowl of noodles. Because by now, Pigsy has learned that he can’t say no to the kindness that MK throws around, scatters like candy thrown from a festival float.

So much heart in his son, and he knows that it’ll end up broken at the end of the road.

Or smth I guess

He deserved better is what I’m saying

[fluffypotatey]

About macky having to "move on" I also joked about that like girl get up please, but when I think about it I realize that not even I could get over it, even if Wukong hurt Macaque, Macaque also hurt Wukong, we all know that so to the point. What catches my attention is that when you think about the story they had in their youth it makes sense, wukong himself shouted to macaque that everything he did was for them, and more than once he repeated that they would be able to be together forever like "as they always wanted" at peace as a fact, adding that to the hundreds of thousands of years they spent together.

And with their fight It wasn't even a closure to their relationship at that moment, it was with Macaque's death, there were so many things left to say and so much to process (the death and the anger, the fights etc) , only for Macaque to return with the only thing in mind being that he needs to get revenge on Wukong (for obvious reasons) so he comes back and tries to get revenge,he fails. Even in the moments of the show where Macaque is not actively trying to get revenge on Wukong, he still calls him, makes fun of him, hits him where he knows it hurts. And that goes hand in hand with 2 things

One is Macaque's need to get Wukong's attention, Macaque is seen trying to get Wukong to treat him seriously without holding back in fights, seeing that Wukong focuses more on protecting the kid is almost as if it offends him, they are not friends anymore but Wukong doesn't even consider him as an adversary? He can't let that go, Wukong owes him this! He caused his death and now he doesn't even face it when he didn't hold back before?At least give this some real closure! (macky pov)

Two is Wukong does not want to see Macaque, he does not want him around, and since Macaque knows how to get under his skin, Wukong attacks with even harsher answers so that he understands, "You are nothing to me and I don't want you to mess with me, go away" Wukong obviously must have reasons for acting like this, whether it be not being able to deal with Macaque's death or something that Macaque did to him (or Wukong did) to push him away ...and rightly so! macaque is one of the bad ones! he abandoned wukong, attacked mk and the others, allied himself with lbd and won't leave him alone! (Wu pov)

Idk those were my thoughts about them in the first seasons, I feel like at the beginning Macaque was a ghost from the past who tormented Wukong whenever he could. And macaque not leaving wukong alone for this same reason, if he can't kill him then let him be a walking reminder of his past (he's petty like that yk let's say that ignoring that may bothers him to be ignored ). For the most recent seasons the change is felt and is caused by how Macaque's perspective on Wukong changed. As for Wukong, I think it's safe to say that with so many ghosts from his past returning and Macaque HELPING and not showing signs of being a recent threat (and the fact that they used to live together so mac still has rights to the house unfortunately) he couldn't make many protests with macaque staying on the mountain, Mostly the change is caused by Macaque's attitude and his reflection regarding Wukong, besides that yes, I feel that Macaque really had to process everything again because bro wdym my ex situationship of thousands of years just looked at me for motivation in his worst moment and he gave me a peach popsicle? holyshit-

SO to the point I think there was a reason for macaque to being around wukong (piss him off basically) but with this new information about what type of person and intentions Wukong has and how he has changed, those reasons also changed. And macaque and wukong will say all they want but "I did it for us" meant something pretty big if it meant "I did it for us, I fought against the heavens and looked for ways to make myself more immortal to protect you and our home so no one else It would bother us never again and we would live in peace forever." Yeah… I don't think it will be easy to move on (for none of them, Macademia lives with it and doesn't cope very well, Wukong avoids it like the plague and doesn't cope very well, Macaron through teasing puts it in wukong's face so that he can afrom it/him, Wukong doesn't/can't do it)

Season 5 side note : It's not until this season that we see them both show that they still care (without any pretext or excuse behind)

It's always the ying yang situation with them....although that cannot excuse the fact that macaque continues to be a simp 😞/J

LAST SIDE NOTE : We don't know how much time passed from when macaque died to when he was revived, so the difference in time they had to process can also affect their attitudes. (English isn't my first language I'm so sorry)

anon this is the perfect analysis 😍 no notes so well done chef’s kiss

[mksbigg3stfan]

Guys, before you comment or anything PLEASE read the whole thing I'm begging !! (¯ . ¯٥)

I've noticed some people saying that MK's found family father figures are shadowpeach, or they include shadowpeach in the group with Tang and Pigsy, but I honestly just don't see it. Like, out of all of them, I see Pigsy as the best father figure there.

He's always stressed about MK's well being, has given him a job, an apartment, keeps him safe, and tries to protect him from the consequences of Wukong's actions even though he's a mortal, not as strong as even MK himself, and could die. Even though he's not good at it and apprehensive, he still helps MK with training and allows him to train with Wukong and Macaque because it is a decision MK made as an independent individual that he respects, but he still worries over him.

Also, during MK's whole childhood, Tang helped Pigsy raise MK. He's been alongside MK that whole time as well and helped him gain his interest in Sun Wukong. He probably even told MK excerpts from JTTW as bedtime stories. Mei is very present in MK's life, too, and a very good support for him to lean on. They're almost like siblings at this point.

While Wukong and Macaque do care for MK in their own ways and are trying to improve as people, I don't think it's possible for either of them to be father figures. They are too scarred and likely to unintentionally hurt others still. In fact, they already have over the course of the show. They're always stressing MK out and getting him put in danger. They do help him, but they aren't exactly the best protectors or reliable people.

Wukong and Macaque are people present in MK's life, yeah, and they are important to him, but they are not father figures. The two of them can barely even sort things out between themselves and overcome their own issues. I don't think they would be able to properly take care of and guide MK, no matter what. MK is grown, at the very least in his late teens, and Wukong and Macaque struggle to bond with MK and take care of him.

Not to mention Wukong's tendency to try and sacrifice himself, or Macaque and Wukong lashing out and trying to hurt people before they're hurt first, or to keep someone they care about away so that they're "safe." Wukong also withholds things from MK and lies to him for the same reason.

It doesn't matter that they are in the act of improving and/or overcoming their flaws. Those flaws are still there, and they are still not mentally well off or healed. In those conditions, you can not possibly be a proper healthy mentor or father figure, no matter how much love and care and good intentions you have to spare.

This is not hate on Wukong, Macaque, or anyone who likes this dynamic, by the way, just to be clear !! I think it's cute and they should enjoy it if they like it !! ദ്ദി(｡•̀ ᗜ^) I love all the LMK fanart and aus based off this kinda thing, and also don't let my opinion ruin your enjoyment of something !! ^_^

Anyways, I like hearing other people's thoughts and perspectives, so if you agree or disagree, please feel free to add on !! Just please stay respectful and don't be rude !! (╥﹏╥)