#destined ramblings

[lynne-monstr]

every time the big bad destined show villain gets sad about liu yuru I want to spray him with a water bottle and be like, well maybe if you didn't choose evil plans over romance you could be part of the brotherhood polycule with cute husband, earnest general, and almost-husband scholar. but no, you got horny for evil instead

[that-oracle]

So the new chapter huh..

[szynkaaa]

The Shape of Monkey

EDIT 22/01/2025 @blackknight-kai has made some additional interesting observation about the shape of monkey and their fur placement with things that I previously missed, please check out her post for the details

xxx

Some of my friends were talking about the monkey design in Black Myth Wukong, in terms of how much of monkey features the DO/SWK has, and how we wished they devs added a bit more "monkey" ness to the DO, which then made me realize, the devs did do that, but just not for the "normal" game model that we use to play.

The anatomy here is pretty much very normal, the only few traits pointing at him being a monkey are his feet, tail, his face and his fur.

My friend (who doesn't even play BMW or knows about JTTW but is a certified monster fucker) said she doesn't count him as a monster because his shape is too human LOL

This is how he looks in Chapter 5 ending animation:

very human shaped.

which brings me back to the monkey that looks more like a monkey in the game

The Stone Monkey is a two phase we fight in the final boss battle, after we defeat him he breaks and out comes the Broken Shell of the Great Sage

After you finish the first playthrough, you get the Stone Monkey as a transformation, called the Azure Dome.

If you do the True Ending, you transform into the Azure Dome for the first time towering over monkeys and beat the shit out of the four heavenly kings and Erlang. Great fight 10/10

proprotionally speaking, his arms seems a bit longer, or least looks like it due to his big hands. His tails is also longer (don't have a screenshot of that unfortunately), and his ears are pointed. I also think that his mouth structure is a lot more monkey like with it being more pointed forward than his normal model.

Canonly, SWK can change his size into very big or very small, but I don't think in JTTW it was ever described that he had a Stone Monkey form. He is a stone monkey, or monkey born from stone.

I really love that the devs took it literal and created a form and transformation that looks like a monkey and you can see from his tecture that he is supposed to be made from stone

He punches people and also when he dodges he walks on all four. So I guess that is the closest to a monkey we will get from DO/SWK

Chapter 6 ending animation also goes with a more "monkey" like anatomy for Wukong's design

point ears, longer limbs, shorter legs. I love that they added the red face blush here too. His tail is never shown in the animation, but looking at his pilgrim outfit set and the pulge in his pants (no not that one), he probably hides his tail inside his pants. it's kind of a cute detail

The Old Monkey we see also has more human like proportions:

all the other monkeys in the background (beside DO) are more monkey.

Here are the models I pulled from the game

I also love that each monkey has a different fur "pattern", gives them more variety

This one we only see when you reach the normal ending, when the DO did not break the cycle and the headband is put back onto his head, we see this monkey in the fetal position and then it zooms out to the stone egg and sad credit song plays. You can watch the clip here.

I think it's clear that the devs are trying to show an unbron monkey still in the womb, the stone egg/birth stone being the womb in this case, waiting for the next DO to come and finish SWK's revival.

I guess the stages of growth could be like this:

Why did Game Science went for a more human-like approach for the Monkey in terms of design?

We don't know the answer, it was never mentioned anything in the game about it and I have not come across any interviews about it yet.

I do think that the choice to make the Stone Monkey more monkey like and the "normal" monkey more human like was a deliberate choice by the devs.

For the animation, I believe the Game science gave the studio some references on "hey this is how our monkey looks like" and then let the studio do its own thing style-wise, hence why in Ch. 5 animation monkey has a more human like anatomy but ch. 6 comes with more monkey like anatomy

My personal HC is that SWK has a more human-like anatomy to show that he has a high level of cultivation maybe? We have seen in the game there are few yaoguais that are able to take on human appearances, such as the Pingping and the 5th spider sister. And yes, I also hc that SWK does have a monkey-form too that he can transform into.

I'm really begging for Game Science to release an artbook with concept art and background info on why they did this and that

[buqbite]

Halo

[lilchickie]

I'm literally melting over the fact that the Destined one really is MONKEY SIZED XD

My destined one is six foot something. I'm drawing him as a tall dude, meanwhile his original self is a smol gremlin!

LOOK AT HIM NEXT TO THIS RANDOM DUDE WE FOUND ON THE ROAD 😒

My short king 😭👑💕💕

[aulostheremin]

looking back at my post about Shen Monkey's species, I begin thinking more about it and also hearing his dialogue in the game, it got me question more about him and his relation to the Mount Huaguo monkeys...

so in this scene, Shen suggested Destined One to call him forefather due to how super old he is

I searched what the word means on Google

so yeah lot of words to describe that Shen have some sort of familial ties. so then, I look back at the scene where all the monkeys gather at the stone monkey area, hearing the old monkey speech and I noticed this background monkey

sorry the picture is ass quality, but if you really look closely, the monkey I circled has gray fur and skin whilst the others have typical macaque fur colour and pinkish red skin.

..this changed everything how I see Shen Monkey. now alright let's try to concoct a MatPat game theory style here. I believe Shen Monkey really was a monkey from Mount Huaguo. but after becoming a zodiac deity, he left the place behind and lived in the heavens. it's possible he has a family line still existing back on the mountain, hence why we saw the background monkey look almost like him. most likely his descendant.

as for why he looks more 'monkey' than Sun Wukong, Destined One, etc. i have another theory for that.

Let's use the Planet of the Apes (reboot series) logic with this. at the beginning, the Apes gained super intelligence, capable of human speech albeit limited, but still has their Ape qualities. as centuries went by and we arrived at the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, they have grown in size roughly equal to an adult human, have more human expressions and speak fluently in human speech. tldr, the Apes evolved.

I think that's the case with Shen Monkey, he's the pre evolved Monkey. While he still gained human speech, he retains his youthful monkey-ness. meanwhile, Wukong and his monkey children evolved thanks to human influences brought by Wukong himself when searching for immortality. And the eras they respectively lived has got to be super long from each other.

Journey to the West was created in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty. The Chinese zodiac animals first appeared in the Zhan Guo period [5th century B.C.] and while no one knows the exact date as of when the zodiac was essentially created, but they were officially identified during the Han Dynasty [206 B.C.–9 A.D.]

honestly does my crazy rambling make any sense? cus this desire to know more about these monkeys is driving me nuts.. in a good way.

[s0rr3l]

@blackknight-kai @jeminiikrystal @marcu-bug @dunanana @maiden-of-the-waters @rovobeam

relationship chart! Idea from @szynkaaa 's post here

Big Spoon/Little Spoon

Depends on the mood; they like to switch but Yēzi prefers being the Big Spoon

Lǐyú likes to hide their face in monkey's back cause they get embarassed how easily their face flushes

Lends Clothes/Borrows Clothes

Yēzi is more likely to procure clothing in Lǐyú's size then lend his own

But he does buy more oversized clothing when he realises they both can share it (thus scents intermingle together ❤️)

Monkey See Monkey Do AU - both Lǐyú and Yēzi share clothes, because Lǐyú loves oversized clothing)

Doesn't Use Pet Names/Uses Pet Names

Both of them don't really care, though they don't mind nicknames from friends/family

Besides, they have other ways to tease each other besides nicknames 🤭

Introverted/Extroverted

Yēzi is actually NOT that introverted! He's more of an Ambivert

Doesn't mind having company even if he doesn't do a lot of talking

Lǐyú, while they can talk and handle social stuff, would rather prefer quieter company

Affection Through Words/Affection Through Actions

Both are physically affectionate, even if Lǐyú has to wrack up the nerve to reach out

Yēzi tries to be respectful of Lǐyú's personal space (since they brought up how uncomfortable it was to have it invaded so easily)

But over time monkey learns to read Lǐyú well enough to know what kind of touch they can tolerate, and vice versa 😊

Confesses First/Waits for Confession

CHAPTER 6 CONFESSION

Liyu had realised their feelings early on but doesn’t confess, mainly because they realised how futile/unfair it would be to each other since they’re going back to their own world

just resigns themselves to pining

Yēzi is oblivious to his own feelings until post-chap 5 (and he falls hard- but also realises that it’s a little too late 🥲)

So he settles for a promise (the red string) to make sure they don’t forget him

Screams about Bugs/Squashes Bug With A Shoe

Lǐyú is usually cool with bugs (from a distance)

Yēzi loves to tease them though, so will sneak a bug or two onto their belongings, just to watch them squeal

He is also more than willing to squash a bug for Lǐyú

Drives the Car/Can't Drive lol

Cars don't exist in ancient fantasy china lmao

By default Lǐyú drives

(Besides Monkey would HATE automobiles)

Can't Cook For Shit/Makes Dinner

Yēzi is a gatherer and and sucks at cooking

Ok so he's not BAD, he just has no patience for it

The best dish Lǐyú can make is shrimp friend rice

Everything else they are average at best

When they were dumped into BMW-verse they couldn't cook for shit and had to learn

Both of them would rather mooch off others/eat out

Dislikes PDA/Loves PDA

Lǐyú gets soooo flustered about it (in the beginning)

But then they realise how much Yēzi enjoys it/doesn't care about the opinions of others

Still a little shy about it, but otherwise enjoys it

Yēzi REVELS in it 🥰

Loves PDA even if he's not loud or flashy about it

A holdover from their time journeying through dangerous areas, monkey will find a way to keep touching Lǐyú, either through hand or tail

Overprotective/Chill Going

Yēzi can get a bit overprotective/smothering because he underestimates Lǐyú's overall uh

Toughness

No worries he learms soon enough that his travel buddy can hold out well enough

(At least until he can get there)

Lǐyú's more fussy than overprotective, until someone is rude to their Monkey

Then all bets are off

Has More Relationship Experience/Has NO Relationship Experience

Lǐyú is a certified Unrequited Love expert. Good at pining from afar, terrible luck with confessions 💔

That being said they've also been in a romantic relationship, which is more than monkey can say

Yēzi is so out of touch with his own feelings that he didn't realise he was in love with Lǐyú until they confess first

[waywardsou2]

It was always Viktor and Jayce

From the very beginning.

Jayce discovered the Arcane because of Viktor

Jayce brought the Arcane to Piltover because of Viktor

He was able to create machine and fucking teleporters and inventions to aid the people of his city, because of Viktor

The HexCore evolved and developed further because of Viktor

Jayce saw the error of his actions in that alternate timeline, thanks to Viktor

He stopped. He knew what he had to do, to save Viktor

All because in every timeline, and I'm every world. It was always the two of them

They were destined.

This is the greatest destiny Viktor was talking about, not his evolution. It was the fact that in all of time and space. Himm and Jayce always came back to each other

[downfalldestiny]

City Walks ☔ !.

[some-pers0n]

[margoshamangolord]

guys is this real?

[lynne-monstr]

okay I finished the destined show! ramblings below the cut

working backwards.

it definitely wrapped up way too neatly for my liking but considering the kind of show it was, I can't really hold that against it

I will however judge it on the really awkward cgi zoom out abrupt ending

I love me a villain who turns out to be a pathetic wet napkin when the evil ppan falls apart

my favorite part in any cdrama is when the villain reveals himself and immediately changes outfits to basketball in the decibels of all black

obvs mr wet napkin bad guy had to die based on Rules but ngl I yearn for the fic where he has to live with what he's done

is no one going to ever find out that poor crown prince kid was drugged into murder. it doesn't excuse all his shitty behavior but still. drugged into murder is a pretty big deal

in the fic where luo zishang lives, I want to dive into the messed up relationship he has with liu yuru as both her beloved childhood friend and the the person who brought her so much misery

also the whole "i started the fire" thing. lmao lzs can turn good again by the power of bdsm since he so clearly wants to be punished

is anyone gonna give my man zhou ye a hug. I was rooting for his adorable romance the whole way through and they deserved better 😭😭😭

anyway the show was fun and I liked it!

[merry-fagoland]

traveler as a "Witness"

[szynkaaa]

I love that in the JTTW source material, Sun Wukong is never shown any romantic interest towards anyone and does occassionally make fun of Zhu Bajie and his escapades, but it's still very clear he loves the people aroud him. We love an aroace monkey king.

But I also really really really love that Black Myth Wukong adds their own twist and gave both Sun Wukong AND the Destined One (or rather his past reincarnation) love stories?? Sun Wukong has the tragedy going on with the White Bone Demon, he struck her three times to kill her (granted she did try to eat his master LOL), but he was never able to let her go and it is one of the many reasons why he wanted to leave buddahood behind and reject the celestial court.

With the Destined One, it is heavily implied in the game that the 4th spider sister was married to the previous Destined One (can I also add, excellent taste monkey, 10/10 I would marry her too), but obviously the prev Destined One carried on with his quest and well, probably never returned lol.

Anyway, I think it's a nice touch that each Destined One isn't just another reincarnation on a quest trying to become the new Sun Wukong, and that they can fall in love and get married too. The game doesn't tell us much about the Destined One's personality, with him being a silent protagonist so it's nice to see details like this.

[raustenacious]

“And the destiny you two are meant to share” that’s gay right? That’s so gay guys. Can we agree on that

[rufpup47]

I’m finally showing my recent Murder Drones art that I have drawn in the past few weeks.

Fun fact: after I fully watched Murder Drones, It has become my main and only current fixation at the moment lmfao- 💀💀💀

I’m really sorry if you might have followed me for something else. The things that I’m currently interested in changes constantly and I don’t have a consistent thing that I dedicate all of my art on. So you’re probably not gonna see any Tadc content until I get burn my self out with MD or episode 4 of Tadc comes out lmao- 💀 Also for my SaD stuff, I have no idea when I’m gonna get back into that, so I’m also really sorry for the people that followed me for SaD as well lol. 😭💀 /gen

OOOKAYYYY I’m gonna stop yapping now BYE-