#i have many theories

[artemismoorea03]

I Have Theories - Potential LMK Season 5 Spoilers

I have had this theory since Season 3 but Season 4 fueled it and now from the little I have seen of Season 5 it is *twice* as strong. Keep in mind I have not seen Season 5 yet but I will mention spoilers that I have seen so if you don't want to know, don't continue!

Also potential MAA Spoilers because part of MAA is built off of these theories!!!

Alright, for those of you who are on my MAA Discord you guys might have seen me mention my theory before (because I have plenty of them). I have one theory that has to do with the snake character from Season 5 - Xiang Liu I think is his name? But this has to do with MK specifically. Now, unfortunately finding proper sources for Ancient Mythologies is hard especially with AI and shit now popping up a million half-assed things based off of previous searches. So, some of my research is patchy at best, so if I get some things wrong don't be afraid to gently point me in the right direction but also keep in mind Google only gets me so far and LMK has frequently changed things to help better fit the narrative.

Note from here on out everything in quotations is directly from a source! Be it Wiki, the Journey to the West Books, or otherwise!

Now according to the Journey to the West there are Four Celestial Primates.

"The Intelligent Stone Monkey; who knows transformations, recognizes the seasons, discerns the advantages of earth, and is able to alter the course of planets and stars." - This is Wukong for those of you who don't know! :D

"The Red-Buttocked Baboon; who has knowledge of yin and yang, understands human affairs, is adept in its daily life and able to avoid death and lengthen its life."

"The Bare-Armed Gibbon; who can seize the sun and the moon, shorten a thousand mountains, distinguish the auspicious from the inauspicious, and manipulate planets and stars."

then finally, "The Sixth-Eared Macaque; who has a sensitive ear, discernment of fundamental principles, knowledge of past and future, and comprehension of all things." - this is Macaque!

(^ previous quotes all directly from the Journey to the West)

But they are not the only 'monkey's in mythology, in fact there are quite a few! Including the Orangutan King (who online I find referenced as a Snub-Nose instead so again, different sources lead to different results) who is a member of the seven sages and the Macaque King who may or may not be the Six-Eared Macaque but was definitely made that way in LMK!

Another monkey is Pangu (who I call Pen/Pengu in MAA after their rebirth). Now, as already stated multiple times already there are a lot of differences depending on sources! Not to mention different beliefs and religions also have different stories, so I am just going off of what I have found and consistencies within them!

To start Pangu is said to have been born from something called a "Cosmic Egg" on their Wiki page which was formed from the vast nothingness of space! Now, depending on source Pangu was either sent by the Celestial Realm to do what he did next or just decided that he had enough of the Celestial Realm messing with the Earth. Regardless, he took his axe and cut Yin from Yang and as such split the Celestial Realm from the Earth.

Pangu then spent the next 18,000 years pushing the two apart creating the space in between before finally dying and collapsing. After that Pangu turned into everything. The Sun, the Moon, the Mountains everything and anything.

One source (Nüwa's Wiki specifically) suggests that Nüwa and her twin Fuxi were born from Pangu's child, making them Pangu's grandchildren!

Also on Nüwa's page is something of note and another major source for my upcoming theory, a note on Pangu that isn't listed on Pangu's Wiki.

"Pangu was said to be the creation god in Chinese Mythology. He was a giant sleeping within an egg of chaos. As he awoke, he stood up and divided the sky and the earth."

Specifically pay attention to that second line. He was a giant sleeping within an egg of chaos.

Now, what is MK consistently called; Harbinger of Chaos.

Which is exactly what Pangu would have likely been seen as to anybody around when he separated the Heavens and Earth!

Onto my theory now for LMK specifically.

When Nüwa made MK she probably had a plan or a reason. (Again, I haven't seen Season 5 so people might have more clues to support or rip this part). There is no way she would just make a Harbringer of Chaos unless she had a set reason and I suspect that reason had to do with Pangu.

Specifically bringing Pangu back.

From some sources I found they suggest that Pangu was ordered to separate the two to prevent the Celestial Realm from taking advantage of those on Earth. Things that seem to be happening a lot in LMK or seem to be a major concern in LMK. People keep saying there is injustice, that people aren't doing their jobs, that things need to change!

And sometimes the best change comes from chaos itself.

So, I feel that when Pengu's body was sacrificed his soul survived and he was reborn as MK or at least his powers were given to MK so that he could help bring forth a new level of peace to the Realms. An immeasurable amount of power would need a mentor, a brother and somebody who could help teach him how to control it? What better than a Celestial Primate to teach a Primordial Primate?

Wukong - being considered a Celestial after finishing his journey - would be the best choice to raise MK. But Wukong panicked and set MK away to keep him safe - maybe even from himself. He likely wouldn't trust himself with another celestial monkey after he killed Macaque. Not only that but being raised by Pigsy would make sure that MK stayed out of trouble that he was more 'tamed' than Wukong was when he was born and to keep him safe.

He would only come in when MK had accessed his power. Which could be why he was keeping an eye on MK for as long as he had been, then when he picked up the staff Wukong realized he was strong enough and it was time for him to act and train MK.

Now! My spouse just told me that Mac has a kind of power or made some kind of deal with somebody without him knowing it and I have a theory about that too. We saw in Season 1 that Mac can temporary steal and use powers from others. This makes my spouse think that Mac is Pangu's reincarnation but I think that this is only more proof of MK being Pangu.

Why?

Because who in their right mind would give all of Pangu's powers to one creature and then to leave that child with Sun Wukong? I don't think anybody would go with that idea! But I also think that all four Celestial Primates exist to keep the peace, so when Macaque died he would need something else to bring him back. Something more than just a deal with the literal devil (Looking at you LBD!). He would need power. Specifically a power to help him regain and recover his powers.

From what I've found about Pangu from varying sources it implies that as he grew to stretch the space between the two realms he also grew in strength and power. This makes me think that maybe he had a power that allowed him to steal and absorb other powers.

A power that Macaque potentially got from him.

I think MK is Pangu and in the same way Pangu sacrificed himself to bring peace I think MK will have to do the same (clips I've seen kind of support this I think?) But I also think that while MK was born from the same stone as Wukong, he has more in common with Macaque because they share the same source of power.

Again, all a theory and I would love to know if you guys have your own theory or what you think of this one! If you don't wanna leave a comment feel free to chuck a question at me or message me :3 I don't mind!

Sources used for this post:

Journey to the West - Books.

Pangu Wiki: Here

Nüwa Wiki: Here

[barbiegirldream]

everytime you talk about primeboys i get demons again i love(d) that kid so much and they were such a good duo and dream cared so much for him i feel ill

tommyinnit can you re slam your head into a wall or whatever happened last august and come back to sanity. i know an I'm sorry would go miles with dream

[bigmiki]

thinking abt passerine again. looks at dream. Hey Girl What The Fuck Is Wrong With You

[freyasfolly]

Introduced a friend to Umineko for the first time and now our chats are 25% memes of Beato, 50% genuine, interesting and nuanced discussion of tropes, symbolism, and how things are laid out, and 25% off the walls theory crafting as he slowly descends into the kind of deranged commitment to the bit I expect from everyone who has absorbed this media.

Also the part where I know who the culprit is and he doesn't makes this even better because I can now keep receipts for when he was accidentally right but not how he thought he was.

[organic-sprolden]

im just gonna say it

we never saw the body and i didn't hear any declaration of death THEREFORE

Gabriel is alive and living under the floorboards

[kebriones]

What if Alcibiades was some eldrich horror, so unfathomably abominable that the human mind was pushed to such a limit it could only register it as extremely attractive.

[obsmiechujek]

Wrightworth isn't even a ship to me at this point I'm sure they got married off-screen

[cynosurus]

The cliffhanger of an abstemious character suddenly taking a shot!!!

What's going on, Lan Wangji????

[hajimedics]

I'M NOT YOUR DOLL AND I'LL THINK FOR MYSELF AND I'LL LIVE FOR MYSELF

[juniemunie]

more deltarune sansnomaly cuz its feeding the ideas a lot

bonus:

[egophiliac]

Hi it's just to let you know that the official romanization of Revaan's name is Raverne ! Also they have romanized Baul's name to Baur !

Twst coming back at us again with the least expected romanization! thank you everybody (oh god my inbox) (no it's great, I literally asked for this and the reactions have been INCREDIBLE, thank you all!)

I do like Raverne though, I think it's got a nice fancy sound to it! (I had kinda suspected it was going to be an R instead of an L, so the fact that it's SO close to Laverne except for that is hilarious to me personally.) and Dragoneye Duke is honestly probably the best translation for his title, I wasn't envying the localizers that one. :') Baur instead of Baul I was NOT expecting, but in retrospect I think his name's supposed to be a reference to the Bauru crocodile, so that actually makes way more sense!

someone else also said Meleanor has become Maleanor, which is the REALLY weird one to me, because I was so surprised it was written as Mel instead of Mal in the first place?! oh god no I can't decide which one I like better. 😭 (I wonder if they might change it to Mal...they have made romanization changes before) (like I remember House of Distraction being corrected to House of Destruction in Playful Land) (I did check and she's still Mel for now, but I dunno, they might Mal her up and some point and save me from having to make a decision about which one to use) (HECK I CAN'T DECIDE)

uhhhh thank you for letting me ramble about anime names, let's just say MONOGRAMMED SWEATERS FOR EVERYONE

[umblrspectrum]

hi heres art so you pay attention to me now go read the tags

[bree-paints]

My copium where they all survive and they are an iconic one eyed trio

Also some random sketches because 266-267 have been killing me emotionally thank you

[obsidianbit]

I love this gay ass show with its literally life ending injuries that heal immediately, but only when convenient to the plot, and its ridiculous use of modern phrases, and its laughing in the face of historical accuracy, and its kissing the face of the fans instead of trying to outwit them, and the way everyone involved in the show seem to go 'I KNOW RIGHT! I'M EXCITED TOO!' instead of mocking the fans

[fumifooms]

Rin, smiling, and nagging

Rinsha Fana’s character is summarized in a couple facts thrown here and there. Because she worries for him, she follows Kabru to help his cause and protect him, and to nag him. She’s a grumpy angry tsundere, but it seems not only rooted in her attitude but on a deep rooted physical level, to the point where any intense emotion she feels will make her frown and scowl even if it’s genuine joy. Her childhood was half spent ostracized in the tallman community her family lived in and half with the elves, where she’s said to have been treated like an animal.

We don’t know how she was raised exactly or who it even was, but knowing she was "treated like an animal" by the elves taking care of her…

Elves are shown to have a highly hierarchical society, not only with their concern with status such as nobility and the purity of bloodlines but also reflected by its social culture imo. They have high society and etiquette, upmost devotion to the queen, very role-oriented, like cogs in a machine, and as such, it’s a bit skewed since most of what we see of the elves is in a military context with military people but they seem to value having emotions under lock and key to be efficient and not bring dishonor, Flamela is an interesting character on this. Don’t be a bother and do your job until you’re called on, fulfill your role, everything else is extra at best inconvenient at worst.

Personally I do think the canaries kept Rin, it’d make sense that whichever canaries got stuck with the job at the headquarters would be barebones with her and treat her like an ‘impounded article’, they couldn’t find another place for her and this way they can get her report on the events whenever she can speak again in however many years, and this way it makes sense that she could keep in touch with Kabru too. They’re used to prisoners, not kids. Being raised in a military context rather than at some orphanage would shape her further.

All of this to say…

She’d already seen the world’s harshness to those who don’t conform in her hometown, but with the elves? Her disdain for those who had formal education at a magic school?

Wouldn’t she become very concerned with proving she is not an animal, proving that she’s smart and skilled in her own right on her own merit, even without schooling. And to do this she nitpicks and nitpicks, because even being pristine isn’t enough to be respected, but at least it’s not giving others reasons to disrespect and dehumanize her. Learning to school her emotions, to scowl as a defense mechanism because anything else makes her vulnerable, because they don’t care about her as a person with feelings, because showing other expressions was dangerous or punished in some way: because it was fit in or don’t fit in and that’s the difference between having your house burnt down and being tolerated, between getting her food or having her questions answered and being yelled at to shut up… Because all her life she’s been surviving in hostile social environments and at the mercy of others, but unlike Kabru she doesn’t become a people pleaser but becomes very self-reliant and wary of socializing.

So she nitpicks and nitpicks and nags, because she’s worried. Because flaws are dangerous. So she has a hard time smiling and laughing, because it’s dangerous to allow yourself to feel safe in being authentic.

It would be nice…

Is my red, red enough? I'm waiting for your teeth at my throat. It’s only good manners. -Stephanie Valente 

[glitteringobliteration]

Something bugged me about what Brennan said about Fabian’s new gold maximum legend tattoo: he’s now immune to Dragon Madness.

Why would that matter? Yeah, it’s probably great for Fabian’s future adventures but why would it be relevant now? The Bad Kids already got rid of all the gold they received from Kalvaxus’ hoard, right?

Please bear with the red-string bulletin board-making side of my brain while I talk through my theory:

It’s always struck me a bit odd how much attention is being paid to Fabian’s finances this season. I totally get that it’s partially due to his parents being gone all year/turning 18 and gaining access to the funds left by his papa, as well as the general arc Fabian is going through of navigating going it alone for the first time, but it feels like there’s more to it than that. Fabian has never wanted for money before, and it hasn’t really factored into this season either (for him. points about Adaine being broke are irrelevant rn.) beyond the handful of conversations (and one altercation lol) we’ve seen between Fabian and his banker, Alston Hughes. A couple of things that Brennan has mentioned feel very much like breadcrumbs, and I’m not sure if the Intrepid Heroes have clocked any of it yet (as of Ep 15: The Last Stand).

Fabian banks with KVX, which Alston Hughes tells him has gone through a shift in management since their board of directors were smote by the Council of Chosen. Their branding and logos have changed from Kalvaxus red, to blue.

I also find it worth noting that we did discover Alston Hughes to literally be a member of The Harvestmen. 👀

This brings to mind the subject of Oisin.

Oisin is a blue dragonborn in his junior year at Aguefort, the conjuration wizard of the Rat Grinders. We learned at the shrimp-jump party that he’s descended from a blue dragon, who’s said to live atop a great hoard of treasure.

Oisin offers to help Adaine get some of her much-needed spell components, and she turns him down.

Aelwyn tells us that Kipperlilly can’t use Oisin to get the material components she needs - hence why she’s using Aelwyn. Kipperlilly says she needs to protect Oisin.

Why?

I’m willing to bet that his family has something to do with the new management at KVX. I’m also willing to bet Kipperlilly knows exactly how to protect herself from Dragon Madness.

And Fabian’s new tattoo is gonna save everyone’s asses. True Maximum Legend.