#s4 is so special to me. it really is.

[imminent-danger-came]

What do you think of the resolution of the Samadhi Fire arc?

I'll take this to mean the "Embrace Your Destiny" special, which effectively closes what I consider to be the first arc in Lego Monkie Kid!

Between liking it as a finale and liking it as set-up for the next season, I decidedly like it as set-up more (but there is plenty to enjoy about what they answered/resolved). I think the 3x13 flashback gives a lot of depth to LBD (which is then later paralleled to by Azure), and it answers a couple questions along the way, like: why? Why did the Lady Bone Demon do any of this? Why was she in her prison? Why is the Mayor in league with her? And ultimately, what is her destiny?

As far as those questions go, I liked the answers the show gave and how LBD's defeat was ultimately brought about (through standing together and with that unity bringing about hope/the future, something that was contrasted by MK's s2 arc and supported by 3x08 and 3x10, doing it together vs doing it alone).

The final confrontation of ideals is beautiful to me, boiling down to perfection vs imperfection (chaos?👀):

Lady Bone Demon: "You would allow this world to continue to fester and rot? The eternal misery of countless souls because of your sentimentality for mortal pleasures!" MK: "*yells* You can't judge things by they're worst qualities!" Tang: "This world might not be perfect, but it's still worth fighting for!" Pigsy: "Yeah! Sometimes it's that little bit of char that makes for a more flavorful meat! Even if it is a bit tangy." Sandy: "You said it Mo! The world may be full of darkness, but to let the light shine, all we need to do is stand together!"

Like this sentiment of an imperfect world being worth fighting for, and by extension imperfect people being worth fighting for, is one I love. It also ties in nicely with MK and his low self-esteem, (like, thematically, heaven knows he has not applied his "you can't judge things by they're worst qualities" mentality to himself), where you can still love/defend things that aren't perfect or wholly "good". This naturally affixes itself to Wukong, who has lifetimes of mistakes. At this point MK chooses to ignore and repress his perception of Wukong's flaws, but eventually, we're going to go the direction of loving people in all there imperfectness. Yes, even when someone has made terrible mistakes, you can still fight for them and care about them (4x08, 4x13).

Though, let me also talk about Samadhi Fire Mei and possessed Wukong! I love both of these concepts, and I love the way they were executed. "Don't use the flame Mei...Be the flame!" linking to 1x09 "You don't use a weapon....you ARE a weapon!" This idea of "using vs being" intrigues me, and I think it works in tandem with being controlled versus having your freewill. The Lady Bone Demon both used Mei and Wukong for her purposes, and her ruin was for them to be themselves. I think you can also view Azure with this lens—he was so focused on using the Jade Emperor's Power to change the world/revenge, he ignored actually being the Jade Emperor.

Overall, I think Samadhi Fire Mei does a good job of continuing Mei's arc (using power to protect those you care about), and perpetuating the pattern of her following in MK's footsteps. For Wukong, he's a character who always desires the ability to do whatever he wants. So possession is delightfully ironic for Wukong, you know. He keeps running off to keep MK safe, but running off is what also put his protege in danger, from his own hands no less ("Can't you see you're hurting the people who care about you the most?" - "Until I know what I am, what my destiny is? I can't risk hurting the people I care about—the one's I have left.").

And obviously 3x14 has one of my favorite scenes in the whole show, that being the "To pain" scene, which continued to blur the "good guy"-"bad guy" lines that have slowly been obscured over the course of Monkie Kid. I will never shut up about that scene. Doing what you think is right and giving it your best can still lead to disappointing and terrible outcomes.

And of course, they began "A Hero is Born" with a Tang narration about the past, and then ended 3x14 with a Tang narration about the present. I always love a good book-ending.

[butterflysonnets]

yes i'm rooting for m*leven breakup because byler is neat but mostly? i'm rooting for m*leven breakup for the sake of el and mike.

to me, their romance was always a puppy love born out of a combination of social pressures, naïve curiosity, and a lack of true understanding regarding intimacy and romantic love and what it really is. it was real in that they do truly, deeply care about each other and they are close friends, maybe even shared an attraction, but a maturing romance is so much more than that. they've grown up and out of being boyfriend/girlfriend, and that's okay! i think television/film needs to show more often that most of us don't have definite "soulmates" or first childhood loves that we spend our whole lives with. it doesn't mean these relationships meant nothing and didn't impact us, it just means they've run their course and that something else is in the cards, and this is part of life!

i've always felt el was at her best and most confident self when broken up with mike, discovering who she was and what she liked alongside another girl her age instead of just relying on mike for mentorship on how to live in the real world. she deserves more of an opportunity to find herself, her autonomy, and her independence, and to love who she is, and she's made it clear she's felt insecure in the relationship with mike because she isn't being loved and understood the way she wants, needs, and deserves from someone who is her partner.

also, it's okay if mike doesn't love her in "the way he should". he is not obligated to love her romantically and stay in a relationship with her just because she's a girl, because she "needed someone", or because he cares about her a lot. he shouldn't be pressured into a romance if it's not truly coming from his heart. he deserves freedom to find out and honour who he is, too, instead of just staying in his non-functional first relationship — one he got into as a child, essentially — and defining himself that way because it's what's expected when a boy and a girl are close. he loves her in some way, yes, but it's okay if he doesn't feel comfortable or secure being her boyfriend anymore, for whatever reason that is. he's felt insecure too, and that's valid and it matters.

they are their own people and are steadily growing and changing every day. they need time to figure out who those people are, and it's become clear (at least in my opinion) that those people aren't meant to be a couple at this stage.

they deserve freedom. they deserve to grow up and be authentic to themselves and not feel like they need to lie for the sake of a relationship. they deserve to move on from this version of their relationship that isn't making them happy and rekindle the best part of their bond: their strong, beautiful friendship. they don't have to be a couple if it doesn't make them stronger and better and happier people.

i think it would be healthy and wonderful for a show, especially one consumed frequently by young adults, to show a relationship starting, progressing, and ending on good terms in this way. sometimes things don't work out, and that is okay.

[laurrelise]

guys i’ve drawn lila some more

decided to draw 2 of her saddest scenes for what reason????????

i actually don’t have an answer i just liked the references

(also here are the references)

and i can’t remember if ive dropped these here before but i did some pencil drawings of her a whiiiiiile ago and im actually really proud of them so i’ll just leave them here regardless :)

v also their references

[quietwingsinthesky]

was writing this down for an ask but realized i was quickly getting off topic for that ask lmao. let’s talk about Dean’s handprint, the wild misinterpretations of it, and how those have affected how people read Anna covering it during her sex scene with Dean.

We have to establish the obvious first: the number one way the handprint is misinterpreted is to establish a romantic connection between Dean and Castiel from their very first meeting. Because of how popular the ship is, we’re now left with the unfortunate aftermath of people knowing the ship first and the show second, and therefore being more inclined to interpret the show through the lens of the ship. Needless to say, while looking at season 4 through that lens for hints of destiel is fun, it doesn’t lead to a thematically cohesive reading. The handprint is the best way we can demonstrate this. If we take the handprint to indicate that Castiel has been romantically interested in Dean since minute one, or even that he sees Dean as a person rather than an instrument of Heaven’s will at first (put a pin in that), then the rest of his character arc for the season is incoherent and meaningless. To assert that this is what the handprint is about takes the conclusion Castiel needs the entirety of season 4 to reach and transplants it onto him at the very beginning in order to make it easier to find evidence for the ship.

There’s a lot of media out there where interpreting it through the lens of a ship, even one unintended by the author, can enhance the original text. (Lest we all forget our Winter Soldier roots.) Supernatural does not have that relationship to interpreting it to be about destiel. A season 4 where the handprint means Castiel is in love with Dean is a weaker story and does a huge disservice to Castiel’s actual character arc.

So, now that we’ve established what the handprint isn’t, can we talk about what it is? Yes. It’s pretty simple, actually.

Think of it this way: To Heaven, Dean is livestock, and the handprint is the brand telling everyone (but especially Dean) what ranch he belongs to.

Let’s start with the obvious: it isn’t a metaphorical brand at all. It’s literal. It’s burned into his skin permanently (or at least, when the makeup department wants to put it there.) I’d argue that from the nature of it being notable as the only scar Dean has from being raised from Hell and later showing up during his sex scene with Anna that even if we don’t see the handprint, we’re meant to interpret it as continuing to be there for… well. The rest of his life, most likely. And that’s horrifying. The handprint is telling us two things when it shows up: one, letting us know that Dean’s resurrection was intentional and through a manner we as the audience don’t have the information to guess at yet. Anyone who watched the show airing, or watches it now without knowing about angels would have assumed demonic deal intervention as being the cause of Dean’s new lease on life, and this. handily. discards that theory. But secondly, it tells us that this resurrection was violating. All resurrections on Supernatural are.

We assume from Castiel’s line, you know the one, we all know the one, Mr. Gripped-You-Tight, that he’s the one who put it there. However, to then make a further leap that it was Castiel’s personal decision to do so is, I think, a misunderstanding of his role. Take that pin out now. Dean is not a person to Castiel at this point. They’re not friends. Dean is a tool for Heaven to use, a tool that should be honored and grateful to be picked up at all. Make no mistake: Castiel branded him for Heaven, not for himself. Castiel’s a ranchhand. They aren’t in the business of letting the cows run free if they look a little sad to be slaughtered later.

Castiel needs to start here for his arc to be as impactful as it is. He can’t begin rebellious. He has to learn how to doubt. He has to develop a personal friendship with Dean that threatens his allegiance to Heaven. He has to see Anna having chosen to fall rather than obey Heaven and to be betrayed by Uriel being so desperate that he’s turned to killing their brothers and sisters trying to find a way out from under Heaven’s control.

There’s another line I think gets misinterpreted a lot in this initial meeting. “You don’t think you deserve to be saved?” On its face, easy bait for someone looking for shipping fodder, but that misses the actual point of the line. It’s a powerplay. We don’t learn until later why Dean wouldn’t think he deserves to be saved (aside from his general Winchester levels of self-esteem, but knowing that trait about him actually serves as a pretty good red herring to mask real reason Dean is thinking about himself as irredeemable now until the reveal. It’s not that Dean had a low opinion about himself in general, but that he tortured people in Hell and can never forgive himself for that.) , but Castiel does know. All of Heaven knows what Dean’s sin in Hell was. Without saying it, Castiel can remind Dean of it here. This line isn’t about Dean being so inherently good that Castiel had to rescue him. It’s about making sure Dean knows that the only way he can be ‘redeemed’ is through obedience to the heavenly powers who own his ass now. This is how he deserves to be saved. Because God commanded it. Because they have work for him.

And if he doesn’t bow? Then, as Castiel puts it in the very next episode, “I dragged you out of Hell. I can throw you back in.” This threat hanging over Dean’s head won’t go away for the rest of the season, not from Heaven. The only shift is that Castiel’s continued doubt and disobedience levels the playing field between them. They’ll both be punished, rather than Castiel taking on the role of disciplinarian. (It’s a really clever way of dealing with that power gap between them, actually. There’s always a bigger fish.)

The handprint and Castiel’s early conversations with Dean serve as a reminder of the precarious position he’s in. We shouldn’t take him ‘being saved’ at face value, no more than we should take Heaven being good just because they’re the angels in this equation as a given. Dean hasn’t been saved. He’s being used, just as much (if not arguably more) than Ruby is using Sam. (Because at least Ruby truly believes this is for Sam’s benefit, in the end.) And the worst part is how aware of it Dean is. How could he not be? His entire stint in Hell is defined by how Alistair used him. He’s just been handed off to a different owner, one that will still happily push him into the thing they ‘saved’ him from the minute it proves useful. Dean needing to torture Alistair reminds us just how little his circumstances have actually changed. He’s not allowed to say no to this.

So. The handprint is Heaven’s mark of ownership. It’s Dean’s status as their tool, their victim, burned into his flesh and inescapable. What does it mean when Anna places her hand over it?

I’ll lay my cards on the table. I’ve been thinking about this for so long because the aforementioned tendency to assume that the handprint is evidence for destiel means that the scene between Anna & Dean also gets lumped into being interpreted as more evidence for destiel. For over a decade, I have endured people joking about Anna being jealous of Cas for getting to leave a mark on their boytoy. And that’s one of the nicer things the Supernatural fandom will say about a woman who they perceive as a threat to their ship.

So, not to be rude or anything, but fuck Castiel. This ain’t about him.

This scene—It’s a lovely scene, a fantastic continuation of Dean and Anna’s previous conversation into the language of a sex scene—is about two people who have both been used and threatened by Heaven connecting over that shared trauma. Before, Anna gives space for Dean to open up about Hell, but he can’t, not yet, and though she knows what he’s gone through, she hasn’t been there herself. But when it comes to what Heaven has made of them, she does understand. It’s an incredibly vulnerable moment.

You make the handprint about Dean and Cas, and you erase what that scene is about entirely: the way Heaven’s abuse has tangled itself deep into Dean and Anna’s lives, into their bodies, and how they can resist it, if only for a few moments together.

The handprint was never about Castiel at all. It was about Heaven and its dehumanization of Dean.

[ninjasmudge]

not an edit literally just the monkey mk fight to music i really wanted to hear it to

[fluffypotatey]

i’m fighting my demons (watching lmk s4 special with no translations, just going all in and trying to understand the plot through context clues)

[ninja-knox-ur-sox-off]

GOOOOOD AFTERNOON ITS A FRESH NEW DAY OF A FRESH NEW WEEK, IT SNOWED AND I AM ABOUT TO WATCH THE 8TH EPISODE OF MONKIE KID SEASON 4

BUCKLE UP EVERYBODY HERE WE GO I FEEL LIKE THIS ONE IS GONNA BE WILDIN

I mean after the last ones it would make sense we hitting the TENSION

(hi future knox note real quick this one is a wild ride i had several moments and its p long so heads up HGL;ASDKFJDS)

M A N

this show is wild oKAY MOVING ON LETS GO

EPS CALLED THE BROHTERHOOD I ASSUME WE’RE GONNA GET SOME MORE BACKSTORY LORE HIT ME WITH IT LETS GO I’M READY

ANOTHER DRAMATIC DUUNNNN  STARTBGSFM

MK ASKING RIGHT OFF THE BAT DARN RIGHT WHERE IS THE MONKEY GIVE HIM BACK

Sandy always advocating for explanations and communication ;-; you go Sandy

BRUH REALLY SAW HIM PLOTTING TO TAKE DOWN MONKEY KING HUH WAHT ACTUALLY HAPPENED I’M CURIOUS THEY DON’T USUALLY SAY STUFF OUTRIGHT WHATS THE TWIST

I’M SORRY???

THE WAY HE INHALES?????

EXCUSE ME???

WHATS WITH THAT FACE MR. SELF-RIGHTEOUS LOSER

I’m sorry I’m very hyped rn and holding Mk’s horrified face gently HGLS;ADKFJAW;OEFIJAF

BRUH WHATS WITH THAT FACE WHAT IS THIS

“SEE!!! HE’S BASICALLY ADMITTING IT!!” HELPGMLSKFMAEF

HE DOES LOOK SUPER FREKAING GUILTY

HUH REGRET HUH THAT’S A NEW LOOK

AW MEI YOU WERE? THAT’S HGSLKDFJDS PLS THAT’S ACTUALLY SO GREAT

“I knew you wouldn’t understand” * dramatic look to the side and closing eyes regretfully* SHUT UR DRAMATIC HECKING FACE OLD MAN WHO’S PROBBALY NOT THAT OLD BUT ALSO IS ANCIENT SQUARE UP

WDYM ITS EASIER TO ASK FOR FORGIVENESS NOT PERMISSION YOU HAVE THEIR FRIEND TRAPPED IN A SCROLL BOI THAT LINE APPLIES TO BORROWING A CAR NOT LOCKING AWAY A FRIEND FOR ALL ENTERNITY I KNEW HE WAS AT LEAST SLIGHTLY ANTAGONISTIC HECK PROBBALY THINKS HE’S DOING THE RIGHT THING TOO LOSER RELEASE THE MONKEY SCREAAAAAMS

MEI HAVING NONE OF THAT FR HGSDLKFJ “oooOooOo OOOKAAAY sUrE” HGSDJLFAL;WEF

HEY BRUH’S FAST

BET MONKEY KIGNS FASTER

nah actually that looks like a p similar speed-

wait what am i saying, the train scene, monkey king is still way faster—or well ig he could be the same speed just doesn’t need to use his full speed rnHECK DOESN’T MATTER GET THAT INKY NONSENSE AWAY FROM MY DRAGON HORSE GIRL GUY

We’re gonna have some great amv bits and transitions i’ma be able to use ngl I’m excitedGL;AKMFE

aRM

WHO’S ARM IS THAT

I’M GONNA GEUSS PENG RIGHT? THE BIRD GUY? YEAH THAT’S MY GUESS

I WONDER IF THAT’S ACTUALLY HIM WAIT HECK

IS IT INKY??? WOULD HE END UP ACTUALLY BEING IN THERE? HECK I DON’T KNOW S C R E A M S

OH THE SCREECHY EHCOY THING? YEAH PENG RIGHT? RIGHT???

SCREAMS

WDYM GREETINGS BACK OFF

WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE CLOWN

Oh u pretty dramatic my boi look at you go

OH AZURE’S FACE??

HECK I’M SO

FASCINATED BY THIS GUY

LIKE HECKING MACAQUE ALL OVER AGAIN

THE PANIC AND JUST LOOKS LIKE HE CANT CONTROL ANYTHING CERTAINLY IS A LOOK ON THIS GUY DANG IT HE TRAPPED MY FAVOURITE MONKEY OF ALL TIME AND I STILL LIKE HIM DANG IT DANG IT DANG IT NICE TEETH DUDE I AM A HUGE FAN OF UNDERBITES IN CHARACTER DESIGN I DRAW PIGYS WITH EM FOR A REASON HECK THESE EPXRESSIONS HE’S MAKING LOW-KEY REMIND ME OF MONKEY KINGS EXPRESSIONS THIS IS FINE DO YOU ACTUALLY CARE ABOTU THESE KIDS DUDE??? THESE PEOPLE?? DO YOU?? WEIRDO??? WHAT CHAOS ARE YOU CAUSING THAT YOU THINK IS MONKEY KINGS FAULT? OR ARE BLAMING MONKEY KING FOR OR SOMETHING HEKC I DON’T KNOW I NEED TO STOP THINKING AND JUST PRESS PLAY HECK HECK

SANDY NO LONGER WANT AN EXPLANATION HUH GHSDLKFJSDF

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT WAIT SANDY FIGHTING???

HECK PUSHED TANG OUT OF THE WAY HECK

OH THE BIG BOYS OUT

HECK SO THESE ARE THE REAL DEALS THEN???

THEY WERE TRAPPED IN TEH SCROLL??

DID MONKEY KIGN DO THAT??

WAS HE TRYING OT GET THEM OUT??

HECK BRO I’VE GOT SO MANY QUESTIONS NOW HECK

AM I GONNA GET REAL ANSWERS OR ANSWERS WITH THE NARRATORS BIASES WHICH ISN’T ACTUALLY THE TRUTH AGAIN BECAUSE I’MA LOSE IT GD;AFMASDF

SAAANNDYYY NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO HECK

HECK

MK JUST

BEGGING

FREAKING HECK NOT THIS AGAIN

OHHH MAN THE FLICKERING

SHOW ME THE STUPID LIONS FACE AGAIN I WANNA SEEEE

OH WOW PENGS A GLOATER I SEE HOW IT IS

WE BEEN KNEW IG I SAW THIS COMING WHY AM I REACTINGNDFLKSMDF

BOI HECK PENG READY FOR MURDER

OH YEAH??

OH YEAH???

STOP HUH?

WHATCHA DOING THERE LOSER

ARE THEY GONNA LISTEN TO YOU?

YOU LOOK SO STUPID RN I’M SORRY I’M FINE I’M JUST HE LOOKS LIKE HE’S TRYING TO KEEP CONTROL OF A SITUATOIN THAT’S RAPIDLY SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL DUE TO HIS OWN BAD DICISIONS HELLO WHERE HAVE WE SEEN THAT BEFORE, BROTHER LIKE BROTHER IG

HOLY CRAP DUDE THE

TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH AHAHAHA ANYWAY HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN

THATS

HECK DUDE

MK JUST

HECK CAN HE GET FIVE MINUTES

WITHOUT SOMEBODY BETRAYING HIM

OR USING HIM

OR HURTING HIS FRIENDS

LIKE

FIVE MINUTES???

PLS??

JERKFACE

DUDE LOOKS

SO HAPPY TO ACTUALLY SEE THEM

THEY LOOK PRETTY HAPPY TO SEE HIM

WOW HE FR

TRAPPED MONKEY KING IN THERE

AND IS REUNITING WITH THESE GUYS HECK I DON’T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT ANY OF THIS HECK

SIR YOU JUST BETRAYED THIS KID THAT TRUSTED YOU BUT HEY YOU GOT YOUR BROS BACK SO ITS FINE RIHGT? FREE TRUAMA FOR MK ITS FINE JUST GET IN LINE EVERYBODY ELSE DOES IT

guys i’m only two minutes in this is ridiculousHGSDKFJAOEWF

UM

NO

YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO SAY HIS NAME LIKE THAT

OR SMILE AT HIM LIKE THAT

SHOVE YOUR FACE IN DIRT

UM NO

NO OUT OF HAND

GIVE HIM BACK HIS MENTOR

oh pengs spear is kinda neat its bird shaped but also talon shaped but also spear shaped, very nice

LITERALLY HOW CAN YOU STAND THERE “haha, woopsie, silly me, sorry about that�� WHILE HIS FRIENDS ARE ALL HURTING ON THE FLOOR MY GODS

WE DON’T WANT AN INTRODCUTION WE WANT AN EXPLANATION OLD MAN

SHUT UR GOSH DANG TOOFY MOUTH UNLESS YOU’RE GONNA EXPLAIN

WHY ARE THEY CHILLING NOW

AND JUST OHH HEY BROOO

MK

NICE TO MEETCHA

WHAT IS THIS

HE’S SUCH A LOSER

WISE?

HE MUST NOT BE VERY WISE IF HE’S HANGING OUT WITH YOU

i’m only half joking I wanna see this fluffy fool obliterated hjGL;KSJF;AWE

Can I just say how hilariously like monkey king this guy seems to be

Mk just sweating like no but why why do this if like YEAH SERIOUSLY WHY

AND MEI JUST AIN’T NO DISCUSSION ABOUT IT HE’S A VILLIAN AND HE SUCKS

you know I actually want to take a second to appreciate Mei

she’s great

okay appreciation over

*DECKS AZURE WITH A CHAIR*

LITERALLY

THE “okay okay” IS JUST

MONKEY KING

BUT HEY IG HE’S OFFERING AN EXPLANATION

BUT LITERALLY ONLY WHEN HE ABOSLUTELY HAD TO LIKE

BRUH

LITERALLY ITS MONKEY KING BUT I WANT TO HIT HIM WITH A BOAT

JUST STRAIGHT UP SNATCHES MK

I DON’T LIKE THIS GUY

I DON’T LIKE HOW CLOSE HE’S STANDING TO MK

OR THE FACT HE ONLY EVER SEEMS TO BE TALKING DIRECTLY TO HIM AND NOBODY ELSE IN THE CREW

LIKE HE’S THE ONE PERSON HE NEEDS TO EXPLAIN THINGS TO AND GET FORGIVENESS FROM OR SOMETHIGN WHAT THE HECK I SALL THIS

OH YOUNGER AZURE

OH I WAS A STRAPPING LAD BACK THENGNSDFKMSDF

LOSER

or so ii thought

ooookaaayyyyyyyyyyy……..

interesting apprrooaaachhhhhhhhhhh

just be carrreeffullllll

I’m looking at you monkie kid crew villainizing the Jade emperor is a bit of a slippery slope there since he’s still kinda an important cultural figure bros

also interesting approach making Azure and ex-celestial dude

I’m sorry the ponytail is throwing me pls it looks so strangenGL;KAMWEOF

THATS

HELP THAT’S SO GOOFY

HECK WAIT

HHHHHH AAAAA

GGGGRRRRRRRR

AAAAAAAAA

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

kay look

l o o k

love the words this guy is saying

love em

I would ADORE

like words cannot describe how much I would adore the plot line of celestial warrior notices the guys he’s working for aren’t great and sees this monkey who fr just cares about everyone under his rule so he goes and devotes himself to that person instead and wants to see him rise to great heights to help more people and become an even greater ruler because he can see how much potential he has and no matter how many people say OH BIG CELESTIAL WARRIOR SHOULD RULE he knows he doesn’t have the same heart and just genuine care that this other person does so he always deflects to make sure he’s getting the best of it and being in charge where he can do the most good KAY I WOULD ADORE THAT BUT I KONW THAT’S NOT EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS AND HE CLEARLY ASSUMED SOMETHING OR SOMEBODY TURNED ON SOMETHING BUT HECK H E C K PLS

HECK I KNEW HERE THERE WAS A WARRIOER WITH MY IDEALS UHUH YEAH THEN HE GETS TRUAMA BUT ITS FINE

ALSO

NGL

I REALLY LOVE

HOW THEY MAKE

EVEYRONE LOOK AT WUKONG PLS HGLSDKFOWE

just absolutely smitten  platonically romantically whatever I just think its great how there’s just people like Macaque and Azure who just look at Wukong and just go “yup i’m gonna dedicate my life to this guy he’s so freaking cool, bro moment-“ AND THEN IG THEY PUT HIM TOO HIGH ON A PEDESTAL AND WHEN HE INEVITABLY WOBBLES THEY JUMP SHIP AND NOBODY CATCHES HIM WHEN HE FALLS I’M ASSUMING A LOT I’M JUST HECK HECK HECK THIS IS THE EXACT KINDA NONSENSE I WANT THIS IS RIDICULOUSGN;SDLKFMWEO F

Mk fr looks much calmer standing there next to Azure and i still got alarm bells going off, he’s way too used to standing next to people who want to hurt him his friends and monkey king hGLKJS;DF

“we we’re gonna change everything, it was glorious”

y

you mean you were gonna

try and fight heaven

and

overthrow the emperor

and inevitably get put back in your place

only monkey king takes the brunt of that-

SORRY STILL MAKING ASSUMPTIONS BASED ON MY JTTW KNOWLEDGE I KNOW THIS IS GONNA BE DIFFERENTNG;LSDKMFE

HANG ON

GO B

GO BACK

HANG ON

I NEED TO GO LOOK AT THESE IMAGES REAL QUICK BECAUSE OH MY GOOODNESS PLS

PRINCESS IRON FAN WAS A CELESITAL????

I DON’T REMEMBER THIS IN JTTW AM I LOSING MY TOUCH??

ALSO WAIT THAT’S SO GREAT FOR HER AND DBK’S RELATIONSHIP PLS

THAT’S SO GREAT HELPGMLSDKFAMWE

NEZHA, ERLANG SHANG IT LOOKS LIKE AND IRON FAN WHY IS THAT GETTING TO ME PLS HGSLDFJWE

OFC

OFC DBK FELL FOR PRINCESS IRON FAN MID BATTLE

I LOVE THAT

Gives new meaning to when he’s yelling about how his wife beat up anybody in the revenge of the spider queen season 2 special UJGL;SAJFA;EFMASDF HE’S FOUGHT HER HE KNOWS  I LOVE THATHGSDFKMLSDF

Y’know

Y’know Azure

Y’know its funny how

You seem to be the driving force behind a lot of what Monkey King ends up doing in this

You call yourself a follower but you and the group are the ones pushing for this stuff

Also wow this dude really

had an image of what he wanted

very interesting

WUKONG AND MACAQUE VIBIN FIGHTING YEAH GOOD FOR YOU TWO MACAQUE LOOKS LIKE HE’S HAVING FUN HGSDKFLAEFW

HEY AS LONG AS HE’S WITH HIS BFF RIGHT

:’D

.

.

.

…

……….

………………

h

hang on

gimme a second

,

w h a t

hold up hang on gimme a second

what

okay so i see

they didn’t want to

bring Buddha into it so they’re making monkey king… f…ail??? against… the Jade Emperor… who he didn’t… fight?? In jttw if I’m recalling correctly…

okay interesting interesting not sure how i feel about that interesting  did he even actually pick a fight buddha in this or is that just a throwaway reference line from the first season?

heck hang on not sure how i’m feeling about this i need another sec

I AM LITERALLY ONLY FOUR MINUTES IN COME ON

kay so

“Monkey king failed” uhuh, that’s cute, why’d you hype up a little monkey guy to lead a battle and go fight your boss huh?

HMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

NNNNNNNNOT SURE HOW I FEEL ABOUT THIS APPROACH IF THIS IS WHAT HAPPENED

Cause like, Monkey King’s whole thing is that nobody could really touch him, he doesn’t really fail and that’s what makes him such a huge problem for heaven in jttw, he just keeps getting bigger and more annoying until Buddha has to step in and slap five stacked mountain on top of him

.

hmmmmm, the further we get into this actually the more suspicious i’m getting of the approach they’re taking on monkey kings character

I’m all for reimagining and new gen monkey Mk now i’m on board with that cause they did it really neat and i love how it feels but like…. Sun Wukong means a lot to me as a character and a lot to a lot of people as more than that, and I thought they were doing pretty good with it but i’m kindaaaa hmmmmmmmmm

HMMMM

I dunno man ig I gotta hold my final thoughts on that till I at least finish the ep here but hGJSDFKLSADF

WE’LL SEE HOW I FEEL  

pressing play

WHEEZINGSDLKF

I LOVE HOW THIS

TINY GROUP OF FOUR + MONKEY KING THOUGHT THEY COULD TAKE DOWN HEAVEN

pointing and laughing at Azure

WOW ITS INTERESTING HOW IF THEY MAKE MONKEY KING NOT ACTUALLY AS STRONG IN THIS IT MEANS EVERYONE IS LITERALLY CONSTANTLY PUTTING HIM ON A PEDESTAL AT ALL TIMES EXPECTING MORE FROM HIM THAN WHAT HE CAN GIVE AND PUNSHING HIM WHEN HE DOESN’T MEET THEIR EXPECTATIONS WOWWWW INTERESTING

s

swk now

yeilded to the

okay so no Buddha then

hMMMMMMMMMMMM

H M

I DUNNO GUYS

NOT SURE HOW I’M FEELING ABOUT THIS

Also interesting how its kinda being portrayed as one after another, like… did the mountain even happen??? was there no mountain?? guys if there was no mountain i’m like… i’m actually gonna be upset that’s such a huge part of his backstory over 500 years under it and they’re just gonna… take that out???

.

hm

tsk

I dunno guys not sure how i feel about this

.

Okay so

they got away scott free??

Monkey King gets the circlet slapped on and these guys just get dropped back down like they’re not a problem?? like Azure didn’t used to be one of them? if anything he should have gotten an extra harsh slap on the wrist in the form of like, death and reincarnation like straight up

hm.

So there is the chance of like, unreliable narrator still here I’m just…

if this is it, i’m not sure if I’m happy with it, i’m kinda… really disappointed? Like. yeah i don’t know

what the heck is this????

okay so they made a house

wowww

a

a house

dang

so

cool

looking so happy with each other

totally abandoning monkey king

who did all that for you

wowwww

Well first off no respect for these losers

and second off NOT SURE IF I LIKE THIS PLOT

OHHH WAIT THAT’S FUN THO

Okay hang on

so

lol

ur telling me

you tried to overthrow the literal heavens

and got away no problem

but you build a house and now its a problem

this is…

this kinda feels like poor storytelllinnngggg mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

I’m really hoping this is the unreliable narrator thing and not the actual thing they’re going with on this show cause if it is I’m kinda out

like

:T

hm I don’t want to be out this show means a lot to me though

Kay well, obvious Azure at least is painting Wukong as becoming the villain of the story, oh he let this happen, or he gave himself up, oh he failed us blah blah blah, no buddy you failed him, you got him involved in something he never needed to be involved in and wow okay hang on if this is the story they’re going with this really means Wukong seriously is just a silly goofy guy. No murder, no antagonist arch, no super powerful chaos monkey, just a guy who loves his friends so much he’d do anything for them, and Azure used that and abandoned him and then he got a circlet slapped on him, tortured into doing what the celestials wanted and now Azure’s acting like he’s the bad guy

yeeeeeesh

this is rough times for the monkey

still not sure i like it, bUT MOVING ON

WELL OKAY AZURE SURE YOU GOT IMPRISONED IG BUT AT LEAST HE DIDN’T KILL YOU

well ig Tang Monk wouldn’t really be on board with that but whatever

Sheesh though this Monkey King has it… really rough. Like, JTTW Monkey King, a lot of what happens is his own pride and a bit of ignorance making it possible. And like, everyone assuming things about him right off the bat and people exaggerating his crimes to the Jade emperor at times, but this Monkey King seems to have had everyone ever close to him abuse him, use him, and abandon him the moment he fails them like dang

No wonder he has communication issues

are you kidding me we’re only five minutes in I don’t have enough braincells for thisGL;KAMEF

Peng fr like don’t even my guy it ain’t worth it- BOI YOU AIN'T WORTH IT

Also bruh why  you trying so hard to convince Mk of this?

SNORTS

WHEEZES

POINTS AND LAUGHS

“he took the only friends he had from me” Bro you took his life from him, made him a target of the celestials, he was just chilling

boy man if this is the real plot point Azure lion SUCKS bIG time

OH WOW

STILL

USING PEOPLE HUH AZURE

STILL

GASLIGHTING THEM INTO DOING YOUR DIRTY WORK HUH

LOOKS ALL OPEN AND HAPPY

AND HJIS FRIENDS LOOK READY TO MURDER

ALSO BRUH MK’S FACE JUST

yeesh man this is a rough episode holy moly

oh yeah no i hate his guts y’all

ready to punch his face

gosh dang it i was so ready for Wukong to have a real good friend moment but I JUST HAD TO BE RIGHT IG

Yeah Sandy on the ground very hurt

just mHMM

“EtErNaLy gRaTeFuL” sure buddy

SNORTS

LAUGHS

OH SURE BUDDY

AND HOW DO YOU PLAN ON TAKING DOWN THE CELESTIAL REALM JUST YOU THREE WHEN YOU COULDN’T EVEN DO IT WITH MONKEY KING- ohhhh the ink stuff right? right? the scroll? that’s a good weapon for that possibly

also heck bro this dude S U C K S

oh well that’s sweet at least

“until this is over”

at least sort of implies he intends to let him out after

the whole “better to ask forgiveness then permission” way of thinking ig

oh I’ll just do what i want to and use who i need to and they’ll forgive me when its all over and they’ll see what i wanted was right all along! :D

WOW WHAT A GREAT VILLIAIN MOMENT ACTUALLY NICELY DONE

HANDSHAKE YEAH

ENOUGH PEOPLE HAVE USED THE MONKEYS

BUT ALSO MK PLS I’M SO WORRIED FOR YOUR SAFETY NOW

DARN FREAKING RIGHT YOU GIVE HIM BACK HIS MOTHERFREAKING MENTOR YOU PIECE OF GARBAGE LION BAG

Oh actually i’m kinda hype over Mk losing it cause Monkey Kings in trouble, we usually imagine like, Wukong going berserk for Mk but if Mk’s allowed to go bananas (stereotypical monkey pun intended) then I’m gonna really happy, I dunno if Wukong’s ever had someone going berserk for him before that’s nice ;-;

“What is this child?” THE GUY WHOS ABOUT TO KICK YOUR WISECRACK

“CaReFuL bOy mY pAtIenCe iS nOt EnDlEsS”

sorry I’m very salty rn HNGLKSADJFAWENF

;-;

oh man dude actually this kid

has big major abandonment issues heck

people just keep taking his mentor from him heck, yeah and his friends, heck

ACTUALLY YEAH HUGE FAN OF

MK SAYING NO TO THAT

AIN’T NO GETTING PUSHED AROUND ALTHOUGH I HAVEN’T SEEN HOW THIS ACTUAL FIGHT WILL GO JUST GIVE HIM BACK HIS FREAKING MENTOR THAT’S HIS SHIFU WHO MEANS SO MUCH TO HIM AND JUST CAUSE YOU APPARENTLY ABANDONED MONKEY KING DOESN’T MEAN HE WILL SO STEP ASIDE OLD MAN

Actually I’d love to see Monkey King at least get emotional over Mk fighting that hard for him y’know? like dang must feel nice to be… not exactly needed but wanted like that, like I’d take on whoever i needed to to get you back, Wukong’s done that for so many people its neat to have it done back to him

okay I wasn’t sure i liked the whole backstory change a bit but ngl the way its playing out so far ain’t too bad Monkie Kid may change a lot of things but what they do change they handle fairly well usually STILL GONNA WAIT TILL THE END OF EP AT LEAST FOR FINAL FEEDBACK

ONWARD TO POSSIBLY VERY SHORT BATTLE BUT MY GOSH I HOPE ITS LONGER AND MK IS ACTUALLY A THREAT TO THEM DESPERATELY OH THEY’RE PROBBALY GONNA COMPARE HIM TO MONKEY KING OR SOEMTHIGN HECK

Well

Y’know

okay well first of all HAHAHAHAH FAST MONKEY FAST MONKEY DARK RIGHT HECK YOU AZURE HOW’S THAT FOR SPEED YOU ACTUALLY LOOKED STARTLED MWAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

And Secondly he actually seems… I don’t know if he’s concerned monkey king will get out or concerned for Monkey king in general cause he does seem kinda worried heck Y’know bro friend who cares but is still horrible to you but uses caring as an excuse for that is such a neat story thing y’know?? like?? heck dude

ALRIGHT I AM OVERANALYZING THE CRAP OUT OF THIS EP ITS BEEN A WHILE SINCE I’VE GONE THIS IN DEPTH WE’RE ONLY SIX MINTUES IN PROPS TO YOU IF YOU MAKE IT TO THE END OF WHATEVER THE HECK THIS RAMBLE IS

AHAHAHA

MK FINE

JUST

DONT’ EVEN SEE HIM DOWN

HE’S A FAST LAD I AM A BIG FAN OF THIS

HE’S SO FAST MY GODS

CANT’ TOUCH THIS

DOO DOO DA DOOOO DA DO DA DO

CANT’ TOUCH THIS

Kay sorry I need to go back and re-watch all that speed frame by frame hang on

My gosh is Mk powerful

Well, Y’know its nice how close the brotherhood is, minus Wukong and Macaque ig

wonder how long that’ll last

heck man Mk doesn’t even crash into anything or fall when he gets punched back by Peng he just stops and is covered by dust, standing there, this dude is HYPE

;-; heck

monkey mk ;-;

he’s beautiful ;-;

I love how they had Mei attack Azure first to like, have something to compare Mk’s speed to, like making Azure out to be super fast, and then Mk swoops in and the dude hasn’t landed a hit yet

.

the scrolls gonna break isn’t it

OH WELL

lets see

MK’S GOOD HECK

TRIPS THAT MAN VERY WELL WITH A SWEEPING LEG KICK SPINNY THING CROUCHED DOWN HE’S AWESOME I’M LOVING THIS

HOW’D HE GET UP IN THE SKY

WHEEZING

WOWWWW

THIS GUYS

AFRAID OF MONKEY KING HUH

.

Y’know I think it says a lot how he envisions him now

Like flashing from Mk to monkey king there

.

hang on i need to go look at shadowplay really quick

yeah

huh

interesting

wait i need to check the winning side too hang on

HUH

INTERESTING

Well they both kinda see Wukong as detached emotionally and cold, but Azure sees him with the circlet on and Macaque sees him decked out in armour with no circlet

I’m not sure if that means anything I’m just kinda fascinated by that.

Bruh sure does look at least, some sort of panicked seeing him tho that sure is something hmhm

HECK

okay i’m feeling better about this

apparently might not have mountain trauma but he got free relationship trauma and Azure did too it seems I’d love for him to be in denial and secretly blaming himself for all of it that would be AWESOME i doubt that’ll be it but i’m just MHMHMHM FUN TIMES

ALSO HA CALLED IT

SCROLL BROKEN

.

hmmm

HMMMM

So I’m p sure this means inky’s getting out at least and destroying stuff

But does this means Wukongs semi-permanently trapped?

Also Azure doesn’t like to take responsibility for things so i’m waiting for the “look what you’ve done Mk” or “look what you made me do”  from him hGL;SAJDF

GOOD JOB JERKFACE

YOU TRAPPED YOUR BRO IN THE SCROLL BECAUSE YOU PANICKED IN THE FACE OF A LITTLE MONKEY GOOD JOB

Also heck imagine Mk monkey fighting after he’s stopped glitching

Get away from our monkey man ;-;

.

oh yeah

Wukong’s trapped in there now huh

Even Peng looks

.

yeah

heck okay then

Well I will simply be devastated if Wukong isn’t freed in the special, I assume we won’t be seeing him until at least then

HECK WHY DO I DESPERATELY WANT MACAQUE BACK AND TELLING MK AZURE’S FULL OF CRAP

“tHiS iSn’T wHaT i wAnTeD”

tough buddy it’s your fault

ha ha

“what you’ve done” THERE IT ISSSSSS

BLAMING MK

THE KID IS LITERALLY JUST SO TRUAMATIZED AND WANTS HIS SHIFU BACK HECK MK REALLY GOING THROUGH IT

Azure really sad about that huh

WELL GOOD LOSER

I HOPE YOU FEEL TERRIBLE

I HOPE YOU WALLOW IN YOUR GUILT AND SHAME FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE

But he’s the type of dude it seems who will always find somebody else to blame i NEED TO STOP ANYLZING THE CHARACTERS SO MUCH HECK GHSDLFJAEO;F M

WEAPONS SNATCHED

HELP????

i’M GLFKSDFASDF

THIS IS FUNNY TO ME FOR SOME REASON

THEY’RE ALL SO DOWN IN THE DUMPS ABOUT THIS

THIS IS YOUR FAULTS YOU FOOLS

THEY’VE BEEN BLAMING WUKONG FOR SO LONG NOW THAT THEY BASICALLY KILLED HIM THEY’RE HAVING A MOMENT BUT HEY THERE’S AN ESCAPE GOAT FOR BLAME RIGHT THERE RIGHT?

W O W

HIS LEGACY WILL LIVE ON IN OUR VICTORY

1. MK’S HIS LEGACY WATCH YOUR MOUTH

2. YOU SUCK, WATCH YOUR MOUTH

3. WATCH YOUR MOUTH OLD MAN

YOU LITERALLY JUST TRAPEPD WUKONG FOREVER IN HIS HIS NIGHTMARE AND ARE STILL BLAMING HIM

UNBELIVABLE

HATE THIS GUY

BRING BACK MACAQUE

AT LEAST HE WAS FUNNY TO WATCH BE A TRAINWRECK

HE SUUCKKSSSSSS

HEY GIVE BACK THE SCROLL PIECE

STUPID MOTHERFREAING LION

TAKING WUKONG AGAIN

THIS IS SO STUPID HECK

okay i’m fine i knew i should have waited an extra day i got too hypebNG;LKAWMEF

Okay so heck dude bro man Azure you ain’t nothing, acting all high and mighty like this all ain’t your fault and your responsibility unbelievable DANG

reusing lots of animation for this bit here nods nods excellent work 10/10 being genuine I love to see animation getting reused and reanimated its really nice and its good to now the animators aren’t dying every single episode i appreciate ALL OF THEIR GOSH DANG WORK HECK

Also heck Mk self blaming galore even with Mei trying to pull him out of it cause he fr is in his own head a bit and HECK, YEAH THE LADY BONE DEMONS WORDS ARE REALLY GONNA HAUNT HIM FOREVER HUH

MAAAN

DADSY FOR THE WIN STEPPING IN ;-;

heck guys Pigsy is #1 guy in this show i swear

HECK DUDE MK FINALLY JUST SAYING THAT LIKE

OH MAN THAT LINE THO

THE YOU HAVE SCARY DEMON ANCESTORS? THAT JUST MEANS YOU AHVE FAMILY

DUDE BRO MY  GUY PLS |;A;/

PIGSY I’M COUNTING ON YOU, YOU GOTTA BE THE ONE TO SAY YOU’RE FAMILY PLEEEAAASEEEE HE REALLY NEEDS THAT RIGHT NOWWWW

oh man am I mentally ill about this show i haven’t written or even thought this many words in weeks heck

PIGSY’S SIGH

AND I DON’T HAVE ANYTHING

AND HECK

MK PLS YOU COME FROM THE SAME STONE MONKEY KING CAME FROM

YOU’RE SORT OF FAMILY

WHATEVER OR HOWEVER THAT ENTAILS

DON’T NEED A LABEL ON IT BUT YOU ARE

GUESS THAT’S NOT VERY COMFORTING RN CAUSE HE’S GONE THOUGH

PIGSYYY PLSSSSSS

MK NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OH MAN THIS IS AN MK UP AND LEAVES EP

NOOOOOOO

ISNT IT?

HE’S GONNA FLYU OFF???

oh you know what would be funny if he used the cloud for the first time to fly away that’d be hilarious HGSALFJEAKWEMF

okay tHO PLS

I NEED PIGSY TO SAY THEY’RE FMAILY THIS SEASON

THE SPECIAL

WHENEVER

JUST THIS SEASON PLS I BEG OF YOU

MK NEEDS THAT IT’D BE GREAT MY BRAIN NEEDS THAT DESPERATELYGSDNFAKMEF

WHEEZING

HEY MEI

NOW YOU KNOW HOW IT FEELS

WHEEZINGLSDKMF

I’M MOSTLY JOKING I’M JUST

THAT’S SO FUNNY

YEAH FLYING OFF BECAUSE YOU THINK YOU’RE GONNA HURT YOUR FRIENDS

NODS NODS MK WAS BOUND TO HIT THAT ARC TOO

TOO BAD HE DOES’T HAVE A RED SON FOR MONKEY STUFF

.

wait

oh

oh ha

HA

HAHAHHAHAHA

HE’S GONNA GO TO MACAQUE ISN’T HE

HE IS

I KNOW HE IS

RUN INTO HIM OR GO SEE HIM HE TOTALLY IS

HEAR ME OUT HE’S THE ONLY MONKEY MK KNOWS LEFT

HE CAN’T GO TO MONKEY KING

AND MACAQUE ISN’T CLOSE TO HIM AND HE DOESN’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT REALLY HURTING HIIM

OKAY I KNOW THIS PROBABLY WON’T HAPPEN BUT I DESPERATELY WANT MK TO REACCOUNT AZURES STORY AND HAVE MACAQUE GO “well that’s not what happened-“ JUST SO WE GET TWO UNRELIABLE NARRATORS CLASHING AND THE ONLY THING THEY CAN AGREE ON IS MONKEY KING DO NOT GO BRRR, BUT IN OPPOSITE WAYS SO THEY CAN’T BOTH BE TRUE AT THE SAME TIME AND BOTH OF THEM ARE WRONG OR SOMETHING EITHER WAY I JUST WANT MACAQUE TO BASH AZURE LIKE EVERYHTING WAS FINE BEFORE HE SHOWED UP I WOULD LOVE THAT

Okay back to Mk sad and running away

Oh okay no cloud fair hGL;KASJFAWEF

FLYING AWAY INSTEAD THAT WORKS

OFF HE GOES

… Yeah ig they cant’ follow him lol

WAIT DID THEY TAKE MEI’S SWORD TOO?? SHE MADE THAT FROM SCRATCHGHSLDKFS

i don’t think they did I just don’t see it on her hgl;fjsdlf

SCREAMS LAUHGING

OH MY GODS PARALLELSSSSSSSSS

THAT’S SO GOOOOD

LETS GOOOOO

PARALLELSSSSSSSSSSS

BIG FAN BIG FAN

I took like a ten minute pause there’s still like two minutes left I needed a sec HGKLDSAFJAOWEF

THE PARALLELS WITH SAMADHI FIRE MEI LEAVING AND MONKEY MK LEAVING IS SO GOOD

I’M SO EXCITED ABOUT THAT HECK

Also Samdhi fire right, I’m told the crew confirmed it’s gone bUT HECK COULD YOU IMAGINE IF MEI STILL HAD IT?? ig she would be mega powerful then and could just roast the ink (which i’m surprised hasn’t gotten out???? I really thought it would maybe later-) or just roast Azure- I see why the took it yup, Azure would be crisp lion right now if they hadn’t but MAN I would’ve loved if she still kept at least one piece of it, y’know? Cause its always been a part of her, she’d feel so cold and empty without it I swear, SHE STILL HAS ONE PIECE OF IT IN MY HEART, also just saying ohh nooooo she can’t use it or the scroll would burn up noooooo woulda been a good excuse for while they were in the scroll but now that they’re out already… yeah not sure how they could have done it otherwise but MAN I MISS THE RINGS

OKAY LETS

HECK LETS FINISH THE ONE MINUTE WE GOT LEFT HECK

ONE MINUTE IS SO LONG THIS EPISODE I’VE BEEN HERE FOR LIKE THREE HOURS YOU GUYS I’M NOT EVEN KIDDING

SCREAMS

PIGSY

SIR

THE FACE I JUST MADE

I AM IN AGONY

YOU COULD HAVE SAID THAT BEFORE HE LEFT

SCREAMS

OH IT HIS WITH THE

EHCK

I’M FIEN

YOU NEED TO SAY THAT TOO HIM OLD MAN

YOU AMAZING WONDERFUL BEAUTIFUL GRUMPY OLD MAN

“Doesn’t that moron know we’re his family” NO

NO HE DOESN’T

YOU NEVER SAID IT

YOU NEVER SAY IT PIGSY YOU SAY IT IN FOOD BUT HE NEEDS WORDS |;A;/

YOU EVEN SAID YOU WERENT HIS DAD PLEASE

I NEED

HECK YOU GUYS I NEED SO MUCH MORE DADSY CONTENT I NEED TO MAKE IT SO IT CATERS TO EXACTLY WHAT I WANT LIKE THIS SHOW DOES HECK EHCK HECK

PIGSY CRYING TOO

IS THAT A FIRST?

THATS A FIRST

HE’S TEARED UP BEFORE AND CRIED FOR A JOKE IN THE SHOW BUT THAT?? I DON’T KNOW IF WE’VE EVER SEEN THAT AND I AM MENTALLY UNWELL

HELPGMLDFMASDF

Reassuring hands on shoulders, gotta comfort the dad in the room

Sandy: dw he’s just hitting monkey puberty Everyone:

SANDY PLS HGL;KSJFASDF

.

WELL OKAY

SO MUCH FOR GOING AFTER HIM

DANG

DID THEY GET SNATCHED TO THE CELESTIAL REALM?

ITS BLUE

SUMMONED BY AZURE OR BY

THE JADE EMPORER HIMSELF

OR MAYBE THE GREATEST MASTER OF ALL TIME (his words not mine) OR MAYBE DRAGON KING??

HECK WHY AM I GUESSING I CAN JUST WATCH IT HGS,D;FSADF

AHA CALLED IT

OLD MAN MASTER

SHIFU SUPREME

ANTI-ADHD HYPERACTIVEITY CANCELING GREATEST MASTER OF ALL TIME

WHATS UP MY GUY

ALSO HECK BRO WHY’D YOU SNATCH THEM MK NEEDS THEM RIGHT NOW

SCREAMS

HE NEEDS HIS FAMILYYYYYYAAAAAAAA

ALSO HECK DUDE WE LOVE FOUND FAMILY THAT CALLS ITSELF WHAT IT IS ACTUALLY

BIG FAN OF PIGSY CALLING THEM MK’S FAMILY IT HITS SO HARD COMING FROM HIM

NOW TELL MK THAT YOU OLD DELIGHTFUL MAN

HELPGMLKMSD

MEI FR LIKE WHAT NOW I AM SO DONE WITH EVERYONE

.

bros you ever shush somebodyy so hard their facial features go upside downNG;AKLMFAEWF

BRUH REALLY WENT

WELP WHILE THE LITTLE MAN FIGURES IT OUT LETS GET YOU GUYS SOME MAD SKILLS INSTEAD OF EMOTIONAL STABILITY

THANKS MASTER

THANKS

TRAINING IS SUCH A GOOD IDEA BUT HECK

OKAY

MY GODS

THAT TOOK ME SO LONG TO WATCH HECK

THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I REALLY ZONE IN ON STUFF HECK

THAT WAS SO MUCH

I’M SO READY TO FISTFIGHT AZURE YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA

WHAT A GUY

SAYIGN ALL THE RIGHT THINGS

BUT ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS YOU POMPUS BALL OF FUZZ

okay heck before i

heck that was a lot holy crap

godspeed if you’ve made it this far nothing but respect for you guys that read through all this

OKAY

somehow monkie kid does plot lines that i go “oh i hope they don’t do that” but when they do they handle it so well that I just end up loving it anyway absolutely insane

STIIIILLLLL not totally sure i’m a fan of what they’ve done with Wukongs backstory but ig we still don’t have all the pieces, but heck dude Wukong really is just some guy in this if what i think is happening is happening. Just a silly goofy guy doing his best, maybe a few shenanigans, gets in with the wrong crowd who hype him into doing something terrible and put him on a pedestal and then he falls and they blame him for it and nobody catches him

looks at Macaque

unless-

Look man all I’m saying is he seemed pretty dedicated he had to have at least done SOMETHING else

heck I am a jumble of thoughts rn can’t get my head straight heck heck

heck okay well

very much enjoyed that episode

Was filled with rage

no one since Macaque in ses 1 and 2 (and a little bit 3 ig) has filled me with such rage I hope Azure walks into a wall

heck that was so much

my brain feels fried

i don’t think i’ve drank anything since this morning heck

how the heck are they gonna do thisGLKASMDF

I MISS WUKONG

I’M SO GLAD WE GOT TO SEE HIM ONCE

I JUST

HECK

I HOPE WE GET HIM BACK IN THE SPECIAL CAUSE I KNOW WE AIN’T GETTING HIM BACK IN THE EPS THAT WOULD BE TOO SOON

BUT IF HE ISN’T BACK UNTIL NEXT SEASON I WILL BE IN AGONY

M AN

WHAT DO I EVEN SAY AFTER ALL THAT THERE’S SO MUCH

STILL NOT SURE HOW I FEEL

GENUINELY THE MOUNTAIN IS SUCH A HUGE PART OF WUKONGS TRUAMA IF THEY TAKE THAT AWAY HE REALLY IS JUST

HECK HE’S JUST A DUDE

HE’S JUST A SILLY DUDE WHO WANTED TO HAVE FUN WITH HIS FRIENDS IN MONKIE KID THAT’S INSANE

Its okay Wukong, we’ve replaced your mountain trauma with a mountain of betrayal abuse and being used by the people you care about most trauma!

ALSO AZURE’S WHOLE MOTTO REALLY IS ASK FOR FORGIVENESS LATER TAKE WHAT YOU WANT NOW HUH

HUGE FAN OF HIM PANICKING LASHING OUT AND HURTING THE ONE PERSON HE CLAIMS MEANS EVERYHTING TO HIM, HUGE FAN OF HOW DEVESTATED HE WAS THAT HIS TERRIBLE PLAN AND AWFUL ACTIONS LEAD TO THAT BUT ALSO HATE HIM FOR HOW QUICK HE RECOVERED WHAT ARE YOU MAD ABOUT LOSER THIS IS YOUR FAULT

LIKE HECK IS HE THE ONE WHO PUT THE SCROLL IN WUKONGS PLACE??? DID WUKONG EVEN KNOW ABOUT IT???

WAS HE GUARDING IT??

MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS YET AGAIN

GOTTA LOVE THIS SHOW

KAY FINAL THOUGHTS LETS WRAP THIS UP BEFORE I GO INSANE

Still not quite sure how I feel about their approach to Wukong I love it because it makes sense for his LMK character but I also hate it because it takes away the part of him that makes him complex and reduces him down to like 90% of what he does being because someone else told him to do it rather than his own pride and desire for things and peoples issues with him, but that also is part of what makes it fit with this Wukong, glad they at least kept the circlet, don’t like how quick he came around to accepting it, unless someone threatened to kill his bros if he didn’t so he agreed to it to save their lives and THATS why Azure and the others got away scott free no problem, and then by then he experienced the power of the circlet so he had no choice but to seal them away, or he got bitter heck i don’t know Wukong’s character feels like its getting such a short end of the stick rn and I love it but hate it but like it but dislike it but HECK ITS JUST SO SLIGHTLY TO THE LEFT ITS THROWING ME OFF BUT THEY HANDLED IT REALLY WELL, IF ANYONE ELSE TRIED THIS I’D CRINGE BUT MONKIE KID HAS SUCH GOOD WRITERS AND ANIMATION THEY MAKE IT WORK SOMEHOW AND I’M OFFENDED BY IT HGBDFSFASF HECK DUDE

I’M SO CONFLICTED

I adore Azure’s characterization though, he’s so funky and so in denial and I actually can’t wait to see what happens with him and if he turns on his other bros, cause a plot line with them seeing he’s kinda insane would be DOPE Wise old elephant can’t follow a lunatic for long right? How he treats Mk is very interesting because he does seem to see him like a nephew of some kind or at least thinks he should care about him, hence the “mercy” and focusing only on him rather than, like, Mei, who’s much more thrilled and looked up to him for a bit there. Cause Mk’s Wukong’s student so that makes him important to Azure. HE’S SO STRANGE AND WEIRD AND FUNKY I HATE LIKE HIM HE’S GREAT I HOPE HE TRIPS ON A CHAIR HECK HE’S LIKE IF MACAQUE WAS SELF RIGHTEOUS AND BUFF OR SOEMTHIGN But dang he’s so interesting I want him obliterated I WANT WUKONG TO LAUNCH HIM INTO THE SUN AND SPEAKING OF WHICH

MK LOSING OVER WANTING WUKONG BACK GIVE ME BACK MY SHIFU IS EVERYTHIGN TO ME, like I so desperately want Wukong having an “i never wanted this for you, I tried to keep things from you so this wouldn’t happen” moment with Mk because man did that monkey try hard to keep Mk away from the stuff that would do to him what everything that happened did to Wukong- HECK HE’S JUST SOME GUY IN MONKIE KID YOU GUYS, LIKE HE AIN’T THE OLD MAFIA BOSS OR OLD DEMON HE’S JUST SOME MONKEY GUY WHO LOVED THE MONKEYS HE RULED OVER, LOVED THE PEOPLE WHO CALLED THEMSELVES HIS BROHTERS AND LIKE HECK DUDE I DON’T KNOW HOW I FEEL ABOUT THAT EITHER BUT THIS IS A WHOLE NEW AVENUE FOR ANGST THAT I HAVEN’T EXPLORED YET AND ACTUALLY I’M PRETTY STOKED FOR THAT

Pigsy will forever be my number 1, I am never gonna recover from whatever the heck this was, wish me luck processing NOW I KNOW WHY EVERYONE WAS HYPING SEASON EIGHT

OKAY I HAVE MORE THOUGHTS BUT WE’LL BE HERE ALL DAY IF I CONTINUE AND IT’S ALREADY BEEN THREE FREAKING HOURS SO KNOX OUT I’M GONNA GO STICK MY HEAD IN A SNOWBANK

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

9-1-1 LONE STAR IS CANCELLED 😭😭😭💔💔💔

The article I read said it's pretty dang definitive, not gonna get picked up but I just. Not only is it my favorite of the 9-1-1s, it's a huge loss of queer representation. And I just. I know that technically/to a lot of people, 9-1-1 is a better show. But not enough that it deserves to be picked up and Lone Star doesn't.

I'm angry and I'm sad and I'm real tired of this happening xd. Not to even mention that we'll go through the final season without Sierra. Just pay your freaking actors, and this wouldn't happen.

I'm never forgiving Fox for this

RIP 9-1-1 Lone Star, there's still hope for you in my heart :'(( <3

[capaldiera]

been seeing more twelve and specifically twelveclara on my dash recently and im starting to think i might just have to bite the bullet and actually watch moffatt era who

[magentagalaxies]

went to toronto again for new years weekend and spent pretty much the entire time hanging out with paul bellini which included us rewatching a bunch of episodes from kith s4 during dinner on new years eve. and y'know the second best thing about watching kids in the hall with paul bellini is getting to hear a bunch of behind-the-scenes backstory about the inspiration for sketches, previous versions that never saw the light of day, , etc. but the actual best thing about watching kids in the hall with paul bellini is when an entire sketch will play without comment and at the very end he goes "the fuck was that?"

[imminent-danger-came]

2x02 // 3x01 // 3x03 // 3x13 // 4x12

Team huddle!

[lily-blue-blue-lily]

oh sex ed s4 is making me feel a whole lotta ways ... i am sobbing

[alternautxyz]

new blorbos acquired cower in fear

anyways update im going insane over lego monkie kid i thought it would be a fun time but i did not expect some of the rawest scenes ever from a lego show selling you $100+ sets

this show deserves the world please watch it

[kitkatpancakestack]

Just re-watched some eps in s4 and I know it's all been said before but I'll say it again. My favorite thing about one Evan Buckley? His anger. He has so much pure, burning anger in him. This man is not just a "hothead," he has some mfing demons. The scene when he blows up at his parents? All of his flashbacks in Buck Begins, especially when he crashes his motorcycle? Up until season 4 we just see Buck as this idealistic, kind of ignorant and gullible, boneheaded frat bro with somewhat good intentions. But Buck has been egregiously hurt throughout his life. Also he's enormous. He could be a really mean dude. He could be rough and aggressive and violent and spiteful.

But he isn't.

We are all paradoxical but damn do I love the flavor of paradox that is Buck.

And I know we all like to bemoan Buck's screen time and his storylines but tbh he did start the show in such a place (age, demeanor, kind of an impressionable blank slate) that afforded him an advantageous position. And nothing is perfect but like, his story kind of slaps though. And season 4 cracks him open in such a fantastic way and I honestly wish they would explore the internal struggle of that more. I mean, what would it take for him to snap? How much does he have to battle those demons? Was he always like this or how did he learn to quiet his anger? Show me THIS. The entire lightning strike arc was a big ass flop to me sorry.

Anyway, long story short, the best part about Buck is that he isn't this pure uwu baby that needs to be taken care of and coddled, and I won't let the growing faction of Buck stans who just get hard-ons for pouty white boys, and who have clearly never watched the source material, permanently defile his character. He has some serious darkness in him, and he could have so easily turned out different. Buck is the master of facades no matter how mature he becomes. Choosing kindness and goodness is always more work than the other way around. And that's why Evan Buckley will always have a special place in my heart. Thank you for coming to my ted talk.

[linghxr]

Why you should watch 乘风破浪 and 披荆斩棘 to learn Chinese

What are these shows?

Both 披荆斩棘 and 乘风破浪 follow the same basic format: 30+ celebrity contestants, mostly actors and singers ages 30+, form teams and compete in singing and dancing over several rounds. Viewers vote on their favorite performances and contestants, and 1-3 contestants are eliminated each round. The top contestants form a temporary "group" and appear on a follow-up reality show.

Why you should watch

1. Exposure to different accents

Contestants come from all over the Chinese-speaking world: Dongbei, Sichuan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and even Malaysia. I can personally say that watching these shows has vastly improved my ability to understand the Hong Kong Mandarin accent.

2. Pop culture knowledge

Because the contestants are celebrities, you'll be introduced to dozens of famous actors, singers, etc. Also, you'll hear the many iconic songs that they cover. I've impressed several native speakers with my with knowledge of pop culture and music.

3. Branch out to new media

These shows serve as a gateway to Chinese music, movies, and TV. if you really like the contestants who are actors, you can check out their shows and movies. If you enjoy a certain song or like a contestant who's a singer, you can explore more music.

4. Casual and formal registers

You’ll get to hear casual, unscripted speech while watching the behind-the-scenes and rehearsal clips. But you’ll also get to hear more formal speech when they’re announcing rules and also from the MC who hosts the actual live performances.

5. Incredible talent

Also, you should watch for the awesome performances and general fun. I love seeing the contestants' friendships, and I’m also obsessed with the amazing sets. There are some incredibly talented performers on these shows, and I love getting to see them shine.

Where to watch

All seasons are free to watch on YouTube! Sometimes clips may be muted or missing, probably due to YouTube's restrictions. But the vast, vast majority is available, and when a clip is missing, you can usually do a separate search and find it. I also pay for a Mango TV subscription, which is $1.99 USD/month.

乘风破浪 full episode playlist links:

乘风破浪的姐姐1

乘风破浪的姐姐2

乘风破浪3

乘风2023

乘风2024

披荆斩棘 full episode playlist links:

披荆斩棘的哥哥1

披荆斩棘2

披荆斩棘3

披荆斩棘4

To help you get started, below is a YouTube playlist of my some of my favorite performances (5 per season, except for the most recent season of each). Cause why not! Also, below the cut I'll put more details along with direct links to my favorite performances.

And if you're a fellow fan emotionally preparing for the 披荆斩棘4 finale 🥲, feel free to message me and commiserate!

See similar posts: I watched all the Chinese idol survival shows so you don’t have to (but you should anyway) Tips for finding Chinese-language media you like

Sisters Who Make Waves

Chinese title: 乘风破浪的姐姐 (S1-2) / 乘风破浪 (S3) / 乘风 (S4-5) English title: Sisters Who Make Waves (S1-3) / Ride the Wind (S4-5) *I call it Sisters for short

This series is the original, having started in 2020. The focus was on female empowerment, particularly of women 30+. A lot of the celebrities had slowed down in their careers, and the show served as their reintroduction to audiences. While female empowerment is still a theme today, I do feel it has lessened in prominence.

Season 1

The original, iconic season. You can tell they had a limited budget and not a ton of space, but it doesn't detract at all thanks to the incredible talent and energy of the contestants. And they had no idea what a phenomenon the show was going to be! Many of my most rewatched performances come from the season.

得不到的爱情

大碗宽面

相爱后动物感伤

FLOW

新物种

Season 2

This season has a special place in my heart as the first one I watched! It's the only one I've seen twice (when it originally aired and rewatched with friends). Compared to season 1, you can definitely tell they had a bigger budget and started to refine the format. Also, some of my all-time favorite contestants are from this season.

现在不跳舞要干嘛

归零

快乐宝贝

给自己的歌

我

Season 3

This season was the first with the show's "modern" and fully-developed format, which remains to this day. For example, they started to include more complex sets and recruited more diverse contestants, such as dancers, an athlete, etc. Also, my favorite performance of the entire series, 雾里, is from this season.

雾里

梦中人

山海

孤独颂歌

有吗炒面

Season 4

This season was the first time I felt there wasn’t improvement over the previous season. I think the stage design took a step backward, and I didn't love the international focus. It was hard to identify my favorite performances because I didn't feel strongly about many. That being said, my friends and I still enjoyed this season.

从头

千里万里

下个，路口，见

归途有风

I'm Not Yours

Season 5

Though this season has already ended, I'm not done yet. I watch with friends, so we move at a slower pace. So far, it seems largely in line with season 4. I'll update this post after we finish.

Call Me By Fire

Chinese title: 披荆斩棘的哥哥 (S1) / 披荆斩棘 (S2-3) English title: Call Me By Fire *I call it Brothers as a nickname

A show about female empowerment gets a male spin off? Out of skepticism, I did not plan to check out this show when it premiered in 2021 (after Sisters S2). But at some point I changed my mind, mostly because I had to run out of other shows. Little did I know I would arguably become a more devoted fan of this show than the original!

Season 1

This season had too many iconic performances to count, and in particular, the Hong Kong contestants really took the world by storm. Due to scandals, they edited out 2 contestants (Huo Zun and Li Yundi), which admittedly does make for an awkward viewing experience at times, but you should totally watch anyway.

凄美地

MMA

飞云之下

达拉崩吧

如果还有明天

Season 2

Looking back, season 2 did not have as many stand out performances as season 1, but it does boast my favorite performances of the entire series, 新地球. It also features a fantastic group of contestants, probably my favorite overall cohort of the show.

新地球

袖手旁观

私人生活

理想

凤毛麟角

Season 3

This was the first season to air after I started watching, though I didn't watch it live because I was still on season 2. While it's probably impossible to top the iconic status of season 1, I think season 3 was an improvement over season 2 in terms of memorable performances. We also got the iconic 0713 (2007快乐男声全国13强) contestants.

行走的鱼

爱人错过

Joker

走麦田

有没有一首歌会让你想起我

Season 4

This season is sadly coming to an end, although I have not started the finale yet. I'll start this weekend and update this post in the future after I've had some time to gather my thoughts.

Now I have to go finish 披荆斩棘4 episode 11 so I can watch the finale. Bye!!!

[fluffypotatey]

Is lmk going to make me cry??? Every time I accidentally catch a glimpse of something I shouldn't (I have now blocked tags so hopefully that won't keep happening) it's been really concerning words that stick in my mind?? I thought this was a fun coming to age destiny kids show with gay monkeys, what did I sign up for???

(I'm having a fantastic time)

tbh the tears did not hit until near the end of s3 so you have time to grab some tissues! as for screaming over the show….it is too late for you, might as well just plant yourself and enjoy the ride