#samadhi fire part 3

[imminent-danger-came]

Red Son: "The Samadhi Fire is more than just an inextinguishable flame, it's an interdenominational weapon with the destructive power to burn through the very fabric of reality!" Mei: "You mean—if I lost my cool on any of the million training exercises we've been doing, there was a chance that I could have exploded and destroyed the whole universe???"

Red Son: "Yes, that could of happened, but it didn't. My guess is that somehow your dragon ancestry has protected you. And if your strong enough to contain the Samadhi Fire, you're strong enough to use it."

(3x11 This Imperfect World)

-

Yellowtusk: "Perhaps our ambition to take the Jade Emperor's throne was premature. We miscalculated." Azure Lion: "No- This wasn't quite what we expected, but I will master this power! I will use it to create a new world order! If the Jade Emperor can contain this power, then so can I!"

(4x12 The Plan Man)

-

Yellowtusk: "No more japes Peng! Azure can not control this power—he's tearing this world into pieces! I have done all I can to aid in containing it, but when he loses his hold—and he will—there will be no hope for this world!"

(4x12 The Plan Man)

-

Containing reality destroying power!

[angelcake10023]

Samadhi Fire Tang Au- Part 3

A Guilty Conscious

Previous/ Next

[royaltea000]

[wipinf] thinking bout that one part in jttw96 where nezha and hong hai er fight in a dream

[mswolfette]

LMK Sun Wukong Passive Suicidal Ideation Theory Part 1: Wukong's Self Sacrifices

TW: Suicide, Suicidal Ideation

Sun Wukong is a fascinating character. A character who is as selfish as he is selfless. Despite his flaws, his selflessness has no bounds, especially when it comes to saving the world or the people they care about. Sometimes it can be considered selfless to the point of self-destruction. Save others than yourself. There's been something that's been at the back of my head regarding Wukong ever since the beginning of S3. It was an interesting thought, but ever since S4 and especially S5 (and esp the last 2 episodes). Heck someone even played it off as a dark joke. But that brings me up to my theory/possible hc: Sun Wukong has possible passive suicidal ideation.

(Note: I am not a professional in either the JTTW or in the medical field and I'm basically my theory off of some of the symptoms I've researched combined with how Wukong acts in the show. So please take this with a grain of salt).

Alright, so let's define Su1c1dal Ideation.

According to CharlieHealth, "Passive Suicidal Ideation refers to having thoughts of death without a clear plan or intent to actively end your own life..." and according to Meghan Jensen of Clear Health it can "occur when an individual no longer has the motivation to live, but does not have a clear plan to take their life."

With Wukong, he definitely seems to fall somewhat under a lack of motivation to live, as there are several times he has gone on record with being either incredibly reckless with his life engaging in several acts of attempted self-sacrifice:

Strike 1 (Getting the Samadhi Fire Map):

During the flashback fight between Wukong and Ne Zha in s3e1, Wukong is about to reach into the Lotus Scroll. However, Wukong mentions that breaking the seal on the Lotus Scroll has the potential to destroy them both (despite both characters being immortal figures). Wukong's reaction to this is interesting, as he just quietly smiles and affirms that by saying. "I know." He even cracks a joke at that, willingly taking the hit anyways, regardless of the consequences to his well-being (and to a minor sense Ne Zha's). He disregards his well-being for the greater good, ready to die for something as drastic as this.

Strike 2: Wukong's Intended Samadhi Fire Plan

This leans more into the hidden implications but its still pretty prevalent. In s3e10, when the Samadhi Fire ritual was completed, turning Mei into the fourth ring, he reveals his plan to get the Samadhi Fire.

His plan was to intend to possibly start the ritual and transfer the Samadhi Fire into himself to control and destroy the Lady Bone Demon. This for all intensive purposes and can be implied to be a suicide mission.

Referring to some of the knowledge I have from the JTTW, the Samadhi Fire is one of the few fires Wukong can get incredibly wounded by, as he even got incapicated from it during one of his battles. And bringing up the LMK lore within itself Ne Zha mentioned that the reason only Mei was kept alive was because of her dragon heritage, mentioning that everyone else could've burned into a crisp. It was a fire so strong even Wukong alone couldn't put out, and we see how powerful it was to greatly charr MK once and knock him back.

And Wukong knows that he cant necessarily handle it. He's not dumb, he's all too aware about the Samadhi Fire and its danger. This was a plan he was fully intended to never come back from.

Strike 2.5: Fighting Despite the Odds

This is not as prevalent as the other two but its still noticeable. In s3e10, Wukong continues to make the risky self-sacrificing play by going on his own. The odds have never been more stacked against him, rather letting himself get taken down than the others. Even if Ne Zha believes that the chances are slim.

Strike 3: Wukong's Closest Sacrifice

Wukong makes the play to sacrifice himself, as he realizes that MK will commit that sacrifice at all costs. No ifs, and, or buts about it. It seems like the way out for him, with the idea being this will for the better in order to protect the person who's unconditionally cared for him the most.

While these sacrifices show a lot about Wukong as a character, there's also how he tends to talk about himself occasionally. He has major self worth issues. There are three instances of this clear and simple.

However that's for Part 2.

I do hope you like this despite the dark topic manner.

[enka-antix]

OH MY GOD IS THAT HOW HE LOSES THE ARM? You said Wukong wasn’t the immovable object and instead this means he’s the unstoppable force

(side note: in physics there is an answer, the unstoppable force is light and the light goes through the immovable object.)

You said that Wukong loses an arm but by the end of the ritual we see that Wukong is still firmly un-dismembered (doublechecked with Google you can be alive and still be dismembered, and it one means the removal of a part not parts plural)

So, my theories are mostly that instead of extinguishing the fire(a provably impossible task,) they instead contain the fire in something or someone.

Theory 1: The pills are meant to weaken Wukong so that the fire sticks to him and does do the thing it did in the first ritual and retreat into the next most available host.

Theory 2: The pills are meant to weaken Wukong so that his arm can be removed for whatever reason (I’m banking on it being to detach the samadhi fire from Wukongs body and contain it in the severed arm, which would explain why you said that his arm can’t just grow back like his head does in JTTW the fire probably magically cauterized the wound)

Theory 3: the pills are meant to prevent the fire from bursting out of him like it did with Mei in the show.

Theory 4:The pills are magic plan B because shadowpeach /j

Theory 5: listen I’m running out of ideas please

theory number 3 is the closest :)

[iridescenttttttt]

This includes s5 spoilers!!

I think we as a fandom should talk more about how sun wukong has absolutely no self preservation, and how he has been self-sacrificial since season 1. Hi, my name is iridescent, and in this essay-

ok but in all seriousness, I have evidence from every season of him doing this, and I will be analyzing it and informing about it Meticulously.

I also have a couple of tangents about him protecting MK in here. I just like the detail of him always doing that, especially considering how he does it.

it wasn’t just season 5 where he was willing to sacrifice himself, season 5 was just the only season where it was outright blatantly stated that he was going to sacrifice himself.

(^Image taken from S1 EP9, Macaque)

this image in and of itself is fairly minor. Because we know he’s going to be okay. he is immortal, and compared to MK, an explosion most definitely will not do much, if anything, to him. and I’m sure he’s fully aware of this (which is probably part of the reason he shields MK with his body so much, there are SO many example of him doing this)

Still, even the fact his immediate instinct was to throw himself in harms way to protect MK is pretty sacrificial in and of itself. I’m 100% certain that even if it could hurt him, he would still protect MK like this.

(^ image taken from S2 EP10, this is the end)

Wukong here is visibly weakened and injured. It was stated early in season 3 that he was weak, and even at the end of season 2, we could tell. ESPECIALLY when he grabbed MK and escaped from LBD on his nimbus cloud. By the time they found their friends, it was deteriorating, and they quiet literally crash landed onto the ship.

But despite his obviously weakened state, he was still throwing himself in front of MK, protecting him from harm, and shielding him with his body. His first thought was to throw himself in harms way, and this time, there is a very real possibility that he probably can get injured! He’s weak, his powers are failing, there is no way he would have the energy to fight LBD. Not in the state he is in at this very moment, and MK isn’t, either. He knows this- I know he does, because instead of picking a fight, he grabs MK and runs. He even admits that he isn’t in any shape to face her. However, even though he knows he would hardly be able to put up a fight as it stands right now, he is still willing to throw himself in front of MK. (Which also directly supports what I said above! It does not matter if he can get hurt if not, he will still put himself in harms way to keep MK safe)

Similarly to above, he was fully willing to find and reforge the samadhi fire on his own, despite his weakened state- to keep the others out of harms way, because they are mortal and he is not. Still, even despite him being immortal, he’s trying to reforge the samadhi fire- one of the rare things that has the ability to actually hurt him. Wukong knows this, and he is still willing to do this alone. Even though he is obviously injured, and weakened, and there is a very real possibility the samadhi fire could kill him, he is willing to do this on his own. Because they are mortals- if the fire can kill him, then it can definitely kill them, too.

(^ Image taken from S3, EP1, on the run)

season 3 is, in my opinion, where his self-sacrificial tendencies and complete lack of self preservation becomes a lot more obvious. So, fair warning, season 3 is probably going to be a long one.

Wukong is fully willing to risk himself to get the map. And it isn’t like he doesn’t know the risks of forcing his way through the Barrie. Ne Zha even warns him, and says that if he forces his way through the barrier, they could both be destroyed. And honestly? If Wukong wasn’t, like, 7x immortal, there is a very real possibility that he would’ve been destroyed, then and there. And while, yeah, Ne Zha didn’t die, either, he also wasnt the one actively breaking through the barrier. I’m sure if Ne Zha was the one breaking through, he probably would’ve died. Even then, Wukong was severely weakened after this (as seen and talked about above!), he knew the risks and he still took them. He knew he could die, but if it meant saving the world and keeping MK and his friends safe? He would do it. And, again, even after being fully aware of his weakened state, he immediately ran to the protection of MK as soon as he realized he was in danger.

(^images taken from S3 EP10, The Samadhi Fire)

I’ve already talked about how often he is shown to use his body to protect MK from danger, but here, specifically, I want to mention be we are specifically shown a scene of him moving his arm to protect MK from danger. Especially considering the danger is the samadhi fire- something that can actually harm him. This is different from most other times he’s doing this, because this time, he can actually get hurt.

This is one of, in my opinion, one the most obvious examples of him being a self sacrificing idiot with very little self preservation (/aff)

his entire plan, from the very beginning, was to try and take the samadhi fire out of Mei (because he never wanted her to be harmed- he’s spent the entirety of season 2 and 3 trying to protect MK and his friends, he never one intentionally hurt them) and put it in himself. Think about that. The samadhi fire is something that can harm him- kill him, and he knows that. He knows that extremely well. His entire plan could lead to his death, and he’s aware of that. And the same thing goes for when he was getting the map in the first place- both times, he was fully aware that there is a possibility he could die from this. He doesn’t care, though. If it protects the people he cares about, he’s going to do it- even if he dies in the process.

once again, we are specifically shown a scene of him trying to protect MK. His immediate thought has always been to take the brunt of the fire, and keep MK from danger- I fully think, had there not been a shock factor to MK literally running straight in, he would have ran in after.

Again, in this scene he has no self preservation, and he is very self sacrificial. His entire plan from the very beginning hitched on having a weapon, something powerful enough to stop the lady bone demon, except that plan has failed, and now, there is no weapon. So his new solution? Stop LBD himself.

If he was truly confident he could beat her again, then why did he go looking for the samadhi fire, instead of going to immediately fight her and stop her? He’s desperate, he knows how bad the situation is, and he still isn’t sure if he can even beat her. He’s still willing to try, if it means protecting MK and his friends, and saving the world. He’s going into the fight. Alone. No backup, no plan, no samadhi fire. (And we know this goes wrong, too) He is fully aware of this! He knows he’s going into a fight he’s might not come out of. Everyone else knows this, too- Ne Zha even points out the chances of him surviving are slim.

(^ image taken from S4, EP1, familiar tales)

once again, his immediate reaction (even when being faced with his trauma) is to protect and save MK. He knows what the scroll is, and he knows what’s going to happen if he gets stuck inside of it- despite that, he still sacrifices himself to ensure MK doesn’t get stuck inside of the scroll. He lets himself get sucked into it. He is willing to face all of the mistakes he’s made and the trauma he’s endured to protect MK from having to go through the same.

WARNING YOU ALL AGAIN!!! S5 SPOILERS BEGIN NOW!!

Let’s all be honest here, they’re both lacking in the self preservation department. They are not lacking in the self sacrifice department, though, I’ll tell you that much! This entire fight, they are very blatant about how they are, quite literally, fighting over who gets to sacrifice themself. There isn’t much to say here that wouldn’t be stating the obvious- neither of them want eachother to sacrifice themselves, they both want to be the sacrifice.

TLDR: Sun Wukong has been self sacrificial and has had a disregard for his own preservation since we were introduced to him. This has only become more apparent as he grew closer to MK, and as his character has developed.

is all of this already very obvious? Mmmaybe???? I’m not too sure. Did I make a couple of reaches a couple of times? Mmmmmmmaaaaaybe. Is this an excuse to infodump and talk about sun wukong? Yeah. Am I sorry? No.

[angstandhappiness]

AAAAAH HIS FACE

-- I'm gonna LOSE IT! [2/2]

[purble-turble]

I love to imagine Red Son’s parents being shocked at how soft Red Son has gotten towards MK and Mei, like image RS’s parents come to pick him up to go to a fancy demon party or something, and Red Son is just letting MK and Mei push him around, hug him, pull him, etc and they are FLABBERGASTED at Red son NOT yelling at them!

Before meeting them he would have burnt anyone if they tried such a thing!!

Bye <3

Red Son’s relationship with his parents is certainly unique… on one hand, his parents are deeply in love and their respect and admiration is bursting out of them in nearly every interaction they have with each other. On the other, they’ve been through a pretty traumatic separation to the tune of 500 years. In that time, Princess Iron Fan’s anger at losing her husband may have translated into a certain coldness towards the son she bore with him. She didn’t mean for it to be so, certainly, but maybe he just reminded her too much of what she’d lost. Maybe him insisting he would be able to free the Demon Bull King and then failing again and again over the centuries wore down on her. In any case, the relationship she has with Red Son as a fully grown demon is not the same as it may have been when he was small and his father was still around.

For his own part, the Demon Bull King missed his son growing up to a huge degree. 500 years is enough to turn a boy into a man, and when he is finally freed he finds this stranger in the place of his son. He’s excitable and desperate to prove himself to his long lost father, and DBK is not so sure. Every time he looks at his boy it just reminds him of all that he’s missed and that anger flares up in him again… not AT Red Son, certainly not, but from anyone else’s perspective (including Red’s own) it may seem so.

Or perhaps it all just stems from his history with the Samadhi Fire. When he had that world-ending power held in his tiny body, his parents could barely get close to him let alone hold him or offer any sort of care or comfort as it burned him up from the inside. It stands to reason that a little bit of that intense trauma has affected the relationship of this family going forward, even if they didn’t mean for it to. Red Son doesn’t get hugs or cuddles or reassurance because back when he was a baby doing so might have charred you into ashes… it won’t now (probably) but that doesn’t erase the instinct to hold back from offering it.

In any case, Red Son is left feeling on the outskirts of his tiny family. He wants the exact kind of love and tenderness that his parents show so easily to each other, but he doesn’t dare ask for it from them. It’s probably his own fault that they don’t give it to him, anyway. If he can just do more, be better, maybe they’ll come around and acknowledge him in the way he’s desperate for. A kind word, a bit of praise, a hug even- Heaven help him, he would kill for a hug from his father!

He doesn’t get it, though.

Eventually, he concludes that it was never something he needed. It’s foolish to need affirmation like that, anyway, isn’t it? He’s better off with the small acknowledgements he gets. They mean more when they’re fewer and farther between, right? Yes… yes of course that’s right.

……Well. That’s what he convinces himself, up until he meets two people that he doesn’t have to go begging for scraps of acknowledgement from.

MK and Mei love him so readily and so fully without even him even having to ask for it. And he doesn’t ask for it. In fact, he hates it, at first! All the usual reactions of yelling, squirming out of their hold, even lighting himself on fire sometimes- none of it seems to deter them. They’re physical with their affection in a way that Red is so unused to that it scares him… it mostly scares him how much he likes it despite who’s doing it.

It doesn’t take long at all for Red Son to soften towards them. The love pouring out of those two is infectious, it seems, because he finds himself seeking it out now. The desperate ache he’s had all this time for someone to express to him how much they care about him is finally being met, and not just met but overwhelmed and he can’t get enough of it!

Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King are shocked when they stumble upon their boy one day, finding him smushed into a tiny booth at the noodle shop with the Dragon Girl basically sitting in his lap and the Noodle Boy leaning over him, his fingers playing with the demon’s hair. To be sure there isn’t much physical affection shared between the and their son, and that wasn’t helped by them sort of assuming that it wasn’t especially welcome… They’ve never seen their son looking so contented, though. Perhaps they were wrong…?

Or more likely it’s that these two really have made him go soft.

Hmm… They’ll have to do a little interrogating of those two in private to discover their intentions towards Red Son.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Sad Huggy Monkey Asks:

Had to compile some of these for convince sake since I can't add much commentary beyond the delicious analysis the anons have sent in! All the text is in the image description if you need help reading/translating;

Referencing.

Yeaah Wukong is going through something right now, and it sends shockwaves through the room.

The Monkie Kids seeing this legend break down crying at the idea of having a mother. Most have never seen Wukong cry. Not even sniffle.

Sandy is better at recognising this emotions than others, but is still stunned by how strongly the Monkey King feels about this part of him. It proves to them in a way; that Sun Wukong is a person, and not a character.

Mei feels a little bad for how she blew up at Wukong when she developed the Samadhi Fire. To see him actually cyring makes her sympathy weep. She couldn't imagine a world without her parents - but the monkey has lived that very nightmare for thousands of years.

The Stone Royals seeing this other version of their son just so hurt by the way his world treated him. Luzhen sees this older, stronger, superhero version of his big brother; and is horrified to realise that he's this way because he never had anyone in his corner to take the burden off of his shoulders.

The fact that Wukong flinches at the comfort of a parent is telling enough to what horrors he's faced and what he's missed.

MK is sympathy crying. He gets it man!! He thought he had no bio-family either!! He still dont cus he's a homunculus made of clay by Nuwa, but thats besides the point! Monkey King is crying!!

Macaque just feels... a stab in his heart. Not just from empathy, but because he too has struggled with the same feeling of existential abandonment and loneliness! He just internalised it deeper due to at least having Chang'e as a surrogate mother/big sister for the first few years of his life. He's fighting not to grab Wukong then and there and not let him go.

Either way, this monkey getting hugged.

Bonus: times in the new season where Wukong was group hugged + crying;

I love all this tasty angsty introspective. <3

[imminent-danger-came]

Was anyone going to tell me that in 2x07 after Macaque says "In the darkness, the warrior was forgotten by the hero" it then immediately cuts to a picture of Mei:

Hero Mei is so real. Don't let anybody tell u otherwise

[fluffypotatey]

We spent all of S4 talking about Wukong crying and us getting an eventual breakdown and now we got it literally the next season, how we feelin’? Also was anyone expecting Nuwa to be half snake lol. I didn’t think any of the lego set set was going to be real, it generally isn’t so, sorry to everyone’s chaotic adhd milf in a suit they were drawing…she is a bit silly tho if you squint.

swk: *crying his eyes out bc he believes he failed in keeping MK safe* me: *giggling and kicking my feet like an excited puppy*

NO BECAUSE LIKE LOOK AT HIM

THIS IS CANON NOW AND I AM LIVING FOR IT

it would have been even better if we just has a minute or two more of Wukong slamming himself into the pillar :) just for my own satisfaction

also no way is Wukong ever letting MK get away with that again :3 he doesn’t want MK throwing his life away like that because unlike Wukong, MK is not immortal (not yet 👀) which makes him more vulnerable to self sacrifices. and Wukong is not above throwing his own life in the fire if that means ensuring MK will never repeat it (see SWK’s plan for the rings of Samadhi)

i actually wasn’t surprised by Nuwa being part snake but i think that’s mostly bc i am recently familiar with their creation story (i like being prepared 💅) but yeah it’s a shame her dressed in a suit did not happen 😔 maybe next time

[evanvison]

First Impressions

I got into the show Lego Monkey Kid this past year. But I had been aware of the show since it first came out. I had always had it on my list as something to potentially watch but it took me until season 5 came out before I finally sat down to watch it. So I decided to talk about the ideas and theories I had formed before I watched the show because they were really funny.

To start: I saw a poster for the show (I don't remember which one) pretty early and after looking at it I immediately thought that MK and Mei reminded me of Kai and Nya from Lego Ninjago. So I had assumed that they were reusing their character concepts but in a new show. This was the only impression the poster I saw gave me. None of the other characters stood out to me and I never thought much else about it.

A year or two after the release of Season 3 and its end of Season movie, I saw clips from the show popping up in my YouTube recommended. I finally cracked a decided to look at them with ZERO context. I saw the Season 1 fight between Macaque and Wukong, I saw the release of the Sumadhi fire, and I saw Mei training with Red Son and the fire, as well as some scenes of the crew on the flying ship in Season 3 Ep 1.

The first scene I remember was in the Season 1 monkey fight when Macaque released the shadow clones for the first time. A good first scene to witness! I watched the whole fight but only remembered bits and pieces. Through that scene, I was able to pretty accurately guess both Macaque and Wukong's personalities, dynamics, and how they would affect each other as characters (the only accurate guess I made).

Then I saw some flying ship scenes. I mostly remember them just talking and not much stood out in my memory.

Then I got to the release of the Samadhi fire. I made the assumption that the reveal here was that Mei was a Samadhi dragon. Like a dragon that specifically produces Samadhi fire. Mostly because I saw the dragon rising from her fire and assumed dragon + fire = that's the dragon's fire. So you can imagine the shock I had when I started watching the show and saw how quickly they made it clear Mei was a dragon. Then how sad I was that I was spoiled on the actual Samadhi fire. But I did learn from those scenes that Mei was very different from Nya and wasn't related to MK. So that misconception didn't stick till the end. (Sorry the picture is small for some reason.)

Now for the part that I find hilarious and I have no idea how my brain came up with this idea. I somehow came to the conclusion that Tang and Red Son were the same person..... I guess I saw that they both had glasses (very different glasses) and jumped to the idea that Tang was his normal form and that he was some sort of professor who had some curse that caused him to transform into Red Son and this gave him fire powers. I assumed they were like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or something and that's why Red Son was so angry. I don't think I saw any scene where they were in the same shot so I had nothing to steer me away from this.

I just thought he had some alternate fire demon side or something. Then I watched Overly Sarcastic Production's summary of Journey To The West and saw Red Son and then I guess I just forgot about this theory until after I watched the show and realized that I was so very wrong!

I do kind of want to write a fic where this is what happened just because I find it funny. Or if someone else wants to include it in a fic I would love to read it!

But that's it! That's my early misconceptions and guesses about the show that I made. I didn't really have any thoughts on Sandy or Pigsy though I don't think I saw that many clips of them so I didn't really get the chance to think about them as much. Hope you all enjoyed it! If anyone else had some funny guesses about a show that wound up being wrong or funny please tell me!

[autism-autobot]

Flower of a Poisonous Seed Part 18

Part 17:

Sun Wukong had been rushed to the emergency room earlier that day by Nezha, and the Demon Bull Family were still anxiously awaiting their return.

The Demon Bull King was pacing around the living room, the inciting scenario replaying itself in his head, only causing him to worry more.

~~~

As part of Wukong's promise not to keep anything else from Nezha and his family, he took off his glamours to show them his true form.

His face was as blue as Azure Lion's.

Apparently, all of the tortures he endured because of heaven and his imprisonment beneath the mountain had left lasting scars. Many lasting scars.

The blueness of Wukong's face was due to leftover smoke and ash coating the inside of his lungs, causing him to not be able to breathe properly. Wukong being Wukong, this didn't kill him like it would have literally anyone else.

It took a bit of convincing, but DBK had managed to get his little brother to go to heaven with Nezha to see the doctor.

~~~

He could still hear his wife's gasp and his son's shriek replaying in his head.

Not the best reactions to Wukong's glamour reveal, but he wasn't much better, so he couldn't judge.

PIF: My love? Have you heard word from Nezha yet?

DBK: Not a sound. You, my dear?

PIF: Nothing. It concerns me greatly.

DBK: Myself as well.

PIF: Have you talked to our son at all? He seemed quite upset about the scar on your brother's face.

DBK: Scar?! What scar?!

PIF: Didn't you notice? There was a scar on Wukong's face that very clearly was the result of the Samadhi Fire.

DBK: No, I hadn't noticed. ... Our son must be deeply distraught by that.

PIF: I think so, too. We should speak with him.

DBK: We should.

~~~

Nezha: How much longer?

Receptionist: Again, I don't know how long the doctors will take with the monkey.

It was already bad enough that Nezha was not allowed in the room while the doctors did... something to Wukong, but now Nezha had been waiting five hours for any word about Wukong's condition.

Nezha knew Wukong must be scared out of his mind while there. Wukong quite literally needed to be peeled off his chest by multiple staff members in order to be put on the table. Then the nurses had the audacity to shoo Nezha out of the room while Wukong cried in fear.

Nezha didn't want to tell the Demon Bull Family what had happened. The gods knew what they would do if they received word of Wukong's terrified tantrum and nothing else.

~~~

Seven hours in and Nezha was asked to help settle Wukong down.

Wukong had somehow made it into a janitorial closet despite not having use of his legs and several nurses chasing him. Three nurses managed to corner him in there while the rest went to either get help or attend to other patients.

Nezha found Wukong still in the closet hiding beneath a large trash can.

Nurse 1: Okay, I lift the trash can while you two grab him.

Nurse 2: No way!

Nurse 3: Not happening! Do you know how dangerous monkey bites can be?

Nurse 1: I don't think he'll bite you.

Nurse 2: He's probably more scared of us than we are of him.

Nezha: He's definitely more scared of you than you are of him.

Nurse 3: Oh! Nezha! Hope you brought gloves it you came to help out!

Nezha: Gloves will not be necessary, I assure you.

Nezha: Wukong, it's okay, I'm here now. It's safe to come out.

Wukong: Nezhie? Nezhie stay?

Nezha: Yes, Wukong, I will stay with you. The doctors have granted me permission to stay with you.

Wukong scooted the trash can over to Nezha and stopped when he accidentally bumped into his fire wheels.

Nezha slowly lifted the trash can and Wukong immediately wrapped his whole body around Nezha's leg.

Nezha shushed Wukong to soothe him, transferred him to his chest, and skated slowly back to Wukong's assigned room.

~~~

Wukong's breathing tubes did next to nothing to help with the blueness in his face.

They were given word that Wukong would have to return for surgery after the lunar new year. That was the soonest the hospital could operate.

Wukong dreaded every word out of the doctor's mouth.

Nezha was careful not to shed tears while in Wukong's line of sight.

Wukong's vitals showed an oxygen saturation of 11% with the breathing tubes, 6% without.

But that wasn't all. His heart beat at a rate of 7 bpm. Far too low for a monkey of any species.

He'd have to have both his heart and lungs operating on.

How long had he been like this? Over a thousand years at the least.

Nezha wept for his friend.

Wukong just buried his face in Nezha's shirt.

Nezha cradled Wukong in his arms as they went back home.

~~~

Red Son cut his hand on a buzzsaw by accident. Usually, he was more careful than that.

He was making all sorts of mistakes in the workshop today. Dropping a steel ingot on his foot, catching his hair on a low hanging hook, and now the buzzsaw cut. He was trying to clear his mind, not give it something else to worry about.

His father's entrance only proceeded to stress him out more.

After a bit of back-and-forth between the two, DBK understood that the cut wasn't intentional but accidental.

Biggest relief he'd felt all day.

He treated his son's wounds all the same.

However, their minds were both elsewhere.

On DBK's youngest brother and Red Son's favorite uncle (not that that was a real competition given he's the only one that didn't nearly obliterate the universe).

RS: So... still no word about uncle?

DBK: *sighs* No, still no word.

RS: *sighs* I figured as much. Mother told me that heaven has a habit of taking their sweet time to get anything done.

DBK: It would appear that way, yes...

DBK: Now, about your reaction to my brother's scars.

RS: I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE THAT NOISE I SWEAR!!!!!

DBK: I know you meant no harm by it, as does everyone else. I am more concerned with what scars concerned you the most.

RS: Oh! Uncle's burn scars. *sighs* I know I am the cause of those scars, and I want to make it right by uncle! But-

DBK: You were a toddler at the time! A child with a lit match you didn't know how to contain!

RS: But that doesn't mean I didn't hurt him!

DBK: While this is true, I know my brother. He doesn't take anything personal. Especially not something done to him by a child.

RS: Honestly, you'd think he allows the whole world to walk all over him with how little he cares for what's been done to him.

DBK: True, but he loves you very much. Him excusing your past behavior isn't just out of understanding of your youthful naivety, but out of love as well.

DBK: Would you hold a child accountable for lighting something on fire with a lit match they were handed at birth?

RS: No! Of course not!

DBK: Then why don't you hold your past self to the same regards?

RS: I...

DBK: Ponder that awhile. And no more working in here today! You've clearly been too distracted to be safe with yourself.

RS: I will, father.

Part 19:

@starrclown @swkbiggestdefender @istopaskingmemate @ainnur @then-be-a-warrior

Masterpost

[croissantk]

Another ask game request if you'll take it: mk and macaque? I'd like to hear your thoughts on them also :>

They're so crazy to me. Probably the relationship that changed the most throughout the course of the show (like seriously..s1e9 compared to them in s5e9 is insane) and for good reason! You could say mk changed the trajectory of macaque's life in a way u_u Smth I've always found interesting is mac's weird fondness for mk in s1-3 because like, at first his perception of this kid is so tied to wukong that he doesn't even see him as his own person, just as this kid who's close to swk/who's going to end up like swk, and there's also this mindset he has where everyone is some sort of 'victim' of swk so there's almost this kinda. Sympathy for mk?? But he also clearly just enjoys fucking with him?? Another big part about them i dont see acknowledged enough is how mk's words before going in the samadhi fire to reach mei ("mei is my best friend, I'd never abandon her when she needs me. We're heroes, it's what we do!") That shook macaque's worldview so greatly, to the point where he stops acting selfishly and throws out his self-preservation that he'd clung to practically his whole life just for mk's sake. Now in s4-5 they're so much more comfortable with eachother, macaque being mk's part-time mentor and all that.. I also find it amusing how mk gets sassy with macaque where he doesn't with anyone else (I think he did with tang in one episode) but yah just. They are so awesome. Even tho I miss when they were a little fucked up💔

[byfulcrums]

No but Sun Wukong is so much... less alone(? now

He's been alone for centuries, with only the company of his monkeys. He hadn't left his mountain in 500 years; the first actual interaction he had with someone outside FFM was MK, and even then, it was just one person. He only met the rest of the gang at the start of season 2 and then he left

In season 3 he was literally stuck with MK, Mei, Pigsy, Tang and Sandy. He didn't have a choice; he was hurt, MK didn't have his powers and if he left then who knew what LBD could do to them? Besides, Macaque was looking for them. He couldn't leave (probably didn't really want to leave either)

Even though he had to interact with MK and the rest during season 3 because, well, they were literally living together, he was still hiding so much. No one knew about the fourth ring nor about what his initial plan was. He hadn't told MK about LBD when she first appeared and everyone was still upset at him for it (which, okay. Deserved. But also- angst)

In the scenes where the gang is having fun with each other, SWK tends to push himself away? He stays at the corner, a little too far away, showing that he doesn't consider himself part of the group. These MK's friends, not his, and even if he cares about them (and even if they're his family's reincarnations + descendant) he still distances himself from them. He keeps secrets, doesn't trust them the way MK does, refuses to tell them all about the Samadhi fire. Hell, they don't find out about his plan until it's already gone wrong!

At some point in pretty much every season, MK is hugged by his friends after some life threatening stuff happens. SWK (if he's present) smiles fondly and stays out of it. After he finds out about LBD and the gang are having a good time together, celebrating (and also being so excited to meet the Monkey King), he gifts them some hair food and leaves

Also, at the start of Revenge of the Spider Queen it's shown that he wants to either celebrate with MK or spend his day alone like he's been doing every year for centuries

In the final episode of season 2, MK's friends rush to his side and no one goes to check on Wukong, even though he looks pretty hurt. Heck, they're (rightfully) angry at him! It's only after they convince him to let them accompany him to the West that we see him patched up, and that's on the first episode of season 3 (also it's already nighttime when that happens)

When the gang hugs Pigsy in Cooking with Chang'e (I think that was the episode?) he smiles, looking happy for them, but he doesn't join them

I'm not saying that they don't care about SWK, because they really do! But he mostly keeps to himself, never tells them what's going on and left when MK needed him the most without explaining why. Besides, he's a legend. No one can know what's happening inside his mind. How can they trust him when they don't even know when he's being truthful?

In all of the scenes where they're all together in one place, SWK either stays closer to MK or leaves. There is no in between. Really shows how MK is pretty much his only friend lol

Also, all of his relationships went wrong. Macaque, Azure Lion, the rest of the brotherhood — all of them, thrown to the ground because of 'his' mistakes and 'his' bad deeds (not all of it was his fault, but there's no way he doesn't blame himself for that. He and MK are very similar). He (assumedly) killed Macaque and Azure Lion, Peng and Yellow Tusk were left in the scroll and he sealed DBK under a mountain. The friendships he did manage to keep are now gone not because of him fucking up, but because they're dead. MK is the first friend he's had in a long time and he is very afraid of messing that up too

When Mei gets the Samadhi fire (“Can't you see you're hurting the people who care about you the most?!” she said people, not person. She wasn't only talking about MK. They care about SWK too!), the first thing he does is leave again. He pushes everyone away, leaving MK and the others to take care of everything himself, and it fails. He fails, and MK is almost killed because of it. In the end, it was only because MK was accompanied by the people he cares about that he won. This makes Wukong see stuff differently

Post-season 3. SWK realizes that he doesn't have to be all alone. He notices how MK is doing so much better than him because he has friends (his support network or whatever that's called) and is like “Ohhhhhh okay. Yeah that makes sense. Alright-”

After the whole LBD fiasco, SWK is willing to trust other people more. He not only cares way too deeply now, but he also tries to share what's on his mind a little more! He's doing his best to show that he trusts them too and I think he's doing a pretty good job!

When Inky separates them, he says that he won't let some dumb curse keep him and his friends trapped. His friends. They're no longer only MK's buddies. They're not strangers he might've known once anymore; they're his friends. And some day they will be his family

The reason why they seem more like friends now is because of Sun Wukong himself. Sure, he might've needed some help, but he finally started to try to just. Stop pushing everyone away. This is why he's so much closer with the rest. It was all him

Also, I love this because it shows how you're the only one who can make the final decision that will change your life (dying or living, staying or leaving). You're more than allowed to ask for help and you can get it from anyone, but in the end, it's all you.

In the season 4 special, Sun Wukong shares his plan. He hadn't told MK about Azure Lion and the brotherhood before, sure, but that's because he thought that was over. In the scroll, when Macaque and MK go to find him, he opens up to MK. Shares his worries. Lets MK (and Macaque too I guess, with that smile. Ugh that SMILE) comfort him. And he, most importantly, fights alongside MK in the final battle. He gives the team the information they need for MK to come up with a plan. They fight together

And when the season 4 special ends, Yellow Tusk says something about true heroes (I can't remember the exact line) and the camera shows all of them, SWK included. The only one who is not there is MK, and even then it's clear that Yellow Tusk was talking about him bc the camera cuts to him sitting all alone at the edge of the cliff

SWK goes to sit with MK, but this time the rest of their friends are there. Sun Wukong, immortal or not, is a little less lonely now

[mswolfette]

LMK Sun Wukong's Passive Suicidal Ideation Theory Part 3: Is he really Suicidal?

TW: Suicide and Suicidal Ideation

This is my final part of the analysis, addressing the symptoms according to CharlieHealth, the counterarguments and reaching my conclusion.

First, let's review the definition again for what Passive Suicidal Ideation is:

According to Charlie Health Primary Therapist Meghan Jensen, LPC, “passive suicidal ideation can occur when an individual no longer has the motivation to live, but does not have a clear plan to take their life.” 

And as we have spoken about this fits Wukong 50/50. Wukong does not seem to have a motivation to really live. Wukong almost completely stopped really being active in his life (at least in the public eye) after his battle with the Demon Bull King, and only came back because of MK (and this might not even be a big enough motivation to stay), as we know he has plenty of times where he's attempted to sacrifice himself while putting down that MK is better than him. Besides MK, Wukong doesn't really have a goal or plan for his life. As mentioned in S3e14, he never expected to be a mentor. He lived his life, with the only thing in mind being retirement and self-isolation.

But does Wukong fit with the symptoms of passive suicidal ideation?

According to CharlieHealth, these are the warning signs:

Let's go through the ones that fit Wukong:

Engaging in Reckless/Risky Behavior: Already addressed in Part 1, but this is the most strongest symptom that Wukong has with many of his self-sacrifices.

Extreme Sadness, Hopelessness, Isolation, Rejection, or Apathy: Throughout the series, Wukong can come off as extremely apathetic and dismissive to almost everyone. Wukong has a messy habit of constantly devaluating MK's concerns, especially in the first 3 seasons from how he just pushes off MK's worries with simple remarks, leaves MK with tasks and doesn't really elaborate on them, and especially meditates out of situations. This happens so much to the point where this really begins to bite him in the ass concerning the Samadhi Fire Incident. Even when we first meet him he's generally a bit more apathetic to the Demon Bull King showing up. He even shows apathy for the rest of the group in regards to not really helping them when they need it most, or dismissing their concerns. Even in as late as Season 5, he still reverts to an apathetic state, not really taking others into consideration at times.

Withdrawing or Self-Isolating: Wukong in the earlier seasons has done this a lot. Even the inciting incident is Wukong self-isolating from the world (and by extension MK) for an indefinite amount of time. Wukong in the first 3 seasons, tended to act as a loner, particularly never really being around anyone but MK, and never exactly leaving Flower Fruit Mountain unless he really had to. Granted there could be the reason of: "he's a hero, villains could target him easier." But Wukong is an extremely powerful individual. You could argue this especially with S3 when he was meditating, always making the opportunity to self-isolate by mentally isolating himself from the group. Even in the S3 finale, he had particularly separated himself from the group on purpose alongside MK. HOWEVER, he has seemed to slowly group out of that sentiment. Wukong has begun to try and spend time with the Monkie Kids, actively going out of his way to hang out with them through spending a Beach Day with them and finally, allowing for them to celebrate fireworks with them in the finale. So while this definitely is and symptom, it's important to mention its a symptom he's slowly growing out of.

Giving Away Meaningful Personal Possessions (AKA the Staff): At first, while this could seem arbitrary, there is an argument about passing on his staff to MK. We all know that Wukong is an absolute hoarder, and will preciously hold on to all of the stuff he's collected from over the years. And we know things like his staff are literally some of his most prized possessions. Wukong also could've easily defeated DBK, right? He's immortal after all, and then easily go back to his self-imposed isolation. But instead, he guided MK to his staff and let him take the role as the Monkie Kid. Wukong purposefully gave away his most prized possession to allow another person to continue the fight. This could fuel his self-imposed idea that the world doesn't need him anymore and that he's better off not around.

Seeking Out Objects to Assist in Suicide: This one is a tricky one, because this specifically and only applies to Samadhi Fire Incident. There is an argument to be made on either side of this argument. Possibly the main argument for this is in regards to Wukong despite his power, made the choice to rather take the risk to use the Samadhi Fire over all else (despite seeing he had an extremely good chance of taking down Lady Bone Demon without it). And Wukong was originally planning on doing that alone, especially giving the case that the rest of the gang is purely mortal and could not handle it. Now, if we argue that the Samadhi Fire was intended to be a suicide mission, he could've been actively seeking that out to make a final sacrifice for himself for the world. But you can also argue he wanted to seek it out to ensure that he could defeat the LBD without resorting to actively up and killing the host perhaps.

So, does this mean Wukong was intentionally written to be passively suicidal?

Maybe? Maybe not.

Some of these points prove to be a lot more common than others. As while Sun Wukong can be easily shown to be extremely reckless, self-isolating, and apathetic, its harder to even show some of the other side effects and we have to base our guesses on speculation behind the intent.

And even then we have counterarguments:

a. Wukong Having a Fear of Death: The main argument against this is quite valid actually. Wukong was scared of dying; scared of not being strong enough to live and protect his allies, literally scraping any sense of immortality he can from the peaches, the wine, pills, and even fighting skills to gain a sense of immortality. And even then Wukong can practically be seen not wanting to resort to death, seemingly avoiding that route at all times in S5, and only realizing that someone has to go, that he took the mantel and decided that it would be him. And...yeah that's a completely valid argument. Wukong could be scared of death instead, not wanting to completely face it until it's too late.

However, I would like to rebuttal the idea that: Wukong is a very contradictory character (he's a fairly consistent one though). As much as he is lazy, he can be extremely powerful, as much as he lives for isolation, he's starved for companionship with MK, and as much for he is wise, for as arrogant and stubborn he can be, he could be self-loathing and hopeless. And this could be a similar case. He could have symptoms of being passively suicidal, yet too scared to actively take that final leap until he's forced to.

b. Wukong Being Confident of Living: That could make sense. Wukong is so confident in his immortality status that nothing can touch him that even when push comes to shove, he endures anyway. That could honestly work with the Lotus Scroll attempt, but there have been several other times where he was never confident that he would actively come back in good shape, much less alive, specifically in S3E10. But those are just my thoughts.

But here is my conclusion:

This is just a singular interpretative theory on Wukong's character as a whole; not definitive proof that Wukong has this certain form of suicidal ideation.

In fact these traits might not fall under a typical spectrum of exclusively suicidal.

I think Schnee from YouTube put it best in regards to detailing Mental Illness in Fiction in regards to figuring out if a character has a certain disorder:

Credit: Schnee on YT (How does TRAUMA affect IMMORTAL characters? (Heimerdinger Analysis) | Youtube)

Tl;dr this piece of media is rather informing us about this version of Wukong, about how much all the traumas and issues in his life, shaped and morphed him into this messy, flawed entity. And I personally find that a lot more interesting, don't you.

Thank you for reading.