#since it seemed to do that with wukong's in the first ep

[falsementor]

imagine if inky mk and macaque interacted would that be crazy or what haha

[lemon-ti]

Hi! I have to say that I really love your Au! Macaque and Mei did a perfect duo in season 4 so The Shadow's Gambit fits so well ★o�� 💚

I hope you don't mind me to ask in season 1 ep 9 since Macaque decides to betray MK to have Wukong’s power, would Mei also participate in this betrayal? Maybe Mac convinced her to do so or maybe Mei helped him without knowing MK was the target

Sorry I'm just very curious about this Au >u<

Heya! Sorry for the late reply, and thanks so much for your ask ^^

Throughout the whole episode, Mei believed she was doing the right thing.

Her only friend - aside from her trusted mentor - had just become the wielder of a mythical weapon, gaining incredible powers!

Maybe they could team up and fight bad guys together. Heck, her and MK might even bond over their adventures and become best friends again - just like when they were kids.

But just as Mei was about to rush off to challenge the delivery boy to a fight, Macaque stopped her.

Sure, his abilities far surpassed those of his foes at the time, but he lacked the resolve to deliver a finishing blow as both Mei and Macaque noted. He always let the enemy escape, barely injured, and free to cause more trouble.

Instead, the cunning shadow wielder proposed testing the "new hero" first. After all, it was obvious that MK was... well, just a bit too soft for the job.

And then there was his mentor. The boy was training under that "self-righteous bastard." The last thing someone so kind - so impressionable - needed was to fall under the influence of the likes of Sun Wukong.

And so, using the whole “giant monster terrorizing the city” as an excuse, MK tagged along with the infamous duo for some training. And, look, Mei wasn’t about to say it out loud, but those were some of the most fun days she’d had in ages! For a while, it even seemed like MK might actually stick around and join them for real. All that was left was the final test.

Of course, Mei got stuck waiting at the dojo (ugh >:/ ) while Macaque dragged MK off to fight the “big, scary, final challenge.” - The same shadow monster from before. (Mei still couldn’t believe MK fell for that! Was it really so hard to look into things more carefully?) But hey, whatever. Mei was confident—MK would absolutely crush it.

The only thing that came back crushed, though, was Macaque—bruised, battered, and with no MK in sight. He claimed he’d been ambushed by MK’s good-for-nothing mentor, who swooped in and somehow managed to convince the boy to turn on him too. (Though Macaque’s grumbled, vague details didn’t quite add up.)

Mei was ready to storm into the noodle shop right that second, fists clenched and demands blazing, if Macaque hadn’t stopped her. She was too upset to notice the flicker of amusement in his eyes or the faint curve of a smirk tugging at his lips.

The warrior looked… almost too pleased with himself for someone who’d just lost a fight.

[squidkid15]

I am sitting here with pencil and paper begging you for a list of The Things.

ALRIGHT LETS DO THIS

I haven't gotten back to s3 just yet so this is just random tidbits from s1 and s2 that I noticed on this watchthrough.

This demon that gives MK the cursed meatballs in s2e8 is the only character other than Chang'e with the blue lipstick. Just an odd coincidence, not sure if it's worth reading into but a neat note anyways.

2. In s2e7 Shadowplay when MK finally fights Macaque, there's a moment where MK says "that's it!" after using gold vision on the lantern, which always struck me as an odd line. It just felt out of place. This is the first watchthrough where I noticed that, immediately after that line, his eyes flash LBD blue. This is not the first time this happens, but it started in s2e5 when LBD tricked him. I think she's been in his head since that episode, so the "that's it" line isn't MK, it's LBD seeing through his eyes where another piece of her mech stew is.

3. In s2e9 MK crouches like a monkey. Very cute, makes me smile.

4. I just noticed these guys in the background of s2e2 lmao. Go lil you beat up those giants.

5. In the revenge of the spider queen mini, I think LBD gets into Wukong's head here, the way she gets into MK's and Mac's later. After this we see flashes of her vision for the world, and I think and assume Wukong saw them too.

6. s2e10, more evidence of LBD being full on in MK's head. To what end, I don't know. Maybe trying tot ake him over the way she does wukong in the finale, maybe just to mess with him. But she's in his head and rooted there.

7. s1e9, Macaque's powers seem to make MK angry? We see that resentment towards wukong at the start of the ep, but the way he acts after Mac "infects" him is...really out of character. It's basically the only time we see him angry like that.

8. s1e8 the key the mayor gives MK is LBD's. It has the skull on it, and the default shape matches her tomb. It does what he says, opens anything, but the key belongs to LBD/matches her tomb. To what end? I...don't know.

9. s2e1 I know it's probably just an animation trope but I'm choosing to pretend MK used glamor magic/shapeshifting and had no idea he did.

10. s1e5 this is the mayor in the calabash with MK, right???? No one else has hair anywhere close to that. Also we don't see the mayor until after this episode.

okay that's all i got for now but i'm just about to get into s3 again so we'll see what happens there

[night-faye]

Glad you’re enjoying all this ^_^ don’t worry about straining your eyes, by the episode doesn’t mean every episode, you actually can’t miss the change ;) Between whatever the OP before episode 8 was and those at the end, it’s in the last frame. A couple more trivia for you :D Sorry I keep referencing Macky’s episodes LOL esp this one but S3 Ep 4 that screenshot where he dumps the Skeleton Key in the grass and walks off is reminiscent of the scene where Wukong first leaves his staff in the pilots and walks off. And between two storyboard artists, we’ve seen Red Son being drawn in gender nonconforming fashions, using all pronouns and I quote, “Red Son cannot be contained by one measly gender and will be taking all the genders.” The characters are also given their own Pokemon Team by the artists ;) and although they aren’t stated to have confirmed ages so the fans are able to see them however, they are stated outside of the show to be seen as certain ages. Pigsy is 43, Tang is 41, Mei is 23, and MK is at least 18 but fandom mostly places him at 21. MK has also been thought of as going by He/They pronouns and was shown with the transgender flag. Wukong in JTTW is one of four celestial primates who is described as “knows transformations, recognizes the seasons, discerns the advantages of earth, and is able to alter the course of planets and stars.” While Macaque is "a sensitive ear, discernment of fundamental principles, knowledge of past and future, and comprehension of all things." And his name comes from the saying "a secret is not safe between six ears" or "the dharma is not to be transmitted to the sixth ear" which has sneaky dialogue potential. I love playing around with it. Also, the characters are merged with other JTTW characters of similar names. That goes for the entire Brotherhood + Macky, who is merged with the Macaque King who is presented as female in the English translation. This is where the “Great Sage Informing Wind” title comes from for Macky in fics + the wind and shadow magic people sometimes tie together with him. Altho you don’t see his six ears in the show, we get a lot of references through the mech, how sound effects him, and his…unique ability to react as if having heard into the future. You’ll see in the special. But his model sheet does show him with six ears if you ever wanted to know. But fandom draws him with rainbow colorful ears based on another show that has these monkeys :D Lego’s Chinese TikTok (official one) refers to him as “handsome max charisma villain” + mandarin dub calls him “phantom lord” LOL. In a game, he’s very tsundere about admitting he has a monkey king poster in his room. In S4 we like to say he’s homeless. I’m still struggling to verify if it was a show producers tweet I read about him forgetting to pay rent and losing the dojo. Mei’s placeholder name was “mary sue” and it makes me cry, why they do my girl like that 😭 Time passes differently in the Celestial Realm, so a few hours or days on Earth can be weeks or years up there. Might've been why Wukong was rushing in S2 yet seems to have been gone for months :) Lmao, I gotta catch up to where you're at. I've been slowly writing these up since Pitiful Creatures. Ah, it seems you've seen how MK parallels Mei leaving in S3 here! Fun times for everyone ^_^

Glad you’re enjoying all this ^_^ don’t worry about straining your eyes, by the episode doesn’t mean every episode, you actually can’t miss the change ;) Between whatever the OP before episode 8 was and those at the end, it’s in the last frame.

Aye aye cap'n I'll keep my eyes peels. about to go into nine so should be fun! (I missed it on eight because I wasn't looking)

A couple more trivia for you :D Sorry I keep referencing Macky’s episodes LOL

Never apologize for referencing Macky episodes. I wanna go insane over this monkey

esp this one but S3 Ep 4 that screenshot where he dumps the Skeleton Key in the grass and walks off is reminiscent of the scene where Wukong first leaves his staff in the pilots and walks off.

👀

And between two storyboard artists, we’ve seen Red Son being drawn in gender nonconforming fashions, using all pronouns and I quote, “Red Son cannot be contained by one measly gender and will be taking all the genders.”

THAT IS SUCH A MOOD!!!! HOLY SHIT! Red Son I feel you so hard

The characters are also given their own Pokemon Team by the artists ;)

If Macky doesn't have my (second behind squirtle) fave Mimikyu I will riot

and although they aren’t stated to have confirmed ages so the fans are able to see them however, they are stated outside of the show to be seen as certain ages. Pigsy is 43, Tang is 41, Mei is 23, and MK is at least 18 but fandom mostly places him at 21.

Noted noted noted :)

MK has also been thought of as going by He/They pronouns and was shown with the transgender flag.

👀

Wukong in JTTW is one of four celestial primates who is described as “knows transformations, recognizes the seasons, discerns the advantages of earth, and is able to alter the course of planets and stars.” While Macaque is "a sensitive ear, discernment of fundamental principles, knowledge of past and future, and comprehension of all things." And his name comes from the saying "a secret is not safe between six ears" or "the dharma is not to be transmitted to the sixth ear" which has sneaky dialogue potential. I love playing around with it.

Yeee I knew this. hehehehe. I am going to have such fun with this hehehe

Also, the characters are merged with other JTTW characters of similar names. That goes for the entire Brotherhood + Macky, who is merged with the Macaque King who is presented as female in the English translation.

Oh fascinating!

This is where the “Great Sage Informing Wind” title comes from for Macky in fics + the wind and shadow magic people sometimes tie together with him. Altho you don’t see his six ears in the show, we get a lot of references through the mech, how sound effects him, and his…unique ability to react as if having heard into the future. You’ll see in the special. But his model sheet does show him with six ears if you ever wanted to know. But fandom draws him with rainbow colorful ears based on another show that has these monkeys :D Lego’s Chinese TikTok (official one) refers to him as “handsome max charisma villain” + mandarin dub calls him “phantom lord” LOL. In a game, he’s very tsundere about admitting he has a monkey king poster in his room.

>*Taking notes very quickly*<

In S4 we like to say he’s homeless. I’m still struggling to verify if it was a show producers tweet I read about him forgetting to pay rent and losing the dojo.

WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME? LMAO

Mei’s placeholder name was “mary sue” and it makes me cry, why they do my girl like that 😭

JUSTICE FOR MY GIRL

Time passes differently in the Celestial Realm, so a few hours or days on Earth can be weeks or years up there. Might've been why Wukong was rushing in S2 yet seems to have been gone for months :)

Time passes differently you say 👀 oh I could Do Things With That

Lmao, I gotta catch up to where you're at. I've been slowly writing these up since Pitiful Creatures. Ah, it seems you've seen how MK parallels Mei leaving in S3 here! Fun times for everyone ^_^

I'm in pain :)

[davids-cartoon-corkboard]

Episode 6 thoughts!

Is this why the Demon Bull King and Princess Iron Fan were always so disappointed when Red Son failed or was “weak”? He was so powerful with the Samadhi fire, surely he could be powerful without it if they pushed him- but that just turned into biting comments and tearing him down. And they kept the knowledge of the fire from him because they knew he would try to retrieve it to be powerful and win their approval.

Even without the risk of him attacking them out of resentment should he manage to succeed, it’s clear that he’s willing to hurt himself for power. (Apparently punching yourself in the face is a requirement to activate the Samadhi fire. Methinks that’s how he got his scar.) Wouldn’t he be so determined to get the fire that he would act recklessly, then? Couldn’t he very well get hurt or killed? Better to just keep it a secret.

Since it seems like the Bodhisattva Guanyin was only involved in the first part of the fight versus Red Son (using the water in her vase to extinguish the fire), but not the second part (actually removing and splitting the fire), I’m assuming he never became her disciple in this version. Which isn’t surprising; Journey to the West is meant to be read allegorically and a lot of that meaning isn’t going to make it into this silly Lego cartoon. And if you don’t read JttW allegorically, a lot of parts seem really fucked up. The Bodhisattva stabbed this kid with, like, a lot of swords, y’all.

-----

As the amnesic Sun Wukong said last episode, the Samadhi fire split into four pieces.

Ao Lie is in dragon form in the flashback, placed much more prominently than he would be if he were in horse form.

Long Xiaojiao is aflame in a vision here and in episode 2.

LXJ outright refers to herself as Bai Longma, in a way!

Did Ao Lie absorb the last piece of the Samadhi fire?! Was it accidental, or a deliberate grasp at more power? Did SWK know at the time? If so, did he tell anyone or try to do anything about it? Or was he too afraid to square up against even a fragment of the fire that nearly killed him? Does he still know now, or did White Bone Sprit mess with that memory? Did others know, and WBS also messed with their memories?

...If the fire was meant to be lost forever, then who made the map? It had to be someone present at the separation, someone who would know or be able to reasonably guess the location of the other three pieces.

Was Ao Lie not satisfied with having only one piece? Did he plan to get the other three? Clearly he failed, was he found out and stopped by the others? Or did he perish against WBS and the Not-Mayor, passing on the fragment within him to his next incarnation?

The whole reason Ao Lie went on the Journey was to repent for accidentally setting fire to his father’s palace and pearls. To parallel this, LXJ is gonna light Megapolis UP.

(*Steve Harvey voice* YES! KILL!)

I’m curious if a piece of the Samadhi fire can be activated independently, and under what circumstances... perhaps LXJ will connect the dots once she learns about there being four pieces and then she’ll get fire breath or something?

-----

Side note: he actually went to get the blanket and milk. And he’s definitely going to keep LXJ’s dragon plushie safe for her. Spicynoodles and Dragonfruit shippers are having a field day with this aren’t they.

-----

(Screenshots and subtitles courtesy of colesmonkies on twitter.)

(Opening) (Ep.1) (Ep. 2) (Ep. 3) (Ep. 4) (Ep. 5)

(Ep. 6: You Are Here) (Ep. 7) (Ep. 8) (Ep. 9) (Ep. 10)