#this is...this is ENTIRELY about six ears and stone monkey

[cave-monkey]

Monkey King 2009 Episode 8 (Part 1/2)

This episode makes me scared for the future. It's so wholesome. This episode was all about what great friends these guys are, how much they care about each other, how important these relationships are to them, and I mean. It did a great job. It did a wonderful job!

They are definitely getting ready to rip them apart. They might let it ride a few episodes more only to spring it on us when we've let our guards down, but it's coming.

But!

Okay, so I already broke and talked a bit about Six Ears and Stone Monkey in this episode, so I won't go too crazy on that (maybe), but I do want to mention Stone Monkey's furiously intent expression while running to save Six Ears's life, and then how the second he was in range to attack that expression flipped to a smile. He also ripped Six Ears out of there and slipped back to a more serious expression when he asked him what he was doing out here all by himself. This entire episode Stone Monkey's kind of flipping between...really intense and then really flippant, which was interesting to watch? But also a bit whiplash-inducing. Jade Rabbit definitely took it as 100% real, and maybe it is - it's not like you can expect any version of Monkey King to not to be a little cocky - but...I dunno. I think there's some nuance there. It reminds me a bit of how he'd go from 0 to 60 when confronted with the four generals in Episode 6 compared to how carefree he might have been acting even just seconds earlier.

That smile is also only moments after he just watched the Demon King send Six Ears flying, and we got a shot of his face immediately after that too, and he wasn't happy about it. Stone Monkey, I think, can smile maliciously, but he still...hm.

I get the impression Stone Monkey doesn't really like showing that something's actually getting to him, especially when his "enemies" can see it. He'll pretend he's more confident than he is, or otherwise that it doesn't actually bother him at all, at least until he can't hide it anymore and it comes out of him snarling (we saw this in action in Episode 6, where he went from avoidance/running away at the beginning of the episode to passive-aggressive antagonism in the middle to having to be held back from squaring up to Marshal Ma at the end). Even when he's genuinely (or "genuinely") annoyed with someone, there's generally a sort of playful air of exaggeration, or he'll teasingly escalate for fun. What it looks like to me is Stone Monkey enjoys confrontation so long as it's basically harmless, but he doesn't like being actually angry. This might have something to do with the fact that when he actually loses his temper, he gets violent. We see this with the Demon King and with Ginseng Fruit.

Which isn't to say all his quick changes in mood are deliberate obfuscation. That's going too far. But I do think it's a part of his character that pokes its head out of the brush every now and then.

We also see a little of how people react to it. Stone Monkey was visibly struggling enough during his fight against the Demon King that Jade Rabbit was moved to help him a few times even though she was still very angry with him, and when she'd knock the Demon King down or trip him up (from hiding, Stone Monkey didn't know (maybe) that she was there) he'd immediately flip over to mocking laughter and confident poses like he hadn't been worried at all. This PISSED her OFF.

It also makes me kind of wonder how Six Ears perceives it. Both Stone Monkey and Six Ears will default to mocking and taunts and making fun when they can during a fight, so it's not like Six Ears isn't familiar with the tactic, but he also doesn't see how stressed Stone Monkey gets when trying to get to him before a rescue, either. He only sees the smiling entrance.

I'm feeling this out because of the part in this episode where Stone Monkey - for probably the first time ever - refuses to let Six Ears fight with him, and even throws him away from danger. (I LOVE that scene.) I have a lot to say about it, actually, and I'll get into what I think was going on from Stone Monkey's perspective there in a second, but from Six Ears's side that cannot feel good. Yeah, Stone Monkey's just trying to protect him, but he's also not trusting Six Ears to help. He's forcing Six Ears to leave his best friend alone in the middle of an enemy war party, because he doesn't trust him to help. That's got to feel like a horrible slap in the face, at least once the battle is over and Six Ears has time to process it.

And I'm sure that's not going to have any consequences whatsoever.

From Stone Monkey's side (didn't I say I wasn't going to talk about them that much? well I lied), going back to their earlier conversation where Stone Monkey asks Six Ears what he's doing out here alone, and then the look on his face when Six Ears explains (plainly and almost casually for the situation, like he doesn't realize he's rocking Stone Monkey's entire world) that he noticed Stone Monkey missing and went looking for him because he was worried that he might be in danger somewhere.

Stone Monkey's shocked.

It isn't that I think he didn't realize Six Ears cared about him before this moment; it's that this is the moment where I think it really clicked. That Six Ears will notice and miss him when he's not there, that he'll worry about him, that Stone Monkey has someone who will come try to find him when he's lost and help him when he's hurt. Six Ears has been doing this for him since they met, even outright scolding him for always vanishing without telling anyone, so Stone Monkey's definitely been a little slow on the uptake here, but I also think this is the first time Stone Monkey's heard Six Ears actually spell it out like this.

The progression of Stone Monkey's face during this conversation.

Six Ears also tells him not to apologize or say anything about always getting Six Ears into trouble, since Stone Monkey's always having to save him anyway. I mentioned before that I thought the sworn brothers thing was really important to Stone Monkey at the time, just because of how rough things had been with the troop and how nice it probably was for him to have someone willing to claim him and to let him claim them in turn, and I think this is something very similar. Confirmation that he's as important to Six Ears as Six Ears is to him. That they'll take care of each other.

Then fast forward a couple minutes and Stone Monkey throws Six Ears to the top of the cliff instead of letting him fall with him. I think this conversation is definitely a huge part of that.

It's not that I think Stone Monkey wouldn't have wanted to save Six Ears even before it, but I do think his emotions are running a little high at that moment. He saw Six Ears get flattened by the Demon King not long ago, they just had a very important conversation for Stone Monkey, and I think in that moment the thought of losing Six Ears when he probably feels he just got him (or had just allowed himself to believe he really had him, not much difference) was probably overwhelmingly horrible. He's already proven himself protective of Six Ears in the past, and I think that feeling is probably dialed up to a million at that moment, and so it's probably not surprising if he panicked and took a chance to shove him up on a high shelf for safekeeping. (Maybe Stone Monkey's mystic universe powers make him capable of recognizing narrative death flags and he said NOT TODAY.) (I kid.) (Or do I?)

There's also a possibility - way more of a stretch, not sure how I feel about this idea one way or another honestly - that he maybe now feels he can trust Six Ears to come back even if he isn't right next to Stone Monkey. That Six Ears won't leave him for dead, but will go get help and bring it as fast as he can, or will return to help on his own.

Or it's just that Stone Monkey 100% would have thrown Six Ears to safety in the past, but this is just coincidentally the first time there's been an opportunity. (Stone Monkey, shrugging: If you don't want to be tossed out of the fight, don't be so tossable.)

This ties into what I was talking about above (way, way above, oops) that Six Ears isn't always privy to the times Stone Monkey isn't confident. Maybe Stone Monkey didn't like even their combined chances and chose to save Six Ears because he genuinely thought they were going to die there when that tree went down, maybe he really did think he had a better chance of holding out longer than Six Ears, maybe he was going full big brain and knew that if he went back and tried to bring the army, there was a good chance the four generals just wouldn't listen to him, and it's just good luck that sending Six Ears lets him get his best friend safely out of the way. Maybe it's a weird mashup of many different reasons.

I don't think he genuinely believed he could single-handedly fight his way out of that canyon. I'm not sure if Six Ears knows that.

I'm not finishing this thought now, but I'm stewing on it.

And anyway, on a lighter note, most of Stone Monkey's intentions are totally moot because Six Ears - the universe's favorite trouble magnet - manages to either run immediately into another division of enemy soldiers (tiger guy probably had a grudge and went looking for him, actually) who bailed out of the canyon for their own reasons and gets tree-ed again for awhile.

There's also the possibility he took it upon himself to guide off some of the army from the canyon so Stone Monkey wasn't overrun while also handling the Demon King!

Anyway, I love these monkeys. This also totally derailed from being about Episode 8 so I'm going to do a part 2 to get things back on track.

#mhw09 personal #images under cut #this is...this is ENTIRELY about six ears and stone monkey #I'm sorry I failed #the next part will be about more of the episode lol #this is what happens when I fall asleep halfway through writing these things they grow to monstrous size #anyway I just love how much these two love each other #platonic romantic whatever #on my own note while I do think peachbuds is very cute and I DO ship it #(sometimes - you know. headcanons. fluid and endless etc etc.) #I prefer to watch the series through the lens of it being entirely platonic #mostly because I don't really think adding a crush would actually change their interactions much at all #I think for these two the fact they're best friends is and always will be the first priority #even when they're older

[quitealotofsodapop]

Wouldn't it be hilarious if stone monkeys actually can give birth or lay stone eggs naturally? Like... if they have a partner it'll be a regular old birth the same as how MK and the twins came into the world... but say a stone monkey didn't have a partner. Stone Monkey are a rare and critically endangered species afterall (even if they don't have the protections of an endangered species).

So what if, as a biological advantage, a stone monkey actually can lay a stone egg and give birth to a little baby stone monkey the same way as how Wukong and Macaque were born. But it's risky since creating life without a partner is beyond dangerous and most don't survive to even see the egg hatch, so most can only have one at a time and have to REALLY want a kid since, well, they'd basically be trading their life for the kids'. A kid that probably wouldn't even be hatched until long after their parent is dead.

I think with Wukong, it'd be a bit different because, well, 7 times over immortal monkey. But he'd still experience the negative effects and basically be completely vulnerable for a long time afterwards if he ever did it.

Just a little headcanon I thought up that I thought you'd be interested in.

Oh like parthenogenesis! Like some reptiles do when theres no available mates. I figure in a similar sense, the baby Stone Monkey would be a near-genetic clone of the parent; with the environment the "womb" is in adding life energy/qi/dao and affecting the appearance/abilities of the developing monkey within. Wukong likely popped out the way he did cus his egg was at the top of a mountain - his egg absorbing the violent life energy of what was once an active volcano over thousands of years.

Considering a certain few lines in Jttw, it's suggested that Wukong and Macaque are the last of their kind (with Six Eared being a variant/subspecies) - or they're just the only ones in that hemisphere. Like ancient human relatives the great Stone Monkeys became lost to time or were drowned in the Great Flood, or in the case of the Gibbon and Baboon; left Earth entirely.

The idea of a Stone Monkey deciding one day "I want a baby" and their body taking from there if there wasn't a viable mating option is really interesting. Their body's becoming like golems, weathered down into boulders if damage comes to them. And also very sad cus they know that theres a really good chance that they will never meet their baby. :(

Though imagine what the potiential "trigger" for it could be...

Guanyin: "The Monkey King is currently held beneath the Five Point Mountain. It will act as his prison for the next five centuries." Gold Star: "Ah. Make sure he's watered frequently and has plenty of oxygen." Guanyin: "But of course, it is only humane. However, doesn't he possess many forms of immortality?" Gold Star: *is so old that he witnessed the first Stone Monkeys, some even developing on his planet* Gold Star: "Not unless you want him to make another of himself." Guanyin: "Pardon?" Gold Star: "In my observations; when a Stone Monkey without a mate wished to reproduce, they would bury themselves and abstain from all biological needs until their bodies returned to the stone from whence they came. A new stone egg formed within their body as if it were a womb. The process is very taxing, and many died if another was not present to "wake" them afterwards. Though even in the case of parental death; the egg within the body would live on to hatch forth an infant to be raised by the familial troop." Guanyin, panicking: "I... I will be back in a moment." Wukong, beneath the mountain: "...why am I thinking about having kids?" Guanyin: *busts in holding molten copper and iron cus it was the only thing next to her at the time*

Of course it is unlikely for Wukong to actually *die* if his body decided to Copy/Paste him into an egg. But the possible way it could occur to him accidentally in any universe would be scary.

Like say... being trapped in a (newly) air-tightened Furnace by spiteful past enemy...

Lets just say I thought of another way that Luzhen is created >:)

Macaque: *pops open the lid to the airless Furnace* "Oh thank Buddha! You're intact. Drink some water dummy." Wukong, "awakened" by the fresh air and water: "...I think I'm pregnant." Macaque: "Uh... congrats?" Wukong: "No, like. Being cooked in there with no air made me pregnant." Macaque, only vaguely familar with their species: "...we should really ask Gold Star about this."

Luzhen in the TMKATI au would be celebrated as an adored, if not odd, new member to the family. His egg pops out after a long time of just sitting in SWK's body like his swallowed a rock. Luzhen "hatched" in a way that triggered something akin to labor. After all, Wukong's egg split open his Rock-mother (possibly the body of his parent) when it was his time to hatch. Wukong decides it is the worst pain he's ever felt in all his immortal life. Luzhen blinks slowly when his shell finally cracked all the way, confused on where he was.

The bit of dao Luzhen absorbed from his enviroment allowed him to develop just a tiny difference to his father; a pair of moon-silver eyes. Macaque smugly declares Luzhen's beautiful eyes are clearly a trait he inherited from him - and likely *did* depending on if any part of Macaque ended up in the Furnace with Wukong too. Like lets say the bones from an arm grapsing deperately before the lid of the Furnace slammed shut...

Hilariously, if Sun Wukong couldn't breath and/or wasn't able to crawl towards the Wind Trigram his first time cooking in the Furnace; there was a good chance that Lao Tzu would have opened the Furnance to a statue-like Monkey King with an egg inside of it. Wukong finally reawakening 500 years later with a heavy stomach and *many* questions.

#lego monkie kid #lmk #sun wukong #jttw theories #jttw #journey to the west #pregnancy tw #stone egg #death tw #liu er mihou #six eared macaque #celestial primates #sun luzhen #lmk sun luzhen #lmk character ideas #jttw stone egged au

[journeythroughjourneytothewest]

Chapter 14 Recap: Mind monkey returns to the Right; the Six Robbers vanish from sight.

Though both Tripitaka and Boqin are driven to fear by the voice, the assembled houseboys state confidently that it “must be the old ape in that stone box beneath the mountain who is shouting.” Boqin agrees, and then explains to a perplexed Tang Sanzang that though the mountain is currently known as the “Mountain of Two Frontiers,” it was once known as the “Mountain of Five Phases.” Boqin states that he had further heard from his elders that the mountain had long ago “fell from Heaven with a divine monkey clamped beneath it,” and that this monkey had “lasted from that time until now, surviving both cold and hunger.” Boqin then suggests that they go see what the monkey is shouting about, and Tripitaka reluctantly agrees.

The two and the horse don’t have to travel long before they encounter a stone box that does indeed contain a sentient monkey currently covered in dirt and greenery. Said monkey greets Tang Sanzang as “master,” and states that he’ll protect the monk on the way to the Westward Heaven. He then asks Tripitaka if he is indeed the scripture pilgrim and, having that confirmed, reveals himself to be “the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven…who greatly disturbed the Heavenly Palace five hundred years ago.” He also claims that he is now sworn to protect the scripture pilgrim, and that he is willing to become Tang Sanzang’s disciple.

Tripitaka is delighted at this turn of events, but isn’t sure how he can free the monkey from the stone box. The Great Sage tells Tang Sanzang that it’s an easy task, and that all he has to do is remove a tag with golden letters on the top of the mountain. Boqin and Tripitaka make their way up together, and upon seeing the seal Xuanzang prays to the Buddha to only let the monk remove the seal if the monkey’s speaking the truth. He then removes the tag easily, and it blows away, with the prison guard of the Great Sage also letting Tripitaka know that the seal is being returned to the Buddha.

After going back to Sun Wukong and letting the monkey know that his imprisonment is over, the delighted simian tells Tripitaka that he should “walk away from here so that I can come out.” The group of humans then retreat some five or six miles, but Sun Wukong yells at them to go further. Finally, after they had left the mountain entirely, “at once came a crash so loud that it was as if the mountain was cracking and the earth splitting wide open.” The next second a completely naked Great Sage is bowing in front of Tang Sanzang, thanking Boqin for “shaving the grass from my face,” and goes off to get the luggage in order. We’re also informed that Sun Wukong’s time as the BanHorsePlague gave him such authority over all equines that “the horses of this world inevitably would fear him when they saw him.” The monkey also informs the monk that he already has a religious name in “Sun Wukong,” and Tripitaka gives him the nickname “Pilgrim Sun.”

Boqin, now seeing Tang Sanzang is protected by “an excellent disciple,” makes his leave. The “stark naked” monkey and the monk continue on the journey west, Sun Wukong carrying the luggage, Tripitaka on his horse. They are soon menaced by a tiger which Pilgrim Sun takes on with delight, pulling out his as-you-will cudgel from his ear and giving big cat such a ferocious blow that he “caused its brain to burst out like ten thousand red petals of peach blossoms, and the teeth to fly out like so many pieces of white jade.” Tang Sanzang immediately falls off his horse in fear at this display of strength, noting that it had taken Boqin all day to defeat a tiger whereas Sun Wukong had reduced the tiger “to pulp with one blow of his rod.” An unperturbed Pilgrim Sun asks Tripitaka to sit down for awhile, and proceeds to make himself a loincloth from the tiger’s skin.

As they continue their travels, Tang Sanzang asks Sun Wukong a litany of questions about his cudgel and about his abilities, which the monkey is only too eager to boast of. Tripitaka is “more relieved than ever” upon hearing that his new disciple and his new guardian possesses ��boundless ways of transformation” and ways to protect him, and the two continue travelling and chatting until sunset.

They find shelter for the night after some difficulty, with an elderly man who opened a door they knocked on being left “panic-stricken by the hideous appearance of Pilgrim,” but who is soon mollified upon seeing “the handsome features of Tripitaka.” Monk and disciple are soon invited in, and Sun Wukong relates how he had seen the old man when he was a child collecting vegetables and firewood. The old man, for his own part, recounts how his great-grandfather had told him about how when “this mountain dropped from the sky, it had a divine ape clamped underneath it.” Tripitaka and the old man also discover that they are from the same clan as they both have the secular family name “Chen.” Sun Wukong then asks “Old Chen” for some boiled water so that he and his new shifu can clean themselves; old monkey in particular hadn’t taken a bath “for five hundred years.” Pilgrim Sun further requests a needle and some thread from Old Chen after the bath, which he uses to properly stitch his tiger skin. Wearing that and one of Tripitaka’s shirts which the monk had left out specifically for the monkey, Sun Wukong “paraded in front of his master,” and Tang Sanzang compliments him, saying that his disciple now truly looks like a pilgrim.

Pilgrim Sun and Tripitaka are back on the road the next morning, continuing the journey west. Soon enough the seasons change, and early winter is upon them. It is then that master and disciple are suddenly accosted by six bandits, who demand that they leave their horse and bag behind. Tang Sanzang is terrified enough to fall from his horse. Sun Wukong, however, calls this robbery a trifling matter, and that the bandits are “just some people coming to give us clothes and a travel allowance.” The monkey then nonchalantly lets the bandits hack away at him about eighty times before deciding that “it’s about time for old Monkey to take out his needle for a little entertainment.” He then proceeds to “beat every one of them to death, stripped them of their clothes, and seized their valuables.” He brings these spoils back to Tang Sanzang, smiling broadly.

Tripitaka, for his own part, is horrified by his disciple’s actions and soundly reprimands him. Confused, Sun Wukong notes that if he hadn’t killed the bandits, “they would have killed you!” Tang Sanzang, however, is adamant that “As a priest, I would rather die than practice violence.” Pilgrim Sun then states that “when I, old Monkey, was king on the Flower-Fruit Mountain five hundred years ago, I killed I don’t know how many people. I would not have been a Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, if I had lived by what you are saying.” Tang Sanzang retorts that “It’s precisely because you had neither scruples nor self-control…that you had to undergo this ordeal of five hundred years,” and that because even after entering the fold of Buddhism the monkey insisted “on practicing violence and indulge in the taking of life as before, you are not worthy to be a monk, nor can you got to the Western Heaven. You’re wicked! You’re just too wicked!”

This monkey, so the story next informs us, “had never in all his life been able to tolerate scolding.” And so he flies off, leaving Tripitaka to “set off sadly to the West.” The lonesome monk doesn’t travel long before he meets an old woman holding “a silk garment and a cap with a floral design.” He tells her about his mission and about Sun Wukong’s spat at her questioning, and she gives him the garment and cap, claiming that they used to belong to her son who “had been a monk for only three days when unfortunately he died.” She also gives Tang Sanzang a spell called “True Words for Controlling the Mind, or the Tight-Fillet Spell.” She tells the monk that when Pilgrim Sun returns he must give the monkey the garment and the cap, and then recite the spell silently “if he again refuses to obey…He will not dare do violence or leave your again.” Tripitaka thanks the old woman, who transforms into a shaft of golden light and vanishes towards the east. It is then Tang Sanzang realizes that he was speaking with the Bohisattva Guanyin.”

Sun Wukong, for his own part, heads straight to the Water Crystal Palace of the Dragon King of the Eastern ocean. The two kings start chatting, with Pilgrim Sun telling the dragon about his refusal to listen to the monk and his desire to go back to his mountain, having only stopped by the palace “to come visit you and ask for a cup of tea.” While the Dragon King indulges the monkey, he soon tells him that if he is “unwilling to exercise diligence or to accept instruction, you will remain a bogus immortal after all.” Sun Wukong does soon agree to go back, even running into Bodhisattva Guanyin on his way. Once he reunites with Tang Sanzang, Pilgrim Sun moves to get his shifu food from a bag, and sees the silk shirt and flower cap. Tripitaka tells the monkey that he may wear the fine garments if they fit. An eager Sun Wukong tries them on, and no sooner had he put on the cap than Tang Sanzang started reciting the Tight-Fillet Spell.

The monk “went through the recitation several times without ceasing, and the pain was so intense that Pilgrim was rolling on the ground, his hands gripping the flower cap.” When he touches his head again, Sun Wukong finds that “it was tightly bound by a thin metal band; it could be neither pulled off nor ripped apart, for it had, as it were, taken root on his head.” It can’t even be removed with the as-you-will cudgel. And Tripitaka doesn’t give Pilgrim much time to try, and this time goes through the recitation of the spell until it was “so painful that [Sun Wukong] did cartwheels and somersaults. His face and even his ears turned red, his eyes bulged, and his body grew weak.” The monkey promises to obey the monk if only he stops the recitation. Yet right afterwards he tries to kill Tang Sanzang, and after he’s brough to heel a second time expresses a wish to beat the Bodhisattva Guanyin up. Yet soon after, “Pilgrim gave up all thoughts of disobedience or rebellion.” Whether he will keep with this new mentality is a question that will have to be left for the next chapter.

#jtjttw chapter recap #xiyouji #journey to the west #jttw #sun wukong #monkey king #tang sanzang #return of the king #and subsequent humbling of the kind

[lucidboba]

This is a vent post on the Lego Monkie Kid fandom and the show. I am in no way an expert on the Journey To The West book so take this with a grain of salt.

I am honestly so sick of the Lego Monkie Kid fandom spreading misinformation around and claiming they know everything about JTTW Sun Wukong as a character when half of them don't even read the book and just get their information from OSP JTTW and LMK.

OSP on their podcast already said they left out a lot of stuff from the book for their videos as it's a summary and might have made Sun Wukong seem more impulsive then he actually are and they encouraged more people to read the book instead so I don't blame them.

What I blame is the part of the fandom that keeps on acting like they know everything when they just watch a short summary of a very long and complex book.

I get it, LMK is different from JTTW and change the original story a lot as it's a kids show. You shouldn't have to read the book just to enjoy the show. But you shouldn't spread misinformation around about the actual book just because you heard it from somewhere and did little to nothing research and just read a couple of short analysis.

This happens mostly to Sun Wukong as there are people saying he was unjustly punished and he didn't do anything wrong or people saying he was a moster demon spawn that deserve his punishment even when Guan Yin had to step in to intervene or people saying he was dumb, entire personality is being impulsive.

He is the Intelligent Stone monkey, the Monkey of the Mind, the monkey that have knowledge of ancient medicine and cured a king, the monkey that almost managed to sued the Devarāja Li if not for the Gold Star Of Venus's intervene, ment to represent the mind in all it's clever chaotic glory. he was one of the top students under Patriarch Puti for goodness sake and was the one who solves most of their problems on the journey. He has his moments of being impulsive and dumb but not nearly as much as people might think.

Not to mention their favoritism of the Six Eared Macaque, they baby him as if he wasn't the representation of what Sun Wukong would be like if he actually didn't have any control and just did whatever he wanted. Now LMK Macaque actually is trying to help MK in season 4 which I am very happy about, but JTTW and LMK are very different. So please, if you want to say JTTW Macaque did nothing wrong, don't use LMK as source.

Now the show have some flaws that I feel need to be adress. The show deviates from the actual book a lot which I have no problems with as it's a kids show but how much deviations are you allowed to have to the point of being an bad representation of the actual book. They said they consulted Chinese experts on the book which sometimes you can tell but other times, it just doesn't feel like it.

But there are also some fans that spread nonsense around and because they have a lot of followers everyone just believes them without more research. It made the show just feel like another bad adaptation in a sea of plastics that just so happens to float above the rest of the bad adaptations the book have gone through.

Which is a shame, you can tell a lot of thought and hard work have been put in the show with it's stellar animation, amazing voice acting, beautiful soundtracks and some actual moments that can put you to tears. But I wish the fandom would stop taking information from the show and stop saying it's exactly like the book. It made just enjoying the show and interacting with the good part of the fandom with it's beautiful fanart and great discussions harder to enjoy when all you can think about are the inaccuracies people are spewing around about the actual book.

Anyway, thanks for listening to my long rant. I really needed to get this of my chest.😮‍💨

I might rephrase this at a later date if I'm unhappy with it.

#journey to the west #jttw #lego monkie kid #lmk #sun wukong #lmk sun wukong #monkey king #six eared macaque #osp journey to the west

[sketching-shark]

hmmmmmmMmMMMMM so lego show spoilers ahead & good chance this is just me misunderstanding things and/or being too harsh on a silly goofy lego show and/or hanging onto an increasingly dwindling hope that Monkie Kid will give a better explanation for the Monkey King’s behavior than they’ve so far done beyond “Sun Wukong’s a impulsive idiot 5 eva,” but does it seem to anyone else that in the process of making a number of the villains from Journey to the West more relatable that it’s resulted in Sun Wukong just coming off as worse and worse? (to say nothing of the “intelligent” part of “intelligent stone monkey” seems to be getting dissolved in favor of hyperfocusing on the ol’ chaotic/impulsive characterization but that’s a conversation for another day).

Like in the og classic one of the things that makes the Monkey King a fascinating character is that he IS very violent, BUT his violence always has a clear reason with clear thinking behind it & which he’s often shockingly honest about. So to give a few examples! Why did Sun Wukong wage his havoc against heaven? Because heaven sent an entire army against him after he ruined one(1) banquet. Why did he attack the yaoguai kings of the Lion-Camel ridge? Because they were planning to eat the Tang monk (and had already eaten tons upon tons of other humans like holy HELL the description of their actions & their cave is gnarly). Why did he murder the Six-Eared Macaque? Because the Six-Eared Macaque attacked his pilgrim family, aimed to murder-replace him, and was using SWK’s monkey family as his personal tools to do so. So this SWK is a murderer many times over as he himself freely admits, but he tends to have pretty clear & dare I say understandable reasons for being a murder monkey.

But in Monkie Kid? Well, turns out that Sun Wukong convinced his sworn brothers to attack heaven again AFTER his havoc in heaven, and presumably thus got them all in a heap of trouble/trapped in an evil scroll for something he instigated! Why did he attack the other yaoguai kings? I guess he’s just a power-hungry jerk who betrays everyone now! Why did he murder the Six-Eared Macaque? Ditto the previous quote.

Now there is some slight indication that this betrayal of his former sworn brothers was because he was literally tortured into submission by heaven, but this only comes in a brief hint, while again the focus seems to be on how thoroughly Sun Wukong hurt and failed literally everyone he’s ever cared for up into the show’s present. And this has been true for the past couple of seasons. IDK, maybe this will all end with him being the ultimate example of “even if you are struggling with crushing grief and guilt & feel like you need to solve everything by yourself you need to accept help & tell people things,” but for the time being it’s honestly just making the Monkey King seem like someone who’s incapable of doing the right thing or changing for the better and who no one would possibly want to interact with.

Kind of does make the sudden concern for SWK that characters who clearly hate his guts or have some beef with him show when he gets locked in the evil scroll weird. Like, why do you care?

#monkie kid spoilers #monkie kid #might be darkly humorous if at least one character was like 'okay! problem solved! :D' #but that might be a little too dark for a kid's show & not keeping with whatever message flying bark is aiming for efgerseawrf

[theoutcastedartist]

Do yo have a story or au for Macaques shadow in your drawings? Because if so I hope we get to hear it and if not there’s so much potential!

OOO I INDEED DO!

There's still a lot I'm tryna figure out for the shadow (like yknow... a NAME jfhajaj)

Also my head is a mess rn so if some of the wording is weird, that's why haha ANYWAY

In my Anathema AU, it is an ancient evil that had been sealed away in the stone that Six Ears first emerges from. One that almost no one, except a handful up in heaven, know the existence of.

Since Six Eared Macaque emerged, it has been (albeit very, VERY slowly over the course of centuries) trying to take control of his body. The shadow being takes on many shapes and forms, the "Smoke Monster" is simply one of many. The entity only ever appears to macaque, unless macaque is using supposed "kaiju form"

And so is this fucking guy, who for the life of me I CANNOT figure out what his name is, besides the Demon King of Havoc referring to him in the show as "Grandpa Qian" I think (correct me if I'm wrong, I've only seen the first 14 episodes of the show 💀)

In Anathema AU, Demon King of Havoc and Grandpa Qian have no association with each other. DKH simply wants to take over the mountain that Old Chief Monkey & Macaque reside on to further spread his forces and territory (to which he succeeds in running the monkeys of the mountain and takes Six Ears as a prisoner for 700 years.)

This is the form that appears most often to Macaque. For now we'll refer to the entity as "Qian" until I either figure out a name for the entity or learn what this dude's name in particular actually is lol

Qian is manipulative and messes with Mac's head a lot, slowly chipping away at his will in hopes of making him vulnerable enough to fully possess him one day.

The color of Macaque's fur is usually a pretty good indicator of how far along Qian's possession of him is. The darker his fur is, the closer Qian is to his goal of being in full control.

At times he'll so much as twist reality in Macaque's head for his own goals. As a result, Six Ears to keep to himself a lot of the time distrusting everyone and everything around him. The only other person he ever felt comfortable being around was Old Chief Monkey, who Six Ears viewed as a grandfatherly figure.

Old Chief Monkey knew there was something up with Six Ears (yknow besides being born from a rock lol), but could never figure out what it was. Regardless, he truly cared for him as if he were his own flesh and blood. The loss of Six Ears during the DKH invasion of the mountain filled him with so much grief, which he still feels to this day.

Sun Wukong didn't even know of the entity trying to slowly possess Macaque, not during all their years of friendship, not during all their years of rivalry, and not in reconciliation did he know about it.

Before the two monkeys ever met, Macaque had long since given up on trying to get rid of Qian. Even if his resolve against Qian hadn't wavered after centinues of being in chains and scorn from both regular mortals and other demons, it's not like the shadowy entity would just let Macaque mention anything about it (at least not explicitly)

SWK had figured this entire time that Macaque's darkening fur had to do with his shadow powers growing. MK (along with his friends) believe something else is going on with our fav fruity goth monkey

...but Qian will not let go of this vessel so easily.

#monkie kid #lmk #lego monkie kid #six eared macaque #sun wukong #mei hou wang 2009 #mei hou wang #monkey king 2009 #anonymous asks #ask #asks #au asks #lmk x mei hou wang #liu er mihou #anon ask #anonymous #anon asks #thanks for the ask! #Anathema AU asks #AnathemaAU

[looney-mooney]

Lego Monkie Kid MK theory

Spoilers for season 4 and the season 4 special under the cut!

So we can all agree that MK is a Celestial Primate, right? We're all on the same page about that? Okay, good. Now that we've established that, let's get into the interesting question there.

Which one is he?

From what I've seen, most people in the fandom seem to agree that he's a new celestial primate, someone who's sort of a class of his own. But this is Lego Monkie Kid, and we all know how much this show absolutely ADORES reusing characters and concepts from the original Journey to the West at pretty much every opportunity.

I'm going to be using this article I found for most of this, but it's pretty much all from the book: https://journeytothewestresearch.com/2022/02/20/a-quick-study-of-the-four-celestial-monkeys-from-journey-to-the-west/

In Journey to the West, there are four celestial primates, two of whom are prominent characters in the narrative and two of whom are presumed dead before we get the chance to meet them.

Sun Wukong is the "Stone Monkey of Numinous Wisdom" (or Numinous Luminosity, depending on which translator you ask), who "knows transformations, Recognizes the seasons, Discerns the advantages of earth, And is able to alter the course of planets and stars." Macaque is... well... "The Six-Eared Macaque," who "has a sensitive ear, Discernment of fundamental principles, Knowledge of past and future, And comprehension of all things." We already know who these two are, so I'm not gonna get more into them.

The other two Celestial Primates are characters we've never met before, in the book OR the show. The Connected Arms Gibbon, who can "Seize the sun and the moon, Shorten a thousand mountains, Distinguish the auspicious from the inauspicious, And manipulate planets and stars," and the Red-Buttocked Horse Monkey, who has "knowledge of yin and yang, Understands human affairs, Is adept in its daily life And able to avoid death and lengthen its life." MK is probably a reincarnation of one of these two (if not some sort of bizarre combination of both?)

There's a case to be made for either of these roles. I don't think he's the Gibbon though, since MK's monkey form clearly has a tail (three of them, even, in his war form!) and Gibbons, as great apes, don't tend to have those. It'd be cool to meet the Connected Arms Gibbon, though!

Instead, I would like to make the case for MK being the Red-Buttocked Horse Monkey. There's a lot of debate over what species of monkey that's even meant to represent, so MK would be free to be a sort of... amalgamation monkey. The IDEA of a monkey, instead of any specific species, like Sun Wukong himself seems to be. (Plus, he usually wears red pants, so that covers the "red-buttocked" part of the character description lol)

Not to mention, that "understands human affairs" bit REALLY fits, since he's spent his whole entire LIFE living as a human! Not to mention, one of the very FIRST powers MK struggled with was invulnerability, something that was so powerful it had to be taken away from him (and something even Sun Wukong himself doesn't appear to fully have - he's immortal times a kajillion, but that doesn't mean he can't get beat up!) In a genre that has a lot of "invulnerable protagonist" as a basic element of the storytelling, that's a pretty clever way to hammer home that "avoids death" is an actual POWER of his pretty immediately

Plus, who's MK's BFF FOREVER? That's right, Mei the Dragon Horse girl. Who better to be the Horse Monkey's bestie?

But I wanna know what you guys think! Do you think MK is the Red-Buttocked Horse Monkey? The Connected Arms Gibbon? Or some completely new Celestial Monkey the showrunners made up specifically for the protagonist of their show? LMK!

#lego monkie kid #lego monkie kid spoilers #lego monkie kid season 4 spoilers #lego monkie kid season 4 #lego monkie kid season 4 special #lego monkie kid season 4 special spoilers #celestial primates #lmk mk #long post #fan theory #meta #looney mooney rants

[simping-on-the-daily]

What if,,,,, what if some of the monkeys were scared of Wukong,,,,,

Maybe they were scared when he first popped out of that rock. He wasn't real, he wasn't organic, he wasn't natural; he was born from a stone and decided that he was just like everyone else. But he wasn't. He never was and no matter what Wukong does, he'll never be like them. After all, he is the Monkey King

Or maybe they were scared when people kept invading the mountain. Wukong kept pissing people off and it lead to the mountain constantly being under attack; Celestial Beings flying to their mountain all because Wukong didn't think. He never thinks. Maybe it was when he fought Erlang and he became so large he frightened his entire army no monkey is that big and he's no monkey he's an impulsive demon with no idea that actions have consequences he never will be normal he'll never be like them

Maybe it was when he removed the names of every single monkey from the Book of Death. Immortality was a curse and how dare Wukong place it on them, how fucking dare him. To live centuries stuck in a mountain never to move on is misery, and yet they know that Wukong could do so much worse. After all, he and Macaque were once trusted friends, and look at where that got the six eared monkey; with a blinded eye and buried six feet under.

Or maybe, just maybe it was when they found Wukong in an open field, sobbing his eyes out. Crying about DBK, about Macaque, about LBD, about his time under his mountain, about the furnace; to see their ruler, their protector in such a state terrifies them. They don't know what to do except stand still in fear as Wukong cries; because what are they supposed to do when a man has undergone so much pain, and not be scared? Wukong could very well snap, or he could enter the mountain, with the same smile and insisting that everything's fine, and they don't know which one is scarier

#just....the utter angst of it okay???? #lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk sun wukong #lmk monkey king #lmk angst #simper says stuff

[shadowlight501-2]

Red scaly eyes coated the walls, ceiling, floor, everywhere I looked I'd see an eye staring at me. When I closed my eyes in hopes to escape all I could see was eyes staring back throughout the darkness. Watching me watching me it's always watching me. Eating, bathing, sleeping, it haunts me following me anywhere I go. I can't breathe as warm hands gently caress my neck, a pressure of someone on my chest. Opening my eyes a figure coated in black, stares. Everywhere was eyes, dark crimson glowing eyes. Hands slowly wrap around my neck as I can't move. I can't take my eyes away, a pit in my stomach, my insides twisting and turning into knots. I could no longer breathe everything hurt so much so much so much. I can't breathe, I can't breathe. Move move. My vision is hazy, my cheeks are soaked, my head blurred, my feelings are swarming. I can't stop, why am I smiling? I can't breathe. Is this what I want? Isn't this what I deserve the feeling of pain, pleasure, sorrow, longing, anger, obsession. Everything was mixed, what is true, what is supposed to be real, make sense make sense can't anything make sense. Can't something that isn't destructive make sense. Neck burning, crushing, hurting, yet it's just a gentle pressure.

I can't see where the eyes are, where is the pain? Wasn't I supposed to be punished more? My chest is drowning, my heart is ripping itself slowly over and over. The pressure is still there, a breath by my face, a cold welcoming sensation. I open my eyes and see an annoying creature half laying on me half on his side. An arm wrapped around my head and shoulder. My head rested on his upper arm, his fur warm. A hand was around my neck gently holding it. The palm was warm like fire burning my skin, the fingertips cold as frostbite.

Emotions attack, breath quickening, memories flooding, my fault my fault. Forget me, please just forget what I was, forget I'm now good, crush me, burn me, shatter me, destroy me. Punish me for the me that caused your pain. Eradicat this parasite. Look at me look at me look at me, I know you're watching me I know you see me see me don't see me please, am I not still the same? Your heartbeat is a pleasant sound, a painful salt, and a hypnotizing remedy. You're awake. You're awake aren't you? I'm staring aren't I…

Harsh shaped Scarlet eyes with a golden hue worriedly gazed up at the dazed black and white Monkey. He was lost in thoughts, lost in the emotions and the lack of complete visual recollection to go with these evocations. His six ears twitched at a sudden low rambling echo, his entire body slightly tensing in a small quick shiver. His violet and grey eyes let reality resurface into focus. Ruby blood eyes stare at him. "What are you thinking about?" The copper haired king repeated in a drowsy mumble. Thoughts stampeded through his mind making every word too loud to speak. "Not sure…" was the only thing that could be squeezed out. It was almost visible how his lounges swelled up with some kind of poison, a poison he desperately didn't want to coat any one of the words he ever spoke. A gentle contact on his lips, slight pressure along with what tastes like peaches seasoned with salt and cinnamon to one, the other tastes cherry plums with mangos. As the stone monkey pulled away his hand glazed the other's soft face to cup his cheek. No words were shared as they watched each other. It was as though they were watching the other's soul dance and flicker like the fire that laid between them, each touch acting like flint 'n steel. Breaking the silence like glass "You're allowed to talk to me." The shards always seemed to fall into the shorter ones eyes. "Even if you want to yell or cry, don't hold it in… not this time around." Heat grew on his face, he didn't have words, he wanted to express his feelings, the feeling of a bubbling hatred paired by a desire to be hurt in what he could only call some distorted form of "love", triggered by a memory he couldn't describe. "I'll listen. I'll let you do anything to me. I'll even just watch." Eyes burning, overflowing, all he could think all he could do was to show. Shifting their bodies he positioned the other as their eyes grew softer almost like an understanding full of sorrow flooding them. The king sat on his loyal shadow's chest, careful not to crush him. His hands were guided swiftly to the other's neck, forced to place a slight pressure onto him. The two starred. It felt like the entire room watched them.

The feelings he had towards his lover was a mixture of remorse and love, But the dark monkey couldn't remember why.

🌼━━━━°.•☆✧◦♚◦✧☆•.°━━━━🌼

First attempt at this so idk if I did this good. Was in a mood and just came up with this story as I was writing randomly, then an idea that Macaque lost all his memories at some point, rather this is after S3 or before S1 I'm not sure yet but I like the idea.

Basically I'm thinking that he felt drawn towards SWK and simply followed him around until he was called out on it. Which he then pops out and asks if they know each other. SWK no matter how many attempts would not be able to get rid of this stubborn amnesia monkey who seems to have a very low care for his own life, shown by him being completely unfazed by any kind of threat he might have been given.

The two would proceed to end up in this weird relationship at some point where the monkey still can't remember much of anything clearly but knows he genuinely loves Monkey King, so he doesn't fully care.

He feels a constant need to be punished by the king and he has no idea why, he feels weirdly guilty for doing something he can't recall but knows was wrong towards the king, but he again doesn't really know why. He can't remember clearly and probably never will. I've honestly yet to decide. I like this idea. It feels fun! Even if I don't know how to write this.

I could come up with more but it's getting late so maybe later.

Also in this AU SWK has an immortal peach tree garden because that sounds fun & cute.

Might make this apart of the other AU idk yet.

#LMK AU #Lego Monkey kid #LMK SWK #LMK Macaque #LMK Six Eared Macaque #LMK Monkey King #Shadowpeach #Amnesia Macaque #Posibly going go be apart of the ShadesOfGrey AU ive uet to decide

[cult-of-fman122]

Alphas

(Taken from the AJ Classic Wiki)

In desperation, the guardian spirits of Jamaa searched other lands for six leaders who could wield the power of their entire species. They even looked to our world, and it was here that they found six extraordinary animals and brought them to Jamaa: Sir Gilbert the regal tiger, Cosmo the knowledgeable koala, Graham the inventive monkey, Greely the mysterious wolf, Liza the curious panda, and Peck the creative rabbit. These were six remarkable animals with different personalities, but they were united in their strength of characters and their respect for the natural world. Mira and Zios chose well, and these very different animals soon formed a family. To help in battle against the Phantoms, Mira and Zios gave the new leaders Alpha Stones, six special jewels that focused the strength and abilities of their entire species. With these stones, the six chosen animals became Alphas, the heroes chosen to save Jamaa in its darkest hour! The Alphas set about making a plan that utilized each of their unique abilities to defeat the Phantoms. Once the plan was finalized, they joined the rest of the animals who had gathered together to face the flood of Phantoms before them. When the animals saw the magnificent Alphas, they felt their own bravery return. The Alphas felt the strength of the Alpha Stones flowing through them, and with many roars, howls, and cheers, they all stormed into battle.

Liza is the female Alpha of the Pandas and the chief leader of the Alphas. She is an adventurous explorer and normally comes across new lands including Coral Canyons, Mt. Shiveer, and Appondale. She formerly greeted jammers when they first joined Animal Jam, however, it was later updated to Peck. She briefly appears in several adventures, as a major character. Liza is the Panda Alpha who stands upright on her hind legs. She has bright neon purple eyes with long eyelashes. However, the original Liza simply had dark circles for eyes along with pale fur, as well as dark shading around her eyes, and pink squares right beneath them. She has a triangular black nose. Her ears sit on top of her head, with gray swirls in the middle, and almost looks like a part of her hair. Also, three aquamarine earrings dangle from each ear. Her hair is in a long braid that falls down her back. She wears an aquamarine dress with a golden lining, which is connected by lace at the neck. and a jewel-encrusted belt. She wears black gloves and has a golden ribbon tied around her right ankle. She also has a golden toe ring on her right foot. She normally carries a long wooden staff. Over time, Liza went through a make-over. Originally, she was quite bigger and looked older. But today, she is thinner and has a younger-appearance.

Cosmo is the Alpha of the Koalas. He was introduced in 2010 as one of the first six Alphas, but his first appearance in the game was as a statue released in 2011. He was not actually seen in the game until the Meet Cosmo Adventure was released in 2013. In the Adventures, he is responsible for the invention of Boomseeds and Chomper Plants to help battle the Phantoms. Cosmo is a pale reddish-brown koala with even paler marks and underside. He has amber eyes, a dark gray spoon-shaped nose, and four white flecks above each of his eyelids. He has paler fuzzy eyebrows and a reddish-brown beard in the Beta Testing artwork. He has an old witch-pointed olive-green hat with a daisy on the top and a sandy-brown patch on the front middle part. He has an olive-green moss skirt and carries around a thick wooden staff topped with an azure-colored horn with a candle attached to it.

Graham is the Alpha of the Monkeys, and one of the six main Alphas currently featured and described in Animal Jam. He acts as the inventor of the Alphas and often creates complex machines and mechanisms to achieve certain tasks, such as the Tower featured in The Great Escape. He never leaves a tool or mechanism without improving it further. He is capable of crafting tools that other animals, those without thumbs or hands, can use. He is not as well known as the other Alphas, and he makes his first appearance in Greely's Inferno. Graham is a blue-gray monkey with paler blue-gray rings around his tail and pale blue-gray flecks on his elbows and knees. His skin is a pinkish tan color that can differ from its pink color to a more tan shade. He has orange-yellow eyes, wild long-thick white hair, and a white beard. A key is on a string wrapped around the tip of his tail as well. He has working goggles, arm goblets, and strap around his chest with a green gem in the middle. 

Sir Gilbert is the Alpha for Tigers. He was introduced in 2010 as one of the first six Alphas, but his first appearance in the game was as a statue released in 2011. He was not actually seen in the game until The Hidden Falls was released in 2016. Sir Gilbert is presented as a large orange tiger with whisker markings, flecks beneath his green eyes, and a beard separated into three braids. His attire is a red cape with a blue cloth sash fastened around his right arm with a medal of merit (it is assumed that it was given to him by Mira). The medal of the merit is striped blue and yellow and the metal part of the medal is in form of a blue cross. He also wears two rings, one with a ruby and one without and a plated armlet with a dark purple stone embedded in it. He also wears silver metal cuffs on all four of his legs.

Peck is the Alpha of the Bunnies. She was introduced in 2010 as one of the first six Alphas, but her first appearance in the game was as a statue released in 2011. She was not seen in the game until the New Jammer tutorial was introduced in 2015. She is often associated with the art and creativity of Jamaa, and regular artistic challenges are held by AJHQ in her name. Peck is a plum-purple, pale pink and fuchsia colored rabbit with patches on the tips of her ears. She has dark lilac ribbons tied around her tail and left ear. She also has a creamy-yellow colored bell connected to her right ear, neon purple head-fur that is styled in side-swept bangs, pale pink nose, magenta eyes and dark lilac bands around her feet and arms. She has white paw-pads, darker eye-shadow with white dots on top and white ear-insides.

Greely is the Alpha for Wolves. He was introduced in 2010 as one of the first six Alphas, but his first appearance in the game was as a statue released in 2011. He was not seen in the game until The Hive Adventure was released in 2013. Greely is a blue-grey wolf, with a light blue underbelly (depends on artwork variants). He has yellow eyes or reddish-brown in adventures; in his beta artwork, he had white eyes and a ruby in his left eye. He has white tufts as eyebrows, and three blue spots under his eyes (assumed to be markings). The ruff on the back of his neck/head is very ragged and darker than the rest of his fur. He wears a gold chain (bronze in adventures) around his neck that latches to his cape. His cape/cloak is normally a dark purple color and is worn down with lots of tears in it. He wears four bands on his forepaws, two on each one. He has a leather brace on his tail. All of these descriptions are based on artwork, so it can be different from what is listed here.

Tavie is the Alpha of the Dolphins. Her voice is only heard in the Adventure In Too Deep and has physically appeared in Turning The Tide as well as Tiki Trouble. Tavie seems to have a love for music, being the leader of an underwater band called The Jolly Oyster and notably carrying her nautilus guitar. She also has a Pet Seahorse named Rio. Tavie is a royal purple Dolphin with a lavender underside and lavender swirl pattern. She has hot pink eyes with long black eyelashes, a lavender-colored small star-shaped patch under her eye, lavender-colored lips and lavender-colored eye-shadow. She wears a tan-colored crown with a small circular shiny white pearl in the middle of it, small lavender-colored Diamond-shaped Gems, one on each side of the pearl and a hot pink hibiscus flower at the edge on the left side of her crown. She has velvet-colored hair with aqua-blue streaks, her hair is tied up in pigtails and her hairbands are made out of purple-gray oyster clams. Tavie has a mechanical tail fin that looks similar to her crown. The tail fin is a replacement of her tail as she was born without one, and helps her to swim. The tail armor is tan-colored with sandy-colored stripes and four small diamond-shaped lavender-colored Gems. 

#animal jam

[lunar-wandering]

So. Giggle Glow AU.

Has Wukong always glowed while laughing? Or did it come about as he was gaining immortality?

If it slowly came on, how did he and Macaque find out? When did Mac start to reflect it?

kay so this includes my headcanon of how Wukong and Macaque met. have fun with that.

-

When Macaque woke up, rolling to the side and spitting out sea water, he didn’t know where he was. He could feel sand underneath of him, so at least he was on dry land, and not washed up on some rocky volcano, but that wasn’t entirely reassuring. His ears twitched as he heard someone’s startled breath, and he fought against the nausea to tilt his head to the side, looking at the person beside him.

Or well. The monkey beside him.

“Oh, you’re still alive.” The golden monkey said, scratching the side of his face. “That’s...good.”

Macaque stared at the other monkey, not giving any form of response. (He wasn’t sure he could give a response honestly, his throat felt like shit, and he didn’t want to chance speaking yet).

He did try to stand though- only stopping when a harsh pain shot up his leg, and he let out a muffled whine, looking down to see a long red gash going down it.

“Yeah... we should probably get that treated huh.” The golden monkey moved forewards- Macaque instinctively leaning back, but being helpless to stop the other monkey from lifting him up out of the sand. Macaque hissed against the pain as the movement jostled his injured leg, and he pressed his head against the monkey’s shoulder, closing his eyes to try and push back the sudden nausea. Every step the other monkey took seemed to make every thing worse.

“My king, that is not how you should carry an injured person.” Another voice rang out (there where other people here? Macaque must be more out of it than he thought if he hadn’t noticed. Wait- King?) and the monkey holding him stopped, before laughing nervously. (Was that a flash of light?)

“It’s not?” There was some rustling, a muttered “oh”, and then Macaque was being shifted again. When the monkey took another step, this time Macaque didn’t feel the sharp jab of pain. It was a lot more...soothing. Against his will, Macaque found himself drifting off again.

-

When Macaque next woke up, it was to someone poking him in the face.

Instinctively, he smacked the hand away, sitting upright-

And bonking heads with the golden monkey that had been crouching over top of him.

“Ow!” They both covered their foreheads with their hands, leaning back. For a moment it was silent.

The golden monkey recovered first.

“Aha, you’re awake!” He said, leaning closer to analyze Macaque’s face. “How’re you feeling?”

“I’d be a lot better if you weren’t in my personal space.” Macaque said, using his hand to push the other monkey’s face away. “Who are you anyway?”

“Me?” The monkey backflipped off of Macaque (who couldn’t help but think that it was far too early and that he was far too tired for the dramatics), landing perfectly on the ground beside the bed. “I’m the Monkey King, Sun Wukong!”

“Never heard of ya.”

Wukong reeled back as though he’d been smacked.

“I- You should know it is courteous to give someone your name after they give you theirs.” He huffed, crossing his arms, clearly irritated. Macaque rolled his eyes.

“Six-Eared Macaque.” He said, simply. “Doesn’t change the fact I’ve never heard of you, and that you look like an idiot.”

“That’s not the nicest thing to say to the one who rescued you from downing.” Wukong frowned, once again ignoring Macaque’s personal space as he leaned in closer.

“I think I would have rather been left as fish food.” Macaque said, flicking the Monkey King directly between the eyes- then hissing as his fingers pinged with pain, as though he’d just hit a rock. “Fuck- ow! What are you made out of- stone?”

“Yes, actually.”

There was a beat, where Macaque just stared at Wukong in disbelief.

Then Wukong’s lips twitched.

And suddenly the Monkey King burst into laughter, Macaque having to shield his eyes from the sudden unexpected light that came with it.

“What the fuck-”

“Sor-sorry!” Wukong wheezed, “You just- you looked so shocked I just-”

The Monkey King fell into another peal of laughter, and Macaque had to wonder what exactly he’d just had the misfortune of getting himself into.

-

Before Macaque knew it, he’d somehow befriended the mysterious Sun Wukong. How he’d accomplished such a feat escaped him, but at least it was good to know that he wasn’t in any immediate danger anymore.

It wasn’t like he’d wanted to befriend the other monkey though. It had just kinda... happened. Without his consent, he’d ended up growing... a little soft about the other...

“Hey- Hey!” Wukong poked Macaque in the side, pulling him out of his peaceful relaxation. “D’ya wanna spar?”

“Didn’t we spar an hour ago?” Macaque asked, already knowing the answer. “Why don’t you get one of the others to spar with you?”

“Because they don’t put up as much of a fun fight as you do!” Wukong said, grabbing onto Macaque’s hand and pulling him to his feet. “You do this cool dodge thing that I still haven’t quite figured out- it’s awesome!”

“Mhm.” Macaque smiled a little at the compliment, letting himself be dragged to the training area Wukong had set up some time before Macaque had ever washed up on the mountain’s shores. “...Okay. But this is the last spar of the day. If you interrupt my nap after this I’ll- I’ll tie you to a tree.”

“Sure, whatever.” Wukong pulled a few weapons off of a nearby rack, tossing Macaque his usual training spear. “I’ll only let you do that if you can beat me.”

Macaque winced. In the weeks he’d been training with Wukong, he had not once beaten the other monkey. He had the feeling that if he used his shadows, he might stand a better chance, but.

He wasn’t too keen on getting kicked out of a place he’d grown attached to again.

Still though. Macaque had to admit it might be fun to wipe that confident smirk off of Wukong’s face...

Mere minutes later, deep into the spar, ducking underneath of one of Wukong’s swings, Macaque made an impulsive decision.

Reaching upon his powers, he sank through the ground, hearing Wukong yelp in shock before all sounds became muted. Focusing, he popped up behind the Monkey King-

And swept the other’s legs out from underneath of him, knocking him to the ground. 

He pointed the dull tip of his training spear at the other’s throat.

“I win.” He said- before his lips twitched, and he pulled the spear away as he broke into laughter, both in combination of being excited over his victory, and, well, the look Wukong had on his face was just. Too. Funny.

Before he knew it, Wukong started lightly chuckling too, his faint golden glow lighting up-

And suddenly Macaque himself was glowing with a silver light.

Both monkeys went silent as they registered it- watching in quiet awe as the glow faded in the silence.

“Well.” Macaque said, “That’s new.”

#Monkie Kid #Giggle Glow AU #drabble #my writing

[cave-monkey]

Monkey King 2009 Episode 11

Ohhhh I really liked this one.

First, I have to say it, comparing the four generals now to Episode 1, they have come a long way. At least in regards to the tactical side of their jobs (they should still not at all be directly responsible for children). When they thought the enemy had found their camp and were closing in, they were on their shit. Marshal Ma was snapping out orders immediately, no one was contradicting anyone else or squabbling or anything, and it was definitely a Sign Of Growth.

Or the major and repeated servings of humble pie they've been swallowing recently. Active war will probably do that to you, especially when you can't blame your scapegoat for your failures after you ran him off.

Also once again showcasing their highly conditional displays of respect and goodwill. Stone Monkey pops back up with Six Ears and he's being called a "Little Hero" now, huh? You literally drove him out of the troop to his possible death and didn't care much at all not that long ago, my guys. We all saw you. You can't fool us.

And, eyyyy, Six Ears. Buddy. Bud.

Oh no.

I can see where it's coming from, is the thing. He used to be the kid pulling off the stupidly risky feats and being praised and rewarded for it. "Earning his place". The sacrificial lamb to Stone Monkey's scapegoat. Neither is a great role to be filling, but Six Ears doesn't know that, and the life of a sacrificial lamb probably still looks a whole heck of a lot better when you're looking at it from the place of the scapegoat. And now it looks like Stone Monkey's taking his place, right, and without that...where does he fit? He knows how conditional the approval of the four generals is, and at the start of the series he dealt with their hot-and-cold reception of him by flippantly ignoring it, but he did experience it. Stone Monkey has had it "worse", but Six Ears isn't so far removed from it that he can't easily imagine himself being in Stone Monkey's place, I'd think. So it's no real wonder he's territorial of his "place" in the troop, feels like the four generals', the troop's, (and possible Old Monkey King's) regard is a finite resource, and reacts badly to feeling like it's all being "stolen". Jealousy is rooted in insecurity, and Six Ears has absolute heaps of that.

And speaking of insecurity, it's also worth noting that he keeps continuously being captured and having his autonomy and ability to protect himself removed, over and over and over again, and this time he was almost tortured. By having his ears cut off while he was tied down and unable to fight back. We don't know how long it took the kids to track down the troop again, but since we're meant to assume the entirety of the surviving troop made it to the cave, the commanders would have needed to have at least enough to time to track the scattered groups down. In that case I'd imagine this is several days later at least, but still only days. Maybe a week or two at most. Six Ears probably hasn't had the time to really process what almost happened to him, but it would still be there in his head. He also, unfortunately, didn't have a whole lot of agency in his own rescue either, so that lack of control, that lack of feeling like he can keep himself safe, and shame at his own helplessness has got to be eating him alive. Take the above belief that he needs to earn his troop's support or risk losing it entirely with the fact it's very unlikely this kid has actually felt safe anytime in a very long time, not since the Demon King's incursions first really started honestly, and Six Ears is definitely not going to be doing well. So double up that insecurity and set it on fire with a heaping spoonful of desperation and you probably have Six Ears's emotional state right now.

*sigh*

He's definitely going to pull some shit, basically.

And holy cow someone actually called General Beng out on his pretentious language. General Ba was NOT having it. I actually almost kinda felt bad for General Beng. He's just trying to make his report, starts tripping over his literary references, and General Ba comes out swinging immediately. "Come ON. Do you think we have the time for you to be pulling out this grandparent talk?! SIT DOWN." And General Beng is like "):".

Like, harsh, General Ba. Fair! But dang. It wasn't the time at all, but General Beng trying to comfort himself by falling back on his quotes and poetry was actually kind of, I don't know, sad. Everyone is just really upset here. General Beng's trying to self-soothe, General Ba is lashing out, and the Marshals are...uh...dissociating back there? (Hey, actually, yeah, Marshals, why are you letting your generals struggle through delivering this very important report to the king instead of doing it for them? Or swooping in at least, when they fumble? What do you even DO?)

And I'm not 100% sure, but General Ba also seems to make a pun on General Beng's stuttering over 此乃 (fancy schmancy "this is")? Or at least that's how I read it, and it kind of made me laugh. Honestly my Chinese isn't good enough to catch most wordplay, so I could also be barking up the wrong tree entirely, in which case, don't mind me. I'm still gonna giggle at it, though. (General Beng: "This g-, uh, This g-" General Ba: "This GRANDMA.")

General Ba even liked that turn of phrase so much he repeated it again later. Poor General Beng will never be able to use his beloved 此 in General Ba's hearing ever again without having "How's it feel being a GRANDMA" yelled at him immediately.

But honestly, General Ba is pulling zero punches here. He's genuinely rattled, since he's finishing General Beng's report for him by going, "Look, fancy language or no fancy language, all I know is we took everyone to the back of the mountain and the enemy was already there. They are everywhere. We have nowhere to go and we are fucking dead." He also has this really haunted look to him. General Beng is only the first casualty. General Ba has looked death in the eyes and is going a bit feral about it. No one is safe.

Plus that one monkey soldier coming back and breaking down in tears because "the monkeys without weapons are getting the worst of it...they had to run away."

"Run away". Right.

Listen, guys. Just say they died. We understand.

I'm actually noticing this cartoon is fine with having soldiers screaming KILL THEM ALL with no hesitation, graphic death threats abound, but they don't like admitting anyone actually died. Especially not the monkeys. I think that's a bit of an odd line to draw, but I'll respect it.

(They definitely died, though. Those tears tell all. Non-combatants led around to the back of the mountain and straight to their deaths, I guess. Yikes.)

Bless Ginseng Fruit for trying to defend the boundaries in Stone Monkey's life. By creating boundaries for him without Stone Monkey's input or approval <3 "It's fine," says Ginseng Fruit. "He only needs boundaries with other people. I'm different." Godspeed you weirdly intense little fruit. Glad Stone Monkey has a handle on that, generally by means of straight up covering Ginseng Fruit's mouth and doing whatever it was he was going to do anyway. I guess if it works for them it's fine?

Also appreciated Stone Monkey leading them all to the waterfall and then his face that perfectly speaks to the fact that Stone Monkey is having the abrupt realization that his last time entering this cave was a complete accident caused by reckless use of logs and a total shattering of the laws of physics he isn't positive he can repeat. Do you think he imagined asking Marshal Ma to surf a log up the river and just crash straight into the waterfall, no, really, it'll be fine, for approximately two seconds before his brain shut down on itself in self-defense and also despair? Absolute gold.

And the writers slipping in a little reminder of the tenuous and fickle regard of the troop by having a few of the soldiers immediately ready to believe the worst of Stone Monkey right then and there. Thanks, writers. We might have forgotten.

Not gonna lie, I was looking at the Demon King's army in slight confusion wondering at some of these character designs (the artists are actually usually pretty good about using familiar character models for every crowd shot, so the new guys stood out), before I remembered that Demon King had the great idea to issue a fake decree in Heaven's name. OH, went I. HA.

I mean, I'm sure that's not going to backfire spectacularly in any way at all. Heaven probably loves having random demons lying and using their authority to stir up trouble only to then point the agitated results of their tomfoolery right to their doorstep. Everyone loves having their name dragged into a fraud case!

But also...okay, jumping topics entirely, but why couldn't anyone just jump back and grab Sixth Eldest? Any one of those guys could have made the jump there and back in half the time it took the kid to finally do it himself. Yes, of course, "but the tension!" or whatever. I call contrived. As far as I'm concerned, the only one with an excuse was the one monkey apparently responsible for handling six children by herself. What was she going to do? Toss the one baby to save the other baby? She's got her hands full.

Watching Sixth Eldest make that jump though, I was just thinking the whole time: Wow. How much would it suck to be the reason your entire community was overrun by murderous enemy forces? As it is, this kid is probably going to be hearing this story at every drunken feast for the rest of his entire life. RIP, little buddy. (I'm also counting children and if Yellow Flower Monkey has six kids to look after total, that means Sixth Eldest is the youngest. Who's the kid being held in her arms, then?! Why's the littlest kid out there toddling over sheer drops and water-slick rocks by himself while this baby gets the VIP ride? Is it...*gasp* favoritism? Yellow Flower Monkey's secret dark side?!? /j)

Old Monkey King excitedly waxing poetic about Water Curtain Cave, though? Cute. Super cute. He was incredibly excited and I don't think we've ever seen him this tickled. It was amazing.

None of the adults actually bothering with rationing until after the food was already gone, though? Less cute. They even called themselves out!

"It's better not to wait until these kind of things become a problem to sort out a solution." *sage nodding* *cut to elderly monkeys literally collapsing from hunger just down the hill* "By which I mean, it would be better, but all the food is already gone." "WHAT."

And it can't just have been gone either, since people aren't generally out here just immediately collapsing from hunger the second the the last fruit is plucked off the branch. Even if they are elderly. How long were they out of food before they had a meeting about it? Guys. I just said you were getting your shit together.

Ginseng Fruit, reading the room and dragging Stone Monkey away before he can volunteer to feed the whole troop from enemy-infested territory single-handedly, pointing a very stern finger at him: "No...nO..."

Stone Monkey: UGH. I KNOW. I wasn't GOING-

*aforementioned collapsing elders and Yellow Flower Monkey (again)*

Stone Monkey: ...to WAIT. Off I go, I guess! See you later, Ginseng Fruit. Hold down the fort while I'm gone, okay?

Ginseng Fruit is over here running their hands down their face shaking and screaming violently on the inside, I bet. If they'd seen that elder go down before Stone Monkey did, they absolutely would have buried the poor man alive, I'm sure. Like shoving a mess you don't want your guests to see in the closet. Except with a living person. And mounds of cold, wet Earth reminiscent of a shallow grave. Look, all's fair in love (/platonic) and Not Letting Your Favorite Person Die For The People Who Left Him To Die Regardless Of His Feelings On The Matter war. Sorry, old man. Nothing personal. (I do not actually think they would have done this, but I do think it would have crossed their mind. Let Ginseng Fruit be a little unhinged. It's funny.)

On a sidenote, gotta appreciate the old man for apparently recognizing their limited food supply well in advance of anyone else and taking care to make sure the young got what they could while they could. What a guy. I like that guy.

Six Ears...definitely has ulterior motives for going with Stone Monkey, but also this is still the kid who took it upon himself to hunt Stone Monkey down every time he took off by himself on dangerous missions in the past too, so him going through the old song and dance of noticing Stone Monkey was just straight gone without a word halfway through a conversation (Stone Monkey will never outgrow that, will he? Lol) and knowing from experience that Stone Monkey was definitely off to Solve The Problem and promptly running after him is basically their old dynamic in its entirety.

It's just...sad now. Because Six Ears is definitely going to be making some bad choices and do something that's going to hurt because he's hurting and it's going to suck and I don't wanna see it. And meanwhile Stone Monkey's just happy to have Six Ears with him.

I love them ):

Stone Monkey actually noticing Six Ears being kind of subdued once they're out of the cave, though! My boy! He never does that! Or at least, that's how I interpreted it since there's an animation of him jumping up to walk next to Six Ears, who is frowning at the ground, and the animation has him glance sideways at him, look away, glance sideways again, and then away again. And he's also frowning the same way. They did that on purpose! Tell me Stone Monkey isn't noticing something.

But of course they're interrupted before it can go anywhere. Ergh.

#mhw09 personal #this is long but there is SO MUCH this episode and I LOVE IT #six ears ayyyyy kiddo ): #his issues are coming to a head. Most of how I think about it is like #primarily rooted in the fact that trauma in general and PTSD in specific #is very often rooted in a sense of powerlessness #a lack of ability to save yourself or control the situation that hurt you. And if Six Ears hasn't developed PTSD already #I'm almost certain he WILL #he's definitely got some form of compounding trauma that's prompting him to overreact in trying to cling to and control his life #re-establish familiar things and routines #he's still making his own choices here and that's going to be on him. but. #it's just sad watching how the fear is getting to him. and how he's letting it poison his strongest bond ): #oh almost forgot to mention that I like that they managed to work in the finding and accessing of water curtain cave still being the impetu #for Stone Monkey becoming Monkey King #sure sucks they had to wrap in a whole subplot around the fact that being Old Monkey King's heir was strongly hinted to Six Ears to be HIS #future #for most of his entire life #and I'm sure there's no way he's going to see this as yet another threat to his place in the troop (and therefore safety and well-being) #I'm sure he'll handle it with grace and zero overreacting panic and anger whatsoever #and by sucks I mean “Ow. Ow this is going to hurt. But good job writer people. But ow.” #anyway I need to go to bed

[chaozsilhouette]

Imprisoned yet Unshackled

I was so inspired by the large support my last post received, I was able to finish this scene in record time. One thing that was wedged into the back of my mind was, just how does one pass the time when you're trapped under a mountain for five hundred years? Here's my take on Sun Wukong's second imprisonment in @winterpower98's Swap Au. I hope I managed to capture the brilliant yet insane nature of the monkey tyrant.

_____________________________

Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, had to smile at his plight.

Once again he was trapped underneath a prison of magic and stone. Only this time the entrapment had not been orchestrated by the Buddha, but by his dearest beloved, a motley crew of demon rejects, and one despicable monk.

He should be infuriated. His rage should invoke the horrible sense the end of days had arrived. Heaven should tremble, Narakas should rush to defend its gates, but no. No, the Monkey King’s temper had cooled to a dangerous degree. Now he could smile and look back on his past with fondness.

Why?

Because he refused to be caught unaware twice.

He may not have been able to stop his imprisonment, but he was able to leave a little insurance for his release. His darling was wise to seal the mountain with the Ruyi Jingu Bang. The infamy of his trademark weapon would be more than enough to strike fear into the hearts of countless demons. Its immense weight prevented all, but the strongest from getting it to budge let alone lift it.

However, for the Handsome Monkey King, it would be a minor feat. Just before the seal was completed and the mountain crashed down, he created a hair clone and sent it out into the world in the appearance of a young human boy. He couldn’t have it mirror him or it would have been hunted down before it could free him. As a precaution, he sealed any memories the clone would have as being, ya know him.

During his time in hiding, he made many new alliances and took on countless servants, many of which joined him after they experienced a thorough humiliation by his darling. The only upside of that worthless journey was all the laughs he got after hearing about all the different demons his beloved trounced on the way.

Seriously, how could one monk keep falling for the same trick over and over again? Maybe Tripitaka enjoyed being abducted? Either way, he had faith that at least one would connect the dots if they knew what was good for them.

He had no doubt the entire Celestial Realm would act to create thousands of mystical and physical barriers to secure and hide the mountain. The villagers would spread tales of destruction and fear, but that would draw in as many as it would push away. Princess Iron Fan would no doubt lead the concealment project herself out of spite. Her husband would personally engage the weaker demons in a fruitless attempt to lessen his fury.

Hehe, the poor demon couple.

Once the heads of a rising court no one would ever dare cross, reduced to celestial dogs as they mourned the loss of their son. The screams of the Demon Bull family curled his toes in the most delightful ways as he forced them to watch their precious matchstick collapse under the fury of his own flames. Unfortunately, the mountain was sealed before he could witness Red Boy’s demise by the True Fire of Samadhi, but even if he survived no one could walk away from that unscathed.

It would take time for his clone to remove the staff, leaving him little to do but think. What else was he going to do trapped under another mountain? This time, not even his face was free to take in the fresh air or watch the stars. He had forgotten how spiteful his darling could be.

They would work on that once he was freed.

Sun Wokong acted too rashly, he could admit that now. He had spent so much time away from his beloved, confident in his capabilities that he failed to account for other dangers. He underestimated Guanyin’s monk. This mortal was the one expected to teach him humility, how could he expect his darling Macaque to survive unaffected.

He thought back to the simple days on Flower Fruit Mountain after Macaque had accepted his invitation to live with him. When it was just the two of them against the world. Their days were filled with training, experimenting with their powers, and making quick trips to scare humans and demons alike. Sun could still picture the easy smile that would grace his beloved’s face after a fulfilling day or whenever he groomed that silky mane.

The playful chirps and growls of the other monkeys filled the background as they went about their normal lives. He watched with pride as families grew and newborns matured into colorful pranksters all their own. Each generation instinctually knew who he was and learned to give him respect, but he didn’t mind them crossing a few lines. What kind of leader would he be if he discouraged what made him happy?

Anytime hunters or an upstart demon attempted to set foot on his mountain, Wukong and Macaque would switch guardian duty. While he definitely enjoyed killing any idiot who dared to intrude upon his territory, watching his beloved slaughter in his name brought him even more pleasure. Unlike his personal tastes of crushing his opponent’s skull after ripping off their limbs, his beloved took a more surgical approach. Delicately Macaque would toy with his prey, methodically tearing apart their physical strength and their sanity, until nothing was left but a pitiful husk who begged for death.

Ah, each one of those performances was nothing less than pure poetry all designed for him.

He wanted that back. He wanted all of those pleasures back and more! And he would get them. Once he was freed, he would find his wayward beloved and undo all the damage Tripitaka did. Macaque would be reminded of their ambition to conquer. But more than anything he would remember who he belonged to.

Fortunately, neither of them was in any danger of dying. During his little stay in the Celestial Realm, he saved a couple of souvenirs. A peach of immortality, a bottle of heavenly wine, and a gourd of pills from Loa Tzu’s lab; each capable of granting the consumer immortality and combined with the safeguards they had already taken.

Macaque had become just as much a fundamental part of reality as himself. He didn’t even have to lie. Despite Macaque being concerned for the consequences of his actions, the six-eared immortal couldn’t help but kneel over laughing as Wukong mimicked the expressions of his celestial servants whenever they tried to ask something of him. Wukong looked on in adoration as his mate indulged in the bounty of the Celestial Realm, tying their futures together until time itself ceased to exist.

It did not matter how long it took. The seal would be broken and all of creation would know fear. Time held no meaning for him. He could afford to be patient.

#lego monkie kid #lmk #sun wukong #princess iron fan #demon bull king #six eared macaque #liu er mihou #winterpower98 #monkie kid swap au #monkey tyrant

[cutekittenlady]

Not to jump onto the Macaque Season 3 angst train, but considering Macaques characterization vs Wukongs characterization vs MK's characterization, I do think it's entirely plausible that after spending a considerable amount of time chasing MK and Wukong around the world trying to drag them back to LBD Mk will realize/find out Macaque is largely being controlled/under the threat of death and (assuming he decides he needs to face LBD sooner rather than later or some other major event dunno this idea isnt perfect) MK willingly goes back with Macaque much to Wukongs upset.

I mean an interesting divergence between these three is how they've reacted to the idea of their own change vs others.

Wukong and Macaque both started off as powerful warrior buddies, but where Wukong's various misadventures eventually changed him into someone who understood concepts like humility, diligence, and mercy, Macaque didn't change.

Their whole dynamic, even in the original story, was of equal opposites. The character of the six-eared Macaque (as I understand from pretty much entirely third party sources) basically exists to reinforce Wukongs own development as a character and "mind" on the path to enlightenment. They're so similar in the book that only the Buddha could ultimately tell them apart because the change and difference between them wasn't in their abilities, physical characteristics, or even personality but in their spiritual growth and understanding of the self.

Which, I think, is still the point somewhat of Macaques character in LMK. He still exists as a counterpart to Wukong and a kind of opposing mentor for MK by showing him what not to become.

Of course, MK is linked in to all this because regardless of Macaques comments that he's simlar the Wukong, MK isn't Wukong. Particularly in one crucial detail. That being in where they started out.

Wukong, just in terms of existence, isn't in any way ordinary. He was born from a stone, is one of only four magical monkeys (one of the others being macaque), gained immense skill, power, and influence. And only after being taken down by the Buddha did he truly begin to learn the hard lessons that truly made him a hero. He was sympathetic to a degree and, by most readings, not entirely evil, but all the qualities that make him a 'hero' in lmk universe he arguably picked up during his journey with Tripitaka.

MK starts off on the complete opposite end here. He isn't a warrior at the start, he has no special powers to speak of, but what he does have is an innate instinct for mercy and humility. Almost to the point that it causes him issues.

But the critical thing in talking about what his potential relationship to Macaque might be is how, by all rights, MK has already displayed a great deal for mercy and understanding for all his other major enemies.

I mean, at the end of season 1 he helps Red Son and Iron Fan calm DBK down. After which there was definitely an opportunity to "finish the job" so to speak and make sure they wouldn't be a danger to him or his friends anymore, but that option never even occurred to MK and even if it did, I don't think he'd have taken it.

Then at the start of season 2 he helps Red Son save his dad. And while this is under the pretext of needing his help to find an antidote to the spider queens venom nothing was really stopping him from just leaving him behind once they got what they needed or to turn on Red Son and DBK once the fight with the Spider Queen was over and Wukong was back. Again, though, it never even occurs to him to do any of that.

Finally, and probably one of the biggest, is how he speaks to the spider queen when he realizes shes just as scared of LBD as he is. I mean, the spider queen is unquestionably he enemy at this point. She throws his offer of teaming up in his face out of pride, but MK never get angry or blames her for it and is even understanding. And what does the Spider Queen do in return?

She faces off against LBD and gives MK a chance to escape.

And I think that final bit kinda gets into the heart of the matter. MK is merciful and responds with kindness even to his villains because he is a regular kid who isn't used to having power. Even when he does have it he isn't entirely confident in his ability to use it. The few times he even considers using his powers for personal gain (like when he first learned to use clone hairs) his reasons for doing so are so childishly simple that any and all chaos that comes as a result is almost negligible.

And I think that's ultimately why Wukong picks him as a successor. Because whereas Wukong had to go through fire and hell to learn to be a better person, MK is kinda that from the start and Wukong has faith he'll keep that attitude even after gaining power.

That's also why I think MK might succeed where Wukong failed. Wukong has clearly long given up on coming around to Macaque, for understandable reasons. I mean Macaque is clearly kinda obsessed with Wukong and how he represents a change in character that Macaque never achieved and that, I think, he doesn't believe he can achieve so nothing Wukong ever says can bring him around.

MK doesn't have that same history with macaque, and macaque doesnt have MK up on the same pedestal as he has Wukong. So, if Macaque is gonna get to have a bit of a heroic turn around during season 3 it'll probably come about because of MK's concern over his well being under LBD.

I dunno this post kinda turned into a ramble after a bit. XD

All the same I hope this gets some folks talking even if it is to tell me I'm wrong.

#lmk #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #six eared macaque #sun wukong #lmk mk #lmk s3 spoilers

[vegalocity]

The pieces fall (Red Groom AU)

Basically i said to myself 'I need to finish this before i get too deep with the Animorphs stuff' and then realized this was the final chapter about halfway through lmao

TW: Death, blood, 'To The Pain' is retold in its entirety

--

Red Son was out of time.

He stalled as long as he could, bought as much time to drag the official ceremony on as possible But it was for naught. He heard the commotion outside, the demons shrieking in fear the booming voice that reminded him of the mercenary in Spider Queen's Employ, Spat the tea forced into his mouth in the Prince's face, and loudly cursed and raved, insisting not only that he did not consent to this, but also that this sham of a marriage would only last for the length of time it would take for his love to arrive.

His Noodle Boy would come for him, he'd crowed and bragged with all his might, and the Prince had insisted the futility of the hope, that his love was dead, and yet more lies, that he'd seen to it himself.

But he couldn't hide the fear behind his eyes and Red Son announced as much. He couldn't move with the cuffs restraining him, his hands throbbing in pain and a solid purple color from the restriction of blood flow, but he raged and rallied anyway, he was tempted to try and ruin the fine robes the servants had forced him into, to scorch them without a care to what injuries would be laid onto himself from it, but he didn't want to be in rags when his love crashed through the doors.

But then the ceremony was finished, despite his protests, and Red Son was out of time.

He struggled against the guards as they shuffled him through the halls, followed by the weak and fading demon king, but one final ditch plan formed in his head as the halls lit with flame and he was brought to the prince's rooms.

“I suppose I should apologize, demon king.” The frail creature turned to Red Son and he felt a strange sort of pity for the man. He seemed no longer aware of what year it was let alone the cruelty of his own offspring.

“What was that young fellow?”

“I'll have to be killing your son tonight, or I'll die instead. And you were probably a kind man before this curse destroyed your body and mind, so I felt I should tell you as much.” he placed a hand on the King's arm and he hummed absently as their paths diverged.

As then the door slammed shut behind him, and Red Son's last gambit had to be played. If he was fast and he burned hot enough he could do it. It would be a struggle to work around afterward, but if he could manage it and he had Xiaotian to help him work around it he could invent something to compensate by the end of the year.

Still, to cut ones own hands off to escape bindings and then murder their fiance was certainly going to be a challenge.

–

She saw him. For just a moment she saw the Macaque, the flash of dark fur, the curl of his tail, those six ears, those cruel amber eyes. She'd said what she'd been waiting to say for ten years, she held her head high and said the phrase that had kept her going for so long.

And he'd fled.

She'd parted form the group the second he'd left, racing through the corridors, breaking through doors, and following the faint sound of fading footsteps. Finally, Finally it was happening. Today was the day. The day she'd been waiting for for ten years. The day she finally walked up to the monster that ruined her life, the bastard that stole her father from her, the macaque that took everything from her before she was even a woman, and she finally made him pay.

She descended a staircase that lead deeper into the halls and a sharp pain pierced through her gut. Xiaojiao yelped and brought a hand to her side, she saw the dark fur for only a brief moment before she stumbled back, hand clasping over the- over the blade-

he'd thrown a knife at her and it had landed in side. She didn't think it pierced anything important, but she couldn't be sure. It felt like she'd been struck by lightning in one very small localized area. Warm blood quickly soaking through her shirt and staining her hand.

It wasn't that her legs weren't working anymore, but they refused to obey her as her back hit the wall and her knees turned to jelly. She slid until her bottom brushed the stairwell behind her.

Ten years.

And she was a sitting duck. The Macaque could kill her in one swipe of that wretched spiked staff of his and she'd die a failure.

“I'm sorry father-” she muttered softly to herself. “I tried.”

“Hang on, I recognize that sword.” The Macaque's smarmy voice broke through her thoughts. “You're that dragon girl aren't you?” He whistled lowly. “It's been what, ten years?” slowly she watched the monster approach. “Have you been tracing me your whole life?” He laughed, a cruel cold thing. “and right on the precipice of victory you die here, bleeding out from a stomach wound. Pathetic.” he leaned against a table, ready to host the banquet for the wedding that would never come now. “Honestly that's hilarious.”

her fist tightened over the handle in her stomach.

–

He needed to be quick, he only had a little time before the Prince came in to end him, and with his hands so useless already he would just need to stop the bleeding which would be a snap once he had his fire back.

But he needed something sharp first. His hands gave dull throbs of pain whenever he tried to force the sluggish digits to move but eventually through his rummaging through the nearby work desk he found a small silver dagger, likely the one the prince was planning on using to kill him later on. He'd have to brace the knife on something to get both of his hands and if he passed out in pain he was as good as dead.

Soon enough he pulled together a brace on the worktable, and went about steadying his left hand first, if he was quick he could pass it right through cleanly and-

“You know there's kind of a shortage on perfect hands, It'd be kind of a shame to waste such beauty as yours.” a voice cut through his thoughts.

A familiar voice. But a kindly one.

His heart leaped into his throat and he felt his face turn red as he turned to find Xiaotian, a little beaten up and still in his False Monkey King garb laying on the bedding as if this were any day back on his mountain. Red Son wondered just how long his love had been there, watching him plotting out and trying to carry out his own dismemberment, and Red Son hadn't noticed. It would have been embarrassing if he bothered to care.

But he didn't, he cared far more about seeing his beloved again and ignored the pain in his hands as he fell on top of Xiaotian in the bed, barely able to get his name out before Red Son was kissing him. The uncertainty that the prince had placed in his mind burning away in and instant as he felt Xiaotian move against him he was kissing him back, he wasn't angry or upset-

But he wasn't returning the embrace.

Red Son pulled himself away from that perfect mouth just long enough to smile and mumble a small teasing comment. “Is this your revenge for leaving you waiting? Must I beg just to get you to hold me?”

“Ah-” Xiaotian sounded pained, but when Red Son let up properly any trace of discomfort was gone. “No, it's just a bit complicated.” But there were other pressing matters.

“I just need a moment my love, no matter if I'd love nothing more than to run off with you, I wasn't able to stop the Prince from forcing things to fall in his way.” It was a rock in his gut to consider, especially how without the use of his hands he'd need to somehow pull a victory against a demon prince in his own mountain but-

“If we want to be together this farce of a marriage needs to be made defunct.”

“Well did you consent to it?” That gave him pause.

“Huh?”

“The marriage, did you give consent to it?”

“Of course not!” his temper flared for a moment only to be immediately quelled by the small adoring grin Xiaotian hadn't stopped looking at him with. “I spent the whole time rejecting the whole thing, loudly. Violently. Buying time for you to break the ceremony up, wonderful timing by the way Noodle Boy, I was just about to chop my own hands off if you hadn't noticed.”

“I did actually. Horrifying. But crafty.”

“But what does my consent have to do with it, that's not how demons work things out-”

“Maybe, but it means more when its demons marrying each other.” His gaze flickered to a place just over Red Son's shoulder. “Wouldn't you agree, your highness?”

a thin blade rested on Red Son's shoulder. “A mistake that shall never be repeated, 'Monkey King'” the Prince hissed, breath hot and far too close to Red Son's ear.

–

“Are- Are you still trying to fight?” Her knees felt like they were about to give in, and her hands were shaking, but she was able to pull the blade from her side and raise her sword again. “Wow you're obsessed!” The macaque crowed, before finally taking out his staff. “That's gonna get you into trouble some day.” he sent the head of the staff for her face, child's play, the flat of her sword hit it right before impact and pushed it to the side, one half of her hair was taken down from its updo, the stone cracked beside her head.

But her skull wasn't smashed in.

The Macaque pulled away and made another lunge. He was rusty. How long had it been since he'd actually fought anyone? She made the next jab skew to the other side, her hair now fully released from its former ties, the wall behind her now a pile of rubble.

It seemed the Macaque realized she wasn't an easy kill because he started to properly wield his staff again.

His form was sloppy. Strikingly easy to counter, even with the fact that she was stumbling forward, free hand buried in her clothes to try and stop the bleeding in her side as she fought.

She opened her mouth, and she wanted to say something witty, but she couldn't think of any words to say at all, her entire mind was turning to white noise, save the one thing she'd been carrying with her for a decade.

“Hello, my name is Long Xiaojiao. You killed my father, prepare to die.”

Her side gave another throb and she caught herself on a nearby table. The Macaque spurred forward to try and capitalize on the opening.

The bench below splintered into pieces and she forced him back a few steps. “Hello, my name is Long Xiaojiao. You killed my father, prepare to die.”

“I heard you the first time!” The macaque grunted as he swung forward again.

Child's play.

Somewhere along the line, she'd surpassed him.

“Hello! My name is Long Xiaojiao! You killed my father! Prepare to die!”

“Stop saying that!” The Macaque growled, he was getting flustered. Good.

He made another jab at her, this time when she parried her blade met flesh and struck a line across his cheek.

“Hello! My name is Long Xiaojiao! You Killed my father! Prepare to die!” She crowed, now she had him on the ropes, when she moved forward and struck he'd have to move back to not risk being hit again. She could corral him. Her blade landed again, this time along the Macaque's knuckles, and his staff clattered to the ground. The tip of the jade blade tore into his shoulder, right in the place her scar was.

She only ever told people the first part of how she would picture this to go. And sure it wasn't perfect, she didn't expect to nearly die right out the gate, but it didn't need to be.

It just needed this.

“Offer me money.” She pointed the blade to his nose. He was without a weapon and if he tried any tricks she could run him through before they were completed.

“Three mountains full, all yours.”

“Power too, offer that.”

“All that I have and more.”

She leaned back just a hair, not enough to give him any room to work, but just enough to gesture. “Offer me anything I want in the world.”

The Macaque seemed to know where this was going, and whether he had a backup plan in mind she didn't care. “Anything.” He made one last lunge forward to try and grab her.

A grip on a sleeve, a jerk forward, the warm blood dripping down her sword.

“I want my father back you son of a bitch.”

When the Macaque's body fell she didn't... feel much relief. A little, the release of tension of a confrontation, the knowledge that she hadn't wasted her life.

But no revelations, no great euphoria or deep happiness at finally avenging her family. Her side was still bleeding, and the scar on her shoulder was never going to fade.

She began to stumble forward through the pain. She'd lost Sandy some hallways back, and they'd left Xiaotian high and dry, she needed to find them or they'd never get out of this damned mountain.

–

“Now beloved, you may want to remove yourself from this charlatan before I'm forced to do something you'll regret.” Red Son glared over his shoulder at the prince, but he gazed impassively back at him, and flicked the tip of his ear. There was a small zing of pain and suddenly the side of his face was very warm. Xiaotian hissed through his teeth at the Prince, but Red Son did as asked.

Once again parting him from his love because he had no choice but to trust a liar to be telling the truth.

“I should have had your body tossed in the forest when I had you killed. I never liked Six Ears' machine.” The Prince huffs. “But nonetheless it'll be more rewarding to kill my husband's lover first and THEN my husband. And hey! I won't even need your parent's army beloved! The Monkey King will be dead and Flower Fruit Mountain ripe for the picking!” The Prince crowed. “So, Qi Xiaotian, to the death?”

“To the pain.” Xiaotian didn't even flinch. Despite the fact that Red Son had never heard of such a duel condition.

Apparently nor had the prince, “I'm not sure if I'm familiar with that one.”

“I'll explain, and I'll use small words so you can understand you slug faced warmongering buffoon.” The tone in his Xiaotian's voice was unlike anything Red Son had ever heard, even when he was still masquerading as the Monkey King. It was severe, cold, yet ruthless. The unrelenting force of a blizzard.

“That may be the first time in my life someone below my status has insulted me.” The Prince turned a very strange shade of violet.

“Well it won't be the last. 'To the pain' means that once I defeat you, which I will, first you lose your feet, just below the ankles.” Xiaotian held direct eye contact with the Prince and Red Son found himself unable to look away. “Then your hands at the wrists, next your nose-”

“Then my tongue I assume? I killed you too quickly the last time, an error I will not be repeating.” The Prince reared back with his sword and Red Son made a grab for the knife he'd had before, but when Xiaotian spoke up again the prince stopped.

“I wasn't finished! The next thing you lose Is your right eye, followed quickly by your left!”

“And then my ears I get the picture! Let's get on with it!” The Prince was losing his temper fast, Red Son needed to act quickly. He couldn't torch the prince and hope it would be enough to break his cuffs, but he could barely hold the knife he'd dived for let alone be able to wield it with any force.

“Wrong!” Xiaotian interrupted, his face still the picture of determined calm. “Your ears you keep! And I'll tell you why!” The Prince was stopped again, and Red Son figured if he could put enough weight into his grip he could probably disarm him on his own at the moment. And another wave of frustration washed over him at the realization that he certainly couldn't put enough weight into his grip.

“-So that every shriek of every child dismayed by your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, every maiden that cries out 'Heavens above what is that THING' Will be heard oh-so perfectly, in your untouched ears.” He huffed a small laugh. “That is what 'to the pain' means, it means I leave you in Anguish. Alone in your head with naught but the screams you've long since deserved forever.”

There was a pause as the Prince processed the threat. “You're bluffing.”

“It's possible, worm.” Xiaotian responded. “I could be bluffing. It's conceivable you miserable odious mass.” 'Odious' what kind of vocabulary did his love learn while becoming the false Monkey King? “I could be lying here because I lack the strength to stand. But then again, would you like to take that chance?” slowly, as though he were in great pain, Xiaotian began to sit up, and from there stand. He lifted his staff from its position leaning against the bed frame, and pointed the end to the Prince's nose.

“Drop your sword.”

it clattered to the ground.

“Undo the cuffs on Red Son's wrists.” a quick spell and a gesture and the golden bands clattered to the ground. A fierce pain jolted through either of Red Son's hands as the blood was finally allowed to start traveling back through them.

“Have a seat.” The Prince stumbled into a chair and Xiaotian glanced over at him.

“Can you tie anything?” his fingers curled painfully but he could probably manage, so he nodded and only then noticed the coiled up rope beside Xiaotian's former resting place.

“When did you get that?”

“You never know when you need rope.” All the same he tied the prince up firmly, excepting on the wrists that he tied to the armrests of the chair, those he tied as tightly as possible.

See if he liked watching his hands turn purple.

Just about as Red Son was done restraining the prince the sound of approaching footsteps came near, and with a flash of green (well, green stained red) he recognized the Swordsman mercenary.

She looked around at the lot of them and then her gaze settled on Xiaotian. “Where's Sandy?”

“He took of with you!” Xiaotian countered.

“Yeah but then he said he'd double back!”

“Well-!” Xiaotian cut himself off with a surprised yelp as his body pitched to the side, Red Son of course was there to catch him.

“Quick on the draw Red Boy.” The Swordsman hummed “Was that just reflex?”

He didn't pay her any mind. “Xiaotian what happened are you alright?”

“I'll be fine.”

“He was mostly dead all day, his body's completely zapped of strength.” The Swordsman countered.

“You've been dead?!”

“Mostly dead!” Xiaotian corrected as if that made any difference.

“Ha!” The Prince cackled. “I knew you were bluffing!” The Swordsman had zero patience for him though as that was enough for her to press her sword to his nose. “I knew he was bluffing.” The Prince repeated far more sedate.

“Xiaojiao! Xiaojiao can you hear me?” a voice calling from the window broke up all the near forming arguments, and though ti took Red Son a little finagling to ensure he had a proper grip on Xiaotian despite his hands not wanting to grip much of anything right now, the three made their way to the window peeking out the side of the mountain only for Red Son to see the large mercenary waiting below with a small gaggle of horses.

“Ah! Xiaojiao! There you are! I was trying to make my way back to Xiaotian and I ended up in the Prince's stables! The poor things deserve to have better keepers I think! I figured I'd take four of them, since there would be four of us when we found the Red Prince.” Sandy's eyes flickered to Red Son. “Oh, Hello Red Prince!”

“Nice job Sandy!” the Swordsman (Xiaojiao apparently) cheered. “Think you can catch some projectiles?”

“Of course!”

the large mercenary (Sandy) positioned himself below the mountainside, ready to catch any and all of them, and Red Son could remember, vividly, just how adept he was at such physical performances.

“well, royalty first.” Xiaojiao turned to him and gestured. Which, whatever. Though his hands gave another painful throb, he climbed onto the windowsill and jumped. The air was cool as it whipped against him.

–

“You know, it's funny.”

“What is?”

“I killed the Six Eared Macaque and now... I'm not sure what else to do. I've been in the revenge business so long, I don't know if I have anything else of value to try out.”

“Would you like to try leading? I could use a captain I can trust back on Flower Fruit Mountain.”

Xiaojiao shrugged.

–

“Oh, well you don't wanna hear this. The end I suppose.”

“What? Why are you stopping if it's not the end?”

“Well you were very specific about not wanting to hear about the kissing stuff, I don't want to gross you out or anything little one.”

“Well... Maybe I... won't super mind... if it's the ending. But only because it's the ending!”

–

It took a week's travel for the four to enter truly safe territory. To come into the lands of Flower Fruit Mountain and be greeted by the armies of demon monkeys that Xiaotian called his people.

They were finally safe, and Red Son recalled that he'd promised himself to wait until such a time came before he allowed himself to drown again in the ardor of having his love back, but now that it came, he found he simply wasn't as deliriously giddy as he once was. The stresses that had mounted between Xiaotian's return and now had dampened the mood, though his hands no longer ached and strength had returned to Xiaotian's body, they'd both been through so much stress there simply wasn't the space in either of their heads to be anything but focused on reaching their destination.

Of course Red Son had curled up next to his love every night around the campfire the Swordsman- That Xiaojiao would light and tend to, but there was nothing but relief in his body, bone deep, weary relief.

But now they were safe, and Red Son simply couldn't muster up the energy. He should have been jittery and excited to be alone with his love, but honestly he'd just wanted to bathe and eat something beyond travel rations.

Then the dirt and sweat had been washed away and their bellies were full of fruit and what few savory dishes Xiaotian had taught his monkeys to make, and Sandy and Xiaojiao shared a sly grin before going to explore 'the guest bedrooms' in Xiaotian's iron palace behind the watercurtian, and he was alone with his love.

And he felt like he should do something, yet nothing was coming to mind. They were safe, Xiaotian was alive and right here, and they could finally be together in the open, and Red Son felt such a fool for the fact that he didn't know how to proceed.

Xiaotian scooted closer to him and placed an arm around his shoulders, tugging Red Son to the side until he was leaned up against him.

“Red Son.” His voice was a low rumble that vibrated through Red Son's chest.

“Xiaotian.” he responded simply.

He might not have known what to do, but Xiaotian it seemed did. He reached over to gently cup Red Son's face with a hand, and brought him close.

There have been more love stories on this earth than we have time to ever recount in their entirety, but every story has in it a kiss. A soft, loving kiss, a kiss of relief and thankfulness and passion as the hard part was finally over.

It has been said that in the upper echelons of these kisses, that the one shared between Red Son and Qi Xiaotian in that moment, blew them all out of the water.

Tomorrow would come, and Red Son would sent missive to his parents explaining the situation, and Xiaotian would prepare a message to be sent to his own fathers, and they'd spend the next few days bracing for impact.

But tonight was theirs.

And though struggles were certainly on their way, all in all, their lives were finally on the path to be together.

And to live happily ever after.

–

“-The end. Now I think you should be getting to sleep.”

“Okay....”

“Welp, get better soon little one. So long.”

“....Grandpa Sun?.... Maybe you could come over tomorrow too? I could teach you how to play my game?”

“Heh, As you wish.”

#Spicynoodleshipping #Red Groom AU #Monkie Kid #lmk #Qi Xiaotian #lmk Red Son #Long Xiaojiao #lmk Sandy #Princess Bride AU #lmk Six eared macaque #Yes I know Six Ears went out like a punk shut up thats how Count Rugen dies this is an AU #Vega writes stories too #I said to myself 'no animorphs until Princess Bride is done' #and then Princess Bride got pounded out immediately #....I should hold my fics hostage in my head like that more often talk about results lmao

[sketching-shark]

Would you say that the LMK writers don't understand Wukong as a character? Of course, there are different interpretations and adaptations of not only this character but many other beloved characters from different stories.

But I think if 10 different writers create a story about, say, Spider-Man. Even if they all do something different with the character, Spider-Man should still be recognizable as Spider-Man. Like there are inherent traits that simply make the character who they are.

Do you think LMK Wukong is missing those inherent traits, or I guess completely misses the point on who SWK is a character?

Monkie Kid spoilers below:

I guess I'd have to start off by saying that I'm very hesitant, especially as someone who is neither Chinese or of Chinese descent, to say whether there's a truly "wrong" way to understand or write the Monkey King. Hell I've often poked fun at the way Sun Wukong has frequently been written in Chinese retellings of Journey to the West, and it must be acknowledged that there is a MASSIVE numbers of very different ways that Sun Wukong has been depicted in Xiyouji retellings, from a silly little guy to a hardened war criminal. For example, here's a Sun Wukong who's definitely an evil little bloodthirsty scamp as presented by Stephen Chow in Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons (2013):

And here's a panel of the Monkey King "Aku" from Marjorie Liu's (who's of Taiwanese descent) Monstress. Here he's feasting on fruit while watching the souls of a bunch of kids that he had slaughtered be tortured for information:

So yes, there's a pretty big difference between these version of the Monkey King and many others, including his multifaceted presentation in the og classic and the laid-back goof that Monkie Kid seems to be aiming for! THAT SAID, and even while acknowledging that the Monkey King as a character has gone through innumerable transformations (lol), I can't help but feel like the writers for Monkie Kid might be letting their Sun Wukong fall prey to the all-too-common push for "more epic!," "The antagonists were right all along," "Pile on the angst!" and the kind of standard taking out the "intelligent" in "intelligent stone monkey" that you see in other western versions of the Monkey King. For example, Netflix's The New Legend of Monkey stars a muscleheaded and illiterate Monkey King, and while it was more of a one-off jest that was quickly disproved in Monkie Kid it is a bit well bothersome how to this day you'll find "lol Sun Wukong can't read!" jokes being bandied about.

I also don't think that anyone can deny that lego show Sun Wukong has been presented as less and less of a competent or even heroic individual as the story's gone on, and personally I'm starting to suspect that this is partially because the writers A) didn't know how to make Qi Xiaotian shine as a hero otherwise and B) to make the Six-Eared Macaque change from obvious antagonist to a true member of team good guy. It's undeniable that Macaque is the firm fandom meow-meow and has been for awhile, and if memory serves correctly the "Sun Wukong sucks" rhetoric started to really take off after Macaque presented his shadow play back in season 2 in which the Monkey King is ultimately framed as nothing but a selfish jerk who betrays his friends on a whim. And while there's basically 0 reference in either recent canon or fanon to the stuff the shadow simian put Qi Xiaotian and his loved ones through up until the end of season 3, it's hammered in time after time after time again just how completely Sun Wukong hurt and still hurts everyone around him because of what he did or what he failed to do. As it is, now we've seen Zhu Dachu yell at SWK for failing to protect Qi Xiaotian, an entire play that framed him as a terrible person and Macaque flat-out saying he's a terrible teacher (and then the plot going out of its way to somewhat confirm this), many people yelling at SWK for his plan to use the Samadhi Fire being stupid and poorly thought out, Long Xiaojio screaming at him for failing everyone especially the people who care about him while she's on fire and in pain, the Azure Lion referring to SWK as someone who's corrupted Qi Xiaotian with his blindness, and the ink clone of Qi Xiaotian--you known, the manifestation of his scariest but truest fears--referring to SWK as a fraud and a force of destruction. So now SWK and the lego show story have been left is this weird place where it seems that in large part the "SWK completely sucks and hurts everyone" truthers were right--and you see this sentiment reflected CONSTANTLY in canon and in fanon--and yet when people just say that explicitly there's a certain amount of scrambling to argue otherwise. I know it's been discussed before, but I think it bears repeating that not that long ago the hatred being leveled at SWK for supposedly being Qi Xiaotian's deadbeat dad on top of everything else he ruined forever got to the point where a writer felt compelled to go on twitter to confirm that SWK is not the father. I think it was the same writer who said that SWK is trying his best, but as others have noted if THIS is his best (world seems like it's in danger of being destroyed every other week) well lol and also lmao. Idk, personally I think if they noted there were THAT many people ready to condemn SWK for something that wasn't even proven one way or another they should step back and think about why that is. And it definitely doesn't help that they keep saying that there's more to this story from SWK's perspective and/or what actually happened, but then they won't actually show it.

So in the end, I'm not sure if in Monkie Kid's case it's so much a instance of not understanding the Monkey King as much as it is about not wanting to stick with what makes the Monkey King so beloved in the first place, the writers themselves not having a firm idea about where they ultimately want his story to go, but also even if unconsciously using him as a punching bag/sacrificial lamb to further the stories/likeability of other characters. And who knows, maybe later episodes will give SWK a backstory that is so tragic and well written and that explains his failures in the present so well that I'll feel stupid for saying all of this. Honestly I would love it if that was the case. Because Monkie Kid seem to have become one of the main ways that a lot of people in the west are learning about the Monkey King and Journey to the West in the first place, and it would kind of suck if the main impression that they ended with was with SWK as nothing but an constant failure that basically everyone who's ever loved him or even spent time with him comes to distrust, resent, and flat-out hate for very legitimate reasons.

#anon answered #monkie kid #monkie kid spoilers