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imminent-danger-came · 11 months

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SWK being so flawed is like one of LMK's strongest bits. I feel like a different show would just have him be infallible or have him be like a twist villain or irredeemable or something. But he's neither of those, he's just incredibly flawed. It's also interesting that even though Mei and Pigsy are critical of him, they're still shown to care about him.

All in all, hes a more complicated character than people give him credit for :/

I 100% agree!

Honestly, if Sun Wukong wasn't flawed I'd find him a bit boring. You remove his flaws and you remove the meat of his character. Even all the way back in season 1 you get the feeling he's withholding information and concealing his past ("Show me the real Sun Wukong! The old you would have leveled this whole mountain range to stop me!"), and that only becomes more and more prevalent as the show goes on.

Wukong is first introduced as a hero, as the King who defended the world from DBK. Next he's introduced as a mentor, planning to make MK his successor (which I think is pretty debatable at this point, as I've said I personally think he just needed an excuse to train MK).

Slowly we learn SWK is pretty terrible at both of those things. He's not the hero or mentor anyone thought he would be—he's not even the mentor he thought he would be:

Macaque: “Haha, you saw a story about a hero who got handed everything, who didn’t have to work for anything, and you thought you were the other guy? The second the hero got real power, he couldn’t care less about his friends.” [ - ] "You know, I meant what I said—you really are a good kid. A good kid, with a really terrible teacher." (2x07 Shadow Play)

Pigsy: "Back from what? Your vacation? No- what could have been SO important you'd leave MK alone to face that- that thing! You're supposed to be his mentor!" (2x10 This is the End!)

Sun Wukong: "I know I can never make it up to you. Honestly I- I never thought I'd live as long as I have let alone be someone's mentor—turns out I'm not very good at it. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry MK, for all of it." (3x14 Destiny Fulfilled)

(he's staring sadly at a bowl of soup, never a good sign.)

s1 of Monkie Kid, as well as the Revenge of the Spider Queen special, establish a baseline. We meet Wukong as we're meant to know him—the legendary yet cheeky hero. Now that he's retired, Monkey King is training the next generation to protect the world and be the heroes in his place.

Right?

Well, just like our perception of Wukong, our perception of the role of the hero slowly degrades as well:

Lady Bone Demon: “Heroes? Please, you’re mere agents of chaos, the very thing I aspire to eradicate in this new world. No more destruction, no more disorder, I WILL HAVE PERFECTION.” (3x12 The Corrupted King)

Curse MK: "We’re just like Wukong. A fraud! A trickster! Destructive! Why would our legacy be any different? Actually, no no- the chaos and destruction we’ll bring upon the world will make Wukong’s past look like nothing." (4x07 Pitiful Creatures)

MK: "That can't be true! Monkey King's a hero he wouldn't just—" Azure Lion: "You saw it with your own eyes! His betrayal, his brutality—he took the only friends I had from me." (4x08 The Brotherhood)

Heroes aren't people fighting for the side of good, or even for what they think is right—they're agents of chaos. Destructive. "All doomed to play a role in tearing this world apart." Heroes are introduced as one thing, and then slowly revealed to be another.

Heroes, just like Wukong and anyone else, are flawed. They still make wrong choices. They still hurt people. Of course Wukong isn't a twist villain or irredeemable, because ultimately he IS a hero with plenty of the positive traits that come with that. But heroes are also flawed, and this is something I think is at the core of Lego Monkie Kid.

You can love someone, and that someone can do plenty of good, but that doesn't mean they're not broken, or that they aren't capable of causing suffering. This isn't something that only applies to Wukong either—pick any character and I'm sure you could apply this to them.

Now, all this to say that Wukong's two fatal flaws are his lack of communication and his self-sacrificial tendencies. Like Azure Lion says—he has a habit of keeping people at arms length, and more often than not doing that to protect them. These tendencies lead to his downfall.

So! Let's make some lists of where we see these flaws in the show.

Wukong's lack of Communication:

"Look, I'm going to come clean—um, I've been kind of watching you."

Leaving MK and lying to him during s2 (this includes lying about both going on vacation AND that LBD had returned)

Keeping his plan to stop LBD a secret during s3

"Where I got my staff!" "Got or took, right? You took it?"

Not telling the gang about the 4th ring

Other lies I'm sure have yet to be revealed (such as the truth about MK's origins, if that's the direction the plot's going)

Him and Macaque's past

Wukong's Self-sacrificial tendencies:

Leaving during s2 to find a way to stop LBD on his own

"What!? You're not going I'm going!" "Yeah so, here's the problem, you guys have this thing called mortality, so-"

Gravely injuring himself to get the samadhi fire Map

Blocking the brunt of the samadhi fire to protect MK in 3x10

Originally planning to put the Samadhi Fire in himself

Going off to fight the Lady Bone Demon alone

Protecting MK from the curse in 4x01

(and this post here that travels into theory territory)

Now, most, if not all, of these decisions lead to something bad happening. It's very in line with MK's words in 4x08:

MK: It doesn’t matter if I want to help people or not! Everything I do just- it just makes things worse!”

Wukong, even if he has a very questionable way of going about it, is truly motivated by protecting the people he cares about. However, these choices also hurt those same people. Not to reference samadhi fire Mei another time, but this is EXACTLY what she points out:

Mei: "We trusted you! All of us! How could you lead us into the fight without a real plan? Time and time again I've watched you put MK in danger leaving him to figure out EVERYTHING on his own. Don't you realize you're hurting the people who care about you the most?" (3x10 The Samadhi Fire)

But that's the point, isn't it? Even with all these flaws and after all these mistakes, Wukong still tries (he's very much like Mei in that regard):

Sun Wukong: “Point is, mistakes happen, but so long as you leave the world in better shape than you found it, then it’s all good. Right?” (4x01 Familiar Tales)

Sun Wukong: “We can’t change who we were yesterday or in a past life, or a hundred life times ago! We live with the choices we’ve made, for what matter is the choices we make RIGHT NOW! Only we decide who we are and what we do with the power we have.” (4x07 Pitiful Creatures)

This is who Wukong is. He's not a hero or a mentor, but he's someone who cares (and maybe that's what a hero is). That's the tragedy of his character, really. That's the tragedy of both him and MK. They're people doing the best with what they have, but still failing anyways.

"Nice hero speech bud, but I know better—deep in your hearts, you don't believe a word of that."

But people still love you anyways.

#Wukong fans eat up #God I do love Wukong.#Look at him he's just as doomed by the narrative as anyone else #lmk meta #lmk #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #lmk SWK #lmk Sun Wukong #asks #Sincerely hope people read all of this so I don't get any ''stop bashing wukong'' comments this time adsfadsfafds #but yeah this is why Wukong knowing the truth about MK the whole time works so well #LIKE COME ON. THE SET UP IS ALL THERE. THE FORESHADOWING IS ALL THERE.#THE CHARACTER CHOICES ARE ALL THERE #also: didn't feel like adding it but Wukong disappearing after sealing DBK is so concerning #Like my brother. What pushed you to do that #What happened

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yurious-george · 8 months

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LMK is pretty wishy-washy on whether the Monkie Kids are descendants or reincarnations of the JTTW pilgrims, often flip-flopping between the terms. The actual answer? It's a mix, but they haven't clarified. Here's a quick-and-dirty guide based on show canon:

Pigsy and Mei: Descendants. Mei's heritage as a direct descendant of Ao Lie is a central part of her character. Pigsy's link to Zhu Bajie isn't explicit, but Pigsy's family (recipes "passed down through generations") is a central part of Sweet N' Sour, and Zhu Bajie's status as a cook allows easy extrapolation. They may be reincarnations as well, accounting for their deja vu in The Samadhi Fire.

Tang: Reincarnation. Buddhist monks, famously, do not have sex. There is no mention of Tang's family but the Golden Cicada - heralding the unlocking of Tang's powers - appears in season 3, clarifying that Tang, like Sanzang, is the next reincarnation of Golden Cicada.

Sandy: Unknown. His family is never shown nor is there proof of reincarnation. He may even be the original Sha Wujing, owing to his flashback in To Catch a Leaf. It stands to reason that a river demon would live as long as the river does, but this doesn't explain the (inconsistent) difference in hair color, Wukong treating him like a stranger, or Mo.

MK: Neither. We can be reasonably confident SWK didn't hook up with anyone. Speaking of, SWK is still alive, so MK is not a reincarnation. Oddly, MK seems to be associated with the underworld (a sticker depicting him as the skull in a skull-and-crossbones in Pig Pong Panic, his eyes glowing blue in Minor Scale) and possibly born or even constructed out of a stone (The monkey statue & stone cracking in S4). Just what are you, MK...?

#lego monkie kid #this is cassandra #lmk meta #lmk analysis #this is also just stuff that's explicitly canon #pigsy and mei could be reincarnations as well for all we know #anyway hope this is useful!

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jestiamy · 21 hours

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LMK mandarin dub (and how characters address eachother) ; an old and. mostly unfinished project I was working on a bit ago. only got mk & mei, alongside past swk & macaque

mk (qi xiaotian) calls mei (long xiaojiao) her full name, and she does the same inversely. I did not find any notable exceptions, but to be honest I did not look very hard. if anyone is interested in seeing how they call eachother in specific episodes or whatever ; send me an ask and I'm open to looking. but I don't feel like combing every single episode to try and find them aimlessly.

my full notes on past macaque (liu'er mihou) and monkey king (sun wukong) via the flashbacks in the season four special. notably, I've yet to go through the flashback in season four episode two yet. I can only talk about part one of the special.

peach tree segment :

- Sun Wukong greats Liu'er Mihou (swk and lmh will be used as shortenings henceforth.) with his full name. followed quickly by Xiongdi/兄弟. literally composed of the characters for Elder Brother and Younger Brother - used as 'bro,' sort of. it's a way men call close friends/comrades. notably doesn't denote that one or the other is older or younger.*

* age and respect is like. a really big deal in chinese culture. really really big. I'm assuming everyone in the brotherhood refers to eachother as XiongDi to denote that they see themselves as on equal standing. though don't quote me (I'm not an expert; I did most of this post in. january. and stuff like this can get confusing when it comes to immortals)

- lmh greets swk as 'Hou Wang Bixia'/猴王陛下 - [pronoun] majesty, the monkey king. the pronoun in question is between his majesty, your majesty, my majesty. pretty sure this is translated as 'my king' in the english dub, so I'm leaning towards my majesty. the way swk reacts ('come on, don't be like that! eat some fruit, enjoy the sunshine!') as well as how he delivers it can make it very safe to assume this is not a sincere term of address on lmh's half.

mountain segment :

-lmh greets swk as xiongdi. when swk replies, swk calls lmh his full name.

-when lmh rants at swk for his inability to consider others, he calls him Sun Dasheng/孫大聖 - great sage sun. intended to highlight his arrogance within context. also, with consideration, I personally believe to put an emotional distance. (pretty sure he says 'great sage wukong' sarcastically within the dub, or something of the ilk, which is rather close to it's like. tonal goal. though it is missing the fact lmh calls swk by his last name, a rare occurance in mandarin. from observation I think it's usually only to show. really high respect? don't quote me though.) it's a variant shortening of his full title, Qitian Dasheng (great sage equal to heaven.)

* notably, lmh does not call swk a demon/variant of demon at any point, which is contrary to the english dub. shortly before calling swk sun dasheng, he says exactly - "你已经着了魔" ; which can be translated as 'you are possessed,' but I'd say it's closer to other translations like you're obsessed/you're obsessive.

I'm, ironically, struggling to find the mandarin dub of season four (I remember having literally the exact opposite problem around this time last year but you know. life goes that way sometimes.) when I do find it, though, I'll be quick to note it down ; though I don't think they directly address eachother in that. so.

mostly this was a pet project for. me. I realized it was actually really hard to find people who noted this stuff down and I was like. hey you know what. why not. though due to extenuating circumstances I ended up too busy to finish it ; I still thought what I already had was pretty interesting. though I don't really go into as much detail as I could have, as I was assuming I'd be noting a lot more character dynamics in this post than I did

#being so serious when I say I looked everywhere for season four. just me bilibili and douyin against the world #douyin was not helpful. I'm apparently very bad at looking things up in a language I don't speak. happens to the best of us #all I got was misc clips about lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk season 4 special #lmk #lego monkie kid season 4 special #lmk mandarin dub #lmk mandarin #lmk meta #lego monkie kid meta #I. guess ??#i think.#saying stuff #I've had this one in the drafts since january #monkie kid #monkie kid meta #still iffy on the meta tag.

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fluffypotatey · 6 months

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also. i was thinking abt ur analysis on soysauce duo’s relationship, and how macaroni and mk’s relationship has that more direct progression in terms of caring about each other/mentorship, and also that it gives me a very nice opening to talk about my favorite line in s4: “Nice tail, kid,” from macaque in 4x09.

just. like. that’s the first nice thing anybody’s said about this terrifying new monkey form, and it’s so important that macaque says it. in a past season, that would’ve been a taunt, but here it’s about as close to sincere as macaque ever gets, and how it shows that the character development from s3 has stuck, that he isn’t just here to be a dick. yaknow??? <- frantically gesturing at a red string board with the clown wig firmly fitted on

*nods at board and takes her own red strings from her pocket* yeah, yeah exactly

they're relationship is literally "hey kiddo" (derogatory) to "hey kiddo" (affectionate). every insult that Macky threw at MK in the past (which was really just a backhanded compliment), now hold sincerity and geniune compliments to it. and you know what? THEY'RE DYNAMIC ALSO FLIPPED!!!

like, if you think about it, both MK & SWK's dynamic and MK & Macky's dynamic have flipped. it's Macky now who's trying to reach out and be friendly with MK still distrustful and throwing barbs (which Makcy takes in stride bc....fair is fair tbh) and yeah 100% agree that Macadoo's comment on MK's monkey form being the 1st positive one is a big deal and super important.

the previous ones coming from:

Ink!MK, who used that form to highlight how dangerous MK is to his friends and the world and will be the catalyst to its end;

Sun Wukong, who ignored the issue and was trying to placate MK. which, to be fair, was needed because Mk was not in the right mind, but SWK's mitigation (i think is a better word bc Wukong did acknowledge but was trying not to make a big deal out of it) ended up aggravating MK further because, once again, he feels like his pain and issues are being deflected.

and MK's friends, Pigsy, Sandy, Tang, and Mei, who were also overwhelmed by the events but weren't even sure how to react to MK's new burst of power.

and then you have Macaroni, who, if we remember, was unaware of the events that just transpired (at least, i think he was unaware bc he made a joke about Wukong being a lazy ass, which would be a low blow if Macartney was aware of everything in 4x08). all Macackle gets is MK pleading at him to stop with the taunting and THEN JUST GIVES UP ON WHAT HE WAS SAYING BECAUSE HE'S EXHAUSTED AND FEELS USED AND BROKEN AND CONFUSED AND MAYBE IF MAC DOES TAUNT HIM AT LEAST ONE THING OF HIS LIFE IS TYPICAL AND-*gets taken off the stage*

*comes back but now covered in scratches and blood* sorry, uh, what was i saying?

ah yes,

the fact that it is Macandy who comments on it (he is shown to be shocked about it and knows that something is up) and just a simple "uh, you have a tail now," it's "nice tail by the way."

no questions about how it happened, no concern over what transpired. just an acknowledgment of it and a positive one which is the complete opposite of what MK's been shown because it is the part of him that is supposed to be bad and chaotic and the Harbinger. it can't bring good or be something hopeful....can it?

also, ISN'T INTERESTING HOW MACAQUE'S COMMENT ON THE TAIL IS POSITIVE AND NOT WHAT SHOULD BE ASSUMED OF MONKEY!MK'S PURPOSE JUST LIKE HOW MK'S PERSISTENCE FOR MACKY'S HELP FURTHER LED TO MACKY REALIZING THAT FATE IS WHAT YOU MAKE IT AND SCREW THE THREADS DESTINY AND THE WORLD GIVES YOU AND-*gets dog-piled*

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monkie-brainriot · 9 months

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How Macaque's dependency could have affected His and Wukong's relationship

following this post

I think that the past Macaque might have depended on Wukong as his only support, or his biggest source of support.

And of course Relying solely on one person as your sole support can result in various consequences:

Dependency: Mac's emotional well-being and sense of security might have been intricately linked to Wukong's presence and support. When Wukong failed to provide that support due to his own struggles (when he failed and faced punishment), it could have triggered feelings of abandonment, frustration, and even panic in Mac.

Loss of Emotional Anchor: Wukong served as Mac's emotional anchor, and when that anchor is suddenly unavailable, it can lead to a sense of emotional disorientation. Macaque might not have developed the skills to manage his emotions and challenges independently, and this loss of stability could contribute to his anger and blame towards Wukong.

Feelings of Betrayal or Neglect: Macaque might interpret Wukong's pursuit of his goals that might lead to the inability to provide the same level of support as a form of betrayal or neglect. From Mac's perspective, he might feel that he sacrificed his own aspirations to be there for Wukong, but it's not the same the other way around.

Frustration and Vulnerability: The frustration and vulnerability Macaque is experiencing due to Wukong's absence as his primary support could be channeled into blaming him for the current situation in the Mountain Scene. Macaque might not have the emotional tools to cope with his feelings. Also He tends to suppress his own concerns and desires, which eventually leads to built-up resentment that explodes later when he finally loses his support - Wukong.

This's unhealthy for both of them. Not only does it put a burden on the other person, but also when the other person crumbles (as humans often do), your only support crumbles too. You can't maintain a sound mind to be there for them because you're left trying to cope with the loss of support.

The other person slips up (as most humans do), they crumble, and thus your support crumbles. So they're the reason for your current lack of support. It's THEIR FAULT. (Note: This is one of Macaque's reasons because the situation is complex, but I want to highlight this aspect as it's often not discussed how Mac's dependency played a part in his behavior.)

All of this added to Macaque failing to cope and leaving Wukong when he needs him the most.

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nightmarebunnyking · 8 months

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"The repeat history" thing this fandom is annoying,like have you guys once thought that maybe the parallels are saying Mei an mk are opposite of wukong and macaque past relationship,they way healthier and they comfort each other in their time of need and communicate with each other,their friendship is "we can fixs this together"

Stop reducing Mei and mk relationship to what macaque and wukong once had (hasn't got the full story just macaque side not wukong yet) . It completely slipped you're guys brains about how Mei and mk friendship is in cannon.

#lego monkie kid #lmk sun wukong #legomonkiekid #lmk monkey king #lmk macaque #lmk mk #lmk meta

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shadowpeachyuri · 10 months

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still so unwell about the thought of wukong and bai he interacting after the s3 finale. like.

at least wukong could fight. all bai he could do was watch, as her body was puppeted around by an ancient evil who saw her as a convenient body. wukong was ready to kill bai he to get to lbd (he didn’t take it lightly but still). do you think she’d take kindly to that. do you think she’d even have cared by that point.

do you think bai he felt guilty for not fighting back, aware of everything lbd was doing and helpless to stop it? do you think wukong felt guilty for not being able to protect her? for being willing to end her life? for letting it get this far? for the fact that macaque was the one who saved her, while he stood there and cracked a joke about lbd crawling around in his head?

mk, they both agree, is what saved them. mk is the person who gave wukong the strength to break free- but he was also the one who was willing to comfort a crying child in an abandoned subway tunnel.

my sisters and i, when we were watching that ep, all agreed that when lbd was fake crying to trick mk into helping her, she was really letting bai he have a brief second of control, just enough to use that fear and anguish. (which is fucking awful but this is the lady bone “ends justify the means” demon we’re talking about here).

but that also means when mk was trying to help her, his words probably spoke to bai he more than anything else. probably inspired her to hope, to hold on just a little longer. “it’s scary being alone, but you’re not alone now. we’ll find a way out together, i promise.” that promise was what got her through it all, i think.

finally, their conversation comes to and end, and wukong walks away distinctly feeling that despite all of his power, between the immortal and the child, the child is by far the stronger of the two

#yes the ending is a cliche no i don’t care #analysis #sorta?#its half fic half meta i think #lmk analysis #lmk meta #im normal. i prommy im normal <- frothing at the mouth #lego monkie kid

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mylasteverlution · 6 months

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Disco Elysium has a lot of fascinating fictional technology but I have been rotating the radiocomputer in my mind for months now. From what I can gather, they operate in a way very similar to modern cloud computing. It doesn't seem like the mainframes we interact with have any processing capability. Instead, they use antennas to process "on air":

SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - "Alright, well... All radiocomputers perform operations up on air, so in order to gain more processing power you need to invest in a *good antenna*."

The only information we get about what "on air" really means is from the same conversation with Soona:

YOU - "Wait, what's 'on air'?" SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - "On the *front*. The unified front of radiowaves, licensed and controlled by Lintel in the East-Insulindic region." SOONA, THE PROGRAMMER - "It's all around us," she waves her hand, "that's what 'on air' means."

The nonspecific language used here really invokes cloud computing to me. I think there are two main possibilities for how this could work, one being much more likely than the other.

The more likely answer is that information is sent to and from the in-game equivalent of data centers, which would host massive computers with processing capabilities. I'm not sure what their processors would look like, but they'd almost certainly be analog (the lost Feld tape computers are most likely the in-game equivalent of early digital computers).

The significantly less likely (but more interesting) answer is that in-game radio waves are somehow capable of processing information on their own. I have no idea how this would work, and as far as I know there's no real-world analog. But it's clear the world of Disco Elysium has some crazy things happening with radio waves (see how they interact with the pale), so I'm not ruling it out entirely.

The filament memories are like hard drives, but my guess is they would function more similarly to an optical disc (CDs, DVDs), which use patterns in the disc to encode information that's read using lasers or light. The filaments glow inside the mainframe, so it's not a huge leap to assume they're read using light.

The amount of thought put into radiocomputers is so fascinating. As far as I can tell, their version of the internet has been wireless from the get-go, which makes perfect sense! Antennas and other wireless radio technologies would have to be pretty damn powerful to communicate across and force dimensions on the pale. And you have to assume huge amounts of government money has gone into funding their research and development for those purposes. The technology of radiocomputers is so tailored to the world of Disco Elysium, and it's been a lot of fun trying to untangle how exactly they would work.

#i would loooove to hear other people's thoughts on this!! i tried to find conversations abt it and didn't come up with much #also if anyone wants me to elaborate on the feld tape computer thing lmk... its a long post so i didn't want to go into more detail #but i do have Thoughts about it #cyan.txt #disco elysium #disco elysium meta #soona the programmer

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starflungwaddledee · 7 months

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kirbytober 2023 11 + 13 + 17: another dimension + ancient + knight [ prev || next ]

wings.jpg the comic

scene from an AU where something happened and you hope it was a miracle, but probably not!

#kirbtober #kirbytober #meta knight #galacta knight #my art #my comics #awtdy au #cw violence #cw blood #this is my 'primary au' though i do have about another half dozen that stem from it lmao #it's actually a bandee-protagonist au because of course it is. i just think he deserves to be absolutely integral to plots!#sorry in advance to the soft galacta knight likers he is a true meanie here #but there is a happy ending!! just that it's... later. a lot later. but you know; eventually!! usually.#lmk if i should tag anything else? this is mostly canon-typical but i dunno what the threshold is here!

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cringefail-clown · 2 months

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okay, so we know that godtiering heals you. tavros gets his legs back, vriska gets her eye and arm back etc etc. furthermore, it could be interpreted as healing perceived disadvantages. terezi wouldnt get her sight back if she were to godtier, because she doesnt see (pun not intended but here we go) her blindness as something that weakens her, quite the opposite - and when aranea heals her sight, she hates it and purposefully wears a blindfold. sburb would recognize her preference and honor it once she ascends.

we could go even further. once ascended, all your perceived weaknesses would be removed, and what weakness means varies wildly from person to person. harlenglishcrocegberts keep their glasses, as well as vriska - we can assume they never felt like their bad sight was any issue for them, so it was left out. for trans folks, and lets put myself under the microscope - if i were to godtier, sburb might throw my way a nice and quick top surgery, but leave the rest alone since i dont have any strong feelings about those.

it could even heal things like brain damage, chronic pain, migrains, cancer, anything that you feel like brings you down will be removed. alpha kids get their hangovers healed up. ascending basically builds your body up from the start, atom to atom, whole dna rewritten if you want it to be.

my question now: would it, or would it not remove karkats or kankris mutation, making them limebloods? everytime we see vantases who are god tier theyre ghosts, and their wings are not shown. it might be because theyre small (which is a popular headcanon) or they dont have any, be it because of their mutation or because its a feature of the bloodcast they originate from, or theyre simply hidden. either way we never see what the actual color of their wings is, which would indicate the color of their blood after ascention.

basically i have no idea. but its a fun thing to think about and ive been doing it for the past few days now

#homestuck #homestuck meta #karkat vantas #kankri vantas #terezi pyrope #godtier #either they dont see their mutation as a weakness anymore and they stay the same #or godtiering couldnt change their mutation (unlikely for me)#or they really just straight up switched their bloodcaste and we were just never shown lmfao #i think the vantases are limebloods thing is also just a theory but i like it so much im basically treating it as canon #i mightve missed some info about the godtier stuff tho so if i got something wrong/it was explained then lmk!

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imminent-danger-came · 9 months

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So- we all agree that MK will at some point fight his friends.

But what do you think would cause an actual fight to break out? I can imagine a CONFRONTATION. Arguing, a small scale brawl or scuffle. A full blown, all out, cataclysmic battle however? HOW???

Yeah, MK did lash out at Macaque when he was pretending to be Wukong. MK was definitely upset, but the thing that made him want to straight up fight Wukong was Macaque antagonizing him and hitting him where it hurts.

Mei and the real Wukong wouldn’t do that. They love MK too much. And vice versa. I just can‘t imagine them fighting eachother while fully aware.

Do you think it would be a loss of control situation? That MK‘s too powerful to contain? Brainwashing 2.0? Golden Circlet? Someone pretending to be MK and leaving the real one to deal with thr consequences? I‘m just listing all the different tropes at this point oof

Or do you have a specific scenario in mind that you think could realistically happen or hope for?

So! I think it'll be a combination of a loss of control, good ol' fashioned manipulation, and MK learning something that pushes him over the edge.

Like, you know in 4x13 where MK says things that distinctly don't feel like MK—"We'll alright then", "Oh there's nothing mindless about me friend"—and he's smiling and very much unhinged, and it's all kinda scary? I feel like there's gonna be a lot more of that next season, all aligning with MK and his fate vs what he actually wants. Like:

Subodhi: “Who or what you are, even I do not know the answer—but of one thing, I am certain: fate has plans for you! Great plans, or foul? Time will tell.” MK: "I- I can't be! I'm just MK!" Subodhi: "The Monkie Kid?" MK: *Gasps*

(4x06 Show Me the Monster)

"Great plans, or foul?" - "Remind me how this 'game' is supposed to convince me I'm not destined to turn into an evil monkey demon thing again? Cause every option I pick takes me to this same screen!" - Aka, despite your choices the final outcome is inevitable. MK wants to be MK, but he's also the Monkie Kid, and he can't separate himself from whatever he is—i.e. MK is gonna have to reconcile the different parts of himself, including the parts of himself he refuses to acknowledge.

The conclusion Macaque helps MK come to at the end of s4 is that no one can decide who MK is for him ("Only you get to decide who you are kiddo."), and what I LOVE to point out is that the person who decided who MK is, who he will be, was in fact himself—or at least the curse version of himself:

(*sigh* this wasn't supposed to be super long and then it was. The rest under the cut!)

Curse MK: “Haha, seriously? You still think we’re just some, noodle delivery guy? You can’t remember where we came from, and we got ALL this power, and you never once thought, WHY US? What are we? What is our purpose?”

Curse MK: “You can’t escape it, this thing, whatever you are, embrace it. Embrace your destiny.”

Curse MK: "You can see it, can't you? This is your fate. Your friends will turn on you, seeing you for the monster you will become. They will destroy you, harbinger of chaos."

(4x07 Pitiful Creatures)

It's this interesting mess, where it seems like MK is spiraling towards becoming something else, something he doesn't want to become. So let's add a little check mark next to the "loss of control" box for why MK is fighting his friends next season—I'm not sure he'll be entirely "himself" if you catch my drift (maybe a kinda Samadhi Fire Mei situation, similar to the way she loses control).

Next point: good ol' fashioned manipulation.

So, just like LBD we got another puppet master on our hands, the person who was pulling the strings and released Azure.

AKA whoever the fuck this guy is:

Hooded Figure: "There will of course be an inquiry into how the scroll of memory was stolen in the first place, and what is to be done now that the Jade Emperor has been dethroned. The universe is perilously close to tipping into chaos. If it comes to light that any of this party were involved, you can believe the consequences will be dire—but only a fraction of the price compared to what shall come to pass should you succeed."

(4x14 Better Than We Found It)

The thing about this guy who wanted Azure to become the Jade Emperor and lose control—perhaps they wanted the Jade Emperor's power without a host so they could use it for their own purposes?—is that we don't know what their plan is, but we can assume it's going to include MK ("Great plans or foul?", MK as a "harbinger of chaos" with this mystery person trying to tip the universe into chaos, etc.—I'd argue they're the next stand in for destiny)

Which gets me to my point: our hooded figure is going to manipulate MK the same way they manipulated Azure, and the same way LBD manipulated MK before, which means gettin' all up inside MK's head. Making him doubt both himself and Monkey King and his friends.

And well, people trying to turn MK against Wukong has had a track record of MK absolutely losing his shit and going into Monkey form before (which admittedly may be the very thing the hooded figure wants):

1.) The very first time MK glitches into Monkey Form is after the curse insists that "We're just like Wukong—a fraud! A trickster! Destructive! Why would our legacy be any different? Actually, no no- the chaos and destruction we'll bring upon the world will make Wukong's past look like nothing."

2.) Then, first time MK fully enters monkey form is after the curse insists that "It's just like the Lady Bone Demon said—all you'll ever do is cause pain and suffering!", which in itself is tied to the words Mei says to Wukong in 3x10 "Don't you see you're hurting the people who care about you the most?" which is ALSO tied to 4x08 with the reason MK decides to run off to begin with—he's afraid of hurting the people he cares about (just like Wukong) and that perhaps he really is only destined to cause pain and suffering.

3.) After 4x07 MK goes into his Monkey Form again in 4x08, but this time it's after Azure tried to destroy MK's faith in Wukong ("Monkey King's a hero he wouldn't just-" "You saw it with your own eyes! His betrayal his brutality, he took the only friends I had from me."). MK really starts to lose it after he learns Azure won't release Wukong from the scroll ("I won't let you take Monkey King away from me again!").

4.) Next, in 4x09, MK starts glitching into Monkey Form after Macaque insults Wukong ("Or, he was just doing his usual Wukong thing and being a lazy peach eating idiot—ignoring all the worlds problems."). It's also directly after MK wonders why Wukong stayed on flower fruit mountain all those years: "You think Monkey King ever felt like this? Maybe that's why he stayed up on this mountain, just having a good time with you guys. You know cause- cause he knew he'd be out of the way where he couldn't hurt anyone he cared about."

5.) Next instance of Monkey Form isn't until 4x13, but I'd argue it's the most relevant of the bunch. For the entire special MK hadn't flickered into Monkey Form once, but he does after Azure starts insulting his loyalty to Wukong: ""After all Sun Wukong has put you through, how much he has let you down, you would STILL meet your fate trying to protect him? He doesn't deserve such loyalty, yet you insist on learning the hard way, just as I did. I should have never trusted the Monkey King! The false sage, equal to NOTHING!"

And then after this we have the scariest instances of Monkey MK I ever did see:

MK is ripe to be manipulated in all the wrong ways, specifically around his relationship with Monkey King—and perhaps even his friends if the situation gets bad enough (though I would imagine it being something more like MK trying to leave to protect them [again] and the gang not letting him) (Other side note: there are literally 5 examples of MK going into Monkey Form because of how his relationship/view of Wukong is being called into question, all at the end of s4. That is so many).

I think a la 2x05 and 4x07 MK will also have his perception of himself pushed to it's limits via our new antagonist. So rather than Wukong or Mei antagonizing MK for him to lash out, I'd say our puppet master will be the one to antagonize MK. To push him towards whatever they need MK to be for their plans.

And with that, I'm checking off box number 2 "good ol' fashioned manipulation".

Now onto point number 3, MK learning info that pushes him over the edge (which will be helped by point number 2 and lead to point number 1, FULL CIRCLE BABY).

So the special definitely set up the fact that there's more both MK and the audience don't know about Wukong's past, particularly around Macaque:

Macaque: "Every choice has consequences kid, for someone." MK: "Okay come on man! What happened between you two, for realzies!"

MK: "Seriously! Come on man I need answers!"

(4x11 A Lifetime of Mistakes)

Oh sweet MK, answers you will receive! They just won't be the answers you want. (The fact that MK is questioning Wukong's past at all, along with the curse saying "We're just like Wukong" as proof they were destructive, leads me to believe that uh, maybe your boy is having some doubts! One of the things MK is specifically upset at Azure about is that the Lion attempted to "turn him against his own mentor". That's all gonna lead somewhere)

Which, the implication is clear:

For undoubtedly some important reason, Wukong had to either kill Macaque or bring him to deaths door. But, MK over there who refused to abandon or hurt Mei even when she was going to burn away reality, who refused to abandon his friends even if it might risk unleashing the curse into the world, might not understand the nuances (hi "good guy" V "bad guy" binary mentality) of whatever happened between Wukong and Macaque.

Lego Monkie Kid is a show where plot points and arcs line up—the fact that MK's faith in Wukong is being questioned, the origin of SWK and Macaque's falling-out is just around the corner, and MK losing control is a very likely possibility, it all means I would be surprised if it everything wasn't going to be acknowledged at around the same time. All these things will build off of one another, and MK is going to spiral HARD (and SWK probably will too. Sorry boys)

The Macaque and SWK backstory alone would be enough I think, or WHATEVER other Wukong past plot points they want to introduce, but we also have the matter of MK's origins—his purpose. Why he was created and why he exists (again that who MK wants to be VS what fate has in store for him, and acknowledging the different parts of himself). MK, without any real knowledge of what he is, already believed that he was destined to bring chaos. Say, MK were to learn that he was either created for such a purpose or was something that caused chaos before (hello EAMK), this would absolutely RUIN MK's perception of himself.

So then combining all of these different problems and the culmination of MK's series long crippling self-doubt/identity arc, we're like, fucked? Honestly I can't imagine MK not having a full blown, all out, cataclysmic battle and breakdown.

There have also been certain things building up from s2 that MK never really talked about with Wukong. MK was willing to punch Wukong in 2x07 (the og "hey MK your mentor kinda sucks" episode). He was clearly hurt by Wukong's decision to leave in s2, Wukong proceeded to lie all through s3, and after Monkey King apologizes to MK in 3x14, he sort of brushes it off:

Sun Wukong: "I know I can never make it up to you. Honestly, I- I never thought I'd live as long as I have let alone be someone's mentor—turns out I'm not very good at it. I guess what I'm trying to say is...I'm sorry MK. For all of it." MK: "It's okay—I can always get another bowl of noodles."

Sun Wukong: "Wha! No! Not the noodles! Ugh! I mean, I'm sorry for being a bad mentor and making you clean up after my mess!" MK: "I know—sometimes I just play dumb to lighten the mood."

(3x14 Destiny Fulfilled) (Crying look at that face full of love. Oh my god. Fuck. Fuck me. How dare I write a meta on why these two are going to fight)

To me, this scene reeks of MK going "oh thank god things can go back to normal", and then trying to sweep everything under the rug without actually acknowledging or processing anything. He does something similar in 4x11, wanting to brush past Wukong's mistakes and rush to SWK's "path of the good guy" and "good life choices" so that he can move on.

When it comes down to it, MK doesn't want to have any issues with Wukong, but unfortunately there are very much issues. Wukong has tried his best to make amends and be better for MK, but MK isn't letting himself heal. He's running from himself, and he wants to pretend things are much simpler than they are.

And, once MK is forced to come face to face with how complex and messy both himself and Wukong are? I am expecting that kid to break and an all out fight to emerge. SWK V MK, Mentor V Student, Monkey King V Monkey Kid.

But, because Wukong is Wukong, he's not going to be able to go all out against his student (he couldn't even go all out against Macaque or Ne Zha), which, with how powerful MK is, that's not going to go well. That's where the gang steps in—they're going to have to try and put a stop to MK, and get him to see reason, to come back to himself. "Mend the fracture between [him]self and Wukong" if you will. Perhaps even Samadhi Fire Part 3 if we're lucky.

Or at least that's how I imagine it could go down!

#this turned into a “why SWK V MK is gonna happen” meta #woops #tldr: people will fight next season because they are absolutely miserable #just being put through the wringer #SWK V MK #lmk #lego monkie kid #monkie kid #lmk MK #lmk SWK #lmk meta #the light is no mystery #asks #god my poor legos #just so miserable all the time

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its-your-mind · 3 months

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*deep breath in*

the fears 👏 have always 👏 been (in one way or another) 👏 parallel 👏 to 👏 desire 👏

let me explain.

so many of the statements given by actual avatars center around some sort of need that was met by their entity. Lots of them even had a positive relationship with the fear that drove them.

Jane Prentiss is an excellent example - the Corruption has always been about a form of toxic and possessive love, but she personally has a deep desire to be “fully consumed by what loves her,” and finds a perverse joy and relief at allowing herself to be a home

Jude Perry is another - she fucking loved watching people’s lives be utterly destroyed. The Desolation only offered her a power of destruction on a grander scale, and then gave her a more intense rush of joy as she did its work. When she tells Jon that he needs to feed the Eye before it feeds on him, it’s almost as an afterthought; she was happily feeding the Desolation long before it burned her into a new existence.

Simon Fairchild. Every time that old loose bag of bones wanders into the picture, he is having a fucking EXCELLENT time playing with the Vast. He loves showing people their own insignificance, and he loves luring them into situations where he can throw them into the void as he smiles and waves.

Peter Lukas (hell, the whole Lukas family (except Evan. RIP Evan.)) hated. people. all he wanted was for them all to go away, to leave him alone. The Lonely only fulfilled that desire.

Daisy, Trevor, and Julia, all devoted to hunting those things they deemed monstrous.

Melanie, holding tight to that bullet in her leg because on some level, she wanted it. It felt good, it felt right, it felt like it fit right alongside the anger and spite that drove her to success.

Annabelle Cane first encountered the Web when she was a child, running away from home in order to tug on her parents’ heartstrings in just the right way to have them wrapped around her little finger. Later on she volunteered to be the subject of an ESP study. Hell, she’s the one who dangled the “Is it really You that wants this?” question over Jon’s head in S4.

And that brings us to Jon, beloved Jarchivist, the Voice that Opened the Door. Ever since he was a child targeted by the Web, he was looking for answers. He joined the Magnus Institute’s Research Department looking for them, he stalked his coworkers in search for them, he broke into Gertrude’s flat and laptop out of desperation for them. And when he realized that all he had to do was Ask to get truthful answers to his questions? It was only natural for him to jump at that opportunity.

Elias told S3 Jon that he did want this, that he chose it, that at every crossroads he kept pushing onwards, and the inner turmoil that caused was one of the focal points for Jon’s character through the rest of the podcast.

There’s a certain line of thinking in many circles about the power of the Devil: he’s not able to create anything new. All he’s able to do is twist and warp that which was already present, making it something ugly and profane while still maintaining the facade of something desirable.

Jon didn’t choose the Eye. But he did wander into its realm of power, exhibiting exactly the qualities it was most capable of hijacking and warping to its own ends. Jon didn’t choose the Apocalypse. But Jonah picked at him little by little, pointing him towards each Fear individually. Jon didn’t want to release the Fears. But the Web tugged on his strings just so and laid a pretty trail for him to follow until he reached its desired conclusion.

Jon didn’t choose ultimate power, or omniscience, or even his own role as Head Archivist. But he said “yes” to the right (wrong?) orders and kept on pushing for the right (wrong?) answers. He wanted to succeed at the work he had been assigned. He wanted to protect his friends. He wanted to rescue them when they were lost. He wanted to prevent the apocalypse, to save the world. He wanted to know why he was still alive, when so many had died right in front of him.

The Great Wheel of Evil Color that is the Entities might not fit as neatly into categories in this universe - maybe there was no Robert Smirke trying to impose strict categories on emotional experiences, or maybe the ways they manifest in the world has turned on its head (goodness knows many of them have been showcased and blended in some very fun and new and horrifying ways so far) - but their fundamental foundations seem to be the same. Hell, in episode one we learned that there had been enough individual incidents to create a distinction between “dolls, watching” and “dolls, human skin.”

Smirke’s Fourteen isn’t going to be relevant as common parlance, RQ said that already, but I don’t think that means the Fears themselves (and their Dream Logic-based rules) are different - I think it means that the levels of understanding, language used, and personal connections among people “in the know” are going to be entirely unfamiliar

#tma #tmagp #the magnus protocol #tmagp meta #tmagp analysis #the entities #robert smirke #smirke's fourteen #mind write a meta post that doesn’t turn into a fucking essay challenge #I literally thought about citing my episode sources here but decided that would get too FUCKING long.#anyway I’m pulling mostly from Gerry’s statement (111) and #and the Big Elias Group Confrontation (92)#and Annabelle’s statement (147)#and then finale - 196 / 197 / 200 #there are other little lines that I grabbed - tbh feel free to ask about anything I’ve said bc I feel like I’m ready to defend a thesis #I’ve been thinking about this on and off for a few weeks since the desire thing started going around #I have an obsession with Themes as they relate to Worldbuilding and now I have subjected you all to it as well #I am serious tho if anyone wants me to pull the specific parts I’m talking about (whether cuz you have Questions or you wanna ref them too)#lmk #my hyperfocus on silly media brain might as well come in useful somehow #aight peace ✌️

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aquapede · 1 year

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return to dreamland deluxe is really really good i loved seeing these guys again

#kirby #kirby return to dreamland #krtdldx #bandanna dee #king dedede #meta knight #magolor #ms paint #mspaint #scribbles #ask 2 tag #i thiiink everything is vague enough ehre but lmk

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bunnakit · 3 days

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my stand in episode 1 thoughts, feelings, etc.

OHOHOOO FINALLY. FINALLY I FEEL INSANE ABOUT A SHOW AGAIN. poom phuripan my absolute beloved, i've missed you so fucking much.

the show really eases you into everything and so far i don't mind the back and forth, i think it's interesting to see the direct consequences and THEN the story of how we got here. i don't know if my opinion on that will change later but for right now it's really pleasing me. i also really like this gradual introduction we're getting into everything and the sort of thriller/mystery vibe to it all. it's giving me some very loose/vague manner of death vibes.

i immediately don't like the vibes of tong or wut but i'm reserving any real accusations until later, but i'm def side eyeing them. i've got my eye on you two.

it really took my brain some getting used to to understanding the joe we're seeing is joe's consciousness and everyone else is seeing the joe that was shown in his reflection in the hospital (i've never seen vice versa or many other shows that do this, forgive me) but once i wrapped my head around it i actually quite like it. mostly bc it means i still get to see a lot of poom.

anyway - thus far this has one of my favorite romance tropes; guy who is used to being treated badly/ignored and man who has too much love to give (to someone who may or may not deserve it, judgement withstanding on that rn.) joe is just such a heart eyed fool and i'm so glad to see poom in another role of lovesick, unfairly attractive, dork. it's a role he plays so well and he immediately endears you to joe so fucking much.

throughout most of the episode i was like ooh this is a bummer but the angst isn't too bad. and then. AND THEN.

ming coming over to joe's house and making a move on him, again, from the perspective of behind joe - where he looks so much like tong. the lamenting about him being a virgin and joe offering himself up to him. and then ming turning him back around to face the mirror. this way he looks so much like tong, he can pretend it's tong, and yet at the same time joe's face is right there, reflected back in the mirror, inescapable. i'm fucking eating this up, finally some good fucking food.

idk i'm probably not touching on everything i want to, it's been a long ass time since i've done one of these, but this is just what immediately comes to mind. now time to go make a gifset lmao.

(if you give me novel spoilers i WILL hunt you for sport)

#bunn meta #my stand in the series #my stand in #my stand-in #my stand-in the series #poom phuripan #up poompat #usersasa #clairedaring #<- lmk if you want to be added to tags or removed for future eps!!

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fluffypotatey · 7 months

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What are your in depth thoughts about MK’s and Sun Wukong’s vs MK’s and Macaque’s relationships? Because lemme tell you I’ve got so many it’s essay worthy

i saved you for last <3 but i honestly don't know if i can talk about this coherently T^T

short answer: they are on different levels in 2 ways, MK's comfortability and in how they grow

long answer: *inhales*

so you see, there are many levels that are set between the two relationships. and by levels i mean power dynamics, casualness, formalities, respect, and idolization :)

MK and Sun Wukong

with MK and Sun Wukong their relationship began very formal. MK was simply Wukong's student (with a wish to one day be close friends with his mentor/idol), but then by around 1x09, there becomes this shift in their dynamic. in this episode, we do get insight into how far Wukong actually cares for MK because for about most of s1, the monkey keeps his distance while putting up a laid back attitude. but after MK admits to his desire of being "good enough, like [Wukong]," you will notice that Sun Wukong, slowly starts to pull down his walls for MK. he even invites MK to stay over with him for New Years (2x00), despite knowing that it was more likely for MK to leave and celebrate with his friends. (WHICH MK EVEN SAYS BECAUSE BY THIS POINT MK COMES TO REALIZE THAT THEIR RELATIONSHIP MIGHT NEVER BREACH INTO THE FRIENDSHIP HE ROMANTICIZED IN HIS HEAD. THUS SHOWING HOW THE TWO ARE DOING A REVERSE IN THEIR DYNAMIC AND- *gets dragged away to calm down*)

as i was saying.

in s2, Wukong ends up leaving to investigate a way to stop LBD before things blow over (which succeeds and fails bc it did, in fact, blow over). he didn't do it because he believed that it would hurt MK. personally, my assumption is that Sun Wukong didn't really see himself as that great of a mentor and that MK had been able to quickly pick up on new moves and techniques without much help from him, and with that thought, he believed that by leaving MK nothing but scrolls and a goal, MK would still be capable of mastering the new skills (which he did, thereby reinforcing that idea). but unfortunately, our beloved monkey king forgot that while MK is a very capable individual of incredible power, he's not confident in himself. he's simply "just loud" about himself and his prowess (which, if you noticed, MK grew even more quieter about this in seasons 2 & 3....fascinating).

so now there's this manufactured push to bring back their previous formality because Wukong is not completely ready to tell MK the truth despite how much he cares and trusts him (because, and this is my opinion, Wukong really wants to ensure that MK is not too involved in something as dangerous as LBD because she can get into your head and she can make matters worse for everybody). said manufactured push confuses MK because they had come so far from 1x01 and the distance they had before. sure, it's not as close as s3 and s4, but it definitely felt like they were at the cusp of something. this leaves MK sort of in his own limbo on where he stands with the Monkey King, and even if he sought advice about this with his friends, none of them have met the guy yet and can only make opinions based on their assumptions of what they feel like is going on (*cough, cough* Pigsy *cough, cough*).

and even after s2, in s3 Wukong is exhausted, a lot of his power depleted, and has to try and mingle civilly with MK's friends on a mission he originally planned to do alone (a suicidal mission to obtain the Samadhi Fire, if i might add). his reasoning for refusing at the beginning is because they are mortals, which MK misinterprets to mean that Wukong does not think MK can handle this mission and wants to prove himself.

omg their relationship is so complicated and messy T^T i love it

anyway, MK's and Sun Wukong's relationship is a push and pull between both people wanting to uphold and prove their worth to the other (Wukong lying to keep MK ignorant of a danger the monkey plans to eradicate in secret VS MK pushing himself into becoming powerful in order to prove himself as someone swk sees as worthy to trust). also, their dynamic is literally a platonic slow burn that slowly brings them closer and closer with s4 beginning with them (swk mostly lol) trying to be more honest and upfront about their thoughts and feelings. and s4 ending with the two actually fighting for each other and protecting each other and fighting WITH each other and T^T it's so beautiful. but also because their dynamic is a slow burn, that provides ample time to seed in doubt and insecurities and wanting to bottle up your issues to keep the peace and-

ugh T^T them <3

(side note: the actual timeline of this show is a tad confusing to me. how long was s1? a month, a couple months, a week? how long was s2? how long is the gap between seasons???? idk and i've tried to find something feasible to work with but i'm mostly just taking an "academic" estimation)

but now onto Macky and MK's relationship!

Mackenzie and MK

this one despite how rocky it looks is not a slow burn dynamic. it's got a fun roller coaster of levels because it goes "secret mentor/student" to "enemies" to "frenemies?" to "morally dubious but is actually a softie" to "potential mentor 2.0???" and i love it.

so, MK and Macky's dynamic begins in 1x09 (the blessed episode) since that's Mackackle's introduction to the show and MK begins to train under him in secret because MK is frustrated with swk's teaching methods. through the brief montage of MK's training, i can't help but notice the words and phrasing Macky uses:

Mackarell: [sounding disappointed] Not bad...[chuckles] [in a mocking tone] don't get me wrong, but I was expecting a little more with someone of your power. MK: [is defensive] H-hey, I've got more- I can give way more than that! [sighs] I can do better. Macaroni: [bemused] Kay, maybe show me next time.

ok, honestly, i just wanna talk about this. because if you heard it without seeing Marconi's face and how they animated him, you could side-step the the fake disappointment and mocking tone. what he's saying on the surface, isn't anything malicious or cruel. he is acting like a mentor and it appears like he is trying to encourage MK so he can stop hesitating. but that's not what Mac's really doing.

he is acting disappointed in MK because MK has a need to prove himself. the scene before MK meets Macaque, he is with Wukong and is frustrated by how slow his training is. he knows he can do some pretty powerful moves if his mentor allowed him to, if only he can prove to him that he can level up from the "baby stuff", if only he could have someone see that potential and train him in something more his "style." how convenient that right after he vents his frustrations MK encounters exactly what he wants, but oh no, they're disappointed in his strength and prowess, he has to prove that wrong, he CAN prove that wrong.

see where i'm going? MK fell for Macky's web, hook-line-and-sinker because it was tailor made for him. BUT! this mentor/student dynamic does not last very long. and that's mostly because it never a long term relationship in the slightest. Macky always planned to use MK's powers for his own, so now the two are slotted into the enemies level. they were never on equal ground like MK thought, or even on a similar mentor/student level MK has with Wukong. Macaquack absolutely abused that dynamic for his own gain and MK lost his trust for it.

MK cannot trust Macky, why should he? in s2, MK and Macky's relationship is mostly antagonistic because Mk cannot trust Mac and Mac enjoys tormenting the guy by hanging his insecurities over him. they are not on equal ground. Mac only sees MK as some mortal child who is in over his head and thinks he can be a Wukong 2.0 while MK sees Mac as someone who betrayed his trust, tried to kill him and his mentor and it is very personal.

but then there's this interesting choice made by lmk. Mac warns MK of an upcoming danger. why does he do it? he had just proven that he is an enemy! but also, he ends up freeing MK's friends on the basis that it "wasn't fun anymore". why take pity (should we even call it pity) on MK enough to tell him that "big things are coming"?

why choose to give MK some (very vague) advice about what's to come? what caused Macky to decide to offer this information?

well, 1st it is clearly the writers' way of showing that there is more than meets the eye with Macky. this is a little indicator for the audience about "hey! keep an eye on him! he's more complex than you think! he's more than a stock villain!" 2nd, this is the very first push into Mac's more amiable relationship with MK.

in s3, Macky is under LBD's command and has to follow her orders or else she might send him back to the Diyu either by ripping his soul from his body, or encasing him in ice/bone. he is only on her side to survive. he doesn't even plan to stay. instead, it really looks like Mac wants to escape from her hold (which he eventually plans out after learning about the gang's mission to find the Rings of Samadhi).

when it comes to MK, Mac is very antagonistic. @shadowpeachyuri made a really great analysis on Macky's antagonistic behavior in s3. especially in 3x04 where he taunts and mocks MK for his self worth and powers, but he's also stalling from his own mission in retrieving MK for LBD. most of s3 is him stalling and picking fights with people rather than do his own job. not to mention, that he purposefully separated MK and Wukong believing it would be easier to retrieve them. but why all the stalling and hesitation? because he's upset with his circumstances, and wants to take out on everyone? yeah, that's definitely part of it.

still in s3 Mac is not trying to befriend MK, he's not trying to help him either, but he also isn't truly trying to catch him. his main objective is getting out of dodge, escaping and finding somewhere that is far from here. yet, he can't help but challenge MK into using his powers, offer some (very biased and skewed) advice on who the guy should trust. and it's not until "Embrace Your Destiny" when his on-again and off-again mood finally gets to MK because he saved MK, he brought MK to Mei and he gave them the Not-Mayor guy for information.

just...this whole exchange T^T

Mackardy: Look, I brought you the Lady Bone Demon's lapdog, but I'm not up for being a hero, kid.

here lies, Macky trying to tell MK that he is not on his side. he has been constantly antagonistic and while LBD is also his enemy, he was planning to just give MK and his gang enough help for them to plan out how to defeat her.

MK: We don't need you to beat him. We just need you to keep him busy. As long as he's [Monkey King] under her control the Mech's vulnerable. We can do this! You can do this.

enter MK, looking at Macky with such optimism and arguing back at Macky with the guy's own logic. it won't be a battle to try and defeat Wukong, Macky just has to "keep him busy". Stall, like he's been doing for all of s3. and he sprinkles in a bit more optimism and encouragement to sweeten the deal.

Macaroon: Nice speech, kid but it's not gonna- MK: [frustrated growl] STOP! You keep playing at being this bad guy, acting like you're just in it for you! But I know deep, deep down: you're not that guy. Help us. Make it right. Macadoodle: I'm not a hero, bud MK: Then be a warrior!

personally, i feel like this is the moment where the two's new dynamic begins. also, Macky and MK's relationship feels a but more on equal footing. neither of them hold a pedestal or an image of who they are. MK is able to figure out that a lot of Macky's outward appearance is just that, an appearance. and Macky is able to see that MK isn't some Wukong 2.0 he imagined up in his head in s1. MK is the Monkey King's successor but he is also his own person who will and has made different decisions than Wukong.

after s3, their dynamic is very similar to mentor/student in 4x10, but not in the same way as in 1x09. Macky isn't trying to be manipulative or play with double meanings, he's actually trying to help and figured a video game rpg would be the best bet since MK likes video games. MK is able to snap back at Macky and isn't afraid of showing the monkey his worries and fears (something he's struggling to with Wukong and vice versa) because Macky has seen that side of him already.

idk it's fascinating. i feel like i'm repeating myself a lot, but my main takeaway is that MK and Wukong have a slow burn friendship that began with formalities and over the seasons, they gradually grew closer and more comfortable with admitting that they care about each other (mostly Wukong needed this help but it's ok). and MK and Macky's relationship though began as enemies, grew into 2 characters who view each other as equals by the end and respect ach other loads.

there be my thoughts *jazz hands*

#lego monkie kid #lmk #lmk mk #lmk sun wukong #lmk six eared macaque #lmk qi xiaotian #lmk meta #lmk analysis #lmk sunburst duo #lmk soysauce duo #sunburst duo #soysauce duo #bestie i am so sorry it took me this long to finish your answer T^T #i was saving it for last just so i could take my time with it but may have forgotten that my actual time to write all of this was limited #anyway #this was a lot of fun to discuss #you are absolutely free to tell me your thoughts!#i wanna know your essay worthy thoughts profa ;-;#also i single out pigsy at some point here but it's mostly bc besides all of swk's enemies he's the biggest critic of swk who's close to MK #his reasons for being upset at the guy are beCAUSE he unintentionally hurt MK and essentially neglected the guy in his eyes #however: he is an extremely harsh and biased critic not even bothering to hear the other side bc of his distrustful nature & protectiveness #once pigsy somes to a conclusion you will need to provide some solid evidence to back up your argument WHICH WUKONG ALMOST NEVER DOES #the grind for meta is real but so is my commitment to the bit :3 #you will never find me spelling mackadoo's name right unless it's for fic #also i think i my macky analysis might be a tad off bc i kept repeating myself so sorry about that T^T #jfc this took me 3 days ;A;#enjoyed every bit of it #asks

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illuminatedferret · 4 months

Text

Back Hugs in Tian Guan Ci Fu:

1. Volume 2, "To Ascend is Human, to Fall Is Also Human", pg. 380

The Deputy State Preceptors hurriedly moved aside, and Mu Qing and Feng Xin didn't know whether to act. Seeing that everyone was avoiding him like he was poisonous vermin, the child was shaken and started thrashing even harder, biting and screaming with all his might. "I'm not! I'm not!! I'M NOT!!!" Suddenly, a pair of arms wrapped around his waist, encircling his small form. A voice came from above his head. "You're not. I know you're not. Don't cry, now. I know you're not." The young child pressed his lips closed tightly, grabbing on to the pair of snow-white sleeves around his waist with a desperate grip. He forced himself to hold back for a long time, but in the end, he couldn't. A stream of tears suddenly rolled down from that round black eye, and he burst out into sobs. Xie Lian embraced him from behind and reiterated with conviction, "It's not you. It's not your fault." Honghong-er whipped around, buried his face in Xie Lian's chest, and wailed.

2. Volume 6, "Cave of Ten Thousand Gods- Faces of the Ten Thousand Gods Revealed", pg. 78-79

Hua Cheng inclined his head slightly- it was like he wanted to glance back but was too afraid to look Xie Lian in the eye. Only the two streaks of blood on his cheek could be seen. "Your Highness, would you please... not tell me?" His voice cracked as he asked. "I'm sorry," Xie Lian said. "Something like this has to be made clear." Hua Cheng didn't need to breathe, but he still sucked in a deep breath. Although his face was awfully pale, he still smiled and replied courteously, "That's true. It's for the best." He was like a criminal on death row, waiting for his sentence. He closed his eye. Yet his eye didn't remain closed for long- soon it snapped open once more as a pair of arms suddenly circled him from behind and caught him in a forceful embrace. Xie Lian buried his face in Hua Cheng's back, but he didn't speak either. Though nothing was said, it was enough. It was a long time before Xie Lian felt the man he was hugging turn around. Hua Cheng fervently returned the embrace, engulfing Xie Lian in his arms.

3. Volume 6, "Warm Words of a Cold Ghost Beguile the Lost Child", pg. 203

And then, Xie Lian abruptly froze. White No-Face was hugging him. As Xie Lian tilted and fell to his knees in a slump, he had been captured by a pair of cold, powerful arms that pulled him into a lifeless embrace. At some point, White No-Face had sat down on the ground with him. "So sad, so sad," he murmured. "Your Highness, look. Look at what they've done to you." He whispered softly as he stroked Xie Lian's head, his hands gentle and full of pity. It was like he was petting a wounded puppy or his own gravely ill child on the brink of death. The smiling half of the crying-smiling mask was hidden in the darkness; the moonlight revealed only the half that was crying, looking like genuine tears of grief shed for Xie Lian. Xie Lian remained stiff and curled in on himself, moving no further. The man in white behind him raised his fingers to wipe the filthy mud from Xie Lian's face. He sensed a peculiar kind of loving compassion in the man's touch. Like the embrace of a close friend or a dear family member, it miraculously returned a bit of warmth to Xie Lian's shivering body. He never expected that this sinister creature would be the one to finally offer him compassion.

4. Volume 7, "Dominate Heaven and Earth, Divine Being Breaks Through the Kiln", pg. 19

Xie Lian stood on the giant's palm, one hand pressing the bamboo hat down on his head while the another blocked his face from the snowstorm. The stifling hot air was swept cleanly away, and Xie Lian took a deep breath of fresh, freezing air and shouted: "San Lang-!" The first syllable was still echoing in the air when a pair of arms pulled him into an embrace from behind. Xie Lian stiffened at first, but he relaxed when he looked down and saw red sleeves and silver vambraces circling his waist. A deep, forlorn voice came from above his ear. "...I was about to lose my mind!" Xie Lian hurried to turn around. He cupped his captor's cheeks with his hands and soothed him, "Don't... don't. I'm here... I'm out!" Hua Cheng stood before him. His raven hair was mussed, and there was a lost look in his eye. He gripped the cry-smiling mask Xie Lian hadn't been able to remove no matter how hard he tried, easily tore it off, and tossed it away.

Bonus: Volume 7, "Dominate Heaven and Earth, Divine Being Breaks Through the Kiln", pg. 29-30

Before Xie Lian could finish his thought, the three mountain spirits besieged them together. They surrounded the giant stone statue and pressed firmly inward, trying to crush the state to pieces. The divine state couldn't move a single limb, nor could Xie Lian. He poured all of his strength into getting the statue to push them back, but it didn't budge- and at that point, it was probably powerless to fight back! As he tried to think of another way to escape, he unconsciously took a step backward and bumped into a chest. When he looked back, Hua Cheng grasped his shoulders. "Fight freely! It'll be fine- none of them are a match for you. Nothing in this world can stop you!" His chest was the strongest backing in existence, and in an instant, Xie Lian was brimming with confidence. A refreshing current flowed through his body, and he struck back with all his might.

#tgcf #hua cheng #xie lian #tian guan ci fu #hualian #heaven officials blessing #tgcf meta #heaven official's blessing #illuspeaks #bai wuxiang #god this was a lot of typing #im pretty sure i didn't miss any #i thought mt tonglu opening was one too but it looks like it was a normal hug #the rest of the time theyre on the statue they dont hug #lmk though #tgcf spoilers #???? i suppose. dunno how to tag for donghua watchers

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