I saw a post talking about how there’s a deep mischaracterization of Mk in the fandom specifically about his monkey form and I’m here to dissect it. (WIth doodles!)
Tldr: Will Mk end up hurting his family in season 5 due to his new Monkey form? Most likely no, but it is possible that he indirectly hurts them by not understanding the limits of his power.
First things first let’s collect a list of attributes that we know Mk has from past seasons. This will serve as a spine or checklist to see if certain actions are possible. A thing to keep in mind though is the ranking of each attribute as the writers of LMK wrote there are characters as complex and sometimes abandon certain character values if their center value is threatened.
Mk’s character value list (in my opinion) is as follows:
-Family
-Strength
-Freedom
-Dependability
with family and strength being so close to each other, so sometimes strength ends up as Mk’s main concern. Of course, all of these end up mixing at times and in the first seasons we see the mixing of these values gets him in trouble
Desiring the freedom of choice over listening to Wukong (Pig Pong Panic). Wanting to be dependable but overestimating his strength (Duplication). Wanting to be strong but forgets his family in the process (shadow play). Eventually, he gets his priorities in check and has ended up sticking to this list for most of seasons 3 and 4.
Now his flaws (in no particular order):
Impulsivity
Forgetfulness
Stubbornness
Blind devotion
He’s overcome a lot of these when he was forced to learn them in season 3. His stubbornness to not tell anyone what was happening with the LBD got people hurt. His impulsivity with his actions ended up crashing the ship, and almost sold his family to a goldfish demon.
(Text: Mk's Fault, Good Intentions, Trying mentor)
So he’s had to come up with methods of working around that. Mk’s blind devotion to Wukong almost got Mei killed, and we see how he changes because of it. At the end of season 3, Mk doesn’t explicitly say that he sees Wukong in a new light but he heavily implies it with the metaphor of a bowl of noodles.
So… Will Mk go crazy and end up hurting his friends?
I highly doubt it. While I toyed with the idea, Mk is a lot smarter than the fandom usually gives him credit for. He knows Wukong is flawed, and he still trusts in him because he knows Wukong is trying. Mk has faith in Wukong’s strength and the fact that Wukong also heavily values family, even if his isolation makes it a lot harder for him to do so. Just rewatch the ending of season 3 where Wukong apologizes to Mk and watch as Mk comes to the realization that Wukong is trying so hard to make up for his past. (They also drive this point home in season 4 with how disappointed Wukong sounds at himself for not finding Mk in the scroll in the season finale.)
(Text: He's flawed and trying, Has to accept harsh reality, Dissociating Coping mechanism)
So what about Mk’s impulsivity? I doubt that’d be something that directly harms his friends. He’s worked on his impulsivity by working with others (Redson in season 3 and Mei’s planning in season 4) to help fill in the gaps in his plans. In order for his impulsivity to harm others, you’d have to break that family value first or raise that value of strength and freedom. Most likely this flaw can manifest in Mk overdoing his Monkey form ™ and sending a shockwave that accidentally hurts the people around him. Probably manifesting either in training or while having fun with Mei (think about how Mk was in the Bad Weather episode).
Okay, what if Mk is tricked into it like he was in Season 4 (back to the flaw of blind devotion)? Mk has spent every season backstabbed by someone he trusted. We see him snap at Azure after he finds out that he was going to keep Wukong in the scroll. He snaps at Macaque in season 4. It’s safe to say that he’s learned, at least partially, to not trust others so blindly. Mk is also supposed to have gotten the “skill of self-reflection” in “Revenge of the Spider Queen” but his reflecting has mostly just impacted the other flaws.
(Text: Side note, Monkey Mk doesn't have a nose)
But there is one possibility I toy with, bottled up emotions. Mk has extremely big emotions but hates showing any emotion that can be seen as negative. He loves being happy and he’s not afraid to show it, but as soon as those emotions turn to doubt, anger, or sadness he bottles them up fast. He knows he can rely on his family, but he’s stubborn and thinks that his emotions aren’t worth that hassle. Take the ending of season 3 where Mk states that “he tries not to think too hard” about his own place in the universe, which could be due to a fear of losing the value of freedom if he has a specific role to play in the universe.
(Text: Guys He's so avoidant, forced to think about his identity, 18-early 20's and Identity crisis)
It’s worsened by the fact that every. other. character. avoids. their. emotions. No other characters in this series are open about their emotions except Tang and Sandy. And from season 3 (and a bit of season 4) we know that Mk doesn’t view Tang in an extremely positive light.
Not exactly negative, but his admiration lies more on the rest of the team. Macaque points this out in season 2 stating in “Shadow Play” that Mk should talk out his insecurities, but no one else does that.
That being said Mk isn’t entirely forgetful either. Macaque was a season 1 villain with his betrayal going through season 3. Mk’s high value of family, and flaw of blind devotion, make him want to give him a chance as Macaque’s past is connected with Wukong’s. HOWEVER, Mk is also stubborn and hasn’t forgiven Macaque’s actions. That’s why he snaps, plus the fact that Macaque is terrible at direct communication. Like I said before, Mk won’t directly hurt anyone he cares about, but if his monkey form is highly connected with his emotions (as most magic tends to be) having those bottled-up insecurities might accidentally cause Mk to unleash more power than he means to.
(Text: Normal, Fed up Meter, rage (on jar))
I have no idea where season 5 is going to go, but I’m so excited about the possibilities.
(Text: Terrified of his actions hurting his family. UNSTABLE!!!)
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LSO AU sounds really interesting! Are we allowed to ask questions about AUs or does it count as a request?
Hi, thank you for asking! Questions are always allowed, even when requests are closed! I’ll elaborate on Let’s Start Over a little bit!
After his own journey ends and MK has his own story penned and published, peace settles across Megapolis and the world in general.
He’s even got himself a new title- “Monkie Knight”, after years of working for the king.
MK still steps in to ward off greater threats and more serious demons, but mostly steps back and attends to the noodle shop with Pigsy, who’s just about ready to pass the keys to his son and maybe take up a more casual lifestyle of teaching instead of serving. Maybe a YouTube channel where he teaches basic skills and recipes to viewers. Tang comes in to both expand on the history of what Pigsy is cooking and to taste test the end result. As expected, he adores the food each time.
Things are okay.
There’s trauma and bitterness that MK needs to work through, but… things are alright. With time, they’ll get better.
And then you come around to the shop one day to visit, right as the Ruyi Jingu Bang comes toppling down from where it’s been set- and you catch it.
So starts your journey.
Our golden-hearted hero is a little soured now, having been thrust into dangerous fights again and again. He’s somewhat resentful to certain individuals-
Mei, for not fighting beside him more often, in spite of her combat prowess and draconic powers. He gets a little twitchy when she’s around, thinking of all the fun she had off on her motorcycle, all the live-streams she giggled and joked her way through. MK doesn’t hate her. Not in a million years. Never. But damn if there’s not some bitterness. He’ll still ask her to ‘babysit’ you when he needs to go off and fight.
Though he still cares about Sandy as a friend, MK has shifted his perspective to disliking the river demon’s pacifistic outlook, viewing it as naive and somewhat selfish. He still goes over to paint and have tea, but things are somewhat strained between the two. It’s easy for someone like Sandy, a side-liner, to say “I’m not fighting anymore!” but MK never had that chance. Given that he was in his mid-teens during the start of his journey in this AU, the hero finds it messed up that he had to fight, but an honest to goodness ex-soldier chose not to. Again, no hatred. Things are just a little tense.
Macaque is pretty far down on his shitlist, actually. MK has taken some time to think on the simian’s actions and kinda wishes he had just let Wukong pummel him to death. Most of these feelings relate to their first meeting, but him assaulting Tang and attacking Mei certainly haven’t helped. Or his unnecessary destruction of the Dragon Palace of the East Sea. Or his refusal to apologize. Yeah, this guy doesn’t get to come anywhere near you. MK will act civil because he does believe in redemption and second chances, but dear lord is it hard.
(And he massively regrets the “you aren’t a bad guy” speech he gave to Macaque. Looking back on it, MK thinks he was naively seeing goodness where it didn’t exist.)
And of course, Sun Wukong, for… a lot of things. He talks rather bitterly of his mentor, viewing the Great Sage as irresponsible and rather immature. He wishes there had been more effort and care in the monkey’s teaching, and less “you can handle this”. There’s still some genuine respect and gratitude for the simian, but MK majorly fixates on being ‘different’ in his own mentorship. Problem is…
He’s choosing to be different instead of better.
Wukong had genuine and honest belief in MK, enough to let him handle trouble on his own. The Great Sage didn’t step in not out of laziness, but because he knew that the kid could handle things on his own. Sure, he was way too secretive and hands-off, but his intentions were only ever to help MK grow.
So when he decides to be entirely opposite to Wukong, our newly titled ‘Knight’ becomes a massive roadblock for you. Instead of cutting you loose with confidence, MK is stifling and protective. He’ll fight for you, cook for you, tend to your wounds, etc. Wukong tried to let MK grow without any form of safety net, but MK refuses to allow any growth without complete safety, which is rare.
Instead of being a mentor who’s trying to build you into the best you that you can be, he’s trying to be a father.
And honestly? Sometimes, he’s so good at the act that you wish it were real.
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Lmk ss edits + Headcanons, Part 2 (Pigsy, Tang, Sandy, Sun Wukong, Macaque)
- He/Him
- Bisexual
- Huge environmentalist, if you put any garbage or recycling in the wrong bin expect to get at least a three hour lecture, no you can not escape this, yes MK and Mei have tried, no they did not succeed
- ONLY shops from farmers markets/family businesses, you will never catch this man supporting a corporation
- Use to steal Tang's college hoodies
- Took him the longest to get used to having Redson around and a part of the group , but eventually warmed up to him (is still kinda salty about Redson burning MK's room though)
- Grows his own herbs
- Gets incredibly frustrated when he gets the hiccups (writing this as I'm fighting off hiccups)
- Loves watching true crime shows and listening to true crime podcasts while he does household chores or while he's setting up/closing the shop
- Got his ears pierced with Tang
- MK and Mei call him mom when he's being overbearing, Tang calls him mom now too to tease him
- Once caught Mei and MK sneaking food out of the kitchen at 3am and beat them with a broom for a solid minute because he was too drowsy to recognize them and assumed they were intruders (they were fine)
- Is the type of person to call his husband (Tang) "bro", "dude" etc
- Got drunk in college once and talked about nothing but how much he loved Tang, didn't remember any of it the next day but Tang asked him out pretty quickly after that
- Exchanged a few recipes with DBK while they were at the beach, they still do exchange more recipes once in a while but they don't talk much outside of cooking related topics
- Learned how to play dnd in college because Tang liked the game and ended up liking it a lot more than he expected to so they wound up playing together all the time (they still play it once in a while if they have time)
- Him and Sandy get together every other weekend to try and help Pigsy with his anger management issues
- Never called MK his son while he was growing up because he was scared that MK's real family would show up one day to take him back home, finally realized that no one was gonna show up a short while after MK turned 10 and started acting like an actual parent (MK always saw Pigsy as his dad though)
- Always says "this is the last time" when giving Tang free noodles (it is never gonna be the last time, and Tang knows it)
- Once bumped into a mannequin at the mall and apologized to it, Tang still makes fun of him
- Use to take Mei and MK to conventions all the time until Mei learned how to drive and could take them herself
- Won't care for people getting hurt in movies but will be absolutely crushed if something happens to an animal (sobbed when he watched "A Dog's Purpose")
- Smells like noodles
- Love language is acts of service
- Keeps trying to convince Tang to come with him to family events, has yet to succeed
- Carries around an extra pair of headphones in case Tang or MK needs them
- Almost threw hands with DBK and PiF after hearing about how they treated Redson (seriously guys, I need Redson to have a good parental figure in the next season, please), this man is a father to everyone
- Snores loud as fuck, it's a wonder how Tang gets any sleep
- No fashion sense what's so ever
- Insomnia
- He/Him
- Gay
- Once zoned out and stared at a wall for six hours straight
- Desk is covered in pencil shavings and pen ink
- Constantly bruised from always falling (weak ankles)
- Fluent in Polish, don't ask why, it just feels right
- Doodled all over his books in school (they made him pay for new ones)
- Never up before sunrise
- Got in some random dudes car once thinking it was a taxi and almost got himself kidnapped
- Will make the most annoying, smart-ass remark to anything anyone says
- I'm not actually sure if it's ever mentioned in the show what Tang does for a living but it doesn't matter, he's a college history professor now
- Has grandma floral bedsheets (we've all seen his sleepwear, you cannot tell me that man doesn't have grandma floral bedsheets)
- Somehow always cold
- Constanly napping, he can and will fall asleep if he's left alone for too long (his students once caught him asleep at his desk after lunch break and dipped class)
- Used to have hexagon glasses cause he thought they looked cool but found out Pigsy liked circular ones better so he got new ones
- Still has a septum piercing he got while he was in college but keeps it flipped up, he also has ear gauges
- When he met Pigsy's parents he was super nervous and ended up passing out half way through the night because of anxiety, he has not lived it down and refuses to go to any events with Pigsy if his family is gonna be there (they actually really liked him and are disappointed when he doesn't show up)
- Doesn't own a bookshelf for some reason, everything is just piled on the floor
- Very faint freckles
- Needs a daily 'to do' list, his whole day gets thrown off if he doesn't have some kind of schedule
- Maladaptive daydreamer
- Never showers, only takes baths
- Needs headphones on crowded transportation otherwise he'll get stressed at all the noises and talking overlapping eachother
- Severe rsd (rejection sensitivity dysphoria, "benched" was an especially bad time for him)
- Number one art appreciator and constantly drags Pigsy to museums
- Smells like a library (please tell me you know what smell I mean)
- Love language is gift giving ( and you KNOW he loves you when he shares his food with you willingly)
- 76% of the clothes he owns are thrifted
- Blind as a fucking bat, if he looses his glasses he's on the floor feeling around for them like Velma, I swear they could be two feet in front of him but he won't even notice
- Hypersomnia
- He/Him
- Bisexual
- Huge conspiracy theorist, ask him anything and he'll have some in depth explanation on how it relates to cryptids or something (I'm talking Matpat level conspiracy theorist, seriously, someone get him help)
- Slowest typer on the planet (mainly because the screen is too small for his hands), will respond to something 3-5 minutes after they changed topics
- Made seed bombs and threw them everywhere at random around the city and now there's a bunch of flowers and vines growing everywhere
- Was the first one (Aside from Mei and MK) to welcome Redson into the group with open arms, everyone else was still kinda cautious
- Would literally die for any of his friends, no questions asked, no hesitation, just jumps in the line of danger as soon as he sees one of his friends about to get hurt
- Didn't have a lot of friends growing up until he met Pigsy in his last year of high school because everyone was afraid of him
- He and Pigsy were in a band together in college, Sandy discusses it with pride, Pigsy gets embarrassed and denies ever being in a band at all
- Since he also has scales he's the one who teaches and helps Mei look after her scales and keep them from drying or getting damaged
- Yoga master, wakes up super early to do it during sunrise
- Has the best taste in music, he can find the most amazing, tear jerking, heart wrenching, underground music ever effortlessly
- Hasn't met a single person he wasn't able to get along with
- Firmly believes in all the little wishing rituals (11:11, shooting stars, birthday candles, blowing dandelions etc)
- Learned how to whistle so he could sing along with birds
- *gets robbed* "oh, i bet he needed the money, it's ok" "I really don't think he did." "...maybe he's gonna donate it!"
- Favourite kind of tea is earl grey
- Named one of his cats Maquack after Macaque
- Sometimes cat sits for Bai He when she goes to doctor appointments, family visits out of the city, etc
- Got his piercing while he was still in a band but kept them in because his band mates were some of his first friends and they all got pierced together
- Has a tail to help him swim better (unfortunately I could not add it in the edit above but just I imagine he has the same kind of tail as the water Na'vi in Avatar ig)
- Skin has a faint ombre to it (his hands and feet are lighter and fade around his forearms/knees to a slightly darker blue (i did add this one in my edit but unfortunately I don't think it's as visible as I wanted it to be, my bad)
- Webbed hands and feet to help him swim better
- Has adipose eyelids like a fish to protect his eyes from the water, block exposure of harmful ultraviolet light into his eyes and act as protection against impact to the eye in aquatic environments. Since his eyelids are transparent though, he has to wear a sleeping mask at night
- Smells like a mix of ocean air and tea
- Love language is quality time and physical touch (will pick up and hug his friends all the time no matter the place)
- His hair and beard always have something in them, sand, seaweed etc
- Shoes are actually really uncomfortable for him to wear because his body is evolved for an aquatic environment, but he doesn't want to be rude so he wears them anyway (Mei found out and got him a customized pair of shoes so he could be comfortable without feeling like he's being rude)
- Uses Kaomojis
- If he's not busy, or doesn't have anything planned for the next few hours, he'll spend his free time cleaning up the ocean and beaches from any garbage
- He/Him
- Pansexual
- Everything he has ever done has been an impulse decision
- Is the type of mf to kick the inside of someone knee while they're walking to make them fold (Tang is the primary victim)
- Chews his nails
- Made up his own constellations as a "fuck you" to the universe (somehow managed to convince some mortals they were real constellations too)
- Mk and Co constantly forget how ancient swk is until he says some old person shit
- Naturally has curly and untamable hair, uses glamor to avoid getting called out about not taking care of it
- Horrifically optimistic
- Always has leaves and dirt and sticks etc in his hair
- Will sit out in the rain for hours on end
- Follow up on the last hc, he's been struck by lightning.. twice
- Actually has really heavy eyebags but uses glamor to cover them up
- Gets bored super easily
- Has naturally long lashes, Mei is still convinced he's wearing makeup though
- Cannot cook for the life of him
- His memories are always in shades of gold, no ones sure if it hasn't something to do with his gold vision or not, even himself, he just can't remember things in normal colour
- Stress induced migraines from the circlet
- Not a fan of big cities but loves how the lights look at night
- Stacks of notebooks and loose paper, cannot keep anything organized
- Takes a nap everyday at exactly 2:38 without fail
- Freezes in the winter, man's house has no insulation whatsoever
- Doesn't like big crowds but also can't stand not being the center of attention
- Once picked fleas out of both MK's and his own hair and ate them, MK was and still is disgusted, he will never look at Monkey King the same way again
- Smells like Peaches (it's like the only fucking thing he eats)
- Love language is physical touch
- Kinda chubby (mostly around his stomach and thighs) but still has muscles
- Always teasing Redson about the fact that he's technically his uncle since he and DBK are sworn brothers, he finds Redson's overreactions to it funny but is secretly kinda hurt that Redson doesn't think of him as family anymore (He use to when he was a little kid but stopped seeing Wukong as family after he sealed DBK away. They've started to try and mend their relationship after the events of season 4, it's slow but it's progress)
- Sometimes the monkey's on FFM will come into his house through the windows at night to sleep with him for comfort
- Really bad with technology but pretends he's just too good for the internet so he can avoid using it without looking old
- He/Him
- Bisexual
- Says his "S"'s really sharply
- If you ask him anything about himself he'll give you a different answer to the exact same question everytime (he thinks it makes him mysterious, it does not)
- Lower lid eyeliner >>>
- If you say something stupid or weird he'll just stare judgingly until you take it back
- Actually lost his mind when he found out what blowing bubbles were
- Drinks tea with an ungodly amount of sugar
- Chronic eye pain + headaches. It's gotten significantly better over the years but.. yk, eye gouged out
- Has a deeply relaxing voice, strangely enough
- Has tried to compliment people before but it always ends up coming off as an insult
- Classical music or heavy rock, no in-between
- It is literally impossible to take a bad picture of him
- Puts his hair up in a bun whe he doesn't wanna deal with it
- Has patches of freeze burns from LBD, along his right side (mostly just his arm).
- Theater kid
- Rose tea enjoyer
- Likes to bake sometimes and frequently exchanges recipes with Pigsy and DBK
- Like to watch the sunrise and sunset
- Hates being out in the sun too long, not having a shaded area nearby for an easy escape stresses him
- Will stare out the window while it rains, Mei once said he looked like he was pretending to be in a cringey early 2010 music video
- Hard of hearing, his six ears are very sensitive and all the fighting and screaming has definitely done some damage to them by now
- Follow up on the last HC, despite being hard of hearing he will either absolutely refuse to wear hearing aids, or will wear them (albeit begrudgingly) but cover them with glamor
- Septum and snake bite piercings he got during his emo phase
- Smells like grapes, don't ask
- Love language is quality time, he doesn't care to actually have a conversation, though, he's fine just sitting in comfortable silence
- Will use his shadow transport for the dumbest things when he's lazy, like teleporting the TV remote to him if it's on the other side of the couch, teleport a bag of chips from the pantry to him in his bedroom, etc
- Room is covered in scented candles
- Sandy has invited him over to work out some of his problems multiple times, he doesn't really care to open up though, he just goes for the cats (Sandy let's him)
- His hair is always soft and he refuses to tell anyone what he washes with, MK has asked multiple times and he gets a different, vague answer everytime
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After that whole mess, they, of course, go back to FFM. Both because the cubs had a long day and needed a nap and also because neither Wukong nor MK had the energy to reset their glamours, and the last thing any of them wanted was to be swarmed. Wukong had to be stopped form going into a cleaning spree as soon as he realized he was having guests over for the first time in years and had to be told to sit down since, out of everyone there, be had been the one in the worst condition when all was said and done. They still enjoyed their smaller, more private New Years celebration and getting to run around in MK's childhood home
referencing.
Absolutely. Wukong is taking all the cubs home for a well-deserved rest (the eclipse twins argue that they aren't tired [lie]), and to properly introduce himself to the Noodle shop gang/aka his reincarnated Pilgrim brothers.
Wukong is a dedciated King to his people, but hasn't really let people "get close" since the Samadhi Fire incident/DBK's imprisonment. So he's a little rusty on how to play host in his own palace. The Stalwarts and the island's subjects are worried since they noticed some sort of havoc going on in the mainland while their King was gone, but Wukong brushes them off.
When Wukong attempts to clean up and play host, Pigsy quickly makes him sit down since; "You're pregnant and nearly got all your magic drained out of you. I'll make dinner." Which immediately puts the pig in the monkeys' good graces. Wukong does have to admit, piglet's grandson makes amazing noodle soup.
Mei (+MK) helps Pigsy out in the kitchen, and Wukong has a pang of nostalgia and grief at how similar the little dragon looks to Ao Lie. Her fun-loving attitude quickly gains her fans amongst the cubs, even if they try to eat her phone once or twice.
Lots of talking happens - especially on the subject of MK being Wukong's eldest cub + who exactly "dad" is. Wukong is still a little too upset at Macaque to give more than a curt explaination that he left on "a vacation" and has been missing since then.
Pigsy blurts out that he'll; "Sock the punk in the nose the second he sees 'em for leaving his family like that". It gets a laugh out of the king at least. Gao Cuilan did the same to Bajie when he finally returned after the journey.
Tang is ofc in Jttw-nerd heaven. Asking so many questions that MK has to interupt him to give his mom some space. The Stalwarts happily fill in the more embarassing/sappy details of their King and Warrior's romance, which delights the scholar (and mortifies SWK and MK) to no end.
Sandy is quickly the cubs favorite new uncle - though that could be because he smells like old uncle Sha Wujing. The Eclipse Twins are sus though. He makes himself busy serving up tea and addressing any emotional issues Wukong could be going through rn, especially with another little monkey on the way. Wukong is touched.
The Demon Bull Family makes an appearance - mainly to offer their apologies and for DBK to start making amends with his little bro. DBK quickly gets swarmed by the cubs he missed out on meeting, bellowing with laughter as they climb all over his horns. PIF is very aloof as per usual, but expresses her condolences for Macaque's disappearance. Wukong can tell that the former celestial princess is worried about her old friend, even if she doesn't care to show it.
Red Son is super confused, holding a casserole dish of non-spicy barbeque (DBK uncharacterically insisted, apparently the Monkey King hated spicy food), and just blinking at the fact that the "Noodle Boy" and "Pony Girl" he'd been fighting with were actually his calf-hood chums! Yuebei tries to eat his hair the moment he's offered to hold one of the Nodelets for the first time.
Overall the New Years "afterparty" (as Mei dubbed it) goes far better than the original celebration. Even if MK is super-grounded for not telling Wukong he became a superhero + lying who he actually was to the gang.
+Bonus: I love the idea of the cubs being super cranky during the events in the Celestial Realm. And when the spider gang attempt to stop the gang on the airship; little Yuebei starts shrieking with anger over her lack of sleep + missing both parents, and blasts them away with her non-fatal lazer eyes. It's one of many signs that MK's family aren't normal demons. Hunstman is a little embarassed that he was technically defeated by a baby.
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