#circlet wukong is helping tho

[ningadudexx]

what’re your thoughts on the lmk season 5 trailer? do u think it’s real?

yeah its real, sarah harper posted on twt that flying bark studios isnt working on monkie kid anymore (༎ຶ⌑༎ຶ)

im still very excited for s5 though!! im very grateful to flying bark studios... i love this show to bits and they will still have the same vas and writers

but on another note never ever get a special interest it will destroy your life

[fluffypotatey]

*puts on my Professor glasses* Macky really knows EXACTLY how to talk to Wukong, let's dissect it! M: Looks like things are going smoothly. W: I say, you've been here the whole time, haven't you? M: FFM is your home, but it's also mine. W: Did you find anything? M: Still nothing, however. Now the Jade Emperor is no longer present. The Celestial Realm already gives me an unsettling feeling. M: Wukong...that kid. W: I understand. M: You have to go and talk to him. W: I know! But...he still isn't ready. M: I see. You're the one who isn't ready, yet. How did you even become a teacher! M: He has to be. We all have to be realistic. W: He's just a kid. We can't let him... M: Who says he's just a kid! Why is it him? When you chose him, did you know? W: I didn't know, I really didn't know! I just followed...a feeling. M: Are you not the least bit worried?! This child has all of your special powers, and he always runs into trouble. Have you never questioned this before? Not a single person knows where he came from. Is it not strange?! M: We still have no clue as to whoever let out Azure Lion. All your old foes returned in one swoop. Are you not even a little- W: Then what about you? You also suddenly came back. M: Argh- M: I say, someone must be manipulating us behind our backs. Especially Xiaotian. But they still haven't succeeded. W: Then tell me. What about you? M: Tell me do you want my help or not?! / W: Not long ago you were still against me! / M: I see, you're just a- / W: ...after I assume you'll teach me how to train my own disciples? ~ Xiaotian Interupts ~ M: Look. That kid has made you his idol. You're his one true hero, but you... W: But I what? M: He has to understand, he doesn't need to carry these burdens. You have to do better. You can really tell whose the chatty one in this relationship XD Wukong might be a lil annoyed, but he's tolerant. And Macky is a little playful turd as always. Where Wukong gets gloomy and concerned, Mac swaps between teasing and serious in a blink. Then things get a lot more strained and tense, but unlike their previous fights, it never escalates into violence. Never a growl, never a raised fist. They're right at the edge, and they drop it. I'm very much interested in the psychology of arguments and when it comes to people latching onto (1) thing a person says and relating it slightly off topic to avoid talking about that other thing, like Wukong is doing here. It's so cool seeing how physical they are in trying to visibly control their emotions around each other, and how they keep trying to hold themselves back from tearing in further, always pausing and halting, and switching to another thing. They're TRYING. Ugh. I think Mac was trying to give a comforting smile at the end, but it's kinda warped by the whole ~ everything else. ~ Anyhow, I like how this starts with Wukong establishing, or rather cementing to Macaque that he believes MK is a kid. And while Macaque argues against that, he did also say before that Wukong should talk to him. And they have their squabble, with Mac pushing Wukong's buttons to get him to say something, BUT the fact this gets resolved with he needs to understand he doesn't need to carry these burdens. YOU HAVE TO DO BETTER. Like of all things Mac could have chosen. He's playing right into what Wukong himself believes, that will overwrite the "MK isn't ready" thing. Because let's face it. Mac is right when he says Wukong also isn't ready for that talk yet. He's so down throughout all this, Wukong probably feels himself that he needs to be better. AND by appealing to the fact MK is a kid, without explicitly stating that, just a statement that cannot be denied, BUT is a subject that undoubtedly, even Wukong cannot avoid. Because he wants better for MK. For him to not walk down the same path as him. Macaque has basically nudged Wukong into having that talk he wanted with MK by reframing it differently from what Wukong wasn't ready for. Thoughts? Critique?

*squishes you* anon…anon, you’re telling me..that this was the actual dialogue between SWK and Macky in 5x01. that what i just read is the translated version of the Mandarin dub. correct?

ok ok cool. i’m cool. gucci. feeling fantastic lemme just

WHAT THE FUCK LMK

ok so i ranted in the tags but realized i forgot to say more things (also i was worried i’d exceed the tag limit bc that is a real thing what do you know!)

so, anon, you said Macky knows how to talk to Wukong and yeah agreed but for me it’s for of the sense of “Macky knows how to get his words under Wukong’s skin”

he knows how to let his words sink in and fester in Wukong’s mind, making him reconsider things or another to help speed up certain decisions or choices Wukong is hesitating on. and ain’t it fascinating how despite how long it’s been since either character have talked or interacted with each other, they still know the ins and outs of their behavior and thoughts.

Macky knows Wukong needs to talk to MK but is holding back. Macky after one answer from Wukong realizes that it’s Wukong who isn’t ready for that conversation and switches tactics to try and breach that mental block

Wukong, in a need to avoid the conversation, brings up the questions surrounding Macky’s reason for even being alive again because that is information neither have talked about and oh hey! Macky is avoiding that conversation too! and it’s an important one to have so he pushes for it, but Macky knows it’s being pushed to avoid their original discussion and is annoyed bc “classic Wukong, never wanting to delve too deep into topics where he’ll need to be vulnerable for” (especially when said vulnerability is with his newly re-allied ex friend Macaroni himself)

god i love them

[mintaikk]

Shadowpeach Things I think about A Lot

Note: My knowledge of season 5 is very limited (only seen first 2 eps, and some spoilers). Do not say any spoilers in comments or reblogs. If you want to avoid spoilers completely, I suggest you don't read this

-Peng said it themselves. "Could Wukong do anything that could break his hold over you?" or something like that. But Macaque's entire world was Wukong

-Macaque's dream was spending a peaceful forever with Wukong

-"You were a villain like 5 minutes ago!" Nothing there, but this was when they were having that screaming match and I burst out laughing when I realized that's what Wukong said. He was tho. From s4 to s5, bro went from trying to kill him to living on his mountain again

-Oh, that. "This room(?) has been my home just as long as yours." That's true, but my guy, don't you have like a dojo or smthn? Can't you just live there? Or do you just secretly miss Wukong and want to live on FFM to be closer with him?

-AND WUKONG DOESNT FIGHT BACK EITHER OR ANYTHING. He just sighs and accepts it

-OH YEAH THAT. Macaque sleeps on the same GOD DAMN tree that he and Wukong used to sit at. There are so, so, so many trees on FFM, yet he chose that specific one

-Wukong wanted to spend the remainder of his life holding hands with Macaque

-Correct me if I'm wrong, but in old China, a man giving another man a peach was a sign that they felt romantic love for them. Wukong and Macaque's hole thing is peaches

-"Yeah, because you always eush to my rescue." Wukong believed that Macaque never saved him, but from what we seen in s5, he does. Maybe he always has and Wukong's just never noticed, or maybe Macaque took that to heart and is trying to make up for it

-THE GOD DAMN SLOMO SHOT WHEN WUKONG WAS GOING TO SAVE MK

-Macaque calling Wukong "cute" in the s4 special

-When we first see the ink demons of Wukong's past, one of them was Macaque chained up while struggling and crying. Whatever happened there, it still haunts Wukong

-"I don't trust anyone that isn't standing here right now." WUKONG STILL TRUSTS MACAQUE AFTER EVERYTHING, MACAQUE EVEN PERKS UP AT THAT. And right after this scene, Macaque sacrifices himself to save Wukong. I think Wukong saying that really stuck with him. Maybe that's why he was a lot more helpful this season; Wukong still trusted him, and he didn't want to lose that

-When Wukong was getting the circlet put on him for a second time, Macaque didn't even hesitate when he saw that Wukong was in pain and immediately sprung to help

-Ik it's been talked about before, but the fact that Macaque thinks Wukong killed (and that he was about to again in season 3 when he was literally choking him) him but he still helps him when he can and smiles softly at him and goes out of his way to see him and stares in awe when he sees him coming to help MK and still accepts his peach offer (symbolism for rekindling friendship) and smiles when Wukong says "we" instead of "I" and gets sad when he sees the memory and realizes he wants to rekindle their relationship and crashes a beach party just so he could be with him (Copy and pasted from old post

-This specific art piece that Alejandro Saab commissioned and used for autograph signings

-Macaque literally looking away and smiling in this shot bro looks like a schoolgirl with a crush 💀

-Wukong was shown to help Macaque tie his scarf when they were still friends and in the shots of their past, Macaque's scarf is always tied. But now that they're not friends, his scarf is never tied. I just find this detail neat

-As much as Macaque tried to kill Wukong between s1 and s3, the moment Wukong was genuinely mad at him, Macaque's first instinct was to run. Even when Wukong was holding him, he was still shaking Yes, he probably couldn't breathe bcuz choking, but these guys are immortal and with the whole thing underwater, I don't think they actually need to breathe. So this means that he was probably terrified the entire time, and thinking that Wukong would kill him again (I fucking hate doomed yaoi)

-Now that I think about it, the only time we see Macaque scared was with LBD, Sun Wukong attacking him, Sun Wukong getting attacked or being endanger, MK being endangered, Bai He being endangered, or actually having to deal with the idea of staying with Wukong to help him (s4, MK going on that whole "I gotta help my friends" speech while Mei is being consumed by the Samahdi fire). Most of those things are Wukong and Monkey fam related

-Alejandro Saab doing a cover of peaches. Istg, he KNEW what he was doing when he pulled that one

-Correct me if I'm wrong again, but apparently, some gay men in ancient China would become sworn brothers so they could be together legally. Other than Shadowpeach, I was never much a brotherhood shipper, but do what you will with this info

-ALEJANDRO SAAB BELIEVES THAT MACAQUE IS SHORTER THAN WUKONG! THE DEBATE IS OVER YALL

-"Forever is a long time, bud." "Me and you just living here get on fat on fruit forever!" Bro was definetly thinking of Macaque

[quitealotofsodapop]

The Stalwarts hadn't even wanted to let Wukong go back to the Journey, it was only the reminder that if he DIDN'T do this then the Jade Court would never stop attacking them that convicted them to let him! But you can BET they threatened the hell out of Baijie

Truth.

After having to deal with 500 years of forest fires and opportunistic hunters bothering them, the Stalwarts want their little bro/King back.

But he's clearly still hurting from the Mountain, and throwing him back into the responsibility of a kingdom isn't the way to heal that.

When the Pig who hurt their brother comes around asking for help, the Stalwarts form a solid wall of angry monkey sibling separating him from seeing Wukong.

Wukong basically realises that as long as he stays at FFM; fate will volleyball 81-something unskippable cutscenes at his Pilgrim buddies no matter what.

And he just can't be the reason that dumb monk dies out there cus Piglet can't think with his head-brain.

The Stalwarts put up a little of a fight... but they know that going on the Journey is the healthiest thing Wukong can do mentally. He's taken care of the people enough, now he can focus on just taking care of himself (and maybe the monk too whatever).

They bully tf out of Zhu Bajie the whole time tho. They make him use his "fancy rake" (*offended pig noises!*) to fix some fields up as repayment for goading Tripitaka into using the Circlet.

[googleitlol]

Ranting abt my Dove reader cuz I love her even if she's a little smartass. Seriously tho, if it wasn't for the fact that she strives to be like how she perceives Guan Yin, she'd be so fucking devious.

Like, yeah, in my fic, she's responsible for tricking Wukong into wearing the circlet. And she's proud of it right until she sees it being used for the first time. I'll probably post the aftermath of that later on.

But that shit was premeditated, the little fucking psycho. She egged Wukong on at the river because she knew that when he left, he'd have to prove her wrong. He's petty like that (which I also love to write). She might not know exactly what Guan Yin gave her will do, but she knows that if she finds a way to get Wukong to wear it, the journey will be a lot smoother. So she's gotta do what she's gotta do to help the monk.

[rlmartian]

Okay so your post about the circlet/band thingies that wukong and Nezha wear? I just had a thought

Okay so we all know that wukong is perfectly fine with and actively promotes himself as a dangerous menace to society, right? Right. And he met Nezha when he was still pretty young, and they eventually became friends because of that mutual reputation of being dangerous menaces to society

So! What if somewhere in their friendship Nezha wanted to stop being seen as a menace or, if you will, a Demon Child. By, oh I don’t know, using the same thing that kept the monkey king’s power in check. Idk tho just a thought. And what if, somewhere in that plan, Wukong found out and tried to make that not happen, in wukongs own special way of course (badly), resulting in Nezhas dislike of Wukong today!

I AM A GENIUS AND A SCHOLAR

ok but why is this actually genius. Because of course Nezha would do that he’s such a self sacrificing idiot. In other media like Nezha(birth of the demon child) he’s openly portrayed as a menace. Why isn’t he a menace now? One he probably got tired of the bad reputation, and his rep was probably even shittier becuse of his association with wukong. This in turn probably planted the seeds of resentment and frustration towards wukong in Nezha’s view. And then Nezha like the self sacrificing idiot he is tries to use the objects that controlled the great monkey king to prove his controlled and not a menace. And everyone in the celestial realm are kind of assholes so they either don’t bother to help or encourage him telling him it’s a difficult but wise decision to make. And eventually wu kong hears about this but doesn’t get the full story. He bursts in just as they finish and attacks the people there people nezha considers tentative friends and they run away. Wukong rushes in panicking trying to get the bands off acting like he’s worried and nezha blows up(maybe literally with fire). For all he knows wukong just attacked him and his friends probably ruining some of the only relationships he’s had in the celestial realm and sullying the reputation further. Wukong thinks he’s saving Nezha and Nezha things Wukong is trying to ruin what he has because he’s jealous. Fight ensues and they argue a bunch. Wukong expresses how he was only trying to help and Nezha screams that he didn’t need help because this is what he wanted. Wukong says he’s not in his right mind and that’s the final straw. In a burst of power he destroys the bands and fights Wukong. He wins (mostly because Wukong has his bands still on and is in shock from the whole situation.) Nezha tells him to leave and never come back .As the celestial armies start to circle them Wukong fleas. To add a cherry of suffering and resentment on top of the milkshake Nezha was one of the only friends that Wukong was still good with after the brotherhood and macaque left him. And for Nezha after the journey to the west and Wukong proving he was good since they were in bad standing was scorned and looked down on more than before. Once again he was falling, and it was Wukongs fault.

just some food for thought :) if you have any questions feel free to ask

Notes/Answered questions: Why was Nezha able to break the bands in battle when Wukong couldn’t break his circlet? Simple The only reason Nezha was able to break his is because he needed to access his full power and his only intention to use that full power was too help protect the celestial realm to the fullest extent aiding it and spinning the web of manipulation further without them having to lift a finger.

Why was Wukong able to come in in the first place? Jade emperor and higher ups allowed it because they planned to use nezha in the future and place him in a powerful and influential role. Putting him against what they currently see as the celestial realms biggest threat was a good move and it wouldn’t do if they had a good relationship. Why did the jade emperor not do anything after Nezha started to fall out of Grace, when the Journey to the West finished? He still sees Wukong as a threat and believes he can, and we’ll go rouge any moment.

[fluffypotatey]

The narrative is so funny sometimes. It gave us a character who struggled in making his own choices and speaking up to others until the worst possible moment where he snapped, and forcefully subjected him to the orders of someone else, even binding him in chains for it the second he entered his "new revival, new me!" era. Maybe a consequence for how evil attracts evil. Someone for whom the very letters of his name sound fluid and free like his shadows, which are never evenly cast, always waxing and waning like the moon, disorderly and chaotic yet he's dressed in the image of rigidness. His silence and respect is forced, to speak is meaningless. I wonder if his lazy smirks and villainous laughter is a way to keep himself from falling into his default OwO expression, something else to channel his emotions into so he never says something like....you've become like this, obsessive demon. The way he talked to LBD was all loose and airy, compared to the harder, defensive way he talked to the Brotherhood in 4x5 👀 interesting in how he handled confrontation changed too. Granted, with LBD he was trying to leave, so I wonder if he just up and vanished or had to nonchalantly laugh and back away from them. Still soooooo interested in how he NEVER fought back against the Pilgrims with them. And I question LMK repeating the same story of "Sun Wukong now yielded to an agent of the Celestial Host!" Azure was on about. Macaque currently has no good thoughts on the circlet based on how he reacted before it was even finished being cast, however~ He might have seen it in action ;) the "snapped in the good intentions to help his friend" is still fairly feasible. It fits in with the tragedy, but I'm still on the fence about it. Any super secret thoughts on what transpired you haven't voiced yet?

hm idk if there’s stuff i haven’t but i do think Azure’s account about Wukong’s time in jttw is sO skewed that i would never recommend taking that as truth. that’s what he believes, certainly but it is not what really happened

it doesn’t help that Heaven also has access to the circlet too (tho i think it’s only for “admin” purposes. like given to them AFTER jttw and for the emperor to use as a last resort for any serious threats.) because it does not help with refuting Azure’s biased opinion or assumptions that Wukong was working under Heaven during his journey when that was far from the case. but i digress.

i am pretty sure, in the jttw legends, the fight between Wukong and Mac is earlier than the “Camelhead Trio” but lmk is not known to be 100% by the book or follow it to a T so Wukong’s fight might have been earlier or after he fought Mac (but given how lmk makes Wukong and Mac close friends, i wanna say Macky’s fight was after because that validates Macky’s reasons for leaving them early and adds to narrative drama)