#im not crazy am i

[chilinandeppresing]

Mk is a Yaoguai

I came across some interesting information while I was researching another theory. The concept of a being not quite demon, human or celestial demon in Chinese mythology called a Yaoguai. The number of similarities MK shares with them is uncanny.

First of all, how Mk being refered to as the Harbringer of Chaos connects to him being a Yao:Within Chinese mytholgy, Yāo have a tendency to be "blamed for sudden outbreaks of confused and erratic action, or transgressive behaviour" with there literally being a Chinese saying saying that goes"when affairs go awry, there must have been a yāo (acting)" ("事出反必有妖") Quite like how Mk seems to cause a lot of chaos around himself, without even meaning to and feeling a lot of guilt for it. ie- Lady Bone Demon, Demon Bull King, Spider Queen, Azule Lion, and maybe even Macaque gaining power due to his (direct or indirect) actions. As well as other unfortunate things that have happened around him, like Mei's Samadi Fire getting activated and Wukong getting trapped in the scroll.

Secondly, tying in the concept of him being a Yaoguai to his creation: Mk was born from a rock, a clay rock made by someone unknown to us but presumed to be the goddess Nuwa. And guess where most Yao originate from? From unsentient natural items- "yāo refers to natural objects (animals, plants, or rocks) which have acquired sentience (lit. spiritual awareness)," That spiritual awareness might’ve been gifted knowingly or unknowingly by Nuwa.

Yao also only appear in human or near-human forms, and that is after all MK's original form that we see him in the show with. But they also share an "essential nature with an animal or plant." and that is there actual true form. Which since MK was carved into a monkey by Nuwa, it natural that that is the the animal he would share an "essential nature" with and would explain why he has a monkey form.

Mk also tends to have very atypical powers, which also aligns with the concept of him being a Yao since they tend to be born with unsual powers and with the ability to cultivate immortality. This explains why he was able to be immortal when we first met him, how he got that "invincibility" in the first place is still up for debate. I also wonder if this goes the other way where Yao can be born with immortality and cultivate others' powers... because that would explain how Mk is very easily able to adapt to others' powers. I'm not sure, though, since I've only done surface level research on this.

If that cultivation of powers is not possible then he may be unknowingly utilizing another common power of the Yao, shapeshifting to very accurately "mimic"(I'm not sure if that's the right word for it) others powers. Such as Wukong's, Macaque's and possibly LBD's.

Just some other cool tidbits about Yaoguai:

Yaoguai (妖怪) are distinct creatures from ghosts (鬼, pinyin: gui) and demons (魔, pinyin: mo). Ghosts are the spirits of the deceased, whereas demons are often described as fallen immortals and gods.(Mk is neither of those I think)

Sun Wukong uses this term often to insult his (demonic) adversaries(Huh that'd be ironic wouldn't it. To seemingly hate Yaoguai in JTTW, and then end up with one as his succesor.)

In Taoist folklore, yaoguai come from "an imbalance in the Tao" and "any combination of [atypical] powers, including mind control, shapeshifting and the ability to create illusions.(well our boy sure does have an atypical set of powers but if you all want to add on to this I would love to know if you've noticed some instances of these powers happening because I can see how Mk could be using shapeshifting powers but mind control and illusions? I'm not sure if there is any instance of him using those.)

[frosted-co0kies]

the first time i saw this sprite i thought the skin around her eye was burnt because of the spade kings attack. IT DDOES LOOK LIKE THAT KIND OF.

[inkedmyths]

Wait wait hold on like. Like ok this is going to sound like a joke but

[demadogs]

nothing can break the bond between a friend who loves spoilers and a friend who just watched an amazing show and needs to tell someone the entire plot from start to finish

[curioscurio]

I'm rewatching Steven Universe and I will never forgive Fandom for what it did to her

[likelimeonade]

Have you seen anything more romantic? (They make me SICKKKKK)

[vajelis]

Anyone else just randomly thinks about the puffer fish that goes: "Augh"

[cthulhum]

does anyone realize how crazy it is to have the actor of a mostly headcanoned queer ship say the fans were never crazy and they were right all along after 10+ years of everyone just absolutely going nuts over the said queerbaited ship

[kitamars]

doodles as i relive my spideyman phase from eighth grade

[inkskinned]

actually sometimes being neurodivergent is great bc you have a particular kind of Silly Mode that just . manifests glory. harmless fun is my precious side quest & i have a high score in whimsy. like okay if i gotta be the first dork in the dance pit it's gonna be me and this random toddler and we're gonna avril-style rock ouuuuttt

[techluvs]

obsessed with this cross ai thing that's making rounds on objectumtwt

[accioepiphany]

The bear trying to gaslight me into believing Claire and Carmy’s relationship was all sunshine by putting some never seen before flashbacks where he is suddenly smiling all the time… when the only thing we see season 2 is him miserable and worried and bathed in blue light everytime he is with or thinks about Claire, to the point he even had a panic attack about it????

[chloesimaginationthings]

PHONE GUY DESIGN IM LITERALLY SCREAMONG RBEUBQHGWVS

IM GLAD YALL LIKE HOW PHONE GUY LOOKS!! I didn’t expect so many to be down bad for him-

[wickedwitchofthesouth]

"You were worried if you still felt how much he loved you, you wouldn't be able to go through with your crusade."

this is a real quote that was really said to the real Erik Magnus Lehnsherr about his very real feelings for his 'friend' Charles Xavier.

[adolfusraptor1985]

For Young Therians -- Please Read

(Tw: venting and swearing. Not mad, just want people to be better.)

I don't think I'm human.

Scratch that, I'm not human.

I'm not human because of my therianthropy.

All of you kids saying "therians don't think they're ACTUALLY animals" or "therians know they are human" can fuck off.

Don't speak for a community you hardly understand.

I don't care if you're trying to make haters understand, you're still spreading misinformation.

I'M A FUCKING ANIMAL. DEAL WITH IT.

Don't even get me started on the "therians identify as animals non-physically, they know they are physically human".

Shut the fuck up and stop reminding me.

That's like saying "trans women know they are physically men"

I DON'T HAVE TO IDENTIFY AS MY PHYSICAL BODY.

I'm transmasc. I would never refer to myself as a woman even though it's my biology. The same goes for my therianthropy.

If anything, I'm transspecies.

And that's a perfectly valid type of therianthropy.

STOP PRETENDING PEOPLE LIKE ME DONT EXIST.

We deserve to be included in discussions about therianthropy and in the definition of the label itself.

Don't be a turd.

Stop gatekeeping.

Stop watering down our identities for others.

Googling shit and reading wikis isn't research.

Talk to real people.

Talk to real creatures.

[frindoka]

[the curtains close for a show that used to be yours.]