A couple of general angsty headcanons!
Characters: MK, Mei, Red Son, Tang, Pigsy, Sandy, Sun Wukong and Macaque!
Because Iâm quintessentially evil and I wonder what kind of small behaviours theyâd all have.
Warnings: Very Spoilerish!! I donât recommend reading if you havenât watched season 3, it may contain slight spoilers. Actually scratch that it definitely contains spoilers DONT read if you donât want them.
Notes: Some may be a little ooc, but I try to stay true to them as a whole! Itâs angsty headcanons, so theyâre a little exaggerated on the scale I would actually use them for, but I tried to keep it pretty tame. Not all of these are headcanons that I will use when writing in future posts btw, some for sure maybe but others are definitely just angst for the sake of being angst.
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* I feel that as expressive as Mk usually is, the pressure he inwardly, albeit unconsciously places on himself is insurmountable, and after a certain point on their journey he starts bottling up a couple more of his conventionally minor concerns. He doesnât want to feel too bothersome, more-so than what heâs already convinced himself he is to others.
* Sleep deprived. MK feels like the one who would constantly push himself, despite the better judgement and protest of his body and itâs need for rest heâd continue training long into the night, like he has to be good enough because heâs Monkey Kings successor. From what used to be an early to bed, late to risingâ to a late to bed, late to rising. He likely wouldnât get much sleep, his sleeping in often disturbed by others or his work.
* Seeks approval. Perhaps on a lesser scale to someone like RedSon, I feel like MK generally wishes that others would look up to him as a hero, and really spares no effort in that regard. That same inner need for approval is what causes him to exert himself more than he should for others, itâs something already seen when he lost a ton of hair making clones in order to satisfy his friends needs, if to a lesser extent.
* Abandonment issues. We know that MK has to bite his tongue when complaining about his mentors absence despite the critical time for key growth, but I think the truth lies behind a bit more than that. We know heâs in this orphan limbo where Pigsy and Wukong take it upon themselves to act like his dads because heâs seen to live at the noodle shop and thatâs soft and sweet, but knowing he was either abandoned or his parents died must still be a big issue for him as he likely believes the former. Heâs largely a super social kid, and his friends mean a lot to him, so having them leave (like Mei), to go off on their own must be excruciating behind his supportive and encouraging nature. He wants them happy more than anything, even if that means they have to leave for a while.
* I feel like to combat these frequent inner anxieties, MK developed a nervous habit of picking at his fingers until the skin around his nails get peeled off. By no means does it hurt him, I just think he would fidget with his hands when put on the spot.
* If we are going to talk about Mei angst, I think above all we should talk about the Samaudi fire rings event. Practically most of her angstier headcanons could stem from it, so I think itâs the most crucial to mention. Firstly itâs massively traumatic, and is likely to leave large impressions on her, physically and mentally as from what weâve seen, it hurts to wield all that power. It would have definitely altered her emotional wellbeing as well, the idea of accidentally hurting your friends when you canât control shit must be so depriving, especially for someone like Mei who is so used to constantly being around her friends to a certain degree. She loves the gang, dearly, being unable to reach out to them like before must make her incredibly fearful of what she could do, even unintentionally to them. Sheâs always been strong, but this is way more than she can handle. Sheâs not really someone that ever seems vulnerable, but the damage it might cause her physical body and mental fortitude canât really be overlooked.
* Truly empathetic. Mei is someone who stands up for others despite the risk involved, no matter if theyâre a villain or a hero, sheâs really outspoken. And while that doesnât sound particularly angsty I feel like she weighs others concerns in a higher priority of her own too frequently, enough to maybe doubt when itâs okay for her to also require comfort or counsel. Especially as she has to go through more traumatic things, it gets more necessary to have someone to talk to, but she doesnât want to burden anyone with that kind of responsibility.
* I feel like Mei would have a lot of scars, not any major or life threatening ones, but quite a large amount of just smaller or medium-sized scars. She wouldnât exactly be insecure about them but they are a bit of reminder to her of what she couldâve done right or done better.
* Former-ish approval issues. I think all of the traffic-light trio deal with this in varying degrees of severity and in various ways depending on who theyâre seeking approval from. Similarly to Red Son, her need to be accepted is family oriented: Even though at large sheâs already proven herself worthy through using the sword, I feel like there lies a certain degree of doubt deep down if she truly is. Has she really been using it for good? Does she deserve to wield it if she uses it pretty recklessly despite her good intent? I think she would wonder if sheâs been selfish with the way the sword is used, as it is an item to protect her family and those she holds dear. She would also likely worry that others would judge her for the way sheâd used it, especially if it were her ancestors. Kind of like, âShe can wield that super special heirloom not even we could and this is what she used it for? Unbelievable.â type of beat. Thatâs among one of her greatest insecurities her family could pick apart.
* Need for approval. Out of everyone, I feel like weâre all aware of how desperate Red Son is for gratification, itâs frequently seen from the pilot to season 2. A lot of that may be a bit of a trauma response from not having his dad present for the majority of his really impactful, crucial development years, so he desperately seeks his dads approval from the moment he returns. I think itâs less about ego, (though he has a lot of it), and more about an inner need for affection. From what we know or infer from the show, his parents do love him, actually to a large degreeâ but they donât explicitly show it to Red Son in a way that he hopes for. Words of affirmation are strongly important to Red Son because he never received any congratulations for his efforts and achievements and he goes out of his way to spend quality time with his dad even if it means running a small spicy noodle place with him for a bit despite it not being the most enjoyable for his dad. He just really wants to know that heâs loved now because they werenât always super present before.
* Self-esteem issues. An issue largely rooted in that same need for approval would be proficient self esteem issues, if heâs not properly fulfilling his tasks and assignments to the highest degreeâ heâs not doing it properly. If heâs not receiving instant gratification for his actions and praise for those said achievements, itâs not enough. This implication that if heâs not constantly succeeding has left lasting impressions on his esteem, he cannot stand the feeling of failure despite how constant it seems to occur. Each minor infraction is another late night as he stays up to correct his mistakes or work on his next great invention because if this one too doesnât work, when is he going to believe heâs doing well? Are all of his inventions bad? Itâs not their faultâ he calibrated them all correctly, does the fault lie in him, the creator?
* Maybe a bit too much of a perfectionist. Though mentioned briefly before, Red Son would be a perfectionist by habit, if his inventions arenât working itâs his own fault, the missions he fails are his own fault, so he works to no end to assure that success rates are any higher than possibleâ sparing no expense. This behaviour often leaves him sacrificing his own rest time, but unlike MK he was an early to bed, early to rising, and now a late to bed early to rising, cutting largely into his schedule because he expectantly wakes at the same time. When he sleeps however is often changed because of his late night escapades for materials and time he dedicates toward studying and researching new and innovative ways to improve. Often times this means he can go days without proper sleep, though he consistently hides that fact and avoids questions despite concerns being brought up to him about it.
* Very little emotional control. Though calm on the surface, he has only a little filtering or processing of heavy or extensive emotions. It can often be difficult to regulate and he can generally be rather sensitive and temperamental, which helps recognise his sleep deprivation. I also feel like he struggles with complex emotions from a lack of proper social interaction.
* Low self-esteem issues. Though something that seems like a pretty common theme between all of them, it is a genuine issue because there isnât much communication between characters to help resolve each others issues. Despite his philosophical and somewhat outspoken demeanour, we can see that Tang struggles with the idea that he doesnât have value in comparison to others on the team, often mulled over in favour of someone who can do something practical with their skills or powers: of which, Tang didnât have for the majority of the earlier seasons and up to 3. Itâs hard to feel important among the special and unique, where you donât stand out and are considered lacking in association with those who just seem to be on a foreign, distant level to you which you canât even hope to achieve even a sliver of what they can. Thatâs how Tang feels on the regular, and on the off chance he does try to prove himselfâ it leads to dangerous and precarious situations he might even need to be rescued from. His only importance was that of knowing the history of the Monkey King with his detailed books, and it became obsolete when MK became more accustomed to his powers and Wukong was present to just inform them of the experience with genuine recollection.
* Again, I feel like Tang is just someone whoâs constantly talked over among even his friends, but feels as though he canât even make a complaint toward them due to his low self esteemâ as though, because heâs useless he shouldnât have an opinion and shouldnât express often as if he should know his place and that because heâs valueless it isnât his place to say anything or have any input. Though thatâs just his own belief on the matter, itâs something he would just hold in, an unspoken inner worry even if the others express their concerns.
* He might be a bit of a sloth. Not in the way he is exactly lazy, I just feel like Tang is a character who doesnât have the same motivation to get out of bed everyday like most others seen in the show. Itâs more that itâs difficult to encourage him to do anything because heâs too consumed in the idea that everyone might hate or leave him because he doesnât have the most practical utility and he might mess it all up for everyone. He would just be lethargic, like his body is coated in cement from the build up of negative insecurity, heavy and difficult to resist against no matter what he does, like swimming through quicksand. Itâs a tedious concept to explain, but if you know the feeling, then you should be able to relate and understand this concept.
* It might just be my own personal HC, but I think Tang is the kind of a character who seems to have grown up a little too fast in his developmental years, resulting in a rather childish personality to emerge in response. A lot of Tangs past is quite the mystery, and we arenât lead to believe anything other than him being the reincarnation of a certain monk as he starts discovering some of his own powers. He seems like his social needs were a bit neglected, so his only friends are limited to the group: him and his habit of taking free food largely revolving around the idea that itâs the only way to maintain his friendship with Pigsy outside the idea that theyâve known each other for a long time. Tang doesnât want to be just another face in the crowd especially towards his friends. He just seems like the type to use his imagination to make friends, trying to be super social to make up for some attention he lacked from parentsâ if he actually has any.
* Scarred hands. As a chef, Pigsyâs hands are his pride and joy and his bare, most essential tool in the art of culinary. As much as he is a true professional, accidents occur frequently when youâve got kids interrupting your time in the kitchen with their shenanigans every so often, itâs nearly unavoidable to have a couple slip-ups. Plus years of the art must have a lot of learning through experience, itâs inevitable to have them pretty roughed up no matter how light of an activity cooking is. Only those whoâve beaten dough into shape like a sergeant in the military for twenty years can dare to explicitly say otherwise. But itâs his passion, canât get enough of it. The scars vary in size and shape, some are more faded and some more recent. His hands are weathered with experience but I donât believe thatâs necessarily a bad thing.
* Extended headcanon of above if youâre like me and enjoy the idea of causing characters you love grief and heartbreakâ What if eventually he loses the ability to use his hands in order to cook? The heartbreak of losing what youâre most passionate about in the world ever? I think he would be utterly distraught, especially with how sentimental it has been for him and it being his entire careerâ he would be devastated to never use his hands to make something again. Itâd be like tearing away his greatest talent, a husk of who he formerly was. But I donât think it would really stop him, instead heâd live his passion through othersâ encouraging MK or Mei to try out his recipes, regardless of how inedible it might turn out, the point is that his passion for cooking wouldnât rest even if you took away his ability to.
* Heâs definitely a bit jealous of the new father figure MK has adopted, very easily and without much convincing mind you. Heâs maybe a little bit worried MK doesnât really consider him on the same level as Wukong even though heâd been the one to practically raise him thus far. Itâs only a natural reaction, but Iâm sure heâd involve a certain level of guilt knowing that it isnât his choice on who MK wants to see as a father figure and he shouldnât pressure him about it. He just feels that his position of his acting dad might be threatened by Wukong despite repeated reassurances. Heâs aware that having such a disciple and master relationship is like a dream to MK but thereâs an underlying fear that he canât be considered on the same tier as the kids idol heâs had since childhood and that it might develop beyond that as they grow closer, casting Pigsy into the shadows. He just canât convey that jealousy to MK because heâs uncertain itâll make him seem immature and uncool.
I apologise if Sandyâs one is super short Iâm still unsure of how to go about writing him for the most part so Iâm working my way towards it. Iâm aware it isnât super angsty but how could you ever make the big guy sad.
* Okay so my favourite headcanon for Sandy is that Mo, his cat, is actually an emotional support cat!! When he decided he wasnât going to be super angry about things anymore and wanted to end his old ways of constantly fighting, I like to imagine that he went through several methods in order to find something that could soothe him. Getting Mo was among one of his last attempts and honestly he fell for the little guy instantly and now heâs coping with his emotions in a much healthier way. Sure, he might still have some difficulty with a fluctuating temper, but overtime heâs come to terms with the fact that itâs okay to be angry, and heâs working around making a positive environment that can let him feel things and still be alright and remain rational. He knows that his feelings are natural and heâs on his way to becoming fully in tune with them how he wants to be on his own terms. I think at some point he wouldâve actually dyed Moâs fur (though I donât doubt it isnât natural with lego physics) and styled him to match his owner so they could stay more connected and would be able to recognise him if he was ever lost. Heâs really turned over a new leaf and Mo has very much become part of Sandyâs little family.
Sun Wukong / Monkey king!
* Alright, I think itâs time we got around to unpacking a couple of things from this jar of monkeys. Wukong has a massive guilty conscience over some of the shitty things heâs done. I donât necessarily think heâs a bad person, truly I love the character but letâs genuinely consider some things for this particular section under a neutral perspective. We all know of his massive ego, and I think because of it specifically is why this is a guilty conscience issue and not a âI feel like I messed up, I really regret it and I should go apologise for it,â issue. Wukong does not act mature despite his many years of living, (as much as I write that he does xx), he has largely made many mistakes and many of which he has come to overlook and regret as bad, yet heâs not taken any action to fix things. He is aware that he hadnât been a good mentor to MK, though he is now actively taking the steps to amend his faults, he doesnât want to acknowledge that his absence left lasting impressions, MK explicitly reminds him by asking why he isnât trusted. He doesnât really want to acknowledge his own faults as a mentor. This can again be seen via the fact heâs aware that he hadnât been a good friend to Macaque either, yet instead doesnât even reach out to him in an attempt to to make things right between them. Instead, he selfishly just considers him an enemy, knowing that heâd hurt Macaque by abandoning and casting aside their friendship the way he did.
* Unspoken trust issues. Sun Wukong likely has his own reasons behind why he kept things to himself despite knowing how it effected members of the groupâ mainly being that he genuinely believed he could take it all on by himself and he would figure out what to do later as it happens, as unorganised and improbable the likelihood had beenâ he was willingly sacrificial. And as much as one would consider MK and Macaque to be the ones with trust issues, Wukong was often tricked and lead around by the nose frequently in his mythology, and knowing that his story is technically canonic in the lego monkie kid lore means that he had to experience those things often.
* Underlying need to be considered high and mighty. Much like the kids, deep down Wukong just wants the same gratification as they doâ with them as his opportunity to change for the better, he seeks out that approval for good, seemingly wanting to shed at least some of his negatively viewed trickster titles in order to pursue a better path with their help. I feel like he needs to be reminded and assured that heâs doing a good job and that it takes time for people to change their minds. He doesnât want to be viewed negatively, just viewed as an equal to others on the most part, and not just some immortal demon monkey.
Macaque / Liuâer Mihou!
* Has frequent night terrors. If youâve seen another post of mine then youâll know I personally Hc Macaque to have frequent haunting dreams that plague him throughout the night, greatly inhibiting his sleep schedule and causing some great signs of sleep deprivation on the days this occurs. A lot of it is just memories of what Lady Bone Demon has done to him, or what she could do to him if he isnât careful and others are just traumatic scenes that have greatly impacted him at some point. He often winds up lethargic and fatigued on the days where the severity of the dreams are worse he winds up having lost more rest than he gained, ridding him of any chance of wreaking havoc for the time being. The worst extent of these terrors may cause him sleep paralysis, which combined with vivid and realistic images can make it very difficult to maintain a healthy sleeping pattern.
* In the last couple episodes of season 3, we see Macaque gets his body partially hijacked by some of LBDâs magic, (arm, eye, a bit of his leg on the right side if I can recall), which I firmly believe cannot be good for him in any way, shape or form. This likely has left weird scarring in its place, maybe some discolouration of his fur or skin, whatever it may be. And if youâre like me, I would consider those scars massive sensitive bundles of nerves and tender flesh that cannot be healed by the average means, meaning that he is stuck with large vulnerable spots where damage is twice as excruciating if he is hurt in those areas. And that eye? How it had a big âol cross? He would likely have some visionary defects, such as no longer being able to see through it to some extent. This would probably cause him a couple of issues with depth perception and learning to adapt to it.
* Trust issues. Alright itâs a bit generic and to be expected of Macaque, but to be cliche doesnât necessarily mean to be bad, as long as it works and Iâm having fun. Macaque does not open up to people very often anymore after his friendship with Wukong ended on a particularly sour note. From what we know, it was none to Macaques own faultâ but the damage has been done and for the most part itâs irreparable. It cannot be undone. Heâs unwilling to listen to reason and wonât lower his guard to anyone. Abrasive and coarse, he isnât easy to get close to, not that he ever was to begin with, but lowering his guard is what left him vulnerable to getting hurt to begin with, he isnât willing to expose himself like that again. Once was enough. He would consider himself nothing short of a fool if he were to let it happen again. Trust is a very fragile concept to him because Macaquesâ need to feel secure, to protect himself, is so deeply rooted inside that it can make it hard to accept genuine kindnessâ most often immediately assuming itâs false or a blatant lie. It clouds his beliefs and immediately places grey tinted glasses over his eyes, he immediately assumes the worst of people because from his experiences, they usually are.
* Like Mei, I think Macaque would also have a lot of scarsâ heâs lived a long time, I wouldnât be surprised by the amount of trouble heâs wound up in over its course. He does shifty work too, itâs nigh impossible that he wouldnât have a couple injuries here and there, because letâs not forget that heâs not a good person and he would likely do some really shady things for some cash. He would have all sorts of scars, from large to small, thin to fadedâ theyâre everywhere, heâs littered in them.
