#iris quartet

[imminent-danger-came]

My friend was like, "Mei is the best parts of Wukong and Macaque and MK is the worst parts of Wukong and Macaque" and that hurt me so deeply

[imminent-danger-came]

What do you think of the parallels between Red Son and Mei's conversation with MK and Ne Zha's in the first part of EYD? I don't see it talked about often but it's a very clear parallel, like even the body language lines up

Red Son: "For now—this is probably one of the few places left that the Lady Bone Demons putridity hasn't reached." Mei: "But- what if I fail everyone? What if I...lose control?"

Red Son: "*sigh* My parents have succumbed the the Lady Bone Demon's power, like countless others. You, and the noodle boy, will stop at nothing to free them. That's how I know you won't lose control—you can't. Because your the only hope I- the only hope this world has left."

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Ne Zha: "Even from here I can feel her retched aura." MK: "Yeah..." Ne Zha: "I fear Monkey King was right. The Samadhi Fire is the best chance we have at stopping her, the fool never should have take off on his own."

Ne Zha: "Let's make this quick- get in, get Monkey King, and regroup with the others." MK: "Wait! What if- what if Monkey King is better off without us? What if we just get in his way?"

Ne Zha: "I've known Sun Wukong a long time—he is not the loner he pretends to be. He seems important to you-"

Ne Zha: "-So I can only assume you are as equally important to him. If there's anyone he needs right now—it's you." MK: "Get in, get Monkey King, get out." Ne Zha: "That's right."

(3x11 This Imperfect World)

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Anon, you are so correct.

So, there are actually a couple of parallels here. One, you have the clear Mei and MK parallel (both asking their "what if" questions) with Red Son and Ne Zha offering support (putting a reassuring hand on the other's shoulder). However, there's ALSO a Mei to SWK parallel—Sun Wukong both fails everyone and loses control by the end of the episode, getting possessed by LBD:

Which is then followed by Mei eventually getting kidnapped, failing everyone, and losing control:

So then later in EYD, you have Red Son going to get through to Mei, and MK going to get through to SWK. (Though, SWK gaining control through MK's supports leads to Mei losing control, just like how in 3x10 Mei gaining semi-control of her powers through MK's support leads to SWK running off and then losing control of himself.).

Which, all of this contributes to their Chaos/Freedom VS Control/Imprisonment conflict that's been going on.

And it's also interesting, because Mei has kinda been like...following in MK's footsteps when it comes to her arc.

"I know what it's like to have a power you don't know how to control—to feel like the fate of the world is in your hands, and you have no idea what to do!" (Which, this is MK's experiences during s1-2), and then in s4 Mei loses her sword in 4x05 ("How am I supposed to protect everyone without my sword?" "A sword is powerless, without the hand that wields it", which was basically what MK experienced in s3 after he lost his staff)(There's also the "fakin' it until you makin' it" parallel). But, in a similar vein I think MK is following in Mei's footsteps for certain parts of his arc, (Our beloved 3x10 and 4x08 parallel, Red Son training Mei in 3x11 is similar to Macaque helping MK in 4x10, Mei with the Samadhi fire being the best chance against LBD like MK was their best chance against Azure, also look at this here).

I need to sort more of my own thoughts out on this, but currently this is how I feel:

[imminent-danger-came]

Are there any clear parallels between Mei and Macaque other than they are/were the 'hero‘s closest friend'?

Like- MK and Wukong have similar storybeats and personality traits.

Same with Mei and Wukong.

(Even Azure and Mei have parallels. Containers for power. Azure‘s sword inspired her to make her own. There was a scene where they had the same battle ready pose. Azure‘s goal was to use the power of the emperor for something good, Mei thinks that power should be used for good whenever possible. Azure‘s first priority was trying to reunite the brotherhood, friends/family are very important to him too. Both willing to make sacrifices -like Wukong- to save the world, though Azure‘s method was admittedly less permanent than outright killing him.)

But other than the "Ugh, this guy." Facepalm Mei and Macaque did (at Ao Lie and Monkey King) in season 4, nothing springs to mind for me for this particular pair.

Macaque is cautious, Mei is the polar opposite of that. Macaque acts out of his own interest for the most part, for Mei, her friends (and the world) are priority.

Even looking at younger Macaque, from what little we‘ve seen, he was bit of a grouch, grumbling and half heartedly rolling his eyes at Wukong‘s antics. Whereas Mei is right there alongside MK being silly and goofing off.

(I‘m sorry for dragging the Warrior/Hero stuff back to the table, but with how often Mei is labeled as the Warrior in the fandom I would have thought there‘d be more. So I was wondering if I am just not very observant 😅)

First of all: never apologize for bringing up the Hero and the Warrior motif! I'd also like to thank you for your other thoughts, Azure and Mei parallels are always delicious.

Second of all: to quote my own Hero and Warrior meta, (mainly because I'm too lazy to rewrite anything):

"We know that the Warrior is someone who follows the hero, someone who is the moon to the Hero’s sun, someone who loves and looks up to the Hero. In this sense, the role of the Warrior is completely defined by the role of the Hero. [...] During the night, the Warrior is the moon that brings light to the world in the sun’s absence."

So, in regards to Mei being a Warrior to MK's Hero, I'd say she fits the bill pretty perfectly! "Together, there was nothing that could stop the two of them", and together MK and Mei are always going to be able to "figure it out". Even when MK isn't there or they're separated (particularly in 4x10), Mei and the gang are still going to step in and try and help (or be that light when the hero is absent).

Moving on: Mei and Macaque parallels.

I think the way Mei is treated by MK in s1-3 is reminiscent of both how Wukong treats MK during s2 and how Wukong treated Macaque in the past. MK ignores Mei—often letting his own reach for power affect his relationship with her, especially in episodes 1x06, 2x03, 2x06, and 3x03 (and honestly even 2x02). I'll just put shit MK does to Mei over Macaque dialogue lol:

Macaque: "Still the same Wukong—doing whatever he wants with no regard for others!" (3x14 Destiny Fulfilled)

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Macaque: "Look Wukong, I get you're excited, I do! But- crossing the Jade Emperor's going to have consequences—aaannnd you're not even listening." (4x02 New Adventures) (Thank you 2x03 for stating that MK doesn't listen outright. We owe you a lot.)

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Macaque: "Wukong didn't think so—he always felt he had to be stronger, more immortal." (4x11 A Lifetime of Mistakes)

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Hopefully that demonstrates my point!

I'm also banking on whatever went down between Wukong and Macaque paralleling 3x10 (Ending with SWK choosing to leave Macaque while MK refused to leave Mei), but we'll have to see!

Ultimately however, I'd say that rather than parallels, Mei and Macaque are foils. They have some similarities, but there are also a lot of key differences between these two characters. Like anon mentioned, Macaque is cautious while Mei is foolhardy, Macaque looks out for himself while Mei works to protect others, Macaque prefers to watch and wait while Mei believes in taking action, Macaque turned against Wukong when Mei could never turn against MK.

But, in that same vein, I think they're in the process of becoming more like each other. Mei is learning to slow down and focus, to "harness the wild energies and emotions burning within" her—essentially to be more cautious. Macaque on the other hand is learning how to be a team player, and is starting to put himself on the line for other people:

While MK and Wukong have always been pretty similar/have made similar mistakes, it's interesting to watch their counterparts slowly become more like one another, but instead with their virtues.

Speaking of, Macaque's 2x07 line-

"As time went on, the hero obtained power beyond comprehension. As the hero’s light grew, so too did his shadow—and soon, the Warrior was cast into that shadow."

-has uh, started to worry me, mainly because I'd say that now, post-s4 MK has quite literally obtained power beyond comprehension:

And while 3x10 will always be important because of MK's choice to stay by Mei, I wonder if we're due for another ultimatum where MK doesn't make that right choice (*cough cough* he leaves in 4x08 mainly because he's afraid of hurting the people he cares about—something that is going to come back later *cough cough*). Or perhaps it's a role reversal, where Mei and the Gang have to decide whether or not to "abandon" MK (aka destroy the "harbinger of chaos", al la 3x04 Macaque Flashback).

[imminent-danger-came]

hi not exactly an ask i just wanted to talk about how much i absolutely love the hero and the warrior motif and how it relate to sun wukong-macaque-mei-mk because the hero and the warrior are so clearly wukong and macaque respectively but mei and mk bleed onto both the hero and the warrior like the story sets mk up as the hero and mei as the warrior but it also hints that mk is the warrior and mei is the hero. sun wukong and mk are alike and so are mei and macaque but mei and sun wukong are also alike and same with mk and macaque yet despite this mei and mk are so distinctly them at the same time they're not wukong and macaque they're mei and mk, they're themselves but they also parallel and echo wukong and macaque it's just aaaa i love it so much i really do i think about mk wanting to get stronger in the earlier seasons but then not wanting anything to change in the more recent seasons i think about wukong saying he's training to be more powerful for macaque and their wish and then i think about mei saying she'll do anything to protect her friends it makes me feel sick but in a good way??? i can talk about the 4 of them for ages they make me ill

God I know!

This is the lmk writers with all of us I think:

If we had a Mei hero and MK warrior moment in s5 I don't think I could ask for much else.

[imminent-danger-came]

FIRE BY KIMYA DAWSON IS SOOOO SAMADHI FIRE MEI CODED PLUS HER DYNAMIC WITH MK ANS WUKONG

HOLY SHIT

It seemed like everyone I knew was dying I looked in the mirror & I was on fire Somebody yelled out, "Hey, stop, drop & roll!" I said, "That might save my skin, but it won't save my soul" That might save my skin, but it won't save my soul [...] He says he's protecting us, but he's a liar & I know deep down that it's down to the wire My heart will stop if I put out the fire As long as I'm burning, I'll keep on yearning to save the world (not sure how, but I'm learning)

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