#All I need is to make a more in depth Macaque and then figure out One: The time frame for them to remain captured

[estellardreams]

Some Prisoner Trio related stuff that idk where else to put.

First was actually a scrapped two parter because I literally didn't know where I was going with this. I think I was gonna go down the idea of "King Red gets so sick of TT Red resisting that he just starts flat out scarring him however he could (my first thought went to ice ocean water)" but then I just... Forgot. Oops.

Second... Post Prisoner Trio. These three are SCARRED. And this is only scratching the surface, quite literally.

If you had to base the time frame these three were under... My mind instantly went to at least two years under King Red. And YIKES did it get brutal.

Unsurprisingly Macaque got the least amount of damage. Sure the fillet became an issue from time to time but he usually did the work. Meanwhile Wukong and Red continuously resisted, and since King Red probably hates Wukong WAY MORE than his past self, especially after the monkey king killed his parents, then suffice to say he took most of his brutality out on the stone monkey.

And third... A small assortment of doodles. Including timers on the longest each has had their fillet activated.

Red once got three days, to the degree his body went numb to the pain and headache.

Wukong had the wreck of an entire WEEK to deal with. Absolutely sucked.

And Macaque only got an entire day once due to legitimately covering for Wukong so the two wouldn't get caught after purposefully sabotaging one of the King's devices. Wukong still took the fall for it, but for being the accomplice he still got a pretty extreme punishment.

And for the small doodle of TT Red trying to sleep... Well, I remembered that one ask I read on TT Red indulging in very cutesy stuff to not make himself like King Red. And while stuck in their current position he had an extremely hard time sleeping through the pain.

So... Wukong, knowing full well that the object couldn't be used to break them out but would still be quite "embarrassing" for someone like King Red to have around in his fortress, decided to grant TT Red's request of receiving something cutesy to help him sleep through the night.

That just so happened to be a Fluttershy doll (mlp looks so cutesy doesn't it? Also if Red probably had to choose his favorite would've most likely been between Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle. But Fluttershy is absolutely NOT who he sees himself relating to (he actually does but doesn't know it) and chose that pony in particular. It's also the most soft looking main character there is).

[DKR and TT Red belong to @purble-turble]

[hcdragonwrites]

Tangled Love

(A @semisolidmind Drabble)

Ok! I ran this by Semi before I posted just because I know absolutely nothing about LMK (except the animation can be so pretty!) just so I could get their characters down. I hope you all like it !

She just wanted to escape- both from this place and from her own mind tonight.

The ghosts of memories were walking and she had no distractions to chase them away.

Peaches walked the cool cavern halls of Water- Curtain Cave, her feet echoing in the depths. The sandals she wore and the ornamental clothing she had been thrown into made her scalp prickle and her skin itch. It was too much- but the attendants wouldn’t hear a thing about it.

She had to look the part of Queen.

Peaches, in the absence of the Lord of the mountain and his right hand and sword, was the remaining voice of authority.

To a point.

Finishing with courtly duties and listening in on behalf of her husbands wasn't a huge chore. The two of them rarely left at the same time however. If one was called away the other would remain. Or Peaches herself would be brought along.

This time however she hadn’t been.

It was the first time in ten years.

She had just this night- just this moment of reprieve and she would make the most of it. Or so she thought. Instead, she was fighting something that reared its head and struck her nerves like a asp.

However she wasn’t alone quite yet. As she rounded the corner and came to golden lacquered doors of her bedchamber - their bedchamber- she paused.

“Will that be all my queen?” One of the attending retinue of her guard asked. It was a guard her husbands insisted upon whenever both were away from home- a set of seven of the most battle scarred simians Peaches had ever seen.

They were tasked and sworn with following her everywhere - to the dining hall, to the throne room. If she wished to go and sit among the apple trees and listen to the wind play over the mountain grasses her guard would double in size. Peaches tried to not cause the denizens of Flower fruit mountain any more problems or stressors by going outside when both the King and his Brother in arms were away on a war path.

Her husbands.

It’s what they titled themselves now, after a decade of the terrible start they had on their relationship with her. When she had met the two, they had been just tiny monkeys. A sly looking ginger and gold monkey who had loved to cling to her arms and a dark black furred monkey that brought her fruits and almonds from the wild.

My sweet boys.

They had been her monkeys back then- the little prankster angels she had thought were just simple beasts, trying to survive out in the world.

She had been wrong.

The decision to upend her life, she guessed, had been floated around for months between the two disguised demons as they ate her fruit and enjoyed her touches. It was a mutual one that both had decided was the best option for her.

She took a steadying breath, coming back to the present. Peaches wanted a chance to be alone. Something so rare she craved it like a man in a desert craved water.

“Yes, general. I think I’ll retire early for the day.” She smiled at the monkey who dipped his body into a bow. The gleam of his armor set the flickers of a memory brewing. Fire in the trees, the smell of iron on the wind and a figure among the debris. She shook her head to dislodge it. The rest of them weren’t awful to her. Her husbands weren’t awful to her. They had just ….

Taken away her decisions.

“Very well Queen.” Peaches flinched, unable to quite stomach the title and what that truly meant. If I am queen then why am I without choices? “If you need us call us.”

She turned the handle in the door and slipped in side with as much grace as she could muster.

Peaches closed the ornamental doors to the bedroom, resting her head against the door. Steady. Deep breaths. In through her nose out through her mouth.

The illusion of a paradise that Wukong had built and Macaque helped facilitate always lost its color and believability when they were away. They couldn’t feed her the sugared lies and candied perceptions to tamp back the memories of that night.

It had been just another night on the small farm - a June night of heat and singing cicadas- of windows wide open and Peaches trying to escape that heat. There wasn’t much she could do to escape it. The moisture clung to her and made her bedding stick and clog her nose. So on these nights she stayed up, usually with a candle or the moon to illuminate her night, and read.

The knock on the door was not something typical.

The memory was rising and she couldn’t hold it back. I have to ride it out. Survive it.

Like she had survived that night. Getting visitors in the dead of the night had been unconventional- and she remembered the feeling of being perturbed. Don’t answer it, she told the memory. But this was the past and ghosts of the past didn’t change their course.

She had closed her book, had stepped down the hall to the door and had opened it.

I should have called through- told him to stay away! I should have never left my bed or my book.

It was a drunk man. A fellow farm hand called in for one of the families to help bring in a harvest that had proved too bountiful for the immediate family to handle. Peaches could see the man before her eyes, smell the reek of him.

A drunk.

“Well ain’t it the village spinster! Whaaa da pretty thing you are!” He was a cloud of bitter rice wine, of too much sake on his breath. The intensity of it had a physical effect on her memory and in the present, Peaches wrinkled her nose.

“You should go home Sir.” She had told him- tried to close the door.

His foot moved faster and his hands had caught the door.

A wild set of emotions swept through her. She had to sit her body down, thankful she had been able to get away from the other monkeys before the memory seized her like a vice. They would have been in a panic over her and she couldn’t let their little hearts worry so. There was nothing they could do to stop the remembering.

It was his fault this all happened. It was His. He didn’t have to be drunk and show up at my home- he didn’t have to shove his way into my house and try and grab me.

But he was just a single man. Did his actions warrant the destruction that happened next ?

“Get out!” Her memory self cried. The wooden table she danced behind as the drunk stumbled and moved towards her, was her only shield.

“The Boys Said you prefer the company of wild animals …” his speech was hard to hear. The wine had made him bold, stupid, and aroused it seemed. “I thought I would give you mtaste of what a real man was, since the villagers are al’ ‘fraid of your Witchery with monkeys.”

She had run- she had thrown her things at him. It was probably the commotion of her breaking a pitcher over his head that had alerted her monkeys. The loud clatter of the pottery across the floor had sounded so sharp and final. It had only made the man more determined.

The drunk when he did get his hands on her was furious. He swung a fist and sent stars into her eyes. Peaches had clung like a wildcat to her conscious, kicking out with legs and swinging with fists. Her nose was full of the sour smell of him- had felt his hands and fought them. A kick to his groin had sent him wheezing. Another fist to her head had Peaches crying. She had stared that drunk in his mean little eyes as he whispered the terrible things he wanted to do to her.

She had been staring in those eyes when he died.

He never got to touch more than her arms that night.

Peaches heard something step through the door that had been left open to the night. She had heard the creak of her house as something walked within it. And the sound of something- like a water skin being popped and a splash of warm liquid against her belly had shocked her.

The Drunks eyes went wide with confusion, rolling horselike in his head. His bruising grip on her wrist had let go. In the present, She rubbed those wrists, the phantom pains hard.

“..mah… belly.” The drunk had mumbled then belched a bucket of blood onto the floor. Peaches could see something protruding from his middle- something long and thin like a stick. Or a staff.

Clawed hands pulled the head back and twisted with a fury. The sound of bones breaking was loud, as if a fire was consuming dry wood. The drunk crumbled in those hands like a puppet cut free of its strings.

A new stranger stood in her home, his frame large and broad and most assuredly not human. He tossed the body like someone would toss a rag across the floor. The glowing eyes in the sudden dark were all she could see. Her mind, even in its heightened adrenaline drenched state, recognized the face pattern, saw a familiarity in the fur. There was, in fact, still a little flower tucked against this demonic creatures ear. The same flower she had interwoven in her forest friend's fur that afternoon.

“Your… your my…”

Nerves and the come down from the adrenaline high we’re making speech hard. The monkey demon before her, who’s eyes seemed to spit fire, softened. Just a bit.

“You are my Peaches.” Wukong said, touching her hair, her face, her hands. Taking stock. Then he had taken those limp hands and threaded them through his fur, trying to get them to grip. It would help his own rage and calm her fear. It was thick in the air, ruining the natural sweet smell she had. That and the slab of flesh on the floors own fetid death scent.

Wukong was not the best at this - this comfort thing. But he would rise to the occasion. He would try for her.

Fury and rage made his tail lash and the fur along his neck to stand on end.

At first she had just been a simple human that would leave little offerings to him and his brother in arms. An oddity here in the shadow of his mountain. Most humans around here feared the monkeys and kept away from all of them, having a legend that if one was harmed a great calamity would befall them.

Wukong didn’t mind being that calamity. These were his people, his subjects. So hearing the chatter from some of his kind that a women had begun to leave out gifts had of course spiked the Kings curiosity. The humans beneath Flower Fruit Mountain were his lesser subjects. So he had come down from the mountain, disguising himself as a smaller and more approachable sized monkey, to see the fuss his subjects had started gossiping about at groomings. Only to see his brother, Macaque, already being petted and tended and kissed on each of his six ears.

Of course first impressions had been terrible and Wukong, used to getting the first pick of everything, had come screeching into the clearing and demanding his own pets. It had set off a very small and very mock little battle between the two brothers in arms. One that had Peaches separating them and scolding them as she patched up the little scratches they had taken from eachother. They could have each resisted her pull but both decided that play acting a fight, even if it had started as a bit of one, was the best way to get attention divided between the both of them.

Wukong hadn’t expected to become infatuated. Her name didn’t matter to him- he had rebranded her almost the instant she came to him and offered a smile and held out a handful of sugar and dates. Peaches. After the Kings own favorite fruit, the sweetest thing the mountain produced.

His Peaches.

Of course also Macaques. He shared everything with his brother, the dark furred and six eared demon who had faced battles and won wars besides Wukong. While Wukong had been more leery, Peaches won him over faster than Flower Wine loosened his rigid posture. They had both fallen for this mortal women. And, in the traditional way she belonged to them. She just didn’t know it yet. They had touched and groomed and cuddled and tangled limbs and tails. They were practically married without the marriage bit.

Wukong rubbed small circles into Peaches back, trying to keep himself from bearing his teeth in rage.

I should have taken her home the moment she kissed me.

They had been kisses of the kind one gives to a friend or pet. It had left the warlord craving more burning with more.

Of wanting to feel her give him more than just a chaste kiss on the side of his face.

She wouldn’t have been hurt if he had just taken her home.

Wukong and Macaque had taken to one or both spending the night in Peaches trees, to keep an eye on her. Wukongs obsession had grown into a fascination and warm buttery love. A love that was becoming a wild inferno as he fought to stay still and not leap upon the corpse he had made and turn it into nothing but bits of flesh and gore the crows could carry away.

His Peaches fingers finally grasped his fur and shook. It brought Wukong back from his montage of rage to the present. If only Mac was here — but he wasn’t. He was back at home on Flower Fruit mountain , giving his brother the night to enjoy and keep lookout at Peaches den.

“That’s my girl.” The demon tried to soothe. He really wished he could set Peaches down and finish off what he had started. This place had been bad. This village terrible. He hated every thing and one here that had dared to let a drunken fool up to his Peaches doorstep and allowed this to happen. In reality Wukong was mad it had been Mac’s own sense of importance on taking it slow and letting a little thing like a life outside of Flower Fruit Mountain stop him from from revealing who he was and taking her home.

I am done trying to woo her over slowly. They could have lost her this night if Wukong hadn’t been in earshot, hadn’t heard the crash of something breaking. His clawed hands wrapped around her back and beneath her legs. Before he could realize it, Wukong had her up and in his arms, already stepping on and across the corpse and out into the June air. Mine.

“Let’s get you home, lovely.” Wukongs voice was thick with emotion. Relief to finally, finally, finally have an excuse to take his wife home, to see her sleep in a real bed and eat real food made his heart swell. No more pretending. No more longing. It was happening now. Simmering beneath that emotion was the sweet bubble, the red misting rage, of violence. Once he got her home, got her safe, got her tangled within some of his and Macaques blankets to where the sour smell of fear would be lost within the scent of them- he could come back. He would come back.

He would destroy the village for being the obstacle it was in his conquest for this mortal girls heart. It was in itself, a relief to know he was justified in its destruction.

Look what this place did to bruise my sweet fruit.

Peaches was shaking. Clinging to him. I would have her cling to me always. He pressed his nose into her neck, breathing in as he walked off. She smelled so good. He rubbed his face to hers, affectionately smothering her fear scent. Wukong felt a smile curl his face. Finally. We can go home and put the charade to bed. Finally you are mine.

Peaches' memory of that night was mostly of clinging to Wukong as they flew through the air, of his voice a rumble of soft words and comforts. He was holding her close, pressing her in. Smothering her in a sense. But she needed it. She clung to it in a way to stop herself from being sick from fright. It was strange but familiar to hold this fur, to cling. Then she briefly remembered another voice, another set of hands. When she looked up and saw that her sweet dark monkey was also here, had also been a demon in disguise, something broke in her. Maybe hysteria. Maybe disbelief. Or maybe she knew, somewhere in her mind, that no matter what she said now wouldn’t save the people- the innocents- in her village.

Peaches had been transferred into the dark arms and THATS where she finally began to cry. The shock was fading and leaving behind ragged holes of emotion.

“Safe, you're safe now.” She was reassured. Hands had lifted her chin, her sweet little monkey- now a demonic one- was gently beginning to sponge away the blood from the cuts on her face. Her cheek swelled, her eye with it.

“Please don’t kill them.” She begged. “He already took care of the one who hurt me don’t kill my village.”

“Hush love…”

“Please!”

Silence. Something cold pressed to her face- a bit of snow from far up the mountain wrapped in cloth. Macaques ears twitched like flower petals in the night air.

“It’s already done. The village is already gone.”

The memory rode itself out in the present and faded slowly.

Guilt washed over her and she cried all for a new reason. She had been the catalyst for Sun Wukongs fury. She had been the decider to his want of destruction. Peaches may not have killed them, may have had a decade to realize that what had happened wasn’t her fault, but Wukong had done it in her name. He had erased that village and all its people like a cartographer reshapes a map. To all the rest of the world, their had never been a village in the shadow of Flower fruit mountain. Not a foundation, not a brick, not even a spare hair, was left of humanity there. Instead it had been cleared as if a fire had swept through. Peaches had seen it on one occasion when Wukong had been persuaded to show her. She had needed closure. Needed the peace.

Once she had healed she had been told her village was gone. She had been given a sweet lie- that Wukong had gone back and the villagers related to the drunk had been ransacking her house to see where she kept the money or any spare wine.

When Wukong had shown up demanding they answer to the crime committed in her home, they had attacked. Wukong had enacted a king's justice as was his right. He had told the remaining villagers to leave- to never set foot upon his domain again for the lawlessness that had been enacted upon their neighbor.

It had taken two years for her to be able to relax whenever he came in smelling of fire and iron. It had taken a few years more for her to remember what Macaque had said when he had pressed snow to her face.

They were the same little monkeys they had been before. But now they had less innocence when they pressed into her face for kisses, when they asked to tangle and cuddle limbs. They insisted she stay in the bedchamber and not move to her own separate room.

It had taken getting used to movement beside her as a hand tugged her hair, or a tale twined her waist. Or a leg curled with hers or hands holding her face. Sometimes in the dark Mac would press his head to her back, using her as a pillow. Wukong would yank her in when he thought her too sleepy to remember and whisper all the things he loved about her.

It would have been sweet. It was touching in a way. If not for the way they revealed themselves. If not for that memory and what she knew now had come after.

It had not taken too long after that for her to start realizing that, though Wukong had saved her, neither of them had any regret of what happened. Neither of them was going to let her go.

When she asked about it or started talking of missing her home- the simple living, the ability to really on herself and choose for herself- Wukong would laugh and launch into one of his tales. He would brush her hair with his claws, run his face against hers and try and deflect her attention to new things.

Macaque, if Wukong was absent, would let her talk. Usually it happened when he asked her to brush his fur or he in turn asked to brush her hair. Peaches thought, just a bit, that the reason Mac was better at listening was for all the ears he had. Each time however, when she got to the part about how this had been her fault, he would stop mid way through a braid or pin and pull her in. Macaque would kiss the tears from her eyes, would press himself close to her chest.

“It was Never your fault Peaches.”

“I remember. I remember he went back- you said he—“

“Hush love you’ll grow hysterical. What Wukong did was justified- he defended you.”

“He killed.”

“I have killed.” He kissed her temple, gentle in his reprimands. He wouldn’t try and brush her words beneath a rug like Wukong. Instead he gave her a smile as wide as the crescent moon. “Let’s finish your hair and get you dressed. We can go see the baby’s, I know how you love the baby’s.” Baby monkeys were her weakness. They had been what led to her loving Mac before she had known he was a demonic warlord.

Peaches rubbed at her eyes and stood, the sorrow in her heart heavy still but the tears at least had stopped. Now she was just tired. Tired and cold and wanting to escape the feeling of it all. So she shed her courtly attire. All the clips and jewels and baubles and bits felt heavy. She placed them within the box at her armoire, then loosened her hair from its bindings. Jade pins, pearl necklaces, golden bracelets with bells of silver (Wukong loved this the best of all) all glimmered back in the firelight.

A pretty price.

She snapped the box closed.

On nights like this, she wanted to wear nothing but her smock, her simple clothing, and bury herself as far as she could go into the bed she shared with her husbands.

It was more of a pit set into the ground, circular in nature. Silken pillows, red sheets and a hoard of anything plush and furred had been thrown into the pit. It was also a snug place to bury herself within and one of the few things she didn’t feel resentment too right away. When the outside felt too bright and she couldn’t go about the mountain to her usual quiet places, she would retire here. To burrow, to bury, to hide.

Peach fell back into the pit of blankets and pillows and pulled herself beneath a fur of some striped monster Macaque had skinned and gifted to her. Tonight the bitter truth was hard to swallow and did circles in her head.

You did this. You caused this. You killed them. This is your fault.

She closed her eyes and hoped … hoped for what might be the worst thing yet. Her husband's return.

A time later she stirred. Something was in her room- was walking to the bed. Peaches felt a flutter of fear before hands reached into her hiding place and simply slid her out.

“Hello darling.” The silken voice belonged to none other than Macaque. His clawed hands entwined around her waist, his teeth nipping at her ear. “You are up late.”

“Does that mean it will be a late morning?” Wukongs voice came from the other side of the room. Peaches could see the ginger monkey removing armor from his shoulders and stretching. As the darker brother kept making a snack of her shoulder, Peaches noticed that the shine of Wukongs paldrom was dimmed. Something black coated the golden imprint of sunbursts across its armored surface. “I love late mornings! Means more time together.”

Blood?

“Peaches?” She turned her head, trying to see Mac. He had left off nipping her skin. A hand came away from her wrist and tipped her chin, forcing her to stare directly into his violet eyes. “What has upset you?”

Everything. Myself. Wukong. You. It was that simple question that set her sorrow to flowing again. She was confused, upset, and she wanted comfort. The only ones who could give her comfort were the very ones who caused her distress.

A vicious cycle.

The pillows behind her sagged. Wukongs hands were more aggressive in their touches, turning her about to stare into her face. He noted the tears, the bruising beneath her eyes. His lip curled in anger.

“Has someone upset you?” Wukong asked. He seemed ready to stand again, to grab his armor and step out into the night. “I will drag them here to give an apology. You name them and I will fetch them.”

Peaches shook her head.

“Just ….” You killing the villagers, Macaque telling me plainly that it was for the best, and my own head making me relive that night of events. Over and over and over.

“…. Myself.”

His face softened as he chirped a reassurance, pressing his nose to hers. Macaque peppered her in gentle and butterfly soft kisses to the back of her neck. The three fell back into the nest, limbs entwined and hands holding. Macaque had Peaches face buried in his chest as she sobbed silently. He cooed. He whispered how everything would be right as rain in the morning. His hands ran through her hair and messaged her scalp. Wukong held his Peaches, pressing her back to his chest in a solid wall against the world outside. He lavished her in praises and compliments, sometimes getting carried away and talking about himself until his brother would remind him with a flick to his forehead that it was their Peaches he should be reassuring.

And through it all, through this twisted and tangled weave of limbs and fur and warmth and sorrow, Peaches felt love. It grew in this dark place still, wanting to thrive. But how could it?

Still she fell asleep, lashes sparkled with tears and her heart lighter. One could only be sad so long in the wake of such waves of attention. Wukongs and Macaques love was the only solution to this ailment they had inflicted upon her, and she, the addict, swallowing the medicine that would give her release.

[chykd5de]

So, I'm going to put this into multiple parts this is just the world building. I'll post the actual story and character designs seperatly.

Sorry if this is still a bit blocky.

JTTW: mid century au

Trigger warning for: torture kidnapping and technically police brutality

The story follows a similar storyline than the original journey to the west but it happens somewhere around 1950-2000.

The exact date is unclear for a few reasons:

So that I don't have to be specific when it comes to outfit and technology's

They dont have phones but they do have cars and commercial planes

They can have tasers (yes that is important.)

I don't know what would be better advanced (or less advanced) if humans had access to magic

Monkey king can be responsible for 9/11

Demon-human relations (and the h.p.a)

There are also a few differences to how demons-human relations work.

Demons live with humans but they need a 'birth certificate' documenting their heritage and their powers.

This is basically so it's easier to arrest them if they do something stupid.

And to make sure no demons are powerful enough to destroy the world.

RedBoy isnt an exception, nobody is aware he's able to use the samadi fire. (Not even him) And if it comes out then he would definitely be in a lot of trouble.

All demons have 'war forms' however most aren't very powerful. Being in a war form greatly increase their power so demons with stronger powers (like the samadi fire, control over things like stars and mountains and being able to move large body's of water are only possible when in war form.)

Of course there is a special 'police force' for demons called the H.P.A (monkey king pronounces it hoopa to piss them off.)

This special police force takes in most the unregistered demons and makes them work for them.

Most of the demons don't mind working for them, it's better than being murdered by angry villagers.

However they do have spells, tasers and simple chains at their disposal if any thing bad happens.

The celestial primates

The celestial primates also work a bit differently in the sense that they're all actually important for once.

(I will go more in depth with images in a later post (I haven't drawn them yet))

All the celestial primates are born from some kind of natural disaster (earthquake, hurricane, volcanic eruption, and tsunami). They are also all naturally slightly more resilient than your average demon and are slightly harder to kill.

They all still have their usual powers but they also have some additional ones that are related to how they were born.

The red-buttocked horse monkey is the oldest and most sensible, she was born from the ocean and washed up during a tsunami. She has some mild control over water, as well as all of the usual stuff she has power over. She lives with h.p.a willingly but isn't aware that they sometimes use violence against the demons.

The long armed gibbon is dead. Macaque accidentally killed him when discovering his war form. He was born from a volcano and the main thing he does is track down runaway monsters that are disguising themselves amoungst humans.

The six eared Macaque was born from a tornado, however the tornado slowly grew stronger and larger leading some to believe it was a hurricane. The h.p.a shot him out of the sky with a harpoon, meaning he was born slightly premature. He was tortured by the h.p.a almost his whole childhood as they tried to figure out how to control him, since he was very energetic and refused to be controlled. (The h.p.a doesn't immediately resort to tasers and chains but since Macaque refused to co-operate they eventually resorted to keeping him sedated forcefully.)

The intelligent stone monkey is impulsive and often comes off as stupid for rushing into things however in reality he plans out most of his attacks and is great at planning things under pressure, most of his mistakes are simply his hubris getting to him. He was still born from the stone and had small chunks of rock stuck in his hands and feet, these do change slowly over time and after he is removed from the mountain they appear to be covered in small crystals. He is almost completly impenetrable on his arms, legs and head and is also a pretty heavy hitter. He is still seven times immortal.

(unlike in journey to the west wukong isnt well known by average demons and only the celestial warrior are aware of his power)

The intelligent stone monkey also known as the monkey king is still the main character, but since I haven't read journey to the west most of what i have planned out is the prequal which would be just before and in the first four chapters of the journey to the west.

This is a lot longer than I was expecting it to be. Sorry.

(The reason why there is so many seemingly unrelated tags is because they all inspired this au, so I figured I'd include them)

[i-am-a-fan]

I am once again asking about legos

Okay imma use this as an excuse to just dump all my thoughts about lego monkie kid at the moment (please keep in mind that my memory is terrible and i haven’t watched the show in a couple of months)

1. I think Mk has horrible depth perception. I have a whole silly little headcannon that i fleshed out with @spoofyleaf (go follow them btw) and it got me thinking that if Mk’s statue only has one eye, but they have two, then it’s more like an illusion. and their right eye is actually blind. They’ve never figured it out because they just assumed that’s how the world is.

2. There’s the whole hero and the warrior comparison with Wukong and Macauqe to Mei and Mk right? And depending on how you view it Mk can either be the hero or the warrior.

I think this perspective kinda falls flat because, while yeah they have very similar parallels, The show is about change and learning how to trust those around you while also learning to be yourself. It’s a show about identity and how people can easily get caught up in idols or mistakes and make themselves only that. It’s about second chances and new beginnings. So I doubt that the writers will take it in that direction.

HOWEVER. i’m team Mk is the warrior. While Mk is the face man, Mk is wayyyyy more hesitant now to do any real hero work, Mei streams her hero work. She’s already powerful. But I think she can stand by herself without Mk. Mk needs Mei.

SEASON 4 SPOILERS AFTER THIS———

Think about Macaque and the brotherhood. Wukong must have been constantly leaving macaque to go train, get stronger, or create mischief, but i doubt macaque ever did anything for himself. I think he was only in the brotherhood because WUKONG was there. Even after Wukong left with the pilgrims in the flashback scene, Macaque defends Wukong. In the story it’s the Hero that leaves, not the warrior. And time and time again it’s Mk who’s trying to keep everyone together.

It makes more sense to me that the warrior is the one struggling with their identity while the hero struggles to keep up with theirs. If that makes sense.

The hero has an identity that they need to live up to.

The warrior has a shadow they need to create an identity from.

3. THE LADY BONE DEMON CALLED MK MONKIE IN THE LITTLE ENDING SPEECH. HOW DID I NOT SEE SEASON FOUR COMING. LIKE WHAT.

You’re telling me that she KNEW the whole time.

Like. that would make sense as to why she’d want MK either gone or on her team then.

I doubt that it’s an insult too. Because she can read Mk’s thoughts and choose a really devastating insult, so why monkey? I think it’s more like boiling him down to only that part of his identity.

4. If you made it this far, I’m sorry for not drawing as much. I haven’t had motivation to actually draw any fan art and I’d rather not get burn out rn. Thank you all for your patience :>

[cloud-somersault]

I've been following this fic since the start, and reading each chapter. We are so incredibly lucky to be enjoying this series at all, let alone for free. I appreciate all the work you’ve put in a lot of effort to create something that brought so much joy to so many people. Thank you so much for writing and remember you don’t owe us anything because you are incredibly talented and impeccable, and this story has me in a chokehold like no other and I would be more than happy to read more about what you have planned for this series.

It's great that your fics inspire such strong emotions in people because these characters are very nuanced and have a lot of depth and reasoning behind their actions, but sometimes it seems really hard for readers to remember, before writing any critique, that we have a lot more information than the characters in the story. We can see the same event from the perspective of different characters and even hear their internal monologues. But characters are limited to what they themselves can figure out, so of course they will make mistakes and do things that don't make sense at first glance. Sorry to hear you’re dealing with some drama in the comments. Hope you’re taking care of yourself! I know that must be pretty stressful, so maybe stepping away from a series for a while and then coming back later is a good choice. Your stories are completely worth the wait. Have a nice day or night! ❤

Thank you for sticking with this fic and this AU from the start! It's almost been 2 years. Thank you for reading and enjoying. I really appreciate that!!

That's very true. We, as the readers, have SO MUCH INFORMATION compared to the characters themselves. The only person who knows more is me, the author. And, something else I think is forgotten so much in this fandom in general is that Wukong and Macaque are immortal beings. The things that hurt us physically? Do not hurt them. The things that we think are egregious and out of this world? Are not to them. They have fought monsters and all that; they don't care about a quick squabble. They also know magic. We have to put all of that into context because, yes, in the real world, their fights and everything would be seen as wrong and dangerous. To them, though? Who have seen and been through so much? They don't have that same threshold that we do. I incorporate that into my writing.

And yes, the characters will do things that don't make sense! They will do things that will make you go "Aw, hell. This is gonna blow up in his face later." That's the entire point of fiction. Is seeing these characters grow and change or even fail to grow and change in some aspects.

That's also something we need to keep in mind. These are immortal beings. It takes them more time to understand something or learn a lesson or unlearn a toxic behavior compared to mortals who only live for so long. Wukong is nearly 4,000 years old; it's gonna take some time for some lessons to stick.

But thank you very much for sharing your opinion and kindness. I am defineitely going to take a step back once the epilogue is finished. I was going to stop here, at chapter 12, but I don't want to do that for my own personal reasons. I want it to be finished and in one place so that I can read it without opening a 300 page google doc and crashing my phone. It's mostly for ease of access right now.

But thank you!! Thanks for sticking with me. If you've been here since the start, wowie, you've seen it all. Thanks for seeing it through to the end with me. 💖

[chaozsilhouette]

A Father’s Love

Another piece for @winterpower98's Swap Au.

I don’t really have a time frame for this scene, but with all the horror MK has had to endure in this AU I couldn’t help myself. I just needed a bit of fluff to break up my writing. Plus, I am all for Tang showing just how much he loves MK and being a protective father figure.

The poor boy needs a break, but we all know it won’t last.

_____________________________

“Well now, aren’t you a stubborn human.” Sun Wukong mused as he took in the one who dared to separate him from his creation.

The ground was split in a dozen directions. Craters dotted the landscape. The scent of volatile magic soaked the air. Yet, in the center of all this was a small circle of undisturbed land where his boy and the human stood unharmed.

The human didn’t look particularly impressive. If he had to guess, somewhere in his early to late thirties. He was obviously healthy but still suffered from the weaknesses all humans share. No, what truly caught his attention was the strangest sensation he knew this human. Almost as if the golden fillet was readying itself by his mere presence.

The human’s talent in magic was nothing to scoff at. Admittedly, it was nothing he couldn’t brush off, but seeing a human wielding so much raw power was supposed to be nearly impossible in this modern age. However, defying the odds here one stood before him trying to keep him from one of his treasures.

He was not alone in his curiosity. The Monkey King watched as MK stared at the bespeckled man in utter surprise.

“Since when could you do that?!” The newly revealed monkie demon all but screeched.

“Not too long.” The scholar cryptically stated.

His annoyance at the lack of an answer freed Mk of his fear. Just enough to swallow his need to be supported during this horrible moment and say what needed to be said. “You’ve got to run! Forget about me and get the others to safety!”

“I’d listen to my son if I were you, human.” The tyrant stated with a cocky smirk. “Since he’s started to learn his lesson about where he belongs I can be generous. You can take all your friends back home to rest up and we can continue another day.”

With a trembling hand, MK desperately gripped Tang’s pant leg. Praying that his love would be translated behind his pathetic display. “Please. I can’t see you get hurt because of me.” They were the kindest people he ever had the pleasure of knowing. He couldn’t bear knowing they got hurt trying to save him. The only reason they were in this crisis was because of him. If he hadn’t been so weak...

If he didn’t allow himself to be used, Wukong would still be trapped.

“Mk, you know I can’t leave anyone behind to suffer this tyrant’s hospitality.” The word was hissed out with more venom than a viper pit. “Especially not after learning of Macaque’s past.” Tang adjusted his stance so his side now supported the youth. His fingers twitched randomly, his eyes remained locked onto the armored demon. “Besides, we both know Mei would gut the two of us if we even think of considering it.”

It made no sense. They were in the presence of a being that filled the nightmares of all, from the lowliest human to celestial kings, yet young simian couldn’t help but smile. “Good point.” Compared to the Monkey Tyrant the young dragon was an insect, but she had earned the fear that accompanied her ire.

“Such a touching display. But do you really think you will be able to give him what he needs? That others will accept who he really is? You can say you love him until the sun blows up, but it will never change the fact he is me.” The Monkey King’s smile showed nothing but cruel amusement, but his tail betrayed his fraying patience.

“Do you take me for a fool? It doesn’t matter what he looks like, where he came from, or how he started out. He is my Son! And I refuse to let anyone abuse his kind heart ever again!”

Two hands slammed into the ground with unnatural force. Mystic runes and circles filled the air as the battlefield was bathed in a gentle yellow light. Golden ropes wrapped around the Tyrant as the earth formed a five-sided fortress around him. Symbols were burned into each side, somehow not concealing the burning rage from Sun Wukong’s enraged expression.

With that done, Tang grabbed MK’s hand and ran knowing full well both their lives depended on it. “Come on! That won’t distract him for long.”

Or at all. They hadn’t cleared five meters before they started to rocks crumble and mystic bindings viciously snap.

Somehow the two of them were able to reunite with Macaque and Mei in order to get some much-needed distance without any major obstacles. It was silently agreed that the Moneky Tyrant had let them leave. Why? They didn’t want to think about it. All they could do was patch themselves up and think of a new plan.

_____________________________

Pigsy treated them all to a delicious meal, after yelling at the four of them for tangling with the Monkey King. About how they could have gotten killed and berating them for thinking about leaving them behind. Tang was certain Pigsy’s volume was the only reason Macaque looked uncomfortable.

That night they all stayed with Sandy. It was agreed that they should stick together until the heat dies down. Mei stepped out to call her parents to warn them about ... everything. While Macaque had essentially taken over as her father figure it didn’t mean her birth parents were no longer a target. Macaque aided Sandy in setting up the spare rooms. Piggy was just cleaning up dinner and preparing a few things for breakfast.

Leaving Tang to begin creating wards to hang around the boat and MK to uncomfortably sit as he stared at the scholar.

“Why did you do that?”

Tang pushed up his glasses, looking more grave than the teen ever recalled seeing.

“I was preparing that spell the moment I opened my mouth. I figured after that outburst it was only a matter of time before he got bored playing nice and when for the kill. Despite what movies would make you believe, talking is not a free action.” His precious disciples learned that lesson the hard way.

“No. I mean...when you said all that stuff, did you really mean it? You view me as a son?” MK could barely get the last word out. It felt like all of this was just a wonderful dream and when he awoke he’d be back on Flower Fruit Mountain.

Tang set down his brush to fully face the demon. “Of course, I mean it. I wouldn’t have said it if I didn’t.” He poured his entire soul into that truth, a fact he was proud to scream to the heavens.

“Even when I look like this?” Sharing the same face of the demon who caused so much pain and suffering. He could barely stand it, but the thought of continuing to live in his human form just felt even more unbearable. He was tired of lies. Tired of being used.

“So you look like a demon monkey, big deal." Tang waved off the concern, regaining his trademark confident sass. "Last I checked, we are close with several demons one of which is a rather famous monkey. At your core, you are still the same MK we grew to know and care about. You may have started out as Wukong’s clone, but you have come a long way since then.”

Seeing that the boy was still unconvinced, Tang wrapped his arms around the child’s shoulders and brought him in for a hug. “You will always have a place with me, with any of us. You are loved and appreciated, Xiǎotiān. Never forget that.” Circles were slowly traced on his back as shaky breathing gradually evened out.

Xiǎotiān nuzzled his father’s neck. Taking in the scent of aged paper, ink, and tea. “Can I sleep with you tonight?”

“Of course.” Gentle fingers slowly combed through his hair.

The world was falling into the depths of madness, but in this moment Xiǎotiān could deceive himself into believing everything would work out.

[lunar-wandering]

I Don’t Wanna Fight Alone Anymore - Chapter 8

so uh. since the Ember AU will probably take me a lot longer than i thought to write, i figured i’d update IDWFAA instead

Word Count: 1.5k

Read on AO3

"We made a deal, Macaque. Don't forget it. You know what will happen if you do."

-

When Macaque woke up, it was to yelling.

Really loud yelling.

At first, disoriented, he couldn't parse who was yelling, or what was being said. All he could hear was sound, and the faint ringing within his ears.

Was he hearing the past, present, or future? He couldn't tell. He hated not being able to tell, it just made things more confusing for him in the long run, not knowing if something had already happened or not tended to cause problems.

As he slowly started to wake up more, the sounds and voices started to clear up, and he could finally pick out the sound of MK and Wukong's voices. This...really didn't clarify if he was hearing the past, future, or present yet, but at least he knew who was saying what.

"Monkey King- Monkey King you need to calm down-"

"Who the hell are you!? Where is Master?!"

"Monkey King please-"

"Let go of me!"

Macaque rolled over, grabbing the edge of the pillow and pulling it over his head in an attempt to drown out the sounds.

It didn't work.

Instead, it only seemed to draw the attention to him.

"Oh- Sandy! Macaque's awake!"

"Who the fuck is Sandy? Who the fuck is Macaque?"

Now that was enough to make Macaque wake up all the way.

Letting the pillow slide off his head, he sat up, turning to the side.

And being met with the sight of MK practically wrestling Wukong to the ground.

He wasn't doing the best job of it, the Monkey King having strength that went far beyond that of his currently powerless successor, but somehow MK was seemingly managing to keep Wukong from getting up and leaving the room. A rather impressive feat, honestly.

Macaque didn't get much time to think in depth about it, as before he knew it, Sandy was entering the room.

"Wujing!" Wukong cried, standing up, finally knocking MK off of him. "Where's Master, where are we?!"

"Hey hey hey, calm down." Sandy- Wujing?- said, placing a hand on Wukong's shoulder. "It's been a long time since the journey, okay? I know it may not seem like it, but the journey's been over for a while now. You're currently experiencing a bit of memory loss, but it's okay, we're going to fix it, alright? Can you just breathe for me, for a moment?"

"Where are the others." Wukong didn't listen to Sandy's advice, and now that he was listening for it, Macaque could hear that the Monkey King was hyperventilating. "And- and who are they?"

He pointed back at MK and Macaque as he said this, and Macaque couldn't help but feel his fur bristle. Even if Sandy was right, and Wukong was experiencing memory loss to the point of believing that he was still on the Journey, there was no way he could possibly forget Macaque-

He opened his mouth to comment on this, but MK must've recognized the look on his face, as he practically launched himself off the floor to slam a hand over the shadow monkey's mouth, preventing him from speaking.

"His memories are very selective." MK whispered, "He can remember sealing away DBK, based on a few things he's said, but he still thinks he's on the Journey- we think that whatever he drank really jumbled him up. Sandy's working on an antidote tea, but for the meantime, the best we can do is just keep him calm and deal with it, okay?"

Macaque gave a slow nod, and MK hesitantly took his hand off of the monkey's mouth, but kept it raised in case Macaque tried anything.

"Those two are some of your companions on the little adventure we're taking right now." Sandy said, placing one hand on Wukong's shoulder, turning him around and slowly starting to lead him out of the room. "You can trust them, they're safe, you've already been traveling with them for a while."

MK got up off of the bed Macaque was sitting on, moving to walk behind Sandy and Wukong. Macaque slowly stood up as well, sneaking along behind him.

"How do I know that I can trust what you're saying?" Wukong asked, his whole body wound up tight like an animal about to break loose from it's cage.

"You can't, really." Sandy admitted, as they stopped in front of Wukong's room. "But do you really believe I'd ever steer you wrong, brother?"

"...No." Wukong said, quietly. Sandy hummed, before opening the door to the room.

"This is the room you're currently using by the way." He said, "You can stay in there for a while, if you want."

"...Okay."

Without another word, Wukong walked into the room, giving Sandy one more confused look before closing the door behind himself. For a moment, it was silent in the hallway, before Sandy sighed, and turned back around to face MK and Macaque.

"Keep an eye on him." He said, "And make sure he doesn't run into Tang or Pigsy."

"Okay?" Macaque phrased it as a question, very confused at this point.

Sandy gave the two of them a quick nod, before breezing past them in the direction of the kitchen. MK and Macaque watched Sandy walk away in complete silence, thinking.

"...You don't look all that surprised." Macaque said, leaning on MK's shoulder, partially to annoy the kid, and partially because he was already starting to feel tired. MK gave him a confused and annoyed look.

"Surprised about wh- oh! You mean, about Sandy being Wujing?" At Macaque's nod, MK rolled his eyes. "I already knew."

"What?"

"I already knew. You seriously think I, one of the biggest Journey to the West fans around, wouldn't pick up on it?"

"Hate to tell this to you kid, but you aren't exactly the smartest lightbulb on the ceiling."

"I don't think that's how that saying goes-" MK started, glaring at him-

But then Macaque slumped, leaning more onto MK for support.

"O-kay, you should probably go back to bed-" MK shifted to prop Macaque up more, but the shadow monkey brushed his hands away.

"I'm fine-" He started- only to be cut off as the door to Wukong's room slammed open, the top hinge coming out of place. Macaque and MK jumped, Macaque straightening up as they looked at the Monkey King. Wukong subtly glanced up at the broken hinge before refocusing.

"What." He gestured at his loose fitting gold shirt and purple scarf. "Am I wearing."

"...Clothes?" Macaque offered, wincing as MK elbowed him in the side, Wukong sending the shadow monkey a red eyed glare for his smart-aleck comment.

"Your old outfit got torn." MK explained, "You picked this outfit out yourself."

"Well." Wukong glanced down at his outfit again, pulling at the edges with barely restrained disdain. "Clearly I end up developing a horrible sense of fashion."

Both MK and Macaque snorted in amusement, before glancing at each other in horror as they realized they'd had the exact same reaction. Wukong either didn't notice or did not care.

"Anyways, uh." Wukong pointed up to the broken hinge. "Pay no attention to that. I'm going for a walk, and you can't stop me."

"Why would we?" MK asked, but instead of an answer, all he got was the Monkey King angrily stomping past him. "Wait, hold on-"

He moved to follow the Monkey King, only to turn back around as he felt Macaque stumble upon losing MK's support. MK momentarily glanced back and forth, clearly torn between following after his amnesiac mentor or making sure that Macaque didn't pass out in the middle of the hallway. After a few seconds of seriously contemplation, MK finally came to what he figured was a reasonable conclusion.

He scooped Macaque up (the shadow monkey was far lighter than he looked, and MK's months of training with Wukong hadn't all gone to waste, even without his powers) and followed after Wukong.

"Wh- hey!" Macaque protested, but then slumped, silently seeming to accept that he probably wouldn't have been able to walk on his own without falling to the floor. "You guys have got to stop carrying me around like this... I'm not some ragdoll."

"Sorry, can't hear you." MK said, stride not even hesitating. "I'm too busy making sure my amnesiac mentor doesn't do something stupid."

He kicked the door to the top deck open, stepping out into the sunshine, the wind blowing their hair into disarray. Macaque huffed, shifting to use his hand to push his hair away from his eye so he could actually see-

Just in time to watch Wukong leap over the edge of the ship.

MK dropped Macaque to the ground, the monkey letting out a pained whimper, seeing stars for a brief moment before recovering enough to sit up and watch as MK ran to the side, looking over.

"For fucks sake." MK whispered, before turning and running past Macaque to go back inside the ship. "Sandy! Sandy we need to land- Monkey King jumped ship!"

[sketching-shark]

why the hell does "shadowpeach" exist lol. this is just another toxic shipping like "catradora" and I swear both are incestuous since they are siblings (not sure about wukong and lieur but its implied they are brothers), plus they both hate each other with a passion and tried to kill each other.

fdsaewaef okay anon because I have Opinions & know that people can get pretty upset over shipping I'm going to put my thoughts under the cut. Don't like don't read goes both ways <3

lmao fully aware that I'm probably the only one to think so but I really do find it funny that people keep comparing the dynamics of Sun Wukong & Macaque to Adora and Catra because from what I remember Adora was extremely hesitant to fight Catra no matter how awful she was whereas Sun Wukong was trying to kill Macaque from day 1 as soon as he found out he was going after Xiaotian. Monkie Kid does have its flaws, but I am glad that they kept the monkey king's og classic characterization of immediately going for the throat of anyone who tries to kill his friends and family.

Other heroes when some absolute ass of a villain makes an attempt on the lives of those they care about: "Sure, you've been terrorizing me for days & have tried your damnedest to murder & destroy everything I love & have repeatedly demonstrated that there is no depths you won't sink to in your vindictive quest to break me into what you want, but I'm not going to hurt you because you're still my friend & I will bend over backwards to help you 'redeem' yourself no matter how many times you brutalize me!"

Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, the second someone threatens his loved ones:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6y6chb0Qq8

but anyway yeah it has been a pretty annoying trend over the past couple of years that the ships people keep hyping to frankly ridiculous degrees as the best out there are those where the characters involved loathe each other up until the last second when the plot suddenly decides that wuv conquers all actshually or where it's the same ol' story of "wah you were my friend but then you weren't & so now I'm going to be a violently miserable asshole to you & everyone you love all while the plot & fanbase refuse to hold me accountable for my shit & also where you get blamed for my atrocious behavior but we're still paired together anyway even though everyone's mad at you for me being a shitgoblin."

Now I do need to note that I haven't seen Season 3 myself at this stage, but I do know that in Monkie Kid Sun Wukong did apparently literally kill Macaque. So in that regard the shadow monkey does have a very understandable reason to be enraged at the monkey king. And honestly that just makes me dislike shadowpeach even more than I did beforehand. Besides that just being a terrible place to start from, Sun Wukong is now more than ever left holding the blame for Macaque's relentlessly shitty behavior (but stg one of the funniest things about this is seeing people in the Monkie Kid fandom pour over JTTW to figure out other character's motivations but when it comes to the Six Eared Macaque & his og background of trying to murder-replace Sun Wukong everyone's like "suddenly I could not read <3") & for as much romantic tension as people keep insisting they have it's more like Macaque is just violently obsessed with getting revenge on Sun Wukong to the detriment of literally everything else in his 2nd chance life while Sun Wukong couldn't care less about Macaque unless Mr. Six Ears is barging into his business to try to ruin it. So it's like...why am I supposed to find this romantic?

AND THAT'S NOT EVEN GOING INTO THE WEIRD WAYS IN WHICH THE ORIGINAL MEANING OF SUN WUKONG & THE SIX EARED MACAQUE'S STORY KEEPS GETTING PUSHED ASIDE FOR THE SAKE OF SHIPPING.

Look, I totally get that when you're taking on a myth for a fan continuation or a reinterpretation then things are going to change. And I'll be the first to acknowledge that there is a metric ton of exceedingly cursed JTTW reinterpretations out there that make even the worst flaws of Monkie Kid seem benign. But honestly it's really disappointing that the og interpretation of Sun Wukong and the Six Eared Macaque as two manifestations of the same mind (or mind monkey, if you will), that the Six Eared Macaque is in fact the embodiment of Sun Wukong's worst traits that he must overcome, that as such they have often been interpreted as brothers, keeps getting buried in western fandom. Honestly to me that dynamic is just so much more interesting & holds so many more possibilities than anything you could do with a shipping dynamic, not just because it presents a really fascinating way that you could explore the contradictory thoughts and desires that every person has, but also how personal ambitions can get warped into frightening things to the point where you don't even recognize yourself, and then how you might go from there. idk, kind of feels like another bit of monoculturalization :(

Plus it's like friends of all the figures on God's green Earth that you could have shipped everyone's favorite overpowered simian with you really insist on pairing him with the dude who is literally famous for having run around in a Sun Wukong fursuit declaring that he's the one and only monkey king (X_X)

[dancingthesambaa]

The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 4

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black-furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 4: Ramen Noodles for the Soul

There was a battle commencing as two shadows faced off against each other, one being a ghastly figure that had the body of a tiger, but nine human heads with elongated necks and the other was a petite woman and all she had with her was a fan. The dark area surrounding them was riddled with buildings ripped apart and the still bodies of people then the beast lunged at her with a silent roar.

“The Kaiming Shou ran first as they viciously tried to strike the Geisha down,” the voice said as the creature was about to tackle her down, “but she was too quick for him,” the woman elegantly dodged as she leaped into the air.

“The woman was through with the beast wanton destruction so with her aim true she cut off the first head,” the woman fan opened and it had cut off one of the creature heads. “And then the second,” the next head soon plopped to the floor as she continued that action until she was left with only a headless body, “until finally none remained and with a flick of her fan,” The Geisha’s eyes seemed to narrow minutely as she gently waved her fan to the beast and it erupted in a gulf of blackened flames. “they had burned into the nothingness.”

The scene then transformed into one of peace, the bodies and destruction vanished and in its place, a field of flowers had grown next to a rustling town.

“No one knows exactly where the Geisha had gone nor who she was, but that had no purpose in the townspeople's eyes as they were grateful for saving them in their time of need,” the voice continued as the villagers all bowed to the field of flowers. “So they tell this story, not in hopes of finding who she was, but rather to tell all that if you ever happen to meet the valiant woman that saved them from ruins, to kindly welcome her with open arms.” The scene faded to black and a few seconds later a round of applause erupted with cheers quickly pursuing.

The voice took off his hood and gave a mock bow to the audience as made his way off the stage to let the next person go.

“Mac, why are you such a hard act to follow,” one of the performers sighed as he walked towards the stage, “you know everything after yours is gonna be less than mediocre.”

“Then get good,” he smirked.

“Maybe you're just too good,” he playfully punched the monkey's shoulder as he went to the stage to set up.

“That was awesome!” A young boy bolted from his seat as he collided into Macaque, “super cool!”

“Thanks kiddo,” he said as he lifted him off the ground and tucked him under his arm, “now let’s find your sister before she rips off your head.”

“Pfft, Yan Yan won’t be too-,”

“BAO!” A voice sternly called out and he could feel the boy shrink.

“Shit,” he muttered as he soon saw his sister followed by his brothers and sisters and a certain Jellyfish demon, “double shit.”

“Thank you for finding him Mackey, your plays are marvelous as always,” the bluenette woman gave a quick smile to her former teacher and her eyes pivoted on her idiot brother as it tightened, “as for you.”

“I love you very much,” Bao said with puppy dog eyes and a pout as soon as he was let down.

“Really,” Bohai deadpanned as one of the children began to play with his tendrils.

“Cute, but that stopped working a long time ago,” she instead began to lecture him on the dangers of leaving without telling anyone as they all left, some even complimenting him on his play as they walked by.

“Yan is really protective when it comes to them,” Mei hummed out as she dragged MK by the sleeve of his purple jacket, who was morning.

“You should see when they go out in the street, that’s a right nightmare,” he said as he tied his fluffy mane of fur back up in a ponytail. “Swear the only reason she is friends with Bohai is that he can help wrangle all those kids.”

“Soooo, I didn’t know you were such a theater nerd,” she mischievously grinned. She was excited to find out that the tough, grumpy monkey actually had a love for the theatrics and voluntarily went out from time to time to play at the theater. She teased him endlessly for this the second she found out about it.

“Dad likes his dramatics,” MK unhelpfully replied as he crossed his arms.

“What’s got you so moody,” the father asked and all he got was a groan in response.

“Someone dropped all of his snacks and he won’t stop whining about it,” she teased him.

“My caramel popcorn was in there!” He dramatically cried out and fell to his knees. “All that delicious goodness! Gone!”

“How about ol doc over here can take us to this amazing noodle shop I know,” Mei patted his shoulder.

“Really?” He looked up at her with hope.

“I am?” Mac quirked one of his eyebrows.

“Yes, because you don’t want two poor children to go hungry,” the fourteen year old put her hands on her head in a faint.

“I am soo hungry,” MK flopped on the ground to emphasize both of their points.

“I guess if I have to,” he begrudgingly agreed in a mocking tone as the two teenagers cheered.

“I’m telling you, this place's noodles are simply to die for,” Mei said as they approached a restaurant called Pigsy Noodles.

“I’ll take your word for it,” the monkey demon shrugged as Mei opened the doors wide open and they heard a friendly voice greet them.

“Welcome to Pigsy Noodles!” They saw a short pig in an apron turn around to face the group, “How can I help-,” he paused for a moment as he stared not at the kids, but rather at the monkey that was accompanying them. He didn’t know why, he never met the chimp before, but something felt a bit...off about that simian.

He wasn’t the only one as Macaque felt almost a tinge of tension, now he met all types of Pig demons, but he has never felt one so similar to Zhu Baije before.

It was a tense stand-off before Mei butted in, “We are here for your finest noodles! I promised MK here that yours is simply the best!”

This snapped the pig out in an instant as he smiled at the two, “well of course it is, come and sit. I’ll have the menu out in a jiffy,” he gave a nod and turned to grab the items.

The three sat down and the monkey gave a quick once over on Pigsy, both physically and spiritually, and relaxed once he realized that, no this was not the original Zhu Baije, it was just someone that had an eerie likeness to him. But he still kept a careful eye out to him and he knew that Pigsy was doing the same as he kept glancing over to him from time to time as he prepared another customer's food.

“Mmmm, this is good!” MK said as he slurped some of the noodles.

“What’d I tell you,” Mei said with her mouth full of Yao mein.

Macaque mentally agreed as he sat in between the both of them and silently ate his food.

“Many thanks from such esteemed customers,” the pig demon jokingly said.

“It’s quite good,” another voice added, though this time Pigsy's smile quickly turned to irritation at that voice.

“It's better to be the best damn thing you have eaten with the number of times you don’t pay freeloader,” he said.

“Ah, but isn’t the knowledge of my experience of my worldly knowledge of the unknowns, myths, and truth that surround our world. Whether it comes from the depths below to the heavens high in the sky, truly that is the greatest substance of all ” the man mysteriously says as his glasses almost glinted.

“Is it money,” Pigsy deadpanned.

“No,” the aura of mystery that surrounded him suddenly dissipated as he sheepishly grins.

“Then I don’t care!”

“What kind of unknown?” MK perked up as he turned to look at the stranger. “Is it cool? Are they adventures?”

“How about fights? Are there lots of action packed ones filled with danger and mysteries?!” Mei joined in as she got interested as well.

“All of that and more,” the stranger hopped into the chance to tell some of the stories that he had uncovered. “You have all heard the tale of the Legendary Monkey King, correct?”

“Yeah!” They both excitedly cheered but paused as they glanced back to Macaque who was still eating.

“As long as you don't up and leave the restaurant, you can listen,” he waved them off very much knowing why they looked to him in the first place. “Get me another bowl please,” Mac said to Pigsy as he handed him some money.

The pig just nodded as he turned his back to start up another bowl.

The two smiled at him and rushed off to hear the stories on the other end of the counter and that left both Pigsy and Macaque alone together, who both silently decided that it would be best to passively listen to the story than talk to each other.

“-and legends say, that only one with vast knowledge and strength are the only ones they can create the mystical pills of immortality,” Tang mysteriously said as the mythical book was laid out between them.

“So only people with amazing powers can do that!” MK’s eyes widened. “So cool!”

“Or they can just steal it, like the Monkey King,” Mei grinned.

“Or that too,” Tang nodded to her, “but even that was a feat in itself that he had managed to successfully procure such valuable items in that time frame.”

“Man it must be tough to find them all,” MK said.

“It is, some are deep under the seas where only the legendary dragons dwell, another is high up on the mountain tops where you have to pluck it just right or else you have to wait for eons before trying but want to know a secret,” Tang leaned in.

“Yeah,” they whispered and followed suit.

“There is said to be a plant in the Plum Blossom forest that is an ingredient to make the Pills, but no one has yet to find it,” the man happily stated as he began to talk, not knowing of the two nervous glances as they forced themselves not to turn around to a certain monkey.

Macaque only grinned into his cup once he heard that, but Pigsy scoffed.

“Sounds like a bunch of nonsense to me,” he said as he wiped down the counters.

“Well every myth has a fraction of the truth,” he rebutted, “so I’m not giving up my exploration yet.”

“You visit the forest?” Mei curiously asked.

“I try to go as much as I can, but not just for the plants, there is rumored to be all types of different mythical creatures and spirits that wander in the forest,” Tang excitedly said.

“Oh really,” MK forced out with a pained grin, Mei was the same as she had seen some of them when she slept over one day. “That sounds really cool.”

“So,” the pigtailed girl tried to redirect the conversation, “I want to hear more about the Monkey King or any other gods, please.”

“Well I do have one in mind,” the man's eyes lit up as he flipped through the pages.

The two kids have a sigh of relief.

“The Six Eared Macaque is an interesting one.”

And immediately they both tensed back up.

“He is a demon that has caused mass confusion throughout history as no historian can agree which version is correct,” he landed on a page with a shadowed monkey with glowing violet eyes that seemed to bore into them.

“Oh, well-,” MK was cut off by Tang as he went on.

“Is he this one-note villain that simply stood in the Monkey King way or is he more of the mischievous trickster that helped wandering souls against vengeful beings and healed those when they asked. Is he both? If so, was he the healer before or after the Journey? If before then why did he decide to attack the Monkey King? If after, how did he survive that last attack? There are just too many questions that surround the origin of the Six-Eared Macaque, it’s truly quite fitting due to his nature.”

“It really is,” Mei gritted her teeth and slowly turned to face said Monkey demon, “hey Ma-I mean fluffy, I think it’s time we head home, right MK.”

“Yes we do,” he robotically said as the two made their way back to him.

“Oh is it getting late?” Tang blinked, “I didn’t even realize it.”

“It’s all good,” Macaque smirked as he ruffled the two heads, “nice stories.”

“History you mean,” he gave a wide smile, “besides, they were very good listeners…sorry I didn't catch your name?”

“Macaque,” he happily ignored the kid's panicked stares at him.

The man looked at him for a solid minute before laughing, “like the Six Eared Macaque! What a strange coincidence.”

“It sure is,” he smirked.

“Your parents must have loved the myths then,” he wiped a tear.

He shrugged, “it came along the way.”

Tang was a bit confused by that, but before he could ask the monkey he put a hand on both of the teenager’s shoulders and they seemed to vanish the next moment.

“…alright I’m not even gonna question how,” Pigsy grumbled as he continued cleaning.

“He vanished like a thief in the night,” Tang said in amusement.

“At least this thief paid for his food,” the pig grumbled then he noticed that there was some money with a note. Pigsy took a glance at the message and he gave a slight grin, “congratulations Tang, I won’t be on your ass today about your meal.”

“Huh, but you never let go of a chance to put it over my head?” The historian questioned as he walked over.

“Well you can thank their dad,” the pig demon showed him the note and he read it.

Thanks for keeping them entertained, food is on me.

“Well that is nice of him,” he smiled, “I hope they come back sometimes.”

“Hmph, any paying customers are more than welcome,” the pig said as he continued his cleaning, while the historian was more than happy as he continued to eat.

It was the middle of the day and both kids had their designated classes, whether online or home tutoring, and he was currently plucking out some of the weeds from a batch of Morning Glories when he saw the flowers bloom. “Back again already crackpot,” he called out as he took out one of the longer weeds he was plucking out of his mouth.

A croaky voice with a laugh, “what can I say, I can’t stay away from your glowing personality.”

He rolled his eyes as he stood up and turned to meet a balding old man with frizzy red hair and no shoes on his feet, “fuck off.”

The old man gave him a toothy grin as he flopped to the ground, poured a cup of wine, and held it out to the monkey.

“A bit too early for a drink there Shen,” he mused as he took the cup from his hand and sat next to him.

“It’s late somewhere else,” he chuckled and leaned back against one of the Plum trees.

“Yeah yeah,” he waved him off and took a sip of the drink, “don’t you get tired of drinking the same shit every time?”

“Yep,” Shen said.

“And you're still not gonna switch it out any time soon?”

“Nope,” he grinned and took a swing.

“You know one day you’re gonna tell me what the hell this is,” he grumbled in his drink.

“Not on my life.”

“Thought so.”

“Hey Dad,” MK called out as he entered the infirmary, “do you know where-,” he paused as he saw that he wasn’t alone.

“Didn’t expect you to have a hatchling,” the large alligator demon said, or what he assumed was an alligator as he looked almost similar to a ghost but in blue.

“Not most do,” Mac said as he picked out a violet plant and started to look it up in a book.

“Uhhhh,” his mind was running a mile a minute trying to come up with what was happening. “Sorry?”

He waved him off, “just be glad it wasn’t surgery.”

“So what is going on?” He asked as he slowly closed the door behind him.

“Just whipping up an antidote for him,” he hummed out.

“I didn’t know ghosts needed medicine.”

“Not a ghost,” the alligator muttered.

“Huh?”

“What he means is that he’s in his corporeal form,” Mac further explained as he began to dice up the plant. “Had to with the amount of poison in his system, so I just placed him in the lamp as usual.”

“Poison!? Lamp?!” He said in alarm.

“…oh I guess you have never seen it before, hold on.” Mac finished placing the last ingredient inside, stirred it, and let it simmer. He turned to the alligator, “want to rest or free roam?”

“Rest,” he said.

The monkey complied as he used his tail to grab a lantern and in the next moment, the transparent demon was gone.

“What is that?” MK went forward to get a better look.

“This is the Shadow Lamp, it allows me to store people's bodies in there, which puts said bodies in a stasis thus allowing me plenty of time to make the medicine needed.”

“Oh, so it’s like a fancy tool to help patients! Why don’t all doctors have this?”

“Cause originally this was not a medical tool,” he explained as he carefully set the lamp down.

“A weapon? How?” He tilted his head, he didn’t see how a lamp can cause harm.

“It was used to suck the bodies in the lamp, but be able to control their shadow against their own will,” he inwardly chuckled at MK's shocked face.

“What?! That can happen?!”

“Yep.”

“But wait?” He backtracked as he looked at the lamp, “if it’s so dangerous why are you using it?”

“At the end of the day, a weapon is just a tool,” he quietly said, “it doesn’t have any emotions, no attachments, no moral conceptions, it’s just a tool that anyone can use. It’s the one who uses the weapon that determines how the tool can be used.”

“Really?”

Macaque paused as he looked into MK bright eyes, he gave a small smile.

“Really.”

He put away his supplies and safety materials before ruffling MK’s long hair. “Now how about you tell me what you were originally here for nightlight.”

“Oh right! Do you know where the spare water bottles are? The others have holes punctured in them.”

“Damnit Minsheng,” Mac pinched his nose, “they should be in the bottom cabinet by the fridge.”

“Thanks!” He said as he left the infirmary, “Want me to bring you anything?”

“No, I’ll be a bit busy,” he muttered as he took out his phone, “I have a few arrangements to make, specifically with some glue, rope, and a whole lot of glitter.

“Hey Pigsy!” MK hollered out as he walked into the shop, “the usual please!”

“Coming right up,” the pig grinned as he was already preparing his order.

The fifteen year old grinned as he sprawled over the counter, “Tang not here today?”

“Surprisingly no, he’s probably off at the library or some antique store,” the pig demon then noticed that he was alone, “surprised I don’t see Macaque or Mei here.”

“Well Mei wanted to pick out her future bike, so she dragged Dad over to the auto shop.”

“Auto Shop? For a bike?”

“Motorcycle,” he explained.

“Ah,” he nodded and placed his food in front of him, “bon appetit.”

“Thank you!” He cheerfully replied as he dug into his food.

Pigsy just grins at the boy as he was about to go back to cleaning up since MK was the only one in, but he paused as a probing thought couldn’t leave his mind. He knows it wasn’t any of his business and he hasn’t seen anything damaging nor even concerning, but his damn gut has been bothering him ever since he laid eyes on him. “So kid.”

“Hm?” MK looked up as some noodles were hanging from his mouth.

“I'm a bit curious about your old man, he isn’t the chattiest bunch and I’m a bit curious at what he does,” he casually asks.

“He’s a doctor!”

“Really?” Now that was a surprise, he was betting on being some sort of martial arts teacher.

“Really! He’s super smart and a bunch of people and demons go to him, he’s even had a student before.”

“Huh, doesn’t seem like the type to take on a student.”

“No, but she was really persistent,” he grinned at the understatement.

“I bet.”

“Though he is a bigggg worrywart,” he leaned back from his chair.

“He is?”

“Oh yeah, like there was this one time when I was ten that I scraped my finger against a really thorny plant and when I yelled out, he instantly picked me up and started to treat my entire arm as he tried to find out if the plant was poisonous while asking me if I had a fever, nausea or any other symptoms and during that entire time I was not let down,” he deadpanned.

He snorted at the image, “that certainly is unexpected.”

“He also sometimes performs shadow plays at the theater.”

“Flair for the dramatics,” he quirked his eyebrow.

“Like you wouldn’t believe it,” he nodded.

Pigsy chuckled, “makes me wonder how he met your mother then.” Though he stopped as he saw MK fell silent and his face flushed. “…did I say something wrong?”

His head shot up and he shook his hands, “No! Nothing! You said nothing wrong! Well-actually a bit, but not anything mean! It’s just that-well he…adopted me.” He couldn’t help the grin that formed on his face.

“Oh-shit, I’m sorry that was really callous of me,” he winced, “I’m sorry for your loss.”

“My loss?” His grin faded at the unusual statement.

“Your parents,” he clarified.

“Oh,” face completely slack and blank, “they're not dead.”

Pigsy’s eyes blinked, “Oh,” then he came to the realization of just what he meant and his voice and face dropped, “oh.”

MK gave a sad little smile, “Yeah, he actually found me in a back alley when it was about to rain and he adopted me from that point on. He may not be blood related to me, but he’s still my dad.”

The pig smiles and begins to heat some noodles, “and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Now, you want some more? This one is on the house.”

“Yes please!” He perked up.

Pigsy couldn’t help but give a wide smile at the child's affectionate nature, it was contagious.

‘Glad for my gut to be wrong for once,’ he mentally thought as he poured the soup in, ‘he just looks like the usual jackasses you see in the underbelly, but he’s just a protective bastard for his kid…kids, half sure that he practically adopted girlie.’ He should ask the monkey next time he comes in, it would be hilarious to see his reaction…damnit Tang has infected him.

Macaque was standing in front of the two teenagers in one of the forest's many clearings, “So after much deliberation, I decided to finally teach you how to actually fight.”

“I told you we would wear him down eventually,” Mei nudged MK, but they were both caught off guard when their feet were swept under them and they fell on their butts.

“First lesson, don’t let your guard down,” he said as his tail gently swished behind him, “that is the height of stupidity that will get you killed.”

“Noted,” they both groaned.

“Now,” he waited for a bit for them to get on their feet, “I can’t promise you that I am an expert on martial arts, most of my moves are just street fighting, but I can promise you that by the time I’m done with you guys, you will actually have a chance to put up a fight.”

MK and Mei listen intently.

“Mei,” she perks up, “I know your family has some sort of dragon ancestor right?”

“Oh yeah! The Great Dragon of the West Sea,” she proudly stated.

Macaque could only blink at the irony as he quickly realized just who her ancestor, or rather the son of the said ancestor, was, “Nope, not going to open that can of worms,” he muttered. “But yes that, and I believe that you have already looked through some of the martial arts teachings that was formed by him?”

“Yeahhh, but I’m having real trouble with actually learning some of the moves,” she nervously chuckled.

“That’s cause it shares the same qualities as Tai Chi, though with much serpentine movement, I have fought quite a few with that kind of style and usually two things stand out to me, they are quick and accurate.”

“Like a snake,” she nodded.

“Like a snake,” he agreed, “I can definitely teach a few off of the top of my head, but it would probably be best if I see a few of your scrolls at a later point so I can demonstrate.”

“Hell yeah!” She pumped her fist in the air.

“Alright, MK,” his head perked up at the call of his name, “you have zero knowledge of any type of fighting.”

He deflated at that.

“Which makes it easier to incorporate my style onto you.”

He instantly inflated back up.

“If there is one thing I have learned in all my years of fighting is-,” he vanished from view and both kids scrambled forward to escape being surprised from behind, only to be startled when they found their heads being gently pushed down from above and they were once again sprawled out.

“Be unpredictable,” he cheekily stated as he landed back down.

“Why do I get the feeling that we’re going to be falling down a lot,” MK said as he lifted his face off the grass.

“I have a feeling you're right,” Mei muttered as she laid flat on her back.

“Like I said, welcome to your first class my unruly disciples,” he gave the most shit eating grin, “you have a lot to learn.”

[mysimtopia]

Update on my franchise zoo again!  I rather like making these, to be honest.  It allows me to figure out where I wish to place things next and stuff.  I didn’t really explain much of my zoo on my last post, so I’ll go more in depth here:

House of Primates I’ve officially finished my area that I’m calling the House of Primates!  Let me tell you, these monkeys were bitches to get.  I sat there for twenty minutes just to get my orangutans.  The Chimpanzees weren’t any easier either!  The area contains two viewing houses (East and West), with a staff area connected in the middle.  Despite never showing it, this build replaced the Tortoise House and Komodo Dragon exhibit that I previously had.  The Gorillas will be included in the Work Zone, but the Japanese Macaque will be included in my Temperate and Taiga area.

Tropical Adventure This building has over 1000 pieces, I kid you not.  It was also the second build I did in this zoo.  The building houses Lemurs (Red Ruffed and Ring Tailed), Taipirs, and Pygmy Hippos.  The building is three stories, technically (Bottom level contains the staff areas and habitats themselves, the second level is the elevated pathway to view the animals, and the third is just to give the place height).  The one down side to this whole building is the amount of vandalism the area gets.  I’ve put in security cameras and extra security, yet the info screens and trash bins still get vandalized!  I do wish that they’d make it where the caretakers pick up the tipped bins and the mechanics could fix the broken info screens, because having to constantly check the place to make sure all my stuff isn’t vandalized is getting annoying.  Now, as for info on the animals in Tropical Adventure:

The Red Ruffed Lemurs are breeding like rabbits lately!  I have over 30 of them now.  The Ring Tailed Lemurs aren’t having nearly as much luck breeding as my Red Ruffed Lemurs are.  The downside to this building, is that the lemurs get stressed out A LOT.  There really isn’t anything more I can do for them for stress.  I’ve given them a semi-closed off shelter so that they can hide, which helps them out tons, but with so many lemurs, I’m constantly getting notifications on their stress.

There really isn’t much to say about the Taipirs.  This pair of Taipirs don’t seem to get as stressed out as my last pair (or maybe the exhibit isn’t getting as much attraction now that I have many others, but I’m not about to bitch about that).

Like the Taipirs, there isn’t much to say about the Pygmy Hippos.  They seem to really enjoy the habitat I’ve made for them, though.

African Grasslands I originally wasn’t going to do an African exhibit in this zoo, but then the Cheetah Community Challenge came up and I just had to do it.  As you can tell, I started the area with the Cheetah exhibit.  As you can tell from my last overview, I’ve expanded the Lion habitat slightly.  They’ve gotten a new cave, and just more space overall.  I’ve also taken out the temporary food stalls and made the Grasslands Eatery (which includes some very needed toilet stalls).  As for the individual exhibits:

Alaric and Allyria both had max stats across the board.  They had three litters of five, which gave me two perfect stat Cheetah and many almost perfect Cheetahs.  Allyria has since passed away of old age, but Alaric is still on display.  When Alaric dies, I’ll be placing either Tytos or Cerenna in with one of my bred cheetahs I have left over from the challenge.

The lions have had a baby boom, hence the need for expansion.  I believe I currently have nine lion cubs at this time.  You can only imagine the feeding costs!

This weeks community challenge are to breed Zebras, so I’m debating on having a Zebra exhibit combined with giraffes possibly when I’m satisfied with the genetics I’ve gotten from the Zebras.  This is still up for debate on my end.

Taiga and Temperate (aka, I have yet to come up with a snazzy name for this area) I actually added in the Timber Wolves before I did Tropical Adventure, because they had just updated the pack system for them, and I wanted to see how the changes were.  The snow leopards were the last exhibit I did before starting the House of Primates project.  Overall, the area runs rather smoothly, and sees decent amounts of traffic.  Thankfully, there’s barely any vandalism or littering over here!  As for each individual exhibit:

I’ve just recently had an Alpha Female change, with Lyanna taking the status from her mother, Rosie, who was rather old.  Lyanna and Brandon have had their first litter of pups as well.  Given that Rosie lived until she was 22 years old, I have high hopes that Lyanna will live to be quite old as well.

The snow leopards honestly have been a pain in the ass!  They like to climb the trees, and then start complaining when they realize that it’s warmer in the tree tops than on the ground.  They also complain when getting in the water, which is a nuisance.  I’ve recently added in a one-way glass barrier around the viewing house, though it doesn’t seem to be helping at all.  

As for expansion on this area, I’ve marked out an area where I’d like to put the Japanese Macaque.  I already have one Macaque that I received from completing last week’s challenge in the top 9%, so hopefully finding more to complete the exhibit won’t be a pain in the ass.  Other than that, I do believe I might add in Pronghorns and Siberian Tigers over here.  I just haven’t planned that far yet.

Future Project: Bear Canyon From my previous posts, you can probably tell that I am a huge fan of the bears in this game!  I cannot help myself.  I’m thinking of putting Bear Canyon in the large space next to the Staff area and above the lions.  I’m also thinking about having a train run through the canyon as well, but this whole area is just in the planning stages.

[thebeakerblog]

Paying Back Our Intellectual Debt To The Natural World

Artist and experimental philosopher Jonathon Keats says his newest exhibit is a doorway -- a portal into a world where turtles threatened by expanding cities are given street camouflage (see above) and magnetized drones help guide confused birds journeying on ever-changing migrations. 

“I don’t know that there’s a lesson to what I do. I hope there isn’t, because that would be very easy to state and then why would one bother to get out wire cutters and duct tape and build these things?” says Keats. “I think it’s more about bringing people into this alternate reality.”

Keats has opened a business school for bacteria, worked to clone Lady Gaga, and designed a camera to take a picture with a 1,000 year exposure -- so he’s something of an alternate reality expert. 

His latest project is the “Reciprocal Biomimicry Initiative,” which opens at Bucknell University’s Samek Art Museum today. WNPR spoke with Keats to learn more. The following conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity. 

For starters, we’ll talk about biomimicry. Explain what it is.

Biomimicry is a principle that has been around for a very long time. If you look back, historically, you find even the history of the airplane is very much based on the flight of birds. 

But it has taken up a whole new level of sophistication in the past 30 or 40 years. For instance, the beaks of kingfishers have provided inspiration for the noses of bullet trains, based on the observation that kingfishers are able to dive into water without perturbing it, in order to catch fish.

That led me to think about how this incredible portfolio of intellectual property has been exploited by us for a long time, and in many ways. We continue to stripmine other organisms for their intellectual property even as we use that knowledge to increase our own hegemony.

That’s, of course, rather contrary to the green image that biomimicry tends to have and led me to undertake what I call “reciprocal biomimicry” with my Reciprocal Biomimicry Initiative.

Pull out a few examples of things that you are trying to re-jigger to pay it back to the natural world.

Reciprocal Biomimicry is based on the principle that our technologies might be of use to other organisms for their survival, just as their technologies have proven highly useful to us.

For example, if you look at the effect of climate change on birds and their migration patterns, many birds now find themselves in patterns that are inappropriate. So, I started thinking about whether we could make use of a number of our technologies, all put together in a new way, that would be specific for birds -- and that would be drones, that could fly with flocks and lead them.

Climate change makes the world far more unpredictable. And that unpredictability requires a degree of resilience that we have increasingly been working to build into our systems.

Above: The prototype drones have a set of coils that cancel out Earth’s geomagnetic field and also have a strong electromagnet, which provides an alternate field -- to help guide the birds. Keats says the idea would be helpful for birds who have lost visual cues on migration routes due to human development.

Below: Another Keats model demonstrates how solar panels could be floated on the surface of the ocean could help facilitate underwater photosynthesis. As global dimming and water pollution make less sunlight reach corals, fiber optic cables route light into the ever-darkening depths of the ocean. Keats says the device could also be powered by wave energy.

There are several other technologies that I am looking at as well. I guess maybe the most peculiar of them -- perhaps, or the most eccentric -- might be looking at the sex lives of flowers. And realizing that with colony collapse disorder, plants no longer have the benefit of natural pollination by honey bees.

Humans have come up with all sorts of plans for taking care of plants, or so they say, but really taking care of us -- by ensuring that plants get pollinated. These range from various sorts of rods that might be used to spread pollen to, very recently, drones that might do so.

But for the plants, it’s not very spectacular. It’s lacking in the pleasure of sex. As a result, I’ve been developing sex toys for flowers -- mini vibrators that attach to the plant and vibrate like honey bees (pictured below). They’re using technology that we’ve developed for our cell phones that make them vibrate -- and that are perfectly scaled to serve as surrogate bees. Not in order to spread pollen, but simply to give flowers that experience.

A lot of what we are talking about here is climate change -- and a lot of what goes along with climate change is stuff we can’t predict. We guard against that by building more resilient infrastructure. So was resiliency your north star in this project, when you’re trying to figure out how to engineer things for that natural world?

I think resiliency is the main thing that is on the mind of technologists who are looking to sustainability for humans. And because I am engaged in a process of taking our technologies and making them available to other organisms, inevitably, I crib on that.

In terms of the genesis of the project, it was equally looking at this whole question of intellectual property and the ways humans are so eager to patent inventions that come from other organisms. 

I’ve been interested in trying to pursue a means by which to patent, on behalf of other organisms, their technologies. In order to then license those technologies to human corporations and make that funding available to take care of an organisms’ habitat.

I love that idea. When I’ve thought about intellectual property and animals -- my mind generally goes to art. Like the black macaque monkey that took a selfie, and then there was debate about who owned that picture. But you’re saying, animals created a lot of cool technology that we’re just riffing off -- so maybe we should give them some credit for that.

I don’t think it’s just a matter of credit. It really, I think, requires that we think about the world we have created because it’s not a world exclusive to us. It’s a world that, inevitably, affects every species on the planet in ways they did not sign up for. 

If they are all going to be affected by the global economic system -- this thing we call civilization -- then we need to account for them and provide a means for them to operate within that system fairly.

Above: Life support systems allow mollusks to to migrate from land to sea (or vice versa) in order to escape the harmful effects of acid rain or ocean acidification. In conceptual models, Keats says tubes and valves are used to maintain required micro environments inside shells. 

It also just makes us more humbled. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, when we talk about ideas of human exceptionalism and the natural world.

Absolutely. Biomimicry has this humbling effect to some extent. There is absolutely an admiration implicit in a lot of biomimicry. The engineers who engage in it are certainly appreciative of the genius of evolution, for lack of a better term.

So there is a lot of admiration, but I just wonder to what degree that admiration is equivalent to the admiration we have for ourselves.

So if I want to assuage some of my guilt, should I go out and start putting camouflage on turtles?

The systems I have developed are at a very primitive stage. The camouflage for turtles, at present, resembles a sort of camouflage that you put on an army helmet. And, to put that onto a turtle may be inadvisable for all sorts of reasons. Turtles are not quite the same as helmets.

We need to take this a lot farther than, most likely, I am capable of doing. I think we need to, next, start thinking about this principle in terms of how we might apply it in the real world. But, recognizing that I come at this as an experimental philosopher. As someone who is interested in the ideas -- also to recognize that perhaps, this is not a very good idea, ultimately. 

Perhaps we should take this not as something we should go out and do -- but as a means to reflect on ourselves and our relationship with the world.

(Image Credits: Jonathon Keats)

[cloud-somersault]

This is in reference to your most recent post, but I honestly get so confused when people who watch LMK haven't read or at least done research on the source material(JTTW) because I feel like it dampens their experience of appreciating the characters. 

JTTW, which is what LMK is referenced from, is rich with tradition, meaning, and culture. Not understanding JTTW gives you a very one dimensional approach to all the characters but especially Wukong since he is currently one of the only original JTTW figures from the main cast. And in misunderstanding Wukong’s source material means that people really don’t understand shadowpeach like they should. 

Even if we were to only go from the context of the show, shadowpeach started out super toxic. LMAO! These guys were at each other’s throat constantly and were not amicable at all. The appeal is the fact that it is alluded to/shown that these two used to have a very close relationship but something happened to separate them. That’s where the intrigue begins, that’s what gets the gears turning in the viewer’s head. Something happened to make them this way and we want to know! In JTTW canon, Wukong did kill Macaque and it was actively against Buddha’s requests not to. Bro did not care, lol.  I think it is also important to realize that LMK and JTTW are still different BUT it’s honestly quite foolish, in my opinion, to completely disregard the book it is based on. And there’s nothing wrong with fans taking canon things from JTTW and applying it to LMK. Especially if it’s their own fanfiction or interpretation(like your fic). It has been a common theory that Wukong killed Macaque(pretty much since the show started), especially given a lot of the evidence we have been presented with. Disregarding one of the writer’s statements, it’s completely reasonable to make the connection between JTTW and LMK that Wukong did kill Macaque. Especially considering we are shown in the third season a flashback that they did have a violent brawl before his supposed death and subsequent resurrection. 

Shadowpeach IS inherently toxic, especially before there’s any character growth between them, and I personally feel like it’s okay to acknowledge that and embrace it. I understand people tend to gravitate away from any forms of toxicity because, yeah, it feels weird saying you like a ship of two people who hate each other. But that’s the fun thing about enemies to lovers! And shadowpeach has so much more depth to it because it can be interpreted in so many different ways. I wholeheartedly believe that their versatility and depth as a ship is largely the reason why they are one of the biggest ships in the fandom. And their depth comes from the fact that they are inherently flawed characters.  

This need to uphold Sun Wukong on a pedestal he does not deserve ultimately ruins the thing that makes them special. And that's how undeniably human he is. Someone wouldn’t know that just from watching LMK, especially since the show either glosses over the darker parts of JTTW or alters them entirely. Stripping Wukong specifically of the overflowing amount of wonderful source material he has completely dumbs down the beauty of his character. I think playing around with the idea that he did kill Macaque(in regards to LMK canon) doesn’t really change where they come from very much. Idk if anyone else has noticed, but the season 4 special is obviously still not the full picture. That little fight in the mountain is 100% not what makes them hate each other so much. That much animosity for an altercation like that?? It doesn’t make any sense. We still don’t have the full picture, and people are basing their attitude towards each in seasons 1-3 on insufficient evidence. 

Anyway, sorry lol. Seeing people not appreciate shadowpeach for the mess it is makes me so unbelievably disappointed and frustrated(especially if they know nothing about JTTW) and the internet is a great place to bounce off opinions. I promise this isn’t directed towards anyone in particular and it doesn’t come out of anger, I just think there is a common misunderstanding of shadowpeach’s complex foundation and I refuse to stand for it. /lh /nm

Okay, my weird rant is over, haha. I completely understand your irritation with comments like that, though, and I am so sorry you have to deal with them. 

Damn, I don't really have anything to add to this. I think you said it all. I can pack it up and go home LMFAO Can this be my new pinned post

Oh, I will say one thing. The fandom is def afraid or in denial that shadowpeach, in any iteration, is toxic. In order for it not to be, they'd have to be grossly out of character, and then guess what friends? That's not shadowpeach!

But a lot of people do that and are content with that. Which, okay, but stay off my porch LMFAO