#And Pigsy continues to be the worst

[pompomqt]

Journey to the West Chapter 28

Sun Wukong when Tripitaka kicks him out for murder, so he decides to do more murder:

Last chapter of Journey to the West with @journeythroughjourneytothewest ended on a real low note with Sun Wukong being banished from the group, so lets see what happens now that they are apart shall we?

So Sun Wukong returns home to Flower Fruit Mountain only to find it in terrible shape because Erlang had burned it to the ground back when Wukong was causing a disturbance in the heavens. While Wukong is grieving the state of his home he is accosted by a couple of monkey's who welcome him home. Wukong asks them why everyone is hiding because he's been back for a while and hasn't seen any of them until now. So the little monkey's tell him all about their troubles, ever since the Great Sage was captured by heaven the residents of Flower Fruit Mountain have been suffering from the hands of hunters. The monkeys beg him to do something about this and Sun Wukong asks how many of them are left to find out that only a thousand so remain when they used to number around forty seven thousand. About half of that number was killed when Erlang burned the mountain, which also caused another half of that number to leave because of a lack of food and the rest of their number was dwindled even further by the hunters who come to capture or eat them. Also I should add a crime list to heaven, because collective punishment like this is a war crime. Not Cool Erlang.

After hearing about the horrible fates his people has been suffering in his absence, Wukong asks who's left that's still in charge and he finds this his two marshals Ma and Liu and his two generals Peng and Ba are still alive at least. So Sun Wukong sends the little monkeys out to announce his return to them.

So Wukong is greeted by his underlings and they ask him why he is not currently heading west accompanying the Tang Monk. So he tells them all about how he used his abilities to protect him, but when he killed a demon for him, he accused him of doing evil and banished him. The monkeys are quick to celebrate this news, more than happy to have their king back, but Wukong isn't ready to party just yet, because first he has some business to attend to.

So Wukong has the little monkeys gather small rocks for him and put them into piles, then he has them hide in the cave so they'll be out of harms way for what he does next. Then Wukong heads to the peak of the mountain and spots the hunters coming up the mountain, over a thousand of them. So Wukong uses his magic to create a violent wind, which scattered the stones the little monkeys had collected sending them at the hunters at deadly speeds. It was no contest who the winner of that fight was, it was a massacre. Sun Wukong is very amused by this, after all the Tang Monk was always telling him that 'Do good a thousand days, but the good is still insufficient; Do evil for one day, and that evil is already excessive.' But! Doing evil is super easy, just like killing those hunters was.

After that Sun Wukong tells the other monkeys that it's safe to come out and has them loot the bodies of the dead hunters. And he uses the banners of the hunters to make one large banner and on it he wrote: 'The Flower-Fruit Mountain Rebuilt, The Water Curtain Cave Restored- Great Sage Equal to Heaven' therefore announcing his presence to the world and hopefully scaring away any other would be antagonizers. After that he helps restores Flower Fruit Mountain with some water he borrowed from the Dragon Kings. With the mountain restored and safe once more, Sun Wukong gladly settles down to party without a care in the world.

So with Monkey partying it up on Flower Fruit Mountain we cut back to Tripitaka and the rest of the pilgrims to see how they are faring without him. So the pilgrims are continuing on their journey until Tripitaka gets hungry again and asks Pigsy to go get him some vegetarian food. So Pigsy agrees and heads off with the alms bowl- on foot despite the fact that he can fly. So Pigsy walks for about ten miles before realizing this whole 'getting food for Tripitaka thing' isn't as easy as Monkey always made it look. After walking a little whiles more he decides to give up, but since Tripititaka might not believe him if he says there is nothing to eat if he comes back this soon, he decides to take a nap for an hour to kill some time. If Pigsy wanted to continue being lazy like this maybe he should have thought twice before he got the one contributing the most to this little group project expelled but alas.

Tripitaka meanwhile is getting anxious about what could be taking Pigsy this long. (After all Wukong never took this long...) Sandy tries to assure him that Pigsy is probably just off stuffing his own face before he comes back to feed Tripitaka. Tripitaka says that's still a problem though because it's getting late and they need to find lodging for the night. So Sandy has Tripitaka wait there while he goes off to find Pigsy and drag him back. Leaving Tripitaka completely without any body guards or protection. Unless you count the horse. Which- you probably shouldn't count the horse.

Finding himself all alone, eventually Tripitaka decides to tie up the horse and leave the luggage and take a leisurely stroll through the suspicious forest. And during this stroll he of course becomes lost. Unluckily for him he comes across a beautiful golden pagoda. Which despite being super suspicious, Tripitaka is rather thrilled about and decides to ask the owner if he can have lodging for the night, only to find that of course of course, the owner of this place is a scary demon, who is fortunately asleep at the moment. Now if Sun Wukong were here, he would have been able to see that this place was a trap from a thousand miles away- I mean Tripitaka probably still wouldn't have listened to him, but at least he would have been warned.

Upon seeing the demon Tripitaka makes his first smart decision all day and decides to run away. Unfortunately Tripitaka doesn't make it very far before the demon senses his presence and has his minion demon's capture him. Tripitaka tries to flee, but is rather to paralyzed by fear to make it far. So the minion demons bring Tripitaka to their boss and the demon asks Tripitaka who he is and where he came from and where he's going. So Tripitaka recites his mission statement and says that he didn't mean to disturb the demon so if you'll excuse him he really should be on his way... but of course he'll record the demon's illustrious name for posterity....

The Demon however is much more interested in eating such an illustrious monk! So he has his minion demons tie Tripitaka to a pole. The Demon then asks Tripitaka how many people are in his entourage, so Tripitaka tells him he has two disciples Zhu Eight rules and the Sha Monk. He also tells him he has a horse and some luggage. Notably he doesn't mention Sun Wukong despite Sun Wukong telling him to use his name for protection at their parting. Which credit where credit is due, Tripitaka certainly keeps his word. He said he wouldn't use Wukong's name, and he wouldn't use the fillet no matter what happened, so he won't, even if it means getting eaten by a demon. Anyways, hearing this the demon decides to wait for the two disciples to arrive at his doorstep looking for their master so he can capture and eat them to.

We cut back to said disciples to find that Sandy managed to find Pigsy, thanks to the fact that Pigsy was talking in his sleep. So Sandy gives him a quick scolding for sleeping on the job before telling him that the food doesn't matter anymore now they have to find a place to stay the night. So Sandy drags Pigsy back to where they left Tripitaka only to find Tripitaka missing. Sandy yells at Pigsy saying that Tripitaka must have been seized by a monster because Pigsy took so long. Pigsy denies this saying that Tripitaka probably just wandered off somewhere... which I guess means they are both kind of right? Tripitaka did wander off... and then got seized by a monster. So the two start looking for Tripitaka and before long find the Pagoda. Pigsy is certain that Tripitaka is there being treated hospitably, but Sandy is a little more wary. Although he can't discern good and evil like Sun Wukong can, at least he is slightly more wary of things that look to good to be true and says they should have a look first.

So with the power of rolling a perception check and passing, Sandy is able to determine that this place is a demon lair. Despite this information Pigsy isn't deterred and has Sandy guard the horse and luggage while he bangs on the door. The minion demons tell their boss that there are two ugly looking monks outside knocking on their door. The Demon realizes this must be the two disciples he's heard so much about and gets dressed in his armor to go out and great them.

So the Demon Yellow Robe, asks them what they want, and Pigsy demands that he send out Tripitaka if he has him. The Demon says that he does indeed have Tripitaka and is showing him the finest hospitality, in fact he was just preparing some human meat buns for him to enjoy. And he invites Pigsy and Sandy to come inside and also have some. Pigsy if of course all for taking this wonderful offer, but Sandy stops him and reminds him that he's vegetarian now. Man with Sun Wukong gone Sandy has it rough to since now the 'Pigsy wrangling duties' fall on him.

Anyways, realizing he's being tricked Pigsy strikes out with his rake and the fight between the demon and Pigsy and Sandy begins.

Current Sun Wukong Stats: Names/Titles: Monkey, The Stone Monkey, The Handsome Monkey King, Sun Wukong (Monkey awakened to the void), Bimawen (Banhorseplague), The Great Sage Equal To Heaven and Pilgrim Sun. Immortality: 5 + 94,000 years. Weapon: The Compliant Golden Hooped Rod Abilities: 72 Transformations, Cloud-Somersault, Ability to transform his individual hairs, super strength, Ability to Summon Wind, Water restriction charm, and the ability to change into a huge war form, ability to duplicate his staff, ability to immobilize others, the ability to put others to sleep, and the Fiery eyes and Diamond Pupils, intimidating horses, churning large bodies of water, sleeplessness, seizing the wind, enhanced smell, discerning good and evil within a thousand miles, Spirit Summoning, lock picking, and object transformation. Demon Kill Count: 5+ Unknown Number of Minions Human Kill Count: 1006 God's Defeated: 19 + Unknown number Defeats: 3 Crime List: Robbery, Murder, Mass Murder, Arson, Theft, Coercion, Threatening a Government Official, Resisting Arrest, Assault, Forgery, Employee Theft, False Imprisonment, Impersonating a Government Official, Treason, attempted murder, failure to control or report a dangerous fire, desecrating a corpse, breaking and entering, trespassing, violating Tree Law and looting corpses. Cry Count: 4 Mountains Trapped Under: 1

Current Tang Sanzang stats: Names/Titles: River Float, Xuanzang, Tang Sanzang, Tripitaka Abilities: Curing Blindness, making branches point a certain direction (allegedly), reciting sutras, pretty privilege, memorization and Heart Sutra. Cry Count: 15 Tight Fillet Spell Uses: 27 Paralyzed by fear: 5 Bandit Problems: 2 Kidnapped by demons: 3 Falling Off Horses: 6

Current Bai Long Ma Stats: Names/Titles: Bai Long Ma (White Dragon Horse), Prince of the Western Ocean, and third prince jade dragon of the dragon king Aorun Abilities: Transforming into a human, a water snake, and a horse, eating a horse in one bite, and flight. Crime List: Arson, and Grave Disobedience. Contributions to the plot: 1

Current Zhu Wuneng Stats: Names/Titles: The Marshal of the Heavenly Reeds, Zhu Wuneng (Pig who is aware of ability), Zhu Ganglie, Pigsy, Idiot and Eight Rules. Weapon: Rake Abilities: 36 Transformations, parting water, fighting underwater and cloud soaring. Demon Kill Count/Kill steals: 1 Failed Flirtation/romances Attempts: 3 Cry Count: 1 Crime List: Sexual Harassment, Murder, Kidnapping and arson.

Current Sha Wujing Stats: Names/Titles: The Curtain-Raising General, Sha Wujing (Sand Aware of Purity), Sandy and Sha Monk Weapon: Monster Taming Staff Abilities: Fighting underwater Crime List: Breaking a Crystal Cup, murder, and desecration of a human corpse.

Previous - Masterpost - Next

[quitealotofsodapop]

Spicynoodles with egged MK content.

The angst, the fluff, the hurt/comfort, all of it.

That's all I got right now.

That feel when the boy you have a crush/rivalry with is having a (literal) single-parent crisis, and he's just learned he's a primordial stone monkey that may die due to the unique process.

Red Son is confused af - when did *this* happen?! He was in a Scroll for a lot of the process, so he's a little out of the loop!

Not to mention, everyone's gut reaction is to look at them!! As if they had something to do with it!

Red Son and his family have been in more frequent contact with Sun Wukong and his protégé ever since the events surrounding the release of the Brotherhood. DBK forms an unexpected friendship with Pigsy over their shared journeys of cooking and fatherhood. The same occurs on a smaller scale with Tang and PIF getting together to gossip about immortal drama over cocktails.

The fact that Red's parents see MK's future cub as a surrogate grand-calf could be part of that. Red still blushes whenever she remembers her father's first assumptions on the matter.

MK becomes a bit of a recluse in the days after S4. Not only because of what he's learned about himself and his Egg, but because his energy is severely sapped.

At Mei's insistence, Red Son agrees to come over and spend some time with their fave monkey-boy. MK appreciates the company. The Egg absorbs so much life energy that he can barely get out of bed some days.

After a few weeks MK breaks down into hormonal tears. Sobbing into his former-enemy's jacket.

MK: "Everything I do leads to pain.... I'm sorry. You're the last person I should cry to." Red Son, rubbing MK's back: "It's ok. This is all... very new for all of us. You being the only other known celestial monkey besides Sun Wukong and Macaque has been a shock to everyone." MK, sniffling: "No. Not just that... this... I don't think I'll be able to be there for them." Red Son, stiffens: "What do you mean?" MK: "I'm..." (*gets quiet*) Red Son, thinks for a bit: "My mother does share the stories you know. How she almost died bringing me to life. To make that risk... It's admirable." MK: (*quietly leans head on Red Son's shoulder*) Red Son: "You've stated your intentions many times before to continue the pregnancy despite the risks. All I can offer is that I'm allowed to be there to see you through it." MK, looking up with surprise: "You will?" Red Son: "Yes." MK, regaining cheeky smile: "Not just because your parents are convinced it's yours?" Red Son, coughs awkwardly: "WELL uh!" *cough* "Uncle did mention that proximity to a preferred... partner, could help alleviate the worst of the symptoms caused by lack of life energy. But that the child could become peppered with the Dao of the partner and therefore their DNA..." MK, happy laughing: "I don't mind having a baby with red hair or horns, if thats what you're worried about!" Red Son: (*blushing furiously*)

So Red Son unofficially deems herself "the sire" of the Egg so she can donate her life energy to the depleted MK.

Then Season 5 happens...

MK actually manages to fight back against the restraints of the Ten Kings - his body providing a beacon of Life that they have no power over. Li Jing still handles the pregnant creature roughly, father or not - he sees MK as a beast that needs to be tamed. Nezha growls at his father's actions, and quickly comes to MK's aid - declaring his duty as a Protector of Children (although stretching the definition considering said child could be MK himself or the unborn cub) to preside over Li Jing's orders.

Somehow, knowing about his Egg, makes MK even more self-sacrificial. Because in his mind; if his Stone Egg is going to kill him anyway - why not sacrifice himself to repair the Heavenly Pillar?

Everyone reacts even worse than in canon.

The Nine-Headed Demon certainly didn't expect the Harbinger to "sprout off" so soon! They tease and prod MK - pointing out that he's accomplishing something not even the Monkey King has done; have a child of his own.

Wukong and Macaque snarl and bite at the snake for that comment...

Xiangliu is kept busy from trying to stop multiple heroes and anti-villains from tearing him apart.

Wukong can't even bring himself to fight MK's sacrifice, only able to hang onto his successor in a desperate hold. Begging him to please think of himself. His family and friends! His Egg even!

But MK still makes that leap.

Upon entering Nüwa's sanctuary within the Pillar and learning that his sacrifice was to only upkeep a destructive cycle, MK... has the expected reaction.

MK: "You expect me to sacrifice myself to when my kid won't even live to see the world?!" Nüwa, surprised: "I... I will admit. I had not known you would be able to do that."

After hearing her Harbinger's tearful plea, the goddess can only smile and sigh.

Although the safest option is to continue the cycle, she knows any child of her blood or clay would not dare leave the world or people they love so dearly. Heavens weep when a mother/father sets their mind to something. Something she struggled with many eons ago...

She gives her Little Heaven the Five Stones and the instructions for how to split their powers evenly across the cosmos. Humanity has certainly increased in number since her time!

She also gives blessings to her future grand-creation! The little stone monkey will be the first born naturally since Sun Wukong after all. She can spare a blessing or two to ensure their safe arrival!

MK leaves the Pillar, seeing his friends and family clasped together - all believing that the world was truly coming to an end.

Red Son, emboldened by the coming apocalypse, suddenly declares something that's been on his mind for a while now.

Red Son: "I like-like you, noodle boy! I did not lie when I said I want to be by your side through it all! If the world is to end now, I do not wish for it to end without saying I wish we could have been courting!" MK, touched: "Aww!!! Thats really sweet, Red Son! But I actually have a plan to save the world!" Red Son, stuttering: "Oh um. Ok?" MK: "I totally reciprocate the feelings though!" Red Son, excited: "You do!?" Macaque, interrupting: "Excuse me, lovebirds. End of the world?" MK, fumbling the five stones: "OH YEAH! RIGHT!"

The stones are still destroyed, and the Queen Mother of Heaven watches as the power her husband harboured for so long spreads across the universe like petals on the wind.

It takes some time for MK's egg to be fully ready, so him and Red Son have some time to do some courting before the little guy arrives!

PIF and DBK totally called it.

Also it turns out harbouring the Five Heavenly Stones while pregnant has some... unexpected effects on the Stone Egg within...

The Whole Family: "..." Baby: (*eyes glowing with a rainbow shimmer*) Baby: *chirp*! Pigsy: "Why does my grandson look like a Lisa Frank drawing?" MK: (*tired shrug*) Mei, taking photos: "He's so pretty!!"

The baby is named "Haoyu - the "Vast Universe/浩宇" to MK's "Little Heaven/小天". Depending on the characters it can also mean "cloudburst/豪��" aka an unexpected rain.

[hcdragonwrites]

Cozy (a @jttw-monkeybusiness Drabble )

So I made another one- this one was inspired by this ask (I suck at Hyperlinks I���m so sorry)

It rolled a bit in my brain and kept begging to be fleshed out, so I decided to give it life ! Enjoy!

Snow

Snow fell in white flurries, chasing away the blossoms and birds that had been sitting in the trees just moments before. The storm was in a full frenzy now, peeling petals from overeager trees who had budded too soon, and throwing the birds from the sky. The wind whipped up the cold powder to spray back in the face of the pilgrims as they continued on their journey. They had left the warm subtropical forest only hours ago, where Sophie had rolled her sleeves up to relieve some of the excess heat. Now however, she was shivering.

None of the group, save for Wukong, was truly equipped for the snow and cold. Pigsys ears were turning purple from the temperature as he tried, and failed, to hide from the worst of it behind Sandy. Sandy silently continued on, carving a path for Sophie (who trailed farther behind) to walk through. The snow was already deep, coming to her knees as they continued to follow the tiny path up the mountain. Black rock jutted upward and outward like broken teeth into the white air. Horse and Monk both were struggling ahead, Yulongs sides shivering in the wet as the snow melted on his fur. Tripitaka called Wukong over, asking him to scout ahead to look for a place they could shelter for the duration of this storm. Sophie could see there heads bent together as Master and pupil discussed. Wukong, for once, didn’t reply with a snort or a quick jab at how Trip should be lucky for him to be his disciple. Instead he had somersaulted off, gone in a flash of fur and tiger stripes, into the air.

“Would be nice if I could just somersault out of here.” Sophie muttered.

A freak blizzard had not been on the list of things Sophie was ready for. She had faced shape-changing demons, women that turned to great tigers to devour Tripitaka, mountain gods throwing stones down into their path and the like. Sophie was prepared for any person or creature - or at least- expecting it. The weather however? She was severely underprepared for. She had the travel clothes she had bought with the coin purse she’d been given. They were meant for light rain and mild heat. Not for a snowstorm. Sophies hair was getting wet and the cold was starting to chill her ears from where it melted.

“It’s so cold…” she muttered. She kept following Sandys footpath, thankful for the giant of a river demon and his slow shuffling walk. If he was walking normally he would have left her far behind in the snow.

Her foot hit a rock and slipped, sending her flailing into a rapidly growing snowbank. “F-f-f-freezing! AH!” Snow had gone down her shirt, sending a chill up her spine. Faster than a wildcat she had hopped from the bank, shaking herself.

“Hate snow hate snow hate snow—“ she chanted her mantra as she slapped off the powder, trying to prevent it from melting and wetting her clothes. Wet clothes would only spell disaster. Sophie could recall all the cold born illnesses from one special National Geographic did on Everest and the extreme exposure the hikers faced there: pneumonia, Trench foot, frostbite, hypothermia, flu, Chilblains, bronchitis —

Her foot slipped again as her mind was listing all the things that could happen. Sophie would have been in the snowbank a second time except something caught her by the midriff and hauled her up.

“Stupid women stay on your feet!” Wukong snarled in her ear, setting her down. Sophie nodded, teeth chattering and nose turning red as the cold began to chap it. “Of all the people here I thought at least you had the common sense to be aware of ice!”

From up ahead came the faint cry and heavy fall as Pigsys fell face first in the snow. Sandy had to quickly turn to hid a chuckle as the drenched demon began wilding swinging his rake around in rage.

“S-s-sorry.” She mumbled, shoving her hands beneath her armpits. “Slipped.”

“What’s wrong with your speech? You sound like a squirrel.” Wukong cocked his head, an eyebrow raised. He rolled his eyes when Sophie didn’t banter back irritated she wasn’t snapping back at him. That agitation grew when he felt something like worry begin to itch his pelt. Of the pilgrims, the two mortals were in his charge of care and were the most delicate. While Wukong could fight off monsters and Demons and wicked minded mortals he could not fight a storm. Well- he could if he really wanted to find the celestial body responsible for its creation. But that would take time- and time was not on his side on this.

Tripitaka had put on a brave face when he had asked the Monkey King to find shelter. That didn’t mean Wukong had not noticed how his Masters hands had turned red at the growing cold, how his body shivered and his nose sniffed. Wukong would have teased, poked and prodded at his master- it was his nature to rile and cause mischief. But when he had seen the half awake expression on the mortal man’s face, Wukong had bit his tongue (with great effort) and had instead nodded.

Seeing Sophie in a similar state made the itch beneath his pelt grow worse as fire ants had begun to bite his skin.

“Damn it.” He cursed beneath his breath. He snatched her arm, avoiding her hand, and started dragging her behind him. “Come on just a bit farther you softie. I found a cave up ahead where we can get out of the worst of it. You mortals are ABSOLUTELY worthless when it comes to weather —“

Sophie was only half listening to Wukongs ranting. She allowed herself to be dragged up the mountain pass, trusting the Monkey King to find a better route than her own dimming senses. The cold was like a blanket she wanted to escape out of. Or escape into? She couldn’t remember clearly. If she closed her eyes… she was so tired. The snow looked inviting, comforting. Like the best downy comforter. Like the fluffiest pillow.

Maybe I just … need to lay … down in the comfort. Just close my eyes for a few minutes.

They had been walking for hours before the storm blew in. Her feet hurt, her hands shook and it was so cold. Cold. She just wanted to sleep.

“SOPHIE LOOK AT ME!” Wukong yanked her and she was rattled enough to open her eyes wider in surprise. Sun Wukong was right in her face, leaning so close she could see every line of his facial markings in detail. His breath came from between his teeth like some dragons as he glared.

“Ye-es?!”

“Stay awake- we're almost there. If you fall asleep while I’m dragging your ass up the mountain I will bite your pretty nose clean off!” The demonic monkey spat, then, half carried, half dragged Sophie the rest of the way. Leaning against his back Sophie sighed. Through the clothing she could feel it- like desert sand warmed by the sun. Delicious heat. Sophie - who wouldn’t in normal circumstances have cuddled so close- practically melted against the warmth. What else could she do? Wukong was dragging her up the mountain- practically carrying her. She could see the bend in the mountain pass- a steep cliff where the road cut itself around and hugged the mountain as a snake would do climbing along a vine. Almost there.

“How come you get to be so warm?” She grumbled, not realizing she had said it aloud. Wukong had heard however, and his face became a storm cloud as his heart took a shuddering beat.

“Maybe grow some fur or ask for the Buddha to make you some furry creature. Bet he would too.” Wukong grumbled back.

Stupid fucking women.

They reached the curve in the mountain where Pigsy and Sandy- mostly Sandy since the pig demon kept complaining about how cold his snout was- were setting up three tents. The tents were simple, the leather treated against wet weather and solid. All pigsy had to do was drive the stakes into the stone which, it seemed, he was failing at.

“It’s so damn cold!” Pigsy snorted angrily stamping his hands together, having missed the spike for the third time. “Blasted Heaven and whoever ordered a storm now of all times! Don’t they know who’s crossing these mountains?”

“Less talking more working.” Sandy angrily chided. He had finished setting up the second tent all on his own. When Pigsy went to open his mouth to make another comment and the usually peaceful Sandy shoved him across the shallow cave to the last tent and the one closest to the entrance.

As Wukong walked past, Pigsy lifted an eyebrow at the strange sight. The Monkey King could see the pig beginning to lift a lip in a smirk only to stop when he noticed Sophie’s shivering.

“What did you do?” Those were the last words Wukong expected to come out of his fellow brothers mouth.

“WHAT DID I DO?!” He bared his teeth, fangs on display. He didn’t have time for Pigsy or for his own feelings to confuse him. He knew Sophie was practically clinging to his back like the newborn monkeys did to their mothers back on Flower Fruit Mountain. He was very aware of it. The last thing he needed was for this thick pink idiot to start shit with him.

“I DIDNT DO SHIT YOU THICK HEADED BOAR.” He spat, continuing past. “THIS IDIOT STARTED FALLING ASLEEP IN THE FUCKING STORM. NOW SHUT UP AND GET THE OTHER TENT SET UP.”

Wukong left Pigsy behind, angrily chattering to himself and feeling embarrassed all the while. He couldn’t let that thick womanizing boar know any of Wukongs feelings. If he did, the damn brute would only press his nose to it and route deeper. The sooner he got Sophie off his back the better. Even though he didn’t entirely want that.

He reached the back corner of the cave, setting Sophie down. She huffed, letting go with some reluctance to his warm back. The Monkey King knelt, leaning in. Sophie’s shivering was less. Good.

“I’ll be back- I have to make sure the pink ham doesn’t fuck up the last tent. Once I’ve tended Yulong and seen to my masters comforts I’ll be back to check on you.”

Sophie pulled her knees to her chest. She was still so cold. She wanted nothing more then to curl up and sleep- to find something warm and hold onto it. She heard Wukong from far off - but she nodded.

“S-S-sure… just gonna fall .. asleep.”

“Don’t fall asleep you idiot.” He snapped.

“Why not?” Sophie groaned. She was tired

“Remember. You are in wet clothes. Wake up just to remember - Think. Use that reading brain of yours.” He flicked her between the eyes. That woke Sophie up enough as the pain cleared her head.

“Ow, what the hell Wukong?!” Sophie felt like she had come out of a daze. Her fingers started rubbing at the pain. It wasn’t terrible but … she felt like a child be scolded. Sophie glared up into the smug monkey face.

“Awake? Good. Now fucking listen before you nod off again.” Wukong smirked just a bit. The itching beneath his fur had eased just enough upon seeing her get mad. He spoke slowly, for her sake but also to press in how much he enjoyed giving her orders- and being right about them. “Your clothes are wet. You can’t sleep in them. Change to new ones. In fact, bundle up as much as you can. I’ll be back to check on you.”

Wukong stood up, then turned back around to flick her on the forehead again.

“Ow! I’m up, I'm up!” Sophie rubbed at the space between her brows.

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Yes yes …” she uncurled herself and stood as well, looking down at the Monkey King. “Get out of wet clothes and get new ones. Bundle up. That really hurt you know.”

“If you are still in wet fucking clothes, I’ll do a lot worse then just smack you between the eyes.” And then he was away, already cussing Pigsy out who had, somehow, managed to rip the tent.

It was a only about twenty minutes later but Sophie had managed not to fall asleep. She had gotten into the tent and had peeled the worst of the wet clothes off. Her poor shoes were the worst for wear- the socks and the soles were soaked. She would have to wear her spare shoes tomorrow and let these ones dry. Sophie had set the wet clothes to the farthest side of the tent. She was now dressed in a pair of gray sweats, a long sleeve and her hoodie of bright orange with clementines decorating the front. She felt much warmer and absolutely exhausted. Her fingers were red where the cold had gotten them, her lips felt chapped from the dry air, and her body just kept shivering.

Sophie had retreated almost completely into the hoodie- only her face was viewable.

The tent flap lifted and Wukong stepped in, a bowl of some sort of wild berries and cold rice in one hand. He took one look at her huddled there on her sleeping mat and snorted.

“You look like some orange orangutan.”

“Hahah very funny. See how you like the cold when you don’t have fur.” She shot back. Wukong offered the bowl to her and she took it, digging into it with gusto.

“How’s Trip?” She asked between bites.

“Alive.” Wukong leaned back, putting his arms beneath his head as he stared up at the tent ceiling. “You two would have frozen if not for me- you were both starting to look pinker than yangmei fruit.”

“Thank you.” Sophie said.

“Mm? What are you thankful for ?”

Oh he was gonna ask her for all of it then? Sophie looked at him. Wukong had propped himself up enough to stare at her, waiting.

“Thank you for the food.” She lifted the now empty bowl- she had been famished - to him. “Thank you for finding a spot to rest. And … thanks for dragging me out of the snow.”

“You almost died I hope you know that.” He smirked, laying back down, eyes closing. She followed suit, too tired to sit up anymore or even bicker back with him.

“Yeah I did …” Sophie yawned. Usually she wouldn’t admit so readily to Wukong just how certain situations had made her dependent upon him. He was always, in some way or other, saving the lot of them. When Tripitaka was snatched up by some Goblins belonging to some chieftain of a nearby mountain, when Pigsy had boasted that they didn’t need Wukong and then (almost immediately) failed to find food when Wukong was sent away. He had stopped the dragon horse from foundering and taken to the care of his hooves and coat many a time. The Monkey King had seen to restoring the missing supplies from Sophie pack when a group of mischievous raccoon spirits had taken it. Wukong had even replaced Sandy’s teakettle when it was smashed in battle (Sophie was pretty sure he had stolen it).

He may act aloof and pompous but deep down, this big old brute cared for them. Even Pigsy.

Sophie felt her eyes grow heavy as Wukong kept talking about how she had stumbled in the snow like some “dumb struck fawn” until he came to help her.

As she relaxed to the sound of his voice rumbling on and on, it almost felt … cozy. Yes Wukong may like to slide the occasional wriggly salamander into her water skin, he may thumb through her things like they were his, he may call her idiot, stupid women, and softie. But. There was no real malice behind his actions.

He was also kind of … warm. She scooted closer, half listening to the Monkey ramble on about the idiocy of mortals and the greatness of beings such as him. He was rambling on about his natural prowess over mortals and how he had mastered the arts of immortality and Tripitaka couldn’t even master warding off a cold. Sophie fell asleep before he could get to the part about her looking like a slack jawed idiot in the snow.

Wukong was only a quarter way through his regaling of the story of how he had saved everyone this day when he felt hands wrap around his chest.

His heart nearly flew into his throat as he stopped dead in his speech. His mouth was open, voice cut off halfway through his speech. Sophie curled into his side, face buried in the crook of his neck and so close to his ear he could feel her breathing against its shell.

Electricity shot threw him, fur standing on end as if he had been in a thunderstorm.

He was suddenly very aware of many things. Of Sophie’s hands that had escaped that ridiculous orange sweatshirt and were now burrowed into his fur. One arm was across his chest. The second one was now, somehow beneath his head and tugging on his shoulder. Sophie’s face rested on his arm and in the curve of his neck, her face rubbing back and forth like a cat. As if … she was enjoying the feel of it.

Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

Sophie moved just a bit, mumbling in his ear and Wukong felt his tail lash like it had just been bit. She didn’t say anything coherent but — the proximity alone—

Fucking Hell and all its Judges.

Sophie was … cuddling him.

She was practically twined around him.

And she smelled fantastic. Her scent always changed- sometimes it held a hint of lemons and the sweetness of grass, other times it floated like rain clouds and smelled of stones. But all of it together had a larger perfume beneath it. It was just her. Yes there were moments when her scent changed just enough that he felt like he was adding new spices onto his favorite dish. The essence of it, however, was just Sophie.

And now that cloud was all around him, filling his nose.

He looked at her, turning his head just a fraction to see.

Big mistake.

She was asleep, passed out completely. She looked so … fragile asleep. The dark circles beneath her eyes spoke of how she hadn’t been sleeping well. Her nose was stupidly pink like a Red Pika in her pale face. The cold must have chapped it. His eyes darted to her lips …

Mistake number two.

Wukong looked away, feeling his face flame. Fuck. Shit. He was stuck in a predicament now. He hadn’t meant to chat away about himself for so long that Sophie would fall asleep. Wukong was at war with himself. On one hand, he needed to get out of here. To leave before Pigsy and the others found out- before Sophie found out.

He couldn’t let anyone be that close to him- couldn’t let anyone be as close as Sophie was right now. It was a liability to his pride, to his reputation—

To his heart. Because if she rejected him it would ruin the friendship they had. And the feeling he had building in his chest- he would crush it in his fist before he let it jeopardize that peace between them.

I have to leave —

Wukong tried to move-

Only to feel Sophie’s fingers tug in his fur and her sleepy voice grumble “m’no don’t go.”

Jade Emperor flay me and boil me alive again.

In all the hundreds of years of living, Wukong had only felt trapped like this but once before. The first time he had lost his wager to the Buddha, having been unable to somersault out of his hand. The second time? He was trapped because he allowed it. He was trapped in a way no one in Heaven could have predicted- or had thought to do. Wukong had been placed in vats to be boiled, had wormed and tricked his way out of every trap and net that had attempted to keep his mischief managed. It had taken Buddha and his wager to finally end Wukongs terrorization of Heaven.

Wukong couldn’t move now. He was tethered here by frail fingers and the steady beat of a mortal's heart.

He could hear her heartbeat, feel it against his side. It was steady, soft. Like the steady roar of Water-Curtain Cave. Like the wind through the trees of the orchards on his mountain.

She was mortal. One day that steady beat would stop as all mortal hearts did.

That set his tail to lashing just a bit.

Hasn't she been afraid of dying? Of growing old? He remembered hearing a conversation late at night- when Tripataka and Sophie had those rare mortal conversations where he was explicitly not allowed to sit in on. He hadn’t known why it was such a secret conversation. So of course, since it wasn’t an order, Wukong had pulled a hair from his tail and made a doppel and floated somewhere nearby but out of sight to eavesdrop. The Monk and Reader had been chatting about death, about Sophie’s future.

Well her fears were unfounded. Doesn’t she know I would take care of her? Sophie shifted a bit closer as a gust of wind slipped beneath the tent flat he had left unsecured. Damn it all. Wukong carefully, o so carefully, shifted himself. He slid his body so he was now lying on his side, setting Sophie’s head beneath his chin. It was all the invitation Sophie needed to cuddle closer and escape from the wind.

“You stupid women.” He angrily whispered into her hair. He wouldn’t let her die. He would just fix that. He would fix a lot of her problems. She just had to tell him. He was Sun Wukong, Great Sage Equal to Heaven. He knew of a hundred different ways to achieve immortality. He could fix them all. Like her problem right now of being cold.

He was too tense to relax fully- too aware- but he grew just a fraction larger. His size now dwarfed Sophie’s a good bit and gave her a bit more to tangle into. And she did. Sophie curled her knees up, shivering slowing. Wukong waited. Watching. When finally the shivering had ceased he allowed just a fraction of tension to slide off of him. This stupid softie is gonna make me soft. The thought didn’t bother him as much as it would have months ago.

Maybe he wouldn’t get much sleep tonight but…

He could make her life Hell in the morning. It was something that she owed him on. His face was screwed furiously into a scowl because all he wanted to do was enjoy this moment but if he did- if he really truly did- he didn’t know if he would be able to stop.

She was most assuredly going to be bombarded tomorrow with the most annoying and snappish teasing and toying a King of Monkeys and tricks could give.

Sophie woke with a start as something cold and wet slapped her in the face. She panicked as any person would.

“GaH! DEMON!” She cried, grabbing at her face and throwing it aside. It was a wet rag.

“Relax.” Wukongs voice laughed at her. “Unless cloth can become possessed and has gained a hunger for red nosed mortal flesh, you're fine.”

He was at the tent flap, grinning ear to ear in a grin that promised problems. Really so early in the morning and he already wants to play games ?

“You could have woken me up in a number of other ways- why did you pick that?” Sophie rubbed at her face, feeling … huh. She didn’t feel as sore as she usually felt. When Sophie woke up there was almost a constant crick of pain in her neck from whatever odd angle she had slept in on the ground.

Maybe I had been so tired my body just finally didn’t care.

He shrugged. “You stink. Next place we stop at you better demand a bath of some sort or other.”

“Thanks….” She grumbled, letting the sarcasm drip off her words. She took the cloth up, rubbing the sleep out of her face and the worst of the dirt off her face and arms. She would kill for a warm bath, one that would wake up her bones and chase the last of the cold from her body. Once clean, she checked her wet clothes, bundling them away in a separate part of her pack to avoid them dampening the rest of her stuff. Then she stepped out of the tent, smelling the fire and the promise of breakfast being made.

Only for her feet to slip right from beneath her as a monkey foot stuck out and caught her ankle.

“WUKONG!”

He laughed, face full of malicious mischief as Sophie gathered herself up to chase after the errant Monkey. To do what, she didn’t know. He was a mystical demonic creature born of stone and she just a mortal women. As the morning light cut into the cave and Tripitaka had to order his disciple to calm down after he once again tripped her and she almost went sprawling into rocks, the pilgrims ate breakfast. They broke down their tents. And they were once again on the road.

None were the wiser of Wukongs happier mood. He hid it beneath a storm of frowns and a game of teasing torture as he became partically insufferable to Sophie. The threat of the hoop tightening spell was the only true damper to his mood when Tripataka heard Sophie scream as snow was dropped down the back of her shirt.

As the sun rose higher and the word was cast in a frosty flash of refracted gold, Wukong made a decision. He would solve Sophie problem of growing old. It was easy. And if Buddha couldn’t send her back…

Well she was a great sport for pestering and heckling. The least he could do as a benevolent King is give the poor women a roof over her head.

Maybe a few dresses down the line...

Girls liked dresses right?

“Hey Reader!” He called.

“What?”

“Dresses or suits ? What did you wear in that fake time long after this one ? Or whatever fake dimension you fell out of. What did you prefer ?”

And thus began the long hour debate that somehow pulled every one of them: Pigsy, Sandy and Tripitaka, into what was a heated discussion on the best attire for the best occasions.

[janetbrown711]

How do you torment your favs (aka how have you traumatized some of your favourite characters)?

Well, if we're talking broadly here I mostly give them mommy issues, but lets go character by character here for the nitty gritty/true pattern examination

TW for mentions of miscarriages, abusive parents, and just a lot of trauma

Apple White-- Mommy issues, internalized homophobia that she does mostly get over but it doesn't help when a lot of the world is homophobic to her, body image issues, and a possible eating disorder

Darling Charming-- mommy issues, daddy issues, experiences a lot of homophobia and misogyny

Louie Duck-- Just. Just the worst mommy issues. Wants Della to love him so bad but feels like it's literally impossible because of their differences and his "glaring" flaws and selfishness

Yakko, Wakko, and Dot (Long Live the Queen) (idk how to write normal universe whoopsies)-- Abusive grandmother who actively tries to (and nearly accomplishes) murdering their parents making their parents have to abandon them for a year, Yakko has parentification trauma from that, Wakko gets literally starved and locked in a tower on multiple occassions, and Dot feels like it's all her fault whenever Wakko gets hurt because she's supposed to be the perfect princess. It gets fixed but it do be a lot

Lena Warner (my oc from Long Live the Queen)-- Abusive mother who literally attempted to kill her. Wants very badly to be a proper mother to her children and keep them safe, but her mother has far too much control and power over her for that to be truly possible. Had a runaway marriage in her late teens in order to avoid being married off to some old guy. Her mother's murder attempt caused a miscarriage and robbed her of a year with her children while she had to physically recover from her injuries. Ended up killing her in the end though, so that's good.

MK (dadsy of two)-- dead parents that were incredibly abusive (especially his "mother"), a burning desire for closeness to his guardian that he feels he can't access out of fear of attachment + Pigsy's own distant behavior at unpredictable moments. Desperately wants Pigsy to be his dad and nothing hurts more than when Pigsy actively denies it. Craves affection and praise more than anything in the whole wide world but doesn't know how to accept it/how to react when it happens.

Mei (dadsy of two)-- dead parents who gave her severe perfectionism but died before they could ever apologize/acknowledge/realize any damage done. Blames herself for starting the fire because she knocked over an ancestral artifact (that fire was actually fixed, the fire that killed them is unrelated but she'll never believe that). Wants to be the perfect daughter for Pigsy while also not feeling like she's actually his daughter because of the distance + complicated grief related feelings.

Pigsy (dadsy of two)-- tbh what haven't I done to him? Gave him guilt over the death of Sandy's ex fiancee due to "causing" Sandy's trauma that lead to the incident, gave him mommy and even worse daddy issues, deals with fantasy racism on such a regular basis he believes being distant with MK and Mei (ala saying he isn't their father/he's only their legal guardian) is the only way to really protect them from it (and even that backfires on more than one occasion). Internalized fatphobia. PTSD. Smoker. Severe lack of self esteem. Couldn't give less of a shit about himself and his own health (ESPECIALLY mental) while worrying endlessly about everyone else. Just. just so much trauma for one man. what the fuck.

Tang (all fanfics)-- Abusive, severely homophobic parents who cut him off when he was 19 due to finding out about his homosexuality. Could barely afford food for a year until he met Pigsy and basically relied on his charity in order to not starve to death/suffer the effects of severe malnutrition and still continue his education. Loves Pigsy endlessly and hates watching him torture himself over the littlest things (knows he does the same and feels so helpless every time it happens). Wants to be a dad to MK (and Mei) desperately but worries he's nothing compared to Pigsy. Has constantly had his passions belittled and mocked to the point it's genuinely surprising to him that MK actually likes his stories and the way he does things.

Sandy (all fanfics)-- PTSD, guilt over having missed 20+ years of his best friend's life. In Dadsy of Two he killed his fiancee after a nightmare about the war he and Pigsy had fought. Wanted to be a parent but after that accident, he can't trust himself with another human life like that. Has a hard time trying not to be "the therapist friend" and poking where he shouldn't when it comes to his friend's emotional issues (especially Pigsy's). Had just the worst toxic romance with Pigsy ever that was just the hottest of messes before it all fell apart but they tried to be friends (until his fiance's death) (the time away was very much needed for them both to heal and grow so they could actually be good friends again but it still hurts it took that long).

Pigsy (Li Na AU)-- most of the above but even more trauma around fatherhood, only made worse by the fact he had five miscarriages in the past (only three Tang knows about). Buries that pain instead of talking about it and believes that because Li Na is alive and well the pain is gone (it's not. it lives within him in every waking moment and is why he's so fucking terrified at the thought of losing her or MK).

....So yeah! Just--.... Just so much man, damn wtf someone needs to take them away from me I keep hurting them, wtf---

[doyouguyshearaduck]

animation switch

I'm actually so sad. No hate to the new animation studio but this is possibly the worst time to switch over to a new style. It's disappointing that we're not going to be getting the jaw-dropping animation we have been getting in such a plot-heavy season.

And really I can not emphasize this enough I, in no way, shape, or form, am trying to hate on the studio in charge of this season's animation, I think they are doing the best they can with what they were given. It just feels so motionless and flat for Lego Monkie Kid, and it lacks the charm that flying bark put into their work.

It looks like the TV show continuation of a DreamWorks movie.

but hey, we've only seen the trailer, maybe it's better than it looks.

Am I still going to watch it? Of course, I want the show to continue even if Flying Bark never comes back. I know a lot of us got into the show for the amazing animation, but the new season will still have the same story writers and voice actors so it will still retain some of the LMK charm.

Alright, Negative thoughts out of the way...

I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEW SEASON!!!!

WE GET TO SEE MORE OF NEZHA AND REDSON AND MACAQUE AND MK AND MEI AND PIGSY AND TANG AND SANDY AND WUKONG AND AND AND

I cant wait for more monkey MK as well, and to see how the 10 kings come into play and what their whole plot is.

The voice actor for Monkey King already said this season gonna be emotional as fuck so I can't wait to cry my eyes out 👍😁👍

[blazeandsilver]

This is my form of therapy for Kyri’s new comic. Can’t wait for tomorrow!

(The Bio Parents Au belongs to @Kyri45 on Tumblr. The events that occurred previously in the series are not mine. Enji and Myūtanto are my characters. This is a fanfiction.)

Myūtanto ran into the room hearing Wukong and Macaque calling out their son’s name and they seemed distressed, Myūtanto didn’t know what happened but she understood the gravity of the situation and heard Heaven’s portal before running in.

Myūtanto: Macaque! Wukong! What happened? Where is Xiaotian?!

Macaque: Heaven… they took Xiaotian…

Myūtanto: What?! What do you mean Heaven took Xiaotian?!

Wukong: They got him… They took MK… This is all my fault.

Macaque grabbed Wukong’s shoulders making the panicking great sage equal to heaven look at him.

Macaque: Wukong. This is not your fault. This is no one's fault.

Myūtanto: I swear I will tear the celestial realm apart! They will regret taking our son.

Macaque quickly blocked Myūtanto when she tried to walk out of the room.

Myūtanto: Macaque, What are you doing?! Move!

Macaque did the complete opposite and hugged Myūtanto trying to keep her calm.

Macaque: Plum, you need to calm down.

Myūtanto melted into Macaque’s hold and returned the hug with her tails still lashing around agitated.

Macaque: Right now, we need to tell Pigsy what happened. We need all the help we can get to save MK.

Myūtanto: You’re right…

Wukong nodded, still panicking and pacing back and forth. The three celestial monkeys left Flower Fruit Mountain on Wukong’s Nimbus cloud and landed in front of Pigsy’s rushing inside. Pigsy was in the middle of cleaning up for the night when they arrived.

Pigsy: Wow! What are you three doing here?!

Mei was sitting at one of the vacant tables talking to Tang but their conversation was quickly interrupted when they heard Pigsy.

Wukong: H-Heaven took MK!

Pigsy: WHAT?! YOU THREE JUST LET THEM TAKE HIM?!

Myūtanto: OF COURSE NOT!

Myūtanto had a threatening snarl mixed into her voice, Pigsy yelling at them was not helping her calm down in the slightest. Pigsy and Myūtanto yelled at each other for a while and while they were doing so, Mei called Red Son.

-With Red Son-

Red Son was in his workshop attached to his room working on his newest “Project” when Mei called him; Red Son being the busy demon he was, just ignored the call and continued his work. A few minutes passed and Enji who was originally sitting on his bed just scrolling through her phone rushed into his workshop with her phone to her ear.

Enji: Red! MK was taken by heaven!

Red Son dropped his wrench and looked at Enji, panic spread across her face.

Red Son: WHAT?!

Enji: Mei just called and said that Monkey King just told them that Heaven took MK!

Red Son took his work apron off and rushed over to his race car. When he got into the car he looked back at Enji and saw her standing in the doorway most likely still talking to Mei.

Red Son: FIRE GIRL! GET IN!

Enji quickly did as she was told and got into the car buckling herself in.

Enji: Mei, where should we meet with you?!

Mei: Pigsy’s place!

Enji: Red, Mei said to meet them at Pigsy’s.

Without another word Red Son drove to Pigsy’s as fast as possible. When they got to Pigsy’s the sight they saw was shocking, Pigsy was yelling with Tang trying to calm him down, Monkey King was pacing around back and forth panicking and starting to pull his fur out, Myūtanto was beyond enraged and was glaring at Pigsy with her fangs gritted, and Macaque was hugging Myūtanto and covering his ears trying to calm her down and keep the sound out of his six sensitive ears.

Enji: Alright. What’s the plan?

Myūtanto: My plan is to break into the celestial realm and tear it apart until I find MK.

Pigsy: That’s the worst idea I’ve heard all night!

Myūtanto: I don’t hear you with some amazing plan!

Tang: Guys. Yelling won’t solve anything!

Pigsy looked at Tang and stopped yelling and calming himself down and Macaque was still busy trying to keep Myūtanto calm. While this was going on a heavenly portal appeared under Enji and Red Son quickly pulled Enji to him just as Nezha appeared in front of them.

Myūtanto: Nezha. Was it your plan to steal our son?!

Nezha: No. I had no idea the court took MK until recently. They plan to give him the Buddha treatment in two days and I came here to offer my services to help you.

Wukong: They want to do what?! Why would they want to trap MK under a mountain?!

Nezha: I suppose it is because he is related to you. They fear that MK is just as dangerous as you were in your youth and most likely want to put an end to it before it can happen.

Myūtanto: MK is not dangerous. He has saved the world from impending doom five times already. It shouldn’t be happening that much!

Nezha: I am aware.

Mei: Alright. How will we get our friend back?

Nezha: I can give you access to the celestial realm so you can get MK back but you do not have much time.

Myūtanto: Alright then. Let’s save our kid.

To be Continued…

[nobodyfamousposts]

ML/LMK AU

How would the ML episodes go in the au?

Copycat would be fun. And a good bit of team building for the heroes.

Theo still has his crush on Ladybug, but this time it's MK who accidentally causes the akumatization by trying to nip that potential crush in the bud by telling Theo to back off because Ladybug can't date civilians. This causes Theo to figure it's okay for Chat Noir to be around her, and his envy of him gets him akumatized into Copycat.

Then events happen as in canon:

Ladybug: Chat Noir robbed the Louvre!

MK: You know it's not Adrien.

Ladybug: Shush, you.

MK: Do you really think Chat would do something like that?

Ladybug: He could have.

MK: Okay, but do you really think he did? Or are you just saying that because you're being petty?

Ladybug: ...it can be both!

MK: ...you know it's not.

Ladybug: Of course it's not! But he blew me off when I tried to call him, so just let me be petty!

MK: You know you’re better than that.

Ladybug: …stupid integrity. (Sighs and goes to help Chat)

MK: (Smiles, proud)

It'd be sweet if it results in steps towards friendship for Marinette/Ladybug and Adrien/Chat by the end.

_________

Kung Food would introduce Pigsy (as a human) along with Wang Cheng and have it be an actual competition with multiple contestants.

MK is excited. Marinette is nervous. Adrien is dragged along for the ride.

And Chloe is still horrible, which leads to some issues in the Adrien/Marinette dynamics since Adrien is still defensive on Chloe's behalf. MK is less inclined to be neutral when his Dadsy is involved.

Pigsy would get his first experience with akumas and try to help the kids. And use food weapons to combat food weapons.

_________

Pharaoh would introduce Tang as Alim's coworker, who would point out the multiple historical inaccuracies of Jalil's theories. As well as the very real ethical issue of wanting to recreate a ritual involving human sacrifice.

Jalil: Isn't your expertise supposed to be in Chinese history rather than Egyptian?

Tang: I still know enough on Egypt to know that this story isn't factual.

Jalil: But I've managed to figure out how to recreate the ritual!

Tang: The ritual that you just said involves human sacrifice?

Jalil: ...um.

_________

MK isn't a student in the class, so Horrificator would be an episode where Ladybug and Chat are forced to work together without him.

(The school gets covered in goop.)

MK: (Walks by, whistling while carrying a delivery package)

MK: (Pauses and notices the state of the school)

MK: (Promptly moves to the other side of the street and continues with his delivery)

Wukong: Seriously, kid?

MK: What? I have a delivery to complete or I'll get fired!

MK: Plus Marinette and Adrien have their school project in there. I'm sure they'll handle it fine.

(Inside the school)

Adrien and Marinette: AAAAAAAAAAAA—!!!

_________

Antibug would be where things come to a head. Adrien defends Chloe as per usual and insists that Marinette should have listened to her. Marinette points out that Chloe had lied to them previously and was actively getting in the way of the fight. This results in the two arguing because per Adrien, Marinette is looking for the worst in Chloe while per Marinette, Adrien is always overlooking anything Chloe does. Which turns into Adrien taking issue with Marinette's grudge-holding while Marinette takes issue with Adrien's passivity.

Adrien: You only ever look at the bad in people even if they don't do anything!

Marinette: Chloe does enough! You just ignore her actions because you're not the one who has to deal with it!

Adrien: There's more to her! You just don't understand her! She can be good!

Marinette: To YOU, maybe! She's your friend, she actually LIKES you! But you're the only one with that luxury, Adrien! It's the rest of us who have to put up with her at her worst! All you do is defend her and lecture me for being sick of it!

Adrien: That's not true! I just think you could be more kind! It's like you want to be angry!

Marinette: She tried to steal my hat design! She stole my diary! She humiliated Kim, ripped up Rose's letter, scared Mylene, and trapped Juleka in the bathroom. Where were your lectures on kindness and tolerance then?

This results in a fight and the two not willing to work together. Poor MK is dealing with being stuck in the middle until he gets captured and can no longer be their buffer. 

MK: (Playing a harmonica inside a cage)

Antibug: Would you knock it off?

So Antibug ultimately requires the other two to work together. Marinette admits difficulty letting go of her hurt feelings to see when someone is being genuine and not letting first impressions cloud her judgement of people. Adrien acknowledges that he needs to acknowledge when he or someone else is doing something harmful.

Adrien: Haven't I apologized enough for the gum? It was just gum! I wasn't the one who put it there! I thought we moved past it! I apologized already, didn't I?

Marinette: When?

Adrien: What?

Marinette: When did you ever apologize?

Adrien: Of course I did! It was right after the...wait......oh.

Marinette: ...

Adrien: I...I thought I had. It seemed so obvious.

Marinette: Well, it wasn't. And every time since then, it's felt like you cared more about protecting Chloe's reputation and sense of mind by denying she did anything wrong.

Adrien: I never meant it that way. I just...I just wanted us all to get along. And I was angry because you keep acting like I'm the enemy every time we interact! MK was fine with me, but it felt like nothing I did was good enough for you because you could never look past that first incident.

Marinette: It's hard to look past something when the person involved keeps acting like hurting you isn't a big deal.

The two eventually talk things out—quickly, because MK is still in trouble.

MK is just glad his cousin and friend are getting along.

_________

Evilustrator would be hilarious.

MK and Chat: (Angry) What do you MEAN you're going on a date with an akuma?!

[botanicallyinclinednerd]

I have more for the epic inspired lmk au (which I'm calling A Blood Soaked Goodbye) The basics that I already came up with in other posts is that MK fights a villain, spares them in MK fashion, and one of his friends (it's Sandy) ends up dying because of it. MK recklessly fights the villain in another fight, but is still not trying to kill because he knows Sandy would not want that. Macky ends up dragging MK out of the fight cause he was going to get himself killed, which then leads to Wukong showing up and My Goodbye: a sunburst duo falling out occurs.

Now. New stuff.

After the falling out, MK's mental state is the worst it's ever been. And he keeps going monkey for longer and longer and acting all around cruel and cold and obsessed with destroying this villain. All in all, he's not acting like himself. If anything, he's acting like the ink version of himself from the scroll. And that's because whenever MK is in monkey form at this point, it isn't actually MK. He ends up taking a back seat and watching while this more ruthless monkey version of himself takes over. At first it's purposeful and willing on MK's part. He can't stand failing his friends and he needs Sandy's killer to be brought to justice and himself as he is just isn't enough. But the monkey form is stronger, and could do it. But then Monkey!MK decides to set a trap in the hopes of killing the villain. And it not only doesn't work, but there is collateral damage that includes Macaque and Red Son. (Macky was supposed to get a signal from MK at the first sign things were going wrong, but that signal never came. By the time he realized for himself that he needed to get Red Son out, all it did was cause them both to go down when he tried)

Mei confronts MK as he stands with his back to her, in monkey form. And like Eurylochus during Mutiny, Mei starts demanding that MK tells her she's wrong about her suspicion that MK deliberately let Macaque and Red Son die, and listing past events, past foes, where MK came up with these plans and was detertermined for all of them to make it home. But this time, he didn't stick to that plan. He was supposed to signal Macaque if things started to go sideways, if the villain started heading towards Red Son. He had ample time to signal, to warn them so Macaque could get them out, hell even a late warning would have been enough time, but he never warned them. "You just let them die! Say something!"

And finally, finally, Monkey!MK turns around to face Mei (and Pigsy and Tang who are huddled close together behind Mei) with crazed smile and with a mianical laugh tells her "I can't!"

Mei takes a half step back, staring in horror and disgust at MK this thing wearing her best friend's face. Her expression hardens as she draws her sword and points it at the monkey. "You're not MK." And she attacks.

I am imagining it in my head so clearly of MK, the real MK, in that line style that LBD would cause, watching in horror as his monkey form is relentlessly attacking Mei. Shes putting up a good fight, but Mei has to fight hard to be on equal footing with MK when they do friendly sparing, and this? This is not friendly. Mei might not be holding back, but neither is the monkey. And MK is frantically trying to get control back but he *cant* he's not strong enough. He opened the door with his grief and anger over losing Sandy and his falling out with Wukong and let that dark side of him take over, thinking it would enable him to destroy the villain. But all it has resulted in is more and more loss and heartbreak, and MK can not shut the door. Not on his own.

The fight is continuing and Mei is not doing so well. At this rate, he's going to kill her. Tang is watching all this and he knows he has to do something. And so when Monkey!MK knocks Mei down and is about to crush her skull with the monkey king staff, Tang acts, purely on instinct and fear.

MK gets skewered from behind by Tang and his magical staff. When this happens, his monkey form disappears and it's just *MK* again. And he turns to look behind him, at Tang who has taken a step back and is clutching a crying and horrified looking Pigsy's hand, and croaks out "Dads? Please..." (It's not "why" for this because MK KNOWS why) And Pigsy drops Tangs hand and rushes over to his boy, his son. (Perhaps Tang tries to grab for him and stop him out of fear, and Pigsy shakes him off with a "He's MK! That's my son," and goes for him anyway.) And MK is impailed by a stick that by all rights should not have been able to impail him, especially one weilded by Tang, but we'll pass that off as mystic stuff. MK is hurt and crying and HORRIFIED at what he'd done and almost done, and he's in control again and desperately doesn't want to lose that. He is able to convince Tang and Mei (who had gone over to stand at Tangs side and is leaning against him, injured but alive thanks to his actions) that he is their MK and that he had essentially been possessed by this monkey version and that is what got Macky and Red Son killed, as well as what just tried to kill Mei. Pigsy needs no convincing. Pigsy pulls MK into a hug as MK sobs and promises him "It's gonna be alright, son. We're going to figure this out, get you help. I love you, you understand? It's gonna be alright."

While Pigsy is keeping up this litany of love and reassurances, Tang carefully approaches MK and warns him that he's going to pull out his staff, since MK won't be able to heal from the injury with it still in there. And MK tearfully nods, still holding onto Pigsy, and Pigsy rearranges himself so he's a comfort to MK while out of Tang's way so he can pull it out.

After Tang removes his staff from MK, there's this thing like the quick thought that Athena does? Where MK is faced with Evil Monkey!MK.

"Choose."

MK stares at Monkey!MK, frightened and confused. "Choose?"

"Someone's gotta die today and you have got the final say. You? Or your family?"

MK's answer is immediate, lunging forward to grip the grinning monkey's forearms. "Me! I die! They live! My family lives."

And Evil Monkey!MK smiles, wide and sharp with far too many teeth. "Wrong answer," he whispers in MK's ear.

Back in real time, MK loses control to the monkey. Mei and Tang notice and both step back, alarmed, Mei tensing for another fight, but Pigsy hasn't noticed. He does notice that MK has gone rigid and he assumes it's from the pain of the staff being removed. "It's alright, MK. I'm here, I've got you, son."

Evil Monkey!MK slowly grins, making eye contact with Tang and Mei as he pulls one hand back behind him. Both of them, eyes wide, realize what is about to happen, yelling Pigsy's name. Mei lunges forward, her sword aimed at the monkey, and Tang raises his staff to cast a protective barrier around Pigsy. But they're not fast enough.

Monkey!MK's hand shoots out and he plunges his hand straight through Pigsy's chest. "Thanks, Dad."

Pigsy lets out a wet breathless wheeze of pain as the monkey wrenches his now blood covered hand back out, leaving Pigsy to collapse on the ground.

Mei processes what has just happened and loses it, striking at the monkey with an enraged scream. Tang rushed to Pigsy and holds his husband as he chokes on his blood and dies, his last words a gurgling "M...K."

MK is screaming inside his head, helpless to stop it as his body, his hands, murder his family. The monkey tears Mei apart and strikes Tang down when he shakily rises to his feet to try to protect the only family he has left. The monkey is bathing in the blood and entrails of MK's family, killing the last people in this world that he had left. If he was capable of coherent and reflective thought, he would realize that the villain that sent him on this dark path may have killed Sandy, but it was MK that killed the rest of them. They were, all of them, blood on his hands.

~~

This all started out as a Sunburst Duo falling out over My Goodbye. And it ends in a similar way. Wukong learns of the trail of carnage being left in the wake of a vicious monkey, and his first thought is a resigned "Macaque must have gone dark side again, damnit! I shouldn't have trusted him." And then he learns of Macaque's death, that he died trying to save Red Son, and no. It's not Macaque on a rampage. Wukong is in denial, even as this horrible pit of dread settles in his stomach. And with each discovery he makes, each body he uncovers, greater and greater violence behind each kill, Wukong's grief and anger and dread grows.

By the time Wukong comes across MK, it's not really a question anymore of what happened, only why.

Wukong goes about getting this information very subtlely. "Hey, Bud. Long time no see. Where's all your friends?"

Monkey!MK laughs, his tail swaying behind him. "I'm pretty sure you already know the answer to that one, Bud."

"MK. Where are your friends." Wukong repeats, his tone flat.

"They're all dead. They got in my way." He says with a little shrug. Wukong's heart sinks to his toes.

"What have you done?"

"I thought you would be proud," Monkey!MK says, a permanent smirk on his face.

"Proud? You murdered your friends, MK!" Wukong's face went through a complex myriad of emotions before adding, quieter, "you murdered our friends."

The monkey tilts his head at Wukong, smirk still in place but a small furrow forming at his brow. "You were the one that told me I had gone soft. I'm not, anymore. After you talked to me, after you left, I thought about what you said! And I get it now! I have to be ruthless to those that oppose me! I have to end them before they end me!"

"No. I didn't teach you that."

"What I did was mercy. Killing them before they could kill me."

So many protests in Wukongs mind "that's not mercy!" "They were your friends they would never kill you!" "What happened to you?" And what he eventually says out loud is: "You're not MK."

Monkey!MK throws his head back and laughs, a delighted sound that is out of place in the current situation. "That's exactly what Mei said!"

"Before you killed her?" Wukong asks, his voice sharp and dangerous.

"Nah, after." Seeing the look on Wukong's face, Monkey MK laughs, flapping an arm at him dismissively. "I'm joking, jeeze, lighten up!"

"You murdered your friends MK!" Sun Wukong thunders, rage radiating from him.

The smile drops from Monkey!MK's face. "What are you going to do, Monkey King? Kill me?"

Wukong reals back as if he's been struck. "What? No! I'm not going to kill you, MK."

The monkey features fade and it's MK, truly MK, speaking to Wukong. "You should kill me. I'm a monster, Monkey King. I murdered my friends. I-" MK cuts himself off, squeezing his eyes shut. "I deserve to die for what I did to them. Please, Monkey King, I want to die."

To make a long and tragic tale a bit shorter, while MK wants to die, the Monkey doesn't, and while Wukong certainly does not want to kill MK, in the end, he's not really given much of a choice.

Flash forward to some unspecified amount of time later. Wukong is on Flower Fruit Mountain, and he exits his house. He picks some flowers, seven, to be exact. He walks a little ways from his house where there are six grave stones in a row. First is Macaque. Wukong lays a flower at the base of the stone and brushes a gentle hand across Macaque' hand carved name. He lingers for a moment before moving to the next: Sandy. Another flower, another moment of silence. Mei. A flower, a sad pat of the stone. A second flower set next to hers for Red Son. (Red Son is not buried on Flower Fruit Mountain. His parents buried him themselves, and indeed, they end up decimating the villain that started this whole mess, killing them for killing their son.) Next is Tang. A flower. Pigsy. A flower.

Then, at the last grave, Wukong falters, as he always does when he reaches the 6th grave. With hands he pretends aren't shaking, he places a flower in front of MK's grave.

MK's words from the start of this whole mess echo in Wukong's head: "You're alone!" Wukong puts a hand on MK's headstone and whispers, "I am now, bud." And he breaks down sobbing because he is alone. He's alone again, and he did the one thing he was trying to avoid with his split from MK. Instead, it only caused MK to lose it and necessitate him having to put the kid down anyway. And there the Monkey King sits, sobbing in front of the grave of the kid so much like him, the kid that made him care again, the kid who gave him a family again. The kid he killed. There he sat, all alone, with only the dead for company.

[centuryberry]

@peachshadows / @terrible-leviathan Here it is: the final chapter of this extremely self-indulgent AU of an AU. A million times: thank you for inspiring me with your creativity <3

(While this is the end of this fic, I’m more than happy to continue answering asks about this AU of an AU beyond what this fic covers and about the Triplets!)

Life didn’t exactly turn back to normal the moment MK came back home.

He tried to force it, of course. More than anyone, he was desperate to pretend his little trip to an alternate universe was nothing more than a fever dream. He wanted things to go back to normal - to go back to delivering noodles, playing arcade games with Mei, and training with his mentors so he could be ready to face his demon of the week.

But that didn’t even last a day. MK’s efforts to slide right back into his usual routine was hindered by his constant anxiety that started the moment A-Dan was whisked away back to Flower Fruit Mountain by her parents. He couldn’t eat or sleep for the next few hours, so sick with worry. It was completely irrational. MK had nothing to worry about since she was back in her parents’ arms, but the feeling persisted. His anxiety didn’t settle until a harried looking Wukong and a distressed Macaque dropped by in the middle of the night with a sobbing A-Dan in tow.

“Gege,” she sniffled heartbreakingly into his shirt when she was passed over to him. “Gege. No go. No go.”

MK wasn’t the only one who left the experience with scars.

For the sake of both of them, MK temporarily moved out of his apartment above Pigsy’s Noodles and moved into Flower Fruit Mountain.

It helped with some things. It also made things worse.

Sometimes, MK would forget that he wasn’t in the other world anymore. It was stupid. It was like small things like jokes and quirks were landlines that would send him back to the other world.

Jokes about MK being a little too much like Wukong weren’t taken too well even though they weren’t new. At best, he’d make faces and try to quickly change the subject. At worst…

“For the last time, I’m not his son!”

Yeah. He didn’t like those.

MK didn’t like it either whenever Wukong and Macaque took A-Dan away from him without warning. It didn’t happen every time, but the memories would overlap without warning, triggered by something that they said or did or even looked in that moment.

Once, he even snarled at them for trying. He caught himself before he tried to bite them and was completely mortified at what he almost did.

Instead of being rightfully upset with him, his mentors stayed gentle and understanding.

“You did good, kid,” Macaque rumbled comfortingly into his ear later when MK sobbed apologies into his shirt. “You protected her so well while we weren’t there. A-Dan couldn’t have been safer.”

Wukong and Macaque were patient with his outbursts and slip-ups. Not once did they ever hold it against him, which made MK feel worse because he knew that neither of them deserved it.

That was the breakthrough he needed to drop by Sandy’s ship to finally get help. The river demon was already waiting for him with tea and an encouraging smile. It was hard, opening up. But it was something MK needed to do. He didn’t want this haunting every moment in his life.

MK wasn’t alone in this either. When he felt ready, his friends came and sat in on the sessions. It helped, talking through what he experienced with them. Even Red Son deigned to come by Sandy’s boat to support MK, insistent that he was only there for the tea and nothing else.

“So you’re saying that you are comfortable with me since the differences between me and the inferior me is so blatant that it hurts,” Red Son concluded near the end of the session. “Why not focus on the differences of your pathetic friends too? It will most likely have the same effect.”

“I-” MK blinked. “Actually, you’re onto something.”

“Obviously. My thought process is far more advanced than your puny peasant brain.”

Sandy was absolutely thrilled at the idea. He even got out his drawing board to start drawing out the differences between the inhabitants of the other world and theirs.

“Let’s start with Red Boy’s-” “Red Son.” “-differences. Is there anything specific that he could say that might trigger you?”

“Oh, um.” MK flushed and looked down. “There’s no way he’d say those things so we can skip that.”

“I insist that you list them out all the same,” Red Son pushed, looking almost concerned for a second. “I do not wish to ever be mistaken for that - that imposter, so having a guideline for what to avoid would help immensely.”

“Well. There’s My Prince.” Red Son nodded, already familiar with that one. “And Beloved.” Red Son choked. “And Darling. And Treasure. And Dearest. And My Ma-

“I think we heard enough!” Red Son cut MK off, face burning red and hair literally burning. MK’s face wasn’t any better. He had started covering it halfway through. “Well! You were correct for once, Monkey Boy. I will certainly never call you any of that.”

MK smiled up at him weakly. “You promise?”

“Of course,” Red Son coughed, looking away. “I would never be so disgustingly sappy or uncreative.”

For Wukong and Macaque, it was a little more complicated. It required a lot of sitting down and divulging their pasts. They spoke about the Brotherhood, the creation of it after meeting Azure Lion, and its eventual dissolution. They spoke about the War Against Heaven and its consequences - Wukong being trapped under a mountain as punishment and Flower Fruit Mountain burning. They lost so much, including each other.

“I was a little jealous of them,” Wukong admitted with a distant look in his eyes. “They still had their friends and bonds intact. Flower Fruit Mountain sounded so lively. Wish they would have appreciated them more.”

“We should visit Brother Ox and Iron Fan and make amends properly,” Macaque suggested to his mate. “I miss my sister and A-Dan deserves to have at least one Uncle and Aunt in her life.”

MK was ever grateful for them opening up old wounds for his sake. And, in a way, it healed them too.

It took time, but MK found a new normal. He restarted his rounds as a delivery boy whenever he wasn’t training or fighting his demon of the week. And he wasn’t alone either. Mei and Red Son fought by his side and even went out to hang out after - not that the Fire Demon would ever admit that was what he was doing.

It was a process, but A-Dan slowly yet surely was getting more and more comfortable with not seeing MK around all the time. He always visited, of course, but he always went back to his little apartment at the end of the day. She understood that she couldn’t keep her Gege all to herself. Eventually.

“…and things have been getting better. We’re happy and almost back to normal. Or at least a new kind of normal,” MK recounted to his bathroom mirror.

“I’m happy to hear that,” Xiaotian laughed from the other side of the mirror. MK could see the familiar walls of the Celestial Palace. It hurt to look at and remember the first few times interacting with Xiaotian, but now he didn’t even bat an eye at the sight of it. See? Improvement. “Really, MK. You deserve it.”

“And what about you? Time flows differently over there, right? A lot of things must’ve happened ever since the last update.”

“Well, I managed to successfully push for a law that would give mortal humans equal rights and proper citizenship! And all forms of slavery are illegal now!” Xiaotian announced proudly. “Mom and Dad helped too. They’re starting to understand what I was trying to push for.”

MK grimaced. “I’m not saying that you’re lying but…”

Xiaotian didn’t take it personally. “I know, I know, they already did and said too much to trust any kind of change. Honestly, I don’t think that they’re really suited for the whole ‘ruling the world’ sort of gig. Too much responsibility for a pair of lovebirds so into each other, you know? But they’re getting better and they’ll continue to be better. The Triplets and I are making sure of that.”

“Hey, speaking of the Triplets, how are they? Getting into some cheeky mischief?”

Xiaotian’s smile turned fondly exasperated. “The Eastern Wing of the palace grounds got destroyed again.”

“Oof. Again? Who was it this time?”

“In a way, it was all of them,” Xiaotian sighed. “Shan was running his mouth as usual and annoyed Yang into his emotional explosions. Xue’s tail got singed in the chaos of it all and froze everything in his panic.”

Like Xiaotian and Xiaodan, the Triplets took the same “Xiao” to their names and all mostly took after their Baba’s coloring. Like their Stone Monkey Baba and their Shadow Monkey Mama, they were all very powerful and unique in their own ways.

Xiaoyang, the first to hatch, not only inherited his Baba’s appearance that it was almost uncanny, but he also inherited his tendency to feel and react too much. Unfortunately, unlike his Baba when he was angry, he exploded. Literally.

Four-Eared Xiaoxue was the opposite. He kept his emotions bottled up like his mother, only to release his resentment and anger in the perfect moment that sent those who wronged him reeling. Though, when distressed or surprised, he would accidentally summon ice storms to the palace’s doorsteps.

And Xiaoshan. The instigator. The mischief-maker. He was chaos incarnate and the usual suspect whenever things went wrong. The moment he could walk and talk, it was over for the Celestial Realm. It didn’t help that he was frighteningly in tune with hearing the future with his six ears.

The Triplets were frightening. Even more so to MK when he realized that their powers and personalities were an amalgamation of Wukong, Macaque, and MK’s past, trauma, and flaws. Xiaoyang being born with a blind eye. Xiaoxue being almost unnaturally cold to touch. Xiaoshan being, well, Xiaoshan.

“Sorry about that,” MK said, completely embarrassed. “If I knew that I would literally manifest my trauma into them because I repressed them for so long, I’d have looked for help sooner.”

“For the millionth time, they’re not the manifestation of your trauma, they’re like me: the culmination of possibilities that had, has, and will happen in your universe. Besides, they’re perfect.”

“I’m still sorry for making all of this so hard for you.”

“Are you kidding me? All I ever wanted was to be real. To exist. I’m happy to be alive and here with my family, MK. And no amount of chaos or trouble is ever going to change that.”

Before Xiaotian could say any more, he was interrupted by a chorus of childish voices. To MK’s amusement, young monkey demons started to climb up Xiaotian’s fancy robes, begging for his attention.

“Da-ge, what’cha talkin’ to? Is it your Mirror Friend? I wanna talk to ‘em too!” Shan chattered.

“Da-ge, come here. You promised to read me a story,” Xue demanded as imperiously as he could while carrying a scroll his size.

“Da-ge, I want noodles,” Yang pleaded with a puppy-dog eye.

Xiaotian scruffed them all and gathered them up in a blink of an eye. “Whelp, time to go. Talk to you later, MK.”

“Yeah, see you later, bud.”

Before MK and Xiaotian could close their line of communication, Shan’s gaze suddenly sharpened and focused on MK. That never happened before. Usually, it was only Xiaotian who could see him through the mirror.

“Don’t open the bad scroll. It’ll eat everyone you love.”

MK shivered at the ominous words. “What-?”

Xiaotian bopped Shan’s nose like he was a misbehaving puppy. “No. Bad Shan. You’re not allowed to use your weirdly-specific prophecies to make other people uncomfortable. Do you want to get into trouble again?”

“I’m not scared of ‘Ba!” Shan yelled stubbornly.

“What about Mom?”

Shan stopped struggling and fell silent.

“…don’t tell ‘Ma.”

“Thought so,” Xiaotian snickered before turning to MK. “Don’t worry too much, MK. Just stay away from weird scrolls and you’ll be okay.”

“Right.” MK’s apartment shook at the force of an explosion. He took out his staff in alarm and peered out of his window. “Whelp, gotta go too! Demons are causing trouble again!”

“See you later, MK. Oh, and give A-Dan an extra hug for me, okay?”

Later, after MK lugged an entire cart full of forbidden artifacts to Flower Fruit Mountain for safekeeping, he did.

“Gege, back! A-Dan, love!” She cooed.

“Yeah, I’m back! And I got all this cool stuff we can look at! With your Mama and Baba’s supervision, of course.”

“Yay! Fun!”

A-Dan was safe. They were safe. And he hoped this “normal” stayed with them for a while before the next big adventure shook up their lives again.

Unbeknownst to them, a black scroll shifted in the pile and glowed.

[imminent-danger-came]

What do you think of the resolution of the Samadhi Fire arc?

I'll take this to mean the "Embrace Your Destiny" special, which effectively closes what I consider to be the first arc in Lego Monkie Kid!

Between liking it as a finale and liking it as set-up for the next season, I decidedly like it as set-up more (but there is plenty to enjoy about what they answered/resolved). I think the 3x13 flashback gives a lot of depth to LBD (which is then later paralleled to by Azure), and it answers a couple questions along the way, like: why? Why did the Lady Bone Demon do any of this? Why was she in her prison? Why is the Mayor in league with her? And ultimately, what is her destiny?

As far as those questions go, I liked the answers the show gave and how LBD's defeat was ultimately brought about (through standing together and with that unity bringing about hope/the future, something that was contrasted by MK's s2 arc and supported by 3x08 and 3x10, doing it together vs doing it alone).

The final confrontation of ideals is beautiful to me, boiling down to perfection vs imperfection (chaos?👀):

Lady Bone Demon: "You would allow this world to continue to fester and rot? The eternal misery of countless souls because of your sentimentality for mortal pleasures!" MK: "*yells* You can't judge things by they're worst qualities!" Tang: "This world might not be perfect, but it's still worth fighting for!" Pigsy: "Yeah! Sometimes it's that little bit of char that makes for a more flavorful meat! Even if it is a bit tangy." Sandy: "You said it Mo! The world may be full of darkness, but to let the light shine, all we need to do is stand together!"

Like this sentiment of an imperfect world being worth fighting for, and by extension imperfect people being worth fighting for, is one I love. It also ties in nicely with MK and his low self-esteem, (like, thematically, heaven knows he has not applied his "you can't judge things by they're worst qualities" mentality to himself), where you can still love/defend things that aren't perfect or wholly "good". This naturally affixes itself to Wukong, who has lifetimes of mistakes. At this point MK chooses to ignore and repress his perception of Wukong's flaws, but eventually, we're going to go the direction of loving people in all there imperfectness. Yes, even when someone has made terrible mistakes, you can still fight for them and care about them (4x08, 4x13).

Though, let me also talk about Samadhi Fire Mei and possessed Wukong! I love both of these concepts, and I love the way they were executed. "Don't use the flame Mei...Be the flame!" linking to 1x09 "You don't use a weapon....you ARE a weapon!" This idea of "using vs being" intrigues me, and I think it works in tandem with being controlled versus having your freewill. The Lady Bone Demon both used Mei and Wukong for her purposes, and her ruin was for them to be themselves. I think you can also view Azure with this lens—he was so focused on using the Jade Emperor's Power to change the world/revenge, he ignored actually being the Jade Emperor.

Overall, I think Samadhi Fire Mei does a good job of continuing Mei's arc (using power to protect those you care about), and perpetuating the pattern of her following in MK's footsteps. For Wukong, he's a character who always desires the ability to do whatever he wants. So possession is delightfully ironic for Wukong, you know. He keeps running off to keep MK safe, but running off is what also put his protege in danger, from his own hands no less ("Can't you see you're hurting the people who care about you the most?" - "Until I know what I am, what my destiny is? I can't risk hurting the people I care about—the one's I have left.").

And obviously 3x14 has one of my favorite scenes in the whole show, that being the "To pain" scene, which continued to blur the "good guy"-"bad guy" lines that have slowly been obscured over the course of Monkie Kid. I will never shut up about that scene. Doing what you think is right and giving it your best can still lead to disappointing and terrible outcomes.

And of course, they began "A Hero is Born" with a Tang narration about the past, and then ended 3x14 with a Tang narration about the present. I always love a good book-ending.

[splendentmoon]

It you don’t mind could you please tell me about the new au? - (Fanart “anon” from now on going by 🎨)

Of course!!

In this Au, MK and Bai He exchange places with their parents, that is:

Xiaotian is the great Monkie Kid or Monkey Prince

and Bai He, is Six-eared Bai He or The Shadow Princess.

In this Au, the Jade Emperor gave Wukong and Macaque very different punishments for their attack.

He gave Wukong his cursed crown, but instead of giving him migraines, it made him forget, and he ended up forgetting his family.

He locked Macaque in the Diyu until his soul reincarnated, which happened, now Macaque is a human with great shadow power hidden by Megapolis.

Wukong and Macaque were known to be the kings of Flower Fruit Mountain.

And they had four children, which were, Xiaotian, the eldest, Bai He, the middle one, and the twins, Rumble and Savage.

When they were separated from their parents, Xiaotian was given a mission, that if he failed, they would kill his brothers, the mission was to accompany Tripitaka on his journey, also giving him the cursed crown

Xiaotian, having no options, left, leaving his brothers.

Bai He waited patiently for him on the island, while he took care of his brothers.

When he couldn't wait any longer, he went to him to see how he was, but he watched with horror as Tripitaka punished him.

She wanted to save him, but just like in canon, they both ended up in a battle, which ended with a scar on her sister's eye, but without leaving her blind or dead.

Bai He escaped, and in anger, bitterness, and sadness, he left Flower Fruit Mountain with Savage in his arms to disappear into the shadows.

Xiaotian, upon finding out, felt horribly sad and guilty, but knew that he had to return to duty, so he left Rumble with Guanyin to continue his peaceful journey.

After the trip, seeing Rumble was more of a punishment than a relief, he was happy to see his brother, he really was, but seeing his face reminded him of what he had done to his sister.

So after a few years of feeling like the worst big brother in the world, he erased Rumble's memories, put a seal on him and left him with Pigsy, there he would be safe with a family that will love him.

And this is the story of this Au, I can't believe I came up with this just listening to music, but hey, I hope I have clarified your doubts!

I want to see the art!

[pompomqt]

Journey to the West Chapter 55

Tripitaka on the worst date of his life:

In this chapter of Journey to the West with @journeythroughjourneytothewest we get to witness Tripitaka's first date. So let's get into it shall we?

So Tripitaka has been snagged by a mystery women, so Sun Wukong leaps into the sky and looks in all four directions to see where they went. And sure enough he spots a whirlwind heading to the northwest. Now that they know which direction the demon is heading, Monkey calls to the others, and they zip off using their cloud soaring powers to give chase. This has the added benefit of causing the empress to completely drop the whole marriage plan, because these monks are clearly super Buddhist's.

Anyways they chase the cyclone until they find the typical demon mountain and cave. Pigsy immediately wants to kick the door in, but Monkey wants to do some reconnaissance first to make sure they have the right demon cave. So Monkey turns into a bee to scope out the cave. Inside he see's a nice flower garden, some female attendants, and the demon, who is currently trying to offer a teary-eyed Tripitaka some human flesh stuffed buns. The Demon assures Tripitaka that this place isn't as stuffy as the palace, and will be perfect for his Buddhist lifestyle. And she'll be there as his wife until the day they die. She tells him to relax and try a bun.

Tripitaka is well aware that this situation is a lot more dangerous then the one with the queen, and can't risk offending the demon. So he tells the demon he's vegetarian, and has one of the red bean paste buns. The demon tries hitting on Tripitaka some more, but thankfully Monkey chooses this moment to interrupt and attacks the demon. The demon has her attendants take Tripitaka away, while she pulls out a trident to fight Wukong with. The two fight their ways out of the cave, which allows Pigsy to join in, however, this doesn't give them much of an advantage as the demon simply summons two more tridents. She then tells Monkey that he lacks good judgment, because she knows who he is, but he doesn't know her, and she's someone even the Buddha fears.

And on that foreboding note, the demon lashes out at Sun Wukong's head, with a weapon he can't see. This blow causes him extreme pain and causes him to flee the battle, with Pigsy right behind him. While Monkey is wailing in pain, Pigsy and Sandy try and figure out what exactly is wrong with him. After all Sun Wukong is not someone who gets hurt easily, and his head in particular is extra sturdy. Since they don't really know what weapon the demon has, and since Monkey is currently out of the game, they decide to wait until morning to challenge the demon again. And just hope that Tripitaka doesn't end up losing his virtue during the night.

Speaking of which, it's time to check back up on how Tripitaka is doing. Who is currently horrified as the demon continuously tries to seduce him. And as always when a women tries hitting on him, he kind of just shuts down, until the demon gets huffy and has her servants tie him up and take him out of her sight.

Anyways morning comes and Monkey is feeling better, the pain is gone and now it's just a little itchy. So now it's time for round two. First though they have to check if a rescue is even worth staging, by making sure Tripitaka didn't give up his virtue and decided to stay with his new demon wife. So Monkey once again turns into a bee to scope out the cave, and finds Tripitaka hog-tied in the corner. So Monkey lands on him and asks how his night went. Tripitaka explains that although the demon pestered him all night, he resisted her advances until she got tired of dealing with him and had him tied up.

Unfortunately the demon wakes up and hears them talking, which actually startles Monkey enough to retreat out of the cave and go back to Pigsy to tell him about what happened. Now that Pigsy is caught up on the fact that Tripitaka is still a true monk, it's time to stage that rescue. So Pigsy goes to the door and is allowed to break it down this time, which causes the maids to report to their boss about it. So the Demon tells her maids to take the tied up Tripitaka to the back room, while she goes out to fight them.

So the three of them fight for a while, until the demon pulls out the same mystery weapon from before and hits Pigsy on the lips, which causes Pigsy to flee, with Monkey close behind. They return to Sandy who is busy grazing the horse- who as a reminder is actually a dragon and really should be capable of taking care of himself while Sandy helps them, but I digress. Anyways while Pigsy is complaining about the pain, Monkey mocks him a little before spotting a suspicious old person, surrounded by holy light. Recognizing the old lady as Guanyin, Monkey and the others give their respects.

Guanyin reverts to her true form, while Monkey apologizes for not greeting her properly, but they are kind of in the middle of something at the moment. So Guanyin explains that the monster they are fighting is a scorpion spirit, the tridents are her claws, while the mystery weapon that keeps taking them out of commission is her stinger. Once upon a time, she was listening the the Buddha lecture, and when he tried to shoo her away, she stung his hand. Which even Buddha found painful, which probably soothes Monkey and Pigsy's ego's at least. Anyways even Guanyin doesn't want to mess with her, but luckily she has a friend that can help. They need to ask Star Lord Orionis for help with this particular monster. After that bit of helpful exposition Guanyin vanishes in a beam of golden light.

So Monkey makes his way to heaven, and arrives at the gods palace. Monkey finds the god and explains the situation, and says that Guanyin recommended him for this particular job. The god agrees to go with Monkey, and they don't even have time for a tea break before they are heading back to earth together.

Once there, Monkey points out the mountain and makes the necessary introductions. Pigsy however is still in to much pain to greet the star properly, but luckily the god has a cure for that. He also gets rid of the remaining effects on Monkey while he's at it. Now that those two are back in shape and ready for action, the star tells them to provoke battle with the demon again and lead her back here.

So Pigsy once again breaks the demon's new door, which the maids of course immediately report to the demon, who was busy trying to feed Tripitaka. Hearing this, the demon rushes out again to fight Pigsy and Monkey, who are able to successfully lure her outside so the star can do his thing. His 'Thing' apparently is to transform into his real form- a giant rooster, and crow twice, once to reveal her true form, and another to paralyze her. Once she's paralyzed, Pigsy uses his rake to crush her like the bug she is.

After that they give their thanks to the star god and see him off. After that they gather their belongings and re-enter the cave to collect their master. Only to find the maids kneeling and explaining that they aren't demons. Turns out they are from the kingdom of women and were also kidnapped. After they tell them where Tripitaka is being held, and Monkey double checks that they are indeed humans, Monkey goes and rescues Tripitaka. Monkey explains the adventure to Tripitaka, and they have a meal together before taking the captured women home so that they may continue on their Journey to the West.

Current Sun Wukong Stats: Names/Titles: Monkey, The Stone Monkey, The Handsome Monkey King, Sun Wukong (Monkey awakened to the void), Bimawen (Banhorseplague), The Great Sage Equal To Heaven and Pilgrim Sun. Immortality: 5 + 94,000 years Weapon: The Compliant Golden Hooped Rod Abilities: 72 Transformations, Cloud-Somersault, Ability to transform his individual hairs, super strength, Ability to Summon Wind, Water restriction charm, and the ability to change into a huge war form, ability to duplicate his staff, ability to immobilize others, the ability to put others to sleep, and the Fiery eyes and Diamond Pupils, intimidating horses, churning large bodies of water, sleeplessness, seizing the wind, enhanced smell, discerning good and evil within a thousand miles, Spirit Summoning, lock picking, object transformation, distance reduction, vanishing in a flash of light, super healing, transforming others, and Invisibility Demon Kill Count: 9+ Unknown Number of Minions Human Kill Count: 1009 God's Defeated: 23 + Unknown number Defeats: 7 Crime List: Robbery, Murder, Mass Murder, Arson, Theft, Coercion, Threatening a Government Official, Resisting Arrest, Assault, Forgery, Employee Theft, False Imprisonment, Impersonating a Government Official, Treason, attempted murder, failure to control or report a dangerous fire, desecrating a corpse, breaking and entering, trespassing, violating Tree Law, looting corpses, trading counterfeit goods, criminal threat, animal abuse, Assisting or Instigating Escape, Damage to Religious Property, contaminating a substance for human consumption and Identity Fraud. Cry Count: 8 + 3 fake cries Mountains Trapped Under: 4

Current Tang Sanzang stats: Names/Titles: River Float, Xuanzang, Tang Sanzang, Tripitaka and the Tang Monk Abilities: Curing Blindness, making branches point a certain direction (allegedly), reciting sutras, pretty privilege, memorization, Heart Sutra and Meditation. Cry Count: 29 Tight Fillet Spell Uses: 31 Paralyzed by fear: 6 Bandit Problems: 2 Kidnapped by demons: 9 Falling Off Horses: 8

Current Bai Long Ma Stats: Names/Titles: Bai Long Ma (White Dragon Horse), Prince of the Western Ocean, and third prince jade dragon of the dragon king Aorun Abilities: Transforming into a human, a water snake, and a horse, eating a horse in one bite, flight, Magic of Water Restriction, Singing, and Sword Dancing. Cry Count: 1 Crime List: Arson, and Grave Disobedience. Contributions to the plot: 2 Kidnapped by demons: 1

Current Zhu Wuneng Stats: Names/Titles: The Marshal of the Heavenly Reeds, Zhu Wuneng (Pig who is aware of ability), Zhu Ganglie, Pigsy, Idiot and Eight Rules. Weapon: Rake Abilities: 36 Transformations, parting water, fighting underwater, cloud soaring, size enhancement and CPR Demon Kill Count/Kill steals: 3 Kidnapped by Demons: 4 Human Kill Count: 1 Failed Flirtation/romances Attempts: 4 Cry Count: 2 Crime List: Sexual Harassment, Murder, Kidnapping, arson, defamation, Damage to Religious Property, contaminating a substance for human consumption, Identity Fraud, Theft and Forcible entry

Current Sha Wujing Stats: Names/Titles: The Curtain-Raising General, Sha Wujing (Sand Aware of Purity), Sandy and Sha Monk Weapon: Monster Taming Staff Abilities: Fighting underwater, Cloud soaring, and fetching water from a well. Demon Kill Count: Unknown number of minions. Kidnapped by Demons: 3 Human Kill Count: 1 Crime List: Breaking a Crystal Cup, murder, desecration of a human corpse, Damage to Religious Property and contaminating a substance for human consumption

Previous - Masterpost - Next

[quitealotofsodapop]

Got sudden inspiration for Marbled Egg au. Takes place moments the same day the DBK is released, while MK and Mei are out on the fateful delivery run

"And so i told her, 'Ma, I'm pregnant! Not invalid!' And she had the nerve to laugh and pat my head like I'm a cub!" Tang chuckled along as the monkey continued his tirade about the latest batch of overprotective doting of Ms. Ma over him, hands having wildly as he described the interaction. "Shihou..." Pigsy admonished their friend from behind the counter, "You can't blame her for being worried. From what she says, you're overdue and the baby could pop any moment!" "I know, but that no reason to treat me like I'm made of glass!" Shihou scoffs, "I've done a lot more in worst conditions!" Tang winced. This isn't the first time Shihou had hinted at have difficult life, although none of them have context about what he refers too. All Tang himself knows is that whatever happened to Qi Shihou had made him scared of the outside world and that it was his hopes or a normal life for his son that led to their meeting. Tang has some suspicions if course, he knew the monkey to be a decendant of the legendary troupe that was said to roam Huā Guǒ Shān, and the monkeys born of that continent are famously long lived. "Yeah, well now you're pregnant!" Pigsy lectured as he waved his spoon threateningly, "If not for yourself than be careful for the baby!" "Ok, ok..." Shihou sighs, relenting, "If you say-" Suddenly Tang felt a shiver up his spine as Shíhóu's head snapped up, towards the window. There was a shattering sound somewhere and Pigsy let out a squeal. The moment passed as quickly as it came, leaving Tang with an uneasy feeling as a heavy silence filled the air, broken only by the slightest of whispers that Tang is certain nobody was meant to hear. "...it can't be..." Before Tang could question his friend, Pigsy shouted, dragging everyone's attention away. "Shihou, your hand!" Sur enough, when Tang looked he saw pieces of shattered glass sticking out of the monkey's paw, Shihou seemingly having broken the glass within his hand earlier. Pigsy vaults over the counter with a rag and first aid kit he always keeps nearby to help, cursing all the while. Shihou seemed stunned as he looked upon his limb, as if he was only jsut noticing the shards of broken glass in his hand. Tang, after a moment to calm his breathing, ran to grab a bowl of warm water while Pigsy firmly, yet gently, grabbed Shihou's injured paw and began to pull the many pieces of glass out, cursing and lecturing all the while. The strangest thing, Tang noticed, is that despite the fact his hand was clearly injured not a speck of blood was on the discarded shard... not did there seem to be any cuts. As if the glass hadn't even penetrator the monkey's skin.

Yessss, Marbled Stone Egg au (aka Slow Boiled but Wukong keeps the muddy MK baby).

love love love Pigsy mother-henning "Qi Shihou", even before the glass breaks. And the reference to Marshal Ma being his protective older stalwart <3

and you know MK is outside doing something his Mama/Baba doesn't want him doing - namely finding the Demon Bull family and accidentally stealing-back the Staff. XD

[starsfic]

Valentine’s Week- Day 1, Part 2

Summary: Pigsy is concerned for Sun Wukong. (Peachbun, dark.)

Ever since he had met Sun Wukong, Pigsy had found himself…concerned.

Not with Qi Xiaotian’s safety or anything like that, no. The monkey king had proven that he hated the idea of putting Xiaotian in danger throughout the quest to fetch the Samadhi fire. Yes, he had lied about the rings. Yes, he had lied about his plan.

But Wukong had admitted he had screwed up there. He had thought he was doing what he could with weakened powers and several people breathing down their necks to protect them all. That wasn’t enough for Pigsy’s entire forgiveness.

But Wukong had earned the rest of it through his actions. He had talked with Heaven about helping Xiaojiao free herself from the fire. He had been working to be more honest with Xiaotian about stuff. He had even been responding to invites and coming over more often.

That was when Pigsy began to notice…things.

Wukong preferred peaches over any other food, which made sense, but Pigsy rarely saw him eat those. Instead, there were a lot of peach chips…except those weren’t real. One time, Xiaojiao had startled the monkey and he had squeezed the bag so hard that it had exploded into hairs. Based off of Xiaotian’s face, that was not the first time he had caught his mentor eating hair.

His grins were fake. Pigsy had done research after Xiaotian began to train with Sun Wukong and found that monkeys bared teeth as signs of warning or aggression. Wukong had admitted that he had picked up the habit after spending so much time with humans, but not even those smiles were real.

Occasionally, Wukong had pain. One night, after carrying Xiaotian around on piggyback for a while, Pigsy had seen him rub the back of his shoulder, clearly fighting back a grimace of pain. Whenever someone raised their voice a touch too loud or frowned, Wukong would rub the back of his head. After careful watching, Pigsy realized he seemed to be tracing a spot, as if expecting some kind of band there.

The worst one was when Pigsy fell in love. At Lunar New Year, when the fireworks began, Wukong had loudly gasped “FIREWORKS!” His tone had completely switched into a child-like, gleeful tone that fell like the layers had fallen away, revealing true joy on Wukong’s face. Pigsy’s heart had gone boom even as it hit him that was the first time Wukong seemed to have lost the mask.

All those little details had built up and up.

All signs pointed to the fact that Wukong was unwell. And his isolation at Flower Fruit Mountain, even with the little visits he made, wasn’t helping. So Pigsy had to take things into his own hands.

Which led to now.

He winced at a knee in his gut. “Stop it. You're only making this worse for yourself.” There was an angry muffled growl from the monkey slung over his shoulder, tied with the diamond snare Nezha had been more than happy to provide. Pigsy rolled his eyes and continued to march down to the boat.

Thankfully, Sandy hadn’t questioned Pigsy’s need to borrow the boat too much. By the time anyone had questions, Wukong would be happily settled in his apartment.

Happy and healthy.

[rayalltheway]

A New Approach (LWAU Fic)

Aka, Zhuāng Jié (LMK OC) meets MK and the gang.

------

MK was trying to figure out how to function as a hero and as a mostly full-grown person by himself for more than a few minutes at a time. He really was. 

So the fact that the worst things seemed to happen when his friends were out of his general vicinity for as much as five seconds was seriously putting a damper on that endeavour.  

They had only left their last campsite half-a-day prior on their journey to the west (MK had spent a good part of those hours trying to think of a cool sequel name to give their adventure),  but a sudden engine problem with T.E.A. had forced them to take refuge at an abandoned mountainside castle so Sandy could fix it up, everyone else discussing staying there for the approaching night. 

“I dunno….” Pigsy huffed as everyone stood in the entryway of the castle, looking up at the old, likely structurally unsafe building apprehensively. “I thought the plan was to limit our stops more and more. Specially’ considering what we got on our heels.”

“Yeah, and we’re only a week away from Lantern City.” Mei chimed in, sitting on a rock and stretching out her legs after sitting in the van for the last several hours. “I want this to be over already….” She sounded particularly restless at that moment, which MK chalked up to van fever.

“To keep going would certainly be ideal…” Tang began, adjusting his glasses, looking out over the cliff the castle stood upon, built into the mountain. “But Lady Bone Demon’s power can only spread so fast across the world when she isn’t there herself, and we got a considerable head start.” He explained, going to Pigsy’s side in assurance. 

“Smart guy here is right.” Monkey King spoke up, drifting between Tang and Pigsy (inadvertently pushing the two apart, much to both their charaign) on his somersault cloud, which he had hardly left once he found himself able to summon it again earlier. “We can afford to stay here a night. Not like there’s anything out there we don’t already know about, or can’t see coming from miles away.” He continued, leaning casually back on his cloud.

His nonchalance earned another huff from an already-irritated Pigsy. “Yeah, you seem to know a LOT of things…” He grumbled, but everyone agreed to pitch camp, and Sandy was content to join them after finishing work on the van. 

The others entered the castle, intent on finding materials to start a fire – MK briefly hearing Monkey King muse that he might have recognized the castle as one he came upon during his own journey west, with Mei in turn remarking that the numerous signs of damage around the place was a fairly good indication of that idea. 

MK spent some time looking around the place, but he wasn’t too curious – night was coming, and given recent events, darkness in general was becoming something that MK was adding to his ever-growing list of anxieties. He didn’t feel nervous yet – Monkey King had to be right, there couldn’t be anyone else watching them that he didn’t already know about, but staying on the move mostly kept those thoughts at bay. Even so, he felt they were actually doing better than ever so far, given they had a head start they were only getting more miles on, and were about a week away from the Lantern City. 

MK felt himself become more at ease with that in mind – they were getting all the more closer to finally ending this nightmare. They could afford to have a spontaneous pit-stop, eat the rest of the mooncakes they got from Chang’e and pretend this was just a regular road-trip for a few hours – 

Oh, wow, it was cold here. 

MK felt himself shuddering as the sudden frigid draft pricked his fingers and neck. He let out a shaky breath as he quickly adjusted his jacket collar before jamming his hands under arms, turning back to call out to the others – not realising he had wandered into another room of the castle while lost in thought. 

“Heeyy, guys?” He called out, beginning to walk back from where he thought could hear the others, as it sounded like Monkey King and Mei were still arguing. 

“Come on pony girl, those wall-holes could of been left by anyone–”

A cracking sound filled the air, halting everyone where they stood, including MK – with more booming cracks followed by the castle groaning discontentedly. The air got colder, and sharper – and MK finally remembered where he had felt this chill before, just as a sharp, jagged spike of ice shot out from the floor at his feet. He yelped and fell on his behind, using his feet to propel himself backwards in fear. 

It was her power. The sounds of the castle straining and breaking against the ice continued all around as more began to jut out of the floor, and MK gasped when he saw the ice was growing near the entrance of the room. His legs practically pinwheeled as he leapt to his feet, running out with mere moment to spare, straining to hear where his friends were.

“Lady Bone Demon?! Is she here?!” MK heard Pigsy shouting, a couple rooms away.

“This is her power – it’s caught up to us!” He then heard Tang respond, before hearing his trademark shrieking telling everyone that they had to get out of there. Well, obviously.

“Wait, where’s MK?!” He then heard Mei yell. That was enough for him to finally snap out of his confused panic, running to where he thought their voices were coming from, feeling the ice nip his heels, catching the sight of ice crawling up the walls.

“Guys, get out! I’m right behind you!” MK called out, running as fast as he could to reach them. He almost had to bite back tears as he thought about how he still wasn’t back to full strength with his powers, and he couldn’t hope to tap into anything with this invasive, chilling bone demon power pressing around him. He turned a corner – and screamed when he saw an array of icy spikes blocking his path, and heading right for him as an extra touch. Whipping his head to look at the way only promised a similar fate – he had nowhere to go unless he jumped out the hall’s windows and hoped his powers wouldn’t falter on him. 

With the ice spikes reaching up to his head, he decided he’d take that chance. He began to move –

– Before he felt something grab the collar of his jacket and jerk him backwards. He didn’t anticipate the feeling of falling, panicking as his hold of gravity left him momentarily. But he soon found himself being held up on stone steps after hearing a doorway slide shut, realising he was dragged into a dark passageway going down that he hadn’t noticed, away from the path of ice. Any relief he might have felt was quickly dashed when he felt himself getting picked up once more, only able to let out a startled yelp as he was pinned against the wall with nothing to do but stare up at –

“Mac–”

“No.” 

MK’s panic was immediately silenced by the deep voice under the red hood he had glanced at, immediately making him assume this assailant was the shadow monkey in question, until his eyes actually took in the looming figure. While their expression was shrouded in shadow, MK could still see the shape of a face, and a dark, cold, human eye glaring at him in a way that utterly froze him where he was. It wasn’t Macaque – but whoever this was sure wasn’t any less intimidating. 

“You should know better than to isolate yourself, Monkie Kid.” They hissed through their teeth – before pulling MK from the wall and into the descending passage. 

——————————————————————————————————

MK soon found himself getting dragged by the male stranger through a secret entrance to the castle tunnelled through the mountain, coming into a small forest side clearing bathed in moonlight. It was there the man finally released him, MK recoiling out of his grasp and nearly tripping against a rock as he tried to resolve his bearings enough to take up a defensive stance. “What do you want?” He demanded. 

“A bit more caution from you, for a start.”  Came the man’s response, his hard but weary tone steeped in impatience as he scanned the exit they came from, seemingly checking whether or not they were followed. “You could have killed yourself in two completely different ways back there.”

“Hey, I’m the Monkie Kid, guy.” MK retorted, putting a fist to his chest as he mustered up as much of his superhero confidence as he could manage. “You don’t know that.” 

“You’d be surprised by what I do, kid.” The man shot back, still not looking at MK, circling the clearing expertly as he continued to examine for any sign of intrusion. With his back turned, MK finally noticed the long, bladed polearm weapon strapped to his back — the pointed reminder that he didn’t have his staff sinking into his gut. 

“I know that while you have power on your side, it’s not as much as it could be, thanks to her.” The man continued, and MK’s eyebrows shot up, and an icy chill passed through him, thinking of the pain in his head whenever Lady Bone Demon was around. But he didn’t feel it now, so…

“How do you know Lady Bone Demon? O-or me?” He asked, his voice shaking despite himself.

“I’ve been following her trail for a long time, and yours for days.” His blunt reply came as he pressed his ear against a tree, while MK did a double take at that last bit. 

“Hah??”

After a moment on his end, the man seemed satisfied that they were alone, standing back upright and turning so MK could feel that glare on him again – but rather than threatening, it felt more…scolding, something like the looks Pigsy would give him when he slacked off instead of delivering his noodle orders. 

“Nice to know you never even noticed.” Came the man’s chiding tone – and MK, in spite of this being a complete stranger with no reasonable authority over him, felt himself shrink a little. 

“You’re dealing with a spirit, not just a demon.” He continued, and with that baffling statement spoken, he turned to face MK completely, throwing back his hood. “So you and your friends are going to have to get better at knowing when you’re being watched by one.”

He was…old. A truly old man, with at least a decade on Pigsy or Tang – wrinkles lining his sharply handsome features, with long grey hair partly tied in a bun on the back of his head. Strangely, he wore a suit of armour under his weatherworn red cloak – the traditional kind of armour that MK recognized from illustrations in Journey to the West, but much more simple and way more worn out. Monkey King always wore clothes from centuries in the past, but this guy fully looked like just stepped out of a completely different time period. 

But aside from the dated fashion, he would look like a completely normal human…if it wasn’t for the fact that his left eye, which had two jagged red scars running over it, was a empty black, with an glowing red pinprick where an iris and pupil should be – directed at MK in a piercing glare.

“…..What??” MK wondered aloud, his mind spinning at the assault of all this new, confusing information. “Why would – who – ok, time out.” The young man stammered out, shaking his head and throwing up his hands. “So, apparently you’ve been following us, but you’re not with Lady Bone Demon, and just now you kidnapped me to…to give me advice?” He questioned, fully vexed. 

“To get you out of there.” The man replied as he pointed into the distance, MK looking behind him at the castle – it was now completely overtaken by ice that slowly spread over the rest of the mountain. “You couldn’t have foreseen this.” He explained, MK looking back at him quizzically. “Something new has set Lady Bone Demon off. It will slow back down soon, but it won’t stop. Though, her power is still escapable for now.”

“Wait, you – you only got ME away?!” MK protested, officially becoming angry now. “What about –“

“Your friends are fine.” The man stated, stopping MK.  “I saw them leaving the castle, they’re looking for you.” He paused before nodding in though after a moment, taking his eyes off MK to adjust his right wrist guard. “It’ll be easier to explain things when you’re all together.” He said, more to himself than to MK.

MK, for his part, stared at the man…but now felt his sense of trepidation was slowly waning. Most new people he met these days tried to kill him – but this stranger really might have just saved his life back there. It suddenly seemed this whole drag-around and lecturing was his way of…helping.

“Who are you?” MK finally asked. 

The man’s gaze quickly darted back up to meet MK’s, who instinctively stiffened at the stony expression completed by the man’s glare. His eyes were intent and predatory as they studied the younger one, like those of a hawk. 

“Are you frightened?” He asked, with an interrogative edge. 

“W-What? No!” Came MK’s immediate defensive reply, but the man’s unchanging expression put a crack in that facade quickly. 

“….Okay, yes. Why?” MK asked, returning the man’s look with his own suspicious look.

“Because you should be.” The man replied, taking a step closer to the nonplussed MK – 

– Before the impact an unstoppable force meeting rock struck the ground between the two of them, winding MK and making him stagger backwards, while the man dug his feet into the ground and drew his guandao in a single, swift motion, facing two figures that MK quickly recognized.

“Wait, M-“ he started. 

“Get away from him!” Yelled the voice of Mei, her blade drawn and eyes glowing a ferocious electric green. Next to her, Monkey King raised himself up from the kneeling position he landed in, his teeth bared ferociously.

“I have had it with you, you shady, sixed-eared–“ Monkey King snarled – before actually registering the man in front of him, who had lowered his weapon upon seeing who the new arrivals were.

“…Random old guy?” The monkey finished, dropping his aggressive posture in bemusement.

Mei was less placated, still pointing her sword at the man, while MK heard the distant sound of the team’s van bursting through the trees, coming to a halt as Sandy, Pigsy, and Tang burst out hurriedly.

“MK! Are you alright?!” Pigsy shouted, him, Tang, and Sandy making their way over to him in concern and looking towards the one sided stand-off with Mei and this stranger in confusion. 

“You do have a bold heart, Young Mei. You should save that for when you really need it.” The man said towards the dragon girl, spinning his guandao once before positioning it upright next to him. Mei only bristled further in response. “How do you know my name?!” Mei growled, thrusting her blade forward, the end coming to life with that familiar green glow. 

“Mei, wait!” MK called out, and Mei did turn to him at that, if only in confusion. 

“MK, what’s going on here? And who the heck are you??” Pigsy questioned the man irately, directing everyone’s accusing gazes. The man surveyed each of their faces with, his stony expression unchanging – before landing on MK’s unsure expression. Surprisingly, his own softened by a degree. He shook his head, and raised up his hands.

“Look, it’s a long story, but to keep it short – I’m not good at this.” The man began, kneeling to place his guandao slowly on the ground, keeping his arms above his head as he stood back up, facing the group. “But I know what hunts you all. By coincidence, I have walked along the path that intends to put an end to what she is for a while now. And I didn’t know anyone else was, until now, so…” The man trailed off, glancing off and pressing his lips together, looking conflicted for a moment…before dropping his head with a sigh, stepping back, and giving the group a greeting bow.

“I am here to help you, MK. All of you.” He states, directly towards the core of the group. 

Everyone was silent, and a bit hesitant – before turning to MK to see his reaction.

“…Oh.” MK sounded numbly after a moment, before dropping his arms lazily as he arched a brow at the man. “Oh. Why didn’t you just start with that?” He asked. 

The man’s eyebrow twitched with an untold emotion, before he sighed, putting his fingers on the ridge of his nose. “Like I said, I’m not good at this.” He responded, murmuring something under his breath. MK thought he heard him say a name…Chang something. 

“Alright, gramps –” Monkey King suddenly spoke up, cutting through the moment. “Whatever it is you’re good at, you’re lucky I didn’t kill you just now." Everyone looked to see his suspicious expression directed at the old warrior, his bafflement set aside as he moved to be in front of MK. “So you know about Lady Bone Demon, and showed up just after her power appeared where it shouldn’t? Real convenient, that.” He challenged.

A silent stare down ensued, and MK looked over his master’s shoulder — honestly shocked to see how the man was indeed matching Monkey King’s golden glare, without even flinching. 

“Uh – okay, hold on now – “ And then another surprise appeared when Tang opted to step between the two, halting whatever friction was starting to build. He gave a still-glowering Monkey King a shaky smile before clearing his throat as he turned to the man. 

“I think what Monkey King means is, if you really do have more, uh…expertise when it comes to Lady Bone Demon, then we’d be glad to accept your help – but we’ve also been victims of her trickery. How…exactly are you planning to show us we can trust you?”

The clearing was silent in the pause that followed, everyone waiting with bated breath to see the Warrior’s potential reply. He, for his part, kept up that frown that MK was starting to think was just his natural expression, before lowering his eyes in thought. But before he could speak, any ensuing conversation was interrupted by a series of loud booms sounding in the air. Everyone turned to see the castle practically breaking in half, the ice splintering the supports and sending the lower half of the structure crashing down the mountain – a sight punctuated by icy spikes climbing up the nearby cliff, towards them. The group quickly began to step back.

“Uh, maybe we can save this for when we get out of here?” Mei suggested, and they all heard the van horn honking, turning to see Sandy had already gotten into the driver's seat.

“Hop on in, guys! You too, sir!” Sandy called out, and everyone began to follow suit – until MK had a thought, and turned to the man.

“Uh, quick question – you said something about spirits earlier…do you know how to, like, uh – I dunno, sense this stuff?” MK asked, pointing to the encroaching ice. “To sense anything all spooky and weird and Lady-Bone Demony after us?”

The man took a moment to think again, before letting out a resigned huff. “I’m not the expert at it — but I can do it well enough to get you all to safety.” He responded.

“But…there is?” MK questioned, catching the way he worded that. “An expert?”

Before the elder one could respond, the van horn honked again, more continuously.

“MK, come on! We gotta get the brick outta here!” Mei yelled from the open back door, and the two could both see the grass frosting over.

MK gave the man one fully purposeful look. “You promise to help us?” 

“I swear it.” the warrior responded, resolute.

“What is your name?”

“Zhuāng Jié, kid.” He stated, collecting his guandao from the ground.

“Do you like Monkey Cop movies?”

“I – what?” He looked perplexed.

“Good enough, lets go!” MK decided, running to the car with their new teammate behind him. “Pigsy, move! Mr. Zhuāng Jié here needs to sit in the front!”

“What?!?”

[fatedefyd]

   ❝ so, i’m in this... weird headspace, right now. ❞  A sigh and a lightly stretch later, the young Dragon continues on, but with a lack of her usual pep.  

   ❝ like, look :  what would be considered my FIRST traumatic experience was back when i thought i had lost MK to Red Boy’s mom ; and i was sooo ready to throw hands with her there and then, too ! before i had my sword ‘n stuff, sure, but i still had a feint grasp on my ancestral power at the time ! ❞

        Mei then makes a gesture similar to that of proposing gentlemanly fisticuffs, chest puffed proudly for a moment before deflating, a hand coming to rest against her dejected face as she leans on her knee.

   ❝ then ! when i was house-sitting for my parents, i had a HUGE identity crisis  --  and my ancestors spiritually breathing down my neck didn’t help, either ! zero out of ten, do not recommend. ALSO-- having secretly been a huge part of one of the most powerful abilities is BOZO amounts of bonkers !! ❞

         Why yes, she’s still salty about how they came to that conclusion.  While Mei isn’t ready to fully forgive the very Unwise Sage for keeping such vital information from the team  --  from her, especially  --  she’s willing to be civil, for MK’s sake. 

   ❝ oh yeah, did i mention that i had my free will taken from me ? TWICE ?? definitely something i wouldn’t wish even upon my worst enemies...and just when we thought we were finally catching some kinda break ? ❞

         Hands motion around her person, almost as if she were wiping an invisible window, a look of pure disbelief on her face. 

   ❝ of COURSE, one of Monkey King’s old frienemies shows up. do you think the guy’s old Shifu, the one that taught him a lot of his stupid-powerful tricks and was probably one of the few people who knew how we could defeat that overgrown housecat, gave us any actual help ? NO !! i mean-- sure, he had some points, but we were working on a serious time crunch.. AGAIN !  --  and that’s not taking into consideration that MK is going through the identity crisis of the century ! and i just... ❞

         There’s a mild sputtering, general annoyance and anger causing her emerald streaks of hair to crackle, though it doesn’t last long.  Young warrior finally sits with her head between her legs, sword-wielding hands buried in her ebony hair, combing through her bangs in an irritated manner ; they eventually slide down to her face, pulling at her tired features. 

   ❝ i NEED a break. i need help to process aaall of this in, like, a healthy way. i had time to work things out with my parents, and i even started looking into seeing a therapist ! but it’s just one thing after another lately, and now i feel like i don’t have the right to complain about anything. Pigsy almost ate Tang, Sandy almost beat Pigsy to a pulp, and i was, once again, nearly KILLED just so that someone else could use my power for their own selfish reasons !!

   ❝  MK is learning about his past and his true identity right now, too, and i’m happy that everyone ended up mostly okay ! ... well, most of us are okay, but now.. Red Son and his family are gone, and i don’t know what i’m gonna do when we have to go and fish them out of the scroll ! this- is so-- BOGUS !! ❞