#Demon Hunter & Monk

[lilacwitchart]

Part 6 of my Dragonflight Armor Series: Aberrus! I had so much fun with this, all of these sets are so cool.

[eros-sinclair]

Keep forgetting to post this one but another friend of mine got D3 and is now part or the group!

The new addition; Corv the Monk (far left) belongs to @songdrop

And of course Umi the Witchdoctor belongs to @uncannyalien

And Annabelle the Demon hunter belongs to @foxyninjabear

And Mirrah of course is mine :)

[lamp-plays-games]

[wardrobe-goblin]

Ascended Spirit // Horde & Alliance // Leather set // Druid, Demon Hunter, Monk & Rogue // Items used

[cavernclaw]

Rainworld: The Movie (Unreality)

In the 1960's a Rainworld movie was proposed at the ideas board in Disney, The story would be about the strange wildlife of Rainworld and how the downfall of their ancestors, 'the ancients' affected the world around them.

The idea was declined due to the fact it would be too long and confusing for younger audiences. Luckily some of the script and the songs were leaked recently! The story would seemingly be in flashbacks and with multiple characters across the timeline.

Here was the cast of characters! Spearmaster: A purple slugcat, a master with spears Artificer: A red slugcat, vengeful and spiteful after the loss of her pups Hunter: Either red or orange, a slugcat that has been infected by the disease called 'rot' Survivor and Monk: Two brothers torn apart, desperate to find each other again. Gourmand: A yellow slugcat with a large appetite! Ruffles: An energetic slugcat that can breathe underwater. Saint: Not much is known about this character, most of their info was lost. Five pebbles: A robot-like character infected by the rot Looks to the moon: Not much is known about this character either, all we know is that she was a sister-like figure to FP and may have adopted Ruffles. We also found a soundtrack! these songs would've been musical numbers performed by the characters Here are all of the songs that we were able to find! Mother will protect you (Artificer's song) [SONG TITLE LOST] (Scavenger slaughter) It Consumes Me (Hunter's song) The Rain Keeps Coming (Gourmand's song) Where? (Monk and Survivor's song) Adventure Awaits! (Ruffle's song) Ballad of Five Pebbles (Five pebble's song) Watching the Moon (Looks to the moon's song) The Saint Awakens (Saint's song) That's about it for now!!

[wtfforged]

my campaign hiatus has gone on for too long so to cope ive combined my interests at their maximum potency and had some dnd-strawhats thoughts

thoughts in depth under read more... :)!

this is SO self indulgent. their designs literally did not change. but i am a firm believer that dnd doesnt have to be european high fantasy. and also one piece literally IS fantasy. no changes are necessary to fit into dnd. ive already imagined plenty of campaign/oneshot ideas inspired by one piece. so this was basically just an exercise of trying to replicate their canon abilities in dnd 5e as much as possible without totally homebrewing everything. well. aside from luffy. you just cant take away or change his stretching.

LUFFY: (human monk. drunken master subclass. outlander)

the only plain human of the crew to balance out with the fact that he still has rubber powers. obviously a monk. but drunken master subclass specifically because i think the flavor(not the fact that its about being a drunkard) and abilities both fit him really well. this line in the subclass' flavortext especially fits him: "A drunken master often enjoys playing the fool to bring gladness to the despondent or to demonstrate humility to the arrogant, but when battle is joined, the drunken master can be a maddening, masterful foe."

ZORO: (tiefling fighter. samurai subclass. bounty hunter)

a fighter with the samurai subclass is so very incredibly obvious... but i actually had a lot of fun geeking out while comparing the abilities to what he can do in canon; Fighting Spirit, Rapid Strike, and Strength Before Death especially! tiefling is also pretty on the nose for his demon pirate hunter shtick and asura form, but i thought he'd be really human-passing for a tiefling and theorized about his tail getting cut off at some point or another before joining the strawhats. initially wasnt gonna give him a feat, but i gave sanji a feat so i thought itd be unfair to not give him one as well, so sentinel fits the bill pretty well i think!

NAMI: (tabaxi rogue. arcane trickster subclass. criminal)

cat burglar -> full grown literal humanoid cat. this one is INCREDIBLY self indulgent... i love... cats... theres nothing deeper to this and no other reasoning. i took cat burglar and ran with it. can you tell that i love izutsumi dungeon meshi? rogue for the aforementioned burglar-ing as well, and the arcane trickster subclass for when she picks up climatact! the mage hand will be very useful for her pickpocketing. in the future as she levels up with timeskip, i can totally see her multiclassing into wizard as well! weather wizard!

USOPP: (lightfoot halfling artificer. artillerist subclass. urchin)

I HAD SO MUCH FUN THINKING ABOUT HIS CHARACTER SHEET. halfling's Naturally Stealthy ability lets him hide behind his crewmates since theyre (almost) all bigger than him, so its perfect for hiding behind zoro or sanji all the time. Lucky is also perfect for him, and I think Brave fits pretty well too when he puts on the sogeking mask. artillerist artificer is also very fun! tinkering and making magic items for his crew, and i think Eldritch Canon or Arcane Firearm could both be easily reflavored as kabuto or any of his inventions. for emphasizing his sniper-ness, the spell sniper feat was also necessary. i think hes my favorite of all the concepts. big ears and long nose combo is so cute to me.

SANJI: (half-elf monk. drunken master subclass. guild artisan (cook!))

race was mostly based on vibes i wont lie. squints. and that vinsmoke balogna or whatever too ig. but mostly vibes. along with the idea that i think a dwarf zeff raising him would be really funny and cute. monk is also obvious, and same subclass as luffy for mostly the same reasons. though the flavor fits him much less, i think the abilities still fit him perfectly, and this blurb specifically; "Your martial arts technique mixes combat training with the precision of a dancer." i really wanted to give him a different subclass from luffy, but i dislike all the other monk subclasses a lot and i found none of them fit him as well anyways, so to try and give them SOME differences, i gave him the crusher feat.

CHOPPER: (awakened deer(shifter statblock) cleric. life subclass. hermit)

this ones definitely a mouthful im sorry. awakened deer for obvious reasons, but due to magic instead of devil fruit stuff. when i was struggling with his race, i looked a lot at shifter because of his forms, but it occurred to me that itd be super cool if he could shift between all of the different shifter options instead of being stuck with just one to replicate his rumble balls. something like heavy point/guard point=beasthide, horn point/arm point(?maybe?)=longtooth, walk point/jumping point=swiftstride, and brain point=wildhunt. hed definitely need some kind of nerf though to balance out that homebrew... and cleric for class. duh.

ROBIN: (high elf wizard. order of scribes subclass. criminal)

robin is definitely the one i struggled the most with just because of her class. elf came pretty easily- shes very elegant and i think shed look cute with super long ears- and i landed on high elf instead of wood elf for the int-based abilities. i was really on the fence between sorcerer and wizard for her because i knew shed be a full spellcaster, but i didnt feel that any of the subclasses really fit her. i ended up going with wizard for order of the scribes since it focuses on texts and knowing everything. but also because robin with a flying talking sentient book would be crazy cool. it could also be similar to how she spawns mouths and eyes places to talk to or watch people. my "fuck it, why not. this would be rad. its my house" mindset kicked in with her i will admit. also the One with the Word ability made me cackle out loud when i read it. thats the funniest ability ever. anyways, i cant really think of a way to replicate her powers, but maybe we could just reflavor a bunch of spells to be her limbs or clutch; hold person, maximillian's earthen grasp, or evard's black tentacles. thatd probably work okay, and theres a handful of spells to replicate her ability to spawn eyes or mouths. unrelated, but i imagine nico olvia to be a drow. why? her hair is white. i am a simple man!

[miniatureowl]

An extremely short OC-tober 2020! Only three that year and two more for I+S story.

1) Khro the Raven

Sayura's dad and not a good one at that! Starting really easy since I already had Khro put together. Originally I had him as a crow demon, BUT he actually has more characteristics of a raven and I like the idea of that causing confusion!

2) Rhett the Monk/ 37 (updated)

Also known as Rhett the Rat to a few in his monastery that also specializes in demon "cleansing". After a stint doing some unsavory work, losing both an eye and small family in the process, he seeks redemption and now can be a little too by-the-book. Though sweet and helpful, Rhett doesn't see the "greys" as much anymore. Meeting Sayura challenges this.

3) Veran the Demon Hunter/ 40

An independent demon hunter who specializes in knives, daggers, and close combat. He's searching for the demons that killed half his family when he was a kid, but so far has come up empty. Fueled by vengeance, he trusts no one. Sayura is no exception.

[theaceofskulls]

This upcoming week's preorders for warhammer are the funniest combination they could think of.

For Kill Team, 40k's small scale game where you play as a single squad of dudes, you have the Chaos Space Marine Night Lords vs Druhkari Mandrakes.

To quickly sum that up, you have a terror troop that makes the "normal" space hell-infused supersoldier barbarians look nice. These are the people that skin their victims, broadcast screams to their friends, and generally are the most edgy of the edgy faction in general. You can see them below with all sorts of skin hanging off them, swords made of bone, and a whole ass banner made of a partial dead supersoldier.

Opposing them are the shadow demons of the torture elf faction. These are the guys that lurk in the shadows of Edgy Shadow Murder Elf City that scare even the people who live there. They also skin people and wear them as their clothes too. And they wield edgy dark magics that they throw to burn people alive (and possibly their souls as well).

Then you have the War Cry box, the Age of Sigmar Fantasy skirmish game which has Lumineth vs Nighthaunt.

The Nighthaunt are cursed spirits that the god of the dead personally has constructed ironic punishments for. These ones in particular are eternally burning ghosts that used to be healers, alchemists, and priests who attempted to use sacred fires or potions to burn away death or purify areas of the undead who now spend their afterlives aflame or having to keep the awful flames of Nagash's realm alight upon pain of worse fates.

So that leaves us with the elves who are the exception right? Well they're nicer than the above, being monk/druid/paladins who are trying to save the realms. However, anyone familiar with Lumineth or with the trope of "too good makes an evil paladin" kind of tropes, you can figure out that they're not always the good guys in the stories. Still they're mostly good, but let's hope they don't run out of villains to fight

They're also dropping the dark fantasy human hunters alongside the eternally starving ogres who are mutating teeth and tusks out of their body (they previously were for sale together but they're now splitting the box).

So these opposed and themed boxes are dropping soon alongside... gnomes.

The whiplash between these products feels like being hit with a truck

[itsabouttimex2]

Plot twist: the moment d!reader is set free from both of the circles at the end of the journey, they dissapear into the night, never to be seen again...or not.

I'm sorry i just, as much as i love yanderes, i want to see them suffer. At least a bit.

Ps. You're an amazing writer and i really enjoy your fics. Also, you really helped in getting my friend into yandere, so thank you for that🙂

Taken Aboard:

Running Away

(I’m super glad that you enjoy my fics! And I’m glad your friends enjoys them, too! Yandere is a really fun trope to play with!)

So, in the case that you do pull a runner at the end of this long and arduous journey, Y/N… your biggest enemy is now yourself.

Because, as hard as you might have tried to fight it, you have been civilized. You have grown accustomed to society. You have started to care. This journey has changed and bettered you, as it has all your companions.

You are no longer a mere demon tending to monsters great and mighty, no more a child planting seeds and spreading spores.

You can’t ever go back to being the wild little creature you once were.

If you’ve ever read Gilgamesh, I’d say Enkidu is a good comparison for your development. After he’s been ‘civilized’ by Shamhat, Enkidu can no longer return to the home he knows and loves, the animals who once accepted him now fleeing on sight.

Now, if you leave before the journey’s end…

You run, devastated and distraught that so much of yourself is gone and lost, never to be reclaimed. The forest may not be the home you know, but some part of it is still familiar.

You purge the hunters and loggers who have taken up residence within the Emerald Grove, violently spilling their nourishing blood across the hungry soil, pitch their flesh into the mouths of ravenous beasts.

It doesn’t make you feel better- you know that at least some of these men and women were trying to feed themselves, their children.

But at least the forest is newly quiet, contented by a fresh meal, leaving you in peace to mourn.

As for hoping to ‘never being seen again’…

Sun Wukong’s Golden Vision has a little something to say about that.

Within hours he’s stalking back to the Emerald Grove in a huff, hauling his way up the tallest tree he can find and unhappily making his way over to you.

The Great Sage snatches you off the bark and tosses you over his shoulder, clambering down the tree as you kick and scream. You demand to be released and removed from the group, biting and pounding your fists agains his invulnerable back.

“Being naughty today, bud? Here I was, thinking you had finally gotten past this ‘running back home’ phase.”

“I am not a baby,” you scream, digging your teeth into the base of his spine with all your demonic might. “PUT ME DOWN!”

You manage to draw just a few drops of blood, not that it phases the simian. He doesn’t even seem to notice.

“You’re making things harder for all of us, you know that? And you keep setting us back with all the running away nonsense. But I had Master call a certain someone up to maybe settle this for us all, bud.”

Against your angry protests and endless assault does the Great Sage drag you back to camp, switching to hold you in his arms instead of over his back.

Immediately do your screams of anger turn to pained wails, the sound of a holy sutra hitting your ears. The blessed bands around your wrists tighten, scraping the skin they compress to rawness.

And before you stands not only the holy monk who tricked you into wearing these golden hoops, but the goddess who gave them to him.

“Sun Wukong, please place the child down,” she lightly instructs, her tone even and polite. “Might I speak to them for a moment?”

The Handsome Monkey King obeys, nudging your towards the goddess after he releases his grip on you.

Guanyin comes to you slowly, kneeling to take your face into her soft and gentle hands.

And you bite her.

“You- you call yourself a goddess,” you scream, fangs wet with her divine ichor. “Of mercy and compassion! But all you do is hand out tools of torture and punishment! I wanted to stay in my forest! I wanted to stay with my friends!” A hard shove, nearly knocking her over. “And you helped Sanzang take me away! You gave him these awful bands and he pretended they were gifts to get me to put them on! But they weren’t! And you let him! And now he uses them to hurt me! I hate you! I hate him! I hate all of you!”

Finally you collapse, sobbing openly into your hands.

Tang Sanzang watches in horror as heavenly blood feeds the ground, causing new and gorgeous growth to break from the soil, flowers blooming in massive clusters.

Wukong seethes that you could be so disrespectful to the one and only god he actually cares for, the only one he finds to be tolerable and kind.

Everyone else just recoils in both fear and hurt, your last words ringing painfully in the ears.

But Guanyin approaches once more, kneeling to level herself with you. There is no retribution or anger in her touch, placing a light kiss onto your forehead.

“You’re right, aren’t you? This journey has not been easy, nor has it been kind- and for you especially, perhaps it has been cruel. And I too, have been unkind to dabble in your affairs. Will you allow me to ease the burdens of your travel?”

From a silk pouch does she procure a mirror, pushing it into your shaking hands.

“My child, I give to you this heavenly mirror, which has been forged from blessed steel and holy sand melted to glass by dragonfire. To look upon it will show you your beloved forest, and all those you have left behind.”

———————————————————————-

Now, this is super important- Y/N’s involvement in the journey is incredibly unfair. The others come because they seek personal growth or redemption, but Y/N?

They had to come. They were tricked into thinking those golden tightening bands were gifts and eagerly asked Sanzang to help put them on, jumping up and down in excitement at receiving something so pretty. The only reason they agreed to wear these ‘generously’ gifted bands was because they thought it was an honest gift.

So there’s already a sense of betrayal about the whole thing, that their first gift from anyone was actually just a trap to pull them along on a lengthy and dangerous journey.

Then, where the others were either entirely willing (Sanzang) or had to redeem themselves for crimes or mistakes (Wukong), Y/N was forced to come along with their worst crimes being: fighting off invaders and killing poachers. And all for that, they are ripped from home and forced to leave behind everything they’ve ever known and loved.

And Guanyin does three things here:

1. Acknowledges your anger/sorrow.

2. Validates your feelings without hesitation.

3. Actively works to soothe them.

With the mirror in hand, you can look upon the Emerald Grove and see your old animal friends, know that they’re safe even without you, and put your fears to rest.

It’s not perfect.

But it’s a good start to get you to actually care about these pilgrims, given that you don’t spend every night in flurry of nightmares, thinking fitfully of your beloved forest.

[shkika]

So on the topic of iterators playing video games, this:

which is a part of the set of holograms Iggy can show Moon after Rivulet powers her back up. Which based on the colors, grid, and way the tiles change, is probably Moon and Pebbles playing the iterator dominoes

(It's funny to think one of first message Moon sent to Pebbles after hundreds of cycles was essentially "Hey you wanna play games")

(I need Saint playing Dominoes with Moon now)

I'm beyond mentally ill for those two! I'm very aware of their domino shenanigans. If you pay attention to Moon's projections you can see a lot of neat stuff. Actually let's talk about that!

I think them playing together is just so.. fitting and beautiful. It's such a simple way to connect with others. Playing games is one of the easiest ways to build or rebuild friendships. Any kind of games. Something casual you can talk and share while you do. And those two have plenty to talk about.

Aside the games though..

Ramble about a bunch of her projections in Saint and Riv campaigns below! It was very fun!

Moon also remembers her various slug cat companions through the cycles.

She tells Hunter how she wishes she could remember them. And now she can. Moon can remember her savior and remember just how hard her family and peers tried to contact her, to reassure her, to show how they cared. Even this image on it's own speaks a lot. Moon couldn't have taken it, because she was offline before that key ended up in her chamber. So it was Iggy. One of the overseers she no longer has control over yet tried to help her anyway. It's sweet.

It makes it canon that Monk met her and gave her two neurons! A thoughtful and kind creature.

Pet pictures of course! Here is little demon baby.

Moon also has pictures of the local group in the distance! She never stopped trying to look after them and be a local group senior. Checking up on them in the only way she really can. I think that's sweet.

And what honestly breaks me is uh..

These. She also never stopped being Five Pebbles' administrator.. or more accurately his big sister. Checking up on how he is doing and the situation with his rot. It just makes me ache a little. It's been way too long for her to be angry anymore. She can finally talk to him and they both know it won't be for long.

Moon also has pictures of Silent Construct.

Unless I am mistaken of course. But I get the idea that she has trouble reaching him. Or she can't find him. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think Moon's overseers can’t reach Five Pebbles anymore. I don't think she'd stop being his company otherwise. Silent Construct is a place that has crumbled very badly and who knows in what state overseer tunnels are.. especially with the dense scavenger populations, it must be difficult to reach him.

Of course we also have the fallen buildings of her local group in the distance. No longer standing. Their time is over.

And! Something a little more fun is that she has a projection of the Moon. Looks to the Moon alright! How silly and sweet.

Hope you like the view Moonie.

[quitealotofsodapop]

Mentioned in a Post a while back about a Jttw/LMK AU I had regarding the "Yellow Robed Demon" Arc when Tripitaka got turned into a tiger.

Book Summary;

Tripitaka manages to escape his capture (for once) and passes on a message to the King of Baoxiang from his daughter, Baihuaxiu, explaining that she was kidnapped and made the forced bride of a demon (ironically making it a magical version of what befell Tripitaka's mother when he was a baby).

Kui Mulang rolls in with a human glamour and goes: "Nu-Uh! I'm but a humble human hunter. THIS guy is a tiger demon who attacked a girl some time ago. I save her and we've been living a simple life for the last 13 years!" (Lie)

So the dude pulls an Uno-Reverse and transforms Tripitaka into a tiger (or in some versions, glamours him into one). The King and his subjects believe this 100% since Tripitaka and the Pilgrims don't look so great without Wukong there to act as PR (he was exiled at the time for the White Bone Spirit incident).

Tripitaka is apparently aching-beautiful no matter his form though;

Wukong even feels kinda bad for his Master, since the transformation is so good that he can't even see through it with Gold Vision. Also imagine a sad giant kitty, that would bum anyone out.

Of course things are resolved by the end of the arc; the gang reunite with their monkey, Ao Lie gets his own badass chapter, the Princess is saved, Bajie kills the couple's two half-demon wolf children, the Yellow Robed Demon is revealed to be Revatī - the Wood Wolf of Legs after Wukong catches the demon commenting on his performance during the Havoc (Wukong has a few Columbo moments in the book like this), and Tripitaka is transformed back into his squishy monk self.

Bonus - Tripitaka as a tiger from a book illustration + the 1999 cartoon.

The book illustration + description suggests he's a rare Pseudo-melanistic "Black Tiger" seen in India, possibly an Indo-Chinese Tiger, or a South China Tiger with a darker back.

So here's where the timeline shifts...

The Wood Wolf of Legs ain't happy to be dragged away from (what he believed to be mutual) his true love on earth + his two kids, so he curses the Tang Monk to not only retain part of the glamour he imposed upon him, but to transform him fully into a carnivorous feline demon. Also as an extra "F-k you!" to the Jade Court he and his past love fled from, since the Queen Mother is a celestial tigress herself.

The Pilgrims freak out, obviously.

Guanyin is called up and is like;

Guanyin: "Well, you did unjustly punish and exile your best bodyguard because you didn't trust his judgement, seeing him only as a murderous beast... so *your* punishment is to deal with the rest of your Journey as one of the very same creatures you see as mindlessly bloodthirsty." Tripitaka, now cursed to stay a catboy: "Dang it." (≽^╥⩊╥^≼)

He still gets to wear the robes and walk upright -think Master Tigress from Kung Fu Panda but as a wimpy, twink-shaped, monk.

Tripitaka aint' having fun. He's a life-long vegetarian who's suddenly an apex hypercarnivore. He tries his best for the longest time to stay on the veggies (and durian weirdly enough since tigers like those), but eventually he will need to chow down on some bleeding protein.

And his team literally consists of the main diet of a tiger...

Wukong, a monkey: "Master isn't looking too good." Zhu Bajie, a pig: "I don't like the way he's been looking at us. I burnt my finger making the campfire and he looked ready to pounce!" Sha Wujing, a fish: "I'm not surprised. Cats are of few beasts that absolutely require meat protein to survive." Ao Lie, currently a horse: "If he goes feral, I vote we sacrifice the pig first." Wujing & Wukong: "Agreed." Zhu Bajie: "HEY!!" (₍•̀ ⚇•́ ₎) Tripitaka, meditating hard: "Perhaps if I eat a watermelon, it would sustain my desire for flesh?"

What worse?

Tripitaka is still considered smoking hot. Now by demon standards too!

The Trio of Lion Camel Ridge prepare to attack the Pilgrims when;

Azure Lion: (*sees that the Great Monk is actually a beautiful tiger.*) Azure Lion, lowering his sword: "Guys, do not mess this up for me." Peng & Yellow Tusk: (*annoyed groans!*)

[centrally-unplanned]

As part of the 80's OVA binge, partner and I watched Dream Hunter Rem, a story of a paranormal girl detective who fights demons in people's dreams. A typical premise, but the opening shots of her office had this, uh, interesting detail?

...Is Rem Jewish? I don't think so, that is never mentioned. I feel like this is a typical "mysticism potpourri" thing, where throwing in any western religious symbols works for a vibe in Japan because they don't care, and the existence of things like kaballah made jewish symbols work extra well (though it otherwise isn't that kind of work beyond a character who is a buddhist monk using buddhist symbols organically). I lack the skills to tell what the text says - I don't think it tracks as Hebrew, but it might be a weird font, some other language, or just nonsense scribbles. Likely they found some poster somewhere and copied it as a form of reference - I am curious what that could be!

(Googling this in Japanese does not bring up any clarifying discussion, alas)

[romanceclub-confessionss]

Confession:

"Did anyone else notice in the image of HSR of the attack against the infected monks , on Cain's arm what could be Curse and mark of Cain? anything, search the bible to understand better or watch all the seasons of supernatural, well the demon hunter is already among us and he showed his face, a face that somewhat resembles cain, would that be the one with black hair, his brother Abel?"

[wardrobe-goblin]

Netherbane // Horde & Alliance // Leather set // Druid, Demon Hunter, Monk & Rogue // Items used

[lint-beetle4]

Fleeting Memories (ShadowPeach Angst & Fluff)

I've been waiting for so long to write this! Thank you for the request!!

Fun Fact: I have class in 4 minutes

Also, Mild Gore Warning

The journey was long, arduous, and even painful, if Wukong was being honest.

Yet, despite it all, Wukong had grown more through the short time they spent together. Trial after trial, Wukong slowly learned to be more compassionate, more considerate, and more patient. He was growing to fit the title he'd made for himself, and to that, as their journey approached an end, a bittersweet feeling had crawled into Wukong's chest and decided the settle there.

It was the bitterness that flowed through his blood as Wukong fought against his greatest friend, his brother, his second-in-command.

The Great Sage had never seen his friend so upset...so hateful.

It was a sorrowful sight, something Wukong never wished upon the person who he tried to keep close to. After the war, Wukong never saw Macaque, not when he was cast from the monk's group, nor when he regrouped his fallen soldiers and subjects and rebuilt his kingdom. His subjects spoke of the shadow demon, how he was fueled with rage and grief.

Oh, how it hurt to Sage to hear how his comrade tried so hard to save the immortal monkeys from the trappers and hunters who tormented the fallen kingdom, how Macaque continued to fight battle after battle, protecting the fragile island from the devastating fires of Erlang Shen.

Yet, the past was washed away, Wukong and Macaque's final parting words had created a divide, only for them to be united in a battle that breathed finality.

"Macaque, don't make me do this!"

The darker simian didn't respond, his cackling ringing through Wukong's ears as the sage threw blow after blow, defending the monk and his new brothers. Macaque's laughter turned into pained yelps and shouts, he was losing, but the shadow demon refused to stop, and Wukong felt his heart steal itself for the final blow.

Macaque laid on the ground, bleeding profusely and limp. His pained breaths inhaled with a final shout, a final plead for Wukong to just listen. Yet, Wukong couldn't hear him anymore, Macaque's voice turning sour in his ears as he lifted his staff.

"Wait, Wukong, stop--"

Crunch.

Ringing filled the air, Wukong's blood pumped through his body, deafening him as Macaque went limp with a resounding gurgle ending into a wet sigh.

He was dead.

But, his eye looked directly at him. His mouth kept moving. Wukong could hear everyone in the distance, but Macaque's voice stood in front of him.

"...Wukong."

'Forgive me.'

"Wukong--!"

'Please close your eyes. Rest.'

"Wukong!"

'The battle is over. It's done. Let him rest.'

"Oh, to all the gods, Wukong. Wake up!"

Wukong sat up with a gasp, air running through him as if nothing more but a fleeting memory. It hurt.

Wukong's eyes flickered through his sleeping quarters, tidy yet clearly loved. Shadows flickered through the corners as Wukong snapped his head to his side, seeing Macaque--alive, finally alive.

Macaque was disheveled in front of Wukong, his mane tussled with what seemed like sleep and high winds.

Wukong couldn't focus on it much, his eyes tightly shut as his nightmares gripped at his mind with a strength he hadn't felt in centuries.

The darker simian seemed concerned, his voice whispering too low to reach through the growing trembles and pounding of Wukong's heart. Yet, the sight of him was heavenly enough, honey pouring through air, warming the way it stabbed in his chest.

In the back of his mind, Wukong heard sobs-- pitiful, heavy sobs--in the air as Macaque's voice continued to futilely speak.

Couldn't the fool see Wukong was currently too occupied to listen properly?

His chest clenched painfully, Wukong curling into himself with a whimper that ran like grease through his body. He felt ashamed to be in such a state, to be shaking and crying out for a past like an abandoned cub in fire-scorched forests. Macaque's hands hovered above him, and despite everything, Wukong flinched hard.

Macaque pulled away, his mouth shutting as his eyes merely softened at the sight of the King.

"Wukong."

Macaque's voice was clear, and by the gods, Wukong heard every ounce of love in it. He missed it so much; he missed him so much. Wukong sobbed again, tears dampening his fur as the sage grit his teeth, trying to quiet the noises that bothered him so.

"Wukong--Look at me."

Desperation, only pure desperation in that honey-filled voice, deep and clinging to Wukong's ears like a lifeline. Wukong obeyed blindly, Macaque's eyes examining Wukong carefully.

"You're in your house right now--it's empty, despite the fact that you have hoard stashes in your closet. But, you're not there anymore, and I'm here."

Wukong still felt tears pouring down his face, the air stinging his cheeks. He felt Macaque get closer, arms now confidently around Wukong's shoulders in a hug that Wukong swore he forgot the feeling of.

"I'm here now. I'm not leaving."

"You won't leave..? Promise me--please--that you won't leave me here like this." Wukong sobbed, sinking his head into Macaque's soft fur, the scent of fruit still surrounding him with bitter nostalgia.

Macaque shook his head, arms tightening around Wukong as the shadow demon spoke with a thick, broken voice. "I promise. I'll be right here."

Wukong's trembling increased as his sobs jolted through his body. He half felt bad about ruining Macaque's fur like this--the ginger monkey knew how pridefully Macaque took his appearance. Yet, the night continued on, Wukong's tears eventually drying as his trembling settled into a fatigued weakness. Macaque never left, only whispering words that covered Wukong like a silk blanket in the cool night.

"Thank you," Wukong shuddered, lifting his head to look at the strangely calm Macaque. "Thank you so much."

"Go to sleep, Peaches. You look terrible."

Macaque shook his head, a fond smile that Wukong reciprocated.

The two laid down, Macaque never letting go of Wukong as the latter buried his head into Macaque's chest with a weak grin.

"Goodnight, Peaches. I love you."

Wukong fell asleep with warmth through his body, the past drifting away as nothing more than a bad nightmare.

The sun rose, burning Wukong's eyelids as it forced the king to rise. He could always count on its light to pierce through any dream he could've had. The warmth around Wukong had left, it seems, leaving him chilled.

Macaque left, Wukong sighed to himself, looking away from the blinding light that cast away the shadows of the night.

The house felt cold despite the warm glow of the sun.