#Macaque gets a therapist AU

[cubbyhole-for-flea-bee]

Apologies

[centuryberry]

Detoxify AU, questions: How does shadowpeach get together here? Like they’re going to have to work through the trauma™️ first and SWK is going to have to learn that touch is okay and all of that…

Also, How is Macaque dealing with his death? Like SWK was not himself when he did it but he still killed him and that’s gotta be traumatizing even if you KNOW that they didn’t meant to

Slowly. Shadowpeach gets together slowly. Macaque is willing to wait and support Wukong while Wukong puts in the work to heal and get better. In a strange twist, it’s after Season 4’s events (post Azure’s death) that they get together. Wukong faces the source of his trauma and gets his closure. He also finally forgives himself. Yue (his therapist) is very very proud of him. Wukong still has issues with sudden touches, but he’s getting better at tail holding and cheek touches. Baby steps.

As for Macaque and his death experience? Not great. He represses it and sets it aside in favor of Wukong’s pain, but he’s not fooling anyone. MK pushes him to get some therapy too so Yue gets yet another patient.

[cherllyio]

do you have any thoughts on Nezha? like headcannons and such(i'm creating an au with him and i just wanted some ideas on what to add, specially with character interactions:D )

i personally headcannon that Nezha is actually shotter than MK, he just looks taller because of his wheels and wukong teases him about that constantly

Oh boy, yea i would love to lets go!

Nezha Headcanons lets gooooo

First of all, boys a Softie beheind all thoughs walls. He got issues, but that one scene where gave MK some comfort? Yea, he be a good therapist.

Shorter than MK? OMG YES. I want him to show up at a scene, all causual(which he isnt good at), and then he is just a short king.

GENDER BENDER, GENDER BENDER. I dont know if he is specifcally trans or non binary, but he will pull on literally anything and look fabuolus. Dresses, suits, both YOU NAME IT.

Characther interactions:

Wukong: Older brother vs Younger Brother relationship. They may always be figthting and pissing eachother off, but they will fight whatever enemy the other is against in a heartbeat.

The Traffic light Trio: Nezha is usually the calmer type, but he does like spending time with the younger cast. This is because of all the time he himself has missed, where he could just be " a teenager."

Macaque: Probaly met like once before lmk, but I feel like they would have a lot of great talks together. More specifically about them knowing Wukong, and how it has affected them(they still care for Wukong though)

Mo and Sandy: Nezha is cat person, and in season 4 we saw canon clips of him petting Mo.

I feel like him and Sandy would get along quite swell. Go for walks, water plants, mediate, go to group therapy.

[hexologh]

Part 2 of “Those Eyes...”

Is it weird I get my inspiration from memes? ☹️

Characters ; You, Sun wukong and Macaque.

▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰▱▰

Sun wukong

— Considering how much pride this monkey has he'd probably agree with you.

— Like sir? Are you Asmodeus from Obey me? Jk Asmo is cool.

— But he secretly loves it when you compliment him, his ego be like : 📈

But fr tho please do this every day, every hour, every minute., Every sec—

— Ehem., Anyways you'd be like. “You're tail waging like Sanic.” SW would raise a brow and ask, “Don't you mean Sonic?” you'd blink with a apathetic face and say, “No.”

— Totally out of topic but ..,

— One time you two were hanging out and Mk appears out of nowhere and looks at the two of you like; “Something malicious is brewing..🧐”

Macaque

— This man., Right here he ain't used to compliments I mean he suffered a lot of trauma, Like his dad never came home with the milk., I MEAN— he died that one time but came back like Jesus.

— My lord and savior is that you?? ☹️ Btw do y'all have time to talk Abt our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? ❤️😘

— Jk, Or am I ..? 🧐 But fr tho get a therapist Macaque, anyways when you first complimented him he didn't really respond just blinked at you, staring at you liked he did when you worked at the bakery- no wait, wrong AU 🙊

— he's quite observant, he realized that you actually meant it., It made him happy after that he started to get closer to you and even spoke more,. only when you're around tho.

— Macaque if it isn't Y/n : Just go. Get out of here. Leave. 🗿

— You weren't stupid you noticed this and started to compliment everything he does he would be flushtered but keeps his straight face and just shrugs it off, But please keep doing it..

[silvergolddraco28]

This is what I got so far of that AU idea I posted about. PM me if you're interested in helping me write it otherwise id like to hear opinions in the comments, please and thank you!

Scorched:

A ‘what if’ scenario of LMK on what would happen if Sun Wukong managed to take the last ring from Mei and become the host to the Eternal Flames that are capable of burning to whole world to ashes.

1

‘Just a little bit longer... Everything is ready... Just have to get that last ring out of Mei.’ a male in a bright yellow and black hoodie thought sunglasses covering his eyes while looking out the window of the train car, a dark gold nearly ginger tail swaying behind him in contemplation his shaded golden eyes looking at each of his companions. Two teens, a boy and a girl, a male pig demon chef, a male river demon that was also a therapist, and the last of their group a male human food critic and their resident historian. ‘This is for the best Wukong... Once we get to the mountain it will mark the beginning of the end for Lady Bone Demon and her so called game.’ The immortal being thought while the trail ride continued in silence. Something Wukong was rather thank full for than being interrogated by Pigsy aka the pig demon that did not like him.

The human, Tang, cleared his throat after prying his eyes from the window in worry. “So uh Mr. King Sir. I didn't want to rush you or anything-” Tang began before being cut off by the teenage boy holding three large rings in his arms.

“I don't mind rushing him! We have all three of the rings how do we use them to make LBD go boom?!” the kid asked getting straight to the point before falling over as the train car rocked after hitting a bump.

‘The cub sure knows how to get straight to the point with me... By the gods I've really become attached to this kid if I'm already thinking of him as my cub... Guess that goes for Mei too...’ Wukong thought glancing at the girl before looking away before they could lock eyes. “The only way to reforge the fire is at the summit of the mountain we are currently heading for. Before that, Mei can I speak with you in the next car?” Wukong asked the young girl.

The dragon heiress blinked at this odd request. “Sure thing Monkey King!” Mei chirped trying to keep a positive attitude.

The dark golden Simion gave a thankful smile to the girl. “We’ll be back in a few minutes. I think Mei might have gotten hit with a spell of some sort. Has some energy in her that needs to be taken out.” Wukong explained to the group.

Pigsy gave him a scowl while the kid-Mk- jumped to his feet. “Mei are you feeling alright!?!” Mk asked zipping around the green-clad girl.

“I’m fine Mk... Actually, I have been having some weird discomfort in my chest after our last encounter with Macaque.” Mei admitted with a shrug.

“Let's get whatever is causing you pain out while we have the time,” Wukong advised making his way to the end of the train car to cross over into the next car that was empty of people. Something Wukong was internally happy about.

[thestarfilledsea]

Plum Blossom AU

“The sands of time pass by,

Watch the way it falls.

Even immortals will feel deaths embrace,

Once this spell has its cost.”

My first Lmk AU! I’m so excited to share it and I’m kind of invested in it at this point lol.

The plum blossom AU has a few main things that differ from canon. For one, immortals aren’t exactly immortal. They just have very extended life spans. In this AU, in the current day both Macaque and Wukong have about the average mortal’s life left.

Also Macaque has a therapist. she’s a forest.

Like an actual forest.

I’m not kidding.

Explanation below :D

Macaque upon seeing Wukong on the journey to the west, leashed like a dog, he waits until after dark to approach Wukong.

After an attempted conversation turns into an argument, the six eared Macaque shadow warps(?) away. Unable to think clearly of a location to end up at, he settles with “anywhere but here.”

Opening his eyes, thick woods cloud his view of the sky. Sitting up he digs his fingers into the ground. Anger beginning to course through him. He would make Wukong pay, he would make the monk and all his friends pa——— what the hell just moved?

Whirling behind him, Macaque saw the tree he had been leaning on had grown a fanged face.

—

So yeah, Macaque ends up in the same forest Mk does in the “impossible delivery” episode after seeing Wukong with Tripitaka on the journey.

The only difference with the forest itself is that its packed full of magic, and unlike when MK focused his way out of the illusion, deeper parts of the forest actually look like what Mk saw. Dark, foggy, etc. If you’ve ever watched ATLA or LOK you’ll remember episodes about a swamp that shows you visions in order for you to work through your hurt.

It’s like that.

It’s considered holy to a nearby village that would send its monks in for a single night after years of training as a final test, to truly purify themselves from hatred.

Macaque obviously doesn’t know that when he stumbles upon this random forest. So after a really weird night and after Macaque unwillingly processing his emotions in a healthy way for the first time in his goddamn life, he leaves.

…but he keeps getting called back. It almost feels like a kind of magic he can’t identify.

So after awhile he just starts really getting to know the forest. (Think Casita and Mirabel’s interactions from Encanto)

Until one day when walking through the forest, he stumbles upon a cottage.

What was concerning was the fact that it hadn’t been there yesterday.

(It’s ancient magic don’t question it.)

Basically the forests had gifted him with something he hadn’t had since Wukong had gotten stuck under a mountain; a home.

So Macaque accepts it.

—

I’ll talk more about how it unfolds in the current day later but for right now, here’s how Mk and Mac met.

Just because you’re an emo hermit doesn’t mean you don’t crave noodles sometimes and fuck yes they deliver.

Unfortunately for the noodle delivery boy, Mei had told him scary stories about a cryptid that lived in the woods where he was supposed to deliver noodles to. They called him... “The moonman”

Mk had burst out laughing at the time, It was an extremely dumb name after all. But the details surrounding the “moonman” made his smile fade.

Legends say that if you get lost a cloaked figure holding a purple lantern (moonman) will guide you to the exit....or if he smells the faintest bit of blood, he’ll drag you to the “plum blossom house”

you’ll know it if you see a plum tree with leaves, flowers, and fruits even in the dead of winter. He’ll take you inside and in exchange for your soul, he’ll heal you and then teach you how to use magic. The only catch? Your soul is bound to the house when you die, giving him another solider in his army of lost souls. Or at least, that’s how the stories go.

You can imagine Mk’s horror when he finally walks up to the destination (having had to abandon the cart in order to walk the rest of the way) when he looks up and sees a plum tree exactly how the stories described...with a house nearby.

With shaking hands he eventually knocked on the cottages door.

When Macaque opens the door he immediately senses Wukong’s Magic just…..different.

The mortal delivery boy has the same kind and amount of magic as Wukong. This has to be his successor.

There was a pause, the feel of golden magic for the first time in centuries cuts anything Macaque tried to say short. That, and the fact that the kid was just staring at him with his jaw dropped. Does he know who Macaque was? Did Wukong tell stories of him running away after the fight? or stories of the laughter they shared in their youth? Or maybe—

“Are you the Moonman?” The kid asks, interrupting his thought.

“…am I the what?”

And thus the story begins

(I’ll write more about how it differs from canon soon, I just don’t want to overwhelm y’all with a long ass post as your first impression haha)

Also! You made it to the end! Have some bonus drawings I did!

[shadowlight501-2]

I have obtained the impulse to make a LMK therapist AU. It's where Monkey King gets a therapist, aswell as MK because let's be honest they need it. All of them probably need it at least a little. (-‿- ٥)

Just love the thought that there's this therapist that sees MK and then is kinda told about how SWK needs it aswell, so they tell MK to trick him into showing up and that they'll get him to talk. But like, they don't tell SWK that it's therapy for a long while so he's just getting free therapy slowly revealing more about himself and getting things off his chest without noticing and then one day it just clicks. While the therapist is visiting MK at the noodle shop he shows up saying you tricked me and everyone laughs at him because he was the only one that didn't know he was getting therapy.

And then Macaque somehow gets convinced by MK and Mei to visit at least once. He doesn't go again but the therapist just keeps running into him so they just do the same thing they did with SWK to Mac. I'd think Mac would notice long before SWK because he seems to acknowledge how he needs help dispite how he acts. However he starts actually going to the place for therapy so they don't do therapy when hanging out.

Yes, the therapist gets scolded alot for being friends with their patients while drinking their morning hot chocolate. No, the therapist for some reason isn't ever fired, why? Plot armor and the fact people know they'd just continue on like they weren't fired.

I need to draw this character just sitting tiredly drinking a coco after they had a session with both SWK and Mac (back to back, not together) and just... "Miscommunication" on their little note board with two books called "learning to properly communicate" with a note on each that says "SWK's Homework" and the other "Macaque's Homework". MK already got his, it's not as intense.

I don't know why this makes me laugh.

I'ma call this AUUUuuuuuu.... I'll figure that out when I come up with a design and a name for the therapist.

[sloth-artstudio]

#2 got the winner spot.

FYI: I am now calling this Shadowpeach story "Let's Start Over", so this & the older posts are getting the Let's Start Over/LSO AU tag.

Both Monkey Demons are getting therapy with two different people. Macaque gets the former Marshal Liu because she's the one who he'll talk to without him trying to kill them, and Wukong gets Sandy's old therapist Dr. Lily because he's got a lot of things to get off his chest.

The both have a long way to go.

Wish them luck.

[cryptic-underground]

More on my Sitcom AU:

Sandy gardens and gives his vegetables to Pigsy for his restaurant

He's the designated therapist of the group

SWK frequently consults Pigsy and Tang with parenting troubles

Mostly during restaurant hours

Also also it's important to note that Tang, Sandy, Pigsy aren't reincarnations of SWK's old friends, they all know eachother from highschool/college

The three were also the ones to help SWK find his house in their neighborhood after seeing the crappy apartment he and MK were living in

MK, Red Son, and Mei go to Pigsy's after school to study and do homework

In the early years of raising MK, SWK had still been studying in college (he'd been fooling around prior and hadn't really picked a major before getting MK)

SWK I picture being an attorney in this au

It's hard to put "hero and defender" into many modern jobs

SWK had found MK when the kid was roughly 7-8 and he was in his early twenties

There will be a LBD plot to this au but it involves lawyers

Basically LBD buys out SWK's law firm because she finds their tactics to be very corrupt but takes over the firm in very corrupt ways

Macaque is still her minion and gets the dirt she uses against the previous firm owners

Like the original show Mac later helps the team take her down and builds a case against her

Afterwards I think the law firm would be put to be owned by SWK but idk if that works irl

SWK blames Mac for LBD taking over the firm

Doesn't know mac helped get the firm back since mac had told mk the dirt on her

Big emotional scene between Mk and SWK where SWK finds out mac had helped

SWK goes to the train station because he'd kicked Mac out and mac was leaving town

Another big emotional scene that's very will they won't they

Like it's basically em saying they still love each other without really saying it

A more minor thing about the au is that mk and SWK always meet at this mountain view like the one they sit together a lot in the og show. It's where a lot of deep discussions happen between them

Sitcoms commonly have a sort of "it" place that characters always go to in an episode. Usually they visit it during very deep scenes. It doesn't necessary happen every episode, it also they don't necessarily have a deep scene there for every episode and they don't have to have all their deep scenes in this place. But it's the most recognisable location for the sitcom.

Luke's dinner in Gilmore girls, the living room in fresh prince, the bay window in both Liv and Maddie and girl meets world to name examples.

It's meant to give the viewer a small breather or a chance to mentally sit down and watch the characters interact without needing outward stimulation to cause commotion. It also compare one instance of them being in this place compared to another time and see the change

[lunar-wandering]

Can you make a promp 6 Uno Reverse Card Swap AU with MK and Macaque please?

6. “How much longer are we gonna keep doing this?”

(its late and im writing this at 1 am, its not gonna make any sense but lets gooooo)

(Macaque is MK’s therapist in this AU so......)

-

“How much longer are we gonna keep doing this?” MK asked, drawing circles into the arm of his chair. Macaque sighed, having heard this question hundreds of times within the past month.

“As many times as it takes before you feel like you don’t need to come to me anymore.” He said, “It’s your choice to keep coming here MK.”

“Well, yeah, but like, I shouldn’t feel like I need to anymore, right?” MK threw his hands up into the air, leaning back further into the chair, sliding down it, bringing his hands back down as he crossed his arms, huffing out a breath. “I’ve been friends with Red Son and Mei for 5 months, been training under the Monkey King for 4, and I’ve been improving! I know, that! I’ve improved a lot!”

“But you don’t feel like you’re improving fast enough.” Macaque finished for him, watching as MK’s irritated slump turned into a more defeated one. “Like every one else is moving past you, that you’re going to be left behind if you don’t manage to catch up fast enough. Like you’ve improved so much, you know you’re capable of making it the last part of the way, but something is... stopping you.”

“...Yeah.” MK sighed, “Yeah, exactly like that. I mean, I’ve managed to get this far, there shouldn’t be anything keeping me from getting the rest of the way, right? But then some days I wake up and even just taking with Pigsy and Tang feels like a huge effort...”

“And that’s fine.” Macaque said, “That’s normal. I’ve told you this many times MK, but recovery is not a straight road.”

“I know...I know.”

 -

MK closed the door to Macaque’s office, sighing. Some times it was hard to imagine the strange shadow monkey that constantly bickered with the Monkey King as a therapist, but then he’d have one appointment with him, and suddenly it’d be the other way around. Even on days when they didn’t actually talk about anything important, when MK just rambled about something he’d seen that he’d enjoyed, just talking with Macaque somehow had the ability to make him feel.... better. Somehow. He wasn’t entirely sure how that worked, but it did.

Sighing again, he tried to shake the faint sensation of cold out of his fingers, before giving up, summoning the staff and letting it’s warmth chase the cold away.

It suddenly hit him that he’d forgotten to talk to Macaque about the cold again. ....Oh well. He wasn’t going to just walk back in and take up more of Macaque’s time. (He probably could. Macaque didn’t have any more appointments today, and he probably wouldn’t be bothered by it. But.... MK was a little worried about possibly annoying him.

...He was still working on that.)

It was fine. He was fine. It wasn’t even effecting him that badly, if he managed to forget about it during a therapy appointment, where he was meant to talk about what was bothering him, than it probably wasn’t a problem.

It was something that could wait for another day.

It’d be fine.

[winterpower98]

Remember when I said I had a dumb idea for an AU and made the mistake of sharing it on Discord?

I present to you: Mentor Swap AU

(officially known as Dad Swap AU)

Did I need to re-design Red and Mei? No Did I do it anyway? Yes

First thing first, who's swapped with who: - Pigsy takes Wukong's role (he's up secluded on a mountain) - Sandy takes Pigsy's role (he has a tea shop and is very passionate about his craft) - Wukong takes Sandy's role ( he lives on an island with all his therapy monkeys and he is a therapist)

Because Sandy needed a rival, Macaque has a coffee shop across from Sandy's! Which also means that Wukong and Macaque are now the two who act like an old married couple instead of Tang and Pigsy.

Speaking of the scholar, I won't share anything about him because Kit actually came up with one hell of an idea and I want it to be a surprise. But what I can say is that this is going to be very similar to my Cursed AU but with FreeNoodleshipping, and I'll leave it at that.

Because Pigsy is now the mentor, MK fights with Zhu Bajie's rake! Which is much harder to use than the staff because it doesn't change at will like the golden staff (but it can change dimension but MK doesn't know how to do that).

Also, Wukong still has his staff but he almost never uses it. Somehow he also manages to never be around when MK is fighting. The monkey was very angry with the pig when he saw MK with his rake and he immediately flew to his mountain to tell him that.

Sandy's cat, Mo, is way more placid and lazy than his canon counterpart. He spends most of his time in the shop or in Sandy's house. Sandy is also way less calm than his canon counterpart but he's still nowhere as bad as canon!Pigsy

Pigsy spent his 500 years of isolation by taking up cooking and gardening. He is also way less horny and prone to anger than he used to be (but he still does get angry).

This is also the only AU where MK goes to therapy. It’s Wukong. Monkey King is his therapist.

(You get brownie points if you can tell which character I used as inspiration for Pigsy and Tang’s designs)

Credits to @kitkat1003 @strange-laceand @ninja-knox-ur-sox-off because they came up with 90% of the content for this AU

Edit: The little pink monkey is now named Zan!!

[sketching-shark]

Monkie Kid Yaoguai Court AU Scene: You Can Never Have Too Many [Good] Teachers

I wanted to flesh out the Snub-nosed Monkey King and Macaque Demon King in my Monkie Kid au where Sun Wukong’s yaoguai sworn brothers from his days as a warlord helped him (mostly) heal from his deep depression centuries before the events of the show, & they all went on to become significant political figures in Chinese mythology lego land. So let’s gooooo

---

Qi Xiaotian knew something was up when he could tell that Sun Wukong, for all his usual cheeriness, had a sorrow within his eyes that hadn’t been there even the day before. The young human wanted to ask his shifu what was up, if there was anything he could help with, but couldn’t quite find the words. In the end, however, he hadn’t had to say anything. It was the Monkey King who broached the subject first. 

“Hey bud, so...you probably noticed that I was more of a downer today than usual.” 

Qi Xiaotian nodded warily, not sure where Sun Wukong was going to go with this. Hiking his sleeve up so that he could self-groom as Qi Xiaotian had now seen the Monkey King do on other occasions where he was upset, Sun Wukong started to run his fingers through the fur on his arm, took a deep breath, and proceeded to give his tudi something of a major shock. 

“Okay, so I’m just going to say it. We’re but a few weeks away from the anniversary of the deaths of Tang Sanzang, Zhu Bajie, and Bai Longma, each of which was in a very real way my fault. I hadn’t protected them like I should have, and as a result our journey to the west, as I’m sure you know, ended in failure. I’ve tried to atone for that sin for well over five hundred years now, and yet...and yet I know I never will. Regardless, every year I go visit their graves to keep them clean and pray for their peace in the life after, and I’ll need to start making preparations for that journey soon. I’ll only be gone for one day, but when I seem sad or distressed in the upcoming weeks, it’s because of that and not because anything is going wrong in the present. So it’s not something for you to worry about.”

Qi Xiaotian felt like he wasn’t capable of giving a a proper response for a few moments before finding his voice.

“Do you...want me to come with you? Or just...talk about it? I can focus and listen! Maybe if we talk about it, we can-”

Sun Wukong looked legitimately touched, but still cut off his student’s fumbling offers of help.

“Aw kid, that’s really kind and generous of you, but no. You’re my tudi, not my therapist. I’ve been living with this for a long time now and have found ways to cope in a healthy manner, none of which are your job to manage. You are not to feel responsible for the sad feelings of some old monkey, okay?”

Qi Xiaotian felt upset and helpless at his inability to help with his mentor’s grief, but he...he supposed this made sense. It wasn’t like he was a trained professional, after all. 

“...Okay.”

Sun Wukong shot him a hesitant smile. “I really am sorry about this bud, but seriously, thanks for your understanding. In addition--and remember, you can say no--I was thinking of asking a few of my sworn brothers to oversee your lessons on the day that I’ll be gone. I don’t want to interrupt your training regime, and I think it would be good for you to get some more personal contact with them. Does that...seem like something you would be okay with?”

Qi Xiaotian had to think for a minute. On one hand, even after more than a year as the Monkey King’s tudi he still felt somewhat nervous around the other massively powerful yaoguai, especially the Demon Bull King (when, when was he going to learn to not react badly to shouting?). On the other hand, none of them had given him any particular reason to be frightened of them...and if he was going to maybe someday take over at least a few of the Monkey King’s duties or even rule in his stead, they would be a fact of political life, just as they had been for long before Xiaotian was even born. 

Qi Xiaotian made his decision, and then gave Sun Wukong what he hoped was a decisive nod. If he was going to learn how to behave around the other yaoguai kings, he might as well start now. 

---

Sun Wukong had told him who and what to expect a week ago, but Qi Xiaotian still felt nervous as he took an elevator up to the very top of Sun Wukong’s castle in Megapolis, where there was a well-reinforced and grandiose training ring, and where the other two monkey yaoguai of Sun Wukong’s sworn brotherhood--the Snub-nosed Monkey King and Macaque Demon King--were waiting for him. As their titles indicated, they were a golden snub-nosed monkey and a Assam macaque respectively, both the rulers of mountain ranges far from the city (and yet but a short distance away for yaoguai of their caliber), and both still largely unknowns in terms of personality or how they would act around humans. Reaching the training ring, Qi Xiaotian exited the elevator and was about to call out upon seeing it apparently empty before movement above caught his eye. He looked upwards, and was greeted with the sight of the two kings peering down at him from where they perched on a rafter.

“And here’s the primate of the hour!”

For all her bulk and height, the Snub-nosed Monkey King was swift and graceful as she leapt down and landed in front of Qi Xiaotian. She moved as if she was about to pull him into a hug, but then shifted back and gave him a friendly, if heavy, clap on the shoulders instead with both her flesh and prosthetic hands. Qi Xiaotian knew she had lost both an arm and leg in the seven kings’ war with heaven, but this was the first time he had seen their replacements--or the owner of said prosthetics--so closely.

“Welcome to today’s lesson, little king! Our brother left pretty clear instructions on what he wanted you to practice, so let me give you the run down on how this is going to work. Sun Wukong thought it would be good for you to try your hand against someone larger than you, so I’ll be your sparring partner. After that and a snack break, MDK is going to help you get closer to mastering all 72 Transformations. She’s too modest to admit it, but her and your shifu are tied in the ability to change shape.”

The Macaque Demon King effortlessly and elegantly floated down to join them. Qi Xiaotian--having now listened to Red Son boast multiple times about the abilities of his parents and the great skills behind them--realized with a start that her control over the wind was likely on par with that of Iron Fan Princess, at least when it came to using the element to travel. She gave him a curious once-over, and then indicated she would be watching the sparring matches from a nearby bench before settling herself in for the show. 

The Snub-Nosed Monkey King and Qi Xiaotian grabbed bamboo staves and took their place on a sparring circle, the large yaoguai talking about how for the first match she just wanted to assess his current level of skill before they began any lesson before obviously noticing Qi Xiaotian’s nervous glances at her prosthetics, for the next words out of her mouth were those of reassurance. 

“They’re my civilian standard limbs, so no need to worry about me cheating.”

While Qi Xiaotian knew (at least, he was pretty sure he knew) that neither yaoguai king would intentionally seriously hurt him, he still felt this offered little reassurance. Both had been warlords of great power right alongside Sun Wukong well over 500 years ago. Even now, and even without the weaponized prosthetics he had seen her wield before, Qi Xiaotian knew that as a being classified as a Y.M.D. (Yaoguai of Mass Destruction), the Snub-Nosed Monkey King was fully capable of taking out an entire human army by herself. 

All of his mentor’s sworn brothers were.

Qi Xiaotian had to once again quash down the suspicion (stupid as he knew it was, when had his shifu ever given him reason to think this way?) that Sun Wukong had taken him on as his tudi less because he wanted to share his strength with someone he liked and found worthy, and more because it was good PR, a way to assure humans that the once demonic Monkey King wasn’t actually all that bad. 

He shook his head, banishing the thought to a corner of his mind. He had...he did trust Sun Wukong to never intentionally put him in harm’s way. If the monkey king was able to control his strength when it came to sparring with his still-mortal tudi, then he was sure the other yaoguai kings could too.

“Okay little king, you ready for this?”

Qi Xiaotian gave a firm nod, braced himself...and then fell over with a yelp of shock and  fear as the yaoguai king seemed to suddenly grow even bigger as the longer fur on her back fluffed out and she rushed at him fast with an open-mouthed scream.

Looking down at him with a quirk of a shockingly human smile, Snub-nose offered her hand. His face burning with humiliation, Qi Xiaotian took it and got to his feet, feeling grateful that neither king decided to comment on what almost amounted to a pratfall as they took their places once again.

To his benefit, that was the only time he fell in the next few hours of sparring. Qi Xiaotian realized that while the Snub-nosed monkey king had initially come at him fast, she was going faster and faster as she pushed him further and further, her flurry of blows getting all that more difficult to dodge or block even while she shouted out pointers or gave him encouragement.

“You’re doing good little king, but never let some success in a fight get to your head! Pay attention to the patterns of my attack! Keep an eye on the shape of your environment! And very importantly...”

A large golden tail suddenly struck out snake-fast and whipped around Qi Xiaotian’s ankle before it swiftly lifted him high into the air so that he was dangling upside-down.

“...don’t forget how many appendages I’m sporting.”

Snub-nosed offered Xiaotian a cheeky wink before putting him right-side up and setting him back down in the sparring ring.

“Okay, let’s review! So, how are you finding going up against someone much larger and fatter than your own skinnybones self?”

Qi Xiaotian snorted at her words, but did take the time to think about it, deciding that honesty was the best policy.

“It’s pretty scary! I mean, I know you’re holding back, but even while I’m dodging I can feel how much power is behind each blow. It’s difficult to figure out your patterns of attacks, you strike so fast, and yet, I think...I think I might be just a little bit faster.”

Snub-nose nodded at him in approval.

“Which means you should...?”

Xiaotian took a deep breath, hoping he was going to give the correct answer.

“Which means I should pay close attention to how you are and how you could attack, and then wait until you’ve struck first and use your height and the length of your limbs against you. If I’m able to dodge your strikes and get close, then I have the advantage of being able to offer a quick body blow without you being able to immediately hit back.”

“Pretty good assessment, little king! Now let’s get back in the ring and see if we can’t put it into practice.”

And so they started again, trading blow for blow, going faster and faster still. Qi Xiaotian tried to keep his assessment in mind even while frantically dodging every one of Snub-nose’s strikes. And then...there. The bamboo staff shot forward like a living thing in his hand, and hit Snub-nose hard in the face. She squealed in surprise and staggered back a few paces. Qi Xiaotian immediately dropped his staff and rushed over to the large yaoguai, stuttering out an apology

“I’M SO SORRY!!! I d-didn’t mean-”

“Yeah, you did. So own it! That was great, little king! You legit got me good!”

Qi Xiaotian saw that even though he had put his full strength behind the blow, she wasn’t even slightly hurt. Well, he didn’t want to hurt one of his shifu’s sworn brothers--of course he didn’t!--but he still couldn’t quash a sense of disappointment that compared to the seven kings he was so, so weak. 

The Snub-nosed Monkey King seemed to have read his thoughts, for she rolled her eyes but then did offer him words of encouragement. “Hey, look, at this stage this is supposed to be about you learning how to go at different sizes of opponents rather than developing the strength to actually take them down. That’s something you’ll slowly build up with your shifu, because little king, if your body as it currently is took on the power of a yaoguai sovereign, it would probably explode. So don’t go trying to save the day all by yourself, yeah?”

Qi Xiaotian started to laugh, but immediately stopped at her next words.

“Qi Xiaotian, I’m serious. At this stage of your training, if you come across a yaoguai anywhere near the strength of us kings and who’s not an ally, you use that speed of yours, and you run. Okay?”

Xiaotian looked her in the face, and realized in a flash just how serious she was.

“...Yeah, I understand.”

The Snub-nosed Monkey King looked grateful that he wasn’t going to argue about this. Giving him another clap on the shoulder, she walked back to her starting point. 

“Glad to hear it, little king. But let’s see if you can’t get in a few more strikes yet.”

--

While that was the only successful hit he was able to get for the entire day, Xiaotian still felt a real sense of pride that he had managed to land a blow on one of the seven great yaoguai kings. He also found himself feeling strangely grateful to the two monkeys during the snack break as they bantered back and forth and let him get a close view of what he soon understood to be an extremely strong friendship. 

Even if, as he watched, their conversation suddenly seemed to mostly consist of the Macaque Demon King teasing the Snub-Nosed Monkey King for being taken by surprise by a mortal not even half as big as herself. Snub-nosed responded by flopping back dramatically, almost taking MDK down too if the smaller monkey yaoguai hadn’t swiftly glided out of the way. 

“Oh no. I suppose I will just have to go back home in tears to my very understanding wife, who will undoubtedly give me what comfort she can to soothe my badly maimed ego. Whatever will I do.”

Xiaotian had only seen Snub-nose’s wife--an elegant wolf yaoguai with ink black fur--from a distance beforehand, and felt his curiosity piqued. “So...how long have you two been married?”

Her face suddenly arranging itself into an expression of delight, the Snub-Nosed Monkey King started on what seemed to be a favorite subject.

“I’ve now had over two thousand years of blissful matrimony! We’ve made a great life and family for ourselves. Here, come take a look at my beloved and all our babies!”  

She pulled out a tablet that had clearly been custom-designed to match her extravagant tastes and large hands, and, opening a photo app, quickly scrolled through it until she came across what was clearly a family photo. Snub-nosed was sitting on an elaborate throne that looked like it been carved from the trunk of some ancient tree, with her wife leaning against her and both of them surrounded by a crowd of twenty different yaoguai of varying ages, from barely a toddler to a few who looked ancient enough to be the Snub-nosed Monkey King’s most venerable court advisors, rather than her being their mother. Half of them were also golden snub-nosed monkeys, while the rest were an assortment of other species, from wolf to snow leopard and even a spider yaoguai whose mandibles were arranged in a shy smile.

Qi Xiaotian couldn’t help his gasp of surprise. “These are all your kids?!?!”

The Macaque Demon King gave Qi Xiaotian a wry look. “Don’t forget that we kings have plentiful resources, have lived for millennia, OR that even your average yaoguai lives for centuries, young primate. It’s not like she had her brood all at once.” 

The Snub-nosed Monkey King gave MDK a playful shove. “MDK’s as rude as ever, but she speaks the truth. A good half of my children are adopted, and being the ruler of the Land of Women has come with a number of perks in regards for a happily married lady such as myself being able to have bio kids every couple of centuries.”

Xiaotian’s mind flashed to a particularly embarrassing moment for the western pilgrims. Snub-nosed seemed to have guessed what he was thinking once again, and nodded.

“Yeah, the Child-and-Mother River--along with the Abortion Spring--remains one of the most popular features of my land. People come from miles around to use both! And who knows? When or if you decide to have some little monkeys of your own, you may also find yourself a petitioner at my court.”

The Macaque Demon King took once glance at Xiaotian’s suddenly fear-blanched face before giving a long suffering sigh. “Snub-nose, please. Not everyone is as child-crazy as you, especially not a young man who hasn’t even reached his first quarter-century of life.”

The Snub-nosed Monkey King put away the tablet and gave them both a cheeky, if slightly rueful grin. “Heh! Sorry little king. You have my word that there’ll be no more baby talk from me unless you specifically ask for it.”

Xiaotian stared down at his shoes. “Um...it’s okay...I mean, I might want to have bio kids some day...it’s just...just the thought of giving birth, at least now...it’s...uuuuuurrrrggggghhhh.”

Snub-nosed surprised him with a sudden lound squeal of laughter. 

“No need to explain it to me, little king! By Heaven and Earth, I’ve popped out over ten children now over my millennia of life, and it never gets easier doing the equivalent of squeezing a watermelon through a hole the size of an orange!”

MDK screamed in a clearly exaggerated tone, clapping her hands over her ears. 

“Liar! You claimed there would be no more baby talk unless asked for! And here you are dispensing all the gruesome details! Vengeance for our sensibilities!!”

And with that she tackled her much larger sworn brother. The two kings rolled around shrieking and squealing, which at first frightened Qi Xiaotian until he realized just how careful they were being to not crash into him or even disturb any of the dishes still set out. 

For all their age and venerability, they were doing nothing more than play-fighting, something confirmed when they stopped with a sudden air of mock seriousness and began to peacefully groom each other. The Macaque Demon King glanced over to Qi Xiaotian. 

“Transformation is a tricky business for novices, so I plan to wait half an hour before we begin my part of today’s lesson and give you the time to digest. In the meantime, would you care to join us in this? It’s best to undergo physical change in a calm state of mind.” 

Qi Xiaotian still felt a little hesitant. But he also now knew enough about monkey yaoguai behaviors and traditions to understand an offer of grooming was a gesture of trust and camaraderie.  

“Um...okay. T-thank you.”

He sat down between the two yaoguai, and couldn’t help jumping a little as their fingers first started to run through his hair. But even so--and perhaps it was just due to the fact that they were all primates--he soon found the feeling very soothing, even almost falling asleep before the Macaque Demon King shook him gently and told him it was time to began.

---

Sun Wukong had assured Qi Xiaotian over and over that he was progressing at a tremendous rate, but he still couldn’t help but feel like a failure in many ways, especially when it came to his current incapability of successful completing even one transformation, never mind 72. Sure, he had been able to change parts of his body--he still couldn’t forget how ill Pigsy had looked when he had first transformed his hand into a puppy, or how difficult it had been to change it back while Xiaojaio had danced around him taking photos and laughing--but somehow, and no matter how hard Sun Wukong tried to explain the basics of the ability in a way he could fully understand, Qi Xiaotian had yet to successfully make a full-body transformation. It was for that reason he was secretly grateful that the Snub-Nosed Monkey King had apologetically excused herself after their snack break, saying that she had to get home to help prepare a big celebration because one of her youngest children--the spider yaoguai--was having her sixtieth birthday tomorrow, and was literally climbing up the walls with excitement and in a relentless attempt to find her gifts beforehand (”I should be able to distract her until tomorrow, but you haven’t had a good exercise in secrecy until you’ve tried to stop a hyperactive child with eight eyes from discovering what their presents are!”).

If Qi Xiaotian failed as badly with this lesson as he had all those in the past, there was at least one less person around to see it.

To his humiliation--even though he knew she did it to help him--the Macaque Demon King, as soon as they had bid their final words of gratitude and farewell to the Snub-Nosed Monkey King as she swiftly rode a gigantic snow leopard up into the clouds and out of sight, bluntly told Qi Xiaotian that Sun Wukong had already told her of his repeat failures, but then compounded the feeling by making him go into detail on every single one, and then try his best to articulate what he wasn’t understanding about the transformation process. She listened to it all impassively, showing neither contempt nor disgust, until he was finally finished. 

“Hmmmmm...”  

Qi Xiaotian dared a question. “So...do you know what my problem is?”

“It’s not so much a fundamental problem as perhaps a need for you to shift your mindset. I think that there may be something of a metal block, for you still seem to be always thinking of yourself as one solid and permanent being, rather than recognizing the emptiness of all things and the mutability of all form. In that regard...let us try this exercise. I want you to try thinking of yourself less as the human Qi Xiaotian, and more of one of many members of the primate family. You share a direct connection with not only the apes and monkeys and monkey yaoguai of this world, but with all other living and even non-living things as well. All matter is animate, including all the atoms that make your body, meaning that you are capable of great change. So. Consider the shape of your mentor, of me, of Snub-nose. Contemplate your similarity to the other primates you know. Recognize how little it would take for your body to adopt more simian features. And now...began the change.” 

 Qi Xiaotian breathed in, breathed out, and did his best to focus not on what he now was, but what he could be in another time, in another life, with so few changes to the form he had been born in. He concentrated his thoughts on the inherent connections between all beings the Macaque Demon King had spoken of, and then felt something fundamental in his own body start to shift, at least slightly. Qi Xiaotian kept up his focus, keeping in his mind’s eye what he might be like in a similar yet different form, what he might look like if he was more similar to Sun Wukong...and then felt his limbs shorten his lengthen, his hair shifting into fur, his feet undergoing a radical transformation into something much more dexterous. The final step, that which took the most effort and concentration, was radically reshaping the length of his spine until a long tail had sprouted, springing out in a flash of gold to swish the ground behind him.

Qi Xiaotian felt like he had just run a marathon, but he had successfully completed his first full-body transformation.

“I...I did it! I’m a monkey yaoguai, just like you!!!”

“You sure are, young primate, at least in current appearance. And in my own heavily biased opinion, it was a shift for the best. Now, let’s seen you transform back.”

---

Under the Macaque Demon King’s scrutiny and supervision, Qi Xiaotian shifted back and forth from his new monkey yaoguai form to his original human shape until he was shaking from exhaustion, but could now transform at will. The Macaque gave him two thumbs up at this repeated success, and Qi Xiaotian grinned in triumph before allowing himself to collapse. MDK swiftly moved to his side and started to somewhat worriedly check his temperature before offering him a water bottle. He gulped down the contents gratefully, and felt he was due both some new pride, as well as a little bit of complaining. 

“I can’t believe I can finally transform! Thank you! I feel like I’m starting to get it. But wow...if it takes this much effort just to change a human into a monkey, I can’t even began to imagine how tough it’s going to be to go from a primate to a bird. You all make it look so easy, though!

MDK flopped down beside him. 

“Hah. Well, as yaoguai I suppose we are inherently a little less...solid than you human mortals. Transformation does come to us easier. But don’t forget as well that me and your shifu have literally been at this for millennia longer than you’ve even been alive. You really shouldn’t be comparing your current abilities to ours, except perhaps as what you want to aim for. As it is, Sun Wukong wanted me to let you know that while he and I were able to opt for a purely magical route when it came to confirming our genders, he is very happy to help you get the surgeries you may want to confirm your own.”

Qi Xiaotian could barely believe his ears. He had told Sun Wukong near the beginning of his position as the Monkey King’s tudi that he was trans, had told him it was okay to inform his sworn brothers about it too if it happened to come up in conversation, but to think that he wasn’t the only such person at court...! 

“You mean you’re both...?”

“Yes young king, we are.”

Qi Xoaitian wasn’t exactly sure what else to say, and so let the Macaque Demon King continue without interruption.

“You are young as it is, very young by the standards of we immortals. You have the time to consider what you want to do. This was just to let you know you do have options, as well as people who can offer assistance either way.”

Qi Xiaotian gave MDK a smile of gratitude. “I’m really happy to hear so. And knowing that...I DO think it’s high time even with this new transformation gig that I go get my tits blown clean off.” 

The Macaque Demon King started, and then gave a squeal of genuine laughter. 

“Hahahahah!!! Ah, I swear, no matter how long I live I’ve never ceased to be amused by the expressions you humans come up with.” 

She gracefully got up, and offered Qi Xiaotian her hand. He was glad that their break meant his legs were no longer shaking, but was relieved when MDK told him that today’s lessons were over. They walked slowly together towards one of the balconies surrounding the training court, and she hopped up on the banister, gripping it with her feet, before informing Qi Xiaotian if he had any final questions he should ask her now. He was sure that there were plenty he would think up in the coming days, but the one burning in his mind was on a possible transformation far more radical than any he had ever undergone.

“So...I know that this isn’t related to what you were teaching me today, and you definitely don’t have to answer if you don’t want to, but...are you...happy to be an earthly immortal?”

The Macaque Demon King looked away and towards the horizon. The silence stretched between them before she answered. 

“In all honestly young king, there have been many times throughout my centuries of life where I wished I was not. The worst was after our war with heaven, but even later...you can only live through so many wars and natural disasters, see the great endeavors of thousands crumble to dust, watch so many of your loved ones get lost to the ravages of aging--forget who you are, forget who they are, and then finally, and by that point often blessedly, die--before you start feeling that life’s struggles are pointless. I have certainly gone through periods of hopeless despair from witnessing time’s remorselessness alone. And then there is the fact that none of us kings are able to forget what we have done. We all exist under the fact that no matter how much time has passed, we will live with the consequences, and guilt, of our actions. I was furious at your shifu for well over a century after he disappeared upon trapping our sworn brother under that mountain. Yet when I found him, when I saw what state he was in...well, that’s a story he should tell you, if anyone. But know I was able to understand all too well why he had decided upon a terrible form of self-imposed exile. And yet...”

She turned to look at Xiaotian, her gaze intense. 

“And yet my immortal life has also brought much me happiness. I have seen things more strange and wonderful than most beings could believe even existed. I have lived with the dearest of companions whose presence alone beings me much joy. I have watched over a community of humans and my fellow yaoguai as they learn to live with each other in overall peace and even merriment, and it brings me great happiness to see these trends are now continuing from one generation to the next. And that is to say nothing of the great pleasures to be gotten from this world’s material existence, from the warmth of the sun to the taste of ripe fruit to the embrace of a lover. Remember young king, that for as much as this world contains sorrow and pain, there are plentiful reasons for even the gods to abandon their divine positions for a life on Earth.”  

“I am...very glad I am alive, and especially that I have lived to see and help create such relatively happy times.”

Ending the few moments of silence afterwards with a small yawn and the comment that she should head back to her own mountain kingdom as well, the Macaque Demon King asked Qi Xiaotian again if he had any final questions, which he answered in the negative. He bowed to her deeply, and found that there was only one thing left to say.

“Thank you. For both your teachings, and, um, for being honest about everything.”

The Macaque Demon King offered Xiaotian the half-opened mouth and slightly toothy but largely fangless expression that Xiaotian knew was a sign of friendliness among monkeys both yaoguai and non. 

“Of course, young king. You are growing into a fine individual. I look forward to seeing what sort of being--whether human, yaoguai, or perhaps even god--you will ultimately become.”

With that, she took one leap off the balcony, and started to ride the wind back to her mountain home.

-----

When Sun Wukong returned that night looking far more somber than usual, he found Qi Xiaotian waiting for him.

“Bud? What are you still doing here? I mean, not that your company isn’t always appreciated, but didn’t you say you’d be heading home as soon as training was done?” His brow furrowed suddenly into an expression of distressed concern. “My sworn brothers didn’t upset or hurt you in any way, did they?! I told them that they needed to reign it in, I-”

Xiaotian swiftly interrupted.

“Monkey King! No, it was nothing like that. They were honestly really helpful! Snub-nosed was so good with her combat teaching that I was actually able to land a hit on her, and thanks to MDK I can now do this!” 

Concentrating hard, he shifted into his monkey yaoguai form, and was delighted to see Sun Wukong’s eyes go wide with both surprise and glee.

“That’s wonderful, bud! I’m so proud of you! And hey! Looks like you’re one step closer to being as handsome as your shifu.”

Qi Xiaotian rolled his now-monkey eyes. Still, he was glad that even the Monkey King’s annual trip to the graves of his religious brothers hadn’t completely dampened his sense of fun. But even though he was as composed as ever, Qi Xiaotian could tell Sun Wukong was still sad, and might be for awhile still. So he took a deep breath for bravery, and made the offer that he hoped his current form would make appealing.

“Hey, Monkey King? I know that this day is...is really hard for you to get through. And I know that what happened must be next to impossible for you to talk to someone else about, even now. You should know I don’t expect you to tell me what happened now or even ever, if you don’t want to. But since we’re both monkey-shaped right now, do you...do you want me to groom you for a bit? To help you feel a little better?” 

Sun Wukong looked stunned. His eyes then became a little glassy, as if he was holding back tears. Yet his voice was steady as he gave Xiaotian the same expression of genuine monkey affection as the Macaque Demon King had, letting Xiaotian know that his mentor was truly grateful. 

“Thanks, kid. That’s something I would honestly really appreciate.” 

[centuryberry]

So. A Post-Brotherhood Route AU.

Before I get into what follows after Azure’s route, I need to backtrack a little to establish some events in the route that either wasn’t mentioned by Yue or happened outside of the game events:

- Upon Macaque’s return and discovery of Wukong acting strange and suddenly being all lovey dovey with Azure, he was immediately suspicious. Shanzha, recognizing the effects of the Junbei Berry, took a great risk in approaching him and telling him everything.

- Shanzha is eventually driven away from FFM. Azure had originally been whispering into Wukong’s ear to kill her and make a point to Heaven but Macaque made a good enough case to just have her exiled. He even gives her traveling supplies and a boat to return to the mainland.

We all know what happens to Wukong afterwards. He wakes up after the furnace and is horrified at everything he’s done. FFM was burned down during the skirmish, Macaque was dead, and he was imprisoned under a mountain for 500 years until JTTW happens.

Fast forward to the LMK timeline post Season 3 and Wukong finally decided that it’s time to go to therapy. Sandy recommends his own therapist and Wukong goes to his first appointment (disguised).

Enter: Therapist Yue

Yue is a wonderful therapist. She’s glamoured as a human in this AU since her demon form is well known in different circles and she just wants to perform her most recent job without that getting in the way.

Wukong, who has been avoiding Macaque, RinRin, and Shanzha out of guilt ever since their (Shadowflower’s) revival, finds them popping back into his life ever since he started to go to therapy. At Yue’s encouragement, he slowly reciprocates their efforts to reconnect and learns to forgive himself.

It’s peak dramatic irony because Yue knows these three are trying to get in touch with Wukong the Monkey King while never realizing that the Monkey King himself is her patient.

Warlord Shanzha AU is the end of the rinrin route.

Withered gray flower AU is the end of the Shanzha route.

Is king snow macaque AU Azure lion route ending you know the AU that macaque has a hot girl summer and works through all his issues by ranting his issues to his subjects. because I realize Azure lion route ending doesn't have one that goes to the modern day like the other two.

No, Snow/Winter Macaque King AU is more tied to Canon Macaque being thrown into LoES post revival. If Macaque had been revived post Brotherhood route, his feelings towards Wukong would be extreme concern instead of bitterness since he believed until his very last breath that this was not like Wukong.

But an AU post Brotherhood route. Interesting.

[elianaroselight]

Okay. That's it. I'm too inspired by @winterpower98 's Swap AU, (specifically Shadowvenom and Nightshade), to NOT do something with it! So here! Sone of the family fluff Macaque deserves, gosh darn it!

—————

It was late. REALLY late. So why was Spider Queen, lovingly called Queenie, getting out of her bed instead of into it?

She would wonder this herself, if she wasn't on a mission to find her missing partner. She had awoken to find the other half of her bed empty and cold. It was concerning. She knew Macaque has had a history of nightmares, especially since Wukong had been finally taken care of. They were worse right after the fact, but have calmed since. He only had one a week, possibly more if he was having a rough week. Seeing a therapist has been a huge help.

Queenie softly walks down the hall looking for the simian when a soft voice reaches her ears. She paused, listening intently before reaching for a particular door. The door to the nursery. Their little Nightshade had been born almost two weeks ago now. Mei had been so excited when she got to hold her new sibling that it was amazing to see her be so soft as she cooed at them. Macaque had taken to parenting like the Moon took to the night. He adored the little spider monkey and would tear up with loving pride constantly.

As Queenie quietly opened the door, she peered in to see the black simian holding their precious baby to his bare chest. Mac was gently running his fingers through Nightshade's curly fur while softly singing a sweet lullaby. Nightshade's eyes were shut and their tail was wrapped around one of Macaque's thumbs. There was a large, loving grin on Mac's face and in the dimly lit room of moonlight that was shining in through the window, he looked angelic. Her breath hitched for a moment before a fond smile grew on her face and she leaned against the door frame to watch.

Macaque's ears flick towards her direction and a moment later, Queenie found her eyes locking with his. During that time, thoughts and emotions were exchanged without a single word being spoken. Macaque walked towards her and gently took her hand as he pulled her towards the rocking chair. He sat down and pulled her into his lap, careful to not let her crush the baby. He brings her close to him and leans back, gently rocking them. Queenie finds her eyes slowly drooping closed as she listens to the deep, rumbling purr coming from Macaque's chest. The next morning, MK and Red each wake to a message from Mei. A message containing a picture of Macaque holding Queenie in his lap and Nightshade on his chest. All of them sound asleep in the gentle rays of the morning sun.

[skellebonez]

14. With a possessed monkie kid? (Doesn't have to be my au, i just crave possession stuff rn fbsbfb)

Oh you gave me so much power. I have too much power. I had to write this ASAP before Friday, I did not want the idea I had to be tempered by what happens in the finale. Since this is supposed to be set a couple weeks after what could possibly happen. Spoilers if you haven’t read the summary for S2E10.

This may not be in your Possession AU, but it takes a little inspiration from it because I love it!

Warning: vaguely described injuries, blood. Reminder that I think Macaque can be severely hurt but is immortal to the point he can heal any injury.

Am I scaring you?

“Hey- don’t scream it’s just me- You guys seen MK around?”

Despite Macaque’s request, Pigsy and Tang continued to scream. It wasn’t surprising, really. It wasn’t every day that an enemy your friend/person you see as a son just revealed to you a couple weeks earlier had attacked him twice in ways that had left him pretty messed up and questioning his choices and abilities just pops their body from the shoulders up out of the shadows on your wall without warning. Doubly so when very shortly after learning all this that person does a heel face turn and joins your side without technically joining it against everyone’s will and is still kind of an asshole.

The immortal monkey needed to work on that last bit. Maybe he could upgrade from “asshole” to “jerk face” in the eyes of Team MK if he brought drinks. He didn’t really care though, he just wanted to make his own life easier. At least Wukong had been... somewhat open to letting him stick around, given MK convinced them to talk when they were too exhausted after the giant mech battle to actually fight each other, and that made their joint training sessions with MK much easier. That still took getting used to.

"Has MK been acting... off to you lately?" Macaque asked after Tang and Pigsy stopped screaming and levied him with unhappy glowers at the intrusion. One more note to add on the ‘things he should probably stop doing if people want to not hate him’ list, announcing himself better. "I know I'm kinda knew to this whole ‘technically not being a bad guy and caring a bit about other people’ thing and all but he seems..."

‘Not being a bad guy’. Nailed it.

"Dead inside?" Tang deadpanned. "Yeah, we kinda noticed."

“A little more blunt than I was gonna put it but yeah,” Macaque stepped out of the shadows fully, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly as Pigsy grabbed a wooden spoon and held it. A warning that he would not hesitate to chuck it at him at the first excuse he needed. “He’s been acting odd around both me and Wukong. Which, you know, given everything that happened I get it, but he hasn’t come to his last three training sessions at all.”

This, unlike everything else he had said, seemed to make the two men pause.

“What do you mean?” Tang asked, pushing his glasses up and looking at him oddly. “He’s been leaving for those on time like normal.”

“Ah, well, you see,” Macaque chose his next few words carefully. Being honest, truly honest without theatrics or planning in advance to help him, was a new undertaking for him so he stumbled through it. “The first time it happened Wukong astral projected to him and they talked and he seemed ok enough, like he just needed a break. The next time it happened I kinda... followed him? Just to make sure he was ok, no evil shadow business! He just kinda wandered downtown the entire time, looking like he was lost without being lost. If that makes sense. But yesterday he did the same thing so I did the same thing and I found him just kinda... sitting in front of the entrance to DBK’s old hideout?”

Instead of making the two men more concerned, this seemed to make them both deflate.

“Yeah...” Pigsy said softly, lowering the spoon just a bit. “He’s been doing that. We, uh... we had Mei follow him a couple times on deliveries because he was acting off. He did the sitting thing a few days ago too, just while he was on break or if he finished his deliveries early. He’s been doing that a lot lately, like he wants to get things done fast so he can do whatever he’s doing.”

“But he isn’t even doing anything!” Tang said, gripping his hair with one hand. “It’s like he’s just... sitting? Like he just wants to be alone maybe? Sandy’s been talking to him, trying to help him with the cats and everything, but he thinks he needs to see his therapist instead... I think he’s right.”

Macaque frowned for a second before forcing a wide smile on his face. “I thought so. I think Sandy may have the right idea too, you should talk to him. OK BYE-E!”

Before the two men could react he fell backward into the shadows and dissipated. He had somewhere to be.

~

Just sitting... no. Macaque was sure of it now as he watched MK sitting in front of the hole that still had not been filled since DBK had left the Flaming Foundry, cloaked in shadow behind littered debris. His conversation with the Monkie Kid’s elders confirmed the immortal’s suspicions.

MK was waiting for something.

And that meant something was deeply wrong.

He hadn’t lied to the duo in the noodle shop, but he hadn’t told them the full truth either. Macaque had been following MK for the last week, already knew about Mei himself, partly out of curiosity at first but also out of Wukong’s own insistence. He was worried for his successor and knew that Macaque could keep a quieter eye on him than he ever could, and Wukong... Wukong and MK, despite their renewed training, were not on the best of terms right then. Not after he learned what the vacation really was, not after he learned that his mentor knew about the White Bone Spirit the entire time. They were still close! Closer than MK was to Macaque when he trained him at least, just. Strained.

Watching his two teachers finally talk for once and work out what actually happened all those centuries ago, showing that Wukong wasn’t just an unflappable hero but a person who made mistakes and had worked to better himself and would continue to do so because he was a person, probably softened that a bit. He was still upset but much less so in the week after the defeat... but this last week it was like all that had been undone too quickly. It started slowly, but after four days it was like they were back to the day he learned the truth but so much worse.

For the last three days MK was so quiet, reserved, completely unlike the loud and excited guy Macaque knew and like he just wanted to be left alone to sit and not interact with anyone. Tang said he was acting like he was “dead inside”.

That... wasn’t an entirely incorrect descriptor. It was like he was hollow and just going about the motions. Or like he had closed off everything inside of himself for some reason.

Wukong was terrified. He’d been talking to MK every day he didn’t come to the island to train via astral projection, and Macaque had just watched another conversation between the two end half an hour earlier. Macaque tried the same thing but didn’t get nearly as far as Wukong had been, and talking to him like this seemed to make him less likely to just up and leave (the few times Wukong had just come to MK instead made it clear how uncomfortable he had been, ending the conversations with a quick jump from the staff before Wukong could convince him to stay, so they decided to go with what made him more comfortable to find out what was happening).

So that was how they operated. Macaque watched MK. Made sure he was at least physically ok. Wukong talked to MK, didn’t force him to come to the island and wouldn’t show up unannounced. But despite them communicating more than they ever had it was like he was telling Wukong less than he ever had before. The one thing they didn’t tell him was what Macaque was doing.

“Am I scaring you?” MK suddenly said, loud enough for only Macaque to hear. His tone was... wrong. “You’re not nearly as sneaky as you think you are, Six-Ear.”

“What?” Macaque shot up and out of the shadows, eyes wide. MK had never called him that before.

The man before him stood, back to him and headband and coat oddly still in the blowing wind.

And then he jumped.

“MK!” Macaque reacted without thinking, diving down the hole after his Wukong’s student. He knew that he would be just fine, he could handle being thrown into a mountain so he could handle jumping down a giant hole, but the sight was too sudden and horrific for him to remember that at the moment.

Except he wasn’t there. When Macaque landed, the crash of his boots hitting the rocky ground echoing through the artificial cavern, he was alone.

Something was even more deeply wrong than he could have ever imagined.

“MK! Kid! Kiddo!?” He called out, all six of his ears out to catch any hint of movement. “Come on, you told me off for calling you Kiddo just last week, get angry at me so I know you’re ok! Tell me you’re a Monkey Man or something!” Macaque tried to keep his tone light, words lighter with an awkward laugh at the end of his sentences, but it only served to make the sinking feeling in his stomach worse. The opposite effect he wanted to accomplish. “Say something damn it!”

Silence. Everything was... silent. The only thing Macaque could hear was his own breathing, his own heartbeat, the rushing of blood in his ears... but nothing else.

Then a laugh. Low and soft and wrong and Macaque’s eyes widened as he realized his mistake.

He knew that laugh.

He also knew the feeling of the staff. He felt it during their first battle, when MK pulled every ounce of lingering power to defeat him. He felt it during that climactic encounter with Wukong, when his eye was damaged beyond repair.

He felt it now, as it jutted through his stomach without warning. Covered in blood.

Huh... that was kind of new, actually. He hadn’t felt a new sensation like that in so long.

The staff was pulled back and out of him quickly, driving him to his feet as he held the new wound and listened and nearly imperceptible footsteps made their way around him. How had he not heard... no. No he knew now. Now it was obvious what had happened.

Why did his wound burn like that? Why couldn’t he stand? He should be able to move, he wasn’t this weak!

“He beat you,” He groaned out, coughing as he tried to stay upright on his knees. “You should be-”

“Dead?” MK asked, voice his own but tone completely different. The black on his shoes were blue. As Macaque looked up he could see most of the color on his outfit had faded to white with blue accents. His eyes, the only think about him physically to be different, a brilliant blue to match. His headband was gone from around his head, instead used to help slick his hair back and out of his face. “How can you kill what already isn’t alive? No, I just waited in this body until I was able to influence him enough to make him... compliant. Much easier that way, actually.”

Either his vision went fuzzy or the world around them did, MK moving closer at a speed that shouldn’t be possible. His hands were grasping Macaque’s scarf tightly... this felt far too familiar.

“If you had been the dragon girl or anyone else I might have just killed you, you know,” MK’s voice said as he tilted his head to the side, an almost playful smile on his face. “But this is much more fun, and preferable. You can relay the message for me, once the poison I coated the staff in wears off and you heal anyway.”

Macaque was dropped unceremoniously onto his back, letting out an agonized yelp as he hit the ground. MK stomped on his wound, earning another scream.

“By then myself and this body will be long gone,” MK chuckled, stepping over Macaque completely to walk further into the foundry. “I must thank you, you played into my hands so much better than I ever planned on. Getting you all to work together to ‘beat me’ was just far too easy.” He stopped, turning to smirk at the immortal shuddering on the ground.

“I haven’t had a body this powerful in centuries,” the White Bone Spirit said with a laugh before vanishing in a fuzz of his vision and a wisp of cold air.

[thestarfilledsea]

Heya! I just found your Plum Blossom AU last night and read it instead of sleeping. It was just so good. The AU is so lovely. Like, Macaque, having a therapist and living a happy life in a magic forest? Amazing, lovely and wholesome.

Have a lovely and nice day.

AWH THANK YOU AAA

I’m hoping to develop it more but I’ve been so focused on other au’s I’ve been brewing in my cauldron that it kind of got put on the back burner.

I also came up with the au while I was sitting around and randomly thought “what would it take for Macaque to get therapy?” And then I thought about the swamp from ATLA as the only way for that dumbass to work through his shit.

The rest is history aidskhsgsksgdb