#i am like a monky. my feet are also hands

[koltira]

just accidentally removed the cap from my switch joycon (i have a cap over the thumbstick thingy) with my foot. i am both irritated and impressed with myself

[novelcain]

When you did your version of wukong did you have a specific species of monkey in mind to base him of? Or was him a mix of some monkeys?

It got me curious when you said you know a lot of monkey facts and I wondered if you used this to concept him?

EEEEEEEEE! You have no idea how excited I got when I woke up and saw this ask! I literally don't even care that it's the newest one I'm answering rn!

And also! Before I get into how I made the design for ITTW Sun Wukong, something I wanted to throw out is that a few people have asked for me to give more monkey facts after I foolishly /j divulged that I am an encyclopedia of monkeys, so I've been thinking of doing like a Monkey Facts Monday cause alliteration where I post a bunch of monkey facts on mondays! So lemme know what you guys think of that idea cause I absolutely am willing to do it! :D

Now ONTO THE MONKIE MAN!

In Journey to the West, Sun Wukong is described to be that of demon Rhesus Macaque.

Rhesus Macaques can come in a variety of browns, greys, whites, and blondes, but for the most part are largely this stunning platinum gold color like in the picture above. I personally love this this color and wish we could see more golden furred Monkey Kings instead of just monkey=brown.

In addition to golden furs, a Rhesus Macaque's skin is largely a pinkish-peachy color with darker, nearly black, fingers and feet (You can see this in the first picture as well :)). And males tend to have more redish saturation around their eyes. (The saturation of this "mask" on males has been linked to levels of testosterone and therefore the dark/more red the mask the more potent the male, meaning it may be a sexual selective male trait as females have been observed preferring males with redder masks.... *looks at LMK Macaque simps*)

However, one thing about Rhesus Macaques is that they have very short tails. (As depicted below)

And that just wasn't quite the look a was going for. So while I was thinking "Eeeeh I could just say that he's a Rhesus Macaque with a long tail" but as I was sifting through my monkey knowledge I remembered another macaque species!

The Crab-Eating Macaque! Aka the Long Tailed Macaque!

These macaques very closely resemble Rhesus Macaques in facial features as well as fur as they also come in a variety of gingers, browns, greys, and blondes with their main color variation being this brownish-gold. (below) Tho their pelts tend to range darker than a Rhesus Macaque's.

And instead of having mainly peachy skin with a few black tones around the hand and feet, they largely have very dark skin with the brightest parts being around the eyes and the darkest being their pitch black ears, hands, and feet.

And come on, you can't tell me this isn't a Monkey King face:

Plus I might be just a liiiittle biased because my favorite monkey picture is a Long Tailed Macaque:

Just look at this dude! He's so done with life! 😂

But along with just physical characteristics, Rhesus Macaques and Long Tailed Macaques share many behavioral qualities as well.

They both display threats in similar ways, such as baring teeth paired with screaming to frighten predators and other monkeys. Though, Rhesus Macaques tend to be more aggressive and bold (accurate to Wukong) while Crab-Eating Macaques are very cautious and skittish. A Rhesus would much rather fight while a Long Tailed would much rather run.

Another thing they share is their open affection for each other. Both Rhesus and Crab-Eating Macaques have extremely tight knit bond within their troop and with even form best friends from a very young age. Just look at this family unit and how the younger two hold the elder monkey! So sweet. 🥹

All in all! In the end, I went with a mixture of these two species for my ITTW Wukong design, leaning slightly more toward his original species, the Rhesus Macaque, and gave him the proportions of a human since he's a monkey demon.

The traits that I took from the Rhesus Macaques were his blonde fur and peachy pale skin tone as well as his more saturated peach mask, which I blended with a darker blackish-red at the bottoms to pay homage to the Crab-Eating Macaque's darker faces.

The traits that I took from the Crab-Eating Macaques were their long tails and black tipped ears. (as well as the blended mask)

And the traits I took from both were the black tipped hands and feet as well as their long fangs.

While his eye come straight from the book.

And this was the result!

[zyalahmiscfandom]

Forgotten Stars: Platonic!Doctor x F!Reader pt 1

AN: This is the sequel to my series An Unexpected Trip, the master list can be found HERE. However this chapter can be read as a standalone. Also this is my first time writing for 10 and Donna. So I apologise if they are too OOC.

If I could name every star in the sky after you I would. I just wish I knew your name.

——————

The black void of sleep slowly left you as the waking world beckoned harshly to you. Groaning you rolled onto your back. A sharp pebble dug into your spine, eliciting a angry profanity from your lips. Sitting up, you rubbed your eyes, trying to rid yourself of the post sleep brain fog.

Bright sunshine blared down on you in a town square. The pebble in your back was from the stone floor you’d been lying on. Confused you looked frantically around, trying to find absolutely anything that seemed familiar.

However nothing was clicking in your brain, not the town or any of the words on signs, and certainly not the confused looking monks that had gathered about ten feet away from you.

“Uhhhh…Hello?” You awkwardly waved, before the monks quickly started yelling at you in a foreign language, possibly Italian, or wait was that Latin?

Their angry yells and your confusion compounded into a fight or flight response, but before you could run for the hills the advancing monks were halted by a loud commanding voice.

“Oi, Monkies leave her alone!” You turned to face your saviour, a pretty red head in her late thirties early forties, held her hand out to you, as another person, a man in a long brown coat dealt with the monks. Gladly you took the womans hand.

Normally you would be more weary of strangers but this was not a normal situation.

“Thank you.” You smiled.

“No problem, I’m Donna by the way.” She replied kindly.

“Hi…” You started but were swiftly interrupted by the ridiculously tall and peppy brown haired man. The same one that had talked to the monks and seemingly gotten rid of them.

“And I’m the Doctor, nice to meet you…” He outstretched his hand to you, urging you to introduce yourself, but as you stared at his outstretched hand your mind went completely blank. There was nothing there. A void.

“I…I’m sorry, I don’t know who I am.” You stuttered, terrified by your own admission. The Doctor and Donna shared a worried look, not that you really noticed, you were too busy spiralling. Your hands started to shake, your breathing becoming laboured and a cold sweat prickled at your nape. Every thought in your head was screaming.

Why couldn’t you remember your name? How old were you? Where did you grow up? What was happening?

“Hey, hey,” The calming voice of The Doctor broke through your fear, his large hands holding your shoulders steady, he was bent to be eye level with you, his brown eyes caring but probing. He was looking for something, but for what? You couldn’t tell.

“It’s going to be okay, trust me.” He smiled. You wearily eyed him, Donna noted this instantly.

“I know you don’t know us, and if it was me, I’d be side eyeing everyone I met, but if there’s anyone in the whole universe that can help, it’s The Doctor.” Her sincerity eased your nerves a little.

“Okay,” You sighed. “Besides it’s not like have have any other options.” You smiled, accepting their offer.

“That’s the spirit!” The Doctor slapped your shoulder jubilantly. “Come on then, allons y!” He bounced before starting off in the direction he’d come from. You looked to Donna confused by the sudden burst of energy, Donna simply laughed.

“You get used to it.” She answered your silent question as you both followed after the man.

As you walked with the redhead back to where they’d come from, you took a good look at the surrounding area. It was a small town, all stone and wood. It felt ancient compared to yourself, and the Latin the monks had spoken validated that feeling.

“Donna?” You questioned, she hummed in response. “Where are we?”

“Piza, Doctor said it was 1371.”

“So it is Italy,” You mumbled to yourself right before the other shoe dropped. “What’d’ya mean 1371! How are we in 1372?!”

“The Doctor has this box, it travels in time.” Donna gently replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Shut up, no it doesn’t.” You snorted incredulously interrupting her full explanation. A time travelling box, that was just impossible, how stupid did she think you were? Although deep down something told you that she wasn’t lying.

“I had the same reaction,” Donna laughed, “but just you wait. It’s amazing.” Her eyes were dazzling, full of wonder and excitement, it was a little infectious.

Shortly the three of you turned into a cobblestone alleyway, it was like any other alley you’d passed save for the bright blue wooden police box standing tall amongst the stone. The Doctor stood proudly in front of the box, beaming expectantly at you.

You walked towards it like a woman possessed. The low humming emanating from it was seemed inherently familiar. Ignoring The Doctor and Donna’s confused looks, you placed a tentative hand upon the blue wood. The police box hummed louder at your contact. Your hand drew quickly back, not from shock, but from confusion. Something felt off about the noise, at first it had felt comforting, like a long lost friend, however once you’d made contact, it felt different, foreign and not quite right.

“You alright?” The Doctor quirked an eyebrow at you.

“I…” You looked at the man, a deep sadness settling in your chest. “No.”

“Oh sweetheart, come here.” Donna hugged you lightly and you realised you were crying.

“Sorry, I don’t know why I’m crying over a box.” You wiped your tears from the redheads embrace.

“If you need to cry cry.” She soothed. “Right Doctor?”

“Right,” He smiled. “Now, I think it’s time we get to the bottom of this.”

With a flourish he opened the double doors and stepped inside. Donna gently encouraged you to step in after him. Slowly you crossed the threshold, a solemn smile spread across your sniffling facade.

A large cavernous room surrounded you, deep orange coral pillars grew from the grated floor right up to the domed ceiling. The walls matched with the pillars in colour but instead of an organic stone they were covered in mechanical hexagons, maybe they were lights or solely decorative, honestly you couldn’t tell. The highlight of the room, quite literally, was the coral control console. Bathed in a fierce green glow, the central pillar of the centre was slowly rising up and down, in time with the low humming of the box, almost as if the ship was breathing. It was simply beautiful.

“She’s gorgeous.” You breathed, as you touched a pillar close to you. The Doctor hovered closely, watching you intently.

“She?” There was a a smirk behind his question, as if he was being secretly validated.

“Oh, uh…” You don’t know why you’d referred to the machine as a she. It had just felt right.

“Oh don’t start spaceman,” Donna closed the doors behind her. “He’s always trying to convince me that the TARDIS is alive.”

“She is.” The Doctor insisted.

“TARDIS?” The word was familiar on your tongue. Permanent deja vu had settled in the back of your head the moment you’d seen the TARDIS in the alley. You were starting to believe that meeting The Doctor and Donna hadn’t been a coincidence, especially with how unfazed the two seemed to be. “This is insane.”

You huffed, sitting down on the grated floor. You were frustrated beyond belief, nothing made sense but it seemed all to normal for you. That frustration was quickly turning to anger. Apparently you had a short fuse. Goody.

Bbzzzzzz

A loud buzzing from behind you, snatched you out of your thoughts. Turning you saw The Doctor pointing some strange device at you, the blue light stung your eyes as he waved it in front of your face.

“Seriously Doctor why is sonicing strangers your go to?” Donna questioned. You were about to say something when The Doctor exclaimed loudly in excitement, causing you to almost jump out of your skin.

“Biometric teleport!” A smile overtook the mans face.

“What?” You and Donna asked in unison.

“Look.” The Doctor pulled you up and brought you to a small screen which he quickly ‘soniced’ as Donna had called it. What looked like a high tech x-ray of a neck and a flashing little dot in it played on the screen. The Doctor looked expectantly between you and Donna.

“What am I looking at?” You asked.

“You. Your neck to be precise. And the biomentric teleport implanted in it.” Your hand instantly shot to your neck.

“How does that work?” Donna beat you to the question.

“It’s brilliant really. Invented in the 52nd century as a sort of lifeboat.” The Doctors voice full of passion as he explained. “It binds to a persons DNA and a specific location. One way transportation for when the user is in mortal danger.”

“Mortal danger?” You questioned.

“Well,” He shrugged, “The device has to be set to a specific heart rate to trigger. Most people set it to an acute tachycardia and the nearest hospital. But for you, it’s set to 250 beats per minute. So I just assumed mortal danger.”

“Or just a regular day with you.” Donna snarked.

“Why was it set to Piza 1371?” You asked, almost more confused that you originally were.

“It wasn’t.” The Doctors eyes shifted away from you. “It’s set for the TARDIS.”

“Excuse me?” You balked. “What’d’ya mean ‘it’s set for the TARDIS.” You imitated his almost flippant tone.

“What’s going on?” Donna demanded, confused just as you were. The two of you stood side by side, a united front of confusion against a suddenly outnumbered Doctor.

“Ah okay” The Doctor raised his hands in surrender. You both shared an expectant glare towards the man. “Blimey there’s two of you.”

“Doctor.” You warned.

“Right, so time isn’t linear. And things don’t always happen to me in the right order. One downside of time travel.”

“Are you implying a you from the future did this?” You weren’t getting any clarity from his explanations, the frustrated anger was slowly building again.

“No…Maybe…Yes.”

“So why didn’t she go to her Doctor then?” Donna broke the tension.

“The teleport tech is short range. We were probably the closest TARDIS to you.”

“So why was I unconscious on the dirty floor of Piza?”

The Doctor looked a tad guilty.

“We were taking off, and you sort of bounced.”

“Bounced?!”

“Is that what that was?” Donna remarked almost to herself. “I wondered why you changed your mind on leaving. Now I know.”

“Yeah Donna, not helping.” The Doctor chastised.

“So that’s it, I bounced off your box and lost my memory in the impact?” This should have sounded too far fetched to be true, but once more there was something familiar about the absurdity of the situation. Maybe your version of The Doctor had thought they were doing the right thing when they implanted the teleport, but you had no way of knowing, and the man in front of you wouldn’t have the answers until some unknown time in the future.

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably under your gaze.

“That is it right?” You prodded. “Isn’t it Doctor?”

The silence in the TARDIS was almost deafening.

“I’m just gonna go put the kettle on.” Donna awkwardly motioned before shuffling away to another room. Leaving you and The Doctor alone.

“How bad is it?” Your voice was small.

“I don’t know, but I’ll fix it, I promise.” The Doctors face serious and determined. His words echoed around in your head, repeating, twisting, transforming into another voice. A more familiar one, one that you most definitely knew.

“Aghh.” You winced in pain, you hand flying up to your forehead. It was like a jackhammer was going off behind your eyes. The Doctor held your shoulders steadying you, worry painted across his face.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“Your promise…” You blinked slowly, your gaze meeting the mans in front of you. “I think MY Doctor promised the same thing. Right before you found me.”

“Quite possibly.” Your face fell a little at his statement. “But hey, if you can remember that, it means we can get your memory back.”

You held his hands on your shoulders and nodded.

“Damn right we will.” You smiled. “After all you have promised me, twice.”

The Doctor chuckled lightly, before letting you go and turning towards the direction Donna had run off.

“I should probably tell Donna it’s safe to come out now.” The Doctor chuckled, “Donna!” The Doctor yelled as he disappeared from the room.

You watched after him, your smile slowing fading as you thought about YOUR Doctor. Something didn’t sit right with those words. No, not words. Word. Doctor.

Why was the idea of you travelling with a future Doctor so uncomfortably wrong to you?

What the hell had you been through? And why did it feel like only the beginning of something much, much worse.

[journeythroughlifesblog]

Help au chapter 27.

MK's skills improved with each passing day. His fighting technique became sharper. Just as Macaque had planned. The kid is almost ready.

Wukong's condition improved. The machines were only plugged in at night in case something happened to him in the event of an accident. He got to his feet, of course he needed help. He couldn't stay on his feet for long, but he was happy to be able to walk anyway. And if he could walk, it was a sign for him that he was coming home. Everyone protested, but Wukong was stubborn. They had to let him. But for safety, Macaque also teleported the machines. The doctor told him what to do and how.

And just like that, Wukong and Macaque were on mountain of the flowers and fruits.

Wukong was just lying in bed. He was hooked up to a machine that allowed him to breathe. Even though he felt better and could walk, he still had bad days (where he couldn't do anything).

The warrior entered the room.

"Hey. Wukong. How are you feeling?" Macaque said. Wukong looked at him and smiled faintly.

"Better..." he coughed "I don't understand.. what is this for. I can breathe now."

Macaque looked at him with a concerned expression, walked over to him and sat down next to him.

"I know, but it's just in case," he said and kissed the king's head.

"I want to see the kid today"

"No," said the warrior firmly.

"But I haven't seen him in a long time. Besides, he should know I'm still alive," he joked. Macaque glared at him.

"Okay weak joke..."

"Sunlight. I know you want to see him, but today... You see the state you're in. I shouldn't have brought you back here."

"It was my choice."

Macaque hugged him. "It won't be long.. it'll be fine"

"At least tell me what you're going to do today"

"Today. I'm going to do a little test"

"Test?"

"Yes. Checking if the kid has learned anything."

Wukong was fascinated by this. Test. Something that wasn't there yet. He was curious what Macaque had come up with.

"Oh... It's interesting. As usual. You have fun and I'm bored.."

Macaque nuzzled him on the head.

"Hey"

"I should go now... Do you want some tea?"

Wukong nodded. Macaque handed him the tea. The king drank. He immediately felt better and then came up with an idea. He'll surprise them. Wukong smiled. Macaque looked at him.

"You feel better?"

Wukong nodded.

"If anything happens. Speak and I'll be there right away. Do you understand?"

Wukong nodded. Macaque kissed the king's head again and disappeared into the shadows.

The king waited a little longer, and with great difficulty sat. He took several deep breaths in and out. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea after all, Wukong thought. But he was determined to get up and see MK. Wukong took out the tubes which help him breathe. And he was disgusted to find that it did help.

He got up. He swayed. He stretched out his hand to the wardrobe for support. He took several deep breaths in and out. He went to the mirror. Uhh.. I look like death, Wukong thought. He put on a spell to hide the crown and signs of tiredness. He debated whether to go in a bathrobe or change. Maybe the kid will understand? It's time to tell him, thought the king. he sighed. Okay, I won't waste my energy getting changed. Wukong thought.

He managed to get outside. He was very determined. He summoned his cloud and flew away.

.

.

.

A place near a mountain of flowers and fruits.

It has to wark, thought Macaque.

"Hey! Macaques!" MK said.

"Hey kid"

"What are we going to do today? Will Monkey King be here today?"

"No... Everything will be fine. Today I have a test for you"

"Test?"

Macaque nodded. "I thought it might be worth checking if you've learned anything"

"Oh? Ok. What should I do?"

Macaque pushed him forward. MK now noticed that a huge shadow monster was standing in front of them. How had he not noticed it before?

"What is this?!"

"your opponent"

"What?!"

"You'll be fine kid. Remember what I taught you. You're the weapon," said Macaque. MK took this as words of encouragement.

"I am the Monkie kid" said MK and whacked the monster with his stick.

Hi everyone, thank you for reading 😊.

Stay if you wanna know what will hapen next.

Will Wukong get in time to see what Macaque did?

What will hapen to MK? Will he ok? Will Wukong tell MK the truth? Yeah.. you will see in future chapters. 🙀😈😊

[mimiscappinisideblog]

Don't mind me, just gonna use this post to list off all the things i did/do my whole life.

This is in no specific order.

-I used to make my classmates play "the one that stays silent the most wins". I always won.

-If I can go non-verval at all I would. (Just be there dissociating while my friends talk amon themselves). One time i was home alone i didn't talk until my family came back.

-In birthady partys/school/etc I always played alone. Didn't socialize at all. I'd always "be in my bubble" like my dad used to say.

-Most of the time i take things literal.

-When I use sarcasm people think i'm serious.

-Not understand jokes.

-Say something non-funny and people laughing cuz they think i made a joke.

-Make a joke and people not laughing.

-I have a very specific rutine that if i do something out of order it messes me up and makes me forget some stuff i do.

-I can go weeks (even months) eating the same food without changing anything. If I go out with my friends to the movies I always eat the same excat thing.

-If someone gets me clothes and I don't like the texture of the fabric I won't wear it. And, in the case i do wear it, I will be 100% aware of the fabric touching my skin.

-I've been wearing the same flannel shirt since 2016. And the same outfit (the only thing that changes are my tshorts) for aroun 3 or 4 years.

-I watch the same shows/movies over and over instead of watching anything new. I've watched the Beetlejuice cartoon since i was a toddler and I still watch it to this day.

-I will watch an episode of a show i like so many times until i memorize all the dialoge. (example: camp camp s01ep01 s02ep01 or Megamind (but in spanish))

-I listen to the same songs over and over.

-I've been having an hyperfixation on voice actors/dub actors since 2009.

-Whenever i'm watching a movie/show with my friends and see an actor i recognize, i end up telling them thay said actor voiced x character in a show or movie.

-Tell them va trivia like "did you know that the voice actor of Goku also vocies Sun Wukon on Lego Monkie Kid"

-Because i watch the same cartoons over and over, whenever my friends try to remember something that happened in an episode they always turn to me. Or, since i am their cartoon enciclopedia, they try to remember a show, tell a basic rundown of wthat the show is about and wait for mw to say the name of the cartoon.

-If i had to chose between live action and animation i will always pick animation.

-I rater starve than eat something i don't like.

-I can't like things a "normal" way, I always obsess over everything i like.

-The reson i learned english was for me to watch more cartoons.

-I stim when i'm too excited. With my hands or if what i'm feeling is too much i stomp my feet (like when i went to watch Sonic 2 with my friends and saw the Shadow after credits)

-I can control my "indoor voice" especially if i'm talking about my intereses.

-I empathise more with fictional characters then people.

-To communicate i rather send pictures/memes than exprese into words how i'm feeling.

-I don't like physical contact. Unless I initiate it.

Me: I'm autistic.

Friedns: No, you're not autistic. You just need to get out of your house more often.

Friends: Anyway, when are you going to get rid of tha shirt? You've been wearing it since 2016.

[felineechoes]

Stone Rebirth Chapter 1

A Hero Reborn From Stone

Monkie Kid has been on my brain lately, and I started thinking of what would happen if that moment MK emerges from the stone egg in A Hero Is Born, that MK was actually reborn after the immense energy from the Monkey King's powers mixed with the energy that DBK absorbed. Also when MK is reborn he is somewhere between a human and a demon.

I was heavily inspired by this post from @rottedsoulx as well as the fan fiction named Is this a Monkey-Thing or a Dad-Thing and the Scent of Apricots AU created by Queen Tangerine over on Twitter.

I am probably going to make a concept drawing of how MK's appearance changes as the story progresses.

Masterpost

Chapter 1 - A Hero Reborn from Stone

It started as another mundane day at Pigsy’s Noodles. MK bribed Tang with the prospect of free noodles in exchange for a story about the Monkey King and as usual Pigsy catches his employee and the monk in the act. Pigsy then ordered MK to make some deliveries, which MK immediately started on doing. With some music playing through the delivery boy’s headphones, MK relied on his GPS to direct them to the destination. Once there MK continued to vibe with the music, oblivious to his surroundings as he went down a construction elevator into a large cavern with a small green hill in the center. It took the resonating voices coming from ahead to snap MK out of his vibe session and back to the present.

“It feels like I have waited an eternity for this moment,” a woman who at first glance appeared normal until MK notices the bull horns protruding from her head and realized they were a demon, “Is everything in order?”

The other figure, a redhead with a red dot on his forehead responded, “Just making the final adjustments mother."

Now aware of his surroundings, MK quickly realized he had to hide from the demon family and their bull themed minions, so he quickly hid behind a pile of rocks while keeping an eye on the demons. The younger of the two demons, apparently named Red Son, stated that the staff that was embedded into the overgrown mountain was the Monkey King’s legendary staff. Immediately MK’s attention was directed towards the staff in question, eyes shining brightly with awe. Was it really the very staff that the Monkey King used to seal away the Demon Bull King under a mountain from the story that Tang conveniently told the kid this morning?

Waiting for the best moment to sneak a closer look at the staff, MK rushed to a nearby ladder when one of the Bull Clones tried to pull the staff only to lose their arms in the vain attempt which drew the attention of the two demons long enough for MK to climb his way up the ladder. At the top of the ladder a bird almost managed to spook MK, but he managed to steel his grip before he could fall. Then MK climbed onto the rafters above, which the bird once again managed to surprise the noodle boy causing him to stumble and almost fall. Luckily, MK caught his hands in feet between the rafters while holding a bag of noodles in his mouth. The bird then landed on the rafters that the kid was holding onto for dear life and stared at his hands curiously before pecking at one. MK gave the bird a pleading look, hoping the bird would stop which it did, but only for now.

Below, the demon known as Red Son scoffed at the bull clone, “You fool. You think we didn't try that already? It's going to take more than a few robots to lift the Monkey King's staff. Only those deemed worthy can wield it,” The fire demon then materialized a gauntlet into his hand and exclaimed, “But I, Red Son, have designed this gauntlet to bend it to my will.”

MK and the bird watched as Red Son freed the Monkey King’s staff from its bed resulting in a wave of energy to pulse outwards from the staff. When the energy wave hit MK a tingling sensation spread throughout his body, almost as if the energy from the blast was attracted to MK like a magnet and latched to him. For the next few seconds, it felt like MK was being burned alive from the inside, but the feeling quickly faded as soon as it came. How the kid was able to keep a grasp on the rafters was beyond him, but he was relieved that he was still unnoticed by the Demon Bull Family, all while that family watched in anticipation for the Demon Bull King to be free from his subterranean prison.

That was when the bird decided to continue its pursuit to alert the demons below to the noodle boy’s presence, much to MK’s dismay. The feathered animal continued to peck at MK’s hand, and he felt his grip on the rafters slipping and with one last peck MK began to plummet and land right onto a gloating Red Son.

Surprisingly unhurt, MK looked up only to be greeted with the sinister glares from Princess Iron Fan and the Demon Bull King along with the glowing eyes of the Bull Clones that were directed at the intruder.

Not knowing what to do in the moment, MK picked up a nearby bag of Pigsy’s Noodles and made a nervous chuckle and swallowed, “Did somebody order some noodles?”

The air began to heat up as underneath MK the youngest demon present threw MK off of him while yelling with irritation, “Get off of me, you…idiot!”

MK landed next to the Monkey King’s staff; the kid could swear he could hear someone whispering to him telling MK to pick up the staff. Behind him, the fiery son of DBK had turned around and began to yell, “Argh, do you know what you just did? You ruined my moment!”

The brunette boy was then faced with the Demon Bull King who cracked his neck and knuckles and stated, “A little eavesdropper has fallen into our midst. It seems a waste to crush something so insignificant as my first act as ruler of this new world, but so be it.”

Before the Demon Bull King could reach the trembling form of MK, Red Son slid between the two of them, “Wait father!”

The demon king stopped before he could accidentally hurt his son and demanded, “What is this?”

The younger demon cleared their throat as they moved their father’s foot aside and stated, “Waste not your energy on this…” Red Son paused for a moment, “…peasant. Please, allow me to show you how powerful I have become in your absence!”

“Go ahead,” DBK grinned as he backed up to give Red Son room to prove himself to his father.

“And maybe I can use this chance to get away,” MK said in a whisper before Red Son turned around and noticed the escape attempt.

“In some ways, you're very fortunate, Noodle Boy!” the son of DBK droned on as he approached MK who scooted back in response, “Not many insects are lucky enough to be stamped out by the Demon Bull Family.”

The whispers started up again as MK backed into the Ruyi Jingu Bang, and when MK turned around, he saw the Monkey King’s staff on the ground and heard whispers calling out for MK to pick it up.

“Are you even listening to me?!” Red Son was not amused, “I, Red Son, will not be disrespected! You're history!”

When Red Son went to strike a blow, MK absentmindedly picked up the staff with his eyes closed, only opening them after Red Son exclaimed, “No way! How could you possibly lift Monkey King's staff?”

MK was indeed holding the Monkey King’s staff in his hands with ease, the boy’s eyes sparkled as he couldn’t believe he was holding the legendary Sun Wukong’s magic size changing staff.

“Impossible,” Princess Iron Fan stated what everyone was thinking while DBK cursed the noodle boy under his breath.

Red Son was not going to have any of this, “I don't what's going on here, but I'm about to end it. That staff is mine!”

Before anyone could even get close to MK, the kid panicked and swung the staff while exclaiming, “I’m supposed to be on my break!”

The movement created a force that sent Red Son and multiple Demon Bull Clones back, destroying majority of the robots and knocking the young demon out momentarily. The Demon Bull King was dumbfounded as he saw the intruder wield the staff like that, “This can’t be.”

“Uh, that was way more explosive than I expected,” MK said stunned by what he just did as Princess Iron Fan walked towards the armed noodle boy who began to wave their arms franticly, “Stay back! I don't know how I'm doing this stuff!”

“That staff doesn't belong to you, little boy,” Iron Fan said sternly as she stared at MK before demanding, “Hand it over.”

MK pulled the staff closer to his face as he hummed before responding with a “Mmm…no.”

The next few moments happened quickly. The staff planted itself into the ground before launching MK, who was now clinging to the golden hooped staff at this point and forced itself and MK out of the underground construction site. The whole time MK clung to the staff for dear life as it blasted its way through demon bull clones towards the elevator where it once again planted itself in the ground before blasting the elevator to the surface not stopping until MK was near the tuk-tuk.

MK quickly stumbled into the driver’s seat and hit the petal and raced out of the site. Just when the delivery boy thought he was scott-free, Red Son caught up behind him in a fiery themed truck.

“Alright, Noodle Boy, hand it over!”

Looking around for anything to slow the fire demon with MK quickly realized what he had to do and apologized before throwing, “I'm sorry, valued customer. You won't be getting your noodles.”

The noodles hit the windshield of Red Son’s truck, and was easily wiped off, “Fine! Have it your way!”

The truck got close enough to hit the tuk-tuk, and once again the staff activated launching the vehicle into the sky and bouncing from building to building irritating Red Son, “Would you get down here so I can kill you?!”

“Never!”

The staff continued to bounce them until they ended up falling into one, apologizing to the owner before driving the tuk-tuk out of the building. The kid chuckled nervously as he looked behind him, not seeing the truck anywhere nearby, “I think I lost him.”

Just after Monkie Kid said those words, the tuk-tuk started to slow before falling down and breaking. The already immense anxiety and stress MK was feeling increased tenfold, “Oh, Come on! Come on! Come on, old girl! You got this!” MK began hitting the engines hoping it would start back up, “Oh, don't do this to me! Oh, man, Pigsy's gonna kill me.”

A deranged laugh prevented MK from pondering what Pigsy would do when he found out, so MK make a break for it into an alleyway where he spots a couple of kids using a Cloud Board. With not many other options, MK hops onto the hoverboard before apologizing to the kid he just accidentally knocked off it. Then Red Son rushes through with his truck into the narrow alley to chase the noodle boy who already made it to the other side.

MK turned around to see that Red Son got himself stuck. The kid turned around and taunted, “See ya!”

MK navigated through the city, not noticing he entered a roadway that was under construction. Then the kid heard something behind him, he looked behind his shoulder and saw that Red Son was closing in on MK in a race car.

“Come on!” MK cried, “Where did you get that!?”

The fiery redheaded demon scoffed, “What? You think I drive anything that doesn't at least have one complex transformation?”

Suddenly Red Son’s vehicle burst towards MK in an attempt to crush him. MK manages to survive and make his way on top of his chaser’s car where he sighed in relief until noticing the end of the road and screams. The car begins to plummet with MK with it, but the ground impact doesn’t happen. Instead, MK felt a hand grab him and pull them onto a motorcycle. The dragon themed cyclist then raced all the way towards Pigsy’s Noodles leaving a now grounded Red Son behind fuming with anger.

The motorcycle began to decelerate, throwing MK off in the process before the cycle dematerialized along with the rider’s suit revealing a girl who proceeded to whip out their phone and take a selfie with MK exclaiming, “Nailed it!”

MK immediately wrapped his arms around the person and spun them around and exclaimed, “Mei!”

“MK!” Mei responded back with the same amount of energy, “Have you gotten stronger? Normally I’m the one who does the spiny huggin’.”

“Oh,” MK realized and set his best friend down, “Sorry about that Mei.”

“It’s cool,” Mei brushed it off before asking, “Hey that was an intense game of tag. You guys looked like you were having so much fun. I wanted to join in too!”

MK nervously chuckled as he explained to her, “Actually, I almost died back there.”

Leaning in, Mei picked up MK and stated happily, “But ya didn’t! Why don’t we celebrate with a round of Mon-on-on-key Mech,” pointing out the arcade machine that was outside the noodle shop, “You should invite your new edgy friend too.”

“Yeah, about that,” MK scratched the back of his head, “He was trying to kill me.”

“In that case,” Mei’s carefree attitude quickly shifted to a dark one as she held up her phone that was on a game over screen and said in a threatening tone, “Where does he live.”

Before that conversation could escalate, Pigsy rushed out of the shop fuming as he held a phone in one cloved hand while the other was in a fist, “MK! Where are you, you punk?” Pigsy held up the phone to MK’s face, “You mind telling me why some bozo left a ZERO-star review on Pigsy’s Noodles?!”

“Wow zero-stars congrats,” Mei said genuinely and Pigsy began to tell her that’s not how it works. With Pigsy distracted, MK rushed inside with staff in hand.

“Mr. Tang, Mr. Tang!” MK exclaimed as he rushed around the noodle shop looking for his notebook. The scholar spits his noodles out before turning their attention to the eccentric kid with a wipe of his mouth and hummed.

“You remember the story you told me this morning?” MK asked as he franticly searched for where he put his notebook, “About the Demon Bull King,” still couldn’t find it, “Argh, where is it? Where is it? Where is it?”

Then the kid saw his notebook under a stack of bowls, “Ah, there it is!”

“Yeah,” Tang sounded disinterested as he sipped his noodles, “What about him?”

MK jumped up onto the counter and crouched in front of the scholar with wide eyes and stated, “The Demon Bull King is back! The legend is real!”

The kid’s words were met with skepticism, but MK continued, “The Monkey King’s staff is removed! We have to find him! It’s the only way to save everyone before the world is destr…”

“Boy, relax,” Tang stops MK and pushed the kid back with chopsticks, “You’re getting spittle in my soup. Besides you’re delusional. It’s just a story.”

The delivery boy smirked as he whipped out the staff, “Delusional, huh? Would you call this delusional?”

“Wow, MK. You found a stick!”

“No, it’s the Monkey King’s staff!” MK insisted only for the rest of the gang to start laughing, “You aren’t listening! Demon Bull King is out there. We have to get the staff back to the Monkey King!”

They continued to laugh as MK felt a wave of uncharacteristic anger start to rise, “It’s the real deal. I…I’ll prove it!”

Pigsy scoffed, “Oh yeah! How?”

As if on cue the staff stretched before destroying the table right in front of MK. Immediately, everyone’s jaw dropped, and Tang went and fanboyed over it and Pigsy let MK explain. Mei learned that DBK was trending on social media as well as that the Demon Bull King was at a shoe store, the gang then collectively agreed that they needed to find the Monkey King. Pigsy said that he would take them to the most dangerous, deadly, rage-filled warrior he’d ever known.

Turns out said warrior has calmed down into a life as a tea shop owner that makes tea, does yoga, and has invested in therapy cats. It didn’t take much convincing for Sandy to take the gang to Flower Fruit Mountain. During the trip, MK played around with the staff, almost hitting Mei when he accidentally caused damage to part of the boat. It didn’t take long for the boat to stop when a geyser hits it, causing a crate to fall overboard into the ocean.

The boat would not be able to take them the whole way to Flower Fruit Mountain according to Sandy. So, the gentle blue giant could not take them any further from there. Tang offered to stay behind which caused Pigsy to complain about the river demon and scholar staying cozy in the boat before the pig demon almost became bacon when a geyser went off in front of him.

“Careful, piggy! Eeeee!” a geyser almost hit Mei in that moment, “You gotta wonder why Monkey King decided to live here of all places.”

“You know when Monkey King had to get through the Flaming Mountains,” MK began to say, “he actually used Princess Iron Fan fan’s to blow…”

A shrill laugh interrupted MK, “Well, well, well. Aren’t you a little Monkey King fan boy.”

Princess Iron Fan hovered in the air behind MK who turned around to see the demon. With a wave of her magic fan, she absorbed the flames before launching them in the direction of MK.

Pigsy coughed due to the ash and smoke, “Kids! Everyone okay?”

Before Mei or MK could answer, Iron Fan laughs as she hovers over MK and says, “I’ll be taking that staff now.”

Holding the staff tightly, MK, despite his nerves, stood his ground and stated, “This belongs to the Monkey King. There’s no way I’m letting you take it.”

Iron Fan’s next words hit the kid where it hurt, “Oh, you’re just a Noodle Boy playing at being hero. Sorry to disappoint. Playtimes over!”

A growl escaped MK’s throat as he launched himself at the demoness who now wore the power glove and stopped the staff with just one single finger.

“What,” MK exasperated before he was sent flying through the air passing the Flaming Mountains. MK shut his eyes before slipping unconscious.

...

When MK woke up his eyes hurt and felt irritated and itchy, also he could feel something course and grainy underneath him. Rolling onto his back, MK struggled to open his eyes, but managed to after a few rubs and blinks to pry them open. He saw a monkey staring at him curiously before MK shot up from the sandy beach ground causing the little monkey to dart away into the foliage. For a few moments the Monkie Kid wondered if he was dead before standing up and realizing where he was.

“Flower Fruit Mountain,” MK breathed with awe before reminding himself why he was here. The kid began to hike his way up the luscious mountain, noticing a few monkeys that would approach MK curiously before skirting away. MK followed the river to its source, if the legends were right then he should find the Monkey King behind a waterfall there.

Normally by now MK might have felt exhausted, yet it was the opposite of that as he climbed. Every hair on the kid’s head stood up in anticipation and excitement the closer MK git to the waterfall. So when he was standing right in front of the falls MK could feel his heart beating loudly in his chest. The kid reached out and the ache and irritation in his eyes started to become more manageable.

It was as if time itself slowed as whatever seal that was placed here opened allowing the kid safe passage through the falling waters. On the other side was an enormous cavern with a path that led towards a small temple in the center. MK followed the path, calling out to the Monkey King without receiving an answer. Eventually MK stumbled upon an ancient mural that depicted the Monkey King alongside who MK assumed were Tripitaka and his other disciples, two of whom looked eerily similar to Pigsy and Sandy while the monk Tripitaka reminded MK of Mr. Tang for some reason.

Then suddenly gold filled the kid’s vision, with it the rest of the irritation in their eyes faded completely. Gold lines began to outline the mural that was being brought to life right before MK’s eyes. The mural depicted the life of the Monkey King; from when the Monkey King hatched from a stone egg all the way to when the Great Sage sealed away the Demon Bull King. The largest figures were Tripitaka, Sun Wukong, Zhu Bajie, Sha Wujing, and Bai Long Ma. Then MK sees the Monkey King standing in front of the mural gesturing for the kid to follow.

MK follows the Great Sage, calling out to him as the kid reached out to touch his idol only for the figure to turn to dust as the gold tint left his vision. Frustrated, MK kicked a nearby rock, believing he might have hallucinated it.

“Maybe Tang’s right, maybe I am just being delusional,” MK told himself solemnly before a odd butterfly landed on the sleeve of his orange jacket.

“Sup,” MK’s gaze darted to find the source before landing on the butterfly who flew and landed on the rock MK kicked. Did that butterfly just talk?

“Yes, yes,” the butterfly said confidently, “It is I, the Monkey Kin…”

MK squashed the bug before they could finish their sentence. The kid then lifted their foot and asked, “Is…Is it dead?”

The butterfly was then enveloped in a golden light and changed into a bird before changing into a few other forms until settling on one and now standing before MK was the one and only Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong.

The boy struggled to get his words out, “Mon…Monkey King?”

The Great Sage placed his hands on his hips, “Yep! The one and only!” the Monkey King looked around before asking, “So, where’s my staff?”

On the verge of tears, MK apologized, “I’m so sorry! I tried to bring it to you, but Princess Iron Fan came and took it. She’s got this glove and…”

The laughter of the legendary monkey silenced MK, when it died down the Great Sage admitted, “I know, I know,” the monkey scratched the back of his head as he said, “Look, I’m gonna come clean. Um…I’ve been kinda watching you.”

“What!?” MK gasped, recalling the times that day he encountered a animal that had odd colorings realizing now that it was the Monkey King watching him, “Wait, that was you!”

A laugh emitted from the sage’s mouth, “The look on your face. You’re perfect!”

“Perfect for what?”

“To be…” Wukong paused before continuing after he folded his arms, “…my successor!”

MK stared blankly, not believing what he was hearing, “Uhhh? Are you sure you’re the Monkey King?” the kid began to prod the Great Sage, “You’ve been cooped up in here way too long. I think your brain went mushed up.”

With a sigh, Sun Wukong pushed MK away and stated, “Listen, kid. You fought demons and you didn’t die. You passed through the seal that only my clan can cross and made it here. Not just anyone can lift my staff,” the Great Sage pulled out a bag of peach chips, “But you did.”

“But what about DBK?”

“Phft! What about DBK?” the sage brushed the question off, “You can handle it. Consider it a trial."

"But I..."

Wukong realized the kid wasn’t getting it as the sage looked into his successor’s now golden eyes that were like his own and sighed, “Look if you can lift the staff, you can use it. Just believe in yourself,” the sage advised, “Even just a smidge makes all the difference.”

That seemed to do the trick as MK looked at Wukong who continued, “The staff was taken from you. Take it back.”

MK nodded, turning back towards the city, “Alright!”

...

First thing’s first, MK needed to find a way back to the city. Just so happens that the crate that fell out of Sandy’s boat washed up on the shores of Flower Fruit Mountain. A few monkeys were curiously prodding at the crate before it burst open revealing a jet.

MK rushed into the vehicle, seeing that it was apparently called the Cloud Jet on the manuel, “Shouldn’t be too hard to fly, it’s for ages 8 and up.”

It was not as easy as the label made it seem to be, because MK had no idea how to land this thing as the jet began to plummet into the ruined city below. The vessel ended up crashing onto Red Son, who was now unconscious near the jet.

MK stumbled out of the crash causing Pigsy to cry out in relief while Sandy let out a sigh of the same emotion. Mei immediately tackled MK into a hug and exclaimed, “MK!”

The dragon girl let MK get back up before continuing, “Oh my goodness! We saw you blast into the fire. I thought…” Mei stepped closer to MK as if trying to get a better look at something, “Hey nice contacts!”

‘Weird, I don’t wear contacts,’ MK thought to himself before catching his own reflection in the drive view mirror in the wreck. It didn’t take long for the Monkie Kid to realize what Mei was referring to, since staring right back at the kid was himself but with one major difference. The normally chestnut-colored irises were now a bright golden hue while the whites of the eyes were a darker shade of gold. MK recognized those eyes that stared back at him from his own reflection, after all he just met them on Flower Fruit Mountain, those were the same-colored eyes that the Monkey King has.

“Um…,” MK turned back towards Mei not knowing what to say, “Yeah…”

Behind Mei, Tang was prodding the unconscious Red Son with a stick to see if the demon was truly out of it before adjusting his glasses and turning to MK to ask, “So, did you find the Monkey King?”

The kid avoided making eye contact with his scholarly father figure as he said, “Yeah, I did.”

“So, then where is he,” Pigsy asked as he looked around for any sign of the legendary sage before MK explained.

“He said it was up to me,” MK admitted before looking at all his friends, “to us.”

“That’s anticlimactic,” Mei commented.

Then the earth quaked as the Demon Bull King loomed over the city, and Tang asked what they are were thinking, “And how are we meant to fight that?”

MK had to admit that seeing that the Demon Bull King was much larger than the demon was back when the kid first encountered him put some doubts in his mind. MK knew that the Monkey King was counting on them.

‘Believe in yourself’

The Monkey King’s words echoed through MK’s head as he looked at his hand before clenching it into a fist and saying, “We believe in ourselves,” MK turned to the rest of the gang and told them his plan, “You clean the streets.”

“I'll stop the Demon Bull King,” MK hopped down the ruined Cloud Jet and faced towards DBK. Suddenly light emitted around the city before an explosion went off and MK added with less confidence than before, “Somehow.”

“Yeah, this jet probably would have been really useful,” behind MK, Mei had just kicked the destroyed jet and a bike rolled out of the wreckage completely unscathed, “hey?”

This bike appeared like it was meant for this, a no bull symbol printed on the side and a red paint job with gold adornments. MK eyes beamed at the sight, “That’ll work!!”

The dragon girl put a hand on her friend’s shoulder encouragingly and smiled as she cheered, “Go get’em buddy!”

MK hopped on the cycle and hit the gas, driving towards the area of the city that the Demon Bull King was terrorizing by utilizing the road that was under construction. MK made a B-line towards the demon, who had noticed the kid’s approach and scowled.

“The little thief returns.”

DBK began to shoot lasers from his gun arm that was aimed towards the Monkie Kid who managed to dodge each one by bouncing on the tires of the motorcycle. When MK reached the end of the road, he hit the petals and was launched into the air towards the Demon Bull King. Suddenly it was like time itself slowed around the kid as gold flooded his vision, he was able to take in more of the area like how the birds seemed to be heading away from where MK was headed as well as the degrees that seemed to hover in the air around him.

“Uh what? Why is everything gold again?”

MK looked over at DBK, realizing that he was seeing the demon’s skeleton that had a giant hole in the center of the chest. On closer inspection MK realized that inside that hole was the Monkey King’s staff and he knew what he had to do, “The staff.”

MK landed the speed bike on DBK’s cannon arm and drove down the arm until DBK smashed the bike causing MK to be launched towards the demon’s open chest cavity. MK screamed as he fell, it felt like his entire being was being split apart after he passed into the hole. It was like that feeling after Red Son removed the staff from the mountain, the energy that seemed to course through the kid’s body, but this time it was more intense. It felt like MK was being burned alive while being hit by a thousand lightning bolts. The pain lasted for an excruciating five minutes, and for a moment MK wondered for the second time that day if he was dead.

Now it was dark, and MK felt cramped like he was inside a small space. Then he heard a crack, and golden light began to flood the area and suddenly he could feel the wind rustling past him.

MK heard DBK say questionably, “Monkey King?”

Slowly the Monkie Kid opened his eyes seeing that he was floating above the ground and put a hand near his ear and pulled out the Monkey King’s staff. A laugh came out from MK’s mouth before closing his eyes allowing a circlet to form around his bandana. MK didn’t pay much mind to the odd sensations that went through his lower spine or that everything seemed to have gotten louder.

His friends did, when they saw the stone egg that popped out of the Demon Bull King’s chest that shot out a beam of light, they saw it. At first Mei thought it was a trick of the light and Pigsy and Tang were not sure if it the figure that was now fighting the Demon Bull King was even MK. Sure they sounded like the kid and for the most part looked like them. The sides of MK’s hair had grown out and his hair looked wilder than it used to, the kid also had a new appendage, a tail, that twitched and shook as MK struck a hard blow on the Demon Bull King.

DBK retaliated by shooting his shoulder-mounted cannons towards the Monkie Kid, who instinctively dodged and laughed, “Missed me!”

“Nope,” Another blast came towards MK, who moved out of the way in the blink of an eye before taunting the demon, “Over here!”

MK jumped up and aimed the end of the staff towards DBK before willing the staff to grow and stretch so it would pin down DBK. Then MK went closer, swinging the staff in a way that split a building in two before rooting the staff in the broken-off section and pushing it towards DBK. DBK was not about to spend another eon trapped under anything, having enough of the new monkey the Demon Bull King disintegrated the building hoping that it would also take care of the little thief. Seeing that the kid was still in one piece, the Demon Bull King punched MK into the wall of a building.

MK groaned in pain, it felt like he landed on something that was attached to his spine.

“You thought you could stand against me little cub,” the bull demon growled

The kid opened his eyes, finally seeing what it was that he landed on. Behind him was a furry dark brown appendage that MK realized was a tail, and when it twitched MK felt the sensation of the new limb moving. Though MK wasn’t given much time before the Demon Bull King was closing in on him.

“I am the Demon Bull King,” the bull demon took a step forward that sent shockwaves through the earth, “I will not let a little thief take victory from my grasp.”

A tune rang from behind MK, he could feel his ears perk, which in itself was an odd sensation in itself, and he looked up to see a Monkey Mech arcade machine.

‘Just believe in yourself. Even just a smidge makes all the difference.’

“You might have that old fool's staff,” the bull demon laughed. The kid’s hand grasped around the staff as he pulled himself off the wall as DBK continued, “…but you are not the Monkey King.”

 Landing on the ground with a grunt, MK started to stand up and looked DBK in the face and stated, “Your right.”

“I'm the Monkie Kid,” MK announced before twirling the staff and plunging it into the ground. Suddenly the earth below began to break apart and reform around the kid until he was inside a monkey-themed mech. MK looked down at the bull demon who stared at the giant mech.

“It's time for you and your family to be brought to justice,” MK said as he summoned the staff and began to dive towards DBK, “Here comes Monkie Kid!”

The force the impact created caused the planets to shift slightly, leaving a crater where the Demon Bull King kneeled down in pain and defeat, “Im…possible.”

Standing outside the crater was MK in the monkey mech who folded his arms and said, “Nothing is impossible if you just believe in yourself. Make no mistake, you just got MKO'd!”

Behind him, the son of the Demon Bull King coughed as he struggled to regain his footing and breath, “You think this is over? It isn't over, bozo,” Red Son exclaimed, “Why don't you just get out of that dorky mech and…” his face red as he yelled a challenge at MK, “…fight me, you coward!”

Red Son them proceeded to tumble down into the crater with his father as MK reached toward the two demons only to be blocked by a pillar of wind. MK couldn’t even see into the funnel, but saw Princess Iron Fan’s face pop out, the irritation at the defeat clear on her face.

“We know when we've been bested,” Iron Fan commented, “But this won't be the last you see of us, Monkey Prince.”

MK clenched his teeth as the tornado dispersed causing a gust of wind to blast in the direction of MK as well as his friends, and the demon bull family were now nowhere to be seen. The kid wondered what Iron Fan meant by calling him Monkey Prince.

“What? No! No fair!” the monkie exclaimed, his tail twitching in irritation, “Come on, you can't just run away after saying something like that!”

‘Why did you call me the Monkey Prince?’

“MK!” Mei’s voice shook MK out of his thoughts, “You totally kicked DBK’s butt! Without us the city would be toast!”

“Yeah,” MK chuckled nervously before leaping out of the mech, he noticed Tang and Pigsy looking at MK with worry.

“MK?” Pigsy spoke up, failing to hide his concern at the moment as he asked, “Is…is that really you kid.”

“Of course,” MK said confused as to why Pigsy would even ask such a question, “Why wouldn’t it be?”

The pig demon’s eye twitched as he raised his voice and asked, “I just saw you recklessly rush into there, and we…we thought that we lost you for real this time kid! Then you pop out of some stone egg, and you have a freakin’ monkey tail and ears for crying out loud.”

MK recalled the feeling of his body burning and breaking apart as he went into the chest cavity to retrieve the staff. He also now remembered that there was a moment when he couldn’t figure out where he was, only that it was like he was in a void. The kid started to breathe rapidly, his heart pounding loudly in his chest as the Monkie Kid realized that actually, he died for a moment back there.

“MK?”

“I…think I…I might have actually died back there,” MK held onto the staff tightly, tears streaming down his face as he looked at his adopted fathers, “I…I died Dadsy…it was like I was being torn apart, but then put back together and I…I…”

Suddenly MK felt four sets of arms wrapped around him, he opened his eyes to see Pigsy, Tang, Sandy, and Mei surrounding the Monkie Kid in a group hug. Pigsy kept telling MK that it will be okay, that they will figure this out together.

[elianaroselight]

Saw the recent prompt (it was delightfully sweet btw) and I had to bring you to your attention this:

Cherry and Apple being dragged into a nest for the first time by either immortal monkeys

When I read this, I literally gasped for a good solid 10 seconds as I walked to my car. And as soon as I was in, I flipped out at the adorableness that is this idea. Now that my seasonal depression is fading some and I have more motivation/energy, I think I can finally actually write this! It did kinda take a different turn, but I kinda like where it went.

Set in your beautifully chaotic Cursed AU.

Wukong bit back the chuckle trying to escape him as Yue Shi pulled him towards the twins' bedroom. It was odd as neither twin ever pulled him towards their room, unless there was an issue. The king also tried to not enter without permission or very often as he wanted to make sure the twins had a safe space they can go back to that was away from himself or his mate. He was surprised when his son searched him out and silently grabbed him to pull him.

As Yue Shi opened the door, Wukong could see the twins had pushed their beds together to make one larger bed. The bed was messy with lots of blankets and pillows scattered on it. It took him a moment to realize what he was looking at and when he did, he looked at it in surprise. The twins.... Had made a nest. The first one he had ever seen them have and Yue Shi had pulled him in here.... Did the twins want him to enter into the private safe haven a nest provides? Wukong looks over at the lunar twin next to him. The boy was lookinf at him with a stoic expression, but the golden monkie could see the nerves and fear mixed with a touch of hope in the child's eyes.

"Yue Shi? Is this the first nest you and your sister ever made?" He asks gently. Wukong didn't want to scared the kid into thinking he was in trouble. Yue Shi nods, looking away for a moment shyly. "And you wanted me to see it?" Another nod before the twin spoke softly. "And to see if you would like to join us in it.." Wukong felt his heart melt into a puddle from the warmth that filled him at the confession. His babies not only built their first nest, but were inviting him in? The king grins happily and lays his hands on his kid's shoulders gently. Once Yue Shi looked up at him, Wukong carefully pulls the boy into a close hug with a soft purr. Normally, Wukong would have just pulled him in, but the lunar monkie was being vulnerable to him at the moment and Wukong didn't want to startle him.

"I am honored to receive your invitation and I would love to join you." He says softly, purrs getting louder and tail waving back and forth quickly with excitement and pure happiness. He pulls back from the hug to see that Yue Shi's face at visibly brightened and his expression was a mix of overjoyed and excitement. Wukong felt his hand be grabbed and soon found himself climbing into the messy nest behind Yue Shi.

As soon as he gets comfortable, the door opens and Ri Shi enters, pulling Macaque into the room behind her. Wukong grins at his mate. "Look at what the twins made for the first time!" He says excitedly. Yue Shi smiles slightly, nerves returning. Mac looks at it, surprised. "A nest.." The shadow monkie says softly and looks at the twins with a smile. They beam happily and Ri Shi tugs on the monkie's hand as she climbs into the nest, leaving Mac to follow or be pulled off his feet. Wukong laughs softly and begins to groom Yue Shi, who begins to softly purr at the motion. Soon enough, they were all situated comfortably.

A few minutes in, Wukong sees Ri Shi looking around at the nest and looking conflicted for a moment. Wukong meets his mate's eyes for a moment before Mac looks back at their daughter. "Ri Shi? Sweetheart, what's wrong?" Macaque softly asks, his tail unwrapping from the hold it went into with Wukong's and brushing against the solar twin's tail, which was tapping the bed in reaction to her thoughts. She looks up at him briefly before looking back down at the nest. "It's not perfect. There are mistakes and it's kinda messy. Not like the one you two had made a few weeks ago.."

Wukong thinks back to that day. He had woken up from a nightmare brought on by a recent battle MK had. The boy had been thrown into a building that began to crumble. Wukong immediately had ran in to get his kid out, only to have part of the building collapse on top of them as soon as he got to MK's side. He was able to hold the large debris up and prevent it from squishing his semi-conscious kid. Luckily, the others were able to get them out fairly quick, but Wukong had still been pretty shaken up. He couldn't sleep for a few days and when he finally had, nightmares of being trapped under a mountain mixed with fears of losing his kids filled the night.

In desperation, Wukong built a nest, needing a place he felt completely safe. He asked Mac to stay with him, needing the quiet comfort his mate offered. At one point, Wukong was half awake and there was a knock on his bedroom door. Once Mac gave the permission to enter, the door opened to reveal the couple's twins, looking confused and concerned as to were the two immortal monkies were. The moment Wukong saw them, he gets up while chirping. He grabs their hands and pulls them to the nest. Mac had watched in amusement at the scene and only spoke up when the twins looked at the nest in confusion. "He wants you to come join us in the nest." "What's a nest?" Yue Shi asked in confusion. Wukong tilts his head, brain trying to wrap around the question. Thankfully for the tired monkey king, his mate was ready with an answer.

"A nest is a structure built out of leaves, twigs or in our case, pillows and blankets. It is a place built to give the sense of comfort and safety while allowing those inside to have a place to have vulnerable moments. The creature or person who built a nest will defend it and those in it from outsiders, but will pulling in anyone they deem safe and want to protect. Such as their children, close friends, siblings, even parents. Wukong wants to protect you, keep you safe, give you comfort while also feeling safe and comforted with you nearby. " The twins had looked surprised at the answer and looked at one another before slowly climbing into the nest. Once they were in a comfortable position between Wukong and Macaque, the purring golden monkie wrapped himself around the kids and finally got some decent sleep.

Wukong hears a squeak which pulls him out of the memory. He looks over to see Macaque had pulled Ri Shi into a hug. "Ri Shi. A nest doesn't have to be perfect. Trust me, the first nest I had ever made was a disaster, but it had been able to do what I had needed it for. Do you feel safe and comfortable in it?" Ri Shi thinks for a moment before nodding. "Good. As long as you feel safe and comfortable in it, then it already is perfect." Wukong smiles at Mac's words and watches as their baby turned the words over in her mind. She nuzzles her face into Mac's shoulder, a purr emitting from her as her tail wagged back and forth in content joy. Wukong wraps his tail around his mate's and the two monkies share a loving and happy smile.

[skellebonez]

Could we have more overprotective dad Macaque from Winter Cursed au? Perhaps with 7 and 14?

You asked for Overprotective Dad Macaque, but you also get Incredibly Worried Son MK to go with that! @winterpower98 fuels my DadMac fills so much. (There are some callback references to older fills for this au but none need to be read to understand this)

Stop acting like a child!/Am I scaring you?

They sat in silence for longer than they had since returning from their little adventure. The one Macaque had started in the first place. It almost felt like they were back there again, close to the end, after the truth came out and they sat with Sun Wukong around a fire as they rested for the end to it all.

Except they weren't there again. They were on the sand covered shores of Mount Huaguo, a few small monkeys surrounding them now that the air between them had calmed.

MK had been playing with some of baby monkeys on the island while the Monkey King was off doing... well, something with the rest of the older monkeys. He wasn't entirely sure what it was, maybe he was just taking stock of their health, but the younger ones were getting bored once Wukong had finished apparently and MK arrived just in time to help by keeping them distracted since Macaque had no patience for that himself and had wandered off long ago.

And keep them distracted he did! He did such a good job that he had kept himself distracted and hadn't noticed they made it to a portion of the beach shore that had sharp rocks.

Until he ended up falling and nearly got a face full of sharp rock (and as tough as he was that still would have hurt), only to be saved by the firm grip of Macaque grabbing his jacket and yanking him back to his feet.

MK barely managed out a thank you before Macaque laid into him. He'd never seen the immortal monkey quite like... this before. And he'd seen just as many sides of this man as a set of dice. It was less like he had seen MK nearly trip and fall and more like he had saved him from being maimed by the latest demon of the week because he wasn't taking the fight seriously. He was angry, but under that anger was a clear current of worry and... fear. And he looked tired, so tired.

It wasn't until he had tried to ask him what was wrong and Macaque yelled "Stop acting like a child!" at him, scaring away the monkeys that were on his shoulders the whole time, that the immortal seemed to realize what he had been doing. His eyes widened, and he covered his face with a groan (MK noticed his hands were shaking then) and... apologized.

That wasn't anything MK expected to hear from him. And it was worrying.

Eventually MK managed to coax Macaque into sitting down on ground, the elder almost stumbling a bit in the process, before he removed his headband and let his messed up hair down. He sat in front of him, his intentions clear and picked up immediately as Macaque groomed through his hair with a half growl in his throat.

Something was... well, he didn't want to say "wrong". But that's what it felt like. This felt wrong. It didn't take a genius to tell Macaque had been acting odd the last few weeks. The immortal monkey looked tired all the time, as if he never slept... to be frank, MK was starting to believe the only times he did sleep were when he has been caught by Mei dozing off before she arrived for training with his caffeine fix.

But that wasn't the only thing.

"Am I scaring you?" MK asked after a while, kicking at the sand they rested on. "Is Mei scaring you?"

Had it been a few months back Macaque would have said no, MK was certain of that. There nothing the young man could have done that would cause him to worry at the time. He could have jumped from the tip top of any of the many volcanoes surrounding them and Macaque would have watched him do so with maniacal glee. But now...

"Do you want me to be honest?" Macaque asked, his tone closed off and hard to determine now. The only thing that gave away how he felt was fingers working through his hair more smoothly as his tail thumped against the sand beside them.

It started out small. When they first came back Macaque would generally not be too phased by the day to day life of Monkie Kid and Company, only noting and helping treat and injuries MK got during battles or training.

But then he would take a longer and closer look at MK every time they met up, then Mei after he took her under his wing for "absolutely not training". Then came the day he was treating an injury on his back and saw his scar. The one on the back of his head that was hidden under his hair (he felt Macaque pause for a second when his fingers brush against it, immediately moving to the other side of his head).

He couldn't have been sure whether or not that was when Macaque had stopped sleeping or if it was even related, but that's when he started to notice it. The bags under his eyes, the way his gaze would loose focus as he would lose himself in thought... and then much later the way he seemed to jump at things that weren't there. MK had his share of sleep deprivation in the past and if Macaque was as bad as he thought the monkey was... he was almost certainly experiencing hallucinations.

"I do," MK said firmly, wrapping his arms around his knees as he watched a pair of baby monkeys tussle in front of them. He leaned back a bit with a wince when Macaque caught a particularly bad knot in his hair. That must have come from the grip one of the baby monkeys had on him. "After everything we've been through? I'd prefer honesty." There was a flinch from Macaque behind him, judging by the thump of his tail and the way his knees hit MK's back it must have been a full body flinch. MK immediately felt bad. "Sorry... that was a bit of a low blow."

"Not unwarranted," Macaque sighed out, wrapping MK's headband around his forehead and tying it back up with more care than he treated the knot in his hair. He went silent, rubbing his eyes and looking for all the world an absolute wreck. He needed to sleep, clearly, but was fighting it off even now. "...Kid it's... complicated."

"Everything about our lives is complicated," MK replied, turning in time to see one of the monkeys he had carried to the beach jump into Macaque's lap for a grooming session of their own. He couldn't help but smile as he complied, grumpy expression set on his face as he went through the motions. "You don't have to tell me everything, not even eventually. Even I have things I don't tell anyone else."

Macaque looked up at that for only a moment, but his ears raised in indication that MK had his full attention. "I don't doubt that for a second, somehow."

"Just... is it something I did?"

"No," Macaque said quickly, shaking his head and scowling deeply. "No, Kid, I swear it's not anything you did. Or are doing. It's all on me."

"So Mei and I aren't scaring you, but you're scared for us," MK guessed, watching Macaque's face twisted in surprise and frustration. "Am I right?"

"Sometimes I forget how smart you are..." Macaque muttered, and MK clearly wasn't supposed to hear that. He pretended he didn't.

"I can promise to be more careful if you promise to try to sleep tonight," MK offered without missing a beat. "You don't have to worry about me so much if I'm more careful, but I'm worried about you too. You look..."

"Half dead, yeah, Peaches has made that very clear," Macaque said with a chuckle. But he nodded, tossing the baby monkey in his lap up to a nearby tree branch they caught with ease and watched them scurry up and up until they found one to settle down on. "I can't promise I will... but I can promise I can try."

"Trying is great."

Macaque didn't even get the change to "try" to sleep, as he moved to the base of said nearby tree and asked MK about his last few days. He didn't make it 5 minutes before dozing off, but MK didn't stop talking.

He wasn't sure if Macaque had passed out from exhaustion or if hearing the mundane actions of daily life with no demons around assured Macaque he had been alright and would be alright for a while. Overprotective Papa Monkey not needed for now. But just in case it was the later he went on and on, monkeys eventually surrounding them to listen as well.

If Macaque looked more relaxed than MK had seen him in a long while, and if he seemed to smile a bit in his sleep when MK accidentally called him "Pop" again... that was their secret for the day.

[the-night-writer1]

monkie dad au timeline b birth of ember?

"Easy sunshine I'm right here deep breaths" Red son said softly as he gently put his hands on the center of Mk's back. Gently rubbing his love's back with heated hands.Mk was leaning on the wall and taking deep breaths. It had started suddenly while Mk and Mei were decorating the nursery.

" yeah you got this Mk" Mei chimed in trying to be supportive only to receive an ice cold glare. She took a few steps back out of fear.

"you should go get some towels and pillows set up in the living room dragon horse girl. I'll get him through this contraction, and the midwife should be here within the hour" Red son instructed as he went back to rubbing circles into the center of his love's back. Mei pouted as she didn't really trust him still. So she stood there with her arms crossed as he ignored her.

"we should take him to a hospital! It be safer than a stupid mid-"

"MEI" MK hissed coldly as he turned his head to look at her again," I do not need this bullshit right now! Go do as he fucking asked before I move from this fucking wall to hit you upside the head!"

"easy sweetness, she was just expressing her opinion love. Deep breaths" Red son softly cooed to him as he put his forehead back on his forearms," I'm alright and I'm not offended."

" they all keep treating you like shit! It's -ah it's not fair the midwife wasn't even your-" Mk tried to say as he tensed up. He took a sharp breath in and out before he continued," your idea! It was mine -ack!"

"focus on breathing my love. I'm right here everything will be alright" Red cooed once more as Mei went to setup what he'd asked her to. She kinda of felt like an asshole now for assuming the home birth was his idea.

She really did need to give him an actual chance huh? She been a jerk to him since he showed up out of the blue wanting to help. Red took it in stride however. Never once confronting her or Pigsy about their treatment of him.

She listened to the sweet nothings he told Mk after she'd set up everything in the living room. She was confused by the sweet huffs she heard occasionally unaware Red was part Ox demon.

"your doing great my beloved just keep breathing like that. Am I helping at all do you want me to stop?" Red softly cooed as the contraction ended for the time being. He'd done his research and was going about what he'd read help relieve some pain. Also what his mother had suggested .

"ngh... don't stop just move up a little bit" Mk said softly as he exhaled a small amount of smoke. Still dealing with magic shedding even now. Red son did as instructed while kissing Mk's shoulder reassuringly.

"you're doing great, let me know if you feel any urges or shifting. I'll keep an eye on these contractions" Red son said sweetly as he continued to rub Mk's back. Though Red did get a bit aggravated when he received a call twenty minutes later that midwife he'd originally hired decided she was too good to deliver his baby. Thankfully he had second less known midwife on standby.

"-and his contractions are getting closer together how fast can you get here?" Red son asked over the phone he helped Mk to the living room set up.

"give me about twenty minutes" the midwife said as they dug around," keep an eye on those contractions dear."

"Red my water broke" Mk said as he started to panic. He was shaking as Red son lowered him on to the mat Mei had set up. Red son put his phone on speaker and set it down.

"his water just broke, I have him off his feet" Red son said as he gave Mk a few reassuring kiss. Mei got a wash cloth and wiped sweat off Mk's brow.

"alright dear, check to see how dialed he is I'm on my way now." The midwife said,"keep his breathing steady."

"I..I think he's crowning" Red son said trying to remain calm as he carefully removed the wet clothing,"what should we do?"

"don't panic I'll send my understudy he's much closer. Just as experienced as I am. He should be there in 5-6 minutes" the midwife said before they hung up. Red son went and got into a position where mk could lay in his upper body in Red son's lap.

"I need to-' Mk started to say they both stopped him.

" not yet just breath in and out okay? Aid will be here soon" Red son cooed as he rubbed circles in to his love's hand as mk groaned. Soon the understudy arrived. A Carmel blonde who quickly took charge. He separated Mk's legs.

"alright big push. Count to ten then-" the midwife tried to instruct but he couldn't even finish. Mk was giving it his all into pushing. Red son and Mei each holding one of his hands.

Soon a loud cry was heard and the understudy held up the baby with a smile,"there's your little lady fellas."

" you did amazing Sunshine" Red son said before giving Mk a passionate kiss. The two were so clearly in love as they celebrated the moment as Ember was cleaned up.

[starsfic]

100+ years after his death Red Son meets MK's reincarnation

This was it.

A century of mourning, of pining, of coping, had passed.

Red Son considered the flowers he held as he strolled down the street. It had just been a few minutes, but it was seared in his mind. One moment, he had been walking back to his empty penthouse. The next-

"I am so sorry!"

Realization and warmth as he sat there, gaping up at a person who was both so familiar and a stranger. Qi Xiaotian's reincarnation had sputtered another apology and something about being late before taking off down the street, not fast enough that Red didn't see the logo of their apron. Red wasn't sure how long he had sat there. When he had finally gotten to his feet he had burst into tears.

Because finally.

Even better, the other had dropped a notebook in his rush. It was full of writing, not drawing, but it was all about the legends of Sun Wukong and the Monkie Kid. Red had it in his pocket now, ready to present it to him. He turned the corner and ah. There.

It was a small tea shop. But it was right where the noodle shop had been. In the doorway, Red could see that it was empty. All except the reincarnation, cleaning the counter.

...should he do this?

Qi Xiaotian would want him to move on. He knew that. Red had spent so long living as a ghost and he knew it wasn't what his love would want. But he was here now. And the notebook was burning a hole in his pocket.

He cleared his throat and walked across the street.

To be polite, to not have them be enemies this time around, Red knocked. Those warm brown eyes glanced over. "Sorry, we're close- Oh!" The other straightened, a flush forming over their cheeks. "It's you. The guy I knocked over."

He chuckled, stepping inside. "Yeah, it's me." Red wasn't mad about it, couldn't be mad, when it had brought his Noodle Boy back into his life.

"Sorry about that," they apologized, apology in those big eyes. "It's just that my boss hates me to run late and I wasn't-" Red chuckled again, stopping them. (Why was he chuckling so much? Was it the haze of finally finding them?)

"It's quite alright. It was my fault, really. I wasn't looking where I was going." He hefted up the small, simple bouquet. Red hadn't been sure what the other liked this time around and he wasn't willing to mess it up. "This is to apologize."

"Oh!" They were frowning though. "That's so sweet. But-" A small, kitten-like sneeze escaped them and Red couldn't help but coo. They chuckled, pulling out a tissue to wipe their nose. "Yeah, I'm allergic to flowers."

Red hissed, trying to not berate himself. "Sorry about that." He hefted the flowers away from the counter and reached into his pocket. "I also have this? You dropped it when we ran into each other." The other's eyes lit up and they gasped.

"My notebook!" He handed it over, trying to not light his hair on fire as they cooed over it. "I was so worried about it!" They hugged it to their chest, grin bright and beautiful. "Thank you so much! I have no idea how to repay you, uh..." They raised a brow, clearly wondering.

"Qi Red," Red said immediately. It had been his name since Xiaotian had asked him to stay with him. "And no need. All I really want is to know your name."

The other stared at him before their smile turned softer, fonder.

"It's Long Chenjiang."

[strange-lace]

Macaque

I was in the mood to make more content for Inverted AU, so here’s a short-ish fic of how episode 9 would go in this AU with Macaque, Wukong, and MK! Enjoy the shadowpeach!

Another demon defeated but still no sign of Sun Wukong. Macaque let out a sigh before rolling his shoulders to bring relief to tense muscles. Oh well, he'll just have to keep looking, not like he hasn't been at it for years now. At least this city he wandered to was quite nice with pleasant people, nothing too out there aside from demon attacks.

"Hey! Hey you! Shadow monkey man!" Macaque wouldn't deny that the sudden voice made him jump, considering he was on top of a pretty tall building. Apparently not tall enough to stop the young man from climbing up the side, somewhat out of breath yet that didn't deter from the determined look on his face. He simply brushed his messy hair out of his eyes and adjusted his teal backpack, which looked surprisingly heavy. Macaque couldn’t help but be somewhat curious as to what was in that thing.

Wait was that the Monkey King's staff in his hands?

Indeed it was, he'd recognize that weapon anywhere.

“Ah, you must be the Monkie Kid I’ve been hearing so much about, am I right?” That got him a look of suspicion before the young man also seemed to remember the staff in his hands, causing him to let out an amused huff at his own paranoia.

“Yeah, the staff kind of gives it away, don’t it? Name’s MK though. Now whomst is you? Most of the time, demons who ask me who I am are five seconds away from trying to kill me.” Macaque couldn’t help but chuckle at that, already finding that he was starting to like this little guy and his attitude. Perhaps if a person like MK was chosen to wield Wukong’s staff, then perhaps that meant his love had finally started turning things around for the better. Maybe it meant he finally stopped being someone he wasn’t all for the sake of keeping a memory alive.

“The name’s Macaque, though, the Six-Eared Macaque is actually my full name. But what brings you up here exactly bud? I doubt you’d climb up this high just for anybody.” MK’s face showed that he wanted to argue that point out of principle before remembering his purpose for coming up here.

“Simple, teach me.”

Wait what?

“What what?” MK scoffed at the question.

“I want you to teach me to fight, like how you fought that demon back there. I don’t intend on leaving you alone until you do and that is a threat!” Macaque didn’t doubt that he meant it that way and could very easily follow through on that. Sensing he wasn’t going to get out of this, he let out a sigh before giving MK a smile.

“You sure your mentor won’t have a problem with me teaching you?”

“Bold of you to assume Wukong’s disapproval will stop me.”

“Well alright then, I think we’re gonna get along just fine, bud.”

---

“I see what you’re trying to do, you’re afraid of holding back and giving your enemy the opportunity to win. But the first strike isn’t the most important one. Every strike counts. Other people may tell you that patience and focus don’t matter but a fool allows himself to rush without restraint. While you have power inside you, you have to use it carefully. Take the power to defend others, not just destroy those who stand in your way. You’re not a weapon kid, you wield the weapon above all else.”

---

It started with a fairly innocent question from MK after one of their training sessions, him slowly going through a water bottle given to him by Macaque while the monkey made them something to eat. He needed a distraction to stop himself from taking over the cooking, years of feeding others making him feel guilt the moment someone else took over.

“So Mac, how exactly do you know the Monkey King?” To his credit, Macaque only fumbled the slightest bit at that sudden question and was able to save the plate before it crashed to the floor.

“Oh um well… funny thing about that is, well… we used to be together actually. Like y’know… together-together,” he explained while he plated their food, wincing internally at how awkward he sounded. With his back towards MK, Macaque didn’t notice him go tense and grip the couch arm so tightly that the wood underneath cracked at the pressure.

“Used to be together, huh? What happened?” Macaque couldn’t help but shiver at the chill which traveled down his spine. MK’s voice was perfectly even and calm yet he was filled with an overwhelming fear that warned him to not turn around and remain perfectly still until the danger passed.

His ears twitched at the sound of sparks behind him, magic power permeating through the air.

“I… I messed up honestly. We had an argument about something, I don’t even remember what it was so long ago. But I had to leave to just get some space and air before I said something I’d regret, something I couldn’t take back. It was only meant to be a couple hours but some stuff out of my control happened and by the time I got back… Wukong was gone. I had been looking for him for centuries after that and then… well then you found me.”

“What, you hoped getting on my good side would mean that you’d win the Monkey King back?” His tone promised nothing good if Macaque kept digging himself a deeper hole.

“No! No, nothing like that at all. I don’t expect Pe-...Wukong to take me back or anything like that. I just… wanted the chance to apologize to him is all. If he wants anything to do with me afterwards, then I want that to be his choice. Nothing more, I swear.”

MK remained silent behind him before the sudden tension in the air dissipated as quickly as it appeared. Macaque let out a sigh of relief, slowly turning around to see MK still sitting on his couch, placing the staff back in his ear nonchalantly.

“Fair enough, sounds like you both were just idiots who don’t know how to communicate. If you actually intended on using me to get to the Monkey King, you’d have actually mentioned him during our training and yet you haven’t. And you can’t lie to save your life anyway. Just don’t be an idiot again alright? Monkey King… Wukong, he’s a mess and I don’t think he could handle thinking he’s been abandoned again.”

Macaque could feel his heart break at the idea that his Peaches, his love, thought that he had left permanently. He wanted nothing more than to run to him now and make things right. But that was Wukong’s decision to make, nobody else’s.

The two ate their food in silence after that.

---

Sun Wukong may have supposedly “lost his edge”  but he was by no means dense or oblivious.

And while he was certainly happy about his successor’s vast improvement over the past couple weeks, a part of him sensed something was off. Like his successor was hiding something from him. And those moves he watched MK use to absolutely demolish the old mural, the Monkey King swore he had seen them before.

But it couldn’t possibly be. He hadn’t seen him in centuries. Not since he… left, like everyone else.

“I’m impressed, my boy! Tell me, how did you do that? Have you been seeing another mentor perhaps?” Wukong asked, his typically serene smile straining the slightest bit at the idea of his son student learning from someone who wasn’t him. The sensible part of his brain was gently poking at him, reminding him that it seemed silly to get upset about such a thing as, if anything, MK had appeared significantly calmer during their training compared to when they started. This could be a good thing, it told him.

Yet it was silenced by the majority of his brain which ran on fatherly protectiveness and had immediately been plagued by images of the worst case scenario. A demon had approached MK, promising him to make him stronger while also poisoning his student as a bid to turn him against the Monkey King before stealing his powers or, Heavens forbid, harming him.

No, Wukong refused to even allow a chance of that happening, logic and reasoning be damned.

“Hey, you’re the one always going on about ‘patience and focus’, I’m just finally putting what you said into practice,” MK answered, the picture of being casual which only set off further alarm bells within Wukong’s head. But before he could question him further, MK’s phone dinged to tell him of a new text message which he quickly read over, his eyes widening slightly at the message.

“Welp, looks like I gotta cut things short for now Wukong, something came up and I gotta head out. See ya later! Don’t forget to eat something tonight and sleep, I will know if you don’t.” And with that, MK was off through the hole he had created in the wall where the mural was before the Monkey King could get a word in edgewise. 

Wukong waited long enough to allow MK to get a reasonable distance away before transforming into a bird, flying after his successor.

Something fishy was going on and the Monkey King was determined to find out what it was.

---

“Why exactly are we climbing up to this giant mountain again Mac?” MK wheezed, hating to admit it but this hike had genuinely winded him despite all his training. He had immediately gone to Macaque’s place the moment he got his text only to be told to follow the six-eared demon, leading them to where they were now.

“Well, consider this your ‘final exam’ bud! I want you to use everything I’ve taught you to fight against me, no holding back. Think you can do that?” MK couldn’t help the twitch at the corners of his mouth at the sight of Macaque’s genuine excitement as he explained, all six ears twitching while his tail was wagging like a dog. A demon who was centuries old and had fought countless powerful demons had no right looking that endearing, but here MK was looking with his own two eyes.

MK gave a chuckle before straightening himself out, wordlessly pulling the staff out his ear.

“You sure you’re comfortable getting your ass kicked by me, Mac?” With a smirk, Macaque summoned his own weapon in a flash of purple with the beginning of two shadow clones pooling at his feet. They shyly peeked from the ground from behind their master.

“Oho, a couple training sessions with me for a month and you think you have what it takes to defeat me, bud? Well then, bring it Monkie Kid!” MK didn’t hesitate to charge forward with Macaque mirroring him, weapons at the ready and adrenaline already running through their veins.

“Enough!”

A sudden force landed in between them with enough force to send them both flying backwards.

MK and Macaque recovered in time to see who decided to interrupt their duel.

Both of their hearts nearly stopped at the sight of the enraged Monkey King but for vastly different reasons.

“You have 5 seconds to explain yourself for trying to harm my-” Wukong’s rage quickly deflated as the dust cleared enough for him to truly see who it was he had thought was attacking MK. “Mango Flower?”

“Um… hello again, Peach Blossom. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” Macaque joked, voice weak as he restrained himself from acting out of bounds even if he wanted nothing more than to gather the other into his arms. It had been so long, far too long. 

He nearly broke at the sight of tears beginning to form in Wukong’s eyes.

His resolve finally shattered as the Monkey King ran towards him, arms outstretched, and before Macaque knew it his legs were moving on their own. The wind was knocked out of him at how tight Wukong squeezed him yet he returned the embrace back with gusto, ignoring the groaning of his ribs. He simply buried his face into the other’s fur, the smell of peaches still there even after all these years. Faintly, Macaque realized he was also crying once he felt a wetness on his cheeks.

Macaque let out a squeak in surprise as Wukong picked him up in the hug and spun him around, the sound of his laughter echoing throughout the mountain. The sight of such unabashed joy on his face was enough to make the six-eared demon to start laughing too, joy contagious in the best of ways. 

MK would deny it unless under the threat of death but he couldn’t help but smile as he watched the two monkeys get lost in their own little world. It made the guilt which nagged at his chest at having to manipulate the two to make this meeting happen ease up, seeing how happy the two were.

“It’s been so long…” Wukong whispered as he placed Macaque back on his feet, gently cradling his face as if afraid that if he stopped touching the other, that he’d disappear again. “But, why are you here? I had thought that you hated me, isn’t that why you…” Macaque went stiff in shock before taking the Monkey King’s hands into his own.

“What? No! If anything, I thought you hated me for leaving instead of talking things out and that’s why you were gone when I came back. I always intended on coming back to you Peaches, I swear on it.” Wukong’s eyes went wide at that, extremely close to crying again a second time that day. “I had been looking for you for centuries now to apologize.”

And now the warm feeling was gone, leaving MK to bite down on his staff to stop himself from screaming at how much those two had failed at the simple of communication.

“We’ve both been absolutely foolish, haven’t we?” Wukong couldn’t help but laugh at it all, which only worsened as he noticed all six of Macaque’s ears turn red in embarrassment.

“Yeah, I guess we have been-” His words were cut off as the Monkey King grabbed his scarf, pulling him into a sudden kiss that made Macaque jolt in surprise before he practically melted into the other’s arms. A purr rumbled in his chest and neither noticed their tails wind around each other.

The sound of MK clearing his throat, loudly, was enough to get them to break apart in embarrassment.

“If you two are done being romantic idiots, I have to beat the shit out of Macaque to prove that I’m better than him. I mean ace my ‘final exam’.” The grin on his face showed that he was lying through his teeth.

“Don’t think I forgot about all your trash talking, young man. How about it Peach Blossom? You willing to go all out with me and the kid?” 

Wukong’s face was the epitome of ‘Every part of my body wants to say yes but I shouldn’t.’ He was already terrible at saying no to MK and now with Macaque’s endearingly earnest face, he knew he was done for, at least with these two working together now.

“...Oh alright.”

The two mutual cheers at his agreement made Wukong feel slightly less guilty in letting his lessons go for a brief moment. But not completely.

But that was okay, Wukong was used to living with constant guilt.

[fosermi]

SEMI BACK FROM THE DEAD PEOPLE

That's right! I'm back! And I bring to you CHAPTER 3 OF GUARDIAN MACAQUE AU

WHY?! Well because I couldn't sleep well and it's 5 am fuck my headache I give you content!! Fair warning: Macaque is a soft monkey especially to kids AND YOU CAN PRY THIS HC FROM MY COLD DEAD HANDS ABDJFKCMCM

Some days, Biming would leave to sell the rice cultivated in their field to the neighbouring village. An oddity, Hóu realised. Why sell to another village? He didn't understand… After all, there were other houses in their village. 

"Hóu?" Ai's soft voice called for the demon. Oddly enough, it wasn't her usual tone that came through her call. 

Immediately detecting the shift from her usual beat, the black monkey jumped down from his position on the plum tree that grew in the back garden of the couple's home. The tree upon which the monkey would spend most of his free time on whenever he could. "You called, Mrs. Ai?" 

"Oh! Yes, dear…" her voice dripped with worry - fear even. In her arms a red cloak, outstretched as if allowing him to take it. "Could you please accompany Biming to the town today…?" Her eyes glimmering under the morning sun with worry, begged the black monkey to take on her request. 

Hóu, with an immediate nod, complied as he gently took the cloak from Ai's grasp. Hesitantly, the black monkey built up enough courage to ask the kind lady, her worry affecting his own. 

"Mrs. Ai… is everything alright…?" His hand reached out to Ai’s in an attempt to comfort her as his eyes locked with hers, taking notes of the high level of worry embedded deep within her honey-brown eyes.

Seeing the concern in Hóu's golden eyes, Ai's tense shoulders fell as she let out a shaky breath. "Ling Fa… he warned us that demons moved in close to the rout Biming takes to the other village…" 

Ling Fa… yes…

He was the family's guardian spirit… it was his duty to protect the family, right? Of course he would warn the kind couple.

By late morning, Biming and Hóu had headed out on the road on the small mule-pulled cart with their cargo safely secured. Ling Fa had stayed behind to ensure Ai's safety as he would not have been much help with manual labor. 

Hóu rode on the back of the cart as his mind drifted off to the thoughts of the strange family guardian. They had previously met a couple of times. Ling Fa wasn't a concerning figure, in fact Hóu believed he was incapable of fighting due to his pacifistic tendencies. 

Throughout the journey, Biming and Hóu held up a small lighthearted conversation, a conversation that seemed to have only lasted a couple of minutes was in fact just two hours. 

Soon the duo were at town close to noon, Hóu couldn't believe how lively everything was! Carts and vendors and buyers were everywhere! If he was being honest, Hóu's entire world seemed to start spinning due to the overload of his senses. 

"Welcome to the market, Hóu!" Biming said with a bright smile as he handed Hóu some earplugs. "They might not completely drown out all the new senses but its something at least… if you ever need a breath at all, then tell me and we can go to a more tame part of the town were we can rest for a bit"

Hóu's reply came in the form of a nod. However, even though his senses are over exerting himself, Hóu knew that he had to allow Biming to sell their crops so they could earn the money needed. So, the black monkey decided to sit right behind the cart after putting on the earplugs, mostly hidden from the front view as she observed how Biming bargained and sold his crops. 

Eventually, daylight started diminishing as the sun was starting to head down the horizon, turning the shy a nice shade that reminded the monkey of orange peaches… something about the sunset seems to have upset the demon and he felt a pang of pain in his chest. 

Upon noticing the sadness embedded on the monkey’s face, Biming decided that it was time to head home. "Hóu, let's go home." Came the familiar voice of the young man that got Hóu moving onto the back of the cart, and once again head off back home. "We should be back home just after sunset" Said Biming in an attempt to comfort his companion, which seemed to have worked somewhat. 

The ride back didn't have many complications, it was a smooth ride back with a few conversations every now and again. Once home, Biming and Hóu carried their goods into the home as they announced their return, only to be greeted by the smell of Ai's amazing cooking as they sat down by the table to eat. 

Biming was telling Ai how well Hóu had taken to the city and how well behaved he was. He kept on flattering the black monkey demon which got Hóu to stutter every now and again when he decided to speak up. Soon enough, it was time to head to bed after it was decided that from then on, Hóu would accompany Biming to the market. 

His days spent here in the small farm house by the valley with Ai and Biming went by faster than he expected. And soon, they would have a new addition to their family in the form of a child between the couple. 

The couple at first didn't know how Hóu would react to children, as throughout Ai's pregnancy, he had done his best to avoid her as much as possible without angering her. He however instead spent his time with Biming learning how to trade and sell as well as bargain and buy goods. 

When their daughter was born, the couple found something they never had expected to see. That night they had awoken to the sound of soft cries coming from the adjacent room that Hóu had offered the baby to stay in with him so he could make sure that their daughter was safe from all harm. Surprisingly, Hóu had also swore it as his duty out of the blue one night before she was even born. 

What surprised them however, was what they saw in the room that night. They had found Hóu gently cradling their small daughter in his arms. Biming most of all was surprised at how Hóu could be so delicate with such a small fragile being and yet possess strength strong enough to carry the entire cart filled with supplies. 

Hóu looked over at the couple with worry laced all very his face. "S-sorry… she won't stop crying… she must be hungry!" It surprised Ai how well he knew how to manage a baby and how he could tell what was wrong. She stood there for a moment as she smiled at the panicked monkey before taking her daughter to feed her in the other room, leaving Biming and Hóu together in the room. 

Biming sat down next to Hóu on the bed who seemed a bit anxious. "Is something the matter Hóu?" Came the concerned question from Biming. 

Hóu's tail flicked anxiously like an irritated cat, he lowered his head and talked in barely a whisper "she's just so small Biming… will she really survive?" 

With a comforting hand on Hóu's shoulder, a smile found its way onto Biming's face "with you worrying about her like this… I know she'll be perfectly fine Hóu…" and with that, Ai came back in, carrying their sleeping daughter in her arms. 

Without a second to lose, Hóu was up on his feet to give the bed to the sleeping baby. But instead, Ai gave him the small bundle of joy with a smile. Something within him clicked that night, and for the first time he remembered something from his past. 

A conversation? 

"Hey, [~~~] why so stiff?" 

"Because! They're so small! So defenseless! How can they survive?!" A chuckle rang out throughout what seemed like a cave as the sound echoed. 

"They're children! Of course, they're small! But hey! They seem to like you!" 

"I… I guess they do…" 

"You know… if you're really worried about them so much why not take care of them?" 

"Don't you already do that?" 

"Well, technically, yes? But what I meant was you could watch over the little ones and make sure they're safe?" 

"... alright, I'll do it!" 

Hóu held the small child close to his chest, a stifled sob escaped him as a few tears flowed down his face and onto the blankets that wrapped around the baby. This concerned the couple as they barely see Hóu cry, in fact. This is only the second time they've seen him cry ever since finding him that fateful day. 

Just before they could react, Hóu faced them. Face stained with tears but his eyes held a strong determination. "No matter what, I'll make sure she becomes big and strong. I swear on my life" 

With his sudden declaration, the couple found a sense of peace and comfort. Ever since then, Hóu had appointed himself their daughter's caretaker and would help Ai and Biming with their daughter in whatever way he could. There had been countless times when Ai or Biming would search for their daughter only to find her asleep on Hóu who had her safely asleep on or under his favorite tree in their garden, sometimes asleep himself. 

Such were the peaceful times, the days he wouldn't have to worry about much except for their family's safety. Nothing could happen to them, he used to think. Not until the incident. 

Golden eyes fluttered open as he heard a faint sound of someone calling out to him. "I'm heading off to work dad!! Text you later!!" Followed by a door slamming shut and a soft ringing of a bell. 

With a sigh, the black monkey sat up and combed through his messy black hair before getting up and heading to the bathroom to freshen up. Mi Hóu looked at the mirror and examined himself only to be taken back to see a human face before remembering that his life with Ai, Biming, and their daughter Chu-Hua had ended a couple of hundred years ago. 

He had remembered everything since that time, and his true name is Liu er Mihóu otherwise known as the Six Eared Macaque. And he remembered that at this current time, he has a son. A son that he had to look out for in a world of hidden demons. But here's the catch, he can't let his son know that he himself is a demon even though he already knows about demons. Which is why he uses a human disguise. 

"Another regular day of work I guess…" he mumbled as he heard the ringing of the bell hung at the door indicating that someone had entered their home, or to be more specific, his clinic. Little did he know that this day would be the end of his daily routine of curing demons and teaching at a dojo. 

[lunar-wandering]

Reflection

hi yes, welcome to the Angst Fic about one of my Monkie Kid OC’s-

i figured Aeolian needed an Angsty Backstory to explain the whole Phantom Thief and No Mirrors thing, so I... kinda went ham and made one, no thanks to the encouragement of my friends....

anyways, here we go!

Warning: injury and... i guess you could call it a panic attack? maybe? There’s definitely Something Like That happening here

Word Count: 1.9k

Ringing.

The first thing Aeolian noted was the ringing.

It was the first thing he heard as he came to, slowly sitting up and trying to get a grip of his surroundings.

The second thing he noted was the mirrors.

The walls were covered in mirrors, some small, some large, some ornate, others simple. There was not a single space that did not hold a reflective surface.

He was alone. Alone with just his reflection, coming from all directions.

There was no way in hell he was staying here.

Standing up and looking around, he couldn't see any obvious door. But he had to have been brought in here somehow, which meant there was a way in, which, obviously, meant there had to be a way out. He started feeling the small spaces between the mirrors, searching for any seams or switches that would indicate a hidden door of some sort.

Laughter suddenly burst out from behind him, making him startle, his fur fluffing up in surprise as a chill ran down his spine. The ringing in his ears, which had started to fade away without him noticing, suddenly came back tenfold. A wave of nausea washed over him, causing him to nearly stumble as he whirled around, facing the unknown source of the haunting sound.

Someone...or maybe something, would be more accurate, was slowly coming out of one of the mirrors on the opposite side of the room. Try as he might, Aeolian couldn't find any kind of identifying features. He couldn't tell what it was, and that-

That terrified him.

"Aw, is the cute little monkey trying to escape?" It said, in a voice that made Aeolian want to instinctively curl up and hide. He resisted the urge, standing up taller and trying to hide the fact that he was shaking. He only barely succeeded, his tail still shaking behind him in fear.

"Who are you?" Aeolian asked, trying his best not to let his voice waver. "Why am I here?"

The being chuckled again, in that awful, horrible laugh.

"Hm. Somebody is interested in you." It hissed out, amusement coating it's words. "I am merely.... testing you. I must say, you do not cut an imposing figure at all, little monkey. But... Maybe you'll impress me."

Aeolian really didn't want to hear another sentence come out of this creature's mouth. Every word felt like an ocean of anxiety passed over him, making bile start to rise in his throat. He couldn't handle...this, whatever this is.

Panic was starting to over take him. He couldn't think straight.

He summoned a gust of wind, hurling it at the being. It was strong enough to make the glass on some of the closer mirrors crack, his reflection in them distorting.

It was at this point that Aeolian realized something horrifying.

The being didn't have a reflection.

The wind gust slammed ineffectively against the creature, who remained unfazed to the attack, not even flinching.

"Hmph. Pitiful." It said, and then suddenly, Aeolian was slammed against the wall, the previously cracked mirrors shattering with the force of it, raining glass down all around him. He hissed as the falling glass cut his shoulders and arms as it brushed pass him. Slowly, he started to peel himself off the wall, putting his hand against it for support as he stumbled-

Only to choke as the was suddenly some... force shoving him back up against it, pinning his arms and holding a horrible pressure around his neck. He struggled, tail thrashing wildly as he tried to move his arms up to claw at the force around his neck, to no avail.

It wasn't tight enough to strangle him. But it could become so at any moment.

The being slid closer to him, until it held one clawed hand up to Aeolian's face, cupping his chin, tilting his head side to side as it looked him over. At this point, Aeolian couldn't stop himself from trembling.

"Hm. How disappointing." It said, and Aeolian whimpered in pain as the creature suddenly drew its clawed finger down Aeolian's cheek, deep enough to draw blood, deep enough to scar. "I expected more from you, little monkey."

This couldn't be how it ends. Aeolian wouldn't let this be how it ends.

Summoning more energy than he thought he had, Aeolian summoned a sharp blade of wind, bringing it swiftly down on the creatures face. It reared back, and Aeolian dropped to the ground, free of the force that had been holding him to the wall. He panted, trying to recover from that horrible feeling of near suffocation, but still tried to stand back up, knowing that the fight was far from won.

He'd only made it halfway up before the creature laughed again, nearly sending Aeolian tumbling back down to the ground from the sheer energy that came with it.

"Interesting." It hissed, "Perhaps you will be of some use after all."

It waved a clawed hand, and Aeolian watched in frozen fear as a small mirror, the only mirror in the room that remained undamaged, floated down into the being's grasp. The creature turned, and slowly started to approach him again.

Aeolian scrambled to back away, tripping on his feet as he did so, until his back was up against the wall again. He threw his arms in front of himself, his tail also wrapping around in a feeble attempt at protection.

It was a useless endeavor.

The being laughed it's horrible, horrible laugh again, and the ringing increased ten fold-

It stuck it's clawed hand right into Aeolian's chest.

Aeolian screamed, trying to pull back, his tail swishing erratically from the pain. His whole body burned, and he felt the creatures long claws prod and twist, searching for something, before grasping and Aeolian felt like he'd lost the ability to breathe altogether, and his struggling and squirming increased with the desperate need for the creature to stop touching it, stop touching me-

The claws pulled out, painfully slowly, taking what they had grasped along with it, leaving Aeolian to crumple to the ground, feeling cold, hollow-

Empty.

He stared unblinkingly at the creature, knowing he should be feeling something, anything, but it all felt...muted. He couldn't think. He was empty.

The ringing was back. It was all that he could hear.

Aeolian watched, watched as the creature took what it had stolen, something that shown with a bright glow, and looked like it'd give off the sensation of warmth, of home.

He wanted it back so badly, yet could not bring himself to move as the creature slid what it had stolen into the small ornate mirror, claiming what it had stole.

He could just barely hear the creature laugh over the ringing, and it was at this point that Aeolian's body finally decided it had had enough.

His vision went black, and he passed out.

---

When Aeolian woke up again, he was in his bedroom, lying on top of the covers.

A dream. He wanted to believe that it had all been a dream.

He knew that it wasn't.

He could feel the blood from the fresh cut on his cheek still dripping down the side of his face. He could feel the pain of where the glass shards had cut him on his arms and shoulders.

But most of all, he could still feel that empty coldness, right where something warm used to be.

...He'd have to treat the cuts.

Standing up, he slowly made his way to the bathroom, putting his hand against the wall for support.

He entered, flickering on the light-

The bathroom mirror shown back at him.

His reflection was nowhere to be seen.

Stumbling forwards, he placed both hands on the mirror, drawing as close to it as possible, to make sure that this was real, he wasn't hallucinating, his reflection is gone-

He could hear the laughter ringing in his ears.

Panic planted it's roots in him.

Drawing his hands back, he summoned wind around his fists-

And smashed his mirror into pieces.

He stood there for a moment, panting, listening to the dripping of the blood from the fresh cuts on his hands falling down and hitting the sink below.

There was silence. No laughter. No ringing.

Only silence.

Aeolian slowly backed away from where his mirror used to be. Quietly, shaking, he slid down, to the floor, bringing his knees up to his chest, his tail curling around him in a poor attempt at comfort.

He couldn't bring himself to cry. He was too shaken to.

---

Later, he would be told by an uncharacteristically serious Iva that she found him there, on the floor of the bathroom, trembling, staring at nothing, with glass shards surrounding him. He had refused to talk to her, refused to say anything, as she had removed him from the bathroom, and quickly and quietly cleaned his wounds. It was only when she had jokingly asked if he wanted her to buy him a new mirror that he had spoken, panicking, repeating "No. No mirrors.".

Apparently, it had taken her 6 minutes to get him to calm back down again. It had taken her another 20 to get him to fall asleep.

He managed to explain what had happened to her, somewhat, once he had woken up again, and was more coherent. She had sat there in thought, knowing that this was too serious of a situation to make a joke.

"Well." She eventually said, "What are you going to do?"

There was a moment of silence between them as Aeolian pondered that question.

"The....creature." He eventually started, lightly gripping his blankets. "It. It wanted something from me. It took something from me."

"How about this then." Iva said, "You simply take it back."

"How? How could I possibly manage to beat it-"

"I'm not saying you beat it. I'm saying you take it back."

Upon only receiving a confused look from the bedridden monkey, Iva sighed.

"I'm suggesting you steal it." She said.

"I....I don't think I could." Aeolian said, "I have no idea where it went, it could be anywhere, and, and besides, I don't know the first thing about stealing-"

"Then you can practice." Iva interrupted. "As soon as you feel better, I can set up a mock heist for you, at my place. After you get the basics down, you can start trying to lure the creature out. Steal some rare and mystical items. Make a show out of it. Even if it doesn't attract the creature's attention, it will still attract attention. Maybe you'll be able to find some people who know something about it."

"I- are you suggesting I become a phantom thief?" Aeolian asked.

"I didn't not suggest it."

"Iva, that's breaking the law."

Iva shrugged.

"Since when have I ever cared about breaking the law?" She said, and Aeolian stared at her in disbelief. "Besides, you'll only be stealing from rich people anyways. It'll be like a modern day Robin Hood kinda thing."

"And if I get arrested?"

"I'll break you out, of course."

There was a moment of silence as Aeolian contemplated his decision, as Iva watched patiently for her friend to accept the chaotic idea she had proposed. He always did accept her ideas, in the end.

And this time was no different.

"...Fine. It's not like we've got any better ideas." Aeolian finally sighed, and Iva cheered in response. "I do have one condition though."

"And what would that be?" Iva asked.

"If I end up falling in love with a detective during this process, I'm going to need you to smack me. Hard."

"Done." Iva said, holding out her hand. Aeolian accepted her handshake, although he winced at the brief sting from the cuts on his hands.

---

Three months later, shortly after meeting Haze, Iva would proceed to smack Aeolian on the head.

[jadethest0ne]

In need of Refueling, Chapter 2 - Silken Web

Summary:    “You?! Why would I trust you? You have brought me nothing but failure. Time and time again; nothing but disappointment!”

His father’s words might have been a result of his possession by the White Bone Spirit, but whether or not they were his true thoughts, Red Son vows to prove them wrong. To do so he seeks to attain a power strong enough to destroy his father’s immortal enemy. After all, he’d much rather throw fire at his problems.

Word Count: 1384

Ratings/Warnings:  Teen and up; injury, burns, angst and hurt/comfort, toxic thoughts caused by toxic parents

Notes: Time for another villain to appear! Big thanks to @painted-arachnid and @simplyfornardo  for helping me bounce ideas off of them. And also thanks to @lemonsqueazie for providing me with “Journey to the West” lore. I don’t know much about the original novel or other iterations, but I still tried to keep some things compliant with the lore. You should check all of them out, since they’re really great content creators with neat ideas!

Read on AO3

———-

Red Son stands in front of a decrepit market stand. Shriveled brown excuses for vegetation dust the bottom of containers labeled as produce and cooking ingredients. But the demon he is looking for is nowhere to be seen. He peers into the tented area covered by curtains with an unimpressed glare. Still, the spider insignia on the stand’s sign is unmistakable, so he calls into the gloom with a demanding, authoritative voice. “Spider Queen! I have come to have some words with you. I am looking for something and I think you have the information I seek!”

At first there is nothing. But a soft wind picks up around his ankles and a sultry whisper drifts out of the stand. “Come in…” it says.

Red Son glances around the area, then slips inside the curtains.

“Farther inside…” the voice calls.

Red Son knows a trap when he sees one, but he continues on without fear as he looks around for any traces of trickery. It is dusty and the area seems untouched, except for the circular disk that he just stepped on.

“Right there…” says the voice, and Red Son can hear the smile in it as the disk drops down revealing a trap door.

Red Son gives a tired sigh as he falls and activates flames underneath his feet, slowing his descent on his way down the sudden hole in the floor.

He lands smoothly and kicks up flames around his feet in a circle to push back any potential enemy waiting for him below. It is dark, and he can hardly see anything. He hears some drip of water echo, giving a hint of a cavernous area. A scuttling noise bounces around him.

Red Son holds his palm upward in front of him and brings a ball of flame to life, lighting up his surroundings. He is indeed in a cave, as he thought, and it is covered in spider webs. The webs rustle and bounce as a result of quick movements that Red Son forces his eyes to follow despite them still adjusting to the light. The scuttling and the web movements sweep around him, and he twists around adjusting into a defensive stance as he prepares for what is facing him.

As he turns around he finds who he is looking for directly in front of him. If one weren’t paying attention, one might mistake her as an attractive human woman with long black hair and sparkling green eyes. But her greyish-purple skin and sharp fangs reveal a more demonic nature. Her spider-like body, complete with eight spindly legs with sharp ends come into the light, and she lifts herself high above Red Son, looking down at him with the ease of someone who knows how much power she holds.

“Spider Queen,” Red Son says with as much control as he can, despite an uptick in his heart rate. He takes a bow.

“My, what a polite boy,” the eight-legged spider demon drolls amusedly in an earthy accent. “To whom do I owe the pleasure of visiting me down in my Silken Web Cave?”

Red Son straightens himself up and introduces himself. “I am Red Son - the son of the Demon Bull King and Princess Iron Fan.”

“Yes, and a fire demon it seems,” she says eyeing the flame in his palm warily. “Spiders like us do not take kindly to fire like that…” Her mouth twitches in a hint of a grimace, but the smile never leaves her eyes.

“I did this so I can see, not so I may harm you… as long as I don’t have to…” Red Son says keeping his expression cool, but a smile of his own twitching at the corner of his lips. “I have come to request your assistance.”

“Assistance?” Spider Queen says with a tittering laugh. “That is amusing! What would I be assisting with?”

“Information. I want to know of any artifact or power source strong enough to kill an immortal.”

The Spider Queen quirks an eyebrow. “Might you be looking to destroy the Monkie Kid? I hear he has been causing you trouble. But I also hear that he is not indestructible. Your flames or a good enough whack should do the trick, I’d say,” she says clicking one of her legs harshly against the ground for emphasis.

“Not the Monkie Kid. The Monkey King!”

“Oh, is he still wandering around these parts!? I suppose that makes sense given that the Monkie Kid has been giving us demons a hard time.” She crosses her arms and looks up, tapping a finger to her cheek. “Well… I don’t know of any specific artifact that could destroy someone as powerful as that…” She again, eyes Red Son’s flames. “Buuuut… I do know of a way to power up your fire in a way that might allow you to gain the upper hand in a fight against him.”

Red Son’s eyes light up and the fire in his hand flares with his excitement. “Really!? Magnificent! Tell me! I must know!” He grins widely and wickedly, barely containing himself.

“Hahaha, you lose your manners so quickly when you are excited it seems,” Spider Queen laughs without joy. “Why would I give you such information without anything in return? What do you have for me?”

Red Son’s grin doesn’t falter, spreading further to show his teeth. “Oh, I hear that you’re looking for rare and powerful ingredients, and I have some for you right here.” Red Son pulls a pouch out of his pocket and opens it to reveal dark hairs sticking out of it. “The Monkie Kid’s hair, leftover from his defeated clones. I’m sure that's worth a little bit of information, now isn’t it?”

Red Son can tell he’s got her interest by the way that her eyes glimmer with no help from the flame he wields.  She stretches out a hand, and two of her all too sharp legs reach toward him as well. “Yes!” she says, as if entranced by the sight of the hair.

“Uh, uh, uh!” Red Son tuts as he brings the bag close to the fire in his other hand, causing the Spider Queen to stop her advance. “I want my information first.”

Spider Queen’s smile tightens, and this time it doesn’t reach her eyes. “You’re a shrewd little boy. But yes, I will tell you.”

Red Son smiles and listens intently.

Her posture straightens and with a flick of her wrist she spools out a strand of thread that begins to take shape into an abstract picture of a flame. So skilled is the puppetry of her silk webs, that the false flame seems to dance. “The power you are looking for is called ‘The True Fire of Samadhi.’”

As she weaves her story, so does she weave pictures into her web. She creates the image of a ring of mountains around a taller one. “You must seek out the Flaming Mountains surrounding the Monkey King’s own Flower Fruit Mountain. He knows not that his own weakness lies within the very fires that seemingly protect his solitude.” The abstract map-like picture shifts to a mountain to the left, with an opening about midway up. “In the tallest eastern mountain, there is a cave that leads to a shrine that can only be revealed by the rising sun. In there, you will find the power you seek.” Spider Queen releases her webs, letting them dangle, lifeless. She shifts her stance and her speech from storyteller to businesswoman in a second. “Is that enough information for you, sugar?”

Red Son nods enthusiastically and hands over the pouch. “I will be on my way, now.”

Spider Queen picks her finger through the hairs in the pouch as if counting gold coins. She certainly handles the pouch as if it were just as precious. “Oh, and one more thing, sweetie,” she says, waving an errant hand over her shoulder. “A warning, since you seem like quite the impatient type. The power there is as old as the mountains themselves. It has the power to overwhelm if found in the wrong hands.”

Red Son scoffs, barely giving her words a second thought. As if there were any fire that he couldn’t handle. He leaves, having gotten what he came for.

<-- previous // next -->

[thesixearedjax]

My dreams story

Chapter 1 

POV {Redacted}: 

m-mom? What are you doing?! NO!! *Gunshot* 

“Ah! It was a dream... I hope...” I awoke from the dream (6366791) “Wait. What was I dreaming about again?” I forgot already? Odd.. I got up and got ready to go to school. As I was walking to school, I got a call from my friend Lunar. “Heyy bestie!!” “Hey Lunar, how's your morning so far?” “It's been good!” “Thats good. Hey, I`ll talk to you at lunch Oki?” “Oh ok..” I walked past some medium pink roses that also have white roses as well. I was wearing a Halloween hoodie (even though it was only September), jean shorts and black tights with black furry boots. 

When I got to school, I could tell that it was gonna be a shit day. Two fights already? It's like 7:59 in the morning!! “*Mumbles* I just want breakfast...” I walked into the giant building and walked to the cafeteria and sat down at my usual spot in the corner. “Reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee” “AHH! The hell Wukong??” My best friend decided at the last minute to be loud and hug me. “Sorry {Redacted}!” “It's ok, but please don't do that again.” “Oh alright..” my friend is trans and I like to call Him Sun Wukong, cause he simps for Monkey King in Lego Monkie Kid. I personally simp for Macaque, RedSon, MK, and Mei. Man, that’s a lot of characters... we got breakfast and sat back down. “Hey Sunny Boi, do you know what we are doing in science I forgot again..” “I don't remember either” “Oh well guess we`ll be surprised!” “Yep!” At 8:45 we departed to go to our classes. 

The entire day felt like a fever dream, but it didn't look like it. (927 48 2 373261) I got back home. “Home alone again? Not even a note damnit.” I went to the kitchen to get a snack. 

???`s POV: 

“Heh, you don't even remember the deal you made! Perfect.” 

I was watching J-{Redacted} again, after they ate their food, they left a note on faer front door. 

They were about twenty feet in the air on the swing. “I think this is a grand time to reintroduce myself! He's gonna fall off the swing and through my portal, and onto a bean bag chair! Splendid!” 

{Redacted}`s POV:  

“AHH!!” I was falling. not again! No! I landed on a purple beanbag. “Where am I?” “Welcome!” “Wha- where am I?!” 

Chapter 2 

Where I was is still a mystery. “That is not important. What is important is that you are here to complete our deal!” “Deal?” “You really don't remember? Your job is to travel across the multiverse for me, you wanted an adventure.” they said. It was true I wanted a adventure... but I wasn`t expecting to basically be kidnapped! “Oki... um lemme guess.. Today is the day I start traveling the multiverse?” “Correct!” How did I forget?? “Oki soo that it?” “Yeah. Bye" 

Yet again I fell through a portal. Oh, shiiiiiiiiiiiii I landed on some gray looking trees. Wait.. Gray trees!?! “Oh, I'm in the mindscape.” I fell outta the tree. “OW! Mother of sins! Fuck!” I looked around my surroundings. Gray trees were everywhere, tall gray grass aswell. Something caught my attention. Bill... I should awaken him! I walked over to Bills statue and reached out my hand. Then I shook his hand, while I waited for him to return to normal, I sat on a nearby rock. “I'm back?” I heard Bill`s voice say. I looked up and he was suddenly Infront of me. “So, are you the one who set me free?” Bill asked. “Ye I am” “Why? You know who I am right?” “Yes, I do, you are Bill Cipher!” I exclaimed. Bill looked a little surprised. “So, why did you free me?” “I wanted to, that’s all!” I then quickly said. “Yeah sure...” Bill was obviously skeptical.  

Chapter 3 

Bill`s Pov: 

This kid is obviously hiding something, I just need to figure out what. The kid was wearing a black hoodie, jean shorts and tights underneath, with a pair of knee-high boots with fur poking out. They had short dark purple hair with the front of their hair bright red to contrast with the purple. They also had a backpack next to them. “What's in the backpack?” “Hm? Oh! Wait when did that appear?” they questioned. “Let's see what's inside!” they then said. I floated nearby/looking over their shoulder. They opened the backpack and pulled out a sticky note that was attached to a sketchbook, the note said ‘Hey {Redacted}! This a backpack for you, it has some of your stuff as you can see and a bunch of your favorite snacks! I hope you enjoy :)’ 

“Soo the stuff is yours?” “I guess so, well honestly I'm just glad they gave me my sketch book.” they replied. “Ooooh can I see your drawings?? Are there any of me?” I asked mostly jokingly. “Yeah, I have one of you, it's you as yourself and what I think you would look like as a human, but I think that it's still in my room.” they flipped to a probably supposed to be blank page and there the drawing was. “Oh. There it is!” they exclaimed. I grabbed the drawing and examined it. “Ooh the suit is nice! And I like the crown shaped eye patch!” Then I looked at the description. “My weaknesses are not making deals and lavender! Making deals is what I'm good at and I don't like the smell of lavender!” I was a little angry at the fact they knew a lot about me and my weaknesses. “You done ranting?” they asked, clearly not caring too much. “I was not ranting!” “Ima take that as a no.” I glared at them; they moved a little bit away from me but still had the same face. 

{Redacted}`s Pov: 

Well, I was expecting him to be a little mad. But I didn't really want to look as scared as I was, so I just moved a little away but kept the same expression. I was actually kinda scared though, if he wanted, he could torture me with a snap of his fingers! I grabbed the picture from him and put it in the backpack and slung it over my shoulder. I wonder what my friends are doing... I stood up and said, “So are we gonna do something or just stay here and be bored?” “Well, I`m gonna go back to the nightmare relm! You can stay here!” “Wh-what?! Nuh-uh! You are not leaving me behind!! I'm coming with you.” I was shocked. “Kid I don't think the nightmare relm is where you want be, you humans are very fragile!” “I think I`ll manage” I don`t want to be abandoned. 242461 

To decipher the numbers: https://www.quotev.com/story/15108326/how-i-make-secret-messages-And-messages-to-decipher

to be continued

[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.