#looking for mac? just follow the trail of monkeys

[jebbliink]

This is a common occurrence now that Mac is back on FFM

[itsabouttimex2]

Where's Wukong in LSO? Is he like retired and far away? Just doesn't want to butt into how MK is mentoring his student? Sorry if I'm being too noisy. Just curious about the au ^^'

(No worries, dear! I love answering questions about the things I write anyhow! 💕 I’ll go into a few characters here!)

Let’s Start Over

Friends and Family

After many, many long years… Sun Wukong, the Great Sage Equal to Heaven… has retired, actually!

Our lovable Sage is kicking around wherever he pleases (with a strange shadow following him about), leisurely traveling the world and enjoying everything that it has to offer. He stops for fans and scholars alike, signing autographs and answering questions.

The ginger-furred simian especially enjoys visiting different zoos and aquariums to admire the animals- and they seem to like him, too. Old Sun also stops by local pastry shops pretty often, looking for something sweet and made of peaches. He’s got his photo hung on at least two dozen walls by now.

He’s got a pretty good thing going now. Wukong is more than content- he’s happy.

Of course, our powerful King’s not just going to leave an entire life behind.

He’s got a new kiddo to dote on, after all!

Yeah, this man adores you. Every other week or so he’ll come zooming in on his mystic cloud, blazing into view with a shower of vaporous mist trailing behind him.

‘Sun Yeye’, as he’ll frequently call himself, comes bearing gifts and stories. He’s in a better place both mentally and socially, and he’s grown more comfortable with physical contact- somewhat. He’ll ruffle your hair and ply you with something expensive or unhealthy, then bound off to chat with his loyal monkey subjects.

And… there’s someone with him?

As ever, this little rat is mostly unrepentant and prone to lurking about in the shadows. Still training and eavesdropping and scheming, just a little less cruel about it.

He’s slowly becoming a better person, off journeying with Wukong and learning about everything he’d missed while stuck in the underworld.

But Macaque doesn’t get to have ‘cool uncle/granddad’ title that the Monkey King has been bestowed, I’m afraid. After all, where Wukong was willing to accept his wrongs and shortcomings and actively work on them, Mac just kinda… gets away with his bullshit without ever trying to making amends.

MK keeps him at a full arm’s length from you, considering the sable simian to be not only a bad influence, but a dangerous one.

But, theoretically, if Macaque were to complete a list of intentionally nearly impossible tasks:

1. Apologize to every person he’s hurt

2. Make reparations for all the destruction that he’s caused

3. Acknowledge his own shortcomings and mistakes and try to become better

Then he might consider allowing you and ‘Uncle Macaque’ to meet up. Just for an hour.

Maybe.

As always, Pigsy maintains his grumpy fervor for cooking and serving, but in a far more lowkey fashion than before. Mei helped to hook him up with topnotch streaming equipment, allowing the chef to start a personal channel where he teaches beginner’s to prep basic meals and take care of their equipment.

He’s found some degree of fame with it, spreading his culinary skills across the internet, which quickly comes to love him.

And speaking of love- Y/N. Oh, how this man cherishes you.

MK gave him a grandbaby.

Ok, so he was a little worried at first. Pigsy thought that his son had gotten someone pregnant (irrational, but he was still worried!) and now was raising the kiddo as a single father.

Once all that has been cleared up, our favorite chef settles into the “granddad” role admirably, tending to you as he did to little MK.

He comes over every Friday to make a family meal for the three of you, and Tang always tags along- usually with a book that he thought you might like.

Although MK’s relationship with Mei has grown notably… strained, the two still keep in touch. She’s grown to be a massive streamer, and frequently competes in city-wide races as something of a celebrity. A decent chunk of her hard-earned cash goes to local charities or is spent sponsoring young racers that she sees worth in.

Mei is super dedicated to seeing the city grow healthier and happier, opting to visit and buy from only local stores and restaurants. She gives very fair reviews and often causes surges of growth for whatever business she stops in to check out.

She still finds time to game with MK on occasion, trying to bridge the gap that’s grown between the two in recent times. It’s not a phenomenal success, but they have fun and part on decent terms.

For what it’s worth, they’d both still go crazy if the other was injured.

Also, Auntie Mei??? Bringing you fun games and snacks and getting you a custom motorcycle helmet for the rides she takes you on (away from the crowded city streets, of course) and telling you embarrassing stories about MK.

(Also also, Goldendragon?? Moving apart from being friends and then reconciling into being lovers? Or even Chimera? In that final case Y/N is absolutely screwed.)

Mr. Tang, as always, remains a dedicated scholar and mooch. He’s still spending every day by Pigsy’s side and sampling his food, but now he’s got an audience eagerly watching his every bite. The internet loves this man, both for his honest enthusiasm for food and for his interesting historical lectures.

Tang switching from calmly explaining the history of jajangmyeon to outright squealing about how damn good the dish is the moment he takes the first bite.

Him and Pigsy have moved in together at this point, sharing the streaming equipment for both cooking videos and history lessons. They absolutely share the same channel.

(I cannot think of a name for what that channel would be called. Delicious History? Culinary Chronicles? Past and Produce? Freenoodles?)

I think that Tang would read to you as he did MK, sharing stories both old and new to keep you updated on the dangers you might face.

So much bonding over food. With MK’s permission, he takes you out to different stalls and shops to broaden your horizons. It also helps to build your social skills and the sense of community you feel with the locals.

Also, those Golden Cicada powers? He busts them out whenever you’re in danger, wrapping you in a sphere of glittering light. Actually pretty good at keeping you safe, all things considered.

The pacifistic view that Sandy has inherited is explored a bit more in this AU, with MK coming to view it as selfish, if not outright stupid.

If an enemy needs to be fought, pacifism is pointless. It’ll only get you and your friends hurt, refusing to fight when your assistance is needed the most.

If an enemy doesn’t need to be fought, every sane person becomes a pacifist temporarily to solve the issue in a non-violent way.

And in a world like Lego Monkie Kid? When fighting is frequent and necessary?

People are absolutely going to look at explicit non-combatants in a certain way.

The real value that Sandy finds in pacifism isn’t strictly for himself- he also doesn’t want to hurt anyone else or go too far in a fight, which are both reasonable. There’s nothing inherently wrong with his refraining from violence.

The main problem is that MK just doesn’t believe that Sandy would be able to protect you if you were in actual danger. Would he run away with you in his arms? Yes. Would he stuff you somewhere safe and force you to hide? Also yes. Would he take someone on, hand-to-hand for your safety?

It’s way harder to be sure. All visits are supervised just in case of a surprise attack

You, on the other hand? You adore this man. Sandy is great for the soul, giving you a chance to drop the training drills and stretches and pick up a paintbrush and put on some music. Also, kitties? Falling asleep on his couch and waking up covered in therapy cats with a cup of tea left within reach.

He’s just so good to you, and a perfect display of what healthy familial behavior actually is.

Here’s another person MK has soured his view of- Red Son. Given that he falls square into the “instead of actually becoming a better person, I gave up on being evil” category, our hero doesn’t have much fondness for the fiery demon.

Red has settled into life on the outskirts of Megapolis, working as an engineer/mechanic. If you’ve something strange/dangerous to build or fix, he’s your man. A fair price, and he doesn’t even ask questions.

His parents, who often visit, absolutely will. DBK leering down at you as you try to explain that an enemy threw a brick through the window of your tuk-tuk and if your mentor finds out he’s going to go full demon-hunter. PIF raising one eyebrow slowly as you trudge in covered in bruises, a new set of blueprints tucked under your arm.

The evil->helpful but menacing pipeline is real.

If you doesn’t know how to drive, Red’s a good bet for a teacher… if you can handle the yelling. Hit him with an ‘Uncle Red’ and he’ll loosen up a bit.

Also, taking into account his little insulting nicknames he has, like Noodle Boy?

Give that MK treats you like his own child, and may well even outright adopt you under certain circumstances-

You are absolutely getting called ‘Noodle Baby’.

(I’m admittedly not a fan of Spicynoodles, but that dynamic would be somewhat interesting to explore here. MK giving this one villain the ‘redemption’ card, not because Red Son has earned it, but simply because… MK likes him. It would be one hell of an angle for Y/N to attack him with.)

[fluffypotatey]

Don't think I ever explained it, but the reason I like SWK accidentally killing Mac so much isn't actually for the whumpy apologies, tho the confrontation of it in fics is always so delicious, but what has me going insane is actually the layers of their relationship breakdown. Like, you have these two immortal monkeys, they are perfectly designed by fate for each other's companionship. There is genuine care there, and it never dies. Never. They were just torn apart so tragically. Nobody fell to the dark side, there was no jealousy, no hatred. There was just every manifestation of grief and miscommunication. You could never get the right words out. You couldn't help what came out of your mouth in that moment, the bitterness you would have swallowed back in for just one more morning of peeling tangerines in the summer breeze, all the quiet ways to say 'I love you.' Their break-up was like shredding bamboo, the faults and woes, the insecurities and failings, and the hurtful words and the entrapment and all the ways you can't reach, and the loss of everything and the denial and oh, the time just wasn't right, it all boiled over, and speaking a language that can no longer be heard, and the shattering of unconditionality. They had their own flaws, that you never could have thought would tear them apart, but it did. And they had to go on their own journeys of self-growth, had their own people and places they were devoted to, they were the only ones for each other, but they were not only meant for that. And goodness, was it the wrong time. Wukong, trapped, the loss of freedom he fought for, to be the strongest so he could be free and happy, and everyone else too. Macky, constantly grappling with having to follow the sun-streaked trail Wukong blazes, even the moon unable to pause the day unless the sun chooses to set in its ambition to climb higher into the sky, never coming down. The accident of it all? Even if Swk never did, the "did you think all this time, that I could kill you just like that? like you meant nothing to me?" is going to be SUCH a good broken, grief-stricken line delivery from Wukong. But if not, then ooh, the exploration for those who have a similar anger they try to control, when they release emotions externally, and might accidentally break something, those moments don't define you, but how could you undo the damage, how do you make it normal when its not an object you broke, you hurt a friend, it was you, but it also wasn't you had it only been, what if what if what if- if only, and that's a very basic explanation, and even I can't get all the words down right, but its just a realistic thing, how it all fell apart, I think. that conversation has layers, even if I explain it poorly XD you could grab every tragic tumblr post about fading friendships, and love metaphors with sharing quiet spaces and fruit together, and it could be them. also the "came back wrong" trope potential with Macky, ooh. is it him. despite everything, are you still you, could you ever be. are you the same person killed long ago, is this for the best, or shall we both start over again? can you be recognized underneath it all, and is that tragic or a second chance.

god they have so many layers and one of the cool things about lmk keeping Macky’s death and the specifics of shadowpeach’s relationship vague is how much nuance and subtext is left in there. you can peel back layers upon layers and pain upon pain and bond upon bond and still find new info and interpretations and nuances and—

I know you’ve seen me gripe about not being given enough info, but i do really enjoy it when the story allows us to infer and think deeply about certain aspects of the story. I like it when a story isn’t 100% clear or honest to the audience because that leads you to look deeper. think deeper. and try to fathom all the clues brought to you

(but i gripe about it because i’m inpatient af and like having all the pieces right in front of me. there are so many threads and plot theories i have on my little conspiracy board that i don’t want to touch just yet because i feel like i need more pieces before making a confident analysis)

another thing is that both swk and Macky are unreliable when retelling their past. they have their biases and emotions that are tied to the memories. however, swk omits the truth more than outright lies while Macky cannot keep his emotions away from skewing the past. and then the clear truth comes out when it’s forced out from them (think Samadhi fire and scroll memories)

(then again, swk doesn’t really say much of his past and likes to keep it brief. out of the two he is the most honest in terms of he’s self reflective and understands that his past self has issues. is he completely honest about shit tho? no but we’re talking about shadowpeach)

and the cool thing is that “the love was still there” in the past and even when both were on opposite ends. both monkeys were falling into a darker path and while they had communication issues the love was still there. and even while they fought under the mountain and even when they probably fought during jttw, the love was still there

but neither had the tools to save each other and neither really knew how to stop each other from their doom and isn’t that such a beautiful thing to analyze and think about on the screen?

[casual-assassin17]

My Roommate is The Monkey King! Chapter One

(This is the first chapter of my latest story. I hope you all enjoy it! Also, I hope that I portrayed Sun Wukong as accurately as possible. Feel free to leave feedback and comments!)

I really hate my job. I’m sure everyone has said or thought that same sentence before. However, I really mean it. Retail work is never easy, especially with a customer that is upset about his new credit card not giving him his promised 20% off. I sighed softly as I look at the man. “Sir, normally you would’ve only saved about $200 with your bulk savings. But since you used the card, you saved an additional $121.96.”

“No, no. You said I would save big. I should be saving over $400! Are you calling me stupid?!” Clearly, he wasn’t being very cooperative. Sure, I probably could’ve explained the card better to him, but he’s now being unfair. I could feel my blood beginning to boil. 

‘I need to calm down… If I blow up on this guy, I’m gonna lose my job.’ I took a breath to calm down and tried again. “I understand, sir, However our cards have a certain limit to–”

He shoved his finger at my face. “Ah, so you messed up! You didn’t tell me that! If you had told me that, I wouldn’t have gotten that bullshit card!” My blood was really boiling now. I could feel my hands clenching tightly as I try to keep my temper under control. He kept rambling on but I tuned him out. I understood that this was a frustrating task for all of us, but he didn’t have to be a total jerk about it. I’m just trying to do my job and he’s throwing a temper tantrum about not saving $100 more. I just wanted to kick his carts of doors and painted planks over and make him pick it all up by himself. I wanted to beat him into the ground… But I’m a pushover and just let him rant. After all, “the customer is always right”... Bullshit.

After that fiasco, I began to get ready to clock out for the night. I was absolutely done with dealing with that guy and wanted to just go home and probably scream into my empty apartment. As I was grabbing my car keys, I heard the break room TV playing the news channel and I looked over at the screen. The newscaster talked about a strange weather pattern that was heading towards the city of Fairbanks and I tilted my head. Strange weather isn’t exactly new to us Alaskans. We get scorching heat in the summer months, 24/7 sunlight as well. In the winter, the weather makes it feel like we are living in Siberia, Russia and 2:00pm would look like 10 at night. Like I said, we’re used to it. However, the weather pattern on the screen told a different story. “Weird… I had no idea that Alaska would get a hurricane.” I whispered to myself.

“That’s not a hurricane, James.” A coworker told me, boredly scrolling through his phone. “If you ask me, that’s more like a storm cloud…”

I raised an eyebrow as I looked at him. ‘How did he hear me?’ “How is that a storm cloud?” I then shake my head, already feeling exhaustion taking hold of me. “Forget it… I am too tired to argue.”

“Was it that bad?”

“Worse… Some Russian guy was arguing with me about his new credit card…”

He chuckled at that. “Yeah… We humans are a greedy bunch.” He then got up and stretched. “Man, I’m beat… I’m gonna head to McDonald’s before I head home. Good thing they don’t close until midnight… You wanna come with?”

The offer was very tempting and my stomach agreed. “As much as I wanna say ‘yes’, I can’t. I gotta get home and do some stuff. Maybe next time, Mac.”

Mac nodded with a shrug. “Your loss, but I get it. Take care, James…” He then walked away, his long black hair trailing behind him. I chuckled softly before following suit, clocking out and heading to my car. As I walked to my car, I put on my noise-cancelling headphones, turned them on, connected them to my phone, and began to listen to AI covers of popular songs. I had to admit that some of them were really good. Who knew that Sonic could sing “Billie Jean” so well? I got into my car, started it, buckled up, then began the drive home. My stomach growled at me and I sighed softly. ‘Damn it, Mac. You made me hungry…’ I pull into the nearest fast food restaurant, which happened to be McDonald’s, and ordered some food. The smell of the golden arches’ famous fries filled the car and I could feel my stomach growling more. I reached over to grab some fries from the bag, but stopped. “...I can wait until I get home.” I hated waiting to eat, but I also didn’t want to get into a car accident for a handful of fries.

Suddenly, I hear thunder and I look at the road ahead of me. “Looks like Mac was right, as always… I swear, he just knows everything.” I continue to drive, noting the color of the occasional lightning. I was confused as to why they were yellow-orange instead of the usual color. I am snapped out of my thoughts by my phone ringing and I knew it was my twin sister. I answer her call. “Hey, sis. I clocked out already and I’m heading home.”

“Okay, but just be safe. The storm looks like it’s getting worse and I worry about you.” She told me. I loved how caring she was and it made me feel a tad better. “Also, I have some leftover baked goods from the cafe. We had to get rid of them before they got stale, so I took a few.”

I smiled at that and chuckled. “Thanks, Melody… You’re the best.” I look out my window and saw a lightning bolt hit near the car. The sudden lightning startled me and caused me to swerve off the road, crashing through a metal fence and into a clearing. The car made sputtering sounds before it turned itself off. I tried to restart it, but the car was officially dead. My heart was beating rapidly from the lightning jumpscare and I took deep breaths to try and relax. “H-holy crap… I almost got struck by lightning!”

Melody was still on the call. “Oh my God, are you okay?!”

I nodded as I relaxed finally. “Yeah… Yeah, I’m good. The car is dead, though…”

“Where are you at? I’ll head over as soon as I can.” 

I looked around to see anything noticeable. “I’m near Celebration Ranch, about five or ten minutes away from the house.”

Melody sighed through the phone. “I know where that is. Stay there and I’ll come get you.” She then hung up and I pocketed my phone. I sat on the hood of the car and huffed softly, a bit miffed that I got into an accident. The only plus side to my situation currently was that I was still alive. As I waited for Melody, the thunder grew louder and closer. I looked at the sky and saw that the storm was right above me. My eyes widened and I went to get into the car, but a massive lightning bolt struck the car and I was blown back, electricity coursing through my body. I hit the grass-covered ground and my vision went black for a second. It’s one thing to hear about people getting struck by lightning… but it’s another thing to actually get struck by lightning. My vision was blurry, I couldn’t hear anything but the sound of my ears ringing, it was hard to breathe all of a sudden, and my body felt like I got hit with a flamethrower. I soon regained my sight and hearing and slowly stood up, coughing and wheezing as my breathing was still jacked up. I look over at the car and all that was left of it was a massive crater. 

‘So much for calling a tow truck…’ I went to check to see if my phone was alright, when I noticed… light. It was coming from the crater. I walked towards the edge of the crater, holding my burnt side with whatever was left of my tattered shirt. When I looked over the edge, I saw… some kind of monkey man. He wore some weird armor and had a quarterstaff in his hand. I slid down towards the man and went to nudge him with my foot. “Hello? Can you hear me?” No response… I went to pick up his staff only to realize that it somehow weighed a lot more than I thought. I couldn’t even lift it! “Jesus!! What kind of staff is this?!” I looked back at the man and frowned. ‘...What do I do now? I can’t just leave him here… Wait, yes I can! I don’t know him, so why should I even bother?’ I went to leave… but I stopped and looked back at him. I groaned in annoyance. “Curse my altruism…” I walked back to him, knelt at his side and pressed my hands over his chest before starting to perform CPR. “C’mon… C’mon, wake up!” I went to breathe air into his mouth but saw his eyes pop open and we both scrambled back with a yell.

He stood up and pointed the staff at me. “Hey!! What were you trying to do to me?!”

I was surprised at how easily he wielded the staff, but I ignored it for now. “Me?! What were you doing a crater?! I had to resusitate you because I thought you were dead!!”

To my surprise, he only laughed at that. “Me? Dead? You are too funny, human! I can’t die because I am immortal!” He then planted the staff into the ground, jumped onto the top of it, then began to examine his surroundings. “Hmm… This isn’t Fruit Flower Mountain, nor is it Heaven…” He scratched his head in true monkey fashion before pointing at me. “You! What realm is this?!”

I blinked in surprise. “Realm? Wait, wait, wait… Did you say ‘Heaven’?! You’re not an angel nor are you Jesus!”

The man raised an eyebrow at me. “What? Do you have any idea who I am? I mean, really think about it…” He then jumped down and gave me a smirk. “I’m sure it’ll click…”

I began to think, forgetting about my pain from the lightning. “...A cosplayer?”

The man’s face practically dropped before he huffed. “You really don’t know?! I am The Great Sage Equal To Heaven! Vanquisher of Demons! I am… The Monkey King! Sun Wukong!!” He pointed at himself, staring at me as if expecting something.

A few seconds have passed before I spoke again. “...Cool.”

His eyes widened. “What?! That’s all you have to say about that?! ‘Cool’?! I am more than just ‘cool’!! I am–”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah… Anyway, if you’re some celestial being or whatever, why are you here?” I asked him.

Wukong chuckled as he leaned against his planted staff. “Well, if you must know, I was just doing my usual duties of being Monkey King. Defending Fruit Flower Mountain, killing demons, having fun…” He then frowned as he used a finger to dig into his ear. “But then, I get summoned to Heaven and Ne Zha was there, as usual. We got into an argument, not my fault by the way, and one thing led to another. Next thing I know, I am being banished to this realm by the Jade Emperor! Everything I have done for the Gods and the Buddha, yet all I get is banished…”

I gave him an unimpressed look. “Based on your behavior, I can see why they banished you.” Apparently, that was not the right choice of words as that only seemed to piss him off. He let out a screech and jumped at me, causing me to yelp in surprise. We then began to wrestle in the crater. Now, I would lie and say that I was totally winning the impromptu fight… but let’s be real, I am not some pro fighter nor have I ever been in an actual fight before. Wukong absolutely destroyed me, ending with him standing on top of me while I laid on the dirt. I groaned in pain and coughed. “...Okay, lesson learned: Do not piss off the monkey…”

Wukong nodded with a puff of his chest. “That’s right! I am The Monkey King! I have never been bested by any demon nor mortal! You can’t even possibly–” I then hear the sound of some kind of aerosol and Wukong screaming and yelling in pain. His weight disappeared from my back and I look to see him clutching his face and writhing on the ground. Melody stood over him in her cafe uniform, holding a can of pepper spray. 

She helped me to my feet. “Are you okay? Who is that?”

I cough a bit and dust myself off. “Apparently, that is Sun Wukong… He got banished here, and he totally mopped the floor with me.”

Melody nodded and helped me to her car, then went back and was dragging Sun Wukong into the car. He was still writhing in pain, cussing us out, and practically promised to kill us when he could see again. I kinda felt bad but shrugged it off as Melody drove us back home. I'm sure he'll be fine... Probably.

[dancingthesambaa]

The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 18

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

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 18: Spiders, Demons, and People, Oh My!

“Just one more hour-”

“No, I’m putting my foot down you workaholic, you are shutting down and enjoying this festival with the rest of us,” Tang firmly said with arms crossed.

“But-”

“No.”

“It just-”

“Nope.”

“Sweetheart-”

“Love you too, but no.”

“Just give it up Pigsy, you know he’s not gonna budge,” Macaque called out as Wukong, in his human disguise snickered beside him.

“Shut it,” he barked back.

Tang decided to pull out the big guns as he clasped his hands together and said with wide eyes “If you don’t get your ass out of there and enjoy the festival, I will make sure you sleep on the couch for a week.”

“…fine!” He threw up his hands as everyone else cheered.

“Took you guys long enough,” Mei snorted.

“Just remember kids, threatening the couch is always a good way to get your partner in control,” the historian said with a wink.

“Don’t tell them that!” The pig demon shouted out.

“Then maybe you shouldn’t have opened on a holiday!”

“I can’t help it!”

“I know you can’t sweetheart, but this is why I’m here to remind you,” he said as he gave a kiss to his partner when he closed down.

“Awww, aren’t you both sweet,” Wukong teased.

“Can it!” Pigsy embarrassedly yelled.

“Doesn’t mean it’s not true,” he grinned to Wukong. No one besides those that already met him, knew that the monkey in disguise was the Monkey King and not just some dude called Wukong. Cause if they did, then the whole world would have shortly known by Tang fanboy screeches.

“Now that Pigsy has finally given in,” MK grinned as he ducked a rolling pin to the head, “we can finally meet up with everyone else!” He cheered as his bright purple sash, which was tied securely around his bright red changshan pants, flew behind him as Mei, who wore something similar to MK, but with a green dragon art wrapped around her shirt, charged after him.

“Man they sure are excited,” Sandy chuckled as Tang and Pigsy also followed the two children.

“Is he always like that,” Wukong asked as both monkeys slowly trailed behind them, easily knowing where the group was at all times.

“In a nutshell, this isn’t even his first time trying to work on Lunar New Year,” the other simian commented.

“I can scarcely believe it,” he muttered under his breath, not that it stopped the black monkey from hearing, as he forced himself out of his memories. “Also, have I mentioned that I’m loving the hairdo.” He smirked as he grabbed one of the two long strands from the monkey twin buns he was sporting.

“Blame Emerald, she wanted the both of us to match for some reason,” he rolled his eyes as he adjusted his bright red qipao adorned with flowers.

“I certainly will,” he teased. He was in a changshan as well, but in bright yellow that had clouds littered all around the front and he too had a sash tied around his waist, but in red. “Thanks for letting me borrow your sash by the way.”

“You would think that in your multitudes of outfits, you would have a red sash somewhere tucked in there. It’s even your favorite color,” he fondly huffed.

“I’m just as surprised as you are, I could have sworn I had one,” he lied with a smile on his face. Of course, he has red sashes, that’s his signature look, but he’s not gonna say that he wanted a piece of his friend’s clothing outright.

“Sure,” he rolled his eyes. “Well, we better catch up to them before they blow up the fireworks again.”

“Fireworks? You mean the one used during the parade?”

“Nope, I mean the ones they accidentally cause sometimes when they’re bored together,” he deadpanned as Wukong started to burst out laughing. “Not funny dumbass, there’s a reason there are now fire extinguishers at every other street lamp this time around.” He began to pick up the pace as he jumped onto a rooftop.

“Now I really have to know the full story!” He quaffed as he followed right behind.

“Not from me you're not, I swear I still have myokymia every time I think about it.”

“Man, I had almost forgotten just how good food stalls are,” Wukong said with his face stuffed with buns.

“Rethinking the shut in life,” Mac joked as he bounced the youngest of Yanyu siblings, Yuzu, in his arms.

“Oh yeah,” he eagerly nodded.

“We’ll just sit here and stuff your face, I need to hand Yu Yu back to one of her siblings,” he said as he went over to the group.

And that is precisely what he did as he continued his eating as he gazed upon the crowd of people and demons all enjoying the festival. He could see children running all around as they waved their puppet zodiac animals in the air, some couples were holding close to each other as they ventured from stall to stall, he could even see some mother, father, or guardian holding their child on their shoulders to get a better look.

“I should have come out here sooner,” he mused as he fiddled with the skewer stick in his mouth. “Really is nice out.”

“It really is, especially when the fireworks start,” he stopped when Mei finally announced her presence and sat next to him. He knew she was there and watching him, but he decided it was best if she made the first move.

“Well, how do you do on this fine night, little Miss. Stalker,” though that doesn’t mean he won’t still tease the hell out of her. He may be wary of her, but she is still vastly a child compared to him.

“Could be better, but since you're here I’ll guess I’ll settle,” she shot back and sat next to him.

“Ha, I could almost laugh, moon cake?” He held out a tray filled with mooncakes to the girl, who nodded in thanks as she took one. “They’re not as good as Moonshine, but they are pretty good.”

“The only cooks that can ever rival Pops is the chef that cooked for me when I was young and Pigsy.”

“If you say so,” he shrugged as he finished off the tray. “So what brings you around here.”

“Other than the festival?”

“Oh, that was a given, I mean here, with me as of this moment in time. I thought you still didn’t like me.”

“Still don’t,” she automatically said, “buttttt not as much as before.”

This made Wukong pause in his snacking as he looked towards Mei, “Oh? What changed? Was it witnessing my badassery? Beholding my awesomeness in all its glory? Or was it-”

“None of the above,” she promptly stopped him before he could get any more cringier, “You make Pops happy.”

“Oh,” he has to say that he was both not surprised, but still taken aback by her comment. “That's it?”

“Well, and you have stuck by his side when that creepy ass fucker showed up, so bonus points for that.”

“You should have seen Dad's face when you went absolute ham on his ass,” MK interjected as he latched onto Mei's back. “When he wasn’t all disgusted with the creep from hell, he was grinning the entire time. Especially when you landed those blows on him.”

“He was,” he couldn't help but perk up.

“Ugh, you both have it so bad for each other,” Mei said as MK nodded.

“What?!” He nervously said as he shot a look towards Macaque, who was talking to both Sandy and Yanyu, “I don’t have a-”

“You always try to go near him and cuddle a lot of time, all the affectionate nicknames, the goo goo eyes, jealousy towards Shun and your quick deflection of any mention of Dad boyfriend, stealing Dad clothing even though you had some of your own, I can go all day,” MK smirked as he listed off all the obvious ways the Sage monkey had a crush on the Doctor monkey.

“Don’t lie to us, it's so obvious,” Mei shared the same look.

It looked for a second that Wukong was going to rebuttal, but he sighed in defeat. “Is it really that obvious?”

“To everyone but Dad,” he chuckled and patted the monkey on the back.

“Greeatttt,” he groaned and put his face in his hands. “That’s just peachy.”

“Don’t worry, you won’t get too much grief over it, well at least not from us. I don’t know about the rest,” she shrugged.

“Really?” He peeks through the cracks of his hands.

“The two of us have been keeping an eye on you,” she gestured to both her and MK.

“MK, you too,” the Monkey King held a mock wounded look.

“Sorry, but I have to look out for dear ol Dad,” he scratched the back of his neck. “And to be fair, a part of me really didn’t want him to date anyone anytime soon after Shun and I didn’t know how the both of you would be like after the whole fight and everything.”

“Oh,” was all he could utter.

“But I can say that I don’t think I have ever seen Dad so happy than when he’s around you.”

“Now that’s a lie,” Wukong interjected, “You should see the way he lights up when he’s with you guys, his tail always swishes behind him when you're with him.”

“Ladies ladies, we’re all pretty,” Mei butted in before the two boys could go on to fight over the stupidest thing. “But at the end of the day, you make Pops happy so maybe you're not so bad and I guess you wouldn't be so bad as a partner.”

“It would definitely be weird,” MK couldn’t stop the images from intruding in his head.

“Thanks,” he couldn’t stop himself fondly rolling his eyes, but he paused when the implications hit him, “Wait? Did I just get your approval to court Macaque?”

“Court, who even says court these days?” The dragon successor says to herself.

“Red,” said the monkey's successor, “But yeah, you did. Though when it does happen, I’ll just let future me worry about that.”

“Thanks for the boost of confidence and approval, but those aren’t really necessary, I doubt Mac sees me as nothing more than a friend,” he gave a sad smile.

Both teenagers exchanged a look at the sheer stupidity of the monkey before MK sighed and stepped forward. “Well, I never thought I would be ever giving love advice to the Legendary Monkey King when mine is none existent.”

“Your Portay clone on the other hand is a huge flirt,” Mei called out.

“I still don’t know how that works!” He yelled back, he still can’t believe that his own clone would flirt with both of his crushes when he doesn’t even have the guts to say anything. He turned his attention back to the Monkey, “But what I can say is that you should tell him that you love him before it’s too late.”

“Kid, thank you for trying to encourage me, but I’m not going to do it,” he ruffled his child’s hair, “I don’t want to ruin what we managed to scrounge back together.”

“Dude, Pops still consider you his friend even after your big ass fight that went down in history,” Wukong’s eyes slightly widen at Mei’s words.

“Wha-”

“So, if you think that telling him would lead him to ditch you when not even physically fighting would? Then there is something seriously wrong with your head,” she bluntly finished.

The disguised monkey stayed quiet for a few more moments before grabbing both of their heads this time and fiercely ruffling it.

“Hey!”

“Not again! I just did it!”

“I’ll think about it,” he smiled down at both of them then scoped them in his arms as he walked towards Macaque. “Hey Moonlight! I saw this shooting game a few stalls back, I bet I can beat your ass on it!”

“Try me,” he smirked as he waved bye to the group and eyed the two squirming kids in his arms. “We’re they acting up?”

“Nah, just decided they needed a better view.”

“Your ass is not a better view!” Mei yelled out.

“Being upside down technically counts as a worse view,” MK shouted as well.

“What are you talking about it’s an amazing view!” He teased.

“No, it’s not!”

The black furred simian let out a laugh, “Keep them like this, Gods know it would be easier to keep an eye on them from doing anything stupid.”

“Aye Aye captain!” He mocks saluted as he held them steady and began to walk towards the stand together.

“Put us down!”

“Stop this is really humiliating!”

“Do you hear anything?”

“Nope, just little kids complaining.”

“We’re not kids!”

Everyone cheered as the parade was starting and they all gathered around in hopes to get a better look at all the different floats, with an extra cheer for their own zodiac.

“They sure are excited about the floats,” Wukong chuckled as he watched his student, Mei, and a bunch of other children stand on Sandy’s shoulder to get a better view.

“You should have seen the other year, they almost got onto the float,” he smiled as the two of them sat on a rooftop a little ways away.

“I can believe it…thanks for dragging my ass out here,” he slightly nudged him. “I really have forgotten just how amazing the festival is and spending time with people can be on this day.”

“Anytime Peaches, and if you want you can join us next year, though it won’t be in the city, but rather in the forest. We’ll be just eating round the table and lighting up lanterns with the whole forest, unfortunately not as exciting as the festival here,” he said.

“I would be more than happy to join in,” he instantly said. “I haven’t lit up a lantern in years and besides, anything with you guys is nothing less than fun.”

“Well I’ll make sure to let comet know to bring your ass around then,” he smirked as he looked up in time to see the first firework go off. At moments like these, he’s glad to have durable headphones, it was pure torture back then with ears like his.

“Yeah!” The disguised Monkey King stood up and cheered before sitting back down. “Fireworks are awesome no matter when.”

“I give it a 6/10, now lanterns on the other hand,” he said as he leaned against his friend.

“Don’t disrespect my lights like that,” he lightly shoved him before wrapping an arm around him and putting his head on his as the two of them watched the lights explode.

Everything was truly beautiful at this moment in time.

Unfortunately, the moment couldn’t last as the fireworks were cut short and before either one of them could comment on it, they heard screams and a voice that dominated.

“This is the Year of the Spiders!”

Neither monkey needed them to exchange looks before they both rushed to the scene and saw hundreds of robotic spiders spread all across, chasing and capturing people as they went.

“Shit Mind control!” Macaque cussed as he saw their eyes glow green when the spiders managed to snag someone.

“How in the fuck is the Spider Queen able to do that?!” Wukong muttered to himself as he already dropped his disguise and began to attack any spiders in his way.

“I don’t know, but I think something like that will have the answers,” he pointed to a large spider robot emerging from the ground. “At least Daiyu gonna have a real good time with this.”

“Damn, it’s like Bull King all over again.”

“I’m sorry what,” the black monkey blurted out. He heard the Bull became huge, but he thought it was an exaggeration, so he shook his head. “More on that later, I can already guess you're going to the spider robot of doom.”

“You know it,” he cracked his knuckles.

“You do that, I’ll try to find everyone else and destroy as many of these fuckers as I can,” he emphasized by breaking a few of the spiders on the humans and demons back. He summoned some clones and began to spread them out, “You better not get captured or mind controlled, I don’t feel like kicking your ass right now.”

“Trust me I won’t,” he cockily smirked as he summoned his cloud. “Be careful out there,” he yelled out as he flew off.

“I’m going to laugh in his face if he gets captured, now to find my kiddos and everyone else before I lose it” he muttered as his tail wrapped around the spider that tried to surprise attack him from behind and crushed it into pieces.

“Red!” Mei and MK rushed over to the fallen demon who had crashed land on their ship.

“That was a nasty fall you took there,” she continued as the both of them helped him up.

“What are you doing here?” MK asked once he was up.

“Escaping the Spider menace!” He hissed out to cover up the fact that his face was involuntarily heating up at his crushes arms holding him, “that Spider freak captured my father and she was going to do the same to me.”

“Shit she even captured the Bull King,” the Pig demon said.

“Yes, but luckily I know a way to cure the atrocious mind control that she had enslaved everyone in.”

“You do!” They all hopefully said.

“Yes, but I’ll need your help seeing that my own ride is currently,” he looked over towards the broken parts, “unavailable.”

“If it means saving them then count us in,” MK said determinately.

“But where are we going?” Sandy asked.

“The one place where we can only get the supplies,” he pointed upwards as everyone slowly realized what he meant.

“Space,” well almost everyone.

“No noodle brain! The Celestial Realm!” He loves him, but he can be a bit of an airhead at times.

“Fbiwbfowdjosbd The Celestial Realm! The home of heavenly deities and immortal beings!” Tang tried to go forward but was held back by his partner.

“Down Tang, down.”

“Yes,” he said unfazed, “so will you help me.”

They all exchanged looks with each other before MK stepped forward with a confident grin. “Guys, let’s help a demon steal from the Celestial Realm.”

“Macaque is so gonna laugh at me for this,” Wukong groaned as he tried to break free of the web. “So, so hard.”

“Seems there are things that even you can’t handle,” Spider Queen mocked as she stepped back into the room filled with tied up demons all being drained, some of them more tired than others.

“Can it little caterpillar!” Minsheng yelled out, they too were captured after they got surrounded. They're not as strong a fighter as everyone else, so it was needless to say they were hopelessly outgunned. “No one wants to hear you bitch! Seriously, I don’t know how Daiyu can even stand that voice!”

“You got that right!”

“I would rather die now than listen any longer!”

“Seriously just shut up!”

All the demons shouted out as they mouthed back to the Spider Queen.

“QUIET!” She yelled out in rage, “ Especially about that vulture. Lest you forget, you are all my prisoners now, you are nothing short of a battery for my darling. It’s best to remember that for the rest of your miserable lifespan.”

“I mean they're not wrong,” Wukong smirked, “You are getting really annoying.”

“I, unfortunately, can’t help but agree,” Bull King rolled his eyes at the supposed ‘Queen’ rage. “Your voice is grating enough that I wish to rip my horns from my head and seal them in my ears, but I know it wouldn’t be enough.”

“Why I outta-”

“And besides, you do know that this is not gonna work right?” Minsheng said.

“Now what are you blabbering on about now?” The spider demon was getting sick of this backtalk from these whelps.

“This plan, yeah it’s not gonna work.”

“Oh, now why is that? I suppose you mean of Monkey King protege and their needless efforts,” she smirked as she crawled up to him and leaned in close. “Well, I can assure you that those children are not prepared for my little spiders that are close behind ready to strike when they're down.” She backed up with that same malevolent smirk and was about to turn away when he spoke once more.

“Oh, I wasn’t talking about them.”

“What?” She turned back around, “Then who in the hell are you referring to?”

BOOOM! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!

A series of crashes and explosions all happened simultaneously from the outside as it only subsided for a mere moment before continuing once more.

BOOOM! BOOOM! BOOOOOOM!!

“What in the hell!” She cried out as she caught herself on the wall.

“That, that is who I am talking about,” the rabbit demon said as the spider raced towards the monitor. She pulls up the screen to see a sight that even frightens some of the captured demons. Because there on center screen was a tall malevolent violent monkey with eyes that glow bright purple as it took down some of the larger spiders that have sprouted out. But what they all noticed is that the titanic demon looked pissed as he screamed.

“WHERE THE HELL ARE MY KIDS!”

“What the sweet hell is that!?” She screeched out at the sight.

“Congratulations! You have completely pissed off one enraged papa!” Minsheng smiled at her horror. “Now he will happily introduce you to your execution if you don’t do as he says.”

“What?!”

“Hah, not even I would trifle so lightly when it comes to the Six Eared demon and his claims,” the Bull King laughed loudly at her foolish actions.

Some of the demons were even nodding in agreement.

“You're telling me.”

“Even we know not to fuck with him.”

“Oof, you're really gonna get it now,” Yin laughed.

“Better hope you have some blessing saved up somewhere in that shriveled up place you got a soul,” Jin snorted, “cause you're gonna need it!”

Wukong was staring at the monstrous form of his crush in all of his crush with a slight blush and said with a happy sigh, “Oh you’re so fucking screwed now.”

“That’s Macaque!?” She shrieked as she turned and couldn’t help but give a silent gulp as each and every demon looked at her, whether they were exhausted or not, with a malicious grin.

“You're done Spider Bitch,” Minsheng gleefully said.

She didn’t say anything else as she scurried out of there and went to look for the little girl.

“Bye Bye little spider,” they called out as the door closed behind them leaving them with only the sound of mechanical parts churning and the sizzling noise of their energies being drained remaining.

“Of course you would be infatuated with the Six Eared doctor,” Bull King couldn’t help but sigh, breaking the silence.

“Oh come on, even you!” Wukong shouted back, thus putting the room in a burst of laughter as the demons, whether civilians, criminals, or anywhere in between, began to gossip like middle aged wives at the market when they spotted an old friend.

“Oooo, is that so?”

“Of course you would go after doc, he is quite the catch.”

“Tell me everything!”

“Spill the tea!”

“Now that is something I wouldn’t have guessed.”

“If you have lived as long as I have, you would have long guessed that this was a long time coming.”

“I’m surprised that it wasn’t sooner.”

“Please someone just kill me,” he groaned as the chattering just continued. “Death would be kinder at this point.”

“Sorry, but fresh out of deaths today,” Sheng laughed.

“And didn’t you get yourself like four times immortal?” Yin asked.

“Five, remember the Yama book situation,” Jin said.

“Oh right, I keep forgetting.”

“I regret that so much,” he groaned even louder, it didn’t help that even the Bull King was laughing at his misery. “So, so much.”

Somewhere high in the sky

“What the hell is that!” Pigsy pointed out the giant transparent demon.

They all looked in shock as Tang said, “Please don’t tell me that the Spider Queen made an ally!” He groaned.

While the three adults began to panic at the new situation that popped up, three people, two humans, and one demon smiled widely.

“DAD/POPS/UNCLE!” MK, Mei, and Red all yelled out as they witnessed the scene.

“SAY WHAT!” The three other adults spun towards them in shock.

“Wait,” Sandy squinted his eyes, “Now I may be getting old, but is that giant demon Macaque?”

“What/Excuse me,” both Pig and historian deadpanned.

“ It is! And he’s kicking butt!” MK cheered as the titan stomped on a hoard of spiders.

“Kick that spider ass!” Mei yelled out with a savage grin as the monkey tail threw a giant spider down and obliterated it.

“Of course this would be nothing less than what he can do,” Red smirked at the chaos that was firmly putting the wretched spiders in place.

If anyone was paying close attention, they would have seen both titan and monkey ears twitch. They didn’t move from their position, but a sigh of relief did emerge.

“Found em,” Ahmed asked after he crushed a spider in his jaw.

“Yeah, I don’t know how the fuck they got out of my radius of hearing so quickly, but I found them,” Macaque, who was puppeting his larger version, smiled.

“That’s one worry crossed off.”

“You're telling me, now all we have left is to finish off this shit,” the monkey growled as the lion kept a close watch on his back. While it wasn’t difficult to control his larger version for a short time frame, it was difficult trying to maintain both forms and making sure that there would be no excessive collateral damage. He may be angry, but even he doesn’t want to hurt any innocent people, so it was shortly decided before he began his shadow puppet that the lion would keep guard while the rest helped everyone else. He can even hear Daiyu manically laughing off in the background where there’s the most spiders and can hear the slaughtering of mechanical parts.

Back on the ship, the others were slowly freaking out.

“I thought he was a doctor?!” Tang exclaimed as he watched the monkey decimate the eight legged cretins.

“I thought so too!” Pigsy was just as confused as his partner.

“Dad was a fighter long before he was a doctor, he just doesn’t do it as often anymore. I mean he used to have sparred with the monkey king a lot,” the teenage boy explained.

“You mean to tell me this is him going easy?” The pig demon could feel his eye twitch.

“Yup!”

“I hate to see him at his peak,” the historian muttered, then he paused, “wait, he knows the monkey king?!”

“Uhhhhhh.” MK just realized what he had admitted and slowly began to back away.

“Oooo, you fucked up now,” Mei chortled while sporting a large grin.

It took a minute for it to fully sink in, but once it did, boy did Tang straighten up with his eyes blown wide as if he had just been electrocuted. “No way! No way! Is he the fucking Six Eared Macaque from the Journey to the west?!”

“Say what?!” Pigsy exclaimed.

“Maybe?!”

“Is that a question or an answer!” Tang demanded as he stalked closer to him.

“Yes!” He was officially freaked out.

“Oh this is funny,” Red grinned.

“Right,” Mei happily agreed.

“Are you saying that he is the legendary deity that managed to help so many lives, but he is also the enemy of the great monkey king and I am just now learning that I’ve been hanging out with that same legend and dneirbowdubeodosbsudbksd!” The book loving man's mind has been blown as his words have long passed him.

“Great, you broke my partner.”

“I’m sorry!”

“Wait are you just now figuring that out,” Sandy blinked, “I thought it was obvious.”

“You knew!” Everyone on the ship snapped towards the giant in shock.

“Yes? It’s not like he was trying to hide it,” he pointed out.

“He really wasn’t,” the biker woman was on the floor dying of laughter at that.

“Hey look scary, creepy, too many legged spiders in need of decimating right ahead!” MK diverted the attention back to the city ahead. “Talk later!

“Oh ho ho, believe me, there will be many, many talks ahead,” Tang hissed and stomped his way to the front of the ship.

“Welp that’s going to be Dad's problem right there,” he said.

“Gonna pin the blame on dear old Pops,” Mei snorted.

“Yup! This is payback for the needless anxiety this caused me,” the monkey's successor eye twitch.

“HA!”

She may be outnumbered and her pawns may have been taken out, but she will not back down after all.

“All of you together can’t beat me! I am the Queen of Spiders!” Spider Queen declared in hysteria as she took a step forward towards the monkey brat.

“Oh yeah,” they all turned to see the Monkey King casually walking down the wall as he picked up the staff and with a spin he declared, “Well I’m the King,” and with that statement, he freed his student.

He bent down and helped pick him back up with a sheepish grin, “Well you already know I’m not too hot on some things, apparently spiders are one of them too.” Then they all stood tall against the Spider Queen as if daring her to try to make the next move.

“Well if I can’t have this world, then no one can!” She cried out as she slung herself up to the Spider mech. l and started it up once more as the ground began to violently shake. “I’ll level this whole city!”

Right when she did that though, both student and mentor jumped up in the air.

“It’s now or never!” Wukong cried out as MK grabbed hold of the staff.

“Right!” The two began to spin and spin and spin even faster until they were a golden pinwheel of light.

“Here comes Monkey Kid!” Right after that last work, Wukong flung MK forward as the student shouted out facing the enemy head on and the proud mentor whispered as he watched his kid take that final strike.

The machine broke as everything shut down at that moment in, but before MK could feel proud, he had noticed that he was currently free falling.

“Shit!” He yelled out and quickly looked around to find any sort of platform he could get a hold of.

“I got you!” He felt his collar then his body quickly stop free falling as quickly as Wukong in bird form was holding him up.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t quite fast enough to fly far away enough from the incoming explosion in his small form, but luckily there was another as he quickly grabbed the both of them in his hands and jumped far away enough. Just in time as everything explodes.

BOOOOOM!

The machine shattered in millions of parts that it was spread far and wide throughout the city, finally bringing the Spider Queen's short, but deadly, reign to an end.

“Whew, thanks-DAD!” MK exclaimed as he finally noticed that he was in the hands of his father's titan form.

“Great catch Moonbeam!” Wukong beamed up when he got out of bird form.

The Monkey titan didn’t say a word as examined their bruised, injured, and bartered form and with a worried purr, he gently stood up and began to walk back to the group with them still cradled in his hands.

“Anddd I don’t think he is letting us go any time soon,” the student said as he slumped down, only to wince at his bruises.

“Nope,” Monkey King replied as he tried to relax, but both the memories and the wounds made it very hard to do so, it also didn’t help that there was a familiar smell in the air.

Their form eventually made its way to the rest of the group as they all stared up at the lumbering giant that towered over them all.

“I feel like I should be more frightened,” Tang mused as he stared up at the ominous titan with a glowing eye staring back at them.

“I don’t blame you,” Pigsy huffed as he had to stop him from instinctively standing in front of the group, even though the giant monkey was an ally.

“Just be glad he’s on our side,” Sandy smiled up.

“You're telling me,” Red nodded as he rubbed his hands from stopping the explosion alongside his father.

Bull King said nothing as he stared up at the titan.

“Hey guys!” MK shouted as he waved at them.

“Liking the view from up there!” Mei shouted back.

“It’s pretty nice! I never knew laying down on a giant monkey’s hand would feel good until now!”

“Maybe I’ll give you a ride on my war form then,” Wukong joked as he climbed up and sat on the titan's shoulder.

“Wait what?” Though he wasn’t able to ask anymore as the violent hand slowly came down and in front of the group.

“A ride! Count me in!” The dragon girl hopped in first as Sandy followed close behind.

“This might as well happen,” the pig demon sighed as he supported his partner's weight on him and sat down next to the others. But that didn't stop Tang from going starry eyed over the Monkey King and Macaque titan form.

“I’m not going,” Bull King growled when the hand still stood in front of both him and his son.

Red promptly halted in his step when he said that and looked almost longingly to his friends as he put his foot down.

The Bull demon saw his heir's morose expression and only took a moment before he sighed, “You may go if you wish…son.”

The Bull prince's eyes sparkled at his words and he lit up with glee as he rushed over to the rest of the group, getting one arm hugs from both his friends. Yet, the hand still hasn’t ascended.

“Nice teeth,” Mei commented as the Prince settled down and she noticed her other friend teeth.

“Huh?” MK saw her wordlessly take out her phone and show him his new sharpen teeth, his eyes sparkled with glee. “This is so cool! Hey Red, we match!”

“Indeed we do,” he gave a slight grin, “but mine are much more deadlier.”

“Give me a couple days to get used to this and we can find out,” he grinned back.

Before Red could shoot back a growl was heard.

“I said, I’m not going,” he emphasized his words and glared at the giant.

Giant Macaque only raised his brow as he used his free hand to pluck the Bull King firmly, but gently held him as he continued his way.

“Unhand me you insufferable cretin!” He yelled out as he tried to break free, but with him still being wounded and drained of his energy, the struggle was barely even noticeable.

“And you say I’m headstrong,” Monkey King snorted at the demon struggles.

“Oh I am so keeping this,” Mei smirked as she took so many photos.

“Send me that,” Pigsy and MK said.

“Will do!”

They were only put down when they finally reached their destination, which was Pigsy Noodle shop, and standing in front of the doors was a lion supporting a tired looking monkey.

“Thank fuck you all are alright,” he sighed as he released the titan puppet when everyone was off and he should probably be glad that Ahmed was supporting his sorry ass as he would have fallen straight down from the abrupt disperse of energy.

“Are you okay,” Wukong worriedly asked as he noticed his moon tired form and how the lion was helping him.

“Will be, but for now everyone gets your sorry asses inside so I can patch you up,” he pointed to some of the clones inside already holding materials in hand.

“I’ll help-” MK began to say, only to be stopped by his stare “-after I heal up,” he quickly added.

“Nice save,” Mei whispered as both of them and Red went inside.

“You and I are gonna have a long talk Mr. Six Eared Macaque,” Tang almost growled.

“Wasn’t really trying to hide it,” he smirked as the historian raised both his hands in exasperation.

“And that’s what’s pissing me off, ‘it came along the way,’ you weren’t even trying,” he huffed as he marched inside, but not before giving a stink eye to the lion. “And I bet you knew as well.”

“Guilty as charged,” he had to hold back his laughter as his friend gave another strangled yell.

“You're gonna have one hell of a lecture from him,” Pigsy smirked as he nudged the monkey.

“I have already accepted my fate,” he shrugged.

“Good call, also don’t really care about your past and whatnot, you have already shown me that you're a pretty decent demon no matter what history may say.”

“Thanks,” he gave a small smile.

The pig demon patted his shoulder and went inside as well. Macaque looked towards the blue giant who just smiled.

“I already knew.”

“And this is what makes you the smart one,” he smirked as the therapist gave a hearty laugh.

“You need help,” Wukong cautiously asked once more as he stepped forward.

“I am not doing shit except letting my clones do the bandaging and healing, I need to sit my ass down,” he grumbled before giving a slight smile, “but thanks for worrying about me dumbass.”

“Always,” he smiled back.

“Now go sit your ass inside before I make you,” he deadpanned.

“I mean I don’t really need it, you know I heal pretty-”

“I can easily tell that both you and Bull along over there had your energy drained,” Monkey King paled.

“Ah…so you know.”

“Oh I know,” he tail swished angrily behind him, “and I also know just how fucking dangerous energy transfers are when they’re not done properly! And I already know that it wasn’t really Spider Queen's main concern now is it?”

“Ummm,” he nervously hummed.

“Now, get your ass in there or else,” his eyes flickered.

“Aye Aye!” He quickly walked in and escaped the eyes of doom.

“So it seems that there is more to the story,” Tang muttered as he watched the interactions as a salve got put on his leg. “It seems that the two immortal monkeys aren’t enemies.”

“Oh there is a lot more,” MK wished he could rub his forehead, but his hands were currently occupied by the clone wrapping his hand. “So much more.”

No one could say anything else before they heard the Demon Bull speak.

“I’m not going in,” Bull King huffed, “I’m not so fragile that I need to worry about such items.”

“You know what no,” Bull demon raised his eyebrow at the doctor's tone. “I’m not even gonna argue with you, your ass is going in there and you are going to sit down and you are going to get checked over.”

“You dare speak to me like that!”

“Frankly I don’t care!” He barked out as he broke free of Ahmed’s hold and marched up to the larger demon. “I have long since run out of fucks to give and I simply don’t fucking care! I am already spread thin with clones all around making medicine, helping out at the hospital, checking for survivors, and other shit! I was spread thin when I made my Puppet Titan to obliterate the fucking spiders. I am so spread thin that even my own self control is waning as we fucking speak that it’s taking all in me not to just make your stupid ass go unconscious, just so I won’t have to fucking hear you! So. Go. In. The. Noodles. Shop!”

“You don’t have the power to stop me,” he growled and took a step forward, not even acknowledging the lion demon piercing eyes nor the monkey Sage's own ominous stare.

“If you don’t get your ass inside I will call Queen Iron Fan and tell her about your stupidity about your health,” he bluntly stated.

“You wouldn’t dare,” he took a step back in fear.

“Try me bitch.”

“…fine,” he let out a final huff and lumbered inside.

Mei whistled as the clone was getting some derbies out of her back, “Dannnggg, just one word of the mother and he just comes.”

“Mother does worry about our safety when she’s gone,” Red nodded.

“For good reason.”

“Okay!” Macaque said loudly as he plopped himself right next to Wukong, “While you guys are getting bandaged, how about you all tell me what the hell happened both inside the ship and how the hell did you get that antidote because I know the smell of immortal peaches from a mile away and that antidote had that in spades.”

“So that’s why the whole city smells like that,” the brown furred monkey eyes widened, “I thought I was going crazy.

“What is the point in that?” Bull King questioningly asked.

“Well, I thought that it would be better if we all figured out how not only she managed to get her hands on mind control potion that potent, but how almost all the demons, including you two, one of the strongest ones in the world, got captured by the Spider Queen.” He emphasized, it literally makes no sense how she was able to do that. Sure she may be strong with access to her minions that do her dirty work at times, but she’s not that strong to manage to take down so many villains, and she doesn’t have the connections to find a potion of that kind of caliber.”

“That is a fair point,” the Bull demon reluctantly agreed.

“Great! Now talk.”

“She caught the staff?” MK blurted out as he popped up from Mei's shoulder.

“I know! Caught me by surprise too,” Wukong huffed at his student surprise.

“To be fair, Lady Iron Fan did the same with me, but she had some sort of metal glove.”

“But not with pure energy,” Red leaned back into Mei side, “it took me countless centuries to find all the supplies to make that glove and the Spider Queen only used her energy, something is not adding up.”

“Ain’t that the truth,” she nodded as she subtly brought her two crushes, which she will happily keep to herself until both of them are comfortable, back to her. She could very much appreciate the fact that they both had very warm and comfortable bodies that she will happily take advantage of.

“So that’s where Minsheng was,” Ahmed hummed, “the others were worried about them.”

“He really did tell her off, but I saw him escape with the rest after they broke free,” the monkey explained.

“That’s one worry off then.”

“Son, how did you know the incantation and the symbol to enter the Celestial Realm?” Bull King asked when they got to the part where they were about to enter the realm.

“Umm well you see,” he nervously chuckled, “there are so many ways you can get inside the realm other than the main entrance and it’s not like it was hard to actually find another way once you know what the main one looks like. But don’t worry, I haven’t stepped foot inside the realm until today, so they shouldn’t know that it was me who entered!”

“To be honest I never knew that there were other ways you can get inside,” Wukong admitted, “Nice job.”

“Indeed, show me how exactly you managed this feat when we get home,” the giant Bull said. It is no easy task to accomplish something that no one else has done before, he didn’t acknowledge the pit of warm pride he felt.

“Yes father!” He excitedly said, not noticing that his two friends were eyeing the Bull King with disdain.

“Wait hold up, how the hell did you manage to sneak into the Celestial Realm almost undetected?” He questioned when his son finished telling them how they escaped the holy realm.

“Well there was like nobody there, the only real problem we encountered was the spiders, two lion statues that came to life, and perhaps my crippling anxiety,” he shrugged.

“Well get to that last bit later, but what do you mean no one?! You went to the Heavenly Orchard, Lao Tzu alchemy lab, the fucking Jade Emperor Throne Room! What the hell did you mean no one was there?!” His eyes twitch as he gets shrugs from almost everyone, he says almost as now Red son is realizing that what he said is true and is slightly paling at what that could mean. Even Wukong and Bull King are looking at the group in absolute confusion.

“That does raise a concerning question,” BK rumbled. “The Celestial Realm is never without the deities inside, especially the Jade Emperor himself. So if all the deities were gone on the same day then there must have been a deadly matter that needed to be taken care of…but everyone gone? That still makes no sense.”

“You're telling me, it wasn’t even that easy for me to cause havoc when I was up there. I had to disguise myself as so many people just to make it out to the courtyard,” Wukong nodded.

“It just doesn’t make sense on why-” he stopped himself as he looked towards the other monkey and then his son and a thought occurred. “No, that couldn’t be, hey flicker do they still have that Spirit detecting thing for when you enter the realm.”

“Indeed they still do,” he faces palmed as he completely had forgotten that they had been specially made after people, deities, and demons tried to break their way into the realm one too many times.

Macaque couldn’t stop his smile from growing as he finally realized what happened and he burst out into laughter. “No way! No fucking way! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”

“Huh?” Everyone echoed as they watch the monkey burst out almost out of nowhere.

“Umm Dad?” He tried to call out, but he was too busy laughing.

“Pops? You good?” She tried, absolutely nothing in reply.

“Mango, moonlight, my other half,” Wukong grabbed him by the shoulder, which did make him pause, but still was sporting a wide grin. “What the hell did you figure out?”

“Srk, okay holy shit this is just way too funny,” he choked out and continued. “The reason why no one was there was because they sensed MK spirit energy and the staff, both of which had been imbued with your energy. I mean, I know that after sensing your energy was coiled around mine a few weeks ago, they did not want a second round with Wukong in any way shape, or form, especially his successor, so they just fucked off and left!”

Dead silence overtook the small restaurant as everyone's eyes slowly turned to the Monkey Sage, who was sporting both a cheeky and a sheepish grin.

“I feel like I should probably apologize to them one day.”

“The sad thing is that it sounds about right,” Red sighed. While he doesn't visit the celestial realm, he knows enough to know that many deities, including the Jade Emperor, would rather just up and leave than deal with Sun Wukong after what he last did no matter how many centuries may have passed. He does have to admit that out of everything he did, this may have been one of his biggest feats yet. “What is my life right now?”

“Let’s just continue,” Pigsy said as he was holding back his partner from asking so many questions.

“Evil laughter?”

“Shut up.”

“It was fun!”

“And highly entertaining.”

“Shut up!”

“And that’s all of it,” MK finished off.

“Crazy as usual, but that still doesn’t explain how she was able to do what she did,” he leaned back. Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Wukong stiffen, but he kept that to himself. He will get it out of that monkey when they're alone.

“I heard the whispers again,” everyone's eyes whipped towards Bull King, but only Red son and Macaque knew what he was talking about.

“You mean the same ones that controlled you back then,” the doctor hissed out.

“Indeed.”

“You met Lady Bone Demon?!” Wukong blurted out but immediately regretted that as everyone's eyes were locked on him.

“You know that vile cretin!” Bull King growled.

“Wait Bone Demon! As in the same one you met in the Journey to the West! That one!” Tang wanted to lean forward, but both Pigsy and Sandy were holding him back.

Wukong said nothing as he gripped his fists under the table.

“Monkey King?” MK worriedly asked at the monkey's still expression.

“Sunbeam,” the monkey blinked at his friend's hand on his and looked up to see his concerned look, “what happened?”

“…okay,” he entwined his finger with his and looked at the group. “I met her on the ship.” He then began to explain his experience with the demon on the ship and the restaurant was silent as he talked.

“So,” Macaque broke the silence, “it seems that we were right on the idea that this was no ordinary spirit.”

“You’ve been investigating this?!” Wukong asked as everyone barring the Bull family and Ahmed looked in shock.

“Of course I have, Bull King got possessed and no one found that at all suspicious? I mean that’s why Queen Iron Fan is currently not even in the city right now, she is meeting some people over some enchanted artifacts and spells that will help. But now that we know who exactly we're dealing with, I think we can narrow that down by a lot. So, you’ll update her,” he said towards the Bull family.

“Already doing so,” Red’s son said as his eyes were glowing red.

“Good, now anything else you tell us?” He looked back to his dumbstruck friend.

“Just that I…encountered her a few times before and that there was a reason she was buried so deep underground,” he sighed as he rubbed his thumb on the black fur. “What she wants the most is to make herself known to the world and she wants to accomplish this by conquering the world, so she’ll be after me first and my powers.”

“And we will be ready,” MK determinedly said. “We know that she is alive and that she is probably planning something, but whatever it is, we'll be one step ahead of her.”

“You got that right, I mean who would ever expect this,” she gestured towards the room filled with people, demons, and immortals, “Wukong lives in isolation so in no way will he be interacting with mortals, supposed enemies with Pops and Bull family.”

“That part is still true,” Bull King grumbled.

“Mostly, but even then you can tolerate him and that is what she won’t be expecting!”

“But there still is the problem that we don’t know what she is planning after her plan failed,” Tang pointed out.

“Was it her plan at all?” They all turned to face Pigsy.

“What do you mean?” MK asked.

“Well, it just seems that with the whole spider theme going on, it was more of the Spider Queen plan and the Bone chick tagging along at the end, you know, like that one person in a group project. I always hated that guy, stupid Hans,” he growled.

“You…do make a point,” Red eyes flickered once he finished his talk. “And mother also said that she will be going to the highlands next after she’s finished dealing with the…unruly elves.”

“That’s one way to say it,” Bull King nodded.

“But since the plan with the Spider Queen failed, where would she go next?” Mei asked.

“We’ll hold on,” everyone looked to Sandy now as the giant looked at Wukong and Bull King, “You said that she was following the Spider Queen, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Indeed.”

“Well I may have only met the Spider Queen once, but it’s easily recognizable that she has a superiority complex that hinges more towards the self importance side, and judging by how you describe the Bone demon, she is very tactile and manipulative to use this to her advantage. So we already know it was Spider Queen's plan first, but it was the Bone demon who most likely approached her first as you said that the Queen was more hostile towards the other. But, even when the plan failed, I think that she will still stick with the Spider Queen as she is not only one of the strongest in the city, but maybe has the resources she needs at the moment,” he finished and took a sip of his tea.

“Holy shit,” Mei whispered out as MK nodded.

“Knew you were smart, but man you were hiding it in their big guy,” Pigsy smirked.

“Oh well just a guess based on what I know about their personality and actions,” he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

“A well educated one it is,” Bull King said, “What is your profession?”

“I’m a therapist.”

“That makes sense,” he nodded.

“But for now, how about we hold this off until tomorrow,” Ahmed said as he looked at everyone’s bandaged bodies and drooping eyes, “I think we all deserve some shut eye.”

“But-”

“Their invasion just failed and they won’t be staring back up any time soon,” he cut MK off, “this can wait until tomorrow, where our minds would be fresher and perhaps our bodies a little lighter.”

“Agreed,” Macaque nodded.

“…okay,” MK gave in.

“Good, now everyone upstairs,” most of them began to trudge back up, the doctor eyed the Bull family, “I assume you have the teleportation spell?”

“Yep, prepped and ready,” Red confirmed.

“Then have a safe trip back,” and with final goodbyes, the Bull family left the restaurant, and with a flash, they were gone. Macaque watched them leave and promptly grabbed hold of the back of Wukong collar “And where do you think you're going?”

“Back to the mountain?” He questioned.

“No you're not, you're staying here.”

“Look Mac I really don’t feel like talking more about her,” he sighed once he knew everyone else was gone.

“And that is fine, but you are not leaving my sight anytime soon, now come on,” he pulled him up, “there is a hoard of blankets and pillows calling our names. So just relax, you are safe.”

It didn’t impact the monkey until he felt the warm coil of violet energy gently brush against his vigilant golden aura, did he finally settled down, and his nerves slowly relaxed and the next thing he knows is he is sitting on the rooftop surrounded by blankets and pillows and he is currently snuggled on Macaque shoulder as he hums softly and felt his soft hands groom his fur.

“Sleep Sunshine, we can deal with it all tomorrow,” he whispered and tucked him further underneath his chin.

He wished he could thank him for doing this, for watching over him during his blackout, for keeping him calm, but the words eluded him, and instead, he cuddled further into the hold. He stiffed when he heard soft footsteps approach, but relaxed at the familiar energy of both of his kids approaching him.

“Mind if we join,” MK asked as he took in the sight.

“Would you be up for that Sunspot?” Mac looked down.

Wukong didn’t say anything once more and just wordlessly nodded.

“Alright, you both can join, but right to bed.” He firmly told them both.

“Oh don’t worry, even my bones feel tired,” Mei said as she cuddled next to the black furred monkey and MK softly laid next to the brown furred simian.

Then there’s was silence once more as only the bustling from the streets could be heard as people reunited with each other once again, the whistle of winds, the steady breathing of the small group, and the soft humming of a six eared monkey lullabying them further and further into a deep sleep. And as Wukong listened, felt, and saw everything, only one thought was left as he closed his eyes for a long slumber.

He really loved his family.

As to why Mac didn’t get captured? Easy, he doesn’t have the same kind of cocky ego that both BK and Wukong shared. He actually likes to think before he acts.

Also, hey yeah remember how I said my longest chapter was like two chapters ago, welll I made a freakin new one and guess what? IT’S OVER 9000!! Like holy shit I need to sleep, but damn am I proud of how long I can make these XD

[if-you-built-yourself-a-myth]

Check Ignition: Part III

That Sobbe fake-dating Hogwarts AU that one person asked for and I dove into headfirst

Part I // Part II // Part III // Part IV

Requests are open if you have any ideas of what I should write next

After the second night of Sander and Robbe’s arrangement, Robbe couldn’t eat dinner in the Great Hall for a week. A whole fucking week. He had Jens and Aaron sneaking sandwiches into the dormitory at dusk using cloaking and levitation spells. Lunch would have been an issue, too, if he hadn’t been spending those with Sander. Unfortunately, one meal a day together was the minimum for a convincing fake relationship.

“I can’t eat alone, can I?” Sander had asked when they met in the Great Hall after classes. “Boyfriends eat together.”

Robbe could do nothing but give in. They tried for dinner at first, and the following dissolved into lunch. Sander sat on the edge of the Hufflepuff bench, as if he were not welcome there, and held Robbe’s hand on top of the table while he ate whatever finger food he could and engaged in pleasant small-talk with Jens. He normally spent his evenings roaming the grounds.

Of course, that left Robbe and his friends at the table come dinnertime, watching Noor stare daggers at them. And that wasn’t cool. Britt’s ice-cold mannerisms at prefect meetings didn’t help, either, and only Senne could balance her out.

This month was going to feel a lot longer than Robbe imagined. If Sander didn’t find someone better.

Robbe was relieved when the weekend rolled around, because it brought with it Hufflepuff’s first game of the Quidditch season, against Ravenclaw. Jens made Robbe and Aaron run drills until one AM the night before. Peak physical condition was more important than sleep anyway.

Now, Robbe flew out over the pitch, one hand poised over his eyes to shade them from the sun. It took only a moment to spot the green and silver scarf in Hufflepuff’s black and yellow section, and Robbe knew that he didn’t really miss getting Great Hall dinners. So what if it was fake? There was Sander, in all his bleach-blond glory, sitting next to Senne in the stands and waving a black and yellow flag.

Sander locked eyes with Robbe and started screaming something incoherent over the wind. It was probably more about what people in the stands heard than what Robbe himself did, so Robbe soaked up the precious minute of Sander’s bright and happy face instead of paying attention to the message.

“Alright,” said Jens, gathering the other players closer for a pep talk. Robbe flew up a little higher to be level with the rest of the team. “Ravenclaw’s good. Great, even. But we’re better. Keep the Quaffle away from Zoë—she’s too fast and we’ll never see it again. Robbe, stop looking at your boyfriend.”

He wasn’t looking at Sander. He just so happened to be gazing the direction of the Hufflepuff stands.

The other team members muffled their laughter.

“Obviously, Yasmina,” Jens continued, unperturbed, “you are smarter and more capable than all of us. Please fix our mistakes.”

Yasmina played keeper. No one could protect a post like her, and the Ravenclaws knew it. There would be some faceoffs today. “Good pep talk,” she said.

“I try. Alright, I think that’s it. Let’s have an amazing match, no life-threatening injuries, no deaths. Go Hufflepuff!”

With that, the team shot apart to their differing positions on the pitch. Jens and the other chasers crowded the half line, Aaron and his fellow beater stayed back a little bit with bats poised, and Yasmina lounged sideways in front of the goal. Robbe decided to circle the game from above for a better perspective. The view reminded him of that from the astronomy tower. As play began, it was difficult to differentiate between teams swarming the pitch—a hurricane of bludgers and broomsticks. Robbe waited for the glare of the sun to highlight the golden snitch.

“Hello up there!” Yasmina called up to him, around five minutes in. Hufflepuff had pretty steady possession of the Quaffle. “See anything?”

“Not yet,” he shouted back. Ravenclaw’s seeker tarried by their set of goalposts. She hadn’t seen anything either.

“Is Sander really your boyfriend?” There was no judgement in her tone, yet somehow, Robbe felt it anyway. He curled into the defensive.

“Yes, and what of it?”

“Nothing. Just, Jana said so.”

“He’s gorgeous,” said Robbe, dropping twenty feet to do so.

“I didn’t know you were gay.”

“I’m not—”

The Quaffle almost made it through the smallest of Yasmina’s hoops, but she batted it away before it could cost a point. Jens grabbed her rebound and sped away down the side, passing back and forth with a fourth-year chaser they called Macs. Another minute, and a gong-like noise signaled a Hufflepuff score. They were leading thirty to zero.

“It’s great, really,” said Yasmina. “I’m happy for you.”

Robbe didn’t know what else to say, so he mumbled, “Thanks.”

From the corner of his eye, he saw Sander’s unmistakable bleach blond move around. He whirled to the action. Sander was talking with someone, a brunette girl, with animated hand gestures. For some reason, it made his head buzz.

Yasmina followed his line of vision. “Who’s she?”

No one Sander wasn’t allowed to talk to.

“A friend,” Robbe said smoothly. “Watch the game.”

Sander could chat with anyone he wanted. It didn’t mean anything more than Robbe’s fake relationship with him did. Yasmina had the good sense not to push it.

The game passed at an alarming speed, no time to perseverate on anything going on in the stands, no time for any more casual conversation. Jens was a blur with the Quaffle, dodging bludgers and ducking under other players. Zoë was never far behind. The teams would have been locked into a helpless tie if it were not for Yasmina’s stellar guard of the goal. By the halfway point, Hufflepuff was ahead ninety to thirty, and not one sign of the snitch. Robbe busied himself by weaving in and out of the towers around the pitch, because he enjoyed the way the Ravenclaw seeker followed him around like a lost child.

He hadn’t seen a thing, and look at her go! Maybe he would nosedive to watch her streak beside him, or launch into the atmosphere with her along for the ride.

A bludger knocked into the side of his broom. “Shit, sorry!” yelled Aaron from his spot beside Macs.

By some bizarre luck Robbe kept his hold, but the impact swiveled him back to face the Hufflepuff section of the stands, and he’d been avoiding that particular sight. He didn’t have time to turn away again. Sander stood out like a sore thumb. No, better comparison—Sander stood out like a sunflower in a field of poison ivy.

Cool it with the similes, Robbe. Focus.

The girl was still around. Sander was allowed to talk to girls as much as anyone else in the world. Robbe was upset, though, because it messed with the believability of their dating life. That was the reason.

He swooped directly over their heads, hand outstretched, as if they were all too blind to see the snitch a few feet in front of him. Where the gesture came from, who could say? Ravenclaw’s seeker didn’t hesitate to join.

“The skinny bloke over there is Robbe Ijzermans, finally doing something purposeful this match,” Luca’s voice boomed from the announcer’s box. Robbe didn’t know her that well; Aaron had a thing for her friend, Amber. “He’s spotted the snitch. Or he looks like he has. Toss-up. Oh, and lovely Zoë has the Quaffle again. Give them hell, girl—”

What the hell. Robbe was supposed to be dating Sander. Sander was crammed into the Hufflepuff section for him. Really, it would be suspicious if he didn’t do anything about this.

He angled his broom to spin back around and make a second pass over the Hufflepuff stands. This time, he got so close to Sander that he could ruffle Sander’s hair before zipping away. Let Luca talk about what that meant. The girl scooted away from Sander on the bench. She stared at the wooden slats beneath her feet, while Sander put his hands to his mouth and called something that Robbe couldn’t quite make out over the rush of blood in his ears.

Then, a glint!

By the announcer’s box, there it was! He could see its golden wings fluttering about. Normally, he tried to tune out Luca’s long-winded description of the game, but it was a little difficult when her microphone boomed in his ears as he shot out for the snitch.

“Looks like our Robbe has spotted it now. Wonder what that bullshit was earlier, then. Sorry, sorry I’ll stop cursing. Oh, fucking hell—”

Ravenclaw’s seeker came in close on Robbe’s side. She seemed to be following his movements; she couldn’t see the snitch about fifty feet away from her face. Robbe did have 20/20 vision. Maybe he was just better. It danced around in the air and across the stands, forcing them both to flip over in order to keep the pursuit.

“Macarthy with the Quaffle, he’s headed toward Ravenclaw goal. If I’m allowed to mention this, I don’t think Ingrid’s actually caught the snitch ever—right, sorry.”

The snitch closed its wings and dropped from the air until it was barely above the ground, where it reopened them to cut a trail across the worn grass. And here was Robbe, pretty close to the other Hufflepuffs, still.

This was a risky move, riskier than the hair ruffle. But it was pragmatic, Robbe reasoned, and it got him to the ground as quick as anything else. If he ever wanted to convince other people that his thing with Sander was something, it had to be more than sneaky kisses that didn’t really count for much. Plus, Ingrid didn’t actually see the snitch. So no harm done if he just—

Robbe let go.

The freefall was shorter than expected; he kept one hand wrapped around his broom as if he were on the monkey bars at the park back home. His feet met the wood of the stands with a bit of a bounce. Right next to Sander. Thank goodness, because there wouldn’t be time to move over if he landed by the wrong person. He conjured the memory from last week, when Sander kissed him for the first time, and did the same, but briefer and with less tongue. Tongue would be a little too much for a game. The crowd roared. He could see the snitch spinning in wide circles just above the ground. Ingrid halted overhead, confused, and darted toward the Slytherin tower.

“Another point for Ravenclaw over here and—what the fuck, Robbe?”

Robbe broke away before the kiss could take too long, and Sander leaned inward after him, as if he did not want it to end. Spectacular acting. Noor stood up from her seat three rows down, their eyes meeting for the shortest of seconds.

Before he could regret the whole thing, Robbe gathered up his last bit of courage and bounded down the stands on his feet instead of flying, making quite the jump at the end. He barely got his broom underneath him in time to evade a broken ankle on the pitch underneath the stands. Macs swerved to avoid him as his feet grazed the grass.

He coasted the rest of the chase on the adrenaline pumping through his veins and the absolute shock on Noor’s face. In no way did Sander’s cutting smile make him weak, no way.

“Guys and gals, take notes,” Luca declared. “Oh, and he’s got it, that son of a— Robbe has the snitch! Hufflepuff wins!”

***

Jens was on Robbe before he’d even dismounted his broom. “The fuck is with the grandstanding, huh?” he demanded. “You could have hurt somebody. You could have lost us the game. What the fuck?”

“Sorry, I was—” Robbe tore his gaze away at the sound of Sander’s voice coming down from the stands.

Sander caught him in a hug and brushed his lips along the edge of his ear, whispering, “How dramatic do you want this to be?” Skin peeled from his chapped lips and beads of sweat caught the light on his forehead. He was still a Greek god.

“I don’t know,” said Robbe, barely keeping his composure. “You can—”

He cut off as Sander scooped him up and spun him around in a circle. At its end, Sander lowered Robbe enough to draw him into a long, deep kiss. If Robbe could do wordless magic, every tree within a fifty-mile radius would have caught fire and burned to ash in a second.

He had to stop indulging thoughts like that. Noor stood by the entrance to the stands, and this was all for her. Just Sander helping him out.

“Gross,” said Aaron, patting Robbe on the back. “Get a room.”

“Gladly,” Sander said. “How long before Jens tries to get back to the dorms?”

“Oi!” Jens wasn’t done being angry with Robbe yet. “You’re not having sex on my bed!”

“Somebody has to, and you certainly aren’t.”

“Wow, okay. You’re not even—” Jens cut off. They’d promised to play along. “You’re new here, shut up.”

Sander accepted gracefully.

The other fans swarmed the players like flies and followed them on the way back to the dormitories, where Hufflepuff common room would likely host a killer party to celebrate the win. Robbe lost Sander in the fray almost immediately, even though their hands had been intertwined. He should let the group carry him along; he knew as much. Now that the game was over, though, there wasn’t any energy left for something like that. Robbe sat down on the pitch and leaned against the wooden supports of Hufflepuff’s box.

He wasn’t gay. He didn’t like Sander, not like that.

There must be loads of straight guys who felt good when they kissed other guys.

It didn’t mean anything. The whole relationship was fake.

Why wouldn’t his heart stop racing?

He breathed in until his lungs burned, held it for eight seconds, and exhaled until there was nothing left in his lungs. When that was done, things were calmer. More rational. His lips stung from the kisses.

This was not the time for a sexuality crisis. Tomorrow morning, maybe, or Tuesday afternoon.

The crowd’s cheers and banter faded off into the distance. The last straggling fans stumbled their way to the castle. It would be dusk soon, and the sunlight painted everything a delicious shade of gold. Robbe couldn’t help but fantasize: Sander in the sun like this, Sander’s eyes in the sun like this, Sander’s long eyelashes in the sun like this. He hated himself a little bit.

“Hey.”

Robbe looked up. Noor stood a few feet away, wearing a Hufflepuff sweater and a pair of sweatpants. The late November temperatures were no joke.

“Hello,” he replied.

“I thought you’d be upstairs.”

I thought you’d leave me alone, he thought. He said, “Catching my breath.”

“It’s a good night tonight. Lots of stars.”

“They’re around every night.”

“I guess.” She shifted awkwardly from foot to foot. “You haven’t been at dinner.”

“I’ve been studying,” said Robbe. “Exams in three weeks, yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Robbe opened his mouth to tell her to spit it out, whatever she had to say. He was tired of talking to her. He needed her to disappear, even if it hurt, and fuck, he was a bad person after all.

“He’s going to get tired of you,” she said. It wasn’t harsh. It wasn’t even that sad. She said it like a fact. “He’s… he’s not right. He’s going to get bored and leave you.”

That caught him off-guard. “What?”

“Sander.” Noor bit her lip. “He and Britt are going to get back together. They always do.”

Robbe scoffed. “I don’t really care about Britt’s take on this, no offense.”

“It’s not hers. It’s mine. Sander’s going to get bored of you, and when he does, he’s going right back to her.”

The whole thing was fake. Sander wasn’t even with Robbe. How could Sander leave if they weren’t together? Nothing Noor said had any bearing on Robbe’s situation at all.

He repeated that to himself.

“Is that all you came out here to say?” he asked. Hopefully that sounded confident. Robbe was still a little out of breath from the game.

Noor nodded. “I just thought you should know. Don’t get too attached. Sander’s—”

“It’s not really your business,” said Jens. Oh thank goodness, there he was, behind Noor. He must have turned around when he realized Robbe wasn’t with him. Sander was at his shoulder. “C’mon, Robbe,” he said. “We’ve gotta get back. I think they’re popping champagne.”

Robbe pushed himself up using the wall as support. He wanted to hear the end of that last sentence, even if he never wanted to hear Noor speak again.

What he knew:

He didn’t consider himself to be a particularly interesting person, never had, and today was the most brazen he’d been in his entire life.

The arrangement was made to be thrown away as soon as someone better stepped onto to scene.

Sander already knew that he was boring—Robbe was a prefect, for fuck’s sake.

Noor hadn’t said anything that wasn’t aware of already.

For some reason, it still stung. They started off down the worn grass that led out of the stadium and in the direction of Hogwarts’ main building, and, very purposefully, Robbe slid his hand into Sander’s. Because he could.

“Sorry!” Noor called as they headed away. She really did sound it.

“What was that about?” came Sander’s whisper in Robbe’s ear. It sent shivers down his spine.

“Nothing,” he hissed back. “Don’t worry about it.”

He wouldn’t worry about it either.

[purble-turble]

In the Demon King Red AU, what would happen if Red thought MK died? Like Red figured out a way to use the Samadhi fire and tried to use it on MK’s ‘poisonous’ friends to get rid of them, but an accident happened and everyone was led to believe MK perished (but he’s actually alive thanks to getting out of the way in the very last second). Of course MK lets his friends know he’s alive, but Red...?

Hmmm a very interesting question.. I don’t think Demon King Red would really believe that MK was dead unless he saw his body. Although, I guess if it was a fire attack and it looked like MK had been completely incinerated so there would be no remains that could be pretty convincing... also if it’s fire then it’s gotta be Red pulling the trigger on that attack so that just adds to the mess of this situation. Although I gotta say, I don’t know if King Red would ever be able to use the Samadhi Fire. My thoughts on it are that to use that fire it takes all your concentration and you have to be fully focused on being one with the flames, as that’s what the word Samadhi means. King Red isn’t really capable of that anymore, I think some part of him will always be too focused on MK and this overbearing obsession he has with him... I mean, unless the fact that he wasn’t concentrating on MK is the reason that this accident happened?? Ohhh I am getting ideas now! ...these asks are getting a bit long now so I’m gonna start putting the bigger ones under a readmore 👍

This is kind of a rip off of my own comic, but Macaque trains King Red on how to use the Samadhi Fire. Red is definitely interested in a power that can even defeat Sun Wukong, but is resistant when Mac tells him he has to stop thinking about MK in order to use it. However, he’s getting fed up with the Monkey King constantly getting in the way of him kidnapping rescuing MK and bringing him back home to the palace so after a particularly brutal defeat, Red is finally persuaded to go through with the training. Thing is Macaque doesn’t want Wukong to be killed, he just wants MK out of the way, so he’s got a reason for teaching Red this fire.. it’s risky, but he thinks it will pay off.

Once Red has mastered this ability (it takes him a pretty good amount of time because he keeps faltering as his mind wanders back to MK and screws up his concentration) he decides its time to strike. He has his surveillance trailing MK while he’s out doing his noodle deliveries that day, as usual, but this time he has them focus specifically on that hawk that’s been following the cart around. When MK calls it quits for the night, the hawk does a little loop in the air as a goodbye and then flies off.. and Red is waiting for him.

Meanwhile, MK is walking with Pigsy and Tang back to their place for the night when suddenly a dark furred monkey steps out of the shadows and confronts him.. at this point he obviously knows Macaque is working with Red, so he assumes the worst and prepares for a fight, but Mac actually looks worried. He tells MK that he doesn’t know how he managed this, but King Red has perfected a power that can kill Sun Wukong: the Samadhi Fire! Mac insists he didn’t want this to happen, he only teamed up with Red to get MK out of the way but he doesn’t want to lose Wukong to him. MK is further persuaded that this is a dangerous situation when Tang confirms the fact that the Samadhi Fire is in fact one of the Monkey King’s weaknesses.. Pigsy thinks it’s a trap and tells MK not to go anywhere. Macaque says there’s not any time to waste because Red is going after Wukong right now and he practically begs MK to come help him! MK doesn’t trust Macaque obviously, and he knows this might just be another of Red’s ploys to kidnap him, but he cares so much about his friends that he’s willing to take the risk. He lets Macaque lead him to where Red and Wukong are fighting.

As for the actual fight, Wukong was caught by surprise when he was attacked out of nowhere and he definitely wasn’t expecting Red’s fire to be so powerful so he’s at a disadvantage and is kind of on the run almost from the start. Red’s also not fighting in the manic, out of control way he has been lately. He seems calmer and more collected because he’s concentrating so hard on just making his flames as strong as possible and not paying attention to anything else. He gets Wukong down, probably coughing up a lung from the smoke, and is about to deliver a final, devastating fire blast to the Monkey King, but that’s when MK shows up and shoves his mentor out of the way. Red is too late to stop the fire completely and from where both Red and Wukong are standing it looks like MK was just completely consumed by the fire. Red pulls back the flames too late, and all that’s left is the scorched ground where MK was a moment ago... and also the Monkey King’s staff which he was holding is laying there, sizzling with heat. From where he’s watching from a distance, Macaque just smirks and hurries away thinking his mission is accomplished.

King Red is left thinking that his one true love, the man he’d dedicated his life to and was his only reason for going on, was just incinerated by his own hand. For a good minute he looks around in disbelief wondering where his beloved has gone because this can’t be right. He would never harm MK, this has to be a trick or something. But I think all the ash piled up around where the staff is laying finally gets to him and he realizes what he’s done. The grief and the guilt overwhelm him immediately and he just falls to his knees and screams until his throat aches. He’s definitely lost concentration on his fire, so it’s no longer the blue flames of the true fire, but the firestorm that whips up around him is still dangerous and demolishes the entirety of the street they were fighting on.

Meanwhile, to Wukong it looks like MK just died protecting him which is totally backwards! I think once he sees the staff laying there without MK he skips right over denial and lands on anger. Anger at himself for letting this happen but most of all anger at Red for killing his son successor... no... his son, dammit. Wukong stands, shakily because he’s still weak from the initial fight, and makes his way over to the staff. The fire is consuming the street around him now, and the staff is still so hot it’s burning his hands but he ignores all that and steps over to Red, pushing through the fire until he’s standing over him. Red is still screaming himself hoarse but Wukong speaks to him anyway, he asks Red if he’s happy now because this is all his fault! And then he lifts the staff with the intent to strike him down for good... Red stops is screaming finally and looks up at Wukong as he’s about to bring the staff down, and suddenly the delusions start to work again, the part of his brain that’s been working to protect his fragile state of self since his parents died and he lost MK clicks into overdrive and he realizes this wasn’t his fault. That’s just what they all want him to think. No this is the fault of MK’s poisonous friends. If they hadn’t interfered, if they had just let MK return to him none of this would have happened!! In fact if anyone is to blame here it’s Sun Wukong! Well he’ll show him. He’ll show all of them! If he can’t have his happy life with MK then why should any of them be happy? Why should ANYONE be happy?!!! He’ll destroy them. He’ll destroy them ALL along with their precious city!!

Needless to say, King Red does not just sit there and allow Wukong to kill him. He goes a bit mad (even more so, that is) and goes on a rampage, pushing his fire powers to their absolute limit, in an attempt to level the entire city. Wukong is still pretty injured, and while Red has lost the calm and concentrated demeanor he needs to use the Samadhi Fire so he can’t fully kill him anymore, he’s still not really in a position to be able to stop him. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t try, though.

Of course, we know from the premise of this ask that MK is not really dead! Maybe he did something that just made it seem like he vanished in the flames.. maybe as the fire was closing in on him, he dropped his staff in favor of trying to find some cover and he was like, standing over a manhole so he just grabbed the cover and ducked under at lightning speed to avoid being turned to ash. Once the danger had passed, he found he wasn’t able to lift the metal cover to get back up there, unfortunately, because 1) it was melted into place and 2) it’s so hot that when he tries to touch it to force it open it scalds his hands. So he climbs on down and starts looking for another exit to the sewer he’s now in. Eventually he comes back up top and finds the whole freakin’ world is on fire... so that’s not good. He retraces his steps to try to get back to where he was to pick up his staff again and finds it gone. He hears fighting in the distance tho so he runs, trying to find them because he’s still worried that Red is going to kill the Monkey King, and if the scorched and burning buildings all around him are anything to go by, it’s a pretty serious fight!

At last he catches sight of them battling it out on the rooftops and he sees Wukong has taken the staff.. of course, MK doesn’t have quite a good grasp on his powers without using it, so he shouts to the Monkey King asking for it back so he can help him in the fight. The second the two combatants hear his voice they freeze mid-battle and both look down. A second later MK has been tackled by two pairs of arms hugging him from both sides as the Monkey King and King Red crush him in a group hug, not seeming to remember that they were fighting literally a second ago or that they hate eachother’s guts. MK gets the gist of what happened through the mumbled words they’re both saying into his shoulders and realizes they both thought he was dead. After that he finally manages to pry both of them off and takes up his staff again, ready to fight Red.. he doesn’t seem to be in much of a fighting mood anymore, though. He’s just kneeling there, tears streaming down his face but he’s also smiling in that creepy way he does when he’s really pleased. MK, seeing this battle isn’t going to continue, he decides he wants to get far away from Red and just pogos out of there, telling the Monkey King he’ll see him tomorrow.

Let’s say there’s one more tense scene between Wukong and Red. They don’t fight because they’re both pretty emotionally drained from what just happened and not up for it, but Wukong says that was closer than he’d have liked and blames Red once again for it. Red snaps back that it happened because MK was trying to protect Wukong and he should have just taken the blast that was meant for him.. just further proof in his mind that his so called mentor can’t even protect his darling MK. He goes back to his palace, still a bit shaken from the experience, and determined never to use the Samadhi Fire again. Stupid Macaque.. it’s his fault too for teaching Red how to use it. It was a stupid idea to ever concentrate on anything but his love for MK, so he’s not making that mistake again.

[selene-tempest]

Mud bath.

"Erm..." Selene blinked, not really knowing what to say.

"I know."

"It's just that..."

"I said I know!"

"There's just so much..."

"I get it!"

"That's gonna take some scrubbing."

"I'm aware of that fact," Kayo's curt reply held a definite tone of warning.

Selene couldn't blame her, not really. She was covered from head to toe in mud, the dirt clinging to her skin, soaked into her hair and Selene was pretty sure she'd heard the sound of squelching whenever the other woman moved.

"Do you need any he-"

"I've got it, thanks." Kayo turned her back, walking stiffly from the hangar to the adjoined showers, knowing that Grandma would pitch a fit if any of them traipsed mud up to the main house.

Dismissed, Selene gave up the battle, knowing that Kayo, more than anyone, had moments where she just wanted to be left alone.

-x-

"Anyone seen Kay?" Virgil asked later that night when they were all in the lounge, spread out across the sofas in what Jeff called Sloth mode. Nothing was moving them short of an emergency call, which they all desperately hoped wouldn't happen.

"Not since we got back," Gordon answered. "She said she was pretty tired, maybe she went straight to bed?"

"Without eating?" Selene's inbuilt need to care for those around her pinged into life.

"I'm sure she'll get something if she's hungry," Gordon shrugged, not taking his eyes off the show on the holoscreen.

"Don't be mean," Selene swiped at his shoulder. "How would you like it if you got back and no one fed you?"

"It happens all the time," he protested.

"Not while I'm here," she said firmly. "I'm going to go and check on her."

"Your funeral."

It took her very little time to rustle up some left over mac and cheese and she took it, along with a glass of milk, up to Kayo's room.

She knocked on the door but got no answer.

"Come on, open up, I've brought you some food."

"I'm not hungry," floated through the door.

"Don't give me that shit, you haven't eaten since breakfast."

Nothing.

"It's mac and cheese," she wheedled.

Selene heard a sigh of defeat, followed by shuffling footsteps coming closer to the door.

"I'm warning you now," Kayo said through gritted teeth, "you'd better not laugh."

Selene frowned. What was there to laugh about?

"Promise me."

"Erm... OK, I promise not to laugh."

The door opened slowly, just enough for Selene to squeeze through, slamming shut behind her the moment she was inside the room.

"Where shall I put this..." Selene trailed off, catching sight of Kayo for the first time. "Oh lawd."

"Don't. Laugh."

"I wasn't going to!" Selene slid the tray of food onto the bedside table and turned to get a closer look.

"Yeah, right. I know how it looks, I've looked in the mirror."

"I honestly wasn't going to," Selene assured her. And she hadn't been. Her poor friend didn't need teasing, she needed help. Badly.

Her hair, that beautiful, thick, naturally shiny hair that Selene secretly lusted after but couldn't get without a mountain of products, looked like shit. There, she said it, even if it was just in her own head. It was fluffed up beyond all recognition, a mass of tangles and frizz the likes of which Selene had never seen.

"I'm sorry, I gotta ask..."

Kayo folded her arms, tapping her foot, daring Selene to say something shitty.

"How the hell did that happen?"

"I don't know," Kayo huffed. "I know my ponytail got loose from my helmet, that's never good because it gets all tangled then. Then the band snapped and it was a lost cause."

Selene nodded, she'd had a similar experience with her hair coming out of the back of her jacket while riding on the back of her Dad's motorbike and it had taken her and her mum the best part of an evening and two washes to get it untangled again.

"I've washed it three times, blow dried it and broken a brush on it but it's just made it worse."

"What type of conditioner did you use?"

"The one I always do, the one in the locker room and then mine up here. That one that Grandma buys in bulk."

Selene's eyes widened in horror as her friend described the torment she had just admitted to putting her hair through.

"Generic conditioner? You used generic conditioner? The same shit that Alan uses? That conditioner? And then you tried to brush it out?"

Kayo shrugged.

"What are you, a savage?"

"What else would I do to get tangles out?"

"Oh my gods," Selene clasped her hands over her heart and swayed dramatically. "I can't believe I'm hearing this. How? How could you think that would be OK?"

"It's always been OK every other time."

"No! No don't you dare dismiss it and pretend that you didn't just commit a cardinal hair sin!"

Kayo shrugged again.

Selene pointed at Kayo then the tray of food. "You, you're going to eat that while I go and get some emergency supplies, and then we're going to fix this mess!"

Selene didn't give Kayo a chance to respond, she just swept out of the room, having delivered her orders which she expected to be obeyed. Kayo wanted to argue but knew it was a pointless waste of energy. Her hair felt like straw, she was grumpy and now that the enticing scent of cheesy pasta was permeating the room, she realised she was hungry too.

By the time Selene returned, arms ladened with so many bottles Kayo was sure she had just robbed a salon, she had eaten all of the food, drank half the milk and could admit that she actually felt a bit better.

"Right," Selene declared, dumping her load on the bed and sorting through it. "This is a moisturing shampoo, it's my favourite, the one that Scott keeps stealing. We're going to wash your hair with this and then we're going to slap on this deep conditioning mask and leave it for the full half hour before rinsing."

"Half an hour?" Selene had never heard Kayo sound so shocked.

"Yep, while wearing this." Selene produced something that looked like deflated balloon that had mated with a wedding bouquet.

"What the hell is that?"

"It's a swimming cap, ignore the flowers, it'll keep the conditioner in place and create warmth to help it soak in, we'll cover it with a towel, you won't see it."

It took some persuading, but soon Kayo was back with soaking wet hair. Selene helped her to smother her locks in an insane amount of the hair mask and wrestled it into the swimming cap then wrapped her whole head in a towel.

"I feel ridiculous."

"Ypu look it too, but beauty is pain and it'll be worth it in the end."

"I know at least six different ways to kill you without you making a sound, they will never find your body."

"But you wouldn't do that to me, would you? Because then you'd be combing that shit out on your own."

The witch spoke the truth.

"Urghhh," Kayo groaned, refusing to admit defeat but knowing she had to. "This is going to take forever."

"Nah, it won't, don't sweat it. We'll have a girly night. Look, I bought face masks and chocolate too, it'll be great."

There was protests, but Selene quickly bulldozed through them like she always did, going so far as to launch herself at the other woman and sit on her when she tried to escape to lock herself in the bathroom, holding her down while she scrubbed at her face with a cleansing wipe and then painted on the mask. Ignoring her outraged screeching as she flailed her arms in a defensive attack.

The door opened at one point, Gordon and Alan sticking their heads in to make sure everything was OK. In their house screaming was never ignored. They took one look at Selene straddling Kayo, holding a dripping brush between her teeth while Kayo tried to push her hands away, both girls faces smeared in bright green face mud, and backed right out again. Selene didn't blame them.

Kayo looked at Selene, her eyes narrowing as if she were about to shove her onto the floor, but then her lips curved in a smile and she started to laugh.

They both collapsed into manic giggling, unable to stop. The looks on the boys faces ahd been priceless, as had theirs when they had turned to look at the door, pausing in the middle of their fighting.

"Thats going to be all around the island in the next ten minutes," Kayo howled.

"Oh gods, yes. They're never going to let this be forgotten," Selene wheezed, easing up on her friend and rolling sideways to get off her.

By the time their hysterics had subsided Selene gave Kayo permission to wash out her hair.

Over the course of the next two hours Selene smothered Kayo's hair in detangler and painstakingly combed through the now thankfully not so tangled mass, working in tiny sections at a time, from the tip to the roots until she could run the comb smoothly through her hair.

As they worked, with Kayo sat on the floor in front of the bed and Selene perched on the edge behind her, they fell into an easy chatter, sharing the chocolate Selene had brought with her and catching up.

If anyone asked, Selene would say she was closest to the boys, and most definitely Scott, but she counted Kayo as a close friend just the same.

At first meeting the two women had decided that they had very little in common, although they had banded together, two girls in a sea of testosterone that was Tracy Island and had become close pretty quickly.

Selene was more of a girly girl, finding enjoyment in putting on makeup, dressing up in nice clothes and watching weepy movies. Whereas Kayo was a tougher nut. She didn't really like dresses and considered makeup to be a waste of time, but they had worked hard to find a common ground.

Kayo had been used to being the lone girl (apart from Grandma) on the island and Selene often wondered if her mother dying young and her moving to the island where she had had to hold her own with what amounted to a chattering pack of wild monkeys, had stopped her from exploring her feminine side a bit more.

Kayo was great for so many things, she and Selene often spent their workout time together and had found they both shared a curious fascination for real crime documentaries, especially those of a more historical nature like Ted Bundy, The Yorkshire Ripper and the Night Stalker, it was interesting to try to figure out how today's modern technologies could have helped with the cases.

They would be found by John, wide awake in the small hours of the morning, camped out in the lounge with blankets and unhealthy snacks that Kayo would never admit to actually eating, engaged in some debate or other, sharing theories on unsolved cases or giving their opinions on one's that had already been solved.

No, their Kayo could never be described as girly but she was awesome just the same.

As Selene worked Kayo regaled her was the story of the whole sorry rescue from start to finish, starting with the flooding and finishing with all of then wallowing around in knee high muck, slopping around, falling over and basically having a less than relaxing mud bath.

The boys had had it easy, they just needed a quick shower and change of clothes, but Kayo had not been so lucky.

But the time all the tangles were out of her hair and Selene had dried it with the hairdryer she'd borrowed from Virgil's room, both girls were laughing again and with each sweep of the brush through her friends hair Selene felt her tense shoulder relaxing, simply enjoying the feel of someone looking after her for once.

Kayo didn't like being looked after, where the boys were always happy to accept any and all attention, especially if it came in the form of food, hugs or tv buddies, Kayo was more reserved and less likely to seek out company when she felt tired or moody. Selene made a mental note to force her company on her friend more often.

"There, all done," Selene announced, running her fingers through it one more time just because it felt so soft and shiny now that it had had some TLC.

"It actually feels amazing," Kayo admitted, stroke a strand between finger and thumb.

"That's because your heathen head has finally been nourished with something decent."

Kayo ignored that dig as Selene started to gather up her products, leaving some on the bedside table for Kayo to keep.

"There, that wasn't too horrendous was it?"

"So you say," Kayo huffed, but there was just a tiny hint of a smile on her face.

"So you wouldn't want to make this a monthly thing then?"

Kayo rolled her eyes. "Obviously not."

Selene shrugged, turning to pick up her things.

"But, I consider you my friend so, you know, hanging out once a month wouldn't be that much of a chore, but only because you want to."

"Oh, of course," Selene agreed, trying not to laugh.

"So, what now?" Kayo asked, reluctant to admit that it had actually been quite a fun night that she wasn't really ready to end yet.

Selene thought about it for a moment or two. "Wash off this stuff," she pointed to the mask that had long since dried into a flaking, crusty mess, "and then shove the boys off the couch so we can watch the next episode of 'Crimes of Passion, the 80s years'?"

"Thought you'd never ask."

Big thanks to @myladykayo for the picture prompt. Not sure what this turned into but I went with it.

[star-spangledstud]

ROAD TRIP

Pairing: Steve Rogers x (female!) reader

Summary: You take the boys on a road trip. Steve has a big surprise.

Warning(s): fluff, an overload of sappy goodness and a snoring Bucky. 

Word count: 3700-ish. 

Just as the sun reaches its peak and the wind sends humid blasts of air through the air-conditioning system, Steve glances in his rear-view mirror for the fifth time in three hours. From a distance, he can barely make out the car that trails behind him along the highway. The shiny black vehicle behind his is surrounded in a cloud of sand much similar to the one that follows his own car, and slightly obscures his view. 

Even though he can hardly make out more than the outline of Sam’s car, his eyes are perfectly capable of inspecting and basking in the glorious view ahead of him. For hours it’s been nothing but sandy panes and distant canyons stretched across the horizon along the mostly deserted highway. It’s an incredible contrast to the busy streets of Brooklyn he’s so used to seeing and for the first time in months, he finds himself able to relax without having to think about missions and lurking alien threats.

He knows it was your idea to take the cross-country road trip with just the four of you, and the only reason why he even agreed to tag along in the first place was exactly that. Steve doesn’t think of himself as a particularly good driver, but with the roads mostly deserted and his best friend right beside him, he feels mostly chilled out, excited even, and he’s glad he came, because the scenery would have been lost on him if he hadn’t.

Speaking of best friends, Bucky is snoring so loud in the passenger’s seat his voice almost completely overtakes the sound of the mellow tones of Mac Demarco’s voice on the radio. Bucky has been fast asleep all morning, and even with the sun shining directly through the halfway opened window and onto his face, he looks extremely peaceful. A tad uncomfortable perhaps in his current position but peaceful, nonetheless. To this day, seeing his best friend content brings a feeling of happiness to Steve’s insides that he can’t quite put his finger on. It brings him a sense of relief that he’d been searching for years.

Even though Steve can barely hear the radio, he does hear the honking coming from behind him seconds after passing by an exit sign. He quickly glances in the mirror again and is immediately greeted with flashing headlights that shine bright, white light into his eyes. He signals back by flashing his taillights a few times in a row, and contemplates whether he should wake Bucky up now or let him sleep until they get off the road, but decides not to wake him until he pulls off the highway into a mostly abandoned parking lot that overlooks a field of cacti and dried grass blinking in the sun.

“Hey sleeping beauty,” Steve says with a cheeky smile while he nudges him gently, “bathroom break.”

Bucky groans and extends his arms above his head, his eyes falling on the gas station in front of the car. He watches an elderly gentleman entering the gas station wearing a cowboy hat and leather boots and rolls his eyes while he opens his door.

He steps out of the car and makes a straight line for the bathrooms, leaving Steve standing with his arm leaning against the burning rooftop of the shiny black vehicle as he waits for you and Sam. Apparently, Bucky is not a morning person, even though it’s technically already way past noon, and hopes his friend gets a coffee before getting back in the car.

Steve smiles brightly when you exit the passenger side, and his smile grows even bigger when you offer him a wave after stretching out your limbs. Sam locks the car and follows you over to where Steve is standing, the two of your engrossed in a discussion about which flavor of Ben & Jerry’s tastes better. Both of your sandal-clad feet drag across the sandy road, gravel rolling beneath your toes and bouncing off into the sea of sand like flying fish while you’re busy trying to convince Sam Chunky Monkey is an awful first choice. Cookie dough is clearly the best flavor.

“Pee break,” you explain when you fall in line with Steve’s step, “Where’s Buck?”

“Pee break. He beat you to the punch,” Steve says, grinning as he watches you enter the shade.

“She had four bottles of water,” Sam explains when you walk ahead of the guys, “your girl is thirsty as hell, my friend.”

He pulls down his sunglasses and winks at Steve, but Steve doesn’t reply. He punches his friend in the arm instead and begins to follow after you as he raises his middle finger in Sam’s general direction. 

He waits for you to finish going to the bathroom by the snack isle, and proceeds to watch you in amusement as you pick out two bags of sour candy and a bag of salt and vinegar chips from the spinning rack. Sam and Bucky are outside pumping gas while the two of you scour the isles of the gas station, picking up bottles of cold water, a watermelon Slurpee for you and more snacks along the way.

Steve takes in your appearance when you take a stand next to him in line. Your skin is glowing, highlighted cheekbones flashing brightly in his direction when you turn your head the other way. The Slurpee you’re sipping on tints your lips a soft shade of red, and your eyes sparkle when you meet his longing gaze.

“You tired of driving yet?” you ask as the two of you get in line for check out.

Steve drapes a heavy, glistening arm over your shoulder and kisses the top of your head. His lips, soft and warm against your skin, still give you goosebumps every time they come in contact with you.

“I wanna ride with you next,” you mumble when he kisses your lips, batting your lashes at him in a way you know he can’t resist. 

It was your idea to ride with Sam in the first place, claiming you wanted to get to know him better while simultaneously allowing Steve and Bucky some quality best friend time. Of course you didn’t know Bucky would be out like a light the entire drive, and you secretly missed the company of your boyfriend already. You couldn’t be happier when he agreed to take the trip with you, and so far it’s exceeded all your expectations and then some. Hell, even Bucky looks like he’s enjoying himself.

“How long before we get to the motel?” He asks when you place everything in your arms on the counter.

“Three hours or so,” you say after greeting the cashier, “there’s a diner on the same street where we can eat.” 

“Hmm,” he kisses your cheek and whips out his credit card before you find yours in your cross-body bag, “my girl’s done her research.” 

“Of course,” you beam when the cashier hands you the bags, “it was my idea after all.” 

Sam gladly trades you for Bucky. According to him, the Ben & Jerry’s discussion brought a cliff between your relationship that can’t possibly be fixed, and he needs time away from you to think about the future of your companionship. You laugh and flip him off as you gather your belongings from the backseat of his car, and skip happily to Steve, who’s leaning against the trunk while he waits for you.

“Forgot my sunglasses,” you say between pecks, “I’ll go get them real quick.” 

But he grabs a hold of your arm before you can turn around and from his back pocket appears a pair of black Ray-Bans. He gently pushes them onto your nose, and ten minutes later, the four of you are back on the road. 

The motel you booked earlier that morning - talk about last minute - is located in an old mining town on the edge of the desert. From the window of the room you share with Steve, you can see the bright neon sign flashing against a background of tumbleweeds and cacti illuminated by the undergoing sun. You plop down onto the king bed, hand rubbing your stomach after the heavy meal the four of you just shared while Steve grabs your overnight bags from the trunk of the car. 

“Come here,” you whine with outstretched grabby hands when he finally shuts the door behind him.

He chuckles, but follows your command, getting on the bed until he’s hovering over your body, warm breath scented like vanilla milkshake fanning across your face.

“Thank you,” you say sweetly, “for coming with me.” 

“Of course,” he says, “I wanted to come and so did the guys. You reminded us how important it is to take time off, even with our jobs.” 

You were terrified of the thought of dating an Avenger when you first met Steve in your local coffee shop in Brooklyn. You’d seen them on the news plenty of times of course, but had never come face to face with one of the mighty heroes until then. The two of you hit it off right away, and it didn’t take him very long to ask you to be his girlfriend. You remember the day like it was yesterday, and remember even more vividly how scared you were before meeting the rest of the team for the first time. 

It was your idea to take the road trip, because you wanted to get closer to the people who Steve trusted with his life. You liked all of them and wanted everyone to come along, but sadly not everyone on the team could get vacation time simultaneously, so instead of bringing the whole gang along, it was just the four of you. You’d been driving for two days straight now, and so far everything had gone smoothly. 

You’ve grown to love Sam, because the two of you can just bicker about absolutely nothing for hours on end, and you share the same dry, sarcastic humor. Bucky was harder to read in the beginning, but after seeing you and Steve together, he’s grown to love you like a sister, and you him like a brother just the same. 

“I know how much you love your job,” you say, “I just don’t want you to think I’m trying to rip you away from it.” 

He shakes his head, “of course not, baby. Like I said, I wanted to come. I enjoy spending time with you, and I can’t wait to spend two weeks with you and my best friends in a cabin by a beautiful lake.” 

“I hope you know I’m going to push you in the water,” you smile. 

“Baby,” he snorts, “do you really think you can move me even an inch? I’m the mighty Captain America.” 

“You may be Captain America, but I’ll catch you off guard and have you soaked in no-time.” 

He kisses you deeply, savoring the sweet taste of your cherry Chap-stick and the scent of your vanilla body splash. Then, he gets up from the bed, taking your arms and pulling you up with him. 

“What are you doing?” you ask, frowning when he slips on his sneakers. 

“We’re going for a walk,” he explains, “come on.” 

You follow him outside, enjoying the lingering heat on your bare arms when the two of you walk around the premises of the motel. He grabs your hand and holds it, thumb rubbing gentle circles over your skin that leave you feeling warm from the inside as well. The two of you are silent when you walk, the only sound audible being the gravel beneath your feet and the occasional car driving along the road behind you.

An hour later, you return to your room and within minutes of your heads hitting the pillows, both of you are knocked out cold.

The cabin you rented for two weeks is even more beautiful in person than in the pictures you found of it online. It’s the perfect mixture of modernistic architecture with classic log cabin vibes, which are created by the wooden log exterior and glass panels that give a perfect living room view out onto the glistening lake. Inside, the interior is eclectic, futuristic furniture with deer heads mounted to the walls. You and Steve share the master bedroom upstairs, while Bucky and Sam each have their own room on the ground floor. There’s a fireplace in the living space that is connected to the kitchen, which you immediately begin to fill with the groceries you picked up shortly before your arrival. 

Remembering you have to feed three hungry men who eat like bears, you immediately start dinner while the three of them explore the surrounding area. Sam is particularly excited about renting a boat, and you’re not opposed to spending some time out on the water yourself. You decide to make something simple, pasta Alfredo, and make sure to place a handful of beers in the freezer to chill while you cook. Steve and Bucky may not be able to get drunk, but they can still enjoy a cold one. 

After dinner, Bucky and Sam disappear again for another walk with just the two of them, and when you voice your concerns regarding them getting lost in the woods, they - including Steve - have no trouble reminding you of their Avenger status. You’re embarrassed for a moment, until Steve kisses your cheek and the guys apologize to you. The grins never leave their faces, though. 

“Those two are awfully happy to spend time together,” you mention while washing the dishes, “I feel a bromance blossoming right before us.” 

“I’ll pretend to know what a bromance is and agree with you,” Steve places a dried plate back inside the cabinet, “I love you.” 

You smile, cheeks heating when he squeezes your side with his fingers before kissing you softly on the lips. You marvel at him, amazed with how much of a perfect boyfriend he is, and kiss him twice more before the sound of running water brings you back down from the cloud you’re doing cartwheels on. 

“I like your dress,” he says, “it’s very pretty.”

“Of course you like it,” you state, “I wore it for you.” 

Steve drops the towel in his hands onto the counter and moved behind you. He pushes you hair to the side and his lips ghost over the bare skin of you neck, fingers playing teasingly with the spaghetti straps of your pastel pink summer dress. 

“Did you, now?” He whispers in your ear, hands caressing your bare shoulders and upper arms in a slow manner. 

You hum in response and shudder when he kisses your neck, softly sucking and biting on the exposed skin. The way he manages to instantly find just the spot you like does something funny to your heart rate and breathing every time, and just as you’re about to order him into your bedroom, the front door opens, and two laughing men stumble inside. 

Steve groans from the loss of contact, but steps away from you nonetheless, and he follows the sound of laughter into the living room while you finish doing the dishes alone. Tomorrow the two of them can do it, you think in annoyance. This is your vacation too, after all, and the person who cooks is never the one who cleans. 

Just before you enter the living room, the three men are speaking in hushed tones. You can’t make out what they’re saying, but the conversation falls silent the second you walk in and the atmosphere feels tense. You want to say something about the newfound silence, but swallow your words when Steve speaks first.

“Wanna go for a walk?” Steve asks with a twinkle in his eye when he spots you, and you nod hesitantly, eyes scanning the guys’ faces.

Your feet graze the beautiful old rug, and you lean against the bookshelf that’s stuffed with encyclopedias and classic board games like Monopoly, scrabble and Clue. There’s a painting above the door you only just noticed. It’s a replica of The Allegory of Painting by Vermeer.

“Something wrong?” You ask, afraid of work-related issues rising during your first night at the lake, but Steve waves them away when motions for you to join him after ordering the guys to finish cleaning up the kitchen space. 

it’s warm outside when you step onto the wooden porch, and the sound of fireflies and lizards hidden from view creates a smile on your face. It’s extremely peaceful and quiet, just what the guys need; an idyllic getaway from their jam packed schedules as Avengers and the fast-paced New York City lifestyle. It’s nice to see Steve this relaxed, you think when you take his hand, and you follow him down the trail that leads around the lake.

This is the Steve you fell in love with nearly two years ago now. You loved him, every part of him, but you had to admit you preferred casual Steve over his alternative persona. With you, he could be his authentic self. No fronts, no righteous facade, just Steve, with flaws and imperfections and questions about life in the 21st century that he only dared to ask you because you’d never laugh at him for not knowing how to work induction plates and FaceTime.

“This place is incredible,” he says when turning back to look at the slowly disappearing cabin. 

It is. It’s better than any of the places either of you have stayed at since you started dating. Hell, it even beats Tony’s penthouse suite and the mansion he owns in the south of Greece. He let you two stay there for your one-year anniversary. You smile when thinking back on that time. 

Usually, you wouldn’t even dream of walking around outside late at night, but you’ve never felt safer with Steve’s hand clasped tightly in yours. You want him here, and the look in his eyes he gives you every time he tries to secretly glance at you lets you know he wants to be here just as bad. Exactly that is what makes your relationship work; it’s a companionship just as much as it is a friendship. 

It’s nearly impossible for you to imagine him on the job when he’s strolling alongside you on the trail illuminated by the light of the moon, nearly impossible to imagine the brute force he’s accustomed to using on a daily basis. Steve’s not a violent man by nature, but his willpower to win a fair fight and keep the world safe from inner- and outer-worldly threats require him to use his power and strength all the time. You know it’s a part of him and it most likely always will be and you’ve accepted it, but still, having a super hero boyfriend brings baggage you only have time to think about when you’re spending quality time with him. It’s during those times that you realize how busy he actually is, and even though you don’t blame him for it, it still saddens you. 

“Penny for your thoughts?” He asks, watching you bite your lip in thought. 

You smile at him, “I’m just very happy you came.” 

“Honey,” he presses, “I already told you I wouldn’t miss this for the world.” 

“I know,” you reply, “but I also know your job is your life, and I can’t help but feel as if I’m trying to take you away from it.” 

He takes your face in his hands and bends down until his eyes meet yours, “Don’t ever say that again, you hear me? I mean it. I. Want. To. Spend. Time. With you. Too much work isn’t healthy, and I need you to tell me to stop when I go too far.” 

The two of you continue walking further along the trail, until finally, you pass between a group of tall trees. 

Your jaw drops when you reach the clearing, tears pricking the corners of your eyes when you look at what’s in front of you. A dozen torches, spread around the clearing in the shape of a heart light up the entire area. In the center, a blanket and two fluffy pillows are spread out across the grass. Beside it is a picnic basket, filled to the brim with fruits, snacks, and a bottle of expensive wine. 

“What is this?” You ask when Steve leads you closer to the blanket, “Steve! Did you put Sam and Bucky up to this?”

You walk closer towards the scene, face glowing in the orange flames, “this is amazing!” 

“Y/N,” he says, pulling on your wrist to catch your attention, “I love you, baby.” 

You look back at him just in time to see him falling to one knee, and when he shoves his hand into his back pocket to retrieve a blue velvet box, your vision blurs until you’re rapidly blinking to keep the tears at bay. 

“I’ve loved you from the first moment I met you,” he says, “you keep me grounded when my head is too far up in the clouds. You make me want to be a better man every day. You shine brighter than any light in New York City, and I want that shine to be for me, and me alone. I want you to take my name, Y/N. I’m not worthy of you, but I promise you I’ll do my best every day to try. Please let me try.” 

You’re crying, ugly crying now, and you don’t even realize you’re shaking your head until he finally speaks the words you’re dying to hear spill from his heart-shaped lips, “Marry me, baby.” 

“Yes,” you manage between cries, “of course I will!” 

The diamonds sparkle around your finger when he slips it on, and you’re hanging onto his neck for dear life the second he lets go of your hand.

“I love you, sweetheart,” he mumbles into your hair, “love you so much.” 

“I love you too Steve,” you sniffle. 

Yeah, this really is the nicest place the two of you have ever been. 

[adrenaline-roulette]

Is this just fantasy? Chapter 2

Pairing: Brian May x Reader

Warnings:

Summary: "Want me to bring back some ice-cream, and you can bitch about how horrible you day was?”

The idea of ice-cream had never been more appealing. “I believe Ben and Jerry’s is on sale at the moment, I could really go from some chunky monkey.”

“I never understood why you like that one so much!”

“I try to convince myself that because it’s banana flavoured then it must be healthy.”

“As a dietician in training, it is my duty to tell you, that that is not by any means true.”

“For a dietician in training, you eat an awful lot of instant mac & cheese.”

“Whoa now, there is no such thing as too much mac & cheese!”

Chapter two: Listen carefully to the sound of your loneliness

If you haven’t read chapter One yet, check it out here! 

Roger sauntered his way over to the bar, his eyes focused solely on the woman who had entered the pub only minutes earlier. The fact that she was currently face planted into the counter didn’t bother him too much, his standards were relatively low tonight, he would happily take home anyone just to prove Brian wrong! He couldn’t care less if the woman he was quickly approaching was a mental case who was actually licking the counter, rather than just resting her head. Anyone would do, so long as they said yes. As he stepped up besides the woman, he cleared his throat, a coy smirk donning his boyish face. He had expected her to swoon, or perhaps blush, that’s what usually happened when he presented himself to the opposite sex. This reaction, however, was entirely unexpected, and had him fearing he had lost his charm!

                                                          ********

You startle at the noise beside you, not having expected anyone to disturb your self-wallowing. You had found yourself spiralling into a panic attack as the realisation of what was going on around you, really began to sink in. Somehow, you really were in 1970’s London, and for the life of you, you couldn’t figure out how. The last thing you could remember, before falling asleep was talking to Sara about ice-cream flavours, after that, everything seemed to be a bit of a blur. The feeling of falling remained with you after your dream, but surely a dream couldn’t have caused this? The person clears their throat again, and his time you look up at them, your slumped shoulders lifting so you sat gracefully on the stool. Your eyes travelled up the body beside you, trailing from the feet, past the bellbottom jeans, over the masculine chest, and finally resting on the stunningly attractive face, of the one and only, blue eyed beauty, Roger Fucking Taylor.

Your face must have given away just how shocked you were, as Roger visibly stepped back, a flicker of surprise passing his baby blues. The ever so slight sliver of hope that this was all an elaborate prank, that had remained with you vanished in a matter of seconds. Your eyebrows creased together, as your mouth opened and closed in an excellent impression of a fish, as you desperately tried to form words. “You’re Roger Taylor” You breathed out, your voice raising a few octaves as you looked at him.

Roger blinked his eyes three times, before leaning his hip against the counter, grinning down at you. “Ah, you know me then do you? I’m positive that I would remember someone as lovely as you, but just in case I did somehow forget, what’s your name love?” He practically purred, trailing his index finger along your jaw. The logical part of your mind argued that you should keep quiet, there was far too much at stake, and knowing your luck, you would say something that could completely change the course of history entirely! The only problem with that however, was that you had never been a very logical person, and were more inclined to speak first, think later. This meant, the moment those thoughts entered your mind, you found yourself voicing the exact opposite.

   “What? No! You don’t know me at all. You’ve never met me, and I’ve never met you either! But I used to have your posters up in my room when I was growing up. Well not just posters of you, all of Queen! I had my first kiss to sail away sweet sister!” And there it was, the word vomit. By the time you realised what you had said, poor Roger looked utterly terrified. His eyes had grown impossibly wide, and he seemed to be shaking, and you could swear you almost heard his heart hammering away in his chest.

“I have no idea what you are talking about, but I think I’ll leave you be now. Have a lovely night Miss.” He mumbles, taking a half step backwards. The moment he moves, you leap up from your stool, clasping your hands around his biceps, unaware that the two men he had been sitting with just before were making their way towards the two of you.

                                                                                      ****

Brian reaches the two of you first, he had been watching the exchange between his band mate, and the young woman with a great deal of interest. Brian knew what to expect, after having watched Roger use his charm on many a woman before. Though something was different this time, he could tell, from Roger’s expression, that things didn’t appear to be going the way he had been expecting. The poor man looked visibly shaken, and like he was about to go running out of the pub. The moment the woman stood, and grabbed Roger, he knew he had to do something. He pushed his chair away from the table, and leapt to his feet, Tim following his lead soon after. The two men appeared beside Roger in a matter of seconds, the moment they arrived Roger seemed to relax somewhat. “Miss, is everything alright?” He asked gently, as Tim stepped away a few paces with Roger. The poor woman looked terrified, and on the verge of tears, perhaps Roger had picked the wrong woman to chase tonight?

                                                                                    ****

You feel like you’re about to collapse as you look up into the deep brown eyes of the world-famous guitarist before you, he’s so young, yet still so incredibly handsome. His words shake you from your thoughts as you stare up at him. “No of course I’m not bloody alright!” You practically shriek, how could any of this situation possibly make you alright? “You’re Brian May, And you! You’re Tim Staffell!”

Both men look rather surprised at your outburst, as Roger simply nods along. “That’s exactly what she said to me too! Scared the bloody life out of me.” He mutters, just loud enough so your small group could hear him. Your hands hover mid-air from where you had been clinging to Roger, and you find yourself unable to bring them down.

Brian is the first to come to his senses, stepping forwards and in-between you and Roger, he reaches out to, wrapping his long, slender fingers around each of your wrists, carefully lowering them down to your sides. “Ok, lets start slowly. Can you tell us what your name is?” He asks carefully, guiding you over to the table he, Roger and Tim had been seated at minutes before.

You sit gently down on one of the wooden seats, the leather cushion peeling at the edges of the old seat. The three men sit around you in the vacant seats, all looking at you intently. The last time you had had people looking at you like this, you were introducing yourself to your new class at school, the teacher had kept pressuring you to talk about yourself, wanting to know all about your hobbies and interests. You take a deep breath in, releasing it slowly out of your mouth, this was the tricky part. What damage would it do if you introduced yourself? Just by being here alone, you had surely broken just about every law of physics! What if by using your real name, that only caused more damage to the world as you knew it? Your breathing was becoming shallow once again, as you look frantically around at the three men before you, your eyes finally resting on Brian’s. You had never been embarrassed to admit this before, but now sitting here with the curly haired brunette, you found yourself blushing, the knowledge that he had starred in many of your late night ‘quiet’ moments, stirring something deep within you. “I’m, um, Eleanor- Eleanor Ribgy!” Perhaps that wasn’t the best name choice, but for the life of you, you couldn’t remember when the song had come out! Maybe it was yet to be released and you would be in the clear?

“Okay, so we all now that that’s a lie.” Tim smirks at you, and you find yourself wanting to slam your head against the table once again.

“How about we try this again, what’s your name? You know ours, it’s only fair we get to know yours.” Roger grins, as he takes a gulp of beer, before placing the glass back on the table with a loud clunk.

Right, well, that didn’t go the way you had hoped. Maybe you should just tell them your name, besides as Shakespeare once wrote, what’s in a name? “It’s Y/N Y/L/N.”

“See, that wasn’t so hard now was it?”

You almost glare at Roger, if only he knew how difficult all of this really was for you, maybe then he would wipe that cocky grin off his face. “You have no idea.” You mutter.

Brian twirls his glass between his large hands, frowning down at the amber liquid that was nearly gone. “Can you explain to us what happened just before?”

“Yeah! What did you mean, you had a poster of me in your bedroom? And who is Queen?” Roger butts in, causing Brian to scowl at him. Brian had been trying to approach this situation carefully, but clearly the blonde drummer had other ideas.

You groan deeply, this time, allowing your head to swing forwards and rest against the table once more. Face planting was becoming a habit of yours in the 1970’s, and you can’t help but think it’s likely not a good thing. “Honestly, I don’t even know what to tell you. It’s all too much, even for me to comprehend!”

“Try us, we’re smarter than we look!” Tim offers with a smile of his own.

Your shoulders slump down, before you pick yourself back up from the table, folding your hands in your lap. “Trust me, I know how smart you all are.” You almost whisper, before shaking your head gently. This was your chance, you could explain this bizarre situation to the men sat before you, perhaps one of them would believe you and help you find your way back? Brian has a doctorate in Astrophysics, surely, he would know what to do? But then again, that is Brian in forty plus years, and not the young man sitting with you now. “This is going to sound insane, I know that.” You begin, the three men leaning in closer to hear you quiet voice. “I woke up in the middle of a fucking field today, no idea where I was or how I got there. And now I find out I’m somehow in the 70’s.”

 Roger scratches his heads, mussing up his already messy locks. “I don’t see the problem? I’ve woken up in a field before, maybe you just had too much to drink last night”

A laugh bursts from your throat, as you shake your head no. “Oh Roger, you don’t understand! The biggest problem with this whole situation isn’t me waking up in a field, it’s the fact that it’s the 70’s!” At this, Roger returns to looking rather confused, just as Brian and Tim do. “When I fell asleep last night, it was 2019. Somehow, I’ve gone back in time forty odd years!” You raise your voice at the end, earning a few confused looks being thrown your way.

“Y/N, look I’m not trying to be rude here, but maybe you’re hungover? I mean, time travel? That isn’t possible!” Brian begins gently, reaching out and placing one of his hands over yours. The gesture sends a jolt of electricity through you, and in any other situation you would swoon, but not right now.

“Brian, I know how crazy this sounds! When I fell asleep last night, I was happily living with my housemate, stressing about work, and looking forward to her bringing me home ice-cream!”

He bites his lower lip for a moment, looking directly into your eyes as he thinks over your predicament. “I’m sorry, I just don’t think it’s possible. I of all people would know if time travel was real, I’m studying to be-“

You cut him off before he can finish, “An astrophysicist. I know, and one day, you will be Doctor Brian May.”  

“How do you know what I’m studying?”

At this, you almost wish the ground would open you up and swallow you whole. “Because I’m from the future! I know about all of you Brian, Roger, Tim, even Freddie and Deaky!”

Tim and Roger look between each other with equal looks of curiosity. “Who are Freddie and Deaky?” Roger asks.

Ah right, shit, maybe you shouldn’t have mentioned them just yet. “You’ll know them when you meet them.”

“Wow, that was cryptic.” Tim mutters, causing Roger to chuckle quietly. You shoot them both a glare, neither of them were taking this seriously! At least Brian seemed to be attempting to understand and believe what you were telling them!

“Look, I’ll prove it to you! I know just about everything there is to know about Queen, fuck, I mean Smile. Just, I don’t know, tell me what the exact date is?”

The men look between each other, before Brian shrugs and turns back to you, reciting the date to you. You nod, smiling in thanks as you go back through your mental log of notable Smile era happenings. A spark of recognition flashes behind your eyes, and you leap up from your stool, grinning broadly. “Tim! Today is the day you quit Smile to join Humpy Bong!”

Tim freezes, his hand halfway to bringing his glass to his lips. Brian and Roger and caught between looking at you and Tim. “Tim’s quitting?” Roger mumbles. Oh, okay, so that clearly wasn’t common knowledge yet.

“I- um yeah. They’re going places guys, and we really aren’t, lets be honest.” Tim sighs, drumming his fingers against his glass.

Brian turns to stare at you, a small smile spreading over his lips, you were an absolute scientific anomaly, and he loved it! “Wait, what the fuck are we supposed to do without a singer and bassist?”

You shrug lightly, not sure how much you should give away. But fuck it, you’ve likely already ruined multiple timelines by just being here, you may as well continue. “I believe, this is where Freddie and Deaky come into the picture.”

My Masterlist

[lovelyyjh]

crazy in love || 2

↬pairing: yoon jeonghan x reader

↬genre: fluff, summer camp!au, friends to lovers! au

↬warnings: verkwan being the meddlers they are, jeonghan being beautiful, hoshi + the performance team being stupid heads

↬word count:

1.4k

↬a/n: here’s chapter 2! i’m going to try to update as often as i can, which might be one chapter every few days, depending on my schedule. once again, thank you for reading and please let me know what you think!!♡

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

your jaw halfway slacked as you ogled the person standing before you. seungkwan was completely right. he looked like an absolute angel. his new white-blonde hair fell in light waves over the sides of his forehead in an almost graceful manner, his eyes bright as they gazed back at you. he was beaming, his blinding smile filling the room and having the power to easily lift anyone’s spirits in seconds. he was still as breathtakingly beautiful as he was last summer.

“earth to y/n? you there buddy?” you blinked and snapped out of your trance, noticing that jeonghan had moved a bit closer to you, his head tilted to the side as he gave you a slightly concerned look. you shook your head and stepped forward to wrap your arms around his torso, his own arms wrapping around your shoulder a moment later. you were the first to pull back, looking up at him with a large grin on your face.

“i missed you, han.” he looked shocked to say the least. you shocked yourself as well. a lot of the time, especially in the past few years, you never initiated affection, due to your desire to nullify your feelings for the taller boy. you supposed it was seeing him in his peak state after a year that really overtook your control, pushing your body to go to him first. of course, he didn’t mind. he was just glad to see his best friend after eleven months of only late night calls, texting in between classes, and spontaneous video chats where you would make mac and cheese, almost always ruining your kitchen, while he attempted to talk you through it.

“i missed you too, monkey,” jeonghan said, chuckling down at you. he had always been taller and stronger than you, making it easy for you to climb onto his back, which you did often, thus earning you the nickname ‘monkey’. it was a very rare occasion when he actually called you by your birth name. even when he didn’t call you monkey, there was some other pet name he addressed you as, whether it be nice or not. “ we need time to catch up. guys, we’re gonna go on a walk, we’ll meet up with you guys again at the campfire kickoff.” jeonghan’s hand slipped into yours and he pulled you out of the mess hall with him, causing your heart to flutter, though you’d never admit it out loud. he let go of your hand once the two of you stepped outside, much to your dismay. another thing you’d never admit.

“jeonghan!!” you cringed at the familiar voice coming from behind you, slowly turning around and internally frowning at the blonde-haired girl in front of you. jinsoul. (QUICK DISCLAIMER I LOVE JINSOUL I PROMISE) she was practically the female version of jeonghan, now more than ever since he dyed his hair to a color almost identical to her blonde. everyone had always said they would be the perfect couple, and jinsoul obviously agreed with that, throwing herself at your best friend every chance she got. but as usual, jeonghan, being oblivious, but naturally flirtatious, viewed her advances as friendliness, and acting the same way towards her, another reason a majority of the camp believes they’ll get together soon. it absolutely infuriated you. you used every last bit of self-control you had in your body to contain yourself from immediately saying something snippy to her.

“jinsoul, nice to see you again,” jeonghan said in an upbeat tone, flashing his stunning smile at her, provoking a wave of jealousy to flood your chest. you tightened your fists, your knuckles turning white as you attempted to hold in the annoyance you felt.

“i promised some friends i’d meet them before the campfire, but we should definitely catch up soon. i’ll even save a seat for you at the campfire if you want it.” she winked up at jeonghan before sauntering away.

“must be nice to see your girlfriend after a year, huh?” you muttered under your breath, kicking at the ground and beginning to walk again.

“what was that, y/n?” jeonghan questioned. you shook your head and waved him off.

“nothing, just talking to myself. tell me about your school year.”

“it was our senior year, so we got to do pretty much anything. seungcheol, joshua, and i skipped class a lot to go do stupid stuff, like this,” he pointed to his hair and laughed lightly, a sound that resonated in your head and quickly changed your formerly irritated mood.

“i really like it, jeonghan. you look so handsome, like an angel” you gushed, reaching up to run your hands through his hair, which was surprisingly soft after being bleached unprofessionally in a school restroom.

“thanks, bub, you look handsome too,” he teased, earning a frown from you, “i’m kidding! you do look adorable though,” he said, pinching your cheeks, to which you pushed his hand away and rolled your eyes.

the two of you continued to talk and catch up for a while, and before you knew it, the sun was starting to set and you could see smoke rising into the sky behind the mess hall.

“looks like the campfire’s starting. come on, monkey.” jeonghan grabbed your hand again, making you run with him towards the dark rising clouds. you both laughed as you ran, not letting go of each other’s hands the whole time, “let’s sit here!” jeonghan called to you, pointing to a small log that you two could fit on and dragging you down to sit with him. you looked down and blushed slightly at your hands which were still intertwined, thanking god that it was too dark for him to see the red that had crept onto your face.

“campers, can i have your attention please!” you looked up to see onew and solji standing on the small stage that was on one side of the ring of logs around the campfire, “my name is onew and this is solji, as most of you know. we are your head counselors here at camp seoul. all of us counselors are extremely excited for this summer, and we are even more excited that you’re all here to join us. we want tonight to be about getting to know each other, so i’ll cut this short and you all can talk and enjoy yourselves. once again, welcome to camp seoul!” the large crowd of campers cheered and clapped, smiling with each other. 

“I LOVE YOU ONEW OPPA!” you looked over to see soonyoung and vernon jumping up and down and waving, just having yelled out at him together. onew rolled his eyes and walked off the stage, joining his cabin mates on their log. after a few minutes, the boys from the ‘rose cabin’ walked up onto the stage to begin with singing campfire songs, as they do at the campfire kickoff every summer. the ‘highlight’ cabin and vernon started doing stupid synchronized dances to the songs, much to everyone’s amusement. 

“kwon soonyoung, i tell you every summer that you should not lead your cabin to dance to campfire songs because dancing near fire is dangerous, and every year, you disregard what i say! if you’re going to dance, at least back up another fifteen feet,” hani, another counselor from the ‘hot pink’ cabin, scolded him, crossing her arms and giving him a challenging look. soonyoung sheepishly grinned and motioned for the other boys to follow him a little farther away, a few younger campers trailing behind them. you and jeonghan burst out laughing, along with a lot of the other campers who had just witnessed soonyoung getting in trouble.

“i’ve missed you guys so much,” you said softly after you had stopped laughing, laying your head on the taller boy’s shoulder subconsciously. 

“we’ve missed you too, monkey.” your lips tugged up at the corners for the umpteenth time that night as you sighed contentedly, enjoying a moment with your best friend. who you also happened to be in love with. who had no idea you were in love with him. this summer should be fun.

❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀❀

“just look at them. they’re so hopelessly in love and nothing is happening!” seungkwan exclaimed pointing across the campfire to you and jeonghan talking and laughing with each other. vernon, jun, and minghao all nodded, agreeing with him, “they’re just like you two, but that’s a problem for another day,” the blonde boy said gesturing to minghao and jun who were sitting so close to each other, minghao was practically on jun’s lap. at seungkwan’s words, they shot a foot away from each other, both of them having turned a deep red color. 

“so what i’m hearing is we need to meddle and get them together?” vernon asked suggestively. 

“precisely. junhao, are you in?” jun and minghao exchanged shy glances before nodding. 

“alright, vernon you know what this means don’t you?” vernon nodded and gave seungkwan a look before they both spoke in unison what they were thinking.

“operation y/nhan is a go.”

prev. // next

masterlist

[jarredschwab455-blog]

Can I Convert MP3 To Flac? Solved

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To take pleasure in music saved in exotic codecs that you media player doesn't assist, you may need to install an audio converter software that promises to transform the audio tracks to a supported format. Numerous audio codecs exist, and each has its own unique features. Some preserve wonderful sound high quality, some will be performed solely on specific devices, some provides compact size, and others are so rare that you don't have any concept which packages can open them.

[allthevmff]

My Secret Love's Not Secret Anymore

by EllieBear

“Veronica…this is Logan.”  Mac grinned from ear to ear, her eyes bouncing between them.

 “And Logan…this is Veronica.”  Wallace swept his hand in front of them with a slight flourish as if unveiling Logan to her.

 Veronica was dumbstruck.  Staring up at the tall, handsome man, she fought the urge to start giggling hysterically, knowing that if she started, she would never stop.  Instead, she bit her cheek to keep her smile at bay.

 “Nice to meet you.” She nodded, avoiding making direct eye contact.

 Logan ran his fingers through his dark brown hair and nodded back.  “Uh, yeah.  Nice to meet you too.”  Sticking his large hand out towards her, she stepped closer, catching a quick glance of his deep brown eyes, twinkling back at her.  There was a brief shake – squeezing his slightly sweaty palm – before she turned back towards her friend.

 Gritting her teeth, Veronica leaned towards Mac, her words hissing through her lips.  “I thought I said, no set-ups.” 

 Gasping Veronica’s shoulders Mac chuckled nervously, glancing towards the men on the other side of the coffee table.  “Just go with it, ‘kay?”

 Veronica rolled her eyes and shook her head.  She told her room-mate Mac and her boyfriend, Wallace on numerous occasions, she didn’t want to be set up.  Her double major in criminology and sociology kept her busy enough as it was, and the added time killer of her job at the Hearst College Library on top of the occasional side gig helping her dad with work at Mars Investigations meant that men were usually on the back burner.  It would take a special person to put up with her crazy life.

 Flopping down into the high-back red velvet chair, Veronica let out a huff, her eyes following Wallace as he took a seat across from her, leaving the only empty seat for Logan next to her.  She heard him sign as he lowered himself into the chair, tossing a wry smile towards her.

 “Not awkward at all, huh?”

 Wallace laughed, leaning towards his coffee cup on the table.  “Look, man…you guys need to give each other a chance.  Trust us.”

 Logan covered his mouth with his fist, chuckling.  “Trust you?  You lied to get me here – even though I told you I didn’t want to go on a blind date.  And it looks like you lied to…I’m sorry…what was your name again?”

 Frowning, Veronica’s eyes narrowed at her potential suitor.  “Ver-on-i-ca.”

 Snapping his fingers, Logan tossed her a wink.  “Right.  Veronica here didn’t seem to know about this either.”

 “No!  No, I did not.”  Crossing her arms, she glared at her friends.  “Just because you two are blissfully happy together, doesn’t mean you have to go setting up all your single friends.  That shouldn’t be a thing.”

 Mac brushed a long piece of maroon hair from in front of her face and laughed.  “Wallace and I don’t think that.”

 “Um, yeah you do.”  Logan leaned forward, trying to punch Wallace in the arm, but his buddy managed to dodge him with a sharp laugh.  “Wally has been doing nothing but bragging about this friend of his girlfriend’s since I met him.”

 “Oh really?”  Veronica leaned on the arm of the chair, closer to Logan.  “Tell me what my good friend said about me.”

 Leaning closer to her, Logan gave a nonchalant wave of his hand in the air.  “Oh, you know, that you’re beautiful, smart, fascinating, intriguing, and have a penchant for trouble. Like Mata Hari – but with more clothes and less dancing.”

 Arching an eyebrow at him, a coy smile spread across her lips.  “Flattering, I guess.  Would you like to know how Mac described you?”

 Balling his fists up under his chin, Logan batted his eyelashes playfully.  “Do tell!”

 Throwing Mac, a side glance, Veronica could see her friend was pissed off that they weren’t taking this seriously, but she didn’t care.  This whole situation was one monkey shy of a full circus – she might as well have fun while she was here.

 “Well…she said that you transferred here in September from UCLA, you were totally stacked, incredibly funny, and one of the best writers in her creative writing class.”

 Lifting his shirt slightly, Logan exposed his tight belly to the crowd, and he slapped his abs playfully.  “Stacked, huh?  Not fully a six-pack but maybe one day.  I may have to add another weight-lifting class into my schedule for that next semester. But only if Wally joins me so Mac can enjoy his six-pack too.”

 Veronica let out a sharp, high laugh and she covered her mouth, trying to keep herself in check.

 “Now look, you two…if you’re done making fun of us, we have to get to the show.”  Wallace rose from his seat, stepping over towards Mac and offering his hand to her as she stood.  “All we need to know is if you’re in our you’re out.”

 Shrugging, Veronica glanced over at Logan and he shrugged back.  “In, I guess.”

 Standing, Logan stretched his arms over his head, his tight black t-shirt rising to reveal his tight stomach again.  For a second, Veronica lost all train of thought as she followed the trail of hair from his navel to the top of his jeans.

 “But I, for one, need to use the little-boys room, so if you’ll excuse me…”  Logan nodded at Veronica, dropping his arms as he made his way around the table.

 “I should go to.  Tiny bladder.”  Veronica pointed her thumbs at herself as she scooted past Mac and Wallace to follow just behind Logan.

 They wove their way through the coffee house, following the signs down a flight of stairs leading to the bathrooms in the basement.  Glancing over his shoulder, Logan quickened his pace, opening the door to the one of the gender-neutral private bathrooms and Veronica followed into the darkness.  Feeling for the lights, she turned them on just as Logan locked the door behind them.

 Before she could move, Logan was on her, spinning her around to face him as he lifted her up onto the tiny sink counter.  She squealed as his lips connected with hers, hard and demanding and she opened her mouth, deepening their kiss as her tongue swept against his.  Locking her ankles together behind his waist, she pressed her pelvis against his, feeling him hard against her jeans. 

 Releasing her, he trailed tiny kisses down her jaw as she giggled quietly. “Do you think we should tell them….”

 “…that we’ve been seeing each other for months now?” Logan murmured into her skin, nuzzling the soft flesh near her shoulder.

 “I told Mac I wasn’t interested in being set up.”  She huffed.

 “Because when she thinks you’ve been at the library studying for the last three months, you’ve been in my bed instead?”  His teeth nipped her skin in that way that drove her crazy and she involuntarily moaned, closing her eyes and savoring his touch.

 “Yeah.  That.”

 Raising his eyes to her level, Logan brushed his nose playfully against hers.  “Well, since our so-called friends didn’t listen, I think we should torment them as punishment tonight. We can’t let them know that their radar was right and that we would be – are in fact – a smoking hot couple.”

 “Oooohhh…I like when you use the words ‘torment’ and ‘punishment’…didn’t think that was a kink…but there you go…” Veronica cooed, grabbing his ass cheek and giving it a tight squeeze.

 Nipping at her bottom lip, Logan chuckled.  “Later, Bobcat.  Later.”

 Wiggling from his grasp, Veronica stood, straightening her clothes, hoping she wasn’t looking as flushed as she felt.  “So, our secret relationship, is now an actual relationship, but still a secret?”

 Scrunching his face, Logan’s head bobbed back and forth.  “Kind of, yes.”

 Pressing her palms to his pecs, Veronica rose on her toes and gave him a quick peck on the lips.  “I can work with that.”

    via AO3 works tagged 'Veronica Mars (Movie 2014)' https://ift.tt/2ERFJXR March 20, 2019 at 11:36PM

[underimagines]

Let's talk about headcanons about Food

Now, Mod Sync here is a decent enough cook. Put a recipe in front of me and I’ll be able to cook almost anything, and I can cook some things from just memory. I was making omelettes and looking up recipes and I wondered “What about the Undertale cast? What do they eat outside the game?” So, here are some things I’ve thought up about the main four!

If anyone remembers the Anniversary Q&A that happened (oh, who am I kidding, of course you guys do), then we know some things about that already. HOWEVER, I’m only going to partially use this info here. These are headcanons after all, so I don’t have to quite follow canon. 

Now, if you wish to continue, I shall leave these under a Read more, because this is gonna get wordy and also for you guys who are avoiding food for whatever reason. Also will include some other AUs.

Undertale Cast

Sans, without a doubt, loves anything greasy and fried. Pub food in partcular; burgers and fries are his go-to faves obviously, but also cheese sticks, stuffed potato skins, fried pickled, and so on. Hot pockets and mini pizza bites become a staple in his diet once on the surface. Anything he can pop in the microwave real quick. Also, mac and cheese with all the ketchup.

On the healthier side of things; He’s also very fond of anything with a large amount of tomatoes. Tomato soup with grilled cheese, sun dried Tomato slices, and many, many Italian dishes, though Papyrus has to sort of make him eat it. Except V8 juice. That shit is nasty.

Cooking-wise, he’s decent. He can make a number of different quiche by heart, and anything simple. He’ll need a recipe for anything else, and if it get’s too complicated, he’ll opt-out. Too lazy for anything fancy, leave that to his bro.

Papyrus is head of the kitchen in the Bros’ house. Strangely (or not so much) though, he’s the opposite of Sans; Paps is perfectly capable of making beautiful, complex dishes you’d see at a five-star restaurant. He likes the challenge. He could easily make Boeuf Bourguignon, Coq Au Vin, Backed Alaska, Curry from scratch, etc. But, when it comes to simpler things like Spaghetti, he’s thrown off. In his head, it’s too simple, so he adds things that the recipe doesn’t call for, thinking it will be better like his more complex ones. But…. yeah, the things he adds aren’t always even edible in general.

At the same time, he’s very fond of simple dishes. His favorite food is Oatmeal, an extremely simple dish to make for most. He has a cheese sandwich and an apple for lunch. Maybe he likes these because they’re so hard for him to make, like complex dishes are to normal people. I’d garner that the quiche Sans makes was another thing Paps favored but couldn’t make, so Sans made it for him sometimes. 

Aside from Italian, Paps would like fruit salad or salads in general, yogurt parfaits, cheese omelettes; simple, healthy things. He hates greasy foods, but he’s not above taking candy from the Inn lady, so he’s definitely got at least an ‘All things in moderation’ mentality.

Undyne is an odd ball here. We know that, similar to Sans, she’s fond of greasy foods, a call noting that she likes Grillby’s cheese fries. She also has soda and hot chocolate as choices when you hang out with her. It’s not a far stretch to say Undyne likes junk food. However, as an apparent fitness nut -stemming from needing to stay strong as Captain of the Guard- I’m sure Undyne knows that too much junk food is bad for her. However, there is one thing I can garner off her personality and one particular physical trait of hers that can tell me about what she might eat: her teeth. 

Undyne’s teeth are pointed. Meaning her teeth are sharp. I would go as far as saying that if Undyne is any particular kind of fish, it’s a Piranha. And what do Piranha like? Meat. Undyne, without a doubt, would love meat and grilling. Anything at all. Fish, Chicken, Hotdogs, Veggies, Kabobs, anything she can stick on a grill. 

Seafood is another thing entirely. I’d think seafood is more on the side of comfort food for her. Clam chowder in particular. It stems from a headcanon of mine about Undyne’s family, I’ll talk about it later if you guys want. Sushi is definitely a thing she can get behind, though may take a bit for her to build up to Sashimi.

Tea was another thing in the choices at your hang out. It stemmed from her time while training with Asgore, and she keeps some around. I think she drinks it when she’s stressed. It helps her relax and think.

Alphys is another junk food lover, but only because she’s busy with other things and doesn’t have the time to cook. Cup Ramen is her go-to, but she’s got some other stuff stored away. Finger things she can eat with one hand and type with the other. On the surface, Undyne gets her to start eating grapes or trail mix instead. 

On actual cooked foods, she’s fond of anything hearty; stews and thick soups, stir-fry, and anything served in a skillet. Also, of course she’s into oriental food. The first time she tries REAL ramen, she’s in heaven. She loves noodle dishes and once again, soups. Oddly, she has an extremely high spice tolerance, easily popping whole habaneros an a snack. Undyne refuses to kiss her after she has been.

Alphys herself is fairly decent at cooking. She learns to make a number of Japanese dishes once on the surface; onigiri, bento boxes, and her own sushi and ramen.

(I haven’t come up with any more than the skelebros of other AUs at the moment. Might do another post at a later date about with other characters if it is wanted.)

Underfell Skelebros

Sans, again, loves greasy pub food. He loves anything with a kick too. Jalapeño bites and pepper jack cheese are a constant. He also loves foods with layers or can have lots of toppings; pizzas with everything on them, subs and hotdogs piled high, and obviously his bro’s lasagna. (Don’t let him near a Cincinnati three-way, you will never hear the end of all the perverse jokes if you do.) He’s also fond of Cajun and Creole cooking.

On actual food, one of the few leafy greens Papyrus can get Sans to eat that he likes are Mustard greens, so more often than not, Paps will sauté some up as a side to whatever he’s cooked to get Sans to eat something relatively healthy. Otherwise, it’s limited to whatever Paps can sneak into a dish. Strangely, Sans is also fond of Southern style Sweet tea, even though he doesn’t care for sweet things otherwise.

Sans is an ok cook, but prefers not to if he doesn’t have to. If it isn’t microwaveable, it better be simple, or he’s gonna need a lot of motivation to make anything with more than 4 steps.

Papyrus is a literal Master Chef. He’d put Gorden Ramsey to shame. Paps can take almost anything and make it taste good. It’s the reason Sans eats anything healthy at all. Unlike UT!Paps, he can actually cook simple things too. It’s something besides his strength that he prides himself in.

On his own diet, he does love his lasagna, but also anything you can make in a casserole dish. He’s not overly picky, aside from keeping his own food to a tolerable spice level unlike his brother, but he does favor things that can last for a while and be reheated. In a world like Underfell, sometimes there are days were it’s just not safe to go out, so having a lot of leftovers can be helpful when stuck inside. So casseroles, stews, anything that can sit in the fridge and not taste bad after a day or two.

On another note, he’s fond of breads and baked goods. He makes some hella good garlic bread, and always has dinner rolls or biscuits or whatever ready as a side. Just don’t tell Sans how much he loves Monkey Bread, it’s one of the extreme few things he indulges in.

Underswap Skelebros

Sans our little taco man. Yes, he loves Mexican food. No, it’s not the only thing he cooks. No, his food isn’t that bad. He has a tendency of burning things because he gets distracted, but he knows better than to put inedible things in his food. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t get a little… creative with his cooking, but at least they’re all things that are supposed to be edible.

Through his love of Mexican food, he has a decent spice tolerance, and, though Tacos are his fave, he’s very fond of rice dishes as well. And black bean soup. He makes some fine salsa and guacamole from scratch too.

On the other hand, he’s not really picky. He’ll try anything once. He’s pretty fond of most any beef and chicken dishes. Though Paps has forbidden him from straight sugar and coffee, Sans can wip up some damn good sweets, like Mexican brownies and chocolate filled Churros. At least that way, Paps won’t drink straight honey while still getting his sugar fix.

Papyrus, on the other hand, is practically a sugar addict. He loooooves everything sweet. Candy, pastries, ice cream, anything with sugar. He’s Muffet’s taste tester if she’s making something new. Aside from honey, he’s particularly fond of chocolate in general and fruit fillings.

On the normal food side, he’s not as fond of spicy things as Sans, so Sans usually holds back on Pap’s food when it comes to spice. He also isn’t fond of complicated dishes unless it’s sweets. He likes simple things; sandwiches, salads, rice, anything you can throw together real quick or pop in the microwave. It’s not that he won’t eat healthy, it’s just it tends to be disproportionate to the amount of sweets he eats.

This also shows in his cooking. If it isn’t simple, he’s gonna have trouble. He’s not bad, he just gets a little nervous and that can lead to being a little clumsy. He’d rather Sans do the cooking, or at least keep an eye on things if it’s something he needs a recipe for.

[5hfanfiction]

New Year, Same Queer (Camren One shot)

Camila hates crowds. ­

There are always too many people trudging through her personal space and she gets pushed a lot. (One of the many perks of being small and not wearing heels.)

She doesn’t really recall how she ended up in Times Square to watch the ball drop, but she had a faint recollection of Dinah abandoning her midway through this party (after having forced her to go in the first place).

Honestly, she would rather be a curled into a tight, warm burrito roll and read something than be out here. The Polynesian, however, came home to trash all of the small girl’s plans as she threatened to have a party at their place instead, if Camila didn’t agree to go with her.

(Normally, these kinds of threats seem baseless, like who could invite enough people at hours’ notice to throw a party right?

Camila made the mistake of brushing Dinah off once during spring break and awoke to the sound of drunk strangers doing it in her bed. Right next to her.)

The petite brunette sighed and struggled to remain rooted in her spot, against the tide of people who were constantly trying to push her back. The chilly wind made her shudder and she wound the hoodie around herself even more, straining to focus on the stage, a few rows in front of her, where Mariah Carey was trying to lip-sync to her songs and failing miserably to the point, it made no sense. Just like this fucking year.

Abruptly, she experienced a soft pinch on her butt and whipped around to see a middle-aged, balding man throwing her a disgustingly, smug look and a cocky wink while hurrying away, before Camila had a chance to react.

Not that she would have, no. Camila wasn’t exactly timid but she didn’t want to attract further attention to herself by slapping the man. And with her, there were no gentle slaps. She would have slapped him hard enough that the Times Square Ball wouldn’t have been the only ball dropping. But, people would have turned around and noticed her and she really wanted to make it through the night without having a panic attack.

Instinctively, she leaned forward to create some distance between her and the stench of alcohol, the creep had left behind, and rested her face against a cold, smooth surface. It smelled like leather and strawberries. How peculiar.

“Watch it,” the strawberry-scented leather rasped. Leather can talk? Camila’s brows furrowed in confusion as the surface pulled away from her, causing her klutz self, to lose balance and hurl ahead.

She snapped her eyes shut, waiting for ache of her fall to spread through her torso. Instead, she felt warmth and a very soft cushion, encompass her face.

Is she dead?                                                                                                                              

Her extra, dramatic self was quick to assume the worst had happened. She pictured Dinah’s face struggling between wanting to laugh and cry over the (very) expected nature ­of her death; tripping over her own two feet. At least, it was painless and now she was in a warmer, spongier place. A reflexive sigh of relief escaped her lips and she snuggled further into the softness.

“Er, excuse me?” And just like that, the tepid bliss left her. Perhaps, Jesus had remembered that one time she ate Dinah’s bananas and convinced her the monkeys stole it or when she had that girl bent over her desk, screaming the Lord’s name in vain; both equally valid reasons to be expelled from Heaven. She opened her eyes and promptly frowned.

Of course, the exact same place where she had died would be Hell.

(At this point, even her brain would have face-palmed if it had hands… or a face…)

Or worse

(Finally Canola.)

…Oh no...

She hadn’t fallen down and died (the more the realization kicked in, the more she wished she had), but instead, fallen on top of somebody and snuggled into their…Oh God…

She grimaced and wished with all her heart that the Earth would crack open and devour her.

A cough and a gentle tap on her shoulder, made her wince, quite audibly. She still refused to look up at the person who was wearing a really nice pair of combat boots. They had such a nice, greenish tinge to them overlaying the jet black. She could already tell by the shoes, this person was one of those really cool people, one would stare at from the distance and sigh, wishing they could know them or be friends with them. (Or bone them.)

A soft but firm squeeze on her shoulders made her realize that the person wasn’t going to walk away without an explanation. Drawing in a couple of deep breaths and trying to form coherent words of explanation, she looked up to see the most enchanting green eyes. She had never felt so naked, then in that particular moment, and the shivers that ran down her spine, weren’t because of the cold. She was so consumed with the eyes that she did not register the movement of lips or the gentle shaking of her shoulders.

“I am so gay.” The small brunette blurted out, what was supposed to be an internal monologue. If her face was red before, it would probably looked like a ripe tomato right now. Her body grew exceedingly hot and her tongue formed knots, as she waited for a probable slap or screaming.

And then the unexpected happened.                                                                                      

The sound of loud laughter followed by a little snort, greeted her ears instead. The mystery girl threw her head back and Camila snapped out of her trance. She took in the dark hair, covered with a maroon beanie, with long curls cascading down the shoulders; full lips dissolved into a fit laughter; a black leather jacket fitting perfectly over a plaid dress. It’s like this girl walked out of a movie.

“At least take me out on a date first, before you get to second base,” the raven-haired beauty spoke in an unwaveringly, raspy voice as she let her green eyes trail over the petite girl’s body, quite shamelessly. And Camila felt so incredibly under-dressed, with her plain black hoodie, tattered denim jeans and dirty Converse.

“Huh- buh- I- er-,”she tried to respond but it’s like her brain had departed her body (probably saying “gotta zayn”). Her own warm, brown eyes widened significantly as she fiddled with her fingers, feeling an anxiety attack about to set in.

But then the smirk on the other girl’s face faltered, and her emerald eyes dilated slightly, as she placed her hand on Camila’s shoulder and spoke in a soft voice. “Hey, are you ok?”

Unable to form words, Camila just nodded and began to draw in large gulps of air. The hand rubbed her shoulder tenderly, and usually a stranger doing so would cause her discomfort. This, however, felt really nice, in a manner that she would willingly be rubbed all over by those hands.

(She made a mental to thank the Lords for preventing her from vocalizing those thoughts.)

After a bit, she finally looked up to meet the captivating eyes and sighed. “I am so, so very sorry. I just tripped and…Jesus…and bananas…” Honestly, how does one explain the situation she had gotten herself into? Hey, this creepy guy touched my butt and I moved forward to get away from him and rested against your back. But then I lingered because you kinda smell like strawberries. And then you moved away, so given how clumsy and extra I am, I fell onto your boobs and thought I had died and gone to Heaven, so I snuggled closer. You have really nice boobs btw.

Before either of them could say anything, someone tapped her on the shoulder. “Camila?”  

She turned around and was mortified to see her ex beaming at her. The girl looked gorgeous as ever, with her high ponytail and flawless, sculpted face; nestling against the arm of the guy she had dumped Camila for on the day of her birthday. The guy, on the other hand, looked like a bearded egg; with his jeans hanging so low, you could probably see his ass crack, (Ok maybe, she is a little petty) and he had this expression on his face that screamed he would rather be anywhere else.

“It’s so nice to see you!” Ariana lunged forward and gave her hug while doing those really weird, side to side (heh), cheek-air kisses. She stood still and forced a smile when Ariana pulled back under her boy’s smelly armpits

(Karla Camila Petty Cabello Estrabão).

“Oh my God, I never thought YOU would be out here,” the smaller girl flicked her silky hair with a jerk of the wrist and giggled. “I thought you’d either be third-wheeling with Dinah, making stupid jokes or reading a stupid book.” She rolled her eyes and huffed playfully.

“Uhh,” Camila was dumbfounded. She has never been good with voicing her thoughts. She could have the sassiest of comebacks but every time she would try to say them, her words ended up being a horrendously jumbled and incoherent mess (like that book, Fifty Shades of Romanticizing-Abuse-and-Misogyny-as-Long-as-The-Guy-is-Hot).

“I never got to thank Dinah for inviting Mac to your birthday party.” Her ex beamed at her boyfriend who just shrugged and scratched his head, giving her an egg-hausted (P E T T Y) smile in return. “Never would have met my sugar pumpkin, if it hadn’t been for her.” Ariana continued all the while Camila wished a sword-wielding ninja would just come and run the sword through her heart. That would be less cringey than witnessing this cheese-fest.

“Oh I’m sorry boo,” The light haired girl, fake-gasped and looked at her, pitifully. (Clearly, mistaking Camila’s disgust for jealousy.) “I didn’t mean to make you sad…I mean, you’re the only girl I’ve ever been with… so that’s comforting, yeah?”

The English dictionary lacked the words to describe how much the Cuban hated Dinah Jane Hansen. This wouldn’t be happening right now if she hadn’t forced her to go a party and then abandoned her to suck face with some hot, chocolate bae.

(To be honest, the girl had a killer body. Who wouldn’t forget their 16 year old best friend to make out with someone like that?)  

She should have just gone home instead but that was more than ten blocks away and something had pulled her to this stupid place; where now her single-self was being pitied by her ex and her ex’s boyfriend, Humpty Dumpty. She has never hated being single, more then at this particular moment. God, she really hated Dinah. Not really. But she would kick that Polynesian butt tomorrow for this horrible start to a new year.   

“Hey babe, we’re gonna miss the countdown.”

If the girl hadn’t been standing right next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, Camila would have thought she imagined the words. Or that Macaroni, here, had a really feminine voice. But she titled her head and saw the green eyes, glinting with a hint of mischievousness and understanding.

“Who are you?” Ariana said bitterly, while raising her brow. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, diverted his attention to the new girl and grinned, nodding his head in approval, as he checked her out.

“Oh, I’m Lauren.” The full lips curled into a smile as she gave Camila’s shoulder a light squeeze.

Lauren. The brunette couldn’t help but smile at how the name fit her like a glove.

“Camila’s girlfriend.” With those words, Camila’s breath hitched in her throat and the warmest sensation spread through her stomach, threatening to erupt like wildfire, inside her. She was already in love with the way her name sounded, rolling off of Lauren’s lips. “And you are?”

Hoo boi. The way Lauren said it; the dismissal and boredom in her voice as she looked at Ariana, made the brunette want to grab her by the collars and pull her in for a kiss.

“Ariana. Camila and I used to date till I met sugar pumpkin here. She must have mentioned me, I’m the first girl she ever dated.” The small girl flipped her hair again and pursed her lips, slightly narrowing her eyes at Lauren.

“Hmm, nope. Doesn’t ring a bell.” Lauren shrugged and pressed a soft kiss to the side of Camila’s head before moving away.  “Nice to meet you though, Sabrina.” She said and shook Ariana’s outstretched hand.

Hoooooooo boi. Rainbows were erupting inside Camila’s heart, unicorns galloping, an immodestly dressed Lauren, with a rose between her teeth, sitting on top of a mountain of bananas; the whole shebang.

The hazel eyes narrowed further as she gritted her teeth. “It’s Ariana. An-” she spoke, but was cut off by the sound of the speakers.

“Everyone grab your special someone and get ready. It’s the final ten seconds!” Ariana squeaked and wrapped her arms around Egg McMuffin’s neck, who placed his hands on her butt cheeks and squeezed them. She slipped a side-glance at Camila who sighed, knowing her jest would be up when her ex sees that she didn’t kiss Lauren.

10….9…8…. The brunette turned to walk away, not wanting to be embarrassed publicly, until she sensed fingers, curl around her wrist, gently and tug her back.

She fell straight into Lauren’s embrace, who secured her hands around Camila’s midriff and smiled.

What

7… Camila’s breath became erratic as she felt the intense emerald gaze piercing her soul. And no, she was not being extra.

6…Lauren drew a little closer and placed one hand on Camila’s cheek, brushing the side of her cheekbone.

5…Camila felt like she would faint when Lauren’s eyes fell to her lips.

4…Lauren ran her tongue, very slowly, over her lips. Camila thought it was rather deliberate.

3…Camila, finally wrapped her arms around Lauren’s neck.

2…Lauren moved her face closer and Camila joined in midway.

1…Lauren bumped her nose slightly with Camila’s and said, “Nice to meet you, Camz.” And any tension Camila felt, evaporated into nothingness.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

She barely heard the announcement or the screaming, as the supple lips were placed against hers. It was tender and yet firm enough for her to lean even closer into Lauren’s body, who tightened her own grasp around the brunette’s waist. Camila’s fingers curled through the dark hair, lightly scratching the scalp; an action that caused Lauren to open her mouth a little further and run her tongue over Camila’s bottom lip who responded a little to enthusiastically.

If Lauren hadn’t pulled away, she would have kissed her for an hour without moving. But the taller girl disconnected their lips without moving away, and Camila never thought she’d ever miss kissing somebody. The incredibly sappiness of the situation disgusted her and warmed her heart at the same time.

“At least take me out on a date, before you move to second base,” Camila whispered, resting her forehead against Laurens’, whose lips twisted into a playful smirk as her own words were being tossed back at her.

“I think kissing is first base. Snuggling into someone’s boobs though…” She grinned and the brunette winced a little, at the memory.

“Oh my God, I’m so sorry I just…” Once again, the brown eyes widened and the words became chaotic in her mind.

“Jesus and bananas? I know.” The taller girl laughed and Camila forgot to breathe for a minute. “Perfectly valid reasons.” She nodded and gently tugged at her beanie, smiling earnestly.

It was now or never.

 “So about that date…you wouldn’t maybe wanna… you know like…um, you can say no if you want to, it’s no ob-” Camila tried, she really tried to be confident and her start was pretty smooth, but her brain was a little bitch and tends to desert her every single time she tries to flirt. It’s a wonder she even managed to get with Ariana. (Probably because Dinah talked her up and she wasn’t as bad with her hands as she was with her words.)

“I’d love to, Camz.” The green-eyed girl smiled brightly and placed her hand over Camila’s, who entwined their fingers; the nickname making her smile, giddily.

How disgustingly adorable are they.

“Thank God, I thought we’d have to hit all the bases before you agreed to go out with me.”

It was such a terrible joke. Really bad. Ally would have rolled her eyes and Dinah would have punched her but Lauren, once again, threw her head back and let out a hearty laugh. And somewhere, deep down, Camila knew she had fallen for that laugh.

With hands linked, they walked away and Camila made a mental note to thank Dinah for dragging her outside and leaving her.

A/N: AYE I AM SO EXCITED TO FINALLY PUT SOMETHING UP!! I hope you guys like it. Please be gentle, I am new to the writing world.

IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER PROMPT REQUESTS PLEASE LEMME KNOW ON MY TUMBLR “adolescent-writer”

Also I love reading comments, they motivate me to write more <3 P.S. I LOVE ARIANA AND MAC THIS WAS ALL FICTIONAL AYE. 

[angstandhappiness]

ADORABLE

This is a common occurrence now that Mac is back on FFM