#or was it macaque being bitter about wukong being himself?

[i-am-a-fan]

It won’t happen, but can you imagine knowing how the macaque vs wukong went down? Seeing it happen in season 5?

just picture it.

It all just being a horrible miscommunication and Macaque losing his life over it? Knowing for once and for all as to who started the argument?

The act of losing an eye is extremely gory itself, i really don’t know how flying bark studio is going to pull it off.

[watercurtaincave]

Sun wukong dating headcanons? ♡´･ᴗ･`♡

𖤓 !! — I [love] you like the sun! Sun Wukong (LMK) / reader

𖤓 !! — For as long as you knew Wukong, there has been this odd constant about him; and it wasn't the fact that he took everything, seemingly, at face value and joked about a lot of what he was doing (whether he knew what he was doing or not). No, that was just something you come to accept of Wukong, it was the fact that he hated to be alone. For as much as he puts up a front, deeming he is okay alone and he doesn't need anyone by his side, you knew the opposite was true. It always had been; Wukong just wasn't one who could talk about his emotions in a proper manner, and you guessed it was due to the fact he had so many apologies he could not give.

𖤓 !! — Or maybe they were apologies he just can't give due to his own stubbornness and pride, either way for as much as he hated being alone you also knew Wukong hated hurting his friends. Despite the fact that he tends to do it a lot without realizing it. Time and time again he will just get so absorbed within himself, within trying to correct a problem (he most likely caused) and trying to protect his friends that he ends up hurting everyone else instead. From the brotherhood to his student, Wukong has never learnt how to talk to people. Nevertheless, you would suspect he has a habit of thinking if he where to tell people how he was actually feeling they would think different of him; possibly less, possibly weaker.

𖤓 !! — Oh, for how much you love Wukong he always seemed to burn everyone next to him. That's why you have to take a little extra care of his heart, and of him. For despite how long you know him, it'll take a hot minute before he realizes that he's as stuck with you and you're stuck with him.

𖤓 !! — No literally, you're both stuck with each other and there's no getting out of it.

𖤓 !! — You were first introduced to Wukong through the whole godly latter, that and by what MK, Mei, Tang, Chang'e and Ne Zha has told you about the proclaimed Great Sage, Equal to Heaven. You may or may not have spoken to Macaque once or twice as well before you ever met MK's mentor, which really stuck wrong with you at first. If you were meeting one of this "Great Sage's" enemies before you met the "Great Sage" himself, then what did that say about the "Equal to Heaven", huh? That he couldn't be bothered to be around to protect MK? That he's too lazy sleeping somewhere on a fluffy cloud to get up and kick his emo cousin's ass? Yeah, you had been really bitter towards Wukong at first. Even stand-offish when you first met him.

𖤓 !! — Even more creeped out when he used to stare at you for no reason, holding this odd look in his eyes. You had a feeling he wanted to say something, something that seemed to really bug him because even MK pointed out how weird his staring habit was. But he never did. He always kind of bit his tongue and tried to stay his distance from you.

𖤓 !! — You kind of noticed that rather quickly. I mean, how could you not notice when Sun Wukong would dance around MK and Mei to get away from you whenever you walked over. Or how he suddenly went quiet, like he was trying to disappear, when you pipped in on a conversation. Or the way he would actually disappear whenever when you came by and make up some awkward excuse like he left the stove on at home or he needed to feed his pet bird.

𖤓 !! — "I don't even think he has a pet bird.." MK mumbled at that one, not having noticed that you had just walked into Pigsy's until you sat down next to Tang; Who greeted you accordingly with a smile. You simply smiled and nodded back. "Yeah, well what do you expect from a two-timin' schemer who always just happens to disappear when someone comes in." Pigsy commented, shooting his eyes towards you with a cock of his eyebrow. You couldn't help but give in an unamused look, MK and Mei quickly giving you very esthetic hellos. Yet they soon hushed as you shook your head, "If you're saying I had anything to do with the 'Great Sage' suddenly getting cold feet whenever I come by, I don't know what that's about-" "Yeah!" MK suddenly appeared at your side, Mei in tow, "Before we introduced them, the Monkey King said he never has met them before. I just think it's some weird god stuff, that or maybe he's always just conveniently busy when you come around." And with that MK shrugged, giving the group a small smile. "Yeah, no, I think there's more to it." Tang mumbled between slurping his noodles.

𖤓 !! — Yeah, no, I think there's more to it. Why did those words stick in your head? Yeah, no, I think there's more to it. What more could be to Monkey King, Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, have to avoiding you like you were a plague other than him just not liking you for whatever reason? I mean, you've heard all the stories that MK and Tang have dug up about the Monkey King and nothing really ever struck a cord in you. You've listened to them gush about this great hero, a powerful demon that has revealed and bested so many, and none of that gave off the energy that Wukong did when he was around you. So what is his deal?

𖤓 !! — Later that week, after a tired shift of serving costumers, you didn't have the energy to do much other than slug your way back to Pigsy's; And you couldn't help but half-pray to anyone that Wukong was there. "And then I was like!-" And yet you instantly knew the gods were not on your side that day when you heard the Monkey King himself boosting about another fight he conquered. Yet, by the sounds of it, this was an older fight. Not that you were surprised in any way, that was just how the Monkey king seemed to be. He would use voice-sound effects, as well as big dramatic motions, to show how he defeated whichever enemy he was fighting in his tale. All the while, you managed to slip into the shop and quietly sit next to an overly excited Tang (as MK and Mei were sitting front row to hear the story). Yet, just as Wukong was about to get to the climax his eyes met yours and he faltered; His mouth went dry as his whole dramatic disposition came to an abrupt halt. You swore it he looked at you like he saw a ghost, and something about this surely ticked you off. After a day of serving rude costumers and frantic mothers with missing kids, you were about two seconds from smashing Wukong's face into the table.

𖤓 !! — "What? Why do you always look at me like that?" You would retort to the Monkey King with a scrunch of your nose, folding your arms firmly across your chest. Despite the disappointment from Mei and MK seconds before, as Wukong had stopped his dramatic retelling, they paused upon hearing your voice and turned around. You were sure they now understood why Wukong had stopped so suddenly. "I don't look at you like anything," Wukong instantly tried to deny, throwing out a 'pshh' from his mouth and a dismissive wave to drive his claim. Though he turned his back towards you to check the fake watch on his wrist, "Oh, well you look at the time! My cat must be so lonely-" You were tired of his dodging act, "I thought it was a bird." "Well a king can't have too many animals!- pets?" Wukong shot back almost instantly and you swore you could see some sweat rolling down his hidden face. He rubbed the back of his head, keeping his eyes on everything but you. "Yeah, uh-huh, because all your pets looks so real when I went to your little cave of a home with MK that one day to babysit." You would cock an eyebrow up at Wukong, watching as he stiffened in place. You were sure he was glaring daggers at the ground, maybe even thinking of escaping with his fancy god-like magic, "Yeah, uh-huh, as I thought. You have no pets do you, Great Sage? So, do you mind telling me why you've been avoiding me?"

𖤓 !! — For as long as you knew Wukong, you never realized how long you had actually known him for. Centuries of memories you could no longer recall, countless lives that you never knew you experienced, and it all seemed such an artificial answer when it came from Wukong. It felt like another outlandish tale of half-truths he was feeding to you to keep some sort of peace. But it wasn't:

𖤓 !! — At the start of it all, you had been a goddess (immortal like the rest). You hadn't been anyone important, no one that the mortals would remember anyways, you were simply one of the maidens that picked the immortality peaches in the orchard. You had been one of the few immortals who caught Wukong as he stole a peach, and oddly enough (from his recounting) you had let him go. Which made him curious about you. All too curious for his own good. You both would spend evenings and nights in each other's company upon any private setting you could find. In the orchard, in a garden that was rarely occupied, in your own room even. You both talked about everything and nothing, spent evenings somethings just laying and enjoying each other's company. Yet you could not leave the Celestial Realm, you were not on the approved list to do so. And yet when Wukong had left his post to return to his kingdom he still made the dangerous journey to come see you. He tried to convince you to come down with him many times, to come see the mountain of flower and fruits with your own eyes. Even when you told him no, he continued to come back. Until one day he just decided to kidnap you entirely.

𖤓 !! — It wasn't a bad kidnapping, one more like you were about to face sever punishment for associating with the Monkey King despite the status you held among the immortals. He proclaimed he was your hero as Wukong explained how he busted into the room, sweeping you off your feet and escaping the guards that had been sent to capture the two of you. Though it had been the worst mistake of his life.

𖤓 !! — What he hadn't known at the time, what you hadn't know either, was that the Jade Emperor had cursed you upon your assignment to the Peach orchard. If you were ever to escape the confines of the Celestial Realm, if you were to ever eat any of the peaches unauthorized, your divinity would be stripped away as punishment. You would have basically fell from heaven, becoming a mortal, if Wukong hadn't been holding (kidnapped) you during the decent down. And the way he described the anguish you had gone through while losing your divinity, despite having explaining this while sitting on a wooden table in a small and cramp noodle shop, made some sort of shiver rush up your spine. He couldn't even look up at you, this time out of pure guilt, as he explained it all; "I watched as your divinity was stripped from you, balled up at your chest before shooting up towards the Celestial Realm. I heard the Jade Emperor's laughter, his maniatic laughter and dammit-" Wukong punched the table, and you were surprised he didn't break it with the force he had used, "-All I wanted to do was go up there and beat his ass for being so cruel to you; for making you endure so much pain..." And something inside of you told you, like it was some sort of faint whisper, that Wukong was tormented by the thoughts of your screams until this day. That no matter what he has gone through or what he will go through, your screams will be the one thing that truly shakes him to his core.

𖤓 !! — "Ever since that day everything felt like some corny mortal and immortal love story that's written about now-a-days." Wukong would explain as his eyebrows frowned together, "When you first died it hurt so much, I was tempted to go up to the Jade Emperor himself and force him to take my immortality to be with you. "I debated on that for years actually, yet none of my old friends would let me near the Celestial Realm. And so I kind of sat and waited, I didn't know what to do with myself and it felt like I was always going to miss a part of me forever. Corny for the Great Sage, Equal to Heaven, I know!" Wukong smiled, trying to lighten the mood with his usual antics. Yet he flattened, "But.. it really felt like it. "Until I was on a mission one day and I saw you again and you didn't know me, and I knew you didn't, but you drew me in all the same and well I fell in love with you all over again. And you fell in love with me and that cycle kind of repeated itself..."

𖤓 !! — Wukong paused, a small frown grew on his lips. He seemed hesitant to continue his train of thought yet he took in a deep breath and let it go. "Well, until you told me to stop with this mad chase. You had found all of past life you's memorabilia and pictures in that big closet of important things I own... and you told me to move on. "And you told me if I ever find you again in the future to not pursue a relationship with you because. . . well you didn't want to see me hurt."

𖤓 !! — But after all these lives, after all the time you have known Wukong, you should have known better that he couldn't keep his mind from you no matter how hard he tried. He hated being alone as much as he hated this horrible cycle he's put you through, yet still in every life he has chosen you above everyone else. He continued to choose you and you continued to choose him.

𖤓 !! — And, hey, that has to mean something. . . right?

Home | Masterlist | Series Master list 𖤓 !! — all writing in this page belongs to @watercurtaincaves, please do not repost on other sites, plagiarize, or steal. Likes and reblogs are appreciated!

[centuryberry]

Imperial Harem Novel AU

Note: This wasn't really requested, but I've already summarized the Replanted AU, Abandoned Yue AU, and the Fae AU, so why not this one? This particular AU has a place in my heart - mostly because it's silly. Also because there was a plot twist in there that I never managed to address so I'm writing it out now.

Summary: When Wukong wakes up in a trashy imperial harem novel he'd been reading, he's horrified. Why? Because he's in the body of a character who shares his name - a tyrant king who causes a lot of pain and suffering to everyone including the female lead. Wukong decides that, since he's here for the time being, he was going to fix the other him's mistakes and leave the world better than he found it by the time he finds a way back home.

(Sounds easy enough as a concept, but Wukong can't act for his life and he has serious imposter syndrome. Oh well, time to spam the amnesia button and fake it 'til he makes it.)

Everyone Else's POV:

The Monkey King was a tyrant who either spilt blood or added to his large harem. He selfishly ignored the matters of the crown and contributed to the suffering of his people.

Queen RinRin is left to manage the throne's affairs on her own, frustrated by her husband's selfishness and destructive tendencies.

Consort Macaque is tormented by the endless string of lovers his husband takes. He grows resentful after so many heartbreaks and lets it out on the harem. Violently.

Concubine Shanzha heard the rumors about the king. She tries to keep her head low but she's somehow gained his attention. And she's scared of all the trouble that is going to come with it.

Unexpectedly, the Monkey King suffered a head wound and was bedridden for days. Perhaps it was an assassination attempt? No one knows.

It didn't matter because the Monkey King woke up without his memories. It caused a bit of chaos all around. Everyone expected even more trouble.

To everyone surprise, he didn't.

The king started to participate in state affiars. He was clumsy and inexpierienced, but he was still trying his best. RinRin finds herself charmed by this new version of her husband.

While he doesn't remember Macaque, the king has become far more considerate and had dissolved the harem. The consort's resentment and bitterness was all but forgotten.

While the majority of the harem disbanded, Shanzha had to stay because of her political hostage position. But...it wasn't that bad? The king was respectful and gave her a lot of agency. She could pray and shoot at the archery range when she pleased.

Everyone doesn't say it out loud, but they liked this new king better. They hoped he never got his memories back.

Wukong's POV:

He's freaking out y'all.

I mean, it's pretty obvious, but it still needed to be said. He was freaking out.

Wukong didn't finish reading the novel before he was yeeted into it. He got so frustrated that he tossed it away. He regrets it so much now.

Wukong is the sheer definition of faking it til you make it. He spammed the HELL out of his amnesia while he tried to get into the groove of his role as Emperor.

Wukong's initial goal was to survive and not have any one find out he was an imposter. Then, after seeing just how much the OG!Wukong fucked everything up, he took it upon himself to unfuck as much as he can.

Good news: Wukong is making more progress than he expected. He's taking some of the load off of RinRin's shoulders by participating in meetings; he's taking away the major stressor in Macaque's life by dissolving the harem; and he's trying to make Shanzha's time in the kingdom as bearable as possible.

Bad news: All three of them somehow took his actions as an invitation to start trying to seduce him. Don't get him wrong. They're all gorgeous and amazing - Wukong isn't blind - but he's not really their husband. He's just some loser who hijacked their real husband's body. So he puts on the "I don't know I'm dumb" vizor on and hopes to high hell that no one sees through it.

They eventually do, so Wukong elects to scream and run.

When Shanzha opened up to Wukong and told him about her life and of her niece, he cried. He was always a sucker for tragic backstories. Why didn't the novel talk about this?

Not long after, he requested demanded Shanzha's homeland to send over her niece. Shanzha was overwhelmed when he gave her the exciting news.

Since Wukong taking a ward was huge, the entire court were there to recieve Yue. It was actually the first time RinRin and Shanzha crossed paths. It was butterflies at first "hi" for the queen who was regretting not being more involved with the harem.

Shanzha and Yue's reunion was so tearjerking that Wukong had to take a minute. Then, it was revealed that Yue was actually Macaque's family too. The six ears kinda made it obvious. Plot twist after plot twist, why didn't the author of the trash novel focus on THIS?!

Wukong never saw a baby monkey before so he's practically exploding because of Yue's cuteness. He was super duper doting.

Wukong also saw a way out of the entire "making an heir" business, so he names Yue his heir and hopes that this stops his spouses from trying to jump him.

It doesn't. Wukong's "Baba" energy just made him even more irresistable. Sorry Wukong.

The three have also joined forces. Oh no.

The Plot Twist:

One day, little Yue blinks up at Wukong and asks him if he can pretty please take her to see the nearby waterfall together. When he does, Yue takes advantage of the waterfall being a natural white noise machine to talk to him.

Yue: "You're a transmigrator too, aren't you?" Wukong: 😮"Whaaaaaaa-?!"

Yup, Yue's a transmigrator. She also read the trashy novel - all of it. So she has all the deets, which Wukong begs off of her by helping her reach high places and giving her treats.

Everyone: Aww, he's so good with her Wukong: Oh wise senior, please share your wisdom Yue: Tell the cooks to make the Dan Dan Noodles extra spicy hot and I'll think about it

Yue also helps her fellow homie out by being a deterrent for romantic advances. Can't talk or do anything beyond PG around the baby.

Wukong tells Yue about his plan to run away after setting everything and leaving the kingdom to her and she bluntly tells him that it was a dumb plan.

Yue: "At least wait until I'm not a baby to abdicate."

Yue also (gently) breaks it to Wukong that he's stuck here. The him in his original reality is most likely dead.

So, after a bit of spiraling, Wukong approaches his spouses and tells them the truth.

It was a bit shocking and they (Macaque and RinRin) needed some time to come to terms with the revelation, but this doesn't deter the three of them in the slightest. They're all in love with this Wukong and want to spend the rest of their lives with him.

(By the time Yue comes of age, Wukong does accept their advances enough to give her cute little brothers lol.)

[nekohime19]

Heart behind the lie # 1 : Wounded beast

Let's go, I'm going to repost all chapters of this fic on Tumblr. It's gonna be a ride.

For those who don't know the fic, it's about Wukong becoming feral after LBD possession and Macaque having to take care of him even if he's at first unwilling.

TW : blood and injuries

There was a time, long ago, when he was feared. A time when he was the enemy hiding in the shadows, the killer capable of roaming every nook and cranny of this earth. Capable of hearing the deepest secrets of gods and demons alike, and brought them to his King's feet, whispering long forgotten truth in his golden ears. 

A time when the sun still loved him enough to share its warmth with him, to give purpose to every pump of blood flowing through his veins. He had been naive then, too young to see beyond what was given, beyond the kind smiles thrown his way. Satisfied to be nothing more than the shadow of a fool, the silhouette of a King not deserving of his throne. 

He wondered if the men that feared him would still be struck by terror if they saw him again. Chained and battered, a mere puppet at the service of a witch fooling herself with dreams forever unachievable. Would they fear him, or would they pity him, seeing him as what he truly was, and perhaps what he always had been : a broken fool. 

When he crawled out of his grave, digging through layers of piled dirt with broken claws, he promised to never let himself fall for kindness again. He picked his shattered heart, giving it as much tenderness as he could, and stuffed it in his chest. He appeased his crying, bleeding heart with whispers of vengeance, and an oath to never trust again. It didn't soothe the pain tearing him apart, it didn't soothe the memory of him. It only gave his heart a reason to beat, and not die pitifully seconds after his rebirth, if you could call this wretched life a rebirth. 

He broke this promise when the kid asked him to be a warrior. All his will, his oath of vengeance, shattered before a trusting gaze. 

He fell for kindness, again. Maybe he was doomed to never learn, to never understand that trust was a lie, trust gave to him, at least. He was the shadows, the one you should never trust, the one you always betrayed. 

He betrayed his own heart, and took the hands of a child as naive as he once had been. Repeating, again and again, like a dog chained to a never ending circle, the same mistakes. Do not follow after the hero, this should be simple enough. Their golden steps were not made for you, you were not made for the light. But every oath, every promise, meant nothing in the face of his own weak heart. Hope was unkillable, he learnt, at least within himself. He couldn't help but fall for their tricks, for their soft eyes and their blinding kindness, for the hope of it being true. 

And there he was, fighting the great sage equal to heaven, the one he once followed willingly, and losing against him. 

It was bitter, to realize your own weakness, what you had become after eons of being a ghost. The Diyu shattered him, and the Bone Demon didn't take the time to collect all the pieces of his broken soul. His strength was a mere illusion, a trick he conjured up to fool the strong, a shadow of what he had once possessed. 

He was an illusionist, a great pretender. 

The only thing keeping him alive was his instinct, the sensations he forged in the midst of battle. Macaque had one been a warrior, his body, even ruined, remembered those times. He evaded the fists of the possessed King, wincing everytime death grazed him. He didn't need to win, he wasn't sure he could anyway, he only had to gain time. Enough for the kid to retrieve his weapon, and bring the King to his senses. 

Because he was the only one capable of doing it, wasn't he? Sun Wukong made him bleed without any speck of remorse, his grunts and cries were nothing to him, but a mere word of the kid, a human he knew only for a few months, was enough to break the witch's hold over his mind. 

He buried the thought before he could indulge it, envy wasn't something he should feel, especially for his killer's love. This was nothing but the echo of a long gone past. He was only surprised by Sun Wukong's quick fondness, nothing more. It had to be nothing more if he wanted to preserve his sanity, especially in the midst of a fight. 

Macaque rolled around, evading each of the sage attacks. He ran, claws ratting on the floor, ears erect, capturing each sound echoing nearby. His heart was beating against his skin, a traitorous thing that overflowed with fear. 

The King grabbed his tail and threw him around. Macaque crashed on sharp rocks, breath knocked out of his lungs. One tip pierced his skin, burying itself in blood and flesh, tearing his bones apart. Macaque slapped his hands on his mouth, smothering his cries, killing them before they could pass his bruised lips. He needed to get up. No matter the pain. He didn't have the time to let the suffering fester and poison his mind. 

The ebony monkey tried to slip in the shadows, in safety, but he didn't have enough magic for that anymore. The shadows melted under his claws, disappearing, forever out of reach. If he had more time, he would worry about this, after all his whole existence depended on his magic, life wasn't flowing in his veins anymore, magic was. But Macaque couldn't worry about this, not when the sage was running towards him on all four with fiery eyes and claws coated in his blood. 

The ebony monkey wheezed, blood dripping on his lips, and scrambled to rise. Death was approaching, he could feel it, he lived through it one time. And like the first time Diyu claimed him, the one putting him underground was a being coated in gold with eyes once familiar, and cared for. 

But Macaque didn't want to die, not again. Perhaps, his body remembered the torture it endured in the Diyu and was scared to live through it again, it acted on its own, gathering every last speck of strength he possessed and punching the King. His knuckles crashed upon golden skin, claws piercing pale blue eyes, and his last drop of magic pushed the sage away. 

Sun Wukong crashed a few meters away, before a sharp cliff. Macaque felt nauseous, without magic his body crumbled on itself, each beat of his heart painful enough to make him cry. He heard the sage groan, an animalistic cry piercing through the air. That wasn't normal, the sage never spoke while possessed by the witch, voice frozen by her hold. 

The macaque watched, still, the sage slowly rising to his feet. He moved strangely, arms and legs trembling, unable of holding his weight. He fell, and fell, struggling to stand up, like a puppet with cut strings, trying to walk on his own for the first time. Sun Wukong walked on all four, moving carefully, sniffing his surroundings, limbs still trembling. 

Macaque tried to rise once again, but his legs failed him, and he stumbled on the ground. The sage turned towards him, ears erect, and face still marred by his claws, long glittering red slashes piercing his eyes. Sun Wukong hissed, fur rising, fangs out. He looked like a beast, perhaps he was in this moment. 

"You're trying a new thing ?" Mocked the macaque, trying to speak with the witch, to make sense of this situation. But silence remained. 

The sage only hissed louder, backing away slowly, like Macaque was the one to be feared, like the sage was the one who needed to escape. 

" Is this a mind game ? You think I'll fall for that !" Sneared the ebony monkey, but like before, nothing answered him. If he could, Macaque would use his ears and try to listen for the whereabouts of the witch, but he didn't have enough strength to do so, and the only thing he heard was the howling winds, his own heart and the sage hisses. 

Sun Wukong kept backing away, slowly approaching the edge of the cliff. 

"You're gonna fall." Hissed the ebony monkey, but it was like the sage couldn't hear him, couldn't even understand him. 

The sage looked around, groaning, like something was trying to attack him, a ghost only he could saw. Macaque could see his eyes, flickering between blue, gold and red, a battle was taking place in those irises, perhaps as violent as this one. The King cried, his own claws piercing his heads, blood flowed in his russet fur. He backed away, and fell out of the cliff, a frail, scared chirp stumbling out of his lips. 

Macaque ran. He ignored the ache in his body, and ran towards the cliff, pushed by an instinct he thought he buried long ago. He ran, and jumped after the King, falling with him in the howling winds. There were a number of things he could blame for this foolish act. The pain that rendered him mad. The kid and his eyes full of trust he didn't want to shatter. The weird state of the King, and the need to defeat the witch. But in the end, he knew this act was nothing but the last echo of his feelings for the sage, the instinct of a shadow wanting to protect the one giving him respite. 

The sage was curled up like a newborn, falling without even trying to call upon his cloud, or any other powers that could save him from pain. The macaque caught him rather easily, and held him closer, pushing him in his bloody chest. Sun Wukong battled him, perhaps not wanting to be saved by his nemesis, a fitting prettiness for a being as prideful as the great sage. 

"Stop moving !" Growled the ebony monkey, and the sage instantly calmed down, looking at him with round eyes, like he didn't expect to be caught by him of all people. 

Macaque lost himself in ruby eyes, savage and untamed, rivers of blood as gorgeous as the dawning sky. The sage chirped, a questioning, faint sound, lost in the winds. He chirped back, pushed by his most shameful instincts, a sound that was meant to be reassuring, but sounded like a dying dove. Sun Wukong seemed to appreciate his chirp nonetheless, he curled around his chest, golden tail tying itself on his bony hips. 

Macaque took most of the fall, he crashed upon the earth, his nemesis cradled in his arms like a mother would hide his infant from pain. He groaned, bones shattering on impact, flesh torn, fur dripping with warm red. He sullied the golden bundle cuddled on his chest, blood spoiling perfect locks, locks cherished by the sun itself. Why did he go after the sage ? Sun Wukong had enough immortality to feed armies of man, while he was a walking corpse latching on life like a flea would latch on a dog. 

Why was he still following after his killer ? 

Macaque knew the pain was making him delirious, at least that was the only explanation he could muster, because Sun Wukong would never look at him with such worry, not anymore. He was bleeding out, and mayhaps this was an illusion his dying mind conjured up, something to appease his pain. 

He is going to die in the arms of this man, again. But maybe dying was kinder than living in shame, weak and incapable of killing the one that took everything from him.

Macaque closed his eyes, tiredness gnawing at his shattered bones. His ears flickered, bothered by frantic chirps, and worried coos. 

"Shut up." Muttered the ebony monkey, but whoever made those sounds didn't listen, and only cried louder. 

Warmth fell upon him, a fur he didn't feel since centuries, a scent he didn't smell since before his downfall. He let those pitiful illusions embrace him, and lost himself, letting his mind fall in the darkest of slumber. 

Memories came to him. 

Flashes of another life, of another him, someone so white, so full of foolish hope, naive to the bone. 

"Isn't it perfect !" Laughed the King sitting on his side. A being made of gold, with eyes full of stars, and smile full of white fangs. 

"What ? The cliff ? You saw it hundred of times." He said, his voice smooth, flowing serenely like the course of a river, holding nor malice, nor hatred. 

"Come on, Liu'er, you're always so grumpy." Groaned the golden monkey, he rolled his eyes and gestured to the cliff, like what he was trying to say was obvious, etched on nature itself. 

"I don't see it." Snorted the macaque, before him was only a cliff, a sky, a sea, he didn't understand what was beautiful in such normal views. What could catch the eye of his King. 

"You're serious? Liu'er, it beautiful !" Whined the King, he latched to him, golden fur merging with white locks. 

Macaque shuddered, embraced by warmth, a novelty for a shadow as cold as him. He turned towards the King and felt his heart leap out of his chest. Sun Wukong was beautiful, lightened by the clear light of eternal summer, eyes struck by the sea blue, fur wet with sunlight. 

"Beautiful." Whispered the macaque, bewitched by the golden being at his side. 

"So now you understand what I'm saying ?" Chuckled the golden monkey, his own eyes lost in the sea before them. 

He never answered, throat strangled with unsaid words, a fondness he would hide forever. 

But Shihou didn't exist anymore, devoured by another, by the great sage. 

Macaque woke up frantically, nerves alight, and skin burned by sweat and blood. Everything was a blur, a blend of shapes and colors, of echos and cracks. He stayed a long time in this state, torn between blurriness and clearness. He was in something soft, perhaps clean sheets, and this alone made him question his sanity. Was this a dream ? Because he knew for a fact he didn't touch a sheet since before his death.

At last, blurriness began to fade away, allowing him to see in what kind of place he landed. Did they threw his corpse on a street, atop the waist of a bedding shop ? Macaque was quite surprised to see a room, a white, lavish room, ornated with dragons. He was on a bed, bandaged from top to bottom, body aching everywhere. He couldn't move, each of his nerves was frozen by pain, so he simply stayed still, eyes glued to the white ceiling. 

After a bit, someone entered the room, a maid or something ressembling a servant, with clothes sewn with dragons, seemingly a recurring theme in this place. The maid looked at him with round eyes, before darting outside like a frightened deer. Huh, he didn't thought he looked that ugly, this hurts his self-esteem a little. However, he couldn't stay awake until the master, or mistress, of this place deigned to show themself, he succombed to slumber, again. 

The second time he woke up, he was struck by the worst headache on earth, surely even drunken teenager didn't woke up with this sort of pain. He groaned, feeling like his whole skull ached, and rolled in the sheet. His slight movement was meet with more pain, so he decided to simply curl on himself, and let whoever put him here do whatever they saw fit. He wasn’t in any state to fight, anyway. 

"Don't move, you have several broken bones." The voice was soft, a light whisper, full of warmth. He knew this voice, he turned, painfully, towards the one sitting on his bedside and met the strained smile of the kid. 

"Hey kiddo, you're not dead." He sounded like a sick seagull, but at least he could speak. 

"No, we won." 

He thought victory would taste better, better than pain, aches and tiredness at least. 

"Hm, where am I ?" Asked the macaque.

"In Mei's place, we tried the hospital but they didn't keep you for long, they don't deal with mistyc stuff, apparently." Huffed the boy, like he was upset on his behalf, which was a novelty. 

"I'm too tough for them." Chuckled the macaque, he quickly regreted it, his stomach didn't like to be shaken, it seemed. The boy stood up, hands hovering above him, but never touching, like he was afraid of shattering him. 

"Take it easy. You've been asleep for a long time." 

"How long ?"

"One week."

"Huh, I've been asleep longer."But the boy didn't get his death joke, maybe he shouldn't joke about it, whatever, this wasn't important. Macaque noticed bandages on the boy's arms. "The Bone Demon got you ?" MK furrowed his eyebrows, lost, before understanding what he meant. 

"Oh no, no, she's gone, for good."

"Great." He would never admit the relief washing over him at those words, the sheer joy of no longer being chained by another. 

"I, huh, I got those from someone else."

"Never thought Wukong would let anyone do that." Sneared the ebony monkey, but surprisingly enough the boy didn't jump on his mentor defense. He only stood here, eyes downcast, sadness etched on his face. "Where's your mentor, anyway ? I doubt he would like you being with me."

"He's… elsewhere." Answered the kid, this was suspicious, but Macaque didn't want to dwell on Wukong whereabouts, the sage coud take care of himself. 

"Okay." And the discussion ended here, the kid rose after a bit, and left him with a faint “take care, I'll come back”. 

Macaque only nodded, wondering when they would throw him out now that he was awake. His state was strange, he shouldn't be able to function properly after loosing so much magic, but now that he focused on this, he could feel something in him, something foreign. 

There was magic flowing in his veins, but it wasn't his. Something more celestial, warm, almost scorching. Whathever it was, it feeded his soul and his skin, forcing life to flow again. It was only a question of time before he devoured every ounce of this foreign magic though. He knew well that he didn't have enough strength to repleat himself naturally, and that this foreign source was too faint to keep him in the mortal plane forever. 

Right now, he was like a bottomless pit, every inch of magic would be devoured to keep him stable, and now that the witch that regularly fed him was long gone, he was destined to fade away.

To die, a second time.

It was only a matter of when. Would he die the day after tomorrow, still incapable of leaving those pitiful sheets, or would he die inside the wreck he called a dojo, after weeks of suffering. 

Whatever he chose to do, his future ended in pain. 

When the boy came back, Macaque didn't feel like trying. He did nevertheless, because he was weak at heart, and he didn't want to disappoint the first person to ever show him a speck of kindness after eons of solitude. His own weakness disgusted him, but he was too weary for wearing the spiteful mask he created. He tried to walk, tried to stretch, and after days of slow recovering, and patient exercising, he was able to stumble through corridors without any help.

"Do you hate Monkey King ?" Asked the boy, one day, while they did umpteith exercises. 

"Yes, I do." Because what else was he supposed to answer, the thing he felt for Wukong was so bitter, it could only be hatred. 

"… But would you do me a favor ?" This was tricky, he didn't owe anything, in the proper way, but he was recovering inside the dragon girl house. And she was at the boy beck and call. 

"What favor ?"

"Would you take care of him ?" 

"Wukong is capable of taking care of himself, besides I don't think he wants my help."

"It's complicated." Sighed the boy, arms littered with more bandages. "Maybe it's better to show you."

Macaque followed after the boy, only because he wanted to see Wukong at he's lowest and nothing more. They walked in long, lavish corridors, and finally reached something oddly ressembling dungeons, but more comfortable than the old staves he was accustomed to. The kid hesitated before a door, a heavy, chained door, marred with claws mark. He finally opened it, and they entered a large room, completely wrecked. 

The bed was teared open, blankets thrown on the floor like battered corpses, what must have been a dresser was broken beyond repair, shards of mirrors littered the floor, and the walls were clawed with hatred. 

"Monkey King ?" Whispered the kid, he walked cautiously inside the hornet's nest, and knealed before the bed. "Are you there ?" The boy tried to reach beneath the bed, but the moment his hand extended, sharp claws teared his skin open. 

MK yelped and stumbled back, he didn't look surprised, only pained and disappointed. Holding his bleeding arms with eyes full of uncried tears. 

"What is this ?" Asked the macaque with a tight voice. 

"It's Monkey King."

"You're kidding ? This is not-" 

"We found him like this, according to Red Son the possession wrecked his mind."

"So what, he's crazy now ?" Snorted the ebony monkey. 

"He's scared. He didn't want to part from you when we found the both of you. But you needed help so we… "

"You don't need to finish this." Sighed the ebony monkey, not liking the waver in the boy's voice. "What do you want from me ?"

"Could you at least try to help him, please." Pleaded the kid. 

"… I promise nothing, kiddo."

"It's alright, as long as you try."

Macaque knealed before the bed, and took a look beneath it. Two fiery eyes watched him from the darkness, Sun Wukong was curled up against the wall, tail lashing and ears pined back. Macaque gulped, and tried to extend his arm, the sage hissed, fangs glinting in the dim light. But then, the beast sniffed, snout furrowing furiously. And cautiously, like a wounded tiger, Sun Wukong crawled towards him. He growled when the ebony monkey dared to move, and as such Macaque stood perfectly still. 

Sun Wukong sniffed his hand, snout brushing against his open palm. His eyes extended, turning almost dark, and he cooed curiously. Macaque answered with a weak chirp, something rough and quick. Sun Wukong chirped back, a bell-like sound echoing in the silence. Then, the great sage crawled out of the bed and circled him, sniffing him, and eyeing him suspiciously. Once satisfied, the beast sat on his lap, and curled on himself. 

Macaque gulped, looking at the beast curled in his lap with fear, hatred and pity. 

This smelled like trouble.

Next

[itsabouttimex2]

LSO AU sounds really interesting! Are we allowed to ask questions about AUs or does it count as a request?

Hi, thank you for asking! Questions are always allowed, even when requests are closed! I’ll elaborate on Let’s Start Over a little bit!

After his own journey ends and MK has his own story penned and published, peace settles across Megapolis and the world in general.

He’s even got himself a new title- “Monkie Knight”, after years of working for the king.

MK still steps in to ward off greater threats and more serious demons, but mostly steps back and attends to the noodle shop with Pigsy, who’s just about ready to pass the keys to his son and maybe take up a more casual lifestyle of teaching instead of serving. Maybe a YouTube channel where he teaches basic skills and recipes to viewers. Tang comes in to both expand on the history of what Pigsy is cooking and to taste test the end result. As expected, he adores the food each time.

Things are okay.

There’s trauma and bitterness that MK needs to work through, but… things are alright. With time, they’ll get better.

And then you come around to the shop one day to visit, right as the Ruyi Jingu Bang comes toppling down from where it’s been set- and you catch it.

So starts your journey.

Our golden-hearted hero is a little soured now, having been thrust into dangerous fights again and again. He’s somewhat resentful to certain individuals-

Mei, for not fighting beside him more often, in spite of her combat prowess and draconic powers. He gets a little twitchy when she’s around, thinking of all the fun she had off on her motorcycle, all the live-streams she giggled and joked her way through. MK doesn’t hate her. Not in a million years. Never. But damn if there’s not some bitterness. He’ll still ask her to ‘babysit’ you when he needs to go off and fight.

Though he still cares about Sandy as a friend, MK has shifted his perspective to disliking the river demon’s pacifistic outlook, viewing it as naive and somewhat selfish. He still goes over to paint and have tea, but things are somewhat strained between the two. It’s easy for someone like Sandy, a side-liner, to say “I’m not fighting anymore!” but MK never had that chance. Given that he was in his mid-teens during the start of his journey in this AU, the hero finds it messed up that he had to fight, but an honest to goodness ex-soldier chose not to. Again, no hatred. Things are just a little tense.

Macaque is pretty far down on his shitlist, actually. MK has taken some time to think on the simian’s actions and kinda wishes he had just let Wukong pummel him to death. Most of these feelings relate to their first meeting, but him assaulting Tang and attacking Mei certainly haven’t helped. Or his unnecessary destruction of the Dragon Palace of the East Sea. Or his refusal to apologize. Yeah, this guy doesn’t get to come anywhere near you. MK will act civil because he does believe in redemption and second chances, but dear lord is it hard.

(And he massively regrets the “you aren’t a bad guy” speech he gave to Macaque. Looking back on it, MK thinks he was naively seeing goodness where it didn’t exist.)

And of course, Sun Wukong, for… a lot of things. He talks rather bitterly of his mentor, viewing the Great Sage as irresponsible and rather immature. He wishes there had been more effort and care in the monkey’s teaching, and less “you can handle this”. There’s still some genuine respect and gratitude for the simian, but MK majorly fixates on being ‘different’ in his own mentorship. Problem is…

He’s choosing to be different instead of better.

Wukong had genuine and honest belief in MK, enough to let him handle trouble on his own. The Great Sage didn’t step in not out of laziness, but because he knew that the kid could handle things on his own. Sure, he was way too secretive and hands-off, but his intentions were only ever to help MK grow.

So when he decides to be entirely opposite to Wukong, our newly titled ‘Knight’ becomes a massive roadblock for you. Instead of cutting you loose with confidence, MK is stifling and protective. He’ll fight for you, cook for you, tend to your wounds, etc. Wukong tried to let MK grow without any form of safety net, but MK refuses to allow any growth without complete safety, which is rare.

Instead of being a mentor who’s trying to build you into the best you that you can be, he’s trying to be a father.

And honestly? Sometimes, he’s so good at the act that you wish it were real.

[miffysrambles]

S/O who has moments of flinching and being scared of Wukong and Macaque (separately) after they were possesed by LBD? (I know macaque wasn't possesed but <3333 yk <33333)

YOU’RE SO EVIL FOR THIS.

Wukong:

You two were mildly arguing about his latest training session with MK in the kitchen, how you thought he was pushing himself too hard after the incident with LBD. 

Wukong thought you were just being ridiculous and paranoid, he’s the great sage after all?!

“I don’t know why you’re making this such a deal peaches… I’ve been through way worse!” He said between forced chuckles while chopping vegetables for dinner.

You bit your lip, “I know, I just think you’ve been through too much at once. A break would be nice...”

���Drop it (Name)...” Your boyfriend interrupted you, however, you kept going. 

“It’s not healthy Wukong, you should–”

You were interrupted once more by him slamming the knife into the cutting board as he turned to you and gritted his fangs, “I SAID DROP IT!”

In a flash, you saw a look of pure anger that reminded you of that night when he was possessed by the Lady Bone Demon right in front of your eyes.

Wukong felt his heart break in half as you gasped and flinched away from him.

The fear in your shaking figure was present as he froze.

“P-Peaches, (Name) I’m sorry…” He slowly but gently walked over to you as he wrapped his arms around you gripping onto your clothes.

You breathed heavily against his shoulder, trying to calm yourself down.

His grasp was helping to say the least.

“It reminded you of that night, huh?” He asked you as you still stood in your kitchen. 

You nodded as you felt his hands slightly grip you tighter from your response. 

“I’m so sorry (Name). You didn’t deserve that.” The monkey was uncharacteristically serious in his response, his tone dropping as he softly spoke into your ear. 

“ ‘S ok…” You muttered into his shoulder, making him laugh.

You couldn’t help but smile at his gorgeous laugh.

“Tell you what, I’ll loosen up the training for now peaches. You don’t have to tell me twice to be lazy.” He joked as he kissed your forehead.

“I never said you could be lazy!” You chuckled as you pushed his lips away from you as a way to tease him.

“Heyy, I want my kisses!” The orange simian whined as he kept trying to kiss you. 

As more laughter ensued from the two of you, dinner ended up being a bit late that night.

Macaque:

Getting this man to open up about his feelings was tough, you knew that going in.

It was a challenge you were more than willing to face since you were deeply in love with him as he was with you. 

However, the hard parts were HARD.

You two were cuddling on the couch watching a movie as he held you close.

You could tell though his attention was not on the TV, his golden eyes glared up at the ceiling of your apartment.

“Macaque?” Your voice snapped him back into reality as he looked down at you.

“Yeah…?” 

Just by his distant blank response, you could something was definitely on his mind.

You had a sneaking suspicion it was the recent events of the Lady Bone Demon’s attack and how your boyfriend was practically under her control as she threatened your life.

“Everything alright?”

He didn’t respond at first, looking off to the side as he tried to ignore your concern.

“I'm fine sweet cheeks, just go back to watching the movie…”

You pursed your lips as you shook your head, “You know I’m not gonna do that. You need to talk to me about what’s going on so I can help.”

Macaque growled as he bared his fangs, “I don’t need your help, I don’t want to talk about this. End of discussion.”

“Macaque stop. I want to help and to do that, I need to know what’s going on with you!”

The raven-haired monkey snapped as he stood up from the couch and yelled down at you, “I SAID I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT THIS!”

You gripped the couch cushion below you as you flinched from his sudden outburst, your knuckles turning white from how tight your grasp was on the fabric. 

It reminded you of how angry and bitter he was as he was forced to serve LBD, you never wanted to see him in that much pain ever again.

That, and Macaque was scary when his life was on the line. 

“I mean I… Goddamnit I’m sorry…” 

He sat back on the couch as he buried his face into his palms, sighing heavily.

Your expression softened into a sympathetic look as you put a hand on his shoulder and rested your head against it, “No, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have pushed you so hard.”

You felt his tail wrap around your waist, something he often did to comfort you.

“You’re right… I should talk to you more when I feel like shit or something’s on my mind.” The glow of the TV reflected off of him as he intertwined his fingers with yours.

You smiled as you laid your head on his shoulder, continuing to hold his hand.

“I’m all ears, whenever you’re ready of course.”

[deliveryboysomewhatequaltoheaven]

The Macaque Problem

I would definitely say Macaque's character is an issue for the show. His redemption arc is not good, and it brings down the other characters and takes up their time and arcs.

When we first see him in S1 and 2, he is an old frenemy of Wukong's bitter over an unspecified falling out. He is angry and lashing out at MK and his friends, projecting this feud onto them. He claims MK didn't notice his friends were gone, but we see him trying to call Mei, and that the others were resentful, but we see tang looking upset being forced to attack MK. Seems like a clear enough villain concept with some room forward right? But S3 and 4 derail that.

Chronologically, we can talk about the Brotherhood, (which he was not a part of in JTTW, and he complained abt being left behind in S2 but here he was?? Eh) He claims that Wukong pushed ahead without thinking or listening and that's what got him trapped in the mountain. But what do we see before Wukong surrenders to the Jade Emperor?

The rest of the Brotherhood trapped by the Celestial Army. We don't see Wukong fight the Jade Emperor. He was an immortal shapeshifter, I have no doubt Wukong could have escaped. But he turned himself in to save his friends. Was he in a bad mood in the mountain? I mean, yeah, but Macaque doesn't seem to consider that he's free because Wukong is not.

We still don't know about the final falling out and Macaque's seeming death, though S5 implies that Macaque pushed the situation. Still, it's not good, because if they can't properly resolve it, than it's just going to remain between them and Macaque's grudge against Wukong can't be properly moved past, which hampers his arc.

But then S3 happens, and honestly I think Macaque's motives are dumb. Why is he trying to get in the way of them stopping LBD if he also wants to be free of her? It's a positive for you! But they also start trying to portray him as someone who 'calls Wukong out' because S3 and 4 really try to make Wukong out to be a jerk. He made mistakes but it was a desperate situation against the Lady Bone Demon. I love Mei and Pigsy but they also call him out when they said nothing about the Fourth Ring/visions.

'You will make things worse for MK when I personally attack and threaten him and his loved ones for my own gain' OK Macaque!

But the S3 special is the real kicker. Macaque apparently changes his mind and we don't know why. They show some mistrust at first until MK says he knows Macaque is not a bad guy deep down... but doing one or two helpful things after three seasons of stalking, threatening, and attacking the gang doesn't exactly convince me.

And then this bit from the S3 special finale:

Uh, how??? Wukong is right, Macaque was until very recently willing throw everyone under the bus so he could get away from LBD. It's pretty rich that he would call Wukong self centered. Whatever Wukong did was trying to stop her and protect MK from having to deal with it.

In the S4 special, they also have Macaque talk about Azure Lion, and again I'm not sure why we are listening to him on characters' morality

Says the guy who wrote a play about how 'Sun Wukong is a big old meany who hurt my precious little fee-fees' if I never see or hear the hero and warrior monologue again it will be too soon but I will say he at least seems to consider he might have been wrong, though they don't really dwell on it...

Even in S5, we get this bit.

Once again, Wukong is right!! After 3 seasons of attacking and harassing MK I don't think he really gets to give advice. Plus WUKONG WAS TRYING TO TALK TO MK ABOUT IT RIGHT BEFORE THIS! But MK was not doing well emotionally and Wukong was trying to be mindful and not push!

And honestly I think they all let Macaque off easy for the S3 events, he literally choked out Mei and threatened to kill her! (Sidenote: he can call MK and Tang by their names, but Mei was just 'the girl' throughout S3... urgh)

But when Wukong gets mad at him, Macaque says "I didn't do this!" Well you forced the gang to do something that you didn't know what the consequences of would be! But Tang intervenes saying he did it, even though he awkwardly admits Macaque forced him but that he felt he should because of the golden cicada. Macaque later decides to leave the situation he forced. He later does help some, but doesn't really get held accountable for his part in everything.

But I guess it's fine bc at the end of the special MK gives him this drawing. This is actually kind of really upsetting and again makes little sense considering how much he and Mei care about other otherwise. But nah Macaque is cool now it's fine...

And Ao Guang! This is a tougher one, but in S5 they had Macaque let himself get sent to the Pagoda to buy others time... well I just say that's karma!

And Macaque comes back, of course, but we never hear more about Ao Guang. Even when they send the power of the Stones out, we do in fact see the East Sea Palace and the attendant, but not him, so his fate is unclear.

So yeah, overall, I think he was forgiven too fast, the root issue of his fight with Wukong unaddressed, and he takes up time from the others characters.

[androgynoussublimeangel]

One of the biggest bummers for me with Monkie Kid fandom is the unequal idealization of Wukong and villianization of Macaque. I think it downplays the incredibly deep and interesting dynamic that comes from people who have hurt each other but are learning and growing as individuals coming back into orbit of each other and relearning who they are to each other.

It also goes to say that while Lego Monkie Kid is derived from JTTW it can definitely stand on its own considering what they've modified or adapted to work better with what they were aiming for.

Objectively when the series begins Wukong is a better person but he wasn't when his life was more intertwined with Macaque.

In fact they're both pretty bad at the begining. And often even enabled each other to be worse.

Wukong made lots of rash decisions that even if he claims was for "us" was often motivated by selfish ideals for glory pushed by the brotherhood as he disregarded Macaques opinions and worries.

Whereas Macaque has always been focused on perceived slights, essentially victimizing himself more than he actually is and using this to justify his harmful behaviors. He often prods when he should be understanding or aloof when he should be sympathetic. He's quick to lash out because he's always on the defensive.

They both have done things wrong but I'm tired of the fandom always siding with Wukong when the idea is that they're BOTH in the wrong in different ways and most of the turmoil in their relationships stems from simple miscommunications that are escalated by the fact that neither had really faced their past (until season 4 obviously)

And most of the animosity they feel towards each other is leftover from a close relationship now in shambles and being forced back together in order to survive.

(Some people irl can't even handle being in the same room in a cordial setting with someone they aren't friends with anymore. Like come on not crazy that they both instinctivly become defensive. Not to mention we see that they often teased and bickered playfully so not odd to fall back into the pattern just with more animosity. )

We've been following Macaques slow redemption, his willingness to fight LBD despite not knowing if they'd succeed and could result in them all being destroyed. As well as his misguided attempts to mentor MK in his own emotional stunted way.

And Wukong himself has made his own major mistakes as a mentor as well that's like the entirety of the 3rd season but again he's had more character growth thus admitting his wrongs and reflecting on them comes much easier to him, out of the two Wukong is currently the more emotionally intelligent as odd as that sounds. He's more willing to face the reality of his actions than Macaque is but this aligns with their character types. Wukong often being blunt, straightforward and headstrong compared to Macaque who is hesitant and holds his cards close to his chest quick to hide his true intentions behind attitude and misdirection. Along with this Wukong is predictably bitter when trapped under the mountain especially when Macaque escaped the consequences which once again plays into his self-serving attitude but at the same time Macaque had always been hesitant about crossing the Jade Emperor and warned Wukong that in classic Wukong fashion, he wasn't thinking it through and considering the consequences.

(Side note I find it incredibly odd for people to not consider all of elements on both Wukongs and Macaques separate experiences. As well as the odd skew on Macaques motives during the Samadi fire arc, since his resurrection his one goal has been to escape and protect his second chance at life, stealing Wukongs power from MK is a measure to protect himself and its easier to trick MK than Wukong (this isnt to say its justified, hurting MK was wrong plain and simple because again Macaque is heavily flawed as well and hasn't had the time or guidance Wukong did to reflect and change cuz he was ya know, dead (but his death is another interesting conversation when considering the context of the original vs LMK which might play it off in a different way or have to avoid it altogether due to rating issues)and when he is forced to work with LBD once again his life is on the line, that's called coercion. AND he still fights a possessed Wukong at MK behest, despite the likely traumatic fear that would be triggered by fighting Wukong again and that LBD might not stop a possessed Wukong from killing him again. Doesn't mean what he did was right but if you consider from his perspective along with the fact that he died before he got to have his own "journey to the west" or journey of growth and self-reflection. We're seeing the Macaque that Wukong killed all those years ago. It makes understanding his motives a little easier.)

[acoraxia]

"worshiper" "devoted" "would melt if wukong bit him" isn't macaque entire deal that he use to trust and devote himself blindly to wukong, but now he learned his lesson and is angry and bitter and will fight back. He hates wukong as much as he loves him, and while I disagree wukong would freely sacrifice him, macaque would fight with his entire being to not be sacrificed. Mr I know what death feels like and refuses to go back, Mr. Look out for #1 bc no one else will.

The thing about Macaque is that he is still, currently, obsessed with Wukong. We see it throughout Season 1 and 2 and even more effectively in Season 3.

Macaque’s whole character revolves around Sun Wukong and most of his actions are because of Wukong. It’s hard to separate him from Wukong because be makes his whole deal about being wukong’s friend, rival, conflict starter, etc.

And ok yeah maybe wukong wouldn’t sacrifice macaque but he was also ready to punch him after yanking him out of a shadow portal and beat him up while possessed (yet conscious) and while still holding back.

Macaque has this thing where he fools the audience into thinking he’s this cool guy but he’s trauma dumping on MK and trying to gaslight him.

To each their own tho i totally understand if my content isn’t for everyone

[somewhat-insane]

Hey, I'm the anon who asked for the jealous headcanons, you can call me 🐔anon

I was thinking, since I was craving angst and I'm allergic to happiness.

What about cheating headcanons for Monkey King and Macaque (separate)?

Aka: the monkeys find out their S/O is cheating on them

Up to you to decide how they find out :p (extra points if their are cheating with the other monkey, as in : Sun Wukong S/O is cheating with Macaque and vice-versa)

Oooo~ This'll be fun. I'm not the type to read angst like this, but I love writing it. (Even though I suck at it-)

~Cheating S/O~

~Sun Wukong~

Knew pretty early on but didn't want to believe it

It started with him joking when he smelled Macaque on you that you were cheating but when you acted kinda shifty about it he began to believe it

He seems to use disassociation and avoidance as his main coping mechanisms so if you were cheating on him with just another mortal he'd probably ignore it for a lot longer and act like everything's fine (while becoming more and more possessive and desperate since he knows any time you're not spending with him you could be spending with them) but the fact it's specifically Macaque really messes with him

Not just because of his rivalry with Macaque but also because it kinda feels like the universe is punishing him. He hurt Macaque and now Macaque is getting what Wukong wants.

He won't outwardly confront you but he will follow and watch you

He reasons it's because he's worried Macaque will hurt you and his poor little heart breaks a little more each time :[

He wants to give you the chance to come clean but the longer it goes on the more passive-aggressive he gets

"Hey Wukong can you pass me the-"

"Why don't you get Macaque to do it?"

He's a mess when he's left alone with his thoughts. He's angry and hurt. He wants to be angry at you but he can't because he still believes he doesn't deserve you. But damnit he wants you and he definitely doesn't trust Macaque with you.

Similar to how the "Macaque" episode went, I feel like Wukong would only intervene if Mac does try to hurt you or reveals he was just using you

You can see how it slowly eats at him, your once happy monkey doesn't come to greet you at the door, he stops eating with you, and the only time you're together anymore is when you're in bed at night, but even then Wukong distances himself

Eventually, if this continues, MK might even have to step in to confront you because Wukong won't even get out of bed

He sees you as so perfect and believes you deserve so much better than him; he believes its all his fault for not being enough.

Alternative Ending (fluff (kind of) ending):

Uh-oh, turns out Macaque was manipulating you

This ending plays out more like the "Macaque" episode where Mac turns on you, Wukong saves you, you apologize, he's all huffy, and then you hug (and kiss and cuddle and... other couple stuff-)

He's 100% not letting you out of his sight ever again though

~Macaque~

Just like Wukong, he knows pretty early on

He doesn't bother hoping he's wrong, he immediately believes the worst because he's convinced the universe has a personal vendetta against him

He either finds out through scent, hearing, or because he already follows you in the shadows (man has issues)

Bitter af and seems to use a deflection coping mechanism

Deep down he feels he doesn't deserve you and this is all his fault

But he's not ready to face those thoughts so instead he just blames Wukong.

Oh and of course it's with Wukong; the man who took everything from him, of course he'd take you too

He leans more into pure rage; not necessarily directed at you, more towards Wukong, but he does have moments where he'll lash out at you

He's more confrontational and will yell at you for cheating on him, but he doesn't stick around long enough to have a genuine conversation about that

You're not even really sure if you're still dating or not or if that was his way of ending the relationship-?

Whatever progress he had made healing is almost immediately down the drain.

Unlike Wukong, he's a lot less likely to cling. He'll start distancing himself to make it hurt less

One day he'll just disappear

At that point, he's genuinely mad at you instead of just at Wukong

Pretty much feels the same about you now as he felt about Wukong in S1 - S3

He can't bring himself to try and kill you though

He is going to make your life hell while watching from the shadows though

~

Sorry this took so longgg! I am not good at staying on track with social media stuff. I digress. I hope you enjoyed this? I'm the kind of person who is very weak hearted when it comes to reading angst so, unfortunately, I don't have a lot of knowledge about it.

[peachshadows]

With season 5 on the horizon and the implication that Nüwa and Wukong are MK’s parents, I have an idea for an AU that I think you’ll find very interesting:

It takes place post season 5, the world has been saved once again by the Monkie crew, and it’s been revealed that not only are Nüwa and Wukong MK’s parents, but the two of them have also been married for a few centuries.

Everyone is stunned:

MK just got another reason to fuel his identity crisis.

Tang is fanboying over the fact that he’s been telling stories and going on adventures with the son of his idol and the most powerful goddess in existence.

Pigsy is conflicted on wanting to scold the two immortals for child negligence and keeping on their good side so they don’t take MK away from him (while failing to realize that they chose him out of millions of people to raise and protect their child)

Sandy is making a mental note to set up a group therapy session for the Sun family, Pigsy, and Macaque.

Mei is torn between watching the drama and feeling sorry for Macaque, knowing he still has feelings for Wukong.

Nezha and the Bull family aren’t fairing any better, questioning when and how the relationship could have even happened.

And it’s even worse for our two immortal monkeys:

Macaque is baffled that Wukong was able to move on from their relationship and get married, when he couldn’t even let go of his feelings for Wukong (his former lover who killed him), on top of that he married a goddess who who is so powerful that if not for the fact that she’s a pacifist could’ve easily killed the Jade Emperor herself, and to add insult to injury MK the kid that he had grown to care for and in a way view as his own kid, is their child.

While Wukong is feeling a flurry of sorrow, guilt and shame seeing both his EX and his wife in the same room, he never got over his feelings for Macaque, even after everything, he only allowed himself to find love with Nüwa two centuries after Macaque’s death because he didn’t want to be alone with his nightmares and guilt and her presence was the only thing that quelled it and he believed that even if Macaque had somehow been revived /escaped Diyu that he would have lost all love for Wukong after he killed him.

Meanwhile Nüwa who never accepted the title of Queen of FFM because she believed it rightfully belonged to Macaque as he was Wukong’s true love (which she was never bitter about because she knew Wukong genuinely loved her), and who cared for Macaque just as much as Wukong despite never having met him before, only knowing him through Wukong’s stories, is scheming to get the two of them back together.

You could probably call it “Immortal Soap Opera au” or something along those lines.

Interesting!! V telenovela style of shenanigans I see here. I can imagine Macaque just being heartbroken that Wukong is married and esp to a being Macaque can't even compete with. It drives him insane but at the same time he just feels sorrow that his lover literally killed and abandoned him for something and someone greater. The move I see him doing is probably to go as far away as possible from Wukong and try to forget him or he can do the petty route which is making Wukong so violently jealous and drive him mad with lust that Wukong will have no choice but to divorce Nuwa and go back to Macaque

[purble-turble]

Azure thinks hes in a love triangle, competing with macaque for wukong's love and he has a fair chance. In fact he sees himself as the prince charming that will sweep wukong off his feet and show him what real love is like

Macaque thinks hes a romcom protagonist, with azure taking advantage of wukong's friendliness and trying to steal his innocent oblivious almost lover. Azure is a wanna be homewrecker to the most perfect duo in the world

Wukong is using Azure to make macaque possesive and jealous. And while he will entertain azure ideas of them being together, its only so macaque will hold him tighter

Love this interpretation! And honestly, it's probably the one that makes the most sense according to my own personal headcanon. (though whether or not something "makes sense" doesn't necessarily make it better I'm just saying my personal preference)

Especially since there is something just so off about the way Azure portrays their relationship to MK in season 4.. there's a yearning there, it feels like he is grasping for something that he never quite had and it is what is driving him forward.. Meanwhile with Macaque, he did get a taste of Wukong and the betrayal was all the more bitter for him because of it and he behaves accordingly in his quest to get him back and take revenge on the ones who took him away.... There's a reason that Macaque is the only one of the sworn brothers, all of whom stood against Wukong at one point or another, who ends up dead. (even if he got better lol)

[yanderelmk]

Wukong and the Priest Discussion Time (Tripitaka Defense Post)

I was awakened to madness- CW: SEXUAL ASSAULT MENTION SO! I know a lot of you know Lego Monkie Kid, and the show has given absolute bupkis by way of showing Wukong's most important relationship: That with the Tang Priest. It wasn't abusive. It wasn't toxic. The priest didn't abuse and manipulate Wukong. These are common misconceptions that people who don't have all the information want to spread around to make the Tang Priest look bad (oftentimes they're ShadowPeach shippers who can't stand the idea that Macaque was actually a bad person and fiercely want to twist the narrative for their own ends or Wukong fans who refuse to admit that Wukong was extremely dangerous and had the circlet for a reason). That's not to say Sanzang didn't make his mistakes along the journey, he definitely did, but he always came to see Wukong's side in the end. Throughout the journey, there were many times when Wukong was moved to tears at the idea that his master would be hurt or even killed. Their bond become one of mutual respect (and in my opinion love), like the trope of a Knight and his Lady. Here, in these song lyrics Wukong (in my interpretation unless I'm jut flat-out wrong) talks about how despite all of his bad experiences in Heaven, he would rather keep to himself his bitterness because he knows how happy the priest is following along the gods' journey. He wants the priest to be happy, he's letting go of his past gripes for the sake of the man he cares about most. Even here we see how Wukong has this deep fear of losing the ones he loves, that is to say his brother disciples and the priest. His greatest fear is that one day his strength and powers won't be enough to save the people he cares about. Namely the priest who was captured and nearly taken advantage of several times by demons he's had to ask Heaven for help in defeating. I love LMK but it gets extremely frustrating when they sweep all of this aside for the sake of "Is Wukong truly evil? Is Heaven really evil?" drama so people go around thinking Wukong is genuinely as ignorant and incompetent as a sack of bricks. It's no wonder people who don't know JTTW are confused, the show touts itself as being a representation you can watch and get key JTTW beats from but they fundamentally change everything from the ground-up. TL;DR: Wukong and Tripitaka were not the case of an abusive mentor and their manipulated apprentice please remember that and thank you 🙏

[fluffypotatey]

I was thinking about macaque being able to see his wukong bonds pre divorce, and I think it would have just resulted in a more codependent macaque. Like if he could see the string, he would have more likely stayed through mountain wukong's abusive speeches. Never stand up for himself, trying to remind himself they are fated. And wukong would have taken him even more for granted bc macaque would put up with anything

ok i kinda disagree with you a little, anon

codependency? yeah 100% that just gets worse if pre-JTTW!macky saw the strings. because, as much as the string confirm his desire and yearning, it will not change SWK’s own actions and everything that transpires in-canon will happen. Macky will still be left alone, he will still feel betrayed and ignored, he will still fight with swk under the mountain (tho maybe the fight will be worse. maybe he will reveal too much or say worse things he doesn’t mean but will haunt swk further in his life)

the thing is, anon, even with the codependency, i don’t think that will make Macky more reticent. swk trusts him for a reason and Macky trusts swk long before the Brotherhood. we have seen that Macky is more confident in giving his doubts to swk when it’s between the two of them and while swk does, on the surface, brush them off, he still listens.

the only issue is that swk is very confident in his prowess and believes he knows what he is doing, because his goal (according to lmk canon) was to protect the people he loved which are his monkey subjects in ffm. the further up the power ladder he goes equaled protection and safety for his subjects. he is the Monkey King, earned his title by jumping through a waterfall, yes, but he earned it nonetheless and will prove himself worthy.

which is why Macky’s doubts about confronting the Jade Emperor conflict with SWK’s plans with the Brotherhood. and why swk will brush Macky’s worries away (also, remember Mac’s heavily outnumbered in his dissent since everyone else endorsed and encourages SWK’s confidence bc they view him as their key to victory). but the reason why Macky will stay is still the same for in-canon but just strengthens Macky’s confidence to speak on his doubts more. he has the proof tied around his finger, so why wouldn’t it encourage him to try and make swk understand the danger that comes with fighting against Heaven?

so, yes, the red string will add more angst point to Macky’s heart because he sees the strings as proof that this connection means something. that he is so much more to swk than a subject or brother in arms. however, I also think the string will make Macky more bitter than he already is because the string did not change anything. it doesn’t make SWK’s words any different and it doesn’t change the timeline at all. all it does is tell Macky that they have a connection bound by fate, and he will love it in the beginning but grow to resent it as swk ignores his caution because what is proof if it can do nothing?

[nekohime19]

Mini Mac # 34 : Monkey King baby fear

Wukong is questioning his ability as a future father

Wukong was on his cloud, looking up at the endless blue in thought. Sometimes, his eyes would drift downward to check on the lil guy curled in his heart-pocket. Macaque was becoming more and more sleepy since he birthed the bud, he often curled around the precious folded flower and drifted off to the lands of dream. Wukong thought it was unbearably cute. His tail wail wagged on its own each time he looked at the lil guy and his bud.

The great sage was excited at the prospect of a kid. He loved the infants on Flower Fruit Mountain after all. But at the same time, another part of him was filled with anxiety. He never raised an infant, the mothers on Flower Fruit Mountain never exactly allowed him to be near the newborn babies, perhaps because they knew of his brash nature. Wukong knew vaguely what he needed for a newborn (milk, clothes, toys…) but still there were many things he didn't know. And that would be Macaque's kid. His crush's kid. It could as well be his own considering he wanted to court Macaque. Wukong didn't know if he would make a good father… He wasn't exactly the most responsible monkey around.

“You're okay, Wukong ?” The great sage was startled by the voice and turned towards the young monk with a sheepish smile.

“Yeah, yeah… Don't worry Master.” Awkwardly chuckled the golden-furred monkey.

“And how about Macaque? Is the baby okay?” Inquired Wujing, all eyes turned towards Wukong at his words.

“Just sleepy.” Shrugged the great sage.

“Can't blame him, being pregnant is exhausting.” Groaned Pigsy, he still had some cramps after their adventure with the child giving river.

“I still have so many questions about fairy pregnancy! Like does the type of flower matter? What does it mean? Can we consider the child to be entirely made with Macaque DNA?” Rumbled Sanzang, Wukong snorted at his enthusiasm.

“The baby will be so tiny, that's cute.” Perked up Ao Lie, still in his horse form.

Wukong was about to propose a well-deserved rest but they were interrupted by a large figure barging in from the nearby bushes. Wukong immediately crouched down and curled around his pocket, his protective nature flaring angrily. The great sage had always been very protective of Macaque, but since the birth of the bud, it was like he couldn't even control his instinct. Any deemed threat made him bristle in fury.

“Simian, I need your help.” Sun Wukong calmed down at the familiar voice, his eyes widened in surprise when he crossed eyes with the Demon Bull King.

The Bull crouched down before the pilgrims and explained his situation, his son was being consumed by his own power and he needed help to seal the power out of the baby’s body.

Wukong had a lot of mixed feelings about his ex-sworn brother. On one hand, he was happy the Bull found someone to love and began a family. On another hand, he felt bitter that his ex-sworn brother never thought of visiting him while he was suffering. But even with his feelings, he couldn't say no and ignore the Bull's plea, especially since it concerned an innocent child, his nephew.

Helping the Bull wasn't easy, getting the lotus prince, Nezha, to help was even less easy. Wukong put the sleeping Macaque in Sanzang's hands, not wanting him to be in the middle of the ritual.

Wukong had to admit, the fire was even more powerful than he thought, he slipped up at the end and had to watch Ao Lie take the burn of his action. The great sage promised himself to pamper Ao Lie horse form even more than usual after this.

In the end, everything was worth it. As he watched the Bull lean over his sleeping baby, Wukong felt his heart soften. Hesitantly, the great sage approached his ex-sworn brother.

“Hey.” Awkwardly greeted the golden-furred monkey.

“I thank you for that, simian.” Replied the Bull demon with a curt nod.

“... Yeah…” Wukong looked at the newborn baby in the Bull's hands and gulped. “Is it easy?”

“What is?”

“Raising a kid.” Clarified Wukong. Bull King regarded him for a moment, perhaps to see behind his mask of nonchalance.

“It's not, they can be little monsters at times, but it's worth it.”

Wukong felt his heart beat faster at the soft tone of his ex-sworn brother, he glanced in Sanzang direction, where the sleeping macaque resided. “Can I… come see you for some advice, sometimes?”

“... We had our differences… But you saved my son today, for that you can seek my advice on parenthood as you wish.” Wukong felt the weight pressing on his shoulders lessen.

Shortly after that, Macaque woke up. He found Wukong pensively looking at the horizon, unusually quiet. The black-furred monkey checked the flower bud inside of his front pocket and carefully moved towards Wukong.

“Hey, you okay?” Asked Macaque as he climbed on Wukong’s leg, the sage looked down at him with a soft smile.

“Yeah… I saw Bull King today.”

“Really? How did it go?”

“... Odd.” Sighed Wukong, to be honest he didn't know what to make of his interactions with the Bull King.

“Can I do something to lift your spirits.” Wukong chuckled at that, how sweet.

“No it's okay.” The black-furred monkey frowned, he then looked down at the bud and asked :

“You wanna touch the bud?”

Wukong's heart quickened, he looked down and gulped. Then, the great sage tentatively reached for the lil flower, grazing it with the tip of his fingers. It was warm and soft.

Wukong had to bite his lips to stop himself from crying.

+ cut scenes

Bull King *after coming home with Red Son* : wait...does that means Sun Wukong will have a child!? 😯

 

Macaque *seeing Wukong on the verge of crying* : Oh my Gods are you okay? Why are you crying? 😥

Wukong *lying* : I'm not crying I just have dirt in my eyes 😭

 

Fun fact : when the pilgrims saw Wukong with swollen eyes they all decided to have peaches for dessert tonight.

Ch1 / Previous / Next

[centuryberry]

For @peachshadows / @terrible-leviathan

I wrote a little something for the Sundown AU + Xiaodan. I hope you like it!

MK didn’t know how it all happened. In one moment, he was in Flower Fruit Mountain. In the next, he’s in the middle of the marketplace near Pigsy’s Noodle shop. 

Except it’s wrong. 

A place that should be so familiar suddenly wasn’t. Demons were bigger and more prevalent, dominating the streets and the food stalls. The few humans MK managed to catch sight of were fearful. They all kept their heads down and scurried to their destinations as fast as they could. Not that it helped the unfortunate few who caught the attention of a few mean demons. The poor humans were tripped, pushed, and mocked in front of MK’s eyes. And no one even batted an eye to all of it.

Humans aren’t treated well here - wherever here is, MK quickly realized with a sinking feeling that made wrap his arms defensively around his chest. The only reason he wasn’t being singled out and pushed around despite being so obviously alone and out-of-place was because of the monkey demon traits he had as a side-effect to inheriting Wukong’s powers. 

MK wanted to leave this nightmare of a place more than ever. Usually, he’d stick his nose into the situation and try to make it better, stand up for the little guys and save the day like the Monkie Kid always did, but MK didn’t have all the information. 

“Look. Listen. After you gather enough, make a plan. Then you can act,” MK could hear Macaque advise him. “If you don’t, you might make the situation worse and get hurt by being reckless. Or cause hurt.”

It was a bitter pill to swallow, but MK followed his mentor’s advice and kept his head down as best he could. 

That worked for only about a few minutes until MK came across Red Son’s familiar, scowling face. He’d been so relieved to see someone he recognized that he instinctively hugged the other demon without taking note of the slight differences to Red Son’s appearance.

“Wha-? Unhand me, peasant! How dare you touch the heir of the Bull King Family so casually!”

That was a mistake. 

Thankfully, MK was used to Red Son going after his head, being his ex-nemesis and all that, so he dodged all of the attacks pretty easily and kept mostly to the defensive. It wasn’t until one of Red Son’s strikes came too close to MK’s chest when he saw red. The staff came out.

How dare he try to hurt her, something sharp and feral snarled in MK’s mind as he threw Red Son down with enough force that the ground cracked. He lifted his staff above his head.

He didn’t know, something that sounded more like himself reminded him. It was what guided MK’s strike to hit right next to Red Son’s head instead of delivering the final blow. A warning shot. MK even drove the point home by stressing that he was holding back. 

“I’m going to get off, but you’re going to have to promise not to murder me, okay?” 

It was a relief when Red Son nodded. The aggression and anger was gone now. Only shock remained as he allowed MK to help him up. MK didn’t think much of how the demon’s shock melted into something softer and admiring.

That was another mistake. 

What followed was a series of events that ended up with MK restrained and dragged over to the feets of the Demon Bull King and Princess Iron Fan where Red Son passionately declared his intention to court MK (why) despite already being engaged to Mei (what) but that apparently wasn’t a problem (how) so the courtship was a go. 

No one, of course, asked for MK’s input or opinion about the entire thing, not that he didn’t try. It was beginning to dawn on MK that this world wasn’t his own the more the Bull Family talked. Demons dominated both the Celestial and Mortal realms after Sun Wukong won in his battle against Heaven. After overthrowing the Jade Emperor, he took the throne and ruled all of the Three Realms ever since. MK was truly far from home and he didn’t know how to go back. 

Worse yet, they were all under the assumption that MK was Wukong’s son. 

“I’m not the Monkey King’s son!” MK insisted again and again, but his words were either dismissed or outright ignored. 

The longer he remained trapped and tied up in the Bull Family’s mercy, the more MK became conscious of the quick little heartbeats against his chest. Like hummingbird wings. He tried not to make it obvious that his arms and tail were curling defensively around something - someone - precious. 

Thump-thump. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

Still beating. Still breathing.

Still sleeping.

Despite the entire situation, a helpless smile stole across MK’s face. Sun Xiaodan may look like a mini-Macaque, but she inherited her Baba’s habit of sleeping like a rock. Even all the fighting and the screaming that went around her, little A-Dan remained blissfully oblivious to the chaos as she snoozed the day away. 

“What amused you so, beloved?”

MK’s smile dropped at Red Son’s question. This version of him seemed similar to his own at first, but now he was looking at MK with a fierce and almost covetous devotion that his own Red Son never aimed his way. At best, MK would receive reluctant approval. And “beloved”? No one ever called him that before.

(It should fill him with candlelight warmth, the tender way Red Son called him “beloved”. Maybe in another situation, it would have. But now, with the magical ropes keeping him in place, it only choked him like smoke in a closed space.)

MK looked down and kept quiet. He tried not to care at the flicker of disappointment that flashed across the demon’s handsome face. Any moment of guilt or compassion wouldn’t have mattered anyways since Red Son’s determination to win MK over seemed to come back stronger.

“The Emperor and Empress are here for you,” he announced after clearing his throat. “Come. They are with my parents.”

Seeing Wukong and Macaque was like watching a remake of a favorite film. The actors and the characters were the same, but there were enough differences that made them “off” to MK’s eyes - their extravagant clothing, their postures, and the lack of scars. All of the differences made MK pause and stare. 

DBK pushed MK forward to Wukong with a soft snort. “Brother, I believe we found your cub.”

“…Cub?”

There was a heavy weight behind that question. MK could hear the undertone of doubt and a bit of displeasure. Relief filled MK at that. Finally, someone who will clear up the fact that he’s not who everyone is saying he is. 

“I’m not his cub,” MK insisted again. Or tried to. 

“Bud,” a hand clamped down MK’s shoulder, cutting him off before he could start his sentence, “so this is where you’ve been. You gave me and your Baba quite the scare.” 

Like his Macaque, this one was a good actor. Every movement was smoothly executed in a way that made it seem almost habitual, as if he’s scolded and fussed over MK many times before. 

Play along, the subtle squeeze from the hand on his shoulder warned him.

MK closed his mouth and stayed silent as Macaque smoothly handled the situation. Even with Red Son’s possessive claim that MK should stay in the Bull Clan’s territory during the entire duration of the courtship, the Shadow Monkey managed to whisk him away without much trouble.

When all three of them were far enough from the Bull Clan’s territory, MK and Wukong broke the silence at the same time. 

“Moonlight, he’s not mine!”

“I’m not his cub!”

In that moment, their eyes met and MK felt a sense of camaraderie with this strange version of his mentor. At this very moment, the two of them were fighting for the same truth to be heard. For once, MK didn’t feel alone in his frustration.

Macaque’s lips pulled back into a snarl as he turned to glare at his husband. “Do not try to lie to me, Wukong. Not when the proof is right there. He has your powers. Anyone with spiritual awareness can sense it. He is yours.” He stopped and visibly reeled in his anger when he caught sight of MK staring. He softened his posture and expression. “And that makes him mine as well despite the circumstances. What’s done is done. So stop denying it Wukong. Please.”

MK felt a little sick. “Wait, you….think that he cheated on you and had me? But that’s not true at all!” Other world or not, he was not going to be the cause of Wukong and Macaque’s breakup. Not after he saw how hard his own Wukong and Macaque fought to piece their broken relationship back together through effort and healing. “For the last time, Monkey King is not my dad!”

MK wanted to say more but he stiffened when he felt a shift under his shirt. Wukong and Macaque noticed it too, falling silent and watching intently as a small head popped out. 

Xiaodan blinked sleepily and clutched at the edge of MK’s shirt in a tiny grip. Her six, lotus-shaped ears fluttered as she wiped the sleep from her eyes with her free hand. 

“Mmn. Mama? Baba?”

Oh. 

Oh no.

Of all the times to wake up, why did she choose now?!

MK avoided looking at the celestial monkeys in front of him. He didn’t want to see the expressions on their faces. Instead, he focused on the person who mattered the most to him in the world. 

“Hi. Hey,” he cooed down at Xiaodan and pasted on his best smile. She didn’t have to know how stressed and anxious he was. She didn’t have to know how far from home they were. “Did you have a good nap, A-Dan?”

‘A-Dan,’ MK managed to catch Macaque mouth to himself from the corner of his eye as Xiaodan nodded. There were unshed tears in the shadow demon’s eyes as he continued to stare at the baby monkey who looked so much like him. 

Xiaodan caught sight of both Wukong and Macaque and brightened up immediately. She reached out for them and chirped. “Mama! Baba!”

Wukong made a strangled noise from the back of his throat. He almost didn’t catch his mate as Macaque’s knees buckled from under him. They both continued to stare at Xiaodan as if she brought the first rays of sunlight after an endless night. 

The longer Xiaodan’s chirps and calls went unanswered, the smaller her smile became until she looked up to MK. 

“Gege?” What’s wrong? Her expression seemed to ask, completely unaware that her innocent call for reassurance hit the final nail to MK’s coffin. 

“Gege,” he heard Macaque repeat breathlessly to Wukong. “She called him -

“Yeah, I heard,” Wukong said numbly. “She’s - He’s - They’re -

“Ours.” It sounded like a victory when it left Macaque’s lips. It sounded like an answer to prayer. “They’re ours.”