#present day Wukong looks so tired

[teatime-at-4]

"deja vu"

lmk s5 trailer spoilers

close ups

[somewhat-insane]

Can we get some general jealous headcanons for Sun Wukong, Macaque and the Nine headed demon? Pretty please?

OH MY GOSH ABSOLUTELY I LOVE THEM AND I LOVE WRITING THEM JEALOUS (even if I suck at it, we're not going to talk about that)

I try my best to balance fluff and stuff with more realistic traits like the more toxic aspects and stuff, and that might not be everyone's cup of tea. With a subject like jealousy it tends to skew more towards angsty traits because all three of these men have issues.

Per usual, I'm sorry if I go off request, I can not focus while writing for the life of me and I always get sidetracked. I'm working on it though. That's part of the reason this took so long- I had to keep deleting and rewriting everything because it didn't fit the theme-

~*Jealousy SWK, SEM, NHD*~

~Sun Wukong~

Surprisingly the least jealous of the three... on the surface, at least

Separation anxiety; he's a monkey so physical affection is really important for him

Poor clingy insecure whiner boy :(

Loves having his arms around you; will carry you if you let him

doesn't like sleeping without you close and if he wakes up and you're not there he's 100% panicking. Safe to say it will take a lot of convincing to let you leave his sight that day

He doesn't really mind much if other people flirt with you, he trusts you and doubts a couple of pickup lines from a friend or coworker or whatever will be enough to take you from him, he traveled with Zhu Bajie during the journey after all, he's used to watching people flirt and nothing come out of it

He uses disassociation as a coping mechanism so he doesn't get super upset if your attention isn't on him 24/7 because he's usually thinking about something else anyway, but in the times when he is present, he'll shut down and be pretty sad if you don't give him attention

He's a bit more... intense when it comes to physical contact though

In the case that you're touching someone else, hugging them, or patting them on the back or whatever, he'll get all pouty and won't stop looking at you like a pathetic wet cat until you give him attention instead

If someone touches you though he'll death glare them

Not afraid to show he's jealous

He wants you to know that he wants you by his side exclusively

If anything he's afraid of not showing you enough

Constantly trying to walk the line between "not being too controlling" but also "not seeming like he doesn't care"

On one hand, everything he's learned from his master tells him to take a step back and let things happen as they will, but on the other hand, he's tired of losing the people he cares about, ESPECIALLY when there are times he could've prevented it

Really just wants to be good for you

Hates the idea that there's someone out there who's better for you than him, but knows letting you leave would be the right thing to do (even if he cries about it)

~Six-Eared Macaque~

Kinda possessive and controlling but is doing his best to improve for you

Unlike Wukong who will sometimes be affectionate with the rest of the crew, Macaque only really trusts you, and sometimes Mk (Mk's a bit too loud and energetic for him most of the time though)

Abandonment issues incarnate (though he usually displays this by pushing people away before they can leave him... just expect a lot of silent treatments from him)

Wraps his tail around your wrist or ankle to assure himself you're close. He'll wrap his tail around your waist if he's feeling particularly possessive

Prefers to have you close by but doesn't rely on physical affection as much as Wukong

Likes being in the same room as you while you both do your own things

Wants to be the first person you tell any big news to (though knowing him he already knows from slinking through the shadows...)

People flirting with you ticks him off

How could anyone else think they deserve you? (This may or may not be him deflecting his own thoughts about how he doesn't deserve you onto other people)

He loves listening to you ramble or lore dump but he'll get all tense and cagey if you start talking about something you did with someone else

Doesn't mind if your attention is on something else, but does get kinda upset when your attention is on someone else

Feels the need to one-up anyone you say anything positive about

You liked the waiter's dress at that restaurant you went to? Macaque's showing up in an even better dress the next day

Will not hesitate to bad-mouth someone he's jealous of

Sees anyone touching you as a threat and he immediately feels like he needs to protect you

Sees you touching anyone else as him not being good enough and will either close himself off for a few days or obsess over being perfect for you

Afraid to show he's jealous

Has to keep his aloof demeanor or you'll think he cares too much and you'll leave :(

Still kinda believes power and manipulation are the best way to get what you want but is working on more healthy ideals like "communicating his thoughts" and "not sending people to the shadow realm whenever they get too close to you"

Doesn't want to hurt or scare you but he will fight to keep you by his side

He'll eventually relent if you really want to leave though, I don't think he would be able to handle trapping you with him if it's not what you want

~Nine-Headed Demon~

Pretty possessive and controlling and doesn't really plan on changing

Superiority complex

Has decided you're his and if you think otherwise you're just confused

The most manipulative on the list

I'm not entirely sure where to begin with his issues but there's definitely some insecurity

Gives you the illusion of choice and freedom

"You can choose whatever you want as long as you always choose me and no one else :)"

He knows he's better than everyone else but he's afraid of you not seeing that

Even if he's not the most affectionate person, he'll definitely get upset if anyone gets too affectionate with you or vice versa

Needs to know where you are 24/7 or he goes on a rampage in his full dragon form

Kinda the Mother Gothel of partners

If you tell him he's being too overbearing he'll get offended and try and convince you he's just doing what's best for you

He does genuinely think he's doing what's best for you

The only way he would ever change is if he failed to reach the chaos, but that's a story for another time

He refuses to admit to being jealous and instead insists he's just keeping you safe

I don't even think he knows he's jealous

~

Despite how much I adore NHD's design, I am incapable of writing him as a healthy partner-

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! Thoughts are appreciated. I'm sorry NHD's was so short writing for Wukong and Mac is just a lot easier since we have multiple seasons worth of content with them.

[quitealotofsodapop]

How do the courts react to Haoyu? I mean, this is the youngest stone monkey in existence and also looks like, in Pigsy's words "a Lisa Frank" piece and a mixture of Spicynoodles, so...

Haoyu arrives + Royal court confusion.

For those confused by the "Lisa Frank" comment; Haoyu has been imbedded with the power of the Five Heavenly (or Five-Coloured) Stones, and comes out with bits of rainbows in his features - notably his eyes. Add in Red Son's absorbed life energy, and you've got a ginger-furred baby monkey (reference pic is a langur) who sneezes rainbow fire.

The celestial and demon courts are jubilant, if not very confused. Haoyu's birth is the greatest news all of the Celestial Realm has had in months since the passing of the Jade Emperor. But the knowledge that the parents of said child is the Emperor's recently-recognised half-bull grandson + the surprise stone monkey successor of Sun Wukong = makes everyone baffled at the same time.

The Queen Mother has gone all out on the celebration ever since she learned that both parent and baby were safe and healthy. She's been planning the whole event for at least five weeks. Xiwangmu's great-grandson is the shining light of the universe as far as she's concerned!

MK shows up to the royal birth announcement wearing sweatpants cus monkey boy be exhausted. Red Son appears in traditional court attire, happily showing off MK and the baby like they both didn't just roll out of bed that morning. Also his big royal robe makes a great impromptu blanket once the three of them become too tired with the festivities.

Haoyu himself is still in "will not stop clinging to mom or will scream"-stage of development. So if a hard-headed noble or servant tried to take the baby off of MK; they get hit with the loudest screeching a barely-1-pound baby monkey can make. And a near-death experience courtesy of all baby's protective family members. MK has to stop Xiwangmu from reflexively tossing the offender off a cloud.

Many of the celestials and trusted demons of the party at first assume Sun Wukong and the Six Eared Macaque to be MK's parents, only to be shocked to be introduced to a stout pig-man and a gangly human scholar.

Tang, proudly: "He takes more after me, as you can see." MK & Pigsy: (*fond sighs*)

Wukong and Macaque still proudly refer to Haoyu as their "grand-student". Especially Macaque ever since the baby saw his real ears and started making his own wiggle and glow as some sort of wordless communication - Mei calls it "baby rave mode".

DBK is trying his best not to cry or explode out of his clothing. Haoyu isn't even the size of a human baby, and the old Bull sobs whenever he sees him. Haoyu loves his big purple Yeye Bull, and has started doing little calf-headbutts to greet him. DBK would destroy heaven itself for this little orange puffball.

DBK and Xiwangmu have also come to a tentative agreement; even though the Queen Mother didn't approve of the method in which DBK and PIF eloped, he's still the better of her son-in-laws (Li Jing has been kicked down the celestial food chain ever since the incident with the Stones).

PIF is busy making her presence known since this is her first time presenting to the celestial court in centuries. She's worse than Red for showing off MK and the baby; bragging to any curious ear that dare listens.

PIF, talking to another noblewoman: "Well clearly Xiaotian and my son would produce the first great-grandchild! Red Son has had an infatuation for the boy ever since they met!" Red Son, embarrassed: "Mother!" MK, laughing: "Aww!! Babe! You had a crush on me?" Red Son: "MK, we're legally married with a baby." MK, giggling: "Still!"

Nezha's hackles are raised, watching over MK's shoulder like a guard dog. Not only keeping to his duty as Protector of Children - but also because part of the ceremony is him giving Haoyu his 100-day blessing (his Man Yue was a lot smaller and personal). It's a big deal for him. Erlang thankfully provides him some backup. At least the little guy isn't keen on being anywhere not attached to his parents anytime soon.

At the end of the day Mei and the rest of the Noodle Gang manage to distract the party so MK and Red can get out of there and relax. it's been a busy day for these two, and an even bigger one for the baby.

Xiwangmu goes searching for them frantically after noticing her Grandson and Grandson-in-law missing from the party. She finds them curled up in their guest room with little Haoyu snoring away between them. She quietly grants them her blessing and leaves the three sleep on. Her little rainbow quartz has a big universe to see.

[wukong-s-only-wife5000]

Hi hi! Can I request Wukong from monkey king reborn where he has a crush on reader?

Reborn!Wukong: Crushes.

Content/Trigger Warnings: N/A.

Authors Notes: Thanks so much for the request! Hope you enjoy it. <3 Decided to make this a part one. >///<

<---Previous | Masterlist | Next--->

You'd been travelling with the monk and his demon disciples for a little over two weeks now, and… it was actually a lot more fun than you first thought. Other than Pigsy’s constant flirting, you genuinely enjoyed being with the monk and his three troublemakers. They quickly became like family to you and got overprotective over you as such, especially the Great Sage. Many of the villages you visited weren't very welcoming, but Wukong and the others made you feel safe.

Speaking of the Monkey King, Great Sage Equal to Heaven, in the time you have spent with them, you saw many sides of Wukong. He wasn't just the loud, impulsive, smug, and arrogant primate you first thought. 

He had a much softer side that you didn't notice he only had with you. Like giving up the best sleeping spot to you, bringing you water, letting you have the ripest fruit, and many other things he’d usually reserved for his master. Most of the time, he would treat you much better than his master, a new side that the monk was pleased to see.

At certain moments, such as the present moment, late at night when everything and everyone was at rest or asleep, he questioned himself. Nonetheless, he has discovered that obtaining sleep can be a challenging task. He would always glance at your sleeping form in thought, but this time, you were staring right back at him. This made the blood rush to his face, and he quickly looked back out the window he was sitting on. 

“Is something wrong?” you questioned him in amusement as you sat up. 

“Nothing, go to sleep,” he tried to say aggressively but semi-failed. 

“I'm not tired,” you said as you stood up and walked over Wujing to make your way over to him. 

“Then get tired and go to sleep,” he folded his arms with a huff.

“Why aren't you asleep?” you glanced at him with a slightly tilted head. “Something on your mind?” 

Just you… he thought to himself as he stole a glance your way, but quickly looked away. 

“You could say that,” he grumbled, his eyes still outside as he positioned himself so you could lean against the window sill beside him. 

“Wanna talk about it?” you looked up at him, trying to read his expression, but he was good at hiding his emotions… his blush was something, though. 

“No,” he shook his head, his voice uncharacteristically gentle. 

“Talking sometimes helps.”

“You talk too damn much,” he grumbled. “Go to sleep already.”

“I can't sleep, and I'm not tired,” you mused at his attempt to get rid of you. You'd never know this, but he didn't mean it when he tried to get rid of you. He wanted nothing more, especially on quiet nights like now, for you to stay awake with him and talk. He loved hearing your voice, and seeing you smile at him… he loved you… a lot.

“Just go,” he narrowed his eyes at your defiance.

“I don't want to,” you said simply, with a nonchalant shrug and an indifferent smile. 

“Such a nuisance,” he rolled his eyes at your antics, but he didn't really mind.

“Oh, stop being such a grouch,” you called him out with a soft laugh. 

“We’re leaving early in the morning, I don't want to hear you complaining about lack of sleep again,”

“There isn't enough hours in the day that I don't think I didn't have enough,” you mused. “Can I ask you something?”

“Are you going to sleep after?”

“Maybe I will,” you said stubbornly, he glanced at you, looking over your features carefully before he huffed and looked away.

“What?” he questioned you. 

“What will you do after we get the scriptures?” you glanced at him curiously and felt your heart rate increase seeing one of those expressions on his face. 

It seemed so out of his character, but at the same time, it made him look so… attractive. He seemed to be in thought and wherever his thoughts were taking him, it made him forget about his tough guy act. 

“I'd go back home,”

“And where’s that?” you smiled a bit. He looked at you and just stared for a few seconds, admiring that subtle but captivating change in your expression.  

“Flower Fruit Mountain,”

“Is it nice there?”

“It's the most beautiful thing you’ll ever see,” his voice was soft as he looked into your eyes. At that moment, it felt like he wasn't describing his home.

“I bet,” you couldn't help but smile a bit more, looking at the horizon to try hiding your flustered face.

“What about you?” he asked, tilting his head slightly to look at you. 

“I'll probably go back to the Celestial Realm,” you sighed softly, looking at the night sky with a small frown, something that made Wukong’s subtle content turn to a deep frown. 

“Not looking forward to it?”

“No, not really,” you looked at him with an awkward smile. “But, ya know, it’s home. Such is life,”

[hcdragonwrites]

Good Memories

(a @semisolidmind Twice as Bad Au Fic)

Ok I wrote another one. This one I focused more on Wukongs perspective ! A happier memory, a happier moment- even in this twisted and messed up bad ending. Because there has to be some sweet moments … right ?

Inspired by this ask!

The noise of the stone corridor was quiet. The silence was a peaceful breath of welcome here where Peaches hardly got a moment of true peace. The roar of the waterfall drowned much conversation here so the foot traffic of the mountains subjects was lessened. Except for the patrols of troops, the top ranking officials and guards, the eyes here were light.

A chance to escape had come. Of course escape wasn’t to leave the mountain. Peaches had learned that long ago. To attempt to get down the mountain- to get to the sea that kissed the beaches below- was foolhardy. She had tired once. Once in that far away time when the trauma of abduction has been fresh, when the desire to be anywhere but here drover her to staying awake at night and planning.

Now, years later, the escape was not to leave Flower Fruit Mountain. Though she desperately longed to do such a thing. Hope though was a hard bird to kill even when caged and clipped. So, to circumvent the need to escape- to release some of the pent up agitation- she had found another way to escape.

The patrol passed the alcove Peaches had huddled herself into without a look. She waited. One. Two. Three. Once they rounded the bend she made her move. Peaches snuck out of one of the many side entrances of Water Curtain Cave. She slunked from shadow to tree, avoiding the eyes as best she could. Once beyond the courtyard, beyond the orchards she felt her spirit take wing. It was the bubble of freedom that she had to take as medicine for the true longing she couldn’t - wouldn’t- ever feel.

Not as long as she had her husbands about.

Like a horse turned to pasture, Peaches kicked up her own heels and ran. She ran for the joy of it and for the enjoyment of it. She let herself believe that she was back in the village. That she was back in her home, beneath its peach trees and with its terribly creaking timbers. That this was only a jaunt out to the woods to enjoy the day foraging and finding morsels.

It was a delusion but it was like a balm to her soul. Too much time inside the mountain and among the talks of conquests and bloodshed dampened her. Her husbands never demanded that she attend councils between other Immortals or Demons but Peaches knew when she attended there was far less work for the servants to do. For one, there was less blood to be cleaned from the stone floors. Of course it would take some of her own energy to be apart of these conversations.

Peaches would dress in the courtly and lordly garments bestowed upon her by The Monkey King and The Six Eared Macaque. Gifts they called them. Blood gifts, Peaches knew. Dressing the part as Queen always put the two demonic monkeys into better moods. Of course, whenever she was present it also became a game of keeping.

This game all depended upon the placement of the two heads of Flower Fruit Mountain. They always were placed in strategic spots- to better intimidate or to better please whatever guest they were entertaining. If there was a demon of hungry standing there was always roasted meat and wine a plenty to drink upon. These times, Sun Wukong would be seated closest to the doors. If she entered the room he would catch her wrists, her hand, her waist. Those claws would grip and tug, and she would be in his lap. Wukong would keep her there. If the King was in the middle of a conversation he would simply stop and lavish compliments upon her. Wukong was more of a earnest love then his darker counterpart. She would be forced to stay in his lap, feeling his hands and the soft admonishments if she tried to move, as the conversation continued.

Peaches wished she could have said it was always unpleasant. In the years of captivity, in the moments of stuck between hope and despair, she had come to find a balance of some sort. After so long being molded and worn down by their attentions, Peaches had begun to tolerate the attention. Wukongs attentions helped establish her as something of importance and a person not to be touched. It helped when those demons had an inclination for human flesh.

Too many times she had been told not to touch the food, the meat, when it was presented on the council table.

If the sworn brothers were entertaining an immortal being with no bloodlust for humans the positioning was different. More lax in some ways but no less imposing. Sometimes Peaches would be able to actually sit in a seat beside or between the monkeys. Other times, Wukong would claim her to his lap and tug and tease at her, a game to turn her to blushing of what things he would whisper into her ear. And, in those moments when Wukong did not claim her it was Macaque who stole her into his seat. He was more touching, less outwardly loud praise. But still enough to burn her cheeks, to make her wish to dissolve.

Water Curtain Cave fell behind her as Peaches rushed forward into the woods and away from her husbands. Macaque was away, on some errand or other again. Wukong would be occupied until late into the evening. A conglomerate of would be allies wished to pledge themselves to the King today, and it would take much of her rowdy husbands time and energy to entertain. It would also boost his ego and, with no worry of bloodshed (unless someone was foolish enough to insult) Peaches had taken her leave.

She rarely got moments alone and she laughed, some of the tension sloughing off like snow in a spring melt.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sun Wukong rarely had patience with beings that held incompetence. He was seated in his spot in the council room, upon his golden gilded throne. The warlord was in full regalia, armour polished to a blinding sheen and staff set beside him. However all the splendour about Wukong couldn’t distract from the loathsome thing huddled at the foot of his dais, blubbering and sniffling like a slug.

The demonic monkey felt his teeth grind and clip in his mouth as the weakling worm of a dragon sniffled and bowed its head in a kowtow. Disgusting. This beast had come asking him to slay his brothers and sisters in the western sea so he could be appointed heir. Wukong raked his eyes over the diminutive fellow, taking stock.

Scales as thin as moonbeams. Teeth as square as a cows. Mane bedraggled and unclean. How filthy. This little worm couldn’t even clean himself before grovelling for my help.

A poor ally if he choose to anger dragons in an ocean a world away. Weak of claw and fang.

“It’s obvious you cannot even keep yourself fit let alone keep a kingdom if I gave it to you.���Wukong waved his hand, bored. “Leave my sight. Maybe once you’ve actually wet your muzzle and had a scrap or two I’ll consider. Get out.”

“But -“

Was this Dragon also weak of hearing? Was it slow of wit? He had dismissed the stupid beast. His eyes flashed.

“Get. Out.”

The thing moved now, scattering loose scales in its speed to escape. They fell like toenail clippings and Wukong hissed in disgust. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose and felt the patience in his body diminish. The king raised a bell and gave it a ring, summoning several servants - not monkeys these creatures were those foolish demons that had imposed themselves in the paths of Flower Fruit Mountains conquests- to clean up the mess of scales.

Wukong had a full itinerary for the day. He had already met with his southern vassals and those positioned in the East. They were reporting movement from a would be upstart exorcist, one that deemed himself a demon slayer. A blood hungry pup. If it was blood he craved then Wukong would deliver it to him. He had set Macaque to the East, tasking him with bringing the man to heel. He had given his brother free reign. If the six eared demon wanted, Wukong wouldn’t stop him from making the exorcist into a gift - of flesh. Maybe I should have sent this whining worm to the East. Macaque would have shown him the ropes of turning an enemy into a boon.

“Foolish idiots.” Wukong grumbled, irritated. The other appointments had been his people which he took gladly. His own residents of the mountain were precious to him. They only asked for the numbers to help in the forest grove harvest. It was apple harvesting time and some of the trees were showing signs of damage from the deer and other beasts. The other group had been some now turned immortals begging for teaching in the east of shape changing. Wukong had dispatched them with ease, tossing their heads to the sea. He would send their corpses off to the visiting Swallow Heart- an upstart creature with a good three hundred beastly birds- as a peace offering.

His mood would have been better if his Wife had attended his talks. Wukong had kept glancing to the side, looking to the opulent doors and hoping they would open. Or her scent would waft in from the corridor, announcing her approach. Wukong felt his mouth salivate a bit at the thought of her. Oh he was lucky. His little Peach. Wukong and Macaques of course. Not just his morsel. Though today… with Macaque away. ..

She was all his to adore and hold and to make squirm with his praises and his demands.

“Trouble my King?”

An attendant asked of him, waking him from his daydreams. The monkey was by his side, face curled in worry. Wukong let the thinly held patience fall away as he gave into rubbing his head. Too much courtly affairs. He usually didn’t mind the task. In fact, he enjoyed pitting his mind against that of the estate he ran, the duty he held. Wukong had an iron will for ruling. He enjoyed the fruits of that labour, the rewards of conquest. One of the best rewards was here in the caves, walking the halls all alone …

“Trouble that can be easily cast off.”

Thoughts of his Peaches, and the irritation of his last meeting, decided it for him. Wukong rose out of his throne and stretched. Though he was a monkey originally of stone it didn’t mean he didn’t get sore in his throne. Popping his back, Wukong motioned to the door. “Walk with me.”

“Yes my King.” The servant walked beside Wukong as he stalked down the Halls. His people dipped and bowed. The servants who had been brought to the mountain and had been forced to serve kept their eyes downcast. Wukong paid them no heed. He had one goal.

“Peaches!” Wukong sang through the palace. He looked in her usual haunts. She had a tendency to stick to habit and Wukong made it his goal to know all of his little sweets habits and places of hiding. The kitchens, the scroll rooms, the bedroom and other such places deep beneath the mountains stone.

“Peaches?” Wukong now questioned. Usually she was so near he could hear and track her just from knowledge of her habitual motions. But there was a lack of her today in Water Curtain Cave.

“Where has my wife gotten to?” He mused aloud. Wukong would have been more worried in the early days of her life on the mountain. Peaches had a tendency back then to plot and scheme and attempt every sort of trickery to escape the brothers. She had tried tricking (Macaque had been present for that one where he had kept her trapped in a riddle game for hours), sneaking (again a foolish thing due to the number of ears between her husbands numbered eight), drugging (Wukong had thought it cute to see her try and ply him with so much wine he became inebriated. That had led to … other things however.) and finally just running.

Running had led to chasing. Wukong had tried to terrorize her just a small bit to discourage the action. Having her run off while he was in the middle of meeting and for him to rise and say “Excuse me gentlemen” and then rush off had first been an inconvenience. He would never punish his Peaches. No, never. When he talked of the terror it had been more to scare her of what could snatch her up. Tigers, leopards, wolves and their ilk. Taking her back to their rooms and tucking her in and locking the door was the most he did. If he had time, if he could ignore the work of the day he would wear her out in other ways. It would either be both or one and the other who would keep her attention. Wukong was a King but he wasn’t a tyrant.

This didn’t deter his little wife. She seemed … more determined, however, to attempt it. Peaches had learned over the years that running away was useless but that didn’t stop her from taking to flights of fancy. Which lead to a different kind of chasing. A pursuit that called to the raging hunger inside him, to that predator. Peaches had given him and Macaque a new game- a game he craved almost as much as he craved her scent in his nose and her body in his arms.

After opening their closet and seeing the small little nest she kept in there empty as well, Wukong felt his tail give an excited lash. The fur on his spine began to rise up in anticipation. It practically shook through his blood. Made his mouth grin and his body begin to buzz as if drunk upon fruit wine.

“A game is afoot. A game all for myself~” Usually these games of hide and seek with their wife became a race between him and his sworn brother. Macaque would enjoy the competition as he had a unfair disadvantage. His keen hearing compounded on his shadow ability let him take a lead that Wukong wouldn’t be able to close normally. But with his brother away from the mountain… Wukong laughed to himself, beginning to shed his courtly attire.

“Do you require anything, my king?” The servant asked from his shoulder. Wukong passed the servant his crown and those few glittery vestments he bore to impress the lesser demons who came to grovel for his power.

“Clear the rest of my meetings for the evening.” Wukong commanded. Where could my sweet have gone off to? To the grove? The stream? Did she perchance head to the woods? The thought of the hunt was already consuming his mind.

“My King that would mean dismissing the Swallow Heart Demon and his Entourage.” The servant set the items delicately on Peaches armoire, being careful to not tip any of the bottles, brushes or powders there. Macaque had sent for that armoire for their Wife. It had cost a pretty penny to have it brought in with the paints and brushes.

It was a warm memory in Wukongs mind, seeing the pure delight in her eyes. That night had been filled with the boys teaching her how to use the more expensive bits of makeup and had led to her learning to paint war paint upon their faces. The warm memory set a second shiver up his spine. When he caught Peaches he wouldn’t let her go- he would let her know how much he cherished her. The happy memories of her face were becoming more numerous now. It set his tail to swaying like a cat who had caught a canary.

“They are birds yes? Tell them to find another place to roost for the evening.” Wukong stretched his legs one at a time. He waved one hand to the servant, trying to rush the discussion along. He had a wife to find.

“I will meet them in the morning when my mood returns to better and more … harmonious thoughts.” All he could see in his head was her. Her skin shining in the light, her hair in his hands so soft. The rush of feeling hit him low in the gut. Was it love ? Was it possessiveness ? Was it possession? He didn’t know but it had his heart thundering. To think a mortal women could bring such a change through him so rapidly…

“I will see it done sir.” The servant bowed.

“Good.” Wukong stretched his arms, pulled his back straight. He had removed all but the trousers he wore. The glory of Sun Wukong had been set aside. Armour wouldn’t slow him- he was the Sage that had rebelled against Heaven. Had almost won. Armour was little hinderance in his silence or his ability to move. It would however limit him to capturing his intended target. Peaches was soft, pliable and would not like a tackle from her husband if he was wrapped all in his battle regalia.

He bounced on his heels. The excited energy wanted to be unleashed, to be set free. Wukong left the servant in their rooms, swiftly walking to the entrance of Water Curtain Cave. His generals saw him and bowed, continuing their rounds. Smaller monkeys, the children of his people came and clambered for his attention. He smiled at them and turned them back to their mothers promising attention later.

The waterfall came into sight and Wukong grinned. Just like he had when he first had been crowned King, the monkey lord bent low a palm pressed to the floor and launched himself through the torrent of water. He was out on the other side in a spray of water. Once on the ground again he looked, listened, smelled.

Wukong was an expert tracker. He could read the signs of his mountainous home. He knew every blade of grass every bend of the leaf in the trees above. Wukong looked for the signs, the telltale notes his wife would leave so lovingly in nature for him to find. There ,beneath the shadow of a tree. Wukong moved swiftly and lightly, faster then the long spotted cats to the far west. The press of foot too large to be a monkey, to heavy to be a cat.

I got you~

Wukong followed her path, enjoying the exertion and the feel of the sun on his fur.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Peaches had found herself a nice little patch in the wood, a small trickle of a stream ran through a copse of tightly packed willows. It had a few gooseberry bushes in its shade and she plucked them eagerly.

She had brought her small bit of knitting, a book, and a change of clothing if she wanted to take a dip in the water. The gooseberry’s were a plus, having been ripened and their red flesh sweet. Peaches didn’t have a snack- running into the kitchens would have alerted the staff she was going out and she did not want a retinue of guards on her tail. It was nice and pleasant to be alone. Hearing the soft babble of the water over the stones, the wind sighing in the leaves. It was peaceful. She could fall asleep. In fact a nap didn’t sound bad—

Snap.

Her head snapped up, eyes widening. That had been too loud to be a simple little bird or just the sound of a branch falling from the wind. She felt her calm wash away in a rush of icy fear. Though Flower Fruit Mountain was possibly the safest place in the world, it did still have the occasional predator. Bear or tiger were the largest creatures to have been spotted on the mountain. Wukong and Macaque assured that the worst of those beasts kept to the lower plains of the mountain.

But what if— what if I went too low?

Her ears strained, her eyes blown wide to see. Nothing revealed itself from the emerald green foliage or the berry bushes. Her hair stood on end as something shuffled in the undergrowth. Behind her. Peaches spun, holding a knitting needle out—

To air.

Another brushing sound, like that of claws across wood. Peaches took a step back, away from the sound. Her heart was in her throat and all the peace of the day was gone in the rush of animal instinct that screamed in her mind.

Freeze of Fly?

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Sun Wukong followed her trail easily to the copse of trees. His Peaches had much to learn if she wished to our pace him in his tracking ability. The path she took was such a massive trail he could see it from miles away. The demonic monkey crouched low, keeping close to the earth.

She was sitting next to the little stream at the foot of a great willow. His Peaches. Her fingers were red with gooseberry juice, her hair down in the heat. She was the picture of peaceful, the very image of serenity. Wukong felt a desire to grab her to hold her close, to take the juice of the berries off her fingers and hear her laughter and voice.

Gods he craved her.

He held off leaping, held off and observed. Magic would make it easier to drop in on her but he liked the challenge of keeping his current shape. So Wukong lay low, watching. The brothers had a practice of watching their Peaches when she thought she was alone. It was in those moments they learned the most about their mortal heart. How she would sigh, how she always got itchy if she wore too much of the powder upon her face. It was how Wukong learned Peaches preferred bangles over rings. How Macaque gleaned that her favourite foods involved a doughy treat called cinnamon rolls. Little things. Silly things. Treasured things that the brothers would go over and strategize on how to make their precious fruit the most comfortable. To win her favour. Her love. Her attention.

Sometimes she would cry in these moments and the game would have to be put on hold as they made themselves known beyond her field of vision. Wukong hated when she was upset. He knew, somewhere in his twisted heart, that he had caused these tears. That he was to blame for the sorrow that weighed heavy on her.

I can make her happy. No one else saw her sparkle like we did. She’s ours. Forever if I have my way.

But right now he had a game he was in the middle of. The immortal peach he was keeping for her would have to wait. Wukong stalked forward, through the brush. Peaches had laid herself back, body flat to earth and completely relaxed.

Wukong took a branch in his hands and snapped it.

His Peaches lifted herself up and whipped her head in the direction. Wukong had already moved, speed on his side as he circled beyond and behind her. The terror on her face made something stir in him, a protective urge. He would sooth her worry when he caught her. He would pet her hair, hold her close and tell her how foolish she was to leave his safe embrace. She had nothing to fear from him. Only his little sweet fruit didn’t know it was him. Not yet at least.

Wukong let his tail tussle the dead leaves beside him then darted off. He raked his claws over a bit of bark and then zagged back to a new hiding spot. Peaches turned like a doe, alert and eyes wide. Her face was full of fear, full of such open prey-like terror that Wukong couldn’t resist anymore. He rumbled, mimicking the sound of a big cat. Sweet Peaches stared right at the spot he was hiding.

Run little wife, he urged. Come on. Run for me.

At his second snarl, she obliged him. She spun her back to him and took several vain attempts to run. Wukong smirked. And leapt.

He caught her in several bounds barreling full into her body and taking her off her feet. His hand had her by the back of the neck, the other about her middle. They rolled in the air but Wukong angled himself, curling her into him and taking most of the fall. Peaches cry rang in the trees and sent the birds flying. Wukongs laughter was loud and shook through his body as he landed with her. The demon caged her in, setting her hips between his legs so he straddled her. One hand had both her wrists held above her head. The other angled her face to him, the eyes firmly shut.

“Caught you~” He purred.

“WUKONG!” Peaches gasped, opening her eyes to stare right into his face. Wukong felt his heart give a squeeze as the fear melted into ease. Ease with him. It sent a trill of joy up his spine. “You gave me a heart attack. I thought you were some tiger.”

“No love.” Wukong mentally took note of her. No scrapes from their tumble, no bruises. A perfect capture. “A tiger wouldn’t have toyed with you like I did.” Here he stretched his free hand, claws on display.

Peaches laughed. A laugh for him. His tail was swaying, his face inching closer to hers. “I’m glad I’m not getting devoured then.” She said, breath still catching up with her shock.

“Oh my Peaches, I may not be a tiger but I’m going to devour you all the same~” he let the words sink into her, enjoying the blush that coloured her face before he bent down and kissed her. She tasted of gooseberries, of laughter and the earth and ever of peaches. Her lips were soft against his. Wukong moved away from her mouth, wanting to taste her throat, her cheeks, her nose. Kisses he planted along her most ticklish spot on her neck, eliciting giggles and cries of mercy.

The Monkey King felt like he was drinking wine, head getting lighter and lighter while his body relaxed over hers. Only with Peaches had he felt so at peace, so blissful. It’s why he could never let her go. To rob himself of this? Never. She was his and he was hers and that was it.

Peaches pressed a kiss to his nose and he swooped back down to capture her lips. How could someone so soft and small consume me so? He felt starved. He felt parched. Here Peaches was, a bountiful feast and and overflowing cup. He couldn’t get enough of her.

Wukong nipped her neck, tugging her into his teeth to elicit a squeal. She laughed and tried to worm her way out of his grip. “Wukong please! Let me up, let me up!”

“Only when you tell me how well I caught you. Lavish praises on me.” He grumbled. He didn’t want to let her out of his arms. If he could he would keep her here and live in this bubble of joy forever. Peaches blew hair out of her face.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…”

“I assure you I’m not. So tell me.”

“Wukong your pride is insufferable.”

“And your beauty is unconquerable.” He countered and was rewarded with a scarlet Peach. “Now tell me.”

“Ugh. You caught me. You startled me so badly I thought I had gone too low on the mountain.” That had Wukong grinning wide as he now rolled over taking her onto his chest.

“Go on~”

A snort. Peaches was open in only the brief times when his and Macaques earnest attentions had worn down her barriers and aversions to nothing. Here was his adoring and adorable wife. One he wanted to bring treasures and conquer worlds for. I would burn this whole place to the ground to please you.

They spent a time there, the two of them in that grove of trees. Wukong kissed the gooseberry juice from her fingers and Peaches tried to see the good in this moment. Wukong was, a murderer. He was a monster who had taken her from her village. He had killed the villagers. Laying on his arm, feeling his voice and laughter in her body, seeing the tender way he held and touched her…

His love was hard to deny. To match up to the truth she knew so well. He was a murder. The soft glow as his eyes alighted when a butterfly landed on his hand. Wukong would kill again. He set the butterfly on her hand and they both marveled at the changing colors.

Peaches felt a bit more of her resolve break. Wukong and Macaques love was an ocean slamming into her. It was eroding the coastal cliffs she had within her. It had been a constant, driving force these years. She didn’t … she couldn’t remain so indifferent in the wake of such attention. Of such open love. She would never fully be at peace here. However … she was finding a balance.

Maybe that was the closest she would be to the love she originally had showered them both in. Or maybe she would fall head first into that roaring surface and loose herself in their love.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Wukong tugged the brush through Peaches hair, listening to her sing softly in the night air of their bedroom.

Suddenly- the ground became black and Peaches squealed as she disappeared into the earth—

—and popped up in Macaques arms.

“Save some of her for me, Wukong.” Macaque drawled, hands wrapped around her middle in a possessive gesture. They were back in their room, the night air wafting cool tonight. Wukong and Peaches had spent the rest of the day in that copse of trees and upon the mountain. They had walked hand in hand, visited the monkeys and the new babies that had been born to the family’s farthest from the caves.

It had been a day of sweet gestures and, whenever Peaches had turned eyes inward or far off, he had pressed her with tender affection. Drawing her back to the present. If Wukong had learned anything over the decade it was to keep his Peaches in the present, to keep her away from the drifting worry of the past.

They had returned home only when the first stars had begun to spark in the dark sky. Wukong had carried his tired wife all the way back to Water Curtain Cave. He whispered how he would make a necklace of the stars and give them to her and teased out of her sleepy laughs.

Maybe tomorrow will be full of hardships. Maybe she will hate me for what I did. This though- I would kill a thousand villages if I could get a single day of joy like this.

Macaque had returned shortly after dinner, coming into their room to Wukong holding Peaches in his arms and biting more of her neck between brushes. Of course Mac had wanted a bit of her to himself after being gone for a day. Wukong obliged, not bothered one bit.

His brother in arms was still dressed in armour meaning he had probably just arrived back from the East. Not a speck of blood was on his clothing. Wukong would ask him later about how the trip went, when Peaches was asleep. This moment was meant to be a memory of joy. He would not drag kingly duties into this moment.

“I caught her fair and square.” Wukong sniffed, growing a bit jealous at Macaque. He had stolen his prize from beneath his nose- right when he was getting to Peaches too, in her sleepy state. Macaque blinked then stared between the two, his purple eyes flashing.

“You played the game without me?” Wukong heard the bit of hurt and, though he was sure part of it was drummed up for sympathy, felt a bit of guilt. Only a splinter of it. He didn’t regret acting on his own. The game was his to play when he was away. However it had the desired effect on their Wife.

“Oh Mac- no I didn’t know Wukong would be coming after me.” Peaches was so easily guilt tripped. She kissed the darker demons cheek. The sudden flash of confusion and delight passed over Macaque features. His eyes stole towards Wukong, questioning.

Is she happy? Is she giving without teasing? Wukong nodded, the smile on his face like the soft warm dawn. Peaches was happy and that’s all that mattered. She was happy and would give to them.

“He did have a full schedule of meetings.” She bemused. “What.. happened to them?”

“I cleared my evening.”

“Of course you did.” Macaque snorted, half heartedly irritated. His fingers were already brushing through Peaches hair, grooming.

“Nothing was getting done beyond my latest meeting.” At the raised eyebrow of his six eared brother, Wukong waved a hand. “I’ll tell you later but for now- why don’t we have another game of tag.”

“A-another one?” Peaches sat up a bit, looking outside to the dark and moonlight beyond.

“Well you owe Macaque a chance to catch you. And I want to compete again. We will give you … thirty minutes.” Wukong grinned. “No going outside. Just find one of your hidey holes in the Palace, Love.”

“What if I’m too tired for this game?” She pouted and Wukong smirked. Seeing her pout brought the urge to tug her close and erase that pout from her lips all the stronger. He had been hoping she would say it. It’s why he had one of his chefs cooking a very special sweet treat.

“If you play you’ll get a reward~” Wukong crooned.

“That sounds ominous.”

“It’s innocent. I have some delicious sweets being made as a treat. Just a few short rounds and all of them can be yours.”

“Are they …. Cinnamon rolls?”

The Monkey King felt like he had caught her all over again. “Yes”

“… two games. Then no more. I’m tired..”

Macaque kissed her temple and set her free. “Go on darling. When I find you first I will tell you of the sights I saw.”

“You have to get to her first brother.” Wukong challenged. When he got to Peaches he would make her laugh again, demand kisses and more.

“And I will!” The six eared demon grinned eyes flashing. Peaches stood a bit uncertainly until Macaque leaned forward and gave a kiss to her temple.

“Go Peaches. And don’t stop running till you are in one or both of our arms.”

Peaches ran.

[googleitlol]

This is leading up to some of my favourite stuff, we're getting closer to when dove and wukong can stop antagonizing each other so much but first they gotta go through a little more, uh… 'growing pains'.

Anyway have fun with this bit!

Dove Masterlist:

A Friend

“What did you do?” You frown at the three disciples looking to one another as though they didn’t have the answer themselves. “We’ve barely been here half a day!”

Bajie scratches the back of his head sheepishly while a worried smile stretches over his features. “Heh, I may have overheard our two hosts discussing how Master rejected their ginseng fruit. I was only curious, and Monkey was the one who took them.”

“You what?!” You look back at the trio in shock. You’ve heard of ginseng, a powerful fruit that can extend your life hundreds of years by smelling its aroma alone. Eating it can enable a person to live until their forty-seven thousandth year! The fruit itself can often appear to have limbs, it's what Tripitaka must have mistaken for a baby. You’ve heard how it takes nearly ten thousand years for a ginseng tree to bear its fruit, and these fools stole them?!

Wukong slaps Bajie on the arm. “Why would you tell her?!”

“We’re all at fault,” Sandy steps in, “we all ate the fruit.”

“Yeah, but Monkey had an extra one.” Pigsy tattles, his brother in question giving him a look of offence. Wukong raises his hands in defence, stepping closer to the pig. “I told you, the first one dropped!”

“And it doesn’t excuse the fact that we all ate one.” Wujing rests a hand on each of their shoulders, a subtle attempt to diffuse the situation.

“Stop it, all of you!” You shout over their bickering. Once they finally manage to quiet down, you continue. “What’s done is done, now you have to fix it before Tripitaka pays for it.”

The trio responds with groans and rebuttals, but eventually you manage to drag them back to the main hall where their master waits, accompanied by your two hosts. You can hear the two shouting at the monk before they even enter your line of sight, Monkey King bristling with bubbling annoyance as you all draw closer.  Their faces are pulled down by frowns, their anger present in the twitch of one’s brow.

The Tang Monk himself appears tired, an understandable feeling given the situation. “These two have informed me that some of their ginseng have gone missing.”

“It isn’t missing!” One shouts, pointing an accusatory finger at Tripitaka. “It was stolen, we know it! I’ve never seen a monk with such a lack of control over his disciples.”

“Master Zhenyuan tried to tell us how rowdy and disruptive your demonic disciples really are. I should have taken those warnings more seriously.” The other chimes in with a huff.

The bout of passion makes Monkey laugh. “Am I to believe you assume we did it?” The question makes you frown inwardly, the growing irritation staying buried for the sake of appearances. Is he really about to try and play this off like they’re innocent?

“Master Zhenyuan took with him everyone but us to his conference. You are the only ones present to steal it, so it must be you!” The second disciple replies, his frown deepening despite Wukong’s laughter.

The Monkey King shakes his head with a chuckle. “And why would we do that? How would we even know of this ‘ginseng’? You never told us of its existence.”

The first disciple huffs. “We offered it to your master, but he declined it.” “Ah, so you gave it to us.” “No, we ate it.”

“So you ate the ginseng, problem solved!”

“We didn’t eat the stolen fruit, we had what your master was offered!”

“Then the fruit wasn’t stolen?”

“No– I mean, yes! It was stolen! You’re mixing my words.” “I would never think to trick you in such a way.” Wukong grins, and you do your best not to roll your eyes.

Finally, the first disciple sighs. “Fine, then. We will go and count the fruit again. If there are less than twenty-eight, we will know that you stole it.” With a nod to his brother daoist, they exit towards the gardens. Back to the tree to recount the same number of fruits. What on earth does this ape think he’s doing?

A small gust of wind blows past, and you turn to see the source: another Wukong with his arms crossed, his smile so smug, you might think he managed to somehow bring the ginseng back on his own. There is, of course, one way you can think to restore the fruit, though it’s a last resort you don’t want to use unless absolutely necessary. But those thoughts hardly matter when you and the monks are faced with a second Sun Wukong.

The group looks in befuddlement back at the newcomer Monkey King as he lets out a breath. “To think they would shout at you like that, Master. You really should be grateful that I’m here for you.”

“What?” Tripitaka frowns, looking between the two monkeys while your own face pales. Realisation hits as the monk questions his disciple. “What is going on? Why are there two of you?”

“I thought to let a clone take care of our disrespectful hosts while I took care of a few things.” He shrugs half-hazardly, the copy returning to its original state as he did, a small tuft of hair.

“You just convinced them to go back and recount the fruit.” The monkey stiffens as you speak, which only serves to make the growing knot in your stomach tighten. “Sun Wukong… where were you just now?” He makes eye contact with you, and for the first time on this journey you see the impossible sight of slight regret in his golden irises. Whatever he has done, it’s best to assume that now is the time to leave. You quickly turn back to Pigsy. “Go grab our luggage, I’ll help you. Wujing, retrieve Ao Lie and bring him to the front gates. Tripitaka, wait at the gates with Wukong and get ready to ride.”

Tripitaka calls out for you as you turn to leave with Bajie. “Wait, you want us to run? Do you not think that is a bit of an over-reaction–” As he finishes his inquiry, one of the two disciples lets out a scream so loud their voice is able to carry throughout the entire temple.

“I think this is a perfectly reasonable response.” You answer, catching Wukong’s gaze for a moment and glaring before running off with Pigsy to retrieve everyone’s luggage. With how little you all carry, it took little time to gather everyone’s things and meet the others outside.

Sandy already has Tripitaka on the horse, the group exiting the gates and racing down the mountain once you and Bajie arrive. Wujing takes what you’re carrying and you transform to keep up with the other demons and horse’s fast pace. Tripitaka looks back on occasion, watching carefully for any signs that your group was being pursued.

Even without any signs of chase, you and the pilgrims continue in your pace well-into the night. Only when you distance yourself from the mountain does the group of pilgrims slow to a stop. Ao Lie diverts from the path that leads away from the mountain, guiding the pilgrims to take cover along the edges of a forest. With the cover of the surrounding foliage and night, you transform back as everyone takes a moment to breathe. Of course, just when you get a break from the demons and dilemma-inducing rivers, something has to come along to keep everyone on their toes. To make matters worse, you ran from Zhenyuan’s temple! Perhaps he might’ve forgiven the disciples for eating his ginseng, but the look on Monkey’s face before you left was enough to dissuade that notion from your mind. You just hope his disciples that had been hosting you would be alright.

Despite the worries racing through your mind, they’re put to a halt when you hear Wukong’s laughter. “That was a close one, wasn’t it?”

Pigsy, while crouching with his hands on his knees to regain his breath, looks to the disciple in confusion. “Brother, what happened?” At the question, the demon lets out a nervous chuckle.

“I may have gotten a little angry. I mean, you saw how they were shouting at Master!” He scratches his head nervously.

Tripitaka dismounts from the horse, stepping closer to his disciple. “Pilgrim, what did you do?”

The monkey demon looks between his master and his brothers, then to you before turning back to Tripitaka. His weight shifts from one leg to the other. “I, uh, may have gone back to the ginseng tree. Andknockeditover.” He adds on the last part quickly, averting his gaze to the ground.

His swiftly-spoken words are caught easily, the Tang Monk’s eyes widening considerably while you digest the information. “You what?!” 

“At least we’re out of there, didn’t you hear what those idiots were saying to you?” He defends himself, though it barely registers to you. How could he have been so stupid? Can he never learn from his mistakes?! “I couldn’t just stand there and listen to how they were treating us. Nobody disrespects Old Monkey and gets away with–”

The demon is cut off as the palm of your hand meets his face.

The echo of the slap is met with silence and wide eyes, shock engraved in the faces of your companions that you don’t digest. All you can hone in on is the source of your anger, emotion you feel boiling to the surface. You clench your fist in an effort to contain it. “Do you ever think about anyone besides yourself?! All you had to do was apologise! Is your ego too inflated for even that?”

“How dare you–” He steps into your space, eyes narrowing but you stop him again.

“That fruit didn’t belong to those disciples, it belongs to their master! What might happen to them if he returns with nobody else to blame for your actions?” You push your finger into his chest, though it doesn’t push him back much. “One might think spending five hundred years under a mountain would change a person, but you’re still as selfish and narcissistic as you ever were!”

You can feel your hand shaking with anger, and quickly turn away with a scoff. “I shouldn’t even be wasting my breath on you.” Before he can have the chance to argue, you transform and fly off, rushing into the cool night air to give yourself a moment to breathe. You’re getting too worked up, and shouting won’t change anything. Sometimes it was just difficult to remember that with him around.

You don’t go too far, finding a nearby stream pretty quickly to rest beside. You turn back and begin to pace, finding that moving often helps calm you down. It's a struggle, your anger still bubbling beneath your skin. Words can only do so much to describe how you feel. After spending all this time with him, you’d think the Monkey King might have eventually become easier to be around. Maybe you’d be able to get along with him better after all this time, but no. You’ve had moments of sympathy, moments of understanding, but every time a step is made towards the two of you coexisting peacefully, he makes you take three steps back.

After some time, you kneel by the stream, dipping your hand into the cool water and letting it weave around your fingers. Stealing the fruit was one thing, but knocking down the tree? The ginseng itself takes thousands of years to grow, it’s why you never had the option to eat it yourself during your stay in the heavens. How long did it take for that tree to grow old enough to bear such fruit? Only for it to be knocked down by an impulsive ape.

Your thoughts are put on hold by footsteps and steady trots slowly approaching, and you turn to see Tripitaka steadily making his way to you with Ao Lie. You quickly rise to your feet to meet them, their appearance reminding you of how you very publicly slapped someone in front of your group. Yes… that may have also been a bit impulsive yourself.

“Are you alright?” Tripitaka gives you a perturbed look, and you can only imagine Ao Lie would share it if not for his current form.

You quickly nod. “Yes. I apologise for causing a scene, Tang Monk. I should not have snapped the way I did, especially in front of all of you.” As you speak, he steps closer, meeting you at the water’s edge.

“For how often the two of you bicker, I was surprised it took this long for something like this to happen.” You almost see a trace of an amused smile, though it is quickly exchanged with worry. “Though, it was surprising that out of everything I’ve witnessed from my disciple, this is what has upset you the most.”

Moving past you, the monk takes a seat by the stream, gesturing for you to join him. “They all ate the fruit, you know.” He hums, his eyes watching the water.

You look down as you take your seat next to him, your hands fidgeting in discomfort as you try to distil your lingering anger. “He’s the one who stole it. He brought down their tree.”

You feel Tripitaka’s glance but are unable to meet his eyes. “Your anger, if you don’t mind my saying so, feels more personal than that.” At that, you look back at him in surprise. “Perhaps talking about it could help alleviate some of that feeling?”

You can’t help but feel a little taken aback by the offer. “I couldn’t ask that of you, but I appreciate the offer.” You give an awkward laugh, shaking your head.

“Nonsense.” He rests a hand on your shoulder. “How many times is it now that you’ve given me peace of mind? The very least I could do is lend an ear to a friend that needs it.”

Friend? The title takes you by surprise. You look at the man for a minute, who simply offers a smile. After a few moments, you return the look with a soft smile of your own. It’s been months since you’ve started this journey with Tripitaka, you suppose there isn’t much harm in sharing your thoughts with him like this.

With a sigh, you look back to the steam. “He’s never thought about anyone other than himself, it’s infuriating. Even before we began this journey, the ‘great Monkey King’ has never shown any regard for others.” You start, closing your fists as you speak.

“I remember you mentioning you’ve met before. Is it right for me to assume his actions when you first met were just as callous?” Tripitaka inquires, his assumption almost making you smile with its accuracy.

“Even before we met.” You shake your head, a frown quickly finding its way onto your face. You begin to recall the Peach Festival, how your master had planned to give you a peach of immortality for the journey, and how Sun Wukong took all the stone fruit for himself.

Tripitaka nods along as you explain the reason behind your time in the heavens. “So Sun Wukong took your chance to become immortal?”

“It was more than that.” You continue as your reflection frowns up at you. “A few months after I moved to the palace, I was retrieved by Moksa to visit a village close to our master’s home.” You look back to the man as you elaborate. “After being rescued from my own village, I spent my years growing there. When I was young and had just learned my transformation, the other children would go into the woods with me. They made a game out of trying to find me in the trees.” A soft melancholy smile begins to form on your face, the memories faint but still present.

It only lasts for a few moments. “Lin… He was a good friend of mine. Before the Peach Festival, I promised to tell him what it was like there. He had just become a man before my departure and when I came back… he was elderly. Surrounded by a family I couldn’t recognise. He died as I fulfilled my promise to tell him what I had seen before I was taken back.” You feel your eyes begin to water but continue nonetheless. “Five days later, Moksa brought me down once more to say goodbye to his wife, a woman I thought of as a sister. A week after that, our friend, Guiying. By the end of that month, I had lost nearly everyone I knew.” Your voice starts to crack so you pause to clear your throat and turn your gaze back to the stream, though you can feel Tripitaka's eyes on you.

“Whether or not I could have had that peach, I knew I would have to say goodbye eventually. But without it, I missed their entire lives. Their weddings, their first child, I couldn’t comfort them when they lost their parents. They all lived their lives… and I never got the chance to be there for it.” You notice a tear in your reflection before your expression hardens. “All because of that selfish demon.”

For a few seconds, it’s silent, but it doesn’t take long for Tripitaka to speak. “I’m sorry, I can hardly imagine how hard it must have been. I can barely hold myself together when a demon jumps onto our path.” He laughs a bit when reflecting on his own struggles, and it makes you crack a smile. “Does Wukong know what he’s done to you?” The question makes you scoff. “He wouldn’t be able to hear past the noise of his own ego even if I tried to explain. All he ever does is belittle others or talk about himself. Even how he defended himself for uprooting the ginseng tree, it wasn’t because they were disrespecting you, it was because they were yelling at his master. If it were Pigsy or Sandy, he would have laughed!”

Your reply makes him hum, the man stroking his chin in thought as you continue. “His main source of entertainment is watching people suffer. I won’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how he ruined my past life.” He doesn’t have a response for that, instead letting the two of you sit as the sound of the stream running past fills the silence.

“…How mad was he that I slapped him?”

Tripitaka gives an amused huff to the question. “Pigsy and Sandy had to hold him back. He stopped fighting them when I stepped in.” You look back from where the monk came from, the horse still watching over the two of you. You partly wonder what the other disciples are doing now. “I think he was less angry about you hitting him, it was more so that he wanted to have the final word.”

That sounds like Sun Wukong. “I won’t apologise for it.”

“Even if I wanted you to, I’m not your master. But Bajie and Wujing should be held accountable as well. I’ll have to think of something for them once we get far enough away from here.” Tripitaka gives a weary sigh, clearly exhausted by his disciple’s antics.

Taking in one last deep breath, you stand up and offer the man a hand. “Thank you, Tripitaka. You were right, it feels nice to have someone to share this with.”

Tripitaka smiles before taking your hand and hoisting himself up. “I am always here to listen. Like I said,  you are my friend.”

“Yes, a friend.” The word makes you smile, your anger feels lighter now, making room for something sweeter. It’s been some time since you’ve had a friend.

[lilith-little-world]

Hello! I absolutely love your stories and I was wondering if you are open for request? If so, can you do a lmk sun wukong x reader who is a nine tail fox? I imagine that the reader as already have all of their nine tails, so that would make the reader probably as old as wukong (because you know 1 tail = 100 years)

of course only if it is possible for you, it’s ok if you are not open for requests. Thank you and have a nice day! (Keep making amazing stories, you have a serious talent)

I am so sorry for not answering this sooner! I just got busy and then I got even more busier. Then recently I got super sick, but I guess it finally made me have enough time to write when I wasn't knocked out from the meds. But I am still taking requests, I'm just going to be quite slow. And I'm sorry if this isn't what you wanted exactly or it lacks a certain luster to it, I'm running purely on meds right now and hoping I don't get worse in sickness.

Also chapter 3 may come out a little later since I got super sick.

9th Tail Fox Reader x lmk Sun Wukong|| Oneshot

The sight of the once-flourishing city made you sigh in disappointment. It was tiring to see such good potential go to waste, especially under your watch. 

You wander in your shop, restocking and organizing the place. You can’t attract desperate people if the shop doesn’t look presentable after all. The ancient and magical artifacts are displayed nicely, while some more medicinal and less magical artifacts are more at hand reach. It's a nice little shop you have been building up through the long centuries. It's good to know that no matter how badly life brings you down, a fox spirit like you always bounces right back up.

 A small bell rang when someone entered through the door. Someone different…

The smell was strong and powerful, nearly knocking you out of your human form. There's only one being that could get that reaction out of you. Someone you told to never show their face to you ever again.

You turn to the door to see a ginger simian. Who waltzes right in, as if he owned the place. Checking the old artifacts, searching for something.

“Nope, get out, I am NOT getting wrapped in your messes, again.” You immediately storm your way up to him. Dropping your human act and looks. 

“Hey, cool stuff you got here. I would love to check it but I'm quite busy and on a task.” He ignores your aggressive attitude and continues to look around.

“You- Didn't I say to get out? Leave! I don't want to be wrapped up in your messes again!” You kept blocking his path, shifting into a smokey fox form. However, he just dodges you and continues searching your shop.

“Tell me, do you have any, artifacts or info on someone named the Lady Bone Demon?” He sits on the counter and finally looks at you. Even though he tries to keep his lazy attitude, there was an edge to it. Ready to get serious if the moment calls for it. 

You stand there for a second contemplating, staring down at him. A few more moments pass, so you can see what his intentions were exactly. Then a chuckle escapes from your throat before turning into laughter.

“You really came all the way here for something like that? Who or what lead you here to begin with? You certainly came a long way home to visit little ol’ me, after what you done.” Your smokey fox form grew in size, as it bare its fangs and growled at him. He kept his lazy attitude.

“Crazy, huh? I heard from a friend that you know a map that leads to the Lady Bone Demon's old place. It would be nice if you hand it over and forget this ever happened-”

“And why should I help you? I'm running a business here, and I need payment. Now if I were you, I'll pay up, since I'm being so generous today.” You cut him off as your face got close to his. For once his lazy attitude broke for a second, he tensed up as he leans away. Nervous and possibly a bit flustered from the sudden close approximation.

“W-well, I don't have anything on me now but I can get you something.” He mutters, before clearing his throat. Trying to regain his composure back.

“News flash, I don't want anything that isn't my tail back, that you cut off! Either you give it back or no map.” Your form shifts into a more smaller one but just large enough to tower over him. Wrapping your many tails around him, your fox face next to his ear.

“Now tell me, what will it be, Sun Wukong?”

He was silent, for once he was quiet. 

“If I don't find out what she is planning soon, she’ll destroy everything. I know, you hate me after everything but we both know, if I didn't do it. The mortals in this city would have. You know how humans get, when misfortune comes, they need someone to blame. I am sorry that it had to be you, but you know I was only doing my job. So please, help me on this one.” He said while staring at the ground, his hands clutching the edge of the counter. 

All you can do is stare at the sight in silence. It wasn't every day, he apologizes. However, will you actually accept his apology?

You let out a tired sigh, your smokey from jumping off the counter. Searching the shelves before landing in front of him. Back in your human form, holding a map. You tossed it at him.

“As much as I would love to have my ninth tail back, but I must say, it isn't every day the mighty Sun Wukong comes in apologizing and begging for help. Well, I guess that's a good enough payment.”

“Heh, I get it, I don't apologize and should have sooner. Then again, there weren't any balloons or cards saying ‘Sorry for cutting off your ninth tail and making you stuck being a regular fox spirit.’ Apparently, that doesn't happen much to have it be on a card.” He laughs getting off the counter. Checking out the map as he slowly exits the shop.

“Hey if my great plan does work and the world hasn't ended, want to...catch up?”

You raise a brow at him.

“Oh? Wukong, you still aren't smooth, not even after all these years.”

“Hey, I spent a few centuries on an island by myself. I’m just rusty, and don't pretend you aren't too.” It was his turn to lean close. His face is close to yours as he smirks. You were stunned, feeling your cheeks heat up.

“Oh please, unlike you I had a business to run. Now go, I won't be kind enough to say it again.”

“Then is that a yes? Can we catch up?” 

You close the door shut the moment you push him out. A soft chuckle left you as you turned back around to see the spot where Wukong was sitting. Though you notice something new there, it was a fluffy tail. The one you lost. A smile forms on your face.

“That cheeky monkey.”

[mysticmonkeybusiness]

Prompt: something fluffy between ao lie and wukong (bonus if it could be paralleled with mk and mei) requested by @visionaryscribe

also @swkbiggestdefender bc you were screaming about ao lie and wukong a few days ago so i figured you would want to see it.

-

“Don’t you get tired of being stuck as a horse all the time?” Wukong asks, leaning against the stable entrance.

The White Dragon horse snorts in amusement, eyes twinkling with mirth. “You’re overthinking things. I find it rather peaceful.”

Wukong makes a face and pulls at the circlet. “I can hardly stand this thing and you’re saying you’re okay with changing forms entirely? I mean, come on! You’re a dragon!”

Ao Lie grins, which is unsettling on a horse’s face. “I know. My ancestors must be rolling in their graves, it’s the best.”

Huh. That’s… “You don’t like your family?”

Ao Lie pauses, clearly thinking it over. Slowly, he says, “It’s not that I don’t like them. Though they’re pretty stuffy. Break one itty bitty present from the Jade Emperor and suddenly you’re kicked out of your own home.”

Wukong has to hide his own grin of amusement at his friend’s predicament. Grumbling, the dragon-horse continues, “It’s more that I’m nothing like how they think I should be. I don’t see the point in fighting a lot of the time, and I hardly have any of that dragon pride my father keeps muttering about. Bit of a disappointment compared to my sister, really. But I do miss them.”

Sobering, Wukong’s mind flashes to Flower Fruit Mountain and the monkeys he left behind. He hopes Macaque hasn’t had too much trouble looking out for them on his own. He swallows and forces a smile. “Yeah? What do you miss the most?”

Ao Lie looks at him thoughtfully, tilting his head. “Hm. I would have to say, I miss badgering my sister until she agreed to sleep with me the most. She pretends she doesn’t like it, but she always agrees to my request in the end.”

Oh. Wukong looks around the stable lacking any other horses and glances back at the house that agreed to host them for the night. Eh, the others probably won’t miss him. Would be nice to get a night’s sleep without Bajie’s snoring in his ears. And the host family doesn’t have any young girls for the pig to harass. “Got room for one more then?”

Smiling softly, eyes brightening with fond warmth, Ao Lie says, “Of course.”

[cloud-somersault]

The Constellations Covenant AU you just posted is so interesting for different reasons to me, among them:

-I’d wondered and sometimes thought about asking you about whether Macaque would have killed Wukong in that first battle between them if he was the one who’d gotten the upper hand (I ended up not asking though because it was part of other contemplations I was having about their relationship and what they would each be willing to do for and against the other and it was heavy and complicated for me to express properly I suppose) but this AU explored some of that scenario now so, cool!!

-AND!!! I’d also thought about asking what would have happened if there was another celestial primate there on Flower Fruit Mountain to receive MK when he was born, whether Wukong or Macaque or even Little Star idk (I ended up not asking this one cause a lot about MK’s origins and what happened to him immediately after his birth is still mystery territory so I wasn’t sure how much you could delve into it. Plus tbh I have a lot of questions about your thoughts on the celestial primate births that I’ve kinda kept to myself because I don’t wanna bombard you or anything 😂) but again, some of that in this au?? MK recognized as a celestial primate from the beginning??

Very cool as always!!!

You can always come in here and ask anything! I'm honestly going to be a bit more lenient with information and what I withhold. Unless it's a plot-heavy detail, I'll divulge anything, because there's a vast majority of things that are just going to stay in my head. So, asking now is the perfect time to get those answers and lore.

I always saw Macaque and Wukong's fight to be this long, tired, exhausting, powerful battle. They both get so caught up in the thrill of fighting each other and how they have to keep their wits about them at all times. It basically boils down to "I have to win!!" no matter the cost, and it's lethal and deadly, obviously, but it's neck-and-neck. Wukong didn't stop until it was too late. That's the same for Macaque in Covenant AU.

There's also just the anger of thinking the other abandoned them, which is also canon in Covenant AU, so they've got that anger, the thrill and adrenaline, and needing to best the other but finding it incredibly difficult. It's the hardest battle both of them have ever fought.

As for your second question, Little Star wouldn't be able to receive MK, because they were already lost at that point. If Wukong/Macaque were there when MK was born, they'd pick him up and look him over and immediately identify that he is like them. MK would be born with celestial-blessed eyes and abundant magic, and with his connection to wood magic, Wukong/Macaque would put two and two together.

They both were there when Little Star was born as well, so shadowpeach (i'm just going to type that out, it's less letters) both know what to look for. In Constellations, if Wukong had been on FFM and not in Heaven attending a Spell Discovery Presentation, then he would've immediately known MK was a celestial primate.

So, basically, shadowpeach would look after MK and take care of him, but it would be heavily fraught with arguments and fear. Macaque wants to keep MK hidden from the world and Wukong agrees, but doesn't to the extent that Macaque wants to. Wukong would want to show MK the Mortal Realm; Macaque wouldn't want that because he fears a repeat of what happened to Little Star. He wants MK to only known FFM

Because Macaque doesn't have magic in this AU, Wukong gets final say in a lot of things....Macaque also isn't doing so great mentally and self-confidence wise. Their relationship has some hurdles and ups and downs, but they're still heavily in love - but those issues that stemmed from their younger days are still there and they get addressed at this point.

MK, all the while, is just a little monkey who speaks monkey waddling about being silly. Flowers spring up from his footsteps and whenever he sleeps, he grows a garden around himself. Whenever Wukong picks him up and smiles, MK pats Wukong's cheeks and makes marigolds bloom in Wukong's hair.

Whenever MK is nervous during the night, Macaque is there to reassure him. He can't ease his heart without magic, but he holds him and keeps him safe throughout the night. And in the morning, there are lilacs in Macaque's fur and hair.

So, it'd be like that. More domestic and realistic. But very sad, too.

If you have more questions about this AU or just Constellations in general, please ask!

[westleywithatea]

My thoughts on American Born Chinese (TV series)

My sister and I recently finished American Born Chinese, the TV series. Now I share my thoughts. I'll try to keep them in chronological order.

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

So...

After watching the first 2 episodes, my dad believed that the writers were racist towards Caucasians because the principal character mispronounced the 2 Chinese characters' names.

Note: My family is Asian. Both of my parents are born and raised in Vietnam.

I think the principal character was just clueless.

We accidentally watched Episode 2 and 3 out of order.

we get a flashback of Guanyin and Wei-Chen in Magic China. The trees are red, people are flying, you would think that you're watching the wrong show... If you had no idea what the show was about.

Flying people feels familiar nostalgic

Soccer team party and ... I'm pretty sure that's hazing

as long as nobody gets hurt

There's a lot yellow lighting. idk y

Sun Wukong hiding the staff in his ear is purely Chinese drama/TV only. according to my sister. Who read the novel? can they confirm?

Majority of episode 4 is a flashback in a style of an old Chinese Drama

it looks like something my parents would watch when I was small child age

You have no idea how many adaptations of Journey to the West there is. The original Classic novel is really old.

ALL BUDGET WENT TO COSTUME AND SET DESIGN!

Even the editing and CGI is low-budget. The way how the staff floats in the air, as if it's on a string. I love it. Very 1 on 1 with what I grew up with.

Episode 5: oh gods. NOT THE AUNTIES COMPARING CHILDREN!

Kế Huy Quan has a very Viet spelling of a name, but he's of a ethnic minority. My dad reads his name and knows Quan is Chinese.

(I'm still waiting for Wikipedia to fix the IPA pronunciation guide of his name. It's "Kay", like okay and hay. Not "kee", like Key or tree. )

His character, Jamie Yao, is very meta. I can tell the writers wrote him as someone who took on cardboard POC characters of the past. The writers and actors are using Jamie as that outlet to tell us what they always want to tell everybody from the beginning.

on to the next episodes...

transformations are never on screen. just off screen. play with cuts, lighting/ flashes, and other things. budget of this show went towards more important things.

Why is the dog in Ep 6 a yorkie? idk... I think they should've gone for another breed.

Episode 7: so... Did the Principal assumed Jin's mom as a tiger mom?

And shouldn't Jin's mom be using her maiden name? Or did Jin's parents got too assimilated in the American/ Western culture?

their names are Christine and Simon.

actually, they let Jin try out sports, go out with friends, and have a birthday party. With curfew.

They let him have a life!!

I wish my paretns are like that. >:(

I declined a birthday party invitation in 3rd grade because I was too afraid to ask my parents. I was so sure they would say no. They always say no to cousins sleepovers. (it's a sleepover of just the cousins.)

Episode 8: so the season finale ...

Jin's parents were fighting, now making up. There was no kissing. Thank you. Asian parents don't kiss. or people of that generation don't kiss. No kissing in East Asia.

flying people is normal. welcome to wuxia and xianxia. Let's GO!!!

Jin is so awkward. His kiss with Amelia is awkward. I appreciate. It's not a full on make out, like Hollywood rom-com. It's an awkward kiss done by awkward kids. Very real and in-character.

was that monologue about himself, Jin?

Very realistic ending. Very HISHE- moment. Jin asking for repeat and slower, because his Chinese isn't very good. Mood. Big Mood.

Where's Sun Wukong's monkey accent? Every CH drama has him in monkey accent. Including VN dubbing? (I'm talking about present day. I'm not talking about the Ep 4 flashback. idr if he spoke with monkey accent in the flashback.) Did he got too tired + stressed from parenthood that he turned super serious?

Sandy is now a woman

My dad explained this show to his sister as Sun Wukong but for kids of the 21st century. (She was staying over for a few nights and only watched like... 1 or 2 episodes.)

he is not wrong

occasionally, he explains the characters' Vietnamese names to me and my sister. The translation is still the same. Sounds are similar, because Vietnamese borrows a lot from Chinese.

Mom be walking in on the Mandarin-speaking scenes and asking what we're watching. Because we rarely watch films and shows in Chinese. It's either in English or Japanese (anime).

Imagine trying to explain Sun Wukong to your parents, who know the stories very well. But the catch is the language translation.

It's not Sun Wukong to my parents, It's now Tôn Ngộ Không (Tone Ng-oh Kh-ong).

Dad not understanding why Michelle Yeoh/ Dương Tử Quỳnh is returning to Hollywood because of her age.

I can not tell if he's being negative or positive or just plain confused. Or maybe he's confused on why his kids are watching her and not someone younger?

all story arcs get tied together in the very end. that's the point of drama writing. but there are few loose ends that bother me. like the pendant being lost forever.

This is a story about an immigrant family, written by immigrant families for immigrant families.

This is a story about being Asian, American, Asian-American, Asian in America, immigrants, and a child of immigrants.

Written by those people for those people

UPDATE:

It has come to my attention that there were on-screen transformations with special effects and CGI for the first few episodes

I guess the budget sorta ran out for the final episode??

I am disappointed in the cancellation of the show. Disney didn't advertise it well enough.

[deltaclaws]

Writing Scraps- Creature’s Comfort

I’ve found as I’ve started writing again that I go through two different openings before finding one that sticks, and I keep those on the doc in case I liked the previous one better.

Because I think these things are neat and it’s not quite the same as posting a sketch dump, I’m gonna share the stuff I don’t use and label them Writing Scraps for easier reference. With that, here’s two intros for an upcoming fic that I didn’t like as much but thought they’d be fun to share.

Opening #1-

Sun Wukong had seen sick mortals before. Seen sick immortals too- he himself had been severely under the weather several times in his very long life. The king could tell when a cold was from natural causes or a curse inflicted on somebody. Sun Wukong had also had front row seats for sicknesses that, to this day, leave him wanting to drag his eyes through dirt as some sort of solace to the disgusting images burned into his brain.

A thought that had only crossed his mind once in the past year was what would happen if his successor-turned-kid got ill, and that potentially disastrous line of intrusive thoughts only came about because MK told him of the cursed meatballs he ate when Wukong was away.

“So, did you actually win anything, or was that stunt purely for bragging rights?” he drawled as he leaned against a recently pulverized rock, one eyebrow quirked in a way that said 'This is hilarious and I am never letting you forget it’.

MK tapped his staff down firmly and squared up his shoulders, looking prouder than he had any right to be. “Well I had to set a new record!” he stated, before the proud stance melted into a more humbled slouch, and his student brought his hand up to rub the side of his face sheepishly. “Definitely not worth the city-shaking hiccups, or making Sandy go on a conveniently timed quest for the cure…”

Opening #2-

Sun Wukong liked keeping the technology he used limited. Not for any “The good old days were better” reasons, because indoor plumbing, WiFi, and video games are easily in his Top 5 list of best innovations and no one will ever pry those from his cold, stone hands.

It was strictly for his privacy. His lawyer had to fight him literally tooth and nail to get another computer- too many instances of people finding his one and only personal email years back had led to some very interesting letters. Letters that some lower deities would consider curses to the eyes for their content.

Because no, Sun Wukong will not be sending pictures of any kind to anyone, he will not look at any pictures his weirder fans send him, and he’d prefer to be stewed alive before he read another story that shared waaaay too much personal information.

Even with those very good reasons presented in a very professional manner to his lawyer, he was shot down.

“Handwritten letters from your Fortress of Solitude take ages to get here Wukong. I’m tired of playing Heavenly Messenger to get your approval for these licenses, Wukong.”. While he could’ve argued with that, after getting a new laptop and seeing how fast communication had gotten with computers, he conceded that it was a solid investment alone for getting his lawyer off his back. Now he just needed to answer those emails.

A laptop, a TV, and a gaming console were all he wanted. It was simple! Three easy outlets to enjoy the near infinite library of digital media, and an avenue for his contacts to message him and be promptly ignored.

Then MK became a part of his life again, almost two years went by, and now he had a phone. Arguments of ‘It’s helpful! We can contact each other without using monkey mind powers! I can send you all my favorite memes!’ wore him down faster than anything. Possibly because the kid also used the underhanded move of the puppy dog face combined with a little guilt tripping. Just dusted on top, like some guilty sugar.

[skellebonez]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SMALLPWBBLES

It took me a while but I finally finished your birthday fic @smallpwbbles ! I couldn’t resist writing a little What If? for Bitty MK and I really hope you enjoy it!

“Well…” Tang started with a strained chuckle as he held onto his chair with a grip so tight that Pigsy could swear he could hear his knuckles straining. “At least we know if anyone tries to attack or something… MK will probably scare half of the lifespan out of them when he picks up a car to chuck it at them.”

Given the way he continued to grip the chair even after the now shrunken Monkie Kid put him and the chair he was sitting in back down, Pigsy wouldn’t have been surprised if Tang had lost a few years of his own out of sheer shock and panic. Even though this was the second time it had happened that day and, really, Tang should have really expected it after MK had said he was looking for one of his markers and needed to see if it was under his chair.

Things to remember for the future, he supposed.

To say the situation was unusual was a massive understatement. How the young adult managed to be shrunken back down into a small child the chef still didn’t quite understand, and quite frankly as long as MK was safe and healthy and would eventually get back to normal size he really didn’t care to know the details. But he did understand that they now had a small child sized MK with the strength of one full grown Monkey King running around without the self realization to notice how terrifying this was to everyone around him.

At least he seemed to be having fun for most of the day. MK has finally wound down, munching on some peeled and cut fruit as an after dinner snack while surrounded by a veritable mountain of art supplies. How any single person, let alone a kid, could go through so much paper and so many markers in one day Pigsy would never know. But, then again, this was MK he was thinking about.

MK had always had a fierce streak for art. Pigsy had him to thank for his own shop’s sign, after all. The kid had skill, and lots of it, and while slightly diminished by the fact his hands barely reached around some of the markers anymore his tenacity had not even been the littlest bit lessened.

What had been lessened as well, however, were his shop hours. The shop has closed a bit early for the day, Pigsy only able to fill out so many orders for dine in only when he was the only employee currently working. And while Mei has been a huge help throughout the entire day with MK, she wasn’t his employee and he didn’t feel right asking her to take over as delivery driver (even if she would have done a great job). Besides, he was almost certain that if Tang was left alone with MK the poor man would have had at least one fainting spell out of sheer terror.

He’d sent Mei back home after she’d finished a meal he’d prepared for her, a full day of making sure that MK didn’t get into too much trouble wiping her out a lot faster than anyone expected. He had to admit… she was handling it better than nearly anyone else. Certainly better than Sun Wukong had. The Monkey King looked like he was holding it together pretty well but Pigsy was smarter than the immortal seemed to think he was.

He knew that other was internally freaking the hell out the entire time and it was even more obvious when he rushed off to find something to get MK back to normal once the kid has presented him with a self portrait of the king himself.

Granted, when Pigsy has been presented with much the same of himself he may have also internally freaked out a bit himself. But that was neither here nor there.

“Pigsy?” MK’s voice broke through the chef’s thoughts, soft and tired. “Do I have to go to bed?”

That was an… odd question to hear coming from anyone in any circumstance.

“Afraid ya do, kid,” Pigsy said with a soft chuckle. He moved around the counter, coming up to stand at the table the younger was currently sitting at. Now that he looked at him Pigsy could tell that MK was exhausted. He’d never seen a kid with such deep bags under their eyes before… which was odd. He was certain that he had taken some kind of nap at some point. “But you don’t have to until you and I get this place cleaned out, how’s that sound?”

“OK!” MK exclaimed as he wiped his face on his sleeves (Pigsy groaned knowing that his jacket would need to be washed as soon as possible), grabbing his plate to rush it into the kitchen.

“WASH YOUR HANDS AND YOUR FACE!”

~

“Softie,” Tang chuckled out as Pigsy adjusted the completely passed out MK in his arms.

“You cried when MK gave you your portrait, you don’t get to say anything,” Pigsy shot right back without even a single note of actual annoyance or venom in his tone. “Besides, kid’s even more of a ray of sunshine now. Can’t help it.”

“Very good points,” Tang said, stretching after he put the last of the chairs back in their places for the end of the day. “But that ray of sunshine is probably going to wake us up at 5 in the morning given what time it is now.”

Pigsy couldn’t help but snort and laugh in response, knowing that Tang was right but also knowing that only Tang would find that a problem considering Pigsy had to get up at roughly that time to prepare to open his shop anyway.

He never got to say that, however, because a distant scream of “PIG MAN YOU’VE GOT A PROBLEM!” rang through the shop before the still unlocked door slammed open to reveal one very frazzled immortal monkey.

Just… not the one he was expecting to see.

“UH…” He managed out, as Macaque shut the door behind himself, looking like he was questioning all of his life decisions.

Then he held up one sleeping and very… very small shrunken child Sun Wukong.

“… well shit.”

[timbertumbr]

Tomorrow is another day (LMK Monkey King X Reader)

Note: This oneshot has themes of self loathing. If this is uncomfortable for you in any way please skip this oneshot.

Also, all nicknames Monkey King gives is gender neutral.

Another barrage of self loathing thoughts. Another sleepless night. This has happened more times than you count. But you had a solution. Distract yourself with random internet shenanigans, forget the thoughts, problem solved.

Sure you lose some sleep over it, but it's a price to pay to keep the voices quiet. Plus, you were basically alone so no one would bother you tonight or the next morning. Well, almost.

A certain monkey liked to fly around the city some nights to check on those he holds close, and surprisingly that number is pretty low. 

Said monkey landed on your window sill in bird form before transforming into his normal self. He furrowed his brows upon seeing you up at this hour. 

He knocks on your window which grabs your attention. You sigh and approach the window before opening it. Monkey King smiles before speaking.

"Hey buddy, pal, what are you doing up at this hour?" He asks concerned, you huff tiredly.

"Cause I wanted to," You mutter, turning away from the window and flop onto your bed and continue your mindless scrolling. He frowns and climbs into your room.

"You wanted too? Doesn't sound like you, you usually complain about being tired after all," You hum in acknowledgement, not even glancing at him. He sighs and sits on the bed next to you. 

". . . how long have you been doing this?" You stare for a bit before shrugging.

"Oh I don't know, years. Just something that happens from time to time?" His brows furrow deeper.

"Just something that happens huh? You know sleep is important right?" You don't answer.

"It's not about sleep, is it?" You sigh.

"Yes. I know I have a bad habit and it's hard to break it," He frowns deeply.

"Mind telling me what the cause is? If you wanna tell me that is," You stare for a bit before taking a deep breath.

"I… sometimes… little voices tell me my insecurities loud and clear and it's so hard to ignore them… so I distract myself to quiet the voices for a few hours. It's especially loud when I'm trying to sleep… and… it makes me think of all the things that could go wrong tommorow. So I… try to delay the inevitable," He listened intently before taking a breath.

"Well, there’s your problem! You’re seeing tomorrow as a looming shadow hanging over your head when you should be seeing tomorrow as a bright new day! You shouldn’t be too worried about the future, all that you need to do is focus on the present, see what you have around you and be glad that you have it! And tomorrow usually ends up being today and then yesterday. Has anything good come from this bad habit of yours?” 

"Well no…"

"Exactly. Listen," He places a hand on your shoulder before continuing.

"I know it's hard to get rid of the little voices in your head trying to bring you down. And… I've learned you kinda have to be your own therapist. Reassure yourself of what the voices tell you. It'll still hurt, but it helps to realize you can soften the blow in a way, understand?" You slowly nod.

"Yeah, I think I do…" He smiles. 

"Good. Now, off to bed with ya!" He playfully announces before grabbing a pillow and lightly hitting you with it. You laugh.

"Okay, okay! I'm going!" You say amused before laying yourself down. He stops hitting you and starts giggling. You fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow, blankets sprawled across your bed.

Wukong smiles and gently kisses your forehead, tucking you in and shutting the light off. He then looks outside your window to look at the window, remembering.

Want to Request? Please Read this before you do so.

[thestarswhim]

MK needs some rest

Summary: “Look, kid, using that much power, your body can’t handle it.” 

In which MK didn’t fully recover his strength after the Macaque and DBK situation, and is really trying hard to push through, anyway.

Thankfully, Monkey King intervenes.

Words: 3360 

Notes: Has descriptions of anxiety and stress. Since this is in MK’s perspective, Wukong will just be referred as Monkey King throughout the whole fic, but if I end up writing this in Wukong’s perspective as well, that’ll change, or go back and forth between “Monkey King” and “Wukong,” to fit his own perspective. 

Enjoy! :D 

MK woke up feeling… tired, to put it simply. It had been like this for the past week, and no matter how much rest he got, even when he slept for ten hours given the chance, nothing elevated the hazy daze he felt himself constantly being in. It started after his “training” with Macaque and the fight with the Demon Bull King, and only got worse since then. Maybe that just drained his energy a bit more than usual. Yeah, that made sense, being more exhausted could happen to anyone.

He was doing work just fine, though Pigsy had to yell more and even louder to get his full attention every once in a while, and he may have had missed a few stops while delivering noodles (and had also, probably, dropped more than one bowl when cleaning up the shop. Pigsy was definitely going to take that out of his next paycheck). Then, when he and Mei would hang out and do their usual arcade/porty — party; he meant party — fun, he would zone out for a moment and stare blankly at nothing, lost in thoughts and memories that Mei had to quickly snap him out of. What were those thoughts and memories? … That didn’t matter. He was fine. His friends and family were fine. The city was filled with high energy and bustled with life. Nothing was wrong for now. Everything was fine. He was fine. And tired. Gosh, he was so tired— Anyway— After that, he would go home, with his feet being dragged on the floor by this point, and head straight to bed, not even bothering to change his clothes, or brush his teeth, or do anything. He just let the overwhelming weight of exhaustion that was seeping all the way into his bones to finally pull him into the state of unconsciousness. The dreams that he could barely make out left him shaken in the morning, and, of course, he felt like he never slept in the first place. He groaned in his pillow, fighting the tears of frustration that pushed at his eyes from leaking out. 

It was a constant cycle, a routine, and the fact that no major threats had happened ever since the fight didn't make him feel any better. But, that could be the sleep deprivation — if he was sleep deprived because he did sleep — talking. 

Today he was supposed to train with Monkey King who throughout the weeks would make him do the smallest of chores, up to the point where he only had to sweep the floor…? He was doing that on purpose, MK knew that much, because where was the life lesson for sweeping the floor? But, all his mentor would say was, "It's never a bad thing to take it easy once in a while," and that was that. 

It had been a long day (again) before he finally got to the mountain, the energy he had left already drained and gone, but he was fine. After all, maybe he'd just have to watch paint dry this time. Okay, nevermind, that sounded excruciating and so much worse. “Welcome back!” Monkey King greeted casually, snapping MK back into the present. He blinked. When did he walk over to the cavern? 

“Hey…” he greeted back distantly and started to become more and more aware of his surroundings as he looked around, stopping at the sight of Monkey King who jumped off the cloud he always laid on. “So, uh,” he shook his head to regain focus again which he quickly regretted when he got light-headed by the simple action. And now there were small dots in his vision. Great, just what he needed. “What—” he subconsciously rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand, “what are we doing today— ah!” Monkey King was now in front of him, no warning or any indication that he walked closer at all, and eyed him carefully, brows creased. Before MK could say anything, two hands gently cupped his face and started to move his head around slowly from side to side as a way to examine him. He sucked in a quiet breath from the sudden contact, and had the urge to lean into the warmth the hands were giving off, but stopped himself since he would probably fall over. “You doing okay, bud?” Monkey King asked as softly as he could make his voice be. The kid attempted to nod enthusiastically, but it came out rigid beneath the palm of his hands. “Yup. It’s been a long day, ‘s all,” MK mumbled, though to himself he said that at normal volume. “Really now?” The hands then left MK’s face which apparently were supporting him since he did almost fall over regardless, setting a foot down in front of him to stop that from happening. “Well, there isn’t really much to do today… but you are staying over.” That brought his attention back. He looked up towards his mentor and raised a brow. “Wait, what?” “You’ll be spending the night,” Monkey King explained. “It’ll be for, you know,” he shoved a peach chip in his mouth, “training.” “I feel like you’re starting to use that as an excuse…” “Ehh, no. You’ll learn something from this,” and, again, that was that.

Despite MK’s mind running like a phone on save battery mode right now, a new energy seemed to gradually rise within him as he took a minute to actually process the situation. Would this technically be a sleepover? Having a sleepover with the Monkey King? How many people could say that? His excitement might be muddled by fatigue, but he was still excited! It was just…

“What are we going to do, then?” “First off,” Monkey King put a bag of the peach chips in MK’s hands, “you should eat something. I also got some of the instant noodles you could snack on later.” He stared down at the bag, making him realize that his appetite wasn't really apparent, and inwardly cringed. He hadn’t actually eaten much at all the last few days, only ever having a few dumplings or a bowl of noodles Pigsy would try to make him attempt to eat during break (he could never finish the noodles, though). You’d think he would be starving by how tired he had been, but nope. “I think I’m good for now. I’ll… eat later.” Monkey King looked at him for a moment once more, searching for something, and then hummed thoughtfully. “Okay.” MK let out a breath of relief, and his body slightly untensed. He didn’t think he could stomach anything right now. 

“Let’s get watching!” Monkey King announced, carefully taking a hold of MK’s arm, and guiding him over to his house. “Hope you’re a binge-watcher ‘cause it’s a pretty long series. I mean, I’m in it, afterall, so of course it is.” MK let his teacher guide him, not trying to pay any mind to the fact that his legs were basically all sloshy and almost numb, and that Monkey King was holding onto him in the first place. That was new. But, they’re going to be binge-watching? … 

Thank. Goodness. “Oh, yeah,” MK waved his hand dismissively as if there was no question needed, “I definitely am! Mei and I stayed up for two days straight one time watching this weird sci-fi movie series. Something to do with a guy named Jim? I don’t know, it was weird.” “Nice! One time I stayed up for about a month straight watching… literally anything.” What!? How was he even still ali— oh, right. Geez, his brain… and was he seeing everything in slow motion now, or…?  

And now he was sitting on the couch. … Huh? When did they—? What? He rubbed at his eyes like it would help the dysfunction his state of mind was in, and blinked. Monkey King was turning on the TV in front of MK, and then went over to the couch and sat down next to him. His expression looked… odd for some reason? It wasn’t anger, but he did seem more serious (or was that concern?) compared to how he was moments prior, like something was bothering him. Did something happen? The weird expression instantly changed when he looked over to MK, his smile once again apparent. “There you are, kid. I was worried for a sec there. You, like, totally spaced out on me when I was talking to you.” 

“Oh, uh,” MK instinctively rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish smile, “sorry about that. It’s been a long day.” Didn’t he already say that? He noticed Monkey King’s tail slightly twitch. “Right, right. Good thing we’re taking it easy today.” “‘Cause this is definitely training,” he thought— he said that out loud. “Exactly!” Monkey King then put a hand to MK’s chest and lightly pushed him further into the couch. “Now relax. You’re stiff as a board right now.” MK got sort of surprised by how easy it was for him to be pushed with such minimal force. You could poke him and he would probably go falling instantly. Hopefully, he didn’t feel even worse in the morning. He really, really hoped. This unnerving sensation swelled in his lungs and buzzed throughout his head as he thought of the possibilities of an enemy showing up while he was still like this, or not being able to do his job right at the shop and even as a hero, or be there for anybody, or— 

There was a sudden pressure on the top of his head. He inwardly gasped and snapped his head toward the source. 

It was one of the monkeys from the mountain. 

“Oh,” was all he could breathe out as a few more showed up, one of them resting on Monkey King’s abdomen. The monkey on his head slid off to sit on the couch as well. MK looked back over to the TV when the first episode was starting, and actually tried to relax. It was the Monkey King animated series, he could totally focus on it no problem. ~~~

What was strange was that Monkey King had barely been saying anything while they watched. Maybe a few comments here and there, but other than that, nothing more. MK would have said something, but he wasn’t really paying attention. He didn’t even know what episode they were on. The daze he was still in was even more heavy and dragging, his vision getting hazy as he stared at the screen. The monkey was still on the couch, and MK just realized he had been petting them this whole time. 

He felt like he was about to pass out at any moment, he wanted to pass out. But, something in him was saying not to. That if he were to fall asleep now, something, someone, out there would attack. But who? Ugh, why couldn’t he just calm down, and not think dumb thoughts! Everything was fine! Everything was… fine. “White Bone Spirit…” MK froze. His eyes instantly stayed locked on the TV, blocking out all his surroundings. The person on the screen was talking to the group, but the blood pounding in his ears wouldn't let him hear any of the words that were coming out of their mouth. He didn't recognize the name, but something wasn't right. Their white, pure hair, and those eyes. It was like they were staring right at him. Mockingly. 

His entire body went ice cold. and he most likely even stopped breathing, but he didn't notice, he didn't care. He had to do something. Now. 

"Hey," MK squeaked out, immediately on his feet. "Monkey King? Shouldn't— shouldn't we do some training?" His heart wouldn't stop racing, and his hands and legs became numb. He couldn't feel anything. Too many thoughts were flooding his mind, someone dangerous was out there, and if they wasted any more time...

Monkey King looked up at him, still sitting down. His tail twitched again. "I think it's getting a little late for the kind of training you're thinking of. You got work tomorrow, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I haven't been doing anything for almost two weeks!" MK didn't mean to shout, but his nerves were on end, and they were wasting more time. "Don't you think it's strange that nothing has been happening?" 

"Well, yeah, but," Monkey King shifted in his seat, "we can't do much until something does happen." 

"Except maybe train?" 

Monkey King's face had that bothered expression again. He sighed. "Kid, I don't want you pushing yourself anymore than you already have." 

MK formed his hands into fists, tightening them as flashes of purple shadows and blue whispers swept over his mind like a fog, and tried to keep his legs from giving out. "Someone's out there! Uh, maybe. I don't know, but we have to at least do something!" 

"...Hey—"

“Because—” MK’s lungs were burning from his now ragged breathing, his mind was spinning, and he barely comprehend that he interrupted his mentor. Tears were starting to form in his eyes. "Because if I'm not ready, then I won’t be good enough, and then everyone will get hurt, and it will all be my fault— “ “Xiaotian.” MK instantly stopped, nothing but his harsh breaths breaking the weird, sudden silence that fell over them. The TV had been long turned off, apparently. Monkey King grabbed his arm again, even more gentler this time, and continued talking. “You’re shaking. Breathe.” He was easily pulled down back on the couch, and Monkey King repositioned himself so he could start… combing through MK’s hair? 

It was so careful and… comforting. Strangely, that was what made the tears fall down, one by one, and MK quickly tried to wipe them away. It was like this for a while. Quiet, but a peaceful quiet, except for the hushed sobbing that echoed the room— and when did he start sobbing? 

“It’s okay,” Monkey King said, petting his head with a nice, steady rhythm. “You’re safe.”

MK took in slow breaths, now attempting to do what he was told before. He was surprised how he hadn't completely passed out yet, but that didn’t matter at the moment. He was comfortable, and it had been too long (way too long than he had liked) since he truly felt that way. 

After his breathing settled down, and he could, well, breathe again, Monkey King decided to speak up. 

"Remember when I told you about using too much of your power?" 

MK nodded, slowly, the reminder causing certain flashbacks that he had to shake away again. 

"Well," he continued, grooming MK's hair more than petting it now, "it really wore you out, and I'm sure you know that," he chuckled the last few words with a tried effort. "You didn't fully recover by the time you had to go and basically fight again. Literally, once you came back, you were thrown into the prey." 

"Wait," MK turned his head toward the monkey with narrowed eyes, "so you do still watch me." 

He noticed Monkey King's eyes widen before he could cover it up with a side glance. "I… not all the time, no. I just wanted to keep an eye on you for a while." He flicked a piece of dirt that was in MK's hair away. 

"Okay…" 

"Seriously." 

"Mhm…" 

Monkey King ruffled his hair and laughed. It was so genuine that MK couldn't help but laugh as well, causing a weight to be lifted off his shoulders, and, wow, was he really feeling the exhaustion hitting him now. 

"Anyway," back to the grooming he went, "that's why I was making you take it easy. You need a break so you can fully recover all of your strength which will help you for whatever danger might be out there. It's not always about the physical, you gotta focus on what's inside, too. We'll get to the 'fun' training stuff later, okay?" 

"'Kay," MK mumbled, already slipping into a sleepy-like trance. If he had anything else to say, or worry about, he forgot; his eyes closed, and the welcoming blanket of rest enveloped him. Monkey King was saying something, but he sounded too muffled and far away.

The dreams never showed up that night, and he no longer was shaking.

~~~

“Kid!”

He woke up to his nose being pinched, and yelped. His vision only made out colorful blobs that apparently represented someone. “What happened?”

The blob cleared his throat in a failed attempt to hold in a snicker. “Nothing much,” he then shrugged, “except you’ll be late to work in a few minutes, so…” “What!?” MK shot up from the couch and started running straight to the door, everything becoming clearer in his sight of panic. “Oh my gosh, Pigsy’s gonna fire me!” Would he even be able to make it in time? Where would he end up staying once he was fired? Would he be replaced by that delivery bot? No, no, no, no! Definitely not! His hand was already on the doorknob by the time Monkey King appeared right behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Wait, wait! Slow down. How are you feeling?” MK turned around and started to run in place. “Fine, I guess! But, I have to—” His eyes widened as he realized and stopped his eager bouncing. “I… feel great, actually.” Huh. Monkey King’s eyes lit up, and his smile grew just a bit wider. “Good! Now,” he wrapped an arm around MK, “do you need a ride?”  

“...What?”

~~~ After Monkey King shoved the bag of peach chips in MK’s hands again to which he devoured in a surprising matter of seconds, they were now both up in the sky. MK’s hair was flying back as the crisp air of the morning blew on his face, his arms tightly around Monkey King’s torso as they rode along on his cloud. He wasn’t sure how fast they were going, but his face felt numb, so that must have meant something. “I might just have to teach you how to ride this thing soon!” Monkey King yelled, his voice cutting through the rush of wind… somehow.

“That’d be awesome!” He could ride his board with ease, flying a cloud would just be an upgrade. A very, very awesome upgrade. It was hard to talk, though, and close his mouth no less. Ew, what if he swallowed a bug? 

Not even a few minutes went by before they were nearing the shop, and MK couldn’t stop grinning when he jumped off safely onto the concrete ground. He wasn’t going to be late!

He spun around to face the Monkey King, who was still standing easily balanced on the cloud with his arms crossed, and waved. “Thanks, Monkey King! For, well, yesterday, and taking me here!” “Anytime, bud.” He hovered over and swiftly fixed up MK’s hair which was all over the place by the wind. “Try to eat something more on your break if you can, and remember,” he gave him one more pat on the shoulder, the features of his face softening, “one step at a time, all right?”

The way Monkey King had been grooming his hair during this time, and how casually he did it, too, like this was something he’d always done, that there was nothing wrong with showing this kind of… affection(?), made MK feel overwhelmed with a certain emotion he couldn't describe. Tears were wanting to well up again for some odd reason, but he smiled and nodded, holding it down.

Monkey King smiled back and proceeded to go on his way into the sky, leaving a gust of wind in his absence. 

MK stood there, watching him take off before shaking his head to regain focus, and jogged over to the entrance of the shop. As the door chimed opened, a new sense of determination rose up within him; a new surge of energy buzzed throughout his body. And even though he still had an uneasy feeling, he knew — and he actually believed it this time — that despite whatever could happen…

Everything was fine.

~~~

Notes: This took me weeks to finish, but ayyyye! I love me some of that Hurt/Comfort, and the boy really needs it (especially with what might happen in season 2 OHOHO BOY). While writing this I realized that it’d be interesting to do this in Wukong’s perceptive, soooo... look out for that if I write it 👀 

I hope you enjoyed reading it! I haven’t finished a whole fanfic in awhile, so this being over three thousand words is beautiful 🤩👌 Love y’all! Much Love, and many blessings! 💖

[tigerseye46]

Same anon who asked about the Bajie and Wukong were married angle, how about a universe where Pigsy is Bajie in disguise with C9/13/50/90?

This is just pure angst. Enjoy >:D! I’ll expand on this idea one of these days

Brief mentions of death

C9. “You left me!” C13. “No, you don’t have the right to come back to me and pretend that everything is okay again!” C50. “Forgive you? How could I ever forgive you for what you did?” C90. “I know you hate me.”

Pigsy shakes his head as the disguised king throws a pick up line at him. He ignores him and takes something from the cabinet then pours a bit of it into his pot. Wukong’s eyes sparkle as he watches him and Pigsy suppresses his blush.

Ever since Xiaotian had unknowingly reunited them, the king had been sticking around and for what? Pigsy wasn’t sure. It certainly wasn’t for him, he was the reason the king left. After all, why wouldn’t he? Bajie would have gotten tired too if he was forced to deal with a sniveling coward for centuries, forced to deal with someone who only lived to make his life worse. He wasn’t a hero like Wukong was, he wasn’t on the king’s level and still isn’t. Nowadays he’s just a simple noodle shop owner, somewhat different from how he used to be.

He’s nothing special, he never was but Wukong, Wukong is something else. He’s special, he’s everything Bajie is not. The king is brave, loyal, strong, handsome, untouchable, hardworking and so many things while the pig is a coward, grumpy, unreliable, weak, ugly and vulnerable. The only thing he’s got going for him is that his work ethnic has changed, that’s what he believes.

It’s no wonder Wukong left in the first place. No matter how much it hurt.

The king’s reappearance had brought on a wave of emotions, he wanted to punch the king for making him his successor and not telling him he was on that mountain all this time, they checked there when they first heard the word!

There are so many things he wants to do and say to the king, most of them involve curses while others involve pulling Wukong close and pressing a kiss against his lips that would leave them both reeling. He knows that he could never do the latter, Wukong wouldn’t like it if he did.

So he doesn’t, he’ll push that thought into the back of his mind, hoping it goes in a place where it will never be able to get out.

Pigsy narrows his blue orbs at the monkey whose elbow is now on the counter with his head tilted. The pig questions why Wukong wants to act like he could worm his way back into their lives. No way was Wukong getting close ever again.

“Pigsy?” Wukong questions.

“What?”

“You okay? You’ve been standing there for a while.”

“I’m fine,” he replies with gritted teeth. “Why do you care?”

The king raises a brow. “Because you aren’t normally distracted.”

“What?” His phone buzzes with notifications. “Oh, yea.” He fumbles with his phone, pressing random buttons then places it in his pocket and goes back to his soup. Wukong is staring at him in complete admiration. “Why are ya starin’?”

“Just… I admire how hard you work. It takes a lot to manage a restaurant solo.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“It’s no wonder why people like it so much, although the fact that you’re cute helps,” Wukong compliments with a wink.

Pigsy ignores the small flutter that appears in his stomach at the comment, he makes a ‘tch’ noise with his tongue and responds with “Do you say that to everyone?”

“Only when it’s true.”

True? Ha, totally. Him being cute is obviously a lie. The king doesn’t have to lie to him if he wants something. “Yea. Sure. I am totally cute.”

“You are! You have beautiful blue eyes, they’re like the ocean, you could get lost in them. A gorgeous face and so many other amazing features.” The king props his other elbow up and rests his chin on his hands, giving the pig a charming smile and another wink.

Pigsy stutters because the king seems almost genuine in his statement. A pink color the pig’s cheeks, he swallows roughly and his fists tremble, he knows the king is lying, this is all his big ploy to charm his way back into his family. Why would he ever be important in Wukong’s eyes?

“Shaddup. That’s not true.”

“It is! It’s the truest thing in the world.”

“Ya don’t have to lie to me,” he growls.

The king’s head tilts further. “Why would I be lying?”

Why wouldn’t he be lying? Pigsy is aware of the king’s tells and although there are no tells present, none that the pig remembers anyway, the king’s body language for lying could have changed. He has to be fibbing, he has to.

Pigsy swallows again and replies, “Because I know you hate me.”

“Hate you? Why would I hate you?”

Can’t Wukong just drop the act already? Might as well push him. “Why wouldn’t you hate me? Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I’M ZHU BAJIE! The person you despise the most in this world!” Wukong’s mouth is agape. “And don’t try to lie your way out of this! I know you hate me!”

The monkey’s bottom lip quivers. “You’re not… not a reincarnation?”

“The f-? NO! I’M NOT A REINCARNATION!” A tear falls down Wukong’s cheek and he approaches the pig with his fingers outstretched. Pigsy takes a step back and hisses, “DON’T TOUCH ME!”

Wukong’s ears droop. “I… can’t believe it.”

“Can’t believe what?”

“That… you’re… you’re not a reincarnation. I thought you were.”

“You thought I was a reincarnation? That’s stupid!”

“I thought you all died…”

“Really? Because we thought the same thing happened to you! But no, turns out you just decided to leave us behind, not even a single word then next we hear of you, you’ve given Xiaotian the staff! You left us! You left me,” he yells and uses his thumb to point it at his chest. “And you think you can magically find your way back into our lives. No, you don’t have the right to come back to me and pretend that everythin’ is okay again!”

Wukong gasps. “Bajie, I didn’t- I didn’t mean to-”

“Mean to what? Leave your own family behind? What did you think was goin’ to happen?! You didn’t say a damn word to us about retirin’!”

“I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

“Forgive you? How could I ever forgive you for what you did? I get it I guess. Some stupid pig demon bothers you for centuries, he’s a coward, weak and his existence only lives to make your life miserable so you find the best excuse to get rid of him!”

Wukong looks taken back by that. “What? You think I left because of you?”

“I know you left because of me,” he snarls, ignoring the way his phone is vibrating.

“That’s not true! You weren’t the reason I decided to leave!”

“YES, I WAS,” he roars, shaking with anger. “I would leave too if I had to deal with someone like me. You were forced to put up with me all because of master and Guanyin. I made you miserable. You were hopin’ to get rid of me after the journey, that you would never see me again but I bothered you anyway, all because I’m an idiot and desperate for attention.”

Wukong’s arms hang to his side, a frown marks his features. “Do… do you really think that little of yourself?”

Pigsy nods as his vision blurs. “Yea because it’s all true. Even now I’m basically the same. I haven’t changed. I get why ya left… I was never goin’ to change.” He clutches his shirt. “You know I always wanted to be on your level, to be recognized by you as your equal but I knew that was never goin’ to be the case. Yet I tried time and time to get you to notice me. Hopin’ one day you would see me and decide…” He grips the fabric tighter, his gaze cast down at the ground. “Decide you love me too…”

There is a weight lifted briefly before it goes back and drops back on him, heavier than ever before, leaving him barely able to breath, when Wukong gasps. “You… You love me?”

“Yea. I’ve loved you for the longest time.”

“Bajie, I…”

He waves his head from side to side. “I already know what you’re goin’ to say. I don’t want to hear it.”

“You have no idea.”

“I do. You’re goin’ to tell me it’s never ever goin’ to happen because you hate me.”

“NO! That’s not it. Will you just listen to me for one second?”

“I don’t want to because I already know what will happen. I’m not havin’ my heart broken again, Wukong.”

“I’m not going to break your heart! Gods, Bajie…”

“Heck. You don’t even have a right to know this in the first place. Considerin’ what you did.” Bajie knows he’s bouncing around but if he can keep the focus off his feelings, keep the rejection away, he’ll do so. “You left all of us, we thought somethin’ happened. You have every right to want to leave because of me but master, Wujing, Ao Lie, they deserved better. If you told me you never wanted to see me again, I would have understood and I would have stayed away while you were with the others.”

“Bajie,” Wukong lets out a small warning to get the pig to let him talk.

Pigsy continues, “But no, you left them too and you made us believe that someone had finally gotten to you, a part of us thought you were dead while the other part hoped you were alive. The day you left is the day my heart split in two, but this isn’t about me. This is about the others. You at least thought of them like family and not me, never me. They should have had so much better. Because I know what ya thought of me and-”

“BAJIE! WILL SHUT UP FOR ONE SECOND AND LISTEN TO ME? YOU IDIOT,” Wukong rages, chest heaving up and down from anger. He stops when Pigsy’s jaw clenches and the tears cascade like a waterfall. “Bajie, I-”

“GET OUT,” Pigsy screams and gestures to the door.

“Wh-what?”

“I SAID GET OUT! NOW!”

“I didn’t mean what I said! I’m sorry!”

“I DON’T CARE! OUT!”

The king lets out a breath and bobs his head. “Okay. I’ll leave you alone.” He walks then pauses at the doorway. “I’m… I’m sorry and I… I lo- am always here if you want to talk. I’m sorry.” Wukong sends a small and apologetic smile but it is tired and sad underneath. He leaves and fades from view.

Pigsy lightly slams his head against the counter and weeps.

[arashikitten]

What the Shadows Bring to Light

   Wukong liked to think he had a sixth sense when it came to certain things. In a way, he sort of did, what with the golden eyes and demon sensing capabilities. But he also liked to think that he had a sort of foresight, an ability to know if something was wrong regardless of whether or not he was there if or when something bad happened.

   It was something that had grown even stronger as he started to train Qi Xiaotian, which he attributed to the kid’s almost uncanny ability to stumble upon powerful demons, most of whom hadn’t been seen in well over 300 years. Seriously, the kid’s ability to get into trouble would have almost been something to be respected, if not for the fact that he made it very difficult for Wukong not to leap into battle to help whenever Xiaotian got even a little hurt. Xiaotian needed to learn how to do all of this himself: eventually, he’d need to grow out of the Monkey King’s shadow.

   Which was why he’d been attempting to ignore the overwhelming feeling of wrongness that had been slowly creeping up in the past three months. It had started when his friend, the daughter of one of the dragon families, had called Xiaotian in a panic during his training. Something about a giant monster destroying the city, they needed the kid’s help to stop it, the usual. No reason to be worried.

   But then Wukong got a glimpse of the creature from the kids phone, and suddenly there was a swirl of familiarity mixed with deep seated unease. He knew, knew, that he had seen that creature somewhere before, but every time he tried to remember just who or what it was,he came up blank.

So, he’d let the kid go and fight. An uncharacteristic sense of worry settled in his gut, as if trying to warn him that something, something was wrong. Wukong, for the first time in almost twenty years, was unable to go to sleep that night. Worry and anxiety were a crushing weight on him, his mind wandering down dark paths as he attempted to lull himself to sleep.

This led to him being rather… irritable the next day, snapping at Xiaotian in his sleep deprived state. The look the kid had given him, frustrated and confused and hurt, caused a tidal wave of guilt to crash over him, and he had cringed slightly before offering the kid a bag of peach chips as an attempt at an apology. He’d taken them, and hurt and frustration were replaced with concern that just made Wukong feel even shittier.

At least the kid had been ok.

This tension, this oppressive anxiety, continued for three months, fluctuating in severity. Sometimes, it was barely noticeable, nothing more than a small buzz in the back of his head. Other times, it was thick and heavy, covering him like a weighted blanket, stifling the air from his lungs and making his ears ring. There was an ever present danger, lurking beneath the calm veneer of his training with Xiaotian, and it scared the hell out of Wukong. Something, someone, was after his successor, and Wukong had a feeling that whatever it was, it would be much more powerful than the Demon Bull Fam.

And then, last night, something changed. He’d been jolted out of a restless sort of sleep in a panic, terror and worry and dread suffocating him in the beginning of a panic attack as visions of Xiaotian laying bloodied and burned on the ground flooded his brain, shoving out any thoughts of calm or peace that tried to tell him that his kid was safe, that wasn’t- isn’t real, his kid was alive-

Macaque. Wukong’s blood froze. No. No no no nononono. Macaque was dead. He’d been dead for years, gone like dust in the wind. He’d been there, he’d been the one to do it. He’d seen the light vanish from Macaque’s eyes, heard his final breath.

Macaque was dead.

But even through those self-assurances, even as he replayed the memory on loop in his head, he knew. He knew Macaque was alive and well, that he was still out there, that his kid was in danger-

And then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the creeping dread lifted. Fear, terror, concern, they all flooded him like a village before a demon, leaving him tired and drained and confused as hell. The dread-feeling, the ever-present anxiety that Wukong had begun to just accept as a part of his life now, just disappeared, poof! Even the low humming, the slight buzzing in the back of his head, was gone, and for the first time in three months, Wukong’s head was quiet.

Wukong sat back on his little cloud, head in his hands as he sighed. He was being ridiculous. Macaque was absolutely, 100% dead. He’d been there, he’d seen it with his own two eyes: Macaque was dead. Gone. Absent from the world of the living. He couldn’t hurt Xiaotian.

His kid was safe.

——————— ——————— ——————— ———————

   The next morning, the kid had shown up to Flower Fruit mountain at exactly 12:30. He seemed happy, bouncing around the cave with his usual boundless energy. There were no injuries that he could see, aside from a small bruise on the kid’s forehead that he got from running into a tree on his way here. The kid was happy and appeared to be fairly relaxed, no hidden worry or fear in his eyes to suggest that anything bad had happened.

   In fact…

   Wukong surreptitiously activated his demon sight. Xiaotian’s aura, which always glowed the same golden color as his own, was way brighter than Wukong could ever remember seeing it. Even when the kid had first lifted the staff, when his aura had first flared out like a small supernova, it hadn’t been as strong as it was now.

   Just what had happened?

   “Hey, Xiaotian. Did anything… particularly strange happen last night? Anything that you can remember?” The kid stopped what he was doing and looked up at Wukong curiously.

   “I… I don’t think so? Why?” Concern overtook curiosity, and Xiaotian blurted out “Did something bad happen? Did someone from the court of Heaven send you a message?! DID-“

   Wukong shoved a peach chip at the kid’s face, effectively shutting him up. Wukong let out a heavy sigh.

   “No, kiddo, it’s nothing like that. It’s just….” Wukong fell silent. That nagging worry, the concern and protectiveness surged back, like the waves at high tide. He didn’t want his so- his successor to freak out, as the young human was prone to doing.

   Wukong closed his eyes and let out a small sigh. He’d have to tell Xiaotian eventually. Better to rip the bandaid off now.

   “You know how I have the ability to see demons? Even when… even when they’re in disguise?” Xiaotian nodded, of course. He was still a massive fan boy, after all.

   “Well… that ability, it’s not just limited to seeing demons in disguise. I can also sense them from miles away, regardless of whether or not they’re in sight. Kind of like- like a um, a spider-sense, if you will.” Xiaotian nodded along, looking fascinated, as Wukong continued.

   “Basically, depending on how close the demon is, how powerful it is, and how malicious it is, I’ll get this sort of… buzzing in the back of my head, or my ears will start to ring. Usually, most demons are barely strong enough to set it off, and even if they are able to, usually they’re too far away for me to notice.” He looked down at Xiaotian and braced himself. This was going to be difficult.

   “The past three months… it’s been going off constantly. And it was… It was loud, way louder than just about any other demon I’ve faced. It… it was strong enough to trigger that little warning in my brain, from… from all the way in the city, I think. For something to trigger it that much, from that far away…” Wukong trailed off at the dawning look of horror on Xiaotian’s face. Shit. Shit. This was not going as planned.

   Xiaotian looked up at him, eyes wide and shining with clear concern and apprehension, and Wukong knew he needed to say something before the kid worked himself into a full-on panic. Now.

   “But then, something… changed, last night. Do you remember, earlier, when I said that one of the things that determines how strong the… the “sense” is, is how malicious the demon or whatever triggering it is? Well… last- last night, the activity, or intent, or, or whatever, it peaked for a bit, before just… vanishing. Completely. I’ve never felt anything like it before, and I was wondering, if you… if you knew anything about it? About why… about what was triggering that demon sense?” But the kid was already shaking his head, an uncharacteristically serious look on his face as he did so. Damn.

   “I don’t think so… I mean, the only demons that have attacked the city in the last three months were some small fry and the Demon Bull fam, and even they’ve been pretty quiet…” Xiaotian trailed off slightly, and worry stewed in Wukong’s gut. Even an hour later, as he waved the kid off, it lingered in the dark corners of his mind, like a poison. Something bad was going to happen, he could feel it.

   And Wukong had a bad feeling that it would have something to do with the vision of Macaque he’d had last night. He could only hope that Xiaotian would stay out of it.

————— ————— ————— ————— —————

   Stupid. He’d been so, so stupid. He’d known, known that something bad was going to happen, and he’d been right in all the wrong ways.

   Wukong had never wanted to be so wrong before. Not like now.

   It had been about three hours after the kid had left Flower Fruit when he’d felt it- that punch to the gut, heart being crushed, no air in his lungs feeling that sent him to his knees, gasping for air that just wouldn’t come as panic drenched him in a massive tidal wave. He’d known, with absolute certainty, that something had happened to Xiaotian, that his kid, his son, was badly hurt, that he needed to be there, he needed to help-

   Wukong couldn’t remember ever flying that fast before. He’d zipped down Flower Fruit Mountain like lightning, rushing over the city to where he knew Xiaotian’s apartment was. He needed to make sure his kid was okay, he needed to protect his boy-

   The scent of blood, warm and metallic and nauseating, overwhelmed him as it was accompanied by smoke and burned flesh. Wukong felt his stomach turn as he leapt off his cloud, ducking into a nearby alley to empty his sensitive stomach. Good Gods, what had happened? What had happened to his successor? His scent was woven in to the blood and burned flesh scent, ripe with terror and pain and oh, Gods, his kid was hurt-

   Wukong rushed out of the alley to see the apartment, and immediately a new, fresh wave of horror overwhelmed him. The front wall of the place had been blasted to smithereens, the rubble littering the sidewalk around him. There were cracks in the pavement beneath his feet, interspersed with dark scorch marks and, to Wukong’s mounting horror, small bloodstains. Small fires still burned all over, stinking of smoke and burning plastic. The human fire department was there, along with police and an ambulance-

   Wukong’s breath hitched. Xiaotian. Xiaotian was in that ambulance, he was sure of it.

   He needed to get in that ambulance. Now. He needed to see, needed to assess how bad the damage was, needed to make sure his boy was alive-

   Wukong rushed back into the alleyway, quietly transforming into a small butterfly, before making his way over to the vehicle. One of the windows, up at the front, was still opened slightly. Good. Wukong slipped in to the driver’s side, and landed on the back of the driver’s chair for a moment. There were two doors leading to the back, both of which were shut. Luckily for Wukong, there were two small, square windows that he could just barely see through.

   What he saw made him sick.

   His apprentice, his successor, his kid, was laying on a stretcher, bandages covering his head, arms, and chest. His jacket and headband had been removed, as had most of his t-shirt, throwing the small parts that hadn’t been bandages yet into stark relief. There were some parts of the skin that were blackened, blood still seeping through the cracked and burned skin. The skin that wasn’t burned, bandaged, or bloodied, was pale and wane, sickly looking, like that of a corpse. Xiaotian’s dark brown hair was a mess, covered still in dust and debris and sticky with blood. An oxygen mask covered the boy’s mouth and nose, and Wukong couldn’t stand to look anymore.

   He flew off of the driver’s chair to land quietly on the floor, curled up slightly in the back corner as he tried to just… process what he’d seen.

   The world had been muted, blurred to him. Darkness creeped at the edges of his vision, everything becoming an indistinct blob of color and shadow. The ringing in his ears reached a new pitch, interspersed with a low, hollow thumping sound that he would later realize was his own beating heart. He heard the sounds of the ambulance starting up as though he were underwater, muted and drowned out by that ever present ringing-thumping in his ears that only seemed to grow louder as he saw, over and over again, visions of Xiaotian happy smile turning into a broken look of terror as fires consumed him, leaving nothing but a burnt husk comprised of only ashes and bones….

   Wukong jolted forward as the ambulance came to a stop. When had they started moving? When had they arrived at the hospital? Wukong couldn’t remember.

   He heard the sounds of the stretcher being moved, heard the sound of wheels on pavement as he flew from his little spot on the floor to the still-open doors of the vehicle, fluttering around as doctors and nurses swarmed his kid. They, along with Wukong, rushed into the hospital, pulling him towards the emergency care center.

   Wukong started lagging behind them. He was too small, his wings wouldn’t beat fast enough, and the Emergency Care doors slammed shut before he could reach them, echoing with all the grim finality of an executioner’s blade.

   Wukong stared unblinkingly at the doors. He felt numb, muddied and blurred and overwhelmed in a way that left him fluttering slowly to the clean, cold white tiles of the hospital floor. Too much. It was all too much. His kid was hurt. His kid was in critical condition. His kid was in pain. He’d seen his kid, just a few hours earlier, healthy and happy and alive on Flower Fruit Mountain, safe and sound and there-

   And now he was hurt. Now he needed an oxygen mask just to breath. Now, he was burnt and bruised and broken, his only kid, his child-

   Wukong’s breath hitched. He was no longer in the hospital. He was no longer transformed. He was in an alleyway right next to the hospital. The sky had grown darker, swirling with pinks and reds and oranges as stars slowly began to make themselves known. Tears were streaming down his face, warm and wet, leaving damp trails in their wake. He was crouching over, hands covering his mouth as quiet sobs shook him to his core. He could see each little crack in the pavement, each small blade of grass that was struggling to come up through the concrete and reach for the sun.

   He hadn’t remembered leaving. He hadn’t remembered transforming back. He hadn’t remembered much of anything, really.

   It scared him, not knowing what had happened.

   It scared him, the possibility of finding out what had happened.

   His kid. His boy. His son. Wukong had known, for a bit know, that he cared about Xiaotian as more than his successor. But this…. Gods, he didn’t even know how to begin to process this.

   Guilt came rushing in. He’d known. He’d known that something bad was going to happen, he’d felt in his very bones that his son was in danger, and he’d foolishly let him go with false comforts that the kid could handle himself, that Xiaotian was strong, that his friends would help him.

   He remembered, now, sealing away Xiaotian invulnerability. What the hell had he been thinking, doing that? Why had he ever, ever thought that was even remotely a good idea?

   And now, Xiaotian was paying dearly for it.

   Whispers began playing in his head, a polyvocal taunt that attacked from all sides. Your fault, they whispered. It’s all your fault. You could’ve been there, you could’ve gone with. You knew something was wrong, yet you waved him away to his doom.

   And just how many times has he had to fight alone? The voices taunted him, as fresh guilt rained down upon him. How many times did he leave training with you to fight some demon on his own? How many times did you let him go? How many times did he get injured because of your negligence?

   Wukong couldn’t breathe under the weight of the voices. He couldn’t hear anything else, he couldn’t see through his tears the setting sun. Your fault, your fault, your fault-

   “WHY??!!” The voice, that all too familiar voice, cut through the whispers like a knife. Wukong felt his blood run cold.

   Macaque.

   Macaque was here. Alive and well.

   Macaque, a dangerous, very much not-dead creature, was near Xiaotian. Xiaotian, who was put into the hospital. Xiaotian, who had severe burns all over his body. Xiaotian, who was either in critical condition or a coma, and as such unable to fight back should Macaque decide to kill him.

   Hell no.

   Wukong stood up. He felt cold, empty. Anger flowed like the stream of a winter river, sharpening his vision to a pin-prick sort of clarity. He saw, clearly, each blade of grass, each window of every building, each little dust particle in the air.

   His ears were deaf to everything but the sound of rushing water (or was it his own blood that he heard?), the silence settling over him like a blanket. He heard nothing, not even that dull ringing that had tormented him through the day. The rushing water, the dull beat of a war drum (or was that his own heart?) stayed, however, a symphony of soon to be bloodshed as Wukong slowly floated up from the sidewalk.

   His golden eyes were empty of everything but cold, clear rage as they landed on the dark form of the Six-eared Macaque, who was on his hands and knees, trembling. Good. That would make the next part all the easier.

   Wukong raised his fist, ready to send Macaque flying. He would not fail Xiaotian again. He would end this, this string of failures, starting here and now with this final blow-

   Only for Macaque to raise his head to the heavens, face twisted in fear and regret and agony and loss, and scream, “WHY DIDN’T YOU TAKE ME INSTEAD??!!? WHY?? Why did- didn’t you…. why didn’t you t-take me in… why didn’t you take me instead? Why……”

   Wukong stepped back in shock as Macaque shook with sobs, his paws clenched against the concrete of the rooftop. Rage was undercut by confusion, then suspicion? Just what was Macaque playing at? Just what was Macaque, who was a certified lone-wolf, who despised any form of bond with another being, doing having a mental breakdown on top of a hospital?

   “Why did…. why did Xiaotian have to be the one to suffer because of my mistakes?” He heard Macaque whisper, and Wukong felt the world disappear out from under him.