#headless monk

[lumidotexe]

headless monk with a sanxian and celestial crane with a pipa

been watching gameplays of Black Myth Wukong and thought that An He would get along with this guy

[mehiwilldoitlater]

Yellow Sand, Desolate Dusk

((Black Cloud, Red Fire))

During your college years, one of your many dreams was to go in the desert during the cactus blooming season. Now the only thing you wanted to do was slap your past self in your head for that stupid idea.

The scarf around your head that one of the Carovana people had gifted you protected you from the scorching sun, but the heat was almost unbearable. You cleaned your forehead, panting from the strain that your legs were making by walking on the sand.

Yuán Fèn, your monkey companion and friend, who was still trying to accustom himself to his new name, raised his dǒu lì, trying to Look forward to the dunes and Wind swirling around the two of you.

A week before your departure, the curious bird that you had retrieved from Black Wind Mountain started to sing a strange tune, forcing everyone that could hear to pay attention to him, especially you and your friend.

The old monkey proclaimed that another relic had been calling upon its sister, and now it was time to prepare for your new objective: the second relic. In front of the same map where you located the first one, your senses made you point in the middle of nowhere... well, not exactly. It seemed to be in a desert... which it was in the middle of nowhere.

"Maybe it's an oasis? I mean, why should it be in the dirt and the sand?"

Ah, you wondered if, at that time, Yuán Fèn was trying to ease your nervousness, because now you just wanted to smack his head. Yeah, a really nice Oasis...

He kept on looking up, noticing another small dot in the sky stop moving and a golden halo.

"Hey, easy with the immobilize back there..."

"I'm getting the hang of it..." You said, your fingers still pointing up.

"I'm not doubting it, but..." He takes a sip of water. "Someone might see it... and rise an alarm..."

"Uuh..." You looked around, dunes from where eyes could reach "someone...where?"

"And..." He continued, extending you the gourd, "I need you in shape. You have to direct me to the relic, remember?"

You took a small sip of water while holding with your other hand your own willow staff. When you returned from Black Wind Mountain, you insisted on receiving training in fighting and magic since you wanted to be more helpful in the mission, but you were still stuck on the basics in martial arts and the immobilize spell. You sighed. Why was it so hard?

Yuán Fèn noticed your demeanor; he did understand your frustration, but for this, like these, you needed patience! And, even if they were small steps, you were pretty talented! Okay, a real fight was far from training with him, but you two had time for that. In the meantime, he swore to be your protector, so he wanted to get through with that.

"Are you sure we're in the right place?" You asked when you had reached the summit of the dune.

"Of course we are! We're just right where you pointed, remember?"

"Yeah, but... what if it's not the right place?"

"Impossible! You found the first one, remember?"

"...Well... yeah, we were lucky... But what if we're not this time? I mean... how can the relics be here in the middle of nowhere?"

"Because," he said with a smirking tone, "there's something in the nowhere!"

You wanted to raise a question, but as soon as you looked in front of you, in the distance, you found your answer in that strange phrase. The desert was slowly changing its nature, leaving the sand and giving space to rocks and mountains. They weren't high or full of life like the previous one, but they were impressive nevertheless, and, by your surprise, they seemed to give home to something! In the distance, even if still small, it was visible. One of those Giants gates that could have been found in some cities, showing that maybe someone lived there!

You both sprinted towards those gates; the hope of finding some solace in the shadow of the mountain and maybe some fresh waters was enough to give you some strength to move on the sands. Unfortunately, that hope was now faltering when you started to notice the state of the wooden gate.

The sun had now completely eroded every kind of color that the wooden structure once had, replaced now by the nude timber color. the sand, moved by the wind, had smothered the decorations that once had adorned the structure, or there was something now It was just made for you both to guess. The few tiles that still were attached to the roof were now broken or completely useless in their first meaning, their fate now in the hand of the scorching sun.

You weren't an expert, but by the looks of it, that gate had been there for years, and no one had taken care of it. 

"It doesn't look like a good sign..."

Yuán Fèn looked up, searching for the name of wherever you had ended up. 

Usually these gates are made to let travelers know where they are, but unfortunately the name of this place was almost completely erased from it. The only thing he was able to get from it was the word "ridge"...whatever that meant...

"Ummm... Ridge... maybe Yellow... I'm not sure; it's hard to read in that state..."

"Oh! Yellow Wind Ridge!" You exclaimed, looking at a curious monkey. "The last village you visited, they told me that once there was a place with this name!"

"Oh!" He seemed surprised. The name... It rang a few bells in his mind...but it wasn't like he could know everything.

"All right... so... up ahead?" He said moving his staff in front of you. With an uncertain road in front of you, you both start to take the path in the mountain, in the shadow of the rocks, unknowing of what you would find there.

///

Even if it was completely different from Black Wind Mountain, even this desolate place holds a certain kind of beauty in it. 

The rock structures stood like the walls of a castle, reaching till your eyes could reach. The color of the rocks changed here and there; sometimes it was a yellow ochre, a remnant of the name of the place, sometimes it was a vibrant orange when the light touched it, and just near to the base you were walking, a deep red like blood.

You once saw something similar in a few photos, but it was a completely different story in person.

"A river must have passed here millennia ago..."

"A River?" Yuán Fèn looked at you curiously.

"I learned that these kinds of rock structures are what is left of the bed of a river!"

"Oh! And... where did the water go?"

"Ummm... evaporated? I'm not sure; I'm not that smart."

He laughed a little. It was nice to enjoy some peace; he didn't know how long it would last, so it was better to savor it.

Despite his carefree behavior, more than once he had stopped in his tracks, almost making you bump into him, looking around and smelling the area. The path had now transformed into a gorge, the sun still hiding behind the walls of the mountain around you. He looked around, his ears piercing, his senses searching for something.

"You okay?" You said in a whisper, wondering why he had stopped all of a sudden.

"...Yeah... I thought I heard... something..."

"Yaoguais?"

"Can't tell... this place reeks of it, but I heard something... I don't know, let's be vigilant now."

And with that he reached for your hand, holding it right, and his staff was now in a fighting position. The peace was over; time to get back to work.

It was amazing how he could perceive the smallest changes in his surroundings.  Maybe it was an hermitage of his species or just a product of his training, but he was able to catch even the smallest change in sounds or smell.

Another show of this ability of his own cane was when, suddenly, his hand was now firmly against your chest. He had stopped in his own tracks, making you do the same, and, with a swift movement, his staff was now in front of you in a defensive mode. 

"Someone's coming." These were the only words he said, now completely concentrated in front of him. Now, in the complete silence, you finally could hear something coming from the always ahead of you, a sound that looked off. It seemed like someone was dragging something, the clattering of metals, and some pants of fatigue?

He, on the other hand, was prepared for the attack of his new foe...until it came into view. A huge backpack, full of objects, some for traveling and some that were part of a household, pots and pans that clattered together while moving around, tied by a rope around the pile that had been carried, and a figure that, covered in rags, moved steadily and slowly on his feet.

A traveler?  It seemed that they were mostly moving away by the amount of stuff.

You sighed in relief since you couldn't spot any kind of weapon on him, and the grip on your own staff loosened. Yuán Fèn, on the other hand, decided to keep his guard up on this new figure appearing. He had learned that everyone could be an enemy, especially in a place like this one.

Once you both were spotted by them, the creature seemed to become quite tense, maybe for the same reason why you two decided to stay on guard and started to slow down on his tracks.

Yuán Fèn never let his guard down, fearing maybe another trick like the one that the bear had done to you the last time, while you were quite curious about this newcomer. Despite it all, it seemed quite harmless, and with all that staff on his back, you wondered what kind of danger it could have brought.

A few minutes passed, and the mysterious figure, who you realized was an old one since the ragged way that he was breathing, and the two of you shared nothing more than a few attentive looks until he surpassed you and then started to get on in his road, realizing that in the end you were just harmless like himself.

"...Do you think he's moving out?"

"I don't know," Yuán Fèn sighed, finally putting his staff back. "At least we still can take it easy."

"We should ask him some questions. It's better to be prepared!"

"I don't think he wants to be disturbed. We can get on and WAIT WAIT WAIT COME BACK, Y/N!"

He was interrupted by your soft trot, following the old man, still covered in all the rags. You were so focused on following him that you barely noticed an old tail like a rat one.

"Hello? Mr.!" He seemed surprised, shocked even, turning around, meeting your more calm demeanor. "I'm sorry to bother you, but my friend and I have been on the road for quite some time. I wondered if we're in Yellow Wind Ridge."

He coughed a little, surprised by the fact that someone still knew the name of that place and that they were mad enough to wish to reach it.

"Ah... And what are you and your friend searching for there? If it's a death by the hands of desolation, you did find it..."

"We're searching for... a certain object." Yuán Fèn stepped in, more to make sure that no harm came to you when you were so casually starting a conversation with that old one.

"Ah!" He laughed, almost like he had heard a joke: "Searching for treasures?! My father once told me the Legend of the Golden Buddhas; they're long gone till the arrival of that master..."

By saying that there was a hint of sarcasm, that raised more of your curiosity. "Master?" Yuán Fèn repeated.

"Uh... yes, a royal sage... an old rat that had mastered the Wind..."

That was the last piece that Yuán Fèn needed to understand. Who were you going to fight this time? The old one coughed hard, holding his chest with his ragged and bandaged hand. Maybe he was sick? He shouldn't move in that condition.

You quickly grabbed your gourd and gently offered him part of your healing wine. He moved his hand, gesturing to you to keep it to yourself.

"No need... old Lil me can handle..."

"There's no village for miles; just a sip will help you regain some strength."

He seemed surprised by this act of kindness. And, for respect, he accepted one small sip, trying not to ruin the wine and your gourd. He sighed deeply, savoring the sweet savor and feeling the sensation of the healing power of the liquid.

"...thank you, young one..."

You smiled; at least he would be able to make it till the next village.

Yes, giving to him a few of your medicines wasn't exactly the brightest idea; you weren't sure what was going to happen after that, but seeing him like that, forced to leave his home, it felt bad, at least for you. A small help wouldn't hurt you, you thought while taking away your gourd.

Yuán Fèn, despite his silent opposition to your gesture, those were your medicine after all, could not find that gesture anything but admirable. You could just walk away, believing that that man had everything under control; instead, there you were, giving him some of your rationed medicines. He shouldn't be surprised; you were a kind soul, after all. He saw you many times show some empathy or kindness around you, and, by so far, he found it admirable from his own point of view.

"Be safe there, you two," said the old man, slowly walking away on the path, "and watch yourself from danger! This place reeks of them! To think that people used to revere that old one...ah...such a shame, such a shame..." He laughed and coughed, slowly vanishing in the shadows of the mountain."

The two of you, after readjusting your stuff, had started to walk back again, taking the road where the old one was coming from, presumably the right path as much as you both could see. When finally the passage between the mountains started to widen up, the sun reconquered your way, illuminating the place that, it seems, the relics were hidden by someone...

The sun makes the view hard, and the dust in the wind colored the sky, which seemed to not have seen rain for months, a grayish blue. You noticed the peaks of the mountain, but sometimes they reminded you more like old palaces that the wind had completely changed shape by the time and sand. If once there was life, it was gone, leaving only the carcasses of old trees, left in that barren land without a chance of survival. The only vegetal life that could grow there was a thick and long grass that grew in small bushes, and if it hadn't been for the protection of your trousers, they would have surely cut your skin at the passage. The area was surrounded by rocks and sand, making it quite a task to move around, and, even if climbing, another small mountain waited to the other side.

What kind of kingdom could even start there in that place, you wondered...

While walking, you make sure to stay closer to your friend. There were so many cliffs and palaces; it was to see if someone was up there! Making you a good target for attacks.

"You know," Yuán Fèn spoke, breaking the silence. "That old one gave us a good lead about who could have taken the relic. Yellow Wind Sage make any sense to you?"

You made a long um sound from your mouth, a good answer to imply that you had zero idea of who this sage was. He chuckled; of course you didn't know.

"What I know about is that was a foe that had tried to eat the Tang Monk back in the journey, "Yuán Fèn started, "and he was quite strong too!"

"Strong? Stronger than Sun Wukong?"

"Well, he had a weapon....the Samadhi wind to help him out."

"Sama...what?"

"What did you learn in your world?!"

"They didn't even teach us how to do taxes; give me a break!" And, after a long ugh sound from him, he decided to let it go. You knew so many staff, but how could the theory of relativity really help you out in a fight?!

"Samadhi is like being unified with a certain element or a god even. It's like the object itself is free from the rule of the world! For example, the Samadhi fire is a TRUE fire! And simple water cannot extinguish its flame!"

"OOOh....wait!" You stopped in your tracks. "Let me recap here: we're going straight to a certain Sage—"

"That is a rat."

"Not needed, but thank you. That can control a very formidable wind that could kill us... Is that what you're saying?"

"...Kinda?" Your hand met your face; you were less shocked than last time, but knowing that maybe this one was a more dangerous foe than the bear didn't help you calm down.

"Do you... at least have a plan?"

"Well," he got closer, using his staff to give you a few small nudges. "I suppose that the Bián huá could make the same trick like last time!"

You looked at him suspiciously, trying to figure out what he was talking about... then you remembered the old mantle made of pure red silk that, if not for its presence, you would have been roasted like a meatloaf.

"But... last time it was just luck... how do you know that I can do it again?"

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

Ah yes...he believed in you. Well, last time you were able to find the relic, and you were able to survive...maybe you were somehow kind of a little special? But you didn't want to hold your hopes high, especially knowing the so many dangers that you both had to take last time.

"All right, all right... I'll try to believe in my doodle-do magic staff... So, I'll say let's keep going.

"Now you're talking my language!" And, with a sprint, he marched on, giving you a grin like he was challenging you to follow him. And you did.

///

Time lapsed, and despite how much the two of you were able to get inside this new territory, the more you noticed that even Yaoguais seemed to be absent from this place. Besides the old man, you met a body on your road, and that was unnerving.

The fact of not knowing what was waiting, the fact that maybe you weren't that alone like you wanted to believe, had put both of you in a position that forced you to look at every sound like a danger. Because, even if you weren't approached by anyone, the sensation that you were observed was drilling in your head.

Yuán Fèn kept on keeping you close to him, fearing that something could have happened at every second, but the sand and the dirt avoided his nose to perceive the smells and the sound of the wind that roared, covering the sounds. It wasn't a good position; he knew that, but he couldn't risk leaving the road to face an opponent that he couldn't even see or leave you alone like that. So the only option was to just go forward, hoping to meet a better condition.

The area opened up again, and, alongside the same vegetation and the rocks, a body of water stretched around, giving life to some plants that were lucky enough to be nearer and some structures that reminded you of the ones you found at the last temple. The difference was that the ones you found now were far bigger and made of solid stone, and, other than for the time passed under the unforgiving sun, it seemed like they were deliberately destroyed. You wondered what kind of past this kingdom had and what kind of karma it had faced for its act against the Buddha. Well, you weren't in the position to judge; what really caught your attention was the water, colored in a reddish tone.

"We should take some," you proposed, taking yours gourd from your sack.

"It doesn't seem edible..." Yuán Fèn retorted, more inclined to keep it up instead of stopping there.

"We don't know if we'll find any more! And we can still boil it and drink it later!"

It wasn't like your idea wasn't good; in this kind of territory, every drop counts, but he didn't like the idea of staying too much in one place, especially since he couldn't read his surroundings at all.

You started to collect the water from the pond, carefully taking only the one on the surface, avoiding moving it too much. He stayed behind you, looking around, and he started to listen.

It seemed so calm; the wind was blowing over your heads, and the walls made of rock avoided It took an hour to enter through the passage. It was a big area; the sound wasn't covered that much...

He started to concentrate...the wind, the sand that slided around, the water...a piece of wood that got removed from some leather... A string that is getting stretched...

You had just finished collecting the water when his hand grabbed your shoulder, grasping it and pulling.

"We must move, NOW."

"Wha-Why?!"

"We need to take cover; we're—!!!"

Before he could even take another step, an arrow, coming from nowhere, pierced his chest in one strike. 

Your eyes widened; suddenly the atmosphere changed, and the pond was surrounded by sounds of voices and arrows that were shot.

"TAKE THE MONKEY DOWN!"

"Leave the girl!"

The sound of squeaking and piercing voices came from the rocks; arrows jeep on Flying towards the two of you. 

The pain from the arrow was enough to make To stumble on his feet, but Yuán Fèn only needed now to push you away, allowing you to stay out from the line of fire. 

You tried to reach him, but every time another Arrow stopped you and forced you back down while he was still holding his staff up to try to protect himself and you, but the shooters were too many, and the more he defended himself, the more Arrows kept on piercing.

"NO, NO, NO!" You raised your digger, aiming towards the direction of the Arrows, starting to use the immobilize spell. Golden auras came from a few of them, but without a good view of your assailants, you could only stop just a few of them. 

"Y/n! Find co-" another Arrow, his mouth started to leak blood and his breath got rugged. He tried again to hold his staff up, but now he only had enough strength to use it to stand up. It was so painful. The attack stopped; the sound of small feet moving around reached the area.

You weren't so careful like him; your only care was to use this moment of calm to avoid falling on the dirty ground and trying to cure him from those many wounds! You started to panic; he had more than ten arrows piercing his body!

"EASY! EASY EASY, I'll fix you! Okay?!"

"Y...y/n...y/n, they're... they're co—" he coughed again while you put him down to rest on a rock. "You need to...leave!"

"I'm not leaving you here, okay?!"

You didn't want to listen to him, as much as you didn't want to listen to your surroundings. What you wanted was only to cure him and help you to take care of those two rats that you had completely forgotten in the panic of the moment.

Holding your gourd, you were ready to use its contents to cure him when a long but slim hand grabbed you by your scarf and pulled you so hard that you were practically dragged away.

Over your head, a pair of big black eyes looked at you with a malicious intent, and a broken and grim smile showed a series of long and sharp rodent teeth.

"Ah ah! Good meat!"

"Something to please our prince brother!"

Oh no! Not again! Fastly, you grasped a full hand of dust and threw it in the face of the one that was holding you, taking this advantage to slip away from the scarf and reach your staff.

DAMN! Yuán Fèn told you several times! Never leave behind your weapon! And you were too drained out to use again the immobilize spell!

 You tried to jump in it, but before you could even reach it, the tail of one of the two rats grabbed your ankle, making you face the ground, sand and dirt in your mouth.

"PUAH! Ugh! I hate when they do this!"

"You should have put on your helmet, Brother!"

You shook your head, taking away some of the sand on you, when the same hands from before held you by your arms, raising you from the ground.

"She's a feisty one. I hope the prince will like her as a snack..."

"You're crazy?! Who cares! As long as she's fresh, he'll like the meal!"

You kept on squirming, kicking your two new captors, but you could only reach their armored torso.

"LET me go! Stop!"

Yuán Fèn tried again to move, but the pain from the arrows in his chest created a shock that made him growl. The Teo rat noticed his new attempt, alongside the big pool of blood that now made the ground turn a deep red.

"What about the monkey?"

"The king will not mind some...dried meat!"

The two laughed, starting to head away from the spot, while you craned your neck so much that it hurt, looking in fear towards your beloved monkey.

"YUÁN F��N! NO! NO, PLEASE STOP! LET ME GO! YUÁN FÈN!"

Yuán Fèn tried again, and again he fell down in pain, panting and feeling his life force slowly drying away.

"Y...y/n...."

He felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Your scream started to get more distant and muffled.

"I...need to..."

He loses his senses.

///

The song of a sanxian played somewhere.

He slowly started to open his heavy eyes from the forced slumber. His finger could still feel the sensation of the blood on the ground, now reduced in some kind of mud by the dirt and the sun. He tried to stir his body, but the arrows in his chest must have messed up his muscles.

The music kept on playing, strong; he felt the sound of someone stepping down their foot to keep the beat. Was he dreaming? Why would someone play in such a place? He tried to call for help, but his mouth was dry.

"Yellow Wind Ridge, 

A mighty ole' range,

Once buzzin'

With Joy and Glee."

He could only move his head, resting his cheek on the rovent rock, and he saw the source of the sound.

A headless body was joyfully playing a sanxian, tapping his foot on the rock.

Now he saw everything... well, he could tell a nice story to the Enma...

"But the pesky rats took hold,

A sudden unfold,

Turned it all barren and bleak."

Uuuhhg, not a bard! If he really needed to die here, at least he preferred it in a less extravagant way!

He was still curious about the fact he didn't have a mouth to express the words, though...

"The King GOT Denide,

Rules thrown aside,

Evil connived,

Running wild and free."

He was telling about the story of this place. Well, as much as he knew, the only information that he had was about when the Yellow Rat tried to capture the Tang Monk. The old man was right; things were bad there even before...

"Wukong went to the

Bodhisattva to plead,

Granting the Land

A Moment o' Peace."

That was during the journey, well, nothing that he didn't know...

"Yet before long,

Another disaster struck.

The cursed returned 

On a killin' spree."

Alright, now things started to get different. What kind of beast started rampaging after the events of the story? 

"The hero, he lies there dead,

With the truth hidden

From Ye and me..."

...Truth? Hero?...did he mean...what truth?! Oh, come on! He couldn't die there without knowing! He tried to stir again, fighting against his approaching demise, but his body felt like stone there.

The headless figure, that with that rosary at his neck, reminded him more of a monk now, jumped down from the rock, holding the instrument in his arms, approaching the soon-to-be-dead monkey.

"I reckon I got an idea why ye have come here, me friend."

The monkey coughed a little, finding just enough saliva to moisten a few words.

"A-ah...?... Go....good for.... you t...then..."

"Eh," he seemed amused by the small response of Yuán Fèn, " 'n' ye seems lik' in a ill shape."

If you were there at that moment, he was sure that you would use some sarcastic words against him after having a small stroke for the view of the inside of his neck.

A few strong were pinched, and the sound of the sanxian was heard again. Yuán Fèn noticed only now some strange glows around every time the monk pinched the strings. A few hours started to disappear like dust in the wind.

"Haste makes waste." The monk proclaimed, "I'll lend ye a hand."

And, with one swing of the strings, the sanxian created one beam of golden light that struck the monkey straight in his chest. Atsushi, at the beginning, felt the pain of the muscle contorting, the. The relief of the arrows that started to disappear from his chest, alongside his wounds, and, in the end, he felt his strength come back all of a sudden.

He touched himself, inspecting his body, and found it incredible that a few moments before he was at the brink of death, and now he felt like he could just battle.  That monk... wasn't just a strange creature.

The monk laughed, noticing the surprise of the monkey, while he started to stand up from the ground. The blood had disappeared, only some more golden glow floating around. 

"Watch your step, eh?" He kept laughing, gesturing around, "Get more shots, and you'll be high and dry!"

But, despite his strangely jovial behavior, the monkey couldn't not feel a sense of havereness around that monk. He started circulating him, watching that curious creature that kept on playing the chords of the instrument, mimicking the monkey move.

"Who are you? Why did you save me?"

He couldn't ready anything about that musician without a face. It was hard, but his fingers seemed to think about the notes to take, like words.

" a' o' this maiter? ah thought ye hud something mair important tae tak' care about!" More notes were played, "like a quine in need o' 'n' hulp? she surely wull catch th' yak o' someone oot there!"

"Y/n!"

The questions and the wondering about this person were immediately cast aside; he had more important matters to attend to now!

He recalled his own staff, and, laying on the ground, he noticed your own weapon, left there when the rats had taked you away. He reached for it and secured it on his shoulder.

From afar, he could hear the sounds of more rats, maybe enjoying the idea of a feast with his own flesh and yours for the future. 

"Hold on tight, Y/n... I'm coming for you!"

And, with a sprint, he took the main road, approaching the next battle.

///

Rats weren't the only enemy that he had to face. After the defeat of the young frogs that tried to attack him from the water surface he was passing by, he must have admitted that this challenge was more complicated than the last one.

Atsushi Black Wind Mountain, the Yaoguais worked under a system, a rule of one big leader, and acted in such a way. Here they were erratic and chaotic, following different rules made by different people. Kind of odd, especially knowing that the Yellow Wind Sage was around... if he was around.

Built in the walls of the rock or destroyed around the area, what was left of old Buddhist temples remains, showing the story of attempts to eradicate that belief from that place. But, by the looks of it, it seemed to have backfired...

He kept on running around the rocks and the sands, trying to catch your scent in the air. He must have been down for some time; he couldn't get your trace even with proper concentration. How was he supposed to find you?!

After another climb, another scene appeared in front of him: behind some mountains and dunes, like a column that was erected in the distance, a tornado made of sand stood tall in the distance. It was pretty impressive and scary too; it looked capable of destroying everything in its path... but then he noticed one interesting detail: it wasn't moving at all.

"...could it be...uh..."

He needed to look it up on it, but that wasn't his priority right now.

A pair of stairs, built inside the stone, led him to an area where, instead of rock formations or old statues, houses made of bricks and stone were built, alongside old walls and structures made for the living and more. Despite the fact that there were many, none of them seemed to have been used in years, and he saw no mortal around that could live there! The only ones that seemed to have found a home in that place were the rats, the same ones that were not far from his position right now.

When he heard some more steps coming closer, he had enough time to hide in one of those houses, allowing the two rats that were currently on patrol to come closer. They were casually talking to each other, not on guard like the ones that he had already fought.

"And he kept on bragging about how good they were to have brought that human there to the prince!"

"You know him; what's bad in hoping for a bite?"

"Like he'll even left some spare for us! We'll only get the monkey that was with her..."

A human? They must have been talking about you, and by the looks of it, things were looking pretty bad now, especially since they seemed interested in making you the lunch for... a prince? Their prince?

"You know what's funny? When I passed near his abode, I hadn't heard him eating at all! And you know how he is with food! I even heard someone talking!"

"Maybe he's playing with her? Who knows? He's clearly not the brightest in the bunch.

The two keep on laughing and talking, unaware of the door that was slowly opening behind them. They made a huge mistake by revealing that you were in fact still alive...he held at least. The first one didn't even notice the head of the staff crashing into his head, while the other hand only had the chance to acknowledge the enemy attack.

"WHAT THE—UGH!"

Another blow made him fall on his back, and, before he could even react, Yuán Fèn's staff was ALREADY pointing to his muzzle.

"Scream and I'll split your head open! Where's the human girl?!"

"Wh-what human g—" he stopped when the staff started to brush his teeth.

"The human girl that you were talking about before! The one with the monkey, speak up now!"

There was a moment of silence from the rat, unsure if speaking would have been better than receiving that staff on his head. When he realized that Yuán Fèn wasn't joking about opening his head, he gulped.

"They have her to the prince ...in his abode, in a cave!"

"Where?!"

"North! Just before the cliff, you can't miss it!"

"...good..."

A smack on the rat face was enough to make him lose consciousness. You were alive ; that was all that mattered, and, with that thought in mind, he started to lead North.

///

After the defeat of the next enemy, the monkey started to understand how they were supposed to work around there. While on their last journey, they seemed to go from the less strong to the strongest of their ranks, maybe with the sole purpose of protecting the relics; here they seemed more chaotic or, at least, concentrating in certain areas of Yellow Ridge. He didn't think that he would have found so few Yaoguais protecting their prince, and that maybe was a sign of the strength of that One.

By following the directions of the rat, he found himself following the Wall of another one of those mountains, the Shadows covering his path, allowing him a relief from the sun. The lack of other enemies around was also a lucky opportunity for taking a breath from the ones he had ALREADY fought.

It wasn't that far till he found, as he told him, the entrance of a cave. It was big enough to let him pass or make a living if something big.

What really gave him a cold feel on his shoulder was the amount of bones and objects that unlucky passengers had left behind. Maybe the leftovers of the meal of this prince. What kind of prince a bunch of rats could have?! By the look of the mess, it seemed like he had quite the appetite.

He looked around, searching for the fresh meats for his recent meals, and, with a sigh of relief, he had found nothing that could lead to you. Despite the look, the light of the place was enough to allow him to see around freely without the need of fire or by lighting one of the braziers around the place. And, to his surprise, there were a few objects around that made the place almost bearable… or a mock of a human habitation of some sort. Old vases, broken panels, what it seemed to be a tree sradicated from its roots and posed near the wall like imitating an indoor plant…

What kind of creature could try to do such a thing?

Still wondering, he stopped his exploration when he heard some roaring sound coming not so far from him and…

"No! You must stay! Other kill and eat; I protect and care! You too, nice! You stay!"

It was the voice of a male, hoarse, and it wasn't friendly at all!

He followed it, and, after moving away an old curtain that had seen better days, in front of him there was… well, he surely wasn't just a rat; he was a BIG rat! His armor reflected a few sparkles when the light shone upon it; he moved like he was trying to hold in place something. Resting near the wall, a giant Chui stayed, ready to be held by its owner.

His tail moved like a storm, still trying to fight whatever was in his hands and

"Put me down! I don't want to stay here with you! LET ME GO!"

Yuán Fèn's eyes widened, realizing that what the prince tried so badly to hold on tight to was in fact you. Without another thought, he unleashed his staff and, emitting only a huge STOMP, he bashed his weapon on the head of the rat. Instead of falling dead on the ground, he started to move like a drunk man, obviously kerfuffled by the monkey attack but not dead like he hoped.

That giant started to fall, losing the grip on you, and, by taking that to his advantage, Yuán Fèn was able to catch you in his arms before you could meet the hard ground. Your eyes were shut close, scared for the fall, and he couldn't hold a small giggle for that display.

"You look like you were in need of assistance, my Bián huá!" He said.showing off a little for the rescue.

You opened your eyes; a gleam of happiness reappeared.

"...Monkey!"

Your arms met his neck in a hug, relieved that in fact both of you weren't dead at all. He sighed, holding you closer. trying to calm you down from the huge scare you must have felt back there. Then, you suddenly make some space between the two of you, a mortified look on your face.

"AH! I'm sorry! Your wounds!"

"I'm fine! See? Not a scratch!"

He showed you his chest, untouched and without trace of any wounds or arrows.

"But I saw it... Did the healing wine help you?"

"Not exactly. I've found a helping hand that...

Will let you lose your head!"

"...it's strangely specific."

He just laughed it off; he was sure that, sooner than later, you would understand his words, and, maybe, he couldn't wait to see your face once you noticed the headless monk. But he regained his seriousness once he heard some moan of pain from the rat Yaogaui in front of him. He let you down, then took back his staff; he couldn't let that thing walk around again, not after the danger he had put you through.

"Wait!" Your hands resting on his arm, he looked at you surprised. "Let's just leave him. You gave him a concussion already. I don't think he'll be a problem soon."

Well, that was new… You seemed even sorry for what had happened to that rat. Now, come to think of it, you were practically unharmed. Not only that, but by looking around, he noticed a tea set, now almost completely destroyed on the ground, what it seemed to be tea and a bunch of staff not so far from you. Dared he say, that prince never had any intention of eating you!

"All right, I don't know what happened here, but you look like you had a blast. Let's move now; more rats will come after the commotion!"

You nodded, but you still looked back at the prince with a sorry expression that made your friend more curious than before.

"I'm sorry. It's an urgent matter. I promise to apologize better when we take the relic. Thank you!"

And so you and the Destined One left hand in hand the cave, even if your friend now was quite interested in knowing what had just happened between you and that thing in that cave. Once out, you needed to cover your face from the sun, trying to readjust to its rays even in the dim light of the rocks.

"Hey." His voice made you look at him, noticing something long and dark pointing at you. Your staff…he had kept it all this time...

You smiled, taking from his hand your weapon, promising yourself to be more careful. Your hands shook at the view of your friend dying on the ground… Then, his hand reached yours, making one of the two leaving the staff and giving it a light squeeze.

"Come on... I know the way." He said with confidence.

And so, you followed him.

((GEEEEEEEZE, ugh...sucha ride...it's more a prologue than a part buuut there it is!))

what had happene din that cave between you and the prince?

@phoenixeclipse-lmkau @miifu666 @sleepingdramaqueen @whitefox2k18 @ladydoe8 @jeminiikrystal @theactualgir @birdioarts

@jssy96 @silenthopper @nezukos-number1fan

[quitealotofsodapop]

¿Entonces Destined one es el nuevo hijo de Sun Wukong? (Talvez no lo sea como MK pero ya esbes igual lo considerean su hijo) Aparentemente es mudo o es como Frisk de undertale que los demas pesonajes llevan la conversacion.

Ahora necesito ver como se llevara con MK y Mei y el resto de los jovenes hdsavfbjsa es un gran contraste con ellos, siendo el calladito c:

Este tipo me da cosita... (Me estoy viendo las cinematicas c: )

translated via google;

"So Destined One is Sun Wukong's new son? (Maybe he isn't like MK but they still consider him their son) Apparently he is mute or he is like Frisk from Undertale where the other characters carry the conversation. Now I need to see how he will get along with MK and Mei and the rest of the youngsters hdsavfbjsa is a great contrast with them, being the quiet one c: (*image of the Headles Monk*) This guy gives me the creeps… (I'm watching the cinematics c: )"

I have seen many on twitter joke/headcanon that the Destined One is very much Wukong's "son" in that he was created from part of him. If Sun Wukong were to be revived fully, I feel he would see the Destined One as his child.

I think the Destined One is non-verbal and can only speak "monkey" - he understands "human" but hasn't been able to speak it. I could see Zhu Bajie introducing him as "silent" - only for the Destined One to excitedly chirp and chitter with the other monkeys. XD

MK and Mei would happily accept the Destined One as a "fellow monkey kid" and include him in their activities. Destined One would be very confused, but delighted to be doing anything other than fighting.

I am not sure if we ever see the Destined One as a child, but it would be adorable if we had. :3

And Lingji can help being headless! XD

[guannimadepishi]

black myth wukong boss fights by Superl廖大超

[doctorwhogirlie]

Doctor Who - Headless Monks

[zonzolik]

I have just watched Doctor Who: A Good Man Goes To War and OH. MY. GOD. That was something.

I haven't watched the previous episode so I was a little confused at the beginning but AMY GAVE BIRTH

AND WAS ACTUALLY SLIME THE WHOLE TIME (not the whole time but for quite long) WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

I was admiring Rory this whole episode, he's so brave and strong and loving and true nurse at heart ave Last Centurion✊

I like the episodes where all the characters from previous come together and save everything (not that this was the case)

the Headless Monks having lightsabers🤩(they were bleh otherwise)

also the gay husband becoming a monk😭😭

there was too much dying for my taste, hope it gets better

AMY AND RORY ARE THE ULTIMATE LOVESTORY, TRULY

also HOW IS RIVER SONG AMY AND RORY'S DOUGHTER AND DOCTOR'S WIFE, HOOOW

[tomas-smoked-sasuage]

any destined one dating headcanons?

Destined One Dating HC

(SFW version)

Requests are open, Fandom List Here

In general

For the quiet type, he's pretty affectionate and not afraid to show it. Even in battles with yaoguais, he will defeat all the enemies to keep you safe.

Even when you already know how to defeat yourself professionally, he still gathers you up.

He tries hard not to be clingy, even Bajie noticed he's clingy. Camping out for the night near the fire while you patch up clothing and fix armor,

He rest his head on your lap like a pillow, long enough to fall asleep.

He likes to pinch your cheeks to see a reaction and often shares his food or steals it from you depending on his mood.

First meeting

When you two first met was in Yellow Wind Ridge, You found D.O. from afar with arrows in his chest while also seeing a headless monk playing a Sanxian (his instrument)

You didn't really think much of him until you kept seeing him in the area fighting with other yoga is while you were just searching for loot.

Until you get captured.

You then meet upon Ma Tianba, who was also imprisoned with you. Upon seeing D.O. fighting off a large rat beast, you used a dagger to try and free yourself.

Soon you heard creaking next to you and saw D.O. defeated the rat and freed Tianba, he then saw you and walked closer worried of what he'll do.

His hand reached you close to your neck, seeing your necklaces, resin with flowers in it. He found it beautiful.

While your face is already covered, he sees your eyes as true. Some comfort and safety in them. It brings him to the thought of protecting you.

So in conclusion, he takes you with him. Throws you on his shoulder and continues his journey.

The two of you grew closer together in the journey from time to time. The most part of the journey of what scares you the most was when you arrived at The Webbed Hallow.

Later in the journey

Even from being separated from both D.O. and Bajie, the insects were the worst experience. The large bugs nearly gave you migrants and anxiety.

But you were thankful to see D.O. once again and alive, but you question his feelings. The Fourth Sister Spider and him were oddly close but couldn't think much of it. Aside from that, you needed to help him get Bajie back.

And indeed you both did, but something still feels off.

Remember the part where I said he's clingy, a little after the Webbed Hallows was when he started to be clingy.

Being separated from you made him worried that he tried scouting the entire realm, let alone gaining help from the Fourth Sister, so in general, you were being worried over nothing.

He never stopped leaving your side and kept a close eye on him.

He loved brushing his fingers between your hair, even if you have loc, he'll twirl them between his fingers.

If you ever get tired, he has no problem carrying you.

Hunting for food? He'll bring a whole ass bear.

The End

Towards the end of the journey, you were worried about what he'll become then.

Even if he is the successor of Sun Wukong, will he ever still be the same?

In the Core Mind of Wukong, the reach towards the end of the Memory Lane of the Great Sage. Before D.O. went off to finish his journey, you stopped him for a second.

Y/N: Will you still be the lover I traveled with or will I just be a forgot memory?

His eyes softened upon your words, his hand reached out as you did the same. Resting your forehead together, you let out a tear to roll down in the water.

[yearofthesnape]

Meta: Hogwarts Ghosts as Anti-House Symbols (feat. the Bloody Baron vs. Severus Snape)

I saw a post which argued, in part, that Ravenclaw's ghost is a poor example of a good Ravenclaw. This made me consider whether other Hogwarts houses have ghosts that make them look better, and I realized it's the opposite — the House ghosts work as warnings for what each House could become. Snape's contrast with the Bloody Baron especially shows that Snape has triumphed above the doomed narrative that the ghosts represent.

(TW: mention of suicide.)

Gryffindor: Sir Nicholas

As we know from the Sorting Hat's song in Book 1, the Gryffindor ideal is to be "brave at heart," full of "daring, nerve, and chivalry." Sir Nicholas, however, is... not that. We see him trying to get Harry, Ron, and Hermione to solve his problems with the Headless Hunt for him in CoS's Deathday Party chapter by vouching that he is "very frightening and impressive," essentially allowing him to hide behind false praise from people who are of less power in the ghostly world (since presumably it is the living who are being frightened by ghosts). This is the very opposite of chivalry. As for bravery, Sir Nicholas admits in OotP, "I was afraid of death," indeed unusually so, because he became a ghost to avoid it and "very few wizards choose that path" (ch. 38). Sir Nick, then, is not a paragon of Gryffindor excellence.

Hufflepuff: The Fat Friar

Hufflepuffs are supposed to be "just and loyal," "patient," and "true and unafraid of toil," according to the Sorting Hat. The first glimpse we see of the Fat Friar (his argument with Sir Nick in Book 1 over whether Peeves can attend the feast) seems to show his patience with Peeves, but it in fact shows his unwillingness to be just. Peeves has proven himself consistently to be disruptive to social gatherings, and the Fat Friar has mistaken forgiving him with allowing him to continue unchecked. It is harder to draw conclusions on the other Hufflepuff traits for the Friar, given his limited presence in the books, but the description of the Fat Friar recalls Friar Tuck from the Robin Hood legends. While Friar Tuck was known for robbing the rich to give to the poor, he was also known for consistently using the money from the rich to indulge himself, thus benefiting from the perceived spiritual authority of a monk's vow of poverty without going through the hard work of keeping that vow. This is hardly being loyal or true to his word, nor being unafraid of toil. The Fat Friar, like Sir Nick, has not shown the best of his House.

Ravenclaw: The Grey Lady/Helena Ravenclaw

The Sorting Hat song says that Ravenclaws are "wise," with "a ready mind" and "wit and learning." While there is not much information on Helena Ravenclaw, we know that she told Tom Riddle where the diadem was because he flattered her (hardly wise behavior) and then concealed that she had done so until the last possible moment (even less wise). She also tells Harry her true identity without initially meaning to do so, which is not generally an indication of a ready mind.

Slytherin: The Bloody Baron

The Slytherin ideal as expressed in the Sorting Hat song, as I've discussed in this meta, hinges on friendship. By stabbing his desired lover, the Baron fails the friendship test. He also fails the more typical tests of Slytherin "cunning" and "achieving [one's] ends," as there is nothing cunning about getting carried away by anger, doing something you don't intend to do (rather than coolly "using any means," or, in other words, doing what you do intend to do), and then failing to achieve anything resembling your goal (in this case, getting the girl).

Case Study: Severus Snape and the Bloody Baron

It's interesting to see what happens when we contrast the Baron with Severus Snape, a Slytherin as he ought to be. (As for why Snape can be used as an example of the Slytherin ideal, indeed the best such example in the series — one reason among many is that Harry, in the epilogue, uses Snape as his single, sufficient example that Slytherins can be truly good.)

At first glance, the Baron and Snape seem incredibly similar. They are both described as being "gaunt" (the Baron in Book 1, Snape in CoS) and silent (Snape says "Silence!" quite frequently). They perform roles of keeping difficult beings in line; the Baron is "the only one who can control" Peeves (PS/SS ch. 7), and Snape "had the gift of keeping a class silent without effort" (PS/SS ch. 8) and has made himself known to Ron Weasley, likely via Fred and George, as someone not to be crossed. In HBP, we learn the Baron haunts the Astronomy Tower, only to see Snape kill Dumbledore on the Astronomy Tower in that very book.

In death, at first it seems the similarities have come to a climax. The Baron's "blank staring eyes" (PS/SS ch. 7) have always sounded like Snape's "cold and empty" ones a chapter later, but at Snape's death his eyes explicitly get the descriptor "blank" as well. Snape's death scene leaves him (surely) covered in blood like the Baron, with "silvery blue" memories coming from him as well, like the Baron's silver blood, and the visual seems complete. Yet the language surrounding Snape's death dwells on the lack of blood: "Snape looked as though there was no blood left in him." Although there is surely blood all over him, the book does not mention this, though it does not shy away from doing so for the Baron. This is our first indicator that all is not as it seems.

When we arrive at the Prince's Tale, we already know the Baron's backstory. (Incidentally, the titles are another connector and differentiator between the characters; it's better to be a Prince than a Baron.) The Baron is the sort of person we might easily assume Snape to be, on a cursory read of the Prince's Tale... but they are actually very different. Let's break down the Grey Lady's narration in DH ch. 31, because the parallels and contrasts are remarkably complex:

The Baron "had long loved" a woman who "spurned his advances." (Snape certainly loved Lily for most of his life, but she rejected his apology — there is no indication of his ever making "advances" that Lily spurned.)

The Baron "would not rest" until he had found Helena to pass along Rowena's pleas for reconciliation. (Snape shows similar determination, but that determination is to find parental figure Dumbledore for Lily's benefit, not the other way around. Finding Dumbledore, he has cause to think, will result in his death, not in any romantic benefit.)

The Baron is hot-tempered (this is true of Snape).

The Baron, however, "became violent" (Snape is remarkably nonviolent, given how often his situation warrants the use of force).

The Baron is "furious at [Helena's] refusal." (No indication at all of this from Snape; he seems to take Lily's refusal without anger towards her.)

The Baron is also "jealous of [Helena's] freedom." (Snape is happy Lily has power as a witch. He does have an instance of saying "I won't let you —" but in context, where they're talking about how Lily's got the wrong idea about James, it seems probable that he would have said "I won't let you be taken in." When Lily gets angry over this phrasing, he rephrases "at once": "I didn't mean — I just don't want to see you made a fool of —" and then he points out that James, who fancies Lily, is not what everyone thinks he is. All this supports Lily's freedom, as people being deceived are not free. Snape is described as having "bitterness" here, but it's towards James, not Lily.)

The Baron then stabs Helena in a rush of anger. (Snape unintentionally and indirectly brought about Lily's death by relaying a prophecy which he did not believe had anything to do with her or her family. The two situations are clearly different.)

"When he saw what he had done, he was overcome with remorse." (True of both of them.)

The Baron then kills himself. (We know Snape was also suicidal — "I wish I were dead" — but he chooses life in the face of this; in that moment, he sees living will let him help right his wrongs, protect Lily's son, and destroy Voldemort. By the time he dies, Snape has regained a sense of purpose, and he is struggling vainly with the enchanted cage because he wants to live.)

Lastly, the final thing we learn of the Bloody Baron specifically is that "he wears his chains as an act of penitence" — but these chains are an obvious bit of virtue-signaling, as they don't pose any real restriction on the Baron's activities. (Snape's constraints as a spy, on the other hand, chain him far more wholly.)

Perhaps it is partly due to these reasons that we do not see Snape in any form of preservation-after-death, whether a portrait or a Resurrection Stone shade. He is entirely distinct from the ghosts; he has succeeded where they have not, gone on where they have failed to tread, and he needs no moderating version of himself to show what might have been. His legacy is a living child's middle name — a memory and inspiration, but not a command to repeat him over again, for there is no need to do so.

[newkatzkafe2023]

Took me a bit to think of this. BUUT Here I am 😈 For Genderbend Wukong month A male y/n who is the owner and main bartender of a bar (or tavern for the historical monkies). Charming, and a tease, but with an ice cold, calculating temper if someone were to mess around with his bar, or lord forbid, his monkey queens. Also the kind of guy to hide a shotgun under the counter of his establishment 0-0 (or some blunt weapon in the historical ones)

Like, one day he is chilling in the bar, chatting with monkey queen, some knucklehead walks in and tries to start trouble with monkey queen. But before she can kick them to kingdom come, Y/N shoots dude in the head with the shotgun, (alternatively, bashes their skull in with a bat) then just turns around and says; "I do hope that was not too much trouble for you, sweetheart. Here, have any drink, on the house." Calm and sweet as if he's not covered in blood.

This is Very Moe szyslak coded and I love it🤣🤣🤣

(Lmk Wukong) You have her wrapped around your lego claws with how sweet and kind you are. You first met a few months back when she wanted a to buy some drinks for her home, that was until she made eye contact with a Hot male monkey with a sweet smile, that left her breathless. You smiled at her

(M/N) Welcome to my bar peachpie, now what can I get you??☺️

Yeah Wukong was struck with cupids arrow that day, and for weeks she continued to both visit you and blab to everyone about you. Mk and Mike (male mei) can tell she liked you alot and decided to meet you along with everyone else. Of course you welcomed everyone with the same friendly smile and got soda and snacks for everyone and you all became fast friends, until the atmosphere was ruin by Wukong's enemies who didn't like the idea of losing to a women🙄🙄🙄 Mk and the others joined in the fight to help her. Until the demons were blown away with their corpses on fire, everyone slowly turned to see you holding a shotgun with an angry look on your slightly blooded face.

(Mk) WHOA!!!?!?!😲😲😲

(Macaque) God damn😥😥😥

(Mike) BRO HE ROTISSERIE CHICKEN THEIR ASSES!!!!!!

(M/n) Yeah Sorry about the mess folks, I'm usually better at controlling my temper, here's some snacks and drinks on the house 😥

All Wukong did was stare at you with a blush on her face

(MKR Wukong) Wukong has been acting Strangely, not in a I'm mighty pissed but in a I might have met someone and i don't want people to know way. Pigsy being the nosy fat bastard he was followed Wukong to a place called M/n's tavern, and their he saw her purring and flirting with a tall monkey man. She was smiling and every as she cuddle and laid on to the chest of the taller male, the two even kissed🤩😲. To say Pigsy was shocked is an HUGE understatement, because Wukong got a boyfriend!!! While pigsy ran to tell the monk Wukong sat and had a few drinks with you.

(M/n) more wine for you my dear as you tell me about your day😊

(MKR)(blushes) Oh yes and thank you😌

As you guys continued your date, when a large Demon thug busted in demanding to fight the monkey queen, Wukong was automatically pissed as her quality time with you was interrupted. Then something she didn't expect happened before she can do anything, she saw a large spiky bat make contact with the jacka**'s face he was now a headless bleeding corpse. Just in time to see the monk and the pilgrims bust in but Wukong was looking at something else. Soon the group joined at staring at you with a large bat and some blood on your angry face

(M/n): I'm awfully sorry about the mess dear here's some drinks for you and your friends, I'll clean this up.

Wukong was more madly in love with you then ever, and everyone can also see why your dating.

(NR Wukong) She quickly became a regular at your bar, you told her you don't get many beautiful woman around your bar and she was hooked! Every night she would come back for not only the drinks but to see the sexy man that man's the bar from behind. You had no problem flirting back at her for being such a sweetheart even giving her a few drinks as you bond and flirt

(M/n) My dear queen, this is the 4th night in a row surely my drinks Can't be that good😇

(NR) Oh your drinks are fine, but I'm loving the one who makes them even more😉😘

Just then a group of demons came Barging in not only making a mess in the bar but as began harassing the monkey queen, which totally raised yours and Wukong's blood pressure. Wukong got up and was going to teach these loser scrubs idoits a lesson before she saw not one, not two but all of the bastard get blowed to the shadow realm. Wukong was shocked at the look at your face as you were pissed and had blood on it while holding your large shot gun. You finally and apologized to her.

(M/N) Here's another drink madam, as an apology for my Barbaric outburst😥

Wukong would have loved the other drink if she was busy Making out with you.

(HIB Wukong) Fudge did Wukong have a very stressful week, Luier caught a cold and Silly boy has been acting up lately. Not to mention some more demons were picking fights with her, over a lot of old stupid sh*t. She was just so stressed out and needed to unwind a bit so, she went to your bar and fell face first exhausted. After a While a fancy drink was put in front of her

Wukong was mildly confused then she looked up to see a Incredibly handsome monkey man with a sweet smile offering her a drink

(M/n) Here Darling you look like you can use itsmack

(Wukong) I'm sorry I'm kinda strapped for cash

(M/N) darling no you deserve it

Wukong smiled as she felt relaxed around you and soon found herself opening up to you about everything in her life, that was until a group of knucklehead decided to come and mess up your tavern, while harassing the monkey queen. You quickly guessed these are the cause of Wukong's stress, and before Wukong can Get up and whooped their ass again. You grabbed a large spiky bat from behind your bar and Whacked those guys so hard that they became classified blood stains on your floor. You face was distorted from rage and covered in blood then you turned to Wukong...

(M/n) I apologize for both the mess and the outbursts, your drink is still on the house I'll take care of the mess😅

Wukong now wandered if you were single😮😳

(Netflix Wukong) She stood infront of M/n's tavern with a nervous blush on her face, she looked over to see Lin give her a thumbs up before she took a deep breath and finally went inside. You see Wukong had grown a huge crush on the owner of the place AKA you, for weeks now but she never knew how to talk to you until she got some advice from Lin. Now here she is walking over to you saying hi and introducing herself to you. You had quickly gave her your name with a gentle smile, she was quick to relax and hit it off well.......that was until some demons who were beefing with the monkey queen Barge in and made a mess at your bar. As the demanded for a rematch and Wukong was mighty pissed at them for ruining her first impression for you, well that was until the same demon quickly became smashed fruity under a large bat. Wukong was shocked to see you holding a large bat you hit behind your bar, you calm down and made a drink for her

(M/n) Here sweetheart it's on the house sorry you had to see that😓😓😓

Later Lin had ask how it went, and Wukong told him your both already dating with Marriage in mine🥰🥰🥰

(BMW Wukong) Ohhhhhhhhhh she was a regular at your tavern coming over every night and drinking your rice wine and paying you more then the drinks were worth. She was quite a handful but you never minded you love when she would come over, for she had plenty of interesting stories for you to listen too. Wukong also valued her time with you as she liked you more then a Companion and saw you as mate material but then one nice....

(M/n) So then what happened queenie??🙃

(BMW) Well, I knocked all those pathetic men on the asses. The look on their face was priceless 🤣

You were both laughing at the story, until some Familiar faces came and Barge into the tavern turns out the guys she whooped were not taking their loss to great and followed Wukong here for a rematch. Wukong was ready to grant the their suicide request until suddenly a Bat bat bashed their heads in turning them all into minced meat, it was you with blood covering your enraged face.

(M/n) I'm sorry my queen I'll get this cleaned up right away 😓

Wukong just stood their with hearts in her eyes😍😍😍

(Destined one) Now it was the destined one who captured your heart first, especially when she had such a cute face even when she looked curious. She came to your tavern because she had walked quite a way and her feet were killing her badly. You learned in her silence that she's called the destined one and that she is on a mission, and you took it upon yourself to listen and take care of her offering her to stay at your tavern. That was until thugs had bust in trying to rob not only you but he harassed and insult the destined one. She was just gonna ignore the guy until she saw you take out a bad and turn that moron into a pile of guts. You had blood on your face but turned calmly to the destined one and gave her a drink

(M/N) On the house young miss, I'm sorry about my outburst.I just didn't like what he said to you😊

The Destined one did not know what to make if this, but now she was very interested in you

FEEL FREE TO REBLOG

[lilchickie]

"You and I. We don't make sense to anyone."

"We make sense to me. And as long as we stick together I don't really see why we should try to make anyone understand us."

"I feel like if I say something deep you'll somehow ruin the moment with one of your lines..."

"Oh how you know me, doll..."

~•~

Being imprisoned under the Huaguo mountain for 500 years, Wukong experienced what real loneliness was.

He found himself trying to converse with the few servants and gods who were being forced to bring him food and water, but they never entertained him, making his frustrations grow further.

Never once did Yanmei come to visit him. He understood she was angry at him for pushing his luck, he also understood that she was also a fugitive as heaven affiliated her with him. It didn't hurt any less to never hear a word from or of her.

After he was freed by his master and a few years into the pilgrimage, they found a cave with a forgotten story. The village near the cave was tasked to protect it, they didn't know why or from whom, since whatever happened in it occurred centuries ago. No one dared to go inside as rumours spoke of a creature, a demon, who lived inside the cave and would attack any person unworthy of the treasure it protected.

Tang Sanzang, a monk with a gentle soul, decided to guide the group inside to see what all the fuss was about in hopes of helping the creature find peace. Wukong beat him half way into it. They all thought the broody monkey would be annoyed to investigate, as usual, but when he caught a whiff from the cave he rushed in.

They found no monster, no demon. Just a big rodent's skull seemingly clean, untouched by nature. It was instinct that led him to take the skull and search the whole cave until they found a second opening that led to another different path. Blue light welcomed them once they went inside. A giant wall of ice separated them from the rest of the cave. Bajie, impatient to finish this trip, tried to break the ice with his rake but it was so thick it barely got any damage from the hog's attack. Wukong tried another method by pressing the skull they found against the ice which instantly changed its physics, transforming the surface into a water-like opening. They were all hesitant to step past the structure, all but the great sage who with sudden urgency, entered quickly.

When he went inside, he saw a headless skeleton tied to a wooden structure with the heavenly court's distinct markings. He could feel every hair on his body stand up, a familiar smell emanating from the carcass. The others spoke behind him investigating the scene, but he couldn't register half of it. A sudden desperation hit the monkey causing him to rush to Bajie, clumsily stripping him of his pumpkin bottle and pouring the alcohol to the bones and the skull still tightly clutched on his hand. The others watched clueless until after a few long minutes, the bones grew nerves, then muscles, then skin, then as the cranium did the same it fused to the rest of the body.

That's when he reunited with Yanmei and welcomed her to join the group.

~•~

Wukong finally found his rest at night when he began sleeping next to her. Eventually leading them to cuddle together in the same spot.

He still had nightmares of waking up and still being imprisoned under Buddha's hand, but Yanmei's scent and warmth kept him grounded until his eyes closed again from that day's exhaustion.

[amyslunaticasylum]

It's those headless monk things

They got the Doctor

I cannot emphasise enough how creepy those are without a head

Like Little Nightmares Hospital Chapter vibes

[hollowed-theory-hall]

I read your post on the canonical likelihood that the Wizarding World follows Christianity rather than paganism commonly seen in 'pureblood culture' or political fics, so I kind of had a question?

There's the whole mess of God and the church against witchcraft (such as the banning of Harry Potter books), so how would that affect Christianity in the WW? Additionally (considering how many fics use it as rationale for pureblood bigotry), how do you think a pureblood culture fic would pan out around Christianity?

Hello 👋

I think I talked about this in the past here, but what we see with the anti-witchcraft sentiment in churches is relatively modern. Like, until the 1600s, incidentally, when the Statute of Secrecy became a thing, witch hunts and witch burnings weren't common. Until the latter half of the 1200s the Catholic church considered believing in witchcraft heresy and even after they started viewing witchcraft as devil work, they used witchcraft allegations to prosecute the Knight Templars in the 1300s and protestants in the 1400s, not actual witches. It was politics back then more than actual fear of witchcraft which we only start seeing late in the 1500s. But let's, take a look at witch hunts in history and see why the WW, who broke off from the muggle one in the late 1600s probably didn't really have a problem with Christianity (at least in the UK, the US, and other parts of the Europe are very different. The UK was actually not that big on the witch hunts compared to the rest of Europe).

Past entries in my 'wizards aren't pagan essays': part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4 (has the most quote evidence)

Witch Hunts Timeline:

(Many items on the list are taken from here)

~910 - The canon "Episcopi," a text of medieval canon law, was recorded. It condemned maleficium (bad-doing) and sorilegium (fortune-telling), but it argued that most stories of these acts were fantasy. It also argued that those who believed they could somehow magically fly were suffering from delusions. This text influenced later catholic church canon.

1154 - John of Salisbury wrote of his skepticism about the reality of witches riding in the night.

1230s - An Inquisition against heresy was established by the Roman Catholic Church. (Not against witches, against people who speak heresy)

1258 - The pope accepted sorcery and communication with demons as a kind of heresy, and therefore prosecutable by the church.

1306-1315 - The Church moved to eliminate the Knights Templar. Among the charges were heresy, witchcraft, and devil-worship.

1316-1334 - The pope issued several bills identifying sorcery with heresy and pacts with the devil.

1317 - In France, a bishop was executed for using witchcraft in an attempt to kill Pope John XXII. This was one of several assassination plots around that time against the pope or a king. (AKA accusations of witchcraft being about politics and not about magic).

1340s - The Black Death.

1401 - Parliament passed the Suppression of Heresy Act, the first English law authorizing the burning of unrepentant or reoffending heretics. With the intention to burn protestants translating the bible to English, not witches.

1484 - Pope Innocent VIII authorized two German monks to investigate accusations of witchcraft as heresy, threatening those who interfered with their work. (AKA accusations of witchcraft being about politics and not about magic. Again).

1486 - The "Malleus Maleficarum" (basically the witch hunters' bible, written by a dude who had nothing to do with the church) was published.

1492 - Nearly Headless Nick was beheaded, supposedly for witchcraft. I will note it's odd since witches/wizards were commonly hanged in Britain. Additionally, a priest actually came to comfort him in his cell prior to his execution on the block and he didn't even have a trial at all. So, his death wasn't really a proper witch trial as the first Witch Act in England was only passed in 1542, so he was executed before Witchcraft could have been legally tried in England and something more complicated happened there. My bet — politics that he doesn't like talking about.

1500-1560 - A period as one in which witchcraft trials, and Protestantism, were rising in Europe (These things were connected since the catholic church saw protestants as basically witches and burned/hanged them as well).

1542 - English law made witchcraft a secular crime with the Witchcraft Act.

1552 - Ivan IV of Russia issued the Decree of 1552, declaring witch trials were to be civil matters rather than church matters.

1560s-1570s - A wave of witch hunts was launched in southern Germany. The witch hunts really started in Europe as civil law trials, not church prosecution.

1563 - The second English Witchcraft Act was passed in England. Again, treating it as a civil offense, not a religious one.

1580-1650 - Considered the period with the largest number of witchcraft cases in Europe. Most cases of witch hunts in the UK though, happened in the 1640s, and the worst of it lasted only 14 months.

1682 - Mary Trembles and Susannah Edward were hanged, the last documented witch hangings in England itself.

1689 - The Statute of Secrecy was signed.

1692 - Salem witch trials took place in the British colony of Massachusetts.

1692 - The Statute of Secrecy went into effect.

1717 - The last English trial for witchcraft was held; the defendant was acquitted.

1736 - The English Witchcraft Act was repealed, formally ending witch hunts and trials. (Most of Europe only officially ended witch hunts later).

So we can see that the actual witch hunts (trials and burnings) were a secular civil matter and that church law wasn't really a part of it. For most of the medieval period, believing in witchcraft would have been seen as heresy, and even into the 1400s the church was more concerned with prosecuting protestants and political opponents than witches (which many clergymen still doubted the existence of) — because they saw them as the real danger. Basically, the witch hunts weren't a religious medieval thing as they are often portrayed, but a Renaissance civil movement for the most part. (In Europe, at least, the witch hunts in the American colonies are a whole other beast that operated diffrently).

In England, the laws regarding witchcraft were civil laws made by parliament, not by the church. And the witch hunts in England were shorter (in time period they took place over) than most other Western countries (France, Germany, and the US, for example, had longer witch hunt periods, more anti-witch laws, and a higher death toll to these hunts). So it makes sense the wizards in the UK wouldn't really see anything contradictory between being Christian and being witches/wizards since the prosecution didn't come from the church. It came from their muggle neighbors:

The persecution of witches and wizards was gathering pace all over Europe in the early fifteenth century. Many in the magical community felt, and with good reason, that offering to cast a spell on the Muggle-next-door’s sickly pig was tantamount to volunteering to fetch the firewood for one’s own funeral pyre. “Let the Muggles manage without us!” was the cry, as the wizards drew further and further apart from their non-magical brethren.

(Albus Dumbledore on “The Wizard and the Hopping Pot”, Tales of Beedle the Bard)

The wizards' disdain wasn't for the church or Christianity but for the muggles in the homes next to them. That's who betrayed them and hunted them down, not the church. This is why we see the kind of anti-muggle sentiment we see. Becouse wizards' neighbors, muggles whom they helped and lived beside for generations turned on them. For the WW, the hunter wasn't the church, it was the muggle next door.

And if we look at the numbers of accused witches killed, the UK and Ireland were on the lower estimates in Europe:

Scotland acquitted almost all tired witches and while England killed more, the number of trials and executions was much lower than in Germany, Switzerland, and France. Even though Belgium and Norway had fewer trials, they killed more of the witches tried than England by percentage. Ireland isn't even on this list but their numbers are even lower. (Spain is low on the witch executions since the Inquisition was more concerned with religious opponents and heretics than witches):

(Source - a book about the economic and religious background to the witch hunts, for anyone curious. I will note I've seen higher estimates of the death toll of the witch hunts, but these higher estimates are often not based on existing historical records so it's hard to know the real number of deaths)

This context about how the witch hunts were worse in central Europe explains why Durmstrang and Beauxbatons are so secretive about their location compared to Hogwarts. It also gives context to why Grindlewald had more supporters from these areas and why even Voldemort had supporters from Durmstrang (Karkaroff and Dolohove maybe) even if they have nothing to do with Britain — the anti-muggle sentiment is just more widespread there because the witch hunts were worse there ("There" being the Holy Roman Empire). I think this gives interesting context to the world-building.

As for the second part of your ask:

Religion in pureblood society

This part has more of my headcanons sprinkled in and isn't strictly canon, but here's how I see it.

We don't really see them going to church on Sundays or even on holidays. In general, church-going isn't one of the traditions they adhere to. If it was, we would've likely seen a small chapel at Hogwarts, but there isn't one.

That makes a lot of sense. The reformation of the church happened in the early 1530s (it's a little more complex because Mary tried to return catholicism but I'm not going into that), hence before wizards broke away from muggle culture, so most wizards we see (Ones from the UK at least, as I assume the Irish ones (not north Ireland) are still mostly catholic) are what I call Magical Anglican. They are Anglican but with a magical flare and some unique wizard saints.

As Anglicans are protestants, their doctrine is more focused on the Bible than the church. So the average Magical Anglican wizard in the UK probably steps foot in a church only on rare occasions and mostly practices the traditions and holidays without a church involved. We see a wizard priest conduct weddings and funerals outside, wherever the wizards are, so clearly it's not about the church for them. It's about the community.

That being said, I think certain communities, such as Godric's Hallow, do go to church on holidays. In DH, when Harry and Hermione notice a sermon for Christmas at the church in Godric's Hallow, I headcanon many of the wizards living there were in the church that night.

In general, they seem to celebrate all the Christian holidays and have their own traditions for them. Like, the Christmas hats on the house elves' heads at Grimmauld Place. Like, I headcanon that's something Sirius' family did when he was a kid and even before that. I mean, why else would they have little house elf Christmas hats for all the mounted heads just sitting there ready?

Their decorations have a magical flare, and so do their holiday traditions, but they're mostly the same. Yes, their Christmas crackers are magical, but Christmas crackers are a thing in Britain. Yes, they place gnomes or fairies atop the Christmas tree, but it still is a tree topper that serves the same purpose. Yes, their carols are a little different, but they are still Christmas carols that mention god.

I like to headcanon godparents are pretty common in the WW, and that Magical Anglicans baptize infants pretty regularly. I mean, everyone in universe treats being a godparent like a big deal, and something important they respect. So, culturally, I believe purebloods christian their kids and that most wizards have godparents. I headcanon said godparents are usually relatives.

Like, I headcanon Alphard (Sirius' uncle who left him money) was Sirius' godfather. I like to headcanon Cygnus and Druella were Regulus' godparents. I also like to headcanon Uncle Billius, from whom Ron got his middle name from Ron's godfather. Sirius was Harry's godfather as a the brother-from-another-mother he was for James.

Purebloods might hold Yule Balls like we see in GOF, but, like in the book, it has nothing to do with the pagan holiday and more to do with just a cool wintery theme for the ball.

I can totally see some purebloods (I think not all purebloods are actually upper class) having fancy dinner parties for holidays too. Like, that seems to me like something they'd do besides balls. Like, I want to be a fly on the wall in my headcanoned Black family Christmas dinner with all the cousins and aunts and uncles when Sirius was 11. Just, imagine it.

So, while they aren't regular church-goers, I think you can see the footprint of Christianity all over their culture.

I mean, Hogwarts doesn't have a church, but they serve pork in meals on the regular in the Great Hall, something Jewish or Muslim wizards would not eat if they followed their religions' rules. The calendar Hogwarts operates by is one that follows Christian holidays like Christmas and Easter. They don't work/study on Sunday, which is a Christian thing. In Muslim countries, Friday is the holiday day, while in Israel, it's Saturday. Even these little things that seem obvious are based in Christianity. Yes, it's the case in Britain, but if wizarding culture was separate enough to have a different religion, I doubt they would've kept all these little footprints of Christianity in their society.

The way I see it, they're Christian in faith and ideals, but have some of their own magical spins on the traditions and holidays. They are more focused on their community than going to Church (which might be a result of the muggle communities they lived in turning on them). So, that's kinda how I see religion in the WW.

(Obviously, this is different in different areas even in the UK, and could vary from family to family. This is more the general vibes I got and some headcanons).

[szynkaaa]

Black Myth: Wukong BiliBili New Year's Eve Gala Concert

Here is the link to the full concert, which is a medley of all the chapter animation ending songs + headless monk song. I recommend watching the full video because the stage special effect are stunning

side note love this rendition of the birthstone and our monkey embryo

Zhu Bajie and the Violet Spider

WE NEED MORE HD RENDER OF MONKEY DOING THIS POSE

also great reference for how the shoulder armor pieces moves when he has his arms up like this

[spookygibberish]

Hiii! I REALLY love your Thrones and I'd like to ask if I could make one as a oc?

I'm not sure if I've shared enough information about their cultural context publicly for people to do this well, but I have helped my friends workshop Throne OCs before.

Some important stuff to know:

There are two broad classes that most Thrones fall into, private and imperial. Thrones which are private citizens can technically be found all over the empire, on account of the fact they're wealthy enough to go and live wherever the hell they want, but you're going to find the greatest number of them in Godtomb and other densely urbanized areas of the Imperial core. All thrones belong to the aristocracy by nature, as they're directly a product of wealth and privilege. If a Throne is not currently wealthy, they are inevitably descended from wealth. They were also a huge huge fad before the creation of new thrones was clamped down on, and nearly every old money merchant empire is a Throne family. Godtomb (the imperial capital) has the highest number of Thrones which are not associated with the government, as it was the birthplace of the literary movement which first spawned them (longish story). It is tempting to say that private citizen thrones are more diverse than governmental ones, but it's more accurate to say they are more diverse than thrones belonging to the tricolor court, which has fairly strict expectations for the appearances of Headless (quadrupedal; preferences for lions, lizards (varanid), oxen, eagles; a set color palette (gold, azure, white); the inevitable 'mantle' of 'petals', etc....)

Imperial Thrones can be divided along the lines of whether or not they are associated with the Tricolor court, A government body made up of regional power centers (Greathouses) which communicate directly with and contribute to the government in Godtomb. Each Tricolor Greathouse has houses under it which may or may not be aesthetically aligned with the tricolor court, if not directly members, depending on how culturally similar they are to the Hegemony. The further you get from the Bitano, the more likely these Provincial Houses are to differ and be more influenced by non-hegemonic local culture.

By necessity, all Thrones, governmental or not, are inexorably associated with the Empire and their existence functions first and foremost to legitimize its authority. Even in the cases of provinces like Lujnola and Sevab, which are each heavily tied to indigenous cultures (and therefor divergent from Tricolor Court aesthetics), they belong to ruling houses modeled on the Hegemonic standard, and are all vassals of the emperor in Godtomb.

Slightly finer categories:

There are Throne Houses which are not themselves Imperial houses, but are in the employ of Imperial houses. Many of the Thrones produced by these families are more or less born and bred for the military. Prominent members of such Houses (need to come up with a name for these...) often marry into Ruling Houses, although rarely TRICOLOR Houses, since they lack the clout to be competitive in that marriage arena.

There are Sansin Thrones. Sansin are an all-male order of magnyd (essentially the same type of being as Unbodied) that staff the Bibat Temples (of the Jacantese State Religion, they make and manage other sorts of Dangyds.) I will elaborate on Sansin later this post has gotten long but theyre just monks. Its an all-male social caste of monks that grow new members in little jars and sometimes they make their own versions of Headless and assemble their own version of Thrones. These Thrones are smaller, usually bipedal, and always sexless.

Other things to know:

Due to the biological reality of thrones there are headless which are born outside of major Houses. The vast majority of Throne-children are Unbodied (the sort which more or less exactly resemble ordinary humans), and those Unbodied inevitably leak out into the general populous. All Unbodied are capable of parenting a child which is Headless (the lower half of the throne). Headless born outside of major Houses will inevitably be snapped up when discovered. Even prior to the existence of Thrones, Houses can be propagated just as well by apprenticeship.

Not all imperial Thrones are lazy figureheads! Just the majority of them. Some Thrones belong to a guild which is basically Throne Interpol, going around and keeping despotism in check. What happens when one of those guys is corrupt? Don't be silly that doesn't happen and isn't a problem (it is.)

It's more common for Thrones to be generals when in military positions. Thrones tend to be high ranking wherever in whatever employ, not really because they're uniquely qualified, simply because they're Thrones. Many of them have fairly insufferable personalities on account of being treated like they shit gold their entire lives. They're not inherently *bad people*, but they're almost exclusively coddled, spoiled, deeply entitled, and profoundly disconnected people. This is isn't true for every single throne, just like, a solid 99% of them.

[subir-astrologer]

WHY KETU IS NOT SATTVIC PLANET

Its, really a good question as Ketu promotes detachment from worldly comforts unlike rahu which believes materialist pleasures.

One need to understand the answer in step-by-step process.

Firstly, one need to know that ketu is from demon / Asura family and since Swarbhanu disguised himself as Devtas and switched to the line of Devatas and drank Amrita (after the churning of milk ocean). Vishnu, in the form of Mohini, was distributing it. Surya and Chandra shouted out and took it to the attention of Vishnu (that Rahu was drinking Amirta) and Vishnu with his Chakra cut off the head of his head.

And so, Rahu and Ketu are the two halves of Swarbhanu and the head is known as Rahu and the headless body as Ketu.

Since asura / demon have their nature of deceiving and so is it with rahu and ketu which is one of the big negatives in them.

Ketu promotes detachment from worldly comforts because it doesn’t have head to realize / experience it and so it let go all kinds of materialist pleasures as it can not feel it.

Since ketu did not have first-hand experience on materialistic pleasures so he starts to analyze the experiences to better understand it thru his knowledge.

After analysis Ketu found that these materialistic pleasures are temporary and doesn’t last for very long time and also not much useful in attending towards moksha / salvation and so never felt attachment for such kinds.

STEP TWO

We live domestic life in this world.

A person lives well balanced domestic life when the influence of all the 9 planets of our horoscope is well balanced. Over influences of tamashik planet is very bad for a native

The detachment qualities of ketu in domestic life is not much encouraging as if all becomes monks, sadhus then this world will come to an end as the growth in all forms of live will freeze and that’s a disaster.

The whole ecosystem of the human life will collapse and human life / race on earth will vanish / disappear.

So, one should understand that the detachment qualities of ketu should be like small piece of pickle in our food dish. Too much will spoil the whole food as well as our life as not everyone is expected to be saints, monks and sadhus.

This is my understanding and expression.

[amyriver]

thinking about what if river showed up at demons run 5 minutes earlier than she did… what if rory was supposed to die at demons run but river joins the battle just in time to save him from a headless monk… she couldn’t change her own fate but she COULD save her fathers life… anyway… how are you guys doing