#put your hand in the monkey cage....and expect to get bit son....................................

[imminent-danger-came]

Like my absolute fear in this scene. I forget how scary it is. I forget

[rottonfishie]

Mk in the OG universe said when he was fighting with Azure Lion "Don't put your hand in the monkey cage and expect not to get bit son!" What would have Bai He said instead in your AU?

"Don't step foot in the grave and expect to not be six feet under, son!"

Bai he would actually be saying this to Qi Xiaotian, as in the Master Yuzhiqin Arc, she has better control over her "demon form."

[night-faye]

PUT YOUR HAND IN THE MONKEY CAGE

AND EXPECT TO GET BIT

SON

I'M SCREAMING

[niyana-the-ambiguous-mobian]

Emperor's Wrath Special spoilers under the cut.

Kinda geeked out big time at this part :p

This whole last act....this was so amazing to witness as the final battle of the season and they did not hold back when it came to the fight between MK and Azure.

MK? MORE LIKE SAVAGE K. My guy wasn't holding back on this one, both with the fighting and taunting.

"Well, alright then."

THIS BOY'S VOICE DROPPED AN OCTAVE ONCE HIS FULL POWER GOT RELEASED AND WAS TEARING INTO AZURE LIKE A SHEET OF PAPER.

And this form? WHAT IS THIS FORM???

WHAT IS EVEN HAPPENING RN, WHY ARE THERE SO MANY TAILS?

"Put your hand in the monkey cage and expect to get bit, son!"

BROOOOO THESE LINES, AND THEN THE MULTIPLE HITS FROM THE SWORD WITH HIM BLOCKING IT YELLING "C'MON!"? MY GOD

"Come on, uncy lion! You're the big hero, right? Then prove it! SHOW ME!"

Then, he proceeds to slam him hard into the mountainside....

Then Azure through this whole fight was like,

"He's so fast, what IS he?"

"Oh my god. This kid was basic a second ago, now he's all OP and sounds like he's about to fire multiple lasers. What kind of juice did he drink???"

"OH MY FUCKING GOD, what am I witnessing?"

Whoo, I need to sit down after all of this, damn.

[children-of-the-sun-au]

Oh shit mk

MK: You put your hand in the monkey cage, expect to get bit Son!

*Jun Muchen screams*

[icy-watch]

It has been an absolute joy following you on these react journeys, giggling all the way and learning new things that you point out that I haven't noticed (I'm still astounded by the poisonous berries of The Island, I did NOT notice that and I can't believe it's canon).

I'm really happy you watched Monkie Kid too, it's a really good show, especially when you realize later in the show that the format- S1/half of S2 more "filler"-esc episodes, while yes about MK learning powers, ARE the "monster of the week" style he wants to get back to in S4, just how many parallels between seasons and characters there are (Mei fleeing Team Monkie in S3 with the fire and MK leaving Team Monkie in S4- watch the scene work again, it's so cool) and that a lot of things that seem like 'weaker' writing is intentional (like "why didn't anyone ask why MK can pick up the staff until S4? because MK himself didn't want to think about it until directly forced to")

Super hyped for S5 and I hope we get more of unhinged monkie MK (harbringer of chaos is such a great title for a protagonist to have, and some of MK's lines are so good like "well, put your hand in the monkey cage and expect to get bit, son")

Also super excited for you to watch Dragons Rising, it's really good! I haven't seen S2 Part 1 yet myself (will hopefully get to it soon), but I can say S1 is awesome. The backdrops and settings are vivid too so there's lots of details to comment on in screenshots (especially in one of the first locations we're introduced to). I hope you enjoy!

Awe, thank you ^////^

I really enjoyed Monkie Kid! The writers and showrunners really loved parallels, which I am weak for.

I'm hoping for more unhinged monkie MK too.

I really can't wait for Dragons Rising! I'm expecting beautiful animation and music, beloved characters (old and new), and angst.

And dragons, but I think they're kind of a given with a series title like that. 😆

[liliavalley]

PUT YOUR HAND IN THE MONKEY CAGE, AND EXPECT TO GET BIT SON!!

[amintyworld]

Mentors - Dream SMP Hunger Games AU

A/N: So this started as a one page drabble, then it turned into a six page fic. Oopsies! Anyway this is meant to be a sort of prequel to ‘The Victor’ drabble I submitted over at @dreamsmp-au-ideas, but can be read as stand-alone. Anyway, I wrote this in the span of an entire DAY because I have no self-control when it comes to writing and this AU has sparked some Middle School nostalgia in me. Anyway, hope you enjoy and please check out the blog where the AU idea came from, they’ve given me a LOT of inspiration for fics to write. -Minty

TW: Talk/mention of death, fighting, depression/loss, threats of death, slight insanity. (Tell me if I need to tag anything else!)

Summary: Tommy’s an angry orphan, Wilbur grows a soft spot for Tommy, Sam is the only braincell left in District 7, Tubbo has Dadschlatt and needs a lot of hugs, Phil earned the achievement ‘Oh no Feelings’. 

------------------------------

Tubbo intertwined his fingers as he walked with the guards toward the white porcelain-like door. The shock of his name getting pulled hadn’t exactly faded yet, and the dread of the logical conclusion he’d drawn up in his head did not exactly help matters. He knew he was dead - he’d never trained for combat, he wasn’t agile or fast, he knew next to nothing about surviving in the wilderness, or even whatever the Gamemaker threw at him for that matter. His fate was completely sealed the moment that boy with devil horns picked his name out of the bowl. 

He took a breath, his hand on the door handle. Time to say goodbye.

As soon as he shut the door, he could feel his father’s comforting hand on his shoulder. “Hey, kiddo.” His voice was gentle, warm, and kind. Tubbo’s emotions couldn’t help but become unplugged at the voice as tears ran down his cheeks and he clung to his father tightly, afraid to let go. Schlatt wrapped his arms around Tubbo gently, rubbing his back to give him some comfort. “Oh Tubbo, I know kiddo, shhh...”

“I’m so scared, Dad.” Tubbo’s voice wavered as his body shook with sobs, and Schlatt’s heart broke at his son’s voice. 

“I know buddy, I know.” Schatt moved so he could brush his hands through his son’s hair. “But… but you don’t have to be. I know you can do it, I know you can win.” A few tears slipped down Schlatt’s cheek. “You’re so much smarter than any of those meatheads in the Capitol, probably in any other District in Panem. You’re so much stronger than you know, kiddo. I know you can do it. Just survive, I know you can outthink any of them, I know you can win. Just survive, win, and I’ll be waiting right here when you come back, okay?”

“And… and we can finally make s’mores?”

Schlatt’s face broke out into a smile through tears. “Yes, yes we can make as many s’mores as you want! We… we’ll… I’ll show you the bee farms, and I promise I’ll be there every single night for dinner, no more late hours at the office. I swear.” Schlatt’s hands squeezed Tubbo’s shoulders. “But you gotta win and come home, okay?”

Tubbo’s eyes blurred with tears as he scanned his father’s face, words dying in his throat, not knowing what to say. “Dad, I-”

Schlatt pulled him down into another hug as the two wept, holding onto each other for dear life, not daring to let go. Then, a soldier appeared in the doorway. “He’s got a train to catch, Mr. Ram.”

Schlatt breathed deeply, pulling away from the hug to run his hand through his son’s hair one last time, taking in his face as he brushed a bit of hair out of his face. “I…” He bit his lip. “I love you, Tubbo. Don’t forget that, okay?”

“I love you too, Dad.” Tubbo gave a quick hug to his father, wrapping his arms around his neck.

------------------------------------

When Wilbur was assigned as a mentor for District 7, he was more than a little nervous. The other Victors from Victor’s Row assured him he’d do just fine, but still, he was not exactly looking forward to it. He’d met the escort and advisor a few days ago, someone from the Capitol named Sam. For someone from one of the richest districts in Panem, Sam didn’t exactly dress in high fashion - no bright colors or extravagant hairstyles. Instead, he simply wore a clean formal vest and slacks. He gave Wilbur the firmest handshake he’d ever been given in his entire life, and despite the situation seemed almost cheerful. 

If he remembered correctly, he was supposed to settle in his personal car on the train and meet Sam in the dining car. Sam seemed to have every detail of their trip planned out perfectly, which Wilbur more than appreciated. He was already dealing with enough as it was having to mentor two kids and try to get them sponsors while basically reliving the worst time in his entire life. Ths screams, the blood… the memories were… they were not good.

They called him insane, unstable. The One Who Went Mad. When he used to panic and whimper and mutter to himself, they used to laugh at him. They thought what he’d been through, the things that he’s seen, and the nightmares that plagued him were nothing more than a funny joke. They loved his pain and suffering. Wilbur didn’t like when they laughed at him like some stupid monkey in a cage. That’s why he preferred to just stay home most of the time. But at this point mentorship was unavoidable, it was under Capitol orders.

It was a bit early before he was due to meet up with Sam in the dining car, and he craved a cup of black coffee. His mind whirred a bit from the familiar fancy train cars, and he needed something to clear his mind from remembering. When he opened the door, however, he didn’t expect to see one of the tributes already here this early. From his blond messy hair and his bright blue eyes, he assumed this was Tommy, the boy. Wilbur held up his hand to show he meant to harm before he moved past the teen sat near the window towards the tea cart, fiddling with the french press. Successfully pouring the pitch-black liquid in a very expensive looking teacup, he cradled it in his hands as he moved to sit across from the teenage boy, still focused on the train station outside the window. “Uh, interesting view?”

Tommy looked over at him for a moment, eyes narrowed in annoyance. “Something like that.”

Wilbur sipped the bitter coffee thoughtfully. He took a breath before speaking. “You know, you’re allowed to say goodbye to your friends and family in the Governor’s office, if one of the Peacekeepers made a mistake I’m sure there’s still time for you to…”

“No.” The teenager’s voice seemed firm, staring out of the window. “They didn’t make a mistake.” 

“Uh, well…” Wilbur felt the awkward tension in the room rise. “You are a… bit early, we don’t leave for another half-hour…”

“Well, I didn’t exactly have anywhere else to go. No one to say goodbye to, so I guess they just skipped that part for convenience.” He looked almost angry as he turned back to Wilbur. “Do you mind maybe not staring at me?”

“I’m trying to talk to you.”

“Well, I don’t want to talk to you.” Tommy snapped. “You shouldn’t just start up a conversation just because you feel bored. I’m not paid to be your fucking entertainment.”

Add this to the number of reasons Wilbur didn’t want to be a mentor - teenagers. This kid certainly had a mouth on him. 

Wilbur’s eyes narrowed in anger as he gripped his teacup, trying his best to stay calm. “Well, whether you like it or not, you’re all of Panem’s entertainment now.” Wilbur quipped as he moved to walk away. “So maybe you should learn to be a bit more likable.”

As he began to walk across the car to move toward a table in the corner of the room, he felt a heavy weight on his back as he lost his grip on his cup as it landed on the metal ground of the car with a loud crash, the coffee staining the expensive carpets. He felt punches on his back and head as someone tried to pin him down. Wilbur sighed in frustration. With ease, he jabbed Tommy’s side, putting him off balance, and flipped the kid over, grabbing his arm and pulling it behind his back. Tommy struggled against Wilbur’s grip, angry. He could see tears in the teenager’s eyes as he practically growled at Wilbur. “Take it back you bitch! Get off of me and fight! Take it back or I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!” Tommy’s anger slowly disappeared as he began to cry, his body shaking as he sucked in breaths, slowly realizing what exactly he said. “I’ll… I’ll…” Wilbur’s heart couldn’t help but ache at the sight of the poor kid, bringing back memories of that time, that feeling of being trapped.

The door at the other end of the train car flew open, to reveal Sam and the girl tribute from the Reaping, Sarah. “Wilbur, what are you doing?” Sam questioned as Wilbur quickly got off of Tommy, holding out his hand for the teenager to take. 

“Uh, right.” As Tommy’s eyes met Wilbur’s the mentor noticed how they scanned across his face, confused at Wilbur’s sudden change from annoyance to kindness. Wilbur smiled slightly. “Let’s save the real fighting for the arena, yeah?” Tommy hesitated before taking Wilbur’s hand as he helped him up, getting even more confused as he quickly wiped off his tear-stained cheeks.

“Sarah Teller and Tommy Innit, meet your Mentor, Wilbur Soot.”

-----------------------------------------------

Tubbo formally met his other tribute mate, a girl he knew from those fancy business dinners Schlatt would host - he never really talked with her much then, but it was nice to see a familiar face, that was for sure. Her name was Crystal.

They arrived and settled in without much really going on. Their advisor, the one with the devil horns a few hours earlier was their advisor, Bad. They were very confused at first why anyone would name their child that, until Bad insisted it was a nickname for ‘Badboy’… Tubbo couldn’t say he didn’t believe the advisor with some of the fancy and absurd names that seemed so popular in the richer districts. “Now, the best part is that even though you are both chosen as tributes, you’ll be able to see all the Capitol can offer before you’re in the arena. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!”

“I guess it’ll be kind of cool to see the Capitol.” Crystal agreed as she took a sip of a fruitful smelling juice of some kind. Her eyes furrowed as if she was focusing intently on the next words out of her mouth. “I mean, this year economy-wise wasn’t particularly the best for them, seeing as their main exports have been plagued with attacks. It’ll be interesting to see how they fair under unseemly conditions.”

“E...Economy?” Tubbo asked in a silent question to his fellow tribute, whose face flushed in embarrassment. 

“My father is the head of exports for District 3. Knowing about stocks and stuff is kind of his thing… then, I guess, it became my thing.” Crystal shrugged, and Tubbo thoughtfully bit into a buttered crust of bread. “I don’t really think that’ll be too helpful in the Games, though.”

“Speaking of the Games, where’s that old man… I told him to meet us here almost an hour ago.” Bad thoughtfully added with a sigh. “He’s going to miss dinner completely if he doesn’t hurry up.”

Almost as if on cue, the car door slid open, and in walked a tall broad blonde-haired man who looked completely mentally checked out. He yawned as he reached over the table to grab an apple and one of Bad’s homemade muffins from the basket. He looked over to the two kids and gave them a slight smile and a two-fingered salute as if to say ‘hi’. “Crystal, Tubbo, this is Phil Craft, your Mentor,” Bad said, quickly gesturing to the man, anger bubbling to the surface. “Phil, where have you been?” Bad demanded, leaning over to snatch the muffin out of Phil’s hand. “No muffins until you eat actual food! We’re in District Two tomorrow and they expect us up and ready by 9 am sharp-!”

“Alright, alright! Stop freaking out, okay?” Phil pinched his nose in annoyance, turning his gaze to look over at the two teenagers again. Phil met Tubbo’s eyes and smirked. “Also, you said I needed real food?” Phil threw the apple up into the air as it caught wind on his arm, traveling over his shoulder blades and taking off of his opposite hand, landing in his mouth as he sunk his teeth into the apple flesh. “That count?” He asked between chewing as Tubbo and Crystal couldn’t help but smile and laugh, clapping to applaud Phil’s trick.

“You bail on us for a whole hour, show up to eat a single apple, and then got back to your little hermit hut?!” Bad’s voice raised slightly. “What do you even do in there that’s more important than this, huh??”

Phil’s playful smile dropped for a moment, replaced with something more melancholy as Bad clearly struck a nerve. There was a tense moment of silence before Phil resumed his happy persona. “Well, I didn’t mean to be a bother and disrupt your dinner. Now that I have my apple and my muffin, I’ll take my leave.” He looked over to the two tributes. “I’ll see both of you in the morning.” Phil smiled before quickly exiting the room once more, leaving a slightly irritated Bad, and two very off-put tributes.

Tubbo couldn’t sleep. The day’s events weighed too heavy on his mind - the Reaping, saying goodbye to his father, dealing with the thoughts of his own inevitable fate. He missed Schlatt’s warm embrace, he missed how his father ruffled up his hair just in the right way to say ‘I’m proud of you, kid.’ He missed home and its faint smell of motor oil and coal from the factories that always seemed to seep in through the windows and cracks in the walls just right. He didn’t feel safe here, he was in one of the fanciest bedrooms on a train that he knew he’d never be able to get a ticket for years, and yet nothing about this place felt safe.

He was being chased by something, something with claws and teeth that whispered nothing but death. But Tubbo didn’t want to die. Even if he knew it was his fate, Tubbo did not want to die. So he ran, his legs quickly getting sore and tired from overuse, yet he pushed on. He heard whispers in his ears, taunting him, laughing at his pathetic escape. Tears ran down Tubbo’s eyes as he pressed his hands over his ears and continued to run, something pinned him to the ground, claws sinking into his back as he whimpered in pain. A chill ran down his spine as the monster growled close to Tubbo’s ear. His heartbeat quicker as he begged, no pleaded to whatever was out there, please please I just want to live-!

He awoke with a start, looking around, tears streaming down his face as his body shook with an adrenaline rush. His hands found their way over his heart, making sure he was still alive as arms wrapped around him, shushing him and holding him close. “Woah there, Woah there… it’s okay, it’s okay. It was just a nightmare, it wasn’t real, shhh…” The panic in Tubbo’s chest slowly quieted as he wrapped his arms around the person, needing comfort desperately. The figure seemed startled for a moment before brushing back some of Tubbo’s hair out of his eyes. Tubbo looked at the figure for a moment, confused.

“Phil?”

“Hey mate.” Phil smiled warmly. “That was quite the nightmare, yeah? You were flopping around like a fish out of water.”

“But…” Tubbo sniffed, pulling away to wipe away his tears. “But why? How?”

“You sounded like you were in physical pain, I was worried. Can’t have a tribute dead before they even get to the arena, you know. Would really throw off the whole schedule.” Phil half-joked as he looked down at the mattress, not being able to meet Tubbo’s eyes at that moment. Tubbo’s gaze was focused on his mentor.

“Why’d you help me, we just met today for like two seconds at most-”

“It doesn’t really matter that much, I was just passing by-!” Phil dismissed quickly before Tubbo’s tone got more serious.

“Phil, if you’re going to be my Mentor you’ve gotta at least tell me the truth. I need you to tell me the absolute truth when it comes to this because I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing, what I’m up against, how I’m even supposed to survive, but you do. I need you if I ever stand even a chance of getting home. Please.” Phil let out a frustrated sigh.

“You reminded me of my son, that’s all. When he used to be a tribute.” Phil said, looking toward the ground. “He’d have nightmares, he was so scared but I told him I’d never leave his side, so when he got picked I went with him as his Mentor.” Phil sucked on his cheek. “I thought that if I went with him, talked him through it, got every single sponsor I could, he’d…” Phil sighed. “I just didn’t want for you to have to deal with the nightmare alone, no one should have to handle everything alone.” Moving off his bed, he looked over. “I’ll be across the hall, okay?”

“Oh...Okay.” Tubbo said, nodding. “Thanks.”

Phil nodded back as he turned and Tubbo saw Phil’s hand move toward his chest quickly, was he putting his hand over his heart or something…? As Phil moved toward the door, one question stood on Tubbo’s mind, he bit his lip for a moment, considering. 

“Phil, wait-!” Phil turned around, and Tubbo saw Phil’s hand wrap around a necklace of some kind he didn’t notice before, in the shape of a heart. “Did… did he survive? Your son?”

A tense silence followed.

“I think that’s enough for tonight,” Phil said. “No more questions, you need to get some sleep.”

[skellebonez]

Smoke, Flasks, and Unfinished Tasks: Chapter 5

AO3 Link!

Chapter 1 Link! , Chapter 2 Link! , Chapter 3 Link! , Chapter 4 Link!

Summary: There’s nothing that brings opposing sides together like a mutual enemy, though who that enemy is...

Warnings: None for this chapter.

Author’s Note: I wanted to take a short break after THE SPECIAL to retool, replan, and rewrite some stuff in the next few chapters and make sure they would fit with what I have already posted, as well as wait for the last episode to be subbed so I could double check what I had in this chapter before posting. This fic is already canon divergent (and now a full on AU) so that helped a lot. All you need to know now is that in SFAUT another year is added in the timeline and 1 New Year has already passed. I will provide spoiler warnings for any chapter in the future since some stuff in the special will be relevant to this fic now. (There are none in this one! No Spoilers Inside!)

Chapter 5: Gladly, your journey ends here with me

“Come on, come on Jin... Ah ha!” Yin let out a triumphant yell as the two Calabashes finally connected remotely, one hidden tucked away where their now unwanted business partner hopefully couldn’t find it, and he quickly closed out and hid all the windows he could on the computers that would give away their plan. It was a long shot... but hopefully this would work. He just had to trust that his elder could handle this on his own.

----------

“You weren’t kidding when you said everything smelled dull,” Mei said with a frown. They were walking around the city looking for anything that could possibly help them get out of here. So far no luck, everything appeared to just be as normal as normal could possibly be. MK had even tried breaking something with his staff on “accident” and only got a slightly angry but forgiving shopkeeper once he paid for the broke table out of it. “Now that I’m really paying attention to it I can’t help but notice it.”

“It’s bizarre,” Red Son chimed in with a growl, true frustration having long since started to bloom in his expression. “Nothing’s happened! No one is attacking us, no one is trying to make everything perfect. It’s just... Normal!” The last word was screeched out, his hair flaming up before he took a breath and calmed back down. “I don’t think this is Jin and Yin anymore. It’s too different from what you described to us.”

Despite not wanting to, MK couldn’t help but nod in agreement. “I think you’re right... this has to be a Calabash, I’m sure of it! But unless they got really good at making more than two step plans really quickly, someone must be helping them.”

Though who that could possibly be they had no clue. As far as the three of them knew the Gold and Silver Demons weren’t really affiliated with anyone specifically. They seemed to run around doing their own thing for the most part.

“There’s got to be some kind of clue around here about how to get out, nothing technological is perfect!” Mei chimed up with a wide smile. “Who knows, maybe the solution will just hit us when we least expect i-”

“WATCH OUT!”

The trio jumped in surprise at the yell, voice familiar but sounding just off enough to startle them. They looked up as a cloud barreled down and ducked right before it flew right into an alley behind them, a series of yelps and crashes and curses being let out by whoever had hitched a ride on it.

“God bloody damn it how does he even fly this stupid thing?” They heard from inside, and they all carefully stepped into the alleyway. MK pulled out his staff, Mei her sword, and Red Son lit his hands on fire in preparation.

“UH...” MK lowered his staff just a bit when he caught sight of the figure in front of them, turned away from them and brushing dust and dirt off his clothes with his tail swiping madly at the air like he didn’t exactly know what to do with it. “M-Monkey King?”

“Monkey King” tensed, turning quickly with an uncharacteristic look of surprise and... fear? Fear on his face. “Uh... you’re sorta right, MK.”

“Ok, you are definitely not Monkey King, he NEVER calls me MK and he definitely does not have an accent like that,” MK said as he raised his staff back up with a raised brow. “And you are definitely not the fake Monkey King we just left who did call me Bud and Kid instead. Who the hell are you!?”

The new fake Monkey King raised his hands in a sign of surrender, laughing awkwardly. “Whoa, whoa! No need to attack, I’m here to help you! Surprised you don’t recognize me already, do we really sound that much alike?”

“Wait a- JIN!?” “THAT’S Jin?” “But how?” MK, Red Son, and Mei all shouted one right after the other, looking between the Jin-Turned-Monkey-King and each other.

“Change back!” MK shouted, extended his staff just enough to poke Jin in the chest. “Stop looking like that right now!”

“I can’t,” Jin sighed out, taking a step back and away from the staff jutting into his rib cage. “I mean, I can if I try for a minute, but it’s not safe! I need to be disguised and apparently using this digital form already made up with your info this is the best disguise the program decided for me.”

“AH HA I was right this is a Calabash!” MK shouted in victory before realizing this just confirmed what they had already agreed to. “Ahem... OK... why do you need to be disguised? And why did you say you were here to help us? Isn’t this one of your plans?”

Jin winced at the questions and looked away, rubbing one of his arms. It looked... bizarre and wrong to see on the Sun Wukong’s face. Sure, MK had seen the ancient being look vulnerable before but it was never anything like this. “Yin and I were... tricked into helping someone we shouldn’t have. She’s got control of everything right now, except an extra Calabash Yin has me in that I’m remotely connected to you from. I can help you get out of here if you just trust me for a bit.”

“Oh, like we’re just going to trust you like that!” Mei growled, taking a step closer. “How do we know this isn’t some kind of trick? That this isn’t part of your plan?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna admit that me and Yin aren’t really that good at plans,” Jin deadpanned with a frown. “I mean, we’re pretty smart! We made an entire virtual reality system that can hold multiple people shrunk down with magic and replicate anything from their own memories after all! But we’re not really good at more than 2 step evil plans.”

“He has a point,” Red Son interjected. “We fought them 2 months ago and even then their plan was ‘take control of the city water supply, fight Monkie Kid’. They didn’t have a plan aside from just... holding the water and hoping they’d win.”

“See, bad at plans!” Jin pipped up with a wide awkward smile, and that felt more natural if a little exaggerated to see. “But! We’re good at tech, and the problem here is tech we personally made. So I can help you!”

“Again, why though?” MK asked, lowering his staff cautiously. “Why help us? Wouldn’t whoever you’re working for getting rid of us be good for you?”

Jin frowned again, looking down at his (Sun Wukong’s) hands. “... It was my idea. A week or so ago... A woman came by asking for a job, told us to just call her Vapor, learned real quick that wasn’t her name after she dropped her disguise... We needed the extra cash to fill a tech order for another demon and it sounded easy enough. Make a Calabash convincing enough to trick the Monkie Kid’s senses so that he couldn’t get out from the inside. And it was easy, we already had everything being worked on ourselves! But then...” He scoffed, crossing his arms and looking away. “She started to want to get all three of ya. Started talking about wanting it to be ‘worse for him, more painful’. We didn’t know what she was talkin about, but we knew from context clues that whoever ‘him’ was wasn’t you.”

MK let his staff down entirely but didn’t put it away, earning odd looks from Mei and Red Son. He shook his head, gesturing to Jin and then their weapons to urge them to stand down for the moment.

“Then she started to get frustrated,” Jin continued. “She pushed us to work harder, faster, and when we tried to cut off the deal she... she pulled out this kind of smoking pipe and I don’t know what the hell she has in it but that stuff knocked us out harder than any drink ever did. When we woke up we were... stuck.”

“Stuck?” MK asked. “Wait, you work for other demons?”

“Yeah yeah, we make tech for other demons, that ain’t the point right now!” Jin cleared his throat, continuing his explanation. “She had some kind of... of sealin charm on the building. No demons gettin in, no demons gettin out. ‘cept for her, she’s got some kinda charm around her neck that lets her leave whenever she wants. We’ve been stuck in our little hidden HQ ever since and whenever we get too rowdy or annoying she just puts us to sleep again. I don’t know how much more of that we can breathe in before it starts to actually hurt us, and whatever she has planned wasn’t for you. You’re just some kinda-a pawn. To hurt someone else. That’s why I want to help you, she’s hurtin my brother and as much as we want to take you down the Gold and Silver Demons will not be used as pawns in other’s schemes.”

“So it’s a pride thing,” Red Son said as he crossed his arms. “You’re helping us because this Vapor woman hurt your pride.”

“Yeah, and what of it?” Jin crossed his arms in turn, glaring at the fire demon. “Need a better reason or do you not want my help?”

“We want your help!” MK jumped in with a sigh. “Any help, even help from pride alone, is probably needed right now.”

“Great!” Jin smiled wide again, and the quickly changing expressions he was showcasing on the Monkey King’s face were starting to give the trio tonal whiplash. “Should be simple enough, she’s out and about right now so all we gotta do is get to a little something Yin and I added in while she wasn’t looking before she gets back.” He smirked, prideful and eager to brag. “An emergency access hub. Didn’t have time to program it to pop up on command, but once we get to our hidden HQ we can access it and force this Calabash to just spit us out! You probably could have found it yourselves... eventually...”

“That’s... surprisingly easy and simple,” Mei said, but smiled after a moment. “But worth a shot I guess. If you’re lying we can just kick your butt and get out of here the old fashioned way!”

This caused Jin to laugh nervously again, raising his hands up. “No lying, promise! Just follow me-EAGH!” When he took a step he stumbled, righting himself as he flailed his arms and sighed. “Stupid tail, how do you balance with this thing?” He took another careful step, then another, and after a moment he just grabbed his tail and yelped at the sensation and wrapped it around his wrist before walking normally. “This is bloody weird.”

“I’ll say...” MK muttered as he watched Jin step out of the alley and wave his free hand, the air in front of him glitching in a familiar way before a digital floating map rested before him. “... ok, that’s kinda cool.”

Jin paused, looking back at them with a bit of a flushed tint on Monkey King’s ears. “Uh... thanks? Just follow me, this will tell us if anything pings the system to alert it that I’m here or she comes back.”

They followed Jin for a moment, fake people staring at the full form of Sun Wukong in awe. The same way MK and the others would have expected them to in real life.

“Wait, hold on!” Mei piped up after a moment. “You said you found out Vapor wasn’t this mystery woman’s name, but you never told us who she was! What’s her real name, maybe we already know who she is!”

“Yeah, if we know who she is we can plan on how to kick her ass!” MK agreed.

Jin shook his head. “I don’t know if even you three can fight her at this point, she’s strong. Way stronger than I already knew she could have gotten over the years. You’re gonna need more than a little help to take her down.” He turned to Red Son.

“What?” Red Son questioned, tips of his hair sparking as he tensed in confusion and worry. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because Vapor was-AAAAAHHHHH!”

And Jin fell to the ground screaming.

----------

“And to what do we owe the.... honor of your visit,” The Demon Bull King growled lowly, arms raised slightly at his sides as Princess Iron Fan stood on his shoulder. Her own glare was even more formidable than her husband’s.

“Brother Ox,” Sun Wukong greeted as he bowed in respect. “I-”

“We stopped being brothers in name long ago, Sun Wukong,” DBK growled low again. “Now state your business here before I lose my patience and we continue our last fight.”

“I’m surprised we aren’t already fighting...” Pigsy whispered to Tang. “This is weird...”

And Pigsy was right, the situation was weird. They had snuck in, Wukong ready to fight and get them out of there if things had gotten out of hand. Instead, they were greeted with a very annoyed but subdued Demon Bull King and Princess Iron Fan who looked ready and willing to murder all of them if given half an excuse... but for some reason were holding themselves back.

“Demon Bull King,” Wukong corrected himself with a small frown, holding his bow for an extra moment before straightening himself. “I have come to ask for a temporary truce... and your help.”

DBK grit his teeth, leaning down until he was nearly nose to nose with the Monkey King, PIF holding onto his horn on her side to remain stable. “And what makes you think I would ever agree to that?”

“The reason I am asking for it,” Wukong continued, not even reacting to the snorted breath in his face. “MK, Mei, and your son were supposed to join me on Flower Fruit Mountain this morning. We... have not been able to find them.”

This immediately got both parents attention, DBK narrowing his gaze dangerously as he stood up straight so fast PIF had to hold on tighter to not fall off. “What are you implying?”

“MK, Mei, and Red Son are missing. We want your help to find them.”

[perlukafarinn]

4 + 39, Destiel, obviously

Mistaken for a couple + Kid ficThis got really long (2.4k words) but I have no regrets.

In October, Dean has an unremarkable one night stand with a woman named Lydia. He doesn’t hear from her again but eleven months later, he’s suddenly a single father to a baby girl who just survived the car crash that killed her mother.

It’s a lot of change in a short amount of time, especially considering he doesn’t know of Emma’s existence until he gets the call from the hospital. He’s responsible for a whole ass person now - a tiny, fragile person who won’t stop crying and who screams bloody murder whenever Dean tries to put her in a car seat.

The little hypocrite is fine with the bus, so Dean resigns himself to public transport for the next while. Dealing with dirty looks from his fellow passengers as Emma cries her head off is easier than the alternative. At least it’s regular crying, not those demonic shrieks she makes in the car.

“Maybe you’re holding her wrong.”

Dean glares at Cas, who’s in the seat next to him. He’s been taking the bus with them ever since Dean brought Emma home, and although Dean is grateful for the company that doesn’t mean he’s gonna put up with unsolicited criticisms.

“Maybe you should shove it.”

“Hand her over,” Cas says, ignoring him.

Dean hesitates but then complies. Maybe the tiny bit of distance will make the endless crying more bearable. 

Cas takes her carefully into his arms, supporting her head like the nurse at the hospital had shown Dean and cradling her to his chest. He bounces her just slightly and then, miracle of miracles, her crying starts to die down.

Dean stares at him in wonder. “How did you do that?”

Cas shrugs. He’s looking down at Emma with a small, gentle smile and Dean feels something in his chest clench at the sight.

“What a sweet girl you two have,” coos a woman sitting across the aisle from them.

It takes Dean a moment to realize she’s misinterpreted the situation. He wonders if he should correct her but before he can, Cas answers, “Thank you.”

Unfortunately, the woman takes that as her cue to continue the conversation. “Did you adopt?”

“No,” Cas responds dryly. “Dean forgot the condom.”

“O-oh.”

She stops bothering them after that and a couple of stops later, she’s off.

“So,” Dean says as soon as she’s gone, “is it an open relationship or did I cheat?”

“You cheated,” Cas answers without hesitating. “Hussy.”

*

The zoo is Emma’s favorite place in the world. Dean’s not crazy about it himself but he’s a sucker for those big blue eyes of hers so they go every week - twice, if Emma’s feeling fussy.

Cas always joins them, even though he must have better things to do. Dean expected his social life to suffer since becoming a single parent, and it has, but he’s seen more of Cas in the past few months than in the last three years combined.

(It probably helps that Cas is divorced now - Daphne never could stand Dean.)

It’s early Saturday afternoon but the slight drizzle keeps most people away. Dean has Emma strapped to his chest, shielding her from the rain with an umbrella, but he gets the feeling she wouldn’t notice it anyway. Their first stop is one of the monkey cages and Emma is captivated, shrieking with laughter and babbling cheerful nonsense at the unimpressed looking monkeys.

“I don’t get why she’s so obsessed with those things,” Dean says.

“I do.” Cas crouches, holding out a finger to Emma who grasps it in her chubby hand. “It’s because she’s a monkey herself.”

“Don’t listen to him, Em,” Dean tells his daughter, taking her unoccupied hand and kissing it. “You’re the cutest little girl in the world.”

Cas straightens and shoots him a wry smile. “Is that why you put that bow in her hair? Or is it because of that woman who told you how handsome your son is?”

Dean pats Emma’s head, careful not to disturb the pink bow clinging precariously to a few strands of hair. That woman was not the first person to confuse Emma for a boy, probably because most of her clothes are hand-me-downs from Cas’ nephew, Jack.

“No,” he lies, because he’s not up for another one of Cas’ lectures about how gender is a construct.

They watch the monkeys a while longer, since Emma can’t seem to get enough of them. The drizzle is starting to turn into proper rain so Cas huddles close, underneath Dean’s umbrella

Eventually, Dean decides they need to check out the rest of the zoo. He begins to walk away from the cage but Emma starts immediately wailing, reaching both hands out to the monkeys.

“Let her stay a little longer,” Cas says.

“If it were up to her, we’d never leave. We can’t give in every time she starts crying, she’ll stop as soon as she sees something else she likes.”

“Ten more minutes.”

Dean rolls his eyes but relents. Next to him, a woman who just arrived with her baby in a stroller laughs.

“Sucks to have to be the strict one, huh?” she asks. 

“Oh, we’re not-” Dean cuts himself off, because why bother. “Yeah, it does.”

“My husband is just as bad,” she confides. “He would let this one get away with murder if it weren’t for me.”

Dean hums. Cas isn’t paying attention to the conversation, too busy reading the plaque in front of the cage.

“I would have figured it would be twice as bad with two daddies, but you seem to be doing okay.”

“Yeah, sure.”

The woman cranes her neck, peering curiously around Dean at Cas. “Which one of you is her real dad?”

A shot of annoyance goes through Dean and he answers without thinking, “We’re both her real dads.”

“Oh, you know what I mean.”

“I don’t. Cas,” Dean adds a little louder. “C'mon, let’s check out the tapirs.”

Emma starts wailing again as they walk away but like Dean predicted, she stops as soon as she spots something else to occupy her interest - in this case, a big rock.

“We’re both her real dads?” Cas asks.

Dean blushes. “Sorry. I just hate it when people talk about family not being real, just because you’re not related by blood.”

“I know.”

“Didn’t mean to drag you into it.”

“It’s fine. I do consider you and Emma to be my family.”

Dean swallows past the lump that’s suddenly formed in his throat. “Yeah. Well. Right back at you.”

He ignores the flutter of hope in his chest. That way only lies danger.

*

Dean is expecting some tears on Emma’s first day of pre-school. If not from her, then from himself. Surprisingly, they both handle it well. Emma stumbles off without saying goodbye when she spots a slide on the playground and although Dean gets a little misty-eyed, he keeps it together.

Then he turns to Cas, who is noticeably distressed.

Dean nudges him. “You okay, buddy?”

“Yes, I’m-” Cas clears his throat and Dean pretends not to notice when he wipes away a tear. “I’m fine.”

“It’s only a few hours. I’m sure you can handle it.”

Cas shoots him a glare. “I’m going to wait in the car.”

He walks off and Dean feels a little bad for teasing but not enough to actually go and apologize. 

Emma’s new teacher walks up to him. “This is nothing unusual,” she says, gesturing at Cas’ retreating back. “But Emma is adjusting remarkably well.”

“Yeah, she’s a champ,” Dean says, chest swelling with pride. He can still see Emma from here, toddling her way up the short steps to the slide. 

“Will you or your partner be picking her up? Or both of you?”

Emma slides down, stumbling as she lands but managing to stay on her feet. She shrieks in delight, running back around to the steps to go again.

“Hm?”

“Sorry, husband.”

Dean turns to the teacher, attention caught by that word. “What?”

“Which one of you will be picking up Emma?” she asks again. “You or your husband?”

Dean stares at her blankly for a moment. “Me,” he finally answers. “My - uh, my husband is working late.”

Later, once he’s taken care of all the formalities with the teacher and has said goodbye to Emma, Dean heads back to the car and wonders why he didn’t correct her. Why he went along with her mistake.

Why the hell the word ‘husband’ sounded so good when applied to Cas.

*

On Emma’s second birthday, Dean discovers that strangers aren’t the only ones who have been mistaking him and Cas for a couple.

He’s in his kitchen, putting away all the dirty dishes from Emma’s party. The birthday girl herself is taking a nap and although most of the guests have gone home, a few still linger in the living room, talking quietly among themselves.

He’s just about done loading the machine and putting the leftovers away when Mom joins him.

“Bobby and I are about to head home,” she tells him. “Just wanted to say goodbye.”

Dean closes the fridge and walks over to hug her. She’s smiling at him when they part, eyes shining. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she says. She clears her throat, pats Dean’s chest. “I’m just… really happy for you, sweetie.”

“Mom,” Dean says, putting his hand over hers. “Have you been drinking?”

Mom snorts, swatting him. “I mean it, kid. I was so worried about you when you got the call about Emma but you’ve handled the situation better than I could have hoped for.”

Dean shrugs, uncomfortable at the deluge of sincere praise. This is the kind of emotional honesty members of the Winchester family don’t usually engage in unless somebody’s on their deathbed. 

“She’s lucky to have you,” Mom continues. “And you’re both lucky to have Castiel. I’m glad you’ve all found each other.”

Dean’s stomach sinks. He searches Mom’s expression for any hint of a joke but she looks completely serious. 

“Mom… I don’t have Cas. We’re not together.”

“…You’re joking.”

“I’m not.”

Mom blinks. “But you’re…” She huffs. “I don’t understand.”

“Sorry?” Dean scratches the back of his neck. “I dunno what to tell you, we’re just friends.”

Neither one of them speaks, the silence between them growing awkward.

“I’m… gonna go,” Mom finally says. “Just forget I said anything about Castiel.”

“Okay,” Dean says, knowing full well he’s not gonna be able to.

Strangers thinking he and Cas are involved is one thing. But Mom? Maybe it’s time for Dean to reevaluate the way they come off to people. The last thing he needs is for Emma to get confused about the situation.

*

Dean considers bringing it up with Cas but it’s just too awkward and in the end, very little reevaluating is done. Dean likes that they’re close, even if they’re never as close as he actually wants. He doesn’t wanna lose any part of what he and Cas have, doesn’t want anything to change between them.

So he says nothing, and things stay the same. 

The conversation with Mom is all but forgotten a few months later. Dean is working late, so Cas offers to picks Emma up from pre-school. They’re both kneeling around the coffee table in the living room when Dean comes home, drawing with crayons on the blank pages of Emma’s coloring book.

Dean feels ten different kinds of warm and fuzzy at the sight of them and he can’t help but smile. Cas looks up, finally noticing him, and answers with a gummy smile of his own. 

“You staying for dinner?” Dean asks, ignoring the way his heart just skipped a beat.

“Mhm,” Emma hums without looking up from the coloring book.

“I suppose I am,” Cas agrees.

He stays for dinner and then he stays after, helping Dean get Emma to bed. Even once she’s asleep, he stays and does the dishes while Dean throws a load in the laundry. 

Neither one of them says anything, but by the time they’re done with the chores and collapse on the couch in front of the TV it’s clear that he’s not going home to sleep. It’s not the first time he’s staying the night, or even the fiftieth - it’s become something of a habit since Dean got Emma. The guest room is basically Cas’ room by now. 

They channel surf until Cas makes Dean stop on some competitive reality show about blowing glass. Dean becomes invested despite himself but even then, he’s exhausted and the couch is very soft and inviting.

He doesn’t remember falling asleep but when he wakes up, his head is laying on Cas’ shoulder and Cas is slumped against him, snoring softly. It’s dark outside and the only source of light is from the television, now showing a late night talk show with the volume off.

Dean sits up, jostling Cas awake. For a moment, they just look at each other, both smiling sleepily. Then Dean, forgetting for a moment everything they are and everything they aren’t, leans in and kisses him.

It’s not a first kiss. It isn’t tentative, or curious, or impatient and passionate. It’s a routine kiss, the kind you give a partner you’ve been with for a while, brief but assured and loving.

He pulls away and it’s not until he sees Cas’ face that his brain finally catches up with him. 

“Shit,” he mutters, recoiling. “Cas, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking.”

He moves to get up, but Cas grabs his hand, holding him still. He doesn’t look shocked or disturbed. Dean can’t read his expression at all, can’t tell what that searching look in his eyes means.

“Don’t apologize,” he finally says. “I’ve been waiting for you to do that for ten years.”

Dean’s jaw goes slack. “Wh- ten years?” 

“Yes,” Cas says, matter-of-factly. Then, “I’m going to kiss you again, if you don’t mind.”

Dean doesn’t mind. He very, very much doesn’t mind, especially with the way Cas’ hand cups the back of his neck, thumb rubbing the sensitive skin behind his ear before he leans in, kissing Dean with gentle pressure and precision. Or the way he licks the seams of his lips until he opens them, turning the kiss a little filthy and sending bolts of heat dancing down to Dean’s gut.

They part, and something occurs to Dean.

“Wait, is that why Daphne hated me?”

Cas laughs. He’s so close, Dean can feel the way it rumbles in his chest warm and low. “No, actually. She thought you drank too much.”

Then he’s kissing Dean again, and the conversation is officially over.

*

It isn’t until he’s in a relationship with Cas that Dean realizes he was basically in a relationship with Cas already.

Seems he was the one misunderstanding things all along.

[thiswomanshouldbewriting]

A Tale of Magic - Chapter 5 (Quiet Minds)

After way too many days of procrastinating out of fear of getting this chapter wrong, I finally found the courage to post it. infinite thanks to @galactic-pirates, my wonderful beta, who was even more patient than usual with me. 

In this chapter we learn how Rumplestiltskin was brought back from the dead, and what that meant for him. In present-day Storybrooke, Belle has a very emotional day. Zelena makes everybody miserable.

Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Ao3 link. 

The Enchanted Forest, five months ago.

The man trembled before Zelena, his hands clenching nervously around the old key. 

“So I just need to open that vault?” he asked, made suspicious by the apparent simplicity of the task. 

“Yes. I believe even a monkey like you should be able to do that. Or should I give you a little incentive? Four children, three children… it doesn’t make much difference, does it?” Zelena threatened.

All color drained from the man’s face. 

“No, please, you said you wouldn’t harm them,” he begged.

“I said I’d spare them if you did as you were told. If you really want to keep them safe, stop asking stupid questions, and do what I say,” Zelena remarked.

He nodded nervously, then turned around and walked to the center of the clearing. It was a warm day, but the metal circle that marked the entrance to the vault was ice cold. He knelt beside the lock, brushing the dirt off of the opening, then took a deep breath and pushed the key inside. 

The key seemed to catch fire, turning incandescent against his hand as the air filled with the stench of burned skin. He screamed, falling back as he let the key go, the pain so intense that at first he didn’t even notice the black, gooey substance coming out of the vault. 

“What’s going on?” he asked, terror rising in him as he realized how difficult it was becoming to form words.

“Don’t you know that all magic comes at a price? I needed to bring someone back from the dead, so someone else needed to die. I promised your family would be safe, I never said anything about you,” Zelena cackled.

He collapsed to the ground, his vision blurring. The last thing he was aware of was the shape of a man emerging from the goo. 

Zelena watched in awe as her old mentor was forcefully brought back from limbo as the peasant’s life force was transferred to him. Centuries before, an ambitious king had tethered the Dark One’s soul to this vault, so that not even death could ever free him of the king’s control. The spell he had crafted to bring the Dark One back had never been tested before, but Zelena had never doubted that she would succeed. She was surprised by Rumplestiltskin’s appearance once the spell was completed: he looked human now, but there was no doubt that he was still the Dark One: the dagger in his hands still bore his name. Just as Zelena had expected, he was barely conscious once the spell was completed; being brought back from the dead was bound to leave him weakened for some time. He collapsed to the ground and barely even flinched when she took the dagger from his trembling fingers.

“Zelena… no…” he murmured, but not even panic could give him the strength to fight back. He was completely at her mercy. 

“Save you breath, dearie,” she said, kneeling down so that her face was mere inches from his. “You’re going to need all of your strength very soon.”

**********

Storybrooke, present. 

Belle had been in the shop all day. Ever since they’d come back to Storybrooke she’d been checking the inventory to see if anything had gone missing or if something new had made its way to the shop. She had found nothing relevant so far, but the pawnshop was so filled with trinkets that it would take her several more days to finish the job. She didn’t mind though; she enjoyed the cozy quiet of the shop, and being surrounded by Rumplestiltskin’s things made her feel closer to him. Sometimes she could almost imagine he was fixing something in the back, and that at any moment he’d walk past the curtain and ask her if she wanted a cup of tea. It was a bittersweet thought, one that sometimes warmed her from the inside and at others left her in tears.

Today had been a bit of a rollercoaster. First the news about the cloaked figure in the woods, then the ripple of magic as the curse was broken, and not long after that Neal had walked in, telling her of his encounter with his father. Rumplestiltskin was clearly in some sort of confused state, but after a while he had recognized his son. Belle was determined to see it as good news: if Rumplestiltskin had improved slightly after such a short time with Neal, whatever had been done to him was probably reversible. It had to be.

When her cellphone rang, Belle took a deep breath before answering, readying herself for the latest crisis. 

“Hi Belle,” Emma said, her voice frustratingly neutral, carrying no hint of whether she was the bearer of bad or good news. “Are you sitting right now?”

Belle understood that Emma was just concerned for her and her baby, but even this short delay was hell on her nerves.

“Yes, now please just tell me what’s going on,” she all but begged. 

“David and I just stopped a flying monkey from attacking Gold. The monster was chasing him through the woods, but while we dealt with the monkey Gold ran away from us too. He was confused, but he seemed to recognize me, or at least to remember that I’m on his side. He looked as though he was trying to say something but couldn’t bring himself to focus on it,” Emma explained. “We’re trying to track him down again, but I thought you needed to know immediately. The monkeys follow Zelena’s orders, they shouldn’t be attacking him. Either she lost control of them, or she lost control of Rumplestiltskin. Maybe he managed to get his hands on his dagger and escape. And if he did…”

“He’ll come to me,” Belle concluded for her, a smile forming on her lips. Her Rumple was coming back. He was coming home. “I’ll keep my eyes open, and I’ll be ready to face any flying monkey that might be chasing him. There’s more than enough magic in here to deal with them.”

“Still, I told Neal to join you at the shop. He has already been through enough today, and Gold will want to see him as well. If anyone can bring him back to his senses, it’s you two,” Emma said, her tone turning softer. She truly hoped things would turn out alright for them. She remembered what it was like, to be pregnant and scared, and she wouldn’t have wished that on her worst enemy, let alone Belle. 

After hanging up the phone, Emma resumed her search with even more determination. She was the Savior, it was her duty to bring back the happy endings, and that now included Rumplestiltskin’s as well. She’d reunite him with his family, then they’d defeat Zelena together and Henry would be safe. That’s what she kept telling herself. It was a good mantra, but it didn’t stop the doubts from creeping up inside her, a dark thought she was completely unable to push back. Safe, sure, her fear whispered, but for how long? 

**********

The Enchanted Forest, after Rumplestiltskin’s resurrection. 

Rumplestiltskin was going mad. He had no memories of what being dead felt like, but he was sure not even hell could be this bad. Zelena had confined him to a small cage in the great hall of his own castle, forbidding him from doing any magic, and laying helplessly in the dirt day after day was quickly chipping away at his sanity. Zelena had total control over his life; she could starve him for days just as she could force feed him, all while taunting him and mocking him for his weakness. His immortality prevented him from suffering any lasting damage, so he couldn’t even hope death would put an end to his misery.

Even the solace of sleep was eluding him. Dark Ones didn’t need to sleep, and the constant fear and frustration he was living with guaranteed to keep him awake at all times. Dark magic was simmering in his veins, begging to be released, not accustomed to being trapped for so long. Every day he found himself spending more and more time picturing Zelena’s death, the images becoming increasingly gruesome as the darkness inside of him mounted. Soon enough, his skin started to show the change, gradually going back to its old reptilian appearance. 

“We’re the same, you and I,” Zelena commented one day, pointing at his now completely scaly skin. “Our skin reflects who we really are on the inside. No matter how much you try to fight me, how much you want to tell yourself that you’ve changed, the truth is that you’re every bit as dark as I am. We both revel in darkness, and you were a fool to push me away.”

A wave of the dagger sent him to his knees as Zelena entered the cage and sat on the stool in front of him. This was the part of his imprisonment that he hated the most. He tried to keep his breathing under control as Zelena put her fingers on his temples and started reading his mind. Under any other circumstances, he could have stopped her; searching someone’s memories and thoughts was a delicate process, requiring both the expertise of the reader and complete compliance of the subject. Zelena’s magic was strong enough to grant her access to his mind, but she took no care in making the process any less painful for him. Every time it felt as though his head was about to explode, but he was forbidden to fight back, and the witch only seemed to take pleasure in the whimpers that sometimes escaped his lips.

He collapsed to the floor once she left him alone, fighting to hold back the tears and retain what little was left of his dignity. As always, he tried to make sense of all the memories that had flashed through his mind as Zelena read them; there had to be a pattern, something she was looking for, and if he could figure it out then maybe he could find some leverage against her. It worried him to no end that she seemed particularly interested in his family; she was digging for information about Belle, Bae, Henry and Emma, and he dreaded to know why. If he couldn’t get free, he had to at least find a way to warn them. One day Zelena would make a mistake, no matter how tiny, and he’d make sure that was her downfall. 

**********

Storybrooke, present day. 

Belle had never been good at waiting. She wasn’t one to sit around and wait for something to happen, or for someone else to solve the problem, yet waiting was the only thing she could do right now. Considering how nervous she was, she had given up on taking inventory - lest she accidentally spill a potion or break some rare item- and tried to distract herself with a book, but it was the tenth time she had read the same page, and she still had no idea of what it said. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Neal looking worriedly at her, but there was nothing he could do to help.

The sound of the front door banging open made her jump in her seat. Rumplestiltskin stumbled over the threshold, crumpling to the floor. Belle rushed around the counter, kneeling with some difficulty by his side. 

“Rumple? Rumple can you hear me?” Her voice choked with emotion as she caressed his face. His eyes were closed, and she could already feel herself panicking when she heard Neal’s voice. 

“He’s breathing. He just fainted. He’ll be alright,” he told her, laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder. 

She didn’t want to leave Rumplestiltskin on the floor, but with her belly making her even clumsier than usual there was no way she could carry him to the cot, even with Neal’s help.

They had to wait until Regina arrived and used her magic to move him. Thankfully she was prompt and soon Rumplestiltskin was resting comfortably on the cot in the back. Belle sat by his side, taking one of his hands in hers. There was dirt under his nails and over his suit, and he had lost weight since the last time she saw him. Still, he was alive and with her, and that was the only thing that mattered. 

She held her breath when he finally stirred. She knew he wasn’t quite himself, but she had to see it with her own eyes. She needed to see how bad the situation was before she could attempt to improve it somehow. Rumplestiltskin looked around confused, clearly trying to make sense of his surroundings.

“Hey, Rumple… do you recognize me?” Belle asked, gently squeezing his hand. 

Rumplestiltskin stared at their entwined hands for what felt like a lifetime.

“Light,” he said eventually, looking up to meet Belle’s gaze.

In that moment, Belle knew that they’d be alright. Rumplestiltskin might not have said her name, but he knew that she and Bae were his guiding lights. Rumplestiltskin was trying to come back to them, and now she had proof of it.

“It’s alright, Rumple. You’re safe now,” she said reassuringly. 

Apparently, those were the wrong words. Rumplestiltskin immediately became nervous, sitting up and slipping his hand from her grasp. 

“Not safe, never safe,” he protested. “I must… warn you. Danger… Zelena… she’s coming for our baby.”

Every word seemed to cost Rumplestiltskin energy, and he took his head in his hands, on the verge of tears. The world was spinning around him, clearer than before and yet still so confused. He could feel cold sweat trickling down his neck, and he was starting to feel dizzy. The feeling of a warm, soft hand carding through his hair cut through his panic, anchoring him back to reality. 

“Hey, hey it’s okay. You already warned us. You were incredibly brave, and without you we would have already lost,” the woman in front of him murmured, her voice soothing his fears just as much as Zelena’s presence fostered them. Light, that was the first word that came to his mind when he looked at her, but he knew she had a name, one that was close to his heart, a name that he should remember. How could he had forgotten it? Forget… forget… an accent you wouldn’t soon forget. Brown hair. Beautiful blue eyes. Her name is…

“Belle,” he breathed out in relief, in joy, in recognition. Another piece of the puzzle was in place, and he felt peace like he hadn’t in weeks, maybe months. 

“Yes, it’s me, I’m here, and our baby is safe,” she said, smiling brightly as she took one of his hands and placed it on her belly. 

That contact seemed to light another spark of recognition in his brain. More and more memories came to his mind as the world once again started to make sense. 

“Bae, where is Bae?” he asked. He needed his family to be complete, he needed them all to clear the fog away. 

“I’m here Papa,” Neal said immediately, taking Rumplestiltskin’s free hand. 

Memories flooded Rumplestiltskin’s mind as he held hands with those he loved the most. Separations and reunions, fights and tender moments, all characterized by the love that had guided him and shaped him into the person he was now. 

Even if Belle hadn’t felt the tingle of magic go through her fingers, she could have pinpointed the exact moment in which Rumplestiltskin remembered by the look in his eyes.

“Belle… Bae,” he called their names again, emotional and disbelieving, then pulled them into a hug. 

Rumplestiltskin was finally home. 

**********

Regina’s palace, three months ago. 

“I have a surprise for you,” Snow told Belle one day. “If you want, I can tell you if you’ll be having a boy or a girl. I’ve finally found Ruth’s locket, and I can guarantee it works.”

Belle was fascinated by the locket, and gladly took the offer. She wasn’t hoping for a boy or a girl in particular, but it would be nice to know in advance, and she watched with bated breath as the necklace dangled over her palm. 

“North to South,” Snow observed, “It means it’s a boy. Congratulations.”

Belle smiled thankfully at her, as the image of a little boy with Rumple’s eyes formed in her mind. Snow had been extremely supportive of her during the past several months, and they had grown a lot closer. Belle was incredibly thankful for her and her other friends; thanks to them, she had found new happiness in her life, and the thought of Rumplestiltskin was starting to bring more melancholy than despair. She still cried herself to sleep sometimes, and she doubted she would ever be over him, but her life had to go on, for her sake just as much as for her child’s. 

The sound of the large windows bursting open made everyone in the room startle. Zelena flew through the open window and dismounted her broom, and then beside her appeared…

“Rumple,” the name left Belle’s lips in a choked whisper. After months of believing him dead, her True Love was in front of her. He was real, he was alive, and his dagger was in Zelena’s hands. David drew his sword, and a fireball formed in Regina’s hand, but before any of them could take action they were all frozen in place by a spell.

“Belle,” Rumple called to her, his voice full of despair. Then his gaze moved to her belly, and his eyes widened in surprise and horror. “You… you’re…”

“Yes, your little maid is pregnant with your child, why are you so surprised? Oh, I must have forgotten to tell you; I’ve known for months,” Zelena taunted him, and Belle felt white, hot rage course through her veins.

“Shush now, we didn’t come here for a family reunion. We came here to deliver a message,” Zelena went on, and Belle could see how Rumplestiltskin’s body tensed with her command, how abruptly his jaw slammed shut. Belle wasn’t sure if she had ever felt such fury before. She didn’t just want to get the dagger back from Zelena; she wanted to hurt her, and that wasn’t a sensation she was familiar with. All thoughts of revenge left her mind, however, when Zelena strode directly towards her and laid one hand on her belly. Trapped and unable to react, Belle could hardly hear Zelena’s words over the desperate, terrified beating of her heart. 

 “You see, I have a spell in mind, and your child is exactly what I need for it. So take care of it for me, because I’ll be back for your happy day,” Zelena gloated, her lips spreading in a smile that made Belle feel sick. She wanted to scream and run away, to get rid of Zelena and wrap her arms around Rumple, but all she could do was stare at the witch with wide eyes, unable to hide the utter terror in them. 

Zelena and Rumplestiltskin vanished, the spell was lifted, and Belle staggered forward, her legs threatening to give out. She had just found out that her True Love was alive, but that joy had turned to ash in front of her eyes. Fear was drowning out all of her thoughts: if she didn’t do something, she was going to lose her child. 

**********

Storybrooke, present day. 

“I’ve dreamt of this moment for so long,” Belle breathed, eventually pulling back from their family hug.

Neal, feeling suddenly awkward, decided to join Regina in the front of the shop. He had come a long way with his father, but he was definitely not ready to see him be all sappy with his girlfriend; and he was one-hundred percent sure that his father was the sappiest, most foolishly romantic man in the world. 

“I knew that our love could beat Zelena. That you could,” Belle went on as Neal left the room. 

“Your unwavering faith constantly astounds me,” Rumplestiltskin replied, his voice breaking with emotion. There were tears in both his and Belle’s eyes, and after so long apart he simply couldn’t get enough of her. He wanted to hold her close and never let go, to bury his nose in her hair and forget the world. They both leaned forward at the same time, desperate for the kiss that they had been denied for too long. When their lips were only a breath apart, however, Rumplestiltskin abruptly pushed her back. 

“Run,” he said in a whisper, his voice suddenly panicked. 

“What?” Belle asked, confused. It didn’t make sense, everything was going so well. 

“Run!”

Rumplestiltskin screamed this time, but Belle barely managed to get to her feet before Zelena appeared beside Rumplestiltskin, the dagger held firmly in one hand, her cruel laughter sending chills down Belle’s spine. 

“Don’t mind me. I was just enjoying the show,” Zelena taunted, roughly grabbing a fistful of Rumplestiltskin’s hair and forcing him to look at her. “I’m sorry to ruin such a sickeningly sweet reunion, but I’m afraid Rumple and I have a lot of things to do. Thank you for bringing him back to sanity, by the way.”

“You knew. You set this all up. You set him free knowing that Bae and I could heal him,” Belle accused her, realization hitting her with the force of a truck. She could hardly believe how stupid she had been; with Zelena holding the dagger, it was ridiculous to think that Rumple could have escaped, but she had been so blinded by her own feelings that she had failed to notice all the red flags, and she had played right into Zelena’s hands. 

“You heroes are so predictable; all I had to do was set him free and make him forget about it,” Zelena gloated. 

“You made a huge mistake,” Rumplestiltskin growled. “Now that my mind is clear, it’s only a matter of time before I get that dagger back and run it through your chest.”

“You know you can't hurt me, but you're more than welcome to try. I do so enjoy watching futility wreck a man's will. Now be a good little Dark One, and get back to your cage,” Zelena said, pressing the dagger against Rumplestiltskin’s face. 

Belle could see him tense at the contact, and saw the struggle in his eyes, how strongly he tried to fight the command, but to no avail. After one last, desperate glance at Belle, Rumplestiltskin disappeared in a puff of smoke. Zelena followed, and a beat later Neal and Regina barged in from the other room.

“She caught us by surprise and paralyzed us. What happened here, where is my father?” Neal asked immediately, kneeling beside Belle, who had collapsed into the nearest chair. 

She wanted to tell him, but the more she tried the harder it was to form words past the lump in her throat. It hurt. It hurt to be this helpless. It hurt to think of the despair in Rumplestiltskin’s eyes, and how she hadn’t been able to do anything for him. It hurt to know that, despite all her efforts, she could never make things right. She wanted to be a hero, but the truth was that she was more of a liability. Her sobs grew louder and louder as the weight of what had just happened came crashing down on her, until a sudden pain in her low abdomen turned her despair into shocked horror. 

“Belle? Belle, what’s wrong?” Neal asked frantically, worried by the sudden change in her expression.

Belle’s voice came out hoarse and feeble, each word dripping with fear.

“I think I’m going into labor.” 

[imminent-danger-came]

Macaque: "I know your latest discovery has thrown you for a loop, between that and Azure and the Lady Bone Demon trying to get inside your head..."

Macaque: "You know what! Just play the game—that'll teach you everything you need to know, for once."

(4x10 The Jade Emperor)

-

Yeah Macaque. Just Azure and the Lady Bone Demon trying to get inside MK's head. Those are the only two people, there's no one else. Just Azure and LBD.

[wuxiaworld01]

Seven stars in the end-time

Chapter 3 Booty

When the young man saw the bowl, he put down the bowl and smiled and said: "This is the case. When your parents lived, they told me about it. The old building in your home that is more than 40 pings was not heated in winter. He was in disrepair for a long time, and he often stopped water and blackouts. He said that if you stayed in the family for two days, the computer gamers were all frozen...." Although Zhang Shuhe's stomach was full, Min Xiaoxuan spoke in an empty space. He still used chopsticks to sandwich the last two dumplings left on the plate, and he listened and passed the time. “...In the past few years, I said that your house was going to be demolished. It turned out that four or five years have passed and nothing has happened. The big guys all said that 80% of this is yellow, so your mother told me that he wanted to change. A place to live, let me help her pay attention to whether or not to buy a second-hand house, then contact her ... ..." “My mother said?” Zhang Shuhe chewed the dumplings and looked up. He was blinded by his faint eyes, and Xiao Yan suddenly struck a sudden, some dodge the line of sight, the heart is a bit embarrassed, do not know how else, I always feel that this uncongratulatory nephew like changed, looked a bit strange When I got up, I was a bit afraid. But when he thought of Zhang Shuhe studying outside the school all year round, and now his parents are not there, even if these things are said by themselves, he may not know it clearly and he is righteous. Directly nodded: "Your mother said, can you lie to you? If she finishes, I will pay attention to her, but at that time no one wanted to buy an old building, so things would be so separated. Who knows? Later, your parents actually had an accident..." After he finished, he sobbed and lowered his head to wipe his eyes with his fingers. The uncle also patted her on the back. Zhang Shuhe heard that he just nodded and said nothing at a time. Before that, he was not always at home. He didn't know much about the family, but he was not confused about the people. He would certainly change it before. Immediately questioned the many loopholes in the small words. The death of his parents in the past was a great blow to him. His mood was not restored for a long time. Xiao Tong’s proposal to sell his house almost touched his scale. However, after he had gone through 10 years, he had already used to seeing life and death. His mind was a little weaker than before. He only said, "You continue to say..." Xiao Lan said, while ignoring the calm response of his nephew, he said, “This is the case. Just two days ago, the old man from your uncle’s family gave me a call and said he wanted to buy a car in the city. Building, not too good, can live on the line, said to want to move here from the countryside to live, so I wondered, you live in that building is quite appropriate, before your mother also have this word, so today called You just want to negotiate with you to negotiate this matter, nor is it necessary for you to sell it. The main Xiaohan thinks that the place where you live is far from the place where you work. Usually, you usually stay in bed and the house is always idle. It's not convenient to come back for a trip, and you're also in the mid 20s. You can't afford to wait for the monkeys to relocate. Once you're back at the girlfriend, the old building's girlfriend If you don't look well, you might as well sell the old building and buy a new one. You can live in your own house. After you get married, you have a place where you can..." Zhang Shuhe had already known that Xiao Xiao and his uncle had called him for building. He used to change to the previous one, and he would make a fuss on the spot, because he would never sell the building, because the building was the legacy left by his parents. The second is that for the sake of one's own family, Xiao Yan has even counted all the nephews. This is really chilling. And once he relocates the old building he lived in, either a small sum of money or a new building, nobody would be foolish to sell it now. The widower's parents to the widower's son, not to mention death, is still alive, this building is completely dominated by uncle and aunt, bought cheap from their own hands, and the fat wedding house will be over. Zhang Shuhe had to admit that it was wonderful to have Xiao Biao’s calculations. However, just after eating a meal at someone’s home and not being able to refuse on the spot, he casually said: “How much money does Xiao Tong have to buy?” The opposite two mouths immediately looked at each other and said, “How about 300,000?” Then he hurriedly explained what he thought: “Not the money from a small family, it's your uncle’s parents’ money. You also know the old building area. Small, can not compare with people more than 80 pings, the price of more than 100 pings, and it, no movement for so long, may not be demolished, so 300,000 to buy that second-hand old building in your hands, the price is really It's very high. If you fill in a little bit, you can buy a larger number of flats on the Third Ring Road..." Zhang Shuhe slightly smiled, and did not refute, paused and said: "Floor originally did not intend to sell, but Xiaoyan rarely open a mouth with me, so be it, at night I go back and think about ..." "This thing does not need to consider anything, is a matter of words, you buy a new building, Xiaoxie will help you to concatenate ..." Xiaoyan is talking quickly, then was a glance at the side of the coward. "It is not a trivial matter to sell buildings. How can we make Xiaohe think about it..." After that, he turned to Zhang Shuhe and said: "It's okay. You don't have to bear the burden of your heart. Think slowly, for three days and five days." Whether it is selling or not selling, just give us a reply." Zhang Shuhe nodded and stood up straight. Since the meal was finished after the meal was over, it was time to leave. After they had finished with the two, they just walked to the door and heard footsteps running from outside. Then they opened the door and said, "Mom, Xiao Xun let the leopard bite..." Xiaozheng was sending Zhang Shuhe. When he heard his son, he could not help but stare at him: "Nonsense, where do you come from? “Really, Xiao Xun’s uncle grabbed a leopard from the countryside. He was specially brought to Xiao Xun’s car yesterday. Xiao Xun’s hand was just bitten by a leopard and it was bleeding...” This matter had nothing to do with Zhang Shuhe, so he turned and walked out at the opened door. However, it was not common for the leopard to stumble. By the way, he looked at the house across the street. The door was open at this time. The iron cage of the cricket had a dark body with a round golden ear. Like a black cat, the eyes were far more ferocious than the black cats. At this time, four claws were close to the iron cage. On the ground, staring at the little boy opposite the hostility. Zhang Shuhe was attracted by its fierce appearance. He could not help but approached a few steps because the half-size leopard was black and could not see anything. He only saw it had many wounds on the ground, and there were a few drops on the ground. The blood, the beard of the mouth was actually burned, and the golden ears of the original majestic were half yellow and black at this time and seemed to be burnt. Xiao Xun in his chubby mouth, with several paw prints on his back, probably just being scratched. He was looking for a steel needle to knit clothes, and then he was holding the hairpin to the cage and carrying the black panther. A few needles hit the leopard's abdomen, and the needle immediately brought blood. The Panthers were motionless and silent, but they hugged themselves tightly and stared at Xiao Xun. Whenever he was near the cage, he lifted his claws with lightning, and the paws had grown barbed. , Was caught, not to lose the piece of meat but also to peel. At this time, the baby was already pulling out, and a footstep was heard from downstairs. A woman ran up and saw that her door was wide open. She suddenly ran up three steps and two steps. She saw the pawprints of Xiao Xun's hand. At the same time, he could not help but burst into amnesty: "The dead rabbit scorpion, every day knows the civet cat, the root bites the pimple, wants to be dead..." After that, he went up and slapped him. Then there was a cry of a child, and my uncle hurriedly went up and pulled. The aisle was noisy. Zhang Shuhe only saw the cage at the door and was kicked aside by his mistress. The panthers even fell a few more than they did. Unruly to get up, it seems that there is no common hatred with the mouth and claws desperately bite the cage. Zhang Shuhe looked in two eyes and feared being left behind. After returning, Zhang Shuhe first opened his hand and observed the palm of his hand under the palm of his hand. The seven seedlings in the middle of the nucleus were like the saplings in the nucleus. They seemed to be the same as the travel time. They were half a foot tall. At this time, they were careful. He could not help but be puzzled. With only two tender seedlings, the peach nucleus still has the capacity to survive. Now that it is half a foot tall, and the root is still in the peach kernel, is it not too small? His eyes moved from the green saplings to the peach kernel. He never expected that there was a huge space in this half walnut. Then he felt it again carefully. The space was enormous. If it was not necessary to compare, there would be about five floors of space, and only the roots of the seedlings were tied. Peach nuclear wall. Zhang Shuhe's fright at this time was almost as shocking as when he discovered that there was a seedling in his hand. It took almost a month to adapt, but it calmed down for a little while. Just by the way, he probed into the other half of the walnut. As he thought, there was also a huge space inside. For a moment, he wondered if it would be the carry-on space in the novel. Two seconds later, he reacted, rushed to find a few things and tested one by one. After repeated trials, his face finally showed ecstasy. He lived for a few years in the end of the world. Everything was numb to him. Every day he was alive, beside panic, he was flustered and he almost forgot about the feeling of ecstasy. After forcing himself to calm down, he was closely watching the saplings and empty peach kernels in his palms. He recovered his palms half a day later. Before he left his life to sell his house, he knew that the old building had not been demolished until the end. After the end of the world, it is worth noting here. Compared with the house, the most important thing now is material, so he needs money, needs to be prepared to eat, he has endured enough hunger, and in the last days, even a piece of moldy bread is looted and beaten. flow. But he has not yet determined how to hoard food. Where is the safest way to hoard it? In fact, in the last days, regardless of where the food is put, it is not safe. Even if it is not implicated by the artillery fire of the military, it will be robbed by countless people. Suddenly found peach nuclear space, suddenly let him enjoy forgetting. Nothing was more grateful than the snowfall, and he clenched his left palm. I was so sleepless that I hadn’t slept that night and I made various experiments on the peach kernel space. I was sure that the things inside wouldn’t be broken in a short time. A bowl of hot boiled water would still be hot in the early morning. Variety. For Zhang Shuhe, the night time was too fast, and almost blinked on the bright day. Downstairs came the smell of fritters and soy milk. He felt hungry and stopped studying the usage of walnut space and rose from the drawer. I found some change, went downstairs to buy soy milk fritters, only to bed back to sleep. On the second day, Xiaoyan called him and asked him what he wanted to sell. At this time, Zhang Shuhe was extremely in need of money. Because of the time pressure, only a short period of time was left for the end of the world. He needed money to stockpile food and other necessary things. The parents did not have any deposits, and their salary card was only With less than three hundred dollars left, he would naturally not waste time working. The only one who could get the money quickly was the place where he was living. He had no beating around the phone. He clearly told Xiao Tong that the building could be sold, but he had to pay 400,000. There are too many things to prepare in advance, and 400,000 won't necessarily be enough. However, it takes more time to sell it to others, and sells it to one's own little one. It is cheaper to get money quickly. In contrast, He still chose the latter. Xiao Yan was obviously dissatisfied on the phone, constantly talking about the aging of the old building circuit where he lived, the frequent interruption of water flow, the constant flushing of toilets, and the flooding of corners, and even the fact that 300,000 are not worth it. Seeing that he was his nephew, he gave him more points, and he could only give up to 200,000. Zhang Shuhe was unmoved, still holding on to 400,000. Xiaoyan said for a long time, he broke his mouth, and when he saw him, his words were somewhat cold, and this was softened. He was afraid that if he went on, the silly nephew would not come to power. Sold, this mumbled that the number is too large, to go back and talk to the old lady, hang up the phone. Zhang Shuhe’s appearance was very light, but at this time his heart was extremely anxious. In the afternoon, he collected all the valuable things from his family’s home. There were several pieces of gold jewelry used by the mother during his lifetime. He left two parents' wedding rings as commemorations. The rest were sent to the gold shop for cash, and some coins and jade for the father's collection. Fortunately, In the early days, when I met my father's several uncles and uncles, after the phone call, the other party had the intention to collect it. After a few days there was a small deposit of 100,000 yuan. He first picked up a number of common medical drugs. These things were nowhere to be found in the last days, and there were few, and they bought some bandage gauze hemostats. If a person accidentally has a wound, if no clean thing is timely bandaged, it will be quickly infected by germs. After storing these things one by one in the peach kernel space, tens of thousands of them are used almost equally. Then they put into the room some of the useful things at home, from large boxes to small paper and needlework, among which there are also Some of the books that Dad collected about Taoism were organized and there was probably a bookcase and a set of painting tools that he had used.

[night-faye]

The special is cut into 4 episodes called: - a life time of mistakes - the plan man - rip and tear - better than we found it while s3's special was - this imperfect world - the corrupted king - time to be warriors - destiny fulfilled 17) "Yeah! Go, MK, go! Just try not to totally wreck up my stuff, would ya. Oh, right! The scroll!" He is SO cute and silly, and the way he remembers and turns back around perhaps I can squishing those round cheeks. Also "Lieutenant Monkey!" and the fist bump 🥺 that's his wittle monkey family do not separate he was so alone after being born. an endangered species. 18) "Oh, there's nothing mindless about me, friend. That's what you were pretending to be, right? To be my friend? To care about me? When really, you were just using me to get what you wanted! To turn me against my own mentor! Well, put your hand in the monkey cage and expect to get bit, son! Come on! Come on! Come on, Uncy Lion! You're the big hero, right?! Then prove it! Show me!" Macky....good on you for joining the Demon Bull Fam in giving up villainy quick because THIS is how savage MK can get. All of this could apply to you LOL. Gee, MK would get along perfectly with my OC. They snap the same way lmao. 19) Macky's smoke monster is probably like 100 feet smaller than Wukong's war form btw. We always joke about the size difference lol. And LOL at his face when Mei chomps him with her dragon he's all bug eyed. 20) Of course they had to kill Azure while smiling and of course they could only have Wukong be 😔 because he's witnessed so many of his friends die over the centuries. mourning has become second nature. at least they give us SOME kind of break. Wukong's face when Nezha hops in like yeah you got allies still left who care but LOL because he goes 🤨 when Nezha is "Yeah don't worry about it, Wukong. It's fine. I've got this." very sweet of you to care and reassure him, he doesn't got to do everything by himself, he's got people willing to hop in for him despite the history, BUT LMAO bc Wukong doesn't have time to be caught up in more feels, he's probably thinking "oh uh huh, sure you big immortal baby. press F for doubt."

21) I sped through this so much somewhere in these 4 seasons is Macky hiding scared behind Wukong and in this special, the screen slo-mo freezing on Wukong zipping by and Macky's shook expression like sure okay, stare at your super cool determined fierce friend heading into the fight with THAT look on your face. 22) Dwa when Macky steps in and everyone smiles that their domesticated emo villain monkey who probably watches anime is helping <3 <3 <3 AND WUKONGS SMILE WHEN MK IS OKAY. so sunshine and buttercups. 23) *Suspiciously eyes glowing blue flower and vines on the tree in Wukong's room and the weird thing that looks like a marked tomb.* and oh hey, role swap. Now Wukong is joining MK all by his lonesome. One of those moments that feels like the legend of the monkey king is taking back the narrative for things he's not even the main character for lol. just like in jttw. its so focused on him esp all the beginning chapters but Tripitaka is the MC XD 24) "Do you wish things would stay like this forever." "Pssh, where's the fun in that?" *looks at all the promises of forever you made to Macky.* uh huh. 25) BEACH EPISODE. of like 30 seconds for everyone else and 3 minutes of ShadowPeach. Macky and Wukong's clothes are taken from Goku and Vegeta bc they're based off the same legend lol. Wukong yelling about sunscreen to MK is so <3 <3 <3 they're Monkey Dad coding him LOL and its funny to see him talk about modern day products in general. 26) Lmao yes, it's your favorite shadow to block the sun 😉 "Ugh, it's you." "Cute, thanks for the invite by the way." "And thanks for showing up even though you were NOT invited." They always gotta talk like this, I UNDERSTAND the feeling of never being straight with it lol. But then they show what they mean through gestures like the peach popsicle! Like we're getting a redo of the squished peach from earlier ;) not fully perfect, a lil melted, but its a start. a peace offering and unlike last time its accepted also they are under the divorce tree! wonder who invited Macky or if he rlly just showed up LOL. I didn't take you for a beach kind of guy in hot pink but alright! I love his stressed tail flicking too 🥺 he is SO stressed he's not even looking at Wukong you can hear his *hmmm* in brooding thought. and asdfghjkl the way his brows furrow as he processes what Wukong just gave him 😭 "You know this is the calm before the storm...right?" So careful, cautious, it feels safer to ask now. It's like a redo of when he ignored you at the dinner. "Yeah, I know." love that trope of when everyone is goofy but you have the serious characters thinking about the future because they have special secret knowledge unknown to the rest but wanting to protect the joy of the present. "Wherever there's scheming, we can handle it." hello scheming reference but this time not applied to Macky and HELLO saying "we" and Macky being surprised over that. It was INTENTIONAL. 27) here are the storyboards! https://www.tumblr.com/chippedtoons/725767120520200192/faildads https://www.tumblr.com/chippedtoons/725766047465078784/nobody-fucking-tlak-to-me-right-now-pos

So consider me dead :)

(oh and I WILL be keeping your asks with all the links in my inbox so i can find them easilyz!! Bless you anon thank you very very much heheheheh)

[children-of-the-sun-au]

?! Mk-(wait… this is my fate… this is how I end… will he even know…)

MK: To turn me against my own mentor!

MK: You put your hand in the monkey cage…

MK: Expect to get BIT son!

Azure: ARGH!

[imminent-danger-came]

“Put your hand in the monkey cage, and expect to get bit, son!”

“Good luck, MK. You and whatever’s left, you’ll need it. You just opened the cage.”

Do with this what you will:p

I KNOW!