#wait he's already a noodle in dragon form

[elbdot]

Besides Latias being your favorite legendary Pokémon, what would be your SECOND favorite legendary?

Heck, what's your top FIVE favorite legendary Pokémon?

Aww man. There's WAY too many at this point, even top five is hard to pick. ALRIGHT I'll try...

Latias

Ultra Necrozma

Tapu Koko

Yveltal

Koraidon

...that's a lot of red Legendaries.

Latias I don't need to further explain, but probably Ultra Necrozma. The reason why he's THAT high up my list is because Ultra Necrozma IS A G O D. Like LEGIT, this dragon made out of PURE LIGHT is the absolute PINACLE of a Legendary to me. My other picks may be more personal than him, but in terms of what makes a Legendary a LEGENDARY Pokemon to me, THIS would be it. Heck, I'd put him above ARCEUS, make those two FIGHT FOR THE TITLE OF ULTIMATE POKE-GOD oh wait they already did

Otherwise Tapu Koko would've easily made it on second place. He's my next pick for a multitude of reasons. I think Tapu Koko absolutely BEAMS with personality. I love the Tapus all very much, but Koko is definitely my favorite. And I appreciate these Legendaries in particular because of their cultural significance for Alola. I think Alola may be the only region where Legendary deitys are not only KNOWN to exist, but play an ACTIVE role in their lives, interacting with the locals, protecting the islands, choosing ambassadors in form of the Kahunas and getting honored by the people of Alola. They're just. INCREDIBLY COMPLEX AND FLESHED OUT AND I LOVE THEM

Yveltal is my only pure nostalgia-pick I have to admit. Aside from me LOVING BIRDS and Yveltal being a KILLER BACON BIRD he was also the very first Legendary I ever caught by playing Pokemon Y. I may not hold much nostalgia for that game otherwise, but Yveltal definitely holds a special place in my heart.

Koraidon I just think is funny as heck. He looks SO STUPID when he's running. He's a cute goofy lizard throughout the game until he reaches his full energized form in the end and when he takes that stand he's just an ABSOLUTE badass and I LOVE that. While there's many other legendaries I could give the fifth place to, I wanted to give my appreciation for modern legendaries, because I do like the trend of some of them being included more in a personal quest. Getting to bond with them throughout your journey makes them feel much more special than others.

goofy ass lizard

HONORABLE MENTIONS: I have to give a shout-out to Rayquaaza, Kyogre, Dialga and death-noodle Giratina for being my old favorites. Xerneas is also pretty cool, I do appreciate magic fairy deer. I still think Mega Rayquaaza is THE ultimate dragon because I'm basic like that. I see badass Lung-like dragon I go WAOWEEEEE

Lugia used to be my absolute favorite as a kid but I HATE the way they've been anmating him as a 3D Model, he looks as goofy and unmajestic as one can get, what have they DONE to my boy... Meanwhile Ho-oh is doing SPLENDID in 3D, it's not fair 😞 Also shout-out to Ho-oh for having the prettiest shiny of all the Legendaries. And Galarian Zapdos is a huge improvement from the original one, that one also goes into honorable mentions.

Thank you for coming to my TED-Talk.

[likeburningcoal]

Spoilers for LMK season five Episode 5-6 below the cut!

Starting again! Leggo!

Mei’s jet survived the crash I see

Trucker Pigsy! Jot that under ‘things I didn’t know I needed until now’

“Big Ham” somebody was WAITING to use that trucker name for him.

I like the design of those rocks.

Red laser in a flame named episode. Is this where we get Red Son?

The way Pigsys ears flap in the wind!!!

Also I’m going to assume this follows what everyone else was doing in the last episode so the crash hasn’t happened yet.

For some reason I’m getting a ‘this is gonna be a pod racing episode’ vibe. I am probably wrong but now I want that episode (even if we’ve already had a race episode)

You got stopped by a very cute mouse!

I feel like so far Pigsy is the one that works best in this animation. Idk, theres been no really jarring movements for him that I’ve noticed.

Red Son!!!! Yes Mei! Show him the love he deserves!!

Red Son guesses correctly. They are indeed stopping the apocalyptic cracks

Mei’s face! OMG!!!

Red Son is like the opposite of Tang. He’d probably be surprised to find out something isn’t real.

Is this like a Samadi fire thing? Are we finally getting anything related to that?

He’s so proud to be the creator of the Samadi fire!!

Researching the origins of the true fire? So…the Samadi fire? The fire you made?

Little pet fire dragon???? Are we giving Mei a weapon of mass destruction as a pet? Because that could not go wrong! /s

*cough* a failed replica of the Samadi fire *cough*

I love whatever that is. It needs a goofy name.

:3 face Mei!!

Also she’s so ready to go and he’s just like ‘hold oh like .2 seconds PLEASE’

“This is why we don’t hang out” please, you don’t hang out cause you don’t wanna admit you like peasants.

Pigsy’s going through some stuff. Maybe Tang can help with those scrawny ankles.

If you can’t tell, I love the scrawny ankles joke. It’s so funny.

“I’m his father” “I’m not strong enough to keep him safe” Pigsy you were the ONLY person that could help him sleep. Don’t downplay the care you give him. Also this is gonna end in so much angst.

Tang really regretting that “we’re side characters at best” comment from season three right about now.

Is Red Sons plan style INVADER ZIM?!?!

Red Son you are so dramatic. I love you!

Was…was that shot a FMA reference?!

Pigsy you are a good dad! You’re there for MK when he needs you! Don’t be sad!!

“You know it’s kinda your fault right?” Tang that is not helping!

Tang saying Pigsy was the one who made MK a good person! I can’t!! I need to pause!

“You’re his dad!”

The little mice!! I’m screaming!

I was not prepared for this many Pigsy feels!!

Tang is the number 1 found family supporter!

“This is not the best time for a crisis of confidence!!”

Mei, you’re the best, don’t doubt yourself.

Red Son stepping between her and the fire!!!

Ooohh, cool green electric form!!

Mei mech!! Mei mech!!!! Badass Mei mech!!

Isn’t that one of the pets from club penguin?

“Everyone gets a mech except for me” petition to give Red Son a mech 2024

The demon bull family picture!!

Red Son being determined to help those he loves!!

“See noodle boy” of the spicynoodle shippers screamed right there.

“Hey I texted you for help! You never responded” •-•

Mei’s been sending nonstop puppy videos!

Phone stop autocorrecting Mei to key please. I’m not even sure why that’s the word you’re choosing?

Mei communicates with puppy videos, no words needed.

She left her phone.

Episode 6! Leggo!! This is gonna be my last one today because though I want to stop worrying about spoilers, I also want it to last at least a little bit longer.

We inch ever closer to the return of Mac and also to later episodes that I just KNOW will be emotionally devastating.

Tang panicking, things are as they should be.

Was that the shoe guy but voiced by a woman? Good for her.

Pigsy vs destiny the season.

MK learning for SWK and Sandy!!!

Best buds Monkey King and Sandy! That’s them! I’m sure you’ll get your episode Mei.

Im guessing Mei or Tang help this episode then Pigsy helps with the final stone, but I could be wrong.

The art of SWK of fire and Sandy being held by the snake is hilarious. 10/10 no notes.

The MK and Mei art is also adorable.

Its gonna be the Tang episode to harken back to the dumpling episode where Mei thought she was gonna go and didn’t.

Sandy, you’re very inconspicuous, don’t listen to the mean old Tangy.

“Borrowing”

They all look…awesome.

Jin and yin!!

Are those helmets? Cause they look really weird. I get what they’re going for but I don’t like it.

Also they shoulda grabbed Pigsy if they wanted a singer.

Why doesn’t Mo get a disguise?

For some reason some of Mei’s lines are difficult for me to catch. I need subtitles, that aren’t auto generated and thus awful.

Nezha!!! My boi!! (If you haven’t noticed, basically all the characters are my boi, except Mei she my girl!)

“He’s bombing! You’re bombing!”

Nezha should joint Chang’e’s roller derby team. (This is a headcanon but they need to make it canon)

SWK were you gonna fight Nezha or try to talk to him before Mei grabbed you? you didn’t look fighty.

“Ahhh!” Followed by the guards flying.

“You’re not getting away that easi…” cap in face

Who threw the whole stall person and all?!?!

*meme of the person holding the cat down that’s surrounded by broken potted plants* Wukong.

Nezha mech!! Also Nezhie you’re trying really hard to catch these guys for someone who believes in their innocence.

The flower jetpack looking this is a really cool design.

I should draw Nezha

“We have to get out of here!” “What? Why? I can handle Nezhie” SWK, I love you so much (second only to Sandy in this version)

“Wah?”

MK trusting Nezha!!! And stepping in front of the blade!!! Nezha STOPPING!!!

“My father!” My guy, your father is a big meany. You’ve SEEN them stop world ending disasters before INCLUDING the one that started this!!

That is a really cool mech.

Fillet use!

Jerky jerk man appears.

Pagoda!

Nezha fighting his dad!!!

Get them outta there Tangy!!

Do not yell at Nezha, he’s a good boy and he’s actually helpful. I didn’t see you anywhere when Azure was doing all this damage. (I kinda only know Li Jing in connection to Nezha’s myth so he could be a pretty cool dude elsewhere, but here he’s a jerk)

“We’re all gonna die!” Hugs Tang. Of the Freenoodle shippers noticed that.

MK where did you bring them?

Also calling it now, Nüwa has the last stone and she’s in the pagoda.

“I call dibs!!” Please give Mei her adventure. She’s going to go rabid without it.

MK’s smile and wave face!!

Sandy waving back!

Somebody get SWK some Tylenol or something for his headache please.

The guardian designs are all super cool.

Love the tiger specifically.

“Uhhh, no we don’t.”

I am not ready for the rest of this season.

SWK keeps forgetting the fillet.

Can someone PLEASE get him some Tylenol?

Mo!!

MK knows what he’s doing.

Pigsy jumped after him first!!!

If anything happens to Pigsy I will scream. (If anything happens to any of them I will scream.)

Li Jinh doesn’t find is suspicious at all they that JUMPED?!

Magic costume change!

“These are…prison jumpsuits?!”

You’d think they’d have one that fits Sandy at least. Poor guys barely fits in that jacket.

Also Mo keeps getting left out of the costume changes. Justice for Mo!

“Aww my shirt.” Well. There it goes.

MK being the smarty kid again. Good boy.

I wanna watch another episode now but I also wanna wait and hold off to make it last. Decisions!!

[brokendreamscreation]

Seggsual Tension!

[pin] - Sender and receiver are caught in a small space, causing their bodies to be close together. ( noodles are stuck in Gabe’s desk again? Or wait Michael’s this time lol ) - @themosthatedbeingg

How Lucifer figured out to sneak back and forth between Heaven right under the council and archangels noses is still a wonder to Lucid. And while he could ask Gabriel, the seraph felt it best that this information remain unknown to him. It’s too dark and risky already, and to know the method could further dig a grave for Lucifer and Gabe. Of course the young seraph is not about to squeal on the Messenger or Devil, goodness no! If anything whenever Lucifer appears in Heaven it is a chance to romp around and get into some mischief together.

A playful game while in their dragon forms led the two noodles to scampering up and down the empty halls, the archangels out for a special meeting with the rest of Heaven’s council. Left to their own devices and unsupervised, the two made their way into Michael’s office and began chasing each other from inside the desk itself. That is, until the two end up crammed in the same drawer and barely able to move. Both growl and squirm, nipping at each other with snapping dragon jaws.

[equanox-dragon]

Immortal She, Return to Me (Legend of Zelda; Tears of the Kingdom)

Chapter 1: Danger Noodle

Link’s eyes widened as the Demon King took the stone from his forehead, shoving the object into his mouth. He knew, he had seen what doing this could do from Zelda’s memories, knew that this action would condemn his mortal enemy for eternity to be stuck as a dragon just as it had done to his best friend. Part of him pitied the fallen king, to be so desperate to do such a thing was honestly saddening to the Hylian.

The small man had to brace himself, a soft gasp escaping him as he felt icy hardness encircling him, the fangs of this newly born dragon he would soon discover. The wind howled and whipped around him, clawing at his face as he tried to squirm out of the maw of this giant beast to no avail.

It was the piercing shriek of the Light Dragon, no Zelda, he had to remind himself bitterly, that had grabbed his attention. And it seemed to grab the Demon Dragons attention too, as the beast swiftly looked towards the source with its piercing gaze, coiling form rising into the air high above the floating Hyrule Castle. The approach of the much smaller elegant silhouette of Zelda’s draconified form soaring through the air towards them sent the demon dragon into a rage, as it roared, maw opening wide and finally letting the Hylian trapped between its fangs into a free fall. The hood of his cloak billowed and whipped around him as the frigid air clawed at his face, the feeling of gravity trying to bring him back to the earth made his stomach twist just as it always did.

His fall was suddenly arrested as Zelda’s fuzzy head swooped under him, knocking the breath from his lungs as he landed. He winced, that would surely leave a nasty bruise, but what was one more amongst the multitude he already wore across his battered body? Zelda’s serpentine body coiled and wove through every opening, deftly dodging the much larger dragon as it tried to rend her from the sky with claws and fangs.

Finally the two leveled out, facing each other as they seemed to wait for the other to make the first move. Link could stand now, giving a soft thanks to Zelda under his breath as he unsheathed the Master Sword. The gleaming Starmetal blade glowed a pulsing blue, as if trying to guide him in his fight towards the weaknesses of his foe. Now that the two sky noodles, er dragons, were no longer moving as much, Link could finally get a good look at the Demon in Dragon form before him. 

One thing he noticed other than the immense size of the dragon was that it seemed to have retained some of the wounds it's humanoid form bore before transformation, gloom like blood coagulating and seemed to form tumor like nodules in the gaping raw wounded areas. A weakness, possibly the only spot that would likely take damage from his blade as the monster's body was covered with black scales harder than any metal or rock in the world.

Link held tight with one hand as Zelda moved suddenly to gain the higher ground, the Demon Dragon opening its maw to unleash a barrage of magic, gloom like energy coming forth in large orbs like giant balls of fire. Sure he had seen the elemental energies that came off the other three dragons before, but for some reason seeing the malevolent energy being directed at him and Zelda specifically made Link’s gut tighten. Stealing himself, Link lept from atop Zelda, angling his body as the grip of gravity once more tried to rip him from the sky, but now he knew he would not fall to the unforgiving earth. 

He watched Zelda swoop past him, weaving between the massive coils of the black and red body that roiled with energy. As he fell he couldn’t help but to think that despite the evil in front of him, he found it oddly beautiful. Not in the sleek elegant beauty that Zelda’s dragon form had, and not in the raw elemental grace that the other three dragons possessed. No, the beauty that the demon dragon had was one of primal beauty, a dark and foreboding grace and brutality that was awe inspiring, a display of pure primal power.

Link aimed himself, snapping his paraglider and feeling his shoulders and arms strain from pain, the jerk as his fall was suddenly halted made him grit his teeth, but he stayed focused. Landing on the lip of the wound he was even more appalled and disgusted to see the multitude of gloom eyes staring at him with pure malice. The Master Sword hummed in his hand, her blue glow singing to him, begging him to allow her to dispatch this enemy of Hylia. With a grunt Link raised his blade, bringing it down and wincing at the spray of blackish blood that nearly covered him. The rancid scent of gloom filled his lungs and nearly had him gagging from the overwhelming presence of this dark power. 

He twisted his sword, stabbing deeper into the tumor like growth as black blood sprayed around him, droplets like icy daggers where it hit his skin. Suddenly the Demon Dragon roared, a guttural and horrible sound that made his head hurt, ears pinning against his head from how loud it was. Link was launched airborne again as the foul energy and shaking of the massive serpentine body threw him from where he had been, his grip on the Master Sword making sure it was not left embedded into the gloom tumor.

Gravity gnawed at him again as he hurtled through the sky, struggling for a moment to tell which way was up and which way was down until Zelda once again caught him, halting his fall with her fuzzy head and making a slightly concerned “Prrp” noise as she once again dodged and weaved around the massive black and red dragon. Once she gained the high ground again Link gave her a reassuring pat on the head, before once more flinging himself into the air, aiming for another cancerous looking growth on the Demon Dragon, willing his aching body to listen to him just a little longer.

Once more Link landed, and once again he sliced into the tumor of darkness and eyes that lay growing from the great beast before he was thrown back to the air, forcing him to rely on Zelda to gain the upper hand as she soared through the sky. Each time he landed on her, his body screamed in pain, he wished he could just relax for a moment, yet the looming threat of the Demon Dragon remained unwavering.

Just two more, two more tumor like growths to deal with, and then what? He didn’t really have much of a plan from there, but to be honest he didn’t have much of a plan the moment Ganon ate that stone. Could this monster even die? Or was this just a fruitless endeavor on his part, destined for failure in the end? No he couldn’t think like that, focus on what you’re doing.

Another growth destroyed, he’d think it was getting easier if his body wasn’t hurting so much, exhaustion gripping him and making it harder to move, yet Link persisted. His goal was within reach, gritting his teeth as he landed a little awkwardly, gloom leeching at his vitality as its energy basically oozed from every scale of the gargantuan beast. Slamming the gleaming blade of the Master Sword into the abomination was rather satisfying, the nodule bursting just as all the others had. And again he was thrown into the air only to be caught by Zelda as she spiraled and looped her elegant form in and around the monster that they fought.

Something had emerged from the dragon, a giant version of the once small stone Ganon had eaten. And for a moment he swore he could see Sonia, that woman from Zelda’s memories who was the previous owner of that stone, standing upon its shining surface. The once magenta-ish coloured energy that spewed from the Demon Dragons mouth had taken on a more threatening red and black hue, just as the sky had become a bloody crimson. Briefly he wondered what the sages would think, and if they were still alive, Hylia he prayed they were still alive. He didn’t think he could take the guilt of more of his friends dying because of his inability to stop this evil. No he couldn’t think about that now, he had to focus.

One last time, he lept from Zelda’s head, his mind recalling that first plunge he had taken off the sky island all those months ago, when he had awoken to the voice of Raru the first King of Hyrule. He landed on the Demon Dragon’s head, those piercing eyes glaring at him, but for a moment he swore he saw a glimpse of fear in those hypnotic eyes. He shook his head, slamming his blade into the giant stone over and over, cracks beginning to form on its surface.

The Demon Dragon roared, seemingly in pain, thrashing about and nearly throwing Link from his spot, but he held on. Climbing and raising the Master Sword, she was practically screaming to be used, seeking out the source of the darkness that it was made to seal as it glowed brighter than he ever recalled it glowing. For a moment, Link thought he saw the first Queen Sonia in the fragmented surface of the stone, nodding as if encouraging him. Link shook his head, clearing his mind and raising the Master Sword, and with one mighty strike, slammed it into the stone, causing it to splinter and crack, shattering with glorious holy light as Link was thrown, Master Sword still in hand, from the great calamitous dragon.

He wondered briefly if he’d fall to his death now, part of him thought it’d be a funny way to go out, but Zelda once again caught him, gliding effortlessly through the air and a safe distance away from the Demon Dragon. Link watched with fascination as the golden energy spewed out from where the stone had been, ripping agonized roars from the giant beast as it flew higher as if trying to escape the pain. Then cracks and fissures erupted across its body, bright red light spewing from these chasms that had opened across its form.

Link had to shield his eyes momentarily, ears pinned back from the sound caused by the massive shockwave of energy released as what could only be compared to as a magic nuke engulfed the dragon, spreading out and bathing all of Hyrule in blinding light for a moment.

The Demon Dragon was gone, and the Master Sword seemed quiet as he sheathed the holy blade. Link collapsed back onto Zelda’s furry head, letting out a groan as finally the pain and exhaustion of the fight had caught up to him. It was over, Ganondorf was gone, dead even. But Zelda was still a dragon, and Link had no idea how, or if there even was any way to turn her back. Tears began to slip down his cheeks, as he lay against the draconic head of his best friend, a choked sob escaping him. 

“Mrrp?” Zelda seemed to make the noise out of concern and curiosity, which broke Link’s heart even more. An even louder sob left him as he curled onto his side, running his fingers through the short white fur of his best friend’s forehead.

“I’m… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry Princess… I don’t know what to do… how do I save you? I’m sorry Zelda… I’ve failed you again.” Link spoke, his voice rough and horse from disuse and crying.

Zelda seemed to let out a sad whine, a soft rumbling sound coming from her like she was trying to sooth the broken man who laid against her head as the two drifted through the now serene skies of Hyrule. Eventually Link uncurled himself, laying on his back again and staring up at the endless blue sky. You’d almost think he’d fallen asleep after a while with how peaceful it was to just lay there.

With some reluctance Link decided to stand, pulling out his Purah Pad to sort through his stash of items, he quickly found what he was looking for. Silent Princesses appeared in his hands, and Link set to weaving them into Zelda’s luscious mane of golden hair, humming a song his mother used to sing to him softly. Zelda made a happy trilling sound, soft and pleasant as she glided through the sky. 

“These used to be so rare, but now they grow abundantly… it’s like the world is finally healing… I know a spot where they grow wild and free, like a sea of them… I wish I could take you there…” Link Muttered, his voice straining slightly both with grief and with how little he tended to speak.

As Link wove the delicate flowers into Zelda’s hair, he couldn’t help but loath that he didn’t bring anything to tie her hair with as he pleated braids into her lush mane. Not that any normal hair ties would work well on the large dragon, but maybe Link could find some cloth at the Castle that he could use. 

Once he had woven the flowers sufficiently into Zelda’s hair, Link stood, carefully climbing over her head and onto her back. He made a habit of walking along her to check for any chunks of crystal that she had begun to shed, finding that she seemed to be happier when they were removed from her spines. Link gathered the chunks as he went before backtracking once more towards her head. On his way back to her head, he noticed a scale that looked pretty loose, so he gently took it, the scale coming free with ease, he placed it as well as the crystals into his Purah Pad.

Finally Link sat down on her fuzzy head, gently petting her and running his fingers through the soft fur. He was loath to leave her, really he didn’t feel like there was any point now, the world was saved and his duties as the Hero fulfilled. The only duty he had left was as Zelda’s sworn knight, but that wasn’t really something he could accomplish anymore.

With the sun starting to set across the horizon, Link eventually bid Zelda farewell, as much as he wished he could simply stay up there with her forever. He eventually rolled off of her, letting himself into a freefall for a bit before taking his Purah Pad to simply teleport to Lookout Landing.

Teleporting was always an odd sensation, feeling weightless for a moment before feeling suddenly very heavy, then everything evened out as your vision cleared. Link blinked a little to get his eyes to refocus, squinting at the bright light streaming onto his face from the entrance of the skyview tower. 

The first thing he noticed was the sages, gathered and seemingly arguing about something. Other than being a little worse for wear, the sages all looked to be okay, which was a huge relief to Link as he approached. His presence caught the attention of Tulin who immediately shouted in relief.

“Guys he’s back!” The smaller Rito exclaimed, grabbing the attention of the others right quick. Each of the sages seemed to allow relief to flood onto their faces.

“Link my closest friend, we were worried that something had happened to you when you took so long to return, how are you?” Sidon asked with genuine concern as he approached Link, ready to help him as always.

The small Hylian waved off his friends worried fussing, smiling weakly at the Zora, really he just wanted to rest. But he knew that he owed them a report. Thankfully Mineru came to his rescue, her large mechanical form making its way over to him as she seemed to scan him for serious injuries.

“Let’s get you into the shelter and start taking care of some of those nasty bruises, you can tell us what happened there and then rest, you look like you need it.” Mineru spoke, though her form could not easily display emotion, there was obvious concern lacing her voice as she guided Link to the shelter so his injuries could be tended to.

As Sidon started to use his magic to heal the worst of his injuries, he finally realized just how sore he was. Link just wanted to rest and close his eyes, he was so tired. Still he waited until his arms were free to start signing his report, though he tried to go slow, he had to repeat himself a few times because the others would tell him he was going too fast. 

“I see, so after the fight and that big explosion we saw you spent some time with the Princess, that’s why you took a little longer to come back. No it’s fine, if I could spend time with her I’d do the same in your place.” Mineru comforted gently.

“Don’t worry Link, I know we will find a way to save the Princess!” Tulin butted in chipperly, giving his best supportive smile which Link returned with a slightly sadder one.

“Y-yah, and now that the Demon King is gone, we can put all our efforts into helping find a way to turn her back goro!” Yunobo added, giving a thumbs up.

“Indeed, we will give our every effort to saving Princess Zelda, I’m sure that it can be done!” Sidon said as he carefully worked his healing magic into Link’s sore shoulders. “Though I think we should be letting Link rest soon, these injuries are actually quite bad, you nearly dislocated both your shoulders.” Sidon added with concern as he continued to heal the smaller man.

Riju had been oddly quiet this entire time, seemingly deep in thought, but she gave Link a reassuring smile when they locked eyes as if to say he had her full support as well. Mineru finished writing down the info they needed, and once Sidon finished healing the worst of Link's injuries, the small swordsman was guided to take a much deserved hot bath and to rest.

Once Link had finished relaxing and washing the grime of battle from his skin, he found himself quickly succumbing to the calls of sleep, so without much fight, Link fell deep into sleep as soon as he lay down.

He hadn’t dreamed in so long that he forgot he could, and as he slept his mind turned to his own deepest fears. Stuck between the maws of the Demon Dragon again, except this time he heard a loud crunching sound as the monster bites down harder, starting to crush him with excruciating pain. Link screamed out in agony, trying in vain to worm his way free as his spine was shattered between massive fangs.

A sea of blood, and held in his left hand is a tangle of rust red hair, a mummified skull attached to the strands of crimson. Before him lay the light dragon, Zelda, yet something was horrifically wrong. The dragon seemed dead, lifeless and still, it’s maw wide open and eyes glossy. Yet in the mouth of the Light dragon was the corpse of his best friend, partly fused to the creature she had become with the Master Sword embedded in her chest. Zelda Looked up at him, smiling softly “Don’t cry, I’ll be back again” she spoke in an angelic soft voice as blood dripped down her head and from her mouth. Secret stones started to float to the surface of the lake of blood around them as Zelda became limp, tendrils of blood slithering up from the pool to writhe around him and cling to his body, trying to pull him under. 

“It’s your fault. You couldn’t save her, couldn’t protect her. You failed just like you always do” The mummified head spoke, piercing glowing eyes bore into him as he fell to his knees, blood lapping around him and trying to pull him under. He wanted to die, to just let himself drown in this ocean of sanguine. It was right after all, he did fail again to keep his best friend safe, and this guilt ate away at him.

Link woke up with a silent scream, no noise leaving him as he gasped for air, body drenched in sweat and trembling almost violently. Mineru had been passing by as she peaked her robotic head into the room, rushing over as she saw Link with tears falling down his face and hyperventilating.

It took nearly half an hour for Mineru to get Link calm enough for him to shakily sign out the word Nightmare, and by then he didn’t much feel like sleeping despite the exhaustion that gnawed at him. He thought he may never sleep again, anything to avoid another dream like that one. Link could swear he still felt the thick blood lapping against his body, racing shivers through his slender form which concerned Mineru.

“Link, are you sure it was just a Nightmare? You seem really shaken up for something as simple as a bad dream…” Mineru asked gently. When Link gave her a questioning look she made a noise like a sigh, “I think you had a Night Terror, it’s common in some children, but most adults tend to outgrow them… That being said, sufficient mental distress and trauma can cause them to happen…” She explained softly.

The small swordsman let out a shuddering sight, “I’m fine, it was just shocking… I’m going to warm some milk…” The Hylian signed, Mineru nodding and helping him stand, as his body was still aching.

“If you say so… but know I am always here for you if you need to talk, or sign” Mineru said, and if her robot could smile, he was sure she’d be wearing the most motherly, reassuring smile possible.

As Link warmed up some milk to drink, he decided to mention one other thing to Mineru, “I’ll be going to the castle tomorrow to grab some things, just a heads up” Link signed to the motherly woman, knowing that if he didn’t tell her about his plans, she’d fuss over him like a mother Cucco.

“Okay, thank you for telling me… now you should try to get some more sleep” Mineru said as she guided him back to bed, the small Hylian sipping on his warm milk as they walked. “Yah yah” he signed with one hand, smiling slightly at the robotic form of his friend.

Once he had finished his milk, Link reluctantly crawled back into bed and let exhaustion take over. This time he fell into a deep dreamless sleep.

[ravisurendra]

Soren snorted out a started laugh, rubbing a hand over his jaw, "That bad?" He joked, flicking his eyes briefly over the other's clean-shaved cheeks, "Don't you worry, I fought hard for this beast in my own right, I'm not about to give it up." Funny to think of Cassian fretting over such a human thing as a patchy beard. Funny to think about a dragon having to learn to shave too. He was still having a time of it, reconciling the truth of what the other man was with the... normalness of him. Soren reckoned for the first time with the idea that it might be easier for Cassian's kind to be human for much of their lives.

He was distracted from the menu a moment by Cassian's off-the-cuff reference to (hopefully) the very topic of their future discussion. Soren's brows quirked in obvious interest, questions already beginning to form in his mind even if it would be far too rude to start interrogating the man before they'd even gotten their appetizers. "I think sharing's the way to go, then," He confirmed with a bemused smile, tucking those questions away for later. Maybe Cassian was proving less and less intimidating by the moment, but Soren was still hardly about to be rude about their arrangement. "Get as much as you like. What doesn't go down the hatch tonight goes in the fridge for tomorrow."

He set his menu off to the side, already knowing his own order, giving the waiter a small nod as he leaned forward and propped his crossed arms up on the table. "You make a habit of eating out of a microwave?" Soren asked with a flicker of amusement, eyeing Cassian's fine clothes and thinking of the stacked degrees waiting to be hung in the other's office. "I thought I was past all that, but all it took was this move to bring instant noodles back into my life." Well, that and the absence of having a chef at his disposal here. Of all the things Soren missed from Mumbai (and they were fewer than he'd thought there'd be), that convenience ranked remarkably high.

"Please don't ever shave that luxurious animal off your face. Keep it for prosperity and the people like me who can't grow facial hair. Every time I try, it's patchy," Cassian replied with a bit of a warm chuckle. There were spots on his jaw that refused to grow hair and as a result, he never went more than a day or two without being clean shaven. Cassian with anything past two days' worth of facial hair usually meant he was in some kind of mope. Rare, but possible.

Cassian read the menu with interest as they were brought waters, their server coming and going like a trained ghost. He kept looking between Soren and the offerings, losing his place because he was excited, then starting over. He finally put his finger on the appetizer list and smiled.

"Oh well in that case, I'll just stuff myself silly with Thai food," he returned. He dragged a long fingers down the dishes and bit on his lower lip slightly with a hum. "I'm always ready to eat. I'll eat anything as long as it tastes good. I know there are harmful things in some ready to microwave foods but as a dragon, they don't affect me. It's the healing factor. Targets all the bad like an infection. What if I get an extra plate? Would you let me have some of yours? You can have some of mine."

It was his first off-hand confirmation to Soren of what kind of supernatural being that Cassian was. He was proud to be a dragon and he'd tell anybody who asked, really. As he continued to look over the menu, Cassian's eyes lit up and he whispered, mostly to himself, "What if I got chicken satay too?" As if it would be a guilty little treat.

[kagakuoniryu]

Hi! Can I request Venti and Zhongli and Moko ( if you write for her) hanging out with their s/o in their original form? I think it would be rather cute :3

Synopsis :

Venti zhongli and miko in their original form with their s/o

Characters :

Venti

Zhongli

Miko

Warning :

None

A/N :

It took me a few days to get back to writing, I must be overworked since I almost passed out yesterday, anyway enjoy these headcanons everyone! It was really fun to write! By the way I didn't knew if I should have done a giant dragon morax like his exuvia or a little noodle rex lapis like the plushie you can find as merch for genshin so I want with the noddle rex lapis since a giant dragon is harder to hang out with

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

Venti :

After signora took his gnosis venti got away from the church as far as possible, crashing at your place and not in a discreet or gracious way

You came to the living room being full of smoke, coughing a little you opened the window and wondered what was going on and how

Once most of the smoke was out of the way you found a little thing on your couch, little blue legs, a black face, a white body, a little wing and something blue on his head

You stared in confusion as the little one, not bigger than the palm of your hand, regained consciousness and started flying around to you, resting on your shoulder

Cautiously you asked it if he was venti, which he nodded and started cuddling to you

You giggled at that kissing the side of his head

It was almost night so you decided to go to sleep, venti resting peacefully on your chest

The next morning he wasn't back to normal, so you had no choice but to either let him home alone for the day or taking him with you

You definitely didn't trusted him to not commit arson whithout you to stop him so you put him in your pocket and started you day normally

And he was kinda helpful, instead of having to destroy hilichurls camp he talked to them and asked them to go somewhere else, which the hilichurls usually agreed to

When your commissions are over you would treat him an apple to help you

And he just straight up ate it in one bite

Causing him to look very happy but also made his tiny body way rounder with the apple

He was really something

It stayed like this a few more days until one morning he was back to normal and was babbling like never

You'll miss the calm and mute venti

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

zhongli :

You woke up in the middle or the bed you shared with your boyfriend but without the boyfriend in question whatsoever

Calling for him rather loudly from your room you saw something moving under the cover until a rather big lizard compared those you saw in liyue already comes out of it

You stayed dumbfounded but continued to call zhongli in order to show him the oversized thing on your bed

But with each call of the name the said lizard got closer and closer, almost yawning and patting your laps with his paws before trying to sleep there once again

You stroked his heads realizing that if zhongli isn't coming on his day off while you call him as if you're getting killed is that maybe

The noodle on your lap might be your husband

Calling once again zhongli, softer this time, the lezard looked in your direction

When you asked if it was him, he slowly nodded, you blinked many time, your hand abandoning your boyfriend's head to stroke his fur

His tail started to wag, happy of the attention he was having, but you were more curious about how he ended up lile this

The questions must have to wait though he seemed unable to talk

You had a few things to do outside in liyue harbor but each time you tried to walk out of the house zhongli seemed to get in the way, going as far as sitting on your shoes

Your only available option was to take him with you

Which was a terrible idea

As soon as yiu reached the places with all type of vendors selling their good he jumped out of your arm and runned probably attracted by a few shiny things further down the road

However it's not bathing in mora that you found him, he was instead in hu tao's hands, held by the collar, looking like he was on the verge of tears and being scolded

You told hu tao he was your pet and apologized, she said it was no big deal but a lizard that big roaming the streets were terrifying everyone

And since in that form he is a little bit chonky she also suggested you made him go on a diet

With these remarks in head zhongli stayed calm in your arm, cuddled against your chest while people cooed from time to time about how adorable he is

The next morning he was back to normal but still seemed under the weather, so it was natural for you to ask him what was wrong

"I wasn't a lizard, I was a dragon... A majestic dragon, and I don't need that diet"

Laughing was rude but also a very hard thing to not do

He is even more upset now

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

Miko :

It all started by jealousy

You just wanted to show miko the beautiful snow falling from the sky into the narukami island

And so you went on a walk

She followed you as you talked about a lot of thing, the disaster however started whenyou saw that cute fox plunging their head first into the snow

You knew miko was too proud to do that, even for your entertainment, so you observed from afar

But since your attention wasn't on her anymore your girlfriend also started to feel jealous

She tried talking, putting her cold hands in your clothes or proposing a lunch break but nothing worked

Finally she decided to turn into her fox form to get your attention

A little pink fox, not bigger than your head was now standing in front of you and pouting

For once miko put her pride aside to get to you

And she was adorable

You immediately forgot about the others foxes and picked her up to cuddle her to you

She didn't complained to finally having what she wanted and let you do your thing, a tiny smile on her tiny fox face

You got back home still with her in your arm and laid down in the couch

You put her on your stomach and when she asked you about it you told her she was the perfect heat patch

She decided to turn back human right there to teach you a lesson

And I hope for you you understood it

[starsfic]

Red Son explaining to his parents how he's gay for Mk and straight for Mei while they're both platonic towards each other

Calm Mornings

Red Son liked to think that mornings were calm things.

A servant, either a Bull Clone or an actual living being, would set the table for breakfast. They would all come to the table- Red first, followed by his father holding his mother- and eat together. Red would usually be working on a blueprint, his father working on his Mandarin reading lessons (he had gotten the hang of the new version of the language well, but characters had changed over the centuries), and his mother whatever business had cropped up. Not much conversation, but the time existing near each other was nice.

"Red Son."

At least, it was supposed to be.

Neither of his parents looked like they had slept all night. His mother looked furious, while his father looked like he had been dragged across the coals.

"...hello," he said. He wasn't sure why but he felt like he was in trouble. "What is-"

Princess Iron Fan slammed something down on the table. Red yelped and nearly fell over, barely managing to catch the edge. "Explain," she said, her voice frosty. Red, glancing between his parents, plucked up the photos.

They seemed to have been taken yesterday. Red had gone on a date with his Noodle Boy and Dragon Girl to a nearby cafe. The first picture was of Red, his arm slung over Long Xiaojiao’s shoulders and pressing a kiss to her temple as she and Qi Xiaotian talked. The next few pictures were like that until Xiaojiao left the table. The last picture looked crumbled, like his mother had scrunched it into a ball before smoothing it back out.

It was of Xiaotian leaning over the table, kissing Red.

He glanced up at his parents, still confused. “Well?” his mother snapped. Her red-painted nails were digging into the meat of her palm, face dark with fury. “Explain yourself.” She leaned forward, dark eyes pinning him to the spot. “I want to hear a good explanation of why you are cheating on your girlfriend.”

…wait.

Had he…

Red knew he had introduced Xiaojiao as his girlfriend to his parents. But he, Xiaotian, and Xiaojiao had sat down a few weeks later to talk about being poly because Noodle Boy had admitted to Dragon Girl that he liked Red. Had he ever told his parents that? According to the fury in his mother’s face, no.

“We’re poly.”

DBK spoke up as the anger snapped from his mother’s face. “What?” he said, sounding confused. Red sighed, feeling a headache already start to form as he prepared to explain.

Mornings were supposed to be calm.

[princen-monkie]

Purring Season (chapter 1 and 2)

A gift for @animemoonprincess because you are an amazing friend and this is one way for us to say thank you. Thank you.

This is a collab with @pink-aquaqualle

-> Read it on AO3

Summary: Macaque is in his Purring Season* and he doesn't like it. Wukong is confused.

*Purring Season= another name for depressive episode. Wukong and Macaque came up with that name when they were both really really young and didn't know what it is.

Chapter 1 (written by @pink-aquaqualle)

When Macaque woke up at noon he knew something was off. Usually when he wakes this late he would get up immediately and get ready for the rest of the day.

Right now though? 

Right now getting up was hard, sleep was too inviting. His blanket and pillows just felt too nice on his fur. They were too comfortable and spent warmth that made him feel less lonely in his dojo.

Wait! Lonely? 

Oh no. 

Macaque shot up, sitting up straight on his bed, suddenly wide awake. He knew what was up. How could he not. The dark furred monkey tiredly massaged the bridge of his nose and groaned. 

Great. Why now of all times?! He already had enough to do. And now in the face of his redemption arc, as the dragon girl called it, he still wanted to maintain his cool edgy image. 

The demon shoved his warm blanket to the side and stood up, letting himself fall through his shadow to get dressed and used his shadow portal to get to the noodle shop. 

Anything was better than staying in his big lonely dojo. Really. 

And he hated himself for thinking like this. He loved being alone. He loved his dojo. But his goddamn Purring Season just made him feel otherwise. 

Fucking hell. 

Oh well. Just get through it, Macaque. You got this. You always did. 

Once he stood in front of the noodle shop he looked up. His eyes automatically scanned the blue sky for one special cloud. And all his six ears twitched in an attempt to catch the sound of something swooping through the skies. He shook his head when he found nothing. 

Another sound, however, made him jump. The monkey looked at the source of the sound, and found an equally surprised Xiaotian standing in the door of the shop. The staff rested on his shoulder and he seemingly stopped midstep, the kid stumbled when he got over his surprise and awkwardly smiled at Macaque. 

"Oh hey, uh. If you came for me, my shift is over and I was on my way to Flower Fruit Mountain" the kid pointed his finger in the direction of the Monkey King's home. 

Macaque's name sakes perked up at that. If it was dark his freckles would light up more. An easy going smirk played on his mouth and gave him his usual expression. The demon crossed his arms. "Well, since I came for you I could just tag along" he commented and shape shifted into his bird form. "Making your training harder could not be wrong, right?" The now dark feathered bird chuckled while landing on the boy's shoulder. 

Xiaotian gave Macaque a confused look, but he didn't question it. "I suppose?" 

After the kid didn't say more, Macaque leaped into the air. The wind played around his mighty wings as they made their way to Flower Fruit Mountain. It felt nice. It felt freeing. He took some extra curves just to make that feeling last a few minutes longer. When he arrived at the Mountain's shore he could see the kid patiently waiting for him. Shifting back into his normal form in a puff of smoke he leaned his arm on Xiaotian's shoulder. 

"Good job, kid. Now, let's get started with a warm up" He said, and started forwards in a quick pace. Xiaotian quickly caught up with him and arrived at Wukong's little hut even before him.

At the sight of Wukong's hut Macaque felt giddy. The urge to hug the other monkey was strong, too strong, it was hard not to run into the hut and tackle hug him. To ease the feeling of something missing.

But he waited. And leaped right to the golden Monkey once he exited the hut, pulling him into a one sided hug. 

Oh, how much Macaque needed this! 

"Uh, okay?" Wukong sounded confused, "What are you doing here, Six Ear?"

Instead of answering, Macaque tightened his hug and rested his head against the other's shoulder. "He wanted to join today's training" the kid's voice piped up. 

"Alright." 

If Wukong noticed Macaque's tail curl around his, he didn't show it. And the shadow monkey was grateful. He hated his Purring Season, he hated being so clingy. He hated the random feeling of loneliness and melancholy. He couldn't change it though. 

During training he stayed as close to Wukong as possible, listen to all the instructions and watching the kid following them. It was quite interesting and distracting. 

After a few hours Wukong ended the training and sent Xiaotian home. Macaque, however, stayed. Tiredly he wrapped both arms around Wukong, resting his head at the crook of the golden monkey's neck. 

Wukong in response awkwardly wrapped his tail around Macaque's waist. "You know" he started as he carefully brought both of them to the ground to sit down. "You could have told me you'd join. I could have planned a training session with you in it." 

"Nah. I wanted to surprise you" The shadow demon murmured. 

"It was.. a nice surprise."

Macaque lifted his head to change his position. Once that was done he rested his head on Wukong's shoulder, his arm wrapped around the other's torso. Wukong himself rested his own head on Macaque's. Silently they sat there until the sun fully set. 

It went on like this for the next weeks. Whenever Macaque felt lonely he would join Xiaotian for his training and stay longer than the kid, or he would go to Flower Fruit Mountain on his own. 

Whenever he was there he would cuddle with Wukong. Pulling him in tight hugs. In the evenings they would sit under the tree next to the hut, resting his head on Wukong's shoulder or grooming the other. 

But soon it wasn't enough. He would start to hang out at the noodle shop daily. Wukong came by from time to time. And he would just hug the other. Sure, the other's gave them confused glances, and he could feel the Sage's concerned looks on him, but he didn't care. It just felt nice, and he needed it. 

Macaque could swear he heard the dragon girl mumble to Xiaotian that he probably had a crush on Wukong. 

The thought was in his mind for days, lingering there quietly. 

So one day, when in his loneliness he was on Flower Fruit Mountain again and he and Wukong sat at their usual spot, Macaque let his thoughts wander to Xiaojiao's words. 

Could it be a crush? 

The dark furred monkey looked down at the sleeping Wukong in his arms. 

He did know that he loved being with the sage. Hell, it was his wish to stay with him forever. But he couldn't picture them doing all the stuff they did now in a… romantic way. To Macaque that just felt wrong.

Just as wrong as saying that he was in love. He knew he wasn't. Sure, he loved Wukong. That was certain, but it wasn't being in love. 

It was confusing. 

As Macaque kept watching Wukong, he decided he could actually try to use the Purring Season for his own good. Slowly an idea formed in his mind. And once that idea was set, he was determined and confident to follow through it. 

The next day came, and Macaque shadow portalled to his favourite spot. Since he the nights would be cool he decided that bringing blankets and pillows would be good. So that's what he did. 

He carefully set everything under the big tree. It had the best view in the whole area. After hours of working, he stepped back and looked at his work. His hand twitched to the edge of the scarf at the thought of what he would do tonight.

While he nervously chewed on his scarf he wondered if he did the right thing.

//0\\//0\\//0\\//0\\

Chapter 2 (written by me)

Wukong couldn't help but wonder… and be concerned. Over the past couple of days, he's witnessed Macaque… acting weird, to put it lightly. 

Not that this is new, Macaque always acted weird if you asked the Monkey King, but this was a new kind of weird.

A weird kind of weird. 

Right now he sat on the roof of the noodle shop, a pack of peach chips by his side, watching the sunset and pondering. He really needed to get some space and time for himself right now.

But let's explain what happened. 

Macaque was clingy. He showed up on Flower Fruit Mountain fairly often and would randomly hug Wukong whenever.

Which was odd and usually indicated that the shadow demon was sick, but he definitely wasn't. Wukong had checked during one of the hugs Macaque had trapped him in. No fever. No coughs rattling his chest. No suspicious sniffles. Nothing.

Slowly shoving a peach chip in his mouth and crushing it between his teeth, Wukong thought about what else he noticed about the other. Surely there must be something. But nothing came to mind.

He chewed and watched the last rays of sunlight fade behind the wall of buildings when the shadows underneath him shifted.

Quickly getting up, the sage tried to scramble away but already found himself being trapped between black furred arms. He sighed. 

"Wukong!" The six eared Macaque mumbled. A deep rumble came from his chest. 

A nervous smile made its way on the trapped simian's face as he turned his gaze towards the other. "Hey, Six Ear!" He really tried to sound enthusiastic. 

But Macaque didn't even seem to notice. He just shifted his arms and let go of Wukong, wrapping his tail around his wrist instead. 

Questions formed in the king's mind but before he could ask any, he was yanked into a shadow portal. 

The world around him going black and cold, with swirls of purple appearing within his visions every now and then. The grip of the tail tightened. Almost as if afraid to lose him.

Jeez, he really hates shadow portalling. This always felt unsettling.

When he came out of the shadow again, the golden monkey found himself on a wide and open field, surrounded by trees. Only a tree appeared on the field here and there.

No traffic noises. No people chatting. No street lights. Not a single trace of light pollution. 

The only light came from the moon and stars above them. No clouds. 

Admittedly, Wukong wasn't sure he'd ever seen this place before. And he would have completely lost himself in the beauty right then and there if he wasn't pulled forwards by something wrapped tightly around his wrist.

Oh. Right. Macaque. 

Macaque's six ears glowed, just like his freckles as he walked towards a lonely tree on the field. The dark furred simian looked… relaxed and confident. But also lonely and anxious under the surface. The rumbling in his chest has quieted, too.

Wukong's tail twitched in confusion, concern and suspicion. "Uh, Macaque?" No response. "Six Ear?" 

Three pairs of ears twitched towards him, but Macaque gave no verbal response.

So Wukong just followed along, dumbfounded. Not like he had any other choice at the matter. 

Soon they reached a tree. And what Wukong hasn't seen before, pillows and blankets were arranged under said tree. Almost like a nest. Nice and comfortable. Petals and loose leaves carefully swayed down. Some landing on the nest. Some besides it.

The black tail let go of his wrist, and the immortal monkey watched the other settle down between the pillows, rearranging them a bit before grabbing the king by the clothes and pulling him down.

The Monkey King yelped and tumbled onto the pillows. He grumbled and glared at Macaque, but the shadow monkey didn't even notice it, too busy smacking a pillow until it was deemed comfortable enough by him.

Honestly, the pillow nest was comfortable and Wukong found himself relaxing, tension he didn't know he had left his muscles. His glare quickly faded. 

The golden simian looked around from where he sat, taking in his surroundings carefully. He really needs to remember this place for later.

"Wukong" Macaque spoke up so suddenly that he startled the golden furred monkey. The stone monkey's heart started racing and a tingling piped up in the pit of his stomach.

Two golden eyes, one of them blind and glamoured, were fixed on him. The rumbling in Macaque's chest was gone. His tail twitched nervously and -oh, Wukong hasn't seen him doing that in quite a while- the edge of Macaque's scarf was in his mouth.

Wukong stared at the other's nose while Macaque seemed to think over his words. 

At this point, the golden simian didn't know what to expect right here on this field under the stars, sitting between pillows and blankets next to his squish. 

(He only recently figured out that his feelings for the shadow monkey are queerplatonic and that you can call them squish)

But he knew with certainty that he was nervous. Scared even.

A dark furred paw carefully cradled his cheek, drawing the immortal out of his spiraling fear.

"Wukong" Macaque repeated and let the end of his scarf drop out of his mouth. He swallowed. Wukong hummed in response.

"We have known each other for centuries. We went through a lot and parted as enemies. We attempted to kill each other. And yet…" A shaky sigh. "Yet we are here. Alive. Not fighting. And I am so glad about it."

The paw on Wukong's cheek started shaking and dropped. His thoughts were racing a mile a minute. Anticipated what the six eared Macaque might say next. 

The shadow monkey smiled slightly, wobbly. "I always hoped we could be together like this again. And I want to spend the rest of my life with you. By my side."

Wukong was certain Six Ear could hear his heart pounding fast. Heck, the whole world might be able to hear it.

"I want to start each day with you. I want to smother you with hugs and affectionate teasing. But… I won't say I am in love with you. I…" 

The black simian abruptly stopped, his hands were trembling harder. The glow of his freckles flickered. His ears lowered and twitched. His black tail curled tightly around himself before he put the edge of the scarf in his mouth again.

'Okay' Wukong thought to himself as he watched Macaque curling up. Whatever has made the other act like this, he didn't know. Maybe he didn't even want to know. Heck, he didn't even know why Macaque was so clingy. 

But… taking in a deep breath, the king leaned forward and pressed his forehead against the other's, closing his eyes. He felt a shift and then a weight leaning in. 

The sage's voice was soft when he spoke. "I love you, Six Ear. I love you so much. What you said… I want this to happen too. I want… need you by my side. And while I may not want you as my mate, I feel like you are just as important to me."

A silence followed. It lingered in the air like the oxygen. Like the wind rustling their fur. 

The words hung quietly above them. Heavy. They threatened to crush Wukong as he started to regret it. Yet he remained frozen leaning against Macaque, waiting. Hoping he didn't mess up.

A deep rumble made itself heard. Warm arms flung around him and crushed him in a hug. 

And oh! Suddenly the old stone monkey realized that the rumbling was actually purring! It all added up. 

The clinginess. The pillow nest. The purring.

Wukong recalled that every few years Macaque would get all cuddly and clingy. They used to call it "the purring season".

A wet face pressed into his shoulder. "I love you too, dumb Wukong." Macaque mumbled those words, wet with those tears of relieve spilling from his eyes. They were muffled against Wukong's shoulder, but he understood them just fine.

A chuckle left his mouth before he reciprocated the hug, one hand gently scratching behind 3 of 6 ears. The glowing of Macaque's freckles picked up a notch. And so did the purring.

A rumble left Wukong's chest as well.

It truly was purring season. 

And two purring monkey demons sat on an empty field surrounded by trees under the starry sky between blankets and pillows, clinging onto each other with nothing but love and affection. 

[angstandhappiness]

LMAO YES

jttw au where bai longma just looks like one of these things

[elianaroselight]

@winterpower98 You said it wasn't a bad thing to want to write this. Do you still believe that now?

It was a calm and quiet day. Bai He was spending time with her friends, well cousins at this point. She needed time to feel young and forget about everything she has been dealing with as of late. They had just came from the arcade where Bai He had beaten MK and Mei at Monkey Mech. It took Red joining it to actually beat her at it. It was surprising, but then again, she is Ba's daughter. They were now headed towards a ice cream parlor to eat some well deserved treats. Mei looks over at Bai He after laughing at a joke MK had made.

"So Bai. How has your training been going? You haven't updated us on it." Bai He pauses, thinking to when she had last told them. About a week or so ago. So, yep! Time for an update. "It has been going well. I've been able to switch back much easier and last about 4 minutes before having to revert to my human form. Wanna see?" She grins excitedly. Mei and MK nods excited as well and watch closely as she stops and starts to focus.

Unknown to the group was another nearby group, only of rough demons. They were peeking from on top of a nearby roof at the kids. They couldn't hear what was being said, but that didn't matter. "See? There she is, boss. That bone demon's girly. Should we go grab her?" said a demon to one particular gruff looking demon. The leader shakes his head. "let's wait for an opening. Be ready." the others nod and watches the kids carefully.

As they do, they witness Bai He transform into a gibbon monkie. The first demon gasps. "sir! It's her! The gibbon girl we had kidnapped a while back. The one whose parents we just learned are Sun Wukong's generals!" most of the others murmur amongst themselves. The leader looks at the scout. "are you sure of this?" The demon nods. "I'd recognize her from anywhere. Sir, we can't let her tell her parents we were the ones who took her. They would surely kill us if they learned of it!" The leader takes into consideration the scout's words. "I believe you might be right. Men, get ready. We have a girl to kill." The group nods.

Back with MK and Co, Bai He pants slightly, a big grin on her face. MK and Mei looked amazed and were talking at once about her look. Red was watching the two with an amused smirk. The dragon girl and monkie boy stepped back after fawning over Bai He to allow her to switch back. Before Bai He could start, MK noticed a shadow over them growing larger. He calls out Bai He's name, but before being able to move, Red had already acted. He jumped and tackled Bai He out of the way in time for a large axe to impale the ground where she had once stood. Four more demons landed around the group. MK and Mei pulled out their weapons and prepared for a fight.

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

A mile away in Pigsy's shop, a group of monies were chatting and laughing with the chef, a scholar and a river demon. They had decided to come enjoy a bowl of Noodle and connect for with the other 3. Ba and Sandy were chatting away, Ba petting Mo in her lap. Beng, Wukong and Tang were laughing about funny stories of the past, leaving Mac and Pigsy to have idle chit chat about cooking. A sound catches Macaque's attention and be turns away to focus on it. His ears unfurl for better control, catching the attention of Wukong, Ba and Sandy.

After a moment, the Shadow monkie uruptly stands, looking concerned. Wukong furrows his brows, worried. "Mango? What's wrong?" Beng and Tang stop talking at that. Macaque meets his mate's eyes and after hearing a a certain young girl chirping for help, he says five words. "Bai He is being attacked." This causes all the monkies to stand and run out, following Macaque as he leads them to the fight.

As they near, all four of them stop from hearing a voice. One that the gibbons recognized immediately causing them to look at each other. "Give us the girl! We need to kill her! Her parents can't know we were the ones who took her!" All the monkies looked shackled and furious. But the looks of fury on Macaque's and Wukong's faces were nothing compared to the feelings Ba and Beng had in that moment. They now understood what had happened to their baby girl. And they were pissed. Beng nods towards his wife before they took off again, only faster this time as their anger fueled their running. Wukong and Macaque follow behind, knowing they needed to get their kids out of there quickly.

When they arrived, Ba and Macaque kicked at two of the demons holding MK and Mei in a weapons lock. Wukong stopped behind MK and reached up with his hand to stop an axe that was swinging down at the kid. Beng ran over to Red who had been trying to protect his daughter. "Thanks kid. I'll take it from here. Grab your friends and get back to Pigsy's." Red nods, grabbing at a gash he had received on his shoulder and runs off, allowing Beng to pull his trembling daughter close. She wore an expression of pure shock and fear, her pale gibbon face seemingly even paler than ever as she quietly chirps out her fear and distress. Her eyes held a haunted look in them and she hadn't realized her Baba was now holding her. She wasn't mentally there.

Beng hears Wukong and Macaque gather up their kids and book it back towards Pigsy's and hears Ba growls grow in intensity. Beng looks over at his wife and gives one chirp of affirmation to her before gathering up his daughter and running off. Beng stops at a nearby park and sits on a bench once he makes sure there were no demons nearby. He sets his daughter in his lap and holds her close, chirping back reassuringly as he runs his finger through her dark sapphire blue fur.

Slowly, Bai He comes back to the present moment, the flash images from the night of her disappearance fading from her mind's eye. Her chirps of distress grow in intensity as her mind comes to terms with the reality of her past. Beng nuzzles her and coos comfortingly. Bai looks up at her Baba as she registers his coos, tears pricking her eyes. It takes about 10-15 minutes for her to really start to calm down from her panic and that's when she feels the burning sensation hit her like a train at full speed. She let's out an agonizing painfilled scream.

Nearby, Ba perks up at the scream, panting softly. She had just finished demolishing the offending demons and was taking a moment to catch her breath. As soon as she hears the scream, she takes of running towards it. Her motherly instincts flaring up to protect her baby. When she arrived, Ba could feel her heart being cut to pieces. Her daughter was clinging to her husband, crying heavily from what was no doubt a lot of pain. It made sense. Bai He wasn't able to hold her gibbon form for long from intense pain and here it has been almost 20 minutes where she has remained as a gibbon. With the adrenaline wearing off, the pain flowed in quickly.

Ba hated to see the pained expression on her daughter's face. She could almost feel it radiating off Bai He. Beng was quietly murmuring to his baby girl, reminding her that everything will be okay. That she needs to revert back to a human form and that she was still loved and beautiful no matter the form she was in. Before Ba could take another step forward, she watches and Bai He let's go and transforms back to her human form. Beng holds his precious baby close, purring and cooing as Bai He clings to her baba, sobbing from the pain and the fear that clings to her. Ba moves forward, careful to not let any blood from her wounds fall onto them as she hugs her little family. Beng looks up at his wife, tear threatening to spill from his beautiful blue eyes and Ba leans in to nuzzle him. She begins to purr, joining in with his as they comfort each other and their daughter. After minute or two, Ba opens and starts to sing softly to Bai He.

"Baby mine, don't you cry.

Baby mine, dry your eyes.

Rest your head close to my heart Never to part, baby of mine

Little one, when you play Don't you mind what they say

Let your eyes sparkle and shine Never a tear, baby of mine

If they knew all about you They'd end up loving you, too

All those same people who scold you

What they'd give just for the right to hold you

From your head to your toes You're not much, heaven knows

But you're so precious to me Sweet as can be, baby of mine

Oh, baby of mine. "

Beng smiles, listening and looks at their daughter. Bai He had calmed greatly once she heard her mama start to sing and was looking up at Ba with tears and stars in her eyes. Ba smiles and nuzzles her baby, kissing away the tears. "They will never take you from us again. You are safe, I promise, sweet pea." Bai He smiles and nods slightly while nuzzling back.

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That evening, Ba was siting on her bed. She had just finished dressing for bed and was checking over her bandages to make sure they were securely on. Beng had stepped away to get a drink so Ba was alone. She finishes checking over the bandage covering a gash on her forearm when she hears a soft noise from behind her, in the doorway. She turns to see Bai He standing there in her nightgown and looking shy, nervous and scared. She rubs one of her arms, looking down and only flicking her eyes up every so often before looking away.

"U-Um... Mama.. I'm... I don't feel comfortable sleeping into my room after today.. May.... May I sleep in here with you and baba? At least tonight?" She voice holds a soft pleading tone in it as her eyes tear up slightly from the overwhelming fear of being told no. She didnt want to have to figure out how to sleep when she was terrified of being kidnapped again.

Ba feels her heart clench at the sight, understanding what was going on inside her daughter's mind. She stands and walks over, watching as Bai He ducks her head down lower. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked. I'll just go..." Bai He whispers softly, on the verge of breaking down into tears again as begins to tremble more. She was tired of being so scared and tired of not being able to sleep. She just wanted one night where she felt safe and loved.

She is snapped out of her spiraling thoughts by her mother's arms wrapping around her. A tears slips down her face as she listens to the her mother's soft spoken words. "Bai He, you are always welcome to come sleep in here. You are always welcomed in here and always welcome to ask. We are always here for you, my precious lily." Ba kisses Bai He's head softly and feels her daughter begin to cry again. After she calms down a minute later, too exhausted to continue crying, Ba leads her daughter to the bed. They both climb in and Ba holds her baby girl close. She begins to sing the lullaby again, Bai He immediately relaxing and soon was peacefully asleep. Ba yawns and smiles softly as sleep overtakes her as well.

Beng walking in a minute later and stops to take in the beauty of the scene before him. His girls were cuddled close to one another, purring contently. It was a scene he had long thought he would never bear witness to ever again. He was grateful to have his family reunited, even if things were different.

[fabricated-misslieness]

𝕭𝖑𝖚𝖗𝖗𝖊𝖉 𝕷𝖎𝖓𝖊𝖘 Chapter 16: Captive of my own Heart

Hero Kaeya x Villain male reader

Summary: Half a night. That was all the time you had before it was time to strike. So you choose to spend it together, while your future is still unknown.

Word Count: 5,122

Warnings: swearing, insincere name calling (but also sincere petnames) kissing

Mayb’s notes: describing outfits like it's wattpad but i like to imagine outfits. gramatical note: the proper adjective for a citizen of the Kingdom of Life is "Living".

Dressing the two of you up to the nines was an absolutely unnecessary thing, but Kaeya thought it would be fun; you certainly deserved a bit of fun, anyway. Life had made things extremely trivial for the two of you. If you had a chance to distract yourselves, he would take it, and that very chance was now.

His hair was always a bit of a bother to him. It's why he kept it in a ponytail. This was a special occasion, though. Why not change it up? He pushes his hair to the back and undoes the tie.

Kaeya frowned towards the mirror. He looked good, he knew that, but his hair was still a bother. It was... there. He was completely aware of it. He sighs and puts it back up, but in the inattentive movement, many locks fall out of the bunch. He notices this once he stares again into the mirror. The locks were many, but they were still light. He wasn't aware of their presence against his skin, yet they still flowed as though his hair was down. This would do.

He stares over at the garment splayed over his bed. Curse his love for blue and intricate designs... they were expensive, but they were pretty. That was important.

The first layer of his outfit was pretty much fishnets, but for his chest. They had the design of flowers and leaves sprouting from the sides, scarce in the middle. The second was a blouse. It was a translucent blue, the hems were a velvet dark lapis, and nearing the hems and decorating the sleeves were golden details. It left his chest exposed so that the fishnets' design could be admired. The sleeves were puffy. Over the top of that, he wore a shawl. It sat atop his shoulders and a little over the sides, flowing all the way down below his knees. It was stitched at the sides with armholes and open at the front; the first two thirds were dark blue, then light blue at the bottom. The dark blue was decorated with snowflakes, detailed in gold. The collar was wrapped in white fur. His pants were simple, dark blue, and form fitting.

He stares at himself in the mirror one last time. He looked good. He can already imagine your face when you see him. It'll be amusing, that's for sure.

Oh, one last thing. He almost forgot.

He slides the head chain over his hair. It reminded him of... his mother. It always glowed under the sun, nearly blinded him, and it was the only thing he remember about her. Would she be proud?

He shakes his head and heads out.

The parade below was loud. You leaned against the balcony of your room, watching over it as you waited for Kaeya.

Its drums were loud against your ears, cymbals repetitive. They hurt your ears a little, but such were parades. An announcer at the beginning of the line would shout, "To your former life!" Clearly regarding the life most civilians lead in another kingdom prior to living here. The floats were themed around one of the Seven Kingdoms.

Mondstadt had four floats, each one one of the Four Winds. Liyue had one that resembled Rex Lapis's dragon form. It was different from Mondstadt's sort of dragon, rather noodle-y you think. Inazuma's was a fox, a pink kitsune with nine tails. So on so forth.

The parade was like any other, full of celebrating people cheering their hearts out. Maybe it was a little disappointing to see after expecting something more disturbing. It was cruel of you, though. The monarch of a kingdom didn't directly reflect on their citizens, after all.

You just barely register Kaeya out of your peripheral leaning against the railing. "Hmm.." He hums inquisitively. "Are you enjoying the parade?"

"Sure." It didn't serve for much except a view. "It's... normal."

"Normal?" He chuckles, "That's it?"

"It hardly stands out from any other, I mean. Parades are parades." Speaking of, it was like the plague's name. "Is it weird of me to have expected something else?"

"How so?"

"Something weirder, harsher." You shrug, "The plague isn't called the Blood Parade for nothing."

"I suppose not, actually. I didn't think of that." He pauses for a second, thinking it over. "Well, it's like you said. It's a regular parade. The oddest thing about it is that it doesn't celebrate the monarchs, you know? Nevermind that, our plan is already made up. We should head inside."

"Why?"

"The cymbals hurt your ears." He replies plainly.

"You remembered." You smile. You muttered the complaint under your breath at a Mondstadt parade around a decade ago; it was a touching surprise that he remembered.

"Of course."

He grabs your arm and pulls you inside. The balcony was hardly one and a half feet long, so the effort and time were short. He heads further in while you shut the doors, muffling the incessant drumming and bells from outside.

When you turn to him, finally, your jaw drops like a hinge. Kaeya seems incredibly amused about it, not that you're paying much attention to that.

He was beautiful. Well, he always was, but the outfit added onto that. It caught your eye and held onto your attention. The gold accents were a wonderful compliment to him; they gave him the sense of luxury he deserved. The fur on his collar reminded you of royalty. His translucent blouse and exposed chest gave off an air of confidence he wore with pride. In short, you couldn't take your eyes off him.

His lips move. They catch your attention.

You gulp, barely registering your shocked expression. The embarrassment of getting caught staring was just starting to set in your mind. What did he just say? "Wh-What?"

He enunciates his words slowly, closing the gap between you two just as slow. His heels click against the creaky wooden floor. "Cat got your tongue?"

The shame sets in, but it doesn't exactly affect you. You don't have a response for his question anyway. He knows this too, and he laughs at it.

He hooks a finger between your collar and your neck. The collar was tight, hardly allowed enough wiggle room for a finger. His finger presses against your Adam's apple, only faltering when your gulp brings it up as he pulls you forward.

His head tilts downward. His mesmerizing blue eye watches you intensely.

You don't know what to say, except "You're breathtaking."

He smiles devilishly, letting go of your collar and leaving you to stumble clumsily forward. "You're not so bad yourself."

You were wearing a color you would hardly choose. When it was dark, it tended to be rather dull and ugly, and if it wasn't dark it would make you stand out. Still, Kaeya chose a wonderful shade, and you had to match with him, of course. If you were to be frank, it wasn't really good on you. It'd be a lot prettier, you think, on Kaeya.

The front of your blouse looked like the back window of a women's dress. It was chosen to accentuate the golden plate, the fake Eatening spot you'd chosen, on your chest. It didn't help that the plate was in the shape of a heart. It had a pattern in gold of birds, leaves and hearts. It was silly, but fitting, and Kaeya had joked that if there was a skull design, he'd have chosen it. Over the top you wore a blazer of matching color; it was meant to be worn over the shoulders, oversized, emphasizingly broad. The inside was a lighter color, subtly patterned with stripes. The outside was simple, without design. Your pants were a dark color so as to not draw attention away from the main attraction.

"I'm not so sure, compared to you."

"Oh?" He chuckles, "Flattery will get you nowhere, pretty boy."

The two of you had synonymously chosen to come to the masquerade a little late. Security would mostly be concentrated on one area, the entrance, as the masquerade began. You just had to make sure that you wouldn't be seen as suspicious. Besides, guards wouldn't settle into their posts or patrol until most people were inside, so you couldn't figure those out just yet.

Tactical reasons aside, you put on your masks.

His mask covered the left side of his face in order to show off his golden eyepatch, though it ended right below the apple of his cheeks. Yours was fairly standard, covering the skin around your eyes and nose, ending mid-cheek. They matched your outfits, of course.

"Are you ready?"

You take a deep breath, clapping your hands a few times. This'll be a quick and easy in and out. You'd done less ethical and much harder things before. Still, you can't help but feel nervous. You still hadn't quite come to terms with the morality of the situation, nor was killing always easy. Regardless, there were no more preparations to make. It was now or never.

You tuck a strand of hair behind your ear, eyes trained on the open castle doors. "Yeah."

"Hey," He calls for your attention; it wasn't hard to get. Your gaze drifts over to him. "let's celebrate this," He takes that shorter strand of hair and brings it out, "tonight. It's a symbol of us, after all."

Tucking that thing behind your ear had become a subconscious habit. You'd kept it regardless, proving that it remind you of him. You nod your head, "Okay."

The hallway leading to the ballroom was left unguarded, though perhaps that meant there were guards within branching rooms. The ballroom itself was huge. The ceiling was–whaddya know?–painted with the twelve images of history projected by the clock tower. The floor tiles were a golden marble, its cracks silver. The room was crowded, of course; the castle wasn't as big as the King of Mondstadt's and this was the majority of the people of Life. Though, perhaps if the entire castle was used, the entirety of Life could fit somewhat comfortably.

There were four entrances to the ballroom in total, all except the civilian entrance were guarded. If you were to guess, the doors opposite you led to the King's chambers. It was furthest from the civilian entrance and deepest into the castle. The door on the left would probably lead toward the garden, which you could see from outside the castle; and, from your peripheral, you could spot several servants carrying dishes to refill the open banquet coming from the right door.

The people of Life were enjoying themselves. Their smiles were genuine and wide. Their eyes held a joy you could spot, even without the crinkle of an eye. They were all dressed extravagantly... though none were quite as breathtaking as him.

Anywauly, how could you scout ahead? How about... invisibility? It was under one of your most experienced magics, Illusions, but it lasted only about an hour with concentration. If focus were to slip, you would be exposed, and you had to be quick. You could disguise yourself as another guard instead, that you could do for three hours. It was enough time to scout ahead, reconvene and plan, then strike with invisibility. Disguising was exceptionally hard to do for two people at the same time, though. You could do it on your own, then, reconvene with Kaeya later. You're just not sure he'll agree.

You begin to move into the crowd to focus on a guard, memorize their uniform, until Kaeya stops you with a hand.

His face, at first, is passive, but as he pulls you back from the crowd it turns rather sheepish, uncharacteristic of him. You quirk your head to the side inquisitively, which only seems to deepen his growing shame. "Can we..." He bites his lip.

"Can we..?"

"Can we stay here, for a while longer? Have our fun?" He meets your gaze, his eye hopeful. "The night is still young."

You could never say no. How could you? The pressing matters of "saving the world" dig at your consciousness, but he was right. A part of you knew that your agreeance was only due to indulgence, but all of you wanted to stay with him.

"Of course we can." You pull him closer with your intertwined hands, which catches him off guard. He stumbles forward, into your arms, but the accident is welcome. "Just have to remember the bigger picture, right?"

He nods, breathing a sigh of relief. The shame on his face is replaced with a gorgeous smile. He pulls away from your touch, only leaving enough space between you two to bow extravagantly. He extends his hand, "Then, shall we dance, monsieur?"

You snicker, "Dance, we shall."

The King was serious when he said he needed to have the perfect musicians. In the corner of the room, on a cramped stage, the musicians played. They were an orchestra and they all seemed to be Living people. From the few peeks when the crowd parted just enough, you could see that some of them even had finger prosthetics. It was admirable, to continue one's job after such a tragedy.

Their current song was a waltz, it sounded Snezhnayan. You certainly didn't know its accompanying dance, so you followed along with the couples around you.

Maybe it was that you had to glance at other people, or simply a skill issue, but the both of you discovered quickly that you had two left feet. Your actual left ankle, in particular, was stumbling all over the place like everything was its business.

"Gods, you're terrible at this. " Kaeya snickers.

"Well, I'm sorry the last ball I attended was twelve years ago! Oh my Gods, that's hard to say, I'm old." You manage to spin him successfully in accordance with the complex sequence of notes in the waltz, which is much of a surprise for the two of you. As Kaeya spins back into your arms, the back of his soft shawl pressing against your golden heart, the both of you laugh.

"That was good!" He exclaims.

"See?" You chuckle again, "I'm getting the hang of it."

The next part of the waltz was simple. It was a sway, holding the same pose resulted from the spin. Kaeya takes the opportunity to steal a look at you. You hold his gaze like a challenge, one eyebrow raised as if asking him just what he was looking at. Though the mask covers your eyebrows, he seems to know the look. He sticks his tongue out at you. Before you can taunt him, the next move pushes him out of your embrace.

The focus on your face is pretty funny, Kaeya thinks. He didn't know the dance either, but he was most certainly better at coordination than you.

When you glance back from the other couples, his eye is already on you. You're not sure just how you'd managed to save yourself from another mesmerized trance from admiring him until now, but you're not exactly thinking about it. He winks. Despite the eyepatch, you can tell by the dopey lift of the right corner of his lips.

The next move has him spinning again, but it also involves you spinning. Either you trip on your own pants, or slip on the golden tiles, or the Gods fucking will it to happen, but you're on your ass on the floor and because of your intertwined hands, so is Kaeya.

"Ow," It didn't hurt much at all, but Kaeya still lets out the noise just to tell you it's your fault. The spite doesn't last long at all as he laughs. "fucking bastard!"

You click your tongue at him, "Tone it down, darling."

""Darling", my hurting ass." He says crudely with the roll of his eye. He accepts your help in standing up anyway.

"Oh, but you're having fun, aren't you?"

"Don't tell me you find hurting yourself fun." (The answer is yes.)

The dancing was fun, elating, though you'd probably wake up with more than one bruise tomorrow. Kaeya was a man fond of heels, and if he were to have gotten a pair for you, one might've gone clean through your foot at some point. He probably had the apprehension to think so too. After all, you were less graceful than he was.

The next couple of songs are also Snezhnayan... or are they Fontainish? It really didn't matter. All the two of you were focusing on was each other. Sure enough, if that was something you realized, you'd turn flustered and bashful, but it was true.

On your part, he was absolutely beautiful. It's something you'd never be able to get tired of saying. Kaeya was beautiful. It was also something more than his breathtaking looks, something Kaeya thought too.

That thought, though, went unexplored.

Instead, you focused on the banquet. There was a desserts section and a dinner section, with a small accompanying dining area that was already completely occupied. Regardless of whether you were sitting or not, the food was exquisite. The royal chefs were obviously hard at work. If Diluc's expensive vocabulary was around, he would call it divine.

Faster than the food's wonderful taste, you discovered the alcoholic drinks. The wine may have been beautifully aged, deserving of more than a sip or two, but Kaeya believed himself a man of restraint. The "bigger picture" loomed just over his shoulders.

It gave him a bit of confidence, though, enough confidence to pull you over to the dance floor again.

"May I lead this time?" He asks.

"I think you'll do a better job than me," Which wasn't all that hard, "so yes."

As it turned out, Kaeya was a spectacular lead. You were a not so spectacular dancer regardless of which role you were assigned, but under his initiative, you seemed to do better.

He knew it and he was smug about it. "You should let me lead all the time. Or does it hurt your masculinity?"

You huff and shake your head, which makes your hair rub roughly against his face. He thinks it was on purpose. "My masculinity is fine, thank you very much."

The next song that comes up is somewhat familiar. You can tell he recognizes it too, as you both perk up. It was the sort of thing you'd heard and seen Eula dance to various times—it was even played by more than one guitarist, an instrument significantly absent tonight. The young Captain Eula sometimes forced you to dance with her, pertaining to her good mood. (You were one of her favorite subordinates, but she wouldn't admit she had favorites.)

You'd last seen Eula dance over a decade ago as well, though you still remembered her dance clearly. The two of you fall into a routine that absolutely none of the other couples dance too, but you don't pay that any mind. You were performing Eula's dance for all to see. It takes two to tango!

"You think there's any Lawrence clan folk here?" Kaeya whispers to you, as though the very thought is naughty. Their clan was almost as taboo as Necromancy.

"Escaping their lineage?" You snicker, "Gotta be."

Miraculously, you stumble over your feet less. The dance was incredibly complex, but the striking character of Eula stuck in your mind. That, and Kaeya was fond of teasing her.

As if giving the struggling couples a break after the tiring Lawrence signature, the next song is slow. It can't have more than three steps. It was an embrace, a sway, following a side to side movement, then a very rare spin.

It gives you all the time in the world to admire each other.

The gold accents of his garments glow under the chandelier's candle light. It makes them look like sweet honey. His eye glows too. Its blue hue now shines gold in the middle, like his eye was gazing upon a marvelous treasure.

His lips... his lips? They looked the same as always, yet... they did something. They enticed you.

The music called for a spin. His shawl spins with his body, mesmerizingly and like a tornado, giving you a feeling even more dizzying than a dopey love. The moment his body meets yours again, he takes a sharp inhale, like he was glad to be with you again.

He wraps his arms around your neck. It wasn't what the dance called for. His cold fingers play with the hairs on the back of it. The fiddling sprouted pleasure that shot through your nerves and called for more.

Your arms, hooked around his waist, pull him impossibly closer. His supple lips part with a small, barely audible gasp.

"Hey... the gardens have to be available to the public, right? Do you wanna see them?"

He nods.

The past few weeks were more than enough proof that there was something more than just an odd friendship between you two; and though you weren't sure if you wanted to admit it, you were in love all over again. Kaeya was just like that, irresistible, and you knew he felt something for you too. But fear sprouted from the veins of your misplaced heart, and it was hardly irrational.

Kaeya would lose everything to be with you. He was willing to do so many years ago, and it'd be much worse now. It would make his bounty poster list so many things worse than desertion. You didn't want that for him.

Despite your wishes, he had made it exeedingly clear that he would stick with you. Hell, because you ignored it, he felt the need to show you he was strong, and you know how that ended up.

And then... what if you left again?

"It's nothing like I imagined." Kaeya leans his middle against the railing of the slightly elevated landing before the garden. "I thought it'd be more like the Garden of Tears."

The castle garden was nothing short of luxurious, but compared to the Garden of Tears, it was a lot less magical. There certainly didn't seem to be a color restriction. You could spot a couple pink lotuses on the pond by the corner. Was pink an insult to the King? It was a lesser version of his "power".

Anyway, the garden lacked illumination, aside from the fireflies that actually seemed natural, though they only lingered by the pond. The rest of the garden depended on the sun and the moon. She was radiant tonight, the moon. Her rays were bright.

You offer Kaeya a hand. He barely has to think before he grabs it.

Together, you walk down the path to the octagonal gazebo. It was an intersection, it seemed, for many other paths in the garden. It was also the center, so it was a perfect area for viewing.

When you reach it, for a moment, you simply admire the garden. It was ordinary, in a weird kingdom such as Life. It wasn't trying to match, it wasn't trying to be pretty all in all. Individually, each flower, each bush sheared attentively to a shape, each tree that grew healthy, they were all unique in their own ways. Together, unintentionally, they formed the perfect landscape for paintings.

Or, alternatively, a scene in your life.

Kaeya leans against the railing of the gazebo. He takes one sweeping look at his side of the garden before fixating on the moon.

You bring an arm around his waist, the other leaning against the railing, intent on simply spending a quiet moment with him. He had other plans, though. He turns to you fully, urging you to do the same.

"Once we get back home," the beginning already assumes a lot of things, success in your mission, that you might even share a home at all, but it was a kind of optimistic view you would accept. "I'm teaching you how to waltz."

"Hmm," The humming makes him curious, "why not right here?"

At that, he perks up. He hadn't thought about that. It was a brilliant idea.

He grins, taking your hand and pulling you towards the center of the gazebo. The tiles were rough, he tests them by dragging the tip of his shoe against them. They had good traction for your horrible feet.

"So, take my hand, and then put another on my waist." The original placement before, at the ballroom, was swift; it came from a previous knowledge, but for him to guide you like this made it even more intimate as things were much slower. "Good." He praises.

"Beginner level stuff, no?" You snicker, going into a basic, looping four step movement. "Why the need for praise?"

"Perhaps I simply wanted to praise you." He inclines his head to the side, raising an eyebrow. "Is that so wrong?"

"No," You shake your head, another amused laugh spilling from your lips, "I suppose not."

Kaeya thinks your current positions are much too celibate, so he pulls you closer. It is an act done so swiftly and without warning, that it almost seems as though he's trying to hide it. You don't say anything about it anyway.

"How about we try a spin?"

His gaze digs into yours. His smile is small, and his eye is half-lidded, and you're only paying attention to how the small amount of moonlight that can reach the inside of the gazebo is lighting him up perfectly and making his blue iris glow that you're not paying attention entirely.

"(y/n)?" He calls your name again. He can clearly see the sheep's eyes you're making at him and it's rather amusing. "Spin me."

Instead of a spin, you pull something else, a move that barely lasts a couple of seconds in the ballroom. You dip him. Kaeya doesn't stumble—he's far more graceful than you, even when unprepared.

His face does show the effects of shock though. "That wasn't a spin." Is all he can muster. Though his eye had grown wide and his eyebrows raised, they soon ease up.

All he can think about is how close you are to each other.

You bring him back up, and the proximity between you two stays unchanging. Your hands haven't moved either, they stay around his waist. His, on the other hand, remain somewhat confused and scared.

Kaeya's eye was half-lidded, preparing, but his hands were still hesitating. The fingers twitched, reaching out then drawing back within moments. They expressed fear, yet his eye expressed yearning. He was afraid, and so were you.

But the time for fear was over.

"Can I..." You begin, hesitating too. His eye lights up, as if showing he's brimming with anticipation. "kiss you?"

He doesn't think before the answer is spilling from his lips, "Yes."

He leans forward, you lean forward, it's much too slow but he can do nothing to change that. And just when your lips are about to meet, something else does.

The mask around your nose clangs against his own, and it sends the both of you reeling back.

"Fuck.." Kaeya seethes, bringing his mask up and off his head in an instant. Silently, he's cursing the mask. Vocally, he's laughing. That moment was so unnecessary.

You're doing the same thing, pulling it off your head and laughing. You were so tunnel-visioned on his lips, you'd forgotten everything else.

Kaeya's hands finally settle on your collar, holding it by each side. "Let's try that again, shall we?" He doesn't give you time to answer before he tugs you forward, bringing your lips to his.

His head is sent reeling again, but in a different way. This time, it's his mind. His only regret, only one, is that he hadn't done this sooner. Over the last couple days, fear had eaten away at him; and before that, it was the renewed forming of your bond or the mending of trust, but he'd wanted the same thing each and every time: to love you, without worrying about the consequences.

You pull back, but he pulls you back in, though the force is much appreciated as you'd already gotten the necessary air. He would tease you later, telling you to breathe while you kissed, and you would say he was much too breathtaking for that to be possible. The kiss lulled only for a moment.

His fear was that you'd leave him again. You had come so threateningly close to it, after all; but you had come back for him in the end. Would you leave him again, though? And would you come back for him a second time? Your record wasn't exactly pristine.

His arms solidify around your neck, as if to make it so that this time, you wouldn't leave him.

Not again.

Kaeya is incredibly warm against you, funny for a cryomancer. He's like putty in your hold. You pull him closer with your arms around his waist, and he parts his lips into the kiss with a gasp, a reaction you take advantage of.

That thought, unexplored from earlier, comes back to you. You were in love. You hadn't seen each other in over a lustrum, yet the love you shared never truly faltered. Seeing each other again, it reignited that spark.

You were in love with Kaeya and he was in love with you.

Kaeya pulled you back towards the ballroom, ecstatic at the thought of dancing again. The short, interrupted lesson, to him, had been incredibly succesful. He was excited to test it out.

He nothing less than tugged you along by the hand, threatening to pull your wrist off its socket. The tiles clicked under his heels, the sound repeated and fast. Every now and then, he turned his head back towards you. His grin was on full display. He was incredibly happy, and you're sure that you mirrored his expression.

The "bigger picture" was suddenly not weighing down over you.

The consequence of glancing back at you and not looking forward was the hazard of bumping into others. Normally, it wouldn't be so much of a problem. The unfortunate bystanders were understanding, catching onto the sight of renewed love quickly.

This next one, you thought, wouldn't be so different.

She turns her head, just like the others, and it wasn't so worrying. But that was the problem, in the end.

Her dress is extravagant, big and fluffy and ruffly. The colors are blue and aqua green, they reminded you of the wind. Her hands are replaced by gold, up to the elbows. Her hair is brown and long, down and free. Though half of it was covered, her face... was unmistakable.

You were staring straight at the Queen of Mondstadt.

[aceofspadegrass]

Lego Floor Aftermath

Characters: Chishiya Shuntaro, Niragi Suguru

Genre: Crack. Just more of Chishiya and Niragi being little shits to each other.

815 words

Part 2 of Lego Floor, as by popular demand. But Chishiya is a little toilet paper roll onion who won't take his punishment and stay still.

The next morning, Chishiya had awoken to the feeling of something- No, someone, sitting directly on his legs. He doesn’t shift at all, just in case whoever decided to squash him was about to do something he wasn’t about to be fond of once he revealed his consciousness to them. Instead he lays there in perfect still silence, keeping his breath controlled to not alert the intruder.

The silence was instead replaced by the soft clicking of something, and Chishiya carefully opens an eye to get a glimpse of just who thought it was a great idea to sit on him. The brief sight of black honed him in on his answer immediately, Chishiya staring at Niragi quietly sitting there, legs crossed and holding what obviously seemed to be the Legos that Chishiya left last night. The Legos were pieced together though instead of being an individual floor death trap, in a shape Chishiya couldn’t tell was supposed to be as a result.

Niragi didn’t seem to have noticed him at all, occasionally setting the object down next to his gun and leaning over to rustle in what sounded like the rest of the Legos as he searched for a new piece to add to his clusterfuck. Chishiya shifts his left leg a little, noting how it was just loose enough for him to move before Niragi applied his weight right back to his tibia.

Chishiya shuts his eye again and waited for Niragi to lean forward again, which didn’t take long at all. Chishiya twists his entire body towards the edge of the bed, lifting his leg and connecting with Niragi’s tailbone, Niragi yelping as he was knocked completely off the bed. There was a solid thud and a crunch, Chishiya righting himself and sitting up in his bed, staring down at Niragi’s collapsed form on the ground with a proud smile.

Niragi flips around and shoots Chishiya a look back, the two staring down each other hard. “ You little fucking plain popcorn ball-“

Chishiya just ignores him and turns his attention to the Lego cluster still at his feet, reaching over and grabbing it. He holds it in his hand, rotating it to attempt to get a clue on what it was supposed to be. at the moment it just looked like a mismatched black potato with a white line of mold. The moldy potato thing was quickly snatched from his hand, Chishiya following its path to Niragi holding it near protectively.

“ What are you doing in my room this time?” Chishiya asks, Niragi jerking his head to the bag that still laid on the ground.

“ You’re gonna help me build a dragon with all the Legos you left in my room. As repayment for decimating my sole with it.”

Chishiya slowly blinks, not budging an inch. Niragi wasn’t having it though, setting his potato thing on the table before grabbing Chishiya by the arm and yanking him out of bed like a limp noodle, Chishiya barely avoiding slamming his head against the wall and getting a headache. He opens his eyes to Niragi leaning over him, now with his rifle in hand and foot on his stomach, heel far too close to his crotch to be safe to try anything. Niragi puts the muzzle to his forehead, finger twitching.

“ I need an answer you seven day expired bottle of cheese.”

Chishiya rolls his eyes and lifts a hand up, lazily resting it besides his head, the other slowly inching towards Niragi’s leg. “ Fine, no need to shout.”

Niragi scoffs, and as he moves to lift his rifle away from Chishiya’s head, Chishiya grabs Niragi’s ankle and pulls, Niragi yelping for the second time in that hour alone as he is knocked off balance, Chishiya taking the opportunity to roll and run out of his room, Niragi shouting after him.

Luckily Chishiya could count a little on the brief headstart as he weaves through the halls, rushing down the steps as fast as he physically could to get away. Niragi’s yells were bright and loud for so early in the day, but Chishiya wasn’t about to face him anytime soon. Sure, building a dragon didn’t sound bad on its own, it’s just….

It was Niragi. Chishiya wasn’t about to partake in that when he had full rights to simply….. not. Even as he hears Niragi storm down the stairs after him, he flees the scene and bursts into the crowd the moment he makes it to the bottom, his stature the only saving grace from being spotted.

“ Chishiya you absolute flute! Show yourself!” Niragi yells over the crowd, Chishiya flipping his hood up and melding in, keeping an eye on the black volcano that was already beginning to bubble with lava. Niragi passes by him, and Chishiya cracks a smirk, humming as he moves in the opposite direction. He was safe…. for now.

[vegalocity]

The pieces fall (Red Groom AU)

Basically i said to myself 'I need to finish this before i get too deep with the Animorphs stuff' and then realized this was the final chapter about halfway through lmao

TW: Death, blood, 'To The Pain' is retold in its entirety

--

Red Son was out of time.

He stalled as long as he could, bought as much time to drag the official ceremony on as possible But it was for naught. He heard the commotion outside, the demons shrieking in fear the booming voice that reminded him of the mercenary in Spider Queen's Employ, Spat the tea forced into his mouth in the Prince's face, and loudly cursed and raved, insisting not only that he did not consent to this, but also that this sham of a marriage would only last for the length of time it would take for his love to arrive.

His Noodle Boy would come for him, he'd crowed and bragged with all his might, and the Prince had insisted the futility of the hope, that his love was dead, and yet more lies, that he'd seen to it himself.

But he couldn't hide the fear behind his eyes and Red Son announced as much. He couldn't move with the cuffs restraining him, his hands throbbing in pain and a solid purple color from the restriction of blood flow, but he raged and rallied anyway, he was tempted to try and ruin the fine robes the servants had forced him into, to scorch them without a care to what injuries would be laid onto himself from it, but he didn't want to be in rags when his love crashed through the doors.

But then the ceremony was finished, despite his protests, and Red Son was out of time.

He struggled against the guards as they shuffled him through the halls, followed by the weak and fading demon king, but one final ditch plan formed in his head as the halls lit with flame and he was brought to the prince's rooms.

“I suppose I should apologize, demon king.” The frail creature turned to Red Son and he felt a strange sort of pity for the man. He seemed no longer aware of what year it was let alone the cruelty of his own offspring.

“What was that young fellow?”

“I'll have to be killing your son tonight, or I'll die instead. And you were probably a kind man before this curse destroyed your body and mind, so I felt I should tell you as much.” he placed a hand on the King's arm and he hummed absently as their paths diverged.

As then the door slammed shut behind him, and Red Son's last gambit had to be played. If he was fast and he burned hot enough he could do it. It would be a struggle to work around afterward, but if he could manage it and he had Xiaotian to help him work around it he could invent something to compensate by the end of the year.

Still, to cut ones own hands off to escape bindings and then murder their fiance was certainly going to be a challenge.

–

She saw him. For just a moment she saw the Macaque, the flash of dark fur, the curl of his tail, those six ears, those cruel amber eyes. She'd said what she'd been waiting to say for ten years, she held her head high and said the phrase that had kept her going for so long.

And he'd fled.

She'd parted form the group the second he'd left, racing through the corridors, breaking through doors, and following the faint sound of fading footsteps. Finally, Finally it was happening. Today was the day. The day she'd been waiting for for ten years. The day she finally walked up to the monster that ruined her life, the bastard that stole her father from her, the macaque that took everything from her before she was even a woman, and she finally made him pay.

She descended a staircase that lead deeper into the halls and a sharp pain pierced through her gut. Xiaojiao yelped and brought a hand to her side, she saw the dark fur for only a brief moment before she stumbled back, hand clasping over the- over the blade-

he'd thrown a knife at her and it had landed in side. She didn't think it pierced anything important, but she couldn't be sure. It felt like she'd been struck by lightning in one very small localized area. Warm blood quickly soaking through her shirt and staining her hand.

It wasn't that her legs weren't working anymore, but they refused to obey her as her back hit the wall and her knees turned to jelly. She slid until her bottom brushed the stairwell behind her.

Ten years.

And she was a sitting duck. The Macaque could kill her in one swipe of that wretched spiked staff of his and she'd die a failure.

“I'm sorry father-” she muttered softly to herself. “I tried.”

“Hang on, I recognize that sword.” The Macaque's smarmy voice broke through her thoughts. “You're that dragon girl aren't you?” He whistled lowly. “It's been what, ten years?” slowly she watched the monster approach. “Have you been tracing me your whole life?” He laughed, a cruel cold thing. “and right on the precipice of victory you die here, bleeding out from a stomach wound. Pathetic.” he leaned against a table, ready to host the banquet for the wedding that would never come now. “Honestly that's hilarious.”

her fist tightened over the handle in her stomach.

–

He needed to be quick, he only had a little time before the Prince came in to end him, and with his hands so useless already he would just need to stop the bleeding which would be a snap once he had his fire back.

But he needed something sharp first. His hands gave dull throbs of pain whenever he tried to force the sluggish digits to move but eventually through his rummaging through the nearby work desk he found a small silver dagger, likely the one the prince was planning on using to kill him later on. He'd have to brace the knife on something to get both of his hands and if he passed out in pain he was as good as dead.

Soon enough he pulled together a brace on the worktable, and went about steadying his left hand first, if he was quick he could pass it right through cleanly and-

“You know there's kind of a shortage on perfect hands, It'd be kind of a shame to waste such beauty as yours.” a voice cut through his thoughts.

A familiar voice. But a kindly one.

His heart leaped into his throat and he felt his face turn red as he turned to find Xiaotian, a little beaten up and still in his False Monkey King garb laying on the bedding as if this were any day back on his mountain. Red Son wondered just how long his love had been there, watching him plotting out and trying to carry out his own dismemberment, and Red Son hadn't noticed. It would have been embarrassing if he bothered to care.

But he didn't, he cared far more about seeing his beloved again and ignored the pain in his hands as he fell on top of Xiaotian in the bed, barely able to get his name out before Red Son was kissing him. The uncertainty that the prince had placed in his mind burning away in and instant as he felt Xiaotian move against him he was kissing him back, he wasn't angry or upset-

But he wasn't returning the embrace.

Red Son pulled himself away from that perfect mouth just long enough to smile and mumble a small teasing comment. “Is this your revenge for leaving you waiting? Must I beg just to get you to hold me?”

“Ah-” Xiaotian sounded pained, but when Red Son let up properly any trace of discomfort was gone. “No, it's just a bit complicated.” But there were other pressing matters.

“I just need a moment my love, no matter if I'd love nothing more than to run off with you, I wasn't able to stop the Prince from forcing things to fall in his way.” It was a rock in his gut to consider, especially how without the use of his hands he'd need to somehow pull a victory against a demon prince in his own mountain but-

“If we want to be together this farce of a marriage needs to be made defunct.”

“Well did you consent to it?” That gave him pause.

“Huh?”

“The marriage, did you give consent to it?”

“Of course not!” his temper flared for a moment only to be immediately quelled by the small adoring grin Xiaotian hadn't stopped looking at him with. “I spent the whole time rejecting the whole thing, loudly. Violently. Buying time for you to break the ceremony up, wonderful timing by the way Noodle Boy, I was just about to chop my own hands off if you hadn't noticed.”

“I did actually. Horrifying. But crafty.”

“But what does my consent have to do with it, that's not how demons work things out-”

“Maybe, but it means more when its demons marrying each other.” His gaze flickered to a place just over Red Son's shoulder. “Wouldn't you agree, your highness?”

a thin blade rested on Red Son's shoulder. “A mistake that shall never be repeated, 'Monkey King'” the Prince hissed, breath hot and far too close to Red Son's ear.

–

“Are- Are you still trying to fight?” Her knees felt like they were about to give in, and her hands were shaking, but she was able to pull the blade from her side and raise her sword again. “Wow you're obsessed!” The macaque crowed, before finally taking out his staff. “That's gonna get you into trouble some day.” he sent the head of the staff for her face, child's play, the flat of her sword hit it right before impact and pushed it to the side, one half of her hair was taken down from its updo, the stone cracked beside her head.

But her skull wasn't smashed in.

The Macaque pulled away and made another lunge. He was rusty. How long had it been since he'd actually fought anyone? She made the next jab skew to the other side, her hair now fully released from its former ties, the wall behind her now a pile of rubble.

It seemed the Macaque realized she wasn't an easy kill because he started to properly wield his staff again.

His form was sloppy. Strikingly easy to counter, even with the fact that she was stumbling forward, free hand buried in her clothes to try and stop the bleeding in her side as she fought.

She opened her mouth, and she wanted to say something witty, but she couldn't think of any words to say at all, her entire mind was turning to white noise, save the one thing she'd been carrying with her for a decade.

“Hello, my name is Long Xiaojiao. You killed my father, prepare to die.”

Her side gave another throb and she caught herself on a nearby table. The Macaque spurred forward to try and capitalize on the opening.

The bench below splintered into pieces and she forced him back a few steps. “Hello, my name is Long Xiaojiao. You killed my father, prepare to die.”

“I heard you the first time!” The macaque grunted as he swung forward again.

Child's play.

Somewhere along the line, she'd surpassed him.

“Hello! My name is Long Xiaojiao! You killed my father! Prepare to die!”

“Stop saying that!” The Macaque growled, he was getting flustered. Good.

He made another jab at her, this time when she parried her blade met flesh and struck a line across his cheek.

“Hello! My name is Long Xiaojiao! You Killed my father! Prepare to die!” She crowed, now she had him on the ropes, when she moved forward and struck he'd have to move back to not risk being hit again. She could corral him. Her blade landed again, this time along the Macaque's knuckles, and his staff clattered to the ground. The tip of the jade blade tore into his shoulder, right in the place her scar was.

She only ever told people the first part of how she would picture this to go. And sure it wasn't perfect, she didn't expect to nearly die right out the gate, but it didn't need to be.

It just needed this.

“Offer me money.” She pointed the blade to his nose. He was without a weapon and if he tried any tricks she could run him through before they were completed.

“Three mountains full, all yours.”

“Power too, offer that.”

“All that I have and more.”

She leaned back just a hair, not enough to give him any room to work, but just enough to gesture. “Offer me anything I want in the world.”

The Macaque seemed to know where this was going, and whether he had a backup plan in mind she didn't care. “Anything.” He made one last lunge forward to try and grab her.

A grip on a sleeve, a jerk forward, the warm blood dripping down her sword.

“I want my father back you son of a bitch.”

When the Macaque's body fell she didn't... feel much relief. A little, the release of tension of a confrontation, the knowledge that she hadn't wasted her life.

But no revelations, no great euphoria or deep happiness at finally avenging her family. Her side was still bleeding, and the scar on her shoulder was never going to fade.

She began to stumble forward through the pain. She'd lost Sandy some hallways back, and they'd left Xiaotian high and dry, she needed to find them or they'd never get out of this damned mountain.

–

“Now beloved, you may want to remove yourself from this charlatan before I'm forced to do something you'll regret.” Red Son glared over his shoulder at the prince, but he gazed impassively back at him, and flicked the tip of his ear. There was a small zing of pain and suddenly the side of his face was very warm. Xiaotian hissed through his teeth at the Prince, but Red Son did as asked.

Once again parting him from his love because he had no choice but to trust a liar to be telling the truth.

“I should have had your body tossed in the forest when I had you killed. I never liked Six Ears' machine.” The Prince huffs. “But nonetheless it'll be more rewarding to kill my husband's lover first and THEN my husband. And hey! I won't even need your parent's army beloved! The Monkey King will be dead and Flower Fruit Mountain ripe for the picking!” The Prince crowed. “So, Qi Xiaotian, to the death?”

“To the pain.” Xiaotian didn't even flinch. Despite the fact that Red Son had never heard of such a duel condition.

Apparently nor had the prince, “I'm not sure if I'm familiar with that one.”

“I'll explain, and I'll use small words so you can understand you slug faced warmongering buffoon.” The tone in his Xiaotian's voice was unlike anything Red Son had ever heard, even when he was still masquerading as the Monkey King. It was severe, cold, yet ruthless. The unrelenting force of a blizzard.

“That may be the first time in my life someone below my status has insulted me.” The Prince turned a very strange shade of violet.

“Well it won't be the last. 'To the pain' means that once I defeat you, which I will, first you lose your feet, just below the ankles.” Xiaotian held direct eye contact with the Prince and Red Son found himself unable to look away. “Then your hands at the wrists, next your nose-”

“Then my tongue I assume? I killed you too quickly the last time, an error I will not be repeating.” The Prince reared back with his sword and Red Son made a grab for the knife he'd had before, but when Xiaotian spoke up again the prince stopped.

“I wasn't finished! The next thing you lose Is your right eye, followed quickly by your left!”

“And then my ears I get the picture! Let's get on with it!” The Prince was losing his temper fast, Red Son needed to act quickly. He couldn't torch the prince and hope it would be enough to break his cuffs, but he could barely hold the knife he'd dived for let alone be able to wield it with any force.

“Wrong!” Xiaotian interrupted, his face still the picture of determined calm. “Your ears you keep! And I'll tell you why!” The Prince was stopped again, and Red Son figured if he could put enough weight into his grip he could probably disarm him on his own at the moment. And another wave of frustration washed over him at the realization that he certainly couldn't put enough weight into his grip.

“-So that every shriek of every child dismayed by your hideousness will be yours to cherish. Every babe that weeps at your approach, every maiden that cries out 'Heavens above what is that THING' Will be heard oh-so perfectly, in your untouched ears.” He huffed a small laugh. “That is what 'to the pain' means, it means I leave you in Anguish. Alone in your head with naught but the screams you've long since deserved forever.”

There was a pause as the Prince processed the threat. “You're bluffing.”

“It's possible, worm.” Xiaotian responded. “I could be bluffing. It's conceivable you miserable odious mass.” 'Odious' what kind of vocabulary did his love learn while becoming the false Monkey King? “I could be lying here because I lack the strength to stand. But then again, would you like to take that chance?” slowly, as though he were in great pain, Xiaotian began to sit up, and from there stand. He lifted his staff from its position leaning against the bed frame, and pointed the end to the Prince's nose.

“Drop your sword.”

it clattered to the ground.

“Undo the cuffs on Red Son's wrists.” a quick spell and a gesture and the golden bands clattered to the ground. A fierce pain jolted through either of Red Son's hands as the blood was finally allowed to start traveling back through them.

“Have a seat.” The Prince stumbled into a chair and Xiaotian glanced over at him.

“Can you tie anything?” his fingers curled painfully but he could probably manage, so he nodded and only then noticed the coiled up rope beside Xiaotian's former resting place.

“When did you get that?”

“You never know when you need rope.” All the same he tied the prince up firmly, excepting on the wrists that he tied to the armrests of the chair, those he tied as tightly as possible.

See if he liked watching his hands turn purple.

Just about as Red Son was done restraining the prince the sound of approaching footsteps came near, and with a flash of green (well, green stained red) he recognized the Swordsman mercenary.

She looked around at the lot of them and then her gaze settled on Xiaotian. “Where's Sandy?”

“He took of with you!” Xiaotian countered.

“Yeah but then he said he'd double back!”

“Well-!” Xiaotian cut himself off with a surprised yelp as his body pitched to the side, Red Son of course was there to catch him.

“Quick on the draw Red Boy.” The Swordsman hummed “Was that just reflex?”

He didn't pay her any mind. “Xiaotian what happened are you alright?”

“I'll be fine.”

“He was mostly dead all day, his body's completely zapped of strength.” The Swordsman countered.

“You've been dead?!”

“Mostly dead!” Xiaotian corrected as if that made any difference.

“Ha!” The Prince cackled. “I knew you were bluffing!” The Swordsman had zero patience for him though as that was enough for her to press her sword to his nose. “I knew he was bluffing.” The Prince repeated far more sedate.

“Xiaojiao! Xiaojiao can you hear me?” a voice calling from the window broke up all the near forming arguments, and though ti took Red Son a little finagling to ensure he had a proper grip on Xiaotian despite his hands not wanting to grip much of anything right now, the three made their way to the window peeking out the side of the mountain only for Red Son to see the large mercenary waiting below with a small gaggle of horses.

“Ah! Xiaojiao! There you are! I was trying to make my way back to Xiaotian and I ended up in the Prince's stables! The poor things deserve to have better keepers I think! I figured I'd take four of them, since there would be four of us when we found the Red Prince.” Sandy's eyes flickered to Red Son. “Oh, Hello Red Prince!”

“Nice job Sandy!” the Swordsman (Xiaojiao apparently) cheered. “Think you can catch some projectiles?”

“Of course!”

the large mercenary (Sandy) positioned himself below the mountainside, ready to catch any and all of them, and Red Son could remember, vividly, just how adept he was at such physical performances.

“well, royalty first.” Xiaojiao turned to him and gestured. Which, whatever. Though his hands gave another painful throb, he climbed onto the windowsill and jumped. The air was cool as it whipped against him.

–

“You know, it's funny.”

“What is?”

“I killed the Six Eared Macaque and now... I'm not sure what else to do. I've been in the revenge business so long, I don't know if I have anything else of value to try out.”

“Would you like to try leading? I could use a captain I can trust back on Flower Fruit Mountain.”

Xiaojiao shrugged.

–

“Oh, well you don't wanna hear this. The end I suppose.”

“What? Why are you stopping if it's not the end?”

“Well you were very specific about not wanting to hear about the kissing stuff, I don't want to gross you out or anything little one.”

“Well... Maybe I... won't super mind... if it's the ending. But only because it's the ending!”

–

It took a week's travel for the four to enter truly safe territory. To come into the lands of Flower Fruit Mountain and be greeted by the armies of demon monkeys that Xiaotian called his people.

They were finally safe, and Red Son recalled that he'd promised himself to wait until such a time came before he allowed himself to drown again in the ardor of having his love back, but now that it came, he found he simply wasn't as deliriously giddy as he once was. The stresses that had mounted between Xiaotian's return and now had dampened the mood, though his hands no longer ached and strength had returned to Xiaotian's body, they'd both been through so much stress there simply wasn't the space in either of their heads to be anything but focused on reaching their destination.

Of course Red Son had curled up next to his love every night around the campfire the Swordsman- That Xiaojiao would light and tend to, but there was nothing but relief in his body, bone deep, weary relief.

But now they were safe, and Red Son simply couldn't muster up the energy. He should have been jittery and excited to be alone with his love, but honestly he'd just wanted to bathe and eat something beyond travel rations.

Then the dirt and sweat had been washed away and their bellies were full of fruit and what few savory dishes Xiaotian had taught his monkeys to make, and Sandy and Xiaojiao shared a sly grin before going to explore 'the guest bedrooms' in Xiaotian's iron palace behind the watercurtian, and he was alone with his love.

And he felt like he should do something, yet nothing was coming to mind. They were safe, Xiaotian was alive and right here, and they could finally be together in the open, and Red Son felt such a fool for the fact that he didn't know how to proceed.

Xiaotian scooted closer to him and placed an arm around his shoulders, tugging Red Son to the side until he was leaned up against him.

“Red Son.” His voice was a low rumble that vibrated through Red Son's chest.

“Xiaotian.” he responded simply.

He might not have known what to do, but Xiaotian it seemed did. He reached over to gently cup Red Son's face with a hand, and brought him close.

There have been more love stories on this earth than we have time to ever recount in their entirety, but every story has in it a kiss. A soft, loving kiss, a kiss of relief and thankfulness and passion as the hard part was finally over.

It has been said that in the upper echelons of these kisses, that the one shared between Red Son and Qi Xiaotian in that moment, blew them all out of the water.

Tomorrow would come, and Red Son would sent missive to his parents explaining the situation, and Xiaotian would prepare a message to be sent to his own fathers, and they'd spend the next few days bracing for impact.

But tonight was theirs.

And though struggles were certainly on their way, all in all, their lives were finally on the path to be together.

And to live happily ever after.

–

“-The end. Now I think you should be getting to sleep.”

“Okay....”

“Welp, get better soon little one. So long.”

“....Grandpa Sun?.... Maybe you could come over tomorrow too? I could teach you how to play my game?”

“Heh, As you wish.”

[inkweaver22-blr]

Welp. Here's the first chapter of that Tang fic I was talking about. Hopefully the characters aren't too out of character for this first chapter. They will be for sure in the future though. No content warnings yet but if that changes I'll make sure to add them. There's going to be lots of pairings in this one but I don't really know any of the ship names so if people want to call them out as they appear I'll add them to the tags.

AO3 Link

Chapter Two

Scattered Cicadas - Chapter One: The Cycle

Tang seems to be stuck in a strange cycle. Might as well make the most of it.

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

Tang was certain by now that whatever was happening wasn’t a time loop. The starting points of each new cycle were too inconsistent, as were their endings. After nearly three dozen of these strange restarts and only a third of them beginning on the day MK received the Monkey King’s staff, the scholar was fairly confident in his conclusion.

“Alright, let’s see what this timeline has in store for us,” the man said as he stared at his reflection in the full-length mirror next to his dresser. He had started this little exercise around the seventeenth reset or so after noticing something else that only added more evidence against his original time loop theory.

“My name is Tang. I work at the public library.” So far nothing out of the ordinary. “I share an apartment with my good friend Pigsy.” Ah, the first and most common change he had noticed throughout this strange experience. And it was a change. He was fairly certain he had his own place originally. “While I am not in a romantic relationship with Pigsy, I harbor a small crush on him.”

Tang continued listing things about his current life as they came to him. He had discovered the various discrepancies compared to his original time fairly early on. So far the differences had been relatively minor. Demon Bull King being freed in the Winter instead of Spring. Mei’s family being descended from a blue dragon instead of green. Sandy’s ship being filled with therapy ferrets instead of cats.

The scholar was at first thrown by the changes, and had gone through some rather embarrassing freakouts the first few times. Luckily he discovered early on that while he never personally experienced the events of these worlds or timelines, if he focused enough, the memories of them would appear. Thus his new little routine he did at the beginning of a new cycle. He found looking at himself in the mirror seemed to speed up the recollection.

“It has been roughly two weeks since Demon Bull King has been freed and MK received the Monkey King’s glaive, thus becoming his successor.” Now that was interesting. This was the first time the Monkey King’s signature weapon was different.

It was all these changes to the world and the new memories that matched them that had squashed the initial time loop theory. In all his reading of both fiction and historical events, Tang had never heard of time travel that worked this way. His second theory, that he was somehow trapped in the Calabash by Jin and Yin, was also quickly discarded. He had the displeasure of experiencing its effects first hand several cycles back and it certainly did not implant new memories into his head.

Tang finished up the recap of his new memories and paused. Nope, nothing else it seemed. With a shrug he finished preparing for work. Hopefully it would be a slow day so he could get a bit more research done into what might be happening. Perhaps this was a celestial punishment as opposed to a demonic curse? He hoped that wasn’t the case but he wouldn’t be a scholar if he dismissed any avenue of investigation just because he disliked it.

Locking the apartment behind him, Tang made his way to the nearest bus stop with a spring in his step. While the situation was certainly less than ideal, the thought of some thorough research was always something he looked forward to.

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

Tang slowly stirred the noodles in his bowl, his brow furrowed in distraction. One of his favorite reference books for ancient mystical history at the library had been changed. Well, to be more accurate, it was different in this timeline. The author was the same, but the contents were certainly not.

Why had it not ever occurred to the librarian that if the current history around him could change, that ancient history could as well? If that was the case, then how could he trust whatever lead he might find to be actually helpful to his situation? What if the knowledge he needed didn’t exist in the timeline he was currently in? What if it only existed in his original timeline?

With a despondent sigh, Tang continued to swirl around his untouched noodles, his negative thoughts seeming to spiral in the same circular loop.

“Oi! Earth to Tang!”

Tang jumped, almost spilling his bowl as he jerked at Pigsy’s shout. He looked up to see the pig demon across the counter with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

“If you’re going to be a freeloader you might as well appreciate the food I worked hard on,” the chef scolded without any real heat in his tone. “Something eating you?”

“Uh, y-yes I suppose you could say that,” Tang stammered. Pigsy raised an eyebrow and Tang flushed. The lack of confidence he normally projected had certainly been noticed by Pigsy.

“Well spit it out then. Don’t have all night.” Despite the gruffness of his words, Tang could pick out the small bits of concern in the chef’s tone.

“Well, I seem to have hit a stumbling block in one of my research projects,” Tang explained as he pushed his glasses back up and began to relax. While Pigsy always acted angry at Tang for the mooching of noodles, the pig demon, across every timeline so far, never forced the scholar to pay and was always a great listener. “I’ve come across some evidence that many of the historical texts I’m looking into might be presented differently to the events that actually transpired.”

“Isn’t that how most of history is like though?” Pigsy leaned against the counter, his scowl replaced with a puzzled frown. “Didn’t you say something last month about how history books were mostly the writers' biases or something?”

Tang blinked at that. He did somewhat recall the conversation as he focused on it, but hadn’t thought Pigsy had been paying enough attention to his rant at the time.

“Yes I suppose that is true,” the scholar conceded.

“What do you normally do when you come across these changes?”

“I keep looking for a more accurate version of the text or form an educated guess based on all the evidence I gather.”

“Then what’s the problem? If you already know how to solve the issue then there’s no reason dwelling on it. Just keep going until it's fixed,” Pigsy said bluntly.

Tang just stared at the chef for a moment. Was it really just that simple? A smile slowly spread across his face as he realized that, yes, yes it could be. Even if the knowledge in this timeline was different, that didn’t make it useless. Knowledge was power, and who knew what tiny pieces he could find to fit together into a workable solution. Leave it to Pigsy’s pragmatic outlook to cut straight to the problem and efficiently solve it.

“Thanks Pigsy,” Tang said, smiling sincerely.

“Yeah, no problem.” Pigsy waved his hand in dismissal and, was that a blush Tang saw? “Now eat your noodles before they get cold.” The pig demon quickly moved off to help a new customer that had walked in, leaving Tang to his bowl.

As he ate the delicious noodles, Tang watched Pigsy as he worked.

He had always admired his friend, even in his original timeline. What he was unsure of were the romantic feelings he had for the pig. Outside of sharing an apartment together, the relationship status between the pair was the second most common change he experienced. The first time he had woken up in the same bed as Pigsy had resulted in one of his earliest embarrassing freak outs that had resulted in a few hurt feelings for a while.

While Tang could see how these feelings could have blossomed, he couldn’t quite remember if he had felt this way in his original time. He had simply gone with the flow the many times they were romantically involved and if he was honest, they had been some of the most pleasant moments he could remember since this whole timeline jumping mess had started.

He studied the chef as he gracefully moved about his kitchen, chopping vegetables and rolling dough. The pig demon had a gruff exterior, but obviously cared about those around him a lot. He was steady and sensible, always scolding someone for doing something stupid but always there with straightforward advice if asked. He made sure that no one would ever be hungry while he was around and woe be it unto any customer who insulted his family within his earshot.

Pigsy, as if sensing the eyes on him, looked up and met Tang’s gaze. He gave the scholar a brief smile before returning to the broth he had been stirring.

As a warmth filled his chest that didn't have to do with the noodles, Tang made a decision that he was sure Pigsy would have approved of. It didn’t really matter what their relationship was. Platonic or romantic, Tang loved Pigsy for being Pigsy and always would. If these alternate worlds seemed set on making them more than friends, well then who was he to complain.

Drinking the remaining broth in his bowl, Tang grinned as he decided to act on Pigsy’s advice. This version of him had a crush on the chef and he already knew the solution for fixing that.

“Hey Pigsy! You free for a date this Friday?”

His grin grew wider as Pigsy dropped his ladle into the pot of broth and whirled around and began stammering. Behind him, the scholar heard Mei crow in victory and began demanding that MK ‘pay up’.

These strange jumps in time were certainly a less than ideal situation, but Tang decided to not worry too much about them. He knew it was only a matter of time until a solution presented itself. While he waited for that to happen, who would blame him for trying to enjoy himself in the meantime?

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

First chapter done wooo! Now the following chapters won't be in a strict chronological order as Tang jumps around, but some events do come before others. As for what's going on... You'll just have to wait and see~ See you in chapter two!

[smolcinnamonchipmunk]

Maybe someone chilling in a naga’s coils?

i do love some noodle cuddles :3c

(if you want to of course!)

(I've had this prompt for, like, a month. I meant to draw it out, but I never got around to it. And, since my lights flickered, I decided to just write a drabble on my phone rather than risk losing work if power goes out.

Also, I wanted to do something with Slate (my Naga persona) since this isn't a vore request, but I couldn't think of a random character for them to cuddle. UNTIL, I was going through my AO3 to refamiliarize myself with my OCs and decided that Obsidian would be perfect.)

Thunder rumbled in the distance, able to taste the scent of rain in the air as I yawned. The chilled air was making me sluggish, stretching to try and get my blood pumping a bit more, at least enough to get to where I wanted to go. It didn't help that my tail was long as hell, each slither drawing more heat from my mostly cold-blooded body.

Eventually, I slithered up to a cave, able to feel a faint warmth from inside. The inside was mostly dark, but I sensed something inside, parting my lips slightly to taste the air a bit better.

I was wondering how best to phrase my request, but before I could even announce my presence, I heard the sound of scales on stone. Another second more, and a rumble emitted from the cave as the occupant asked, "Why are you here? Do you need something, Slate?"

I looked at the purple eyes that glowed in the darkness that looked down at me, not feeling fear that would be very in place for the situation.

"Can you turn human please, I don't really feel like craning my neck to look at you?"

I saw the eye glow move in an eyeroll, the eyes closing and faint smoke leaked out from the entrance. I waited patiently for him to step out, and after a few seconds, he did. A man stepped out from the cave, pale with black hair pulled back in a low ponytail and purple eyes that matched those from before. He glanced me over with a look of curiosity, stopping a few feet from me as he waited for me to continue.

"I... well, there's a storm coming," I said, shifting a bit.

"I could hear the thunder, yeah."

The short reply with a tinge of interest made it obvious that he was expecting more, but I was still struggling to word my request. While I was still cold, my face felt warm, not liking to ask for help in any way.

A small hiss of self-frustration escaped my throat, crossing my arms over my chest as I mumbled.

"I'm sorry, what was that," Obsidian quirked an eyebrow. I knew he heard me, he had better hearing, but he was obviously teasing if the little smirk on his face was any indication.

"I don't want to be cold, can I... n-nest with you during the storm," I asked. It felt so weird to ask, but I didn't want to say 'cuddle'. The want for physical contact was already something unfamiliar, and the act of asking for it even more so.

"God, you make it sound worse than it is. C'mon in, you heat leech."

Obsidian turned to walk back inside, giving me a reprieve to calm my embarrassment as I followed him inside. My eyes adjusted to the darkness once I was inside, the air ever so slightly warmer than outside and I was already grateful. There were several offshoots in the cave, each leading to their own room, but he led me to what he'd began to call the 'blanket room'. Like the name suggested, blankets carpeted the ground, acting as a decent insulator against the cold stone floor that had been sapping my warmth on the way in.

I gratefully slithered onto the blankets and he followed me in. The tunnel wasn't wide enough for his dragon form, so he remained human, but I didn't really care. By this point, both of us were kind of used to the routine we'd made that came from harsh storms, cold fronts, and winter snow. Sometimes, he'd place me in his crop since there were few warmer places than the inside of a dragon.

But, he knew I usually disliked it.

So, as I shifted my tail on the blankets and he sat down, I coiled it around him. Rather loosely, but with how many coils my tail ended up making, he still wouldn't be able to move very well without using his enhanced strength or turning into his dragon form.

I couldn't help but shiver, already able to feel his warmth seeping into my scales. His body temperature was naturally higher than a normal humans, but he could also increase it to a certain extent, allowing me to siphon off a comfortable amount of heat without him getting cold himself. With Obsidian loosely wrapped up, I rested beside him.

"Thank you," I said, lightly purring at the delightful warmth, feeling sleepy now that I was comfortable.

"You're welcome. Next time, I get to eat you though."

[dancingthesambaa]

The Smell of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 12

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

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 12: Communication is Key

A soft melodic noise was playing in the air as Yanyu and Bohai entered the open clearing. Both blinked for a moment and then a grim expression overtook them as they saw the rest of their friends with the same nervous looks.

“Okay, what the fuck happened with Makkie and whose head do I need to bust open?” Yanyu asked everyone as they watched him play the Dizi as he sat down crossed legged on a tree branch with his tail lazily hanging.

“I don’t know,” Minsheng whispered as they peaked out from behind the tree.

“He’s been like this since we got in an hour ago,” Ahmed continued as his tail swished behind him.

“He didn’t react once,” Mei hissed as her fingers clenched her arm.

“Really?” The jellyfish looked astonished.

“Other than the flicker of his ears when he arrived, nothing,” Daiyu commented as her feathers puffed up.

“He only play this sad shit when he’s feels absolutely terrible and no one knows what the fuck happened?” The bluenette looked at everyone, only to get shakes of heads and denial again. “Damn.”

“I do,” their heads snapped towards a wincing MK as he held a pair of headphones in hand. “But it’s kinda a long story.”

“Last time he got like this was when he blacked out cause a literal firework got shot right next to his ear,” the bunny demon deadpanned, “and that was after already coming close to a breakdown when he thought he lost the two of you when you guys set off that curse.”

“So what they're trying to say MK,” Mei dragged her brother by the shirt and brought him close, “is telling us whose ass do we need to kick?”

“Don’t think you can fight against an immortal,” he winced.

It was Ahmed who got it first as he too winced, “I take it that it went very badly.”

“So much yelling and fighting,” he groaned.

“Wait who-fuck,” Mei eyes narrowed, “Macaque and Monkey King met didn’t they.” At the clarification, everyone winced. They might not have been there to see the fight go down but they have known the black furred monkey long enough for him to trust them on telling the two relationships with each other.

“Yeahhh.”

“Tell us everything,” the bunny demon said.

“Everything?”

“Everything.” They all said together.

“Then you might want to sit down for this, it’s gonna be a long story.”

“That no good little-”

“Of course they're both idiots,” Bohai sighed as he rubbed his head.

“-how dare he even say that!”

“Two monkeys, both immortal, both friends for a long time, and yet neither of them have developed proper communication,” Yanyu groaned as she too felt a headache coming along.

“I swear I’m gonna grab that head and-”

“Should just be glad that the mountain is still standing,” the lion tried to look on the brighter side despite his claws slowly emerging and retreating.

“It’s kinda sad that this is the best side of all of this,” the vulture said.

“-then after I shave all the fur I will use that razor and-”

“Yeah, it’s pretty bad,” MK wrung his hands together.

“I think bad is an understatement kiddy,” the rabbit demon then looked back at a fuming Mei. “You thinking of stopping anytime soon?”

“No!” The group can almost see the faintest of green in her eyes as it twitched. “There will be a skinned immortal monkey before the month ends!”

“Easy there breezy,” she felt her head forcibly, but gently, lowered by a warm fuzzy hand. “Don’t need to plot the demise of Wukong just yet.”

“Why nottt,” she whined as he looked up at Macaque. “He should learn that nobody messes with you without facing some consequences.”

“And I can do that myself,” he emphasized as he ruffled her hair, but she fondly slapped it away. “But do remember that I also said some things unwarranted too and I also didn’t try to deescalate the fight, so he's not at total fault here.”

“Still was part of the problem,” Minsheng pointed out.

“And also said some things he shouldn’t have said,” Yanyu couldn't help but say.

“True, but some of those things do hold some truth.”

“What part are you talking about?” MK blurted out in confusion.

“I know that I have changed, I can truthfully admit that, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t still have a lot of issues in general.” Back then he would have never admitted this to anyone, not even on his deathbed, but as the years pass and as the seasons go on, he knows that he can comfortably say all this to them without fear.

“There are many times where I still question myself and whether or not if this is me or if I wear a facade for so long that I became it, especially if I even deserve to be called a father,” he said that last part lowly to himself, but everyone heard it. But he didn’t take any notice of it as he continued. “Regardless though, I do know one thing for certain, I appreciate you trying to look out for me.” He smirked as he ruffled his two kids' hair.

They begrudgingly let him with a small smile on their face.

“We always do,” Bohai grinned.

“You do the same for us doc,” the bluenette slapped his shoulder. “Like that one time where you forced us to rest after that little incident.”

“You mean the time where you all decided it was a good idea to have a little fight in a bunch of unknown plants and then you all got sick?” He raised his eyebrow.

“That’s the one!” Both rabbit and vulture said with matching grins.

“Why did I become friends with you guys again?” He uttered for the nth time since he met them.

“For our glowing personality,” the big cat gave a deep chuckle as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder and nuzzled his fur as he gave a few long licks to Macaque long mane.

The first time he had ever done this to the monkey, he had chucked him clean across the treetops before it was properly explained to him. This is apparently done with not just cubs, but other lions or demons in the pride to form a closer connection and to provide comfort and affection. After that he begrudgingly let him continue the process, though he couldn’t help but cringe at the first few times.

“Alright, alright I get it,” he gently pushed the muzzle away from him. “Imma whip up some food, didn’t even realize how hungry I was until now. Does a hotpot sound good to you all.”

“I can already feel myself drooling,” Yanyu licked her lips.

“You should probably get that checked out then,” Mei jokes.

“That’s why we have the old man here for.”

“I don’t get paid enough for that,” he deadpanned.

“You don’t get paid at all,” MK supplied.

“No I do not,” was the last thing he said before he climbed up a tree and headed over back to the oversized treehouse.

“So we are gonna take down the Monkey King or at least plan some vengeance upon him, yes,” Bohai mused as he slightly glowed.

“Ohohoho, like you wouldn’t believe it,” Daiyu puffed up her feathers. “Imma about to hurt a monkey.”

“Count me in,” Mei said with an eerie twitching smile.

“May not be the strongest, but I know a few ways to immobilize a simian,” Minsheng muttered.

“I’ll get the hot glue and tacks. Nobody fucks with my teacher and gets away with it alive,” Yanyu took out her phone and began furiously typing.

“At ease everyone, try not to let your anger fester. We’re here for Mac right now,” Ahmed said with a low growl.

“Says the one growling,” MK inputted as his own hands twitched violently as he clutched onto the staff.

“Touché.”

Both Tang and Pigsy were watching Mei moodily chomp down on her noodles as she was furiously typing something down. They look to the other side and see that MK, who was on break, was steadfastly ignoring his cooling noodles as he was drawing something down in his notebook.

“Did they get into a fight?” The historian asked as he slurped down his food.

“Not that I know of,” the chef shook his head, “all I know is that MK came in like this and a little later girlie came in with the same mood.”

“We aren’t fighting,” Mei grumbled as she stabbed the chopsticks down onto the counter. “There is just an…issue that has occured.”

“Issue, that’s one word,” MK muttered.

“Just be glad I’m putting it lightly.”

“So, no fight?” Tang asked.

“No,” they both replied.

“Well that’s good at least…does it have to do with Red Son? I know that both of you were worried about him when he didn’t show, he called back yet?”

This brought the two back from their anger filled mind as the two twenty year old looked at each other, then back to Pigsy and shook his head.

“Nothing,” he sighed as he looked through his phone.

“Not even a text back,” Mei included.

“That’s weird, the three of you have been basically stuck by the hip since you all knew each other, wonder what could have happened?” Tang went into a questioning pose.

Mei leaned over to MK as the two other adults talked and quietly whispered, “you think it has something to do with his parents?”

“No doubt in my mind,” he whispered back. The two of them knew some things about his home situation, but that was all they needed to know that his parents were absolute garbage. “I’ll give him two more weeks, if we still don’t get a reply back then we bust in there and grab him.”

“And we should definitely phone the old man about this, at least this would take his mind off…well that,” the Dragon heiress said.

“How about we put that idea on hold for now,” he winced as she shot him an incredulous expression, “I think we can handle it.”

“Okay, you are so spilling why you don’t want to ask Macaque for help,” this isn’t the first time he tried to avoid asking the monkey for help. It’s been a slow gradual thing, but she had just now begun to pick up that MK was hiding something.

“Uhhhh well look at the time,” he nervously swallowed down his food in one gulp, after choking for a bit, and grabbed his keys and a few orders that were just made. “My break is over, no time to talk!”

“MK!” She yelled out as he rushed out of the store. “You will talk one way or another!”

“Oh I can’t hear you! Call you later!” He yelled out as he dived into the car, with the food still safely placed, and quickly drove onto the street.

“You little-!”

“Byeee!”

“I’m back!” He announced as soon as he landed on the mountain. He had taken a few days away from training and while he was still upset at Monkey King, he didn’t truly hate him nor was he even held a grudge against him. Though it probably didn’t help that Mei would evilly chuckle whenever she was typing or scraping another plan, he still winced at her seventh one. That one looked almost painfully brutal and humiliating.

Small frustration and irritation, yes. But not the kind that would overwhelm him and let it take absolute control. Besides he knew that wasn’t who the monkey really was, arguments can bring out the worst in someone, whether it’s true or not. But he still optimistically believes that those two can become friends again.

“Monkey Ki-WHOA!” He managed to brace for impact as he was almost knocked over as a bunch of monkeys came barreling into him from above. “Hey! Hey! It's good to see you all too.” He laughed as he tried to carry as many as he could.

“They missed you kiddo,” he looked to the voice behind him and saw the Monkey King sporting a wide grin as he sat upon his cloud. “They wouldn’t stop talking about missing their playmate.”

“Awww,” he cooed as he hugged the ones in his arms, “I missed you guys too.”

“We all did kiddo,” he smirked, but it did soften when he saw that there was no hostility or resentment in his student eyes.

“Well I guess I missed you too,” he gave an exaggerated sigh.

“I’m just a bit surprised that you came back, not that I didn’t think that you wouldn’t, but more along the lines of not wanting to see me again. But I mean who wouldn’t want to train with the great Monkey King,” he let a bit of his nerves leak out unintentionally.

“Well Dad always advocates for my choice, so I just chose to be here. Besides I just needed to cool off for a few days after all that,” he grinned widely as he bared his teeth. “I’m not giving up just yet.”

Wukong, who can now clearly tell that MK did share the same grin as Mac, couldn’t help but share his enthusiasm. “Well let’s freshen up your knowledge of the basics, I’m afraid you might have forgotten it all these past days.”

“I did not just sit around and do nothing these past couple of days, for your information!”

“What’s the problem with being lazy?” He smirked as he jumped off his cloud. “Nothing is wrong with that.”

“Oh there isn’t, it’s just that when you have a whole entire forest to watch out for when Dad is taking care of his patients, it gets a little crazy. Especially since the one who usually keeps an eye on things had to focus on another problem entirely or was not even there, except for BaBa. She’s the only reason why I haven’t tied all those idiots together in a knot,” he grumbled in the last part. It does get more than a little hectic in the forest, especially when there are so many creatures and demons all living in that same area no matter how big the boundaries may be. There will always be some sort of dispute between the clans and it’s usually the more neutral group, like Macaque, Ní, BaBa, Kappa, and even some of the faeries, to keep the relative peace. Will true harmony ever be attained? Ha! No, but the way they are living now is just perfectly fine to all of them. Despite the chaos, fights, and craziness in general, no one is truly upset over their homes.

“Oh, so he has patients,” he curiously prodded, “I didn’t think moo-Macaque would willingly subject himself to interacting with people.”

Before MK could tell him that he is technically true, he can tolerate them at best, they both were startled when multitudes of loud screeches burst their ears wide open as all the monkeys were howling and jumping either on the Monkey King or back on MK.

“What the-” Wukong was fast enough to dodge their grapple, but he thought best if he just waited for now as they didn’t seem to be angry from what he could tell from all their voices talking at once, rather…surprised?

“Yeah, I know Macaque?” MK answered one of the monkeys, who managed to stuff fruit in her sibling's mouth to shut them up. “He’s my dad.”

It was silent for only a moment before they all went wild as the ones that were previously on Wukong jumped over to him and began to screech.

“AHHHH!”

“AHHHH?!” He confusedly screamed as well as he couldn’t understand them all when they yelled like this and, well, he was sorely unprepared for what was happening and just decided to copy them.

“Why are you screaming!” Wukong turned to him in confusion.

“I don’t know! Wait!” He looked down to the bunch that were still screeching wildly, “Are you the same ones that took in my Dad back then?!”

He received violent nodding of heads and/or a screech in afrimation.

“AWESOME!” His eyes sparkled as he gained a mischievous grin, “Then that must mean you know all types of embarrassing things he did back then.”

They all shared the same grin as him. It has been a long time since they have seen their missing tribe member, intellectually they knew that he wasn’t around because of a dispute with their King. But they instinctively knew that their King had missed their mate for a long time now, and while some are a bit miffed that he has left, they all have deeply missed a member of their own. And now they have confirmation that not only is he alive, but he has taken in a new infant of his own?! This is a cause for a celebration.

One of the monkeys does turn to Wukong and gives him the stink eye as she glared at him for not telling them.

“Okay to be fair, I didn’t really expect it to happen,” he held up his hands in apology.

The stink eye intensified.

“And I’m sorry.”

The stare remained.

“And I’ll give you some of the sweet peaches.”

She was satisfied as she went back to picking through the child's hair. Maybe that would teach their King twice before not saying anything again…though she highly doubts it.

“But I’m surprised MK,” he casually watched the cute scene of all of the monkeys snuggling, playing, or just hanging all over his student body. “I didn’t know you could understand them.”

“Well I do have a demon monkey for a dad and I frequently talk to the ones in the forest,” he deadpanned.

“Yeah that makes sense,” he stretched his arms as he casually sat down next to him. “Speaking of forest he-you guys really live in the Plum Blossom Forest?”

“Yep!” He grinned as most of the monkeys finally decided to get off him and play around the area, the only one left was the one who glared at Wukong.

“Can you tell me more about it? I never visited there despite it popping up a couple hundred years ago.”

“Well I can tell you some, but dad knows that place like the back of his hand. He made it after all,” he absentmindedly said as he scratched the back of the monkey's head.

“He made it?” He emphasized his last point, “Are you talking about the forest?”

“Yup!”

“Why?!” And just when he thought he couldn’t be more shocked about his friend, life apparently throws him in for another loop.

“Well Ping-,” he paused and decided otherwise, “actually it’s kinda personal, way above my level.You should just ask dad about it when you have the chance.”

“Ping again,” he couldn’t help but mutter the name, “he must have been real special to Mac if you keep bringing it up.”

“Well I don’t know about special, but dad always says that he is just a regular human that just somehow doesn’t even blink at the most abnormal things that come his way, no matter how bizarre and crazy it may be,” he summarized.

“Must be some human then if he became so interested in him,” the Monkey King casually said as his tail silently moved back and forth just a bit quicker.

“Yup! Dad may never say it, but he really looks up to him and really is grateful for taking him in when he needed it the most,” he unknowingly blurted out, because right after he began to curse himself in his head over this as he froze. But before he could stutter out a flimsy question to redirect the focus away from the mess up he just created, he stilled once more as he felt a furry hand ruffle his head.

“I’m glad,” Wukong let a small grin envelop his face and he said nothing more.

MK took a few moments to process this and just nodded his head.

“Well I think we sat down for long enough,” the sage commented as he began to stand up. “I think it’s time we get to training. Are you ready?”

MK smiled as he let go of the monkey on his lap and jumped up. “I always am!”

“Mmmm I don’t think so I mean,” he held out a purple headband in his grasp, “you obviously forgot to keep watch of your surroundings.”

“My headband! Why is it always my headband!” He fumed and readied his stance for the chase.

“Like I always say, you can’t let your guard down,” and with that he jumped up and began to rapidly climb the mountain. “No matter what the situation may be.”

“We were having a moment!” He yelled out as he quickly followed behind him.

“With emotions? Ew, I’m allergic to that.”

“That’s not a thing!”

“Says you, I for one have been alive for far longer and I can see some things and experienced just as many, so obviously this is totally a thing that can happen.”

“I am a literal physician in training, I am literally learning under the same monkey who has seen and done just as much shit as you have!”

“And he would agree,” he chirped.

“No he would not!”

“Thanks again for the meal,” Pigsy said as he took a sip of his drink as he gently scratched Tang's head on his lap, “I may love to cook, but it’s nice not having to cook once in a while.”

“I feel you there,” Macaque gave a grin as he laid a blanket on both Mei and MK, who were passed out asleep on the couch. “When I am just swamped with work, I would just order some takeout and have one of my clones bring it here.”

“Don’t forget the tea,” Sandy added as he sipped his cup. “Also, are you sure you don’t mind us staying the night?”

“Please, I have more than enough rooms for everyone here and then some,” he waved him off as he spotted another letter on the counter and promptly tore it up and threw it in the trash after he saw what it was, “it’s no problem.”

“Junk mail,” the blue giant absentmindedly said.

“Heh, yeah it is,” he snorted in amusement for some reason as he sat down on the couch.

“So you really just helped the travelers out of spite cause of who they were running from?” Tang couldn’t help but jump back to their previous conversation they had on some of the stories Macaque had shared during his travels.

“Yep.”

“And not out of some benevolent goodwill to them?”

“Not really, I know first hand just how annoying a Yuki-onna, especially that bitch in particular,” he couldn’t stop the disgust in his tone.

“You know her?” Sandy asked.

“Unfortunately, let’s just say I was in the area one time during a snowstorm, cold and starving, did I meet her. She lulled into a false sense of security until I realized that I didn’t hear and then saw that I was half frozen. I got out of there so fast that I didn’t even contemplate my revenge until I could finally feel my feet again.”

“And what happened when you did meet again?” Tang questioned then raised his brow at the monkey's malicious grin.

“Well let’s just say that she dares not to show her face for a long time.”

“Meaning?” Pigsy was almost afraid to ask.

“I made her bald and used a special type of paint to make her skin purple, permanently,” he bluntly stated.

That actually made Sandy choke on his tea as both Tang and Pigsy busted out laughing at the image, though the historian did seem to be leaning more on the hysterical side.

“It shouldn’t be possible to leave a mark on a spirit skin unless it has dealt with tools to banish them, let alone ridding someone of their hair unless they can shapeshift?!”

“Goes to show what you know, I’ve been around quite a bit longer than you and trust me, we are well past the stage of simple banishing.”

“When did that happen? Who even thought of the idea?!”

He opted to say nothing, he wasn’t about to tell anyone that both he and Wukong created this after this one river spirit was getting on both of their nerves. They didn’t want to outright kill them, but to humiliate them enough to make them regret even showing their faces to the sky.

“Back to the merchants,” Sandy redirected the attention, “I know you also briefly mentioned that you helped heal them, have you been a physician for that long?”

“Give or take a couple of years.”

“So you really did go around healing others,” the historian amusedly said as he had broken from his previous hysteria.

Macaque rolled his eyes, “Just when I feel like it.”

“Now I’m curious, how did you decide to become a doctor in the first place?” Pigsy asked.

“Is it cause I sometimes look like either a teenager in their emo phase or too feminine?” He curiously asked. He had been mistaken for both before, though he guess it sometimes doesn’t help that he likes to paint his nails black or keep his mane long and wear feminine style clothing. He’s not complaining though, he didn’t really care about anyone opinion in the way he dress, clothing should not be biased to one gender and he feels good when he can wear whatever the fuck he want.

“No? Just curious,” though that does bring up some more questions on why he asked that.

“Just happened to learn it off of a human a few centuries back and it just didn’t stop,” he shrugged.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Well that’s a bit anticlimactic,” Tang pouted.

“Sucks to suck, but I can truthfully say that I have no regrets learning medicine.”

“Really? Even when things go sideways?” The gentle giant gently prodded.

“Those times are hard, but no no regrets. Especially since it helped bring MK to me,” he nostalgically smiled.

“How so?”

“Well I was actually out of bandages one day and went to the city to pick up some more and I decided to take my time walking back and then I saw him and the rest is history.” He can still remember just how small starlight was and just how tired, both physically and mentally, he was. If he closes his eyes, he can still draw out every scar, bump, bruise or rib that looked too harsh on his bright child. “He really brought a new spark in my life.”

“And you to him as well,” Sandy smiled.

Mac snorted and shook his head, “He would have still been his same kind, bright and enthusiastic self even without me.”

“Maybe, but I’m glad that he didn’t have to suffer for it,” the pig demon added. It may not be obvious at first glance, but there is a spark in both, hell even Mei, eyes whenever they see the other. He couldn’t tell if it was from relief, safety, comfort or all of the above, but just when they are with each other, everything seems to fall into place. “And besides, I think you did a damn good job raising him.”

Both demon and human nodded in agreement.

The monkey demon couldn’t help the small smile forming on his lips. Pigsy words may have been brief, but for some reason, he felt his lingering doubts and dread, that has been flooding his mind since the confrontation, ease up.

They all continued to quietly talk to one another as the night continued on as one by one they all slowly let the night air drift them off to sleep.

“It seems rather slow today,” Tang mentioned as he looked around the empty shop.

“You're telling me,” Pigsy muttered as he wiped down the already clean counter. “Not a single person nor demon stepped in since the lunch rush.”

“Which means less work for me,” the MK clone said as he lounged on the booth.

“Why I outta,” he said before Tang continued.

“That is a bit strange, but it’s not quite so bad,” he said with a coy smile.

“What is that supposed to me-” he was once more cut off as the historian surprised him with a long kiss on the lips. “Oh, I guess that’s not so bad,” he muttered when they came back for air and leaned in once more.

Unfortunately they were rudely interrupted when Mei and Sandy burst through the doors and closed it with a loud bang.

“GUYS! HE’S BACK!”

“GHA!” Tang was startled enough to fall out of his chair.

“What the-what's the big idea you guys!” Pigsy gripped the counter as he glared at them, but then it turned to confusion as he saw that both human and demon were strangely in disarray with their clothes torn and scratched on their bodies.

“Are you guys okay?” The historian asked when he too saw a good look at them.

“We have a huge problem!” Mei paused as she quickly closed the blinds and glanced out the window.

“Big problem!”

“What happened?! What’s going on?”

“Demon Bull King is back,” the pigtailed girl continued.

“What!”

“And his clones have been terrorizing everyone and destroying the city!” The blue giant continued as he patted the frazzled cat on his shoulder.

“WHAT!”

“It’s mad chaos out there,” she dramatically said, “even Mac is out there blowing those machines to bits, and trying to get people to safety, but it doesn’t seem like it’s gonna stop. Wait-,” she eyed the relaxed clone and her eyes twitched. “Please don’t tell me-”

“Training with the Monkey King,” Tang and Pigsy simultaneously said.

“Damn it!” She facepalm, “well we’re just gonna have to hold them off until he gets here.”

Everyone, except the clone, nodded in determination as they got prepared for the coming battle.

“I think we need a little wardrobe change, some of us more than others,” Tang said as he eyed both Mei and Sandy clothes.

“Tang, do you really think we have time for this?” The pink demon questioned.

“Oh honey,” his glasses glinted as he held up a needle and thread, “there is always time for a wardrobe change.”

“Eh why not,” Sandy shrugged.

“I’m done for it,” she grinned, “but make sure it’s cool.”

“One apocalyptic style clothes coming right up,” he eagerly said as he made quick work of all their clothing.

“We’re gonna die,” clone MK boredly said as he flipped through the magazine.

Pigsy couldn’t say anything as he sighed and continued to get the weapons.