#on a tangent was really cool - i need to know more random helpful things for when i'm a teacher iuygtfcvghjikuygtfg
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learned new things about a really pretty painting today and learned about a french artist from the 1800s that i didn’t know about before i love teaching
#like this isn't sarcastic searching for and finding the painting was fun but then looking it up and learning about it was really cool too!#i'm using it as a visual to help teach how to analyze tomorrow! the kiddos uhhhhhhh. y'all they um. aren't good at analysis. at all.#the pre-assessment went SO terribly iuyfcghjiuygfcdfghujhgfcgvhj#the thing is i Know that they're so much more capable than that - and even more so much more capable than they showed on their quiz i just#graded. and when i say quiz i mean one question short answer response lol#love analysis tho cannot wait to teach it! i hope they learn Something uygtfghuygtfcgvhjuygtfghuygtfg#aNYWAYS#teaching the next three days - my methods prof is coming to observe me tuesday (terrified lol) and i'm filming for edtpa haha#it's gonna be a Week lol#idk this is so random ik it's just an old white french guy but i don't really get into paintings so like Actually looking stuff up and going#on a tangent was really cool - i need to know more random helpful things for when i'm a teacher iuygtfcvghjikuygtfg
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TADC Yapfest Timeee
As a certified yapper, the need to shove my random assortment of ideas down your throat has been tearing me apart. Therefore, I deem it yapfest time. Also, media literacy is apparently at an all-time low and I am nothing but a product of the environment I am molded in and I require you to understand that.
~♡~
Do you guys know that face Caine made when talking about mixing up NPCs and humans? What do you guys think that implied? Was it a red herring or hinting at something else? Because I so happen to have two things going on in my head.
Firstly and most obviously, I believe that some of the cast are NPCs in disguise. This first came to me with the realization that Jax, Pomni, and Ragatha all sound like real names (Jack or just...Jax, Penny, and Agatha) while Gangle and Zooble didn't (unless there are names similar in other countries I'm unaware of). Then I remembered that Kinger exists, and if Kinger is an NPC I won't recover. The idea that Zooble might be an NPC does seem likely to me for a multitude of reasons.
The first reason: Zooble's refusal to go on Caine's adventures. I doubt an NPC would like to go anywhere in a fake world after discovering what you were. Secondly, Zooble (to me) looks vastly different from the rest of the cast. She looks like she doesn't belong with the other circus members. I can't really find the description of what the rest of the cast looks like other than neat, while Zooble is just a jumble of objects and assortments. It looks like she belonged to a different world and ended up there. That might just be cool character design though and I'm an idiot. Overall Zooble just seems out of place but that might just be because it's episode ONE.
My second idea, one thats been lingering in my mind that Caine himself is human and just forgot after being there for so long. While maybe not as coherent or has as much supportive evidence as the previous it's still there. Perhaps Caine worked for the company that created the Circus, was put in there to run the first run-through, but never made it out. If he was the first trapee, maybe he would have been given host commands, and that would explain why he was the control of the circus (like a party leader).
~♡~
Within my no-sleep-filled fever dream of a mind, this led me to another conclusion. If people had been around this long, why was the game so unfinished? Why were people from the outside not helping. Now this is where my incompetency comes in because due to the Caine actually being human thing I had the idea, maybe the Circus project was abandoned, and that's why the game itself is so unfinished with people abstracting, no exit, things glitching in and out of the world so easily. After Caine they were just like "Oh shit, yeah let's not work on this no more", but people still end up finding their way in. (I also had the idea, as my boyfriend keeps trying to put random numbers in this paragraph, perhaps they queued too many testees. Every time someone abstracts, the next person in line joins but has no memory of that wait.) There's that one thing about Pomni working for the company that created TADC, +8and like I'm not well-versed in TADC theory and canon things I watched like maybe 2 episodes, saw a couple funny posts but...
The place looks run down, abandoned. What self-respecting office space would allow papers to litter the floor. Or a dusty, moldy-looking computer.
It looks like the company abandoned the workplace, this project, everything. Maybe Pomni got put in a queue of sorts, waited until there was an open space available to play. (Kaufmo. R.I.P)
~♡~
A different tangent. I saw something that mentioned TADC was inspired by "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream". Although I'm unaware how true that is, it does lead me to wonder what the end for Pomni will be like. Will she end up saving the others from the digital hell, but be stuck there forever in return? Would she end up as Caine or be stuck with him to live out eternity?
also this is 100% going to be a problem, look at all of them just chilling.
I wrote this tangent at almost midnight, please forgive me I will edit in the morning (Afternoon).
Edited: more well written
#:3#the amazing digital circus#tadc#fan theories#stupid talks#tangent#yapfest#i have no mouth and i must scream#tadc pomni#tadc zooble#tadc caine#tadc theory
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hi liz :)) i was wondering if u could talk a bit abt your art process when u have a moment? u mentioned that u have a hard time visualising things once, so i was wondering how u go abt creating new pieces? like inspo, references, finding ur style
i also have a hard time w visualising so i can only directly copy pics rn, hoping to get away from that :’) and i havent seen any other artists mention this, so anything u have to say is rlly helpful 🙏
i loveee ur new itafushi so very cute !!! hope ur well <3333
Hi Rin! Thank you for this ask?!! I feel a 10k word essay spilling out of my veins rn.. JKJK I’ll try keep it concise (but it is 6am so pls forgive).
So pretty much most of my pieces (that are not studies) start with some kind of story/scene behind them (like rather than a visual idea). Then I think about how I would make it come to life in a movie. But because I can't be drawing a million frames daily trying to animate, I think about how I can capture this story (plot/emotion/vibes(?)) in a single frame. I would say a typical process would be something like: story idea -> look up references -> draw. I do rely quite heavily on references though so it can be a bit hard to capture exactly what I want, so that mostly comes from tweaking facial expressions/hand positions/minor changes in posture (these things do convey A LOT of emotion though). but tbh I don't always do this, sometimes I settle for just good enough lol.. Sometimes references just don't do it and that's when I do stuff from scratch, good example for this is when I drew Yuuta Maki and Megumi from your dance AU. In this case I basically move the characters around until my brain says, yes this is correct and also using my irl experience to help guide me. It takes a long time to figure out though so I don't do it often, it's something I really need to work on.
Sometimes I also just have no ideas at all, in which case its more look up references -> get an idea/draw random refs until an idea sticks in my head. Like the new itafushi sketches I did has a theme to it but it initially started off with me just trying to draw different things bc I had no idea at all. Then I drew something which sparked a thought in my head then it was back to looking for references based on this story I was trying to tell. BUT also sometimes I just really like how a reference looks and I want to put that down on paper. Like example of this is the itafushi one shot I want to write, it was inspired entirely by a single shot composition I really liked in a show and I just need to draw it. Story comes later whatever lmao
TBH previously (like before I quit and picked up drawing again months back) I never used to do this at all. I would just draw people looking pretty and that's it (which there is nothing wrong with that either btw! I still do it sometimes, especially in my sketchbook). But I have found a lot of inspiration in Gege Akutami and Tatsuki Fujimoto's works. I fell in love with how they were telling their stories and I know they're both movie buffs and incorporate a lot of cinematic elements in their work. (and like going off on a tangent, the csm anime adaption is so top tier because they literally made it look like a live action movie which like how. And I mean jjk s2 as well has some very cool cinematic scenes and I'm just like ughhhhhh, btw Shota Goshozono is so goated) I think I can go on for miles about this. Anyway that's what made me kinda move more towards telling stories > drawing pretty pictures.
In terms of references I definitely do the good ol Pinterest. Sometimes google, but sometimes also movies and tv shows. I try to combine multiple references when I'm drawing (if I'm not being lazy), I think it goes a long way in making your work look more interesting. Also no one talks about how it takes SKILL to find references honestly. And sometimes it's so awkward, like I'd rather die than have someone look at my search history when looking for references. So if you feel like you're looking up something weird, no you aren't.
umm okay that's already way too long so TT I hope that at least address something. and I am sooo excited to see you draw!! I can't wait to see more of your work, drawing or writing <3 Also please just ask me more questions if I'm not making sense orz
#liz’s.asks#I'm am truly sorry that this is so long#I am a little embarrassed abt this bc these things may not come off as clearly in my work#but I'm trying!!
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Hii! It's been a while, I hope you're doing well! I've missed you! I'm in the discord but I'm not very active as I'm super busy but I came on to ask a random question?
So for background info, it seems some people don't know but there's this really cool app seperate but connected to Spotify that will show you all of your Spotify statistics, minutes, stream counts, and top artists and tracks, etc. Also consistently up to date too. I absolutely love looking at my data and such (basically your wrapped but all year) *also should mention you have to contact Spotify and they'll send your data and such, otherwise it's a more basic version in case anyone was wondering*
Well I was talking about it and my coworker mentioned it was strange how much I listen to music, others said it was really excessive too. Could that be a bad thing?
I am pretty much non stop listening to music. Mostly for background but I can't really stand not having some sort of distraction or background noise. We're allowed to wear a headphone at work and I don't watch much tv so I'm listening to it at home non stop too. Should I not be listening to music this much? music is absolutely a huge part of my life and is my top coping skill too. Besides when I need a break sensory wise, I can't stand silence. My head gets pretty loud and I get anxious. It just seemed a bit weird to me about how my coworkers were so shocked to see how much music I listen to. And it shocked me just as much of how little they do.
Hii!! *Waves* Welcome to the inbox :3
Ok so first off, it's likely true that you listen to more music than most people, but I absolutely don't think that it's a bad thing!
It sounds to me that music is pleasure, coping and comfort in your life, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that!
I think a lot of neurodivergent people listen to a lot of music compared with the norm, and psychosis and schizo spec people are definitely not an exception. Music can help both with overstimulation and with understimulation, and it can help drown out unwelcome auditory hallucinations as well. Music can help lift our mood, just as it can help us feel seen and heard when we're in a bad mood.
A lot of people just either don't have the same benefit, or the same need, so they listen to less music. As humans we tend to assume that our experience is much more universal than it is. So just like your co-workers were shocked at how much you listen to music, you are shocked at how little they do! It's surprising, because as long as we are not confronted with this type of bias, we tend to just assume that we are approximately as everyone else.
And often these realizations can be very meaningful upon confrontation. For example learning that other people have an easier time with this or that thing. It impacts someone's self image (realizing you have an impairment) which can lead to self acceptance in the long run, but often starts out more in the territory of 'I'm weak' or 'I'm wrong'.
Then you know, once you're in treatment, everyone is quick to pathologize everything, up to and including yourself.
And it creates this mental landscape where whenever you find one of these things where you are different from some peers.. it creates anxiety. Like oh no is this disordered? Am I 'wrong'?
And i know this is a tangent, but my point is. Listen to your music! Enjoy it! Fill your life with as much comfort and pleasure as you can. There's no downside inherent to this quirk, so unless it was causing you distress in some way (beyond worrying if it's wrong or weird), I urge you to lay the questioning aside and enjoy the music!
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Ok so I have another baby on of David and Angel and I swear this is the last one for me
Ok so when Angel and David found out that they were having a kid I wonder how would Asher and Milo react when David and Angel tell them the news that they are having a kid or how would the rest of the pack react
Thank you :']
Pack Reactions to David and Angel having a baby
Awwww dude this is so fucking cute! Send me as many of these as you want I love writing them.
I'm gonna write this in a headcannon style so if you want me to make a fic of it lemme know. I hope you like it!
༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄༄
Asher🌙
•He literally cried
•And it's not even his baby
•He's instantly asking David what he needs help with
•Whether it's making the baby room or baby proofing the room
•Babe literally has to stop him from going on any tangents
•But if David is feeling scared or anxious about being a dad Asher will reassure him in anything he needs
•I like the Asher is a really good artist hc so I believe that he'll make a lot of art for the two
•He also makes art for when the baby arrives
•He has claimed himself as the cool aunt
•He's the baby's godfather and you CANNOT tell me otherwise
•If David isn't there to help Angel, Asher will do it
•He makes a bet with Babe and Milo about the gender of the baby
Milo🐶
•The minute this man he screamed from joy
•He so fucking happy that he's getting a little wolf nephew/niece
•He, David, and Angel are the ones who design the room
•He and Marie buy so many baby products
•He gifts them to David at random times
•during pack meets or meet ups
•Milo has a baby product
•In my head I think Milo and Sweetheart had a kid first
•So when David and Angel announce that they're having a baby, Milo instantly wants his and David's kid to be friends
•He definitely teacher David the ways of being a father
•He's also way to happy for it not to be his own baby
•Him and Asher fight over who would the cool uncle be
Darlin'
•His honestly shocked that David and Angel are having a kid
•Not because they don't think he can't handle having a kid
•But bc David just doesn't seem like someone who would have a baby
•But is so supportive
•They and Sam constantly come over to check up on Angel whenever David is busy
•Will bully David into letting them take Angel out
•If David says that they can watch the baby they are so fucking scared they'll fuck up
•Helps build and put together any baby things Milo gave David
•Teases David about begin a dad
•Will and is going to teach that child how to fight
•Neither Milo or Asher are the cool uncles when it comes to Darlin'
•Also reassures David that he's gonna be a good dad
•Also reassures Angel if they feel like they're gonna be bad parents
•Darlin' and Sam also buy baby products for Davey and Angel (more of Darlin' buys it and Sam says it him cause they're to embarrassed to)
The rest of the pack🐺
•They are all very excited Angel and David are having a kid
•They all celebrate in such a huge way
•Probably half of Daliha can hear them
•They will baby the absolute shit out of Angel
•Half the pack takes care of Angel
•The other half bother David
•Arden and Amanda talk with Angel about baby names
•Christan and Kelsey talk to David about the same thing
•They all agree to name the baby Gabe if it's a boy
•Will and is going to act a lot more different when they hear the news about their alpha having a kid
•They all try so hard to be more professional
•They try and make David relax
•If they see David being anxious Asher is gonna call a break and everyone helps David
•The pack was put together before
•Its even more put together now
•They're just really excited for this baby
#redacted asmr#redacted asmr x reader#redacted davey#redacted angel#redacted milo#redacted sweetheart#redacted asher#redacted babe#redacted christian#redacted arden#Redacted kelesy#redacted amanda#redacted shaw pack#redacted asmr ask#axel 💫
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3 or 4 families in a seaside town...
I get big Emma vibes from Hometown Cha Cha Cha. Honestly, kdramas in general I feel have a lot in common with the plots of historical Western romantic comedies - it's something I find very interesting - but that's a tangent for now. But this show has a very particular vibe.
The thing that most strikes me is the setting. Both Hometown and Emma rely on the location of a small town to provide the basis of its characters and plots. Both Highbury and Gongjin are almost an extra character in their importance. The nature of the small town provides a reason for the characters to be there and gives them a strict hierarchy within village life. In Highbury, the relative class status between the Woodhouses, Westons, Knightleys, Coles, Goddards, Elliots etc. is key to the plot. In the same way, society in Gongjin is also highly structed from village chief to restaurant owners to landlords to grandmas and then to the incomers who are Hyejin and Miseon, the film crew, the actors, the pervert etc.
The other aspect of the small town location that is so similar between the two works is the aspect of a community knowing everything about each other, gossip, and care. In Gonjin, gossip forms the backbone of the community's life, including making things very awkward for Hyejin while also being used as a vehicle to hint at and resolve mysteries about characters' backstories. In the same way in Highbury, everyone knows everybody's business and one of the most clever aspects of the novel is the way in which Miss Bates' seemingly random gossip in fact contains all the crucial information needed to solve the mystery of Frank Churchill and Jane Fairfax. This same gossip and threat of it is also very hurtful in particular to Jane.
But both communities take care of each other and this is where parallels in characters start to emerge. In Gongjin, Dushik takes care of the whole village through his indiscriminate kindness and his many part time jobs and is consequently adopted as their child. In Highbury, Mr. Knightley as the richest and most significant landlord in the area also takes care of those in need, from sending food to the Bateses to offering his carriage to Jane. In return, he is respected above anyone else.
In both works the heroine is at least initially to some people entitled and dislikeable. Both Emma and Hyejin are snobs who believe themselves above the rest of the community and a major part of their character development is coming to terms with their mistaken thinking and reaching out to be a more worthy part of the community. Both make truly horrific public acts of prejudice and snobbery and must perform acts of genuine atonement before they can be accepted. (Insulting Oh Yoon's music in public for Hyejin and Emma's snub of Miss Bates.)
And yet both heroines have kindly intentions and are good, albeit complicated, people. Emma means well when she takes Harriet under her wing even if the outcomes are disastrous and her judgement of characters like Mr. and Mrs. Elton show her intelligence. Hyejin hides her kindness in acts she can be detached from such as giving charity from a distance. Both lack a mother in their life and have a complicated relationship with their father.
And crucially from the romance perspective, both are forced to confront their flaws by the hero who is the only person willing both to call them out and believe in their goodness underneath everything else. Dushik and Mr. Knightley have remarkably similar roles towards Hyejin and Emma despite their intial relationship being very different. Emma and Mr. Knightley have known each other all their life, after all.
There are various other parallels - the love triangle with the overly amiable rival, jealousy of whom helps the hero to understand his feelings; the way strange mysteries about the town and the characters' backstories are cleverly interwoven and revealed over the course of the plot... but I'd say these are the main ones.
I find it really cool to see such an Emma-esque narrative in a kdrama. Pride and Prejudice is such a straight forward type of inspiration (though tbh I rarely feel that things that people claim are obviously P&P inspired actually are - usually it's a short hand for "rich/poor enemies to lovers story" with little actual connection to the source material) but Emma is a bit different and whether there's any intentional connection or not, it's refreshing to see a story in this vein!
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Hey, I vicariously live in my imagination to escape from the reality.
So, I have been wondering about the Rogues reaction to Tony defeating thanos, the IronSmaug, taking over the world etc...
Have a go at it, if you are interested.
It's also fine if you dont.
thanks, I really, really needed the distraction. it's been. an interesting week. not in a good way.
.
tbh, the whole 'what does Team Cap think about this mess?' thing in TWiFFON is...something I had originally been torn about, and everything that's been happening ever since means I keep finding myself going "do I have the energy to tackle this? lol no".
For some context, because you probably know my stance on this sort of thing but I prefer redundancy just to make sure we're on the same page: once upon a time, I honestly, genuinely did like the Avengers. All of them, and yes, that included Wanda [...for less than an hour, but still].
Back when I still had faith in the writers, I was constantly going "...okay, so when are these guys going to stop acting so OOC? Where tf are they planning on taking these character arcs?" and just being disappointed at each turn— but I stuck around because I liked the potential. Steve "what do you mean punching fascists isn't cool anymore?" Rogers, Natasha "my past is a tire fire and I'll just leave it at that" Romanov, Clint "where's Loki? Let me at him!" Barton and the rest of the group had their good points, and I gave myself a headache trying to figure out wtf was their thought process when the time came for them to do their thing in TWiFFON.
It wasn't fun, I only did it because it was absolutely necessary... and I still ended up receiving complaints.
Look: for me, character bashing is exhausting. I have enough going down in my life that I don't have any interest in writing it, and over the past few years I've seen more than one of the fandoms I follow/lurk in become salt mines that have me going "...okay, if you hate it so much, why are you even here?"
When I write, I try my best to emphasize the 'actions have consequences' thing I learned long before I hit puberty; but that doesn't mean I'm up for anything beyond that. Again, I used to like these characters, so seeing the levels of suffering canon— and some writers— put them through just has me stepping back for a moment.
But TWiFFON attracted a lot of people who were pretty far out there in terms of what they wanted, some of whom got very very pissy when it wasn't the story I wanted to write, which is...probably like 99% of the reason I'm still burned out on that AU. Apart from the recent personal life bs that means I am Not Up To Dealing With any hypothetical rando that shows up in my inbox, because normally I could not care less about what people think but my energy levels are. Um. Not great atm. Not sure I wouldn't bite anyone's head off if they wanted to start something right now, tbh, or just ragequit writing for a while because I have way better things to do with my time than deal with random internet assholes.
...apologies for the tangent, but now you know why that situation is one I'm normally kinda reluctant on tackling.
As for what I'd originally headcanoned:
Back before things hit the fan, I'd originally planned to have some little interlude snippets of what Team Cap's been dealing with. Mostly, it would've forced them to acknowledge that for all none of them liked or trusted Tony, he was basically just the personification of what the rest of the world thought of them.
Nobody respects them, anymore, or trusts them; Clint'd be in very hot water and sleeping on the couch for a while, and Hank Pym would never let Scott hear the end of his involvement in this whole thing because Hank hates the Stark name and the English language cannot concisely articulate just how pissed off he was that he had to publicly thank Tony.
Team Cap overall would also start to fall apart at the seams as more and more stuff came out and ey, turns out the leader they'd trusted and broken international laws for had lied to them.
By omission, sure, but honestly— do you think that'd go down well? The "oh yeah, I've known my brainwashed friend killed his parents since DC but I am not going to tell him unless I'm forced to" thing?
I don't know about you, but I for one highly doubt Sam Wilson would be okay with that. Or Clint, for that matter, and the list goes on because the more time passes, the more stuff keeps coming out of the woodwork and for the first time in years, they're forced to deal with it.
One of the things I planned to include in the sidefic can basically be summed up as "the curious case of Bucky Barnes": that is to say, what'd happen after he's taken into custody, and poke lightly at the clusterfuck we're unpacking here. Tony, feeling bad for losing control in the bunker, would basically go "shit I fucked up but I also never want to see him again but he's an even bigger mess than I am, that's a whole lot to unpack so you know what? I'm just throwing out the suitcase entirely here, have all the resources for support and help and if I ever see you again, it'll be too soon".
...to sum up, it's messy af. SI Legal would feature heavily because his particular case means he needs a team of lawyers, what with the 'former POW who's trying to recover from All The Trauma' thing, and the 'so I literally was just trying to buy some damn groceries when you guys dragged me into this', and Tony basically went "hey, so if anyone wants to help him, uh, I kinda have some interest in this one. Fair warning, dude probably killed Kennedy while mind-controlled, with our luck".
And along the way, there'd also be some of that one subplot I'd cut due to pacing issues: specifically, the one dealing with prosthetics.
Remember how Miriam Sharpe said her son would never walk again? Yeah, we'd be revisiting that: her family'd get a letter or something inviting them for clinical trials, and meet Rhodey in passing as he's using his own leg braces to get around because he's still healing. Bucky would get a few design offers for a free replacement for his arm, and it'd probably end up being a collab with Wakanda because T'Challa feels bad for his role in that mess as well.
So Team Cap would be seeing this, seeing how everyone's acting and reacting, and the way one of their own is getting all the help and support Stark Industries has to offer and realizing that yeah, they messed up. Big time.
...depending on my salt levels and how close we're sticking to canon, I was thinking this'd go one of two ways.
Either they'd double down and just go "ugh, Tony is a supervillain and we can't do anything about it!" while TWiFFON marches on and then later go "...you mean he did it by accident?!", or...
Well, canon's proven character development and continuity isn't really in their writers' vocabulary. So my original idea of 'they're forced to deal with the reality of the situation, acknowledge they messed up and slowly move on with their lives' would've been very unrealistic.
Again, most of this is intentionally vague, I had not been keen to tackle that mess in TWiFFON in the first place and the way things exploded on me means I really, really don't have the energy to do so now. Not when there's far better things I could do with my time, like mess around with AUs where people actually get along, or knit, or— well, the list goes on.
#The War is Far From Over Now#From the Other Side [A Terror To Behold]#thinking aloud#I got an ask!#Naught replies#replies#behind the scenes
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Flowers for Spencer
Fandom: Criminal Minds
Pairing: Spencer Reid x F!Reader
Summary: Spencer starts receiving flowers from a secret admirer. A different one each day, a different meaning.
A/N: It’s 2am and I decided to write a spencer reid oneshot because i’m completely soft for this man. enjoy.
A white carnation sat on Spencer’s desk when he arrived to work. Just a single flower with no note or indication of who it was from.
He picked it up with an intrigued expression on his face, gaining the attention of Emily and Derek.
“Whatcha got there, Reid?” Emily asked as she set her things on her desk.
“Dianthus caryophyllus, also known as a carnation. Different colored carnations represent different meanings. For example, a white carnation represents something being sweet or love.”
Derek snorted, “Someone in love with you, Reid?”
The young doctor shrugs, “I don’t know. I might be looking too much into it. Someone probably just picked a random flower and placed it on my desk.”
Emily cocked her head to the side and looked at Spencer curiously, “No, I think that flower was given to you for a reason, Reid.” Her eyes widened and she stood up from her desk, pointing at the flower, “I bet someone has a crush on you and they’re trying to tell you through the flowers!”
“That’s creepy,” Derek retorted as he took a sip from his coffee.
Emily rolled her eyes, “Well I think it’s sweet.”
“What’s sweet?” you ask when you approach Spencer and Emily, handing them their respective to-go cups of coffee.
“Our good doctor here has a secret admirer,” Derek points out with a grin.
You look back at Spencer with a soft smile, “That so?”
He shyly smiles back and shrugs, “It could be nothing. But it’s nice. Never received flowers before.”
“Well whoever it is, that’s very sweet of them. Anyway, JJ said to meet in the briefing room in five. I just gotta grab some files to I’ll see you guys there.”
____________
The next day, Spencer found another flower on his desk. This time it was a
“Bellis perennis, known as the common daisy.” Spencer states when JJ, Derek, Penelope, and Emily gather around him as he holds the flower in between his fingers.
“And what does this one stand for?” Emily asks.
“Innocence and purity.”
Derek nods in agreement, “I mean, I think that sums you up perfectly, Reid.”
Spencer looks at him confusedly, “Thanks?”
“Okay, okay. Do we know anyone who has a particular fondness of flowers?”
The small group stand in silence for three seconds and proceeded to shake their heads, “Nope. Not a clue.”
You approached everyone with files in your arms and a curious look on your face, “What’s everyone standing around for?”
“Our adorable Doctor Reid received another flower from his secret admirer. They think he’s innocent and pure.” Derek chimes in, answering your question.
“Which I don’t understand, at all.” Spencer retorts.
“I think it’s cute,” Penelope states, “Guys often don’t receive flowers and I’m glad it’s you, Spencer.”
“Thanks, Garcia.” he replies shyly and then looks back at you, “Do you have any idea who it might be? Have you seen anyone hanging close to my desk lately?”
You give him a shake of your head, “No, sorry, Spence. But I think it’s nice of whoever it is for them to do this.”
He hums in agreement and sits back down at his desk once everyone disperses, “Oh!” his face lights up, “I just remembered, the new edition of Agents of Atlas series released today! If we have time, you wanna come with me to get it?”
“Sure! Maybe afterwards, we can go to the pizza place down the street from there?”
“Sounds like a plan!”
“Great!” you say enthusiastically before following JJ to her office.
Derek, who witnessed the interaction, rolled over to Spencer’s desk with a smirk on his face, “You and Y/N?”
Spencer already gives him a disapproving look, “We’re just friends.”
“What if she’s your secret admirer? It makes sense right? Ever since JJ hired her as her assistant, you two have been connected at the hip! You’re into the same nerdy stuff, she always listens to you go off on your tangents. She’s sweet and pretty and-”
“And we’re just friends,” Spencer said again with a pointed look, “I don’t-” he paused and let out a sigh, “I don’t think she sees me like that, Morgan. She’s-She’s too good for me.”
It was Derek’s turn to give him a pointed look, “Reid, she’s perfect for you. But fine, whatever. Instead of yearning for some mystery person you have your dream girl right in front of you.” he then rolls back to his desk, getting back into the zone of looking over case files.
_________
It’s been almost two years since you were hired to be JJ’s assistant. She was an amazing and efficient woman, but she finally caved after she realized that work was consuming her and she needed help. That’s when you stepped in and it was the best thing to ever happen to you. Sort of. Sure, you had to read through some really violent and cruel files, but you also aided in helping save lives. Not to mention, you grew close to the one Doctor Spencer Reid.
On your first day, you two immediately hit it off. He noticed your Star Trek pin on your bag, quoting a Spock line to you that made you grin from ear to ear.
You two shared a lot of the same interests and your personalities were fairly similar. Derek had complained that now there were two Reids he had to work with, but you knew he meant it jokingly.
Getting to know Spencer and growing close with him was something you enjoyed. You loved spending time with him, listening to him ramble and go on random tangents. Everything he said was so remarkably fascinating, you wished he would never stop talking. You grew to like him more than a friend.
Eventually, you realized that your small crush you harbored had grown into something more and you didn’t know what to do. Spencer was the best friend you’ve ever had. He understood you so well and not to mention you two got along fantastically. You just didn’t want to put your friendship at risk.
So what did you resort to? Leaving him flowers to express how you felt.
______________
“Is that lavender?” Penelope asked, sniffing the air when she entered the bullpen.
Derek nodded, “Yup. Another gift from Spencer’s secret admirer. Apparently this one means admiration.”
She looked at Spencer in awe, “Wow. A flower every single day this week, Spencer. This person must really like you! You got an idea who it is yet?”
He shook his head, “Nope.”
That made her confused, “But you’re a profiler. Can’t you figure it out? Oh! Wait! I can hack into the cameras and figure it out for you!” she began to rush towards her office, but Spencer called out to her.
“Please, don’t. I-I don’t wanna embarrass whoever this is.”
“But don’t you wanna know who’s gone sweet on ya?” she asks with a friendly smile.
He shrugs, “Yeah, but-I don’t know. I want them to build up the courage to reveal themselves to me. Plus...I like the attention. No one’s ever given me flowers before, let alone shown this much interest in me.”
Penelope wanted to say something, something that she knew but also didn’t know. She had a hunch, but she didn’t want to rile Spencer up with the risk of her being wrong. So instead, she gave him a smile and a nod, and said, “Understood.”
____________
It was late and everyone had left for the night. A case still in progress, but Hotch ordered everyone to get a good night’s sleep to rest their brains.
You were the only one left, wanting to finish up some tasks that you haven’t been able to complete since the case had emerged.
When you were finished, you exited JJ’s office and peered into the bullpen. Empty. So you quickly and carefully pulled out the flower that you planned on giving Spencer.
You rushed over to his desk, placing it at his workstation, a soft smile on your lips.
“You should tell him,” the voice made you jump with a gasp. Heart on your hand you turned around to see Hotch standing in the doorway of his office.
“I thought everyone left.” you murmured.
“Just had some things to finish up.” he closed his office door and walked towards you. He stood before you, stuffing his hands in his pockets and nodded towards Spencer’s desk, “You should tell him.”
“I will just not right now. I just-I don’t know how to tell him. And if I do, what if he rejects me? Then our entire friendship is washed down the toilet because I couldn’t control my feelings.”
“He likes you too, Y/N.”
“How do you know?”
“I’m a profiler. It’s my job,” he says with a smirk. He gives you a soft nudge, “Lemme walk you to your car.”
You sighed and agreed, following him out of the bullpen with a plan brewing in your mind.
___________
“Ranunculus,” Spencer’s head shoots up when he hears your voice and sees you staring down at him, “Means you have charm and you’re attractive. But I’m sure you knew that already.”
He clears his throat and sits up more, “Yeah,” he looks down at the flower in his hand and back up at you, “So what do you think of all this? It’s been a week and a half and my secret admirer still hasn’t revealed themselves to me. Should I just treat it as a case and start profiling them?”
A part of you wanted to reject that idea completely, but you had to remain cool. So you shrugged, “Don’t know. Maybe they’re just trying to buy a little bit more time.”
“I think by the end of the week, if they don’t reveal themselves, I’ll just go looking for them instead. Do you think that sounds like a good idea?”
“It’s your life, Spence. You do what you want. My opinion shouldn’t matter.”
“But it does. Your opinion matters a lot to me,” he says softly, a shy grin on his face, one that you came to love.
You hear someone clear their throat and you turn around to see JJ, “Sorry, Y/N, but I need some help.”
“Right, sorry!” you give Spencer a wave and head back to JJ’s office to assist her.
________________
It was the last day of the week and Spencer was disappointed to find his desk lacking a flower.
His coworkers all peering at the surface, frowns matching his own.
“No flower?” Emily asked.
“Guess not.”
“Maybe someone took it and threw it away?” Derek asked.
Spencer shook his head, “No. No. I think-I think that means they’re gonna come clean. My secret admirer is going to reveal themselves to me today.”
Cue the group discussing who it could possibly, chattering among themselves sharing their own respective theories. All the while, Spencer plops into his chair and begins to take out a file and notebook from his bag.
When he hears someone clear their throat, he looks up, eyes catching yours briefly before landing on a single red rose in your hand.
“Hi,” you greeted him mousily. Nervous butterflies fluttering in your stomach.
“Hi,” Spencer murmured softly, standing to his feet, “Whatcha got there?”
You look down at the rose, finger delicately grazing along its petals, “For you,” you extend it to him and he takes it, “It’s me. I’m your secret admirer. And if you don’t feel the same, it’s okay. i just-I dunno. You’re kind and smart and funny and wonderful and an amazing friend. I’ve never met anyone like you, Spencer.”
“How long?”
“Hm?” you look at him now and you see the softness in his eyes.
“How long have you had feelings for me?”
“Three months after I started working here.”
He chuckles in disbelief, “Almost two years and we could’ve been dating during this entire time.”
You look at him confusedly until realization struck you, “You-”
“Yeah,” he says with a smile, “For just as long.”
“Oh,” you say with a shy grin.
“Score!” Penelope and Derek high five, breaking the sweet moment you and Spencer were having. JJ and Emily were digging through their wallets handing over the other two money.
Realizing what was happening, both you and Spencer looked at them in shock, “You bet on us?!”
“Not necessarily,” Emily murmured in dismay.
“We all made bets on who we thought the secret admirer was. Morgan and Garcia bet it was you.”
“And I did as well,” Hotch added with a smirk on his face as he reached out to collect his winnings.
You scoffed, “That’s not fair, Hotch! You already knew!”
The group looked at their boss in surprise and disappointment. He shrugged, “I caught her placing a flower on his desk last week when everyone left.”
“I’ll be taking that!” Spencer plucked the money out of Hotch’s hands.
“And what’re you gonna use that money on?” Derek asked.
Spencer looked at you and smiled, “A date.”
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Meeting and Dating Ray Stantz
(Not my gif)(Requested by anonymous)
- You first met Ray when you were both still working at the University. You worked down the hall from him and would run into him frequently.
- In the mornings, the two of you would arrive at the same time and he’d open the door for you. You’d make small talk whenever you ended up in the same room or walking in the same direction and he was always willing to lend you something; or a hand, if you needed it. You didn’t know him incredibly well but you did know that he was a sweet guy.
- Ray had a major crush on you. He pretty much fell for you the moment he saw you but his own insecurities kept him from trying to do anything about it. You were smart, gorgeous, and had an amazing personality. What would you want with him?
- It takes him a while to actually ask you out. He keeps going back and forth on whether or not he should, wondering if he’s willing to make a fool of himself just for the off chance that you’ll agree. Peter has a field day with him when he’s in this state, constantly teasing and prodding, urging him to just get it over with and see what you say.
- There was definitely a few instances of him approaching you and/or opening his mouth to say something to you, then quickly shutting it and excusing himself with an apology. It takes him nearly a year to actually go through with it.
- You were just leaving the building and preparing for your walk home when he caught up with you and somewhat shyly asked if you would like to have dinner with him sometime. To his utter shock, you smiled and agreed, and the two of you made plans to meet.
- The two of you went out to a not so fancy restaurant which was perfect for the occasion. He felt like he was walking on clouds the entire night; here he was, with you, and you actually seemed to like him. What were the odds that you would actually like him?
- But regardless of his disbelief over how lucky he was, the two of you had a really great time together and you were happy to see him again the next day at the university.
- The two of you shared your first kiss on your third date. He was walking you home and you were both stood in front of your door, saying goodbye. You were just about to walk inside when you paused, turning around and placing a gentle kiss on his lips before saying goodnight again and closing your door.
- He was frozen in shock for a good minute and a half but you should have seen the smile on his face.
- It wasn’t long before the two of you considered yourselves a couple, and he couldn’t have been happier.
- Ray is a big sweetheart and you can’t convince me otherwise, though I doubt you would even try. You’ll never meet another man who treats you so right.
- He loves Pda, especially when people recognize him in public. He feels particularly cool with you hanging on his arm.
- Quick giddy kisses.
- He keeps his hand on your lower back whenever you’re standing together, it’s just a habit of his.
- He likes using nicknames; he thinks they’re cute. He usually just calls you things like honey, sweetheart, and beautiful; he’s somewhat old fashioned in that regard. He wouldn’t even mind you calling him pet names. In fact, he’d probably love it.
- He’s a strong boy and proud of it! Ask him to hold something! Ask him to open a pickle jar! Ask him to carry you! He’s got it covered! …Although, occasionally he wont be able to open the pickle jar and you might actually show him up when trying it again for yourself.
- Cheek kisses. He wraps an arm around your neck and pulls you in, pressing his lips to your cheek enthusiastically and smiling down at you.
- Stealing his sweaters. They’re big and cozy and he melts every time he sees you wearing them.
- Takeout meals. You order in or pick something up at least once a week.
- He’s not afraid to make a fool out of himself so the two of you always have a great time together, filled with jokes and stupid/ridiculous behavior. He loves being able to make you laugh.
- Cuddling? Sign him the fuck up! No matter what you’re doing, he’ll find a way to squeeze himself beside you and wrap himself around you in some way. Whenever you’re going to bed, you’ll rest your head on his chest with his arms wrapped around you; …or you’ll just be laying almost completely on top of him.
- A lot of your dates are going to be interrupted, it just sort of comes with the territory. When something strange is in the neighborhood, he’s the one being called so you just have to be patient and understanding. He always makes it up to you anyway.
- Occasionally, he’ll stop and pick up flowers or a movie you’ve been wanting to see from the rental place on his way home. He likes surprising you with something nice, especially if he was called away when you were supposed to spend time together.
- Becoming close with Egon, Winston and Peter. You see them constantly so it’s sort of hard not to.
- Sticking by his side and cheering him up when the Ghostbusters aren’t too popular anymore.
- You may or may not be a partial owner of the bookshop. As much as he loves being a Ghostbuster, he can’t deny that he likes running the place with you.
- He’s always there if you need someone to get you something or somewhere. He’s particularly good at pushing through crowds and coming up with things to say that will make it easier for you to do what you have to do. He also just doesn’t take no for an answer so, ya know.
- He’s a total pushover when it comes to you. You can always convince him to do something for you.
- Ray looks like he knows how to fix things. He looks and acts like a man I could trust with my things. If my car broke down, his smiling face would be the one I would ask to help me. So, if you need anything fixed around your house, all you have to do is ask.
- Little traditions. Things like watching a specific show after dinner, going to a certain place every weekend or eating certain things on certain days.
- He loves hugs, they’re pretty much his favorite thing in the entire world.
- Random playful harassment. He kind of likes to tease you, jokingly making fun of and tickling you. He thinks the way you react is cute and it’s usually after you do or say something to him so technically it’s revenge.
- Now, I’m not saying that Ray owns action figures or other toys of that nature, but Ray would definitely be the type to own them.... You may or may not have a little shelf full of figures when you move in together.
- He’s a big fan of going to zoos. You practically know the animals at your local zoo by name from how many times you go to see them.
- Carnival and amusement park dates.
- He gets this dopey smile on his face whenever you try to give him a massage or dote on him in anyway. He’s just so overjoyed that you actually like him and care about his wellbeing. He also just loves the feeling of your hands.
- Ray sort of craves domesticity. Seeing you wearing one of his shirts and cooking breakfast or being there to welcome him home after work or surprising him by doing some chores would literally make him melt. He’s a centimeter away from proposing to you on the spot.
- The two of you are pretty much the epitome of two best friends dating. You have the time of your lives together and are always completely comfortable and happy in each others presences.
- Walking around New York together. You wind up just wandering around the city a lot, occasionally stopping for food or drinks or whatever comes to mind when you pass a store.
- He isn’t the most sensitive person to talk to when you’re upset or scared about something but he apologizes when he goes off on a tangent or says the wrong thing. Don’t blame him too much, he’s got a skewed view of what’s considered a problem rather than a good scientific discovery.
- Ray gets easily excited about a lot of things, he’s sort of like a puppy at times so even though you might not be so amused with a situation, he’ll be incredibly happy. Whenever he notices that you aren’t thrilled, he’ll usually just give you a sheepish smile and a “sorry honey”.
- Having him randomly show up and borderline embarrass you when something big is found out. Just picture the restaurant scene from the second movie.
- Visiting him at the office.
- Letting him gush to you about the paranormal and supernatural.
- Helping him with his research, experiments, and invention. He loves having you around and hearing your input.
- He’s definitely named something after you, whether it be a theory, project or machine he’s created. It’s cute, in a geeky sort of way.
- Be prepared to get scared and not just by ghosts. Sometimes Ray will just pop into view out of nowhere, excitedly talking about something he just saw and scaring the living daylights out of you. He doesn’t understand why you’re looking at him like that, did he do something wrong?
- He works with all things supernatural and paranormal; he’s seen a lot over the years and because of that, he’s gradually gotten more and more protective of you over time. Wouldn’t you if you knew that evil slime once ran wild underneath your girlfriends apartment?
- He gets particularly miffed when jealous, not livid or angry just …miffed. You know he’s not upset with you but you can tell that something is bothering him. Occasionally, you won’t even have to figure out what because he’ll insult whoever he’s jealous of like he’s talking about the weather.
- The two of you don’t really fight all too often, you rarely have a reason too, even though your lives are incredibly hectic most of the time. He doesn’t really have one certain way of responding when he’s angry, everything depend on the situation. One day, you’ll bicker, the next, you’ll yell.
- He always feels bad whenever he snaps at you. Almost immediately after he storms out, he’ll get this pang of guilt in his chest and debate on whether or not he should just walk back in and apologize. He usually doesn’t right then; wanting to give you time to yourself, but does come back not very long after and apologizes, admitting he was wrong if he was and asking if things are alright between the two of you.
- He’s always happy to say he loves you, and gosh does he love hearing you say it.
- Your family probably loves him. He’s a guy that’s easy to get along with …and he’s a ghostbuster so he’s got that going for him.
- Ray is sooo ready to have kids and settle down with you, he’s just waiting until he’s in a more stable work environment. He doesn’t need any ghosties lurking in your kids nursery, even if he’s the most equipped to get rid of them.
#ghostbusters imagine#ghostbusters headcanon#ghostbusters headcanons#ghostbusters imagines#80s movie imagine#80s movie headcanon#80s movie imagines#80s movie headcanons#ray stantz imagine#ray stantz headcanons#ray stantz headcanon
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Everything is Blue
Chapter 1: His pills, his hands, his jeans
MK just wants everyone in his life to be safe and happy, to never leave him. He'll do whatever it takes to make that happen.
And, luckily for him, the voice in his head has the perfect plan to make that happen.
(Or, the author contemplates how slow the possession was for DBK in episode 10 and considers how MK would fall)
Ao3 link
This is a 13k monolith of a first chapter, but I'm very proud of how it turned out! I threw it together in 4 days with the help of my beta reader @imnotcameraready on tumblr, famous for the Chivalry is Dead sanders sides au. Give it a read, it's on Ao3 and tumbr! It even has a sequel! Seriously, she’s a great writer and edited this thing in like 2-3 hrs after I threw it at her. A godsend.
Anyway, happy reading!
When MK knocks the canisters off of DBK’s back, he thinks that’s the end of it. He wasn’t exactly given the rundown on how the cannisters worked, nor does he know why whatever was in them caused DBK to go crazy, but at the very least he only had to fight the one guy instead of the entire family. It was weird to fight with Red Son and Princess Iron Fan (shouldn't she be Queen, at this point? She's married to Demon Bull King, after all. Do they not have the paperwork?) but not unwelcome. He wishes they could be on the same side all of the time.
Because he was raised on stories of Monkey King’s adventures, which frequently discuss the Demon Bull Family, and he’s always thought they were interesting in those stories. He thinks Princess Iron Fan is super cool, even though she’s scary and actively wants him dead. Red Son is...well, he wasn’t what MK expected, but that isn’t exactly a bad thing. If anything, MK thought he’d be older. He doesn’t understand how demon aging works.
Tangents aside, he watches them disappear in a gust of wind and groans, flopping forward as he bemoans the fact that they left again, when he’d just beat them. Well, he hadn’t actually fought all three of them, this time. DBK had fought more people than he had.
He jumps as the cave begins to crumble from all the damage that it took from the fight, scrambling to find a way out, when—
A New Vessel?
A voice curls into his ear, a soft whisper.
Young. Powerful. Weak. Freedom.
He looks down, and he sees a white light sink into his skin. Cold seeps into his every pore, bone, and nerve, his muscles tensing as the temperature drops. His teeth chatter, and when he lets out a startled breath he sees white air drift in front of his face. The warmth of his powers—his Monkey King powers—is smothered, and soon all MK feels is the cold that keeps him in place, rooting him to the spot. It’s a miracle he’s even standing.
What is this?
What’s happening?
His eyes dart to the cannisters. The empty canisters. There was something in there, earlier, right? Where did it go?
Is this? Wher e it w e n t?
Wha t i s . . . ?
It’s hard to think. His thoughts are newly cracked ice upon a lake, pieces crashing slowly against each other and fracturing further, splintering into nothingness.
New Vessel. Rest.
His eyes slide shut, out of his control, as his consciousness, like everything else, is smothered by the chill.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
He wakes up on the shoulder of the Monkey Mech, as the last rays of sun are streaking across the steadily darkening sky, like a lighthouse beam against the dark sea. He sits up, staring far into the horizon, as confusion pulls him out of the just woken up daze. How did he get here?
“MK?” He jumps, startled, and turns to realize that Mei is right next to him, a concerned smile on her face. He stares at her, trying to figure out why she’s here, how she got here. Then again, he doesn’t even know how he got here. He feels dizzy just trying to remember.
“You alright, kid?” Pigsy’s voice comes from his other side, and he forces himself not to jump, turning to look at his boss. Tang and Sandy are there too, and Sandy waves while Tang smiles in greeting mid slurp, bowl of noodles in hand.
“What happened?” he’s missing time. He defeated DBK, and then...then nothing. There’s a feeling of coldness, at the thought, but the memories don’t come.
“I found you on the ground after the Bull Clones all sort of fell apart. I figured you passed out after trouncing DBK, so I picked you up and got you out of there.” Mei doesn’t seem concerned, but MK is, just a little. He’s never passed out after using his powers; rather, using them often results in him getting an energy boost. He thinks back on it, trying to remember any time this has happened before. Macaque comes to mind but even then he wasn’t tired once his powers returned.
His ruminating on the ordeal is cut off by a bowl of noodles being shoved unceremoniously into his hands. He blinks down at it, and then turns to Pigsy
“Here, kid. Eat. You look pale, and skinny as ever. Can’t have my employee lookin’ half starved.” He smiles at Pigsy’s attempt to hide his soft side, picking up his chopsticks with a grin.
He eats, and the loud conversations of what they’d just accomplished arrests MK’s attention so that the questions about DBK, the cannisters, the voice that he swears he can hear in the back of his mind, fall away like sand in an hourglass, time never able to be reclaimed.
The sun finally vanishes and stars dot the sky like sequins on a gown. MK curls in on himself, hunched over the bowl a little, missing the sun's rays and the finished soup’s warmth.
He shivers, but there’s no breeze.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The bonus of living in such a technologically advanced age is that city reconstruction is pretty fast. Hospitals are rebuilt first, people are brought in en masse. MK spends his time volunteering there, because noodle shops are low on the list of things to be rebuilt and he needs to be useful.
MK tries not to be too guilty about the wreckage, though most of it had occurred because he was late to stop DBK. He'd been kept at Flower Fruit Mountain for a few weeks because Monkey King was worried after the incident with Macaque. Wanted to be sure MK's training ethic wasn't too messed up, wanted to be certain Macaque hadn't left any lasting effects or impressions.
It was a punishment, MK knows, for being a two timing student and for making Monkey King have to deal with a demon enemy when he’s made it clear that he’s retired. Doesn't matter that they only ever trained in the morning and early afternoon, then spent the rest of the day hanging out. MK has watched Monkey King: The Animated Series fifty-three times now, most recently with Monkey King during the duration of his solitary confinement at Flower Fruit Mountain. They'd both piped up with commentary, MK about the production and animation, and Monkey King about the inaccuracies that MK filed away for his sketchbook.
But even so, it was a punishment for MK’s failings. Why else would Monkey King keep MK close, keep him away from his family and friends, keep MK away from the outside world?
It takes two and a half weeks after the battle with DBK for MK to go back to work delivering noodles. He'll sometimes buy extra and drop it off at a random hospital nearby, for the medical staff. They're overworked because of him, because he was away for so long.
He has to be better next time. He doesn't know when DBK will be back, doesn’t know how to sense him. Is he able to do that? Can he learn to sense when his enemies are nearby? That would solve a lot of problems, near rid him of worry. Maybe Monkey King knows?
That thought has him swinging by Flower Fruit Mountain on the weekend, with a promise to Pigsy to be home before midnight. MK is an adult only by age, after all; Pigsy still treats him like the 16 year old he found half dead outside his shop.
When he steps onto the mountain’s sand, though, he feels unwelcome.
The mystic energy that had beckoned him in the first time he’d arrived has shut its doors, like a silent way of saying
Leave.
Not a single monkey comes to greet him, but he can see their eyes, hidden in the trees. They regard him with suspicion. He frowns at them in confusion.
He hears a hiss in the back of his head and winces at the ensuing headache, stepping forward in hopes of pushing past the pain. Every step he takes makes the pounding in his head louder and more painful, and MK closes his eyes and focuses, reaching for the well of power he knows he has, the power that makes the staff feel lighter than air.
It’s like sticking his hand through a well of ice, and his wrist is paralyzed by the time his fingers brush that warmth, the light curling around his palm. Gold sparkles in his vision, and the unwelcome air starts to recede, as if the island recognizes him again. He heads in deeper, and lets out a breath as the headache ceases.
He doesn’t have to head in too deep, because Monkey King comes through the waterfall in a rare moment of MK’s mentor leaving the inner sanctum of the mountain. The waterfall itself moves like a curtain out of Monkey King’s way and the sight has MK focusing on that rather than the expression on Monkey King’s face, until he looks up.
Monkey King’s eyes are sharp, darting around, an expression MK only recognizes from the suspicion and distrust Monkey King gave Macaque. MK fidgets beneath that gaze, though it isn’t directed at him, uncomfortable. He hasn’t done anything wrong, has he? He wracks his brain for any new missteps, but finds very little. Still, his anxiety skyrockets by the second.
The look vanishes, though not completely, when Monkey King’s eyes catch on the sight of MK.
“Hey bud! Impromptu visit?” Monkey King greets.
MK tries not to shy away from the air of suspicion that colors Monkey King’s tone. Is MK really that untrustworthy? He did mess up badly by trusting Macaque, and Monkey King is right to distrust him. He bites his lip and tries to ignore the swell of guilt that sets like a stone in his stomach at the memory.
“Yeah, just-uh-just wanted to train, y’know? Don’t know when DBK is coming back.” He shrugs, and Monkey King nods, only half listening.
He still looks on edge. “Cool. You uh...you bring anyone with you?”
Now that’s concerning. MK scrambles to find a supposed intruder, hands gripping his staff tight in preparation for battle. “No? Unless-Oh no, is there someone here? Is it a demon guy?” What if he led a bad guy here? What if he messed up again?
He jumps as a monkey lands on his head, picking through MK’s hair in typical grooming fashion, and then Monkey King laughs, loud and almost relieved. MK turns back around to face him.
“Nah, must be my nerves. Maybe DBK left something on you, messed with my senses.” Monkey King waves a hand, nonchalant, and MK perks up in ease at the reminder.
“Oh! That’s actually why I’m here!” He takes careful steps forward, trying not to jostle the monkey on his head. “I was thinking-I didn’t know DBK was in the city and destroying stuff, and a lot of people got hurt. But! If I could sense him, like you can, I could stop him quicker! Right?” He’s bouncing on his toes, nervous and excited all at once, and Monkey King smiles down at him fondly.
“Sure, why not? If you’re up for some meditation, that is,” Monkey King turns, waving at MK to follow.
The monkey on MK’s head hops away, and MK sprints after his mentor with a wide grin. “Totally! I’m, like, the best at meditation. I’m like a meditation wizard!”
Monkey King laughs all the way to the training grounds.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Training actually is easier than he expects. MK blusters a lot, but he isn’t dumb or unaware of his limits. Sitting still isn’t his strong suit, so sitting still while not being able to talk, tap, fidget, or do anything else other than think is basically torture.
But, when he gets into the meditative position with Monkey King, something clicks. A cool blanket settles on his shoulders, eases out the desire to move. It’s so easy to be still, and quiet.
Frozen.
“You weren’t kidding,” Monkey King tells him, and MK grins a little, face warmed by the praise. “Now, when you’re like this, you have to let every other sound and feeling fade out. Nothing else matters but the energies around you. Mine’s pretty easy to see cause, yknow,”
MK can practically see Monkey King scratching his chin and grinning with barely hidden pride. “I’m a pretty powerful guy. DBK would be similar, he’s got a pretty loud aura too. Now, just try it, kay?”
MK nods, and takes a deep breath. The sounds around him-bugs, monkeys jumping around and talking to one another, the wind, the ever present sound of something in his head—those all start to fade away.
Wait, what was that last one?
He lets them all go, and then forgets the feeling of the cold, the grass, the fabric touching his skin. Nothing exists except his own mind, and then.
He gets to see the bright light that is Monkey King. Golden and red and royal in its feel, it’s near blinding. He has to blink a few times to get used to its light.
“Woah,” he murmurs, and Monkey King opens one eye, before blinking both in surprise.
“Woah, already? You sure you haven’t done this before?” Monkey King crosses his arms over his chest, almost offended, and MK is reminded of how betrayed Monkey King looked when MK had shown off the skills he’d learned from Macaque.
“Nope! Maybe defeating DBK gave me a confidence boost?” He shrugs, and then stands, looking around. Monkey King’s expression sits in the back of his mind, and MK bites his lip. “Did I, uh, did I do something wrong? I didn’t…,” he trials off, worried.
“Maybe,” Monkey King mumbles in response to his first reply, mostly to himself. “Oh-no, no, you’re fine, bud. I think I’m just a little paranoid,” he laughs it off. MK is too busy glancing back towards town to process Monkey King’s pensive expression.
“I can see Mei! She’s...very green. Did she always have a dragon?” It’s curled around her, like a protective barrier, snarling and poised to strike.
Monkey King chuckles. “You’ve got yourself some powerful friends, kid. Not surprising. Like knows like, even when they don’t know what like is.” He puts a hand on MK’s shoulder, and then starts. “You’re freezing. It’s not that cold, is it?”
MK blinks a few times, and everything comes back, the colors and sounds and feelings of the world returning to normal. Monkey King keeps looking at him, as if MK is a puzzle he’s yet to solve.
“I don’t know, maybe? I’ve been feeling a bit chilly, lately. Maybe I’m coming down with something?” He’s been a bit stressed out, between Macaque and DBK and the reconstruction, and he’s heard stress can cause illnesses.
Monkey King sighs, after a moment, and scratches his head.
“I think I’m becoming an adult,” he says, like it’s a crime, and he shrugs again. “You’re probably fine. Just, take it easy the next few days, alright? Practice meditating at home, or when you’re on the job. When you’re as good as me, you can turn it on whenever you need to,” Monkey King puffs up with pride, and his tail swings back and forth leisurely. MK watches his tail more than he listens to what Monkey King is saying.
“Okay. Anything else for today?” It’s only been an hour or two, they have plenty of time.
Monkey King deliberates. Then, he grins, stepping back to position for MK’s inevitable first attack. “Tell you what. We’ll spar for a bit, and then you can bring up that new show you kept ranting about a few weeks ago. Kay?”
MK’s eyes sparkle.
“Heck yeah!”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
MK’s muscles aren’t sore when he gets home. He actually lasted a couple minutes sparring this time around, and Monkey King had rewarded him with peach chips and an arm around MK’s shoulder as he eagerly pulled up the show he had dove into during his free time on the TV.
Pigsy sent him upstairs with a bowl of noodles and a stern reminder to sleep early so he wouldn’t be late for work. He finishes the noodles in record time and, once he has showered and put on his warmest pajamas, pulls out all of the blankets he can find. He just wants to be warm, just a little, even though it doesn’t make sense that he’s feeling this cold. He’s not tired, he doesn’t feel achy, his sinuses are clogged—none of the other symptoms of being sick are popping up, so why is he so cold?!
He’s practically buried in blankets by the time he feels comfortable enough to rest. For the first time in a long while, he doesn’t dream.
Things go back to normal, somewhat. There’s a niggling something in the back of his head, and there’s guilt and the ever present chill that has MK wearing long sleeved shirts, but otherwise MK falls back into his typical routine, which is nice. He missed his friends, between Macaque and DBK and training. It’s good to see them again.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The first time he starts hearing the voice in his head, he’s getting yelled at by Pigsy.
It doesn’t happen as often, anymore. MK is scatterbrained, but he genuinely tries to do his best at work. Sometimes, he gets mixed up, because he’s only one kid and he’s never been good at focusing, no matter how hard he tries. It’s hard for his stressed out and ADHD ridden brain to remember whose order is whose, especially when it’s the dinner rush and he’s running behind.
Today was a particularly bad day. He’d accidentally given a customer an order with peanut oil in it, when they had an order specifically without peanuts due to their severe allergy. Pigsy had gotten a very angry phone call, and he passed that rage at MK, rightfully so.
MK can only apologize so much, so eventually he quiets and lets Pigsy let off steam. Luckily the customer hadn’t tried to sue, but MK knows the review Pigsy likely got was scathing. He deserves a bit of a tongue lashing for that, he thinks.
It was an honest mistake. Cruel, to yell at one so young. Why is he so mean?
The voice in the back of his head, new and different, nearly makes MK jump. Pigsy notices the change in MK’s expression and mistakes it for fear, and that gets him to quiet down. He dismisses MK with a sigh and a wave of his hand, and MK heads upstairs, feeling guilty and confused.
That voice….it didn’t sound like him, did it? When he tries to recall the sound, it mirrors his internal voice, but in the moment it seemed different.
It’s probably nothing. After all, if something was wrong with him, wouldn’t someone else have noticed by now? Wouldn’t he have noticed by now?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The voice keeps popping up at random intervals, random moments. When Mei gets annoyed at his ramblings. When Tang pushes him away when he’s begging for a story, because Tang is busy eating. When Pigsy yells at him for being late for work, for messing up. When Sandy awkwardly pushes him to leave because MK can’t take a hint, some days. When Monkey King looks at him with something akin to disappointment, exasperation.
They’re tired of you. They want you gone. They’re plotting against you. They’re going to betray you!
And, see, that would bother MK if he didn’t already know that. He knows people don’t like him, find him annoying. He knows he pushes too much, messes up a lot, misses social cues. He knows that he’s not a good enough successor. And that just makes him want to do better.
As for the whole betrayal thing, plotting against him, it makes sense. He isn’t offended or anything if they are, in fact he’d be more surprised if they weren’t, you know? He’s the Monkey King’s successor. He has all of the powers, has all of the strength and invincibility, with a caveat or two, but he’s also still just a teenager. If they aren’t worried that he could go rogue, mess up and decide to be selfish, then that’s stupidity on their part. Trusting him with anything is never a good idea, so knowing that, should he mess up, his family will be able to enact swift justice is a comfort rather than a worry.
And yeah, it’s a bit embarrassing, knowing just how annoying and useless he can be. He flinches more often at their glares, gets quieter. He doesn’t want to make them mad at him, he doesn’t want to lose them because he isn’t good enough. He just needs to focus, be better, help out more often. If he does that, hopefully they won’t leave.
The voice, after a few months or so, had backed off for a week. He’d felt a weight lift from his shoulders, and smiling was easier. Pigsy had seemingly relaxed at his good mood, and Mei seemed cheerier when they’d gone out to the arcades. He hadn’t realized he’d been worrying them.
Are you so sure they’ll stay?
A single phrase that pulls the rug out beneath MK’s feet. He knows he isn’t good enough, but everyone knows that he at least tries, right? That should endear them to him enough for him to prove he’s worth their time, right? He can be good enough, he can do better, he just needs time!
Not fast enough. They’ll get tired of you, and then they’ll leave.
The cold feeling in his chest feels so much heavier, as he panics in his room. He’s supposed to be asleep, but the blankets don’t do much anymore. He’s losing feeling in his fingers. He keeps fumbling with things, even the staff, and everyone is getting annoyed at him. And he’s so tired, all the time, and yet it’s so hard to sleep. He doesn’t understand what’s happening to him, but he knows that whatever it is, it’s going to ruin the equilibrium he has between being a failure and being good enough to keep around.
What happens when he loses it all?
You can be better.
Can he?
Wouldn’t everyone love you if they were safe?
Well, he can imagine not having to worry about DBK would make them far less stressed out. If he can do that, then maybe they won’t get so easily annoyed at him. He knows stress can make people snappy, and there’s a lot to be stressed about, like the economy and death by demons.
You can make them safe.
How?
Listen to me.
And MK knows it’s weird to make a pact with your own mind, but he thinks he’s pretty good at following directions, so he nods, and doesn’t sleep at all.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The plan isn’t an easy one, and MK doesn’t know if he really wants to follow it. The words turn over and over in his head. He doesn’t know if they’re right or not.
Maybe it would be better, if he wasn’t so nice. He beats the bad guys, sure, but he isn’t that violent with them. They try to kill him, but it’s never personal. He’s the successor to Monkey King, it just makes sense that they’d go after him. He’s not upset, really!
Even though the calabash has him looking over his shoulder. They have earthquakes a lot, they live near a ring of active volcanoes, and each one puts him on edge, expecting a lie to turn his whole world apart. And the spider lady tried to eat his friends, tried to kill him. And Macaque nearly hurt Monkey King because MK let him get close. And DBK and Princess Iron Fan won’t stop, not until they get revenge or something.
Red Son is...he’s MK’s age. And MK has noticed just how much DBK and Princess Iron Fan belittle Red Son, and he’s their son. It’s too familiar for MK’s liking, and it makes the desire to bring Red Son to justice lessen. Maybe, if he got Red Son’s parents out of the way…
You could have anything you wanted.
All MK wants is for his friends and family to be happy.
This is how you’ll do it.
MK doesn’t give in. Not yet.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
MK considers it when he goes over to see Sandy, one afternoon. They’re just doing some leisurely painting practice, nothing like painting the whole boat. After the whole clones thing, Sandy had learned that he should probably figure out which color he wants to stick with in the long run before asking for help in such a task. So, he asks MK to come over and brainstorm. You know, sketch out some ideas, test paint samples on different areas of the boat, see how it looks in light and dark.
MK also helps with the many litter boxes around the ship, as well as top up the water and food bowls all around. He gets appreciative nuzzles from the myriad cats around the barge, so it isn’t so bad. Then, he and Sandy will have tea, and Sandy will listen to MK ramble on about anything and everything until either Monkey King or Pigsy or Mei calls him to go do something (he gave Monkey King his number. Occasionally he will get an incomprehensible text. He’s pretty sure Monkey King has a Nokia phone).
Today, when they’re having tea, MK considers.
“Hey, Sandy?” He starts, more hesitant than when he’s ever asked the man a question before.
Sandy notices, and MK sees him soften his pose even more, looking warm and welcoming. “Yeah, MK?”
“Do you think I’m too soft on villains?”
Because he beats them, but he always lets them leave, lets them escape. They get to heal, recoup, and come back stronger every time, and people get hurt. MK doesn’t want to be the type to attack first, to never ask questions, but at this point there aren’t too many questions to ask.
“You’ve got a good heart, MK. You don’t have it in ya to go at ‘em too hard,” MK clenches his fist, his other hand gentle against the teacup lest he break it. He did that a few times when he first got his powers, unused to the extra strength.
“That kinda doesn’t answer my question,” MK tries not to say it through gritted teeth. He can feel his tea getting frigid, and bites back the burst of white air that would make Sandy ask questions.
He wouldn’t know how to answer questions about that, which is why he can’t deal with them. That’s the reason.
He’s saying you’re weak.
MK hides a grimace, and lets his heart ache silently. He sips the tea. It’s ice cold.
“What brought this on?” Sandy asks, instead of answering the question, which grates on MK’s nerves more than it should.
“I let DBK get too powerful,” he says. “He destroyed the city again, and people got hurt. If I’d just got rid of him before, those people would be okay.”
Sandy sighs, taking a sip of his tea. A cat hops into MK’s lap, curling up, but after a few frigid moments hops away. Apparently MK is too cold for its liking. He tries not to get offended by that, but the hot well of shame and longing persists. At least the feeling is warm.
“MK, you’re still learning. Mistakes are bound to happen. Those who got hurt will get better, and the city is rebuilt better than ever! You don’t have to carry everything on your shoulders. And,” Sandy looks away, and suddenly he looks a lot older than MK thinks he is. “Honestly, being too harsh to make an enemy stop can feel good in the moment, but it does more harm than good, especially to the person who does the fighting.”
And MK leaves it at that, but thinks he doesn’t mind if it harms him, if it keeps everyone else safe.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“Another story!” MK begs, spinning on the barstool. Pigsy always tells him not to, something about wearing down the seat joint, but at the same time Pigsy never really stops MK when he does it either, because MK only does it when he’s very excited and hyper.
Tang finishes his bowl of noodles with a chuckle, pushing up his glasses on the bridge of his nose in a practiced motion that MK is oh so familiar with. MK taps the front of his sketchbook with his pencil impatiently.
“Alright, alright. Tell you what, I’ll tell you the story of the Baigujing, or White Bone Spirit,” Tang’s voice falls into storyteller mode, and MK is immediately entranced. Pigsy, from the kitchen, slams down a pan and groans.
“Not that one, Tang. I hate that one, you know that,” MK turns to his boss and is surprised to see an embarrassed flush on his cheeks. What in this story would Pigsy have to be embarrassed about?
“Hey, MK wants to know all the Monkey King stories. I’m not going to rob him of knowledge,” Tang argues back. He leans close to MK and whispers “Pigsy couldn’t sleep for a week after I told him this one.”
“That is not true!” Pigsy barks, indignant, and MK laughs.
Tang chuckles to himself, and Pigsy turns back to his work with a grumble. Right now is a lull in business, right after the lunch rush and before early dinners get called in, so MK is taking his break and Pigsy isn’t too upset by it. It’s just enough time for a story.
“Okay. The Baigujing was a shapeshifting demon, who saw Monkey King and his group of traveling companions as they passed by. Her eyes caught on the human monk, Tang Sanzang,” MK perks up.
“Hey, that’s like your name!” he points out, and both Tang and Pigsy look startled. Tang coughs, awkward.
“Yes-well-uh, it’s a family name,” he amends quickly. MK tilts his head to the side. “Anyway, she decided she wanted to taste the monk’s flesh. So, she disguised herself as a little girl, coming up to the group and offering them poisoned fruits. Because she was so powerful, only Monkey King could sense her treachery, and he hit her with his staff, seemingly killing her.”
MK gasps, doesn’t understand the fury that builds behind his eyes.
Tang glances at him, for a moment, and then jumps.
“MK? You okay?” He asks, and MK blinks.
“What-yeah! What happened next?” Tang looks him over, gaze catching on MK’s eyes, before he sighs and continues.
“The Monkey King’s companions were shocked and appalled. They thought he had killed an innocent girl! He tried to explain, but they didn’t believe him. The Monk buried the girl, who turned back into the spirit. She tried again, once as the supposed mother of the little girl, and then the grandfather. Monkey King managed to show her as a skeleton spirit during their last encounter, clearing his name, but then his companion, Bajie, told Sanzang that Monkey King made it up. Thus, Monkey King was abandoned, at least until the Monk was captured by a demon Wujing and Baijie couldn’t defeat, and Bajie had to apologize to bring him back,” Tang finishes, and MK’s face settles into a pout.
“Bajie’s a jerk!” He crosses his arms.
“He apologized,” Pigsy mumbles, from his place in the kitchen, where he slices scallions violently. “More than once. Not that it matters.”
“Monkey King didn’t exactly endear himself to his peers,” Tang amends. “Perhaps if he had been less full of himself at the time, they all could have gotten along better. But, all four grew to be better people by the end of their journey.”
MK finishes a sketch of the scenes Tang had described with a flourish, and he tilts his head to one side. “Kind of rude to just attack the lady, though, couldn’t he have tried to talk it out?” He doesn’t know why he feels the need to defend the demon, but she doesn’t seem too bad.
Tang makes a face.
“She wanted to eat a person, MK,” he says, and MK makes a face that mirror’s Tang’s expression.
“Right. Eugh, gross. Anyway, thanks Mr. Tang!” he hops off the barstool and puts back on his collared shirt, making sure his headband doesn’t slip down. “Any orders, Pigsy?”
Pigsy jerks his thumb to the few on the counter. MK picks them up, and continues on to work, the story sitting in the back of his mind. He stumbles a bit while walking. He doesn’t feel the key in his hand, his fingers numbed over time. He should be concerned, but everything else seems fine.
He kind of wishes he could have met the Baigujing. She doesn’t seem too bad, besides the people eating. Maybe they could have worked it out.
Who does Sun Wukong think he is, deciding to serve justice anyway he sees fit?
MK frowns and buttons up his shirt. His chest feels like ice.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
He’s so, so tired.
MK looks at himself in the mirror when he wakes up and his skin looks paler, his lips a little blue. He has bags under his eyes that vanish by the time he leaves the bathroom, a bottle of concealer and a tube of lipstick on the bathroom sink that he doesn’t remember buying.
His memory’s been growing spottier, too, missing minutes, hours. Mei talks to him about a high score he beat at the arcade and he nods along, no clue what she’s talking about but not wanting to worry her. He hasn’t gone to see Sandy in what feels like years, but gets a text from him thanking MK for taking care of the cats one afternoon. There are sketches in his sketchbook he doesn’t remember drawing, from stories Tang told him that he can’t remember hearing.
He’s lost feeling in his hands and feet. He’s dropped enough bowls of soup for Pigsy to go from mad to worried, and he shoves MK off to Flower Fruit Mountain because it’s warmer there, and MK always looks cold.
He stumbles when he hits sand, nearly bowls over with how much the island rejects him, how much it wants him not to be there. This is supposed to be a safe place, but the sand feels like needles and the wind slices at his face. Monkey King comes rushing out like a bat out of hell, teeth bared, but he sees MK, kneeling on the beach, and runs over.
“You okay, bud? You look…,” he doesn’t say awful, but MK knows he’s thinking it. MK looks awful, feels awful, is awful. And the solution to that is right there, waiting for him, but he doesn’t want to take it because he’s a coward. The voice in his head gave him an ironclad idea, a perfect plan, and he’s been ignoring it because he’s scared.
Weak little vessel.
The hiss in his ear makes him wince, and he trembles as Monkey King helps him up.
“Tired,” he manages, leaning against Monkey King because he hardly has the strength to stand.
“I can see that.” The try at levity has MK chuckling, but Monkey King is soft and warm and all MK wants to do is suck that warmth into himself, so he can stop being cold for one second. “Why don’t we head to my place and watch something. There’s always my show, right?”
MK nods, blinking slowly, and Monkey King takes a step forward. Suddenly, they’re at Monkey King’s house. When did they get there? Why are they here again?
He’s set on the couch.
“There’s something off about your aura, kid. Touch anything mystic or weird back at home?” Monkey King runs his fingers through MK’s hair, and MK leans into the touch. Warm. Safe.
He shakes his head, a full minute after the question is asked. Monkey King hums in thought.
“How do you even see auras?” MK mumbles, words slurring a bit as he talks. “Teach me?”
Monkey King’s hand stills, and MK whines a little, prompting his mentor to continue the motions.
“I already have, bud,” Monkey King whispers, more to himself than to MK. MK blinks in confusion. He doesn’t remember that.
Rest, Vessel.
The voice whispers so sweetly in his ear. It’s nice, sometimes. Mean other times. MK wonders if that’s his fault. Is he so bad that even his own head is mad at him? How can he be better? He’s trying so hard.
The TV is turned on. MK doesn’t register the sound, but the light makes him turn his head away. Monkey King turns down the brightness with his remote. Another monkey rests on top of MK for a moment, before jumping off. It shivers at the temperature of MK’s jacket, his skin, and moves over to Monkey King’s shoulder.
MK rests his head on Monkey King’s lap, and closes his eyes.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
He wakes up in a dream. He stands on ice. Each step he takes is careful, lest he slip, and even still he stumbles and fumbles. He can see something in the distance.
“Hello?” he calls out, but the person doesn’t answer. The closer he gets, the more he can make them out. “Mei?”
It is her, but then her head drops, straight off of her neck.
“NO!” MK screams, running to her, and he stumbles and falls. His knees hit ice and they burn with the chill that sinks through his pants. He slides to her body, cradling it and her head as if he could put her back together with hope.
He turns, looking for a reason for this, and when he looks up, all of the adults in his life are standing around him, their faces covered in shadow. Tang, Pigsy, Sandy, Monkey King—they’re all looking down on him.
“Look what you let happen,” Pigsy growls out.
“She’s dead,” Tang continues.
“You didn’t save her,” Sandy drones on.
“You let her die,” Monkey King spits.
“No…” MK breathes, and the tears build in his eyes and down his cheeks, freezing on his face. It burns.
You have a choice, vessel.
The figures of his friends vanish into mist, and MK curls his arms around himself. He misses the contact. He hates to be alone.
A woman wreathed in white kneels down in front of him. It hurts to look at her, and MK averts his gaze until she tilts up his chin so he can look nowhere else. Her face is ice cold, yet inviting. He can’t look away from her eyes.
Don’t you want them to stay? Don’t you want them to be safe?
MK nods, quickly. Of course that’s what he wants. More than anything, he wants that love, that adoration. He wants his family to be safe, to never leave.
You know what to do.
It feels like ice is creeping up his skin, encasing him in frigidity. She holds out his hand, and he can do nothing else but take it. The cold reaches its peak, and suddenly it’s warm. It burns, and yet the warmth is inviting, a relief after months of being so, so cold and confused and tired. He is past the point of cold, of freezing, of sub zero. He is warm. He is ready.
He is hers.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
He wakes up well rested, and the cold that had settled into him still feels like the burn that is a welcome respite from before. Monkey King is still asleep, and MK leaves him there, leaving the house and walking slowly out of the inner mountain.
He leaves footprints of ice where he steps. The monkeys watch, from the trees, trembling as their eyes gaze upon something inhuman, sitting in MK’s skin. MK has never felt better. He knows what to do now. He knows how to make things right.
The staff in his hands feels heavier, for a moment, but MK grips it tight and bends it to his will. He pogos out of the island with ease, letting the wind whip his hair back.
He hasn’t blinked in a while. He forgot he had to. He blinks because the wind makes his eyes sting, and touches the ground with a gentleness he didn’t know he could master.
He lets his eyes glow gold, searching. He remembers, now, how to look at auras. He remembers a lot of things now. It’s like the pressing weight of being weak for the sake of niceties has vanished, and now he is sharp and ready.
The only question is which of his enemies does he go after first? He needs to get all of them, keep them secure. It’s the only way the town, the city, will be safe.
The small fry first. We’ll work our way up to the demon king.
Right, that makes sense. MK grins to himself. It’s so nice to have someone constantly helping, constantly making sure he’s doing the right thing. He’s useless on his own, but give him a direction and he’ll follow it to the letter.
He can see gold and silver, in the distance. He forgets their names, at first, but their auras jog his memory. Yin and Jin.
They put him in the calabash. They weren’t good at it, but they were good enough. They’re demons. Dangerous. He needs to make sure they don’t hurt anyone else.
He heads to their home, not in a hurry. There’s no rush to the inevitable. Is this what self confidence is? The feeling of knowing you can do it, that you will do it, that no one can stop you? It feels very gratifying. He lets the glow in his eyes vanish, because he doesn’t want to startle everyone around him.
His phone buzzes. A text from Pigsy, demanding to know where he is. He responds with ‘Dealing with Monkie Kid stuff. Be back soon!’ and a string of emojis that Pigsy will find incomprehensible, before continuing on his trek.
He reaches the door, and hears a conversation.
“So, our plan has three steps. That’s an improvement,” Yin seems to be pacing, from what MK can hear.
“Step one, capture the monkie kid,” Jin pipes up, and MK fights back a laugh. “Step two, take the staff from him.”
As if they could. MK almost has to admire their tenacity.
“Step three, take over the world!” Yin finishes, and MK takes that as his cue to step in.
He knocks in the door. Polite. He still has manners, after all.
“Huh? Jin, did you order out for dinner again?” Yin barks out.
“We don’t have the money for that!” Is the response.
“Hasn’t stopped you before,” Yin grumbles, moving to the door.
Here they come!
MK counts the steps Yin takes to the door, itching with anticipation.
“Hello?” Yin opens the door, and then jumps in surprise.
“Hi!” MK waves, and taps his staff on the ground.
There’s a thunk; not a thud of a body, but a thunk of a block of ice. MK pats the statue with a fond look. He’ll chip away the extra pieces later. This is his first attempt, it’s normal for it to be less precise. He can get better at it with practice. Jin turns, from his place at the desk, and his eyes widen when he sees his brother, frozen on the floor.
“Yin—what did you do?” Red eyes glow dangerously, and MK wonders if they would be more ferocious if he threatened one over the other. Jin gets up, teeth bared.
“This,” MK replies, tapping his staff on the ground.
Jin takes a step forward and freezes in place. Or, is frozen, MK supposes. He looks at the brothers, safely imprisoned, and wonders. Where is he going to put them? There’s not enough room here for all of his enemies to be placed. What’s a good place to set everything up?
The cave? The old villain hideout?
That’s perfect! After all, it would be the funniest form of irony, right? Turning a villain hideout to his base for his world saving plan. Gosh, he’s so smart. Because this is him, all him. He finally is smart enough to know what to do. He has to clear out the cave, first. It’s not far away, hidden beneath the sewers. There’s a path to it from the area where the staff used to lie.
He sets Yin and Jin next to each other, considering their poses. He thinks they look a little off, but he can fix that, right? He can fix anything, given enough time. That’s what all this is, fixing the problem of demons who’ve escaped because of DBK’s release. He nods to himself, and heads off. He has rocks to clear out, he has a cave to excavate.
But, he promised Pigsy that he’d be back soon. That stops him short. He can’t skip work!
This will make him far happier in the long run.
Still, what’s a few hours of work to make Pigsy happy now? He shakes off the one track mind and puts his staff away. The ice won’t melt fast (or at all) and he’s got time. The flash of cold he gets in response to that thought doesn’t inspire comfort, and he second guesses himself a few times, but he heads to the shop anyway.
“Hey Pigsy!” he waves, and Pigsy glances at him and jerks a thumb over to the pile of orders on the counter. “On it!”
MK swoops them up and sets them all on the delivery cart. Pigsy glances at him again, and then freezes.
“MK?” he asks.
MK turns, blinking a few times. “Yeah?” he responds, and Pigsy peers at him, almost suspicious.
MK tilts his head to the side in confusion. A part of him is glad that he has concealer on, because they don’t have the time to chat about MK’s new skin tone, not with all these orders. He watches Pigsy shiver, muttering something about the A/C acting up, before Pigsy shakes himself off and sets his hands on his hips.
“I thought-your eyes-nevermind. Get those orders out!” Pigsy barks, and MK stands at attention, giving Pigsy a salute.
“On it!” He promises, sliding out of the shop and hopping onto the delivery cart.
It only takes an hour, which is much faster than he usually is, but focus comes easy when he’s driven. The faster he gets this done they faster he gets to get back to his real work. The work that will make things better for everyone.
Right. Of course.
His shift ends when the store closes, and he’s gone before Pigsy can say anything about his work ethic or ask where MK has been or is going. He rushes to the construction site, dives below, rushing past the decaying plants where there once were flowers and a growing tree. Without Monkey King’s staff, there’s nothing making sure the plants live. MK frowns at the sight but stays focused on the task at hand.
Aim. The staff can be as large as a mountain if it needs to be. Crush what’s in your way.
He nods to himself, breaking through the rubble that has blocked off the tunnel. The ground shakes, the whole underground rumbles with power, and he hopes he’s not keeping anyone up. Then again, it’s not too bad if it’s just for a night, considering how many nights later he’s going to keep quiet. Everyone will be able to rest easy once he’s done.
He huffs a breath, and it comes out white. He should be concerned, but honestly it looks cool. He remembers to blink, because his eyes are starting to burn. He doesn’t know why he keeps forgetting.
He makes his way to the cavern, and uses ice to keep the ceiling up. Pillars rise, frost fills the spaces between rocks that would have cracked and splintered eventually. The floor remains untouched, save for when he fills in the cracks that could trip someone up.
He doesn’t remember when he got these ice powers. They seem new? Why hasn’t he used them before? How come Monkey King never told him about them?
Monkey King’s always had ice powers.
Has he? MK isn’t so sure about that.
You’re his successor, not a carbon copy. It makes sense you would have different powers than him.
Right. MK nods to himself. Now, time to get Yin and Jin! Carrying them is going to be a challenge.
It takes him an hour to get them both there, and another half hour to figure out where to put them. He has to consider DBK’s size. Wait, does he have to go and get the spider demon lady? He shivers at the thought, a deep well of terror sinking in his gut. Even as self assured as he is now, spiders still terrify him.
I can take care of that.
Really?
Yes. But first, rest.
Right. He needs to head back to his house. Pigsy will be worried if he doesn’t come home soon. He heads out of the construction site, skipping all the way home.
He barely sleeps.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The week is certainly a busy one. MK spends any time not with his friends searching, and he spends far less time with his friends, nowadays. The spider demon isn’t easy to find. He does manage to get some small fry lesser demons he hadn’t met before and now never will. He doesn’t need to meet people who will inevitably try to kill him and those around him. Far better to prevent the attack than deal with the aftermath thereof.
His collection of ice sculptures is growing. MK likes to spend time chipping away at the blocks to them more polished. It’s like sketching, in a way, or cleaning up a sketch. It also gives him an opportunity to practice a more precise use of his ice powers. He can make a mean ice chisel now, and he’s learned how to force the limbs of those frozen into the position he likes. Yin and Jin stand on top of each other, like they did in their introduction. The expressions on their faces aren’t what he likes, but he can cover it with frost and it’s like it was never there.
He meets up with Mei, one afternoon.
“Hey, MK!” She barrels into him, and immediately jumps back.
He reaches out, missing the contact, but she shakes out a shiver. “Dang, you’re cold!” She slugs him on the shoulder, and he laughs.
“I feel fine. Maybe you’re just being dramatic,” he shoots back, and she laughs with him, before her eyes glance at his face and she freezes. “What?”
“Your eyes,” she murmurs, all joking replaced with concern. He tilts his head to a side in confusion. “They’re blue?” She adds.
“Oh!” he says, and the words that come out of his mouth don’t sound like him at all. He doesn’t think he thought of them, and he doesn’t feel his lips move but the sound comes out anyway. “I’m trying out some contacts. Do you like them?” He bats his eyelashes at her, all in jest.
Her confusion melts into a smile. “I like your regular eye color better,” She admits. “But those look cool!”
She grabs him by his wrist, using his jacket as a buffer, and drags him to an arcade. Every machine he touches sticks a little, the joystick and button a tad frozen by his touch, and he doesn’t win a match by any means, but he doesn’t mind. Every time Mei leans close to him it feels like a victory. Even though he feels warm, at least a sort of freezer burn warmth, the people around him have pulled away. He’s too cold for them.
He needs contact.
Someone trips Mei as they’re running around the arcade. Her nose bleeds, and MK feels his hackles rising. Someone hurt his friend. A demon? A scan of the area reveals no such thing. Just a mean person. He can hear them snickering as they walk away.
Mei is more important than MK’s anger, so he takes her outside and finds some tissues, cleans her up. He takes her out to her favorite restaurant (not Pigsy’s, though they’ll never tell him that) and they end the night with a race around town. Her bike is an electric green streak, and he’ll never catch up, but he gives it his all before they finish outside his place.
“See ya later!” Mei still sounds a bit stuffed up from the nosebleed, and MK waves until she’s out of sight. When she disappears, his expression shutters, anger against her unrecognizable assailant returning in a flash.
He’s been getting rid of demons, but that’s not enough! Mei still got hurt, because people are unpredictable. He heads to his room and paces. How can he fix it, how can he make it better?
Maybe more than demons should be frozen.
MK stops in his tracks. Now, there’s an idea. But to freeze them forever, that seems like too much.
Not forever. Just until they know how to behave. Think of it as a pause button.
It would be nice if things just stopped for a moment. Then he could have all the time in the world to fix it. Once he gets the demons out of the way, he can do that. Then, once everyone learns to behave, they can come out. However long that takes.
He can be patient, for his friends. This is all for them, after all.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
A day after that, and he’s found the Spider Demon’s lair. Every step he takes inside makes him shake, and he doesn’t think he’ll be able to take her. He’s so nervous, so scared.
I can help, remember? Just take a deep breath.
He takes a deep breath.
Close your eyes.
He closes his eyes.
He doesn’t open them, but they open anyway. Everything is washed in a soft layer of white, like frost, and his body moves but he doesn’t tell it to. The fear he felt is muted, and he settles into the comfort of its absence. He asked for this, right?
The spider demon—she wanted to be a Queen, right? MK hadn’t been really paying attention when she went on her rant, too petrified to listen—skitters out, and when she locks eyes with him, she smiles.
“Aww, is the little monkie boy back to play?” She giggles, and MK’s body throws the staff at her. She ducks with a yelp, and scrambles back. “Ooo, we’re rough, now? Seems you’re not so scared anymore,” She purrs, but he can hear the nervousness in her voice as the staff comes back to his hand.
“Iͥ ʷgͣˢoᶰtͤ ͮoͤvͬeˢrͨ ͣiͬtͤᵈ.” The sound comes out of his mouth, and it doesn’t sound much like MK at all. Huh. His body takes a step forward, and ice spreads out from beneath his foot. “Tͭuͧrͬᶰnˢs ͦoͧuͭtʸ,ͦ ͧyˢoͪuͦ'ͧˡrͩe ͪnͣoͮtͤ ᵇtͤhͤᶰeʷ ͦsͬcͬaͥrͤiͩesͣᵇtͦ ͧdͭemͫoͤn ͥoͫuᶠtͬ ͤtͤhere.”
The Spider Queen’s expression shifts, and she tries to run, but MK’s legs are faster. He watches himself move, jumping over stones and cliffs and any obstacle. The webs she tries to trap him in freeze, and he slides across them as if his feet were skates.
Eventually, he corners her. MK watches his body close in, and suddenly he’s back in control, staring her down. Satisfaction crawls up his back, a cold grin splitting his face in two.
“ʷWͪhͦˢoˢ'ͨsͣ ͬsͤcͩaᶰrͦʷed now?” He grins, and she screams.
Ice, it turns out, is a great muffler.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Finding DBK’s hiding place is harder. MK locates it just outside the city limits, in an abandoned scrapyard. The perfect place to get parts for new bull clones and other random things Red Son can come up with.
He decides to go on the weekend, but as he prepares the night before Monkey King makes an appearance in his room.
“Hey, bud,” MK jumps at his arrival.
He must have been hiding as a bug or something, like when MK first found the staff.
“Monkey King!” He grins at his arrival, hopping up. “What’s the occasion? Is there something new you wanted to teach me? Is there a demon we have to fight?” We, not as in MK and Monkey King, but MK and himself. Because he’s not one, not really, and that’s fun! He hates being alone, after all.
“No, no,” Monkey King chuckles, overly fond. Right, MK hasn’t been to Flower Fruit Mountain for a week. “It’s just-you left pretty early, and, uh, you didn’t say anything about our next training sesh, you know? And, uhh, pretty sure you shouldn’t be slacking off on that.”
The half hearted scolding aside, MK almost thinks that Monkey King missed him. But that’s ridiculous.
“Well, you were sleeping when I got up, and I had to go to work,” The lie slips easily off of his tongue. “I didn’t want to wake you, so I left! Um, we’re busy tomorrow, but Sunday works for training, if that’s cool?” He rocks back and forth on his feet, ever excited.
“We’re? Who’s cooler than me to hang out with?” Monkey King reaches out to ruffle his hair, and MK can feel the shiver that jolts through the monkey’s body at the touch. Monkey King doesn’t comment on it, though.
“I promised Mei we’d hang out. It’s been a busy week at the shop, so I haven’t been able to party with her,” He doesn’t know where these lies are coming from.
Sometimes he talks and it’s not him at all. He should be concerned, but honestly he doesn’t mind if his other self takes the reigns. He fumbles over his words way too often to be annoyed that someone is smoothing him out.
Polished like an ice sculpture; MK thinks he could be beautiful if he was like that.
“Alright, fine. You and your friend can….do whatever it is kids do these days. Am I an adult—oh my god I’m an adult,” Monkey King flops back onto his nimbus cloud with a groan while MK giggles.
“Anyway, get some rest, bud. You look tired,” is the last thing Monkey King says to him.
“On it!” MK salutes, and Monkey King floats through the window and then rockets off. The papers in MK’s room all swirl from the blowback, and MK grabs one of the sketches that floats back down.
He doesn’t remember the last time he asked Tang for a story. The last time he sketched anything else at all. But, a hero doesn’t need hobbies so trivial.
He plans. Plans for how the city is going to look like, when he’s finished with it all. He doesn’t need to write down the steps to get there, he has his head voice for that, but the city. How it will look, when he’s done. He has to figure it out, draw it out, and pin it to the wall so he can look at it every morning and evening and remember why he’s doing this. So he sketches. Pins the piece to the wall.
Squints. He doesn’t like it.
Back to the drawing board.
His wall is covered by the time the sun rises, and MK still isn’t satisfied. But there is no time to waste. So, he picks up the outfit that feels all the more new—blue isn’t a color he expected to like, but blue is cold is safe is good is the burning warmth he needs, so he leaves the orange jacket and red headband hanging off of his desk chair.
Looking at himself in the mirror, he can barely tell the difference!
He is gone before Pigsy comes up with breakfast, before Pigsy calls for Tang to look at the mess MK left behind, enough drawings of the same thing for anyone to get the picture. He is gone before Pigsy and Tang investigate, speak in hushed tones, and call for Sandy, Mei, and eventually Monkey King.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Getting to the outskirts of town is the easy part. Infiltrating DBK’s base is a bit harder. It’s not heavily fortified, but MK thinks that’s more because he has never tried to infiltrate such a place. He doesn’t really attack first, he just protects. But that’s not good enough anymore, clearly. He can’t just be protective, he needs to be proactive.
He slides past the guards, freezes them for good measure. After all, they’re going to be made useless once he takes their leader down, so it’s not as if he’s wasting anything. There’s also always the chance they get wise, and MK doesn’t want his entrance ruined.
The inner sanctum of the base looks more like a house, made large to accommodate DBK’s figure. There are pictures on the wall, from painted portraits to black and white to color photos. MK supposes that the Demon Bull Family has been around long enough to have portraits taken in all sorts of mediums. He wonders if they have statues, a shrine? He bites back a giggle at the thought.
The booming sound of cloven footsteps alerts MK to DBK’s arrival, though by the sounds of two voices approaching, Princess Iron Fan must be with him.
“Red Son has been pulling away from us,” the gravel in DBK’s voice is soft, somehow. MK listens in with interest. What is it they are doing to their son now?
“You tried to kill him. He can’t help but take it personally,” is Princess Iron Fan’s reply. “He barely knows you, and he’s young. He’ll grow out of it,” she waves a hand, unconcerned.
MK glares at them. The temperature in the hallway drops, until Princess Iron Fan shivers.
“Darling, I thought this house had a heating function?” Princess Iron fan curls her arms around herself, and DBK picks her up and sets her on his shoulder, suddenly on guard.
“It does, the boy made it so,” he growls, sniffing around for intruders. MK decides to let himself be known.
“Hi!” he says as he pops out from around the corner.
“Noodle boy?” Princess Iron Fan questions.
“Little Thief,” DBK growls.
“Actually, I go by MK,” he corrects cheerily. “But, anyway, could you hold still? This will be harder if you move,” He twirls his staff casually. DBK growls, and Princess Iron Fan places a hand on the side of his face to silence him.
“MK,” Princess Iron Fan starts, with a forced air of politeness. “We are in your debt for helping save my husband. However, if you attack us, we will have no choice but to fight back, and we will not be kind.”
She grins, self assured, and continues “And you know what happened the last time you tried to fight me.”
Fire. Volcanoes. She had tried to kill him and, more importantly, she had made his friends cry. But things have changed, haven’t they?
MK giggles. The sound echoes, and the hallway gets colder. Frost crawls over the walls, and MK looks up with eyes that glow.
“Aͣcͨtͭuͧaͣˡlˡlʸy,ͥ Iͭ ͪtͥᶰhᵏiʸnͦkͧ ˢyͪoͦuͧˡ'ͩllͬ ͧᶰfiͥᶠnʸdͦ ͧmᵏeᶰ ͦʷtʷoͪ ͣbͭˢeᵍ ͦhͦaͩrᶠdͦeͬrʸ ͦtͧo ᶰbͦeͭatͭ ͪtͣhͭaʸnͦ ͧbeͨfͣᶰorͤˢeͨᵃᵖᵉ,” He jumps up with a smile, and sprints forward.
Something dawns on her face, and Princess Iron Fan stands.
“Darling, we need to run,” She says, quickly, but MK jumps and bounces off of the walls and is eye to eye with her before she can explain.
She doesn’t even have time to grab her fan.
DBK jumps back as the block of ice slides off his shoulder and he roars.
“Father?!” MK hears Red Son’s voice from afar and ignores that for now.
“I will tear you to pieces you ingrate!” DBK shouts, and MK laughs.
“ʸYͦoͧu ͨcͦoͧˡuͩᶰlͭdnͤ'ͮtͤᶰ ˢeͭvͦᵖenͫ ͤbʷeͪaͤᶰt ͥmʷeͣˢ wͥᶰhʸeͦnͧ ͬI ͪwͤaͣsͩnʸ'ͦtͧ ᶠtͦrͦˡying!” he shouts back, dodging a blow that sinks DBK’s fist in the wall.
The frost slides from the wall to DBK’s arm, gluing him there. He fires the gun on his other arm, and MK dodges.
“Nͥiͩcͥeͦ ͭshot!” He dances around the room.
DBK takes a step in the wrong direction, and slips on the ice cube that is his wife, dropping to the ground. MK wastes no time, and DBK’s roar is silenced abruptly.
Finally.
Finally.
“Noodle Boy! What on earth are you doing?!” Red Son looks rather steamed, if the smoke coming off of him is any indication.
“Hi, Red Son! I was just taking care of your parents,” MK gestures to the popsicles on the floor. Red Son stares, face a mixture of confusion and horror, and MK barrels toward him. “Now they can’t be mean to you anymore. You can make fun inventions and not have to be a mean guy all the time!” Honestly, if anything, Red Son should be thanking MK, but MK doesn’t do this for thanks. He takes a few hairs and blows on them, and his clones start to work on moving the new additions to his cave.
“You—” Red Son is at a loss for words before landing on “Give me back my parents!”
See, MK was worried about that. He would likely have responded the same, when he first left his parents.
“But I worked hard to get them out of the way!” MK pouts. “But, I get it. You don’t understand. You just need to ᵍcͤoͭolͦ ͧdͭowͦᶠn,ͦ ͧoͬkʷaͣʸy?” MK reaches out, places a hand on Red Son’s shoulder before he can be stopped, and Red Son is going to freeze too, when—
Red Son explodes, and MK burns.
It’s not enough to melt the ice, no, but MK is thrown back against the wall, eyes wide.
The chill in his bones vanishes with a screech, and all he can hear is screaming. For a moment, something rises within him.
This is wrong.
He shouldn’t be doing this, he can’t be.
He isn’t a bad person, he isn’t cruel. He wouldn’t do this.
He needs to stop, he needs to—
And then the flames vanish, and so does Red Son, and the cold slips back into place with brutal efficiency. MK blinks, tries to remember where he is. Right, DBK and Princess Iron Fan. He got them! Great.
His clones have been destroyed in the blaze, so he makes some new ones, and heads back to base.
A shame he couldn’t get Red Son to understand, but they all will soon enough.
Good job, vessel.
MK feels warm. It burns.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
He’s deliberating back at his hideout about where his newest statues should go when he hears a sharp gasp from behind him. He turns, and Mei is looking at him with something that looks like horror, but that can’t be right. Why would she be horrified by something so beautiful?
“MK?” she starts, cautiously. “What…happened to you? You look really bad, why are you wearing blue?”
“I like the color!” he asserts. “And I’m fine!”
She purses her lips, and then tries again.
“Um...MK. What is this?” She points to the frozen menagerie behind him.
MK does not pout, even though he feels like he should.
“You ruined the surprise,” he grumbles, arms crossed over his chest. “I stopped all the bad guys! See?” he gestures to them. “Now they can’t hurt anyone.”
There’s a pause, before Mei can catch up, where MK asks, “Hey, do you think people would want to put them in a museum?” He taps his chin with his index finger, deliberating.
“How did you...does Monkey King have powers like this?” she tries, a third time.
“No, I don’t,” MK jumps at the sound of Monkey King’s voice. Monkey King floats down on his cloud, hopping off and looking at MK with an air of suspicion. “Kid, how are you doing this? Why are you doing this?”
“‘Cause they hurt you guys,” MK has been itching for a chance to explain, to get someone to understand. “And the-my head voice gave me the idea. Once these guys are all gone, everyone can be safe, and no one will leave!”
“Head voice?” Pigsy comes from behind a pillar. “MK, what are you talking about?”
“You know, the voice in your head that sounds like you?” He explains. “It-it told me how to do it. And I’m not a carbon copy of Monkey King, it makes sense that I’d have a few new powers, you know?”
“No,” Tang appears, from somewhere.
When did all of his friends get here? He can see Sandy, Mo in tow on his shoulder, peeking in.
“You shouldn’t have any deviations. Maybe your transformations would be different, but to go so far as to have ice powers?” Tang pushes his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, and his glasses flash. “That shouldn’t be possible, given Monkey King’s power set.”
“What’s going on, kid?” Sandy’s voice is very soft, as he approaches, just like when they were on the boat.
“Nothing!” MK’s voice is cheery as ever. “I’m just fixing things, okay? I think you need to ˢcͪhͧiͭllͧᵖ ʷoͧʲuͥᶰtᵍ,” he reaches forward, and Sandy and Mo are ice.
Mei screams.
“What?” MK looks on, bewildered, as his friends stare at him in horror. “He’ll be fine! It doesn’t hurt. I’ve been freezing for ages! It gets warm after a while.”
His eyes glow, and Tang pales.
“Baigujing,” he breathes, and MK turns to him.
“What about her?” he asks, and Tang puts a hand to his mouth, biting his lip and glancing between the rest of the group and MK, unsure.
“Bud,” Monkey King takes a few cautious steps toward MK, as if MK were a cornered animal. His feet slip a little on the ice, but not enough to stop his careful approach. His tail is poised and very still, not so much as a twitch from it. “I think you’re feeling a bit...um, scrambled right now. Why don’t you hand me the staff, and we can talk about this?” He gives MK a soft smile, but MK frowns.
If he takes the staff you can’t finish your work! Does he think you don’t deserve it anymore?
“But I need it,” he responds, simple and to the point. “It’s mine.” Right? Because Monkey King gave it to him. Gifts can’t be taken back, right? MK’s still worthy, right?
Monkey King takes a deep breath, like he’s biting back a retort.
“Preeeeetty sure I let you borrow it. ‘S called ‘Monkey King’s Staff’ for a reason, bud. C’mon.”
Another step forward. MK grips the staff tighter.
“MK, please,” Tang calls from his other side.
Don’t let him take it!
“We need you to let go!” Mei’s voice hits his ears.
They’re all lying to you!
“Kid-I-c’mon, just let ‘em have it and we can go home,” Pigsy’s voice breaks, and MK feels like he’s going to break with it.
Is he even going to let you keep your home?!
Monkey King is close enough that MK can feel the heat of his power emanating off of him, of the great Sun Wukong. His paws are soft and somehow even warmer than his power as he curls them around MK’s grip on the staff.
They don’t understand! They’re going to abandon you!
“That’s it, easy does it,” Relief colors Monkey King’s tone, and he smiles at MK as if MK were the sun. It’s too soft to be true. “Just hand it over, and we’ll make sure everything’s okay, alright?”
He starts to tug, pulling the staff out of MK’s grip ever so gently, and MK flinches as the voice rings loud in his ear.
YOU NEED IT DON’T LET HIM TAKE IT FROM YOU HE’LL RUIN EVERYTHING—
“It’s MͫIͥᶰNͤE!” MK shouts, and he slams the side of it into Monkey King’s stomach and launches his mentor across the room.
Monkey King crashes into the wall, groaning as he pushes away the falling rubble. MK’s eyes are wild.
“It’s mine, and you can’t have it! I need it!” Ice crawls over his right hand, cementing his grip.
Tang sees it, takes a step back, and turns to the two horrified bystanders.
“Run!” he shouts, and Mei bolts. Pigsy stares, motioning for Tang to run, but Tang is too close to MK to do anything.
“What’d you do that for?” MK frowns, lowering a hand onto Tang’s shoulder. Pigsy makes a choked sound.
“Go! Bajie, get out of here!” Tang shouts, far more desperate than MK expected. Why is everyone so terrified? This is just a misunderstanding.
“Okay, tͭiͦmͦeˡ ͣoͭuͤt ͭfͦorͬ ͧᶰyˢoͣᶰuᶻᵃᶰᵍ,” MK pats Tang’s shoulder once, and Tang is rooted to the spot. MK freezes him slower, because Tang isn’t strong, merely smart. And if he does it slow, then he doesn’t have to chisel away the extra later.
Mei comes roaring in on her bike, and she picks up Pigsy by the back of his chef’s coat, throws him on the back of her bike, and zooms off.
“Tang!” Pigsy screams, but his voice gets farther and farther away.
“What’s wrong?” MK is so confused. He looks to Monkey King, who is just sitting there on his cloud, horrified.
“Sun Wukong,” Tang says, voice hard. The ice is up to his chest. “Get out of here. Bajie is going to be a wreck after this.”
“Can you make sense!” MK throws his hands up, tired of being ignored, talked over, walked over. “Or at least ˢsͪtͧoͭp ͧᵖtalking!” And Tang goes silent, frozen.
MK turns back to Monkey King, and finds that his mentor has vanished.
Well, that won’t do.
After them!
MK jumps onto a disk of ice and slides across stone, feet still as the ice barrels over any obstacle, leading him past the dead sliver of a great mountain and up onto the streets. Mei just has made her way to ground level, aided up by Monkey King, and MK zeroes in on them.
They pass by cars, and MK ignores the blaring horns as he slides over city streets. The ice trailing behind him makes cars swerve out of control, but he needs to get to his friends. They have to understand. This is all for them!
The ice shoots forward, and he gets closer and closer, until Mei’s back wheel hits frost and the back of the bike jerks one way, the front the other. The bike slips onto its side with immediacy, and Pigsy and Mei go sprawling as Mei’s bike falls apart, skidding across the ice.
Oh no.
“Mei!” he runs to her side.
She groans, her bike suit torn. He doesn’t even think about Pigsy at the moment, too worried about his best friend to think of the other person he hurt. Plus, Pigsy’s a full grown adult, and MK has never seen Pigsy hurt like Mei is, so it doesn’t even register that Pigsy could be as injured as she is. Her left arm has a large patch of skin that’s been burnt off by the road, and her legs are bleeding from various places. Thankfully, she was wearing a helmet, so MK doesn’t have to worry about something so serious.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. Are you alright? Where does it hurt? I’m sorry!”
Some ice might help with the pain.
Right, right, icing the wound always helps. He goes to make some, the power swirling in his hand, when a horn from a car blares, making him wince.
Gosh, humans. They’re so annoying! If they could just stay out of the way, because he needs to fix this, that’d be great.
Remember the pause button?
It seems very inviting. MK nods.
Right. A pause button.
“Just a sec, Mei,” he leaves her groaning on the ground, turning to face the city.
He slams his staff into the ground.
Ice shoots out in a wild dash. It crawls over and into everything. Cars, buildings, people—everything freezes. He hears some screams, and watches people try and run for the hills, but the cold is faster. It billows down the streets, kicking up a white haze that is almost impossible to see through, that the pedestrians tripping on ice and solidifying get lost in, but it’s a snowy sheen that MK sees through perfectly. He can see the polished figures of buildings, glistening beneath their ice, the little mounds that must be people beneath the thick layer of ice.
It’s all so pristine. So perfect.
Finally.
Finally.
MK is glad for the quiet. With him and himself in his head, it’s hard to deal with outside noise. He just needed a moment of calm, to get to the task at hand.
The task at hand...Mei!
“Mei, are you—” he stops. Mei and Pigsy aren’t there.
His eyes search for them, and he can see Monkey King hurriedly pulling them up onto his cloud. “Wait!”
Monkey King looks at him, and MK’s face is pleading. He just wants to do right. Why don’t they understand? Once he fixes it all, everyone will be happy. Can’t they wait?
“Sorry, bud,” Monkey King says.
MK doesn’t know what he’s apologizing for. A rush of panic tries to grip his brain, something that was once so familiar, something that was once so him, but it disappears in MK’s desperation to act.
The cloud zooms off. He throws a hand out, running after it.
“NO!”
This is just like his dream. At the edge of the city, a wall of ice rises. It sparkles in the light of the setting sun, and MK raises it higher, and higher, as Monkey King and Mei and Pigsy and everyone he cares about most gets farther and farther away.
Monkey King punches through the ice, and they disappear into the horizon.
MK drops to his knees. They land hard on the frozen ground.
“You said they wouldn’t leave,” he whimpers out, crying because it hurts and he doesn’t know exactly why.
It’s more than just regular pain. Something warm and different and yet familiar stings. Something knows this isn’t right, this isn’t how it’s supposed to go! If this was the right thing to do, why would everyone leave?
“I have to stop!” The words are forced out of his mouth.
MK doesn’t know when the words are him and when the words are something else. He doesn’t know who he is. What’s right? What’s wrong? How can he tell?
He’s just been listening to his own head, but his own head is arguing with itself.
He slams his free fist into his temple, to try and make things settle.
Chains drag him to the ground, leaving him stuck.
You are doing everything just right.
The voice is soft in one ear, but on the other side MK hears No! On repeat. No, this isn’t right. You froze good people. Innocent people! You froze Tang and Sandy! You made Pigsy cry! You hurt Mei!
They don’t understand yet. Monkey King is notoriously stubborn. He isn’t ready for his successor to pass him yet. All you have to do is wait for them to come back. And they will.
It’s harder and harder to hear the argument against this.
The voice sounds so self assured. The warmth that doesn’t burn gets weaker and weaker, like a fire out of kindling.
He wheezes, and tears turn to snowflakes on his skin. He chokes on his own breath. It comes out white and fogs his vision, but he can’t find it in himself to care.
Everyone’s gone.
He’s alone.
This can’t be right.
It is. You just haven’t done enough yet.
That, MK understands. The need to do more, be more. It makes far more sense that he hasn’t done enough, than anything else.
“They’ll come back?” He asks, and his voice sounds so loud in the quiet. He feels a hand brush his hair back. He leans into the touch, but it’s gone.
Of course.
MK stands. The chains vanish, and he smiles.
“Okay then! Let’s get to work!”
He hasn’t let go of the staff in ages. He doesn’t think he can. He turns to the mess he’d made in his rush job, the frozen city’s statue. He has to fix that, it’s unsightly! Mei and Pigsy and Monkey King won’t like a mess.
As he plans, as he hopes, he feels a smile in the back of his head. It feels like a snowball to his skull, chilling and yet a comfort, somehow.
Wonderful work, Vessel. We’re going to do great things together.
#lego monkie kid#monkie kid#possession au#monkie kid mk#sun wukong#monkie kid monkey king#monkie kid mei#monkie kid red son#red son#kitkat1003
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Idk if you’re still doing the writing ask thing but if so, 4, 9 and 22
Yet Another Writing Ask
4. Do you have any OCs? Do you have a story for them?
idk whether to call them OCs when they're just characters I'm mulling over for a screenwriting projects outside of tumblr but i can share a few.
so the gist of my current project is a webseries about superheroes with powers that are strange/useless/dangerously uncontrollable and the leader of the gang of misfits is a tough-as-nails lesbian named Beth who is basically Cyclops with Superman's eye beams. She wears a visor 24/7 bc even if she's not shooting laser beams outta her head her eyes are constantly glowing and she doesn't want to blind anyone.
When I first conceived the series I was more dead set on poking fun at various superhero comics tropes so unfortunately Beth's parents did not stand a chance at staying alive. Even with where my brainstorming sheet is now Beth's backstory is: "Bio parents died, found a loving foster family, then accidentally killed her foster mom when her powers emerged and got disowned by her remaining family."
I don't really play it for laughs in the actual script but that's basically the gist of it.
Don't worry, there's lighthearted characters in this thing as well. The role I scripted for myself is AJ the sassy nerd of the group who can emit electricity from her hands. It sounds cool but she has to wear rubber gloves 24/7 to not taser people or short out electrical appliances. She's cool about it though, she jokes that she's like Sailor Jupiter from the discount bin.
9. Thoughts on cliffhangers.
@ anyone in charge of showrunning TV shows plz make sure you're green lit for another season BEFORE you end the current season on a cliffhanger thank u
and @ anyone who just writes fanfics in their spare time for funsies don't worry updating after cliffhangers. take yo time. live yo life.
22. What is it about watching the same two idiots falling in love over and over again?
I think it's just about comfort and familiarity. Considering the state of the world I totally get how ppl just wanna roll up on ao3 (or ff.net if ur desperate or wattpad if u hate urself) and read a few words about people falling in love knowing that it will (maybe) have a happy ending.
I actually write fanfic to help me calm the hell down and feel productive, aside from it being creatively fulfilling and good practice for my craft. I'll fully admit that the sudden spike of DC content in December was me trying to fight off a mid-holiday depressive episode bc Christmas stresses the shit outta me and I needed something familiar to comfort me.
Also random tangent but I love the phrasing of "two idiots falling in love over and over again" when in actuality I'm pretty sure most of the dynamics I write between characters tend to be more "two idiots becoming even bigger idiots by virtue of knowing one another"
#ask box memes#miadearden#you know what's cool? i'm friends with some people who've created DC fan films#and i'm like...#plz let me join ur writers room i'll work for free#altho i'd roll up and pitch short ideas about characters who aren't batman lol
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Random thought but legally blonde klapollo au??
OH that is actually a fantastic concept--I know I’ve seen a few narumitsu legally blonde aus, but I don’t think I’ve seen one with klapollo?? Which is weird, because it would actually work so well.
but like. ANYWAY. the way I think it would go would be something along the lines of:
-Klavier is Elle, and that’s only partly because of the hair! They’ve both got similar drive, determination, and...yeah, they both have very distinct senses of style.
-Apollo, then, gets to be the TA and junior partner in the law firm Klavier ends up interning at--this might involve having to adjust their ages a little so it makes more sense, but I don’t think that would change their dynamic very much
-And here’s where I’m changing the plot up a little bit to make the AU echo the existing character dynamics--the shitty teacher (Callahan? IDK how you spell his name) is Kristoph. Obviously he’s going to be shitty to Klavier in an entirely different way than happens in the movie; instead of that plot, he only accepted Klavier into his internship program because they’re related, and he thought it would be easier to manipulate him into going along with all his shady legal business if Klavier felt he owed Kristoph in some way.
-Pause for Backstory here--Klavier’s decision to go to Harvard was entirely last-minute, as per the original movie plot. He’d been studying music and fashion, and had been dating Daryan up until he got broken up with unceremoniously in the middle of a restaurant. He’d gotten into law school for the sole purpose of winning Daryan back--but ended up deciding to stay on his own terms.
-the Good Professor gets to be Constance Courte, mainly because hey, that’s already basically a canon thing!
-Apollo thinks Klavier’s entirely ridiculous when he first encounters him, after Klavier got kicked out of class for not being properly prepared. He’s impressed, of course, that Klavier managed to be at Harvard almost on a whim--but he’s skeptical of his common sense, at first.
-Side tangent--you know that one scene where Elle’s standing in line at the campus bookstore at midnight wearing a bright pink sexy bunny outfit and holding a macbook, and whatshisface (wow clearly this character left like. zero impression on me, what on earth was his name??) is in line behind her, and they just have this “Don’t even ask”/”Wasn’t gonna” exchange? I’m literally picturing that right now, but with Apollo and Klavier. ugh I wish I was better at drawing.
-I don’t think I have the brainpower rn to figure out who on earth would be involved with the big trial during the movie, but I really think that Wright and Edgeworth and Trucy etc all need to get worked in here somehow??
-I also can’t quite decide who takes the place of the New Fiancée Girl--like, I would say Ema might make sense purely from a “starts out hating Klavier but ends up befriending him” standpoint, but I also can’t do that to Ema. I can’t have her engaged to Daryan in this AU, even if the point is that she breaks it off at the end lmao
-but ANYWAY back to what we really care about here: the Klapollo Plot
-they’re all working on the Big Court Case, Kristoph calls Klavier into his office just as he’s leaving for the night, and reveals his plan to use forged evidence to win the case. And Klavier is horrified, does not react at all as Kristoph had hoped, and storms off--but when he tries to tell anyone about it, they don’t believe him--after all, Kristoph is a well-established attorney, isn’t he? He wouldn’t need to forge evidence--clearly Klavier must just be jealous of his brother’s success.
-Apollo, however, has started to genuinely like Klavier over the course of the year--and he knows that Klavier wouldn’t make something like this up. So he sides with Klavier, and helps him take over the case.
-Which Klavier wins, of course, due to his extensive knowledge of haircare--something that’s important in both fashion and music careers, honestly.
-...the thing with Legally Blonde, though, is that technically the main couple gets together offscreen?? Which makes it a pretty cool movie in that sense--but a little less good for a romantic AU. You’d have to write in some sort of scene post-trial where Klavier and Apollo reconvene, talk things out, and get their Emotions in order--but they would, and it would be lovely.
-and, of course, you’ve got the Big Graduation Speech--and the closed-caption ending summary: Apollo is planning on proposing to Klavier.....tonight.
Is that...too much? Too little? I love this concept and also I love figuring out how to fit existing character dynamics into AUs--it’s a bit like a puzzle, where you sometimes have to change things about both halves to make it work better. So here--some thoughts on how I think it would go down?
#thank you for the thought!#this was a good distraction from obsessively checking my ao3 page after posting that last chapter of currents tbh#klapollo#obviously you don't have to AGREE with these ideas!!#and there's so much I didn't even touch on wow#but you can draw a bunch of parallels between legally blonde and klapollo somehow#which I only realized by accident the other week lol#ANYWAY here you go! sorry it took a bit to answer this#hope the long post makes up for it??#ask#asks#my writing#or just about anyway#aroace-space-case
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Brick Club 2.3.5 “The Little Girl All Alone”
“Only, as she fell prey to certain feelings, she rattled the handle of the bucket as much as she could while she walked. That made a noise, which kept her company.” This line really struck me as an interesting summary of so many of the characters in this book. Nearly all of the main or majorly recurring characters in this book are so lonely. So much of this book is different characters metaphorically rattling buckets in different ways.
This random woman that Cosette meets on the road is the opposite of Valjean meeting Madame De R--- way way back in 1.2.1. Mme De R--- was the one who stopped and spoke to Valjean and did the kindness of pointing out Myriel’s door. This random woman doesn’t do anything like that. She just keeps walking. The entire town knows who Cosette is and not a single person stops to help her.
God, I love the way Hugo writes children. He clearly was so lovely and patient and observant towards his kids and grandkids. All the little idiosyncrasies and quirks that we see Cosette and all the little kids at the convent exhibit are so believable and realistic.
We literally just had the ghosts of Waterloo wandering the plain, and here’s Cosette frightened of ghosts.
Thenardier is a wolf, but the Thenardiess tends to be more “foreign” wild animals. So far I’ve noted hyena and tigress. I’m not sure why she’s so different. It’s strange because the animals Hugo picks tend to be far less tameable than wolves and yet he has also described Mme Thenardier as essentially being tamed by her husband, since she’ll do anything he says and won’t argue despite being bigger and stronger than him.
“Darkness is dizzying. We need light; whenever we plunge into the opposite of day we feel our hearts chilled. When the eye sees darkness, the mind sees trouble.” This is such an interesting quote considering how often darkness helps save Valjean. But it’s also a quote that will be supported later on during discussions of Hugo’s social mines. Those who become accustomed to darkness, who utilize darkness, become Trouble which becomes Crime. The fact that Cosette is terrified of this darkness isn’t just an indication of her youth, it’s also an indication of her Goodness. She can navigate in the dark but she is scared of it.
“An outline of the Inconceivable emerges a few steps away with a spectral clarity. You see floating in space or in your brain something strangely vague and unseizable like the dreams of sleeping flowers.” Again, another little section where Hugo’s poetry really comes out. This visual is so pretty and almost whimsical considering he’s trying to talk about how creepy the forest at night is. These ghosts aren’t defined like the ghosts of Waterloo, and they’re not chimerical folklore like Valjean-as-the-Devil. They’re this weird in-between of terrified child and spiritual adult imagery.
Paris is also compared to a forest, and the gamin to a sparrow. But Cosette is not a sparrow, she’s a lark. It’s interesting to note that the next in line for abandonment after Cosette has left the Thenardiers is Gavroche, who has turned into a sparrow-gamin when we see him in Paris.
“Forests are apocalypses: a tiny soul’s beating wings make an agonizing sound beneath their monstrous vault.” I just finished reading Brighton Rock by Graham Greene and there’s a moment where he describes a seagull flying under a wharf as a songbird trapped in a cathedral. I get the same imagery here. This terror of something so much bigger than oneself, the need to escape, the feeling of doom or at least the feeling of being overwhelmed. A small child in the dark in a forest is like this absolute knowledge of how small and vulnerable and scared you are. And Cosette knows this; her eyes start getting wild, like she’s losing the human ability to reason and turning into that bird trapped in a cathedral, a sort of instinctive bestial fear.
(This is also the state Valjean is in when we first meet him.)
“Then, by some sort of instinct, to get out of this singular state, which she did not understand but which terrified her, she began to count aloud, one, two, three, four, up to ten, and when she had finished, she began again. This restored her to a real perception of things about her.” Cosette is able to break out of this animalistic fear-state. It’s also cool to see an example of calming techniques being used and effective 150 years ago.
This is kind of a tangent but whenever I read the sections about young Cosette with the Thenardiers I end up thinking about articles I’ve read about feral children or abusive/neglectful orphanages and how it affects the childrens’ ability to emote or the ways in which they respond to fear, threats, happiness, etc. I wonder if this ability to calm herself and pull herself out of that animalistic state is kind of this “power” Cosette has which protects her from becoming something more bestial. Her reaction to abandonment is different from Gavroche’s. Gavroche moves outward, becomes independent and social and courageous and sarcastic, connecting with everyone and no one. Cosette’s reaction is to move inward, to become speculative and quiet, to be wary of everyone and not really reach out. But this power she has prevents her from retreating too much into herself, into a place she cannot return from.
Poor Fantine sees her daughter’s fear and suffering. This is the last time, I think, that Fantine will be present in this way. Like Valjean’s whisper in her ear and the smile on the corpse’s lips, this brings Fantine to life for just a second. This reminds me of the dreams that Fantine has while Valjean is on the road to Arras. This is Fantine dreaming, this time from eternal sleep, watching as Valjean walks toward her daughter.
Although I just had a thought. When Valjean returns from Arras sans Cosette and visits Fantine, she wakes and says this to him: “Cosette? I knew you were there; I was asleep, but I saw you. I’ve been seeing you for a long time; I’ve followed you with my eyes all night. You were in a halo of glory, and all sorts of celestial forms were hovering around you.” Perhaps this dream wasn’t necessarily Fantine watching Valjean drive to Arras? Perhaps it was Fantine, so close to death, catching a glimpse behind the veil to the future her spirit will watch. Jupiter is the largest celestial body, and it’s large and visible here.
“She always imagined the Thenardiess nearby.” Ugh Cosette you poor thing. So much of her life is directed by fear and yet she has so much strength. Her strength and Valjean’s are paralleled again. She is strong enough to carry this full bucket, but she has to stop and rest, to regain her energy. But she is strong enough, just like her will is strong enough to withstand the emotional and physical abuse and abandonment she has lived with for the past 7 years. And we’ll see that strength change when she leaves but it doesn’t leave her.
“A man who had come up behind her and whom she had not heard. This man, without saying a word, had grasped the handle of the bucket she was carrying.” Valjean that’s so creepy. Valjean is magical here. Cosette is terrified; just moments ago she was hypervigilant about every sound of animals in the woods on the sides of the path. But she doesn’t hear Valjean’s approach at all, doesn’t even notice him until he lifts the bucket from her grasp. From the moment prisoner-Valjean fell from the side of the Orion, Valjean has been incorporeal. He’s no longer 9430, he’s no longer M Madeleine, and he hasn’t been mentioned since the fall. This is Valjean materializing as a new form, this poor-rich man in a yellow coat.
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@uberoll-oystercrackers putting this PT convo on blast just for the sake of switching to this format where u don’t have to break everything up via replies because [comically deep inhale]
honestly like idc idc i guess ppl are just like “uhh mytho’s got nothing going on b/c he has no feelings!!” like Yeah Correct, that’s a premise / inciting factor for this series and everything everyone’s doing lol, it’s only Boring if you don’t think about the character at all lmfao which i guess some ppl don’t, but like, there’s only 4 of them.....it’s Wildly Interesting that he literally has no feelings at first, like, for one thing it’s cool how there’s always the Idea of characters who don’t have emotions or act on them, but this is like the rare “realistic” situation where having no feelings means he needs someone to steer him around and make choices for him (and how Vulnerable that leaves him lmfao like episode 2 is wild but also that ppl just haven’t really realized that they Could just pick mytho up and pitch him into a wall, and fakir and rue are sort of careful neutral alliance keeping tabs on him) and you know, the whole s1 structure of mytho regaining both Capacity For / Experience of An Emotion and his sense of identity and by extent of all this his agency, and how like, Thematic everything surrounding this character is that’s reflected in the overall series like. trying to control someone for your own benefit vs being willing to sacrifice your own interests (and then some...) for their freedom & the Protecting Someone (And/Or Wanting To) As A Love Language that all the characters show for each other at various points & hope vs despair.......and like No Shit he’s dispassionate & passive b/c he can’t Feel Feelings & resultantly can’t make decisions or feel motivations but obviously he’s still Motivating other characters to act on his behalf, & there’s so much mystery & drama already in “yeah this guy you think is just a neat handsome guy is also an actual prince from a story who’s Real & sacrificed his heart in the fight with an evil giant raven monster that eats people & so he can’t feel anything or remember who he is” like damn!!! epic of him even if right now he can’t do much of anything on his own. i’m interested, and then i’m Interested every time in the Drama & Mystery of this person regaining parts of himself and completely rediscovering An Emotional Experience and how that is totally recontextualizing his entire existence for him.....
plus also even though “person literally lost heart via magic and doesn’t know what Feeling Things is” isn’t a We’ve All Been There situation i was like oh and you know it’s not like what mytho’s got going on isn’t potentially Relatable....can get into a side essay about dapressione and trauma and other types of stuff that can make it seem like someone can’t/shouldn’t have full access to their feelings / self / agency &/or it’s Dangerous if they try.....whew
but continuing on YEAH ugh just completely fascinated with mytho the Entire Time actually lol like, i’ve tended to lose steam in early s2 b/c he’s sort of Less involved beyond the [hehe time to cause some trouble in this particular ep] role lol but even so it’s like well it’s kinda fun when at least somebody’s being a bitch who lives for drama lmfaooooo & we get mytho Struggling Internally & sometimes punching through that way but again it’s like yeah oops the guy was basically autonomous but zwoop here’s a problem where that doesn’t mean shit anymore lol b/c he’s got this alternate evil self steering the ship all the time now lol got em.....the Peak of that i guess is where we get to have an epic swordfight between raven!mytho and fakir like you know what fuck yes!!! the intrinsic drama of that lmfao!!!! and then it’s like “oh no :/ loving the drama? that’s just what drosselmeyer wants” except Not b/c actually what makes it totally rule is that it’s this chance for Real Mytho to come through for the sake of protecting fakir (tbt “i wonder what i think of you, fakir”...) and really like that being what prompts fakir’s “you know what, even though before i was afraid my role as a knight would kill Me and i’m afraid my coincidental(?) role as a guy who can Reality Write could kill Anyone Else, i gotta try b/c that’s the only thing i could possibly do here and i want to try protecting everyone else b/c everyone else including mytho is protecting Me” and like augh everyone is so Thoughtful about how to try to help mytho out even as like, they can’t hardly interact with him or undo the situation lol.....as you’re getting into the series finale and everyone’s just outright Voicing things and you get “i/we want to protect mytho” like 32x and it’s beautiful each time ;___; like and well sorry but him & his heart/lack of are also the heart of the whole story here.....
and you know what *i* want to protect mytho, sympathizing with all the characters like fuck yes you’re so right, this guy rules, episode 6 aka The Fear Episode is SO good, like, you’ve gotten kinda used to the episodic format here, ep 5 did sure also make it obvious that things are Building on what’s happening prior here & that there’s stakes and stuff but it’s such a shakeup, like, that maybe just kinda sneakily dipping in and out of the arena giving back a piece of his heart until it’s done with, no problem, Isn’t Gonna Happen, and again, the Drama of it all......that the heart shards are yeah kind of their own People who are these fractions of mytho’s self and the way you interact with them is gonna like, affect things, since tutu didn’t like “resolve” things with that heart shard and just kinda got him on a technicality there lmfao so it’s like, yeah not only does mytho have a more general / abstract cause to be afraid of tutu & her bringing all these Unknowns & completely new things to him / changing things up and apparently introducing conflict, but you’ve gone and gotten his capacity for fear all recently riled up and specifically afraid of his interaction with You from 5 sec ago, and how could anyone know this mysterious magical being giving you Negative Feelings is like, Safe......and i’m sure it’s all compounding here, like, it’s Wild to be suddenly experiencing A Feeling for the (seeming) first time, and that in itself sure could be Scary, he just hasn’t had the proper emotion available with with to Be Afraid, now he’s gotten back a freshly stoked (capacity for) Fear and how off the shits it must be to be afraid for the first time anyways, or to be feeling the other stuff for the first time, and who knows what Unfun Feelings could come next, there’s a lot to freak out about.......and not like it’s trying That hard to never suggest like oh fakir's not that bad even though he’s technically an antagonist at the start b/c of being at odds with / against the protagonist, it’s pretty telling there lol like he’s unhappy with mytho having feelings again at all and has already been getting mad about it but is just being Helpful here and trying to comfort him, like aw that’s neat i think it’s nice, and again throwing it back to “I Wonder What I Think Of You, Fakir” you get fakir reassuring mytho that nobody but him is around, and mytho having this capacity for Fear is choosing to confide in fakir re: what he’s dealing with here (not that this would on it’s own be some guarantee that mytho’s Right to be unafraid of fakir, but, knowing all we eventually know...) like again lol it’s funny that drosselmeyer’s loving the Drama of mytho only having regained Negative Feelings like, i mean i’m soaking it in as well but it’s like, that guy’s all about Angst and it’s like no im here all about the Hurt/Comfort more like, thank you lmfao
it’s also SO good how it’s like, the next episode is turning around & giving the story a way forward not by like, oh let’s just counteract this Fear mytho’s struggling with by returning the....emotion of Courage i guess, but rather by giving him back Curiosity to ultimately lead to him actually seeking a conversation with tutu.......and it’s like AUGH it’s soooo fun that he goes to that river and has a conversation with his own heart shard lmfao like that’s you!!! and that You does not realize you’re them!!! that’s wild and i love it......wait i took low res screenshots when i rewatched this a few weeks ago lmfao
i Love it lmfao like it’s Such a good choice to have him not only have lost his Emotions but also memories / knowledge of who he, himself, even is.....like yeah man it was all on you to fight this heart eating raven monster!!!!!!!!! which you know, it’s also Fun that earlier in that episode when he and fakir are hanging out in the secret Problems Mill (which....fakir is hilarious like that lmfao. whole other tangent here like ppl are not only rolling with Animals As People but stuff like “yeah fakir might just be like ‘oops gotta go!’ and whisk mytho away to various out of the way Locations” like lmfao these teens have some free rein, but it’s nothing compared to s2 where it’s like “They Were Roommates but ig fakir tried to kill mytho who’s now being really dramatic and weird which is v different from before and maybe he’s in love with that one random dude who’s around now, which sucks for everyone else, oops now he’s just like Vanishing for god knows how long at a time it’s fine!!!!” lmfao like god. ballet school just is like that sometimes...) anyways Yeah that mytho’s been having nightmares about the raven and fakir is just going like IT’S FINE JUST DON’T THINK ABOUT IT lol and knowing fakir is also being pretty driven / restricted by fear, reasonably, as he thinks (well. and is correct) that he’s The Knight and his fate is literally written as “yeah if the story gets going and you’re a part of it you’ll just be killed” like yeah, oof......Wonder What I Think Of You Fakir like yeah AND he is that knight you actually did know who was suddenly killed trying to protect you and he’s sorta accepted that role again except he’s not really a fan of that Being Killed thing so here we’re having some issues in his misguided approach here re: Mytho Should Not Get His Heart Back, but he’s also trying to protect them Both from the story, and he’s only So Willing to act Against mytho, like, well hey thanks for apologizing after you hit him and then like, not doing that anymore lol, v reasonable how he’s struggling here lol where he’s trying to Protect mytho but the story a) wants to invite tragedy and b) has already said that The Knight has been / will be killed and can’t actually protect the prince within the story, also c) he’s just like one random high school guy out here......and also that it must just be kinda hard to adapt to this changing situation where mytho Is regaining this sense of self and motivation, but for like the past decade or whatever he Has needed fakir to just be in charge and tell him what to do all the time and, if he had the sense of what it was to trust someone, trust fakir to just always be acting in his best interest, but then mytho’s idea of his own best interest a) starts to Exist and b) is at odds w/fakir’s b/c also c) he doesn’t have All his feelings yet, Or all his memories, while fakir is like “noooo i know the story”.....like there was never any need to just like tell him he sucks at random times lol but it’s also kind of funny that’s just part of fakir’s shtick, calling mytho a dumbass one more time when he’s just fully himself as The Prince again lmfaooo. but prior to that, surely fakir could wonder what mytho thinks of him (or potentially Could think of him) too.......it’s just soooo good when mytho is like, expressing things verbally while trying to work through / figure out Feelings and even ones that he doesn’t have back yet, and it’s always fun how that inevitably throws off whatever character he’s musing about this to......including whenever ahiru’s just like “oh fuck yes he can do this b/c he has more feelings back now, that rules” and/or “aw :( he’s struggling w/this b/c he only has Some of his heart back”
and also that reminds me it’s SO good when the characters just kinda get to Do Something together lmfao like. ahiru and rue hanging out when looking for mytho that one time, iconic stuff, mytho and ahiru hanging out in the previous episode, iconic, maybe it kills me that in the first ep of s2 you have mytho saying ahiru’s his friend and the only person he feels like he can tell anything (and ahiru feeling bad she hasn’t Told Him Everything lol) and then he basically never gets to interact with her again knowing and as himself like Scream it’s fine ;v; !!!!!! let these people spend more than 3 seconds together Interacting lmfao it’s soooo good when they do :’0
and THEN you get into how there’s all this stuff re: The Story, like, fakir is the reincarnated knight, ahiru is the duck given tutu’s abilities Via a piece of mytho’s heart, but we had the original knight and tutu in the story as these actual ppl who we only hear a Little bit of lore about, but mytho actually knew / knows, and like, the original genesis for tutu only being on 1 Page of the story and apparently drosselmeyer doesn’t even really put any thought into what her motivations could be lol like yeah idk whatever she wants to marry the prince or whatever so that’s why she loves him and Says It and disappears......and like we have almost No direct info about her but uh nbd at least some of her actual essence is actually now an intrinsic part of mytho’s actual heart and specifically embedded in the heart shard of Hope, like damn!!!! you Know there was something more Real and Complex going on there and i love it so much.......and the original Knight, lohengrin.....might have been doomed to be unable to protect mytho with his sword, but there’s other ways to protect that guy and Someone needed to be doing it.......i’m just like wow mytho’s gf and bf!!!! and they both sort of died but hey. there’s still a lot to think about
so yeah lmfao love that you can originally see this series like, a decade ago and here it is like damn still lying down / yelling / generally riled up about mytho and just having So Much to think about / appreciate from this series like. it’s so Singular and has so much going on.......cherish it and i’m just still anytime like [epcot vine voice] Mytho...........
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Hello! I’d love to request a romantic matchup, as I’m an absolute sucker for those. Pls take your with this, and drink some water!
So first of, I’m 18 and het female. Appearance wise I’m a tiny (on a good day) 5’1 with, as of rn, pastel purple hair—I change my hair colour frequently. I have quite the defined hourglass shape, which I lowkey hate because finding clothes is a nightmare... the only feature I really like apart from that are my freckles. Besides that, I love fashion, and i spend quite some time on trying out new hairstyles and clothing combinations. So yeah that’s it appearance-wise.
Personality:
To be succinct, I’m an ENTP-T (HI KIN). I’m usually quite determined, stubborn, blunt, rational, and quick witted, but I try to be softer and more careful with my words around the people I love. My main quality is really just my galaxy brain (yay me, intelligence saves me from being a complete arsehole), although I always try my best to help the people around me (which can sometimes become overbearing, I’m sure). I have random periods where I just... succumb to being a crackhead. I’m not the biggest fan of always being serious, so I want to let loose sometimes. Tho one big issue I have, is that social cues and emotions are just really not my area of expertise. I have absolutely no idea how to act in most situations, and while it’s gotten better (i was unbearable to be around when I was younger) I’m vvv awkward and can easily be rude (accidentally... sometimes at least) djdjdjieks. Also, I’m such an annoying smartass, I’m sorry to everyone.
Hobbies and Interests/Dislikes:
For hobbies, I have too many in true ENTP fashion. Although, I mainly focus on dancing, writing, and... is hanging out with friends a hobby??? Idk, but I love spending time with my loved ones. I also quite like baking and I’m a huge simp for Shakespeare—well, his works that is, and for general English literature. I also love gaming, history, and debate. Another important thing for me is topics like feminism, gender equality and all that good stuff. I’m not really an activist (too much stuff on my hands I guess?) but I’m very passionate about these topics—and easily get into arguments about it. Dislikes—well, the usual ones like unnecessary hate and stuff like that, but specifically, I absolutely abhor when someone judges and condemns someone else—who hasn’t done anything against them—without even knowing their story. Also, ignorance is annoying af.
Some other stuff uwu:
For preferred traits in a partner: First of, my love language is Quality Time (we don’t need a big adventure or anything) and Acts of Service. I’m vvv averse to physical touch in a romantic sense and I need my s/o to respect the fact that it’d take me a long long time to get used to him initiating smth. Trauma tingz... I know it unfair tho, as some people just need that, so I try to compromise as much as possible. Communication is super important to me. Keeping your secrets are alright, and if you’re shy or anything that’s also cool, but if I seriously ask you about smth, I’d rather you wouldn’t lie just to spare my feelings. Also, I need someone who isn’t afraid to voice their opinion if it differs my own. I’m quite into debating—over any topic, really. Thus, I might come off as rudely argumentative (which I guess I am), but it’s mostly just a matter of enjoying the mental thrill and wanting someone to consider my perspective/explain their perspective to me. Patience is another trait I really need in someone. I have ADHD, so even if I try my best to listen, I might have to ask if you could repeat whatever you just said. Also the bouts of random forgetting, my occasional impatience... yeah, adhd things. Beyond that, I believe that if you truly love someone, you can grow with them and work around any negativity.
Can’t really think of anything else rn. Thank you for doing this 💜💜💜 take care and drink some water
Hiiii! Omg I'm ENTP/INTP -T too! We chaotic as fuck. Anywayyy, here we go!
I match you with ... Zhongli!
- Ah yes, Geo Daddy himself.
- I think that Zhongli is one of those people who highly value intelligence. He's been around for a while now and seen a lot of things. Obviously, he knows that most people can't begin to approach the amount of knowledge he has accumulated over time. That's why meeting you is a pleasant surprise.
- He's an incredibly patient and supportive person so he'll have no problem entertaining your crazy ENTP ideas or any of the things that come out of crackhead hours.
- He'd like the interest you have in fashion. There's something charming about the way humans like to accessorize and change up their appearance and you do a good job of it.
- It's a good thing you like history because this guy will 100% go on long tangents about the history of the land. If you try to correct him on something, he might try to fight you. The best part is that he doesn't even realize he's doing it, he just doesn't see how he could be wrong about something like that when he's been around to see it all. Have fun with those debates... Thankfully, he doesn't mind your argumentative nature and tends to deal with it pretty calmly which just calms your down too.
- Imagine though, dates where you guys burst into old libraries or bookstores. You had just disagreed on a certain technicality of Liyue's history at sea and you are determined to be right this time. The two of you spend hours scanning over books and asking the various historians always conversing around the restaurants and at the wharf. You guys actually end up kind of attracting a bit of attention, since people find it cute that you're trying to outsmart THE Zhongli. Plot twist...
"See! I told you it was 254 years ago! You were thinking of something else!" You raise the parchment you have been pouring over for the past few minutes triumphantly over your head before presenting it to Zhongli.
The man in question takes the paper, scanning it quickly before looking back to you. "Hm, I suppose you are correct."
"I win!" Your smug little smile is full of pride as you place your hands on your hips. Perhaps to others, losing such an argument would be disagreeable but Zhongli finds it adorable more than anything else.
"Yes you do my love. Yes you do..."
- His love language is quality time too! You guys spend a lot of time just wandering around Liyue Harbor together, literally just chilling or sipping tea on the veranda, enjoying each other's company.
- Basically you have one of those relationships where you can be both very active and very chill together.
Alright there we go! I swapped out my coffee for water just for you :). Hope you enjoyed!
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Have you ever been in a situation where you ALMOST have a plot, but it's not quite there? You have the main story, the characters, the main conflict, etc. but you cannot seem to connect all of those elements to make one cohesive plot? Because that is totally me right now. I'm losing my mind over this!
Oh do I ever!
I often have just this one cool scene. Just one! Or even just a cool phrase. But that’s all there is! The rest is just fog.
Let me braindump here for a bit, maybe you’ll find something useful in this here soup.
So I remember Brandon Sanderson saying that he once had this idea of giant crabs and people fighting with giant swords and that he wanted to write a story where that worked and that became The Way of Kings. Here in this podcast: https://writingexcuses.com/2019/11/03/14-44-realism-vs-rule-of-cool/, transcript here: https://wetranscripts.dreamwidth.org/163635.html
This is going a bit on a tangent but... (god can you tell that how I write my stories? vague thoughts and lots of ellipses? yeah) but let’s think about this Rule-of-Cool for a bit. As you can see, this is not a niche approach.
Let’s say we have this one cool idea, how do we create the scaffolding to hold that thing up in our story? There was... I swear I heard this on a podcast by Joanna Penn (https://www.thecreativepenn.com/podcasts/) but I can’t find it anymore. She had a guest on who suggested to write a story from the blurb. Maybe that could be something.
What is a blurb? The blurb is bit of text that you put in your book description to make reader interested in picking up your book. It should give a feel for the genre, the tone, and some rough bits of how the story will go. Here’s some general advice how to write a blurb: https://blog.reedsy.com/write-blurb-novel/, https://www.writerswrite.co.za/how-to-write-a-book-blurb-for-your-short-story-collection/.
Now that you have the blurb, you know where you want your story to go. Let’s pick some random blurb as an example (the reason why I sign up for so many newsletters? So many blurbs...)
Example: Being the Guardian isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. My new life is weird, and hard. Think magic comes easy to those who wield it? Think again! I’m more likely to blow something up than shield it. As dark Fae make their way through the portal and my best friend’s children are kidnapped, it’s time for me to learn how to cast a location spell. (Mind Over Magical Matters (Midlife Witchery Book 2) by Brenda Trim)
This tells me that the story is in first person, something with magic and fae, suspense with a kidnapping, and someone has to learn and get better at magic.
So how does this help you? I know. I warned you that this will be braindump soup.
Write your blurb. You have everything you need for that. Once you have that, think how you can make this blurb come true. This may mean that you, for instance, write the end first, or that you look at some basic story structure. I keep going to the seven-point-story-structure for this: https://the960writers.tumblr.com/post/140577296049/the-seven-point-story-structure
A structure could look like this
Exciting Event
Plot Turn 1 (surprise!)
Pinch 1 (shit hits the fan)
Midpoint (the low point)
Pinch 2 (shit really hits the fan but now with vengeance)
Plot Turn 2 (you thought this would be easy?)
Resolution
I have more things in the post I linked and in my tag https://the960writers.tumblr.com/tagged/structure.
This kind of structure is just one of many possibilities. My advice is to not stick too closely with structures, use them as a loose guideline. You can put loads of scenes between these points, arrange and rearrange them however you like.
Is this my method? Hardly. I’m allergic to outlining. What I do is keep a running list of “cool things I want to happen” and then see how I can make that exciting. I look at the structure more in retrospect, to see if I roughly hit the points.
If this is all too much brain work for you, and I don’t blame you if it is, then let me refer to the tried and true method by none other than Diane Duane: The shopping list outline https://dduane.tumblr.com/post/146252994171/hello-im-trying-to-write-my-first-novel-and-i
Honestly? This is the best method for me because it works with how chaotic my brain is wired. Check that post out, maybe it’ll be exactly what you need.
Go forth and write, secure in the knowledge that nobody here knows what they’re doing.
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