#I am easing up a liiiittle more on the generals since it seems the old monkey king is actively hiding and obfuscating the severity of his

[cave-monkey]

Monkey King 2009 Episode 3

Them having Stone Monkey (apparently purely on instinct) constantly scratching while being introduced to the troop was pretty cool, since that's a legitimate deescalation behavior in monkeys. Something about how revealing stress acts as a bonding behavior and makes it less likely they'll be attacked. Humans do it too, kind of, when they rub at their hands or shoulders or neck (etc. etc.) when nervous or overwhelmed. ("Empathize with me! I am very stressed!").

Also something-something instinctive behaviors aside Stone Monkey being excited/overwhelmed/maybe a little overstimulated and choosing "ESCALATION!!!" as his response to all of that. He thinks the troop being scared of him is hilarious. He's scratching the fur off his arms but he's also going to get right up in your face anyway. Cautiously join him in admiring his cool new rock? He is going to play-lunge and also scream. Absolutely amazing. The troop has no idea what to do with these mixed signals. This kid is a menace and I love him.

Six Ears even gets in on the scratching behavior occasionally in the background, which might be because Stone Monkey actively terrorizing literally everyone trying to be playful (because he has the social skills of a literal, actual rock) is stressing Six Ears right out or it could be an attempt to deescalate on Stone Monkey's behalf. Monkey version of following in his new friend's wake throwing apologetic grimace-smiles at everyone. Possibly it's both. Point is: They included these behaviors and it's very fun.

You can also tell it worked because in just the journey to the cave you watch the four generals' views on Stone Monkey go from "uncanny valley horror entity lurking in the forest probably to kill us all" to "what a rude little kid >:| Emphasis on RUDE."

And, okay, I admit, I have softened my stance on the four generals. Somewhat. They seem to actually be taking their jobs seriously now. Maybe Episode 1 was a wake-up call and they won't utterly fail to notice an incursion until it's in the heart of their territory again. I don't want to go too crazy, but maybe they'll even be able to even muster a coherent response! Good for them.

Should probably still not be managing children, though.

Speaking of, Six Ears's increasing despair watching the train wreck in motion that was the four generals fumbling hard in giving Stone Monkey his very first etiquette lesson after he finally settled down and seemed willing to hear them out is also very relatable and hilarious. He knows they failed the test. Stone Monkey is definitely never going to listen to them again. They blew it. RIP Flower Fruit Mountain.

Stone Monkey does check in with Six Ears when he decides the generals are useless about explaining though, and that's pretty cute. He trusts his friend :) He also definitely internalizes that thing about having to ask to leave the presence of the king, so at least they managed to teach him some manners. ONE manners. A single manner. (Spoiler: They immediately regret this.)

But hey! This time Six Ears is left entirely to his own devices and still manages to get caught smack in the middle of enemy action. Not the Generals' fault for once! Six Ears just attracts this kind of thing, I guess.

3/3 Six Ears is Damsel-ed, but only 2/3 it's the adults' fault. The tally develops.

#also not gonna lie I first thought stone monkey might have hella fleas. he still might to be honest. someone check up on that. #mhw09 personal #squinting at old monkey king pretending to be asleep this episode #my guy you were definitely ACTUALLY out of it in episode 1 don't you be acting like you weren't #you passed out in the middle of an invasion and almost got your kid killed #the fact you managed to make it to your seat BEFORE you passed out so you could pretend you were just too cool for the LITERAL INVASION #doesn't mean a dang thing. you're not fooling me. #also. stop that. you are giving the troop SEVERELY mixed signals #I am easing up a liiiittle more on the generals since it seems the old monkey king is actively hiding and obfuscating the severity of his #condition from the very people who are presumably meant to help him shoulder the burden of leading the troop #no wonder they don't take him fretting about his age seriously: he's turning it into a joke himself #considering episode 1 and then here and also how much more energetic he seemed in episode 2 #I'm headcanoning (if this isn't just straight up canon) that old monkey king has good days and bad days #but you can't tell which he's having because he uses his good days to turn all his bad day low energy behaviors #into games. it's all DELIBERATE guys. he's keeping you on your TOES. he isn't LITERALLY DYING- #hiding his weakness makes perfect sense on the *whole* in keeping his troop from panic and insecurity. maybe. #but it's not smart that he's even letting his generals believe it #they're still not off the hook for throwing a kid out to face the horror movie monster they were convinced was living in the woods though! #and it's no excuse for being THAT negligent in their duties and then their straight-up professional incompetence in episode 1 #they let themselves get rusty and put everyone in danger and that's on them #but not being as much of a help to their king as they should be maybe isn't so much their fault #if they're being lied to about how much the old monkey king can actually handle. BY the old monkey king. #I GUESS #dang this troop is a total mess. I love it.

[couriertraush]

Meant to type up these plot notes ages ago. After Silt played DM, I asked about a swapped AU where Larkin is dragged off to the Madre and Ryker is chewed on and left for dead in the bunker, and she made a comment about Larkin Not Wanting To Talk About It, and a few scenes put themselves together in my head. This is rambling meta rather than writing, though.

Friendly reminder that a description and short drabble of the opposite scenario exists (confession, Silt’s reply on that fic is one of my fav ever, anyWAY;;)

So the scenario is Ryker injured, Larkin dragged to Sierra Madre, no rescue party. Dog says he ate Ryker, and nobody can confirm that didn’t happen, so Larkin has to accept that might be the truth. Elijah and Dog do not make it out alive.

So Ryker spent the week or two mostly at courier base, being treated and recovering. She lost her right arm completely and had her shoulder and side injured. She doesn’t think Larkin is dead because she never saw a body, but the couriers are trying not to get her hopes up. Most of Larkin’s things were stripped and left by the bunker entrance, which isn’t promising. Ryker is pretty pissy that there’s no mass search efforts despite having no leads as to where she might be (other than the Madre, which no one knows the location of, so). Being at the base is really Not Fun for anyone.

I’m on the fence about whether Larkin would go to base or bunker first, but the latter is appealing because it’s the last place she saw Ryker and she’d get to witness the dried blood that nobody bothered to clean up. No body wouldn’t really be a red flag since Dog said he ate her. All their personal effects were taken to base, though, so she’s gotta go there for supplies at the very least.

She’s never one to start off with hostility, but her friendly demeanor is on some pretty thin ice when she gets to base. There’s a few pertinent questions that’ll determine her exact reaction: 1. Do they know what happened? 2. Did they ever try to come help either of them? 3. What did they do with any remains? To some degree, help when they get in over their heads is part of the reason the twins are in the faction to begin with. It’s not really fair to expect them to put their own necks on the line by coming to the Madre, and they definitely walked into that trap on their own, but I suppose losing a twin doesn’t really put one in the most generous state of mind.

They’re genuinely surprised to see Larkin alive, which she kinda shrugs off like “:) I sure am.” “Where were you?” and “Are you okay?” come up, but Larkin’s not about to launch into a story for them. She’s getting a water out of the fridge (it was a long walk) when Wyn makes some offhand comment, like “Ryker is never going to stop saying ‘told you so’“ or “Maybe this’ll ease Ryker out of volcano territory,” and Larkin freezes for just a second as the implication sinks in. She manages to still be remarkably composed as she pivots and says “She’s in back, then?” and kind of hurry-walks to the bedroom.

Ryker is half-sulking, half-sleeping in the medical cot with her back to the door, and Larkin reaches out to touch the top of the mound which unfortunately is her stub of a shoulder, but Ryker’s irritation is quickly eclipsed by her relief at seeing Larkin in one piece. (Bonus points if Wyn made the former comment and the first thing out of Ryker’s mouth is “I fucking told them!”) Ryker’s immediately talkative and moves her legs so Larkin can sit on the bed, and Larkin is more than happy to answer shorter questions or nod along while privately reeling at seeing her alive again.

I guess I can say from experience now that the stitched up wound would still hurt and make moving difficult less than two weeks later. But they’d still want that period of recovering in private, moving around to different hideaways or visiting Lake Meade with plenty of time to rest and relay their stories in private. I imagine Larkin’s in a better state healthwise than Ryker would be in the mirror AU since Larkin isn’t as impulsive or reckless. (An aside, but I’ve always felt like it’s the better scenario for both of them - Ryker would adapt to a missing limb better than Larkin would and physical trauma doesn’t hound her like the psychological trauma of DM does.)

Larkin conveniently leaves out the part where she thought Ryker was dead, and in better circumstances Ryker would probably pick up on the more subtle cues, but she reads them as general concern for her wellbeing (which is technically true). And thus begins the vein of tension between the twins.

Ryker thinks she’s recovered long before she really is, and Larkin is extremely paranoid about losing Ryker - or just letting Ryker out of her sight long enough that she gets hurt. Which is fine for the first part of her recovery, since Ryker is also getting over separation anxiety and it’s convenient that she doesn’t have to actually say things like “hey so I don’t have the upper body strength to get this shirt off” before Larkin steps in to help. But once she’s feeling well enough to travel and - god forbid - carry packages, Ryker starts to feel peevish about the constant attention.

It crystallizes when they’re wandering off path a ways and Ryker steps within range of a mine. It’s SOP for her to just disarm it and keep it to sell, she’s pretty good with explosives, but Larkin panics (bombs, it just had to be bombs) and grabs her collar to yank her away. She shields most of Ryker with her own body, and her armor keeps her mostly safe, but it hurts and her ears are still ringing when Ryker is rounding on her with fury fueled by a mix of frustration and concern. “I know how to disarm a fucking frag mine!” “With one arm?” “It’s two wires!”

And for the next week, Ryker is constantly sore about being “babied.” They go for a swim in Lake Meade, and Larkin is clearly hovering, but Ryker keeps her mouth shut until her sister has the nerve to ask if she’s getting tired. “This is it for me, Larkin. My side is cramping and I’m going to drown in three foot deep water while you watch helplessly from a foot away.” They stop by base and Ryker asks for the biggest, heaviest package they’ve got while staring at Larkin.

And for the most part, Larkin just grins and acts like it doesn’t bother her. What’s she going to do, Talk About It? It’s not like Ryker is providing the opening even if she wanted to. Her temper is short too, but she’s acutely aware that if she pushes back too hard, Ryker might actually do something stupid. Like swim across Lake Meade just to prove that she can.

Other than Larkin snapping to a degree where Ryker Gets It, I imagine it’d take two or three conversations for the realization to work its way around to Ryker. Base is one of the few places Larkin feels okay leaving Ryker so they can get some time apart to cool off, and Wyn is one of the few people Ryker can tentatively call a friend, so the venting would probably be directed towards her before too long. (I suppose, luckily for Larkin, Wyn would take her side on most accounts re: Ryker pushing herself too hard.) The touching undertone I have written down is Ryker admitting that she’s being an ass, but she also knows that Larkin can handle the worst she has to dish out without being pushed away.

Wyn would be situated pretty well to be Ryker’s reality check while the topic is already up. Like... dude, she probably thought you were dead. I feel like Larkin’s initial reaction on her return to base would be a bit outwardly suspicious to begin with, but maybe Wyn had to prod in that direction before too; it’s a question Larkin wouldn’t have answered, but sometimes an evasion from a twin is answer enough. The suggestion would give Ryker pause and make her ask why, but the gears wouldn’t really get turning until later, when she’s with Larkin and something would’ve set her off, but she remembers the suggestion and clamps her mouth shut this time. Which is concerning to Larkin since Ryker hasn’t had an ounce of chill for the last week, but it’s hard to not appreciate the temporary peace.

Ryker brings it up out of the blue sometime when they’re both engaged in their own activity: Larkin a book which she’s giving about 20% effort into reading and Ryker some spare parts she insists on trying to manipulate with one hand. Just, good old blunt “Larkin, did you think I was dead? Cuz... that would explain a fucking lot.” The half-truth is “Didn’t know where y’were or what state you were in.” “But why ‘dead’?” Larkin is somewhere between wanting to play it off in the hopes of it being dropped permanently (”With your personality, it’s hard to believe everyone doesn’t want to kill you” or “When you didn’t come find me after a week, dead seemed like a strong contender”) and sending signals to stop prying in that direction because Ryker owes her at least that. And Ryker’s able to pick up on that, so she goes back to her fiddling for a minute before offering a very sincere “I’m sorry.” For not realizing earlier, and for being an over the top ass recently.

Which isn’t to say she’s not going to test her own limits and roll her eyes at Larkin’s hovering, but she better understands where she’s coming from. And maybe do a liiiittle more reading between the lines re: Larkin’s demeanor.

#''I'm gonna make an AU about Larkin'' every other paragraph is about Ryker #but I also don't wanna do TOO much assuming about Larkin so #everything here has like five asterisks attached to it #also. why do I still like Wyn so much like.. two years later #what a good character #courierfaction AU #Dead Money AU #trAUma AU #*slams hands on table* but the twins mercilessly teasing each other while being super nonverbally supportive