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quitealotofsodapop · 8 months

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So will Jade faced princess ever be mentioned in your au? Since LMK kinda goes "Don't trust history" I like to imagine she was just Red's babysitter and people assumed she was a mistress

Oh man I went down a fox-hole with this. I find her potiential as a character so good for the LMK verse. She could be a villain, an ally, a general, or in my personal fave idea: Ultimate Auntie. (One of my fave interpetations is by @harveylikestoart).

So my idea for Princess Jade Face / Jade Faced Princess / Yu Mian Gongzhu is this:

Birth name is Ruan Yu (soft jade/nephirite), but goes by Jade to her friends, and Auntie to anyone she deems younger than her.

Appearance wise: she's a humanoid fox spirit/Huli-Jing with dark green hair, pale skin, and big green eyes. Loves wearing really old fashioned long-sleeved hanfu that trail behind her (mostly to shield her tails without glamour), and is hyper-feminine. Wears obnoxiously patterned cheongsams while out and about.

Has a "feral" form of an eight-tailed dark green fox. She mostly shifts into this form for comfort. Think of the shapeshifter equivalent of taking off your bra after work.

She's a minor royal of a big family of fox demons. Same family as Jin & Yin's (+ Lin the accountant's) mom actually! She likes visiting them whenever she's in the city.

Knew DBK long before the Brotherhood days. They were childhood best friends in the Underworld who got mistaken for a couple a lot (cus "a guy and a girl can't just be friends" obvs /sarcasm). When PIF came along, Jade was one of DBK's biggest hypemen.

Her dynamic with DBK and PIF is essentially an older Traffic Light Trio, with her as the Mei. Green coded, high energy, and adored mutually by the others.

Because of her chill nature and hyper-fem style, people assume she's dumber than she actually is. She plays up her more "Barbie" qualities when she's tricking people/gaining information.

She's ridiculously good at handling babies and toddlers since she grew up with so many little nieces/nephews/niblings. When baby Red got fussy, a little visit from Auntie Jade immediately perked him up.

Wasn't an "active" member of the Brotherhood back in the day, but was a big supporter and intelligence gatherer. She almost got charged with treason after Sun Wukong's imprisonment, but PIF covered for her - despite their first impressions not being so great. She offically left the Brotherhood after Princess Iron Fan and Demon Bull King's engagement.

Was really sad alongside PIF and DBK when Red Son/Boy got taken to the Southern Seas by Guanyin to rein in his emotions. The "affair" mentioned in JttW wasn't an affair at all, but a human misinterpetation of how DBK was helping out his homie emotionally. Jade never forgave the writer for branding her as DBK's mistress.

Is extremely doting and embarassing to Red Son even when he's an adult. She's practically his second mother. Cheek pinching, calling him "kit", saying that he needs to eat more food, sharing baby photos with his friends etc...

The "Jade" in her name is not only a reference to her dark green hair/fur. Her family are Rock/Earth-type demons. She was so good at handling Red as a baby since fire doesn't bother her as much. She also owns a fox mask made of literal jade that she wore back in the Brotherhood days to hide her identity she thought looked mysterious and dramatic.

Doesn't have an actual spouse or biological kids of her own. She's happy being the best unmarried Auntie she can to all the kids.

Will def appear later in the "Monkey King and the Infant"-verse as Red's fave Auntie. Once PIF has "picked up" (read: kidnapped) Red back from the Southern Seas, Jade is immediately called in for babysitting backup.

She and Macaque became friends again on accident while working at the theatre together. She's part of the costume and makeup department, and it took them a few crossed paths to finally recognise one another. She is def partially to blame for Red's flair for dramatics.

Has a particular grudge against Zhu Bajie for whacking her with the rake. Has a nasty scar that starts on the back of her head down to her shoulder blades from the fight. Was extremely cold towards Pigsy before she realised (very embarassed) that he was just Bajie's decendant.

Initially disliked Sun Wukong when they reunited, but quickly it became clear that the the two's more loud, reckless natures bounced off one another. Are rivals for the title of "Best Babysitter".

Spoils baby MK and the other kids rotten. Doesn't matter if the baby is a mystic monkey, dragon, cat demon, human, or demon bull calf; baby is baby.

Takes an obscene amount of luggage with her no matter where she goes. Is "hairdryer in her purse" kind of prepared.

Yips when she's excited/happy. Also chirps in response to Baby MK's monkey chirping. The language crossover of fox and monkey sounds is surprising.

Voice claim: Diane Morgan/Philomena Cunk. She has a softer British accent compared to her related demon niblings. Red Son may or may not have developed his accent from her.

Gosh I love weird women characters.

#jade faced princess #princess jade face #lmk jade face #lmk #lego monkie kid #lmk hcs #does this count as an OC if she's in the og work?#journey to the west #lmk princess iron fan #lmk demon bull king #lmk red son #lmk character ideas #lmk pif #lmk dbk #lmk demon bull family

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hiitspath · 2 years

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The Six Eared Macaque could count the number of times he’s fallen in love on one hand. Some human, some demon, and some were so distant that he couldn’t remember what their faces looked like. At some point he found himself preferring to be alone than pursue a fleeting passion like romance. So much so that now the very idea of love was only for hapless mortals and love-struck teenagers.

Yet -despite himself- he found himself developing feelings for Tang.

***

One could say that Tang is his first real friend since Sun Wukong, but the less said about the Great Sage the better. Regardless it would be better to say that Tang was the first to approach him out of the Monkie Kid’s little group.

He was on surprisingly good terms with MK and his friends after the battle with Lady Bone Spirit. Not friends, not allies, but possibly friendly acquaintances, which seems more appropriate after what he had done. So what a shock it was to see Tang - the shy man with unknown power, the man he antagonized then attacked during his search for the Shamadi rings, the one who probably should hate him the most- was searching for him because he had some questions. Not without looking like a nervous actor on his very first play, fiddling with notes and trying to ask if He, The Six Eared Macaque, was featured in some obscure fabel.

The scholar had come across some text that vaguely mentioned a “six eared demon” that could be The Six Eared Macaque himself. Macaque had only agreed if he could leave annotations and check for possible translation errors. If someone was going to get him wrong, he may as well fix whatever was there. He was more surprised that Tang agreed, with some hesitation but one glare made him agree.

That’s how it started at least. Tang and Macaque would meet up every other day for two weeks as they scoured old texts and even older papers to find their answers, Macaque translating and translating from various ancient languages that he could remember. Tirelessly they worked and exchanged books that it almost became, domestic, and then the two made a revelation!

Until it turned out it was a mistranslation of “The Six Armed Warrior” not a monkey, a man.

It was silent inside Macaque’s apartment -temporary apartment- before uproarious laughter erupted from inside. The two finding themselves laughing with a mix of embarrassment, dejections, and humor of it all.

“I jus- I knew something was up but I-I couldn’t figure out what!” Tang said between gasps and laughter. Macaque slowly caught his breath before clearing his throat before speaking.

“That was a waste of my time.” He meant it to be playful but a simple “Oh” caught his attention as Tang began adjusting his glasses and spoke bluntly.

“Apologies for wasting that time.”

The way he said it made Macaque’s heart actually sink in guilt. Guilty? Guilty of what he wondered as the scholar began packing his things.

“Um…actually if you want, I can translate it for you. The correct translation.” There was no need for this but he offered it anyway. He knew that Tang was going to reject it outright.

“You mean it?” Before Macaque could say another word, up in his face and eyes he’d only given Wukong before The Incident with the Shamadi Fire. Now those same eyes were on him, and He couldn’t feel happier even if he could rub it in the Monkey King’s face. That his biggest fanboy was giving him -The Six Eared Macaque- the same eyes of admiration.

That was the moment Macaque -may- have started to like Tang.

It actually took him a few months to translate the obscure fable but was still unable to piece the mish mosh of a tale. Despite that, Tang’s visits became more frequent. Not that Macaque ever said no or implied that he hated it. He did at first, only because those visits were unannounced and when he wasn’t expecting it. He soon figured the times and began preparing meals for them, easier on Tang’s tab with Pigsy.

More convenient for him too of course. That was his justification at the time, but now he wonders if there was more to it. In between helping Tang translate what he could of the garbled fable, they talked about several different book topics, surprisingly they had similar tastes in fiction, especially the long Dusks series. A newer series by his standards but none so caught his attention like the books written by Jeri Thrattchet.

He even lent Tang a first edition copy of the first book in the series..

Tang was more than grateful, putting the book down and taking his hand to shake it. “Thank you, Mac!”

A lot of people called him Mac, he didn’t hate the name but when Tang said it with all the appreciation and happiness; Macaque couldn’t help but simply smile.

“I like his smile” Was a thought he had that day, and it lingered in him whenever he saw Tang.

When he thought of Tang, he would think of that wide smile, and the feelings that warm him a little inside. But he smothered it as much as he could, knowing that if he let that feeling grow anymore; It would be a problem.

Until finally, out of nowhere, while watching the sun that one morning he thought of Tang smiling. How much he liked that smile, how much he liked making him smile, and how much he wished Tang was there now. Holding his hand and laying his head upon Macaque’s shoulder as the sun rose. That’s when he knew he had a problem.

Did he love Tang? Enjoyed his company, yes, more so that no one else visited him. Macaque likes having him around, he likes the compliments, he likes the praise. That’s it! He just likes it when Tang praises him. That can’t be love.

Macaque just liked him, that’s all it could be. How many other mortals did he love before that he watched grow older and wither away. He watched other loves leave him and his heart sink even further into loneliness. It’s been too long for him to know what that love even felt like. Yet the slightest thought of Tang holding his hand he simply took that imaginary scene in and let it out with a breath. It was just a fleeting thought of something that couldn’t be. It was impossible.

He tried to ignore it. But every once in a while Tang would do something stupid like trip over his own two feet, papers everywhere, that same feeling would swell and he had to push it down. Make a snide comment and help him up. Just hoping the feeling would eventually pass.

Months passed and while the visits soon became less frequent, Tang still made time to visit Macaque wherever he was. The days where Tang was gone, he would think of visiting him instead but dismissed it as simply useless. What would he do? What would he say? Would Tang even want to be seen with him?

Then one day, The Six Eared Macaque went for a walk.

A long walk.

A walk that leads to a boathouse.

A boathouse that belonged to Sandy.

“Well uh…hi?” The blue demon was hearing an apron that said “kiss the cook” with little red and white hearts decorating the fabric and holding a plate of freshly baked cookies.

“Seems I caught ya at a bad time?” Macaque asked as he walked in, grabbing a cookie off the plate with his tail and popping into his mouth. Sandy bumbled before sternly turning to Six and demanding answers.

“What are you doing here! You can’t just barge into a guy’s home!” He yelled with the confidence of a new step dad yelling at his new teenage son. It actually made Macaque laugh a little.

“Relax, I uh… Just wanted to…talk.” The truth just seemed to force itself out and actually saying it seemed like a relief. Sandy could only respond bluntly.

“Oh? … OH!” Before Macaque could blink he was sitting down on the couch with some sweet smelling tea and Sandy sitting across the coffee table.

“Don’t worry Mister Macaque! I promise anything you say will not leave this house,” Macaque was surprised to see how quick Sandy was to hear his thoughts, he wasn’t sure if this was a trap or not. However, Sandy didn’t indicate he was someone who couldn’t be trusted. So he sighed, sipped his tea, and started with Tang.

***

“-And it doesn’t make sense! He’s so nice to me, after all this time it’s like he forgot what I did. It’s been a year almost and he’s just so….forgiving? I don’t get it! I-I-I,” It had been at least 2 hours since Macaque started talking. But once he opened up he couldn’t stop. Every emotion that he hadn’t realized he had been holding came out like water flowing out of a broken dam. He bounced from one topic to the next about Wukong, about his time alone, about the resurrection and why he chose to disobey Lady Bone Spirit. Somehow he landed back on the topic of being in love with Tang. His first friend in at least 1000 years.

Sandy had been listening intently and taking notes, so far his notebook was almost filled to the brim, making him wonder what they were for but he scoffed instead. Macaque looked away from Sandy and paced the floor thinking of a good way to describe it. At least he could finally vocalize his feelings. But there was one truth he hadn’t vocalized, the big one that he hadn’t even considered.

“I don’t understand why I got another chance…”

“You mean, You don’t think you deserve redemption?” Sandy asked with such curiosity that Macaque just stopped in his pacing. This truth hit him like a rock, a large problem that he hadn’t considered. He did love Tang, that much he can admit now, but this was something he couldn’t allow himself to go through.

“Yes!” He yelled suddenly, making Sandy and his cat jump. “After everything I’ve done and everything I did? I should be dead for what I’ve done!” The words exploded from him like a bomb. It’s true, even if he loved Tang, he didn’t deserve a luxury like redemption, let alone love, so how could Tang or anyone, want to be seen with him?

The tears came and he only just noticed he was crying when Sandy handed him a box of tissues.

“It’s fine,” Macaque said as bluntly as he could. As he sat down as he wiped the tears away with his scarf. Sandy approached him and Macaque allowed him to sit down next to him.

“Maybe it was a mistake being his friend.”

“It’s not a mistake! You wanted to help him, it may have been about you but you got to know Tang because of it. Isn’t that a good thing? And even you deserve good things.” Sandy said it so kindly that it made the Six Eared Macaque freeze in place. Even he, The Six Eared Macaque, deserved something good? A monster like him?

He used his shadows to teleport towards his home without even saying good bye or thank you. Instead he tumbled outside the city and stumbled up a hill. Sitting down to stare out into the city lights as it continued to shine brightly across the night sky. He sat there for a long time repeating the words in his head, “Even a monster like you deserve good things.”

Did he deserve love as well? He figured he’d tell Sandy about it some other time. Cause once the tears finally stopped, he never felt more relieved and light, like a mountain had been lifted off him.

***

Macaque had been surprised when Tang invited him to a beach party, making the selling point of a huge bonfire. He didn’t want to go, but Sandy had told him about getting out of his comfort zone. And, maybe a bonfire would be the perfect place to tell Tang his feelings.

“Okay, as long as Wukong isn’t there, I’ll go,” and like that, Macaque would go to a beach party.

The day was filled with so much sun and water and everyone else having fun. While Macaque didn’t care for the water, he didn’t mind lying down in the shade and relaxing. Thankful for being left alone, at least until Tang came over to give him a book. The one Tang borrowed and Macaque was convinced he was never going to get back.

“I thought you lost this or something?”

“Ha, well I’m more thankful you didn’t hound me too much to bring it back.” Tang said as he sat down next to him. Macaque eyed him, the first time he’d seen Tang shirtless, soft and flabby, just as he figured a nerd like Tang would be. But still he smiled regardless, happy that Tang came to visit him.

“I was gonna read it a 6th time but I knew that you would want it back,” Tang said.

“6th time? Ha, might as well just let you keep it,” He teased before pulling the book away from a tempted Tang. “But my collection was getting pretty lonely.”

“Oh no, your poor collection,” Tang snarked, causing Macaque to fake a glare at him before the two began to laugh. Out of the corner of his eye saw Pigsy glaring at him before MK distracted him with something. Macaque knew that the two were close and had worried that Tang and The chef were already committed to each other. But Tang did mention being single a few times that it obviously wasn’t the case.

“So, I have to ask-”

“Exes, but on good terms.” Tang said casually.

“So you were dating! Wait, why did you break up then?”

“Ah, well… ``It's a long and complicated story that I’ll bore you with details later,” Tang said, watching Pigsy and MK deal with a jellyfish that washed up along the shore.

Making Macaque wonder if maybe Tang still had feelings for the Chef, and if that would complicate his confession. Even then, he’d rather be rejected because Tang still loved Pigsy than he didn’t love him back. At least then it would make the rejection hurt less.

***

Later in the evening Red Son made a large bonfire with everyone cheering and Mei already stuffing flaming marshmallows into her mouth. While Macaque only watched from afar and laughed a little at the sight, Tang got up with two s’mores in his hand. He took it despite not caring for sweets, he ate it in one bite.

“Hey, wanna do some stargazing atop that lighthouse?” Macque asked as he pointed to said lighthouse, not too far from the beach. The old man owed him a favor after he rescued him from demons a few months back.

“Really? Yeah let’s go!” Tang said, practically pulling Macaque to his feet and holding him by the wrist. It was enough to make him blush a little.

As they reached the door, Macaque checked to see if the door was open. Hopefully the old man remembered to unlock it. Sure enough the door opened to a cleaned up apartment and a small note addressed to Macaque.

“Oh good,” Tang sighed out loud. A tiny bit offended at Tang’s reaction but laughed it off.

“You thought I just break into the place?” Macaque joked as he looked into Tang’s unconvinced eyes. “Okay, I probably would have but come on, I can be a jerk, but not that much of a jerk,”

Tang made a noise before looking around, almost like he was in a museum. Macaque was just more lucky that the old man kept his word and let him do some sea gazing, this invite was just a good excuse to make his confession a little more romantic -in a certain sense at least- regardless, even this couldn’t really allow his nerves to stop tormenting him of the impending rejection.

But he had to allow it so he could move on.

“Hey,” Macaque said with a grin, already halfway up the spiral staircase. “You’re gonna love the view up top.”

Tang excitedly followed him up the stairs. Macaque opened the hatch of the trap door, leading to the stairs leading up the light tower. Tang looked at him like he was about to really make him climb at least 16 flights of stairs. Macaque couldn’t help but laugh as he teleported them to the walkway of the light tower.

“Whoa,” was all Tang could say as he looked out into the descending sun, painting the clouds in soft pink as the yellow sun sunk into the ocean shore. Soon letting the starry night overcome the light and Macaque figured he’d turn off the automatic lights for the lighthouse.

Tang continued to admire the shore, his happy grin wide and delighted. His eyes shone like the night sky as he pointed to some of the constellations he could see. Macaque watched as Tang rambled off all of the constellations he could see. Just happy to get to see this side of him - the nerdy one

Tang at his most passionate, the one where he had to hold Tang’s shirt to make sure he didn’t lean over the railings.

“This is amazing! I wish I’d brought my telescope!” He said continuing the night sky.

How Macaque wished to pull Tang in and tell him that he was in love with him. But the words halted in his throat and he held in his breath and let it out, just like Sandy taught him.

“I-uh I assume you’re enjoying the view?” Macaque kept his tone comedic, as Tang turned his attention to him.

“You have to ask! I’m just surprised that the lighthouse beacon hasn’t turned on.”

“Yeah, yeah…Uh listen Tang, can we talk?”

“Macaque, it’s been two years. You know you can talk to me about anything.” Tang wasn’t wrong, it just made Macaque laugh a little.

“Right right….” Macaque cleared his throat again and this time Tang’s sarcastic laden face turned serious,just by looking at him. So he just let the words rush out of him.

“I-I just- Wanted to say that…I think-I think I’m inlovewithyou,” He watched for Tang’s reaction, the one thing he had been dreading, would he be disgusted? Betrayed?

Confused was only his third guess as Tang tilted his head to the side.

“C-Come again?”

“You heard me! I think I’m in love with you!” He yelled suddenly before calming down and stepping away and apologizing.

“I-I heard that but…I mean…Um…” Tang was for a loss of words as he eyed Macaque. His heart beat against his chest as he couldn’t read the scholar’s face. He could see that Tang was thinking, either about what to say or how best to reject him. Either way he braced for the inevitable.

“You only think you’re in love with me?” Tang asked and it made Macaque pause for just a moment. So he told him the truth.

“That’s why I wanted to tell you. I just think that. I don’t know and I’m still trying to figure it out” Once he started, he - once again - couldn’t stop talking. He needed Tang to know, he had to get it out so maybe when their friendship ended, it would hurt less.

“I just, the more we hung out, the more I liked being around you. But I don’t know if it’s love, or I just like the attention you give me. But I like talking to you, I like sharing books with you. I like you. I love you. I think? And-And I can’t keep seeing you without you knowing. So if that…creeps you out, or something. Then I understand.”

Macaque let out a loud sigh as the weight of his confession lifted from him. He still wasn’t sure if those were the right words to say, yet they felt right at the same time.

Silence.

The one thing he didn’t expect was silence.

Tang contemplated for a few moments before letting out a large sigh.

“Thank you, I think?”

A thanks. He got a ‘thanks’. Macaque suddenly laughed and laughed and laughed at the absurd answer.

“Y-You’re really something Tang. You know that?” He said between a cool down of laughs. Tang simply watched him as the laughing finally died down and Macaque coughed a few times.

“What I meant is that thank you…for telling me and I’m not-” Tang stopped and it was the first time the shadow noticed that he was blushing. “I’m actually not against the idea of us dating.”

Now he was the one who needed that repeated.

“You’re not against us dating?” He repeated, as if to make sure what Tang said was true.

“Buuuuuuuut,” the long extended word made Macaque actually brace himself for what he would say next. But Tang took a second or two, continuing to search for the words to reject him with. But he eventually sighed and looked into his eyes as he spoke.

“I noticed you keep saying ‘I think’ it’s pretty clear you’re trying to figure stuff out, which is good! I’m really proud of you.” Tang said with a kind smile that Macaque's heart was swelling with love for the scholar. Tang paused for a moment before speaking again.

“I really want you to figure it out and believe me. I need time to figure it out too. Cause…I do like you Macaque.” He said it so casually that it took Macaque back a bit.

“I mean, of course! I’m just…” In actuality, he hadn’t really considered the option that Tang might like him back. It still didn’t feel like an actual answer. “Just so I’m clear tho. You’re not saying no?”

Tang moved closer to him and bumped his shoulder as the two met eye to eye.

“Once you figure it out, ask me out again. I might say yes,’”

He knew Tang was joking, but somewhere deep down inside Macaque’s once cold heart, he wanted nothing more than to kiss Tang right then. Instead he laughed with Tang as the awkwardness of the confession died down as the two gazed into the night sky. Macaque savored this moment with Tang and that happiness that he wished would last longer than tonight.

#lego monkie kid fanfic #lmk macaque #lmk tang #inkypages #inkypageshipping #tintedlensesshipping #tintedlenses #lmk six eared macaque #lmk tang shifu #my fanfics #probably the first one in a very long time

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skellebonez · 2 years

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Cotton Tails and Borrowed Time: Chapter 5

Edited (and planned) with the help of my friend Bucky! Couldn’t do this without you!

A couple notes: And we're back! After this chapter expect slightly longer waits between them, but not quite as long as this wait. So this fic doesn't end up taking 3 months and 20 chapters to post we are trying to make these chapters a little bit longer!

Also, I would like to shout out blizthegoatboi, pyggy-baby, and mysteriesinmyminds for their art inspired by the fic! Thank you all so much, all links are directly within the appropriate usernames!

Check out the AO3 link and look at the chapter titles for a fun little Easter Egg, btw.

“So, what up, Monkey King?” MK asked once they were out of the door to Tang’s apartment’s line of sight. “You got a plan for how we hunt down the bros?”

“Sorta,” Sun Wukong said with a half a chuckle. His successor’s excitement and eagerness to help his friends and family (and he knew very well who the younger considered family) was something that the sage found endearing about him. It was part of the reason why he picked him in the first place, part of what made him a fit for the role of Monkie Kid. “What do you remember about that fight the other day?”

“Nothing all that exciting,” MK answered with a shrug. The two stopped at the bottom of the stairs, leaning against them as they talked. “Jin and Yin were following us around for a while. I think they thought we didn’t notice... but it was kinda obvious. They attacked us once we were closer to home and gave some kind of speech about how they were gonna ‘prove they could outsmart the Monkie Kid!’ And then they actually tried to fight me. Put up a decent fight for once.“

“What do you mean?” Sun Wukong asked with a raise of his brow, suddenly a little more intrigued.

“Most of their past schemes were basically a two-step plan they either didn’t think through or thought too much about,” MK said with a cringe, clearly remembering his past run-ins with the Metal Brothers. “It was weird though...”

“Weird how?” The Monkey King asked, interest piqued immediately at the confused tone of his successor.

“It was like they planned out the fight in advance,” MK muttered as he scratched the back of his head in thought. “That’s not really their thing, ya know? It was almost like—”

“They had help,” Sun Wukong said simultaneously with MK. “Makes sense, with everything that happened a few months ago. A lot of the demons in the area have relocated and formed new alliances. I know I saw the Bull family welcoming a few people from the Lantern City whose homes were damaged, and now there’s a lot more travel to their fortress on the regular from demons and humans alike who they’ve helped.”

“Really!?” MK shouted in surprise, laughing once he processed the information. “That explains why Red has been so tired during our video calls and game streams! He still doesn’t wanna look soft in front of us, he keeps saying he’s working on robots but I bet he and his dad have been cooking for everyone.”

Sun Wukong couldn’t help but smile at the thought. From what he had seen flying over the area on his cloud? MK’s guess was probably right on the money. His nose could always pick up the telltale smell of that spice the fire wielding demon liked to add to his cuisine.

Things had changed so much since the defeat of the Lady Bone Demon. Yet at the same time it was almost like they were back to the simpler times before the Lunar New Year. New friends, old foes, new allies. Sometimes old foes became new allies.

They hadn’t had the chance to visit Chang’e again, though it wasn’t exactly a secret that Pigsy and her had exchanged contact info to work on recipes together. Nezha visited from time to time now that his duty of guarding the map was no longer necessary. Sun Wukong still found it odd to see the Third Lotus Prince rolling around on roller skates, instead of his fire wheels. Nevertheless, the Great Sage was happy that Nezha was able to enjoy parts of modern life with MK, Mei, Red Son, and Bai He.

Speaking of Bai He...

He knew that wasn’t her actual name, but no one would tell him what it was! It was almost like a running joke to keep him out of the loop, making it so he only knew her nicknames instead of her actual name. Bai He and Nezha made up the “Lily and Lotus duo” next to the “Traffic Light Trio” of the others. She was always ready and willing to get the Great Sage tongue-tied with wordplay or make him fall into a joke he didn’t see coming.

To think that the Hostess of the Lady Bone Demon was such a joker... it made him happy. He was glad that they were able to save her and that he hadn’t had to do what he feared he might. She was a smart kid—young but incredibly bright—and creative to boot. She adored Sandy’s cats with all of her heart, loved helping Pigsy making noodles, listened to MK and Tang talk for hours, helped Mei and Red Son with their tech, was the key player in helping Nezha get used to things around the city, and played games with everyone. It turned out she was quite the tabletop roleplay enthusiast!

The more she hung out with MK’s friend group the more she blossomed. “Uh, Monkey King? Earth to Sun Wukong! HEY!”

“AH!” Sun Wukong yelped in surprise, blinking and finding his vision filled with two angry eyes and a whole lot of pink. “Pigsy! Hi! W-When did you—?”

“When you were lost in whatever thinking you were doing,” the chef answered as he straightened back up and walked down the rest of the few stairs he had stopped on. “So... what’s the plan? I assume you two are cooking one up already.”

The two powerful monkies looked at each other and then back at Pigsy with a simultaneous shrug.

“We’re still workshopping it,” MK said honestly. “We need to figure out where they are and, since they’re probably working with someone, we need to figure out who that is too. And then... figure out the rest of the plan?”

If the enthusiastic smile the young man gave Pigsy was reassuring in any way? The chef didn’t show it in the least.

“Please promise me you’re actually gonna come back after you leave tomorrow?”

“Aaaactually...” MK chuckled nervously, glancing at Sun Wukong for a split second. “I was thinking we should start now? I mean, the sooner we start the better for Tang right?”

“Makes sense to me!” Sun Wukong agreed. “The sooner we start on recon, the sooner we can come back and make an actual game plan.”

“Are you both sure you’re ready to head out?” Pigsy asked with a raise of his brow. “Shouldn’t you get some sleep or lunch first?”

Sun Wukong opened his mouth to protest, but he was beaten to the punch by his own stomach growling at him. “...Heh... I might have... been making myself something before MK picked me up.”

“Yeah, you’re not goin’ anywhere,” Pigsy said with a sigh and a shake of his head. “Let’s get you fed, at the very least. And set up a time limit, I don’t want either of you flyin’ around when you’re half awake!”

“Does that mean you’ll buy us coffee on the way back to the shop!?” MK asked in excitement.

“Only because Bai He asked me to pick her up some cheese tea, but Monkey King is—”

“Still banned from caffeine, I know. Geeze, you punch a hole in a wall one time...”

“And that’s the gist of it,” Pigsy said as he finished his recounting of what happened before he came back with dinner. “They flew off right before I started working the lunch rush so they’re probably still flying around as we speak.”

Tang couldn’t help but smile at this information. He knew that they would do anything to figure out what this was, of course they would, but the fact they wanted to do it immediately? That just... made him happy. To remember that everyone cared for him this much.

“You think they’re going to find the brothers in time?” Tang asked softly as he rolled the fruit back and forth in his palms. It felt odd, if he were to be honest, to not quite feel the strawberry under his fur. Like feeling it through mittens.

“Even if they don’t?” Pigsy said in return, grabbing a blueberry and popping it into his mouth. “You’ll still be you. We’ll figure out a way to make it work.”

The words made Tang pause.

Pigsy was right, when he thought about it. As long as they figured out what the curse was and made sure he wouldn’t turn into an actual rabbit after his demon transformation was done? It wouldn’t be impossible for him to get used to it all. Sure, the fur would be difficult to get used to, and his ears would take time to work around. His increased hearing would take a long time to adjust to. But... he was still him, human or rabbit demon. And besides! Maybe some of whatever new abilities he had could come in handy in day to day life. He knew the hearing would make it a lot easier to hear and corral any unruly students in his classes at the very least.

It was just... scary. Knowing he had no control or consent over the changes, that they weren’t even meant for him at all. The uncertainty of when they would stop, if they even would. And the reason...

If he was just turned immediately—poof and Bunny Him!—that would be one thing.

But why did he have to change when he thought of Pigsy? That was the worst part. Worse than even the pain of the transformations themselves. It felt like he couldn’t even be honest with himself in his own head anymore, lest he change without meaning to. He wished it was easier to be honest. To just come out and tell Pigsy how he felt. Heck, he’d met his parents! His parents liked him! Tang had nothing to worry about except the cold harsh dose of rejection he was certain he was in for. But then again..

When one denied their feelings for over a decade... could they really be surprised it was hard to admit them at all?

Tang popped the strawberry in his mouth while he thought, smiling a bit at the sweet tartness of it. It tasted... better than he expected. “These are good!” he said with a chuckle. “I was never that big on strawberries but if this change means I like them more now? I could totally live with that.”

“Heh, and here I thought I would never see the day you admit you disliked a food that wasn’t carrots,” Pigsy said with a soft chuckle and a smirk. Tang couldn’t help himself.

Just... the way he smiled. The relief he seemed to have on his face.

It just slipped out of him.

“Stop being cute like that.”

“You think I’m cute?” Pigsy asked in slow surprise, the smallest hint of an awkward smile forming on his face.

“N-NO!” Tang said without thinking, immediately regretting his knee jerk reaction and attempting to fix it. “I-I mean! You’re more... uh, h-handsome?”

A blush might have formed on the other’s face. Tang wouldn’t know. He was too distracted by the urge to sneeze that took over.

Then the sneeze, the feeling like he’d been slapped in the face, and then the sound of his glasses hitting the table.

The two stared at each other for a moment. Tang was lucky that he was nearsighted and thus still able to see Pigsy even without his glasses on. The chef stared as Tang reached up and touched his nose. His very much no longer human nose.

“Uh... Y-You... Uh...” Pigsy started slowly, gesturing to Tang’s face slowly.

“Oh, COME ON!” Tang yelled in frustration, holding his nose and squeezing it to make sure it was really a rabbit nose now. The pinch of pain confirmed it. “No, no, no, no, I wear glasses! Now how am I going to see? They were already barely staying on squashed onto my human nose! They’re definitely not going to stay on like this!”

“Tang...”

“Is every part of me going to change!?” Tang groaned out in frustration. “Is every part of me going to be different at the end of this? I can’t keep one thing? Are my eyes going to change? Do contacts work on rabbit eyes? What if my eyes get worse!?”

“Whoa, whoa, breathe Tang,” Pigsy said softly. He reached up, putting his hands on either side of his face and...

Tang froze.

It was... nice.

He had never had his face held like this by anyone before. And Pigsy’s hands were so warm, not too soft and just barely pressing against his fur.

He felt silly in that moment, for reacting as strongly as he did.

“Sorry...” Tang said softly, leaning into the touch without meaning to. “I’m...”

“Scared,” Pigsy finished for him. “I get it. But we can figure something out in the meantime. You got any of those hair clips Mei bought you for your birthday lyin’ around?”

“There,” Pigsy said with a soft chuckle. “Shake your head and see if they stay on.”

Tang frowned, slowly shaking his head from side to side to test out the solution. He could feel the hair clips pulling on his fur... but his glasses stayed mostly in place. Just to be sure, he decided to shake his head a little harder to test the limits of this solution.

Or he would have had he not immediately smacked himself in the face with his own ears and yelped in surprise. The sound of Pigsy’s laugh made him freeze before he could even react further, moving his ears out of the way to look at the other through his crooked glasses.

“We probably should have factored those in,” Pigsy chuckled. He reached up and righted Tang’s glasses again.

And then booped his nose.

Just. Reached up. Poked his nose with a finger. With the same kind of little “boop” Tang had heard Mei do before.

Pigsy was redder than Tang had ever seen him once he realized what he had just done.

“I’M SORRY, THAT WAS WEIRD!” Pigsy yelled out before he realized what he was doing, immediately grimacing and turning away as he groaned out. “I’m sorry, really, just... just forget I did that! I can’t believe I did that, so stupid, aaaaahhhhh—”

Pigsy continued to mutter to himself, embarrassed to a degree the scholar had rarely seen before. Tang was going to say it was okay, that he wasn’t bothered by it so much as he was shocked. It didn’t seem like something he would expect the chef to do! But then...

His ears picked up something just under Pigsy’s muttering. Maybe it was because he was getting used to his hearing. Maybe it was because somehow all of his neighbors were out or quiet at just the right moment. There were fewer cars on the road for him to hear through the walls.

Whatever the reason, he heard it all the same as clear as day.

"Shhh,” Tang said as he held up his hand for a moment. Without meaning to, he tilted his head, ears lifting softly as if on instinct to pick up the sound clearer.

“Uuuuuh Ta—”

“SHHHH!” Tang cut Pigsy off, tilting his head the other way. His eyes widened as he finally realized what the sound was. Smooth and rhythmic and relaxing to hear. “I... I think I can hear your... heartbeat?”

“OK, snack time is over!” MK announced as he shoved the last bite of the bun Pigsy had packed for them in his mouth. “TIME TO GO!”

“Hold on, bud,” Sun Wukong said as he wrapped his tail around MK and pulled him to stand next to him. “I have an idea.”

“Is this going to be a surprise lesson again? Right now?”

“Yes.”

“Seriously?” MK groaned in mild frustration, though the Monkey King was not in the least bothered by that. Not this time. “We need to get moving, now, I—”

“I think it’s about time you learn how to ride this thing properly,” Sun Wukong said with a smile as he moved aside and gestured to his cloud. “Can’t have you holding onto me forever, after all.”

MK looked between his mentor and his somersault cloud, mouth agape in shock. “Wait... Seriously?”

“Seriously! I’ll help you until you get the hang of it, then you’ll call the shots. It’ll be way faster than you guiding me around the city like we’ve been doing.”

“I take back my complaining. This is the third best day of my entire liiiiiiiiiife,” MK breathed, immediately falling face first onto the cloud and giggling as he sunk into it.

“What are the first two?”

“Day I met Mei and the day Pigsy taught me his noodle recipe.”

“Fair enough!” Sun Wukong said with a laugh as he helped his successor jump onto the cloud and find his balance. He joined him quickly, hands on his shoulders and tail wrapped protectively around his waist like a lifeline. Just in case. “Alright, make your movements purposeful and light, the cloud will listen to your movements. A small press with your front foot will make it go, but a huge one will make it zip fast enough to knock us off.”

“It’s kinda like riding a hoverboard!” MK laughed out as he wobbled slightly on the cloud. “A poofy, not completely flat hoverboard.”

“Never rode one of those myself so I wouldn’t know,” Sun Wukong said with a chuckle. “But if it is anything like this, the key to both is balance. Once you get that and you know how to convince it to listen to you, you’re good.”

“Wait, is your cloud sentient?”

“You know, it’s really unclear.”

The glance MK gave him was a mix of confused and concerned, but he listened intently as he was guided through the basics.

And then they were off. Soaring through the air, a little too fast at first at first but MK got the hang of it in no time. The yells of excitement as he somersaulted them through the sky made Sun Wukong almost forget why they were out and about flying.

Almost.

“Hey...” MK said almost so quietly that Sun Wukong could hardly hear him over the rushing wind around them. “Mr. Tang is going to be okay, right?”

There was a moment of quiet between them, the wind the only sound either could pick up as it rushed through their hair.

“I don’t know,” Sun Wukong said honestly. “But whatever happens, it would be without us doing our best to make sure he will be.”

#monkie kid #lego monkie kid #freenoodleshipping #ship fic #bunny tang #lmk tang #lmk pigsy #lmk mk #qi xiaotian #lmk sun wukong #lmk monkey king #fanfic

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talesofsonicasura · 3 years

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I have been reading Journey to The West yesterday and I couldn't help this little thought. Bonus stuff has been added and is marked as Edit.

What if:

Ichigo Kurosaki from Bleach

Instead of getting Zangetsu, got the staff and powers of Sun Wukong?

Like at a young age, when his mother Masaki is still alive, he stumbles upon Ruyi Jingu Bang or the Monkey King's Staff. It's embedded in rock, similar to Lego Monkie Kid but not sealing anything away, and manages to pull it out.

The magic of the staff alters Ichigo in a way that he becomes a Monkey Demon and his Spiritual powers just merge to grant the ability to shift onto the spiritual plane. (That means no Quincy, Soul Reaper or Hollow powers but acquires aspects of it and I don't mean monkey by just growing a tail. This kid is going to get fur, monkey like feet and hands, face alongside a monkey tail.)

Ichigo self exiles himself from his family in fear of how they react and learn to control his new powers by the visions of the staff's former holder, Sun Wukong. He becomes Karakura Town's cryptid Monkey King. He does take the name Wukong but changes Ichigo into Zan, something that depicts a helpful nature.

Over the years, he deals with any Hollow that decides to stir up any trouble. Ichigo/Zan is more indifferent to Hollows unlike Soul Reapers or Quincy. If a Hollow doesn't want to be a Hollow anymore, his Spiritual Power influenced magic can change them into a spiritual demon that represents their mask. (A King does need a kingdom after all. And if you want to include Zhu Bajie and Sha Wujing/ Pigsy and Sandy for those who know only the Western Localization names).

Edit: He does slay those who can't be trusted or mean true harm to the townsfolk. Ichigo/Zan does have his own hidden domain similar to Flower Fruit Mountain, that's where the various beings he takes in as subjects or houses allies in.

Ed2: The Soul Society doesn't know about Zan/Ichigo. They know something is off about Karakura from the influx of disappearing Hollows that clearly weren't purified. Multiple Soul Reapers did investigate but any who found something got taken out by a disguised Ichigo/Zan that messes with their memories with a well aimed blow to the head.

Ed3: His relationship to the Karakura Group is similar but albeit slightly different. Karakura Group consists of Chad, Orihime, Uryu, Karin, Yuzu, Tatsuki, Rukia and Urahara.

Orihime befriends Ichigo/Zan after he saved Sora so the Monkey King often visits her and her brother, encounters Chad and helps him out leading to a friendship, Uryu is a bitter rival at worse but sobers up, Tatsuki finds Ichigo/Zan when he was over at Orihime's once which starts a friendly rivalry in martial arts, Ichigo/Zan steals from Urahara often and is just a general pain in the ass, Rukia is the only Soul Reaper who knows of his existence and the Monkey King helps her out with the more difficult Hollows upon arrival to Karakura and Zan/Ichigo was spotted by a younger Karin and Yuzu when he decided to check out how his old family was doing with the Monkey King taking a older brother role albeit secret to their parents.

He does get involved in canon events of the anime but certain ones happen differently. Rukia is taken for associating with Ichigo/Zan than giving away her powers, Masaki and Sora are alive: the former because Ichigo/Zan was the catalyst for Grand Fisher's attack in canon and the latter being saved by the new Monkey King before he get hits(also I'm super bitter that he never reunites with Orihime in canon) which leads to a different stronger Hollow attacking Orihime in Sora's place, and Byakuya blinds Ichigo for a second to escape with Rukia alongside Renji being a few examples.

Plus,

It's also an excuse for the Monkey King's Rampage in Heaven 2: Soul Society Boogaloo.

Ed4: Hurting or kidnapping any friend of Ichigo/Zan is equivalent to a declaration of war for the Monkey King. Rukongai, the district were the more poor souls live don't get caught up in the mayhem, but the Seiterei where the rich and Soul Reapers lives at are going to have an angry monkey demon alongside his trusted allies wreaking havoc on their turf. He might also do the same thing Sun Wukong did to Buddha on either Byakuya, Aizen or Yamato(pisses on em, you can't do a Monkey King without one of the most infamous jackass cases he's got).

Ed5: Ichigo/Zan doesn't trust the Soul Society, PERIOD. He probably spirit away a lot of Rukongai residents to live much better in his kingdom as a big fat middle finger to the Seiterei. The Monkey King does help with the major problems but that's it.

ED6: For my version of Zan/Ichigo, if I ever get to it, will have these prospects. He's actually going to be taller than Canon Ichigo, about 6'10 maybe 7'1. Why? Because if he ever meets an iteration of Sun Wukong or himself, I'll be pulling out the 'You're Short' card a lot. Plus, spiritually charged monkey demon DNA has to guarantee a bigger growth potential for the guy.

His personality will be a mix of Canon Ichigo and Sun Wukong. He's going to be brash, recklessly smart(and smartass), laid-back mischief maker who only gets serious if you mess with what he cares about dearly and broods when he's in a really bad mood. He also isn't 'a prude' as Matsumoto quotes when it comes to recoiling about feminine assets in an embarrassed manner but more of a respectable flirt. (It's actually canon that Ichigo tends to get flashed a lot by female characters in the anime and doesn't want to be a pervert.)

If anyone wants to make this a story, go ahead! I might or might not write it but this a type of chaos that needs to shared for the masses. I want to see what you guys can make with such an idea!

#crossover #au #fanfic idea #tales of sonicasura #bleach #bleach ichigo #ichigo kurosaki #jttw #journey to the west #lego monkie kid #sun wukong #monkey king #sonicasura #jttw 1996 #monkie kid #jttw sun wukong

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purble-turble · 3 years

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So what if the monkey dads (either Wukongs or Macaque idk) found out about the battle nexus. I mean they have to have missed there kids suddenly disappear with some of there crush/not crush and friend right? And maybe they can sense them using there power somewhere else and with some kind of monkey magic they find the battle nexus. Insert panic monkey noises

Now this could be fun! I imagine the place so far has just been the traffic light trio since all the other characters don’t really have much variation, but there are a couple of Macaques who are pretty different now too. Their relationship to Wukong varies from dimension to dimension as well, so that would be interesting to explore.

The first time a Macaque shows up in the arena, nobody knows about it. He used his shadow powers to follow after the MK from his universe, having been curious as to where he was disappearing to so often. Once he’s in, he has a look around and is shocked and delighted to find that this place is just a huge multidimensional fight club. He wants in. Obviously. But he’s going to need more than one version of himself to show up here so he can be allowed to stay. So he starts planning... I can’t imagine he’s able to use the portal in the arena to visit other dimensions. It probably just spits you out in your own dimension whenever you use it without giving you a choice. If it were that easy they’d all be hopping in and out of other dimensions willy nilly in order to solve each other’s problems. No, Macaque is going to have to be more clever than that. And there is one person in the Battle Nexus that he notices seems to be able to come and go without using the main exit portals.

So Macaque approaches Demon King Red while he’s all alone and asks for his help. King Red is intrigued by the idea of allowing Macaques into the arena... so far he’s been without allies in this place, so it might be nice to shift the balance a little bit. He agrees to help spread the word to all the other Macaques and the two go off using Red’s dimension hopping artifact. They catch up with a bunch of different Macaques and tell them about the portal and where to find it, and before you know it, the arena is suddenly overrun by a bunch of different versions of Macaque! Nobody else knows how this happened, either! It freaks out most of the MKs of course, so they run off and get their Sun Wukongs to come join the arena too, for some added protection, which they are more than happy to do! So now the Macaques and Wukongs have joined the fun~

#ask #AU Combo #Battle Nexus

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monstersdownthepath · 3 years

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Spiritual Spotlight: Angazhan, the Ravenous King

Chaotic Evil Demon Lord of Apes, Tyrants, and Jungles

Domains: Animal, Chaos, Evil, Plant Subdomains: Decay, Demon, Fur, Growth

The Complete Book of the Damned, pg. 18~19

Obedience: Ingest hallucinogenic jungle plants and then beat a complex rhythm on a large drum made of human skin and bones while chanting prayers to Angazhan. Benefit: Gain a +4 profane bonus on saving throws against diseases and poisons caused by exposure to the jungle or inflicted by creatures native to jungles.

Heurgh, Angazhan has some pretty restrictive requirements here, and his Benefit really only works against a single environment, making Angazhan one of the most environmentally-locked deities since Dagon! It’s fitting, considering Angazhan is basically only worshiped in Darkest Africa the Mwangi Expanse, a massive and terrifying jungle he’s had his six-fingered hands buried deep into ever since humanity began settling the land. Since worship rarely ever leaves a jungle home, any player character wanting to serve the Ravenous King had better make sure they’ll be sticking close to the vine-draped homeland, or they’re just completely out of luck! Not just because they lose out on the benefit above, but because they lose out on a good number of Boons too!

anyway, it’s a difficult alignment to set up for and keep a secret, if you’re trying to hide your worship of the Tyrant King. You COULD pass off the drum as being made of animal tissues, but the loud chanting to a known and famous Demon Lord and the fact you’re likely to be seeing stars and colors due to your Hearty Breakfast is much harder to explain if someone kicks your door in. The fact you need both jungle drugs and a drum means this Obedience is utterly ruined if you get robbed or have your equipment stolen, though at the very least it’s easy enough to replace your belongings... if you’re in a jungle. If you’re not, getting a new drum is simple, but a visit to the black market may be necessary to restock on your Hearty Breakfast.

The benefit is notably weaker than other benefits of a similar theme; a few deities are generous enough to give universal protections from poison and disease, but Angazhan punishes you for going where he cannot tread. Fitting for a tyrant who likes having people under his thumb, but annoying for someone trying to actually extend his reach. In a jungle area, however, it’s MUCH more impressive than it looks in a vacuum; many, many, many, MANY horrors within the deep and mysterious tangles rely on poisons or disease to fell their enemies and their prey, so the added protection will always come in handy!

Boons are acquired slowly: the first once you reach 12 hit dice, the second at 16, and the third at 20. However, the Evangelist, Exalted, and Sentinel Prestige Classes can be entered as early as level 7; doing so grants you the Boons at levels 10, 13, and 16 instead. Servants of demons may also take the Demoniac Prestige Class; you don’t get the Boons any faster than E/E/S, but you may select which Boon set you get, and you get cool demon-related powers!

------- EVANGELIST -------

Boon 1: The Jungle Consumes. Gain Pass Without Trace 3/day, Tree Shape 2/day, or Spike Growth 1/day.

‘Consumes’ indeed; Spike Growth can render a frankly offensive amount of terrain completely inhospitable (ten 20ft squares!), shredding 1d4 HP off every creature trying to pass through a single 5ft square and threatening to halve their movement speed for a full day every time they take damage. As anyone who’s played as or fought against a Druid can attest to, Spike Growth is useful for exactly two things (slowing an enemy’s retreat or advance) but it’s amazing at doing so. The sheer amount of terrain the spell covers and the length of time it covers for (an hour per level) makes useful for stopping everything from a charging dragon to a charging army... provided your foe has less than 4 DR. In order to halve someone’s movespeed they need to actually take damage from the growth AND fail a Reflex save, meaning even the meager DR 5 you’re likely to encounter at levels 10+ is enough to make Spike Growth completely irrelevant.

If you can use it against a foe who’s not immune to it, though, it’s absolutely stellar. Moving through even a single 20ft square triggers four separate Reflex saves to avoid having one’s movespeed halved for a full day, and--as written--the halved speed can’t be undone with Fast Healing or Regeneration, the victim MUST find a Cure spell. Perhaps the biggest downside is that using it to its fullest potential--that is, to cripple a charging swarm of foes--is unlikely to happen, delegating it to crowd control versus a small amount of enemies.

It’s leagues better than the niche Tree Shape, but Pass Without Trace also has its merits, hiding up to 10 people from sniffing noses and prying eyes for half a day, letting you and your allies effortlessly vanish into the foliage. Indeed, all three of these spells are extremely useful in the jungle setting Angazhan demands you remain in, so if you ARE actually hiding around in the Mwangi Expanse, all three of these can be genuine picks depending on if you plan to be a trapper, a stalker, or a sentree that day.

Boon 2: Canopy Crawler. Your feet become prehensile and apelike, allowing them to act as a second pair of hands for every purpose except wielding a shield or weapon, such as to execute somatic components, to aid in climbing, to hold objects, and to maintain your Dexterity bonus to AC while climbing. In addition, you gain a climb speed equal to your walking speed +10, and can attempt a Climb check in place of the following checks: Acrobatics checks to swing or leap between branches and vines; Stealth checks to remain hidden within trees, and you can move at full speed through them without penalty; and Stealth checks to snipe from trees, the penalty for doing so reduced by 10.

The way this ability is written in the book is kind of a mess, so I tried my best to shuffle it into a more easily digestible form.

Anyway: Freaky monkey feet! For all your freaky monkey feet needs! One of the more unique Boons in the game, and unlike most highly unique Boons, this one is still highly useful! While your handfeet can’t wield weapons or shields, you can use them for more or less anything else while your actual human hands are occupied. Sleight of Hand? No, my friend, I’m on a completely different level.

The big star here is the free climb speed, which automatically gives you a meaty +8 to Climb checks, making the various skill checks it replaces much, much easier to exploit. You become an expert of gorilla... guerrilla... Gorilla Guerrilla Warfare, soundlessly moving from tree to tree and hurling spears or firing arrows with nary a peep but for the whoosh of the weapon through the branches and leaves, moving from position to position as easily as playing hopscotch. Even if you never invested in Stealth at all, you can suddenly pour ranks into Climb and become an ersatz Rogue for the party, leading a silent charge against the foes of the Ravenous King’s cult.

Side note, this ability combines beautifully with all 3 of the spell-likes from The Jungle Consumes, as your brachiating movements put you above Spike Growth, Pass Without Trace makes you utterly impossible to nonmagically track if you attack at night, and Tree Shape lets you become a horror movie villain that vanishes the instant it appears you’re about to be ‘caught.’

Boon 3: One With The Jungle. While in the jungle, you gain blindsight to a range of 60 feet, you gain a +2 insight bonus to AC and on saving throws, and you are never flat-footed or surprised. You ignore cover and concealment caused by natural features of the jungle, as the very plants and stones twist out of the path of your attacks and spells.

An eternal Diet Foresight if your reward for remaining in the Ravener King’s grip, but this ability--unlike Canopy Crawler--is entirely blank if you adventure outside of your god’s chosen locale, a punishing loss of an otherwise incredibly strong defensive ability. Being impossible to catch by surprise is good enough on its own, especially at levels where enemies can have Sneak Attacks exceeding +4d6, poisons that cause people to hemorrhage ability scores, or fatal grappling embraces, to say nothing of what happens if a spellcaster gets the drop on everyone. The +2 to AC and universal bonus to saving throws will struggle to make a difference, but it’s a rare insight bonus and will thus stack with all your existing bonuses... and, of course, it lasts forever so long as you remain in a jungle.

I enjoy that the jungle will shuffle aside to let you shoot and swat your enemies without penalty, making my ‘treetop sniper’ suggestion in Canopy Crawler even more viable. Now, as long as you can see even the smallest portion of your target, the natural world will bend and sway to avoid your blows so that they always strike true, letting you attack enemies without the possibility of them retaliating unless they begin cutting down the whole jungle... at which point they’ll have much bigger issues than just you.

------- EXALTED -------

Boon 1: Jungle’s Wrath. Entangle 3/day, Bull’s Strength 2/day, or Summon Monster III (1 fiendish ape, 1d3 fiendish advanced baboons, or 1d4+1 fiendish baboons) 1/day.

Bull’s Strength is always nice to have to give the beefy members of your party, giving them an extra +2 to attack and damage rolls for ten or so minutes at a time, among other bonuses. Strength bonuses are some of the most boring but practical things you can hand out, because you never know when you’ll just need to do something as simple as moving a large rock or hit something for 2 more points of damage than normal. Having it at twice a day means it’ll likely carry through the most important battles or puzzles you’ll face.

Entangle, however, tends to be the better option here. See everything I said above about Spike Growth? Paste that here, as well, but trade off the damage for the ability to grapple everything trying to move through the 40ft radius(!) of plantlife you’ve affected. In some ways it’s better than Spike Growth, utterly halting the movement of anyone heading through it if they fail their save rather than halving it, and being difficult terrain even if the victims succeed, which halves their speed anyway.

Seeing summoning abilities on a Boon is usually good, but the painful limitation of only being able to summon various demon apes means it severely lacks its normal Swiss Army application. It’s only really good if you need either a distraction, or something heavy moved, both of which could be accomplished with Entangle and Bull’s Strength without it being tied to a creature with subhuman intelligence. At the very least, apes have humanoid hands and can thus perform tasks very few other summoned creatures could do, such as wielding weapons.

Boon 2: Summon Child of Angazhan. 1/day as a swift action, you can summon an Advanced Fiendish Girallon, 1d3 Advanced Fiendish Dire Apes, or 1d4+1 Advanced Fiendish Apes as if you had cast Summon Monster VI.

In spite of my mockery of the Boon above, the ape restriction here is anything but painful. ... well, it’s painful for anyone who’s not you, mind. An Advanced Fiendish Girallon is a CR 8 monstrosity with enough damage output and resilience from the Fiendish template to punch above its weight class. A Girallon is a four-armed, Large-sized ape beast with five attacks (and Rend!) a round, with enough agility and maneuverability to run down fleeing foes or chase them through just about any terrain easily.

It’s also your best option among the summons; the Dire Apes and normal apes are nice, but the chance of summoning a single Dire Ape or a meager 2 fiend apes means a Girallon is the best go-to unless you need a lot of bodies rather than one large one. The Fiendish template is really what gives this ability the oomph it needs to shrug off most of my criticism of Jungle’s Wrath, granting even your normal apes a bit of Spell Resistance and elemental resistance to Fire and Acid... though, notable, both the normal ape and the Dire Ape have too few HD to gain the advanced benefits of the Fiendish template, and none of the creatures here have high enough Charisma to make the Smite Good ability granted to them useful, even with the +4 to all ability scores from Advanced.

Perhaps the biggest gold star this power has, however, is the fact that it can be used as a swift action. You can instantaneously flank an enemy with a murderous gorilla and then stab them in the back when they rightly turn around to look at said murderous gorilla in disbelief, or you can blast them with another spell, or you can do any number of other things with the distraction you’ve just created. Don’t forget that Summon Monster VI also has a range of Close, letting you hurl a demon gorilla at an enemy from 25+5ft/lvl away. The downside, however, is that SMVI also has a duration of a meager 1 round/lvl, meaning you’ll often run into the issue of saving the use of this ability, often until you no longer need it.

Boon 3: Jungle’s Might. You gain a +2 profane bonus to your Strength score and a +2 bonus on Fortitude saving throws.

Useful but boring. It’s moderately better than most stat-buffing Boons thanks to the additional Fortitude bonus, but final Boons typically give +4 bonuses, not +2. There’s no flash or pizazz here, nothing to really expand upon, so lets move on!

------- SENTINEL -------

Boon 1: Tyrant’s Roar. Gain Command 3/day, Sound Burst 2/day, or Suggestion 1/day.

I almost got mad because I mistook Sound Burst for a different, much worse spell. Nope! That was sonic scream or whatever, one I’m so unimpressed with I didn’t even bother looking it up. Sound Burst is significantly better, anyway, able to stun a small crowd of enemies in a single casting, which is exactly what you--as the Sentinel--want to happen. Either because you’re holding back an enemy(/ies) for your allies to get into place, or because you’re holding them still so you can get in close. The damage it deals is pitiful, but it’s automatic even if they succeed against the stun effect, and you never know when 8 damage to up to a crowd will make a difference!

Like most of Angazhan’s blessings, it gets better if you’re in a jungle, as the hostility of the Mwangi Expanse means invaders are likely to be clustered together as tightly as possible to prevent attacks from all angles. Punish them, hard.

Command is in-character for the Tyrant King, and it rewards creative uses beyond the ‘come,’ ‘stay,’ and ‘drop’ commands, though those serve their purpose well enough. I’m quite partial to KNEEL, which fits Angazhan rather well! The only problem is that its low saving throw scaling means it’s unlikely to affect enemies that matter, and in combat it’s often much better to just rush in and start slapping. Out of combat Suggestion is king, though it’s an odd choice for someone who tends to force people to follow his orders through violence and threats rather than relying on coercive and subtle magic. Personally, I’d let the Face of the party or the dedicated enchanter rely on Suggestion, and carry Sound Burst around for those times you need to explode people’s eardrums.

Boon 2: Reign of Terror. You add your Strength modifier to Intimidate checks (this does not stack with Intimidating Prowess or similar feats and abilities) as well as your Charisma modifier. Once per minute, you may use Intimidate to demoralize a single creature within 30ft as a swift action, or all creatures within 10ft as a move action. When using Intimidate to demoralize a creature in this way, if your result exceeds the DC by 5 or more, the creature is frightened for 1 round and then shaken for the normal duration; if your result exceeds the DC by 10 or more, the creature cowers for 1 round, then is frightened for 1 round, and then is shaken for the normal duration. When you use Intimidate to demoralize an ally, instead of being shaken, that creature gains a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls for the appropriate duration.

While normally Boons are built to be taken advantage of by any class within the margins of those who can enter the Prestige Classes in the first place, sometimes you get one that forces you into a specific path. This one highly, highly rewards having both a high Strength and a high (or at least neutral) Charisma, and focusing a feat or two into making your Intimidate as high as possible can see you sending squadrons of enemy combatants scattering and trampling one another to get away from you. I love, love, LOVE that there’s no per-day use restriction on this power, only that it can be used once per minute, meaning you can bring it out in more or less every fight you encounter.

Exceeding the victim’s Intimidation DC by 10 or more causes them to cower, a status affliction barely above paralysis in how terrible it is to be suffering, opening them up to a whole round of being beat on without any ability to retaliate. Even if they survive the round of helplessness, they’re forced to run from you and use whatever resources they have available to get as far away from you as possible... which can be a blessing or a curse depending on what they were carrying and how badly you wanted it.

Being able to Intimidate a single foe as a swift action or a whole crowd surrounding you as a move action is strong, especially if you can bolster your prowess enough to always score 10 higher than their DC (a challenge, but not an insurmountable one)... And even if your enemies are immune to being intimidated either because they’re mindless, starved, or immune to fear, you can use this ability to give your whole team +2 to attack rolls for 4+ rounds. It’s more of a consolation prize than anything else, but note that the final sentence does not say “in this way,” meaning you can use Intimidate normally without needing the 1/minute bolstering to give your allies a bit more accuracy! Wasteful, but viable!

Boon 3: Unchallenged Tyrant. When you perform your Obedience, designate a number of present and willing creatures equal to your Charisma modifier; these are your Thralls. This designation lasts for 24 hours or until you next perform your Obedience. 3/day, you can infuse all Thralls within 50 feet of you as a swift action, granting them a +4 bonus to their Strength and Constitution scores and a +2 bonus on initiative checks, and granting any teamwork feats you have as bonus feats *for an number of rounds equal to your hit dice. If a Thrall dies within 50 feet of you at any time, you gain the effects of Death Ward (CL = half the Thrall’s Hit Dice, to a maximum of CL 20th).

*this ability originally had no listed duration, making it quite awkward and insanely powerful. I’ve added one that makes sense.

Oh, not bad! Another reward for buffing up your Charisma! Even if it’s just to a +2 bonus! And it’s a fine one, too, letting you enchant your allies with a discounted Barbarian Rage, including a bonus to initiative checks to help them move before your enemies even know what’s happening! THREE TIMES a day!!! And--wait, wait, there’s more? You also transfer ALL your teamwork feats to your Thralls? Teamwork feats are pretty powerful but wholly rely on your allies being willing to give up their own feat slots for them, and they utterly fail to work if you aren’t working together or become separated by enemy shenanigans. This ability (along with the Inquisitor’s Solo Tactics) turns those empty feat slots into something truly game-changing due to applying them to all of your Thralls at once. This means that, even if you don’t or cannot join in the fight, they can still use teamwork with each other, and all you need is one of them to be nearby to make use of feats like Lookout (if one of you can act during the surprise round, all of you can), Precise Strikes (+1d6 damage if you’re flanking an enemy)... or, perhaps the most useful of them, Coordinated Charge, allowing you and your allies to all charge the same target.

It doesn’t take a genius to see why Coordinated Charge is one of the best you can use with this ability, as the +Strength and Con bonus means you can turn even the weakest member of the party into another source of damage however small. It also means all of your melee battlers can get into the fray immediately, and if used in combination with Lookout, it can turn an enemy ambush into a pile of severed limbs and broken armor before they even realize what they’re up against.

I also like that if any of your Thralls die, you get a free Death Ward. If you know you’re going up against a necromancer or an Undead with Energy Drain, making an incredibly weak but tasty-looking creature one of your Thralls and sending them in to die is one less spell slot your Divine caster needs to use on you. I’m amused by the idea of blessing one member of your Sack Of Rats and just crushing it in your hand if you ever need a ward. If you have the Charisma for it, definitely try it out!

You can enter Monkis World here.

#Sinister Spotlight #Spiritual Spotlight #Pathfinder #Dungeons and Dragons

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humans-are-space-orcs · 7 years

Text

Okay, a bit more on the violent, semi-pessimistic, more stereotypically Orcish side of things. Possible triggers. Graphic. R-word.

A bit of backstory to this little hypothesis: Humans figured out our differences somehow. Terrorism peaked, religions crumbled, and we had one REEEAAALLY big bad bloody war. Lots of people died. Man’s inhumanity to man. Rape, humiliation, genocide, slaughter of innocents, Armageddon, Ragnarök. That sort of thing. We vowed through accords and treaties, even in the colonization of other worlds and systems (and any conflicts that may result from such) we would seek to end things peacefully, because everyone’s just so tired. They don’t want to spill blood anymore. They vow to protect their societies and their children from such horrors ever again, and never visit such a low point ever again for the sake of humanity. Call it the Blooding Years. Makes the World Wars, Holocaust and the Crusades look tame.

Jump forward a few hundred or good thousand years.

Race really isnt a thing anymore, save for a few varied vestigal traits here and there. People are still spiritual and have faiths and superstitions, and we have made our peace with nature and spirituality, but organized religion itself is something mostly relegated to our bloody past. Although we put the Blooding Years behind us, something so profound is sure to leave some marring and scars on the general psyche of a people, even generations down the line. We are as peaceful as we can be, despite gallows humor and general mental maladjustment taking a spike in recent generations. So, in short, we’re just a bunch of vaguely beige space monkeys with twitchy temperaments trying to be peaceful and stuff.

We have spread to a few systems outside Sol. We’ve contacted a handful of species out in the stars. Xenophobia was a thing, but we’re getting over it. We have a few ‘hybrid’ systems where we coexist, a la [insert sci-fi title here] style. Aliens are learning to like us for our resilency and hard work, but having learned from our history (which was liberally gifted to those among them that would read it), they give us a wide berth, despite keeping steady trade and peaceful relations.

And then, as the old saying goes, shit happens.

A bunch of genocidal xenophobic maniacs come out of nowhere and decide “WE OWN THIS SHIT, AND YOU ARE AN AFFRONT TO GARGASCHMARGAL THE BLOODY! YOU MUST BE [insert evil villain endgame here] !!!” and essentially try to out-Space-Orc the Space Orcs. The Galactic Union, or whatever the assembly of alien races view themselves as (and with which we are allied with but decide not to unify with) launch an offensive! They fight! They clash! In the words of Willem Dafoe, “THERE WAS A FIRE FIGHT!”

Annnnd they lose. Horribly. Entire fleets are laid waste. Worlds fall. Star systems crumble. Trillions die.

And then, after their bloody campaign, having beaten back even the forces bolstered by humans, and after enslaving or euthanizing any other people that stood before them, they arrived at the doorstep to human space, and after a gorefest, essentially Hiroshima a garden world. Eden-in-the-Wind.

-cue the seriousness-

Word got back to Earth, Inner, and Outer Colonies. Eden-in-the-Wind is gone. Dust. Vids came back from the now-dead world. Women and children executed. People being eaten as they are simultaneously being used for sexual pleasure. An infant used as a soccer ball. Skulls with still-bleeding vertebra dangling from belts.

Mayhem bore its crown. The wolf stirred. And Hell reigned.

Those allied aliens that remained and sought refuge on human worlds watched in horror as formal governments dissolved, treaties were burnt, and every human down to the last howled into the winds. We embraced the ways of old. We broke hockey sticks for impromptu spears. We cannibalized vehicles for their precious metal, so that they could have blades to drink blood with. We melted down memorials, so that we could have bullets to slay foes with. We renamed our ships, which served as names of peace and progress and remembrance. They now beared the names of hatred, and death, and destruction; Sathanna, Gehena, Lucifer, Ragnarök, Deluge, Armageddon, Uziel, Uoke, Shiva.

What once was an organized military force was now a hodge-podge fleet of battleships, cargo ships, carriers, dreadnoughts, and even civilian transports. Children carried rifles. Mothers carried swords. Fathers carried axes. Brothers and sisters exchanged spears and pistols. Bitter neighbors mended fences in the name of vengeance. The wheel turned once more, and the wolf within no longer stirred, but ruthlessly hunted, awoken by the stench of blood and gore.

The ships more or less crash, stead of land. We find whatever worlds these bugs have taken, and fall upon it as a horde of foaming teeth.

Allied aliens deemed it appropriate to seek revenge alongside, but were appaled by the horror that humanity was so easy and ready to visit upon these foes. They partook in adrenaline shots and metabolized psilocybin. They drunk of alcohol distilled from the blood of these genocidal demons. They detonated bombs that had still-screaming enemies piled atop them beforehand. They sent crates full of heads back to hostile commanders. They glassed entire worlds from orbit. They beat these foes back to their homeworld, having ruthlessly dogged them to the edge of oblivion.

Eventually, there were no new bodies to crumple. Eventually, there was no fresh blood to spill. Eventually, all that was left of this enemy that had scourged this corner of the galaxy for 75 years was a whimpering, bloodied remnant of their hierarchy, and a dwindling few thousand left to their populace.

Their god-king laid beaten and bloody upon the crumbled remains of his golden throne. He asks to but a girl, no more than 14, that approaches him, sadistically grinning in the dim light of the royal chamber.

“Why? Why have you come here? Is your bloodlust not sated!? We conceded five of your cycles ago! We know what you are capable of! We fear you! Why?! Why do you still come?!”

The girl stops, close enough to smell the copper tang of the alien’s blood on its breath.

“Sic semper tyrannis,” she blurted out, in a dead tongue that the alien did not understand. She drew the knife in her belt and beheaded him, his gurgling screams resounding through the chamber.

She left through the front doors of the palace, the bronze sunset glinted off the golden palace buttresses and arches. She still clutched the god-king’s dripping head by his antennae, her purple-stained hand white-knuckled in victorious fury. A small congregation of aliens bowed and knelt before them, raising claws and feelers in terrified begs and prayers. She tossed the head down the steps, and watched it bump and roll the length down, halting with a wet thump at the base.

And as the congregation shuddered and yelped, completely catatonic at the realization that their god-king is dead, they turned their gaze to the humans, boarding their dropship, ascending into the clouds. They never returned.

Humanity drew back its severely-pruned numbers. They retreated to Earth, to serve a self-imposed penance. The remaining allied aliens, now repopulating their numbers, were gifted the colonies that humanity had once taken. They wondered why humanity was retreating to Earth.

Shexan, a member of the founding race of the Galactic Union, confronted his human friend, Jonathan, though keeping a healthy distance after what he had witnessed.

“Why do your people leave, Smith-Jonathan? You have won, why do your people not rule?” it inquired.

“We did not want to win. Because we knew what we needed to do to win. And we did not want to return to that.”

“To what, Smith-Jonathan?”

“To what we learned not to be.”

“Jonathan?”

“The lessons of the past will be repeated until they are learned.”

Jonathan turned from his new friend, tears streaming down his ragged face, as he departed into the darkness of the transport, its heavy bulkhead doors clunking shut behind him. The transport lifted into the stars. In all the years since that Shexan lived on TRAPPIST-1-b, he did not see a single human return.

The Sol system was, at the behest of humanity itself, marked as an uninhabitable system, and was restricted from entry. And, so has it remained, since.

Submitted by: @bartwelchii

#humans are space orcs #humans are space australians #humans are space oddities #submission

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