[MK opens his mouth to say something but Red Son cuts him off. He would be offended by the accusation if it wasn't true about last time. He lets his arms be raised. He has no injuries, no blood, and nothing hidden. He opens his mouth to speak again but the sudden golden energy and his form glitching between human and monkey makes him groan. Yep. Still happening.
Has been this entire week so far.]
I was...trying to find out how to fix Monkey King. And it turns out he's had amnesia before. When Macaque separated us that one time. Pigsy shoved a hot pepper in Monkey King's mouth when he was meditating. Made him think Pigsy, Mr. Tang, and Moe were the great companions. Mr. Tang fixed it dropping a giant rock on him.
[MK is paraphrasing here. It was something very cute to see. Especially how just happy Wukong was. Like how he was now. He pushes those thoughts aside as he focuses on his breathing, trying to stop the glitching.]
[ The thought of MK seeing what happened with the weremonkey almost makes Macaque sputter, but he quickly decides they have bigger fish to fry than MK hearing all that mushy nonsense. But he will make note of this for the future. ]
[ Seeing MK glitch especially drives all those thoughts from him, and he hurries forward and stands in front of MK. ]
I get that you want him back to normal, so do I. [ His voice is substantially softer now. ] But you've got to tell someone before you dive into that scroll. I'd have gone with you.
[Red Son was angry. But it was angry born of worry and frustration, and like most outbursts, they burn out quick. Especially as MK glitches out again.]
[Red Son's fire goes out and with the knowledge MK wasn't injured, he wraps his arms around MK from behind, pulling him close.]
[Pressing his mouth to his ear, lowering his voice to barely a whisper for all the good it does with Macaque, but.] You're important. You're loved. [Quiet affirmations in the vein he's been telling MK since Wukong lost his memories. Something to try and combat the feeling of Wukong forgetting him.]
[Then resting his chin on MK's shoulder.] That was very good information to find, but you know we're here to help. As well as others. [Saya, Kantera, probably more of MK's friends.] Don't take dangerous risks when asking for help makes it so much safer. We don't need to be putting together two monkeys at once.
[He looks up at Macaque since Red Son is behind him now. The words help his mind calm down some. His heart still hurts. He's upset and it's hard to not be. He nods to what they say. He knows they're right. He took a risk but at least it paid off.]
...Sorry. I should have told you both. I just realized it might help. And last time people knew I went in...guess I didn't think about someone just going in with me like you, Macaque.
[No real excuses, just reasons. He swallows as he pauses for a moment.]
I need your help now. We'll need to find a really hot pepper. Like super spicy. One so hot we gotta wear gloves to hold it. That's what caused it last time. Maybe this time it'll snap him out of it. It's worth a try.
[ Yeah sorry Red Son you'll have to speak telepathically if you don't want Macaque overhearing, but it's touching at least. Despite the way it neatly highlights the complete falsity of what he and Wukong have going on at the moment. ]
It's fine, a situation like this isn't easy to think clearly through. And goodness knows you've forgiven me for worse.
I don't know, you're discounting the immense satisfaction of just beating him about the head. [ Clearly a joke. ] Any ideas where we find a pepper like that?
[Red Son lightly flicked the side of his head.] We were worried last time because you could have easily gotten stuck in a nightmare loop and it could have taken quite some time to realize where you went and longer to find you once we did.
[He sighs and kisses his cheek even as he blushes faintly. A little light PDA as a treat and another affirmation. Anything to help those dark feelings settle a bit.]
It would be immensely satisfying. Maybe even fun. [The frustration with Wukong is Real.] But I suppose if the pepper is easier, I have peppers like that.
...unless you've worked through my whole stash. [He looks at MK, raising an eyebrow.]
[He doesn't find the jokes funny but at least they are joking. Well Macaque is. The frustration is clear in Red Son's voice but he isn't going to talk about that. Not right now. That is a can of worms they can talk about after Monkey King is back to his old self again.]
I blew through everything trying to cook up to inferno. We'll need to get some more and find something super hot.
Then we just gotta get him to eat it. Or make him eat it. One of the two.
[ It's mostly a joke on Macaque's part. He and Wukong beating each other up would at least be honestly working through things. ]
[ Macaque barely doesn't roll his eyes at Red Son blushing, he so does not care about your little affectionate display, he's focused on getting Wukong back to himself because this is intolerable on every single level. ]
It's a lucky thing that you have a line on some peppers that might work at all. Otherwise we'd be stuck wishing for one and I understand that can sometimes take a bit. He can't stay like this that long.
[ Is Macaque's vehemence about reversing Wukong's amnesia surprising? Maybe, because Wukong suddenly loves him again and isn't that what he wanted? It definitely isn't, not like this. This is worse than torture, every single thing about it feels false and grating and mocking. Like fate sneering at what Macaque has been wishing for. ]
...I can get him to eat it. He trusts me right now. [ Macaque finds something very interesting to stare at on the floor. Nothing could get him to make eye contact as he says that. ]
[Red Son was trying to make it a joke. Unfortunately, he's never been good at masking his aggression.]
Of course you did. [He sighed. It can never be easy.] The attempts were sweet though. [A light tightening of the hug. Not trying to make him feel bad.]
[He looks to Macaque and he can understand the desperation. For all he had been willing to make out with Porty in a closet, he had known it was going to hurt later. Close enough to the real thing to pretend it was the same at the time, but ultimately would leave a bitter aftertaste. It had been the same with the WereMonkey, where part of him had craved the affection. But had made it hurt all the more, thinking he couldn't have MK.]
[He nudges MK, come on, Monkie Man, help comfort a sad monkey. Before letting go, moving to stand to the side of Macaque and MK. His tail appearing to keep itself wrapped at MK's waist, but gently touching Macaque's arm, testing what kind of comfort he might want.]
I can talk to the sellers. They have all these waivers to sign, but I bet I can get them to tell me where they grow. Go there, do a little spring magic, bet I can crossbreed one that even hurts me to eat. That should do it for him.
And if that doesn't work, we get a boulder. Then we move to the spells and meditation. And if that doesn't work, we chuck him in the scroll. The last one will definitely work. [It would just also be the most painful way to do it.] So Wukong will be put back to normal, it's just a matter of how nice it is. But we have a lot of nicer, quicker options, so odds are on our side.
[Mk listens and is a little surprised that Macaque wants this over as soon as possible too. Yet the look on Macaque's face told MK the dark monkey was not enjoying this either. It was clearly hurting him too and the nudge helps snap him out of his hyperfocus mode. He nods and looks at the two of them. He can't bring himself to smile just yet but his tone does lighten up.]
I know there isn't anything the three of us can't do if we put our heads together. Come on. We saved the world before. We can get hot peppers, get Monkey King to eat them, and get it all back to normal.
And if we gotta, we'll find a boulder. A not too hard one. And you can both drop it on him. Then we never tell him who threw it ever. Okay?
[ Macaque shifts back on his heels just as Red Son reaches out, the movement appearing perfectly casual and incidental but for the timing. It doesn't work either way, Red Son's touch still brushes his arm, and there's a flush of warmth from the high body temperature and from the attempted comfort, which is not what Macaque needs. What he needs is to be a jagged iceberg in a freezing ocean, and every bit of warmth violates that, and he can't let that happen. ]
[ A lie is easy. Cold and cruel and heartless. That's what he needs this whole amnesiac misadventure to be, a charade he's playing at, a performance. Toying with someone's heart instead of his being the game board. ] [ And if warmth gets through, he might start to crave it. Might get used to it. He might grow accustomed to being the one Wukong loves and he can't do that, because losing that twice is not something he can endure. ]
[ Macaque's tail lashes a few times and he rubs at the right side of his forehead as he contemplates changing the subject. Anything else, anything. The matter is quite frantic inside his head, though that aspect barely shows. MK and Red Son can probably see Macaque's protective walls closing him in like layer upon layer of iron portcullises slamming down. Fortunately, there's an obvious thing to discuss now: ]
Be sure to get more than a few peppers in case it takes some doing. I'm thinking the more approaches we have to get him to eat it voluntarily, the better. A slow escalation that feels natural. Maybe you two can make dinner for us all, present the peppers as a rare find, something locals do to prove their strength. I'll try to coax him into trying one. Maybe place a bet with him and let him define the terms, he's a sucker for a challenge like that. [ This will require some active flirting but Macaque forces down whatever feelings try to rise up in thinking about it, it's just a lie in service of a goal, he can do it. And it's not like he'll have to pay up since if he's successful, Wukong will be back to normal right away, and a normal Wukong would never want to collect his winnings from that sort of wager. ]
That should work, but no sense taking chances. If it doesn't, MK can start in on some ego-stroking about how he's sure the great Monkey King can handle it, all that hero worship stuff. If I do that, he'll suspect something, but from a new monkey friend it would make sense to him.
If all else fails, Red Son can get contemptuous and accuse him of being unable to handle it, and then eat one yourself. MK and I can act impressed by it. That will almost certainly do it, Wukong hates being shown up, especially in front of me, especially by someone he doesn't like. [ And he has taken quite a disliking to Red Son already. It would make Macaque wonder if something subconscious was at play if that was something he would allow himself to consider in the slightest. ]
If all that fails, then we'll have to force it somehow. Or trick him. MK, can you clone a peach around one of the peppers? Or maybe we can get some of the pepper ground up in a drink, it's not like he has to swallow the thing whole. Would your bartender vampire serve him some peach flavored thing with a surprise in it? I could probably talk him into that club under other pretenses. [ Pretenses which we are Not Thinking About although Macaque is starting to wonder if his head might straight up explode anyway. ]
[ He's dearly hoping that this is Monster Transformation Rules and Wukong won't remember much, if any, of it. But then it probably doesn't matter, the very moment Wukong is back to normal, Macaque is going to start planning on getting bitten by a truth mushroom and having the conversation they need to have before anything else can happen. He can't keep on this way if this place is going to keep throwing vicious change-ups. He's exhausted and needs an end point. At least after a little forced honesty he won't have to worry about hiding anymore and at this point that sounds like a welcome relief indeed. ]
...And then yeah, if that fails then the boulder. He'll be fine.
[He got the message loud and clear. Pulling his hand away from Macaque. He wasn't going to force comfort onto him, not with this mess. At least not of his own volition, that's a far too big judgement call about the nuances of people that he isn't going to take the lead on.]
Wukong definitely hates backing down from me. [There has Already Been An Incident.] Its ridiculously easy to provoke him if need be. It should be no problem to make him dinner since he just invited himself into my house. Because people have to keep showing up before I have a proper guest room set up. [It keeps happening and its maddening for the house shuffling he has to do Every Time.]
He also invited you Macaque.
And Saya would. Saya would probably drink some of it herself.
[MK can see the ice walls rising up around Macaque. He doesn't want the shadow monkey to totally freeze himself out. Still, he doesn't know how to help. A hug or touch wouldn't help right now. Maybe he needs to freeze himself a little right now. Maybe he would thaw later. Hopefully.
Watching the two of them plan was nice. He was good at plans and these were good plans. Like a bunch of good plans. The one bad thing was that the heat might dwindle if they were trying to get it into him one after another. Monkey King might be able to handle it if it went up and up and up like that. It was best to try and hit him with one big punch. He smiles softly.]
Great ideas. And I think we need to hit him once. One big punch but with all these plans. If we get him to dinner, get him to eat food that is high acid and some sweet ones. It will get his taste buds to open up. Then we give him a fake peach but it is actually the peppers. The hottest ones we got all in it, seeds and all. He thinks it'll be sweet and tangy and boom! It's hot peppers. He won't know what hit him.
Aaaand if that somehow doesn't work, we have the boulder tied up on the roof and just drop it on him the second it doesn't work.
Big surprise head bonk there. So yeah. We got a plan.
[Another jolt of gold and MK winces as his form flickers. His emotions were still going haywire.]
[ Fantastic, he'll be stuck sleeping with Wukong, what could be better. ]
[ Macaque glances up as MK glitches, but doesn't move nor alter his expression beyond the very slightly twitch of an eyebrow. He can't afford to get emotional about anything right now since it feels like he'll break if he starts in, so he takes it in and assumes Red Son's got it if MK needs something. ]
That'll be it, then. How long does it take to retrieve the peppers?
[Red Son is quick to grab MK's hand, lifting it up and pressing it to his own chest. He starts to breathe, a more even pattern for him to try and follow. At least between his talking.]
I know how to get the most bite out of a pepper. It'll be no problem. [The Inferno wasn't just about the ingredients, it was about preparing them in such a way to get the most out of them. There was good reason they had to have waivers at the food stall.]
It should only be a few days to get ones hot enough. Or find where hot enough ones grow and I can force it.
Then we get to work. And if we need to get Macaque a break from Monkey King, we can take turns. Or I can. I can probably convince him to spar or hang out with me for a day. Maybe even stay the night at the castle. Let him explore and tell me how much better his castle is than mine. Like you said, Macaque. Go with that challenging stuff. So you can have a break.
[It is the least he can do. And it would hurt but at least Monkey King liked him like this. They could hang, it just wouldn't have the same weight as it used to. At least, not for Monkey King.]
He wants to train me on monkey form stuff anyway. That should eat up a lot of time.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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Has been this entire week so far.]
I was...trying to find out how to fix Monkey King. And it turns out he's had amnesia before. When Macaque separated us that one time. Pigsy shoved a hot pepper in Monkey King's mouth when he was meditating. Made him think Pigsy, Mr. Tang, and Moe were the great companions. Mr. Tang fixed it dropping a giant rock on him.
[MK is paraphrasing here. It was something very cute to see. Especially how just happy Wukong was. Like how he was now. He pushes those thoughts aside as he focuses on his breathing, trying to stop the glitching.]
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[ Seeing MK glitch especially drives all those thoughts from him, and he hurries forward and stands in front of MK. ]
I get that you want him back to normal, so do I. [ His voice is substantially softer now. ] But you've got to tell someone before you dive into that scroll. I'd have gone with you.
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[Red Son's fire goes out and with the knowledge MK wasn't injured, he wraps his arms around MK from behind, pulling him close.]
[Pressing his mouth to his ear, lowering his voice to barely a whisper for all the good it does with Macaque, but.] You're important. You're loved. [Quiet affirmations in the vein he's been telling MK since Wukong lost his memories. Something to try and combat the feeling of Wukong forgetting him.]
[Then resting his chin on MK's shoulder.] That was very good information to find, but you know we're here to help. As well as others. [Saya, Kantera, probably more of MK's friends.] Don't take dangerous risks when asking for help makes it so much safer. We don't need to be putting together two monkeys at once.
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...Sorry. I should have told you both. I just realized it might help. And last time people knew I went in...guess I didn't think about someone just going in with me like you, Macaque.
[No real excuses, just reasons. He swallows as he pauses for a moment.]
I need your help now. We'll need to find a really hot pepper. Like super spicy. One so hot we gotta wear gloves to hold it. That's what caused it last time. Maybe this time it'll snap him out of it. It's worth a try.
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It's fine, a situation like this isn't easy to think clearly through. And goodness knows you've forgiven me for worse.
I don't know, you're discounting the immense satisfaction of just beating him about the head. [ Clearly a joke. ] Any ideas where we find a pepper like that?
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[He sighs and kisses his cheek even as he blushes faintly. A little light PDA as a treat and another affirmation. Anything to help those dark feelings settle a bit.]
It would be immensely satisfying. Maybe even fun. [The frustration with Wukong is Real.] But I suppose if the pepper is easier, I have peppers like that.
...unless you've worked through my whole stash. [He looks at MK, raising an eyebrow.]
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I blew through everything trying to cook up to inferno. We'll need to get some more and find something super hot.
Then we just gotta get him to eat it. Or make him eat it. One of the two.
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[ Macaque barely doesn't roll his eyes at Red Son blushing, he so does not care about your little affectionate display, he's focused on getting Wukong back to himself because this is intolerable on every single level. ]
It's a lucky thing that you have a line on some peppers that might work at all. Otherwise we'd be stuck wishing for one and I understand that can sometimes take a bit. He can't stay like this that long.
[ Is Macaque's vehemence about reversing Wukong's amnesia surprising? Maybe, because Wukong suddenly loves him again and isn't that what he wanted? It definitely isn't, not like this. This is worse than torture, every single thing about it feels false and grating and mocking. Like fate sneering at what Macaque has been wishing for. ]
...I can get him to eat it. He trusts me right now. [ Macaque finds something very interesting to stare at on the floor. Nothing could get him to make eye contact as he says that. ]
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Of course you did. [He sighed. It can never be easy.] The attempts were sweet though. [A light tightening of the hug. Not trying to make him feel bad.]
[He looks to Macaque and he can understand the desperation. For all he had been willing to make out with Porty in a closet, he had known it was going to hurt later. Close enough to the real thing to pretend it was the same at the time, but ultimately would leave a bitter aftertaste. It had been the same with the WereMonkey, where part of him had craved the affection. But had made it hurt all the more, thinking he couldn't have MK.]
[He nudges MK, come on, Monkie Man, help comfort a sad monkey. Before letting go, moving to stand to the side of Macaque and MK. His tail appearing to keep itself wrapped at MK's waist, but gently touching Macaque's arm, testing what kind of comfort he might want.]
I can talk to the sellers. They have all these waivers to sign, but I bet I can get them to tell me where they grow. Go there, do a little spring magic, bet I can crossbreed one that even hurts me to eat. That should do it for him.
And if that doesn't work, we get a boulder. Then we move to the spells and meditation. And if that doesn't work, we chuck him in the scroll. The last one will definitely work. [It would just also be the most painful way to do it.] So Wukong will be put back to normal, it's just a matter of how nice it is. But we have a lot of nicer, quicker options, so odds are on our side.
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I know there isn't anything the three of us can't do if we put our heads together. Come on. We saved the world before. We can get hot peppers, get Monkey King to eat them, and get it all back to normal.
And if we gotta, we'll find a boulder. A not too hard one. And you can both drop it on him. Then we never tell him who threw it ever. Okay?
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[ A lie is easy. Cold and cruel and heartless. That's what he needs this whole amnesiac misadventure to be, a charade he's playing at, a performance. Toying with someone's heart instead of his being the game board. ]
[ And if warmth gets through, he might start to crave it. Might get used to it. He might grow accustomed to being the one Wukong loves and he can't do that, because losing that twice is not something he can endure. ]
[ Macaque's tail lashes a few times and he rubs at the right side of his forehead as he contemplates changing the subject. Anything else, anything. The matter is quite frantic inside his head, though that aspect barely shows. MK and Red Son can probably see Macaque's protective walls closing him in like layer upon layer of iron portcullises slamming down. Fortunately, there's an obvious thing to discuss now: ]
Be sure to get more than a few peppers in case it takes some doing. I'm thinking the more approaches we have to get him to eat it voluntarily, the better. A slow escalation that feels natural. Maybe you two can make dinner for us all, present the peppers as a rare find, something locals do to prove their strength. I'll try to coax him into trying one. Maybe place a bet with him and let him define the terms, he's a sucker for a challenge like that. [ This will require some active flirting but Macaque forces down whatever feelings try to rise up in thinking about it, it's just a lie in service of a goal, he can do it. And it's not like he'll have to pay up since if he's successful, Wukong will be back to normal right away, and a normal Wukong would never want to collect his winnings from that sort of wager. ]
That should work, but no sense taking chances. If it doesn't, MK can start in on some ego-stroking about how he's sure the great Monkey King can handle it, all that hero worship stuff. If I do that, he'll suspect something, but from a new monkey friend it would make sense to him.
If all else fails, Red Son can get contemptuous and accuse him of being unable to handle it, and then eat one yourself. MK and I can act impressed by it. That will almost certainly do it, Wukong hates being shown up, especially in front of me, especially by someone he doesn't like. [ And he has taken quite a disliking to Red Son already. It would make Macaque wonder if something subconscious was at play if that was something he would allow himself to consider in the slightest. ]
If all that fails, then we'll have to force it somehow. Or trick him. MK, can you clone a peach around one of the peppers? Or maybe we can get some of the pepper ground up in a drink, it's not like he has to swallow the thing whole. Would your bartender vampire serve him some peach flavored thing with a surprise in it? I could probably talk him into that club under other pretenses. [ Pretenses which we are Not Thinking About although Macaque is starting to wonder if his head might straight up explode anyway. ]
[ He's dearly hoping that this is Monster Transformation Rules and Wukong won't remember much, if any, of it. But then it probably doesn't matter, the very moment Wukong is back to normal, Macaque is going to start planning on getting bitten by a truth mushroom and having the conversation they need to have before anything else can happen. He can't keep on this way if this place is going to keep throwing vicious change-ups. He's exhausted and needs an end point. At least after a little forced honesty he won't have to worry about hiding anymore and at this point that sounds like a welcome relief indeed. ]
...And then yeah, if that fails then the boulder. He'll be fine.
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[He got the message loud and clear. Pulling his hand away from Macaque. He wasn't going to force comfort onto him, not with this mess. At least not of his own volition, that's a far too big judgement call about the nuances of people that he isn't going to take the lead on.]
Wukong definitely hates backing down from me. [There has Already Been An Incident.] Its ridiculously easy to provoke him if need be. It should be no problem to make him dinner since he just invited himself into my house. Because people have to keep showing up before I have a proper guest room set up. [It keeps happening and its maddening for the house shuffling he has to do Every Time.]
He also invited you Macaque.
And Saya would. Saya would probably drink some of it herself.
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Watching the two of them plan was nice. He was good at plans and these were good plans. Like a bunch of good plans. The one bad thing was that the heat might dwindle if they were trying to get it into him one after another. Monkey King might be able to handle it if it went up and up and up like that. It was best to try and hit him with one big punch. He smiles softly.]
Great ideas. And I think we need to hit him once. One big punch but with all these plans. If we get him to dinner, get him to eat food that is high acid and some sweet ones. It will get his taste buds to open up. Then we give him a fake peach but it is actually the peppers. The hottest ones we got all in it, seeds and all. He thinks it'll be sweet and tangy and boom! It's hot peppers. He won't know what hit him.
Aaaand if that somehow doesn't work, we have the boulder tied up on the roof and just drop it on him the second it doesn't work.
Big surprise head bonk there. So yeah. We got a plan.
[Another jolt of gold and MK winces as his form flickers. His emotions were still going haywire.]
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[ Macaque glances up as MK glitches, but doesn't move nor alter his expression beyond the very slightly twitch of an eyebrow. He can't afford to get emotional about anything right now since it feels like he'll break if he starts in, so he takes it in and assumes Red Son's got it if MK needs something. ]
That'll be it, then. How long does it take to retrieve the peppers?
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I know how to get the most bite out of a pepper. It'll be no problem. [The Inferno wasn't just about the ingredients, it was about preparing them in such a way to get the most out of them. There was good reason they had to have waivers at the food stall.]
It should only be a few days to get ones hot enough. Or find where hot enough ones grow and I can force it.
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[It is the least he can do. And it would hurt but at least Monkey King liked him like this. They could hang, it just wouldn't have the same weight as it used to. At least, not for Monkey King.]
He wants to train me on monkey form stuff anyway. That should eat up a lot of time.