[ 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.
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no subject
[ 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.
no subject
[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.
no subject
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.]
no subject
[ 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?
no subject
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.
no subject
[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.