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[forgingfires]

"You have contacted the great Red Son! Leave a message after the beep and keep it brief. If this is about a repair job, state the object and problem."

Comments

[forgingfires]

I know. I know that's his feeling. I just don't understand why. Where it comes from.

His friends adore him. He has amazing ability. He can find joy in so many things. As far as hero work goes, his track record doesn't have anything THAT terrible.

Where did all that self doubt come from? Is it just the hero mentle or was it always there?

[castaside]

That kind of feeling doesn't appear out of nowhere, and having your idol choose you as his successor is going to amplify whatever's already there. Power shows you who you are, I believe is the saying.

Feeling like he can't measure up, like he's not good enough to protect his friends or the world at large since people keep getting hurt as he figures things out, like others always choose someone else first even despite objective evidence... it's hard to refute. And then he sees what it did to Wukong, how it isolated him, how he had to eventually go after everyone he loved.

MK being who he is, that's why he's the one for the post. But he's doubting if he can do it, if he even wants it. Especially since he was thrust into it all of a sudden, he didn't have millennia to get there like Wukong did.

So yeah, some of it is that heroics is a fucked up, self-sacrificing job that tends to attract fucked up, self-sacrificing people. Some of it was always in him. Some of it is expectations, both from himself and around him. Some of it is fear. It's a lot of things.

--None of them insurmountable, by the way.

[forgingfires]

Hmm. [He listens, thinking it over. He supposed it made sense. Pressure did like to make the small cracks into big ones.]

It won't be insurmountable. At least coaxing seems to do something.

I need to actually start his training for that monkey form of his. The distractions are less severe now.

[castaside]

I guess he doesn't have much choice but to agree to it anymore. [ Since weremonkey is a thing. ]

I'm around if you need me. [ He can actually train someone without being a complete ass. ]

[forgingfires]

Did you ever struggle with your abilities? When it comes to the monkey form itself, that would be a Wukong and you thing.

I'm helping him to connect with a power he's terrified of. Learn to not be terrified, control how....erratic the energy it is.

[castaside]

Not in a few millennia. You get used to these things. When Lady Bond Demon was infecting me, that was a struggle but I still managed it. [ She wasn't controlling him in exactly the same way as Wukong, so. ]

That sort of thing comes with safety and experience, two things he's never really had. Having more people around who could contain him if needed will help with the safe feeling, and having you there for emotional support. Making sure he's out in the wild, somewhere isolated, so there's less collateral damage.

The experience, there's no way to gain that but to gain it, unfortunately.

[forgingfires]

Hm, about all I expected. I hadn't been sure how well a bond works, but it works well for Dragon Girl.

And it did work somewhat when I was a child, but I think I was just too young for it to ever go well.

[castaside]

It can't hurt, especially someone like MK. Leaving him alone with things will give enough space for his darker thoughts to surface.

[forgingfires]

True. And the dark thoughts are the worst thing when you have a power you're afraid of.

[That he knows well.]

[castaside]

It's important to note that his progress usually came from necessity. He might respond to training differently. Still try it, of course, but it's possible you'll have to get creative.

[forgingfires]

Of course, of course. I did train the Dragon Girl and that took...

Quite a lot of creativity.

She was a quick learner, but it took a few different exercises to figure out what she was responding well too.

[castaside]

It'll be fine. You'll figure something out, especially with so many of us around.

[forgingfires]

I know. Noodle Boy is trusting me to help with something that scares him, I'm not going to fail him with that.

[castaside]

Good. [ Macaque grins in a way that is both friendly and implicitly threatening. Don't fail MK or there will be Problems, and he actually like you. ]

[ He takes a long drink. ]

Speaking of his monkey form, any advice on dealing with the weremonkey? Other than "be ready for affection, like it or not".

[forgingfires]

He's very much base instinct. Complex thought isn't happening at all. He's very protective and sensitive to conflict and very much gives a vibe of 'the fight ends or I'm ending it' and we don't want him to end the fight.

[castaside]

So path of least resistance, do what he wants. [ Not really his strong suit, but luckily MK has always had the cheat code. ]

And avoid fighting with Wukong, I guess.

[forgingfires]

Basically.

Very much don't fight Wukong.

The Weremonkey is closer to monkey form versus human form.

[castaside]

[ The heaviness of this sigh ]

I can keep a lid on it for two nights if he can.

[forgingfires]

....should I see if I can find a sleep drug that would work on you two?

[castaside]

It wouldn't be a bad idea as a backup.

[ WHO KNOWS where their heads will be at after the lich thing and the awkward spooning aftermath thing. ]

[forgingfires]

I'll find something. There's plenty of things that overcome the immortal constitution. Pretty sure there's something in my notes already.

[Look into sleep drugs to counter sleep.]

[castaside]

Who knows, maybe you'll get a this-place-equivalent of a patent out of it. Figure out a way to passively earn all the moon-coins you want.

[forgingfires]

Pretty sure anything that keeps you two under all night would kill someone even without the immortal constitution factor.

[castaside]

Who's to say there's not a market for that?

[forgingfires]

Oh, there's definitely a market.

But then Noodle Boy would be sad.