So Cool To See You Responded To My Ask! Your Idea Is Super Good, And I Can See Wally Having A Crisis

A World Without Him

Chapter 3

Tang waits a moment in front of the boat door, hearing a faint commotion coming from the other side.

Then the door swings open, with a cheery blue giant standing inside. "Tang! It's good to see you, my friend! Come inside, I'll be with you in a moment." He walks away from the door to make space.

"Ok, thank you, Sandy." Tang replies as he enters, closing the door behind him.

Sandy's boat always had a calming feeling to it. Maybe it was the color scheme, with shades of blue for the walls and soft browns, yellows, and oranges used for decor and furniture

Or maybe it was the atmosphere, with the copious amounts of friendly therapy cats, the lingering smell of tea, and maybe even the occasional rock of the boat from the waves.

Whatever it was, Tang was glad as it gradually calmed his nerves.

He had sat down on a plush couch with a coffee table in front with sandy in the side kitchen, most likely brewing tea.

Almost as soon as he relaxed into the cushions, a calico cat with bright amber eyes pounced onto his lap.

"Oof- heh. Hey there, Stella." Tang greeted the rambunctious cat. Stella had been bothering Tang ever since the gang came back to Metrapolis with things like small pounces or bites on his fingers.

He thought it was a bit annoying, but he did still keep extra cat treats in his messenger bag whenever he's planning on visiting Sandy.

Speaking of, Sandy had seemingly finished whatever tea he had been making as he came back to the sitting area, tray in hand.

He put the tray down on the coffee table and carefully handed Tang a steaming cup of tea. Sandy took one for himself as he sat to Tang's left, and Tang noticed the cat paw pattern that adorned the cup. He smiled to himself.

"So Tang, how was that book you mentioned? I remember you saying how the images were grainy and underdeveloped. Mytho... eh..."

"Mythos. The Mythos Sites: Professional Study. I finished reading it last night. I don't know why I did, though, because it felt like reading a last-minute book report done by a five year old!" He exlaimed loudly, waving his free hand in the air before taking a sip of his tea. Ooo, lavender.

"Haha! I can see why you didn't like it that much. I thought it might've been good since it's about Journey to the West and had a good summary." Sandy says, swirling his tea before taking another drink.

"It's not your fault, Sandy. It did look promising on the cover and in the intro," Tang comforted before grumbling into his cup. "...but it just devolved into ramblings about how these Mythos Sites "prove that the world was controlled by aliens" and "how the earth is hollow with otherworldly beings living inside" blah blah blah." Tang mocked as he moved his hands sporadically, almost spilling his tea on Stella, who just jumped and ran away.

"I still feel a bit bad, though. Hmmm... oh! Tang!" He suddenly says, leaning over to look at Tang. "Did you bring your sketch book?"

He reaches into his messanger bag and pulls out a small leather-bound notebook. "Yeah? I take it with me everywhere."

Sandy just smiles as he offers Tang a hand. "Then let's go and find some inspiration!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

In the end, Sandy had taken an entire canvas with him, paint pallette and all, while him and Tang wandered around Metrapolis looking for things to draw and paint.

They went to Pigsy's first, Tang with the excuse of getting "everyday life" sketches. They ended up talking with Pigsy most of the time, barely doing anything, but Tang did get some quick sketches of Pisgy's cooking process.

When they left, they had found a flower shop with sunflowers on the logo. Tang sat down next to Sandy as he started to sketch, sometimes looking at the painting next to him.

The next spot was the main square, full of advertisements and skyscrapers. This is where the weather station is, broadcasting new weather updates and changes.

The final stop was the library, in the back with the lamp and city records. The atmosphere was nice. Sandy had pulled out a third canvas from... somewhere, and is now skimming through random books off the shelves.

Tang was just reading a new edition of Monkey Cop: Back in the Streets, as he had also finished his sketches, when he suddenly heard rounds of footsteps entering the library.

This is when he suddenly remembered what he set that alarm for yesterday, and why he had set it up in the first place.

It was the day where the new book of "The Monkie Kings Bride" had been set to be shelved (one adaptation he personally doesn't like, too many cliches and it has a weird artstyle to him)

And he knew exactly what fans were coming... the chaos that would ensue. He needed to get Sandy and him out of there before they were suffocated by the crowd.

"Hey, uh, Sandy? We need to leave. Like, now." He stated as he quickly stuffed his sketch book, pencils, and erasers back into the messanger bag.

"What's wrong Tang? Why do we have to leave now?" Sandy asked as he started to follow Tang through the bookcases. "Why are we- oh. Oh, now I understand."

"Aw, CRAP." Why do I always get stuck with the annoying side plots?

The entrance is no longer visible, as hordes of people come in and group around the doors, waiting for that stupid book.

"Ughh..." Tang groaned as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes.

Great. Just great. Now he had to either a) push through the GIANT crowd to get through the overflowing entrance, b) wait for an opening to get through, or c) find out some other way out-

"Hey Tang?" Sandy speaks, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, uh, yeah, Sandy?" He says nervously. He has never liked crowds, and he doesn't want to stay here more than he has to.

"Can we go out through there?" Sandy points to a... fire escape door. Wow, how convenient!

*phew* "Thanks, Sandy." Tang says as he dodges a few stragglers on his way to the door, waving Sandy to come with.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They both walk out of the side alley that the library was connected to, swerving through the smaller outside crowd.

"Oh dang, I totally forgot about that! *huff* Sorry, Sandy." Tang says as he leans against a store wall.

"It's alright Tang. In any case, I really enjoyed today! I really liked getting out of the boat for a bit, and I'm very excited to hang up our paintings!" Sandy reassures.

"Heh, thanks, Sandy. I hope we can do something like this again!" He smiles. He then starts to wave Sandy goodbye.

Tang gets home without any issues. No annoying voices, loud music, or big fights. Just pure white noise in the bustling city, and the breeze.

He's glad for that. Everything is ok, and will be ok. He wants everything to stay like this.

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A World Without Him

Chapter 2

Tang stopped mid-step, shoulders tense, looking around himself for any source of that voice.

He waited a couple of moments, then sighed "Of course..." as he continued his walk to his apartment. He's had moments like this before, where he would think he heard some random voice speak in his ear, then hear nothing afterwards.

Tang just thought it was because of his recent bouts of sleep deprivation or maybe it was just his normal amount of exhaustion from the whole LBD situation.

So, he usually just ignored those little hallucinations for his own sanity.

Yet, no one would notice if he started to walk a bit faster down the sidewalk.

After a couple of seconds, Tang started to pass the familiar yellow streetlights of his road, including all the lights from the different storefront signs in the area.

He finally started to relax as his shoulders lowered. The familiar sights helped calm his mind. Yeah, this happens all the time, don't freak out, I don't know what I was-

'I don't even know where to begin with... all of that'

He stopped again; it was a different voice,a bit lower. And two in a row? Seemingly in, well, a conversation? Heh, that's... weird. Weirder than usual.

Just keep going, it's fine. Maybe some sleep will fix whatever's going on with me.

Tang starts to walk again; a bit faster in pace

'Why are we even bothering with keeping him alive again?'

He's now speed walking, and starting to breath a bit heavier.

'You know we shouldn't say that about him. Even if he would be better to us dead'

Just a bit more, and he'll be back at his apartment. Just ignore them like always.

'I know that, we can't even touch him anyways, I just-'

'OH SH-'

Tang startles from the sudden volume of the voice, jumping back a bit.

Just a second after, a car swerves right where he was just standing, whipping Tang' small braid, messanger bag, and clothes from its speed.

Tang' ears were ringing as he takes a few deep breathes, one hand on his chest and the other gripping his bag strap, just standing on the crosswalk, with the sudden realization that he was jailwalking while stuck in his thoughts.

With one final breath and a grimace, he starts to walk again.

Silence followed his final steps to his apartment. With just a small breeze flowing through the alleys, and the occasional flicker and crackle of the streelights.

There weren't any more voices after that.

After a few more minutes, Tang finally reaches the steps towards his door, too tired for any more "excitement" this night.

He pulls his ring up, fumbling through the different keys, looking behind him a few times, as he finally let's his shoulders fall, and unlocks the door.

He closes the door as soon as he's inside and sets down his messenger bag next to a small table close to the door.

Tang' place is a small studio apartment, with only a couch and coffee table in the main space, a small kitchen in the corner, and a twin bed with a lamp and bedside table.

There's not much furniture, and everything seems a bit bare even with almost every inch of his apartment being covered in books.

But this doesn't really matter to Tang right now.

He just goes through the motions after that, put the keys on the tray, hang up the coat, take shoes off, throw them next to the small table, walk to bed, put phone and glasses on bedside table, take out hair, and then he blacks out as soon as his head hits the pillow.

Tang dreams of nothing that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Why did he jump?'

'Stop thinking about it.'

'He couldn't have heard us right? I mean if he were to find out-'

'Hey. Let's just... forget it. Don't say anything.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tang awakes groggy and restless, feeling tired as though he hadn't slept all night.

He never was a morning person anyway, but while he did sleep through his alarm, he still has plans for today: ones that he couldn't really cancel at the last minute.

So with a groan, Tang sat up out of bed, put his glasses on, and started to get ready for the day.

"Of course I have to have some manic episode before sleeping through an alarm today. I really don't know what I did to deserve this." He grumbled as he kept messing up his hair, uncoordinated hands still wrapped in sleep pulling on the knots, so he just did a short, messy low bun.

Good enough for me.

Tang then does his teeth, clothes, and heats up a small thing of Eggos he found laying next the the toaster.

When he finally checks his phone, he finds out it's 10:32 AM. Which is better than expected, but still a bit too late to make it to Sandy's on time.

Tang curses as he sends Sandy a text that he's going to be a bit late. He then grabs the freshly heated Eggos, his coat, keys, and bag as he walks through his apartment door, shutting and locking it behind him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tang walked as fast as he could towards the docks where Sandy and his boat were hanging out for the day.

It was decently far from his apartment, and since he didn't have any mode of transportation, he had to trek it himself.

He often took shortcuts through alleys and between market stalls. He's gotten attuned on how to smoothly move between crowds, which is basically just trying not to bump into things. Better than before, at least.

Today he went through the Market Street on his way to Sandy's, passing by many stalls selling different types of food, clothing, and trinkets.

There was one that piqued Tang' interest, a stall centered around Journey to the West, but all it had was knock-off plushes and poorly made hoodies for tourists.

After that, he tried not to lose too much of his focus through all the noise and people.

He swerved behind and in front of stalls, trying to find the alley behind a certain ceramics stall that leads close to the docks.

Tang continued to walk through the stalls for a good while, which wasn't that pleasant considering yesterday nights events.

But someone must have given him a break as he finally spotted the alley behind the ceramics stall, with an orange mark on the visible side of the dumpster helping him to remember.

"Oh thank goodness." Tang huffed as he slowly moved through the alleyway.

"Take a left, then right, then straight forward, then down the black steps..." he mumbles as he navigates the alleys of Metrapolis, having walked through them several times before.

When he finally emerges at the docks, he sees the blue of Sandy's boat right away. Tang takes a small breather before pacing up to Sandy's boat, hopping over the small space between the boat and dock, and lightly knocking on the door.

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Chapter Announcement!

I have been struggling to get the motivation to write something for the next chapter. Like I have said before, I have many ideas for what should happen, I just don't really know how to put them into words. To make up for this, I'll try to update the existing chapters onto ao3 a bit faster than I would usually post a chapter here on Tumblr. This will be easier because I copy and paste along with touch-ups, which I dont have to write new plot points for. I hope this won't be too inconvenient for people who actually want a new chapter, but these rewrites will most likely have new info as I flesh out scenes or add more character to have a situation play out better! This will also help ao3 catch up to the Tumblr amount of chapters. With this announcement, I hope you all have a good day and will enjoy the chapters on ao3! (Ps, I will also upload the new ao3 chapter links here for anyone who wants them)

I give thee, more Tang doodles!

I put more effort into this as it's more like a character sheet than anything. I also made a weapon design I am happy with! I think it fits Tang well. (also, don't mention how drastically inconsistent my style is. It just morphs whenever I try to draw this guy I guess)

Also, here are some close-ups of the writing. If you can't read my chicken scratch, then it is listed under the images.

Image 1: Wrapped hands

You don't wanna know how long this man(?) spent annotating this thing

Image 2: weapon from dead friend

Oooo, spooky

Sure!!!! I have now given you a hug! 🧡

A World Without Him

Chapter 5

Light shines onto Tangs' face after a couple of hours; he had shut his eyes and tried to rest at least a bit before going out. But that didn't really work, as he felt like he was a living zombie.

He sighed to himself before rolling onto his side, looking out the uncovered window. The sun was shining directly onto his face through it, making the window almost impossible to see.

Finally, he clumsily reached over to the bedside table to grab his glasses, grabbing at air a few times before standing and walking over to the bathroom.

In the mirror, his hair stuck up in every direction, having a soft halo of orange, probably from the overwhelming sunlight. He went through the motions of brushing and putting his medium-length hair up into a low ponytail.

Tang eventually walked back out freshened up and went straight to the "groceries" he got last night from the convenience store.

He looked at all the things that were just sitting in plastic bags all night before groaning and actually putting everything away. Y'know, like a respectable adult. Shut up already.

He took a little longer than usual, accidently putting the milk in the cabinets and the ramen boxes in the freezer in his drowsiness.

When he was finally done, he took a random box of off-brand cereal and started to eat the small things of carbs like chips out of the box. Just to get some food in him before lunch.

He sat onto his couch, snuggling up with two different blankets. He seemed colder than usual, feeling like he wasn't producing heat at all, like he was basically hollow. He didn't like the feeling.

Tang didn't want to move at all, but sitting in one place wasn't doing much help. So after he munched a bit more on the cereal, he violently threw the blanket onto the floor and set the box back on the counter.

He walked to the entrance of his apartment and put his shoes on before opening the door. The silence was deafening as he walked down the stairwell.

When he reached the door to the outside, he slumped in relief; hearing muffled voices and speeding cars, as well as feeling the beaming sun on his face.

He felt like just staring at the sun until the rays blinded him even more. But he knew that would be counterproductive to his singular hobby of reading, so he quickly looked away.

He ended up looking in front of him to the street. He saw a few teens walk along the sidewalks, store owners opening up shops, and fliers flying in the breeze that always went through this part of town.

He found the fliers particularly interesting as there was something new on top of the missing cat posters and cleaning service ads.

It was colorful, with no water damage, and seemingly stapled on just this morning. It showed a cartoon library with the title of "NOW HIRING FULL-TIME LIBRARIANS AND ASSISTANTS - No experience required!" shown at the top for the metrapolis library, then the phone number at the bottom in slips.

Tang stopped for a moment, considering the job. He hasn't had a job in over 3 years. He's mostly just relied on the previous funds while wallowing in whatever mood he felt each day in the past years.

He looks back to the colorful paper, knowing how the colors will eventually dull and rot after a single storm. He doesn't know how to feel. So, he tears a slip from the bottom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Getting the job was... easier, than expected. He walked into the building after calling for an interview at about 2:00 PM, and went to the front desk, asking the person running it about the flier.

The guy looked up at him with tired eyes under a ball cap, seemingly just there for standby, and pointed at the neon arrow poster on one of the bookcases. "Just follow the random arrow posters." He said before laying his head into his arms on the desk.

Tang huffed before following the arrows, leading him into the back of the library, and through a staff only door. He walked past two other doors, then just stared at one door with at least 10 signs pointing at it.

He shook his head before knocking on the door, waiting a moment, and being let inside. What a waste of paper.

The older women interviewing him barely asked any questions, just some "How old are you?" and "Do you have anything we need to accommodate for?" types of questions.

She seemed satisfied with his answers before giving him a lanyard to fill his name into. Tang was set to start tomorrow as a full-time librarian with another guy named Allan as his assistant. The work was supposedly simple, just stuff like rearranging and shelving books while scanning them in and out for the public.

Even though he wouldn't get much out of this job, just $10 an hour, it's nice to have something going on other than staring up at his ceiling every day.

After saying his thanks and goodbyes, he walked home in silence, passing all the lights, getting back, and locking the door at 5:08.

He felt a bit lighter today as he threw his shoes next to the doorway. He sat down on his couch before taking out his phone and seeing it had been blowing up.

The thing blowing up was the group chat with him, Pisgy, Sandy, Mk, and Mei, which was flooding with pictures from Mei during another demon attack, with Mk either in the air or in the mid fighting pose with a giant bug demon.

The final two posted were one with the bug demon face down in the cracked concrete, with Mk smiling up to the camera with a couple of bruises lining his face and arms.

The other was Mk, seemingly unharmed with one thin layer of bandage around his forearm, back at his apartment holding some brown sugar bubble tea, with Mei holding up her matcha bubble tea, taking a selfie together.

Tang sent a thing of congrats along with all the others from Sandy and the one from Pisgy. Everyone then went on about their days, how Sandy had apparently dropped lots of his tea into the water under boat from trying to avoid a cat on deck.

Pisgy barely said anything, but told everyone he was completely swamped at the restaurant with all the new customers, slightly giving Mk the hint that his help in being the delivery boy would be much appreciated by now and something he should've been doing all day.

Tang gave his few cents here and there, asking if Sandy had been trying to recreate the Boston tea party, which no one but him got, and laughing at Pisgy's misfortune, saying things like: "Well, if you have all those undelivered orders, you might aswell give them to me!" and "Don't be 2 hard on Mk he literally just defeated another demon! Let him have at least 10 mins or rest for rn."

Tang then told them about his new job, slipping it in after Pisgy finished his rant about work ethic. Sandy replied excitedly, giving him a smile emoji after some more congrats. Pisgy stated he could finally work to pay his overflowing tab, digging into him that he couldn't stay a freeloader forever. But, he also gave his congrats after another rant of text.

Those were the only responses before they moved onto other topics, like Mk talking excitedly about his new Monkey King video game that he got for a discount after defeating the bug guy for saving a Play Go shop.

Tang didn't really have the energy to reply to everything going on in the chat after a while, with him not being directly called to for over 30 messages. So, he decided to turn notifications off, and finally get some rest.

He sat up as he turned the notifications off, and walked to his bedroom. He threw himself onto the mattress after putting his phone and glasses on his bedside table.

The window in his bedroom was bright with neon lights and the barest hint of moonlight. It comforted him in a way; the natural lighting of the city drowning out any dark corners and such.

He rolled onto his back, pulling up the covers to get into a proper sleeping position. He does have his first day of work since 3 years tomorrow. He might as well have a bit of motivation to get some rest for the first time in a month.

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