A World Without Him - Blog Posts

Announcement!

I am currently in another country for my spring break, and I won't be able to post this week. That is all; I just wanted to let you all know why I didn't update and that I will continue the regular schedule next week!

Also:

I got freaking jumpscared when I looked out of the tour bus. I don't know why he's here. I didn't even know there was still material about him until I saw this ad on the back of a double-decker bus. I don't really know what to think about this.

A World Without Him

Chapter 8

(TW minor violence against furniture and some self-loathing thoughts)

Tang could hear the voices through the piles of broken bookshelves and ceiling bits. He didn't think they were hallucinations, as they got more frantic near his safe area and how he heard big pieces being carefully dragged outside.

He didn't know what to do. It wasn't like he could move all the layers covering him himself. Maybe if he yelled out, someone could finally hear him.

"H-hello?! Is anyone out there?!" He shouted with a shakey voice. Almost right after, he could hear the talking stop and someone sprinting over the rubble towards his area.

"Hey there; I'm with the Metrapolis first responders! Where are you?!" A woman yelled out into the crash site.

Tang scrambles up to the edge of his collapsed prison. "I'm down here! There's lots of debris covering me, but I'm alright! Please try digging to my left first. My friend is down there, and please hurry!" He yelled with a bit of desperation.

"Ok, stay there and don't move sir! We'll have more people here soon to clear all this out!" She shouted in response, most likely sprinting towards where the ceiling fell...

Tang decided to stop that train of thought. He needed to wait for the backup to arrive; someone to haul him out of here. Like always, he supposes.

So he waits. The unusual silence gives way to the grating of stone, wood, and drywall as he knows they're digging out Allan. He'll be okay. Tang stopped him from running right underneath the collapsed ceiling, so he's still alive. He must be.

Tang also knew when reinforcements arrived. The harsher steps from heavy-duty boots along with the many steps he hears overlap basically gave them away.

He stayed silent, though, so as not to disturb the now very delicate shell of debris surrounding him.

He waited for a while before he could hear a big chunck getting thrown from his left and on top of his area. The added weight caused pieces to break off and his "ceiling" to give way, now with it barely crushing his skull.

He gasped, then coughed from the debris that was shaken loose, covering him in a layer of dust. Pieces of splintered wood and some jagged metal now stick out in the corners.

More yelling started after that. Tang mostly just focused on his breathing again.

When he got back to his senses yet again, he heard picks and gloved hands clawing at his barrier of debris.

He almost cried in relief as the moonlight stone through the new cracks in his dome. He slowly watched as the hole got bigger and bigger, with more and more hands helping to carefully dig him out.

Once the hole was big enough, someone reached their hand down for Tang to grab. He gripped it tightly as he was slowly risen out of his confines.

He blinked at the sudden change in light, still out of it from his time trapped in that place. He was suddenly coerced to an emergency vehicle in the library parking lot, seeing the many paramedics wheeling in people from the library storage area.

He looked at his surroundings as they walked; he could see the ceiling was in total shreds at this point, with the standing walls looking like swiss cheese.

All the people who made it to the storage unit gained only minor injuries, as they all seemed to be walking, talking, and didn't have any blood on them.

As he continued to move towards the emergency vehicle, the ground covered in rubble turned to concrete as they made it to the sidewalk. He could feel his shoulder throbbing with pain as he sat down for the medics on site.

They did everything routinely, giving him a shock blanket, testing his cognitive ability, and so what. "You're all right, sir. Your shoulder just needs padding, and no sudden movements for it to heal up properly. You're very lucky, and you can go back to your residence now."

Tang just nodded in response, seeing them walk back towards another shock patient. He slumped into himself and took off his glasses, rubbing his temple.

Why couldn't I ever do something right, he thought. His thoughts stirred to Allan. Is he really okay? I should've done better. What if he's dead?! He can't be. He'll be okay. He'll be fine. You'll be fine.

He grumbled to himself, stopping his train of thought. He put his glasses back on and stood up, looking out for any free paramedics to ask about Allan.

He had only taken a few steps before a group of paramedics came barreling into the parking lot, rushing past him with many of them hurrying a gurney to the closest ambulance.

Tang could only catch a glimpse of the patient, but he saw their hoodie. Tang almost threw up when he saw him. It was Allan. Allan, who now had a severed leg. The bloody end of his leg dripped red liquid down onto the ground, with the jagged bone jutting out the end.

"Allan!" Tang yelled out, running up to the gurney. He was held back by the other paramedics, their words becoming jumbled as he only focused on Allan.

The rest of him didn't look much better from what Tang could see. Many scrapes and bruises covered his arms and legs, with debris covering his entire body. His eyes were glassed over with his matted hair falling on top of them. But he still had a heartbeat, even if it was a faint one.

Tang could have sworn he saw those eyes look towards him, but then the ambulance doors were closed before he could do anything else, the vehicle speeding off after they backed Tang away from getting hit.

All Tang could do was watch as they drove away, with another paramedic guiding him to a place to sit down. He had asked where the ambulance would drop off Allan so he could see him, but he was denied as he wasn't a guardian or family member.

So he walked away, back through the now dark sidewalk, and on his way home. His steps were sluggish, moving slowly as his mind went blank.

His body moved on its own as he walked into the building, up the many flights of stairs, and took out his keys to unlock his apartment.

He locked the door immeadietly after he got inside, taking off his shoes and throwing them at the wall. His other things got lost in the rubble...

Yeah, go and worry about your precious sketch book and comics as Allan is in the hospital.

Tang grimaced and looked at his apartment, everything tidy and stacked together in organized piles from his morning spree.

You were a hassle yet again. Always being dragged along because of your own incompetence.

Everything in his apartment seemed wrong. Too clean, too tidy, too nice for someone like Tang.

If you weren't there, maybe Allan would have made it to the storage room.

He didn't like the look of the room.

He could have been safe instead of carrying your weak ass around that library.

He walked up his coffee table, a vase with a single flower, and two stacks of books and papers on top of the brittle table.

He might have made it out alive if you didn't have him die-

He violently grabbed the glass vase and threw it against an empty wall.

*CRASH*

Glass scatters everywhere, some of the pieces embedding into his flimsy walls. Some even nicked Tang, but he didn't notice yet. The water from it coated the wall in a dark color.

It's your fault.

His heartbeat pounded through his ears. He took the pile papers next, ripping his useless scribbles up repeatedly until they became only scraps. His shoulder throbs with pain.

He's injured, and it's your fault.

He runs to his books after, taking handfuls and throwing them in every which way. Some hit picture frames, scattering even more glass, while some hit his other piles, causing them to tip and fall over with books, clothes, and other trinkets.

He's dead because of YOU.

"SHUT, UP!" Tang yelled. He swung his hand down onto the coffee table with startling accuracy. A sickening crunch resounded through his apartment. He could feel his tears run hot against his face.

He gasped.

The coffee table was now split in two, the impact of his hand steaming from small embers on the splintered wood. His eyes widened as he looked to his balled up hand. It had a faint orange hue.

But as Tang blinked, it was gone. Yet, when he looked back at the table, it was still steaming, just now simmering down to a small smoke.

Now, only his labored breathing could be heard as he stood still in the middle of his apartment. He could only stare at the destruction he had caused.

Now this looks perfect.

He smacked his own forehead, dragging his hand down his face. He wiped his eyes as a small breeze blew through the apartment. Maybe one of the windows got dislodged from his episode.

Tang sighed heavily before stepping carefully around the mess he made, flopping onto the ragged couch that somehow survived. His phone jumped up from his added weight before hitting the glass covered floor.

Oh, yeah. I threw it there this morning when it died...

Tang sighed slightly before picking his phone off the floor, dusting off tiny glass shards, and pressing the power button. Nothing came up. He grumbled before trekking over to his bedroom and plugging it into the charger.

He threw his glasses on his bedside table before falling face first onto his bed. The blurred shapes of his room comforted him as he rolled onto his back.

His eyes felt droopy as the colors around blurred even more. They shifted and coerced into a soft sunset orange-

*BANG, BANG, BANG*

"Tang! You better open this door RIGHT NOW!"

Tang sat up quickly, breathing fast as the knocking continued. He scrambled up and out of his bed before running to the front door, careful not to step on anymore scraps on his messy floor.

He opened the door right before his guest could harshly knock yet again. He almost had to dodge the pink fist coming his way before it pulled back suddenly.

Pigsy on all his glory stood outside Tangs door with a very peeved look on his face. Tang doesn't know if he could handle being berated for whatever he had apparently done to Pigsy after everything today.

But to his surprise, Pigsy's expression quickly turned to one of deep concern as he looked Tang up and down. "What is it, Pigsy?" Tang asked in a scratchy voice.

Pigsy didn't respond for a good minute. But when he did, almost nothing could stop that man's wrath as he started to stomp into Tang's apartment. "What the hell happened to you, Tang?! Everyone has been texting and calling you, and you never picked up! And now you look like total shit with your outfit in complete shambles! We couldn't reach you through anything, and I had to come up her myself-"

Tang hurridly pulled Pigsy back from his apartment carpet, with Pigsy now fully aware of the new "decor" he had recently put in.

Pigsy was seemingly about to go on another rant after a brief glance at his apartment, but Tang quickly hushed him. "Please, Pigsy. I don't think I can handle anything else happening today. I feel like absolute shit, I got stuck under a building for hours, and all I want right now is some peace and quiet. I promise to talk to you about this tomorrow, but for now, just give me a day, please."

Pigsy seemed conflicted at this, looking at Tang, and then past him at his apartment a few times. He eventually sighs in defeat but quickly puts up some gusto. "Tomorrow. Come by tomorrow in the morning, and you'll tell me everything. If I don't see you by noon, I'll go here and drag you there myself."

Tang just smiles at Pigsy; it's a bit strained but still genuine. "Thank you." Tang says softly. Pigsy just nodded, looking sadly at Tang as he closed the door.

Tang leaned onto the door, making sure that Pigsy's footsteps were actually leaving before letting out a breath of relief.

When he finally made it back to his bed, Tang was convinced he could drop in a heartbeat if he fell onto his bed right now.

But of course, he never got the chanceas his phone came alight and buzzed like over and over after it finally powered back on. He startled a bit, sighed, and then picked up his phone before sitting at the edge of his bed.

His phone had been blowing up with messages, missed calls, and... ads about textbook sales? Tang quickly saved the ad for later before looking through his call list.

Through his cracked phone screen, he just huffed when he saw about 26 missed calls.

Most of them were from Pigsy, with 6 from Sandy, three from Mei, and one from Mk. He hesitated a second before opening his texts. He winced as he saw there were over 40 unread messages.

Some were from the group chat, most of the first ones being pictures of Mk after the library fight holding up cheese tea a block from the library...

Tang scrolled past the pictures and instead looked for his name in any of the unread texts. He found out he was only mentioned after Mk specified where he had his most recent fight.

🌟 The Gang 🌟

8:08 PM

Mk: Yeah! It wss a HUGE guy witha a weird lookin sword this time

Pigsy: you sure you're doing ok kid?

Mk: yes im fine

Mk: the ppace we fought is in way worse shape thogh

Mei: Mk's right. When I went to pick him up, the place had been rly totaled! With the ceiling completely destroyed 'nd the walls left in complete shambles!

Sandy: Was everyone involved okay???

Mei: don't worry sm Sandy

Mei: Mk saw everyone head to the DA shelter, and they all came out fine afterwards

Mk: yeah at least the guy I fought had some sense not to aim for the flor

Pigsy: they had an entire shelter ready? Where did you even fight, kid?

Mk: it was at the Metrapolis Library

Mk: im so sad too because I can't get anymore comics from that place for awhile

Pigsy: Wait, isn't that where Tang started working a day ago?

Mei: oh yeah! I didn't see him come out of the DA shelter tho

Sandy: has anyone contacted him since yesterday?

8:09 PM

Pigsy: everyone try calling him

8:11 PM

Sandy: Tang hasn't responded to my texts or calls

Mk: i ended up having to call after texting him so many times nd he didn't pick up

Mei: he hasn't responded to me either

Pigsy: I'll keep calling him to see if he'll pick up

8:17 PM

Pigsy: he hasn't responded even once

Mk: does anyone know where he is?

Sandy: maybe someone should go to his apartment?

Mei: he has his own apartment????

Pigsy: I'm going up there to see him. I'll tell you guys if he responds or if he's even there

Tang turned off his phone after reading the last text. He could only sigh at the messages before moving to turn off all his lights, sweep most of the scattered glass to the sides, and close the open window.

When he finally got to fall onto his bed again, all he could think about was Allan. If he was okay, if he was alive, and if he could find a way to find him again.

Well, he should try that tomorrow after Pigsy's. I could try to ask about his name in any of the nearby hospitals... maybe if I... try enough of them...

And then Tang succumbed to his exhaustion, falling into a deep sleep as his world went black.

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Hahahhahahbahbaannahha /vpos /gen /lh

OH MY GOSH!!!! AHHHHHH/pos

Omg thank you!!! I love your drawings of Allan and Tang! Allan jumpscare is just the best. These boys are so traumatized fr. Also, don't worry! Allan isn't dead yet :D

Small Tang au ramble.

Along with the new A World Without Him chapter, I just want to shout out jinglingeyes for always commenting on my Tang Au chapter posts. Stupid Tumblr doesn't let me reply, so I wanted to show my appreciation through this. I always love seeing your comments, and I can't wait for your reactions to the latest chapter! I hope you and all my other readers have a good day/night!

A World Without Him

Chapter 7

(TW some violence, a collapsing building, and someone having a panic attack)

Tang was back there. Again. The void with the voices, the hands, the dragging, the scraping, the orange.

He was tired at this point. Of every night he spent getting dragged over and over just for someone sick amusement if he had to guess.

Maybe this was his punishment for something in his past life. To take his sanity and break it bit by bit until he couldn't take the sight of this place anymore.

But this time was also different.

Only silence met his ears as he floated. Nothing grabbing, glowing, or whispering in his ears. A sense of foreboding welled up in his chest.

Then he heard sounds. It wasn't anything like the previous encounters he had with this place. Only continuous buzzing reached his ears instead of the usual incomprehensible whispers.

Tang closed his eyes, hoping someone would let him stay away from whatever was making that noise. And as he said previously, he's never been that lucky.

The buzzing suddenly became violent as Tang was pushed upwards by a strong force. He could barely breathe as he clawed at whatever was dragging him up before realizing... they were cicadas. Bright orange cicadas.

Thousands, no, hundreds of thousands of cicadas were swarmed together. They were buzzing and flying around him like a barrier as that thing kept pulling him up.

Tang could hear small whispers coming from them, and he wasn't sure if he was even alive right now as the cicadas landed on his scarf. The whispers loud and clear.

'Stay' 'Don't leave' 'You have to stay here' 'Danger' 'You can't go' 'Danger' 'Somethings coming' 'You won't be able to handle it' 'Stop struggling' 'Danger' 'DANger' 'DANGER'-

'JUST. STAY. HERE.'

The cicadas started to glow, almost radioactive before blinding Tang until everything was just a nice, bright, neon orange.

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

Waking up in a cold sweat had become a reoccurring thing for Tang as he sat up violently, taking in harbored breaths.

He smacked a palm to his head, rubbing his temple before throwing himself back onto the bed. He had woken up before his alarm again.

So, he had decided to pull himself together and start getting ready. It would give him more time to pack extra snacks for him and Allan, which was a good bonus in Tang's opinion.

When he finally had a plan in motion, he pulled himself up and out of bed. He lazily walked through his small apartment, taking his brush from the bedside table to the bathroom.

And then he sat on the toilet seat while he brushed his hair, not styling it in any way before putting the brush down and taking up a toothbrush.

Now, with his mouth tingling from the toothpaste, Tang went to his fridge to look for something good for today.

He settled for some apple slices, watermelon, and some jumbo blueberrie boxes he had found for 40% off. He threw them into some plastic containers before fixing up a small bagel with green tea to drink later for lunch.

It's about 6:08 AM now, and he's fully ready for work. Which he needs to be at in a couple of hours. And the walk is only 15 minutes...

So he decided to busy himself with menial tasks he never got around to doing, like piling his books by genre and author or rearranging his closet of knick knacks from over the years. Anything to keep his mind and hands busy.

He was waist deep in the closet when his alarm suddenly went off next to his ear, making him jump and smack his phone with a good amount of force. "Owwwww," Tang whined as he picked up his newly cracked and dead phone.

He cursed as he tried all the buttons, nothing turned on, then walked to his couch, and threw it on the cushions. He sat himself right next to it as he stared up to the ceiling again.

He laid there only seconds before sighing heavily and popping himself back up, grabbing his messanger bag and walking out the door.

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

The walk to the library was uneventful; it was plain, even. Nothing caught his attention, and everything seemed eerily calm with only one or two people out and about like him.

It was probably because he left earlier than usual, but Tang still had a bad feeling.

Maybe it was because of the lack of commentary his thoughts usually made. No snark comments or observations popped into his brain like they usually did for the past weeks.

He's glad they're gone, to be honest. He thought he was going insane for the first few round of them, and this probably means he's getting over whatever he was stuck with.

The library slowly came into sight as he continued to walk. He was almost right on time as he unlocked the doors, letting himself in with his badge.

He walked steadily to his desk, throwing his messanger bag to the side and plopping himself in his chair, mentally readying himself to start opening up the library.

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

Allan came about 10 minutes later, surprised at Tang arriving before him and even starting to power up the library's computers.

"Hah! Nice to see you up and early!" Allan greeted him as he went towards the back to put away his backpack and jacket.

Tang snorted before answering. "Heh, not by choice for your information." He jested, followed by a quick laugh from Allan.

Allan came back fairly quickly, walking up to the front of Tang's desk. "So, what are we doing today?" He asked.

"It's about the same, just without the overwhelming decor and crowds of children like yesterday," Tang replied, getting up from his spot to start looking for the carts.

Which... he forgot where they were located. He internally sighed before looking back to Allan. "Do you remember where the carts are?" He asked in a grated tone.

Allan just laughed at Tang's crappy memory and gestured to follow him through the shelves.

After they got the carts and put up the assigned books, not much else was left for them to do. Nothing was missing, broken, or in need of reorganizing.

Tang was fine with this as he just pulled out some books from his messanger bag to read, but Allan became restless. He kept pacing through the library, seemingly in need of something to do.

When he finally sat down next to Tang after wearing himself out, Tang thought of a way to help. "Hey, Allan?" He asked.

"Yeah?" Allan answered, a bit absent-mindedly. "Do you like Monkey King?" "Monkey King? Well, uh, yeah, I like to read a bit of fiction based around him." Allan said quickly, seemingly not ready for the question.

Tang smirked before pulling another book out of his bag. "I have an extra book here called Monkey Cop: the Scarlet Tape. It's a mystery/action comic based on Monkey King as a cop, solving crime. It is a bit bloody, but it has amazing art and a good storyline. This is the first from the series, and I can bring the next editions if you like it."

Allan seemed a bit hesitant, staring at the comic for a hood second. Tang huffed, amused, before speaking again. "It's not like we have anything else to do, kid. And besides, I've been waiting for someone else to get into this series for a while so I can rant about theories with them."

Allan sighed before taking the book out of Tang's hand and opening up to the first page. "Okay, okay. I'll read this. It does seem interesting, but if it turns out trash, never recommend me a book again." Allan half joked.

Tang laughed at his declaration, turning back to his own book. "Sure, but I promise it's good."

Time passed by as the duo just read in each other's company, Tang having to pause and bookmark a couple of times to answer questions or check out books.

Allan started reading out of boredom but eventually seemed really invested, mu.bling theories and audibly gasping at some scenes. Tang took it as a win before reading a passage from his own book again.

About an hour and a half had passed before Allan closed the comic dramatically, slamming it on the desk and leaned back in his chair.

Tang calmly closed his own book before looking back to Allan. "Sooo~ what did'ya think?"

"That book is a freaking rollercoaster. Like, the police captain being in cahoots with the criminal undercity was wild." Allan finally answered.

"Haha, yeah. I was so shocked when I first found out. I'm just glad he isn't immeadietly offed in future chapters." Allan twisted his head to Tang. "Wait, he doesn't get killed from being revealed? I thought for sure he would be dead by the next book."

"Heh, nah. He goes through his own character arc, too. I can bring the rest of the current series if you're interested." Tang offers. "Really?! Oh my gosh, thank you!! I just need to find out how Monkey King finds the real culprit behind the Scarlet tape murders!"

He has lots of energy, just like Mk. Tang thought. He chuckled to himself as Allan continued to ramble to him about Monky Cop, adding his theories and opinions about the series here and there.

"And what even happened to the junior officer they lost during the scuffle from chapter 17?! She just disappears, and no one talks about it?!"

Tang replied with the same amount of enthusiasm. "That's what I've been saying! She barely gets referenced in the future books, but she seems to have so many questions and mysteries around her. Apparently, she wasn't even registered at the station-"

BEEEEEP, BEEEEEP, BEEEEP-

An alarm sounded from Allan's phone, shutting down the conversation. Other alarms also sounded throughout the library, echoing through the quiet halls.

Allan quickly checks his phone as his smile drops. "Crap, it's a DA alert." Tang frowns at that. "Another demon attack already?"

"Yeah, apparently." Allan huffed out, shaking slightly as he and Tang stood up together. "Of course now we have to go through the DA protocols." Tang sighed before turning on the library intercom.

"Okay, everyone. A demon attack has been spotted in the city. We advise everyone to follow the yellow arrows stuck everywhere in the library. It'll lead to stairs going down to a reinforced storage-"

The ground suddenly shakes beneath Tang and Allan, causing some books to fall off shelves and the intercom to shut off. "Please go fast!" Yelled Allan as he took Tang's arm and started to quickly maneuver through the books.

Key word tried, as another, more violent shake toppled over the shelves, blocking their way. "Ugh, we need to go the scenic route through the back sections!" Tang shouted, letting Allan drag him again.

They twisted and turned between the layout, trying to get to the room quickly through the enormous building. Small shakes continued, shoving more books to the floor and making the old building creak with every tremor.

"Go left!" Tang yelled out directions as he knew these back sections of the library well. Dust and small debris landed on them from the displacement of the old and unused spaces.

Suddenly, a large tremor came again, knocking even more shelves down with it, some cracking into pieces. Tang and Allan also lost their balance, falling to the floor with a large thud.

"Aw, shit." Tang groaned as he propped himself onto his elbows. Allan was in better shape, just landing onto his back and sitting up right after.

"We have to go now!" Allan yelled, panicking as he grabbed Tang's arm again, ready to sprint off.

But Tang doesn't move from his spot. "Don't. Move." Tang orders Allan, pulling him down to Tang's level. "What are you doing!? We need to run-" "It's almost here. We won't make it time." Tang interrupts, quickly looking over the walls and ceiling.

Allan just stares at him before protesting. "What are you even-"

*BANG*

The loud sound shocked Allan into silence as he looked to the source. A giant hole was suddenly in the library ceiling, with debris falling into the lobby.

Then he noticed what caused the hole. A giant gray demon, at least 8 feet tall, holding a massive sword, fighting against a kid with a red staff.

"Is that...?" Allan trailed off, staring at the standoff between the Monkey kid and that demon. "We need to hide." Tang suddenly whispered as he dragged Allan behind a toppled bookcase.

They can only wait as the fight continued in the library. The gray demon had a knack for dodging Mk's staff, directing sharp slashes afterward when Mk was vulnerable. All those attacks only sliced walls or bookshelves in half, though, luckily missing Allan and Tang.

Then Mk seemed to direct the demons' attacks upwards, probably so they didn't hit any more of the library. However, the ceiling started to crumble from the constant sword strikes, eventually causing one side to start collapsing.

Bigger and bigger pieces of drywall started to surround Tang and Allan. The walls start to crack with the ceiling falling in chunks. "We can't stay here!" Allan shouts, trying to stand up but stopping his efforts after a chunk nearly misses his head.

"Then what are we supposed to do!?" Tang shouts, still in his crouched position behind the acrumbled bookshelf. The rumbling got worse and worse as more pieces started to fall.

"I don't know, but we have to do something!" Allan shouts as he stands up. "We have to go back to the entrance!"

"What!?" Tang shouts, alarmed. "But that's in their fighting path! We might get hit with all those extra ceiling bits crashing down, or worse!"

Allan doesn't say anything in response, just staring at the exit. Tang can't focus, only taking in panicked breaths. But, what can they do? They don't have any protection or powers to get through that. It'll take a miracle to survive!

Tang looks up at the cracked ceiling that's slowly caving in closer and closer. But, if they stay here...

Another sword slash hits the wall above them, having it crack at an alarming degree.

He looks back to Allan. "If we do this, we have to go right now!" Allan's eyes widen before shifting to a look of determination.

Allan grabs Tang's arm again before bolting, trying his best to dodge the falling debris and attacks from the fight in the middle. Him and Tang gained small cuts and bruises from the rocks they couldn't dodge, one certain chunk hitting Tang straight in the shoulder, but they kept running.

They jumped through the splintered frames and piles pieces of wall, ducking under odd stick-outs from the walls or collapsed building. His glasses got cracked from being snagged when ducking under debris, but they still had to keep running. To make it back to the entrance.

When the light from the open doors reached their vision, Tang almost cried in relief. It was still a good bit away, but it was in their sights!

They kept running, even when their legs felt like they would fall off at any moment, when they felt like they were going off fumes.

The entrance was almost 20 feet away now. A small rumble from an attack, cracked pieces of the building falling down, the splinyered bookshelf frames blocking their way.

He was almost there. They were almost there! Tang couldn't believe it, but it was right in front of him-

'Stop.'

Tang faltered slightly, tripping over a piece of drywall, but recovered quickly.

'Stop running' 'There's danger!' You have to stop'

Oh great, now they're back and trying to get me killed-

'STOP' 'YOU HAVE TO STOP' 'HE'LL KILL YOU' 'STOP NOW' 'STAY THERE' 'STOP RUNNING' 'STOP STOP STOP STOP-'

Tang jerked his arm away from Allan, stopping in his tracks and reaching to his head. Allan ran a good few feet ahead of him before stopping and turning back to yell. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"

Suddenly, the ceiling had been struck a final time, sending most of it to the floors below. Tang stared in horror as he saw it fall near the entrance. "ALLAN-"

But he was too late. Allan started to run again, but he was too far away from the entrance to get out in time. Rubble filled Tang's vision before he could see what happened.

"Allan!" Tang shouted as he tried to run towards the entrance. But the next part of the ceiling suddenly collapsed, sending straight for where he was.

Tang could only try to take refuge in the dark corners of the library, against the wall holding his head in his hands.

He could hear his heartbeat in his ears, pumping erratically as he took uneven breaths. He knew he was shaking as tears rolled down his face.

Tang didn't know how long he was in that position for, only focusing on his breathing and trying to avoid the falling pieces of ceiling...

Wait. His breathing slowly steadied as he came to realize everything was silent. No rumbling, no breaken glass or large thuds from falling debris, no sounds of a fight or falling books.

He slowly raised his head to his surroundings. He was completely encased in broken bookshelves and broken pieces from the walls and ceiling. Slivers of light shine through the holes to his small area of refuge.

He was almost completely unharmed, except for the throbbing pain in his left shoulder and head. All he could hear from outside honking horns and a strong breeze flowing through the wreckage.

Tang just put his head back into his arms, letting tears roll down in this complete silence. He really didn't know what he did to deserve this.

Previous | Next | Start

A World Without Him

Chapter 6

Tang is back in that void. Yet, it's not a void anymore. Something is different. It's more like pure, unfiltered LIGHT.

It surrounds everything, almost making him (even more) blind just by opening his eyes.

It feels no different compared to the times before, though. As if the light is just how the place was always supposed to be.

It's unnerving if he's being completely honest.

At least this is a change from the hands that used to drag him...

Tang can actually move, too! Just barely, but still! He can actually control his body in this place for once.

And now he uses that fact to his full advantage. He swims through the blinding light, now hoping his subconscious doesn't materialize something in front of him to smack into.

He swims for a while. And a while, and a while. His body never wavers, though, as he continues through the blinding shine.

After what seems like hours, Tang starts to hear something. It's nothing like the regular overlapping voices but heavy, grating metal.

The sound moves slow in his ears, like something being slowly dragged along a concrete floor.

Tang stops in his tracks, uneasiness showering him as the noise started to get louder. And louder, and louder, And louder, and Louder, And Louder, ANd LOUder, AND LOUDER-

It stops.

He doesn't know if he should even open his eyes at this point. So he stays still, not wanting to provoke whatever was stuck to those chains.

But yet, that apparently had the opposite effect he was going for, as he heard the chains suddenly grow taunt as a huge gust of wind throws him back, forcing his eyes open in surprise.

Orange.

The color burns into his vision. The blinding colors swirled in shapes he couldn't comprehend.

Tang shoved his hands in front of his face, trying to make everything stop.

Ringing filled his ears, or something like it. He could only focus on the color. The buzzing pushed to the back of his mind.

Too bright. Everything was just. Too. Bright

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

*BEEP*

An alarm sounded next to Tang's head. He shoots his eyes open, laying still as a rock while looking up at the ceiling.

He hears the early rush outside his slightly open bedroom window. When did I open that.....

He uses his elbows to push himself up on the bed, now in a sitting position. He blinks slowly, remembering the dream in weirdly full detail.

Why was that time different again? He's not exactly sure himself. He wonders if this will keep escalating-

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

Oh, right, he didn't turn it off yet. What was that for again? Something important enough for an alarm he supposes.

Tang reaches over to his vibrating phone, checking the title of the alarm as he turns the loud thing off. The title reads: "REMEMBER JOB TODAY. NO SKIPPING OR SLEEPING THROUGH 🪪 📖*

Well, now that apparently got him motivated. Oh yeah, the library job I got yesterday... how did this process go so fast anyway?

He shouldn't think too hard about it. A job is a job, and so what if it helps develop the plot as a nice bonus?

Wait what- The phone vibrates again, snapping Tang out of his thoughts. It was a second alarm he had set the night before, so he would actually get his lazy butt up if he snoozed the first one.

Groaning, he pulled himself up from the bed to actually start being productive for the day. He does his hair and puts on one of his more decent pairs of clothes to match the lanyard. A pair of stainless brown pants and a tan shirt. Today was his first day, after all. He might as well look the least bit civilized.

The sun starts to shine through his living room window as he packs a lunch and some craft supplies in his messanger bag. You never know if he might need it when doing paperwork or when bored.

He looked out the window out of habit. It was a nice bright shade of orange. Tang looked away quickly, picking up his packed bag and heading out the door.

He already knew the library route by heart, but he still recited it as he walked down the stairwell to the street anyway. It gives his mind something to focus on.

When he reaches the bottom, he relishes in the warmth of the sun before booking it towards the direction of the library.

He lets his feet and muscle memory do most of the work. His mind occupied with the colorful scenery and his own thoughts, trying not to look up at the sky.

Go left past the bent cactus sign, oooo, a new restaurant opened next to the craft store!

The store looks like a make-your-own bakery, with all the vibrant dispensers lining the walls, adding plain looking pastries, and ice cream lining the shelves.

'We never had those things when we were alive. I feel cheated.'

'Oh, stop whining so much Em.'

Tang looks back in front of him just in time to dodge another passerby. He should really pay more attention to the sidewalk.

The closer he gets to the library, the more modern everything around him seems to be. There are still trees and greenery, obviously, just now in futuristic boxes and pots littered around the streets to make them look lively.

All the neon shops and apartments lined on the street were already making it pretty lively, though. The crowds also started to increase as he went along, having passed stranger after stranger on his walk to work through the city.

When he finally reached the library, all the bright neon and metal accents softened and only covered the bottom half of the more classical looking library.

Tang was relieved at the sight of it, hurrying through the doors with his card and almost immeadietly collapsing behind the check-out desk.

He feels the cold oak wood on his forehead, hearing the printer running and the occasional whisper or rolling of a cart.

When he finally got used to his surroundings, he took a deep breath and sat up straight, ready to start his job. He turned his head to the side and was suddenly inches away from a mop of blonde hair.

"AHHH-" Tang jolted back in his chair, falling backward onto his back.

The blonde's face immeadietly dropped as he started to string out apologies. "Oh my gosh, I am so sorry! I thought you were sleeping when I came to give you your clipboard and I went to check to see if you were okay then you got up and then I was just there and I am still so sorry-"

"It's okay, it's okay. I only got a bit spooked." Tang said, slowly standing up using the desk as support. "I've recovered from worse, trust me."

The blonde was giving the clipboard in hand a death grip but said nothing in return.

Tang sighed before deciding that he should probably try to make things a bit less awkward. "I'm Tang, the new librarian, but I bet you knew that already. Are you my set assistant? Erm..."

The blonde perked up at his mention. "Allan. I'm Allan. And, uh, I'm supposed to give you this."

Tang grabbed the clipboard and offered quick thanks, skimming through the contents while occasionally looking back at Allan.

Allan seemed like he was fresh out of high school, with some baby fat still on his face and messy short hair. He had casual clothes on, just some standard sneakers, jeans, and a gray hoodie.

He doesn't seem to be harboring any ill intent, so Tang focused back onto his clipboard, actually reading the text carefully.

Shelve all books on cart B by genre.... doesn't matter... set up for opening... lunch by 1:00... set up for charity event... huh?

He looks back down at the clipboard. He thought all he would have to do was meander around all day, doing paperwork and sorting books. It was his first day, after all.

But no, just throw more work at him. Tang sighed to himself before looking back at Allan. "Apparently, we have a charity event today. It's after lunch, though, and all the plans have already been set up for us, which is a relief. Don't know why they threw this at us for a first day, but let's just roll with the punches."

He gestures for Allan to follow him back into the library. He texted the group chat about the event if they wanted to come before talking about the scheduale. He then lazily explained the outline of the work they were doing today as he tried to find the carts he passed yesterday.

Allan followed behind at a steady pace as they passed bookshelf after bookshelf. Tang suddenly paused as he passed the same bookshelf twice, internally groaning before turning to Allan.

"Do you know where they keep the carts?"

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

Tang had told him to relax a bit, but Allan said he wanted to get it done as quickly as possible. Tang just grumbled as he continued his own way until the last book was put into place.

They finished up the shelving around 9:30, splitting up half and half between the two of them. Tang mostly skimmed through his interesting books before randomly putting them onto the appropriate shelves.

Allan put them all away in record time, though, pitching in to deal with some of Tang's pile as well after he spent 5 minutes watching when finishing his own half.

They opened the library doors at 10:00, and the day was slow after that. Tang took out some of his craft supplies, doodling on extra paper he got from the copier room. Of course, that was after he finished all his very important paperwork. Obviously. He also checked out the occasional book.

Allan wandered most of the time, coming back to Tang's desk to occasionally check up on any work he might need to do. Tang always gave him an option to draw with him, but he always refused awkwardly.

Lunch came far too late in Tang's opinion. He was already famished from everything he totally did today and really needed a break .

He almost sagged in relief when the clock behind him hit 1:00. He then quickly took out his lunch from his messanger bag and headed towards the break room after putting up a sign on the desk for people to come back after 1:30 if they needed him. There were self checkouts.

Allan was already there, sitting at the plastic table with a cup of what Tang assumed was coffee in hand. He was taking small quick sips as he seemed invested in reading... The Monkey Kings Bride?

He remembered the huge crowd fighting over the few newest editions and suddenly felt immense respect for the kid. That was rough, even when he didn't even try to get close to the books.

Tang didn't say anything as he sat down across from Allan and pulled up his own book, eating a haphazard sandwich with some random fruits thrown beside it.

Then he noticed how Allan only had the coffee, and suddenly he felt a bit bad. Some people actually need jobs and work hard to keep them.

And this is the reason Tang is now offering half his sandwich to the kid in front of him in silent question. Allan just looked at his hand for a good second.

But finally, he bowed his head and took the sandwich out of his hands. Allan seemed to stop reading after that, maybe savoring the sandwich. Even so, nobody would notice the few fruits that rolled across the table with Tang "unaware" after the fact.

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

Temporarily closing off some sections of the library took a bit more hassle than Tang thought it would. With random kids making out like in a drama, to some areas being over run with people Tang swore he never saw enter the building.

But that was neither here nor there, as he was already on a mission to set this up as fast as possible. It's probably because he forgot about it and started setting everything up 30 minutes late, but he digresses.

This charity thing was a scavenger hunt across the library, encouraging people to open different books and to solve riddles for an amazing prize of 1 free book from the pile made specifically for the event and some candy.

Allan was in charge of placing all the riddles and clues around the library and picking the best books to throw in the pile. Tang meanwhile had to decorate EVERYTHING himself, as well as set up the donation box at the front desk. This was the charity part for people to donate to the library and a reading program for special ed kids.

He also had to be the one to explain the rules and give hints in the game as he ran the front desk. Yay, public speaking.

But Tang still thought it was nice places like the library did things like this. Events for charity had decreased along the ages as everything got more and more advanced that some people started to think everything could be solved with tech and science.

'Ooooo! Riddles! Oh, I love this already! These were the things I was known for!'

'Yeah, yeah. Just keep on telling everyone the ONE TIME you got a riddle correct before a self-proclaimed master.'

'Oh come on, have some faith. You can at least respect that I proved he was a hack and helped-'

The library door opened with a small crowd rushing inside. Tang had just finished putting up the box before people were already at his side, asking him about the scavenger hunt.

He quickly told them about the clues hidden in books you have to figure out through riddles, word scrambles, and trivia about the books themselves. After the explanation, he quickly gave the first clue and made a small wave to the donation box, saying how it would help the library do more events like this.

Tang watched as the groups dispersed, sitting back into his chair waiting for newcomers or people who had finished the scavenger hunt.

People came and went, some thanking him, some wandering the shelves in confusion, some putting small donations in the box on their way out, and some who were curt and went as fast as possible.

It was interesting to Tang, seeing all these personalities with the same goal, not competitive, but reaching towards the same thing nonetheless.

A small kid with freckles, a red-head with a guide dog, a tall man with pitch black hair, and some teens who looked straight out of high school musical.

He had seen Allan, too, but only briefly as he was the one to deal with broken or missing riddles.

At the end of the day, almost all the books were gone from the pile, leaving only 3 extra to reshelf for another time. The donation box had reached halfway, which was a pretty good number for Tang, considering the box's size.

Allan had come a bit later, offering to help take down all the decoration from the shelves. Tang gratefully accepted.

They ended up walking their separate ways at the end, after dropping off the money at the manager room with a note and Tang locking the doors behind them.

Allan said one thing before he left, tapping Tang on the shoulder before he could go. "Thank you." He had said, right before turning to walk his own way home. A small smile was on his face as he faded into the background.

Tang thought about it for a moment, then smiled to himself before walking his own way home. The sunset is well off in the distance, with Tang keeping his eyes to the ground.

Today was pretty nice. He might like this job more than he thought.

Previous | Next | Start

I'm sorry the next chapter of A World Without Him will be a bit late. I do have half the chapter done already and will try my best to publish it tomorrow.

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.

Previous || Next

A World Without Him

Chapter 4

*2 week time-skip*

Tang was here again. This pitch black void that he can't move, see, or hear anything in.

He knows what's going to happen and that he can't do anything about it.

He can't stop anything that happens here.

He was always stuck.

So he just waits. He waits for it to start, waits for it to drag him down, waits for it to be over.

It doesn't take that long for it to begin like it usually does.

Voices suddenly flood his ears, but it sounds like there's more of them than before. It keeps getting louder and louder until something floods his vision.

The silhouettes that swirl around him seem familiar. He just doesn't know why. They talk and move and prod at him as he stays still: unable to do anything about it.

Then everything returns to void. Silence is all that he can hear.

Here it comes, he thinks.

He can feel the hands before they even touch him. Rushing from the depths as they grab at his ankles, pulling him deeper and deeper again.

Even though Tang knows he can't do anything against it, he flails anyway. Fighting the hands as they slowly overcome him. He still thrashes and kicks anyway.

He can't just do nothing over and over again.

But it's all fruitless as he gets dragged farther and farther down.

Then everything becomes bright.

Too bright.

The hands become more violent, dragging him down faster to escape the bright orange encompassing his vision.

The light is faster, however, as it catches up in a matter of seconds, covering everything.

Some hands let go immediately, while some still holding on seem to almost... disintegrate?

The light is almost unbearable as it keeps getting brighter and brighter.

Then Tang wakes up.

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

He shoots up in bed with a cold sweat. He looks outside and sees it's still dark in the sky.

Tang takes a deep breath, then sighs before trying to think too much. It's a dream. Just a dream. Nothing is wrong with him. He's ok.

He reaches for his glasses on the nightstand before slipping on some slippers near the foot of the bed.

He's been having this dream more often lately: every night for the past week, to be exact. Nothing's ever different no matter what he tries.

He does nothing: he gets dragged.

He tries to move away: he gets dragged.

He fights the hands: he gets dragged.

But that's why he's confused. What was different about this time? Why was he "saved" from those hands this dream?

Stop, he tells himself. Nothing's going to come from thinking about it too much.

'This is bad. We can't let this happen again.'

Oh, great, another voice. Lovely. He thinks before pulling himself to a standing position.

He slowly walks to the kitchen to get some caffeine in him. Tang needs to wake himself up. He finds some coffee tabs lying on the counter from running straight to Pisgy's yesterday.

Huffing a small laugh at his own negligence, he picks one up as he changes the water in the coffee maker, and puts the tab in with a mug underneath that reads "I like my coffee black, like my SOUL" printed on it.

As he waits, he looks out the nearby window across the living room with a small crack between the curtains.

The city seems to be glowing with all the neon signs and lights from the lively cityscape below. He can hear faint voices of people out partying in the club two buildings down and can faintly see some people walk down the streets in front of his apartment.

Tang unconsciously walks toward the lights, finding comfort in them. Everything has basically come back to normal after LBD's reign, and people seem ok walking the roads at night again.

But still, he can't help but look in the shadows of his apartment, seeing if anything will jump out at him.

"Ah!" He screams when the beeping of the coffee machine reaches his ears, dragging him out of his thoughts.

Tang sags in relief as he goes to get his fresh coffee. After having that happen all week, you'd think he'd get used to the beeping after a while.

After grabbing the mug, he goes over to the living room couch. He looks back out the window and pulls the curtains back a bit more, letting more of the fluorescent light inside.

He picks up one of the discarded books on the coffee table, takes a sip of his coffee, and then starts to read again.

It's not like he had anywhere to be. Pisgy's night quickly got canceled after it was clear the kids wouldn't show due to training, work, or demon attacks, and Pisgy started to get an influx of business again from people feeling safer to go out after, well, everything.

Tang wasn't social to begin with, so everything just blurred after that. He never went out for fun, just necessities, and wasn't invited to things that often, either.

Money also wasn't really an issue for him, as he had some savings from his archeology days and some money from the military fund for day to day things.

So what should Tang do with all this new free time? Read, of course! As that was the only thing he could think of enjoying at the moment.

But, as fate allows it, Tang actually had something to do today. Grocerie shopping! Woooooo...

He groans as he leans back into the couch. He pulls himself up and decides to go out and get them now. Why? Because he doesn't want to be stuck with his thoughts: at least this early, anyway.

He chugs his coffee, throws the mug in the sink, and just slips his coat with some shoes over his pajamas. He's going out at this hour: he doubts people would care about him wearing some sweatpants and a band shirt with some sneakers out.

He feels the breeze when he walks out the front door of his building. He immediately starts to walk towards the 24/7 convenience store down the road.

The door rings as he pushes it open, and Tang beelines to the veggie and soup section.

He grabs a bit of everything, a few extra potato chips because why not, and heads towards the counter, barely holding onto everything.

'We need to tell ______ now. This has ____ on long ______.'

He quickly dumps everything on the counter. The teen working the counter looks unimpressed. "Do you have a rewards card?" She asked in a bored tone.

"Yup." Tang replies, popping the p before scanning the rewards card.

He looks outside as he waits. Seeing everyone walk in the streets, watching if anyone looks suspicious. He looks around the corners of the shop, too.

'Nothing' Next corner. 'Just some dust.' Next corner. 'Nothing.' Far end of window. 'Movement, but it's just some-'

"Your total is $134 and nine cents."

He jumps to face the cashier. "Oh. Yeah, uh, give me a sec." He fumbles his wallet for a minute, then swipes the card a bit clumsily.

"Have a nice night, morning? Eh, whatever." The teen grumbles before looking back on her phone.

Tang just grabs his stuff and leaves as fast as he can. He walks briskly along the sidewalk, occasionally glancing over his shoulder.

He finally takes a breath when he's back at his apartment. He takes off his shoes before going inside and just throwing the bags onto the counter.

He checks his phone before sitting down: no new messages. He sighs before putting it down to charge.

Then he just sits on the couch for a second. He doesn't want to eat, doesn't want to sleep, doesn't want to do anything right now.

So that's what he does. He just does nothing, staring at the ceiling, unmoving until he can see the daylight flowing from the window.

Previous || Next

Just some Tang doodles for my au from class today.

Btw, there's some blood and dead bodies and spoilers for a future scene after the cut.

These are just some practice expressions for Tang to get the eye shape with the glasses right.

This is what's underneath the jacket he usually wears out in New Town TM.

This is when Tang snaps on the battlefield after the Medic Tent gets attacked a 3rd time with no reinforcements to help.

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.

Previous || Next

Hello! I just wanted to clarify some things and give some warnings about my A World Without Him au.

1. My update schedule isn't concrete, but I'll try to update every 1-2 weeks, usually on Thursdays or Fridays

2. This au will get pretty dark. I just wanted to warn people reading about future topics after Tang leaves Metrapolis. There's character death (no major character death, im not that evil), lots of graphic violence/gore, and immense self hatred from certain characters. So be a bit wary if you are sensitive to any of those topics.

3. The first couple of chapters will be pretty tame compared to the later chapters. The first couple of chapters are meant to set things into perspective of how my au's Tang had it before the things that added up to him leaving started. Though, you can definitely spot where some of those things started to develop.

4. THERE WILL BE A HAPPY ENDING. I don't just want my story to just be pain and suffering, so there will definitely be some calm alongside the numerous amounts of angst. I already have an ending planned out! (Even tho lots of arcs still aren't fully developed...)

5. I also just wanted to say that there's a lot of canon divergence going into S4 of monkie kid. I will also be including lots of headcanons regarding all major characters. Also, OC's will be important in this fic, mostly because I have to come up with an entire new town with lots of new people to name... (says the person who hasn't even named the town yet)

(Also, my Tang Drabbles have major spoilers for this au, so if you don't want to see those yet, then I would steer clear of them for now. They also contain some events I've put later in the story or scrapped all together, so take all the information in them considering my actual writing with a grain of salt.)

Anyways, these are just points I wanted to get clear before people read this and suddenly get bombarded with things they didn't expect because of earlier chapters or tags.

Start

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.

Previous || Next

Hello! Guess who finally got motivation to write? I'll be posting chapters on Tumblr for now until i can FINALLY get an ao3 account.

CHAPTER 1

-About 2 months after LBD defeat-

Nothing.

Everything around him was just void. No color, no feeling, just, nothing.

He couldn't move, couldn't speak, couldn't see, couldn't hear, anything.

He was stuck.

So he waited. Waited for something to happen. Something to change the endless black around him, so he could feel anything again.

Then everything became too much.

Overwhelming colors and sounds suddenly filled the area. Voices overlapped, and silhouettes blended together.

He could hear people speaking, to him or to someone else he didn't know.

They suddenly got louder, and the colors got brighter as they burned into his vision.

He could suddenly feel hands grabbing his ankles, trying to pull him down to somewhere.

The voices didn't stop, they only got louder as more and more hands tried to pull him down.

He started to thrash and pull away, but he couldn't escape. Every hand that let go, two more would start to drag him down in their place.

He felt hopeless. He felt useless. He felt weak.

He was stuck.

But still, he continued to thrash, kick, bite, anything just to slow down his fate.

Maybe his efforts would amount to something, maybe all the work he's put in will let him feel anything, or at least get away from them.

He was scared. Scared of what would happen if they dragged him down far enough, scared of what he would become after.

He. Was. Stuck.

Now all he felt was anger. At this stupid situation, at them, and at himself. He couldn't do anything at the end of it all.

So he became engrossed in his thoughts, as the hands reached his head, and his vision turned black.

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

Tang shot up from his desk. He looked franticly around where he woke up.

He realised he was at The Metrapolis Library. The section near the back, where most of the architecture and city records were located, with only a small lamp for light among the shelves.

"Dang, not again..." Tang groaned as he started to look through the scattered papers and opened books laid on his desk.

That dream... wasn't an uncommon occurrence for Tang. He seemed to always have it when he fell asleep at the library, or when he passed out after reading too many articles before bed.

It was never a pleasant experience, so he usually didn't try to think about that dream after waking up.

Tang finally decided to check his phone when an alarm went off while he was putting away The Mythos Sites: Professional Study.

He set that alarm for an event at the library tomorrow so he could leave 5 minutes early to avoid the crowds. Apparently he set it a day early. Just great.

He groaned in annoyance, but when he went to turn it off, he saw the time, and then started to panic.

"Aw crap! Nonononono-" Tang then started to clean up faster as he was apparently late for the weekly noodle night at Pigsy's.

This was a night every Friday that Sandy, Mei, Mk, Pigsy, Tang, sometimes including Red Son or Wukong, where they would all come to Pigsy's at a set time and then just hang out and talk for an entire evening.

This wasn't high scale or anything like that, but it was important to Tang. This was the one day of the week he would finally see everyone for once.

Mk seemed to almost always be either hanging out with Mei and/or Red Son, training, fighting demons, or delivering orders for Pigsy. He barely got to talk to Mk even when he was 'Freeloading' (as Pigsy would call it) at Pigsy's.

Everyone else also seems have their own things going on. Pigsy obviously has the shop, and now he seems to have more customers than ever after the whole LBD situation, so he usually has less time to talk, inside and outside of his restaurant.

Mei is usually just hanging out and having fun, but will almost never answer texts when she's 'in the zone' with video games, streaming, or anything else, which has been almost her entire mood lately.

The only one he really does talk to more than once a week is Sandy. But Tang does stay at home most of the time while Sandy also barely leaves his boat as is.

So you can understand why Tang is speeding towards Pigsy's with apologies and excuses about to tumble out as he crashes through the doors.

"Phew... Hey *huff* sorry I'm... *huff* late again!" Tang yells as he lays his messenger bag down and sits on one of Pigsy's stools.

Tang starts to stretch as he looks around Pigsy's. He then notices that the only other people in the restaurant are Pigsy and Sandy.

"Hey Sandy, where's everyone else?" Tang asks as he goes to sit down with Sandy at one of Pigsy's tables.

"Oh, hello Tang! We were worried you wouldn't show up!" Sandy exclaimed as Pigsy came out from the kitchen, noodles in hand.

"Hey Tang. Yeah, the kids left after Mk got a demon attack notification, and Mei followed after him. So it's just been me and Sandy for a bit." Pigsy said as he sat down with them.

"I missed them?! Aw, I haven't seen them all week! I at least wanted to see how they were doing." Tang then grabbed his own bowl of noodles, eating with a sour look on his face.

"It's ok, Tang! Maybe you can join them in something else? We all know you've been pretty couped up recently." Sandy said as he started to brew his own tea to go with the noodles.

"Maybe, but I'm not sure there's anything we can do together, especially with all of Mk and Mei's new responsibilities and my own... uh, research I've been engrossed in." Tang sighs as he pushes away the now empty bowl.

"That's why I'm always excited for this hangout every week. It's some of my only time to see you guys and for all of us to have a break from everything. And who can say no to free noodles from Pisgy's?" Tang smirks as Pisgy chuckled a little and murmured something along the lines of "freeloader. "

"I guess I can't argue with that. But don't worry, Tang, I bet that those kids will be here next time." Pisgy says as he puts an arm around Tangs shoulders.

Tang smiles softly at Pigsy, "Yeah, I hope so."

After that exchange, they trio hung around a little longer, talking about their days and interesting things that happened in their own time.

But of course, these things eventually come to an end, so Sandy and Tang eventually left to let Pisgy close up shop.

Sandy and Tang then have their goodbyes outside of Pisgy's and went their own ways.

Tang walked along cracked sidewalks on his way home. Streetlights lighting almost every section.

It was an oddly quiet night. No music, no yelling from demon fights or otherwise, and no bright lights shining in his face.

It was calm. It was nice.

'What are we going to do about him?'

It was too nice to last, apparently.

Previous || Next

Tang AU update!

Here's some low quality Tang AU art to make up for not posting lately

I just and idea of what he would wear and since I was using dry erase marker, the idea for the floral designs on the bottom and sleeves of the jacket just came to me. I also tried to incorporate that sash he has in the series on his waist to get some of the original design in there.

This jacket he probably wears whenever he goes out in the New Town (STILL haven't come up with a name) or originally with the gang whenever he had to go to something like a fancy dinner or business meeting.

Tang Drabbles 3

Hello! Here are some random cool things/events I want to add in A World Without Him

I want Tang to have this really traumatic event happen to him that basically "awakens" his monk powers.

This happens at his old Town (aka the one he's gonna pull over into after the wind demon attacks, aka the one I still haven't named yet ;-;) when he sees his only friend die in front of him during a demon attack. This causes multiple emotional break downs at once and he just goes full on God Mode in unleashing all the built up emotions and power until this moment.

He doesn't fight the demon lord in combat, but restrains him with glowing strings, rips out his heart, and has him disintegrate into orange dust.

After this enormous display of power, Wukong senses his masters "magic" and rushes towards the town, not really knowing what he's doing. He starts to have a flurry of thoughts as he rushes from where he was towards that town. When he gets there all he sees is a majorly damaged town, orange dust floating away, and a really beat up teen on the ground in front of him. He starts to unravel, thinking things like, "Where is he!?", "I sensed him!", What happened here?", and "I have to find him!" He uses golden vision to no avail, and leaves as quickly as he entered.

And Tang, in his basically almost unconscious state, and who doesn't remember anything from his power up, thinks that this super powerful looking monkey that just landed in front of him saved the village, which kick starts his obsession with the Monkey King and all those old legends.

More on Tangs transformation: His glasses now enlarge and now have a golden tint to cover his eyes, while his eyes glow bright white, he has big cicada wings, 4 arms now decorated in glowing orange symbols, and orang and white strings/ribbons circling around him as if in a tornado.

Tang does see the ghosts of Tripitaka and Golden cicada, as long as some other incarnations that didn't last as long over the years. He starts to see faint silhouettes after this power up, but always thinks he's either not getting enough sleep or just seeing things. The ghosts get very annoyed until he uses his powers in season 3 to fully make them at least visible to Tang (I know I said he still doesn't know he's magic before, but I'm moving it up to a bit after S3 finale so he can at least know about Tripitaka's existence. He can't hear him though, and he got really freaked out when he first saw him a day after the S3 finale.) (also, I'm making it so the gang still doesn't really know about how they're connected to the original JTTW gang, because plot)

Btw, after Tang at least somewhat comes into his powers at The Town, demons do come and try to eat him / marry him for immortality. It just always has to happen with unlocked Monk magic, unfortunately for Tang.

Tang au Drabbles 2!

Ok, I have more info on what happens before tang crashes into the town!

This will contain spoilers for the upcoming fic

The wind demon Tang encounters on the way to the airport is Heifeng Guai, also known as The Black Wind Demon.

Tangs taxi driver, a teenager that talked his ear off for most of the ride, immediately starts to panic when they start getting chased by the wind demon and started to hyperventilate, causing the taxi to go off-road and towards the edges of the grass plains they were driving through.

Tang, obviously panicked, grabs the teen, opens his door, and jumps into the long grass, hoping to not be noticed in the heat of the chase.

Tang tries tobsilently console the teen as the demon continues towards the taxi as it drives towards the surrounding river as the demon throws their spear through the back of the taxi.

The taxi explodes as shrapnel flies in every direction. Though, none of it hit Tang or the teen that had stopped hyperventilating, for some reason...

The demon stops, seemingly annoyed by no bloodshed, and starts to search the area, hoping to find its prey again.

Tang and the teen freeze on the ground as they hear the wind pick up and then relax as they hear a curse, and then tree branches blowing around until silence.

I hope you guys liked that little snipbit of the plot I have coming up for the fic! I now know that I probably get an ao3 account this summer, but idk when.

Ship Poll Results

Pigsy x Tang just slam dunked every other option with over 60% of the vote. Time to make some changes to the storyline in my head to include Freenoodles!

Redo Poll

I did something to the poll which I don't know what happened, but it gave some of the answers random votes so ima redo the poll here.

Hello!

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a while. I just didn't know what to post because I'm still waiting for my ao3 account and I haven't had anything else really interesting to post other than my aus.

I have developed more of the A Word Without Him au and have put more depth into why Tang is more self-conscious and beats himself up more.

I probably won't post anything else except maybe more Tang au dribbles until this polls duration is up because of the reasons above the poll. I do hope most of you guys are still interested in my au and can stick it out long enough for me to finally get an ao3 account.

Tang au Drabbles

This au won the poll, so enjoy this little drabble of the au!

Now, I haven't seen any of season 4, so some things might seem a bit weird.

Tang isn't aware that he can use magic. Any magical event that happens around him he chalks up to being tired, blaming it on something else like "the wind", or think it was a part of Mk's training and ignored it.

These magical "outbursts" have been happening for a while, but just got more frequent after defeating the lady bone demon. Tang tried to tell Pigsy and Mk about it, but they told him not to worry about them and said they were probably just coincidences.

Tang is more self-conscious about himself now than in the actual show. "Benched" got to him more, and he doubts himself, his place in the gang, and his self-worth frequently.

The gang stopped trying to invite tang to events or hangouts a while ago. He's usually the last person people think about or isn't mentioned at all. This is because Mk is usually to busy with Mei or Wukong, Mei is either with Mk or Red son, Pisgy is just in the shop for the most part, Sandy usually stays in his boat, and no one else really cares or wants to interact with him on their own accord.

Because of this, he's had more time to himself and his studies. He mostly reads about myths, about the Great Monk Tripitaka, or about the spells The Monk used. He tries to learn more about his past self but is usually left empty handed. He doesn't go to Wukong because he doesn't really like Tangs presence and Tang knows that. He's also pretty hard to find.

Tang, having less activities and shenanigans happening around him, starts to improve his body. He isn't muscular or anything but he did get better endurance and flexibility over the months after the lady bone demons defeat. This is because of his mindset that he shouldn't be useless anymore and should prepare for anything to happen around him. This also causes him to have better reflexes.

Tang has long hair! He grew it pout mainly because he didn't bother cutting it and no one really commented it had gotten longer because they hadn't really paid attention to him. He usually keeps it in a braid.

Tang has wanted to teach in a university for a while now. He's always had one in mind but stayed because his friends were here and he didn't want to leave them. But now since they don't really pay attention, or listen to him anymore, he doesn't think him leaving will change anything.

Macaque hasn't been seen in forever. Nobody really knows where he went or where he is now. Wukong looks from time to time but it isn't a main priority to him.

Tang has been working in a library all this time to save up lodging near his dream university, plane tickets to get there, and to pay pigsy back for all the noodles he ate. He has an apartment near the library that doesn't really have any decor (except for piles upon piles of borrowed books) because he doesn't plan on staying very long.

This is basically all that's happened before tang tried to get to the airport and crashed into a small city. I hope this was okay and leave any notes if you want to hear more about it!

(Also, I still don't have an ao3 account but I'm hoping to change that soon! I'll try to post the first chapter as soon as I get the account)