This really cute art was once again made by @melonsharks! Please follow them on Twitter at @/melonsharks or Instagram at
@/melon.sharks!
Read the story under "Read More" or in:
https://docs[DOT]google[DOT]com/document/d/10ssZArWNEM5t3G-Oo5hm_JA6tOkrY1JDXsAEhXahwXY/edit
Pigsy is a man of habit. Wake up, open the shop, take care of the sassy customer here and there, tell Tang to pay for once, close the shop, go back to sleep.
Routine may be considered boring by some —MK and Mei spring to mind—, but it works for him. Moreover, thanks to MK he’s been getting into weird situations every other day of the week, so he thinks he kid can’t really complain much.
But even so, sometimes life finds himself in unexpected situations on his own, like the one he’s currently in: Opening the back door to take out the trash, only to find a monkey man rummaging through it.
Pigsy steps out of the store and closes the door, the monkey man jumping a bit and looking at him. Even with the dim light of the back alley, Pigsy quickly realizes he’s not Monkey King: they look quite similar, but the clothes and hair are different.
“Can you explain to me why you’re rummaging through my trash can?”
The monkey blinks once, and then laughs slowly. He speaks, and Pigsy notices how his voice sounds lower-pitched than Monkey King’s.
“Oh, sorry, pig man.” The monkey man says, putting his hands behind his back. “I’m hungry and I’ve noticed that some of your customers leave food in their bags, so I decided to have a snack.”
Pigsy squints his eyes at him. “A snack with garbage?”
“I’m not a picky eater.”
“Well, if you want food then you can just buy a bowl like any customer.”
The monkey man laughs again, moving out of the way when Pigsy approaches to throw the trash bag he’s carrying.
“Do you think that I would be rummaging through the trash if I had money?”
Pigsy stays still for a second.
“Then why don’t you grab food at Monkey King’s place? You two are friends, aren’t you?”
“It’s… complicated.”
Pigsy raises his head to look at the monkey man, and since he’s so close he can see how, for a brief second, the other man’s facade drops, before his relaxed expression returns.
“You could say that we’ve had a bit of a fight.” The money man chuckles. “It would be a bit awkward to just go to his home asking for food, you know?”
Pigsy feels a twist in his stomach, because it’s not his intention to be an asshole, especially to someone who is looking for food. He curses under his breath, and walks back to the door he came from, holding the door open for the monkey man.
“Come in.”
The monkey blinks again, and then laughs, not wasting the opportunity.
“Well, thank you, mister.”
Pigsy groans, while the monkey man enters the noodle shop.
“Don’t call me that, you make me feel really old.” Pigsy complains. “Pigsy is just fine.”
“Pigsy…” The monkey man repeats out loud. “Well, I’m Macaque. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Pigsy just grunts as he grabs the apron and puts it on. He turns around, crossing his arms on his chest.
“What would you like to eat?”
“As I said, I’m not a picky eater.” Macaque says. “Whatever you want to cook, I’ll eat it.”
“A classic bowl of ramen it is, then.”
Pigsy quickly gets to work, his movements optimized and fluid like a perfectly oiled machine, having made this dish thousands of times. Even in the unusual situation he finds himself in, Pigsy can’t help but become comfortable as he cooks, relaxing himself and very briefly forgetting about the strange circumstances.
“Here you go.”
Pigsy hands the bowl to Macaque. The monkey man’s face displays a content smile, and when he smells the dish, he sighs content.
“This smells delicious.”
Pigsy snorts. “Of course it does. I made it.”
Macaque chuckles, and Pigsy rolls his eyes before handing him the chopsticks.
“Come on, eat quickly before it gets cold.”
“Yeah, yeah. Wouldn’t want to waste the kindness of a stranger, right?”
Pigsy just sighs tired, and Macaque laughs briefly before starting to eat, his face lighting up after the first bite and quickly diving into the bowl. Pigsy looks at him before turning back around, starting to clean the utensils he used to cook.
“Man, this is really good.” Pigsy hears Macaque compliment. “You must have been working as a chef for a long time, huh?”
“Longer that you’ve been al— wait, no.” Pigsy interrupts himself. “You and Monkey King are magic beings. Whatever, been working almost all of my life.”
“And it shows, pig man.” Macaque compliments. “And considering you’re giving out free food, I guess your business isn’t going bad.”
Pigsy laughs at that, briefly glancing at Macaque. “I already have a free loader, don’t mind cooking for another one.”
“That doesn’t sound like a good business to me.” Macaque thinks out loud. “Wouldn’t it be better to make him pay?”
“Eh, I’ve grown to like the guy.” Pigsy says as he dries his hands. “Besides, if I didn’t offer him food either MK would offer his or make me feel bad until I gave it back.”
“So MK is like that, huh.”
Pigsy gives a brief nod, fully turning around to look at Macaque properly. He notices how he’s moving the food, eyes casted down.
“I assume you’d know that by know.” Pigsy mentions, and when Macaque gives him a questioning look he explains himself. “If you’re friends with Monkey King, haven’t you seem them train and stuff?”
Macaque’s body relaxes, then. “Oh, yeah.” He slouches himself a bit, giving a smile to Pigsy. “I’ve seen them, alright. The kid gives it his all, and even surprises Monkey King sometimes.”
“Yeah, that does sounds like MK.” Pigsy sighs loudly. “But I can’t help but worry.”
“I understand you.” Macaque nods. “People like him… can end up not taking care of themselves.”
Pigsy stays quiet, silently looking at Macaque. He feels there’s more to those words, but he doesn’t want to pry like that to someone he just met. So, instead, he decides to change the topic.
“You know, the other guy that grabs me free food does have a way of paying it.”
Macaque glances back at him. “He does?”
“He tells stories.” Pigsy explains. “But I do have to say, I find most of his stories a bit ‘eh’. Probably cause I hear him speak every day, they end up blurring in my head.”
Macaque chuckles. “Is that so?”
Pigsy nods. “Yes. I’m pretty sure you could have more interesting stories, though.”
Macaque gives him a smile. “Oh, you think?”
“Well, you’ve lived for a long time. If someone has had crazy shit happen to them, that must be you.”
Macaque stops to think for a second, glancing at the ceiling.
“Well, it is true that I’ve lived my fair share of adventures.” Macaque laughs then. “Like one of the times I impersonated Monkey King to have some fun.”
Pigsy raises an eyebrow. “One of the times?”
Macaque shrugs. “What can I say. A man sometimes gets bored and wants to cause some harmless fun impersonating someone else. For example, this time…”
Pigsy and Macaque talk for a while, and continue talking even when the monkey man is done with the food. Pigsy finds himself having a surprisingly good time, and even when he feels like Macaque isn’t telling the full story and mentions it, the man just laughs it off and finds a way to engage him in another topic.
When Macaque finishes what might be either his fifth or tenth story, Pigsy gives a glance to his phone, realizing how late it really is. He’s about to mention this to Macaque when the man gets up from his chair, cleary having realized the situation.
“Sorry, I got a bit carried away there and ended up making you stay longer than needed.”
“I don’t mind.” Pigsy says, and he means it. “Your stories were pretty good, I must say.”
“Well, good to know.” Macaque laughs, scratching his neck. “My usual audience is a bit harsher with their opinions.”
“Well, then they’re missing it. The play I’m going to watch tomorrow will probably be less exciting now.”
“A play?”
“Yeah, it was a…” Pigsy thinks for a second. “A Shadow Play, the kid called it? He’s hyping it way too much.”
“Well, who knows.” Macaque starts, a smile on his face. “You may end up liking it. And if not…”
Macaque puts a hand on the table and approaches his face to Pigsy’s, talking barely in a whisper.
“I can come by later and tell you another story.”
Pigsy stays frozen in place, and thankfully Macaque moves back again, getting up from the chair and laughing a bit.
“But if I do that, I expect another free bowl. That’s the price, right?”
Pigsy nods, and he sees the smile on Macaque before he starts to leave the noodle shop, waving him goodbye.
“See you around, Pigsy.”
“Good night.” Pigsy says, but he’s too quiet that he doesn’t know if Macaque heard him.
After some minutes, Pigsy cleans the bowl, closes the shop and heads home. But even as the time passes and he finds himself in bed, he realizes that his thoughts are filled with a certain late customer with good stories to share.
@tumacatruck 🚚 is the first and only Spanish food truck in LA 🥖🥓🍳🍅With authentic flavors from Barcelona and imported ingredients from Spain 🥖 fresh baked bread from @bubandgrandmasbread you’ll definitely want to check them out! 🥖 🍅 🍳 🥪 🥓 🥔 #silverlake #dtla #venice #lafoodie #tostadas #eggs #smokedbacon #goodmood #happyfood #bacon #lunch #breakfast #dinner #tumacatruck #spanish #spanishfood #spanishfoodtruck #foodtruck #mustget #yum #barcelona #spain (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/BuFEAFtHbq8/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=109wj39cc1kie
Finally I dared to dry age at home! Don 't know why I was scared! It's an awesome project to make bacon at home!! Way to delicious. Curing the next one right now! #bacon #homemadebacon #homemade #fromscratch #smokedbacon #baconlove #bbq #dryaged #baconcure #curedbacon #curedpork #coldsmoker #coldsmoked #coldsmokegenerator #teambbqwarriors (bij Bbq Bastard's Pit Zone)
@Regrann from @grillinfools - Just because of the music! That perfectly sums up how I feel when I see bacon on the grill! Video courtesy of @thecarnigore
Here are the results from a Monkie Kid Ship Poll run by @DailyLMK on Twitter, in case you don't have one. I'll link each position with the appropiate twitter in case you want to check it out yourself.
23. Goldenpork (Pigsy x Jin): 3 votes
22. Silverpork (Pigsy x Yin): 4 votes
21. Fastfood (Jin x Pigsy x Yin): 8 votes
20. Jasminetea (Sandy x Tang): 9 votes
19. Seasalt (Pigsy x Sandy): 13 votes
18. Hibiscustea (Macaque x Tang): 22 votes
17. Paranormal (Macaque x Mayor): 25 votes
16. Locketshipping (Mayor x Shoe Store Guy): 25 votes
15.1. Hotshoes (Red Son x Shoe Store Guy): 26 votes
15.2. Ghostspider (Syntax x Mayor): 26 votes
13. Fireant (Red Son x Syntax): 29 votes
12. Nightshade (Spider Queen x Princess Iron Fan): 29 votes
11. Goldendragon (MK x Mei): 30 votes
10. Fishballnoodles (Pigsy x Tang x Sandy): 34 votes
9. Irondumpling (Princess Iron Fan x Demon Bull King): 53 votes
8. Dragonfruit (Red Son x Mei): 77 votes
7. Peachtea (Tang x Sun Wukong): 82 votes
6. Trafficlight (MK x Mei x Red Son): 86 votes
5. Smokedbacon (Macaque x Pigsy): 95 votes
4. Silktea (Huntsman x Sandy): 118 votes
3. Shadowpeach (Macque x Sun Wukong): 170 votes
2. Spicynoodles (MK x Red Son): 189 votes
1. Freenoodles (Tang x Pigsy): 201 votes
0. Special Mentions (mostly meme suggestions, but they're funny so I'll link them here)
