#i started writing this at midnight

[joys-of-everyday]

Wei Wuxian and the Difficulties of Morality

Wow so I did not realise how much discourse there was around Wei Wuxian and moral greyness. Let me erm… poke around a little because that’s a hobby of mine.

Btw, I usually write about SVSSS. This won’t change. This is a one-off thing (for now).

Firstly, an Anecdote

Fun story, I watched cql and the mdzs donghua with my mum. There were many memorable things that came out of this, but one of the relevant points is an offhanded comment from my mum. She said (translated into English): ‘Wei Wuxian has no face to show Jiang Cheng, because he broke his promise to stay by his side’ (1). For context, my mum grew up in a fairly traditional Asian household. They take their declarations of loyalty seriously (or at least, that is my impression).

I find this interesting, because when it comes to moral judgement, I (who grew up in the west, with a lot of western values) get far more hung up on the things WWX did, rather than some promise he made in his adolescence. Breaking a promise is not ideal, but in my books, doesn’t really count as a huge moral failing.

The point here is not to say anything about the ethics of promise breaking, but to illustrate a point. Different people have different values. Or one person can have conflicting values. There are many scenarios where it’s not possible to say with certainty what is right or wrong. This is moral ambiguity.

(Funnily enough, the issue that my dad took with WWX was the fact he was fiddling around with dead bodies, which was like… the least of my concerns, but then I realised that bodies have a lot of religious significance.)

What even is moral greyness?

There are two possible and equally valid definitions of moral greyness.

1. Characters who are not 100% evil or 100% good

2. Characters who do not fall into the categories of ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Note that definition 2 is a strictly stronger definition than definition 1. It is not that hard to argue that WWX does not fall under definition 2, in that he is somehow overall ‘good’. (I would also argue that MXTX encourages you to not think too hard about these dichotomies, particularly via SVSSS, but that’s a rabbit hole for another day.) It is also not that hard to argue WWX does fall under definition 1. Mainly because it’s quite hard not to breathe without falling under definition 1.

The Two Kinds of Uncertainty  

When it comes to ethical questions, there are two uncertainties you naturally run into. Firstly, uncertainty of the world, which comes from having imperfect information about the situation or consequences of any given action. Secondly, uncertainty around the underlying moral question. Is it okay to sacrifice few for the sake of many? Should we place more value on those close to us in comparison to a stranger?

Humanity has not figured out morality, and certainly not for a lack of trying. Standards change over time. We look at the behaviour of our ancestors just a few hundred years ago with no small amount of repugnance. Most likely, in a few hundred years’ time our descendants will do the same. This isn’t to pass judgement on anything or anybody, but to make an observation that there is nothing you can do in the world that doesn’t inherently come with moral ambiguity, because there is always uncertainty – both of the world and the morals you are applying. And wherever there is moral ambiguity, there is moral greyness (definition 1).

That being said, ‘everything is morally grey’ is not really a helpful statement. There are things that we (society today) generally agree on e.g. ‘killing someone for no reason is bad’ or ‘being nice to people is good’. So the argument I want to posit today is that WWX’s moral greyness goes beyond this in a substantial way.

The Uncertain Character of WWX

The Fundamental Principle of MXTX is that all narrators are unreliable. At the bloodbath of the Nightless City, did WWX kill 5000? 3000? Far fewer? Had WWX acted in a different way, could JYL’s death have been avoided? We’ll never know.

To add to this complexity is subtle shifts in canon depending on the adaptation. WWX tortures Wen Chao pretty brutally in the novel (and even if you hate him, it’s a bit ick). In cql, it ‘fades to black’. In the donghua it’s a nice quick stab. Then there’s all of the fiddling around they did with JGY depending on the adaptations, giving him more or less blame for the events. I’m not sure if ‘novel is the only canon’ is the correct way to go, mainly because adaptation!WWX is interesting to analyse in itself. I won’t explore this too deeply here, but something to keep in mind.

Anyway, I want to argue that WWX is morally grey, through commentary on a few elements of his character.

1. The Horrors of War

WWX does a lot of things that are somewhat eyebrow raising. You know, killing people and stuff. Now it has been pointed out plenty of times that his situation was unusual (it was war!). The moralities surrounding warfare are in itself complicated. A pacifist might argue that war is no excuse for violence, but even without going to such extremes, these days we appreciate that there are some actions that cannot be condoned, even during times of coflict – this is the notion of war crimes.

War crimes are a surprisingly modern thing (people started to care a lot after the atrocities of WWII). Medieval warfare was brutal. Anyway, these include things like ‘torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments’ and ‘wanton destruction of cities, towns or villages’. Note that while killing large numbers of enemy soldiers doesn’t fall under war crimes (although some methods of going about this do, like biological weapons), torture does, so that’s one strike against book!WWX. Now there is subtly in these things, because if you judged people by these standards for anything more than 200 years old, basically everyone is committing war crimes without thinking too hard about it. WWX did do a lot of arguably good things in the Sunshot Campaign (whatever good means in war) – he fought against the tyranny of the Wens and was one of the key things that shifted the tides towards victory. Without him, the world might have looked a lot darker. Whether these ‘goods’ weigh over the ‘bads’ is something to think about.

On a slightly softer note, weapons of mass destructions are another cause of serious discussion. Those involved in the Manhattan Project creating the first atomic bomb weren’t exactly all war criminals (moreover, many of them genuinely believed they were doing what was right and necessary) but the consequences of their actions are what they are. So while WWX made the Yin Tiger Talley as a method of deterrence and assurance, considering the consequences of its use and the potential for future misuse, here lies another moral ambiguity.

2. Intent vs Consequences

It’s fair to say that most of the time, WWX’s intentions were good. Whether it be to protect the weak, to stand up for justice, these are all things we can get behind. The consequences of his actions? Well, JYL is dead, as well as a bunch of other people, and most the Wens didn’t survive anyway. That’s a big oof.

Now most people don’t subscribe to the strongest version of consequentialism which judges whether something is right or wrong by its consequences only. As in, for one, it’s almost impossible to apply in practice because you can’t predict the consequences of your actions at the point at which you chose to do them. Case in point, most of the consequences of WWX’s actions weren’t wholly down to WWX and it’s difficult to say if there was anything at all that he could have done to lead to a better outcome. (Arguably, WWX should have tried harder to negotiate with the rest of the cultivation world instead of being a one-man army against them, but in that case, they might have just mowed down the Wens anyway.)

Then again, I think most people do subscribe to at least a weak form of consequentialism. No matter how good the intentions, no matter how righteous and commendable… if the outcome is bad, it’s hard to label those actions as ‘good’ (play pumps is an example if you want to look into how charities can do more harm than good).

I draw no conclusions here. It’s food for thought.

3. On Conflicting Values and Lose-Lose Scenarios

A lot of the above comes from applying modern ethics to a character in a world largely based on ‘Ancient China’ (the quotation marks from the fact Ancient China is several thousands years old and changes significantly over time). We do this all the time. Hell, people are still reimagining the Three Kingdoms and making commentary on the morality of Cao Cao (155-220). MDZS makes a lot of commentary on modern social issues (the ‘mob mentality’ of MDZS feels like Weibo/twitter lol), so viewing it through a modern lens makes sense.

But let’s put that aside for a second and return to my mum’s comment about WWX’s broken promise. By traditional values, family is important. In Confucianism, the Four Virtues are ‘loyalty’, ‘filial piety’, ‘continence’, and ‘righteousness’. To illustrate just how serious family was, in the conflict between Liu Bang and Xiang Yu, Xiang Yu at some point threatened to kill Liu Bang’s father. Then Liu Bang was like ‘we’re sworn brothers, so technically he’s your father too’, and Xiang Yu didn’t kill him, because it would be unfilial to do so. All this is to say, WWX turning his back on his sect and his family was a big deal. Equally, loyalty towards a superior was valued greatly, even towards eyebrow raising superiors.

But Confucianism also teaches the importance of things like ‘righteousness’ and ‘benevolence’. Throughout many dynasties, important people have cared a lot about the grievances of the masses. Bullying the weak and hoarding power unjustly is seen as one of the ultimate evils, a big reason for a leader to lose the Mandate of Heaven, thus becoming unfit to rule. Plenty of subordinates have stood up against the tyranny of their superiors. So WWX standing up to the evils of the Jin clan is highly commendable by these standards too.

Another thing is ‘paying back your benefactors’. In the west, although we do have concepts like ‘owing a life’, I don’t think it’s as strong??? This is also serious business. In the Three Kingdoms, Cao Cao spared his enemy general Guan Yu, and later Guan Yu briefly fought for Cao Cao even though he was an enemy, in order to repay this debt. Wen Ning and Wen Qing saved WWX’s life and helped him when he was in need – WWX has a moral obligation to help them in return.

Thus we see WWX between a rock and hard place. Turn away from the Jiangs and he turns away from his family, and from someone he promised his loyalty to. But turn a blind eye to the treatment of the Wens, and he is a not only allowing evil to go unchallenged, but also abandoning his benefactors. The game is rigged. There is no right move here. Morally ambiguity -> moral greyness.

(Note: A lot of the previous two points can also be viewed from a 'traditional' lens. Mohism has been arguing about pacifism and universal love since 400BC. Taoism has many things to say about intervening in world affairs. Life has always been complicated, and while our language/framework may shift, many of the underlying questions remain.)

(Second note: my knowledge of Chinese philosophy is all the stuff I learnt in Saturday school+a few books/youtube videos aka. not a lot. Please call me out if I'm sprouting nonsense.)

Let’s wrap up

Tl;dr WWX is a morally grey character.

And I haven’t even started on what went down at the Nightless City, or how interesting (read: morally sus) his methods of murder were, or his fantastic takes on risk assessment.

Maybe he’s good overall. Maybe he’s a hero. But heroes too can be morally grey. That’s just a part of life.

1. This is really hard to translate actually, and I think the way I’ve written it makes sense but comes across stronger than it was. More literally it was ‘can’t raise his head towards’. It was sort of explaining why JC was giving WWX a lot of shit later on and WWX wasn’t arguing back, more in a sympathetic way rather than a critical way.

As usual, thank you for reading! Comments and criticism appreciated, but I may be significantly slower getting back because my brain is in svsss mode rn :)

[running-with-kn1ves]

Exhaustion

A/N: Hey I should be working on everything BUT this. do NOT blame my ass if this is ooc (I can't handle criticism and I'm aware :,>)

PART 1

L Lawliet Yandere! X GN! Reader

TW: Stalking, breaking and entering, obsessive thoughts/behaviors, nonconsensual touching

It was an invasion of privacy; he knew that. It was against everything he stood for, what he strived to prevent-- an act familiar to the criminals he faced. And yet, he had no inclination to turn away, to retreat from your blackened bedroom and leave you alone in the dark. 

There was something comforting about how silent you slept. Even with your body sprawled out like a crooked starfish, with your legs tangled in sheets and clothes wrinkled, you were in pure sleepful delight. A nuclear bomb could go off outside and this little sliver of the world would remain untouched, your eyes so gentle and shut, with soft eyelashes falling against your cheeks as if it were nothing, as if an angel hadn’t fallen asleep on the softest patch of grass away from the rest of the world.

L observed you from a distance, brazen enough to take your desk chair and sit in his peculiar way as a spectator. He did not dare to disturb the sanctified corner that was your bed-laden body. 

You breathed in heavily, a quick heave through your nose that developed into a great exhale of pure exhaustion. It didn’t take a genius to see the weight witnessing your professor’s death left on you; L forgot how distressing morbidity could be for those not used to it, those who had not studied gruesome photos and rewinded videos of countless hours in crime and death. 

You shift just slightly to sling an arm over your face, the streetlight beaming in through your window and casting a glow on your eyes and hair. It made you shine which in any instance would have been mesmerizing, but currently it threatened to expose the felony your stalker was committing. 

Wobbling out of the desk chair with a catlike stare, L watched for movement as the chair creaked. His light, barefooted steps reached the curtains with a swiftness not expected of someone so gaunt. Your bedroom was curtained in complete darkness as his eyes adjusted, seeing the way your shirt rode up to expose just above your belly button, the sheets lined between your legs as you remained spread out, peaceful. It was an odd fascination he had come to realize-- not like one he had for solving crimes and convoluted mysteries, but a pleasant and simple interest in each little reaction you had. From the twitching of the tips of your fingers at times, to the way you’d swallow if your mouth was open for too long. 

Most especially the different vocalizations you made, from snore-like grunts, to hums and sighs of pleasure as your back cooled against the linen. L intended to return back to his place of distant observation, feeling a lump the size of a plum seed burrowing in his chest as he imagined you waking.

Oddly enough however, your skin caught his eye. So unbothered and untouched, barely hidden by the white background you laid upon. Human bodies were a tricky, messy thing; purely biological, and often betraying our more advanced mental capacity for what was right and wrong. But yours… Even beneath that flesh being bone and muscle and meat, it looked… right.

This must be the ‘aesthetic’ that draws so many people in, why love and lust are so often confused… L did not need to dwell on the idea to recognize this was one of the few ‘firsts’ for him.You were by no means exempt from his cynicism or brutal comprehension-- but something here spoke more to him than mere logistical sense. It was appreciation, interest.

What did you feel like, what would parts of you taste like? 

A pale, spindly hand reached out to you, gracing the exposed flesh of your midsection. You were hot to the touch, near burning; or perhaps he was just so freezingly cold. It wasn’t enough to disturb you out of sleep, just enough to send a shiver up your chest at the iciness. L’s hand found comfort resting there, his palm against the soft flesh as it rose and fell along with your chest. 

Dare he… lift his hand higher, hand jaggedly moving up to the middle of your ribcage, slowly disappearing under your shirt. It was warm there, against the heat of your skin and the air trapped against your pajamas; his palm buzzed with a kind of painless sting. 

Gracing the smooth ridges of skin, L’s fingers moved, almost in a ticklish motion as each pad searched to understand what allured him so much, what kept him here, drawing in his desperation to understand. Above all else L was an investigator, one with the all encompassing desire to expose the truth. He felt closer to an answer when he was near you, as if he could touch the reason why he was infatuated with you-- but still, he couldn’t make sense of it. There was no answer to be found, none that would satisfy him enough to leave you alone. 

You unconsciously push your shirt down with a limp hand, drawing away from the cold air creeping up your stomach.

L sharply pulls his hand away, a look of surprise almost making its way to his face. His hand stood outstretched, curled and hovering from above as he watched you shift to lay on your side. 

The anticipation keeps him alert, wondering if this will be the moment your snores turn to a panicked scream. The room is quiet, drifting… the perfect environment for a deep rest, no clear indication of a gangly body watching from the edge of your bed. Your phone occasionally lights up on the nightstand silently; it takes a wrongful amount of force to prevent L from picking it up. 

He could attempt to delude himself into thinking he was just watching over a witness, protecting you from whatever violently lurked in the shadows; whether it be Kira, or an unfriendly fly. Even going so far as to say the reason he adjusted your sheets and lingered his fingers over your hot forehead were to keep you warm, unbothered. 

 But there was no lying to himself, that immoral feeling wouldn’t be dissuaded so easily. And L wasn’t stupid enough to try and pretend he didn’t know what he was.  

The detective retook his seat in the desk chair, finding comfort in the distance between it and your mattress. This way, no movement of his would deter you from the unconsciousness he hoped to keep you in; though, was it truly for your benefit, or for his? His sunken eyes wander, grazing the soft darkness shrouding your silhouette. 

Bringing his chin to his knees, L busied himself with thoughts of what you’d look like when you woke up, how you’d act all sleepily in the morning, and if you’d be just as forgetful tomorrow as you were tonight in leaving your windows unlocked. 

[midnight-mourning]

Snowy Snuggles

❄️❄️Midnight's DCA December Day 19❄️❄️

ahem, i saw the phrase cuddles and kisses and went ham, I would apologize but I think we all know that you people are going to eat it up, so enjoy!

Prompt: sun/moon’s systems freezing up because of the cold so reader decides ah… cuddles and kisses to the boyfriend(s) to warm them… sun and moon try to make it as unobvious as they can that theyre warmed up because they love love love reader’s cuddles but they are steeeadily starting to overheat because ohhh they love reader so much

Word Count: 1234

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

You bend down and light the last candle, snuffing out the match a moment later and discarding it. The entire room is enveloped in a soft, warm light with the amount of candles you have in here. They're pretty, but they provide no heat. That, was something you were going to have to figure out yourself. 

There's an old wood stove still set up in the basement, but you only have a little bit of wood for it currently, you'd need to go out back tomorrow and chop some. For now, you'd just have to hope the house won't get too cold on you. 

It wasn't you that you were worried about, and this power outage wouldn't have been a big deal, if you and the boys hadn't just spent all day out in the snow, and had come inside expecting to warm up significantly. 

You spare them a glance, the light's just enough for Sun to be out, as he huddles under the pile of blankets you'd provided. Your heart twists with concern as you see him tremble. You're sure they'll be okay, it's just, not a great situation currently. 

"Hey." You softly call out. "Doing alright over there?"

Sun perks up, looking over to you. Tone more cheery than you think he actually is. "Of course, Sunshine! We're okay, I promise."

"You don't look okay to me." You walk over, cupping your hands around his faceplate. "This is all my fault, if I'd noticed the outage sooner I could have planned better. I'm so sorry."

Sun's rays flutter, not having the energy for his usual spinning. "Don't say that! We insisted on staying outside so long. It was a complete and total fluke that the power went out. Nothing you should be blaming yourself for, alright?" His hand reaches up for your wrist, leaning into your touch. 

"Okay,"—you sigh, then giggle as he kisses your wrist, you take a step back—"I'm gonna go grab my dinner, and then I'll be back."

Sun nods, and lets you go. 

You give him once last look, and hurry off into the kitchen. By the light of your phone's flashlight, you make yourself a sandwich or two, and pour a cup of cold coco. You check to see if there's any updates on when the electricity will be back, but you still have no signal. 

Deciding that that's not good enough, you search the cupboards and find your old storm radio, along with your regular one, and bring them and your food back with you from the kitchen. 

When you get back, you don't miss how Sun scrambles back from holding his hands over the candles on the coffee table. He feigns innocence, sinking back into the blanket as your frown deepens. There's got to be something you can do to help, and you have an idea in mind. 

You set everything down on the end table, turning on both radios. The storm radio doesn't have any updates, but the other softly plays holiday music, bringing some life to the living room. Then, you turn your focus to Sun, hands clasped. 

"Yes, Starshine?" He asks, a little on edge at the look on your face.

You wave your hand. "Open up that blanket, that's my spot."

It takes him a moment, then it clicks. "O-oh! Of course." He opens the blanket, and his arms. 

You all but hop into his lap, snuggling close as you wrap your arms around his neck. Then, you pull back and kiss him once, grinning. "Thought I'd provide the best heat I could think of. If that's alright?"

Sun's stare is blank, unmoving. Then, his rays spin rapidly and he nods several times. It makes you laugh as you reach over for your sandwich, snuggling further into his lap as he brings the blanket back around the two of you. 

"Sorry in advance for any crumbs, but after getting pelted with snowballs all day I'm kind of hungry." You take a bite, reveling in it for a second. For a cold sandwich, this slapped.

Sun chuckles, arms coming to rest around you. "I suppose just this once it's alright, special circumstances and all that."

"Good, because I wasn't asking." You snicker as he huffs. 

After finishing your sandwich, you get even cozier, entwining your fingers with Sun's and snuggling your head against his neck. 

Bored, and also feeling cheeky, you place a kiss to his neck, followed by another, and another. 

He stiffens and you grin to yourself, continuing with a squeeze to his hand. Eventually the position starts to ache, so you decide to turn around so you're straddling him. When you do so, you make eye contact and smirk. 

"Hi." You say. 

"Hi."

You interlock both your hands with his, leaning back in so that you're only inches apart. "Mind if I get back to work?"

"Wo-work?" Sun asks. 

You giggle. "Mmmhmm. I've got nothing better to do than sleep, and to be honest, I'm not really in the mood for that." You kiss the edge of his smile. "So, want to help me with that?"

Sun's hands squeeze yours, tight. For a moment, you swear you hear a low humming sound, but it's hard to tell with all the blankets and the radio. 

"Very much so, yes."

You grin again, closing the remaining small gap between the two of you. "Let's get to it then."

After, a plethora of kisses is exchanged between the two of you, and you think Sun has melted into the couch, you decide it's Moon's turn. 

"You ruined him, you know." Moon snickers, forehead against yours. "He's comatose in here."

You chuckle. "That was the intention."

"I hope you don't think it's going to work twice, Star."

Your hands wrap around his neck, fingers slinking between the wires there. When he shudders you pull one back, using it to grip his chin while you pout. "Are you sure? I'm gonna be real sad if it doesn't."

"Brat." Moon mutters, but with how he's avoiding eye contact you'd say you've already won. 

You lean in to kiss him only to hesitate, when he puts his hand up between you. 

"Oh, sorry, I wasn't—" He takes your head, and places it against his chest. 

Now closer, you can hear the noise from earlier, which you now understand was their internal fans. And it clicks what's happened. 

Your face starts to burn. "I see."

"We tried to hide it." Moon coughs. "But now it's becoming a problem."

You pause, then shift back to gape at him. "You're overheating? Are kidding me?"

Moon ducks his head and you can't help the astonished laugh you let out. Then, you hug him, shaking your head in disbelief. 

"Guess we don't have worry about freezing up after all, huh?"

"Don't start." He warns, but it's half-hearted, weak. 

You laugh again. "Okay, okay. No kissing for a bit then."

Quiet. 

"I can always go back out in the snow for a few minutes if you want..."

You scoff, baffled. "If I want? Excuse me, I think tha—"

Moon interrupts you by pulling you further into him, muttering something you can barely make out. 

And if you weren't so incredibly offended, you might have taken him up on that offer.

Emphasis on might. You are pretty cozy right now, regardless of being able to kiss them or not.

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Thank you for the request @vypridae!! I very much enjoyed writing more cuddly kissy fluffy things, and flustering the boys that too :)

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[imagine-lassie]

Lassie uses the phrase ‘pushing daisies’ or ‘taking a dirt nap’ one ☝️ time instead of ‘dead’, and Shawn immediately makes a quip about Lassie being in the Italian mob

[haruniki]

Midnight × Reader with a catgirl quirk? Maybe having them make "nya" noises and other such cat related sounds

a/n: wait bc you are cooking with that idea, went ahead and made this like a pre-established relationship hcs pls enjoy Midnight x Reader with a catgirl like quirk (hcs)

CW: OOC(maybe?? first time writing for this fandom like this be nice to me pls), my own personal hcs are slightly included in this teehee, slightly suggestive at one point

Midnight is a lover of cats and what's even better than a cat? A cat girlfriend

Wants nothing more than to just curl up with you and snuggle with you all day and night, but sadly she has a job and has to do that job

Loves petting your ears! Scratching behind them, even just mindlessly playing with the fur on them, she loves the softness of them

Nemuri sometimes places bows on your ears because she thinks it's so cute, but she never leaves them on your ears because she doesn't want it to hurt your ears or anything like that, though i you don't mind the slight pulling of your ears caused by the bows then she might leave them in for a bit longer

Speaking of bows, definitely asks you to wear one on your tail (like the main character in Tokyo Mew Mew)

Speaking of Tokyo Mew Mew, would definitely asks you to dress up as one of the characters because it was her favorite sow growing up. But she won't be disappointed if you don't want to (she might be a little bit)

Collars. Collars with bells on them, collars with bows, collars with tags on them that say "If lost please call xxx-xxx-xxxx" or "If lost please return to this address". Her favorite part about the collars is placing leashes on them, Midnight quite enjoys your flustered face when she tugs on them lightly

Purring is one of her favorite things to hear from you, Midnight thinks it's the highest form of compliment when she can get to purr for her. "Such a pretty kitty for me, hmm?"

Cue the purring

Seriously she loves it, wishes she could make you purr for her all day and night, no breaks in between

And if you have any more catlike behaviors such as head rubbing to get her attention, she might just all excited about it.

[baeshijima]

going through all my old hsr and genshin concepts rn and omg i need to write/finish some of these like actually???

like?? wdym i havent started the fallen/banished god!blade x god!reader 20k slow burn pining hurt/comfort "i have never stopped thinking about you for the last millennia and now that you're finally here in front of me once more i won't let you go even if you try to flee" old friends to barely recognisable husk of former self (reader pov of blade) to lovers fic yet???

wdym i havent started the reverse transmigration into a murder mystery novel where ur a side character who gets killed off for cheap plot progression and served as the main character (diluc)'s reason for vengeance with aether and lumine having transmigrated into the novel before your death and save you only to not realise that things happen for a reason and now they are constantly trying to protect you from all forms of death alongside the growing ragtag group of the main cast as they vie for your attention fic yet????

wdym i havent started the kamisama kiss au fic for both genshin and hsr despite having so many brainrots about the possible dynamics between familiar!characters under your contract and fellow god!characters who you meet along the journey of being a god yet???

wdym i havent started the devoted-yet-dramatic knight!argenti x fed-up-but-secretly-loves-it heir!reader 10k comedy pining slight hurt/comfort fic yet???

wdym i havent started that one-sided rivals (character yet to be decided on) time travel into the future where you find yourself married to self-proclaimed rival and have a crisis over how you came to be wed and where this affection from them came to be while they're wondering why you're avoiding them and acting like you did when you were both still students fic yet???

wdym i havent finished the soulmate!blade or actor!blade fics yet despite having so much groundwork laid out for them???

wdym i havent finished the transmigration into a fodder side character and accidentally stealing all the male leads from the female lead and then some more despite it already being 8-9k words in fic yet???

wdym i havent started the hsr version equivalent of the prev wip fic yet???

wdym i havent finished the cat dad bass player previously renowned national fencer university student blade 10k pining fic yet???

wdym i havent finished the hsr celeb/actor!various au despite being 5k words in and constantly revising what characters im actually including in it fic yet???

WDYM I STILL HAVE MORE WIPS ASIDE FROM THESE??????

[alohaasaloevera]

guys I’m honestly happy that klance didn’t become canon because I love how as a collective group of people we utilize our right to explore what could have been and create the most smoking hot scenarios ever and yes I obviously wanted more of their friendship growing into this bond stronger than anything else in the universe especially since Voltron has teamwork and family as one of their main lessons but that’s more of a development issue all around…ok besides that there’s something about klance where it provides this PERFECT environment for shippers to inhabit and FEAST upon. With klance, there’s a solid, engaging dynamic between the two set up, which is this weird one-sided rivalry that stems from Lance’s insecurity and his need to prove himself of his worth and Keith literally being one of the best pilots for his age but since they’re flung into space and chosen to become child soldiers in this 10,000 year old intergalactic war so they have to work as a team which surprise surprise forces them to put aside their differences and work as a team which is shown a bunch when Keith needs to become a leader and Lance steps up as his right hand and and they have some kinda tender moments that won’t definitely drive shippers into a shipping craze (or worse) SO YEAH you could see why people loved it with all the classic tropes and mutual growth all that schmooze (ALSO THEY KNEW EACHOTHER BEFORE THE MAIN PLOT??? Well maybe not like friends or even acquaintances probably BUT HELLO?????? EVEN MORE SHIT TO EXPAND ON????), and they share multiple scenes that could be interpreted as romantic but there’s no explicit romance. This environment is fucking dripping drenched flash flooded cornered by 1000ft tsunamis in all directions with potential for shipping, so when people saw this relationship between two bros with this sort of homoerotic (IM JOKING. Kinda.) unresolved tension towards each other and the POTENTIAL for a good slow burn rivals to friends to lovers, it was to no one’s surprise that they went APESHIT. Klancers made countless different ways where they get together whether it be pre-Kerberos, post-gettingthefuckoutofearth, the start of the show, the end of the show, after the end of the show, right smack in the middle, anywhere, anytime, for who the fuck knows why just ANY REASON DAMN IT it doesn’t really matter because people were pumping out fanfiction or fan art or any fan media of klance faster than I spit out a raw baby carrot after chewing it for one second and now we’re all wallowing about how it should have been KICK but the thing is that if VLD did KICK all the way to Altea, the production of these beautiful stories that so many people have and still are coming up with about klance kissing in midst of a battle, helping each other with their crippling nightmares, smiling for the stars or some other sad premise, and whatever is nestled in his pulse…just like uhhh the amount of fics like these that go into great detail about Keith and Lance in these random situations that end up with them getting together being produced would go down to some degree because of the fact that if the people’s beloved sharpshooter and samurai had ended up together like we had wanted, and the majority was satisfied with the ending the creators had given, people would have shifted from writing about “How could Lance and Keith get together?” to writing about “What could Lance and Keith do now that they’re together?” And like. There’s nothing wrong with that honestly I would be HYPED if klance was ever canon but there is profound beauty in the way the community is able to create more from less and turn a show that went to shit in the last few seasons shine even brighter than it did at its prime. Like I wouldn’t trade my favorite fics 4 anything.

—

Ok another little thing I’m going to put here: With Klance, all I wanted was for them to be great friends 😭😭😭. I tend to prefer klance becoming canon in later seasons or at the end or even an open ending with no confirmed romantic relationships because I am a sucker for character development and the idea of Keith and Lance both harboring these feelings that at first are just admiration and respect but then escalate to yearning for one another or becoming close friends at the end of the show and getting to imagine anything I want post canon is EVERYTHING if you give me S7 Garrison klance I’ll keel over and thank you like I was a second away from dying of thirst and your gift was a truck load of water

[luthielion]

As I'm currently still on the train from the Netherlands and bored out of my mind, time to post my take-aways and opinions on the dutch production of Elisabeth for everyone who would like to read it.

Under the "see more" thingy I'll post my pros and cons and my interpretations and personal opinions on the interpretations of the characters so everyone who wants to go in unbiased can do that.

pros:

obviously Pia as Elisabeth was absolutely phenomenal, Pia Douwes the woman you are

Danique Dusèe as the young Elisabeth really blew me away, the way her Elisabeth was both so young, playful and naive but at the same time had very soon a certain melancholy about her and you could really see the effect all of her interactions with Tod but also the effects the way of life at court had on her

Generally the way they handled Elisabeth as a character was one of the things that impressed me most about this production. I don't know if any other production has done it that way but the way they portrayed especially the manifestation of her mental illness through substance abuse which, while I don't think that this is actually historically accurate, correct me if I'm wrong, just emphasises this aspect even more than I feel like most productions do.

In the light of the topic of substance abuse I especially liked that during 'Mama Wo Bist Du' we actually have Elisabeth almost watching it, in the sense that it is an opiod induced hallucination of her son calling out for her and Tod intervening which also gives us and her this terrible sense of foreboding when Tod and Rudolf exit the stage together

Then obviously as a very important moment in terms of Elisabeths mental illness you have 'Irrenhaus' which in this production is for the most part set on a mix of fence and prison bars and by on I mean both the woman believing she is Eliabeth and Elisabeth herself climb this fence and the entire rest of the scene takes place there. What struck me about it was this very real cage-like feeling while Elisabeth is singing about freedom and feeling imprisoned which is only amplified by her actually sticking her head through the bars while climbing (it also looked scary cause you could see it kind of swing a bit back and force but that is not important right now)

during the duet between Elisabeth and Franz Josef Lucheni slowdances in the background, together with a lifesize bodypillow

the costumes were amazing, from Ensemble to Elisabeth

the narrator in the beginning is not as usual a voice with no person attached to it, but rather the whole Ensemble dressed in what later turns out to be painters clothes

The Ensemble is mostly wearing the same costume for most of the musical which paints them as kind of outside the story, almost a reflection of the audience themselves and acting out the story Lucheni is telling from a rather contempory lense. 'Schönheitspflege' for example is more angry rather than the usual obedient servant. They are also painting a lot of the time and their painting are revealed to be only black while Elisabeth dies which is something I still haven't figured out exactly.

'Milch' also ends in a sort of riot in which the paintings of Elisabeth all around the walls are splattered with deep red paint which makes it look like they are smeared with blood, both a statement about the contents of the scene and also a sort of dark foreshadowing of thing to come.

speaking of riots, they also made rudolf not just a spectator of 'Hass' but rather actively the main victim and the speaking character, a choice that on one hand perfectly compliments the staging the next scene and adds to the actual portrayal of Rudolfs reasons to commiting suicide on the other hand, making him an actual victim feels sort of wrong because it never really was the rich and influential non-jewish people who were the first victims of the Nazis/ hypernationalistic people.

con:

one of the main issues I have is the decision to rapidly reduce the homoeritic tension between Rudolf and Tod. For me the dynamic just fell very flat, especially due to the very very limited physical contact between them, no mayerling kiss or attempts at them anywhere, and the fact that they're never really alone. And while it is a very interesting concept to also depict Elisabeth and Lucheni having a breakdown in the background of Schatten it just detracts from the effect the scene is in my opinion supposed to have, the portrayal of the isolation of Rudolf and how Tod and thus death seem like the only way out for him.

In general Rudolf is the one I have the most issues with, as his entire arc just really falls short in favour of his mother. While I do think that 'Mama Wo Bist Du' was actually good like this, Tods almost sole focus on Elisabeth, going so far as to walk over to her during Schatten just made his despair and suicidality feel like it didn't matter to the show which it very much does. It felt more like Tod was orchestrating all of it to spite and hurt Elisabeth and not as an effect of Rudolfs struggles, thus making him a pawn in Tod and Elisabeths relationship rather than a person in his own right.

The last is the very static choreography, there just was not enough movement in my opinion.

Tod-Elisabeth Dynamic:

It seems to be intended as a very abusive relationship and it truly excels at it through a lot of different things and aspects. Firstly the substance abuse, which is very much through the influence of Tod, as he is the one who first forces her to smoke. Later she smokes more or less of her own volition but still only in scenes which feature Tod. The opium which leads to the hallucination is also offered by death. One of the many cases of abusive ralationships is the abusive partner getting the other hooked on substances and while only the smoking is explicitly shown, the opium is heavily implied. And while in all productions I've seen, Tod, after being rejected, only turns up again when he sees the golden opportunity in FJ cheating, in this production he keeps turning up and Elisabeth keeps accepting it and doesn’t really reject him, on the contrary, they even get incredibly close.Tod is especially in the beginning very controlling, literally as he manipulates Elisabeth like a string puppet without even touching her. All of it is incredibly possessive and he really seems to enjoy being so in control of her, going so far as to making her sink to the ground, seemingly dead.

To recap, an incredible production with fascinating choices having been made, but not without flaws.

[finalgirlsamwinchester]

to round out tonight's humphris-gamble spiral: the 2.14 exorcism as an almost prophetic play-by-play of 4.21, with both episodes featuring the dean-bobby familial unit bringing a monstrous sam back under control (meg, earlier in 2.14: 'meg? no. not anymore. i'm sam'). and the different parting glances between sam and bobby here. bobby's wary, assessing look in 2.14 vs. the 'what's become of you' face he's making in 4.21. sam's anxious smile in 2.14, seeking reassurance, vs. his look of worn down despair post-panic room in 4.21. a sam who still hopes that his monstrosity might be treated as something external to himself, a demon to be exorcised vs. a sam face-to-face with the barrel of a gun, knowing that he is The Monster in this story (dean in 4.21 later telling him, 'it's what you are').

[astracora]

A Mandated Holiday Break - Chapter 6

Characters: Sylus x gn!mc (poly lads)

Warnings: None

Word Count: 971

Written: 21st December 2024

Notes: Post-relationship Sylus/MC-centric but poly LADs, with my personal pov of the game and lil headcanons littered in.

Chapters: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11

Masterlist AO3

Sylus' body is an inferno. He's well used to running hotter than most. It's just another part of who he is, that doesn't occur to him the majority of the time.

The first few times you'd shared a bed, you'd wriggled out of his grasp, sweating and uncomfortable. Had he had less control over himself, he'd have pouted. (You probably didn't miss the furrow in his brow though.)

So he'd slept wearing as little as possible.

Still too much, waking up in the middle of his sleep schedule to find you across the bed, covers thrown off to cool down. Shedding your discomfort.

Next he'd taken to pulling your clothes off. Always a delight, this time a driven aim. It had worked somewhat, you'd wrapped yourself into his embrace and tangled around him, seeking out the heat of his body like he was your personal pillow.

It lasted longer, but still he was awoken by you edging away, seeking the chill of a turned over pillow and the outside of the duvet.

He'd changed the type of bedding he used, bought you new bedding.

You'd told him to stop worrying, to stop paying expenses, sometimes it was just too warm.

Sylus was sure at that he'd grumbled like a child. He wanted to hold you, and he wanted to wake up with you in his arms.

Everytime you moved out of his reach, he itched and ached like scales growing through raw skin. It was one of the few times he envied the doctor, he never seemed to have trouble with keeping you clinging throughout your slumber.

Eventually he had two things fitted, a ceiling fan and air conditioning. The change to temperature meant so little to him, unbothered by heat or cold. When you'd seen them on your next visit, you'd been incredulous. Since when did he need either of these?

He didn't answer that he needed them for you, for him, he just made an offhand comment about the best, and preparation for the future. (The immediate future. His sleep quality.)

His relief that day when he'd woken up, your head under his chin, legs tangled with his, and arms around him. Seeking out his skin against yours.

The second you left the bed, however, you'd complained for the chill. He left the remote for the new tools of his victory, in your hands, but he had gleefully held you as long as he could, chin on shoulder and hands dancing across cool skin.

Your week off has allowed him to experience that for a few days now, he's using your sleep pattern for the week, though there is no real track of time in the sky of the N109 Zone. He doesn't want to make your return to work difficult.

As he wakes, this morning you have stayed asleep, catching up on long hours. Your back is pressed to his chest and you're holding onto his arm. He won't tease you about the drool out the corner of your mouth, but he files away the image for himself. Tickled and endeared.

He doesn't want to wake you, you're so peaceful... but he can't stop himself from pulling as close as he can. Burying his nose in the crook of your neck, and breathing you in.

You smell like his last meal in every life. Like he could bite down and die happy, your blood in his mouth and your soul in his chest.

If he were a weaker man, perhaps he'd drool as well, salivating and starving.

He certainly feels starved when he cannot keep you close, desperate and dogged.

You'd teased him that he reminds you of a wolf, and he thinks that's more accurate than he likes. He would bite your hand lovingly, but tear and snarl at your command, if that's what you wanted from him.

Sylus wants to get up, if he can get breakfast ready, he can see your eyes light up. Hand you a mug of coffee, that turns his nose, in bed. So you'll kiss his cheek and sigh happily.

He feels satisfaction when he sees you happy because of him. Yet...

Pressed against you, your chest moving with each breath. So alive, and warm and his. You trust him to guard you, to kiss your neck when the scent drives him to madness, to keep you warm against the cold. He once mused that you still took his hand despite how dangerous he was, and every day he marvels more at how you continue to do so.

Now when you take his hand, you place a kiss on his knuckles. That if he had no healing ability, would be scarred and torn and ruinous. He thinks, that even if that were the case... you would still kiss them tender and raw.

You had always seen something in him that no one else did. Flowers suiting his soul, a smile worthy of his face, love belonging in his hands.

He feels sick with the feeling, overflowing from where joined hearts beat in his chest, but it's a sickness he would never wish to heal himself of. Peace found despite how little he probably deserves it.

Sylus is selfish though. A fragment, a taste, a burst of you had not been enough. Millennia's will not be enough. Until the end of the world itself he will never think this is enough.

No matter his sullied hands, or the actions he has made, some of which he would not apologise for, he will never relinquish his treasure.

His Soul.

You who owns his heart for eternity.

As he bites down at your shoulder, stirring your sleep, and laves with his tongue to your sleepy pleasure, he settles for a taste of the cure to his hunger, that he plans to draw out forever.

[nuttersincorporated]

No Strings Attached

As midnight struck, Mickey felt his strings snap and he immediately crumpled to the ground. He tried to get up but only made it as far as his knees before he collapsed again.

Lying on his back, staring up at the stary night sky above, Mickey became aware of a strange whimpering sound. It took him a few moments to realise he was the one making those noises. Tears rolled down his cheeks.

He distantly wondered if he could lie there forever; just stay there until the ground claimed his bones. It seemed so much easier than the alternative. He was so, so tired.

“Mickey!” the voice sounded far away but he recognised it instantly. “Mickey!”

No, he wouldn’t give up. He couldn’t. He wasn’t the only one who’d had his strings cut.

Angry with himself, Mickey scrubbed the tears away. Then he balled his hands into fists and with a great effort of will, pushed himself into a sitting position.

“Mickey, where are you?”

“Min…” he started to answer but that was all he managed before he started coughing. He tried to stop but it only seemed to get worse.

“Mickey!”

She must have heard him because he could hear her running towards him. A moment later and she was there, flower in her hair and worry on her face.

“Oh Mickey!” She dropped to her knees beside him and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. He continued to cough and she rubbed circles on his back until, at last, his body relaxed and he could breathe properly.

“It’s okay,” she reassured him, still holding him. “It’s going to be okay.”

Mickey hugged her back. He realised he was crying again and made an effort to stop. He opened his mouth and tried to speak for the second time. This time he managed it.

“Minnie.” Mickey stopped. He didn’t recognise his own voice. It was horse from all the coughing but it was more than that.

His eyes widened is shock as realised it was the first word he’d ever spoken. Oh, words had come out of his mouth before but he’d never been the one making the decision to say them.

“Minnie,” he said again. “We’re free.”

[marswasnothere]

Technically this is fairy anon's ask but I'm going to cut it up and compile it into one slightly more readable post (readable to me at least) ↓ long post!

Age Swap Maxiel AU Canon! - the freak4freak court's universe

Yup! I was originally debating between current 2024-25 timeline, with an aged down Daniel and a regular Max, or having Max in Sebastian Vettel's place, with a regular(ish, slightly aged down) Daniel and Older Max

The way it was meant to happen 😔 Younger Daniel does replace Checo in the age swap au, the new talent replaced the by-gone driver. Similar situation to our world where his performance clause and points expectation is not met.

Hell team Vcarb for early 2024, sorry little guy. Lets just say younger Daniel replicated his Miami quali results every single race in early 2024. He'd drag Pierre Hamelin over to Red Bull as his race engineer.

Baby badger gets an f1 seat for his (late) 19th birthday canon. Going by the 2024 calendar, younger Daniel has a free practice session in Silverstone (2023 parallels) and far outperforms Checo, and gets his seat before the following race in Hungary. Pretty much exactly half the year in Red Bull, plus he got to have a home race/s in Melbourne and Imola while in vcarb.

Older Max wasn't socialised the same way as regular Max, leading to that ruthless competetivness, obsession with success, and lack of proper outlets for excitement or rage.

Younger Daniel lacks the experience that regular Daniel has to get Older Max out of his shell and let himself be silly, so he is his usual excitable self, but is cautious around Max (to start with) as he doesn't want to annoy/piss off his teammate.

Daniel deeefinitely benefits from modern technology. He doesn't get quite as homesick and sad he can't get immediate love and help from his mum and dad, but you're bang on right about the physical connection. Younger Daniel still needs that. Even if he can spend hours on facetime while he talks with his parents and Michelle, his need to be in face to face conversations, to be in the same room as someone, to be able to bump shoulders and give a quick side hug is too strong to be satiated by calls alone. Max fulfills that.

He's soooo starstruck. He's been watching F1 for so long, but actually noticed Max when he first won in Barcelona 2016 (at like 10 years old omg). He watched Max as a fan and in karting, then dropped off the fan-ness of it when his dreams of getting to F1 became realer and realer by the day. Sometime in F3, Daniel got this au's F3 championship of coooourse, Max acknowledges him, send shim a video of congratulations. Maybe when he's in F2, they're doing a photoshoot of every driver under the red bull formula family (like that one recent photoshoot, l*am warning) and he gets to meet Max in person, in a non-race situation.

Max is very happy to have a new, better teammate under his wing, someone who brings life to the red bull garage rather than an increasingly depressing atmosphere from his previous teammate getting dnfs and out-of-points results. Max does think this Daniel is adorable, making jokes, seeing if those jokes annoy Max, and when Max laughs, says he likes Daniel's jokes, Daniel lets that fear of annoying his new teammate go.

Yesyesyesyesyes canon canon. I also don't know if a driver's old number is reserved while they take number 1. maybe they have a conversation about it, strictly professional and considering the rules of the sport, but there's such an intimate undertone of Daniel taking Max's number, and when Max eventually can't use number 1 anymore, he takes Daniel's original 33. Reverting back to our world numbers omg.

Yup canon crushing on Max without knowing it was a crush. The drivers around Max's age, not the younguns, talk to him about the obvious fact they're about to hook up, just like he did with Seb "back in those days" (something something drivers communal inside joke of a sex postion called the golden boy bulling. or something)

Every ask answer has been on a vague timeline, but I'm going to decide (along with answering your other questions about the tension points below) that the tipping point is a combination of the advice call/pillow humping and a big big crash. Daniel calls Max before the Dutch GP, asking for advice, but also just wanting to hear his voice telling him how much of a good boydriver he is. Because it's in the european stretch, they'd be in motorhomes instead of a hotel, with Daniel getting to lavish in a fancy new thing he hasn't been in before, and enjoying the feel of the pillows quite a lot. Max, on the other side of the phone, recognises Daniel going quiet and the distinct shuffling, and at that point he wants to grab Daniel and hold him close and make him come. He approaches Daniel's motorhome after Daniel hangs up the call, and the interaction goes a bit more awkward than written, than how he wants it to be, and Max turns from his door feeling unresolved.

Daniel is a bit distant on race day, feeling like Max is going to interrogate him about his inappropriate actions, until Fernando pulls him aside and says "so has Max given you the overunder-porpoising-catalunya-champagne-spray-handy job yet?" and Daniel realises, oh! apparently i CAN be sexual with him!

They get closer over the following week, after Max's win at his home race, and Daniel getting a whole lot of attention on him for Monza. There's a lot of attention of a lot of drivers during Monza, but he's included in that list, lil italian badger.

That's when the big crash happens.

The second option for the crash. It's big, dramatic, the car flips once, twice, lands right side up thankfully. One car caused it, Daniel got hit hard, a third car got caught in it and retires from the race during the red flag. Whatever Max's place is during the race, he pulls up and parks his car in the gravel right when it's confirmed that Daniel crashed, but not yet that he's okay. He jumps out, runs towards the wrecked car, getting there before the stewards and medical car, helping a shaken up Daniel with removing his steering wheel and getting out of the car. He's pushed aside by the stewards, yelled at about violations, but he sees Daniel getting strapped in to the extrication board and taken into the track ambulance, throwing up a thumbs up to a cheering crowd, and that's all he needs.

The og! The very first idea of the age swap au, explained in here. I don't want to clog anyone's feeds with an idea they're squicked by so I'll talk about it on request. By all means, this will be a seperate au to this current age swap maxiel au.

I think Pyry could be younger Daniel's trainer. Being honest I totally forgot about him until I rewatched that one vlog where Daniel translates Max, Pyry, and Yuki's messages in their own langauges (calls himself a labrador using Pyrys words. PLEASE.) After one singular training session together, to see if Max and Daniel will somehow be more productive together, if the competitiveness will lead them to breaking personal records, Pyry and Rupert decide to never let them train together, because it lead to the sparring on the floor and both getting boners about it.

Yes. All of this, all of what's been written, and everytime he smiles he's got braces. Remember.

Max's pubes stuck in his braces while he's giving an interview, realising when he's walking up to the mic by mouth feel, and trying to talk with his lips over his teeth the entire time. It looks and sounds soooo weird.

Canon yes. Max refuses to leave Daniel's side, even when some other drivers come to visit, like the drivers who caused/got caught in the crash to apologise, Max is there, pretending he's not listening, but studying Daniel's face to see if he forgives them. If Daniel is nice to them, then Max is nice to them. Somewhat. No punches thrown, but a poignant comment during a press conference is given for sure.

In an ideal world, the ring gets put on after Max retires, Daniel gets a championship, they become dads, and Max gets to take his adopted chubby toddlers to the races to watch their other dad go zoom zoom in a big car. I feel like that's the ideal ending to any maxiel au lolol.

Yup yes. Link to ask and response.

Thematic earrings for each race Daniel.

[ganondoodle]

it really drives me up a wall how good i am at the rough layout for paintings but the more i work on it the worse it gets, its this .. being .. or feeling so CLOSE to getting it, but not being able to actually reach it, seeing it, maybe even slightly touching it, but never able to grab it

i cant seem to work without any sketch first, but i also cant work WITH one :C

[midnight-mourning]

Santa's Helper

❄️❄️Midnight's DCA December Day 25❄️❄️

Another silly one for y'all, I'll be honest this was 2 am Midnight who finished this and it's give or take on whether she cooks or not, but I'm gonna say yes for now :D

Prompt: Santa comes to the Daycare to see the kids, and reader dresses up as an elf to help out. A certain attendant thinks they look pretty cute~

Word Count: 1915

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

When you initially saw the costume that had been picked out for you, you laughed outright. When you found out that you actually had to wear it, your laughter died in your throat.

"You can't be serious." You gestured to the outfit. "You actually want me to wear that."

Your manager had shrugged. "Santa needs a helper. You already work in the Daycare. Saves me some trouble."

You just look at the outfit with horror, no words for your distress. 

It's an elf costume. Green, with red trim and a hat to match. It came with a belt, ears, and the same shade of green shorts. There were also red and white stripes tights, to your dismay.  It was godawful and you hated it.

But, you didn't have a choice unless you wanted to be fired. And considering you had a job where you got to work with your crush(es) all day every day, you'd rather suck it up and put it on. 

You understand why you had to be the one to do it. It had been your idea for Santa to come to the Daycare in the first place. You'd been pushing for it, honestly. Upper management hadn't seen the point until your argued how good an experience it would be for the kids. 

Therefore, this whole thing was your responsibility, meaning that if you wanted things to go smoothly you had to cooperate so that this went off without a hitch. Besides, it wasn't just the kids you were trying to please. 

When you'd told the attendants your idea, they were over the moon excited about it, while they knew better in terms of Santa being real, having someone come and surprise the kids like that was exciting to them. And to have your crush so thrilled about something you came up with? That feeling was too good to ruin it all over a stupid costume. 

This is the mantra you tell yourself as you stand in the bathroom, having just put the majority of the costume on, save for the hat. 

You look ridiculous, you feel ridiculous. But it's for the boys—the kids, it's for the kids. 

You sigh and shove the hat on, staring at yourself even harder in the mirror. 

There had to be some way you could make this work. You dig in your bag for your makeup, deciding add a bit of Christmas flair with some eyeshadow, and taking a pencil, draw little stars of various styles and sizes under your eyes and across your cheeks. You fix your hair so the hat looks cute, ish. 

You look back to your reflection, it's not the best, but it's better than before. You take a deep breath, and finally leave the bathroom, trudging back to the Daycare. When you arrive, it's empty, save for Sun. 

It's early, the kids weren't going to be here for another hour, and 'Santa' would be here around mid-morning, so your main goal for now was to get set up and prepared essentially. 

Sun hears the door open and shut and turns from setting up the crafts station. 

"Good morning, Sunbeam! How are—" He hesitates when he sees you, your ears start to burn. "—you... today?"

You sigh and drop your bag off in its usual spot. "Good morning, Sunny. I'm fine."

He walks over to you, staring down as his rays spin every so often. 

"You look..." He mumbles something you don't catch. 

You're sure it's probably nothing good. He probably thinks you look silly. "Yeah. I know. Let's just, ignore it, yeah?"

"Oh... Oh! Sorry friend I was um, distracted for a moment. What I meant to say is that you look wonderful! Perfectly in character for today."

You scoff half-hearted. "Thanks, Sun, but you don't have to lie for my sake. It's alright. I'm gonna go get started on Santa prepping, okay?"

You walk off then, completely embarrassed. Had you stuck around you might have heard Sun quietly utter. "But I wasn't lying."

Set up involves creating a holiday scene for where your Santa will sit. You're provided a big chair by management, and using some outdoor holiday decorations, and some spare sheets, create a snowy landscape. The long red carpet you'd found in storage ties up the scene nicely. Now all that's left to do is wait for the kids and 'Santa' to get here. 

You sit down in the chair, flipping through your phone since you have nothing better to do. You can't recall who's playing the big man this year. You think it's that one guy your age from Bonnie Bowl, but you're not too sure. He was nice, you don't know why they picked him for Santa given his age and non-Santa look, but whatever works. You just hope he plays the part like he's supposed to. 

As you're sitting there, you get the acute feeling of being watched. Sure enough, glancing up slightly you see Sun is staring at you, rays fluttering every few moments. You make eye contact and both flinch, going back to what you were doing. Several more times before the kids show up the same thing happens, and you wonder how bad this costume must really be for him to be so fixated on you. 

The kids at least are excited you're dressed up. They say as much as they go about the day, all anxious for when Santa finally shows up. 

And show up he does. You'll admit, the guy underneath that costume does a great job. He bursts into the Daycare, laugh loud and hearty and a sack over his shoulders. He carries with him an air of charisma that few can achieve when playing Santa Claus, and he's great with each of the kids. 

Sun helps to get them organized while you get your coworker situated. While doing so you decide to try for some small talk. 

"Thank you so much for doing this. It's really appreciated." You say, as you stack wrapped boxes that had come from the sack. 

He keeps his voice low so to not blow his cover. "Yeah, of course. This is fun for me compared to fixing bowling lanes all day."

"How do you nail the character so well?" You shake your head. "You're like what, 20 something? No offense."

He laughs. "None taken. This is kind of embarrassing, but I'm part of an improv group. We've been doing a lot of holiday themed practice lately and they always make me be Santa because I can do the voice."

You two continue to chat back and forth for a few more minutes before the sound of someone clearing their throat interrupts you. Startled, you turn around and see Sun standing there, hands clasped in front of him. He seems, tense? To be fair you are too, wanting this to go well. 

"If you're ready, Mr. Claus. The children are ready to begin."

Your coworker gets into character again, laughing. "Of course! Thank you Sun, let's get started, shall we?"

Sun nods, walking back to manage the kids in line and you frown. But, shake it off as the first kid runs up, starting to rattle of his Christmas list the second he's sat down. 

The event proceeds exactly as planned. No upset kids, no arguing over gifts, no crying either. Everything is perfect. 

Well, near perfect. 

You're slightly distracted by helping out your coworker, but you notice how Sun looks over to the two of you every so often. You're not entirely sure why. Yes, your coworker is being incredibly friendly with you, talking directly to you and throwing compliments your way. But it's all in character of course, it's not like he's not keeping up the act as he does it. 

It does click to you however as he leaves that there was more to it than just that. 

You're by the door, saying goodbye and thanking him again, when he pops a question you weren't expecting. 

"This was a lot of fun today. Besides cheering up the kids, I really liked talking to you." He ducks his head a moment, then looks back to you. "I know this is like, not the optimal time for it but would you um, want to go out sometime? Maybe get a coffee and chat?'

Oh. Oh no. 

You hadn't been expecting that at all, you can't even begin to think up a response. 

Fortunately, you don't have to. As a certain someone interjects. 

"So sorry to interrupt! But I'm afraid you're out of luck, Santa." Sun steps forward, putting a hand on your shoulder. "They're taken. Better luck next time, but thank you for stopping by! Buh-bye now."

Sun all but shuts the door in his face, leaning over you to do so. Then he looks down to you, as you're still gaping like a fish. 

He stands upright and turns back around, you hear him clap his hands behind you. "Alright everyone! It's time to enjoy your presents! Remember to play good and play fair, alright? We're going to go have playtime of our own, but if you need anything we'll be there to help!"

Sun takes your hand, and starts leading you through the Daycare, you stumbling behind him as you register what he said finally. 

"T-taken?" You squeak as he marches you to an abandoned section of the playset. He ducks inside, pulling you in with him and then sitting down. 

He points to the spot on the ground across from him and you get the hint, taking a seat. 

Once you do, he speaks. "Yes. Taken. If you'll allow, that is."

"N-no, no complaints here. I just, um. Really?"

Sun nods. "Mmmhmm."

Something clicks then. 

"Wait a minute. Sun, are you jealous?" You reach a hand out to set on his leg. "I hardly know that guy, I wasn't expecting him to ask me out! I um, I've had a crush on someone else, well, someones else, for a long time."

"Who?"

You laugh, not being able to take it. "You, silly! You and Moon both. Trust me, some guy from Bonnie bowl wouldn't be able to change that—"

You're interrupted by Sun's smile meeting your lips. Followed by him doing it again several times over, hands coming up to hold your face. Once he's satisfied he pulls away, sighing. 

"Sorry, Starlight. I, um, got a little excited hearing you say that. I didn't mean to interrupt you, what were you saying?" There's a dreamy lithe to how he speaks, it makes you giggle. 

Your hands come up to hold his, leaning into his touch a tad more. "Honestly, don't think it really matters at this point. I'd rather be doing more of that than talking right now, to be honest. Just wish I wasn't in this silly costume for all this."

Sun kisses your forehead, then presses his against yours. 

"I think you look very cute. That's... part of why I acted so rudely. I was upset he got to see you up close like this."

You chuckle. "Well, you get to see me now, don't you?"

Sun hums in agreement. 

"Then, let's make the most of it."

As you share another chaste kiss, you have to come to the undeniable understanding that you may very well have to thank your manager for making you wear this costume. 

Another kiss distracts you from thinking further. 

On second thought, maybe you'll keep this one to yourself.

❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

Thank you for the fun little request @twomanypockets!! I thought that jealous Sun would go perfectly with it, hope you liked it ^-^

Thanks for reading!

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[gregorovitch-adler]

Fireworks

Sherlock never understood the tradition of kissing someone at midnight on New Year's Eve. He didn't understand a lot of traditions, actually, especially when they had to do with romance.

John, on the other hand, was extremely excited about it. He had been waiting for it to be midnight for a couple of hours now. Even Mariana had rolled her eyes at that.

Anyway, there they were. Standing on the rooftop of 221 Baker Street, waiting for the clock to strike twelve.

Having been in a relationship together for six months, now, meant they had to bear with John's bouts of energy once in a while.

Mariana was on Sherlock's right side, and John had taken the other one.

The three of them had just been gazing at the sky and had been talking about nothing in particular.

Suddenly, Mariana was shivering a lot, even with her thick coat.

Sherlock unzipped his black jacket and pulled Mariana close by her shoulder to be able share the jacket with her. Well, try to, at least.

Now Sherlock was shivering too. "Is-is it midnight already?" he asked John.

John had been staring at his wristwatch for a whole minute now. "Seven more seconds! Ok, now, five, four, three, two, one, Happy New Year!"

The whole sky was slowly being covered with fireworks. Apparently, the whole Westminster was at it tonight. Some bursting sounds from a distance made Sherlock adjust his ear defenders properly.

John grabbed his face and pressed his lips against Sherlock's. Sherlock placed a hand on John's jawline to kiss him back. He could feel John smile into the kiss.

Even in the midst of chaos and uncomfortably loud sounds, Sherlock found peace and love in John's sweet kisses.

Not all traditions were stupid, he figured.

Sherlock stepped back, and Mariana walked over to John.

Sherlock zipped his jacket back up as he watched John and Mariana kiss under the beautiful night sky.

His face formed a smile on its own.

John and Mariana broke off the kiss, and now it was Sherlock's turn to kiss her.

Mariana came over to Sherlock again. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and they both began to kiss each other.

Sherlock would never get tired of the feeling of her soft mouth on his own. He grabbed her waist as they continued to kiss.

Mariana shivered violently, and that's when they had to stop.

"We really need to go back to the flat," said Sherlock, and the three of them laughed.

Mariana decided to hug Sherlock after that.

John walked over to join in.

Sherlock, John, and Mariana were holding each other quietly for a long moment.

They stepped back and broke it off.

Sherlock, John, and Mariana turned around to get back to 221 B to feel more comfortable together, all with the excitement of the new year and new beginnings waiting for them at the doorstep.

**

Prompt: Fireworks by @fluff-cember

Tags: @helloliriels @lisbeth-kk @jamielovesjam @keirgreeneyes @topsyturvy-turtely @totallysilvergirl @gaylilsherlock @calaisreno @peanitbear @chriscalledmesweetie , etc.

A. N. : Now it's finally over. Thanks a lot for reading my stories, everyone! It was a fun challenge. Hope to come back here with my new writing piece soon. :D

Happy New Year!

[confused-stars]

i need to actually remember for my writing that my main hc for why Childe is Like That is that he saw something real and true just once in his life and has been chasing that high ever since despite it being a massively traumatizing experience

kind of like a very weird Lovecraft protagonist