hadriel_logs | Event Log: A Jar Full of Sunshine

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Event Log: A Jar Full of Sunshine

Who: Everyone!
What: The Jar Full of Sunshine event
Where: Throughout the city
When: May 3rd-May 9th
Warnings: Fireflies as a conduit for drug use. Annoyingly catchy songs.

On May 3rd, you may wake up and notice that something is different about the cave. Are you sure it's the daytime? Maybe you didn't sleep long enough, because it still seems pretty dark outside. Or, of course, the gods are messing with the lights again.

This time, however, it seems like it's actually a good thing. Sometime around the afternoon, some smaller lights begin to appear around the city, trickling in from Delight's temple and flickering on and off. These fireflies are brighter than what you might be used to, but being illuminated by their light will mysteriously allow a small surge of joy to rumble through you.

By May 4th, the shops are stocked with large mason jars, and you can start distributing them and using them to catch these fireflies as you wish. They're most concentrated in and around Delight's temple, but by now, the delight-erflies are pretty fairly spread throughout the city.

Be careful (or don't) of how many you catch! 1-3 fireflies in a jar will be enough to give you a mild emotional boost, at 4-6 you might be able to realize that you're definitely happier than you used to be, at 7-10, you can definitely tell that something is making you more cheerful, warm and happy. Beyond 10 fireflies, the additional effect gets smaller the more fireflies you capture, but it will still continue to build until you may just spend the next few days wrapped around your firefly jar in a pleasantly drugged stupor.

Just, uh... don't forget to eat.

► This log covers May 3rd-May 9th.
► Feel free to make your own logs as well!
► Please tag headers of threads with content warnings where they apply
► Please put your character's name and open/closed in the subject line of your starters!
► Did you OD on fireflies (is that even possible)? Please remember to hit up our death post!

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[He smiles a little, more at Ronan's sudden appearance and the proud smile than anything else. Maybe it wasn't that sudden, but Adam's hearing isn't the best, and with the water running there wasn't much chance he'd hear Ronan's approach. That's okay, though. When he's at home he can be more comfortable, not as wary, less on his guard. He's not startled by Ronan showing up out of seemingly nowhere.

He turns off the water and dries his hands on a ragged towel, then reaches out to pick up the jar and inspect it.]

You made this?

[It doesn't matter much if Ronan dreamt it up or assembled it himself. Either way, he's good at that sort of thing - Adam might be good at fixing things, but Ronan is good at creating them. It's a skill Adam admires.]

Pretty nice. You gonna go catch some fireflies?

Yeah.

[He looks proud while Adam inspects it, as if it's some school project with a top grade. Though- that's likely a bad analogy, as Ronan has never had school projects with top grades, let alone been proud of anything he's ever done for class.

Still, he moves forward inside of Adam's personal space and looks at the jar with him, pointing out the sponge soaked with sugarwater, the sliced fruit in case they ate that sort of thing, the tiny bit of dead mealworms at the bottom in case they ate that kind. Ronan wants to explain all the different sorts of firefly species to Adam, just in case these could be related to any of those, but he holds quiet and just shakes his head at the question, sliding his hands around Adam's waist from behind and resting his chin on the other boy's shoulder.

He makes sure that it's the side that Adam can hear out of so that he can be heard when he responds-]

I made it for you to catch them in.

[As if it was obvious.]

If you want to.

[The simple, affectionate gesture makes a little flower of something that might be happiness bloom in Adam's chest. It's silly, but he likes the way Ronan's arms feel around him, and he likes it even more that Ronan is comfortable doing something like this. On some level, he's surprised to be comfortable with it himself, considering what little experience Adam has with casual affection, but - it feels natural.

He turns the jar carefully, noting how complete it is. Of course Ronan knows about fireflies. He probably caught them himself, with Matthew and Declan, once upon a time. The mental image Adam conjures up is impossibly adorable.

He sets the jar down and turns, careful not to dislodge Ronan's arms.]

I was afraid I'd kill them accidentally. But yeah, I want to. Thanks.

[He slides a hand around to the back of Ronan's neck and pulls him in for a gentle kiss, because that's really the only possible thing he can do right now, here in Ronan's arms with him looking like that. And giving Adam gifts, on top of it all, the kind of useless-but-strangely-helpful gifts that Adam finds impossible to refuse.]

[Ronan watches Adam take in the jar and the level of detail that had gone into it, and he isn't quite sure at first if Adam is going to accept. It's alright if he doesn't, he thinks, he can take it back and give it to someone else.

But Adam accepts, Adam turns in his arms and presses in a little closer to him. Ronan lets the corner of his mouth twitch just slightly in a smirk before they kiss, his hands still latched around the small of Adam's back. It's a gentle thing at first, chaste and affectionate, but Ronan- as he usually does- pushes just a little harder, opens him up just a little more.

Adam is just as bad as the fireflies, really. Ronan steps forward, pushing to nudge Adam back against the counter and pin him there while he kisses him harder, letting one of his hands slip up to brace against his throat while the other rests firmly on his hip. He hadn't come into the kitchen and given the gift with the expectation of reciprocation in the form of kissing- but he's certainly not going to turn it down.]

[ Gansey is, generally speaking, not someone who is fond of insects. The fireflies are different, though. By now, he's realised that the good feeling they bring with them must be a form of magic. In this place, that most likely means it's the magic of the gods, but given that it's neither making anyone try to kill him nor sending him off to wring their necks, he's willing to let it touch him.

It's rare that anything here feels really good, and the fireflies are managing that.

Though, even if they weren't, Gansey is fairly convinced he would still like them. They very strongly remind him of home - especially Ronan's home, and that's nice. It's what makes him finally decide to get hold of one of the jars in the stores, and go looking for his friends. After the last couple of weeks, he thinks they could use the opportunity for downtime.

He has not, of course, managed to construct anything like the friendly habitat that Ronan had made. The care of small animals is not one of Gansey's natural gifts, so when he arrives, he's just holding an empty jar. He's full of enthusiasm in spite of that. ]

Parrish, Lynch? Are you here?

[ They're not in his bedroom-slash-living room, at least. They could well be in their own rooms, but Gansey checks the kitchen first, just in case. Full of eagerness, he throws the door open and launches himself inside. And of course, there they are. ]

Hey, do you want to -

[ And of course, they are doing that.

Gansey stops at once in his tracks, eyes widening as he realizes what he's interrupted. Helpfully, all the words he had intended to say have flown from his head, meaning that, for a very uncomfortable moment, he's stunned into silence.

And then his Gansey-family training takes over, and he rushes to fix the situation. ]

Christ. I'm sorry! I didn't realize that you were -

Anyway, I should be going. I'll see if Noah's around. Don't let me interrupt.

[ As if he hasn't already done just that. There's a furious flush rising around his neck, and he reaches for the door. ]

Edited 2016-05-08 14:24 (UTC)

[He had really only intended to kiss Ronan once, gently, but it is astonishingly easy to get pulled into him. He doesn't hear Gansey in the living room at all, much too distracted, and when he bursts into the room - well, Adam hadn't even thought he was home.

It's not that Adam is embarrassed. Okay, well, it is that he's embarrassed, but not because of Ronan. Because he didn't expect Gansey to suddenly appear, because Ronan's tongue was halfway down his throat, because they really shouldn't have been doing that in the kitchen. There are plenty of reasons to be embarrassed, and Adam sees no reason to pick and choose. It is perfectly possible to be embarrassed by all those things.

Also, because Gansey didn't know. He'd talked to Adam, been understanding and kind, and Adam had not returned to tell him that everything was all right now, that he and Ronan were starting something. It wasn't meant to be a secret, but he'd sort of made it one anyway. Things had felt delicate - like maybe it shouldn't be anyone's business for awhile - but he should at least have said something to Gansey.

Honestly, what it comes down to is that in the rush of alcohol and parties and magic mirrors and attempted murder, all tangled up with starting a relationship with Ronan Lynch, Adam hadn't thought about it. He isn't a very good friend. He knows that.

He pushes Ronan off him, not sudden or harsh but firm. His ears are hot and he's sure he's flushed pretty red, embarrassingly so. He looks at Gansey, but keeps his hand on Ronan's arm, just touching him.]

No - um, sorry. We shouldn't have been doing that here.

[Adam sort of flounders, then. He's not sure what to say. You weren't interrupting, maybe, except he obviously was and that would be a bald-faced lie.]

[Like Adam, Ronan doesn't really notice Gansey's presence at all until he bursts into the kitchen- and even then, that's not quite enough of a shock to make him pull away. He's got his tongue in Adam's mouth, his teeth scraping lightly down the other boy's lower lip, and while he reluctantly sort of pulls away, it's not until Adam nudges him back that he gives him any room at all in the kitchen.

He looks over toward Gansey, not quite accusatory, but not far off, because he'd been enjoying this nice little moment and now he's far further away from Adam than he wants to be and they have to have a conversation and everything is kind of awkward now.

Well. Adam is embarrassed, and Gansey definitely seems to be doing that thing where he's desperately reaching for any kind of control over the situation, but Ronan doesn't much see the point in making this weird and instead he just shifts his weight slightly, hooking a thumb in his belt with a shrug.]

We live here, we can make out wherever the hell we want.

[With the notable exception of Gansey's couch-slash-bed, but that's another story altogether, and one that Ronan suspects both he and Adam will take to their graves.

Turning back to Gansey, he shrugs a little callously. If he realizes that this is the first time Gansey has been confronted with their relationship, he doesn't show it.]

What did you want?

[ Gansey is not quite looking at Adam or Ronan. He is, in fact, studiously examining the floor, and wondering why it won't open up to swallow him right at this moment. These things never happen when you need them to.

Adam is embarrassed. Gansey would do almost anything to erase the moment that made him so, since theoretically, he agrees with Ronan. They can, of course make out wherever the hell they want. This was their house before it was Gansey's, and even if it had not been, the point is that they shouldn't feel the need to hide it.

It's nice, though, that there is something to hide. He hadn't really doubted that they would fix things. It had seemed like a certainty to him, once he knew how both of them felt. But still. Knowing that in his head is a lot different from seeing it with his eyes.

He tries to recollect himself. ]

I...fireflies.

[ Yes. Obviously. As though to prove this, he sets down the jar he'd been holding, and then gestures to it. ]

I was going to collect them, and thought you might like to come. I didn't know that you were otherwise...

[ He glances back at them. ]

...you're busy. And you can do that wherever you want, Adam. I'm just sorry I got in the way.

[ Which, finally, makes him smile a little, and he turns his head away. ]

I knew you'd work it out.

[Leave it to Ronan to be totally unembarrassed and not in the least remorseful. Adam would smile, if he wasn't working very hard to keep from dying of embarrassment. But Gansey doesn't seem angry, just sort of awkward, which Adam supposes anyone would be if they walked in on two of their friends making out.

It is their house too, but Adam thinks they should have been more circumspect. Not that he minds anyone seeing him with Ronan - if anything, he's pleased and maybe a bit smug that Ronan is kissing him rather than one of the dozens of richer and more handsome boys he could want, and he likes for people to see that. But at the same time, he's pretty sure that Gansey and Noah and Blue don't want to live with the constant threat of walking into a room to find them making out.]

We weren't really planning to make out in the kitchen. Um, sorry.

[His cheeks are still hot, but Ronan's total unconcern at being caught does calm him a little, and Gansey's reaction - not displeased, maybe even happy for them - helps more.]

We should have told you. It wasn't really a secret.

[He still has a hand on Ronan's arm, not quite holding on to him, just a point of contact. More for himself than anything else, but Ronan hasn't shrugged him off yet, so that's all right.]

But yeah. We worked it out.

[Ronan looks down at the jar when Gansey motions to it, nodding like he's sure that the subject has moved on. When it circles back to- this, their relationship, the fact that Gansey had walked in on them- he finds himself a little frustrated. This shouldn't be a big deal, should it?

It's likely that he's only annoyed because he is embarrassed- not to be seen with Adam, but that a piece of him had somehow been exposed to someone it wasn't meant for in a way that he didn't intend. Ronan liked control over himself and he liked control over letting people in and what they know about him. He isn't able to control how Gansey finds out now, or what, exactly, Gansey knows about them.

He hadn't planned on hiding it before, exactly, but if he was going to plan for Gansey to find out, then he'd have done so in a way that didn't leave them... well. Like this.]

You didn't know?

[Part of him had also mistakenly thought that Gansey would have just figured it out by now. It had been awhile since they spoke about it last, and Gansey has to know that Ronan and Adam spend a not-insignificant amount of time together.

He frowns, gesturing out to the living room.]

Shit, we made out on the couch a few weeks ago. The mirrors? I changed his bandages after he was shot?

[Ronan shrugs, dismissing it.]

Congratulations on catching up to the class.

[ Gansey, personally, feels that this is somewhat harsh. He'd been trying to give them their space, not nose into their business. He hadn't thought they would want him to, but if that's what Ronan expected--

Wait. ]

I didn't know. I hoped, but you had things to work out. Issues to address, conversations to have, and what do you mean you made out on the couch?! You know I sleep there, Lynch.

[ Jesus Christ, please let kissing be all they had done. He's going to have to do actual housework on that thing later. ]

And besides, you said the mirrors didn't matter.

[ That was not what Ronan had said. Their fight had been about far more than that, but Gansey chooses to gloss over that for the time being, and he points at Adam instead. ]

And you wouldn't let me read into yours! You could've said something.

But I'm pleased for you.

[ A pause. ]

I will take it that's a no on the fireflies?

[Well, there goes them taking that particular encounter to their graves. He frowns at Ronan, though some part of him can't help but be amused by Gansey's mild horror. If they'd done anything more than kiss, Adam might feel bad, but really. It's not like they tainted the thing.]

The mirrors were ridiculous anyway. I stand by that.

[It was too much, too soon. They'd barely gotten together, and Adam saw them married? Embarrassing and hard to explain, and he hadn't wanted to talk about it. And then they'd had other things to talk about, and the chance to say anything to Gansey had slipped by. Granted, Adam hadn't tried all that hard to hold on to it, but still.

He's pleased for them - which is such a Gansey thing to say - and not angry, so Adam's faint worry is disappearing. He's still embarrassed, at least a little, but just because they'd been in the middle of something.]

Well, we could. I think we're done.

[He glances at Ronan when he says that, because actually he's not sure at all. But it doesn't quite feel right, shooing Gansey off so they can go back to kissing. It's Gansey.]

[It's such a Gansey thing to say, that Ronan almost laughs at the thought of it all. The spark of irritation in their friend is somehow cathartic for him in a way that he doesn't exactly want to analyze, but the rest of it, I'm pleased for you, is so oppressively cordial that it immediately wipes clean all of Ronan's previous annoyance and allows him to focus back on the situation.

Gansey knows. Gansey's happy for them, and Gansey wants to go check out the new arrival of all the fireflies that are around them all. Ronan huffs out a little breath of a smile and shoves his hands in his pockets, allowing himself to shift further away from Adam to prove that this is over, they're done with their- earlier activities.

He has a bit of a mental agreement with Adam, of course, it would be weird to just make Gansey leave so they can continue being affectionate. It's fine to go with him, spend their time in other ways. Isn't this what Ronan had in mind when he initially gave Adam the jar?]

Yeah, let's do it. I need to grab my shit first.

[And with that, he ducks past Gansey out of the kitchen, to go put Chainsaw fully in her cage and to grab at his own jar, his shoes, his jacket. This won't be weird at all.]

[ Gansey lingers in the kitchen only because Ronan left it, and busies his hands with his own jar. Despite their assurances, he's managing to still feel bad for interrupting them, and he resolves to be more careful from now on. Apparently this could happen anywhere in the house. He'd better warn Blue.

Later, though. ]

We don't have to go if you don't want.

[ This, to Adam, now that they're temporarily alone. He doesn't want either one of them to agree just because they're embarrassed, or something.

Meanwhile, his eyes have managed to wander over to the other jar in the room, which he's just realised is considerably less empty than his own. He looks between them, a little frown starting between his brows. ]

Wait. What's all that for?

If you want to spend time with him I do understand. I'm not going to be difficult about it.

Different kinds of things they might eat. Stuff to make them more comfortable. Ronan made it.

[It's totally unnecessary for him to say the last part. Who would make something like this except Ronan? Who would give Adam something like this except Ronan? But he says it anyway, because Ronan deserves credit, and because Adam is still pleased and flattered that Ronan would do something like that for him.

But he returns his attention to Gansey, and responds, matter-of-fact.]

I spend plenty of time with him. We live together.

[Which isn't to say that Adam doesn't treasure every moment he's able to spend with Ronan, the seconds they have to themselves. He does. Part of him, the part that's always braced for the next blow, is sure it'll all come crashing down, and he doesn't want to waste whatever time they might have. But most of Adam - the healthier parts of him - knows that Ronan isn't that sort of person. He doesn't have to steal every possible moment. They'll have more time. Adam isn't playing a game, and Ronan would never dream of something like that.

But it's not a matter of importance, really. His relationship with Ronan isn't more important than his friendship with Gansey - or his friendship with Ronan, either. It's just another facet, something else they have to settle into. He's not going to let it make things weird. Well, not weirder than they are already.]

Things aren't going to change because of this, Gansey. You're still my best friend, I still want to spend time with you. I'm sure Ronan feels the same.

[Ronan isn't gone for long, and when he comes back, he can tell that Gansey and Adam have at least exchanged words in some form while he'd been in his room. Whether it's for better or worse, he's not sure, but it can't be too bad, or else he doubts the kitchen would be as peaceful as it is now.

He returns with shoes on and a bag and jar of his own. Ronan's jar already has a single firefly in it- he hadn't wanted to go too overboard when he wasn't quite sure what they were eating, after all- but even the presence of that seems to calm him a little, his expression a hair less guarded than normal. Ronan tucks the jar under one arm, hoisting the bag over his shoulder and nodding to both the other boys in the room.]

I feel the same about what, now?

[Curious, but ultimately, it doesn't matter. Adam is probably right anyway, and so Ronan amends-] I mean, sure I do.

[There's a little pause after that, and he pauses, opening a side pocket in his bag up to pull out a damp washcloth, and unfolding it to reveal something vaguely sponge-like, damp and smelling sticky sweet. This, he offers fairly up to Gansey, since he and Adam are now already covered.]

Here, put that in yours.

About wanting to hunt fireflies instead of me pretending I didn't see you.

[ Which Adam had put in a much nicer way, but that's basically what Gansey had been offering. He thinks that his friends have had enough setbacks in this thing they're starting, and they really don't need another.

Still, what Adam said makes him feel a lot better. He didn't expect either one of them to want him to disappear indefinitely, anyway, but it's true that he wouldn't want to not be spending time with them as friends. There's many times when the three of them are a trio, because Noah is nowhere to be found and Blue has school elsewhere. Gansey doesn't want to be an intruder between the two of them. Mostly, he wants for things not to change at all, at least not on that front.

That won't be the case if he acts like everything is different now. So he doesn't; he accepts it, and holds out his jar so that whatever-that-is can go inside. ]

What actually is it, food for them? It smells cavity-inducing to me.

[ Maybe that's what fireflies go for around here. The look he shoots towards Ronan is both a thank you, and a sign that Gansey would not have thought of any such thing. it's lucky one of them knows what they're doing. ]

[Adam shrugs. Ronan is the expert here, Adam's own education being sorely lacking in the catching fireflies area. He's got his shoes on already, so he just fetches his backpack from where it's lying against the wall. Adam really doesn't go anywhere without supplies anymore - not even out to do something light like this. Too many things can go wrong.]

Ronan's our firefly professor today. It's amazing how many things he knows that are totally useless for passing classes.

[He smiles at Ronan while he says it, no more than gentle teasing. Adam might once have been resentful of that - the way Ronan squandered the gift of his expensive education - but it doesn't bother him much these days. That's just Ronan, and anyway it's not like any of them can worry about school while they're here.]

And, well - you can pretend you didn't see us if you want. I know that's probably not something you really wanted to stumble on.

[Ronan shrugs loosely, popping it in Gansey's jar and wrinkling his nose slightly at the teasing.]

Sugar water. And I'm not the weird one just because you two never caught lightning bugs as kids. That's weird.

[It seems like such a standard childhood staple that it's difficult to imagine not doing it. Warm Summer nights on the Barns seemed ripe for that sort of thing- Matthew, flailing about wildly, Declan, sitting on the porch and watching them with their parents while the fireflies blinked quietly through the night. Then again, for Gansey, who hardly had a normal childhood, and Adam, whose childhood was- less than ideal, Ronan supposes that it makes sense that they'd both never googled how to take care of fireflies.

Still, no time like the present to learn a valuable life skill. Ronan shrugs, pulling back and closing up his bag again.]

You guys ready?

[ Gansey shares a look with Adam that indicates general agreement about Ronan's passing grades. His mind harks back to a puzzle box in Nino's, while Ronan explained that the Ancient Greeks didn't have a word for the color blue. Ronan would probably make a great quiz show contestant.

Anyway, among Gansey's talents is not catching fireflies. Or lightning bugs. That regional twist makes him smile with great fondness at Ronan. He loves that sort of thing. It's the same smile he gets when Adam slips into his Henrietta accent. ]

I'm not going to pretend I didn't see you. I'm just going to warn Noah and Jane that the house is a minefield for your seductive tendencies, and they'd better knock before they go into a room.

[ He says this all very innocently, because really. You two didn't think he wasn't going to normalize this into teasing, did you? ]

Anyway, thank you for that. [ He puts the sugary water into his jar. ] I'm ready if you are. Parrish?

[He hesitates for a moment, because he's not sure if it's weird, but at the same time - doesn't it make sense that he'd rather do it himself?]

I'll tell Blue. I'm sure Noah already knows.

[Well, he certainly won't tell her that he and Ronan could be caught making out at any given in time any room, but she ought to at least know that they're together. He'd wanted to know about her and Gansey, after all, though maybe it's not the same the other way around.

Whatever. He isn't going to worry over it. They have things to do, bugs to catch. He picks up his jar from the counter, holding it carefully.]

I'm ready. Let's go.

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Event Log: A Jar Full of Sunshine

5th evening

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rolls in to ruin everything

perfect

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