why do all the monsters come out at night

Plot Elements to "why do all the monsters come out at night"

Weather

A popular themein many fiction stories is the use of weather to symbolize some sort of meaning. I used it like this: in every scene where Chongyun and Xingqiu are together, the weather is clear, usually quite calm as well. When one is alone or without the other, it is raining, or by extension, storming. This can be seen at the beginning of the story, where Chongyun has yet to meet Xingqiu, and it's storming outside. During the scene where Xingqiu teaches Chongyun how to dance, the sun is shining through the windows, indicating a sunny sky. At the end of the story, the last thing Chongyun reported feeling was a rain droplet. This was the last indication that he was indeed on the cusp of death, because it only rains when they aren't with each other. Chongyun isn't technically with Xingqiu at the end of the story, because he isn't able to interact fully. In a whole, the weather represents the fact that they are each other's "sun," or "light of their life." When they aren't together, they feel drowsy and upset, with the rain coming down from the skys.

Book

In the beginning of this fanfiction, there is a book that Xingqiu picks out from Chongyun's shelf and then goes on to explain the plot of. This book actually foreshadows the entirety of this story. Starting off with the title, Chongyun is only able to read the words, In Heartstring. This comes back to the fact that the children's book that the pirates thought was a prophecy needed the heartstrings of a heart plagued with congenital positivity to bring back their dead captain. Xingqiu goes on to explain the plot of the book, which is also the plot of the fanfiction. "A fascinating adventure between two lovers, but one dies tragically with a sword through his chest, leaving the other in shock and agony." That was the story that Xingqiu described, as well as the ending of this fanfiction.

Xingqiu's Dreams

Around the middle of the story, Xingqiu tells Chongyun about his consistent nightmares, which contain him drowning in a large sea, and Chongyun swimming away from him. This was not put into the story for mere added angst. The dream represents a few different things, and is the first obvious hint into Xingqiu's piracy. The part of the dream where Xingqiu is drowning represents the fact that, in the days that pirates were more prominent on Earth, most pirates did not know how to swim. This ties in with the other part, where Chongyun is swimming away from Xingqiu. This is because Chongyun, at the time, didn't know of Xingqiu's true identity, so it was as if he wasn't there in the first place. The nightmares were coming from the repressed emotions that Xingqiu was so desperately trying to get rid of, mainly the guilt he felt at not telling the person he loved the truth. This leaks into his subconscious, coming out in the night when he sleeps.

Congenital Positivity

It is hinted at throughout the entire story that Chongyun has insomnia, but his condition isn't given that name specifically because they didn't know what to call his inability to sleep. Because of his overload of positive energy, and energy in general, it keeps him awake at night, unable to slip into unconsciousness. I took a bit of creative liberty when it came to the effects of congenital positivity when he overheats. In the game, the most it does is make Chongyun act weird, and out of line. For the purpose of the story, I needed to make his congenital positivity more intense. Therefore I made it so when he overheats, intense pain erupts all over his body, and makes him cough up blood. The pain is too overwhelming for his body to handle, so he passes out. However, as mentioned before, his positivity keeps him from sleeping, so he can't stay passed out for long. The problem lies that when he wakes up again moments after passing out, his pain seems to increase. It causes him to black out again, and the cycle repeats itself until a medicine can be administered to calm his disease. Finally, when he wakes up after being forcefully knocked out, he experiences a burnout of emotions, unable to feel anything remotely intense for the next few days.

Don't ask about what the medicine is. We can just call it "plot convenience."

Another part of his congenital positivity is his visions. Whenever he experiences an overheating episode and is finally able to be calmed, he has a vision of the future. Through trial and error, he found out that there was no way to change the future he saw, no matter how hard he tried. This is more of a mystical element I decided I wanted to add to the story. It also gives me more leeway if I were to write a sequel to this fanfiction.

Monsters

The title of this work is a song lyric from the song Monsters by All Time Low ft. blackbear. While planning out this fanfiction, I realized that this song really reminded me of Chongyun's inner thoughts, on how he felt about his entire situation and Xingqiu. So, I took one of the lyrics and made it the title. If you listen to the song, you can definitely compare the lyrics to certain plot points in this story. I'll point out some specific lines:

Why do all the monsters come out at night? - There are a few different scenes that can be compared to this line. When Xingqiu would sleep at night, his nightmares, or his monsters, would come back to haunt him. It was at night when Xingqiu asked Chongyun to kill him, and it was at night when Chongyun was fatally stabbed in the chest.

Why do I run back to you like I don't mind if you fuck up my life? - Chongyun knows that, after Xingqiu reveals he is a pirate, his life is at an incredible danger. Though, because he loves Xingqiu they way he does, he doesn't mind it as much as he should. He viewed it as an unavoidable adventure, and he would make the most out of it.

Getting used to the rhythm, yeah, I know this beat too well. - At the beginning of the story, Chongyun has gotten used to a pattern of getting a servant, somehow getting in trouble and making his parents angry, and then getting the servant fired. He knew the cycle a bit too well, so to speak.

But I know what's missing when I'm swimming in my lonely luxury. - This can be compared to two different scenes: The first one, where Chongyun is in his bath, reflecting on his own problems. The second scene that it can be compared to is the vision that Chongyun had. In it, Xingqiu is seen crying on the throne, holding the letter that Chongyun gave him right before he died. Xingqiu is alone, only himself in the luxury castle, without his lover.

So, tell me pretty lies, look me in face, tell me that you love me, even if it's fake. - Chongyun temporarily doubts that Xingqiu actually meant what he said about loving the prince. Even if he was lying, Chongyun wanted Xingqiu to tell him that he loves the prince, even if he was still lying. It would've hurt too much to go on with unrequited love.

Thinking about you, you're in my head. Even without you, I still feel dead. - This could be applied to both Chongyun and Xingqiu, even though we don't get Xingqiu's point of view. They constantly thought of each other, all the time. Each lived rent-free in the other's head. When they were without each other, they felt as though a part of them was missing, like they had been bound at the hip since the beginning of time. They felt "dead" without each other, having an inability to think and do things properly without knowing that the other is safe.

Xingqiu's Aversion of Water

You may remember that Chongyun mentioned in passing during inner dialogue that Xingqiu has an aversion to water. This is an irony to the fact that he is a hydro character. But relating to the story, he has this fear (despite being a pirate) because of bad memories tied to the water, such as when Aether was thrown overboard. Considering he doesn't like being a pirate, and pirates live out at sea, so the aversion also develops from that.

Diluc's Aversion to Chongyun

It is briefly mentioned that Chongyun makes Diluc feel incredibly uncomfortable, to the point where he feels the need to run away. This is due to Chongyun's congenital positivity, which has the ability to ward off evil spirits. This affects Diluc because he is a pirate with ill intentions at heart and is unsalvageable, which is in comparison to Xingqiu, who never felt this aversion because he did not have ill intentions, and would be able to do good things if he were given the chance.