Chapter Text
♜
Six months after the events on Belobog, Veritas Ratio yearns.
After a long, wet, hot summer of fucking Aventurine stupid
getting to know each other better with each passing day, Veritas Ratio can
safely conclude that this relationship has drastically improved his life.
Better emotional regulation, better self-image, and, of course, a far
better sex life all contributed to his giving off a noticeably different vibe
when he returns to the lecture halls of the University of Veritas Prime.
Whispers swirled around him on campus as Veritas walked into the classroom for the first time since the beginning of the summer break:
‘Did you hear?? The unfeeling professor with the pass rates of a gacha game got a boyfriend!!’
‘I heard his boyfriend is actually a Stoneheart? Who knew Dr. Ratio could be bought like that? The guy who threw a politician’s son out of a classroom for bribing him? What a sellout!’
‘Wait - does our professor have a fucking tan? With no tan lines??’
Ah, that’s right – as a thank you for their participation in the events that transpired on Belobog, Sampo had graciously lent them out his private estate on Vonwacq, which had led to his donning even less apparel than he normally would.
Him and Aventurine had a very fun time together in the private cabana on Vonwacq, not a soul around them, allowing them to swim nude, frolic in the sun nude, and- Focus, fool!
‘Ahem… Class is now in session.’
Dr. Veritas Ratio was now in full professor mode, far from the soft sands of Vonwacq and the even softer bed he pushed deep into a whimpering Kakavasha begging for his huge cock—
Veritas cleared his throat again, a finger under his collar to release a bit of a flush he hoped wouldn’t be noticed by his students.
‘Would anyone care to share what they accomplished during their summer holiday?’ Dr. Ratio inquired of the class.
Several hands raised in the crowd.
‘You there,’ He peered at a giggling redheaded girl in the crowd, whispering something to another student. His eyes narrowed at his target, chalk at the ready. ‘Care to cease your gossip to share with the class what you’ve learned this past summer?’
She gave a look to her compatriot, who gave a simple nod, giving her the go-ahead.
‘Well,’ she drawled, in a way not uncharacteristic of a certain someone he had just fondly reminisced spending the entire summer with, ‘Perhaps you should share with the class first, Dr. Ratio? It seems you were awfully busy with one of my friend’s young coworkers during his leave of absence this past summer, weren’t you?’
A roar of laughter crackled throughout the auditorium as Dr. Ratio’s face burned a shade of red darker than her hair.
‘Y-You- How dare you-!’
His breath caught in his throat as he saw the unmistakable wide-brimmed hat and serpentine motif dress sitting next to her - no doubt the culprit of this event.
‘…Lady Bonajade?’
♜
Stiletto heels clicked down the University of Veritas Prime’s hallway as Dr. Veritas Ratio’s weekly office hours came to an end.
‘Office hours have concluded,’ Dr. Ratio did not even look behind him as he flipped the sign on his door. ‘Any questions you can reach out to my TA or simply send me an email summarizing your question.’
‘Oh, something tells me you’d like to hear this one from me directly,’ Jade’s voice lilted in amusement behind him.
‘Madam Bonajade.’ Dr. Ratio turned around, a scowl evident on his face. ‘I should have known you would darken my doorstep after disrupting my class like that. To what do I owe this visit and the unasked for interruption to learning in my classroom?’
Jade’s practiced smile was saccharine sweet, not unlike Aventurine’s when he came to negotiate a deal. Veritas had often wondered if many of Aventurine’s charismatic mannerisms were behaviors learned under her tutelage.
After a careful pause, Jade’s only response was: ‘It’s best if we discuss this matter in private.’
Veritas nodded, quickly ushering her inside of his office.
‘Is something the matter?’ His voice was laced with concern as he closed the door behind them.
‘Nothing’s the matter.’ Her smile remained sweet, saccharine, purposefully unreadable. ‘I am merely here to collect on a debt.’
‘A… debt?’ Veritas furrowed his eyebrows. ‘I do not recall striking a deal with you, Lady Bonajade.’
Jade’s grin grew wider. ‘Who said it was your debt I was collecting on?’
♠
Aventurine
‘Always open to pull for your game account’
Topazzzzzzzzz
I need someone to get me to calm this bussy down
Ver is so damn fine it’s taking everything in me to not travel to Veritas Prime and eat that man alive
he’s been gone exactly one system day and I’ve sexted him countless times
I’m starting to look like a Fool I’m so down bad
He went back to his university and just LEFT ME HERE
BY MYSELF
ALONE
AFTER MONTHS OF BEING TOGETHER EVERY DAY
I’M LITERALLY LANGUISHING
anyways the Avgins are gonna go extinct because I’m going to die of gay pining
put that on my tombstone
or, alternatively, get me out of my apartment tomorrow before I go clinically insane
!!!!!!!!!!
Topaz
Off-site~ Call if important, otherwise text
I woke up from all the pinging because I thought this was an emergency at work.
Aventurine
‘Always open to pull for your game account’
It is an emergency at work!!!!!
I’m suffering over hereee
At work!!!!
I need a friend to take me out to a work brunch and help me clear my head
anythinggg
please!! I’m so serious
Topaz
Off-site~ Call if important, otherwise text
Ugh
FINE
But you definitely owe me
AND you’re paying for brunch
I’m ordering mimosas
Aventurine
‘Always open to pull for your game account’
thank you Topaz~
I knew I could count on you~
you can get whatever you want at brunch, it’s on me~
I just really need a friend right now
Fuck I miss Ver so bad
Topaz
Off-site~ Call if important, otherwise text
Oh I’m so getting whatever I want
Cause girl you have so much explaining to do
Aventurine
‘Always open to pull for your game account’
trust me, there will be so much explaining
Gaiathra he’s so freaking hot ughhhh
How do his patients not go nuts when he’s examining them??
I don’t know how I’m gonna do this long distance thing
Topaz
Off-site~ Call if important, otherwise text
Alright, alright, save it for tomorrow when I’ve had a few drinks in me first.
I’ll be by your place around 10 system hours from now
Aventurine
‘Always open to pull for your game account’
feel free to come by sooner
Numby can play with the cat cakes~
Topaz
Off-site~ Call if important, otherwise text
…
I’ll be by 9 system hours from now.
Aventurine
‘Always open to pull for your game account’
you’re a doll~
See you then, my friend~
Topaz
Off-site~ Call if important, otherwise text
See you then
And try to be ready on time this time!
♠ ♜
After work, Aventurine idly recalls to Ver over the phone the text conversation that spurred their relationship nearly a year ago. Veritas suspected this after work check-in would soon be enshrined as a daily tradition between the two of them.
‘Remember that?’ Aven says fondly. ‘Who knew I’d get a boyfriend out of a cute doctor?’
Six months after the events on Belobog, Veritas returned reluctantly to his apartment on Veritas Prime. Once a space dedicated to his flurry of innovations and great ponderings, it now mocked him with how empty – no, how lonely it felt without Aventurine’s presence.
After their space-temporal facilitated symbolic union on Sigonia-IV, Aventurine seemed more settled in their relationship, even when they now had to return to living their separate lives. Him, within campus range of the University of Veritas Prime, and Aventurine, in his apartment on Pier Point.
After a long, wet, hot summer of fucking Aventurine stupid
getting to know each other better with each passing day, Veritas Ratio was
beginning to suspect that returning to his old way of living was going to be
far more difficult than he’d previously imagined.
In fact, Ver was blindsided with the sheer amount of yearning within his heart – and the unabashed fondness growing within it to so much as see Aventurine’s name come across the caller ID screen.
Ver remains silent, save for a few acknowledging grunts as he cooks on the other line. He’s surprised to find himself enjoying the lilting voice of his Avgin boyfriend through the speaker as he cooks dinner - a voice he once found more irritating than enjoyable less than one year ago.
‘Who knows,’ Aventurine continues to tease, ‘Maybe, down the line, I might even get a cute husband out of you, too~’
Aven giggled as Veritas’ breath caught at the suggestion.
It wasn’t a new idea between them – it had certainly been discussed at length, especially since they had completed the last Avgin marriage rite in the history of the universe. But Ver began to truly understand now how deep in the bones of humanity the need to build a hearth, home, and kin was; it was a desire he’d previously thought himself incapable of harboring, fating him as a ‘lonely academic’ otherwise.
His mind flits to the heirloom piece of jewelry he’d placed in a safe box at the bank for safekeeping until the time was right. Part of his mind chides him that this is still a relatively new relationship, that they’ve been together only nine months now, still a bit soon to make things official.
Ver’s heart, however, is pounding at the growing notion
that the time to wed might indeed be nigh. Not for politics or for social gain,
though both have added pressure due to varying factors as the cosmos continued
to shift and churn with the pressure of a trillion and one souls… but for two
souls – namely, Kakavasha’s and Veritas’. Ver could not deny that even in such
a short time, and with many such sordid encounters laced throughout, his
heart was forever branded by Aventurine’s existence in his life, as clearly and
as plainly as Aventurine’s neck had been branded by his slavers.
He chews on his lips as his eggs and toast burn to cinders in the pan from his mind’s inattention from wandering too far for too long. Shit.
‘Ver?’ Aventurine seemed concerned as the sound of the smoke alarm started bleating in the background. ‘Everything okay in the kitchen?’
‘Yes, I was just… lost in thought.’ Ver cracks open every window in his apartment and trashes the destroyed breakfast-for-dinner.
‘That’s not like you to be so distracted, Ver.’ He can hear Aventurine’s frown through the receiver, even as he’s waving his codex to blow the smoke away from the smoke alarm. ‘What’s on your mind?’
You. Veritas Ratio does not say. Our future together. If it is truly time to propose. If I will do a good enough job proposing to you that you can be proud of to show off to your Stoneheart coworkers. If the IPC will even allow for you to get married to me, or if Jade or Diamond or even Topaz will try to put a stop to that.
‘What isn’t on my mind, Aven?’ Is all Ver says, evasively. He’s not entirely skilled at being evasive, and he knows it. Nothing compared to his Avginian boyfriend, who’s entire life depended on him being evasive.
Aventurine would be well within his rights to question him further, but he doesn’t. Perhaps, on some level, Aven must know what has begun to gnaw at Ver’s consciousness as the days apart grew longer and lonelier. Perhaps, he, too, felt the same, that he could no longer return to his life the way he once did without Veritas by his side. Perhaps, even on the other line, in whatever relative silence could be afforded amidst the shrill beeping of the smoke alarm, Aven glanced at his bereft ring finger on his left hand and wondered if the private Avgin marriage rite between them would, in fact, be enough.
In a cosmos where Avgin practices are all but extinct as a trillion and one souls move forward without the company of his kin… would it be enough?
Veritas yearns and yearns and yearns.
♠
Aventurine
‘Always open to pull for your game account’
Hey Topaz?
Sorry, I know it’s 3am, and I know I’m going to see you tomorrow, but…
I think that Ver’s gonna pop the question
!!!
Thoughts???
Topaz
Off-site~ Call if important, otherwise text
Yeah, here’s a thought:
Go the fuck to sleep.
Aventurine
‘Always open to pull for your game account’
Ugh RUDE
Mama Ratio would have been happy for me!!
Topaz
Off-site~ Call if important, otherwise text
Then go text Mama Ratio
I’m muting my notifications for the rest of the night
Aventurine
‘Always open to pull for your game account’
You’re being no fun at all
I’m going to cut you off to only two drinks tomorrow
Topaz
Off-site~ Call if important, otherwise text
No the fuck you’re not
You’re too nice, and you’re lucky I’m responding to your 3am texts
Go to sleep. We’ll talk about it in the morning.
… and congratulations, I guess.
Aventurine
‘Always open to pull for your game account’
Topaz!! Don’t congratulate me yet!!!
It’s bad luck!!!!
Topaz
Off-site~ Call if important, otherwise text
Oh for the love of Qlipoth
SHUT UP AND GO THE FUCK TO SLEEP
♠
Later that evening, the selfsame redheaded girl who had disrupted Dr. Ratio’s class tore off her wig to reveal lustrous black curls, tumbling over her shoulders.
‘He didn’t recognize me,’ she said breathily, her violet eyes a thousand parsecs away.
‘Well, it has been… what? Seven, eight years?’ Lady Bonajade smiled at her from her seat, sipping on champagne. ‘Your performance was excellent, and I will consider your down payment for your debt paid. But I will request more of you for the whole of your debt board to be cleared.’
‘Anything!’ The woman gasped.
Pink hair dusted over pastel eyes crinkling in amusement. ‘Anything?’
The young woman gulped.
Lady Bonajade swirled her glass. ‘Desperation leads people down roads they would otherwise never have traveled. Are you quite sure that you’re up to your next task?’
The woman sat in front of her in a prone position. ‘I will do anything to pay off my debts, even if it means…’ Tears welled at the edges of her eyes, the violet irises becoming watery. ‘Letting go of Veritas forever.’
Jade chuckled.
‘You forget that with my Cornerstone, I can see inside your heart to your innermost desires, Delilah,’ Jade shook her head with a sigh. ‘Remember that paying off a debt means giving something, not getting.’
Delilah’s act stopped immediately, rolling her eyes as she wiped at her crocodile tears. ‘Worth a shot.’
‘Mn.’ Jade sipped the last of her champagne. ‘Then it’s decided.’
Delilah let out a long sigh. ‘Do I really have to…?’
‘You must.’
Another long sigh. ‘Fine. But I want one last meeting with my ex-fiancé-.’
‘Lest I remind you that-’
‘It’s not to win him back!’ Delilah protested. ‘It’s… it’s for closure.’
Jade pursed her lips, looking through her Cornerstone.
‘Hmmm… granted.’
Delilah’s shoulders relaxed in relief.
‘But – remember this.’ Jade leaned in, tucking an inky black curl behind Delilah’s ear. ‘Closure is never what you think it will be.’
♠ ♜
Notes:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA I’m back, denizens!!! All systems are GO for making this a complete trilogy!!! My posting this on Valentine’s Day was no accident. Get in losers, we’re getting these motherfuckers MARRIED!!!!!!!!
Ok, ok, onto the usual chapter notes! A big THANK YOU to HoneyFlashBang for beta-reading this chapter for me and making sure it’s not totally unreadable!! P.S. Go check out their writing for some peak Sampard stuff – and more~
Title, ‘Summer Lovin’’ of course comes from the musical ‘Grease’. I thought it would be appropriate as I originally wrote ‘Kakavasha and the Doctor of Chaos’ to be during Veritas’ summer break, and even though ‘A Wildfire in the Middle of Winter’ took place on Belobog, it was still technically summer! Now that they’re back to their normal(ish) lives, forced to be long-distance after months of being inseparable, the yearn has become STRONG. Which leads to… well, you’ll have to tune in next week to find out! Hehehe~
‘Delilah’ is vaguely based off Elizabeth Taylor in her heyday for visualization purposes. Oh you thought we forgot about Dr. Ratio’s ex from the very first fic? That she’d just silently hang around in the shadows like a trembling leaf as she watches her ex marry a galaxy-notorious Stoneheart and by association get famously rich?? HAHAHAHAHA! BUCKLE UP~~~~
After spending a month on hiatus, I did two things: 1) write with no deadline (which was SO nice), and 2) built a Discord-based writing circle – FOR YOU! Want to join a cool queer-focused guild of fellow writers and beta readers, chat with me and other very cool people in real time, and more? Join us HERE at Themperor's Famous Writer's Guild (18+)! If you’re interested in my non-fanfiction writing outside of AO3, that’s the place to enquire!
Remember that survey I had people take a month back? Well, one of the most popular choices was to get Aventurine and Ratio married. Lucky for you all, this was already my secret plan! Muhahahaha~~~ SO LET’S GET THESE GAYS TO THE ALTAR!!!!!! (OFFICIALLY!!!) STAY TUNED~~~
Psst - Want to see the full survey results? Click here!
Updates are gonna go a little differently for this one. After the update issues faced in ‘A Wildfire in the Middle of Winter’, I’ve decided to switch to a bi-weekly posting schedule – as in, every other week. Ergo, my next post will be 2/28, then 3/14, etc. etc until this fic concludes. Subscribe for updates so you can be first to read, and… as always, follow me on Bluesky here if you’d like for chapter titles one day in advance, join us at our very cool Discord server - Themperor's Famous Writer's Guild (18+) - and of course, STAY TUNED!!!! & A BIG THANK YOU FOR READING! I WILL NEVER SHUT UP ABOUT HOW I HAVE THE BEST READERS IN THE WORLD 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜 💜
Chapter 2: Divorce, Avgin Style
Summary:
Veritas frowned down at the older Avgin. ‘If you think you can talk me out of proposing our future marriage to your younger self, expect to be sorely disappointed.’
The older Avgin chuckled, running a finger down the side of the younger Veritas’ cheek. ‘I can see why my younger self fell so stupidly hard for you.’ He smiled wistfully, but soon his smile melted into something far sadder. ‘Still, I will come to realize you never loved me quite as deeply as I loved you, and he must be at least warned about this.’
‘Minus ten points,’ Veritas murmured, locking eye contact with him. ‘Failed. Now get out.’
The older Aventurine laughed and laughed. ‘Oh, doctor…’ he snorted. ‘Of all the constants in the past ten years, you have never changed.’ A smile lilted on his face. ‘That is why I love you.’
The older Aventurine sighed deeply as he leaned in, giving Veritas a gentle kiss on the lips.
‘And that... is also why I want a divorce.’
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
♜
Veritas reflected on his conversation with Jade of Credit that morning as he got ready to make his way over to the University.
‘A… debt?’ Veritas furrowed his eyebrows. ‘I do not recall striking a deal with you, Lady Bonajade.’
Jade’s grin grew wider. ‘Who said it was your debt I was collecting on?’
Veritas eyed her warily. ‘Are you referring to Aventurine? I know he may have been foolish enough to accept your Faustian deals in the past before we were together, but he certainly has no need to now.’
Jade shook her head slowly, hat brim lightly dipping with the movement. ‘Not our little Kakavasha either.’
‘Then… who are you collecting a debt on behalf of?’
‘You truly don’t know, do you?’
She let out a long sigh, bordering on irritation.
‘I do not.’ Veritas crossed his arms. ‘You are beginning to test my goodwill. Out with it.’
If Veritas didn’t know Jade better, he’d almost say that the look behind her eyes was sympathetic towards him.
‘It’s your ex, Dr. Ratio. From your pre-PhD days. I’ve come to collect on her debt.’
Veritas Ratio’s blood ran cold.
‘…Delilah?’
♜
Five years ago, a thousand parsecs away…
On the IPC’s recently-acquisitioned planet of New Bethlehem, an older man sat, hunched over the Prime Minister’s desk in full regalia of his planet, barely lucid. His advisor, a forked-tongued sleazeball of a man, pushed paper after paper in front of him to sign the resources of his planet away over to the Marketing Development Department.
Flanking the aged, dementia-ridden Prime Minister were an army of older men, snickering as if they were teenagers.
‘Think of the brief moment where we will create off the chart profits for our shareholders!’ One of them whispered as another executive order was signed.
‘Yes – and the moment that they protest, Zephyro will burn this entire planet up into cinders~’
They snickered to each other as paper after paper was pushed in front of the old man, who asked, in a manner almost childlike, what each paper meant.
‘We’re not... harming people, are we?’ The Prime Minister asked, a brief moment of clarity breaking through.
The room fell silent.
‘O-Of course not.’ His snakelike advisor petted his arm assuredly. ‘Everyone who would be put in harm’s way on New Bethlehem will be ferried to various planets before Lord Zephyro’s destruction occurs.’
‘Everyone that can afford it, that is,’ snarks one man in the corner.
The room erupts into sinister laughter.
‘What about the children?’ The Prime Minister’s voice was small, barely heard.
‘Did he say something about ‘children’?’ One of the investors choked out over one of their laughs. ‘Bold words coming from the man who never took the time to raise his own, hahaha!’
A chorus of laughs continued to erupt as the Prime Minister fell back into an illness-induced haze, reduced to pencil-pushing.
Meanwhile, already en route off the planet, the Prime Minister’s latest wife was carrying on an affair with another man, thirty years his junior.
‘I feel like I’ve met you before,’ her lover says wistfully in the bed as she sits up to light her cigarette.
‘Oh?’ Violet eyes glow for a moment amidst the flash of crimson flame from her lighter.
‘Yes… I think it was Veritas Prime. Was it a year ago, maybe two?’ he mused.
She took a deep drag from her cigarette, puffing the smoke out from her nostrils like a flame-spitting dragon.
Tucking an inky curl behind her ear, she turns her face towards New Bethlehem, violet eyes a thousand parsecs away. ‘Perhaps.’
‘You were with that young PhD student then.’ He laughed. ‘How quickly you moved on from him!’
She didn’t respond as she flicked the ash burning through the cigarette into the ashtray. Tar burned at the back of her throat as she walked over to the viewport, New Bethlehem shrinking in the distance.
‘I do tend to burn through men quite quickly, don’t I?’ she murmured to herself.
‘What was that, Delilah?’ he called from the bed, a curious look on his face.
New Bethlehem soon winked off the viewport screen, the last time it would be viewed fully alive. Within hours, it would be completely vitrified as Zephyro ignited its sun – her husband and his shareholders burned up along with it.
It’s quite possible she might have been off by a few hours… or days… when she told them the Lord Ravager would appear on the planet.
Her cigarette burned down to the filter, nearly burning out.
♜
Present day…
Veritas yearns ever still for his beloved Aventurine. It’s all he can do to get through his days apart from him now, shadows of an embittered past forgotten.
And yet...
What Lady Bonajade shared with him earlier that day left a sense of warning in his heart. That his ex had the gall to track him down after nearly eight years apart—to try and sabotage his plans—despite the trail of murders and destruction she had left in New Bethlehem, devastation so vast it had made interastral news…
‘What she has planned for you,’ Lady Bonajade’s eyes were sympathetic behind her characteristically neutral façade, ‘I cannot tell. All I can say is that you will know it when you encounter it.’
As he pondered this while walking towards his university office, Ver saw the dean of his department waiting for him. Seeing his department’s dean unbidden at his doorstep was never a good sign for him.
‘Dean Pontcleaux, to what do I owe the pleasure?’ Veritas snarked. He and Pontcleaux had a mercurial relationship; one moment, Pontcleaux praised him up and down to the ends of the universe. The next, Veritas was being called into the office for something or another he said or did that was ‘outside of the university bounds’ or ‘not what they were looking for in their department’. In truth, the only constant about their relationship was that Dr. Ratio was never truly sure what sort of move Pontcleaux would make in their relationship next; it was more a game of chess than a straightforward communication between the two of them.
‘Ah, Veritas, a moment of your time, if you would.’ Pontcleaux’s eyes narrowed behind his horn-rimmed glasses. ‘Since you began dating that IPC Stoneheart, it’s been nigh impossible to get ahold of you. Can you spare your next few moments?’
‘Not that I have a choice…’ Veritas rolled his eyes as he unlocked his office door, ushering him inside. ‘What is it now?’
‘I’ll get right to the point, since you are so eager,’ Dean Pontcleaux began right after Veritas had shut his office door. ‘Veritas, you have been reported once again to the school board for the extremely low pass rates in your classes. They do not meet our minimum university standards–’
‘Dean Pontcleaux, we have been over this,’ Veritas cut him off with an exasperated sigh. ‘It is not my fault that this university produces students that are unwilling to learn the harsh truths of the universe and resolve to not rid themselves of ignorance–’
‘But it is your fault that these students are not absorbing the material at a reasonable pace and having the chance to excel in your classes!’ Dean Pontcleaux boomed.
Veritas already felt a headache coming on; the last thing he was in the mood for was a drag-out fight with the dean of his department – who was also technically his boss.
‘’Look – it is not my fault that the Provost has once again yanked your chain for you to bark at someone–’
‘You certainly could learn to curb your sharp tongue, Ratio!’ Pontcleaux cut him off. ‘For all that you know, it could get you into trouble someday.’
Veritas stared at him with an incredulous expression. ‘Are you threatening me?’
‘You are certainly not the only Mundanite that could fill this teaching position.’
‘I– You just recommended me for the Lecturer of Excellence Award last week!’
‘That was last week, this is now, Ratio.’
‘For the last time, to you and all other university staff and students, it’s Dr. Ratio–’
‘Hmmm, and what about your Avgin pet there? You know, that crony from the IPC you galavanted off to Jarilo-VI with—the one who has all the students' tongues wagging? Perhaps the problems aren’t coming from the lectern, but instead from your, ah, personal life. Reminds me of a similar incident only about seven years hence… the one that nearly cost you your first position as a TA? What was her name? Delilah?’
Veritas Ratio’s hands clenched at his sides in anger. He willed himself to remain calm.
‘Whatever you are implying,’ Veritas said lowly, ‘if I were you, I would tread extraordinarily carefully.’
‘What is there to imply? You announced you were dating a Stoneheart six months ago. Since then, I have had to field many communications from certain parties on your behalf – none of which fall under my jurisdiction as a dean–’
‘You could have fielded them to me, or does your snooping into my personal life know no bounds?’
‘What need do I have to do any snooping? It’s all there, on social media, plain as day – and in your little fanclub.’
Veritas’ blood ran cold. Ah, there it is.
‘How interesting. Do you spend time there, too?’ Ver snarked back.
‘Hah, hardly! Bernard was slated to work at the university as a temporary lecturer before the little spectacle you and your paramour pulled off after your announcement. After that, Herta Space Station has been hesitant to give the University of Veritas Prime any funding or staff.’
‘Aventurine of Stratagems is not my paramour, he is my partner.’ Veritas corrected him icily. And legal husband by Avgin law and custom, Ver thought privately to himself, but that is not any of his or anyone else’s business.
‘Your personal life does not matter to me,’ Pontcleaux brushed his corrections off. ‘What matters to me is your performance as a teacher, and right now, you are not representing the university at its best.’
‘Again, is this a threat upon my position? Does my First Class Honors Degree – the first awarded in two Amber Eras, need I mention – mean nothing to this establishment?’
‘Anything given can be taken away,’ Pontcleaux warned. ‘Do not trifle with my sense of goodwill–’
‘Goodwill? Hah!’ Veritas barked out a bitter laugh. ‘Let us not remain ignorant, here, and call a spade a spade, if you will.’ Veritas took a step forward, glaring Pontcleaux down. ‘You are afraid that I am gunning for your position, aren’t you?’
Pontcleaux swallowed.
‘That must be it, for I do not recall seeing you breathing down anyone else’s neck quite as hard in this department.’ Veritas frowned. ‘Amazing to me that you think that I want your position. To have to kiss up to the Provost, hoping that our department gets funded – all of that bureaucracy is beneath me. You can keep it.’
In a shocking moment of clarity, Ver realized something – he was fucking miserable . Separated from Aventurine, henpecked at every turn for a miserable professor’s pay to barely maintain a tiny apartment, he’d had to reluctantly turn to consulting work with the IPC to supplement the bills. In a shocking twist of fate, the IPC had treated him better than he’d expected in many ways, not the least of which was the Stoneheart whose heart was anything but stone when it came to his beloved Veritas Ratio.
Listen to what your heart tells you Lady Bonajade’s advice rang through his ears as he thought about his current position.
‘Upon further reflection–’ Veritas’ hand shook with only the slightest bit of hesitation over what he was about to do, ‘–I believe my time at the University of Veritas Prime has come to its end.’
The silence between the two of them was loud .
‘You… you can’t quit,’ Pontcleaux breathed. ‘We need you!’
‘Ignorant, foolish, desperate little weasel that you are. You never cease in your capriciousness, do you?’ Veritas began gathering up his belongings in his office, shoving them into whatever bag was available – lecture notes, codex, chalk, various papers and proposals – fully expecting to not have access to the space once he walked out that door.
‘You’re really doing it.’ Pontcleaux looked at him wide-eyed. ‘You’re really going to leave your students mid-semester–’
‘Barely the beginning of the semester, I’m sure it won’t be that difficult to teach this class. And yet only a few system minutes ago you said that any Mundanite could fill this teaching position. Well, then, I suggest you go and find one. Any one will do, according to your logic. Go on, now. I am utterly fascinated to see whom you find to fill my shoes here at this distinguished university.’
‘W-W-Where are you going!?’ Pontcleaux cried after him once Veritas had satisfactorily shoved his personal belongings into his bags and headed for the door. ‘Dr. Ratio?? DR. RATIO!’
Veritas was done yearning.
‘I’ve got to go and see about a boy,’ was all Veritas said over his shoulder before leaving his office for what he presumed would be the last time.
♜
Mama Ratio
‘Mother to the lost and seeking, lover of the beautiful and true’
Dearest Veritas, I only just saw the ghastly news you texted me.
I wanted to check in on you. How are you feeling?
I cannot imagine you are taking this well to have been pushed to such an extreme.
Oh, goodness, I should go check in with dear Aventurine. Does he know yet?
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
Before you do, mother, are you free for a call?
I believe you mentioned something about requiring… advance notice.
You know to what I am referring.
Mama Ratio
‘Mother to the lost and seeking, lover of the beautiful and true’
Oh my goodness gracious!
Could you possibly mean…?!
I’ll call right away.
☏ Call from: Mama Ratio
✆ Accept ✆ Decline
♠
‘Bruuuuuuuuunch~’ Aventurine said in a sing-song way, waving Topaz down with a drink in his hand.
‘Ugh.’ Topaz rolled her eyes. ‘Remind me why I’m here, again?’
Aventurine sucked down his mimosa as he picked at the plate of h ors d'oeuvres in front of them. ‘To celebraaaate!~~’
‘I’m cutting you off.’
‘Noooooo! You’re a terrible Maid of Honorrrrr…’
‘Maid of Honor??’ Topaz scoffed. ‘Girl, where did you even get the idea that he was going to propose in your head, first of all?’
Aventurine hiccuped a bit; it seemed that he’d pre-gamed before Topaz had even gotten to the table. ‘I dunno… he got all flustered and distracted last night on our call when I floated the idea by him.’
‘From what you tell me about him, it doesn’t take all that much.’
‘This is different! He burned his eggs and set off the fire alarm!’ Aventurine huffed exaggeratedly. ‘That’s not like him.’
‘Okay, I’ll give you that, but... is it possible something else might have been on his mind?’
‘What do you mean?’ Aventurine scoffed, tossing a canape into his mouth and chewing a bit less elegantly than he would if he were sober. ‘He tells me everything.’
Topaz chewed on her lower lip, clearly debating something.
Aventurine immediately sobered up. ‘Topaz?’ Aventurine frowned, leaning forward. ‘Topaz – there’s something you’re not telling me.’
Topaz let out a long sigh with a huff. ‘It’s not really my place to say.’
‘But it is your place to know somehow. Spill it, Topaz.’
She rolled her eyes. ‘ Fine. Jade was contacted by a certain… person.’
‘Okay…? And?’
Topaz flicked her eyes over to her mimosa glass. After a moment, she grabbed the glass and downed it.
‘Her name is Delilah.’
Aventurine’s heart dropped.
‘...Delilah?’
‘Yes.’ She signaled to the waiter to top off her glass. ‘She’s… your boyfriend’s ex-fiancee.’
Aventurine pursed his lips. ‘ Oh. ’
“Yeah.’
They sat in silence for a moment, both lost in their own thoughts.
‘Why didn’t Lady Jade tell me?’ Aventurine’s tone edged onto sour.
‘Something to do about a debt. I can’t get into the specifics, but she’s done some crazy shit.’
‘Crazier than me?’
Topaz nodded slowly with wide eyes. ‘Most definitely.’
‘Well… shit.’
Aventurine and Topaz were both grateful when the waiter finally returned to fill their drink glasses. They both downed them in silence, letting the alcohol seep between the layers of drama and difficult emotions.
‘She, um…’ Topaz cleared her throat. ‘She wants to speak with you. This… Delilah.’
‘Me? Why?’
‘Hard to say.’ Topaz shrugged, popping a mini vol-au-vent into her mouth. ‘She wants to speak to your Veritas too, of course.’
‘Of course she fucking does.’ Aventurine’s mood was officially sour for the day. ‘Well, so much for my theory.’ He sighed heavily. ‘I suppose the Avgin marriage rite is the only thing I will ever get from Ver–’
‘Wait.’ Topaz looked at him, confused. ‘You two already performed a marriage rite??’
‘It was all just ceremonial, really.’ He waved his hand as he reached for another canape. ‘Sometimes I feel like it was to placate my big and messy Avgin emotional tendencies. We keep talking about the subject at length, but you know Ver – he moves at a snail’s pace with anything in regards to our relationship.’
‘Mmn.’ Topaz crunched on another vol-au-vent thoughtfully.
Aventurine let out another sigh. ‘You’re a good friend, Topaz.’ He looked at her fondly. ‘You would have been my Maid of Honor for sure if there was a wedding.’
Topaz cracked a small smile before coughing to cover it up. ‘ Ahem , thank you.’
‘Stoppp, you’re acting just like my Ver with your little tsundere act over there~’
‘What, are you going to fall in love with me, too?’
‘Don’t you wish, little Jelena~’
‘Hah!!’
The two of them laughed and bantered through the rest of brunch in a somewhat tipsy haze. Even so, by the time they both went back to work, the buzz finally wearing off, Aventurine couldn’t help feeling somewhat sad at how wrongly he’d misjudged the situation between him and Ver once again.
♜
In his haste to make it back to Pier Point, Ver did not even stop off at his home before catching the next flight out to Pier Point…
...if
you could call it a ‘home’. There was good reason that Dr.
Veritas Ratio had been spending all of his time over at Pier Point
this past summer. Before, his apartment felt comfortable, if not a
touch clinical. Now? Ver’s apartment was beginning to feel
downright dreary without Aventurine in it. More than just for the
companionship
and
the sex
,
Aventurine’s apartment had quickly become ‘home’ for him and
the cat cakes – all three whom he also missed terribly.
How pathetic , Ver felt old judgments resurface harshly for his being so emotionally reliant on a lover and the three cat cakes he gifted him. Not even a full week and you’re running back to him like a lost child.
He couldn’t help laughing to himself.
How lonely I was back then , he mused. I justified to myself that I was above romance, that I didn’t need it. However, the truth remains that willing the feeling away does not, in fact, satiate it. If anything –
The intercom buzzer in the cabin blared with how far they were from Pier Point – another three system hours. Veritas cursed under his breath, willing the spacecraft to move faster.
– If anything… I am more hopelessly in love with my beautiful gambler than ever before.
♠♜
When Ver finally got to Pier Point in his rush to see his beloved, he was taken aback to find him – except, well… he was ten years older.
‘Ah, you’ve come home,’ the older Avgin said, his back still turned to him. ‘Come in, we need to talk about something quite important.’
‘...I see.’ Ver looked cautious as he slowly made his way into the apartment, still a bit haggard from his travels.
‘Darling, the thing is–’
The older version of Aventurine sighed, back still turned and unable to look him in the face.
‘I’m… I’m sorry, Ver, but… I can’t do this anymore. You… me… the kids… we’re all suffering. I still love you, I will always love you, but… we need to end this. I… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… I… I want a divorce.’
Veritas’ slow, measured footsteps plodded up to the older Avgin.
‘Yes… Truthfully, I cannot believe you are saying this, either…’ Veritas Ratio said, tone decidedly neutral. ‘Most especially since you are saying it to the version of myself that is not, in fact, legally married to you as of yet.’
Aventurine spun around, braids clacking together in a jumble as his neon eyes opened wide. ‘Wha– w-wait, how did I-!?’
‘I am not quite sure,’ Veritas narrowed his eyes at him in suspicion, arms still loaded with the papers he’d cleaned from his university desk. ‘I have not invented the technology of time travel as of yet. That will occur approximately ten years hence.’
‘Ten years hence…?’ The older Avgin frowned. ‘Wait a minute… have you even proposed to me yet? You know… the thing you did when you felt obligated?’
Veritas looked shocked as he watched the older Aventurine scoff.
‘I… beg your pardon?’ Ver looked offended. ‘In what way did you feel that my engagement and subsequent marriage to you was in any way an obligation on my part?’
The older Aventurine rolled his eyes dramatically. ‘Look, the younger Aventurine is still quite smitten with you, Ver. I would have bought the act ten years ago. But you’re talking to someone who’s been married to you for almost ten years now. I know you, Ver – even in ways you don’t know yourself yet. And your proposal? It was clear you were never going to get around to it unless you were pushed.’
Veritas’ eyes were darting everywhere, thoughts clearly scattered and in a panic. ‘I… I do not know what you mean. I have everything planned out perfectly – our trip to the Luofu, our venue, the location, my father’s ring–’
‘Yeah, yeah, I’ve heard this story a hundred times before.’ Neon eyes rolled again. ‘Hmm… this must have been right after you quit your job, but before…. Wait, Aventurine still hasn’t gotten the visit yet, now has he?’
‘The what?’
‘And that would be a ‘no’.’ Aventurine chuckled. ‘My, my… does this mean I have a chance to change the future?’
Veritas frowned down at the older Avgin. ‘If you think you can talk me out of proposing our future marriage to your younger self, expect to be sorely disappointed.’
The older Avgin chuckled, running a finger down the side of the younger Veritas’ cheek. ‘I can see why my younger self fell so stupidly hard for you.’ He smiled wistfully, but soon his smile melted into something far sadder. ‘Still, I will come to realize you never loved me quite as deeply as I loved you, and he must be at least warned about this.’
‘Minus ten points,’ Veritas murmured, locking eye contact with him. ‘Failed. Now get out.’
The older Aventurine laughed and laughed. ‘Oh, doctor…’ he snorted. ‘Of all the constants in the past ten years, you have never changed.’ A smile lilted on his face. ‘That is why I love you.’
The older Aventurine sighed deeply as he leaned in, giving Veritas a gentle kiss on the lips.
‘And that... is also why I want a divorce.’
♠♜
Notes:
Everyone please give a HUGE thank you to fics_are_life and HoneyFlashBang for alpha reading and beta reading this chapter, respectively. They saved me a HELL of a lot of time getting this nice and polished for everyone's viewing pleasure~~
Damn we referenced TWO movies in this one!! Did you spot the references? Let’s see in the notes~
Title, ‘Divorce, Avgin Style’ is a nod to the Golden Globe & Academy Award winning 1961 Italian film, ‘Divorce, Italian Style’ (Italian: ‘Divorzio all'italiana’). It’s an award-winning dark comedy that’s supposed to be funny, but tbh I found it equal parts campy and horrifying what Italians had to do to get a ‘divorce’ back then. Back at that time in Italy, you could only ‘divorce’ by killing your spouse in a crime of passion, and then you got let off the hook for a short period of time (~3-7 years) versus a ‘normal’ homicide. Delilah certainly got her divorce, Italian style five years ago, and has rightfully earned the title of a black widow. Is she on the hunt for her old flame for round two, perhaps…?
‘New Bethlehem’ is a canonically destroyed planet in Honkai: Star Rail mentioned in the Xianzhou Luofu Seat of Divine Foresight Investigation, ‘File Repository: Nemesis — Ruin: Zephyro’, where it is mentioned: ‘… (Zephyro) once ignited the sun of New Bethlehem, vitrifying its planetary surface with a huge amount of radiation…The appearance of Zephyro signals that a planet will soon undergo its magnificent and rapid destruction.’ Zephyro, much like Phantylia the Undying, is one of the Seven Lord Ravagers of the Antimatter Legion and an Emanator of Nanook the Aeon of Destruction.
‘Dean Pontcleaux’ is a fanlore OC of my own making for the purposes of this fic. Hard to say how often he will appear… or what his purpose is, hehehe~ TRIVIA: ‘Pontcleaux’ is (if you squint) tangentially related to the French ponceaux (plural form), which, in chemistry, refers to a red pigment or dye. It’s derived from the Old French poncel, meaning ‘poppy’, which is a dimunitive form from the Old French paon, meaning ‘peacock’! So – you see? All trails lead back to
gay sexour dear boys Aventurine and Veritas in the end, eh? ;)At some universities, you can indeed get into trouble for having too low of a pass rate in your class. Considering that Dr. Ratio’s passrate is 3%, he would definitely be in trouble with his boss (the dean) and his boss’s boss (the Provost) for not passing a certain amount of his classes.
Refresher from ‘Wildfire’: Bernard is an NPC character that can be found at Herta Space Station. If you haven’t done the Adventure Mission, ‘To the Faint Star’ yet, spoilers directly ahead: he’s an old man who obfuscated that his young researcher’s lover was trapped in the gravitational collapse of a starquake for reasons I didn’t agree with. In my previous fic ‘Wildfire’, I wrote him as Mama Ratio’s ex who made a scene in front of her future husband and Veritas’ father.
‘I’ve got to go and see about a boy,’ is paraphrased from the movie ‘Good Will Hunting’ when Will leaves to find his girlfriend with the famous line, ‘I’ve gotta go see about a girl,’ – the implication being he needs to go make an important decision about the one he wants to spend his life with.
Want to chat with me while you wait for Chapter 3? Join us over at the Discord server I built for fellow writers, Themperor's Famous Writer's Guild (18+), or follow along with me on Bluesky here!
Otherwise, until next time – STAY TUNED~~ Hehehehehehe~~~ 😈
Chapter 3: Stayin' Alive
Summary:
Veritas felt almost like an apple had struck his head with sudden inspiration.
‘V-Ver?!’ The older Avgin started when he felt a strong hand wrap around his smaller one, a finger tugging on the trigger. ‘What are you doing-??’
Calling your bluff, Ver thought, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. Just as I did nine months ago.
‘V-V-Ver, w-wait, S-S-STOP-!!!’
The trigger clicked back in one heart-stopping second.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
♜
Forty some-odd system years ago...
In the discotheque, the music was high, the club was bumpin’, the lights were flashing, and the night was as young as she was.
Bernard had jilted her that night yet again for some freshman. A s she watched him talk up some waif-y blonde who was barely of legal consenting age , s he’d decided that would be the last time she’d be treated like that. With a sharp inhale of breath, she straightened her shoulders, jut ted out her chest proudly, and sauntered past him in a hip-swinging walk with all of her might – being sure to hip- check the both of them as she forcefully walked between them.
‘H-hey!’ The young blonde girl had exclaimed.
‘Pay her no mind,’ Bernard scoffed, sounding cockier than his looks gave him any right to be. ‘Where were we?’
‘Goodbye, Bernard.’ she made sure to say within earshot of the both of them, before she clicked her platform heels straight forward onto the dance floor, alone.
She wasn’t quite sure what she was looking for that night; all she knew is that she wasn’t going to settle any longer for these wandering-eye boyfriends. She knew she needed some respect, and she simply wasn’t finding it among the most recent wave of graduate students . So, with all her might, she threw herself into her dance moves, dancing the feelings of shame and insecurity until they were far away from her, floating above her head twirling around as if it were a disco ball.
‘Groovy moves, sister!’ one of her girlfriends complimented her.
‘Haha! Thank you!’ she responded, already breathless. Disco dances may have seemed simple to the naked eye, but with her putting her whole heart into it, she was already breaking a sweat.
‘That guy over there against the wall seems to think so, too~’ Her friend nudged her with a smirk.
‘Who, Bernard? No thank you, we are done, and I have told him just as much. He’s now gone off with someone else again, some waifish-looking thing–’
‘No, not that loser! Look!’ Her friend stopped her from dancing for a moment to turn her in the direction she was pointing.
Leaning up against the wall was a tall, muscular man with a blond wavy afro and a Tom Selleck-style mustache giving her an intense gaze with his sunset eyes – and who promptly pretend ed he was looking anywhere else the moment they both made eye contact.
How intriguing, she thought, her mind suddenly more agreeably engaged in the handsome features of this mysterious man’s face. W hat had been happening only moments before with her ex-boyfriend and the fresh meat he’d found soon was pushed from her mind . Perhaps it’s time I found fresh meat for myself, too.
‘It certainly is raining men tonight, hmm?’ She smirked at her friend, before walking off the dance floor towards him.
‘Go get ‘em, girl!’ her friend cheered her on as she began grooving out again.
Smoothing out her indigo curls in a brief moment of nervousness, she quickly adjusted her bell bottom pants and metallic fabric crop top before plodding her platform heels off the dance floor and towards the handsome stranger.
She never even noticed Bernard’s scowl as he watched her approach the mysterious man, the young blond waif in his arms unable to distract his gaze even as she pressed up close to him.
‘Hello~’ She waved as she arrived up towards the mysterious stranger, a bit breathless still from her exertion. ‘My name’s Victoria. What might yours be?’
The young man cleared his throat, seeming a bit shy. Even under the club lights, she could tell he was a bit flushed – and it certainly wasn’t from dancing, as she’d yet to see him out on the floor.
‘Hello… it’s Felix,’ he finally responded. ‘Felix Ratio.’
His eyes only flitted to her for a moment before swerving back to the wall again. Yet, only a moment was needed; her breath caught in her throat from his fascinating sunset eyes. She’d never seen eyes quite so beautiful on such a handsome man before.
‘You must be the shy type, Felix Ratio~’ Victoria flirted, twirling one of her indigo curls between her fingers playfully. ‘I am surprised to see you out at the club when you are being a complete wallflower, ahaha~’
Sunset eyes slid over to her curiously, an unreadable look behind them. She found it hard to breathe yet again.
‘...Perhaps,’ was all he said, giving her virtually nothing to work with.
How intriguing. How often is it the man who plays hard to get? s he found herself thinking. Fascinating.
She cocked her head, trying a different approach. ‘I’ve no t seen your face among the other graduate students before. Are you a PhD candidate, or even a professor, perhaps, Mr . Ratio ? Or should I say… Dr. Ratio?’
A smirk started to crack onto the man’s face.
Oh, no, she found herself panicking a bit as he took a step towards her, towering above her petite frame. This one is really, really cute – and what’s worse, I think he knows it.
A low chuckle interrupted her thoughts.
‘None of those things.’ His light laughter clearly rang even above the din of the club.
‘Then,
what?’ she
pressed, more
than a bit
interested. ‘Why
is someone as dreadfully handsome as you being such a wallflower
when you could be dancing with someone like me?’
Sunset eyes look down at her amusedly as his blond curls brushed in front of his face.
‘Would you believe me if I said that I was simply the janitor?’
Decades later, even long after his sudden and incredibly tragic passing, Victoria would remember this as the exact moment she knew she’d fallen in love with her future husband, Felix Ratio .
.
..
….
……..
…..
..
.
Victoria’s eyes cracked open against the harsh morning, many years later, her consciousness slowly bleeding in with the light of day in her too-quiet home. A painful reminder that it was now decades later, far after her youth and the brief popularity of disco had faded.
Taking in a deep breath against the onslaught of memories, she slowly sat up to look at her nightstand: Felix, when he was still alive, happier than ever and holding their only child and son, a young boy named Veritas, who had the same beautiful piercing sunset eyes as his father, and the same indigo ringlets as his mother.
That same little boy had called her last night, now a full-grown man, breathless and full of determination more than she’d ever heard him – and he was often determined . Veritas had up and quit a job he had strived years to get at a top interstellar university, rushing back to Pier Point to propose marriage to his boyfriend – whom Victoria had affectionately dubbed her ‘second son’ shortly afte r their first meeting.
‘Now that’s my son,’ Victoria whispered to herself fondly. ‘Go get him. Bring Aventurine home.’
Yet, as elated as she was for her dearest Veritas and lovely Aventurine, she couldn’t help but feel a n errant pang of sadness.
Felix should be here.
The thought struck her like a lightning bolt. Victoria—better known as ‘Mama Ratio’ in her older age—was right. H er beloved husband should be here, sharing in the joys of Veritas’ accomplishments, both academic and romantic, perhaps planning how they could support their upcoming union, discussing possibilities of becoming grandparents…
...but that was not her reality.
The reality ahead of her was instead this: she’d remain the ‘cool, fun, hip’ mom, who occasionally called a certain Knight of Beauty and Galaxy Ranger over for company in her bed when the nights became too lonely and they happened to be in her part of the galaxy. She’d remain the ‘cool, fun, hip’ mom who took life on the chin, gave great advice, and would likely take a n eager one-night-stand (or two... or three!) home while slightly tipsy at her own son’s wedding reception to Veritas’ chagrin and Aventurine’s thumbs-up. She’d remain the ‘cool, fun, hip’ mom who loved the independence widowhood brought – she had loved Felix dearly, but she’d daresay she did not miss doing another man’s laundry – and yet… as each year progressed she could not help but feel that something was missing, that, for the triumvirate of PhD’s she had herself (where did one think Veritas got it from, after all?), she could not quite put her finger upon it.
Victoria sighed.
‘Such is life,’ she muttered to herself, then shook herself out of it after a moment. ‘My goodness… The morning depression is setting in earlier than usual today. I must go about and make myself useful.’
Yes… useful . For if she wasn’t the ‘cool, fun, hip’ mom that Veritas lovingly grumbled about and Aventurine adored as his future mother-in-law , would they continue calling upon her ? Or would they leave a widow who wasn’t the ‘cool, fun, hip’ widow well enough alone, she wondered?
‘When
a woman marries again, it is because she detested
her first husband,’ Victoria
quoted to herself resolutely, a
mantra before her morning cup of coffee
more often than she cared to admit.
‘And
I, in no way or
fashion,
detested my very
dearest
Felix.’
♠♜
‘That is why I love you.’ The older Aventurine sighed deeply as he leaned in, giving Veritas a gentle kiss on the lips. ‘And that... is also why I want a divorce.’
Much like his father had done in a discotheque decades ago before him, Veritas pinned his future spouse in place with a piercing look from his sunset eyes – analyzing, calculating, spinning a hypothesis in his head from what seemed like almost zero qualifying information.
‘Stop looking at me like that,’ the older Avgin said shyly, turning his eyes towards the ground.
‘Stop looking at you like what?’
‘Like you’re in love with me still.’ Aventurine’s older self tilted his head so his gilded braids clinked together. ‘Stop that.’
Ah.
Veritas’ smile slowly spread across his face as he kissed the hands of his husband from the future.
‘Then I shall have to stop looking at you altogether,’ Veritas murmured against the skin beneath his lips. ‘For I shall never stop loving you, Kakavasha, and thus, cannot keep such a promise.’
‘Oh, really?’ Aventurine smirked down at him, though he could hear the slightest telltale waver in the older Avgin’s voice. It was enough for Veritas to know he was on the right track. ‘Prove it.’
In barely a blink, Veritas now had a familiar gun aimed right at his face. 500 Smith and Wesson Magnum revolver – one of the most powerful revolvers in the cosmos.
Locked, loaded, and pointed directly at the younger Veritas Ratio’s skull.
‘Hmmm, now where have we experienced this before?~’ Aventurine’s small smile remained on his lips. ‘I’m feeling some déjà vu, aren’t you?’
‘You’d dare to kill my younger self in an attempt to ruin your own future?’ Veritas could not help how his voice sounded as sad as it did incredulous.
‘This is divorce, Avgin style,’ the older Avgin said cooly as he slid the equally-cool gun barrel against Veritas’ throat.
‘I fail to recall in my research of Sigonian history the ability to time travel and kill one’s lover before the marriage rite had been conducted,’ Veritas could not help to snark.
The older Avgin only chuckled.
‘My, my, my, you call me a gambler, Ver, but you always have a way of testing my nerves with your snarkiness~’ Hot lips brushed against Veritas’ ear directly above where the barrel was pressed firmly against his throat. Ver shuddered. ‘One of my favorite things about you. You’re always testing limits, just like I am~’
‘And what limit are you testing today, gambler?’ Ver bit out – unable to completely ignore the slight ministrations the older Avgin was expertly peppering his earlobe and neck with as he held him at gunpoint.
‘Oh, Ver, it’s not like you to make me repeat myself.’ He felt a chuckle against his throat. ‘So I won’t~’
‘You-! Mnfff-!!’
‘Good luck~’ The older Aventurine seemed almost gleeful watching his revolver get shoved deep down into Veritas’ throat to prevent him from answering.
I am indeed feeling some d éjà vu, Aven , Veritas thought as he struggled to not choke on Aventurine’s Magnum revolver. Wait – Ah!
Veritas felt almost like an apple had struck his head with sudden inspiration.
‘V-Ver?!’ The older Avgin started when he felt a strong hand wrap around his smaller one, a finger tugging on the trigger. ‘What are you doing-??’
Calling your bluff, Ver thought, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. Just as I did nine months ago.
‘V-V-Ver, w-wait, S-S-STOP-!!!’
The trigger clicked back in one heart-stopping second.
♠♜
A custom giftbox exuding the fragrance of golden kumquat and red currant. The first sensation at one's fingertips is the lingering warmth on the box's surface, and holding it reveals its substantial weight. Precious delicacies from various regions are neatly and meticulously packed into every inch of space, as if the gift-giver couldn't make a final decision and simply included everything.
‘Would you like to try a bite?’ the young Avgin asked sultrily through the apartment door intercom after knocking.
Aventurine
decided after brunch with Topaz the other day that he was feeling
impatient to see his future
husband
beau, and didn’t want to wait the agreed-upon two weeks to do so.
So, the first chance he got, he hopped onto an IPC chartered luxury
cruiser, and made his way over to the city outskirts of the
University of Veritas Prime.
Plus, it was White Day. Why wouldn’t he take the chance to hand-deliver a delicious surprise to his dear doctor?
Admittedly, he’d not been invited over Veritas’ apartment before. Ver seemed loathe to talk about it much, simply brushing off comments about the supposedly dismal state of the place. That didn’t seem to match up with the elegant image he had of his lover; Aven would never admit that this surprise drop-by had as much to do with his piqued curiosity as it did with his yearning for his lover.
The door opened.
‘...oh!’ Aventurine exclaimed in surprise. ‘Well, this is unexpected.’
But not unpleasantly so~, Aventurine took a moment to admire the older man in front of him. Hello, daddy~
‘I believe you were expecting my younger self to answer the door.’ The older Dr. Ratio said smugly.
‘Indeed I was.’ Aventurine took the opportunity to trail his eyes languidly up and down the older Veritas’ form. Long curls pinned back with a gold pin, even more muscular biceps, and god, those thighs – ‘But, ah, this is certainly not unwelcome~’
‘Oh? Do tell, gambler.’ The older man invited him in, sunset eyes ablaze.
‘My, my, you get more brazen with age, don’t you, Ver?~’ The young Avgin gently set the gift box to the side with the feeling it would soon be forgotten. ‘Your younger self would have been more shy to make an advance on me – unless he were pushed.’
Aventurine squeaked as strong, firm hands took him by the waist. Licking his lips in anticipation, neon eyes locked with sunset ones.
‘Perhaps my younger self felt less experienced in the art of reciprocating the same pleasures for you that you had selflessly provided for him.’
Oh,
Aventurine was
definitely
fully
dick-stracted
now
by his
hopefully
future husband.
‘Care to prove it?’ Aventurine dared to snake a hand down, cupping his already semi-hard erection through the pants. ‘Mmn, these balls feel heavy. Maybe it’s time you took a load off?~’
‘Ever the gambler, aren’t you, Kakavasha?’ But Veritas already had betrayed himself with a stuttering intake of breath as Aventurine affectionately rubbed between his legs.
‘I only make bets I know I can win~’ Aventurine winked up at him, excitement building in his chest as he felt the hands squeeze his sides just a touch tighter. ‘You know the old saying: ‘bust? Or… maybe I’ll take it all~’
Lips crashed needily against each other.
‘Damned gambler,’ Veritas’ deep voice against his lips and throat made Aven shudder with delight. ‘Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it.’
♠♜
Meanwhile, across town, on campus at the University of Veritas Prime…
‘Oh… oh no.’
Baishao ran to her computer, nearly crashing into two irritated TA’s twice the height of her in the process.
‘No… no this can’t be. Aeons tell me that this can’t be-’
The computer beeped at her, loading the page.
‘Oh my Divine Archer Lan.’
She stood still, staring at the unforgiving computer screen.
‘What is it, Baishao??’ Her assistant ran over – only to stop dead in his tracks when he saw the screen.
...
Fresh News at the University of Veritas Prime
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Campus News
(1 hour ago) From the President’s Desk: Updated DEI Policies and Procedures Expected with In coming Administration
👁 12563 💬 0
Courtesy notice to all university students, faculty, and constituents:
The administration incumbent to the University of Veritas Prime has expressed its intent to immediately restructure its DEI requirements upon inauguration.
All Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion campus initiatives and practices will no longer be subject to legal protection under IPC Legal Governance IX-III. All new changes of legal genders outside of the binary of ‘male’ and ‘female’ will no longer be recognized. All new partner relationships outside of the standard male-female pairing will no longer be recognized, and all new spousal benefits will be terminated. All new scholarships on the basis of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion will no longer be accepting applications; however, the current recipients will continue to see their grants dispersed until the loan amount is fulfilled.
All of these changes are expected to take effect once the incumbent President takes office, three months hence from today’s date. Should you need to make changes to your records to reflect your current identity, spousal status, scholarship status, or other changes related to these updated DEI policies and procedures, please do so by end of day XX-XX-XXXX, three months from today’s date.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
Vincit Omnia Veritas,
Office of the President, University of Veritas Prime
[User comments have been disabled for this post by a moderator]
…
‘Oh dear… the rumors are true, aren’t they?’ He r assistant winced. ‘ That damned new president is every bit the bigot everyone warned he would be.’
‘I… I have to tell Dr. Ratio right away!’ Baishao exclaimed. ‘H- H e’s been talking about… well, you know!! ’
‘Talking about what , Miss Baishao?’ Dean Pontcleaux stepped into view, glaring her and her assistant down. ‘ Do let me in on the secret.’
Baishao’s mouth snapped shut.
‘It is frankly none of your business, Dean Pontcleaux,’ Baishao responded tersely.
‘Oh? I wouldn’t be so sure about that.’ Pontcleaux stepped forward, encroaching upon her space. ‘If it is something that goes against university policies , it is my job to know that about my employees – former or otherwise.’
Baishao and her assistant both stood up, glaring him down.
‘These are not university policies yet ,’ Baishao responded sharply, even though her hands shook.
‘And furthermore,’ h er assistant continued, gently laying a hand on one of her shaking ones to help reassure Baishao. ‘Even if it were , do you think the Council of Mundanites would stand for such incongruent policies against the university’s mission?’
Baishao tried to squash the butterfly feelings at the gentle touch of her assistant’s hand against hers.
‘Vincit Omnia Veritas,’ she said, squeezing her assistant’s hand back. ‘Indeed.’
♠♜
Notes:
Thank you as always to fics_are_life and HoneyFlashBang for alpha reading and beta reading this chapter, respectively. They really helped me wrangle this chapter into submission, hehe~~
As members of Themperor's Famous Writer's Guild (18+) know, I was terribly ill with disco fever while writing this, so we’ve got a couple of disco references throughout! Check it:
Title: ‘Stayin’ Alive’ is from the Bee Gee’s disco hit of the same name.
When Mama Ratio aka Victoria says, ‘It certainly is raining men tonight, hmm?’, it’s a subtle nod to ‘It’s Raining Men’ by The Weather Girls.
Speaking of – name drop alert! We FINALLY have a first name for my OC version of Mama Ratio – Victoria! Though it might seem initially a bit generic, there truly is thought behind it on my part – ‘Victoria’ is the feminine version of the Latin ‘Victor’ meaning, ‘victorious’. She named her son ‘Veritas’ to share in having a ‘V’ name, and to continue with the Latin naming tradition of her family. Though she has gone through some hardships in her life e.x. death of her husband, I would say as an OC, she is the most ‘victorious’ in terms of popularity that I have ever written <3
Additionally, we have Veritas’ dad’s name – Felix! Felix is also Latin for ‘lucky’ or ‘happy’. I was making a nod to the Latin phrase Felix Culpa , which is generally considered to mean ‘fortunate fall’, as in, an apparent disaster or fall that brings about good fortune, alluding to his eventual death and the eventual luck Veritas and (Victoria) Mama Ratio found in finding Aventurine and bringing him into their lives, as well as Veritas’ hard work studying and acquiring so many degrees after leaving Delilah, which I alluded to in my previous work.
‘When a woman marries again, it is because she detested her first husband.’ Is a quote by the one and only Oscar Wilde from ‘The Picture of Dorian Gray’. If you want full Victorian queer sass and you haven’t read that book yet, you are in for a treat! I highly recommend reading the unexpurgated/uncensored version if you can get your hands on it, otherwise a lot of the true queerness for which Oscar Wilde was put to trial for is lost to history.
F rom ‘A custom giftbox…’ to ‘Would you like to try a bite?’ comes directly from this HoYoverse X White Day post.
Older Dr. Ratio is based off of this comic that will NOT leave my brain (18+ & NSFW)
‘IPC Legal Governance IX-III’ is basically this university’s ‘Title IX’. I 100% made it up, as HSR does not currently have any DEI intergalactic policies mentioned aside from the Masked Fools’ readables, which are more hand-wavey at best than any sort of actual policy.
V incit Omnia Veritas is The University of Veritas Prime’s official motto. It means ‘Truth conquers all.’ Indeed!
Pretty obvious, but: SMUT INCOMING NEXT CHAPTER – PREPARE THY LOINS!!!!!!! Ehehehehe~
Want to know my chapter titles a day or two early? Follow me on Bluesky here!
Want to chat with me and join a community of fellow writers? Come on over to Themperor's Famous Writer's Guild (18+)!
yes I am linking it twice for emphasis in the same author's noteStay tuned~~~~ New chapters every other week! ✨
Chapter 4: The Doomsday Machine
Summary:
As he felt a daring tongue play with the Guiche piercing between his legs, Aventurine’s shaky hands went out behind him to grasp at something, anything, to brace himself. His hands found themselves accidentally cracking open a square-shaped object containing a wickless blue flame inside.
‘Shit!’ Aventurine stopped the older Veritas’ onslaught onto his senses immediately. He pulled his hand forward to see some sort of bluish fire begin to envelop him. ‘What the fuck-?’
‘The Phase Flame!’ The elder Veritas exclaimed.
Before they both knew it, their intertwined bodies were both consumed by it – and transported somewhere else.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
♠
It was the middle of the night, and the catcakes Cockblocker and Beaver Dam, also colloquially known as ‘Cocky’ and ‘Beav’, were bored.
Swatting at their sibling in the dark for some quick amusement, Cocky smacked Beav upside the face, eliciting an indignant look and a yelp. Beav quickly put Cocky in their place, with a play-bite to the neck. Fangs out, they both hissed and swatted at each other, a catfight already shaping into a squall.
Baby, the third and youngest of the trio, meowed mournfully from down the hall – stopping the two of them in their tracks.
Ears shifting in all directions like satellites to track the source of the noise, another sorrowful yowl was heard, louder this time, from down the hallway. Quickly and lithely, the two catcakes disengage from their brawl, the cause of their squabble already long forgotten.
Little paws ran in tandem, hastening to find the source of their sibling’s cry. Their fat and wobbly bodies sloshing into each other, bounding against the furniture, was an unbearably cute sight, should anyone have been awake to observe them.
Finally, they reached their destination. Outside of Aventurine’s bedroom, Baby greeted them with a flick of their ears, irritated that they were so put out to have to cry for their sibling’s attention not only once, but twice. They were quick to forgive, however, and quickly directed everyone’s attention to the crack in the door – showing Aventurine sweating and thrashing in his bed alone in his sleep, clearly having some sort of nightmare – or, perhaps, was it a wet dream? A catcake would not know.
Cocky and Beav pawed at the door to open wider as Aventurine groaned.
What was he dreaming of? Well…
♠♜
…
……
……...
While
him and the
incredibly
hot
older Dr. Veritas Ratio
started
to
make
out,
Aventurine
continued
to
affectionately
rub
the
growing erection
between
Ver’s
legs.
‘ Mnn~ Seems like you came back to see me with a plan. Didn’t you, my dearest Ver?’
‘ I- haah~~ c- c annot figure what you m-mean.’ Even in his older age, Veritas remained somewhat shy with Aventurine . It was unbearably cute.
‘Being coy, aren’t we?’ Aventurine purred, giving Veritas’ clothed cock a light smack. Ver’s deep whimper was just delicious. ‘Well? You may as well tell me~ These balls of yours aren’t going to empty themselves, you know~~’
‘I… it’s a little embarrassing…’ Veritas reddened, looking off to the side.
‘Oh? Still shy, after all the years I must have put in to take good care of my pent-up doctor? Then it must be a good one,’ Aventurine smirked. ‘Need I remind you that it’s just you and me? Quite literally, no one else is around. If you’re going to tell me something embarrassingly naughty, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better place to do so.’
Veritas remained silently flustered under Aventurine’s inquisitive gaze.
‘Maybe you need a bit of a prompter,’ Aventurine prodded, materializing a gun into his hands. ‘You seemed to enjoy our little gun play scene when we first met. Could that perhaps be… related in any way to this fantasy of yours?’
‘…Perhaps,’ Ratio said evasively.
‘Oh? Tell me more,’ he purred, then pointed the gun at Ratio’s head. ‘Or else! Haha, just kidding… unless?’
Ratio squirmed under the barrel of the gun. ‘It… doesn’t necessarily have to be a gun. Just- just the element of danger is enough.’
Aventurine’s eyes glinted. ‘Anything will do?’ he said lowly, the dream shaping the gun into a sabre fencing-style sword. ‘I’ve read that a lot of girls, gays and theys enjoy many fanciful tales about wishing to be held at sword point under the chin by their lover. Let’s test that theory~’
Aventurine used the tip of the sabre to lift the older Veritas’ chin, just a little. He smirked as he saw the older man’s pupils blow wide, his jaw slack with renewed lust.
‘Oh, seems the theory holds true~’ Aventurine seemed very satisfied with the elder Ratio being so easily manipulated under him. ‘This makes an Avgin wonder,’ He leaned in, his breath caressing his throat alongside the slice of steel. ‘Do you like to be dominated, Ratio?’
‘I- uh-’ The older Veritas went very red, clearing his throat.
‘Come on now, Ver,’ Aven whispered against his skin. ‘Your secret stays safe with me~’
‘From… time to time… perhaps…’ The older Ver’s voice seemed strangled, both with desire and by the sabre tip pressing against his Adam’s apple. ‘With s-someone I trust.’
‘Hmmm, I can work with that,’ Aventurine grinned against his throat. ‘Who knew the famed scholar with the First Class Honors Degree was a naughty little vers with a knife kink? Oh, that’s right – me~’
‘You… have… a way of putting things in the most depraved of terms.’
‘Am I wrong, though? There’s no need to be ashamed of your desires, daddy~’ Aventurine said as pushed the sword tip a bit deeper into his skin, eliciting a gasp. ‘I won’t tell anyone. It will be our little secret~’
‘I’m… sure you’d feel the same if I knew your deepest fantasy.’
Something flashed across Aventurine’s eyes after he said that – possibly frightened, vulnerable even. It was difficult for him to clock the exact emotion, it was gone so fast.
‘Perhaps.’
Even in his
lust-clouded mind, Ratio’s older self didn’t miss that small
falling of the veil. He made a mental note to try to coax it out of
Aventurine’s older self another time when he wasn’t
enjoying himself so much.
‘Back to the topic at hand – I’m wondering if there are any elements we can use to up the ante? This seems a bit simple, as far as kinks go.’
‘Simple?’ Veritas' frown carved deeper lines into his face than Aventurine remembered, and it was clear his older lover was more than a little offended. ‘What do you mean simpl-’
Aventurine snapped his fingers - two blonde Foxian ears appeared on top of Aventurine’s head. A blonde Foxian tale wrapped around Ver’s waist possessively.
If there
was a heaven,
Veritas would
probably be in it right now.
‘You did mention a Foxian butt plug and features the other day. I’m wondering if that was a bit of a Freudian slip on your part~’ Aventurine purred, showing off his new Foxian canine teeth. ‘We certainly got to play with some toys, but what about the real thing? A young, lithe, half-Avgin, half-Foxian boy all to yourself?~’
‘I… uhm.’ The elder Dr. Ratio said, in probably the dumbest string of words he’d ever put together in his entire life.
‘Oh, now that is a nice expression on you, daddy. Looks like that’s a ‘yes’ on the Freudian slip. Why don’t you join in with me on the fun?’ Aventurine snapped his fingers again, and an indigo tail wrapped around to intertwine with Aventurine’s blonde one. Aventurine smiled as he watched his older lover curiously reach up to scratch at his new Foxian ears with satisfaction.
‘I have to say, you look pretty cute like that~’ Aventurine took in the view. ‘Now this is a fun fantasy – two hot-blooded lusty Foxian males in an erotic fight to the death.’
It was only then a sabre sword materialized in Veritas’ hands, slack at his side as the tip rested upon the floor.
‘It’s giving swashbuckler or ‘Mark of Zorro’ vibes, and all his homoerotic sword fights with Basil Rathbone on the silver screen. Hmmm, that would have me in some tight-fitting clothing, maybe leather-bound?’
Another snap, and Aven’s pants were skin-tight leather. A flowy poet shirt teased a view at the nipple piercings fluttering in and out of view underneath.
‘Don’t you look dashing as a Foxian rogue, doctor~’ Aventurine teased.
His older lover tried to open his mouth to respond, but the words kept getting stuck, struck dumb by the sight in front of him.
His only response was to lift a hand to tease open Aventurine’s poet shirt to get a better view of his nipple piercings.
‘Oh? How could I forget that the scholar was such a fan of my piercings?~’
‘Even I didn’t know, till I first saw them on you,’ Veritas’ elder self admitted, in somewhat of a whisper.
‘Hmmmm,’ Aventurine seemed pleased at this admission.
‘ In fact, I generally was unaware of how much I found you so enchanting... until I truly got to know you, my beautiful gambler.’
Aventurine preened at one of his favorite nicknames Ver used for him.
‘ What a pleasant coincidence~’ Aventurine purred, tapping the point of his sabre on the tip of the scholar’s nose playfully. ‘ I feel exactly the same way about you, capitan~~’
‘You, ah, w-wouldn’t care to translate that feeling into action, now would you?’
‘I might be tempted~~’ Aventurine purred, sliding the cool edge of the saber blade against the older version of Veritas’ throat. The blade flirted with tearing the skin, only just stopping short of doing so.
‘Hmmm, is the capitan’s blade still firm even after that?’ Aventurine’s Foxian tail flicked behind him with satisfaction.
‘Still firm enough to run you through,’ Veritas’ wizened and gravely voice, deep with need, made Aventurine shiver.
‘Oh? Are you going to prove it?’ Aventurine bit his lip, Foxian ears and tail swishing with excited anticipation.
With a flash and a clang!, steel met steel. Aventurine’s saber was nearly flung from his wrist – with Aventurine nearly losing his footing in the process – from the force of the older gentleman’s exacting parry.
‘I needed that to awaken me~’ Aventurine laughed breathily, quickly regaining his footing. ‘What is it they say? En garde!’
And so, the game was afoot.
With foxlike reflexes reflected in his younger bearing, Aventurine was catlike, circling around and around his older lover as he struck this way and that to find an opening.
Veritas, however, was not one to concede ground easily. With mere flicks of his wrist, Aventurine was easily parried.
The young Avgin with Foxian features became quickly frustrated, and it showed in his increasingly spurious technique. Better accustomed to poker tables and slot machines, the scrappy Kakavasha had never taken the time or effort to study games that taught patience such as chess or fencing. Even in a dream sequence with some lucidity, the stalwart professor of both his fantasies and his realities was unyielding in his deflection of his chaotic movements.
‘Remember when you called me a ‘system of chaos’, capitan?’ Aventurine paused briefly, nearly out of breath. ‘If it is true that I am so ‘chaotic’, how are you able to predict my movements?’
FLASH!
CLANG!
RRIIIIIIIPPP!!!!!!!
Aventurine was slackjawed; in three quick movements, Veritas had swiped the saber out of Aven’s hand, tossed it to the side with a flick of his wrist, and – befitting for a dirty old man – ripped open young Kakavasha’s clothes in a provocative way meant to expose him for the taking, complete with a self-satisfied smirk.
‘I believe, as the winner, I’ve come to claim my prize,’ Veritas used the tip of his saber to tease open Aventurine’s now-destroyed shirt and leather pants, indigo tail and ears flicking in smug, catlike satisfaction.
‘Happy to concede, my love~’ Aventurine’s cheeks flushed pink. Even after six months of saying that he loved Ver, he still couldn’t quite help the flush that accompanied the admission. ‘What would you have me do?~’
‘Stand there-’
Veritas cast the sword aside as he went to his knees between Aventurine’s legs.
‘-and let me worship you, as you deserve.’
Aventurine went beet red, Foxian tail flicking behind him in embarrasment. He could not remember the last time Ver had gone down on him, and he certainly could not remember the last time he’d received a blowjob… perhaps ever?
All thoughts were obliterated the moment Ver’s warm mouth was on him.
‘A-Ah m-my Goddess~~!’ Aventurine exclaimed, fingers quickly curling into Veritas’ locks behind his indigo Foxian ears. ‘Y-You sure are eager to c-claim your prize, aren’t you, daddy?’
Veritas made no comment, as his mouth was full. Taking Aventurine’s full dick into his mouth, Kakavasha could not help but be impressed at the fellating capabilities of his favorite scholar.
‘A-Ah~~-! Mmmn~~!’ A strong hand reached between Aven's legs to play with his most thrilling piercing. ‘I-I thought daddy w-would want m-me to – haaah! – p-play with him f-first?’
Veritas placed a soothing hand on Aventurine’s hip, as if to say, ‘All in good time, my beautiful gambler’.
‘O-Oh! Y-You’re d-daring in your older age, Ver~~’ Aventurine whimpered as he felt a mouth travel down even lower below the belt.
As he felt a daring tongue play with the Guiche piercing between his legs, Aventurine’s shaky hands went out behind him to grasp at something, anything, to brace himself. His hands found themselves accidentally cracking open a square-shaped object containing a wickless blue flame inside.
‘Shit!’ Aventurine stopped the older Veritas’ onslaught onto his senses immediately. He pulled his hand forward to see some sort of bluish fire begin to envelop him. ‘What the fuck-?’
‘The Phase Flame!’ The elder Veritas exclaimed.
Before they both knew it, their intertwined bodies were both consumed by it – and transported somewhere else.
…
…..
...
The blue flame cleared after a brief moment, the older Veritas quickly returning it to its containment. Gathering their bearings, they both soon realized they were somewhere neither of them had ever been before – on an interstellar ship currently under heavy attack.
‘All hands: this is a red alert!’ The captain’s voice blared across the intercom as crewmen rushed past them on all sides, hellbent to get to their posts. ‘Battle stations, everyone! I repeat, battle stations! Battle stations!’
A voice that sounded eerily like… Aventurine’s own voice.
‘Was that-?’
‘Captain!’ A yeoman who looked eerily identical to Baishao in seaman’s garb reported to Aventurine, still intertwined with the older Dr. Ratio. ‘W-What are you doing-?? T-This isn’t the time to be making love to the ship’s surgeon! Unless... you do not think we will survive this mission…?’
Aventurine cleared his throat in embarrassment. Even in this reality , it seems Baishao interrupts me while I try to get it on with Ver, Aven thought to himself in comical amusement as they disentangled themselves. ‘ Perish the thought … crew member Baishao.’ Aventurine and the older Ratio shared a look before he continued. ‘Carry on to your battle station. I’ll be on the bridge in a moment.’
‘Right, sir!’ She cried, running to her post after a harried salute.
‘All hands, this is Captain Kakavasha!’ his voice blared on the intercom once again. ‘The Doomsday Machine is within striking range! Weaponry on standby!’
‘This is auxiliary control: acknowledged! Full artillery on standby!’ yet another eerily familiar voice screamed back, already hoarse from barking orders under duress.
‘Topaz?’ Aventurine breathed in shock. ‘In weaponry?? She wouldn’t harm a fly!’
‘Perhaps, under duress, that may change,’ the older Veritas mused.
Aventurine walked toward a communication panel, shakily reaching up a hand to turn on the viewing screen.
I have to know what this ‘Doomsday Machine’ looks like, he resolved.
The viewing screen flickered on to show an absolutely massive planet-killing ship, a corrugated maw the size of 1,000 planets gaping towards their own ship’s hull. Space debris swirled around the size of asteroids , looking like crumbs in comparison from the ship’s meal of half a planetary system.
‘Let’s see if we can get a view of the bridge,’ the older Ratio stepped next to him to fiddle with the controls.
The viewing screen blurred for a moment, then re-tuned onto the image of a highly decorated and dressed ship’s captain in full naval regalia… who looked eerily like his lover, Aventurine.
‘Fascinating.’ The older Veritas gasped as Aventurine’s jaw dropped open.
‘Let’s see if Zephyro can handle this!’ Captain Kakavasha roared, neon eyes sparking with rage. ‘First Officer Topaz! Fire everything we’ve got at this Lord Ravager of Destruction! Give him a taste of his own medicine right down this planet-killer’s throat!’
‘Aye aye, captain!!’ Topaz screamed back.
In seconds, the entire artillery of the ship was emptied straight down the gullet of the massive ship, igniting explosive bursts at every turn.
‘Crewmates!’ Captain Kakavasha said resolutely, as explosions began to surround the ship, the heat beginning to sear the hull. ‘Even if we should die here, we die knowing that we took down one of the Seven Lord Ravagers of Destruction, and avenged our homelands!’
‘Hear, hear!’ The crewmates all cheered victoriously, even as the air became scorchingly hot.
‘Time to return from whence we came. Shall we?’ The older Veritas pulled the Phase Flame from his pocket with one hand as he grabbed Aventurine with the other, phasing them both out of there before the searing heat turned their vision to white.
…
…..
...
Gasping, the both of them phased in one piece, clothing hardly singed , back to Veritas’ apartment near the University of Veritas Prime.
‘What was that?’ Aventurine exclaimed, still in shock. ‘I’m a captain? Topaz is my first mate?’ He gave the older Veritas an incredulous look. ‘And you’re... a ship’s surgeon?’
‘An alternate reality,’ the older Veritas hypothesized. ‘One that holds the same members as this universe, but in an alternate timeline. However… there is a possibility…’ Veritas trailed off, suddenly seeming as if he were searching for something.
‘Possibility for what?’ Aventurine coaxed him.
The older Ver did not answer, instead running into another room of the apartment.
‘Ver?’ Aventurine frowned, running after him with adrenaline still pulsing high in his veins. ‘Ver!!’
The older Veritas had closed the bedroom door behind him. Aventurine reached out to open it.
As his hands closed around the door handle, a voice he’d never heard before boomed throughout his mind:
‘RANDOM CHANCE SEEMS TO HAVE OPERATED IN YOUR FAVOR ONCE AGAIN, KAKAVASHA.’
Aventurine jolted from the sudden intrusion into his thoughts.
‘H-Hello?? W-W-Who are you?’
‘A FRIEND – OR AN ENEMY, IF YOU SO WISH,’ the voice responded. ‘WHATEVER ROLE MAY SERVE YOUR SCHEMES AT THE PRESENT MOMENT ALL DEPENDS ON HOW YOU ROLL THE DICE, SOLE REFUGEE OF FATE ITSELF.’
Aventurine looked confused. ‘Why would I wish for you to be my enemy?’
The booming chuckle of the voice made his skin crawl.
‘WHEN I GAZE UPON YOU IN THIS DREAM OF YOURS, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND, KAKAVASHA, LAST OF THE AVGINS.’
Ah, this is a dream, then, Aventurine thought to himself. I knew Ver was far too eager. And here I thought it was just him being older… he hasn’t been that eager since Jarilo-VI -
‘YOU ARE QUITE CORRECT. YOUR HUSBAND IS FAR MORE RESERVED IN REALITY – UNLESS HE WAS FEELING ESPECIALLY LUCKY.’
‘H-H-HEY! T-Those were my private thoughts!’ Aven felt his cheeks grow hot. ‘W-Wait! How did you know we had a marriage right already? How do you even know all of this-?’
‘ALL IN GOOD TIME, KAKAVASHA. WHAT MATTERS NOW IS THAT YOU REMEMBER WHAT YOU SAW. THAT GLIMPSE INTO ANOTHER REALITY WAS A WARNING. ZEPHYRO IS COMING TO FINISH THE WORK PHANTYLIA COULD NOT ON THE XIANZHOU LUOFU.’
‘And… what does that have to do with me?’ Aventurine shrugged.
There was a long pause on the other end.
‘YOU OWE YOUR KEEPER, LADY BONAJADE, A DEBT YOU CAN NEVER REPAY, DO YOU NOT?’
‘Yes…’ Aventurine’s eyes narrowed in suspicion. ‘How much do you know about me? Who are you?’
Another deep, booming chuckle emanated through the base of his skull.
‘MAY THE MOTHER GODDESS THRICE CLOSE HER EYES FOR YOU,
KEEPING YOUR BLOOD ETERNALLY PULSING.
MAY YOUR JOURNEY BE FOREVER PEACEFUL,
AND YOUR SCHEMES FOREVER CONCEALED .’
Aventurine opened the door to see a flash of blinding white light, fading to three multicolored neon eyes just like his own, opening one after the other to gaze upon him.
‘Mama Fenge?’ Aventurine gasped. ‘I… you… you’re real? You’re an... Aeon?’
..
…
…….
…………
……..
…
..
In his shock, Kakavasha awoke.
Aventurine gasped for air, slick with sweat the moment he woke up – to the catcake Baby mere centimeters away from his face, yowling for him to wake up. Cocky and Beav flanked him on either side, pinning his arms down while they joined in Baby’s chorus.
‘I… wha...’ Kakavasha’s heart was pounding as if he’d been running for miles. ‘It felt so real… like I really met Mama Fenge...’
Baby stopped yowling, settling their full weight on Aventurine’s chest and purring up a storm. Cocky and Beav followed the leader, settling down and purring. Aventurine was surrounded left, right, and center by cuddly, purring machines.
‘Hah…’ Aventurine smiled weakly down at his cat-children. ‘I’m glad it was all just a dream.’ He snaked out an arm from under Cocky to pet their little heads. ‘Could you imagine if I actually met Mama Fenge? And she gazed at me, no less? Ha ha~’ He couldn’t help a bit of a chuckle. ‘That would have made me an Emanator, wouldn’t it?’
With a long sigh to steady his heart rate, he rolled his eyes at himself. ‘What a good joke, hmm, my kittens?’ Aventurine scratched behind Cocky’s ears as he shook his head. ‘Well, that’s the last time I watch ‘The Mark of Zorro’ rerun on TV before bed, hah…’
And just like that, the experience was reasoned away with a veracity even his beloved would have admired.
As Aventurine continued to chuckle to himself while playing with the catcakes, an ominous and now hauntingly-familiar chuckle of its own rattled the edges of his mind. He did his best to ignore it, blaming it on the vestiges of a nightmare not fully come through to its conclusion.
‘I THRICE CLOSE MY EYES FOR YOU, MY CHILD, THUS KEEPING YOUR BLOOD ETERNALLY PULSING.’
A left palm with three eyes appeared behind him in the dark. Only the cat cakes could see it, and they all stared up in awe. While Kakavasha stared at the trio of catcakes, confused, the trio of neon eyes behind him winked out, one after the other, till they and the palm dissipated into a void, leaving only dead space.
‘CHILD OF KAKAVA, MAY YOUR JOURNEY BE FOREVER PEACEFUL, AND YOUR SCHEMES FOREVER CONCEALED.’
♠♜
Meanwhile...
‘This is divorce, Avgin style,’ the older Avgin said cooly as he slid the equally-cool gun barrel against Veritas’ throat.
‘I fail to recall in my research of Sigonian history the ability to time travel and kill one’s lover before the marriage rite had been conducted,’ Veritas could not help to snark.
The older Avgin only chuckled.
‘My, my, my, you call me a gambler, Ver, but you always have a way of testing my nerves with your snarkiness~’ Hot lips brushed against Veritas’ ear directly above where the barrel was pressed firmly against his throat. Ver shuddered. ‘One of my favorite things about you. You’re always testing limits, just like I am~’
‘And what limit are you testing today, gambler?’ Ver bit out – unable to completely ignore the slight ministrations the older Avgin was expertly peppering his earlobe and neck with as he held him at gunpoint.
‘Oh, Ver, it’s not like you to make me repeat myself.’ He felt a chuckle against his throat. ‘So I won’t~’
‘You-! Mnfff-!!’
‘Good luck~’ The older Aventurine seemed almost gleeful watching his revolver get shoved deep down into Veritas’ throat to prevent him from answering.
I am indeed feeling some d éjà vu, Aven , Veritas thought as he struggled to not choke on Aventurine’s Magnum revolver. Wait – Ah!
Veritas felt almost like an apple had struck his head with sudden inspiration.
‘V-Ver?!’ The older Avgin started when he felt a strong hand wrap around his smaller one, a finger tugging on the trigger. ‘What are you doing-??’
Calling your bluff, Ver thought, taking a deep breath to steady his nerves. Just as I did nine months ago.
‘V-V-Ver, w-wait, S-S-STOP-!!!’
The trigger clicked back in one heart-stopping second.
A shockwave of frisson sparked through the back of Veritas’ skull and wracked through his entire body as everything around him gave way to an all-encompassing white.
Ver squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to blink away the painful fluorescent surroundings. It was so blindingly white, so painfully stark, for a horrifying moment, he was sure that he was dead.
‘V… er…’ A muffled voice called through the haze of white. ‘Ver... i… tas…’
Sunset eyes cracked open against the migraine-inducing, brain-bleeding light.
‘Ver...itas…’ Slowly, the voice became clearer. It was… feminine. Familiar. But not in a good way.
‘Ver...itas…’
‘I can… h-hear you…’ Veritas choked out. ‘Show yourself!’
In the blink of an eye, the blinding white surrounding him faded to a less migraine-splitting black. His old lover, Delilah, appeared before him, disheveled, kneeling on the floor.
She was sobbing.
‘Veritas!’ She choked out, ripping Lady Bonajade’s hands from her mouth. She got on her feet and ran towards him, black curls a frazzled mess from the struggle. ‘Veritas, she wouldn’t let me see you unless it was like this! Unless she… she used me! Please!’
Behind Delilah, Veritas observed Lady Bonajade, who silently watched on with an impartial expression.
‘Veritas, oh my dearest Veritas, please!’ Delilah begged. ‘Please help me! I am trapped here!’
‘Though it has been many years since we parted ways, Delilah, I know you and your schemes all too well.’ Veritas crossed his arms, unmoving. ‘You must have heard through the grapevine that I have finally acquired a new partner, and that irritates you greatly to no end.’
Delilah immediately stopped sobbing, almost as if on cue.
‘Oh, well.’ She dabbed at her violet eyes. ‘Worth a shot.’
‘Why have you summoned me here, Lady Bonajade?’ Veritas was on the border of vexation, pointedly ignoring his ex. ‘I was on the way to see my beloved, and you brought me here instead with my-’
‘Former beloved?’ Lady Bonajade chuckled as Veritas bristled in irritation. ‘Indeed I did. I needed her special powers to summon you here.’
Veritas appeared confused. ‘Pray tell, what powers does this person have that I am unaware of?’
Lady Bonajade cracked a smirk that looked almost devilish.
‘Why, didn’t you know, Dr. Ratio?’ Jade chuckled. ‘Our guest star Delilah is a Doomsday Machine, capable of destroying both sides in a war – and now she finds herself in Qlipoth’s debt~’
‘I… do not understand, Lady Bonajade. Are you speaking of what happened on New Bethlehem?’
‘Oh, Dr. Ratio, New Bethlehem was just the beginning.’ Jade toyed with her Cornerstone. ‘You see… Delilah is a pathstrider of Nanook, the Destruction… and she knows exactly where the Lord Ravager Zephyro will strike next.’
‘And what does that have to do with me?’
Jade’s smirk bloomed into an all-out grin as her Cornerstone activated, showing Veritas’ true desires.
‘Well… you are seeking the hand of one of my junior Stonehearts in marriage, are you not?’
Veritas stiffened, feeling Delilah’s eyes bore into him like lasers.
‘I am,’ he confirmed after a moment. ‘What of it?’
Jade walked up to him holding a scroll. Pulling the thread that bound it, it unfurled, it’s edge hitting the floor. Inside was a looping script, revealing a contract.
‘Ah, well… I was going to propose a little trade.’
♠♜
Notes:
This mercury in gatorade hit me hard, y’all. Over a week late with this chapter and I struggled most to write the SMUT of all things?? AO3 author’s curse is real I’m sorry to say
TO THE NOTES!!!
Title, ‘The Doomsday Machine’, comes from the Star Trek: TOS episode of the same name, which has been ranked one of the top 10 best episodes of the series in the past 30+ years (largely due to William Windom’s fantastic acting as Commodore Decker imho). In that episode, an unmanned alien warship was likewise built to be too good, ultimately destroying both sides in a forgotten war and gone on to consume entire planetary bodies across the populated galaxy. It took multiple starships to defeat it, and only then just barely
(spoilers: one did not survive). It was meant to be a cautionary tale to creating such devices like the H -bomb and other nuclear weapons, and the like – devices so strong they could destroy both sides in a war. The scene with Captain Kakavasha hearkens back to that episode. Also, the line, ‘ ‘RANDOM CHANCE SEEMS TO HAVE OPERATED IN YOUR FAVOR ONCE AGAIN. is a quote from Mr. Spock from that episode.The lines, ‘What a pleasant coincidence,’ to ‘I needed that to awaken me,’ come directly from the super-homoerotically charged swordfight between Tyrone Power and Basil Rathbone from the original 1940 ‘Mark of Zorro’ (how the hell this scene escaped the Hayes Code, no one will ever know). In that scene, the ‘capitan’ calls Zorro a ‘poppinjay’, which was slang for, well, basically a ‘flaming gay’ back then. Enjoy 5 min of watching it here (link) and see what Dr. Ratio’s fantasy is, but with
catboysFoxians. It’s a treat not only for the gays (and their fanfiction writers) but is one of the best fencing scenes ever caught on film between two highly skilled fencers (apologies for the lack of pixels, it was 1940 after all)Speaking of Captain Kakavasha, this is an obvious nod to the tale from HoYoFair’s video where he is a pirate king on the high seas. As a bit of an alternative beat, I gave him a more active and commanding role here for the plot’s purposes.
For context, asteroids can range anywhere from the size of small rocks to 600 miles/~966 kilometers large. Moreover, asteroids are rock-based, whereas comets are ice-based. Here is a handy and fun infographic to show the difference, size and compositions of asteroids versus comets directly from the spaceplace.nasa.gov link.
Yes you’re liable to learn some elementary astrophysics from reading my fanfics, don’t like don’t readAccording to HSR lore, Gaiathra Triclops/Mama Fenge/Fenge Biyos is often depicted as a left palm with three eyes. To the Avgins, they believe they percieve the world through HER body. You can read more about it here under ‘Culture’.
If you remember from the end of the original Penacony story arc, Jade is obsessed with the upcoming Aeonic War. She believes that the IPC and thereby Qlipoth should acquire as many planets as possible in preparation for it.
Bluesky and Themperor's Famous Writer's Guild (18+) links because character limits are made by homophobes that specifically are out to get me and limit my powers
NEW CHAPTER IN TWO WEEKS!!! STAY TUNED~~~
Chapter 5: Fuck This, Fuck That, and Fuck You.
Summary:
‘Where… am I?’
Veritas heard an exasperated sigh from his older self behind him.
‘Oops, hehe~’ A nervous older Aven was heard. ‘Right time, wrong place-’
‘Very wrong place,’ The older Veritas bellowed. ‘Amphoreus has yet to be discovered by the Trailblazers in this timeline for another six months hence from this system date.’
Some colorful language was heard as some rummaging was done behind him, then a hand reached out to yank at his shoulder.
‘Ah – next time you are operating the machine, Aven, here is where you input the correct location for time travel-’
‘Later, dear. I think that is enough spoilers for him now, wouldn’t you say?~’ The older Aventurine winked. ‘Time to get you back home~’
Veritas’ last thought—just before he and his bundles of academic papers, somehow still along for this insane journey, were hurled like a ragdoll through yet another rip in spacetime—was simply:
...home?
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
♜
Fresh News at the University of Veritas Prime
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Campus News
(Just Now) Hundreds of Students Pack the Campus Quad in Protest Against the Incumbent University President
👁 5240 💬 225
180cmBabyGirl : Live from the front lines! I’m out there picketing for @CheeseIsPower’s right to marry @LilAttiniPeacock!
180cmBabyGirl : @Dr. Ratio’s Fan Club (Insane Version) who’s with me???
ImmaDelusional : Bro didn’t you hate @LilAttiniPeacock like 6 months ago for dating your Imaginary man??
180cmBabyGirl : I’m a reformed hater. Now I just want to see my favorite professor happy. Then one day when @LilAttiniPeacock dies, I can just take my rightful place by Dr. Ratio’s side :3
ImmaDelusional : Awwww, that’s… sweet? I think?
InvestInStudyGoGoGo : Didn’t @CheeseisPower leave the University of Veritas Prime? Or was that just a rumor?
LilAttiniPeacock : Excuse me what now @InvestInStudyGoGoGo
180cmBabyGirl : @LilAttiniPeacock I thought you knew?? He up and quit right after class today.
MaleGod : @LilAttiniPeacock don’t freak out or anything, but rumor has it he told the department Dean he needed to go see a boy or something when he quit??
LilAttiniPeacock : …
LilAttiniPeacock : @MaleGod you’re not exactly helping me not freak out about this.
LowKey : @MaleGod Come on, don’t make it weird. I think, if anything… well, my guess is @CheeseIsPower is proposing to @LilAttiniPeacock
180cmBabyGirl : @MaleGod WHAT
LowKey : Yeah Professor Baishao was talking about it to her assistant
LilAttiniPeacock : !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
180cmBabyGirl : How do you know??
LowKey : Cause I’m at the protest right here with her
LowKey : [Click to see photo]
LowKey : Oh yeah, and also… I just happen to be Baishao’s assistant ;)
LilAttiniPeacock : I KNEW IT
LilAttiniPeacock : I ALWAYS KNEW YOU WERE ZIJUN @LowKey
180cmBabyGirl : Omg hiiiii Professor Baishao and TA Zijun!! Thank you for being on the right side of history! <3
180cmBabyGirl : ...@LowKey is she single?~ :P
LowKey : =_=; Please don’t even think of it @180cmBabyGirl, she’s at least 180 years older than you – and that’s by Xianzhou long-life species years.
ImmaDelusional : @180cmBabyGirl BRO you were JUST thirsting over @LilAttiniPeacock’s fiancé like last week!
LilAttiniPeacock : He’s not my fiancé!
LilAttiniPeacock : *yet
180cmBabyGirl : @ImmaDelusional are you discriminating against bisexuals now? RUDE.
180cmBabyGirl : You probably are all for the new president’s anti-DEI policies
180cmBabyGirl : You may as well leave the fan club now since you’re such a homophobe and who knows what else
ImmaDelusional : @180cmBabyGirl Are you done writing up lies about me?
ImmaDelusional : And aren’t you supposed to be protesting right now??
ImmaDelusional : How are you even holding up a sign if you’re glued to your phone???
RatiosBathtub : @ImmaDelusional @180cmBabyGirl oh my AEONS you two, just fuck already and be done with it
AAASitInErrandBoy : SERIOUSLY
InvestInStudyGoGoGo : I’m so mad. I can’t believe @CheeseIsPower would just up and leave the University like that.
ImmaDelusional : His account still isn’t deactivated yet, maybe if we ping him enough, he’ll come back?
180cmBabyGirl : @CheeseIsPower come back!
ImmaDelusional : @CheeseIsPower we miss you! Even your chalk-throwing arm!
InvestInStudyGoGoGo : @CheeseisPower you still need to make good on your promise!
InvestInStudyGoGoGo : @CheeseisPower I’m almost done reading ‘Critique of Pure Reason’ by Immanuel Kant like you said last semester! It’s my life’s goal to pass one of your courses and I’m determined to do it!
LowKey : @InvestInStudyGoGoGo how about getting your degree? Why stop at just one course taught by one singular professor??
InvestInStudyGoGoGo : @LowKey because there will never be another professor like @CheeseIsPower that moves me to read terrible books like this Aeons-awful Kantian hellscape ever again!
LilAttiniPeacock : @CheeseIsPower babe? What the hell happened? And why didn’t you tell me?? I’m calling you RIGHT NOW
RatiosBathtub : @CheeseIsPower please come back so you can make these two idiots @ImmaDelusional @180cmBabyGirl go on an irl date, touch grass, and stop spamming the entire server with their nauseating takes
AAASitInErrandBoy : @CheeseIsPower PLEASE WE NEED YOU TO BRING SOME SENSE BACK TO THE UNIVERSITY OF VERITAS PRIME! THROW YOUR CHALK AT THE NEW PRESIDENT OR SOMETHING! ANYTHING!!!
RatiosRubberDuck : I’m gonna tag @CheeseIsPower 100x100 times until I get flagged for spam and break this website in protest
RatiosRubberDuck : @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower @CheeseIsPower
ImmaDelusional : RIP your inbox @CheeseIsPower
[Some comments have been filtered out due to being flagged for spam]
♜
‘Ah, well… I was going to propose a little trade.’
‘…’
Delilah cocked her head in confusion when her longtime ex did not respond right away. It was clear she did not expect this reaction – or rather, lack of reaction – from him.
Jade’s grin cracked a bit as she peeked into her hand to gauge Dr. Ratio’s desire level. It was apparent that she did not like what she saw, so she upped the ante.
‘Ahem… the terms of the trade may yet interest you,’ Jade soldiered on, though one could not miss her slight faltering. ‘We have intel that Zephyro is colluding with Nanook to test his planet-destroying capabilities on an even larger scale. Delilah here has provided more information-’ Jade held out a packet to Veritas, which he notably did not budge to take, ‘Ahem… more information… for us to prepare.’
Silence.
Jade bit her lower lip, not used to being ignored. ‘You have built the IPC star-destroying weapons in the past. Therefore, reason would lead one to believe you would have the engineering skills to stop such a weapon should it be created.’
More silence.
The proffered packet shook in Jade’s hand as she gave Delilah a look demanding an explanation. Delilah could only shrug.
Jade cleared her throat, taking a deep breath to compose herself one more time. ‘Look, Dr. Ratio. If you insist on being taciturn, I will keep this simple. Accept this deal, and I will release Aventurine of Stratagems from his lifelong service at the IPC with a full severance package.’
‘What are you taking from me?’
Jade shrugged. ‘Nothing major, you’d hardly notice it-’
‘What. Are. You. Taking. From. Me.’
A long sigh. ‘If you would just read the terms of the contract-’
The room fell silent as Dr. Veritas Ratio, PhD, gave the galaxy’s loudest eyeroll and frustrated sigh combo ever to be heard in this Amber Era. He was tired. Tired… over it… and fully done.
In one afternoon, he had:
1. Quit his tenured job of many years as an outstanding professor and lecturer.
2. Been told that his hopefully future husband of 10 years wanted to divorce him.
3. Attempted to call his (ex? Future? never?) husbands bluff by killing himself.
4. Instead teleported to a place with his murderous ex and Lady Bonajade.
5. And now, for the cherry on top of this absolutely shit afternoon, he was being goaded into a Faustian deal by said murderous ex and her co-conspirator.
What are my options? he thought silently, angrily musing to himself as he ignored the obscenely long contract, uncaring of how the tension in the room continued to build.
His phone rang.
☏ Call from: Aventurine
✆ Accept ✆ Decline
Veritas answered the phone in one ring.
‘Uxor parva solima,’ Veritas said softly, knowing it would make his beautiful gambler blush.
‘V-Ver!!~’ Aven flustered in the receiver in his ear, making Veritas smirk fondly. ‘Stop it!! I’m in public grabbing dinner!’
‘As am I, beautiful gambler,’ He made sure to emphasize loudly, to Delilah’s displeasure. ‘Alas, I cannot help it – your voice is like cool water in the desert to me after the day I’ve had.’
Delilah looked like she was nearly about to throw up as she rolled her eyes to the back of her head.
Ignoring his ex, Veritas took great satisfaction in seeing Jade’s deeply unamused expression at her hostile takeover of his life being foiled by a timely phone call from his ever-so-lucky boyfriend.
‘So I’ve heard~’ Aven purred over the phone. ‘I found out from your little fan club that you quit the university. Why didn’t you tell me, darling?’
‘I was, in fact, on my way over to telling you in person.’ Veritas glared down Jade. ‘However, I was... delayed.’
‘Delayed? Oh, darling, did the hyperjump not work again? Some of these mass transit systems never work quite the way they’re supposed to-’
‘Not quite. I’m with a friend of yours and... an enemy of mine.’
There was silence on the other line for a moment.
‘Don’t tell me… you’re with Lady Bonajade and your ex, Delilah.’
Veritas was genuinely surprised. ‘Ten points. I am all astonishment. How did you know-?’
‘A little birdie told me that this might happen.’ Aventurine sighed. ‘She’s offering you a deal, isn’t she?’
‘Yes.’
‘Well, you must have something of value, or else she wouldn’t be offering you a deal,’ Aven sounded contemplative. ‘Hand the phone over to her. Let me talk to her.’
Veritas handed the phone over to a sour-looking Jade. ‘It’s for you.’
Jade snatched the phone out of Veritas’ hand with alacrity, taking a moment to compose herself before cooing: ‘Hello, my little Kakavasha, what can I do for you?’
As their conversation began, Delilah sidled up to Veritas once more – and Veritas took a big step back.
‘Goodness, it’s been nearly eight years, and still you won’t even be cordial with me?’ Delilah busied herself with vain attempts to fix her frazzled coiffure from her earlier show, using a comb and a hand mirror.
‘Seven years, eight months, three days, and thirteen hours,’ Veritas said icily. ‘Not that I’m counting.’
‘Of course you aren’t~’ Delilah said cooly, with just as snarky an edge as Veritas had. ‘And yet, in all that time, you have been certain to blame every single life problem of yours on me. Convenient for you, hm?’
‘On the contrary, Delilah, I take full responsibility for all of my actions. Do you?’
Her compact snapped shut with a tense sharpness.
‘Why do you think I am here?’ she hissed under her breath, between the teeth and lips of a forced smile.
‘I would have thought the incident on New Bethlehem would have been a great victory for you, pathstrider of the Destruction,’ Veritas sneered. ‘Or has your bloodlust not yet matched your, ah, actual lust?’
Delilah’s violet eyes were brimming with rageful tears.
‘Don’t. You. Dare.’ Her voice cracked, ‘It is so easy to paint me as the villain, isn’t it? Instead of listening to my side of the story? That perhaps, in fact, I’m human too?’
‘Save your crocodile tears,’ Veritas rolled his eyes. ‘It’s been quite a long time since they last worked on me.’
‘Oh, well that’s just brilliant!’ Delilah shouted, wiping away at the tears just spilling over down her cheek. ‘The great and magnanimous Dr. Ratio, who believes so deeply in humanity that he will not be gazed upon by Nous for his abundance of kindness and selflessness – except for one sorry human, the one whom he used to love, but now curses to any ear that will listen!’
‘What are you here for, then?’ Veritas turned to her sharply, eyes narrowed at her as he took her angry, sobbing, shaking form in view. ‘Simply to taunt me? You cannot tell me you are truly some Emanator of Destruction the likes of Zephyro or Phantylia. One paltry murdered planet does not a pathstrider elevate.’
‘How are you to know?’ Delilah shrugged, dabbing at the remaining tears at her eyes. ‘You haven’t been a part of my life for seven years, eight months, three days, and thirteen hours.’
‘And I would endeavour to keep it that way.’
‘So I have heard. You have some new beau now.’ She raised her eyebrows as she caught his piercing gaze. ‘I wonder if he would be so eager to marry you if he knew both sides of our story.’
Veritas, to his credit, only hesitated for the slightest moment.
‘What does our—may I remind you—ended story have to do with Aven and I’s beginning one?’
‘Perhaps nothing.’ She shrugged, feigning indifference. ‘Perhaps… everything. Aren’t you always the one seeking absolute truth? Don’t you think your new beau should know why we really ended? The full, complete story of why we didn’t work out? Or do you prefer to just continue to paint me as your conveniently crazy ex-fiancée? What a tired old tale men use to lure new lovers and have them extract often undeserved pity. I thought you were better than that, Veritas.’
‘In this instance, however, one would not have to ascertain too deeply to see that you are, indeed, quite crazed.’
‘So is he, I have heard,’ Delilah retorted. ‘I’ve read up on your new beau, the famous last Avgin. Did he not famously point a gun at his chest and have you pull the trigger on him three times? He even posted a video of the incident to his social media story! It was all over the news for a moment there.’
Veritas pursed his lips. ‘That… that was different.’
‘Was it, now?’ She snickered. ‘My, my, it seems you have a type~’ She walked around him, like a cat closing in on its prey. ‘How did he end up on the side of the Preservation, I wonder…’ She sighed, then smirked. ‘I suppose I’ll just have to ask him myself~’
‘You are not to speak to him.’
‘Oh, our dearest Veritas, didn’t you know? We aren’t together anymore, which means I can do what I want, whether you approve of it or not~’ She bared her teeth at him in a sneer. ‘You can’t boss me around and expect I’ll kowtow. If I extend the invitation, and he accepts, there is simply nothing you can do about it~’
Before he could retort, the phone was handed back to him.
‘Darling,’ Aven said, in an almost bored tone. ‘I do not advise that you take this deal.’
‘Oh?’ Veritas quirked an eyebrow. ‘And why not?’
‘High risk, low reward,’ Aven said flippantly through the receiver. ‘It’s best to just walk out of there. Jade has assured me they will let you go free if you choose to refuse.’
Veritas’ eyes slid over to the long contract, now spilling over onto the floor, nearly forgotten. He wondered why Lady Jade would go through such trouble as to throw his ex at him and corner him to offer such a deal. What did she want so badly?
Moreover, what did she have to offer him of equivalent worth?
‘I have not yet heard the terms of the deal. Would you be so kind as to summarize for me?’
Aven sighs.
‘Before I tell you, will you promise to me you will not take this deal?’
‘Tell me, and I will decide.’
‘Please, Ver, promise me you will not take this deal first.’
‘I will make no such promise without knowing all of the facts. Now tell me the terms of the deal.’
Delilah sighed loudly in frustration. ‘Oh, for Aeons’ sake! Lady Bonajade is bargaining your new beau’s freedom in exchange for your chance of ever being gazed upon by Nous and all of your future inventions!’
Veritas pursed his mouth into a thin line.
‘…Veritas?’ Aven laughed nervously. ‘Y-You promise me you won’t take that deal, r-right?’
Veritas nodded at the pen in Jade’s hand.
‘… Where do I sign?’
Pleasantly astonished, Jade handed the pen over to Veritas.
‘Ver, don’t.’ Panic began to edge into Aventurine’s voice. ‘Veritas – Do. Not. Sign. That. Contract.’
Jade smiles, seeming relieved. ‘I knew you would find the offer sufficiently tempting.’
‘Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t grant you your freedom right now, gambler.’ Veritas said resolutely as he pulled up the long parchment paper.
‘Because I don’t want you to!!’
To his credit, his pen only barely hesitated as the signature box came within reach of the pen’s nib.
‘I was never going to be gazed upon by Nous, anyway, Aventurine. I’ve given up on that long ago. But to know your freedom can be guaranteed? For that I will gladly give away what slim chances I have left.’
‘VER!! STOP!!!-’
With a great tearing sound, a rip through reality appeared, and a glimmering green hand reached towards Veritas.
Delilah screamed, and Jade looked about ready to faint.
‘That’s quite enough~’ Captain Kakavasha chuckled as he yanked an astonished Veritas’ robe, tearing him away the moment right before his pen hit the paper.
He turned around to meet with an older version of himself – longer curls pinned back with a gold pin, even more muscular biceps, and Aeons… those thighs were proof-positive that he, in fact, never skipped leg day, hmm?
‘Tsk tsk tsk, you just won’t listen to me, whether it’s my older or my younger self~’ The older Avgin appeared in front of him with a smirk, though there was a tinge of sadness. ‘You really never learned. Ah, well. Time to go before you make a horrible mistake~’
‘Great Gods, I knew it!’ Delilah continued to scream at a bloodcurdling volume. ‘I told you! I told you he’d discover how to time travel! I told you, Lady Bonajade! I knew!’
‘Grab him!’ Jade commanded. ‘The Preservation needs that technology!’
IPC goons came forth from the shadows to surround the four (two?) of them, revealing it was all a farce that he’d be able to walk freely from that room without signing, after all.
‘I don’t think so~’ Captain Kakavasha winked, and with a wave of his hand, reality closed in around all present versions of himself and Dr. Veritas Ratio – leaving Jade and Delilah behind.
♠♜
‘How… why…?’
‘Never mind that, my child.’ An older version of his mother appeared before him and both his and Aven’s other selves. The finer lines of today’s wrinkles had settled deeper into her face, salt-and-pepper hair now had gone decidedly gray, and… was she wearing Xianzhouian garb?
‘Mother-’
‘I know you have many questions,’ Mama Ratio smiled, running her thumb across his cheek. ‘You wouldn’t be my inquisitive son if you didn’t have them. One day, soon, you will learn that the pursuit of truth has its limits. It would be wiser to seek the pursuit of meaning instead.’
‘Mother, knowing truth is knowing meaning,’ he pleaded. ‘Please, mother, give me a bit of explanation, a crumb of context-’
‘Is it?’ she countered. ‘Are you so sure?’
‘I-’ He found his mouth felt suddenly dry. ‘I have struggled to find meaning since… since…’
‘Since your father died,’ she ended for him gently. ‘I know.’
‘Yes,’ Veritas whispered.
A glowing green hand rested on his shoulder in comfort, as did an older Avgin hand on his opposite shoulder.
‘Have you considered that you might have been approaching the problem wrong all this time?’ She looked at him with a calm gaze, one only a mother could towards her precious child.
‘The problem of truth? Or of meaning?’
‘Both.’ She shrugged. ‘And neither.’
He sighed. ‘You are determined to speak to me in riddles.’
‘And you are determined to remain obstinately stuck in your own worldview,’ she admonished. ‘In all of your pursuit of truth, in your conquest for knowledge untold, have you considered the connection between why a flower grows and the existence of its beauty? The value of money and why humans have killed to acquire something they cannot bring with them after death?’ She smiled at him meaningfully, ‘Why humans have their pair bonding rituals and the desire for being married to the one you love?’
He sighed. ‘Causes and effects? Individual choices?’
‘Have we resorted to guessing, dear Veritas?’ She tutted him. ‘Let’s try one more connection: The fact that your father had died so suddenly and so tragically… did either one of us ever take a moment away from our pain to contemplate if anyone may have had… a motive?’
Veritas gasped.
‘Time to go!’ Captain Kakavasha said cheerfully with a daring grin as he shoved him into another rip in spacetime.
‘Huh??’
Another awful ripping sound was made, and soon, he was shoved out of the time pocket into an idyllic world overlooking some ruins.
‘Where… am I?’
Veritas heard an exasperated sigh from his older self behind him.
‘Oops, hehe~’ A nervous older Aven was heard. ‘Right time, wrong place-’
‘Very wrong place,’ The older Veritas bellowed. ‘Amphoreus has yet to be discovered by the Trailblazers in this timeline for another six months hence from this system date.’
Some colorful language was heard as some rummaging was done behind him, then a hand reached out to yank at his shoulder.
‘Ah – next time you are operating the machine, Aven, here is where you input the correct location for time travel-’
‘Later, dear. I think that is enough spoilers for him now, wouldn’t you say?~’ The older Aventurine winked. ‘Time to get you back home~’
Veritas’ last thought—just before he and his bundles of academic papers, somehow still along for this insane journey, were hurled like a ragdoll through yet another rip in spacetime—was simply:
...home?
With a messy clatter, Veritas tumbled out of the time pocket, papers scattered about him, at none other than the present-day Aventurine’s doorstep – his blessedly-final destination.
---
A thousand parsecs away, Dan Heng and the Trailblazer twins stood dumbfounded at the ruins in Amphoreus.
‘Am I imagining things, or did I just… see professor Dr. Ratio up there, in the ruins?’ Dan Heng breathed as he stared with astonishment into the distance.
Stelle and Caelus looked at each other, not sure what to make of it.
Dan Heng rubbed at his eyes as he shook his head. ‘I’m going to forget I saw that. Let’s just keep moving.’
♠♜
Bleary-eyed, Aventurine answered the door at 8:03:20 pm, in his loungewear, after three minutes and twenty seconds of incessant knocking and buzzing.
He knows exactly how long, because this is the first thing a certain someone says when he answers the door.
‘My apologies, I am late by three minutes and twenty seconds,’ a familiar and now dear face to him says. Veritas is laden with two large bags in each hand, bursting with papers.
This time, there was no suitcase next to him. In fact, Veritas looks haggard and rushed out of wherever he’d been – hair and laurel hairpin tousled, five-o’-clock shadow beginning to show, clothes rumpled – a far cry from the typically elegant and picturesque doctor he originally fell in love with.
Aventurine rubbed at his eyes with the back of his palm. They were red and swollen from crying – but he’d never tell his dear doctor that.
Bounding towards the door, nearly underfoot, were the two original souvenirs that Veritas had gifted him nine months prior when he’d made a house call that fateful morning, pretending to be his Doctor of Chaos – along with their sibling, gifted by Mama Ratio.
‘Hey kids,’ Aventurine chuckled as they clawed at Veritas’ pant legs. ‘Look! Your father’s home.’
Something in Veritas’ expression melted at the use of the word ‘home’ – and it didn’t escape Aventurine’s notice.
With a slow smile, Kakavasha leaned in to kiss his unwitting Doctor of Chaos.
‘Welcome home~’ Aven whispered against Ver’s lips. ‘We missed you~’
Veritas melted.
Falling to his knees from sheer exhaustion and relief, he took an overjoyed Cocky, Beav, and Baby into his arms before letting his head rest, eyes closed, against Aventurine’s chest as Aven ran his hands through his indigo locks. Uncaring who would see, he let that one word sink into his very bones, etching itself in there like an unshakeable truth of the universe:
Home.
♜
☏ 1 missed call from: Dean Pontcleaux
☏ New Voicemail from: Dean Pontcleaux
Dean Pontcleaux
“Sic Itur Ad Astra.”
Veritas, I can only presume you have been screening my calls. I implore you to pick up the phone and hear me out.
*Dr. Veritas Ratio, apologies. Old habits die hard.
The University of Veritas Prime is less than happy with your recent exit from the institution. This decision has since reflected on my department.
I know several of your colleagues have since attempted to reach out. You have yet to respond to any of them.
Unfortunately for the university, the Council of Mundanites - and even your students - seem to be in solidarity with you.
No one, not even Baishao, whom we already employ, will agree as of yet to take up the mantle with teaching the class you abandoned this semester.
I can only presume it is some form of protest which is some form of academic solidarity amongst you Mundanites.
Speaking of protests – your students have become quite unruly as of late. Several of them have even been arrested during demonstrations against the incumbent president’s policies.
Will you take responsibility for your student’s behavior? Are Mundanites simply expected to shirk ALL responsibilities thus and cause ruckus wherever they go?
Are the shades of the University of Veritas Prime to be thus polluted by the example you are setting for them - inside the classroom as well as out?
☏ 2 missed calls from: Dean Pontcleaux
☏ 2 new Voicemails from: Dean Pontcleaux
Dean Pontcleaux
“Sic Itur Ad Astra.”
Pick. Up. The. Phone.
If you do not pick up the phone, I cannot promise you that your tenured position will remain held after this, ah, ‘unscheduled absence.’
As your boss, I can excuse this instance, however ill-advised I may view it to be, but this stops NOW.
You must return to the University IMMEDIATELY.
Well?
How will you answer, Veritas?
*Dr. Veritas Ratio
Block Dean Pontcleaux?
✔️ Yes
❌ No
CONFIRMATION MESSAGE:
User: Dean Pontcleaux is now on your blocklist. You will no longer receive calls, texts, or voicemails from this number.
♠♜
Notes:
Thank you as ever to HoneyFlashBang for beta reading this chapter!!! You’re a real one!
Reminder from ‘A Wildfire in the Middle of Winter’, my previous fic: @CheeseIsPower is Dr. Ratio, @LilAttiniPeacock is Aventurine
We’ve got Baishao’s assistant’s name! TA Zijun, aka @LowKey, is now a named character. ‘Zijun’ comes from the courtesy name of the ancient Chinese scholar Liu Xin, son of Liu Xiang. ‘Zijun’ is a scholarly name that can have several meanings. As the emperor’s Professor Laureate on the standardization of weights and measures, one of Liu Xin’s most notable accomplishments was to be one of the first humans to give a fairly accurate geometrical figure of the value of pi; his number was 3.1547. You can read more about Liu Xin and his life here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Xin_(scholar) Fun note: His father, Liu Xiang, was the author of the poem ‘Li Sao’, of which was the inspiration behind the playable character Jiaoqiu’s name in HSR! Very cool analysis here in this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/HonkaiStarRail/comments/1ddied0/reference_in_jiaoqius_name/
I am paraphrasing from Harvard University’s stand against the current POTUS as they made evident in their message to academia and the world recently: https://www.harvard.edu/president/news/2025/the-promise-of-american-higher-education/
Dr. Ratio? Glitching into Amphoreus?? It’s more likely than you think 😉
real ones who were part of our Brainstorm session in the Discord server chat know what I’m talking about hehehe‘Uxor parva solima’ is
my very sorry attempt atLatin for, ‘little bottom wife’; the Chinese VA’s for Ratio and Aventurine used to voice a BL together on a different project, and Ratio’s VA affectionately calls Aventurine his ‘little bottom wife’. Here I thought I’d incorporate it as a sweet phone greeting, but with Ratio’s typical Latinist flair.Dean Pontcleaux’s status message, ‘Sic Itur Ad Astra’, is Dr. Ratio’s 5th eidolon title. It is a Latin phrase meaning, ‘thus is immortality gained’, from the Aenid. It’s a little nod that even though Dean Pontcleaux technically is Veritas’ former boss and higher in ranking at the University of Veritas Prime, he still feels so insecure in both his personal and professional life that he tries to copy him - even in little ways like his not-unique signoff message.
Dean Pontcleaux’s text ‘Are the shades of the University of Veritas Prime to be thus polluted’ is a paraphrase from Lady Catherine de Bourgh’s infamous line to Elizabeth on the matter of her potential marriage to Mr Darcy. The original line is: ‘Are the shades of Pemberly to be thus polluted?’ In this case, ‘shades’ does not mean curtains, but in fact an older word referring to ghosts or persons past. Dean Pontcleaux is inferring that current students are putting the legacy of the ancestral academics at risk by their protesting what he views as traditionalist values – even though clearly his viewpoint is paradoxical considering the schools motto, ‘Vincit Omnia Veritas’ (‘truth conquers all’). It’s also a hint that he views his pairing with Aventurine to be beneath a scholar’s choice in partner, that he should instead be paired with another scholar instead of an uneducated Stoneheart.
Fuck I’m doing literary analysis over a one-off text message by an OC to one of the mains, someone come and take my computer away from meIMPORTANT: Next chapter is incoming on May 28th, 2025 – the 1-year anniversary of my first posting Chapter 1 of ‘Kakavasha and the Doctor of Chaos!’
fuck can you believe it has been a FUCKING year I have been working on this series??On that day, I’ll be posting a very special chapter, kicking off the next phase of this fic. No spoilers, but let’s just say it’s the moment you’ve all been waiting for in this fic…. Hehe, subscribe and stay tuned!~~~If you want to chat ahead of time, you can always find me on Bluesky here or hey, come and join me at Themperor's Famous Writer's Guild (18+)! Built by writers, for writers.
Until then – see you all end of May! I promise the patience will make this all worthwhile!!! <3
Chapter 6: The Proposal
Summary:
Happy 1 year of my writing and your reading the ‘Mama Ratio’ series, dear readers!
Enjoy this special anniversary chapter. The title probably spoils it, but hey - we’ve all been waiting for this moment, so LET’S GOOOOOOO!!! 💍
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
♠♜
12 hours later…
After nearly a day of being comatose and nonverbal - look, it’s been a VERY long day - Ver wakes up to an incessant buzzing sound.
His phone is absolutely blowing up.
Incredulous, Veritas hurriedly snatches the phone off the nightstand to see nearly a hundred missed calls, voicemails, and emails from prospective employers and agencies. Word must have gotten out that he abruptly left the University of Veritas Prime in the middle of a new semester, and now the phone is ringing off the proverbial hook with opportunists looking to hire the cosmos’ most learned professor and orator outside of the Genius Society.
A familiar weight shifts softly beside him as Aven chuckles at Ver’s cute, confused face.
‘You really don’t know how priceless you are, do you?’ Aventurine gives him a soft smile, one belying that he means more than just Veritas’ brilliance. ‘While you were my personal Sleeping Beauty, a couple of hopeful employers even found my home address and tried to speak with you directly here. They must have figured out that you went back to my place. They were right~’
Veritas blinks, processing.
‘Of course, this is not to mention that all the while, there’s been efforts in place to keep Jade off your back after your quick exit. We both have Topaz to thank for that at the moment.’
Veritas hums. ‘I see. I did not, for a moment, take Lady Bonajade for one to give up so easily. I will have to thank Topaz once I have righted myself.’
‘All in good time, my dear. Anyways, all this is to say, well…’ Aven shyly tucks a piece of hair behind his ear - a habit his boyfriend has when he’s emotional, meant to hide how shaky his hands might be. ‘You’re quite the catch, Ver - and everyone in the cosmos knows it. Who knows how many suitors would be lining up at your front door if you ever decided to leave me one day, haha~’
He tries to play it cool, but Ver has learned in the nine months they’ve been together that there are little tells to how Aven is really feeling - the way he is not meeting Veritas’ eyes; the faint waver in his saccharine smile; the unconscious way he makes his body seem small.
Ver’s mind flits back to just yesterday, when Aventurine’s older self - ten system years older - tried to divorce him.
What could have happened in ten years to so drastically change how Aven felt? Was that future set in stone… or could it be changed?
Looking back at the Aventurine in front of him - his Aven, of his own time and dimension - Veritas’ heart melts.
‘You are a Fool indeed if you think I will ever leave you, Aven,’ Veritas says softly, gathering his lover’s uncertain countenance in his hands. ‘If anything, one day, it would be you trying to leave me … not the other way around.’
Aventurine laughs in disbelief.
‘Somehow, I very much doubt that, Ver,’ he says with an amused fondness. ‘Though I’ve had great luck in my career and my fortunes, I have never had much luck in long-term relationships.’ A small smile settles on Kakavasha’s face. ‘Until you , that is.’
Their lips meet in tandem.
Perhaps, after all, there was a chance to change the future. A chance to prevent his own folly - to keep from losing the one who makes his blood and bone and soul yearn beyond reason, rationality, or understanding.
Ver breaks away from their kiss as a realization hits.
‘There is no way they could have known that fast after my departure.’ His eyes narrow in suspicion. ‘What did you do , Aven?’
Aventurine shrugs, but Ver can see the slightest ‘ guilty-as-charged’ expression on his face.
‘Oh, nothing~’ he smiles, then adds, ‘I just made a few strategic calls, that’s all. Nothing worth noting, really. I had a feeling my favorite boyfriend wouldn’t be the type to rest on his laurels - especially after all that complaining you’ve been doing about your old boss, Dean Pontcleaux, lately.’
‘I’m your only boyfriend, lest I remind you.’ Ver smirks at their old joke from even before they were dating. ‘I should hope, anyways.’
Aven bites his lower lip. ‘You are.’ He winks . ‘Maybe you could even be my only husband one day, too~~’
Veritas is done yearning.
‘V-Ver?’ Aventurine stammers as Veritas bolts up out of bed. ‘W-Wait a minute - where are you going?’
Veritas stops in his tracks. His brain catches up with his actions - he’s in his boxers, hair a mess, and Aventurine has had abandonment issues when he’s left abruptly without explanation in the past.
A chance presents itself - to learn from past mistakes.
‘I need to… retrieve something,’ Veritas says as vaguely as he can. ‘Will you… trust me, and wait for me?’
Aventurine is quiet for a moment before answering.
‘Always, Veritas,’ he says, just as Ver turns his head to see Aventurine’s placid expression. ‘I will always wait for you. You waited for me to return from the brink of death, after all.’
‘And you have already returned the favor. Now, I am in your debt, asking you once again,’ Veritas says softly, suddenly - and painfully - aware of the permanent, scarred-over bullet exit wound on his upper left shoulder.
Veritas had never regretted his actions that day. Not for a moment.
He turns to gather his Avgin lover in his arms and kisses him, feeling Kakavasha melt against him.
Aventurine chuckles softly. ‘Of course I will wait for you.’ He gives Veritas a meaningful look. ‘Always.’
I am done yearning, Veritas says resolutely to himself as he kisses him once more before taking his leave. Now is the time for action .
💣🌻♜
You’ve been added to a messaging group titled ‘Group Chat 1’
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
Hello there.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Heyyyyy
It’s our favorite professor!
What’s up, doc?
Gepard
Working, apologies for the slow response
Dr. Ratio, it has been some time.
I hope that you and Aventurine are well.
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
Quite well, thank you.
I request both of your assistance.
I am about to propose to Aventurine, and I need some additional hands.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Hey, congrats, doc! Happy to help!
But first, we gotta change this chat name to commemorate the occasion.
How about something like this?
Sampo changed the messaging group title to ‘From Group Sex to Group Text: The Proposal’
Gepard
Working, apologies for the slow response
🤦♂️
Really?
Dr. Ratio changed the messaging group title to ‘Group Chat 1’
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
Was that necessary, Fool?
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Oh, come on! Live a little~
Sampo changed the messaging group title to ‘Rimming… I Mean, Ring Planning 💍’
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
How impertinent.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
You liked it~
Gepard
Working, apologies for the slow response
Sampo…
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Alright, alright.
Here’s a better one.
Sampo changed the messaging group title to ‘ The ‘We Fucked, Now We Festoon’ Brigade 🎉💦’
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
This one’s more my style, anyways~
Gepard
Working, apologies for the slow response
How is that one better??
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
This is what I get for asking a Fool for help.
Goodbye.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Wait wait WAIT
Fine…
I’ll change it back
Sampo changed the messaging group title to ’ Plot Twist: The Only Thing We’re Penetrating Now Is the Wedding Industry"
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
Are you a liar as well as a Fool?
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
A little of column A, a little of column B
Sorry, I can’t help it - these AI prompts for a group chat name are just too funny
Just tailored them to being queer with a little nod to previous group sex in the chat and BOOM
Sampo changed the messaging group title to ’ From Orgy to Altar’
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
It is truly sad that I have lived to see the day where even a Masked Fool is so unstirred by one’s natural creativity as to outsource his own jokes to a large language model.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Alright, that one hit a nerve, jackass.
Just for that-
Sampo changed the messaging group title to ’The More the Marrier’
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
And THAT’S a Sampo original
Including the pun~
Gepard
Working, apologies for the slow response
No, it’s not…
I can see your phone over my shoulder feeding the prompts into your app.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Betrayed?? By my own boyfriend???
It’s more likely that you think~
Dr. Ratio changed the messaging group title to ‘Group Chat 1’
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
If you are quite finished…
I would not have continued to entertain such idiocy if I did not truly need your help.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Gee, you really know how to lay it on thick, doc…
Gepard
Working, apologies for the slow response
Sampo, please.
Continue, Doctor.
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
As I was saying.
I find myself in need of your particular skillset.
You must know something about contracts, don’t you, Fool?
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
For the right price.
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
Of course.
Gepard
Working, apologies for the slow response
Should I go before I’m implicated in something I shouldn’t see?
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
No. I need a trustworthy witness.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
I’m all ears.
But first, I require payment upfront.
Dr. Ratio
“There’s no rush.”
How much?
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Just your sanity~
Sampo changed the messaging group title to ’Group Sex Alumni Association’
Dr. Ratio has left the chat.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Noooooo
Gepard
Working, apologies for the slow response
Well, that was to be expected.
…huh.
He must really love Aventurine if he lasted this long with your antics.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
That’s what he said~
Gepard
Working, apologies for the slow response
Alright, Sampo, that’s enough.
Gepard has left the chat.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
No! Gepard!
Not you too!
Hello??
… well, since it’s all to myself…
Sampo changed the messaging group title to ’All the Best People Stayed Till the End’
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Hehe
Perfect~
♠
When Veritas leaves the house - and Aventurine is sure that he’s gone - Kakavasha weeps.
How had things spiraled out of control so quickly? He was a gambler, to be sure, but never in his wildest dreams would he have guessed that Veritas would throw it all on the line - his job, his career, everything he ever worked for. And for what? His freedom? Aventurine barely knew what to do with himself when Veritas was away. What good would freedom be to a man like him?
Sure, the work was hard, and his life was often in jeopardy. High risk, high reward. If you can’t put all your chips on the table at every bet, Aventurine would often say, then you shouldn’t even bother playing. Life, to him, was an all-or-nothing game - so what was the point of not bargaining even one’s very life in the process?
The veil of Nihility, severed during the Doctor of Chaos’ treatments nearly a year ago, had helped ease these feelings somewhat. But still, something gnawed at the edges of Aventurine’s heart - a knowing that these feelings would never fully go away. He would live with them, like a scar on his heart, for the rest of his life - a reminder that he survived; a reminder that he was forever damaged… perhaps even cursed .
Why would Veritas bother throwing away countless PhD’s, a thriving career, and a fulfilling life - for a man he could barely tolerate a year ago? Who was the Fool here - the gambling man barely worth more alive than dead, or the virtuous scholar with a heart of gold, ready to sign away all his wisdom to the heartless corporation that slavishly held onto his purse strings, just so he could go to the beach on a random Wednesday that he didn’t want to work - instead of waiting for a PTO request to be approved?
It was a Fool’s trade.
Sure, he had no great love for his job, or for the IPC - there were many a day he woke up, repeating mantras for hours on end, just to will himself into showing up to work. Too many one-on-one reviews with Jade or Sugilite that ended with him stumbling into the nearest bar, chasing down his anger, nerves, or anxieties with a numbing drink. Too many missions where the pistol at his hip became far too tempting to keep loaded—so he left the chambers empty, just in case, dragging himself through another grueling assignment he wished he didn’t have to complete.
Surely, that wasn’t enough to justify the one person in his life sacrificing everything he worked for. So his life was steeped in misery, and his worth ground down to his production value - so what? Who, in service of the IPC, wasn’t in a similar predicament such as he?
Kakavasha believed, with a heavy heart, that perhaps Dr. Veritas Ratio truly was a Fool after all.
♜
The Phase Flame deposited Veritas in front of the IPC’s largest bank branch on Pier Point, just outside the safe deposit vault entrance.
He knew it was a high risk move - going out in public, let alone into IPC territory - while Jade was actively hunting him down, eager to make him sign away his life’s work in exchange for Aventurine’s hand in marriage. He fully expected to run into at least one of her cronies before completing his task. Even knowing all that, Veritas had resolved that he would not leave without his late father’s wedding ring in hand.
Walking down the rows with sandals softly padding along the floor, he zeroed in on a nondescript corner of the room - the location of IPC Bank Safe Deposit Box #0777.
Key in hand, he turned it in the lock. The door popped open with a soft click , swinging ajar to the left.
Inside, a small black ring box sat atop a neat file folder of important documents held for safekeeping. Veritas grabbed them both.
With a small sigh of relief as he clicked the lock back closed, Veritas slipped the key back into his pocket and grabbed the Phase Flame - only to freeze as the cool brush of steel slid along the side of his neck.
‘Going so soon?’ said a feminine voice he wished weren’t so familiar.
The handgun cocked back with a sickening snap! , the barrel nestling against his carotid artery, just under the left ear.
‘Delilah,’ Veritas hissed in anger.
‘Who else?’ she chuckled softly. ‘Aren’t you going to ask me how I found you?’
‘There is no need,’ he responded brusquely. ‘Tracking devices are easy to come by these days. Do not take me for one of your usual idiots.’
‘Oh, Veritas, don’t act so above all of this.’ He could all but hear her rolling her eyes behind him. ‘You’re the one who is looking to marry an Avgin , after all.’ Her laugh was more bitter now - a hollow sound trying to cover up her resentment over their own broken engagement. ‘History repeats itself, don’t you think? Well, perhaps not exactly , but it does seem to be rhyming for you, my old flame. Lest I remind you that, once upon a time, you proposed to a young girl with grand schemes of her own.’ Delilah tutted him. ‘My dear Veritas, don’t you ever learn?’
Veritas was about to retort, but inspiration struck - as if an apple had fallen upon his head.
If the language of a schemer is the only one you understand, Delilah , Veritas thought, then I shall condescend to speak it… if only to get myself out of this unharmed, and back home to Aventurine.
‘Let us make a deal, then,’ He cocked his head to look at her to gauge her reaction. ‘You always enjoyed making deals. What if I had a deal that would benefit you as much as it benefitted Aven and myself?’
Delilah blinked in surprise.
‘Well, look at you, surprising me. Why, Veritas, I didn’t know you had it in you.’ Her tone indicated curiosity, if nothing else.
Good. That meant he could work with this.
The gun eventually dropped to her side as she put the safety on. ‘...What exactly did you have in mind?’
♠♜
Aventurine let out a long sigh when Veritas came home, unscathed and with papers in hand.
‘I found out some news,’ Aventurine said softly. ‘I just got off the phone with Jade. She told me it’s Oswaldo’s brother they’re instating at the University of Veritas Prime. The Schneider Foundation made a big donation to the university the moment the former president announced their departure from Veritas Prime, and one thing led to another… well, these are the consequences.’ He sighed again. ‘This is likely retaliation for our little stunt on Jarilo-VI six months ago. I’m sorry, Ver. I didn’t think he’d go this far. The man is truly evil. If only Boothill and Argenti had found his whereabouts already…’
Aventurine continued chattering on as Veritas quietly unfastened his sandals and removed his outerwear. Cocky, Beav and Baby were nipping at his heels, all begging to be acknowledged. Veritas quietly patted each of them on the head, taking his time before slowly getting up again and looking Aventurine in the eyes.
‘Ver?’
The dark cloud of gloom faded from Veritas’ gaze, replaced by something resolute. He stepped toward Aventurine, who stood in the middle of their apartment, confused.
‘Ver… you have a look in your eyes.’ Aventurine’s eyes were inquisitive, searching his face. ‘I’ve seen that look before.’ A soft smile spread across his face. ‘When you started that ‘Divergent Universe’ project with Screwllum, you had that look on then, too.’
Veritas’ heart was pounding, and his ears began to ring from the blood rushing as his adrenaline spiked.
As he stared at his dearest Kakavasha—standing there with the most heartbreakingly cute and curious expression—he realised he could not bear for their future to remain uncertain one second longer.
Damn the space-time continuum. Damn the future Aventurine who tried to divorce him. Damn the Doomsday Machine in his ex, Delilah. Let all the worlds in the cosmos fall away for all he cared. If he could not have Aventurine, he would be a man broken, waylaid and forgotten by the sands of time-
‘What are you talking about?’ Aventurine chuckled nervously, equal parts amused and confused. ‘I’m already all yours, silly~’
Ah. He’d been talking out loud, hadn’t he?
‘Yes, you have,’ Aventurine giggled, his eyes glinting with untold affection. ‘It’s cute when you get mushy like this~’
Veritas’ fingers brushed at the ring box in his pocket.
‘In vain I have struggled. It will not do.’ Veritas swallowed hard. ‘I am done yearning for you, Kakavasha.’
‘Yearning?’ Aventurine looked confused. ‘What does that mean-?’
‘I already had plans to do this three months from now - on our planned vacation trip to the Xianzhou Luofu - but it seems we must do things the accelerated Avgin way, after all,’ Veritas’ voice trembled ever so slightly with nervousness. ‘Please excuse my brief absence earlier. I needed to make a stop at the bank to get into my safebox for this occasion.’
Now Aventurine was even more confused. ‘Safebox? Plans?? Ver, what in Mama Fenge’s name are you talking abou-!’
Aventurine squeaked in wide-eyed surprise as Veritas dropped to one knee.
‘You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.’
Veritas pulled out his father’s ring Mama Ratio had given him months ago for this very occasion – a simple refurbished and resized platinum band, with a single brilliant diamond in the center.
‘I want to marry you, Kakavasha. Again. I want our union to be recognized wherever we go. I want us to be seen as officially wed in the eyes of the current law among the cosmos. I will go with you tonight to sign the paperwork if need be, or three months from now when we’d planned our trip, or some other date in the future we both decide. It matters not, as long as the end result is I am yours and you are mine. The fact of the matter is, I can no longer be without you by my side. And this foolish, power-hungry, deluded corporation cannot take that from you. From me. From us.’
Aventurine only just then became aware of the tears freely flowing down his face.
‘This ring was my father’s wedding ring. I know it is not your usual style, but it represents all I have to offer you. I offer my heart, my heritage, my family, and my passion. Though it may be humble in comparison to all of the riches in the world, it is yours forever should you decide to accept my hand.’
Aventurine’s mind flashed back to his mother’s necklace, his father’s shirt, and his sister’s unfinished Knot of Cyclicality locked away in his safe. All of those possessions were worth more to him than all the money and investments in his accounts.
Now, Veritas offered to him freely one more sacred item to his collection… one more symbol of those precious few souls in the cosmos who knew, accepted, and loved not just Aventurine - but also Kakavasha - for who he truly was.
‘Oh, Ver,’ Kakavasha sobbed, wiping at his tears. ‘Of course I’ll marry you! I’ll marry you ten times over if I need to! Whatever it takes for us to be together, I’ll do it with you.’
He laughed as Ver looked immensely relieved, breaking out into a rare grin.
‘Haha~ Ver, come on! We’ve already been Avgin married! What made you think I’d say no ??’
‘It, ah… is… difficult to conquer one’s own anxieties and internal doubts.’
Aventurine smiled through the tears as Veritas’ shaking hand pushed his father’s ring onto his finger.
‘I will treasure this ring forever.’ Aventurine admired the ring with a genuine grin. ‘Hmmm, I can already tell it is a lucky item~’
‘Oh?’ Veritas got up on shaky legs, shedding a few tears of happiness himself. ‘How so, gambler?’
Aventurine flung his arms around Veritas’ neck, drawing him into a deep kiss.
‘Because, my love,’ he whispered, neon eyes shining alongside sunset ones in the breath they shared as they broke away. ‘It symbolizes you and me tying the knot, of course~’
💣
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Heyy
Delilah
It's not the having, it's the getting.
Hello.
You must be the Masked Fool that Veritas mentioned?
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
I am indeed, lovely Delilah~
Delilah
It's not the having, it's the getting.
Haha, you haven’t even met me yet, and you are already flirting with me. You are quite the charmer!
Will your abilities work as smoothly as your silver tongue?
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
As well and better, lovely lady~
Delilah
It's not the having, it's the getting.
Hm. How soon can you make it out to Pier Point?
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
As soon as I get my first down payment, I’ll be over in a jiffy!~
Delilah
It's not the having, it's the getting.
I am in a great amount of debt. I have no money I can give you for your services.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
No money??
…
Wait a minute, is Dr. Ratio gonna foot the bill or something?
Delilah
It's not the having, it's the getting.
Something like that.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Alright, great. As long as somebody’s paying
Send me the contact details of the person footing the bill.
Once we get that settled, then we can talk.
Delilah
It's not the having, it's the getting.
Gladly.
You have received a Contact Card. Click to view.
Sampo
Certified Ancient Relic Agent
Oho~
How interesting~
Let me reach out to them straight away
You hang tight, little lady. Sampo’s got this sorted.
Delilah
It's not the having, it's the getting.
Thank you. We’ll be in touch.
♠♜
Notes:
Exactly 1 year ago today, I got access to my AO3 account and began this wild and wonderful journey writing what eventually turned out to be this series. Mama Ratio herself has taken on a life of her own, and so has the small but mighty community of supporters of this series! Never would I have dreamed this time a year ago that my silly little brain worm about Aventurine’s text to the Trailblazer that one time I wrote in a Notes app (seriously… it was the absolute stupidest of inspirations that started this all) would have turned into approaching a 200,000 word count (!!!), a cozy thriving Discord community, and a dedicated readership whom I’ve inspired to write more fics of their very own!
Truly, you have all brought me such light in these dark times. Many times these past 365 days, writing was the only hobby that hauled my ass out of bed to keep fighting - fighting for my top surgery to be covered by insurance, fighting for my and others rights to not turn back into mere priviledges, fighting to keep the lights on when our economy took a nosedive, and fighting amidst it all to keep carved out a wonderful little space of queer joy and abandon in my own semi-private corner of the internet. I will never stop telling you all that I have the very best readers in the entire world. My thanks to each and every one of you for being here comes from the bottom of my heart, truly <3
Alright, alright… enough blubbering and reminiscing, go on out there and read the chapter notes already~!
CHAPTER NOTES:
We are starting to tie it all together!!! For those who remember ‘A Wildfire in the Middle of Winter’, at the end Mama Ratio gifts Veritas his late father’s wedding ring. He’s kept it just for this occasion to give to his beautiful gambler <3 Lots of little references to ‘Kakavasha and the Doctor of Chaos’ peppered throughout as well, for those with an observant eye~ ;)
Sampo and Gepard return!!! What role will they play in Aventurine and Ratio’s story this time?
Full disclosure/for research purposes, I did indeed use the DeepSeek AI LLM to come up with the Sampo groupchat name prompts using the following prompts:
-Alternative titles to a group chat titled 'the proposal' where you are conspiring to propose to your beloved and need your friends help
-tailored to being queer
-nods to previous group sex in the chatThey were so fuckin funny I had to incorporate them. No real human would obviously use those for a groupchat name. This is the ONLY time I have ever used AI in my creative writing, and I’ve made that explicitly clear even in the chapter itself that they were prompts. I feel much more satisfaction writing most things myself, even if it takes longer. Oops, we’re veering off-topic and into my personal stance on AI, aren’t we? Anyways 😅😅😅
When Veritas says: ‘In vain I have struggled. It will not do.’ and ‘‘You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you’, that is directly from Mr. Darcy’s first proposal to Elizabeth Bennet. Feel free to watch the best version of it here!
Delilah’s text tagline: ‘It's not the having, it's the getting.’ is a famous line attributed to Elizabeth Taylor, whom I generally based her character off of. She had it embroidered in needlepoint cushion on her sofa in her Bel Air home. Source!
We’ve got a very special anniversary party going on in the server today! Come on in and join us at Themperor's Famous Writer's Guild (18+)! Built by writers, for writers. Hope to see you and meet you there!!! ✨As always, you can follow me on BlueSky if you feel like it
for even more unhinged contenthere, and in the meantime, STAY TUNED~~~
Chapter 7: Heaven is a Place on Earth, Part I
Summary:
‘I think it’s time to cash in on our winnings, don’t you?’ The older Aventurine winked as both Veritas Ratios placed their hands on Aventurine, each on an opposite thigh. ‘See what a real Avgin wedding is all about — and if our two precious Doctors can rise to the challenge of sating our fiery blood?’
Oh, young Aventurine was so fucked, wasn’t he?
Notes:
AO3 author’s curse is real, y’all. I hurt my back so bad I need to go to physical therapy, am stuck in a back brace and on a ton of medications, and I missed most of the in-person Pride events this year (I suffered through exactly 1 local one while walking around like an old man - and still bought a handmade heating pack for my back at the event). I also missed my posting deadline of trying to get at least a single chapter in the merry month of June, and I had so much plot stuffed into this chapter that the promised smut will not even happen until Part II 😭
BUT! THROUGH ADVERSITY I RISE! Here a new chapter be! With many thanks to fics_are_life for pinch hitting as a beta reader while HoneyFlashBang takes a breather, and between all my life problems, we’ve got an update FINALLY! Enjoy!
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Chapter 7: Heaven is a Place on Earth, Part I
♠♜
On the Xianzhou Luofu, at the Wardance Ceremony…
Pushing past the crowds gathering by the reigning Belobogian Champion, Luka Strongarm, Baishao held a parcel close to her chest as she took Mama Ratio by the arm, weaving in and out of the crowds as she did so.
‘Topaz said that the Belobog representative had to be around here somewhere.’ Baishao furrowed her eyebrows. ‘If only Zijun could be spared from his duties at the University to help me—’
‘You two have grown quite close recently, haven’t you?’ Mama Ratio’s lips curved upward into a knowing smirk. Baishao’s cheeks went pink.
‘Nevermind that,’ she muttered, not meeting Mama Ratio’s mischievous eyes. ‘You short-lifed species and your obsessions with romantic love. Really, Mama Ratio, my modesty—’
‘Does not bear close inspection, Miss Baishao~’ Mama Ratio’s smirk bloomed into a grin, even amidst the din of the cheering fans huddled around the door, from all over the galaxy. Reporters swarmed nearby, reporting live as the Wardance Festival drew closer to its inevitable conclusion. A hand reached out, waving them in. Baishao nodded, assuming the arm was Topaz’s.
It, in fact, was not.
‘Zijun let us know that you two would be coming.’ Helm Master Secretary Xikui, designated emissary for this mission from the seat of Divine Foresight, looked down at them primly. She seemed perfectly coiffed in the midst of raving fans, appropriate for and expected of Madam Yukong’s personal secretary.
Baishao cocked her head in slight confusion. ‘Zijun? ’ Baishao furrowed her brows. ‘He never mentioned he had connections to the seat of Divine Foresight.’
‘He never does.’ Xikui let out a slightly annoyed huff. ‘Wait here. I need to speak to the contestant first, then we can speak on the way, away from this madhouse.’
Mama Ratio and Baishao looked at each other first, then nodded. Xikui slipped inside the door, closing it just in time before a reporter’s hand tried and failed to catch inside the door jam.
‘Strange,’ Baishao seemed troubled. ‘Why would Zijun not tell me something so important about himself? He tells me everything .’
‘Perhaps not everything , dear Miss Baishao,’ Mama Ratio held the parcel closer to her chest in thought. ‘Perhaps… he’d simply been waiting for the right moment to tell you?’
Baishao shrugged. ‘I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.’
30 minutes later…
On the way to the Seat of Divine Foresight, Luka was all nerves.
‘You all want to speak to me? Me?’ Luka was humbled beyond words. ‘I’m just a lowly boxer for Belobog who's lucky to be here.’
‘It isn’t just luck, young one,’ Mama Ratio regarded his youthful zeal warmly. ‘You worked hard to be here, against all odds. Be proud of yourself. You are representing your entire planet. This could open doors for not just you, but generations to come for the people of Belobog.’
Luka seemed to brighten up at the prospect. ‘You really think so?’
‘I do.’ Mama Ratio gave him a small smile. ‘What’s more, all that I seem to hear about this Luofu General seems to indicate that he is a wise and kind sort of older man. If he wants to see you, surely there must be a good reason for it.’
‘No doubt that there is,’ Baishao nodded. ‘The General is a calm but calculated man.’ She winked up at Mama Ratio. ‘Handsome and single, too~’
‘Oh, please,’ Mama Ratio rolled her eyes. ‘You know that there’s only one man that has ever truly been for m—’
The grand doors to the Seat of Divine Foresight opened, the General standing there like a paragon of military virtue ready to receive them.
Mama Ratio gasped.
‘Him?’ Her eyes went wide at the all-too-familiar sight of the man who flirted with her in the garden. ‘ He is the General of the entire Xianzhou Luofu Flagship?’
Baishao looked at her confused. ‘You had talked about him as if you knew him. So, I thought you knew,’ She shrugged. ‘Is something the matter?’
Mama Ratio’s eyes were wide, trying to absorb the situation. ‘I… I—’
‘Well, Luka Strongarm,’ General Jing Yuan acknowledged them. His eyes darted past Xikui and Baishao over to Mama Ratio, who had tried
and failed
to quell a bright blush upon her cheeks. ‘I see you brought some friends for the occasion.’ A small smile brushed on his face, delighted in her recognition of him. ‘I am honored. Welcome to the Seat of Divine Foresight.’
As General Jing Yuan turned and then spoke to the young and nervous Luka about the lore behind Igor Haft’s time on the Luofu, Mama Ratio turned Baishao away from their heartwarming scene by the arm, her cheeks ablaze with embarrassment.
‘Do you know who he is?’ Mama Ratio hissed at Baishao. ‘That’s the man whom I met in the garden!’
‘General Jing Yuan made a pass at you??’ Baishao’s voice was incredulous with disbelief. ‘He’s… he’s not had so much as a confirmed dinner date since his wife passed about 600 years ago!’
Mama Ratio squeezed her eyes shut. Of course. A widower and a widow, seeking comfort at the end of their lives after the shining loves of their lives had long gone. It was a tale as old as time.
Well she, for one, wouldn’t just stand by and let fate run her over.
Earlier that day…
Far and away, this was the most haunting part of the Luofu Mama Ratio had found herself wandering through.
Fyxestroll Garden. Known as a gravesite for the Foxians, a memorial grounds all in one. Unique to Foxian culture, as the long-life species didn’t believe in traditional burial. Neither did the Foxians — but they did believe in memory.
The eerie howls and chatters of heliobi and spirits long past seemed to whip through the air. Nevertheless, she found herself drawn to a haunting yet beautiful cliffsite, where a mother and her daughter were sending off the daughter’s other mother. The adopted mother, her deep green hair growing gray, stood in solace with her adult daughter as they sought the blessing of her birth mother.
‘Her name is Yukong,’ A gentle, calming male voice spoke from beside her as she did her best to discreetly look on. ‘And her daughter's name is Qingni.’
‘How do you know them?’ She turned to see a devastatingly handsome older man.
Tall, flowing grey hair cascaded out of his ponytail and down his shoulders, bangs overlapping one eye. He wore simple mourning clothes, carrying a trinket for whomever he was headed to pay respects to. Though his face looked younger, she had a gut feeling that this man had to be a long-lifed species — possibly decades, or even entire centuries older than her. In this man’s eyes, she might even appear as a pretty young thing for the first time in the decades of her short life.
Victoria — no, Mama Ratio — wasn’t quite sure how she felt about that.
‘Yukong works for me.’ Was all the man said. He held out his hand in gentle greeting. ‘My name is Jing Yuan, in case you were curious, outworlder.’
She nodded, taking his hand. ‘Victoria,’ she said. She had a deep-seated feeling introducing herself as ‘Mama’ might put him off. ‘Victoria Ratio.’
‘Enchanté .’ He smiled, putting her hand to his lips in a soft kiss, golden eyes never leaving her. ‘Or, as we say in Xianzhouian, Rúguó gěi gāoxìng yī gè dìngyì nà jiùshì rènshi le nǐ.’
‘How naughty !’ Victoria exclaimed. ‘Flirting with a younger woman while you are likely paying your respects at your deceased wife’s grave?’
Jing Yuan laughed a belly laugh, deeply and out loud. ‘How quickly you have figured me out.’ He seemed amused rather than offended, eyes shining with mirth. ‘Yes, this memento is indeed for my late wife. She has passed on these 600 years hence.’
Mama Ratio choked. 600 years?? How old was this man???
‘Fortunately for me, my wife left me with children, who now have grandchildren of their own.’ Jing Yuan seemed thoughtful. ‘I have not been able to take another as my wife since knowing her.’ His eyes slid over to Mama Ratio, appreciating her openly. ‘Though you … might be liable to change that for me, if you are willing.’
Victoria sputtered in an indignant huff as she pulled her captive hand away in haste from his. ‘For someone as old as you, you seem to be quite brash. Is this how you are with all women now that the mother of your children is gone? On The Hunt for young women for the sport of it, even going so far as to pursue an outworlder at the hallowed grounds of your last beloved?’
Instead of being put off, Jing Yuan seemed increasingly amused at all her responses. ‘You are oddly charming to me, young Victoria~’ He chuckled. ‘I cannot hide anything from you, it seems, even at our first meeting. I’d like to see you again. I cannot explain why, but… I must admit, I cannot help but find you deeply entrancing.’
Jing Yuan cocked his head. ‘Though it is more than just my personal feelings, Victoria. In an act of goodwill, I will be completely candid with you, Victoria.’
‘Oh?’ She responded tersely. Here it comes, she thought. The true ulterior motive.
‘I recently had my fortune read by someone I trust. The Matrix of Prescience hinted that I would find my new life partner today at the grave of my former one.’ His eyes sparkled with boyish mischief. ‘I am curious what your thoughts are on this fated meeting.’
‘Hmph,’ she scoffed. Was that all? she thought, unimpressed. ‘Then perhaps you should hurry and get your money back from that cheap fortune teller,’ Mama Ratio retorted. Really, the nerve and outright delusion of this man! ‘Just because my horoscope told me I’d meet a handsome man while out strolling today, doesn’t mean it’s any different from any other day. The galaxy is full of handsome men, just as it is full of women and, really, all other genders who would probably fall for this sort of act.’
Jing Yuan began laughing again, so deeply amused that his guffaws cut through the deathly heliobi-infested howls of the otherwise-gloomy Fyxestroll Garden.
Yukong and Qingni turned their heads in confusion to see the two of them — Mama Ratio’s cheeks red with embarrassment and fury, and Jing Yuan clutching his trinket as he laughed deeply at the situation.
Yukong shook his head. ‘Of course.’ She smiled at her daughter. ‘The General would go for an outworlder, wouldn’t he?’
Back to the present…
Baishao snorted as Mama Ratio recounted their first meeting to her.
‘Why does everyone think this is all so amusing?’ Mama Ratio huffed. ‘I would like to be let in on the joke.’
‘Y-You—’ Baishao’s composure was gone; she was now doubled over laughing. ‘Y-Y-You called the Luofu’s Master Diviner Fu Xuan a ‘cheap fortune teller’??’ Baishao gasped for air, nearly wheezing with laughter. ‘Lan above ! Hahahaha! T-The Matrix of Prescience is the most powerful divination device in the known galaxy! The Stellaron Hunters themselves fought for the chance to use it within the past year, just to be interrogated by it! Hahaha!~ ’
‘Pray tell, how was I as an outworlder supposed to know that ?’ Mama Ratio said sourly. It wasn’t often she’d felt one-upped by her usual logic. The Xianzhou seemed to have an annoying habit of pulling the proverbial rug out from under her. It felt hard to grasp even otherwise ordinary exchanges with her usual, easy footing — or use her usual, easy logic to navigate social situations. All the rules felt upside down from everything she knew.
‘May I be so bold as to recommend a native of the Xianzhou as a personal guide on the inner workings of the Luofu?’ That same, irritating
and sexy
voice spoke from beside her again.
Aeons fucking damn it.
‘Yes,’ Mama Ratio mused, eyes narrowing. ‘If you know of anyone else suitable, it would be most gracious for you to accommodate me — considering your brash manners back at the garden.’
She felt , rather than heard, the General chuckle softly at her side.
‘Allow me to make amends,’ He stepped into her view, offering a hand once again. ‘May I have the honor of taking you out to tea, Victoria Ratio? I know of the best teahouse on the Luofu — Du’s Teahouse. Boss Du only serves up the best. And the Aurum Alley Night Market, I have heard, is a unique experience like no other when it comes to experiencing culinary delights.’
Mama Ratio bit her lip. The thought crossed her mind to say ‘no’, just to spite him and watch that stupid
ly handsome
smug face of his fall — until she all at once very
keenly
felt what seemed like a hundred pairs of eyes resting on her, as if all of the General’s underlings pretended not to watch with bated breath how exactly she would respond to the top Arbiter-General and a possible Emanator of Lan on the Xianzhou Luofu.
‘The Taming of the Shrew,’ they’d call the situation, if she refused outright. Besides, she’d already wasted so many words, on so many other men. What would be a few more?
‘I… accept.’ Victoria swallowed back her pride, allowing her hand to rest in his. ‘On one condition — you must promise to behave better than you did at our first meeting.’
A boyish smirk spread across Jing Yuan’s face. What an imp. ‘With someone like you trying to keep me in line, it seems I have no choice but to
misbehave
now and then in order to get your undivided attention.’
Mama Ratio’s face went red again. An errant thought crossed her mind — when was the last time a man had made her cheeks flush warm like this?
Anyone
, of
any
gender, for that matter?
‘I would be a most ungracious host to leave your good friend waiting in the wings while we go on our impromptu date,’ Jing Yuan nodded at Baishao. ‘I believe my grandson has been looking for you in particular, Miss Baishao.’
Baishao looked extremely confused. ‘Your grandson? Do you mean… Swordmaster Yanqing?’
Jing Yuan laughed. ‘No, Yanqing is my protégé. My true grandson is—’
A tap at Baishao’s shoulder startled her. She turned to see none other than her TA, Zijun.
‘Zijun!?’ Baishao started. ‘B-But I thought—’
‘That I was at the University, catching up on work?’ Zijun’s lazy yet boyish smile, now that she noticed it, seemed an awful lot like his grandfather’s. ‘A funny thing happened when I showed up for work yesterday morning. We were told by Campus Police that anyone who attended the protests last week would be arrested on sight if they so much as set foot on University grounds, and all known participants were on administrative leave until further notice.’
‘What?’ Baishao and Mama Ratio gasped in unison.
‘Indeed. My grandson Zijun reached out to let me know what was happening at your son’s University of Veritas Prime, Mama Ratio.’ Jing Yuan seemed more amused than upset.
Her cheeks warmed at this. So, he knew, and simply deigned not to say anything. The prick .
‘Through some generous crowdfunding, we have been able to make bail for the majority of our staff and students who protested alongside us, but it seems that our jobs are in jeopardy for the foreseeable future,’ Zijun explained. ‘So I figured — hey, I may as well join you and catch a glimpse of the Wardance for once!’ He offered Baishao his arm. ‘Well… I was too late for the Wardance, but perhaps I am not too late to take a stroll with you down Aurum Alley’s Night Market?’
Baishao’s smile spread slowly on her face. ‘I… I am quite fond of all the delicious treats along Aurum Alley. There is one vendor in particular—’
‘I know the one. You’ve mentioned her often.’ Zijun smiled. ‘Short Auntie will be happy to see me after so long. Shall we?’
Baishao waved to Mama Ratio as they strolled out of the Seat of Divine Foresight, mouthing the words ‘Good luck!’ and ‘Message me!’ as they left.
‘Yukong has everything handled with Luka here.’ Jing Yuan nudged Victoria, now alone with the irritating
ly handsome
man. ‘Shall
we?’
Mama Ratio huffed. ‘I suppose we shall.’
She did her best not to roll her eyes too harshly as they walked together. Really, if he weren’t so damned handsome , regardless of his rank, she wouldn’t even waste her time. The nerve of him to use a device strapped to the heartbeat of the cosmos’ fate itself to try and swindle a romantic date out of her! She’d not seen such unchecked arrogance from a man her age — well, experience — since her college days.
Her late husband had been so humble, she mused. So shy, and so humble and so sweet; a welcome cool drink of water amidst a horny lake of thirsty men. This General Jing Yuan was nothing like her beloved Felix — bold, brash and mischievous, despite his years and age over her. Perhaps he was a dirty old man looking for a short-lifed fling before he finally kicked the bucket and became a grotesque denizen of Abundance.
Or, her brain unhelpfully supplied amidst her doubts, Perhaps he sees something in you that he has not seen in a long time, that brings out his youthful tendencies — just as your own are beginning to show, my dear~
She kicked the thought away sourly, pinning it deep underneath a well of feelings she’d long thought died with her late husband.
‘When a woman marries again, it is because she detested her first husband.’ Victoria quoted to herself resolutely under her breath, a mantra whenever she felt her romantic resolve weaken in any way. ‘And I, in no way or fashion, detested my very dearest Felix. I must remember that. I must .’
♠
Meanwhile, back on Pier Point that evening, Aventurine tossed and turned in his sleep.
Behind his eyelids, visions of a world he’d never seen tormented him ceaselessly. Heroes slaying local gods in the name of a quest he’d never heard of, pieces of the sky falling all around on a planet he’d never set foot on, killing innocent citizens he’d never met.
‘These citizens… why are they dressed like… Ver ?’
Destruction rained mercilessly from the skies, as if by an angry god passing down ultimate judgment. Bone-chilling images of thousands dead and starving, thousands upon thousands more fleeing for their lives as the sky fell and tore the planet asunder.
Yet, as the sky died in a fiery blaze of glory, Aventurine felt… cold. His limbs began to freeze and go numb from the weight of memories not his own.
The visions wouldn’t stop. War, thousands of years of bloody, hellish war, flashed before his eyes — men killing their own wives in combat, sons killing their fathers…
…then it all took a weird turn. Humans transmorphing into deities as physical entities and esoteric concepts. Strife, Death, Romance, Reason… each human transmutated from the corporeal bonds of their flesh now morphing into such ideas as Justice, Law, Trickery, Sky, Worldbearing, Passage, and… Time?
Hold on, was that… the Trailblazing Twins?
‘Why?’ Aventurine’s vocal cords felt as if they were freezing up. ‘Why are they here? Why am I here?’
He didn’t ask why this was happening, or for a local god to spare their people. He’d stopped trying to understand why local deities indulged in seemingly senseless violence and destruction long ago, after Sigonia-IV had long laid waste to the rest of his kin.
But the visions… they just would not stop.
‘Mama Fenge!’ Kakavasha cried out. His voice tried to crack through the ice, thick with Remembrance. ‘Make it stop!’
A fire alit inside his veins, warming him up from the inside. The visions scattered to the wind, as that familiar three-eyed mother of his race blinked at him with a grin a thousand miles wide and bellowed:
‘ CHILD OF KAKAVA, AWAKEN TO THY DESTINY!’
Kakavasha awoke, sitting up with a start in a cold sweat with a bloodcurdling scream.
♠♜
‘Aven!?’
Aventurine turned to Veritas shaking like a leaf, face pale as if he’d seen a ghost.
‘Aven, talk to me!’ Veritas gathered Aven in his arms protectively. ‘Did you have another nightmare?’
‘Y-Y-Yeah.’ Aventurine gulped, quivering in his arms from fright. ‘I-I’m fine, I j-just — I just n-need a glass of w-water.’
Veritas narrowed his eyes as he examined him. ‘Are you sure?’
Aventurine nodded quickly. Veritas noted his new fiance would not meet his eyes.
‘Hm.’ Veritas gently let him go. ‘Alright. I will return with one in a moment. Stay here.’
Veritas furrowed his eyebrows in concern as Aventurine shivered when he released him, pausing for a long moment before exiting the room.
‘Well, well, well…’
Aventurine started when he heard his own voice from across the room.
‘ We are still lying to our beloved’s face, even after he finally got around to asking our sorry ass to marry him? One would think we’d have broken the habit by now~’
He turned his head to see none other than his older self appear out of the shadows — long, Avgin-style braids clinking together in metal fasteners, age lightly carving some lines in his face and puffiness under his eyes — huh. Why wouldn’t I have gotten some work done to fix those cosmetic issues? I certainly can afford to… unless I’ve spent it all by then—
‘You must know why I’ve come back to visit you, my younger self~’ Metal tapped together in a light tinkling sound as his own, older face smirked at him.
The young Avgin fiddled nervously with his newly-acquired engagement ring as the older Avgin circled round and round the bed where he sat.
‘More like haunt me,’ The younger Aventurine said bitterly. ‘For being the last of my race, I never can seem to get away from myself — whether it be in the past, the present, or the future.’
The older Avgin man laughed, braids tinkling against each other lightly with the motion.
‘There’s a well-known clause in the ancient Avgin marriage rite, as I’m sure you are well aware,’ The older Aventurine drawled, neon eyes honing in on the engagement ring that newly sat upon young Aventurine’s left ring finger.
The younger Avgin clenched his hands together, as if he were afraid the older Avgin would snatch the Ratio family heirloom from him.
‘Well-known to Avgins , not to non-Sigonians.’ He tried to shrug, feigning as if his older self didn’t already know how he would react and feel to this news. ‘But we lead a different life now. People in the rest of the cosmos… they don’t live the same way as us Avgins do. We need to tamp ourselves down, settle for a calmer life—’
‘Tamp ourselves down?’ The older Avgin laughed. ‘Kakavasha, my dear Kakavasha… do you hear yourself?’ He leaned in to whisper. ‘Our blood burns, Kakavasha. Our eyes… are flame. Our heart… is flame! He is not like us. He does not understand us, and therefore cannot handle us.’
Aventurine the younger gulped, but stood firm.
‘There’s not exactly any other choice. No other Avgins exist, and no one else will have us. Additionally, my future husband doesn’t know any of this. How could he? I haven’t told him anything he doesn’t already need to know, and little is written about our culture outside of what I have chosen to share.’
‘Hmm, oh really? Well, mine does know, and still… he chooses to ignore it, to our detriment.’
The younger Avgin looked away.
‘I-I’m sure he’s been busy… you know how Ver is.’ Bangs covered his face to hide his expression from the older Avgin. ‘Traveling the cosmos to cure it of ignorance while we’re traveling to do our own work with the Stonehearts. Really, it’s no wonder that we haven’t been able to—’
‘My, my, now that doesn’t sound like the last Avgin I know!’ The older Avgin laughed. ‘You’ve really fallen hard and fast for this Doctor to ignore the blessing given to us by Gaiathra Triclops, haven’t you?’
Young Kakavasha scoffed, ignoring how his older self struck a nerve. ‘You married him a second time, not me. Not yet .’
Kakavasha the elder chuckled to himself. ‘I did, indeed. Now… I am wondering if that is a mistake.’
‘Oh, don’t kid yourself, Kakavasha! No one was going to marry us if it wasn’t him! We remember our younger days, all the friends-with-benefits relationships that led to nowhere fast—’
‘All the opportunities to follow in Sister’s footsteps that we denied ourselves because we were so besotted with the good doctor?’ The older Avgin let out a low sigh. ‘Mmmn~… what I truly wish I could have shown that handsome Luofu General a time or two before — oops, spoilers~~’ A hand clapped over his smirk. ‘You’ll just have wait and see~’
‘I have no idea who you’re talking about. I only have eyes for Ver. We know this.’ The younger Avgin protested. ‘There’s no shame in the sex work that Sister did, but we didn’t need to do that, after all!’
‘How about fooling around, then?’ Braids clinked together as a head cocked in inquisition. ‘You can’t tell me that your one Dream Bubble foursome six months ago — if you can even call it that — was enough to satisfy our lusty Avginian blood, hmm?’
Younger Aventurine’s mouth snapped shut.
‘I thought as much.’ A finger reached out to tap at the younger Avgin’s pulse point. ‘ We’re too hot for his blood, after all, hmm?’
‘It isn’t like that…’ The finger was swatted away. ‘Really! It isn’t!’
‘Oh? Don’t let that little trinket around your finger cloud our judgement~’
Young Aventurine frowned as the older Kakavasha closed in, two neon eyes reflecting back on him like a mischievous mirror.
‘Well then, I’m letting you make the call. Should we divorce him, Avgin style, after all? Or… should we make him an offer we both know he can’t refuse?’
The young Avgin let out a shaky breath as he idly fiddled with his new engagement ring, then smiled.
‘High risk, high reward.’ Was all the younger Aven answered.
‘Excellent!’ The older Avgin grinned. ‘ We’re still an Avgin after all, it seems~’
♠♜
‘Here,’ Veritas said simply as he re-entered the room, a glass of cool water in tow. ‘This may help you ground yourself back to reality—’
Cool steel brushed against Veritas’ pulse point, stopping him mid-stride into the room.
‘Caught with your pants down, Doctor?’ The older Avgin purred beside him. ‘Nice boxers, by the way~’
Aventurine in the bed rolled his eyes. ‘ We don’t need to be that drastic about this, Kakavasha.’
‘And why not?’ Braids clinked together, sounding like bells as he shrugged. ‘“High risk, high reward”... remember? Or have we so quickly forgotten the teachings of Mama Fenge?’
Aventurine frowned. ‘Please. Ver’s had more than enough experiences with guns when it comes to us. Put that thing away, or else the deal is off.’
‘Spoilsport.’ The older Aventurine huffed, but put the gun away all the same.
‘I had thought I had imagined it,’ Veritas said slowly, as he resumed making his way to his present fiance. ‘Our other meetings. It was difficult to distinguish between reality and fantasy these past couple of days. It seems it is true — the time barrier has truly been broken, somehow.’
‘Mn, yes, the Doomsday Machine will have that affect on you,’ the older Avgin mused.
Veritas frowned. ‘I had thought that… that woman … was the Doomsday Machine… is she not?’
Metal clasps around his braids tinkled like bells as they swayed together while the older Avgin shook his head.
‘No.’ Older Aventurine chuckled in deep amusement. ‘Delilah, in fact, is the least powerful person in this entire scenario — and boy does she know it well.’ He cocked his head at Aventurine, sipping his water on the bed. ‘That’s why she is so desperate to curry favor with you tomorrow, my young self, ever since her attempt with her ex, our beloved Ver, fell through.’
Aventurine nearly spit out his water upon the bed. ‘With me ? W-Why me??’
‘You’ll have to agree to meet with her to find out~’ The older Avgin grinned before tossing him his phone. ‘Agree to the meeting, and you’ll see.’
Aventurine caught and squinted at his phone to indeed see a new text from Delilah herself sitting in his inbox.
‘The nerve…’ He muttered under his breath, then paused. ‘Look, Ver… if you don’t want me to meet with her, I won’t do it. Damn my older self and the future to hell, I want to respect you first.’
A small smile crept onto Veritas’ face as the older Aventurine next to him pouted.
Whose side are you on, anyway?? The younger Aventurine thought incredulously.
‘You may meet with her,’ Veritas said, though his voice had the slightest pained quality to it. ‘Though I cannot guarantee it will be… an altogether pleasant experience.’
‘Fine, fine, it’s settled then.’ The older Avgin waved it away as if it were an unimportant matter. ‘Enough talk about exes—’
‘You were the one talking about divorcing my dear fiance!’ Aventurine exclaimed from the bed, throwing the phone on the nightstand. ‘You were the one who brought his ex Delilah up! Now you don’t want to talk about exes?’ Young Aventurine crossed his arms with a huff. ‘You know what? If you’re just here to bring down the very lovely vibe of our just being formally engaged, you can leave. There’s the door, feel free to open it and—’
Aventurine nearly choked on his words as the door opened, revealing an older Dr. Ratio behind it calmly walking inside.
‘Before peace talks completely unravel between yourselves—’ The older man’s smile froze young Aventurine in place. ‘—I believe we still need to, ah, finish what we’ve started?’
‘Yes… it was quite interesting running into my older self on the way to grab you water.’ The younger Veritas’ smirk had a sharp edge to it. ‘My older self may have mentioned that you’d been particularly naughty while I had been away at work.’
With not one, but two Veritas’ approaching him at the bed, each one handsomer and older than the last, Aventurine felt his blood burn beneath his skin with an unsated want he’d never felt so powerfully before.
Meanwhile, the older Aventurine looked on with a wicked grin.
‘Remember this?’ The older Avgin tossed him a bag that the younger Aventurine couldn’t quite place, but was somehow familiar. He peeked inside — copious amounts of condoms and lube — oh!
‘Your first wedding gift from us, if you still remember~’ The older Veritas Ratio breathed against the young Aventurine’s neck. Kakavasha shuddered in pleasure.
‘I think it’s time to cash in on our winnings, don’t you?’ The older Aventurine winked as both Veritas Ratios placed their hands on Aventurine, each on an opposite thigh. ‘See what a real Avgin wedding is all about — and if our two precious Doctors can rise to the challenge of sating our fiery blood?’
Oh, young Aventurine was so fucked , wasn’t he?
Thank you, Mama Fenge, Kakavasha whispered silently to the patron goddess that may or may not have gazed upon him twice now, as two separate hands grazed his clothes with the explicit mission to tear him out of them as soon as possible. I can die a happy and well-satisfied Avginian bottom after these two handsome and skilled men rail me across into the Nihility.
♠♜
Notes:
WE’VE GOT A FINAL CHAPTER COUNT! We had a vote in The Famous Writer's Guild (18+)
P.S. come join usand it was decided - 7 more chapters till this whole series is done and dusted! HOME STRETCH LET’S GOOOOOOChapter Title: ‘Heaven is a Place on Earth’, comes from Aventurine and Dr. Ratio’s original mission title in Penacony during the ‘A Cat Among Pigeons’ main Trailblazing mission. I also thought it was plenty appropriate for the, ah, copious amounts of smut I plan to have jam-packed into the follow-up chapter I’m giving you all foreplay for, hehe~ I had to invent a new relationship tag for this series yet AGAIN UGH #AO3writerproblems
‘Really, Mama Ratio, my modesty-’ ‘Does not bear close inspection, Miss Baishao~’ is a paraphrase from a line between Mr. Spock and Captain Kirk in Star Trek: TOS episode ‘Devil in the Dark’, where Spock hinted that the Horta
and most other womenloved his pointed ears best about him, and he didn’t have the heart to tell her he was the only one among humans with such ears.Oh no. Whatever shall we all do with all this lust, Mr. Spock?‘Enchanté, is a common French greeting meaning ‘pleased to meet you’; English and other foreign language speakers often perceive it as flirty, but actually it is quite a common and fairly formal French greeting for meeting others for the first time, especially among us Québécois. ‘Rúguó gěi gāoxìng yī gè dìngyì nà jiùshì rènshi le nǐ’, romanized for English readers from 如果给高兴一个定义，那就是认识了你, however… now that’s a cheesy Chinese pickup line, essentially meaning, ‘Meeting you is the definition of happiness’. Jing Yuan thought he was being smooth using it on an outworlder, but Mama Ratio’s can see through bullshit even without a Synesthesia beacon, hehe~
Some spoilers in this chapter for the Wardance sidequest with Luka if you haven’t completed it yet, as well as the sidequest with Yukong and her daughter Qingni!
It is implied that the Seven Arbiter-Generals are Emanators of Lan, and are in no way inferior to the Lord Ravagers, e.x. Phantylia and Zephyro. You can read more about Arbiter-General lore here: https://honkai-star-rail.fandom.com/wiki/Arbiter-Generals
‘The Taming of the Shrew’ is a well-known comedic play by Shakespeare, referring to an ill-tempered woman being ‘tamed’ by a man. It’s… deeply sexist, even for the time (1500’s) it was written in (which is really saying something). Liz Taylor did a 1967 movie with none other than her beloved Richard Burton on it, and there’s even a pre-Hayes code 1929 Mary Pickford movie on it, for all you film buffs out there. You can probably skip all of those, and reading the original text, too. Just know it exists, it’s well-known, and this is the gist of what it means. Feel free to read more about the original story here: The Taming of the Shrew Wiki page
‘...she’d already wasted so many words, on so many other men. What would be a few more?’ Is paraphrasing the last words and testament of Liz Taylor’s role in 1963 ‘Cleopatra’.
Ok maybe I’m the film buff in question and I’m specifically focused exactly on Elizabeth Taylor, sue meUsing the collective we/us pronouns for young!Aven and old!Aven when they refer to each other, taking notes from Tribbie and her sisters in the current Amphoreus storyline.
‘Our blood burns, Kakavasha. Our eyes… are flame. Our heart… is flame!’ paraphrases from Spock’s basically same line in Star Trek: TOS ‘Amok Time’, when he has the blood fever, telling T’Pau that he is not human and therefore internally (and pretty much literally) on fire from his desires that manifest every so many years, as is the Vulcan way.
It’s a small headcannon of mine that Aventurine’s sister engaged in sex work before she so brutally died at the hands of the Katicans, and that sex work in general was a fairly common profession among the Avgins. Kakavasha, however, left Sigonia-IV by the time he was a teenager, and (again, in my headcannon) never ended up engaging in it - though he’d never been fully opposed to the idea of doing so. Life just changed and threw him new challenges and new opportunities that rendered the world’s oldest profession obsolete as a possible opportunity for him in his new lives, first as a fighting slave, then as Aventurine of Stratagems.
New chapter uhhhh sometime soon! Let’s hope this was the worst of the AO3 author’s curse for me! Only 6 more left and then this main series is DONE, can you believe it??
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Chapter 8: Heaven is a Place on Earth, Part II
Summary:
Time folds in on itself. Bodies begin to meld into each other and nerves are set ablaze from the onslaught of hormones and emotions. The air thickens with the scent of musk and salt as bodies interwine ever closer, until by the end, all four of them are carnally connected.
Kakavasha no longer knows where his body ends and another’s begins. Ver’s heart and soul are lost, sunset eyes rolled up in praise to a god so ancient it may have predated the Aeonic pantheon. Ratio’s hands are everywhere, on everyone, as if this was the last time they would ever touch bare flesh. And Aven… that old Avgin, he was in his glory, body worshipped with all the reverent depravity it deserved.
Notes:
I’ve since learned that writing a foursome is hell, and writing a foursome where two of the people are actually the same person but older is the 9th circle of hell Dante wrote about in his little Inferno there.
God certainly punished me throughout this chapter for trying to bring my horny little dreams into reality, so badly that we’re going to need a fucking legend to understand who is actually fucking who throughout this chapter:
Kakavasha: young!Aventurine
Ver: young!VeritasAven: old!Aventurine
Ratio: old!Veritas
It’ll seem odd at first, but you’ll get in the groove of it.
That all being said, please go forth and ENJOY the fruits of my labor to the very fullest!!!!~ ✨
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
♠♜
Earlier…
With the picture of health and happiness that only a long vacation could bestow, a sunkissed and relaxed Lady Bonajade strode into the IPC executive suite humming a lazy tune.
‘Hold my calls and emails for three system hours until I’m settled in,’ she half-hummed to her secretary, already furiously typing her commands.
‘Already done, Lady Bonajade!’ her secretary responded with a blind fervor.
‘Perfect~’ she hummed to herself, heels clicking with purpose, and nearly collided with Topaz as she bounced her way into the suite.
‘Ah, little Jelena~’ Jade tucked a piece of hair behind Topaz’ ear affectionately. ‘Long time no see. I’m looking forward to catching up once I’ve settled back into the office routine.’
Topaz gave her a confused look.
‘You- you were gone?’ Topaz frowned, looking her up and down. ‘Wait a minute - why are you tan ??’
Jade gave her a quizzical look. ‘I’ve been out of office these past few weeks, Jelena.’ With a dramatic sweep of her hand—not unlike Aventurine’s practiced flair—she swept her long, pink hair behind her shoulder. ‘For the past three weeks, I’ve been sipping bottomless cocktails on a remote planet with plenty of sun and plenty of sand. You hadn’t noticed?’
Topaz gave her a look like she had three heads.
‘Really, Topaz, this is all very funny, but I think the joke has run its course.’ Jade picked at one of the nails in her fresh manicure, barely hiding her growing irritation. ‘What a strange way to welcome me back from my vacation. How long have you been planning this little joke, Jelena? I must say, it’s not your best work.’
‘Lady Bonajade, I swear to you,’ Topaz insisted with a dead seriousness. ‘You’ve been here. The entire time. Making my life more difficult than usual, I might add,’ Topaz’ arms were as cross as her expression. ‘I almost can’t forgive what you did to poor Aventurine and Dr. Ratio-'
‘Jelena, this joke has gone far enough,’ Jade cut her off, expression crossing into stern. ‘Whatever you’ve been planning, I must insist that you call it off now-!!’
Lady Bonajade nearly choked on the words as she watched the spitting image of herself - sans fresh tan - walk out of her office as if she owned the place.
‘Oh… fuck .’ Topaz’ face went white. ‘That- that must mean-’
‘Jelena?’ Lady Bonajade whispered calmly to Topaz as the impostor turned towards them, seconds away from spotting the real Jade. ‘Do something for me, if you’d be so kind.’
‘Whatever you wish, Lady Bonajade.’
Jade reached for the pistol at her hip, aiming dead between the eyes of the intruder. ‘Kindly inform security that I’ve taken an uninvited guest hostage in the Stoneheart Suite. They’re welcome to collect.’
♠♜♠♜
And now, a recap from Part I:
‘Before peace talks completely unravel between yourselves—’ The older man’s smile froze young Aventurine in place. ‘—I believe we still need to, ah , finish what we’ve started?’
‘Yes… it was quite interesting running into my older self on the way to grab you water.’ The younger Veritas’ smirk had a sharp edge to it. ‘My older self may have mentioned that you’d been particularly naughty while I had been away at work.’
With not one, but two Veritas’ approaching him at the bed, each one handsomer and older than the last, Aventurine felt his blood burn beneath his skin with an unsated want he’d never felt so powerfully before.
Meanwhile, the older Aventurine looked on with a wicked grin.
‘Remember this?’ The older Avgin tossed him a bag that the younger Aventurine couldn’t quite place, but was somehow familiar. He peeked inside — copious amounts of condoms and lube — oh!
‘Your first wedding gift from us, if you still remember~’ The older Veritas Ratio breathed against the young Aventurine’s neck. Kakavasha shuddered in pleasure.
‘I think it’s time to cash in on our winnings, don’t you?’ The older Aventurine winked as both Veritas Ratios placed their hands on Aventurine, each on an opposite thigh. ‘See what a real Avgin wedding is all about — and if our two precious Doctors can rise to the challenge of sating our fiery blood?’
Oh, young Aventurine was so fucked , wasn’t he?
Thank you, Mama Fenge, Kakavasha whispered silently to the patron goddess that may or may not have gazed upon him twice now, as two separate hands grazed his clothes with the explicit mission to tear him out of them as soon as possible. I can die a happy and well-satisfied Avginian bottom after these two handsome and skilled men rail me across into the Nihility.
Part II continuation:
Before the two Veritas’ could close in for the proverbial kill, it was the older Aventurine who surprised them all by lunging in to steal the first kiss of the night from his lips.
Kissing himself was… interesting, to say the least. He was surprised how soft his own lips felt, how small his tongue was compared to Veritas’. How sensitive he was to every movement, every noise, every touch. And yes… it was indeed quite pleasurable to experience his infamous tongue ring piercing for himself.
The stunned gasps from either side of them made the whole experience worth it.
‘Oh, we’re fun to kiss~’ The Avens both said as they kissed each other, giggling. They broke away to cath the way their lovers looked at them with renewed interest, lust sparking behind sunset eyes. ‘Seems they both enjoyed the show~’ Older and younger both Aventurine giggled.
‘Ah-mmmfh!’ Kakavasha squealed as Ver stole the next kiss from his lips. Unbuttoning his shirt with alacrity, he shuddered as he felt another set of hands slide down his pajama pants for everyone to see.
‘We haven’t finished our, ah, conversation from last time, young Kakavasha." He heard Ratio say, now settled between his legs. ‘I think it’s time we finished it, don’t you agree, my younger self?’
‘It would be out of the question if you did not finish what you started,’ Ver said mischievously near Kakavasha’s ear before giving the lobe a bite. Kakavasha felt a mouth take in his growing erection once more, and moaned as two tongues trailed their way down his most erogenous zones - one down his neck and onto his pierced nipples, playing with the barbells there, and another, up and down his weeping and very excited dick.
‘Should I get to work prepping him for you?’ Ver said, almost casually, as his hand trailed down towards Kakavasha’s ass and teased a bit between the cheeks.
Kakavasha moaned and shuddered at both the touch and the implication.
‘Mmmn, yes,’ Ratio said, after taking a breath for air. ‘As we discussed in the kitchen, part of our marital gift to you is a few lessons that will benefit you both greatly.’
‘Ugh, a lecture?’ Despite all the very pleasurable ministrations, Kakavasha rolled his eyes. ‘Is this really the time-!!’
He cut himself off with a whimper as Ver lightly smacked him in the taint, then soothing the area and toying with his guiche piercing.
‘As your older self, I recommend that you at least hear them both out before rejecting the idea entirely,’ Ratio said, greedily watching the show while palming himself lazily on the bed.
Kakavasha heard a tube pop open behind him, then warm, lubricated fingers teased at his asshole while the older Veritas took him back in his mouth with a grin.
‘Consider this an apt revenge for all those times you blew me and teased my prostate,’ Ver murmured into his ear, before easing a finger inside of him. ‘And most especially for that time you had me cumming down Sampo’s throat while you watched.’
The whine that came from his mouth as he shuddered was almost embarrassing.
‘Easy, my love,’ a calm voice whispered soothingly into his ear to steady Kakavasha. The love and affection behind the voice along with the ministrations inside him and on his dick only made Kakavasha whimper harder. ‘I have not even reached your prostate yet.’
‘And when you do,’ Aven said with a sly grin, ‘You may want to hold him upright while you ravish him. His bones will turn to jelly, hehe~’
‘Hey!!’ Kakavasha protested, trying to put a scowl on his face. ‘You don’t know that! I could- Ohhhhhmmmmnnnnnn~~~!’
With the first tease of his prostate, indeed, Kakavasha nearly collapsed over himself onto the bed.
‘Put a second finger in.’ Aven’s neon eyes were gleaming with mischief. ‘Make him beg for a release.’
‘H-Hey! ’ Even still, Kakavasha tried to put up a fight. ‘Whose side are you on, anyways??’
‘Yours, as always~’ Aven gave him a bright smile. ‘You’ll thank me in a moment~’
Kakavasha had to bite his lip to keep from screaming as he felt a second finger ease into him and tease his prostate.
‘Now now now, how can the good doctors know you’re having a good time if you don’t tell them so?’ Aven sidled up next to him, trouble in his eyes. ‘I think you need to open that pretty little mouth of yours and let them know exactly how you’re feeling~’
A hand yanked at the hair at the base of Kakavasha’s neck as he felt his own lips upon him again, his own tongue darting in to tease out all the little moans and whimpers he’d been trying desperately to suppress.
‘He’s close~’ Aven smirked as he broke away, watching his younger self moan openly as the other two men played his body like a violin.
A phone buzzed repeatedly on the nightstand.
Kakavasha let out a growl of blue-balled frustration. ‘I-It’s on Starred C-Contacts Only this time of night, so it’s probably T-Topaz or Jade,’ he struggled out. His hand reluctantly reached towards the phone - only for Aven to smack it away.
‘Mmmn, I think that can wait a hot minute,’ Aven grinned before instructing: ‘Third finger. Now.’
‘Aaaaauuhhhhgggghh mmmmmnooooohmygodessss~~!’ Kakavasha cried. It seemed the third finger was in.
‘Now keep thrusting them in like you’re actually fucking him,’ he instructed Ver. ‘Even when he touches himself, he’s thinking about your dick deep inside of him.’
‘Hey!!’ Kakavasha went bright red with embarrassment.
Aven chuckled. ‘What? You do.’ He gave his younger self another kiss, this time almost affectionate. ‘You love it when he rearranges your guts. So, why not let them both do so tonight for you, and cum more times in a night than you ever have before?’
Kakavasha started to protest a reply, but cut himself off with a moan as Ver followed his prior instructions.
‘That never gets old~’ Aven chuckled as Kakavsha raced towards his climax. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll handle the Topaz call right after this.’
‘H-How- augh! D-d-do you k-know mmmph! I-it’s T-Topaz ooophhffmnn!~~’ Try as he may, Kakavasha succumbed to the waves of ecstasy, eyes beginning to roll to the back of his head as he began to repeatedly whimper.
‘My dear self, I’m from the future, aren’t I?’ Neon eyes gleaming, Aven leaned in to whisper. ‘It’s also how I know that tonight, you will cum exactly three times - the first one starting… just… about… now~’
As if on cue, Kakavasha shuddered and cried out Ver’s name, spurting all over Ratio’s tongue and face as he moaned for them to never stop touching him.
‘Oh, right~’ Aven purred, watching his younger self cum with abandon. ‘If all goes well, you might cum one more time in the morning, as well - you know, just one for the road before we all head out~’
As Kakavasha came down from his high, older Aventurine reached for the phone.
‘W-Wait-!!’
‘Don’t worry, I’ve got this~’ Aven rolled his eyes. ‘I’ve been dealing with Topaz a lot longer than you have, remember?’
Aven clicked to call Topaz. She picked up in three rings.
‘Yello~’ Aven said smoothly.
‘Where the hell have you been?!’ she screamed through the receiver. ’I’ve been calling you for the past five minutes - we’ve got a situation down here at IPC HQ!’
‘I’m sorry, I’m a bit tied up at the moment. Is there no one else you can find to help you out with your little problem?’
‘Little? Problem??’ Aven could all but hear her blood vessels popping. ‘Ludia’s Right Hand, that Intellitron who tried to kill your boyfriend back on Jarilo-VI six months ago, is back from the dead somehow, and she’s posing as Jade!’
‘Hmmmmm…’ Aven seemed unimpressed. ‘What did I tell you about your little Jarilo-VI problem before, Topaz?’
‘I-’ Topaz was silent for a moment. ‘I’m… I’m sorry. You’re right. This is all my fault because I dragged you and Dr. Ratio into this whole mess to begin with.’
‘Mn, and got my husband shot, mind you.’
‘Husband?’
‘Sorry… boyfriend, I misspoke.’ Aven mouthed ‘sorry’ over to a pale, wide-eyed younger version of himself. ‘Just manifesting, as usual~’
‘Yeah, well, I heard he was over at the bank vault earlier today, so it’ll likely be any day now.’
‘Oh?’ Aven glanced over to the ring freshly sat upon Kakavasha’s finger. ‘Good to know. I’ll be on the alert to get my nails done for when he finally comes around.’
There was a pause. ‘You’re acting awfully calm to hear this information,’ Topaz said suspiciously. ‘You couldn’t have… already known this was going to happen, could you have?’
‘I had my suspicions~’ Aven deftly dodged the question with all the grace of a ballerina. ‘Riddle me this - are you sure that this ‘LRH’ is from our universe, and not come here from, say, an adjacent one?’
‘How would we even know if that was possible?’
‘You may want to give Screwllum a call,’ Aven said breezily. ‘He has a way of checking the atomic signature of things to be sure.’
A pause. ‘If your theory is correct, we’ve got a bigger problem on our hands than we’d ever suspected.
‘Don’t I know it…’ Aven murmured under his breath. ‘Anyways, I have something I need to attend to. Keep me updated. Ta ta for now~’
‘Yes. Goodbye.’
With a click! , Aven hung up the phone, all none the wiser.
‘You did very well,’ Kakavasha nodded appreciatively.
‘Thank you~’ Aven bowed. ‘Years and years of practice with her and Lady Bonajade will put one at an advantage.’
‘Would you mind enlightening us on what you mentioned over the phone?’ Ver gave him an inquisitive eyebrow quirk. ‘Something about alternate and adjacent universes ?’
‘Ahaha~’ Aven waved it off as if it were an errand suggestion, ‘We can talk about that later, after we are done enjoying our time together~’
‘I like that suggestion~’ Kakavasha had a mischievous gleam in his eye, soon shared by the older Avgin.
Ver sighed, looking to his older self for any sort of support or reassurance. ‘Your thoughts on the matter?’
Ratio gave his younger self a somewhat weary look. ‘Later would be better to discuss this, unless you are looking to kill the mood.’
Suddenly, Kakavasha was in front of Ver’s face, pouting with eyes wide as saucers.
‘Pleaaasssseee~’ Kakavasha gave Ver the most pathetically cute expression he’d probably ever seen on him.
It was in this moment that Ver understood - yes, Kakavasha was indeed a youngest child.
He also understood that yes, he was also weak, perhaps very weak, for his love.
With a heavy and affectionate sigh, Ver conceded. ‘Fine.’
‘Mmm, you’re such a good sport~’ Aven nipped at his ear as a hand slid down into Ver’s lap. ‘Let me help you enjoy the show. Ver’s about to give you both your first wedding gift.’
‘I-Is that s-so?’ Aven giggled as Ver pretended not to be affected by the hand now teasing his clothed erection as he watched his older self undress his new fiancé in front of him like he was watching a live porno.
‘Yes.’ Another nip at his ear. ‘You see, Ver and I discussed on our way over what the best gifts we could teach you would be, and we both agreed: Your older self will teach you how to fuck me properly, and I’ll-’ Aven giggled. ‘Well… you’ll see~’
Lips crashed together as Ver’s pants were unzipped, a gloved hand stroking him up and down as Kakavasha let himself be prepped by Ratio.
‘Ah, ah, ah - you’ll both miss the lesson if you don’t pay attention,’ Ratio tutted them. They broke their kiss to turn - and witness a very eager Kakavasha, on all fours and prepped and ready to take an incredibly thick dick from his ten years older fiancé and future husband.
‘Now, here is how to fuck your Aventurine properly.’ Ratio cleared his throat, as if he were about to give a lecture. ‘First step, of course, is to undress him and prepare the anus for entry.’
‘Yes, yes, I know all of that.’ Ver rolled his eyes.
‘Still, it must be said. Next, you must insert the penis insi-’
‘Spare me. Is this a wedding gift or a sexual education lecture? We do not have any problems in this department.’
Ratio chuckled. ‘Oh, really?’
Two hands gripped the hips of Kakavasha beneath him, and slammed the full length of his cock inside without warning.
‘OH~~!’ Kakavasha was trembling as his mouth gasped open. After a moment of recovery, Kakavasha bit his lip and rolled his hips to try to get an even deeper angle. ‘Daddy~ mmm, so rough~♡’
Ratio was panting a bit; even after all these years, it’s clear he was not yet unaffected by his beloved’s many charms.
‘N-Now,’ Hands gripped at the hips tighter, ‘Once inside, it’s-’ Ratio cleared his throat, trying to maintain composure. By the wicked grin on Kakavasha’s face, Ver surmised he might be teasing him by clenching rhythmically around his dick. Naughty boy. ‘-I-It’s important to f-find the right a-angle.’
Ratio pulled out, right up to the tip, and spread Kakavasha’s cheeks just a bit wider as he adjusted just a bit.
‘Daddy? What are you doing?’ Kakavasha turned to watch the action.
‘This should be about right,’ Ratio murmured to himself, before thrusting in full force once more.
Kakavasha’s wail was guttural, primal as he all but crumpled into Ratio’s skillful hands. A stream of precum all but poured from his pulsing dick as Kakavasha’s legs trembled.
‘F-fuck~~ mmffhhhh~~ ’ Kakavasha moaned, eyes rolled to the back of his head. ‘There! Right there!!’
‘Found it,’ Ratio grunted. It was clear by how hard he was gripping Kakavasha’s hips he was just as debauched as his lover.
Kakavasha was whining, humping against Ratio’s dick. ‘Don’t stop! Again!’
Another thrust had balls slapping ass. Precum was dribbling down Kakavasha’s legs now as he gasped for more.
‘Again! Don’t stop!’ Kakavasha mewled.
Ratio started a rhythm, fucking into him with eyes rolled back into his head, mouth open in a silent prayer to breed Kakavasha full of his cum. The room was full of wanton wails, Kakavasha increasingly more debauched as he was fucked perfectly well.
‘Don’t forget to pull his hair!’ Aven exclaimed, reaching a hand out to yank a fistful at the base of Kakavasha’s neck. ‘Like this!’
Kakavasha whimpered at the action.
‘He’s close~’ Aven snickered. ‘Look, he’s whimpering. That’s how you know~’
‘Oh please, oh please, fill me with your cum, daddy~’ Kakavasha whimpered. ‘Oh please, oh please ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease~!! UHNNN - VERITAS!!!’
Kakavasha screamed as his body shook, cum shooting from his dick and soiling the sheets as the older Veritas thrust into him relentlessly.
‘Ohhmygoddess… ohhhhmygoddess…’ Kakavasha moaned as Ratio kept going.
Ratio was not far behind.
‘Auuughhh~~!’ Ratio shuddered as he fucked harder than ever into Kakavasha’s ass.
‘Mmmn, look how your balls pulsate~’ Aven bent down to watch his husband’s dick pump cum into his younger self’s asshole. He gave those pulsating balls an affectionate squeeze, winning him a debauched moan from his husband. ‘Yummy~’
‘He is yummy, isn’t he?~’ Kakavasha bit his lip as he enjoyed the feeling of hot cum filling him up from behind.
When Ratio was done, he nearly collapsed on top of his younger lover. Both Aventurine’s giggled.
‘ We can still make him cum that hard, hmm?’ Kakavasha smirked.
‘Mmmhmmm~’ Aven confirmed. ‘Time for your next wedding gift. Veritas, come here.’
‘Oh?’ Ver complied, scooching closer onto the bed. ‘First, it’s breeding my husband before my eyes. Then, it’s-’
Aven pulled out Ver’s dick before he could finish his sentence.
‘Time for your second lesson~’ Aven smirked, with a kiss on the head of his penis.
‘And what might that be?’
‘This one is for my younger self~’ Aven gave a small lick at the telltale precum already beading at the head of his penis. ‘The lesson is: how to take a dick without choking~♡’
Ver shivered as that Aeons -damned tongue ring swirled around the head of his dick, making him weak.
The two Aventurines giggled deviously, then one whispered to the other.
‘What are you planning?’ Ver inquired, while Ratio smirked.
‘If my memory serves me correctly-’ Ratio gave him a slow smile. ‘You are about to have a very good time.’
‘I- ohhh~!!’ Ver moaned.
A second tongue ring joined to tease his cock, along with the first.
‘What a handsome future husband~♡’ Kakavasha mouthed up his cock as Aven continued to suckle the head. ‘He deserves two Avgins getting him off, don’t you think?’
‘Mmmm~’ A mouth came off the head of his penis with a wet pop! ‘Yes, I think he deserves a good wrecking ~♡’
Uh oh.
Ver’s eyes went wide as he saw Aven reach into the bag and pull out none other than the dildo made by his dick specs that his future husband custom made for him right before they started dating.
‘Ready to go fuck yourself?’ Aven commented slyly. The two Aventurine’s giggled.
‘He did admit he liked to be dominated from time to time~’ Kakavasha purred. ‘Or, at least… that was his older self. His younger self might still be shy~♡’
‘That just means they cum even harder~♡’ Aven’s smirk sharpened into something hungry as he rolled a condom onto the head of the dildo. ‘Unless… you’re not interested in cumming all that hard today, young, handsome Ver?~’
Ver went beet red.
‘I’m, um…’ Ver tried to pretend to be coy. ‘Up for the experiment, I suppose.’
‘You suppose ,’ They both giggled again as they continued to whisper.
‘Conspirators,’ Ver murmured under his breath. ‘You’re both so- oooooooh~~!! ’
Aven shoved younger Kakavasha’s mouth down onto his dick as far as he could without choking him.
‘You see how you can only get this far before gagging?’ Aven commented lightly, as if he were commenting on the weather. Kakavasha nodded as best he could with a mouth full of dick. ‘Well, here’s the trick I learned: Try squeezing your thumb in your left hand as you make a closed fist.’
Kakavasha gave him a confused look, but proceeded to try it out.
‘Now, take him deeper until you feel the gag.’
Kakavasha looked completely shocked as he took Ver deeper and deeper down his throat, until his nose hit the landing strip at the navel he’d begged for Ver to grow out.
‘Very good~♡’ Aven took him by the hair and pulled him nearly off, making him drag his tongue ring underneath Ver’s dick. He smirked at the shuddering and anticipation in Kakavasha’s eyes.
‘Remember how well our dear Ver came inside Sampo’s mouth?’
Kakavasha nodded.
‘Ready to do that all for yourself?’
Kakavasha nodded again, far more avidly.
‘Good boy~’ Aven pulled him back down onto Ver’s dick, alllll the way down. ‘Eat his dick, and drink every last drop from his balls~♡’
Kakavasha saluted his older self before diving down happily onto Ver’s dick.
‘Meanwhile-’ Ver could hear the smirk in Aven’s voice. His breath caught as he felt a finger behind him. ‘Let’s get this pretty little asshole its own toy, shall we?’
Ver felt the breath punched out of him as fingers teased at his entrance before dipping inside.
‘Want to feel what we’ve been taking from you all this time?~’ Mischief lilted in Aven’s voice dangerously as a second finger joined, scissoring Ver open.
‘ Ah~ Ah~ I- Ah~’ Ver could hardly speak from all the sensations onslaughting his senses.
‘I won’t push it in without your explicit consent~’ Though the words sounded respectful as ever, in actuality they were teasing, and they all knew it.
‘Mmn~ P-Please~!!’ Ver could barely eke out.
‘Please what?’
‘M-My love…’ Ver breathed without thinking.
Something shifted in Aven’s eyes for a moment, before the mask fitted itself back on again.
‘Since you asked so sweetly…’ Aven purred, right back into his suave persona. ‘I’ll give you what you want~’
When the head of his own, manufactured dick breaches his anus, Veritas sees stars in his vision. Weakly, he thinks: is this what I have been doing to my poor Kakavasha all this time?
Time folds in on itself. Bodies begin to meld into each other and nerves are set ablaze from the onslaught of hormones and emotions. The air thickens with the scent of musk and salt as bodies interwine ever closer, until by the end, all four of them are carnally connected.
Kakavasha no longer knows where his body ends and another’s begins. Ver’s heart and soul are lost, sunset eyes rolled up in praise to a god so ancient it may have predated the Aeonic pantheon. Ratio’s hands are everywhere, on everyone, as if this was the last time they would ever touch bare flesh. And Aven… that old Avgin, he was in his glory, body worshipped with all the reverent depravity it deserved.
How many dicks were inside Kakavasha now? Two? Three? He no longer knew, only felt. At one point, it seemed Ver might have had the dildo replaced with Ratio’s dick. Now that was a sight truly to behold. Aven, meanwhile, shuddered over every touch, every hold, as if it was water in the Sigonian desert.
Present and future collided, threatening to break the bed as their climax crescendoed into Tchaikovsky-ian musical overture, complete with cannon faire and fireworks behind all four sets of bicolored eyes.
As passion eventually waned, all collapsed on the poor, overburdened bed.
‘Well done, you two.’ Aven slurred, the only one with strength left enough to speak, it seemed. ‘I hope you both enjoyed your nuptial gifts. Rest, and we’ll tell you all you want to know in the morning~’
♠♜♠♜
Hours later, yet still in the early hours of the morning, Kakavasha stirred and ruefully disentangled himself from the foursome on the bed and scoffed angrily the moment he saw the caller ID.
‘What is it, Topaz?’ he answered curtly, not bothering to hide his irritation. ‘I just had a foursome with three of the hottest guys in the cosmos where I was fucked within an inch of my life, so this better be important.’
‘Ok, first of all, way, way too much information,’ Topaz shot back. ‘We talked about inappropriate work topics. Second of all, aren’t you with Dr. Ratio-?’
‘Of course - two of them are Dr. Ratio, and another’s me, but from the future~’
‘Really?’ Topaz’ tone shifted, suspicious. ‘Have you tried checking that they aren’t Intellitrons in disguise?’
‘Huh?’ Kakavasha gave a shifty look over his shoulder, sparking confusion among the rest of the group. ‘I mean… once their pants are down, I think I’d know if they’re inorganic life or not~’
‘ Ugh, again, TMI!’ Topaz huffed bitterly into the phone as Kakavasha chuckled on the other end.
‘Hey - it’s not my problem that you can’t get Madam Jade to notice you no matter how hard you try~’ Kakavasha teased.
‘You-! You know what, I was trying to give you an update like you initially requested, but you go ahead and have fun getting tricked into a foursome that turns into you and your boyfriend getting Anti-Organic Equation’d out of existence!’
‘Fiancé, actually~’ he lilted, checking out the ring on his hand. ‘And hey! Wait a minute! What makes you think these handsome men were secretly followers of the Mechanical Emperor??’
‘I- Wait, for real?’ Topaz squealed. ‘FINALLY. I’ve been on him about it forever!’
‘W-Wait a minute, you have?!’ Kakavasha gasped back. ‘Gurl, you have no idea how long-’
‘Darling.’
Kakavasha turned sheepishly to face his fiancé - the one he was absolutely sure wasn’t an Intellitron. ‘Yes, dear?’
‘Care to enlighten me on the conversation?’ Ver quirked an eyebrow, lowering his voice to barely a whisper between them. ‘I couldn’t help but overhear that our guests are perhaps not whom they say they are.’
‘Ah… right,’ Kakavasha gave him an apologetic smile. ‘Topaz? Looks like I’m going to have to call you back at a better hour.’
‘Just text me. I’ll update you when you’re... less engaged.’ She huffed before hanging up.
As Kakavasha put his phone away, he turned to the two older versions of themselves - if they even were that.
‘Honored guests.’ Kakavasha donned his usual smiling mask, as if he were about to make a deal. ‘Before we, ahem, proceed, it seems we’ll need to verify your identity.’
The two older selves look at each other for a long moment, then Aven burst out laughing.
‘Looks like I win the bet, Doctor~’ Aven laughed.
‘Should it count if you already kissed him?’ Ratio frowned, irritated to have lost. ‘We were close to consummating things before they would realize-’
‘-that you two are frauds?’ Ver frowned, crossing his arms.
‘Ah… the answer to that is both ‘yes’ and ‘no’.’ Aven breathed out the last of his laughter, eyes still dancing with mirth. ‘It’s… complicated.’
‘I have eight PhD’s and a First Class Honors Degree, I think it may be entirely possible I am able to handle just a touch of complexity,’ Ver’s tone turned sour with a cocktail of irritation and suspicion.
‘Loosen up, doc~’ Aven winked at him. ‘Don’t worry, I already know what that call must have been about. We’re organic, just as you are.’
‘Then?’
The two older selves shared a look.
‘It’s just…’ Aven hesitated for a short moment. ‘...we are perhaps… not from the same universe that you two are.’
Ver’s eyes went wide as Kakavasha’s jaw dropped. ‘...what? ’
‘We have arrived here from a universe parallel to your own,’ Ratio stepped forward to explain. ‘One that has developed approximately 10.1 of your system years faster than yours has, but otherwise appears to be almost perfectly identical in the sequence of events.’
‘B-But… the Avgin Marriage Rite! The Room!’ Kakavasha spluttered.
Aven gave him a wan smile. ‘Sadly, yet another alternate universe. We never truly time-traveled then. We simply went to an alternate universe where The Room was still intact, though equally as vacant.’ He shrugged. ‘You’d be amazed how many of them there are. I’m still quite astonished by the vast variety of them.’
Kakavasha’s head was reeling. ‘Unbelievable…’
An Avgin, who would stoop so low as to deceive even his own self? Kakavasha thought to himself ruefully. Heh. It’s more likely to happen than you’d think.
He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder.
My love…
Looking up, Kakavasha was comforted by an affectionate look in those smoldering sunset eyes.
‘For what it’s worth,’ Ver murmured, ‘I still see our Sigonian marriage rite as valid.’
Kakavasha let out a shaky breath, covering Ver’s larger hand with his smaller, shaky one. ‘Have I told you that I love you lately?’ he murmured back.
Ver pressed a small kiss to his cheek. ‘I won’t tire of hearing it again.’
Out of the corner of his eyes, Kakavasha noticed that Aven’s eyes averted sharply, cast downward - while Ratio watched their soft scene fondly, almost… longingly.
That’s when Kakavasha realized something was off between those two.
‘Oh,’ Kakavasha’s eyebrows rose into his bangs. ‘I see. Are you-‘ He doesn’t really know how else to phrase it— it all seems so weird to say out loud—but he can’t help but say it. ‘- jealous of us?’
The deafening silence from Aven seems to confirm his suspicions.
‘Wait, hold on,’ Kakavasha frowned. ‘What happened-‘
Aven self ran out of the room before Kakavasha could finish.
‘Why don’t you just go ahead and enjoy my husband like an eclair, or-or a day at the zoo!’ Aven shouted behind him, voice breaking just a touch.
‘...What??’ Kakavasha asked in sheer confusion for the second time in the past five minutes.
What shocked Kakavasha further was that it was Ver, not Ratio, who ran right after Aven.
Kakavasha pursed his lips as he slowly slid his eyes over to the older version of his future husband, sighing like an old man tired of the constant recurring fight between him and his spouse.
‘… Oh no.’ Kakavasha breathed, realization hitting him. ‘Is this… me and Ver’s future??’
♠♜
Ver catches up to Aven out on the porch, smoking.
Even without looking at his face, it’s clear he’s been crying.
‘My dear Ver, do you ever think,’ Aven says to Ver softly, voice slightly hoarse from crying. He wouldn’t even turn to look at Ver. It was as if Aven knew Ver would follow him out all along… ‘that the best parts of your story have already been written?’
Ver takes a step towards him, cautious. ‘How do you mean?’
Aven chuckles, smoke swirling around him.
‘Think about our relationship: you and I. The best parts about everything between us have already been written: getting together, our first kisses, our first times having sex, falling in love - and for my part, our wedding day.’
Aven took another long drag of his cigarette.
‘Now, all that’s left for us is to reminisce about times past, and all the stories where we were both the main character have since moved on - yet we remain, forgotten. We’re just former main characters together, slowly fading away out of the limelight, until time and age come to claim us both. Only our Remembrance of our best days remains for others to tell about us as tales of times past, disembodied from our lived experiences in the here and now.’
Ver took another step towards him. ‘Is that what you truly think?’
‘What else is there to think?’ Aven said matter-of-factly, languidly.
The practiced pieces of his façade—ones he thought he’d long since shed—slipped back into place as if they’d never cracked. Older Aventurine, smoking and looking out at the stars on Pier Point, seemed completely distanced from him. What could have occurred in approximately ten years to return Aventurine to his utterly Nihilistic point of view from when they had first met?
For all the years they’d supposedly spent together, Ver never felt so far away from his own lover.
‘There is no way to know the future,’ Ver countered.
Aven only threw him an amused look over his shoulder.
‘Doctor, I stand before you disproving that very statement. Please, don’t sport with my intelligence,’ Aven chuckled, rolling his eyes.
‘Yet as a scientist and a researcher, it thus begs the question - is that future guaranteed ?’ Ver wondered aloud, taking a place behind him on the railing. ‘Wouldn’t your very presence of being here manipulate our said future?’
Ver caught the slightest quiver in Aven’s hand as he brought the cigarette up to his lips.
Bingo.
‘What do you know?’ Ver inquired. Quietly, undemanding, moreso an admission of seeing behind the pretense than a full-on accusation.
Aven, to his surprise, gave up the game in short order, rather than pulling out any other cards left to play. Almost as if he wanted Ver to figure it out.
‘That this universe is the one reality absolutely closest paralleled to our own.’ Aven had a soft, fond smile played out on his lips. He turned his head slightly to catch Ver’s gaze. ‘Except that your events are ten years behind our own, of course.’
‘Of course,’ Ver murmured. Then- ‘It doesn’t mean that all things will come to pass in our universe.’
‘No,’ Aven put out his cigarette in a pocket ashtray he kept on him, closing it inside the pouch. ‘But from what I have seen so far, the vast majority have.’
Ver hummed, then gave him a hard look. ‘What is it that especially concerns you to have traveled here to find us?’
Aven avoided his eyes.
Ver pressed further. ‘Why were the first words upon our meeting ‘divorce’?’ He tried to remain even; to keep the panic from rising out of his voice. ‘Have things truly fallen apart that badly in the future for us?’
A tear slid down Aven’s cheek, before he met Ver’s eyes again. ‘Doctor, my dear doctor,’ he said, the mask snapping back into place again. ‘You yourself said this wasn’t time travel after all, remember?’
Ver felt his hand reach out to swipe away at Aven’s tears.
‘Perhaps it isn’t,’ Ver murmured. ‘But there are lessons to be learned from this opportunity, all the same.’
Aven nuzzled into Ver’s hand grazing his face, as if he hadn’t been touched in a very long time.
The thought struck Ver with a cold sadness that this may be truer than he knew.
‘That’s what this is, isn’t it?’ Ver realized slowly. ‘An opportunity to re-experience the past. To remember why-‘
‘I loved you?’ Aven’s smile was wan. ‘Yes, I admit, I am that selfish.’ His own, smaller hand reached up to lace between Ver’s fingers. ‘I needed the reminder why I went through so much pain to find you and make you mine. To watch you still very much in love with me, and not bored of me as you are now. Not tired, and worn down, and tuning me out when I ramble about this thing and that. Not taking the opportunity to travel whenever you can to get away from me, or to laugh it up with your friends at the Intelligentsia Guild when you can only halfheartedly listen to the news I try to share excitedly with you at home.’
Another tear slid down Aven’s cheek.
‘Not letting your gaze linger a moment too long on the new assistant—a twink who looks exactly like I did five years before I aged out of twinkhood.’
A lip caught between teeth as tears flowed freely down Aven’s face now.
‘Not spending night after night untouched aside from a chaste good night kiss in a quiet, pristine bed, now that the years have taken a toll on your body and you can’t remember the last time your own husband made a genuine pass at you.’
As the tears flowed freely on Aven’s face, breaking into sobs, resolve quickened within Ver.
I hope my younger future husband will be understanding of me , Ver thought to himself as he brushed those tears away, that I will take it upon myself to remind his older self why he took a bet on this lonesome scholar in the first place.
♠♜
After a long, awkward quiet between them, Ratio broke the silence.
‘This has begun to get out of hand,’ Ratio sighed again, long and heavy. ‘Ever since my traveling lecture schedule has quadrupled after my latest discovery, he’s been… moody and untrusting of me.’
Kakavasha frowned. ‘That doesn’t sound like me.’ He eyed him. ‘What aren’t you telling me, Ver? It isn’t like you to lie by omission?’
The silence settled thickly between them.
‘Baishao went on maternity leave, so I had to hire an interim assistant-’
‘Wait wait wait, hold up. Baishao? On maternity leave?? With who??’ Kakavasha paused for a moment. ‘Wait a moment. Can she still even get pregnant? Isn’t she, like, 400 years old?’
‘I… should not have told you that.’ Ratio pinched the bridge of his nose. ‘Spoilers, I suppose. Or not, if things shift and change enough. Anyhow,’ he let out another sigh. ‘This assistant… well.’ Ratio rolled his eyes. ‘My husband seems to think I have some sort of designs on him, somehow. Despite remaining utterly faithful to him.’
Kakavasha scooted closer to him. ‘Is he a twink?’ Neon eyes narrowed. ‘Is he young? Is he cute?’
Sunset eyes flicked over to Kakavasha, amused. ‘Well, well. It seems the jealousy isn’t age-limited.’
‘Hardly, where my hubby is concerned.’ Kakavasha gave a small, coy huff. ‘You know we Avgins can be quite territorial.’
‘Can you?’ The older scholar smirked down at Kakavasha.
‘You don’t know the half of it, professor.’ Kakavasha did a small flip of his hair. ‘I understand the situation entirely now. You’re looking for a younger model. Make all sorts of flowery promises to me, take my best years from me, and then replace me with the latest edition once I’m all used up and spent,’ he scoffed. ‘Men really are the same all across the galaxy, no matter how many honors and degrees that they have, hm?’
‘Are you quite finished?’ Despite his words, Ratio’s tone remained deeply amused.
Kakavasha refused to even look at Ratio. ‘That depends on you , as a certain someone once told me. Tell me - are you out here looking for a replacement? Or just to relive the glory days of some hot, tight hole before he did the unthinkable and aged?’
Kakavasha jumped slightly as he felt strong arms wrap around him.
‘You are an absolute fool of a husband if you think I would ever replace you.’
♠♜
Notes:
Thank you as ever to my tireless beta reader HoneyFlashBang for beta-reading this chapter for me and making sure it’s not completely and utterly unreadable. If it weren't for them, we'd be slogging through a mess of 'Veritas the Younger', 'the older Avgin', etc. etc. right now...
This chapter was so hellish to write, I’m going on hiatus until at least September to recover the lost fragments of my soul that were shattered while writing it. I hope the payoff was worth it. I hope the vision was communicated adequately. I’ve been wanting to write this for a literal year; sitting down to write it was a nightmare…
‘Time folds in on itself’ is a line that you may have seen in many books time and again in various ways. Here, I am referring to it as the haze that extraordinary pleasure can bring, where you begin to forget your place in time until you come to your senses. You can see some discussion on the metaphor (and many of its references) at length here: Stack Exchange discussion on 'Time folds in on itself' metaphor
The ‘Tchaikovsky-ian musical overture’ is, of course, the famous 1812 Overture fellow Americans may hear whenever we set off a fireworks show during the 4th of July. ( Wikipedia article on 1812 Overture ) In case any are unfamiliar with what it actually sounds like, here’s a YouTube video. You’ll likely know immediately what I am talking about: 1812 Overture (Finale) clip
The line: ‘Why don’t you go ahead and enjoy my husband like an eclair, or-or a day at the zoo!’ paraphrases from Fran’s line in ‘Black Books’ episode ‘Fever’ (season 2 episode 2), where she pretends to seduce her landlord to . You can watch the clip on TikTok here: Black Books 'Fever' clip
The line: a twink who looks exactly like I did five years before I aged out of twinkhood.’ is referring to a phenomenon called ‘twink death’. ‘Twink death’ is a real thing that gay men worry about, where a twink loses their youthful, nubile appearance as a result of (gasp!) aging. More reading here: WikiHow article on 'Twink Death'
A side note: Aside from all the time-travel/parallel universe fucky-wucky shit we got going on rn in this series, longtime readers already know that I do make an effort to talk about real issues in the queer community in my fics, and try my best to showcase real relationship issues queer couples may face. Exes, getting older, revisiting your past, fears of drifting apart as time passes, and even experimenting with polyamory, are things many (if not all) couples face, or at least bring into question, at one point or another, regardless of queerness or lack thereof. It’s all part and parcel of being in a deep, long-term relationship with someone you truly see as your other half over the years. Sometimes, as a writer, I feel that these questions are more interesting to explore in the vehicle of fanfic than the purely fantastical… or even, perhaps, in spite of the fantastical. So thank you, dear reader, for exploring these topics along with me and joining me for the ride.
Subscribe and STAY TUNED for the wrapping up of this gigantic fucking trilogy I’ve been writing for 1 year and 3 months if you feel like it! I am certainly ready to be done soon 😭😭😭 As much as I have very much loved writing this series, I want to end it as well as I can. 5 more chapters!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
✨Discord group: The Famous Writer's Guild (18+)
✨Bluesky: Nonbinary Themperor
✨ everyone please wish me and my Muse a restful and speedy recovery so we can bring this whole thing home with all the fanfare it deserves plz ✨
Chapter 9: Fic Abandonment Announcement
Summary:
This fic is being scrapped and removed from the series. I'm leaving up for a while in case anyone with attachment wants to download it, then it will be deleted from AO3. Read inside for more info.
Chapter Text
Hi readers,
This was an incredibly difficult decision to make. After months of deliberating and over a month and a half of hiatus, this fic is just... not going at all in the direction I want to go in. Moreover, after 'A Wildfire in the Middle of Winter', I knew that I was pretty much out of steam, but I forced myself to push through and continue writing anyways. I knew yesterday when I re-read the last chapter and felt disconnected from my own writing - versus when I fondly re-read 'Kakavasha and the Doctor of Chaos' and 'A Wildfire in the Middle of Winter' - that it needed to be scrapped.
In all honesty, I am equal parts upset and relieved about this. This story series, and Mama Ratio herself, have taken on a life of their own. It's brought me unexpected community in my Discord server, The Famous Writer's Guild (18+) and on BlueSky during difficult and lonely times in my life while I watch (what feels like) the world and internet I once knew come to pieces. That all being said, I just... don't have it in me to write this anymore. At least, not the way that the current storyline post-'Wildfire' is going. I struggle now to even write a couple of paragraphs when before I was churning out 10-15 edited pages a week, easy. My life has also changed since I started writing this fic - when I started this, all I could think about was my insurance denial for top surgery. Since then, I got long-needed gender affirming care in the forms of top surgery (with a new insurance) and testosterone, I adopted two kittens (brothers!) who have been lovable handfuls since day one, I tried (and failed) to start a business, I reconnected with my father I haven't spoken to in nearly half a decade and am guiding him through his battle with cancer, and I'm currently going back to school to get new certifications to try my hand at a new career as I've recognized the current one I'm in is no longer seeming like a certain future to me. Oh, yeah... and my country is now run by fascists... that's definitely not helped my concentration... at all... haaaaa...
... Anyways. I figured I'd owe anyone still reading this series an explanation, and a chance to download this fic while I still have it up. I'm keeping it up for a while, maybe until I pass my course for my certification, and then I'll take it down. You're welcome to use the 'Download' feature if you want to save a copy of this fic for yourself.
In the meantime, will I return to writing? You betcha, all in good time. Fear not, I may even write a sequel to 'A Wildfire in the Middle of Winter' again - either for 'Fuck the Silvermane Guards' or perhaps a new one for the 'Mama Ratio and her Two Gay Sons' series.
Or... perhaps not.
All that is certain, really, is that I am done with the series for the time being, and am done disappointing both myself and my readers. It's equally important as a writer to know when to push yourself to write more and continue improving upon the content, and when there's really no more to give and you've effectively 'jumped the shark' (showing my age a bit here).
I feel lucky that I got not one, but two complete stories out of this that I could hang my hat on. Truth be told, these were my first ever completed longfics. This proved to me that, if I wanted to, one day, I could sit down and finish writing a story or even, dare I say it, a novel? longer than about 10-15 double-spaced pages. Not only that, but the fact that other people want to read those stories? I couldn't be more immensely proud of myself for that, as heartbreaking it is to pull the plug on a story I know has long since expired for me.
In the meantime, I hope to see you over at The Famous Writer's Guild (18+) and on BlueSky. Just because I'm not posting anything doesn't mean I'm not still out there being social. I hope you'll follow along with me to see other creations I've cooked up in the future. And hey - it's likely we're going to do a server-wide collection posted to AO3. Might even see a new work from me - or from YOU! Won't know unless you come and join us at The Famous Writer's Guild (18+)~~~
Stay tuned... just because this chapter is ending, doesn't mean that there is nothing more I will write. For the time being, I am only closing the chapter that is the 'Mama Ratio and her Two Gay Sons' series.
Thank you all for joining along with me for this ride. And thank you all for supporting me in my quest to keep on writing. Truly, there are no better readers out there in all of the cosmos.
Take care 💜
~Nonbinary Themperor, #1 fan of Mama Ratio and her two gay sons, Aventurine of Stratagems and Dr. Veritas Ratio ✨
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HoneyFlashBang (LittleCalicoKitten) on Chapter 1 Fri 14 Feb 2025 10:16PM UTC
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NonbinaryThemperor on Chapter 1 Tue 25 Feb 2025 09:48PM UTC
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AriReadeth on Chapter 1 Wed 14 May 2025 06:08PM UTC
Last Edited Wed 14 May 2025 06:09PM UTC
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Last Edited Wed 14 May 2025 07:41PM UTC
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