have we considered a grockdrian scenario wherein adrian falls in love with grace in what is considered pretty fast for eridian standards… except it is unfortunately nowhere near fast enough for the human lifespan?
think about it. rocky and grace's bond is something impossible to measure up to. after all they went through, they latched onto each other in almost no time at all. their love is one of a kind, and it's just not something that can be replicated.
adrian knows this. they know that they will never be able to love grace the way rocky does, and perhaps grace will never love them the way he loves rocky.
but that's fine. for now, they can make room in their life for him. and maybe someday, they can learn to love grace.
and, for a while, things are okay. rocky has two mates, and those two mates get along. maybe a little begrudgingly from adrian's end, but grievances fade with time.
they get to know each other. adrian talks to grace regularly. starts calling him a friend, at some point.
then, the feelings start. they're slow, creeping up on them over the years. a small twinge of something when grace smiles. a stutter of their hearts' rhythm when grace laughs. lingering whenever rocky and grace hug. straining to listen to the soft sounds of them kissing.
but it's nothing, right? they push those feelings aside. not because they're suppressing them, but because they attribute affection to fascination—they mistake their love for curiosity. they think grace is a scientific interest, and they think that for a long time...
by the time adrian realizes they're in love with grace, grace is on his deathbed.
he is old, frail and plagued with the many illnesses that come with age. he forgets many things now. sometimes he doesn't recognize rocky or adrian. still, he smiles at them all the same.
adrian has spent the last few decades studying the human body, tracing the features of grace's face, mapping the curve of his smile.
it is only then that they realize: this is an infatuation that goes beyond the sciences. they've fallen in love with grace.
why now? why not a century from now, when the memory of grace will be but a plesant ache settling in their appendages? why not decades before this, when grace was still at his physical peak, when they still had the rest of his life to spend together?
why now?
why did they fall in love with grace after he already spent an entire lifetime waiting for them? why did they reach out to grasp at an opportunity that already passed them by?
why did they realize what they had to lose just as they were about to lose it?
OK but what if Erid culture and story telling leaned hard towards the romantic. Finding your partner is so important when you live such long lives. They love telling stories about love and when they hear that their saviour met his second lover among the stars, the journey they had together that cemented their love...it goes through Erid pop culture like a bull through a China shop "what do you MEAN they were literally brought together by the whims of the universe I am UNWELL." It's the most romantic thing and the art scene goes crazy with it.
oh this is so peak... gracerocky inspiring a whole renaissance is crazy... they've introduced the concept of soulmates to eridian society and the romance scene will never be the same.
your eridian situationship can't text you back, but savior grace kept tracking the location of savior rocky's ship long after they parted and it's the only reason they managed to find each other again in the big nothing... okay...
god i hope eridian bards will sing odes to their love story for generations to come
you ever think about how the human body is but an infinitesimal thing in the grand scheme of the universe, and that space is so, so vast and quiet and yet grace and rocky's love was loud enough to be heard across two star systems. or something like that idk
Softly, you admitted, "It reminds me of us, a little. Sometimes I wonder if our meeting was fate. If it was written in red, somewhere in the stars."
"Red," I repeated. "Like astrophage."
If our meeting was truly written in the red of astrophage, then it would mean that the stars started dying for us—that the entire galaxy mourned for them by singing a dirge, and it was loud enough to be heard in the vast silence of the Big Nothing.
Perhaps the universe was torn in two a long time ago and is trying to pull the broken halves back together. For everything comes from stardust, from planets and moons to humans and Eridians. For across trillions of miles' worth of space and billions of years' worth of time, we existed at just the right parameters to have met each other. Then, perhaps the universe made me to love you, and perhaps the universe made you to be loved.
Perhaps that is what you call fate.
Or: Grace confesses his love. Rocky struggles to do the same, though not for the reasons you might think.
There’s a purple spot on Second’s cheek, probably from the time Red landed a direct punch that sent him stumbling back. There’s a cut on Second’s lip, probably from the time Red slammed his face into the ground. There’s a footprint on Second’s forehead, probably from the time Red kicked him off of him. There’s a bite mark on Second’s fist, probably from the time Red sank his teeth into him after getting all of his limbs pinned down.
Second is at his most beautiful like this, Red realizes. Second is at his most beautiful like this, with scratches and bruises marring the surface of his skin. Second is at his most beautiful like this, in the throes of battle with their blood mixing into each other’s and their bodies sporting matching injuries.
Perhaps, this is love.
Or: Red goes through many realizations during his fight with Second in the Lush Caves.
Ratiorine/Aventio Mirror AU where Ratio is part of the Genius Society and Aventurine is a Masked Fool. Yes, I know it goes against the point of their characters, Ratio's especially. However, what if we took the other core aspects and reapplied it to the new background and context?
Genius Society member Dr. Ratio whose love for humanity manifested differently, enough to get a glance from Nous. Genius Society member Dr. Ratio who believes in humanity so much that he pursues knowledge in its rawest form knowing that someone somewhere will eventually pick up the pieces of his research and do something with it. Genius Society member Dr. Ratio who searches for the untarnished truth, who studies all the intricacies of subjects most helpful to humanity, who lays down the foundation of objective information for future scholars to build off of. Genius Society member Dr. Ratio who is a utilitarian when it comes to the good of humanity, who lets the passage of time bring him the fruits of his efforts, who makes necessary sacrifices for the greater good.
Masked Fool Aventurine who accepted the Tavern's invitation, whose thirst for survival manifests in the manner of technicalities. Masked Fool Aventurine who seeks the thrill of living in the present, seeks hedonistic pleasures in daily life, makes big gambles just so he can feel the rush of exhilaration with every win. Masked Fool Aventurine who lives and dies and is reborn with every new identity, with every mask he puts on, with each different name he wears. Masked Fool Aventurine who impersonates all the people he's lost in hopes of seeing them alive one way or another, who plays into his stereotypes so that even small remnants of his roots survive (even in the ways that aren't fun, because negative attention is still attention). Masked Fool Aventurine who loses himself in the frivolities of a fool, who slowly forgets his original name and face.
It all starts as a game, at first. You know, those stuck-up geniuses are so fun to mess with. They're so uptight and serious, can't they just lighten up a little? Ah, but they're not immune to nonsensical antics. For the quintessential component of a scholar is curiosity, and the most curious thing to a genius is the mind of a fool. Just like that: hook, line, and sinker. The masked gambler reels in the good doctor, who had been following his little trail of clues all this time...
"I finally caught you, gambler."
"Hah, as expected of the esteemed doctor. It didn't take you long to figure me out."
"You've made yourself into quite the enigma, though it is one not impossible to solve for someone like me."
"Of course, of course. Now, why don't you put that oh-so-intelligent brain of yours into solving something else instead?"
"What do you mean to imply?"
"A genius's job is to discover the unknowns, is it not? I wonder... if rediscovery is on the agenda, too."
"With time comes the inevitability of outdated data or newfound truths. I suppose it is not out of the question, depending on its purpose."
"What if the purpose was something... selfish?"
"It would not faze me, for it is nothing new to me."
"My, how scandalous! Well then..."
"You fool, what are you—"
"My original face and name. Can you find them for me, darling doctor?"
haha so what if i brainrotted a whole au with masked fool aventurine and genius society ratio... what if i was writing a oneshot about it at this exact moment...
haha so what if i brainrotted a whole au with masked fool aventurine and genius society ratio... what if i was writing a oneshot about it at this exact moment...
haha so what if i brainrotted a whole au with masked fool aventurine and genius society ratio... what if i was writing a oneshot about it at this exact moment...
