The Many-Worlds Interpretation suggest that all possible outcomes of an event actually occur, causing reality to split or branch into separate, parallel universes. In this universe, Ryland Grace did leave someone behind; A loving husband.
i joined dreamwidth recently to get myself writing more regularly and this is one of the results!! posted for prompt 309 - galaxies over on fandomweekly !
Sebastian had noticed Ryland Grace long before he decided to speak to him; Though, he supposed the teacher would have noticed him first.
He stood out in the audience of the jazz club, always preferring a booth if he could get one, out of the way of everyone else— And always working through piles of paper.
That’s what had piqued Sebastian’s interest initially, outside of the pretty face. People don’t come here to work, unless of course they work there for him. Working where you drink is more a café situation, and he’s sure that’s true for most places in the country outside of LA, if the guy’s not local.
“On the house,” Sebastian tells him as he delivers a fresh drink, taking a few minutes’ break from playing on stage with his musicians. “A little thanks for coming back so often.”
And the rest is truly history.
They hit it off right away; Ryland sharing with him that the work he’s doing whenever he comes is collecting his 8th grade class’s science tests, and Sebastian sharing in turn that he was always terrible at science as a kid - Aside from astronomy, given that his head was in the clouds along with the stars and galaxies.
That had earned an understanding laugh from Ryland.
Sebastian wanted nothing more than to hear that sound every day for the rest of his life.
They went home together that night, surprised to learn they were only a few doors away from each other in the same apartment building, and then there were the dates - Visits to the observatory to stare up at the sky together through one of telescopes, Ryland with all his facts and Sebastian with his wonder of everything out there…
They had touched very briefly on the recently discovered Petrova Line, but nothing in depth; The issue was still a very new one, and even Ryland wasn’t sure what to make of it back then.
It was a surprise to both of them when Eva Stratt entered Ryland’s classroom less than a year later, talking about samples that he could study— Of course, Sebastian had encouraged him to do it.
“It’s exciting! I never get to see you do science outside of lessons with the kids!”
“You will also not see this, Mr…?”
“Wilder. Sebastian. Why?”
“Are you a scientist?”
“I’m a pianist.”
And that was the end of that. Fair enough.
What wasn’t fair in his eyes, however, was Stratt swooping his boyfriend away on a boat to continue with their world saving science and meetings with global superpowers and God knows what else, because Sebastian certainly didn’t know!
No, he was only allowed to visit on holidays, their birthdays— And even then, he was under strict instruction to stay in Ryland’s room. Which would have been much easier, if they paused Ryland’s meetings when he was there, but they didn’t.
Still, he’s not a complete idiot, he tried to understand.
Sebastian could wait on the sidelines while Ryland helped save the Earth.
For three years. Then they married.
For two years. Then Ryland insisted Sebastian stay with his brother, Colt, after he broke his back in a freak accident on a movie set.
For another year.
Then four months. Four weeks.
Four days until launch, Sebastian was back on the site, and even allowed to play music for the people there - It was time for celebration, the last chance for the astronauts to breathe before they were sent off.
It was, he thought, the second beginning of his and Ryland’s relationship. He could come home soon.
“I’ve never been more glad you aren’t an astronaut,” Sebastian says once he’s left the piano to join Ryland at the bar.
He’d wait a thousand more years if he had to, just for the laugh he gets in return.
“I know, right? Can you imagine?”
Sebastian’s on a jet back to LA the next morning.
He sees the news when he lands - Two science experts dead after an explosion on the Hail Mary’s launch site - And breathes a sigh of relief when Ryland isn’t listed.
Many decades later, in a world far colder than it should be, Sebastian hates himself for hardly being able to remember those last three days outside of constant tears and frightened whispers, his hand on Ryland’s as they put him into a coma and wheel him out to the Hail Mary.
Nobody ever calls him Ryland anymore - They only ever call him Grace.
Something… larger than life, Hail Mary, full of Grace, Earth’s saving grace—
They don’t know him like Sebastian had.
How big his heart had always been, even before they met Stratt, how terrified he had been in his final days, how he hadn’t wanted to go.
The official story is that Ryland had been volunteering from the start.
Sebastian finds himself too exhausted to argue with it - It wouldn’t change anything, anyhow. It wouldn’t bring his husband back, and it wouldn’t magically make Stratt more imprisoned, even if she did save the world in breaking his heart.
He doesn’t have any songs left, doesn’t have his galaxy, his universe anymore - Just the observatory they used to visit on some of their earliest dates, the telescope that they would look at the night sky through.
No matter how hard he looks, he can’t see Ryland up there, whatever he might be doing galaxies away from home.
week one prompt from @savestarsevents - soulmates !!
Long ago, twenty three Eridians - The best and brightest of their kind - left their planet and took off into the Universe in search of a solution.
Their star, the one they thanked and praised in music and art for keeping their home warm, had slowly begun to fade, something tiny and barely perceptible to the Eridians eating away at its energy.
Brave souls that they were, they travelled into the great unknown. But they were not prepared for what existed out there, dangers that were unknown to them, dangers that they could not see.
Only one Eridian made it to their destination.
He was the first and only one of his kind to experience the truest silence of the Universe without someone to talk to, someone to listen to, and he cried out in his loneliness.
But he was not entirely alone.
The Universe heard him, and searched Herself for an answer; She could not fix Her illness, but if there’s one thing She knew how to do, it was bring souls together.
This would be the longest distance yet, but it had to be done.
Turning Her attention to Earth, She watched over the births and early lives of three humans; Eva, Ryland, and some time later, Carl.
To Eva, She taught leadership, composure in the eye of a storm.
See how your friends trust you to guide them, the Universe whispered, Use this wisely, and you will do great things. Sing their way to the light.
And Eva heard.
To Ryland, She showed humanity’s assumptions of Her greatest mysteries, and encouraged him to interrogate them all.
They are not ready to hear you yet, the Universe sighed, But they will recognise you to be ahead of your time, one day. You must be patient in your teaching.
And Ryland heard.
To Carl, She taught the value of kindness and generosity in addition to strength, and advised him to support those who needed it most.
You must encourage those closest to you towards their full potential, the Universe advised, They will always remember you, even if they cannot stay with you. Know that you are never truly left behind.
And Carl heard.
The Universe did not intend for Eva to be a scapegoat, a canary in a coalmine, but there are things even She cannot control.
The Universe did not intend for Ryland to be a sacrificial lamb of sorts, even She thought he would have the company of his crew once he woke.
The Universe did not intend to break Carl’s heart, but such results are inevitable, when a kind soul ends up in such a line of work.
His heart would heal, slowly but surely - Another was in great need, and had been for a long time before the launch of their Hail Mary.
The Universe cleared the way for Mary, ensuring safe travel, and became electric when it came to a stop.
She watched as two ships danced the tango before joining together, spinning in time.
She watched them separate, and followed Mary’s path to yet a third planet - Now and forever known as Adrian to Her.
She tried to reach as Mary was dragged down by the very thing that was meant to save Her, constantly slipping through Her fingers—
You will not die, the Universe urged, Impulsive Grace, you have only begun. You could have stopped and tried again, you should have listened to your mate, I could have waited longer—
And somehow, against all odds… Mary righted her course, and both human and Eridian survived.
Beetles travelled Earth.
Human and Eridian, clueless, separated—
Before coming together again at the realisation of another crisis.
Then mates travelled to Erid.
Slowly, the Universe felt Herself heal.
All thanks to them - All thanks to their love and hope in the face of uncertainty.
i physically/mentally/spiritually/emotionally cannot stop thinking about how much jack LOOKS at robby
there are so many shots where robby is actively trying not to be perceived and jack is staring at him like he can't get enough of him, like every single microexpression robby makes is his & his alone, and i'm OBSESSED
even when robby literally isn't paying attention and jack is in a different room jack is looking at him, constantly assessing where he's at and what he's feeling, and it is such an intense and obvious sign of his love for robby (platonic or not) that i cannot stomach it
jack sees robby even when robby feels emotionally at his ugliest and he never even remotely flinches away from his desire to figure out what robby is feeling and it makes their dynamic so fascinating to me because you have two deeply empathetic, perceptive men who are hyperaware of each other (to the point where there are multiple times where they interact with each other or move to meet one another without even looking) and are not afraid of this obvious depth of love
the only other person robby comes close to sharing this sort of non-verbal understanding with is dana, and even then it feels like there are parts of each other the other can't fully see. the clear demonstration that jack & robby know each other as deeply and as intimately as they would a romantic partner (in some cases more so) has genuinely hooked me from the start and i can't handle it -- this is like... hannigram levels of unspoken love to me
during a quiet night at the station harry turns to ravi and says 'hey rav, fuck marry kill, chim, eddie or buck?'
'obviously kill buck-' 'oh yeah, obviously' (buck, lifting his head up from where he's sprawled in a recliner: hey.) '-fuck eddie, I've got eyes. marry chim for the sweet captain privileges.'
(eddie, from the other recliner, without lifting his head: nice.)
'hey cap,' harry hollers, 'fuck marry kill, ravi, eddie or buck?'
'I'm pretty sure this is a HR violation,' says chim from where he's doing admin at the dining table. 'but uhhh. buck, I'm sorry, you're my brother and I love you, but I can’t. I've gotta kill you-'
(What the fuck?? says buck)
'transfer ravi to another house and then fuck him, I guess. eddie, I'll marry you.'
(yeah ok says eddie around a big yawn)
chim says, 'hen, you're exempt, lesbian card in play.' (thank you lord says hen without looking up from the book she's reading.) 'harry, you're exempt because I need to be able to look your mom in the eyes'
(And because he's, what? twelve? mutters buck.
Im eighteen and three quarters, hisses harry.
Spoken like a true 12 year old)
'buckaroo, fuck marry kill, eddie, ravi or-'
'I'm killing ravi.'
'ah, ah, let me finish! eddie, ravi or your truly.'
'kill ravi. then uh. Uh.' buck clears his throat. (hen lowers her book.) 'I'm uh, I'll marry chim, he, you know, I already know he's a good husband. a-and jee and nash are already buckley hans, so that's. convenient.'
'and you'll fuck eddie,' hen concludes, placidly.
'as a friend.'
'you don't want to marry me?' eddie says, sounding a little hurt.
'I - it's not that I don't want to marry you, I just really don't wanna fuck chim or ravi.'
'so you do want to fuck eddie,' ravi says.
'you said you'd fuck eddie!'
'well duh. I mean, i'm straight but look at him.'
'I'm always looking at him!!!'
an awkward silence. harry, deeply confused, whispers 'what is happening?'
'it's my turn,' says eddie, 'kill ravi. fuck chim, as a friend. marry buck.'
There is no drug on earth that can replicate the absolute euphoria of hitting a writing flow state at 2:00 AM. You aren’t even typing anymore. You are a vessel. You are a channel for the gods. The characters are speaking directly into your brain and you’re just the stenographer trying to keep up. You feel like you could fight a bear. You feel like you invented the alphabet
stormborns
s-u-f-j-a-n-s-t-e-v-e-n-s
areudirty
vaporwave
