✨ Semper Ubi Sub Ubi ✨

It's one thing to learn how to accept love from you. It's another thing entirely to receive it from himself - how does one argue with one's self? Especially the older, wiser version?

Ultimately what "breaks" him the most is seeing for himself that the future actually ... happened

He works in the same clinic, just expanded slightly in staff and facilities. He buys supplies from the same stalls. His favorite seat at the Rowdy Raven is practically reserved for him at this point

He still sleeps in the same bed as you

You're still there. Not only does he get to have a life that's settled and connected where he belongs somewhere, he gets to have one where you're still the center of it because you still want to be with him

He knew from the beginning that whatever he built with you would be real, but permanent? That was asking for too much, right?

And yet somehow his future self and your future self (and glorious revelation, you age like wine, MC -) are still in love and so connected after ten years that the affection just flows

Not only do you still patiently support his older self through the bouts of anxiety and stress, he's able to witness how his older self makes your life better, too

There's a future where he makes your life worth living in a way that nobody else can and it's his and it's undeniable

Flabbergasted when his older self informs him that, after years of research, the leeches do not in fact do anything to help

Asra

The least thrown off by this "future" business. They go traveling through different dimensions of reality all the time, this isn't new -

Oh, look at you, MC, you have laugh lines. You're breathtaking.

He's spent most of his life holding survival in one hand and whimsy in the other, and there was a horrible period of time where he let go of both while he dug for a world where you could live again

It's gotten better, taking one day at a time with you until you felt like yourself again, and then finally reaching a point where you could choose them out of your own independence and empowerment

But he's been so busy drinking in a life with you that he genuinely hasn't spared a thought to the future. It's not how he's wired anyway

They can't look away. Facial expressions they know by heart, facial expressions they're seeing for the first time, all flit across a version of you that's matured and happy and strong and still breathing

You're still breathing. You're still alive. You're flourishing. It's as if all the joy he hoped to feel when you first came back finally burst on him in an unexpected wave of relief. Look at you go!

While all of this is happening their older self is taking full advantage of their distraction to prepare an elaborate series of pranks

Because yes, older Asra is happy to see him happy, but younger Asra is too caught off guard to keep any of his emotions off of his face and that's still too embarrassing for either of them to leave alone

As soon as the two Fausts catch sight of each other it's game over. They keep swapping places to try to tease extra snacks and treats out of their respective Asras (and MCs)

The kool-aid pickled garlic still sits on the top shelf in the kitchen. Somehow, it has not spoiled. It has however amassed some odd companions (peanut butter stuffed potatoes and onion simple syrup)

What surprises Asra the most is that their older self no longer wears the huge hat. Until they see the arguably crazier replacement.

Nadia

Snaps her mouth shut as soon as she sees her older self because it's immediately obvious that she will look more like her mother as she ages and she doesn't want to start things off on the wrong foot

Also finds herself internally chafing at experiencing her older self as an authority figure. Between her mother's image on her own face and the way her older self confidently assumes leadership ...

And then her mouth drops open again when she sees said older self delegate a task to a trusted advisor, freely admit when she wasn't aware of something, and laugh out loud when she makes a mistake

what.

She takes it back. Perhaps her older self is her older self, and not an insufferable nightmare based on her least favorite family traits

Immediately accepts the offer to take a tour of the Palace and hear all about Vesuvia's changes and improvements over the years

And, again, pleasantly surprised by just how much has been achieved. It's nothing like her original vision (which, granted, was more like a mini-Prakra than anything) and so, so much better

The people are thriving. Children are graduating from the schools she's been dreaming up and they're smart and healthy and happy

Ships sail in and out of the port day and night. Streets bustle with activity. There are so few faces bearing the marks of starvation or sickness that she has to go looking to see any of them

The green growing across the Lazaret is visible from the shore

Even the Flooded District has been reclaimed and rebuilt, and now it hosts schools and clinics and theatres and even museums

Of course, the growth hasn't come without its challenges. Nadia's sharp ears pick up chatter about underground attempts to bring back gladiator matches and international plays over trade deals

But best of all is rounding a corner in the gardens and finding her favorite spot on the veranda, still piled with cushions, with both versions of you at the heart of her home

Muriel

On one hand, his approach to the big picture is so big that he's already entirely mentally prepared for his death and return to the dirt

On the other hand, no part of his brain has computed that he might still be alive ten years from now. But there he is. Ten years older. And ... somehow taller?

Older Muriel has not magically grown, he has simply lost some of his slouch. He has also put on enough weight to approach having a healthy dad bod and between that and the silver streaks

Goodness. He doesn't just look like he belongs in the forest, he looks like he's its caretaker or protector. He looks like he owns his freedom

The forest is like older Muriel too - not different from what he knows now, but developed in a way that reflects flourishing and growth

The overgrown footpath is cleared and leveled and covered with gravel in some parts, for the visitors that come by

The chickens still roam freely, but they have a spacious coop and covered bowl to nestle down with when it gets stormy outside

The hut has expanded out and up, new rooms added in the branches for the orphans from the docks to come stay in for a month or two and recover their health, and new cellars dug out among the roots to store jars and crates of food and forage so they never go hungry

There's still a pile of furs on the bed, but the mattress underneath is luxuriously stuffed and the bed frame is covered in carvings

Kokhuri tapestries and crafts adorn the walls, and so do letters, some in Nadia's elegant penmanship or Asra's quick scratch, some with children's drawings and only the words "tank yuo" at the bottom

Muriel leaves the talking to you and your older self, which his older self seems to like just as well, and their shared silence is comfortable

It keeps hitting him how strange it is to stand next to someone even larger than he is, stronger than he is, steadier than he is

The hug he gets is big and safe and warm and oh, wow, is this what his father might've been like? That's who he gets to become?

Portia

Almost as excited to see her older self as her older self is excited to see her. There's no question about where the two of you are because the first thing you see is Portia with a grey streak sprinting at you

The cheering. The squealing. The hugging. The excited cheek kisses. The happy compliments and "oh my gosh, it's you! It's you!!!"s

The two Pepis see each other, peep, and dash off in an unknown direction. Older Portia bodily drags you both into her cottage and, well, now you know one habit that isn't going anywhere anytime soon

At a first glance, the space seems charmed to stay as cozy and warm as it always is. There's the same vines outside the window, the same teapot on the counter, the same sturdy wooden kitchen table ...

But looking closer, you see signs of more. A nautical map on the wall. A telescope by the living room window. A bookshelf with words on the spines from languages you've never encountered before

Awards and medals and certificates sit among the knick knacks of her kitchen. You see Portia do a double take when she recognizes the Vesuvian Medal of Honor hanging with the oven mitts over the stove

Even the pantry, still stocked with its staples, has new jars and drawers in it with spices and ingredients from other countries

Portia, for her part, is suddenly very shy. Sure, that's her, but that's her from the future! Her with a staggering amount of recognition for amazing adventures and accomplishments! Her, but important!

... oh.

Older Portia laughs as she reads her younger self's expressive face and snuggles in next to her with a bowl of bread pudding - still her favorite, even after all the dazzling new desserts she's tried

She gets to point out the things that occupy the positions of honor as she shares the non-spoilered adventures - things like a portrait of the two of your on your wedding day, or your love letters

The adventures, the life experience, the awards - all wonderful, but no match for love. She's always been important enough to be loved.

Lucio

The first thing he spots on his older self's face are some undoubted wrinkles, so of course the first thing he does is yell at said older self for not staying on top of his skin care. It can't be that hard to do!

The weirdest part is when, instead of getting mad or defensive back, said older Lucio laughs instead, slings an around his shoulders, and makes a comment about how of course that's the first thing he'd say

Lucio stews, because yeah, that's the first thing he said, but it's not the first thing he thought

But the problem with his first thought being "wow, he looks like if my mom and dad were safe and kind" is that he can't exactly say that out loud while maintaining his strong, warrior-like exterior

Wrinkles aside, at least it's hard to spot all the silver hairs when most of them pass as highlights to his natural gold. And hey, the journeyman's life has kept him in pretty good shape, for an old man!

Honestly, though, this much change in 10 years is ... a lot

The two of you did settle down eventually - at least a little bit - between your budgeting abilities and Lucio's can-do attitude, you saved up enough to buy a house on the outskirts of a southern town

It's not a palace, but it feels like a home when he steps inside

His older self doesn't get raucous applause when he walks through the small square, but the stall and shop owners know his name and wave when he passes by

It's like people are happy to see him even when he doesn't have anything nice to throw at them. It's almost like he has ... friends

Surprise surprise, older Lucio does have friends. At the local pub. Because if there's one thing he'll never stop loving, it's a party

That's the real reason they left the house, older Lucio reveals, it's because he picked up an extra job last week and wants to blow his cut of it showing his younger self how a real man holds his drink