Irhaboggle Pride (2019) Spectrum

Turquoise

In a world as decayed as theirs, it was a rare day for Nathan, Mag or Marni to see any real blue in the sky. Instead, it was usually just endless gray smog. The world was literally living off of death. Corpses lined the streets, filled every dump truck, and flooded the mass graves. This massive amount of death, mixed with the hyper-industrialization of the rest of the world, meant that the planet itself was slowly dying. Soon, it would join the ranks of all the creatures that used to live on it.

Everything seemed to be some sort of gray, ranging from silver to black. Black corpses, gray headstones, gray factory and machinery, silver buildings, silver lining and lighting, black sky with gray clouds, a silver moon. The sun almost never shined anymore. It was like an endless night, only the mood ever visible through the thick smog. But even so, every once in a while, some turquoise managed to peek through the gray.

"It's like a bit of Heaven come down to Earth!" Marni sighed as she and her two lovers sat on their front porch, just admiring the small patch of turquoise sky. It was a rare sight, so of course they all wanted to be there to sit and enjoy it.

"I've never seen anything like it!" Mag agreed, turquoise eyes clicking and whirring as she took pictures and videos. It was something she wanted to remember forever, and with GeneCo's Cornea Plus eyes, she could.

"And here I thought it only existed in books and movies," Nathan marveled along with his wives.

He'd seen pictures and movies of Earth before the NOS pandemic, and those photos were always teeming with life and color. But he'd never seen such natural beauty in his reality. Those old books and movies were a near perfect opposite of the world he actually lived in. All any of them had ever known was a dark gray graveyard, so to see that patch of turquoise felt like looking at a ghost from the past.

"And how fitting it is!" Marni suddenly realized. "Today is our third anniversary!" And she was right. Exactly three years prior, she and the other two had been wed. That June had not blessed them with a clear, turquoise sky, but the wedding had still been fantastic and marvelous. Mag hadn't had any relatives to invite, but Marni and Nathan were more than able to fill seats. Any relative that had not yet succumbed to some sort of organ failure was in attendance, and even though there was only a gray sky overhead, the color from the attendees was more than enough to help bring the wedding to life!

Now, three years later, all three of them were still living a very happy life together under one roof and one marriage. From what they understood, in the past, polyamory had been frowned upon by most of society. It was seen as unnatural and wrong, and people were often pressured into only having one spouse. But times had changed drastically after the pandemic began. No one had time to be nitpicky anymore.

Now, polyamory (and other types of romantic and sexual relations) was growing increasingly common. It wasn't that rare of a sight to see multiple husbands, wives, spouses and partners all living together under one marriage. Of course, there were plenty of monogamous couples left, but the balance wasn't as skewed as it used to be. Due to all sorts of cultural and societal changes, it was no longer seen as weird or unfaithful to have more than one partner.

"I know that being born in the middle of a pandemic sucked, but, sometimes, I'm almost glad it happened," Marni confessed. "Without it, we might not have been allowed to get married."

"And not only that, but none of us may have ever even met," Nathan agreed. He was a surgeon for GeneCo, and the only reason he even met Mag and Marni at all was because he was the one who'd operated on Mag's eyes, giving her the Cornea Plus pair.

Likewise, the only reason Mag and Marni ever met was because they wound up going to the same school. And the only reason they wound up going to the same school was because it was the only school still standing in their area. Had the organ failure never occurred, Nathan may have never become a doctor, and Mag and Marni may not have been forced to go to the same school! That wasn't to say any of them liked living in a dying world, but they could still find the silver linings.

"Just like the turquoise sky," Mag mused. That was another thing the trio might've missed, had they been born in a different time. Perhaps, in the past, they would've been more accustomed to a clear sky and clean air, but then that would've made it much easier to take for granted.

"Had we been born any earlier, we might not have ever been able to fully appreciate how gorgeous a blue sky really is! So, I'm also kinda glad that this is when and where we were born," Mag said, and others agreed heartily.

Three pairs of eyes turned back up towards the heavens. Although the little patch of turquoise was already starting to fade from view, covered once again by dark clouds, the three remained hopeful and optimistic. They continued to look up, trying to make every last moment last. As long as they had each other, and the hope of seeing that turquoise sky again someday, they would be fine. Yes, life was hard, and miserable, and scary. But, so long as their relationship held, and so long as the turquoise sky would come back again someday, they had courage and hope.

Turquoise rapidly became their favorite color. To them, it was a symbol of hope, promise and return. They would see that heavenly sky once again someday, they were sure of it! Even if they didn't know when, they knew it would come eventually. They only needed to wait. But if they had each other (and Mag's photos and recordings), no wait would ever be too long or painful.

But past and future aside, the three were more than happy just to bask in the present, enjoying that perfect little moment with each other. It was just them and the slowly-fading turquoise. Old enough to see and enjoy it, but young enough to not take it for granted, they were truly blessed. And even better, they got to enjoy it together. Even after the turquoise had turned gray again, the images remained bright in all of their minds and they spent the rest of the day outside together, just relaxing in the Heaven that was all around them.

AN: Repo the Genetic Opera is the best movie ever and these three should've been poly, fight me on both of those statements and I WILL win. :P