A Dream That's Worth Keeping

grace instinctively grabbing rocky when he sees what happened and burning the palms of his hands on his carapace

grace calling rocky a “crazy bastard” for saving him

grace also burning himself all over his arms while trying to get rocky onto his back to carry him

grace carrying rocky’s body UP A LADDER

grace wondering incredulously why rocky would risk his life to save him, about 2.5 seconds before grace risks his own life to put rocky back in his atmosphere

grace taking off his IV and oxygen mask as soon as he regains consciousness to be able to sit as close to rocky as possible

grace pressing his hand to the wall that rocky’s body is leaning against and then pulling it away because it “feels too melodramatic”

grace checking on rocky about 100 times

“I want to sleep, but Rocky is more important”

grace DIYing a leafblower to try to help rocky heal

chat what do we think the word is 😹

also drop your fav book scenes in comments!! i wanna draw more of them :) non rocky or grace characters are super welcome too!

Someone to be brave for.

excerpt is from chapter 29 of the novel.

The last chapter, numbered in base-six Eridian numerals that Grace instinctively thinks in now, is inherently bittersweet. It's sweet because Ryland loves Rocky, this much is blatantly obvious, this much is a truth of him as a person, but I couldn't see him being incandescently happy on Erid as I came to expect from fandom context.

It's bitter because, well. He just seemed content more than anything. Begrudgingly so. (But I try to stay positive. What else have I got?) It doesn't help that the last conversation in the book between Grace and Rocky (Hey! You're leaking. I haven't seen that in a long-ass time.*) being about how Sol is saved, and if he wants, he can absolutely go home.

And he doesn't want to.

Record scratch! I wish that was true. No, it's not that simple, actually. If it was as cut and dry as that, then I wouldn't have this rotting taste in my mouth; because yeah, he doesn't want to leave Rocky, and Rocky (Speaking from a selfish perspective, I hope you stay. But that's just me.) obviously doesn't want him to leave; but Grace doesn't leave, primarily, because he's too old. Fifty-three. He doesn't think he can brave the loneliness of a four-year journey at his age. He also thinks there's not really people for him to go back to. (It's a long, lonely journey---Erid may not be where I'm from, but at least I have friends here.)

Also, it's important to note that one of Grace's primary character traits was his overwhelming love for Earth. (I hold my head up high. Maybe I will go home someday.)