Words, Words, Worlds

As things have been growing an awful lot around here, I figured I'd take a minute to actually introduce myself.

So, uh

Hi.

I'm Red, your local friendly cryptid who definitely doesn't want to know your full name for fae-related reasons

I have been in fandom spaces for a long time, mostly quietly writing fanfiction on ao3, and this is my first time back on Tumblr since I was in high school.

Genuinely happy to be back, coming here felt like coming home.

I take requests for fandoms I am in, and am generally here and happy to chat whenever.

Masterlist of my current works for Dr STONE -> HERE

Masterlist of current works for Demon Slayer/Kimetsu no Yaiba -> HERE

And if you wanna know what other media I enjoy, feel free to just ask.

I see every notification, and I'm happiest when you're enjoying my brainrot with me.

Anyway

Uh

He devours it. The lore books, the rulebooks, the video games, and so on, and by the time they reach Erid, he's got Rocky making him minis for his first army.

Grace doesn't get it, he's more of a dungeons and dragons kind of guy, but it's the first thing that really resonates with Simon, so he sits with him for hours and helps him paint his army while listening to him talk.

Coltland twins au where they were separated at birth and neither of them knows about it until Colt is watching one of the many press conferences concerning the Hail Mary mission and sees Ryland in the back.

Rocky was at Tau Ceti for 46 (Earth) years. If it takes 4-ish years to get there, and 4-ish years to get back, that means he's been gone closer to 60 (Earth) years total, yes?

The radiation and mutations saw to that. It's not something that heals, not really. Sure, it may no longer burn with the searing hot blood of millions of people, but there is no light getting through, and nowhere that he can have a new one transplanted.

He is forever stuck with darkness on one side.

On a lighter note, it means he's not as well coordinated for a while at first, so he bumps into things and trips and struggles to catch things tossed at him.

Which, while he also feels bad about it, Grace can't help feeling a bit of kinship when he watches Simon run into the doorframe.

I told you, Rock, it's angled funny!' [Is not! Grace and Simon just have bad eyes!]

Simon adapts eventually. Humans are good at that- even ones that are only kind of human these days. It's a little spooky, though Rocky wouldn't admit it out loud, to watch Simon go from bumbling around like a pebble to being able to catch something thrown to him from his bad side without even turning his head because he learned to 'just feel it', as Simon puts it.

Imagine they found one who was in a similar situation to Grace. Maybe their people weren't as advanced as they needed to be but sent them to space anyway, maybe there was an incident and they lost their fuel, who knows.

What matters, is that this other alien is friend. They help solve the astrophage mystery and are able to get Taumoeba sent to their home, but they can't go home. What else is there to do but bring them along to Erid?

And of course they have to be in the same enclosure as Grace. Or at least, close enough that they can see and visit each other, if their environments don't match enough for long-term living.

We can also add Simon from Iron Lung here, too, cause he's human but- but not? Very interesting, yes, we must study him just as much as we study the other two aliens put him in the bubble!

Grace meeting another alien. And that other alien, through sheer evolutionary luck, is able to survive in his atmosphere.

And he can touch them. He can run his fingers over their body and inspect all the interesting parts. Scales, spines, markings, whatever it may be.

And I'm thinking about how Rocky fucking hates it.

He hates it because he knows that he can't give Grace that kind of comfort. Eridians don't do that, and even when he does try to hug Grace, he knows it's not the same. Rocky hates that this thing can give his best friend more than he ever could.

And that scares him. Especially when Grace starts spending more and more time getting close to the other alien. Touching them. Letting them touch him. Finding them more interesting than Rocky.

Jealous jealous jealous

Like, Grace is Just A Guy who is being raised to the status of divinity very suddenly by a man who's so abused and mangled that he's not sure Simon is really there anymore, mentally.

Simon is praying to him. Praying at him. Begging him for salvation he cannot give.

He's just a man. Just a pitifully human man. He can't open the gates of Heaven and allow Simon to rest in holy gardens. He can't absolve him of his sins.

Grace is being a put on pedestal. Equated to something holy and beautiful, and he definitely does not want that. It's hard enough to live up to his human potential, but this? This is impossible.

If anyone deserves that title, Grace thinks, it's surely Rocky. He's the one who sings in heavenly tunes. Who created a version of Eden just for the two abandoned humans (well, that part was Adrian and the other Eridians, but if Rocky is an angel, then so are they).

Also this was literally me when it happened

Say the word and I'll tell you every stupid story for your Livestreamer Ryland fodder. Anything for the aroace in aerospace 👩‍🚀👾

Aroace in aerospace made me giggle its so perfect.

There's just so much hilarity in the whole 24 hour livestream that catches (almost) everything that happens on the Hail Mary in general like. Grace is so accidentally funny and it's so perfect.

I'm just thinking about how in the book he whines that saving Earth is getting in the way of his hobbies (studying Rocky) and just. Imagining that he says that out loud, looking right at the camera and for an embarrassingly long time people think he's serious. It's one of the only times Stratt appears in chat, telling him to remember what he's there for.

To which he reads it, then looks at the camera. Grabs it, pulls it close, and says.

"Funny thing about that- I CAN'T!"

Breathe, Ryland, there's no reason for you to be so upset. You clearly volunteered for this, you shouldn't be so mad at her.

"Sorry about that chat, I'm fine no-" Cue Grace tripping over his own feet and falling flat on his face, sending the camera flying.

Simon wants to see the stars. He wants to leave Erid and explore space.

Grace does not. He's happy where he is, thank you very much. He loves Simon, but he can't do it. He just can't.

Simon doesn't force him. How could he? Grace is his savior. His angel. His everything. Even if he doesn't understand why Grace wants to live in a fishbowl, he wont take him out of it without consent.