CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA

ᯓ★ you're a coward and you always have been.

# NOTINTREPID :      emmy's DR. RYLAND GRACE,  of andy weir's 2021 novel,     project hail mary.     book only.

  ⋆˙⟡♡   MARK WATNEY. + SON GOKU.

dirty talk. are they turned on by dirty talk? turned off by dirty talk? is there anything they like their partner(s) to appeal to when talking dirty with them?

turned on, definitely. that said, he's absolutely terrible at doing it themselves. from mark, he really really really appreciates praise. it's nice to be affirmed, to be loved. i've mentioned a few times that ryland has some reservations about their body post-return to earth, namely in regards to their weight loss + scarring, and while he doesn't particularly want mark to dwell on that, the occasional compliment about his appearance, or reference to their attractiveness definitely helps. a lot.

marks. do they like being marked? do they like marking their partners?

haha. yes. and somewhat. the problem is that ryland bruises kind of easily, and it's not hard for mark to leave marks on him. just be careful where you mark him, because he's even worse with makeup and has such a hard time covering them up. can't walk into class with a hickey on his neck like a teenager! he's not, like, obsessed with the idea, but he doesn't mind it, at all. it's just not something he's going to ask for. and if mark wants him to leave a mark, sure! no problem.

stimulation. how do they prefer to be stimulated? do they like being given handjobs? do they like being fingered? do they like being given oral? is/are there any specific spot(s) on their body they like being stimulated the most? where do they like to stimulate their partner(s)?

( RG ) — " it was a very scientific poke! " there's a pout playing on his lips, but to really drive the point of frustration home, they've crossed their arms over their chest. mark hasn't been there nearly as long as ryland has, and annoyingly, they're almost certain he didn't have to deal with the airsickness or (voluntary) drugging. how he looks so good after getting off that stupid plane is just unfair.

they're sharing lunch, ryland constantly snapping his chopsticks at his partner's fork-holding hand to stop him from trying to steal his ramen. (i OFFERED to make some for you, shoo.) and it's the first time ryland's felt like he's actually able to rest. not entirely, all of their nerves feel like they're on - edge, and they're just waiting for the other shoe to drop and all of their work to be shut down. (and then earth ... poof? under the new ice age.) that's the nicer version of the apocalypse, anyway.

but mark, and his beautiful blue eyes, and his contagious smile. it's just about enough to put ryland at ease. (he loves him. so much. so much that even when the earth dies, or when majority of the population dies before it's saved ... and it will be saved, he's comfortable knowing that whenever those last minutes come, they'll be together.) it makes it easier to breathe.

( RG ) — the face looks familiar. to a point, anyway, and he thinks they may have met, before. in the past. maybe a long time ago. maybe he was a teacher, or a boss. (oh gosh, that just makes the immediate wow this guy's hot thought so much more inappropriate. get it together, man.) the man looks deep in thought, reading something on the computer screen that he isn't even going to try and figure out the context of just yet. (sue him! he's still trying to remember how to exist upright right now. get his space legs ... or whatever.) the robot asks again, probably ready to yank him around again, tug him back into bed kicking and screaming. (and this guy won't be any help, either. huh? jerk.) WHAT IS YOUR NAME?

I DON'T KNOW! he still doesn't KNOW, and isn't that a kicker? and yet, while he stares up at the ceiling, one name caught in the back of his brain, he has to wonder if ... worth a shot, right? " mark watney? "

DR GRACE. you're a coward and you're full of shit. do you think i don't know you dr. grace?! you're a coward and you always have been. you abandoned a promising scientific career because people didn't like a paper you wrote. you retreated to the safety of children who worship you for being the cool teacher. you don't have a romantic partner in your life because that would mean you might suffer heartbreak. you avoid risk like the plague. ( I'M AFRAID! I DON'T WANT TO DIE! )

— DR. RYLAND GRACE ,

i. strangers like me , phil collins. ⟶ whatever you do, i'll do it too / show me everything and tell me how / it all means something / and yet nothing to me / i can see there's so much to learn / it's all so close and yet so far / i see myself as people see me / oh, i just know there's something bigger out there.

ii. waving through a window , ben platt. ⟶ when you're falling in a forest and there's nobody around / do you ever really crash, or even make a sound? / did i even make a sound? / did i even make a sound? / it's like i never made a sound / will i ever make a sound? / on the outside always looking in / will i ever be more than i've always been?

iii. bad day , daniel powter. ⟶ you had a bad day, the camera don't lie / you're coming back down, and you really don't mind / you had a bad day / sometimes, the system goes on the blink, and the whole thing, it turns out wrong / you might not make it back, and you know that you could be well, oh, that strong / and i'm not wrong.

iv. drops of jupiter , train. ⟶ but tell me, did you sail across the sun? / did you make it to the milky way to see the lights all faded / and that heaven is overrated? / tell me, did you fall for a shooting star? / one without a permanent scar? / and did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?

v. mr blue , catherine feeny. ⟶ i know that you're tired, know that you're sore / and sick and sad for some reason / so i leave you with a smile, kiss you on the cheek / and you will call it treason / well, that's the way it goes some days / a fever comes at you without a warning / and i can see it in your face, you've been / waiting to break since you woke up this morning.

honorable mentions. all these things that i've done, the killers. / the times they are a-changin', sandra mccracken. / fine!, mal blum. / end of beginning, djo. / falling up, will wood.