⋆.˚⟡ ♪♫♪ ⟡˚.⋆

❝On Earth, we have a scary, deadly creature called a spider. You look like one of those.❞

—❝Good. Proud. I am scary space monster. You are leaky space blob.❞

independent, selective roleplay blog for Rocky of Andy Weir's project hail mary. written by sammy (she/her; born 1994). ☄️⋆.˚⟡♫♪ interaction memes (always open!)

⚠️ PLEASE READ the "disclaimers" found in my rules! thank you! ♡

RULES – INFO

Sammy's Blog Roll:

Vincent Charbonneau (Dead Plate) || Martin Blackwood & Elias Bouchard (The Magnus Archives) || Sasha (NIGHT/SHADE) || Ryunosuke Naruhodo (The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles) || Kaz Brekker (Six of Crows) || Leo Valdez (Heroes of Olympus)

@lasthail || >:3c

“Fuck?”

He says it almost innocently. A convincing example of a child attempting words he doesn't understand, but heard and therefore wants to test. In Rocky's case, though, he knows. Oh, he's well aware. And it's with that awareness that he can't help but snicker after a few beats of silence: a replica of the laughs Grace gives him . . . when he's not admonishing him for saying foul things, that is.

Now, if only he could be sporting a smirk, too. Grace is smart. Grace can probably tell without the need for lips, or a face at all.

grace gives him a genuine compliment and he's always so immediately shrugging the guy off like eh it's nothing w/e

words cannot properly describe how dearly he holds his squishy emotional wreck of a blob ok? rocky returns home with grace like "anyway yes hi this is the soulmate i met in space and we will do literally anything and everything to keep him alive and yes i will be weird about him always and you guys just gotta accept it both bc i say so and bc he saved our planet so idgaf about any qualms or concerns he's here and he's My Human ty"

whatever grace needs or says goes rocky's allowed to give him shit but no one else can

i'd say they're attached at the hip if rocky could reach his hip but fr ESPECIALLY those first years on erid where they're trying to figure out how to keep grace alive, rocky's There with him at all times

The miscalculation on Rocky’s part is abysmal. That is, he still doesn’t wholly understand—if he ever will, and he’s long since decided he doesn’t really care—the noises that accompany what he’s grasped of Grace’s language: not words, not sentences, not speech at all, but noises. The occasional grumble of frustration, fine. The wet sniffles when the human’s upset, okay. Begrudgingly, Rocky’s learned to accept a thing called “coughs” and, more importantly, learned to not be alarmed . . . unless they’re frequent.

But when he hears what’s been expelled into the otherwise quiet atmosphere mere minutes ago, he assumes that must be it.

. . . until Grace does it a second time.

And the abrupt “sneeze” (that’s what Grace calls them) not only makes Rocky flinch—fully jump—in surprise, but fumble his tools after the fact. Two arms tuck to his carapace by reflex alone, making himself smaller against the frightening sound, but a position he stays in for a mere fraction of a second before his brain catches up to his instincts. Then, it’s his turn to let out a grumble. And stomp one of his feet.

silly space spider was having the crashout of a century js i guarantee you he spent at least 5 of those years losing his goddamn mind before eventually locking tf in and getting shit done that he could get done

we as the audience see poor grace Going Through It on multiple occasions as he becomes acquainted with his situation and all the shit surrounding it; rocky looks totally chill in comparison bUT TRUST

TRUST

he is inevitable

@danderosa || timon vc: it starts

And it's with a resounding plonk that the pokéball harmlessly (it luckily takes far more than that to leave a dent) bounces right off him. Rolls a few feet away. Comes to an unsteady stop.

They're left in a silence louder than any word could ever be.

Rocky's trying really hard to understand. Really, he is. Humans did seem to thoroughly enjoy throwing anything spherical around, and he'd think this particular hit would be the usual clumsiness if not for how intentional it felt.

He lifts his carapace up slightly, directing his attention to the thrower.

“ . . . why, question?”

Name: Rocky

Age: 291yo (Eridians live appx. 689 Earth years)

Gender: Hermaphroditic (He/Him/They pronouns)

Species: Eridian

Occupation: Engineer

Notable physical traits: Rocky’s about the size of a labrador and weighs over 300lbs. Like all Eridians, he’s made of oxidized material; his bones are metallic alloys and his blood is liquid mercury, which makes it silver in color. Essentially, he’s steam-powered. Extremely hot to the touch. Receptors on his outer shell detect sound and send those signals to his brain, similar to the way humans experience touch (he has no eyes and can’t see the way we do).

Extra notes (headcanon tag):

Rocky has photographic memory. He claims this doesn’t necessarily make him “smart,” just that he’s able to take in information and not forget it. Argue with him at your own risk. You may have forgotten something you said the other day, but he remembers and will shove it in your face to prove his point.

His speech patterns are musical, and he can make at least five different notes at once while speaking. The octave drops and lifts to convey moods.

Rocky and his crew were the first to leave Erid’s orbit. Until then, Eridians only explored within those constraints; they actually have somewhat of a space elevator that brings them from the equator up into the planet’s orbit.

One Eridian year is 42 Earth days. One Eridian day is 5.1 Earth hours.

Erid is extremely close to their sun. Despite that, it’s pitch black due to the thick atmosphere blocking out the sun’s rays.

Rocky has a mate (Adrian) who he’s been with for nearly 200 years. Eridians mate for life, and they lay eggs to reproduce.

Eating is a quiet, private activity for Eridians, contrasting the social aspect of human culture. It’s not enjoyable. It’s just necessary. And it’s considered rude to talk while doing so.

When Eridians sleep, they go into a paralysis. No cognitive functioning occurs during that time, and they can’t be woken up. This is why Eridians watch each other sleep, as they need to be able to provide protection at their most vulnerable.

Eridians can hear much higher and much lower frequencies than humans. If you have one of those ultrasonic pest repellants in your house, Rocky will go berserk from it. Be warned.

Rocky can be incredibly bossy and impatient at times—mainly because humans in general seem “slow” to him in many areas he’s fast. Most of the time, it’s not meant to be an insult. Sometimes, it absolutely is.

His ability to “see” his environment comes from a form of echolocation. Rocky is constantly emitting high-frequency clicks and maps his surroundings based on the echoes that come back. Other times, he taps to create a louder noise and determines from that.

Eridians do not have a sense of smell, but they have a sense of taste, which is close enough to understand what smell means.

Despite his impressive engineering knowledge, Rocky is less acquainted with modern electronics. Eridians haven’t invented the transistor. He struggles to understand Earth’s technology, but can make sense of it, given enough time to putz around.

There’s no real “front” or “back” to him. All five of his hands can be used interchangeably, and he can move in any direction with ease.

Eridians don’t have an immune system. It’s very uncommon that they get diseases, and when they do get them, they’re likely to die if the disease is fast-moving.