Transfem cracked egg Ryland Grace, days away from the launch of the Hail Mary, who's now realizing after living away from society on a boat for years in order to help save the world that she should also try living for herself when she gets back to normal society and transition: "Yeah Stratt, I think I really have hope for the future. My future. You feel it too, with the launch happening so soon?"
Eva Stratt, who noticed Grace's genderisms long ago (her own genderisms—humanity's whipping boy rather than scapegoat or sacrificial lamb—remained neatly tucked away for no one to see) already having supplied the Hail Mary with a 5+ year supply of estradiol and progesterone, allowing Grace to wake up from the induced coma fully fem in case their primary science officer becomes unavailable for the mission last minute: "I do."
Grace post waking up with amnesia: "I'm a woman? Yeah, feels right! Looks right too! Why does it feel novel for me to think that? Why would a woman be surprised to be a woman?" *flashbacks to her life before space*"Eughhh ok I kinda sorta get it. What's worse, being alone in space with amnesia, or experiencing every moment of dysphoria I've ever had all at once while recovering from amnesia alone in space?"
Grace meeting Rocky: "I'ma call you Rocky 'cause you look like a rock."*realizes she's defaulted to he/him for Rocky despite him being from a nongendered co-sexual species*"Oh darn I still have some stuff to unpack. If only I wasn't in space on a suicide mission with bigger priorities."
Rocky saying he'll give Grace fuel to return to Earth and not die: "Grace go home."
Grace: "Oh holy moly this means I do actually have to think about and process everything I've gone through and not just suppress it until everything's over."
Grace and Rocky on their way to Erid, her still planning on living, but how long she'll manage being a bit up in the air, but with time on their hands: "Wanna talk about gender and stuff?"
Rocky: "Human overlapping biological and social categories, question?"
Grace:"Yeah, that's it. Because I have a whole lot of thoughts about it in my head but no one to talk about it to other than you, so I thought maybe we could talk about it? It's human stuff, but to you it's alien stuff, so maybe you'd find it interesting?"
Rocky: "Grace always interesting."
Grace: "Aw, thanks bud. I think you're pretty interesting too."
And they end up talking deeply about gender, about social hierarchies, about the paradoxical nature of it, of its beauty and also its unfairness. Grace also learns that while Eridians don't have psychological gender as a result out of sexual dimorphism in their social systems like humans, Rocky's culture at least has a hierarchical system of pronouns based on one's status being higher/equal or lower than the speaker.
Grace: "So you have two sets of pronouns just like standard English (outside of they/them and neopronouns), but it's socially dependant on status... Wait, how have you been interpreting my he/him'ing you when recording the videos for Earth? To you being male means nothing, it's totally and literally alien to you."
Rocky: "I held off assumptions for the most part until hearing more of your language. In reference to your boss back on Earth, I did start to assume your she/her mapped on to our 🎶🎵 pronoun, and that as an alien guest you referred to me as lower in status, 🎶🎵's opposite."
Grace: "But you're not lower in status to me at all, Rock! We're equals. I'll she/her you till the end of time from now on, promise! No more he or him for you or me!"
Rocky, shifting a bit on his legs: "No, no. Is okay. 🎶 🎶 for English he/him alright for Rocky use. Yes, is used for lower in status, but also for people close to you. Not only rude. Proof of closeness. Close enough to be rude."
Grace: "Oh, I think I get it. I think some languages on Earth are like that actually. English sorta included? Like, using nicknames with strangers or superiors is rude because it's presumptuous and invasive, but with best friends it's a reflection of real closeness."
Grace thinks back on how she never called Stratt anything other than Stratt—then purposefully abandons that line of thought. It won't go anywhere useful.
Rocky: "Yes, yes! Grace Rocky close, so Grace 🎶🎵 and Rocky 🎶🎶 to each other. But Grace Rocky both will be 🎶🎵 on Erid when we tell how we saved our stars."
That gets a delighted laugh out of Grace.
While Grace was becoming more and more fluent in Rocky's Eridian, because her Earth language will always be her first language, and that Rocky's language will still be filtered through it in her mind to an extent, he vows to make everyone on Erid use the higher/equal pronoun for Grace, knowing she'll equate it to her important Human Gender Female pronoun, and also that she deserves the honor from Erid-kind for saving them all. If Rocky also gets to be called 🎶🎵 by Erid at large then that's also a plus, but he doesn't want it from Grace.
snowghoul
izzy806
pixelskylines
origamiaround
yousharknotpass
stormborns
titsay
