˚ .✩⊹ 𝕤𝕒𝕧𝕚𝕠𝕣𝕤𝕠𝕗𝕤𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕤 ⊹✩. ˚ independant && private && selective multimuse for both ᴅʀ ʀʏʟᴀɴᴅ ɢʀᴀᴄᴇ & ʀᴏᴄᴋʏ from project hail mary. currently only movie based (mun is in the process of reading the novel). 18+, oc and crossover friendly, est. 2026. transmitted through space by jae (he/they).
ᴀɴ ᴇxᴘʟᴏʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ ᴏғ » the reluctant hero, fear rewritten as courage, the isolation of space, survivors guilt, unlikely friends, found family, the wonders of science, endless curiosity, knowledge as compassion.
001: // standard roleplay ettiquette applies — be nice, no god-modding, try to match my length & I'll try to match yours, etc, etc. I won't tolerate any form of sexism, racism, homophobia or transphobia here. ocs & crossovers are welcome!
this is a multimuse blog for both rocky and grace so please specify who you want in asks/starter calls/etc.
002: // this blog is 18+. mun is well over 25 so rping with minors makes me uncomfy.
003: // there may be some form of triggering & adult content on his blog (including, but not limited to, mentions of alcohol, self harm, injury, suicide, death, etc etc.) anything graphic will be placed under a 'read more'. .
004: // I do a mid-amount of formatting and style my posts with icons, small text, (occasionally colours and fonts) and additional italics, bold and some strikethroughs to show character thought process. you do not need to match my stylisation. if any of my formatting is difficult to read then let me know and I will adjust for our threads <3.
005: // I highly doubt that smut will be present on this blog (one of my muses is a literal rock), but if it ever occurs it will only be with trusted partners over 21, and will be tagged accordingly and placed under a 'read more'.
006: // this blog is multiship, although (again) shipping is not really a priority with these muses. regardless, if they occur they won't be forced and rely on plotting & building things organically.
007: // a small disclaimer. I am not a scientist. there is a lot of lore and heavy duty science-facts in p:hm, which is great, but please bare with me if I get anything wrong. I am a forgetful creature and my priority is fun, creativity, and letting the characters lead the way, not seeking perfect accuracy (although I will do my best to get research relevant topics should they pop up in threads).
additionally - I'll be using a combination of he/they pronouns for rocky, on account of eridian's having no real concept of gender. but ryland uses he/him pronouns for rocky and it's habit I've also sort of adapted too.
008: // i will not interact with anyone in the harry potter fandom. jkr is a terf and an asshole and her beliefs and actions are directly harming my community.
oh my god apparently there's a pre astrophage collection sleepover scene they had to cut that's described as "rocky and grace being two kids at summer camp" that was 1) one of the first scenes jortiz and team ever did on set and 2) so good it set the tone for rocky's portrayal for the rest of the movie. there's no way it's not in the extras for the collector's edition, i literally cannot wait
here's where the sound team talks about it. it's time-stamped but i highly recommend watching the entire interview, super fun insights on the editing and production of the movie
His companion appeared happy to hear his words. He was glad he could hear his words. It was hard to do but he managed. He could speak, even if his mouth felt drier than the Sahara.
His brows raise as Rocky's finger moves from his face, he was struggling to focus his vision, squinting a little as he tried to see what they were doing.
Grace hummed gently in confirmation. With great concentration he followed his finger. Right, left, up, down. His eyes followed, head still obediently as the other aided in holding his head up and in place.
"Mmkay." He managed in confirmation, nodding just slightly. Whilst nothing else was being recalled, his body at least was picking things up fast. Opening his jaw and moving it side to side, he turned his head too, he was surprised he wasn't achy at all. If somebody were unconscious for a 'long time' as Rocky said, shouldn't he have been achy?
Instinctively, Grace reached out for Rocky's forearms. He definitely needed help, but he was eager to at least try to move around. Turning his body, he managed to manoeuvre himself so his feet were touching the ground.
He met Rocky's gaze. He could see him, but he wasn't entirely crystal clear. It was mildly annoying, but he would deal with that later.
With a grip on both his companion's arms, he pushed himself upwards. It all came back to his body though he wobbled. He hadn't stood in a very long time and his body needed to recalibrate everything. "Wuh..." He let out a small noise of surprise. "S'not easy." He exhaled, steadying himself until finally, he was still.
"Ta-da." An instinctive sound of mild success. "M'okay."
𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐨𝐧 𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐤𝐲’𝐬 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬. wide, bright, and stretching until their cheeks ache with the effort of holding back everything they’re feeling - relief, disbelief, and a joy so sharp it borders on pain. as grace’s hands clamp around their forearms, rocky grips back without hesitation, steady and sure, ready to take every ounce of the man’s weight if his legs decide to give out. no, rocky isn’t going to let him fall. not now. not ever.
the engineer moves with him, a guiding support, letting ryland set the pace. when grace turns, rocky shifts their stance automatically, bracing themself like a human support beam as the scientist’s feet find the floor for the first time in ... god, too long. the wobble comes, expected, and rocky tightens their hold, grounding them through the tremor.
a short laugh bubbles forth, warm and fond, at the tiny noises of triumph grace is making. it’s ridiculous, and perfect, and so grace rocky’s chest squeezes around it.
only when they are absolutely certain that the scientist isn’t about to topple over, rocky eases back a fraction ... just a fraction. they realise, belatedly, how close they have been hovering, how far into grace’s personal space ( a bad habit they’ve always seemed to have ... ).
❝ okay? ... okay. ❞ the words come out low, a gentle confirmation, as they allow their grip to loosen slightly, although strong arms stay lifted, ready to catch the other at the slightest sway, hovering like a safety net.
❝ oh! hang on. stay. stay right there. ❞ a firm, soft command, as rocky scampers away. their own memory of waking from the coma is still vivid in their mind — rising bleary and confused, a throat like sandpaper, tongue thick and useless. thirsty. grace surely feels the same. the engineer is only gone for a moment, quickly rummaging through the soft storage crates with an urgency.
they return with two things; a sealed water pouch with a straw, and the scientist’s glasses. rocky slips the frames onto grace’s face with a careful precision, adjusting them so they sit comfortably on the bridge of his nose. then they press the water pouch into grace’s hands, guiding it up to his lips.
Rocky trilled comfortingly. They weren't words, just the chirps of one comforting another. It was a noise Eridians often made for their pebbles in times of distress when they would want their parental figure. Rocky recalled his parent doing it for him. He hoped it would help somewhat.
Grace was wrapping his appendages all around his ball, it wasn't something he had ever done before. The hugs usually involved his arms, but this time even his legs and body were pressed up against him. Rocky pressed back, right up against the xenonite as close as he could. He could tell Grace needed him, and he would be there for him without question.
Leaky... It was a bad leak. Not a loud one like before, but Grace's face was wet again.
His words were sad. Very sad.
In their time on the Hail Mary, Rocky had absorbed a lot about human culture. They watched a lot of movies and shows together. Humans touched. A lot. Even if it was just the ends of their appendages, a light brush, a squeeze with their hand. Rocky understood. Eridians were close too, just in different ways. Appendages rubbed as greetings, for affection. Sleeping atop one another. They were all living beings. Living beings needed one another. He was lonely after losing all twenty two of his crewmates too.
Rocky racked his mind for an answer. Their atmospheres were too different. The only time they had made contact he had almost burnt to death. Grace would vice versa. They had to have some kind of separation between them. Perhaps...perhaps he could modify the xenonite ball... Something akin go the suit Grace wore to go outside his ship. An idea was formulating in his mind, but he didn't want to say until he was sure, not wanting to upset his friend any more.
"Grace..." Rocky sang, tentatively. "Why is Grace sad, question?" Tap tap.
𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐮𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞 ... he can feel the soft vibrations of rocky’s trilling through the hard xenonite, the points where they are as close as possible. and it is comforting, it feels marginally like a cat’s purr, thrumming through his body. steady, warm, and meant to sooth. calming him, relaxing the tension in his chest. he would be content to stay there for so much longer ... could fall asleep to it, if the circumstances were different …
❝ I know... I’m sorry buddy...❞ he lets out a deep, shaking breath, one he didn’t realise he was holding. ❝ I just... I had a nightmare and now I feel...❞ pathetic, cowardly, lost. lonely. god he feels so, so lonely ... which is a silly thing to admit. because he isn’t alone. he has rocky, and rocky has him. they have each other. but that doesn’t negate the fact he hasn’t had any proper human contact in ... gosh, it would be years now. years of it ... no wonder his brain and body are betraying him. ❝ off... I feel really off.❞
the scientist snivels, sniffs slightly, and pulls back momentarily to wipe at his red-rimmed eyes. despite it all, he does feel a little calmer now ... the worst of it is over. he doesn’t have any tears left to cry, even if the hollow feeling still carves a hole deep in his chest.
❝ ...humans, we—❞ a sniff, he swallows thickly, words slow as he tries to explain. ❝ —we need physical contact. it’s a- a biological thing. it releases happy chemicals in our brains... oxytocin and dopamine... makes us feel comforted, safe, loved and, um...❞ it hurts for grace to admit. hurts to admit that this just isn’t enough.
❝ I guess I’m just a little touch starved, rock...❞
9. are they a heavy or light sleeper, or somewhere in between?
definitely somewhere in between. the more overworked grace is (and therefore the more sleep deprived) the more likely he is to just eventually crash and sleep like the dead.
if he's in a particularly anxious state, he's absolutely woken up by the slightest noise. on the hail mary, at least initially, he found it incredibly difficult to fall asleep, and would wake up at the slightest noise.
being forced into a coma has absolutely had a negative effect on his relationship with sleep. he still sometimes finds it incredibly stressful falling asleep, and is terrified that he won't wake up or that he'll be out for 'too long', which leads to some very unhealthy and inconsistent sleep patterns.
12. can they fall asleep anywhere?
yes, if he's tired enough. he will fall asleep at his desk. he will fall asleep in 0g. he will fall asleep on the floor.
13. do they need quiet to sleep well, music, or white noise?
before, he needed quiet, or perhaps some very very light white noise (i.e the sound of waves). now? he definitely needs white noise. the humming of the hail mary's life systems has been his soundtrack for sleep for so long now that without something like that he just can't sleep. silence causes him to panic because, in the back of his mind, it means that life support isn't working and he'll die.
22. do they use an alarm or wake up naturally? (does the alarm work?)
yes, he uses an alarm. no, it doesn't always work. (depends on how deep a sleep he's managed to get into)
shout out to book!grace, who blasted himself with 29 atmospheres worth of 210c (410f) degrees hot straight ammonia, in the hopes that rocky would survive. who carried rockys whole 168kg (370lbg) down ladders in a make-shift carrier. who turned around for rocky, fully expecting to die of starvation. sigh. who was just a little bit more of a bitch than movie!grace (whats that one quote where hes like "if i had a nickel for every parent i wanted to slap during my career, id have enough to fill a sock and hit them with that instead"). who was purposefully given memory loss, so he wouldnt sabotage the mission (something he threatned many times). who wasnt "friendless", like he was depicted in the movie. i miss you so bad. you were everything.
