They/Them This is just a blog for my fluffy g/t stuff that I don't post on my main. I don't post vore or anything like that, I wanna keep my blog clean for y'all. Enjoy!
Daily reminder that being into g/t is not that weird. Non-g/ters don’t immediately think you’re weird or a freak for saying you like The Secret World of Arrietty or informing them about your g/t OCs. It’s really not that strange. Your brain is just making you feel worse over something you can’t necessarily control. It’s okay. If my non-g/t friends don’t immediately judge me for talking about my g/t OCs, yours won’t either.
If you’re still unconvinced- there are plenty of people who love dragons- who’s obsessed over dragons since they were a kid. Telling someone ‘I’ve liked dragons since I was a kid” is the same thing as telling someone “I’ve been interested in giants since I was a kid. Not sure why.”
It really isn’t that big of a deal. It’s okay. You can be yourself in front of your friends- and if you can’t, then they shouldn’t be your friends.
I just wanted to add onto this, if you see any content that's sizey by happen stance on other social media's (tiktok, insta etc...) there are ALWAYS people thirsting under it, making comments etc... and typically gen pop who just think the trope is fun.
I have so many screenshots of people fawning over sizey content that fell into mainstream, something weirdly common in fitness circles for whatever reason.
It's not 'normal' in the way that, no, not everyone is deeply into gt, but the concept is so much easier for people to understand than other niche communities. It's a very visual metaphor and a fun concept.
If we think back to the closely disappointment of the movie downsizing, there was so much hype even in genpop community surrounding it. It was generally across-the-board scene as a disappointment for kind of having this. Really fun concept and not really doing much with it. Even "normie communities" were bummed on it.
The amount of girls that fawn over that tiny little guy from epic, or people loving tinkerbell or ferngulley, and still considering them a "here me out" despite the size.
If you look at any vaguely sizey woman in media, you'll see so many death by snusnu comments etc...
It is a novel concept, and people are intrigued by it even when they aren't into it the same way. Gt is no where near as taboo as other internet communities.
Lmao I’m back- my brain is still chewing on your fic like a squeaky toy- Look at that successful cowboy/space thermos wrangler go!! I really debated whether the American flag should still go on his jumpsuit before I decided that haaaah yeah the US government WOULD do that- Good job as always!!!
Ahhhh thank you! I love this! We've got his space uniform (courtesy of the US of A lol)
I love how you've rendered all his gear. He's so ready for anything. Space ace cowboy Grace!
Man outs his entire species, gets launched into space, refuses to elaborate. I literally never post on tumblr but I wanted to give you my fanart of Grace’s public speaking fiasco. Your story is so fun and creative and you’re doing amazing 🫡
Ohhhhh my gosh. I'm having about four million reactions at once and had to try to pin them down into words. Thank yoooou I'm so happy you're enjoying my story and I am SO grateful for this fanart omg 😭😭😭
Look at him! He's so not ready to meet Every World Leader but here he is, doing exactly that. Grace is having a time.
I'm gonna stare at this for the next five hours or so
i’ve been utterly captivated by @neonthewrite’s Grace by Inches fic for the past week. it’s like if the book was also the movie and also if he was really really small on top of that and it’s REALLY GOOD
here’s a scene and a bit i decided to sketch out! spoilers for chapters 8 and 13:
I kept forgetting to click reblog because I just kept scrolling through these images to stare at them over and over lmao. So many doodles of the little guy! His jacket is so gosh darned cute wow.
And your depiction of those scenes is A+++ exactly the vibes I hoped for with those expressions!
Thank you so much for your lovely words and for taking the time to draw this artwork. My face is glued to the screen. The cuteness aggression is so real right now, look at him.
My buddy, @eyesore-boi , is the reason this fic exists. He has so many creative ideas, so after reading this and seeing his doodles based on it, I got inspired enough to actually write something! A mini series even! Hehe... Without further ado...let's dive right on on!
(Also, I'm using @viviansturns divider and will possibly keep using it in the future.)
“...”
This was horrible. Just plain…horrible. Nothing could possibly come out of this except tragedy. This could go wrong in so many ways… Dark didn't even know how this happened in the first place. Why..why was his husband…
“...Why are you small now?” Dark managed to ask after much open mouth staring, elbows resting on his desk while his hands were tangled in his hair. Still unable to tear his gaze away from the love of his life. Who just appeared on his desk out of nowhere, which was normal, but his size on the other hand… Hell, the eccentric couldn't be any bigger than his hand now. His hand! Anything could happen while he was this size! He could be squashed, sat on, tripped over, or…or he could fall off a high ledge by accident, or—
A tiny finger poking his arm put out that burning train of thought. …For now.
“What's wrong with that?”
It was a very innocent question. Proven as Wilford’s head tilted to the side with a grin, which often happened whenever the guy was genuinely confused and/or curious. So you could imagine the newfound horror spreading across Dark's face upon realizing that the other was blind to the new dangers awaiting him. That, or he just didn't care enough about them.
Fuck…
Today was going to be a long, terrible day, wasn't it? …It was just for a day, right? His husband wasn't going to be stuck this size forever, right? …Right?! “N-nothing, my love. I just…don't understand why this happened… Do you perhaps know how long this will possibly last?” Please say not long, please say not long, please—
“No clue! I really don't have any control over this and it varies every time!”
Oh dear God… If it was possible, the entity’s worry for Wil’s safety suddenly tripled. “What do you mean ‘it varies’? Why did this even happen? What is this?!” Without meaning for it to happen, Dark's tone raised as his hand flew out, gesturing towards his love’s new height. Not realizing how his aura flashed briefly while doing so.
Wilford definitely noticed, however. That much was obvious when a face was made before the man patted his arm in a reassuring manner. “I'm not sure what got your knickers in a twist, sweetie, but it's quite alright. Why don't you take a big ol’ breath for me? There's no need for all this senseless worrying.”
Now that made Dark freeze for a second. A little slow on why breathing was more important than his love being squish size. Just as he was about to say as much, however, that’s when he realized that Wil was…right. Stress won't help the situation. He needed to take a moment and calm down to handle this more appropriately.
“Do try not to worry yourself with such silly questions too much. Try seeing this as a fun little adventure instead, darling~” A giggle tumbled from his lover’s mouth after a few seconds. “Heh, little… Get it?”
And there goes the rest of his worries; carried away by the lovely sound of his husband's contagious laughter. No matter how small it was, it was difficult to not crack a smile as his gaze softened. “Alright Wil, I'll try. Just…stay close to me, if you can. Please.” As he made the request, Dark brought his hands down to Wil’s level, hoping he'd take the offer. After all, he can't have his flower being squashed now.
“No promises, but I do love the idea of hitching a ride via a giant lover!”
Without further ado, much to his relief and adoration, Wilford hopped onto his hands. Eyes shining brightly with excitement as a large grin sat under their mustache. Clearly eager for this new “adventure”, which…Dark suppose he could get behind — maybe — as long as his darling lover stayed right where he was: in his hands, where the grey being was able to admire their stunning look of joy while keeping him safe.
Yeah, he could do this for him. Everything will turn out just fine. How could they not when he was literally holding a ray of sunshine?
Hey real happy to see this posted!! Always love this concept, so was real happy to hear you'd be writing! Especially cause it's based off of silly doodles i did on a whim X'D
Speaking OF said doodles that they mentioned, however, for anyone whose curious, here they are! :D
Don't talk about it much, but GOD i'm an absolutely sucker for gentle giant/chaotic tiny dynamics, so this is gonna be a fun series for me to read, and possibly doodle more of >:]]
Rocky returns to erid and comes to reunite with adrian with a xenonite ball behind his back;
Adrian: Rocky, what do you have?
Rocky:
(Imagine the legend of zelda item get sfx) (i tried to get the scale right the best i could but idk how accurate it is but i couldn't get this img out of my head)
Little Guy acquired 
Oh look at that. Little Guy acquired!!! He is safe in his little hamster ball, time to meet Rocky's mate!
This is sososo cute 😭 thank you for drawing this and sending it in.
oh. when i asked how big you were and you said "8 inches" i assumed you were just lying about having a huge cock or something. no no im not disappointed. the doll thing is cute. why would i back out of our date now. yeah you can ride in the front pocket of my pinnafore for the trip back to my place, of course :)
autistic sizeshifter who grows when they unmask and it’s a metaphor for learning to stop making yourself smaller for other people and becoming unafraid to take up space and be the biggest, most authentic version of yourself. is anyone listening
listening with absolute intrigue yeah. on a silly note, I think that it'd also be cool if they made friends with other autistic individuals who can't size shift, but love them all the same. their friends get moved around with in their hands like a fidget toy, while they talk about their day or something simple while sitting in like. a really big football field
More g/t Goslingverse siblings content pls I'm dying... I can't be the only one that wants to see the silly little doll guy get to hang out with his weird human siblings in every universe <3
It's the 4th of July, and you don't want to spend it alone.
You can’t believe your luck over the past few days. A human had caught you, but not in the way you feared he ever would. He was simply in the right place at the right time when your worn rope finally snapped, and he had fast reflexes. You didn’t hit the ground like you thought you would, having braced from whatever injuries you’d receive from such a fall, or worse… instead, you landed on a soft, warm surface.
You then found yourself under the gaze of a human, the one who inadvertently saved you from a potentially fatal fall. His eyes were big, blue, and locked right onto you as you lay stunned in his hand, trembling as you realized what had happened. You were still alive, but you were completely at his mercy.
He stared for a few more moments before the shock wore off. He brought his other hand up to cup you in both, making sure you were secure and wouldn’t accidentally fall again. He didn’t seem angry, at least, but he was definitely curious, and you knew that could easily be far worse.
The moment he saw you crying, curling up in his hands, completely and utterly terrified, however, his expression softened, sympathy in his eyes as he watched you with concern.
“Am I scaring you?”
You nodded your head quickly, desperation for survival taking over as you began to beg for your life.
“P-please don’t hurt me, I-I’m sorry, I’ll leave, just please let me go!” you sobbed, hearing the human sigh softly.
“Whoa, hold on, I’m not gonna hurt you. It’s okay.”
You jumped when you felt a soft touch over your shoulder, hearing his voice soften as he rubs his thumb across your arm.
“Shh, take it easy, don’t-“
It was then that you blacked out, the stress being too much for your brain to handle.
When you opened your eyes next, you found yourself curled up on a folded washcloth, on the ground, near the entrance to the walls you’d been trying to get back to when you fell. Next to you was a small bundle of food, what looked like a new rope, and a note:
Hey,
I’m sorry I scared you, but I’m not sorry that I caught you, that would have been a really bad fall. Anyway, I left you some string that should be much stronger than what you were using before, and some food. If I’d known I had a borrower in my walls, I would have stocked up more, but I’ll fix that later, if you don’t leave, that is. I hope you don’t, but I also understand if you do. Take care of yourself out there.
-Raymond
You found yourself in shock as you read the note. How did he know what you’re called? How did he know that you have to leave now? Why did he let you go? You find yourself still pondering these questions now several days later, but you haven’t left just yet. You can’t afford to now, not at this time of the year.
You know what’s coming up, and you hate it with an undying passion. The 4th of July is today, and the weather has been wonderful, which is good, not too hot, but it also means plenty of fireworks later tonight.
You don’t understand what their fascination with giant explosions is, but it doesn’t matter, because they are terrifying. You know that all you can really afford to do is hunker down in your small home, hope nothing gets blown up, and just ride it out. Unless…
You know this is a stupid idea, it goes against everything you’ve been taught as a borrower, but you don’t know if you can handle another year alone, scared, stuck in your home while the fireworks are at their worst.
Raymond hasn’t done anything to try and meet you again, and you can’t scrub the memory of his look of sympathy from your brain. His gentle touch, while contributing to you having passed out, it reminded you of childhood, of how your parents would soothe you when there were fireworks or thunderstorms. You can’t believe you’re doing this, but given that he’d let you go, has since been much better at leaving things that are easy for you to take, and has ignored you even if he had a perfect chance to catch another glimpse of you… it’s obvious that he cares about your well-being.
You sigh to yourself as you peek out of the kitchen entrance, watching carefully for any signs of Raymond wandering around. When you see him, your heart sinks. He’s clearly getting ready to go enjoy the fireworks himself, and you feel a rush of anxiety at the thought of being completely alone here.
Just before he puts his hand on the front doorknob, you shout out his name.
“R-Raymond, wait!”
He pauses immediately, turning to look in the direction your voice came from. You stiffen as he spots you, puts his bags on the ground, and immediately makes his way over to you.
“Hey, is everything alright?”
You adamantly shake your head, trying not to panic or bail.
“Okay, well I’m about to head out to see the fireworks show with my friends, do you need anything before I go?”
You look down, wondering briefly if this is fair to him, but before you can say anything else, a firework is shot up, and explodes less than a mile away. You cry out and hide back through the entrance into the walls.
“Oh shit,” he murmurs softly.
You hear him take a few steps away, peeking out from the entrance to see him holding his phone up to his ear.
“Hey! I’m sorry, but I’m not gonna make it tonight. Yeah, something just came up. Everything’s okay, I just need to stay home tonight. Make sure to get lots of video for me. Okay, thanks, have fun, bye!”
You watch him lower his phone back down, tap the screen, and put it back in his pocket before looking back in your direction. Did he just… cancel his plans on his own? You didn’t even have to plead for him to stay?
He slowly heads back over to you, leaning on the counter as he regards you with a soft gaze.
“It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere tonight. I didn’t realize the fireworks would be scaring you like this.”
You take a tentative step out toward him, trembling and doing everything you can to hold it together. It doesn’t work, however. The fireworks are becoming more frequent, and you’re cowering on the countertop before long. Raymond sighs quietly to himself, watching you patiently.
“What can I do to help?”
You gaze back up at him, crying out as another explodes close by. You can hear a car alarm going off in response to the proximity, and it’s all too much. You whimper as you panic, but his soft voice cuts through the anxiety briefly.
“Okay, come here, it’s alright…”
You jump as you feel his fingers brushing against you, hearing him gently shush you as he wraps them around you so much more delicately than you’d have thought possible for a being of his size. You feel his warmth around you, your brain struggling to prioritize between being scared of the fireworks, or of being in his hands. You’re able to shake it off, however, the moment he holds you close to his chest, tucking you against him and holding you with both hands.
You’re immediately enveloped in warmth and pressure around you, the smooth sway of his footsteps distracting you briefly from the building chaos outside. He slowly sinks himself into the couch, and you feel yourself slumping into his chest as he leans back and cradles you close.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you, everything will be just fine,” he promises, his thumb rubbing up and down your back as you cling tightly to his shirt.
You never expected to have any sort of comfort on the night of the 4th, much less from a human, but here you are, putting your trust into a being so much bigger than you for reassurance and physical comfort. He doesn’t seem to have a problem with it, either. He keeps himself calm, his presence soothing as he just sits and holds you to himself.
“You’re still shaking… How did you deal with this before?”
You shake your head and cling tighter to him, fiercely holding on to the sense of security he’s providing you. Despite trying to hold it in, a quiet sob escapes, and you hear a soft hum from him. He holds you closer, his voice gentle and concerned.
“Were you just… terrified in the walls by yourself?”
You slowly nod your head. He immediately gives you a gentle squeeze, the warmest hug you’ve ever experienced. You get the feeling that he just wants to hold and protect you. On any other day you might have balked at the idea, but right now, this is exactly what you need.
“You don’t have to be alone anymore. I promise, if you ever get scared, you can always come find me, and I can hold you just like this.”
He pulls you away just enough to brush your tears away with his thumb.
You don’t know that you’ll be here long enough to consider his offer, but it’s certainly a nice thought, not having to be afraid again. He shifts the way he’s holding you to cradle you closer once more. For now, you’re here, you’re safe in his hands, and you feel… okay. You’re still extremely jumpy and terrified by the loud explosions, but Raymond’s kindness makes it a little easier to bear.
They go on for hours, occasionally setting off car alarms and vibrating the walls and floor slightly. By the time the fireworks finally die down, your eyes are red, puffy, and irritated. Raymond’s patience has proven to be strong, however, and he’s made sure you feel as safe and comfortable as you could possibly be in this situation.
He managed to distract you occasionally as he recounted stories. Some were from his childhood, others were of him and his friends performing… questionable stunts, many of which made you laugh a little through the tears, and you’ve realized that you actually like being around Raymond. You don’t mind the fact that he’s held you all night, kept you entertained, and comforted you whenever you’d start to panic again.
The night has left you exhausted, but after being in the safety of his hands for so long, and with the occasional fireworks still being set off, you’re not eager to leave him. You yawn quietly, snuggling up against Raymond’s shirt as you close your eyes. You hear him chuckle, followed by the quietest ‘aww’ coming from him as he keeps you snuggled close to himself. Any other day that might have set you off, a human cooing over you like this, but not tonight… weirdly enough, you feel like he’s earned it, especially if it feels as genuine as it does.
“Are you getting a bit sleepy?” He asks softly, and you nod your head.
“Do you want me to bring you back to where your home is, or do you want to come to bed with me?”
It’s not even a question for you. At this point, you know you can trust him. You know the fireworks will continue late into the night, and you’re not ready to feel the absence of his company and comfort.
“Can I come with you?”
“Of course you can.”
For the rest of the night, you’re bundled up on his chest as he keeps you close. You feel his heartbeat beneath you, letting it lull you to sleep when sheer exhaustion finally takes you. You’re startled awake by fireworks every now and then, but feeling his hands gently pressing you to him calms you, and you find yourself falling asleep again within minutes.
You come home after a bad day, and your giant partner knows just what to do.
You’ve had a rough day. The general public was particularly ruthless today, and you entered your section of your shared-size house, slamming the door shut and trying not to immediately break down. You hear the telltale footfalls of your partner approaching, not sure if you have it in you to deal with them right away, but you know you can’t just ignore them, either.
“Is everything alright?” they ask, their voice slightly muffled through the walls.
You sigh, it never ceases to amaze you just how accurately they can tell how your day went just by hearing the way you open and close the door. Biting back a full meltdown, you begrudgingly climb the stairs leading up to the platform you knew they were waiting at, exiting the small doorway leading out to it and letting it close with another sigh.
You brace yourself for an eager greeting, waiting to feel their hands scoop you up before being bombarded with affection, but you feel something different. Their hands reach down, of course, but they instead gently gather you into their hands and bring you close. Just the way they hold you, already knowing that you’re going to need comfort… They don’t even have to say anything else before the floodgates open, and you break down.
You begin to incoherently rant about your day, absentmindedly beating your fists against their chest every now and then in an expression of frustration and anguish. As you continue, you begin to ramble about other incidents that didn’t just happen today, realizing that you’ve been holding this anger in for far longer than you thought.
You hear a soft sigh, feeling movement as they head toward their gliding chair, bracing you to their chest for a moment as they sit down. They begin to rock back and forth in the chair, cupping you against their chest with both hands now as you continue to vent. They say nothing in response, simply keeping you cuddled close and stroking their thumb down your back. They don’t try to hush you, or offer you sympathy, they just let you ramble and cry with no interruptions.
After a while, you begin to quiet down, your energy quickly fading away as you’re now lulled into a state of lessened aggression. You’re still mightily upset, but you curl inward now, tucking your arms in close and nestling against their chest.
They wait patiently as you begin to settle down. Your sobs diminish into quiet hiccups, then occasional sniffles. It’s then that they pull you away from their chest, carefully lifting you up with both hands. You watch them lean in close, closing your eyes before feeling a gentle kiss to the top of your head. Still rather irritated and not in the mood for this kind of affection right now, you push against their lips with both arms, feeling them back off rather easily.
It’s not long before they do it again, however, their lips softly pressing against the side of your head and upper shoulder. You let out a frustrated whine at their insistence to kiss you right then and there, shoving back against them once more and huffing as, in a rare occurrence, they ignore your wishes for them to stop.
“Shh,” they hush.
You can hear it in the way it comes out, a firm suggestion to let them do as they please. You’ve had your time to be upset, now it’s time to lighten the mood. You’re still annoyed, almost certain that they won’t be able to cheer you up, but they’re committed.
They continue to kiss you, offering a few more gentle pecks against your shoulder. You grumble at them some more, but they’re not having it. It’s then that the intensity of their affection is kicked up a notch.
Their kisses against you become more focused, forceful and deliberate as they keep their lips against you for longer at a time. They kiss you multiple times in a row, their lips brushing over more and more of your body, only pulling away a few feet each time now. You can feel gusts of their breath on you in between kisses, determination evident in their movements as they begin to overwhelm you.
They brush their lips over your face, against your neck, down your side, and then back up to the top of your head again to repeat the process. The display of affection becomes rougher as they begin to press in against you more, gentleness no longer enough to achieve their goal. You can’t even try to push back now, their strength easily outweighs yours as they press you against their hands beneath their lips, beginning to overwhelm you as they use more strength.
As their lips cover more and more of your body, you feel them slowly chipping away at your foul mood. They’re absolutely smothering you with loving affection, and you can feel your resolve beginning to break. The pressure, both physical and mental, becomes too much to try and stubbornly resist. You feel a small smile on your face, a tiny giggle escaping as their lips continue to keep their claim over you.
This only seems to embolden them, and they double down on their efforts. Their lips don’t even pull away anymore between kisses. You can feel their warm breath washing over you now, a slow exhale before they simply increase the pressure of their lips over you. There are moments when you can’t breathe, their lips so enveloping that all you can really do is lay there and experience it.
The pressure lets up, and you lose your composure. Laughter completely takes over, and you nuzzle yourself against their lips. They move as they whisper softly to you, a smile in their quiet voice.
“There’s my little one…”
You feel chills run down your spine. The whisper trails off as they increase the pressure on you, chuckling quietly against you as you accept that their attempt to cheer you up has worked wonders. You’re not even reluctant to admit it. Since you’ve returned home, they’ve known exactly what you needed. It’s a firm reminder of why you love them, and you gently chastise yourself for fighting back as long as you did.
Your giant hums against you, content with this outcome, and continues to shower you with love and care. You lean into their kisses, fall limp as their fingers begin to massage you, and press your own tiny kisses over their lips in return. The hellish day you’ve had is forgotten, left behind as you allow yourself to fully soak in their affection.
One Anomaly Is A Coincidence. Two Is Fate. Three Means We’re Having Fun
To save humanity is to send those best suited for the job. And if those candidates can cut down on energy used, time spent traveling through space, and how much food is consumed per meal, then adding ‘sizeshifter’ as a necessary position gives Sol and Earth the best chance at survival.
It also gives surprise passengers entertainment value.
Spoilers: Project Hail Mary, Iron Lung
Warnings: Cursing, dehumanization, mentions of death, the fear of getting crushed, mentions of blood
@unevencube2554 I humbly write this fic in your honor
____________
The ship is quiet. Almost too quiet. And it’s pissing Simon off.
…maybe that’s not the right word to describe what he’s feeling. Anger has become his baseline emotion whenever something sets off his internal alarms, an instinct of needing to conceal his fear behind the terrifying sight of the Butcher on a war path. Something that not only worked time and time again in his favor, but it ensured his survival through the hell he endured in the sub.
So with the Hail Mary becoming hauntingly quiet despite one resident’s language comprised entirely of melodic notes and always causing catastrophic thumps to echo every time they move, and the other constantly colliding with the single most noisiest objects every other second while always muttering under their breath, he finds himself experiencing the same need to combat the dread creeping through him with anger.
Never mind, he was correct with his first assumption. The quiet is pissing him off. The real question should’ve been if that’s really the best emotion to have.
Simon doesn’t even lift his head to give a shrill whistle through his teeth. He’s not calling out to someone who might have a hard time hearing him several rooms away. He’s calling to an alien who can see through walls with how impeccable their hearing is.
Sure enough, a whistle is sung back to him as an immediate response. One that has a distinct lack of warbled notes from pain or panic.
Yep, he’s allowed to be pissed. Time to take his anger out on who caused it.
Simon doesn’t even bother to turn off the tablet he was reading from. He simply pushes himself to a stand, boots thumping harshly against the floor as he makes his way down the hall. His eyes scan each room his passes, lingering on the pilot’s chair in case someone was up there needing to check and correct their current course. As he continuously comes up empty handed of a target, he’s encouraged by soft whistling just loud enough to guide him toward the lab that at least one of them is waiting for him there.
Rocky sits curled up inside his metal ball in the middle of the lab’s walkway. Despite the fact the Butcher is currently in a mood all of the Hail Mary crew are now well aware of the signs and consequences of, one thing the rock spider has never done and that’s run away like a coward. Simon can’t help but respect him for it, though the same can’t be said for Grace who seems to have already found a corner to hide away in.
“What did Grace Rocky do, question?” Rocky stomps. Always willing to get straight to the point, another thing Simon respects.
“It’s quiet,” is huffed in response. A little too casually considering he just promised a death sentence.
But rather than immediately spring up to go on the offensive to defend himself against Simon, Rocky stays curled up in what he claims to be a comfortable position, three limbs continuing to work on his newest project instead of quickly tucking everything away. “Apologies, Grace small. Quiet better for small Grace.”
Simon has realized the ‘human thinking machine’ is rather limited when it comes to translating Rocky’s songs. It gets the general point across, but much like how the grammar is never perfect, it also lacks certain words for fully proper translations. And don’t think he hasn’t noticed the distinct lack of swear words even though the melodic equivalent of shit is desperately trying to be communicated.
That being said, he can’t think of a single reason why the word small is being used to describe Grace’s current status. “Grace is small?”
“Grace is small, statement,” Rocky confirms, knowing what’s really being asked, that being if the wrong word had been translated. But it wasn’t, small was deliberate.
Simon’s scowl morphs into frustrated confusion as his eyes dart around the lab in the hopes he can locate the ‘small’ Grace. “How small?”
“Can fit inside message container,” Rocky replies as a fourth limb lifts to point to a grey cylinder sitting on top of one of the lab’s tables. A cylinder identical to one Simon had been told to try and crush in his fist to test his strength.
The Butcher stares at it, half expecting the apparently minuscule doctor they’ve been talking about to jump out from behind the container to shout some obscene exclamation similar to the one his shirt quoted regarding an element of surprise.
Nothing happens. What does happen is a very concerning amount of dread beginning to crawl its way through his veins as he imagines Grace small enough to fit inside the container he’s boring holes into. To be that small would make it effortless to hold him inside a fist. To end up getting crushed by a boot if its owner wasn’t watching where they stepped. To fall off one of the counters that might as well be a cliff with nothing but the unforgiving ground waiting to catch him.
Grace is small enough to make Simon into a giant. A circumstance that is being treated with the casualty of being told he fell asleep while working in the lab again. Yet no one thought to tell the newest crew member about it.
Now Simon’s extra pissed off.
“Where is he?”
As the words echo through the ship, Grace makes frantic motions with his arms to create a giant X as he desperately tries to tell Rocky no don’t reveal his hiding spot he’s fine no need to tell Simon-!
“Grace in thinking room.”
Rocky you pinky promised!
Despite the betrayal of his best friend not adhering to an agreement that’s supposed to go both ways, Grace becomes frozen where he stands out of direct line of sight between the wall and the small ledge that separates the thinking room. Because from his position, he has a clear view of the behemoth that is Simon currently looming several feet away. Or should he say miles due to his current size?
It’s…been a while since he’s been small around another fellow human. Rocky’s one thing, that being a force to be reckon with even when Grace is at his normal height and the equivalent of several moving buildings when he’s shrunk, but a human being is completely different. They have hands that tend to be a bit grabby. Familiar expressions now the size of a billboard. A reminder of what it looks and feels like whenever he shifts in the opposite direction and grows rather than shrinks.
And they stomp. Oh how much they stomp, especially middle schoolers who are much too curious about their shrunken teacher and therefore will hold off getting Ms. Bell from next door and instead request he continues the lesson while being passed around like any other show-and-tell item he brought to the classroom.
But even though it’s been a while since he’s been small around someone, the most valuable thing he learned is to always stay still. Because as long as he doesn’t move, then he won’t be-
“On floor. By wall.”
What the flippity flip, Rocky?!
The feeling of being watched settles over Grace’s shoulders like a blanket. And as his eyes trail up the boots with rubber thicker than he is tall, up legs stretching taller than skyscrapers, past the usually hilarious ‘I had potential’ physics joke that doesn’t even make him crack a smile this time around, all the way up to the carefully emotionless stare of Simon.
Neither of them look away as their eyes meet, the significantly smaller feeling pinned down by the stare alone as the significantly larger takes a moment to comprehend what exactly he’s looking at.
Once his fellow human realizes it is, in fact, a small Grace posed as though he was just caught trying to steal snacks out of his own desk’s drawer, Simon’s brow furrows into what can only be described as confuzzled anger before a catastrophic boot big enough to flatten him like a bug shifts ever so slightly.
Logically, he knows it’s Simon. Knows this is someone who, despite being a bit on the grumpier side, has spoken through his actions he is a kind person who just wants to help others. For every time he’s kicked Rocky’s ball to send the Eridian flying across the Hail Mary and roughly manhandled Grace whenever his boundaries are pushed, there’s been the times he’s helped Rocky get unstuck when he’s rolled into a tight corner and when he’s pinned Grace down to force him to get some sleep after staying awake for 48 hours straight.
And yet despite knowing that, the only thing Grace can think about is the fact someone is coming for him. So before the giant even has the chance to take a single step to initiate the chase, he turns on his heal and books it.
Grace sprints for the nearest cover, that being the servos locked on rolling tracks. He’ll have to worry about keeping track of where each one might be moved in the attempt to catch him out in the open, but at least the space underneath is too small for a hand to properly reach under to grab him.
The only issue? Even as he runs as fast as he possibly can, he can already feel the ground quaking beneath his converse with a foreboding thump as those boots follow after him. Gain up on him, the ground shaking steadily turning into devastating earthquakes at an alarming rate as an ominous shadow creeps over him.
But he can’t stop. He has to get away, has to-!
“This isn’t up for debate, Ryland.”
He couldn’t help flinching at his first name being all but spat like a curse word. Stared across the table at Stratt watching him with something akin to apathy.
“I can’t go,” he murmured, struggled to keep his voice even. “My kids-“
“-will die because of you,” she snapped. He flinched as he lost an inch in height. “You want to keep your students safe? Then you won’t act like a coward and run away.”
Grace shook his head. Swallowed as his throat threatened to close. “I’m not-“
“Yes you are,” made him lose yet another inch in height. “You’re a coward. You’re weak.” Another four inches as he started to shrink rapidly with every barb she sent straight into his heart. “The only way you can ensure everyone who has sacrificed their lives for this mission didn’t do it in vein is get on that ship.”
He couldn’t stop himself anymore. Even as he fought to try and grow just a few feet, he shrunk too quickly to stop it. In the end he found himself standing on the floor at only two inches tall, frozen as he struggled to breathe as he stared at Stratt’s boots from where she still sat. As if she wasn’t cutting him down both figuratively and literally.
And then she stood up. And Grace was faced with the fact he was a coward as he watched in horror as those boots started coming for him.
Once Stratt rounded the table, she stood towering above him with a look of destain. Like he was an uninvited bug that she wanted to do nothing more than squash.
“Have you made your final decision?”
His answer was to turn in the opposite direction and run, on legs that trembled as he desperately ran for his life, only to stumble and trip-
A yelp escapes Grace as he falls out of the memory he wishes to never visit again, only to scream as a wall of rubber lands directly in front of him. “Holy-!”
The shrunken man doesn’t have enough time to stop his momentum before colliding with the awfully familiar boot. He does manage to lift his arms up to protect his face, but it does nothing to stop him from painfully bouncing off before falling onto his butt.
“Ow.”
“Lose any teeth?”
Grace freezes at the words rumbling like thunder directly overhead, staring at the ground after curling up as he held his head waiting for the world to stop spinning. Slowly, as if not to startle the living storm cloud, he lifts his head as his eyes lock onto the objects in his immediate proximity. To his right, the boot doesn’t so much as shift, the proven formidable barrier not leaving anytime soon. To his left, a hand with fingers longer than he is tall attempting to look unassuming from where it rests a few feet away.
Gulping, Grace eyes focus directly above him, every muscle tensing as he sees Simon kneeling in front of him, so close the giant casts an inescapable shadow over the infinitesimal figure. And his expression leans more toward the side of frustration than anything else.
They stare at each other for a few moments. Huh, he would’ve thought he’d be grabbed by now.
“Uh,” Grace begins, a little uncertain what to do after he, you know, ran from a fellow crew member. “Wh-What was the question again?”
It’s impossible to miss the way Simon leans in closer with just how big he is, the sight making Grace want to run again at the thought of the towering being falling on him. “You ran into my boot like a dumbass. Knock out any teeth?”
Grace winces before shaking his head, only to immediately regret it as he sucks in a sharp breath from the pain it causes. But the good news is it’s not a concussion and he is not missing any teeth. “Nope! All good! Just got some sense knocked into me.”
His attempt at a cheesy smile falls as Simon full on scowls at him, he’s not supposed to run anymore he should not start running. “Was it enough sense to tell me why you’re small enough to get crushed under my thumb?”
And wow Grace absolutely hates that imagery if his body shivering involuntarily has anything to say about it. He thinks he would’ve preferred being compared to a bug.
“Well,” he begins, coughing into his fist as he straightens up, crossing his legs as he carefully uncurls from his protective ball. He tries to meet Simon’s eyes to have an earnest conversation, but one second against the intense look and he turns his head away as he rubs the back of his neck self-consciously. “I, uh, reflexively shrunk when one of my experiments kind of exploded, and it’s taking a little longer than usual to grow.”
Grace glances over to watch Simon’s reaction, freezing when the scowl only gets deeper. “You shrunk, or your experiment shrunk you?”
Oh snap, he forgot to tell Simon about his status as a sizeshifter.
Well, actually, that’s a fib. He didn’t forget, more-so couldn’t find the right way to explain it to someone who has a hard time trusting everything he and Rocky say and do. If Simon needed an entire month just to accept the fact they don’t want to harm him after being told a little bit more of how he ended up on the Hail Mary, Grace didn’t think it would be wise to throw in the fact one of his newest crew members can shrink and grow at will.
Grace should’ve taken into account how this might look. Simon stumbling upon someone small enough to, as mentioned, crush under his thumb, and assuming they either don’t trust him, or there’s something malicious going on. Or, if they’re hiding this, then what else can they be hiding.
And that’s how Grace finds himself hunching in on himself, shoulders hiked up to his ears, thoroughly reprimanded. “I shrunk. I’m a sizeshifter, so I can shrink whenever I want, and sometimes when I don’t because something startled me.”
Or when emotions overwhelm him.
“You don’t just grow?”
“Huh?” Grace asks as he looks up to meet Simon’s raised eyebrow. “You, you know I can grow?”
“You grew the first time we met,” the towering man replies with a hint of exasperation. “You got big enough to pin me with one hand, and yet you decided to not to use the advantage like an idiot.”
He did grow when they first met? It wasn’t too long ago when Simon first appeared, but there had been a lot going on. Did he really use his size to scare someone? Had wanted to do something like that?
The giant sighs through his nose. “You were protecting Rocky while he slept.”
Grace’s face begins to burn when the memory surges forward. Of him hearing Mary announce there was an intruder and immediately grabbing the handheld XRF spectrometer to help defend his best friend before growing several feet. He wasn’t thinking of using his size, though, just to deter who or what ever was on the ship to not come near them.
But from Simon’s perspective, apparently he thought an honest to goodness giant was going to forcibly restrain him against his will.
“Fudge, uh, I-I hope you know I would never use my size like that,” Grace begins. And then he realizes…they never talked about this before. And with Simon clearly remembering him growing, his fellow human has most likely been worried about the next time it could happen. Might’ve even been dreading bringing it up out of fear Grace would grow and finally decide to use such an ability against him.
Oh he fricked up. “Shoot I am so sorry, Simon. I didn’t know you knew! But I would never use my size against you! I might grow again at some point, I can’t really stop it sometimes, but I won’t hurt you! Or force you to do anything! Or-!”
“Are you saying this because you’re trying to reassure me?” Simon cuts in, easily overpowering Grace’s rambling. “Or are you saying this because you’re afraid of me taking advantage of your current size?”
Grace’s eyes go wide as he shoots a glance at the hand directly beside him. “Well, it was the former.”
Instead of becoming offended of the implication Grace is now a little worried about him being so small, Simon smirks. “Glad there’s a bit of self-preservation in you.”
His question of if Simon thought there hadn’t been before this gets lost as the hand finally moves, and suddenly Grace is greeted with the all too familiar sight of a massive palm moving toward him, curled fingers aiming to scoop him up.
“Simon, wait!” the shrunken man yells as he attempts to stumble back.
Of course it’s futile. His foot gets caught by a finger, forcing a worried ‘frick!’ as he trips and falls directly onto something moving and alive. And before he can so much as blink, a pinky pins his right leg, followed by a middle finger nudging him into the center of a curling fist, with a thumb hovering just above where he’s firmly pinned down with nothing but his head visible and only one arm free.
“Simon careful with Grace, statement.”
Grace holds his breath as Simon rolls his eyes as the fist holding him tightens ever so slightly. “I’m being careful.”
Which, in the defense of someone who’s a giant for the first time, he is being careful. Grace would much rather not be grabbed and pinned by someone who’s never interacted with a sizeshifter before, but he hasn’t been hurt. He just can’t keep his heart from trying to escape with how thoroughly confined he is.
“Grace in fist.”
“And what would you have me do?” Simon demands.
To answer, Grace opens his mouth to offer some advice, only to have a silent scream escape as the first time giant stands up without any warning, making if impossible to catch his breath as the air displacement sends his hair flying, leaving him gasping once Simon stops moving.
“I only have one hand,” Simon continues as he glares, assumably, at Rocky. “Would you rather I chance having him go tumbling and not be able to catch him?”
“Simon dumb, dumb, dumb,” the Eridian responds. “Grace small before. Knows how to be small. No need fist.”
“Guys-“
Grace is cut off again not by the two continuing to argue, but by Simon suddenly walking. As a jolt jars him to his very core, the shrunken man is faced with that fact he’s more out of practice than he thought. He distinctly remembers being a pro at continuing on conversations even when his students dangled him upside down by his leg, and all the times he confidently sat on someone’s shoulder even as they ran down a hallway, yet he can only seem to focus on the sound of a xenonite ball thumping against the metal floor. His arm instinctively wraps around the finger wrapped around him as genuine fear of falling from a fatal height grips him tightly. His eyes shut tightly as the feeling of vertigo makes his stomach flip.
And then the warmth and safety of Simon’s hand disappears as the fingers pull away, leaving Grace shouting in surprise as he stumbles onto flat ground.
Before he can face plant, a finger wraps around his chest to keep him upright. “Has Rocky used ‘ungraceful’ as an insult yet.”
“No understand.”
“Do not explain it to him,” Grace pleads breathlessly as he uses the finger to steady himself, carefully balancing on wobbly legs that did not enjoy the impromptu grab.
It takes a moment, but he’s able to step away without tripping on his own feet again. Thankfully, despite being a little grabby before, Simon sets his hand down on the edge of the…counter. He’s on a counter?
Turning around, Grace comes face to face with the rest of the lab with Rocky still in his hamster ball as he rolls over to where the shrunken man stands, and Simon hovering close by after seeming to have found a chair so he’s only the size of a three story building rather than a ten.
“See? He was fine in a fist,” Simon grouses before focusing back on Grace. “How long does it normally take you to get back to your usual height?”
“Well, it depends. Sometimes a few minutes, sometimes a few hours.”
Simon gives a flat look. “How long this time around?”
“…I’m thinking a few hours,” Grace admits sheepishly.
The towering man gives a small hum in acknowledgement before abruptly standing up, sending Grace instinctively skittering back a few steps. He forgot how fast other humans are when he’s small.
“Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid, Rocky.”
And with that, Simon stomps down the hallway, disappearing from sight before Grace even realizes what happened. Within seconds, he’s left completely stranded, unable to get down until he manages to shift again. Something that won’t be happening anytime soon.
His heart clenches at the thought he’s become a liability. And really he always has been. Growing every single time whenever his class went on field trips with him. Shrinking constantly when he was working with astrophage on Stratt’s Vat. Rocky needing to stay in a singular spot whenever he shrinks to ensure he doesn’t get crushed purely by accident.
Now Simon has to always be told whenever he shrinks to ensure he’s put somewhere high above the ground so he doesn’t end up under an unknowing boot.
Grace sighs as he plops down, legs folded so he can rest his arms on his knees. He stares across the vast distance between where he sits and the thinking room he was effortlessly picked up and carried from, the very spot he stood only minutes ago too blurry to properly see.
“What Grace study, question?” Rocky suddenly asks as the Eridian tumbles through the lab, most likely ecstatic with his newfound freedom now that a certain sizeshifter is out of harm’s way.
Grace shrugs. “Nothing big. Just looking at the blood Simon had on him.”
“Learn something new, question?”
“Other than it does not like astrophage?” the shrunken man replies. “Nope. Nothing useful.”
“Well now we know not to let it in the same room as the black goo.”
Grace jolts at Simon’s voice, yelping when the counter jumps as something is tossed onto its surface. He then stares as the man sits back down to pull what looks like the same tablet he claimed several weeks ago to slowly start going through every book, article, and scientific study known to man up until the Hail Mary was sent on her mission to save the stars.
Once Simon pulls up whatever he was reading before, he focuses back on Grace. “Need help starting on something you can do while tiny.”
“Uh,” is the only thing he can say as he attempts to process what’s being said, being offered. “No?”
“You get two more hours of research before we’re getting a minimum of 6 hours of sleep, tiny or not,” Simon announces as he turns to his tablet.
Grace stares up at the giant. Blinks a few times before rubbing his eyes to be sure he’s seeing currently. Yet Simon doesn’t disappear once.
“What Grace Rocky study now, question?” his best friend demands.
Grace’s brow furrows, stumped of a response before straightening up as an idea strikes him. “Oh! We should check on the telescope’s data!”
“Simon get telescope data!”
The man in question doesn’t hesitate to heed Rocky’s command, standing up and walking over to where both the Eridian and shrunken figure run toward to find the long sheet of data that has been slowly printing over the course of a month. Ripping it off the printer, Simon turns to the table in the middle of the lab completely void of an items littering the surface.
Grace huffs as he skids to a halt after running all this way to get to the data sheet. He’s about to ask Rocky for assistance getting across the chasm when a shadow falls over him.
At the sight of two pinching fingers reaching for him, he sprints, squawking when a thumb and first finger snag him almost immediately as his feet are lifted away from solid ground.
“Careful, careful, careful!” Rocky berates.
Simon huffs as he carefully frees Grace onto the middle table, the shrunken man only stumbling back a step before righting himself. “I think I can handle a few seconds of holding him without you thinking I’ll crush him.”
“Simon break xenonite. Simon can break Grace. Simon hurt Grace, Rocky break Simon.”
“I’d like to see you try.”
“Guys,” Grace quickly interrupts, glaring down at Rocky looking seconds away from rolling after Simon to start a physical altercation. One where they both know the human would win. “I only have 1 hour and 40 minutes left to research, focus.”
The Eridian plops down into a loaf to show his displeasure. “Focus.”
Grace jogs over to the start of the data, a string of numbers regarding the red and blue shifting light from the moon they’re getting further and further away from by the day in the hopes they can figure out if it’s staying in one place, getting left behind, or getting closer. Once Simon has sat back down and focused on his tablet, Grace begins to rattle off numbers as big as his forearm for Rocky to memorize for when they start doing the calculations.
He is really hoping he can grow before his time is up, not wanting to see how Simon intends to reinforce the minimum six hours of sleep while he’s shrunk. But he’s not dreading it. Nor is he dreading when he inevitably grows or shrinks again.
He’s just glad he didn’t scare off another friend.
Also working on a platonic Ken and Grace g/t fic where he shows up to keep him company on his way back to the Blip-A bc bro is NOT DOING WELL WITH BEING ALONE RN
