Once upon a starry night…

• reader • writer • dreamer •

[starri-skye]

>>Picrew<<

✨ Hello, everyone! Welcome to my little slice of Tumblr ✨

You can call me Starri or Skye, I’ll answer to both!

I’ll be sprucing up this pinned post over time, so be sure to check back for Master Lists and whatnot in the future💫

You can also find me on Ao3♥️

[starri-skye]

Cool phm fics, really enjoyed them

Thank you!!

[starri-skye]

loved your fic keeping watch on ao3 :( had my crying at 3 pm

Oh, my goodness!! Thank you so much 🥹🥹😭😭

[mintypochi]

Some Project Hail Mary Fanarts🌠👎

I adore this movie so so much, it hurts.

[starri-skye]

YAYeee! Well if you didn't mind my rambles last time ;)

I'm at chapter 22 now, but it's 6AM on work day, so I will be even more close to the end :( before I have time to write to you again.

In retrospective, when I started the book I was freshly from movie and I wanted to know more in depth stuff I didn't learn from the movie, so the start was slow, because I was inpatient. But now near the end! (and with my buddy finally finding his earphones so he is listening too) the start is great! so much science!

Shapiro and DuBois died and taumoeba ate the fuel on HailMary .. I am not at happy part of the book. In fact I am dreading Grace's abduction into scientist onboard of HailMary :((

Yes!! I had read and listened through the book 3 times right before watching the movie. So the movie felt so different from the book that it was a little bit of a shock. I still loved the movie, but it wasn’t until the rewatch that I could truly appreciate it as its own thing. The movie did a great job honoring the book!

I feel like I got more of an emotional punch from the book by the ending than the movie — but maybe it’s because I didn’t know it was going to happen the first time I read the book, so it was literally a shock!

I am so happy you’re enjoying the book more now! The ending is fantastic! I can’t wait to hear what you think.

I love all the science and how it fits into the movie even though the movie didn’t have time address it the same way the book did.

[kyri45]

I'm so normal about this movie that I did this in 3 days with a total of 10 hours of sleep. If you know this song you know it s time to bring out the tissues.

Song is The Cave by Mumford and Sons

[starri-skye]

This is GORGEOUS!! Please watch it ✨🥹🥹🥹🥹

[starri-skye]

Angry, Bossy, Stupid

by Starri_Skye

Read here on Ao3 Rated: G | Words: 499 Relationships: Ryland Grace & Rocky Tags: Fluff, Humor

I couldn’t decide if keeping track of the passing days was a good or a bad idea. 

I considered making a pros and cons list, but somehow ended up taking an alien enforced nap instead. 

“You sleep, I observe,” Rocky trilled after I hurled my Expo marker across the room in frustration. 

I protested the tyranny. “You can’t just tell me to sleep whenever you want.” 

“Can.” Rocky thumped a claw on the ground for emphasis. “Not in mood to deal with angry human.” 

That was fair, but being treated like a misbehaving child irked me. “Maybe I’m not in the mood to deal with a bossy Eridian.”

“Fine. Sleep and not deal with bossy Eridian for 28,800 seconds. Win, win.”

Rocky using an Earth idiom was annoyingly hilarious, but I couldn’t decide if laughing would bolster or annoy him. I settled for arms crossed over my chest and glaring at him. 

I’m all about compromise. 

“You are being stupid,” Rocky told me. “Stupid Grace make stupid mistakes.”

Why did he have to say it like it’s his personal motto? 

“How?” I asked. “How am I being stupid right now? Tell me.” 

Rocky turned his carapace pointedly in the direction of the weaponized Expo marker. “Throwing writing tool smart, question? I am confused. Explain how intelligent.” 

I marched over and picked up the marker. “Okay, fine, throwing the marker was stupid. But that doesn’t mean I’m being stupid. The action itself was stupid. There is a difference.” 

“Oh,” Rocky chirped in the way I knew meant another verbal blow was incoming, “You are right. Stupid actions are never results of stupid individuals. Apologies.”

I knew he was being sarcastic, but I gave a little bow regardless. “Well, apology accepted.” 

“Was sarcasm. Not real apology. Cannot be accepted.”

Got him. “Too late, I already accepted it.”

Rocky tapped irritably in his bulb. Basically the Eridian version of staring me down. “Go sleep, Grace.”

The worst part of the whole thing was that I really was tired. My eyes were burning, and I had a yawn successfully trapped in my mouth the past few minutes. I couldn’t yawn in front of him unless I wanted to let Rocky win. Being an idiot, I had told him about yawning being symptomatic of the human brain needing to sleep.

Alas, the longer I tried not to yawn, the more irresistible it became. 

Have you ever tried yawning with your mouth closed? 

Don’t bother. It doesn’t work. 

And it actually hurts.

I gave up. 

“You yawn, you yawn!” Rocky warbled gleefully.

I tossed the Expo marker at him. 

It bounced harmlessly off the xenonite barrier, which was almost insulting. 

“Fine, you win. I’m going to sleep, mom.” 

“Endearing term of familial attachment.”

“Not in this context,” I grumbled. 

“What mean, question?” 

I waved him off as I headed to the dormitory. “Nevermind.”

“Not forget brush mouth bones before I come in!” Rocky called after me. 

I tipped my head back and groaned. 

END

[starri-skye]

I found the link to the 'what if lamb built the slaughterhouse' in case you really really didn't see it yet - https://www.tumblr.com/here-to-fangirll/812263962612809728/project-hail-mary-is-a-fantastic-movie-that?source=share (this is in reaction to a ask I sent few seconds ago. If that didn't arrive this won't make sense and I am sorry :X)

This is so tragic!!! 😭😭😭

[starri-skye]

Hiya again! (I sent you this ask previously. - I am not sure if this ask will send with the link, so please let me know you got this, even if you don't wanna reply)

The reading of the audiobook is slow going. I am only at the chapter 6. I have thoughts already. One detraction is that I don't quite like the voice for the audiobook(in my native language). Maybe it is because it doesn't sound like Ryan Gosling XD. Another thing is ... when me&my buddy seen the movie last week's friday COMPLETELY blind, we were really praising the movie's execution of putting the viewer into zero-knowledge about the plot and MAINTAINING it with the main character! But I am not in the same position with the audiobook. So at the the earliest chapters I was exasperated with 'you're in spaaaaace', 'at Tau Ceti', 'to fix astrophage problem'. But I quite liked the 'past' sections, as those had much much more info than I got from the movie. AND!! I really like the science sections in the past - the discoveries in the lab!! SCIENCE!

Yesterday I stopped for lunch in the middle of forest and listened to the part when Eva Stratt & Ryland talk about coma-gene. Naturally I've been reading fanfiction and tumblr posts in the last week, so I got 'spoilered' about coma-gene existing, but it didn't prepare me for this. 1 in 7000!! No matter how Grace was trying to 'console' Stratt, that is a low odds. You need someone with the gene. You need someone willing to die. You need smart smart smart capable scientist in a SPECIFIC field. And ofc I listened to this knowing that Ryland will be sent against his will by Stratt :((( Really reminded me of that tumblr post that is like 'what if the lamb built the slaughterhouse' (i hope you know which I mean). Ryland consoling Stratt about the necessity of decision that is signing his faith. Stratt seeking reassurance from Ryland (he even calls her on that) for a decision that in the end will force Stratt to murder him send him to die unwillingly and without memory. -

Unrelated to audiobook, but one detraction of the movie I have, is that it is real bad at showing how much time anything takes! I know some values from fanfiction already, but I hope I will learn more and especially feel the weight of the YEARS that things take. ~Thank you for reading my rambles ~ Bye for now.

Oh, I definitely understand not enjoying a narrator! It can completely take you out of the story 😭 Especially if you another voice in mind (👀 Ryan Gosling IS Ryland Grace!!) I love how Ray Porter did the narration in the English audiobook though ✨

Yes!! The movie is so accessible to new fans or those who haven’t read the book—and I love that when you read the book you get so many details about the science that went into the project.

I wish they had been able to leave the part where Grace has the comma resistant gene in the movie because it makes the reason Stratt sends HIM make so much more tragic sense 😭😭😭 1 in 7,000 chance that the leading scientist in Astrophage biology is incredible 🤯

Thank you so much for your thoughts! I enjoyed reading them ✨😊😊😊😊

[woodsywarbler]

forget me, forget me not

[starri-skye]

I love that, in the movie adaption, we witness Eva Stratt seeing that her belief in Ryland Grace paid off.

She knew he had it in him.

I only wish that Grace could know in turn that, after everything, he made her proud.

She was so proud of him.

[starri-skye]

Rooftop

Rated: T (for emotional turmoil) Words: 1039 Fandom: Project Hail Mary Character(s): Ryland Grace Top Tags: Missing Scene, Angst, Feelings of Guilt, Feelings of Shame, Feelings of Fear, Ryland Grace is having a very bad day Read on Ao3

A short story based entirely on that two-second scene in the movie showing Grace in his raincoat on the roof.

****

If not you, then who, Grace?

Why should someone else be told to die?

What makes you so special?

Guilt. That is the voice’s name, the voice that has been murmuring at the back of his mind since this whole mess started. Its presence had arrived at his shoulder in the conference room, but it had not been alone. Its companion, Shame, had lingered nearby as well, unbearably silent. It did not need to speak to be heard. Fear had come earlier, when the lab exploded. But it had gone from just a feeling in the back of his mind, to an unwanted companion at his elbow.

“Can I think about it?” Grace asked the room, unable to pry his gaze from the polished tabletop in front of him. 

Stratt had given him three hours. 

When he pushed back from the table, Guilt, Shame, and Fear had trailed him dutifully from the room, stumbled after him up the steps to the roof. 

They wouldn’t let him be alone. 

He just wanted to be alone. 

But he hasn’t had that luxury for a long, long time. Stratt’s people always know where he is. It is the nature of being part of a classified project. Assets don't get to just wander away whenever they feel like it. 

So, really, it is the illusion of privacy he finds on the rooftop. Alone with his looming demons. 

He sits with his knees pulled to his chest, curled in on himself. The satellite dishes gawk at the sky overhead, the expanse still stained with smoke and ash. It is the same sky that Stratt wants him to launch into, to race lightyears and lightyears away, and never, ever come back. 

He only has three hours to tell her that this whole contingency plan of hers is crazy. She’s crazy. They’re ALL crazy!

But why not you, Ryland Grace? Guilt hums.

Grace covers his face with his hands, shielding himself from whoever or whatever might be watching him fall apart on this rooftop. He can’t do this. He can’t be the hero they’re asking him to be. He isn’t built for it, equipped for it. 

Okay, sure, he knows a lot about the parasitic, single cell alien lifeform eating their sun. And yeah, he might know more about the subject than anyone else this side of the atmosphere. But that doesn’t mean he’s the only answer, the only solution. It isn’t fair. He didn’t ask for this. Not this. 

Why not you?

Three hours, ticking away, second by second. Crawling by at the speed of light. 

The obstructive invasion of Grief he’d wrestled with a few hours ago at the sudden loss of DuBois and Shapiro has shifted forms. It has twisted into something ugly and brutal, unrecognizable. Guilt tips its head at the monster Grief has become: Anger. 

They shouldn’t both be dead, Grace laments bitterly. They’re the ones who chose this life, this end, this…sacrifice! They were the ones willing to do it, to die in space. They were the ones who made the plans. And now, they are both gone, the launch is in three days, and somehow he is the one everyone expects to shoulder the burden. No. 

No. 

No – he can’t be the answer. 

He won’t be! 

Why is he the one who has to step up to the plate with no notice, no planning, no warning? Why is he the one that gets to be told to die? 

Guilt steps closer. Why not you?

When Grace joined this project, there had been an unspoken understanding that everything would go back to normal eventually. Maybe a gnarled version of normal, given the whole dying sun situation. But he would go back to the job he loved most in the world, return to San Francisco, walk the beaches again with their salt infused air and blankets of fog. Sure, his stupid little apartment was already leased out to someone else, but how hard would it be to find something similar? 

He never thought that the last time he’d been in California could be the last time for the rest of his life. 

This isn’t fair. 

What they are asking of him isn’t fair. 

But is it fair for someone else?

They can’t expect him to make peace with something like this in just three hours and then waltz onto a doomed interstellar ship three days later to die. 

His thoughts scramble away from the horror of it, fleeing to the safe memories of his kids. The last class of middle schoolers he’d had are in high school now, trying to figure out what their futures will look like after graduation in a world facing its end. If he went back to teaching – no – when he goes back to teaching, it will be a new set of kids. New names, new faces, new minds to impart his knowledge to. 

That’s where he should be, where he’s meant to be. He should be helping humanity here with his knowledge, not lightyears away on a suicide mission. He can help prepare humanity, come up with more temporary solutions to buy them more time until the real heroes send word back with a hopefully permanent cure. 

Okay. Okay, he’s thought this through. Logically, analytically, practically. He’s looked at it from all angles, like a good scientist. 

Like a good human. 

A good, brave human that is looking out for humanity in the way he can best serve it. 

Here. Boots on the ground, in the thick of it. 

Fear has nothing to do with it. 

He isn’t a coward. 

He is realistic. 

Guilt eyes him with an assessing, accusatory gaze. Shame bares sharp teeth in a knowing, leering smile. 

Fear shies from both. 

Grace checks his watch. It’s been two hours and fifty-six minutes. 

He stands up, straightens his raincoat, and scrubs at his face. The motions don’t erase the anguish carved into his features. 

“I’m a teacher,” Grace breathes, steeling himself for the argument surely to come. “That’s what I’m good at. That’s my purpose. I need to be here, on Earth. For the kids. For humanity.” 

When he leaves the roof, Fear leads the way. 

Guilt and Shame follow. 

Bravery waits its turn.

END

[ginkgodoodles]

Grace exposing Rocky to the classics.

[starri-skye]

You can hate Stratt, but just remember she was also chosen to be a sacrifice.

She was chosen to be the face and voice of a project Earth would vilify in the 30 years it took to get word back if the long shot even worked.

She knew this, and stepped up.

She knew this, and chose the good of humanity over her own good name, reputation, and freedom.

She was on a suicide mission too.

[starri-skye]

me find you on tumblr! you stop make me cry, question.

watched movie yesterday. Got audiobook today. Me read book (=listen to audiobook) ? Yes/Yes?

Oh, my goodness!! So excited for you to listen to the audiobook — you’ll love it! I’ve read the book once and listened twice (and have watched the movie 4x)

🙌🙌🤧🤧

Please let me know what you think of the book!! I love talking about it ✨✨✨

[3nigm4art]

You are friend, statement.