Normally I like to throw Simon into the PHM 'verse so he can be happy, but let's switch things around for a sec.
Grace fell asleep in his biodome on Erid, and wakes up in the middle of a submarine at the bottom of the blood ocean. He (and Simon) are understandably freaked out by his sudden appearance, and Grace is even more freaked out by his surroundings. They're shouting at each other, Simon is ready to fight, swearing up a storm, while Grace is trying to simultaneously cower away and not touch any of the blood-soaked walls. It's pure chaos.
Suddenly the radio kicks on, Ava demanding to know what's happening. Simon does his best to explain, but he's frustrated and confused and not entirely convinced this is real. But then Grace cuts in, and starts to ramble as he tries to figure out how he got there, talking about wormholes and hallucinogens and the side-effects of long-term heavy metal exposure. He's flustered, and when he gets flustered, he starts talking.
And up on the surface, Ava just freezes. Because she doesn't know how the fuck Grace got down there, but she knows what he is. And what he is, is a scientist, something humanity desperately needs. The Quiet Rapture wiped out most of the human race's scientific minds, and the few that remained were fought over fiercely by the different factions, often to their detriment. Grace would be an incredible resource, if he actually knows as much as his ranting seems to imply.
The blood ocean might be able to help humanity, but a scientist definitely can. Especially a scientist with as diverse a portfolio as Grace. He may have started off as a microbiologist, but during his time on Project Hail Mary and his mission to Tau Ceti, Grace has picked up a little bit of everything. He is arguably the smartest person alive in the universe at the moment. And while Ava might not realize this, she knows enough to recognize that he's valuable.
She orders Simon to come back up to the surface.
Simon is pretty far from the hangar at this point, so the trip will take them a while. As they travel, Grace tries to strike up a conversation to get to know Simon a bit better. It doesn't take much for him to figure out that Simon's situation is awfully similar to his own; sent on a one-way trip to find answers for a human race desperate for any solution. He finds himself relating to Simon, empathizing with him, even if his first impression wasn't the greatest. Besides, Simon is the first human Grace has seen in years, and he's enjoying finally spending time in the company of someone who's the same species, even if Simon is kinda prickly.
At the same time, Simon can't help but be grateful that Grace's appearance on the sub means he gets to leave the blood ocean, even if it's only for a little bit. Grace is also oddly non-threatening, and treats Simon so kindly that Simon doesn't really know what to think of him. He feels a bit guilty, because he knows that he's going to be delivering Grace to the COI so they can essentially enslave him, but it has to be better than dying down here in this fucking death trap, right?
Over the course of their trip back to the hangar, Simon and Grace start to bond.
By the time they actually return and the SM-13 is pulled out of the ocean, they have definitely grown a little bit attached to each other, Grace perhaps more so than Simon. So when the sub is cut open so that Grace can be extracted, he grabs Simon and drags him out too, not wanting to be parted from his new friend.
Ava, of course, orders Simon to go back down right away, now that he's brought Grace to them. He argues that he fulfilled his part of the bargain and that they promised him freedom, but Ava dismisses it and tells him that he hasn't found anything yet, so he hasn't actually served his purpose. Simon is dismayed, but not surprised, as they try to force him back into the SM-13.
Suddenly Grace is grabbing him and dragging him back. He refuses to let them send Simon down to his death, literally hiding Simon behind himself as a precaution. He's shaking with fear as the COI members surround them, but he won't budge, even when Ava orders him to stand aside.
Ava could force the issue, of course. They could push Grace aside, maybe hurt him to force him to move. But doing that would be risky, and she doesn't want any harm to come to humanity's newest hope. So she agrees that Simon can stay, but orders him to be taken to a cell.
Once again, Grace intervenes, and says, no. He's not going anywhere. Realizing he can't trust Ava not to throw Simon back into the ocean the second his back is turned, Grace demands that Simon stay with him. Ava doesn't love it, but if keeping Simon around will make her new pet scientist happy, then fine.
As long as he's restrained. He's a murderer after all. They can't let a murderer have free access to COI's new asset. That part is non-negotiable.
Grace stiffens at her words, but ultimately agrees with more than a little bit of wariness. He's not entirely convinced that Ava is telling the truth about Simon; she's given him no reason to trust her after all. But even if Simon is a murderer, sending him down in that sub to die is a cruel punishment, and Grace can't allow it to happen.
Thus he finds himself working for the COI in this strange, starless universe, trying to find a way to keep the human race going despite dwindling resources, all the while he's got a convicted murderer essentially chained to the lab bench next to him. Grace is miserable, and he hates that he's partially responsible for Simon being trapped here, but hey, at least no one is dying, right?
Imprisoned together, Grace and Simon slowly grow closer, learning to rely on each other as two people stuck in the same awful situation. Grace is determined to keep his new friend safe, and Simon is growing increasingly protective of Grace as the man continues to show him nothing but kindness, despite their circumstances.
And then, one day, there is a raid. Word has gotten out about Grace, and the other factions of humanity have decided they want him for themselves. The COI's starbase is under attack, and the target is Grace. Simon demands that Grace free him from his shackles so that he can fight, and although he's terrified, Grace helps Simon break the chains. Just in time, too, as the first raiders arrive to try to abduct Grace. Simon doesn't know who they are, whether they're from Eden or a splinter of COI or something else entirely. Simon doesn't care who they are. All he knows is that they're a threat to Grace, and Simon refuses to let Grace be hurt.
He fights like the Butcher. Nothing gets past him.
When the attack is finally over, Grace is a wee bit traumatized but miraculously unharmed. Seeing how fiercely Simon fought to protect Grace, Ava finally admits that he's earned her trust, and she officially designates him as Grace's bodyguard. His situation will essentially be the exact same, only he won't be chained up anymore. And maybe he will begrudgingly start to be accepted into the COI as one of them. Maybe.
Simon is nearly overwhelmed with relief. He doesn't care if they like him. All he cares about is that he's finally free. Ava finally kept her promise. Who cares if he's still stuck here with Grace, that's where he wants to be anyways. This is all he ever wanted, the chance to live. And thanks to Grace, he's getting that chance.
Grace is now Simon's angel and his saviour, and he will devote himself to Grace for the rest of his life.
(And eventually let's say Grace stumbles onto a way to re-open the wormhole that he fell through so that the remnants of humanity can travel through it to his universe. The people of Erid wake up one morning and are very surprised to discover that a bunch of human space stations and ships have just materialized in their orbit.
Meanwhile Rocky is just pissed that Grace went and had an adventure with a new friend without him. He is very jealous of Simon, up until he realizes how protective Simon is of Grace. After that, Simon gets Rocky's stamp of approval)
(Edit: a little note to add, this was intended to be platonic, I forget that tags don't get to the reblogs)
(Edit 2: people keep missing the point of this post and making it all gruesome and gore. If you want to stab and torture your blorbo that's fine but I prefer if you not rebloged this describing how you would hurt them)
Vaugely famous streamer Shen Yuan who suddenly has to deal with (FALSE! COMPLETELY FALSE!) rumors about a secret and vaugely problematic romance between him and ultra famous, world renowned actor Luo Binghe and he's spiraling trying to figure out where this rumor is coming from and Oh God is he ruining Luo Binghes reputation? People are being very mean about him on the internet right now because he used to tutor Luo Binghe when he was in College and Binghe was a high school freshman and people are taking that and RUNNING (even though Shen Yuan left after that didn't reconnect with the man until Binghe has graduated university himself) ,which, Shen Yuan would have been- well not FINE with, but he would have been BETTER with it than he is right now, cause now his own fans and stans are saying some very mean things about Binghe and- and he just fucked up their friendship all over again didn't he...
Meanwhile, Luo Binghe is tearing his hair out and pacing around his room cause his gay ass bottom of a father just posted his super smutty and insane self-insert RPF fic online to one of his publicly suspected alt accounts FUCK!
"-and the kitchen funds have been requested to increase. Flash." Batman turned towards the other man, who winced upon being called out.
“Well, that’s… um…” a hand came back to rub across the back of his head, red glove catching on the material of the man’s suit. “See, what happened was, I ran out of food money for the month in my civ ID… and you told me to make sure I don’t go hungry, even if that means eating at the Watchtower.” Batman grunted in acknowledgement, making the eldest Flash relax, before moving onto the next point.
“Repairs in the viewing gallery are to be finished within the week - if any workers are still around after Friday-“ Batman stopped, his head whipping around to glare at the glowing green portal-esque thing that just opened itself to the side of the room. Within milliseconds, each JL member that had been dozing or trying to fake attention were in a battle ready stance.
Out stepped a young man, aged somewhere between 16 and 25, in an elaborate get-up. White hair, green eyes, grey-blue skin, and elfin ears were the most prominent features one could find to prove this man was not likely human, made even more unlikely by the full body glow. His focus on the papers he had been reading before walking through the portal, for that’s what it had to be, shifted to the room of Earth’s Heroes, causing the… being’s sure footsteps to stutter. He blinked a few times before his mouth flattened into what could be displeasure as he surveyed the room before he found what appeared to be his goal.
“Ser Batman, Lady Gotham’s told me quite a bit about you.” The young man’s voice was pleasant on the ears, if one ignored the general unease one gained by hearing it. “Based on her description, you appear to be the human I must speak with in regards to a problem I have.”
“Lady Gotham? Like, the city?” More than one hero could be heard muttering about that, though Flash’s was more prominent than the others.
The being turned his eyes towards the red-clad hero, an eyebrow raised. “Of course not, Lady Gotham is a spirit. The city is simply brick and steel; Lady Gotham is formed from the humans within the city.” That… only caused more confusion, but the elf turned back towards Batman. “As her Knight, you are her liaison with the human world. I am hoping you will extend the same courtesy to me.”
Wonder Woman spoke up this time, stepping forward from where she had gravitated towards Batman, “and who might you be?” She maintained the same air of politeness that the man had entered with, though she was clearly still tense where the being was relaxed.
“Ah, my bad,” the brief loss of formality was startling, but quickly covered up, “my name is Phantom, King of the Infinite Realms and several other titles unimportant to this conversation.” Resting a hand over where his heart may have been were he human, Phantom inclined his head slightly. That at least explained why he wore a crown and what appeared to be a largely modified royal mantle over one shoulder.
“And where are the Infinite Realms?” Superman butted in, tilting his head to the side with a calculating look.
“Somewhere you may only see once you’re dead, should that be where your soul goes post-mortem, wherein lies part of my problem.” Phantom lifted the hand that was holding the papers he'd been looking at, some sort of magic swirling around them to turn them into a scroll. "Unfortunately, the human government for the United States is not acknowledging our attempts at communication. I've been pushing this off for years, but I am no longer able to do so. I'm hoping you can communicate this declaration of war for me."
