I think I made too many fanfiction promises to the world because I just got hit with a nasty case of the AO3 curse and lord knows what I’m about to do in the next couple of days.
As of right now, there’s not much I can do about it, and I have to wait on stuff, but Jesus fucking Christ man.
I might still get writing fics for my own sake 'cause that is my only outlet and it's productive feeling distraction i have but i dont know if Imma post as often besides that.... we'll see
Jack making a quick and casual observation about you simply for it to trigger intense gender euphoria.
Fandom: The Pitt
Word Count: 600~
Tags:
● Jack & Reader being besties dynamic
● Gender Euphoria
● GenderQueer/TransMasc!Reader
A/N: I was really feeling myself today, so this is very self-indulgent.
LINKS:
Request Rules || The Pitt Masterlist // Pitt Ficlets(Less then 1k words) || Writer's Queue
Consider sparing a ☕ if you like my work.
Ever since Jack had walked into your apartment this morning to fulfil his promise to go out with you for a weekend jog he had been staring at you.
His eyes followed you as you prepped for your jog: walking about your kitchen to look for your water bottle, and making sure your phone is fully charged. —All the while, you felt his eyes on you.
You had glanced over your shoulder at him a few times. He never shied away from your gaze and simply kept his eyes on you, watching you curiously.
You had wondered if there was something on you, but one quick look at your reflection from the is the reflective surface of your microwave dismissed the thought.
So was it what you were wearing?
You glanced down. You wore a simple tanktop and sweatpants. So it wasn’t out there clothing-wise, though you usually wore hoodies or something baggy. But you don’t believe Jack is the type to judge, so that can’t possibly be it either.
That being said, Jack stared you down enough that you had to confront him on the matter.
You turned to face him. “What?”
“Nothing… guess I’m just noticing something,” he simply responded, eyes fixated on you.
You huffed at that, folding your arms and raising a brow, cautious and curious about what he’s going to say.
“Yeah?” You pushed.
He looked over you once more, eyes on your folded arms before meeting your eyes again. He shrugged. “Just didn’t know you were built, I guess. I mean you’re usually wearing a hoodie or something like that so it made sense. I didn’t see that before but…” He clicked his tongue. “Didn’t realise your hoodie was hiding that much.”
You blinked. Your brows deeply knitted together as you went into the recesses of your mind to process what you had just been told.
He chuckled, amused at your response and reassured: “It is a compliment.”
“Uh… “ Is all you could manage.
“(Y/N). Breathe.”
“Right…” You looked down at yourself, then at your reflection on your microwave’s reflective surface and studied yourself.
The corners of your mouth twitched up in a smile, warmth growing in your chest as you too saw his observation. Your turned back to Jack, your face breaking into a grin, your chest puffed up with pride. “Thanks.”
He raised a brow, a smile on his face too. Your energy infecting him. “You’re telling me you didn’t notice?”
“I wear baggy clothing like my life depends on it, Jack. I don’t notice much about this.” You vaguely gesture at yourself.
Placing your hands on your hips, you looked at your reflection once more. Your grin grew ever wider and you turned back to Jack. “I tell you what, that compliment is going to sustain me for the whole week.”
He laughed at that. A good hearty laugh. “I’m glad to be of service.”
You took one more glance at your reflection before clasping your hands and pointing at him. “Okay! I indulged enough. We do need to get the show on the road. Need to head out before the park gets too crowded.”
He wordlessly grabbed your water bottle from the counter, tossing it your way.
Grabbing it mid air, you headed for the apartment door with Jack close behind.
Halfway to the door, Jack spoke up, “Are you sure you don’t wanna bring a mirror with you or something…?”
You scoffed, rolling your eyes playfully. “I’m not that vain.” You paused. “Yet.”
“(Y/N)…” he looked at you with fake disappointment.
A look that you quickly dismissed. “Anyway, let’s go!!” You shoved the man out your apartment, pulling laughter from him once more as you let your own pride at yourself envelop you still.
A/: Took one look at the mirror today and was hit with the "Ayo, you looking fine." and I needed that shit in writing.
LINKS:
Request Rules || The Pitt Masterlist // Pitt Ficlets(Less then 1k words) || Writer's Queue
hi! since you said you made too many fanfic promises:
i was the anon who asked for the jack abbot x cadet reader fic (and then added the suggestion with the challenge coin) and i kinda started writing myself meanwhile, soooo... i was wondering if i could write somethig based on that myself, but i dunno what the etiquette is, like if that'd be rude or if it would look like i didn't like your version or like i couldn't wait for you to write more or or... >.<
and i dunno if i would get around to it anytime soon myself, but yeah, officially asking for permission? :3
(feel free to message me if this is the wrong place to ask, not too sure on tumblr etiquette yet either lol)
if that is okay with you, I am going to answer this publicly in case anyone else had the same thought and didn’t know how to approach it.
Personally, I do not know what the proper etiquette for this is situation is either, but short answer:
I allow any recreations or additions to my fanfiction so long as I am properly credited as an inspiration for said fanfiction.**
Additional info/long answer:
One) It’s simply the right thing do regardless of how small the inspiration is.
Two) it has the added benefit that any fic reader that stumbled upon your fanfiction has somewhere else to go if they wanted fanfiction of the same type/idea: Cause at the end of the day we are writing fanfiction for other fandom people so it just makes sense to me that if someone liked a certain fanfiction to the point that would go as far as to make their own thing from scratch or add to an initial idea that they should let other people know of the inspiration/source material so that others can indulge in it as well.
Three) it can avoid possible meaningless harassment: there are some people who mean well and if they realise that a fic is heavily inspired or even slightly inspired by a different fanfiction they will constantly comment and try to message you saying “hey, this looks like another fic. Shouldn't you credit it?/did you steal this idea/Ive seen this idea elsewhere! You’re a stealing!” when in reality or inspired by it, but since it was not mentioned, they will come and ask about it.
So just avoid that via initial inspiration at the beginning of a fanfiction.
So TLDR;
I (me. personally. Don’t apply this to other people if you aren’t hundred percent sure they are okay with it.) i’m okay with people writing fanfiction that is based on/inspired by/an addition to my fanfiction so long as I am properly credited.
also as I am typing this I don’t think that that whole thing applies to all my fanfictions.
It just depends on which fanfiction you’re adding to or getting inspired by and also it depends on what the addition/inspiration is going to look like (and how close the inspiration is going to be to the source material), but for the sake of adding to cadet fics or being inspired by em, well, the initial fic is so bare bones that you can go off and do anything with em so long as a proper credit is given.
Anyway, this is very ramble-ly as I’m using speech to text and I don’t know if it makes sense, but I hope it does. ✌🏼✌🏼
Feel free to ask any clarifying questions if something over here does not make sense.
-------
also, fun fact: I have a Cadet fic in the works and its kinda just haunting my drafts section rn. Like the draft is done, but i just need to properly write it.
But it also it just happens to be one of like 4 (i believe) Cadet requests that were sent my way. 😅
What if i said i have the saddest and angstiest (that i have written) Reader x Ryland sex pollen fic in my drafts? What then?
i was struck with the forces and now I am 6k in.
I said, "what if i took the sex pollen concept, looked at the implications, and the horrors of ones own body not listening to you and empathized that these fuckers are in deep space with only each other."
NONE OF THESE FUCKERS ARE ENJOYING THIS!!
THESE SHITS ARE SCARED AND DESPERATE AND ALONE IN DEEP SPACE! THEY AINT RISKING SOMETHING HAPPENIING TO THE OTHER!
AND YET, THEY STILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT THOUGH!
((hi, my ace spec is showing.))
((also also, Reader (so far) made 2 partial jokes of wanting to getting tossed through the airlock rather than having Grace help with this issue of theirs. So take that as the tone for the fic. Will i ever ACTUALLY get it done? Who is to say? I just know i own a VERY rough 6k (and counting) draft of this fic now.))
Told my girlfriend about this fanfiction a couple of days ago and her reaction was basically “what the fuck? (In a good way)” and I think that’s a good telling of the vibe of this is. Lol
I think I made too many fanfiction promises to the world because I just got hit with a nasty case of the AO3 curse and lord knows what I’m about to do in the next couple of days.
As of right now, there’s not much I can do about it, and I have to wait on stuff, but Jesus fucking Christ man.
I know there is this thing in writing called "kill your darlings" where if something (be it prose, sentence, paragraph, interaction etc.) simply doesn't work you delete it regardless of how much you like it.
I mention this because I am looking at my near 3k word count fic that I am generally proud off, but I want the character to have more depth but in doing so I have top scrap the whole thing cause simply adding depth to a pre-made fic is harder then starting over, and ugh--- my darling!! My beloved!! She has to go!!
UGH---
(I might try to see what i can do with the fic as is, and try to add stuff, and if not. Bye bye my darling.) ((In the words of drawfee "Delete your art." ugh--))
What if i said i have the saddest and angstiest (that i have written) Reader x Ryland sex pollen fic in my drafts? What then?
i was struck with the forces and now I am 6k in.
I said, "what if i took the sex pollen concept, looked at the implications, and the horrors of ones own body not listening to you and empathized that these fuckers are in deep space with only each other."
NONE OF THESE FUCKERS ARE ENJOYING THIS!!
THESE SHITS ARE SCARED AND DESPERATE AND ALONE IN DEEP SPACE! THEY AINT RISKING SOMETHING HAPPENIING TO THE OTHER!
AND YET, THEY STILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT THOUGH!
((hi, my ace spec is showing.))
((also also, Reader (so far) made 2 partial jokes of wanting to getting tossed through the airlock rather than having Grace help with this issue of theirs. So take that as the tone for the fic. Will i ever ACTUALLY get it done? Who is to say? I just know i own a VERY rough 6k (and counting) draft of this fic now.))
this is the most ppl commented on a post of mine...
The two things i can take from this is:
Ryland Grace, Smut or Project Hail Mary has a lot of ppl going. (maybe a mixture of all.)
Or this is an interesting enough concept that ppl are interested.
No pressure or anything... Just going to edit a (now) 10k smut as a person that doesnt write smut.... who also is ace-spec... and doesnt know shit abt sex (exaggeration, but you get it)... so yeah...
This is gonna be real disappointing for some ppl....
But also, better exist than not, and also "it may be shit, but at least it aint AI." ((these are my new motivation quotes to deter me from talking shit abt myself. Can you tell?/hj))
Hello again! Thank you for writing the misgendered thing! And with so many characters! ❤️❤️❤️
Needed to come back to say your Dana was just perfect!
I had pictured Langdon doing sth. like with the lady that wouldn't wear a mask, but you're so right, he totally would miss it at first 😃
1st of all, I'm glad you you got to read it!
When i answered the last two asked and finished the headcanon, I panicked a tad cause I didnt know how i would notify you since the ask was on anon, but I am glad you go to read it!!
As for everything else:
Like that you liked Dana's part, as for Frank...
On one hand, you have a point there...
On another, i furgur... kinda. Like vaguely. At least at the time of writing that headcanons.
On another another hand, the man is very White Boi™ to me, so for scenes like these I end up writing him as well meaning, but a bit of an idiot. Dont have many example for writing him other than "Queerness" (mainly because I only write Langdon for silly scenes and prompts, but I generally gravitate to writing more grounded scenes + ppl dont request him much), but I think that is a good example of what Im saying here and how i write him.
The mask scene is a good point to bring up cause something off is happening and he is going to correct someone abt it. But also, he is in his element so he has an eagle eye on that.
I dont think his eagle eye extends to queerness and stuff like that, cause ya know.... White Boi.™
Im more using the scene with Driscoll as reference for writing Frank's section of "Misgendered."
If Langdon wasnt at work, he would have more things to say i bet, but again, White Boi™ so he is probably going to take the led of the person who is being Misgendered to determined how to approach the matter and not over step.
At the end of it all, I'm glad ya liked the Headcanons and stuff!!
What if i said i have the saddest and angstiest (that i have written) Reader x Ryland sex pollen fic in my drafts? What then?
i was struck with the forces and now I am 6k in.
I said, "what if i took the sex pollen concept, looked at the implications, and the horrors of ones own body not listening to you and empathized that these fuckers are in deep space with only each other."
NONE OF THESE FUCKERS ARE ENJOYING THIS!!
THESE SHITS ARE SCARED AND DESPERATE AND ALONE IN DEEP SPACE! THEY AINT RISKING SOMETHING HAPPENIING TO THE OTHER!
AND YET, THEY STILL HAVE TO GO THROUGH IT THOUGH!
((hi, my ace spec is showing.))
((also also, Reader (so far) made 2 partial jokes of wanting to getting tossed through the airlock rather than having Grace help with this issue of theirs. So take that as the tone for the fic. Will i ever ACTUALLY get it done? Who is to say? I just know i own a VERY rough 6k (and counting) draft of this fic now.))
Writing Prompt: (requested)How would members of the Pitt react to someone misgendering you?
I was considering writing for more of the cast for this then I realized that i would be repeating a bunch of writing with just slight changes so I thought against it.
Example: I feel like Cassie and Whitaker would react to the same way. And Donnie and Robby, and so on and so forth. (I don’t think the subtle changes are worth writing. At least for me. So my bad. Though, if someone wants me to add onto the via request, then I’m willing to do that otherwise this is the list.)
Characters Mentioned/Written for:
Jack Abbot || M. Robby Robinavitch || Trinity Santos || Victoria Javadi || Frank Langdon || Dennis Whitaker || Dana Evans || Emery Walsh
((Added info: I didnt write all scenes with the context of being in the PTMC/ED some are just out and about.))
Jack Abbot & Michael Robinavitch are both not the type to not directly engage a person for misgendering you.
They will hear it happen, overtly and causally use the correct pronouns (“Yes, I second his opinion.” “No worries, Dr (L/N) here? They’re the best doctor around.”)
Where they differ how they act if the person’s misgendering of you continues
Jack will stare the person down like “Are you a fucking idiot?” till they get the hint. He will then warn or threaten the person of they chose to continue after the fact.
Robby on the other hand would correct the individual outright. He is admittedly kinder in his approach, but if the person fights back and stands their ground on misgendering you that’s when he switches his tone.
How they would react to your discomfort is different to.
Jack’s priority is to “fix” the issue first and foremost, then he checks up on you.
While Robby make sure you’re comfortable and alright first. (Though, he does instinctively correct individuals who are misgender you, even before realising your discomfort.)
Trinity Santos will throw hands if someone misgenders you.
She will overtly & no-mercy call someone out on misgendering you because “Why are you making such a simple mistake? Are you a fucking idiot? You’ve been corrected. Now, correct yourself.”
If this happens in a public setting, she’s gonna publicly shame this person.
If it isn’t private, she might have to be held back from possibly committing a violence. Have it be verbal or physical, depends on the severity of the misgendering.
She will definitely take into account how you’re reacting to being misgendered, that being said, I think her protective instincts might blind her to act first ask questions later.
Victoria Javadi will attempt to correct a person when they misgender you, but after a couple correction she might actually lose steam and might get self-conscious about it.
I think depending on how overt the misgendering is she might mirror back that energy onto the person.
Like if the person is very much misgendering you to your face simply to cause trouble, she will fight back equally as much as they are fighting you on it.
If some person simply does not know any better, she will try to correct them and may or may not give up after if you corrections.
I think her strong suit is a one on one with you. If you feel shite after all that, she will stick by you and make sure that you are okay. She will apologise for you having to deal with that bullshit and she might just say something or another that is gender reaffirming.
(The gender affirming comment would be awkward, but it is the intention that counts)
Frank Langdon would not have caught it at the moment. Though, he would have realised it happening because of you.
A person would be talking and then he would see you in the corner of your eyes flinch, cringe or have a bad reaction to being misgendered and that is when he realises “oh shit, something is going on.”
He looks to you to determine how to react.
He might remain by you like a shield away from the person, might peacefully correct the person or even aggressively tell the person to back down if they can’t correct themselves.
I don’t think Langdon will fight someone to the point of a physical altercation (not that he can’t fight, he is a high school jock, he definitely can fucking fight), but he will fight someone to the point of setting them up to look like a fucking idiot in public, or just really shaming them and heavily bruising the person’s ego.
I think if it ever comes to it and he really wants to defend you, he is going to make a person look really fucking small because he will deem them as fucking pathetic and so they might as well look at the part.
Dennis Whitaker would not know what to do about this shit.
His instinct is to correct the person as best as he can, but if he realises it’s not going anywhere, he’s not going to bother.
His attention will immediately switch to you.
He knows that this is a problem that you have dealt with, and you deal with all the time so if he determined you can handle the situation he is not going to attempt to be a knight in shining armour. (It’s not like he wouldn’t come to your defence. It’s just he wouldn’t play knight.)
And even if you can’t defend yourself in a situation, I don’t think he will attempt to rile things up. He will just make sure that you are comfortable.
After the interaction though, he will make sure to check on you. He is subtle about it, too.
At first, he would be lingering around you and keeping an eye on you to make sure that you are alright. Depending on how bad the interaction is, he will strike up a conversation, but he wouldn’t outright bringing up the issue unless he sees that it is overtly affecting you. He will just leave the room for you to open up about it and talk to him at your own pace.
He will let you rant, be a comforting presence and maybe just shit talk the person with you if it’d make you feel better.
Dana Evans has such strong “come correct, or get corrected” energy.
She will cuss a person out if they have already been called out a few times and have not corrected their ways. She will call them an idiot. She will call them slow. She will call them a number of things.
I feel there is some statement of that person must’ve dropped on their head for not being able to catch up, and clearly that can’t be their fault because any other person would have gotten the hint by now. And so she will “pray for them to get better,“ and honestly, good on her.
She will check up on you once and very clearly. She will lay down all she felt about the situation, and ask you how you’re feeling about the situation.
If you want to drop it, she will drop it.
If you have something to say, she will be a kind listener.
If you drop it right now and bring it up later. She will be there waiting.
She’s gonna make it very clear that that is not something people can get away with in front of her. And she will make sure that you feel safe around her.
Emery Walsh would correct an individual on misgendering you, but then would not make the issue be a gender related thing.
Because that is such a non-issue and simply not a problem for them so it must be an ego thing she will reason.
She would argue that that person must feel so fucking small that they have nothing better to do than to make someone else feel small instead.
And then will turn to you talking about all of your achievements and all of your greatness compared to that lousy slug of a person to have come after you knowing nothing about you.
images created @/foggymaster on Pinterest
Requests are always open, I just take forever to get to em. [Request Rules]
{ Pitt Master List | Pitt Ficlets } {Ko-fi: if you're so inclined.}
DANCIN' yes!!! I did read it at some point and fogot about it, I'm so sorry! That's exactly what I meant!
I didn't mean to call you out! 😭 Not in a negative way at least >.< I just know that when I'm elbows deep into an obsession, I don't wanna be dragged away from it, didn't wanna do that to you!
Don’t worry! You’re good on the call out front. Just found it insanely funny. 😂
Anyway! I’ll see what I can cook up on the Ficlet/HeadCanon front for the request you sent in when I get to it in a few.
Hi hi! I was wondering if you could do a react where reader gets called by the wrong pronouns and how the different Pitt characters would react? (Robby, Jack, Frank and whoever else you'd like?)
I haven't seen you do any reacts though, so please ignore if that's not your thing! I just saw someone do it with MCU characters and had to ask. :3 Also, take your time, I see you're in a Project Hail Mary phase😁
Now on one hand, I have the awareness that I am not posting into the void, but "take your time, I see you're in a Project Hail Mary phase" feels like a fucking call out. 😭😭😭 (no hard feelings, i just think its funny)
Anyway! This feels like a quick enough prompt to get done, that being said, I dont actually know what is being asked here... like me writing a 'react' entails? (i dont even know if i am asking this right)
My assumption is that it is something like "DANCIN' | HeadCanon/Ficlets" where I am writing headcanons of a specific prompt, and/or it is me writing smalls scenes with that prompt where it is something between "DANCIN' and "Precious | Michael Robinavitch [EXRTRA]" maybe...?
Honestly, i just dont know, so if you could clarify the request i'll see what i can do!
Hi! I'm hoping requests are still open, if not please ignore this! But I'm new to this fandom and have a little idea I really wanna see properly written, so here's my first phm request! (And thank you if you write this)
So Rocky already freaks out over Grace being young compared to them, yeah? Well imagine when Rocky learns that Reader is not only younger than Grace, but even in human years is a child.. (you're a teenager but he doesn't care for the difference) and just kinda panics, 'what do mean you're younger than Grace?!' and the pair (Rocky and Adrian) just start to dote on Reader, taking in Reader as if they were the pair's own child.
I really wanna be spoiled by these two, man.. I love them so much...
The Pebble!
Ryland Grace & teen!reader (ft. Rocky and Adrian)
✶⋆.˚ summary: read request above!
✶⋆.˚ yaps!: hi guys.... a typhoon knocked over my country 😭 putangina ayoko na 😭😭😭 I LOST ALL MY PREVIUOS DRAFTS ON THE REQUESTS IM SO SORRY GNG 😓😓😢💔
The Hail Mary’s laboratory was usually a comforting hum of sterile ventilation, the soft clicking of Rocky’s claws on his Xenonite dividers, and the rhythmic scratching of pencil on paper as Ryland Grace calculated fuel consumption.
Today, however, the atmosphere was thick with a profound, multi-limbed existential crisis.
Rocky sat on his side of the xenonite partition, his central body tilted forward in an Eridian posture that screamed absolute, unadulterated bewilderment. His small, delicate hands were twitching rhythmically, a rapid-fire clicking sound vibrating from his vocal organ.
"Grace," Rocky’s mechanical translator droned, though the underlying Eridian tone was sharp and frantic. "Explain again. I require verification. The tape measure of time you provided. I am confused."
Ryland sighed, rubbing his temples. He looked exhausted, his jumpsuit stained with a mixture of dried astrophage residue and spilled soy-sauce-substitute. "Rocky, buddy, we’ve gone over this. It’s simple arithmetic. I am thirty-three Earth years old."
"Thirty-three," Rocky repeated, his claws tapping against the clear barrier. Tap-tap-tap. "A blink. A tiny fragment of life. You are a larva, Grace. You are a small, fragile, unhardened hatchling who has somehow learned to fly a spaceship. I am constantly terrified you will break because your carapace has not seasoned for a century."
"I don't have a carapace," Ryland muttered, adjusting his glasses. "And I'm a fully grown adult. On Earth, thirty-three means my joints hurt when it rains and I think about buying a house in the suburbs. I am mature."
From the corner of the lab, curled up on a makeshift pile of insulated blankets and spare jumpsuits, you snorted.
You were the third, unexpected variable in this interstellar equation. A brilliant, albeit incredibly stubborn, high school prodigy who had crossed paths with the Project Hail Mary initiative under circumstances that were ninety percent bureaucratic oversight and ten percent "well, they have a genius-level understanding of Eridian harmonic frequencies, put them on the backup crew." When the primary crew died, and the mission parameters shifted into high gear, you had somehow ended up in the extra astrophage-sleeper berth.
You were currently seventeen.
"If Grace is a larva," you chimed in, turning a page of your digital tablet, "what does that make me?"
Rocky’s central eye-analog didn't move, but his entire body pivoted toward you. The Eridian had become fiercely protective of both humans, but his understanding of human biology was largely filtered through Grace's terrible, rushed explanations.
"You are smaller than Grace," Rocky observed, his voice synthesizer dropping a octave into what Grace called his serious-science voice. "Your bone structure is less dense. You consume more simple carbohydrates and sleep in erratic patterns. Grace, what is the chronological status of [Name]?"
Ryland froze. He looked at you, then at Rocky, then back to you. A look of sheer, impending doom crossed the scientist's face. He had purposefully avoided this specific conversation because he knew exactly how Rocky’s hyper-protective, communal Eridian instincts worked.
"Uh," Ryland started, waving his hand dismissively. "They're fine, Rocky. Don't worry about it. They're part of the science team."
"Grace," Rocky said, his tone growing dangerously sharp. Click-clack-click. "Do not lie to a watchmaker. State the number of Earth orbits [Name] has existed."
You grinned mischiefly, completely ignoring the frantic, pleading head-shakes Ryland was throwing your way. "Seventeen, Rocky. I've been alive for seventeen Earth years."
The silence that followed was absolute.
For three full seconds, Rocky didn't move. Then, a sound erupted from his vocal organ that sounded like a bag of marbles being violently shaken inside a metal bucket—the Eridian equivalent of a choked gasp. He stumbled backward on his five legs, his claws scraping frantically against the deck plates.
"Seventeen?!" the translator blared, the digital voice struggling to match the sheer panic vibrating through the partition. "Seventeen?! Grace! Grace! What mean they are younger than Grace?!"
"Rocky, calm down—"
"Seventeen orbits!" Rocky’s arms waved in a chaotic, defensive pattern, his body spinning in a small, anxious circle. "You brought a hatchling into deep space! A literal soft-shell! A tiny, unformed, pre-molt embryo!"
"I am a teenager!" you protested, though you were laughing so hard you had to press your face into a pillow. "I can drive a car! Well, legally, back home."
"You are baby!" Rocky yelled through the speaker, his frantic pacing accelerating. "Grace, you are incompetent caregiver! You are terrible elder! Why is the pebble doing calculus?! Why is the pebble handling toxic astrophage?! Why is baby in vacuum tube?!"
"They're a genius, Rocky! And it wasn't my choice to bring them!" Ryland defended himself, throwing his hands in the air. "They sneaked into the final selection process because they solved the Eridian-coordinate translation bottleneck! I didn't personally kidnap a child and put them on a suicide mission!"
"Is a child!" Rocky insisted, flattening himself against the xenonite glass to get as close to you as possible. His delicate hands tapped against the divider right next to your head. " [Name]. Look at me. Do you feel your bones hardening? Are you receiving proper minerals? Grace, where is the milk? Humans require milk for the tiny ones!"
"They don't need milk, Rocky, they're seventeen, they eat normal food—"
"Silence, incompetent larva!" Rocky snapped at Grace. He turned his attention fully to you, his tone shifting into something incredibly gentle, a soft, low thrumming sound echoing from his chest. " [Name]. Do not fear. I am here. Adrian is here. We are adults. We will protect the tiny, squishy human."
From that exact moment, the dynamic on the Hail Mary shifted entirely.
If Grace was a crewmate, you were suddenly elevated to the status of a precious, endangered galactic artifact. When the mission finally succeeded—when the Taumeeba were contained, the sun-eating crisis averted, and the choice was made to head to Erid instead of a dying Earth—Rocky’s protective protocols went from high to absolute planetary defense system.
By the time the ship arrived at Erid, you had spent years in the company of a frantic scientist and a hyper-fixated Eridian. You had grown a bit taller, your voice a bit more mature, but to Rocky, you were still the seventeen-year-old hatchling who needed to be shielded from the universe.
And then, you met Adrian.
The Eridian atmosphere was a crushing, super-heated soup of ammonia, meaning you and Grace lived in a custom-built, sprawling human habitat dubbed The Castle. It was a massive, reinforced structure filled with Earth-normal air, proper gravity, and large xenonite viewing bays that looked out into the dim, bustling underground city of the Eridians.
Adrian, Rocky’s mate, had been briefed extensively before your arrival. Rocky had sent light-signals ahead, thousands of them, detailing every aspect of the vulnerable human hatchling they were bringing home.
The first time Adrian came to the viewing partition, you were sitting at a table eating a bowl of reconstituted oatmeal.
Adrian was larger than Rocky, with a carapace that had a deeper, more textured blue-gray hue. They stood next to Rocky, and the moment they saw you, both Eridians tilted their bodies in a synchronized, protective lean.
"The pebble," Adrian’s translator murmured. The tone was softer than Rocky's, imbued with a deep, resonant weight that instantly felt like a warm blanket. "Rocky told me the stories. It is so small. Rocky, it has no shell at all. Just skin. How does it stay together?"
"I use glue," you joked, looking up from your breakfast with a bright smile.
Adrian’s claws clicked in a frantic, distressed pattern. "Glue?! Grace! The pebble is falling apart! Bring the medical paste!"
"They're joking! It's a joke!" Grace shouted from the kitchen, sounding deeply tired. He walked into the common area holding a mug of coffee. "Adrian, don't listen to them. They've been spending too much time with Rocky. They're completely fine."
Adrian did not listen to Grace. In fact, within a week, it became abundantly clear that both Rocky and Adrian had mutually agreed that Ryland Grace was an unfit parent, and they were taking over full custody of your well-being.
Because Eridians couldn't enter your environment without dying, and you couldn't enter theirs without being instantly crushed and cooked, they expressed their doting affection through engineering.
Every morning, the airlock's sterilization chute would cycle, and a small, custom-made Eridian drone would trundle into your living area. The drone, painted a bright, friendly yellow (which Rocky had learned humans associated with warmth), carried gifts curated by Adrian and Rocky.
One day, it was a perfectly spherical, polished piece of Eridian stone, smoothed out so it wouldn't hurt your "frail, squishy hands."
Another day, it was a complex, mechanical puzzle made of pure iron, designed to keep your "fast, hatchling brain" entertained.
" [Name]," Rocky’s voice would come through the habitat's intercom system, always accompanied by Adrian’s supportive thrumming in the background. "Adrian has constructed a new clothing-shell for you. It is made of woven fiber-metal. It will protect you from predatory Earth creatures should they manifest in your room."
"Rocky, there are no predators in my room," you laughed, pulling out a heavy, incredibly flexible, and surprisingly comfortable metallic jacket from the drone. It was lined with soft insulation they had replicated from the ship's stores.
"Better to be safe," Adrian’s voice joined in. "The hatchling must be armored. Grace is lazy. He does not wear his armor. He is foolish. You must be wise, tiny friend."
You put the jacket on. It was a bit heavy, but it felt like a hug. You walked over to the giant xenonite window and pressed your hand against the thick glass. On the other side, Rocky and Adrian were standing side-by-side. Seeing you wear their creation, they both began to sway from side to side—a rhythmic, joyful Eridian dance.
"Look at the pebble," Adrian clicked softly. "A very stunning hatchling. Very sturdy now."
"Yes," Rocky agreed proudly, his claws tapping against the glass right where your hand was. "The strongest hatchling on Erid."
Grace walked into the room, took one look at you wearing a custom suit of Eridian chainmail while eating a bowl of cereal, and sighed. He looked out the window at his alien best friend and his mate.
"You guys are spoiling them," Grace complained, though there was a fond, relaxed smile on his face. "They have chores to do. We have to analyze the crop yields for the hydroponics bay today."
"No!" Rocky shouted through the speaker, his body tilting defensively in front of Adrian. "The pebble will not do labor! Labor is for hardened shells! The pebble will rest and grow their bones!"
"I'm literally eighteen now, Rocky," you pointed out, leaning against the glass. "I had a birthday last month, remember?"
"Eighteen is nothing!" Adrian declared fiercely. "In Eridian years, you are a negative number! You are a thought! You are a whisper! You will sit on the soft cushions and eat the sugar-carbs we sent."
You looked over at the drone, which was currently unloading a massive plate of sweet, baked treats the Eridians had synthesized using human-safe organic compounds. They looked like giant, golden-brown honeycombs and smelled like cinnamon.
You looked at Grace, raising an eyebrow. "Sorry, Ryland. The council has spoken. My bones are too soft for agricultural analysis today."
Grace rolled his eyes, but his expression was soft. He walked over, patting your shoulder—the heavy, metallic shoulder provided by two overprotective alien parents who lived in a hyper-pressurized world of ammonia, but whose hearts were completely universal.
"Fine," Grace smiled, looking out at Rocky and Adrian. "But if they get a cavity, you two are inventing an Eridian dentist."
Through the glass, Rocky and Adrian clicked in triumphant unison, their bodies swaying as they watched over their favorite, most precious little human.
Summary/Synopsis:
Sleeping in deep space doesn't come easy to you, you ask Ryland for help.
Fandom: Project Hail Mary
Word Count: 920~
Tags:
✧ Ryland Grace & Reader
✧ Reader Gender not specified
✧ No real plot just Sillies n Cozies + Ryland Grace & Reader being besties
✧ (Not proofread. I just wrote this in one go.)
(If any tags need to be added, please inform me. <3)
“Excuse me, can you repeat that?” Ryland asked you in a mixture of shock and mild confusion.
“I’m asking you to sleep with me,” you responded in the most casual tone that you could muster.
You had just barged into the Hail Mary’s laboratory looking for Ryland Grace after your failed attempt at an afternoon nap (or as afternoon as it gets in space). Having been dealing with sleep issues for a while now, you have finally gotten fed up and decided to ask for some help.
“I— wow, okay. I’m flattered, but I don’t… I don’t feel that way about you… I’m so sor—“
“Right, okay, thank god,—“ “What?” “this is what I really needed from you actually.” You clasped your hands then pointed at the man. “I’m more asking for us to share a bed ‘cause I need the pressure and heat of another person or I’ll go stir crazy. You can say no, obviously, that’s fine. It’s not like it’s the end of the world—Well, it is actually the end of the world, but that’s besides the point— I just want you to know if you say no, I will become groggy in the next couple of days.”
Ryland blinked trying to process what you had just said. “Couldn’t you have just asked that?”
“Well, if I proposed that I actually wanted to sleep with you as in sex and you rejected it,” — you gestured at him—“as you did. Me saying that I basically need a human weighted blanket sounds less egregious in comparison.”
He snorted, “that sounds manipulative.”
“Ah ah, but it’s less embarrassing”
“Right…” He shook his head with a smile at the ridiculousness of the whole situation. “You would rather have me think you wanted to sleep with me then ask me directly.
“Ryland, please, if I wanted to actually sleep with you and had the possibility of getting rejected, I wouldn’t have brought it up on a spaceship where awkwardness can haunt the rest of the ship to the point of one of us genuinely considering jumping out of the airlock,” you said casually with a roll of your eyes.
“Dramatic.”
“But oh so true.“ You clicked your fingers pointing at the scientist. “Okay, let us recap: You’re lovely, but I don’t want to fuck you—“ “Crass.” “But I do want a presence in my room and in my space or I will lose my shit. They didn’t send us with great weighted blankets and it’s getting to me.”
He laughed with a shake of his head, “Okay, okay, sure.”
You perked up, “Sure?”
“Yeah, I’m sure.”
“Yes!” You fist pumped the air in triumph. “You’re the best, love you!” You called out as you began to walk away to tend other matters on the ship.
He called out to your retreating figure, “you’re only saying that because you’re getting what you wanted.”
“I can still love you because of it!”
He shook his head with a chuckle.
──────── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ────────
“So how is this going to work?”
You and Ryland stood in your room on board the hail Mary. You undoing the blankets while Ryland leaned at the entrance of the room arms crossed with a raised brow taking the whole scene in.
You looked over your shoulder at him questioningly. “You never share a bed with a person before?”
“Have you?” He volleyed back.
You paused. “Have you ever had a cat or a dog? It’s basically like that.”
He huffed at you ignoring the question. “What does that even mean?”
"You know what. You're overthinking this. Come here.” You outstretched your hand in his direction, closing and opening it in a ‘come here’ motion.
He sighed before walking towards you, both tense and awkward.
You rolled your eyes at that, and brought him into a hug —which didn’t help with the tension he held— before stepping back and dropping the both of you on the bed.
“Oof—“ the wind got knocked out of you at the pressure of all of Ryland’s weight on top of you.
Ryland propped himself up on his forearms looking down at you with wide eyes. “You alright?”
“Nope, bad landing.” Your voice strained under the pressure. You patted the side of his waist. “Readjust maybe?”
He moved over, lying on his side, and you readjusted in turn. He still had some of his weight on you as he had no other option since the bed you lay on was so small, but you both made it work.
You picked up his arm, draping it over your body as you placed your head into the crook of his neck. You breathed in the heat and his presence, your eyes fluttering shut in the comfort of it all.
There was a warm silence in the air where the word went still.
None of you said a thing till: “Are you good?”
“Wha…?” you voice came out distant.
Ryland snorted at that. “You’re out already?”
“Sorry. I was supposed to check on you. I did make an odd request.”
“You’re fine.”
“Are you?”
He pauses in the process of readjusting in the small bed. “Yeah. Will take a moment to get used to, but I’m fine.”
“Good.” You went back to your earlier position. “That’s good.” Your voice sounded distant once more sleep got a grip of you.
Ryland chuckled at that, pulling you closer into him. “Rest well,” he said barely above a whisper as he laid there waiting for sleep to get a hold of him too.
“You’re a dashing guy. You have a dork-like charm. Surely you have someone home before coming onto this mission.”
Ryland’s being stopped, air not travelling to his lungs.
Flashes of you both sharing a cot and staring off at the ceiling discussing space and its vastness, sharing your lives and details there of.
He knew he would lose you to the trip on the Hail Mary months before the actual trip, and even so, you both got close and didn’t want to go your separate ways regretting having not done anything about your feelings.
So against both your better judgements, you got together and decided to stick by each other till the trip came.
Then the day came.
And Ryland was forced on the ship.
Then he woke up years later, just to experience that loss of you again. — you staring at him as if he were a stranger. For you didn’t know him as Ryland Grace, a person you bared your heart too. But just Dr. Grace a guy that happened to work alongside you on the Hail Mary project.
Ryland swallowed hard keeping his emotions at bay. He averted his eyes from you as if the very sight of you hurt him. “No,” his voice cracked at the edges. “No, there’s no one at home. Not anymore.”
Post Fic Author's Note:
Fun Fact abt this fic: this is the 1st fic that I came up with and wrote for this fandom. Just deep angst for no fucking reason... so... yeah..
Like, Comment, Reblog if you enjoyed the fic! + if you have any fic ideas feel free to comment them or send them in the request box!
