Kuiper Chaos Vanth

yeah. i think we get a pretty clear idea of the psychological impact it had in the final scene, when rocky informs grace that the hail mary is equipped to return to earth, and all he has to do is say the word. the way grace's body language and expression convey visible relief when he realises that rocky isn't telling him to leave, but asking him to stay. while i don't think the revelation was immediate, i'm certain that grace felt nothing short of saved by the realisation that he wouldn't be able to return to earth. that he had not only the choice but the desire to turn back for rocky. because everyone on earth is, in a way, complicit in grace's violation, through either ignorance or - as carl demonstrates - inaction. stratt made the call to sedate him, but it took multiple people working with her to catch him and pin him down and force him onto that one-way trip. how many other people on earth would have done the same in their shoes, if it meant the best possible chance of saving the world? if it meant that at least it didn't have to be them, or those they love? to return would mean living with the burden of that, either internalising it to avoid tainting the world's pride and joy in the success of the mission and dying with it as a shameful secret, or being subjected to endless relitigation and spectacle. going "home" was never an option from the moment he was recruited.

As Pride Month comes to an end, I just want to remind you that July is Disability Pride Month and there's a flag and everything!

Charcoal Grey: Mourning for people who have died due to ableist violence, abuse, suicide, and illness

Red Stripe: Physical disabilities

Gold Stripe: Neurodiversity

Blue Stripe: Emotional and psychiatric disabilities

Green Stripe: Sensory disabilities