link to the podcast, this section below is from timestamp 24.35

“andy weir provided a packet to the creature shop that was like a packet of eridian biology and stuff but there wasn’t much about eridian culture or eridian sociology and i made a bunch of choices going in because i just needed to have like a ‘who am i?’ right? 

[…] and i made a decision that rocky’s species, that eridians are really social animals that in fact are like a beehive or a pod of dolphins - it’s a unique and really integrated ecosystem of everybody doing their [specific] part. and the fact that rocky had to fly that ship for about 45 years - longer than grace has been alive, i wanna point that out - he’s been alone on that ship, having to run that by himself and- ryan and i would talk about that, one day we sat down and he was like “so what’s the movie from rocky’s perspective?” and i was like “oh it’s like ‘alien’, […] like he’s in a ‘contagion’ movie by himself and he has no idea what’s going on.”

he’s basically in castaway by himself which of course ryan is too but like, one reason why we never cut to the past of rocky is like, i think it was really horrifying! i don’t think rocky has slept in however many years and so a thing i was really struggling with is this idea of like “rocky must watch sleep” because how do you make that a need as opposed to like, a cute idea? and i just had to make the decision that […] he has a lot of unprocessed trauma around the things that he doesn’t understand and how much he is blaming himself because he’s the guy who fixes, he’s the guy who fixes and there was something really freeing about deciding that rocky was a deeply emotional, deeply anxious, deeply horrified person - being - that is trying to move through that in some way and how that affects the early scenes with him until there’s a point in the story where you can see we’ve physically softened rocky’s behaviour, because he’s finally feeling more safe and ok but all of that lore, all of that information [was essential].

Is that so bad?

i HATE self-censorship for a lot of reasons, but being in crisis work makes it even more frustrating. who are you censoring for? like i am being so fr, WHO are you censoring for? have you even thought it through? people who have been raped know that they have been raped. if someone attempts suicide or is grieving someone who did, saying "sewer slide" isn't going to protect them from any of the feelings. a murder victim's family isn't going to feel better bc you said "unalived" instead of murdered. if anything, it's just extremely invalidating and othering. it's saying "what happened to you is so bad that i won't even say the word," which is NOT trauma-informed care. you are not protecting survivors/victims when you self-censor. the ONLY things you protect when you self-censor are the puritanical ideologies that are being encouraged by rich fascists who want your money and obedience

It's even funnier to think that he never told Grace about this.

Picture this.

Grace, recording a video diary for future human visitors or something:

"Oh boy, and the ERIDIANS are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet! They've done so much for me, I can't even put into words how grateful I am! Once we arrived on Erid, their top priority was saving my life despite the fact that their planet was dying! Me, a stranger, someone who doesn't even belong here! They went above and beyond for me, and all just because they're SUCH amazing, caring people. Right, Rock?"

Rocky, having flashbacks to the time he yelled "STAY THE FUCK BACK, NO YOU CAN'T HAVE THE TAUMOEBA! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? ALIEN ISN'T PRIORITY? FUCK YOU! ROCKY WILL KEEP TAUMOEBA FOR HIMSELF! ROCKY WILL BLOW UP ALL OF ERID! ROCKY WILL....":

read on ao3

rating: e

chapters: 1/1

emma nolan x brendon "the shark" park

Brendon only has one challenge for Emma on her birthday when he has to work: Try to max out his AmEx.

The Shark + textposts

LOU FERRIGNO JR. as Brendon "The Shark" Park

You got me, I love an AAU..... alas, I think Soap would be a LOT less subtle about it than Ghost was - because that's his man ALIVE

Lesson #19 Throw pt.2

Cause pt. 1 was kinda eh here is another

Credit to whomever came out with shaded stick figure Rocky I couldn’t find the og creator

First lesson Previous lesson

Thank you to my awsome beta readers!

@xushibeetle

@the-asexual-winter

It still doesn’t quite feel real yet, but I’m proud to announce that I am a Putnam Books 2027 debut author!

BODY LANGUAGE is a spicy romance for fans of:

💉Age-gap romances 💉Workplace relationships 💉Emotionally stunted idiots in love 💉Irreverent humor to cope with the darkness 💉EMDR therapy and trauma narratives 💉Sex positive later-in-life virgins 💉Disability representation

If you’re a control freak who thinks that you have your control issues under control, this one’s for you. If you’re not—well, I still can’t wait for you to meet Amara Neelan, Cal Murphy, and the rest of the Elizabeth Blackwell Memorial Hospital crew.

The past few months have been a whirlwind, one that’s introduced me to so many fabulous editors and publishers around the globe.