Maomao has taken over my life, man

"Why is this scary, question?"

"Oh, uh, well they're in a hivemind, it's kind of scary to humans because they're not really... them, anymore. Do Eridians not have that concept?"

"No we have concept. Is just not scary. Is thrum."

"Oh. Well-- wait, what's a thrum? Rocky are you in a hivemind normally?"

(one very long explanation of what a thrum is and how it works later)

"Why humans think thrum scary, question?"

"Uh. Well, we don't thrum, I guess-- Um. hm. Well, these humans can't leave the thrum whenever they want."

"Not even to eat, question?"

"Not even to eat."

"Disgust! Scary scary scary, but not horror story scary, is more-- common fear in pebble."

"Rocky?"

"Yes?"

"Is this movie just the Eridian equivalent of showing up to school in your underwear?"

And the monster in this horror movie is just like, this eridian actor that has trained themselves to do the most minimal noise possible so they're basically invisible, extremely hard to do, a technical materpiece by a once in a generational talent in eridian horror acting.

And Grace tries to appreciate it.

Because everyone around him is like, raptured. The eridians took him to one of the best most impressive plays they've ever seen because they're being SOOOO nice to him and want to show him the best.

But it just looks like a 50 cm rock slowly inching towards the terrified victims at like, slug speed.

And then headbutting said victim.

Like he was just calling human eating disgusting, what was he going to do, say "okay actually the way Eridians eat is so incredibly gross we do it in private sound-proofed rooms"? And cede the conversational high-ground and sense of species superiority to Grace??? Nah, it looks beautiful, definitely.

Then Grace says "show me" and Rocky is stuck now, he's committed. So he just bucks up and goes all-in. It's not like he'll see the human after this is all done, he can pretend it's totally normal just this once.

"Why is this scary, question?"

"Oh, uh, well they're in a hivemind, it's kind of scary to humans because they're not really... them, anymore. Do Eridians not have that concept?"

"No we have concept. Is just not scary. Is thrum."

"Oh. Well-- wait, what's a thrum? Rocky are you in a hivemind normally?"

(one very long explanation of what a thrum is and how it works later)

"Why humans think thrum scary, question?"

"Uh. Well, we don't thrum, I guess-- Um. hm. Well, these humans can't leave the thrum whenever they want."

"Not even to eat, question?"

"Not even to eat."

"Disgust! Scary scary scary, but not horror story scary, is more-- common fear in pebble."

"Rocky?"

"Yes?"

"Is this movie just the Eridian equivalent of showing up to school in your underwear?"

He likes to deliver ‘notes’ n stuff : )

-Finn

ive only had Mail for 5 minutes but if something happens to them i will kill both committees and then myself

By comparison, book Eridians have huge taboos around eating. Possibly in part because they shit at the same time as they eat. Grace manages to talk Rocky into letting him watch him eat 'for science', but it's a hugely awkward experience. At the end of the book, it's mentioned that Rocky had to tell Grace to stop talking about food in 'polite company' when they got to Erid.

Stuck in space trying to solve a crisis without any progress? This guy has all the knowledge and equipment to make your perfect counterpart. Together you start to work on the problem and make progress at breakneck speed.

Feeling like a complete failure as an engineer when all the science equipment on your ship breaks down and you can't fix? Grace is amazed by everything you do, he calls you a genius and the best engineer he's ever known. Your work together constantly requires your engineering skills, and you keep succeeding. You are useful, needed, essential for the mission.

Alone for decades? You and the alien are now stuck in a tiny spaceship and you can 'see' him at all times. He even turns out to be fun company! And he thinks the same of you!

Feeling confused and guilty about being the only survivor of your crew? Grace explains what really happened and how there was nothing you could have done. And now you have the opportunity for redemption; the alien is going to die and you can save his life. He's so bad at taking care of himself, he doesn't even keep up with his bedtimes. You can fix that.

Nobody to watch you sleep? Not only the guy watches you, but he also lets you watch him sleep. You can always wake him up from sleep if there's any danger, you can always see his body working. You can fulfill your biological need to guard someone's sleep, but you don't need to worry if this one is ever going to wake up.

Stuck in a rut for decades, doing the same things over and over until you can't stop? Suddenly your world is full of sound, life, new and exciting things. Your mind is not just woken up, but working on overdrive. So many new things to learn and discover! Not only that, the alien creature thinks you are the most fascinating thing in the universe and wants to know everything about you.

And the cherry on top? When you discuss the meaning of names, you learn this fucker is called Grace. A mercy, favor, blessing from god, deliverance from suffering.