go to the golf course after dark you say

Ryland Grace, who hasn't really drawn in years, because even before the coma he never had the time. There were quizzes, and papers to grade, and after school meetings about how to stop teenagers blasting electro pop through the speakers.

Ryland Grace, who isn't even paying attention to it really, just a few lines of different pressures, and then further away, a rough circle, and then a geometic pattern, and then-

"What Grace doing, question?"

"Oh, Rocky, didn't hear you! Uh... I'm sketching? Drawing, I guess?"

"Not understand, drawing?"

"Oh, right um. You, use devices like pens and pencils, they have materials in them that transfer on to the paper- Like how I do equations. So I can make an image."

Rocky makes a curious noise. "So what Grace draw?"

Grace looks down, and immediately goes bright red. Because there are some lines scribbled in the top right corner, and then a circle on the top left, and then there's something that looks an awful lot like Rocky's zenonite ball, and then next to that is... Rocky.

Grace must take too long to answer, because he blinks and Rocky is pointing his image display at the drawing, and before Grace can say anything Rocky goes- "Oh."

And Grace winces and goes, "Yeah, I know it's not very good. I was never an artist. Your models are much better-"

"Rocky models are better." He agrees, and then there's a pause. "Grace drawing different beautiful. Still beautiful. Different."

It's my piece for the @gfnonfictionzine !!!

everyone gets onto eva stratt for the "think about it long time" vs. "you have three hours" thing but

operating on book canon a little bit: if grace couldn't do it-- if he said no*-- the alternative was to scramble and fly in the next most qualified volunteer, who had 0 training, 0 knowledge of astrophage, and was not an astronaut. three hours could have been three hours of training for that replacement. three hours could have been three hours of preparation for grace, if he said yes

eva stratt gave grace three hours. not to decide, necessarily, because the decision was going to be made the way it was no matter what. but three hours to come to terms with it, to grieve, to mentally prepare himself. three hours that could have been spent giving humanity a better chance to survive

she borrowed three hours that she didn't have to give grace space to process. to get himself together and come to her, teary-eyed but resolved, and say yes.

I just don't think she wanted to.

The project was her purpose. With it done, what else was there to do? And after how it ended, after she had to commit one last atrocity, didn't she deserve to be punished?

I think she had friends of friends and connections of connections calling her offering to represent her, wherever they dragged her in the world, promising that they can get her out of this, it's really quite simple.

Do you understand how much it meant to me that Stratt was never seen in anything other than comfy loose business clothes in the movie? Her every outfit is layers, loose pants, a turtleneck sweater, scarves. Ever article of clothing is about her comfort alone, literally not one bit of it serves any other function.

Do you understand how rare that is? What that means? To me and probably every other person who was raised to feel like their body was a display model only? Other characters that might have comfy outfits inevitably have this moment where they suddenly dress like a bombshell, like it's their debut as a romantic candidate.

But not Eva Stratt. She got to be interesting purely for the person she is. We got to see HER. Focus on her character and not her body. To this DAY it blows my mind. Every time I see her dressed this way that feeling of being bowled over by it renews.