Tree man

agoraphobia /ăg″ər-ə-fō′bē-ə, ə-gôr″ə-/

when Grace and Rocky make it to Erid and Grace meets Adrian, Adrian realizes just how obsessed and codependent Rocky and Grace are. Then Adrian has to sit down with Rocky to talk about his odd tastes, because Rocky being incredibly normal (sarcastic) about Grace would be our equivalent of finding out your husband is a monsterfucker, but he actually has access to said monster and is now constantly talking about it.

Eva Stratt packed Grace's bag herself, solemnly folding his stupid pun T-shirts. She doesn't cry.

She packs the hacky sack and smiles, thinking to herself that he's bringing lava to space. She doesn't cry.

She packs one of her sweaters too. A little reminder of a woman he will hopefully never remember, a piece of his murderer up there in space. She doesn't cry.

She finds papers of a quiet collaboration with Leclerc on a strain of cold-resistant crops. Something he wanted to bring to her only after the launch but never got to.

That's the thing that makes her cry.

The idea that he had a life planned ahead, something to do, something to help humanity survive in his own way.

Well I don't like how it feels. I don't feel cleaner without body hair. I don't prefer not having body hair. But who will advocate for women like me, but me? For women who do like hair removal, they are advocated for every time they step out of the house and see 99% of the female population also conforming to that standard, or when they watch a movie and see all the shaved actresses, or view an advertisment, or open a magazine, or watch a music video, or scroll through social media, or walk down the streets without receiving insults and glares for having a completely normal bodily feature.

Rocky learns the concept of “good morning” isn’t about time—it’s about care, and starts sending it whenever Grace wakes up, no matter the ship’s cycle.

Grace keeps a running list called “Things Rocky Made Better Without Trying,” and it gets updated way too often to stay serious.

Rocky figures out which of Grace’s jokes mean “I’m okay” and starts responding faster to those specifically.

Grace once says “good job, buddy,” and Rocky treats it like a formal achievement worth remembering forever.

During the four year trip to Erid, They both stop thinking of the ship as equipment and start thinking of it as something they’re taking care of together.

Grace starts saying “we did it” even when Rocky did 99% of the work, and Rocky never corrects him.

Grace starts labeling some of Rocky’s messages as “made my day,” even though Rocky doesn’t know what that means in measurable terms.

Rocky learns that repeating reassurance twice makes Grace visibly calmer, so he quietly builds that into his communication style.

While on Erid, Grace realizes Rocky always positions himself slightly between Grace and unfamiliar areas, not out of danger response anymore—but out of habit of care.

Grace starts resting a hand on Rocky’s suit shoulder while talking, like it’s the most natural punctuation in conversation.