characters apologizing for things they have no control over. mumbling sorry while losing consciousness. feeling ashamed of a bleeding wound. embarrassed when an infection sets in. deep seated feverish guilt when they need to be carried, when their legs won't keep them upright anymore and they lean heavy on a friend, slurring apologies..........
Thinking about book!Stratt and her impassioned attempt to make Grace understand when he says no, and thinking of Sandra Hüller's amazing acting during the chase scene and how she shows her sense of disappointment and betrayal in these beautiful, minute expressions. Thinking of the ways in which Grace betrayed her in so many ways despite the ways in which Grace had time and space to comprehend his unique skills and integrality to the running of the whole project. Thinking of the ways in which Grace's cowardice includes the refusal to face facts and think through not just what came next, but what came After the launch-- thinking through how badly Grace betrayed Eva Stratt, and not the reverse;
Eva Stratt, who took on an impossible burden, willing to go into it all on her own because no one else was willing to shoulder the skies
Eva Stratt, who sought out every possible scientist and engineer and resource able to think big about potential alien life and everything else they would need to combat the threat
Eva Stratt, who makes sure well in advance that she has permission and resources for world-saving work
Eva Stratt, whose selection of a fringe microbiologist with a genius for explaining dense terminology to lay people yields quicker, more productive decisions and avenues for research than any hidebound academic
Eva Stratt, whose microbiologist-teacher-translator understands how to administer too many projects and too many demands on his time and still carves out time to do more because that's what teachers do
Eva Stratt, whose right-hand man has answered, advised, and absolved her as they made horrible decisions that were the most likely to succeed toward the largest and best end of them all
Eva Stratt, who shared almost all of her plans and projects with her fringe microbiologist, teacher, second in command, project partner, her friend
Eva Stratt, who could trust her friend to make sound, difficult, scientifically valid, potential-maximizing decisions on the world's behalf because he loved it as much as she does
Eva Stratt (movie), who cannot be seen to falter or yield if any of this is going to work, takes a long moment of softness to try to offer some kind of assurance, camaraderie that they are all in their separate tasks still all in it together
Eva Stratt, who finds out at the last minute, on the precipice of deadly delay or potentially world-saving success, that her friend is a naive fool and a coward who never understood her or the mission and what was at stake after all
Eva Stratt, who'd hoped she wasn't alone in the willingness to do anything to save as much as they could
Eva Stratt, who found herself alone in making the world's hardest decisions, whose once-co-lead refused to help her make the awful, desperate, necessary decision together
Eva Stratt, whose friend betrayed her by never thinking all of it through. Betrayed by her right-hand, trusted project co-lead, translator of science bullshit, radical innovator and methodical scientist, who refused to follow the facts all the way to the proof he should have seen long before. Betrayed by her once-friend, now just Crew Member Number Three.
Eva Stratt, who loves the world enough to give up someone who has made her life and her work bearable, even as her once-friend proves his love is not the awful, all encompassing love that both she and the world need
Eva Stratt, who shoots her once-friend and still brilliant and innovative scientist into space anyway, because she has no other choice and now neither does he
Eva Stratt, who stands alone after the launch, and who'd hoped (in the quiet of her carefully cordoned off heart) that Grace would be by her side-- shouldering the heavens, pushing that boulder, stealing fire over and over until the sun brightened again or they'd wrung out every last gasp
Eva Stratt, who was right in thinking she'd stand alone at the end
I need a thousand fics from the in-canon Eva Stratt Was Right fanclub posthaste.
I keep thinking about the fact that Eridians seem so much stronger and sturdier than humans, so what humans-are-space-orcs thing could Grace even do that would freak Rocky out... and then I remembered humans are persistence predators.
So picture some years in the future when the xenonite suits are so safe that Grace's class can now take field trips into his biodome. Rocky's there because this is a big moment for everyone involved and also he just loves listening to Grace in his element. One of the more mischievous kids tries to sneak off from the group and there are plenty of chaperones but Grace is the first to notice.
His posture changes, goes focused but loose in a way Rocky's never seen before as he peels of from the crowd. Rocky just stands there, stunned, as he watches his sweet, gangly, goofy, clumsy blob of a friend turn into a hunter. Grace circles around the pebble, slightly crouched, head turned and honed in, arms loose to the sides, and maybe the little one notices and does that nervously excited giggle-squeal thing kids do when they're being chased and tries to get away, but Grace expertly corrals them. He doesn't even have to run for it, he just pens the kid in, lunges-
And takes the little pebble by the claw to lead them safely back to their peers. And just like that he's Grace again, smiling and joking and tripping over his improvised shoelaces. Rocky hasn't been scared of Grace since first contact. Have you seen the guy? ... but for a second there his instincts were telling him to run.
The thing is, for now, they’ve always mentioned that Ryland is seen as soft and "leaky/wet" by Rocky whenever other Eridians ask about him.
Plus, Ryland is openly clumsy, emotional, and seems to adore teaching and being gentle with children. Sure, they know he’s brave and terrifyingly intelligent—he didn’t achieve what he achieved for nothing.
But it’s when other Eridians ask about human evolution that they start to get a bit scared.
The fact that the human species developed ocular vision just to be able to navigate is quite something. Because, even if it's deficient by Eridian standards, apparently the environment and the human race needed something more than just sound and touch stimuli.
Whenever small rocks or pebbles found their way into the human habitat, Ryland seemed capable of "herding" them so they wouldn't wander too far. Also, on the rare occasions Ryland left his habitat in his suit to walk around Erid (a custom suit with special light generators so he could move and withstand the pressure), he seemed to move with a caution similar to that of a predator.
And another thing? His voice. Ugh.
His vocal cords were mediocre at best. But they could easily recognise the inflections of his emotions.
Ryland was incapable of speaking Eridian properly. He was highly limited. He always used his translator to avoid misunderstandings.
But bloody hell, they once saw him arguing with Rocky.
Rocky was practically cornered by the soft human. Ryland’s shouting and his sharp, biting tone only became more terrifying when they noticed how he was leaning over the other Eridian. And it was only because he’d been interrupted by the scientist that he noticed Ryland was practically in attack-and-hunt mode.
As if his body was instinctively ready to strike at the slightest right stimulus.
Only for him to completely relax and snap right back into that friendly tone the moment he noticed someone else’s presence.
And his reflexes? Terrifying. If his cup was about to fall? Or if one of his children had rushed too quickly up a mound?
Ryland would sprint at a terrifying speed to catch the object