empty space, points of light @monstrouscrew - Tumblr Blog

we are many 🙃 with many things to do.

we write our thoughts down here, we draw and sometimes write fictional stuff, using this flawed meat based machine which carries us through time - check #k's art if interested.

if you see a post, it's okay to reblog. if you see art, it's okay to react in the tags and to comment. if we see you as an unpleasant threat, we notify you once, then bye.

other places: @/deepspace_ksw on instagram, @deepspaceksw.bsky.social on bluesky (enjoy the fall ~~~)

aesthetics made by @abelien-draws - follow them for their graphics: wonderful landscapes and still life.

#k's wave #pinned post #other artists on k's wave #heeding the call

we've got her we've got her!

her name is Celina Ortiz. she can't stand most solid foods, pronouncing most existing consonants, people yelling and loud artificial noises, toothbrushes and running. she likes soda drinks, sparkling/glittery items, ambient music without vocals, piano sounds and birds singing.

and no, she's not smiling and doesn't think in abstracts like gender, ideologies and maths.

she wants to learn how to make food that feels ok to eat for most people with texture intolerance or/and high sensitivity... and to be another lifeform that doesn't make sounds like that

(brief ID in alt)

#k's wave #actually autistic #autistic barbie #our experiences are limited but we're so tired of thinking in abstracts and trying to count every nuance #no space is safe to speak when the words are supposed to be this and that #and yes the last name jumped at us from a list we googled. we think she'd like Eridians.

itendeduponablog

So we know that humanity has a pretty unified understanding of time at this point. There's been various calendars throughout time but the general trend is using the sun, moon, and stars because we can see them and they're regularly recurring. Of course one day is the rising and the setting of the sun, that's when you can see. A subdivision is months for convenience but also because it roughly lines up with moon phases and when certain constellations are in the sky. (Speaking really generally here.) Eridians, though, cannot see their star for a few reasons: one, they're BLIND, two their atmosphere is too dense for light to penetrate it (hence the blindness). We know they have a clock and roughly day periods but it's unclear WHY the days are the length they are because they are MUCH shorter than human days, don't seem to line up with eating or sleeping schedules (Like a "Day" could've been the average time between sleeping or eating). Heck, we don't even know if their "days" line up AT ALL with our concept of a day and that might just be the word Grace and Rocky settled on (or just Grace) to define some period shorter than a year. I think its reasonable to conclude that if you've made it to space you did at some point figure out how long it takes for one's planet to finish an orbit around their sun AND figure out how to get to a different star. Therefore the human concept of a "Year" is probably defined similarly but may not have the same significance due to possibly not having that awareness previously and depending on how recently that was discovered PLUS how many people care. So Eridian years may not be based on solar revolutions. Which could be fun to play around with. Any form of light based clocks are obviously out and based on general consensus plus canon evidence fire based clocks are also unlikely. So a few possible options for time division are thus:

-Hunting seasons or the rest/active periods of prey. -A full body cycle of some kind. How long it takes to digest something, how long it takes a worker cell to reproduce, the cycle of some other important function like ovulation, the half life of some important mineral etc. -On that note it could also be the half life of an important mineral NOT in the body as well. Perhaps one of religious/superstitious relevance. -Perhaps Erid is very seismically active and has regular quakes/volcanic eruptions(of low to high severity) that can be tracked and predicted with regularity. Maybe it's a specific region that's convenient to refer back to for political/social/traditional reasons. - Or Erid could have predictable weather patterns like unto El Niño or La Niña which would probably be VERY apparent with an atmospheric pressure of 49x Earth. Or some version of Earth's water cycle. -Magnetic poles as well! We know Eridians can sense their magnetic sphere. Earth's poles switch around every now and again (really cool stuff but takes AGES) what if Erid's poles swap around MUCH more frequently than Earth's for geological reasons that would be beyond my expertise to speculate about but probably something to do with also having a liquid iron (or other conductive material??) core. -Speaking of tradition, could be divided like that arbitrarily due to old myths and traditions. Perhaps there are certain holidays like independence days or unification days. Birthdays of important historical figures or discoveries. -One I think is quite likely and fun would be the pendulum clock using the harmonic frequency similar to how Grace figures out the gravity but used as a time piece instead like how we did historically. -Same idea for water(or other convenient liquid) clocks or some equivalent to the hourglass where a certain amount of some solid substance is put in an hourglass esc contraption with a fixed volume and rate of falling due to gravity and friction. Something of a flaw with a fair number of these is the possible universality of them. It took humans a long time to unify our measurements and when they stopped/started and a lot of it was synching up with the astral bodies (sun moon stars) which then begs the question of how Eridians perceive the usage of time. Is Eridian time is perceived the same across the planet? Is it only used for matters of science or other matters where precision and timing would be important to have measured and comparable results? Is it regional like Time Zones but perhaps less organized where you just gotta adapt to the local time when you travel city to city? Would historically close cities that traded/interacted often have linked time? How do they ensure they stay linked? Local geological activity??? Many many interesting questions.

#k's wave #k's reblog cargo #project hail mary #eridian culture #something to think about

there's a song, one of the dearest to us, that we've never heard live (first the pandemic, then the war)

until let's say May, it had been associated with only one fandom and one character (Pandora Hearts, Xerxes Break). we still have the drafts of a short modern AU comic.

and, well, it's metaphorical, and Grace makes sounds. there's life in space, there's life aboard, there's life on Erid. still it reads like death.

Above me the azure sky

The last thing I see in my life

#k's wave #oh it's thinking #project hail mary #ryland grace #Lebanon Hanover is one of our most favourite bands ever.#and Larissa Iceglass is one of our favourite singers #it's good she's alive and her friend is alive and beat the fucking cancer.

we know that it's not happy pride month everywhere on Earth. still, the joy of not being reported to cops for an aroace flag coloured patch is joy that tastes like coal and ash while someone has simply some grilled food.

#k's wave #pride month #aroace and still here.#at least we've got coal and ash #you can draw with it

recently:

- got a very silly idea for catching Astrophage with Karelian beer

- saw and ate to check if we're not delulu almost rye free foxberry šipainiekku

- were told in a dream we're being sent aboard the Hail Mary on May, 31 (the last day in Petroskoi this vacation). well, we were tired af and didn't yell at anyone for that decision, just decided - still in the dreamverse! - to live the last days like, literally, the last on Earth

- listened through the OST. when Excessive Centrifugal Force started to play, we literally froze in terror as we did when watched the film and, at the same time: were amazed by the power of music, and were wondering if this melody affects only those who grew up listening not to their own native (without Western roots) music or this form of art truly can speak to any human on Earth. tl;dr: Mr. Pemberton, how.

..have a (not very) thin red line, thx a tlgrm follower for the comment 😁

#k's wave #i'm busy having fun ~~~#project hail mary #yes on main BECASS #the soundtrack. 😮😮😮#thanks mother nature for zero hyperfixations #unironically we eat and sleep and do a lot of other stuff unrelated to fandoms #and this is a blessing tbh

life sux, work sux, we'll die alone, and stuff

at least we've packed our clothes ourselves and got Life Is Reason as an alarm on our communicator.

#k's wave #project hail mary #doesn't fix anything just makes it bearable #autistic and tired.

astriiformes

Project Hail Mary Genfic(-ish) Rec List

Had a friend ask me about PHM fic recs today, plus I was already thinking about sharing some of my favorites on here, just because I'm loving that there are so many gen and even explicitly aro/ace fics in a fandom for once.

These are just some personal favorites that I think do something fun/interesting/unique with the story and characters. I will also note that the "-ish" is because some of these fics focus on blurry relationship lines, and/or have some focus on Rocky/Adrian as a ship (and Grace as their weird queerplatonic bonus partner), but these recs are generally all quite romance-lite, or dig into the relationships in question on order to explore aro/ace themes.

(Also, I've tried to ping authors where I found tumblr usernames, but if you're on here and I couldn't track your blog down, please let me know!)

Okay? Okay! Without further ado, here's some stories I've really loved:

Appendix: Saving Grace by twasbrilligand -- I bet you can guess what this one is about, but if not: Consider that maybe as a last-minute substitute, there might not have been time to give Grace the full-on Antarctic expedition appendix treatment. Anyway what's better than two friends tag-teaming a critical surgery, with one of them very scientifically interested in the other's insides?

what exists beyond, beyond, beyond by tardigradeschool -- Incredibly adorable Adrian/Rocky & Grace fic featuring a new hatchling addition to their weird little family unit and some bonus disability feelings on Rocky's part, courtesy of his time spent alone on the Blip-A. Handles the topic of internalized ableism really well , plus the family content is sickeningly cute.

Roche Limit by @spektre-writes -- A good old "Rocky and Grace on the way home to Erid" fic that deals with a lot of the expected themes, but also has a big more plot to it due to one final wrinkle the duo run into. That made this one stand out a bit more, plus the fact that Rocky gets to be particularly smart and resourceful (and traumatized).

Care package by @unknown-lifeform -- Earth sends an interstellar care package to the man who saved their planet. Really cute idea, and I thought some of the post-sun-dimming worldbuilding in this one was very interesting and may have cried a little over the idea of Grace getting video thanks from some of his students. Plus, the ending (which I will not spoil) is just perfect.

error:("DEPLETED") by @kellen-kat -- A creative format fic (which is always something I love) that deals with the journey home to Erid. Really excellent pacing, which is fun to see an author pull off when writing a story through things like crash logs and medical reports!

Easy Lover by ForgetMeNotForest -- On here because it's a great aro/ace Grace fic, but even more importantly it also has some of my favorite Stratt characterization I've ever read. Just really well-written, and I love the idea of her being able to read Grace like a book, even when it comes to things he doesn't know about himself.

family matters by Goldmonger -- Another absolutely amazing Adrian/Rocky & Grace weird little family fic. And from Adrian's POV! I'm really into the dynamics of their family unit as portrayed here, plus I love stories where Grace gets leaky over his Eridian family. :)

playing favorites by @marya-blackbone -- Part of a series with a name that name me laugh out loud ("not everybody lives; some people still died") in which Yáo, Ilyukhina, and the crew of the Blip-A all actually survived, resulting in a radically different first contact scenario. Cute and funny, and of course, I love the idea that in whatever universe they meet in, Rocky and Grace have something very special going on.

you land badly, but you crash standing by @taylor-tut-fics -- A technical issue on the Hail Mary after the (planet) Adrian fiasco leads to Grace pushing himself into a health crisis, and Rocky panicking. Told in a mix of flashbacks and what's going on in the present, which works very effectively. Currently an in-progress work, but I'm very excited for the last chapter!

The Greatest Act of Optimism and A Journey Unknown by @acewithapaintbrush -- Two parts of a series about Grace teaching on Erid, the first about how he got started in the first place and the second focusing on the kids' first "field trip" to his enclosure. Incredibly adorable, and there's some bonus excellent queerplatonic content in the second one.

Lost in Translation by @mayasynth -- I'm dying to see how this one ends, but it's an aro/ace Grace fic that also plays around heavily with the (DEEPLY CORRECT) idea that Eridians conceptualize relationship dynamics totally differently from humans, and the misunderstandings that might crop up as a result. Would love to see more people mess around with that idea, so I'm glad this fic exists.

Accident Waiting to Happen by @constantconfusion14 -- It's always sort of fun to see how authors handle two characters who are deeply close to each other having a disagreement/argument of some kind, and I thought this fic did a great job of keeping Grace and Rocky sympathetic while also toying with some of the difficulties they might run into as friends from totally different species (and with a solid helping of baggage/trauma, no less).

Fragility not Forseen by @cyberneticghosts -- I love a LOT of things about this fic -- really thought-out disabled!Rocky! the author's convention of using he/him pronouns for Grace and Rocky when writing Grace's POV, and they/them pronouns for both characters when writing Rocky's POV! everything about Adrian! I really highly recommend it.

He Will Carry Her Name Across the Heavens by @danafox1013 -- A short fic with a clever immersive feature, but I have to mention it entirely because the idea of Christa McAuliffe's family sending a charm of St. Christopher along with Grace in solidarity made me bawl real actual tears. (I have a lot of space travel feelings, sue me)

Eriddit by @calensis -- Look I KNOW Eridians do not have an internet equivalent but silly formatted fics are like catnip to me AND this fic perfectly encapsulates the vibes I want out of an entire planet learning that aliens are 1) real and 2) really, really weird.

#project hail mary #k's reblog cargo #probably something we may like is out there

it's a bad habit to reblog stuff without tags. should at least put a "k's reblog cargo" or something like this.

*looks at the amount of blankly reblogged stuff and swears internally*.. these Moons.

#k's wave #shitposts aboard #oh it's thinking

sam-art21321

Grace Rocky Save Stars?

Finally getting out of art burnout with some Project Hail Mary art👀Also trying to work on a simpler style so I can do more panel comics

#k's wave #other artists on k's wave #project hail mary #rocky the eridian #ryland grace #nomnom tasty glass.#too old to say bricks so.#we hear the frames. OP how did you do it. the environment.

agentc0rn

#k's wave #other artists on k's wave #project hail mary #the lighting !!!!!

synthyk

"why do Eridians wear clothes" insulation of sounds and modesty.

Eridians don't thermoregulate like humans do, so there would be no physical temperature-related need for them to wear clothes like people do. But necessary for health or not, Eridians still have a reason: culture. They have cultural hangups that might encourage clothing in social settings.

Eating is gross! Sounds related to eating are probably considered gross. With very sensitive hearing, soundproofing is really, really important. Their houses are soundproofed for privacy. Why would they not try to minimize body sounds with a layer of sound insulating fabric? There's no other reason to have a sweater on when you don't sweat besides having another layer between your nasty organic processes and the auricles of your innocent coworker, so you do that to be part of polite society.

Without knowing much about non-Eridian life on Erid, it's hard to say what they might have started making textiles from. Humans used animal skins & hair and plant fibers. It's unknown what kind of plant analogues exist on Erid, just that there's nothing quite like Earth plants. So perhaps their clothing came from processed animal byproducts-soft inner tissues dried or tanned into sheets, bones or shells crushed into powder and 'glued' into fibers with protein-based adhesives, or melted-in-geothermal heat (no fire, remember!) soft, low melting point metals processed into thin fillaments and pulled or braided into 'yarn' and knit or woven into cloth, with added minerals to maximize soundproofing added as their materials science advanced.

All of this to say that Eridians present Grace with a sample of their textiles, to see if he likes the texture for sleeping on, and Grace has the scare of his life trying to get them to remove the asbestos-and-lead-fiber blanket from his airlock before he develops saturnistic mesothelioma.

#k's wave #project hail mary #eridian culture #sound of course!#thank you OP!

meatballlady

I'm wondering if I misinterpreted the "my stories aren't political" comment from Andy Weir, because I thought it was pretty cool but Tumblr seems to hate it.

A lot of media can be kinda preachy with politics to the detriment of the story. I took that comment to mean that he prioritized the story instead of the political message, which, great?!

Grace is obviously aroace (but it's never specifically called out). Stratt is the best person for the job, who cares that she's a woman? Grace mentally goes "oops I gave Rocky he/him pronouns despite him being sexless" but pronouns =/= gender =/= sex. Lots of explorations of morality, society, finding joy in your life despite the horrors, etc. So what? So what if his main goal was writing a space debugging story and those other things came secondary?