Persie

26, Writer, Reader, Cosplayer. Anti SJM and Anti JKR. Thanks for reading my ramblings!

[ctrl-shift-alt-9]

@persiesposts is teaching me about Eridians right now, guys. This is very informational shit we're doing tonight /silly

I pulled out my rock collection and we're doing sci-fi alien book study.

I dunno shit about PHM aside from the movie but we're doing a reading tonight of some detailwork.

The big blue banded agatestone is inspiring a little rock guy. :] Rocksona

[persiesposts]

A very informative talk about eridiansonas

Amaze amaze amaze

[persiesposts]

So I am typically very Hopecore with a lot of of my writings, but I do enjoy putting characters in a Situation.

I recently watched both Iron Lung and Project Hail Mary and a thought that keeps reoccurring to me how they keep saying in Iron Lung that Simon was sent down to atone for what he did. They say it multiple times throughout the film. I know it’s a typical thing to say of someone going through a prison sentence but it’s really stuck out to me. 

We know that it’s a common enough occurrence, since Simon is not the first convict to be sent down into the blood ocean.

Naturally this got me thinking of bloodymary because of course it did.

So now I just have this idea in my head of Ryland rescuing Simon from the sub, and the two of them are still trying to figure out how to coexist together, as there is obviously a very big gap in understanding between the two of them.

Somehow, Simon figures out that Ryland is not on the Mary by choice and with his limited understanding believes that Ryland is another convict/individual the COI put into a ship for atonement. 

Another factor to consider is the recordings that Ryland is constantly logging to send back to earth. Simon could perceive this as a different form of COI monitoring since he had the radio communication in the submarine. 

I think there’s a bunch of different ways a fic writer could go with this from making it a character study of Simon’s paranoia/belief that he’s never truly get away from the COI and getting his freedom to potentially making it something equally parts whumpy and hilarious as Simon tries to figure out what the hell this geeky but earnest dude that he can’t quite understand could have possibly done to have to “atone for his sins“

Meanwhile Ryland is just extremely confused as to why the man that he just rescued out of a literal ocean of blood keeps staring at him like he’s trying to sense his darkest secrets and innermost thoughts.

I’m also not sure where Rocky would fit into all of this, but that is completely up to writer interpretation!

Also, I just want to give all the credit for any of my characterization/perception of Simon to @ctrl-shift-alt-9 who had me watch Iron Lung with them and has given me a front row seat to their thoughts and knowledge of all things Simon 

[persiesposts]

ALSO!!! If we’re going by book canon, at some point Simon would find out that Grace spent his last few days on earth in a prison cell.

Do with this what you will.

[persiesposts]

So I am typically very Hopecore with a lot of of my writings, but I do enjoy putting characters in a Situation.

I recently watched both Iron Lung and Project Hail Mary and a thought that keeps reoccurring to me how they keep saying in Iron Lung that Simon was sent down to atone for what he did. They say it multiple times throughout the film. I know it’s a typical thing to say of someone going through a prison sentence but it’s really stuck out to me. 

We know that it’s a common enough occurrence, since Simon is not the first convict to be sent down into the blood ocean.

Naturally this got me thinking of bloodymary because of course it did.

So now I just have this idea in my head of Ryland rescuing Simon from the sub, and the two of them are still trying to figure out how to coexist together, as there is obviously a very big gap in understanding between the two of them.

Somehow, Simon figures out that Ryland is not on the Mary by choice and with his limited understanding believes that Ryland is another convict/individual the COI put into a ship for atonement. 

Another factor to consider is the recordings that Ryland is constantly logging to send back to earth. Simon could perceive this as a different form of COI monitoring since he had the radio communication in the submarine. 

I think there’s a bunch of different ways a fic writer could go with this from making it a character study of Simon’s paranoia/belief that he’s never truly get away from the COI and getting his freedom to potentially making it something equally parts whumpy and hilarious as Simon tries to figure out what the hell this geeky but earnest dude that he can’t quite understand could have possibly done to have to “atone for his sins“

Meanwhile Ryland is just extremely confused as to why the man that he just rescued out of a literal ocean of blood keeps staring at him like he’s trying to sense his darkest secrets and innermost thoughts.

I’m also not sure where Rocky would fit into all of this, but that is completely up to writer interpretation!

Also, I just want to give all the credit for any of my characterization/perception of Simon to @ctrl-shift-alt-9 who had me watch Iron Lung with them and has given me a front row seat to their thoughts and knowledge of all things Simon 

[xwilltruman]

the lion is worryingly relatable

[rylandgraces]

ok I know I seem insane for watching project hail mary for the fourth time in 10 days but I got to watch it with the directors commentary tonight and it’s incredible how much thought and love went into this film by EVERYONE. the directors, ryan gosling himself, the sound department, costumes, set production, cameras. everyone has so much pride and the story is so beloved by all. anyway here are some of my favorite things from the commentary

no one knew how to pronounce eridani (air-id-ah-ni or air-re-deni) so they just literally never said it in the film

the “good luck” at the beginning is supposed to have been written by the astronauts on the ISS who delivered ryland to the hail mary

the mop ryland was dancing with was called moppy ringwald

when ryland calls stratt after successfully breeding astrophage and he says “carl and I made a baby,” that was ryan gosling calling sandra hüller on her day off and she had no idea that’s what he was going to say. that “what” was her genuine first reaction

the scientist whom ryland called a stagnating waste of carbon was the bearded guy sitting next to him and stratt in the initial phm meeting

the idea of the soundtrack being so hopeful was supposed to be like there were two different planets cheering him on

when ryland is sitting on the beach in that don’t-go-crazy room and sees a figure walking towards him, that’s him on erid at the end. he’s seeing himself 

among the markings on rocky were the petrova line mission patch, his rank, family crest, and wedding band

rocky always stamped his claw on the ground twice for a question

they wanted to make it so that eridani could have different tones. so it could be a given series of keys for one word and then you could change the frequencies for happy, sad, scared, etc.

after rocky wakes up and asks ryland if they caught the taumeoba and ryland shakes his head no and then yes, the directors went “what an odd thing to do”

ryan gosling wrapped all the gifts that ryland gave to rocky himself

the entire reason that exchange panel was put on rocky’s ball was so that ryland could pass him the little beanie earth

the movie starts with an upside down shot of ryland waking up. the epilogue starts with a right-side up shot of ryland waking up. he also makes his bed and brushes his teeth to show how time has passed LOL

their headcanon for explaining the rocky nature of the beach is that the eridians tried to emulate sand but got the scale of the grains wrong

rocky had them create a beach, and wave machine for the beach, and a tree for ryland so that he felt closer to home, but rocky was all he needed for that

[persiesposts]

I also just love that the two most prominent space movies right now are stories of cosmic horror and cosmic hope that center around the indomitable human spirit.

To me, Simon and Ryland are two sides of the same coin in terms of their characterization within the narrative. Two men who just want to live and do the right thing even if it’s not always for the right reasons.

They’re human and we need those human stories, even when set in fantastical circumstances.

[stormsthatrage]

Shoutout to Project Hail Mary for being the only media where the unconscious protagonist is dragged off screen by an alien spider monster and the audience's reaction is heartbreak on behalf of the alien spider monster.

[persiesposts]

I have many many thoughts on Project Hail Mary (and I will post a lengthy review of both the book and movie very soon!) but what I think is so indicative of Ryland Grace as a character and his development prior to the main plot is the intentional choice of him not swearing.

To me it demonstrates how much he’s changed from the ego-driven, academia focused doctor and into the fun middle school teacher that he was/still is prior to and during the events of the book. It shows that even when lacking his memories he is fundamentally that softer, kinder person, even if he does definitely still have that ego. It also acts as a bit of a plot device/foreshadowing, showing that he doesn’t necessarily belong in the situation he was put in but still rose to the occasion anyways.

Obviously swearing or not isn’t automatically indicative of whether or not someone is a good person, but I love the use of it as a narrative device to show the dorky school teacher side of Ryland even when he doesn’t know who he is. It’s an automatic insight into who this person is without having to do an extreme deep dive and lends itself well to the non sequential nature of the narrative.

Oh Ryland Grace, my beloved.

[ctrl-shift-alt-9]

I think a lot of people are completely skipping over how much Grace likes his space. I keep seeing, "oOoO it's been so long since another human has been around. Oh noooo~~~"

No. No no no.

I want more "could you give me a freakin' minute" snarky crashout Ryland vs. "if you leave I will start Experiencing The Horrors but I'm also going to crashout if you go too near me" complicated Simon.

I want more Ryland being boisterous, who's really good at taking charge. The guy FLAUNTS being "Doctor-Captain Ryland Grace" to Stratt. He WENT FISHING in a PLANET'S ATMOSPHERE WHILE EVERYTHING WAS ON FIRE. HE GOT HIMSELF FIRED BECAUSE HE POPPED OFF AT THE MOUTH. HE HAS AN EGO. GIVE IT TO HIM.

I want more Simon, who had his ego beat the fuck out of him, and is actively learning to try and gain that back again, because he used to be a prick on Eden, and now he's scared he'll turn back into that monster if he lets his self control go. Scared something Bad Will Happen either to him or because of him. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ]

WHERE IS SOFTSPOKEN POLITE SIMON WITH A TERRIBLE PAST AND ROWDY VODKA-SLAMMING-IN-SUNGLASSES USED-TO-BE-A-PRICK GRACE WITH A SOMEWHAT NORMAL BACKGROUND ??? The background-not-matching-the-personality trope is RIGHT THERE guys.

I want more Simon who thinks Ryland is a delusional liar vs. Ryland who can clearly see the signs of psychosis in Simon, and he might just be right. (I love you, Losing Streak by AO3 user rosysoleil)

I want Simon who has been trained to body pain and yet still fucking cries like a bitch (because he was, and he does). Simon is NOT stoic. HE IS NOT. Simon's got a pokerface and it's terrible.

I want more meet-ugly Punch Your Lights Out While Squealing Like A Bitch Ryland Grace vs. K.O.'d By A Whimpy White Guy Simon, who's more apologetic about the incident than Ryland is.

LOOK AT RYLAND'S ARM. LOOK. DUDE HAS A SLEEPER BUILD. It might be an accident (or totally justified self-defense) but, as stated by @anne-jordan in this post, Ryland "It's been a while since I've taken pills from strangers" Grace would be swinging back.

I want more BITCH FOR BITCH Simon and Rocky who think arguing with each other is fun, because Simon's sense of humor involves being mean (being rowdy with the boys on Eden was common) and Rocky is so with it.

I want more "sexuality crisis" Ryland Grace who thought he was straight vs. "dude labels went out of style like 230 years ago" True Neutral Future-Man Simon. SIMON'S THE CHILL ONE. SIMON DON'T GAF

I want more "forced proximity doesn't mean we have to fuck" stories!!! Turn that trope on its head!!!

I want more sexually complicated/aromantic-but-sex-positive Simon that ISN'T because of his trauma!!! Maybe he's just Like That, and that's okay!

Also, hey guys, guess what? Simon can just be a straight dude. These can just be straight dudes. Best buds. Guys. Healthy male friendships. HEALTHY MALE FRIENDSHIPS. It doesn't have to be yaoi all the time.

Give me variation. Give me underused dynamics. Challenge fandom with your writing. I dare you. I DARE YOU.

Does anyone hear me. Is this mic on??

All of this is /pos /crazy passionate writer tone btw I am NOT yelling at you guys in any form of anger.

[persiesposts]

I think this is one of the things I find most compelling about both Book and Movie Grace. Sorry, I love this post, but I will be using this as a jump off point to talk about the characterization of Ryland Grace.

Ryland Grace was an academic, he lived in the world of having to defend his thoughts and his thesis, he knows how to argue. As someone who has been in academia for quite a bit of my life, it can be brutal. When put in a room with a bunch of people who have not only been told they’re smart for a good portion of their lives, but actually know they’re smart, there’s a ton of ego that comes along with that and just because Ryland is generally a good person does not mean he isn’t susceptible to being egotistical.

He hates being proven wrong, especially about things that he’s passionate about.

I think he definitely softened as an individual after he became a teacher. In the book, he does talk about how he worked for years to gain the reputation of being the “cool teacher”.

So that tells me that he is someone with a strong desire to be liked, not to mention all his interactions with Rocky, especially in the book.

But I do think it is multi-layered as OP mentions.

Aaaa Ryland is such an interesting and multi dimensional character and I just love him so much.

[scarlct-vvitch]

grace, who has been alone for five minutes: oh my god. an alien! im not alone anymore! i hope he wants to be friends :)

rocky, coming up on 50 years of solitude, imprinting on grace in ways baby ducklings can only dream of: if you leave me to sleep where i can't watch your heart beat i am blowing up this tunnel with us both in it

[persiesposts]

Latest read: My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney.

Good for book clubs if you enjoy discussing mysteries and theories!

Also: bookstagram is @ booksncrows if you’d like to see more!

[persiesposts]

Current Read: Swordheart by T. Kingfisher

[lxcke]

Art Portfolio: @lxcke-art Keep the lights on: Donate with Ko-Fi

Prices may increase depending on how huge the project is. Baseline price is non-negotiable. We will reasonably discuss before I charge anything!

I'm professional, but friendly! Don't be scared to get in touch. My communication style can change to suit your needs. If you need someone energetic and leadership-friendly, I got you! If you need a mellow study guide, I can do that too. I also know how to communicate with people who have disabilities or language barriers.

If you can't afford my services, please share this around. Bills are getting crazy for me lately. Thanks guys!

[skelotan]

Dedicated to my cat, who is very vocal about my bed time.

PATREON

[alonelystargazer]

writing goals for 2026 ✨

to write

[persiesposts]

Ok, lowkey a face reveal but I had to show a look I’m experimenting with for Doc August ✨

[blessedbethewickedofficial]

Doc August character portrait by me and @puppycarnage2

Augie is played by @persiesposts Working on the character portraits with Rigby has been a wonderful experience, I'm incredibly lucky to have built a team of talented writers and artists to create this project :) Ethical Scientific method? Lol, what's that? When working in the name of innovation and what could be presumed as the better-good, it becomes easy to justify any ends to the means. I mean, it's already questionable to work with Tyrant, but then again it would be questionable to work for really anyone within the Legion or Web's forces at this rate- so who's to sweat much on the details or dirty work that comes with this. Doc is here to get her work done and a 2 hour power nap in before she has to help clean up another mess. -Rigby

[persiesposts]

It me