I felt ROBBED at all the tickle codedness of this scene only to NOT GET IT? Fine I do it my dang self š¤
Jax needs to have an attitude adjustment. And you can't just say "Are you smiling? Why not?" Whip out a chair with robotic hands, see the lee panic in Jax's face, then EXPECT ME TO BE NORMAL. WAAAUGH!!!! I CANT TAKE IT WITH THESE NORMIES /hj
Ok. Now I need some Scratch and Trifle lore. I love this duo so much!!
lmao I don't really have any lore for them since they were just doodles so I will make some up on the fly!
Scratch comes from the town of Dirge and Trifle comes from Lark, the next town over! Even though the towns are right next to each other they have wildly different climates, with Lark being warm and sunny almost every day and Dirge always being cold and cloudy.
Lark's mayor Sonny Day came up with the idea to do sort of a foreign exchange program between the two towns to introduce a little bit of diversity into their culturally insulated communities... and Dirge's Mayor Darcy Dour went along with it just to get her out of his hair.
Lark sent Trifle because he's such a fun, friendly, sweet and likable guy! And not at all because he's a bit too much even for them!
And Dirge sent Scratch because everyone collectively agreed that no one would really miss him... like who even is that guy?
And thus the two of them are fated to be foils for one another! Because of an ill-conceived government program!
Grace's years of isolation from humans result in severe touch starvation. Rocky takes one look at this problem and says, "Hold my minerals."
Word Count: 3,687
Warnings: None
This is a SFW tickle fic, if you donāt like that then donāt read :)
Inspired by an adorable series on A03 focused on Grace being a wet cat and Rocky learning about human quirks (physical contact and mental health)Ā Link Below!
Archive of Our Own: Platonic Cuddling SeriesĀ
The journey to Erid was slow going.
Space. More space. Some stars. A little more space. And oh, hey, would you look at that! Space again!
During his lonely trek back to Earth, Ryland Grace had considered cracking out the cocktail of Knockout Juice to slip him into a coma until he was home. Now, however, he wasnāt alone aboard the Hail Mary. Heck, he wasnāt even going home anymore.Ā
Heād been on such a rollercoaster of emotions over heading back to Earth. Despair, acceptance (not really), hope, then acceptance again (for real this time). With the finality of his choice to stay permanently in foreign space, something festered within Grace.
Despite the companionship he has, an awful emptiness latched its teeth into his core and wouldnāt abate. No matter how much time heād spend with Rocky or watch clips of Earth in the Donāt Go Crazy Room, the feeling of wrongness stayed, and Grace has no idea how to stop it.Ā
A shudder runs through his form, making Grace hunch further in on himself, gripping onto his arms. His skin ached something fierce, despite his hands rubbing along the surface in a meager attempt to self-soothe against the barrage of phantom needles.
What he would give to be bundled in his motherās arms like he was ten again after tumbling off his bike and scraping his knee. Or being smothered in his dadās all-encompassing embrace after a failed science experiment, a promise that one day, āHeād be the smartest and coolest of all scientistsā. What heād give for any form of hug at all whilst in deep space-
The invisible aches haunting his body intensify in a sudden surge. Grace freezes in place, struck by a daunting realisation.
ā¦Oh.Ā
It was cruel and unfair, but it made sense. The urge to cry welling up behind his eyes has Grace's breath shuddering out of him sporadically.Ā
āGrace, okay, question?ā
The doubled thudding of the Eridianās back leg cuts through the static building in Graceās head. He looks to the side and finds the alien āwatchingā him intently, his carapace shifting in blatant concern.Ā
Grace has to push the word out of his throat. ā...No.ā He rubs his palm along his arm with a disconnected fervor. It doesnāt feel as though the warmth of his own skin is even getting through.Ā
āWhat problem, question?āĀ
How could he even begin to explain the torrential emotions wreaking havoc on his wrung-out body? āThereās something wrong with me.ā
āGrace sick? Question?ā Rocky is growing restless, feet thunking against the xenonite shell of his ball.
Grace swallows back the lump trying to start an uprising of sadness in his throat. It was a persistent battle. āItās a human thing,ā he rasps. āI donāt know if it can be helped.ā
āExplain. Rocky fix.ā
Grace shakes his head as he burrows into his arms, both to hide his burning eyes and to escape this conversation. Rocky couldnāt fix it. Bless that alienās heart of gold for trying, but he just couldnāt. What Grace needed, what he was craving, was human touch. It had been years since he left Earth, and his skin was growing desperate for an inkling of steady, warm contact. But by abandoning his journey to Earth in favour of saving his best friend - which he didnāt regret for a second, mind you - heād robbed himself of the chance to ever experience it again.Ā
Granted, the last memory of touch was being forcibly restrained to the ground, suffocating pressure pinning him down as he screamed for help that would never come. Not exactly a golden recollection of human connection.Ā
A steady series of tapping filters into Graceās ears, getting past the marching band thumping away. He peeks over his forearm. Rocky has rolled himself so close that heās right beside his friend.Ā
āHeartbeat fast,ā the Eridian states, worry warbling through his medeloic voice. āBad, bad, bad. Oxygen needed.ā
Heās close enough that Grace can feel the alienās warmth through the xenonite. His skin practically buzzes with the idea of leaning against the Eridianās stone-like form, multiple arms encircling him with a pressure that could settle his racing thoughts and lonely heart.
Grace canāt help it. He gives in to his pathetic, human instincts.Ā
His arms stretch out from his self-contained ball of panic to clutch around the xenonite, drag Rocky into his chest, and slump against the warm, glass-like surface. A sob tries to strangle his throat, but any noise is kept locked behind Graceās pursed lips. Rocky tucks himself against the wall separating them, soft melodic noises rumbling from his form in an attempt to settle the erratic pounding he can hear within Graceās chest. Heād only heard this in moments of extreme distress for his human, and it hurt every time. Though Grace is trying to stay quiet, soft plinks of moisture hitting the top of the zenonite were heard loud and clear for the alien.
Grace clings to the zenonite ball as tightly as he can, trying to trick his mind into believing that the smooth, warm surface was what it was after. That this hug shared between two species unable to co-exist within the same environment is enough for his human instincts.Ā
His skin prickles. The tears keep falling. It isnāt enough. And it is going to stay that way for as long as he is away from Earth.Ā
A shudder runs through the man at this bleak thought, the ever-expanding pit in his chest feeling as though itās swallowing up his entire being.Ā
As if he heard the emotional casam split further, Rockyās warbles take on a mournful croon. āGrace, tell Rocky what wrong. Please?ā
Grace presses his tear-stained cheek against the warm surface, sighing miserably.Ā
āIām touch starved.ā He says it quietly, fingertips brushing over a surface that isnāt organic enough to trick his brain into thinking itās skin. āHumans are social beings; we naturally seek connection, and with that comes physical contact. Itās common with anyone weāre close to, not just mates. Itās ingrained into us to co-regulate, so when we go for a long time without that, it causes us to experience skin hunger. It makes humans feel bad.āĀ
Rocky cocks his body to the side, akin to tilting one's head. āIs hug helping badness?ā
Grace wishes he could say yes, but then heād be lying, and he didnāt want to do that to Rocky. Shaking his head miserably, Grace scrubs a fist across his eyes to stem the flow of tears. āNo. Iām hugging you, but I canāt feel you hugging back. Pressure is a key thing with hugging; it feels safer that way.ā
Rocky trills sadly. āApologies.ā
Grace shakes his head again, but this time itās paired with a weak, sincere smile. āItās not your fault. Just sucks that our biologies are so different. I bet youād give really good hugs without this thing in the way.ā Grace knocks twice on the ball, emphasizing the distance between them.Ā Ā
Rocky chitters, though thereās something contemplative about his tone now - an inquisitive warble rumbling through the plates atop his body. He leans away from Grace, his back legs thumping against the casing of his ball as he thinks. āRocky has idea.ā
āYeah?ā Grace lets his arms fall away, desperately ignoring the loss they feel as the warmth disappears from them. There was no need to be clingy. It wasnāt exactly like the hug was helping him in the long run. It was like putting a sticky plaster over a gaping chest wound and calling it a day.
Rocky trills again, more full-bodied. Determined. āYes. Need to begin work now. Will show Grace when ready.ā Rocky is practically buzzing. An eagerness tugging at his limbs as he fidgets in place, itching to start whatever āmystery projectā heās begun cooking up.
ā...You gonna tell me what your idea is?ā
The alien gives Grace his version of a thumbs up and happily chirps, āNo.ā
To make it even more peculiar, he hasnāt allowed Grace anywhere near him as he crafts. Any time Grace sets foot in the lab, he gets hissed at. Forget Eridans being extraterrestrial lifeforms of complex intelligence. That sentient stone spider is a cat in disguise. Grace has it on good authority that the little guy practically purrs whenever heās smug or has done something clever. There was simply no other way to describe the happy trills rumbling from his body.Ā
So, Grace has been forced to amuse himself with other things on the Hail Mary, as his only companion is acting like a kid fresh into puberty and staying in his room to play video games. Fortunately, Stratt had been generous enough to provide enough stimuli aboard the ship to keep the passengers entertained while they slowly died in an eternal abyss of stars.Ā
Unfortunately, he could only consume so many episodes of Star Trek in total silence before he felt an oncoming existential crisis about watching a space show in space.Ā Ā
Thankfully, just as heās considering going into the lab and risking being cursed out in Eridian, a series of clunks from multiple legs echo through the ship. Onlyā¦ it didnāt sound like it was coming from inside the hamster tunnels running throughout the vessel. Nor was the clunking dulled slightly by a xenonite ball following the demands of five limbs.Ā
It sounds clearer. Closer. Concerningly faster than the ball as well.Ā
Grace drops the Comfort Quiltā¢ from his shoulders and scrambles up from his crossed leg position. He doesnāt even know what heās bracing for, but what greets him when it stomps into view is not what heād been expecting in the slightest.
Rocky is encased in xenonite. Not a ball. His body is literally wearing such close-fitting xenonite that it follows every crevice, bump, and grain on his form.Ā
āHi, Grace!ā He chirrups, sounding utterly exhilarated as he holds up a claw and splits it into the famous Vulcan greeting from Star Trek. āSurprise!āĀ
Thank god Grace put down his mug of coffee before preparing for a potential ambush, or the inventory would be down a cup. His jaw has long hit the floor in place of ceramic shards, eyebrows high as if pulled by a passing moonās gravity. āYouāre- you made a suit,ā he sputters out.
āSo Rocky can fix starvation of skin!ā Rocky bounces and wiggles in place, the thin xenonite moving with him flexibly. He eagerly reaches out with his two front limbs. āCan hug properly now!āĀ
Grace stares. His ears heard it, but his brain could not comprehend the development. That being said, his heart definitely could, and it felt full enough to burst.Ā
He practically dives for Rocky and slams his full weight into him, knees colliding heavily with the floor. Rockyās three back limbs counterbalance instantly, and the other two wrap tightly around his human. His claws grip into the fabric of Graceās cardigan and stay there, keeping the man close against his body heat.
After months of being on the ship - technically years, but Grace didnāt count the coma for his own mental health - with absolutely no physical contact from another being bar a ball of xenonite, this hug was everything.Ā
It was tight, yet not enough for Graceās deprived body. Every nerve was screaming from overwhelming warmth and pressure, but the idea of letting go only made Grace grip harder. He barely acknowledges heās sobbing into the top of Rockyās carapace; heās too preoccupied trying to convince himself he isnāt dreaming.Ā
Rocky stays put, soft notes humming out of him in a gentle, soothing coo. Heās seen Grace cry before - that man had earned the title of āLeaky Space Blobā after all - but this is different. Itās relief, itās despair, it's everything the man has been silently yearning for in the depths of his subconscious.Ā
Rocky is more than content to stay where he was with Grace practically smothering him from his doubled-over position, all his strings cut and emotions raw. He would stay put for as long as Grace needs. He lifts one of his limbs from the floor and runs it through Graceās hair.Ā
He pretends he doesnāt hear the high-pitched, wounded keening that leaves the human in a cathartic, emotional release.
āHow did you do this?ā Grace asks. āThis looks too thin- heck, it feels too thin to be safe for you.ā
Rocky chitters, pleased. āMuch trials and errors,ā he says. āImportant. Needed to make.ā
Grace tightens his arms around Rocky for a moment before letting him go again. Well, kind of let him go, Rocky is lying over Graceās legs with the manās arms draped over his limbs. Yes, he was being a little clingy, but his entire nervous system was recovering from months of neglect. He needs this.Ā
āIt means a lot,ā he swallows back tears that threaten to have another revolution and overthrow his ability to see. Heās already shed enough to fill a water bottle or two.Ā
Theyād moved to the dormitory once Grace felt reasonably steady to become a functioning human being again. (For those curious, it took a decent while for that to happen.) Now, heās lying on his back atop the bedclothes with an Eridian carefully perched on his lower body as a steady source of contact. It seemed the small alien was enjoying the newfound freedom of touch without a ball getting in the way.Ā
One of Graceās hands is being diligently studied by the Eridian. āHumans soft.ā Rocky remarks, something like awe filtering through his musical tones as he delicately handles Graceās fingers. āToo easy to damage.ā
Grace snorts. āWe canāt all be sentient canon balls, Rock.ā
āWhat is ācanon ballā, question?āĀ
āProjectiles we have on Earth. It was used in battle.ā
āRocky is terrifying space spider and dangerous ball, question?āĀ
Grace thinks of when Rocky first barged into the Hail Mary and proceeded to almost cause irreparable property damage to multiple items and devices within the ship. āYes.ā He states with a laugh. āYouāre a force to be reckoned with.ā
Rocky perks up. āGood reputation to have!ā He prods at Graceās fingers. āBetter than leaky, squishy, space blob.ā He pokes at the softer skin of the manās side to further drive his point home.
Grace yips, batting Rockyās claws away from his torso instinctively. āHehey!ā
Rocky jolts upright, removing himself from Graceās legs. āHurt? Grace hurt? Rocky hurt Grace?!ā His voice flits up several octaves as he panics, hands tightly curled against his body to keep them far from his friend.
āNo. No, no, you didnāt- hey, come back here, you silly goose. Stop freaking out.ā Grace grasps one of Rockyās retreating limbs and gently tugs him forward with an exasperated chuckle.
Rocky hesitantly steps closer, but doesnāt settle back down. Graceās legs mourn the loss of their weighted blanket. āGrace make hurt noise,ā he states. āMake same sound when burnt with solder iron.ā
Grace sighs and sinks deeper into his mattress. He didnāt think this would be a topic heād have to explain to aliens, but here we are.
āHumans have a pretty complex nervous system that has evolved to alert us when weāre in danger, specifically through touch. When you poked me, my body was telling me something was digging into a place where vital organs sit. The noise I made was just a byproduct of that.āĀ
Rocky considers this explanation, then makes a confused warble. āYou laughed afterwards.ā
Damn. Grace had been hoping Rocky didnāt catch that.Ā
ā...Yeah.ā
āWhy, question?āĀ
ā...Itās a human thing.ā
āExplain. Grace live on Erid in future, need to know human biology.ā
Well, no dodging the question now.
Grace sighs and runs a hand through his hair. āIt just tickled a bit, thatās all.ā
āNo understand word.ā
Double damn.Ā
ā...Tickling is when humans are touched in a certain way that makes us laugh. Itās attached to the nervous system thing, part of our fight or flight response.ā
Rocky tilts his carapace and extends a claw to wiggle against Graceās side again. The small squeak Grace lets out causes heat to flush his ears. Rocky chirps, delighted. āThis make laughter on command!ā
Grace opens his mouth to parry that point, only to gasp and fall into bouts of snickers when Rockyās claws start prodding at his stomach insistently with both claws. āR-Rohohocky!āĀ
Itās been years, even more than heās been on the Hail Mary, since heās felt this sensation. The scuttling, electric sparks spread through his nerves, causing him to flail helplessly. His hands scrabble to both grab onto and bat away Rockyās curious limbs. Neither tactic got him very far.
āGrace sound very happy,ā Rocky informs him. Thank you, Rocky. Weād be lost without your keen observation skills. āAre all humans this sensitive?ā
Grace makes a strangled, embarrassed noise in the back of his throat and tries to yank his legs up so he can curl into a ball and hide.Ā
āNo, stay stationary. Rocky is not done exploring this.ā Rockyās claws grab onto Graceās knees to simply push them away, only for Grace to yelp and kick his legs out.Ā
āNononono- Rohohocky cāmohohon!ā
Rocky chirps, curiosity singing through his melodic voice. āTickles happen all over, question?ā He inquires, his back hand squeezing Graceās knee and thigh twice in place of stomping.Ā
āROHOHOCK!ā The hearty cackles that sprang forth like an exploded fire hydrant were answer enough.
Rocky scuttles and prods over the muscular limbs, little chirps of excitement emanating from the depths of his carapace with every new noise he draws from Grace. Scratching at the underside of the human's knees produced a series of breathy, unstoppable giggles that vividly reminded Rocky of the young Eridians back home with newly developed squeaks perpetrating their vocal cords.Ā
Rocky relays that thought to Grace, and the temperature of the humanās face increased dramatically.Ā
āGrace embarrassed, question? Sound cute.ā Rocky reassures, wiggling his claws into Grace's lower abdomen.Ā
A flustered noise left the man, quickly buried behind his arms as he wriggled incessantly from the tickling. āE-Enohohough wihihith- my knees!ā He pleads, the feather-light wisps of touch sending his brain into a haywire state of laughter.Ā
āThat okay, plenty more to try!ā
Grace feels pressure firmly lay across his legs, keeping them still despite their instinctive desire to kick. Rocky has become essentially deadweight, using his higher body mass to easily pin Grace to the bed. At first, his heartbeat kicked up in learned fear from being pinned down amongst dead grass, but the gentle touches and familiar warmth of the Eridian dashes his anxiety instantly.Ā
It was kind of hard to focus on the last memory of being pinned whilst Rocky's two front claws had taken to prodding all over the manās torso. Light and experimental pinches being tossed in just for curiosity's sake.Ā
āGrace should have informed Rocky of this sooner, couldāve cheered you up easily,ā Rocky says, mirth filling his voice as he takes in Graceās blinding grin, flushed cheeks, and bubbling laughter. He made sure to keep his touch light, not wanting to accidentally hurt his friend; however, in doing so, the tickling was simply more unbearable.Ā
And as much as Grace's touch-starved body is relishing in this newfound, sorely missed companionship, itās tiring quickly.Ā
āR-Rohohock! Plehehease! No- Nohoho mohohore!ā Grace wheezes out a laugh before slumping back into the rumpled bedclothes, all fight disappearing and leaving him in a puddle of giggles.Ā
Rocky chirps, withdrawing his claws from Graceās stomach. āThis hurts, question?ā He stomps his back foot into the mattress to punctuate his concern.Ā
āNo, not at all.ā Grace drapes an arm over his eyes and takes in grateful gulps of air, the last of his laughter shaking his chest. āJust overwhelming, bud. Itās been a long time.ā
āBut Grace is okay, question?ā
The hollowness is gone. Graceās cheeks hurt from smiling. He feels good. āYeah.ā The scientist reassures. āBetter than okay. I donāt think Iāve laughed that hard in a while.ā
āWant me to do again, question?āĀ
Graceās arm thatās draped over his eyes shoots down to preemptively cover his stomach, an embarrassed grin spreading across his face. āUh- no, no, that kind of touch is usually for play. Kinda wanting to get some rest now, Rock.ā
Rocky chirps, leaning a bit more into Graceās chest, akin to a weighted blanket. He wraps his claws underneath Grace in a hug, while one reaches up to scratch through his hair. Grace practically melts, a blissful sigh heaving Rocky up and then down in a slump.Ā
āBetter, question?ā
āYeh, feels nāce,ā Grace slurs out, eyelids long since closed, and wrapping his arms over Rockyās warm, xenonite-enclosed form. It was like hugging a hot water bottle made of glass. Sleep was sneaking around the corner with a bat and a trip to Night Night Station.Ā
A claw slips down his scalp, scraping close to the skin of his ear. Grace flinches with a small grunt. The claw pauses.
āGrace is serious? Here as well, question?ā The amusement is abundantly obvious.Ā
āShut up,ā Grace grumbles, gently taking Rockyās front limb and guiding it back to his hair.Ā
Rocky chuckles. āHumans are very endearing. Will be doing this again, statement."
Grace rolls his eyes, trying to pretend there wasnāt a blush practically living on his ears now. Rocky let him dodge answering that. After all, he plans to use this newfound information to keep Graceās spirits up. There would be plenty of time to prove to his friend that humans were loveable space blobs.Ā
āYou sleep, I watch.ā He murmurs, carefully scratching the manās scalp in rhythmic patterns.Ā
Graceās fingers intertwine with Rockyās and squeeze. āThanks, Rocky. ā¦And thank you for fixing this. Youāre a miracle worker.ā
āWill always fix for Grace. Grace family, statement.āĀ
Grace squeezes a bit tighter, hoping Rocky understands the love being projected through the gesture. He pretends his voice isnāt choked up as he whispers, āYouāre my family too. Statement.ā
The rumblings of the Hail Mary almost match the lyrical purrs emitting from Rocky, sending Grace into the deepest sleep heās had since being aboard. Safe. Protected. Loved.
The idea of ābut everyone knows thatā needs to stop.
I saw a post about someone chiding Millennials for not knowing about JKRowlings transphobia, and asking how it is at all possible that people can exist in the world and the internet and, you know, not know.
Which I mean, I get. It is so present in so many of my online spaces that it seems astounding that someone could simply be ignorant! It feels impossible!
But let me tell you a story:
I went on a girls trip with a bunch of friends. All of us are rather incredibly liberal and all of us are incredibly online.
One girl would not stop talking about Harry Potter.
At one point, another girl asked her why she was ok with supporting it, and she had no real clue that JK Rowling was at all transphobic. She had heard that she likes to support Lesbian causes and thought āoh ok cool!ā And that was it. She was AGOG with the news and rather horrified.
I must once again emphasize that she was an incredibly online person. Sheās a foodie and a restaurant blogger.
Later in the trip we were picking restaurants and I suggested one I found on Google, and she gasped at me. Actually gasped, asking how I could ever be okay picking that one.
The shock mustāve been on my face, because she then told me all of the shitty things that restaurateur does. He abuses staff. Underpays them. Fires them on a whim. Is known for being one of the worst people to his employees in the entire restaurant business on this coast.
And she was so shocked I had never heard of this. Because in her mind, I was just as online as her. And in her online world, EVERYONE knew about this guy.
So I think the moral of this story is: always approach the other person with some empathy. Even online people, even people you think MUST know about how bad people are, may not have heard. It may truly be just them being on a different sphere of the internet than you.
So be gentle, be kind when letting people know they might not have heard about the cancellation of XYZ person. Donāt assume that everyone knows all the same info as you.
By all means, let them know so they can make informed decisions, but being kind will go a lot further than attacking them for some info they might not know yet.
[ID] A full color drawing of Duck Newton, shown from the knees up, an unimpressed, tired look on his face and his hands in his pockets. Duck is a chubby human man with pale skin and short brown hair, with some slight scruff on his chin. Heās wearing a tan ranger shirt that tucks into green pants, with suspenders. Around his waist heās wearing beacon as a belt. Beacon is a flexible sword with a mouth for a guard, the mouth currently acting as a belt buckle. The background is a light yellow. [end ID]
Being an Eridian scientist has to be so funny. You train your entire life as a biologist, becoming specialized in your field, probably giving lectures or educational speeches to other Eridians, and then the star savior Rocky comes home with his weird pet dog. Your job is now to cultivate food so the weird dog who is the age of average baby doesnāt die. The dog also saved the stars. Your job is making dog food out of the dog. You also learn that you and the dog have the same job. You are the happiest scientist on Erid.
So he said it can't be a Black. So I said, "For God's sakes, Judge Murphy, that's the whole point of the Goddamn story!" So he said, "No, it can't be a Black". Bill just called him up and raised the roof, and finally they said, "Well, you gotta take the perspiration off". I had the stars glistening in the perspiration on his Black skin. Bill said, "Fuck you", and he hung up.
Just to add context for those not aware of the impact of this story.
The reason it was so important for narrative purposes, was that the plot concerns the visit of the Astronaut, in his completely opaque spacesuit, to a planet populated entirely by self-aware robots (originally from Earth) who have built their own society and are petitioning to be allowed to interact with Earth again as equals.
They have a democratic government and free choice of careers etc. as the orange robot serving as guide tells the Astronaut.
The Astronaut notices that there are two different types of robot on this world; the orange ones, who are in charge, gifted access to all information and facilities. and the blue robots, who are seen as more limited in function, have less access to information and resources, and are not allowed positions of power or as wide a choice of employment opportunities. Even transportation is segregated.
The Astronaut investigates further and discovers that the blue and orange robots are actually structurally identical, there is absolutely no difference between their potential or capabilities, and it is only because the orange robots are instructed by their Educator system to consider themselves superior, that the difference exists.
The Astronaut tells the robots they are not ready for re-alignment with Earth, until they come to terms with their own unfairness, and how Earth had had to deal with this issue themselves. When that time comes, the robots will be able to ally with Earth.
Then he leaves in his spaceship, and it's only in that one final panel that we see the Astronaut is black.
Not subtle, nor should it be, but for 1950 this was a breathtakingly powerful statement, perhaps the first of it's kind in the genre.
The black character was not a caricature, or comedy relief, he was a main character in his own right, a human who "simply" was black.
When I was a professor I fucking LOVED teaching this comic. You can read the full thing here (and please read the letters to the editor at the bottom as wellāincluding a message from Ray Bradbury).
