Reader, Writer, insect collector, appreciator of many fandoms. Pronouns are she/her. Jesus Christ is Lord!
My AO3 is: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Story_Weaver_2008
The Tv show Young Sheldon debuted in 2017. It now has seven seasons, all detailing the various adventures of the young genius. I have never personally seen it, nor do I have any wish to, but while I was checking Twitter a few days ago, a clip from one of the episodes pulled up and I stayed to watch it.
In this clip, Sheldon’s mother walks into his bedroom and finds a comic sitting on his bed. When she flips through it, she finds depictions of several nude characters. Naturally, this bothers her greatly, and she talks to first the owner of the comic book shop about giving her son a comic with such content, and then she talks to Sheldon himself. Both are unapologetic.
In a completely justified fit of motherly concern, Sheldon’s mother confiscates all of his comic books until he has thought about why it is wrong to have such a thing.
Sheldon responds by pulling a book off of the shelf and handing it to her, saying that it should go too because it is arguably worse.
That book is the Holy Bible.
It took me a few days before I really realized why that bothered me so much, but then two things occurred to me whilst I was in the shower yesterday.
Firstly, this is not the first time I have seen this particular tactic used in a TV situation like this.
Secondly, young Sheldon (or perhaps merely Hollywood) did not understand the difference between the Bible and a comic containing inappropriate material.
First point: The first time I saw this tactic used was in an older show called Doctor Quinn Medicine Woman, about a lady doctor who went out to the frontier to live in a small town and be its doctor. In one of the episodes, the schoolteacher catches a young student reading a classic piece of literature that contained a few mature themes. This threw the town into an uproar, and when it culminated in an attempted book burning, Doctor Quinn stepped in and did much as Sheldon did. She held up a Bible and said to burn it too.
Second point: the material contained in Sheldon’s comics depicted sinful things that had no right to be in a comic at all. His use of the Bible as a “but it’s in here, so it’s fine” is extremely wrong for one simple reason: the Bible depicts those things as sinful and awful, and the entire Old Testament is a depiction of how God punished His people for those sins—it does NOT excuse those things or in any way imply that they are right. Sheldon uses the Bible as a means to an end (getting his comics back) and in so doing fails to understand the Bible at all.
Taking his comics away was the perfect decision from his mother, because that material had no reason to be printed at all. Adults will say that “it’s not a children’s book”, or, “you’re not old enough for that yet,” when they themselves shouldn’t be touching those topics with angry-foot pole.
Those topics are in the Bible, yes, and they are punished.
One last thing, and then I’ll end my rant, I would like to say that I love the books To Kill a Mockingbird and The Scarlett Letter. They both deal with quite a few awful topics, and it could be argued that they should be dealt with much like Sheldon’s comics were, but I think the difference between the two is that the books understand and explain that the sins in the books are sinful.
The topics are dealt with in a way that makes it obvious that they are wrong, which those comics most certainly did not.
Now, does that mean that it’s okay to write all manner of terrible things into a story just so long as you make sure your readers know it’s okay? Absolutely not. Hard and sensitive topics can be dealt with in a way that glorifies God without the added R-rating, and readers can avoid those things easily if they flip through a book before getting it, or read a review.
All that to say, using the Bible as an excuse for genuinely inappropriate writing in media—be it books, comics, TV shows, movies, etc.—is wrong! And Hollywood clearly does not understand that the Book they are trying to use to justify such things spends over half of its pages detailing the God-sent, awful things that happened because of such things in real life.
Anyway, thank you for coming to my TED-Talk, I know this is a bit random, but it’s been bugging me for a while and I needed to share 😅 I hope I didn’t bore anyone!
Chapters: 3/5
Fandom: The Gray Man (2022), The Fall Guy (2024), Project Hail Mary (2026), Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Ryland Grace & Colt Seavers & Sierra Six (The Gray Man), Ryland Grace & Colt Seavers, Ryland Grace & Sierra Six (The Gray Man)
Characters: Ryland Grace, Colt Seavers, Courtland Gentry, Sierra Six (The Gray Man), Jody Moreno
Additional Tags: Angst, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Music as a coping mechanism, sibling relationships, Ryland Grace and Colt Seavers Are Twins, Ryland Grace and Colt Seavers and Sierra Six (The Gray Man) Are Siblings, also, why is Court’s name not a tag?!!!, There just IS NOT A TAG for his actual name, That makes me very sad, Let me know if I missed any tags, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, No beta we die we die we die, (Yes that was a Rocky quote because why not), Background Jody Moreno/Colt Seavers, colt seavers has chronic pain, Depression, Here’s the really big one:, almost, Suicide Attempt
Summary:
Four times Ryland protected one of his brothers (plus one time they protected him).
According to the CDC, in 10 percent of those drownings, the adult will actually watch the child do it, having no idea it is happening. Drowning does not look like drowning—Dr. Pia, in an article in the Coast Guard’s On Scene magazine, described the Instinctive Drowning Response like this:
“Except in rare circumstances, drowning people are physiologically unable to call out for help. The respiratory system was designed for breathing. Speech is the secondary or overlaid function. Breathing must be fulfilled before speech occurs.
Drowning people’s mouths alternately sink below and reappear above the surface of the water. The mouths of drowning people are not above the surface of the water long enough for them to exhale, inhale, and call out for help. When the drowning people’s mouths are above the surface, they exhale and inhale quickly as their mouths start to sink below the surface of the water.
Drowning people cannot wave for help. Nature instinctively forces them to extend their arms laterally and press down on the water’s surface. Pressing down on the surface of the water permits drowning people to leverage their bodies so they can lift their mouths out of the water to breathe.
Throughout the Instinctive Drowning Response, drowning people cannot voluntarily control their arm movements. Physiologically, drowning people who are struggling on the surface of the water cannot stop drowning and perform voluntary movements such as waving for help, moving toward a rescuer, or reaching out for a piece of rescue equipment.
From beginning to end of the Instinctive Drowning Response people’s bodies remain upright in the water, with no evidence of a supporting kick. Unless rescued by a trained lifeguard, these drowning people can only struggle on the surface of the water from 20 to 60 seconds before submersion occurs.”
This doesn’t mean that a person that is yelling for help and thrashing isn’t in real trouble—they are experiencing aquatic distress. Not always present before the Instinctive Drowning Response, aquatic distress doesn’t last long—but unlike true drowning, these victims can still assist in their own rescue. They can grab lifelines, throw rings, etc.
Look for these other signs of drowning when persons are in the water:
Head low in the water, mouth at water level
Head tilted back with mouth open
Eyes glassy and empty, unable to focus
Eyes closed
Hair over forehead or eyes
Not using legs—vertical
Hyperventilating or gasping
Trying to swim in a particular direction but not making headway
Trying to roll over on the back
Appear to be climbing an invisible ladder
So if a crew member falls overboard and everything looks OK—don’t be too sure. Sometimes the most common indication that someone is drowning is that they don’t look like they’re drowning. They may just look like they are treading water and looking up at the deck. One way to be sure? Ask them, “Are you all right?” If they can answer at all—they probably are. If they return a blank stare, you may have less than 30 seconds to get to them. And parents—children playing in the water make noise. When they get quiet, you get to them and find out why.
Can I just say thank you to OP for putting such a detailed description on this?
I’ve been a lifeguard for 6 years now and of all the saves I’ve done, maybe two or three had people drowning in the stereotypical thrashing style. And even those, like the save I made last weekend, it was exactly like OP describes where the person’s head is going in and out of the water but it isn’t long enough to get any air. Mostly you recognize drowning by the look on someone’s face. If someone looks wide eyed and terrified or confused, chances are they’re drowning. That look of “oh shit” is pretty easily recognizable. And even if you can’t tell for sure: GO AFTER THEM ANYWAY. I’ve done “saves” where a kid was pretending to drown and I mistook it for real drowning, but that’s preferable to a kid ACTUALLY drowning.
Also please remember that even strong swimmers can drown if they have a medical emergency, get cramps, or get too tired. If your friend knows how to swim but they’re acting funny get them to land. And even if someone can respond when you ask them if they need help, if they say they do need help? GO HELP THEM.
However . If the victim is a stranger, I can’t recommend trying to get them. Lifeguards literally train to escape “attacks,” because people who are drowning can freak the fuck out and grab you and make YOU drown as well. If you do go in after someone, take hold of them from the back and talk to them the whole time. IF YOU ARE GRABBED: duck down into the water as low as you can get. The person is panicking and won’t want to go under water and should release you. Shove up at their hands and push them away from you as you duck under. Don’t die trying to save someone else.
Please guys, read and memorize this post. Not all places have lifeguards. Being able to recognize drowning is such an important skill to have and you can save someone’s life.
In a water park once, I was suddenly grabbed by a child and he dragged me under the water without warning. I was going to get angry with him when I resurfaced because I thought he was being an ass, until I looked at him go back in and out hyperventilating the entire time. I grabbed him under his arms and began trying to drag him out while screaming for the lifeguard.
When the lifeguard got us both out, a woman came running down and accused me of harming him and said he had been completely fine in the water. That there was no reason to drag him out of there. The lifeguard had to explain to her that her son had been drowning, to which her response was to say that she didn’t hear him call for help.
I was a swim instructor to kids for about a year and a half a while ago, and I can tell you that it’s terrifying just witnessing a kid struggle to stay above water. They get panicky and noticeably distressed—usually a bit noisy too.
This? This is so much worse. You can’t see it or hear it unless you’re really keeping an eye out, and that’s terrifying.
Chapters: 1/6
Fandom: The Gray Man (2022), The Fall Guy (2024), Project Hail Mary (2026), Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Relationships: Ryland Grace & Colt Seavers & Sierra Six (The Gray Man), Ryland Grace & Colt Seavers, Ryland Grace & Sierra Six (The Gray Man)
Characters: Ryland Grace, Colt Seavers, Courtland Gentry, Sierra Six (The Gray Man)
Additional Tags: Angst, Blood and Injury, Blood and Violence, Music as a coping mechanism, sibling relationships, Ryland Grace and Colt Seavers Are Twins, Ryland Grace and Colt Seavers and Sierra Six (The Gray Man) Are Siblings, also, why is Court’s name not a tag?!!!, There just IS NOT A TAG for his actual name, That makes me very sad, Let me know if I missed any tags, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, No beta we die we die we die, (Yes that was a Rocky quote because why not)
Summary:
Five times Ryland protected one of his brothers (plus one time they protected him).
The coltlandgentry agenda (the fanon idea that Ryland Grace, Colt Seavers, and Court Gentry are related) has officially decided to take up residence in my head. Thus, I am in the process of writing a story for the three of them.
But I’ve hit a snag.
So, in The Gray Man, Court has Clare play ‘Silver Bird’ by Mark Lindsay at the end of the movie as a way to drown out any violence she might hear—I won’t give more details, I don’t want to give potential spoilers beyond that—and it made me wonder, what if Court has songs like that for everyone he cares about?
Like, they might not know about their songs, but he has them playing in his head as he spends time around them or fights for them or whatever.
And that made me wonder, what if he had songs that he would play for his baby brothers when things got really bad during their childhood? What if he started playing whichever one he could get started first, and it was like a ‘time to cover your ears’ warning system? And so that led to me wondering: what songs would he have for Colt and Ryland?
I am having an insane amount of trouble picking for the two of them, but I think it would be something relatively upbeat; something that could be played LOUD.
Anyway, enough of that rant, what do you guys think? Any ideas?
(This does play into the story I’m working on, never fear!)
The way Rocky pushes up into the xenonite so he can be even closer to Grace and the way Grace wraps his arms tighter around him have I ever mentioned they make me fucking ill.
Rocky seeing Grace in the tunnel for the first time: Oh god ok this is probably an important greeting ritual for these aliens. I’m sure all these movements have deep significance to their culture…
Ryland Grace, panicking, zero coherent thoughts in his brain: Maybe the rock spider will like dancing the salsa???
I see your Fortnite dances, and I raise you half a dozen Eridians dancing the Macarena for a bunch of Very Confused diplomats while Grace’s ghost cackles in the background.
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