[[[[[[[Edited; Giving warning for SPOILERS for any readers that might stumble upon this for the first time!! Back off now, while there's still time! SPOILER warning. Do not scroll, please and thank you. I can't seem to figure out how spacing works. This is what I get for never commenting on this site. 🤣]]]]]]]
Oh my, I really wasn't expecting a reply (and such a good-humored one, too!) four years later after the fic is finished, and that too when I tossed my comment into the ebullient void of an Ao3 comment section that seemed to have gone long defunct. Well, I'm very honored that I managed to get someone to pick up their metaphysical pen back. Yeah, I'll be first to admit I have always been a bit of a snooty purist when it comes to the books I enjoy. It's the one brand of elitism I can't shake off. 🤣 But I'll concede to you on the point there's too little personal information about the characters in the books— I'm certainly guilty of scouring out every last page for any info about the characters sandwiched between the science mesh. I HAVE finished this fic however, and I must say it was quite a ride— but I'm not really someone who leaves comments, so you'll pardon me for the lack of remarks, and I'll just write here what springs to mind. I may edit later. My one main criticism is that occasionally I felt there was some drama purely for the sake of drama— eg. Johanssen's excessive malnutrition, when evolutionarily speaking, women are wired to withstand starvation, epidemics and all sorts of less than salubrious circumstances better than men (thanks to our ability of reproduction!), and when thinking about Watney's natural lower body fat percentage as a male and higher basal metabolism, it seemed pretty straightforward that he would be the one more likely to suffer especially as the rations dwindled. There's also the case of Johanssen's drastically more severe injuries during the MAV takeoff— I'm no rocket scientist nor doctor, but I wouldn't have figured that the physiological differences between male and female astronauts would be so significant in regards to bone density loss. (While it is right that women do have less dense bones than men, a difference between three and fifteen ribs was a pretty big leap!) And of course that one moment when you're on the edge of your seat, and Johanssen's bio-monitor is somehow the only one not working when Mark's is broadcasting just fine— and the explanation provided was quite unclear and nebulous as to why this is the case. But Watney and Johanssen still far exceeded the limits of what is currently known about space medicine, so I still gave much leeway to the medical stuff. You've also put an interesting twist on Teddy (moving away from the classic and cliche portrayal of him as an antagonist), which really gave me much to think about! My favorite thing about this fic was of course, the characters and the stars of this show. Johanssen and Watney are definitely not who I imagined as the love interests when I read the book, but you've got me sold on them, and doubly so as coming from someone who usually can't stand romance, it's quite the achievement! I gave the canon book a cursory skimming once I finished and I can say with certainty that I am never going to look at them the same again, given I side-eyed Watney's frequent mentions of Johanssen. Another thing I didn't mind but wished for that there was more flashbacks/exposition covered and given to Watney. (Adding a mention that on the side, I'm also quite interested in Mark and Beck's dynamics now, post ending, now that both Beth and Mark are his patients but with pretty drastic changes from their previous dynamics. 👀) Johanssen and Beck's backstory were much-needed breaks from our couple on Mars and quite fascinating to read about, but during that Mark's past took a definite back seat. I understand this was supposed to be a different character's center stage, and that's definitely a valid perspective, but it made the story feel quite unbalanced, in my opinion. And I'm not saying that as the Watney from book-verse, but from THIS universe, who had definitely mutated in a much more positive direction, at least speaking in terms of emotional development. What shaped the main male lead in this story? Was there ever a moment that made him the way he was? What about his parents and friends? (But it would also fit well here if it was revealed Mark never had any real friends— I've noticed that the most social people often have an abundance of fair-weather friends and acquaintances, people to laugh with and joke around, but very few real ones— which could feasibly be the case for Mark, especially given how he denied his own feelings and laughed the night away.) What did he really do before becoming an astronaut? Did he work for Peace Corps as he did in the movie (which is one of the details I thought the movie did better than the book) and if so, what is his perspective on the experience? And as a joke... For all the real book mentions and centers Watney, I'm always going to purport that it's less of a show for Mark and more of a very passionate and erotic love affair with science, as they're sure insufferably vague when it comes to the more important details about the man himself, mastering the one technique of saying nothing while saying everything 🤣 (I'm looking at you, Dr. Shields!) Anyway, wow, I better cut it now before I exceed the comment limit! Not the in-depth analysis you may have hoped for, but I hope I provided more clarity or touched on some points you haven't already noticed! Cheers, and expect to see me stick about for a reread!
Well, great to see you again! But before I get into it, let me say:
Not the in-depth analysis you may have hoped for,
By all means, this is *exactly* the kind of in-depth analysis I was hoping for. Really, it makes me so happy to see someone who thought so much about what I've wrote, especially a fic that... four years old!? God, it really is...
eg. Johanssen's excessive malnutrition, when evolutionarily speaking, women are wired to withstand starvation,
I do want to explain this, since it was intentional. I actually did the math on the food situation, and still have the pages lying around. In particular, the specifics require Watney to get 1,500 calories... while Johanssen gets just 1,000. Ultimately Johanssen is a very small woman, and I presumed she doesn't eat particularly much, so in a situation like this it gets cranked up to 11. And then in the later sols, she dropped her calorie count even further right until she passed out. Yes, you are right in that Johanssen would do better than Watney for a fixed calorie intake, but Johanssen's been redlining her diet pretty hard throughout Cosmos, and ultimately the MAV launch with its 12 G's was where it really caught up with her.
Mark's past took a definite back seat
Honestly, that is a fair assessment. When I set out to write Cosmos, I knew that there was way more Watney backstory than Johanssen backstory, so of course I focused on Johanssen. But yeah, I do think Watney's backstory took a bit too much of a bakc seat. You raise many, many good questions, but I will admit I have thought of them a bit.
...I wrote a short fic on it: Sacrilege. Yeah, I know it's plugging myself, but I do think you'll be interested in it.
I can say with certainty that I am never going to look at them the same again
...well. I did it.
I really managed to properly write a convincing romance.
Seriously, thank you for reading. It means the world to me that you think so highly of Cosmos. And it really makes me want to get off my butt and pick up my proverbial pencil again!
I do hope you should pick that pencil back up, because judging from your commitment to this behemoth of a fic, anyone with enough dedication to a fandom has enough passion to add to it— and it's always lovelier to read a fic when you can tell that the author adores the characters too. Took a peek at Sacrilege, and boy, I'm going to need some time to write all of my thoughts down. Let's just say I give it up to you on being right as it's *exactly* what I'd been looking for. I'll write up a review when I'm certain I'm not going to miss the deadlines on all the assignments piled up on my desk 🤣 See you then!
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rainycotton on Chapter 13 Wed 17 Jul 2024 08:27PM UTC
Last Edited Wed 17 Jul 2024 10:23PM UTC
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Pax_Kerbalica on Chapter 13 Thu 18 Jul 2024 01:10AM UTC
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rainycotton on Chapter 13 Thu 18 Jul 2024 06:53PM UTC
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