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First contact. Art by Basil Allen. I never expected to feel maternal toward a rock, yet here we are. “Project Hail Mary” follows scientist and junior high teacher Ryland Grace through space as he searches for a solution to save Earth. It turns out, space isn’t devoid of life — Rocky exists. Rocky is an endearing rock-adjacent alien lifeform whom Grace teams up with to find the cure to star-eating astrophage and save both Earth and Rocky’s origin planet, Erid. Grace and Rock

Erika Kirk portrayed as a saint. Art by Basil Allen. In September, conservative activist and Turning Point USA (TPUSA) founder Charlie Kirk was shot and killed while speaking at Utah Valley University. About two weeks later, Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk , took the stage at her husband’s memorial to deliver a speech . She was dressed in a white pantsuit and heels, with a gold cross around her neck and long blonde hair cascading down her back. Under the bright lights of the stage,

A woman hides her boyfriend behind a large bouquet. Art by Wes Mowry-Silverman. Is having a boyfriend embarrassing now? This is the question that launched a thousand think pieces. The original article that inspired it, written by Chanté Joseph , focused primarily on women’s presentation of their boyfriends on social media. Instead of centering their content on their relationships, many women were opting to post about their boyfriends more subtly or hide them entirely, which