cats are the priority

it's only been a handful of months since the film came out and the film ao3 tag is already insanely big. as such, i'm definitely missing out on some great fics that by all rights ought to be on this list. if you've read something cool lately, please throw a reply under this list so i and others can check it out!

in the meantime, here's a bunch of authors i'm obsessed with who one day will receive a hugo award. or maybe already have, honestly. in this lineup i'd hardly be surprised.

GEN/TEEN

forever altered by @deervsheadlights (T)

Grace finds an extra bag of vodka. Rocky makes clear to us, the audience, that nobody has ever suffered so nobly for love like an Eridian having to be designated driver.

"I will not describe the next 1,042 seconds in any further detail, because the very reminder of it leaves my insides writhing in ways that make me consider whether there could be kindness in the embrace of the void waiting beyond the Hail Mary's hull."

better than your best by Goldmonger (T)

One of the best explorations of Rocky's trauma relating to sleeping alone for nearly half a century, using some great additions to Eridian biology and culture to get those feelings out in the open.

"You can’t build while you’re sleeping, but you can die. You can die for no reason at all."

The Chain (Keeps Us Together) by @bottommattmurdock (G)

Vignettes of conversations during the long, boring task of making a chain, and two aliens becoming besties4life. As the author says, it's extremely 'delirious at the sleepover' vibes, in the best way possible.

"Grace eats a breakfast burrito. Throwing himself out of the airlock has been postponed. For now."

silence more musical than any song by @hansdevice (G)

Rocky's years alone on the Blip-A, trying to engineer himself out of an impossible problem. Incredible characterisation of someone who's only surviving by pushing their skills and competence to the bitter limits, and still not succeeding despite it.

"After twenty-seven years alone, he builds a nest. It’s humiliating, this primitive effort. It feels like something ♪♫♪♫♫♩ would do, not an Eridian, but what other choice does he have?"

Without a Doubt by @eldritch-elrics (G)

An amazingly detailed and well-researched dig into linguistics that, in the PHM tradition, finds a tender story in the exploration of a really dense subject.

"'Does Grace feel like the dictionary is cucking him?' Rocky says in the placid tones of the TTS."

MATURE/EXPLICIT (UNDER THE CUT)

But Elmo, after cheerfully surrendering his old toys, sees that the children who swapped toys with him are playing with his toys “wrong”! They’re imagining entirely different make believe scenarios! They’re pretending the football is a dinosaur egg instead of a rocket ship! Aaahhhhh!!!! And this is so distressing to poor Elmo that he does the unthinkable: He does swapsies-backsies and takes all his toys back!

This being Sesame Street, he learns that you can’t control how other people play pretend, but you can join in if you want to! And if you don’t want to, that’s ok, you can just play pretend your own way by yourself or with someone else who wants to play that way too. You can still be friends with people who play pretend differently than you (and aren’t being mean/harmful/etc, do not bad-faith-read this 🤨).

it's time for something new, now 🏕️

here's a new outer wilds sticker design i've been working on, i hope you like it! 🌿