twilight_alchemist



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  1. Public Bookmark *

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    The Eridians have finally gotten the water feature in Ryland's personal zoo enclosure just right (even if Rocky would like him to stop calling his dome that).

    Rocky refuses to believe that humans naturally float. There is no way Ryland's entire species regularly goes into deep water for fun.

    Language:
    English
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    1/1
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    29 May 2026

  2. Public Bookmark *

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    Rocky’s new suit opens up a whole new world of interactivity within the small bubble that is The Hail Mary.
    It makes everything a little bit easier to deal with (a little bit easier to fix).

    Or

    5 times Rocky helps out Grace with his newfound ability to touch things around him, and 1 time touching Grace is the thing that helps the most.

    (Previously titled “Rocky Can Touch, Question?”)

    Series
    Language:
    English
    Words:
    10,991
    Chapters:
    6/6
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    878
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    28 May 2026

  3. Public Bookmark *

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    I lived with this hunger long before the Hail Mary. This is nothing new. I’m fine.

    Right up until Rocky asks another question.

    “When last time you touch other human person skin, question?”

    Oh. Oh no. “When I… a few days after I first woke up here.”

    Rocky starts to relax for a split second, but then tightens when something occurs to him.

    “Grace crewmates dead when you wake up. You said this, statement. You not even know your own name, remember nothing, see dead bodies, confirm?”

    I nod, because if I open my mouth I will gag.

    “When last time Grace touch ALIVE human person, question.”

    I swallow thickly. I don’t answer aloud because I know Rocky can hear the hitch in my breath. My stomach churns with fresh bile. He senses my vital signs tick over into stress patterns and goes very, very still again.

    “Grace. When last time, question.”

    I clench my jaw so hard my temples ache, and beg him with my eyes to just stop.

    “Grace. Please say not when… when Evil Stratt humans put you to sleep.”

    I can taste grass.

    ---

    AKA: Grace starves for more than just food on the journey to Erid.

    Series
    Language:
    English
    Words:
    55,343
    Chapters:
    4/4
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    25 May 2026

  4. Public Bookmark *

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    “Are you going to tell me what I did wrong, or are you just going to give me the silent treatment for the next four years?” 

    “Human treatment to induce silence?” Rocky perks up. “Good plan. You teach. I administer.”

    (or: the long, bumpy road to the truth) 

    Series
    Language:
    English
    Words:
    8,542
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    1/1
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    104
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    23 May 2026

  5. Public Bookmark 49

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    Morbid, that's what this is, and I don't want it to be.
    I'll leave this part out of any memoirs, I guess, just mention it in passing. If there is any time to write memoirs: if Rocky gets me to Erid alive, and he and his fellow alien scientists are able to engineer some way to keep me functioning, then I'll jot this all down in their language and mine for posterity's sake. I've gotten used to chronicling. If I could get this story to Earth, everybody would line up in the bookstores to get their hands on it. They might even forgive me my faults. I'd read my book, too, but mostly for Rocky. He's easy to get attached to.
    Not feeling like I'll have much time left for my memoirs today, though.

    I read Project Hail Mary last year but was thinking again about the period of time on the journey back to Erid where Ryland becomes malnourished and seriously ill and I wanted to write a couple scenes about it. Literary references included for my own enjoyment.

    Language:
    English
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    3,460
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    Comments:
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    19 May 2026