Stinky_Horowitz

Mapmaker



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  1. Rec *

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    The capsule touches down on Erid about a decade and a half after I do.

    There's a message inside translated into fourteen different languages. Y'know, just in case I've taught myself - and then the Eridians - Afrikaans.

    Hey, it reads. Can we have our ball back, please?

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    18 Jun 2026

  2. Rec *

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    He shuddered when Grace's fingers tapped the glass panes of xenonite that separated them one afternoon, or as afternoon as their journey home would ever allow. His tone was playful, and Rocky braced himself from where he was meshing two panes of xenonite together. They really did have more important things to focus on. “Hypothetical: When we get back to Erid-”

    “If Grace and Rocky ever get back to Erid-”

    “-you’re saying I’m basically gonna be a walking porno for your race?”

    Rocky placed down his soldering iron. “Doesn't Grace have taumoeba tanks to check temperatures for?”

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    17 Jun 2026

  3. Rec *

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    "So how humans pick partner?"

    "Well, sexually speaking, I guess a lot of humans go off of looks,” said Grace. “Physical appearance.”

    “Physical appearance!” Rocky was scandalized. “No good. Bad variable. Tell you nothing. Have to run experiment. Have to try.”

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    14 Jun 2026

  4. Rec *

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    "Rocky did not understand human names and titles when we met. Eridian names longer, give information on Eridian's home, associations, skills." For the first time in ages, he positioned two of his arms together, forming the design that Grace thought of like a family crest, a single design bisected.

    "You should teach me to read those before we get to Erid, so I can be polite." As Grace considered the linework, already picking up on some vague ideas from the shapes in Rocky's carapace, something else occurred to him. "So… I picked 'Rocky' because your outer shell looks like stone."

    "And for inspirational story of athlete who defeats human system of poverty to become great champion. Eye of the tiger."

    "Retroactively, yeah." Grace bent at the hips, getting to Rocky's 'eye' level. "So what'd you name me?"

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    13 Jun 2026

  5. Rec *

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    I’m safe. I know this. As foreign as it feels to give myself credit, I know I helped save Erid, and that every sentient being on the planet knows it too.

    And yet, something small and primitive in me can’t fight the brief flash of fear that zips through me when Adrian skids to a halt before me and I am forced to look up at them.

    For a moment, they just stand there. I am reminded of the first time I saw Rocky, atavistic horror battling with fascination, coming together in a trembling awe. I feel no different looking at Adrian than I felt looking at Adrian, a vast expanse of green before me, knowing I am the first human to ever witness it, finding beauty in it as much as knowing it could spell my doom under the right circumstances. The light of my dome shines down on them, casting a dozen towering shadows over me.

    “Hi,” I manage, forcing myself to swallow through a dry throat. If this is who Rocky chose to spend his life with, they’re cool. They have to be.

    /////

    Or: Rocky introduces the two people he loves most.

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    10 Jun 2026