spatz | Project Hail Mary recs

It's been awhile since I've done a rec post, but PHM has been inspiring! Presented in order from shortest to longest:

Name Game by Merely_Specters / @merelyspecters - Rocky helps Grace come up with a mnemonic to remember his students' names. Packs a lot of friendship feels and amnesia angst into a small space!

Executor by @goodluckdetective
When Grace's health is really bad after arriving on Erid, he gives Adrian his will and talks to them about helping Rocky if he dies. Somber due to the content, obviously, but knowing Grace survives, there's a lot of sweetness in how they bond over taking care of Rocky.

Enrichment by alatarmaia4
Grace goes swimming in his enclosure, and Rocky is NOT a fan. Cute cute cute.

Witness by Ailren
Tantalizing, painful short AU where Yao witnesses Grace being chased down and drugged. OOF.

what exists beyond, beyond, beyond by tardigradeschool
In which Rocky and Adrian decide to reproduce, but things are complicated by Rocky's radiation damage and Grace not initially understanding he's part of the family. Incredibly sweet and loving story.

Leaving a Mark by @startingatmidnight
Lovely worldbuilding around Eridian markings/tattoos, and delightful Grace-Rocky banter at all times.

No Rest for the Wicked by HeartAway / @melissamceagle
Bittersweet but hopeful AU where Dubois and Shapiro survive - but Grace gets arrested alongside Stratt when the world turns on the project. (Stratt/Grace)

Accident Waiting to Happen by @constantconfusion14
On the way to Erid, Grace gets badly injured while trying to building a xenonite tunnel extension with Rocky. Very classic h/c with a lot of love and trust.

Without a Doubt by voidknight
In which Grace learns proper grammar for the Eridian language - super nerdy, and bursting with the sweetest, sassiest Grace-Rocky friendship you can imagine, and such cool worldbuilding. You WILL tear up over Eridian grammatical certainty. (If you've read this before, the author just added a third chapter a few days ago!)

Saving Grace by CptnBara
Rocky POV on the events of the book. Pitch-perfect Rocky POV, with delightful footnotes and Eridian worldbuilding.

The Long Journey Home by HeartAway / @melissamceagle
Book-verse, slightly AU (I think) in that Grace never updates the Beetles to say he's going back for Rocky, so Earth presumes he's dead when he never shows up… and then he shows up a few decades later with Eridians! I hardly ever rec WIPs, but this one is fantastic: a balanced blend of prose, journalism, and social media, some fabulous worldbuilding, vivid OCs, and of course, the emotional earthquake of Grace's return to Earth, anchored by his deep friendship with Rocky.

Enjoy your reading, and don't forget to comment! Authors are comment-based lifeforms, they need to be fed!