what does a bunch of sentient space hardware have to do with lunchables and football? fair question.
today is april 7th, 2026. it is also the day that humans stop dying, being born, and aging in jon bois' 2017 web novel, what football will look like in the future. here's some lovely art to celebrate our new-won collective immortality in that alternate universe <3
(unreality! also spoilers! also some access considerations! in case you want to read 17776! also, keep an eye out this cool @17776-fanzine!)
Sublife Crisis, the latest book I wrote that I can pitch to people without getting incredibly deep in the weeds, is out now. It's a story about people who cannot stay dead, finding small moments of companionship and family in the place between lives where they all hang out.
It's one of my favorite things to have written, it's sometimes silly and sometimes sad and often both at once, and I don't know if this is exactly the best way to sell people on it but honestly that's just how life is a lot of the time. And a story about serial reincarnators is nothing if not a story about a lot of life.
It's also got an audiobook! And if any of that sounds enticing, or if you're juuuuust curious enough to want to check it out, you can find it over here.
Link Rot is a multimedia webserial following those within a research station. Once dedicated to the study and containment of a newly discovered life form, complications arise following its unexpected merge with the station's AI.
TRANSMISSION 001 - In which you survive the unthinkable, and the world is worse for it.
General warnings can be found in the 'About' section. Any videos will have flashing warnings if applicable.
additional rambling under the cut
wow!!! it's been (checks archive) almost exactly a year since i originally conceptualized Link Rot, and since then it's grown into a beast of a story i cannot wait to tackle.
currently i'm aiming for updates once every month/month and a half (with occasional vacations to work on bite-sized projects). i'd like to do more, but i have a job and don't want to burn myself out. for now, i will take things slow B) maybe this will change in the future!
i hope you all enjoy reading my story as much as i enjoy creating it. there's a couple of hidden things on the website, so if you find anything fun let me know
hi bavitz, I'd be interested to hear what other webfiction you keep an eye on / recommend
I'm probably not as prolific a reader of web fiction as I should be. My reading has much more frequently tilted toward the classics, where there's a lot less of a need to sift large amounts of mediocrity for hidden gems. The way web fiction is monetized also encourages works that are absurdly long compared to conventional fiction. A million words seems to be the baseline for any big-name webfic; this is the equivalent of three 1,000-page novels. This length, it seems, is often accomplished via bloat rather than variety and depth of things to say, and it also makes actually engaging with these works a full-time job.
That said, here is a list of web fiction I've read that I would recommend to others:
The works of Nostalgebraist: He has four novels, all of which are worth reading. One of the most unique and fully realized voices in the webfic scene, especially with his later output (Almost Nowhere and Apocalypse of Herschel Schoen). The Northern Caves is his most notable and page-turning work.
Worth the Candle by Alexander Wales: Though a million+-worder (and currently stubbed for publication on Amazon), this is a pretty remarkable pinnacle of the LitRPG isekai genre that absolutely infests the mass-market male-readership webfic scene, using the genre as a vehicle for complex and at times harrowing personal introspection. The climax is incredible.
The Flower That Bloomed Nowhere by Lurina: Another million+-worder, this time in the vein of Umineko. An intersection between philosophical debate on the goals of medical science and a dissection of the meaning of personal identity. Currently ongoing.
Chili and the Chocolate Factory by Gazemaize: Really funny. Leans into the slasher horror aspect of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, which is good because slasher horror is the ultimate form of fiction.
Antilia by Pigoseg: Highly obscure author compared to the others on this list; they're on my radar because they originally wrote fanfiction of Fargo and Chicago. Antilia is their first original work, a short but perfectly-constructed story with an incredible concept. I currently have the first draft of their next novel, a Doki Doki Lit Club fanfic where Monika makes a society of clones of the other characters who then get into a race war, and so far it's shaping up to be even better. Name to watch out for.
CORDYCEPS by Benedict: Another short, tightly-constructed work with a lot of punch. Very strong emotional climax despite the more formalistic puzzlebox construction of the narrative.
Detective Pony by sonnetstuck: Modern Cannibals but more deeply rooted in academic postmodern thought.
How the Questing Beast Chased, and Caught, Her Own Tail by Avunvain: Very interesting prose stylist, which sets this work apart from a lot of the rest. A heady and psychological work that can take some close reading (and rereading) to parse, which is always a rewarding experience. It's Madoka Magica fanfic. Ongoing.
I'm probably forgetting something else (edit: I did, and edited it in) but this is a pretty good list. (I'd love to fill it with some more Fargo/Chicago fanfic like London but that'd probably be too self-indulgent.)
Reading a lot of other web novels and realizing how much of an impact Worm had on the landscape is kind of wild. Like hey, this random Canadian web serial 15 years ago will help revitalize the format in the west and have lasting effects on how authors in that field engage with web fiction.
There are so many like, not even just superhero web fics, but other genre fiction- magical girls, cultivation, litrpg, horror, scifi, where you read it and start getting The Vibes and have to look at the author over your glasses like "I know what you are."
A Royal Road fantasy series, three new chapters every week!
The Empire has fallen. Now, across shattered lands and broken loyalties, something ancient stirs beneath the clouds.
Prologue
The Fall of the Empire
On the Thistle Plains just north of the Imperial Capital, whistles sounded as the line of Imperial Old Guard pushed forward. The plains, an expanse of thorns and bushes, looked like an anthill from a distance. Millions of soldiers clashed along a seventeen-mile front of death.
Airships hovered above, exchanging cannon fire or dropping large casks of explosives down on their foes. In front of the Imperial armies, mages stood, rune-etched clothes blowing in the wind as they stretched their hands out and let loose bolts of magic.
Opposite them, Paladins stood, their own runes glowing, powered not by their blood or their kingdom, but by their faith and prayers.
Lysa sat atop her warhorse, a checkered mare of black and white, its armor glowing white as its protection runes flashed in the darkness.
The Alliance of Nations had pushed them to the breaking point. As she looked out across the fields, she saw the middle begin to bend backward. Now. She thought, watching the General next to her.
The man, regal and proud atop his own horse, looked over at her and nodded before waving his sword. Flares suddenly shot into the sky, relaying orders across miles of terrain. The lines shifted slightly as the Old Guard sped up their pace and rushed into the middle gap beginning to form.
Nearly fifty thousand men strong, the guard hit the gap and instantly plugged it, their shields lighting up like a line of blue fire across the expanse of ground.
The sound was a melody that Lysa was familiar with, the clash of swords, the crack of cannon and gunfire, and the rare but occasional explosion of a destructive rune.
She spared a glance behind her toward the Capital city; it was a splendid sight of gold and marble white. In its center, a single beam of blue light shot into the heavens above, illuminating the Steel Fleet which sat back providing protection for it.
When the battle was won, the fleet would deploy and hunt down all survivors of this Alliance.
Suddenly there was a rumble from the direction of the Capital and Lysa’s eyes widened as one of the Steel Fleet's battleships erupted in flames and exploded, its carcass crashing down onto a section of buildings below it before secondary explosions sounded in a wall of fire.
The General wasted no time.
"Lysa, take my personal guards and see what's going on at the Capital!" General Leon said, not looking at her as he tried to keep his eye on the battle unfolding.
Lysa wheeled her horse around and drove her hard. Beside her, fifty other horses thundered as they raced toward the Capital.
Another ship of the Steel Fleet exploded, it too crashing down in a rain of fire.
She spurred her mount onward, the mare panting hard as they cleared several lines of brambles. Several lines of skirmishers looked to her warily as they let them through.
A third ship, then a fourth exploded and they too crashed down into the city. As she got closer and closer to the outskirts of the city, she saw with horror that the fleet was firing into itself. Runes glowed bright as beams of blue and white shot across the short distances between ships, exploding in deafening thunder.
Suddenly she caught sight of horses riding to meet her from the city.
General Renald. She sighed with relief as she drew closer, managing a smile despite her growing panic. Renalds long black hair looked majestic even against the backdrop of ruin behind him.
"General Renald, what's goi—"
She never got the words out as the General drew a rune-pistol and fired a shot straight at her. He chest suddenly glowed as her chosen first rune, one which had been forged by her since her time as a squire exploded outward in a shield of light.
The men with him also fired, instantly killing several of her retinue while other runes flared.
One of hers fired his own rune pistol, its rune lighting up with fire and engulfing an enemy in flames before the rune flickered.
A shot hit her horse, bringing them both crashing to the ground awkwardly. Bones broke and armor buckled from the weight of the horse. Both sides exchanged panicked and confused fire.
Some runes sparked and went dim, leaving their users helpless.
Renald swiftly dismounted, walking over to her with cold eyes.
"Renald," she wheezed, struggling to free herself, feeling nothing in her leg. "What have you done?"
The man didn’t reply, his face a perfect mask of neutrality. He raised his pistol again, this time one of its three runes flaring before suddenly dying. He looked at it confused.
Then it happened. The area suddenly was bathed in darkness as the eclipse happened overhead.
The beam of light from the Capital turned red before winking out. So too did the runes of their armor and the runes of the ships. As ships began to crash one after another, Lysa realized what had happened.
The King and his family are dead. And the magic along with them.
"On the third day of the third month of the twenty-third year of King Jericho’s rule, the Empire fell and the world was plunged into a darkness that shattered the continent."
Read more: [Royal Road link]
New chapters every week (Mon/Wed/Friday)
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