I Am Groot
| Fanfiction | |
|---|---|
| Title: | I Am Groot |
| Author(s): | sherlocksmyth |
| Date(s): | 4 August 2014 |
| Length: | 1,308 words |
| Genre(s): | PWP |
| Fandom(s): | Guardians of the Galaxy |
| Relationship(s): | |
| External Links: | Fic at AO3 |
Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
I Am Groot is a Guardians of the Galaxy fan fic by sherlocksmyth that went viral. It is 1,308 words long, told entirely from Groot's POV, and "EXTREMELY NSFW" according to the author. However, it consists only of the phrase, "I am Groot," the only words Groot is able to say.
Within two weeks of posting, the fic accumulated over 11,000 kudos on the AO3, making it the second-most kudosed fic on the site (behind only the Teen Wolf fic DILF).[1] Before the month was out it had dethroned DILF as the most-kudosed fic on the archive.[2] It had over 70k kudos in Jan 2019, 91k in Feb 2021, and 128k in Nov 2022.
It remained the work with the most kudos on Archive of Our Own until January 2023, when it was dethroned by the Harry Potter fic All The Young Dudes[3]. However as a joke fic, some view I Am Groot as an outlier and discount it when discussing works with the most kudos on Ao3.[4]
Reception
It was promoted primarily through tumblr, where the author's post announcing the fic accumulated more than 95,000 notes.[5] The fic also received coverage on internet-based news sites:
Rule 43 of the Internet states that if you’re willing to look for something long enough, you will find it...Case in point: “I Am Groot.” Yep, someone, somewhere out there in the world thought to themselves “Hey, you know what’d be a great idea? A porno fanfiction from Groot’s point of view. That right there is what the people are CLAMORING for!”
And so that person sat down and wrote this. I won’t lie, I had trouble reading it at work because I was afraid someone would actually take the time to read what was on my screen and realize what a blatant pervert I am. -Rebecca Martinson at BroBible.com.[6]
The War of Guardians of the Galaxy Porn Has Been Won.The movie had only been out for three days before sherlocksmyth wrote the definitive NC-17 work, told from the perspective of Groot.
Is it obvious? Yes. Did I know exactly what would happen once I verified that I was willing to see adult content? Yes. But I still laughed the entire time I read it. -Katharine Trendacosta at io9.[7]
Tumblr user marvelcolm has penned a cheeky 1,300-word masterpiece told from "Groot's POV" on the Archive of Our Own. Oh, and it's "extremely NSFW." . . . Groot's eloquence and mastery of the nuance of human expression has never been more powerful . . . Clearly, we should have seen this coming. The only thing fandom likes more than memes are meta-parodies in the form of fanfic. -Aja Romano at The Daily Dot.[8]
Reccers were careful not to spoil the story for uninitiated readers.
Pairing: Not gonna spoil this one guys, you’ll have to read it too find out
I don’t want to say too much about this fic here, because I really feel even minor spoilers would kinda ruin this, but I will tell you that regardless of fandom, you need to read this. Dirtier than Mudhoney, more emotional than On the Water, hotter than Cool, this is a fic that has to be read to be believed. And mad props to sherlocksmyth for being able to pull off something like this, especially working with such a challenging POV character.[9]
Fan response was extremely positive. Some fans focused on its effectiveness as porn:
I need to clear my browser history after this one-- No, that's not enough. I need a whole new computer! It's just so NSFW. -CherriePie[10]
I came. -TakingcareofDean[11]
Others focused on its deeper meaning:
Your attention to detail is astounding. How you managed to get so deep into his character to express those emotions... Even -I- could feel them! And what imagery! -CrippleMuse[12]
Captivating prose and a rich, multi-layered premise. I have no idea how you managed to fit so much into such a short space, but the payoff is an immersive reading experience that tapped into the very deepest recesses of my soul. Kudos. -lucymonster[13]
A few were slightly more critical:
I'm disappointed. There was no "we" here, so sex was just sex, with no real attachments or emotions, just brutal, dirty, nsfw sex. But the rhythm! I am in love with the rhythm. -skyeofskynet[14]
But the most common responses were variations on the following:
I AM GROOT! -DarkSorceressofLight[15]
Related Fanworks
The work was podficced for Voiceteam 2020 by Ceewelsh and TheLordOfLaMancha. Rather than read it aloud, the podficcers edited the podfic out of clips from various songs and then added their own commentary at the end: "When the mods said, 'Be creative,' I don't think they meant this." The podfic in turn inspired two filks during Voiceteam Mystery Box a few months later: We're (not) Sorry aka Return of the Orange Team by Ravin and Night Moves - The Groot Remix by Ceewelsh and rhythmia.
Further Reading
- Fic Recs: 10 Amazing Works Of MCU Fan-Fiction On AO3, Archived version by Kath Leroy, screenrant.com, I Am Groot is listed as #1.
References
- ^ As of 15 August 2014, it had 11,029 kudos.
- ^ As of 29 August 2014, it has 12,867 kudos compared to DILF's 12,825 kudos.
- ^ As of 29 January 2023, I Am Groot has 133,667 kudos and All The Young Dudes has 136,472
- ^ The fanfiction with the most kudos on ao3? discussion at /r/fanfiction, includes comments referring to I Am Groot as a trollfic and a thread which discounts I Am Groot, to discuss the fic with the second most kudos. June 2020.
- ^ As of March 21, 2015 the fic had 95,027 notes; the author's blog is now no longer available at the original URL.
- ^ Somebody Took The Time To Write An Insane ‘NSFW’ Fanfiction From The POV Of Groot From ‘Guardians Of The Galaxy’, posted 11 August 2014. (Accessed 15 August 2014.)
- ^ The War of Guardians of the Galaxy Porn Has Been Won, posted 6 August 2014. (Accessed 15 August 2014.)
- ^ Somebody wrote a steamy fanfic told from the perspective of Groot, posted 11 August 2014. (Accessed 15 August 2014.)
- ^ Rec: I am Groot by sherlocksmyth by jupitermelichios, posted 10 November 2014
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
- ^ [3]
- ^ [4]
- ^ [5]
- ^ [6]