#and kinda am starting to not care

[enchantedvistas]

2 letters. 2 letters are enough.

[scificrows]

Okay, my brain refuses to think about anything other than Murderbot, so I looked at every use of the word "friend[s]" in TMBD and... created some pie charts. Normal human activities.

Some Thoughts™ I had while putting this together (under the cut):

In All Systems Red, Murderbot notes that the PresAux crew are all close friends (twice! and goes on to explain their internal relationships which I think is very cute). This is pretty much the only use of 'friends' in ASR, except for when Murderbot says that SecUnits can't be friends with each other.

It seems that this may be one of the first times Murderbot has ever really been around a group of friends before? Murderbot notes that this is not the norm for its contracts and admits that the fact that they are all friends and the way they interact with each other make it actually enjoy that contract (before!!!! the hostile attack, so it already enjoys this contract before they start seeing it as a person etc ghghhhh). [Inference: Friendship seems enjoyable.]

The first character that calls Murderbot its friend is ART in Artificial Condition. Murderbot immediately refutes this (and then goes on to call ART its friend to its clients for the rest of the book). [Inference: Maybe ART is Murderbot's friend. And maybe that is... agreeable]

Rogue Protocol has more than twice as many instances of the word 'friend' as any of the other novellas. Why? Miki. Friendship and its implications for non-humans are a central theme because Miki is friends with everyone. Murderbot initially scoffs at the notion that Miki and Miki's humans are friends. At the end of the book, after witnessing how desperately Don Abene tried to stop Miki from trying to save them, and her grief after its death, Murderbot has to admit that she had in fact been Miki's friend. [Inference: Humans can be friends with bots and can sincerely care about them]

In Exit Strategy, Murderbot tentatively uses the word "friends" for its humans for the first time (several times actually). It questions whether it can actually call them its friends or not and later realizes that it had been afraid what admitting that the humans are its friends would do to it. At the end of the book, Mensah tells Murderbot the PresAux crew are its friends, which is the first time a human has directly said that to it (at least on-page). [Inference: Humans can and want to be Murderbot's friends]

In Network Effect, Murderbot seems to be more habituated to the word 'friend', confidently calling ART and Ratthi its friends, like it is no longer just trying the concept on unsure if it fits. There are many instances in which other characters refer to MB as ART's friend or the other way around and Murderbot's humans refer to Murderbot as their friend several times. Generally, there seems to be less hesitancy, because yes, all of them are Murderbot's friends, why wouldn't they be. [Inference: SecUnits can have friends. This SecUnit has friends. They care about it a lot.]

Conclusion: The Murderbot Diaries tell the story of a construct that does not seem to consider the possibility of friendship for itself and is fine with that - until it accidentally starts caring a little too much and suddenly more and more people annex it as a friend (ew) to the point where it can no longer deny that this is happening and has to begrudgingly admit that yes, it has friends now and maybe that is actually not a bad thing.

[dukeofthomas]

I can't find it now but there's a post about suspension of disbelief and how it's broken when the story starts trying to excuse it. "character gets knocked unconscious for hours but there's no further issues from this" okay 👍 "and actually this makes perfect sense because of this and that" um no it doesn't why are you lying to me. like i am willing to ignore the holes and the discrepancies!! all you need to do is let me and not bring unnecessary attention to it!!!

and all that is my issue with the whole robin child soldier argument. like i am willing to ignore it i am willing to engage with the fantasy literally all you need to do is NOT try to convince me that Actually It's Fine Because They Want To Do It or whatever. like literally just shut up about it and i can engage with the fantasy!!

[creakysocks]

I was thinking abt piccolo and gohan talking after the events of superhero and wound up with this interaction between them

[rabdoidal]

FUCK netflix for every reason imaginable but god. catking deadboydetectives being exactly my type of character is ruining my LIFE i have THINGS TO DO and im just thinking about that horrible little bisexual man

[peacheenie]

pov u r going to comicon in a few months so u went charity shop hunting for a cosplay and found half of it in a singular day :)

[aroaessidhe]

2024 reads / storygraph

The Fireborne Blade

high fantasy novella about a knight who’s planning to prove herself by retrieving a powerful fabled blade

follows her venturing into the dragon’s lair and facing it’s powerful magical effects, with a mage-squire who she doesn’t remember hiring

as well as flashback chapters of her past, preparing for this quest, an excerpts from archive records of other knights’ encounters with dragons

[lgbtlunaverse]

A-qing is such a tragic figure and i care her so much but one thing I love is this quiet character arc she has from a little girl doing what she has to do to survive, already more wordly and bitter than Xiao Xingchen even at her young age, a girl who isn't cruel but isn't here to help other people either, into genuinely a kind of guardian figure. After her death she sticks around and dedicates her non-life to protecting people, leading visitors away from Xue Yang and warning wwx and the juniors about him. And it works, in the end, without her they wouldn't have made it.

The yi city arc can seem so cynical sometimes. Idealism fails, helping a dying stranger by the side of the road only leads to tragedy, but a-qing cares and it helps! She's a counterpart to both xiao xingchen and song lan in that way, and thematically also a kind of counterpart to xue yang, where tragedy becomes a motivation for caring instead of against it. It's a weird thing to say since she's a kid that dies and her soul is shattered, but I think yi city would have come off a lot darker without her.

[the-gayest-sky-kid]

i will not lie matenrou put out 3 bangers this battle season

[zeb-z]

Cellbit trying so hard to stay level headed and rational and keep shit together, but when Hombre Misterioso comes in with some fuck shit, and he’s not sure if he’s only hearing him inside his head, his response is basically ‘I can and I will out crazy you without hesitation’. He’s like I have done fucked up shit before and I will do it again if you give me an excuse I swear to god. He’s like I’m level headed and reasonable right now with rigid self control, but if you give me a single reason I will kill us both

[some-pers0n]

Every once in a while I think about the ship I've been obsessed over for close to two years now and feel like I'm ascending to another plane of reality. Like sometimes you just encounter a ship that hits every single mark and is perfect in every regard and you're left stunned how something like that can even exist

[orcelito]

Super sexy me is so sexy I accidentally set off the fire alarm while baking pie shells for my pumpkin pie. And now I don't know if I should've even baked them in the first place. But well. Too late now 👍

[straight4joekeery]

Eddie: What? I'm not aggressive!

Steve: Last Tuesday, you wacked me with a pair of crocs and stole my chocolate chips?

Eddie: Survival of the fittest, bitch.

~~~~~~~~~

Eddie: That’s the longest worm I’ve ever seen.

Steve: That’s a snake.

~~~~~~~~~

Steve: State your name, rank, and intention.

Eddie: Eddie, Eddie, fun.

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie: I can’t believe all these people are wearing black. black is supposed to be my thing, they’re all just posers.

Steve: Eddie, for the last time, we’re at a funeral.

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie: Which is correct, seven and five IS thirteen, or seven and five ARE thirteen?

Steve: Neither.

Steve: Because it's twelve.

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie: I need you to come meet me, and I need you to come alone.

Steve: And I need you to be less vague and weird.

~~~~~~~~~~

Steve: I have to say, I'm a little embarrassed for you.

Eddie: This is a sports-related injury. It makes me look cool!

Steve: Tripping over a basketball on your way to the bathroom is not cool!

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie: Hey there Vecna, It's me, ya boi.

Steve: Eddie, NO!

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie: I was going to suggest we do Marilyn Monroe and JFK roleplay, but I’d get way too into it.

Steve: What- how?

Eddie: You’d be like “come to bed … Mr. President” and I’d be like, “I need to increase the amount of American military advisors in South Vietnam by a factor of 18.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie: Y'know, I once knew a man who said to me: “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” He also had a pair of sideburns that would cause even Jude Law’s face to weep in forfeit. You put those lemons in a sack and beat your enemies with ‘em! And maybe if you beat ‘em hard enough the bag will split open and lemon juice will spray into their eyes, causing intense burning pains as you crush them into a citrus-y pulp!

Steve: Wait, wait, wait, wait. Their heads or the lemons?

Eddie: Whatever caves first!

[elizabethrobertajones]

pretty fucked up they let you change this

[friendship ended meme]

[ridhearts]

rest {vil x reader}

Vil comforts you after a rough day.

!! information !!

characters: vil

reader: gn

cw: none!

The Pomefiore lounge was only half-lit, a shadowed hallway leading to the far wall where Vil sat on one of the plush purple couches. The flickering candles cast him in a warm glow, bright enough to illuminate the papers on his lap so he wouldn’t have to strain his eyes to read. The scarce lighting, you knew, was meant to accommodate you; after so long of complaining about a persistent headache, even the densest of your companions (ahem, Grim) caught on.

Vil looked up from his papers and uncrossed his legs, though he made no move to stand. “Hello, sweet potato.”

“Hey,” you answered, barely stopping yourself from diving onto the couch. Still, you fell with little ceremony, laying across the cushions and resting your head on Vil’s lap. He scoffed, amused at your audacity, but didn’t say anything else about your manners.

“You’ve been making yourself scarce these days,” He commented, not unkindly. His voice lacked the usual firm and severe tone he used throughout the day, though anybody on campus could tell that he usually spoke softer around you. Still, this time he kept volume down to something soft and tender, wrapping around you, sound and snug.

“Headache.” You felt on of his hands gently rest on our head for a moment, carding through your hair and drawing soothing lines down your shoulder. “I was getting sick of being alone, though.”

“Forgive me for not offering a more thrilling activity.”

“This is perfect.” You didn’t think you could take any more than resting in a different spot, anyway. “I’m...sorry I haven’t been...much, lately.”

Vil stopped moving his hand, and you could practically hear the unimpressed expression he was giving you. Picturing that small, perfect scowl and the way he was arching an eyebrow, you almost laughed.

“You haven’t been much? Much of what?”

You shrugged. “Much of anything.”

Vil sighed before resuming the comforting pets he was giving you. “That’s simply not true. You’ve been recovering. And before that, you were going through a lot. Perhaps you still are. How are you feeling?”

After a pause, you shrugged and gave him a noncommittal hum. Those types of answers were never enough for him, though. “Better. Kind of. More manageable, at least. I’ll be back on my feet soon.”

Vil chuckled. “You don’t have to make promises to me. It’s important to take care of yourself. Take the time you need. I’m thankful that I got to spend some time with you at all today.”

You took a deep breath, holding it in for a few seconds and trying to focus on anything but the pounding pain in your head: his fingers running through your hair, the warmth of his leg beneath your cheek, the raised seam of the cushion digging into your hip, all of it. Slowly exhaling, you hummed again.

“Yeah. I am, too.”

[puhpandas]

Tony Becker is one of the only times that I've seen that a character has actually been doomed by the plot when people say he is