#the murderbot diaries

[bane-of-technology]

Hey gang? Maybe let's sit on this concept a little more, figure out the ethical minutiae

OF COURSE THEY PUT IN A SUBSCRIPTION MODEL

[bethany-sensei]

Murderbot is the most unreliable of narrators and that’s great actually

[m00nymonster]

Fluffy

Ratthi watched with a little trepidation as Amena approached SecUnit with a hairbrush and a can of hairspray. He knew from experience how little it appreciated touch. It didn’t immediately jump away at the sight of her determined expression, which surprised him.

“Sit down,” she said. “I have an idea.” When SecUnit scoffed, she added, “Please?”

Ratthi watched in amazement as SecUnit huffed, then sat down on the floor in front of a chair. Amena sat down as well, and began to attack its hair with her brush. It flinched a little as she combed through stubborn knots, but eventually she tamed its normally messy hair into submission.

“Okay,” she said, her expression concentrated, “I’m going to try to style this. Maybe if we fluff your hair up, Leonide won’t recognize you.”

“You think so?” it asked, clearly skeptical. She nodded at the drone focused on her face.

“It’s better than nothing,” she said with a shrug. She grabbed her can of hairspray—Ratthi had to wonder where she’d found it—and spritzed its hair liberally. Then she combed it until it fluffed around SecUnit’s head like a halo. She stared at her work with a critical eye.

“What do you think?” she asked her drone. A second drone focused on SecUnit’s face.

“It’ll do,” it said after a moment. Amena rolled her eyes as it stood up.

“Thanks, Amena!” she said sarcastically. “That was nice of you!”

SecUnit glanced at her awkwardly, then left the room, passing Ratthi without comment. Ratthi grinned as Amena huffed.

“It really likes you, you know,” he said. “I don’t think it’d even let Mensah touch its hair.”

Amena snorted. Ratthi lifted his eyebrows and shook his head slightly.

“I know it seems rude, but that’s just how it is. Trust me. It likes you.”

Amena looked up, where a couple drones danced above her head. After a moment, she grinned at them, and waved. Ratthi nearly laughed as they bobbed in response.

“C’mon,” he said. “Let’s find out what everyone else is up to.”

[tinmate]

I love that MB was so excited to find a nonviolent plan in FT

And then ART was so excited to reveal that it had armed the pathfinders in NE

Murderbot, a construct that was built and used to do extreme violence it's entire existence : I hate talking to people but I will try to resolve this situation peacefully if I can, threats only make people panic and then they take irrational decisions. Extreme violence is sometimes unavoidable but last resort.

ART, a peaceful research transportation : I love talking to people because I can threaten them with extreme violence right off the bat and it makes them do what I want (ads more totally-not-weapons to it's research equipment)

[theartingace]

The beginning of All Systems Red is probably the fastest I've ever been hooked by a book, the first line alone got me pretty good but the whole first chapter has stuck in my head- the visuals, the timing and pacing of each line, every time I've relistened/reread it (too many times to admit) it I can see it so vividly so finally drew them to release them from my head

(I've already realized I feel I made Secunit too tall and long in these but releasing them before I say I'm going to redraw it all again)

[sanctuarymoonfan397]

If show!MB ends up having some sort of identifying mark left by the Company, marking it as a SecUnit; yall better fucking not get that shit tattooed on yourself.

[murderbot-moodboard]

I can see Murderbot doing this at least once, very deliberately and dramatically, to Gurathin, and Gurathin has to work very hard to keep a straight face and act like he's taking it seriously because Murderbot's melodramatic ways of showing spite are just too damn funny sometimes.

Okay I know accessibility devices are never one-size-fits-all and that there’s a use case for these somewhere, but I can’t stop imagining trying to talk to someone at a party and they look at you and move the level down a few ticks

[murderbotched]

if you think the streaming wars of today are bad, Murderbot apparently exists in a future where all the shows and media are region-locked across entire galaxies

[the-perihelion]

There are subtexts to be read into Murderbot — that its experience is a coming-out narrative, that it mirrors the lives of trans people, immigrants, those on the autism spectrum or anyone else who feels the need to hide some essential part of themselves from a population that either threatens or can't possibly understand them. Or both. And I get all of that because every one of those reads is right. It's the wonder of the character — that something so alien can be so human. That everyone who has ever had to hide in a crowded room, avert their eyes from power, cocoon themselves in media for comfort or lie to survive can relate. It's powerful to see that on the page. It's moving to ride around in the head of something that is so strong and so vulnerable, so murder-y and so frightened, all at the same time.

[aspec-tmbd]

About ☆ FAQ ☆ Rules ☆ Timeline ☆ Announcements ☆ Fanworks

Here are some more prompts that were submitted to the Aspec Murderbot Diaries 2025 event. (They've been shortened to fit the poster—for full text and even more prompts check out our collection here!)

Everyone thinks they're dating, but they aren't.

Murderbot talks to Bharadwaj about its sex aversion, and the surveillance it had to do as part of its job.

The most important relationship in someone's life is hatred. Academic rival, least favorite character, worst enemy, etc.

Aspec character experiences jealous. Learns it's not just a romantic/sexual thing.

Murderbot learns from another Ai that not all SecUnits/bots feel the way it does about romance and/or sex and/or relationships.

What if ART and Murderbot teach Three how to person?

Bharadwaj and Pin-Lee: flirting, aromantic, relationship history.

Surprise! Demiromantic and/or demisexual Murderbot.

[liminalbeauty]

I think I reposted this before, but it bears doing again.

Welcome to Preservation! we have nice people and even nicer murderbots.

[the-knifeketeer-and-stabby]

just read the first murderbot book.

i like how at the end, it seems like murderbot is going to go with one of the scientists to a farm and LEARN about human nature and such.

then they think "no, fuck that", hide until the scientist leaves, and write an apology letter after the fact.

very me behavior.

[antennatoheaven]

[thebloath]

This has probably been said before, but so much of the communication in the books takes place in the feed and digital communication is really hard to portray well in shows. I'm not saying it can't be done, but it's really difficult! And I have no faith that there's enough care/love in the show to make sure they get that part right.

every update I see for the Murderbot show makes me think of this meme, so I decided to make it real.

[crispinkiss]

this network sure can effect!