#edit: fixed a typo (people have already reblogged this but oh well lol)

[ilovedthestars]

Sickbay Saturday: Murderbot Fic Rec List

Hey it's the first @sickbaysaturdays!! I might try writing my own fic for this in the future but I didn't have time for that today, so I thought I would make a list of some other people's very good fics that go with the Sickbay theme!

If you haven't read The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells, go do that. (At least read the first paragraph and then tell me it doesn't sound incredible.) TMBD has some really excellent sci-fi concepts that lend themselves very well to whump, hurt/comfort and fascinating sci-fi medical problems, like "what if your brain was infected with malware that caused unbearable hypersensitivity?" or "how do you save a sentient bundle of code that's almost torn itself apart?"

This list will run more on the hurt/comfort side of things, because that's where my tastes lie. If you like a little more pain and despair, @specialagentartemis made a rec list of some excellently horrifying fics focused on cubicle technology! (I'm also stealing her formatting, since I've never made a rec list before.)

In no particular order, here are some of my favorite fics that explore the possibilities of sci-fi medical issues/treatment in the Murderbot universe!! (These are all fairly short oneshots, gen, and rated for either general audiences or teen and up.)

MedSystem by fireworksinthenight

2,273 words, General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, Murderbot POV.

Relevant tags: Friendship (don't tell Murderbot), Swearing, Physical Pain, Emotions

ART’s MedSystem is top-notch. None of its crew ever complained, right? Nor did the SecUnit it calls its friend. It’s not like SecUnit wouldn’t bother to tell it if something was wrong.

The fic I was thinking of when I decided to make this list! Our beloved part-robotic, part-organic, all-sarcasm protagonist Murderbot has the ability to adjust its own pain sensors, but we've seen times in canon when that isn't effective, including when it's receiving MedSystem treatment from ART. This fic touches on the differences between how SecUnits and humans receive medical treatment--both in terms how SecUnits are objectified and mistreated and their actual needs. It also has some wonderful "your friends care about you, idiot" energy.

it has turned into a scar, just the same by ampquot

1,171 words, General Audiences, No Archive Warnings Apply, ART POV.

Relevant tags: Medical Trauma, Angst, Blood and Injury, Hurt/Comfort

Even when repaired by a good MedSystem (and Perihelion’s MedSystem was very good), a human body that has been damaged is not completely restored to its previous integrity. Was SecUnit any different? Perihelion’s scans had surprisingly revealed no evidence of past physical traumas.

Or: ART confronts the way its friend's body gets broken and made new again.

Yes, futuristic medical technology that can replace missing body parts and repair major injuries in a matter of hours has countless benefits, but this fic also explores the fridge-horror implications. If any amount of physical trauma or injury can be erased, then it's easy to gloss over the fact that SecUnits were built to be thrown into harm's way again and again. In this excellent fic, ART has some emotions about that.

Hypersensitive by tocautiouslygo

2,147 words, No Archive Warnings Apply, Teen And Up Audiences, Murderbot POV.

Relevant tags: Hurt/Comfort, mostly hurt tbh, Whump, Rated T for swearing, Sensory Overload

Murderbot deals with a malware attack that causes unbearable sensory hypersensitivity.

Malware has SUCH angst potential with characters who are part organic, part machine. (I am a certified Malware Fic Aficionado. Malware is so fun.) One of the most angsty applications of this that I’ve seen in fic is the potential for malware to cause physical pain (or in this case, painful hypersensitivity). This fic is very vividly written whump, but as it's not physical injury-related it's great for those of us like me who don't have much stomach for gore, and it ends with some relief. Deliciously painful :')

Stumble by ProfessorAerii

1,953 words, No Archive Warnings Apply, Teen And Up Audiences, Ratthi POV.

Relevant tags: Missing Scene, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Missing scene from Chapter 8 of Exit Strategy; Murderbot may have glossed over forgetting how to walk but uncontrolled falls to the ground tend to be loud.

This fic elaborates on a throwaway line from that one time Murderbot almost deleted its brain. That whole section of the fourth novella, Exit Strategy, has perfect vibes for Sickbay Saturday, but this fic fills in more detail around Murderbot's slow recovery and shows how its humans friends took care of it during that time. This one is more on the comfort side, and I love Ratthi's concern and gentleness and Murderbot's uninhibited blurting of the feelings it usually won't admit to.

pick up the pieces and try again by CompletelyDifferent

4,875 words, Major Character Death, Teen And Up Audiences, ART POV.

Relevant tags: Character Study, Hurt/Comfort, POV Second Person

The Perihelion attempts to reassemble some corrupted code.

I will be vague about this fic because the character death warning is for a canon character death that's a pretty major spoiler for a later book in the series (Network Effect), but this is a fix-it fic where that death is undone. It's a soft and painful and tender story about nursing a character back to health who doesn't remember who it is and lashes out dangerously, but it looks a little different because the character is a fully digital being. This might not tecnically be a sickbay fic but I think it fits the spirit of "sci-fi medical treatment," and it's too wonderful not to include.

In conclusion: The Murderbot Diaries are great and we have lots of excellent fic. We also have a discord server that's full of fun analysis and discussions where lots of these amazing ideas were born!! If you'd like to join us there, you can message me or another server member and we'll get you on the queue for an invite! Join usssssss

Other Murderbot fanfic enjoyers, please feel free to reblog with your own favorites! I'm sure I missed some good ones. :)