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.
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Pov: You ask your dad to make a toy for you with his weird drawing powers and you accidentally get a new sibling because your dad is also cursed for whatever reason.
Ok, but like if Alan accidentally made Hangman like that with the intention of them being a plush, Hangman could have like plush physics like their body is generally more limp and ragdoll-like due to being made as a plushie rather than a regular stickfigure. [Sorry any mention of Hangman makes me go insane, they appeared in one short and now I need to see them explored as a character-]
(don't mind the coloring, i just wanted a way to color code it so i don't get confused by it later........ i'll probably find a better color for hangman later)
that's such a funny idea...... also they'd be extremely small since they're made for the kids but i think it'd be really funny if they were more around Chosen/Dark's initial age actually (which i hc at like. something like 10 or 11.)
their name also almost definitely wouldn't be hangman obv but. yk sklfgslkfjlksg
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what do u think Farah, Kate, Valeria’s types are, like personality wise or physically? love ur stuff so much, there isn’t enough stuff for the cod women and it is the worse💋
Hey there! I don't think they have a type per se, to them it's more important to have a good connection with someone! So I only wrote about what I think they'd like their partner to be! I didn't write about any physical appearances, though, since I think that sort of thing doesn't matter at all! The chemistry is important to them more so than anything else!
Valeria’s, Farah’s and Laswell’s type
Valeria: She’d likely be into someone who knows what they want from the get go, who can get aggressive at times but knows when to be quiet as well. Someone intelligent, who knows not to mess with her and her business too much, willing to let a lot of morally interesting things slide. Someone who can be loud at the right time, who isn’t afraid to stand up for themselves. However, I think she’d also be into someone independent. She doesn’t have a lot of time for a relationship, always out and about somewhere, so she’d want someone who can take care of themself. Someone who knows how to do house chores is also a big plus. You don’t have to worry about her doing nothing, if she wants to she can hire a maid or something, but it’s sort of domestic to her to have a partner who knows how to cook and use a vacuum cleaner. That way she won’t have to worry too much about coming home to a messy home. Her ideal partner would be up for going out with her from time to time, and wouldn't be shy in front of other people either. Someone motivated would be nice as well. Just someone willing to do things with and for her. But the most important part would be loyalty. Someone who knows that what she does is wrong, but stays with her despite it. Valeria can’t allow someone to work against her, not even someone she loves.
Farah: She’d probably like someone chipper. She’s surrounded by war and death at all times, so having someone cheerful with her, who can lift her spirits when she’s feeling down, would be ideal to her. Besides, she loves the domestic parts of life as much as the next person, so she wouldn’t mind settling down somewhere with someone, but she also wants to be with someone willing to go out with her to maybe explore the surroundings a bit. Doesn’t have to be a lot either, just watching the sunset while going on a walk with her would suffice for her. Her ideal partner would be open for most things, from cultures to just some outings. And although it’s only a small part of her, she secretly does wish for someone who’s not straight. That way she can share her experiences with someone else and not feel as alone. Someone who can show her something new almost every day would also be appreciated. Farah is a very loyal person, so she’d love for her partner to be the same. Communication is key, so someone willing to talk to her if something bothers them, regardless of what it may be, would also be nice. It would also be nice if that person could stay calm during most parts of their life and not lose hope immediately, someone who trusts that Farah will come home safe and sound to them and not freak out about every small thing.
Laswell: I think she’d be into someone calm. Someone a bit older, maybe even a few years older than her, who has seen the finer things life has to offer and who can appreciate them. Nothing would faze them and they would never raise their voice. Someone, who doesn’t need to see the world anymore, who has seen most of it. Someone stable and content. While Laswell could take care of someone, she doesn’t want someone reliant on her since she’s abroad more often than not and doesn’t have the time for someone like that always. While it would be nice if that person could speak up for themself, she doesn’t mind having to speak on their behalf from time to time. That person doesn’t have to be the next Einstein, but she’d love someone she can have sophisticated conversations with over a glass of wine. Someone willing to drink some wine with her in general would be nice. Laswell is too old to want very many complications, so she too would appreciate someone willing to say what bothers them so they can work it out together. Not everything needs to be perfect, but she’d prefer it if she could talk it out with them. Although she can splurge a little bit here and there, it’s important to her that her partner is responsible with money and doesn’t buy everything that comes to mind. She wants them to be well off, and that is, mostly, only possible if you know how to save money. She thinks butches are hot, but she’s not opposed to a cute femme either.
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