#murderbot and mensah

[sunlitsorrows]

ahh so it looks like today we will be crying about Murderbot and Mensah excellent excellent very good

this is just such a beautiful progression—we’ve already seen Murderbot doesn’t enjoy killing people, it doesn’t want to kill people, that is not it’s nature… until someone goes after someone it loves (as we just saw with ART) and then all bets are off—

except—

except—

the people Murderbot loves (focusing on the humans here, though I don’t feel this doesn’t apply to ART as well, just a little differently) it loves them because of who and what they choose to be. what they are: naive, foolish, impulsive, yes, but what they choose to be: kind, optimistic, thoughtful, principled—people who aren’t just trying to survive themselves but make things better for others—even their own enemies.

the idea of betraying Mensah’s values, of losing her trust—even if she forgives it, is so unbearable it chooses to trust her to handle the situation her way despite it feeling this puts her in more/continued jeopardy.

humans shouldn’t be in charge of their own security, but the only thing worse than losing someone you love is disappointing them.

[ilovedthestars]

there really are few emotions i find more compelling in a story than "you should be afraid of me. please don't be afraid of me"

[verdiris]

✨️"It had been such a stupid question, I had forgotten not to have an expression." A mood board.✨️

[cosmic-pindrops]

Amena's first day at Uni (and bodyguard)!

Referencing this meme

[singlecrow]

I Have Reread Seven Murderbot Books In A Small Number Of Days, and Am Now Completely Insane About The Following Non-Exhaustive List Of Things (in no order)--

let's start with the fact the first book is almost ENTIRELY a letter from Murderbot to Mensah. it's 40,000 words. Murderbot, you are an emotionless robot for SURE.

Pin-Lee. Just in general. no, also, the main character of Sanctuary Moon is also a lawyer with increasingly bizarre problems. hello. (why did they take a LAWYER on a planetary survey??)

Amena tells ART and Murderbot, in case they didn't know, that they're having a baby. They didn't know.

AMENA. sixteen years old and whiny teenager who isn't like her annoying genius family who don't understand her NO ONE UNDERSTANDS. spends rest of book being brave and competent and mighty. whatever.

Amena's little sister! I wish we had a name for her but I like Murderbot calling her Small Human, also it shows her the video she wants to see but scrubs out all the gore and violence (it doesn't care though humans are stupid)

never wanted fanart of anything so much as Murderbot, upon hearing Mensah startled by a journalist and drop a bottle of almond milk, jump over Ratthi's head, run 100m down a corridor, scream at the journalist and catch the bottle of almond milk. (aside: that story breaks my heart. you see her from Murderbot's POV as a leader of men. compassionate and brilliant and a diamond under pressure. and from her own POV she's screaming and she can't stop.)

not that all cops are bastards, only that after a meeting with them Mensah tries to persuade her partners, kids and siblings that they should give up on humanity, move to an uninhabited continent and take up new careers in soil reclamation

ART, when its blorbos die in its shows. The bot equivalent of staring at the wall for seven and a half minutes. HI ART.

"I came for our mutual friend." jesus. It picks her up and saves her and lets her hug it. She tells it fear and anger are the enemy. (and then the crew freak out at the woman who stood down a homicidal killer robot by glaring at it.) (I love Mensah the most. no one knew this.)

Amena's parents are two probably normal people plus a planetary leader and a sentient killer robot

ART finds out Mensah is coming aboard and shouts at everyone to start cleaning (ART you're so neurotic)

ART and its sister Iris

ART and Murderbot are having a baby (I know I did that one already)

Round Here We Save The World Through The Power of Documentary Filmmaking

Mensah.

[wishfulsketching]

Sudden desire to draw Murderbot jumping off of a building with Mensah. (Just for the vibes, did not re-read Exit Strategy, so I don't remember the details)

[do-rey-me]

if murderbot learned what autism was i truly believe itd go "wow humans are so ridiculous they cant even agree on their own stupid human social rules" and then never think about that or its possible relation to its own behaviors ever again

[hellofriendhawke]

My favorite part of Network Effect was at the end when Mensah was about to board the Perihelion and ART was frantically cleaning better than Murderbot had ever seen it clean before and making sure all it's humans picked up after themselves. And when ART greeted Mensah, it was the most sincere sounding Murderbot had ever heard it be. Like, ART wanted to impress Mensah, it wanted to make a good first impression to Mensah because it knows how important Mensah is to Murderbot. ART respects Mensah because it trusts Murderbot's opinions of people. It trusted Murderbot with Iris, it's best human friend.

[tenowls]

So, I’m awkward with actual humans. It’s not paranoia about my hacked governor module, and it’s not them; it’s me. I know I’m a horrifying murderbot, and they know it, and it makes both of us nervous, which makes me even more nervous. Also, if I’m not in the armor then it’s because I’m wounded and one of my organic parts may fall off and plop on the floor at any moment and no one wants to see that.

one last fancomic to finish off the year, from asr this time!!

[ghostcashewart]

a day in dr. mensah's office! featuring an earlier design concept for murderbot that i've since updated a little bit lol

[sporadicartcomputer]

uh hi. i wanted to illustrate one of the introductary scenes for SecUnit's character, since that would go along well with this being kind of my first post here. i... think that makes some sense. i promise more Murderbot diaries fanart after this (calling it content feels icky)). (did I start overusing brackets becouse of these books? possibly).

and i hope i captured SecUnit freaking out while trying to keep its composure at the same time well. as weird as it sounds, i like seeing depictions of it being nervous, becouse this side of it is what got me to relate to it so much in the first place (besides the heavily implied neurodivergence. though i guess the two go hand in hand). examples: in the second panel of the second page i tried showing how Gurathin's words affected it by making the speech bubbles visually "choke" (?) it, though it kept its face straight. oh, and i made it look much shorter than it actually is to mirror the way it is feeling!! figuring out details like that was pretty fun

(i'm sorry for any inconsistencies and the messy colouring and linework, i have ADHD and i get incredibly bored when i spend time trying to make everything "perfect" and looking the same in each panel... )

[ueeyasu]

preservation humans

[writingpun-art]

i think the way murderbot avoids eye contact is very cute

[elotime1981]

Murderbot Textposts

[theskyexists]

Oh there's a short story from dr. Mensah's perspective. THE COLONY SHIP SAVED THE ANCESTORS OF PRESERVATION??? THATS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT THAN I THOUGHT

Oh no. Oh no oh dr. Mensah. Please go to therapy. Oh no. Oh i love secunit. I love seeing secunits love for dr. Mensah straightforwardly in its thoughts and actions (like in its povbooks) but just as much now less than subtly in its actions through Dr. Mensah's eyes. AAAA it was instantly with her. It instantly got rid of the journalist. Its giving off heat to try and assuage the trauma response.

'she's trembling, which is idiotic' NOOOOOOOOO

'YOU CAN HUG ME IF YOU NEED TO'

AAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!? DOES SHE EVEN REALISE WHAT INSANE GESTURE OF LOVE THAT IS FROM SECUNIT?????

'no no that's alright I know you don't care for it' SHUT UP!! SHUT!!! UP!!!!A AAAAAAAA. That decency that strength that empathy that intelligence that leadership is what had murderbot fall in love with Dr. Mensah BUT AYDA IT IS NOW DYSFUNCTIONAL YOU NEED TO GO TO THERAPY

'its not terrible' OH MY GOD!!!! OH MY GOD!!!! OH MY GOD JUST HUG IT!!!!

'there are tears in her eyes, because she's an idiot' Dr. Mensah.... Dr. Mensah no ..no....no :'(((

'she can't lean on a being that does not want to be leaned on' SHE IS SO MORAL AAAAAAA I LOVE HER SO MUCH but AYDA secunit is offering. Do you think murderbot has ever offered this to anyone?? It is INSISTING HELLO??

Oh my god. I KNEW Dr. Mensah didn't actually bribe murderbot. She gave those drones because shes anxious about using murderbot and wants to give it SOMETHING. something that it actually wants. Instead of taking from it.

Can everybody SHUT UP!!!!

[thereadingmoon]

an irony to appreciate:

murderbot named itself a violently blunt portmanteau of a function it abhors AND the wrong it committed plus the thing that denotes it as not-human, not-person. it’s a private name of self-loathing at first; it’s like taking on the greatest sin you’ve ever regretted so you and anyone around you may never forget you did it. then, after being set free, well and truly free, and coming to terms with what it really is and who it really wants to secure, it says it secret name and the name of blame and self-flagellation is met with relief, with joy, with recognition, with affection by one of the first people who ever saw it as a person and not a tool of destruction. dr. mensah hears the name “murderbot” and she knows everything will be alright.