Mutual Rapport: an ARTMB fanworks event
Hello, creators! Since some of you have already begun posting to the AO3 collection, and others are well on their way, we've put together a quick posting guideline regarding how, when, and where to post your works, as well as some specific tagging guidelines to preserve the inclusive spirit of the event.
🔫 How and where to post: 🚀
The AO3 collection will be open for posting for the full length of the creation period, from May 19 through July 8. All works published to the AO3 collection will be unrevealed until July 10, at which point they will be revealed anonymously. Creators will be revealed on July 20, unless they choose to keep their work anonymous by posting to AO3’s public anonymous collection
(During the anonymous period between July 10 and July 20 we will host a creator guessing game – more info on that later!)
Written works should be published to the AO3 collection once complete. Writers will be allowed to claim an additional prompt once event mods have verified that a completed work has been published to the collection
Artworks may be posted anonymously to the AO3 collection, or posted to the artist’s social media. If posting anonymously to AO3, the artist may add a watermark reading “Mutual Rapport Prompt Party 2026” in place of their own watermark, to preserve anonymity until creator reveals. Artists will also be allowed to claim an additional prompt once event mods have verified that a completed work has been posted or is ready to post
Artists are not required to post anonymously. However, artists posting to their own social media are requested to hold off on posting their completed works until July 3 at the earliest, to preserve the excitement and surprise of the posting period
🔫 How to tag your works: 🚀
All works created for the event, regardless of whether they're posted to AO3 or tumblr, should be tagged with one or more of the following tags, according to the creator's intention when creating the work: Platonic Relationships, Queerplatonic Relationships, Ambiguous Relationships, or Romantic Relationships. This will allow everyone viewing the event's works to filter to their preferences as needed
Note: Regardless of how the prompt was tagged, each work should be tagged only with the relationship dynamic(s) the creator had in mind while creating their work. For example, a romantic take on a prompt where the requester had no preference for relationship dynamic should be tagged as romantic, and not platonic. Please keep in mind that many fans of The Murderbot Diaries have strong preferences regarding which relationship dynamics they enjoy or prefer to avoid, and tag accordingly in order to keep the event experience fun and inclusive for everyone
For creators posting to AO3, please also be sure to use the event tag Murderbot Diaries Mutual Rapport 2026, in order to help curate the AO3 experience of everyone in the fandom. Tagging with the event tag will allow people to filter for, or filter out, all fanworks associated with the event, according to their preference. Creators posting to tumblr, please use the event tag #mutual rapport so that people can find and share your work!
For creators posting to AO3, the fandom tag(s) must include The Murderbot Diaries – Martha Wells. Crossovers are welcome, but any works not tagged with The Murderbot Diaries – Martha Wells will be removed from the collection.
Creators posting to tumblr may wish to use any of the main fandom tags to reach a wider audience: #the murderbot diaries, #murderbot diaries, or #tmbd
For creators posting to AO3, the relationship tag(s) must include either ART | Perihelion & Murderbot (Murderbot Diaries) or ART | Perihelion/Murderbot (The Murderbot Diaries) (or both, at the creator's discretion). If neither of these relationship tags is listed on the work, it will be removed from the collection.
Creators posting to tumblr may wish to use any of the main relationship tags: #murderhelion, #artmb, or #mutual administrative assistants, as well as the 4 main relationship tags we've used to specify the relationship dynamic(s) the creator had in mind for their work: platonic, romantic, queerplatonic, or ambiguous. (Note that the #mutual administrative assistants tag is intended for platonic/non-shipping interpretations of the ARTMB relationship so please avoid posting works with a romantic or sexual focus to that tag.)
These tagging guidelines are the minimum required tags for the event; please also tag your works according to their content in whatever way you see fit
Mods will review the tags on each work posted to the AO3 collection during the posting period and may reach out to creators with a request to adjust the tags on their works according to these guidelines
If you have any questions about the posting guidelines, how to tag your work, or anything else related to the event, you're welcome to reach out to the mods directly!
