mutual administrative assistance.......

hi, I go by kiwi, use they/them, and this is @that-androgynous-lightweaver's sci fi side blog! pfp by @beesyjimwax :)

[heartattackinblackdye]

yes they touch each other and live together and are possessive over eachother no it is not romantic

[murderhealion]

SHE KICKED STEADY FREDDY!!! IN THE BALLS!!!!!!!!!

[woodfrogs]

like every book there's a scene where murderbot has to explain something horrific that secunits are put through to its humans and it moves on (because it is functioning 90% due to denial and repression) while everyone else is horrified and each time it feels exactly like this:

"the governor module will freeze you in place at your client's command and force you to do nothing as they're kidnapped then will kill you terribly and painfully when they're taken out of acceptable range"

[liminalbeauty]

Murderbot just knows it as ‘the way it is’. As it starts to break free the story follows its own journey to self-awareness and the beginnings of an understanding of the value of life. The story skims lightly over a deep sea of horror and abuse, because that’s the only way to survive until you can start to heal. Preservation is the mirror being held up to ‘the way it is’. Humans don’t have to be like the way they are in the Corporation Rim. Murderbot has the genetics of its own oppressors built into itself, which it hates and wants to deny in the beginning. But it realizes that the ones oppressing it were the product of their own system, and they themselves were victims as well. Sanctuary Moon was its first look into what it means to be human. Or part human. What humans dreamed of being as well. Maybe Preservation was a window that allowed Murderbot to escape. But it had to first understand how to make a human connection.

I read a very formative article a number of years ago which said that every book a child reads, no matter what their life circumstance, improved their life outcome. The act of reading helped the child’s brain to grow, gave them more ability to imagine something better for themselves, and increased their awareness and compassion for others. This, in turn, made the entire trajectory of their life better.

I think it was the same for Murderbot.

[cooking-with-hailstones]

I wrote this all out in the tags but it turned into enough of an essay that, fuck it, it's going in the post.

I just reread Fugitive Telemetry and I think it's so interesting to see all the little moments like this with Indah and Aylen.

They both start out deeply afraid and suspicious of MB, in a way that MB doesn't want to acknowledge but is definitely very painful. But through the course of their interactions, they have enough Wendy's Lady moments that they start to change.

And I don't think Murderbot picks up on this much, if at all. I think it would be surprised to know how much both of their opinions of Murderbot have changed through the course of the events of FT. But MB just keeps dropping these little hints, little stories and anecdotes, little things about the CR that it just Knows. And they're both standing there like "what the fuck... Holy shit... That's so fucked ...." And they both soften up so much to MB. (Helped significantly by the extreme competency MB displays the whole time, but also just through its sheer... Well humanity isn't the right word. Undeniable personhood. They start to see past the scary Secunit and start to see the scared and hurt person that Mensah first saw wrapped up in a blanket in the cubicle.

The moment that drove this home most to me is the way Indah quietly supports it after What Happened with The People in That One Scene. When you know MB is devastated but not actually able to articulate why even to itself in any meaningful way. And Indah is just there, supporting it quietly and carefully and giving it space, but also affirming "you have just been violently dehumanized, and I'm sorry. For what it's worth, I do see you as a person and it sucks that this happened and I'll press charges against them if you want." (I think MB doesn't really process that concept. Imagine a SecUnit making a complaint about a human and it being taken seriously? It's definitely not ready for that yet.)

But the way that in the last chunk of FT she's just quietly affirming MBs personhood. She's seen the cruelty it's lived with all its life and now she can see the person who never deserved it. It's earned Indah and Aylen's trust, and probably most of the station security team, just by being itself, through its undeniable personhood.

[amarkaa]

Smth smth Stratt smokes smth smth

[murderhealion]

if there's one thing the past few months have taught me, it's that we can actually exist in a fandom without having to defend an aspec character's identity. And as fucked up as it is that it apparently requires the character to not be canonically aspec, at least we're at the point where it's possible

[1kit]

Wait, MB ain’t canonically aspec? I could’ve sworn…

[murderhealion]

it is. I'm talking about ryland grace hehe.

[its-bread-bitch]

The farther I get into the PHM book the more I grasp the whole “secret third thing” Grace and Stratt have going on. I want to put them both in a microwave and spin them around.

[murderhealion]

if there's one thing the past few months have taught me, it's that we can actually exist in a fandom without having to defend an aspec character's identity. And as fucked up as it is that it apparently requires the character to not be canonically aspec, at least we're at the point where it's possible

[rodamned]

Strattland are truly the platonic soulmates doomed by the narrative, you can’t convince me otherwise. Just look at them:

Chasing after him personally to bring him onto the project, to watching him run, having neither the heart to stop him personally nor the choice to let him go anymore.

Going from needing two coffees to function and heading straight to work, to sharing one cup each and simply being still for a moment, together.

From bringing him into rooms and making everyone there appreciate him, to leading the room that is fully aware he is their only saving grace.

From “Must be hard, having to ask everybody to… you know.”

“Actually, it isn’t.”

To... “Don’t make this harder, please.”

The first and last time he makes her smile, by acknowledging her intelligence, (and being snarky about it).

By being surprised that she knows he was fired for calling the leading scholar in his field a “staggering waste of carbon,” rather than for standing by what he said as he tried to imply. And years later by throwing the phrase, “You’re smart, you’ll figure it out,” right back at her.

(& I could go on and on, like even about the items passed between them... the hackysack that’s not lava, and the xenon Grace figurine that’s not a gas :))))

[yellowceiling]

yaos cake: a phm comic

this was definitely set in a universe where they had the Time to have shenanigans

[ll-0-yd]

So obviously it’s a running joke about Grace not knowing he was basically Stratts no.2, he gave orders and tasks, approved designs and procedures outside of his team (yes in the book he had his own team of scientists) and he still didn’t piece it together.

But,

What interests me about this is, he has power right? He leads people and he gives orders- a lot nicer than Stratt and with more patience but he’s shown to get incredibly competitive and well bitchy right? And he kind of puts a barrier between others and Stratts bluntness, the comedic relief, the reassurance of “you’ll get used to it.”

He tries to comfort people who are obviously caught off guard or effected by Stratt’s attitude and actions.

What if they are both having a bad day though? What if they are both in a sour mood, something went wrong and they are in a funk- how would that possibly look?

Grace isn’t a saint, he can still have negative emotions and interactions with people and is willing to argue with people and so can Stratt but she just kind of tells people how it’s going to go and them complying will just be less embarrassing on their end.

I’d imagine they’d both have NASTY resting bitch faces.

If Stratt isn’t laughing, it’s okay she doesn’t do that,

If Grace isn’t laughing either, oh no you fucked up.

Idk if I was on that boat and I saw that they were both in a bad mood… I’d probably jump off tbh.

Grace would probably use the teacher argument and say he gets more cooperation and useful information from 12 year olds.

And Stratt would do the Miranda and hit you with the “That’s all.” and dismiss you like you’re just water in the vase ocean they are traveling in.

I need to see this scenario play out from other characters perspectives because that’s where all the comedy is.

Edit: IMAGINE IF GRACE KNEW AS MANY LANGUAGES AS STRATT DID, THEY WOULD TALK SHIT ABOUT YOU AND YOU WOULDN’T EVEN BE ABLE TO PROVE IT. But deep down you know.

[ginnie-darling]

[uovoc]

new rule, asking secunit is cheating

[penny-anna]

Rocky on the trip back to Erid registering that Grace has defaulted to using he/him for him for sexism reasons and that they don't actually have to go by he/him. xe does some research on the human computer and spends several weeks cycling through different pronoun sets. starts switching so frequently Grace becomes convinced sie has started being difficult on purpose. after a while Grace is like omg will you just pick one and stick with it. Rocky is like okay i have decided. rock/rocks. rockself. Grace like well i can't argue with that.

[penny-anna]

#see the hill that I will die on is that if Andy weir was cooler rockey would use either they them or xe xir#you’re telling me cool middle school teacher Ryland grace is unfamiliar with the concept of fun new genders#absolutely not. his students have taught him about singular they them and neopronouns

Grace trying to explain to Rocky that they can be whatever they want to be and presenting a whole list of different pronoun options and Rocky (who has no concept of gender) being like 'why would I care about any of this'

[penny-anna]

Rocky: which pronouns does Grace use question?

Grace: he/him

Rocky: okay. Rocky will use he/him too

Grace: okay but I feel like defaulting to he/him promotes a patriarchal kind of mindset and we should be more thoughtful about it

Rocky: okay so use the other standard pronouns

Grace: she/her?

Rocky: yeah

Grace: okay but that feels weird too

Rocky: why weird question

Grace:

Grace, later, lying awake: I never considered that Rocky might wanna be a she... Am I a bad person?

[penny-anna]

Rocky: Grace mix it up suggestion

Grace: I guess I could

Rocky: Rocky he/she/they/it

Grace: I don't know if you can use it

Rocky: why not question

Grace: it's just considered dehumanising?

Rocky:

Rocky, being a little shit: I choose it/its

[penny-anna]

Rocky: this conversation boring, let's go back to Grace tones

Grace: okay so you won't pick a pronoun but I have to pick a tonal inflection?

Rocky: my thing more important statement

Grace: okay fine can't you just your tones for me?

Rocky: but Grace not qualified engineer

Grace: well is there a schoolteacher tone?

Rocky: uhh no

Rocky: schoolteacher not

Rocky: schoolteacher not prestige profession statement

Grace:

Grace: WOW.

[penny-anna]

Grace: is there not like a default tone to use when you don't know all this stuff about a person?

Rocky: yes but very rude to use for close friend statement

Grace: wait hold up 🤔 you think of me as a close friend?

Rocky: yes maybe Grace shut up now

[penny-anna]

Grace several years into their voyage, finally getting good enough at understanding Eridian to clock when Rocky has switched back to using the Neutral Tone for him, thereby implying that they are no longer friends: HEY??

[penny-anna]

Grace, in the middle of a big argument: did you just. dead person inflection me?

Rocky: uh-huh

Grace: does that mean what I think it means

Rocky: it means what it means statement

Grace: come ON

[psumnt-studentcouncil]

my giiirrlll my giiirlll I love herrr 🥺🥺🥺

Some Iris (Iris..es?) and a doodle of a scene from Rapport

PNGs after the cut if anyone wants them!

[sexy-people-contests-2026]

Tumblr Sexyman Contest 2026 Round 1 Part 2

Killian Hook (Once Upon A Time)

Spock (Star Trek)

Remaining time: 4 days 18 hours

[awzominator]

@murderbot-maladies-event day 6: manual bullet/projectile removal

In the sketch it was Mensah however I couldn’t figure out how to set it up and didn’t feel like drawing hands holding tools…so its Art doing it

[bleeding-seraphic]

happy pride to evil murderhelion and evil murderhelion ONLY