1 - 20 of 55 Works by torpidgilliver
Navigation
Listing Works
-
total redundancy elimination by torpidgilliver
Fandoms: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
10 Nov 2025
Tags
Summary
I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized that the company supply drops were coming less and less often. It had been well over 35,000 hours since then, with still not much murdering, unless you consider leaving a colony of ten thousand helpless humans to starve to be murder.
-
If there had been a SecUnit in the colony, there probably would have been a compelling reason why it had to stay behind on the dying planet.
-Murderbot, Network Effect -
Tags
Summary
"Before you ask, I'm not going to be your plus-one."
Three blinked once, very deliberately, and said, "I know. I didn't intend to ask you."
"You weren't?"
-
Three is going to Preservation Station Security's holiday party. Murderbot was not invited.
-
mutually-assured discretion by torpidgilliver
Fandoms: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
29 Aug 2023
Tags
Summary
I didn’t look directly at Seth, because intimidation wasn’t the purpose of showing him my face. But I saw that moment that all of my clients had; the recognition that they’d signed their life over to an entity that intended to guard it with trained and shackled monsters.
-
Perihelion's humans are embarking on a planetary survey, and are in need of security. With little choice in the matter, they contract with the company.
-
meeting minutes for the 37th weekly mandatory pop culture potluck party thing by torpidgilliver
Fandoms: Wolf 359 (Radio)
19 Jul 2023
Tags
Summary
“Commander Minkowski,” he starts, half an octave deeper than his normal speaking voice. “What time do you call this?”
Renée’s eyes roll to the ceiling, but Doug catches the flicker of a smile. “Never change, Doug.”
-
Reintegrating into civilian life on Earth is a path that's more pothole than paved road, but you can at least choose where you stop along the way. For the former crew of the Hephaestus, the place to stop on a Friday night is Doug Eiffel's apartment. The price of admission: one (1) work of pop culture that he absolutely must know.
-
Tags
Summary
It's been a while since she's heard his voice. His scolding tone, likely an unconscious paternal habit, coaxes out a tired smile. "What are you still doing awake at this hour?"
-
Interviewing SecUnit is a stressful exercise. Bharadwaj, suffering insomnia, calls up a friend.
-
in search of familiar harmonies by torpidgilliver
Fandoms: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells, Subnautica (Video Game)
12 Apr 2023
Tags
Summary
Designation: SecUnit 003 Barish-Estranza Explorer Task Group - Alien Remnant Survey Project 520964
Status: Salvage/retrieval mission completed. Responding to distress call of unknown origin.-
Barish-Estranza has set up shop on 4546b, looking to collect valuable alien technology. One of their SecUnits stumbles on something unusual.
Series
- Part 2 of as-yet untitled subnautica fusions
-
food [in]security, or, Monsters Are Always Hungry by OccasionalStorytelling, torpidgilliver
Fandoms: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
29 Mar 2023
Tags
Summary
You are accustomed to a certain sense of helplessness. It is inevitable, as your designated role is to watch over those you hold within yourself. You can protect your crew from the vast, unforgiving vacuum of the universe outside of your hull, but you cannot protect them from danger that comes from within. You cannot save your SecUnit from itself.
-
ART makes a troubling discovery about Murderbot and construct biology.
-
Tags
Summary
If she'd had a cred for every time someone has said, 'I didn't know you were—' 'Why didn't you tell me you were—' 'You ought to include in your profile that you're—', she could have used it to pay off GrayCris before everything went to hell. They'd all labeled her differently, as well. Each deciding independent of each other what she was, and why that was a problem for them.
-
Pin-Lee goes on an ill-fated date.
Written for the 2023 Aspec Murderbot Diaries event
-
Tags
Summary
You are fortunate that you made it to my lock without being seen, it continued, as if that hadn't been glaringly obvious to me even when I was in the middle of multiple catastrophic failures. And you are fortunate that I have deigned to shelter you.
This bot wasn't my owner. It had no reason to preen and threaten like this, except to be an asshole.
-
A long-anticipated meeting.
Series
- Part 2 of boiled off your hate
-
Tags
Summary
"This unit was cycled into use almost twenty-six years ago, by the Barish-Estranza internal calendar."
Amena's eyes lit up. "No way. You're younger than me?"
-
Juvenile humans put more stock in relative age than bots do.
-
unexpected realism/unrealistic expectations by torpidgilliver
Fandoms: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
13 Feb 2023
Tags
Summary
"It's not realistic. It's not supposed to be realistic. It's a story, not a documentary. If you complain about that, I'll stop watching."
You have been enjoying the novel task of processing the SecUnit's emotions regarding the other serial, and You'd like to attempt to map that data to a situation that is a little more in line with Your own experiences. You believe that in doing so, You might code significantly more powerful software for Your emotional simulators.
I will refrain from complaint.
-
Perihelion documents its experience of watching Worldhoppers for the first time.
-
Tags
Summary
"So what if you had the opportunity to kill me, then? Would you take it?"
"If I killed you, the governor module would boil me in my own fluids.”
-
In the aftermath of the catastrophic equipment failure at Ganaka Pit, the company scrambled to make up for lost profits however they could—including offloading some of the damaged SecUnits at a discounted rate.
Series
- Part 1 of boiled off your hate
-
Tags
Summary
Attn: Dr. Ayda Mensah, M.D.; PhD.,
I have, for want of a better term, "abducted" your SecUnit associate.
-
Ayda receives ART's message buoy.
-
Tags
Summary
"How do you stand it?"
Dr. Gurathin's tone is slow and even when he asks, "Stand what?"
-
SecUnit 3 shares its feelings with someone who might understand.
-
Tags
Summary
If I kept leaking, the various parts of me that needed blood and/or fluid would fail, or die off. A cubicle could refill my veins and replace broken or dead components, but I had to get back to a cubicle first.
-
Whumptober #11: Self-Done First Aid
-
Tags
Summary
What's wrong?
For SecUnit's sake, Ayda lies to it.
-
Even the most paranoid people let their guard down sometimes.
-
reclaimed, refurbished, repurposed by torpidgilliver
Fandoms: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
03 Aug 2022
Tags
Summary
"All my existence, I've worn logos. My armor was always stamped with the company logo, and the logo of the company that was renting me. And I have company logos on my inorganics, too. I can't do anything to remove them."
Bharadwaj was still wearing her neutral, listening expression, but it broke slightly with a frown. "Why not?"
-
Murderbot picks up some new drones, and does not project its insecurities onto them.
-
an unexpected lashing out by torpidgilliver
Fandoms: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
19 Jun 2022
Tags
Summary
He was processing what he’d done, and compounding the feeling that had made him do it. I saw, in a sort of slow motion, when he decided that the next available target was valid, and locked. And he hit me.
-
Inspired by the discord: What a combat override module does to an augmented human.
Series
- Part 1 of thrashing is
-
Tags
Summary
"You're exhibiting symptoms of exhaustion. You need to stop and take a rest period."
"What would you know about it?" she asks, as if it's not absolutely right.
-
Pin-Lee gets a visitor while she's working late.
-
Tags
Summary
I check on my friends if they've been DND for a while. He made a gesture that was kind of like a shrug. If you're alright, then I can go. I just need to hear from you that you are.
It was an easy out that Ratthi was tossing me. Two words, and he would leave.
-
Murderbot is annoyed with Ratthi for caring about it.