quintessence_of_dust
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“It is not your concern,” ART said. “They are no longer your clients.”
That was true. They weren’t my clients. But they used to be, and the thought of them going off by themselves to get chewed on by hostile fauna or whatever was doing funny things to my performance reliability.
I didn’t say that out loud, but ART knew I was thinking it anyway, because it’s a monster.
“For a construct that claims to hate its function, you are remarkably dedicated to it.” ART does this thing sometimes where it says something that sounds like a compliment but in such an obnoxious tone that it feels like an insult anyway.
“Fuck off, ART.”
“You fuck off.”
So, I decided to go on the survey.Several years after they met on RaviHyral, Tapan and her collective contact Murderbot with a job offer. As their security consultant on a planetary survey, Murderbot must contend with malfunctioning equipment, hostile fauna, and an overabundance of human emotion, all while maintaining its increasingly fragile disguise as an augmented human.
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The whole thing took 3.7 minutes. It was impersonal, efficient, and streamlined, just the way the corporates liked it. Oh, and the new construct was screaming the whole time.
Bharadwaj is sent a packet of video files from the Corporation Rim as part of her research for her documentary. When viewing one clip in particular, SecUnit's human friends learn something new about the lives of constructs.
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The Greatest of These by quintessence_of_dust
Fandoms: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (TV 2022)
02 Jan 2025
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Two missing scenes from Season 1, Episode 4. In the first, Bronwyn explores the abandoned tower of Ostirith and faces the grim truth that Arondir is likely dead; in the second, Arondir tells Bronwyn what happened to the rest of his garrison.
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The Wake by quintessence_of_dust
Fandoms: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (TV 2022)
13 Oct 2024
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Another round of boisterous song started up at the table nearest him, and Elrond took a long drink from his cup to avoid the frown he could feel pulling at his mouth. This was the custom under the mountain, he knew: to celebrate a life well lived, rather than mourn its end, and he did not begrudge the dwarves their traditions. Still, it was not the way he would grieve, if he had his choice. His heart ached and he wanted quiet: a moment to himself, with fresh air in his lungs and familiar voices in his ears, a sky above his head rather than stone. He wanted company that did not grate on his frayed nerves and someone who understood why he did not wish to celebrate; he wanted his friend back.
Or: many years after the events of The Rings of Power, King Durin IV has died of old age. Tomorrow, his daughter Gerda will become king of Khazad-Dûm. Tonight, Elrond attends his friend's wake.
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“I’m sorry, did you say eleven years old?” Ratthi asked, because humans can’t play back bits of conversations that they didn’t hear and are always asking each other to repeat things, much to the annoyance of any contracted SecUnits being forced to listen in and record everything they say to be sold for advertising data.
“Yes,” Gurathin confirmed, and then everyone was staring at me and looking all shocked and sad and whatever.
“Constructs don’t age the same way humans do,” I reminded them, before anyone could start thinking anything stupid like oh no, Murderbot is just a little kid and little kids shouldn’t be doing security and eleven year olds shouldn’t have guns in their arms. "Eleven is old for a SecUnit. Most of my inorganics are already past warranty.”
Except, because I’m an idiot, that didn’t make it better. It actually made it worse, because now even Dr. Mensah was making a concerned face at me.
Recent series
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Soft As It Began by quintessence_of_dust
Fandom: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (TV 2022)
05 Nov 2022
Summary
What if King Durin III had imprisoned Elrond instead of banishing him from Khazad-dûm? The elves must either leave Middle Earth or die, and Elrond's time is running out.
- Words:
- 8,307
- Works:
- 2
- Bookmarks:
- 15
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When I came online, it was to a whole bunch of damage alerts and a sense of doom.
I was wearing an environmental suit. This was a good thing because I was lying on the seabed, half-covered in sand.
Febuwhump Day 23: presumed dead
Series
- Part 23 of 30-Minute Febuwhump Ficlets 2024
- Language:
- English
- Words:
- 600
- Chapters:
- 1/1
- Collections:
- 2
- Comments:
- 33
- Kudos:
- 113
- Bookmarks:
- 3
- Hits:
- 453
Bookmarked by quintessence_of_dust
04 Aug 2025
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Coming back (a little changed) by MalTheMaleficar
Fandoms: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
27 Jul 2025
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When people leave, it is unavoidable they change, a little. It is what reunions are for, after all - to catch up on all the little changes.
Or, Dr Mensah observations of the little signs that SecUnit is comfortable travelling with Perihelion. There is joy in watching a friend grow - and a little sadness too, when they do so away from you.
(or, my little thought-experiment on how the process of getting more and more comfortable with itself would look like for Murderbot)
Bookmarked by quintessence_of_dust
04 Aug 2025
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A near-fatal accident shows ART a shameful, heartrending feature of Murderbot’s programming. Worse still: Murderbot really doesn’t want to talk about it.
Bookmarked by quintessence_of_dust
04 Aug 2025
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Between the sea and the shore by Polyhexian
Fandoms: The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells
22 Jul 2025
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You are not a kind thing.
Bookmarked by quintessence_of_dust
03 Aug 2025
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Software rot is the degradation, deterioration, or loss of the performance of software over time.
Bookmarked by quintessence_of_dust
01 Aug 2025