Work Text:
"So, Rin," Indah said, as we were shutting down our boards, "did you like the book?"
"No," I said. "Why did it have to be a romance? It would have been good if it hadn't had the cyborg find love at the end."
"I know that isn't your thing, but what about the rest of the book?"
"That was the rest of the book!"
"What about General Hart learning to trust Killerbot? What about the war with Grenaria? What about Greco's betrayal? What about Killerbot discovering his humanity?"
"Indah, I liked the cyborg having guns in his arms, but none of the rest of that actually worked. It was all part of the romance." I powered the computer down, threw my arms out, and stomped off.
"Ugh!" Indah called from behind me.
"--and I don't understand why I read all four books!"
"Because Amena asked nicely," my sister said, sighing. "Rin, I'm trying to work."
"It's just so stupid! Dr. Alexia didn't do a thing," I said. (Yes, I was ignoring my sister's complaints. If Mensah actually wanted me to go away she would have actually said "Go away, Rin.") "She served no point except as a romantic interest for Hunter! She was supposed to lead the expedition to a new planet to save her people, not end up falling in love with that stupid robot! It's just like that book Indah made me read with the cyborg and the general and whatever -- it even has basically the same stupid plot! And what's it with fictional robots using pronouns?"
"Look, Rin," Mensah sighed. "Rin, I want to hear what you have to say, but you've been complaining about this for almost an hour. Have you considered doing something about it?"
What would I even do? I couldn't change a published book, and all the fanfiction I found played into the romance even more. "What do you mean?"
"You could write something else with the same plot, something that takes the same concept and does it better. It doesn't have to be something you show other people, you could just write it for yourself." She stood up, grabbed a book off the stack on her shelf, and scanned the index.
I huffed and pointedly shifted positions so my feet were on her bed. I didn't want to write anything, I wanted the books to be better in the first place. Then again, it was an appealing idea. I was doing pretty well in English class, I knew how to tell a story, and, maybe, I kind of did want to see if I could.
DM: ART (Peri), MB (Rin)
[10:20] MB: Okay this is stupid but.
[10:20] MB: Mensah convinced me to try writing something better than those books I told you about.
[10:20] ART: You mean the books you complained at me about.
[10:20] MB: Shut up, ART.
[10:21] MB: Anyways.
[10:21] ART: So did you write something?
[10:22] MB: I'm trying to. I need help. I didn't like that both Captain Hillstrom and Ravina died in the first scene of their respective books just to show that the planet was dangerous, and I want something that the cyborg can save their equivalent from.
[10:23] ART: A worm or a snake or something.
[10:23] ART (Peri) sent 2 files: snakefight.png and img134-dune-sandworm-eating-person.gif
[10:23] MB: No.
[10:23] ART: It would be so cool!
[10:24] MB: ... I hate to admit it but you're right.
[10:24] ART: Also, is this fanfiction or something original?
[10:26] MB: Original. But the plot is pretty similar to both except without the romance. And also for now I'm using names from Sanctuary Moon to fill in for the character names.
[10:26] ART: Oh? And who would the cyborg be, may I ask?
[10:30] MB: ...
[10:30] MB: ...
[10:30] MB: No. Comment.
[10:31] ART: RIN. TELL ME YOU DID NOT.
[10:31] MB: I said no comment, ART, and I mean it.
DM: Mensah (ayda), Rin (Rin)
[19:59] Rin (Rin) sent a file: ch1.v17.9.md
[20:25] Mensah: Sorry, just saw this -- Astra and Deline kept asking me for help with their scout projects. We're walking back to the car now so I'll read it when we get home?
[20:26] Rin: Sounds good, drive safe.
[21:04] Mensah: Rin! You're a good writer! I love that you made them scientists, and that the worm is threatening but everyone ends up safe so far. I want to read more!!
[21:06] Mensah: I am curious why you named all the characters after Sanctuary Moon characters, though. It seems an odd but very you choice
[21:06] Rin: Placeholder names.
[21:07] Mensah: Even the cyborg Eden?
[21:07] Mensah: I seem to recall *somebody* using that name for nearly two months, and also that *somebody's* deadname is something remarkably close to SecUnit. Coincidence?
[21:09] Rin: *middle finger*
A Few Days Later…
DM: Mensah (ayda), Rin (Rin)
[23:50] Rin: ART and I were texting.
[23:51] Mensah: Oh?
[23:51] Rin: It thinks I should make it the cyborg.
[23:51] Rin (Rin) sent a file: screenshot_rin_peri_20221105_234625.png
[23:52] Mensah: Oh, you finished!
[23:53] Rin: I told it no but I would write another one with it as a bigger ship. Help.
[23:53] Mensah: If you want to write more, you should! And I'd love to read what you wrote.
[23:54] Rin: It's not a novel.
[23:54] Mensah: So? If it gets your point across, does it matter how long it is?
[23:55] Rin: Here.
[23:55] Rin (Rin) sent a file: everything_i_write_is_terrible.md
[23:56] Mensah: You write beautifully, don't be so hard on yourself! I've loved seeing the snippets you've sent me, even if I still wish you paid more attention in class.
[23:57] Mensah: I'm excited to read it in its final form! Did you end up changing the names?
[23:58] Mensah: Oh, this opening line is great. And I like that you took that plot about a dark secret and combined it with the control systems to make a better reason for why the cyborg has to pretend not to be a person -- this "governor module" seems a really interesting concept. Did he hack it for a specific reason?
[23:58] Rin: It. Murderbot uses it/its. Like me.
[23:59] Mensah: Did it hack its governor module after a specific incident? It seems to know exactly how long it's been since that point. Also, I love that you're making Bharadwaj and Mr. V be the ones attacked by the giant worm -- is this because of the Snake Incident last year?
[00:00] Mensah: And hah at Mr. V being the one to go into shock, you definitely stole from the Snake Incident.
[00:03] Mensah: Rin, I'm really really honored that you named the leader (I'm assuming?) after me, it means a lot to me that you think of me as a good leader. I'm not even through with the first chapter and I'm already feeling really worried about these characters :'')
[00:07] Rin: Go to bed. It's after midnight.