Murder Drones

Fandom
Name:	Murder Drones
Abbreviation(s):	MD
Creator:	Liam Vickers
Date(s):	October 29, 2021 – August 23, 2024
Medium:	YouTube animation
Country of Origin:	Australia, United States
External Links:	official site, Wikipedia, IMDB
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

Murder Drones was a sci-fi horror comedy animated series created by Liam Vickers, produced by GLITCH Productions, and released on YouTube, starting with its first episode in 2021. Much like The Amazing Digital Circus (one of the other major animated series from GLITCH Productions), its fandom both exploded in popularity, as well as the amount of fanworks and interaction between fans and non-fans alike.

Before Murder Drones, Liam Vickers was active in the creepypasta community and read his original creepypastas on YouTube, retiring from it roughly around the time he would have begun work on Murder Drones.

Canon

The series follows a small group of sentient robots (referred in-canon as Worker Drones) as they head off towards increasingly-dangerous adventures and mysteries, and ward off assassin enemies sent by the megacorp JCJenson (referred to as Murder/Disassembly Drones), whilst balancing their school life at the same time; the background is a post-apocalyptic Earth in the 31st century, with the entirety of humanity wiped out in a freak collapse accident. Later, it is revealed the murder drones were actually sent by an eldritch entity that infects drones to help prepare the plant for being destroyed and eaten, however the knowledge of this truth differs between the murder drones.

Characters

• Uzi - a Worker Drone filled with teenage angst
• N - a cheerful Disassembly Drone who becomes Uzi's companion
• V - a bloodthirsty Disassembly Drone and N's teammate
• J - a serious Disassembly Drone and the leader of N and V's squad
• Khan - Uzi's father
• Thad - one of Uzi's classmates, an easygoing jock
• Lizzy - one of Uzi's classmates, a mean popular girl
• Doll - one of Uzi's classmates and a friend of Lizzy's with her own agenda
• Cyn - a Worker Drone who became the first host of the Absolute Solver
• The Absolute Solver - an evil computer program that infects drones, giving them reality-altering powers
• Tessa - a human girl who N, V, J, and Cyn worked as servants for
• Nori - Uzi's mother

Fandom

Overall, Murder Drones has 6,246 works on Archive of Our Own as of February 25, 2025. The most common rating is teen and up with 2,591 works, while the least common rating is explicit with 664 works. Of the most common pairing on AO3 (Uzi Doorman/N) 267 of 2,220 are rated as explicit. Safe for work fanfics and art are more common that explicit ones, with explicit works involving the main cast frequently being controversial due to age (see Controversy and Discussion).

There are a handful of Murder Drones fan songs, with the large majority of fan songs uploaded for Murder Drones on YouTube being AI generated, usually via Suno AI. For example, a playlist by YouTuber absolute solver consisting of 26 Suno AI generated Murder Drones fan songs, uploaded over the span of seven months (or on average about 3 AI songs per month). AI fan music is not well received in some parts of Murder Drones fandom (see Controversy and Discussion).

Absolute Solver worship (often extending to Cyn) occurs frequently on Reddit, and to a lesser extent other social media like Tumblr. On r/TheAbsoluteSolver there is a flare called "AbsoluteSolver Worship" used on threads worshiping the Solver, and the subreddit itself describes itself as a cult for the Solver. It's unclear how many Absolute Solver worshipers are doing so humorously due to Cyn being their favorite character and how many of them legitimately worship the Absolute Solver as a real entity. However, r/TheAbsoluteSolver's rules insinuate that it is a roleplay. Other Solver worship subreddits exist, such as r/cult_of_Cyn.

Solver worship also extends into fanworks, for example the Church of Null fanfiction and accompanying fan songs by Electrical Ink, which includes well over a dozen Cyn worship songs, among other Murder Drones fan music. While the channel itself only has 5k subscribers, some of the songs are popular, getting between 100k-300k views and being shared around Solver worship and Murder Drones subreddits. However, other fans have alleged that the music from Church of Null is actually AI generated, though the creator denies this allegation.

A notable fanwork is YouTuber Death Templer's real life Cyn robot, a (as of March 2025) work in progress robot version of Cyn. Death Templer shows occasional updates to the robot on YouTube and Twitter. The robot can move its head and arms autonomously, controlled by a custom version of ChatGPT. It can also listen and speak autonomously with ChatGPT, using consensual obtained training data from users who wrote text for things that Cyn might say, as well as a voice impression of Cyn by Death Templer. While active, it tracks faces, recognizes objects, and can emote based on its simulated emotion. It can simultaneously control its body and play Minecraft, however according to Death Templer, because of the amount of autonomy it has it is currently unavailable to play with other players due to risk to their computers. In the future, it will be able to project a hologram.

Shipping

There are a few major ships, with two, Uzi/N and Khan/Nori, being canonical. The most popular Murder Drones ships to see in fanart are Uzi/N, Uzi/V, and the moresome Uzi/N/V. On AO3, the three most popular are Uzi/N, N/V, and and Uzi/V, in that order. In fanart and fanfiction, popular tropes for Uzi/N/V are cuddle piles, Uzi and V having aggressive sexual tension, and N being soft or submissive. Some ship names are portmanteaus and some include titles as ships (such as Biting Biscuits).

According to Tumblr user bigtittiecomitte, Uzi/N was "HATED because of the implications that Uzi was a teen and N was not even though ages were never specific" around 2022, and would only grow to become more popular as the series progressed. However, Uzi/N was still the most popular ship on AO3 in 2022, having 33 fics out of 198 on October 15, 2022, and by October 16, 2023 had expanded to 268 of 1,309 fics.

• Uzi/N (Nuzi, Biting Biscuits, Biscuit Bites)
• Uzi/V (Vuzi)
• Uzi/N/V (Nuziv, Nuvi, Violent Biting Biscuits)
• Uzi/N/V/J (Full Company)
• Uzi/Thad (Thuzi)
• Uzi/Cyn (CrowBow)
• N/Cyn (Cyncest)
• V/N (eNVy)
• V/Lizzy (Vizzy)
• V/J (OilRose)
• J/Tessa (Jessa, Ripping Royals)
• J/N (CodeGold)
• Doll/Lizzy (Dizzy
• Khan/Nori (Khori)
• Nori/Yeva (SolverLillies)

Fanon and Headcanons

Many headcanons revolve around the functionality or programming of the drones. For example, headcanoning that because the drones were designed for mining that they are rewarded for seeing shiny things, such as ore or gemstones. Another headcanon is animalistic behavior in disassembly drones, usually mimicking that of birds. This usually involves nesting, gathering materials like magpies, and performing courtship displays with their wings. The wings and tail are also headcanoned as being used for body language in general, such as their tails having minds of their own and wrapping around drones that they like. Another common disassembly drone headcanon is that the yellow bulbs on their heads are eyes (cameras) that allow them to see in different formats, though canonically these bulbs are full of fluid. Some artists will draw these bulbs with pupils to emphasize this headcanon.

Some fans give the murder drones extended names based on their assigned letter. Nate (sometimes short for Nathan) is common for N, and names like Vivian or Veronica are common for V. The Panic AU assigns the name Niko to N, and the Dying and Getting Over It AU occasionally uses Jaybird as a nickname for J, given to her by Tessa. Fans sometimes call the combination of Cyn and Tessa (Cyn's robot body wearing the skin of Tessa) "Cynessa" to differentiate the character from Cyn and Tessa as individuals.

Alternate Universes

Murder Drones fandom is not AU heavy compared to many other fandoms of similar size, however one of the well known AUs is the panic AU, created by candyasbestos. In the panic AU, N (or "Niko") is seemingly infected by either the Absolute Solver or a similar virus that causes him to develop an increased bloodlust, causing him to devour Uzi in the very first panels of the AU's comic panels (which function through asks on Twitter/X, like an ask blog). Uzi becomes a ghost with memory loss while N struggles with the personification of his infection, a pink, monstrous version himself called "Nyx" with yandere tendencies towards Uzi. candyasbestos's panels for this AU get hundreds, sometimes thousands, of notes on Tumblr, and around a thousand likes on Twitter/X. Fans created VRChat avatars based on the AU, of which N's can be downloaded for free.

Another popular AU is Dying and Getting Over It (DaGOI) by seraphont. Set after the events of the series, this AU places Tessa into a robot body where she becomes a sister to Uzi. J is hired by Khan Doorman to assist in rebuilding the drone bunker. Tessa/J is a large part of this AU, and may be one of the main way some fans discovered this ship. Later in the AU, Tessa and J have a child together named Tan. Uzi/N/V is also present, and they also have their own child.

Controversy and Discussion

The ages of the characters are a topic of debate and controversy. Character ages depend upon the fan, with many perceiving Uzi and the murder drones as being underage due to Uzi being in school, N referring to them as "kids," and several "angsty teen" jokes, canonically. However, some fanfiction writers interpret the characters as being 18, particularly in fanfiction with explicit sexual content. In February 2025 the show runner, Liam Vickers, said that the cast was "in their older teens." Though he did not actually give an exact age or range, some fans use this to argue that they are 18 or 19. Additionally, a canonical scene with missing student posters shows an age range of 18-20 for missing drones, though this does not necessarily denote the canon ages of the actual main cast, particularly the disassembly drones.

Interpretation of Cyn's age is just as controversial, due to Cyn's robot body being the same age as the other disassembly drones, while wearing the skin of Tessa who was killed as a teenager (but would have aged if alive), and controlled by the ageless Absolute Solver entity. Because of that, debate surrounding the age of this character, and any smut involving her, is heated among fans. Anonymous Tumblr users debate her age on a confession blog called md-confessions. Interpretation of Cyn as being a child has bled into other criticisms, such as some fans believing that interpreting Cyn as a child is "infantilization" and ableism.

I think a lot of the "Cyn is a child" people don't realize that at least 20 years have passed since the manor, the place where the "robo-child" line was originally said. And if they do, they try and back up their claim with a headcanon with zero evidence. It's very strange to me. I just find it a bizarre thing to assume she doesn't age despite not having the same circumstances as characters like N, V, and J

md-confessions, anon. Feb 24, 2025.

Cyn isn’t a child, people just immediately infantilize silly disabled characters and don’t know how to interpret context clues in relation to characters’ statements.

Here’s what I mean (keep in mind I’ll be treating the Solver’s behaviors as Cyn’s behaviors, since that’s the only way she presents in the show):

Most people immediately point to Tessa calling Cyn a “robo-child” in episode 5, but this completely overlooks that by modern day N still considers him, V, and Uzi young enough to say “She’s just a kid, like us, V!” in episode 4. This implies that all the drones would’ve been considered kids back then, not just Cyn. Sure, Cyn is younger than the others, but she’s definitely older than Uzi. There is no world where “Cyn is a child” and “Uzi is a young adult” are both true statements at the same time.

And then there are the people who try to argue that she’s only “mentally a child”, and while mental and physical age are definitely two different things and should be considered, Cyn truly doesn’t act like a child.

Is she silly? Yes. Does she mime childish behaviors (playing with dolls, etc)? Yes. Does she actually behave childishly or immaturely? No, not really, not unless she’s clearly feigning. Especially not post-flashback, where she seems to forgo most “childish” behaviors aside from saying and few silly things and being playful in her malice. Cyn isn’t a child. Her silly attitude, speech impediment, and physical disability just make everyone infantilize her.

md-confessions, anon. Feb 22, 2025.

The less popular ship Cyn/N (Cyncest) may also be controversial due incest (or pseudo-incest, depending on the fan). Some fans believe this ship was implied in canon. This may be because though Cyn calls N her "big brother," characters imply that N had "creeped on" Cyn by befriending her, and because by the end Uzi and Cyn share a body though N continues to date Uzi. The creator, Liam Vickers, having previous works that include sibling related incestuous themes (siblings kissing) may also add to the fans of this ship. Shippers of Cyn/N sometimes tag their posts as proship and profic on Tumblr, which is a controversial title in itself.

Anyways, Liam Incest fetish has never been this obvious. he masterfully sneaked Canon cyncest in his show what a chad

sneakyboythingz, Aug 23, 2024.

AI generated music is also a point of contention in Murder Drones fandom, due to AI generated content being controversial in general. Some fans have expressed frustration with the large amount of AI generated Murder Drones fan songs and those that listen to them, and make a point to share hand-made fan music to show support towards human musicians.

ai music and fic getting big in the murder drones fandom makes me avoid interacting with it much. theres a yt channel that produces like 5 aigen songs monthly and lies about it and people just eat it up. everywhere i go people talk about the associated fic and music like??? are yall blind?? thats obviously sunoai. and its not just that specific channel, there are dozens and you cant avoid them.

md-confessions, anon. Feb 20, 2025.

Fans have criticized the designs of the murder drones, specifically N's outfit and the usage of armbands, due to resembling nazi uniforms. Other fans argue that, if true, the murder drones' outfits taking inspiration from nazi uniforms would make sense, given that they are genocidal robots designed specifically to kill and eat all humans and worker drones.

Example Fanworks

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

Fan Music

• Absolute Pressure (OST) by Kasamiku (September 2024)
  • Main Theme and Track 1
• End Triumph by Pain76 (October 2024)
• LET ME IN by CG5 and CYN (October 2024)

Fanfic

• As Above, So Below by VexInheritance
• Tines of the Devil’s Fork by snugglesquiggle (alt link)
• Squiggle's Murder Drones Fic Recs -- reclist by snugglesquiggle

Meta

• Spent today checking out The Amazing Digital Circus and Murder Drones, and god, the kids today have it so good when it comes to this sort of content., ^{Archived version} review by thewadapan, 2024 (also discusses The Amazing Digital Circus, RWBY, Red vs. Blue, and Homestuck)

Links

• Murder Drones page on Wikipedia
• Murder Drones page on TV Tropes
• Murder Drones Wiki on Fandom.com
• Murder Drones works on AO3
• Murder Drones works on FanFiction.Net
• murderdrones works on Wattpad
• #murder drones tag on Tumblr
• #MurderDrones tag on Twitter
• #murderdrones on Instagram
• #murderdrone on TikTok
• #murderdrones on YouTube
• murder drones on DeviantArt
• Pixiv: Murder_Drones, MurderDrones, 无机杀手
• Reddit: r/MurderDrones/, r/MurderDronesOfficial/