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[ Root has been operating on nonstop adrenaline ever since Harold let her out of the locked book cage at the library two years ago, and she understands perfectly what it's like to not take the time and space to process. You need safety for that, ideally a sympathetic ear or shoulder to cry on, and in her life there is just never any time.
Like there isn't now. This is an absurd, remarkable, miraculous second chance -- she still thinks maybe the Machine put her here on purpose, but maybe for more than one reason, now -- and Root doesn't think she'll get a third. She has to make use of it. She went from expecting to die in a war to knowing she already did. ]
We're lucky to have you, [ Root says firmly, keeping her hands clasped on his arms like she's bracing him. ] There's no one-- there's really no one else I could talk to about this.
[ Not like this. Harold isn't here. Even before she'd known they had something in common in this regard, Root had known Charles would be the right audience. ]
Like there isn't now. This is an absurd, remarkable, miraculous second chance -- she still thinks maybe the Machine put her here on purpose, but maybe for more than one reason, now -- and Root doesn't think she'll get a third. She has to make use of it. She went from expecting to die in a war to knowing she already did. ]
We're lucky to have you, [ Root says firmly, keeping her hands clasped on his arms like she's bracing him. ] There's no one-- there's really no one else I could talk to about this.
[ Not like this. Harold isn't here. Even before she'd known they had something in common in this regard, Root had known Charles would be the right audience. ]
There's no quick reboot here, [ she says harshly, the angry thrust of her emotions bursting out like steam, ] we're stuck here, and this is the only chance I have--
[ Root stops. She forcibly cuts herself off, physically stops where she is, closes her eyes. She feels... a little dizzy, like maybe she really is dead-and-gone and Sameen is right, this is something fake or distant...
But no. It's real enough that she doesn't want Shaw shooting herself. That would leave her without her for a week, again -- it's not a quick reboot -- and as it is, she has to spend the next month without her, or face the consequences. Maybe they'd be worth it, but Root already knows letting herself get punished for killing them is not what will help Shaw.
She opens her eyes and explains bluntly, ] They brought me in for sentencing.
[ Root stops. She forcibly cuts herself off, physically stops where she is, closes her eyes. She feels... a little dizzy, like maybe she really is dead-and-gone and Sameen is right, this is something fake or distant...
But no. It's real enough that she doesn't want Shaw shooting herself. That would leave her without her for a week, again -- it's not a quick reboot -- and as it is, she has to spend the next month without her, or face the consequences. Maybe they'd be worth it, but Root already knows letting herself get punished for killing them is not what will help Shaw.
She opens her eyes and explains bluntly, ] They brought me in for sentencing.
[When Root suddenly stops and closes her eyes, Shaw crosses the distance between them in just a couple of strides, studying Root's face hard and putting her hands on her shoulders to steady her. Waves of dizziness won't win on her watch; she's got this.]
Okay.
[She says slowly - tightening her grip, fingertips digging in.]
What was the verdict?
Okay.
[She says slowly - tightening her grip, fingertips digging in.]
What was the verdict?
[ It's bracing to have Shaw holding her so firmly, it has the intended effect, and Root fairly wants to scream with the idea that she's about to give it up again. ]
Nothing awful, [ she quips, with a heavy sense of tight sarcasm. ] I can't see you for a month. No interaction. I have to let you learn independence.
[ It's such a ridiculous idea that Root lets out a hollow crack of laughter. ]
Nothing awful, [ she quips, with a heavy sense of tight sarcasm. ] I can't see you for a month. No interaction. I have to let you learn independence.
[ It's such a ridiculous idea that Root lets out a hollow crack of laughter. ]
[The verdict is so not what Shaw was expecting that she has the exact same impulse. She tips her head forward and tries to muffle her laugh against Root's shoulder, not wanting to offend or give the wrong impression - but when she hears Root's own outburst, she stops bothering, lifting her face and revealing a grim smile.
It's a relief, in its own weird way. She doesn't like it, but she's glad that Root's not going to be tortured.]
I'm still going to be here, though.
[She says, giving Root's shoulders a squeeze.]
It's gonna be okay.
It's a relief, in its own weird way. She doesn't like it, but she's glad that Root's not going to be tortured.]
I'm still going to be here, though.
[She says, giving Root's shoulders a squeeze.]
It's gonna be okay.
[It's early in the 25th morning. Most people are still sleeping and the sun is only about to send its first rays to break the darkness of the night sky. But then there is a sudden knock on a door. Huh?! Who could it be! Whenever Root gets to the door, be it immediately or hours late they will find a christmas wreath with white roses placed on their doorstep. There might even be snowy (or wet!) small hoof marks leading away from the present. Hm. I wonder, who indeed did deliver this?
On the wreath there is a letter that reads:]
To miss Root,
I know that you might scoff at the Christian traditions but regardless, I hope to wish you merry Christmas. There will be a feast held at the Inn’s tavern for the next 12 days and I welcome you to enjoy it for free, of course. There will be warm food, treats and homemade mead and wine for you and your better half to indulge in. I have also decorated the church appropriately for the Christmas and it would warm my heart if you found time in your schedule to visit it.
Merry Christmas.
Signed,
Richard Plantagenet, The Duke of Gloucester
[There is also a small note added next to letter which reads: "Your first bow and arrow set are waiting for you at the forge"
ooc: There will be no ic mingle log for the feast. But feel free to either handwave or thread it out!]
On the wreath there is a letter that reads:]
To miss Root,
I know that you might scoff at the Christian traditions but regardless, I hope to wish you merry Christmas. There will be a feast held at the Inn’s tavern for the next 12 days and I welcome you to enjoy it for free, of course. There will be warm food, treats and homemade mead and wine for you and your better half to indulge in. I have also decorated the church appropriately for the Christmas and it would warm my heart if you found time in your schedule to visit it.
Merry Christmas.
Signed,
Richard Plantagenet, The Duke of Gloucester
[There is also a small note added next to letter which reads: "Your first bow and arrow set are waiting for you at the forge"
ooc: There will be no ic mingle log for the feast. But feel free to either handwave or thread it out!]
Edited (forge not fogery lmao) 2024-12-25 18:29 (UTC)
[ It should be a relief to her, too. She's glad she didn't have to eat her own words in terms of how cavalier she was about the consequences. It proves that she does understand this place and she is making measured, informed decisions.
It should be a relief. But she just stares at Shaw, the muddled fuzziness in her head making it difficult to be rational. ]
What if this is the last time I see you?
[ What if either one of them disappear before the month is over? This could be the absolute last time. She's gotten so many second chances but Root knows she won't ever get a third. ]
It should be a relief. But she just stares at Shaw, the muddled fuzziness in her head making it difficult to be rational. ]
What if this is the last time I see you?
[ What if either one of them disappear before the month is over? This could be the absolute last time. She's gotten so many second chances but Root knows she won't ever get a third. ]
[She can't say That won't happen; even for normal people, having time is never a guarantee. But it's also a possibility that Shaw is used to living with, so she's neither surprised by the question, nor paralyzed by it. She nudges her forehead against Root's neck in a way that she hopes is soothing.]
You got anything that's been left unsaid so far?
You got anything that's been left unsaid so far?
[ She closes her eyes. She knows that's fair. It's possibly the only true thing Shaw could say. Is there anything she's left unsaid? Root's called her or talked to her every time she thought she was about to die, tried to tie off those loose ends then. She can do it again.
Thinking it through, she realizes there is a second part to the conversation she'd tried to have before she died that never got resolved for her. ]
I've always thought that if you were a shape, you'd be a straight line, [ she whispers. ]
Thinking it through, she realizes there is a second part to the conversation she'd tried to have before she died that never got resolved for her. ]
I've always thought that if you were a shape, you'd be a straight line, [ she whispers. ]
[Shaw decides not to tell her that she already knows. If they do get time, then she will eventually; she thinks Root would like the idea of the Machine passing on reassurances on her behalf. For now, though, she doesn't want to derail the moment, because she has some unsaid things of her own. For her entire life, she's always felt that there were words that weren't meant for her to use: that even if she could care for people in her own way, it wasn't appropriate for her to use the same language for it that normal people did, as if doing so would somehow sully or cheapen the feeling in its full-throated form. That if she went ahead and used those words anyway, she'd be called out for being a fraud, and rightfully so.
But in that same conversation, the Machine had told her that Root thought she was beautiful for her differences and deficiencies, not in spite of them. And she thinks that means that Root won't mind her being a fraud at all.]
I, uh-- you know I love you, right?
But in that same conversation, the Machine had told her that Root thought she was beautiful for her differences and deficiencies, not in spite of them. And she thinks that means that Root won't mind her being a fraud at all.]
I, uh-- you know I love you, right?
[ Whatever she was expecting, it wasn't that. Root is surprised into a brief watery laugh, a couple tears escaping before she wipes them away and opens her eyes, at last practically falling onto Shaw to hold onto her in return. ]
I've had a few clues, [ she answers, thinking: you wouldn't sleep with me, because you took me seriously. You came back for me. You were wearing my jacket after I died. I'm your safe place. ]
What about you? Need any more clues from me, sweetie?
[ She's smiling again, eyes gleaming. It feels impossible not to smile with Shaw trusting her so much, right in front of her. And she doesn't think Shaw needs to be told directly but she's deadly serious about being willing to say it if she does. ]
I've had a few clues, [ she answers, thinking: you wouldn't sleep with me, because you took me seriously. You came back for me. You were wearing my jacket after I died. I'm your safe place. ]
What about you? Need any more clues from me, sweetie?
[ She's smiling again, eyes gleaming. It feels impossible not to smile with Shaw trusting her so much, right in front of her. And she doesn't think Shaw needs to be told directly but she's deadly serious about being willing to say it if she does. ]
[ on christmas morning, there's a long and relatively thin package, along with a note that reads, ]
Hey Root (& Shaw),
Don't know if you guys celebrate Christmas, but here goes anyway. So, remember my cricket bat? I promised you one, so here goes. Not sure what Shaw's preferred weapon is, so hope these work.
Both of you are right brills, and I'm real glad to know you both.
Love,
Charles
[ in the package, there is not a cricket bat but a baseball bat, enchanted to be more durable than a normal one, and be able to hit all kinds of normally-unhittable supernatural beings. alongside it is a box of six bullets; each enchanted with the exact same enchantment. ]
Hey Root (& Shaw),
Don't know if you guys celebrate Christmas, but here goes anyway. So, remember my cricket bat? I promised you one, so here goes. Not sure what Shaw's preferred weapon is, so hope these work.
Both of you are right brills, and I'm real glad to know you both.
Love,
Charles
[ in the package, there is not a cricket bat but a baseball bat, enchanted to be more durable than a normal one, and be able to hit all kinds of normally-unhittable supernatural beings. alongside it is a box of six bullets; each enchanted with the exact same enchantment. ]
[ we're lucky to have you, she says, and charles' expression very nearly crumbles again — because as many friends as he can say he's made here in aldrip, he still fully believes the people who could say this to him could be counted with one hand, both here and home. because he's, well, he's spent all his life and afterlife hoping he could be good enough, that maybe if he makes people happy then it'll be enough —
he manages a nod, though, because he does get her, and this situation... is quite so specific, really, he can't imagine there are too many others here who would relate.
with a shake sigh, he says, ] Just, puts one old death in perspective, doesn't it?
[ so what happened to him, and what happened to root... horrible as it is that they're both dead, well. how does it compare, in any way, to what shaw and edwin have gone through? it doesn't, that's what. ]
he manages a nod, though, because he does get her, and this situation... is quite so specific, really, he can't imagine there are too many others here who would relate.
with a shake sigh, he says, ] Just, puts one old death in perspective, doesn't it?
[ so what happened to him, and what happened to root... horrible as it is that they're both dead, well. how does it compare, in any way, to what shaw and edwin have gone through? it doesn't, that's what. ]
Like I said, [ she murmurs, ] a straight line.
[ She wishes it were that piercingly simple to her. But maybe it's like how it helps Shaw to hear what she believes about the simulation; maybe Root can let it help her to know that Shaw loves her and doesn't have any regrets. She can hold that to herself as a lodestone.
Normally she's not so quick to cry, and hearing Shaw acknowledge it out loud makes a few things fall into place. Matter of factly: ] I'm getting more disoriented the longer we talk. It's probably the simulation enforcing the sentencing conditions.
[ Which means she needs to leave. ]
[ She wishes it were that piercingly simple to her. But maybe it's like how it helps Shaw to hear what she believes about the simulation; maybe Root can let it help her to know that Shaw loves her and doesn't have any regrets. She can hold that to herself as a lodestone.
Normally she's not so quick to cry, and hearing Shaw acknowledge it out loud makes a few things fall into place. Matter of factly: ] I'm getting more disoriented the longer we talk. It's probably the simulation enforcing the sentencing conditions.
[ Which means she needs to leave. ]
You should stay.
[Shaw says, stepping back immediately and dropping her hands from Root's shoulders.]
I'm already dressed, and this was your stolen apartment first. And Bear--
[She looks down at him by her side, his tail wagging expectantly.]
He can go back and forth between us, right? You don't get disoriented around him?
[Shaw says, stepping back immediately and dropping her hands from Root's shoulders.]
I'm already dressed, and this was your stolen apartment first. And Bear--
[She looks down at him by her side, his tail wagging expectantly.]
He can go back and forth between us, right? You don't get disoriented around him?
[ She sees the sense in Root staying in Charles's apartment for the meantime, but she immediately shakes her head at the last part. ]
I don't know yet, but don't bother. He should stay with you. I'll feel better if I know you have him with you.
[ This is blatant manipulation in that Root thinks her feelings will hold some sway here, but it's also true, and she follows it up with a flinty: ]
No hard resets. Promise me.
I don't know yet, but don't bother. He should stay with you. I'll feel better if I know you have him with you.
[ This is blatant manipulation in that Root thinks her feelings will hold some sway here, but it's also true, and she follows it up with a flinty: ]
No hard resets. Promise me.
[ Shaw wouldn't make a promise she couldn't keep. Root lets that sink in and accepts the kiss, though it leaves her swaying, slowly sinking down to sit on the edge of the bed. ]
Okay, [ she breathes. ] Get out of here, then.
Okay, [ she breathes. ] Get out of here, then.
[Shaw doesn't hesitate, nor does she take the time to pack a bag or gather up any possessions: she's been here for a short enough time that she hasn't accumulated much, anything she leaves behind will be waiting for her a month from now, and any basic possessions she needs before then can be acquired elsewhere. With the clothes on her back, her gun, her tablet, and her dog, she head for the door, and she goes.]
[ Root does not really celebrate Christmas so she is absolutely unprepared for this, and just a little bit touched. It's not about the holiday to her, but that Richard thought of her at all.
She shows up at the inn's feast in a festive dress, a bit like a 50s pinup girl in bright red against her dark curled hair. She's really here for Richard, but she waits for an opportune moment to approach him, carrying a drink and smiling. It's not as easy a smile as normal -- being forcibly separated from Shaw, there's some strain to her expression, but it's subtle unless someone knows her well. ]
You didn't have to get me anything, [ she says by way of greeting. ] But I won't turn down the bow.
She shows up at the inn's feast in a festive dress, a bit like a 50s pinup girl in bright red against her dark curled hair. She's really here for Richard, but she waits for an opportune moment to approach him, carrying a drink and smiling. It's not as easy a smile as normal -- being forcibly separated from Shaw, there's some strain to her expression, but it's subtle unless someone knows her well. ]
You didn't have to get me anything, [ she says by way of greeting. ] But I won't turn down the bow.
[ Root is not expecting anything for Christmas, though if she had to guess she might've realized Charles would do something, Hallmark card that he is. She texts him back after she reads it, smiling at the message. ]
We both like hitting things, don't worry. I might have to wrestle Shaw for the bullets when I can see her again.
I didn't get you anything. Did you have a nice Christmas with Junpei?
[ Should she come up with something to give him? Root's considering it, but maybe giving him a chance to wax rhapsodic about his boyfriend would count. ]
We both like hitting things, don't worry. I might have to wrestle Shaw for the bullets when I can see her again.
I didn't get you anything. Did you have a nice Christmas with Junpei?
[ Should she come up with something to give him? Root's considering it, but maybe giving him a chance to wax rhapsodic about his boyfriend would count. ]
[ Charles is such an unfailingly giving and kind person, it seems like he should have a legion of people lining up to say how lucky they are to know him, but Root wouldn't be surprised to hear he doesn't. However cavalier she sounds when she teases him for being wholesome, she knows there is a fundamental truth behind being that giving and kind: that you get abused for it.
She's used to being guardian for Harold -- a guardian who argues with him, disagrees and respects him simultaneously -- who let herself change and be changed by him. Root already knows what it's like to care for someone who tries to take care of everyone else at any expense.
Sometimes she gets impatient or frustrated with it, but ultimately, it's that kind of mentality that had made the Machine. ]
What happened to Shaw, to your friend-- it's senseless. It's cruel. [ Root takes a breath, feeling an old, old anger at the unfairness and injustice in the world well up inside her and threaten to choke her, and she has to think about Harold, alive because of her, to salve it. ]
I chose my death. With the life I've led, a good death is a privilege. I was lucky to have it.
She's used to being guardian for Harold -- a guardian who argues with him, disagrees and respects him simultaneously -- who let herself change and be changed by him. Root already knows what it's like to care for someone who tries to take care of everyone else at any expense.
Sometimes she gets impatient or frustrated with it, but ultimately, it's that kind of mentality that had made the Machine. ]
What happened to Shaw, to your friend-- it's senseless. It's cruel. [ Root takes a breath, feeling an old, old anger at the unfairness and injustice in the world well up inside her and threaten to choke her, and she has to think about Harold, alive because of her, to salve it. ]
I chose my death. With the life I've led, a good death is a privilege. I was lucky to have it.
cool! and hey, no problem, i can make more of them... i think. takes a bit of time to get the enchantment just right, but otherwise, all good
nah, don't need anything. i don't even normally celebrate christmas, work always picks up during holidays so back home i'm just solving cases
oh right!! remember the cake you told me about? i made one and it turned out pretty aces, he liked it a lot, so, you know. thanks. and course it was great, we just stayed home, played clue, he explained the plot of this whole sequel to a movie i haven't actually seen, but he got really into it so it was cute
nah, don't need anything. i don't even normally celebrate christmas, work always picks up during holidays so back home i'm just solving cases
oh right!! remember the cake you told me about? i made one and it turned out pretty aces, he liked it a lot, so, you know. thanks. and course it was great, we just stayed home, played clue, he explained the plot of this whole sequel to a movie i haven't actually seen, but he got really into it so it was cute
Well, that's the world, innit?
[ and perhaps that is a surprising thing to hear him say, what with all of his endless optimism and cheer and kindness — but no, he knows all too well what a terrible place the world can be, how unfair, how unjust, how so many people die and no one cares.
but instead of letting that make him jaded, instead of letting that push him into cynicism, charles has made the conscious decision to let that make him better. that if no one else cares... then he will. that at least he will be as good and kind and caring as he can, because, well. change starts with you, don't it?
and yet, when root speaks of choosing her death... he can't help but bite his lip. ] Maybe. I mean, I get it, sort of. Would I rather have chosen my death than what it was? Yeah, sure. But good or bad... a death's a death.
[ and perhaps that is a surprising thing to hear him say, what with all of his endless optimism and cheer and kindness — but no, he knows all too well what a terrible place the world can be, how unfair, how unjust, how so many people die and no one cares.
but instead of letting that make him jaded, instead of letting that push him into cynicism, charles has made the conscious decision to let that make him better. that if no one else cares... then he will. that at least he will be as good and kind and caring as he can, because, well. change starts with you, don't it?
and yet, when root speaks of choosing her death... he can't help but bite his lip. ] Maybe. I mean, I get it, sort of. Would I rather have chosen my death than what it was? Yeah, sure. But good or bad... a death's a death.
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