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You know just the way to Shaw's heart with gifts of weapons. Trust me. And I LOVE the bat!
I don't normally celebrate either, so I wasn't expecting anything. [ This is more because Root is always too busy -- deliberately so -- and doesn't have anyone to celebrate with, but she hasn't even thought to regret that in years. ] Maybe I can rustle something up for you real quick.
Adorable. 🍰🎄💖 I should've figured your date nights would be wholesome. Shaw and I had different Christmas plans that got postponed. 😘🔥
I don't normally celebrate either, so I wasn't expecting anything. [ This is more because Root is always too busy -- deliberately so -- and doesn't have anyone to celebrate with, but she hasn't even thought to regret that in years. ] Maybe I can rustle something up for you real quick.
Adorable. 🍰🎄💖 I should've figured your date nights would be wholesome. Shaw and I had different Christmas plans that got postponed. 😘🔥
[ When she'd first arrived in Aldrip, she was coming from a point when she hadn't known Harold that well. But now Root has spent over a year by his side and she knows him much better, realizes his distaste for ugliness isn't naivete or weakness like she'd originally thought. Charles is really starting to remind her of Harold in a certain way, that obstinate resolution for goodness wrapped up in a different package. So she's not too surprised to hear that from Charles, with all that time with Harold behind her; she knows already Charles isn't ignorant -- how could he be, if he's solving mysteries to put ghosts to rest? He must have seen all kinds of awfulness -- but she is relieved a little, and achingly warmed.
Root couldn't be this close to someone who didn't know how to look at the ugliness that's there. That sometimes she has to be the one to do.
She sees his reticence and prods at it mercilessly, her voice confident and strong. She'd learned a few things from Harold, too. ] The Machine once told me that when she was learning how to understand people, it was often the moment right before their death that told her the most.
In the grand cosmic scheme of things, sure, death is death. But if that's all I believed then I'd still be killing people for money, no questions asked. [ Root speaks bluntly of her own sins, ruthlessly. ] There are deaths people don't deserve.
[ And conversely, those they do. Root believes that wholeheartedly. ]
Root couldn't be this close to someone who didn't know how to look at the ugliness that's there. That sometimes she has to be the one to do.
She sees his reticence and prods at it mercilessly, her voice confident and strong. She'd learned a few things from Harold, too. ] The Machine once told me that when she was learning how to understand people, it was often the moment right before their death that told her the most.
In the grand cosmic scheme of things, sure, death is death. But if that's all I believed then I'd still be killing people for money, no questions asked. [ Root speaks bluntly of her own sins, ruthlessly. ] There are deaths people don't deserve.
[ And conversely, those they do. Root believes that wholeheartedly. ]
somehow seemed like it might be, for both of you. but hey, i'm glad
nah, you don't need to, honest! what'd i even need? unless you wanna get some dog treats for gab?
[ and her calling their date nights wholesome makes charles feel like he might be blushing, if he could be — embarrassed in a quietly pleased way. ]
honestly? as long as i'm with him, it's all good.
[ their date nights very often end up with just the two of them holding each other, which is perfect, actually!
and though text doesn't transfer his tone, he's definitely laughing a little when he responds, ] well, something to look forward to, innit?
nah, you don't need to, honest! what'd i even need? unless you wanna get some dog treats for gab?
[ and her calling their date nights wholesome makes charles feel like he might be blushing, if he could be — embarrassed in a quietly pleased way. ]
honestly? as long as i'm with him, it's all good.
[ their date nights very often end up with just the two of them holding each other, which is perfect, actually!
and though text doesn't transfer his tone, he's definitely laughing a little when he responds, ] well, something to look forward to, innit?
I like them too but I have more varied interests than Shaw. I'm thinking of going on a redecorating spree while I'm stuck here alone in this apartment. Want to help?
Cute as that is, I was thinking some dark web communicators with locator signals for you and your honey, so you can always find one another. They worked during the doppelganger fiasco for Shaw and I. Kind of lame since it's something I'd have given you anyway, but it's at least something you can't get yourself.
[ See? Absolutely wholesome. Root can't know what Charles is thinking or that he's laughing, but she's making a few assumptions along those lines and those assumptions are in the vein of correct. ]
I got her a gift and everything 😉 but I won't deny just spending time with her is the real draw.
Cute as that is, I was thinking some dark web communicators with locator signals for you and your honey, so you can always find one another. They worked during the doppelganger fiasco for Shaw and I. Kind of lame since it's something I'd have given you anyway, but it's at least something you can't get yourself.
[ See? Absolutely wholesome. Root can't know what Charles is thinking or that he's laughing, but she's making a few assumptions along those lines and those assumptions are in the vein of correct. ]
I got her a gift and everything 😉 but I won't deny just spending time with her is the real draw.
[ he looks away, for a moment, chuckles humourlessly. ]
What, right before their death? So what would she get out of a boy sacrificed to a demon, utterly terrified? Or a girl, stabbed through the chest and bleeding out on the floor?
[ edwin, niko — unfair, unfair, unfair. he shakes his head. ] That's not what I meant. A death's a death — whoever it is that dies, whether they deserved it or not, however they went... there's no undo button.
[ because no matter what, that life... is gone. and it's not that he disagrees with root, not really — yeah, sure, there's deaths that people don't deserve, and deaths they do. there's deaths people choose, and deaths they don't. but in the end, ] I can't bring back anyone, can I? Every single unfair death, every ghost I meet, whether they deserved to die or not... there's no way to bring them back to life. There's enough death in the world without me adding to it. Maybe someone's fit to choose who deserves to live and who deserves to die, but as long as I can't make sure of the former, I'm not gonna do the latter, either.
What, right before their death? So what would she get out of a boy sacrificed to a demon, utterly terrified? Or a girl, stabbed through the chest and bleeding out on the floor?
[ edwin, niko — unfair, unfair, unfair. he shakes his head. ] That's not what I meant. A death's a death — whoever it is that dies, whether they deserved it or not, however they went... there's no undo button.
[ because no matter what, that life... is gone. and it's not that he disagrees with root, not really — yeah, sure, there's deaths that people don't deserve, and deaths they do. there's deaths people choose, and deaths they don't. but in the end, ] I can't bring back anyone, can I? Every single unfair death, every ghost I meet, whether they deserved to die or not... there's no way to bring them back to life. There's enough death in the world without me adding to it. Maybe someone's fit to choose who deserves to live and who deserves to die, but as long as I can't make sure of the former, I'm not gonna do the latter, either.
yeah, course i wanna help! sounds brills
wait, you'd get those for us? that's... yeah, that'd be great, actually. thanks. it's not lame at all, i really appreciate it
yeah, maybe best that's all i know about the gift. but... yeah. much else doesn't really matter, does it?
wait, you'd get those for us? that's... yeah, that'd be great, actually. thanks. it's not lame at all, i really appreciate it
yeah, maybe best that's all i know about the gift. but... yeah. much else doesn't really matter, does it?
She learned that people don't end when they die.
[ Root meets Charles's eyes insistently, a full wellspring of passionate belief burgeoning up inside her. The dedication and devotion that she has, that she chooses to direct at the Machine, at Harold, at Sameen, and now a little bit at Charles. Someone strong enough not just to survive but to change. ]
If one person loves us, remembers us -- if we help even one person -- there's something that goes on after us. People die and they can't come back. We can't come back.
But there's a person I care about very much -- [ she stumbles a bit verbally, realizing the way she describes Harold has changed, that he's no longer the man who made god or the architect of the future, but in this context just-- ] a friend, the best I've ever had. He's alive out there because of me.
The world is harsh and terrible, but that doesn't make it pointless. Not like being killed over and over again, like a life is cheap.
[ She used to think that way, believed it fully as a way to protect and insulate herself, but she can't anymore. She just can't. It's been too many years with the Machine and with Harold. ]
[ Root meets Charles's eyes insistently, a full wellspring of passionate belief burgeoning up inside her. The dedication and devotion that she has, that she chooses to direct at the Machine, at Harold, at Sameen, and now a little bit at Charles. Someone strong enough not just to survive but to change. ]
If one person loves us, remembers us -- if we help even one person -- there's something that goes on after us. People die and they can't come back. We can't come back.
But there's a person I care about very much -- [ she stumbles a bit verbally, realizing the way she describes Harold has changed, that he's no longer the man who made god or the architect of the future, but in this context just-- ] a friend, the best I've ever had. He's alive out there because of me.
The world is harsh and terrible, but that doesn't make it pointless. Not like being killed over and over again, like a life is cheap.
[ She used to think that way, believed it fully as a way to protect and insulate herself, but she can't anymore. She just can't. It's been too many years with the Machine and with Harold. ]
Purple shag carpet? Beaded lamp? I want to make Shaw cringe as much as possible when she's back.
Less get them, more make them. You know I'm not just a pretty face for my A.I. overlord, right? Oh, maybe you don't. I'm kind of a big deal in all the wrong tech circles. Or I was.
That's sweet and all, but let me know if you need advice. You look like you died when you were a teenager. Stay safe!
Less get them, more make them. You know I'm not just a pretty face for my A.I. overlord, right? Oh, maybe you don't. I'm kind of a big deal in all the wrong tech circles. Or I was.
That's sweet and all, but let me know if you need advice. You look like you died when you were a teenager. Stay safe!
oh i'm so in, i was alive in the 70s, i've got this
wait, really? i mean, i figured you're aces with tech since you seemed to know your stuff back when we did the reset, but i didn't know you make things, too. but that's even better, then
and uh
wait, advice as in... no, no, i'm good, thanks
i mean, you're not wrong, but i have existed for decades so i am actually older than i look
besides, it's not like either of us can get pregnant, can we? and the ghost thing means, you know
[ no diseases or anything....... god why is he answering this still. he should have stopped typing like a full minute ago, someone take the tablet away from him before he impulsively embarrasses himself even worse, ]
wait, really? i mean, i figured you're aces with tech since you seemed to know your stuff back when we did the reset, but i didn't know you make things, too. but that's even better, then
and uh
wait, advice as in... no, no, i'm good, thanks
i mean, you're not wrong, but i have existed for decades so i am actually older than i look
besides, it's not like either of us can get pregnant, can we? and the ghost thing means, you know
[ no diseases or anything....... god why is he answering this still. he should have stopped typing like a full minute ago, someone take the tablet away from him before he impulsively embarrasses himself even worse, ]
[It is almost funny. Richard had never particularly thought himself as a devout man, as most of the worship and church attending that he did back at home was for show. It was what was expected of a man with his social standing, after all. But here in Aldrip? He supposes he must come across as religious person when compared to all of these other people, who would for most part laugh at the idea of visiting church and did not pay God any mind.
However, in truth Richard's relationship to God was... complicated to say, the least. As much as he wished to he could never completely reject God, always seeking for the approval from the divine despite not believing it to be possible. Which was all part of the reason for this production of Christmas preparations and celebrations. That and well.. it did feel weird not to do something for such culturally significant event. As for why Root had made it in his pool of present receivers? Well. What can he say. The woman had left an impression quite like no one else.
Richard is present at the feast when Root arrives. He takes the note of the woman and her.. interesting choice of fashion. Again, talk about the impression. He is mostly just overseeing that things go smoothly during the celebrations rather than partaking in any of it himself. So, it is not too difficult for Root to catch him alone and free.]
Miss Root, [He offers a brief and polite bow of head as a greeting, noticing the slight difference in her demeanor.] It warms my heart to see you here. As for the gift? I did promise you one, did I not?
However, in truth Richard's relationship to God was... complicated to say, the least. As much as he wished to he could never completely reject God, always seeking for the approval from the divine despite not believing it to be possible. Which was all part of the reason for this production of Christmas preparations and celebrations. That and well.. it did feel weird not to do something for such culturally significant event. As for why Root had made it in his pool of present receivers? Well. What can he say. The woman had left an impression quite like no one else.
Richard is present at the feast when Root arrives. He takes the note of the woman and her.. interesting choice of fashion. Again, talk about the impression. He is mostly just overseeing that things go smoothly during the celebrations rather than partaking in any of it himself. So, it is not too difficult for Root to catch him alone and free.]
Miss Root, [He offers a brief and polite bow of head as a greeting, noticing the slight difference in her demeanor.] It warms my heart to see you here. As for the gift? I did promise you one, did I not?
I was just a little baby. Can't wait to learn from the expert!
Mostly I'm a hacker. But I know quality when I see it. Like my lady 🥰✨✨✨
You know safe sex means more than STIs and pregnancy, right? The consent discourse was not so advanced in the 70s. We have safe, sane consensual (SSC) and risk aware consensual kink (RACK) now. I'm more of a RACK person, personally, but I bet you're SSC.
Mostly I'm a hacker. But I know quality when I see it. Like my lady 🥰✨✨✨
You know safe sex means more than STIs and pregnancy, right? The consent discourse was not so advanced in the 70s. We have safe, sane consensual (SSC) and risk aware consensual kink (RACK) now. I'm more of a RACK person, personally, but I bet you're SSC.
i mean to be fair, it's the 80s i remember a lot better, and the end of the 70s. i was a baby in the early 70s too so
oh so you... hack stuff? like, database stuff, i know that much
hold on a minute. i mean, i didn't stop existing in the 80s so i've sort of kept up with things, you know, pride and whatnot, yeah? things are a lot better nowadays than they used to be, it was the whole, uh, aids crisis when i was alive and all
but anyway, i know the first but not the second, what's that
[ he's forgetting to be embarrassed because he's curious, don't mind him — ]
oh so you... hack stuff? like, database stuff, i know that much
hold on a minute. i mean, i didn't stop existing in the 80s so i've sort of kept up with things, you know, pride and whatnot, yeah? things are a lot better nowadays than they used to be, it was the whole, uh, aids crisis when i was alive and all
but anyway, i know the first but not the second, what's that
[ he's forgetting to be embarrassed because he's curious, don't mind him — ]
Oh, so we're actually close to the same age. Cool. I'm down for some 80s vibes, too. Time to get a ficus!
Databases, sure. I haven't found something yet I couldn't digitally break into if I wanted.
Great, then I don't need to watch my words 😘 RACK means there's nothing hypothetically off-limits, it's about understanding the risks and what you're willing to accept. You have to talk about what you're both getting into and communicate your limits.
Not that Sameen and I set limits, but we're professionals. You should do the talking.
Databases, sure. I haven't found something yet I couldn't digitally break into if I wanted.
Great, then I don't need to watch my words 😘 RACK means there's nothing hypothetically off-limits, it's about understanding the risks and what you're willing to accept. You have to talk about what you're both getting into and communicate your limits.
Not that Sameen and I set limits, but we're professionals. You should do the talking.
hey, that's pretty brills, innit? but yeah, let's go on a decorating spree
huh, yeah, that's not something people were talking about back when i was alive
don't think it's something for us, thanks though
[ mostly because, hm, junpei's been through A Fucking Lot in terms of his whole murder trap room experiences, and his limited knowledge of, hm, anything that might fall under this whole rack thing is stuff like being tied up or whatnot and he just can't imagine either of them enjoying any of that at all. it's the saccharinely sweet life for them — ]
wait, sameen??? is that shaw's first name?
huh, yeah, that's not something people were talking about back when i was alive
don't think it's something for us, thanks though
[ mostly because, hm, junpei's been through A Fucking Lot in terms of his whole murder trap room experiences, and his limited knowledge of, hm, anything that might fall under this whole rack thing is stuff like being tied up or whatnot and he just can't imagine either of them enjoying any of that at all. it's the saccharinely sweet life for them — ]
wait, sameen??? is that shaw's first name?
[ Root has been a staunch atheist all her life, despairing of others and their religious beliefs in a frankly scornful way. At least until she'd found the Machine. Now she understands a little, and despairs differently: that they're looking to something that doesn't exist, when there's something that does.
But she knows social convention very well and she's hardly about to pick Christmas to pick a fight with a Christian over their beliefs. For the time being, she's on good behavior. It would be easy to put on an effortlessly elegant affectation, but for some reason she finds herself being forthright instead. ]
Still more than I expected. I never thought I'd find so many people who'd think of me, not even in a place like this. You know what I mean?
[ Root thinks he might understand, somehow. ]
But she knows social convention very well and she's hardly about to pick Christmas to pick a fight with a Christian over their beliefs. For the time being, she's on good behavior. It would be easy to put on an effortlessly elegant affectation, but for some reason she finds herself being forthright instead. ]
Still more than I expected. I never thought I'd find so many people who'd think of me, not even in a place like this. You know what I mean?
[ Root thinks he might understand, somehow. ]
This will be such a fun project! 🥳
I figured. Like I said, you seem like a safe, sane and consensual sort of person. Strict limits and all that. But if things ever get 🌶🌶🌶 I'm here for you!
Yup. It's not a secret or anything, she just doesn't use it much. So military. Took me a couple years to feel like I could use it.
I figured. Like I said, you seem like a safe, sane and consensual sort of person. Strict limits and all that. But if things ever get 🌶🌶🌶 I'm here for you!
Yup. It's not a secret or anything, she just doesn't use it much. So military. Took me a couple years to feel like I could use it.
thanks. i mean it, i do appreciate it, even though i don't think i'm gonna need the advice
huh, so i better keep calling her shaw then, i guess
wait
is root your first or last name
or like a cool adopted alias like 007
huh, so i better keep calling her shaw then, i guess
wait
is root your first or last name
or like a cool adopted alias like 007
[ he can't help but huff something like a laugh at that — because, well, obviously people don't end when they die, he's not-living proof of exactly that. but their lives sure do end.
but then she keeps talking, and charles can't help the way his eyes soften with sadness when she keeps speaking about her friend — it hits a little too close to home, that, even if ultimately it's hardly the same thing, how she died and how he did.
and yet... ]
Yeah, I know. Course it's not pointless. It's harsh and terrible, yeah, but that's why it matters what we do, right? [ so he gets it, he does, he does. ]
... I told you I died to defend someone, too, didn't I?
but then she keeps talking, and charles can't help the way his eyes soften with sadness when she keeps speaking about her friend — it hits a little too close to home, that, even if ultimately it's hardly the same thing, how she died and how he did.
and yet... ]
Yeah, I know. Course it's not pointless. It's harsh and terrible, yeah, but that's why it matters what we do, right? [ so he gets it, he does, he does. ]
... I told you I died to defend someone, too, didn't I?
It's all good, just wanted to make sure you know Auntie Root is here for you if you need anything. 👋 Don't go searching the Aldrip internet, now!
More like 007. I haven't used my birth name in a long time. Most of the time I'm working under a false identity the Machine made for me. Only the people who actually know me get to use Root.
More like 007. I haven't used my birth name in a long time. Most of the time I'm working under a false identity the Machine made for me. Only the people who actually know me get to use Root.
[ Obvious to him, maybe. To Root and her entire world, the afterlife is still a giant question mark, one she doesn't personally believe in. The only form of afterlife she knows is what she has here, and the assurance that her actions in life had meant something after she was gone.
But right now is not the time to be proselytizing the Machine's message, and Charles doesn't need to hear it. He's been nothing but completely respectful of her, so Root has nothing to prove in that regard, and this conversation isn't really about that. ]
Yeah. You did. [ Root meets his eyes with a soft painful kind of empathy. ] And I said we should trade stories sometime.
[ She'd already shared a bit of hers, so she stops there, leaves the air open. ]
But right now is not the time to be proselytizing the Machine's message, and Charles doesn't need to hear it. He's been nothing but completely respectful of her, so Root has nothing to prove in that regard, and this conversation isn't really about that. ]
Yeah. You did. [ Root meets his eyes with a soft painful kind of empathy. ] And I said we should trade stories sometime.
[ She'd already shared a bit of hers, so she stops there, leaves the air open. ]
auntie? no you're more like a cool big sister
[ and he wouldn't go searching the aldrip internet, no, him and junpei already agreed that they'd much rather figure things out together than ask anyone — ]
wait, really? that's honestly pretty brills. then i'm right lucky i get to call you root, yeah?
[ and he wouldn't go searching the aldrip internet, no, him and junpei already agreed that they'd much rather figure things out together than ask anyone — ]
wait, really? that's honestly pretty brills. then i'm right lucky i get to call you root, yeah?
[ trade stories? maybe. his isn't — it's not the kind of story he imagines hers might be, dying to protect a friend, choosing death because that's a better option than letting someone else die; his is depressing, really, and the two people he's told about it before, here... well, both had been angry about it, in their own ways.
he isn't sure he wants root's anger, or her pity, but at least speaking the truth of it all, to her, isn't making him feel like he wants to drop through the floor, so that's something. ]
Not much of a story, [ he says, tilting his head up, looking at the ceiling. ] There was this new guy at school, from Pakistan. And a group of blokes, some of my friends [ his voice does something strange at the word 'friends', there, brittle and yet huffing with something like humour, ] from the cricket team, they were picking on him, yeah? Except then it got... serious, and I thought, hell, I'm not any different from him, am I? So I stopped them.
[ and gave them a new target, really. he's not explaining the rest, the lake and the stones and how he'd thought he'd just get away from them, dry off somewhere, how it'd be fine. how he'd died of hypothermia and internal bleeding and hadn't even realised, until he was already dead, looking down at his own body. ]
he isn't sure he wants root's anger, or her pity, but at least speaking the truth of it all, to her, isn't making him feel like he wants to drop through the floor, so that's something. ]
Not much of a story, [ he says, tilting his head up, looking at the ceiling. ] There was this new guy at school, from Pakistan. And a group of blokes, some of my friends [ his voice does something strange at the word 'friends', there, brittle and yet huffing with something like humour, ] from the cricket team, they were picking on him, yeah? Except then it got... serious, and I thought, hell, I'm not any different from him, am I? So I stopped them.
[ and gave them a new target, really. he's not explaining the rest, the lake and the stones and how he'd thought he'd just get away from them, dry off somewhere, how it'd be fine. how he'd died of hypothermia and internal bleeding and hadn't even realised, until he was already dead, looking down at his own body. ]
[ Charles that's literally how you get into trouble but hey not like Root is out here making smart choices ]
Aw, shucks. That's sweet of you to say. Afterlife sibs 👻💃
I feel like I'm the lucky one. I considered picking a fake name when I showed up, but it seemed a little pointless if I wanted to get everyone to trust me about the A.I. And now here I am with friends and everything.
Aw, shucks. That's sweet of you to say. Afterlife sibs 👻💃
I feel like I'm the lucky one. I considered picking a fake name when I showed up, but it seemed a little pointless if I wanted to get everyone to trust me about the A.I. And now here I am with friends and everything.
hah, yeah. those emoticon things us? [ see he knows a word! albeit a little old-fashioned... ]
never know how it's gonna go, yeah? but i'm right chuffed it went this way for you. for both of us, actually
never know how it's gonna go, yeah? but i'm right chuffed it went this way for you. for both of us, actually
The youth these days call them emoji 😉
I'm right chuffed, too.
I'm right chuffed, too.
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