More information than I had before, so thanks. I'll keep looking.
That's the most wholesome thing I've ever heard. [ That's a tease; she's surprised and delighted to hear this. ] You thinking that about someone in particular with that?
Some people disappeared in the reset, but it's hard to tell just yet if it's actually related. People disappear all the time anyway, and there's usually a delay in respawning. The A.I. seemed pretty certain the reset would get everything back to functioning under normal parameters.
let me know if you find out more, yeah? i'm worried about her, too.
more wholesome than fighting a latvian mob? with, hm, visas, was it? [ he's so going to remember this. but, ] yeah. my boyfriend
yeah... you're right. i noticed it too. some people i went to ketsora with never came back from the portal and i don't know if they're gone-gone or just... temporarily gone. hoping for the latter but guess we'll see
I will. Thanks, Charles. It means a lot that there's other people here who care about her.
Well, my favorite partner in crime isn't here, so I'm in the market for a new accomplice. [ Is Root talking about dating or crimes? It's definitely both. ] Tell me about your boyfriend? 👀
New people arrive in waves, right? Monthly? Maybe they'll show up next month. Just got scheduled to go in the next code batch update, as it were.
that so? then i'm all in favour of you asking her for coffee or whatever. keeping fingers crossed for you [ and he's not even joking he's genuinely now invested in this...
and perhaps it's good this is via text, because the sappiness just about bleeds through it all anyway, ]
he's pretty aces. he's not exactly a people person, you know, but when you get to know him, he's real funny and sweet and cares about everyone and everything so damn much... and i mean, doesn't hurt he's easy on the eyes. and just, he's the best part of this whole place.
[ ok sappy interlude over — ] huh, never thought about it that way, but that makes a lot of sense. i'm gonna believe that you're right about it and they'll be back
[ Root can only handle so much sentiment aimed directly at her at the moment. She's upset, she feels like a failure, she's worried -- and she's still frankly astounded to have found a whole, like, three people who believe in her here.
So she moves right along. ]
So far it's taking her a little bit to get with the program. She's all hung up on the fact that she tried to kill me.
Oh, he's here??? I didn't know that! What's his name? I'll keep an eye out for him 😘✨
If they don't I'll rethink my assumptions, but typically major updates get released on a schedule, not out of nowhere. Too bad I can't just ask her... [ Root is seriously missing having an A.I. in her ear. Constantly, she misses it constantly, an echoing ache that never leaves. But she still doesn't want to harp on that, so: ] I guess we'll see.
[ the one thing you can always count on: for charles to be ready with unwavering support and sentiment. oops! ]
just give her a bit of time, she'll come round, i reckon.
yeah, we met here, so... anyway, his name's junpei. i'm pretty sure that's his name on the phones too. but you should definitely talk to him, he's [ perfect ] great ❤️
no, you've gotta be right, that's the best explanation for the weirdess, for sure. guess we're waiting for that to happen, then. [ and because he remembers how warmly she spoke of her ai back home... ] hey... i'm sorry, yeah? you've got to miss her a lot. the one here and the one from home, too. can't be easy for you, this.
How optimistic of you! Don't worry, I'm not easily dissuaded. I bet she's never had anyone appreciate how impressively terrifying she is 🥰
I can't wait to meet him. [ This is genuine; when Root makes a friend, she goes all in, sometimes uncomfortably so. In any case, Junpei is immediately on her kill to defend list. And she recognizes the name structure. ] Is he Japanese? I speak a little.
[ Oh no, Root is prepared for this level of empathy aimed at her. ]
Don't give me too much credit, I just have a little more experience than the rest of you. I could be wrong. [ Lowering expectations is a good first step. And then, despite herself, she can't help but respond genuinely to the rest. ] Don't get me wrong, I want to save the A.I. we know here. She protected us at the cost of her life. But there's nothing like the Machine. I would do anything for her.
[ She already lost her hearing in one ear, and she doesn't regret it. ]
hey, well spotted. but yeah, he is. he's lived in the states for pretty long though. so even without this place translating it'd be fine... otherwise i'd be screwed, i don't speak a lick of japanese. [ and really, that root is genuinely looking forward to meeting him — that means a lot to charles. ]
could also be right.
you know, you never told me more about her - the machine, i mean. you got anything right now you can't postpone? we could hang out, you could tell me about her. high time we chatted outside of the phones too, yeah?
I'd offer to teach you some to make him blush but I guess with the translations up and working again, there's not much point. Just make sure you have strawberry sponge cake on Christmas together this year 🍰🍰🍰😉
More than ready to meet outside of texting, but are you sure you really want to sit through me waxing eloquent about a computer?
[ She knows how she sounds and she's not used to anyone volunteering for it. ]
well, shit. don't get me wrong, i'm glad nothing's going haywire anymore, but i'm proper mad that you can't teach me those things... though i guess i do alright with making him blush anyway! but right, noting that down, then. i can't eat but i can learn how to make some for him, i reckon. thanks.
hey, wouldn't have said so if i wasn't, now would i?
that's that trendy thing people're going crazy about, innit? wasn't a thing in london when i was still alive, so you're gonna have to describe it for me.
I'll be there, with cool trendy thing I can describe for you 😘
[ Root has an easier time acting cavalier over text; in person she's a bit strung out, morose, still recovering from her weeks of nonstop head-down focus on saving them as well as the A.I. But she's kept herself busy, hasn't just been moping. She's sitting at an outdoor wrought-iron bistro table with a lab jacket and fake glasses thrown onto a spare chair, and she has one leg crossed over the other in a sprightly, fall-patterned sweater dress as she slurps a boba.
When she realizes the person approaching is Charles, she sets down her drink and a true smile breaks over her tired face. Root in person is intense, and she already likes Charles, which means all of her considerable focus is centered precisely on him. ]
Gonna have to give you a failing grade on being a spooky Halloween ghost. Total letdown.
[ if anything, though, her focus only seems to make him grin at her brighter — and instead of waving at her or something like that, what he does is simply walk up to her and give her a tight hug in greeting.
as he pulls back, with a raise of his brows, ]
Right, sorry to disappoint. I could try and emulate a vengeful ghost, if you want?
[ or he could just do this: let his body turn blue and translucent as he walks right through her, before turning back corporeal and distinctly alive-looking behind her chair as he leans down and says, right near her ear, ] Boo.
[ through all this, his eyes are sparkling with amusement; it's clear he's just trying his best to play along and make her smile. ]
[ Being so close to her right ear, Charles might notice that Root has a cochlear implant, the transmitter more subtle than most but still tucked up in her hair behind the shell of her ear.
Even sad and tired and disappointed, Root is a vivacious personality. She's a good hugger, returns the gesture firmly and without hesitation, and she smiles easily and widely at Charles's transparent attempts to return her humor. ]
Nope, not scared of you at all. In fact, I might even use the word adorable.
[ He looks like he's about to ask someone out to prom. It's so cute. Root normally doesn't care about kids or teenagers in particular, but once she's fond of someone she goes all in, and everything becomes endearing. ]
[ the implant doesn't escape his notice, and he makes a mental note of it — something to perhaps ask her later, that. now, though, he just hugs her and then laughs as he directs a wide, bright smile at her, one that's both amused and affectionate. ]
Well, excuse me if I'm taking that as a compliment.
[ someone else might protest the wording — but no, fuck yeah he's adorable and he knows how to use his charm to his advantage, too. ]
You should, [ she says cheekily. ] It's good to see you, too. I don't say this lightly, but it's nice to get away from a screen for a while.
[ Root's a consummate computer nerd but she's also someone who typically spends her days in high-octane shoot outs in between her stints behind a keyboard. She's been really missing the other half of that equation lately. Being idle is not helping her mental state, so she's trying to stay busy. Meeting up with Charles helps with that. ]
Right, kids nowadays, yeah? Glued to their screens.
[ somehow, he manages to say this with an entirely straight face, clicking his tongue disapprovingly to punctuate the point, before he finally dissolves into snickers over his own silly joke.
the look he aims at her then is bright and yet somehow considering — like he's about to ask her whether she's really doing alright... but instead, he nods towards the cup she's abandoned on the table. ]
So, that any good? What do the little nuggets there even do?
Tapioca. They're like little chewy yogurt pearls. It's a dessert drink -- they all are, but this one's green tea and strawberry. You can have jelly in them, too.
[ Root picks up her boba and takes an ostentatious slurp through the over-large straw. She's fine, obviously, totally fine. ]
... You don't really have to listen to me talk about my boss, you know. We can just talk about boba.
[ She's still kind of weirded out he'd offered at all. Normally the Machine is a high tier secret, so secret people are regularly killed to keep it that way, and more to the point she knows she's a hard pill to swallow and almost no one willingly solicits her thoughts from her. ]
... huh. That doesn't sound too bad. [ with a slight smile, ] If I ever turn human again here, I know what to try.
[ but then that smile softens into something more quiet, understanding — because he may not know all the details... but he can see she is trying to give him an out. and so, with a shake of his head, ]
I know I don't have to. I'd like to, though, if that's okay. I meant what I said.
[ Root's curious about how and when that happened, and what it was like for him, but she's a skilled conversationalist and she wouldn't make so obvious a left turn away from her own topic. Something for later. ]
It's okay with me, [ she assures him. She sets her boba down on the table, gazing down as if lost in thought. ] It's just-- well, normally I don't get to talk about her much, except with the person who made her. And he has his own feelings about her.
[ Root and Harold do not see eye to eye on the Machine, suffice to say. Root is slightly off the deep end about the Machine and about him. ]
She doesn't really talk to anyone except me, either. Not really. We have a special relationship.
[ his small smile remains as she gathers her thoughts — he did mean it all, he is here to listen to her, as much or as little as she wants to share. ]
Oh? She only talks to you? How'd that come about, then?
[ a special relationship... it's obvious from her voice how much she means to her, and charles pulls a chair for himself, careful to avoid the iron of the table. ]
[ She notices him avoiding the table -- she's a damn good assassin even if she's not assassinating anyone these days -- and files that away for later.
That's such a big question, she huffs out a breath, amused and a little overwhelmed as she thinks back on it. ] Short version? I saw her code and decided I was going to dedicate the rest of my life to her.
Most people don't know she exists, so she's limited in what she can do. I'm her interface with the world. Whatever she wants me to do, I do. I trust her. And she trusts me.
[ Root has an almost religious tone to her voice, a sense of awe and responsibility to live up to what her god sees in her. But there's a personal, aching fondness there, too, like a zealot who's been visited by Jesus and felt divinely loved. She would do anything for her. Anything. ]
Oh, [ says charles, again, though this time it is less of a question and more of a hum, a quiet sound of understanding. ]
So you're sorta like her prophet, then?
[ yes, speaking in religious terms, here — not least because the respect and awe drips from her every word, but also because this is easier for him to conceptualise than interface; computer terminology has never been his strong suit. though he adds then, after a moment, ] Or an agent? Like, she's M and you're Bond.
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not that exact thing, but... if "i'd really love to watch him laugh for the rest of my existence" works, then i think i know what you mean, yeah.
[ allow him three seconds to feel sappy about his boyfriend, okay right, focusing on the topic at hand, sorry caitlyn, ]
didn't know her, no. her name's caitlyn. just hoping she'll come back after a tick like people tend to do.
and yeah, course i'm okay
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That's the most wholesome thing I've ever heard. [ That's a tease; she's surprised and delighted to hear this. ] You thinking that about someone in particular with that?
Some people disappeared in the reset, but it's hard to tell just yet if it's actually related. People disappear all the time anyway, and there's usually a delay in respawning. The A.I. seemed pretty certain the reset would get everything back to functioning under normal parameters.
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more wholesome than fighting a latvian mob? with, hm, visas, was it? [ he's so going to remember this. but, ] yeah. my boyfriend
yeah... you're right. i noticed it too. some people i went to ketsora with never came back from the portal and i don't know if they're gone-gone or just... temporarily gone. hoping for the latter but guess we'll see
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Well, my favorite partner in crime isn't here, so I'm in the market for a new accomplice. [ Is Root talking about dating or crimes? It's definitely both. ] Tell me about your boyfriend? 👀
New people arrive in waves, right? Monthly? Maybe they'll show up next month. Just got scheduled to go in the next code batch update, as it were.
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that so? then i'm all in favour of you asking her for coffee or whatever. keeping fingers crossed for you [ and he's not even joking he's genuinely now invested in this...
and perhaps it's good this is via text, because the sappiness just about bleeds through it all anyway, ]
he's pretty aces. he's not exactly a people person, you know, but when you get to know him, he's real funny and sweet and cares about everyone and everything so damn much... and i mean, doesn't hurt he's easy on the eyes. and just, he's the best part of this whole place.
[ ok sappy interlude over — ] huh, never thought about it that way, but that makes a lot of sense. i'm gonna believe that you're right about it and they'll be back
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So she moves right along. ]
So far it's taking her a little bit to get with the program. She's all hung up on the fact that she tried to kill me.
Oh, he's here??? I didn't know that! What's his name? I'll keep an eye out for him 😘✨
If they don't I'll rethink my assumptions, but typically major updates get released on a schedule, not out of nowhere. Too bad I can't just ask her... [ Root is seriously missing having an A.I. in her ear. Constantly, she misses it constantly, an echoing ache that never leaves. But she still doesn't want to harp on that, so: ] I guess we'll see.
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just give her a bit of time, she'll come round, i reckon.
yeah, we met here, so... anyway, his name's junpei. i'm pretty sure that's his name on the phones too. but you should definitely talk to him, he's [ perfect ] great ❤️
no, you've gotta be right, that's the best explanation for the weirdess, for sure. guess we're waiting for that to happen, then. [ and because he remembers how warmly she spoke of her ai back home... ] hey... i'm sorry, yeah? you've got to miss her a lot. the one here and the one from home, too. can't be easy for you, this.
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I can't wait to meet him. [ This is genuine; when Root makes a friend, she goes all in, sometimes uncomfortably so. In any case, Junpei is immediately on her kill to defend list. And she recognizes the name structure. ] Is he Japanese? I speak a little.
[ Oh no, Root is prepared for this level of empathy aimed at her. ]
Don't give me too much credit, I just have a little more experience than the rest of you. I could be wrong. [ Lowering expectations is a good first step. And then, despite herself, she can't help but respond genuinely to the rest. ] Don't get me wrong, I want to save the A.I. we know here. She protected us at the cost of her life. But there's nothing like the Machine. I would do anything for her.
[ She already lost her hearing in one ear, and she doesn't regret it. ]
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hey, well spotted. but yeah, he is. he's lived in the states for pretty long though. so even without this place translating it'd be fine... otherwise i'd be screwed, i don't speak a lick of japanese. [ and really, that root is genuinely looking forward to meeting him — that means a lot to charles. ]
could also be right.
you know, you never told me more about her - the machine, i mean. you got anything right now you can't postpone? we could hang out, you could tell me about her. high time we chatted outside of the phones too, yeah?
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More than ready to meet outside of texting, but are you sure you really want to sit through me waxing eloquent about a computer?
[ She knows how she sounds and she's not used to anyone volunteering for it. ]
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hey, wouldn't have said so if i wasn't, now would i?
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Aw, that's too bad. I was going to invite you to have boba with me.
Meet me there anyway?
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yeah, course. in twenty?
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[ Root has an easier time acting cavalier over text; in person she's a bit strung out, morose, still recovering from her weeks of nonstop head-down focus on saving them as well as the A.I. But she's kept herself busy, hasn't just been moping. She's sitting at an outdoor wrought-iron bistro table with a lab jacket and fake glasses thrown onto a spare chair, and she has one leg crossed over the other in a sprightly, fall-patterned sweater dress as she slurps a boba.
When she realizes the person approaching is Charles, she sets down her drink and a true smile breaks over her tired face. Root in person is intense, and she already likes Charles, which means all of her considerable focus is centered precisely on him. ]
Gonna have to give you a failing grade on being a spooky Halloween ghost. Total letdown.
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as he pulls back, with a raise of his brows, ]
Right, sorry to disappoint. I could try and emulate a vengeful ghost, if you want?
[ or he could just do this: let his body turn blue and translucent as he walks right through her, before turning back corporeal and distinctly alive-looking behind her chair as he leans down and says, right near her ear, ] Boo.
[ through all this, his eyes are sparkling with amusement; it's clear he's just trying his best to play along and make her smile. ]
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Even sad and tired and disappointed, Root is a vivacious personality. She's a good hugger, returns the gesture firmly and without hesitation, and she smiles easily and widely at Charles's transparent attempts to return her humor. ]
Nope, not scared of you at all. In fact, I might even use the word adorable.
[ He looks like he's about to ask someone out to prom. It's so cute. Root normally doesn't care about kids or teenagers in particular, but once she's fond of someone she goes all in, and everything becomes endearing. ]
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Well, excuse me if I'm taking that as a compliment.
[ someone else might protest the wording — but no, fuck yeah he's adorable and he knows how to use his charm to his advantage, too. ]
But seriously, it's good to see you.
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[ Root's a consummate computer nerd but she's also someone who typically spends her days in high-octane shoot outs in between her stints behind a keyboard. She's been really missing the other half of that equation lately. Being idle is not helping her mental state, so she's trying to stay busy. Meeting up with Charles helps with that. ]
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[ somehow, he manages to say this with an entirely straight face, clicking his tongue disapprovingly to punctuate the point, before he finally dissolves into snickers over his own silly joke.
the look he aims at her then is bright and yet somehow considering — like he's about to ask her whether she's really doing alright... but instead, he nods towards the cup she's abandoned on the table. ]
So, that any good? What do the little nuggets there even do?
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[ Root picks up her boba and takes an ostentatious slurp through the over-large straw. She's fine, obviously, totally fine. ]
... You don't really have to listen to me talk about my boss, you know. We can just talk about boba.
[ She's still kind of weirded out he'd offered at all. Normally the Machine is a high tier secret, so secret people are regularly killed to keep it that way, and more to the point she knows she's a hard pill to swallow and almost no one willingly solicits her thoughts from her. ]
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[ but then that smile softens into something more quiet, understanding — because he may not know all the details... but he can see she is trying to give him an out. and so, with a shake of his head, ]
I know I don't have to. I'd like to, though, if that's okay. I meant what I said.
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It's okay with me, [ she assures him. She sets her boba down on the table, gazing down as if lost in thought. ] It's just-- well, normally I don't get to talk about her much, except with the person who made her. And he has his own feelings about her.
[ Root and Harold do not see eye to eye on the Machine, suffice to say. Root is slightly off the deep end about the Machine and about him. ]
She doesn't really talk to anyone except me, either. Not really. We have a special relationship.
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Oh? She only talks to you? How'd that come about, then?
[ a special relationship... it's obvious from her voice how much she means to her, and charles pulls a chair for himself, careful to avoid the iron of the table. ]
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That's such a big question, she huffs out a breath, amused and a little overwhelmed as she thinks back on it. ] Short version? I saw her code and decided I was going to dedicate the rest of my life to her.
Most people don't know she exists, so she's limited in what she can do. I'm her interface with the world. Whatever she wants me to do, I do. I trust her. And she trusts me.
[ Root has an almost religious tone to her voice, a sense of awe and responsibility to live up to what her god sees in her. But there's a personal, aching fondness there, too, like a zealot who's been visited by Jesus and felt divinely loved. She would do anything for her. Anything. ]
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So you're sorta like her prophet, then?
[ yes, speaking in religious terms, here — not least because the respect and awe drips from her every word, but also because this is easier for him to conceptualise than interface; computer terminology has never been his strong suit. though he adds then, after a moment, ] Or an agent? Like, she's M and you're Bond.
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🎀