Episode 85 - Roots

## Roots

A black background with a border of white root hairs. The centre of the image depicts a bandage role and what looks to be sheets of paper in white, as well as an earing depicted in red. Bellow the image but still within the border the words "85.ROOTS" are depicted in white

### Author

William A Wellman

Bern talks to the past, Zelda makes another new friend, and Violet confronts the future. The theme of tonight’s episode is Roots.

***Content Warnings:** Discussion of Emotional Abuse, Ableism, Animal death (Heidi as usual), Kidnapping and abduction, Death + Injury, Blood, Mental illness, Sexism and misogyny, Religious violence, Lengthy conversations about morality, Homophobia, Birds, Guns, Strangulation/suffocation, Static (including sfx), Emotional Manipulation, Bugs, Body horror, Al still has no skin*

## Intro - Half A Life

Nikignik narrates to the Dreamers a vagabond who as they pack up their possessions, realise they cannot take everything with them, being forced to make split moment decisions between a Book or journal, a bedroll or instrument, a dress or boots. These decisions are not made without remorse as they leave for their new home, trying to remind themself that they would not be there long, they were never anywhere long. And yet, their new home grew did not disappear.

Nikignik resides in a dark space 15ft below the earth in the Scoutpost with the weight of a forest crushing down.

## Story 1 - Forty Rotten Things

Bern Keene finds herself trapped with Jacob Wicker and Heidi after the events of Episode 82 - Failures, Jacob bleeding out, though she tells him to put pressure on the wound. He asks her if he could ask as question, to which she tells him he could, but only if she got to ask one in return. He asks what Jonah Duckworth was (see Episode 82 - Failures), assuming him to be a biblical demon and questioning why the Scoutpost has summoned him. She tells him that Jonah was connected to the Hallowoods, maybe he was there to protect them, maybe he was there to punish them, but she didn't believe in devils or angels. Jacob tells her that Angels were real, recounting to her the events of Episode 49 - Rescues from his perspective. Bern tells him that she actually did know and Angel, being her wife Violet Keene, reminding Jacon of how he'd tried to shoot her (see Episode 81 - Fears). Jacob tells her that he'd only done it because Violet hadn't been agreeing to 'the rules', that he hadn't indented to hurt her. Bern asks him what he thought gave him to tr right to ruin their lives. Asking what it was he'd been trying to do.

Jacob tells her that he'd just done what Mrs. Wicker had told him to do. That people would have been alight if they followed the rules, they'd teach the bible, get rid of the Mendies, set up proper farms, and rename the location 'Fort Faith'. Bern wonders how far she'd have to go before she was allowed to live her life in peace. She tells him that she'd grown up with the bible, and the things stoat Fort Freedom wanted to teach them. But the people who were already there were perfect, the Scoutpost was to celebrate that. Jacob tells her that it wasn't anything personal, just right and wrong, but Bern corrects him, that it was personal, she'd lived happily with her wife for 20 years before Fort Freedom had invaded. What was happening was their [Fort Freedom] fault. Jacob tells her that he was sorry, that he didn't want to die, and Bern tells him that she didn't want him to die, she wanted him to learn. Martyrs didn't fix anything, he had people who were looking to him for guidance, and she asks him what he was going to tell them. Jacob tels her that he didn't know.

### Interlude 1 - Closed For Business

Nikignik gives out an announcement to anyone who may be visiting the Scoutpost, telling them that it was closed. Specifically, it was closed beneath the earth, as the roots of the Hallowoods had dragged it beneath the ground. This was the second occurrence of this, the firth being Solomon Reed's house earlier that spring (see Episode 47 - Regrets), however that event could have been predicted well in advance. Now however, the forest was confused, and holding the shattered Scoutpost in its grasp, was beginning to realise what it had done.

## Story 2 - Buried Alive Bingo

Zelda Duckworth thinks to herself that she'd spent an amount of her time in prison, but for none of those she'd been upside down (her leg caught by a branch). She's trapped with Buck Silver and Jackie, the former of which working at getting her free. She tells him that if he asked Jackie nicely, she nigh gnaw 'it' off for him. He asks her to specify if she meant the root or her leg, she tells her which ever got her down faster. Buck makes a joke about bad legs (see Buck Silver), and Zelda returns this with her own comment of her muscle and bone pains. She tells him she was going to try and get her shotgun, but he advises her to not shoot anything in the room. She ignores him and shoots the root, successfully getting herself down. Buck tells her not to shoot anything else, asking if she was okay. She tells him that sounded like something a spy would say, and he iterates that he wasn't a spy. She tells him that there was no other reason he'd want to live in the Scoutpost, but he tells her it was better than Fort Freedom, Mrs. Wicker would have been the death of him (see Episode 66 - Morals). She asks him what Mrs. Wicker's problem was, and he tells her that he didn't fit in, he never had.

Zelda tells him that she broke the rules on purpose, and he keeps talking, saying that people didn't even tell you all the rules, and if you broke one then they'd be on you, even if they were all the same behind closed doors. She tells him that she knew what he was talking about, Dexter Duckworth had been big on rules. When she'd met him, he'd seemed sturdy, and her life was constantly falling apart, and he had Jonah. Then when time went on there were more rules, if something wasn't perfect, he didn't want it. Buck relates to her that rules didn't matter, only how the people who made the rules were feeling. She tells him that it didn't last forever, they were safe now, and Jonah had Hector Mendoza. Buck tells Zelda that Jonah and Hector were happy together, he'd never seen a queer couple like that his whole life. Buck tells her that Jonah hadn't seemed quite himself, asking if what had happened was normal for him [Jonah]. She recounts to him the events of Episode 27 - Spirits, that she didn't know what was going on with him, but he was still her son, and he'd never hurt his mother. Buck comes to the realisation that he'd never gotten to do anything on his own and verbalises as much. She tells him at least he'd gotten to leave Fort Freedom. She hadn't had being buried alive on her bingo card that year, but life surprised you. Al appears.

### Marketing - Branding Roots

Lady Ethel Mallory interrupts Nikignik's broadcast with her marketing segment. She announces that the Riot and Valerie Maidstone were returning to the Prime Dream (see Episode 83 - Hopes), and with this they should be asking themselves what the legacy of the Stonemaiden was. That even before the Botulus Corporation opened it's door to the public they had been hard at work to make the Prime Dream a reality. This had caused some issues with certain groups, including Valerie and her band. In a way they owed Botco their success. Their music was okay but the messaging was exquisite, just as much a work of marketing as Botco. The focus of their work had always been about the management of power, and with the context of bettering their dreaming society, she tells the listeners that these messages were more important than ever.

### Story 2, Continued - Buried Alive Bingo

Buck asks Zelda if she could see Al too, and she introduces them. Al also asks Buck if he was a spy, and Buck tells him that he wasn't how he'd had to stow away to get to the Scoutpost (see Episode 70 - Lines). Al tells Zelda that he'd been trapped with Russel McGowan after they'd gotten trapped in the radio room (see Episode 77 - Rebels). Zelda tells Al to go back out and report back to her on what was happening and see if he could find Jonah. Al asks what he'd get for doing this, and Zelda promises him a sleepover at the McGowan's. Al tells her that there was something he wanted to talk to her about (see Episode 77 - Rebels), and Zelda tells him that he could. Al leaves, and Buck comments that they had a weird relationship with the dead at the Scoutpost. She tells him that Al was just a kid, that they kept each other company. He asks her if she actually thought they were going to make it out, or if she was just being kind. She tells him that she didn't know, but she wouldn't underestimate herself, and anyway t wasn't a bad final resting place if they did die, accidentally calling Buck Jonah.

Zelda comments that she could fall asleep it was so quiet, but Buck tells her not to, as he didn't want to be trapped with anymore ghosts then he had to. She tells him that she thought Buck was alright, she hadn't been at the Scoutpost long, but Jnah like the people, and she was sure Buck could make a life for himself there. He tells her that he didn't have anywhere else to go, he'd probably die on his own. She tells him that if he couldn't find a place for himself, then he could make one, invite some people he liked, and he still had lots of year ahead of him. Al returns and tells Zelda that everyone was trapped except for Jonah, who was still up top and talking to a big frog (see Grug). Zelda tells Al to tell Jonah where they were, that maybe he could get them out. Al leaves again, and Buck tells Zelda that he did seem like a good kid. The earth around them rumbles, and the roots begin to clear out.

### Interlude 2 - Needlessly Complicated

Nikignik asks the Dreamers if they ever get used to the odd complexities of organic life, needlessly fiddly and complex. Cells pulled together to form bodies. He admits that he found it rather boring an unimportant until he'd begun to lean about them. He tells the that he believed it possible to fall in love with a topic simply because if the enthusiasm with the person telling it to you explained it, when Marolmar had explained it to him, the concept of life had seemed to alive. It was why he'd never entirely left earth after Marolmar had died, why he kept an eye to watch things grow.

## Story 3 - A Single Pearl Earring

Violet Keene is trapped in the infirmary with Tara McGowan and drifts in and out of consciousness. She thinks to herself that two things worried her, or rather many things worried her just in that moment it was only two. The first was that she'd never had a child, the second was Bern, who she hoped she'd be able to wake up next to for the rest of her life. Tara reassures her that she was going to be okay, and Violet blacks out again, finding herself suddenly she was somewhere else (describes as "the Old Port by the water") at a Pride Parade, seeing other queer couples she grabs Bern's hand. She wakes up, and tells Tara that she wanted Bern, and Tara tells her that Bern was outside, and would want Violet safe. Violet blacks out again and returns to another memory, asking Bern if she thought they should look at adopting. Bern asks her why, and she tells her that it might be nice someday, not to be all alone. Bern tells her that she'd like to make more of a community, but not one like her families, something that was theirs. They could go north, they could build homes, anyone who needed help. She'd grown up learning survival, skills, they could make it work. Violet tells her that they should do it, and Bern doesn't take her seriously first, but she tells her that she wasn't joking, they should do it, so long as she had Bern she'd be fine.

She was meant to kiss her wife in that moment, but instead she is approached by the Grackle, knowing what it wanted from her. She offers up a pearl earing she was wearing, asking if it would be enough. The Grackle seeming accepts it, but when Violet opens her eyes again she'd propped up against a tree stump with a tattered blanket over her bandaged leg. Bern was embracing her. Violet tells her that she'd thought she'd lost her, and Bern tells her that she hadn't known if she'd wake up. Violet notices that she was at the back of a crowed, all of them facing something in the middle which was obscured from her view. She asks Bern what was happening, and Bern tells her that she didn't know but it was something strange and something new. As she spoke, more roots erupted form the ground and reached up to the sky.

## Outro - Roots

Nikignik waxes poetics about roots. He references the saying "to bloom where you are planted", elaborating on this by telling the Dreamer's to know that they did not owe an ugly garden their petals, no choice in where their seed would split. And as they burst from the stones to look over the ground, you may find all around them desolate. It would be only understandable if they decided to leave, to take up their roots and search for more hospitable ground, where there were others like them, and the conditions were right for them to thrive. But if they chose not to, instead stay and toil, shift the heaviest rocks and split concrete as they grew, and their fruit rots and nourished the soil, their thorns driving pest and predator away, then when another arrived, they would find it a kinder place to grow. The garden may begin with them.