#sameen shaw

I’ve been thinking about this a lot. No matter what I read or hear from other people, I cannot see Shaw and Root having sex at the safe house in Mors Praematura. The reason is Shaw.

Root violated Shaw’s autonomy. Again. Shaw tells her, “When this is all over, you’d better hope I don’t remember.” Did she remember? Yes. That’s why she punched her.

Shaw is annoyed with Root the entire time they’re together. She still protects her, because she’s Shaw. Protecting Root does not erase her anger, and attraction does not automatically give Root access to her body. (Shaw may be known to have one-night stands with people she has no emotional investment in. Root already doesn’t fit that category.)

How does violating Shaw’s autonomy translate into sex with her—before the punch that reasserts the boundary?

Violation → sex → punch makes no emotional sense to me. The sequence matters.

But Shaw’s reaction to the hood and zip ties is very telling. When they first met, Root threatened her with an iron and Shaw told her she was “into that sort of thing.” Root’s face lit up. She remembered.

So Shaw’s huge-eyed reaction in Mors Praematura could be: Oh. She remembered. And is she into this too?

Then in Deus Ex Machina, Root takes out the penknife and Shaw immediately lights up: “Oh, it’s going to be that kind of party, huh?” She is signaling what she likes. They are recognizing that they speak the same erotic language.

By Honor Among Thieves, Root knows all Shaw’s secrets, and she weaponizes that knowledge while Shaw is with Tomas. In other words: He’s hot, but does he know what you’re really into? Could he satisfy those desires the way I could?

That does not mean they had already slept together. It means Root knew what Shaw wanted, and knew that she understood it in a way Tomas probably didn’t.

I love this scene so much. Shaw looks so annoyed with Root. And yet she had just advocated for Finch to release her from the cage he’d locked her in.

This is still her “I couldn’t stand you” ( 6,741 ) phase. Yet she protects her anyway. Annoyed. Intrigued. Protective. Then, later, a crack, when Root dual-wields and protects them. Shaw’s “Okay, that was hot” probably slipped out before she could stop it.

And later in the episode, Shaw is the first to ask, “Where’s Root?”

Attachment forming.

It’s summer, so here’s some refreshing art! ☀️✨

(Referenced pose/photo!)

I’ve been wanting to draw a Team Machine band AU for the longest time.

My lineup is:

Root — lead vocalist + rhythm guitar

Shaw — drums

Finch — bass

Reese — lead guitar

They’re honestly the perfect four-piece band, haha.

I’ll probably draw more interactions from this band AU later because I’m having way too much fun with it.

Also, there’s this saying in the music scene: never date your bandmates.

So… what if Reese and Finch got into an argument? Or Shaw and Root had a huge fight?

After 4.5, Root finally “deserves” Shaw. In Prophets, she nearly dies saving Simon Lee—a stranger whose life matters simply because it is a human life. Shaw has been making that choice from the beginning. She puts her body between danger and people she barely knows because leaving them to die is unacceptable to her.

Root has always been fascinated by Shaw, but here she finally steps into Shaw’s moral world. She chooses the person in front of her over the larger calculation, even when that choice may cost her everything. By 4.7, Root and Shaw are morally aligned. Root has become someone Shaw can choose without compromising who she is.

Do I believe they were hooking up before that? No, I do not. All you have to do is look at how Shaw behaves. Look at how she behaves AFTER “Honor Among Thieves”. You can see that they have NOT been hooking up before.

This is the moment. After she turns down Tomas and says “there are things I care about here.”

Root is delighted. She knows Shaw means her.

When she asks her, Shaw denies it because Shaw cannot name the thing. Root knows. Shaw knows.

Now let’s focus on how their behavior has changed after this moment.

Shaw letting Root spoon her in 4.9. The devil you know.

A major one. Shaw flirts with Root. Shaw has NEVER flirted with her before. This to me is the clearest one. She doesn’t play with Root’s feelings. This is a huge signal that their relationship has changed.

Also, Shaw says: “Samaritan’s goons can come blast US into the next dimension. “ They are a unit.

This whole scene. Shaw speaks in relational language : “you’re killing the mood.” Can you imagine Shaw saying that to anyone else?

Root calls Shaw “sweetie” for the first time.

Root violates Shaw’s autonomy despite her knowing Shaw HATES that. (It’s the reason Shaw decked her last time, in 3.6 Mors Praematura. Which is how I read that they didn’t hook up then. Shaw wouldn’t sleep with her then deck her. Plus in 6741, Shaw says “ I couldn’t stand you when we first met.” Nothing in Shaw’s behavior says “lover” before 4.7. But I digress. )

Now on to 4.10. The Cold War. THE most domestic Root and Shaw episode.

Root openly watching Shaw eat 😍. Shaw is unbothered. Shaw teases her, saying : “ I wouldn’t want anything to happen….to the dog.”

Root draping herself over Shaw. Root stealing Shaw’s drink. Access has changed. They’re being playful.

This scene. Shaw openly panicking about Root going to see Samaritan alone. She packs half her weapons arsenal to go protect Root herself, despite her cover being blown.

A few scenes before she was talking about taking a vacation (Sameen “I don’t do quiet” Shaw is talking about taking a vacay!) , imagining a future with Root. The way she speaks changes. She says things like “kiss and make up.” Relational language, again.

He is with her, when the call comes. Of course he is. The news should come from him, he supposes. The shake of his head, the way his pinched expression and soft eyes try to say—I'm sorry. He never was very good at words, but then again, neither is she. He watches her gaze go vacant as she absorbs what he hasn't said, but that her body knows. It is a grief he doesn't quite feel, but one he can understand. But he is with her when it comes. Somehow, that has to be enough. Snapshots in grief.