video: (forward dated to day 1 of grab bag weekend)

[grigio]

[Julie doesn't know it's going to be a crazy weekend. She was hoping for more time to settle in before shit got weird so today, she's on her device with an important question. One that's going to be interrupted half-way through. For now, she's holding up a prescription inhaler.]

Hey, again. So...I'm wondering where I can go to get this filled? I've been using it a lot for the past few days because of stress and a lot of running an---

[But then the feed cuts out here in a whine of static and snow before--]

"Warm Bodies BMW Scene" (Watch on YouTube)

[And then it's back to a very confused and very amused looking Julie.]

Wow.

[A laugh and she may look a little wistful. She misses that zombie.]


Anyway...my inhaler. It's almost empty and I need a refill so who---

[The City's not done with her, though. It cuts out again and--]

"Warm Bodies clip: M Saves R and Julie From Boneys" (Watch on YouTube)

[This time, Julie looks less impressed and instead of continuing her request, she just shuts the feed off abruptly.]

Comments

video: 1/2

[saturniapavonia]

Uh...

BLIP on to text: 2/2

[saturniapavonia]

...hospital?

[What was all that just now? She did say the z-word. Sort of all seems like baloney except there it is. And there it is playing out with her so...]

text:

[grigio]

[Thank you for switching to text, Roman. Julie's not quite handling this well and may have used the inhaler because what a shock that was.]

I'll try there. Later. Holy fuck did you see that?

[And a moment later.]

This is a hell of a curse.

text:1/3

[saturniapavonia]

nope

didn't see a thing

text:

[saturniapavonia]

[healthy pause]

okay i did see something

text:

[saturniapavonia]

did it hurt?

text:

[grigio]

Did what hurt?

text:

[saturniapavonia]

the curse thing

Re: text:

[grigio]

Not physically. And not so much emotionally, either. It was just startling.

text:

[saturniapavonia]

i sort of thought people were lying about those

guess not

sorry

Re: text:

[grigio]

Same.

So...that's R. The only zombie there that I can't actually call a zombie at this point. And the bald guy is his asshole friend. I don't know his name.

text:

[saturniapavonia]

you keep weird company julie

[WHAT ELSE CAN HE SAY?]

if he's not a zombie what is he? ...dead weight?

Re: text:

[grigio]

I didn't keep him. He tried to keep me. He kept me safe while his friends were tearing through mine. It's weird.

[Oh, god. She laughed.]

No. He's...changing. Learning to be alive again, I think.

text:

[saturniapavonia]

sounds like a clingy boyfriend

[teasing, really]

learning to be alive again? so zombies happen because people forgot, where you're from?

Re: text:

[grigio]

Ugh clingy boyfriends. Thank God I never actually had one of those. I'd lose it.

No. R...I don't know. He was part of the group that attacked my friends but when he got to me...he chose not to hurt me.

[LALALA SKIPPING THE GROSS BIT ABOUT BEING SMEARED IN ZOMBIE BLOOD AND ESSENTIALLY KIDNAPPED because ew. Plus, that'd take up several texts.]

It's a story better told in person. And the jury's still out there. No one knows why the zombies happened. That's a horrifying thought though.

text:

[saturniapavonia]

tell me about it

[clingy anyone but the irony is on the friend support front Mr. Godfrey is... what some would find overwhelming at times.]

you probably smell.

[JOKING! But maybe?]

somethings just happen. no one knows why.

Re: text:

[grigio]

Probably.

[When she learns that it's because R ate her boyfriends brains...Roman will be the first to find out.]

I stank when I first got here but have showered since.

[She can joke back, too. It's all good.]

video;

[deuterium]

And here I thought my life was interesting.

Re: video;

[grigio]

What's your life like? [She wants to not talk about R or Boneys or any of that for a minute.]

video;

[deuterium]

Lived mostly behind microscopes and telescopes. [ she laughs, realizing how unexciting that must sound to most people. ] Hi, my name is Katie, and I'm an astronomy nerd.

Re: video;

[grigio]

Nothing wrong with that. Hello, Katie. I'm Julie and...I live in the zombie apocalypse.

video;

[deuterium]

Zombies. Are you sure they aren't just... sick with something difficult to identify and merely exhibiting zombie-like symptoms?

Re: video;

[grigio]

That'd make sense and give answers, but they're zombies. They have no pulse. They don't bleed, sleep, dream. None of that. They don't feel pain. The only thing that takes them down is a shot to the head.


No one's found a cure back home. Or an answer as to why they exist.

video;

[deuterium]

The dead can't be reanimated. I mean-- Well, someone can be brought back after a certain amount of time, provided there's enough brain activity to stimulate and justify inducing artificial respiration and micro-cellular activity, but full on reanimation is just science fiction.

Re: video;

[grigio]

I can easily promise you that my world has zombies. As you just saw. That actually happened to me.

video;

[deuterium]

I guess this is one of those alternate reality things I keep hearing so much about.

Re: video;

[grigio]

Kinda fucked up, right?

video;

[deuterium]

Juuust a little. But from what I've heard about this place and seen so far, [ like those memories of yours ] fucked up is pretty par for the course.

Re: video;

[grigio]

If its a day ending with 'y', something weird is going on?

video;

[deuterium]

[ heh ]

Lucky us.

[valentineluke]

Down here, it's not seen as odd to be on friendly terms with the sentient ones.

[grigio]

Where? Underground?

[She did her fair share of exploring the City after she got settled so this is a guess.]

[valentineluke]

Yes, Underground. Don't have to go far to find them, either. Number of them are involved with some of the Black Market stalls and various shops along the subway line. Inability to heal plus rot process that doesn't always cease upon rising, they need an income and or means of trade for 'maintenance'.

[grigio]

That actually sounds kind of cool.

[Minus the zombie parts, though.]

I hope you don't think befriending the undead back home is a common thing, though. R is far from common.

[valentineluke]

I take it the zombie majority are Romeros?

[grigio]

Full on, man. Fast, hard to kill, goal oriented bastards when they're hungry. And they travel in packs.

They also do a lot of shambling and groaning.

[valentineluke]

Upon encountering humans, multiply like rabbits.

They're consider as pests here. Originate in the lower levels. Roam all over, but rarely make it up past the Third level. Kept in check by assorted hunters and carrion feeders - both canid and humanoid ghouls are the main predators. They call Romeros 'walkin feast'.

[grigio]

They're not on our Top Ten Favorite Things back home, either. I might have to avoid Underground unless I had a friend with me.

[valentineluke]

Most topsiders are fine so long as they keep to the warded paths and don't venture from the First level.

[grigio]

I'll remember that.