tushanshu | video:

[Julie took the time to shower and get cleaned up before getting on the network. She was previously covered in days worth of dirt and sweat and blood, some of it her friends and some of it belonging to a peculiar zombie, but more on that later. For now, Julie has a pressing question that may possibly seem rude in some circles.]

So, introductions go first, right? Hi. I'm Julie. I'm from what's supposed to be Seattle, Washington but is now just thousands of people living in a fortified sports stadium.

[As shitty as that probably sounds, she's still smiling about it. There are some good parts about Citi Stadium, but thank God for kidnappings that turn into vacations, even if this is her second one in just a few days.]

This place is between life, death and dreaming, right? I'm not sure how that's possible, but that's fine for now. That's not what I'm wondering.

[She runs her fingers through her hair, chewing her lower lip for a moment before letting her hand settle in her lap again.]

What I'm wondering is possibly considered rude. I don't know. It's been a very weird past few days for me back home that's changed my way of thinking a little bit so now I just want to know how many of you....are dead where you're from?

Where I'm from, dead seems to have a couple different meanings. It could either mean dead and that's it, you're gone for good. Or Undead as in a mobile corpse. A zombie.

[This sure as shit feels a bit awkward, but she's going to just press on. She started it, she'll finish it. That's cool with her.]

I just want to know what dead means here, since I haven't seen any[thing]one that fits what I know from home.

[And that's all. She'll just turn off the feed, now, giving a final smile before she does so.]

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I like that theory. I'm going to have to try it one day, see how it works. I've been told I talk way too much, but if I actually have a reason for it...

[He laughs.] Actually, on the dead part, I'm leaning toward coma. I think it'd be kind of cooler then being dead, right? Sort of? Maybe not. I like the idea of time being frozen, though.

Right! Where are my manners? Nice to meet you, Julie, I'm Dick.

Coma works. It explains a lot.

[She likes the way you think, Dick. This will be an interesting conversation.]

A pause on my life back home is interesting, too. I'm sure you've heard this a million times before, but there's something I need to get back to.

[And sort of a someone. It's complicated.]

Nice to meet you, too. And don't worry about manners. I live in an area heavily populated by soldiers. They're lacking on manners. I'm used to it.

[He laughs.] I think if you took a poll of all of the foreigners here on the turtle, you're going to find almost all of them have something they need to get back to. I'm talking 99 percent of the people here. I am also included in there.

[He might actually take that poll at some point. Why not?] Are we talking war-torn country, military base, the 9th moon of Neptune...?

Fortified abandoned sports stadium. So it's almost a military base in the heart of war-torn Washington State. You got two out of three, there. Not bad.

[Julie is quite impressed. Or probably entertained. Possibly both.]

My father is in charge, there.

[Most kids would brag about this. Julie isn't. She can't for a mountain of reasons.]

His idea of keeping everyone safe is to stuff us in a small area and build concrete walls. It works to a point.

[But then it starts to feel like waiting to die not waiting to acknowledge they've all died somehow anyway. But Julie keeps a half smile on her face, despite her tone.]

I was really hoping the 9th moon of Neptune was right on the money, but I'll take the other two.

[Oh, ouch. Dick knew all about having a father in charge of a place. Yeah. He knew how tough that one could be. Sometimes good, most times... difficult.]

Well that has to be awful. I mean, that's both a good and a terrible idea. I think your dad needs to rethink that whole plan right there. Being in what amounts to a small, closed in city? That's never a good idea.

[Tact, thy name is usually not Dick Grayson.]

[Tact or no, Julie agrees whole heartedly and nods briefly. She almost shrugs a moment later but stops herself short.]

He thinks he has the right idea and maybe he does, to a point? There are more zombies than us, not to mention the Boneys. But dad just got so stuck on surviving that...

[She stops herself for a moment here, sighing and wrinkling her nose for a moment. It's clear she doesn't get her dad. She hasn't for years, now. And it's clear she still cares and worries that she gets passionate about what she feels is wrong with him.]

You ever see someone do something the same way over and over so much that they convince themselves it's the Only Way to do things, even when there's evidence that there are more ways to accomplish the same goal?

Yes. [It's said without any hesitation, no smile, no frown. Just a flat expression. Yes. He knows what that's like. And he's seen it most of his life.

Yes. He knows what watching someone do that will do to the watcher. Especially when you loved the one you were watching. There's a brief pause for that to sink in.]

What are boneys?

That's my dad. That's...almost everyone from home.

[Going through the motions of being alive while not actually living. It's upsetting and stressful for someone like Julie, someone who flat out refuses to let her world break her.]

Boneys are...okay. Imagine a zombie in all it's horror. The shambling. The need to consume people. Not much humanity. Now make it worse. Rot away the skin and shrivel the muscles until they're nothing more than mobile skeletons.

And take away whatever humanity was left. Fill that gap with a need to destroy everything, just because they can.

That's a Boney.

I can imagine.

[And it's right then, that Dick sees so much of himself in this girl. And it terrifies him.]

...That. That sounds. Do they still want to eat brains like zombies? Where does it even go?

[They can totally bond over good people doing the right thing in all the wrong ways. They're off to a good start to do so, anyway.]

I don't know and I really hope I never find out.

I hope so to. Subject change! Do you like pizza and/or chilidogs?

You, dear, are my new best friend for that.

[So much grinning. She adores you, Dick. You rock.]
I haven't had either in years. Pizza tends to be my favorite, as long as it has everything on it.

I've been looking for a new best friend, so this works out perfectly! Just don't tell my other best friends. [He laughs.]

A girl after my own heart! I've tried telling people, so long as pizza has everything on it, it's a pretty healthy dish, am I right?

Your secret is safe with me. [A laugh soon follows and some emphatic nodding, as well.]

It has all the necessary food groups.

It does. Protein, dairy, vegetables, fruit if you put on some pineapple, uh... bread, I don't know where that goes in the food group, but it should be on there!

Grains, I think.

Edited (iPhone freakout yay!) 2013-08-29 22:59 (UTC)

Shit, grains is a real thing? Let me add that to my list of what I should know about food, so when my family tells me how gross pizza is, I can go: "Pizza has protein, dairy, fruit, vegetables, and grains."

They're in a lot. Cookies. Brownies. You can rationalize eating anything you want to if you pay attention to the ingredients.

Oh, I already rationalize everything I eat! I eat it because I'm hungry and it tastes delicious.

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[video] omg I am laughing so hard right now with that

[video] i shouted ARE YOU FUCKING WITH ME RIGHT NOW as it happened lol

[video] it was BEAUTIFUL