say it ain't so (video)

[livemoore]

[ When Liv appears on the screen, she's in a nice off-white sweater with a hint of gold sparkle to it, full face of makeup and nervously smiling. She gives a wave, then lets out a breath she's been holding. ]

I have a confession. And some of you know. Some of you who know me don't know, and everyone else...

[ She pauses, looking down a little. Is this the right thing? Hell if she knows. It's not like she's in a place the size of Seattle. Maybe now's the time to just come clean. ]

The rest of you don't need to know but uh...at this point if someone found out by word of mouth I feel like it'd suck more, so.

My name is Liv. I've been living here since the summer. And...I'm a zombie.

[ She pauses for a beat. ]

Obviously from a different zombie world than the rest of you. I'll answer your questions now: Yes, I eat what you think I eat but the closet provides it for me. I only act like the maniac you'd expect when I'm hurt unexpectedly and then I'm super strong and just kind of...grunty. But I can help, I do help. I've saved people. I've died here. Yes, I'm technically dead right now, but I still look great?

I guess those are the hard-hitting questions. If you have any others I'll be here to answer them.

Please don't try to kill me. I'll just come back.

So I guess that's it. Now you all know, and I can breathe easier. Ish. Well, not breathe. Whatever, you know what I mean.

Comments

video;

[keephersafe]

[Guess who just saw this? Guess who looks more than slightly alarmed at this moment in time?!

The answer to both of those things is, of course, this guy right here.]

... Liv?

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[livemoore]

Hey...buddy. It's okay. I think.

[ #fakeittilumakeit ]

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[screwedontight]

What the fuck with this shit. Bad enough the events but now we have worry about this?

And not you. Not really. Rather know than not, but it opens up a whole new world of fucking hell not fucking good with who could be traipsing through these hallways next.

Gotta be types in your world you feel the same way about, right?

[Seth's a dick, but it really isn't about Liv. Or R. Or whatever zombie is next. It's about it could definitely get fucking worse if they were bringing in zombies as residents.]

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[livemoore]

There have been people here in the past arguably worse than a zombie functioning like a human.

Mostly.

[ There are definitely zombies who are massive assholes, BLAINE. But it's not even about being a zombie, it just turns out a murdering opportunistic asshole is the same dead or alive. ]

[forwearemany]

(They are unsure of how to respond to this. That they send a video feed is entirely by accident.

Once they notice what they have done, they begin chattering awkwardly.)

How did you acquire food prior to your arrival in this location?

[livemoore]

[ This is different. Huh. ]

I work in a morgue. Plenty of dead people every day with enough food.

[Video]

[gwensday]

[ Of all the things to come across the network in the two months she’s been here this is the most surprising. She watches the girl in the video, she seems determined but nervous, not that she blames her- mob mentality is a real fear. Especially in a place like this. But Gwen sees no reason to believe she’s a threat, not if she’s been here for months and there’s no zombie epidemic on their hands. ]

That was really brave.

[ She knows a thing or two about keeping your identity a secret and given she’s not a zombie she still has a power that makes her seen as a threat to people- at least back home. She’s still getting used to being able to talk about it here. ]

I’m Gwen.

[Video]

[livemoore]

Nice to meet you, Gwen. And thanks. I just...thought it would be worse if someone told someone else and rumors started and it got...out of hand. I'm hoping that this way, people can see I'm approachable. Not about to eat faces off or something.

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[scoutsniper]

You sure you know what you're doing?

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[livemoore]

Of course not.

I'm just hoping there are enough people here who care about me not getting killed to keep an eye out.

[ She doesn't think anyone's going to actually try and kill her, but she's prepared for some people be hostile, and even afraid of her. ]

It was better than it coming out during an event where everything's on display for people to figure out on their own, or something.

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[naughty_nurse]

[As someone with a deep-seated fear of zombies, Mikan reacts...]

WHAAAAAAAAT?!

[...as much as one would expect her to.]

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[livemoore]

[ Yeah, that's about what Liv expected from pretty much everyone, honestly. ]

Uh...yeah. Any questions, or..

[video]

[jivitadana]

You do look great.

[Minato knew that her message was hard to share with the rest of the mansion, but she did it and there was no taking it back. He did appreciate her honesty, though he did wonder what pushed her to share. It had been a while since he last talked to her too.]

If it helped you to share, then that's good.

[video]

[livemoore]

[ He manages to pull a smile out of her. ]

Thanks. I guess that was kind of uh...narcissistic of me to say about myself. And it did help. Wonderland likes to put us all on display too much and I was afraid it'd come out in a way that would actually terrify people.

Or an event would happen that was on me, and people would be pissed I didn't tell them before. A lot of scenarios went through my head, actually.

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[quickgenius]

[Oh. That's... not something she expected. But it makes as much sense as anything else. Mostly Jesse is curious. And wants to help, somehow.]

Just... brains? By themselves? Or with things, to make them taste better? I don't know how they taste, but I can't imagine it's great...

I mean, I've never actually cooked with brains before but I could try to figure out recipes and things that would work and taste reasonably decent without taking away the essential qualities of the brains that you need?

If you'd like.

video.

[livemoore]

Oh, well, no, I cook them. They're kind of like...any other meat? I make burritos, pizza, I fry them up sometimes.

[ Oh man, a brain burger sounds so good right now.

Focus, Liv. ]

I'm always looking for new things, though, if you'd really like to give it a shot.

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[madehervows]

Tinker Bell's a zombie.

[Huh.]

Certainly an interesting spin on the story...

[She's know you're not Tinker Bell, Liv. She's just giving you shit.]

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[livemoore]

[ Liv smirks. ]

Met your Captain Hook, by the way. Are all fairytales just...highly attractive?

[ Like, it seems now she has some factual evidence based on the people she's met in Wonderland. Also she' slightly proud of her face, out there somewhere, being a hot fairy granting wishes or something. ]

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[slapfight]

[Squints] Another one?

[She doesn't sound horrified or annoyed. It just seems really strange to have two defective zombies.]

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[livemoore]

You...know the other zombie?

[ She doesn't say his name, just in case. And wow, what if there's more than just the two of them? ]

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[endingpoint]

[ Well, that's...huh. Okay. Liv was nice to her, though, gave Jane good advice, and she frowns a little. ]

Are you sure being thi honest is the way to go? I mean, I've known you for a little while and you being dead had nothing to do with our conversations. It was none of my business.

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[livemoore]

I'm not sure about anything except this place can easily use our secrets against us. So, if I don't have a big one like this and it's out in the open...hopefully any fallout from an event would be small.

[ She's trying hard to think ahead, here. ]

But thank you for saying that.

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[revokes]

[ hey look it's the guy with the robots. ]

if it makes you feel any better, I'm pretty sure this isn't enough to steal away my title of the least popular wonderland resident.

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[livemoore]

[ Oh, hey, she's seen that guy with the robots. ]

I dunno. There are a lot of people here from worlds were zombies kicked the crap out of them.

Why are you unpopular?

[ She has no idea who he is or why people wouldn't like a guy with robots. Unless they were from, like...Battlestar Galactica world. Or the Terminator??

She doesn't know anything about robots. ]

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[geiger]

[ While it had been no secret to Nora, she's surprised that Liv would announce it to the whole mansion like that. ]

That was pretty brave. You okay?

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[livemoore]

[ Liv offers up a weak smile. ]

For now. So far, no one sucks about it.

[ But she feels like she shouldn't breathe easy yet. ]

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[noreason]

[He's surprised, but he's smiling a little. That was pretty brave, but he's sure she already knows that. She's the one who had to get up the nerve to do it.]

You okay?

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[livemoore]

I'm okay.

[ She smiles a little. ]

Guess our club can go public. I was worried about an event. I mean that last one...I just want to be able to own it if something happens and not have everyone pissed off that I didn't say anything before.

[video]

[uncoils]

That's pretty cool that you're that up front about it.

[Even if it took months. Jolyne's not sure she'd be forthcoming about it if she were in Liv's shoes.]

Hope nobody's giving you a hard time about it.

[video]

[livemoore]

So far so good. I figure this way I know to look for the torches and pitchforks.

[ Which she doesn't actually think is going to happen, but she does love being dramatic to alleviate the tension. ]

[kingtrousele]

YOU'RE ACTUALLY A ZOMBIE?!

WOWIE!!! THAT'S SO COOL!!! YOU LOOK SO MUCH MORE LIKE A HUMAN, I NEVER WOULD'VE GUESSED!!

HERE'S A QUESTION FOR YOU!! WHERE DO ZOMBIES COME FROM?! THAT LAST EVENT, EVERYTHING JUST KIND OF TURNED INTO A ZOMBIE , AND I DON'T REALLY KNOW IF THAT'S SUPPOSED TO WORK THAT WAY.

[livemoore]

[ She's actually pretty glad that he's cool with it because he's someone she likes, and she still wants to do that food festival thing. She listens to his question, nodding slowly. ]

I think Wonderland does things like that suddenly to throw us off and cause maximum damage. And it's probably different in every world because we've never had a zombie even where they were more like me. But back home it was a drug and other chemicals. One person over-dosed, came back, and had a craving for brains. He bit someone who bit someone else, and...so on and so on. That's how it spreads.

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[trabryu]

Liv...

[ He looks concerned. Very obviously concerned. ]

Where are ya right now?

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[livemoore]

My room. I figured it was probably smarter to be behind my own locked door with a roommate who has a gun and knows how to use it.

[ She rubs the back of her neck a little. ]

But it's been okay so far, honest.

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[thesamurai]

[ So now, what the hell does she do with this information? The only thing she can find herself to be angry about is that Liv lied to her, to her face. ]

So, this is what you wouldn't tell me a couple months back.

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[livemoore]

Can you blame me? I know what your world is. My first event here was Alexandria.

[ And to be honest she's a little afraid of Michonne. ]

[passingthrough]

[She didn't realize at first this was something Liv was even trying to hide since she'd come out with it with her, but phasing into someone's room unexpectedly is a bonding experience. And she can appreciate the feeling of hiding who you are out of fear. She did that with her mutant abilities when they first appeared.]

I hope it feels better putting it out there. [She knows being honest about who you are is easier in a lot of important ways, but that people can still be dicks about it.]

[livemoore]

It does, actually. I'd kind of hate to not be in control of the information getting passed on, you know?

[ She doesn't think anyone she's told would tell anyone else, but still - the mirrors are everywhere and hard to get away from sometimes. ]

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[colorfulmoniker]

[Well, if her not being the fairy he thought she was was a huge surprise, then this definitely is. He's not really sure he understands the concept of "zombie" entirely, but he can put the pieces together enough, just based on the things he's heard. It wasn't really a thing back in the Enchanted Forest.

His face is wrinkled with a frown while he tries to understand.]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but by zombie, I assume you mean to say "undead"?

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[livemoore]

[ Liv nods with a tight-lipped smile because first, she'd lied to this guy about being Tinkerbell (even if she had come clean), and now she's sort of lied by omission to him? Hopefully, he doesn't think that. Hopefully no one thinks that. ]

Undead, yep. No pulse, I don't breathe, I don't sleep. I mean, I'm alive in every other way, though. If that counts.

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[restinglichface]

[Well what do you know.

Lup had known all about her friend being dead, of course, that had been their initial shared interest, the thing that had brought them together. Two dead girls just trying to do their best around this shithole, looking to find enough reasons to keep living despite how deceased they technically were.

Zombie, though, that's a bit of a ride for her. It's a term Lup's all too familiar with. Her boyfriend's a necromancer, alright? She's seen Barry raise enough of the dead to know what they're like, shambling and wild and usually pretty smelly. But Liv's none of those things. She's vibrant and intelligent and full of so much more life than a lot of the living she's known around Wonderland. So it's easy to shove what the elf knows of zombies aside. Either way, she's on Liv's side to the end.]

Shit, babe. Layin' all the cards out there all at once, huh?

[It's honest and admirable, even if the elf can't imagine ever wanting to give up such a personal part of herself up to the entire Wonderland public. Liv's braver than she expected.]

For what it's worth, no one's gonna touch you. I'll roast anyone who even considers it.

video;

[livemoore]

Lup, I'm sorry, I really meant to tell you. I wanted to, I was going to, on New Year's Eve. But we were having so much fun and...maybe selfishly I just didn't want to risk losing that.

[ So maybe not so brave. But what Lup says means a to her and she clears her throat. There's no crying in zombie confessionals. ]

Thank you, so much for that. It's good to hear, and important to me.

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[entreats]

I'm pretty sure people would figure out you're not exactly an usual zombie if you have enough brains to talk like this.

[ Since Ange just knows the zombie stereotypes, "kind of grunty" is definitely her idea of one. And Liv sounds like quite the opposite of that. ]

.. Although it seems people have bad experiences with them here usually, huh? Guess it might be sensitive enough to them to not think before they just attack someone without listening to them.

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[livemoore]

Zombies just don't tend to go over well in general. But yeah, there are a lot of people here from words that were completely torn apart by them.

[ It somehow felt dishonest to never say anything, and especially to befriend them. ]

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[letsemilythis]

[ Emily waits to respond until after the initial shock has worn off. Because zombies? She'd heard those could happen during events, but in real life? Noooooooooo.

Except for the part where yeeeeeeeeeeees.

And then, as Emily thinks about their past interaction, something occurs to her, and she can't not respond. ]

Are you saying I almost ate brains? Were brains in those hushpuppies?

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[livemoore]

[ Liv winces and closes her eyes for a second. ]

Almost! Is the keyword. Almost. I stopped you, remember? You didn't eat them because I stopped you.

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[choosetruth]

I appreciate your honesty.

[Her expression and voice are both emotionless and professional under her glasses. Georgia will not ever be comfortable with these sentient zombies. Considering the world she grew up in, she can't be. When you start thinking zombies might be people, you might hesitate before you shoot them, and while that might be fine here where the zombies are sometimes people, in her world hesitating is a death sentence. If there is any sentience left, it's not enough to keep them from eating people.

But she won't kill someone who obviously is a person, and she does appreciate the honesty. If Liv is willing to admit that she's a zombie at all, it seems less likely she's going to actually eat anyone here. Among other things, she'd be such an obvious suspect that it would be stupid.]

What are we supposed to think you eat? Where I come from, it's flesh, but I know there's the classic "brains" meal plan in some zombie takes.

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[livemoore]

Thank you, I think.

[ Because she could have come forward sooner and she didn't, but oh well. ]

I eat brains. Back home, I'm a medical examiner so it's easy for me, I have access. But there's an entire zombie black market that's not entirely ethical. I've been trying to figure out a way to mitigate it. There's a vaccination in the works, though. So soon, somehow we can get people inoculated.

[ She has no idea how without revealing said zombie crisis. That part hasn't been figured out yet. ]

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[ssmisery]

[Man, it's true. Wonderland and everyone in it IS obsessed with zombies. If Lapis even remembers an anonymous conversation along these lines many months ago, honestly, it would barely make a difference to her anyway.]

I hope you don't expect us to stop complaining about zombies in general.

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[livemoore]

Well, I still complain about the zombies that come here, so definitely not. Complain away.