[voice;]

[romeoeatsbrains]

[ It takes a little fumbling for R to get the phone to cooperate. Numb corpse hands aren't the most deft tools to use but he's making the effort. For a moment he accidentally turns on the video giving a few seconds of deathly pale skin and unnaturally grey eyes before he turns it off as fast as he can with clumsy hands. That little accident taken care of he focuses on the whole reason he went through with this. ]

What makes you feel... alive?

[ Words are still a struggle to get out in coherent sentences, he's still counting syllables to see when he might break the barrier between his mouth and his brain and get out a whole sentence without stumbling. ]

Just curious... what people think.

Comments

Audio

[knifecollecting]

Depends on what kind of alive I'm looking for. [Isn't she helpful?]

Going too fast through a field, or...winning some cash. Those help.

Audio

[romeoeatsbrains]

[ Going too fast makes him smile a little, Julie would appreciate that. ]

Hard to go fast down here... right? No cars.

Re: Audio

[knifecollecting]

Yeah. The mopeds are faster than walking, but still not fast enough.

[She really misses cars. And open roads. And sky.]

[voice]

[tongueamok]

[It's a good thing one can't discern the living from the dead via network communications, or Carlisle would be taking this call with a lot more unease. The topic is one he doesn't particularly feel comfortable talking about as it is, but... well, it is unusual for him to feel alive at all, in the figurative sense.

Which is how he takes the question, of course. An undead wouldn't be using the network. Again. Obviously. What a silly notion.]

It's not a what so much as a who for some individuals.

[voice]

[romeoeatsbrains]

[ No zombies here, none at all. He hasn't eaten anyone in like a month so no worries, right? ]

...I know that feeling. [ Julie keeps him human more than anything else. Anytime the new hunger flares up he swallows it down because he's making progress and he doesn't want to disappoint her. ]

[tongueamok]

As do I. Like your heart is beating for the very first time.

[His voice is soft as he expresses that sentiment; if he sounds a little melancholy about it, it's because it does seem a bit sad that it took him this long to experience such a feeling for himself.]

[voice]

[whip_poor_will]

I suppose you could count me into the "who" not "what" category.

But then again, it is hard to say. I am not alive.

[voice]

[romeoeatsbrains]

People here? Or... home?

[ The not alive thing is interesting though. He knows he's not the only zombie walking around with thoughts in their head but... ]

You're not alive?

[voice]

[whip_poor_will]

There was someone once, a long time ago. Long before here.

[Ah yes, she felt like that little bit would catch his interest.]

I am not. And I've been fine with that for quite a while. [Those in her position would have to be, or they lose their minds.]

(Voice)

[stonebird]

A warm home, friends, family. (Sansa would have been the perfect stay-at-home wife.) Are you well?

(Maybe her eyes deceived her? But he seems...a little pale. Or a lot pale.)

(Voice)

[romeoeatsbrains]

I'm doing okay. [ No one's shot at him yet so hey, it could be worse. ]

Family... [ And he thinks of his nameless kids for the first time since he got here. He misses them a little, hopes they're alright after he fled the airport. ]

(Voice)

[stonebird]

I'm relieved. (Her voice warms, but her tone is tentative.) Do you have any family here? Friends can be treated as such too.

text;

[radiopalkiller]

It helps when you know what the alternative feels like. 'This still beats that' goes a long way on a bad day.

voice;

[romeoeatsbrains]

[ It takes R a little while to respond to this one, mostly because being dead means he can't read a damn word and he has to go to Julie and have her translate. ]

What about when you... can't remember? What then?

text;

[radiopalkiller]

Did you try a cold beer?

( audio )

[ghoulaid]

( Oh, this is an easy question! He makes a sound like he's about to say something, then stops when he realizes an uncomfortable detail... There's a long pause, and then: )

Buncha stuff that ain't here.

( That's fucking depressing. )

Well, shit.

( audio )

[romeoeatsbrains]

Nothing?

[ Fuck, that really is depressing. ]

[paragonbrosca]

[She could answer this honestly, or--]

The Pearl. Get a man, a woman -or both- and go to town. It's an awesome place.

So...uh, are you alright? You looked kinda pale.

['Ghoul' comes to mind, but ghouls likely wouldn't be talking at all, let alone use the phone....]

[romeoeatsbrains]

[ Sounds like an experience, to be sure. He could definitely lie about the question of his complexion but- ]

It's a condition. Nothing to... worry about.

voice;

[thelastjoy]

Don't know that anyone ever thinks 'bout that kinda think 'til it all goes away.

[But that's not a real answer.]

Ever been doin' hundren-twenty down an abandoned highway with the radio up so loud you can feel drums better than your own heartbeat? That feels a lot like livin'.

voice;

[romeoeatsbrains]

Never went that fast. Sounds fun.

[ Not that his reflexes would ever allow for something like that, but the thought is a pleasing one. ]

...You like music?

[am_i_a_monster]

Being alive makes me feel alive, if that makes sense. Letting myself think I can have a long life.

[romeoeatsbrains]

Makes sense. I never really... thought about it. Living.

action; >8]

[redwinekindofgirl]

R..?

[Julie finds him barely moments after he ends his message. Not difficult, when they live in the same place. She drops down onto the seat beside him, making them both bounce slightly, and fixes him with a quizzical look.

While they've been here, things have been... interesting. It's been a while since she was actually scared of R and what he might do if he lost control, but what has been even more curious is watching a person she would have so readily dismissed as an unthinking, unfeeling thing show more emotion and thoughtfulness than some of the Living people she's met in her life.]

What are you doing?

action;

[romeoeatsbrains]

[ It's strange, living with Julie like this. Not in a bad way, it's just so very different from the existence he knew before she turned his entire world upside down. He answers her question with a shrug, the phone sitting in his lap, waiting for answers from anyone willing to talk to him. ]

Don't know. Talking... helps.

[ Anything to keep his mind active, to make the new hunger quiet. Right now it's a beast hiding in the basement of his mind, waiting for the door to be left open. Acting like a person helps keep that door sealed tight. He hasn't eaten anything since they ended up here and he's determined to keep it that way. ]