maskormenace | 001. ( an important advertisement. )

( Brace yourselves, imports - possibly literally. Whatever volume the device was on somehow seems too loud with the energetic blast of an aggressively catchy opening credits tune and is soon accompanied by a Dramatic Voiceover. You know the type of voice - mysteriously gravelly and somehow sounding just too intense. )

HAVE YOU EVER WOKEN UP ( dramatic pause ) TO DISCOVER THE WORLD ( dramatic pause ) IS A DARKER PLACE THAN YOU EVER KNEW? AND JUST KNOWN ( dramatic pause ) THAT CHANGE WAS ON THE HORIZON?

( Ah, yes, a shot of a Manly Form against the skyline, silhouetted by the sunlight, and with a shotgun against his shoulder. )

CAN LOVE SURVIVE WHEN IT SEEMS LIKE THE WORLD IS AGAINST YOU? AND ( an even more dramatic pause ) .... CAN YOU SURVIVE WITHOUT LOVE?

( Fade to black, but only for a moment.
Behold, gentle viewers, the face of purest suffering. At the very least it is a look of intense suffering, because Rosita has taken several weeks of being intensely aggravated by producers and reminding herself that she needs the money to help Carl and Daryl and Andrea and Enid and keep them all safe to try, and allowed herself to be trained into looking slightly more cooperative. )

Hi. I’m ImPort Rosita Espinosa, and I’m here to bring romance back from the dead. ZomBae will be hitting your screens in just a few weeks, a fresh new show combining the trials of finding love with surviving the apocalypse.

( Okay, no. She still sounds like she hates this, and she still does, but it’s been turned into a marketing #aesthetic. Have you ever heard a tone more flat? Isn’t it great how aloof she is? )

( Yeah, sure. But wait! Who’s this handsome devil? There is a new person on screen, and that person would be one Gabriel Grey. He looks as if he is enjoying this about as much as Rosita is when he speaks. )

My name is Gabriel, [ he may be reading off some cue cards, focus intent an inch left of the camera, maintaining his own deadpan #aesthetic ], I'm 30, and I come from New York City. I would call myself resourceful and hardworking, which would work to my advantage in the wake of some kind of world-ending disaster like the zombie apocalypse and also [ he is definitely reading off cue cards ] love.

( Back to Rosita, and she is resting an axe against her shoulder as she talks, rubbing her forehead for a brief moment before she forces herself to go on. Flat as Hell: ) But we need your help to find Gabriel his perfect partner in survival, and in life.

( And now, a montage:
Gabriel and Rosita fight zombies. Gabriel and Rosita scan the terrain with binoculars. Gabriel and Rosita fortify a room and Prepare For Battle. Gabriel and Rosita ride some horses on a beach only for the camera to pan back and show some extras dressed as zombies shambling after them, and then!!! The final shot: Gabriel picks up a SINGLE PERFECT ROSE (sigh) from amidst the mud and carnage… and stares into the sunset. It’s very wistful. (It’s not very wistful at all.)

( All in all, it’s as terrible as it sounds. )

( Now, enough of that montage; back to the present, and their artistically messy hair. Rosita looks to Gabriel, and her expression very much is along the lines of please, let this be the end, let me die, before her jaw flexes and she forces out the last bit with a smile. )

If you think you have what it takes to be a Zombae, or you know someone who does, then let us know by leaving a comment.

( ooc: Green is Rosita, red is Gabriel, and comments will be coming from both of them. )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[...omg

that

omg]

Babe...

Should I consider this an expression of interest?

( It's not Ruby's fault she's mad. Other stuff made her mad, namely? Not being able to talk about all the reasons why this show is terrible. )

In... competing for the love of your very enthusiastic friend there?

( Just... a look. The look somehow says yes, obviously while being very tense. So, so tense. )

[For absolutely no reason at all, right?]

No, I'm good. But thanks for the offer?

( No reason, except for her more obvious walker related tension, and her less obvious Ruby related...

Never mind. )

You're welcome.

( It comes out more dickishly than she means it to, and she has to stop for a second, gaze dropping. ) Sorry.

It's... fine.

[I guess?? Honestly, she's not sure what to think of that particular outburst.]

It's kind of been a day for you, huh?

Yeah.

( She's even more monosyllabic than usual, apparently. Despite wanting the money and wanting to be able to bring in decent cash so she could help? She kind of wanted it to get cancelled. Not for it to be popular.

Not for people to laugh. There's a long moment before she wrestles out, ) It's complicated.

[Yeah, I mean, if they did the same thing but with jokes about werewolves eating people instead... Well, you get the idea.]

Anything I can do to help?

I don't know.

( Yes, probably, because Ruby is Ruby and Ruby has this weird talent for making her laugh. No, because... Rosita has no idea what would help. )

Well... do you want to meet up? And talk about it? Or not talk about it?

Sure.

( It's far to noncommittal, and she makes herself stop, take a breath, and nod. )

Uh, yeah, that'd be good. Ice cream, or something?

[That makes her smile, just a little.]

Is that sort of turning into our thing?

( That gets a breath of amusement from her, and an eyeroll. )

Sure, Ruby. That's our thing.

It's not bad, as far as things go.

[A pause.]

But I don't actually know where you are right now? Wanna just text me an address for someplace close to there and I'll meet you?

I've encountered worse.

( Her tone says just barely, but there's just the slightest hitch at the corner of her mouth, the suggestion of a smile.

She doesn't reply verbally, just shoots over a text with an intersection in Heropa. )

There's a gelato place just near there. Meet you there in... half an hour?

[Excellent. Ruby is glad to see the almost-smile but says nothing. Y'know, to keep her from hiding it again?]

Yeah, see you then.

( And so it is that Rosita Espinosa is wandering to a gelato place with a hat and sunglasses on, because she needs to adapt to the agony of celebrity life. Or possibly just because the sun is too bright?

Yeah, no.

Her arms are crossed as she leans against a lamp post, waiting for Ruby and grimacing at new messages on the network as she does. )

[It takes her a bit longer to get there, obviously, but Ruby tries her best to make good time. If ever there was a time to not leave someone hanging, it would be right now, huh?

And when she finally does arrive, well, hat and sunglasses or not, Ruby would recognize that grimace anywhere.]

Hey! You didn't have to wait too long, I hope?

( She straightens up, a slow, motion that somehow seems flippant. It's a special talent she has, this one. )

No.

( It sounds friendlier than a no might generally be expected to, and Rosita pushes up her sunglasses a little. ) How are you?

[Ruby keeps approaching, ending up fairly well-established in Rosita's personal bubble, a smile on her face but concern still in her eyes.]

I'm good. How about you?

( It says something that she is okay with Ruby being in her personal bubble.

The way she looks at Ruby, the do you really want to ask that? in the quirk of her mouth and the slight raising of her brows, is more informative than her response. ) I'm fine.

( And she tilts her head towards the gelato place. ) Sugar fixes everything.

[Obviously, she doesn't believe it, but she'll let it pass until Rosita is ready to talk about it. Instead, she just nods and starts walking.]

Of course it does. You're just stating the obvious.

( As she follows after Ruby, Rosita shakes her head, and gently nudges Ruby's shoulder with her own. )

Sorry. Honing in on your turf?

( Oh, yeah. That's definitely a mischievous smile that's happening. )

[She laughs.]

A little, yeah. But I'll allow it.

001. ( an important advertisement. )

video

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

action?

action!

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject