Second Floor Common Room, Thursday Afternoon

[arsenicmauls]

Gert had seen a lot of dumb crap on television in her time -- especially reality television -- but she had to admit that this was the first time she'd seen reality television quite as stupid as I Didn't Know I Was A Zombie.

Today's episode was about Ryan, a waiter from Oregon in his twenties who apparently had only finally become aware of his zombie condition after trying to chow down on a coworker's brain -- which, according to a specialist the show had called on to consult, was probably 'six to seven months after Ryan began initial decay.'

Was Ryan shocked to discover that he was undead? Apparently so, given the fact that he'd been handling food for half a year after becoming a zombie. And his girlfriend, a musician who Gert personally thought could stand to cover some skin, was 'just as shocked as he was.'

This was really terrible, but somehow Gert couldn't look away.

[[we haven't had a common room in a weirdly long time. open!]]

Comments

[arsenicmauls]

"Yeah, well, maybe you missed a couple classes." Nope. "The first class made my roommate almost cry, so."

[whenshewasnice]

"One class is not a pattern," Natalie pointed out mildly, eyebrow back down now that she knew what the problem was. "It's a class on public speaking. There was always a 50/50 chance of introductions putting people on the spot."

[arsenicmauls]

"Doesn't make it civilized," Gert said stubbornly. "And it definitely doesn't make me want to sign up for extra classes with him anytime soon. Even if Barton's the alternative."

Yes, that was an 'even,' not an 'especially.' Because Gert had Avenger issues.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie was so unimpressed with you, Gert. But you know, in a mild way because she didn't really care enough, either. Everyone was entitled to their own opinion, after all.

Even when it seemed like an unnecessarily grudge-filled opinion.

"Well, I wouldn't call what I'm doing with Clint 'extra classes', anyway," she said. "He's a friend."

[arsenicmauls]

"A friend who teaches you archery and whose class you're taking." Gert privately thought that was super weird, power-dynamics-wise, but she wasn't going to comment. "Okay."

Because her tone said it for her, pretty much.

[whenshewasnice]

Natalie would grant that it could look a little off from the outside.

But she was also confident in the knowledge that if you listened in on their conversations, Natalie usually came out looking like the more mature and sensible person.

"I believe there's a saying about not judging things based on their surface alone."

That meant you, Gert.

[arsenicmauls]

The directness surprised Gert, but oddly not in an entirely negative way. "It always seemed like an unproductive saying to me, but I see your point," she said. "My bad."

[whenshewasnice]

"It's not that unproductive," Natalie replied in a perfectly mild tone. "Keeps you from assuming things."

She was not going to repeat the part about assuming making asses of people, although she'd heard it many a time from Sam, way back when.