14 BRAINS ; REINTRO, VIDEO

[livable]

[ She'd been here before. And she remembered having time to grieve, but having left and come back, the most recent memories weren't pleasant ones and without a the cold brains of a professional mercenary-slash-hitman to keep that down, Liv took a while to even get out of her pod.

She lay silently, staring at the rugged stone ceiling of the Bay, letting only the sound of the water's ripples and echoes fill her ears. Even without the panic of not knowing where she was, what had once been scars were freshly opened wounds and a reminder that what she had made her life's purpose was once again out of reach in a land where anyone real who died was brought back. A silent twenty minutes later, she took a forced breath. First step: food. Which meant the first step of the first step was finding out if anyone was working in the morgue right now and to get her job back.

Hospital Morgue Shenanigans for Edward Nygma.

With food out of the way and a fresh brain kicking in, it was time to greet the public. Olivia Moore back in action. The video starts with her looking like she's just been stretching, wearing a tank top. ]

Rob Thomas died in my world. Sorry to the Matchbox Twenty fans, may he rest in peace. [ Or in the stomachs of a bunch of military contractor zombies. But you know. ]

Last thing I remember here was the winter party. What'd I miss? Make it snappy, I've got a 5k to run before lunch. A day without a jog is a day lived like a log.

[ Health nut. At least running is a good distraction. Good to know what kind of brain she'd nabbed out of the morgue. Guess you can eat pine nut and kale smoothies all you want, they're not going to stop an out-of-control mini-van. ]

Comments

[livable]

Then the tupperware on top of the fridge with your name on it would've gone to waste.

[ Thank god albondigas is really easy to make, so she could run two at once and the red of all the peppers in hers left zero confusion (to her) about which one had brains in it. Zero cross contamination, way less spicy version for Ed. Plan worked perfectly, even if he got back sooner than she thought he would. ]

It's probably still hot, I left it up there to cool in case you took a while. I thought you'd take at least twenty more minutes.

[acrostic]

Oh! Thank you. Another pleasant surprise.

[ Food for him. She made extra. Olivia Moore is so considerate. Smart and thoughtful and so very pale. He moves over to retrieve the tupperware off the fridge, peeking at the contents before finding somewhere to sit himself. ] Are there onions in this? [ Still hot, as she thought. That worked out quite well, with his break solving her introductory scavenger hunt instead of getting anything. ]

You underestimated me. The transportation had lined up quite well for the tasks. Had you only just arrived today?

[livable]

There are. Is that okay? Do you have an allergy?

[ She doesn't even realize the brain is just starting to kick in now. ] I can make something else if you're allergic. Meatballs really aren't that healthy, I should've made them with turkey or tofu. What was I thinking?

[ It's amazing he hasn't written her off as a crazy person yet. ]

Won't happen again next time. This morning.

[acrostic]

Just an aversion. It's no bother.

[ Though he's tempted to dissect the meal and pick them out of the balls now. He's looking at the food. Nothing odd about that line of thought she's having. Health consciousness comes and goes depending on whatever diet people end up on that week. He just assumes Liv goes through phases and fads sometimes. She rarely has the same meal twice in here. ] You were thinking you wanted meatballs. I wouldn't be too concerned about one day destroying our health.

[ Crazy is a strong word. ]

How long were you there on your end?

[livable]

They're well-blended, hopefully you won't be able to taste them.

[ She smiles at that, for a joke that Ed entirely isn't on. She's definitely not worried about destroying her health. ] I'll just toss in a jog before bed, that'll make up for it.

Maybe a day, weirdly. [ She seems to finish the meatballs off first of course- best to get rid of the evidence even if it's not the healthiest part. ]

[acrostic]

I'm sure I won't. [ But he'll know they're there. And they'll know that he knows. Cursed onions.

He nods at the jogging remark, nothing more to add there. There's plenty to add about only being gone a day. ]

How unusual. You wouldn't think the amount of time would be so disproportionate. Did something significant happen? It could be possible an event took place that made your presence here valuable enough to warrant a return within 24 hours from your end. Though it may be more likely that your leaving was a mistake that was corrected before you could progress with your life.

[livable]

That's the thing. Considering most people regain memories through Dream Docks, I still don't know that I did leave. I don't know where I would've gone, but-

[ Her eyes widen and she puts the bowl aside, moving over to go grab a clean syringe from the drawer. ]

Blood sample. When I was here before I ran forensic tests to determine the approximate age of a few different people. [ She wants to compare her results to her old ones. Which Ed might find weird since there's no record and she's definitely not going to let him touch this one but still ] Uh. Not really. Normal day, talked with some friends, discussed recent events.

[acrostic]

It might be a similar location to where they go when they revive people... [ Ed looks up in thought then moves closer to her, watching her collect the syringe. ]

I can't see how helpful it would be from you. There wasn't a sample on file. [ Yeah, definitely a little weird. What are we looking for? ] Do you believe it may have aged you further than you may have registered before? [ He frowns in disappointment. A normal day ruins that theory. He really thought he was on to something there with the life events. ] It must have been the mistake then.

[livable]

The bodies usually dissolve for pendant holders, don't they?

[ It's why she's never eaten anyone specific besides the NPCs, and part of why she has to eat the non-pendant holders more frequently than back home. It never feels like it lasts long enough. ]

I took the original samples and I value my privacy. I and I alone know what they said and if they're going to be different. [ She doesn't know if there will be anything or if there's anything specific to look for, but leaving and coming back might be different than someone new. Maybe. She's willing to try.

Sorry Ed. Honesty is hard when people make games about blasting your kind's brain on the walls. ]

[acrostic]

Not anymore! [ An excited answer with a wide smile. Ah. He may have been sitting on this one for too long without sharing past a few individuals. The only excuse he has for keeping this to himself is thinking the residents are of Genessia are dull and he'd get further with it on his own. They might not show if everyone's expecting them. Volunteers could be easier to get if they don't know you're about to use them to follow body collectors but Liv is smart. And nice. And pretty. Yes. ]

I've only seen it sparingly. An eerie group comes and collects them. [ Holds up six fingers. Three per hand, using the thumbs as part of the count. ] Takes six days. [ Buts all but one finger down so he can gesturing around them ] They show up in these rectangular cases around the body. White scrubs with red lining. Indistinguishable facial features. They go all the way to the bay with it and down a chamber then- [ Holds his hands apart. ] They're gone. The victim shows up the same as always after.

[ He folds his arms across his chest, taking one step back at "privacy." Does she think he'll take credit or something? Geez. ] Not the most conductive method to our research. Share if it produces something.

[livable]

[ Liv looks confused at first. Concerned even. But the more he explains, the more her brain is ticking. There are a thousand different theories. ]

How many times have you seen it? Where in the Bay did they go? Who is "they" and when did this start happening?

[ She's definitely taking a little longer than necessary with this needle, but she gets it eventually and caps the sample safely, labeling it and pocketing it instead of handling it, you know, properly. Sorry, but she can't risk anyone getting anywhere near it. The needle itself she bends inward so it can't prick her on accident and then shoves in her lab coat pocket too. He'd probably question it more than he already is if she started going to town on it with a bunson burner. ]

Sorry. I will.

[acrostic]

[ A thousand theories but none particularly promising at the moment without extreme testing. ]

Three times. I'm not entirely sure who "they" are. It started with the New Year from what I can assess. There's a chamber in the bay that opens up but it unfortunately closed before I could figure out where it goes. [ he puts a hand on his cheek and sighs. ] People with pendants tend not to come in here as often as I'd like to get a better look. [ There needs to be more murders here so he can do science. Probably going to have to kill someone.

For someone so well trained, Dr. Moore takes quite a bit with that needle. Probably would be faster if she just let him do it for her. And then she puts it right in her pocket, contradicting various protocols. The look on his face is clearly one trying to figure out what she's doing, watching carefully in quite contemplation. Hand on the chin with his head tilted. What are you hiding, hm? ]

[livable]

So we need to find a way to stalk dead people before they die to repeat it.

[ Maybe they can find an oracle or something. Because Liv is distinctively Anti-Murder unless it's Blaine or self-defense. Even with Blaine she came around to not murdering him.

She hates to even suggest this because she honestly doesn't want to be associated with Everglade, despite that her necklace is pretty heavily skewed toward it. It'd be beautiful to her, like golden stars flecked in a deep blue sky within that crystal, if she didn't know that it was because she was a zombie- a monster. That's why this place thought she fit with Everglade. It's why she'll never open up a subarchway, lest people find out that that's where this place decided she fits. It doesn't matter if it'd have a place with nice memories or the possibility of a cure, even one that has such significant drawbacks. ]

Let's check Everglade. We can probably find someone who can see when someone's going to die or something.

[acrostic]

Yes. [ Easier said than done, right?

Unfortunately, he doubts Liv is going to be keen on murdering someone, even if their victim is a nice volunteer they somehow manage to find. He has killed someone - but that's how he found out they don't collect people without necklaces. He's incredibly Pro-Murder but he's definitely not going to tell her that.

There's been a few options with this but none he wanted to pursue by himself just yet. If there's a pair of scientists, one being extremely trusted by the masses here, more progress can be made. ]

Precognition? [ He nods, enthusiastically. ] Even if they don't specifically see death, finding someone with that ability could be useful if they're willing to share predictions. Knowing when one of the more unusual occurrences in Genessia is about to take place could help us make preparations. Create an accurate timeline.

[livable]

Well, that too. I more just meant.. find someone who's going to die, subtle hang around with them until they do so we can follow them. Not exactly the least morbid of options but if it's going to happen anyway at least we can find out what happens after that.

[ And feel horribly guilty about it for a while. One of these scientists has a conscience. ]

[acrostic]

Yes, of course. [ He's thinking too far ahead. ] It's a good idea. [ A pause, with a frown added to his face for authenticity. ] Not intervening will be difficult. [ He could easily sit there and watch someone die for the sake of scientific discovery but he's pretty sure someone with strong morals might chicken out knowing they might be able to prevent a death that's about to happen.

Hopefully she won't feel too bad about it. ]

[livable]

Intervening might be what causes it in the first place, too.

[ you do not know the lengths to which liv is take her self-guilt trips, ed, this is a terrible idea even if she thinks it's a good one right now. ]

[acrostic]

Oh! Certain predictions only becoming accurate because someone is around to hear them and enact the circumstances leading up to the event. [ That sounds like the kind of science he wants to be part of. Causality! Too excited? He's trying to tone it down. They're talking about causing a murder. ]

As long as neither of us intentionally causes it, I suppose we can't technically be murderers.

[livable]

Let's just try not to cause anyone's death and be unbiased, scientific observers.

[ That's.. she can do that. Right? Right.

She might need to start looking for the right meal ahead of time just in case she doesn't have someone heartless the day-of. ]

[acrostic]

I'm sure we can achieve that much.

[ Or he can, anyway. Liv might depend on her mood that day. She sure has a lot of them. ]

Let me know when we might be ready to do this. In the meantime, I'll leave an inquiry with Mayor Cobblepot to see if he knows of anyone with that ability.

[livable]

Soon as we find someone who can help and a basic time frame, let the stalk-a-thon begin.

[ She's joking at least. Less of a nervous mood. That's better. Yeah?? ]