thisonetime_withkeith | One Zombie; Video, Action for New Bark Town

[For a moment, you can hear the confused murmurs of a guy trying to figure out what the heck this thing in his hands is. With a few choice curse words and some shaking the device, the feed flicks on and you get an up close of his face and his eye.]

Well there we go! Ain't this technelogical. Okay then. Holy shit! Any ah y'all out there? Ro? Nick? Coach? You ain't never gonna believe what happened! I got...

Wait for it...

[He splits into a grin and a laugh escapes.]

A Pokemon! Look! [He points the gear down towards the ground to reveal a red pig looking Pokemon.] I ain't sure if it's a girl or a boy, but either way I decided to name it Suee. I ever tell you guys about the time me and my buddy Keith went pig wrastlin'? Now, Keith thought he was big and bad enough to take on a whole pen full'a the bastards, but it turns out pigs are a lot stronger than he gave 'em credit for. He was-

[It's about that time that Suee sneezes and a puff of black smoke comes out, cutting Ellis off as he begins coughing and sputtering.]

Shit- Aha, anyway... Did you know 'pparently I'm supposed to breed these things? Got a breeders handbook 'n everything. That sure is weird, but I ain't complainin'! I am gonna breed the best goddamn suckers you ever did see, just you wait! Hehe...

And y'know what? Now that I think about it- I been too busy takin' all this in to actually think about it 'til now, but- I ain't seen a single zombie since gettin' here! S'that mean there ain't none here? Am I finally safe for once? Man if so, you guys need'a get your asses here pronto! You guys can see this right?

Niiiick? You out there man? Rochelle? Coach?! I ain't talkin' to myself am I?

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[That definitely doesn't sound good at all. France grimaces.]

I'm really sorry to hear that. America is such a handsome country.

[He pauses, his expression wavering slightly.]

Do you know anything about Canada?

America is awesome, ya got that right! But... I don't know anything 'bout Canada, bud. I'm sorry.

[He frowns, giving France a sympathetic expression.]

[France's face falls completely. He spends a long moment very clearly devastated by this news. When he finally does speak, it's very subdued, mournful.]

Oh...

[He swallows and refocuses a bit on Ellis as he tries to change the subject a bit. He smiles, waveringly.]

You remind me of him. America, I mean.

[Oh... Well this is getting awkward. SAD PEOPLE. Ellis doesn't know how to deal. Especially when it's his fault for making him sad in the first place. He feels kinda bad. But at the same time... Well, in a zombie apocalypse, you kinda get used to stuff like this. Sort of. Or at least you learn to hide it well enough, because if you're sad then... You kinda get eaten by zombies.

He shifts a little, looking away and pretending to be occupied with something else to give France a moment to recover. When he speaks, Ellis turns his attention back to the camera. Then his eyebrows furrow at those next words. He's confused- this guy is talking about America like it's a person! That isn't right.]

Whatcha mean by that? I'm a little confused here. I remind you of America?

[France is very good at dealing with sad people but not so much with being sad himself. He's had a lot of experience with it, though, so he's able to compartmentalize it back up for further examination (or none at all, which is really more the case). That's why he's able to smile at Ellis's questions with a bit more than a quirk of the lips, even though the idea of Canada or America or even Mexico being overrun by zombies is still intensely disturbing to him.]

Yes, America. He's a very enthusiastic and strong young Nation with a very distinctive manner.

[France makes a flourishing gesture to indicate himself as he says:]

This France has been one of his earliest allies.

[Yeah, when France speaks... he honestly just grows more confused. Speaking about these places like they're humans? And comparing him to America? It's confusing and weird. But- well, America is a cool place, so maybe it ain't so bad, right? If he reminds this guy of America, then that should be a good thing, since America is cool!

But then... he calls himself France? And Ellis is just even more confused.]

Your name's France...? No offense, but that's kind of a silly name. I mean, I've heard a' Francis and everything, even met a guy named that! But France? That's silly, since there's a place named France.

[France frowns, eyes narrowing slightly before he breathes out a sigh. Ah, this song and dance again.]

I am the place named "France." I'm the embodiment, I suppose you could say, of its land, people, and culture. I am the French state itself.

[He makes a grandiose gesture.]

I do sometimes go by the name "Francis," but that's besides the point.

I... wha-

[Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hold the phone. This is the craziest thing he's ever heard! How is that even possible?

Except, how is being in the world of Pokemon even possible? All things considered, it's not actually the most crazy thing, in retrospect. But still it's pretty insane. Mostly because he's stuck on the 'how is it possible' thing even though he isn't questioning the Pokemon thing in the same way.][He sounds like he's still trying to work it out in his head. Be patient.]

This is... I dunno, man. I just dunno.

[France is used to being patient on this point. While he's always been certain of his existence, centuries of experience has taught him humans tend to have a difficult time understanding how their country, let alone foreign ones, can have their own, human-like form. It does please him, actually, that Ellis is putting in such an effort to try to wrap his head around the concept.]

I know it must seem a bit odd to you, but it's true. Every state has a Nation that embodies it. I've been around two thousand years, give or take a few hundred.

Two...thousand.

[Holy shit! But you look so young. This is just... a lot for him to take in. It just really doesn't make sense! Holy shit. But... Well, he guesses it's okay? It ain't exactly something to shun anybody over, anyway.]

Well, alright then! Ya are what ya are and that ain't bad, eh? I mean... yeah, s'weird, but who cares? Actually, it's kinda cool if ya think about it... Do ya get any special powers or anything for bein' what ya are?

One Zombie; Video, Action for New Bark Town

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