"You know, I call you Yellow, because of the color of your eyes... But now that I look at your teeth- that's a pretty similar color, dude."
" >:("
• Is totally willing to bathe himself for your sake. Everyone knows that mold and some other rotten stuff that zombies contain is harmful for you. Not to mention that mildew stinks.
• Sometimes looks at you with a metal spoon in his hand, silently begging asking you to scrab away his funguses. After some time, you started scrubbing his skin with a disheveled brush you found. You can tell he likes the feeling of being taken care of when you brush away the mess that grows on him.
• The more he spends time with you, the more his heart beats... and the more he feels. So yeah, that mold itches him A LOT. Please help him or he'll be whining like a dog.
• Practices his speech (with your help ofc). With patience, he gets to talk to you in full sentences. His speech is still slurred, however much much much better.
• Although Yellow looks more... healthy, he still is a zombie. Doesn't need to sleep, eat or drink. Get ready for bright yellow eyes staring at you while you sleep. (he's being affectionate)
• It is a punishment to make him brush his teeth. Yellow is good at many things, he's pretty handy for a zombie. Yet isn't able to brush his teeth. How come he doesn't know how to hold the brush correctly? Did he not brush his teeth when he was alive?.. When you ask him that, all you get for an answer is a grunt.
• One time you promissed him you'd give him a quick peck on his rusty ass lips if he brushed his teeth properly. Two hours later his gums were nearly bleeding from the repeated motion of the toothbrush. On the other hand, his breath stank less. He got his reward right after. For a week straight he couldn't stop smiling. You were creeped out on the 5th day-
• Brushing his teeth with small pecks from you became a rutine pretty quickly. There were attempts to brush his teeth quicker so he could feel your soft lips on his as soon as possible. Everytime he tries that, he gets sent back to finish his job.
Hmm... What exactly happened yesterday? Let's recapitulate...
'So I got low on food, I watched a deer being murdered, was chased by infected men,... Then I watched the men get murdered as well... What next...
Right! I cuddled with yellow next to their corpses in the drugstore, then he ate half of the dead deer and then we got home in a heavy rain.
Damn okay.
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You felt tired just as soon as you woke up in the morning. Your attempt to take a deep breath through your nose was ruined by it being stuffy. Groaning, you sat up and looked around your hut.
A cute sympathetic zombie sat on your chair, watching your every move. „Ghood.. morr-ningh, Y/hN." (Good morning, Y/N.) He greeted hoarsely. „I wouldn't call it necessarily 'good'." you declared. „But yeah, hi." „Chrmm..." (Hmm...)
He looked focused, examining your seated figure. You noticed it and with a slight smile you asked why he was looking at you like that.
Yellow sighed. „Yhuu.. lookrg ter-rhibleh." (You look terrible.) he finally spoke. „Oh wow, thanks a lot." you said sarcastically, climbing out of your bed.
As you slowly walked to the pantry and took out a can with a spoon, Yellow started laughing out of nowhere. You were sure he was laughing at YOU, but his laugh was pleasant to your ears, you had never heard him laugh like that before.
„Well, what is it this time??" You put your hands on your hips and waited to see what would come out of him. He chuckled a few more times, then finally said: „Yhou lookgh likke mee~" (You look like me~)
„WHAT?" you acted offended. „Liikgh.. zhomb-ee" (Like zombie.) „I know what you meant!" He laughed some more at his own joke.
"Personally, I don't think I look that bad." You grumbled as you opened your can for breakfast. "I just have a little cold... Besides, I certainly don't look as bad as you." You argued confidently.
Yellow asked you something, but it was hard to understand him. "Sorry, could you repeat that?" you pleaded. So he tried again, slower.
„Yuurgh... donn-t think-gh I'mm... h.hands-chome?" (You don't think I'm handsome?) You froze a little at the question. When you implied that he looked worse than you, you were referring to his undeadness. Although when you looked at him from another angle, he certainly had attractive features.
„Well.."
He was sitting on a chair with his legs slightly apart, resting his head on one hand, wearing a cocky smile. The sharp jawline adorned with stubble flattered his bushy eyebrows and messy hair. The dark circles under his eyes made his yellow eyes, similar to a sunrise, stand out.
It took you too long to answer. 'Come on! Say somethinggg!! You can't just keep staring at him like that...' Thoughts raced through your head and you started to blush.
„Aw~" Yellow sighed in a husky voice, which didn't help the situation at all. Still, he was patient and waited for your answer.
When your thoughts calmed down a bit, you finally had the courage to answer. „Ehm... well. Aside from the mold growing on some parts of your body... and the fact that you eat raw meat... you're quite... good looking." Admitting he was attractive to you was harder than you thought.
Yellow looked satisfied. He got up from the chair and walked over to you, leaned over you slightly and said as clearly as possible: „Well, I thhin-k.. youh lookch ap-phealing." (Well, I think you look appealing.)
He had an annoyingly hot smile on his face. You were left speechless at his compliment. Until he spoiled it again by adding: „ Aph..peal-ing forh a zhom..bie." (Appealing for a zombie.)
You narrowed your eyes at him. Obviously, you knew he was messing with you. But did he really mean what he said? You and appealing? His words got stuck in your head a lot more than you wanted.
There was no need to wait for your next answer. He said what he wanted to say. While he was walking back to his chair, you finished your breakfast.
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Today you had nothing to do and didn't have anything planned. And if you had, you wouldn't have had the strength to do it. So you decided to rest in bed because you were feeling worse and worse.
It started raining again outside, it was cloudy and a cold wind was blowing. It wasn't exactly cold in the hut, however you could feel it. You didn't mind, you were still terribly hot from the fever and didn't even want to put a blanket over yourself.
It was already afternoon and you refused to eat lunch, you would definitely throw it up right away.
Yellow was still sitting in the same chair in the same place in the same position, meanwhile you were rolling from side to side in discomfort and nausea.
You started to have trouble breathing, you were coughing, and you were tired, but you couldn't fall asleep. Yellow's eyes looked much more tense than usual as he watched you.
„S-sorr..chy..." (Sorry...) Why was he apologizing? Was he sorry... for you? Or.. „Mhyy-.. fch... faultt." (My fault.) Confusion took over you. Why did he blame himself for you getting sick? „It's not *cough* your fault, Yellow." you said weakly.
He started muttering about how he shouldn't have eaten that deer, how if he had gotten you home sooner you wouldn't have been sick, etc. You only understood about half of what he said, but you could tell from his voice how corrosive his thoughts were.
„Yellow."
„!.."
„Calm down, please. What happened, happened and I don't regret anything, okay? I'm not feeling well, but I'll get better, it's just an illness. Do you understand?"
He fell silent, and so did his thoughts. He nodded and you sighed. „Ccan... I helph youh?" (Can I help you?) His eyes were calm and caring again. Although you would appreciate a help, you didn't know how Yellow could do that. You just shrugged weakly.
That was the sign to him. He rose stiffly from his chair and picked up the axe that was leaning against the wall by the door. You were too tired to think about his actions.
He came to the small sink that was in the corner of the hut and used the axe to make a hole in the wooden floor opposite to it. You were a little startled by the sudden breaking.
Yellow picked something from under the floor and reached into the sideboard for a spoon. As he slowly walked over to the bed you were lying in, you could see him a little blurry due to your half closed eyelids.
He squatted down next to your head and put the spoon near your mouth. „Huh?" „M..medicc-ine." (Medicine.) „But how did you.." „o-open." He demanded, so you obeyed. It was truly a medicine, you could tell by the terribly bitter taste.
You grimaced and he smiled and stood up. "I didn't know there was a medicine here... How did you know?" Yellow took a water bottle and opened it before handing it to you. „Thank you..." You said as you drank that awful taste away.
He then placed the bottle on the floor. „Are you going to answer me?" You reminded yourself to him. Something inside him didn't want to answer. Nevertheless... You deserved to know the answer.
„Uhgm... I rem-membrgh.t." (Um.. I remembered.) What did he mean by that? „Like, you've smelled this medicine... here before?" Yellow dropped his eyes in shame. „N-noug." (No.) It was strange. „Come on, I'm curious." He remained silent, his eyes fixed on you.
Your throat let out an almost bloody cough that made you have trouble breathing again. You clutched your neck in pain and with wet eyelashes from tears. Yellow looked around for tissues, but instead he used your blanket that was lying next to you to wipe your tears.
He went back to the sideboard, from which he took out a flatwere knife. With your eyes half-opened, you watched what he was doing there, but you could only see his back. All you could hear was peeling and scraping, you couldn't imagine what he was doing with that knife. You coughed again before calling his name.
„Mmom.enth..." (Moment.) he groaned concentratedly. After a while, he threw the knife into the sink and wiped his hand on his pants. When he squatted down next to you again, you gave him a suspicious look.
„I c-cutt off thge moldh off myy haand.." (I cut off the mold off my hand..) You observed him with furrowed eyebrows „Why did you do that?" you asked tensely. „Sso I c-cgould.." (So I could..) He started while placing his cold palm on your aching throat. „..do-o thiss." (..do this.)
You didn't resist his touch, the coolness of his hand relieved the fire in your throat. It was pleasant, so pleasant you closed your eyes in relief. „Ahhh..~" Yellow smiled at you like a sunshine. „Thank you, Yellow, you're so kind.." You told him softly. „Although.. I still don't understand why you cut off the mold off of your skin before you.. you know."
He turned his head to show his confusion. „Yhou sai-dd.. youh didn-n't lighke the mmol.d on mhee." (You said you didn't like the mold on me.) „Huh??? Oh wait.." You actually DID say that while you were admitting he was handsome.: '((„Aside from the mold growing on some parts of your body... and the fact that you eat raw meat... you're quite... good looking."))'
„Oww but you didn't have to do that because of me.." You whined feeling embarrassed. „I amm.. nhot a f-fan of moldd eithher. But.. Itt j.ust kheeps grh..growwning.." (I am not a fan of mold either. But it just keeps growing.) Yellow confessed plaintively.
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His hand was so pleasant on the skin of your neck that you didn't even notice that you had fallen asleep. The medicine probably played a part in that too.
You woke up around the evening because it was getting dark outside. You had a cold, wet cloth on your forehead and you were under the covers.
Your yawn caught the attention of Mr. Yellow, who was looking out the window near your feet. Without a word, he walked back over to you and sat on the ground next to your head.
You wanted to greet him, but all could come out of you was a grunt. „Hun-gry?" (Hungry?) He inquired affectionately. You didn't feel as terrible as before, but you still didn't feel like eating. „Noo.." you replied as your stomach started rumbling.
„Youh ha-ad no lun..ch." (You had no lunch.) „But I don't feel like eating." you tried to argue but unsuccessfully. He took a bowl from a shelf and, using a wooden spoon, put rice into it from the large bag you had in the pantry.
He took a canister of water, a medium-sized pot, and with the bowl, went outside to make a fire and cook the rice.
'Ain't no way he's cooking a dinner for me!' your mind screamed and your head started to get hot again. You sat on the bed and watched Yellow through the fogged window.
Before you knew it, Yellow had already gone back inside with the cooked rice. On the way, he picked up a spoon for you and handed you the dinner. Even though you claimed you weren't hungry, the smell of the cooked rice made your mouth water. "Can I ask for some salt too?" you cowardly requested. Yellow hummed and brought it.
With a thank you, you cleared your throat with a cough one last time and started eating. „Woah... yummy." you exclaimed with praise. He just nodded.
You were smiling at him with a mouthful of rice. "You're special." You announced simply. Yellow avoided eye contact and scratched his hand nervously. „It'z juss..t rrice..." (It's just rice...) he mumbled.
„Well, yes, but I can't imagine another zombie cooking rice." He acted so lively. As if the infection wasn't eating him from the inside at all.
„Rrice coo-kk.ing isz somethg-ing youh don'tt jjus-t forgeth." (Rice cooking is something you don't just forget.) declared Yellow. „Mm.. I guess." You had no choice but to agree.
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When you finished your dinner, there was an endless silence in the hut. „You still haven't answered me." You began. „How did you know about the medicine?" Yellow took a deep breath and exhaled.
He told you everything he knew, everything he remembered.
He was bitten by an infected person some time ago, but he couldn't pinpoint the exact time. The infection drove him crazy, like everyone else. All he knew was hunger. He hated everything he did out of hunger.
He tried to starve himself for as long as possible because of the unbearable feelings. However after every week of trying, it didn't work for him and the animal inside him began to control him again.
He wanted to hide from it all. He wanted to go home, but couldn't remember where home was. But then he had a flash of a memory and remembered a place he had liked to run to and hide away at from his problems when he was still alive.
Intuitively he went to that place. He walked for a long time, killed something here and there to survive.
The day he arrived at the place was cloudy. He was hungry again and could smell a human nearby. He wanted to avoid the smell, but the closer he got to where he wanted to be, the stronger the smell became.
He finally saw his hut, which he had built in his youth. His safe place. But... there was light inside. Was someone stealing there?
In fact, it was you who had settled there. You were the one he had been smelling the whole time. Your aroma made him feel the unbearable hunger again.
He wanted to kill you.
Soon you noticed him standing by your fence. But you had no idea it was actually HIS fence. He lost the moment of surprise. So he decided to just observe you for now. He soon started to enjoy observing you though. He tried not to disturb you in any way.
Sometimes he disappeared from sight for a moment, but he never let you out of his sight. Something happened to him. That night he sensed another living person nearby who was being attacked by an undead. He went to the location and feasted on the living (now dead) one, right after killing the infected one. At first he didn't know why he killed the zombie as well... He had no reason, they could have shared the human.
But then he realized that it was just an instinct that he didn't have before. The zombie would't be a thread for him, but to you. He returned and made eye contact with you through the window of the hut. He no longer saw you as prey, but something he needed to protect.
And how else to protect you than to leave you safe in the hut you unknowingly appropriated.
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„HOLD UP!" was the first thing you blurted out after Yellow's speech. „This is YOUR hut!??" „Wwell... It'z yourhs now." (Well... It's yours now.) „But you built it, didn't you?" „Uh-huh." „So I AM the intruder here!!" „Youh lit-.terallhy liveh hhere. (You literally live here.)
You thought the person who owned the hut was already dead, and you weren't that far from the truth. You needed a shelter to survive, and this was the most rational solution. How could you have known that in four months its half-dead owner would arrive?
Yellow patted your shoulder gently. „I'.m ghl-ad yhou settl-ed hhere." (I'm glad you settled here.) His reassuring worked and you calmed down a bit.
Yellow instinctively held his arms open in case you'd lost your balance when you rapidly got out of bed. „Stand up." You requested even though it sounded more like an order. Without questioning he did what you wanted.
A slight startle took over Yellow as you hugged him tightly. You didn't care that his jacket and T-shirt were bloody, it didn't matter at that moment.
Yellow carefully put his arms around you and hugged you back. You enjoyed each other's company for as long as you could. You opened your eyes at the sound coming from Yellow.
„Y-Yellow?" You said with a trembling voice. „Hmm? Wchat.'z thee matt-er?" (Hmm? What's the matter?)
"Don't look back."
The Walking Dead, AMC Network. We've previously discussed why it's a good idea for you to incorporate a live/dead indicator dye in your panel for flow analysis here. And, BioLegend offers a line of Zombie dyes, which recognize primary amines. On live cells, primary amines on proteins are only labeled on the cell surface. As cells die, they lose their membrane integrity, which allows the Zombie dyes to access cytoplasmic proteins. Due to the significantly higher number of proteins on the inside of the cell compared to the surface, Zombie staining of dead cells will be much higher than live cells.
Your apoptosing cells. PI, an impermeant dye, and 7-AAD, a semi-permeant dye, are common nucleic acid stains often used as live/dead indicators in flow cytometry. However, they aren't perfect for every occasion. Since nucleic acid stains become fluorescent when bound to DNA, their staining pattern can be affected by any organic denaturing solvents, like methanol (MeOH) or ethanol (EtOH). Both MeOH and EtOH are often used in fixatives for cytokine detection, intranuclear antigen detection, or Phospho-flow.
These solvents can denature the DNA, causing the nucleic acid stain to lose affinity (as you see in the reduction of signal with 7-AAD) and wash away. MeOH/EtOH fixation can reduce 7-AAD binding and a loss of signal. Day-old unfixed spleen cells are on the left. The same cells were fixed with 70% EtOH, 1.5% PFA are on the right. Or in the case with PI, the solvents will permeabilize the previously live cells, in addition to causing the nucleic acid stain come off the DNA of dead cells. This results in PI very quickly labeling the newly permeabilized cells that had been alive prior to EtOH/MeOH fixation, causing a very big shift in "background", thus losing resolution of live and dead cells. MeOH/EtOH fixation can unwind the DNA and cause PI to pop off and find new targets that were originally alive to begin with, causing an increase in background. Day-old unfixed spleen cells are on the left. The same cells were fixed with 70% EtOH, 1.5% PFA are on the right.
Don't fall for false positives. WWE Entertainment. As previously mentioned, the Zombie dyes covalently react with primary amines, which is an irreversible conjugation to the proteins of the cell. MeOH and EtOH fixation won't affect the Zombies, so you can trust your final results. And, we're proud to announce four new additions (UV, Violet, Green, and Red) to round out our Zombie line.
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