Jackie liked to think of herself as good at cheering people up, getting them to let loose and laugh, even if it was at her own expense. She didn't mind making a fool of herself if it put someone else in a good mood. “Record books, even! Damn, I really am clever.” Ridiculous conversations were her favorite.
She nodded in agreement, recalling several months ago when the colonists had ganged up on leadership, voicing their agreement and dislike (a word that put it lightly) with the decision of what happened to the man they'd caught sneaking around outside the compound. Things like that bred chaos and right now that was the last thing they needed. “At least the people involved with the bigger threat.” Not everyone was deep in the loop with what was going on, so thievery was still likely a concern for those individuals.
“A lot of people value the honesty more than the sugarcoating. At least I do. I think sugarcoating things just helps people believe there's hope, which isn't a bad thing, so... Guess I kinda see both sides of it. Benefits and shortcomings.” She shrugged. “Either way, I know I'd feel more comforted if a medic was paying attention to what he was doing, rather than trying to strike up a conversation.”
It was a grim thing to think about, but it was something a lot of people thought about, she figured. How and when this infection was going to come to an end. How and when the world would recover. She believed, without a doubt, that it would. The how and the when were impossible to determine, though. “If zombies can evolve into Smashers, I think there's a chance we can evolve, too. We're already evolving. Building a new society. It might fail, it might not. But it's a start. I'd say at least fifty or more zombies are put down every day. That's fifty less than the day before that and the day before that. Eventually, years and years down the road, their numbers will dwindle...” Maybe it was a pipe dream, but it gave her hope. Kept her fighting, surviving.
Jackie herself preferred music when she did a workout, but she was easygoing enough to comply with whatever the person she was working with wanted. They could always chat. Or she could, anyway. She was generally good at keeping up a steady stream of conversation, no matter what it was about. “I can work with quiet.” She smirked down at him. “Easier for you to hear me if I start yelling at you for doing this wrong.”