[Track 1]: Route 29 || video

[colorpalatable]

--Oh, hey, it records!

[There's a pale, black-haired young woman on the network today, inspecting her new 'Gear. She has a little Noibat chilling in her mass of hair like an adorable bat-shaped barrette. She studies the Pokegear seriously for a moment or two before noticing something else:]

Oh snap, and it broadcasts! Sweet!

Hey! Barkeep guy! You were right, that Mom lady was really weird! She gave me a lot of snacks, though, so that's cool.

But, uh, I kind of. Already ate them all? Look, I got carried away, okay? Does anyone know if there's anything else to eat on, what is it, Route 29? Besides the berries, I mean. My girl here - [she gestures to her new Noibat pal] - really digs them buuuuuut I still think they seem kinda suspect. For me to eat, that is. Thanks, peeps!

[Marceline: Out!]

Comments

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[adandyinspace]

[Oh gosh, oh goodness, it's that incredibly nice lady. Ass Rat wastes no time sneaking the 'gear away when she hears Marceline's voice, although panics when she realizes she's in trouble. So before she turns on the feed, she also swipes a bag on tangerines that definitely belong more to her trainer and holds them up when she finally responds.

So there's just this giant fluffy skuntank on the screen, the only thing making her identifiable to any other is the shiny bell around her neck. She gives a low yet friendly yowl as a greeting as she waves her bag of fruit around.

See! Here's a food! She could probably, like...mail it. Maybe. If she can somehow figure out how the postal system works!]

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[colorpalatable]

[Well now, that's a familiar face!]

Oh! Hey!

[If Ass Rat is happy to see Marceline, Marceline is also happy to see Ass Rat!]

How's it going, girl? What've you got, there?

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[neverstudied]

Please don't eat the berries. I've had to fight tooth and nail the past few months to keep my partners from being idiots and trying 'em. [A beat.] You can get high from the zest from one of the berries, though, if you're interested. But that definitely won't help your "I'm out of food" problem.

How far on Route 29 are you? If you've only been travelling for a few hours, you could probably go back to New Bark and buy more food.

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[colorpalatable]

Mmmmmmm, getting high can be kind of fun, but I think I'll go ahead and take your advice for now.

...Why did your partners want to eat them so badly?

[video]

[paladinlost]

...When I first arrived, we had to eat grass and leaves once we ran out of food. I do believe New Bark Town offers more options these days, if you can reach it safely, but grass would be safer than the berries if you have no other options.

[video]

[colorpalatable]

[Marceline laughs at that, but cuts it off fairly quickly with a small giggle and a snort.]

Oh my glob, did you also have walk twenty miles to school every day, in the snow, uphill, both ways?

[Bruh, you sound like an old man]

[be_notorious]

Yeah. You got yourself a pretty decent comm relay with these things, and they don't even sass back when you hit the wrong button by accident. Haha... [Drifter's leaning on the bar, shifting some of his coins between his fingers. A whole three of them, actually, because someone is also a filthy show-off when it comes to his coin tricks.]

She is pretty fuckin' weird, though. You got some red in your direction, sister? Or did your snacks not line up? You might be able to order some through a quick Pidgey delivery.

Seems like every time and place gotta have some sorta food delivery service. [That last bit he says ponderously.]

[colorpalatable]

Nah, man, I'm back to solid foods, just like you figured. That weird mom lady was good with the snacks, but it's been a real long time. Like I said, I got carried away.

[Does she regret it? A little bit. Will she do it again? Definitely.]

...Pidgey delivery, huh? That sounds promising.

[video]

[outofhershadow]

[The face on the other end of the video, at first, looks unfamiliar. Completely human, but the details seem... familiar; the dyed fringe, the striped sweater... Marceline had only seen them in shades of blue when Lena had been a shadow, but the patterns were the same.]

Yeeeeah, pretty sure the berries will kill you if you eat 'em. Or at least make you trip out like crazy.

[Which, hey, she's not gunna stop anyone from eating them. Just gotta throw it out there first.]

Geez, you ate all that stuff already? Better start counting down the minutes till you get sick.

[At least, that's kind of what happened to Lena. Going from having to pickpocket money for food and shoplifting to having her own relatively decent income meant that she absolutely splurged on a ton of food she never really got to eat a lot of, and absolutely got sick her first day in Cherrygrove City.]

[video]

[colorpalatable]

Look. When a girl's gotta eat, a girl's gotta eat!

[It's been too, too long since she tasted flavors okay, cut her some slack.

Marceline gives Lina a once over, tilting her head curiously and piecing together all the context clues; the hair, the sweater, the voice...]

Dang, girl, you weren't kidding about that species change. You been doing okay since you got out of that tower? ...I'm assuming you got out of the tower.

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[shiro2hero]

Yeah. Please don't eat the berries.

The results aren't great.

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[colorpalatable]

Noted aaaaaand - noted.

Is it weird that so far no one's told me to eat the berries? Is everyone here this nice?

[islandshore]

[Suspicion rather than jumping in? Smart. Definitely less impulsive than some of the other newbie trainers he's seen.

Still, must be one heck of an appetite... Riku winces, contemplating.]

Well, normally I'd suggest pacing yourself, but since that's out... Depends on how much you wanna hang onto your cash. You could take the ferry to Kanto and take advantage of the room and board, but that'd cut you P2000 short.

Beats having to fast for three days, though.

[colorpalatable]

[Yeah, pacing herself is definitely out; she's a one thousand year old vampire turned human, she's got so much delicious food to catch up on.]

How much do I actually need the cash, here? A ferry-cruise does sound pretty tempting.

[video]

[styxiedust]

Oh, I send out care packages of sweets to new people, I can send one your way immediately.

[She just, casually puts that out there.]

I wouldn't recommend the berries or mushrooms from the backs of Paras, if you happen to see any.

And that's not a joke on my part, people have tried them.

[video]

[colorpalatable]

Oh my gosh, really? You're a lifesaver!

[That casual offer is met with enthusiastic reception.]

...I believe you about the mushrooms. And the berries.

Is it weird that so far no one has tried to trick me into eating the berries? It seems weird. That's a lot of nice people.

[ghoststanning]

Oh hey, nice to meetcha! There's berries on Route 29! But uh, don't eat those. Trust me, I tried them.

[Eating every single berry just to see what it does to him probably wasn't his proudest moments of all time.]

[colorpalatable]

Oh yeah? What happened?

[Give her the deets, man!]

[video]

[badluckbabe]

[Finally, someone as pale looking as she is. Jinx is delighted.]

Cherrygrove is the next city on that route, and while it's not as well staffed for food places as bigger cities it's got this great spa and they bring you snacks and drinks while they freshen you up with the spa treatments.

Push on for a few more days to violet city and you'll have the best grape juice you've ever tasted and some pretty solid dumplings.

My traveling companion and I have kind of hit up every eatery we could find between here and Kanto so if you ever need suggestions I'll be happy to help.

[video]

[colorpalatable]

[Aww, deathly complexion buddies!]

Oh, heck yes - it has been so long since I ate anything, I will take all your suggestions.

[video]

[pkemeter]

You can eat the berries if you're truly desperate for sustenance, but otherwise, I would strongly suggest avoiding consuming them. There's always the option of foraging for mushrooms and other edible plants, but unless you are a trained mycologist, one might accidentally consume something incredibly poisonous.

[As if that had ever been a problem for Egon in the past. He adjusts his glasses slightly, peering at the screen, before continuing in his dull monotone.]

...Alternatively, you could ask someone over the network to mail you some sort of, ah, care package. The residents of this dimension are inclined to be helpful to newcomers.

[video]

[colorpalatable]

Yeeeeeah, I dunno what a mycologist is so I'm probably, definitely not one.

The care packages sound good, though. I've already got at least two on the way!

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[pikapikajankenpo]

Welcome to Johto, and yeah, don't eat the berries. They're meant for Pokemon which is weird because a kid that was just here this weekend was eating them just fine when I passed him by and he didn't look any worse for wear. But then I saw this same kid whip out some kind of super move after posing like a sentai member and annihilate three trainers in a row, so I'm gonna just let that slide.

I'll wire a starter kit to you if you need it. Any special dietary needs that don't border on things we can't get locally? It'll have clothing, food, and money.

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[colorpalatable]

...Can you wire stuff to someone in the middle of the woods? How does that work?

[Man, there are so many nice people here? It's really, well, nice, but it's also starting to weird her out a little bit.]

I'm good on clothes and money. Can't eat those. Or, well, I don't want to eat those.

[An audible grumble can be heard from the direction of Marceline's stomach, and she blanches a bit.]

...Or anything else, really. Oof.

[lordofthefries]

You can go back to her for more! I always go back and she always gives me another lunch to eat. She's weird because she's not my mom either, but her food is delicious!

Also don't eat the berries. They make you poop.

[Thanks, Sasha. Don't ask her how she knows.]

[colorpalatable]

Really? That's good to know, thanks! I'll never turn down a free meal.

[She doesn't need to ask; Marceline knows the voice of experience when she hears it.]

Aaaaaaand I don't need or want any help pooping, so thank you for the information about the berries, too.