Iɴʙᴏx ✉ Vɪᴄᴛᴏʀʏ Rᴏᴀᴅ

[bertall]

Um... This is Bertolt, and if you're hearing this I'm probably busy. You can leave a message here or call back later if you want? ...Can I start over?

Comments

[lyingheart]

What do you mean?

[bertall]

Like I said, it's weird. I've noticed it with some of mine at least, but my big Arcanine only eats a bowl or so of actual food before he decides he's done. He used to eat a lot when he was a Growlithe, but he was also a lot smaller back then. Now he's even taller than I am.

[lyingheart]

With no difference between if they're more active or in whatever state they maintain while in the balls or the PC?

[bertall]

Yeah. The only time I've seen my Arcanine eat a lot is after a long run, but that's usually just over a few days. If he's more active than normal here and there, it doesn't change that much.

[lyingheart]

That's all strangely convenient. Are they that effective at conserving and storing energy? Or all capable of converting sunlight into energy?

[ No, but this just! Makes! No sense! ]

[bertall]

I'd go with the former. Grass-types on the other hand might actually rely on photosynthesis, but I don't have a lot of experience with them.

_{[Just wait until you start hatching eggs, Annie. Just wait until something like a horse pops out of an egg about the size of a football.]}

Ford would know a lot more about it than I would though.

[lyingheart]

[ Why would she hatch anything. Why would she want to hatch anything at all!? ]

I've heard that name mentioned before. Who's Ford?

[bertall]

He's a really close friend of mine.

Family, actually. Not... blood, obviously, but he's the sort of person I'd want to be part of it.

_{[There's another bout of silence, and then he quickly adds;]}

He also knows about Marley. Not a lot, but a little. Sometimes weird things happen here and he saw some of my memories.

[lyingheart]

[ Ah, right. She knows what he's talking about, though Annie's never "found" family of her own. Not exactly, and quite purposefully.

Then he writes the other part, and she frowns. ]

Wait, what kind of weird things? How was he seeing your memories? How do you even know something is "weird" for this place?

[bertall]

I've never seen it happen since then, and it didn't last very long. How he was seeing them, I don't know, but I saw some of his too. He showed me where he grew up and it felt. Real.

Sometimes people show up out of nowhere too for a few days which is when I'd see Reiner, but that doesn't happen very often. I can heal during those days.

[lyingheart]

Great, there's nothing about that which sounds like anything I like. Whatever brought us here is keeping us normal-human except when it decides to screw with everyone, at once, for days on end.

How often has this happened? Reiner was here at just those times?

[bertall]

If it makes you feel better it's only for a couple days and you can usually hide out.

But... I think it's happened three times since I've been here? And yeah, he's only been here during those couple days. I have some pictures of him if you want to see, but the quality won't be the best because they're pictures of the actual photograph.

[lyingheart]

[ ... Why in the world would she want to look at pictures of Reiner? Seems like something more important for Bertolt, and yes, maybe photographs will be nicer if she's here for a year and then longer, but right now it hasn't been all that long since she technically saw him last.

So he's sharing what matters to him. Things they certainly couldn't have carried with them into the Walls: photographs of the people they loved. ]

Maybe later, when I can see the original.

[ Who knows when that will be. ]

Is there any sign it's one of those weird times? If you've seen three of them, you should have noticed if there was a pattern.

[bertall]

Okay. I've got them tucked away in an album under my bed for now.

<sub>[They're safer there, and they wouldn't get lost that way.

His memories and the photographs are the only way he'll get to see an older Reiner now - not counting when he appears in this world for a short time - so they're something he wants to cherish and keep for as long as he can.]</sub>

Usually there isn't, but sometimes it's obvious when something like that happens. Once I woke up near a route I was never on and people pop up in random towns. Most newcomers wake up in New Bark or Pallet.

[lyingheart]

Pallet is the town the ferry out of New Bark heads toward, isn't it? Then people not expecting to be here, here, and new to it but waking up in another town is unusual. I'd been wondering about that.

Was this woman named Mom around when you first arrived?

[ She might never see an older Reiner, but in all fairness, it's never making it home to her father that bothers her more. Seeing the time that she might be passing while encased in crystal reflected in Reiner's face would be... difficult, beyond her current emotional parsing abilities. ]

[bertall]

Yeah.

She was, too. She barely let me get a word before she shoved me out the door with my Growlithe and the stuff I had in the backpack I woke up with. Come to think of it, I think she even dragged me out of bed at first.

<sub>[It's rough thinking about the future - it still is for Bertolt, and he still catches himself wondering what his dad must look like now. Sure, he has the pocket watch that appeared next to his bed not too long ago that has an old family photo inside, but it's from before Bertolt left Marley.

It's not quite the same.]</sub>

All things considered it's probably better to wake up like that rather than in some random forest.

[lyingheart]

Ah. I ran out on her, so I suppose everyone handles waking up in their own way.

[ Panicking because of how unexpected things are and from the last thing she remembered, and the first thing she expects following that. ]

I might have preferred the forest. Though it would have taken a long time in comparison to find anyone I wanted to talk to.

[ Because had she woken up in a random forest, she would have acted like he might expect: do what she can to gather information on the locals, find a place in the population, all while running from wild pokemon. She doesn't really think she'd prefer waking up in a forest, but there's a certain easiness to being so fully in fight or flight mode that would have borne up under those conditions better than they have today's conditions. ]

[bertall]

See, that's why you're braver than me. I was worried that I was outside of the walls for awhile, but nobody seemed to know what I was talking about at first. If I had woken up in a forest I would've gone right into panic mode without our maneuver gear.

<sub>[He's tried to climb some of the trees in some of them.

Once.

They're too big.]</sub>

Speaking of forests, since you're on Johto's side I should warn you about Ilex. I didn't think it was possible, but that place is even more ominous than the forest of giant trees from Paradis, so keep your head on a swivel if or when you get there. It's not dangerous-dangerous, but the bug Pokemon there might catch you by surprise.

[lyingheart]

Last I knew I'd been captured. Escaping in any location would have been preferable to what would come from staying captured, so.

[ She makes note of the name, tilting her head to the side as she considers what he's saying. ]

What's most effective against bug pokemon?

[ She's not quite thinking in "type" terms, just ways to keep bug pokemon away. ]

[bertall]

If it's any consolation, we can't get seriously injured here. I|
We can still get hurt, but it wouldn't be fatal for us. For anyone.
At least that's what I've heard. I've never gotten hurt bad enough to find out for myself.

_{[Y e t.]}

You could always stock up on some Repel, but that also covers keeping all wild Pokemon away. If you're going to fight...

Fire works really well.

[lyingheart]

[ What they really need is Eren. Eren would learn the limits accidentally within the first week. ]

Any chance Eren's ever been here for long stretches?

[ He's the most reliable idiot in the best and worst ways, and also, something of a nightmare she's... glad isn't hers to handle. She tried, let that be said, but still. ]

I suppose I should work on that before I get there, in that case.

[ She has one pokemon. Tomorrow, unbeknownst to her, she'll have two, but still no fire-type. ]

[bertall]

He was here for awhile at the start, but he hasn't been here in a little over a year.

_{[He has a couple Pokemon from him, including one that he still doesn't know how to control. All he does is scream at him and in his face.]}

I could loan you some money if you need it for supplies, or I can see what I can find for fire Pokemon if you want to go that route.

_{[Look, he could easily breed her a large fire dog! Or two!]}

[lyingheart]

I'm surprised he didn't figure out what the limits were.

[ Honestly, he was getting himself close to killed in training, outside of training, basically all the time. ]

I'll see what I need once I'm in Cherrygrove or the next town over. That one's what, Violet City? If I'm reading this map right. If you have fire pokemon recommendations, I'm glad to listen.

[ Fire dogs! Sounds hot??? ]

[bertall]

I think he was more preoccupied with taking in everything this world has to offer. I can't say I blame him all things considered.

_{[Even Bertolt let himself get carried away. He doesn't want to think about how much time he spent in front of the TV in hotels for the first few months when they weren't on the road.]}

Violet, yeah. I've only been there once and that was... Almost two years ago? I didn't get much of a chance to look around. As far as fire types go, you can't go wrong with a Growlithe but the drool might be a little too much for some. Houndoom don't drool as much and they can look pretty scary, but the one I have is a sweetheart.

Do you have a preference in animals?

[lyingheart]

[ ... ]

Cute.

[ Because it's. True. Past that she really doesn't know. ]

Cats were tolerable in the city. I wouldn't call that much of a preference, considering the only animals we worked with were horses, and cats were incidental.