Clio
Cadet
Posts: 96
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Post by Clio on Aug 14, 2011 21:52:23 GMT -5
Month 1, Week 3, Day 2. Earth. Somewhere in the US.
If there's one downside to being the Powermaster partner of a giant alien robot, it's the massive amounts of food that one must shove down their gullet in order to power both themselves and their partner. While it is rather nice that Patra can gorge herself on her favorite foods without gaining a pound, she finds that when you have to eat as much as she does you can become really bored of eating one thing very fast. Oh, sure, she can process other fuels for Clio, but nothing satisfies quite as well as a good meal.
As a disgruntled partner is a processor-ache waiting to happen, Clio does her best to help Patra indulge her taste buds whenever possible. Which is how she finds herself playing taxi for Patra and several of the other Decepticon Nebulans.
Pulling into the parking lot of Food Manor, Clio seeks and open spot while Patra turns in the driver's seat to grin at the other passengers. "We have arrived, boys."
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Post by Needlenose on Aug 15, 2011 17:46:57 GMT -5
"Greeeat," Sunbeam drawls out, grinning as he opens up the back door and piles out, getting himself a bit further away from Zigzag. "It'll be pretty righteous to get my hands on some decent grub for a change."
"It would be better if you didn't undercook the stuff all the time," Zigzag grumbles as he oozes out oafter.
"It'd be better if you cooked at all, dude," Sunbeam returns.
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Post by Spinister on Aug 15, 2011 19:41:39 GMT -5
Hairsplitter sniffs and consults his list again. He does an awful lot of cooking, and he follows recipes to the letter. Earth is going to drive him neurotic, because they don't sell any Nebulan ingredients here. How is he supposed to make proper Nebulan cuisine? He can't improvise!
"You could just get a local cookbook," Singe suggests, lips curled in disgust.
Hairsplitter stares at him and huffs, "The local cuisine is atrocious. I'm not feeding that to anyone."
Singe shrugs. As soon as they're inside? He's ditching Hairsplitter in the cereal aisle and seeing where Patra gets herself to. Anyone has to be better company than his other half, a surfer bum, and a failed hovercraft repairman.
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Clio
Cadet
Posts: 96
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Post by Clio on Aug 16, 2011 21:26:29 GMT -5
Patra practically bounces out of Clio with a thought to her partner about keeping herself entertained watching supermarket people.
"Less fussing, more shopping, darlings!" she says, strutting cheerfully for the main entrance of Food Manor. She's going to need a shopping cart. Maybe two shopping carts, even.
Do remember that you have to fit whatever you buy inside of me, along with the other Nebulans and their purchases, Clio prods.
Let them walk home! Patra teases. I need a man's weight in meat.
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Post by Needlenose on Aug 17, 2011 8:32:16 GMT -5
"Grub is grub," Sunbeam observes. "Throw enough spices on it, it'll do." He follows Patra into Food Manner, walking right by the shopping cart. Zigzag grunts, rolls his eyes, and grabs one instead. Probably for the best, anyway. Sunbeam would just forget that he has it and leave it in some aisle somewhere.
Of course, one of the wheels on Zigzag's rattles and clicks, but then, that applies to all shopping carts. Everywhere. Ever.
They walk in and are, naturally, greeted by the produce section.
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Post by Spinister on Aug 18, 2011 21:28:09 GMT -5
Singe remembers the days when he didn't have to do his own shopping. He had people to do that for him. Of course, this is a step up from scrounging, but still. Maybe the worst thing is that his memories are backed up in silico. The flesh may fade, but he's never going to forget what he had. It'll always stay crisp, mirrored in Spinister, and that is perhaps not quite healthy. Nebulan memories fade for a reason.
He offers to Patra, smiling faintly, "I'll push a second cart for you. Bet you'll fill yours up on your own."
Hairsplitter looks the carts over, looking increasingly distressed, before he finally snatches up a basket, muttering to himself. Then he stares at the produce and covers one of his eyes with a hand, groaning, "Why would you sell that? Ugh..."
Hairsplitter gets some funny looks from other supermarket patrons.
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Clio
Cadet
Posts: 96
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Post by Clio on Aug 20, 2011 15:58:06 GMT -5
"Thank you, darling!" Patra says to Singe, flashing him a bright grin and wheeling her cart after Zigzag. "What can I say, I have a healthy appetite."
Patra is one of the patrons that gives Hairsplitter an odd look. Raising an eyebrow at Singe, she says, "Your associate is a bit... twitchy."
She starts her shopping trip by picking about the fruits and veggies, resisting the urge to roll her eyes as Clio begins prompting her with options that will help her meet all her nutritional requirements. She won't stay in the produce section long, however. What she really craves are delicious high-calorie foods, and not many vegetables fit the bill.
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Post by Needlenose on Aug 20, 2011 21:54:58 GMT -5
Neither Zigzag nor Sunbeam are the type who actually research food (in fact, Zigzag discovered the internet and promptly discovered porn. Fortunately, Ship's firewalls and antivirals are very advanced, or that holographic Shockwave might have developed a few interesting new quirks by now), so neither have clue one about what they're looking at.
Sunbeam grabs things that have bright colors, especially yellows and oranges, because they look the most interesting to them. Consequently, the two will find themselves eating a lot of bananas, squash, peaches, oranges, and various colored peppers.
Zigzag just complains loudly, "Does anyone know which of this stuff is any good?"
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Post by Spinister on Aug 22, 2011 21:44:16 GMT -5
"Just courtesy, which is anything but common these days." Singe slides a look of mild disdain over at Hairsplitter and shrugs. He plucks up an avocado and looks at it thoughtfully, unaware of the connotations it has in human culture. Then he grabs a pair of coconuts and a banana. A quick mental sync with Spinister, who has wireless access wherever it is he's gone, tells him that these are all high-calorie foods!
Hairsplitter stalks over to Zigzag just to sniff, "They try to avoid pesticides and heavy metals in their food. Can you imagine?"
How are they supposed to get their daily allotment of mercury if they don't eat fish full of it?
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Clio
Cadet
Posts: 96
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Post by Clio on Aug 25, 2011 12:14:01 GMT -5
"Still appreciated," Patra says, then gives a snort of laughter at Singe's choices. It doesn't help that Clio has been studying Freud lately. Composing herself, she says, "Those are good. Would you be a dear and bag me some avocados?"
She adds a few bunches of bananas to her own cart then passes by Zigzag and Hairsplitter. "Don't worry, dears, I have my own personal dietician." Or she has a scientist with an excellent knowledge of Nebulan biology researching Earth foods, anyway. Patra pauses for a moment. "She recommends looking into foods with high fructose corn syrup."
She'll pick up some bags of dried beans when she passes them, but that's about all the vegetables she's interested in. What she really needs are some big, salty nuts!
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Post by Needlenose on Aug 25, 2011 21:11:46 GMT -5
"Yeah, it's weird," Zigzag tells Hairsplitter. "S'like these people don't know how to eat."
When Patra makes her recommendation, Sunbeam protests, "But none of these say what they're made from."
Zigzag thwaps him lightly on the back of his head. "They're plants," he grunts. "We have to go to the parts of the store where everything is in boxes and bags and cans for that."
"Oh." Sunbeam shrugs and follows along. High fructose corn syrup... high fructose corn syrup... "Hnh. A lotta these tell you when they don't have it right on the front. Guess that's an easy way to figure out what not to get, huh?"
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Post by Spinister on Aug 27, 2011 14:13:35 GMT -5
Singe looks at Patra innocently but makes no comment, instead silently bagging up a dozen avocados.
Hairsplitter is not a complete idiot. He knows that humans are aliens and therefore eat different things than Nebulans do. Honestly, he's just lucky that Nebulan dietary requirements overlap with human dietary requirements at all. However, he's Hairsplitter, so he's going to complain. It's what he does. He sniffs, "They're different."
Hmm, maybe these apples will be full of pesticides if he eats them with the skin on? He puts a few in his basket.
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Swindle
Major
This space for rent.
Posts: 571
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Post by Swindle on Sept 14, 2011 19:48:09 GMT -5
There is a man lurking in the bread isle, watching the Nebulans shop. He came here to do some shopping, since he happened to be in the area and needs food not to starve to death. When he noticed the quintet acting oddly, however, he decided to watch them. Moreover, he recognized their car.
His name is Seymour Simmons, and he is wearing his civilian clothes, which means a collared shirt and breakaway pants. He is also wearing Sector 7 undies and carrying a taser, because it pleases him to do so. It's cool, though, he has a concealed carry permit.
He knows these people are up to something. They came out of that car. And he thinks he recognizes the woman as having punched him once. There's something fishy going on here, and this man is going to get to the bottom of it, even if it takes every last fiber of his being.
The bread isle is now mostly deserted, because Simmons actually quietly muttered that last paragraph to himself and the other two patrons who were nearby backed away slowly.
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Clio
Cadet
Posts: 96
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Post by Clio on Sept 15, 2011 20:21:14 GMT -5
Patra hasn't noticed their tail, thoroughly distracted stuffing her cart with containers of mixed nuts and trail mix. And then it's time for meat! Approaching the butcher's counter, she practically starts drooling at the variety of fresh beef and pork spread out before her. Delicious, high-calorie meat.
"Can I help you, ma'am?" the butcher behind the counter asks.
"I'll take one of everything," she says, smiling. "No, wait. Make that two of everything."
She hopes Singe is still trailing after her, as she may need his cart for this.
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Post by Needlenose on Sept 15, 2011 22:57:25 GMT -5
Zigzag really isn't all that bright, so he'd be willing to accept the idea that humans just flat don't know how to eat. He looks up towards the meat counter, and then back towards Hairsplitter, who is currently the designated subject matter expert.
"The meat should all right, right? I mean, meat is meat, right?"
Sunbeam meanwhile, has started towards the bread aisle. He doesn't really know what he's buying, he just picks up things at random, so the products that end up in his basket don't really go together in any sort of sensible meal.
He doesn't notice that the bread aisle is emptier than normal.
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