indigo_events (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
indigo_events) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
victory_road2020-03-20 07:04 pm
indigo_events) wrote in victory_road2020-03-20 07:04 pm
Entry tags:
Po-ta-toes! Boil 'em, mash 'em, stick 'em in a... curry?
Who: Everybody! The Snorlax! The Munchlax! The Mystery Guests!
Where: Route 39
When: March 20th and 21st
Summary: Lets cook some curries.
Rating: General.
Log:
Early spring brings with it bright sunshine and slightly chilly air, green shoots of new grass poking up from the earth as farmers survey fields that have laid bare all winter. Across Johto and Kanto (and who knows where else?), windows and doors are thrown open to air out spaces closed up for the winter, the commencement of a mysterious rite known only as ‘spring cleaning.’
At MooMoo Ranch, it heralds an additional rite: the yearly tradition that precedes the tilling of those fields and the sowing of seeds:
THE GREAT CURRY COOKOUT
Let’s just be up front about this: the entirety of Route 38 smells absolutely amazing. Traditionally (you’re going to hear that word a lot here), the curries cooked up by the locals are made of whatever leftovers from the previous year’s harvest that may be found kicking around the various parlours and cellars, but because humans can’t eat the berries that Pokemon can, and because they want to eat too, and because once you let humans at a recipe, they can’t not experiment with it...
If you can imagine a curry, someone has either made it, is in the process of making it, or is preparing to make it right the heck now. There are some dishes that don’t seem too out of place: sausage curries, curries with tinned meat or beans added to the mix, mushroom curries, curries decorated so cutely that they flood your Poke-Instagram page, potato curries, herb-laden curries, spice-tastic curries, coconut curries, curries accompanied by savory burger steaks...these all at least seem like normal curry variants, right?
And then there’s the odd stuff. Curries topped with swirls of spaghetti, boiled-egg curries, instant-noodle curries loaded up next to curries topped with a medley of fried foods, toast slices resting on beds of curry, leeks grilled and whole on curries, apple curries, salad curries, curries with whole bones kept in them to add additional flavor, tropical curries with decorative flowers added on the side, cheese-covered curries, even...whipped cream curries…? Uh...sure, okay! There’s even the rare smoked Slowpoke Tail curry, the tail packages labeled with “CRUELTY-FREE SLOWPOKE TAIL” and seals of legal and bureaucratic approval. Dry, sweet, spicy, bitter, sour - you name it, there’s a curry for it!
It’s a little weird, though, right? All this curry, and, uh, all these Snorlax… and Munchlax… wait, actually, when did those start to show up?! Is this… safe??? The locals don’t seem surprised in the least, but there sure are a lot of them…. did they all really come down from the mountains?
Is this part of the tradition, too?!
Good question!
Lucky for YOU, any trainer (un?)fortunate enough to be caught standing still for one second too long by one of the elderly locals (or walks too close to one, or accepts a curry offering from one) will be treated to a retelling of the story behind both the Snorlax and the curry. Turns out, the salivating Snorlax and the just-as-hungry baby Munchlax are not just part of the tradition -- they’re the reason for it!
Long ago, in the day of so-and-so’s grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother, the Snorlax and Munchlax were a downright menace. Every year, once the snows would start to melt, they’d start coming down from the mountains to the north in droves, descending upon the farms and fields just as that year’s planting began to sprout like a plague of very hungry caterpies, gobbling up everything in sight until nothing but barren earth remained. They even busted down fences and barns in their pursuit of fresh food! Proper menaces to society, right here.
At first, the farmers tried to battle the Snorlax, but it did not end well. Their Miltank and Tauros herds weren’t meant for battle, and Snorlax are as mighty as their appetites! Then one year, a young farm girl had an idea! (Depending on who's telling the story, it might have been a farm boy. Or just a farmer, gender unknown. It is always, mysteriously, someone in the teller's family tree.) Rather than trying to fight off the Snorlax, this mysterious individual suggested inviting them all to one big dinner. They could cook up all the leftovers from the last harvest, have a big feast out of it and feed the hungry Snorlax so they'd leave the seedlings alone.
And it worked! The Snorlax were happy, the fields were left alone and the fences and barns kept standing strong.
(Well, except that one year with ol’ man Gregory’s barn, but that had very little to do with the Snorlax, and far more to do with ol’ man Gregory’s fierce enjoyment of the special sake brewed by the monks of Sprout Tower, a very terrible bet, and one prized herd of Miltanks and really, if you don’t watch it, you might be stuck listening to that old tale as well.)
Obviously, since the current farms and fields are still intact and going strong, the feast not only worked, but held strong as a tradition. But hey! It’s a fun story, and the curry is good! And oh my ARCEUS, you have heard this story so many times from so many old farming folks you are so tired, please, you just wanted to find a bathroom, yes, thank you for the bowl of curry, you really must be going now-
Only… there’s something weird about this year’s gathering. Something unexpected.
In addition to the Snorlax and Munchlax lumbering down in droves for a good meal, another kind of Pokemon has emerged, lured by the delectable scents, and it’s not one that many folks have seen before. Keen-eyed trainers can spot them just about everywhere: lingering under the eaves of the roofs, peeking out from behind bushes and tree branches, but most of all, slowly drawing close to the source of all those delicious smells, their voices ringing out like clear little bells.
That’s right, Milcery are swarming!
Unfortunately, the Snorlax and Munchlax don’t seem too keen on sharing their special once-a-year treat. Hangry tempers are starting to flare up, the bubbling of many pots and pans joined by low grumbling as the Snorlax and Munchlax are starting to stake claim against these strange newcomers. In fact, someone should probably get out there and try and calm the situation down.
Which doesn’t mean take out your pokemon and start any battles! Anyone trying to do that will get a right scolding by one of those inescapable geriatric storytellers. Do you want to cause some sort of stampede here like what claimed ol’ man Gregory’s barn? No sir! (Who’s sir? We’re unclear.) There will be no battling here. Put on your best smile! Break out that cheery personality, and try to actually peacekeep. Or if that isn’t your thing, maybe try and help out with the cooking. With this many cooks around, there is always someone who needs an extra hand to peel some potatoes or dice some carrots, right? If you got a particular hankering, why not claim one of those may pots and pans for yourself and start preparing your own prized curry?
Because judging by the mass of Snorlax, Munchlax, and Milcery? We are going to need a bigger curry.
Where: Route 39
When: March 20th and 21st
Summary: Lets cook some curries.
Rating: General.
Log:
Early spring brings with it bright sunshine and slightly chilly air, green shoots of new grass poking up from the earth as farmers survey fields that have laid bare all winter. Across Johto and Kanto (and who knows where else?), windows and doors are thrown open to air out spaces closed up for the winter, the commencement of a mysterious rite known only as ‘spring cleaning.’
At MooMoo Ranch, it heralds an additional rite: the yearly tradition that precedes the tilling of those fields and the sowing of seeds:
THE GREAT CURRY COOKOUT
Let’s just be up front about this: the entirety of Route 38 smells absolutely amazing. Traditionally (you’re going to hear that word a lot here), the curries cooked up by the locals are made of whatever leftovers from the previous year’s harvest that may be found kicking around the various parlours and cellars, but because humans can’t eat the berries that Pokemon can, and because they want to eat too, and because once you let humans at a recipe, they can’t not experiment with it...
If you can imagine a curry, someone has either made it, is in the process of making it, or is preparing to make it right the heck now. There are some dishes that don’t seem too out of place: sausage curries, curries with tinned meat or beans added to the mix, mushroom curries, curries decorated so cutely that they flood your Poke-Instagram page, potato curries, herb-laden curries, spice-tastic curries, coconut curries, curries accompanied by savory burger steaks...these all at least seem like normal curry variants, right?
And then there’s the odd stuff. Curries topped with swirls of spaghetti, boiled-egg curries, instant-noodle curries loaded up next to curries topped with a medley of fried foods, toast slices resting on beds of curry, leeks grilled and whole on curries, apple curries, salad curries, curries with whole bones kept in them to add additional flavor, tropical curries with decorative flowers added on the side, cheese-covered curries, even...whipped cream curries…? Uh...sure, okay! There’s even the rare smoked Slowpoke Tail curry, the tail packages labeled with “CRUELTY-FREE SLOWPOKE TAIL” and seals of legal and bureaucratic approval. Dry, sweet, spicy, bitter, sour - you name it, there’s a curry for it!
It’s a little weird, though, right? All this curry, and, uh, all these Snorlax… and Munchlax… wait, actually, when did those start to show up?! Is this… safe??? The locals don’t seem surprised in the least, but there sure are a lot of them…. did they all really come down from the mountains?
Is this part of the tradition, too?!
Good question!
Lucky for YOU, any trainer (un?)fortunate enough to be caught standing still for one second too long by one of the elderly locals (or walks too close to one, or accepts a curry offering from one) will be treated to a retelling of the story behind both the Snorlax and the curry. Turns out, the salivating Snorlax and the just-as-hungry baby Munchlax are not just part of the tradition -- they’re the reason for it!
Long ago, in the day of so-and-so’s grandmother’s grandmother’s grandmother, the Snorlax and Munchlax were a downright menace. Every year, once the snows would start to melt, they’d start coming down from the mountains to the north in droves, descending upon the farms and fields just as that year’s planting began to sprout like a plague of very hungry caterpies, gobbling up everything in sight until nothing but barren earth remained. They even busted down fences and barns in their pursuit of fresh food! Proper menaces to society, right here.
At first, the farmers tried to battle the Snorlax, but it did not end well. Their Miltank and Tauros herds weren’t meant for battle, and Snorlax are as mighty as their appetites! Then one year, a young farm girl had an idea! (Depending on who's telling the story, it might have been a farm boy. Or just a farmer, gender unknown. It is always, mysteriously, someone in the teller's family tree.) Rather than trying to fight off the Snorlax, this mysterious individual suggested inviting them all to one big dinner. They could cook up all the leftovers from the last harvest, have a big feast out of it and feed the hungry Snorlax so they'd leave the seedlings alone.
And it worked! The Snorlax were happy, the fields were left alone and the fences and barns kept standing strong.
(Well, except that one year with ol’ man Gregory’s barn, but that had very little to do with the Snorlax, and far more to do with ol’ man Gregory’s fierce enjoyment of the special sake brewed by the monks of Sprout Tower, a very terrible bet, and one prized herd of Miltanks and really, if you don’t watch it, you might be stuck listening to that old tale as well.)
Obviously, since the current farms and fields are still intact and going strong, the feast not only worked, but held strong as a tradition. But hey! It’s a fun story, and the curry is good! And oh my ARCEUS, you have heard this story so many times from so many old farming folks you are so tired, please, you just wanted to find a bathroom, yes, thank you for the bowl of curry, you really must be going now-
Only… there’s something weird about this year’s gathering. Something unexpected.
In addition to the Snorlax and Munchlax lumbering down in droves for a good meal, another kind of Pokemon has emerged, lured by the delectable scents, and it’s not one that many folks have seen before. Keen-eyed trainers can spot them just about everywhere: lingering under the eaves of the roofs, peeking out from behind bushes and tree branches, but most of all, slowly drawing close to the source of all those delicious smells, their voices ringing out like clear little bells.
That’s right, Milcery are swarming!
Unfortunately, the Snorlax and Munchlax don’t seem too keen on sharing their special once-a-year treat. Hangry tempers are starting to flare up, the bubbling of many pots and pans joined by low grumbling as the Snorlax and Munchlax are starting to stake claim against these strange newcomers. In fact, someone should probably get out there and try and calm the situation down.
Which doesn’t mean take out your pokemon and start any battles! Anyone trying to do that will get a right scolding by one of those inescapable geriatric storytellers. Do you want to cause some sort of stampede here like what claimed ol’ man Gregory’s barn? No sir! (Who’s sir? We’re unclear.) There will be no battling here. Put on your best smile! Break out that cheery personality, and try to actually peacekeep. Or if that isn’t your thing, maybe try and help out with the cooking. With this many cooks around, there is always someone who needs an extra hand to peel some potatoes or dice some carrots, right? If you got a particular hankering, why not claim one of those may pots and pans for yourself and start preparing your own prized curry?
Because judging by the mass of Snorlax, Munchlax, and Milcery? We are going to need a bigger curry.
no subject
That's me. [She uncovers her mouth, offering him a gentle smile.] You look like you've been well.
no subject
[He steps around his table of terrible curry, to reach out for one of her hands in greeting. He'd offer a hug but that seems a little forward for now.]
You were missed -- Krieg must have been over the moon to see you.
[Just going to sidestep talking about himself.]
no subject
They were family, as far as she was concerned.]
He was. Everyone was. [It was touching, if not a little guilt inducing.] But you -- You didn't answer my question.
[She pulls back, peering up at Shiro with wide, curious eyes. She's searching for some sign, some answer to his silence.]
no subject
I'm glad. And you've got Maya here now too, right? [More people around is always good, especially when you come back from nowhere.] I...
[Don't upset her with your situation-]
Don't worry. You wanted to help with the rice?
no subject
Yes, Maya's here, and so is Timothy. It's a full Vault Hunting party. [But... Shiro probably wouldn't understand what that meant.]
Let me at the rice? I'll stir it like it's never been stirred before.
no subject
[So why ruin that?]
Oh yeah? Is that pretty common where you guys are from?
[He nods to her, though, stepping away from the rice.]
[Rip this rice.]
no subject
Vault Hunters work best in groups of four. Historically, the best vault hunters have functioned like that. Maya and Krieg's group got up to four sometimes, but the first friends I ever made worked in a quad.
[She glances up at Shiro.] Have you found that to be true?
no subject
Yeah? So... you had Maya, Krieg. And you? Were there others?
[A nod, slightly.]
Our team was five - seven when you count Allura and Coran.
no subject
I wasn't really part of the team. I served as their -- [She smiles, a touch bitter.] Guardian Angel, as it were. Maya and Krieg, and Gaige -- she was here for awhile. Then there was Axton, Zer0 and Salvador. They switched in and out from time to time, but there was always four.
[She nods. She remembers some of the teens that hung around the beach house. she was a bit afraid to ask who remained.]
Not so far off, then? Things work out well with small groups, I think.
no subject
[It's okay, Angel. He sounds as clueless as he looks.]
I don't think I've ever heard Krieg talk about the others. Just you, Maya. And if Gaige was the one with the robot, then her too.
[It's probably for the best she doesn't ask right now... But this is Shiro, and he won't bring it up.]
Not far off at all.
no subject
No mentions of a... skinny noodle or an angry short man at all? [That seems more like the vocabulary Krieg might have used for them.] Even still, I suppose it's not all that surprising. He was closest to Maya back there. He and I only became close once I arrived. I... don't quite recall how well he and Gaige got on.
[She won't press any further on his own companions. Something... doesn't seem quite right.]
no subject
[The carbonation will cook out, right?]
Maybe? But it's hard to remember with how Krieg tends to describe people sometimes. [He's gotten a lot better. But if you don't have a name to attach to his descriptions, it gets tricky.]
He seemed to like her while she was here.
no subject
That's very true. [Between Krieg's improvements with his own oration, and Angel's ability to translate his tirades, she can understand him most of the time. But there are still challenges.]
Oh, of course. They were wonderful friends. I just can't remember if that friendship grew once they arrived here, or had been in place from moment one.
no subject
Hey, it's okay. We can probably just ask him sometime.
[And then a thought occurs to him.]
Oh - you got your Sylveon back, right?
no subject
Maybe we can -- [Her voice sounds a little harried. She doesn't think much of the question, occupied as she is with the mess of rice at the bottom of the pot.]
But yes, 'Dora is with me. Or... I think he's wandering about right now, but Krieg did make sure he found his way back to -- [Another clump forms, and Angel cuts herself off with a groan]
no subject
[Oh.]
[Wow. That... sure is some ruined rice. It looks more like a horrible gelatinous mass than it does an edible, fluffy delight. He grimaces.]
Okay. Maybe we need to start over. [And, with the heaviest of sighs:] Sorry.
no subject
Did we miss a step?
no subject
I'm pretty sure professional chefs couldn't have saved that rice.
[He's saying it like it's a joke. But honestly? It's true.]
no subject
Why don't we try finding instructions this time?
no subject
[He laughs a little, and offers her another bottle of water.]
Might be better just to eat the ingredients.