indigo_events: (Default)
indigo_events ([personal profile] indigo_events) wrote in [community profile] 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.

asmywitness: (i am the night)

[personal profile] asmywitness 2020-03-26 09:06 am (UTC)(link)
Tyler does glance up when he sees Steven typing, which is the only real reason he looks at his phone, but he still seems a bit ruffled.

I

Uh.

I
guess so?

Not here. Somewhere else. Back at HQ or something.
fingersandteeth: (paper)

[personal profile] fingersandteeth 2020-03-26 09:11 am (UTC)(link)
Sure. Sounds good.

After a moment he adds, Among other things, a lot of... Changeling shit doesn't bother me as much with it. Which was why I was passing it onto you.

Terrible coping techniques passed onto someone with a similar trauma!
asmywitness: (what the hell is that)

[personal profile] asmywitness 2020-03-26 09:47 am (UTC)(link)
...huh. He supposes that makes... sense.

He's still uncertain, but he does take the effort to put the paper bag into his duffel, and with a vague thought at Isis she hops from Steven's shoulder (with her tiny wings practically buzzing with how fast she needs to flap them) back onto Tyler's.

He hasn't actually met Steven's eye since he realised what the bag was, and he's still not now, but he does seem less awkward. If slightly more red in the cheeks.

If it helps, then. I. Would appreciate you showing me how to use it.

Somehow doing drugs with someone feels like a very intimate act. Or at least a very private one, and for Tyler those are essentially the same thing.
fingersandteeth: (thinking)

[personal profile] fingersandteeth 2020-03-26 03:09 pm (UTC)(link)
Yeah. It does. It makes that shit feel a *lot* further away. I probably should have led in with that part, huh.

He's never quite sure how much he should lean in on their fellow Changeling bond these days. Especially since it represents an understanding that's just between them and feeling like he's got these sorts of intimate understandings has been making Steven fuck up with people, Tyler most of all.
asmywitness: (ok boomer)

[personal profile] asmywitness 2020-03-26 03:23 pm (UTC)(link)
I mean, I'm glad you didn't. I'd prefer knowing you're just being upfront about giving me it for the sake of having too much rather than trying to bond with me over that.

It might be blunt eyyy but at least it meant Steven was being honest with him.

And honestly, I had. Been doing a lot of talecrafting before I got here. Like, a lot. So. I could probably use this.

Is he looking for excuses to maybe try the weed? Yes.
fingersandteeth: (unsure)

[personal profile] fingersandteeth 2020-03-26 08:04 pm (UTC)(link)
I mean, both reasons can be true, Steven types back. All reasons. I *did* have too much and wanted to get rid of the excess by giving it to someone, the same way I do when I get surprised by the mysterious production of eggs, *and* I was hoping that apologizing in the form of valuable goods would make me feel less shitty about you *and* I figured that if anyone else needed this it probably *would* be you for Changeling reasons. That being... roughly my order of consideration.

He glances over at Tyler, thoughtfully.

But yeah, okay. If my primary reason is selfish, I'll admit that with you and not lean into my secondary, less selfish reasons.

But honestly? It's actually really nice. I never did any drugs before I came here, but one evening Jack was all 'we should put on some Carbink Floyd and get fucked up while watching my electric sheep' and I went along with it even though I'd never *done* that shit back home and it was just *such* good stress relief.

Like. If I smoked enough of this, I think I could even stand to watch wrestling again. Well. Maybe. Listen to a match on the radio, anyway.
asmywitness: (are you talking to me)

[personal profile] asmywitness 2020-04-02 04:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Stop overthinking everything out loud, he sends, giving Steven a flat look. I don't need to hear your bullshit. If you work it out somehow, good for you. But it's not necessarily to send that out.

Sorry, Steven, but he doesn't care.

THAT is relevant, though, the weed stuff. A little bit overshare about your boyfriend, but like. That's interesting to know. And he does look somewhat thoughtful as he's typing. It makes it more interesting for me to want to try.
fingersandteeth: (unsure)

[personal profile] fingersandteeth 2020-04-02 04:41 pm (UTC)(link)
Right, he texts back. Sorry. That was me doing the thing again, wasn't it? Just-- another thing to watch out for now. Thanks for spotting it and telling me.

But yeah. It numbs shit a little. Just enough to make things easier.