Day at the races!

[indigo_league]

Who: Everyone!
Where: Moo Moo Farms
When: Saturday, March 20th
Summary:



The day is as lovely as you can expect any early spring day to be. You'll need a coat, yes, and there is a bit of a breeze, but the sun shines happily onto the wooden buildings that make up the Moo Moo Farms where we have all gathered today.

The various farm workers have worked hard to make their farm presentable to the public. Cheerful banners hang between the various sheds, stables and barns, which all have been given a bit of a cleaning (and perhaps a new coat of paint here and there). Of course, it is still a farm, so perhaps don't wear your very best shoes, but as far as farms go, it's been made as neat as can be.

And while the main draws of the day may be releasing the Miltank herd out onto the pasture again after a long winter inside -- whimsically called 'Cow Ballet' on the info sign -- and the Great Tauros Race, Moo Moo Farms has set up various little events and booths to entertain their guests, and perhaps teach them a thing or two about farm life.

A large information sign stands at the gate to the farm, letting visitors know what sort of events are taking place, as well as where and when these are happening. The two big ones -- the Miltank Ballet and the Tauros Race -- are spaced in such a way that people can easily attend both, and most of the other little events are available throughout the entire day.

The Miltank Ballet will be taking place at 1PM over by the big barn. There is little you can do to participate in this (unless you are a cow?), but if you want to watch some ecstatic Miltank dance through the mud and grass after a long winter inside, you should definitely come check this out.

The Tauros Race will start at 4PM (sign ups close at 3PM) and anyone who wants to help give the Tauros a good round of exercise is encouraged and welcome to sign up. There is, according to the sign, a small mystery prize to be won, but surely we are all here because we want to help some cooped up Tauros, right?

In addition to those two big events, two paddocks have been made ready where visitors can test themselves against a Bucking Bronco -- that's his name, Bronco the Bouffalant -- to see how long they can last in the saddle. Due to safety concerns, participants for this event will need to be 16+. For the children, there is a separate rodeo in which they can ride Vaquero the Dubwool, who, for all his seemingly wild behaviour, is actually a very well trained Dubwool who'll make sure no harm comes to the kids.

Of course, while people are free to bring their own food, the Moo Moo Farms have also set up a wide variety of booths where people can buy anything from fresh Moo Moo Milk and milkshakes to freshly made cheese and bread, and oh, is that apple pie? That most certainly is apple pie, as well as various other homey pastries. And as the day goes on, and people might start craving something a little less sweet and more filling, a booth opens up selling various curries. Don't worry, there won't be any Snorlax you need to share with this time!

And for anyone who has found themselves wanting and craving a bovine of their own after all these cute sights, you are in luck! Amidst the various booths, there is also one run by two cheery farm girls, advertising a sale on eggs! All the eggs that are normally available from the Moo Moo Farms can be bought at a whopping 50% discount. Mind that this is only on the purchase price of the egg itself. The price for any additional egg-moves remains the same.

There are also some other, smaller things set up, such a station where you can learn about milking a Miltank and a barrel where you can bob for apples, and even a horseshoe toss game. Most of these are definitely aimed towards teaching and entertaining little kids, but nobody will stop you if you decide to muscle past a row of Youngsters to claim the apple bobbing barrel.

Comments

bucking bronco

[fingersandteeth]

Leonardo? How was your Ubird up?

[If Leo looks up, he'll see a dark man in his mid-forties, bespectacled and lightly bearded, is standing just to the side of him. He's broad and at six foot even is on the taller side as things go. His voice is a pleasant tenor.

(And yes, he recognized Leonardo by his art again.)]

Ah, this is Steven, by the way.

[neverfinishanyth]

[He blinks himself away from the spectacle of several very burly men flying through the air to face Steven. He grins, glad to see his new friend in person, and before thinking anything of it, gives him a quick hug in greeting.]

Yes, yes, I remember you! You were the one who gifted me all those berries. Thank you again, by the way.

[Still smiling as he pulls back, his eyes light up when he thinks of his flight over.]

And the Ubird was incredible! I'd never felt anything like that before, it was... freeing, in a sense. I wonder if it is how the birds themselves feel.

[fingersandteeth]

[The hug is startling, but not in a bad way. There's a slight tensing for a moment, as Steven represses his own instincts for what to do with being unexpectedly grappled, but he's able to smile easily at Leonardo afterward, once they both pull back.

(He's definitely a handsome man at this age, Steven thinks, though it's odd to see him so young, when all the images he's ever seen of the man--drawings and statuary--show him in the fullness of his long years.)]

It was no trouble at all, honestly. Thace has been stockpiling them, in anticipation of heading down Victory Road together in a month or so, and he was fine with me sending a few onward.

And-- would you like to talk to a bird?

[It's at this point that a little round green ball of a Natu swoops down to perch on Steven's shoulder. He reaches up to give her a little scritch.]

Isis. She was my friend Tyler's before he left and she's quite psychic.

[neverfinishanyth]

[He carries on, oblivious to any internal struggle to the contrary, grinning widely and often gesturing with his hands as if he can't quite keep himself still.]

Ah, then did you come here for some battling practice, too? I'm afraid my own team is hardly strong enough to present a challenge, if that's what you were hoping for.

[It sounds exciting, though not particularly for him. He's used to his own world's version of fighting animals, which is... much less pleasant and friendly, let's say.

Though he perks up when he's presented with Isis.]

Oh! Hello, friend. Is it true that you can speak? Then again, I'm certain you've plenty of ways to make your feelings known.

[fingersandteeth]

Actually, I came here to compete in the race--and also for Steve Palchuk. He's one of the younger otherworlders and today's his eighteenth birthday. He loves cows.

[So Moomoo Farms was a really good birthday activity.]

And Isis doesn't speak out loud, actually. She was Tyler's translator, since he was born deaf. Isis, do you mind showing him how you'd translate for Tyler?

[And Leonardo will get a mix of text, AUSLAN, and images/impressions of concepts projected into his brain... all of which is basically what Steven just said to him.]

I helped Tyler teach her.

[Tyler, Leonardo will soon figure out from the mix of things projected into his head as Isis keeps translating, was a rotund man in his mid-twenties, with Far Eastern ancestry.]

[neverfinishanyth]

[It is a very... strange feeling, the thoughts imprinted in his mind. He can feel them slotting in beside his own, images of Isis' previous trainer, and hands moving to make signs, and green feathers and letters. It is at once clear and somewhat blurry. He wonders if the Natu can pick up any of his own thoughts, and what those thoughts might look like.

For a man who constantly moves, Leonardo is very still as the thoughts fly through him. Afraid he might break the spell if he moves, or that he will be seen too clearly in return, but intrigued beyond measure at this ability and too enthused about it to do anything but let the thoughts just keep coming.]

This is a much more impressive trick than speaking would be. Are all psychic pokemon capable of such things?

[fingersandteeth]

I think most would be, with proper training? But it does take time. Most of them are able to communicate mind-to-mind in some fashion. It makes them very useful to have around. I've got a Xatu of my own--they're like Natu, but larger and able to fly further.

[And again, Leo will receive the psychic 'translation' of Steven's words--but it does seem like he's noticing how Leo gets very still at those moments, because he reaches up to scritch the little bird again.] Thank you, Isis. I think Leo's probably seen enough of your translation now. It was good of you to show them.

[neverfinishanyth]

What stops trainers from using a pokemon's moves on other trainers?

[He can't not voice this thought, which grows inside him as he receives helpful translation notes from Isis. He does not want to do the idea he suggests, no, of course not, but... if he's thought of it, someone else must have also. Someone else will have tried. They may very well have succeeded. And it all seems quite nice, if you only think of it as helping with translations and being understood.

But there's more than friendship on the line in a battle, isn't there?]

[fingersandteeth]

[Steven blinks.] Manners, I suppose. The unspoken rules of society. Human decency. It's possible. Team Rocket does it sometimes. [Well, the otherworldly ones do.] But in general, it's considered taboo. Forbidden. Grounds consider a battle forfeit?

[He shrugs.] That and pokemon moves aren't nearly as effective against trainers as they are against other pokemon.

[neverfinishanyth]

So it is not particularly likely.

[But not unheard of, is it. And manners and unspoken rules only go so far.]

That's good to hear. I imagine some of these moves could be... very troublesome, in the wrong hands.

[fingersandteeth]

Not really, no, unless you've been caught up in a Rocket heist by accident. Hell, not even all Rockets would be willing to try.

But yes, you're right. They can be. [Steven himself used to use Night Shade to scare victims into fainting, back when he used to pull mugging speedruns. Meanwhile, Tyler had been a master of combining Hypnosis and Dream Eater for the purpose of removing people's memories.]

[neverfinishanyth]

How often do these Rocket heists occur, do you think?

[He's not quite getting off the topic so much as delicately side-stepping it.]

[fingersandteeth]

Mm, depends, really. Last summer it was pretty much all Rocket crime all the time... and then they quieted down after they blew up part of the Fuchsia Gym mid-September and we didn't hear anything until they attempted to steal Christmas.

[Because they did too much crime and were waiting for the heat to die down.]

[neverfinishanyth]

How would one steal Christmas? [He's not so much asking Steven so much as pondering it himself out loud.]

You'd need a lot of room for all the bells.

[fingersandteeth]

Ah, it's a joke. And a reference to a children's tale. What they actually did was raided the Goldenrod City Christmas Market and cause a lot of trouble.

[Steven help coordinate it from the roof!]

I missed out on most of it, but I know that this world's equivalent of Saint Nicolas had to intervene by the end.

[neverfinishanyth]

This world must be very different than mine, to have saints that actually intervene.

[fingersandteeth]

I think he might be the only one who does and it's under the name of 'Santa Claus' besides--ah, that's the Anglicization of his Dutch name, Sinterklaas.

[neverfinishanyth]

I'm surprised this Saint isn't also pokemon. That seems to be the trend here, from what I have seen.

[fingersandteeth]

So am I--all the other godly creatures here seem to be Pokemon, including the one they say created the world. But no, Santa is evidently a human-shaped being with miraculous powers.

[neverfinishanyth]

How disappointing.

[fingersandteeth]

I know. He really ought to be shaped like a Delibird if nothing else.