Happy New Year And Happy Year Of The Dragon!!!

{ Previously… }

While the Arcanine was talking, Star had decided to roll themselves up off of the ground, shaking off the dust and taking a moment to relocate their pet beetle Big before picking them up and letting it crawl on their back. They were honestly getting very bored of these random strangers talking to them and a little hungry as well, thinking they should probably head back home for a snack.

…

Wait.

A Stink bug? What stink bug? Where???

Confused, Starflower looked around, then looked back at the Arcanine for a moment and followed his gesture to Big, who at this point was resting in their fur.

“St—“

“STINK BUG?!”

It was as if a switch had been flicked in that moment. One would’ve thought Star had used Hyper Voice with how loud they suddenly barked at the Arcanine! Whipping their tiny body around and huffing at the dog, they continued their barking in full force.

“BIG ISNT A STINK BUG, YOU BIG POOP-HEAD! STINK BUGS BELONG TO THE “PEN-TOMATO” FAMILY! BIG IS A HERCULES BEETLE AND THEY BELONG IN THE “DYE-NASTY” FAMILY!!”

They honestly couldn’t believe the nerve this dog had. The bugs were clearly two different species! They don’t even look alike! Aren’t they an adult? They’re supposed to know everything!

“BESIDES, BIG DOESN’T SMELL LIKE YOU DO, STINKY! HE DIDN’T CALL YOU NAMES SO YOU BETTER SAY SORRY!!”

Nearby, Stars’ screeching hadn’t gone unnoticed, quickly catching the ear of the older Vulpix as they whipped around toward the sound.

“Oh gods—“

Taking off towards the loud display, they clumsily burst through the brush and landed into the scene at a short distance, immediately focusing on the tiny kit in the middle of their tantrum apart from the dog sitting before them.

“STAR!!”

( @lustrous-dawn )

Happy Munday! I’m like 2-3 weeks late but anyway a million years ago I made a Hana pony aka Opal Essence ✨

{ Previously… }

Taking advantage of the dog’s bewilderment and scrambling to their feet, a glint in their eyes casted a spell over the kit as their body became enveloped in a pink hue, suddenly hurling the kit backwards into the safety of their embrace at a fair distance.

< ??? Used Extrasensory! >

“Ah!”

“…S-Small Dad?!”

Switching their focus back to the Arcanine before them, their glare casted another spell as the area around them suddenly became changed. The warm passing breeze of summer whipped into the sharp chill of an incoming winter blizzard as snow and hail pelted the area.

> ???’s Snow Warning activated! <

Clinging to some of their parents tails, the child struggles to see past the blizzard’s winds. Their bug companion quickly seeks shelter in its owners’ ruff.

“Small Dad…!”

( @lustrous-dawn )

???

…Uh.

“Big” isn’t food, he’s my friend…

“Small Dad” says you don’t eat friends…

He’s a “Die-nasty Herculease” Beetle. Small Dad got him for me.

His name is “Big”, because he’s big…

…

{ @bakfoo @sometimesplusheevee }

???

…

…?

???

Hm…?

The child pokes their head out from the bush, watching the other two Pokémon approach them. In their mouth, a large Hercules Beetle gently wriggles about.

…?

{ @askvekpa @ask-the-shiny-pokemons }

Previously: Hana ordered a bowl of Kitsune Udon and Ray asked a rather deep question to which Hana responded with clarity. @pokitsune

Ray listens attentively. But, as Hana takes a pensive stop to think, his hands sneakily shifts to the x-transceiver behind the counter away from their view.

Sounds easy enough...

His attention is brought back to Hana as they started to talk once more. Other than a slight twitch at the words "I hated it-", Ray gives Hana his full attention..

It wasn't long until Rio came back.

She trots off, shooting a thoughtful glance over to Hana to see if her presence bothered them any longer. Nevertheless, she continues to do some "book keeping" away from Hana’s area–most likely to give them the reprieve from the cynophobia she was informed about.

After unpacking the groceries, Ray takes stock of what he has in front of him.

Hana has already humored him with a deep response to a heavy question, so to keep them waiting without food would just be rude. He’s going to have to work with what he’s got and take short cuts.

Short cuts or not, this was a delicate operation. Skipping the steps to soak the seaweed to boil it might risk a bitter and slimy stock if boiled too long. Take time too little to twice fry the tofu and you’ll end up with a sad addition of soggy tofu. He has to time it right…

The broth shimmers with golden clarity. The noodles look like they are not too firm and not too soft. While there may be traces of some of the spice falling to the bottom of the bowl, it looks complete and carefully concocted.

A tasteful addition of the necessary toppings sit proudly on top. The Inari-Age looks like it's not typical of what you'd expect from Kitsune Udon, but reminiscent of the sweet and salty taste despite its hardened and crispy texture.

This is the type of a lunch that will have you ready to take on the afternoon without feeling too bloated. 

By all accounts, Ray thinks he did a pretty good job. He’s quite proud of himself for this one. 

I followed this recipe to do some research!

I gave myself the limitation of "ok there's a customer who needs their food asap." So 10-15 minutes max. Here's what I found:

The recipe is absolutely right in claiming that dashi powder isn't as good as homebrewed dashi. HOWEVER I live in a place where Japanese ingredients are hard to come by. I'm actually surprised I didn't find bonito flakes.

You can skip the soaking konbu part, but I hiiiighly recommend it. You'll end up with a broth that doesn't feel complete if you skip this part. Speaking of broth, udon noodles are also extremely filling--if you make a broth with it, it better not be heavy because you'll be a vegetable after you eat. But if you get all the ingredients right, you'll end up with a good meal that I totally forgot to take a picture of. Just imagine it's what I drew because that looks better anyway

I didn't read the instructions close enough--the inari-age is supposed to be a marinated/seasoned in dashi, soy sauce, and mirin. I just had bland tofu puffs... In my defense, there's a lot of Japanese terms thrown around and the recipe blog was un-intuitive to follow.

Granted, there's absolutely no way you can make inari-age in the span of 20 minutes, especially if you're making the tofu from scratch. One way to change that, however, would probably be in the process of combining the seasoning/marinating process with the frying process. I can't confirm this, I haven't tried it and I was getting too antsy to let this reply go unfinished.

{ Previously… }

The child seemed puzzled at the Swirlixs’ response, giving their head a tilt for a moment.

…

Why would it be smaller if I eat a lotta bugs? Should I eat more bugs???

They barely started to think about it when a slice of cheesecake was presented to them, it’s sweet aroma filling their nose and thoughts immediately. It smelled nothing like cheese, but still deliciously sweet and enticing. Leaning forward with their tongue sticking out, they give the treat a curious lick.

You could almost see the moment the sweet taste hit them like a truck, as in the next moment the dessert was gone in a whole bite, almost taking the limb along with it! You’re not entirely sure if they chewed at all with how fast it was eaten.

That was the best cake I’ve ever tasted ever.

Gimmie more? Please?? I want more!

Their eyes were wide and even more dazzling, their tail wagging a mile a minute as they pleaded with the swirlix.

{ @ask-enchantingdelights }

The Arcanine looked about. This was the last place... right? As he tried to recollect, a throbbing in his head made him grumble under his breath. That Vulpix, a bitter thought as he paused in his search. That Hana actually did something... nice, despite their first encounter. It would be best to quash- something caught his eyes, a small Vulpix kit with a unique fur pigment. A squint. Pink and stardust... "Hey kid where's your parent?"

Admittingly, the child wasn’t expecting the hulking figure of the dog to cast such a wide shadow over them. Had they not realized they were being spoken too, they could’ve mistaken him for a tree, compared to their relative size.

Huh???

Starting from his paws and eventually craning their neck upward until they eventually toppled over, the child would struggle to see who was addressing them, considering they sun shined just behind their shadowed glare. Not bothering to get up, they would give a snort.

“…”

“Why are you so big, and stinky? You smell like dirt poop…”

[ @lustrous-dawn ]

(@askpokecallcenter ) Mina @Starflower: "My, my, how come that you're here out alone in the woods? Don't you have some friends to play with? Not disregarding your bug friends, they are wonderful!!"

Starflower

Big is here, though…

I play by myself a lot. Big is my best friend but I can’t play with him all the time…

…

You’re a weird Pidove.