text; @majimagoro

[hikae]

Following up on Stargirl's question, here's the answer. The Embera are edible, taste like burnt chicken, kind of chewy— not much different from how reptiles usually do. That's not on itself the biggest revelation tho. Remember how they're warned about their fire-hot venom? How lethal they are?

It's just plain wrong. These sad noodles don't even have venom sacks or anything of that sort! Their bite is just that, a bite. Also, I'm pretty sure I don't have any secret resistances to poison, I'm as a regular human as I can get.

So here is a helpful guide for yer own snake dinner: Burn down something and bait them with ash, they'll slither over. They're pretty docile, but they will bite and stab if threatened, so it's better to hunt them from at least a little distance. Right, it's their tail that's their main weapon, there's a sharp blade-like bone at the end of it.

If ya wanna hints on how to prepare them on yer own in a variety of ways, just ask Zhao. Snake on the stick is possibly the easiest, tho. Making a snake soup could feed more people at once. Tho we can't all just gather for one big picnic, that could blow our cover— still, we got a few done, and ready, just let us know where you are and we can arrange a snack delivery.

—I can't stop wondering why they have such a bad reputation among the locals. If they experience Embera's bites like they describe them, then— everything is just making less and less sense.

Comments

un: blue

[firstroar]

It sounds like those creatures were designed with only these locals in mind - not outsiders, like us.

[hikae]

They're not native, so they might be outsiders just like us. Or maybe they are part of the Orb-hocus-pocus? I don't know

[firstroar]

[...]

If they have presence of mind...they might be real, too.

[majorbiotic]

Thank you for this. I think having some real food, no matter what it is, will help us a lot.

I have an idea on why these things got a bad reputation. What I uncovered about the pulsefire, the fact that the embera aren't native and they eat ash... Yeah.

[hikae]

Oh shit— right, that. Are you really thinking what I think you are?

Ya know, I love a good horror movie— But living in a town full of ash-people isn't the kind of experience I wanted.

[majorbiotic]

I sincerely hope I'm wrong, but it would explain a few things. Like how all the other food has no nutritional value. Even the townspeople claiming the emebra are venomous might just be a projection from the person who has the orb.

Video | Un: Star-Lord

[spacedisaster]

[ Peter has a kind of thousand-yard stare in his face as he assimilates the news, don't mind him. He is so tired of this mission. ]

So the...snakes really are the solution.

[ On one side, Yay! no more starving. On the other, he has an  irrational fear of snakes, and it's about to throw up at the thought of eating one. ]

video right back

[hikae]

[ Sorry, Peter. It's sneksnack time. ]

Sorry to be the harbinger of bad news... As with any mystery-meat— if it's finely chopped ya can't tell what it's from.

<3

[spacedisaster]

[ No, whyyyyy. ]

Ey, no, actually, those are great news, man. Your snake adventure might have saved us all. It's not that I'm not grateful, it's just...

Snakes...why'd it have to be snakes? I'd still know what it is even if minced.

text. un: 10-54

[construing]

When we went into the mines, we saw the embera’s trails heading out of into town. There was no ash in the mines so they had to be looking for food. We couldn’t find exactly where in town they were going, though.

[ a little pause. ]

Feels pretty safe to say “where” isn’t the right question.

[hikae]

What. They've been— oh, fuck, seriously? I missed that part about them... coming to town. This mission is the most freakish circus I've seen, and I've seen plenty.

[ . . . ]

Now I wonder what would happen if we brought the live ones here

[construing]

[ she links back to the photos and video she attached to her findings on the embera and the mines.

in response to his wondering: ] Piss off the townspeople, no question. They hate the embera. Listening to the tunnel hounds talk about them, you’d think the embera exist specifically to spite them. Which…seems like they do.

text - un; jaegermeister

[unbreachable]

I knew they'd taste like chicken.

[ take that clara!! ]

[hikae]

Reptiles usually do! The difference is in texture more than the taste.

[ There are, uh, plenty of unique restaurants around Sotenbori ]

[unbreachable]

I've had gator tail before, but snake will be a first.

Text; un: belova

[laviny]

Oh. Too bad I didn't bring any hot sauce.

[hikae]

Ah, damn shame, they'd go really well with that.

[ ... ]

D'ya want some sneksnacks?

[laviny]

Sure, why not. I will try it.

[It's better than starving, anyway.]

voice; un: mccoy

[homeostatic]

They don't have venom sacks?

( girl wth )

voice

[hikae]

Yeah, none. Only a freakin' knife-bone on their tail.

[homeostatic]

I got a vial of venom I isolated from miners' blood that says otherwise. How many snakes have you processed?

text; un: mafioso

[essenceofdeadlybeasts]

Remind me from now on to bring personal seasonings on every mission. Because the stuff here isn't going to help flavor these beauties.

[hikae]

[ Asfhkdlaksj, Zhao. Kay. He's amused now ]

That's why they say you've always got to be prepared!

: )

text | un: andy

[oiorpata]

So I guess we start collecting a supply of snake food. If we could find a few places to keep it, people could come and go at all times and take what they need to avoid looking suspicious.

[ cue andy wondering about the domestication of these lil noodles. ]

[hikae]

They eat ash and seem pretty hungry— as long as we don't run out of things to burn then, yeah, that sounds like an idea. I know people keep chickens in pens, but Embera would be a new one...