"What are you doing?" Adora said and then actually recoiled a little as Catra came up with a gray wrapped bar from her pack. "You actually have a ration bar!?"
"Yep," Catra said. "Probably been sitting in there since a little after I moved into Bright Moon." She looked at the label for a moment and nodded. "Yep, still within expiration."
"Only because they don't expire for like ten years," Adora said. "Even then they just kind of shrink a little and get kinda crunchy, well, crunchier."
So, I had a wonderful week this past week visiting my family across the country. After 18 long years, finally being able to AFFORD such a trip, I got to go to Arizona and see people in person I’ve only been able to Internet and phone with. My mom cried as she hugged me... yeah....
Anyway, as a part of this trip, I got to have some nostalgic food because when you move to a new place, especially across the country, there are always going to be local joints that you grew up with and miss, some of them surprising. You’d expect good Mexican-American food in Arizona, but would you expect.... fish n’ chips? So, okay, there’s this restaurant that was a big part of my childhood called Ed’s Fish n’ Chips. (If you look them up online, all you’ll get is a dismal Facebook page with a photograph of their MIMEOGRAPHED menu because they are THAT hole-in-the-wall and that technologically-impaired and un-modernized. I love it). We picked up some food during one of my days on the trip to take back to our hotel room - my Philly-raised mate being introduced to it and me living some pure nostalgia. It pleased me immensely to step into the restaurant to find that it had not changed since the 1980s (I was pointing out the old pictures of the owners on the wall) and even the old video game arcade machines in the corner were still there and still broken (okay, so Galaga seemed to be working, but was play at your own risk). Oh, my God, it was awesome!
Now, the fish they serve at Ed’s... is not what you’d call...”good” fish. It is best described as rectangles. They are crispy, greasy rectangles of reconstituted white fish somewhat akin to McDonalds’ Filet O’ Fish but they taste a bit different, served with thick fries and this DELIGHTFUL spicy red sauce that is like a watered-down ketchup mixed with cayenne sauce and there is honestly nothing like it anywhere, it’s like... as far as I know... a thing that only Arizona fish n’ chip shops have. I have encountered it nowhere else and have missed it preciously. And it’s PERFECT with the crispy reconstituted fish-tangles SOMEHOW.
It made me think about Adora and ration bars. What I mean is, I have an idea for a fanfiction based entirely on this experience of mine. Actually, I have ideas for TWO fanfictions based entirely on this experience of mine because I have an idea that applies to another fandom (I’ve absolutely nosedived back into Trigun lately). Anyway, the She-Ra idea has to do with Adora being nostalgic for the “objectively crappy” food of her youth - the kind of things that the Bright Moon crowd looks down their noses at, but has that oh, so unique flavor one cannot get anywhere else and having grown up on it, Adora CRAVES it. She never minded the ration bars, she even liked them - particularly those gray ones. Those gray ones had just this...unique flavor she cannot get in Bright Moon, Thaymore, Elberon or anywhere else. She’s looked everywhere. She’s even looked everywhere for something like a sauce that Commander Cobalt used to whip up to go with them.
Catra thinks she’s crazy. Catra’s gotten to be a bit of a food-snob upon coming to Bright Moon (but she secretly misses Horde-food, too - oh, so much, but she’s trying to fit in and doesn’t want to lose face and all of her bad memories of the Horde are putting her in denial of the few things she actually liked. Since Bow and Glimmer turn up their noses and make faces at mere descriptions of the bars, she’s not brave enough to admit to the nostalgia).
Ration bars are basic soldier’s food and are supposed to be “objectively bad,” after all. Cheap, greasy, bland... (yet somehow...SOMEHOW they had just the right salt-content and just WORKED with this weird clandestine sauce some of the commanders would make off-orders).
There is a problem. The Fright Zone is no more. Scorpia and any remaining straggling Scorpioni people out there on Etheria have reclaimed it as their homeland. It has been remade with the released magic into a fertile land where good food can be grown and whatever the Horde’s ration bars were made from no longer exists / the machines are broken / the recipe is lost.
So, Adora plucks up her courage and journeys to Dryl, where Hordak resides under Entrapta’s lab-partnership. She must know the secret to the creation of the ration bars. She must have one again, if even once more in her life.
For nostalgia.
Very random thought after diving deep into your blog: the ration bars. What are they exactly? My personal thought is that Hordak had them on his ship as he crashed on Etheria, then found a way to make them from local plants and stuff. A lil something that reminded him of home and shared with his lil army
Hmmm... He wouldn't have had them on the ship because :
clones were not allowed to eat food - only Horde Prime was worthy of it. All clones ever ate was the amniotic fluid.
As far as what the ration bars were - if I were to guess - it's rations engineered to contain everything a life form needs to function (all of the diverse life forms found in The Etherian Horde).
He might have come up with them out of utility, to simplify feeding an army.
What they are made up of is honestly up to everyone's headcanons, could be plant matter, could bugs, could be completely synthesized from vat grown matter.... who knows? Whatever answer you come up with is just as true as whatever I might come up with.
As far as "reminding him of home" - you are onto something. I think that's why his laboratory is called a "sanctum".
It's his refuge from this alien world, a piece of home he managed to make here -sacred- , even if he's all alone. It's where all the high tech stuff, the cloning vats are, it's swathed in green... aaaand Etherians intruding upon it breaks the illusion (besides it would have been very dangerous for him if one of them *cough* Shadow Weaver *cough* would have walked in and found him fallen on the floor... that would have been disastrous.)
What he did share with his army, from his "home", was his notion that everyone is interchangeable (because he as a clone was infinitely replaceable).
and that 'all parts of the whole' must be useful or else be discarded as failures...
What do you think the average Mandalorian ration or ration bar would look like?
That’s a very good question! I’m going to focus on rations bars for now, because that’s what I’ve started researching for a future recipe. Basically, there are two options.
1 — Home-made ration bars, if the Mandalorian in question can afford the time to make these, would most likely be made with uj‘ayl, the sweet spicy syrup also used in uj‘cake. It adds flavor to the whole thing and can be mixed with additional spices to create differently flavored bars. I’d assume they also include nuts and fruits and a variety of different grains. As long as it doesn’t spoil, anything can go in a ration bar (I really need more research to figure out what else, but there is definitely a recipe coming).
2 — Rations bars are used by many people, and more often than not they are not even made by Mandalorians themselves, but rather imported or bought, traded or ... found on jobs. I think the general understanding is that they taste like cardboard at best, and it’s supported by reviews of real life ration bars I found online. But luckily, our Mandalorian friends came prepared and dip those badboys in their favourite hot sauce. Double-dipping the ration bar is encouraged.
I’ll have a post about rations in general coming sometime in the future, but that’s just a draft for now and needs more research from my side, unfortunately! I hope I could answer your question, though :)
My imaginary companions (armored troopers from Star Wars: The Clone Wars) accompany me while I perform the tasks and undergo the trials of typical adult life. Other parts can be found here.
I Don’t Like Ration Bars
“Hey, can Hound pull an overnight guard shift tonight?” Thire asked without preamble, towing an obviously uncomfortable Hound behind him. “He’s never done one.”
The answer, of course, was ‘sure’. There was very little need for a guard rotation at all, but the troopers liked to have one set anyway. Besides, I had a soft spot for Hound. (I have a soft spot for most of them, but he is a bit of a favorite.) Was it too on-the-nose to say that he was almost puppy-like in demeanor and attitude?
Anyway, I opened my mouth so respond that I would not mind a bit, but Thire talked over me. “I already promised to watch Grizzer, so you don’t need to worry about a massiff in your house.”
I tried again to agree - and to add that I wouldn’t care if Hound did end up bringing Grizzer along - but Thire interrupted again. “And the commanding officers said they want a good rotation of us so we can all be familiar with your house’s layout.”
We watched each other for a long moment. I wanted to make sure he was done talking before I tried again to reply. Thire gave me an expectant sort of eyebrow raise, but spoke just as I began to agree.
“You mostly choose your guards from the 501st, but I for one would like to think you aren’t prejudiced. Despite what the rest of the troopers say. And all the evidence that says you are.”
I couldn’t help that my eyes began to narrow, not at all liking what Thire was trying to suggest, but Hound spoke up before either of us could say something that we both would end up regretting.
“Stars, vod,” Hound said, voice dripping with exasperation. “Shut up and let her talk and we might actually get an answer!”
I smiled broadly at Hound. “For that alone, I would be honored if you did an overnight guard shift. For the record, though, my answer was going to be ‘yes’ the first time.”
Thire didn’t even have the grace to look ashamed as he clapped Hound on the shoulder. “There you go, then. Have fun!” With one last cheeky look, he ambled away, probably to look for Thorne, who seemed to be his best work friend. (Never say that in front of a trooper, though. They always act offended by the suggestion that they form something as plebian as friendships.)
“When and where do I report?” Hound asked, defaulting into a regulation-level parade rest, his hands clasped together neatly behind his back.
“Just meet Rex and I at the office by 4:30 and we’ll walk out to my car as a group,” I told him. “Oh, and my one weird rule is that you can’t bring any ration bars with you.”
“Ration bars, ma’am?” he asked curiously.
“Okay, two rules,” I corrected myself. “I dislike being called ma’am, so please don’t do that. And yeah, no ration bars. I hate watching you guys eat bland, boring nutrient sticks when there are other options. I’m making dinner tonight, and you’re welcome to as much of it as you want. Also, I have way too many snacks lying around my house that you can have if you don’t like what I make.”
“I couldn’t take your food, m-” Hound looked embarrassed by his almost-slip. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay, Hound,” I assured him. “You won’t be taking anything from me. Rex, Tech, and I have been trying to figure things out and we think you guys are taking copies of the food in what almost seems to be a different, but neighboring, dimension.”
Hound didn’t even try to respond to that, just stood staring as he opened and closed his mouth a few times. I tried explaining it in a different way:
“Basically, if I have a plate with my dinner on it, you could take ten copies of my food from that single plate and it wouldn’t affect my reality’s food in any way, but you still get the calories and nutrients from the copies. Does that make sense?”
“None of it makes a bit of sense to me,” Hound admitted freely, “but I trust you. 4:30?”
“4:30,” I confirmed. Hound was still shaking his head as I walked away, but it was okay. He would understand when he saw - and ate - what I was talking about. As long as he didn’t try to bring any ridiculous ration bars into my house, we would be fine.
