TDM 005

[etrayamods]

⏵ arrival ⏴ Arrival goes as anticipated. Characters awaken in a sterile hospital bed in a clean, white room to the hum of machines under the unnatural lighting common to well-kept institutions. Every bit was designed to be comforting and calming, even with the jarring undercurrent of this situation. The first face they see is Aurora's: her smile appears to be warm, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. She might offer a quick explanation, or leave characters to figure it out for themselves depending on their approach. The door to the room swings open, revealing a hallway that stretches out ahead of them. There’s noise from outside and strong pumpkin spice scents coming from the lobby. Ah, muffins and tea. Grab one and head into the crisp, sunny fall morning ahead. ⏵ potluck ⏴ Cutthroat Iron Etrayan Bake-Off As you step out of the arrival holding area into the main thoroughfare, the entire street has been turned into tents and chef stations to accommodate the activities of thirty people at once. There’s seats, trailers, and robots bustling about to make sure everyone is ready. A couple of cheerful robots in aprons and colorful sweaters approach and redirect you as you step towards the cooking area. There’s gas ranges, ovens, grills, blast chillers, mixers, and set walk-ins and pantries with just about every ingredient you can imagine. There are cameramen (also robots) patrolling the area to capture all your best moments and to broadcast them directly to your fellow citizens’ devices. Your instruction? “Make your signature dish. You have one hour, chef.” It can’t just be straightforward, can it? The land itself is held together with pure chaotic energy. If you’re lucky, all goes as planned. If you aren’t… well… Roll a Die 1 Your leg is now tied to another chef’s 2 Your meal is continually un-cooking itself. 3 All of your ingredients are pickled now 4 The longer you touch an ingredient, the bigger it gets. 5 Every time you lift your pot lid, a component changes. 6 The aromatics are glowing and flashing like LED lights. 7 Your knife has been replaced with a cheese grater. 8 The ingredients are now magnetically stuck together. 9 Your meal is becoming deep fried. 10 Kittens are multiplying out of the cupboard. * 11 All of your ingredients have become incredibly heavy. 12 Your cook pot moves burners whenever you turn around. 13 Eggs scream when you crack them 14 The kitchen has become incredibly slippery. 15 It’s soup now. 16 All utensils have been replaced with crustaceans. ** 17 Your knife has a mind of its own. Watch out! 18 Your fridge catches fire. 19 Your pasta is trying to escape. Go get it. 20 Any ingredient not in the pot starts to float away. * All kittens disappear at the end. ** These however, stay. ⏵ share a meal ⏴ As all the cooking concludes, you will be invited to plate your meal into one of many casserole dishes, regardless of what was made. A ladle will be tucked into the corner and placed on the table with a folded bit of cardstock declaring the chef’s name and the name of the dish. A helper camerabot will come around to each participant and ask for their thinking and their process. Even if you got away without having to cook, even looking towards the table of dishes will spur a helper bot to start making you a plate with one of everything. The helperbot will insist that it is rude to not at least try what their peers have made. In fact, if you are to fill out the score card for each person, you really must taste everything! The robots can’t try the food, so it’s up to you. The cards look like so. The grading system is opaque. Is it meant to be numbers? Stars? Letter grades? Well, you’re the judge. You figure it out. Chef: ___________ Dish:_____________ Judge:___________ Overall Rating:_______ Flavor Presentation Stackability Wet Originality Rizz ⏵ tummy ache survivor ⏴ No matter how well your compatriots cooked or baked their dishes, there are… factors. You see that carrot? It’s really just condensed chaos in the shape of a carrot. No matter how powerful you are, these particular ingredients may not mesh with your being. …And even if it is truly a carrot, do all the chefs know the proper cooking temperature of chicken? Even chickens are aliens to many. (Optional) Roll a Die 1 Tummy Ache. Go lay in bed. Complaining alleviates symptoms. 2 That plate of food has energized you. You feel compelled to race or spar. 3 The food has reminded you of home. You must tell someone a detail of your childhood. 4 That food was so horrible that it simply must be washed out somehow. Spicy peppers? Booze? Gravel??? You’re going to over do it. 5 You have now discovered your new favorite dish. Make them teach it to you or you’ll lose sleep over it. This is all you want to eat for the next week. 6 The oddity of the ingredients has transferred to you. You start floating away. 7 The range of food and textures have inspired you. Acquire an annoying new hobby or habit. 8 You are now haunted by the digital souls of chickens. ⏵ NOTES ⏴ Please direct all questions to our mod queries comment! ⏵FULL NAVIGATION⏴

Comments

i; arrival

[banworthy]

"Ah, more people to the meat grinder."

Vincent mumbles to himself as he watches people leave from the backrooms. He stares suspiciously at the muffins that have been set out. Of course, he doesn't recall anything terrible happening to him for eating these treats. It's the other treats that have been put in front of him that ended up being troublesome.

"Offer something safe first so the rest is taken willingly, perhaps?" He muses aloud and lifts his head as the man comes down the hallway. His hand lifts in greeting. "Hello. Care for a muffin? I'm not with the welcoming committee, but eating alone is--"

His hands open in surrender as he tosses a muffin at the aforementioned stranger.

[unhappymedium]

The scent of tea and baked goods reminds him of a cafe, and he follows it from the hospital room and down the corridor. He hasn't wandered far when he finds the man who offers an amicable hello and a muffin - Subaru catches it.

"I don't think I'm really hungry," he says as he studies it in his hand. It feels real. It smells as appetizing as a normal muffin would. And when was the last time he ate?

[banworthy]

"Heard the bad news, huh?" Like there is anyone who wouldn't.

He sinks in his chair. While Vincent calls it a "meat grinder," he doesn't quite feel that way. If it was one, they'd be allowed to die, but that's been taken off the table.

"Well, come take a sit." Gesturing to the seat next to him, he continues. "We're all in the same boat together, so why not commiserate together?"

[unhappymedium]

There's a short pause as he considers simply leaving and walking away from wherever this is to get lost in the outside, despite knowing nothing else about this place... but he then decides to sit down after all. He sets the muffin on the table.

"Saving the universe - universes? - sounds like a heavy task. Is that actually why we're here?"

[banworthy]

"Indeed, it seems to be." He pauses as he lifts his index finger. "But a correction - not universes - universe. Only what's 'ours.' I don't think I get a say in what happens to yours." Turning his hand over, he gestures to his companion.

"Vincent, by the way." Another flourishing gesture with his hand towards his person.

[unhappymedium]

"Only our own... But—" Subaru doesn't finish. But what if there's nothing left to save? A small shake of his head as if dismissing a thought.

"Sumeragi Subaru," he answers politely, instead.

[banworthy]

"But that seems unfair?" Vincent tries to guess how Subaru intends to finish the statement.

"Pleasure." He chimes after a few seconds deciding that he should offer something after getting the man's name.

[unhappymedium]

"Ah." He acknowledges the exchange with a non-committal sound. "It isn't fair, is it? And choosing just one person to save a whole world is too much to ask of anyone."

[banworthy]

"Universe."

He flashes a quick smile, like this is a joke to share. Breathing in, he allows his expression to fall to something a little more dour.

"You're right but... well, there is no but. It is a lot to force onto someone but you haven't collapsed under the weight of it..." Vincent cranes his neck to look Subaru over.

"So, perhaps they chose right."