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

Potluck

[equivo]

[ A teenager laughs behind Shelley, the low, trying to be aloof laughter of someone presented with something both unfortunate and adorable. ]

Those are 'kittens'. They're the larval form of an animal many Earths call a 'cat'.

[ Krouse casts around the area for something helpful, and end up grabbing an empty stockpot to slide under the edge of the cupboard to catch at least some falling stray kittens. ]

That can't be food safe.

oh my God

[dustyroad]

No, really? I thought they were the critters that grew into mountain beasts like the Mothman!

[Ragged and bemused, Shelley took off his hat to catch the gaggle of kittens and offered the teen a wry look.]

Them not being food safe is actually part of the plan. I was gonna use them to distract the judges and run away.

[Lies. Bald lies, but he had absolutely nothing better at that moment.]

[equivo]

You summoned kittens as a distraction?

[ Krouse puts no power past anyone, these days, but he thinks it's a touch farfetched. That doesn't stop him from favouring the guy with as credulous a look as he can pull off while half-smiling. ]

Interesting tactic. It might have legs.

[ He scoops up one kitten, at that age where they're small potatoes with triangles glued on, and scratches it behind its small ears. It's a tuxedo. Cute. ]

Do you want be a force of chaos, kid?

[dustyroad]

Sure...

[He couldn't summon shit. He could hardly see straight and was operating on spite alone-- why not just roll with whatever at this point?

Shelley tilted his head as he regarded the teen, brows furrowed as he tried to make out any identifiable features amid the Gaussian blur the world had acquired since his stay in the hospital. At least the kid sounded amused; he could work with that.]

Kittens are cute,

[He flashed the kid a grin.]

People like cute. I'm thinking we ought to let them do what cats do best.

[get into trouble.]

[equivo]

Too adorable to mince, huh?

[ Krouse says it half to Shelley, half to the kitten he's holding, shifting to scratch under its tiny chin. It's small and soft, and his smile twitches up when it starts to purr. ]

All right. I'm in. Let's unleash the horde.

[ He tucks the small kitten into one of his hoodie pockets, for lack of anywhere better to put it, and lifts a half-grown calico out of the cupboard to set it on the ground. ]

Go. Menace. Be free.

[dustyroad]

[He liked this kid. A lot. Shelley, ignoring the orange kitten crawling up onto his head, reached into the pantry in search of something to add to the chaos. A satisfied grin slowly grew on his face when his fingers brushed cold metal.]

Oh... gotcha.

[He pulled out--

A tin of sardines.]

It's not catnip, but this'll do nicely. Don't you think so?

[With callused but steady fingers, he cracked the tin open and without warning hurled it at the nearest companion bot.]