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

[odinpusrex]

Died to escape your fate. Foolish.

[Well, okay not entirely foolish, but more irresponsible and cowardly. Sure, Barnabas himself has longed for death more than he hasn't his whole life, but he's held out as was required of him. One cannot simply die for the want of mercy, it should be earned.

The yelp pulls Barnabas' gaze over to Till, but he isn't startled by it. Good luck finding anything capable of startling Barnabas, honestly.]

You are unfamiliar with the device.

[pethetic]

…? I had no choice, idiot, [Till sasses back to the other once he shuts off the mixer.] I was executed. I may be a fool, but that’s not why…

And yeah, I’m unfamiliar with all this crap, honestly. [Till mumbles with a sore, bashful ego.] There’s a reason why I tried to avoid all this altogether…

[odinpusrex]

I see...

[He sounds less interested in that, though he hasn't sound particularly interested this whole time. He really gives the general vibe that not much really captures his interest at all, even his own task seems a little beneath his focus. Though his work does not suffer for it.]

You are opposed to learning.

[For all the sentence might seem accusatory, it almost seems more a statement of curiosity. Barnabas does not move from his spot as he continues to work on his own dish, mixing the ingredients as he knows the recipe by heart. Perhaps it is odd that a king would know how to make something most might liken to commoners, but if one knew of his roots...it would clear the matter up rather quickly.]

[pethetic]

I’m opposed to learning shit that I don’t wanna learn, sure.

[Till rolls his eyes with a snarled lip. he’s not annoyed beyond capacity, or anything, but he finds the older man’s attitude obnoxious—as he would with any human much older than him, probably… it’s just that Till’s never encountered them, before. he’s never even seen a beard, but he’s been mindful not to stare. one of the many forced cosmetic procedures forced on Till and his industry peers saw to it that he’d never grow a lick of facial hair.

Till kind of leans over his work station to peer at some of the neighboring stations, trying to get an idea of how to make…something. honestly, even most of the food that had been prepared for him wasn’t really food for humans made by humans, in most cases; Till’s not even familiar almost all earth foods.]

There’s plenty of stuff I like learning…

[odinpusrex]

Is that so?

[His voice is even and uninspired as he returns from collecting some ham to be cubed. Taking his knife in hand, he cuts perfect and exact portions. This is done effortlessly, like he's a machine, his gaze bored in their focus on the task.

He doesn't look up as he speaks again.]

If you require assistance, all you must needs do is ask.

[Cooperation is likely to be viewed favorably. Order is not always the answer, chaos for the sake of assistance has its merits.]