DiscoDude: ---BEGIN SESSION---
DiscoDude: Session logging commenced
GM: It’s a few minutes after the initial tour. Two chefs had the idea of simply ignoring the various sorts of nonsense going on in the communal area and simply keeping to themselves in the Bitter Suite. The green-scaled kobold line cook Gwystan was throwing together an amateur cocktail from the abundant supply found in the suit’s large and tastefully decorated bar - the main unique feature of this suite. It was more for practice, anyway; he only sipped to taste, and the purpuloid master of the Frenqi laundry Carmine certainly wasn’t interested in drinking; rather, she confirmed the bedroom setup before sitting down at the other side of the bar and taking in the dark, art-deco appearance this suite alone had. There was too much green, she decided to herself.
GM: (Entering, stage right...)
GM: (<@!Dovelia>?)
Dovelia: walks in and immediately feels awkward once she remembers who she's sharing the suite with. She has half a mind to turn around and see if she can sleep outside.
GM: “Want a drink?” Gwystan is fairly nonplussed by her presence, which is his normal state regarding just about everything. “I don’t want these to go to waste.”
Carmine, too, doesn’t seem to really care either way, or if she did, she was good at not showing it.
Dovelia: frowns. "Might as well," she says, politely accepting a drink.
GM: It’s fairly sharp-tasting - a Great Old-Fashioned, from the taste of it - and the others don’t look all that different; no lady-drinks to be found here.
“Sorry about the selection. I should sit down and figure out those citrus shots and syrups sometime. How is it?”
GM: (BTW, it’s gonna be up to you to be proactive about initiating mechanical stuff. Simply playing along and letting the scene run its natural, passive course will end with a passive scene with nothing to show for it.)
Dovelia: "It's actually quite enjoyable," Dovelia says, pointedly finishing her glass and grabbing another, which she intends to sip. "I'll confess I lost my taste for the delicate when I left my homeworld." She arches an eyebrow. "What of you? Have you always been a rogue with a talent for cuisine, or do I have the priorities reversed?"
GM: “Rogue?” Gwystan arches the reptilian equivalent of an eyebrow, but he doesn’t frown. “I’m just a line cook, lady.”
Dovelia: "Really, now? No gallivanting across the universe on debonair adventures, wooing the locals, getting into all kinds of lucrative and illegal mischief?" It's hard to tell whether she's joking or not.
GM: “Oh mein gott...” Carmine shakes her head. “I did not sink you ze sort to be entartaining zose sorts of vild fantasies...”
“I mean, I’m used to staying below the radar, but that’s just as someone smart enough to know how to stay off my head chef’s shit-list.”
Dovelia: turns her attention to her drink. "I suppose I had rather the wrong impression. What of you, Carmine? I'd feel rather embarrassed for the both of you if I turn out to be the most interesting person here by far."
GM: This gets a raised eyebrow from both.
“I vould not be so arrogant as to call meinself ‘intarestink,’ but zere is nossing to be sneezink at, eizer.” She holds up a hand. “Two Mikeveline Stars after ten hard years of buildink up mein restaurant from nossing. Und vhat have you created, fraulin?”
Dovelia: "Sadly, they don't hand out awards for the work I do," Dovelia says, taking another sip. "However, if you read the Ferenschal society papers, you'd find my name attached to well over a dozen highly-reviewed events. That salad statue? A light snack compared to some of the extravagant courses I've prepared." Her tone turns from arrogant to wistful: "I dare say, even all these years after my untimely 'death,' my name is still uttered reverently in those circles."
GM: (Wait, are you just casually dropping your secret on these NPCs? XD)
Dovelia: (i mean...she still goes by her name)
Dovelia: (it wouldn't be hard to connect the dots)
Dovelia: Her attention returns to Gwystan. "A line cook, though? Sincerely? I can't help but feel there's still a large gap in the story here."
GM: “You died?” Gwystan glances up and to the right, doing some trigonometry in his head. “... Were you alright?”
Dovelia: "It's a complicated story. But suffice it to say I had...reasons to leave my old life behind. Demolish it completely, really. With a large quantity of high explosives." There's a chuckle in her voice, as if recalling a guilty pleasure.
GM: “... Are ve hearink a confession to sometink?” Carmine looks more alarmed than impressed, but Gwystan seems to ignore the implications.
“Oooooohhhhhh, in the metaphorical sense... And there’s nothing to fill in, really. I’m a line cook. Been in the business a while.” He shrugs. “Got bored and signed up. Passed the application exam. That really is just all there is to say.”
Dovelia: takes another sip. "That's actually rather an interesting story in and of itself. To start with nothing, and ascend through one's own skill and talent to such an exalted level..." She rests her chin in her hand. "My mother was like that. Serving girl. Father was quite smitten with her. Not nearly as romantic as I make it sound, of course." Like Gwystan, she doesn't react as if she's said anything unusual at all.
GM: (Are you going to initiate a roll at some point to try and actually propose an alliance at some point, or are you content with letting one of them make the first move (to your detriment)?)
Dovelia: (i intend to make the first move soon)
GM: “Non, non, shut up, you are sayink you have used explosives? Vhere, und on who?” For the record, Carmine does not have an expression of rapt interest but rather of mild horror and disgust.
Dovelia: turns to Carmine with a look of irritation on her face.
Dovelia: "It was my ex-husband and the men he owed money who were criminals, not me!" she says, a vehement finger raised. "I did what I had to in order to protect myself and..." She clenches her teeth before she finishes that sentence. "The point is, the only thing of any value the explosion destroyed was some mining equipment. All of it part of a scam to begin with." She finishes her drink and grabs a third.
GM: “Haha, did you just confess to mass murder on live television? No fear.” Gwystan still isn’t perturbed, even as Carmine refuses to look at her anymore.
Dovelia: "I confess to blowing up an elevator so some very cruel and heartless and quite murderous people would think I'm dead. One or two might have been singed by the blast." She looks towards Carmine and raises an eyebrow, but then turns her attention back to Gwystan. "These drinks are quite good. Great Old-Fashioned, you said?" She chuckles. "I'll confess mixology is rather a blind spot in my skill set. Punch bowls are more my speed in the 'elaborate beverage' category. Likewise...I believe you can agree there are certain talents I bring to the table which you lack?"
GM: “I mean, probably? No one’s an island, after all.”
Carmine, meanwhile, eases up on the cold shoulder after that masterful backpedal, but she still seems wary. She decides she is a little thirsty after all.
Dovelia: "Let me be blunt: if we're going into this next stretch of the competition together, we could do better than to be watching our own backs. I propose we watch each other's instead."
GM: “I thought you didn’t want an alliance,” Gwystan says immediately, full stop.
GM: (Time to roll, I suppose? XD)
Dovelia: "It's like you said. No one is an island. Consider my previous statements the product of...a lack of foresight." She proffers a hand.
Dovelia: (can I roll Careful?)
GM: (I think that due to the strained circumstances, both of them get to roll against you; Gwystan’s Careful and Carmine’s Aggressive. Think of it like... Fair (+2), with advantage.)
GM: (If you’re ready for that, go ahead and roll.)
GM: (<@!Dovelia>?)
Dovelia: (sure)
Dovelia: !f 3 (Careful)
DiscoDude: <@Dovelia> rolled 4dF+3 for 3 [4dF = [ ][+][-][ ]]
GM: !f 2 (Gwystan’s Careful)
DiscoDude: <@GM> rolled 4dF+2 for 1 [4dF = [ ][ ][-][ ]]
GM: !f 2 (Carmine’s Aggressive)
DiscoDude: <@GM> rolled 4dF+2 for 2 [4dF = [-][ ][ ][+]]
GM: (Hm... I wonder if I Play the Strict Professional applies here. It’s the closest one I’ve got.)
GM: “... Well, I can’t argue with that. The more, the merrier, as they say. Carmine and I already have something like that going between us, so you’ll need her okay, too. Carmine?”
GM: “... Know zat I vill tolerate no collusion! Zis is a defensive pact only; to attack and sabotage ze osser chefs vould be beneath our stations as chefs!”
GM: (You still there?)
GM: (<@!Dovelia>?)
Dovelia: (1 sec)
Dovelia: "A defensive pact sounds perfectly agreeable to me."
GM: “... Vell alright, zen!” Carmine huffs, clearly still not exactly comfortable with associating with you.
“Guess that’s settled.” Gwystan finishes his last drink for the night, and decides to have this one for himself. “Got any side alliances we should know about, or are we the first?”
Dovelia: (remind me, did we agree on anything with Rachelle?)
GM: (I forget. My instinct says you planned on her being the “main” alliance though, along with Cocoa, and I doubt they’d be happy about being the secondaries.)
GM: (Well, <@!Dovelia>?)
Dovelia: "...Rachelle. We have nothing formal but I would appreciate it if you would...keep an eye out for her, at least." She thinks of Rachelle's performance in the last few rounds. "But if she threatens you in any fashion, I will not object if you respond in kind."
GM: “Ze face of corporate food? A little low-brow, but it is better zan some of ze buffoons still running around zis competition...”
“No objections here.” Gwystan raises a glass. “Want to toast?”
Dovelia: "By all means." She raises her glass in kind.
GM: “To the Bitter Alliance [!], or whatever.” There’s a clinking of glasses and at least one case of eye-rolling at the name.
GM: (Want to end it there?)
Dovelia: (sure!)
GM: (Alright, then let us...)
GM: (For the record, all three of you have this aspect now, which the other two can invoke to get a little help.)
GM: (That sound good?)
GM: (Actually, I’m thinking you get an invoke on each of their aspects, and Gwystan gets one on yours? (Carmine would get one too, technically, but she wouldn’t decide to cash it in.)
Dovelia: (sure)
GM: (Alright, with that, let us...)
GM: !end
