DiscoDude: ---BEGIN SESSION---
DiscoDude: Session logging commenced
GM: It's before "dawn" the next morning when you're all awoken by your bedside alarms and bustled into the ground shuttle. "Hope you have your menus prepared, chefs," says Holly, "our judges, among others, I'm sure would love to peruse them 'tonight!'"
Reality Glitch: "We're cooking for an actual restaurant this time?" Rachelle asks.
GM: "... I can neither confirm nor deny this, Mrs. Richardson!" Activity on the streets outside seems to be picking up, and it's clear from the occasional hoot and holler and bats lending shoulders to each other to collapse on that this is when the nocturnal locals begin to really 'hit the town' as they say.
Dovelia: looks out a window.
GM: Soon, the shuttle arrives at a large needle-like tower with a disk-shaped set of floors near the top. Despite the early hour, a greater concentration of alien tourists can be seen flocking at the entrance in almost equal numbers to the Demasqui.
GM: "This way, chefs!" Holly leads the way with a few staff members clearing a path through the crowd, which erupts with activity with cameras and video phones as chefs begin to pass by.
Ratatoskr: "Huh, I hope they have strong tongues If Rachelle is right!" Says Ratatoskr, slightly excited for today's challenge.
Reality Glitch: "Oh my! I guess I shouldn't be surprised; what with being on a TV show."
GM: 10 stuhraight minuts of (admittedly classy) elevatuh myusic latuh...
Dovelia: listens along, waving her finger like a conductor's baton.
GM: The large and luxurious elevator opens out to a space that blows even that out of the water: red satin carpet with simple, yet elegant designs; tables with crisp, tastefully placed cloths; seats that could be mistaken for armchairs if not for the holes in the design necessary to accommodate any species; five grand, sprawling chandeliers, each designed with the motif of a suit of cards (the fifth sporting a laughing jester).
Reality Glitch: Rachelle squints in suspicion at the chandeliers. "I don't know why I didn't notice before, but why are they using Earth symbols for the cards? Wouldn't they have their own?"
Dovelia: "It is rather curious, isn't it? They might as well be using Chierun coin denominations like in Quenta."
GM: A partition is placed around a particular table with four seats, outside of which Chairwoman Maalu stands. "Welcome, chefs. Demasque March is renowned for its restauranteur scene, and none stand at the apex of this celebrated culture than Spire Shuffle, earner of six Neutron Stars."
Reality Glitch: "But your people are already out and about up here, so they've clearly traded around."
Ratatoskr: "...Or the Xiungamg suits for that matter..." Ratatoskr has a vague sense that the conversation has moved on, but...
GM: "Culture-mania regarding certain primitive planets is a thing, I hear," whispers Greto. "Earth is fairly well known despite its status as such, so I'm not surprised."
GM: Maalu clears her throat, then gestures around the circular room at the five double doors leading out of it. "It requires five different connected kitchens to operate at full capacity. This is where you will work; any chef worth my time should be right at home within a restaurant!"
Reality Glitch: Rachelle has a "frump" facial expression at Greto's claim.
Dovelia: "A restaurant?" Dovelia cracks her knuckles. "Child's play."
Reality Glitch: But it turns to concern at the chairwoman's.
Ratatoskr: "So we are finally gonna serve people?" Ratatoskr's left head tilts as he asks the question.
GM: Carmine (Conf: "Zis is non different than my own restaurant. I've yet to earn six of those pertenzious stars, but...") similarly scoffs. Gwystan also seems quite calm (Conf: "Dunno how much my job's gonna prepare me for this, but it should be fun.").
GM: "Your shift will be 9 Exchanges. Once you find yourself at your kitchen, you will see that there is no Lardertron, but the pantry is quite stocked." (Getting ingredient aspects will be vs. +1 instead of +0.) "You will also notice that there is no secret ingredient. Your judges have requested that you 'surprise them' in 3 courses."
GM: "You might imagine that 3 dishes in 9 exchanges would be doable for just one chef, much less four, but the kitchen will not be the only battlefield. Once those elevator doors open, orders for secondary dishes, as well as other issues, may arise from within this very space you stand in."
GM: (Instead of the mid-challenge complication: Every exchange, one dF per active team will be rolled. On a [ ], nothing happens. When a [+] is rolled, an order for a one-aspect dish (varying flavors, but always Value:2) will appear for one turn; completing the dish aspect and getting it out will let the deliverer make a reality roll vs. +0 to gain an aspect that will positively effect their team's score. A [-] will cause a negative aspect to appear on the restaurant floor in your corner with one free invoke, which negatively impacts the score if still there at the end of the challenge.)
Dovelia: "I once hosted a dinner party for sixty guests, plus five crashers, a runaway horse, and one drunk uncle who couldn't stop throwing up in the punchbowl! I say, as a veteran of the kitchen: bring it!"
GM: "As someone who has overseen restaurants in the triple digits, it goes without saying that having at least one person dedicated to overseeing the guests' needs at all times while the others cook would be advantageous."
Reality Glitch: Rachelle gives Dovelia a weird look. "Why did you say 'horse' like a computer program?" They look at their phone. "Or is something up with the translation?"
Reality Glitch: "Heh." Rachelle reminisces, "Worked as a waitress at Sirloin Corp. before they promoted my to a cooking position."
Ratatoskr: "...Ah, so its gonna be like that, I offer myself to handle the dishes, I believe my experience will serve." Said Ratatoskr out of the blue to the rest of his team, seemingly ready to take on a bunch of dishes.
GM: "Of course, I'm sure you're all more than prepared for this manner of cookery, to see yourselves bold enough to step to the challenge of Uranium Chef. That is why we're going to make things interesting with not one, but two House Chefs!"
Dovelia: looks at Rachelle oddly. "Not 'horse,' horse, she says, though there's no obvious difference besides an odd inflection, likely inflicted by the auto-translator. "They're like, what do you call them...shrimp. But big and blue, and people ride them on land where I come from."
Reality Glitch: Rachelle gives an even weirder look. "I get not having a direct translation, but whoever thought 'horse' was better than, oh, I don't know, riding shrimp or land shrimp needs to be fired. That's just way too misleading."
GM: From behind the central shaft, barely a whirl can be heard as a cybernetic Demasqui almost seems to glide between the tables before coming to a halt near the Chairwoman. To those who are sharp enough, a second can be seen peeking out from around the other end of that shaft.
"Actinium Chef, ready to serve~" The more forward of the two bows... away from you.
"A-ah?!" The shy one jolts, and scrambles to join her partner, almost tripping several times as she slips and slides; clearly, one is more accustomed to the ball-roller feet. She quickly turns him around before he rises.
"O-ho! Got myself turned around again did I, sis? How silly of me~ Anywho, this lovely dear behind me is the Protactinium Chef. She'll be happy to cook for you~"
GM:
Ratatoskr: Ratatoskr's Right head whistles. "Daang, Wish I had things like that."
GM: "As there are two of them," announces Dr. Durian on another screen, "they will only receive two sous-bots to aid them to balance out with the teams of four."
"Now then," says Chairwoman Maalu, "there are five teams, and five kitchens. To prevent clashing for cooking space before such can even begin: In clockwise order, Team Acti-Prota will operate out of the Joker Kitchen, then it's Team Fuzfest in Club, Ladies First in Heart, Like a Boss in Diamond, and finally Terrible Plan in Spade, before it wraps back around to Joker. Any questions?"
GM: (I mean this both in and out of character. Any questions?)
Reality Glitch: ((None come to mind.))
"When do we start?"
GM: (<@!Ratatoskr>? <@!Dovelia>?)
Dovelia: (here)
Dovelia: (hang on)
Dovelia: "None that I can think of. The rest of you?"
Ratatoskr: (So if i get this right, we will be rotating the kitchens?)
GM: (Huh? No, they're just assigned.)
Ratatoskr: (ah)
GM: (Any other questions?)
Ratatoskr: "Nope, nothing here, Let's get down to this Task, like in the great ol' wall!"
GM: (Alright, now a question of my own; want those to be final lines? The window for this is tight, this has been rather impromptu for me, I'm sure we'd all benefit from time to plan, and it's dinner time on my end. If you want to go for a couple of exchanges though, I won't necessarily mind.)
Reality Glitch: ((Better now than in the middle of the match.))
Ratatoskr: ((^^^))
Dovelia: (sure, i don't mind cutting it here)
GM: (Alright, then with retconning Rachelle to be the last one in the order to speak...)
Maalu looks at a watch, and chops her other arm downward. "Right now; commencez à créer!"
GM: !end
