DiscoDude: ---BEGIN SESSION---
DiscoDude: Session logging commenced
GM: (Hold your text, I'm setting the scene.)
GM: Throughout the day, the joint lounge and kitchen are occasionally visited by one or more of the house judges to really get to know the chefs they're judging. Now is one of those times, only Araza Mangosteen seems to be avoiding many of the chefs mingling there right now, almost as if she's looking for someone in particular.
Reality Glitch: Rachelle, remembering Judge Mangosteen wanted to talk with her decides to take the opportunity to indulge her.
"You wanted to see me, Mz. Mangosteen?" Rachelle says as she walks up to the judge.
GM: "Ah, there you are." Araza turns to you motions you over towards the Savory Suite. "I was worried the acronym of my name wouldn't translate correctly. Come now, this way. This matter isn't for a public forum, I think."
Reality Glitch: Rachelle looked puzzled. "You mean the time of day or the radio channels?"
Reality Glitch: "Or the word 'am'?"
Reality Glitch: As she asks these questions, Rachelle follows the judge.
GM: "AM as in Araza Mangosteen. Galactic standard as a few things of its own that this spells, which would have translated into something completely different in your lan- Right, stop, I'm getting off track." She swipes her master key, and the two of you enter. The Savory Suite is primarily differing shades of red in a general meat motif - the dining table is even shaped and colored like an uncooked ribeye - with lots and lots of grills and stovetops and a dedicated smoking closet.
Reality Glitch: "What's this important matter that's not for prying eyes?" Rachelle uses her fingers to pull open her eyelids further than normal as she says "prying eyes".
GM: "Right, your- Wait." She turns toward Alexx, who chose that moment to pop up from under the kitchen counter to set down a big fondue double-boiler. "Do you mind if-"
"If I leave?"
"... Yes."
"Well, gee..." He looks a bit indignant. "I wasn't aware you people could order me around here. This is my suite too, ya know."
Reality Glitch: Rachelle drops the goofy look. "Maybe the bathrooms would be more privet; I've heard they aren't constantly monitored."
GM: "I actually am allowed to discuss this with you, since it concerns information Mongongo Studios is seeking to uncover on my bequest. It's the other chefs that might be able to use this against you, and the bathrooms are bit too open from that angle. I also can't afford any rumors arising from me entering such an intimate space alone with a chef."
GM: "I mean, she's not wrong," says Alexx. "Of course, now you have me curious."
Reality Glitch: Rachelle gives Alexx the kind of death glare only a mother could muster.
Reality Glitch: With a serious, "I am not ****ing around" tone of voice Rachelle hasn't used since she was on Earth, she commands, "Leave; this isn't for your furry little ears."
GM: (Alright, Alexx is going to try and bow out with boastful grace. Wanna roll to see if he succeeds?)
Reality Glitch: ((Neither success nor failure seem particularly interesting outside of seeing Alexx's fear response, so unless this impacts something like popularity, I don't see the need.))
GM: (Hm, maybe he'll try to work up the courage to not leave for real?)
Reality Glitch: ((Sure.))
Reality Glitch: !f 0 (Aggressively Overcome Alexx's Presence in the scene)
DiscoDude: <@Reality Glitch> rolled 4dF+0 for -2 [4dF = [-][+][-][-]]
GM: (Alright. Hm, does Flashy make sense?)
Reality Glitch: ((For Rachelle? Possibly.))
GM: (For Alexx.)
GM: (But yeah, that was definitely an attempt at Aggressiveness.)
Reality Glitch: ((I think it depends on how you describe their attempt to not be swayed.))
Reality Glitch: ((Description first, then extrapolate the approach from that.))
GM: (Alright.)
Reality Glitch: ((this is Alexx's Defend roll, incase they have stunts that specify which action it applies to.))
GM: (I was thinking this was a face-off.)
GM: (Hence you are both attacking and defending in equal measures.)
Reality Glitch: ((I thought this was just one roll (thus Overcome and not Attack).))
GM: (No, I meant to prompt a face-off, and said as such before you rolled. Should I have made that more clear?)
GM: (God, I need to be more aggressively direct when announcing those.)
Reality Glitch: ((You never used the words "face-off"; you said "will try to bow out gracefully", which struck me as something that wouldn't be enough to constitute an entire face-off.))
GM: (Ah, whoop. Thought I did. I really crapped the bed here.)
Reality Glitch: ((I wouldn't use such a .... gratuitous analogy, but if a face-off was your intent from the start, mistake were made.))
GM: (Can we back up and do that?)
Reality Glitch: ((On both side, I'm sure.))
Reality Glitch: ((Sure. How does Alexx respond to Rachelle command in a way that would imply they need a bit more coercing to cooperate?))
GM: "Oh, okay, sure!" He jumps over the counter. "I'll 'do that.' It don't matter what kind of secrets you got, they aren't gonna be safe so long as this guy is around. Not that I need them to outplay all y'all; I'm just that skilled." He beams as he points at himself with his thumbs.
GM: (Gonna roll Flashy.)
Reality Glitch: ((And now we roll Attack and Defend, right?))
GM: !f 3 (Flashy)
DiscoDude: <@GM> rolled 4dF+3 for 3 [4dF = [ ][-][ ][+]]
Reality Glitch: !f 0 (Aggressively Attack Alexx)
DiscoDude: <@Reality Glitch> rolled 4dF+0 for -2 [4dF = [-][ ][-][ ]]
GM: (Anything to invoke?)
Reality Glitch: ((Invoking Mother of Monsters to reroll, because she's dealt with this kind of brazen, obvious, bold-faced lying before.))
Reality Glitch: !f 0
DiscoDude: <@Reality Glitch> rolled 4dF+0 for 1 [4dF = [+][+][-][ ]]
GM: (Still 2 shy.)
Reality Glitch: ((Would This is All Just so Stressful apply to imply that she's near her breaking point?))
GM: (Sure!)
Reality Glitch: ((Which would bump it to a tie, lending Rachelle a boost.))
GM: (Actually, it's a face-off.)
GM: (Meaning you're both equally attacking and defending in the same action. Technically different from creating an advantage.)
Reality Glitch: ((Tie on Attacks normally give boosts, so that argument doesn't hold as well as you think.))
GM: (In the past, we handled ties with "no aspects are created, and no damage is received," but I've been debating alternatives.)
Reality Glitch: ((What do the R.a.W. say about ties in a Face-Off?))
GM: (Face-offs only exist in UC I think.)
Reality Glitch: ((Which means the Uranium Chef book should say something about this; no?))
GM: (I’m looking that up as we speak.)
GM: (... So apparently, Face-Offs are a kind of Contest.)
GM: (So... That’s apparently another thing we’ve been doing wrong.)
GM: (So I guess a complication appears, and we roll again?)
Reality Glitch: ((So it's first to three victories?))
GM: (If that’s how many I want to set it to. I think 1 or 2 victories would be more appropriate. Let’s forgo that for now and do it like you said (boost) and resolve to do it right in the future.)
GM: (Want to name the boost first?)
Reality Glitch: ((Fate Core says that Contests are opposed Overcome actions, and that if there's a tie for the highest, no one gets a victory but an unexpected twist occurs.))
GM: (That’s what I just said, but I also said we should just forget it for now and resolve to do it right after this. This is dragging on as it is.)
Reality Glitch: ((You never specified what happens on a tie, and you said that the rolls were both Attack and Defend actions. That nit-pick aside, I'm fine with postponing the implementation of the official rules for now.))
GM: (Well I was wrong. Let’s move on. Name. The boost.)
Reality Glitch: Even through Alexx's half-hearted attempt to cover their tracks, Rachelle can still tell they're Spooked by her words and demeanor.
Reality Glitch: "Do you think I can't tell when you're blatantly trying to be deceitful?"
Reality Glitch: "This is a privet matter, and if you're going to be a child about it, I'm going to treat you like a child."
Reality Glitch: ((Careful can work here, right? This is a calculated threat that she's used before.))
GM: (You’re rolling again?)
GM: (I was just gonna have him leave so we can move on.)
Reality Glitch: ((Oh; I thought you wanted to go with your original plan before I pointed out the rules for tied rolls.))
Reality Glitch: ((Just having them respond (or not) and walk out is fine.))
GM: “O-okay, okay. Take a chill pill, damn! I’m going...” And with him out of the picture, you’re alone in the suite with Araza.
Reality Glitch: Rachelle turns back to Judge Mangosteen, the cheer returned to her voice and face. "Sorry about that, wasn't expecting my so-called 'peers' to behave like my prepubescent kids."
GM: “Scathing description there.” Araza claps her hands together. “Speaking of your kids, that’s precisely who we’ve been trying to locate. Officially, they’ve been taken into custody by Sirloin Corp, but I’m personally spearheading negotiations to have them turned over to Mongongo Studios in time for the official family visit; Sirloin Corp. is trying to site legal reasons at us as to why your kids can’t participate in that, but no one should underestimate how far the chairwoman’s companies will go when they’re on task.”
Reality Glitch: "They WHAT?!!!!" Rachelle is furious, having forgotten she had heard this information before. She then immediately puts her head into her hands, pushing them back from her faces to the sides, trying to calm herself. "How are they even able to to take custody of my kids? Richard and I made sure to have a clear and unambiguous, legally recognized chain of succession in cases where courts had to get involved, and my employer isn't even on that list."
GM: “From what we can tell, it’s all part of the Uranium Chef section of your contract with them, ‘to ensure the children would not be left stranded in the case that the husband is also absent.’ Sirloin Corp. also informed us that your husband signed off on a form with galactic paralegals allowing that list to be bypassed if a certain circumstance was triggered, but they’re clamming up on what that special circumstance is, exactly, nor will they be direct with us regarding which government firm he contacted.”
Reality Glitch: Rachelle stands before the judge, flabbergasted at her husband's betrayal. "He....he seriously went behind my back just to get sole control over who had custody? But why Sirloin Corp.? I've been working there before I met Richard and I'm his only tie to the company. Unless.... No, no; that couldn't be. Could it? I need to sit down." Rachelle sits on one of the seats around the meat-shaped table, elbow atop it and face in her hands.
GM: “In his defense, from what they said, it didn’t sound like he signed their care over to them specifically, just that in the event of this unknown circumstance, their care would not be legally manageable by any earth-based party.”
Reality Glitch: Rachelle looks up at Mangosteen, eyes red and cheeks dripping with tears. "So he didn't marry me just to get at Sirloin Corp.; he still lied to me about his plans for our children. We agreed to work together on everything short of the time spent face-to-face with them. How did he even know about all this space alien **** and not tell me? He .... He just-. Is he even on 'business trips' during those long years away from his family? Does he have others, I don't know about? Is he a space alien just using me to pop out hybrid spawn for some sinister purpose?" Rachelle pauses, realizing the very real possibility of that last one. Then she looks down at hear own abdomen in wide-eyed horror before curling into the fetal position and laying on her side, tears flowing like miniature streams acrossed her face. Faint, yet hysterical sobbing can heard.
GM: “Uh- Look, there’s probably a reasonable explanation for all this. I’m pretty sure your husband would not be happy about this specific arrangement if he knew, either. Let’s focus on getting back your kids first. One step at a time. Can you do that?”
Reality Glitch: Weakly, Rachelle squeaks, "Are-are-are they even mine? Am I just an incubator for alien parasites, like in those movies? Will they still recognize me?" then she bolts up to a full standing position before putting her hand on either side of her head, "THEY ATE MRS. MACKLEMORE!!!!" before immediately hyperventilating.
Reality Glitch: ((Sorry that took so long; I was trying to maintain continuity.))
GM: “Rachelle, calm down!” Araza grasps your shoulders. “You’re jumping to conclusions. Just because it’s possible doesn’t mean it’s automatically true, and there’s no use worrying about that if there’s no way to confirm it. You don’t need theories, you need a plan. What would you like to do?”
Reality Glitch: Rachelle grabs Mangosteen's shoulders in reciprocation. "I want to see my kids! I want to have control in my life again! I WANT THESE E.T. *******s to **** OFF AND NOT SET ANOTHER GRIMY, ***-**** TENDRIL ON MY PLANET!"
GM: Araza just stares at you, a bit stunned.
Reality Glitch: Rachelle lets go and pulls out of the judge's grip, taking a couple breaths before speaking again; "My entire life, everything I've lived for, is crumbling out from beneath my feet; of course I'm going to ****ing pissed about it." She straightens her posture and strokes one hand through the top of her hair. "Heh. Yeah; that'd be accurate, since *****ing him is what got me into this mess in the first place."
Reality Glitch: ((Obscene word-play.))
GM: “Okay, are we calming down now? Now, can you tell me what you’re actually going to do going forward? I can’t work with you if you’re going to have a mental breakdown every time it gets brought up.”
Reality Glitch: Rachelle sighs, then grows stern. "When do I get to see my boys again? Other than that, this competition's got my next move planned out for me."
GM: “Like I said, if all goes well, you’ll see them during the second and final visitation day four episodes from now. And you’re right in that probably the best thing you can do is forge ahead in the competition. I’ll try to keep you updated.” She spreads her arms in invitation to a hug.
Reality Glitch: Rachelle brushes past her and leaves the room, slamming the door on the way out. A brisk "Watch it!" coming from a third party on the other side as Rachelle seems to repeat the action with said third party.
GM: (Dang. I was going to have her say something profound and all "something she needed to hear" like. Is that going to be the final note?)
Reality Glitch: ((Richardson took Mangosteen's advice and forge ahead. This is a brutal rug-pull she's just been through and needs to blow off some steam; which she usually does by taking her anger out on ingredients that need a Good (+3) thrashing in order to properly make the dish they go in.))
GM: (I see. Still need to answer the question; is this the last line of this scene?)
Reality Glitch: ((Yeah.))
GM: (Alright, then let us...)
GM: !end
