The Dragon, Ruby immediately related to the myth and was in awe. The Koi that had climbed the waterfall and not only ascended into the skies but into the heavens above and beyond. But not just any Dragon, a constellation. Something that people could look upon the heavens and be guided by, take inspiration from. She was quiet, just staring in awe with a soft smile on her face.

Ruby knew exactly what she was going to be making. She had read Mom's cookbooks out of boredom so many times, it was an obvious decision in her mind.

It was time to make poffins. But not just any poffins.

Massive ones, just like Mom would make.

And for a sweet dish, there was no better choice than Custap Berries. They were an incredibly rare berry, and she rarely found them while foraging in the Birchwild Grove. Their skin was tough to pierce, but underneath? Ruby couldn't help but smile softly, immediately popping one into her mouth to truly embrace the flavor. It was so sweet and practically creamy soft already, although the skin was ever so slightly bitter, she found it helped add to the overall taste when utilized as an ingredient.

"Sorry Rem, I need a new buddy for now to help cook." She'd reach over to give the sleeping Koala Pokémon a little fist bump before returning them to their log and recalling them. Next out came her most dedicated little helper, Dear the Indeedee. The male bowed almost right away, a soft grin on their face.

"You helped Mom cook before too, right? We have a big task ahead of us!"

"Indeedee!"

"Indeed so! Let's make her proud, and surprise ourselves with what we can do along the way."

The two of them got to work quickly. They had to assemble a whole set up to cook things properly, a pot that was even bigger than Ruby was tall sat atop a roaring flame, water already set to boil as the two wheeled over every single Custap Berry they could find on a wheelbarrow.

"Now, we're going to be altering the recipe a bit." Ruby spoke to her Indeedee as they finally brought it all over, who tilted their head curiously. "Well, we're making this for The Dragon, but they're so much more than just that. Constellations are meant to be interpreted, and I see a symbol of progress, that you can in fact accomplish impossible odds and prosper. Do you have any memories like that, we can add?"

The Indeedee paused, closing their eyes to process their thoughts.

And suddenly in their minds eye, they were no longer Dear. They were Earl Slamson of Breakcourt, assisting Duchess Rubella and many others challenge the Princess's unjust rule over the Dream World. An impossible task, facing against something that could overpower minds wholesale, and yet- Here they were.

A smile formed on the Indedee's face and they nodded.

"Good! Just pour that memory, the emotions of victory and the challenge into the pot as we pour it all in."

Once the water was boiling, the two had to work together to lift the wheelbarrow above their heads to pour all the berries into the massive pot. As Indeedee closed their own eyes to embrace the emotions within, Ruby did the very same. The struggle of education, getting a Doctorate was the hardest thing she had ever done, but nothing had made her more proud of herself than seeing that PH.D. attached to her name. That was her Dragon.

Once all the berries were within, Ruby would hand a massive spoon to the Indeedee, helping them set up a massive ladder to stand atop of. "Alright, you gotta stir the berries now. It'll take longer than normal, with as many as we got. You have to spin them clockwise for a bit, then counterclockwise, and rotate evenly. Not too fast, not too slow, we want to make sure all the berries are properly cooked. You got that?"

The Indeedeee would give a cute salute, immediately moving to stir as Ruby slapped a button on a kitchen timer.

"Good, good! I'll start gathering the ingredients for our bonus surprise. Give me a shout if you need me." And with that, Ruby set right out to grab the rest of the dish.

Poffins were simple really, she didn't even quite understand how they worked either. Berries in hot water, stirred and cooled eventually made a pastry? Regardless, she did know that some tasty pastry cream to fill them with would be fantastic for both Pokemon and person alike.

Grabbing a whole bucket full of Salac Berries, Ruby began carrying the whole host of ingredients back over towards her cooking corner. The Salac's both sour and sweet to balance out the taste, Beta-Island Cane Sugar, Heavy MooMoo Cream, Moon Rock Salt and Unsalted Butter, 2% Dragon Milk, Swirlix Sugar, and the Yolk from one single Massive Coocoo Egg.

It reminded her briefly of the Giant Omelet out on the plataeus in the Surge Steppes she heard about once upon a time. What even laid the egg?

And boring, Normal Cornstarch. Unfortunately, there was nothing special about cornstarch.

Unfortunately, she had no time to debate on anything when she still had the harder ingredients to find! Liquid Determination in a jar proved easy enough to find, but Star-Studded Sprinkles seemed more challenging. She eventually found it, tucked behind box labeled "Everything" which seemed pretty impossible, but who was she to judge? After finally grabbing a small dropper of Stubborn Optimism and a few flakes of that ever so rare Sense of Accomplishment. Definitely the most expensive ingredient she had worked with so far, if one could attribute a monetary value to metaphorical concepts as physical ingredients.

She wanted the Dragon to be reminded of its journey with every single massive bite.

By the time she brought it all back, the timer was just about to go off and Dear had been hard working stirring. The water had somehow, almost as if by magic or game-logic, turned a bright pink color. No berries remained floating within, just a solid liquid. Setting everything down, Ruby would immediately grab the massive pans almost like muffin tins. Each indent was practically big enough that the Indeedee could have curled up inside it. It took a lot of pushing around and wheeling it out, the most physically demanding cooking she could imagine! The pot was heavy and hot, hard to pour with any grace, taking so much time.

And yet, once they were in the pans, they were literally done. All that mattered was letting them cool, and they'd suddenly turn into deliciously Sweet Poffins!

For now, they had to finish the cream before the time ran out! The two were in a rush, mixing and whisking all the ingredients together, once again cooking it all in a massive pot. They were rushing at the end, having only 8 minutes to inject the Sweet-Sour Pastry Cream into the Poffins, placing the massive stack of nearly a dozen massive poffins atop a massive platter, and drizzling a bit of cream across them all for that little extra decoration and style, as well as the Star-Studded Sprinkles atop. Couldn't forget that.

It was exhausting, but standing before it all was so rewarding. Little bits of Hard Work had soaked into every single bite, regardless of their awareness.

A cute little fist bump was shared between Trainer and Pokémon. "We did that, together."

"Dee."

"Well?" She'd finally turn to look at Dear, who was beaming with such joy on their face as well. Indeedee's thrived on the positive emotions of others, and seeing Ruby so satisfied made them incredibly satisfied. "I think it's time for the final ingredient. Whatever you think you can add to make this perfect."

Dear paused visbly for a moment, looking at the massive stack of Poffins that was piled up above them. They closed their eyes again, deep in thought.

The Dragon was thematically a being of progress, the Fish to Dragon, but also intense power and it was important to not forget such a crucial detail. Perhaps giving the Dragon a taste of his own strength would be a rewarding endeavor. Dear would open his eyes once again, suddenly reaching out with their hands. Stored Power would flow from the Pokemon, infusing his very strength within each massive mouthful.

A beautiful combination of wholesome sweets as a reward for a job well done, reminders of the passion and dedication it took to be where one is now, and the intensity of carefully controlled power.



Giant-Sized Sweet Poffins with a Sweet-Sour Pastry Cream Filling with Proud Memories.

STEEL CHEF

Tell me what you eat, and I'll tell you what you are.

SPOILER: Click to show

{THEME}

Spirits filter down from the stands, their vague bodies shifting and merging into more solid forms. A pair of cats, joined at the tail. A vast, crumbling castle wall. A tasseled blade, whirling in the night.

As the spirits gather around the grand table like speckled stars pulled by gravity of a great, square-edged moon, your dishes are laid out with infinite care.

Chanda Mama tips forward towards the first dish, like a meteor falling into ruinous orbit.

"It's time to taste each dishes' heart."

The crowd of spirits are silent. Tall and leaning, peering over the heads of their brothers as they all curve towards the feast.

"No need for forks, tear them apart!"

A hundred ravenous forms rip into your dishes with claws, fangs, horns, and darkened limbs. Three massive shapes rise above the rabble: a bird with arrow-tipped wings, a round and thousand-armed sphere, and a serpent with the roar of a waterfall.

You see glints of your dishes, slivers of the heart and memories baked and fried to perfection and now grasped in the jaws of these mighty spirits. They gulp down the pieces as if they've never tasted anything before. As if the very concept of food is new to them.

They feed on the crumbs of your humble lives.

And when the table is clear, and not a speck of sugar or drop of blood remains on the tablecloth, the plates are whisked away into some shadowy place. The spirits, sated, return to their seats in the stands. The colors in the stadium seem different now. The Hunter and Dragon, back in their recognizable forms, hand down their scores.

Tasting

SPOILER: Click to show

{Tasting}Buzzster Hooperham: 14
Wonderful presentation. The flaming princess was delicious!

orioncayge: 21
What a complex set of tastes! I felt like I was reliving years of adventures.

Alicia Westfield: 17
Well balanced and complex flavors. A larger serving size and some more effort put into presentation would have improved the dish.

Kath Ulu: 4
Could have used salt. And more ingredients. And less burning shoes.

Kyukon: 21
I could really feel the hatred and anger in your sculpture, and the sweet, drunken ice truly brought out the flavors.

Morpheus: 13
Delicious! However more complex flavors would have improved the dish a lot. You have every ingredient and tool available, we're expecting more than ice cream and fruit.

Shalin Nariya: 12
A well-presented dish, but needed more complex flavors.

Ruby: 29
Outstanding! A dragon-sized dish absolutely bursting with nostalgic and inspirational flavors!

Bergamot Gristleborg: 18
Sweet, huge, chewy, and wormy! Reminded me of my life as a carp.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Round 2 Total Scores}Ruby: 21 + 29 (50)
Orion: 18 + 21 (39)
Morgana: 20 + 18 (38)
Kyukon: 16 + 21 (37)
Alicia: 18 + 17 (35)
Shalin: 17 + 12 (29)
Morpheus: 14 + 13 (27)
Zac: 13 + 14 (27)
Kath Ulu: 13 + 4 (17)

Round 3

Chanda Mama prowls through the kitchen, her ribbons trailing new and unfamiliar light. She licks her chops, using her tongue to pick pieces of Hope and Victory from her pointed teeth.

"Another round of wondrous dishes,
replete with tastes of heartfelt wishes.
And yet something strikes me as lost.
A dry round without secret sauce.
Aha! To round out our next meal,
I'll bring out my most favored wheel!"

The stadium gates open, and three teams of spirits arrive with new and glittering attractions!

The first is a massive GAME SHOW WHEEL! Its glittering outside and sparkly lettering distract you from the fact that each of the segments is subtly moving, like a live moth pinned to a board.

Chanda Mama spins the wheel with one of her long, ribbonous appendages and giggles as the spokes click and whir in the background.

The next group are holding chunks of rock. Each rock has a still puddle of ink on its surface: a tattoo trapped in stone. Some of them call to you, begging and cajoling you into reaching out to touch the darkened patterns.

Last is a cluster of short-legged spirits holding golden serving platters. Each plate is covered in a golden cloche, and is labelled with a large, white sticker providing information on the prize within as well as its price. A number of the plates have no description at all, and instead carry only question marks.

"Now step right up! No need to fear,
Although your end is drawing near.
Spin the wheel, find your next theme,
Splurge on a prize, perchance a dream!
And if your points are running thin,
then mark a curse upon your skin!
Aren't we having so much fun?
Look out, round three has now BEGUN!"

Above her, the clock moon winks like a tired eye, and the numbers reset.

THEMES, CURSES, and PRIZES

This round there is NO SET THEME. Instead, you will roll (here) and get a randomized theme to work with! If you don't like your theme, then you can pay 5 points to reroll it or 15 points to just choose outright (see the Wall of Prizes section below).

SPOILER: Click to show

{Themes - spin the wheel!}1. Loss
2. Air Conditioners
3. Flowers
4. Deodorant
5. Porridge
6. Thunder
7. Horseshoes
8. Vermin
9. Your Sleep Paralysis Demon
10. Wet socks
11. The Sun (again)
12. Trickery
13. Salmon Migration
14. The Woods
15. Mom
16. History
17. Cork
18. Capitalism
19. Mushrooms
20. The Sphinx

If you would like to gain extra points this round you can also pick up a curse tattoo from one of the stones! Curses manifest upon your character's body and compel you to complete certain actions or adhere to specific additional rules. Each curse you take on award additional points, which can be spent right away. Each curse tattoo has a specific shape. You may take on up to THREE curses, no duplicates.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Curse Tattoos - 3 maximum}
1. [tangent=You can only cook with scraps. Use food discarded from other player's dishes.]Trashcan tattoo (+10)[/tangent]
2. [tangent=A wind spirit has taken a liking to your cooking utensils! Battle the creature to retrieve your knives, apron, and stand mixer.]Tornado tattoo (+5)[/tangent]
3. [tangent=Your eyesight fades to black. You must cook this next dish completely blind.] Sunglasses tattoo (+5)[/tangent]
4. [tangent=Chanda Mama has stolen some sounds right from your mouth! Write your post without using a random letter (roll 1d26). 5 points for a consonant, 10 points for a vowel.]Alphabet tattoo (+5/+10) [/tangent]
5. [tangent=You switch hands with your Pokemon.]Hand tattoo (+5)[/tangent]
6. [tangent=Your words twist and bend into pleasing couplets. Speak only in rhyme (16 lines minimum).]Poetry tattoo (+5)[/tangent]
7. [tangent=Suddenly your brain feels slow. Complex descriptors are unavailable to you! You cannot use adjectives longer than 1 syllable.]Tongue tattoo (+10)[/tangent]
8. [tangent=Time has reversed for this section of the competition, and you will live this round in reverse! Start by presenting the finished dish and unmake it until you have only raw ingredients.]Hourglass tattoo (+10)[/tangent]

And lastly, your points can now be used to buy wonderful prizes! These prizes may influence this round, next round, and even the rewards you gain from completing this staff-run dungeon!

Prizes marked with ? ? ? will be revealed next round when purchased.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Prizes}1. [tangent=You may post again in the rolling thread. Do not delete or edit your original post. This prize can be purchased multiple times]Reroll your theme (-5)[/tangent]
2. Pick your theme (-15)
3. [tangent=You may select the celebrity. They do not need to be a chef. Their name must be a Pokemon pun, for example Gorhydon Ramsay.]Call in a celebrity guest chef to help (-10)[/tangent]
4. Trade your true name away for a Golden Tongue with perfect taste (-10)
5. [tangent=Name the player you are sabotaging in your post. They will receive a random sabotage next round.]Sabotage someone next round (-10)[/tangent]
6. [tangent=Received at the end of the dungeon.]? ? ? (-20) (four remaining)[/tangent]
7. [tangent=Received next round.]? ? ? (-35) (three remaining)[/tangent]
8. [tangent=Received at the end of the dungeon.]? ? ? (-50) (one remaining)[/tangent]

SPOILER: Click to show

{Secret Ingredient Info}This round there are NO secret ingredients available, as you have enough to deal with.

Your third dish theme is determined by your roll in the rolling thread.
This round will end in at Midnight (11:59 PM), Sunday September 1st (JST).

Malice became tangible for the first time in the kitchen as the parade of constellations feasted. Blood splattered alongside stardust, and the warm, wafting smells of freshly-cooked dishes took on a metallic tang.

Morgana approached the spirits holding stones, holding out her hand. "Give," she ordered, and the weight of the inkstone settled comfortably into her palm. Stinging pain erupted across her forearm as cursive words drew themselves across her skin, leaving it red and irritated.

Speak only in rhyme.

"I can do that, piece of pat," Bergamot said. She rubbed the mark, lingering a little longer than she had to, then moved on to Spin the Wheel.

When it finally stopped, Bergamot stood looking at her theme prompt. For the first time, her usual smug, airy confidence seemed to waver.

FLOWERS

Flowers. Flowers… a little tame, wasn't it? She eyed the 'vermin' and 'salmon migration' options enviously. Should she re-spin? Or spend the extra points to choose? No… she needed everything she could get if she was going to sabotage all the other players down the line. Sacrifices had to be made!

Morgana checked her Pokemon Box, almost as a desperate measure. She stopped. Her eyes widened. Then she began to laugh. "Oh…ho…ho!" They thought she only had water-types, hmm? They thought she wouldn't have a Pokemon with flowers?! That she, Bergamot the Swimmer, wouldn't have one grass-type?

It happened she had exactly one grass type.

I'll show them!

"Now before we're too far gone,
I have the perfect Pokemon!
A grass-type much to my delight
Clad in shades of red and white!"

A Kartana materialized! Joy of joys!

…Kartana did not like being out of Ostellia!

"James! Stop that immediately!" Bergamot ordered, then quickly ad-libbed "Or I'll be forced to get weedy with thee!" Sigh. She dodged a flurry of papery blows, hiking up her skirts and running around the other side of the kitchen counter to put some obstacles between herself and the out-of-control Ultra Beast. "James, what are you doing?! Everyone's booing!" They weren't yet, but would be soon.

James the Kartana shuddered. Its papery arms folded and unfolded madly, like an invisible child was correcting their work. Long, horrible ripping sounds came from it, then it lunged, tearing apart an unused mango like a living blender. Well this isn't good.

It was too late to send out another Pokemon— she'd already locked this one in for the round. She needed another out. "You, show me your stone, lest I be undöne!" Bergamot seized a passing spirit. This one had two stones—one in each hand. This time Morgana read the tooltips before accepting.

Trashcan Tattoo: You can only cook with scraps. Use food discarded from other player's dishes.

Hand Tattoo: You switch hands with your Pokemon.

That was it!

Morgana rolled away as Kartana's blades came slashing down behind her, grabbing both stones out of the spirit's hands. She crawled under one of the prep tables, gritting her teeth as the curses worked their magic

First, all her ingredients from the pantry—broccoli, rose water, anything floral that would have massively helped her in the next round— dissolved into ash. No matter! Kartana's grassy, grassy power would make up for it, Bergamot was sure!

Second, the deadly paper blades which had been so threatening before vanished, appearing on Morgana's wrists instead. In turn, her own dainty human hands appeared on the origami alien.

"I win, I win! So it begins!" Morgana said, crawling back out from under the table and holding up her new hands to examine them. She now had a pair of knives perfect for slicing and dicing ingredients, while Kartana only had weak, human digits. "Ow! Stop that right now!" She ducked as the Kartana shot past her erratically, slapping at her with its new fleshy protrusions.

Now she just had to cook.

How much time was left on the timer?

Morgana slashed the hem of her dress with her knife hands, tearing off the bottom third so her movements wouldn't be hindered, and threw the wad of cloth at James to tangle him up while she was scrounging. "Out of my way, baby gay," she told her friend(?) Ruby , using her elbows to steal a pinch of sunflower seeds, then fled onwards to Buzzster Hooperham 's station. "Give me those sunions, Uncle Zac, else I'll call you weird and wack!"

No time. Bergamot rushed back to her station like a wounded battle princess, trailing scraps of fabric and droplets of blood. She threw the seeds down under a UV lamp, managing to fit her origami-hands under the trigger of a spray bottle to mist them, then turned her attention to the green sunions.

Zac had used about half of them already for his dish, but there might still be a way to restore them. "Argh! Go somewhere far!!" She fended off another slapping contest from Kartana, desperately searching through the appliances. Food processor, stand mixer, drill press, welding iron, time turner…

"It's not a Harry Potter reference,
Alliteration's just my preference!
Turn back time and bulb re-grow,
Bring me back a dish to show!"

Green sunions were the stem of the sunion plant, but the part beneath was what Morgana wanted. She watched, entranced, as the machine turned back time on the vegetable scraps. The green sunions lengthened, missing pieces returning, until the shallot itself reappeared at the end of the stalk. "Stop! Stop! This one's ready! Now I must once more be petty…"

She checked on her microgreens, which were growing well from the sunflower seeds, then hurried back over to Buzzster Hooperham 's station. "I saw that you had Tauros butter— give me some, or I shall shudder!!"

Slippery substance intact, she made one more stop.

"I'm here for your buns, Orion Cayge
Baked with all your wit and rage
And if they're spoken for, too bad!!
I'll point my knife-arms at your blad."

Morgana made a half-jab towards orioncayge's pelvis for clarity (or the rhyme wouldn't make sense), then speared his extra hamburger buns on one Kartana-hand and ran away again.

Plop. Buns in the time machine. She cranked up the power, watching the bread shift and reverse, turning back into its original components. This took careful timing: she didn't want it to go all the way back to wheat. Just flour.

As if realizing its new hands were less than effective, James the Kartana was now shooting Razor Leaf all around Morgana's station. Pity the fool trying to take her universe scraps— it was a leafy danger zone at the moment. Her dress was being torn to ribbons.

Almost done…

DING! Bergamot pulled out her new flour, scraping it out of the machine and off of the counter with her straightedge-hands. She'd sliced up the sunion bulb in a complex grid pattern, making sure to leave the root intact for structural stability, and now she rolled it in the flour before lowering it into a sizzling pan of melted Tauros Butter. Hopefully that's how you bread things. She couldn't imagine any other way to do it.

…The plate looked empty. She needed a salad. Didn't Morpheus have some apple vinaigrette? Bergamot appeared at his station like an orphan to beg for scraps, clad now in little more than torn blue rags. "For this boon, you have my blessing! Lend me thus some salad dressing!"

She pulled her net out of her inventory, braced it between teeth and elbow, and ran around her station for a time, catching Razor Leafs like butterflies. Chunks of her hair went flying, scissored off by passing leaves. "Got you! Just a few will do," she exclaimed triumphantly, standing on top of one of the counters as she leapt to net a whirling green sickle. She was sure they were edible—that was the whole point of having a grass type.

At last, it was time to present to the judges.

"From the top down: it's a flower!
Bursting bright with solar power!
I present: my BLOOMIN' SUNION
But that's not all, that's only one in!
Below you'll see sharp botany,
Sprinkled thick with microgreens!
Sunflower sprouts cast shining rays
Drizzled with some apple glaze."

She looked absolutely insane. The dish, thankfully, looked decent (she couldn't speak for taste). The sunion had turned bright green rather than golden brown upon being cooked, but it emitted a faint sunlight from somewhere deep between its cut 'petals.' Bergamot had served the dish with the Bloomin' Sunion on top and the mixed greens below, resembling a child's drawing of a simplified flower.

She had one more thing to say. It was time to collect her prize.

"Chanda Mama, grant me thus
A prize for effort, if you must
I gave you my name, once before
Once more all's fair in food, and war
This Riddle's sure to win the bout,
Morgana's yours, don't wear it out.
Or if you want my Other Name,
From worlds beyond this cooking game
It's Chryssa G, feel free to brag
Now, golden tongue! It's mine to wag!"

Jesus.

He can at least still curse. Fuck. Shit. He gestures with his lips, a single letter missing. He shakes his head and glances at his arms, littered with unsightly marks - the curses mar his skin and have turned black. The theme is similarly, painfully difficult, but he has an idea, and he has time. He had learned in this little game that creativity is key, and the Game (capital case) will bend in his benefit. Breaking reality is easier than a player may think, and thus he permits his figure, his physical self, in getting twisted, pulled, rearranged at a stranger's pleasure. The audience, the spirits, watch as he hands his dish, served in a dark vessel that smelled like vinegar, and in said stew are fish slices, with a single head, in different shades and patterns. Included in the stew are leaves that emit a faint green light, sharp tasting red fruit pieces, circular-shaped radish cuttings, spherical black peppers, and varying ingredients mixed in a murky liquid, bubbled up with high heat by a Chimchar's flame.

Everything had been plucked, harvested, lent, and taken. He calls it sinigang na isda, butchering the name, with full understanding that he didn't have the faintest idea in what way it must be said. After all, Arthur fails in seeing its cultural depth, the narrative it bears - it is but a vessel, a cusp handling a delicate balance between life and death, this will be clearer as minutes drag.

Preluding the presenting, he had taken the serving within a much larger canister, where the ingredients stir themselves in infinity, phasing between light and emptiness. The fish, after all, elude true death - as it was, they were partially ethereal, made fleshy expressly with the end in being eaten, but their anima were the same substance as the nether. Their tails frequently strike the metal walls that held them, but in this state they barely feel pain, feeling heat instead, and even that was distant. The Game permits heating the meal, bringing it in its best state, in mere minutes, it was his Chimchar's flame that started the fire underneath.

Preluding the bubbling and steaming, he clumsily wields the knife with thick fingers, his yet unlike his hands. They are the sun's shade, circular in parts, but they serve sufficiently as he practices. He slices the ingredients gathered such that they be manageable chunks. The fruits that began their life in a vineyard beside a river in faded remembrance, the vegetables harvested exclusively in a patch that requires starlight, the black peppers, like little pearls, were plucked under a tree's shade, each perhaps an experience, a feeling, a wayward thing. Leaves had been gathered using the remains created by past attempts at salads, as they were infused with reminiscence that may be haphazard, but with luck might give the mix a wild taste. That leaves the fish themselves, still in the tub, a few still, the rest flailing. He had never cut a living creature in the past, yet these creatures are but half alive. Maybe even fake. When he picks it up and it leaves the pristine waters, it halts, as if limp, as if surrendering its fate.

Preluding the cutting, he brings himself beside a river's beginning, far where players persist with their dish preparing. If players wanted their ingredients live, they can catch them here with a net made by the stars; it twinkles and burns, just a little. The river's end is imperceptible, stretching infinitely like an abyss, marked with the same materials as the net. And thus, armed with an instrument and a large tub, he used what little experience he had with fishing in this Game and lets the net lines submerge.

The fish trap themselves willingly. They are, after all, meaningless dupes representing a different time. The first is striped, wigglingly weakly as it is lifted in the air and then dumped in the tub, the next is purple scaled, linked with its brethren. The next is indistinguishable, are they white? With marks and patches? Speckled and dappled? Stained in fear? There is plenty, and he hears little but a whisper and weak splashing, being flung carelessly in the tub, until he picks what he feels is the last: brilliant white, amidst clarity. All have arrived in a dead end, an ill fate in their travels, left aside, discarded shells.

Preluding the hunting, Arthur picks the first fish-based recipe he finds in the drawers that he is permitted in speaking. Its paper unfurls and stretches until it brushes walking surface, but the trainer disregards its fanciful tales and reads the recipe itself, gears turning in thinking what replacements are suitable. He returns his charge and brings his starter in the table, and immediately they switch hands, but that is the plan, as their hands are similar in structure. Chimchar speaks, but they are garbled in hindsight as the minutes replay backwards. There is an exchange that has already been presented in full view, all that leaves is the end.

Preluding the hand switching, Arthur reflects: his experiences are limited and dull, while his rivals dazzle and delight with their range. He then realizes, why use his feelings when there are plenty fish in the sea? The spirits want a dish, and their criteria disregards where it springs. He grins, perhaps sneers, thinking what he shall use in his advantage.

<< Party >>

      

Arthur submits Sinigang na Isda, the fish are harvested in the nether :3

"Ta-da!" Buzzster said, stepping back from his absolutely gorgeous monstrosity. "It's a beef wellington with a shredded salad and a side of mashed and seasoned potatoes! Enjoy!"

Zac pulled his dish back from the judging table and set it back on the workbench. Petal ran away with the shredded salad. Buzzster wiped a thick tea towel around the pristine outside of the serving plate, leaving a thick smear of sauce along one side.

"The trick with time travel," he said, as he scooped the potatoes back into their mixing bowl, "is to not think about it too much." He put the clean spoon back on the table and un-cracked some salt and pepper over the mixing bowl. Grains of salt and shattered peppercorns flew up out of the mixture to reform in their respective dispensers. He scooped butter out the bowl and into its tub, laying it back in perfect golden strips. "Because as soon as you start thinking about it is doesn't make any sense." He tested the unseasoned mashed potatoes. "Needs salt and pepper. And some more butter." He mixed the bowl until the butter was separated and removed the rest of it. He put the full tub of butter away.

With a masher in hand he pulled at the potatoes, mashing them until they were whole. Cooked but their skin unbroken. "Beautiful! Straight outta the pot and into the masher." He threw them back in the pot and left Petal to watch them firm up.

"All we need is a little salty and savory side dish," Zac said, as he threw the main dish back in the oven. The timer dinged and he set it to 'instant cook'. He pulled out the raw meat and pastry dish and set about dismantling it. "People don't think about it, but a lot of what we use in our day-to-day life comes straight from plants!" he lied, unwrapping the beef. The pastry covering was oddly thick and stretchy, and as he pulled it away piece-by-piece the chunks that came away were in familiar, elbow-shaped sections.

Once he had a tray full of the elbows he put on a pair of oven mitts and slid the tray back in the household cloning machine. Then he took off the gloves and ran his hands under cold water for a few minutes until they were hot and red. He approached the cloning machine and doubled over in pain. "Oh f*** me, my f****** hands!" he swore, as steam rose from his burning hands. "Stupid f***** machine, I shoulda gone with the Husqvarna!"

He stood up and grasped the burning hot tray with his hands, removing any trace of damage.

Then he set the machine to to duplicate, and listened for the pop-pop of the extra elbows disappearing. Once the popping stopped he opened the machine and pulled out a large tray with a single, wet piece of cloth on it.

"Now this is a little trick I learned from watching The Twilight Zone," Buzzster said, as he dropped the cloth into a bowl of dark liquid. He swirled it around and then sucked out all the seeds with a bottle of wholegrain mustard. "Don't worry about the seeds, you can eat them," he said, as he unclenched a lemon over the mixture. A spray of bitter liquid shot back into the fruit. "The lemons is a natural acid, it breaks down the fibers and makes it tenderer," he said, tossing the lemon back to Petal. She put it away and got back to work on the salad.

Petal held a big knife wrapped in her head leaf and was carefully cutting another elbow-shaped piece of cloth back into one piece. She worked the knife through the mass of slivers, each chop sealing two pieces back together until only a single piece of cloth remained. She tossed it back to Zac, who slipped the sock on. "Salad time!" Zac said happily. "And get me a lemon, would ya?"

He swirled a single piece of pre-cloned cloth in the dark and pungent marinade. He tasted the liquid and pulled a face. He clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Needs an acid." Then he sucking liquid into bottles and scooped out spoonfuls of dry ingredients until all the soy, brown sugar, Worcestershire, crushed garlic, olive oil, and songs by the Proclaimers and Vanessa Carlton were back in their bottles, jars, tins, and packets.

What was left was a single sock sitting all alone in a dry bowl.

Zac wrinkled his nose and dabbed tears into his eyes. "God that's strong. And wet! How did it get wet?" He put the sock back on his foot and slipped into a pair of chef's Crocs. Before putting down his whip.

"That'll teach ya to mess with a magician!" Zac said, as he put a knife on the ground and opened the freezer segment of his two-door refrigerator. A furious wind whipped up, and his kitchenette was filled with furious hissing, the roar of a portable vacuum cleaner, and the soft clunk of ice rattling back up into the dispenser.

"Damn spirit! Go blow someone else!" he yelled, pulling the vacuum out of the bottom freezer tray and closing the fridge. He pointed the contraption at a spot in the air and the form of a massive, six-armed genie flew from the end. The creature boomed at him in an unknown language, demanding sacrifices or something. Knives and whisks flew up from the ground and into its arms.

Zac put away the vacuum and set the whip back on its hook beside the ladle.

"Is this about those unpaid fines? If you think I'm doing to negotiate with some bloody spirit you've got another thing coming!" Buzzster said, pointing at the spirit. It boomed at him, its voice pulling at his clothes.

The spirit loomed over the kitchen, imposing and powerful. A boom of thunder shook the metal surfaces, and a flash of lightning lit the arena. And then it was gone.

Zac sprinted across the kitchen arena and over to the golden prize plates. "The Golden Tongue!" Zac said confidently. "That'll go well with my silver one," he joked, winking rakishly at one of the spirits beside the wheel. He was pretty sure she was female.

"And gimme three sabotages. One for the rapping burger guy," he said, pointing at orioncayge. "Another for Ruby," he looked up at the scoreboard and saw that she was leading the pack by a considerable margin. "And the first one for Bergamot Gristleborg! This is payback for stealing my bloody sunions!"

With points to burn, he slapped two stones confidently, and a Tornado and Hourglass pattern scampered back down his arms and back onto their containment stones. "Time right? And this one is for windsurfing or something? Fifteen points baby!"

Time was of the essence. He sprinted back to the theme wheel, almost slipping in a puddle of blood and starlight.

The wheel stopped, and Zac nodded in solemn acceptance. "Wet socks, ay? I can make that work."

Theme: Loss
Curses: Alphabet K, Sunglasses, Hourglass
Purchasing: -50 Prize

Homemade Everything Bagels with Less Everything and Cream Cheese.

"And I hope that you learn to enjoy this. Please, enjoy."

"The thing about Loss, is that through losing what we hold dear, we grow. We change. We become something new. Loss often hurts, that hole in your heart that forces you to feel as if a part of you is missing. But the truth is, it's a part of life. It is often only through the absence of something, that we realize how much we loved it. But with it gone, we learn new things to enjoy. New things can fill that void to bring us joy." She would place the plate of bagels down, smiling softly before beginning to converse.

Barbara the Drowzee would have just nodded, smiling ever so softly.

The bagels were finally ready to be presented, one hand holding the platter and the other holding gently onto her Drowzee's hand, guiding her as she moved blindly to the table. "Bless you, Barbara. I could not have done this without you."

The six bagels were carefully spread in a circle across the platter, with Barbara occasionally adjusting the position so it was a perfect circle, as much as one could, with a small bowl of extra cream cheese within the middle, and a small spreader within.

The bagels were sliced ever so carefully, guided by her yellow friend holding the blade. The cream cheese delicately spread in-between the halves of the bagels. They smelled delicious, even if she couldn't see them. "I hope after this, I get to eat a bite." To this, her Drowzee immediately nodded as well. All of this was giving them an appetite.

Finally cooled, they were running out of time and there was no further delay. It was crunch time.

Ruby obviously couldn't understand the Drowzee's response even if she was aware they were conversing with words in their perspective, but a hug would be returned as well from them. "I have to admit. I don't believe I could have dreamed for a better guide." Ruby whispered, her voice ever so sweet and gentle, moving to to give the Drowzee a soft hug.

"I wouldn't burn myself!" She replied to the Drowzee's words in reply, but immediately laughed regardless. Maybe it was a smart thing that she didn't try and move things that were burning hot while she was unable to see where to place them. Ruby had reached over where she had placed the oven mitts, only to feel Barbara steal them straight from her hands to retrieve the pan herself with the sound of a chastising mumble.

"Ooh! The bagels are done!"

Ding!

It was during this time Bergamot Gristleborg came over and stole some seeds, presumably for her challenge. "... Wait, baby gay? What?"

And now, all they had to do was wait. Impatiently. She would spend the time carefully grabbing utensils and cleaning up her space, trying her best to get more familiar with the area. Going across a room blindfolded was challenging, but if one had to operate a whole chef contest without the use of sight, you eventually start to get the hang of it.

Placing the pan into the oven with a little guidance was easy enough, even though she was moving incredibly slowly, a hand on her elbows guiding her to press forwards and place the pan down. She didn't want to burn herself, after all

Eventually dipping the bagels into the Disabled Everything Seasoning, she'd carefully place them down atop the prepared pan. The final steps were ready. Brushing the tops of the bagels with an egg wash was a little difficult without the use of her eyes, and she accidentally brushed her Drowzee's hand for a second, which had the two of them both laughing.

Once the Everything was finally sorted through and properly treated, it was time to return her attention to the bagels. One couldn't fully disable even half the flavors that could be within, but she could imagine her Drowzee would start getting tired using the move even further. They were already going to have to wait for the oven, it would have to do.

It was Everything. They had a lot to sort through with. It was quite a long time, but Ruby just had to trust her Drowzee's view of the time on the Moon. It would not do to be cheap or lazy with this step. Enhancing the flavors through the loss of others was everything, the most important facet of the entire dish.

Losing one thing only meant that you eventually gained something else, even if you were never aware that you had gained it. Even if one only realized it after time had passed. She was hoping on that aftertaste, that feeling where loss lingers and allows you to dwell on the thoughts, and taste, for forever.

And many, many more.

Disabling the heat of a spice, but leaving the sweet flavors behind. Disabling the soft, juicy part of an apple, but leaving behind that feeling of biting into a dried apple chip. The bittersweet sorrow of losing one you cared about was Disabled, bringing out the joy they brought you instead.

Disabling fears of the past, only enhancing the hope for the future. Disabling the taste of blue, enhancing the taste of red. Disabling the sense of sight, enhancing all the other senses.

Everything by itself was bland. It was everything. Both Soft and Hard. Both Crisp and Soggy. Every taste in one that canceled out itself. But if they carefully balanced out the Everything, chose certain flavors to remove, to lose, then it would be a miracle to remember.

And so they began, Ruby scooping a few cups of the seasoning into another bowl, where Barbara would begin to Disable it bit by bit. Silencing certain tastes within the mix, highlighting new ones.

"We have Everything to create with. There's no need to be careful adding too much of the absence of it."

"Alright, I'm going to need you to Disable this. We're going to sort through it, and I need you to choose what gets disabled. Can you can do that? Your choice." Ruby said as soon as she returned to their table, her eyes wide with excitement, even though all she saw was absolutely nothing

Barbara happily grabbed a whole scoop, pouring it into a bowl to carry it over towards their table.

Now came the interesting part. Creating the bagel seasoning. She remembered where she had seen the box before, carefully approaching her way over towards the one labeled Everything. It was perfect. "Barbara? Can you grab me a solid scoop of Everything? I have a lovely idea, I remember a move you can do that might do things interestingly."

The two of them operated together to boil the water, dropping in the bagels on each side for a few moments before being laid out carefully aside for the next step.

After all, Barbara loved creating naptime treats. Chocolate chip biscuits were a fantastic blessing to be eaten alongside the tastiest of dreams.

"Barbara? Can you fill a pot with water? Add a little bit of that honey we used before, we should still have a bit of it left. It adds a bit of the flavor to it." Barbara had already begun getting the water, before Ruby had even started conversing. They were very familiar with the process by now.

It was time for the water bath.

Barbara was swift to prepare the pans, helping Mom create food now and then when creating sweet treats for her trainer had taught them how to layer it with parchment paper, all while Ruby carefully shaped all the remaining dough into 12 separate equal balls. Index finger pressed through the center to create a small hole in diameter.

With an immediate laugh, Ruby grinned ear to ear. "I guess that resolves everything! Can you prepare the pans? I'll shape the bagels. It is only appropriate if they aren't perfectly circular, I can feel that much, at least."

Ruby moved to suddenly touch the dough, the sound drawing her attention. It seemed the Instant Yeast was a tad bit more powerful than it was on Earth. "... Huh? What happened?"

Fwomp!

"Wait, I forgot!" Ruby immediately frowned deeply, sighing softly. "Dough needs to rise! We don't have time for that to happen-"

Once the dough was done, it seemed all the flour Ruby had spilled provided a purpose after all. The dough was dumped onto the counter and she began to process it by hand. Stretching and squashing, forming it into one whole cohesive dough. For a brief second, Ruby tried to hold up the dough to see if she could witness light being able to shine through it, only to realize she could not do the windowpane test while blind and just set it down again all flustered with a red face.

Barbara just grinned, nodding and immediately pulled over a fairly large stepping stool so they could stand at Ruby's height. Both hands moving to grab hers, they helped her mix together the ingredients at an average, appropriate pace until the dough was finally all done.

She stood completely still, but she was unable to see if the dough was done. And almost certainly covered their counter and her apron with a ton of extra flour. It was difficult. "Ugh, I can't whis- uh, mix this properly. Can you help me?"

Creating the dough blind was harder than Ruby thought. Even though Barbara had grabbed all the ingredients for her, portioning out the water, instant yeast, flour, blue sugar, and the moon salt from before, mixing it all together in the bowl was challenging.

"Just trust me. I have a twist in mind. Let us start by preparing the dough."

This had Barbara raising their eyebrows, and when they realized Ruby could not see their facial response they made a confused noise. "Ahem, I am aware of what we should create. Everything Bagels."

"Alright, I thin-" She paused, unable to finish the word vocally. The 11th letter seemed lost to her. How curious. She could figure this out.

Barbara, for her part, nodded right away. And with a quiet "Droowww" grabbed Ruby's hand and let them over towards their operating station.

She was not, however, prepared for what it truly meant to lose her sight. She stumbled about where she stood for a bit before summoning one of her friends. Barbara, the Drowzee. "I am going to need you to guide me." She said, a soft frown across her face.

Ruby was careful to chose what Curse Tattoos, but after spinning the wheel to get her theme of Loss, she was aware of what she had to do. Alphabet. The absence of a letter. Loss. Sunglasses. The loss of her sight. Hourglass. The dish would be unmade in the end. To never exist again.