crushed_pearls: (Default)
crushed_pearls ([personal profile] crushed_pearls) wrote in [community profile] ph_logs2024-06-07 10:58 pm

[Business Opportunity] The King Is Dead...

Who: Anyone!

What: A mysterious new building has appeared

When: Early June

Where: Near the tram station

Warning(s): None


OOC Note: One, only one, character may claim ownership of what is to be revealed to you below. Whomsoever does will become an Entrepreneur, complete with the usual benefits such as immediate upgrade to Job Level 3, though there are, of course, some conditions. This opportunity has already been bought and paid for by the conspirators, and now made available to you! Read on…

It happens overnight. An unoccupied home near the tram station, unremarkable but for its sorrow, is replaced by a low and rectangular building with false crenellations, flying an odd flag that flutters in the near-Summer breeze. It is sturdy, made of wood and stone - how was it built so quickly? - and has a large dining area visible through wide windows. A counter, bedecked with gleaming cash registers, separates the kitchen from the public, concealing the activities within, though one might get a look at the new cooking equipment through two smaller sliding windows that can be approached from the outside, but lock from within.

Come inside. Explore. See the menu boards above the counters, with names like Whopper and Bacon King next to hand-painted pictures of burgers and fries, chicken sandwiches, even sandwiches that use fried fish. The current prices are set under the names with little hand-carved wooden tiles, varnished and shiny; more are in a case on the counter, permitting whomsoever will come to own this place to change their prices. If you dare to explore the kitchen, you will find it fully stocked, with the iceboxes packed with what needs to be frozen, a bread oven for the making of daily bread, prep tools and a setup for frying in oil. In pride of place is a massive grill, ready to toast buns, meat, and perhaps even vegetables, but almost as obvious is a thick and crudely-bound portfolio of recipes that explains, in easy detail, the creation of buns, fries, onion rings, the recipes for everything shown or described on the menu, and offers suggestions for the only missing detail (drinks) in accepting language that frankly, without judgement, explains the advantages and drawbacks of decisions such as including or excluding alcohol, the challenges of potentially carbonating various juices, and emphasizes in no small terms that supplying coffee or tea may make a killing selling to the miners on their ways in, and out, of work.

There is also a set of regalia, complete with a mask of gilt bronze and inbuilt crown of gold, far more valuable in times past than it is now in these desperate days when an ounce of gold will buy you nothing but regret. It rests on a stand behind the counter, and before it, upon the counter, are two things: a sign in red that reads READ, YE WHO ENTER HERE, and a letter. The letter reads thusly:

Hail, good people of Pumpkin Hollow, and be welcomed to the sovereign domain of the Burger King. Know that these hallowed halls are sacred in a desolate and unwholesome land known as America, and welcomed all - prince and pauper, killer and saint, fool, genius, and philanthropist - to partake of their affordable and speedy hospitality. Glory to the Burger King, and glory to His ironclad decree: Have It Your Way.

Yet, the sovereign crown of this dominion lacks one with the fortitude and graciousness to bear it. Read closely, for there is great opportunity and great obligation before you. Whomsoever takes up the regalia and visage of the Burger King shall gain his power and majesty, including power over this place, the proceeds thereof, and the land upon which it is built which is spacious enough to include a garden or be otherwise used for the benefit of this most holy realm. To retain these blessings, however, one must prove oneself worthy; the Burger Kingdom must be opened to the public to do business, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, for a period of not less than seven days, during which they who desire the power of the Burger King must wear the regalia. You will be watched; you will be judged. Should you prove worthy, you will be granted the deeds to this realm, in accordance with the following conditions:

FIRST - None may bear the mantle of the Burger King unless they might also bear the love of the Mothers, for the building of this sanctum is dedicated to Serranai as an act of holy creation and abundance. In commerce too are we connected, and that connection is sacred.

SECOND - The power of the Burger King is tied to His mantle and regalia, which must be worn no less than twice a week when He holds His court. The first court held each week is for the benefit of His employees, who may air their ideas and grievances with no fear of reprisal; the second shall be held for the benefit of the community, who may do the same. A king with no followers is merely a madman.

THIRD - The Whopper, and French Fries, must always be available for purchase during business hours. These menu items may never be replaced.

FOURTH - No guest who keeps to the laws of hospitality shall be turned away.

FIFTH - Justice and fair wages for the employees of the Burger King.

Failure to comply with these conditions shall be met with a vengeance as inevitable as it is incomprehensible, along with the stripping of the deeds and the appointment of a new vessel for the Burger King, praise His flame-broiled burgers in their sublime glory.

Heavy is the head that wears the Burger Crown. We look forward to your reign.


No staff attend the fully stocked building. If there are any unseen watchers, it must be someone among those who have come to investigate this place. It is ready to be claimed.

Will this be your new kingdom?
blindwatchersees: (pic#16611377)

[personal profile] blindwatchersees 2024-07-11 03:36 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, the idea doesn't belong to anyone, really. Mortals don't own ideas, and ideas don't own mortals. It's the interplay of the two that makes things happen, and causes them to change one another. Oh, a mortal can say only they own a character, or a schematic, but that won't stop that idea from winding its way into the hearts and minds of others, and next thing you know its bloomed in their little mortal heads and scattered its seeds on the wind. Sometimes a mortal keeps an idea in their head, and they don't share it, but then it either withers away and dies with them, or they leave some trace for it to be reborn through another."

"This place is an idea, scattered and sown, and now we see who it brushes up against, and how that idea changes when it does."
maximumcake: (pic#14146357)

[personal profile] maximumcake 2024-07-11 11:37 pm (UTC)(link)
Max just kind of... looks at the man in front of him. Awestruck, yes, but also deeply concerned.

"Who...are you?"
blindwatchersees: (Default)

[personal profile] blindwatchersees 2024-07-12 12:00 am (UTC)(link)
He smiles, in a way that shows a few too many teeth, and says, simply, “An idea.”
maximumcake: (pic#14146375)

[personal profile] maximumcake 2024-07-13 07:27 pm (UTC)(link)
(The writer would like to apologize in advance for this.)

Max, unperturbed at all by the teeth, stares on in wide-eyed wonder, opens his mouth, and asks, "That's your name?"
blindwatchersees: (pic#16611377)

[personal profile] blindwatchersees 2024-07-13 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
He laughs heartily.

“No, no, that isn’t what you asked me! You asked ‘who are you,’ and I said ‘an idea.’ If you had asked ‘what’s your name’ I would have said ‘Sheogorath.’”
maximumcake: (head scratcher)

[personal profile] maximumcake 2024-07-15 01:38 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh. Nice to meet you, Sheogarth. But, um... how can someone be an idea?"
blindwatchersees: (Default)

[personal profile] blindwatchersees 2024-07-15 01:57 am (UTC)(link)
“I think you could just as easily chew on that thought with the question ‘how can an idea be someone?’ It’s not a question anyone can easily answer for you, and were I to try, I might be inclined to twist your thoughts ‘round even further.”
maximumcake: (head scratcher)

[personal profile] maximumcake 2024-07-15 06:53 pm (UTC)(link)
Sheogarth is right. Max becomes visibly confused while he considers this reversal. How... can an idea become a person? Is this some kind of, like, Batman is more real than Bruce Wayne thing? That might make sense? Maybe. He's not sure.

"I think I'd rather chew on a burger right now..."
blindwatchersees: (Default)

[personal profile] blindwatchersees 2024-07-18 03:41 pm (UTC)(link)
"Probably for the best. I don't suppose you have any interest in running this fine establishment?"
maximumcake: (Default)

[personal profile] maximumcake 2024-07-23 02:13 am (UTC)(link)
"Me?" Max shakes his head aghast. "As much fun as I'm having playing around in the kitchen, I don't think I'd want to run this place full-time. I have other plans."

The smile that creeps onto his face as he says that is a strange and hopeful one. He never thought he'd be able to say that. He has plans of his own, achievable ones, so he doesn't have to jump on the first thing just because he fears there won't be anything better.

"I'm going to open a cafe."
blindwatchersees: (pic#16611377)

[personal profile] blindwatchersees 2024-07-26 10:48 pm (UTC)(link)
"You don't say? Focused on coffee, or pastries?"
maximumcake: (Default)

[personal profile] maximumcake 2024-08-02 12:00 am (UTC)(link)
"Well..." Max's everything lights up as he starts to talk about it. Not just his face, but his whole body seems lighter and more energized. "I plan to serve coffee, of course, but the pastries are going to be the real star of the show. That's what I do best."
blindwatchersees: (pic#16611377)

[personal profile] blindwatchersees 2024-08-02 12:05 am (UTC)(link)
"Well, you'll certainly have my business. I love pastries, especially a good strawberry tart. Have you ever made one with a port glaze?"
maximumcake: (Default)

[personal profile] maximumcake 2024-08-09 12:02 am (UTC)(link)
"That's great to hear!" He's going to do it. He's going to fulfill his dream. And he's going to have 'regulars!'

"I have, yeah. I make a really nice one with strawberries and mascarpone. I'll definitely have to put that on the menu for summer."

blindwatchersees: (Default)

[personal profile] blindwatchersees 2024-08-09 04:57 pm (UTC)(link)
“Well, know that I’ll be dreaming of it for every moment until it’s on my plate,” he lets out a hearty laugh.