Full Mealtimes At Gerbert's Story Notes

Cosmic Crew / Franchise Settings / Staff / Customers & Family / Investigators / Other Animatronics / Miscellaneous

This is the companion document for "Full Mealtimes At Gerbert's" , organized to familiarize yourself with the characters, mascots and locales of the haunted space-themed party restaurant. Each synopsis is a frame of reference to use in your writing for the story. They serve as a starting point and guideline, not a restriction to how the character in question may change during later chapters. Links are also provided to the plot line of which they are the focal character. Secondary links may note plots of which they are a significant side character.

Characters are arranged alphabetically within categories based on their method of introduction. Owing to the fact that this interactive encourages even more alternate takes on the characters than usual, in the form of the alternate Gerbert's settings, any deviations of the character specific to a certain kind of setting will be noted as well.

This document experiences semi-frequent updates, check back for new developments.

Cosmic Crew Mascots: the Main Five

Gerbert Gerbil
Gerbert Gerbil is a tawny, brave and heroic astronaut with a mildly outdated spacesuit who explores the cosmos in his rocket ship. As the main mascot of the restaurant and the in-universe stage shows, Gerbert is the upfront leader with his buck toothed grin. While the very face of the whole franchise detractors say his characterization is too generic and bland, nothing out of the ordinary as far as astronaut gerbils are concerned. Probably because no one pays attention to what happens when the Gerbert animatronic is ‘off the clock.’


Hippo Don
Hippo Don is Gerbert’s best friend, a purple reformed gangster hippo that now fancies himself a big shot musician with all the attention he thinks that career deserves. He remixes public domain soundtracks to new wave electronica-disco hits, unbearably cheesy to sit through. Although on the side of good, many of the Cosmic Crew plots are both caused (and paradoxically solved) by Hippo Don’s former criminal connections. Some think is characterization is even better than Gerbert’s and like his funny antics. Although in some perspectives, the gangster may not be that far removed from his pre-musician persona roots.


Moolia the Cow
Moolia is a white cow with pink, blue and yellow spots. Originally a heifer from earth and accidentally swept up in Gerbert’s adventures, several contradictory circumstances have made her alien to her species. She serves as the Cosmic Crew’s manager of the ship’s kitchen and personally endorses the entire restaurant’s menu. The Moolia animatronic is outfitted with special freezers and mixers, able to serve the signature malts and other frozen treats to customers at designated times. Otherwise she has a bubbly and chipper personality that’s often considered shallow.


Fuchsia the Flamingo
Fuchsia the Flamingo is a long necked dancer that seems out of place in the Cosmic Crew. Her usual color scheme is her namesake color with purple and pink accents, much like the flower, although her feathers include fiber optic cables for color changing properties. She was originally pitched to encourage kids to stay active and dance, although is something of a failure in that regard. She ends up being the least developed personality of the Cosmic Crew, in some part pertaining to the misfortune of Fuchsia being the most complex animatronic and thus frequently breaking down. With unusual articulation points, ridiculous choreography routines and the aforementioned color shifting, there’s a stigma of Fuchsia being the animatronic that causes things to go wrong. Yet despite being put in the background she has a cult following of fans.


Hamster Louie
Hamster Louie is a sandy hamster and fellow astronaut alongside Gerbert, a rival ever since they were cadets. At least, that’s the story nowadays. Truthfully Louie is a prototype animatronic before Gerbert and the others, originally meant to be the primary mascot until his characterization was scrapped in favor of newer models. Since then he’s been looking quite thin and shabby compared to Gerbert’s puffier frame, as he lacks critical maintenance and upkeep. The newest trend have been painting him as a villain character looking to discredit Gerbert Gerbil yet always doomed to fail. Although a villainous take on his character may have always been present from the beginning. He certainly has some sort of sway with the various minor animatronics in the restaurant.

Franchise Settings

The Original Restaurant
Gerbert Gerbil & the Cosmic Crew is a family restaurant known for pizzas, milkshakes and other goodies along with the signature animatronics. It is quite an elaborate facility, sporting an arcade and play area off the main dining hall for patrons along with a wing of private party rooms. Employee areas include the main office, kitchen, service & storage and the security booth. Owing to the astronaut theme there are many space based decorations and patterns, usually involving star spangled indigo. Compared to competitors Gerbert's hosts technological innovations to improve the business. Most noted is the floor and ceiling based track system throughout the restaurant to allow the animatronics to travel on their mobile platforms. Normally, warning lights are meant to flash along the floor when this system is in use.

The corporate Cosmic Crew Entertainment office is in another location. Along with its cartoon series of Gerbert and the Crew it looks for new lucrative venues for the franchise.


The Shopping Mall
Crosscreek Glen Mall is a modest, well visited two and a half story shopping mall in the county. With around a hundred and forty individual storefronts, stalls and shops you can find just about anything there. The mall is well lit, with a glass atrium in the center and a mix of fake tropical plants alongside the shopping areas. It also boasts and impressive food court.

When Gerbert's opened at Crosscreek Glen Mall it was the talk of the town, taking several months to build. Although considered the first store in this verse, it has a nigh identical layout to the Original Restaurant above save for a few differences. Gerbert's is on the bottom floor with a mall access only customer entrance. It has its own sub system of utilities compared to the mall's infrastructure. Businesses one floor above have complained about noise coming from the children's restaurant.


Party Warehouse
Cosmic Crew Parties Delivered is a grand, multi storied warehouse facility in an isolated location. About two stories tall from the outside, more department floors extend underground. Gone is any notion that the franchise has an animatronic filled restaurant. The entire business is dedicated to renting out the mascots to birthday parties, complete with merchandise gifts and catering. For the main Cosmic Crew mascots each animatronic is the most sophisticated, capable of independent movement as controlled by an operator on location. There is a fleet of delivery trucks; half are outfitted to transport the animatronics themselves while the remainder transport gifts, food and other embellishments. Administrative offices are on the top floor, with kitchen and pantry on the ground floor, then merchandise warehouse and gift wrapping, utilities, and the animatronic service stations being on the lowest basement floor.

It's said to be a dreary place to work, lacking any of the themed decoration.


Horror Attraction
Gerbert's Scarefest is a debuting haunted attraction put on by a new company in the wake of Cosmic Crew Entertainment bottoming out. Building on the uncanny unnerving reputation of the brand's animatronics, company breakdowns and lurid history, the attraction aims to recreate as much of the Gerbert's experience as possible in an indoor maze. Much as the original company did before, however, corners are cut and progress is rushed to get the attraction to return on investment before the season is done. A complete animatronic has yet to be found, although plenty of spare parts and other ruined Cosmic Crew mercy has been repurposed in the name of scarring people. Performers and operators are tasked with minding the customers through the frights, while a concession area is in the works outside the Scarefest between the entrance and exit.


Television Show
A continuation of the Gerbert's cartoon series, now with live performance segments with human actors and animatronic puppetry. This series takes place on the namesake Cosmic Crew Central Station, an orbiting satellite in deep space designed to look somewhat like a Gerbert's restaurant. Corporate rents the soundstage from another studio and has a heavy handedness with changing the script, actors and direction of the show constantly. Like any other production it has its share of difficulties, perhaps more than usual. It wouldn't be a Gerbert's venue without good eats, as the break table and dressing room service aims to keep the frustrated cast and crew placated while the series is being filmed. Sound, editing and animation all occur at the same studio in other departments.


Amusement Park
Gerbert's Galaxy Spaceport is a growing theme park built partially across the state from the original restaurant location. It is the pinnacle of Cosmic Crew Entertainment's brand at the height of the franchise's popularity and success. Starting with a few roller coasters, several rides and attractions and even more varieties of food, the Galaxy Spaceport aims to be the next biggest thing in amusement parks. The lore of the franchise has increased at its workforce multiplied over tenfold in the name of getting the park up and running at it's lakeside boardwalk. It is the best place to cater to franchise fans. And the site for the most catastrophic doom to hit the company should it occur.

Staff & Workers

Dennings, Bilbo
Age: 28
Bilbo is a short man with curly hair and glasses. He typically dresses in greens, browns or yellows and has a studious appearance. He programs and maintains the animatronics at Gerbert's, along with other repairs the restaurant needs. As such he has situational work hours and often his free time tends to be very crammed whenever a new breakdown is flagged. He is well aware of his name and stature leading to many 'The Hobbit' jokes to his expense.

Bilbo begins as a child sized adult with a bit of a potbelly.


Getty, Jessica
Age: 23
Jessica is a petite hip heavy blonde, normally spunky but recently tired and ill more frequently after a bad breakup from her ex-boyfriend Jason. She is the baker for Gerbert's cooking and design most of the cakes, cupcakes and other treats for patrons. She's struggling a bit to get by.

Jessica begins as a hip heavy pear shape who usually ends up pregnant.


Helder, Sandy
Age: 26
Sandy is a young but hefty brunette. She's caring and concerned about many others of the staff and patrons like a cool big sister, although her buttons can be pushed by rude self-centered types. She's one of the main cooks and loves kids, having once been a school bus driver.

Sandy begins as a round and chunky woman of average height, an apple shape.


LaBelle, Taylor
Age: 29

Taylor is a recently hired security guard at Gerbert's. Taylor's gender, personality and features are determined by writer input.


Lynn, Mabel
Age: 20
Mabel Lynn is the new Jr Manager at Gerbert’s. She’s an ambitious and hard worker…though she’s hasn’t endeared herself to her co-workers by any means for two reasons. 1) her conniving methods to pass everybody else up for promotion. 2) the skinny slip constantly nags on all the fatties on staff, taking offense to any suggestion of their increasing mass.

Mabel Lynn begins as a petite, pale skinned brunette.


Neith, Michelle
Age: 28
Michelle or 'Chelly' as she also goes by is a security guard at Gerbert's that tends to have the day shift. This auburn haired brunette has a prickly, tough personality to get by working at the restaurant. She was a star athlete in high school with a powerful athletic build but is finding that her metabolism is starting to tank.

Chelly starts as a tanned formerly toned woman just starting to get soft.


Paulson, Vinnie
Age: 24
Vinnie is a mustached schlub with a dark haired mullet. He's an avid pothead prone to munchies and inactivity but has been forced to find a real job, hence his recent employment at Gerbert's. He is stuck with odd jobs, typically janitorial or stocking tasks, along with assisting other workers.

Vinnie begins as a chubby man of average height.


Stolz, Douglas
Age: 33
Douglas is a mindful, dedicated security guard at Gerbert's who tends to have the late shift. He had always wanted to be a police officer but a foot injury during training revealed that he suffers from a bone density problem in his lower extremities. Nevertheless he's a dutiful employee.

Douglas begins as a skinny man who keeps to uniform.


Suarez, Juanita
Age: 33
Jaunita is a super short woman of Mexican descent and a Senior Manager at Gerbert's who often works the opening and afternoon. She can be strict but fair, fitting a lot of authority in a tiny package. She does have a few soft spots in her heart for family and friends. For as hard as she works she likes to take it easy when she can. Her nephew and niece are respectively Enrique and Mercedes Vega.

Juanita begins as a child sized adult with womanly curves, particularly her thighs.


Swank, Roxanne
Age: 24
Roxanne is a brash and curvy redhead that tries to act cultured at sophisticated. As a failed actress she starts to feel working as a show runner and hostess at Gerbert's is beneath her. She is also the primary actress in the Bellixie the Alien costume, which requires a high energy performance.

Roxanne begins as a voluptuous knockout with an exaggerated hourglass build.


Tuttle, Houston
Age: 29
Houston is a chiseled, statuesque ex-jock who has become a fast track businessman. He works corporate in Cosmic Crew Entertainment usually having to find pacify solutions to complaints, internal affairs and publicity issues with the restaurant. He could find better work that constantly burying problems at Gerbert's but Houston is an eye roving chubby chaser. Be it corporate secretary Estelle's growing office ass or other zaftig ladies on the Gerbert's staff.

Houston begins as a tall, well built man.

Customers, Friends & Family

Investigators

Other Animatronics & Mascots

Miscellaneous Characters

The Culprit

The Culprit is a person shown to be responsible for many of the issues that plague Gerbert's. Chapters from the Culprit's perspective are written in a concealing second person PoV. (Example: You walked into the room.) As such the motives and characteristics of the Culprit are determined by writer input.


The Entity

The Entity is a supernatural denizen that 'haunts' the Gerbert's establishment. Chapters from the Entity's perspective are written in a concealing first person PoV. (Example: I entered the room.) As such the origin, influence and characteristics of the Entity are determined by writer input.

Cosmic Crew / Franchise Settings / Staff / Customers & Family / Investigators / Other Animatronics / Miscellaneous