Magnus McGill, Maggie to very specific and close friends, famously known as the Red Swordfish and celebrity chef of Del Sol Valley to everyone else.
Magnus grew up one of seven children, he didn't have the awe of the first born, nor the charm of the last, no, Magnus was somewhere muddled in between two other sons and an age gap that left him mostly alone and forgotten.
Two working parents and not a lot of money had him having to get creative in order to eat a nice meal every so often. He had a knack for it, picked it up fast, and it was fun. Once his siblings realized he could make good food out of not much he suddenly had value. It was nice having value.
And so eventually he saved up enough money from odd jobs at even odder diners to get himself into a good culinary school in San Myshuno. It was hard taking classes and working but he'd done harder things. He slept maybe 2 hours a day, sometimes just on the subway, and his apartment was just big enough to hold him and a sofa he called a bed.
And it went on like this until he worked his way up the food chain of several restaurants, picked up new skills, new dishes, rubbed elbows with great chefs, and made a name for himself winning competitions and challenges, then suddenly a network wanted to give him his own restaurant, his own show.
At 29 years old he was famous, people traveled to eat his food, to shake his hand, to sleep in his bed, no longer a sofa but a lush mansion at the top of Del Sol, view for days.
And years went on like this, fame, and money thrown at him, and shows, and multiple restaurant openings, and a marriage, Fiona, and a divorce, very ugly, and time slipped by and he accumulated wealth and recognition and value.
At 48 Magnus is what some would call jaded. It's hard to know when people mean what they say, that they will keep promises they make, that they will show up even when it's hard. At 48 Magnus has secluded himself in his large mansion at the top of Del Sol Valley. His reputation has plummeted thanks to grumpy interviews and no shows on set, and ok, maybe he did punch that camera man in the face but he'd deserved it.
Flustered and impatient agents have lined up reputation building events for him and At 48 Magnus feels like he's wasted so much time... and for what. A picture on his phone of a woman with long yellow hair is the latest event his agent promises will bring him back into the public's loving embrace. He's trying to decide if he gives one single f_ck what the public thinks of him when finds himself texting his agent that he's on for the challenge with the yellow haired woman.
He's done shows like this before, his agent is right, they do bring a lot of publicity, usually positive, but that's not why Magnus agreed to it, there's something about the woman that he likes, the downward slope of her mouth, the narrow curve of her eyes, the overall unimpressed vibe she gives off.. yet... she looks kind... might be fun if nothing else...
