[Event] Space to Pastry: An Exploration in Baking

[asceticamnesiac]

What: Baking Competition
When: September
Who: Tailgate, Riptide, Octane, Krok, Mikey, Soundwave, Tails, Mo, Minimus, Sentinel, Qifrey, Olruggio, and YOU
Where: The planet Luján

It was the perfect day for outdoor filming, with scattered puffy clouds in the soft yellow sky above rolling prairies of coral colored grasses, and from what their sensors were picking up it looked like it would remain that way for the rest of the week. Ane Jaysuzan-Fereydun, the dragonkin host of the new cooking show, stretched her wings as she looked over the white canopies of their setup area with satisfaction after her check-in with the camera-crew. The yellow and red would really bring out her purple scales, and would make the baked goods look more colorful as well. It should make for a great episode, assuming the contestants were any good.

Her only complaint was that only one ship had shown up to participate. Usually they got at least two willing to make a detour for the promise of fame and prizes. It added an extra element of competition and drama that was easy to play up for the audience, but she would just have to work with what they had. The R2 had landed some ways away and shuttled over their crew, which was fine so long as they were on time, and she had her crew pinging them every ten minutes to be sure they didn’t forget. She still had to prove her show was worth investing in another season, so she was taking no chances.

Before long it was finally show time. Some of the R2 crew had arrived to spectate and the security crew was doing their jobs keeping them cordoned off to the designated area outside range of the mics and cameras, competitors were lined up, and the judges had made their way off the ship. Ane’s stylist dashed in for one final check of her makeup and outfit, and her face lit up as she switched into entertainer mode with the countdown on the cameras.

“Sugar and salutations everyone! Welcome back to another episode of Space to Pastry, where we bring you unexplored planets and unexplored talents from spacefarers the galaxy over to test their baking skills and see if they can rise to the challenge. I’m your host, Ane Jaysuzan-Fereydun. It’s time to find out if these intrepid adventurers have what it takes to impress our judges: celebrated cartographer and culinary connoisseur Teodor Psychetear, and the ‘baroness of buttercream’ and baking channel star Julissa Chill!"

The two judges, an elderly, weathered but distinguished butterfly insectkin and a tall, cheerful, matronly mirzamite give their greetings in turn before the camera shifts back to Ane.

"Today, we’re set up on the beautiful planet Luján on the outskirts of unicorn space. The planet is somewhat hostile to unicorns so there’s still much to learn about it, but we’ll fill you in on what makes this place so interesting while our chefs do their thing."

She stepped to the side with a sweep of her arm and wings, drawing attention to the canopies and more importantly those standing at the workstations.

"Our competitors today all serve on the succinctly named R2, a refurbished cybertronian ship- but don’t worry! If any Cybertronians do show up, our ship is equipped to handle any emergencies. Now without further ado let’s meet our bakers and see some out of this world pastries!"

[OOC: Details on how the event will run can be found on the OOC comm sign-up post and coordinated through Discord.]

Comments

The Competition Begins

[asceticamnesiac]

"In my hands I have the first round of challenges for our competitors," Ane announced, fanning a collection of envelopes in her hand, "but first let's have everyone introduce themselves!" She turned to the nearest baker with a smile.

"Why don't you tell us your name, who'll be helping you out today, and a little bit about yourself?"

[legalcy]

A stiff, grim fox steps forth with his arms clasped behind his back. Though he has little experience in organic baking, he has conducted enough research to understand that it critically relies on exact measurements and following complex instructions to the letter. As long as he keeps his space organized, he will manage. Besides, he's learned that softness is favorite feature according to people who eat cakes, and he must pay attention to the texture of the batter.

This should be easy...but the assistant has him gravely concerned.

He nods when Ane address him. "My name is Veritus. I find baking to be a calming hobby-" which isn't too far off from the truth- "from my day job at the office. I will perform to the best of my ability."

Sentinel isn't even given a glance. "My assistant is John."

[asceticamnesiac]

"You work in an office? I'd love to hear what brings you all the way out here to such a remote area, but then I guess remote work can be done from just about anywhere if you have a decent signal," Anne said with a laugh, taking the first envelope from the bundle. She could tell this man would be very popular with a large demographic of their audience.

"We'll cut right to the chase then. Your first assignment is to come up with a breakfast item for us. However, it needs to be frozen, and have a mirror glaze. I can't wait to see what you come up with!"

[rain_cleaver]

A baking contest where the participants weren’t going to be personally insulted sounded like it would be fun. It hadn’t taken much pestering to get Olly to agree to join him either. And while logically he knew they would need to use the disguise tech, the logic was very different than experiencing the sensation of being almost as tall as the Cybertronians. He just wished he was something cooler… like the dragonkin host. Instead Qifrey was a light gray colored otterkin. His glasses had been replaced with a monocle over his eye while just his hair was still flopped over the right side of his face.

Also having a bunch of cameras on them was a bit nerve wracking. “Ah, of course,” Qifrey fidgeted with his hands when it was his turn to introduce himself, “My name’s Frey. My assistant is my very dear friend Oru.” He motioned back to the darker colored otterkin behind him, giving Olly a smile, “I would say my hobby is gardening, but when I was a teacher I enjoyed cooking for my students very much. I hope everyone has fun with this competition.” He shuffled from side to side ever so slightly. Hopefully that was good enough.

[asceticamnesiac]

Very dear friends, huh? How interesting! Frey seemed a bit nervous but maybe he'd lighten up once they got in the swing off things.

"Baking with friends is the best isn't it?" She asked innocently. "I love getting together with my family and pals for a day in the kitchen. It's great to have you both here."

She opened their envelope, reading through it with a nod. "I think you two can handle this one. A pastry using carrots as an ingredient. Something glazed."

[daintylegs]

A fluffy white mouse in a giant oversized white and blue sweater bounces in place from his place on top of a stool. He beams and does a pose with a peace sign when attention comes to him.

"I'm Talia Gate! Nice to meet you!" He squeaks adorably. "And this is my wonderful assistant Seal Vister." He stops and squints down at a piece of paper. "I mean, Sealvester. Yes. Anyway, we're entrepreneurs hoping to make the universe a fun and better place to be!" He strikes another adorable pose, his giant mouse eyes glittering with innocence and kindness.

[asceticamnesiac]

Adorable! He would surely be a fan favorite. "How ambitious! Hopefully you can bring some of that fun to the competition!" Ane pulled one envelope from the fan, matching Talia's pose before opening it with a flourish. "Though to start we want to see what you can do with something plain and simple, so long as its vegan and uses rose or rosewater."

[milesperhours]

Wasn't he just bemoaning about how bad things were for the last baking competition the anyone from the R2 was in? Yes. Didn't he just not like participating in reality TV, either? Also yes.

But this one seemed different—a lot more calm and contained, for one, and for two... Tails has his eyes on a prize. While content to have been an assistant, he's told himself that he'll have more drive to be ambitious now, no?

A short, red maple plantkin politely waves while raising a hand, confidence unshaken. With practiced ease of running his own web series at home, he cheerfully, earnestly chirps, "Hi, everyone! I'm Pinion, and it's great to see an enthusiastic crew as our hosts here today! Admittedly, baking isn't really my forté. I'm more of a food science person, haha! But a close friend of mines' is, and she's shared a lot of recipes with me."

His hands then clap together and wings twitch, before he gestures with jazz hands to the legless lizardkin beside him. "And this is my assistant today: Clarion! We're gonna do our best today," his fist slams into a palm like a gavel, "on our word!" Most eyes can see that they're both wearing the same shirt, even if "Pinion's" is under his overalls. It reads in fabric paint, COOL KIDZ.

[asceticamnesiac]

Ane clapped her hands together happily. You couldn't ask for anything better than enthusiastic and cute kids! Though she did have to wonder why they were on a ship in such a remote part of space.

"What enthusiasm! I bet you and Clarion will do your friend proud, so let's see what your first challenge is."

She made a show of opening the envelope, secretly hoping it would be something they could manage ok given their age.... oh dear.

"Your first dish will need to feature tea or teabags and will need to be both gooey and vegan."

Was it improper to ask a plantkin to make something vegan? She glanced towards her producer but they didn't seem to have an opinion one way or the other so it was probably fine.

[orangerazzmatazz]

A baking competition was exactly the sort of thing Mikey needed right now. Especially after the farce that one his brothers participated in was. He was still made just thinking about it. It was easier to be mad at that then to think too hard about anything and everything else.

Baking was always a safe place to sooth a troubled mind and looking around at the competition, he had a good feeling about his standing. He was definitely going to win.

A mouse steps up to introduce himself with intoxicating confidence and exuberant energy. "Name's Angelo and this here is my assistant..." He pauses a moment, scrambling to remember the weird name Soundwave gave him. "Mr. O!" Good enough.

"I've been cooking and baking since I as a baby and there is no way anyone is beating me in this competition!" He gives a bright grin.

[asceticamnesiac]

"Sounds like you've got bit of a leg up then!" Ane replied with a chuckle. "Let's see if you can live up to that claim. For your first challenge," she opened up one of the envelopes, skimming the contents, "we'll have you start by making us some bite-sized cakes using saffron as one of the ingredients."

[welloiled]

The mosquito contestant looks quite confident, if a bit tipsy, as he saunters over to his station. Baking is technically not his field of expertise, but having made energon confectionaries before, he figures organic baking works the same way.

Even if his recipes crash and burn, he's not worried. He's here for publicity, not prizes. Once he gets on-air, he'll be on the fast track to get new customers and new financiers, both of which he definitely needs now that there's a Megatron onboard the R2.

He leans casually against the counter and flashes the host and the cameras his best charismatic grin.

"The name's Otis, and I'm here to put some real excitement into this shindig."

Tailgate is already presenting as a serious entrepreneur, so Octane's decides he needs to be the memorable contestant.

"Joining me is my little buddy..."

He hesitates, browsing through his memory banks. Before showing up, he made sure to knock back some of his own brew to get well-energized. Indeed, he's neither nervous nor fatigued, but he's not very focused either. As a result, it takes him a second to recall Krok's pseudonym.

"...Craig."

He nudges the tiny crocodile perched on his shoulder.

"Don't underestimate him because of his size.

[asceticamnesiac]

Before approaching Octane, Ane gave the producer a surreptitious signal with a slight frown. Best be careful with the camera angles in case they needed to edit this guy out. If they weren't so short on competitors he wouldn't have made it to the stage to begin with, but if he kept in line and didn't come off as too under the influence it could be fine.

"Well, Otis it's a pleasure to have you on the show," she said amicably without any hint that she was lying. "I can't wait to see how you and Craig work together."

She opened the last envelope, reading off the contents of the card. "Your first task will be something with a little zing: we want to see some sweet cookies or biscuits that use chili peppers."

Round 2

[asceticamnesiac]

"That was an excited start, and we've really gotten a chance to see each of your baking styles in action," Ane said excitedly as the judges finished delivering their scores. "Now the moment you've been waiting for, the first round bonuses! This round we have a tie: Frey will each receive additional points for their exceptional prep work! Get some rest bakers, because we will have a bigger challenge for you tomorrow."

The next morning was a bit more overcast than the previous one, but otherwise the weather was holding. The workstations had all been cleaned and prepped, and Ane was there in a stylish new outfit having a last minute chat with the director. Once everyone was settled they gave the countdown for the cameras to start rolling.

"Welcome back to day two! Yesterday our contestants showed us some culinary confections that wowed the judges and today they'll take their skills to the next level. Round 2 is about to begin!"

With another stack of envelopes, Ane read off the assignments for each baker and their assistants.

For Minimus: biscuits or cookies that are grilled, sour, and featured jelly/jam

For Qifrey: a vegan dessert that was creamy, pureed, and included cardamom

For Tailgate: biscuits or cookies that are preserved and malty, using caramel

For Tails: bread that is zesty, fried, and uses agave

For Mikey: biscuits or cookies that are fiery and acidic and include yuzu

For Octane: a cake that is juicy, seared, and features carrots

Orange Jam Thumprint Cookies

[legalcy]

The challenge was far easier than the first round. The vulpinkin's ears relaxed, and Minimus already knew which sour fruit to use.

It's oranges. Oranges are versitle.

The dough is simple, and it's infused with a bit of freshly squeezed orange juice while he prepares a jelly made from the oranges, creating a bright citrus flavor. The sourness is offset by slices seared in butter, sweetening the fruit that is then cut into quarters.

The cookies themelves are removed at the perfect moment, filling the kitchen with the aroma of delicate oranges, then decorated with pieces of the seared fruit.

Minimus steps back and shakes his head at his sloppy arrangement. He prides himself in following detailed instructions, but art has never been his strong point. He hopes the tasting itself will be enough.

"Jam thumbprint cookies, decorated with seared oranges. The sourness of the jam is offset by the sweetness of the cooked fruit, which should leave to an interesting experience."

Round 3!

[asceticamnesiac]

The weather wasn't...the worst, but it wasn't the best either. The sky remained a brilliant yellow, but strong winds gusted around the tent through the tall grasses, sending bits of dirt and debris flying. They'd already had to add weights to the supports and tarps, and the audio crew was busy trying to figure out how to deal with the noise. Ane didn't envy their jobs right now- but she had her own responsibilities before they started.

"Just a reminder to everyone-" Ane looks over the group, gaze lingering pointedly on a few individuals, lightly smacking the collection of enveloped against her palm "-that it's against the rules to approach another team's workstation without their permission. We also added more anti-slip floor mats and checked all of the flour bags so we should have fewer incidents than yesterday."

With that said, everyone was ushered to their workstations and the cameras started rolling.

"Ganache and good morning everyone! We're entering the final day of the competition. You've seen some excellent work from our bakers and we've been able to show you the most interesting facts about Luján. After yesterday's performance, I'm excited to announce that the bonus points for the second round go to Pinion, and Clarion, for his incredible fry bread."

Today, we'll give our bakers their biggest challenge yet, and finally see who'll come out on top as the best baker on Luján. Let's get cracking and see who'll beat the competition in this final round!"

As before, she read off the content of each envelope with a flourish.

For Minimus: A coarse, firm pastry using game meat and apricots
For Qifrey: Cookies/biscuits that are seared, poached, and use agave and cinnamon
For Riptide: A breakfast item that's silky, fizzy, and included berries and octopus/squid
For Tails: A firm, briny cake using peppermint and peanuts
For Mikey: A vegan dish that us tangy, nutty, and uses chai and allspice
For Octane: Another vegan dish, that is tart, moist, and include rhubarb and pear

Team Banter

[asceticamnesiac]

[Competition participants can use this top-level to thread out their teamwork, or lack thereof.]

Cool Kidz team!

[terran_it_up]

"Ohhh lookit their sweater, lookit! Hi!" Mo said in breathless excitement, leaning around Tails to whisper call over to the person in a mouse disguise, waving one hand excitedly. "Your sweater is really really cute, it makes your eyes look super shiny and pretty!"

She leaned back into her spot after and spent a second fussing so the floofy floral skirt she wore with her very cool t-shirt was back in order. Somebody else could've technically done it easier maybe because her disguise's arms weren't as long as everybody else's, but that was okay. Differences were okay. Plus, she was disguised like a person shaped version of an animal her mom really really liked, so that made Mo happy.

Clothes presentable again, Mo turned to Tails with a smile.

"No matter how this goes, it'll still be really good! We're getting the chance to do something fun with somebody new. Just remember to take a second if things get all stressful!" She added that last part in another whisper. This show wasn't supposed to be mean and awful at all like the last one, it was supposed to be fun competition like Malto game night.

She had every hope it would be wonderful.

Team Witch Husbands

[rain_cleaver]

((RE: Olly's comment here))

Qifrey just laughed, "Well, it can be difficult to convince pickier eaters to try something if it doesn't look good." He was mostly thinking of Richeh. Though he could also get Tetia to try new foods more often if they looked cute. When Olly wasn't holding anything sharp, he nudged him with an elbow, "And if it gets you to take a break from work, I would say it's worth the extra effort."

Team delinquents

[welloiled]

At some point, while waiting for the cookies to come out of the oven, Octane whispers to Krok.

"Hey, little dude, help me out. Go take a look at what those other guys are doing. How well are they getting things done?"

Tipsy as he is, he still remembers to keep tabs on the competition.

Olly to Sentinel

[guidingglowstone]

Olruggio barely bats an eye when a tiny person knocks over the baking powder. His attention is instead stolen by the solid thud of someone hitting the floor. He turns, furry eyebrows (do otters have eyebrows?) lifted high on his face.

"Oi, you a'right there?" He tells Qifrey he'll be right back and jogs over to the fallen plantkin. "Gotta be careful in a kitchen, yeah? Here, let me help you up." He offers a hand and a smile. "Didn't hurt anything, did ye?"

Qifrey to Krok for Round 2

[rain_cleaver]

((Re: Krok's sabotage attempt))

Qifrey had turned his back for just a moment, but the sound of one of the containers falling over drew his attention. "Hm?" A tiny lizard of some kind...?

"Are you lost little friend?" He grabbed a cup, deftly bringing it down to trap Krok inside. Living in the countryside, he was no stranger to small bugs or animals making their way into the atelier. No need to harm what he could just catch and release. Of course he had no idea it was just a magically shrunk Cybertronian in this case. He slid a piece of thin cardboard under the cup, before lifting the whole thing and taking it outside the tent. He knelt closer to the ground before dumping Krok out. "You'll have to be more careful. Kitchens are a dangerous place to be." With that he went back to his cooking.

After Round 2

[legalcy]

JOHN HASBRO!

[It's a ridiculous name, but for some reason, Minimus finds it to be just as easy to speak with venom as he would Sentinel Prime's actual name.]

Get over here. [He maintains his stern, disappointed commander tone while keeping the volume under control so as the faraway cameras and microphones won't pick it up.] What were you thinking?! You can't leave the workstation during the baking portion!

Spectators

[asceticamnesiac]

"Alright you lot," one of the director's assistants announced, hands on their hips as they addressed everyone behind the dividing barricade. "We already went over the rules if you want to watch: no interfering with the filming, no loud noises, and no recording. If we catch you doing anything we are in our right to sue you and your ship- and no offense but I don't think you'll be able to cover the fees and reparations that would come with it, unless you have a really good lawyer."

They'd see the whole gamut of ships participating on this show, and this crew gave off the vibe of one just getting by.

[Anyone on the ship is able to watch the happenings. Disguises are required unless you're small enough to go under the radar. Use this top-level for any threads.]

Spinister in the audience, thinkin' his thoughts

[gentle_note]

"Adaptations for movement would be greatly more efficient," Spinister observed in his usual unhurried, almost sleepy sounding voice. "Or have retractable blades in the feet. Do these shows award points based on creativity, there?"

His chosen disguise was as a turtlekin, more specifically an alligator snapping turtle, large enough and bulky enough and predatory enough that Spinister felt at home in their weird organic shapes.

His long, thick tail slowly swept back and forth where it poked through a hole in his seat that must be there for this exact purpose. His disguised optics darted back and forth extremely quickly from contestant to contestant and the staff and back again, in contrast to everything else about him.

The other audience members, the presenter and judges, and their entourage were all low level potential threats (15-35%), while the contestants themselves were currently low to moderate (36-60%), which he constantly monitored as the situation unfolded.

Krok was here, and uniquely vulnerable. If anyone so much as glanced at Krok wrong, they wouldn't again.