The Great Paleblood Bake Off

[creidim]

Who: Bakers, Judges, Presenters, Crew and a whole audience of Sleepers.
What: The Great Paleblood Bake Off is here!
When: The last week of June.
Where: The Red, Cellar Door.

Content Warnings: N/A, will add if needed.



[ It's finally here. The Great Paleblood Bake Off has arrived. In one of the many, spacious areas of The Red, Sleepers have been hard at work to set up the space into a place much like the Bake Off Tent. Beneath the ceiling of perfumed white roses, eight work stations set in two rows of four have been set up in the center with everything a Baker might need to complete their challenge. Solid wood benches, ovens with stove tops, a small sink and even a fridge-freezer. A separate workbench towards the back has been set up to house additional shared ingredients and extra tools for Bakers, and a second smaller one from where the judges can stand and where dishes will be presented.

There's a quaint and slightly kitsch feel the set dressings: soft pastels, a little cottage-core. Someone's definitely been paying attention to the original work, drawing inspiration from it to create this Trench-version of Bake Off, or well — as much as one possibly can in this world. Around the work stations, there's space for a live audience — seating's been provided, but people are welcome to stand and watch, too. But for those who can't make it, there's a live feed of the competition running, all thanks to K's hard work — so Sleepers can watch from the comfort of their own homes via their Omnis or Omens.

On Day One, Bakers are split into two groups of eight with one group in the morning and a second in the afternoon — each group with three judges to impress with their baked wares. The end of the day will see two Bakers from each group go home. On Day Two, it's a similar affair. The remaining Bakers are mixed up and placed into two groups once again, one in the morning and another afternoon. At the end of this day, all but two from each group will advance towards the final day. Day Three will see the four remaining Bakers fight it out to see who'll come out on top as the Paleblood Baking Champion, taking home the solid gold cake stand trophy. Good luck trying to lift that thing, it's kinda heavy. The winner could it pride of place in their living room at home, or use it as a blunt object/improv weapon. You do you, winner!

It's several days of baking-chaos, a little learning and some nice wholesome fun. Goods created by the Bakers will be charmed by Luna Lovegood so they can keep for up to six months, so that everyone can take home some food that will help keep the effects of Corruption and Beasthood at bay. In addition, Luna along with Alayne Stone and Snow White will be running an additional jam-making drive so all Sleepers can use the fruits on offer in the city and learn how to preserve them. Winter The Season of Blood is coming: may you go unseen by the blood.

So without further ado: ]



OOC Plotting Post | Network Post | Questions or comments: heolstor or heolstor#5725 or by PM to this journal!

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PRE-COMPETITION SET UP

[creidim]

Peter Graham | Hereditary | OTA

[possessum]

( It isn't often that Peter's to be found actually getting... involved in things. He still flinches back from the nature of this city itself — its dark mysteries, the way it functions with its rituals and the importance of blood... He's afraid and uncomfortable in Trench, on a level that touches him somewhere deeply personal and unpleasant.

But this... this feels like normalcy. As much as it's something he's never done or thought he would ever do (helping out with a baking competition? Getting up early in the morning? Doing physical labor??), it's nice, it's normal. It's helping his girlfriend with something very important to her. It's helping others in this place have something to look forward to, hopefully. It's for a good cause, a way to try and combat the constant threat of Corruption that afflicts so many people, so often.

Peter can be found in the days leading up to the competition, helping out in a variety of ways. Generally, he looks to be told what to do — a young man of nineteen wandering around the designated set as it's being constructed, tall and thin and awkward in how he holds himself, offering a shy little smile — Oh, hey, is there anything I can help you with? He is.... severely demonically possessed, and interacting with people is always a bit Daunting, but Peter is trying, here. He's hoping there are no demon-related incidents; Mr. King seems to be on his best behaviour for Luna's sake, so... things should be fine.

Maybe you find him painting things — sitting cross-legged on the ground with a wide paintbrush in hand, giving a pastel coat to cabinets or chairs or a table. He'd never seen the baking show that was the source of inspiration for this before Luna got invested in it, and he's been watching episodes to prepare. Now he's aiming to help her achieve that soft, whimsical feel. His palms and arms have some pastel pink and blue smudges, and some's gotten on his clothing; he's not the steadiest hand. But he's extremely serious about it, reading glasses perched on his nose so that he can see details up close. Nearby, his Omni plays some quiet music, one of Fleetwood Mac's albums on.

He can also be found making supply runs — on his way to or from other parts of the city. There's items in his arms (decorative pieces, more building supplies, or jars of ingredients to be set out for the competition), to be delivered to anyone who needs something requested. Or maybe you see him roaming around with a little list in hand, asking if anyone needs something else. He's enjoying being useful, might even try to make some conversation with those he approaches. Okay... okay, yeah! This is fine! Who said the demonically possessed couldn't help with some wholesome baking fun? )

supply runs

[eudaimonikos]

[Michael, too, is working right now, so beyond a smile and a wave he doesn't engage too much with Peter for a lot of the day. He's presenting! He's wandering around chatting up bakers!

Towards the end, though, as the judges go off to deliberate over the winner, he sidles up to the kid.]

So, who do you think's got it?

Hope you're okay with a late tag in! | Painting

[terribibble]

[Getting things ready has been a nice distraction from... well. Everything. The continued knowing that he's a squid with magic freezing electrical blood, and everything that comes with that. It's been getting harder and harder to control the ambient static he produces and the only thing that seems to really do it is having an engaging distraction. The calmer he is, the less likely he is to accidentally shock somebody.

What he means to ask is do you want help making that table pink but what comes out is:]

Is that Rumours?

[Even now, knowing that a person can theoretically find media of all kinds on the Omni, it's like getting punched in the mouth to hear Fleetwood Mac here. Like. In a good way, to be clear, but still.]

DAY ONE

[creidim]

Day One Challenge: a dessert that reminds you of home.

MORNING GROUP

[creidim]

Bakers
Dipper Pines | Luna Lovegood | Viktor | Jason Kolchek
Wrench | Minako Aino | Todoroki Shouto | Dee Reynolds

Judges
Allen Walker | Gaia | Megumi Fushiguro

Presenters
Michael | Tory Nichols

Wrench | Fargo TV | OTA

[wwrench]

pre-event

Given what little may be known about Wrench and the life he lived prior to coming to this place, one would be forgiven for thinking he must be competitive. In truth, though, that isn't the case at all. Particularly not when it comes to things at which he assumes he won't excel. He's taken a modest approach to his participation in the competition, guided more by his compulsion to bake than any belief that he's really the best of what Trench has to offer. So before he dives headfirst into his own recipes, he's all too glad to check in with others about their needs.

He's harvested plenty of bushels of fresh fruit, of course, but he's come stocked with other ingredients as well: fragrant sprigs of rosemary and sage, handfuls of mint leaves, a bouquet of dill... Looking deep enough within the baskets he's provided may even uncover a hunk of ginger root and some cardamom pods.
It's all free for the taking; one only needs to ask.

And for those with more specific needs, the tall man can be convinced to help scout and forage between rounds.

baking

"Home" is not a word for which Wrench has many positive associations.
Perhaps the closest he's ever come to a genuine home was the little cabin on the sores of Lake Tomie back in Deerington, but it still hurts too much to imagine that loss. He can't stand to think back on the warmth that radiated from that place or the impossible, undeserved wellspring of love that flowed to him from the men who lived there. So when he's faced with the first day's challenge, he has to consider something else instead.

It's Grady's grandmother that springs to mind. His departed husband's bubbe might have been the most traditionally-maternal figure he ever knew in his life, though that's still not saying very much. Nevertheless, it's the memory of the woman he chooses to draw from as he makes his trio of sufganiyot -- one lemon curd, one cinnamon apple, and one blueberry compote.

He's managing his small army of bubbling pots surprisingly well, but that might change in an instant if someone elects to distract him.

judgment

The dough is pillowy and cooked through, and the insides are piped to the brim with their respective fillings. All right, the lemon curd might be a little overly-tart and the blueberry compote just a touch runny, but it's a shockingly solid effort for a man who doesn't much look like he's stepped foot in a kitchen in his life.

What's more, because Wrench has combined the fillings with a few special herbs he's been harvesting and cultivating since Deerington, those who eat one of his doughnuts might notice something more than what they're expecting: a temporary boost in their own self-confidence. For at least two hours after consumption, they'll feel like the best version of themselves and able and eager to tackle problems they've been actively avoiding.

viktor | open!

[mehanizovati]

pre-competition

[viktor can be found sitting by one of the ovens, cane laid out at his side, his head halfway inside and covered in grease because apparently he's decided to tinker with it. there's muffled comments in a fantasy slavic language that are probably a curse here and there, and if someone is walking by he'll hold out a gloved hand and go:] Wrench.

[how polite. he's in the Zone, forgive him.

he can also just be found standing around later with his massive omen, flicking bits of a pastry in the air and watching her snap them up, often with her many tongues.]

during competition

[his dessert that reminds him of home is... well. not really sentimental. when he thought about the most home he thinks he felt was in the hextech lab, in the midst of discovery, and the dessert for that? it's a lab. they had danish sometimes, from a bakery nearby. does that count?

he'll make the filling bit bright blue, he guesses. jayce would probably have gotten a kick out of that.

the problem is, as it turns out, danish pastry is a whole fucking thing and he's already tired of it. his time management is good enough that when the first of it comes out distinctly not flaky and more of a mess (butter wasn't cold enough bud! welcome to hell!) he has time to make another batch but-]

Tch, I am being mocked by flour and butter. The fickle whims of what? The yeast? The temperature? I refuse to have a new appreciation for the trials of that bakery back in Piltover, they were overpriced.

[stop being so dramatic. anyway that's what he's up to. the second batch will be better at least! and very blue.]

Dipper Pines | Gravity Falls | OTA

[ghostharasser]

[Pre-Event] cw: brief emeto mention

[He's practiced a hundred times at home. He's gotten all of his recipes down such that his family is probably sick to death of the three specific recipes he's been working on constantly for the past two weeks. That didn't stop any of them from eating all his test batches, though, and no one has died of any kind of unfortunate accident yet.]

[He's got this. He knows he's got this. He is still so nervous he is on the verge of throwing up every five minutes, regardless, and he's had to pause a few times while checking his supplies to just kind of. Curl up on the ground for a minute and breathe.]

[If anyone walks by, he waves dismissively from the ground.]

I'm fine! I'm fine! Just gotta ride it out.

[Go Time]

[Dipper's found his resolve and as soon as the competition starts, he's laser focused. Focusing on what was in front of him and not on the dozens of people around him has helped and he gets right to work. The recipe he settled on for today is a pretty easy one, with a few twists he'll be adding himself.]

[An apple cinnamon coffee cake full of sprinkles, a recipe with several nods to his family. The sprinkles are also something he's made using fruit juice instead of food coloring, another nod to their fruit theme here.]

[Speaking of which, if you happen to come say hi to him, he'll spook like a startled cat and fling probably a cups worth of sprinkles in the air. Enjoy your rainbow shower!!]

Oh no! I'm sorry! Oh man-

[Judging.]

[Despite mishaps, Dipper's managed to pull off his recipe! It's not a super hard bake, and visually it looks pretty chaotic, but that's the point, and Dipper will happily explain to the judges this is a visual representation of his family. You know, the ones obnoxiously screaming in the background, firing off a confetti canon.]

[The cake is baked through, with a pleasant apple cinnamon topping. The homemade sprinkles a bit tart, but it kind of brings it together. He stands behind his bake looking about three seconds from fainting, BUT HE DID IT.]

Jason Kolchek | OTA

[hearuthinking]

Pre-Bake

[Let it not be said that Jason came unprepared. After watching enough of the show to understand what was about to happen, Jason arrived already in an apron. It's pale blue and reads "My Kitchen, My Rules". He also wore a chef's hat. Hey, leaving your head uncovered is unsanitary-- his hair could get into the bake!]

Let's fuckin' do this.


Baking

[Jason is in a good zone, but not so focused that he isn't keeping an eye on everyone else. Should he see one of his fellow bakers panicking or getting flustered, he will immediately abandon what he's doing and go over to help them.

As a result, when he does manage to get back to his own bake, he has forgotten one important detail: he has not added any fruit. Someone please point this out to him before he has to present!]

AFTERNOON GROUP

[creidim]

Bakers
Chizuru Yukimura | Paul Atreides (Remy Boney) | Luke Skywalker | Sansa Stark (Alayne Stone)
Qrow Branwen | Ryan Akagi | Usagi Tsukino | Wu

Judges
Darth Maul | Snow White | Sato

Presenters
Michael | Tory Nichols

DAY TWO

[creidim]

Day Two Challenge: a dessert you learned from someone else.

MORNING GROUP

[creidim]

Bakers
Luke Skywalker | Wrench | Dipper Pines
Jason Kolchek | Minako Aino | Usagi Tsukino

Judges
Darth Maul | Gaia | Snow White

Presenters
Tory Nichols | Michael

AFTERNOON GROUP

[creidim]

Bakers
Viktor | Paul Atreides (Remy Boney) | Sansa Stark (Alayne Stone)
Chizuru Yukimura | Luna Lovegood | Qrow Branwen

Judges
Allen Walker | Sato | Megumi Fushiguro

Presenters
Tory Nichols | Michael

DAY THREE

[creidim]

The Final Challenge: a dessert relevant to your culture.

Bakers
Dipper Pines | Sansa Stark (Alayne Stone)
Chizuru Yukimura | Luke Skywalker


Judges
Any / All Judges

Presenters
Tory Nichols | Michael

Dipper Pines | Gravity Falls

[ghostharasser]

Pre-bake

[Holy shit Day Three. He made it to Day Three?? He made it to Day Three!!]

[While Dipper's conquered his nerve for now, there is still something inherently overwhelming and astonishing about getting this far in any kind of competition. It's exciting, too? Because he picked up this hobby as a means to deal with everything going on back in the Dream, and it became an extremely important source of comfort when he needed to keep busy in moments of stress and sadness.]

[Getting this far because he had some genuine talent is weirdly validating, because it's not something he ever expected to be good at. It makes him look at things a little differently, you know?]

[Anyway, he's nervous, but he's confidant, too. He's practiced this recipe just as much as the others.]

Alright, Dipper. One more, just like we practiced at home.

[Bake!!]

[This recipe isn't a hard one, either, so precision is important to it not going terribly. The dough comes out the way it should, and Dipper is working diligently on pinching them together to make the iconic triangle shapes hamantachen is known for. he's arranging them on the baking pan in a way that makes them kind of look like a little forest of pine trees.]

[Everything is going great before he steps back, nearly steps on his omen, shrieks, sends his arm down on the baking pan, and then sends the entire pan flying through the air, raining triangles down on anyone near by.]

Oh no. Oh no, oh no, no no no-!!

[THIS IS A PICKLE]

[dohaeris]

on your marks

[here comes sansa, pushing along a makeshift sort of little cart borrowed from the sanctuary absolutely full of fruit and baking supplies. she is very proud of herself for coming up with a dessert concept that manages to accurately represent her culture without giving away any personal details–a pie that represents the two faiths of westeros (and her parents) with a seven-pointed star set inside a weirwood leaf. she even had a coldblood friend make a leaf shaped pan for her! of course the seven-pointed star has to be a rainbow, so she developed seven kinds of jam, and she's particularly proud of coming up with a red filling for the rest of it made of cherries, walnuts, and maple syrup, which all come from trees. lady trots along behind her, already looking for stray (dog safe) fruit snacks.

sansa has practiced her pie twice, and made all the jams several times, and her performance in the previous challenges has bolstered her confidence. she doesn't expect to win, of course, but...what if she does?]

get set

[sansa sure did bring some extra saucepans. she unloads them from her cart, along wih a a stack of seven medium size mixing bowls, and her custom pie plate, and two large mixing bowls, and four different mixing spoons, and a separate mesh strainer and colander and little bowls to measure out zests and spices. there is too much fruit and sugar to fit onto her station, she she takes out the strawberries first, and rose petals, and oranges, and gooseberries, and various herbs and spices...lady is starting to look a little concerned.]

bake

i. [there are four pots of jam boiling on the stove, each with a spoon in them. sansa's white raven omen is taking turns stirring them while sansa peels a colander full of blanched green grapes. there is a small bowl of saffron soaking in a few tablespoons of water. lady deposits a bag of limes parceled with ginger on the table and goes back for the jar of blue algae. strands of hair escape sansa's careful braids, and she smiles breathlessly at the camera(??).]

For my showstopper, my bake is a pie representing both the faiths of Westeros–the old gods and the new. Heart trees–weirwoods–are very sacred to the old gods, so my pie is going to be shaped like a weirwood leaf, with a red filling–the leaves are red–made from cherries, walnuts and maple syrup. In the middle is a seven-pointed star–the seven-pointed star is the symbol of the faith of the Seven–the new gods–because the Andals brought them with them when they came to Westeros, after the First Men, who followed the old faith–the Seven are the Mother, the Father, The Maiden, The Warrior, The Smith, the Crone, and the Stranger, but they're all meant to be one god–the old gods are the spirit of the forest and the land–

[she sets the colander aside and begins chopping limes. lady gently sets down the jar of algae and goes back for another parcel.]

In the center of my pie is a jam tart in the shape of a seven-pointed star, and each point is a different color of the rainbow–the rainbow is a symbol of the faith of the Seven, because there are seven colors in it. My jams are strawberry rose, cayenne marmalade, saffron grape, green gooseberry sage, ginger lime with blue algae, it's very good, blackberry mint, and boysenberry plum. I was inspired by the idea of an epiphany tart, that I found on line, they were made for a festival called epiphany, in Great Britain, where this show was filmed originally! So it's a little bit like our culture, as Sleepers, too.

[she begins peeling the limes, and lady loads the next parcel, blackberries and mint, onto her station.]

I mean to start the dough while the jam is cooking, but first I have to get the fruit ready for the rest of the jam. Then while everything's cooling in the icebox, I can make the filling. Then it just has to bake...

[she laughs a little, self-deprecatingly, as she sets the limes aside and starts peeling the ginger.]

ii.

[well, the pie is done! the dough outlining the star has puffed up to be not entirely perfectly straight and even while baking, and the a little bit of filling juice has bubbled over to the jams, which are...perhaps leaking a little bit at the corners, but it should taste good...she's tried all the flavors together and it's very nice...she is loosening the crust with a butter knife when something occurs to her.]

Do we have to take them out of the tin?

[who is we, sansa...

unfortunately the pie is very heavy and wet, and the bottom, sadly, is soggy. but it still tastes good...]

AUDIENCE

[creidim]

Ruby Rose | RWBY

[onekindsoul]

[Ruby Rose is in the audience. She's here to support all her friends but more importantly she has a family member participating and she isn't about to let him go unnoticed in this event.

So instead of clapping and cheering like a normal person (Which Ruby is not.) She's throwing her fists into the air and screaming from the top of her lungs.]

KICK THEIR BUTTS, UNCLE QROW!

SHOW THEM THAT YOU KNOW HOW TO BAKE LIKE NOBODIES BUSINESS!

THE ROSE-BRANWEN-XIAO LONG NAME IS COUNTING ON YOU TO BRING HOME THE WIN!

BUT NO PRESSURE OR ANYTHING! I'LL STILL LOVE YOU ALL HE SAME!

EVEN IF YOU LOSE AND WE CAN NEVER SHOW OUR FACES AROUND TOWN AGAIN!

Lohnny Jawrence | Kobra Cai

[strikefirster]

[Remy Boney was not the only one appearing under a fake name today. Johnny wasn’t about to let his student attend a competition without him whether it was martial arts or …baking. Not after what they did to the boyfriend of the person running it. He had to have Paul’s back incase anything went down.

But he also legitimately wanted to support him as well. So that’s why he’s in the audience with sunglasses on and hoody pulled up over his head. Just really trying hard not to draw attention to himself. If Paul looks his way he’ll raise a fist up in solidarity.

…And when Paul actually starts baking, Johnny will give the person next to him a nudge with his elbow.]

See that one, that guy over there. He’s my st-

[He stops himself and has to remember he’s incognito for a second]

-Son. He’s my son.

Izuku "The Immortal Dragon" Midoriya | My Yakuza Academia

[wannasmash]

Midoriya has done this before. Todoroki, one of the contestants, may recognize the disguise put together on a dime: sunglasses, gold chain, fake goatee, and a can-do attitude. In the wake of Shigaraki's vague threats after the Karate Tournament, the purpose is the same here: to deter villains. Midoriya has added a baseball cap to cover his distinctive unruly green hair.

He's a hardened criminal, just out on parole, a changed man... He's a terrible actor and about as threatening as Remy Boney's mochi donuts. Midoriya readily cheers on several contestants: Viktor, Todoroki, Paul Remy Boney, Qrow...

"Good lu--I mean--Kill 'em dead!"

In the audience, he fetches things like drinks and one of those little handheld fans for Kaworu the silver-haired person sitting next to him (also wearing sunglasses, but looking less like he shops at a thrift store and more like he's about to drop the latest album). When Midoriya remembers his thug persona, he juts out his chin and says in an exaggerated drawl to anyone who addresses him,

"Oi, you talkin' to me??"

Mabel Pines | Gravity Falls

[sparklehorror]

First Day

[Earlier this month, Mabel got to go on a special nerd research adventure with Grunkle Ford, down in the new sinkholes. She was rewarded handsomely for this in the discovery of her beloved confetti cannon from home, which of course she has hauled out to the bake-off with her. All the Pines are present for the morning group with their Bonus McGucket in tow, hooting and hollering on Dipper's behalf. There's only four of them and Mabel is still half the size of the other three despite her existence as a giant ruffle pile with huge hair, but they are so obnoxiously aggressively supportive it really feels like they're half the audience.]

YEEEEEEEEEEEAH DIPPER! TIME FOR ALL THAT MIDNIGHT STRESS BAKING TO PAY OFF! PINES! PINES! PINES! PINES!

[Kaboomf, goes the confetti cannon.

She's present for the afternoon, too. The Pines clan has dispersed somewhat, but Mabel has someone else she's here for. And, as it turns out, she is perfectly capable of achieving copious amounts of voice volume all on her own.]

YEEEEEEEEEEEAH ALAYNE! YOU'RE GONNA BE GREAT! EVERYTHING YOU MAKE IS INCREDIBLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLE!

[Kaboomf, goes the confetti cannon again. Look, Mabel is a good sport. She is happy to stay after to help sweep it all up and will not even need to be asked to do it, and she conceded to being persuaded to use only confetti and not any glitter.

But only because glitter is not actually an infinite resource around here and she needs to reserve her pocket glitter for ranged attacks.]



Final Day

[Mabel's tone on the third day is rather different from the first. Today, both the primary people she's been cheering for are competing again -- and against each other, this time. You'd think this would cause her some distress. After all, one of them is her very own twin brother, who she is obligated to root for at all times even when he's being a big nerd. But Alayne is someone Mabel has come to admire intensely, perhaps even almost as much as she admires Ruby Rose, and so of course Mabel is invested in Alayne's success here, too.

You'd be wrong. Mabel is not distressed at all. She has made herself some little flags to wave, one of which has a pine tree on it and the second of which features a super cute cartoon Lady. One in each fist, she's so pleased she can't actually sit still, and keeps popping up to scurry around in the standing section of the audience instead.]

This. Is. Incredible. My brobro and my friend, both finalists! I know so many amazing people.

[The confetti cannon lies in wait, for later. Regardless which of the four finalists win, they will be getting a cheer and a sparkleblast. Sorry.]

JAM WEEK

[dohaeris]

[it's jam week!! this is not a week, that is a bake off reference which hopefully people other than sansa and luna will understand. it is a canning drive, for palebloods to preserve as much fruit as possible in case the season of blood is difficult, and also for its healing properties, and also because starks approve of preserving food as much as possible. other bloodtypes are encouraged to help with the canning process. this should be safe for non-sleepers to consume.

after the finals, sansa (with help from her omen, and perhaps other sleepers) hangs up banners saying "JAM WEEK,' and 'ONE PART FRUIT TO ONE PART SUGAR OR HONEY,' as well as a list of cursed fruits and safe sources of useful jam ingredients like citric acid and pectin.

while her preserves are simmering sansa will be going around offering recipe help and trying to make sure nobody adds fish to their jam unless they really know what they're doing.]

AND THE WINNER IS....

[creidim]

[ It's a very busy three days in the Bake Off Tent at the Red, but only one Sleeper can be deemed the winner. Alayne, Dipper, Luke and Chizuru battle it out as the final four, trying to present a dish worthy of winning the trophy.

It's a tense and exciting final day. Dishes are presented and judges test and deliberate over the selection the Bakers offer up. After a good half hour of debating, they make their decision. As the one behind organising this whole competition, Luna joins the judges and presenters to announce the winner. She doesn't even mind in the slightest about being knocked out of the competition yesterday, it's actually been a lot of fun. ]

Hello, everyone. [ There's a cheerful wave as a hush falls. ] Firstly, I should like to thank everyone who participated in the competition. It's been a very fun couple of days, and it's nice that we've all come together to do something good for everyone.

Thank you especially to everyone who helped me put this all together, you've been wonderful. I've got a little card for everyone, too. [ True enough, Luna has made thank you cards to everyone involved: bakers, presenters, judges and everyone who helped build sets and set everything up. (Yes, even you get one too, Maul.) There's even personalised messages inside of them. ]

... Anyway, I suppose I should announce the winner. [ There's a little smile before there's a pause.] The winner is Dipper Pines—!

[ DIPPER WINS THE PALEBLOOD BAKE OFF! He gets the solid gold cake stand trophy. Much applause and cheering! Probably another blast of Mabel's confetti canon.... Luna applauds, offering Dipper a hug before gesturing for him to take the trophy. ]

Well done, Dipper. [ Her voice drops to something a little softer, apologetic. ] Sorry, it's... quite heavy.

[ Well, it is solid gold. ]

[terriblepurpose]

[When Paul sees the name in the card, he's not as surprised as he could have been. It's not a function of prescience. It's the logical outcome of four different people who all know each other arriving in variously sophisticated disguises and doing nothing to conceal their acquaintance.

His palms would still prickle with sweat, if he let them.

(The strangest thing is that there's a part of him that wanted this to happen. There's a part of him, who does not know this young woman, and owes her nothing by law or custom, that brought him all this way.)

Paul waits until the celebrations have subsided and the clean up has begun. It gives him time to do some cleaning of his own. When he approaches Luna, he has a loose black scarf wrapped around the lower half of his face and his hood over his hair. When they seem to be alone, he pushes both aside, revealing himself bare-faced and devoid of glasses. He looks at her levelly, then produces the card from his pocket, holding it between two fingers.]

I'd ask how long you knew, but I think it would just hurt my pride. [He shrugs, loose and lopsided.] I can leave, if that's what you want.