#FYI this will bonk around among the cooking show as it unfolds on TV
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Confection
For the holiday this year I offer you a culinary AU Iâve been thinking about for basically forever but only now started to write down. Itâll be in parts, as I chip away in the spare minutes, with littler bits of story at a time, as when I first ventured contributions to this surpassingly wonderful fandom, years ago. I miss those long-gone Bering-and-Wells days: the speed, the inventiveness that so many brought to bear... anyway, however many parts this ends up being, itâs all just for fun. (And maybe a little ontological inquiry. Also just for fun.)
In any case, on this random Sunday, I wish everyone their preferred form(s) of activity and/or rest, as appropriate. Good feelings. Whatever it is weâre here for.
Confection
âCutthroat.â
So says the talking head on screen in response to the offscreen question, âDescribe your style in the kitchen in one word, Chef Helena Wells.â
****
âChef Myka Bering, describe your style in the kitchen in one word.â
âOne word? Thatâs a challenge. Diligent? Iâm really diligent. Or, no: focused. I definitely think âfocusedâ is more descriptive.â
Senior Producer Claudia Donovan, upon viewing this footage, had said to the editor sitting next to her, âCan you cut that to âfocusedâ and make it sound decisive?â But then she let herself have a second thought. âYou know what? Leave it all in. Compare and contrast.â
Cutthroat Wells first, indecisively diligent and/or focused Bering second... the third competitorâs response had been, in retrospect, hilarious. Claudia did appreciate how radically his pronouncement had failed to match his performance: âAwesome,â Walter Sykes had described himself, with no sense of irony whatsoever. Heâd been cast as a sacrificial lamb in the first place, but Claudia still snorted at the completely useless dudebro swagger.
The fourth chef, Artie Nielsen, had been brusque rather than bro, but with no less swagger. âClassic,â heâd said, like the idea of anybody even asking the question was a âdonât you know who I amâ insult. The editor angled a glance at Claudia and said, âYou were real with him about what show he was on, right?â
âThe old-school thing sets up the B plot,â Claudia told her. âHeâs known all three judges for decades.â
âDonât you think the Aâs a lot more fun?â the editor said. She clicked quick on the Wells âcutthroatâ clipâand Claudia had never in her life heard such an all-facts no-swagger saying of a wordâfollowed by a bit of the Bering: âI definitely think,â Chef Myka said, as if in answer to the editorâs question.
âI definitely think,â Claudia echoed decisively.
****
âThe name of our show,â Steve Jinks explains, as he does every week at the start of the program proper, after the contestants have described their styles, âis âThis Without That.â What this means, contestants, is that in each of three rounds, you will be asked to prepare a classic dish... but without its defining ingredient.â
****
âYou gotta do it,â Pete Lattimer had said. âBecause itâd be so cool. Gottagottagotta.â
Myka was leaning against the at-last-closed-for-the-night door of the restaurant where they both workedâMyka as sous chef, Pete grilling and fryingâand she wanted to ignore him, for her fatigue weighted her such that she could barely convince her spine to support her head. Forcing that head to lift, accompanied by actually working her jaw, felt well beyond possible.
And she would have ignored him, but she was the idiot whoâd made the mistake of telling him about âitâ: a producer from âThis Without That,â the wildly popular cooking competition show, had called to express interest in having her compete next month (next month being August) for their Christmas championship, to air in December.
Having been that idiot, she couldnât ignore him, but she was regretting the telling, so now she said, âNo I donât. I donât âgottaâ do anything.â
âBut you wanna.â
âI donât âwannaâ do anything either. And as for this, I donât want to do it.â
First, television. Second, a competition. Third, a Christmas competition. In August. She didnât want to. In fact sheâd rather have gnawed off her knife hand than do it. But then Pete moved from âgottaâ and âwannaâ (Myka hated those pseudo-word elisions) to âhafta,â adding âfor the restaurantââthe one they planned to partner to open someday, when they had saved enough money and/or could talk investors into believing in themâand Myka gave in. âIâll try,â she told him, and she meant sheâd try not to tank her upcoming interview with the producer, Claudia Donovan. She told him that too... but for integrityâs sake, she added, âI hate the whole idea of that show. âThis Without That.â It seems so dumb.â
He waved a hand at her, but slowly, showing that he was tired too. âLittle piece of non-tanking advice: donât say that to this producer. Besides, a hugeity-huge-huge audience loves it, which means itâs smart. Say that instead.â
That, she did ignore. âSmart? Itâs insipid.â Mimicking Steve Jinks, the showâs host, she quoted his dismissal of each roundâs losing contestant: âUnfortunately, this competition will continue without you.â
âI knew you watched it,â Pete crowed.
Ugh. âOnce.â She didnât tell him why. âBut it bothered me.â
âBothered you because you knew you could do better at making a thing without its major thing, right? Say thatâs why.â He added, âAnd by the way, I know you could too. So you should say it twice.â
His faith was sweet, but she told him the truth: âNo. It bothered me ontologically.â She didnât expect him to understand, but she tried to explain anyway. âBeef Wellington without the beef, for example, like they did in the one I saw. Thatâs just... Something Else Wellington. And then at the end, the judges pick whose Something Else Wellington they like best. The beef partâthe constitutive element!âfalls by the wayside. The thing itself doesnât even matter anymore.â
Pete shook his head. âItâs like you donât understand games. Something Else Wellington is the whole idea. If it isnât Something Else Wellington, then it isnât Beef Wellington without the beef. Youâre just ticked that the judges donât spend all their tasting time splitting ontological hairs about how close to beef that Something Else really is. Or isnât. Whichever way makes you happier, but it doesnât matter, because that isnât what theyâre there to do.â
Myka hadnât known he wouldâcouldâcome up with âsplitting ontological hairs.â That was another point in favor of her trying not to tank.
Also (and sheâd been thinking about this since the call from Claudia Donovan): her parents. They were reasons that were maybe (okay, probably) on par with âfor the restaurant,â because if she could she impress them by being on television... she really did hate the clichĂ©d nature both of their objections to her careerâtheir dismay that she wasnât âusing that brainââand of her response, a heels-dug-in âIâll show you.â These several years on, they hadnât yet acknowledged being shown. Maybe television would be the charm. Maybe if they could switch a channel and discover Myka there, doing what she did... maybe that would finally do that work of showing.
Pete said, âThey judge based on creativity, tooâhow out-there a Something Else idea you come up with. Imagination what? Plus you gotta do it fast. Thinking on your feet, right? Donât you love all that?â
As adept as Pete could be at saying the wrong thing, he was also, sometimes, exceptional at saying the right thing. âUsing my brain?â she queried, just to make sure.
He nodded, and Myka was pretty sure it was because he knew the history: the family, the pain points. Sheâd inflicted versions of it on him so many times. âThink itâs a smart idea now?â he asked, at his most canny.
Show them not only by being on television, doing what she did, but also by âusing that brainâ on television. To do what she did. To do it better than other people. To at last, in the end, show them. âMaybe,â she hedged, but her overriding thought was Yes, yes, at long last yes.
Not for one instant did it occur to her that she might not win.
****
Claudia had started on TWT in the casting department, over two years ago. Even though evaluating potential talent wasnât technically her job anymore, she did like to tinker. Particularly if she sensed a good story brewing.
When Myka Bering walked inâno, she loped in, her legs looking about as long as Claudia was tallâClaudia really hoped the good-story pings sheâd been sensing were real radar.
There was truly no time like the right-now to see what was what, so Claudia said, first thing after introductions: âJust FYI, Helena Wells is already locked as a cheftestant on this one. I hear you know each other.â
Myka, whoâd been settling into the chair across from Claudiaâs desk, froze.
So far so good, Claudia thought. But then she thought again, as she observed Mykaâs dart of eyes, followed by a small-but-visible twist of neck, both signaling obvious discomfort: No... so far so spectacular.
TBC
#bering and wells#Warehouse 13#fanfic#Confection#AU week#holiday (but not yet Gift Exchange)#I find it unbelievable that 2022 is coming to a close#also unbelievable is how long so many people have maintained themselves on high alert#I among them#so maybe a silly AU#featuring some silly people#will help close this year and begin the next one#in a relaxing and/or mind-numbing way#also I've been writing Christmas stories for this fandom since 2014#and I see no point in stopping now#regardless of who cares at this point#FYI this will bonk around among the cooking show as it unfolds on TV#and what happened before filming#and what happened during#and then after#so I hope they can make those jumps and distinctions make sense#anyway it's all about the reveals#which in this case probably won't be overly revelatory#PS you get a point if you know how H's opening line is related to Goncharov
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