Picture Me Upon Your Knee, Just Tea for Two, and Two for Tea (Magnolia Café Mingle)

[roseeclair]

🧙 WHO: Makoto Kino and all Magnolia Café employees and customers!
⚔️ WHAT: Café mingle!
🕒 WHEN: Any time during July before the event.
🗺️ WHERE: The Magnolia Café!
⚠️ WARNINGS: Copious amounts of tea and pretty desserts? No real warnings yet, but will add as necessary.


It’s officially summer in Avalon now, and not only that, but Camelot has passed Celliwig’s trials and helped with the solstice rituals to help keep the sun and moon going another year! And of course Naoto and Makoto took the opportunity to go on a shopping spree! What does this mean for the Magnolia Café besides tons of delicious iced teas? The houseplants and flowers decorating the indoor planters and outdoor seating trellises have a few new additions, including bonsai versions of metallic-wrought magnolias and stained-glass dogwoods, blown-glass orchids, and celadon succulents.

The menu also has a few new Celliwig flairs in addition to its usual offerings, including popping juice boba and agar jelly! July’s special tea is a sweet, minty, earthy and tart juice made from red shiso leaves, with a vibrant rose color and refreshing taste perfect for beating the heat! As for the dessert menu, there are not one but two special offers this month: delicate, freshly baked macarons in a variety of colors, or for those wanting a cooler, more substantial dessert, the café is now offering anmitsu with fresh summer fruit, agar jelly cubes and black sugar syrup from Celliwig, and house-churned ice creams based on a selection of teas!

So stop on by, order something refreshing to drink, chat with other customers, or your coworkers if you happen to be an employee! Bottoms up~!

Comments

[starshower]

[Tifa hums to herself while she watches Makoto point them out one by one, her excitement to take a bite out of each one of them rising.

Although she is more interested in hearing about all this baking these guys do...! So she humours herself with more questions, this next one being offered with a sheepish smile when she realizes that she must be asking too many. She loves hearing about other people...]

So what kinds of things do you like to bake then?

[roseeclair]

Me? [A soft chuckle as she fills out that order.] Pretty much everything, but I'm really good at pies and cakes. This place has been great for learning new recipes too!

[It pays to visit a new world almost thirty years ahead of the curve in culinary advancements.]

[starshower]

Wouldn't mind hearing more about those new recipes sometime, if you're up for sharing them.

[But Tifa brings a hand to her lips, and she breathes out a sharp gasp when her eyes land on the box.]

Sorry. You've probably got a lot going on, I don't wanna take up too much of your time... Just... I haven't met a lot of people who like to bake as much as I do.

[Not only does she enjoy it, but it brings back a lot of memories of home. The scent of cookies, the way an egg settles into the batter... It reminds Tifa of a simpler life that she misses every now and then.]

[roseeclair]

[A soft laugh as Makoto shakes her head.]

Not at all; I wouldn't spend time talking about it if I didn't want to. Makoto Kino.

[starshower]

[She looks a touch surprised at the introduction, but it fades back into a smile again.

It's strange to think that she's meeting so many new people here, who share both the same and different passions that she does. A long time ago, this wouldn't have been anything she'd expect, and would often look on at others as they chatted over steamed buns, but... This is nice.]

Tifa Lockhart.

[She props a chin on her hand, elbow on the counter.]

Used to run a bar back home, but I'd serve other things too. Made cakes and all that every now and then, but that was about all I had time to make. They were pretty popular, too. [There's a glint of pride in her eyes.] I kinda miss it, to be honest.

[roseeclair]

[Ah, she knows that look. Even if she has a few of the girls and Mamoru here now, she still missed the meet ups and parties the whole gang would have over treats, usually of Makoto's making, plus or minus help from Unazuki.]

Yeah, and the apartment kitchens are kinda small... You can probably talk to Naoto-kun about baking here, if you want. Or one of my other friends runs a karaoke bar, you can either cook or tend bar there.

[starshower]

[Tifa hums quietly to herself.]

A karaoke bar, huh...? That sounds kind of fun.

[Most times, people would just set up their own karaoke outside on the streets of the slums, and anyone walking by would join in if they wanted. That or customers would sing along to the jukebox in Seventh Heaven over their drinks, loud enough for the entire street to hear. She has some fond memories of those nights.]

I might have to check it out, at the very least, but I'm trying to save up to open my own. It'll be a while, though... Jobs're harder to come by around here.

[roseeclair]

Oh nice! Let me know if you need help with any quests! I'd offer to swing by once you're open, but...

[Well, minor. And anti-underage drinking magic.]

[starshower]

[Tifa waves a finger at Makoto, catching on quick to what she means.]

You say that like alcohol's the only thing I'll be serving.

[If she ever did open a bar, it would be exactly like Seventh Heaven, without a doubt.]

Gotta make sure there'll be a little something for everyone. Don't know if I could sustain a business here on just drinks.

[roseeclair]

That's very true. In that case, I'll keep an eye out, and see if anyone I know might want a job there.

[At this rate, all the food and drink industries in the area should form a job network or something.]

[starshower]

Might be a while yet before I can afford to hire anyone, but if you've got names, I'll gladly take them.

[They really should form some sort of network... A network to help each other out and scratch each other's backs to help build the otherworld business world.]

So how much do I owe you?

[roseeclair]

Let's see... a dozen macarons and one red shiso tea... that'll be 2000 gold.

can prob wrap! 💖

[starshower]

[Rummaging through her pockets, Tifa sets down a handful of gold, more than enough to cover the cost of her food and drink as well as a decent sized tip for her excellent service, because she knows too well the importance of being a good host to customers. Makoto nailed it in one go.]

Keep the change. And make sure to give my compliments to the chef in the back.

[She hasn't even tried the baked goods yet but she knows they'll be phenomenal.]

Next time I come back, I'm getting everything else.