Starlight Cookies and Moonlight Milk (4) : A new shop has opened up, just in time for the Star Festival! It doesn’t have anything on the menu except for Starlight Cookies and Moonlight Milk, but they are the talk of the town! Everyone who’s anyone has tried them, and without a doubt, they’re the most delicious things that they’ve ever tasted! Though...the reviews don’t mention that after you've had any, your eyes begin to glow strangely and sparkle like little galaxies are swirling within them. It’s beautiful, if a little strange! The effect fades after an hour, and your vision isn’t impacted...though, if you go to try the cookies again, the shop seems to have disappeared…
If anyone asked him, Julian would say that a milk-and-cookies cafe would be the one of the last places you'd find him. And on some days, he might be right. Today, however, he was mentally and emotionally exhausted from discovering he'd walked right back into a magical war he had pushed out of his memory for years, so ******** it. He needed a break. An innocent local food trend seemed like the perfect way to get it.
The bell at the door tinkled merrily as he entered. It was a cozy place, busy enough that it would take him a minute to find a seat.
Bronze Coffee
Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2021 5:52 am
A local trendy spot was the first place you'd find Lizza. She was dressed in yoga pants and a tee shirt and hoped she was at a not too busy time. Either way, she was going to finally try these delicious milk and cookies everyone hypes up.
She pushed the door open and welcomed the rush of air conditioning before she realized how busy it was.
"Oh man," she whined to herself, shaking her head. That was no fun. She stood there for a minute before moving further inside and tried to awkwardly joined the line. "Seems like table sharing's gonna have to happen." With strangers to boot. She wasn't shy about talking to people, but she had hoped to vlog everything.
Julian relaxed a bit as he stood and settled into the environment. Waiting in line at this little shop was the most refreshingly normal thing to happen to him so far since he'd arrived in this town. So, he basked in the moment a bit, and got lost enough in it that he had to be accidentally nudged forward when the line moved.
"Sorry," he spoke to Lizza, before taking his few obligatory steps closer to the counter. He had a vest on that was modified from a Hawaiian shirt, which contrasted heavily with his stony demeanor.
Bronze Coffee
omg sorry i never check quote notices
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2021 3:42 pm
"No harm done," she replied, looking at his shirt and then his face. She even walked to the side to get a better look at him. That didn't match. The shirt and his face didn't match. The woman looked confused but grinned and pulled out her phone.
"Hey, so. I'm kind of a vlogger, not big or anything, but can I get a picture of you? I like your shirt a lot." It would be rude to take a picture without permission. Lizza couldn't help but put on a bit of a flirty air to her, trying to get what she wanted. "If you're on TikTok I can tag you!"
Well, this was... still alarmingly normal. Julian had been asked for pictures by bloggers a handful of times before, as his competitive dancing hobby started bringing him more attention than he had expected it to. He'd just been in it because the motion and thrill felt good, but apparently he was good enough at it to be recognized by some people -- at least at his former town of residence.
There was one point in time where a video of him with his then-partner at a competition had circulated around the blog-o-sphere for a while, but that was a while ago.
So he said, "Sure," and gave her the space to take a pic, while remaining mindful of the line. They were about to be next in line after that."I'll cover you if you grab that table," he then offered, nudging his head towards a pair of customers who were gathering up their things to leave.
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2021 4:03 pm
When he agreed, Lizza beamed wide and snapped a couple different pictures of him and then started to type up a post on Insta first, bobbing her head along to the music playing.
At his offer, those light blue eyes blinked up and went wide. "Really? Yeah, I can definitely do that! I'll just... take milk and the chocolate chip cookies!" Score, free food for grabbing a table? What was a girl to do, say no?
With that, she gave him a flashy smile and waited for the couple to leave before sitting down in one chair and dropping her bag in the other. Her ever trusty large purse. She opened her mouth to shout something at him, but thought better of it. He'd be over here and she could tag him then. For now, she switched to updating her TikTok by filming the inside of the store and zooming in on the man who was being so nice.
"I'm getting so lucky! Might make a new friend," she said, turning the camera back on her and winking. "Keep you posted!"
Surprisingly enough, Julian did have a TikTok. It hadn't been updated since before he moved back into town, but it was there. His former dance partner would always bug him into dancing with them to whatever song was trending at the time. It was admittedly pretty enjoyable, and good practice to boot.
There didn't seem to be any trays handy, so he came to the table with plates in either hand (he didn't want to risk smashing the cookies by stacking them) and the cups tucked into one of his arms. It was a move that showed he had spent some time in his life waiting and bussing tables.
Then he gave a pointed look at the chair with the bag in it. "I was planning to use that," he said coolly.
Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2021 4:29 pm
Lizza whistled low when she saw him coming back like that, blinking. She never had a serving job, so this was really impressive. This kind of skill wasn't needed for punching in orders at a fast food place.
"I was saving it for you." She gave an amused laugh and pulled her bag off and hung it off the back of her own chair. "So no one just randomly sat down, you know? Some people are nuts like that." Lizza gave him a sage nod before finally actually making an attempt to help him upload his arms by taking a plate from him.
"Honestly this is so impressive, the way you just carried everything! The balance of it all. I would have dropped something by now."
After looking around at how crowded the shop was again, Julian gave some clear thought to Lizza's explanation. "Makes sense," he admitted, relaxing a bit. "Thank you."
At the compliments, he bobbed his head a bit and shrugged. "It was just a few things," he said. Then, he finally sat down, and let himself take a good look at the shop's specialty. Milk normally wasn't his thing, but he recognized the importance of a good pairing, and there were few better choices for cookies out there.
"Is that seaweed glitter?" the dancer wondered at the blogger as he picked his glass up and swirled it around a bit. "Look, it's sparkly."
