Luke

[nosediving]

Comments

[nosediving]

Tea is made with plants, too.

[he holds a dried oolong tea leaf up to show luke. see this?]

[dupelicate]

Sure, but you don't have to eat it!

["tea is also bad", his face says, before he twists it back into a smile.]

[nosediving]

You can, but the taste isn't so good.

[he concedes on this much. well, there goes that tea leaf into the cup.]

[dupelicate]

[he gives Shang a long look]

...Did you eat tea leaves.

[nosediving]

It's not unusual to chew on them. Because of the tang and texture, though, most don't.

[dupelicate]

Isn't it? Isn't it??

[WHO CHEWS TEA LEAVES]

...Must've been pretty desperate.

[nosediving]

[chewing is only a part of the process. the next step is to swallow them.]

Actually, eating the leaves is healthier than drinking the tea made using them. But don't worry: You can let them sit in the cup as you're drinking.

[dupelicate]

Don't they normally get filtered out? [what's with this cursed tea knowledge???]

[nosediving]

[it's the curse of healthiness . . . ]

Not always. Right now, they're not.

[maybe they can dabble in tea leaf reading together! assuming luke doesn't choke on what's left in the bottom of the cup.]

[dupelicate]

[he stares at the tea.

and the leaves.

yikes.gif]

So, what, are we drinking around them?

[nosediving]

[live a long life, luke!]

In a sense, yes. The leaves settle on the bottom, so you'll barely notice them.

[dupelicate]

I'm noticing them right now!

[whatever. he picks up the cup, and glugs the whole thing in one go--





--and spits the tea leaves, in one great gob, back into the cup.]

[nosediving]

[shang qinghua is actually speechless. he watches the gracelessness unfold, his mouth agape. his eyes are the only things to move as they follow the trajectory of the tea leaves.

after what feels like an eternity, he closes his mouth.]

Just like that, you finished? Wasn't that too fast?

[dupelicate]

What, there's a speed?!

[tea is complicated???]

[nosediving]

Well, the tea is hot . . . or was.

[dupelicate]

Not if you drink it really quick with your throat.

[he nods wisely.]

[nosediving]

Isn't that bad for your throat? You're still young, so your body can handle the extreme temperature now, but you should be more careful in the future.

[dupelicate]

Right, I'll... keep it in mind.

[no he won't!!!

anyway. he gestures to his cup.]

So, can you just fill it up again and drink it twice like this? Or what?

[nosediving]

. . . Even though you can, aren't you just going to spit the leaves out again?

[dupelicate]

Yeah, that's what you're supposed to do, right?

[anyway]

I guess I could try chewing them this time...

[nosediving]

[shang qinghua has a feeling that luke will gag on the leaves.]

You shouldn't force yourself into doing something that you're not keen on. Still, it's good to try something new once in a while.

[dupelicate]

Hmm...

[without waiting for any more tea

he just upends the leaves into his mouth

and gives em a chew





and spits them back into

the cup.]

Bleegh. No thanks.

[nosediving]

[is this better or worse than the time gau threw chopsticks onto the floor and dove face first into a bowl of noodles?

shang qinghua doesn't have the answer to that. watching luke, he nearly pulls a muscle in his face.]

At least you tried . . .

[dupelicate]

Exactly!

[WELP. enough of that.

putting the tea aside, he wanders back over to his jamjar, stirring the jam inside.]

Want a sandwich?

[nosediving]

[he stares at the jar. he won't take his eyes off of it for even a second.]

What is a sandwich?