ᴅᴏᴄᴛᴏʀ sᴛʀᴀɴɢᴇ (mysticism) wrote in valloic, @ 2021-03-02 10:58:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: hatter, ₴ inactive: stephen strange |
WHO: Dr. Strange & Hatter
WHAT: Strange gets asked to join the VIP Tea Tasting Group and has a joyous emotion briefly
WHERE: Looking-Glass Teas
WHEN: Today
WARNINGS: Not today
STATUS: Complete
One of Stephen’s favorite tea houses in New York city was owned and operated by a Pakistani women’s rights activist - the main goal of the shop was to correct the bastardization of chai tea committed by coffee shops across the country, and it was one of the only places where he wouldn’t just pop in and out. No, if you went to this particular spot you were meant to take your shoes off and stay awhile - maybe relax on one of the ottomans in the bright and colorful lounge, while sipping on a proper orange blossom chai. Most other spots, he put his order in and then picked it up only to disappear back into the depths of the Sanctum again - was he one for ‘people-ing’? No. No he was not. But he thought maybe he ought to try exploring a little more here in Vallo, and actually give tea and coffee shops a fair chance by immersing himself in the environment. It was tempting to become a hermit and bury himself in his work as he always did - but where would that get him, really? Besides. He had more people than he thought he would living at the Sanctum. Mostly he envisioned letting them handle their own groceries and food situation, but - he wanted to pick up something for Wanda in particular, because he knew she liked tea about as much as he did. Killing two birds with one stone was nice too - he could pick up some good loose leaf tea, and in turn also find a preferred tea house to return to in the future. Being out and being somewhat social would pay off. Probably. Dressed in civilian clothes (he didn’t always wear the cloak - today it was khaki pants, a t-shirt, and a boring olive cardigan thrown over that), this Master of the Mystic Arts in disguise came across Looking-Glass Teas, intrigued by the name which sounded whimsical and very Lewis Carroll. Very garden trellis and window box, a place to play pretend. Not normally his style but why not - he pushed open the door and went inside to have a look around. Being in Vallo was practically the same as being in Wonderland, but what he imagined it was like in “the good days”. Before the post apocalyptic chic took over the entire world. There were still things to get used to. The mythological creatures for one and all the magic. Then there was all the things he didn’t fully understand. He was still trying to catch up on the Oyster culture and everything they talked about sometimes. But it was all good fun. He was with Alice and he had the tea shop. It meant a lot of work, but he didn’t mind it too much. Plenty to do. He’d been working on new teas, but nothing had really worked for him enough to get others to try them. Making himself and Alice suffer was one thing, making others suffer? Well, that was another thing entirely. He glanced up at the sound of someone coming through the door. The somewhat updated post-apocalyptic chic that wouldn’t actually fall on you with no chipped or peeling paint that was the inside of the shop was now equipped with one of those little door bells. He was dressed more so the way he had been in Wonderland, hat in place, but he did have a name tag now. “Hello and welcome to Looking-Glass Teas. How can I help you?” Oh. And that name tag said Hatter. That wasn’t surprising in the slightest - so Stephen really did fall down the rabbit hole, so to speak. He was curious about the origins of that name but also about where the hell he’d wandered into - so where to start, was the question? He fixed pale blue eyes, a cloudless morning, on the fellow - rather than be diverted at all the teas in jars and the decor, which wasn’t how he pictured it might be. He thought maybe there’d be lace curtains or odd, quirky things like musical instruments hanging on the walls - whatever this was, it worked for the shop. “I’m something of a tea person,” he started, and that was an understatement - he drank the leaf water everyday, often multiple cups. And he never needed to worry about it going cold when he studied, at least. One of the perks of being a Master of the Mystic Arts. There was definitely a spell for that. “So I’m looking for...a new place. And plenty of loose leaf tea to bring home. I’m guessing you have some unique blends here?” Hatter smiled a bit as he spoke. Plenty of tea people came through the shop, so he wasn’t too worried. It was the coffee people that concerned him more. He had a very small selection of coffee but he was still figuring that out. Or, really, Alice was handling most of that and he was casually trying to figure it out. “Well, this is a tea shop,” he agreed. “And I do sell loose leaf tea here. We have earl greys and chais and various other things and then we have our specific to shop teas, but it all depends on what you’re looking for.” He handed over the list of the loose leaf teas that they sold and the various flavors. Both generic and house blends. “I’m working on some more but the highest caffeine on there is Mad March. The White Knight is one of our most popular. But some do enjoy the Queen of Hearts and Alice, too.” “Interesting - “ Stephen took the list, giving it a once-over. He was curious to read about the different kinds of teas - if nothing sounded appealing he’d just go with a chai (old reliable at this point) but he thought that maybe the point of wandering into a new place was to go for something special. Something unique to where he was. Luckily, all of these sounded really good - the White Knight seemed to be a dessert tea, what with the chocolate and caramel. Queen of Hearts sounded like it’d be good for Wanda - light, floral, and it may even boost her spirits a little. Nothing life-changing, but every bit would help and he at least wanted her to know someone was thinking of her. She’d been alone after Thanos and his ship, his army, all disintegrated and that dust settled - so was Strange, but in a different way. That was his fate. “A small bottle, of the Queen of Hearts?” he asked. “And a small of the Mad March.” Caffeine was something he appreciated, and he had a fondness for chai anyway. “Just to try them. I’m sure I’ll be back for more - this shop is from your timeline?” He’d guessed the place was Outlander-run and nothing local, but he could be wrong. Hatter nodded, getting two of the smaller bottles and filling them with the teas. “Yes. A bit different from how it looked back home, but Wonderland’s not nearly as whimsical as it was a long time ago.” He wondered if any of the whimsy had managed to come back or if it would always look the way it did when he left it. “We’d started on a bunch of projects to fix things up before Jack told me to...well, anyway...I was meant to go through the looking glass, but then I ended up here instead. Luckily, so did Alice.” Was that perhaps a lot of information for someone who didn’t know him and had just showed up in his shop? Probably, yeah. But he figured it was fine. It wasn’t the entire story and it was hard to explain one thing without explaining a lot of different things. He was going to go after Alice even though he wasn’t sure he should, but Jack had told him to go, had all but demanded it, really. “So I’ve drawn on the children’s story a little. For the whimsy. Got rid of all the bits that came because of the Queen of Hearts and...well...it’s much nicer than it used to be, I think. Kids love it.” He supposed there really was something whimsical about the story of Alice in Wonderland (like fairy dust, harkening back to childhood innocence) - it didn’t surprise Stephen to learn that there were apparently different versions of this story, however. As someone who had once viewed multiple timelines, who had spiraled through the multiverse in all of its infinite glory and its penumbra of colors, he knew enough to get the fact that there wasn’t just one of most things. Unless you were some kind of nexus being - which was a whole other story. One he’d go on and on about too. But he didn’t mind hearing all of this - all of the Outlanders came from their own unique worlds, their own circumstances. He was essentially the guardian of Reality (on his way to Sorcerer Supreme status after the Ancient One passed on), and that included this one - duty was ingrained in him. May as well learn all he could about this reality. “It’s a nice place,” he complimented, taking another look around. And plucking a menu to take to-go, so he could share with Wanda exactly what he’d gotten her. Maybe she’d like to come back on her own someday. “Seems to fit in well here in Vallo. I’m Doctor Strange,” he added. “Stephen Strange. And you’re - Hatter, who is not a Hatter but who runs a tea shop?” “I like it fairly well.” It was at least a better use of it than what it had been before. He remembered the Queen of Hearts and how that whole thing went. The tea that was really emotions drained from Oysters. He didn’t really want to go back to that now that he didn’t have to. “Yes. Hatter. Definitely not a hatter if you mean about making hats. Is there a version of things where I make hats?” He hadn’t heard that, but he had been asked if he was the mad Hatter, which felt weird when his brother had been Mad March. “I’ve heard of the Mad Hatter, but I’m not really mad. I left my brother to his Mad March title. Guess he preferred it.” And trying to kill his own family and various others, but he’d always fell into the lifestyle set up by the Queen much easier than their father had. They were varying shades. His father a purer white, him grey, and his brother black. “But it’s a pleasure to meet you, Doctor Strange.” Stephen chuckled a little, something genuine and not sarcastic - for once, gasp, someone may want to alert the presses. “I think there are a couple versions where you make hats,” he said. “Well, not you you, but - another person also called Hatter.” Though the moniker could also be due to suffering from Mad Hatter disease, also known as mercury poisoning - could explain the aforementioned madness tacked onto the title. Delirious, memory loss - it was no picnic. He reached for his wallet to pull out enough cash to pay for the tea - which he was looking forward to taking home and sampling. The smell in this place was aromatic too, earthy and sweet - he knew enough to be able to tell the difference between standard teas like Earl Greys too, a citrusy kind or more astringent. It just brought him back to those days in Kamar-Taj. “A pleasure to meet you too. How long have you been here?” “I guess that would explain my name in other versions.” He smiled. He remembered telling Alice about why they called him Hatter back home. He just felt like a somewhat different person. He was still the type that was always there when they passed the hat...so to speak, but he wasn’t nearly as cocky about it and he wasn’t living a double life, which was nice for a change. “Figure it’s been…” He glanced at his watch as if it would help him before squinting off to the side for a moment. “Going on four months now. It’s different from home in a lot of ways. Some interesting. Never served tea to mythical creatures before, so that was an experience. And the children’s tea parties are a big change.” The decor allowed for things that were less terrible to happen and Hatter was discovering the fact that he rather liked children. “How about you? Have you been here long?” “Not long. About a month, I think,” Stephen mused. Winds of Watoomb, had it been that long already? Seemed like only yesterday he had returned from Tony Stark’s funeral, where his wife and daughter had sent his very first arc reactor off on a journey on the lake by their eco-cabin. Everyone had been so somber, the heaviness in the air as they honored a fallen hero. Then Captain America decided to take a life-ruining detour after returning all the infinity stones to where they were supposed to be. As one does. Meanwhile, Strange? Well. He continued his work as guardian of the New York Sanctum, putting out fires of the magical nature and attempting to understand the vast ways in which the world had been altered on a cosmic scale thanks to the Snap and the subsequent ‘Blip.’ He did it alone (save for Wong, of course) and that was the way of things. “I’ve been trying to settle in,” he admitted. “Started working and that sort of thing. But a lot of people have always told me I need to be more social. Get out more.” Why though, when he could easily bury his nose in a book and be content, floating through the astral plane. It was both long and not, but time was an unusual thing in Wonderland. More time passed in Wonderland than did in the world the Oysters came from. He hadn’t calculated it, but he would have to at some time. He knew how much time had passed for him and why the mere act of seeing Alice had affected him the way that it had. But here at least they were able to get to be together and he only had to worry that somehow she would disappear and leave him behind and who knew how long it would be before they’d find each other again. “I think we’re all guilty of not getting out as much as we could sometimes. But I like people and I do seem to get plenty of socializing done here.” He shrugged. “So should you ever want to come for the purposes of socializing, Alice and I are here fairly often and you could join the collection of people who like to test taste my teas and let me know if it’s missing anything before I move forward. I have quite a few undone. Caterpillar, Doormouse, etc.” Well, Stephen couldn’t say that liking people as a whole was a thing for him - but he liked individuals, and the offer to do some tea taste-testing was one that surprised him. In a good way. He had to remind himself to remain calm and not excitedly jump on the opportunity; being overeager probably wasn’t a good look. “Is it a large collection of people?” he asked, but he didn’t sound as if he would mind either way. “I’d love to though. Is there a specific time or day you’d prefer?” That meant he could also get in some socializing which wouldn’t be a bad thing either - he realized he was kind of a tough pill to swallow most of the time, often coming off more abrasive than he meant to be. He was about as sweet as vinegar and prickly as a cactus, a more positive outlook of the world having already been burned to the fucking ground and then pissed on - his desire for companionship flickered and spiraled like a candle flame, it just depended on the day. But he wasn’t an island. Not entirely. Hatter smiled. “About four people, but I’m not against more.” He didn’t mind too many people. Plus, the more input, probably the better. “Well, I can probably let everyone know when would be good for the tea tasting. Any other time you’d like to stop by is up to you. If there’s any flavor suggestions you have for something, feel free to let me know. I don’t mind it. Or if you want someone you knew from home immortalized as a tea.” He hadn’t offered that yet, but now that he had, he had to wonder if anyone else wanted something similar. If there was someone from home they missed enough. All of his people were simply to round out the Wonderland Teas. Everyone else would be their own thing. Something to talk with Alice about. Perhaps a workshop for making teas. You could make your own tea blends and have others try them and then adjust until you were happy with it. It could make for an interesting idea. But he would discuss that with Alice, first. The idea of immortalizing someone as a tea was surprisingly appealing. A tribute, of sorts - Stephen would have to give it some thought. “Yes, just let me know. Include me on the VIP tea taster text group,” he nodded, taking the bag containing his purchases - he was sure these would be good and now he’d definitely be back. He could only wonder what a Dormouse tea would taste like. Or a Caterpillar too - would it tickle your nose? “And I think designing a tea in honor of someone is a...fun idea.” Did he just say fun? Another shock, another unexpected twist to this adventure. “Trust me, I’ll have ideas for next time. I traveled to Nepal and lived there for a spell - a tea similar to Darjeeling was something of a specialty with the local farmers. And vendors selling yak tails but definitely the tea.” So he would come prepared - and who knew, maybe one of his ideas could be made a reality. The thought of that was kind of exciting. “It was nice meeting you, Hatter.” Who didn’t make hats. “I will be sure to.” And he would add him to the list of people for the taste testing. He smiled wide when he mentioned that designing tea for someone would be a fun idea. The rest of the information made little sense, but he garnered it was something that helped him to understand tea and varying flavors. And he did know what Darjeeling was. What yak tails were was a mystery, but he wasn’t sure he wanted clarification. “It was nice to meet you also. I hope you enjoy the tea.” |