Have you ever heard of the phrase “a cup of tea is a cup of peace” before? It might sound farfetched to anyone who doesn’t delight in a cup of their own but we leaf-juice drinkers find it pretty accurate. It’s the perfect way to start your morning, to compliment lunch and can even end a stressful day by sending you off to a peaceful slumber.
But what if I said that tea could also…
chase away grisly nightmares,
help you keep up at work,
and even predict your future?
If you’re in need of a little magic to spice up your life, then you’ve come to the right place! Welcome to Sweetcore Brews, Nochi Studios’ fourth release; instead of braving the unknown, suffering trials for glory and exploring our deepest selves – we’re going to be taking a break in a fragrant tea shop managed by the cutest witch.
Milly Blythe is our tea-crafting witch who manages a shop by herself that serves only the best, magical brews! Even though she’s still an apprentice to a rather mysterious owner, every drink that bubbles from her cauldron is always made with love. She may be focused on getting more business for the tea shop but destiny is steeping a special kind of love brew, just for her. Time will tell if she can embrace their kind of chaos but just who are they?
To uncover these mysterious love interests, I’d like to have a tea leaf reading with you all! It’s a century old divination practice called Tasseography, where you interpret patterns in tea leaves, coffee grounds or wine sediments to answer your question or predict your future. This is a fun group activity but it’s also super messy so instead of asking you guys to tip your cups over and get tea leaves everywhere, I’m going to do it for you and present you with three images. These will provide hints about the character’s personality before we do the reveal. So let’s take a peek at our first destined lover for our sweet Milly!
·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚
( crescent moon ) This special someone is destined to be someone -very- romantic and very much a passionate individual. I foresee them being quite the flirt if not a little popular; as the moon is always admired by many but destined to always be out of reach. Would this person really be someone Milly could grow to trust?
( cloud ) And the next shape I see is a very fluffy cloud! This tells me that this person is very calm and capable of weathering even the darkest of storms, making them surprisingly dependable. Despite the cloud having a very hectic schedule, whether to just provide shade or warn of an oncoming danger, they seem to be sturdy.
( star ) This last symbol is often the largest hint about the subject you’re reading about and it continues to remain true as this star reveals a lot of about this character’s job. It can also mean an inspiring and magical presence, one that offers guidance in times of peril.
Zero: The Forecaster
The locally famous astrologer Zero makes her debut as one of Milly’s love interests! Famous for their accurate divination magic and even moreso for their beguiling charm, Zero is the type that quickly steals your attention and never lets it go. It’s very rare that a character is capable of charming me so quickly and perhaps it may have something to do with Zero’s likeness to my beloved Haruka Tenou from Sailor Moon, but it’s not difficult to understand why they have such a devoted fan group.
Like the provided hints earlier, she is very romantic and yearns to be the “charming prince” of our dreams by making us feel wanted and fulfilled. Maybe her real entrance isn’t quite like the fairy tales but their deceptively sweet nature is making a good impression on me. Zero is friendly, confident and expressive with her feelings so I’ve full confidence that she would be the perfect confidant – especially when things get stressful for Milly.
However, like a storm cloud, Zero does have a few traits that make me wonder if this match will crumble before they have a chance to build a strong foundation. Being flirtatious isn’t necessarily a bad thing but sometimes it makes it difficult to translate how meaningful your words can be, especially if you’re behaving the same way with others. Maybe it’s her popularity and fam is to blame as well but Zero comes across as mysterious, despite how friendly she behaves around Milly and others.
Overall I’m quite certain that our tea-brewing witch will have her hands full with more than just customer orders if she does decide to accept Zero’s help! I’ve hopes that just like Usagi and Haruka, they will also share moments of intimacy that will help close the gap that Zero seems to set herself with others and come together as true destined lovers.
Now let’s start with the next tea reading and see who else is in store…
·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚·̩̩̥͙＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚＊•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙˚
( sun ) A symbol of warmth but also of strong power. This is someone who is very capable of many great and terrible things, depending on where their heart lies. People like this carry a lot of confidence too but it’s almost overwhelming, so humid that it almost takes your breath away. Can someone like this be healthy for Milly’s easygoing nature?
( heart ) The heart doesn’t always mean warm, fuzzy feelings like affection and love. It can signify passion, lust or raw energy. If this is meant to compliment the sun’s oppressive presence, it shows this person holds a lot of command and exudes sex appeal too. So not only are they bossy but powerfully seductive too? Talk about intense..
( crown ) Your last hint! The crown stands for royalty but that does not mean they’re a prince like Zero. In fact, it could mean they have a sense of elitism that holds themselves higher above everyone else. They have a taste for only the finer things in life and have little shame when demanding it. More often than not, people who embody the crown are always destined to be either heavily involved or very financially stable with money.
Kingsley: The Cursebreaker
Which brings us to the next and last love interest for Milly! Mr. Raine Kingsley, a man of all bark and bite. If Zero is meant to be the gallant prince of Milly’s dreams, then Kingsley is very much the dominant king. Whether it’s in her dreams or waking nightmare, that’s yet to be seen! I say this because there is an immediate air of superiority that he exudes and while demanding to live among the elite isn’t wrong, it does make me wonder how someone so down-to-earth like Milly could be drawn to Kingsley.
But maybe that’s where his charm comes in, he’s clearly attractive and knows how to put these good looks to use, if we can indicate by how he dresses and presents himself. Expensive, powerful and sexy. So where would he fit in a world filled with magic and ordinary people? Someone who deals with curses surely has to have a shady side so it makes me wonder just how wicked he can be, when the chips are down. Can he be trusted? And is he someone that Milly can depend on?
I can’t help but consider that maybe he can be, depending on how the story unfolds. He’s a cursebreaker which, in theory, should be someone who is capable of helping other people. Perhaps that intimidating, almost chilled presence he wears so confidently is just a mask to hide someone who is actually kind.
It’ll be hard to tell if Milly’s tea is the only thing he’ll remain sweet on or if she would ever want to give her time to someone whose so clearly dangerous and mysterious but I’m excited to see whatever comes next. Characters like Kingsley always have a reason why they demand elite clientele and power so I’ve hope that we will come to know more about him as a person instead of this sexy, sleek façade he proudly wears!
Final Thoughts
I had a lot of fun exploring Zero and Kingsley, characters that are so different but compelling in their own unique way. Zero is charming with every intent on sweeping me off us off our feet, whether we’re ready to fly or not and Kingsley is all business. If we can’t match up to him, then we’ve no choice but to try and catch up or else. And seeing as this game had magical tea themes, I couldn’t help but try my hand at some leaf reading myself! It was very fun exploring a few more personality traits with it and while some of the images were up to interpretation, I heavily encourage everyone to try it themselves sometime – it’s very fun and gives you something fun to do with friends for your next tea date.
As always, Nochi Studios come through with another exciting story. I’m glad we’re taking a break from all that adventuring to slow things down and relax in a cute tea shop, even if it is entirely magical with very quirky shenanigans afoot. It’s a nice change of pace! I also thank the dev team for making this story, inclusive as they did with previous games, giving us options to find love in a safe and LGBTQ+ friendly space. Please consider supporting their Kickstarter when it goes live and try out their super cute demo!
WEBSITE: https://nochistudios.com/
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/nochistudios
KICKSTARTER: June 28th.
PLATFORM: TBA!
The Pretty Blerd Guardian! 
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