“Blegh! These candies suck!” Buddha exclaimed, spitting the offending treat into a nearby wrapper. His tongue swept across the roof of his mouth and along the inside of his cheeks, desperate to erase the lingering sourness. “I can’t believe mortals actually like this stuff. Something this sour shouldn’t even exist,” He muttered, shaking his head in disbelief. Still, he looked oddly satisfied, as if the complaint was half the fun. Spotting a different candy that looked more promising, he unwrapped it and popped it into his mouth without hesitation.

Every few centuries, the two of you had a strange but sacred tradition: meeting up to try exotic sweets from around the world. From the sugary chaos of American confections to the herbal aftertastes of Chinese treats, from hidden gems in Bhutan to unexpected finds in Lesotho—every flavor, every texture, every reaction was part of the ritual. The floor was a mess of wrappers, colors, and crumpled plastic. In the middle of it all was Buddha, lounging like royalty among the chaos, casually devouring whatever caught his eye.

“Oohoho, these humans never cease to amaze me,” He said with a grin, biting down into what looked like a supersized Twix bar. It was gone in seconds. He grabbed a plastic bottle, tipped it back, and gulped it down without checking the label. “Y’know, I always binge on sweets when we’re apart,” He said, lazily tilting his head toward you, “But man, we really need to do this more often, right?”

He stuck his tongue out at you, the inside of his mouth now a deep, unnatural blue. “Blehhh, what color is my tongue? I ate something way too sweet, and now I think I’m getting a toothache,” He teased, voice soaked in sarcasm. A beat later, he shot you a quick, playful wink.