Boston’s ‘Cool Beans’ Coffee Shop (aka YCOCS)

Welcome to 'Cool Beans' everyone, both returning verterans and new authors!! This is a coffee shop in a converted apartment on 5th street located on the South End of the Boston Common.

The usual streets around your character in their own novel/world/universe fade and turn into present day Boston to get here; the first time is normally an accident!

The shop is now owned by Louise Donaghue (Doc Hilda), having just bought it from Mark & Leah Sullivan (StreetcarRebellion) who used to own and run the shop with their friend Jacob Davenport. Her step-daughter Rebekah may help out from time to time! Upstairs live their lodgers, the Kaminski family; refugees from the 1940's.
(Apologies in advance if the Donaghues are sporadic in their appearances, this is mostly dependent on the time/mood of their author, sorry!)

If the owners aren't around then characters help themselves to drinks and there is a jar by the till for payment. (we have no NCP characters here). Ususally if you're new another character is nice and offers!
NOTE: this thread usually follows real time, ie a new day in RL is a new day in the shop :) Occasionally some conversations do carry over but the majority of the time they don’t.

Characters with fantasy elements are more than welcome (eg magic abilities, from other time periods/worlds, ghosts, vampires etc), but bear in mind this is a coffee shop in a specified present day setting - and those that dont have a firm footing in the human world (either they are human, were human or live on Earth) may struggle to fit in, just as a word of warning. The idea though is they step straight from the pages of your novel (or world in your head if they're new creations!) and into 2011 Boston - just keep in mind how they'd react!

We don't have a specific storyline as such though some regulars have developed their own between each other; don't be put off if some characters are very familiar with each other and that there is some past history, but new ones are always being introduced for development!

Please try and avoid one-line answers - add in character thoughts, actions or expressions to make it easier for others to respond and interact.

If your characters choose to interact in places outside the shop please use @Location to avoid confusion for other authors.

Check out the Discussion thread for further information about the shop, to post bios, and ask YCOCS related information:
http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/forums/role-playing-and-communal-story-building/threads/3071

Schulze and Cohen walked into the shop only to stand at the door for a moment in shock at the place's emptiness. Well...that didn't happen very often. The two traded amused looks and went to do their own things. Schulze headed into the kitchen after removing his hat to look for something to snack on while Cohen headed to a table and took off his backpack. He gingerly set the bag on the free chair, mindful of his unbound but still slightly swollen hands, and pulled out a few papers to grade. Schulze returned to the main room with a plate full of various fruits which he set on the table between himself and Cohen. He rolled his eyes good-naturedly at his friend's diligence but kept his comments to himself and bit into an apple slice instead. He yawned quietly and put his head on his arms to take advantage of the quiet and sleep.

Ariadna walked into the coffee shop from her small apartment above the store. It was a quiet day, for once, she supposed, but that was still lovely every now and again. She headed into the kitchen and started a pot of tea.

"Good evening, Schulze and Cohen," she said, when she noticed her friends as she left the kitchen, and once the water was set up for tea in the kitchen, she followed them and seated herself in a chair nearby them.

[gah, bad timing, bbs, dinner!]

Vincent appeared inside, dressed in a tuxedo. He was scowling, and a liquid that appeared to be wine was drizzling down his head. He walked in and fixed himself a coffee. He was going to need it.

Ariadna waved to Vincent. "Looked like you were having a good time," she laughed, "Comming back from a wedding or something?"

He sighed in response. "Sure, let's go with a wedding," he said, pushing his wine-soaked hair out of his face.

Cohen nodded at Ariadna's 'good evening' and nudged Schulze awake. He opened his eyes blearily, blinking rapidly as Vincent suddenly appeared before Cohen could properly greet Ariadna.

"Good evening," Cohen told Ariadna as he took in the other man's appearance, "I take it something interesting happened?"

Schulze blinked and asked, "Wow, and I thought my brother's wedding ended poorly." He stretched and then said, "How are you and the others, Ariadna?"

Vincent laughed. "You could say that." He took a long drink of his coffee.

Moira ducked in the coffee shop, mostly to get out of the pounding rain. A quick walk to the MBTA station was suddenly complicated due to today's impromptu thunderstorm. She was still wearing her white coat, more in an effort to stay dry than anything else. Shrugging off the soaked garment, she surveyed the interior. Well, she'd never been in here before. And there didn't appear to be anyone working there.

"Excuse me?" She addressed the customers standing inside. "Is there...anyone...here?" She worded her question vaguely, not entirely sure how to address the fact that no one was serving the customers or manning the cash register.

Rabecka walked inside, looking around wearily. What is this place? She glanced at the lights. She looked around at the customers and found an empty table in a corner near the door. She was dressed in heavy leather breeches and a dark blue tunic, covered by a leather vest. She raked a hand through her dark hair and tapped her fingers on the table.

Amic followed after her. He wore a pair of leather pants and a grey tunic. His warm brown eyes glanced around the room. His eyes lingered on the lights. Some type of magic? He sat down beside Rebecka. He leaned back in his chair and glanced over at Rebacka. "Relax, no one knows who you are."

Rebecka glared at him.

Elsie swept inside, holding her skirts up off the floor. She looked around, eyes wide, and sat down. She put her hands on her lap and looked around. "Amic, how do they keep the fire inside those little balls, aren't they airtight?" She swept her curls off her shoulders.

Schulze chuckled a bit at the younger woman who walked into the shop, but only a bit as she seemed to be soaked through.

"There are a number of us here," he replied cheerfully, "Though I admit not as many as usual. If you'd like something, I should be able to help you."

Cohen raised an eyebrow at Vincent's response and said, "Something you do not want to talk about, then?"

The duo's eyes widened a bit at the trio of youngsters who followed, looking somewhat out of place due to their clothing. Ah, questioning electricity, so probably actually from the time period of their clothing and not just early trick or treators.

"It's not fire," he told them, "It uses power and wires."

Cohen looked them up and down, sighing, and put his papers away. "Are any of you hungry?"

Preston walked into the coffee shop. A quick glance at some of the customers made him believe that he took a wrong turn somewhere. He went over to the counter, and said, "Hello. How much for a mocha? And would whipped cream cost extra?"

((...Don't judge me! I can't think of anything else at the moment.))

"It's been wonderful, lately," Ariadna said, softening her voice a bit for Schulze. He was clearly busy and it was making him tired, and she didn't want to give him a headache on top of it. "The last wedding I went to was Marta's," she said, "It was beautiful...but clearly not as exciting as yours was." She gave the the men a warm smile and a wave before rising to greet the new people.

"I suppose I count as a someone here," Ariadna said, chucking. She was a fairly short woman in her early twenties, with black hair and brown eyes, and a strong Polish accent. "Usually we serve ourselves, but I can make you something if you'd like. Since you're new. The money goes in the change jar. What would you like?"

"That's good," Schulze told Ariadna as he worked the kinks out of his neck, "Though I am sorry we missed that." That damn man- No, he wasn't going to go there tonight. Not when he hadn't seen hide nor hair of him in weeks.

He glanced at Preston as the boy headed to the counter and asked how much the drinks cost.

"It's written on the board behind the counter," Schulze told him, "Though you'll have to make it yourself or have someone else do it; the owners are out of town right now."

Rebecka looked up at Cohan and Schulze. She sat up straight and narrowed her eyes.

Amic sighed and rolled his eyes at Rebecka. He turned to the others and offered them a friendly smile. "Hello, my Amic, that's Beck, and this little monster is Elsie." He ruffled Elsie's hair.

Elsie glared at Amic and folded her arms.

Amic grinned then looked up at the lights. "No, we've already eaten. Power and wires? How?" He looked up at the lights, puzzled.

Rebecka stopped herself from looking up at the light. "What is this place? One second we're in the woods in our camp, the next, we appear here."

Moira heard the man's answer to the other boy's question, and walked over to the counter. Her clothes were relatively dry in comparison to the coat she was holding, but her hair was dripping wet. The shop was weird, sure, but if everyone else acted as though it was completely normal, she'd assume it was. Even as she scanned the board for the appropriate amount to drop in the till, she questioned, "Why would the shop be open if the owner's are out of town?"

Rapi, a toweringly tall and incredibly buff man who was quite imposing if you didn't know him, stepped into the shop from apparently nowhere, holding a large, ornate jeweled dagger. Today he was dressed in a dapper army uniform, with a long black cape billowing out behind him.
"Oh, look, newbs!" he gushed cheerfully, in a way that didn't match his appearance at all. "How charming. My name is Raphael Kiran, but you may call me Rapi-chan if you like. I'll gladly make a large pot of masala chai, if anyone would like any."

Cohen chuckled quietly at the children's antics but when they asked how the lightbulb worked, he shook his head and went into the storage closet and pulled out a spare one. "This is a lightbulb which converts energy into light," he told them as he handed them the bulb.

"This is a meeting place for different times and worlds," he answered their second question.

Schulze shrugged at Moira's question. "From what I know, the place has always been self-service and several friends of the owners live upstairs so it's not entirely deserted."

He smiled, rolling his eyes a bit mentally, when Rapi appeared and offered to make some food. "I'll certainly try it," he told the much larger man.

"Nice to meet you." Moira was nothing if not conventionally polite, and held her hand out. "I'm Dr. Moira Emslie, please, call me Moira. That's very kind, but I'm not entirelly sure what that is." The term ring a bell, vaguely, but it certainly wasn't connected to anything.