synflux | [OPEN] Coffee Time

Entry tags:

[OPEN] Coffee Time

WHO: Lucy/Kaede, open
WHAT: Coffee shop things
WHERE: SynBucks Coffee (name pending)
WHEN: within the first week of arrival
WARNINGS: None so far, will update as needed!

[ Lucy's struck for what to do during her downtime. And, as much as she abhors the thought, what better way to kill time than by going to her day job? I mean, they gave her a civilian name and everything for a reason. Might as well use it to stave off boredom, right?

So throughout the week, anyone who happens to walk into a particular coffee shop will see Lucy, or Momiji Akagawa, doing her best to make complicated influencer orders or those adorable 3D latte foam animals. The key words here are "doing her best" because such artwork is a skill and skills take time to master.

Please do her a kindness and order a black coffee, a caramel macchiato, or any the sandwiches instead. ]

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[ Taryon had to do the proper planning for his first trip to a coffee shop. No, not a bog-standard gathering place where you had small cups of the drink, but whatever SynBucks does. It's got milk, it's got foam, it's got all kinds of flavors. His first cup must be amazing.

Which means pouring over internet forums and review sites, stumbling across "secret recipe" blogs, and deciding that yes, this complicated frappuccino will do.

He approaches Kaede with a small sheet of paper with the recipe scribbled on it.] Can you make this for me?

[His eyes are shining with so much hope. Surely, Lucy knows how to make a drink that's a mix of three milks, two flavors, and obscure techniques only superfans know about.]

[ She's new to the job and yet this is her trial. This is how God in His heaven has decided to make her atone for her crimes. Exaggerating, of course. It's fine.

As she looks over the "secret recipe," Lucy is struck for words. Her eyes visibly trail from side to side as she takes in what's needed for such a...unique drink. Except, it seems some of her soul might be leaving her for how her complexion pales. ]

It's going to take a little bit. [ She glances at the other baristas, one at the drive thru window and the other very pointedly not looking her way. Of course they're no help. Sigh. ] If...that's okay.

Oh, that's totally fine. [Taryon gives her a smile.] I'm sure you need to take your time to perfect it.

[She must be worried because she's still new. Taryon leans on the counter to speak in a low voice.]

Hey. I was nervous when I started my first job. I'll just wait over here and read in the meantime.

[ She should be grateful he's so understanding. She should be, but the fact that her newness to this job was so obvious grates at her. Sure she only has somewhat of a grip on things, but she was hoping she hid it better! Mortifying, plain and simple.

Luckily for her, she keeps the disgruntled huff to a minimum. Little more than a sigh through her nose. ]

Need a name for the order. Since it'll take a minute.

[Taryon tries his best to be encouraging, but his efforts are hit-or-miss. He'll see how effective he was in inspiring Lucy to do her best soon.

When she asks for his name, he catches himself before giving his real name and needs a second to remind himself to stay undercover.]

Gary. [He refuses to give his fake surname. He cannot forgive the computer system for doing this to him.]

[ Lucy nods as she scribbles down the name on the touchpad. With his name in the system, she looks over the drink recipe again and figures she should get started with the base ingredients. And then everything else? Well, she'll play it by ear. There's no way these ratios can be perfect every time at every location, right? ]

So...yeah, I'll call for you when it's ready.

[A thumbs up is offered. Taryon finds a seat by the window and pulls out a tablet with a book loaded on it. He has a lot of reading to catch up on, and he might finish this chapter by the time his coffee is done.

Surely, it won't take more than a chapter, right?]

[ The good news is that the order doesn't take a whole chapter to finish! Maybe only a few minutes, five at most. Still way longer than it needs to be, but hey, it's ready, right?

Still, the coffee he requested is...well, it certainly looks like a mixed up slosh of something. About the only thing pretty about it is the whipped cream on top but that's because you can't really mess that up without trying. ]

There wasn't a picture to go off of, but I followed it to the specifications.

[Taryon is in the middle of a gripping scene when the cup of liquid is place before him. He's not a expert on SynBucks secret menu drinks but...he's pretty sure that there were supposed to be multiple layers of different colors in this thing. The slush is somewhere between beige and brown, save for the expertly placed whipped cream on top.

It doesn't look appetizing. He doesn't know if he can stomach it. But one look at young Lucy tells him that she worked so hard on his coffee, and he can't crush her spirits when she's just a retail worker getting used to her new job. So, he gives her a smile.]

Thank you. It looks...unique. [He lifts the cup to his lips to sample the taste.]

[ Okay so he's not running screaming from looking at it or chewing her out for messing it up. That's good. She'll take whatever she can get at this point.

As he goes to drink it, Lucy watches intently. Waiting. She's morbidly curious what kind of concoction he had her make. ]

[The first flavor he detects is sweetness from the cream. So far, so good. He tilts the cup further.

The strong mix of a dozen flavors hits his mouth like a truck. He jerks the cup away from his mouth and clamps a hand over it.]

That is — strong! It's strong.

[ Lucy doesn't laugh, at least. She pushes a stack of napkins across the counter for him to pick out a couple if he needs them. He has her sympathy even if she's going to be laughing about this in private much, much later.]

Where did you even find this recipe?

[He wipes his mouth with a napkin. There's no mess, but it makes him feel better.]

It's something I found on the Internet. There are these super-fans that know a lot of about drinks that put this list of recipes together.

"Super-fans."

[ Yeah, no. She's doubting that. It's plain on her face but honestly? Her face is just like that already. ]

Sounds more like they're just making things up.

...But people have gone out and gotten these drink. [He takes a very small sip of the concoction. The flavor intensity is manageable.]

Because management wants them to humor customers instead of tell them their ideas are absurd.

[ At least he seems to like it more the second go-round? Maybe?? As long as he's not ranting and raving that she redo it, she can deal with this, she supposes. ]

I didn't promise it'd be pretty, anyway.

It...tastes like something expensive. [But, as he has learned, sometimes expensive things...are grosser.] You know what, I change my mind.

[He sets the cup on the table and pushes it towards Lucy.]

What's the closest thing on the non-secret menu to this?

[ The closest? That's easy enough. ]

A regular cappuccino. [ But since he's been such a good sport about his "secret menu" thing going awry, she decides to add on: ] You get to pick if you want cinnamon or cocoa on top of the milk foam.

[His eyebrows rise. Chocolate is expensive outside of Marquet, and despite the bounty of chocolate sweets in stores, it's surprising to hear it offered as a typical flavor in a chilly climate.]

Cocoa, then. That's pretty expensive in my hometown.

Mm. Got it.

[ While her expression doesn't change, Lucy's demeanor is definitely lighter as she makes her way back behind the counter. A cappuccino is loads easier to make than...whatever that thing was he brought in. So much so that it doesn't take her long to bring back a cup with a thin rim of espresso lining the foam and cream of the center, which is dotted with a fine sprinkling of cocoa powder. The white foam in the center of the drink has the vague shape of a heart. Or perhaps a leaf? It's not immediately clear, but it's not a perfect circle either way. ]

Here. This should be better.

[It's a shape that Taryon doesn't seen on coffee in Exandria, so he'll take this in stride. All of this is new to him, and he's got to appreciate the joys of little things like flavored coffee, foam toppings, and chain stores.

His expression as he drinks from his cup is relaxed - there's no horrendous onslaught of taste and texture that tries to shut down his brain. Taryon sets the coffee gently on its saucer.]

I like it. And this is called a cappuccino?

[ He's not the only one relaxed either. Having to make something normal, simple, has done wonders for her mood. Not enough to make her smile, mind, but still enough to keep her from glaring. As much. ]

Yeah. Not sure where the name comes from, but it's similar to a latte.

It's likely in another language. You know how things sound more exotic if you have no idea what the hell they're saying.

[He takes another sip.] And the latte is the one with a lot of milk, correct?

Yeah, that's the one. It's almost more milk than coffee.

[ She's also heard it called cafe au lait but she wasn't paying close attention to connect the two. ]

[Taryon nods with the weight of the life-changing knowledge imparted onto him.]

I also heard of a "frappuccino", but that's something for warmer weather, I believe. Any other common ones I should keep in mind?

[OPEN] Coffee Time

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sorry for missing this!

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