Gumball Wishes and Taxicab Dreams

[thespaceopera]

[On today's episode of the Drift Fleet:

The cargo holds are full of mysterious crates! The crews are filling beyond capacity with new faces! Official alerts are informing the passengers that they are signed to contracts that they've never agreed to! They are docking at the dazzling FS Starlight, but are flat broke!

What are they going to do!? Stay tuned to find out!


...Meaning, this is a kickoff mingle for you all to enjoy the beginning of the latest plot setting. This is a convenient place to start threads relating to the first week of the event-- meeting new crewmembers, reacting to the mysterious cargo, arriving on the station and discovering that you're all broke, etc.

Tag around, start whatever you'd like, have fun. And, as always, feel free to make your own posts and mingles from here on in, as this will be the only mod-posted one for this event!]

Comments

castiel (au) / ota

[heavenonearth]

[ ooc; a quick note warning that some of these prompts and replies will contain content related to drinking and recreational drugs; if you'd rather me not go into it in threads, please let me know! ]

(1) the red fish; come on and slam

[ well, for all the talk he's heard, it's finally happened, hasn't it? the whole shuffle thing he'd heard so much about, and boy is he glad he'd kept his pockets all stuffed with food because he's really not looking forward to these.. protein solids, okay? please don't mind the apples, oranges, and bags of cookies all but tumbling out of his pockets, and no less than five wrapped peanut butter & jelly sandwiches.

well, red fish, say hello to your new.. guy. he's lean and rangy looking, kind of has a homeless look about him with his rumpled clothing and unkempt hair, but don't worry, he's mostly harmless. that said, one of the first places he'll be snooping around is the armory room because let me tell you, he has felt absolutely naked without a gun on him, this entire week. he'll also stop by the kitchen galley to dump all of the food from his pockets (there's a LOT of it, he was really determined, and would probably be super good at tetris if he'd ever played it), and stack it on top of the microwave and refrigerator units because, you know, share the wealth. ]

(2) bar; here comes a regular

[ the fs starlight feels like a dream, almost too big and expansive and incredible for one recreationally-deprived guy to take in.

thankfully, cas is adaptable. it'd be easy enough to make some quick cash playing doorman at almost any of these clubs or bars, given his security augment, but.. it's been too long since he's really been around people, happy people, people who smile, and he's sure learned a lot about booze these past few years, so he tries his hand at bartending instead at one of the less.. vibrant establishments, and finds it worthwhile. with his easy smile and genuine interest in people's lives, generating tips is a breeze.

the free drinks are totally a plus. as the night wears on he's.. definitely getting a little more unsteady. ]

(3) park; quiet the mind and the soul will speak

[ better than anything else on the ship is these parks, for sure. it's not earth, it will never be earth, but you know what.. it's damned close enough. it feels like too long since he's actually been able to enjoy a nice view of the sky without the wreckage of a tormented earth blurring the horizon.

so he spends a lot of time here. and he's easy enough to find, either lying on his back staring up at the sky, sitting comfortably beneath the reaching boughs of a tree with his body folded easily into a lotus position. he's shucked off his jacket and boots, his eyes are closed and he hums softly, and you definitely wouldn't be mistaken if you thought you caught a whiff of marijuana clinging to his clothing and skin and -- wait, are passersby throwing chips into his jacket? what the heck, does he look like a hobo to you?

okay, don't answer that. ]

(4) datary; reluctant readers make reluctant lovers

[ so you can take the angel out of the guy, but you can't take the guy out of the... all right, so that metaphor doesn't exactly work, but either way cas can't help but be drawn to information even now. so aside from the parks, this is where he'll be spending a lot of his free time during the daytime hours, poring over information, absorbing culture. it takes him a little time to figure out the 'digital' thing, and he tinkers with these devices for longer than anyone should, but it certainly doesn't hold him back from digging through anything and everything that strikes his interest.

so what if he still smells like booze and weed, a shiftless ex-angel can still enjoy a book. this is a no judgment zone. ]

(3)

[monolike]

[There's at least one kid here staring at Cas for reasons other than his personal hygiene habits.

Sorey leans dangerously far out of the tree he'd climbed moments ago to gape at Castiel, who seems quite content to meditate and mind his own business. Sorey can't figure out what he's seeing. He thinks he's seeing a seraph, but like one that doesn't have powers anymore? But should? But isn't obviously any of the elements that Sorey is familiar with. Maybe he was one of the special ones with a nonstandard element and took some kind of power-sealing oath?

Sorey shifts forward too far and falls out of the tree with a loud squawk. Well, if it wasn't obvious that he was watching him before...]

[heavenonearth]

[ wow kiddo great job. real graceful.

even better is that cas doesn't so much as bat an eyelash. maybe you can blame it on the fact that he's potentially stoned, or maybe he's just reached that nice zen place but it is a mystery. he will never tell.

either way, he eventually opens his eyes and glances down to the weird person type who has fallen elegantly from this tree. ]

I thought the forecast said zero chance of precipitation. Can't trust those weathermen, right?

[monolike]

[excuse you, weird person type tier 1, you have no room to judge the strangeness of others

At least Sorey isn't offended by it, just brushing himself off sheepishly as he picks himself up. Whatever peace this...person? Spirit-person? Had been trying to find, it's ruined now.

...MIGHT AS WELL MAKE FRIENDS

So Sorey comes right over and kneels nearby Castiel, sitting back on his heels and peering curiously at him. Yeah he's not even bothering to hide the fact that he sees something that might not even be there.] Are you...okay?

[therewerefifty]

[This Castiel is definitely very different from the one she knows from Adstringendum. Makie thinks maybe she should just leave him be, but... well. She's curious what makes the difference.

She sits quietly on a bench nearby, shamisen on her lap, but she won't play. He's obviously relaxing in his own way, and disrupting that would be rude.

...yeah she's also going to blink at people who are throwing chips into his coat. That's kind of offensive.]

[heavenonearth]

[ are more people throwing chips??

cas opens his eyes to the sound of clinking plastic, but whoever had tossed the thing is gone already, blending with the crowd. he doesn't look that homeless -- right?

bah, well at any rate, it's free money, and he's not going to turn up his nose at it. i mean, theoretically he is flat broke, so he's not going to kill his conscience worrying about it too much. his shoulders slump, and he runs a hand over the back of his neck before he spots her on the bench - oh man, is that a shamisen? immediately he's perking up. ]

Do you play?

[therewerefifty]

[She's startled by the question, to be honest. But Makie has to remind herself this version of Cas knows absolutely nothing about her. So she smiles after a moment.]

I do. I didn't want to disturb you. [But she readjusts her grip on the shamisen. She'll play if he wants her to.]

2

[catamite]

[and at this somewhat shady establishment, there is one colorful kid with pointy ears who is certainly trolling for attention without spending much cash. he looks maybe too young to be allowed into some of the bars back on earth--depending on the country, anyway--but he seems more than at home here.

he's bopping around, making friends, but he'd only bought one drink in the time he's spent here. all the others have been mooched off of various acquaintances. and when his luck runs out there... he turns to the bartender instead-- the scruffy-looking one with the nice face.

he waits for a lull, before finding a proper seat at the bar and leaning forward a little to catch his attention.]

Hey... could I get a glass of water?

[heavenonearth]

[ it's nice - doing this. talking with people, all sorts of colorful people with colorful stories, because cas knows well just how much drunk people like to talk, to spill their woes and brag about their adventures, and he's been glad to listen to every one of them.

it's a breath of fresh air. nevermind the great tips he gets for being a good listener. ]

Water, huh?

[ i mean, he looks young, but that's not really a big deal as far as cas is concerned. he never understood the point of drinking ages even when he was still an angel with a stick up his ass. now? i mean, he'll follow the rules if he's got to, but he still doesn't get it. either way he's flipping a tumbler and filling it with ice. ]

Coming right up.

[catamite]

Thanks.

[he's got his elbows leaned on the bar, probably intentionally looking cute. and he's good at it, at least, even with a couple of drinks in his system.

he watches the bartender work with big, interested eyes, even though all he's doing is filling up a glass of ice water.]

Hey... is this a fun job? Do you like it?

3]

[beardstrokes]

[ He rarely finds himself meandering into parks but after being on a ship for so long, even Obi-Wan feels the need to wander. Connect with the Living Force, so to speak.

His master would be proud, he thinks to himself, as he tosses some bread for the animals living in the water, looking out for pathetic lifeforms wherever he does. It's become some kind of curse. He certainly didn't ask for this.

He stands up, picking up his packet of crumbs when he glances at the man flopped out onto the grass. He can't help raising an eyebrow. ]

Seeking answers in the sky?

[heavenonearth]

[ cas can't say that he expects to be approached, but he's certainly not averse to the idea - it's why he's out here, after all, to see people, to listen to people and talk to people.

he'd just been, you know, distracted.

at any rate, a clear voice calls out and cas's gaze swivels, upside-down, toward the man with the beard before he laughs, light and easy, and pushes himself up onto his elbows. ]

More like just seeking the sky.

[beardstrokes]

I see.

[ He too turns his gaze to the sky. ]

I can't say you'll find much there.

4

[lord_wizard]

[He doesn't know Castiel. Never has, in any of the myriad times him (or versions of him) have floated in a out of the worlds he's lived in. Or, more accurately, in and out of Crowley's life. He isn't possessive, exactly, but maybe protective of what the appearance of people who had left a mark on the demon's life might do.

He also isn't very adept at this digital media, which is why he's favoring the few physical books he can get his hands on, but seeing Castiel there makes him drift a bit closer on the pretense of browsing the digital catalog]

Looking for anything in particular?

[heavenonearth]

[ it's good to know that he's influencing people through other people that he doesn't even remember meeting! soon enough he's going to find himself apologizing for nonsense he hasn't done, at this rate, but then, that's just his luck.

at any rate, he looks up from the screen when he's approached, doesn't seem bothered at all. ]

Nah, not really. Looking for everything, you could say. It's a little overwhelming.

[lord_wizard]

It can be, can't it? I haven't found anything from home yet, but perhaps a matter of time. [It would be comforting to do so, but honestly he's more interested in the material from other places. At least, intellectually, comfort is overrated.]

What about you?

3

[theoniongirl]

[she'd actually noticed him a few times before at the datary. There, he stood out, a stark contrast with the streamlined, digital surroundings. Here, he seemed...more himself. On a normal day, she might blend in more as well, but today she's the one who seems out of place in the informal, sunny stretch of the park.

She's not particularly close by. Cross-legged in the grass under a somewhat adjacent tree, she'd settled herself with her new sketchbook for a couple of hours after her most recent waitressing shift. The nondescript white-shirt-black-pants uniform she'd been supplied with wasn't particularly well-fit (a fact that suited her just fine), but it's still too stiff to be a lounging-in-the-grass kind of outfit...not that it's stopping her. Her gaze jumps between the page and people passing by as she works. More than a few times, she looks his way, though she doesn't try to interrupt his lounging.]

[ooc: If he wouldn't respond or notice, no worries! She'll just sketch and be on her way. But he is also welcome to interrupt if you'd like]

[heavenonearth]

[ he doesn't notice - or, at least not at first.

but generally speaking, cas is usually quite cognizant of his surroundings. home was never safe, after all, and even living behind fences in quarantine zones, there was always some undercurrent of urgency, the itch to always be self aware and never lowering your guard.

that hasn't worn off here, yet. truth be told he's not sure that it ever will. either way, even relaxed as he is, he's still aware of who and what is around him, and that she lingers for longer than expected is something he does, soon enough, take note of. so eventually, cas sits back a little, cracking his spine and his neck, then reaches into his jacket pocket to withdraw a cigarette before glancing her way, and calling out leisurely. ]

So, you come here often?

[ cas, please. ]

[theoniongirl]

For the moment.

[She doesn't look up from her sketch, but she has a small smile to go with the quick response.

It's neither flirtatious or sarcastic, but she's obviously paying him enough note to realize he had aimed that line in her direction.]

1 - armory

[mortalcoil]

[granted, everyone on the ship is allotted a side-arm with a security officer in the crew, but that's not the first thing that Coil is thinking about when he sees someone unfamiliar snooping around in the armory.

walking up, he pounds a fist on the nearest bit of flat, hollow metal to make a resounding BANG to get the guy's attention.

maybe not the smartest thing to do when someone is surrounded by a bunch of guns, but there you go.]

[heavenonearth]

[ yeah.. yeah not the smartest thing, really, especially considering that cas is a hair-triggered war vet fresh from a post-apocalyptic world. in a split second he's turned, safety off and firearm up and cocked, adrenaline surging - it's an immediate reaction, honed and practiced, completely effortless, knee-jerk.

but to his credit, cas lowers the gun just about as quickly as he'd raised it, heart pounding against his ribs. he exhales hard. ]

Woah, buddy.. don't sneak up on a guy like that.

[mortalcoil]

[his sense of self-preservation hasn't been the greatest lately, okay? and his patience has been running shorter than usual, so these kinds of things happen. at least he doesn't seem particularly surprised when he gets a gun pulled on him.

he tenses but doesn't flinch, so Cas has a grungy-looking teenager with an overabundance of scars (mostly around his mouth) and a missing eye, staring him down like some kind of weird, silent guard dog.

and once the weapon is lowered, the kid brings up an accusing hand to point at him, and then gesture around at the armory--demanding and expectant. he wants to know who he is and what the hell he's doing in their weapons cache, but the gesture is pretty vague.]

3.

[delincuente]

[Alex has been lounging on a nearby bench, doodling lazily on a pad of paper and eating from a bag of chips. The guy under the tree hasn't escaped her notice, but she's from New York - she isn't really in the practice of looking too long at strangers. After awhile, though, she becomes aware of the people tossing cash in his direction, and starts to feel like maybe's the jerk in this situation, eating loud potato (???) chips next to some starving homeless guy. That would definitely clash with her whole "Be A Good Person" initiative these past couple of months.

Clearing her throat, she leans forward and shakes the bag to get his attention.]

Hey man, you want the rest of these?

[heavenonearth]

[ cas can't say he knows a damned thing about hobo culture, has absolutely no idea why people are tossing money at him, never catches them in time to give it back because he's trying to meditate here, people, and that's hard to do when he's interrupted by the click, click, click of clacking chips, and the minor guilt that comes along with it having money thrown at his feet for reasons he can't identify.

but in the end he can't really feel all that guilty about it, because in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really matter. either way, he's stretching out his back when he hears the sweet siren's song of potato chips, and cas is immediately craning his head toward the source. ]

Huh? Why, you not hungry?

[delincuente]

Nah. And they kind of taste like grape jelly.

[She rolls up the top a little, and tosses it over. As she does so, she catches a whiff of him.]

You got anything on you, or is that just leftovers?