Chapter One [Video/Action]

[thebestseller]

Who: Richard Castle and you
Broadcast: Fleetwide
Action: The good ship Windrose
When: RIGHT NOW

Video

[Castle is looking dubiously at his bowl of celebratory chocolate pudding- at least he thinks that's what it is- as he broadcasts to the network.]

Dear video diary,

Today is the start of my new life as a space reality TV contestant. It can't be much worse than paparazzi and serial killers, right? Right. I have been assigned to the good ship Windrose and hope to be an asset to her crew. Oh, diary, I do miss New York City, but I might as well make the best of things while I'm here.

Love always, Castle.

Action

[Upon exploring his new digs, it didn't take Castle long to find the tiny cleaning droids. He was attempting to line them up, but as they seemed programmed to go and clean on their own, he was having some difficulty.]

Come on, stand still and be a good robot army.

[Or perhaps you'd like to run into him elsewhere? Just name the time and place.]

Comments

video;

[limitstorm]

You should probably password protect your video diary.

video;

[thebestseller]

Oh, I think it's more entertaining for everyone to hear.

[limitstorm]

Is your name really 'Castle'?

Video

[preformthisneigh]

[Oh hey, it's somepony he recognises! He'll just turn on the feed and wave a hoof excitedly at the screen. He's probably speaking a mile a minute, too.]

Hey, Castle, hey! You probably don't remember me or maybe you do, it's kinda hard to tell in this place, getting memories intact is like playing a super complicated game of roulette except the ball sometimes turns invisible or the little black and red triangles sometimes vanish - what're those things called? is there a special name for them? ANYhoo, it's great to see you again!

...

Oh right. If you don't remember me, I'm Cheese Sandwich. Figure it'd be pretty awkward, me knowing your name and you maybe not knowing mine, so I fixed it.

Hi again.

Video

[thebestseller]

[That... gets a blank stare in response, before Castle remembers his manners and nods.]

Yeah, I think meeting a talking pony would be something I'd remember, but alas, I don't. Thanks for the welcome, anyway, Cheese. I hope we can be friends again.

Video

[preformthisneigh]

[Good job, Castle. Cheese gives a little shrug, in an attempt to pass off he's less bothered than he actually is. The smile stays on. ]

You better believe it, I won't let a little thing like Atroma-induced Amnesia get in the way of that. How're you settling in? Space, right?

Video;

[notkittenaround]

[ She considers the message. Obviously an unintended reveal, yet her curiosity is unabated. So, after a moment, she does decide to respond. Which is why there's a white-painted, blue cat lady responding with: ]

What is a 'paparazzi?''

Video;

[thebestseller]

[Castle looks back, curious. A pony, and now a cat lady- would wonders never cease? Because, after all, this didn't seem like a cosplay convention.]

Paparazzi are photographers- they try to get candid pictures of famous people through any means necessary. For some reason, fans really like to see those photos.

Re: Video;

[notkittenaround]

I have encountered such a phenomena of fans, art and the madness of adoration surrounding the gladiators of Ul'dah, but never spoken of in that manner.

Action

[pain_train]

[Tiny woman. Pink hair. Leaning on cane. Grinning.]

They're not really an army. We'd have to install guns on them first!

[Which sounds like an amazing idea if you ask Wrath. Put on to-do list, ask Vision for help.]

Hi, I'm Wrath! You must be the new guy, huh.

Action

[thebestseller]

[Castle smiled back at Wrath and stood up, so he could talk to her while standing.]

You never know, it might come in handy- nobody would expect the cleaning bots to have weapons, after all.

[He nodded.]

I'm Castle. I was on the Marsiva for a few days, then pop- ended up here with a free bowl of pudding.

Action

[pain_train]

Yep! Element of surprise is always the best. No one expects things that are small and cute to be completely deadly.

[Experience talking, here.]

Nice to meet you, Castle! Yeah, everyone starts on the Marsiva. This is way better, because you can get all settled in. And Vision and I have fish! Pudding's great, though. Like, everyone whines about the food and I don't get why. It's way better than rat bars or something.

Video

[dancingmd]

Well, that's certainly one way to introduce yourself.

Video

[thebestseller]

I like to make an entrance.

Video

[dancingmd]

[She raises an amused eyebrow.]

I can see that.

[And then offers him a welcoming smile.]

I'm Dr. Crusher, on the Blue Fish. It's nice to meet you, Castle, despite the circumstances.

[ video ]

[gleamed]

[ oh she is going to be SO HELPFUL RIGHT NOW. because she was woefully confused about the network when she arrived, so this man probably was, too, right? ]

Dear Castle,

These screen-a-magigs aren't diaries! Though that would be pretty neat. Um - they're actually how we all talk to each other, even when we're far away! Isn't that AMAZING?

[ she clearly thinks it's amazing. ]

It's called a net-work! I hope this helps! Do you have any questions? I can try to answer them for you!

Love always, Rapunzel!

[ video ]

[thebestseller]

[Oh no, this was too cute. Castle grinned back.]

Thanks for the advice, my dear- I was just being funny, though. You'd never used something like this before?

Action, just after his arrival?

[tothefly]

[Natasha knows better than to leave the bridge completely unattended on arrival day. She's not immediately in plain sight, but she's close by--and on hearing him finish his diary entry, she steps onto the bridge, wearing the standard-issue fleet jumpsuit, curls brushed and left arm in a sling against her chest. There's a gun in the holster strapped to her right leg, but she's not going anywhere near that. In fact, she's just waiting there in the doorway, looking mildly amused.]

Give it a week or so, you'll be missing New York even more. But hey, maybe we can find some serial killers for you, so you don't get too nostalgic.

Action

[thebestseller]

Oh, I'm sure about that- the novelty of being in space is going to wear off. Soon it'll be part of the background noise.

[Castle's eyes noticed the sling first and the weapon second- but she didn't seem to be reaching for it, which was a good thing.]

If it's true that we're in front of a live audience, I'm sure they'd love watching a good mystery.

video;

[peacockherald]

_{[ He's not sure if the other is being funny or not. Sometimes, with new people, it is hard to tell, and the humor of other worlds can sometimes pass him by. ]}

I believe you forgot to set your privacy settings, sir.

video;

[thebestseller]

That was intentional. I wanted to share my thoughts with a captive audience.

action;

[unbearablynaive]

[It's hard to miss the announcement that they have a new crewmember, but the Vision is easily distracted by one of the small robots that has wandered off in search of things to clean. Spoilers: there are plenty of things to clean, as much as they all like to keep a tight ship. So when he does make his way over to where Castle and the others are, he's holding the robot in his arms much like one would a cat.

Very much so, in fact. And have we mentioned he's a maroon guy with a yellow gem set into his forehead?]

Greetings, and welcome to the Windrose.

action;

[thebestseller]

[Castle didn't look up right away when he heard the greeting, as he was busy shuffling another bot back into line.]

Oh, come on! This is like herding cats. [He shook his head and looked up... slowly stood up... and blinked hard, before realizing he was staring.]

Ah! Sorry... thanks for the welcome. I've... never seen anyone quite like you before.

[poetontheinside]

[Ray is plenty curious, but he hates getting confetti stuck in his hair. So he's not there when Castle arrives, but he ambles over as soon as he can-- as soon as Castle is getting his robot army in line, in fact.

He's got a toothpick in his mouth and he looks at the robots more than Castle, but eventually he looks up, grinning, and sticks out his hand.]

Hey, new guy.

[thebestseller]

[Castle grinned back and returned the offered handshake.]

Hey there. I, uh, was just... I like robots. Even when they don't listen to me.