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

[monolike]

Cool. I'll leave it to you! [sublord tested shepard approved

Sorey has to check five different stores but he finally comes across a place selling blank paper books and pens as 'novelty' items. When he immediately starts writing on the inside cover the clerk gives him an odd look (or he thinks it's odd, but it's hard to tell when someone has five eyes) and he hurries back to Mikleo as quickly as possible.]

Geez, this was expensive. I'd better pick up another job tomorrow. [He still has to get some stuff he can use as vessels.]

[geonomy]

[would you stOP

Clay doesn't exactly have issues with his confidence or anything, save for a few insecurities here and there. But all that talk, and the look Sorey's giving him, still makes his cheeks heat up, and he looks away while he shoves at Sorey's face]

Jeez, man - I know, I'm fine - It's why - ugh.

[GIVE HIM A SECOND TO STOP FEELING EMBARRASSED]

[redactions]

[ Handing her back the pencils and paper, ]

James Barnes. I'm from the Fleet that's just docked here.

[redactions]

[ He gestures briefly, come here, and when Steve does, loops his other arm around his shoulders and tugs him close for a half-hug. ]

[ Soft, ]

It's permanent.

[monolike]

[HAHAHA

Sorey grins when Clay shoves him and reaches over to give him a friendly punch to the chest. CUTE. Ya cute Clay, you're like when Mikleo gets all frazzled when Sorey starts being really sweet to him. People who can't take compliments without blushing are the cutest.]

Anyway, you're the captain of a ship so it's good that you're so informed. It probably makes your crew feel a lot better to know you keep on top of things.

[nerdeology]

[Mikleo is distracted by the sudden appearance of... whatever that was on Allen's face, shooting him a concerned and quizzical look.]

What's what? Are you alright?

[Taking a step in Allen's direction, though, he feels a twinge in his chest and falters. That- that's familiar.]

Malevolence...?

[He looks around, trying to search out the source, but nothing immediate comes into view- no hellions, no dark clouds, nothing.]

[geonomy]

Well, it's sort of like - When you get money here, it's placed in your account. But there are other people who have access to your account. They won't take anything out, but they can keep an eye on what's in there.

Apparently, the people out there think the gumballs are suspicious, so they froze our accounts. Which basically means they made it so that we can't take any credits out or put anything in.

[Which sucks but what can ya do]

[theoniongirl]

[her eyes widen as she takes them back]

Oh! Me too.

[...]

Err...or one of them. I guess I don't know if we're the only fleet to land here. It seems like a pretty big station.

Ah--Drift Fleet? [a small smile] I'm actually pretty new. I'm still trying to keep in mind all the ship names and such.

[tucking her little pile of supplies under one arm, she levers herself up onto her feet, brushes her hand off on her jeans, and offers it] I'm Jilly.

A

[geonomy]

[Hermione :( Once Clay realized they had a new crew member but no extra beds, he put in for a crew capacity upgrade as soon as he could. No crew mate of his should go without a bed!]

Not something like this, no. Sometimes we get sponsor drops, like a crate full of visors a while ago, but those are just random gifts we're supposed to wear for ratings.

[Those visors are also not His Visor, so they never got worn. Maybe someday.]

I don't think we've ever actually had to deliver cargo before.

[redactions]

[ He brightens. ]

Yeah, that's the one. I'm captain of the Heron.

[ Shaking her hand firmly. ]

Were you from anywhere before that? It seems a lotta folks get tossed around between universes.

[ragazzina]

Mm, mmm, I'm really glad you're around now, Cloudy! I need a lot of help keeping these two boys in line, just look!

[Just look indeed. This is their trio in a single image: Suzie comfortably cuddles an actual puppy, while literally two inches from her Joseph and Caesar have resorted to hair-pulling.]

[monolike]

[ACK

to passersby it looks like sorey is just being an idiot until water just rises up magically and bitchslaps him in the face. then it's weird because this strange yelling kid tackles the air to the ground, kneels over it and starts tickling.

people pick up their children and start leaving

the police are probably being called

but sorey is going to tickle mikleo and nobody can stop him]

Say it! Say it or I never stop!

[theoniongirl]

I'm now a cook for the Blue Fish.

[its a silly name (though maybe not as silly as some. Looking at you, Wonderduck). She likes it.]

[with a quick laugh] Wouldn't we all have to be from somewhere before?

[but she's quick to follow it with an actual answer] New York. A small city called Newford, though...not the big one.

[enshields]

[In a tone of exasperated, put-upon but ultimately, endlessly fond chiding,]

Notice how that wasn't my question, punk.

[electrostatics]

Old hand, huh. Well, you should be fine, then. [ He shrugs his shoulders, looking sideways at Hakkai. What's with the monocle, he wonders. ]

Looks like it. Welcome to the Caprine. Everyone's kind of weird, but you should get along fine. [ He means this with affection. ] My name's Elecman. Yours?

[redactions]

Yeah, I know.

[ a huff. He ruffles Steve's hair. ]

What's the point? You'll just get miserable over it.

[redactions]

New York?

[ She might as well have said magic words. Jim is beaming at her now. It's good to have a taste of home. ]

I'm from Brooklyn. What's the year where you're from?

[enshields]

You might've gotten away with it if the first thing you'd said was no.

[He sighs, tips his head into that ruffling. He won't deny the misery - of all people, Jim's the one who best knows how he bleeds - but sometimes, the only way forward is through.]

Was it-- did it take me longer to find you? In '42?

[nerdeology]

[Mikleo had looked up at his footsteps, braced to cast the arte as needed, but once he sees Sorey he's right back to the books. He's on the third volume, and the first two have an absurd amount of bookmarks he'd pilfered from behind the front desk when no one was looking.]

I guess it makes sense that paper would be a rare commodity when everyone has those handheld devices. There must be people living here who've never held a real book in their lives.

[Tragic, really.]

[nerdeology]

[Mikleo wriggles and writhes beneath him like a snake, trying hard - and failing - not to laugh as he alternates between batting at Sorey's hands and tickling Sorey back.]

As if- hah- as if I would!

[experiencepoints]

[... yeah, sorry, she's just circling around Sorey to look at him from all angles.]

I have so many questions.

[redactions]

I ain't that good a liar.

[ And it doesn't take an artist to notice the movement of his shoulder where the skin is scarred. There's muscle damage that diminish upper-body strength. No way it doesn't hurt. ]

No, it — I got shot by one of those ray-weapons they had. Whole arm just [ making a 'poof' gesture with his right hand. ]. After that they pulled me off the work line, sent me straight to Zola.

B

[theoniongirl]

[he might be anonymous, but that doesn't mean he's not noticed.

As one of the often (intentionally) overlooked, Jilly is all too quick to notice those who might otherwise slip under the radar. Perched on a low wall, just far enough back to be out of the way of foot and vehicle traffic, the artist has settled herself with her newly acquired sketchbook and is people-watching the way she does best...by speed-sketching the figures who most catch her eye in a crowd. Like him, she's doing little to draw attention. Small-figured, tangle-haired, and wearing a sweater that looks two sizes too big, she could be any number of the typical denizens of city streets, if not for the pad and pencil.

If he notices or approaches, he might recognize a familiar hooded figure starting to take shape on the page. If not, she might be unaware of their shared Drift Fleet connection, but the sketch will be completed and tucked away in her new collection of sketches later]

[geonomy]

[Healing, something he could learn - Clay lights up as if he recognizes it, and then gives Hakkai a little point.]

Chi manipulation - Is that kind of like... like chakra? I have a friend who heals people with that! She won't teach me how to do it though. [:(]

[electrostatics]

They've just stopped taking care of it. [ He huffs with entirely professional ire. ] What a sloppy job.

[ He looks everything over, scouts around until he finds the coolant tank (the hose here has also cracked along its length in several places and left the tank in a pile of liquid, which hasn't done much good for the tank itself or the wires surrounding it).

Then he reaches behind himself to tap at the container on his back until he finds the panel he wants; he grabs something and then holds out his hand to reveal a bunch of chips. It's payment for work he's already done here. But he can afford to spend to get this bigger job done. ]

Can you buy...two new hoses and a tank? I'll clean this mess up and try to salvage what I can, but we'll definitely need replacements for these.

[ As if to prove his point, he attempts gentle removal of the other hose and it cracks further, spurting out more leftover coolant. Good thing the system isn't running. He says something rather colourful in response. ]