driftfleet | Gumball Wishes and Taxicab Dreams

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Gumball Wishes and Taxicab Dreams

[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!]

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[ 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?

[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.]

[ cas is quick to shake his head, leaning both elbows onto his knees, clear interest in his expression. ]

You wouldn't be disturbing me at all. I'd love to hear you play.

I'm more than happy to. I would sing, another time.

[It's the one hobby she enjoys that doesn't revolve around uh. Killing people. So. She turns on the bench to face him more fully, picking out a particularly sad and melancholic piece. Which isn't surprising, because it's the shamisen and most pieces tend to fall into that category.

Throughout, she watches him with mild curiosity. Castiel himself never heard her play, so she's curious to see if it's appreciated.]

[ shamisen music is good to listen to, however morose the tune might be, and cas can't help but enjoy it, even if it.. pulls at him in a way that's not entirely pleasant, stirs cooler, distant thoughts that he likes to keep tamped down hard. it's the nature of the beast, he supposes; it's a mournful sort of instrument, wistful and somber.

still, he doesn't interrupt her, and his body relaxes comfortably again, heavy eyelids dropping low, closing easy. though he feels her eyes on him he pays no mind to it, undisturbed, though it helps that he's already feeling loose and easy anyway, comfortable, his limbs all warm and heavy.

he'll listen for as long as she plays, settling into himself, taking it in. ]

[~~And thus a very short thread hooray~~ Makie does truly like to play, and with such implicit permission as Cas comfortably slouching back again to listen, she'll continue for some time.

But she's a mixture of curious and concerned also, and so eventually when she winds down another piece of music, she stills the strings with her fingers. Done for now.]

You must have had quite a few people confuse you for another by now.

[ he's loose all over by the time she draws it to a close, though you could probably blame the weed for that, too. either way, he's enjoyed himself, and even once she lays her fingers over the strings he keeps his eyes shut.

until she speaks, of course. ]

Heh.. understatement, I think. Apparently I really got around.

I hope it doesn't bother you.

[She knows by now that he's some kind of alternate timeline, inasmuch as her traditional mind can wrap itself around that.] You are, at the very least, easy to tell apart once people realise. So I suspect there will be much less confusion in a week's time.

Nah, not really. I mean, it's kind of inconvenient, but.. hey, I'm making unexpected friends, so there's that.

[ cas shrugs, tugging his jacket closer so he can fish through the pockets for a cigarette and his lighter. ]

But you're definitely not wrong about that. Me and the other guy? Hard to even remember that I was anything like him, once.

Well, I've certainly never seem him smoke. [She says it dryly, but moves further away from him on the bench. He can smoke all he wants, but being within inhaling distance would probably be terrible for a person with her health.]

Life must have been quite drastically different for you. I hope not for the worse, but I suppose that would be unrealistic.

[For someone like Castiel to fall into more slovenly habits, she can't help but think something terrible has gone wrong.]

[ for all he's changed, and all of his idiosyncrasies, castiel's still sharp and observant enough to note the way she's shifted away. he might be mindlessly self-indulgent, but he's considerate, too, so he's quick enough to pop the cigarette back into the pack and stuff it back into his pocket. ]

Yeah, I imagine you haven't.

[ seen him smoke, that is. funny, how they're the same guy, but cas still can't imagine castiel with a cigarette in his mouth. or a joint. or anything. ]

But, uh... drastically different for sure, I imagine. [ shrug. ] I suppose it's true, what they say. About people being a sum of their experiences, or some such.

I don't doubt it. I think if I had never come to these places, I'd have had a very different life. [A much shorter one, anyway.

...]

I don't mind if you smoke, sir. I'm sorry if I've made things inconvenient in that regard. [She smiles faintly.] My health has been poor lately, that's all.

[ a dismissive wave. ]

Nah, don't worry about it, got plenty of time to light up later. [ besides, if poor health is the reason.. yeah, no way he's going to be that jerk. instead he just sits back on his hands. ] Sorry to hear that, though. You going to be okay?

I am, I think. [A ghost of amusement there; his other self offered to heal her, but let's not go into details.] It would be less certain if I were still in my own time, but it seems the future can treat all kinds of illnesses.

[As can, y'know, knowing angels.]

I used to smoke on occasion myself before I became ill. I certainly don't begrudge the habit.

[ knowing angels is pretty convenient. cas would've offered to help himself, if he could, but that ability - knitting flesh, healing others - that'd been one of the first to go. he can't so much as fix a papercut anymore. it's a sore spot. not being able to heal and help himself, that sucks, it's no fun, but not being able to help others?

that's the real bite. ]

Good. [ he chuckles, low and soft. ] But fair enough. I don't have it in me to worry about anyone judging me over bad habits, anyway, but health concerns are a different story.

[She smiles, both at the laugh and the consideration. It's appreciated.]

When did you start?

[The difference between the two will be a lot vaster than a mere habit, but she does wonder where they started to differ.]

Oh..

[ cas rolls his eyes skyward, blowing air out of his mouth that ruffles the hair over his brow while he thinks. ]

Three years ago, maybe? Four? Probably four. Something like that.

Do you drink as well? [She's actually not asking that one to pry.] Smoking isn't something I can partake in anymore, but I had wondered if I might find sake somewhere in this chaos.

[Preferably a quieter part of it.]

Yeah, I've seen a few places with something like it. The labels are all weird, so it's hard to find exactly what you're looking for, but it's out there.

[ took him awhile to figure that one out. it's hard to find the stuff he's used to, mixed in with all the weird, radioactive alien drinks. cas leans forward again, toward her, with a smile. ]

So, looking for a date?

I certainly wouldn't say no to good company. [Date is really not a familiar word, given her time and upbringing, but she gets the idea enough.] If you can find a less noisy place they might sell such things, I would appreciate it.

I think I might know a couple places.

[ snagging his jacket off of the grass by the collar, cas.. shakes off all the chips (seriously, why were people throwing money at him?),pockets them, then sweeps it over his shoulders and tugs it on while he climbs to his feet, then leans to offer his arm. shutup, he's kind of cheesy. ]

If you'll do me the honor, that is.

[Cheesy is endearing. There are so few men that are actual gentlemen in Edo, trust her.]

Certainly. [She takes his arm like a lady, thanks very much. It's probably clear how thin she is under the kimono from the touch, but she moves with fluid poise. Just don't go running anywhere.]

[ well cas wouldn't necessarily consider himself a gentleman. i mean, have you even looked at him BUT HEY that's still a nice compliment.

nevertheless, off they are down the strip anyway, away from the park and back on to the main drag. it's odd, how smooth and thin and elegant she feels, flowing beside him like water; such delicacy has no real place where he's from, and cas can't remember the last time he saw or felt a human being like her. ]

Shouldn't take long, it's not very far. Shame we've got to leave the park, though, I like it here.

[Trust me, you're a gentleman by Edo red light district standards.]

Perhaps they'll let us bring the sake back with us. Drinking it under the trees sounds nice.

[ how sad, that's probably true. ]

I'm sure we can manage that much. Better than a stuffy, cramped bar anyway.

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