Chapter One [Video]

[thebestseller]

[When the feed clicks on, someone's obviously showing off. First, a blank notebook opens and turns a few pages of its own volition... before post-it notes stick on it out of nowhere, followed by a few splatters of ink. Castle then turns it on his smiling face.]

Now, as far as superpowers go, throwing ink and paper around isn't the worst thing someone could have. In fact, it's quite fitting for a writer and avid reader like myself. Just imagine all the possibilities... reading without needing to turn the pages, writing a grocery list with a few twists of the finger, putting up wallpaper... okay, maybe it's not THAT cool. But look what else I can do.

[Castle holds the phone up with one hand while writing WAFFLES in his notebook with the other. And lo and behold- a plate of waffles appears. Except one is still frozen and one is slightly burnt, and they only linger a few moments before vanishing.]

... I'm failing at demonstrating my abilities and looking halfway-competent at them, aren't I? Anybody willing to help a writer-turned-sudden-superhero out? You'd have my eternal gratitude as well as a dedication in my next novel.

[He then signs RICHARD CASTLE on the notebook page, and awaits replies.]

Comments

voice.

[motherfucked]

[ That is a weird-ass superpower. ]

Okay. But can you eat them?

voice.

[thebestseller]

Well, nothing I create has lingered more than a few seconds, so... I'm a little afraid to try.

[raincheck]

[ that's-- a little strange, but it's far from the strangest thing steve's seen or heard today. ]

WHat kind of help are you looking for?

[thebestseller]

Mostly curious if anybody else has similar powers... the creation thing being the big one. Like, if there's some kind of trick to it...

[alofts]

[ Well isn't that a hell of a thing. ]

Halfway-competent is generous. Create something to clean that mess up.

[thebestseller]

Well, see, the problem is that anything I create disappears within a few seconds.

[video]

[hands4healing]

I think there's a superhero school starting up?

[video]

[thebestseller]

A school, huh? Well, I'm certainly willing and able to learn some new tricks, as it were.

[Video]

[anthropophagite]

[ a writer?

ZOOMS IN ]

I don't think I'm much of a help regarding powers. Mine are also a bit weird. [ fucked up. he means fucked up.

In any case, PRIORITIES: ] What kind of novels do you write?

[Video]

[thebestseller]

I'm sure I'll find someone. Thanks anyway- at least mine aren't too terribly weird.

I'm a mystery writer.

video.

[heralding]

It depends on what you would like to test, but I can help you train.

[She is, to some degree, in charge of training some imPorts, at least.]

video.

[thebestseller]

I'd appreciate any help. I'd hate to case a ruckus when I've just gotten here- I've done enough of that in my life.

[video]

[acrobrat]

[Anita raises an eyebrow while sitting on a large but thankfully low branch of a tree in the park.

A writer and a reader, huh? Fitting. She sometimes thought it was odd that she hated books, and yet she had paper-related powers, because her sisters could strip a bookstore bare if they had the money and energy to do so.]

Okay, the waffle thing is pretty handy, but can you do this?

[She pulls out a sheet of paper from the holster almost always on her thigh. The paper stiffens so it now looks more like a white blade, and with this she slices a nearby branch right off the trunk.]

[video]

[thebestseller]

[Castle watches, mouth agape, before he almost... squeals with delight. He looks impressed, either way.]

THAT WAS AWESOME! And gives a whole new meaning to the term "papercut", eh?

[He laughs at his own cheesy joke.]

video;

[sofentheblow]

Can you control which things you write that are going to, hm -- manifest like that?

[ Clearly there's some cutoff -- he's just written RICHARD CASTLE and not had a clone pop into temporary existence next to him -- but is it logistical or intent-based? ]

video;

[thebestseller]

Yup. I need to consciously will it into existence... and even then, it doesn't stick for very long.

Permavid

[governorkang]

People underestimate how useful being able to write or turn pages in a book with only your mind can be. It'd make my life at home a hell of a lot easier.

[thebestseller]

[Castle seems momentarily taken aback by the appearance of the... person? creature? on the other end, but recovers quicky. This is a superhero world, after all, and not all heroes are human.]

Did you have to push a lot of paper, as it were? I can only imagine if you had a lot of paperwork, it'd make organization a cinch.

video;

[sacrificusdux]

Perhaps with practice you'll gain some kind of mastery over your new abilities and learn your limitations.

[Always practical, Erwin was still attempting to hone his own abilities even if he still didn't entirely trust them.]

video;

[thebestseller]

I'd love to, yeah. I'd have a pretty damn useful power at my fingertips... limited only by imagination. I could make something for any situation.

[ voice ]

[youbastard]

[ Ellie's voice has a vaguely English sounding accent. ]

It sounds like you've already gotten a much better power than the last writer I met here. I didn't get powers like yours, so really all I could offer in the way of help is advice that I used for learning about mine. Which is really still an ongoing process, honestly.

[ voice ]

[thebestseller]

I will listen and give consideration to any advice anyone can offer. But I'm curious now... what powers did that other writer have?

[andaway]

I'm pretty sure they weren't expecting us to flawlessly dominate our powers as soon as we landed. Yours look particularly tricky to control, since you’d have to be really specific.

[But! It’s something else that has caught Clark’s attention.] You’re a writer?

[thebestseller]

Yeah, really- I'm just imagining trying to, say, summon a match and getting a lit one for my troubles. But really... I've got a world of possibilities to think about.

Yup! I'm a well-known mystery writer back home.

text;

[gabriel_gray]

[ He loves it when people show off. Especially with such interesting powers. ]

Now that really is something I haven't seen before.

text;

[thebestseller]

Really? Well, I guess generating half-frozen, half-burned waffles isn't something one sees every day.

voice.

[altercate]

How many people even read the dedication page?

voice.

[thebestseller]

Oh, you'd be surprised. Plenty of authors put shout-outs to their fans.

video

[housenurse]

You write books? What kinds? [Probably not the trashy erotica she's been getting into.]

video

[thebestseller]

Crime novels- murder mysteries, spies, intrigue, the whole nine yards.