10th Contraption: Mawwiage

[pineapplesalmon]

Who: John Watson, Johnny Summer, and César Salazar with Rich Goranski, Fio, and Honoria Crabb AND YOU Oh god why are weddings like this
What: The throuple getting married by... the Captain?!
When: December 11th at 7pm
Where: John's
Warnings: I believe in us! But for now, nothing.


SEATING

John's has been transformed, the seating up front rearranged in rows towards the center dias with an aisle down the middle, the piano moved off to one side. The buffet for later can be seen off to the other. Decorations taken from Spirit Halloween appear here and there–flowers taken from cavalera flower crowns, sun and moon candlestick holders from the tarot collection, festively colored tablecloths draped down the walls like curtains or banners. A sign near the entrance says "seat yourself", although the front row on one side is reserved with a ribbon across the backs.

What can't be seen is who is officiating. Or the husbands, but at least that part makes sense. The dais is empty.


THE CEREMONY

As one of the few traditions in this wedding, music announces the start of the ceremony. Rich strolls in first, trying to look professional even if he’s clearly shaking a bit as he holds the small pillow with the rings laid on it. At least he’s dressed quite smartly, Johnny ensuring his red suit is wrinkle free and his cuff links are set in place. Fio, in a winged black dress and flowery headdress, follows after the ring bearer, adorning the path with paper petals as she moves along.

The first husband to be down the aisle is none other than Johnny, in a smart charcoal grey suit with a goldenrod pocketsquare, gold jewelry, and a wreath of orange blossoms on his head; and accompanied by Honoria Crabb in her perfectly tailored black tuxedo, worn with black gloves and a white bow tie. Watson and César take up the rear, arms linked together. César is wearing an equally fancy suitcoat with his tie held in place with a ruby and silver tie pin, and Watson is wearing an officer’s dress uniform, with the sword and without the helmet, and also his good cane. All three husbands-to-be are wearing green carnation boutonnières.


AFTER PARTY

It's time to eat, dance, and party!

The seating has been rearranged for sitting at tables around the "dance" floor. Food from Windjammer has been placed on some tables for a buffet. There’s a selection of fancy cheeses and crackers, sushi, premade sandwiches, and salad with dressings on the side. For dessert, to one side there’s a table with cupcakes, cookies, and chocolates arranged in a heart. On the bar are a couple bowls of punch (including one explicitly labeled as non-alcoholic) made by Johnny ahead of time, because he's been forbidden to bartend his own wedding, much to his deep chagrin.

There’s a space set just off the dancefloor for musicians who wish to perform, the usual John’s piano (bribed into behaving with a whole pan of beef brisket from the buffet) off to one side.

Comments

Even me? :D

[pineapplesalmon]

César wasn't going to bother Six. He really had only meant to let Six know it was a chance for reconnaissance. But luck is not with him today.

He happens to be getting something from his bag he brought when the cross paths near the exit. It's not a collision so much as César makes eye contact with Six. Or thinks he did, anyway.

"Ah. Uhm. Learned anything useful?" César's not expecting a congratulations at all; that'd be weird, and Six is back to full hating him because of a misconception that César can't dispell.

[sixthdeadliest]

Luck -- or maybe just the Captain -- really wasn't on his side, was it?

It was pointless to pretend he hadn't noticed the other man.

"That either the man is a Muslim or just using their prayers to see how many people he can annoy," Six stated flatly. "Given how he covered his ears for all three of your vows, I'm leaning towards the latter."

[pineapplesalmon]

César blinks at him for a moment. "I'm not so sure, but I can't quite put my finger on it as to why...."

He snaps his fingers after several moments, smirking triumphantly. "The Captain's too lazy to go to that amount of effort for trolling!"

[sixthdeadliest]

Six raised a skeptical eyebrow. It was tempting to point out his own roommate assignment which had been very deliberately set up to prompt the two men inside to kill one another, but that would mean revealing things about "Peter Smith" that the man didn't want anybody else to know.

Funny how despite how angry he was with Salazar, he still kept that man's secrets, too.

Instead..."We're talking about a being that built an entire ship to torture people endlessly instead of doing the bare minimum. Seems like a waste of effort."

[pineapplesalmon]

César appreciates that. And he's keeping Six's secrets safe, too.

It's too bad he doesn't know that it was Friday who put them together. Because she thought they'd have something in common that way.

The statement makes César have to fight back laughter. "Six, I built my lab to avoid having to deal with airports. You know, put thousands of hours into a sublight drive and the lab attached to it solely to avoid airports. Besides, the Captain takes a ton of shortcuts with maintaining this reality: no bacteria or other contaminants, weatherless sky with steady barometric pressure, an empty ocean, we're the only living things, and a cruise ship would be easy enough to duplicate and then alter at his level. Easier than altering a location on land. He only needs to maintain the boat most of the time."

[sixthdeadliest]

"He could've just as easily made a prison with no exits. Just cells upon cells with only the basic necessities between torments. No need to build recreational areas or even simulate the ocean."

Though in Six's experience, there was no greater torture at times than other people.

[pineapplesalmon]

"He likes to watch us. Prisons are boring." Sadly, he has an argument for that, too.

César looks across the crowd. "... he's changing, Six."

[sixthdeadliest]

"Into what exactly?" Six asked sourly. "Because I doubt he's turning over a new leaf."

[pineapplesalmon]

"It's too soon to tell." He glances back at Six, then looks back to the crowd and crosses his arms in thought. "You're right. It's more of a point of interest. No violence or mockery. A proper wedding. Not something he would've done at the start of this voyage."

[sixthdeadliest]

"No open mockery, you mean." Six looked in the direction of the captain. "You're giving him too much credit."

[pineapplesalmon]

"Maybe. But it's interesting enough to require gathering more data." César's eyes trail to the Captain as well. "We're honestly not going to win by force."

[sixthdeadliest]

"We're not likely to win period," Six stated cynically. "He got rid of an entire ship full of passengers at least once before. Nothing stopping him from doing it again."

[pineapplesalmon]

César sobers at that. "I... know there's a high percentage chance we'll fail. But I'd like to at least try to be hopeful during my wedding reception."

[sixthdeadliest]

Six gave a derisive snort at that but only said, "Then I'd best be on my way so you don't have to think about it."

[pineapplesalmon]

César opens his mouth and closes it for a moment before looking apologetic. "... you don't have to go. I just want a moment of happiness. Find happiness where you can and hold tight onto it, you know?"

[sixthdeadliest]

Six stared at him for a long moment before giving a wry chuckle.

"I think that's the first thing you've ever said that made sense." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Particularly since it never lasts."

[pineapplesalmon]

César looks mildly offended for a moment before he gives in with a sigh, the tension leaving his shoulders. "... I resemble that remark."

He glances to Rich playing music on the dais. "It never does last, but we can carve out our little moments here and there. It's the only way we have any chance of surviving this for as long as we can. I have a family here, Six. Giving up hope would mean giving up on them."

A pause as he visibly considers what to add next. "... it's awful to say, but I'm happier here than back home. I'd rather be under the Captain than Black Knight."

[sixthdeadliest]

"At least Black Knight isn't practically all-powerful and all-seeing. She won't be in charge forever."

But here there were no such guarantees.

[pineapplesalmon]

"Yet. That's entirely a possibility if we fail back home." César glances back at Six. "But the cost of my happiness here is the loss of Rex, likely forever. I'll never truly get over that."

[sixthdeadliest]

"If we fail back home, we don't necessarily have to live with the consequences for long. We're denied that luxury here."

"Til death do us part" lasts a very, very long time when you can't die.

[pineapplesalmon]

"That's too optimistic for Rex and I. The meta-nanites would give them more power than the Captain. They could torture us in perpetuity." Now who's being a downer, Salazar.

It's a very long time, yes.

[sixthdeadliest]

"Maybe, but Black Knight seems more the type who'd want to wrap up loose ends as swiftly as possible."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Endless death and resurrection, however...I can't possibly think of a worse torture. Death's a mercy."

[pineapplesalmon]

"Not all of her employers think similarly." César doesn't trust it. "And they'd keep me alive so I could deal with an malfunctions. Rewriting my mind to be loyal to them wouldn't be out of the question."

[sixthdeadliest]

"It'd still be a death if not a literal one. That person wouldn't be you anymore. Like how I'm technically not the original Six."

Potentially rubbing salt in the wound but it got the point across: Salazar in that state would be effectively dead.