be_seeing_you: (smile)
be_seeing_you ([personal profile] be_seeing_you) wrote in [community profile] come_sailaway2023-08-18 11:51 am

Gh6st Wedding

Who: Number 6, Ava Starr & Wedding Guests
What: Number 6 and Ava are getting married!
When: Saturday, August 19, Sunset
Where: Pool Deck
Warnings: Post is open to all but any characters who initiate conflict will be thrown out of the party immediately


Setting The Scene



A package had arrived for Number 6 a few days prior. Inside was a note explaining that an appropriate backdrop for their wedding would appear for the event. The note did not lie. A few hours before the appointed time, a stunning arch of flowers and opalescent crystals appears at the end of a white aisle runner on the pool deck. The various lounges and deck chairs already present have been arranged on either side of the runner, facing the new archway. Aside from that stunning centerpiece, the rest of the decorations appear makeshift upon inspection but are arranged with plenty of care--with soft and gauzy fabrics draped over key tables, such as where the gifts and the wedding cake sit, and improvised cloth flowers for most of the centerpieces and railings. All that’s missing now are the guests.


Ceremony



It begins at sunset, the sky painted with a warm ombre above the pool deck. The railings leading up to the deck are draped with repurposed curtains woven with dozens of flowers sewn from the fabric of Tommy Bahama apparel; they mark the way. As guests choose their seats (on either side, no one is being picky) they will find a cloth flower waiting for them as a party favor.

The whole ceremony is a compromise between traditional and simplistic. Klaus is officiating, but they’ve been asked to keep the ceremony itself short and sweet. Number 6 is standing beside them at the end of the aisle decked out in white himself in the form of a white tuxedo with coat tails (it even has wing holes built-in.) His fingers dance anxiously in front of him like he’s frantically playing an invisible keyboard. And, then, the processional music begins, provided by their very own pianist, Phil.

Number 6 turns his full attention to the center aisle. The first down is Fio, playing the lovely role of flower girl once more, with even more of those specially crafted fabric flowers. Then the best man, Skulduggery, and maid of honor, Valdis. Number 6 barely notices either. He’s waiting for... yes, there’s the music change.

His eyes go wide with awe as he beholds the sight of his gorgeous bride being led down the middle of the aisle on Maximilien’s arm. Not even the sight of that omnic can spoil it for Number 6. He’s never seen anything so stunningly, fabulously, beautiful as Ava looks right now. Even the jittering of his hands has stopped. He can scarcely do more than stare. This is really happening. He almost wants to ask Skulduggery to pinch him.

Ava’s glad for Maximilien’s steadying presence by her side, to hold onto so she doesn’t dissolve away into nervous static in anticipation of her turn down the aisle. But once the music transitions to her song, there’s no hesitation as she gracefully makes her way through the parted crowd of their gathered friends toward the man she’ll so soon be able to call her husband.

Valdis helped style her hair just hours before, with a flower crown, adorned by shimmery feathers that match the patch of blue of the groom’s own wings and the borrowed sapphire necklace to complete the tradition. Her gown is a gauzy chiffon, constructed over the last few months with the help of Okie and Siffleur. The fabric flower bouquet she carries is constructed with the pearls gifted to her by Helena.

She can feel eyes on her; that typically might inspire her to flicker away. But hers remain ahead, looking to her future husband. Their gazes catch, and so does her breath as the moment overwhelms her, and then Ava’s smile brightens-- an expression so rare, so uncomplicated. This is the happiest she’s ever been, taking her place by his side. She gives Maximilien one last squeeze of his arm in appreciation of his support, passes the bouquet off to Valdis, acknowledges Skulduggery with a tiny nod, and then steps in to take Number 6’s hands in her trembling own.

Number 6’s own smile is bright as he takes her by the hand, yet somehow soft. In this light, he almost looks like he’s aged backward, as if the man standing before her is in his twenties now, fresh-faced and free of the weight of worries that have weathered him in the past decade. This is an end and a beginning. A beautiful beginning.


Vows



The vows begin with a traditional exchange, each of them repeating their promise to love and cherish one another through sickness and through health, for richer or for poorer, until their final deaths do they part. Then come the rings, discretely handed over by Skulduggery.

“With this ring, I pledge myself to you,” Number 6 recites, as he slips a stunning opal and diamond ring onto Ava’s finger. She does the same for him, slipping a simple and elegant golden band upon his finger. This one holds a secret, but he won’t discover it until later.

With the official vows and rings exchanged, there are only personal vows left to give. Number 6 slips a small sheet of paper out of his breast pocket, but he has read and re-read the words so many times, he hardly needs to glance at it. In front of the whole room, he declares his unending love for her and promises to be her first and best supporter, to be the one that lifts her up, always, to help her see herself as the shining light that she is. Theirs will be a partnership built on mutual respect and unending love. He also promises to withhold no part of himself from her, that she will know him more fully than any other in the world. “I put my heart in your hands, forever more, for no one else in all the world has made me believe in a future like you have. No matter what that future holds, these will be the most rewarding days of my life, because I will share them with you.” He starts to lean in like he means to kiss her but has to stop himself. Not yet. Not quite time.

Once it’s Ava’s turn to share her vows, she freezes up. It’s not that she can’t remember. She’s practiced the words over and over, committing them to heart. But she gives Number 6 a quietly worried look that he luckily recognizes, and as she steps in even closer he brings up a wing to shield them from view and save her from embarrassment. It’s not how it was planned, but Ava draws him down toward her, to lovingly whisper the vows into his ear. Promises of devotion and loyalty, of unconditional trust that no spy should ever have in another. She looks forward to cherishing each day that they’ll have together. To strive for a shared future no matter what horrors they face, that waking up next to him will always make it worth it. “I love you” she finishes and allows him to wipe the stray tear from her cheek, laughing lightly in relief.

“I liked it better this way,” Number 6 whispers back, still cupping her face with his hand. “Words only for me to know and cherish.” He cannot resist any longer. Vaguely, he has the sense that Klaus may have declared them husband and wife, and that they now may kiss. But he’s already leaning in, behind the shield of his wing, to claim his very first kiss with his new wife.


Reception



They are introduced to the room now as Mr. and Mrs. Peter and Ava Starr. Since the reception is happening right here on the pool deck, they don’t have much in the way of formalities. The wedding party simply walks back down the aisle and then disperses, as some of them set to the task of clearing the chairs. The newly wedded couple makes their first stop the cake table.

Grinning like school children, the bride and groom cut the first slice of cake and feed each other a bite before the rest is served up. After that is their first dance to At Last. The two of them sway to the ballad, lost in each other’s loving gazes as if all the world has melted away and only the two of them exist in this moment.

Once the first dance finishes, Sharky takes over the party as DJ to provide a mixture of upbeat and romantic dance hits for all to enjoy. Ava takes turns dancing with each of the requesting guests, as does Number 6, although he is not likely to be in nearly as high demand for partners. As it should be, for who would want to miss their chance to dance with the loveliest woman aboard this ship (in his shamelessly biased opinion?)

There's time for speeches, planned and impromptu. The food spread was prepared by Darcy, and though there are a few bottles of champagne, the drinking isn't overly in abundance.

Bride and groom stick around for long enough to mingle, but eventually Mr. and Mrs. Starr sneak away from the crowd for their own private after-party.

ablativeholopleather: in game art (Default)

[personal profile] ablativeholopleather 2023-08-25 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah, he does seem super into all the like, pomp and circumstance stuff. I was just figuring out how to do cupcakes like I had back home because I needed to know if I could make the Things I needed to actually keep people alive and fix them up when they break their noses or whatever."

Tossing a pilfered almond into his mouth, Wayne shrugs a shoulder up, looking largely unenthused.

"Some people just don't wanna do the relationship thing. That's there prerogative, y'know? At least the ones that do can invite the rest of us schmucks along to enjoy the snacks."
theweakhavepurpose: (Listening)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2023-08-25 06:42 pm (UTC)(link)
"You can keep people alive with cupcakes?" Oh he's intrigued now. "Tell me more."

He grins at that last part though, "That's the spirit! Pretty sure weddings are all about eating cake with people and less about the actual ceremony. That's like.... a formality to get to the all you can eat buffet of tiny hot dogs and smelly cheeses."
ablativeholopleather: (Thing: Cupcake)

[personal profile] ablativeholopleather 2023-08-28 06:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"Cupcakes, hot dogs, burritos, vegetables..." He has lots of Things, and he's even managed to replenish some of it while here because apparently some things are universal. He's having to learn which vegetables apply to his ability to deploy them though, that's been a strange adventure all by itself.

"Wedding cake's pretty legit, man. I wonder if they'd let me take some with me for later. There's a lot of it there..." He might actually be debating on pocketing as much from the buffet as he can.
theweakhavepurpose: (In Flight)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2023-08-31 01:00 am (UTC)(link)
"Okay I'm gonna believe you cuz anything is possible, but how are you healing people with cucumbers? Is it magic or something? Do you grow special carrots?" He's intrigued, tell him everything.

"Probably, they have a shit ton of it, and it's not like it'll rot. Though I think there's some tradition where they're supposed to save a slice and eat it on their one year anniversary? Which normally I would think is kinda gross to eat year old cake, but here I guess they just gotta make sure it doesn't get dusty."
ablativeholopleather: in game art (Default)

[personal profile] ablativeholopleather 2023-08-31 09:44 pm (UTC)(link)
"Kinda like my Gestures, it just requires specific food. I guess magic is the easiest way to explain it, yeah. Like-" He debates briefly, then puts aside his glass of potato and twists his fingers in the air in a brief Calibration to lower his energy just that little bit, then flattens his palm with a juice box on it, which rotates gently then crunches down with a sound like the last dregs being sucked out of a cup before disappearing entirely. "That kind of thing. Juice is good for Will but also for burns."

Back to his potatoes. He's sort of glad that he can just eat food while hanging out with Pratt even in the middle of practical demos.

"What, do they like, freeze it or something? Even if it can't rot it seems like freezerburned stuff would be kinda grody too."
theweakhavepurpose: (Seen too much)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2023-09-06 04:53 am (UTC)(link)
He watches with rapt concentration because watching someone summon a juice box out of thin air is the kind of thing he desperately wishes elementary school Pratt had the ability to do. Just ten year old him summoning a capri-sun and then putting on too big aviator sunglasses like the coolest guy in the school of 100 people.

"So you don't even have to drink it you just... absorb it? That's kinda convenient. And then if you'd been burned it would have filled that health bar right on up yeah?" Pratt has no idea how close he is with his constant video game logic.

"Yeah they freeze it. It's gotta taste like shit though. Even if it's not rotten it'll be like eating cardboard."
ablativeholopleather: in game art (Default)

[personal profile] ablativeholopleather 2023-09-10 02:38 am (UTC)(link)
"Drinking it's only good for what normal drinking things do, and sometimes it's cool to just do that, but otherwise, yeah. It's kinda necessary for me to be able to fight for long bouts. Patches up the holes," he explains around a bite. The video game logic is honestly right on the money. "Vegetables are great for that, actually. I used to have a little garden and I always carried around a bunch just in case.

"...I don't wanna think about what kind of effect a year old cake would have. I bet it'd be like a Dubious Berry. Good for restoring your energy but also makes you hella sick."
theweakhavepurpose: (Smile)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2023-09-12 03:52 am (UTC)(link)
"Right cuz you're fighting those uh.... things. Water things?" That's sorta like Poolmen if you squint.

"Do you... you mean holes literally huh? Like... actual holes. Huh. That's gotta feel fucking weird." He'd never really thought about the repercussions of being made of clay.
ablativeholopleather: (Waynespace)

[personal profile] ablativeholopleather 2023-09-12 05:23 am (UTC)(link)
Water things...hydrostats? That wouldn't necessarily be wrong either, but would Pratt remember anything about them from a conversation before the memory ended? Perhaps. Poolmen don't actually occur to Wayne as something connected to the idea, but he does realize that that's something that the guy knows about in general. And they both fall into the category of "things that might put holes in a Wayne".

"Right, exactly. Some things attack just because they can, y'know? So we gotta be able to recover quick and having food on hand's great for that. I've never really thought about how it feels, though. Been too long since I learned it."
theweakhavepurpose: (The seal is broken)

[personal profile] theweakhavepurpose 2023-09-13 05:46 am (UTC)(link)
"The strong overtaking the weak. Because they can. Because they should. Or think they should anyway." He juts his jaw out as he considers that. "But yeah, I know how that is. Though when I get holes in me I can't just eat food and make it better which sucks because I'd be the most healed guy of all fucking time with how much I eat. And also how often I get stabbed."
ablativeholopleather: art by hylids on tumblr (Waynecasual)

[personal profile] ablativeholopleather 2023-09-13 12:58 pm (UTC)(link)
"Next time you think you're gonna get stabbed, lemme know. I've got stuff for that." He gives Pratt a thumbs-up for good measure.