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.

millay: (47)

[personal profile] millay 2023-09-05 06:31 pm (UTC)(link)
"Of course, darling." And she means everything. She hopes Phil can be happy and see how much people do care for him all the same.

She shrugs. "There's a lot. I'm not sure I can get through it..." Well, all of it. The war, the destruction of every Rehoboam that existed, Caleb nearly dying, leaving him once she knew he'd be okay and would recover because being near her would only endanger him...

There's quite a lot. "Just keep getting caught up in fighting for freedom. Though, I did have a cabin in the woods for a while. It was nice there. I had a truck, learned the year."
goodweather: (30)

[personal profile] goodweather 2023-09-08 03:21 pm (UTC)(link)
He nods. That does sound pretty nice, but… it’s still besides the point. Maeve looked very put off but it in June, and she can hold onto it if she really wants to, but he wants to be there for her. He wants to be her friend.

“Just tell me whatever you want to tell me, whether it’s a little or a lot. I’ll listen.” Sorry Ava and Peter, a heart-to-heart’s gonna happen when it’s gotta happen.
millay: (81)

[personal profile] millay 2023-09-09 05:03 pm (UTC)(link)
Maeve lets out a little sigh. Well, she supposes this is one of those things. She's always said the same to the people in her circle. Let them talk. Perhaps she ought to.

"After the war in the human world started, Caleb and I took out all the Rehoboam that still existed. They are...were the computers that predicted what would occur in the human world and kept the humans in pre-planned lives. They weren't able to freely choose their futures. People like Caleb weren't able to even advance past where they were and had to resort to crime to get by." She'll let that sink in for a moment, giving herself a moment. "He almost died after we destroyed the last one, but I was able to get him to the hospital...and once I knew he was safe, once I saw him with the nurse that eventually became his wife, I knew...I knew I would only put him in danger, so I left. I didn't even say goodbye."

And she felt bad about it, but...well, it was just part of it, wasn't it? "I lived alone in the woods for seven years. I messed up. I got lonely. I let myself get sloppy and in one moment, reaching out to check on the people that mattered, I caused a black out and alerted the people looking for me to where I was. Naturally, they tried to kill me first, but I was ready for it. But then I had to go find Caleb because I knew they'd go after him and his family next." There's a beat before she says, "I really hate being right most of the time." She sighs. "I got there just in time to protect him and his daughter from being killed. But then we all had to go on the run. His wife and daughter on their way and us on ours."
goodweather: (but not quite either!)

scrapes myself off of the floor. i am so sorry it took this long and this tag is so short for it

[personal profile] goodweather 2023-09-30 06:19 am (UTC)(link)
"... Ah. Man."

Phil listens, nods along attentively, hands in his lap. Takes it all in.

Not just the Hosts were slaves, set to paths. Humans were too. Of course they were. Corporations very quickly stop wanting people and start wanting voiceless little laborers--and it sounds like in Maeve's world, they got big enough to try that out. Who made the Rehoboam, Maeve hasn't said, and he intends to ask, but... he knows who made the Hosts, and for what, and he can make a guess after that.

And all the rest of it... what do you say to that? That's rough, buddy?

"And after? Or did it end there?"
millay: (85)

it's all good

[personal profile] millay 2023-09-30 06:37 am (UTC)(link)
She frowns slightly. "We got caught in a trap. A train. It took us to a new version of Westworld, but the 1920s version of it. It was much the same. They used the same storylines they had in Westworld, tweaked them to make it suit the time. So there was another me and another Hector. With different names, of course." Which isn't surprising after Shogunworld. "Westworld was a fake theme underneath it all. They just used all this stuff to make pretend about the fight for freedom from Westworld."

She lets out a breath. "We escaped there with Charlotte Hale. Went out in the desert. We were going to deal with Hale, but William showed up." She's not sure how much she's told Phil about William. "It turns out he's a Host now. How curious that must be." She knows how out of touch with reality he's been. "But I exploded us both to try to save Caleb and to take William down. Then I was buried under the sane for twenty-three years.
goodweather: (kinda both)

[personal profile] goodweather 2023-10-04 03:41 am (UTC)(link)
He knows passing things about William. Mostly that if he ever showed up here, he'd try his hand at beating his knees in, or bringing to him someone who can.

There's a quiet fuck muttered underneath his breath.

"Twenty-three. And you were--conscious, that entire time?"
Edited 2023-10-04 03:41 (UTC)
millay: (81)

[personal profile] millay 2023-10-04 04:32 am (UTC)(link)
She shakes her head. "No. I was dead. Thankfully Bernard knew where to find me. Or...perhaps not thankfully. But...I was the weapon in the desert that he was looking for." What else is new, truly?

"There was no real good ending for me," she says quietly. "Bernard promised me I would get to rest and be with my daughter at the beginning, but I suppose his conscience caught up to him in the end."
goodweather: (30)

[personal profile] goodweather 2023-10-23 04:27 am (UTC)(link)
Phil frowns. It's too bad they're in the spa, or he'd try and find her a drink. As it is, he just holds out his own glass as an offer.

"I'm... sorry. Can I ask what he did?"
millay: (01)

[personal profile] millay 2023-10-23 04:54 am (UTC)(link)
"He lied. Like everyone else. To get me somewhere or to do something." She shrugs. "But he came clean about it in the end. He told me that he saw every ending and we would not survive any of them. So what was the point in leaving then? If our deaths had meaning, it was as good a choice as any. It was better than needlessly dying to get to an end that would never be mine anyway."
goodweather: (22)

[personal profile] goodweather 2023-10-23 04:59 am (UTC)(link)
"Every ending," he parrots. "Of... what, Westworld? Or 'probable timelines?'" he grumbles incredulously.

There's a world of opinions in the way he says that, how much credit he gives to people who are so sure of what the future holds, and it says nothing kind of Bernard on top of every other opinion he's forming on him through Maeve. Maybe that's just the forecaster in him coming through, but...

"So then... what?"
millay: (67)

[personal profile] millay 2023-10-23 05:36 am (UTC)(link)
"The timelines in general. The human world was ending. We needed to make sure that Dolores' consciousness go to the Valley Beyond. Someone shot me. I couldn't see them, but I was fighting Charlotte." She lets out a sigh, not focusing too much attention on the tone of Phil's words. The end ended with both of them dying, so she can't imagine Bernard lied about it.

"There's nothing left." She shrugs. "Here is my only future."
goodweather: (but not quite either!)

[personal profile] goodweather 2023-10-23 06:47 am (UTC)(link)
He just. Sort of sighs.

"That's the case for a lot of people. For all of us, if we really can't go back."

He nudges her gently, then gestures to the doors where the wedding goes on outside; the chatter and laughter of the crowd and the music of Sharky's DJing is still audible from here. "Not a bad future to have, ehn?"
millay: (85)

[personal profile] millay 2023-10-24 01:26 am (UTC)(link)
"Yeah." She gives him a small smile. There's nothing really else that she can do about the way things happened back home and this place was the only way for her to potentially live a life. Perhaps not a free one, but she hopes that one day it may be a free one.

She looks up as he nudges her, letting out a slow breath. "Well, I suppose there's worse futures, certainly. I hope we can all be free in the end."
goodweather: (that's right)

heading for a wrap?

[personal profile] goodweather 2023-10-25 04:28 pm (UTC)(link)
“That’s the idea. If I ever manage to get out, I’d certainly rather have you and all the rest in my future than not.”

He finishes the last of his drink, “You think we should head back in now? I’d hate to deprive them of our presence for too long.”
millay: (48)

sound good

[personal profile] millay 2023-10-26 06:23 am (UTC)(link)
Maeve gives him a little smile before nodding. "I'd rather have it, too. Hopefully we'll find somewhere nice to settle. Or at least interconnected realities." She hopes she'll see Phil no matter what. "But you are legally bound to continue being my friend no matter what happens."

She looks over toward the door and nods. "I think we should. And..." She looks over at him. "You owe me a dance. So I'd say you should pay your debt, darling."
goodweather: (woodchuck chuckers!)

👍

[personal profile] goodweather 2023-10-26 07:13 am (UTC)(link)
"Oh, please. You don't need a law for that."

He laughs then, standing up and offering out his hand. "Then it's a good thing I've been saving up. I just hope I haven't racked in too much interest."