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come_sailaway2023-12-25 08:09 pm
be_seeing_you) wrote in come_sailaway2023-12-25 08:09 pm
December- January Aftermath Catch-All
Who: Number 6 & Open
What: Picking up the pieces after The Village
When: Closed to Ava day of wake-up, a week later for everyone else (after New Year)
Where: Cabin, Tauva, possibly other places
warnings: Topics of Village Torture will warn for specifics in headers
Gonna get hit with the aftermath [Closed to Ava]
The moment he wakes beside Ava in their shared bed, he rolls over and embraces her fervently. His entire body aches, his wings are still missing, but he doesn't care about any of it.
All that matters is that he has her back in his arms.
"Ava... my darling, Ava..." He keeps loosening and then squeezing again like he's trying to make sure she's here and this isn't one more Village illusion. "I'm sorry..." For not being at her side, for not being strong enough, most of all, for not being able to hold on longer.
Gonna get hit with the whiplash [Open]
For the first entire week after they return, he doesn't leave their cabin. Ava puts a sign up on the door saying "Do not disturb!" Save for a few special cases, they mean that.
No Christmas gifts are given by him this year. No holiday meals are shared. If he can bring himself to eat at all, it's small and bland things brought to him to consume inside his cabin. He'll only trust food from Ava's own hand.
He needs time. That's what he keeps telling himself. He knows he owes an explanation. He owes it to a lot of people. But he can't face them. He can't bring himself to step outside the safety of these walls day after day after day. He spends the hours in which he can't sleep wearing a trail into the carpet as he paces the same three steps forward and backward, his fingers twitching at his sides the entire time, so much they start to cramp.
New Year's comes and goes. He isn't in the mood for champagne. But... something about the ticking over of the month at midnight feels like the kick he needs to finally pull himself together. Call it a resolution.
The following week, he puts up signs around the ship (yes, they are in braille too) that lack any embellishments, just a short and simple message:
Attention All:
If you have questions about The Village, I will try to answer them.
I will be available in the smoking lounge from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm I'll be in the cafe from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm. Find me if you want to talk. Please spread the word.
Sincerely,
Peter Starr (Number 6)
Just as the notices say, Number 6 will be in those locations at those specified times, sitting with a book in his hand and a drink at his side. He will set the book down when someone approaches, his lips pressing into a thin line as he steels himself for the conversation ahead.
He almost asked in his notice that no one approach him in anger, but he couldn't bring himself to. If they want to yell at him, that's their right. He could have done more. He should have. They're justified to hate him. Their loathing will never compare to the anger he harbors for himself. He's been enough of a hypocrite already, he won't deny them their righteous fury. Even if his tongue does feel like a lead weight against his teeth as he opens his mouth to attempt something like a neutral greeting.
"You wish to speak?"
What: Picking up the pieces after The Village
When: Closed to Ava day of wake-up, a week later for everyone else (after New Year)
Where: Cabin, Tauva, possibly other places
warnings: Topics of Village Torture will warn for specifics in headers
Gonna get hit with the aftermath [Closed to Ava]
The moment he wakes beside Ava in their shared bed, he rolls over and embraces her fervently. His entire body aches, his wings are still missing, but he doesn't care about any of it.
All that matters is that he has her back in his arms.
"Ava... my darling, Ava..." He keeps loosening and then squeezing again like he's trying to make sure she's here and this isn't one more Village illusion. "I'm sorry..." For not being at her side, for not being strong enough, most of all, for not being able to hold on longer.
Gonna get hit with the whiplash [Open]
For the first entire week after they return, he doesn't leave their cabin. Ava puts a sign up on the door saying "Do not disturb!" Save for a few special cases, they mean that.
No Christmas gifts are given by him this year. No holiday meals are shared. If he can bring himself to eat at all, it's small and bland things brought to him to consume inside his cabin. He'll only trust food from Ava's own hand.
He needs time. That's what he keeps telling himself. He knows he owes an explanation. He owes it to a lot of people. But he can't face them. He can't bring himself to step outside the safety of these walls day after day after day. He spends the hours in which he can't sleep wearing a trail into the carpet as he paces the same three steps forward and backward, his fingers twitching at his sides the entire time, so much they start to cramp.
New Year's comes and goes. He isn't in the mood for champagne. But... something about the ticking over of the month at midnight feels like the kick he needs to finally pull himself together. Call it a resolution.
The following week, he puts up signs around the ship (yes, they are in braille too) that lack any embellishments, just a short and simple message:
Attention All:
If you have questions about The Village, I will try to answer them.
I will be available in the smoking lounge from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm I'll be in the cafe from 3:30 pm to 5:00 pm. Find me if you want to talk. Please spread the word.
Sincerely,
Peter Starr (Number 6)
Just as the notices say, Number 6 will be in those locations at those specified times, sitting with a book in his hand and a drink at his side. He will set the book down when someone approaches, his lips pressing into a thin line as he steels himself for the conversation ahead.
He almost asked in his notice that no one approach him in anger, but he couldn't bring himself to. If they want to yell at him, that's their right. He could have done more. He should have. They're justified to hate him. Their loathing will never compare to the anger he harbors for himself. He's been enough of a hypocrite already, he won't deny them their righteous fury. Even if his tongue does feel like a lead weight against his teeth as he opens his mouth to attempt something like a neutral greeting.
"You wish to speak?"