Nov catch all - open + closed

[be_seeing_you]

Who: Number 6 + YOU
What: catch-all for November post halloween fall-out
When: Various days of November
Where: All over, see prompts
Warnings: None right now, will warn as needed



Nov. 2, Ava's birthday. Semi-closed (Established CR to Ava or 6 can wander in and say hi if they want to.)

Ava had specifically requested that this be a small and modest affair. No wild or large birthday parties. So, to that end, he has taken over a secluded section of the lounge to turn it into a small picnic spread. He's stolen linens from the dining room, along with some cutlery. And he's loaded the tables with various finger foods from the buffet. The one at the end has several pilfered types of cakes and desserts from the buffet, too. One especially large piece has a birthday candle stuck in it. That's for Ava.

Over the upper railing, he's tied a rope. On the end of that rope is a pinata shaped like an ant. That was by special request as well. There's a stick leaned up against the pillar waiting for its moment to shine. ava will, of course, get the first swing. That pinata isn't making it out alive.

By 3:00 pm, he's got everything set up and ready. Now, all that is missing is the person of honor, herself. He pulls up the sleeve of his freshly pressed dark suit to check his watch. She should be here any moment.


Nov. 5, The Drunken Sailor - Open

Friday said no bonfires. It's a shame, but he can understand it. So, he's devised the next best thing. He's sitting at the pub with a drink in hand and with a pillar of leftover birthday candles that he's melted together to create something like a torch. He's simply sitting there now watching the flame as the wax melts into the bottom of the drink tumbler he's using to hold it all upright.

"Remember, remember..." he recites to himself under his breath, slowly bringing a small paper effigy he's drawn on a napkin up to the candle flames. He lights it up and holds it carefully while it burns.

"Not quite the same, but it will have to do."


Photos at sea - Open

What is that? He freezes in place when he notices a new picture that has appeared on the wall. A picture of him...kissing thin air in the middle of the Halloween party. Of course, that's not what was really going on, but that's what the picture seems to show.

"Of all the nerve!" He tries to rip the frame down, but it won't budge.

"Come off it!" he roars at the thing. "Come down!"

He needs to get rid of this before anyone sees it!


Drawing Lessons/Portraits - Open

Once again, Number 6 can be found around the ship with his chalk pastels and his sketch pad. He might be drawing a scenic picture of the deck one moment or sketching a candid portrait of someone else the next. If it's the latter, he will approach the subject of his art once he's finished and offer it to them, saying, "Here. I hope you don't mind, but you made for a good quick study. Would you like to keep this?"

He's quick to smile at anyone who eyes his supplies curiously and to hold a hand out in invitation while saying, "Would you like to try them?" This is one of those rare times when he actually invites people to approach him in public.


Relaxing in the hot tub - Open

Perhaps he's been working himself a little too hard in the gym lately because his muscles have been terribly sore after what should be a fairly routine fitness regimen. It might be all that extra fencing he's been doing, now that he thinks of it. Fine. Maybe a warm soak would help. After resisting for months, he finally gives in to the temptation of that hot tub.

Usually, he would not like to show this much bare skin in a public setting, but he's forced to use the swim trunks that are available in the newly restored Tommy Bahama. A tropical blue pair that go down to his knees is the best he can come up with. It's an odd hour of the day. He hopes that will help. It was a relief to see the pool deck empty when he got here.

With a sigh, he sinks into the warm bubbling water, carefully arranging a towel around his shoulders to help conceal some of his bare chest. Eventually, as the heat starts to seep into his tired limbs, he relaxes back. Half an hour later, his eyes have drooped closed and he's dozing softly, unaware of anyone else who may be coming to join him.


Closed to Arthur

This conversation is long overdue. He gave Arthur a few days to recover from the events of Halloween, but no more. Today, just after noon, he knocks on the cabin door of room 127 and waits.

"Mr. Lester, are you in there? We need to talk."


Wildcard! - hit me up with anything you want! Poke me on the discord or on plurk kansaibanzai if you want to hash anything out.

Comments

Ava's birthday~

[busball]

Klaus is absolutely, one hundred percent there. Ava is his adopted sister, so he's not missing her birthday. Of course, he's mostly fought with the claw machine the day before to get something worthwhile. He managed to get a little mushroom guy. Admittedly, the wrapping job is sub par, but Klaus hasn't actually wrapped a gift before a day in their life.

"Is there like...a special gift space? Or like...can I just thrust this into Ava's arms and win at gifting?"

[decohere]

Ava peeks out from behind Klaus when she hears her name, and then snatches the sloppily wrapped gift from his hands, grinning. "For me?"

She gives it a little excited shake, and then realizes it's a bit squishy.

[busball]

Klaus grins widely as the gift is snatched out of his hands. "For you!" They watch as she shakes it and then waits. "You're gonna LOVE IT. Open it! Open it!" Because all this waiting is killing him.

[decohere]

His hands don't get to remain free for long as she rips the paper off and... having nowhere else to put it, shoves it at him. But her attention is fully on the little mushroom plush, blinking back at its little face. "Oh no, look at him..." she states, holding it up for Klaus to see as if they weren't the one to give it to her in the first place. And she shows it off to anyone nearby too.

"You win it?"

[busball]

Klaus gladly accepts his job as the holder of paper. They’ll find a place for it eventually or throw it somewhere and just let whoever clean it up. They’re not here to know things.

But she seems pleased with his gift, so he’s taking that to mean he’s won the gift giving for now. Probably not forever. But still! “Yeah. Played that claw game for fucking ever.”

[decohere]

Luckily the ship is back to its self-cleaning routine, so the trash piling up isn't much of a concern anymore. She squishes the mushroom between her hands, and then tucks it under her arm for safe keeping.

"And you didn't get stuck inside it this time...?" Ava asks, because she knows Klaus, and she can easily picture him falling for the same trap twice.

[busball]

Klaus affects a look of surprise. “I won that for you fair and square!” Because how dare???? The impoliteness of it all!! Klaus cannot!

Okay, he’s done now. “Duh. Of course I didn’t get stuck. But it was like the most frustrating forever before I got it. I don’t know how you got so many.”

[decohere]

"It's because I got game." And has overly practiced hand-eye coordination to make up for the fact her body likes to make even the most mundane tasks so much harder.

"But this totally makes up for the fish. Thank you." It's much cuter, for one. And wasn't down his pants, for two.

[busball]

There's a snort as he looks between Ava and Peter. "Yeah. You got game." He's just casually gonna smirk about it because it's cute. And he's glad that he gets to be here for this.

"Don't mention it. I'm just glad I could make your day." Cause yeah. At least he knew about this birthday. "After the last fucking month. Like shit." Is she sure it hasn't been, though? (It hasn't)

[decohere]

... She looks so confused because she really has no idea she was using that phrase wrong. And then wrinkles her nose and gives Klaus the lightest little shove to the shoulder. "Stop it." She doesn't know what it is, but that smirk!

"That sure was a month," Ava agrees, and tries not to feel guilty that her birthday's while so many are still trying to recover from murdering friends and missing huge chunks of time from being in the Nothing. It's why she didn't invite Maeve, or Sharky, or... poor Pratt.

[busball]

"Nah." Because he is an ADULT and he is not gonna stop it.

Klaus nods. "Yeah. It sure was. I'd like to never repeat it again. I did not enjoy stabbing my boyfriend through the throat with his own sword." Like who does like that? Well...he doesn't want to make assumptions about anyone's weird kinks. "But at least it's over now." And just like that, he throws the paper somewhere.

[decohere]

Just pouts. It's her birthday, Klaus. Aren't you supposed to be nicer!

"Oh... oh that. I hadn't realized... him too? This whole time?" Ava wonders who she had been texting. If it was yet another imposter. Can't trust anyone around here.

[busball]

If they are on sibling rules? No. Never.

Klaus can practically feel Ava overthinking everything, so they shake their head. “No. Not the whole time. After we all fell when the barrier broke. He hugged me first. Called me a poor unfortunate soul. It was super weird.” He waves it off, though. “But it’s whatever. At least people seem back to themselves.”

[decohere]

Ava stares for a moment, and it's a very tragic thing that Klaus is telling her but she can't help but get hung up on a certain detail. "Like that evil octopus witch from the Little Mermaid? Poor unfortunate soooouls~"

That's her obligated Disney reference for the month.

"And yes. Next it'll be LMDs or Skrulls, but at least for now everyone is themselves."

[busball]

"Yeah. Just like that. It was...suuuuper weird." And it really was. He's going to hope that he never has to do that again. But maybe it'll be funnier with time. "I was singing Bootylicious to keep them from realizing that I was drawing his sword and it was apparently super effective."

"LMDs?" Klaus knows nothing about this. "Skrulls?" What the hell are Skrulls? Are they like skulls but...uh...different??

[decohere]

"That's a tactic..." Ava responds, still baffled. By all of it, honestly. But at least Klaus doesn't appear to be overly traumatized by the experience? Then again.

"Life model decoys. They're realistic robotic copies used by intelligence agencies. And skrulls. They're a heavily guarded government secret. A race of alien shape shifters. Everyone denies their existence. But I know." Because she spends far too much time on conspiracy forums.

[busball]

It's a lot easier to act like he's fine than it is to be fine, so...he's been practicing since yesterday. And he'd seen Nobunaga the day after. It was nice to have someone else take care of him for a minute even though he was sure that Nobunaga was traumatized as well. But they'd cuddled and talked and Klaus felt better now.

"Ohh. Those would be cool. But not like...if they were trying to like take over lives and kill people pretending to be me." Klaus is just nodding like he totally understands. "Huh. I wonder if that's what Dad is. Are they like bugs?"

[decohere]

Yeah Ava has the impression after everything Klaus has gone through, and using the drugs and alcohol to cover up all the trauma, that maybe they really aren't okay at all. Just good at brushing it off with jokes. And putting on a better mood for the sake of her birthday...? She tries not to feel guilty about that, knows everyone is still recovering from the events of Halloween. And she still wanted a (not)party anyway...

She looks around uncertainly. For signs nobody actually wants to be there. She crosses her arms tightly across her midsection.

"Bugs? No. I don't think so. They can... take on the appearance of anyone. So I have no idea what they actually look like. Never been able to get ahold of those files." If they even exist. Ava's convinced they do! "I'm sure the government is keeping it so secret because the government is already infiltrated by them. I bet the president is a Skrull."

[busball]

Klaus studies Ava for a minute, trying to figure out exactly what she's doing. Like...seems suspicious to be so guarded all of a sudden and staring around her party. Normally, they'd say embarrassed, but this seems...different.

"I just ask cause apparently Dad was like a bug? Or something. To be honest, I was only half paying attention when Luther was talking about it cause we were both dead and in my void. Which was weird, cause no one's ever been in my void before. Except my mom. My birth mom." He shrugs slightly. "I think maybe the Skrulls aren't super important right now." He moves a little closer, lightly bumping her shoulder. "It's your birthday." Duh.

[decohere]

She does relax slightly upon visual confirmation that everyone looks fine being there. Ava likes to think her friends know her well enough that she wouldn't hold it against them if they hadn't come. But they are here and they care about her and... and suddenly she's crying a little bit, but enough that she can't quite hide it, far too overwhelmed.

She just nods, doesn't trust herself to speak as she wipes at her face.

[busball]

Klaus is pretty sure he’s never seen Ava cry before. Like does she do that? They guess it makes sense that sometimes everyone has emotions. Just unexpected.

He puts an arm around her shoulder and pulls her over for a hug. “This inside rain is getting out of control, you know?” Which is to say, he’s happy to pretend it’s raining indoors when it’s obviously not if she prefers it. “Anything else you wanna do for your birthday?”

[decohere]

She spent weeks crying alone in her room, but she tries not to do it in front of others, doesn't like to display weakness so openly, doesn't like to make it their responsibility. But it's different right now, because instead of feeling hopelessly alone, Ava's hit hard with undeniable proof of how much she's loved. It's a lot of emotion she doesn't know how to properly process.

She sniffles, as Klaus tries to give her deniability and she hides her face against his shirt. "I... I already have everything I want."

[busball]

Klaus is gonna have a lot of people crying on them over this month, so this is only the start of a lot of other people crying on them. This is fine. Klaus accepts this. At least he's not the one crying on other people.

"Well, then...happy birthday, Ava Starr." He hugs her a little tighter because that's what his life is right now. They don't know what to say outside of that. It's just one of those days, but as long as Ava's happy, they are happy to be there for it.