TO HAVE AND TO HOLD [modplot]

[letsgolegion]

Who| Anyone who wants in
What| "To Have and to Hold" plot
Where| The planet Olum, Matihara Temple
When| Set vaguely the same time as "Gods Among Us" and "Other Mother"
Warnings/Notes| N/A

The planet Olum is a genuinely welcoming place. While the clothes they have to wear for the rituals are a bit...odd (provided they don't opt for coverups), they are comfortable, especially with such a balmy climate. Despite the Olumites allowing outsiders into their ceremonies, there's a distinct lack of tourist-ey elements; no gift shops, no merchants selling anything, just a spirit of genuine unity and celebration. The Olumite marriage guides seem to genuinely care about helping people with their relationships, and seem happy to share their cultural traditions with other species.

As far as missions go, it's definitely a nice vacation from the usual life or death struggles.

It means the Legionnaires have no distractions. They have to settle in and try to navigate this while faking sincerity as best as they can.

[ooc: All information about the setting can be found on the infopost.]

Comments

Genji

[touchmydragon]

The beach was, for all intents and purposes, a great place to stop and meditate...clothed, of course. Seeing how obvious he would have normally stood out, his disguise changed him to look more how he would be without the cybernetic upgrades, with his black hair brushed back but scars retained. Even in disguise, those were things that were part of his life and not something he wished to lose, even through hologram.

With eyes closed, legs crossed, and hands held out to his side, Genji cleared his mind. He wasn't here to think but create the absence of thought, to let his mind drift with the water. To provide a shield against internal doubts and past problems and allow him a clear mind whenever he decided to finish.

If he had a visitor approaching, he would stop and look, as a silent signal that he was welcome to interruptions. Genji was fully aware that if someone stumbled on a person meditating, they'd try to quietly head the other way. Better to not make them feel awkward.

[marryonette]

Well it would only make sense for her to approach. They were a "couple", after all. They definitely had to keep up the act! Elphelt was just grateful that Genji had already made his stance on romantic entanglements clear to her on their very first conversation. Or at least clear by her standards. No getting her hopes too high! But even so...

Even if they hadn't been pretending to be a couple, she would have approached, settling beside him and setting her gaze to horizon and letting out a long, silent sigh. Genji had said he'd be willing to help her... But how to approach that? He'd seen her in a very dark place... one she'd hoped to avoid while here at all. And on her very first mission...

Eventually, she did speak. "The water's really beautiful... It reminds me of a place back home."

[touchmydragon]

He wasn't judging nor would let what had happened in the mission cloud his thoughts. He did wish to help, in one way or another, as he knew the pain of being something you didn't wish to be. Anger had taken him in the past and it was something he was ashamed of and was still overcoming.

Genji's eyes tracked back to the ocean and he gave a nod in agreement. "It is tranquil and relaxing but always capable of more." That was his way of agreeing, though more providing a reasoning behind it than an answer.

"What memories does that place hold for you?"

[marryonette]

Memories... Were they her own memories, or flashes of something Mother had put there? She couldn't be certain... but the emotions attached to them felt real. It was a good a place as any to start.

"Peace... Like it was the sort of place I'd seek out if my head was really hurting," Like Jack-O had, apparently. She still wasn't completely certain how full her connection was to her, but the fact that they had the same reaction to the sanctuary spoke volumes.

[touchmydragon]

His hologram self gives a soft smile at her response. Genji can't quite decipher its meaning but, to him, it sounds like some type of technique to cope against mental trauma. That, in itself, explains things to him but he wasn't going to jump to conclusions. He did, however, pat the sand beside himself to offer her a spot to sit.

"I see. I wish to ask you a question but you do not need to answer it out loud. As long as you answer it to your heart, that is satisfactory."

It was about isolating what was important. To do that was the first step.

"Who is what would be termed 'your most important person'? Someone who you care for and would do anything for their sake."

[marryonette]

El daintily sat herself down, pulling up her knees to her chest.

"I don't even have to think about that one. My sister, absolutely, with no doubt at all. We've both been through so much... so now I just want to make sure she has the sort of life she deserves, filled with love and happiness." El's words held a confidence and conviction, more than she'd had in their previous conversations to be sure.

"I fought for her, and she fought for me. To us, the other's happiness is most important..."

[touchmydragon]

"Those are feelings you should protect. In turn, they can protect you."

That was the difficult part of the process. Isolating what one felt and then guarding it. And by guarding it, it becomes a source of emotional power when outside influences attempt to prey on the mind.

"However, before you can learn to wield such things, you must learn to empty your mind. That takes time we do not quite have here."

[marryonette]

"Maybe not, but... that mission showed I still very much needed it. I... really don't like that version of 'me' you saw," Elphelt shook her head, sighing.

"That's the version of 'me' Mother wanted to use... nothing more than a living tool, a weapon to be turned against the world."

[touchmydragon]

"But it is a part of you." As much as it always hurt to hear, even if it was out of one's control. "Even I have spent many years either wasting my life or in uncontrollable rage, eager to lash out at others. Accepting that past has given me power to reject it in the present. It can give you that power too."

Genji turned to face her again, eyes drifting away from the ocean. "I am glad you can share these things, however. They will make what we are about to do easier to complete. Even I must be forthcoming so ask what you wish."

[marryonette]

"I suppose I could start asking the same thing you'd asked me, earlier. Who is your most important person?" It was as good a place to start as any. "Tell me about them... and why they mean so much to you."

[touchmydragon]

"My most important person." That was a difficult question, mostly because he had a few. But really, everything boiled down to one person.

"It would be my older brother, Hanzo. When we were children, he helped me where he could, whether it be studies, training, and even emotional support. Unfortunately, as we grew up, I became a person who brought shame upon our family. My ways angered him and one day it exploded into a conflict that ended with him taking my life. I hated him for many years after that but eventually I learned to stop hating and even now, I would say he is still most important to me."

[marryonette]

Oh that was... A little darker than she'd been hoping for. But considering Genji's body... He never seemed like the sort of person who'd enhance himself like that for self-focused reasons. At least not in the little time she'd been friends with him (at least she considered them to be friends). So it must have been a result of that...

Elphelt took in a deep breath, forcing herself to keep lock with his eyes, the only part of him that felt real in that digital skin.

"It seems a lot of your life... was spent outside your control."

[touchmydragon]

"It may seem like that but it is quite the opposite. No."

He has to stop to think, mostly to recall a few moments in his past. "When I met my Master, I rejected his offers to teach me many times. One day, he said to me, 'If you do not change direction, you may end up where you're headed'."

Genji stops there and gives her a sly smile. He has no plans regarding explaining it, as it would remove the learning process. Regardless, it highlighted the fact that living without choice was simply denying opportunity along with pointing out that not all paths in life are beneficial to someone.

"It was a moment that allowed me to see things for more than they were."

[justice_from_above]

Fareeha nods back at him, sitting in the sand and drawing her knees up to drape her arms over as she looks out over the waves. After a moment of quiet reflection, she looks back at him.

"I wasn't expecting to find you here."

[touchmydragon]

"I am personally more curious as to who you would be expecting."

They were on another world on a mission. Aside from who her partner was, it really was a tossup on who would show up and who wouldn't.

"You do not have to answer, however. I am simply teasing."

[justice_from_above]

She chuckles lightly. "I was simply alluding to the fact that you seem to be more of a private person." She pauses for a moment. She's not trying to hide who she's with, but she is aware of how much of an odd-couple they might appear - especially to someone from her world who might also have heard of Junkrat's antics.

"I'm here with Jamison Fawkes - are you familiar with him?"

[touchmydragon]

That much, he will not lie about. Genji is a very private person though he is working on opening himself up with others. It's a long journey but one he is prepared to take to better assist himself and others.

"I am more aware of his reputation but, even with that, he has been more than polite during the time I have known him here."

[justice_from_above]

It's good to hear that she's not the only one Jamison has been attentive with. Perhaps there's hope for him yet?

"He's been very friendly and helpful." Granted he does still have moments - and laughs - that remind her of his origins, but maybe this place is good for him. "And who dragged you along here, if I may ask?"

[touchmydragon]

Hopefully he will end up being a decent person. Genji will not judge one way or another until the time comes to prove one's allegiance.

"A Miss Elphelt. She is a somewhat unique person, if you have not already gathered that."

[justice_from_above]

"I think we're all unique here, one way or another." It's why they were summoned by Legion in the first place, wasn't it? They all had something to offer? "Definitely a different kind of mission than the one's I'm used to undertaking at home."

[touchmydragon]

"Yes, but I should say this situation is unique to her. Miss Elphelt has an infatuation with being married."

He was going to leave it like that, considering the current mission. It wasn't that he was in a tight spot, as he wasn't a bumbling idiot so he could make his stance clear a while ago. Still, it added some irony to things.

"I can also say this is a mission that Overwatch never undertook either."

[justice_from_above]

"Somehow I get the impression the majority of us involved in this mission haven't ever had anything quite like it." Overwatch didn't, Helix didn't, and she's running into a fair few people who aren't entirely sure what to do with themselves either.

"But I'm sure things will get better once we finish the rituals and start hunting down the artifacts."

[touchmydragon]

"We shall see."

Before he returned to his inner studies, he let things off with one last statement.

"If you need any assistance, please let me know. I owe enough to your family that it would take many lifetimes to cover so do not think you are imposing."

[justice_from_above]

There's a little flicker in her smile at the mention of her family; there's still some soreness regarding her mother, and she's been out of the Overwatch loop for a while.

"I'm not sure if I quite qualify, but I appreciate the sentiment." She pauses for a moment, "Have you talked to Jack? He's here."

[touchmydragon]

"I have spoken with the Commander, yes."

Genji, as always, was going to refer to him by rank. Regardless, he had spoken with the man and had let him know that he was ready to work with him as needed.

"It was a surprise knowing he was alive but a good one."