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

PART 1

[letsgolegion]

For the first 2 days, the Legionnaires are expected to relax and undergo rituals in the temple and on the temple grounds.

[ooc: All threads that take place during Part 1 (ie the first 2 days) should go under here. Make sure to mark your threads as open or closed, since many in the plot are going to be doing both partner threads and mingle threads.]

Fareeha

[justice_from_above]

Beach, Glades, Open

Relax, right. That's one thing Fareeha was never very good at. She does make an attempt, though, and you can find her lounging on the beach in a swimming suit and looking vaguely uncomfortable. Generally, she likes her downtime activities to be a little more ... active. At Legion, she has a routine of early morning runs, sparring sessions, and weight training. Nothing intense, but enough to keep her active, honed, and of a clear mind.

Here, she finds walking the glades to be much more rewarding; or rather, a brisk jog when she's starting to feel restless. Besides the excersize, she's enamored of the flora and fauna; so beautifully different than anything she'd seen on Earth. She'll be here most often when she's not tackling the rituals with Junkrat.

Additionally, she will consider any of the other activities offered - even if they're not her cup of tea - if someone else is suggesting it and it's a chance for friendship and conversation.

Closed to Junkrat

While she's here to help the Legion, she's not feeling the most eager about their ultimate mission. These rituals, however, are a good distraction - as well as a chance to get to know her fellow Legionnaire.

As they step up to the stones, she looks over at him. So far, he'd been a surprise considering what she knew about him from back home, and she's curious what this fake-relationship and rituals will uncover.

"Are you ready, Jamie?"

[muroieda]

He seems a bit spacey, keeping his eyes on everything but the ground in front of him, which seems like a bad idea for a guy limping around on an unfamiliar prosthetic leg. The balance is a little off, but nothing he can't deal with.

He's far from distracted, though. As soon as Fareeha speaks up, his attention is on her.

"As ready as I'm ever gonna be!" he says cheerfully. The way he's rolling with everything almost makes it seem like he's thrown himself into this blind, caution to the wind, but the truth is he's researched this whole thing extensively and prepared adequately, just like any other heist.

Well, not just like any other heist. There are no explosions involved. Roadhog isn't here.

Fareeha does just fine though.

The clearing is more than official-looking enough to indicate they've come to the right place. Junkrat puts a single magitech peg leg into the circle cautiously, carefully watching if there's any kind of instant reaction, but there's nothing to note. He finishes the step and stands in the middle, holding out a hand to Fareeha if she needs it.

"Alright," he says with a smirk, "let's see what rock'n'roll they've got queued up for us."

[grumpylady]

2B comes to dislike the idea of not doing anything productive with her time. Despite being at a point where she's not needed to further her task, she still feels as though she needs to be doing something. So to occupy herself, 2B makes her way to one of the glades and begins to practice her hand-to-hand combat. Hands and feet striking through the air before she begins to unload them on one of the tree trunks.

Despite the impact and force she's using, 2B doesn't miss a beat or show any real signs of wear and tear.

It's more primitive than she'd like, but it does what it's supposed to.

She only really stops when she notices someone approaching, looking in their direction.

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."

[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."

Gohan

[superscholar]

Beach - Open

Back home, Gohan didn't go to the beach very often. He was usually too busy with work, especially given how many project he usually took on at any given time. The only times he got to go to the beach was when he went on vacation with his family and friends. And in a lot of ways, this felt a lot like that.

Sure, this was technically a mission, but the principle was the same. They were all having fun, enjoying the commodities. To that end, Gohan decided to have some fun too, to put the mission aside for the sake of relaxation.

Which was why he was wearing nothing but swimming trunks as he relaxed on the beach. Lying on his back, arms tucked behind his head, as he relaxed under an umbrella. He hadn't gone into the water yet, but he could be convinced. However, he was relaxing on the part of the beach that wasn't nude.

He could only be so comfortable around other nude people.

Ritual Areas - Closed to Videl

When Gohan first heard about the relationship review, he'd been hesitant. Not because he was scared that he wasn't a match for Videl, but because of what the review entailed. The idea of sharing memories, of letting Videl see his childhood... it scared him, if only because of how intense his childhood had been. But at the same time...

He would never get another opportunity like this. To share something this personal with Videl, to further the relationship they already had.

"... Videl, you know how intense my past is," Gohan started, his gaze trained on the magitech stone array. The hybrid gulping down the lump in his throat, as he became intensely aware of the fact that he was one footstep away from opening his mind to his wife. "I'm willing to share it with you, but... it's not a happy place. I need you to know that before we do this."

Ritual Areas

[saltsweet]

Videl had not felt a moment's hesitation when she heard what the relationship review entailed. She knew all the ins and outs of Gohan's horrible childhood, but she could only empathize with them so much. Her youth was wild and unusual, but it was incredibly tame compared to Gohan's. Gohan carried terrible burdens from his childhood, and finally Videl had a chance to truly understand them.

She would never get another opportunity like this.

Videl took Gohan's hand and squeezed it. She knew this was hard for him, so she didn't brush off the intensity of the situation with her normal flippancy. "I understand," she assured him.

Wash

[unrecovered]

Open

It takes a few hours for Wash to get acclimated to the idea that the mission is essentially a couples' spa retreat, but once he's in, he's determined to make the most of it. To that end, he can be found all over the grounds: walking through the glades and admiring the scenery; soaking in the hot pools at the spa; at the beach, either lying on the sand in nothing but swim trunks or chest-deep in the ocean, petting an affectionate frella ray like it's a very large cat.

His hologram projector alters his appearance slightly - removing telling scars, adjusting facial features - but to those who know him, he's still definitely recognizable.

Closed to Chief

It's not that he's nervous, per se. The spacefuture Newlyweds game had been a lot more difficult than this, and they'd opted out of sharing memories on the off-chance that insanity is contagious, so the singing stones are all that are left. So here they are, standing just outside the ring, and Wash is...hesitating, honestly.

He's not sure he wants to hear what his life's story sounds like.

He doesn't really have a choice in the matter.

He looks up at Chief and shrugs. "One at a time or together?" Not that the answer matters, or that he's stalling. He's fine. It's fine. Everything's fine.

[prettycoolguy]

The Chief was very okay with not sharing memories, neither of them has a good background for it, and let Wash take the lead on talking around that one. Wash is good at that, he's not.

He eyes the stone circle with light skepticism. They've seen other people use them by now, but the Chief has never been much for ceremony. Oh well. It's weird, this whole thing is weird for him, but "weird" is not the worst mission parameter he's had by far.

"I can go first," he says, stepping forward. Might as well get it over with, though he knows better than to say that in front of the Olumites. They have work to do out there, and the Chief's never been cut out for vacationing. (Especially when he's faking it while there's work to do.) Wash can come in with him, or wait. Either outcome is fine by him.

As he enters, the stones start to hum softly. A melody begins to rise, something that moves most in the low registers and carries steadily as different, higher tones thread in and out. Despite occasional clashes, it's very stable, almost serene in a way. Occasionally a sorrowful or a triumphant note creeps in, but they're brief. It's not a song that lingers.

The Chief listens, brow slightly furrowed, trying to decide what he thinks of it. It's not like it means anything, it's an alien stereo system trying to read him. But that doesn't exactly give him a road map for response.

[justice_from_above]

Fareeha is taking a quiet moment in the glades, leaning against one of the wooden railings spanning over a wet area. It's not exactly a wide walkway, however, and when she sees someone else headed her way, she stands straight and tries to press herself against the railing to give him enough room to pass. As he gets close, though, she thinks maybe she's seen him before. Knowing there are other Legionnaires here with holographic projectors, she can't help but tilt her head slightly.

"I'm sorry, have we met before?"

Since they're technically undercover, she's going for a vague question and less 'oh hey haven't I seen you around Legion' in case she's wrong.

Miku

[ghost_bait]

Beach, Temple Grounds, Open

Miku was kind of glad that - after her last mission with Tadashi - she'd be partnered with him again on less bloody, frightening terms. The other person, 2B, she hadn't had much communication with. Which wasn't abnormal; Miku could safely say she could count the number of people she had frequent communication with on one hand.

Still, the area was lovely enough to be appreciated by itself (though Miku was very sorry that there would be nothing to pick up for Pidge, Gwen or Kubo in the way of souvenirs, as was correct and proper), and appreciate it Miku did. She had opted for a robe to cover her loincloth/chestwrap combo, if only to protect her skin from the sun overhead. Nothing was less cute than a sunburn.

"...If it weren't for the spare clothing, this wouldn't be out of place in a Ghibli film," she observed as she sat under a beach umbrella. She wasn't a strong swimmer, either, so for now, it was better to just observe the sea.

Especially as she did not want to think about being married - even fake married - without ever having dated. Her mother was likely spinning in her urn, Miku just knew it.

Ritual Areas, Closed to Tadashi & 2B.

Miku looked nervously between Tadashi and 2B, "...should we go over our answers one more time before we go and do the rituals, shouldn't we?"

Cortana

[steelandtemper]

For the purposes of espionage, Cortana has decided to be a strawberry blond, her robot body's blue-black hair lengthened and turned almost pink, and her icy-pale skin warmed and scattered with freckles.

It's pretty cute.

Open

The "no technology" rule means this place is basically Cortana's own personal hell, the digital no-fly zone making her squirrelly and irritable. Instead of relaxing--what good is a massage for someone made of untiring metal and polymers?--she's pacing the beach, which is too damn picturesque to even have skippable rocks, so instead she's hurling lovely iridescent seashells into the surf. It's inadvertently a good setup for her "marriage" failing, but she can't claim to have planned it that way. She's just cranky, and not paying too much attention to where she's throwing those shells.

Closed to North and America

You know what Cortana's not good at? Faking affection. It's not that she doesn't like America and North (and Theta) in her sharp, dysfunctional way, but romance? Romance is one of those wastes of time an AI's short life has never permitted, and that the war had made too costly even for those with the years to spare. At least she figured out holding hands was a thing in time to not look too suspicious to the greeter.

Also not suspicious is the engaged group sitting close to each other, speaking quietly. Obviously they're exchanging endearments and hopes for the future, right?

"Let's skip sharing memories," Cortana says, her drink ignored by her elbow. "All of mine are classified, anyway."

AMERICA

[thedreamisdead]

America's gone for a somewhat less human look, abusing the cosmetic capabilities of the Legion. Blue skin, white hair, pointed ears, and tribal tattoos give her an exotic look that work to disguise her without needing a hologram or extreme facial reconstruction. And, she has to admit, it does look good.

The hologram would have been a less extreme option, true, but she's bringing some of her prejudices about the technology and its reliability here from home. Honestly, face-change machines are just more familiar to her.

Open

America wanders the normal side of the beach pretty freely. Growing up in a co-ed environment, down to the showers, sort of inured her to finding naked bodies on their own attractive. But even so, most of her time spent out and active, that which isn't spent with either of her two fiancees, is spent active. Swimming, running, windsurfing, even just pushups, something. She's obviously not used to downtime, and burning off excess energy isn't really something you want to do with your chest out.

If she's not exercising, then whoever's found her can probably spot her out of breath or eating. Real fruit is still a luxury to her, and while there's a bit of guilt in having it when few from home can, it's also about the only option here. Only problem is that she has to keep wiping her chin every few minutes, the juiciness keeps surprising her.

She's doing her best to hide how uncomfortable all this waiting around is making her, but given how she flinches towards every unexpected noise, it's probably clear that all this 'peace and quiet' is the exact opposite of what she needs.

An evening trip to the beach

[died_a_virgin]

It took Seras a few hours to get used to the clothing that she had to wear. It showed off a lot more pale skin than she was used to. it also didn't hurt that she was used to sleeping all day and being out at night. She yawned a bit as she finished getting dressed and headed out. She didn't quite know what she was getting herself into when she came to this place, but she was going to do what she could do help out.

She also really wanted to go to the beach. She hadn't gone to the coast in decades and she didn't know how the running water would do to her since she became a true vampire. She shuddered a bit as she remembered her only trip to Rio De Janeiro. That had not been the most fun since she had been stuck in her coffin the entire trip.

She looked up at the night sky as for a moment as she headed out to the beach. She didn't know what was going to happen, but she was going to find out.


That turned out to be a bad idea. She found that out as soon as a foot hit the water. She yelped in surprise and backed up as far as she could, limping slightly. Ok. That was a bad idea. Smoke was curling up from her left foot as she looked down at it.

"I shouldn't have done that..." she muttered to herself.

Videl

[saltsweet]

Videl has opted for a simple holographic disguise, making her hair long again, like she had it in school before she met Gohan, but worn in a single long braid rather than pigtails. Really, not much else is necessary. She knows she’s pretty common looking for a human.

Open: Beaches - Nude or clothed option available

Nude beach? Hah. Videl does not fear your nude beach.

....But as comfortable as she is, Videl won't be at the nude beach the entire time. Her husband is too much of a shy prude to join her over there (except maybe after dark when he thinks no one is around /wink, nudge), so she's also spending part of her time at the clothed beach.

On either beach, Videl can sometimes be found lounging under a tremendous umbrella, either reading a magazine or falling asleep with it on her face. Other times, she's out swimming, lazing about in the water or diving down to touch the frella rays.

She’s more likely to be found on the clothed beach during the daytime and the nude one during the nighttime. Even at the clothed beach, she’s not making much effort to be modest. Videl specifically packed for this mission a red two-piece swimsuit to show off her fantastic abs; she’s worked very hard to lose all her baby weight and wants people to appreciate it.

Open: Spa

Spa treatments hadn’t appealed to Videl much as a teenager, but that was before she had ever been invited to a spa getaway with Bulma Briefs and her close female friends. The absurd level of luxury and pampering had weirded Videl out the first time, but once she managed to relax, she found the decadence actually enjoyable. So she’s eagerly trying out the Olumite spa, relaxing in the heated pools and mud baths, partaking in a massage, or checking out all the different oils and lotions to see which ones she likes the best. She’s happy to engage with other spa-goers, since socializing is an important part of the spa experience as far as Videl is concerned.

Open: Anywhere else

There’s a lot to see in this part of Olum and Videl is determined to see all of it in the first two days before the pilgrimage to Mount Letifa. She’s spending plenty of time inside and out, snapping picture after picture with her omnicomm. This is the couples’ vacation she’s been craving ever since her daughter was born; a few days away in a beautiful, romantic locale to relax, to deepen her bond with her husband, and to socialize with other couples. For now, just for a bit, the mission can wait.

Ritual Areas - Closed to Gohan

After the intensity of the relationship review, Videl was relieved to find that the other two rituals were more low key. They opted for the searching questions, which Videl was confident could never be more difficult to answer than the questions she got from her mother in law as a teenager. Unlike the other rituals, which required stone arrays, this one took place in an outdoor sitting area. Seating was grown out of tremendous, brightly colored flowers, each petal curled into a comfortable chair or sofa. The pistil and each of the stamen grew high above their heads, the anthers and stigma covered with phosphorescent pollen that gave off a warm, calming glow in a rainbow of colors.

Videl settled herself on a petal that was large enough for two people and patted the spot next to her, inviting Gohan to sit beside her. “Ready to be grilled about our relationship again?” she teased.

Parker and/or York (and Delta)

[leverageintceo]

Out and Around (open)

The way Parker attaches herself to York's left arm, you'd think it was made of solid gold and she had reason to believe that someone was going to try and steal it. What's weirder is that her cover identity of Valerie Fee, a back-up dancer who's snagged herself a musician is almost...perky. A little vapid. Scarily intense when it comes to her rigorous work-out schedule, but that's at least normal for Parker. Sometimes she coos and calls York things like 'pumpkin' or 'my Hugsy-Wugsy', which is probably pretty high up there on the list of things no one ever thought they'd hear Parker say.

The only thing that might give the game away is the faintly murderous look in her eyes every time she spots Hardison and his "intended".

Other than that, the two of them can be found out and around the beaches and swimming areas. Parker's used her hologram projector to shorten and lighten her hair to something that looked like an alarmed cockatiel and alter her facial features enough to not be immediately recognizable as Payback of the Legion of Super-Heroes, but she's still the type of woman who needs to be talked out of climbing on the outside of the floatypuff rides.


Ritual Areas (closed to York and Delta)

Parker rises up on her toes from where she's wrapped around York's arm so she can whisper in his ear. "Which ones do you want to do? I vote the singing stones and searching questions."

No offense intended York, but she doesn't want you anywhere near the inside of her head. She's not sure that she'd even let Hardison inside her head.

Locked to Joey

[died_a_virgin]

Seras had a past that she believed that no one needed to see. She really wasn't fond of the idea of someone else in her mind, ever since Zorin invaded it thirty years ago. She had pretty much gone through hell and back to protect those who had taken her in. She didn't quite understand what was going on with the rituals, but she would do the best that she could.

She took a deep breath and looked over at her partner. "I'm still nervous about this. I don't have the best of pasts. I've been through a lot."

She took a deep breath and smiled a bit. "But the past is just that...the past."

Marjara

[hallaifyouherd]

Beach/Glades, Open to All

Her favorite location thus far is definitely out of doors. That's without question. Most often Marjara could be found enjoying the glades, perched on the edge of one of the pools and admiring the exotic flora around her, or treading through the crystalline water with her long, dark hair trailing behind her.

The beach is another experience altogether. She's never particularly minded nudity -- in a small, tightly-knit clan always on the lookout for attack, privacy was kind of at a minimum -- but the scale of this is a little daunting. She's less nervous when her holographic disguise projects an arm over the significant lack thereof for the time being. Once that feeling of initial unease has passed, however? She's happily enjoying a stroll in the buff down the water's edge, or engaging with the frella rays with a delighted look on her face.

It's a little strange, to say the least, whenever she gets a glimpse of her own reflection in the water. Gone are the distinctive elf ears, the vine-like tattoos that had covered the upper part of her face for all of her adult life. But looking like a stranger to herself is probably good, right? She's supposed to be undercover.


Singing Stones Ceremony, Closed

Night is just beginning to fall, and Marjara's finished her meal first, anxiously waiting on the edge of the ritual grounds. She's heard about this ceremony, one of the tests required to pass onward, and she's busily studying the 'magitech' stones that are supposed to be reading them for their particular brand of music.

What a strange sort of enchantment they must be under...

PART 2

[letsgolegion]

After the first two days of the retreat, the Legionnaires are expected to make the journey through the testing paths with their partner. Even those that don't need to go to Mt. Letifa, and plan on only going as far as they need to to find their assigned magical fossil, will still find the paths difficult. For some, the journey will only take 1 day, but for others it may take up to 2.

[ooc: All threads for Part 2, that involve the journey through the holy lands, should go under here.]

For Justice.

[walkingballpit]

Having to wait until they're out of earshot to say anything substantive is a godsend to Robbie, who has been keeping rather quiet since the song ritual. They're lucky they'd done the questions before that awful, albeit predictably so, mess. The huge ear-rattling sting of a chord had been bad enough, the key change to a minor key was worse, although all Robbie knew is that, after that, it had sounded grim.

What's worse, it never stopped sounding like the musical equivalent of depression. He had hoped that it would, and there was a definite lightening. It stopped sounding like A Night on Hell's Mountain, only to sound like Tori Amos.

So... he's not really trying to chat with Vance, and hasn't been, although he's rapidly running out of what he'd consider "Alien Earshot". Even if he measures it by say, Wolverine's hearing, Robbie can't keep making bland chitchat forever.

Luckily, he's been provided a permanent topic of discussion for the journey. He picked at one of the bands of cloth on his chest. "So where's Rich when we need him? I can't tell if this is more Slave Leia or Rubicun III. It's gonna bother me for days. Thoughts, Vance? Are we more Stripper Wars or Smut Trek?"

locked to Fareeha;

[muroieda]

They'd finished the memory-sharing ritual last, and even though they've had plenty of time to talk about it afterwords, the weather between them has undoubtedly changed. It's not tense, by any means, but even Junkrat is abnormally quiet, finding that his idle chatter isn't really filling the vulnerable void that was torn open in the process.

In fact, he hasn't said a word since waking up today, responding in nary a grunt or silent expression. For what it's worth, it doesn't seem like he's in a bad mood...but maybe things become a bit clearer when they finish getting through the sending tree's path, well out of view of anyone else.

He brings a hand up to his mouth and spits out a latex sleeve. Given that they're on what is essentially a couples' retreat, there were plenty of them to be found -- even across the stars and who knows how many decades, there's really no moving on from the tried and true.

"Figured they'd give us nothin' but food and water," Junkrat scoffs, inverting the sheath to reveal the tightly woven paracord tube within. He picks at the paracord just enough so he can pull out two things that really should have not fit inside of it within the restrictive realm of physics: a bulky switchblade and a stainless steel butane lighter.

All of the items get relocated to the supply bag at his side, and he gives a cheeky grin to Fareeha. "Always come prepared."

He giggles.

For Chief

[unrecovered]

As far as Wash is concerned, this mission is a multi-day retreat ending in a nature hike. Sure, he's had to lie his ass off about being in a relationship with Chief, but it's Chief - he's got a sense of humor in there and he's willing to let Wash take the lead in social situations. Aside from the Singing Stones, it's been a fairly relaxed mission.

And now they've hit the actual meat of the mission - fossil recovery disguised as a journey to get married - and Wash can't help but be a little excited. Everything else about this place has been relaxing and beautiful, and he's eager to see what else the mountain holds.

They're about an hour in, and so far it's been nothing but scenic beauty. He's been smiling nearly the whole time.

Locked to Videl

[superscholar]

For the most part, Gohan was a very serious person when the stakes were high. Whether it was fighting aliens, searching for dragon balls, or training against androids, Gohan tried his best to stay focused and get results. He wasn't like his father when it came to combat, he didn't enjoy himself like the older man did. He fought to save people, and that was it.

However, right now, something boiled within Gohan that he wasn't very used to. The path to the mountain thrilling him in a way he'd barely experienced before, a grin tugging at his lips. He knew there were stakes involved, that they needed to get the magical fossils for their fight against Chronoblivion. But at the same time...

He was in his element. Every obstacle they pushed past reminding him of that fact. He didn't have his full powers, but he knew how to survive in the wild. Which made this a challenge, and for that moment, Gohan wondered if this was how his dad felt when he fought a strong opponent.

This intense desire to learn, to push harder, to win.