VALOR'S DAY [Modplot]

[letsgolegion]

Who| Open to everyone!
What| Valor's Day Celebrations
Where| On Legion World or on Earth below
When| After heistplot.
Warnings/Notes| N/A


VALOR'S DAYUniversally celebrated through the United Planets, this yearly holiday celebrates the hero Valor, a Daxamite responsible for helping many UP species like the Braalians and Winathians to colonize their worlds over a thousand years ago. Valor's Day has over time evolved into a general holiday that promotes togetherness, charity, and good will through the galaxy.

Valor's Day celebrations through the UP are know for their displays of multi-colored lights, decorated trees, garlands of various plants and flowers, and "goodwill" carols. Valor's Day is also associated with Valor pageants and "origin" plays, and the playing of the blootsplort horn and tringlebells. Traditionally, gifts are given between different individuals, with each species having their own specific gift-giving traditions.

Legion World is no exception when it comes to the festivities. Garlands of rainbow flowers and wreathes of fragrant grasses decorate the halls and common areas. In some places where it won't interfere in Legion operations, goodwill carols play. The music is played on alien instruments and is probably very different compared to what some of the Legionnaires might be used to hearing around winter holidays, but it has the same mix of cheer and brightness as Christmas carols.

Comments

For Chief

[unrecovered]

York seems to have Locus pretty well in hand, and Wash trusts him and his ridiculous levels of charisma to keep Locus occupied and in check, so he turns his attention to Chief. "I'm assuming you haven't seen Die Hard before." He knows the answer, but at least it's a way to get things started.

[prettycoolguy]

"I haven't."

Wash already knows, and the Chief knows he does. But it's a communication ritual, one of the ones the Chief does understand. It's like confirming everyone's receiving on a comm channel, but under another guise.

"No dead lions?" he asks.

That's just him thinking he's funny.

[unrecovered]

Wash snorts. Chief made a joke. Will wonders never cease.

He raises an eyebrow and gestures to his chest - he's wearing the shirt Dave gave him, so at least he has a sense of humor about it. "Nope, just a lot of dead people." Because that's better, right? "Off-duty cop John McClane takes on a dozen terrorists by himself inside an office building. It was made in the late twentieth century, so very limited tech, but it was the first of the 'one guy against overwhelming odds' genre of action movies. Plus, it's a good movie."

[prettycoolguy]

The shirt may or may not have inspired the comment. It might've been a bit below the belt right after it happened, but it's fair game now. It's nice to be able to just rib somebody over dumb things that don't really matter, once in a while.

The Chief nods thoughtfully at the summary.

"I think I see the appeal," he deadpans.

Haha, Wash. Haha.

[unrecovered]

That's half the fun of having friends: saying stupid shit with the mutual understanding that it's not meant to be anything more than stupid shit.

Wash doesn't know the specifics of Chief's service record, but Against Overwhelming Odds has been the story of the human race for the past quarter century and Chief has been at the forefront of that. File that under 'things Wash should have thought about before opening his mouth.'

"Shut up and watch the movie, Cowboy," Wash says, pushing his shoulder against Chief's. It's somewhere between a friendly nudge and a shoulder tackle - enough to make a point, but not enough to push him off the furniture.

[prettycoolguy]

The Chief's response is a roll of his eyes, but he sits back in his seat and gets as close to comfortable as he ever really does. He is, for the moment, shut up.

It's doubtful the Chief will ever be completely used to this sort of thing, but it's a little easier each time. He's still alert to sudden movements and sound in the room, but as everyone settles in those lessen. He can focus on trying to understand twentieth century cinema.

[unrecovered]

Wash waits for a few more stragglers to come in before starting the movie. It's a classic, and he reminds everyone that there are people who haven't seen it yet and not to quote along with it as he settles into the couch.

Die Hard is old, familiar, and he finds himself relaxing a bit more than he'd intended. He should be alert - Locus is a whole four feet away at best - but York has Locus handled, and Chief would never let anything happen to Wash anyway. They're friends. They look out for each other.

He's awake long enough to catch one of his favorite lines - Now I have a machine gun. Ho ho ho. - before his eyes flutter shut and he settles comfortably, unknowingly, against Chief. He's warm and relaxed and contented, and above all else he's tired.

And so he sleeps.

[prettycoolguy]

It's gradual enough that the Chief tenses but doesn't jump at the unexpected touch. He looks at Wash, the question obvious, but seeing him explains everything.

Oh.

On the one hand, maybe he should wake Wash up. On the other hand, this is the calmest the Chief's seen him in...

...Possibly ever. It's hard to top sleeping for that.

Being napped on is, on the Chief scale of social failure, not even half as awkward as mandatory hugs. He's been slept on before. Sometimes your team just has to cram themselves into a narrow place and steal an hour when they can. It doesn't mean anything, and so it's not an actual problem.

After several long seconds of deliberation, the Chief moves just a little to ensure nobody's circulation's cut off here. He turns his attention back to the screen, and lets Wash sleep. He'll wake him up before this thing ends and the lights come up, but for now Wash apparently feels secure. The Chief won't take that from him.

[unrecovered]

Wash is a light sleeper, usually, but not a very active one: unless he's having nightmares, he tends to stay in the same place once he falls asleep. For now, he mostly stays slumped against Chief's shoulder, snuggled close for warmth.

It's the safest he's felt in a long time. He could be here for a while.

[prettycoolguy]

The Chief doesn't think any more of it. He watches the movie (And movement in general. People getting up for bathroom breaks, latecomers arriving, someone stretching out with arms in the air...) until it seems like it's starting to wind up to the final confrontation.

He nudges Wash with his elbow, just a little.

"Wash."

[unrecovered]

And just like that, Wash is wide awake. "Huh?"

It comes out muffled, since evidently his face is pressed against something soft. And warm. And breathing-

Oh shit he fell asleep against Chief, didn't he.

To Wash's credit, he doesn't bolt upright, but instead slowly sits up as though absolutely nothing out of the ordinary has happened. Right.

He says nothing. He doesn't trust himself to speak just yet.

[prettycoolguy]

"Thought you'd want to see the end."

That's all he says. No mockery, no suspicion. He's actually managed to relax and there's nothing weird about this at all.

...Well, beyond how interacting with other people is always weird for the Chief. But that's business as usual. He's certainly taken this a lot better than the tringlesprig thing.

[unrecovered]

Right. Right. Because it's not Christmas until you see Hans Gruber fall off Nakatomi Tower. It's just about the movie. There's nothing else there.

"Yeah. Thanks."

Not that that doesn't stop Wash from being overwhelmingly embarrassed that he did this in the first place. Chief had the hug earlier today; evidently it was Wash's turn to completely fuck up a social boundary.

[prettycoolguy]

The Chief is quiet once again, and doesn't have anything new to say until the movie is over and the credits start to roll.

"So, Wash. Question."

[unrecovered]

Wash has had enough time to recover from his acute embarrassment and act like nothing happened, at least. "Yeah?"

[prettycoolguy]

"Who's John Wayne?"

[unrecovered]

There's 'Chief doesn't know much pop culture' and then there's 'who's John Wayne' and somehow Wash had never really equated the two. Who's John Wayne. Holy shit.

It takes him a moment to gather himself and another to find an answer. "Twentieth century American movie star. He did a lot of movies about the old west, to the point where his name pretty much means 'cowboy.'" Turns out cultural shorthand is a bitch when you don't speak the language.

[prettycoolguy]

"Thanks."

He now understands the reference and takes a moment to reprocess.

"I liked the movie."

The Chief is much better at movie watching protocol these days, Wash should be so proud. He isn't even going to sit here and pick apart bad tactics.

[unrecovered]

"I'm glad." Wash settles back into the couch a bit more, watching people raid the snacks one last time before they leave. "Though I expect to hear a yippie-ki-yay from you the next time you wreck someone."

[prettycoolguy]

"I'll try," the Chief replies. He has a good sense for when references are being made, there's a look people have when they're expecting you to pick up on something (and another look for when you fail to). Actually making them himself, however, is new. He hasn't had this kind of cultural vocabulary before. Not with non-Spartans, anyway. Non-Spartans never get Spartan jokes.

He shifts a little, uncertain how to indicate he wants to get up. It's Locus, York, Wash, and him all jammed on this couch. There has been no real personal space going on this evening, even without Wash actually leaning on him. The Chief's reached his comfortable limit on this sort of thing for one day.

[unrecovered]

"Good." God knows whether it's actually going to happen; nevertheless, it was definitely a joke worth making.

Wash wouldn't normally notice the movement in anyone else - people move without thinking about it all the time; it's what people do - but Chief doesn't fidget. Ever. If he's doing it now, there's a reason.

Well, it's been almost two hours on a very cozy couch, and Wash has spent a good portion of that sleeping on him...

"You can go if you want," he says. "I'll clean up." He's also planning on keeping an eye on Locus, who's currently functioning as a pillow for one very dead to the world York. He can multitask.

[prettycoolguy]

The Chief nods.

"Thank you."

His exit is measured, calm, and only sort of awkward. This feels like it was important, but the Chief isn't sure why.

It was... nice. Maybe.