Dodging the Bullet

[cityship]

Those who had decided not to undergo the rituals were given the option of staying near the observation deck, or in the small settlement near the edge of the trees.

The buildings of the settlement were made of the same stone as the wall, complete with the tribal markings, and people filled the streets, mostly consisting of those waiting for friends. Several more Moai could be seen, oftentimes around groups of Rapa Nui, dwarfing them in size. There were many more Rapa Nui scampering through the crowds, fixing things up here and there, or cleaning messes.

[Go forth and socialize!]

Comments

[not_the_philistine]

Suns are still novel to Goliath, and he has opted to continue to visit this new world, rather than return to the observation deck for what would only be construed as brooding. The designs of the alien architecture, and the aliens themselves, give him recollections of the single extraterrestrial he met in his lifetime on Earth - though that individual was much taller than any of the natives he has seen so far. It is possible there is a relation, and he is interested enough in understanding a little more about these people.

Suns are very bright, though, and he walks with his wings upraised to shade his eyes, careful as he walks to watch for the small creatures lest one find itself in the wrong place when he takes a step.

[nottheglamour.livejournal.com]

"Do you need a pair of sunglasses, sir?" Mary Jane was walking around and exploring on her own. She had on a sun-hat with shorts and t-shirt and tennis shoes. That Rein was a master with clothing. It reminded her that she eventually needed to do something very nice for the young woman in return.

[bio-boosted.livejournal.com]

Sho wandered around for a bit, depressed from being rejected in the first ritual. He sat down on a smooth rock and dug a little hole in the ground with his toe. Sho wondered why he had not passed. He thought his soul was harmonious. He had seen so many others pass, people who seemed far less harmonious than he.

A thought sprang up in Sho's mind, and he began to think about the Guyver, and if it had anything to do with the trial. It was a part of him, but also living organism. Did it have a soul as well? Perhaps a soul that craved destruction. If only he knew for sure.

[pretty_lethal]

Rachel, on the other hand, wasn't bothered at all-- in fact, she hadn't even bothered trying to pass the ritual (which she probably would have failed anyway). She just didn't care. She figured there were more important things to figure out, on the planet, anyway. Couldn't she focus on the weapons? And not do stupid marriage ceremonies?

"What's with you?" she drawled, raising an eyebrow at the boy.

[supersonicracer.livejournal.com]

Sonic sat perched on a tree, relaxing after the test. Unlike the few that did fail, he didn't seem too bothered by his failure. Things happened for a reason and apparently his views on "harmony" and "peace" didn't match up with theirs.

Their loss.

"Sir Sonic, aren't you disturbed by your loss?" Caliburn asked, resting nearby.

"Me? Nah. Can't always be the hero." Sonic said, blowing it off.

[farfrom-tree.livejournal.com]

Devlin had recovered from the reaction of "Marriage: Do Not Want" and was eagerly exploring the settlement.

"Wait a second," he said when he noticed Sonic. "Weren't you in the rituals?"

He'd noticed some of the people who'd gone, even if he'd bowed out and done everything he could to avoid freaking out.

[nobel-berserker.livejournal.com]

Allenby hadn't tried the judgment ritual.

Oh, she'd watched it. Chanting and a lightshow and the official-looking priest guy saying the guy's was qualified to go in. And that had been all she'd needed to see. Allenby had never thought particuarly deeply on spiritual matters; she had vague memories of going to church once upon a time and figured she was probably Lutheran, but that was about it. It wasn't the religion stuff that bugged her. Hell, the marriage thing didn't even bug her, that was obviously just a ritual thing and she could've probably found someone just to say the words and arm-wrestle or something after.

But when Domalai had said that his spirit had been judged to be harmonious... pretty obvious to Allenby that they'd done some kind of telepathic thing there. She shuddered. No way was she going to subject herself to that. Bad enough that the damn ship had woken her up by pretending to be her mom--and then learning that a good chunk of the crew thought it was perfectly fine to walk into a room that gave Stacy even freer reign inside their heads. Getting away from all that had been one of the things Allenby had most looked forward to on this planet.

She wasn't letting some alien guy who looked like a statue peek into her brain to decide if she was harmonious. (Which, she knew, she probably wasn't.) ...The other guys on the crew could probably handle the artifact gathering. Wasn't as if diplomacy was Allenby's specialty anyhow. It wasn't a problem to be solved with fists.

She hoped she could be more useful on the next planet. In the meantime, she hopped around the village, taking a seat atop one of the stone buildings and looking around for a good place to start exploring.

[supersonicracer.livejournal.com]

Bored of being stuck at his little perch, Sonic had opted to do a bit of exploration himself. Bounding from one perch to the next, he ended up coming to a stop as he noticed another seemingly doing the same.

"Let me guess... bored, right?" he said.

[hack-rat.livejournal.com]

Alex had not been surprised that he had not been judged as being harmonious. His mind was almost always chaos.

His mind was still apparently in a storm as he wandered the village looking rather glum. Billy and Ronnae made it in. He had meant to be there to support them, but he couldn't manage even that.

All the happy couples didn't do much to help his mood either. He couldn't get his mind off Luna, and even Alice a little bit. He just wished he had one of his usual companions. Even though it was totally different, he wouldn't even mind at least Tavros. At least then he wouldn't feel so alone.

[halfa-hero.livejournal.com]

Danny whooped as he soared through the air. Sure, he had the Sensoriums and the City to fly in, but nothing quite beat the sensation of stretching his legs outside.

"Hey, dude. What's with the long face," He asked, after he'd reached the ground.

[vissernone.livejournal.com]

She skipped out of the judgment ritual. People already knew enough about her head. Forget that.

Eva remembers her pal from adventures o the Island of Misfit Toys. He looks as if he could use some cheering up. "No computers around here, chico. Everything alright?"

[foreseen-future.livejournal.com]

Nura hadn't even tried the ceremony. She was married already, thank you very much, and since Ben hadn't gone in, she needed to stay outside where she could keep an eye on him, not to mention Devlin, who had looked so frightened by the idea of marriage that he'd been as white as a bed sheet. Certainly, Querl was still here as well. Somewhere, deep down, it bothered her that he hadn't pushed or made much of an interest in her deciding to not attend the ceremony. But I'm just being paranoid, she told herself, as she walked along the small settlement.

She felt better for deciding to wear her sneakers this time, as it felt better for her feet. Not to mention, the shorts and tight top did enough for keeping her cool. Her high-up ponytail bobbed like a pendant as she walked, quite possibly one of the only white-haired heads in the area. She took note of the other people and creatures, stopping to say "hello" or wave in some form of greeting. Whether or not they were returned, she didn't pay much attention. Only continued ahead. Lost in her thoughts.

[level12headache]

"You're rather quiet." Querl observed.

Not that he minded the silence but he knew it was uncharacteristic of Nura.

[chosenlightchld.livejournal.com]

Hikari hadn't even thought about starting the ritual. Sorry, but she was way too young to even think about marriage, especially since her boyfriend was even younger than she was.

Tailmon had a smug look on her face though. "To think, I was wondering if I was going to have to drag you out of there against your will."

Hikari sighed. "You really thought I'd want to get married to Devlin when we haven't been dating long?"

Tailmon shrugged. "Lots of girl's your age go 'Oh wow, I can't wait to have a husband' how was I supposed to tell?"

Hikari just sighed, leaning back against a wall and closing her eyes.

[nobel-berserker.livejournal.com]

Allenby knew that there were kids on the ship, of course. She'd met a few, and she'd gone to that Outsiders meeting too. But it was always a surprise to see one of them. Particularly one with a pet cat--well that was kinda nice, that Stacy had saved her pet too. But it didn't seem really wise for the girl to take it with her onto an alien planet.

"Hey there," Allenby said, wandering over with a friendly look on her face. It was hard to be pensive around kids. "You didn't do that ceremony stuff either, huh?"

[kaya-waterwave.livejournal.com]

This seemed to be something a little awkward for most people, something they could maybe laugh about, something they would think about later. For Katara, after seeing everything and knowing what it meant, wanted nothing. She didn't even know what she was going to think right now. She had promised Ronnae she'd stay around, even told Billy that, but the more she thought about it she felt sick to her stomach. She was cut off: her family didn't really talk to her and she didn't know what to say anymore. What could she do? Who could she turn to?

[foreseen-future.livejournal.com]

Hello, Kara. Here is Nura coming up behind you with cookies and a sympathetic smile. "Hey little sis. Something on your mind?" She put her hand on Katara's shoulder gently.

[vissernone.livejournal.com]

"You've got that kicked puppy face again," Eva says, coming and taking a seat next to Katara. "I take it things aren't going well?"

[halfa-hero.livejournal.com]

"Soo. What happened?" Danny asked, catching the look on Katara's face.

[hack-rat.livejournal.com]

Alex couldn't not notice her shadow. Carefully he approached her and called softly, "K-Katara?"

He tried to offer her a smile, but it was poorly forced through his concern.

[starbolts]

Starfire happened to spot her leader looking miserable. It did not suit her at all.

Frowning, she picked a bright green flower and floated over to Katara, offering it to her. "This is not an enjoyable place for solitude, is it?"

[death_adept]

For once the black clad assassin stood in plain sight, arms crossed over his chest as he rest his back against one the wall of one of the structures. While outwardly calm, one could probably sense a level of tension below the surface.

Having decided to stay clear of the Xenos rituals, Jalith made it his task to keep an eye on the crew who had been left outside the settlement. Thus here he was, stuck for the night with the rest of the crew on an alien world with Xeno's strolling left and right, not counting those that belonged to the crew.

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

"So, I guess you're not into the whole marriage ritual thing either, huh?" So, there was Tony. Trying to make conversation with tall, dark and deadly.

[justoutrunyou.livejournal.com]

Sandy was just happy to be off the ship for a change of scenery that wasn't imaginary.

Quietly she slunk about watching people, listening. She only had a couple of people she knew on the ship and at the moment she didn't see any of them.

So it was best to stay out of the way. Don't draw attention to yourself that's just asking for trouble! Who knows what these weird alien guys are capable of.

Or for that matter...what the crew is capable of.

[nottheglamour.livejournal.com]

"Enjoying your time off the ship?" came a warm voice from behind.

[messianicpawn.livejournal.com]

Raziel had forgone the rituals entirely. Judging the 'harmony' of their soul, followed by a marriage ritual? He had no desire to subject himself to either. There were many others who had chosen to go through with it, surely more than enough to complete the mission.

Still, he didn't enjoy waiting around for someone else to get things done. Or just waiting in general. The novelty of taking his first step onto a world other than his own had worn off far too quickly because of it. That it appeared such an impossibly peaceful, harmonious place only fueled his discontent. Did these people face no dangers in their lives?

Broody thoughts aside, he restlessly wandered the settlement, observing the alien world in moody silence.

[starbolts]

Starfire had refused the ritual as well. She would not allow herself to be forced into another farce of a marriage, especially not with someone she had no affection for. Once had been more than enough. Perhaps if Robin were here she could have considered it, but today she would wait outside.

She flitted among the outskirts of the settlement, observing this and that, until she came across a wandering crew member looking even more miserable than she was.

"It is not a joyous day," she whispered.

[nothawkingbird.livejournal.com]

Kate wanted her wedding day to mean something. If she got married that is, but not forced into just because you can't get into the exclusive club otherwise? It seemed unfair to people who were single or just don't want to.

She did love Tony, but they weren't ready for it. Too young for one, and so she skipped being judged. Anyway the surrounding village and the people seemed interesting.

[playsin-traffic.livejournal.com]

"Decided to skip the whole marriage thing, huh?" He sounded a bit playful - not that put out, really. He wasn't sure if he was ready to get married anytime soon - not for real and certainly for for the sake of some aliens. The village was... well, a village. Seemed nice enough, though.