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 Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2015 7:14 am
Backdated Solo
Getting To Know You
Following Harrison's advice, Joy had gone and scoured the rosters. It took her a bit of time to go through the paperwork and the filing system and, well, Joy and any administrative task never mixed. But she was determined to at least get some... closure was not exactly the word she was looking for. Mostly it meant that there was something between her and the veteran moon hunter to close when there wasn't.
Sure, Joy could pretend she was doing this because it made sense to find out who your fellow division members are, but she knew herself well enough that it was a bullshit excuse. She'd clung to Davey's promise to find her long enough until waking from the pod, and if he hadn't found her since then, ******** it, she'd keep his promise for him!
The rosters eventually confirmed that one David Brant was off-island, and it made Joy's stomach knot. Okay, so it really wasn't his fault his face wasn't the first one she saw since officially waking up. Horace is a sweet kid, fun and easy to talk to, and apparently with the patience of a saint after her less than willing attitude of dealing with technology. Really, she couldn't have asked for a better person to be there for her de-podding, but he wasn't Davey.
He wasn't her Cap'n.
Sentimental. Bert snorted with the suggestion of a sneer.
she snapped, going through the roster again to confirm phone number accuracy.
Makes you weak. Makes you too dependent on others.
I'm always going to be- he halted himself with a mental gust of air, like a sharp intake of breath. I'm here.
Joy could have ignored her weapon about the rephrasing, but this was the most he’d ever spoken to her and this was the longest conversation they’ve had since her waking. This certainly merited a prodding and it wasn’t like she couldn’t check if the records she found were up to date at the same time. Maybe physically you’re here or spiritually, whatevs the term, she snorted back. Sorry, ha?
Reaper. Was a reaper, not a monster.
See? Until this moment, I would have thought they were the same banana.
Neither are fruits! Bert snarled in irritation.
Lax-re, pare, Joy rolled her eyes as she brought her phone out. It was an expression. Sorta surprised you haven't figured it out. I mean, you understand Tagalog, even the slang stuff I use.
Sentiment. The weapon corrected her. Understand the sentiment. Anyone else speak in Tag-along I'd understand only if you do.
It’s pronounced Tagalog. Ta-ga-log. Joy repeated slowly, then heard Bert's snicker and realized he'd been teasing her.
The suggestion of a shrug, Not hard.
Hoy! Are you saying I’m stupid?
Naïve. For now. Don’t be quick to trust. Don’t be quick to rely on others.
Uh, hello, the moon training course sorta means they trust me to keep them safe while they do their stuff. Plus,
A heavy sense of frustration settled around Joy, underscored with confusion and what she could only describe as repeatedly running into a wall. Bert seemed to want to say more, not too much more given his preference for short, clipped answers, but it was as if he himself didn’t know what he wanted to say.
Okey, okey, lax-re lang. You don’t have to worry about me pushing you about your secrets. I mean, it’s not like you know juicy celebrity gossip stuff.
He snorted incredulously.
Unless, you actually do, then you’d better ******** share!
Indignation flared in the moon trainee’s mind.
Oh diba? I mean, I don’t have secrets of my own but I’m not gonna force other people to reveal theirs to me. Even if these people are also in my head, which is really weird if I say that out loud.
The rest of her partner’s words were incoherent rumblings and growls. Whatever bridge they’d started to build between them, Bert had effectively stopped it in its tracks.
All Joy could do was roll her eyes and mutter at the reaper, Hay naku, you started this. I’m telling you, ha? If you don’t come clean before whatever you’re trying to warn me from happens, you lose all rights to do an I-told-you-so. Intyendes?
Anger, confusion, fear, pain, more anger, frustration, panic, more panic, more frustration, there was so much anger and frustration, bombarded Joy so sharply and so suddenly she buckled. The stack of papers she’d been leafing through spilled around her, their noisy descent masking the dull thud of the trainee’s knees hitting the floor.
”I’m okay!” Joy declared to whoever might have been around, if any, and to her weapon. ”Puki ng ina mo, Bert, warn me next time you plan on having a freakout like that.”
There was concern and panic yet again. Kubyerto couldn’t form the words to apologize to his bonded. He didn’t know the extent of his own feelings, didn’t realize how intensely it would affect her. So in the meantime, he remained silent and let Joy go about with whatever it was she was doing in peace.
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Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2017 7:03 pm
Backdated Solo
Push Past It
Joy was never afraid of dying. She was never afraid of pain or of failing. She was never afraid to face the consequences of her actions or her poor decisions. Perhaps that was because of her ridiculously sheltered childhood but she'd done all sorts of potentially lethal s**t and ended up with really bad injuries as a result.
She was sure she would have broken her neck from falling on the mountainside but she didn't. Obviously. Some broken bones and a fairly lengthy stay in the hospital plus some months of rehab and she was back to prove she learned from her mistakes. Which essentially manifested itself as not falling on the mountainside again. There was also that time in the warehouse, when she was desperately trying to work off some work-related frustrations and it bled into her sloppy bike tricks and complete lack of awareness of her surroundings.
But that didn't count.
Well, no, that did count. That totally counts. In fact, that was the only thing that truly counts.
All her life she grew up with stories about haunted schools and hospitals from the days of the Spanish colonial period, of the provinces where women would sever themselves in two so that their upper halves would grow wings and they'd fly off into the night in search of pregnant women. So whenever she actually saw these shadows, she thought nothing of it. She was always with family, even though she was an only child the baranggay she lived in might as well have been her clan's compound. The shadows left her alone and so she dismissed them and were unaware of the true dangers they possessed.
And then the warehouse incident happened and she was forced to see, to really see the shadows as an actual threat. Except Joy didn't see the situation like that. She saw it as an attack on her practice, on her tricks, on one of the few things that truly gave her the rush and thrill that her mundane life failed to deliver. It used to just be in the background and that attack made it personal.
Joy just hadn't realized it was not the point.
And now, lying in the stupid infirmary bed, ordered with bed rest and in semi-quarantine, Joy was busy reliving a new near-death encounter. She had her eyes closed but sleep wasn't coming. She'd been sleeping too much and her body was craving for some movement. Twitter wasn't that much help either. Not that she'd ever been that vocal on the intranet platform, Deus' high technology levels were still overwhelming for her, but turn to it she did in her desperation for something to do.
All the while, Bert was making it very clear that if he had some means of showing her his true form, he would be glowering at her in disappointment and disapproval.
Bert, plis lang, I'm not good at reading people's minds. Just come right out and say whatever the ******** you wanna say to me, okidoks?
If Jordan hadn't arrived, I would have abandoned you.
Brown eyes shot open. Joy wasn't sleepy to begin with but that admission, well, sleep was a long, long ways off. She had expected hesitation from her weapon bond, he was always so ******** tight-lipped with her that when he actually did tell her what the problem was it blindsided her. That and what he'd just admitted as well.
I thought we couldn't change weapons.
It's not a change. You would have been dead.
The ******** kind of loyalty is that?
Loyalty to myself.
That's what we call being selfish and acting like a giant a*****e.
As is seeking death at the cost of others.
I have never EVER done anything that risked other people's lives!
Apart from endangering yourself and forcing others to rescue you?
I am doing my duty as a hunter! I am a Moon and that means I'm supposed to make sure I take the brunt of attacks._
Is it really? Bert sneered, Such a simplistic, stupid interpretation of your duty. Or do you truly believe you are expendable?
Excuse you! I was taught that there was no greater deed than to sacrifice your life for your cause!
And what is your cause?
Protecting humanity, Joy answered immediately. But even she knew that wasn't entirely true. That had been the go-to answer, the old familiar response that made her feel good and fooled people into believing she was a good person. Well, Joy was certain she was a good person nevertheless but that was neither here nor there.
s**t at guarding your thoughts from me.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Joy got the sensation of someone planting their feet and bracing themselves.
You refuse to admit it to yourself. I refuse to give you the easy way out.
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Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 2:37 pm
Backdated SoloWhat Was That AboutOnce certain that Kai was in good hands, through the portal Joy went. Stepping through, her face scrunched as the sharp contrast in climates between the Island and the Sahara hit her like a wall. FEAR shields only protected you from life-threatening injuries, and Bert never gave her the impression of someone who coddled, so she would have to put up with the temperature whiplash before she would acclimate again. Normally she would have the energy to complain even if it was just to herself but she was just tired. So very, very tired.
What had this whole Mission even been for? What had it been about? Saving Dwight if she remembered what Mark said correctly. Did they, though? All these people risking their necks just to save one person, it should have made Joy all warm and fuzzy knowing that Deus would go through such lengths.
For him, Bert's statement certainly put a damper to that. Joy didn't want to acknowledge it but, she didn't know if the same would be made for her. How many missions had there been where she failed to hear the clarion call for help? Like hell would Joy know.
And this seriously began to undermine Joy's view of her life. In fact it made Joy wonder whether the people who'd gone in had managed to get everyone out. She only managed to get Kai out because of Jason and the other hunter's (what Joy considered their) sense of duty and protective instincts. Sure, the cavalry (in weird get-up) arrived at the end but she didn't know anything about them. For all she knew, they could have ended up trapped as well.
As she made her way to her room, dismissing Bert back to his totem form on her trek back, Joy kept glancing down at her coat, unconsciously trying to catch a glimpse of the symbol of her division. She wasn't sure why she was doing it. It wasn't like she was suffering from some identity crisis or undergoing some frustration with her sense of self-worth.
She was just probably tired. Yeah, that was it. Joy was sure that a good night's sleep was all she needed and then she'd be back to her usual, happy self. Kubyerto did not share the sentiment.
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Showered, changed, and her prayers said, Joy wearily climbed into bed, ready to let sleep wash over her. She was out like a light before her head even hit the pillow. But the dreamless sleep that she and her weapon hoped for did not come.
Instead, Joy found herself back in the desert, struggling to push up a boulder atop a sand dune. That said boulder was not slipping and rolling backwards to crush the moon trainee should have alerted her that she was, in fact, dreaming. It took the realization of a pair of legs dangling from her shoulders to jar Joy out from her task. She let go of the giant rock, half-expected it to squash her, but it stayed put and even gave a suggestion of rolling uphill on its own had Joy not squinted it into stillness.
The pair of legs on either side of Joy’s neck had to be connected to something. And when a pair of hands that looked like they were painted white suddenly came to rest on the legs' knees, Joy tried to look up. Harsh sunlight made it difficult to see anything beyond the silhouette of a hooded figure but Joy didn't seem to feel afraid that some strange person was riding on her shoulders.
If anything, she seemed to recognize them, ""
The figure's shoulders rose and fell, You're here. A beat. Why are you?
"Ewan," was Joy's automatic response. She didn't know what else was expected of her so she began to push the massive boulder up the dunes again. As she struggled, the presence of the figure piggybacking on her became that much harder to ignore. The closer she got to the top, the more aware she was of the weight bearing down on her.
"Think you can get off of me, pare?" she panted. There were no words, just the silhouette indicating that they shook their head.
Joy snapped and continued to push and push and push. She didn't know why she was pushing this damn boulder, didn't know what the consequences would be if she stopped, she would have liked to know though. "Not like anyone gives a s**t!"
They do.
"They who? What?" she sounded frustrated and not in any mood to take any more bullshit. The silhouette gestured somewhere and Joy followed the direction and saw bodies.
Some alive, most were dead.
Them.
Joy froze where she stood, arms still pressed against the boulder, legs suddenly unable to move, and she was completely incapable of looking away. She didn't recognize any of the people there but she could hear them, little wisps of conversations, people in mourning, people remaining hopeful, people struggling to live.
The boulder shifted in form. Massive as it was already, it twisted and reshaped itself into a tree hell bent on toppling over. Joy could see that if it fell, the bodies below, those that still survived whatever catastrophe they'd undergone would not survive this.
There seemed to be only one way for Joy to stop this.
You can't. You won't.
"Maybe," Joy muttered but she was going to go through with it. "But what else can I do?"
Who are they to you?
"Dunno, but they're someone's mom, or dad, or kid, or really weird uncle they still like. Someone has to do this for them. Maybe someone will do the same for my family."
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2017 5:34 pm
Backdated Solo
What Is Going On?
tl;dr - young Joy and young Kubyerto freak out at each other
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Posted: Fri Jun 02, 2017 8:55 pm
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