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 Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 6:59 pm
New faces weren't all that uncommon, there was that whole orientation thing that ended up being an impromptu mission to the Sahara after all. So when Joy learned she was doing some clean up duty with an unfamiliar name, she didn't make much out of it. And Joy herself had been awake and out of the pod for a good two years to know that people on Deus came from all walks of life. She was simply going to do her best to be welcoming and kind to whoever this Gabby was when she saw them. In the meantime, Joy had set aside her coat out of the way and had already donned her cleaning gear. Thankfully this was just a routine one, no need to bust out the acids and solvents just yet.
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Cleaning.
YES.
To say that Gabby was thrilled to know that she'd been put on cleaning duty with someone, and it didn't even matter to her who that someone was, would be an absolute understatement. She rushed through her entire morning and actually counted the minutes down while waiting in her room the rest of the time. Sen just thought she was insane. So when time came for it the little girl zoomed off to find this place that needed her help.
"I"M HERE!" she announced very loud and very proud as she pushed (and nearly threw the door right off its hinges because it was really, really old and messed up already) the door wide open, bright eyes and bright smile totally ready to get all the cleaning done. When she the someone she would be helping she ran right up to them grinning like a puppy staring at bone dangling overhead. "What can I do?"
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Someone enthusiastic about cleaning? Joy could hardly believe her eyes! All this time, she'd had to cajole, bribe, guilt, or outright just take the chore away from those who wouldn't so much as lift a god damn rag to help. To suddenly be gifted with someone who shared her own enjoyment of cleaning, well, Joy felt like she was finally being rewarded for her self-inflicted martyrdom.
Murmuring a soft "Salamat sa Diyos," she gave Gabby a bright smile and then a broom, a walis tingting specifically, "Here, do you know how to use this? I can demonstrate if you need me to, or I can get you a regular broom if that'll be easier for you?"
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Tagalog.
ALSO YES.
Like a cheshire Gabby's lips spread into an even wider, possibly even creepy, smile as she took the broom that was being handed to her. A walis tingting. This was heaven.
"Pinay ka din pala," she laughed as she got right to sweeping all the things in a very expert and methodical manner. It was all so much like home, this was home, so it didn't even bother her that the room was actually incredibly large and there was a lot to do. A lot. "Me too! Where you from? I'm Gabby, by the way! You probably saw that on the duty roster, huh? That's cool. I think I saw your name was...Joy?"
Honestly she only glimpsed the thing. As soon as she saw "cleaning duty" written down she just looked at the room, memorized it and rushed through the rest of the morning.
"If it's not, sorry. I was...kinda rushing!"
< Liar. >
-----
Joy tensed, shocked to hear that familiar intonation and words that almost sounded alien when it was in a voice that was not her own. But the tension quickly evaporated and Joy practically melted in happiness, "Oo, Pinay ako, lax-re mare! Taga-Maynila, ikaw?" The 90's slang slipping in as she allowed herself to let go of the needed translation. Once Gabby began to sweep, Joy had to remind herself they were here for a reason and knowing the other Pinay's enthusiasm for the task matched her own, they should be fairly quick about it.
(("It's actually Ligaya but Joy's just a lot faster to write. And if you get other people to write it, they tend to misspell it." )) She made a face as she began to sweep up her side. (("Once we finish with the sweeping we can get to mopping the tiled part. I'll let you pick if you want to scrub tiles or wax the wooden floor." ))
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:04 pm
(( "Yeah. Well kinda? My mom's from Manila, dad's from Cebu. I speak Bisaya, too. Dad insisted we learn both." )) Admittedly there was a lot, a lot, of relief that came with knowing that there was another Filipina here on the island. The idea of a small world came to mind, and she continued with her part of the sweeping as the other went on to explain her name and some other chore things.
"Gotcha! I'll stick with Joy, then. It is kinda easier even if I can pronounce your real name right." Playfully she stuck her tongue out at the other hunter. (( And I can mop the tiles? I've never waxed a floor before so I feel like I'll screw it up or something. Maybe you can show me so I'll know how to do it next time?" ))
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"Astig! ((I think I got family in the province, Quezon mostly but it's still Luzon so no dialects for me.)) " The casual ease of slipping in and out of English, Tagalog, and Taglish was a welcomed taste of home. "And sige, you can mop. I like waxing floors, even if I had to get and pay for my own bunot. I know the wax they got can be spread with a rag but, y'know, some things just feel better."
It may have been more work but it was a nice way to use her legs, "How long have you been awake? Or were you off-island most of the time?"
-----
The familiar rustle of the walis was comforting, as was the hum of Tagalog in the background. She could already hear her mom screaming something about doing the dishes or cooking her sister food or changing the channel on the TV for her grandpa in the background. It brought a lonely smile to her face for all of a second before she looked up at Joy, who seemed pretty talkative as well.
"Diba? I always prefer this broom over anything else, too. Some things just work better." She shrugged and moved on to another area of the room she had yet touch. It was filthy, but that would change soon enough. "And I've been awake for a few days now, maybe even a week. I haven't been keeping track, honestly. You?"
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"Ohs? Newly awoken pala you?" Joy didn't know if she felt disappointed that she hadn't been the one to be there to greet and welcome the only fellow Filipino on the entire damn island. Well, yes she did, she truly was disappointed Gabby woke up to someone else, but Joy was going to make up for it now!
"If you ever need or want someone to show you around, do training courses, you can mos def text me. I'm in Moon so you need someone to watch your back, I gotcha, kababayan!" she winked and gave the other woman a thumbs up.
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Gabby giggled while working the rubbish she was sweeping up to the corner where she'd left a pile of it to sweep into a dustpan with ease. "Kababayan definitely," she echoed with a huge smile. The sense of family was quick to surface with Joy because of just that one cultural tie, which she imagined would be a good thing with the dreary feel she got from the island. Realistic though she was, it was nice to have someone to be more comfortable around early on.
"And thanks. (( It's pretty hard, honestly, waking up and not really knowing what the heck is going on. I can adjust really well so, like, I've been doing okay so far but knowing someone's around and willing to help is nice. )) Thanks for that." She was a little more subdued, maybe because she was very, very focused on cleaning, and a lot of her talking energy had gone to the task at hand.
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:18 pm
"Anytime, it's what we do," Joy promised, although whether she meant we as in her division, a hunter, or Filipina was up to Gabby to interpret. Joy got into her own groove, the random chatter dwindling down to reflect her own shift in attention. There were still questions here and there, like "You met anyone interesting yet? Hindi ako kasama, by default ako hahaha!"
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It was a nice, very light atmosphere while they worked. Gabby was quick on her feet and with her hands as she quickly finished up the sweeping and getting the mop ready for use on the tiles. "Not really?" she said with a little wrinkle of her nose. "So far I've only met this one girl, Seren? Really tall, really pretty. Lots of hair. Seemed a little quiet, I think I might have talked her ear off a little too much. Madaldal kasi ako, eh. Alam mo naman."
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"Sus, pareho lang tayo! And you met Seren? Have you met Rhys yet?" The wide, ear-to-ear smile was audible in the question. Joy couldn't help it, there were just things she automatically assumed and one of them was that a fellow Filipina would just be as on-board the Love Team train. The notion that Gabby would be one of those who didn't buy into the whole concept never even occurred to her.
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Gabby was already working on the first five by five set of tiles, working slowly but surely and efficiently, in her opinion. She would, of course, stop and rinse the mop and then move on to the next set of tiles, but the work was something she didn't really need to think about so the conversation happening was a nice bonus. "I have, and no I haven't met him." She paused mopping and gave a thoughtful look at the wall just across from her. "She mentioned a workout partner though. Is it him?"
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"YESSSSSS!!! Siya ngaaaaa~" Joy confirmed, her voice rising an octave in delight, "Ang kyu-kyut nila when they're together pramis, 'te!" the enthusiasm in waxing increased to possibly dangerous levels. Whoever was going to use this room they might have to worry about slipping. "There are a lot of couples on the island who do look cute together too, but I never got to really cheer them onto becoming Love Teams."
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:22 pm
Gabby couldn't help laughing from her end of the room, her mopping not 100% now that there was a topic in play that she was at least slightly interested in, so there was a little bit of extra water. She'd been joking with Seren when it came up, mostly because no specifics of this "workout partner" had come up at all, but it was still fun to poke fun. "Sabi ko nga! She didn't say if it was a guy or something--that's a guy's name, right?--but I guessed and she had a small reaction." "I haven't really gotten around so much. Point out these 'cute couples' next time para may alam din ako."
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"You have twitter? I don't use it much, but I can point at some of the accounts. Mimsy and her husband Robert are perfect together. Aaaaand Rep's mejo gago, mejo kupal at times but he and Harrison are cute too. Ingat lang kay Harrison, mejo dugas sa pera pag di ka wais." She tried to think of other openly together couples that she was sure of, there were some forming during Dare or Dare but Joy didn't know them enough to guess if it was a hook-up or a budding Love Team.
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"I...do?" she mused while rinsing off the mop for the third time. "Someone casually mentioned it in the lounge while I was pssing by, so I asked about it and they helped me set one up. Haven't really used it much..." She got back to mopping, keeping the list of names for future reference. She wasn't one to meddle, but it was one of those things in her house--the love teams. And she wasn't the type to miss out on bonding over that. "Wala na?"
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"In fairness, I don't know everyone on the island. There's a LOT of us and I can only see so much, dalawa lang mata ko. I don't use twitter much, mejo mahirap ((when just anyone can see your posts and they can just butt in even if they're not involved)) ." Joy frowned, her energy lowering just slightly, "Dehins ko trip. Like, yes, pakialamera ako but to an extent. Not like I'd have done something if Jolina and Marvin didn't end up together, gets?"
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She nodded in general agreement with everything just said. "I get that, sure." She was about halfway through her mopping now as she gave it some more thought, causing some other memories to float to the surface. "Si mommy ((was super convinced that every single love team would last forever. She actually cried when Kimerald broke up. So did my sister.)) Grabe, di ko magets talaga. I'm invested, but not that invested."
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:36 pm
Joy didn't recognize the names mentioned, "Sino? Sorry, I was asleep a lot longer than most. Something about needing to prove that I was ready." She hoped the other woman wouldn't ask to go into detail, sometimes Joy could pretend she was relatively in the same generation as the others. "Hay, ganun din si nay. Grabacious yung hagulgol nung nag-break sina Pops at Martin." Which should clue Gabby in just how big the generation gap between them really is.
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Gabby stopped what she was doing and stared in the general direction of where Joy as working, a little curious as to how long the girl was actually in the pod. She thought better of it for only a second before finally asking, "How long is 'a lot longer'? I was only in that thing for less than a year, I think. I thought it was the same for everyone, (( and is it even possible to go for longer than a year? Is there a time limit? )) Parang it feels like there would be one but if you were in for a lot longer..." She rambled for a little while longer about her thoughts on the whole podding business, mopping the whole while.
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"((I can't say I felt the time span. It's like just blinking only finding out everything's changed and you got left behind.)) " she sighed, going back to her work, "Over more than a year. Naabutan ko pa ang Spice Girls at Backstreet Boys. Ewan ko kung may time limit. Life Division might know?"
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The girl stopped and squinted over at Joy again, confusion and all the questions that came with that state of mind already beginning to swirl in the back of her mind. Sen was very calmly trying to tell her to stop but none of that was working, so after half a minute he just stopped and tried to go to his quiet place. "Spice Girls? Si ate, that's her group for life. I only know them because of her..." and she tried to put a number to "over more than a year" just in her head. It didn't stay that way for long, of course. "Wait lang, so you're what? Thirty-something? Kasi there's nothing wrong with that! I'm just surprised because, like, you really don't look like it. I would've guessed you're right around my age, and I'm...probably still 25." She paused. "What month and year is it again?"
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"Huy, hindi no! Magka-edad tayo," Joy sounded a little too defensive about it. "Basta it's 2017, and I've just been asleep a long time." There was a finality to the sentence mostly because Joy didn't enjoy being reminded of just exactly how much of her life she'd lost over making such a stupid and rash choice.
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:52 pm
The finality in her voice sounded, to Gabby, a lot like when her mother decided an argument was over, so Gabby nodded and left it alone. Pushing buttons was sometimes her thing and clearly she pushed one here so she let a bit of silence pass as she mopped up the rest of the tiles. "M'kay, so I think..." she started to say as she brought the mop back to the bucket. "I'm done. What next?"
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"Usually that's it, once we're done, this place doesn't get cleaned up for another week. Sooner if people are assholes and don't care about cleanliness," Joy wrinkled her nose."I personally wash my place's bathroom at least three times a week, maybe use muriatic acid quarterly?"
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Gabby wrinkled her nose at the idea as well, then thought about the basement bathrooms and shuddered. "I'm in the basement," said the girl as she wheeled the bucket over to where she could empty it. "Do those bathrooms ever get cleaned? It's really, really gross in there. And parang putik ung tubig always. Have they never fixed the plumbing down there?"
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"Diyos ko, Lord! I never used the basement bathrooms. I didn't care I had to go up stairs to use the ground floor communal showers," Joy shuddered, "You could also use the one in the Gym. Do some training and work outs and shower there."
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"Yeah," she said with a little sigh. "I don't usually mind going upstairs but sometimes when grabe na ung emergency I really wish na I could just go to the bathroom downstairs. One of those 'I wish I didn't need to sit down to pee' kind of situations, maybe? Can't imagine the guys' bathroom in the basement is any better off than the girls', though." And it really was a disturbing thing, those bathrooms. She was pretty shocked to find them in that state on her first night. "And I dunno, are the gym showers okay to use?"
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 7:56 pm
"Pwede na, they're not super fancy or super private, so if mejo shy ka you should ask someone to make bantay the door until you're done." Joy got around to finishing her end, "Since we finished super early, you wanna get something to eat sa caf? Libre ko to celebrate finding a fellow Pinay."
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She nodded along at the explanation and made a mental note to check on the gym bathrooms the next time she went. After she finished putting the mop away she did feel a little bummed to have to separate from someone she by default already considered a friend, so when the invite came she actually squeed and bounced over to Joy, linking her arm with hers. "Sige, game! May parang Jolli-spagh sila dito? I've been craving it for some reason. If not we can always make some another time but sana meron..."
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"'Te, ((if it's spaghetti you're after, I can fix you up)), " Joy chuckled, and if Gabby hadn't linked arms first, Joy would have just as likely done the same. "Caf's food depends on who's manning, so if it's shitty, we can head to my place. Kai would totally be okay with visitors."
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There was something to be said at hearing the word 'te that just brought back those homestyle warm and fuzzies. Gabby nodded enthusiastically as they went, though she squinted at mention of an unfamiliar name. "Kai, boyfriend? I feel like you mentioned him earlier but not sure."
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"Nyek dehins! Di ko jowa si Kai. He's a flatmate and more like a younger brother. I think I'm, like, five years older than him." She leaned in close to whisper to Gabby "There are a LOT of younger hunters who woke up recently. But most of are legal, so if you're into thaaaat~ I'm game to make a Love Team out of you and someone." The grin could be taken as serious or joking, but it was certainly enthusiastic.
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Posted: Mon Oct 23, 2017 8:00 pm
The girl laughed outright at the reaction and sort of waved her hand around to dismiss it as an apology. At the mention of younger hunters though, she kind of wrinkled her nose. " Sige lang, I'll find my potential ka Love Team later on. Gotta learn all the ropes first, right?" And very casually moving back to the topic of food, she asked, "So about that spaghetti...?" ----- "Sige ba, if it's spaghetti you want, it's stapegi you get! And I can't promise I'll be able to help you with all of the ins and outs of this place, I got a lotta ways to go myself, anything I can help, I will!" She offered her pinky as a means of swearing to her oath.----- Gabby hooked her pinky with Joy's and squeed a little bit again before unhooking them and focusing on the spaghetti prospect. "To a kitchen! Cafeteria or yours? Wait...you get kitchens in the upper rooms?" ----- "Oh, no, it's in towns. There are a bunch of houses Rep knows about. If you got, like, roomies and save up enough of your monthly paycheck, you can rent one at a good price. Get at least one person, because over time, you think you can live with simple stuff but then. You find you can get more stuff. Like shoes~" she swooned comically.----- She snorted but understood, though the prospect of having any kind of excess money to buy not the suckiest things in the world was very, very foreign to her. She'd seen a good share of insanely packed closets though, so the joke didn't go over her head. "Maybe once I figure more things out, find potential roommates. (( I can visit you naman if I wanna see these houses, )) right?" ----- "Op kors!" There was a thumbs up as they walked from the building towards towns.
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