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Mar. 20th, 2020 01:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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neopoints[ claudia strife had not been a popular woman. non-native to nibelheim, arriving eight months pregnant but only two months married. the husband had abandoned her and her boy before he'd turned five. smalltown politics made it difficult for her to ingrain herself in the community, where she stuck stubbornly despite their dislike of her. she was loud and vivacious, shedding the city girl she'd been and embracing the county life and all their gossip.
the boy, though, was another story. he was as rough and tumble as any other child, yet he'd been the one branded a troublemaker. his mother would say that he didn't pick fights, he just ended them. the country kids would say that he fought without provocation. and the bystanders, who never opted to comment, would say that though he was the one to throw the first punch, he was never the one to start the fight. he was quiet, odd, easily picked apart. developing a temper where self-esteem should have been.
which is why when he'd said he wanted to be a SOLDIER, he'd been mocked. the only one who hadn't laughed in his face had been tifa lockhart, who only asked him to promise to save her again some day.
he'd been on base for about two years before plans changed. working his way through the training programs, updating his simple country knowledge with everything the city had to offer. cloud strife was a loner, his file read. cloud strife does not engage with people his own age. cloud strife has difficulties relating to his peers. cloud does not command authority. cloud obeys orders competently for the most part but has incidents of insubordination. damnable traits in a soldier, the kind of that ensure they always stay on the bottom rung.
( and other higher ups have the eye on him, so that simply won't do. the boy is strikingly similar to the presidents son, people've noticed as he's gotten older. )
they'd pulled him out of training early about a month ago. catcalls of ooooooh, strife's in trouble chasing him down the hall as he followed the unfamiliar woman who had called his name. she was dressed in the sharp suit of a business woman, but every step she took was as deadly as a panther. he knew what she was - turks didn't blend in with the rest of the world, they stuck out. something special.
the woman hadn't smiled at him as she'd set the clipboard aside, leaning in close. you don't fit soldier. she'd said. you can hit hard, you can fight like the best of them, but you don't have the right heart... honestly. i'd be surprised if you had any heart at all.
cloud blinks. too stunned to be hurt.
so you're off the SOLDIER program, she taps something on the screen and his file pulls up. the humorless picture on his id popped up. but you still made the cut. don't worry.
it turns out you don't really get an option to say no to the turks. being on their radar means that you've been marked. it wasn't a question of if he wanted to change careers, it was an order. things have already been set into motion. there's no opt out.
and so a month later he's walking into headquarters. tseng is talking to him as they ride up to the turk's floor, but he's scarcely paying attention. too busy gazing out the window at the vastness of the city, fiddling with the sword at his hip.
cloud, tseng says, sharper than before. he snaps to attention, dropping the reflexive salute once he catches himself. you'll be with reno from hereon out. ]
the boy, though, was another story. he was as rough and tumble as any other child, yet he'd been the one branded a troublemaker. his mother would say that he didn't pick fights, he just ended them. the country kids would say that he fought without provocation. and the bystanders, who never opted to comment, would say that though he was the one to throw the first punch, he was never the one to start the fight. he was quiet, odd, easily picked apart. developing a temper where self-esteem should have been.
which is why when he'd said he wanted to be a SOLDIER, he'd been mocked. the only one who hadn't laughed in his face had been tifa lockhart, who only asked him to promise to save her again some day.
he'd been on base for about two years before plans changed. working his way through the training programs, updating his simple country knowledge with everything the city had to offer. cloud strife was a loner, his file read. cloud strife does not engage with people his own age. cloud strife has difficulties relating to his peers. cloud does not command authority. cloud obeys orders competently for the most part but has incidents of insubordination. damnable traits in a soldier, the kind of that ensure they always stay on the bottom rung.
( and other higher ups have the eye on him, so that simply won't do. the boy is strikingly similar to the presidents son, people've noticed as he's gotten older. )
they'd pulled him out of training early about a month ago. catcalls of ooooooh, strife's in trouble chasing him down the hall as he followed the unfamiliar woman who had called his name. she was dressed in the sharp suit of a business woman, but every step she took was as deadly as a panther. he knew what she was - turks didn't blend in with the rest of the world, they stuck out. something special.
the woman hadn't smiled at him as she'd set the clipboard aside, leaning in close. you don't fit soldier. she'd said. you can hit hard, you can fight like the best of them, but you don't have the right heart... honestly. i'd be surprised if you had any heart at all.
cloud blinks. too stunned to be hurt.
so you're off the SOLDIER program, she taps something on the screen and his file pulls up. the humorless picture on his id popped up. but you still made the cut. don't worry.
it turns out you don't really get an option to say no to the turks. being on their radar means that you've been marked. it wasn't a question of if he wanted to change careers, it was an order. things have already been set into motion. there's no opt out.
and so a month later he's walking into headquarters. tseng is talking to him as they ride up to the turk's floor, but he's scarcely paying attention. too busy gazing out the window at the vastness of the city, fiddling with the sword at his hip.
cloud, tseng says, sharper than before. he snaps to attention, dropping the reflexive salute once he catches himself. you'll be with reno from hereon out. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-03-21 12:17 am (UTC)where'd he come from? who knows. reno's file is as sparse as his propensity for staying appropriately clothed. it isn't even full of redactions and edits, TOP SECRET stamps and references—it's just a paper-thin folder with a few leafs of unhelpful information in. a first name? the one he gave them. last name? none. true identity? unknown. birthdate? unknown. birthplace? only what he told them (junon—city of). height, weight, all too small numbers. blood type: common as they come, but not universal. known contacts: none. absolutely none.
so how'd he get here? same way anyone else gets here: he took the train. and there wasn't any getting off.
he made his impression by being too dangerous to overlook. a child whose ribs nearly meet his spine managing not only to get inside the shinra building undetected but to pick-pocket multiple staff members, shoplift from the item store, steal a pass up to the skylobby, ransack the library, and make an attempt on the life of the first person he saw with a keycard of a high enough number to get to the top floor, is not one to be trifled with. especially not when the person he successfully ambushes, using nothing more than a broken bottle and a stolen taser, is a turk. not someone you're supposed to be able to sneak up on, or threaten.
they take him to the president, like he demands. and what does this skinny, fiery street rat ask for? money. for what? for mind your own fucking business, old man! and when making demands doesn't work, his leverage is his trump card: a home-made explosive he made in a garage and planted in the parking structure. pay up, or he collapses the support and crushes anyone who might happen to be in there. (a bluff; his bomb isn't nearly that sophisticated, but he didn't come this far to give up now.)
enchanted, the president does him one better. oh, he gives him his money, alright. and a job. and an apartment, and a mentor, and a uniform.
and that's the story of reno the turk.
now, at this tender age of who-knows-but-probably-fresh-into-his-twenties, reno is ruthless about climbing the ranks. he's already surpassed many of his longer-standing turk brothers and sisters, and yet somehow he leaves respect in his wake, not ire. that's the thing about him—he's a smooth talker. he's likeable. he's friendly, even downright charming so long as you don't test your luck. and he's good at what he does. he's one of the few never to have been paired up with anyone else outside of training, and he's proud of that.
imagine his surprise when he gets the news, straight from the big man himself: you got yourself a partner.
at first, he's furious. you can't do that to me! that's only gonna hold me back! i don't need some rookie hanging onto my coat-tails, let him make his own way! he's allowed to throw his tantrum strictly because he's tenure and his skills give him leeway for all the acting out he's known for. but then he gets a look at the file. reads it top to bottom, back to front. studies the picture. pretty blond, blue eyes, pale as the moon. a total freak with no special handouts that nobody likes or cares for.
and he's fascinated.
a fan of the theatrical, reno positions himself accordingly to show up at the best possible moment. when tseng and cloud exit the elevator, he poises around a corner, waiting for his chance. when he hears his name, he strolls in ever so conveniently, looking cool. casual. pleasantly surprised. he acknowledges tseng, but his eyes fix on the tagalong. ]
You called?
no subject
Date: 2020-03-21 12:47 am (UTC)The blonde nods in greeting. He'd been in ShinRa long enough to recognize the name and the ghost of a reputation that accompanied it. The turks were dangerous and Reno was among the most notorious, the one whose name actually got attached to rumors. Seen him once or twice between the floors, too, while standing as one helmeted grunt among many.
Now he wasn't that. He was expected to be an equal? Being a SOLDIER was still the more glamorous job, but he can't deny the appeal of being able to stand shoulder to shoulder among their elite.
Reno, I'm entrusting his education to you. There's an undercurrent to it, he clearly expects that only good habits are going to get passed on. The match was an easy one to make. Cloud's lack of personal skills and diligence would play nicely off of Reno's more wild traits, and Reno's more outgoing nature would make a halfway decent spy out of the boy yet.
The fact that they were both aiming to the top wasn't a coincidence either. ]
It's nice to meet you. [ there's the faintest hint of an accent, one that he's clearly actively trying to hide. but the softness of the nibel region's country accident is hard to cover up. ] I look forward to working with you.
no subject
Date: 2020-03-21 01:07 am (UTC)this is another challenge. that's what he tells himself before he gets a look at the picture. after that, well...
he takes it just a little less seriously. or, at least, he's less intense about it. it's hard to be all fired up when your mind is set on the never-ending game of playing with your food, like his often is. he nods his obedient compliance to the order, but his eyes don't leave cloud's face. and at his greeting, he smiles, big and bright. ]
Aren't you a sweetheart! Don't worry about a thing. I'll show you the ropes.
[ maybe someone who doesn't know him any better would think he's just being sarcastic and flamboyant, but he's aware tseng will surely detect the predatory edge. like a hyena's laugh. sounds funny, actually the noise a killer animal makes before it eats you up. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-04-03 03:46 pm (UTC)I look forward to it.
[ tseng, for his part, only shoots reno a warning look over cloud's head. a wordless do not that could apply to any number of things. don't kill him, don't cripple him, and most likely, do not fuck him.
the last thing he needs is for president shinra to decide that his favorite little upstart had taken too many liberties. he touches cloud's shoulder, drawing the blonde's attention back to him. if you require anything, you need only ask. your success is our success. for now, i'll leave you two to get acquainted.
and with that he excuses himself. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-04-06 10:17 pm (UTC)Yeah, let's get acquainted.
[ that's not supposed to sound like anything other than an obvious pass at him, but fortunately he doesn't do anything more untoward than gesture with an open hand, turning back toward the doorway he came through. ]
C'mon, lemme show you around. This floor is completely off-limits to anyone but Turks. We don't even got secretaries or file clerks, really. Only just a few, and they're transplants from other departments. We mostly do all our own work. So we got a lot of shit up here to spare us extra trips downstairs. Say, what was your name, again?
no subject
Date: 2020-04-06 11:30 pm (UTC)It's Cloud.
[ he falls into step like a good solider. try to be friendly, and personable, and not like your usual (tryhard) self. ]
I've heard plenty of rumors about what people think goes on here.
no subject
Date: 2020-04-06 11:50 pm (UTC)Oh, yeah? What kinda rumors? If you want I won't confirm or deny, so you can be surprised for yourself later.