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Mar. 20th, 2020 01:01 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
makopoison posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
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: 2020-04-03 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.