makopoison: (0000296)
cloud strife ([personal profile] makopoison) wrote in [community profile] neopoints2020-05-03 12:58 am

here at the honeybee inn. / open

[ they tell him he won't make soldier. no amount of training can fix a weakness of the soul. the mako doesn't agree with him - he's bedridden for three days after the initial test, and upon discharge, told he'll nnot be allowed to apply again. on the very same day he'd tendered his resignation, apologizing to his squadmates for letting them down, and left a message to the turk who had helped him on the trains as well as zack fair, thanking them for their belief in him, however ill-placed.

he was left with no choice but to improvise. there was nothing to return home to in nibelheim, no reason to quietly endure further ridicule and a lifetime of being ostracized, but no way he could live on the plate with the sky-high rent and the soul-sucking jobs requiring more skill than country boy can provide. he isn't the first SOLDIER washout to be too ashamed to go home, and he knows he won't be the last. the slums are full of them. he'd found himself lost, wandering lost in the shadow of the plate. sector five was bright and flashy but he wasn't equipped to deal with pickpockets and gangs. the better part of the day was spent utterly terrified, certain he was going to die here tonight and no one would ever know because he'd been too damn stupid to tell them his plans.

don corneo's men saw an easy mark for the coliseum. promising big money and a place to sleep - but a hand on his shoulder, a whisper in his ear, i could make you a star, darling - offered him something better.

andrea rhodea had smiled so charmingly and with such faith he'd decided he was in before he even heard the offer.

( they'd suggested claudia for his stagename, not knowing it was his mothers. he'd balked, almost shouting no, because while the rhinestones and glitter were rapidly becoming just another part of his world - he couldn't imagine the humiliation of anyone he knew knowing this. shame had consumed so much of his life, dictated so much of what he enjoyed - he refused to let it ruin this too. )

so cirrus was born. and cirrus was a fucking hit.

and he hadn't been lying. cloud's androgynous features were a smash with the customer-base. he was a quick learner, a hell of a dancer, and not too bad of a fighter. he was a star - and it came with glitz, and glamour, and gil, but no glory.

the usual showstopper was done for the night. cloud, center-stage, dancing to a flashy new routine in a uniform somewhere between the men's snappy suits and the women's bulky bee costume. he's fanning himself in the changing room, huffing out a breath as he counts down the minutes until the end of his shift, when one of the girls tells him he's been requested for a private show. ]


Seriously? I'm almost off the clock. Can't someone else -

[ it's someone important, she says, shaking her head. classified. you know what that means.

the blonde pulls a face.

don't worry, it doesn't look like an exec. she adds hastily. but you better move.

he sighs. turns back to the mirror to wipe away any evidence of exertion and heads for the room. ]
plate_builder: Image from Capseroo @ DW; Icon by me (Default)

[personal profile] plate_builder 2020-05-07 03:38 am (UTC)(link)
[Was this success? Reeve didn't think so. He sighed and lifted his wrist to check his watch. Not enough time. He didn't want to see like a quick finisher.]

Perhaps I have. Or perhaps I sold my soul
plate_builder: Image from Capseroo @ DW; Icon by me (Not Really Listening)

[personal profile] plate_builder 2020-05-07 03:47 am (UTC)(link)
What one does with their soul? I thought we agreed that we lost it coming here?

[Now he was smiling.]

All I hope to buy with mine is as much as I can get for people who can't get as good a trade in.
plate_builder: Image from Capseroo @ DW; Icon by me (Default)

[personal profile] plate_builder 2020-05-07 03:49 am (UTC)(link)
I do not think you're wrong.

[In fact, he chuckles a little at the statement. Cloud continues to sass him, and Reeve just takes it.]

You're not wrong at all. But perhaps, if that condescension can help feed one more family, build one more home... isn't it worth it?
beenhad: (i am busy)

slides in late with starbucks

[personal profile] beenhad 2020-05-07 04:25 am (UTC)(link)
[ By the time that Cloud arrives, that not-exec is scrambling out of the room like it's on fire, coat clutched to his heart like something precious, his eyes as wide as big bloodless saucers. He almost knocks Cloud over clawing at the walls to get away.

The doorway is occupied by one long shadow. This one does, in fact, resolve itself to look like an exec—a Turk specifically, with eyes like glittering onyx and a heavy fall of blue-black hair. Amongst the menagerie of vaudeville burgundies and neon yellows and livid violets, his black, creaseless suit looks particularly out of place. The moment that Cloud steps forward, he steps aside. ]


I apologise. What a remarkably distasteful scene.

[ Tseng smoothly lifts a gloved hand. There is nothing but patient politesse in his gesture. ]

If you please. I have been expecting you.
beenhad: (im on tv)

[personal profile] beenhad 2020-05-07 05:02 am (UTC)(link)
[ There is a bar set against the wall for patrons with more refined tastes. It is still wholly incomparable to the luxe spirits in their crystal cages that populate the shelves above-plate, but Tseng manages to procure a richly-brown single malt and two glasses. He pours the first neat. ]

I suppose that we should begin by addressing your suspicions. Yes, I know who you are. And no.

[ Tseng strides across the room to offer Cloud the second glass. His gaze drops, trailing the calligraphy swerve of Cloud's form-fitting attire, taking in the jewels and netting and the pretty haze of rouge on Cloud's cheeks. ]

I have not come here to harm you.
beenhad: (CONSCIENCE)

[personal profile] beenhad 2020-05-07 05:39 am (UTC)(link)
[ A smile flickers on Tseng's face, like a candle guttering low. ]

You've made a name for yourself. Or so I've heard.

[ Tseng takes a sip of his drink and mulls over the flavor in his mouth. He raises his hand, gloved and outstretched, and brushes his knuckles along the curve of Cloud's cheek. ]

Now that I've seen you for myself, I can almost bring myself to believe the stories. Which is nothing, I am sure, compared to witnessing you personally.

[ His hand falls away, retreating into the folds of his jacket. The envelope he retrieves looks heavy, flush with gil. ]

Of course, you will be more than generously compensated for your time.
beenhad: (i am busy)

[personal profile] beenhad 2020-05-07 06:35 am (UTC)(link)
[ All Turks have a certain steelness in their eyes, as much a part of the uniform as the black suits and leather gloves. But there's a touch of something more upon the clashing of their gaze, something like a cat watching a mouse writhe beneath her paw, delighted and detached all at once. ]

Thank you for accommodating me. Shall we, then?

[ Tseng is chivalrous enough in taking Cloud's hand for the short distance to the red leather booth that lines the gallery wall. It's a garish thing designed for garish acts, but Tseng occupies the space like a throne, one arm draped over the back, his drink delicately dangling between the tips of his fingers, the endless lines of his silhouette poised in watchful repose. His eyes burn into Cloud, wordlessly conveying that he would rather not be kept waiting for very long. ]

electroburst: ( fanart ) (Default)

[personal profile] electroburst 2020-05-07 12:52 pm (UTC)(link)
Heh. You a country boy?

[ cute. country boys are always cute. he happens to be fond of smalltown guys, as it turns out, seeing as every guy he's particularly fond of is, in fact, from a small town. or at least a town that ain't midgar, which means pretty much every other town there is. except maybe the one he's from. ]

Tell ya a secret: the whole world's like that. Trust me, I've been all over.
electroburst: ( fanart ) (Default)

[personal profile] electroburst 2020-05-07 05:23 pm (UTC)(link)
Hmmm... what's my prize if I get it right?

[ might as well make it a little gay. since, y'know, they're here and the point is to fuck the bee, not ask the bee its opinions on the socio-economic whateverthefuck of whereverthefuck and ask him about his hometown. listen, he didn't plan this, he just—will get around to it when he feels like it, fuck off. anyway, he finishes off his champagne and rather than make cloud pour him another glass, he takes his feet off the table and sits forward to do it himself. he gestures with the bottle before he sets it down. ]

You want a refill?
electroburst: ( fanart ) (all_creation57)

[personal profile] electroburst 2020-05-07 09:35 pm (UTC)(link)
[ is that a reward? reno laughs, but he takes cirrus's glass and refills it a solid just-more-than-half. that gives the illusion that he isn't drinking very much, but he'll refill and refill and refill again—classic trick. it goes well with their fun little party trick game. ]

Alright, deal. Now, repeat after me: "the mailbox was bent and broken and looked like someone had knocked it over on purpose."
electroburst: ( fanart ) (4QlKYIn)

[personal profile] electroburst 2020-05-08 01:28 am (UTC)(link)
[ reno listens carefully, head tilted. thinks for a moment, picking apart the syllables. he's got a terrible ear for languages, but dialect is a different story. it's kind of one of his favorite subjects. rather, he likes to play around with people and surprise them with how smart he supposedly is, when really, it's no different than recognizing one or two simple sounds. he taps his temple when he's got it. ]

North of the Canyon, west of the Saucer. Gotta be somewhere around the mountains there. Right?
electroburst: ( fanart ) (ff05)

[personal profile] electroburst 2020-05-08 01:40 am (UTC)(link)
Your vowel sounds, mostly. They're long, over-pronounced. Just a little bit. I probably wouldn't have guessed if you didn't already say you're from the country.

[ it was a rough guess, but a rough guess is usually all you need to get people to tell you what you want to know. he grins and knocks back some of that bubbly. ]
electroburst: ( fanart ) (TKabWMW)

[personal profile] electroburst 2020-05-08 02:11 am (UTC)(link)
[ alright, alright. at least this is something more like what the fuck he's supposed to be doing here. he sits back, smirking, and raises his glass in gesture. ]

Alright, blondie, let's see it.

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