here at the honeybee inn. / open
May. 3rd, 2020 12:58 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[ 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. ]
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. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-05-04 03:31 am (UTC)[ It had been years since Sephiroth had disappeared, leaving him as the lone 1st in SOLDIER. He had taken on the responsibility, of course -- how could he not? -- but the more he was left in charge, the more he saw the little things that he hadn't seen before. It wasn't just what had been done to Angeal and Genesis, or what may have been different about Sephiroth himself, but it was the way the scientists would linger around other SOLDIERs for too long, how he'd see the occasional hand dipping something in before the mako showers, or the half whispered comments in the halls by men not expecting to be overheard. It was making him realize that SOLDIER -- and perhaps even all of Shinra -- was nothing like it was supposed to be. ]
[ So he came up with a plan. Or, well, rather; the Turks came up with a plan, one that would get him and his girlfriend out and as far away from Midgar as possible. He hated to cut and run, but it was dangerous for her here too. Of course, all this involved a big thing, saying that they were going to get married and he was going to need some time for that (something Aerith actually jumped on him for), but the plan was to elope and run off before the scheduled wedding day. No fuss; just disappear under the cover of night with the Turks subtly helping them out. ]
[ Unfortunately, there were things involved with a wedding. Things that he apparently couldn't get out of, like a bachelor party. He tried, he really did, but even as Reno pipped up to say that he would happily take the VIP time reserved at the Honeybee Inn, Tseng had politely reminded him that anything out of the ordinary would draw suspicion. ]
[ So now he was stuck, sitting between two honey girls that were more than happy to snuggle up by him, waiting for the private show to start, trying to resist the urge to get up and walk out. ]
This... doesn't take too long, right?
[ He mumbled the question to himself, and if the girls heard him, they didn't really seem to pay it too much mind. ]
no subject
Date: 2020-05-04 05:35 am (UTC)cirrus might not be bright and bubbly, but they are mysterious. skirting that line between male and female, beautiful and handsome. say a little and people will do all the work for you, draw all their own conclusions. you're either a demure little angel or a standoffish bitch, they pick what they want and run with it.
so when he walks into the room, he does his usual thing. get them worked up with the pole and then a little lap dance. something weird and kinky after that, if they're into it. he doesn't make eye contact as he heads for the stage, grasping the pole and glancing over his shoulder at -
zack fair.
zack fucking fair.
oh no. oh no no no. cloud immediately turns his face to the wall, cheeks hot. shit. shit shit shit shit shit shit. since when does zack go to strip clubs? it... it has been years. so anything could happen in that time. he'd heard he was the last first left standing, so - maybe he's here to let off steam?
shit.
fuck.
shit. the girls on the chair next to zack are confused because the music's started playing and he hasn't started moving yet, and that's what spurs him into action. setting out through the rest of his routine and just
deliberately not looking at the man he's supposed to be entertaining. ]