Episode 11
Jan. 12th, 2009 07:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jaded_grin11
“Just wait until you see his paintings,” Yuffie whispered, turning to grin at
“I certainly hope his genius gives him some return,”
“The part he paints in is all fixed up,” the White Rose said, scooting down a narrow, built-in hallway to where the old offices had been. “He wants to fix it up all the way someday. I hope that happens for him, he’s a real sweetie.”
A loud shriek tore through the air, making Yuffie shriek in response and making
“Yuffie! You scared me half to death!” the man cried, his voice still rather high with nerves. He was wearing worn jeans and a tee shirt over which he’d tied a paint-splattered apron that had done nothing to save his wardrobe. He was a handsome man of average height with paint-speckled brown hair and an equally paint-speckled goat-tee and mustache. His hazel eyes—huge and unblinking with shock—flicked over Rude and he breathlessly squeaked, “Who are these people? That one looks dangerous! Is he dangerous?”
“Yes,” Rude told him, his voice low and clipped.
The man squeaked again, eyes huge.
“Reeve, this is
“Of course he is!” Reeve answered her, responding as if she’d just asked an idiot question. Looking very cross and flustered, he added, “Statistically speaking, Yuffie, you’re less likely to have a heart attack than I am—so I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t come busting in on me like some kind of mad cyclone!”
“Aw, Reeve!” Yuffie laughed, and flung her arms around him to give him a bone-crunching hug that left her smeared with paint. “You missed me, didn’t you?”
“I haven’t had the time!” the man said, and gave Rude another frightened, wary glance. “Are you sure he isn’t dangerous?”
“I’m sure he is, but only to people who try to hurt Mrs. ShinRa,” Yuffie giggled. “Come on, show her your paintings, I’ve been bragging about you!”
“It’s lovely to meet you,”
The man blinked twice at him before gallantly taking his hand and bowing over it to plant a soft kiss, declaring, “The pleasure is surely all mine! Ah, Yuffie, shame on you! You bring guests and me in such a state!”
“You are a little jumpy,” Yuffie observed, and grinned that manic grin of hers that was rather growing on
“But currently a starving artist,” Reeve finished, dropping
“So what’s with the screaming?” Yuffie asked, and said to
“My apologies,” Reeve said, grimacing a little. “I’ve been working on a piece that just won’t cooperate! I can’t sleep or eat or anything, all I think about is this painting and what isn’t happening! I swear it’s driving me crazy!”
“Well, you’re already there,” Yuffie assured him, and patted his cheek. “Show
“Yes, very good, alright,” Reeve mumbled, and led the way further into the cozy studio.
“He would be nicer if he knew who you were,” Yuffie whispered, taking
“How long have you known him?”
“I met him a few years ago in Wutai where he was having a show,” Yuffie said. “He was very fashionable for awhile, but Wutains are fickle—the money ran out and Reeve left town. He never knew I was the Emperor’s daughter. I helped him out as much as I could and brought him here when I got settled.”
Reeve fussed back and forth, agitated and torn with indecision while the ladies looked on.
“I hope to sponsor him here, but I need your help,
Reeve finally lost his temper and just yanked the cloth away.
“It’s home,” he whispered, and moved forward without even being aware of it, tears glistening in his eyes. Lovingly, he took in the details, every last inch of the sizeable canvas. Here was the palace that
“I wish it was, Mrs. ShinRa,” Reeve said, nearly wriggling with delight at his reaction. “But believe me when I say that I fail to do that place of beauty justice—I think that nothing short of seeing her with one’s own eyes can properly convey her majesty.”
“It’s spectacular,”
Reeve’s eyes widened and he sputtered a little before he simply bowed his head again and softly said, “My lady, I truly beg your pardon. I knew you were Cetran but not that you were of the very line which showed me such kindness!”
“Had I more contact with my family, Mister Tuesti, I would undoubtedly know of you before this moment,”
He looked at it again and his smile deepened. How often had he looked at the palace from just this same perch, outside in the moonlight with his nurse and mother? Too many times to count, and he missed his homeland, missed the rich beauty of it from the forested hills to the lush valleys and unforgiving mountains. Compared to the land of the Cetra, Midgar was dried up and dead.
“So many memories,” he murmured, and sighed. He felt Rude just behind him, as fascinated by the painting as he himself was.
“It is yours, my lady,” Reeve told him, sharing
“I propose a deal, Mister Tuesti,”
Reeve blinked at him solemnly and said, “I believe you have a deal, Mrs. ShinRa.”
He lifted Yazoo’s hand once more, kissed it lightly, and quietly backed away to let Yazoo once more gaze upon the place of his birth.
Yawning, he got up and made the bed, smirking with satisfaction to find that he was still sore. Feeling magnanimous in his good mood, he stopped to play with the exotic birds, all of them atwitter in their various large cages, excited by the attention and the sunlight streaming down from above.
“It’s a beautiful day,” he told them, and poked a finger inside one of the cages to let the bird rub its beak against him. “I know things have been a little off, but I can promise you guys that if I do go, I’ll make sure you’re taken care of, okay?”
A knock on the door interrupted him, and he called for them to enter, expecting the cleaning staff.
Instead it was Neala, terrified out of her wits but wisely doing her job.
“Kadaj, there’s a man here wants a job,” she stammered. “I told him Mister Reno was gone but you made decisions for him. What should I do with him?”
Kadaj frowned, pondering.
“Stick him in my office, I’ll be there once I dress,” Kadaj instructed, and hurried to go shower.
Marlene finished up the inventory on
Most girls just out of secretary school at the junior college couldn’t hope to have the position Marlene currently held, and she was grateful every day that
Being
“Marlene, what’re you doing?”
Speak of the devil.
“Working,” she snapped, brushing past him with her nose in the air. “Which is more than I can say for you!”
“Aw, that’s not true! I’m working right now!” Denzel protested, chasing after her. “Mister ShinRa wanted me to see if his wife was around.”
“Why, is he planning another party? I swear, I wish she’d never married that worthless man!” Marlene snapped, thinking of all the times that Yazoo had been a virtual prisoner in her room, unwilling to brave the strangers that Rufus had crawling all over the house.
“Hey!” Denzel cried, offended. “She’s the mean one! Just the other day she came busting in on his bath to scream at him! How’s that for poor little Mrs. ShinRa?”
“First of all, she does not scream!” Marlene said to him, pausing and rounding on him so suddenly that he nearly ran into her. “Second of all, she was upset because one of his skanky girlfriends was stealing jewelry from her that morning! And thirdly—” she leaned close with such an irate expression on her face that Denzel leaned away—“don’t you ever talk about her like that again! She’s an angel, it’s your boss who’s the bastard!”
“Well…” Denzel said, mustering up his bravery. “I don’t agree! I think she’s the one with the problem!”
“She sure is!” Marlene unexpectedly agreed. “And it goes by the name of Rufus ShinRa! Now, leave me alone! She’s gone for the rest of the night, for His Holy Inquisitiveness’s information—Mister Reno will be bringing her home.”
Denzel looked thoughtfully after her as she angrily stomped away.
“We’re still friends, right?” he called, hopeful.
Marlene’s only reply was, “Shut up, Denzel!”
Fresh from his shower and still feeling rather good about everything, Kadaj went to the office to find out just who on earth was wanting employment with
He opened the door a crack before he entered, taking a glimpse at the man within. He was rather surprised to see a young man, not the older man he’d thought of for some reason. He was compact and wiry, muscled, his skin a soft honey gold. His dark hair looked as if it was trying to escape his head, spreading out in wild black spikes and tumbling down his neck. He had a troubled look on his handsome face, a face marred by an X-shaped scar.
“Can I help you?” Kadaj asked, throwing open the door and striding inside. He didn’t want to get nervous. Being nervous always made it harder for people to understand him. While his speech was nearly perfect after so long in
The man looked up at him with cobalt blue eyes and smiled a little, but it was somehow sad.
“I need work,” he said, humble before Kadaj, who leaned against the desk and assessed him.
“We hire a certain service here, sir,” Kadaj told him. “You don’t seem to be looking to sell…”
The man blushed, a soft bloom of color on his fine cheekbones.
“I’m not looking to sell, no,” he quietly answered. “I’m a carpenter, a handy man. I was hoping your boss could use me.”
Kadaj cocked his head and told him, “Most of our employees are women, sir. They have many wonderful and varied talents, but fixing things is not among them—at least, the handful of women we have who can fix things are often otherwise occupied.”
He considered the request, thinking about it. If he could give this man room and board, then he could tend to the various establishments and cut
“What salary are you looking for, sir?”
The man started as if he hadn’t expected such a question, and said, “I just got here from the country, I’m looking to make a new start…”
Kadaj frowned and said in his sharp, clipped voice, “I will give you a suite here, next to Reno’s and my own—you eat in the kitchens and have free run of the place, but you answer whenever either of us calls and you immediately attend to whatever issues that arise.”
The man nodded, his black hair bouncing with the force of his agreement.
“One thing,” Kadaj said, and cocked his head, appraising him. “Pussy or ass isn’t free—it’s one thing to take up with one of my darlings, but quite another to pressure them for sex. If you want it that bad and they say no, then it’s no.”
The man blushed again but he was earnest when he said, “I have no interest in forcing someone, and no money to pay for anything. They’re safe with me.”
Again, Kadaj frowned. There was a symmetry to this man, a whipcord litheness that suggested something other than benevolent handyman. In a soft voice, he asked, “Are you good with weapons, sir?”
There was a spark of panic in those big blue eyes but he gamely answered, “Yes.”
Kadaj left it at that.
“Well, you’re welcome here,” he said, and smiled. “Come with me and I will show you your suite.”
“Thank you,” the man said, nearly weak with relief, his big smile changing him from someone melancholy and sad to someone vastly adorable.
“What is your name?” Kadaj asked, smiling in return.
“Zack,” the man said, his smile widening. “Zack Fair.”
“Welcome to Midgar, Mister Fair,” Kadaj said, and led the way to his new room.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2009-01-12 04:38 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-12 10:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-12 04:40 pm (UTC)And Zack! *the plot thickens*
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Date: 2009-01-12 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-12 11:01 pm (UTC)Other than that, he'd look very pretty with Kadaj...if Tseng wasn't in the picture. *grins*
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Date: 2009-01-12 11:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-12 11:45 pm (UTC)I do think you should pimp this out to the comms; it's very good. One that I'm a member of that I don't see listed on your profile is
Don't know if you've got a name yet for Mommy Jenova, but you could always go with Kaasan. Either as her given name, or as the title given to the female head of the ruling family.
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Date: 2009-01-13 12:23 am (UTC)...sorry, total unloading rant. My bad!
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Date: 2009-01-13 06:09 am (UTC)No need to apologize for the rant. :D Sorry you had to deal with it, though. I thought it was very well written; and reminds me that I'm about four chapters behind on Reno is God....
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Date: 2009-01-13 09:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-13 11:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-13 02:15 pm (UTC)I will always be a sucker for Zack/Cloud, but since that's practically canon (and since my other baby hasn't been introduced yet) I could easily see a very interesting pairing in Zack/Yazoo. Who wouldn't find Yazoo adorable and Zack could handle the truth (Yazoo being a man and all). He could even keep it secret because that's just our Zack and Zack bends both ways (in my opinion). Ah, but that's just me. I really think Yazoo deserves someone decent.
I love the way you add characters to the plot. Not too many at a time and each character has time to 'settle' before the next batch is added. It doesn't feel rushed which I think is a big problem in some soaps.
WHO is the culprit daring to diss Dog Will Hunt??? *wraps up sleeves, cracks knuckles and turns on mean frown* Lemme at'em!! If English isn't their native tongue, I can yell at them in Danish! Maybe that'll teach'em!
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Date: 2009-01-15 12:27 am (UTC)Glad you like the way I slip the newbies in! I try not to have too many pieces on the board at once, or I can't keep track of all of them, and the length-limit prevents me from touching on all of them in a single episode.
The disser is from the Netherlands...I'm such an American that I don't know if they speak Danish there! I just got really super offended by what she wrote, because my ego is fragile and I think that story is good! I'm such a conceited bastard!
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Date: 2009-01-13 10:46 pm (UTC)And Zack. w00t!
Kadaj should like his ass (well, who wouldn't, it's so cuuuute), and Zack being totally protective and interested back. And Reno thinking "I should put them in a room with peep-holes, I'd make millions." Or maybe being a complete dick about it, hard to tell with Reno.
I can also see Elena being completely obsessed with having Zack in her bed because he's so pretty, but it would have to be on the sly because she doesn't want to lose her chance at Reno or gie up Shinra Sr either. Zack would be completely 'ewww' at her. She dresses like a skank (expensive but still a skank... kinda like Paris!) might as well have her act like one too.
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Date: 2009-01-15 12:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-19 08:27 am (UTC)The new chapter was very entertaining as well, especially the part where Reeve introduces his painting (somehow instantly a picture in Caspar David Friedrich- style pops up in my head). I suppose he would not be an abstract artist, but somewhat of a follower of the Romantic period... But maybe not, I don´t know ^^
I was thinking about smething though, concerning Rufus and his evil plans: if the Jenova family is as decadent as he always claims they shouldn´t give a damn if Yazoo has an affair. Even more so when Rufus is a known playboy himself. Wouldn´t they just laugh right into his face if he would try to blackmail them?
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Date: 2009-01-19 09:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 02:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-28 06:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-29 10:52 pm (UTC)