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 Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2018 9:39 pm
Decisions had to be made, dreams changed, and priorities altered, but it was the only way he could wisely make a choice. It would frame his entire future if approved. He both hoped and dreaded that it would be. With the approval, his childhood dream of dancing in a professional ballet company would be thrown to the wayside but at the same time, something new yet vaguely familiar would begin. That something would, if successful, help build him a strong future both as a civilian and a Negaverse agent.
Because of all of this, Heliodor watched his commanding officer, Faustite, sit back in his chair, half cloaked by a wooden desk, reading the report just presented to him. Typed, of course. A trip to the library had been necessary to procure the proper formatting of the report but it was more to his Captain's liking and thus, done.
Hands behind his back, Heliodor kept himself from fidgeting as those dark eyes read the report. Or maybe, for all Heliodor knew, he had finished and was now watching Heliodor himself. It was impossible to tell with the lack of a noticeable iris or pupils.
He had carefully laid out the merits of the new career choice. With the right exposure and popularity, it was not at all out of the realm to assume his words and presence would carry a heavy weight. People would listen to him if only because his name was attached to something. It could be marvelous propaganda, not to mention a great way to harvest energy. The theatre, in any form, had a tendency to be brimming with energy.
On top of that, if he managed his end goal, he'd have his own base of work. A place he could work to fulfill both his own and the Negaverse's agenda.
Bottom teeth met his top lip in a gentle, anxious tug. This was a big step. A step he needed. It was just odd to think he'd turn his back on ballet and instead opt to pursue the life of an actor but he had the skills, he just needed the training to expand on what he knew. That was, if Faustite found merit in the presentation.
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Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2018 8:25 am
As was his preference, Captain Faustite pored over the page with pen in hand, readied, poised to strike enunciations into the page. Costs, justifications, names and places, personal prospecti, potential pitfalls were each underlined and carved into the margin in Faustite's angular hand. Near the bottom of the page, Heliodor provided the projected budget for his proposed creative venture. Through this Faustite read last, his scrutinizing gaze searching for every accounted piece. Tuition was only the first of many costs, of course.
Faustite thumped the butt of his pen against the desk. "You'll pass the audition," he corrected almost boredly. Strange that it's been so long. Corruption byproduct maybe. It's the best explanation for his behavioral progress. "Infiltration will push it."
The lump sum at the bottom of Heliodor's report was circled with two dots punctuating the point of closure. Faustite opened the calculator app on his nearly-dead phone and double checked for a similar total before the phone unceremoniously died. Faustite looked unfazed.
The pen dropped to the table. His desk groaned gutturally as he pulled open a drawer, and for moments afterward, only the flip of pages could be heard. Steeling his jaw, Faustite shut the drawer again.
Fingers folded over the page, latticed, as he now looked to Heliodor. "Your request is approved. Attend every class, and study with a fellow agent whenever possible. Infiltration preferred. If you get a C or below in any class, you will retake at double cost to yourself — you will pay back that class's cost plus double your starseed quota. You'd best be dead and your corpse cold if you expect an excused absence. Are we clear?"
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Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 7:38 pm
Well, I'd prefer to pass it on my own merit, but... He nodded at the comment though, knowing better to utter any words against infiltration stepping in to assure his success.
As Faustite fiddled with numbers and other things, Heliodor watched carefully. The half-youma gave no inclination about what he was thinking about the proposal. It was annoying to say the least, but was also something that he respected and knew he should cultivate. It certainly would be a useful skill to have, especially considering what his intentions were for his future. Well, that's what teachers were for, right? He'd learn.
Rumination was broken when he heard words he hadn't been expecting. He stood for a moment with no reaction before offering a small smile to the acceptance and the (practical) proposed death sentence if he should fail. "I will make sure that every class is attended too." He nodded as hands clasped behind his back.
"I will make sure to contact the school as soon as possible and have the audition conducted." He stopped a moment, eyes trailing to the ceiling in thought. "I'll find out what's required as well. First thing tomorrow I will go out, visit, and gather all the information and papers I will need. I am assuming you will want a copy of everything as well so I will make sure I get those to you."
He rolled forward onto his toes as he turned his attention back to Faustite. "Thank you."
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Posted: Mon Jul 30, 2018 8:02 am
"You already know what's required." Faustite flipped the papers back and forth, his pen hunting over the words like a talon. Another few sentences were separated from the rest, captured in black boxes and left as so much prey on the page. "Unless you handed me an incomplete report." His gaze found Heliodor, his ire boiling forth in his otherwise still disposition.
He stood then, the violet ambience backlighting him, setting pipes brilliant to his dark face. "You're not dismissed.
"Did you or did you not gather all necessary information for this request?" He should already know all that was required of him for an audition, for entry into the program, for enrollment to the school on a whole. Much of that was posted online or walled behind a simple phone call. Seldom did they require more than a name to begin their spiel, to make that point of human connection in which they could sell a product, however expensive, however frivolous, to someone with which they could identify. So was the routine. So was the ritual. Had Heliodor, who so starved for human contact, skipped that? Had he dodged that point of desperate connection so frivolously?
His hands poised over the desk with fingertips digging their divots into the pages. Like invasion points, they marred the page with black intent.
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Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2018 7:05 pm
Put my foot in it again, I see. Helio was constantly finding himself in situations he didn't intend, and aggravating Faustite had not been his intention at all. He had presented to the Captain all of the information that had been readily available to him but there was a catch with the audition. "I was not able to gather information on the audition itself beyond the basics. I know I will require two monologues and to demonstrate my singing capabilities, but anything further than that was not given.
"I won't lie, the school is rather picky with who they accept and seemed uninterested in wasting any of their 'time' if I was not proceeding with signing paperwork and presenting all of my documents for them to assess before the dove into further details. So, everything you have in front of you is everything that I have been able to collect. I now just need to complete paperwork." Hands clasped behind his back were practically squeezing the life from one another. Helio was no worried, despite his explanation, that Faustite may revoke the acceptance.
"I am hoping an in-person meeting will be more fruitful with information. Especially if I come armed with an application, which is in that report, towards the end.
"I'd also like to inquire to them if having proficient piano skills is of any use to present during my audition or not. In ballet, it mattered little."
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2018 7:06 pm
Faustite leveled a hard stare at his subordinate, his lips pressed into a hard line. He waited through the winding explanation Heliodor gave, tempted to harry him through it with smoke at the young corrupt's heels. He felt simultaneously much older and much younger — older for all the ways he understood the Negaverse, its commands, and its cruel indifference; younger for how he had to look up to meet Heliodor's eyes, how he was still boyish in bodily growth.
But in facing Heliodor now, in watching all the ways a grown man could stumble through and falter, utterly childishly, could stand to throw his life away and stand again to be carried off by whim, be chased like cattle into his respective corral, be twisted about by fate's whim gave Faustite no cause for empathy. Before him stood a man who was no better at commanding himself — a man who needed all control and guidance handed off to another in order to function in a remotely respectable manner. And for all the ways he received that help, did he offer any indication of respect? Any gratitude for it and all the tolerance spared for his transgressions? The thin cords of Faustite's neck stood proud and barring as fence posts.
"Copy me everything submitted. Transcribe your conversations." If Heliodor intended to stutter and stumble and speak ill his way through college, then his collar would once again become a choke chain. Ill-fitted as he was for serving militaristically, Heliodor needed micromanagement. And were Faustite anything more than a captain, he would delegate that role to someone like Chrysocolla — someone who could handle that and no more.
A shame it was to see someone once enjoyable reduced to something so repugnant. Faustite retrieved the report from his desk and placed it into a drawer. "You're dismissed."
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Posted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:26 pm
Faustite was a thorough being. As annoying and tedious as his demands could be, Heliodor understood the need for a well-laid paper trail. It made things easier to keep track of. Not to mention, if Helio himself messed up anywhere, Faustite would have the evidence to keep with his threat. Not that I think he really needs evidence.
Of course, transcription of whole conversations would require well t==-taken notes or a recorder. A recorder would be easier, but that wasn't something he owned, so the former would likely be the main source. Thankfully, he trusted his memory for such things.
"I will have everything to you within 48 hours." That gave him 24 hours to go to the school, get all the information and papers he needed. The second 24 hours would be visiting the library to transcribe his notes, make copies of everything, and gather audition materials.
With the dismissal, Heliodor nodded his head and took a step back before turning his back to his Captain and exiting the dark office with a soft click of the door latch.
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