catchall nona

[residentmerc]

Comments

[segnale]

Hm... I don't think I've ever met a clown for real, so I'll take your word for it.

[residentmerc]

Mm. Met people who acted like real clowns, though.

[segnale]

So... they were funny...?

[residentmerc]

More like they were making fools out of themselves.

[segnale]

Oh. Your friends, or...?

[residentmerc]

[ opens his mouth. closes it. looks incredibly amused ]

... Well, I wasn't thinking of 'em, but now that you mention it.

[segnale]

[a smile]

Hey, that's a mean thing to think about your friends, Cloud...

[residentmerc]

You'd get it if you met them.

[ i, personally, think no one is more of a clown than vincent valentine, though cloud is thinking of like. the actual cat jester. ]

[segnale]

Hm... more description could be used.

[help]

[residentmerc]

Well. One of 'em's a talking cat mascot.

[segnale]

Wow, really? I've met talking mascots, but not a cat one...

[residentmerc]

What kind of mascots were they, then?

[segnale]

Well, Kumos was designed by a company, so he's not really based off anything in particular. And then he came to life.

[residentmerc]

[ well. cait was designed by a company too, but he doesn't get into that, because: ]

Came to life?

[segnale]

Yeah, I was working as a temp to help an employee sell the mascot figures around the area, and then one morning one of the dolls was suddenly alive!

[residentmerc]

... That's... [ weird. hm. ] You ever find out how it happened?

[segnale]

[she pauses for a moment, if awkwardly, before looking normal again.]

Yeah, um. There are these beings called Phantoms, and they give their power to people, so one used their power to give Kumos life. He was basically born from Yakumo—that's the employee I was helping—and all of his negative emotions about how much he hated his job.

[residentmerc]

[ ... ah. ]

Sounds about right for a company man.

[segnale]

[a sheepish laugh]

I liked doing sales, but I can definitely see why he found his job soul-draining. His boss was so mean to him!

[residentmerc]

Higher up you go in corporate ranks, less of a soul you've got. [ this is a call out to rufus shinra ] That's usually how it goes.

[segnale]

... Do you have a lot of experience with corporations?

[residentmerc]

You could say that. [ wow, cloud. be vaguer. ] Biggest one around is Shinra. I used to be in their military.

[ most corporations do not have a military force. ]

[segnale]

I see... So you left, then?

[residentmerc]

Yeah. Turns out steering clear of Shinra's the best thing anyone can do with their time.

[segnale]

Is Shinra that bad?