towerofanimus | (no subject)

Characters: Reno, open
Setting:
Unknown location - Shinra's Finest Still: locked to Rusty
Media room- open
Format: Prose, action! Either is fine!
Summary: Reno is being a grumpy guts and starting a downward spiral. Feel free to hit up for new/moar CR!
Warnings: Apologies in advance for grumpy Reno! ALSO, fighting and troll blood. However there may be more warnings eventually for certain threads. Will update.

Media Room, July 7th, open to everyone

He wasn't going to go ANYWHERE today, just sit on this beanbag chair and veg out. He was depressed, and he knew it.

Not even the music was going to help today.

Eyes blinking, he swatted at a shadow that scuttled across the floor, trying to find a suitable darkened corner. Idiot, Reno thought, rolling over on the beanbag so he didn't have to watch it.

Even the monsters were being stupid lately.

Maybe it was just him. Things were just. Ridiculous and hopeless here.

"Fuck the Tower." He spoke aloud, not caring in the least if there was anyone else there. "Fuck it."

Unknown Location, July 6th, locked to Rusty

Continued from here

After taking a trip down to the cafeteria looking for bottles, Reno made good time collecting empty and discarded bottles, giving them a thorough rinse in the kitchen's sink before tucking them into a net bag he had made in the workshop. The still they had set up was well hidden, and Reno didn't want to have to come back to get more.

Once he was done with that, he headed off to their hiding place, only running into a few monsters along the way. Minor distractions, they were easily taken care of.

If only every day was like that, but no, he had to be here in this dump with psychotic idiots in charge with powers they didn't fully know about. On top of that, he was surrounded by even more idiots that played out the same several set of tunes, over and over.

The conversation he had when the network finally came back up kept playing in the back of his head. Times like this, when he was alone, it took over his thoughts.

It pissed him off so much.

They had been so close to gaining control and maybe finding a way out. Reno didn't care about going home anymore. Gaia was dead as far as he was concerned, there was nothing left for him. Just to go somewhere else, where he wasn't at the mercy of sadistic demi-gods, that would be enough.

The more terrifying thing he kept thinking about. He was starting to doubt that they even had existed before they came here.

Reno pushed aside a bush and ducked, sliding into the shallow cave they had made in the small hill on this island. It was well hidden, and barring anyone following him, should stay hidden for a long time. The still looked like it was in good shape, and the newest batch of brew was definitely ready to be bottled from what he smelled.

He settled down and started filling them, taking a sip from time to time, until finally, he just started drinking it outright. Shiva, he had missed alcohol.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

If Reno ever felt the sudden and uncontrollable urge to smoke, it would be now. Lazily, he rolled over and propped his head on his palm. "Rod, since when do you apologize?"

After a slight hesitation, he shook his head. "Sorry... but seriously, slick, does it look like I'm okay? Out of all your experience, does it tell you I'm in a good, okay type mood? I've here four, almost five months. I'm startin' to think there's no way out of this place."

Rod shrugged, averting his eyes as his frown deepened. From his expression, he seemed contemplative, if a bit embarrassed.

"This place kinda demands a lot of changes, don't it?" Changes like learning to apologize -- for Rod, at least -- and maybe being less of an ass when someone's clearly in a bad mood. And really listening; he would definitely be better off if he really listened to people more often.

"Look, I know you been through some seriously fucked up shit," he started with a sigh, his gaze moving back to Reno. "Shit like I can't even imagine. Hell, I been pretty damn lucky so far, considering. But at least we're all together, right? You ain't in this alone."

Reno was silent for a long time, examining the headphones he had been wearing when Rod came in, like he was studying how they were made. On the inside, he wasn't nearly as calm as he looked. First and foremost was a mild sense of surprise that Rod was being- or trying to be- a voice of reason.

He knew Rod held hidden qualities that made him really good at what they did. Hell, he even saw some of them when they had first encountered each other, but still. Reno was surprised.

That didn't change Reno's answer, though.

"Some things have to be faced alone."

Rod gave Reno a confused look. "Yeah, I guess so... inner demons and all that shit..." Or whatever it was that Reno was talking about. Rod didn't really get it, couldn't pretend to know just what Reno was going through having been stuck here for so long, but still. It was disturbing to see Reno like this, so Rod was determined to do what he could to understand him a little better, however ungracefully he might end up going about it.

"But, I mean, there's real demons runnin' around in this tower that we can all face together, so for everything else... Uh, the personal stuff, I mean... or, whatever it is you gotta face alone, or--"

He made a sudden noise of frustration, rubbing his face as if he'd somehow gotten lost trying to find the point he was trying to make. Damn, he was really bad at this whole pep talk thing. Maybe he should just start over; start with the simple ideas.

"A'ight, here's the deal: if you need to get anything off your chest, you can like, talk to me, or whatever. It don't even gotta be me; I bet Siira or Rude or someone would be totally happy to give you an ear. Or, y'know, if you just wanna scream at somebody for a while, or fight somebody, I'm down... I mean, if that'd help..."

Wow, this really couldn't get any more awkward.

Reno was staring at Rod like he had grown an extra head. "The hell happened to you after you guys left Shinra?"

Rod bristled, caught completely off guard by the question. Here he was trying to be all nice and understanding -- trying to help out a fellow Turk in need -- but no, Reno just had to go and turn it around on him, didn't he?

"The fuck are you talkin' about?"

"You're not, you know, normally this..." He hated to say it, really, but it couldn't be helped. "Not normally this-"

Oh hell, he couldn't say it after all. "Hell, I mean before you wouldn't have noticed as much."

Sigh. "Look, Rod, I'm great. Couldn't be better. It isn't somethin' that's gonna go away just by knockin' around a few heads and definitely not by talkin'."

He opened his mouth to make some kind of smartass retort, but then quickly snapped it shut, forcing himself to take a breath. Looking back towards the wall, that strangely thoughtful expression that seemed so out of place on Rod's face crossed his features once again.

"...y'know how, when you're on a mission, and all hell starts breakin' loose, you kinda get that... like, hypersensitivity to everything?" At that, his gaze slid pointedly back to Reno, but he didn't bother completing the thought aloud.

"When I first got here, you said all we could really do is try to keep people sane." He shot Reno a lopsided grin. "I'm just doin' my job, yo, 'cause you're seriously freakin' me out lately." That was a lie, of course; he wasn't just doing his job. Nobody would be able to stand by and watch as the person they admired most fell to pieces without at least trying to help them out, but hell if Rod was actually going to voice all that mushy crap.

Another long moment passed, but Reno lost the "are you crazy" look and replaced it with a slightly confused one, eyebrows furrowing. "I said that? Man, that seems like a long time ago." But he huffed slightly, slumping into his beanbag. "Does it look like I'm going crazy? Nah, I'm just... goin' through some shit."

"Nah, dude, it looks like you're goin' crazy," he replied, blunt as always. "Hell, I seen you flip out on the network the other day at some newcomer. I mean, yeah, the guy was a real piece of work who I'd've totally given a piece of my mind... but, see, that's just it. I'm s'posed to be the one with the temper, ain't I? Seein' you that close to losin' it..."

Rod hesitated, worrying his lip as he eyed Reno warily. He really wasn't aiming to piss the older Turk off. "It's just got me worried, okay?"

"I think I wouldn't have snapped at him if the newcomers didn't parrot the same old tired bullshit. It's the same couple of stories over and over." Reno rolled over again, grabbing a nearby beanbag and making himself into a beanbag sandwich. "If there was some fuckin' variety in the shit they spout off."

He held up a hand, one finger raised. "One, they say 'oh no that's impossible my home, world, planet isn't destroyed where's the evidence.' Two, they say 'I'm gonna find a way out!' Three, they say some bullshit about being angry and gonna smack the Administration down. Four, they spout some bullshit like that guy about it being in our heads we're trapped here." By the end, he had four fingers raised, the fifth one just begging to go with the others.

"Five, none of the fuckers have a goddamned clue."