Reno (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
midgarhorizon) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
towerofanimus2013-10-20 01:19 pm
midgarhorizon) wrote in towerofanimus2013-10-20 01:19 pm
Entry tags:
(no subject)
Characters: Reno, Open et ctra
Setting: Art Gallery, Morgue, Study/Research Hall, Gym, Pool; across several different days, just read the prompts.
Format: Whichever
Summary:
Considering past actions that no longer really affect him. Swimming around in the pool for a break. Responsibility has a habit of changing people, a lot. Getting stuck in the morgue. Running barefoot.
Warnings: Claustrophobia, mild warnings for descriptive horror content, Reno's own personal brand of swearing. Also, a screen cap of post-fall Sector 7.
Thursday, Oct 17th: Floor 22 - Art Gallery
Mapping out a detailed floor plan, floor by floor, was a lot more time consuming than Reno wanted to admit. After that fiasco the other day though, he and his sternum didn't really feel much like trying to train physically. Elena had left a nasty bruise and chest pains where she hit him. A few centimeters either way, and a little bit harder, and she could have killed him. He was half convinced she had when it landed. All in all, pain notwithstanding, he was pretty proud of her for that little drama act she had put on for Sephiroth, even if it did wind up with him in the infirmary for hours.
Responsibility was weighing heavy on his shoulders lately. Being the Director, the Chief, whatever you wanted to call it now, was full of the stuff. He was truly beginning to feel it, recruiting the new people and trying to organize what they were doing. His family was growing, and there was no Rusty, no Tseng, and no Rufus to share the burdens. And Elena... Well. Floor mapping was important for the things he had planned. Drills, exercises, and task forces would all need a good understanding of the Tower and the floors it contained. Putting it all down on paper was what he had been doing the past few weeks anyway, walking up and down the Tower. Shion wouldn't need the maps after he memorized them, and he figured the kid probably knew more than anyone, but now that their ranks were growing it was going to be harder keeping everyone on the same page. So the downtime let him get a jump on the work for now. No big dealuntil he got Elena alone for that disciplinary training session because there is no way he's going to let her off the hook that easy.
He was on Floor 22 right now, and stopped to take a break. It'd been a while since he had been in a museum. Aside from that time he found Elena, showing off for her before the wedding, the last time... when was the last time? Some vague recollection of playing bodyguard for a day while some of the higher ups went gallivanting around Midgar. Paintings weren't really his thing, but the further he went into this floor, the more familiar the images became.
Then the paintings started to change. A wrong turn, and he came face to face with a painting of the Turks. All of them were sitting at the bar Elena had been working in. Even Veld and Tseng had made it down for the group shot, enjoying a quite drink in the corner. It had been when everything made sense. When it was all normal and they still had a home with ShinRa. Before their "betrayal" that had them hunted down like dogs. He recognized the image, it used to be one from his wallet lost long ago, but there was something... different about this. Staring at it, it slowly dawned on him that they were glaring at him.
No. Not glaring. They had no eyes, Their eyes had been plucked out and blood was running down their faces, hands outstretched as if to plead with him to find their eyes and return them. His mouth dropped open and he took a step back, unable to stop looking at them. A kind of slow, mounting horror rose until he finally did turn and cough into his hand. That seemed to break the spell, and he moved away to leave, but he made the mistake of looking up again.
This time, it was a painting of Midgar; the viewpoint from Sector 6, standing at the edge and looking down at a freshly dropped Sector 7. The steam and smoke still rose from the red-hot metal, buildings broken apart where they had toppled over, and bodies littered the streets. He got closer, fascinated in a morbid way, and squinted a little bit to see better. Every little detail was there, painted in perfect detail with almost microscopic brush strokes. Little people hanging at the edge of Sector 6 and more on Sector 8 just visible across the way, looking down at the rubble. The bodies below were just as detailed, blood and limbs and twisted mangled messes.
His work.
Yet, he didn't feel the shame any more. No guilt. Just curiosity of what it might have been like seeing the sky fall on top of you. He did not feel much of anything about it, and that was a far cry from when he had been in the hospital, where his room looked down on the same scene. A little voice inside his head told him he should feel something. Reno of the Turks should feel guilty. He had done this terrible thing to an entire town underneath the city. The city itself. How dare he not feel anything? It wasn't right. His lips parted briefly, wanting to laugh at the voice, but not quite having the courage to do so. The little voice was right, but maybe he's beaten himself up over it once too often to care what he thought of himself.
No, that's wrong. There's still something he felt looking at this painting. The regret was the same. The little voice silenced itself at the realization. The innocents were still innocent. They were just people going about their busy lives, but they would have died anyway. If not him, then the white light that had destroyed everything; that had brought him here. The Tower was a fitting enough punishment for this crime. The regret really was enough. If he hadn't pushed the button, Scarlet would have gassed the three Turks left standing.
Maybe he could have saved all of them, that way.
Friday, Oct 18: Floor 7 - Pool
It's been a while since he got the chance to swim. Taking it easy for the past couple days wasn't so bad, and once in a while he did really need a break. Reno was floating on his back in the shallower end of the gigantic pool, relaxing a little bit. It sure wasn't the hot springs up above, but it's been way too long since he had a chance to just splash around for a while.
Splashing around... the last time had been when Rusty was here. Reno slapped at the water, rolling himself over so he could see beneath him. The water didn't bother his eyes much, but he wouldn't have minded his goggles just then. It seemed like he kept thinking about Rusty. Wondering what had happened to him. Knowing the poor guy's luck, he was probably wandering around in Boat World, visiting graves of his friends. He had mentioned that, hadn't he? About burying Rude and Tseng. Frustrating, that was what it was. He never could help him. What did it say about Reno if he couldn't even help himself? Lot of good this whole stupid damn thing was. Who was he kidding, thinking he could try to save the Tower and send everyone back home?
They probably would never get back home, at this rate. It was just one failure after another. Except for Sector 7. That had been a pretty spectacular way to fulfill a mission. He'd lost count of the times he had failed- they had failed because of Cloud, not that he held it against the guy or anythingat least not much any more. But it did make him want to shove dirty gym socks down people's throats when they started mouthing off back home. Scarlet with a few dozen pairs in that big gab of hers wasn't a bad image.
Enough yapping, Reno. Let's get some waves in. Lifting his head out of the water, he took a deep breath, then dove under the water. His goal was to touch bottom before he ran out of breath, but he wasn't going to hold it against himself if he couldn't.
Saturday, Oct 19, Morning: Floor 18 - Study Hall
Saturday morning was filled with another disappointing meal of pumpkin, a light jog around the Meadow to clear his head, and then a trip down to the Research Library. An idea had occurred to Reno the other day, something sort of obvious it might have bit him if it hadn't hit him in the head first. This was a library full of all sorts of subjects. He knew his way around pretty well after all that checking through he had done in the first few months of his stay here. There were books that might be able to help him.
Walking through the stacks with purpose, his Raven uniform fitting as well as ever (and damn the thing), until he came to the appropriate section. Blue eyes trailed over the titles from behind the red visor, seeking out one or two in particular. He made a "Heh!" of triumph when he spotted one, pulling it out. It was labelled "Effective Leadership In Military Situations" and probably would be just about right. Sure, he wasn't military, despite the uniform, but good advice was good advice, and there was no way he was going to ask any of these wingnuts here in the Tower. That could get compromising.
Taking the large textbook with him, he headed downstairs to the Study Hall and got comfortable at a desk, leaning back and resting his legs up on the surface. It was a pretty thick book, so he had no illusions he would even get through it before the day, much less before lunch.
At least it was quiet enough.
Sunday, Oct 20, Late Afternoon: Floor 26 - Morgue - Closed to one
Sitting in the library, Reno was dressed in his one pair of civvies today. The ones he shared with Shion. Black suited him, and he really didn't want to have to explain anything in case someone he didn't want snooping around caught him in his Turk suit. That was for later. This afternoon, he was ignoring that vague feeling he should be doing something about that note he had gotten earlier, and trying to get some more work done before heading up to his meeting with Elena. Reno was trying to create copies of some of the maps he has been making of the floors. It's going fairly well, even if he does have to use a straight edge to clean some of these markings up. Reno was a lot of things, but not an artist, musician, baker or taxidermist. Maps were a little different though; some missions needed maps on the fly and he had learned the skill the same way, not that they were stellar pieces of art. It didn't hurt taking some pride in his work, though, so that's why the second drafts were taking a little bit of time.
Unfortunately, he didn't see the Rupee hiding in the small box of pencils until too late. This particular detail required a pencil with a sharp tip, so he dipped his hand inside only for the damn thing to bite him and vanished. And so did his EMR.
"Shit..." He cussed under his breath, damning Leviathan's scaly hide to tango with Ifrit for a while, and pulled his maps together in a neat pile. Theoretically nobody should touch them while they were sitting looking important on a library table, so he got up and headed to the staircase. He really hated this part. Rupees were a damned annoying nuisance, and every time he encountered one, he was pretty sorry for it.
Stomping up the staircase, he glowered across each floor. Those damn things liked to torment him, placing items in a just out of reach spot, but nothing too hidden. That wouldn't be sporting. This time, he didn't have far to go, reaching the morgue and spotting his EMR resting peacefully on one of the morgue draws.
That just so happened to be fully rolled out and open.
Hm.
Eyes narrowing to just blue pinpricks, he stepped off the staircase, glancing side to side. The hazards on this floor were fairly minimal, but that didn't mean it was impossible to run into something here. The damn place gave him enough chills as it was, just walking by on the staircase. Slowly, he approached the shelf, keeping an eye out for any surprises.
As he reached for the EMR, it rolled back a few feet, as if it had been attached to fishing line. Frowning, Reno stepped a little bit closer, though some instinct told him to hang back. Irritation rose. No damned Rupee or whatever they were called was going to get the best of him. Moving quickly, he grabbed for the EMR.
And then something grabbed him, pulling him on the shelf and inside head first. The shelf rolled back into the refrigerated unit, and the door slammed closed with a final clicking.
Reno froze for half a minute, immersed in darkness and the far too enclosed spacing, shocked at what had just happened. The EMR in his hand started tapping against the brushed steel inside- no, that was his hand shaking. The sound was enough to bring him back to reality just long enough for the screaming to start.
The first scream was blood curdling, torn out of his throat so hard it hurt. "LET ME OUT! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" The shrieks sounded hollow in the tiny confines, too loud too loud-- it was making his ears ring. Panic rose and overrode any survival instinct he still had, his boots slamming into the door with no result except denting the metal. All too soon, his screaming became inarticulate. Hoarse. The minutes dragged on and though he was screaming, SCREAMING at the top of his lungs, his throat felt tight and his lungs burned for oxygen.
Nobody was around, nobody would find him. He was stuck stuck. Trapped, in a cage. Cage. Nobody would come for him or save him, he'd be stuck here forever and starve to death. He was going to die in here.
Floor 39
Running - Saturday Afternoon
The jog on the meadow earlier had felt good. Really good. Good enough that he returned the book he had been studying and came up to the Gym. Nobody was there for the moment, but he made a sweeping check just in case before sitting down next to the track and removing his boots and gloves. The headgear came off next, stashed neatly next to the other items. It'd been a long time since he ran just for the sake of running, and he was hoping his feet weren't too out of condition for it.
Reno massaged the bottom of both feet for a minute or two before standing up. Oh, right... the belt and the pauldron. Making a face, he dropped those as well. Who the hell came up with the entire one pauldron idea, anyway? It looked stupid.
Feeling a bit more free, he stretched out a bit before walking out on to the track, getting the feel with his feet. They didn't seem too badly off, if he started slowly. For the first half of the track, he walked, slowly building up speed to where he could break into a jog at the mark. Another half of the track, and he bolted. Feet pounded into the floor, the smooth track cool against them, the shock vibrating up through his arches. He started grinning, feeling the wind in his hair. It felt good to let everything out. This had always been what he most wanted to do. Just to run.
Elena - Sunday Night - Closed
Reno adjusted the cuff of his suit, straightening it and the entire arm out so it wouldn't wrinkle up. After that... incident earlier, he almost wanted to call it off, but being a Turk took precedence. The change of clothes was quick, though this time he took the extra effort of prying the tie that went with this particular suit out of the hidden inside pocket and wore it. He might have also tucked in his shirt and zipped up the blazer, but who was paying attention? He wasn't, and when it dawned on him he had done it almost automatically, he shook his head. Well, the chief had always wanted him to wear the damn thing properly. Might as well start doing it now. Reno was the chief now... he had to set examples.
When did he start caring about examples?
Trying very hard not to let it get to him, he sat down on one of the weight stations and waited for Elena to show. She would, of course. There was no doubt in his mind she would ignore a summons like that, not when he went the extra effort to make it sound all professional.
Shion and Diarmuid - Monday - 0900 - Closed (forward dated a bit)
This was the meeting place they had specified. Reno had dragged Shion down to the gym this morning. To say it didn't chafe a bit that he had to even turn Shion over to someone else for a while would be a lie, and it did chafe. Shion's welfare was more important than Reno's ego, however, and he couldn't justify making the kid try things they had already tried before. It was time for outside resources, something he didn't have as easy access to in the Tower.
Reno was leaning against the wall in his Raven uniform, arms folded and glancing over at the kid every so often. The visor was down, so whatever he was thinking about wasn't immediately apparent.
Catchall for Candy Paranoia - Week of the 20th - 26th
The intensifying, nagging feelings that had plagued him all that first day only got harder to ignore, but in some ragged depths Reno held on. He was determined not to play Ruana's stupid game. He went about in practically only his Raven uniform, hiding his face from even those closest to him.
You may be able to encounter him in the common areas, or hiding out in one of the outdoors or the Upper Tower.
This prompt has increasing warnings of high paranoia, fear, and potential violence the later into the week.
Setting: Art Gallery, Morgue, Study/Research Hall, Gym, Pool; across several different days, just read the prompts.
Format: Whichever
Summary:
Considering past actions that no longer really affect him. Swimming around in the pool for a break. Responsibility has a habit of changing people, a lot. Getting stuck in the morgue. Running barefoot.
Warnings: Claustrophobia, mild warnings for descriptive horror content, Reno's own personal brand of swearing. Also, a screen cap of post-fall Sector 7.
Thursday, Oct 17th: Floor 22 - Art Gallery
Mapping out a detailed floor plan, floor by floor, was a lot more time consuming than Reno wanted to admit. After that fiasco the other day though, he and his sternum didn't really feel much like trying to train physically. Elena had left a nasty bruise and chest pains where she hit him. A few centimeters either way, and a little bit harder, and she could have killed him. He was half convinced she had when it landed. All in all, pain notwithstanding, he was pretty proud of her for that little drama act she had put on for Sephiroth, even if it did wind up with him in the infirmary for hours.
Responsibility was weighing heavy on his shoulders lately. Being the Director, the Chief, whatever you wanted to call it now, was full of the stuff. He was truly beginning to feel it, recruiting the new people and trying to organize what they were doing. His family was growing, and there was no Rusty, no Tseng, and no Rufus to share the burdens. And Elena... Well. Floor mapping was important for the things he had planned. Drills, exercises, and task forces would all need a good understanding of the Tower and the floors it contained. Putting it all down on paper was what he had been doing the past few weeks anyway, walking up and down the Tower. Shion wouldn't need the maps after he memorized them, and he figured the kid probably knew more than anyone, but now that their ranks were growing it was going to be harder keeping everyone on the same page. So the downtime let him get a jump on the work for now. No big deal
He was on Floor 22 right now, and stopped to take a break. It'd been a while since he had been in a museum. Aside from that time he found Elena, showing off for her before the wedding, the last time... when was the last time? Some vague recollection of playing bodyguard for a day while some of the higher ups went gallivanting around Midgar. Paintings weren't really his thing, but the further he went into this floor, the more familiar the images became.
Then the paintings started to change. A wrong turn, and he came face to face with a painting of the Turks. All of them were sitting at the bar Elena had been working in. Even Veld and Tseng had made it down for the group shot, enjoying a quite drink in the corner. It had been when everything made sense. When it was all normal and they still had a home with ShinRa. Before their "betrayal" that had them hunted down like dogs. He recognized the image, it used to be one from his wallet lost long ago, but there was something... different about this. Staring at it, it slowly dawned on him that they were glaring at him.
No. Not glaring. They had no eyes, Their eyes had been plucked out and blood was running down their faces, hands outstretched as if to plead with him to find their eyes and return them. His mouth dropped open and he took a step back, unable to stop looking at them. A kind of slow, mounting horror rose until he finally did turn and cough into his hand. That seemed to break the spell, and he moved away to leave, but he made the mistake of looking up again.
This time, it was a painting of Midgar; the viewpoint from Sector 6, standing at the edge and looking down at a freshly dropped Sector 7. The steam and smoke still rose from the red-hot metal, buildings broken apart where they had toppled over, and bodies littered the streets. He got closer, fascinated in a morbid way, and squinted a little bit to see better. Every little detail was there, painted in perfect detail with almost microscopic brush strokes. Little people hanging at the edge of Sector 6 and more on Sector 8 just visible across the way, looking down at the rubble. The bodies below were just as detailed, blood and limbs and twisted mangled messes.
His work.
Yet, he didn't feel the shame any more. No guilt. Just curiosity of what it might have been like seeing the sky fall on top of you. He did not feel much of anything about it, and that was a far cry from when he had been in the hospital, where his room looked down on the same scene. A little voice inside his head told him he should feel something. Reno of the Turks should feel guilty. He had done this terrible thing to an entire town underneath the city. The city itself. How dare he not feel anything? It wasn't right. His lips parted briefly, wanting to laugh at the voice, but not quite having the courage to do so. The little voice was right, but maybe he's beaten himself up over it once too often to care what he thought of himself.
No, that's wrong. There's still something he felt looking at this painting. The regret was the same. The little voice silenced itself at the realization. The innocents were still innocent. They were just people going about their busy lives, but they would have died anyway. If not him, then the white light that had destroyed everything; that had brought him here. The Tower was a fitting enough punishment for this crime. The regret really was enough. If he hadn't pushed the button, Scarlet would have gassed the three Turks left standing.
Maybe he could have saved all of them, that way.
Friday, Oct 18: Floor 7 - Pool
It's been a while since he got the chance to swim. Taking it easy for the past couple days wasn't so bad, and once in a while he did really need a break. Reno was floating on his back in the shallower end of the gigantic pool, relaxing a little bit. It sure wasn't the hot springs up above, but it's been way too long since he had a chance to just splash around for a while.
Splashing around... the last time had been when Rusty was here. Reno slapped at the water, rolling himself over so he could see beneath him. The water didn't bother his eyes much, but he wouldn't have minded his goggles just then. It seemed like he kept thinking about Rusty. Wondering what had happened to him. Knowing the poor guy's luck, he was probably wandering around in Boat World, visiting graves of his friends. He had mentioned that, hadn't he? About burying Rude and Tseng. Frustrating, that was what it was. He never could help him. What did it say about Reno if he couldn't even help himself? Lot of good this whole stupid damn thing was. Who was he kidding, thinking he could try to save the Tower and send everyone back home?
They probably would never get back home, at this rate. It was just one failure after another. Except for Sector 7. That had been a pretty spectacular way to fulfill a mission. He'd lost count of the times he had failed- they had failed because of Cloud, not that he held it against the guy or anything
Enough yapping, Reno. Let's get some waves in. Lifting his head out of the water, he took a deep breath, then dove under the water. His goal was to touch bottom before he ran out of breath, but he wasn't going to hold it against himself if he couldn't.
Saturday, Oct 19, Morning: Floor 18 - Study Hall
Saturday morning was filled with another disappointing meal of pumpkin, a light jog around the Meadow to clear his head, and then a trip down to the Research Library. An idea had occurred to Reno the other day, something sort of obvious it might have bit him if it hadn't hit him in the head first. This was a library full of all sorts of subjects. He knew his way around pretty well after all that checking through he had done in the first few months of his stay here. There were books that might be able to help him.
Walking through the stacks with purpose, his Raven uniform fitting as well as ever (and damn the thing), until he came to the appropriate section. Blue eyes trailed over the titles from behind the red visor, seeking out one or two in particular. He made a "Heh!" of triumph when he spotted one, pulling it out. It was labelled "Effective Leadership In Military Situations" and probably would be just about right. Sure, he wasn't military, despite the uniform, but good advice was good advice, and there was no way he was going to ask any of these wingnuts here in the Tower. That could get compromising.
Taking the large textbook with him, he headed downstairs to the Study Hall and got comfortable at a desk, leaning back and resting his legs up on the surface. It was a pretty thick book, so he had no illusions he would even get through it before the day, much less before lunch.
At least it was quiet enough.
Sunday, Oct 20, Late Afternoon: Floor 26 - Morgue - Closed to one
Sitting in the library, Reno was dressed in his one pair of civvies today. The ones he shared with Shion. Black suited him, and he really didn't want to have to explain anything in case someone he didn't want snooping around caught him in his Turk suit. That was for later. This afternoon, he was ignoring that vague feeling he should be doing something about that note he had gotten earlier, and trying to get some more work done before heading up to his meeting with Elena. Reno was trying to create copies of some of the maps he has been making of the floors. It's going fairly well, even if he does have to use a straight edge to clean some of these markings up. Reno was a lot of things, but not an artist, musician, baker or taxidermist. Maps were a little different though; some missions needed maps on the fly and he had learned the skill the same way, not that they were stellar pieces of art. It didn't hurt taking some pride in his work, though, so that's why the second drafts were taking a little bit of time.
Unfortunately, he didn't see the Rupee hiding in the small box of pencils until too late. This particular detail required a pencil with a sharp tip, so he dipped his hand inside only for the damn thing to bite him and vanished. And so did his EMR.
"Shit..." He cussed under his breath, damning Leviathan's scaly hide to tango with Ifrit for a while, and pulled his maps together in a neat pile. Theoretically nobody should touch them while they were sitting looking important on a library table, so he got up and headed to the staircase. He really hated this part. Rupees were a damned annoying nuisance, and every time he encountered one, he was pretty sorry for it.
Stomping up the staircase, he glowered across each floor. Those damn things liked to torment him, placing items in a just out of reach spot, but nothing too hidden. That wouldn't be sporting. This time, he didn't have far to go, reaching the morgue and spotting his EMR resting peacefully on one of the morgue draws.
That just so happened to be fully rolled out and open.
Hm.
Eyes narrowing to just blue pinpricks, he stepped off the staircase, glancing side to side. The hazards on this floor were fairly minimal, but that didn't mean it was impossible to run into something here. The damn place gave him enough chills as it was, just walking by on the staircase. Slowly, he approached the shelf, keeping an eye out for any surprises.
As he reached for the EMR, it rolled back a few feet, as if it had been attached to fishing line. Frowning, Reno stepped a little bit closer, though some instinct told him to hang back. Irritation rose. No damned Rupee or whatever they were called was going to get the best of him. Moving quickly, he grabbed for the EMR.
And then something grabbed him, pulling him on the shelf and inside head first. The shelf rolled back into the refrigerated unit, and the door slammed closed with a final clicking.
Reno froze for half a minute, immersed in darkness and the far too enclosed spacing, shocked at what had just happened. The EMR in his hand started tapping against the brushed steel inside- no, that was his hand shaking. The sound was enough to bring him back to reality just long enough for the screaming to start.
The first scream was blood curdling, torn out of his throat so hard it hurt. "LET ME OUT! GET ME OUT OF HERE!" The shrieks sounded hollow in the tiny confines, too loud too loud-- it was making his ears ring. Panic rose and overrode any survival instinct he still had, his boots slamming into the door with no result except denting the metal. All too soon, his screaming became inarticulate. Hoarse. The minutes dragged on and though he was screaming, SCREAMING at the top of his lungs, his throat felt tight and his lungs burned for oxygen.
Nobody was around, nobody would find him. He was stuck stuck. Trapped, in a cage. Cage. Nobody would come for him or save him, he'd be stuck here forever and starve to death. He was going to die in here.
Floor 39
Running - Saturday Afternoon
The jog on the meadow earlier had felt good. Really good. Good enough that he returned the book he had been studying and came up to the Gym. Nobody was there for the moment, but he made a sweeping check just in case before sitting down next to the track and removing his boots and gloves. The headgear came off next, stashed neatly next to the other items. It'd been a long time since he ran just for the sake of running, and he was hoping his feet weren't too out of condition for it.
Reno massaged the bottom of both feet for a minute or two before standing up. Oh, right... the belt and the pauldron. Making a face, he dropped those as well. Who the hell came up with the entire one pauldron idea, anyway? It looked stupid.
Feeling a bit more free, he stretched out a bit before walking out on to the track, getting the feel with his feet. They didn't seem too badly off, if he started slowly. For the first half of the track, he walked, slowly building up speed to where he could break into a jog at the mark. Another half of the track, and he bolted. Feet pounded into the floor, the smooth track cool against them, the shock vibrating up through his arches. He started grinning, feeling the wind in his hair. It felt good to let everything out. This had always been what he most wanted to do. Just to run.
Elena - Sunday Night - Closed
Reno adjusted the cuff of his suit, straightening it and the entire arm out so it wouldn't wrinkle up. After that... incident earlier, he almost wanted to call it off, but being a Turk took precedence. The change of clothes was quick, though this time he took the extra effort of prying the tie that went with this particular suit out of the hidden inside pocket and wore it. He might have also tucked in his shirt and zipped up the blazer, but who was paying attention? He wasn't, and when it dawned on him he had done it almost automatically, he shook his head. Well, the chief had always wanted him to wear the damn thing properly. Might as well start doing it now. Reno was the chief now... he had to set examples.
When did he start caring about examples?
Trying very hard not to let it get to him, he sat down on one of the weight stations and waited for Elena to show. She would, of course. There was no doubt in his mind she would ignore a summons like that, not when he went the extra effort to make it sound all professional.
Shion and Diarmuid - Monday - 0900 - Closed (forward dated a bit)
This was the meeting place they had specified. Reno had dragged Shion down to the gym this morning. To say it didn't chafe a bit that he had to even turn Shion over to someone else for a while would be a lie, and it did chafe. Shion's welfare was more important than Reno's ego, however, and he couldn't justify making the kid try things they had already tried before. It was time for outside resources, something he didn't have as easy access to in the Tower.
Reno was leaning against the wall in his Raven uniform, arms folded and glancing over at the kid every so often. The visor was down, so whatever he was thinking about wasn't immediately apparent.
Catchall for Candy Paranoia - Week of the 20th - 26th
The intensifying, nagging feelings that had plagued him all that first day only got harder to ignore, but in some ragged depths Reno held on. He was determined not to play Ruana's stupid game. He went about in practically only his Raven uniform, hiding his face from even those closest to him.
You may be able to encounter him in the common areas, or hiding out in one of the outdoors or the Upper Tower.
This prompt has increasing warnings of high paranoia, fear, and potential violence the later into the week.
no subject
The one thing he did notice is that there were an awful lot of people with red hair that resembled each other. That couldn't be a coincidence.
"Yeah, I did, but who are you?" The question's fairly innocent, if a bit guarded.
no subject
But humans tended to prefer thinking everyone was unique. "Most people call me Lorelei. I'm sorry for following you, I've never been on this floor and the artwork was.."
The collapsed ruin of a plate is eyed thoughtfully again. "Interesting." So he wanted to keep seeing more and well now there they are.
no subject
"Yeah. This place's illusions kinda change for everyone. Makes me wonder just how much the system really know 'bout us, and it ain't comforting."
Some things were far too specific, others were a little more general, and it made it hard to tell whether it was something automatic or something the admins themselves controlled.
"Reno."
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Memories were strange and linked strangely, but on reflection Lorelei really couldn't see a connection between the imagery Reno had accidentally spawned. What sort of person could create such things from their own minds?
It may be luck that keeps Lorelei's own fears from being put on such painful display.
Supplied a name, the other redhaired man smiles, seemingly genuinely delighted at the offer; he didn't even have to ask, it was so nice! This Reno fellow is ... more considerate than Lorelei was, that's rude of him, he should have asked a name in return. "Reno, then."
There's a slight gesture to the nearest picture, the ruins of Sector Seven. "I'd like to ask a question or two, but given what I hear of this whole Tower, these may be painful and sensitive things aaaand I'd rather not possibly upset you further." And now he's rambling. There's a pause as Lorelei puts things together in a more concise manner. "...Would it bother you, if questions happened?"
If the answer's yes, he simply won't ask.
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Which was true enough. Lorelei studies the nearest picture for a moment, before glancing at Reno again. Humans could be so touchy about things, how to ask what he wanted was really troublesome. "What did you do to this place, who did you offend in the 'administration', that they'd go out of their way to hang your images in this place? It seems like it must be some sort of punishment."
Honestly he'd like to avoid the same mistake. It couldn't have been something before the Tower, it wouldn't matter to the people who own this place. "...Um, mostly because I'd like to avoid repeating other people's mistakes if it means they get turned into artwork."
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That was incredibly relieving, and more help than perhaps Reno intended. Sure it meant anything could suddenly go on display but it also meant that Lorelei didn't have to worry about specifically ticking someone off and then getting punished for it in that fashion.
This is acceptable. "Do you know if there's a way to do it on purpose? It can't be comfortable for you to have them up there. I might be able to find something to replace it with, but I'm not sure how."
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The question cuts off; it's pretty clear he wasn't actually thinking about it when the sounds were made, but as soon as he figured out where he was going with the question, neatly stopped himself. If this place really did betray one's unpleasantries, even thinking about it might cause problems. "Don't answer that. I'm sorry for asking."
Don't even think about it.
His expression shifts at Reno's suggestion of how to get them to change. "Why does everything require being alone? I've spent enough time alone, surely this place has something one can do with friends instead.."
But nonetheless it seems like he might actually go find out, in spite of not liking this alone thing. Curiosity is the devil's guidebook sometimes.
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"Have you ever seen what lies beyond the illusions? Even a little?"
Lorelei tests the proximity idea gradually, sidling closer to one of the paintings of Reno's own home and realities. It stays right where it is. For now. This seems intensely disappointing. Maybe proximity and solitude were required. "It does seem pretty realistic.."
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He wanted to know more about these glitches. Someone's not going to get sleep until he finds out, and that someone is probably an isofon. "I hope if it happens again it doesn't happen near you then."
But where he is! He wanted to know! "I am truly sorry for bothering you with all the questions, there doesn't seem to be ... any sort of .. I don't know, help desk in this place."
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Snorting, Reno folded his arms, still grinning and moved on to the next painting. Lorelei would figure a lot of stuff out just by being in the Tower, like just how far the glitching went. "Ya do realize we're all dead here, right?"
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Help desks were amazing things! Lorelei has never seen one but he understood the principle and found it very appealing. "Network. The.. uh, monitors in the wall with the declining time on them?" One talked to him once. It scared the daylights out of him at first.
And then someone's glasses got fixed. "I guess I'll have to learn them a bit better."
And quickly. He hesitates as Reno moves on, uncertain if it's wise to follow, but asking a question was surely an invitation, wasn't it?
"I know our worlds are dead," Lorelei says after several moments of thoughtfulness. This is isn't said with a proper human voicebox or mouth, he has other ways if he wanted; it sounds a little different then the way he was speaking before. "And I know my isofons at least would ... Mm. Well, it's not impossible, but I never really thought I could die. Are you certain it isn't just where we're from?"
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He sounds confused; if he has any real understanding of human mortality at all it'd be a shock. "When the vessel dies, after a while you just reform again, right? Why is it so strange that it happens here?"
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Lorelei's still not grasping it. He's trying to, he's trying really hard, but even the possible deaths of his own Isofons, of Luke and Asch, is only a temporary separation at best. They'd rejoin him sooner or later. Didn't that work for everyone?
Were people really just.. meat, and nothing else? "..." It isn't strange, being able to live again after 'dying', but Lorelei never experienced a real death either. Scattering his fonons didn't eliminate their existence, he'd just reform elsewhere. "Is it a human thing? Do all humans ... just stop, when their vessels die? Nothing survives on?"
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"Yeah... it's like that. Never died back home until the universe stopped, but I lost a lot of people to death in my line of work. Imagine someone ya care about- assumin' you got someone like that- and then they disappear and never come back. That's how it is for humans."
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Reno's introduced death to a whole lot of people but this might be a new way for him to have done so.
"...I always assumed they'd just return to me," he says eventually, tone subdued. "I don't ... know for certain if it actually works this way or not, even if Auldrant is my home. I never thought of it."
Ever. "... How terrible to live that way. ... I'm sorry. I truly am. It shouldn't be the end." There's a pause, and he scrubs his face with one hand. "I think I'm going to have to think on this a lot more."
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Elena kept telling him that
or did she?even when they were back on Gaia. Every day was a blessing that they could spend together. But right now, he had to stay away. Maybe he should change that.no subject
But he's not moving. No, if this is true, and ... and death isn't a temporary thing normally, then ... Nope. He still can't get his teeth around the idea. "Make your memories while you can. Love them while you can. Even I can understand that's a good thing to do." His head tilts slightly, glancing back at the paintings. "Instead of staying here and looking at pictures. I assume you have people waiting for you."
Maybe Reno should go be with them. This might be all he ever has.
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