2.001 ( VOICE )

[electroburst]

[ reno sounds tired. he sounds different than he did before, too. and he sounds like he's more confused than he really should be, addressing his device with a kind of uncertainty he might not normally. only just at first, though; he gathers speed as he goes. ]

So... how d'you come "back" to someplace you don't ever remember being? I mean, there's waking up in a hotel bathroom you never checked into wearing someone else's clothes—and not the someone else you left the bar with—at two in the morning a day and a half later, that I get. But this is... this is a whole other bunch of shit, ain't it. And I made friends while I was here? Imagine that!

[ thankfully, with some indication of familiarity to those who knew him before, there is a chk-chk-chk noise followed by the crackle of a cigarette being lit. let us all rejoice on this day: reno came with a lighter that works this time. ]

So, like, did I sleep with any of you, or...

[ reno takes a long drag, and then sighs out what is presumably quite the plume of smoke. his breath is noticeably wheezy and strained as he does, with the kind of audible grimace that makes it clear taking a breath that big was painful for him. he has to take a moment to gather himself up again before he continues. ]

Just kiddin'. Anyway, I got some questions for anyone who thinks they might'a spoken with "Reno" in the last five months. And I'd also like to know where a guy can find some Materia around here, please'n thanks. Kind of important.

Comments

text, wow he's missed u reno!

[silvallyant]

[With all the weirdness going on, Gladion didn't at first notice that Reno had completely disappeared, and when he did, well it was too late. Reno was gone by that time, what could he do when met with a message that the user wasn't available? But now, now he's back. But at a hilariously bad time, so Gladion just decides to respond to this voice over text.]

Y-you're back. I'm one of the ones that knew you while you were here, you helped me out in a tight spot and were gonna teach me a few things, and did teach me some of those before you disappeared.
As for Materia? They don't have that around here.

precious baby brother

[electroburst]

[ text, huh? well, reno can jive with that. it says plenty to him—someone who responds to an audio file with text has something they don't want heard. makes sense. if he weren't too damn sore to write a whole entry in text, he probably would have done the same. but he can reply that way, at least. his thumbs work. mostly. ]

teach you a few things? like what

and i was afraid you were gonna say that.

The best little brother!

[silvallyant]

[Listen, he's currently 25 because of wacky magic going crazy, at least it wasn't when he was still 10!]

picking locks, for starters. Well, we'd already gotten to those. You were uh... going to teach me things with pyrotechnics.

I haven't even heard of materia, if I'm being honest

Voice.

[makopoison]

I got one right here. Courtesy of your boss.

1/2

[electroburst]

[ BIG. LONG. SIGH. (it hurts) ]

God damn it. Can you not talk to me? I already have a fucking migraine.

[electroburst]

... wait, what the hell did you do?

[makopoison]

Wiped the floor with him the same way I did with you and your partner.

Audio - UN: TenOfHearts

[xth_gambler]

You have forgotten our night of passion already, Reno? Given you swore you would never forget it, I feel quite offended.

[Messing with Reno will be fun, thank you.]

[electroburst]

Heheh, if either one of us called it a "night of passion" then odds are I wanted to forget it. Were you any good?

[ ac-reno wouldn't even be mad. it's fair fucking game for waltzing right into this obvious trap. ]

[Voice; UN: flashesbright]

[lux_ex_tenebris]

That's all that matters - ? [Sex. Lightning snorts softly and narrows her eyes.] What is Materia?

[electroburst]

It's a valid question! You never know, y'know?

[ it's more important than you think. people he slept with might know things. ]

Materia's where the magic comes from. Little shiny orbs that do stuff. You've never seen it? They got it everywhere these days. I'm looking for Cure Materia, personally.

Voice.

[beenhad]

You're smoking again.

[electroburst]

Love the optimistic use of "again," as if I ever quit.

Voice;

[hero_of_wutai]

I did offer to use cast Cure on you, Turk, or did you get into further trouble after I left?

[electroburst]

I might've had a few issues. Don't worry about it. If the welcome materials are true I should be feeling better in a couple days, at least.

[ quite honestly he feels like the suffering suits him at the moment but that is not any sort of melodrama he plans on sharing with anybody. ]

You settling in alright?

[Video]

[soldierpuppy]

[ Zack was ready to pop in and shout HEY RENO loud enough to blast out the speakers on the communicator, but the content of the voice post made him tilt his head in confusion. He... didn't understand any of that, but from what he grasped from this place, people from all different worlds ended up in this place? ]

Wait, wait; I got it! So maybe there was a 'you' here before, but it wasn't you you, but a different you, and that's the you that people here knows, but since it's not you, you don't have any of your memories.

[ That made total and complete sense, and he's super proud of himself for coming up with it. ]

[ ...oh, and by the way, hi Reno. ]

1/idfk

[electroburst]

[ you've caught him on the back foot, Zack. Reno just so happens to be distracted, and this is the first video response he's gotten. it is his absolute policy, at least thus far, not to show his face on the network, and to keep identifying remarks to as best a minimum as he can manage (which actually isn't going so well right now, especially considering he just blabbed HI I'M RENO AND I'M LOST right in the post, but whatever). he doesn't realize his comm will default to the message type being sent to him, and so when he responds he's actually not even looking at the camera when it comes on. he has it propped up on the windowsil opposite him, where he's gazing down at the street, smoking and looking Super Cool And Wistful.

the sound of the voice doesn't immediately tip him off. how could it? that's impossible. and he hasn't heard it in, like, four or five years now. even if it's uncanny, it's still impossible. he does crack a grin, though. ]

You really had to work at it, but you got the gist of it. I think, maybe. Could also just be bullshit?

[electroburst]

[ and then he notices something is moving on his screen out of the corner of his eye and that's when the shit, what the fuck? camera came on? kicks in. you can almost see the question mark and then the exclamation point above his head as he turns, grabs his phone off the windowsil, his thumb hovering the MAKE THIS CALL NOT VIDEO PLEASE button, and then ]

[electroburst]

[ stop, and really take a look at the dorky face on the screen and ]

[electroburst]

[ stare... ]

[electroburst]

[ and then cut the video feed right as his eyes begin to widen in shock.

nononono. what the fuck? what the fuck what the fuck what the fuck ???? ]

[electroburst]

[ okay, use logic. Sephiroth is dead and he's here, you got within, like, three feet of him. if that can happen, anything can happen, right? yeah, but— but it doesn't make sense that nobody would've told him about this. unless nobody knew. yeah, that's got to be it. either he's having a very elaborate stress hallucination brought on by the massive concussion he just suffered twelve hours ago, or he's the first one in on this really fucked up new development and he needs to handle it with care.

that is, not broadcast his stupid fucking face on the network for everyone to see. fuck fuck fuck!!

also, fuck, he needs to handle himself with care. that's... he doesn't have a lot of capacity for taking on too much more mental and emotional anguish at the moment. he's about at his limit. like, seriously. ]

done / voice

[electroburst]

[ okay, don't just hang up on him. just play it cool. he doesn't turn the camera back on, but he does resume the feed in a voice channel, snickering under his breath the way you might after someone gives you a silly jumpscare and says boo. ]

Well, well, well. Look who it is. Wasn't expecting to see you.

[ HAHA NO FUCKING KIDDING CUZZZZZZZZZ... ]

permavoice

[killtime]

[ She debated replying at all, honestly — sometimes these things are just easier to let go of. But, after a while, a bit flatly and without much ceremony or introduction or much of anything helpful at all: ]

What kind of questions.

[electroburst]

What he—what I, I guess—was like, mostly. If he talked about work, people he knew from back home, things like that.

[ inhale, long exhale. ]

Also just curious what kinda people I'd consider "friends."