shellphones | 001; reno

Entry tags:

001; reno

Type:Text
Sender ID: 36105997 | Vincent Valentine
To: Private! To Reno.
Subject:????
Warnings: Shouldn't be any! But here's a quick link to a handy translator for ooc reference ❤︎

.-. . -. --- .-.-.- .... --- .--. . -.-- --- ..- ' .-. . .-- . .-.. .-.. .-.-.-

.-- .... .- - -.. --- -.-- --- ..- -.- -. --- .-- .- -... --- ..- - .-- .... .- .-.. . ... ..--..

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[And likewise, a video request suddenly popping up upon his phone takes him by surprise. Because really. a video, on an unsecured channel? Reno.]

...

[He doesn't want to accept the request. But upon tapping a green marker upon the screen, the video surprises him once again. It's not a recording. There's a little window in the top right of the screen which shows his own eyes widen as he sees that indeed, this isn't some recording- and the shellphone is placed swiftly to the side, showing nothing but a nondescript ceiling.

...And his voice, of course.]

I'd rather take that risk than broadcast myself.

[Nope. not (vaguely) pissy. Not. At. All. Phones are dreadful. Phones with video? Worse.]

...I am. Are you at sea?

Edited 2024-12-07 21:10 (UTC)

[ He hummed with a thoughtful sound as he was popping another shrimp into his mouth. ]

Come on, it's not gonna steal your soul. I know you're old, but you're not that old, yo. Besides, trust the process.

[ He wasn't terribly worried about anyone finding out he was sniffing around the whaling rumors. The assumption and threat of pressure was something Reno was good at weaponizing. It came from being a feared entity back home. ]

Yeah, I'm headed back to port. Should just be another day or two as long as the wind holds. Wanna catch up while I pick up supplies for the ship?

[Not going to steal his soul indeed. Even if it did, chances were it wouldn't want his. He'll never understand why you youngins don't care about things like basic privacy. The phone stays pointing at the ceiling.]

If you don't mind. ...You offered information when we met. I think in this matter, you're the best option.

[Not that Cloud and company would be worthless. Nothing of the sort. But this is killing two birds with one stone. Because this is checking in, too.]

[ Reno doesn't say anything else about it after the initial teasing. Each member of the team has their own methods, and as far as he was concerned, it was only ever a matter of learning and adjusting to any new additions. Granted, Vincent was no longer officially on the roster, but it was still the same in principle. ]

Consider it on the house. Just don't tell Tseng or I'll never get a that office party out of him.

[ If he was bothered, it wasn't easy to see. Reno was a secretive creature already, nevermind how their training and the job requirements compounded that nature. He just propped his cheek against his knuckles as he looked at his phone, perpetually entertained by the ceiling shot.

Even if Vincent hadn't bailed him out, he was still Veld's old partner, after all. ]

[Indeed so. Checking in is something simple with civilians. In Vincent's case it's a simple task of observing, mostly. He'd never been one to outright ask someone to spill their guts. Never would be. But simple observation wouldn't cut it with someone like Reno, who had spent the majority of their lives a Turk.

Observation was still warranted. But it was far from simple. Some coordinates are uttered. A flophouse at the dock- often frequented by pirates, sailors, traders, and everything inbetween. Not a nice place. One that Vincent knows has a reputation.]

Office parties? Things have changed. As I remember, the only thing that happened after hours was overtime. ...Next you'll be telling me the building had a gym.

[Oddly, that statement seems distinctly conversational, and very unlike Vincent. But as he utters it, one of the claws of his gauntlet tap upon the table the phone is set upon.

Tap. Taptaptap tap. Tap.

Another message, in morse again. This time, a simple statement. Far more true to character. Room 3, apparently, of that flophouse. And very likely, the location of the ceiling Reno is so taken by.]

[ He rumbled with another laugh, this one stuck in his throat as his brows raised. ]

Man, do I have news for you.

Technically it was for SOLDIER, but no one said we couldn't use the holo-deck for ourselves. Maybe Angeal, but that's just because we hazed the Seconds and Thirds all the time to sneak in benchmark tests against 'em.

[ It was one of those things that wasn't allowed and was punishable, but settled into place as a sort of tradition and right of passage, similarly to internal hazing within SOLDIER and Infantry ranks. Whether or not it was punished fell onto the drill sergeant's mood that day, and if a Turk couldn't determine if it was a day they could get away with interrupting drills, that was on the Turk.

They maybe also had bingo sheets going during these little inter-departmental forays.

It was important to make one's own fun when it came to ShinRa.

Was he smiling because of the little story, or smiling because he got the message? Who's to say? ]

[Holo...?
... He's going to have to ask Cloud about that one.

Hazing, however. That's known to him. Back in his day, it was with what had come first. SOLDIER in name- but passive units. Nothing like the men and women that the Jenova Project had created. ...Passive as they were though, they were self-important. Therefore very, very good for hazing. Relieving a little of the stress that accumulated through the ins and outs of the job- babysitting executives and making sure Mrs. Shinra never found out about the President's bastards.

Vincent's silent for a moment, listening for a return message entwined with Reno's reminescence. However, none comes. So he does ask. Mostly out of curiosity.]

...Holodeck?

[ His brows piqued again for a moment, but his posture shifted quickly after, and he instead sat up. Or. Well. What a disaster-bi would consider 'sitting upright' in a casual setting. He was still slouched back against the back of his chair with an amused, vulpine grin. ]

Ooooh yeah.

SOLDIER got a bunch of new toys to help with their training. The old Firsts mostly used it since there really wasn't anywhere they could fuck around and push their limits. But any time they got their ratty little hands on it, it was always down for months after.

They'd run simulated missions for training for Thirds and Seconds on it, and we'd do the same when we got our hands on it. Infantry wasn't allowed--not cool enough.

All that equipment got trashed though, their department was up by the top of HQ. Not gonna say how here though since that'd be spoilers.

[Back in his day, there was something similar. Sort of, anyway. Practise against hologram enemies which were running Turk data, staged in real environments. Usually bunkers. Sometimes warehouses- in the middle of nowhere and heavily guarded by sentry machinery. This, what Reno describes, sounds about the same thing. Just... much more advanced. Much, much more advanced. And without coming back to civilization covered in mosquito bites. ]

...

[He's about to say something. About to ask, even, if Reno had ever heard of a Synaptic Net Dive- since (to him) that seems quite similar as well, but he's stopped by the redhead's latter statement. Spoilers, hm. Vincent would have assumed that since the thing was at the top of the Shinra building, it would be simple enough to state that it, like the rest of the building, didn't stand up to a few hundred thousand rounds from the Diamond Weapon as it had approached Midgar.

...But Reno's boss had.
Maybe the thing had survived after all.]

Right.

[So verbose. That was a delightful little story, and he's nothing to say. It can't be helped. He couldn't say that he shared Reno's nostalgia.]

...See you in a few days.

[Ending the call so soon, Vincent?]

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001; reno

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excuse him while he rattles his old man cane a bit

he always gets a free pass

bless u and bless reno ❤

<3

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