turkoftheslums

[turkoftheslums]

The thought of domestic Reno is giving me the fuzzies

[turkoftheslums]

A chuckle erupts from Reno's chest at Tseng's comment and he squeezes his hand again before gently rubbing his thumb along its knuckles. "They'd better! Though, I will admit, their options with my reports are kinda limited..." he trails off with a slight smirk, "I could continue writing with my right hand and giving them chicken scratch - do not tell Rude I admitted that about my handwriting - or they can get slightly more legible smudges." He chuckles to himself regarding his clearly excellent scheme to annoy his- huh, his now equals.

Implications flicker across the forefront of Reno's mind for brief moments before he gently shakes them away. Not now, he has a friend to look after.

"Of course I would," Reno leans against the railing, supporting his head with his hand before he tilts it, "'s what you trained me for, right?" He wouldn't have it any other way, if he was honest. Sure, there was that first moment of panic when all he knew was Tseng was in critical condition and the helplessness reminded him of... when every other Turk died.

But he had a division to run, Turks to protect, and a president to take care of, and he found himself understanding his superior more than he ever thought he would because of it. Speaking of...

"What d'ya want me to tell the others?" They deserve an update of some kind, Reno thinks to himself, but he'll only tell them what Tseng wants them to know. What little privacy Tseng and Rude were able to provide him in his own moment of vulnerability was cherished, so offering the same in kind is the least he can do.

It was almost surprising to him how comforting it was just to see Reno. The fire red of his hair a beautiful, alive contrast to the sterile white of the medical rooms, the charcoal black of his suit making Tseng miss his own. There was a brief pang of loss in the knowledge that the suit he'd been wearing would have had to have been cut off his body. He had others, of course, but it was still a loss.

The answer is about as much as he suspects. He knows his own absence would be difficult for the Turks - both with the emotional impact and the adding to their workloads with his own. He had to bite his tongue not to ask Reno to bring him some of the paperwork to handle here - he was antsy and he hated bedrest, but he knew even the motion of writing would likely be too much on his wound.

When Reno takes his hand, he tried to squeeze it back in return. The weakness of his grip was unsettling. "The poor executives, maybe they'll appreciate me more after all this..."

"I'm never going to retire, Reno, I'd rather they put me back under and finish the job if I couldn't work anymore." He took a moment to catch his breath and swallow. "The moment they let me I'll be back at my desk."

He wasn't going to die but this was the closest he'd come to it. And yet, nothing changed. He still had things to do, he still had Rufus to follow and his Turks to take care of.

"I'm... Glad to know you're taking care of things."

[turkoftheslums]

Time to make sure my info is up to date while I stare at Cas' reply and think about everything I want to type-

[turkoftheslums]

questions … sentence starters

“Are you sad?”

“Are you okay?”

“Who hurt you?”

“Are you crying?”

“What about us?”

“What did you do?”

“Are you laughing?”

“Where did you go?”

“Did you hurt them?”

“Where will you go?”

“What do you need?”

“Are you mad at me?”

“Who did this to you?”

“Do you need a hug?”

“Would you be mine?”

“Are you happy here?”

“Do you forgive them?”

“How did you survive?”

“How could you leave?”

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“Where have you been?”

“How could you do this?”

“Have you eaten today?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Do you forgive yourself?”

“Why can’t you love me?”

“Why would you say that?”

“How could you lie to me?”

“Will you accept my heart?”

“Do you want to share this?”

“Why don’t you believe me?”

“Would you try this with me?”

“When did you stop believing?”

“What are you thinking about?”

“When did that happen to you?”

“How long can you keep going?”

“Do you think we have a chance?”

“Do you know how much I love you?”

“Do you think you’re a good person?”

[turkoftheslums]

The past few days had been a blur for Reno, between receiving orders from Rufus, playing nice with the execs, leading the Turks and demanding updates when he found himself in the medical wing of ShinRa tower every six hours. Any and all rest he got was two hour max bursts on the couch in the R&D office with naught but his jacket to serve as a makeshift blanket. Paperwork piled through the roof and Reno found himself envying Tseng less and less than he already had with every passing minute.

He wakes up to a takeaway coffee and a note from- huh, Elena, about taking some extra time to rest and, as much as Reno appreciated the rookie's sentiment, he was on the clock and time was a-wastin'. So he sets the note off to the side and makes his way back to Tse his desk with coffee in hand, leaving his jacket behind on the couch.

As he sits down, an unpleasant sensation settles itself and begins to niggle at his core. He brushes it aside and pulls the previously abandoned report close to him. This little shitbird forced him to take the break in the first place, what with all its dancing words and moving letters. Perhaps this time it will behave.

Some minutes later, the niggle in his stomach grows and Reno knows he won't be able to maintain focus for much longer, so he decides to take a walk around the building and maybe try to find fresh air. He downs the coffee, pulls on his jacket, and just as he opens the door, the person on the other side jumps back in surprise. Quite frankly, Reno is too tired to deal with this person and whatever antics they had in store while hanging around Turk territory, but he'd promised he'd be on his best behaviour when in the company of non-Turks, so he merely sighs inwardly.

"Hey, what's up? Are ya lost?" he asks, forcing as much genuine-sounding concern as he could into his voice.

And Reno could have sworn he heard a pin drop when the person - a nurse - told him Tseng was awake and asking for him. It takes everything in him to simply follow the nurse and not brush past to get to Tseng faster. But with a blink, he finds himself staring at the door with the nurse asking him if he is okay. He deflects the question and is soon ushered inside to see-

"Tseng..." the name falls out of his mouth with practiced ease, and he doesn't move as his eyes sweep over his friend's form, taking in every visible imperfection and mentally noting how to correct them. It hadn't been long since Reno himself was in a similar position, injured by Avalanche in the fight for Sector 7. Rude was there for him when he woke up, but he never entertained the idea that Tseng would come if he asked for him.

Reno steps forward, almost afraid that being too brash would disturb the illusion that Tseng was awake and alive before him, and he collapses into the bedside chair. A beat passes before he pulls the chair closer to the bed and he reaches for Tseng's hand, but falters for a moment, and instead settles on resting it next to the other's hand.

He thinks for a moment about Tseng's question: how was everyone? On the surface, everything is pushing forward as 'normal' - Rufus is running his little schemes and the Turks are operating as his right hands. But beneath the surface...

"We're fine," Reno answers, not quite looking Tseng in the eyes as he tries to keep his tone even. "Things have been a little messy... but we're fine." Not okay, but simply fine, and that's good enough. Though someone flitters through Reno's mind and his mouth goes dry. He can't tell him about her yet, not when he's like this.

His fingers twitch from their position on the bed as if an itch is compelling them to pull Tseng from death's edge and into a sheltering embrace. He mentally shoves the thought aside instead, and settles for finally grasping his hand and looking into his eyes.

"Don't talk too much, okay chief? You gotta get better 'cause my handwritin's still too dogshit for ya to retire," a smirk tugs at his lips but doesn't quite reach his eyes as he continues, "and I think the execs can only take so much before tryin' to make Rude take my place."

Tseng's survival was not a certainty. Getting him out had been successful but having to flee with such speed had lost him a lot of blood. It took all of Elena's focus to keep him conscious on their way back to HQ. He felt so cold, so numb, so heavy, but he could recall trying to reassure her that he would be fine through lips that barely wanted to move.

It took days of medical for anyone to believe he would pull through. He slipped in and out of consciousness; his entire life on a knifes edge and nobody was sure which way he would fall. But Tseng was Tseng and he had survived every other thing thrown his way. He would survive this.

Eventually the team buzzing around him accepted he was stable and past the worst of it. He asked for his Turks before anything else - with a voice hoarse from having tubes down his throat. They seemed to want to deny him but Tseng managed to look as intense and threatening as ever, even in a medical gown, confined to a bed.

He truly looked a mess. No makeup - not even his nearly ever present huadian. His hair knotted and unbrushed, falling in his face. Still connected to his drip. He was completely stripped of everything that made him him. No uniform, no weapons.

"Reno." He greets simply when finally they usher the redhead through the door. "Is everyone alright? All of you, Rufus-- they won't tell me anything."

Speaking is somewhat of a struggle though he pushes through it. Everything hurts - the sensation in his throat doesn't add much.

@turkoftheslums

[turkoftheslums]

[kicks lid off Reno's box]

Finally caved in to watch Rebirth cutscenes and this fucker's been staring at me since - I can't confirm how often I'll be here since I have rl things going (graduated, now I'm back doing a Masters for some reason), so I'll mark myself as VERY LOW activity for the time being

EDIT: OH! I'll also be changing a few headcanon things because I've been having the thinky thonks

[turkoftheslums]

Hello, hello. I was just contacted by the mun of @/rude-at-your-service, he’s been hacked by that bloody RayBan bollocks that was going around last year and has been locked out of his account completely.

Any messages, replies, and @’s from that account are not him and please do not click on any links sent to you from the account.

Please keep yourselves and your accounts safe!

[turkoftheslums]

[dusts off blog] Hello, hello! I have just completed my course today! My muse for R.eno has been largely silent (though he has been lurking) and the rampant non-rp blogs following and interacting has been grating on my nerves even while not here.

Chances are I’ll remake this blog when my muse returns (and I’ll be looking to keep as much as possible) In the meantime, I’ve been chilling over at @tartabinger with C.hilde, a G.enshin I.mpact muse who is very similar to R.eno - I’m even considering creating a F.F7 verse for him as well (trying to avoid making him a Turk but it makes too much sense and nnnnnnnnn)

Feel free to follow me there and mutuals are more than welcome to keep in touch with me via D.iscord (El Cryptid Josh#2959) and also my T.witter (@RafterSomeFood). I’ve really missed everyone here and I hope everyone has been well these past few months!

[turkoftheslums]

“December 28th is a day for treating your favourite Turk to something nice.”

“Give ‘em some beer. Offer to shine their pistols.”

“Or say something nice.”

“Bottom line: be nice to a Turk.”

“You’ll never know when you’ll need them to save your butt in the future.”

[turkoftheslums]

Hey ummmmmm ily <3

[turkoftheslums]

Pinned Post

Semi-hiatus/very low activity announcement

As uni is starting to pick up, my already weak presence here will be limited even further. You can expect me to pop up here and there in an attempt to get through some more of what I owe but otherwise, this change in status will remain in effect until my final deadline: 31st May 2021. During this time, I will go through all interactions in my spare time and decided what to drop and what to keep - if I drop something of ours that you were enjoying, do get back in contact with me and I can try to pick it up again. If that doesn’t work, we can always try a new angle on it.

I do intend to fully return here upon completion of my course, however part of me is thinking that taking a break from Reno might help replenish the creative juices and the will to write. As such, I have caved and started making a blog for C.hilde/T.artaglia from G.enshin - both these muses are similar. I want to keep this muse quieter than this blog for the sake of my energy and sanity so hit me up if you’d like to give the boy a follow.

Otherwise, mutuals can add me on Discord at El Cryptid Josh#2959 (let me know who you are here first) and my Twitter is available upon request. Take care of yourselves!

[turkoftheslums]

SO I’m currently settled at the hotel before I go home on the ferry tomorrow and I was thinking to myself while on the train. I don’t often do new year’s resolutions but my one for 2021 is to be more honest with myself. With this in mind I plan to go through my drafts and drop threads I don’t feel muse for (which will be difficult, because I’ll have an inkling of muse but no desire to write) and delete some asks in order to lessen my load.

There is also a huge amount of doubt I will be highly active until my course finishes as I have busy months ahead of myself. My final deadline is the 31st of May so I will have this blog on a semi-hiatus/very low activity status until then. I’ll check new followers out as soon as possible and mutuals are more than welcome to have my discord - either ask for it or drop me yours. One of the perks of adding me there is getting to see what I’m up to on occasion. 👀

But yeah, TL;DR: Blog is going on semi-hiatus/very low activity until my final deadline at the end of May and interactions I don’t have muse for are being dropped. Mutuals should add me on Discord

[turkoftheslums]

God knows if I've mentioned this before but it deserves to be repeated again regardless

It's interesting how in OG at the pillar fight Reno says "No-one gets in the way of Reno and the Turks" and I still don't know what to make of that

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"Oh but sir, the Turks have their own agenda that the company simply cannot comprehend. Everything we do is with purpose and precision. What you see as failure, I see as a small part of a bigger plan."

“Y'know, it’s kinda funny. ShinRa has eyes and ears everywhere - to the point we’re sent to recruit specific people for SOLDIER - but they can’t easily catch a group of eco-terrorists.”

[turkoftheslums]

"Y'know, it's kinda funny. ShinRa has eyes and ears everywhere - to the point we're sent to recruit specific people for SOLDIER - but they can't easily catch a group of eco-terrorists."

[turkoftheslums]

[turkoftheslums]

Been arting for most of today (RIP my fingers) so I’m gonna try my hand at a little Genshin - catch me on Discord or via IMs

Meanwhile, I read a bit of Snow’s fic (if you want me to link it or tag you or whatever, just let me know) and it got me thinking about how Reno would react when scared/flinching - sharp, barely noticeable flinch/lean back, fast breath in through the nose causing nostrils to flare, lips pursed, and slightly more rigid stance than usual. This would obviously be a big difference from rookie times or when he was a kid.

Also, I downloaded a small pose reference sheet and all I can think of is Reno and Rude so expect that after 2 weeks.