#12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno]

[ghostofnibelheim]

@umbral-stigmata-unbound || Continued from here~

The question seemed so simple, even a playful tease of sorts. But Sephiroth found that it gave him pause, instead of being humored. He didn't turn to look back right away.

"Is that what you're hoping for? To be assigned to someone who won't care?" He asks. No provocation in his voice; the tone is dry as ever, but there might be curiosity. "You think that would be better for you?"

#01b || this goes on your permanent record. [ic: sephiroth] #umbral stigmata unbound #umbralstigmataunbound #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #02c || εγλ 0000/0002 [canon verse: crisis core]

[ghostofnibelheim]

"That's dirty" ~Reno

That's Dirty! || Always Accepting

"I want you."

#umbral-stigmata-unbound #06b || there's your answer. [asked & answered] #12g || can you also bleed faster? [reno] #02b || εγλ 1991/1999 [canon verse: soldier / before crisis core] #umbralstigmataunbound #01b || this goes on your permanent record. [ic: sephiroth]

[ghostofnibelheim]

UNF (obviously from my most obnoxious muse)

UNF! || Always Accepting

IF YOU SNUCK IN MY ROOM I WOULD:

[] Go back to sleep

[2] Kick you out

[] Cuddle with you

[] Be like wtf?

[] Let you sleepover

[] Beat your ass

[1] Sexy time

IF YOU KISSED ME I WOULD:

[X] Kiss you back

[] Smile & laugh

[] Be shocked

[] Slap you

YOU ARE:

[] Cute

[] Adorable

[] Pretty

[] Beautiful

[] Okay

[X] Sexy

[] Hotass Motherfucker

[] Ew

I WOULD:

[X] Smash

[] Pass

#umbral-stigmata-unbound #06b || there's your answer. [asked & answered] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #01b || this goes on your permanent record. [ic: sephiroth] #//thanks for the ask! #DO THE ONE I SENT YOU PLS\\

[ghostofnibelheim]

umbral-stigmata-unbound​:

Well, of course, with such a blunt yet understandable question as that, considering Reno’s words and actions and implications thus far, he was still brought to some small level of shock. His brows raised and he just stared at the man, considering him a moment, as well as that challenging look he offered.

He sat up a bit more, not displaying himself across the desk as much, but not removing himself from it either. He leaned himself, hands on his knees, nearer Sephiroth, and quirked his head. “It hasn’t gone out of style, nah. Just not sure that really fits our dynamic here. Suppose I’m still trying to figure it out.” he confessed. “Besides…what does ‘going out’ entail for you?” he asked, somewhat rhetorically. “Because I seriously doubt you’d enjoy yourself with me.” he laughed, as if he weren’t implying that in ways of enjoying themselves and letting loose, they were likely from two different realms of enjoyment.

He shrugged, still not wavering his gaze as he looked at Sephiroth, not even reacting to him clearly shooing someone outside. “Would you accept, if I asked you out?”

Under the light pressure of the hand supporting his cheek, Sephiroth hummed a quiet chuckle; his eyes narrowed slightly on the outer edges of their leafy shape.

“All of a sudden, you try to play safe?” He called him out on his hesitation. Wasn’t it too easy, to want to know the result before even daring something challenging?

It almost made him think that at this moment, the ever confident and direct Reno of the Turks was afraid of him.

So that was where his limit traced its line, he figured.

Supple lips parted to draw out a sigh, and the SOLDIER stood, leaving his chair behind, and breaking contact with the red-head, retrieving control of his personal space.

“That’s too bad… Reno.” Dark leather boots slowly strode across the office, avoiding the scattered papers and desk tools strewn across the floor with effortless grace. In a short amount of steps, he was in the doorway.

“You should work on that bravado.” The First recommended, pausing just to look back at the Turk, gaze stone cold, yet a certain amused spark shone at its back. The small curve to the corner of his mouth gave little room for doubt. “… And clean up your mess.”

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #02B || εγλ 1991/1999 [Canon Verse: SOLDIER / Before Crisis Core] #umbral-stigmata-unbound #umbralstigmataunbound #00H || I've seen this before. [Transfer from Primary Blog]

[ghostofnibelheim]

umbral-stigmata-unbound​:

He laughed at the question, and just shrugged at it at first. It wasn’t exactly something asked of him, but certainly, attempting to psychoanalyze a SOLDIER to understand how they ticked was useful, as it would be towards anyone else, in a Turk–it simply meant they knew how to handle various issues and situations, because they held greater awareness.

But, he might as well be honestly, and so he shrugged, sitting far too comfortably on Sephiroth’s table–he even went so far as to lay back on it then, propping one foot on the edge of it. “Just a new hobby–it kills the time, keeps the thrill on those slow days. You should be flattered. It means I find you more fascinating than anyone else I deal with.” he smirked, curling up to look at him as he raised on one shoulder on the desk, absolutely not caring that the curve of his back and shoulder lined up with the edge of the table and he could so easily fall off the side at any moment.

“Does this tactic of avoiding answers by asking questions of your own work in every awkward situation for you?” he asked then, smirking a bit more. “Or am I really just pushing those nerves of yours at this point?”

It was a question meant to provoke, Sephiroth knew. Yet all it provoked was more questions of his own, that this time he held caged within the depths of his psyche as he watched the Turk practically bask on his desk like a salamander under the sun.

Because he realized that no, he was not the type to use questions in defense. But he was curious with things that interested him. These days, in the gray monotone of ShinRa, hardly anything piqued his attention in any way. He let everything flow and slip past him like the running of time, uncaring, undriven, unmoved…

But when something attracted his curiosity, that was when questions came out. He’d always been a questioning boy in youth, it was something the researchers who examined him regularly knew and sometimes still fondly reminded him.. the few of them who had stuck long enough under Hojo’s terrible rule to become familiar with his favorite subject, anyway…

Realizing that this Turk of all people had achieved that attention.. it was nothing short of remarkable. And maybe… a little troublesome.

“… Maybe you are.” He conceded without emotion in his voice, his tone a little distance, his mind still lost in thought. His green gaze had lost focus over the slouched form of the redhead.

He found him fascinating, was that not what he just said? What a dangerous interaction this was threatening to become…

As he watched Reno, he noticed an infantryman briefly walk in the corridor and stop before his door. Behind the three-eyed mask, a man’s mouth twisted in confusion and mild alert. Sephiroth made a vague dismissive gesture with his hand, that the subordinate quickly obeyed to, going back to his business and leaving his sight.

Green eyes descended once more down on that black suit, on the curve of Reno’s flank and shoulder, to find his face again, so shameless, aggravating.

“And so, coming here to disrupt my work is your best idea of expressing this.. fascination, as you say.” Tilting his head a little, he flicked the man just the right degree of a challenging look. “Has asking someone out gone out of style while I was busy?”

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #02B || εγλ 1991/1999 [Canon Verse: SOLDIER / Before Crisis Core] #umbral-stigmata-unbound #umbralstigmataunbound #00H || I've seen this before. [Transfer from Primary Blog]

[ghostofnibelheim]

umbral-stigmata-unbound​:

He could make a remark about still following a path, even if he wasn’t intending for it to be any sort of show, but he decided against it. If Sephiroth preferred not to think of his position in this company as a part to play, in one way or another, he would leave him to it. Clearly he believed in his position, where as others might know that it tended to be a role, to project an image. Sure, both their positions had purpose, Reno believed that, but he’d spend too much time observing how the others in this company worked, so it was easy to pick apart how each action, each movement, played into entertaining the masses.

He scoffed about his remark about damage to the company. Like the man hadn’t been just fine ‘damaging’ property during their few sparing sessions. But again, he said nothing. Instead, he noticed that was where Sephiroth’s response to what he’d presented stopped, and he took note of that, smirking mildly.

He just stayed where he sat, where the man had shifted him to sit up straight, just a had disheveled. And only then, as he ran a hand through his hair, did he answer.

“Yeah. I said I expected you to find a way to do so. But to me it seems like you either don’t know how to, and I’m just grating on your nerves at this point, which I deeply enjoy, or…well, maybe you like when I run my mouth. I’m probably the only bit of thrilling entertainment you get around here anymore, right?” he challenged, smirking at him, leaning back on his hands, still sat upon the mans desk. “You act like you could ignore me, or that I push your patience, but look at you… You still try to talk, you don’t ignore me. You don’t shove me out of your office, when you know you could.”

A dangerous manuever, perhaps, but playfully, Reno tapped his food at the edge of the other mans thigh, as if to nudge him, smirking all the while. He would leave when he was forced to, of course, but…he was finding he didn’t want to go just yet. He was tap into parts of Sephiroth’s he’d not yet seen, and he wasn’t finished attempting to peal the layers.

“Ya know, if you wanted my wildly addictive company, all you had to do was ask.”

“Are you paid extra to psychoanalyze me, or is it just a new hobby to kill time?” He was quick, more than usual, in brushing off the Turk’s suggestion. One hand lightly pushed the intruding shoe out of the way, while his back leaned against the chair once more, head resting on his knuckles.

Why him, of all people? That was the silent question bouncing on the tip of Sephiroth’s tongue at the moment. He fiercely fought the urge to speak it, to the point of feeling tension in his jaw behind lips softly pressed together in the faintest of frowns.

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #02B || εγλ 1991/1999 [Canon Verse: SOLDIER / Before Crisis Core] #umbral-stigmata-unbound #umbralstigmataunbound #00H || I've seen this before. [Transfer from Primary Blog]

[ghostofnibelheim]

umbral-stigmata-unbound​:

He studied the other man for a moment after that answer, still pinned under him, still bound in their unique position, and still burning with his chaotic desire to press and prod and test until he got burned. And yet…that answer seemed to make things shift, if only a little bit.

“Enemy, huh…?” he remarked, noting how that answer was a bit…unspecific to which question he’d asked…meaning it was a mystery of one, or it was both. And both seemed to stir further understanding in the redhead, to be filed away for later. His hand fell to the wrist of Sephiroth’s arm still pressing him down into his desk that Reno had made a mess of and invaded the space of. “…So how would you see me, huh? An ally you don’t intend to show your true colors too? Just another cog to work with and against, yeah? Don’t you get tired, of just playing the part? Or is this really all you see in your life?”

Could he judge him, if that was so? Reno had the fortune and misfortune to come from another life. Sephiroth? Not so much. His bright eyes seemed to scan Sephiroth’s features, with a gaze more intense before, though his coy smirk was still faintly there on his lips.

“If I’m just another cog? Then go ahead…make me clean up my mess…send me on my way… Or…maybe I can be your enemy, and you can show me just who you really are underneath all those damn cold and collected layers….”

He couldn’t even be bothered to recognize what started as a taunting, playful interruption was forming into something else. No, he was too busy living in the moment of it to consider the reality. All he could do was watch Sephiroth with intent eyes, waiting…daring.

There was mild contempt in the way the silver SOLDIER stared the other down, unflinching to the touch around his wrist, or to the blatant provocation that spat out of his mouth like venom. He still wondered what weird pleasure the other could possibly get out of repeatedly crossing the line with him.

“No such thing as ‘playing a part’. I’m not the type to enjoy theatrics.” That was more Genesis’ forte. Sephiroth to this day failed to see the appeal of acting as anything other of who one was. He’d rather be honest with himself throughout his life.

Now, if only he knew exactly who he was, besides what he’d been told…

“But you and I are property. To treat you as my enemy would constitute damage for the company.” He droned, steering clear from the subject of life and how he lived his own. The Turk had touched a sensible nerve and Sephiroth wasn’t going to expose it for more prodding. Tightening his grip on the shirt, he pulled back to stand straight, bringing up the redhead as he did so he could sit. Only than, his hand let go of his hold.

Hot and cold, that was the First Class SOLDIER in three simple words. Nothing like the ever explosive flame-made-man before him.

He freed his arm with low effort, slowly blinking at Reno with a slight furrow of his brows.

“You said something about shutting your mouth, earlier?”

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #02B || εγλ 1991/1999 [Canon Verse: SOLDIER / Before Crisis Core] #umbral-stigmata-unbound #umbralstigmataunbound #00H || I've seen this before. [Transfer from Primary Blog]

[ghostofnibelheim]

onewinged-tragedy​:

The wind did leave him, as he huffed out, back hitting the table hard and now he was pinned under a firm hand that he was reasonably sure he couldn’t shove away from. That idea was a little thrilling, and not at all surprise. He caught his breath, smirking up at the other as he called him irritating, expressed his confusion for Reno’s apparent lack of survival instincts, then proceeded to call him a fool or adrenaline junky or both.

But he moved a hand to grip the others wrist. He wouldn’t bother trying to do anything with that grip, he wasn’t sure he could manage, and currently didn’t see the need to move. So much of his mind and body screamed DANGER, but then, so much of it screamed, MORE. And he found himself listening to the latter more prominently.

“You think too much sometimes…ya know that…?” he retorted in a strained voice at first, before laughing and coughing a bit.

“Maybe I get off on it–testing the boundaries of what will be allowed, what will get me punished, what will get me killed.” he chuckled again, then quirked his head, looking the other man up and down, and his chest pressed up into the touch still meeting his exposed chest, trying to sit up defiantly as the leg he’d propped up nudged against the others hip.

“I’m living with one purpose, man, my soul is bound to ShinRa. Doesn’t mean it always was. A wild animal, barely tamed, kinda tends to get restless. And with my fate sold to the cause, why should I not test the limits to see just exactly what’s waiting for me if I’m fucking daring enough to try?” he retorted.

He tried again to lean up, gripping Sephiroth’s forearm a little harder.

“Am I fool? Maybe, yeah. So what are you? And who do you really show what you are to?”

What a blabbermouth. Were it any other person, Sephiroth would suspect it was out of nerves that the redhead talked so much at a time like this, but no. He’d had him around long enough to know this was simply how the man acted twentyfour-seven. How could Reno possibly hear himself think, when his tongue never stopped long enough?

Boredom and contempt, that was what his features displayed to the provocation from the Turk.

Slowly, he leaned forward just enough, so close the electric hue of the agent’s eyes were clear and in detail to him, but not enough for his breath to touch the other’s skin. Carefully measuring the pressure he put on the other man, in a physical and psychological sense.

“My enemy.”

He replied that final question alone, implicitly answering the one just before as well.

Because he was nothing more than a weapon. An executioner. Just another tool like the man under him in the hands of President ShinRa.

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #02B || εγλ 1991/1999 [Canon Verse: SOLDIER / Before Crisis Core] #umbral-stigmata-unbound #umbralstigmataunbound #00H || I've seen this before. [Transfer from Primary Blog]

[ghostofnibelheim]

onewinged-tragedy​:

Reno just huffed a laugh and smirk, not really moving from his spot, apart from now switching from leaning forward, to leaning back, arms supporting him behind him, and his torso and lower half on full, obnoxious display.

“Ten….Nine…Eight…Seven… Can’t wait to see what you’ll do, finally confronted with your bullshit~…three…two~…” he eyed the other, prepared for pretty much anything. Sure, he got the guts to come bug Sephiroth because–well, as some would say, he’s an insane idiot–as well as the fact that he was tired of leaving tension unresolved. Plus, he was bored. They’d butted heads since they met, condescended and toyed with each other, and damn near hated each other.

But Reno himself, while simultaneously seeing Sephiroth as cold, cut off show off that gets way too much praise, also saw him as weirdly funny in a dry humor sort of way and a helluva challenge to go up against, and there was just something…different about him. And different about their interactions. So might as well address it now. His plan would either provoke the implied outcome he was toying over, or simply prove they just have a weird relationship, as random and distant as it could be with one being a SOLDIER and the other being a Turk.

“Go on, Sephiroth–show me what you’d really, really like to do to me right now.” he taunted further, wiggling the knee of the leg still propped up on that armrest. “Because I’m willing to bet, you as predictable as ever~.”

He could feel, acutely, just how much his actions were like pouring gasoline on a fire, and he didn’t seem to care nearly as much as he should.

Predictable?

A word that caused the slightest quirk of silvery brows on an otherwise stone-hard face. It wasn’t a word that sat well with this SOLDIER; not because of insulted pride persay, but rather by the flaring first thought that saw this comment as a blatant lie. After all, he hadn’t accumulated the amount of victories to his name by being predictable for his enemy. And he thought the Turk should be fully aware of this.

Was he aware of his dislike for lies, and spewing nonsense with the purpose to rile him up?

Or was it maybe that the red-head actually thought he could foresee his moves? After all, being unpredictable on the battlefield didn’t necessarily imply the same would apply in other aspects of life. Had Reno been observing him so closely to be able to discern his patterns in other situations?

The thought caused a mix of feelings inside him that was beyond intoxicating. It made him bristle and shiver inside, and at the same time, so thirsty for knowledge…

Whatever could this fool with a cheshire-like grin on his face understand about him?

For the moment, he opted to do nothing at all, remaining unmoving and glacial even as the countdown ended. Whether him doing nothing was exactly what the Turk expected, or rather something that’d surprise him, was of absolutely no concern to the silver-haired.

Only in the split second in which Reno opened his mouth, be it to express surprise or to reaffirm his confidence, Sephiroth moved, and he moved fast. Reno’s back hit the surface of his desk before he could even blink, pinned down by a hand that had been so fierce it may as well have winded air out of his lungs with that push alone.

“So irritating…” He spoke, looking down on this man, barely one year his senior, and yet looking like a rebellious brat under him. Leaning forward to stare ominously into those sharp, bright eyes, Sephiroth tilted his head slightly, letting a silver curtain of his hair fall past his shoulder and draping one side of the man he’d pinned on his desk.

“All living things learn to read and predict what threatens them; they use that knowledge to evolve. Improve and survive. Yet, all you seem to do with it is put yourself into a worse position for pain. What result are you looking for here?”

Before he’d even grant the Turk room to answer, he let his gaze move down his form and back up, feeling the heat of his body against the leader of his glove; against his sides where Reno’s legs touched his clothes.

“I can’t tell whether you’re actually a fool, or rather get some kind of high out of this…” Sephiroth muttered, fingers clenching around the edges of the Turk’s white shirt where buttons clasped… which was definitely not the first row, as it should for proper dress code. “… Although the fact that you still don’t seem to know how to put your shirt inside your pants should be a solid hint to the former.”

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #02B || εγλ 1991/1999 [Canon Verse: SOLDIER / Before Crisis Core] #umbral-stigmata-unbound #umbralstigmataunbound #00H || I've seen this before. [Transfer from Primary Blog]

[ghostofnibelheim]

@umbral-stigmata-unbound​ said:

Reno, proceeding to tug the front half down, clipping it to the front of his pants, sarcastically: you prefer the tiddy tease, don't you?

Well now, this was a real pickle. What should Sephiroth do? If he said nothing and let the Turk believe this absurd rumor about his preferences, it’d be a strike to his pride -- not to mention, enabling a complete lie.

On the other hand, denying it could risk further investigation from the agent. The SOLDIER isn’t sure he’d like that. He was a mysterious man, full of secrets nobody should be privy of.

Including his irrational aversion to exposed belly buttons.

“Some things in life are meant to... never see the light of day.” He mutters, regretting every word that carved its way through tense, hard-pressed lips. He was talking too much.

And he needed to stop looking, right now.

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #03D || *Groans in monotone* [Crack] #umbral-stigmata-unbound #umbralstigmataunbound

[ghostofnibelheim]

[Four Seasons] Steel Cuts on Broken Wires - Turned Off

Closed Starter for the “Four Seasons” Divergent Megaverse!

A young Reno has his first run in with an even younger Sephiroth at the Military Academy of Midgar.

Involved Characters: Sephiroth, 14yo ( @ghostofnibelheim ), Reno, 15yo ( @reno2ndgun​ )

References: Before Crisis -Final Fantasy VII-

Settings: Midgar, Late November εγλ 1994

If he closed his eyes and focused, he could almost pretend to be elsewhere right now. Back to Wutai, in the trenches. The flashes of sunlight intruding the inside of the armored van through the small window became the halo of explosions against his closed eyelids; the rumble of the engine rattled and revved like distant automatic machine guns drowning his thoughts.

Was it strange that at this moment, the boy wished nothing more than to be back there? Was there something broke inside him for having such macabre thought processes?

That was where he belonged. This city, on the other hand? It was little more than a name. Nothing but a background painting through the windows of the tall pedestal in which he had resided for as long as his memory served him. The people of Midgar sung praises in his name, but to him it was as good as silence. A faint buzz at most, too incoherent and foreign for him to grasp.

“We’re almost there. If you look outside now, you’ll see the front walls of the Military Academy.” The Turk sitting across him in the vehicle informed.

He did not look outside.

A metal clad finger had started to tap restlessly on the curve of the steel helmet on his lap.

“You can leave that here. It’s not like you’ll need it.”

Narrow dark slits in cold jade green lifted to look up. Defiance glowering in the depths of those cat-like irids.

“I will keep it.” He replied, slipping the helmet on just as the car came to a stop. He at least made the polite attempt to respond despite his refusal.

He was 14, on the cusp of puberty. The hormonal tests had confirmed this, and the behavioral issues that had cropped up with each visit back to headquarters were like a bitter cherry on top of the cake. A difficult, rebellious phase was ahead for the unlucky few with the rank and authority to deal with Shinra’s poster boy.

The fact that he was as socially sheltered as a caged beast hadn’t helped him either, and the warzone had affected him in ways unfit for someone his age. He was unpredictable, picky, and antisocial. Prone to disregard instructions and give an attitude at the most uncalled moments.

But still, he completed his missions dutifully. That was the only reason he was here today.

What an awful timing for the President to decide the recruiting propaganda for SOLDIER should kick off now. Understandable in retrospect; the war needed more units. It was the means that were questionable. To take a boy who had seldom interacted with anyone for anything other than receiving orders and executing them, and feed him to the masses for publicity. How could the board of directors not see the potential fallacies?

With Hojo absolutely uninterested in the matter, it had fallen on the second person closest to the SOLDIER prodigy to do damage control. Veld’s department had been put in charge of escorting the fighter to any and all facilities he was ordered to visit for exposure and promotion of the SOLDIER program. It was no surprise that schools would be a target, even less so the Military Academy of Midgar.

Should any... unexpected accident occur, the Turks were the most fit to clean up and sweep any negative publicity under the carpet. In these regards, their symbiotic existence around the young SOLDIER was no different than in the war.

“It’s time, Sephiroth.”

When his left hand went instinctively to hold onto something nearby, the boy felt  a knot in his stomach, remembering his weapon wasn’t there to accompany him. Lips pressed into a thin line under the steel visor. He felt vulnerable, as though deprived of his security blanket.

It would be okay.

He had to tell himself so. He had to move forward, and perform.

The quietest sigh escaped his lips, and in a few moments, brown leather boots stepped off the vehicle, a long silver ponytail sweeping down from under the helmet and against the blue of his uniform, reaching the middle of his back.

A curt nod to the man in black suit beside him, who responded in tune and lead him through the front doors.

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #04 || Four Seasons [Divergent Megaverse] #04t6 || Steel Cuts on Broken Wires - Turned Off [Thread] #reno2ndgun #//there you go! #the Turk was left nameless #so you can take over and make it your OC #if you like!\\

[ghostofnibelheim]

@azure-steel​ || Cloud said:

"... you know that people use the eggplant emoji on their phones to symbolise a dick... right...? The more you know~"

🍆💦

@umbral-stigmata-unbound​ || Reno said:

"Hey, don't knock the big guy, he can insert as many eggplants he wants, in whatever position he wants!! 🤣🤣🤣"

He looks at his phone screen, dumbfounded at the emojis. How curious; after millennia since the development of the alphabet and katakana, it seemed humanity was regretting back to hieroglyphs to communicate. Was this the doing of the Ancients? Had Aerith passed down and spread a long lost trend amongst Cloud and the others?

Whatever could this one mean?

“Is your penis bleeding?” He asks through an instant voice message. “You should see a doctor about that. Did you use the steel wool in the bathroom sink to scrub? I’ve been told by Tifa that it’s for house cleaning.”

And then another for the Turk, who seemed to be supporting him despite the misunderstanding.

“I appreciate, but it sounds like Cloud was talking about dicks. A hard truth to swallow.”

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12A || You belong to me. [Cloud Strife] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #03D || *Groans in monotone* [Crack] #azure-steel #azuresteel #umbral-stigmata-unbound #umbralstigmataunbound #//YOU GUYS #GIVE HIM A SHOVEL WHY DON'TCHA\\

[ghostofnibelheim]

™ for Reno cuz I have to

Muse Imitation || Always Accepting!

After a short detour to Marlene’s room for support - she’s his biggest contributor in this game, it appears - here comes Sephiroth, nearly unrecognizable.

His bedhead is almost subtle in comparison to the rest. Disheveled is a word that brings no justice to this man; only one arm is inside the black coat, the rest of it dangling behind his back. One suspender hanging loose down his waist, the belt is missing a loop and does little to hide the wide open fly, nevermind the fact that he’s missing a whole boot.

Though people may have a hard time guessing who he’s trying to mock, until they notice the massive red marks running down his cheeks, done with Marlene’s toy lipstick and resembling the make up of a very lazy clown.

“I hate my job. Hhhhhaaaa....” The long sigh is so dragged and unnatural, it’s almost a hiss. “What’s for breakfast, Rude? Don’t forget to do my laundry, yeah?”

He waves, tiredly, a toy light saber. A quiet ‘zap zap’ muttered between his lips before he drops it.

“Well, thanks for kicking my ass, Cloud. Again. Same time next week? Same time next week.” 

He waves a hand, and out of nowhere comes Rude, the real deal, picks him up in his arms and carries him away, bridal style.

“First Class Asshole...!” A final cry, bitter, as he gives a single gloved finger over Rude’s shoulder.

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #03D || *Groans in monotone* [Crack] #06B || There's your answer. [Asked & Answered] #umbral-stigmata-unbound #umbralstigmataunbound

[ghostofnibelheim]

The reports were bad enough when it was Genesis, defecting and stirring up trouble over time. That was enough of an issue on a professional level, but only two people seem to deal with it silently and without notice on a personal one...until one of those two vanished as well.

Sephiroth was a well put together man, a generally perfect SOLDIER, but a silent friend. ShinRa wasn't a place to have buddies, out in the open, fooling around, but that didn't mean the man didn't find connections the he held close to his chest, underneath all the responsibilities. Reno saw it. He himself had earned a unique, unclear but... dangerously bound bond with the man, so he knew. And now...he was all Sephiroth had.

Gods, Reno wasn't a touchy feely person, but Sephiroth wasn't either. Maybe that could work in the positive, in the end. But he...needed to make sure Sephiroth was--would be...okay.

So he found him, late in the evening, going to hand off some paperwork. Reno certainly hadn't used covert, tech involved efforts to hunt down his location, he just happened to be finishing up paperwork himself, totally. And so he managed to be dropping them off at the same time. And with a firm nudge just out of sight of cameras and praying eyes, Reno nudged Sephiroth amongst one of the eyes, the taller man pressed against a sturdy shelf. And Reno looked at him, in silence, considering his features, what thoughts and feelings he was hiding under the surface.

"...So... Think you wanna cure boredom...take a few hours off and go for a walk? Need to stretch my legs, and keeping up with your long steps should do the trick." He teased. But the humored grin faltered for a minute. He bit the inside of his lip, and reached to brush some stray, long silver strands back behind Sephiroths ear. "Or just silence in an apartment could do. I'm not picky... How about you? I'll even let you kiss me, if you've been cravin', ya know."

Yes, teasing, humor, seemingly detached concern. It may not seem like much. But damn, if all of it together at this moment didn't mean his heart was aching with worry for this man like he'd never felt before. Reno was no Angeal, and he wasn't Genesis. But, maybe, he could be something useful.

-[random soft for Reno's favorite silver haired badass weirdo~ ]

The sound of his own footsteps seemed to have become the metronome to which his life set its rhythm of late. A cadenced regular sequence of clicks on marble, metal, concrete, to the carpet that lead to his bed and away again in the morning.

What time was it? What day was it?

It felt as though time had gone gray, muddled like fog in his mind. He could read the date on his report, and still it meant nothing. His most vivid memories were gradually getitng too distant to be used as landmarks in his sense of time passing. It had been too long since he’d felt like a normal person, too long since anything outside of work had had some meaning to him.

All his turmoil was sternly kept on the inside by steel walls of an emotionless exterior. With the two other Firsts gone, a lot of responsibilities he’d never asked for now rested on his shoulders; meetings had become more frequent; he shared Lazard’s office for most of the day. The Director acted kind and understanding, but nonetheless appearances had to be maintaned. No times for such things as heart-to-heart conversation.

Reno’s ambush in the file room didn’t get any strong reaction. Calm and collected, Sephiroth did not even exhibit the arrogant grin of challenge that had usually been a greeting to the vibrant-looking Turk. His aura was gelid, only softening slightly around the edges when it was clear that the other’s weak playfulness was out of concern.

“A few hours off? Can you actually afford that?” He asked, forcing a humored huff through his nose, disengaging that stare that threatened to make him crumble like a house of cards. He turned to give his flank to the Turk, carefully picking a folder out of the shelf and opening it to look inside. It was not the folder he needed, but again... appearances had to be kept.

“I thought the Turks would be awfully busy these days.”

Was there a bit of bite to that statement? A little. Sephiroth did not blame Reno himself; but he was aware of what the Turks stood for in the company. Genesis, Angeal, even getting rid of all the bodies of those copies. Who else could be privy of these tormenting secrets, more than the secret agents of ShinRa themselves?

He had no right to ask Reno what he knew. He was still loyal to SOLDIER, no matter what. But that did not forbid him from feeling that hostility brewing. And he could keep it from spilling only for so long.

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #02C || εγλ 0000/0002 [Canon Verse: Crisis Core] #umbral-stigmata-unbound #umbralstigmataunbound #06B || There's your answer. [Asked & Answered] #//I love me some soft moments like anyone else of course #but the point in time you chose #makes for a very angsty Seph #it might take a thick skin to get him to mellow rn #and maybe something like #forcing him to go out for a chill pill or something #the shinra building is a brewing pot for resentment at the moment\\

[ghostofnibelheim]

🎽 with Reno (because he's obnoxious)

Croptop meme || Always Accepting!

“Tuck that in.”

He doesn’t care HOW Reno is supposed to do that. That’s simply not respectful of a Turk’s dress code.

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #03D || *Groans in monotone* [Crack] #umbral-stigmata-unbound #umbralstigmataunbound #06B || There's your answer. [Asked & Answered] #00C || Looks like you're next. [QUEUE]

[ghostofnibelheim]

"Sometimes I want to slap you in your whole face." ~[from Reno]

P!NK Lyrics || Always Accepting!

“Is it fear that stops you?”

An intriguing threat, what the Turk had extended. But was it all for show? This red-head was sometimes all bark and no bite. Maybe a taste of his own medicine is due.

“Or are you just too shy to ask me to lean over?”

#01B || This goes on your permanent record. [IC: Sephiroth] #12G || Can you also bleed faster? [Reno] #onewingedtragedy #onewinged-tragedy #03D || *Groans in monotone* [Crack]