→ call me out

[supercilious]

【the ❝CALL ME OUT❞ meme】
a roleplay meme to inspire muses.

♛ refer to the list above for active muses. ♛ post "calling" one of them out — you can do so by putting their name in the subject line! ♛ can be informal/formal/comment spam/crosscanon/explicit/whatever tickles your fancy! ♛ feel free to make up a scenario at the start, or wait to see where things go. ♛ if there's someone on my muselist who isn't listed here, feel free to call them out! you might have to wait longer for a response though. meme code.

Comments

[idkmybffpyramid]

[He moves into the building with purpose, doing a quick sweep of the lobby before checking the corners, the booth, etc. Trusting in Ocelot's experience that he'll have his back and do the same.]

Not exactly. [They weren't exactly friends at that point. Not yet. (And occasionally he does catch himself wondering if they ever were. It's a real mess, trying to separate what was real from the way it was all tainted when Ocelot came back and he didn't remember. When he was himself, but not in Reno's corner.)] Find it hard to believe you weren't banking on some uncharacteristic friendliness to help secure an ally though.

[meowforbackup]

No man is an island, I'm sure you understand that much at least.

[ Thinking back, they were friends. Sure, it stemmed out of some calculated plan to gain allies and contacts and god knows what else he was fishing for back in the day when it was just him and John (that he barely saw and then he was gone) but that wasn't all there was to it. Reno wasn't the only one he was throwing out nets for. No one else got to see him in such private moments, though. ]

Not like you didn't benefit, anyway.

[idkmybffpyramid]

Never said I didn't.

[God knows Ocelot was responsible for making sure he didn't lose his goddman mind on more than one occasion, and Reno still appreciates that. Not to mention the cigarettes were pretty good too.]

Just saying it wasn't a benevolent overture of friendship on your part.

[He probably never would've respected him if it had been.]

[meowforbackup]

Like that actually exists. [ He scoffs, clearly not too impressed with the idea of benevolent friendships existing in the first place. Gawd, Reno. ] There's always a motive. Mine just happened to keep you alive.

Well. Mostly alive.

[idkmybffpyramid]

Well, you did your best. Can't really hold one failure against you.

[For a second, there's an actual smile tugging on his lips - for a brief, sliver of a moment it almost feels like how it used to be. But it's soured quickly by a sharp reminder that it's never going to be how it used to be, and he can't let himself get suckered in by that again. It's frustrating to imagine how often he's going to have to remind himself of that.]

[meowforbackup]

Especially since you can't duck for shit. How hard could it have been, avoiding a weapon that size? Like getting run over by the Shagohod.

[ This is nice. Dangerously so and maybe that was what landed him in that position with Reno in the first place. Caring a little more than he should, lost and alone, cut off from the mission without anything other than sheer survival to replace it. ]

[idkmybffpyramid]

Hell's a 'Shagohod'?

[He feels like maybe he should defend his ducking ability, but even at the time he'd been pretty adamant that he was stupid and fucked it up, so it's not like he really can.]

[meowforbackup]

A hybrid screw propelled vehicle designed to serve as a mobile nuclear ballistic missile system. [ A beat. ] Big tank. Goes boom.

[idkmybffpyramid]

Wow, thanks for simplifying. [There's a heavily implied 'asshole' at the end of that.]

That's a serious weapon. You guys in the middle of a war or something?

[Weapons dev always like to kick it up a notch when there's a war to deal with.]

[meowforbackup]

There's always a war going on somewhere. [ See also: military uniform. ] I'm a major with GRU — the Main Intelligence Directorate in the Soviet Union. [ Knowing perfectly well that this won't mean a thing to Reno, he adds: ]

...Among other things.

[idkmybffpyramid]

["How are you even a major anyway, you're like twelve." Things Reno is definitely thinking, but knows better than to say out loud.]

Military intelligence. [Hm.] Makes sense, actually.

[He figures "other things" is closer to your standard black ops work, rather than the sheer insanity of what Ocelot's life actually is, but he's not gonna push for more than that. Nor is he going to take it all on face value, but the information could be useful regardless. Or rather, anything he felt like sharing seemingly of his own volition later on. You know, just in case.]

[meowforbackup]

I'll take that as a compliment. [ Because why wouldn't he? A part of him — the part that brags — is itching to spill the whole convoluted story, about GRU, the KGB, CIA, the whole masterplan and him tugging strings, orchestrating... but he doesn't. That's a level of camaraderie and intimacy he's not ready to sign up for. Who knows, in a couple of weeks. ]

You know... I don't think I know what it is you actually do.

[idkmybffpyramid]

[It's a backhanded compliment, considering Reno's low opinion of the military, but he won't disclose that fact.]

"Data handling." [Fingerquotes and all. He considers sticking with that line for a second, but the broad strokes of what the Turks do is common knowledge to anyone on Gaia, and he's well past the "I'm just a (suspiciously capable) nice guy, caught up in a bad situation" act with Ocelot.] We manage the company's secrets. Do their dirty work. That kind of thing.

[meowforbackup]

[ The suspiciously capable nice guy act probably landed him with less respect than he was owed. Hearing that it's something more, something not quite so pathetic... that's better. ]

Wet work, I take it?

[idkmybffpyramid]

Among other things. [Kidnapping, cover-ups... Mass murder. He shrugs, a lot less sensitive to some of the things he's had to do than he was five years ago.] Anything that needs doing behind the scenes.

[meowforbackup]

Jack of all trades. That makes sense. [ Content with the sweep, Ocelot moves on through the next door. ] Anything else would've been a disappointment.

[idkmybffpyramid]

[Well then, guess he'll just follow suit.] And you know how I live for your approval.

[meowforbackup]

As well you should. [ An all too self-satisfied smirk. ]

casually just makes a bunch of stuff up

[idkmybffpyramid]

[A scoff and a roll of the eyes is all that gets as Reno follows into the next room.

Standing there, in that space. He finally manages to pinpoint what exactly it is that's been bugging him the last few days. It's not just the calm and the quiet, (though that in and of itself has been incredibly disorienting,) but the stillness of it. There's a stale quality to the air - especially in the buildings - something undisturbed about them. Like no one's been here in quite some time.

He's been ignoring it so far, passing it off to himself as just paranoia or disorientation from being back in Discedo, but going through the motions to check how secure this place is... He can't ignore his instincts yelling that this is wrong. Everything he's learned in his time tells him this place should either be full of people or rife with monsters, but aside from the occasional roach or rodent there's no sign anything's lived here in quite some time.]

I'm not just going crazy, right? [He leaves it there for a moment, but quickly thinks better of leaving that question open to Ocelot and adds:] This whole city- it's like it's just us and the pests.

you are the actual best

[meowforbackup]

[ A wise decision to not leave that question hanging — Ocelot has already opened his mouth around a snarky response when Reno continues, bringing the conversation back to the severity of the situation. It is quiet. Too quiet. They should've come across a beast by now, if not another survivor. ]

You're right. [ As unsettling a confession as the topic they're discussing. ] Something must've happened... they can't just have brought us back to a deserted city like this.

[idkmybffpyramid]

Wonder if something fucked up.

[He cants his head thoughtfully, remembering one of the Scientists (Javaid?) saying something about them not having a lot of control over who showed up. He never placed much stock in it then, too many coincidences. And now? The odds of Ocelot showing up within a couple of days of him, out of the millions of people they had to choose from? Hell, even hundreds if they're only picking out of people who'd been here before.

It seems like more than just random chance that they'd stick him here with the person who has probably caused him more stress than any other person in at least five years. Feels to him like someone made a choice.]

Or maybe they're going for round two. Harry was here a while before anyone else turned up the first time around.

[meowforbackup]

[ It does seem rather Machiavellian in nature, bringing the two of them together in an otherwise empty city, especially considering their history. You don't need to be a fan of tinfoil to start cooking up conspiracy theories for that one. He holsters his revolver slowly, as if daring a toothy beast to jump out of a broom closet, proving that Reno isn't right. ]

And was it this quiet when he was here alone? I could perhaps... perhaps buy that we've been brought in as preliminary guinea pigs, but shouldn't there be something trying to kill us?

I can't remember a day here without an ugly beast.

[idkmybffpyramid]

Every monster I ever came across came from someone's home. None of them were native.

[He takes a moment to make sure he's remembering that right, he doesn't remember anything he cared to pay attention to that someone didn't recognise. Which still doesn't entirely disprove what Ocelot's saying - far as he's aware, most Earth folks didn't come from a version with monsters unless they were embroiled in some supernatural shit, but Gaia's rife with the fucking things. Can barely move out in the plains for some beast or other trying to bite your face off.

It lends credence to the idea that this isn't an accident, in his opinion.]

If it was a side-effect of bringing us here, this place should be full of Sagahins and Cactuars. [He's still holding on to the gun, ready in case something does leap out that them. Scanning the room as he speaks for some indication that he's wrong.] Doesn't do a whole lot to kill my paranoia.

[meowforbackup]

[ That's news to him. Something he probably should've investigated way back when but could never be arsed to contemplate. Monsters were monsters, regardless where they came from. Then again... ]

Like a nuclear bomb's gone off... [ They wouldn't, would they? ]

[idkmybffpyramid]

[There's so many questions and no one to ask. He knew how it worked last time around, and he was finally starting to get a foothold on the way to circumvent it. Reno frowns, tugging on his earring while he thinks it through. There's no one else here, no sign of anything. Even if he had any idea where the Scientists had been, there's every chance they've moved since then.]

We need a setup for the short term before we start figuring out what to do about this... Situation. [It's abrupt, the way he says it. He just knows he'll drive himself crazy trying to deal with that on top of what an emotional roller-coaster the day's been so far.] No use in doing much else if we're dying of dehydration every week.