⚕ // way to fall

[liquidouroboros]

Characters: Liquid and anyone in the Tower
Setting: The workshop and the library
Format: I'll try to match.
Summary: New (old) uniform, same sarcastic jerk.
Warnings: None yet.

[floor fifteen]
[Liquid was rarely an easy man to find in the Tower. Being a stealth operative by nature led him to make himself scarce; being highly paranoid led him to stay that way. He was rarely seen anywhere but the network, and even then only when someone amused or bewildered him enough that it was deemed a necessity to speak up. While he tended to speak loudly and at great length, there were few people these days that Liquid deemed worth the effort of speaking to at all.]

[Addressing his little 'gift' from the tower was something that took quite some time to call 'worth the effort' as well. It was something he'd discarded years before, something which held only what one could call 'sentimental value'.]

[Hatred was a sentiment, right? Then yeah, sentimental value.]

[But if that was the case--which Liquid repeatedly assured himself it was--then why bother wearing it? The old FOXHOUND uniform was nothing special: fatigues, combat boots, and a long dark brown trenchcoat. (No shirt, of course, because Liquid was the kind of man who spent around sixty percent of his time without one.) The coat was the only part worth notice; he recalled having once worn it proudly as a commander, and it was almost depressing to see what it had become. Bloodstained, singed, and with several bullet holes in it, this was definitely no longer the uniform of a commander.]

[So for reasons that perplexed even Liquid himself, he had found his way to the fifteenth floor workshop. He had nothing better to do, and simply burning the damned thing seemed impractical.]

[That was the story of how a 6' shirtless soldier with a snake and sword on his left arm came to be sewing up bullet holes in a trenchcoat he would never admit he might have still been attached to. Just a little.]

[floor three]

[It was strange to be wearing his old uniform once more; strange enough that Liquid made a mental note to just throw the damned thing back into his trunk later and never spare a thought to it again. The trenchcoat had a nice dramatic flare to it, but even the melodramatic former commander was regretting not having gotten rid of it immediately.]

[Scowling, Liquid focused on the bookshelf in front of him; there was nothing specific he was after. His current criteria was 'anything that could serve as a distraction'.]

[Damn could this place get boring sometimes.]

Comments

Third Floor

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko kept up with her library duties, as usual. Her right arm was starting to ache a little bit less, so it would probably be fine in about a month, which was good, as it was hard to fight and do things with only a left arm. Hard, but not impossible.

As she wandered around, putting books back into their proper spots, Tohko noticed a man just staring at the shelves. Not one to just leave a patron alone, Tohko walked up to him, a smile on her face.]

Good morning! Need help finding anything?

[liquidouroboros]

Hm?

[The British-accented soldier looked over his shoulder, scowl dialed back to mere annoyance.]

...No. I'm not looking for anything in particular.

[tohko_amano]

Ah, alright then. If you want, I could recommend you some good books to read.

[liquidouroboros]

[He wasn't much for social conversation, but Liquid did have at the very least a passing interest in literature reccomendations.]

[In short: sure, why not?]

Very well.

[tohko_amano]

[Not many people asked for book recommendations in the library, so actually being able to offer up books to people for once made Tohko happy.]

Alright then! If you haven't read, The Little Prince, then I really recommend that tale. You'll need it in here. It's a bittersweet story that's bubbling over with hope. You'll smile and cry at the very end of it!

If you haven't read The Master and Margarita, I recommend that one as well! It's a hilarious satire that's actually rather heartwarming in places. And you can't overlook Brave Story or The Demon Pope! Those are rather unique stories that can't really be found anywhere else.

15th floor

[morallygrayson]

[Nightwing is rummaging around for something that will a) sharpen his Batarangs and b) not kill him in the attempt. So far, the only thing suitable he's found looks rusty, and he's mumbling about Tetanus shots when he glances up and catches the sewing.

He automatically looks down at his own costume, trying decide if it's in need, before going right back to staring. Mostly in interest at the fatigues, but also because he's never really seen a man sew before.

It's... just slightly unusual, especially given the nature of the damage on the thing.]

[liquidouroboros]

What.

[The flat although somewhat demanding inquiry was one of annoyance more than anything--he'd seen people running around in much stranger than Nightwing's costume. All he really cared about was the more pressing issue of 'why are you staring at me and does this needle need to go somewhere unpleasant before you stop'.]

[...Let it never be said that Liquid was well-taught in how to deal with people.]

[morallygrayson]

Sorry.

[Not an answer, but Nightwing was rather more embarrassed than chastised. He considers the possibility that he's still in shock from landing up here, and it's throwing him off.]

That's... just unusual, I guess. I mean, says the guy in the mask, but things are... relative.

[liquidouroboros]

Believe me, I have seen far stranger masks on far stranger individuals.

[Speaking with amclear British accent, Liquid glanced over to Nightwing properly for just a second before focusing back on what he was doing, unfazed.]

One doesn't often have an unlimited supply of identical uniforms. If you can't do something this simple, what on earth do you intend to do if that one gets damaged?

[In less derisive terms, 'you should know this already'.]

[morallygrayson]

I could downplay and say it's the uniform itself I'm interested in, but I don't know if you'll believe me.

[He shrugs in acceptance of the sentiment. It can't be that hard, right?

...right? But he's beginning to realize just how much he relied on having a butler most of his life. Sure, he'd been living alone before winding up here, but he had enough clothes that if something tore, he could just toss it to the other side of the room and forget about it.]

Any of those masked individuals here? Or could I be a trendsetter if I play my cards right?

15!

[rejecting]

[Because liquid attracts lolis Orihime stepped into the workshop holding a pink shirt and a flower applique that had formerly been attached to it. At first, she went about her business, finding some sewing supplies, then found a nearby spot to sit and fix the lovely shirt Ishida had made for her.

But, she could only hold in that desire to be social with EVERYONE SHE SAW for so long, and eventually, she had stopped working and was staring at Liquid. It was another minute or so before she actually spoke.]

Hello!

[liquidouroboros]

[SERIOUSLY HAS NO ONE EVER SEEN AN ANGRY-LOOKING SOLDIER SEWING BEFORE]

...Was there something you wanted?

[And his social skills remain somewhere in the same range as the amount of sense Metal Gear makes.]

[rejecting]

[SO HE MUST BE REALLY NICE THEN RIGHT?! wait...]

Ah, no... Is that your coat?

[Oblivious smiling. Obviously, he's grumpy because he's alone. She can fix that.]

[liquidouroboros]

[orihime, honey, he's grumpy because that is his natural state of being.]

It was, once. [Dismissive, he seemed to be paying more attention to what he was doing than to her.] I'd not seen it in some time, until it just saw fit to appear sometime around Christmas.

[rejecting]

Like a present! That's kind of nice, right?

[She can tell that he's nice deep down inside. SHE CAN SEE IT.]

15th Floor

[notayoungkitten]

[Ocelot had been intentionally avoiding her son ever since that... incident. It was for the best, she knew, because the man needed his distance even with the one that she was familiar with. This one had nearly been murdered by some different version of her. It was a lot to take in.

She didn't want to acknowledge him right away, though she was rather confident that he had noticed her the moment that she had entered the workshop. She had her own reasons for being here, after all. She needed to see just what sort of materials would be available to her.]

[liquidouroboros]

If you think I don't see you there, you're quite mistaken.

[incident, what incident, he'd been spending ages carefully and COMPLETELY erasing said 'incident' from his memory.]

[notayoungkitten]

[That makes her smile.]

Of course you did. Always the sharp one.

[liquidouroboros]

Or perhaps I just know better than to let people sneak up on me.

[notayoungkitten]

And what makes you think I was sneaking up on you?

[She smirks.]

[swordedpast]

[After a while, Liquid may become aware of a presence nearby. Just a presence--it takes a few minutes before Archer speaks. Actually, he almost didn't say anything at all. He could've left this scene alone. But he recognizes his roommate, so the question that comes to mind is a bit more compelling than it otherwise might be.]

Have you ever considered just taking better care of your clothes in the first place?

[liquidouroboros]

The last time I saw this thing, I was getting rid of it rather than waste time repairing it.

[Archer had a remarkable ability to sneak up on him. Liquid was absolutely certain he didn't like that, to say the least.]

[swordedpast]

I'd ask why you're bothering now.

[He's good at making people not like him. Or at least things about him.]

But it's not like we have much else to do here.

[liquidouroboros]

[Battle of the douchebags.]

It seemed more practical to fix it in case it might be useful at some point.

[swordedpast]

Really? Do you think it's likely to start raining in the tower? It sounds like you know something I don't.