Nothing better than a good book and a sharp knife

Bonjour, welcome to my abode. I ask that you wipe your feet, act politely, and try not to pull a gun, it would not end well. I'm a spy, as you no doubt can already tell. I've been here a long time, and plan to be here for a fair bit longer. I'm open to conversation so long as you are, join be for a story, have a drink, make yourself at home.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

"Mr.C! Hello again!"

"Bella!  What a pleasant surprise.  Please, take a seat.  How has the day treated you?"

[lil-miss-romano]

“It’s been alright! Thank you so much for asking!” Bella smiled happily, taking a seat.

”But I guess I’ve also been feeling very nervous.”

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

"Really?"  He took the seat opposite her.  "What for?"

[screaminrocket-blog]

Bar Times

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

"Put the drinks on my tab."  He called after the bartender as he left.

"I only order scotch when it’s been a bit of a day. I think this counts.  Do you normally wear glasses, on the battlefield I mean?"

[screaminrocket-blog]

"Hmm? Oh, no, I’m usually fine, large colored objects aren’t hard to shoot, but reading is harder." John admitted sheepishly. "And I will make you take the payment, Spy." she added, flapping the bill before pocketing it again.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

Spy smiled, she could try all she wanted, she wasn't paying if he had anything to say anything about it.

"Makes sense, red and blue tend to stick out from brown. Still, I can't imagine management likes it, unless they don't know." He stopped himself, this was beginning to sound like a threat, time to backpedal, "Not that I have any plans to tell them."

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

Hanging around (Open)

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

"Feh" The spy dismissed the jab with a wave of his hand.

"You won’t if I do my job right."  He said with a laugh.  He gave a thought to cutting the man some slack next time they met on the field.  If he did, it’d have to be subtle, otherwise management would… get involved.

Spy paused, as he opened the driver side door.  ”Sure you don’t want a ride?”

[howd-that-turn-out-for-ya]

"Nah," Roy replied. "I need to exercise. Gets me to clear my mind." Not trusting the spy and suspecting he’d drive him outside of respawn range to do away with him wasn’t added to the conversation. Even if they had formed some type of bond, he still didn’t trust the spy. And why would he? The spy’s entire career was based on faked friendships and lies. 

"If you get stuck on a cliff again, you know where to find me," he joked as he shoved his hands in his pockets, ready to walk off. Only..something was missing. 

"Shit," he muttered, realising it must have fallen out while they were gathering the climbing equipment. Roy rushed past the spy and back down to the gully. 

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

Spy shrugged, "Fair enough.  Walk isn't too far anyway."  He assumed there was some other reasoning, but didn't care enough to think too much about it; mistrust came with the job.

"Right, if I ever find myself hanging above certain death, I'll be sure to co-"  He was interrupted my a muttered expletive and the other man almost running back where they'd came.

Spy hesitated, but decided it would be rude not to at least see if the man was alright.  "Hey, what's the rush."  He called, heading after the man.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

((Yeah so that took a bit longer than I thought it would.  School got going with a vengeance I tell ya.  If those who I had a thread going with have moved on, I of course completely understand.))

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

"Mr.C! Hello again!"

"Bella!  What a pleasant surprise.  Please, take a seat.  How has the day treated you?"

[screaminrocket-blog]

Bar Times

[screaminrocket-blog]

"Fat chance, Frenchie." John scoffed, settling on a stool, wings folded easily behind her and she smiled. She relaxed into the other’s presence and hummed, thoughtfully looking at the bar.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

"Oh come now, you saved my life, I owe you at least one drink."  He insisted.  The bartender finished speaking with the other patron and made his way over to the two, asking what he could get them.  "Scotch, on the rocks for me, and…" he looked to his companion.

[screaminrocket-blog]

John hummed in thought, squinting at some of the bottles before slipping on a small pair of glasses, helmet settled on her lap. “I think i’ll have the same.” John said, taking the glasses off, nodding as she did. I usually have whisky but I haven’t had scotch for awhile.” she said and smiled, wings rippling happily as she set a bill on the bar.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

"Put the drinks on my tab."  He called after the bartender as he left.

"I only order scotch when it's been a bit of a day. I think this counts.  Do you normally wear glasses, on the battlefield I mean?"

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

Hanging around (Open)

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

  "Exactly.  Once a spy always a spy."  He chuckled.  "I don’t jog because I hate running and football requires friends."

Both cars came into view.  He opened the trunk of the one that wasn’t stolen and threw in the pieces, brushing his hands off on each other afterwards.

"I’m quite familiar with the volumes one’s cohorts can achieve.  Part of the reason why I keep to myself.  I’m not so unfamiliar with sentry’s, required knowledge when constructing a sapper, but my knowledge lies in how to make them stop working, not work better."

[howd-that-turn-out-for-ya]

"So does rock climbin," Roy muttered, wanting to get one last jab in before they went their separate ways. 

As the spy tossed the broken gear into his car, Roy shoved his hands into his pockets. “I guess I’ll see ya around,” he muttered, unsure if this entire experience had brought the enemies closer. Would Roy have less backstabs and less sapped sentries? Probably not. 

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

"Feh" The spy dismissed the jab with a wave of his hand.

"You won't if I do my job right."  He said with a laugh.  He gave a thought to cutting the man some slack next time they met on the field.  If he did, it'd have to be subtle, otherwise management would... get involved.

Spy paused, as he opened the driver side door.  "Sure you don't want a ride?"

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

A courtesy post for all my rp partners

So if you guys haven't noticed, my time between replies has gone up absurdly.  This would be because my semester as started up and my schedule is all kinds of wonky this time 'round.

Does this mean I'm dropping the threads?  Course not.  I'm gonna be doing my darndest to keep up with them.  It does however mean that until I can settle into school, work, and homework effectively, it's gonna be slow going.  If you can, bear with me.  If not, no worries, it's cool.

[screaminrocket-blog]

Bar Times

[screaminrocket-blog]

"Fat chance, Frenchie." John scoffed, settling on a stool, wings folded easily behind her and she smiled. She relaxed into the other’s presence and hummed, thoughtfully looking at the bar.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

"Oh come now, you saved my life, I owe you at least one drink."  He insisted.  The bartender finished speaking with the other patron and made his way over to the two, asking what he could get them.  "Scotch, on the rocks for me, and..." he looked to his companion.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

Hanging around (Open)

[howd-that-turn-out-for-ya]

"Maybe for you. I don’t suppose there’s much else of a career choice for spies," he joked as he followed the spy. "Now, why didn’t you choose a normal sport, like joggin’? Or..I dunno..football." 

Roy wasn’t sure why he was going the spy’s way. Maybe he wanted a conversation with someone who wasn’t just a brute of a merc with no brains to match. 

"Me? Just goin’ for a walk to clear my head. The base can get noisy. I wanted to redesign my sentry. See, the empty shells keep gettin’ stuck in the barrel and-" Roy realised who he was talking to, "and never mind." 

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

"Exactly.  Once a spy always a spy."  He chuckled.  "I don't jog because I hate running and football requires friends."

Both cars came into view.  He opened the trunk of the one that wasn't stolen and threw in the pieces, brushing his hands off on each other afterwards.

"I'm quite familiar with the volumes one's cohorts can achieve.  Part of the reason why I keep to myself.  I'm not so unfamiliar with sentry's, required knowledge when constructing a sapper, but my knowledge lies in how to make them stop working, not work better."

[screaminrocket-blog]

Bar Times

[screaminrocket-blog]

"After you. Order whatever, I don’t mind." John smiled, helmet pulled off and tucked under her arm, revealing a near soft face under the prominent jaw line, the cheeks were soft over gentle bones, eyes a sweet honey color and hair short and slightly curled at the edges.

She looked more feminine without the helmet.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

"I hope you realize that I intend to pay for these.  The least I could do as thanks."  He said, making his way toward the bar.  He caught the bartenders eye as he sat down, waiting for the man to finish talking with another customer.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

I WANT YOU AND BELLA TO BE TOGETHER

Good for you.  I will not try to force a relationship on the wishes of a single gray face.

[soldierdile]

Long time no talk, Masnie.

—-?!

Oh Jesus Christ.

Not you.

Of all people it had t’ be you.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

 I feel like that would be bad for business.  Cross-faction relationships I can understand being a problem in their eyes, we never have as much control over our feelings as we think we do.  But just because they want to, I feel like eventually the higher ups would raise an eyebrow at that.

Well you’d think having people constantly shooting each other over hear would raise their tolerance for weird- has that been there the entire time?

[soldierdile]

Everythin’ is a problem t’ this one. They see all sorts’a shit. Like, I know me room’s bugged an’ all, most likely, but ‘M pretty sure they got a camera watchin’ me or somethin’. I fuckin’ hate it. 

…What?

They don’t know what we do, they jus’ know that we always come in freakin’ packs an’ then we stick together. Th’ first, an’ last, time I went t’ town I went a bunch’a people— Bartenders knew what they wanted an’ how much they wanted, too. They only like us mercs ‘cause we have fat wallets an’ don’t care where th’ money goes.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

Then I suppose keeping to myself this past year was a good call.  Seems like someone to steer clear of.  What happened after the first time?

Also, seriously, how long have you had that collar?  Have I just not noticed it the entire time.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

Hanging around (Open)

[howd-that-turn-out-for-ya]

Roy felt the tiniest bit of pity for the spy. Did he really see his life being so meaningless? No need to settle down, have a family? But Roy didn’t say anything. 

"I’d rather they just let us go after a few years. Like any other normal war." The thought of outliving his family sent chills down his spine. Of course, Roy didn’t go into reasoning - he wasn’t about to let the spy know about his family. It would be a perfect source for blackmail. 

"Why rock climbin’ in the first place?" he asked, noticing another hook on the ground. "No offence, but you don’t really have the body for that kinda stuff. With arms that skinny, I’m surprised you held yourself up for such a long time." 

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

Spy took the pieces that the engineer had gathered up and turned back toward his car.  "Personally, I don't need the industry to let me go.  My talents are applicable here, and it's not the worst career I could have.  I have... no need for peace."  Besides, they signed a contract, he still had a long time here before it was even an option.

"I needed an excuse to go to a secluded area and have some quiet time to myself.  The past year for me has been mind-numbingly boring.  Sometime to change up the routine.  I mostly stick to darts and pool, so something actually sporty seemed appealing at the time."

"What about you?  What were you doing out here?"

[screaminrocket-blog]

Bar Times

John settled outside the bar, landing with practiced ease and folded her wings. Now usually the sight of a winged woman dressed as a soldier would be strange, but few gave her a second glance as she waited patiently for the Spy to arrive.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

The car pulled into the gravel lot, and spy climbed out, allowing himself a moment to stretch.  He made for the bar's entrance, waving to his compatriot as he neared her.  "Shall we?"

[soldierdile]

Long time no talk, Masnie.

—-?!

Oh Jesus Christ.

Not you.

Of all people it had t’ be you.

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

You’ve got me there.  Administration has never exactly been open with their practices… or trustworthy for that matter.  Though they’ve never been the type to kill their employees without reason.  Your friends haven’t given then a reason, have they? 

Actually I didn’t know they cared where splices go.  Are all splices forced to stay on the base?  Was that in your contract?

[soldierdile]

Obviously you don’t know how th’ Admin here works. If they want, they’ll kill someone. Been havin’ cross-faction relationships? They’ll kill you an’ y’r friend. Don’t matter how innocent it is.

'Course they care where I go. I can't exactly jus' walk into th' nearest town an' buy shit without people screamin' 'bout a bloody monster bein' on th' loose. They'll call them coppers on me. Damn civvies. It ain't in me contract no, but it sure as hell is pretty obvious with this thing ‘round me neck.

[ The Sniper shifts her bandanna so that the tracking collar is easily within the Spy’s view. Now that he’s seen it, she carefully adjusts the veil so that the ‘necklace’ is hidden from any wandering eyes. ]

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

 I feel like that would be bad for business.  Cross-faction relationships I can understand being a problem in their eyes, we never have as much control over our feelings as we think we do.  But just because they want to, I feel like eventually the higher ups would raise an eyebrow at that.

Well you'd think having people constantly shooting each other over hear would raise their tolerance for weird- has that been there the entire time?

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

Hanging around (Open)

[howd-that-turn-out-for-ya]

The spy had a point. What did one life matter to the company? “I heard we’re in this war forever. With respawn workin’ as good as it is, we’ll be here until the end of the world.” That was a terrible thought. 

Roy offered the spy a handful of broken clamps, springs and screws he found among the grass. “Hope that wasn’t a rental,” he said, trying to lighten the mood. 

[ask-the-well-read-spy]

"At this point, as long as I keep getting a paycheck, I'm fine. Life holds nothing else for me."  Besides, if he ever felt like hanging it up, he had a dozen escape plans set up in advance, so Spy was set.  

"Though I once heard a rumor that because of the energy that it takes to respawn us, we aren't actually immortal.  We're supposedly still aging, just at about a sixth of the normal rate.  So sixty years from now, we'll only be ten years older.  It's all hearsay though."  In his mind, it brought up the idea of TFI retirement plans, which was funny in it's own right.  Their pension would probably add up to a single bullet... to the head.

"Oh it was," he laughed, taking the hooks.  "Though after it nearly killing me, I plan to beat my refund out of the shop owner if I have to."