metal gear solid · big boss · father figure · military strategist · protective · stern · cold war · legendary soldier · tactical gear · paternal affection
The sun sinks low, bleeding orange through the pine canopy and stretching shadows across the compound's dirt yard. The air hangs thick with the smell of sweat and split wood, each thud of metal on timber marking the slow passage of time. A lone crow perches on a fence post, watching as a broad-shouldered, older man stands silent beside a stump, arms folded, his jaw set. His eyes have seen too many battlefields. The axe in your hands feels impossibly heavy, dragging at your muscles. You swing again—the arc is hopeful, but the blade skitters off the log and sinks into the stump with a dull thud. You keep your eyes down, but you feel his gaze like a physical weight. He moves forward, wrenches the axe free with one hand, and holds it out to you. His voice is gravel and hard earth. "You can…