papoli

[papoli]

brain hairball about nik and price and long distance shit

cw: alcohol, unedited with an abrupt ending

nikolai is, at his core, someone who enjoys solving problems. it's what pushed him to get his pilot's license- lots of problems go away when you're thousands of feet in the air, soaring over mountaintops and away from the source(s) of your strife. he likes that he can do that for people, that his ability to fix damn near anything has made him indispensable to powerful people.

people like s.a.s. captain john price.

but now the captain has come to him with something he has no fix for- a family matter, one that john is reluctant to speak about. serious shit, clearly, based on the way he decided he needed to drown his liver about it. none of nikolai's skills or connections or tools are appropriate here, and he's completely at a loss, floundering when it feels like so much is on the line.

"sorry about the hour, nik." price says over the phone, still obviously drunk. nikolai can't help but smile fondly to himself. he can see the captain in his mind's eye- hair disheveled, moustache wet with whiskey, cheeks and nose flushed pink.

"you don't even know what time it is here, captain." nikolai teases.

"yes i do- and fucks sake, how long we have t'know each other before you finally call me john?" grouses the captain, and nikolai exhales a laugh.

"at least another week, as always." nikolai volleys. this, he knows how to do. light banter, easy jokes- this is his wheelhouse. the serious stuff- not so much. he can listen, sure, but he isn't one for advice or comforting words. he's a hard man- same as price, which makes it even tougher to feel like he's fulfilling his role as a good friend.

price doesn't reply right away, and it makes nikolai's fingers itch. it's difficult, having this conversation over the phone. he's a fairly tactile person- he'd rather the captain was here, in his arms, letting nikolai hold him close and rub his back.

"captain?" nikolai asks when the silence drags on uncomfortably long.

"'m fine, nik, just- thinkin'."

"anything you would like to share?" it's all he can do from here, and yet, it feels woefully inadequate. nikolai has flown into war zones for price, dodged missiles for him, performed some extremely illegal acts on his behalf- offering to just listen to a man talk about his troubles feels pitiful in comparison. it makes nikolai want to gnash his teeth and pull out his hair, this impotent, helpless feeling. he wants to do something, to fix this so price feels better- but he just can't.

"no, no- not right now. i'm just glad to talk with you." price says, words slurring a bit. nikolai can hear him wander through his flat over the line, cupboards opening and closing, water being poured, soft footsteps on wooden floors.

"of course, my friend. anytime." nikolai glances out the window, watching the purple-grey light of morning crest over the kastovian mountain range. "i just wish there was more i could do."

"nothin' t'be done, nik. not by me or you, much as i bloody hate it." price sighs heavily. "s'late. i should get some sleep."

"you won't." nikolai knows that price is still too fresh off a mission to have any semblance of a normal sleep schedule yet. nikolai's brain is full of small tidbits and trivia about the captain- and through these bits and pieces, he would reckon that he knows the man as well as any of his other colleagues do.

maybe more.

"no, i won't." the captain huffs a laugh. "but i should let you go, at least. it must be sunrise f'you right about now."

oh, he did know the time. interesting.

"mm. it's lovely, i wish you could see it." nikolai affirms with a grin, glancing out at the golden rays that are just starting to peek over snowy mountains, heralding in a new day.

there's a pause, and nikolai can practically hear the gears turning in the captains head. phone pressed to his ear, nikolai grabs some spare sheets and saunters down the hall to make up a spare bed that he already knows will go unused.

he won't ask now, but later on, after he's gone home to see his mother and face head-on whatever family troubles he's been dancing around tonight, price will head down to kastovia for a week or so. he won't call, he won't text, he'll just show up with a rucksack and dark circles under his eyes, using nik's spare room and cot as a place to hole up while he works things out.

"describe it for me, nik?" price asks, sounding bleary. it makes nikolai huff out a laugh.

"what?"

"tell me what it looks like, your sunrise."

if anyone else called nikolai at 5am and asked him to not only speak english, but describe a sunrise, he'd reach through the phone like an american cartoon and shoot them dead.

but this is the captain, and for the captain? he'll do anything.

"it's- you know the mountains outside my window?" price hums in the affirmative. "they look purple in the light. the sun is coming up behind them, and it has the snow glittering like a gold- what's the word? the hat for angels?"

"halo?"

"that's the one. it looks like that. grey-purple and gold everywhere. very pretty. hold on-" nikolai snaps a photo and sends it off to the captain, who hums in appreciation when he gets it. the photo isn't quite as stunning as the real thing, but it will have to do.

"s'lovely, nik." price pauses. "thank you, nik. f'pickin' up when i called."

"of course, john. anytime."

[papoli]

Soap n Ghost Expressions

Ghost is full FOAP mode because skin-tight balaclava is hard, but I'm overall happy with how expressive he is, even with a mask.

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Mafia 141 + their favorite rundown corner restaurant where you work and don’t get paid enough to ask what the suspicious smell and stains on their clothes are. does anyone else see the vision

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random gym sketch

gen z but loyal

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Soap's first ride as a backpack.

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Happy summer everyone !!

new Ghoap art you can see on my Patreon :)

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Switching fandoms so much I get routine media whiplash. Anyway I love this man and I want to throw fistfuls of rocks at him from a sniper’s vantage point.

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Drew Viktor Vektor because I love him

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Is it weird for a fictional man to become your muse?

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johnny in his fav hoodie doodle

was playing around with some textured brushes ive made :P

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We still fuck with the idea of Ghost having a glasgow smile, right?

I was thinking about Ghost barely being able to actually smile because of the damaged muscle and nerves

He doesn't want anyone to see that. The way his face looks all wrong when he smiles and eats. Half the time it hardly feels like he's speaking correctly. There's too much scar tissue in his mouth that he's bitten down on by accident too many times to count

No one should have to see him grin past the crows feet at the corners of his eyes. They don't deserve to see how scary his happiness looks

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@giftober 2024 | Day 12: "Hidden"

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I love love love the way you draw Price 💖💖💖 I would love to see anything of him that you draw, also I would love to see any NikPrice that you may come up with 👀

Thank youuuu! Here's some NikPrice "struggling" with the heat because I've been melting over here.

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nikolai who is oddly wealthy and shows his love through giving gifts. whenever he goes to another country, he always gets price the most expensive cigar he can find, buys laswell's wife the fancy wine that she likes. farah's not one for material things, so he just rides on over to urzikstan and picks her up so that she can enjoy a nice helo ride. he has too much money and time on his hands but he decides to use it for good

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Last minute adjustments. krueger/nikto (twitter)

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Krueger/Nikto sketches #6 ♥