#Buff mw

[gavramous]

i feel like gaz is the only person willing to listen to music outside his usual taste. as opposed to literally everyone else on the team. he recommends an album that came out that year to soap that he KNOWS soap will like if he takes his head out of his own ass for one second and exits his comfort zone. he ends up having to bribe soap to get him to agree to listen to it and, the next day, when soap sits down for breakfast he admits he actually really liked the album and gaz is like YOU ASSHOLE i knew you fucking would!!

soap asks if gaz has tried to get ghost, or price to listen to something new, and gaz is like do you really think price would willingly listen to anything made after the 80's?

[television--addict]

Rip fennec you would have fixed so many cars had you lived long enough

Yes this is a Percy Jackson oc

No I haven’t read past the first book

She’s for an au im writing with my friend who actually DOES know how Percy Jackson works

[realmidnightwaffers]

A Female!?!?!?!

This is Buff!

She is a Lesbian with she/her pronouns!

She is (as in the name) really Buff but is actually a big ol' girly-girl

She is voiced by No one yet but I do have some one I'd like to ask!

Fun fact Buff does have a girlfriend (coming soon >:) )

Buff is 6''2 and 18 years of age

Another fun fact is that she LOVES Sanrio 100%.

[milkteaarttime]

I think one of the funniest things about the cod fandom is how we see the height of the men. Its basically the “How girls see 5’11 vs 6’0” meme.

Take Soap and Ghost for example. Through the various different sources taking abt their height(for the 2022/2023 MW series). Im gonna say Soap is 5’10 and Ghost is 6’3. And Soap is by no means small. Man is buff af, beefy boi. But next to Ghost he does look smaller just bc of how big Ghost is. But it’s so funny to see ppl call Soap a short king. Especially when PHILLIP GRAVES IS ONLY 5’8??? Like if Soap is short king. Phillip is microscopic.

Same thing with the CoD Ghosts men. Everyone in the team is 6’0-6’2 ish and then theres just Kick who is 5’11.

I love it.

[theotei]

One of my OC for CoD (MW of course, eheheh)

Linda 'Dynamo' Stone-Jackson (second is only for meme about poor Jackson from 1st game in this series)

Rank - second lieutenant.

She is calm by nature. Despite her weak expression of emotion, Linda is quite good-natured. She also has impressive physical strength and mainly prefers close combat. Linda usually plays the role of an instructor during drills, quickly erasing the grins from the faces of the recruits, driving them to the fullest and at such moments turning into a typical stereotypical drill sergeant from films who screams at the top of her lungs and tests the psyche of the recruits.

Linda usually wears a balaclava over half her face, leaving only her eyes, ears, forehead, and hair exposed, so as not to show her scars.

Linda is a teacher by education. In the past, she was a teacher of health and safety at a military school, but with the onset of difficult times and the whole political situation, she went into active service. (also she wasn't so buff in past, ahah)

Fun fact: one day she beat up a bear, lol

Also +bonus sketch

[professionalranter31]

The factions within Overwatch piss me off, not because they exist but because even in lore it doesn’t really feel like they’re used that often beyond Talon and Overwatch

Like with Mirrorwatch most of the skins are Talon because we have so many Overwatch heroes and so few Talon heroes that the distribution is this

MW! Talon Skins

Mercy (Mythic), Tracer (Legendary), Reinhardt (Legendary), Brigitte (Epic), Ana (Legendary), Zarya (Epic)

MW! Overwatch Skins

Doomfist (Legendary), Widowmaker (Legendary), Sombra (Epic)

Three skins for the MW Overwatch

Then you get into the distribution of the heroes between the roles

The Junkers have three Tank heroes (Junker Queen, Roadhog, Wrecking Ball) and one Damage hero (Junkrat) which is wildly uneven and despite the fact that the Junkers living in a literal wasteland is the perfect setting for a Support Hero we haven’t heard anything about a Junker Support coming in the future which I feel is dumb

Then with Blackwatch they have three Damage heroes (Reaper, Genji, Cassidy) and one Support hero (Moira [it might be two because there’s some hint that Mercy used to be the Blackwatch medic but I haven’t seen any lore material for that so I can’t properly say]) with no word of they ever had a Tank, which just feels odd

Then the Shimada clan having two Damage heroes (Genji, Hanzo) and one Support hero (Kiriko) and no Tank

The Deadlock gang only technically has one hero representing them but the other does technically still represent them even if he left (Ashe, Cassidy) with no Support or Tank heroes representing them

The Shambali only has one Tank (Ramattra) and one Support (Zenyatta) representing them with no damage hero

Vishkar also doesn’t have a Tank hero, the Horizon Lunar Test Subjects only have two representing them and both are Tanks, Oasis only has one hero representing them with Moira, the Inti are only represented with Illari (like are there seriously no other people in the OW world that would step up and help Illari defend their tribe she’s fucking 18 why does she have to defend them on her own!?), Venture is the only one representing the Wayfinders Society, Torbjorn and Brigitte are the only ones representing the Ironclad Guild with no Tank, and so on

If we had a campaign or something that helped expand on these factions more maybe I wouldn’t have these feeling but they keep introducing such interesting factions with the heroes and then just not expanding on them, hell some of them have been since day one like Vishkar and yet they don’t have a map representing them

I want more heroes that expand and introduce more factions and parts of the Overwatch world but I’d also like to know more about the factions we can actually play as and since we’re not getting any sort of campaign or solo hero missions we need heroes that can actually reveal more about the factions, especially ones that fall into roles that these factions don’t have heroes in

This was more of a rant than anything but let me know what you think

Also this would help with my idea of faction buffs but I’m too tired to talk about that

[losingmymindrn]

BESTIE BESTIE HEAR MW OUT OKAY???

Lucy Gray x Big Buff asf Coral where they play chicken fight against either Snowjanus or like mizzen and tanner/treech :}

I LOVE BUFF WOMEN AND I JUST THINK ITD BE CUTE OK

YESS YES YES YES!!!! CORAL WOULD BE SUPER COMPETITIVE WITH IT AS WELL!! plus she js loves showing how strong she is and picking up her gf🤭 (Lucy gray loves it as well) I feel like they would go against snowjanus + tanner/treech bc coral likes to make fun of Coryo and she just gets annoyed w/ tanner n treech sometimes and just wants to put them both on their asses and I feel like she would js be wrestling with Mizzen in the water and letting him win (for the most part)

Coral can and will pull everyone down into the depths cuz she gets a kick out of it

[foundinfantasy]

TS4 Lovestruck: Xtras

As a proud hater who loves to rant, I'm actually surprised by how ready and excited I am for this new EP. From when it was first leaked all the way up until the livestream, I was convinced it was a glorified GP... and it still is tbh, BUT after the livestream and with EA content flooding my feeds, I'm pleasantly surprised by some aspects of Lovestruck and overflowing with ideas for what I would've wanted, what I would've changed, and cc/mods that could come from the community via updates to existing mods or new mods.

What I like:

Consequences / Autonomy

Lore & Townies

New TV stations

Poly and Ace representation

CAS and Traits

World

Career and Romance Skill

Romantic Satisfaction and Dynamics

Cuddling, Feeding Bites, Flowers, Axolotls!

BG Update (Boundaries, Curved Pools, Copy/Paste, Neighborhood Stories, Set Partner in CAS)

What I Dislike:

Dating System

Eyelashes (not being for all ages - this is just weird imo)

What's Mid:

Cupid's Corner

Turn Ons / Turn Offs

Drama

Crosspack? [and Occults?]

Build/Buy (but only b/c of below)

Gameplay Items (Bed and Blanket)

Longwinded, ranting opinion below [from someone who hasn't touched the pack and will probably update this when I do; this is a vibes based assessment]

MY LIKES

All-in-all, it looks like a great pack (ie all the things I like, which has a longer list of likes than the last four EPs) and it feels like the first EP in a while where things will happen TO my sim as a consequence of their actions OR at the whims of other sims around them.

Even though I really like it, it's too themed around YA+ with very little teen integration (which tbf makes sense for a love pack) but first crush/supervised dating could've been great for child+ and of course, there wouldn't be turn ons and turn offs for kids but rather regular (but some new new) likes and dislikes of superheroes, princesses, dirt, art, music, or "pick on crush" interaction and "why did I do that" buff, or even having it be completely random for them would've been better than nothing.

If I had to nitpick at my likes: the world could've added a new flower or harvestable, the career could've been semi active and include cuddle therapy and random clients to help [and could work similar to the detective career during "interrogation"], and [dips into what I find mid] the consequences could've added more DRAMA for sims outside of a romantic relationship... meaning: MESSY. I want to give my sim the opportunity to lie on other sims' relationships and cause DRAMA without having to kiss or flirt with the partner sim directly and/or tell the truth about seeing a sim cheat on their partner [similar to Trash Another Sim but with new pop up response] and have this new aspect count towards the Villainous Valentine aspiration.

MY DISLIKES

The update to the dating system is bad. It's not that different from what it was before just more micro-manage like MWS. But also the date activities just seem so vague? Does a Fitness date's goaled activities include throwing the ball around, kicking the ball together, playing basketball, climbing the mountain, going for a jog, etc? Will Food dates give goaled activities to eat at a restaurant or cook together or order in?

And the missing activities imo:

No reading/studying [for my nerd sims?]

No shopping [for my sugar baby sims]?

No laundry [for my lazy multi-tasking sims]?

Also why isn't going to do Pier activities or Boba/Thrift a part of the goal in a date or their own options?

I just don't think out of everything this pack could've included we needed the dating system if it was just going to be the exact same in the end, BUT I will say, I do like that you can extend a date, ask how they're enjoying it, and bail on the date. Plus, with all the autonomy maybe my Sim will get ditched if it's going poorly?

And why can't infants, toddlers, and children get lashes!? Explain!

THE MID

Cupid's Corner not allowing you to catfish or lie about traits is such a missed opportunity and this combined with the Turn Ons and Turn Offs not including more physical attraction *sigh* TS4 team has woked too close to the sun.

Catfishing [while the costume is hilarious and beautifully detailed] could've added more consequences, awkward and mean interactions, a "looking past the lies" chance, and/or be another way to die from embarrassment or anger.

Physical attributes didn't even need to include a Fit or Fluffy option; Beards, Piercings, Accessories, *VOICE*, Eye color [maybe my sim only likes yellow eyes] Makeup, Hair Length, Hats, Tattoos, [Occults*] all come in game and can contribute to attraction without needing to be as sexualized as b**b size, butt size, p*nis size, or body size [which is mod territory]

As far as the other new CAS categories go:

Way of Life could've had: Fame [maybe it'll be there when played with Get Famous], Messy/Toxic [b/c some people just are and like it], Geek [not the same as Academic, will not explain], Spiritual/Devout [mod territory], Introversion/Extroversion [not the same as Interpersonal], and Rustic [not the same as disliking Media and Tech but living off the grid, canning, etc.]

Romance Styles could've had: Dates/Travel [again, sugar baby sims], Conversation [simple, don't get why this wasn't included automatically; if flirting can be a turn on so can talking], Compliments [same], Arguments/Mean [messy sims and booktok girlies, enough said], and Kinks/Fetishes [if physical intimacy and woohoo can be different, then kinks/fetishes and woohoo can be different, and most definitely mod territory]

MOD REQUEST: I'm going to need turn on/turn offs or likes/dislikes for Simdipendent, Llamacrat, Plumbobican [b/c trauma]

This doesn't seem like the pack to have a lot of cross pack play but [what is or what could've been] I'm mostly interested in how this will change mates for werewolves, any added attraction between occults, or maybe the occult sim isn't into human sims.

Outside of occults, we're getting official "gift flowers" which is somehow going to be different from making a bouquet and gifting it romantically. Will there be or could there be a buff for gifted handmade flower bouquets? Will we be able to craft the new bouquets if we have Seasons?

All of this is doubtful.

Build/Buy is meh, so many bars and bar backs [there's a low bar joke in here], highlights: canopies and curtains are amazing, but everything feels small and it leads into my MAIN problem with the gameplay items. Love the nostalgia but it's a bed ... that vibrates... and it's a blanket. Neither of these items are big enough. Even if you try to include the commercial lot closet [duplicate from Get Together] and/or the trunk [basically a dresser] it's STILL too small.

There's nothing new-new like we got with the electricity/water in For Rent, the treehouse in Get Together, or even the wine maker in Horse Ranch and if it would've included THAT it would've made this an EP for me [though of course, not an EP by TS3 standards].

I understand the budget probably went to the new animations but I would've rather had a new activity over the dating system.

WHAT'S MISSING

Outside of catfishing, drama, and physical attraction...

The dumbbells would've been a great chance for more [especially with Gym dates being a thing] and a nice at home item instead of getting a treadmill or a weights machine [also when are we going to get a modern walking pad].

Magazines / Media App - some way to develop likes and dislikes and turn ons and turn off through gameplay that's random so you don't have to pick it through CAS.

WE JUST NEEDED REGULAR ACITIVITES [I appreciate Sims trying to mature for once but a big date item would've completed this pack for me]: Billiards, 1v1 Soccer with a Net, Mini Golf, Ax Throwing [could've been similar to horseshoe or darts], Hot Air Balloon Ride [ where they go up kinda like with the rocket] Pottery [With an instructor's station similar to Yoga, and yes, a Ghost moment], and Dual or Duel Guitar Hero video game [this would've been so cute]

Long Distance Dating. Kind of leans into some of the catfishing idea and only really works with a mod to restrict sims from one world walking around in another world. I don't think this works automatically as I can just see you spend all that time talking to your match via texts or calls and then you go out to a random lot and they just show up and strike up a convo with your sim even though they've technically never met.

Walking/Hiking while Holding Hands [literally would've cried]

While funny and classically quirky Sims shenanigans, the Seductive Dance needs to chill or at least have a loop that's just two people dancing closely.

(no, not this, ^^^^ this is mod territory, for some reason)

(^^^ these are not) - why were the Sims standing so far apart?

CC REQUESTS

Those new stalls; I want all of those items as separate decor.

HONORABLE MENTIONS/QUESTIONS

Why do we have a Music category likes/dislikes that breaks down into the music genres/types but not similar types for Sports, Books, TV Shows, Movies, Food, Weather, and Games?

Does anyone else think the blurb lore about the " lawn gnome sculptors" could be a pottery hint? What about all the music signs, a bands hint? And the sports jersey, nacho libre wrestler fit, and dumbbells, a sports hint? I think the butterflies are too obvious to be fairy hints, but who knows?

[asburyparkhq]

mw songs / character types?

Songs: Too Sweet by Hozier, ceilings by Lizzy McAlpine, Before I Forget by Slipknot, Soak Up the Sun by Sheryl Crow, Dance The Night by Dua Lipa, obsessed by Olivia Rodrigo, Greedy by Tate McRae, Oh No by Grandson

Character Types: airheads, facades, broken mirrors, old money, new money, benevolent characters, characters who are nothing but trouble, introverted characters, movie buff characters, scream queens

[yumethefrostypanda]

[catholicjinx]

youre drawing buff amongus men in art class????_os-asfiedsigjofd i almost got expelled for drawing a guy with long hair

THAT WASNT MW IT WAS MY FRIEND

[ultravioletsoul]

Maybe an unpopular opinion regarding Makarov/Character Analysis (part 1)

Sometimes I read comments of CoD fans saying that Vladimir always was an asshole for apparently no reason, that he was the typical Russian cliché villain doing cliché bad things (such an original concept, I know). And while I do agree that for the most part the games didn’t do a very good job at giving him any significant depth (and he acts like a jerk, it’s true), I also have to say that he’s probably one of the most misunderstood characters in the series. Not because I think he was some poor innocent man who did nothing wrong, but because his villainous portrayal tends to take the spotlight every time he’s onscreen and we literally cannot see anything else beyond that. Which, of course, makes him look very one-dimensional since the game always has to remind you in oh-not-so-subtle ways how evil he is.

The story of MW never goes into full detail as to what drove him to do the horrible things he did. And it’s not clear unless one bothers to analyze some obscure information hidden in the loading cutscene of No Russian and does a little research on the side. In all honesty, I wish his story would have been better explained and developed by other means than just a slideshow of newspaper articles and an overview of his dossier. I would have been content with a special trailer that actually explained his background, rather than have him say some pseudo Sun Tzu lines in a few teasers and let that be the entirety of his character development but okay… I guess this was as far as Infinity Ward’s story-telling capabilities went back then.

Sure, you may think: who the hell cares about his motivations? He was an evil mofo and needed to be put down. Well, unfortunately for these people, I exist and I do care because Vladimir is one of my faves— perhaps my most favorite character in the entire MW universe. And though I like him because he’s an unapologetic baddie, that’s not the only reason.

Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Vladimir is this super complex character that nobody else gets, but there are definitely some elements that give him a few extra layers and they’re worthy of being analyzed.

Beware, this is going to be a long post and will contain a few historical references. This isn’t a comprehensive breakdown, and I’ll probably make a lot mistakes along the way because I’m not a history buff by any means (please, don’t yell at me ;A;), but it should be a rough explanation of what I think led Vladimir to such extremist views and why I think he’s a good antagonist in Call of Duty. Also it could be a helpful reference for anyone who wishes to write a story about him.

I’m not claiming this is the most accurate interpretation of Vladimir, or that it’s the only valid one, but if any of this information comes in handy or offers a different insight into his character then I’ll consider my mission accomplished.

Without further ado, here we go!

Tagging @sunset-and-periwinkle​​​ and @renegad3spectre​ because they may be interested in this post :v

1. No Russian

So one of the first recollections that come to mind when thinking about MW2 is the infamous mission of No Russian. This kind of content was so violent and crude for its time that it caused quite the controversy and it still divides the opinion between people who think videogames should push boundaries and people who believe there are things that shouldn’t be portrayed in such an offhanded way. Whether including that level in MW2 was a good or terrible choice is not the point of this post. However, I’ll share my personal experience.

Me, back when I played this mission I didn’t give it much thought. I mean… it didn’t have this serious impact on me as I’m guessing the developers intended, from what I’ve read, but that’s mainly because I wasn’t mature enough to make a proper assessment of the story-line and to me CoD games weren’t about deep narratives either. Keep in mind that I was an immature kid and I just wanted to play a game that my brother enjoyed. So yes, without much thought I breezed through No Russian, accomplished the objectives and it wasn’t until the end of the mission that I realized I’d been played like a damn fiddle.

And my first reaction to seeing Makarov killing me was “bro, I thought we were allies”. Never mind the carnage that had ensued moments ago, never mind that I had participated in it. I was more offended by this unexpected 'betrayal' and well... imagine how stupid I was for thinking Vladimir could be my friend. The fact that Allen was a CIA agent completely eluded me and I didn’t understand a freaking thing of what was going on but that was on me. I shouldn’t have been playing those games at my young age because evidently I wasn't ready to handle adult themes like that.

Replaying this mission now that I’m older made me realize how messed up it was, and maybe not for the most obvious reasons. Yeah, innocent people die all around us and that's something we cannot stop from happening, no matter what we do. However, it’s not really necessary for us to hurt civilians to complete the level (we’re not punished for not doing it) so we can be simple witnesses to the brutality ensuing in front of us, which is as equally messed up perhaps. You can even skip the whole mission altogether if you want to, so no biggie: you’re spared the nightmare fuel and you can happily head to Brazil to capture Alejandro Rojas. Heck, you’re even rewarded a glimpse of Ghost ready to torture Alejandro’s assistant and all is back to normal, yay!

However, when you think about it, from the perspective of the story, Allen wasn’t given the option to skip anything. He was pushed to commit a vile deed and ordered to follow Makarov’s lead no matter how morally questionable those actions turned out to be in the end. Shepherd told him that this mission would cost him a piece of himself and he was right about it. Had Allen survived, I’m pretty sure he would have been scarred for life after what he did. I don’t know how he could have lived with himself knowing that he slaughtered all those innocent people. Vladimir killing him off was kind of… an act of mercy in a way, though of course we know he had completely different intentions for doing so.

So people may wonder, why the heck Vladimir carried out that massacre? Some common opinions I read is because he’s an asshole, because he’s crazy, because he wants to make a statement, because he enjoys being a psychopath and hurting others. All these may be true to some extent, we’ll never know for sure, but it’d be very simplistic to just leave it at that without taking into consideration other elements of the story that were left implicit.

I’m going to say that, from my perspective, I didn’t get the impression Makarov enjoyed killing those civilians (but hear me out, neither did he regret it!). It would have been pretty easy to make him this psycho that slaughters people with a smile on his face, but that’s not what we see in No Russian… and perhaps it’s even more terrifying when you realize how casual he is about the whole affair. You really get the impression that he’s a man on a mission and he carries it out in a very no-nonsense manner, does it all with a straight face, without batting an eyelash, without any trace of doubt about what he’s doing, not even a hitch in his voice, absolutely no emotion whatsoever. His actions, his words, his whole demeanor, all scream about being a professional at what he does for better or for worse.

He didn’t know these people, he had no quarrel with them, and yet he killed them all in cold blood. Why? Because they were stepping stones to his goals and there was a very established purpose for that op. To the rest of the world, yea, it  may seem like there’s no logical reason for what he did other than he’s nuts but, honestly, Vladimir could care less about that. The only thing that matters to him are the results.

Even if the whole world thinks that he’s insane, in his mind this was the most reasonable course of action. To him it had to be done, there was no other way, and he didn’t hesitate to pull the trigger when the time came because he was truly convinced it was the right thing to do. The fact that he (a criminal who’s wanted by the entire world and probably cannot afford to leave himself out in the open) participated in that brutal event shows the utmost importance it had to his plans. Vladimir personally oversaw and carried out the operation, he didn’t leave anyone else in charge because of the very special meaning it had for him. He says “for Zakhaev” before engaging FSB units because this incident would mark the beginning of a new chapter in Russian history, a chapter Vladimir would write in honor of the man who was his friend and mentor— the man who started it all, who gave him a cause to believe in and fight for.

He definitely had his reasons for what he did. They were the wrong reasons of course, but Vladimir didn’t act on a whim nor did he waste his time on matters that didn’t advance his agenda. He didn’t start a war nor massacred hundreds of people at that airport for simple fun and without a solid motive (though this isn’t by any means a justification, it still was a pretty shitty thing to do). We all know that it was a false flag operation, as he wanted to put the blame on the US for the attack. His intention was sparking a war between Russia and America and he was willing to achieve that by any means necessary, even if thousands of his countrymen had to die, even if he had to make common cause with Shepherd (we don’t know under which circumstances and terms), a man who by all accounts should have been his worst enemy— a man who had set up an entire task force for the sole purpose of hunting Vladimir down. And don’t get me wrong, they weren’t buddies, they still hated each other’s guts and would kill the other in a heartbeat, but they were willing to work together towards the same goal because none of them would succeed on their own.

So, ultimately, Vladimir’s objective was riling up the public opinion to push for an invasion of America and provide the Russian government a ‘legitimate’ reason to do it. Does this have 9/11 commentary undertones? Well, I’m not gonna be the judge of that but it could be a possibility.

However, to understand this moment, we’ll have to go much further back in time.

2. His Childhood

This is going to be a huge oversimplification of Soviet history, I’m afraid, so my apologies in advance. Don’t take my word as the absolute truth, this is barely scratching the surface.

According to the information seen in No Russian, and Return to Sender, little Volodya was born on April 10th (not sure how reliable is the wiki since I was convinced he was born on October 4th *shrugs*) of 1970 in Ivanovo, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. Or for those who, like me, don’t like those long names, better known as Soviet Russia.

As a curious fact, Ivanovo is known as the City of Brides because it was a very important center of textile industries in the Soviet Union that attracted many young women seeking work. It also has an important historical significance as hotbed for revolutionary activity in czarist Russia and was the city where supposedly the first Bolshevik assembly took place (earning the nickname of City of the First Soviet). During the Second War it proved invaluable as a front city, located close to enemy lines, receiving refuges and injured soldiers of the Red Army that treated their wounds in the many hospitals that were set up for that purpose. Also, in addition to producing armament and fighting in the war, the citizens made good use of their industries and donated huge quantities of fabric to make millions of uniforms.

Back to the topic, next thing we have to wonder is what Vladimir’s life was like as a child born in the 70s. We don’t know much about it and it’s never even mentioned anywhere in the game but, if we had to hazard a guess, he most likely had a relatively happy childhood— raised like any average Soviet kid at the time. His parents were maybe workers, maybe doctors, maybe engineers, maybe teachers, maybe in the military, but they surely weren’t bad people and they wanted their son to be a decent member of society. They didn’t raise him to be a criminal, they didn’t shape him into a monster. If Vladimir had at least one grandfather alive, then he would have served during the Great Patriotic War (a term used in Russia and other former Soviet republics to refer to the conflict in the Eastern Front during WWII). And as a kid, Volodya probably grew up in a typical khrushchyovka apartment with his family. It wasn’t very luxurious but, you know, it wasn’t so bad either and it was home sweet home for them.

Now you gotta imagine what growing up in the Soviet Union was like. Education was heavily influenced by the Communist party and children swam in a sea of propaganda. No, no matter what western propaganda says, they didn’t teach him to hate the west as a kid. Vladimir didn’t want to wipe out Americans from the face of the Earth or skin them alive as you probably imagined at some point, but from a young age he was taught to be proud of being born in the greatest country in the whole world and he pitied the ‘oppressed’ American workers for their lack of Soviet blessings, for being unable to stand up to their imperialist overlords. Heck, this was a popular song in the 80s, when he was about ten years old and probably every Soviet kid sang it at school, including him.

Speaking about that, at school he must have been in contact with several ethnic groups— remember that the industries attracted a lot of people to Ivanovo, particularly women, from many places all over the Soviet Union and, even to this day, Ivanovo is a multi-cultural city with over a hundred nationalities. It’s safe to say that Vladimir would have never given it much thought if someone wasn’t an ethnic Russian nor would he have cared. There weren’t nationalities or differences back then. Everyone was a Soviet citizen and everyone was equal or so it would seem at least, if you ignore the multiple genocides, mass killings, deportations and other horrors of the Stalin era before the Soviet Union adopted a more moderate domestic policy and started a process of de-stalinization after his death— eliminating his cult of personality and other institutions that allowed him to hold autocratic power.

This was also known as the Khrushchev Thaw period, and it was during this time that repression and censorship began to become more lax thanks to Nikita Khrushchev’s policies, and millions of prisoners were released from the gulags. It also opened up the Soviet Union to some economic reforms, trade with other countries, as well as educational and cultural exchanges in the form of foreign uncensored books and movies, music, dances, fashion, and new forms of entertainment in national television. So all this would seem a shift towards a more positive outlook for the Soviet citizens.

Our little Volodya shared and played with other kids in his neighborhood in the playgrounds of the apartment buildings, maybe fell off those Soviet swings and whacked his head a few times but that was okay, he still had fun and laughed and cried like any other child. He grew up listening to old pop music, synth (because people just didn’t listen to patriotic music all the time) and watching Bollywood movies which were all the rage at the time in the USSR as an alternative to western cinema. He had friends, a family that loved him. He spent weekends at the dacha (cottages outside the city) working the land with his family, growing fresh produce. He probably had an affectionate babushka that looked after him, told him many stories, and cooked hearty meals for him because she was a genius at handling finances and feeding the family. She surely was a god-believing woman despite the widespread atheism in a society where the word of Marx and Lenin had an almost religious significance, who took no shit from anyone, and who would  chew Vladimir’s head off if he so much went out under-dressed in a breezy day. Even as a grown ass man, she would still intimidate him because you don’t mess with babushkas!

Like a good Soviet kid he was taught to never lie, to help his parents and respect the work of others, to have good manners and not be a spoiled brat, to be considerate and kind to his elders, encouraged to be resourceful, to do things by himself and not expect others to come to his aid, to improve his culture and intellect, to study hard and become someone who would help build the future of socialist paradise. He probably collected silly trinkets like many kids do, he spent his time learning to carve wood and other crafts, reading about the great war heroes and the communist leaders. Year after year he played zarnitsa, a war game for kids and a very popular activity in the Young Pioneers (the Soviet ‘Boy Scouts’, so to speak) that trained young generations for military life, compulsory for every man, cultivating their love for the USSR and preparing them to defend the homeland from the enemy.

Life back then could be tough at times, true, but he must have been quite happy and there was joy to be had. He was raised to be patriotic, a good communist, living in what he believed was a place of peace where all were equals and all were comrades. Having little contact with western influences, he grew up listening to a carefully woven narrative and was told of the decadence of warmonger capitalists that feared the spread of communism so much that they would wage countless wars to stop it and destroy other peace-loving nations. So much could be argued regarding this statement, sure, but this is what he was told and it was during a time when Operation Condor (the US-backed campaign of state terrorism and wave of right-wing dictatorships in Latin America during the 70s-80s) was in full swing to eradicate communism and any Soviet influence from South America. Not to mention the many proxy wars waged throughout these decades, as well.

“For years the western hypocrisy has made the world a battlefield.”

Little Octobrists and Young Pioneers were a thing and the Communist ideology was still going strong even if some started to quietly question it. Not that many did, at any rate, since the dreaded KGB kept a close eye on everyone so dissidents wouldn’t spread the wrong ideas in the Soviet society. Well, at that time maybe you wouldn’t be sent to a gulag just for saying bad things but someone would ‘talk’ some reason into you and there would be subtle threats to tone your attitude down or else your life and that of your relatives could be screwed. Don’t say this, don’t do that, the walls have ears and you’re being watched.

You have to keep in mind that he also grew up under the constant threat of nuclear annihilation. And much like American kids, Vladimir would have been greatly concerned about nuclear armageddon and be familiarized with procedures to follow in case such a terrible event came to pass.

The US and Russia pointed nukes at each other for many years and the NATO military exercises of Able Archer— at the peak of Cold War hysteria— didn’t help matters. These were annual exercises but that year of 1983, new elements never seen before had been introduced, and then there was the menace of the new Pershing II nuclear missiles that had been recently deployed in Western Europe. If launched, these would be able to reach their target in less than ten minutes (faster than any other missile known until then), landing with high accuracy and virtually no warning.

Until then the only thing stopping a nuclear war was the threat of mutually assured destruction, but these missiles tipped off the scales in favor of the west, since the Soviets would have no way to retaliate if their command centers or even their own missile launch facilities were targeted. So the Soviet Politburo was very concerned about this situation, in a time when president Reagan poured great efforts to fight the Brezhnev Doctrine (which established the legitimization of military interventions in Eastern bloc states, or any country that became a threat to international socialism) and show the world that the USSR wasn’t indestructible.

The increase in realism of these exercises, the strained relationship with the US under the Reagan administration, previous psychological operations, participation of heads of government in the exercise, and recent deployment of these new ballistic missiles, made the Soviet military believe that the US and NATO were preparing for a preemptive strike and that the exercise was nothing but a ruse. In response, the Soviets readied their nukes, air forces in East Germany and Poland were put on high alert to any funny business, and Soviet intelligence monitored the situation closely for signs of an impeding attack.

After nine days, the exercises came to an end and that was probably the time both countries were the closest to nuclear annihilation since the Cuban missile crisis of 1962.

So in those years, Vladimir was living under the administration of Leonid Brezhnev famously known for his era of stagnation and also for his passionate kisses (the famous socialist fraternal kiss, you guys :v). Though it’s worthy of being mentioned that in the early 70s the Soviet Union had reached the peak of international power and prestige.

Nikita Khrushchev, Brezhnev’s predecessor, had promised that by the 80s communism would be a reality and maybe that wasn’t so hard to believe at the time. The economy was growing at a rate of about 3% annually and things had started off relatively well in the mid 60s when Brezhnev assumed office. There was full employment, even minimal wage was sufficient to afford basic necessities, healthcare was a given, education in all levels was free and once you finished university or a vocational course, there was a job waiting for you. Things were pretty much settled for everyone. There wasn’t a lot to worry about, not many uncertainties. It was a pleasant predictive life for the most part. Not perfect, by any means, and it had its difficulties but Vladimir’s family felt protected and safe and they had great hopes for the future.

What went wrong then?

To be continued in part 2

[mbrainspaz]

mw-22 replied to your post “I was working a gallery event when some jerk shouldered past me hard...”

At first my eyes read little boy instead of little bro and I was like wow this person really just sucker punched a little boy, but the next comment talked about sibling interaction and I was woah, gotta reread this

yeah he’s 6′1″ and he’s kinda buff from military training so I doubt he even felt me punch him tbh.  😆 

[sceptilemasterr]

MW Act 1, Scene 6 - Analysis

Title: Most Wanted: The Hollywood Killer (A CIU Screenplay)

Main Pairings: Dave x Sam

Other Pairings: N/A

Genre: Full Rewrite

Rating: PG-13 for violence, blood, swearing, alcohol, and sexuality

Summary: While talking to the crime lab’s eccentric trio, Sam and Dave learn more about Tull... and each other.

Previous Scene: The Other Case

Masterlist: Link

INT. L.A.P.D. STATION - CRIME LAB - NIGHT

The crime lab is a scene best described as “organized chaos.” Pop music blares from a speaker sitting at the workstation of a man with short black hair, glasses, and a blue cardigan, spinning idly in his chair. This is NIKHIL MANTHA, forensic specialist. Opposite him at another workstation is a man with messy brown hair and a patterned sweater, gritting his teeth in annoyance as he stares at his computer screen; this is REZA FASSIHI, data analyst.

HAYLEY ROSE (ON SPEAKER) (singing): Sirens flickering in your tail lights, your long-lost love’s your only flaw...

REZA: Nikhil, can we please turn that off? This wasn’t a good song four years ago, and it’s still not good now!

NIKHIL: But that’s the point! Pop princess Hayley Rose experimenting with a contrived club album with a hokey country twist? “Outlaw” is incredible in its American awfulness.

REZA: How does that make any sense?!

As the music plays in the background while they continue, the third occupant of the room ignores their argument entirely. MIRASOL BAUTISTA, criminal profiler and psychoanalyst, sits at her own workstation, frowning at whatever she is reading on the screen. She wears a white blazer and has her dark hair tied back into a bun.

NIKHIL: ...it isn’t my fault your tastes are embarrassingly mainstream-

MIRASOL (muttering): The contrarian hipster act, clearly a false front meant to get on people’s nerves. Typically seen in those with low self-esteem and-

NIKHIL: Ouch. I heard that, Mirasol.

MIRASOL: Oh, I know.

The door swings open, and Sam and Dave enter. Sam blinks in surprise at the music. Dave doesn’t bat an eye as he strides up to Nikhil’s workstation and hits the power button.

DAVE (deadpan): Oops.

NIKHIL: Hey! Excuse me, Dave, we were listening to that-

REZA: Correction: you were listening to that.

NIKHIL: Mirasol secretly enjoyed it!

MIRASOL: Excuse me, what?! I will murder you, Nikhil.

REZA: She’s not kidding, Nikhil. You weren’t here for the time she brought a live grenade to work, but-

DAVE: Look, as entertaining as this conversation is, right now, we’ve got a killer to catch. And more importantly, we’ve got company.

Mirasol, Nikhil, and Reza all look up and notice Sam for the first time.

DAVE: This is Sam Massey, U.S. Marshal. Massey, meet the Three Stooges. That’s Reza, our data analyst and resident computer nerd.

REZA (frowning): “Nerd?” Excuse you, Dave, I’m a data analyst and digital security consultant and a moderator for the Crown and the Flame official fansite... Okay, I may be a ‘computer nerd.’

Sam nods, clearly not understanding most of what Reza is talking about.

SAM: ...Pleasure.

DAVE: Over there is Nikhil, forensic analyst and card-carrying hipster.

NIKHIL: Nice to meet you, Marshal. I have to say, this ‘thing’ you’re doing with your outfit? Talk about defying the mainstream L.A. look with your rough-and-tumble style. Such a middle finger to the masses.

Sam crosses her arms, frowning.

SAM: I’m not trying to do a “thing.”

NIKHIL: Exactly, right? Everyone else is always trying too hard. But you get it!

SAM: Uh...

Dave shakes his head in amusement before moving on.

DAVE: Anyway, the cheerful one over there is Dr. Bautista, our criminal profiler and psychoanalyst.

MIRASOL: Just call me Mirasol. These two clowns don’t go by fancy titles, why should I?

SAM: I can respect that.

DAVE: Right, well, that’s the introductions. So, what have you all got for us?

NIKHIL: Perfect timing, actually. I’ve just finished my initial run-through of the forensics. Don’t have much to work with, but I was able to analyze those bullet casings you found, plus the autopsies and ballistics.

SAM: Let’s hear what you’ve got. I’ve got a hunch I want confirmed.

They walk over to Nikhil’s workstation. Nikhil swivels in his chair to face them.

DAVE: How’s it look?

NIKHIL: The autopsy and ballistics reports indicate an abdominal wound from a sawed-off shotgun, fired from approximately three feet away. Casings confirm standard double-aught buckshot. (shakes head) Can’t have been pretty.

SAM: Point-blank, straight to the gut. Tull’s specialty, the sick bastard.

DAVE: Anything else?

NIKHIL: Well, I’ve got an educated guess on the type of shotgun he used. It’s hard to tell for sure, but from what we could get from the camera footage, I’d say an old-school Easton 850, sawed-off.

SAM: Wait. Did you say an Easton 850?

NIKHIL: Why, does that mean something to you?

Sam gets a faraway look in her eyes, staring at a point on the wall. She says nothing for a long moment. Finally, she shakes her head and turns away.

SAM: No. You just... don’t see those every day.

From her station, Mirasol watches Sam with a calculating look. Dave notices and walks over to her, Sam following.

DAVE: Dr. Bautista, what do we have?

MIRASOL: I’ve told you not to call me that.

DAVE (smirks): Why do you think I keep doing it?

Mirasol rolls her eyes and turns away from him, facing Sam.

MIRASOL: Beckham had your file sent over, Massey. Frequent physical altercations. Questionable use of force. Repeated altercations... fascinating stuff.

SAM: Alright, alright. Let’s cut to the chase. What have you got?

MIRASOL: Let’s see... Propensity for violence and hot-headedness, such as when you brought in a fugitive with multiple broken bones. Then the report of you telling a fugitive with hostages to, and I quote: “Grow a backbone, dirtbag.”

NIKHIL: Ooh, I want that on a shirt.

MIRASOL: And then there’s the raid on the New Flores Cartel, where the massive property damage perfectly showcases your flagrant disregard for-

SAM: Okay, okay, we get the idea! Lemme rephrase: what have you got on Tull?

MIRASOL: Oh, don’t worry. I’ve already put together his profile too, or at least a preliminary one from what little we know.

DAVE: Perfect. Let’s hear it.

MIRASOL: He’s a hired killer, but he’s brutal when he doesn’t need to be, even when it makes his job harder. Clearly enjoys inflicting pain. He’s clever but unstable, with textbook signs of egocentrism, obsessive behavior, and possible narcissism.

DAVE (sarcastically): This guy just gets better and better.

SAM: Anything else?

MIRASOL: Just that... look. I’m not easily disturbed; hell, I read the profiles of psychopaths for a living. Sometimes even for fun. But this guy... he scares me.

Sam nods in understanding.

SAM: Then we just gotta be scarier.

She turns away from Mirasol and heads over to Reza’s station, Dave following close behind. As she approaches, Reza springs awkwardly to his feet, accidentally knocking over his chair as he offers an excited handshake.

REZA: Wow, a Texas Marshal, surrounded by L.A. glitz and glamour! Love it! The fish-out-of-water thing is a classic trope in the industry, y’know.

Sam shakes his hand, looking puzzled.

SAM: The... data analysis industry?

REZA: What? No, the entertainment industry! I’m also an aspiring screenwriter, you know.

NIKHIL: Emphasis on the ‘aspiring’ part. He’s never actually finished a script.

REZA: Shut up, Nikhil! Anyway, my point is that I’m a bit of a film buff.

SAM: Huh. Sounds like that might come in handy in this town.

REZA: Yeah, I know, it’s not really... wait, what?

SAM: Hey, from what I’ve seen, Hollywood’s a special kind of crazy. Might help to have someone who speaks the language.

REZA: Ha! Boom! How’s that defeat taste, Nikhil? Someone actually appreciates me for once!

Nikhil groans and rolls his eyes as Reza picks his chair back up and sits down.

REZA: And speaking of ‘Hollywood’ and ‘crazy,’ by the way, I’ve pulled up some info on the main victim.

DAVE: Gavin? Could be a lead. But what about Tull?

REZA (frowning): Not much. From what I can tell, he surfaced suddenly about a year ago as a paid killer. Other than that, I could barely find anything.

SAM (frowning): What do you mean he ‘surfaced suddenly?’ Where the hell was he before that?

REZA: It’s the weirdest part of this whole thing. Far as I can tell, he emerged from thin air last year. His first kill happened in rural Montana, and before that... the guy just vanishes.

DAVE: Fake name, maybe?

REZA (shakes head): Nothing I can find. But I’ll keep looking. Gavin, on the other hand... with how much he’s posted about himself online, the guy practically did my job for me.

Reza swivels his monitor. Sam and Dave look at the screen, which is displaying a celebrity blog site titled “Dirty Hollywood.”

REZA: His personal blog is plenty already, but the real interesting part is this one. “Dirty Hollywood.” It’s a celeb gossip blog, and with the things he’s posted, he’s made quite a few enemies.

SAM: Could lead us to whoever hired Tull.

DAVE: Agreed. So, who’s on the list of Gavin’s potential enemies, then?

REZA: Honestly? Literally everyone he’s posted about. I can list all of them for you, but we’d be here all day-

DAVE: Give us the three most likely, then. Anything in the past week or so

REZA: Well, let’s see... he leaked some emails from screenwriter Josh Neely, exposing him as a plagiarist.

DAVE: Hold on. I spotted Neely on the tape, just before the murder. He was arguing pretty fiercely with Gavin!

Sam raises her eyebrows.

SAM: Damn. We’ve got our connection, then.

DAVE: Not so fast. Lots of celebrities were at that party, it doesn’t mean anything on its own. Reza, who else?

REZA: Gavin also posted evidence that Ryan Summers was making large, discreet payments to an unknown woman. Sure, Gavin never actually says she’s a call girl, but he sure as hell implies it.

DAVE: Huh. Ryan never mentioned that...

SAM: First-name basis with Ryan Summers? Really.

DAVE: Yeah, he’s a good friend of mine. We play poker on the weekends.

SAM: I’m not sure what’s harder to believe: that your poker face is that good, or that you’re actually telling the truth.

REZA: Anyway, the third suspect is pretty timely, considering Nikhil’s taste in music. Gavin leaked some of Hayley Rose’s, uh... illicit photos from her personal phone.

SAM: She’s the singer you were just listening to? How did Gavin get all this?

REZA: Whatever it was, it definitely wasn’t legal.

Dave sighs, shaking his head in disgust.

DAVE: Typical. Thanks for the leads, though. Let us know if you can find any more on Tull, okay?

REZA: You got it.

Sam and Dave step toward the door, out of earshot of the analysts.

SAM: So what the hell does any of that tell us?

DAVE: I admit it’s not much to go on. What about the gun?

SAM: What about it?

DAVE: You seemed familiar with that specific model when Nikhil mentioned it. Do you know something?

SAM (muttering): Ugh. Of course. Goddamn detective.

Dave raises an eyebrow.

SAM: Nothing that would help the case. Look, Tull’s a killer for hire, right? So, first things first, we should look into the people he offended. Find out who hired him.

DAVE: That’s fair. It’s as good a place as any to start. Let’s go; I’ll drive.

SAM: Hope you drive fast. Every second we waste is another second Tull’s out there, a free man.

Sam heads for the door, but stops when she notices Dave hasn’t moved. He studies her, frowning.

SAM: ...What?

DAVE: Look. If we’re gonna be partners on this, I need you to level with me. Why are you really here?

SAM: It’s my job-

DAVE: Massey, I’m a detective. Half my job is knowing when someone’s lying. We do have Marshals in California, y’know. Something made you get on a plane and fly halfway across the country to nab Tull yourself. Something makes you look like you’re gonna punch a hole in the wall when you think about him.

Sam sighs in defeat.

SAM: Alright. Fine. It’s personal.

DAVE: There. Was that so hard?

SAM: Look. Tull killed someone close to me. I’d rather not say any more right now.

Dave nods and opens the door to head out of the lab.

DAVE: That’s fair. Listen, Massey: we’re gonna get this bastard. That much I can promise you.

SAM: Damn straight.

Next Scene: Good Cop, Bad Cop

CIU Tag List: @brightpinkpeppercorn @endlesshero1122 @bbaba-yagaa @acidsugar0

MW Tag List: @griselda1121

[angry-healers]

So me and my friends were talking, how would you guys feel if DNC was made as a healer for next xpack? Because back in XI they had healing abilities when they built up enough TP or were the right level and was basically a buff class like BRD. It would be cool to have a Healing class that can heal through doing damage like what MW monk used to do back in MoP

Dude MW monk was fun, it’d be cool is dancer worked similarly as a melee dps/heal/support mix. Honestly the only thing I wouldn’t think sits DNC was if it was made an evasion tank or straight melee dps without much support abilities. 

- mod prox

[manetsgarden]

Function Over Fashion: A minimalist approach to styling while travelling

I am NOT someone who overpacks when they travel. Now that I’m living in the U.K. I’m traveling on budget airlines (bc ya girl’s on a budget), which charge you even for a hand luggage carry on. On my latest adventure to the West coast of Ireland to do some hiking, I packed everything into my small and beloved Lululemon backpack, which fits perfectly under the seat of the airplane. Mind you, the trip was four nights, five days, and included city days in Galway and Dublin, and two days in the countryside hiking and biking, so I needed a LOT of variety when it came to my clothes… or so you would think. I managed to find basically one outfit that worked under all circumstances, admittedly I did not look fantastic and chic in the cities, but it was good enough!

I wore my comfiest pair of jeans, a certified #30Wears (probably more like 300 if I’m honest) pair of jeans that I bought from American Eagle in high school. They’re high waisted and made of stretchy, comfortable jean material, so they’re very comfy but they still look nice enough to wear on an evening out. I also packed two pairs of leggings – one skin tight, high waisted navy blue ones that are basically just the legging version of my jeans, and one pair that are more of a jogger fit, which I wore to bed and occasionally to lounge around the hostel in. Other than that I rotated through three basic t shirts and one long sleeved thermal top – none of which were ever really visible because I wore my big woolly sweater EVERY day.

My sweater is from H&M, it’s very large on me because I stole it from my very tall sister. It’s my FAVOURITE sweater because it’s SO comfortable, still relatively cute, and incredibly, incredibly warm. I wore it under my raincoat to keep out the chill and I was never cold, even on my long days out hiking and biking. The ‘raincoat’ I have is actually just shower-resistant (ugh) and from the Gap (in the men’s section!) it’s very useful though as it has a TON of utility pockets, and fits over my giant sweater.

The best part of my travel outfit was my ever present bumbag, or as we call it in the Americas, my fanny pack. Sidenote: apparently that name does not go down well over in the U.K. I had the idea to use a bumbag because Ryanair charges you for a second bag, and I didn’t want to pack a whole purse into my backpack as it would take up space, PLUS I would then have to take my backpack off whenever I needed my wallet, phone, or passport. Instead, I made a trip over to Mountain Warehouse and picked up a bumbag for 6 pounds, and wore it across my chest for the entirety of the trip. It was the BEST idea I had. It was SO nice to have a hands free bag that was close to my chest (no pick pocketing risk! I’m all too familiar with that). I kept my wallet, phone, passport, granola bars, and even a book in there most days.

My shoes on the trip alternated between my hiking boots (also Mountain Warehouse, the cheapest I could find) and my old runners. What I wore tended to depend on which pair were drier at the time. Honestly, the change in shoes hardly affected the look of my outfit. It was consistently very outdoorsy. The last thing you’ll see me wearing sometimes is a neck tube that I call a ‘buff’ because of the brand name (but this one is also MW because I didn’t bring any Buffs from home and they’re pricey). They’re made of cotton and you can wear them as a neck tube, or around your head and over your ears to keep you warm! I did both.

If you want to see more from my trip to Ireland, or see how these outfits worked out real-time, keep an eye on my Youtube channel! I’ll be uploading a 24 Hours in Galway video, and a Hiking the Cliffs of Moher vlog ASAP! In the meantime, are you a heavy packer? Do you bring everything in your closet and then some?! I’ll be doing a post on my best ‘travel light’ tips soon!

Life Chats – My Dating Dry-Spell | Oliver Bonds Homeware Haul

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Contact: arcticsabrinabusiness@gmail.com

My Go-To Travel Outfit | Hiking in Ireland I wore basically ONE kind of outfit for my full trip to Ireland because it was THAT multifunctional. Here's why I picked what I picked. Function Over Fashion: A minimalist approach to styling while travelling I am NOT someone who overpacks when they travel.