Listen, I know why people like to have Adler and Bell get their own happily ever after where they can be domestic and in love or whatever. I understand the appeal. But man I NEED more of adbell being fucking weird and violent. The line between hate and love is incredibly thin further blurred by all the shit they did to bell's brain. They're enemies but also allies, then enemies again and allies once more. They're old friends, they've only known each other for a few months, they went through hell in Da Nang together, Bell has literally never been to Vietnam, Bell's a highly skilled professional Adler trusts the skills of, Adler literally does not think of bell as a person. And all of these are all mixing and overlapping. Give me the dubiousness of how much of Bell's attraction to Adler is genuinely his own versus how much of it was either accidentally or deliberately imprinted into his brain! If Bell has Adler's memories of Vietnam then part of Bell's personality and psyche is actually Adler's. And if Adler is attracted to Bell then this begs the question of whether or not Adler is actually attracted to Bell or rather to the reflection of himself within Bell?
I know a lot of people think Mason and Woods might not know what happened to Bell, but how could they not? Sure Hudson would hate to tell them because he obviously knows the shit Mason goes through... but um they would have to know. Hudson would have to tell them. It's a major detail in the missions and he couldn't have them getting too attached to the Russian.
I like to think that Hudson told them before we even meet Hudson. Like they came into the mission knowing. They were pissed off obviously but they knew. Then the first mission with Woods rolls around and after he tells Mason all about what happens with Bell during the mission.
Woods and Mason are so obviously caught between a rock and a hard place. Like the way they look at Bell during that one briefing is just so heartbroken. They know they can't be too close with Bell, but he's just a kid to them. Like they know what's going to be the end of this kid and they know they can't do anything about it.
I feel like Lazar is the same way. Like to him, Bell is just some curious goofy guy who can be serious when needed. Like they all 100% bonded.
I think Sims might have started to warm up to him at some point too, but had to basically shut of his feelings when it came to Bell.
We all know Park was a fan of Bell and cared about his safety. Hell she never upped his dosage like Adler wanted. I'm pretty sure both her and Sims could've been in charge of that too.
Adler sees Bell as an even more fucked up version of himself and well a dog. They come at his beck and call. They have HIS memories from Vietnam. He created them in a sense as well. Like they are his little pet on his eyes.
Now when it comes to Hudson... I've always believed he never wanted to take part in MK Ultra with Bell. Like come on, he knows what Mason went through, but he has to follow orders. I feel like it's something that eats him up at night, knowing he helped do that to someone. Definitely ends with nightmares and when he's home, his wife is 100% worried. Hudson definitely ended up liking Bell.
I mean they did make Bell the best they could. That definitely includes personality wise. It probably also includes all his maneurisms like how Bell eats, how they speak (this includes talking with their hands or possibly sign language), and even how they walk. Like everything has been conditioned. Everything. Every possible thing that makes up a person has been conditioned into Bell.
I wonder if Hudson, since he is the interrogator, notices little things Bell does that are obvious (to him) that they're from how they used to be. Especially during the ending. Maybe even the little ticks or actions. Hudson probably knows Bell better than anyone. I mean you gotta think. Adler says Bell was immune to all types of interrogation, who would've done that? Hudson. He knows Bell better than Bell knows themself at the end of the campaign. Hudson knows that and it probably eats him up inside. He has morals. You can tell. You can tell by the way he words things, the way he jokes with Bell, even if it's monotone. He's trying to protect his own feelings during the whole game. It's so interesting to me.
is it just me or am I the only one who tends to gravitate more towards '' blank '' protagonists like Logan or Roach?. Like they don't say a word, they have absolutely zero character development and in Roach's case don't even have a canon appearance
I guess you could say they're like canvas and so you could imagine and headcanon basically anything about them.
Though I guess we must be content with the few crumbs we get as these characters tend to be less popular.
Logan nation rise up 🙏
"it was never personal" you were the first person bell saw as you brought them back from the brink of death on that airstrip, you saved them and made yourself the axis upon which their entire worldview rests, you place yourself in the centre of a life they never lived and you took whatever they had left and replaced it with yourself. "it was never personal" you clambered below ground among the waste and filth to cross the fucking berlin wall with them, slinking through abandoned tunnels and through dilapidated houses scrawled with graffiti left by war torn lovers, and muttered praise in their ear knowing it's the only true affection you'll ever give. "it was never personal" you took them with you to berlin, across sentry-lit rooftops. you took them with you to lubyanka, and hid in the dark with them. you took them to that clifftop, vast and serene, and chose that as the one place fit enough to put down your sick dog, maybe because you don't want anyone else to take them anywhere if it's not you holding the leash. "it was never personal" you named them. you named them. you named them.
The frustration of speaking it fluently, but still having to google basic words when you're writing.
The absolute joy of finding a word that sounds just perfect and conveys exactly what you mean.
Doubting all your grammar and being afraid to post it or even send it to a beta reader.
The euphoria of someone calling your use of this language, that is not your mother tongue, beautiful.
Do we ever think about the fact that Price had to leave Soap on that table after he died? He never had a proper burial. All that was left was the journal, ink stains that are supposed to contain a person’s entire LIFE. Price never got to cry next to a casket with his partner inside. He never got to deliver a speech in a chapel. Soap was a catholic, he would want to be buried. What do you think Makarov’s men did with Soap’s body?
I believe Price regrets leaving him there. He should have carried him out.Â
War took the life of two boys that day. At some point, they were both just boys.
I'm having so many brainworms right now so i'm forcing y'all to listen teehee
anyway, headcanon that Bell had the most gorgeous big brown eyes.
It was the first thing anyone ever noticed about them. Brown eyes are the most common color, but Bell wore them like they were a sacred gem. Deep, haunted, and achingly soulful. In the sterile glow of a safehouse in Berlin, the fluorescent lights bled across their eyes like distant dying stars, flickering in the hollow space of their gaze. Their eyes could be called fawn-like, or maybe a lamb. You’d never guess that they belonged to someone so horrifically scarred by the ugliness of the world.
How ironic that also like a lamb, tethered by a leash they couldn’t see, they trailed along so willingly to their slaughter--by the one man they trusted more than their own mind, no less. A beautifully blind devotion, don't you think? Right up to the barrel of the gun.
Yeah sure gender swapped milf Adler is hot but let's not pretend that svelte English twink Park wouldn't do numbers on this site
After finishing bo1, bo2 and bocw i have turned into the biggest Hudson apologist ever
(Wrote this with male Bell in mind)
Also, imagine Bell being drafted into Soviet Army almost right after finishing school. Almost all his friends from school were drafted, so it was only natural for him be drafted as well. And it's only for a couple of years, nothing too bad, really. His father must've been proud of him for going to serve his Motherland and his mother...well, she was proud of him too, very proud, but also, she felt worried about him. Although, Bell turned out to be just fine somewhere far away from her. Bell wrote letters, mostly writing down his experiences and complaining about the living conditions a little bit once in a while. After all, mother's food has always been the best, no? Bell missed his mother. A lot. Bell missed his brother and his sister too. Bell even missed his father who used to be so strict with him. Though, eventually, Bell came home, so much to his relief. But, unfortunately, for a short while. Some higher-ups noticed his talents and they want him in the army. Nobody really said army, Bell simply assumed so. After all, where, or how, else he could serve his Motherland? Though, Bell didn't question such strange situation much. Important people reaching out to him already honored him immensely, so it was only natural for him to go work some more God knows where. He wanted to make his family proud, simple as that...
I know that bell was pretty much destined to an early death but that won't stop me from talking about them like a wife who just lost her husband in the war