Ghost is not subtle, atleast, that’s what he thinks. To any plan, to any decision from head to toe, he commits. This lends well to his career, recruiters would kill (literally) for a soldier who lets themself become more tool than person.
So when it occurs to Ghost that one John “Soap” Mactavish is worth knowing, he makes no attempt to conceal his endearment.
Problem is, Ghost is far removed from typical social expectations. And Soap is too accepting (or maybe oblivious).
First is with touch. Ghost is less averse to it than most would assume. His perceived distaste for it is intentional. It’s a bubble, anyone who gets too close gets put back in place. It’s a small thing, but that just puts less work on him. People tend to assume things from there out.
So when Soap punches him on the arm, pats him on the back, grabs his shoulder for support, to Ghost it is perfectly clear he is allowing the other man.
Then is the jokes, the bickering. Most others would (and have been) snapped at for fucking about on missions. But with Soap, Ghost lets it’s slide, joins in, even.
Then there’s sharing: food, weapons, tips, stories, names. And then the mask: self explanatory.
The final is sleep. It evades all soldiers, and falling asleep alone was a luxury, so sleeping in common places was regular. But not typically for Ghost, who was afforded a single room.
So when Ghost would doze off on exfil, rest his eyes at a bar, plop down on the floor next to where Soap was filling out paperwork, it should’ve been obvious that he was indicating trust.
Too bad obvious affection from the Ghost considered normal human behavior by most. Specifically one John “Soap” Mactavish.
(Later, on a rare occasion Ghost is not following Soap like an ominous duckling).
Soap: Hey isn’t it funny how Ghost falls asleep on the floor sometimes.
Gaz and/or Price: He only does that with you.
Soap: What?
Gaz and/or Price: That’s a confession of devotion.
Soap tracks him down like a bloodhound, charges Ghost, and breaks his nose on Ghost’s mask trying to kiss him. Ghost carries him to medical, throwing the bloody, grinning man over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.
In Soap’s bloody, nasally words,
“Worth it.”
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pictures from the old city of jerusalem's "african quarter", which comprises of ribat al-mansuri and ribat al-basiri. mamluks built the compounds in the late 13th century to house muslim pilgrims and the poor. ottomans used them as prisons, and the british closed the prisons when they occupied jerusalem in 1917. the ribats then came under the ownership of the islamic waqf, and were leased to the local afro-palestinian community.
afro-palestinians have an array of origins. like some other diaspora communities in palestine, some came through pilgrimage - al-aqsa was on their hajj path, and while many would visit to pray there, some decided to settle in jerusalem. there are also some who came to palestine enslaved or conscripted, most recently to ottomans. some came during the time of the british mandate, many as conscripted laborers to the british. afro-palestinians who can trace their ancestry do so to nigeria, chad, senegal, or sudan.
jerusalemite afro-palestinians were employed to guard al-aqsa throughout the ottoman period. during the 1948 palestine war, some joined the arab liberation army and fought with fellow palestinians to defend al-aqsa and their presence in jerusalem. the position of guards has been taken by occupation soldiers since the 1967 war, after which a quarter of the afro-palestinian population became refugees in surrounding countries.
jerusalem's afro-palestinian community still live in the compounds today, which also house the local african community society. (the door in the last picture is theirs.) afro-palestinians as a whole face the same legal, social, and economic restrictions and maltreatment as other palestinians, compounded with the same anti-black racism from israeli government and police which ethiopian jews and eritrean asylum seekers face, which result in a form of "passport racism" unique to them.
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Ballister and Nimona having a parent-child relationship, but since Nimona is in fact ancient may I propose that they have a parent-child relationship but in the opposite direction. I think it would just be funnier that way.
Nimona is what happens when the cool aunt has a kid very late in life after she has already become entrenched in her wild ways, and Ballister is her uptight only child who loves her but good Gloreth why are you like this why am I the one making sure the bills are paid please stop enabling all of my bad ideas.
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