#mw3 live reaction

[eowynstwin]

Finally finished the damn thing. I kept some notes but they all boil down to one point: the turnaround for this game must have been no more than six months. Nine maximum. And it shows.

I don't even know where to start. The scripting, the pacing, and the entire plot were slapshod. And it's almost as if the game refuses to make sense for the sake of contrarianism; it feels like it would accuse me of being stupid for not getting why everyone likes Rick and Morty. I could evaluate it plot beat for plot beat but I'm on four hours of sleep and frankly? I'd like to move on with my life. This is a demon I've meant to exorcise for months and the damn thing is nearly out of me. So here are my main points.

The script is heavy handed. It's like every line the actors spit out around a mouthful of gravel were written first to be trailer soundbytes and second to be dialogue. No one talks the way these characters talk, not in real life and certainly not in the games they've starred in previously. It's all workable enough, if you're thirteen and playing this game with one hand on the controller and the other around your penis, but for the rest of the population it's pure schlock.

Makarov is a nothing burger of a villain. We are constantly—CONSTANTLY—told how dangerous he is, how competent he, is how brilliant he is, and yet every scene he's in I fail to be compelled. He is the most generic of megalomaniacal idealogues; every villain speech he gives sounds like tumblr dom dirty talk, or maybe reddit whining. I can't help but compare him to Valeria of Modern Warfare 2. In very few scenes, Valeria compels us with the force of her personality; she owns every interaction she inhabits, shows us that she is every bit the bloodthirsty narco we've been told she is. It's easy to believe the she could have accomplished everything she did. Makarov, meanwhile? The most he does is tell everyone how stupid they are and how he's going to win in the end.

Nothing new happens. Makarov is engaging in chemical warfare like MW2019's Barkov. Every gameplay map is lifted from MW2's multiplayer. The ULF is being scapegoated again for terrorism committed by Russian forces. Even Graves and his fucking missiles are in this game. I have the strongest feeling that this game was developed entirely in crunch, with so little time to write it that treading old ground was the only way the writing team could meet their deadlines. The only exception to this is Soap's death, which honestly gave the impression that the writers needed to make SOMETHING dramatic happen, if only to defibrillate an audience that had not been marketed to enough to even be all that interested in this game.

In all I shouted "FUCK OFF" at this game multiple times. I can count on one hand the number of things I liked about this campaign and I really, truly could not tell you what those things are right now because my brain is fried. The result of less than a year of development is an amateurish second draft of a game that I've thought of more than once as a lost orgasm. Briefly, before I spent these five hours watching and reacting (and pausing to take ibuprofen), I considered trying my hand at doing a basic plot rewrite, but it is not. Worth. It.

I stand by what I suggested earlier this year/late last year—the game should have ended with Price's death—but now on the other end of this experience I don't care enough about MW3 to give it that kind of dignity. I'll sign off this review with what I've been saying since the start:

DON'T BUY THESE FUCKING GAMES.

[jokest3r]

Me after seeing the first cutscene of OG MW3 between makarov and yuri:

[eric-makes-art]

idk

[gofishygo]

no but what if reader sacrifices themself for soap in the tunnel... (implied ghoap, ghoap x reader; mcd, reader has very low self esteem, reader probably has depression, mw3 spoilers)

you know how important he is to ghost. everybody does- it's hard to not notice that they are practically symbiotic- feeding off of each other's laughs, near inseparable. you never see one without the other.

and compared to him, you are nothing more than a burden to the team, you figure. you do not carry soap's explosive force, the intensity in his eyes, nor do you have half of ghost's expertise in sniping, do not carry any of his mystique. you dont- you dont deserve a second glance, much less any of their kindness. your fascination, you like to call it, towards johnny and ghost, it should be hidden under your tongue, clandestine and invisible.

nobody gets a say in how quickly you are to establish yourself as the wallflower of the 1-4-1. and by the time of mw3, nobody gets to intercept how you manage to run solo in a team, no matter how much they try to reach out. they have each other. why would they ever need you?

so in that clammy, chilling tunnel, your reactions to such an ambush are second nature- you shut down the moment johnny's shoulder is shot. tackling the enemy- the movement is so instantaneous and blurry that you do not realise that said enemy is makarov himself-onto the asphalt and plunging your knife in and out of him until the muzzle of a gun presses against your head and it's bullet lodges into the back of your brain. you die instantly, silently, not hearing how johnny screams your name instead of your callsign, how simon, for the first time, seems uncoordinated, desperate like a dog as he fumbles to revive you. you had never thought that they cared, never believed they would look at you with reprocipricated admiration. and moments before you die, you realise that you will never know how much of a presence you were in their lives, and you close your eyes knowing that they will be okay together. but you arent around long enough to see how they crumble, and you die with the belief that in this world, you are none other than a replacement. you never seem to stay around long enough to see how simon, johnny, love you.

and you never will.

[alexthetrashyracoon]

CW// None aside from the occasional cursing and the mistakes I made during writing. They come in pairs now, like sunflower seeds and enjoy the sun once in a while, just let them out.

Likes/Shares/Whatever you want to do with my writing aside from copying it (not that any of this is worth copying). Everything is very much appreciated by me <3

You should think that someone like Simon Riley has patience, not just a small amount but damn, this man should be the most patient guy on the planet. He was a trained sniper after all, it was his job to lay in one place for long without doing much. Right?

Ha, very, very, very wrong.

You learned that early in your relationship with him.

Simon Riley was everything but patient.

He wasn’t aggressive or anything with you, god forbid, he would never put his hands on you, you’re his reason to live, love, laugh.

But let this man out into the open, let Simon get into a car with the knowledge he has to be somewhere in time, it doesn’t matter if he has ten minute to be there or three hours, he turns his professional patience into some kind of road rage. Simon never did anything that could get anyone into danger, he was very responsible but he grumbled and complained a lot.

You always have the best time of your life, listening to him complaining about every single driver aside from him winning their drivers licenses in the lottery or getting it from the back of a cereal box.

He follows the traffic rules to a T, not wanting to put you, or anyone else in that matter, in danger even if he all he wanted to do was to push his foot down on the gas all the way through and just race off to your appointment.

“All of them, bloody stupid as hell. They all deserve to get send back into driving school.” He grunts and rolls his eyes at a young couple in the car next to them, that is more interested in making out than driving.

“You know, Simon.” You grin at him while scrolling through your social medias and switching the radio to something that soothes even Simon’s impatient nerves, “This whole traffic jam thing has a good thing to it.”

“And what would that be, darling?” He raises a brow before reaching for the pack of cigarettes in the middle console, pulling one out and lighting it with one hand, quickly putting the window down you didn’t drown in the smoke.

“Since you insisted on being overly early to our date night, now we’ll be right on time for it and won’t have to freeze our asses off, waiting for our table to be ready.” You grin and pat his hand on the joystick.

He remains quiet for a second before laughing softly and shaking his head. “Only you see the good thing in a damn traffic jam, darling. Good to know.”

And just as promised you made it to the restaurant right on time, well, you had a minute or two to spare but thanks to the bad traffic on the way there you wouldn’t freeze.

Oh and, don’t let Simon order food in.

He’s like a dog, sitting at the window, waiting for the poor delivery guy to show up on your front porch.

But otherwise, when it came to you, he had more patience than any other person on this planet and you love him for it. And his impatience.

And yeah, I headcanon Simon Riley as a very responsible drive, aside from his impatience. The driving scene we had in MW2 (don’t know about MW3, haven’t played it nor will I ever do so) is a stress reaction in my head at least, you do you of course, if I were being hunted by my former allies, I too would probably not be very caring about rules and regulations on the streets. Plus, if my mate were bleeding from a shot wound, I would make sure to be as fast as possible to get him the medical attention he needs.

[pearldog30]

The boys finding out you had a miscarriage.

ghost, hesh, rudy, soap.

Here's a little something for y'all 🖤

I know it's not much. but I want to get back into writing, especially since I'll be playing MW3 hopefully soon. (I haven't done an HC in forever so this might be a little rusty)

Other works 👉 Master list

Warnings| miscarriage.

Ghost👻

You were just coming home from work, when you noticed your boyfriend was home early. The first time he was home early enough for you to actually talk to him. as he has been avoiding you, since you told him you were expecting. you knew you had to break the news to him now, As now would probably be the only time to do it. When you walked in he could tell something was up. "Hey love. You want 'a tea?" He asked, as he was heating up some water. "hey babe.... Can we talk?" You said lightly, trying not to sound upset. Ghost nodded his head in return waiting for you to finish your sentence. "I... Hmmm I had a miscarriage..." You said quietly. expecting not to get a reaction from the man who didn't even really want the kid, from what you thought. Before he turned his head, you could tell his eyes widen in shock. He looks at you blankly and you couldn't tell what emotion was going on in his head, And it kinda scared you.. "when?" He said quietly, and softly those being his only words. it took you by surprise. "I- about a week ago..." You said nervously. he quietly walked up to you, wrapping you in his arms giving you a tight, but gentle hug. "You should have told me sooner..." He whispered. As he held you close. Even though he never showed it often, you really were everything to him.

We all obviously know how ghost felt when you told him you were pregnant. he wasn't excited or mad about it, just anxious because well... you know. This mf traumatizing past So when you broke the news to him it took him by surprise, he wasn't expecting to feel a bit saddened by the news.

If we're being honest here a little tiny part of him did like the idea of you taking care of his child. maybe, just maybe... a beautiful family of his own, like he's always dreamed of before he got in a war. but he never thought he was worthy enough to be a father.

Ghost blames himself for the miscarriage thinking he was the reason or he did something to cause this. And because of it he pushed himself away from you for a while.

He didn't even bother to try to sleep for a while after you told him. He would stay up countless of nights watching you sleep, making sure you got rest. Because he knew the toll it took on your body from all of this.

Anytime any of the other 141 members would ask him about the baby. he would either glare at them or tell them to shut it, he honestly did not like talking about it. Or even think about it. It really did hurt him in a way he was not expecting

Hesh🌴

My bb because he doesn't get talked about enough

You were sitting in your living room waiting for your fiance to get home from his 4 month deployment. anxious to break the news to him. Before he had left you told him you were expecting, and he was over the moon to find out he was going to be a dad. And now here you are sitting in your living room having to be the bearer of bad news. Getting lost in train of thought, you hear an engine pull into the driveway. before you know it, your fiance is busting through the door so excited. "Hey babe I'm home. Where's my little munchkin at" he says excitedly, expecting to see you holding his baby. scanning the room. and then he's met with you sitting on the couch hunched over. and and the site hit him like a ton of bricks, he knew something was wrong. "baby... Everything good?" He says quietly, crouching down next to you. Looking at him with tear-filled eyes, you struggle to get the words out. "I- i lost the baby..." You say through a sod, and he felt his eyes immediately begin to water. "Wha- how I mean.... That's impossible!" He says trying to comprehend all this. He puts his hands on your knees, forcing you to look at him. "I- I'm so... So sorry." He says looking at you, before he pulls you into a tight hug. and you could feel the tears running from his eyes.

In the beginning it was really hard for the both of you, but especially him. to go or even be around all the baby stuff you guys got. he barely stepped foot in the baby's room/let anybody open it for the first few months.

It was extremely difficult for him to break the news to his team, because he felt like a coward for leaving you alone for that long, feeling like it was all his fault since he wasn't there for those long months, he's the reason you lost the baby.

After that it was really hard for him to be around kids. because he would always imagine what it would be like if it was his kid.

Even after the baby was gone you would sometimes catch him talking to his dad about baby stuff/asking for advice. and Elias would always look at him, And ask him. "are you guys expecting again?" It always hurt hesh deep down when he told him no. that wasn't the case, he just... Found some comfort in talking about it he supposed.

You would often find him in the early hours of the morning, talking to Riley about all the little scenarios in his head if the baby were here. or how he blames himself for not being there the day you lost the baby. Okay him talking to Riley about the baby tho😭

Soap🧼

You were in your kitchen making dinner, waiting for your boyfriend to come home. Today was your second week, check up. You had walked in that building with high hopes, and left feeling like you lost a piece of yourself. As you were chopping up vegetables, you hear your boyfriend come in through the door. letting out a long breath you didn't know you had. "Hey Bonnie!" he says in a grunt. as he drops his bag down on the floor, walking up to you. hugging you from behind, putting his massive hands on your little baby bump. "How's my 2 babies doing?" He says cheekily, leaving countless of kisses on your neck. "Uhh... We're good" you say nervously, trying your hardest to hide all the pain you felt today. you want to at least have dinner before you have to tell him. But he quickly notices, he always does. "Mhm... How did the appointment go? Do we know the gender of this little thing right here" he humps happily. As he gently rubs your bump. But you don't respond. You pretend as if you didn't hear him, as it is still too painful to talk about. There's a long pause, as he taps your shoulder again. "How. Did. The. Appointment. Go.?" He says now starting to get impatient. Struggling to find the words, he pulls you tighter into his touch. making you forget what you're doing. "Is everything okay?" He says softly starting to get worried. "No..." You burst into tears and this makes him worried. "What happened... Talk to me Bonnie." He demands, but in the most gentle Way. "W- we... Don't have the baby anymore" you cry. He hugs you from behind even tighter, as he starts to get emotional. "Fuck!.." where the only words he could get out, before he buried his face in your shoulder. grieving this lost with you.

You weren't expecting soap to take it as hard as he did. But when he found out he got depressed for a couple of weeks. it took a lot to get him out of that depression state. Even some of the guys were getting worried about him.

The first person he told was surprisingly price. even though price doesn't have kids of his own. he was very supportive, and knew exactly what to say. You were thankful for the captain because he had help soap get out of his depression. and had actually given him a couple weeks off, so he could take time for himself, and you of course. Because we all know ghost would have been like try for another 💀

Even though you guys had the lost baby, soap would still rub, and talk to your belly all the time, it was just a comforting thing for him. almost like a habit. and you'd have to remind him the baby isn't there anymore. And his response would always be. "Oh, Yea' I knew that..."

Surprisingly not short after. soap has started coming around and bringing up kids more and more. trying to bring up the idea of trying for another. Because now all that fills his mind is the idea of you being a mom. the idea of domesticated life with you, away from the battleground. is something he's starting to crave more and more.

On the nights that soap couldn't sleep, you would always find him in the nursery that was supposed to be the baby's room. Zoning out while holding one of the baby's books/onesies. it would always break your heart each time, because these were the rare moments where you could see the pure care, and love, he had for this baby.

Rudy🥺

You and your husband were on your way for your second week, ultrasound appointment. So excited and happy. You guys have been trying for so long to have a baby, And before you know it, your guys's dream is coming true. you're getting called back into an ultrasound room, where you would be finding out the gender before too long. As you lay on the table nervous, your husband sitting right next to you holding your hand. "Mi amor everything's going to go great! I know it." He says, having the biggest smile on his face. this was the day he had been so excited for. Soon one of the nurses comes in and begins the ultrasound. but soon all of that excitement had died down, when the look on her face quickly changed and she had excused herself from the room. Leaving you with this gut-wrenching feeling, of horrified. You look to your husband and both of you shared the same expression. "I'm sure it's fine" he says, trying to assure you. but you both know... Before you know it one of the doctors comes in. and the look on their face is not anything good. "Ms and Mr parry. I really hate to break this bad news but.... It seems that you had a miscarriage..." the doctor says, and it takes everything you had not to breakdown right then and there. "I'm sorry for your loss. One of the nurses will be in with you soon to go over everything" she says before she leaves you 2 alone. Looking to your husband, he's trying his hardest not to cry too. "I- how.... We've done everything we should have." He says, trying to find some sort of an excuse. Gripping your hand even tighter, he gets up and leans a kiss on your forehead. "We've tried so hard... I just don't understand." He whispers in your ear. As he held your hand tight.

When Rudy found out he took a couple weeks off work to be with you. As you were now his only priority, and he had to make sure you were okay.

You and Rudy had actually kept this secret for a while. as you guys were grieving a horrible loss, you'd preferred to stay quiet. You decided not to tell anybody not even Alejandro until you couldn't keep it a secret anymore.

A few weeks after. he had actually called Alejandro to take all of the baby stuff for him and his wife since they were expecting. and a part of Rudy was jealous, even though he was happy to see his best friend starting his own family. a part of him couldn't help but ask himself why? why it couldn't have been you and him.

Anytime you and him would go to the store and if there was a baby section he would always point to it and go "look mi amor... Maybe it's a sign for us to try again?" He would say hopeful, because this man really deep down just wanted to be a dad.

Something that you didn't know was Rudy always kept an ultrasound picture in his vest pocket. Even now after the baby was gone he still does. it's a little reminder for him of what he's fighting for. even if he didn't get the chance to meet that little of bundle of joy in this life, He hopes he can in another.

And that's going to be the end for this. I hope you all enjoyed this little HC, it was a random thought and I just knew I had to do it. (Also but for some reason doing the actual HCs were so difficult like my mind went blank when I got to them 😭) Also And happy late Thanksgiving for all the people who celebrate. anyways I hope you are having a good day/night wherever you are. Reblogs, comments always appreciate it 🖤

Tags: @alexkellersleg @macravishedbymactavish

@walker33961

[heisenbergs-magnetic-dick]

I’ve been thinking.

in mw3 reboot, the court scene with Graves was on live television (I think, I haven’t played it), and it made me think.

what if Alejandro (+the other vaqueros) happened to see it on the news, finding out that Graves wasn’t really dead.

if Alejandro was watching the news that day I just KNOW he threw a chair at his tv.

live Alejandro reaction:

[summermoonshine]

Call Of Duty MWIII - SPOILERS

Below, some clips + videos from MWIII where we'll analyse what happened to Soap.

After sharing them, however, I would like to say a few things (if you not interested in this, I understand, but please: just skip that part as I really need to vent about the matter; my apologies).

Now, the clips.

Let's start with the Soap's death (full video will be uploaded in a separate post because it deserves respect):

Wanting to deliberately leave out the fact that Makarov had complete freedom to engage a firefight without being captured (the idiotic run after killing Soap is truly ridiculous compared to Makarov in MW3), what is inevitable to do is, for me, to compare the dynamics with something already seen: does this scene remind you of anything? No? Maybe this will jog your memory:

This is in addition to what said by Makarov to Captain Price:

"Never bury your enemies alive". Who else was buried alive if not Ghost himself (according to '09 backstory)? This could justify the lack of an official backstory for Ghost 22: would Soap's death be his true downfall into the underworld? Mh.

Speaking of him, I so resent Soap's death for many reasons (which I'll discuss shortly), but above all because by killing him, they also killed Ghost: one shot, two deaths. Ghost had started to live again thanks to Soap, and it was with him that he died, too. Until the end, he was stood next to him because ''no one fights alone''. The fact that, even under the threat of a bomb capable of neutralizing half the world, Ghost chose to remain next to Soap as he bled to death to me is everything. The stone-cold man, detached and attached only to the field manual (where friendship does not even appear), he is the one who SCREAMS his sergeant's name. Let's hear the pain in his voice:

Sure, it could be a standard reaction of any man who sees his teammate killed before his eyes, but no one would expect such a reaction from the 'stone-cold man'. But a mask isn't enough to hide the pain: He's lost; his eyes roaming for help:

He's out of breath, his chest moving up and down as if he's not just catching his breath, but holding back an explosion. Cry? Tears? Anger?

I slowed down this part to highlight how the head-shake was not just to confirm the death, indicating that there was nothing left to be done, but it was personal: he can't believe his eyes, and his heavy breathing confirms it.

At that precise moment, they didn't just kill Ghost; they killed Simon, too.

In fact, in the clip below (I cut+slowed it) it's Simon (see the mask) who takes care of Johnny after his death: he keeps Johnny in his backpack, holds the urn from start to finish, he has the task of scattering the ashes in what appears to be a Scottish's mountain, and he is the one who brings HIM back home with him.

He is family.

It's precisely when talking about family that I can't stop thinking about the quantity of ashes in his urn. The amount of ashes is small: what if half the ashes went to Soap's family and Ghost kept the other half?

Also, Soap has managed to make himself loved by everyone, and this is why I consider this scene (pic below) to be of fundamental importance: the act of adding his nickname stands for: ''you were not a soldier, but something dear to me''.

The document is drawn up by Laswell, the one who protected Task Force 141 from behind the scenes even when General Shepherd had betrayed them, showing that the relationship between them all goes far beyond the working one:

it is a matter of heart.

-

It's for this reason that I feel like I must say some things about all this: there is so much to say actually but, as absurd as it may be, I felt the strong need to take some time for myself and understand what to do with this pain. As a player and historical supporter of the COD saga, I can say that in 20 years I have never seen the fandom as active, lively and full of passion as in 2022.

As I already explained, it was vital to me that AV gave Soap another chance after mw3. Sure, it's a war videogame and deaths are therefore inevitable, but killing the same character twice with the sole hope of making us hate Makarov so as to have more hype for the next COD (which, personally, I doubt will follow this arc since I define it now concluded although there are still unresolved issues) it was a stupid move to make, because by doing so we are hating AV, not Price or Makarov himself.

Furthermore, what is most infuriating is that if the COD family has started to be so creative and enthusiastic again, it is above all thanks to Saop (and to our Neil along with others VA; unfortunately, not every one of them).

Each of the protagonists in MWII was perfect, earning a special place in our hearts, but it is clear that Soap and the relationship established with Ghost were the catalyst of definitive affection that connected us so deeply to the reboot, leading us to buy even a new game that, more than a campaign, more than a DLC, is a scam:

rushed dialogues, too many characters piled on top of each other, typical warzone game dynamics with such a short duration that each level becomes chaotic etc etc etc… 2, maximum 3 hours later, we find ourselves with a Soap killed, slaughtered and left to die with total dullness and without any emotional focus DURING our game without even receiving a cutscene dedicated to him.

And, as if that wasn't enough, by killing him, Ghost was also indirectly killed: for once, perhaps for the first real time, that man - always represented as cold - had found a family and something, someone to hold on to : taking it, taking HIM, away from him, they demolished two people with a single shot.

Atrocious.

Treating one of the characters who has practically supported the entire current COD fortune on his shoulders in this way is, for me, a great injustice, as well as a stupid move.

Again, I don't hate Makarov; I hate AV.

Soap 22 will forever be our comfort zone, because he has never been just a video game character, but our home.

[g-h-0-s-t-3-d]

Evening Lookouts and Quiet Promises - Ghost x Hawk Oneshot

A/N: here's a little oneshot for y'all to get a taste of Simon and Wren before I start posting their full fic Silhouettes and Songbirds! This is far later into their relationship, post-MW2 but pre-MW3.

Tags: Fluff, Established Relationship, SFW, Military Themes (Call of Duty)

“So you’re telling me, Johnny drank three tall bottles of pure rum and ran a mission the next day like it was nothing?”

“I swear on my life.”

Simon let out an amused huff. She grinned wide - the world was beautiful beneath their sniper position on an old roof tonight, a vibrant sunset painting the sky above the town strewn below.

“Really, Si, you shouldn’t be that surprised… I’ve seen you down glasses of bourbon that would make grown men cry.” She chuckled lightly, giving him a playful nudge. His eyes narrowed when her shoulder met his, but she knew it was only a facade.

“C’mon… don’t tell me you don’t like it. I know you’re lying.” A cheeky grin, a singsong voice… she knew exactly what to do to get him flustered.

“I don’t like it.” He deadpanned, his stony gaze unwavering.

“And I know you’re lying.”

“Am I?”

“You sure seemed to like it last night.”

His eyes widened at her quip, the obnoxious glimmer in her eye a strange mix of aggravating and amusing as she waited excitedly for his reaction. He inhaled deeply, pressing his index finger to the bridge of his nose.

“Keep it tactical, Sergeant.”

She scoffed. “I hate you sometimes, you know that?”

He adjusted his mask on his face. “That’s not what you said last night.”

She gasped dramatically and smacked his shoulder. He let out a light, easy chuckle - music to her ears. It was rare that Ghost laughed… even rarer that she got to hear it like this.

When Soap laughed, it was like the embodiment of the sun. For Simon, it was the moon - only coming out when the rest of the world is quiet, when he could shine for the few who listen. When she could listen.

“You’re a bastard, Riley.”

“You wouldn’t have me any other way.”

She rolls her eyes. He chuckles again, and… he leans against her. She stiffens for just a moment at the sensation - it was rare that Simon ever accepted contact, let alone initiated it.

“Someone’s in a good mood.”

“Don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, Little Bird.”

She smirks before her lips settle in an easy smile. The banter was natural between the two of them; it was familiar. She searched for it, craved it - a sort of fucked up love language for two fucked up people.

But when the lights went low and skin met skin, all the banter boiled down to things they couldn’t ever say in their waking hours. It was why, in moments like this when she swears by any higher power that might be up there that Simon was made for her, she held his wrist gently and rolled his sleeve up, turning his arm to reveal his intricate black tattoo sleeve. When she was tired, she traced the inky designs with her heavy eyes. When she was sad, she watched her tears roll down the deep black. When she was happy, she clutched it like a lifeline, like it was her very will to live, because he was her will to live.

It was why she pulled a pen out of her pocket and traced along the lines of the sleeve, slow and careful and loving. It was why he let her. And it was why, when she finally reached the edge of the sleeve at his upper bicep, she scrawled three words - small, but clear - on the scarred skin.

‘I love you.’

She writes it so he doesn’t have to say it. Not because he doesn’t mean it, and not because he doesn’t want to say it… but some things between them were just better left unsaid. If they both knew, then what did it matter?

So he smiled, and he took her arm in his hand, positioning the marker over the juncture between her arm and her shoulder. Three words - small, but clear.

‘I love you.’

I love you, too. And he did - he really, really fucking did.

(And if she went and got those very same words tattooed on that very same spot, that was nobody’s business but her own.)

[fixfoxnox]

I remember you sayin something about a “old timelines meets new” fic, I’m just genuinely wondering if old price is thrown into the sito universe what his reaction would be to seeing his old teammates alive and seeing this universes price lol

I think if I wrote this, I would probably use a Price from before Roach, Ghost, and Soap died, however, if we assume it was the one from the very end of mw3? Ooooo boy the angst.

First of all, Gaz? He's sobbing already. Literally crying.

Gaz was essentially the first one that he "adopted." They had a super close relationship in the first life and this Gaz was almost like Soap's playful older brother. I think when Gaz died, a piece of Price genuinely died with him. I also think he never allowed himself to properly mourn and instead threw himself back into work.

Any part of him that was ever going to show mercy to terrorists/those that he went after was gone with Gaz. So I think seeing that this Price, this other version of himself still has his Gaz. That this Gaz is still alive? I think it drags up old memories, old feelings. Things that he never let himself fully process.

The more time he spends with Present! Gaz, the more he realizes how similar he is to his Gaz. He doesn't say anything to Gaz, but he definitely pulls this other version of himself to the side and tells him to keep an eye on Gaz. To make sure that nothing bad happens to him. He warns him that if Gaz dies, a piece of him goes to.

Present! Price already knew that if Gaz died, a piece of him would too, but he see's this broken and empty version of himself and is able to realize for the first time what that would actually look like.

Moving to Ghost and Roach. I think with them is more of a moderate reaction. He didn't really know either of them too well when he died, but he had already started caring for them. I think it makes him feel better to see them both happy in this new life.

However, with Roach specifically, I also think it would make him a bit sad. While he didn't know Roach very well, he knew him long enough to pick out how energetic, excitable, and happy the lad was. He see's this Roach, weighed down by two lives, and without even knowing that he can tell that something is different. He can see that this Roach isn't the same. That he's sadder. None of the Present! 141 are able to pick up on this because they never knew Roach without his memories plaguing him and Roach is very good at hiding those feelings.

Price ends up talking to Roach about the first life after he finds out that he remembers. He tells him about how he and Soap had gone after Shepherd as revenge. About killing Shepherd. About Yuri. About Soap's death. He tells him all of it and, despite how it obviously makes Roach sad, he also see's the relief it brings the younger man when he finally has a concrete idea of what had happened after he died.

I think Soap pulls the biggest reaction from him. I imagine he would literally not even think before pulling him into a hug. I feel like he would probably apologize to him. He knows it isn't his Soap, but it helps him in some odd way to finally get to say those words and apologize to any version of Soap.

He's ecstatic to see how happy Soap is in this new world. Absolutely fully understands why Soap is still only a Sergeant: "have no idea how the one from my life ever became Captain of a team"

Spends so much time around Soap and Gaz it isn't even funny. Just takes the opportunity to be around these people that he lost in whatever form that he can. Even if he knows it won't last. Even if he knows they aren't his Soap and Gaz. It doesn't matter.

As for him and Present! Price? Lowkey just think they'd hit each other with the:

"Nice hat"

"Thanks, you too"

Then start comparing their favorite cigars lmao

[puppercupboard]

I was going to leave my say on the current state of things with regards to MW3 and it's ending (major spoilers ahead) to one post but i am notoriously bad at keeping my mouth shut so like....

let me preface this that i am not telling you that you have to comply with canon. i am not a cop. if you want to make an au where soap lives go ahead. my friends and i already have. this is just a vent post and i don't expect anyone to give a shit what i have to say.

but genuinely the response that i've seen from some of the ghoap shippers with regards to his death? it's giving.... complete tone-deafness and total unfamiliarity with the characters that they are proclaiming to love.

which i suppose shouldn't be too surprising, considering that i have seen people admitting to not engaging with the source material because it's military propaganda (and it is!) and saying they don't want to promote it... as people who are creators for the ship. The ship that has been one of the biggest driving forces for funneling new people into the fandom. y'know. the fandom for the military propaganda game.

the number of people i've seen people say that they've only watched soap's death scene in one sentence and then say it was done for shock value in the next. that it came out of nowhere. that it had no reason to happen. as if there isn't foreshadowing to it sprinkled through the entire game... it boggles my fucking mind. like. i cannot imagine skipping to the climax of a book and complaining about how it didn't make any sense and had no emotional impact.

which is another thing, cause like. i have absolutely seen people complain that the death wasn't emotional enough. straight up seen people say that it would be better ghost should have been crying and screaming and cradling soap to him. ghost... yall gonna act as if ghost, who is present basically from the moment that we see him in MW2 as closed off and guarded and unshakable no matter the violence happening around him.... rushing to soap's side to check on him the instant that the active threat was gone and kneeling in a pool of soap's blood so shaken up that he couldn't help with anything, couldn't talk and could barely move..... is not an emotional reaction?

like... for real, yall have lost the plot so bad. saw someone go full on "we deserve a soft epilogue" with the ship as a response to the ending and that is genuinely fucking hilarious(derogatory). like... none of these men want one. soap went down swinging. soap went down saving the life of his friend. soap got a quick death in a fight to prevent countless civilian casualties. that was the best case scenario for him.

yall are acting like this isn't a military game about a special operations group made of war criminals in a franchise that has never once hesitate to kill off characters. they did not kill off soap because of homophobia. they did not kill off soap because they don't like ghoap and want you to stop shipping. they killed off soap because killing off soap made sense.

you can cry about it all you want but when you go complaining about how they killed off the blorbo you adopted based on his appearance from a series who's canon you don't actually engage with. and talking about how now that he's dead you're never going to even ACKNOWLEDGE the canon going forward........ bestie take off the fucking blinders, what you are holding in your hands is an OC.

[eowynstwin]

I am literally so bored. There’s nothing else to say. See yall at the end of this clusterfuck

[soap-ify]

finished mw3 campaign last night and um... err...

MW3 / MWIII SPOILERS !!

i need to get so much off my chest uh i am going insane. i woke up with puffy eyes because i just couldn't stop crying the whole night :( i don't care if i'm being dramatic soap means THE WORLD to me. he is literally my biggest comfort character ever and they did him so dirty in this campaign it almost felt like a joke... i could barely focus on my claases today aaa.

the mw3 campaign itself was alright to me! i have seen people straight on disliking it but except the last hour, i really like the campaign! yes, it was quite face paced and in comparison to mw2, the writing just... wasn't it. but we got some real cool missions like the one where ghost and soap interrogate milena and the flashback soap and price one!! soap's chewing gum scene WAS JUST THE CUTEST THING EVER.

other than that, i feel like they barely explored the character dynamics and relationships they established in mw2. some characters seemed bland but!! soap was going through such an INTERESTING characterisation in this campaign. we saw a hot-headed version of him that was so determined to kill makarov and his people in order to save the lives of countless civilians. soap is so determined and passionate, i wished that this new route they were taking was EXPLORED MORE... i am mad at price since he kept on denying soap but that's for another day. (at least price called soap "sunshine" )

soap's death just felt so unnecessary to the plot and lacked any proper emotion such as the ones that were explored in the original mw3. there wasn't even a proper cutscene! soap is a protagonist who deserves to be treated as such, not as a npc who gets a five second death and barely any reaction from the surrounding characters (except ghost. he knelt by soap's dead body and we could literally feel his shock and blanked out state of mind during that scene...)

the scene of ghost pouring soap's ashes into the air was just so heart-breaking. i am so mad at how they dealt with soap. he was literally introduced last year in the reboot and deserved to be explored so much more!! they barely gave us any time with him this is so sick.

mw2 campaign was just so much better in terms of the characterisation, writing and the pace of the story. the little dialogues were a treat too and i just enjoyed it much more.

i'm sad we won't get neil ellice promotional content at all again this just hurts :( he gave so much life to soap's character i will miss him dearly.

[numberonegiverwitch]

Yall know what they say new(call of duty) new me(mes)!!!!!!

Guys guy's ive been waiting for the trailer to drop since yesterday and i had ideas for new memes since they announced mw3 so more coming soon BE READY!!!!!!!! also my live reaction to makarov's reveal.....

[m0thmonster]

INTERRUPTING YOUR SCHEDULED POSTS TO BRING YOU M0TH CRYING HIS FUCKING EYES OUT

live bunny reaction to mw3 i thinki mgonna be SICK

[audiogrizzly]

My Top 20 Games of the 2010s

I will still be doing my usual top 5 this year, but seeing as it’s the last year of a whole decade, I am going to start off with a list of games that encompasses the whole of the last 10 years.

A couple of things to point out before we get cracking:

This is a personal list, so there’s gonna be some games that you the reader may not agree with.  I’m actually in a privileged position to play whatever I want, but I don’t necessarily agree with everything professional game writers say.  There will be a list of “honourable mentions” at the end, this may include a few of the games you might have been expecting

I do cheat a little, some entries are dedicated to a franchise of games.  At the end of the day, if you are into Destiny, chances are that Destiny 1 and 2 sort of merged into each other, Destiny 1 changed as much over its 3 year lifespan as the final product changed into Destiny 2

There are no games from 2019 in here, apart from part of one of them, see my previous point.  Maybe one day I will look at Apex legends and say “yes, that was the best game of the 2010s”, but it’s too early to say now.

I know there are a lack of Nintendo games.  There is one Nintendo exclusive and another that I played on a Nintendo platform (in the top 20, there may be more in the honourable mentions), but all in all I won’t be mentioning what system I played these games on unless I have to.  If you must know, the majority were played on either PlayStation 4 and PC.  A couple of Vita, PS3, Switch and Wii U.

I will be adding information on where each game scored in my previous yearly top 5s though and I did do those on separate platforms up until 2013.  So in a way, that’s confirming what systems I played these all on.

If you have followed my yearly top 5s, you’ll see some inconsistency, as in the fact that I have got my number 1 game from 2015 further down the list than my number 2 of that year.  Also that I have my 1st and 3rd best game from 2018 on the list but my number 2 game is merely on the honourable mentions.  This is because your thoughts towards a game can change.  I still love all the games I have ever placed on a top 5, but some games age better than others.

And I’m not going to write descriptions, I always write something in my yearly lists.  As I said before, I’m not a games writer, it’s going to take way too long and I don’t think anyone's going to read what I write anyway, just look at the list.

At the start of this decade, I had no idea if I would still be playing games by the end of it or where I would be.  I’m actually still sort of in the same place I was in 2010, but it’s been a fun ride, in a sort of “slipping into middle age” sort of way.  But I think I was born to be old to be honest.  Now I find myself at the start of the 2020s, I’m wondering how my hearing/eyesight/reactions will be at the end of the next decade.

Now that I have depressed the hell out of you, let’s begin!

20. PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale (2nd on both my PS3 and Vita lists in 2012)

19. Vanquish (4th on my PS3 list from 2010)

18. Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain (1st on my 2015 list)

17. Steamworld Dig 2 (3rd on my 2017 list)

16. Marvel’s Spider-Man (4th on my 2018 list)

15. Gravity Rush 1 & 2 (GR1 1st on my Vita 2012 list, GR2 on my honourable mentions from 2017)

14. Dangonronpa Series (D1 5th on my 2014 list, DV3 honourable mention for 2017, D2 not listed)

13. The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt (2nd on my 2015 list)

12. God of War (1st on my 2018 list)

11. The Last of Us (2nd on my 2013 list, though I really started to enjoy it more when the Remastered version came out on PS4, 1st on my 2014 list)

10. NieR: Automata (2nd on my 2017 list)

9. Horizon Zero Dawn (1st on my 2017 list)

8. Persona 4 Golden (Not listed, this is the only game I didn’t play in the year of its release on here)

7. Diablo 3 (3rd on my PS3 list in 2013, Honourable mention for PS4 in 2014)

6. DOOM (2nd on my 2016 list)

5. Portal 2 (2nd on my PS3 list for 2012)

4. CoD Series (yes, all of them, here’s a list within a list:)

10. Ghosts (2nd on my PS4 list in 2013)

9. Advanced Warfare (3rd on my 2014 list)

8. Infinite Warfare (Honourable mention in 2016)

7. Black Ops 3 (Not listed, but didn’t do honourable mentions in 2015)

6. Modern Warfare (not listed yet, but like I said, it’s too early for me to feel confident in a 2019 game, though MW is a cracker)

5. Black Ops 4 (5th on my 2018 list)

4. WWII (Not listed, not even on honourables, weirdly)

3. Black Ops 2 (2nd on my 360 list from 2012, making this my only Xbox game on my list)

2. Black Ops (Not listed, didn’t do honourables in 2010)

1. Modern Warfare 3 (1st on my PS3 list from 2011)

3. Mario Kart 8 (Not listed, the only top 5 I can find from 2014 is a PS4 list, I got this rather late in the year though)

2. Overwatch (1st on my 2016 list)

1. Destiny 1&2 (D1 2nd on my 2014 list, D2 5th on my 2017 list)

Destiny there being a good example of a game that gets better over time, I think the whole “live game” scene found its stride in the 10s and it’s made sure that this game that was never number 1 in its year of release could go on to be the game I have perhaps put the most hours into.  You also have multiplayer games taking up my entire top 4 too (I mostly play CoD for multiplayer), though all in all, the majority of this list are single player titles.

And all CoDs in the list?  It’s basically just CoD itself that’s at number 4.  If I was forced to adhere to a list where there was only single games listed, there would be no way I would have Ghosts or Advanced Warfare on there at the end of it all.  I would just keep MW3 on there perhaps, but then I would feel iffy about some of the games at the bottom of the list.  Do I really like PS All-Stars and Vanquish more than Black Ops 1 & 2?

So what of the decade’s honourable mentions?  Will it feature GTA or Red Dead.  The answer to the latter is “yes” and the former, here:

GTA 5

Batman Arkham city

Uncharted 3

Red Dead Redemption

Super Street Fighter 4

Hyper Light Drifter

Dishonored 2

Titanfall 2

Battleborn

Watch Dogs 2

Ratchet and Clank

Red Dead Redemption 2

Tearaway (Vita and Unfolded)

Sonic Mania

Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild (yes, in my honourables!)

Hotline Miami

Bioshock Infinite

Tomb Raider (2016)

Borderlands 2

Life is Strange

Uncharted 4 (and Lost Legacy)

Persona 5

Assassins Creed Origins and Odyssey (Origins I played the year after it came out, it would have been considered a game of the year if I’d had played it in 2017)

Far Cry 3 (Plus its legacy, even FC5)

Bulletstorm

And I’m just going to add Control to that list too as it’s the only game from 2019 that I have enjoyed that I see as being something that will stand up in a couple of years, maybe the Outer Worlds (I haven't played Wilds) too, but I will need to give that another play.

So there you have it, 10 years in gaming from me.  Will I still be playing games after another?  Time, and my body, will tell.  Look out for my top 5 of 2019, I still have to give Judgment and Death Stranding a good go before I can make up my mind, maybe I will play Outer Wilds too.