Price: *observing How Nikolai Speaks, Easily Switching From English To Arabic, While Making Occasional

Price: *observing how Nikolai speaks, easily switching from English to Arabic, while making occasional jokes in Russian*

Price: I didn't know I'm shagging a Google Translator

Soap: Cap-... Nevermind

Someone commented on edit with Alejandro, calling him their "little border hopper" and I'm fucking losing it

People have written a lot of touchy-feely pieces on this subject but I thought I’d get right to the heart of the matter

Ghost, hands Johnny a tea: Here, this’ll sort ya out.

Soap: I swear you fuckin’ Brits think tea’ll fix anything.

Rudy, confused: You’re both British, no?

Alejandro, kicks Rudy under the table.  Whispers: Now you’ve done it… 

Soap, sipping tea: I identify as Scottish.

Ghost: You can identify as a fuckin’ tree, mate. But it don’t change nothin’ Scotland’s part of Britain…you’re British.

Soap: Geographically, aye. But that’s no’ the point! 

Ghost: You know, none of the Welsh or Irish boys make as much noise about it as you…

Soap: This doesny concern them!

Rudy, to Gaz: Are they going to fight… Did I miss something?

Gaz, who’s been sitting quiet: Nah mate, this is foreplay for them…I’m just glad my room’s not next to theirs… 

Some Soap Headcanons/Thoughts from a Scottish person? 👇🏼

“Fuckin’ Brits!” 

I’ve seen a lot of folks mention how odd it was, and that the writers have somehow forgotten about Scotland being a part of Britain.

Some folks have suggested that maybe this was just an attempt of them writing Soap as a Nationalist only to be countered with comments that he would have said “Fuckin’ English.” Because Scotland is still a part of Great Britain.

Keep in mind that “British” is often used as a generalisation by many for those living in the UK, so anyone who is strongly against the Union may refuse to associate themselves with it and strongly emphasise by affirming their  “I’m Scottish.”

Whatever Soap’s political views on the treaty of Union, signed all the way back on the 1st May 1707, matter not, because it’s purely banter. The Scots and English have history, and they’re playing with it (Especially when you consider Ghost's whole “Speak English.” stuff.)

As a Scottish person, who’s man was als born here, but his family are English, I often take the piss about his heritage…some of us are just like that, okay? 🤣

Soap’s accent.

I’ve seen it come up again and again in comments that Soap’s accent changes, and sometimes his Scottish accent seems forced…that his VA is clearly not a native, unlike Captain MacTavish’s…

Besides the fact that his VA is actually Scottish, Soap travels the world, he works closely with folks from all over, so it is no surprise to me that his accent is going to dip and change from time to time.

And the times where he’s “forcing it” in "Alone", “Awa and Bile yer heid!” “It’s pishin’ it doon oot here.” c’mon now, he’s purposely trying to goad Ghost! 🤣 

I worked in tourism, my colleagues came from all over. I’ve grown up with American TV shows and video games. And you bet I hear an accent and have to mimic it! When folk ask me where I’m from, it’s like a default to emphasise my accent as much as possible… oh and angry and drunk… tends to rev up the accent a little more too 👀

Basically the accent is Scottish… with extra seasoning 🤣

When Nik first finds you, it’s when you tried to rob him.

You’d been younger then. Wilder, scared of a world you struggled to survive in. With hardly a roof over your head, always an empty belly, chased by ghosts of a past you struggled to leave behind. You were desperate, constantly looking for a way out, clawing and scrambling at the stone alleyways in hopes you could one day see the sky.

He’d found you like that, as a dirty, fierce little stray. In a grimy jacket, eyes wild, dirt smeared across your face, you’d held up a knife to him and demanded his wallet. Stupid, you know, but shivering, scared of the world that was destined to eat you alive, choosing a target far bigger than yourself.

Cute, he’d admitted later.

It had taken little effort from him to twist the knife from your hand, examining it as you’d frozen in shock that only seemed to multiply when he asked you if you wanted a warm meal. The offer had been too tempting to ignore, but in reality it was the barest hint of softness behind his eyes that had you follow him like a kicked stray out of the cold.

He’d taken you to a quiet little eatery, out of the way, only three tables. The cook had given you both a look, suspicious of the man who had escorted in a woman much younger than him, dirty and nervous as you were. Nik had let you order, smirking as you nervously picked something small, cheap, and instead ordered something large and warm for you. He’d watched you scarf down the entirety of your meal, gazing at him suspiciously all the while. He’d been quiet, appraising you later realized.

You knew of men like him. Gangsters, thugs, men who worked alongside the mafia or even worse. Men from the underbelly of Russian society who walked in plainclothes and held dark secrets. You knew the danger of accepting favors from men like him. Be it your body, your servitude, or a debt paid in blood, men like those you feared would come to collect in due course, would bleed you dry and leave you ruined given the chance. The only charity they offered served their own interests, the cause they flew their flag for.

It became clear as time grew that Nikolai was not much different, that he had taken one look at you and had seen the thing you never saw in yourself:

Potential.

soap's whole deal being sniper and demolitions gets me going bc on the surface they sound so different but when you get into it, you realise it's bc soap's smart

sniping is all math; calculating distances and wind interference and bullet drop. something i think people overlook is he was listed as a sniper first so it can be implied that he's better at it than demolitions. he does more sniping in both campaigns than demolitions work; in capture or kill, ghost specifically calls on him to take down the aq snipers

and demolitions is math with a hit of chemistry; knowing what mixes with what, knowing how much to use, recognising environmental factors and adjusting accordingly. it's not just about the boom; so much work goes into contained/ planned explosions. especially when having enough power for a breacher charge and not bringing down the whole building is the difference between mission success and failure

the chemical bombs he makes in alone can't just be any old cleaners, they have to have the correct reaction to each other; he just knew off the top of his head what would mix with what to create what reaction. he would also potentially have to recognise them by sight/smell bc they would’ve been written in spanish

soap would also have to know architecture; recognising structural integrity and weak points so he knows exactly where to plant a charge to bring it down and how it'll come down

he has an incredible soldier's mind people just forget that bc he's sociable which itself is a skill

we know he tends to buck against orders he doesn't agree with like when he pushes back against ghost in capture or kill and shepherd when he tells them to release hassan

he gets closer to people and sees if he can trust them and that's when he follows them without question. really think about how he talks to alejandro and rudy; he asks about their home and alejandro's family and rudy's relationship with him. those aren't questions you ask a stranger after a few hours of knowing them. that's not even touching on his relationship with ghost

he also deliberately brings people of higher ranks down to his level; talking informally with ghost and giving him a shoulder punch, addressing alejandro (a colonel!!) by his first name and rudy by his nickname despite literally just meeting them. he personalises all of them and it’s in direct opposition to the reason most characters do that; it’s not due to insubordination or lack of respect, the more he respects and trusts someone, the more casual he is with them

he digs into people; he wants to know what makes them tick and that determines if he can one, trust them and two, follow their orders. once he decides that, he's the ultimate soldier; he bleeds loyalty which makes him vicious when that loyalty is taken for granted

he isn't naive or bubbly or insecure; he's an incredibly smart and aware soldier. he's aggressive and bloodthirsty and loyal and intuitive and i love him so much