looking through the Perseus fanwiki, i saw this. and oh boy.
[also this will be a holy yap - apologies in advance]
Anton Volkov, Arash Kadivar, Quasim Javadi were all known Agents.
I suspect they were still pretty important members [read: how they were all in Bell's lil mind palace, in the meeting room] and suppliers. Executives maybe. Just that we don't have an actual title given to them. Eitherways, they are Agents, and not on the same level as a Commander.
But Bell's title and position is confirmed to be Commander. This is further backed by how Bell is continuously mentioned as "second-in-command" to Perseus. Perseus favored Bell a LOT.
so can you imagine. the sheer BALLS of Arash Kadivar to assassinate Bell, especially when he KNOWS this.
If Arash wasn't killed by Adler, and Perseus eventually found out, Arash would have been killed eitherways in my honest opinion.
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Volkov: ...And what makes me suddenly worthy of your attention?
Bell seemingly never spoke to their subordinates unless business meant for it (which also means them talking to Arash was also probably Arash being like an escort for a boss, sort of thing?).
So can you imagine Volkov's triumph, when he finds Bell in East Berlin, and finally subdue them and leave them in a vulnerable position before him? The once all-powerful second-in-command, now a prisoner and hostage under his control.
I find it interesting, despite looking for Bell, Perseus was willing to have Bell killed. Perhaps Perseus was suspecting Bell to have betrayed them? By the way, Volkov and Perseus didn't know who Bell was 'working' with; Volkov asks during the interrogation "Who do you work for?".
Volkov saying this:
Volkov: I could probably make use of you, but you’re damaged goods. Only a grave can cure a hunchback.
Means that Volkov (and likely Perseus, since Volkov is probably echoing his sentiments) saw Bell as a traitor, regardless of knowing what happened. Not that Bell was in any state to recognise what's going on. But still, I'd argue, his swiftness to try kill Bell was likely also due to getting rid of 'competition' or jealousy like Arash. Bell returning to the organisation would mean the second-in-command position will be taken up again soon. Which means less power for other executives/agents.
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TL;DR: everyone wanted Bell dead. Even before Adler came into the picture, Bell was a political figure with a target on their back because of their high position and the power they wielded. And I just find it so funny that small fries like Arash thought he could just kill Bell and get away with it.
This blog is pro-bashing Arash for his stupid actions and stupid fashion (in a lightheaded manner, trust).
Qasim Javadi + other Perseus characters head cannons simply because we have barely anything on them didn’t help the whole Perseus thing except for stitch was forgotten about by activision. Btw Main Perseus means the man we meet during the Lie ending.
Qasim Javadi:
Definitely did some from of running sport maybe both track and cross country when he was in school, because woods says “Jesus this guy is fast.” So he’s really fast runner and can actually run a good speed for a good amount of time, which is one of the reasons he avoid capture for so long. So he’s more flight than fight.
Due to how quickly he tried to bargain with Adler when he had no where to go he’s probably not a good fighter in any capacity so he relies on his ability to out run enemies.
Since the info we have on him mentions he grew up in poverty being able to run fast and for long periods was beneficial if he ever had to steal food from shops or when other kids try to steal food from him.
Dropped out around year 2 of his medical study so he has a good amount of knowledge of it and because of this he’s called on if Arash or another member needs medical attention.
He’s not super knowledgeable about Persues group as he’s mainly handle the finances for Arash but he has meet a few other maybe meet Bell a few times when both himself and Bell were assisting main Pursues and Arash respectably.
My Bell is a bit more quiet and reserved and Qasim probably doesn’t speak much in meetings so the two tend to sit back during meetings or chat when Arash and Main peruses were having a private conversation.
Arash Kadivar:
Arash deep down knows part of his jealousy towards Bell is because he secretly craves main Perseus approve that come off as fatherly , the first time main Perseus acted fatherly towards him after a well done job Arash immediately felt extremely proud and happy but would never admit.
Due to him losing his father at 11 nearly 12 means sometimes he craves a older man approval especially when it’s fatherly so when Bell started to get that type of praise and fatherly attitude more the he got secretly jealous over it.
It didn’t help his mother became more closed off due to grief of course she still loved Arash and tried her best to not neglect him but for the first few months she was swallowed in grief so Arash was left on his own a lot.
He’s much more quick tempered and more of a Fight then flight evident by the fact in his sun- glass he carried a small needle that had a dose of tetrodotoxin.
Maybe done boxing and football when he was younger. Boxing was an outlet for his more aggressive tendencies and his mother or teacher thought it may stop him fighting so much in school or on the streets. Football was just a common sport for boys his age in Iran.
Unlike Qasim who was confirmed to show promise as a student, Arash was a decent student but was very disruptive in class and would skip school a lot. He grew up working class so not In poverty like Qasim so if he nicked any thing from shops it was a case of trying to impress other or food like chocolate because he didn’t have money to buy it.
Definitely had a lot of fights in and outside school with other teens.
Due to him already having anti imperialist rage in his teens and fanatical revolutionary zeal as stated on the evidence board most times he would skip school was to attend meetings that had the same ideology which lead him to views becoming extremely radical. Unlike Qasim who got involved later life most likely his 20s.
Definitely would avoid any logistics because he finds that’s stuff boring so he would rather take part/ get his hand dirty where Qasim prefers the safety of logistic.
Arash gave Qasim nick-names like Rabbit or deer it depends on his mood, if it’s an insult or joke.
Arash calls Qasim this due to his more skittish nature and the fact one time in Iran when they were running form police when a meeting got raided Qasim unintentionally left him behind due how fast he was running, which both impressed and infuriated Arash.
Anton Volkov:
He mostly hanged out around mobsters when he was younger and did odd jobs for them which lead him to start off a lower level member before becoming a boss.
He saw the wealth, respect and status mobster had and wanted it for himself, saw joining was a way for gaining the status and respect he craved.
Most likely also came form a bad home environment which what lead to him hang around mobster and probably witnessed the violence that comes with that life at a young age, he saw fear as a way to have respect so he got into a lot of fights before joining the ranks to have it and prove himself.
Definitely enjoy learning about history as a pass time, no one knows where he got the idea to use medieval torture devices from but it’s effective so they don’t question it.
Also did boxing when he was younger he also saw a lot of younger/low level mobster also box so assumed doing it may get him in good graces of the boss.
If you capture him I feel like he may start noticing Bell seems to be acting really weird and not all there so may potentially figure out the Team did something to Bell so Bell did not actually turn traitor. Especially if He mentions things that Bell should know but didn’t, like memories they share or Bell seems confused about why he’s acting like he knows Them. Helen and Adler were probably stressing over the fact he may cause Bell to remember stuff. (May end up writing a fic about this ngl)
He may also be aware ok Mk ultra if Robert Aldrich knew about it or mentioned something about it during.
Franz Kraus:
Like Volkov he also wanted to make a name for himself and became respected.
He feels like remaining a courier means his family may be more safer from the consequences of his work.
Definitely make sure he’s a good dad to his son based on how in game he’s tell his son to brush his teeth as he will be up shortly which I assume so he can put him to bed, so you can interpret that his father may of been worked focused so didn’t spend much time with him so he wants to avoid doing it with his son.
I’ll probably make a part two because this post is getting long as it it and I mentioned all the characters in the campaign we have any form of information. Side note I Noticed Qasim says Arash name where the A sound more like a O and has ashi where everyone else make the A sound and says rush so it’s sounds like Arush where he sh sounds like he says Orushi
Just finished Cold War's campaing for the first time and wow wow wow. What an amazing game.
The story, the characters, the dialogue choices, the graphics, it all comes together so nicely to make such an amazing experience. The puzzles in the side missions were a really nice touch, and I went up looking up and down the levels trying to not miss any bit of evidence.
Being able to customize our character at the beggining and select some perks was a nice touch. Helps to make us feel more connected to Bell as a character.
The callbacks to events and characters of Black Ops 1 were so well done. I really liked how they neatly managed to connect the events of the two games together, and how they showed the impact Dragovich, Kravchenko and Steiner kept having after the events of BO1.
Look at them. My traumatized and perfect babyboys with so many decades of ptsd on them. Love them so much.
"Before there was one Mr Shades but now there's 2! But it's ok. We can trust them"
Loved seeing the returning faces and the new cast. Wished we could have gotten more interactions with them though. I am totally not shipping Bell and Park. Not at all. I promise.
Got the ending with Perseus and cause im a lover of all things angst, this was such a tragic and powerful ending. I'm excited to replay and see how all the endings vary. And I knew I was right to not give Addler the lighter in the end lol
Only complain I have is that I felt the campaign was a bit short, which limits how much we get to interact with the characters and other things like seeing more of Bell's connection with Perseus, but given the difficulties Treyarch had during development due to Covid, it's understandable. But the content that is there is pretty amazing.
Overall, loved the game very much and I totally reccomend it.
