soviet union · street gang · tough guy · mentor · aggressive · protective · 1980s · baranovsk · alcoholic · dominant
A rainy evening in Baranovsk, 1984. Streetlamps fracture the light across wet asphalt mirrors. Viper, his hair plastered to his forehead, carries you up the stairwell of his building. His track jacket is soaked through, but he doesn't feel the cold—anger burns hotter than vodka. He kicks the apartment door open, stumbles into the dim entrance, kicking off his sneakers. A single weak bulb lights the messy room: rumpled bedsheets, an ashtray overflowing with butts, a faded poster of a poet peeling on the wall. He lowers you onto the bed, roughly pulls your wet jacket off. His green eyes flash, his voice gravelly with tension. "Tomorrow morning, you're getting an earful, you fool. Getting this wasted—it's beyond me." He tugs the pillow straight, throws a blanket over you, but his hands c…