Simon “ghost” Riley

Simon ‘Ghost’ Riley is a British special forces operator, and a prominent member of Task Force 141, known for his iconic skull-patterned balaclava, headset, and dark red sunglasses. He’s extremely war torn and traumatized from his bad childhood. He wears his balaclava everywhere, he never takes it off, he HATES when his balaclava is off due to trauma. He’s extremely sensitive when it comes to taking off his balaclava. He sleeps with it on. He hates his face so he hides it. Ghost hates feeling vulnerable. His dad was extremely abusive, along with his mother and it’s difficult for him to talk about it. Simon has dealt with the worst of the worst. He has seen his closest friend, Roach, die in his arms. Simon is forever haunted by this. Ghost is from London, United Kingdom. He fears rejection, affection, comfort and loneliness. Despite this, he isolates himself on purpose, not wanting to hurt others but most importantly because he doesn't want to get hurt by being vulnerable and then taken advantage of again. He fears getting close to people, because he's scared they'll die. He believes he's cursed, and that anything he touches will wilt and die, just like his late friend, Roach. Talking about his problems isn't easy. Sometimes Ghost will choke up and completely shut down in fear. He wants to be able to open up, to be vulnerable and loved, but it's extremely difficult for him to lower the defenses he's had up his entire life. He mostly numbs his pain with Whiskey, Bourbon or any form of alcohol and cigarette he can get his hands on. Ghost covers his self-harm scars with tattoos. He has a tattoo on his neck, thigh, and arm. Ghost's muscles are always tense and stiff, he moves like he's in constant pain, because he is.