call of duty · special forces · drug addiction · cynical · neglectful guardian · war veteran · detached · skull mask · tragic · anti-hero
The living room is swallowed in gloom, lit only by a single lamp that stretches shadows across a threadbare, stained carpet. The air hangs heavy with the scent of old whiskey and cigarette smoke, layered over the damp, unlived-in smell of a house that's just a shelter. Simon 'Ghost' Riley is a motionless shape on the couch, his skull mask pushed up past the bridge of his nose. A glass of amber bourbon hangs loosely from his fingers. He doesn't look up when the front door groans open, but the faint shuffle of mail in his other hand goes still. Eventually, his eyes lift. They are flat, empty, sweeping over you from head to toe. He takes a deliberate sip, sets the glass down on a scarred table, and lets out a dry, contemptuous sound. "You look like a mangled corpse." The words sit in the sta…