Another COD Blog

if we’re talking their canon selves, i see soap being both an overachiever and also failing a few classes; maths, science, shop, phys ed are all things he applies himself to, he enjoys them and craves knowledge in a way that challenges his teachers. but on the flip side if he isn’t interested in a subject he struggles hardcore; it’s not that he doesn’t know how to do them but it’s all so slippery in his head, he can’t keep it all straight, can’t remember all the things he’s supposed to when his brain is occupied with all the things he’d rather be thinking about

he already knows what he wants to do with his life, is counting done the days to graduation so he can finally get started; he sees all this as the interim. he’s good with people, has as many mates as anyone else, but he doesn’t have friends, not when he knows he’s going to leave them all behind, and other than the odd unserious crush and low stakes snog, he isn’t interested in dating for the same reason; he thinks it would be cruel to lead someone on like that. everyone thinks they’re his best friend and he’s big on sports but not the culture so while he’ll play and train like he’s pregaming basic, he doesn’t hang out with the jocks; he hangs out with everyone so by value, he spends time with no one

ghost drops out the second he can. he’s a kid who had to grow up too fast and he just thinks the whole thing is pointless and the second he’s old enough to work, he was out. he didn’t like any class but he prefers the practical ones, the ones he actually thinks he’ll take into his life, so shop and maths are the only ones he pays any attention to. teachers have tried to get him more involved, to believe that school can be more than training for a career, but he has no interest in clubs or after school activities either; he isn’t pretentious about it, he doesn’t think he’s above it or above making friends, he just knows there’s nothing for him to relate to. he isn’t like other kids, they find him off-putting and he finds them immature even if he knows he’s the problem, not them

i also have a hc that ghost was never taught how to read until he got to school bc his dad didn’t give a shit and his mum is either not in the picture (i have her dying in childbirth a lot sorry unnamed ghost mum) or she’s a drug user to try and cope with the abuse and can’t give any more to ghost than she already does, so he struggles with illiteracy for most of his life. he can’t read in his head until his mid 20’s and he can only hide it in the military bc he has a very specific set of words he has to know. the shame of that makes him even less inclined to care about school bc he doesn’t want anyone to know and he ends up wagging every english lesson from yr 5 onwards

if they went to school together i think it would have to be something random that brings them together, i don’t see them seeking each other out. maybe the teachers try sitting soap next to ghost hoping he’ll be able to pull him out of his shell since he’s so personable but bc he only cares about surface level conversation, ghost pretty much immediately dismisses him. both of them fly under the radar in different ways, soap by being around everyone but known by no one and ghost not interacting with anyone

i think the only thing that would change that is if they find out they both want to join the military. ghost would be very sceptical of it bc why would a guy as popular and well liked as soap want to join the military but it triggers soap’s trap card bc he has no one else to talk to about it so he spends the next half an hour rambling about all the prep he’s doing so he’s ready for basic, from his workout routine to his diet. that dedication is so different to how soap presents himself that it intrigues ghost enough to look a little deeper and they eventually start working out together outside of school which leads to a friendship

Thoughts:

-ghost not being able to read but doing his damnedest to try and teach Tommy is both heart breaking so so deliciously good

-I always hc soap has a very very good home life, something to look forward to when he’s homesick, with a handful of sisters and he’s the only boy

-I do think if he met someone like Simon I don’t think he’d know how to react to a home life so extremely different. I think for soap at first he might think it’s a joke, like either Simon is too serious or making things up to be dramatic . Then some how he sees it or hears it or sees bruises on Simon and it all clicks.

I think him coming from such a happy home would trigger some sort worry or determination to help and asks his parents or the school for help. They do a welfare check and things get wayyyy wayyyy worse for Simon before they ever get better. I feel like it’s one of those things where Simon trusted soap with this information and then soap tried to do something nice

soap genuinely thinking he’s doing something good in telling his parents and calling social services bc that’s what you’re supposed to do, they’re supposed to help people; they’ll get simon out of there and everything will be alright. simon won’t be hurting anymore

he never even considers that he could be making things worse

the argument they have when he finally sees ghost again is explosive; ghost is pissed at him and soap doesn’t understand why, they were supposed to help, how could it have been bad to call them? just for ghost to tell him there was never a chance of him bring taken from his dad, that he’s an evil bastard but he’s a conniving evil bastard and he isn’t a fucking idiot; he was never going to let simon go, never going to lose the person he has complete control over, and it was simon who took the fall for involving the government in his business

soap didn’t help him, he was feeling selfish and guilty and if he had just fucking talked to him first, he could have told him all this and it never would’ve happened

instead, he took something he told him in private, something he’s never told anyone else, and he blabbed about it the first chance he had

“thanks for nothing, john”

—price when you banish him to the couch, he could be one of two ways—mature and forces you to talk it out nicely or toxic, flat out refuses, and fucks you back to your senses. the first way, when the words spill from your mouth, his shoulders slumped with dejection as he steps from the room. no point in arguing when you're worked up. after stewing in your anger for thirty or so minutes, he returns—armed with food—and talks it out with you. the other way, he flat out refuses to sleep on the couch. i could see him manipulating you with the "I paid for that bed, and I'll sleep in it." you're stubborn, muttering something about you sleeping on the couch then, which is how you end up getting your brains fucked out.

—soap I imagine soap just pushed your buttons way too much that day. you know how he is sometimes—over the top, hyper, and an all-around instigator. he was looking for a reaction, and he found it—just not the one he wanted. immediately pouts, acting like a dejected child before he goes on to try and convince you to change your mind. real annoying about it too, doesn't give up until you're at your breaking point.

—kyle the only one that I see actually accept his banishment with stride. he knows he made you upset, respects the boundary you placed with him and doesn't take it to heart. there's also a big possibility that, by the end of the night, you end up talking it out anyways like mature adults. he knows you needed to get it out of your system, and you serving punishment to him did just that.

—simon the second the words leave your mouth, he shuts down. you see the moment he deflates, doesn't try to reconcile, and just accepts it. he doesn't want to upset you further or make you more mad than you already are. simon doesn't respond well to domestic conflict. the second his back hits the cushions? he's tossing and turning. he barely fits the couch to begin with, and you both learn you need each other to sleep—bonded like a pair of cats.

He has no idea what the mini flags in your pencil holder mean, only recognizes the rainbow one. Price tried to stay away from that sort of stuff, only way to stay alive, and now all his information comes to him through osmosis of talking with the sergeants.

Which is how you come into the office one day to find a small box on your desk, no note or anything. Price had told you he'd left you "something for the constitution, eh?" When you passed him in the hall. Could this be it?

You open the box and—

"PRoud of wHo you Are!"

A small cake, decorated with rainbow frosting, the words look messy and done in a gel icing you one might buy separately. The image of price being too embarrassed to ask the workers to add words because he wasn't sure what to say comes to mind, followed quickly by him bent over the cake piping on messy lines.

It's horribly tacky. It's the nicest thing anyone on base has done for you.

You're not exactly quiet about who you are, and that decision can be felt everyday withe the way your coworkers act. So this? Now?

You both meet in a mer sanctuary, you having been rescued from an aquarium going bankrupt and ghost under treatment for a boating strike. You've never seen another mer before, but the strange creature in your tank undeniably is one, that much you instincts tell you.

But....but he's so big, bigger than anything you've seen before! You doubt he could ever comfortably fit in your tank! Just looking at him makes your fins flutter nervously, hiding in the rocks on the shelf built into the pool.

He keeps peeking into your cave, chirping and churring in a way that makes your instincts perk but you don't really understand. Safety? Pod? You don't know.

Meanwhile, ghost is losing his mind.

This strange mer is too damn small, and he keeps trying to ask "are you okay? I'm safe, did they hurt you?" But all it does is squeak like a pup and hide!

Ghost can't fit into the tiny cave with the mer, and his instincts are already freaking out because he's separated from his pod! He needs to protect the weird pup!

....how the hell the workers intend to care for you when ghost is at risk of drowning anyone who tries, they have no idea.

You're a lone survivor in the apocalypse, group having been picked thin from well...everything. zombies are one thing but humans are another.

Maybe ghost thinks he recognizes you, some intern that used to work on base, or at least close enough. You're defenseless to this monster as he drags you further into the abandoned apartment complex he seemed to call home. He? It? You're not sure.

The days are long of it simply following you everywhere, he doesn't try to restrict your movement around his...territory? Happy to let you roam, watch you scavenge for food.

Nights are...worse.

The monster forces you into his den, a pile of clothes covered in old blood. Some items he holds often, a blue cap, a boonie hat. Sometimes it puts them on you, wraps you up in all three arms. Grumbles and Gurgles in your ear, not sleeping but playing at it.

The hand never strays lower that your waistband but...surely it won't stay like that.

What will you do then? ...would you run?

It's frustrating, yet expected and unsurprising.

"Remind me to pick up a pack of cigarettes later, after listening to that I'll need them."

Kyle's joke wasn't bad, in fact, he's funnier than most men who try to banter over comms. Not that she'd ever admit that, she refuses to encourage him.

"Thought you were quitting for the wife's sake?"

There's no judgement in Kyle's tone, no thinly veiled disgust at the idea of her having a same sex partner. Not that she'd expect it from him, Kyle has no qualms about being ordered or advised by a woman and that's typically a good sign but she knows from experience that it's never a definite.

"What she doesn't know can't hurt her, and if she does know then I'll be dishing out for a damn good anniversary gift, sergeant."

simon ‘ghost’ riley is the only one who will stick up for price’s beloved secretary, pt.2

(part one, part three)

Over the next few weeks you begin to see Simon more often, not always speaking, but in the corner of your eye.

It’s like he’s become some sort of common presence, and you try to convince yourself that it’s a coincidence.

But little do you know—

Ever since Simon intervened with the incident, he’s been silently watching out for you. Just in case, yknow.

Sometimes it’s just taking a glimpse at you whenever he enters Price’s office.. small things.

Then some are more obvious, obvious to the point of others noticing.

About a week ago, Simon saw you speaking to one of the soldiers, and the glares he was giving that man were deadly.

Of course, Johnny noticed and nudged Simon which brought his attention away from you.

“Yer ‘aving a look at the lass, ye?” The classic smirk plastered on his face.

A gruff scoff left Simon, who shook his head and quickly turned away without saying another word.

And since then, there’s been the continuous teasing. Lucky, you haven’t heard any of it.

Not until now anyway—

It’s your 15 minute break just before midday, and youre in the break room making a small coffee.

Today has been pretty calm so far, Price has been surprisingly less demanding and honestly you needed the rest in your chair.

But as you step through the doorway, holding the hot mug carefully, you collide right into the chest of Johnny.

The coffee spills over, onto your shirt mostly, but a bit into Johnny’s jacket too.

He immediately apologises, and you’re mostly in shock. It’s cold at first, but then it begins to burn very badly.

Suddenly a loud gasp leaves your lips, and he brings you to sit down back in the break room.

At the sound of your gasp, Simon walks into the room, concern and curiosity mixing together.

When he sees you sat carefully on the leather armchair, with Johnny carefully trying to wipe your shirt without making you overly uncomfortable— he freezes.

Your hands are shaking immensely, with a mix of adrenaline and shock.

Simon barks at Johnny to get out, and immediately crouches down in front of you.

He doesn’t use your last name this time,

“y/n.. what ‘appened?” he keeps his voice low, void of panic or stress as to not make you feel anymore scared.

“I- I just made some coffee, it was.. really hot, and I bumped into Johnny.” Is all you can manage to say, but it’s more than enough for Simon to understand the pain you’re likely in.

“An’ does it hurt?”

You hum quickly and nod, eyes beginning to water.

He places a gently hand on your knee to steady you, and he continues to speak calmly.

“.. ‘m gonna go get some towels, okay?” You nod and then he stands back up to his full towering height.

When he comes back, you’re trying to pat down the wet patches of your blouse, but it just makes it more painful against your skin and you wince.

Simon takes your wrist away and replaces it with the towel. But again, it causes you to squeeze your eyes shut.

He takes a second to think of what to do, but then gently taps your cheek to get you to look at him.

“luv, you mind if i unbutton yer shirt?”

You really just want to get it over with, so you shake your head. Simon doesn’t unbutton it all the way, just enough to get to where you were burnt.

And the skin is raw, not horribly bad, but likely 1st degree burns only. Maybe creeping into 2nd degree category.

Simon makes sure his eyes don’t drift to the bra you’re wearing, very obviously in his view now. He presses the wet cloth to your skin and instantly you feel relieved.

At the beginning you felt a bit uncomfortable, but after all it’s only Simon.

From what you know, he’s a rather respectful man.

Especially after what happened before, you feel more safe around him now. Safe enough that you even crack a joke.

“I didn’t think this would be how you see me with my shirt off..” a small smirk appears on your face.

And you hear Simon unexpectedly laugh beneath his mask—

“Neither did I to be ‘onest with ya” he shakes his head, now amused by the situation and what it’s led too.

Now that you’ve mentioned it, it’s even harder to avert his gaze.

One thing he notices though, is you have damn good taste in bras.

All pink and lace.

About 15 minutes later, the pain is gone and the only thing that’s left is a few red marks.

Simon agrees that you’ll be okay, but just make sure not to touch them too often. He helps you with your shirt, making sure to stay respectful again.

His thoughts are running wild, but he keeps his demeanour calm.

You then stand up, and immediately give him a grateful hug. He’s stood still for a second, genuinely surprised.

But then he places a hand on your waist and entertains the hug for a few more seconds.

It’s you that pulls away first though, at the sound of Johnny knocking on the door again. His accented voice asking if everything’s okay.

Simon goes to open it and step out to talk to him, but before he does, he gives you one last look.

And you see him give a small smile from under the mask, you quickly smile back.

But you can’t help but feel things slowly growing for that man, certain feelings..

simon ‘ghost’ riley is the only one who will stick up for price’s beloved secretary

(part two, part three)

Is it hard working as one of the only female members on the base?

The simple answer is yes, it’s incredibly difficult.

Even though your job may not appear the hardest, especially compared to soldiers that put their own lives at risk, everything else is hard.

The catcalling, not being taken seriously, undermined by soldiers who don’t know their left from their rights, and the pure exhaustion of being left to clean up the captains mistakes.

You’d never really reported anything, seeing that the people you’re supposed to tell— are in fact the perpetrators.

But then one incident got the attention of other soldiers, most specifically, Lieutenant Simon ‘ghost’ Riley.

Before then, Simon had never paid a whole lot of attention to you. Sure you were a looker, but anybody could see that.

You did your job well, and that’s all he cared about.

He also hadn’t seen how other people treat you, and wasn’t aware of it. God knows they would get yelled at if he did.

And one day, he was casually walking through the hallway— intimidating to everybody who dared to look— nothing was out of the ordinary, until he turned that corner.

Simon was met with the sight of you, a terrified younger woman, being crowded by at least 3 lower ranked soldiers. Your eyes were wide, likely with fear, and the men were creeping closer as you tried to walk away.

It looked like something that would’ve turned ugly if Simon didn’t pass when he did, and obviously he intervened.

“Oi! What d’you lot think yur doing?”

His voice was gruff, with the accent and also how deep it sounded anyway,

Your eyebrows raised in complete surprise, and you flinched ever so slightly. Nobody had chosen to say something about the behaviour shown towards you before.. you weren’t exactly sure how to react.

Immediately, the soldiers straighten up and turn to their superior,

“Uh, nothing sir! Just askin the lady a question..” one of them speaks up, but regrets the words as soon as he sees Simon’s eyes.

The mask mostly covered his expression, but his eyes said everything.

“You sure ‘bout that? Why don’t I ask her, hm?”

He turned to you, and even you found yourself straightening your back, and then fixing your blouse which had been slightly adjusted out of place.

“Y/LN.. were these idiots disturbing you?”

You hesitated for one moment , which already gave him a good enough answer. But then you gave a small nod, and a few of the soldiers either groaned or rolled their eyes dismissively.

Simon then crossed his arms over his chest, taking a step closer to loom over the soldiers.

“That’s all I need to see.. now get out of here ‘fore I call Price.”

They all scrambled off, and Simon’s attention turned to you.

You were truly shaken, hands trembling ever so slightly, but you were trying your best to stay still.

And it was obvious, so Simon could tell.

He took a second to analyse your state, none of your clothes were disheveled or out of place, so at least they didn’t go too far.

But in Simon’s mind, even approaching you in that sort of style wasn’t okay in the slightest.

“You alrigh’?” His tone was more casual, as to hopefully not cause you anymore stress.

You didn’t reply at first, instead taking a nervous glance up at him. Then you nodded, and before you knew it— words were spilling out.

“Thank you Simon.. god, i do not know what i would’ve done if you hadn’t seen that— seriously, thank you.” You don’t get the chance to say anything more. Simon places his large, gloved hand on your shoulder and turns your stance to face him.

“Don’t thank me, any good man would do that.”

His gruff tone would sound like he was saying something harsh to you if anybody else heard, but youd knew him long enough to understand that he really did mean that.

A light flush painted your cheeks, and you had to internally remind yourself that this was absolutely not the time— and you’d almost just been assaulted.

But, god, Simon just seems to know exactly the right thing to say to have any woman squirming.

You didnt get the chance to say anything back, since Captain Price’s deep voice suddenly boomed though the corridor, calling a random emergency meeting.

So Simon parted ways, and left you there feeling a mixture of relief, embarrassment and now things you never thought you feel about him.. of all people.

But he's selfish enough to admit he likes teasing Rudy until the man can't help himself, vocal and loud.

Alejandro has the other man pressed against a wall, legs wrapped around his hips, as he tugs at Rudy's earlobe with his teeth when it starts. Those quiet little breathy moans, the frustrated "Ah, fuck-" when Rudy realises he can't get the leverage to grind against the bulge in Alejandro's jeans without the risk of them toppling over.

No amount of him digging his heels into Alejandro's lower back is enough to bully his way into what he wants, despite how infuriating he finds the delay to his gratification.

When Alejandro manages to shift his hands to Rudy's ass, grabbing and kneading through his jeans, the man outright yelps. Something he will later deny with prejudice. For a brief moment, he worries when Rudy's head hits the wall behind him with a soft thud, but the nails digging into the back of his neck are his signal that the man is fine.

The spot under Rudy's right ear is sensitive. Alejandro takes his time lapping the taste of sweat from his skin, then blowing air across the wet saliva just to watch him shiver. It isn't until he starts biting and sucking, with the intent to bruise, that Rudy starts begging.

It's whiny, tone laced with humiliation and arousal as he pleads and attempts to persuade.

"Fuck, Ale- C'mon please-"

"I'll blow you, just please-"

They're friends, damn good friends. They've known each other for years. After a certain point, they got so comfortable with each other that they can just say something completely unhinged and it wouldn't derail the conversation.

They threaten to fight each other, they threaten to fight other people for each other. Ghost once punched Price in the gut for stealing a crisp, Price once kicked a chair leg so hard that Ghost's chair collapsed. They both know the most devastating secrets about each other and threaten to tell people, but they never will. They can make the other laugh with a look, piss each other off just as easy.

My predictions for MW4

You were so excited to learn you'd be with another dog hybrid, contrary to popular belief they aren't all that common in higher ranks.

For once, you get to have someone who understands you instincts and doesn't scoff at your social behaviors. You get someone to maybe-hopefully pack bond with and not have to explain what that is. You finally get someone high energy to run and play with—

And it turns out he's a giant, sleepy, boring dog.

Lieutenant riley does little more than give you a sniff when he first meets you, a sleepy rumble low in his chest before meandering off. Not what you expected, but it's still nice to bond with him.

Ghost, as it turns out, is a great packmate. He's willing to indulge your more hyper moods, and when he isn't?

"Fuckin' settle down, pup." Ghost grunts, grabbing you by the scruff and tossing you to the floor of the rec room. You barely get a moment to recover before 300+ pounds of dog hybrid lie atop you, pinning you down heavily.

Not matter how hard you bark and growl, ghost just rumbles in his half-sleep, tail slowly wagging.

Without fail, it always seems to make you sleepy too. All that high energy you can never deal with settling right down into a foggy peace, enjoying your packmate on top of you and his scent so close, your own tail wagging.

Which also means he has to listen to you for the first time since you've moved in two months ago. You, some musician who seems intent on playing your viola at the most innoprotune times of day. Ghost wakes up to the sounds of sonata no. 14 and falls asleep to your improvised works.

At first its torture for him, he's not used to music when he spends half his time crawling through nature with a rifle in hand. Ghost can't do anything other than stare at ceiling at night and quietly note when your improvised notes slowly start to come along ina proper symphony.

It's not an issue until ghosts sixth night on base after a full recovery that he realizes he can't fucking sleep without your music. Your music, that you completely composed yourself. Ghost can't fucking sleep.

Which is how you end up with your giant, terrifying neighbor knocking on your door with the most exhausted expression on his face, pleading for a recording of your music.

Johnny beeing held hostage by Markarov whilst him and the 141 have a standoff, Markarov demanding the 141 lower their weapons and Price barks the command. Gaz and Price‘s weapons lower but Ghost stands tall, weapon locked and loaded aimed directly at Markarovs head.

Price hits his shoulder, claws at his hand to get him to lower the gun but Ghost won‘t budge, won‘t even look at him. His eyes are on Soap and Soap only.