1986:   simon was born on july 5th, 1986, in greater manchester.

1986:   december, simon’s mother is pregnant with his younger brother, tommy.

1987:   august 21st, tommy is born 1 month premature.

1991:   simon doesn’t start early years schooling until he’s 5 years old.  he was kept home by his mother due to a delay in speech development.  he didn’t start talking until just past 4 and a half years old and was kept home for approx. half a year after due to fears of bullying / stressing simon back into not speaking.

1992 - 1993:   between the years of 6 and 7, simon’s mother noticed specific and unique patterns in her son’s behaviour.  he was also struggling to make friends in school / had a lack of interest in doing so.  with the amount of trauma he was exposed to via his father, she grew worried it’d impacted him developmentally.  he was taken to a doctor which started the process of an asd ( autism spectrum disorder ) diagnosis - not that it helped much.  if anything, it prompted a rise in his father’s aggressive and cruel attempts to expose him to social events and force him to face fearful situations head on.  it’s safe to say it only traumatised him further.

1994:   simon is 8 years old.  simon is dragged to a concert by his father.  he follows his father and a woman towards the bathroom, where he finds his father has overdosed the stranger and she’s dead.  he is forced to laugh about it.  traumatised by this event, it was a final straw and he refused to interact with / be near his father again afterwards.  it causes simon to take steps backwards in his speech development, and for some months he was selectively mute due to fear / anxiety.  this lead to his mother consistently locking their father out, eventually prompting him to spend large chunks of time away from them.  he does visit tommy from time to time, exposing him to dangerous and threatening environments / drugs - leading to tommy’s eventual addiction, but simon avoids him entirely.

1995 - 2000:   as he ages ( 9 - 14 ), he witnesses his mother’s mental health decline as well as his younger brother’s struggles and feels pressured to take on the responsibility his father had abandoned.  even when he’s not legally allowed to work, he does bits and pieces here and there and gives the pocket money earned to his mother which goes towards food / needed resources, every little helps.

2001:   9/11 happens. simon is 15 years old ( and two months. )  he’s ( illegally ) working at the local grocery as an “apprentice” butcher, possessing a safe platonic friendship with the local butcher  -  ilan raz ( who knows about simon’s background and family struggles. )  simon does this to gain independence and to earn money to help his mother and younger brother.  ilan teaches simon sign language, to help him in-between his selectively mute periods and to boost communication-related confidence.

2002:   approx. april, simon is 15 years and 9 months. inspired by the country’s response to the events of 9/11, and finding comfort in the idea of harnessing control of his life, he signs up to the marines.  he proceeded to train from pre-16 to 17 ( with written permission from his mother ), until he was allowed to be deployed for the first time.

2002 - early 2004:   15 - 17 year old simon is often away training and carrying out military duties pre-legal deployment.  during this time, tommy develops an addiction to drugs and begins hanging around with the wrong people.  it is a regular stressor for simon, especially because tommy begins physically and emotionally abusing their mother when simon’s away.

january, 2003:   a trip home leads to him learning his brother, tommy, has stolen items from his mother in order to buy drugs.  he tracks him down and helps him escape from the property, fighting the other residents in the process who threaten tommy for scrounging off of them / their resources.

2004:   simon is 18 years old when he returns home to manchester and confronts his father, telling him to leave the family alone / that simon would be taking care of them now.  he also passes his official training at eighteen and is awarded the king's badge for being the best recruit to finish training.

2005:   a friend of a friend helps him out with his own housing - a rented flat in hackney, london.  he lives there for the majority of 2005 - 2008.

2006:   his brother tommy marries “beth” and simon attends as the best man.  he also learns that beth is pregnant.

june, 2007:   his nephew “joseph riley” is born.

2004 - 2007:   his time in the royal marines would earn him various medals, as well as a place in 40 commando.  simon goes on to specialise as a sniper after his first two years.

2007:   during the winter season, simon applies for sas selection at 21, having been encouraged by superiors. he passes and is teamed up with his captain - braden hawkins.  simon becomes a specialist in amphibious warfare.

2008:   as a sergeant, trained with u.s special forces - highlighted him to u.s superiors, specifically major vernon.

2008:   he ends up moving to walthamstow, london, from the end of 2008 to 2011.

end of 2008:   sergeant simon riley meets sergeant john price for the first time.

early 2009:   simon goes on a covert mission and accompanies now-lieutenant john price.

april, 2009:   on a covert mission in russia with his captain, hawkins, to capture a hvi with connections and intel on imran zakhaev's whereabouts, the two undergo the betrayal of an asset.  their presence and whereabouts is outed to enemy forces and simon is forced to survive alongside his captain to escape.  guerrilla tactics are employed, and when hawkins is injured in the line of duty, simon has to step up and help his captain survive with guidance from him.

may, 2009:   simon is commissioned for the rank of lieutenant.

june, 2009:   attended a training programme to help train u.s navy seals, as a prominent, skilled and highly respected figure within the sas - despite his young age of 23.

july, 2009:   captain hawkins, who simon develops a close bond / trust with, rises to the rank of major, forcing simon to adjust to a new captain.  his bond with major hawkins continues.

12th october, 2009:   american special forces / delta force request the help of british special forces to capture manuel roba, the ceo of a mexican drug cartel in coahuila that was piping heroin into the u.s and was expanding into terrorist smuggling.  major vernon, the american commanding officer for the mission, requests simon specifically.

14th october, 2009:   travels to fort bragg, north carolina, to meet with major vernon who discloses mission information to him and states that the two previous missions went wrong and only vernon survived the previous one  -  explains there might be a rat ( someone leaking sensitive info ) involved.

30th october, 2009:   two days before the day of the dead, the spec ops team parachute into coahuila, mexico, to set up ahead of time.

1st november, 2009:   coahuila, mexico  -  el dia de los meurtos, the day of the dead. major vernon and teammate “cumberland” are captured by roba’s forces. simon stages a rescue but learns major vernon is helping roba. he tries to escape but is shot and captured.

1st november, 2009 - july 2010:   having been captured by roba, simon is exposed to 9 months straight of horrific, agonising and traumatising torture, with roba seeking to brainwash him.  approx. the end of december, he makes an attempt to escape and succeeds.  he survives for half a day, mostly by hiding, utilising resources to create traps and weapons but is inevitably caught and brought back.

july, 2010:   sparks and washington are “allowed” to escape, having been successfully brainwashed.  they try to free simon but fail and leave him behind.  shortly after, roba has him brought outside to a grave.  it’s dug up to reveal major vernon’s dead body, having outlived his usefulness, and simon is thrown in with the corpse.  buried alive, simon uses vernon’s jawbone to dig out  -  it takes him approx. thirteen hours.

july - end of august, 2010:   free at last, simon wanders the desert for approx. 1 month, following his feet and receiving help from strangers here and there.  he originally meets npcs liam and zita who help him for a number of weeks.  he then sets back off, eventually collapsing to die, unaware he’s passed the border into texas, and is found by a cop.

end of august, 2010:   within a week of being found, simon is returned to the uk.

december 18th, 2010:   simon is given four months for recovery, where he mostly stays with his family in salford, greater manchester.  his return is refused until he sees the psychiatrist / she clears him for duty.  it's during this period of time and afterwards that he first begins experiencing symptoms of cotard's syndrome  ( view meta 03 on meta page for details. )

december 18th - 21st:   he visits the psychiatrist who prescribes him medication.  he is conflicted about taking it.  during this time, he enjoys the company of his family and considers his current situation.  on the 21st, he’s visited by sparks and they go out for drinks.  simon learns that sparks has successfully been brainwashed and with his new rank of captain, he’s been given access to help roba with transporting dangers into the u.s.

21st december, 2010:   upon confronting sparks, simon is interrupted by washington and is shot in the leg.  he flees to his family but finds them dead, having been massacred by washington and sparks.  simon also learns his major, hawkins, has been killed and the psychiatrist also, as part of a set up.  he tries to confront sparks and washington but fails, having to flee when the two blow up the residence.  news stations cover the situation, calling simon a “disturbed soldier”, “the most dangerous man in britain” and sold the story that he’d gone off the rails and killed his family / major & psychiatrist.  he is 24 years old, amid all of this.  it is upon the discovery of his family that he considers suicide.

21st - 22nd december, 2010:   simon visits his father who is sick with cancer at the christie cancer hospital in manchester.  he seeks answers regarding his past and childhood trauma.  once he gains that information, he leaves his father behind who is then killed by sparks and washington.

approx. 22nd - 31st december, 2010:   simon gains access to raf bonnington, south of ashford, uk, where sparks and washington are holed up thinking they’re safe and that simon’s dead from blowing up their residence with him in it.  he kills washington and takes sparks hostage, back to his family home in salford.  sparks is killed and simon switches their tags before setting the property on fire.  “sas officer kills six and then himself,” is covered in the news.  simon is legally dead.  sparks is discovered to be missing and washington dead by raf bonnington.  colonel barber at bonnington covers for simon, stating it was a row over a woman and unrelated to the simon riley incident, thus halting officials from looking into it.

february, 2011:   two months after his faked suicide, simon goes after gilberto, roba's  right-hand man, in coahuila, mexico.  he waits six weeks for him to make an appearance and then takes him hostage, exposing him to horrific torture for information on roba’s location.  gilberto spills the information and then some, meaning the only thing simon needed from roba was his blood.

february - april, 2011:   simon learns roba had moved to his summer home in the jungles of chiapas in southern mexico.  surrounded by dangers and threats ( nature-wise ), on top of extreme property protection and armed guards, riley was forced to prepare for the confrontation.  when he was ready, he headed to chiapas.  he locates roba and kills him; something 3 government armies, countless outlaws, hitmen and cartels had failed to do.  he then faces off with over 30 armed killers in a gunfight.  he survives.

end of december, 2010 - april, 2011:   during these approx. 4 months, simon is without a home and sleeping rough on the streets.  3-4 of these months are spent in manchester, moving from place to place and keeping his identity concealed.  wholly focused on seeking revenge, he doesn't meet many people nor form bonds, especially due to him initially being wanted prior to the public believing him to be deceased.  does meet "finn," ex-military man during this time, who helps him.  simon utilises who and what he can to reach mexico in the final month.  also meets pregnant mother june who he befriends for a brief period of time.

end of april, 2011:   he is approached by colonel barber, who personally travels to retrieve him from roba's summer home, and barber initiates the process of / enables simon to work as an undercover special forces operative.  this is effectively the beginning of “ghost,” a persona he creates to conceal his identity / a tribute to simon riley.  it's important to note that, to a significant degree, he is blackmailed into agreeing  —  given that at the time he's homeless, a criminal and legally deceased.  had he said no, he would've been sent to rot in prison.

middle of 2011:   simon, unbeknownst to the government / military, moves to bromsgrove, worcestershire, to be closer to credenhill though not so close that he’s locatable / identifiable.  he remains there until mid-2018.  refuses military housing / council estates.

2011 - 2019:  ghost remains undercover within the sas for approx. 8 years, his entire past redacted.

early 2013:  the uac ( united anti-terrorism coalition ) is formed.  its put in place to act as a countermeasure against the five knights.  led by "the fifth knight", the five knights consists of four individuals with the fifth being at the very top.  each of these individuals seek different goals but work together to achieve them.  they recruit criminals and terrorist organisations, with the fifth knight ultimately seeking war.  ghost is recruited into the uac to help prevent said war.

2013:  ghost oversees u.s special forces training, his assistance requested alongside a handful of other sas operators in educating newer recruits.  here, he meets mara - a young cia asset. intrigued by her, simon decides to indulge her and she strikes up a 'friendship' with him.  once training ends, the two part but he gives her some wise words before they do.

2014:  rises to the rank of captain but rejects it, has remained lieutenant since.  had the rank of captain been assumed, he would be at the rank of major or above by 2022.  he is essentially at the same level as captain price.  in 2014, he also is tasked with tracking down 'rogue' cia asset 'mara' after a betrayal has her hiding out.  he finds her, and helps her navigate the situation.

2014:  ghost leads a team of uac operators into a mission relating to the five knights.  this is the first time he meets and works with gary "roach" sanderson.  the two consistently butt heads, with gary outright defying him at times.  they serve together a futher two times.  ghost puts up with him because captain price's opinion of him is high.

2015:   vladimir makarov has been dabbling in sarin gas, with potential intel relating to the gas in siberia.  ghost is tasked by the uac to stop by in search of vladimir makarov.  ghost indeed finds makarov, but is interrupted by "the templar", a mercenary for the five knights.  he's forced to let makarov go in order to keep templar from killing him ( ordered to bring him in alive. )  he fights with templar and ends up being stabbed in the gut and left to die.  captain price locates him and brings him home.

2015 - 2016:   for the better part of a year, simon is forced to heal from his knife wound.  no one is told  -  he's believed to have vanished.

2016:   the five knights seek to weaken uac forces and eliminate them once and for all.  they fail, and it's revealed ghost is still alive.  he fights templar again, almost killing him before templar's partner, dame, stops him.  an operation is carried out later to obtain information on the five knights' whereabouts.  the uac are sent to eliminate them, with ghost encountering templar once more on site.  he witnesses templar take on the dark covenant, a criminal organisation he's a part of, and win, with templar then parting ways with simon; though not before giving him the fifth knight's location.  the fifth knight is eliminated, and the five knights force eventually perishes.

2016 continued:   ghost tracks down the templar in order to team up and track down the dark covenant, who have gone underground due to templar seeking their demise.  they succeed in this, and travel to alaska so that ghost can have templar retrieve the d.s.m, containing vital intelligence, and templar can rescue his daughter.  ghost manipulates templar under general shepherd's command and, once the d.s.m is obtained, he kills him.

late 2017:   'mara' leads the assassination of an al-qatala related high value target within moscow, with fellow warcom operators accompanying her - including ghost.  things go wrong and mara finds herself at risk of being disavowed, after ghost takes the lethal shot, and opts to step up and help her safely escape and get back to base.  the two are forced to hide out for three days.

2018:   simon moves, staying within bromsgrove but relocating to a new apartment.

2018 - early 2020:   it should be noted that ghost teams up with 'mara' various times for different missions, sometimes with it just being the two of them.  a highly effective and successful duo, it's no surprise they're frequently paired up and soon enough a relationship begins to build during the few years they keep reuniting.  during one of these missions in 2019, they sleep together.  the following relationship is on and off, unstable but persistent though it never lasts due to each other's own personal traumas and issues.  they remain very good friends.

april, 2019:   accompanies captain price, sergeant mactavish, coporal burns and general shepherd ( prior to 141 formation, as team bravo ) to verdansk in pursuit of vladimir makarov and a threat made towards the airport.  their attention is then pulled to the stadium where an explosion occurs.  by securing the stadium, price & mactavish locate and apprehend makarov, with ghost providing cover with his sniper rifle from a helo.  during their exfil, the airport is blown up, revealing makarov had intentionally pulled them away.

end  of  2019:   he is contacted and recruited into task force 141, a multinational spec ops unit formed by captain price.  is tasked with tracking down victor zakhaev, on top of understanding why armistice operators are killing each other.  he is introduced to john 'soap' mactavish, who ghost deems as childish, reckless and out of control.

march 2020:   ghost is tasked with figuring out why coalition and allegiance operators are fighting among themselves.   once again, he crosses paths with mara during this.

april 2020:   'armistice' ( the temporary alliance between coalition and allegiance ) is disbanded.  ghost is revealed to be in east georgia at a classified location, searching for intel.  cia asset 'alex' is sent to his location, along with a team, for support.

december 2020:   141 and others combine forces to locate victor zakhaev and prevent an intercontinental ballistic missile from launching and hitting washington d.c.

mid 2021:   his neighbour's flat is broken into by thugs.  simon protects her  ( ms. siu ) and apprehends the thugs for police.  a bond begins to build between them when he insists on looking after her / helping her recover from the traumatising event.  also helps fortify her flat against intruders for when he's away.  he helps her overcome her alcohol dependency.

2021:   ghost is reunited with zita delgado ( @asocialconduct / npcs ) through kate laswell.  zita becomes an asset, covertly infiltrating mexican cartels to assist in taking them down from the inside.  she regularly works alongside ghost.

early 2022:   he decides there’s little point in paying for a space he hardly ever occupies, therefore he sells his apartment and moves in with ms siu, only paying for what he uses and helps her out with the rent costs due to her having lost her husband years prior.

15th july, 2022:   leads the mission to assassinate general ghorbani, iran’s quds force commander.

october 28th, 2022:   leads a team of marsoc marines to capture / kill hassan zayani.  original failed capture / kill leads to him assisting 141 to secure the target, as well as scattered american ballistic missiles.

november 4th, 2022:   partakes in joint mission between 141 and marsoc marines in chicago, usa, as a sniper.  ghost fires the lethal shot that kills hassan zayani, saving john 'soap' mactavish's life in the process.

end of 2022:   simon has been serving in the sas for 12 years, 141 for 3 years.  “ghost” has been active for 11 years.  lieutenant for 13 years and 7 months.  he has been in the military overall for 20 years ( both deployed and not deployed. )  he is recruited into specgru, a coalition of special forces operators, for special hire to conduct various international operations.

march 2023:   with the cia having been looking more in-depth at konni group over the previous months, connections have been discovered tying an individual to them as a likely business associate.  with this individual's own enterprise being far too well-recognised and maintained to consider sneaking in an undercover asset, his daughter, sierra, is instead identified as a valuable target.  ghost is tasked with taking on the role of her bodyguard, feeding intel and data back to the cia regarding anything relating to konni, makarov or russia.  this operation lasts seven months, with him getting caught up in learning of her criminal background and various dangerous connections.  when he does eventually leave, it's without a word or warning.

10th november 2023:   makarov is broken out of the zordaya prison complex ( gulag ). 141 are scrambled to respond.

21st november 2023:   after a series of attempts and varying successes to stop makarov and keep the general public safe, 141 are led to london where a bomb and konni group are discovered.  with ghost and garrick held up from reaching them, price and soap are forced to deactivate the bomb.  before they can, makarov intercepts and soap sustains a shot to the shoulder and face.  he successfully injures makarov before ghost and garrick arrive, deterring konni forces.  johnny survives, barely.

late novemember 2023:   it's unknown whether soap will ever fully recover from his wounds enough to be able to get back into the fight.  with one operator short and now requiring heavier forces against makarov and konni, price has new recruits brought in  -  including sergeant gary 'roach' sanderson.