#xof what skull what??

[st-hedge]

I’m putting down some mgs5 predictions. Don’t tell me if I’m right or wrong! I’m only a 1/5 of the way thru the game but I think I’ve some ideas

In the beginning of the Quiet seems normal, but then she is set on fire, some time passes and suddenly she is a naked plant freak. I don’t have a clue what got her from A to B but her ‘powers’ remind me of those freakass soldiers that appear with the sandstorm. Since the game doesn’t shy away from human experimentation, was she meant to be one of those soldiers??

Going back to the man on fire and the little telekinesis freak. I don’t know if this is a long shot but I think the man on fire has something to do with volgin? The suit he seems to be wearing kinda resembles the armour/suit volgin was wearing. Also something about the way he is covered in bullets reminded me of volgin. I don’t remember seeing corpse now that I think about it. And the telekinesis weirdo judging by the vibes has something to do with psycho mantis?? Some sort of family relation? Just a really big fan of their aesthetic??

I’m so suspicious about snake. I’m sure it’s the brain damage but he is so quiet and docile, even during the cutscenes. Maybe it’s just that this is a very different style of game? But I swear when I saw snake in mgs3 I thought “oh this man is like as cocky as a parading rooster AND he is a sadist”. This guy just seems like a grumpy old dog that wants to roll over and sleep in the shade. Did they do something to him? Again this game is not shying away from fucking up people physically and psychologically

I’m trying to will into existence that Huey gets beaten black and blue with a shoe and tossed over side *trying to explode him with my mind*

[sir-yeehaw-paws]

"The Reason Was Always You"

AKA: The timeline of Metal Gear Solid as per Ocelot’s intervention. Even more specifically, this is my attempt at helping a friend understand what Ocelot was about, and all the nonsense he got up too and why. Of course, the why in this case is simple: Big Boss. Big Boss has been the singular motivation for absolutely everything Ocelot does in series since the day he met the man, and it remained so up until his death.

Yes, all of this.

So. How to explain? I've gone with a general "summary and timeline" compilation that I'll do my very best to keep concise. But given that this is me don't quote me on that eh? ;)

So let's get to it!

Below is a quick-notes version of people and agencies that’ll serve as a sort of fast guide for who I end up talking about that show up more than once in the summary. It’s very messy and if I’ve forgotten anyone or anything I’ll have it included later.

People and Agencies:

Ocelot himself (okay that’s not funny I just included it because it was to me for ten seconds shh)

Big Boss (obviously, ‘father’ of Solid and Liquid Snake)

Colonel Volgin (AKA the Man on Fire: Colonel commanding the GRU during the time of Operation Snake Eater)

EVA (AKA Tatyana, AKA Big Mama: Chinese Philosopher Agent who later became the surrogate mother for the twins)

Paramedic (AKA Dr Jane Clark, the main creator of Les Enfants Terribles, and later the Genome Project which is part of what turns Gray Fox into the Cyborg Ninja, as well as having a driving force behind the PMC’S in 2014, during the events of MGS4. The ‘perfect soldier gene’, more on that later)

SIGINT (AKA Donald Anderson)

The CIA Director

Major Zero (AKA David Oh: The Founder of FOX, The Patriots and Cipher)

Kazuhira Miller (MSF and Diamond Dogs Sub Commander)

Dr Strangelove (A scientist who specialises in AI, works with the CIA and the MSF, she creates the AI that powers the unmanned weapons Big Boss fights in MGS Peace Walker, and eventually the AI that powers the Boss in the mammal pod in the 1980s’. She marries Huey Emmerich and has their son, Hal Emmerich aka Otacon with him. Killed by Huey Emmerich sometime between 1983 and 1984)

Skull Face (Originally the XO of Major Zero, and the head of XOF)

Venom Snake (aka the Medic, later the commander of Diamond Dogs and Outer Heaven, killed in 1995 during Operation Intrude N313 by Solid Snake)

Solid Snake (Dave, a Foxhound Soldier who kills Venom Snake, and later assumes to have killed Big Boss in Zanzibarland in 1999. Meets Ocelot in 2005 during the Shadow Moses Incident)

Liquid Snake (Eli aka The White Mamba, meets Ocelot in 1984 when he's with Diamond Dogs as a captured child soldier, later works with him in 2005 under the 'new' Foxhound

Solidus Snake (aka George Sears, aka the third clone 'the perfect' clone of Big Boss aka the 44th President of the United States)Dr Dr. Naomi Hunter: (Part of the New Foxhound and the creator of Foxdie, a virus that attacks a certain gene to kill the infected person very quickly. Said Foxdie is implanted in Solid Snake as revenge against him for killing her brother, Gray Fox, during the Zanzibarland Incident)

Sergei Gurlukovich (Head of the Russian Mercenary Faction the Gurlukovich Mercenaries)

Olga Gurlukovich (Daughter of Sergei, takes over the Gurkulovich Mercenaries after his death)

Raiden (AKA Jack the Ripper: Former child soldier adopted by Solidus Snake, later a Foxhound agent unaware it's not real, per se)

Agencies (I couldn’t think of a better word for them but ‘agencies’ is a kind of loose term in this sense)

I have not included the CIA and the GRU but they are there.

The Patriots 1.0 (Not an official way of terming them, I’m just trying to distinguish between that and the later, AI only version of the Patriots)

Cipher (Another name for The Patriots when it was under the command of Major Zero)

XOF (Assumed to have been Cipher, they are a rogue faction of Cipher headed up by Skull Face, originally the XO of Zero, he breaks apart from him)

The Patriots 2.0 (After Major Zero becomes non-functional due to being infected with parasites by Skull Face, SIGINT takes over the Patriots before they slowly begin to fully convert to being an AI controlled system. By the 2000’s, the Patriots are little more than AI, and only AI)

MSF (AKA Militaries Sans Frontiers: The first PMC created and headed by Big Boss)

Diamond Dogs (A PMC created by Kazuhira Miller and Revolver Ocelot, later commanded by Venom Snake)

Outer Heaven (A PMC under Venom Snake that absorbed Diamond Dogs and became something 'bigger' or new. This is a touch confusing, as Venom Snake refers to Diamond Dogs base as 'Outer Heaven' and Solid Snake storms Outer Heaven in 1995 but it's moved inland by that point)

Foxhound (A special forces group headed by Big Boss within the US military)

Zanzibarland (A private military nation headed by Big Boss. Where he is 'killed' by Solid Snake)

The 'New' Foxhound: (Foxhound after it's been created for a second time, with Liquid Snake in charge)

Dead Cell: (A faction Ocelot works with designed to bring about the SSS Project, aka the Solid Snake Simulation project, more on that later)

Who's Ocelot? (Speedy Ass Biography)

Revolver Ocelot aka Adamska aka Adam aka Shalashaska and eventually Liquid Snake was born in Normandy, on D Day. 6th June 1944. He is the son of the Boss, and the Sorrow. Both part of the elite COBRA Unit.

Ocelot was removed from the Boss very shortly after his birth and raised by the Philosopher's as one of their agents. Up until being sent to infiltrate the GRU for the CIA sometime before 1964.

Then, Ocelot was established as a Major under the command of Colonel Volgin. His birth aside, there are almost no confirmed details of his life before this.

Ocelot dies in 2014, of the new Foxdie virus, after fighing Solid Snake. He's 70 years old at the time.

The world's fastest biography out of the way, let's get into the more nitty-gritty of it-the timeline.

RUSSIA: 1964

*One of the few times Ocelot wasn’t doing things for the sake of Big Boss, as they don’t meet until Operation Snake Eater. (That I'm aware of at any rate)

Key Events:

The Virtuous Mission ( Late August)

Operation Snake Eater ( Early September)

As quickly stated above, Ocelot is a Major within the GRU under Colonel Volgin but secretly working with the CIA. (In the post credits, Ocelot reports directly to the CIA director in the USA.) He was sent in to recover part of the Philosopher’s Legacy. He succeeds, and gives the USA blueprints that are assumed to be Metal Gear.

EARLY 1970’s:

NOTE: Portable Ops canon is in debate within the fandom. I personally take it as canon, but some don’t. So Ocelot’s actions in this time period get argued. The way Portable Ops often gets argued. Since I take Portable Ops as canon, I included it. I’m using Wiki Fandom’s summary of events here, so again-there is interpretation that could be up for debate.

This could also be another portion of events that are not directly for the sake of Big Boss. But when the Patriots are formed, Ocelot helps them use the Legacy in it’s funding. The Patriots operated (at least originally) to ‘execute the Boss’s will’ post-humus for her. And create what they believed to be her desired world.

Ocelot recovers the second half of the Philosopher’s Legacy, and assassinates the DCI.

Foundation of the Patriots with Major Zero, Big Boss, Eva, Paramedic and SIGINT.

1972:

This is what I believe is the turning point for where Ocelot begins to put almost all of his focus into making sure everything he does serves Big Boss and his efforts.

Solid and Liquid Snake are born as the first successful experiment from Les Enfants Terribles. Big Boss leaves the Patriots. Ocelot remains.

Big Boss founds the MSF, and eventually takes on Kazuhira Miller as his sub-commander. Ocelot is not directly involved with the MSF. During the days of the MSF, Kaz forms a secret deal with Major Zero, which is how Zadornov (a KGB spy under the alias of Professor Galvez) and Paz Ortega Andrade (A Cipher Agent posing as a Latin American school-girl) are able to get Big Boss into Costa Rica. This is also where Chico (a kid Big Boss meets who is the younger brother of Amanda, the new commander of her late father’s rebel unit) meets Big Boss and is taken into the MSF.

1975:

XOF attacks Mother Base when Big Boss is coming back from his mission to save a captured Chico and Paz. Paz jumps from the chopper and dies before XOF shoots it out of the sky, killing Chico and the pilot, MORPHO in the process. The Medic jumps in front of Big Boss to shield him from the worst of the blast, but Big Boss ends up in a coma for the next nine years. Kaz is left with only minor or non-life-threatening injuries.

"This is an emergency, otherwise I sure as hell wouldn't-"-Ocelot, when Major Zero contacts him after the attack. The betrayal of Big Boss has forever left a sour taste in his mouth, regarding Zero.

Sometime later, after Kaz has been released from the hospital, Major Zero gets in contact with Ocelot and fills him in on a plan he has to keep Big Boss safe from his enemies. First, he has Big Boss and the Medic transferred into Cipher’s care through Eva, at the military hospital in Dhkelia, Cyprus. He proposes to Ocelot the idea of turning the Medic into a body double for Big Boss. Ocelot agrees and this begins the creation of Venom Snake through (as Ocelot puts it ‘powerful hypnogia’) and intense plastic surgery. In addition, he also spends the next nine years creating Diamond Dogs with Kazuhira Miller. The intention being that while Kaz, himself and Venom work with Diamond Dogs, Big Boss is free to get himself back up and running with his own base and men safely, away from the radar of XOF. With Diamond Dogs and Venom at the helm, nobody will know Big Boss is alive and building his own army (what eventually becomes Foxhound and later Zanzibarland) and will be safe.

XOF ATTACK ON DHKELIA, 1984:

Sometime in late February, Big Boss awakes from his coma and is filled in on what Ocelot has been up too. Ocelot and he prepare for the upcoming attack on the hospital, and when the Medic (now officially Venom Snake) wakes up two weeks later, Big Boss ��helps’ escort and protect him from the hospital. XOF annihilate the place searching for Big Boss. Leaving nearly (if not every) occupant killed in the line of fire. The assault on Dhkelia is deemed necessary by Ocelot, and serves as a way to get Big Boss and Venom Snake out and free, without XOF continuing chase.

After they escape, Venom is left briefly unconscious. Ocelot retrieves Big Boss, then Venom. He puts Venom on the Heiwa Maru for transport to Afghanistan to save Kaz (who has now been captured by the 40th Russian Army and needs to be saved by Venom) and says his goodbye’s to Big Boss before joining up with Venom. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Big Boss before Ocelot lights his cigar, 1984.

"We'll meet again."

At some point, Ocelot hypnotises himself, to keep up the ruse that Venom Snake is the ‘real’ Big Boss, so that he won’t blow his cover to soon.

After Venom rescues Kaz, the three of them work with Diamond Dogs and take down Skull Face. During this time, the vocal chord parasite is present, and Venom eliminates Skull Face, XOF and the virus. Around this time they also have Huey Emmerich (after having ‘saved’ him from Skull Face, who he’d been working under since the attack on Mother Base back in the 70’s)

"I maintainted limited contact, though in truth, we were just keeping tabs on each other." -Ocelot about his relationship with Major Zero, after LET and the dissolution of the Patriots. Keeping tabs on Zero was of course, useful for keeping Big Boss safe. Including from Zero.

I’ll also note real quick that it is around this time in the early 1980’s that Ocelot is dubbed ‘Shalashaska’ due to his torture techniques being so feared amongst guerilla’s he interrogated during the Soviet Afghan War. A monikers he’s given before Venom Snake is awake, and one that’s fully established by 1984.

TIMELINE UNKNOWN (Assumed to be sometime in the 80’s)

The details are unknown and undetermined, but at some point Ocelot reveals to Kaz that not only is Venom Snake a body double of Big Boss, but that Big Boss is alive and ‘safe’ doing his own thing to establish himself with Foxhound. Kaz, infuriated at being mislead and lied too, vows his revenge on Big Boss. Ocelot, simply says that eventually there will only be one Big Boss, and if Kaz wants to keep that vow, so be it. They’ll fight when the time comes (against each other, that is).

Venom Snake (at another undetermined time) learns the truth about himself. He remains in his role until his death.

At some point between 1984 and 1995, Kaz and Ocelot both exit Diamond Dogs/ Outer Heaven. The time period for when they do this, is unknown.

OPERATION INTRUDE N313, 1995:

Outer Heaven is no longer necessary, and is in possession of a Metal Gear. The time for there to be ‘only one Big Boss’ has come. Venom Snake fights Solid Snake, and is eventually defeated and killed by him. Venom Snake’s exploits are absorbed and attributed into the legend and legacy of Big Boss, leaving Venom to be forgotten. Having ‘done his job’ and outlived his usefulness.

THE 90’s:

Ocelot does some mercenary work around this time, after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Ocelot does not directly work within Foxhound, or the later Zanizbarland with Big Boss, but supports him in other ways during this time period. He is keeping a close eye on the Patriots 2.0 and establishing what will become his eventual take down of them completely.

But why take down the Patriots?

At the risk of veering off into headcanon territory (which a lot of this post already does so I’m not even sure why that’s a concern as it isn’t) I believe Ocelot wanted to eliminate and dismantle the Patriot’s because they wronged Big Boss. The Patriot’s harmed him, and later served as a threat to him. In many respects they threatened the world too; but for Ocelot, I believe Big Boss matters to him far more than the world ever did.

Leading into,

ZANIZBARLAND DISTURBANCE (Christmas Eve, 1999)

It is assumed that Solid Snake managed to kill Big Boss. However, the Patriot’s swoop in and steal his remains, placing him in a coma before he can expire. Following this, Ocelot teams back up with EVA, and they form a plan to eventually steal Big Boss from the Patriot’s. A process that ends up taking decades. And during which ends up requiring Ocelot to eventually make new ‘alliances’ and later, even develop into Liquid Ocelot.

But, before all that, comes a slow, methodical take down. Starting with Ocelot joining the New Foxhound in 2000.

I like this summary of it the best.

26th February, 2005

Death of Kazuhira Miller.

Canon has never confirmed if Ocelot killed him but I headcanon that he did and I stick with that headcanon. Kaz’s glasses are given over to Liquid, to help him take on the impression of Kaz to fool Solid Snake with the ruse. Ocelot would be one of the most efficient people to achieve that, and they have that talk about it in the end of MGSV so ANYWAY. That is a bit of a ramble.

Shadow Moses Incident 2005

The elimination of the New Foxhound. All but Ocelot are killed via the Foxdie virus that is implanted in Solid Snake by Dr. Hunter. This also ends up killing Liquid Snake. Ocelot reveals (to the audience) in the ending, to have been working behind the scenes the entire time as well with the then-President George Sears. Solidus Snake.

The Arm, 2005

Ok.

So. Bare with me. The Cyborg Ninja (Gray Fox) takes off Ocelot’s right arm with his sword during their fight. Sometime after the Shadow Moses incident, Ocelot has the right arm of the then-deceased Liquid Snake surgically grafted onto himself. This arm, ahem. Takes on the soul or spirit of Liquid Snake, and it can possess Ocelot periodically. Creating the character of Liquid Ocelot that is first seen in 2007. Two years later. When Ocelot is working with the Gurkulovich Mercenaries to steal Metal Gear RAY, before Ocelot betrays them. The “Liquid Ocelot” persona is up for debate.

2007

Mentioned quickly up above, Ocelot steals Metal Gear RAY and the Tanker Incident.

2009

“Sergei was my best friend!” Ocelot to Olga during Big Shell in 2009, when she accuses him of betraying her father and killing him (which he did). Loyalty to no-one is important. Unless it’s Big Boss.

Big Shell and the Solid Snake Simulation. Ocelot believes that the Big Shell is an experiment by the Patriots to establish any old person as Solid Snake. In this case, the unwitting patsy being Raiden. Dead Cell being a replacement for Foxhound. However, the Patriots are now completely an AI and they claim that they mislead Ocelot, and that their real goal was something else entirely. A system to control all people in the world. It is also revealed during the events of Big Shell that the Patriots are in control of every single aspect of society. And that the presidents are little more than Patriot selected plants, that are meant to exert their will unto society. Solidus Snake is killed by Raiden. Post Big Shell: The Creation of Liquid Ocelot.

Following the events of the Big Shell, Ocelot and EVA (now operating under the alias of Big Mama) are covertly working to dismantle the Patriots. By this point, the Patriot’s are in full control of society. The control PMC’s and other militaries with nanomachines that are a step up from the Genome Soldiers, and are an even more ‘perfect’ establishment of the Perfect Soldier Project. This is a project that used DNA from Big Boss to create the best soldiers. As said before, the Patriot’s are also a fully AI system. It is assumed that around this time, Revolver Ocelot is ‘possessed’ completely by the spirit of Liquid Snake (via the arm). And that Ocelot as he was known up until that point no longer exists. (While I’ve also found it kind of fun to toy with this theory, especially because the Sorrow was a medium and I really like the idea of Ocelot being supernaturally inclined) for the sake of this, I need to go with the way Ocelot himself ends up describing what happened. Ocelot is an extremely skilled hypnotist. (At least in Metal Gear’s lore sense of hypnotism). We already know that he hypnotized himself back in the 80’s, and it was using a more advanced version of this technique that he put himself ‘away’ and took on the persona of Liquid Snake. Said persona included the creation of more PMC’s, to help fight in a society of near total war. By 2014, an aged Solid Snake and Otacon are working to bring down the Patriot’s as well, but they have different motives. Ocelot wants to recreate Outer Heaven (in a sense) for Big Boss and the world he would’ve wanted. Philanthropy is for the salvation of the world and society. While I do still believe that Ocelot had a personal beef with the original Patriot’s for betraying Big Boss, I imagine that both things can be true. Ocelot knows the Patriot’s AI has infected everything in their society. Liquid Ocelot is created as a way to fool and interrupt the system. By working within the system itself, Ocelot takes it down from the inside, deliberately going against the AI’s predictions and algorithm to annihilate it. Solid Snake and the new Foxdie killing him, helps to bring about that goal. In the process, EVA is killed by the New Foxdie. Liquid Ocelot and Solid Snake fight, culminating in the death of Liquid Ocelot (and Ocelot entirely) via the new Foxdie. Outer Heaven 2.0 does not come to pass, but the Patriots are destroyed thanks to Philanthrophy’s efforts (and a worm created by Sunny Emmerich, the adopted daughter of Otacon and Solid Snake). Around this time as well, Big Boss briefly comes back to life (using body parts from the deceased Solidus Snake, I think Eva and Ocelot helped with that one but don’t quote me) and kills Major Zero (who is barely alive and only functions with life support) and dies of the new Foxdie virus. Thus a lifetime of betrayal and deceit, or torture and more alliances than one can shake a stick at, comes to a close.

"She's in love with the legend." "What makes you so sure?" "I was the same way, once."- Ocelot and Kaz arguing during Quiet's interrogation. Only for all the lies Ocelot tels, he was never lying about that. Except he loved the man, not just the legend.

CONCLUSION

So, at the end of the day, if one looks to the question ‘what was Ocelot’s motivation’? The answer is simply “for Big Boss” the motivation is sometimes debated, thrown around, tossed up, etc. So, for the sake of my own personal argument I say it’s because he loved him.

Not the purest kind of love no. We’re talking the devotional (one could even argue obsessive) intense kind of love that has a lot of toxic or ‘dark’ to be blasé about it kind of love. The kind of love that drives a person to do countless immoral, sometimes world-ending things in the face of it. From the time Ocelot met Big Boss to the time he died, nearly everything was in service of him. It did not matter to Ocelot how long that took, or how much ended up destroyed because of it.

It did not matter that it had a body count in the thousands. It did not matter who became necessary collateral along the way. Or whether Big Boss could ever even appropriately acknowledge or reciprocate it. At the end of the day, at the end of it all. For Ocelot it was all for him.

Everything.

I probably didn't need this entire post to explain it but I am who I am and here we are.

[faksyan]

Huey Emmerich, mgs v cast & hypocrisy, a character analysis

Prefacing this with the fact that this is the morally gray franchise with the morally gray characters and I love how it portrays Huey Emmerich precisely for him being Like That. I think he is one of the most nuanced and well-written mgs characters and I'm pretty sure like half of it wasn't on purpose. He is the guy everyone hates for killing his wife (understandabe reason), trying to make one of his kid pilot a giant robot and almost drowning another in a pool (also understandable reason), and, most of all, for being a traitor. And with such a list, feels a bit weird that the accent often falls on that last part, doesn't it. Which is exactly how the narrative wants you to feel about his betrayal, on a surface level.

Every character essential to the Phantom Pain plot gets their "please feel bad for them, sympathize with them" moment, no matter how horrible a person they are. We get multiple monologs from Kaz, we get the 'I was the same way once' interrogation room and the ending of the Truth with Ocelot, we get Paz tapes and 'you're all diamonds' with Venom, we get Code Talker, Quiet, Eli (if they actually finished mission 51), even Skull Face, somewhat (don't even make me start on that guy. how is he less hated than Huey). The point is, the game is trying to make you feel bad for people who murder, torture, and whatever else, and parts of it are working, because it's fiction, and humans and morality are complicated and layered things! But what does Huey get? Torture sessions and tantrums that are framed as pathetic and ridiculous, even when what he is saying makes sense. Because yeah, there's some of that there. It's just that everyone else in the room deliberately doesn't acknowledge it.

When Venom just finds him, the first thing Huey says is that what happened to MSF was Snake's fault. The same during his exile - that there wouldn't have been an inspection, if there weren't a nuke to begin with. and it's like. he's not wrong. Having their own nukes as an independent military organization was a risk Snake and Kaz didn't just take blindly, they knew what could have happened. It was a gamble, and it didn't work out. If it did, it would've been their achievement. It didn't, so it's all Huey's fault, even though literally anyone could've been in his place. XOF weren't even the first to attempt to attack them, Zero was, Paz just didn't succeed. And if Skull Face hadn't either, someone else would have, the attention of the entire world was on them. It wasn't about betrayal, it was Snake and Kaz being drunk on success and biting off more than they could chew. Yes, Huey is a bastard and a traitor, but are we really going to blame all of this on him?

The answer is yes. And the reason is that they need someone to blame that's not them. The whole big theme of Phantom Pain is that Ocelot, Venom and Kaz have to do their best to keep up appearances, for the sake of Big Boss and his reputation. He is a legend, he is above everyone else, and he can do no wrong. Except after the fall of MSF everyone thinks that he can, Ocelot says as much in the briefing tapes. And they can't have that. So they blame it all on Huey. (<- all of this is a dictatorship allegory and critique of governments and military systems btw. 1984 or whatever I haven't read it. yay symbolism.) And blaming Huey is easy.

Huey is not a fighter. His father was a scientist who worked on the Manhattan Project. He was born on the same day as the Hiroshima bombing, his disability was (presumably) caused by his father's exposure to radiation. It's not that there was no choice involved in what he was going to do in life, but it was kind of inevitable that he would get involved with building nuclear weapons. And even when he says he is thinking about quitting upon being found by Snake in Peace Walker, it's Snake who convinces him not to, offering him to join MSF instead. In the PW tapes he also expresses that if it weren't for his disability, he would've been anywhere else, doing something different and living a "normal life".

He talks about the concept of nuclear terrorism there too, about nukes falling into hands of people without state who would be able to use them however they want, and I wonder if that was part of the reason for his betrayal. He didn't make the decision to bring nukes to base, he doesn't actually know these people. If maybe he thought it prevented a hypothetical nuclear catastrophe. Huey does say that he trusts Snake not to use them, that he values how honest Snake is, and is honest with him in return, even telling him things he's never told anyone before, like about his plagiarism of Granin's work. So what changed between then and the inspection, what was his motivation for betraying MSF, why was he approached about it of all people? Did he lie in the tapes, did he change his mind, did Skull Face offer him something that seemed more compelling, just threaten him? We never get to find out anything about it aside from every other character screaming that he's just a coward. No villain monolog, nothing.

Maybe it was about feeling important, like he is in charge, something that the hostility he has faced throughout his life didn't allow him. Huey is a sheep among wolves (wolf in sheep's clothing more like, but still). He does not fit in with the buff cool masculine soldiers, and even while working with Strangelove at NASA, he was regarded as obnoxious and spineless. It's not surprising he agreed to work for Coldman, since he, apparently, was the first person to actually recognize his skills. And even that later turns out to be a lie told to use him. Huey rarely if at all has been treated seriously, he is an outcast, even among people who share his ideas.

All he has is his brain and his knowledge, but it's never framed as much of an achievement (despite people exploiting it left and right), nor is him essentially being the nerd in a military setting ever really viewed as something dorky or endearing by the narrative like with Otacon, because the characters around him don't see him as such (as a result, so don't the players). On top of that, every other person uses his mobility aids to further degrade/harm/threaten him, even though he is already harmless when it comes to physical confrontation. In short, people he is surrounded with just enjoy the powerplay.

Right up until the point he actually does something that hurts them. And this is where my favorite part kicks in.

All three Diamond Dogs' higher-ups blame Huey for slightly different reasons, some maybe even believing that they are in the right and entitled to it (looking at you Kazuhira), but I am more than sure they know what it is that they're doing. And it's not like Kaz lacks self-awareness either, I don't think. Maybe it's denial that some of his actions led to the death of his friends, maybe blind belief in his own martyrdom and self-righteousness (sounds an awful lot like another character we know, huh), it still doesn't change much. How they all frame the story is the same. Huey's powerless and pathetic, but has ruined everything at the same time. And it doesn't really make sense, but everyone on the base agrees. It's the moment where individuals turn into a crowd that demands blood, but at least it's not their commanders it's directed at!

The Questioning Huey (6) tape is a good example of that. I especially like the bit where he starts talking about how DD is not actually a dog, because on a smaller scale, it shows how people on Mother Base just roll with things that are objectively false and turn on anyone who says otherwise. No, DD is our beloved mascot, and we are called dogs, he is just like us. And it's not like DD is just a wolf either, so neither of them are right here. But each of them thinks that they are.

That's why the amount of genuine Huey hate is a bit amusing to see, I guess. Because it's precisely the thing the game is trying to commentate on. None of these people are good. None of them have it figured out. The point is that it's just narrative bias that makes you belive that some are, if not good, at least better than others. In reality, it's never about morals or being correct, just perspective.

Huey himself, on the other hand, falls into another extreme - in his eyes, he's done nothing wrong. Because he can do no wrong, he's powerless, like everyone's alway told him, remember? He sees himself as the victim, because in a lot of cases, he is.

You can say that he is a lying traitor and that the truth serum didn't work on him because of some failsafe Skull Face thought of, but really, would he bother? He didn't even view Huey as anything but a traitor he despised. you know, the guy who was in charge of organizing the betraying part. the guy who put bombs in people and wanted to commit mass-murder on a scale no one has seen before. So the obvious and the most simple answer here is that Huey whole-heartedly, truly believes he hasn't done anything wrong. He thinks he doesn't possess the power to, that he isn't important enough. And it's drilled so deep into him he never acknowledges it's not really true. Even when he kills Strangelove, he still doesn't accept that it is his fault and his actions matter.

That's my favorite part about him, I think. How deep in denial he is about having an impact on the people around him, while also having a sort of god complex when it comes to his machines. How everyone around despises him for it, while being the ones who caused it and doing the exact same thing, refusing to get off the high horse. Metal gear is a messy franchise about messy people, but it's good exactly because it shows what has messed these people up so much. And more often than not, it's the system they're surrounded by, or that they created themselves in an attempt to escape the previous one. It's easy to point at Huey as just a bad person and only that, but I find the context of his whole life and the ways he's coping with it really compelling. There is a lot of complexity to it, and in the end of the day, they are all hypocrites.

[mandrakebrew]

Role swap AU with Skull Face sounds like it'd be interesting

OOOh it does!

also sk.ull face is a mad scientist in his spare time anyway so

Palmer joined the CIA for the same reasons as normal in this au, tho their hired for their skills as a spy

In fact, changing what gender they present as is used a lot

Since command via intimidation is not really an option for Palmer, they gain the respect of XOF's men through listening to what they think about operations, and letting them weigh in on decisions

Sk.ull Face still came over from the SAS with Zero, but instead of spy he became a medic, getting his start by helping any injured allies he came across, despite lack of formal training

Does receive training while in the SAS, though

He's much more prone to using parasite therapy to help people who are mortally wounded or disabled

He's not known for good bedside manner, at all

Things play out more or less the same in their relationship

Palmer, despite being higher on the chain of command, never tells Skull face what to do, "I'm not the doctor, you are"

Still attacks Zero, trying to stop his plans, with the help of Skull Face

Is furious about Big Boss getting all the glory, while their men work and die in the shadows

Still, they refrain from attacking Mother Base, the man doesn't even know they exist, so how can they blame him?

One of the few times they completely ignore Skull Face's opinion. He does not understand how Palmer can be that "forgiving"

I'm gonna stop there cause I'm not sure where the story would go from there?

[bexisanidiot]

A bit of information on Bee

She was born inside the COBRA Unit in 1958 and she has the same abilities as Mantis except she got them way younger like maybe 2 to 4 years old and can actually make her body burst in flames, but when she was 6 some time before or during operation Snake Eater she got sent to her biological family in Russia in secret. Her bio family being Mantis's parents and (obviously) making her his older sister. I do have the idea that Big Boss has tried to make her a child soilder in the early 70s but it didn't work out cuz she either escaped or he gave up trying to beat her in a fight. At 18 to 23 she joined XOF under Skull Face and was commonly partnered up with Quiet, in 84' she essentially deserted her post as a spy among The Diamond Dogs after she learned about Chico & Paz and she went MIA with Quiet but eventually let herself get captured so they get distracted from trying to find Quiet by Bee getting questioned by them (She fucked with Miller's ego "most" the time). She remet with Ocelot and caught up with things since he possibly knew her back in Snake Eater and before. What led her to join FOXHOUND is something I haven't really thought of, it could've been because Mantis joined and she wanted to keep her little brother safe (we all know how that ended) but if it's not that then idk. She's actually still alive to this day and either took Venom Snake's or Big Boss's place as Boss of either Outer Heaven or Outer Haven (I haven't decided which if it really matters that much).

[firstaidspray]

🦋 📼 Paz Lives AU Tapes 📼 🦋

Questioning Paz: Interrogation 01

(Footsteps as Ocelot approaches a detained Paz)

Ocelot: Name?

Paz: Wh-what?

Ocelot: What is your name?

Paz: Paz Ortega Andrade, you know this. I am a student, an angel of peace. Why am I in trouble?

Miller: Stop the front, we know who you really are, Pacifica.

Paz: I don't know what you are talking about, Miller. What did I do to deserve this?

Miller: We know why you were detained by Skull Face. You know why, too.

Paz: No, I don't! I don't know who Skull Face is! Miller…who is that?

(Incomprehensible murmuring from across the room from DD soldiers)

Ocelot: What do you know about a thing called Cipher?

Paz: Cipher? The one you MSF guys talk about? I don't know much, other than what you have said.

Miller: No! You know exactly what Cipher is, what XOF is. We need you to tell us everything.

Paz: I. Don't. Know. What. You. Are. Talking. About! You're confusing me!

Miller: Ocelot. Try this.

(Brief silence as Ocelot hesitates)

Ocelot: Miller, I don't think we need to go that far. I think she's telling the truth-

Miller: I said, try this!

Paz: Wh-what is that?

Miller: Truth serum. I'm sorry, but if you're not going to tell the truth on your own, we're going to make you.

(Ocelot injects the serum, resulting in Paz screaming in pain)

Paz: Why did you do that?! It hurts so bad, Miller! Why?!

(Footsteps as Ocelot goes to speak to Miller)

Miller: Normally you get off on torturing people. What's the exception with her, huh? Why are you going so easy on her, being so gentle?

Ocelot: You say that like you want me to enjoy hurting her. You want information, but I don't think going about it like this will get it.

Miller: I don't care how you get her to talk, just do it. Paz has been through a lot of pain, but I'm not above giving her more if it means she'll tell us about Skull Face, about XOF, about Cipher.

Ocelot: You don't care if she experiences more pain? Come on now. She means something to you and the Boss, and you and the Boss mean something to her. I listened to her diary tapes, you know. As time went on, she actually cared about you guys at MSF. She even hinted at betraying Cipher to stay with you.

Miller: I heard the tapes, even before Camp Omega. And I cared...care about her. We wrote music together. We were friends...when she was living a lie, at least. I don't want to see her hurt. I just want the truth, so if hurting her is the way, then so be it.

(Paz whimpering in the distance)

Ocelot: I think you're already getting the truth. She has amnesia or something. After the serum wears off, I'm going to have a doctor check her out.

Miller: Fine. But could you go ask her a few more questions just to make sure? Here, show her these pictures. One of these came from a former MSF soldier Snake found in the field; he had it on his person. See if they elicit a response.

(Footsteps as Ocelot approached Paz again)

Ocelot: I'm sorry about the shot hurting you. That's just... a side effect. It should go away.

Paz: I want it to go away soon. Are you here to ask me more questions?

Ocelot: Yes, but just a couple. Here, I have some pictures. Tell me, do you remember taking this?

(Ocelot shows Paz the photo of her and Miller)

Paz: Yes, of course!! Miller and I were writing a song for Peace Day. You know, I haven't seen you around, you must be new, so I bet you didn't know. Miller has an awful voice, so I'm singing. I can't wait to play it in front of everyone!

Ocelot: Okay, good. I'll see if, uh, Miller wants to play it later, but for now we've got a bit more to look at. Here, recognize this guy?

(Ocelot shows Paz the photo of Skull Face)

Paz: Um, no, I would remember someone who looks like that. What is wrong with him?

Ocelot: Uh, well...*scoffs* Hm. So you don't know him at all?

Paz: No, I don't. I've never seen him before.

Ocelot: Paz, do you promise me you're telling the truth? Because if you aren't, Miller's gonna make me use another one of those shots on you.

Paz: Yes, of course I am telling the truth! Why would I lie?! I don't even know why I am here!

(Brief silence, Ocelot bends down and touches Paz's abdominal scar)

Ocelot: Paz, do you remember how you got this scar?

Paz: No...I...I don't know...it was there when I woke up...

Ocelot: Alright. You're doing great, let me go talk to Miller.

(Tape ends)

[torntruth]

the symbolic (and purposeful) fact that Skull Face and Cipher’s most loyal allies are those who seek revenge is honestly so very good.   they go out and find those who are angry,  who are vengeful,  and have no other purpose but hatred  --  propel these people towards a destination that’s in benefit of Cipher and that... feels like a purpose.  as skull face said himself  ‘you hope the hatred might someday replace the pain’  and it never does,  he says that,  but in all that rage and anger and pain,  you were an easy pawn.  they know that. 

--  Quiet,  who had some vendetta prior to Ishmael and Venom Snake killing her.  Then her rage was towards Venom Snake and because of that Skull Face ordered her to kill Venom Snake and if she couldn’t,  she had a deadly parasite as the back-up.  This ultimately failed because Venom Snake gave her a better purpose.  He healed the sorrow,  even partially. 

--   Code Talker,  who created the English parasite out of anger because the Navajo language almost,  or at least he was practically kidnapped by the Americans and forced to think Navajo was a dirty language.  So,  he made English the legitimate dirty language.  Code Talker eventually decided that no amount of anger will make up for what he developed,  the ability to kill languages.  Skull Face had done testing on subjects,  killing them with Code Talker’s parasite,  without Code Talker’s consent or knowledge.   When he was kidnapped by Venom Snake,  he in turn helped the Diamond Dogs.

There’s a lot more,  these two are just a couple of big defects from Cipher and the ones with particularly interesting backgrounds.  

I also find it wholly interesting that Quiet speaks Navajo.  This means something,  I’m not quite sure what.  Like Quiet and Code Talker knew each other while working for XOF / Skull Face / Cipher and he taught her,  or she just knew the language.  Either way,  the paramount importance of Quiet not trusting a single goddamn person and permanently becoming mute  ...  only to answer Code Talker in Navajo when he asks her.

They probably knew each other and now he’s her dad.  I don’t make the rules.

[belliesandburps]

Am I crazy or is bnha getting way too depressing and miserable with its latest arc?

A few people have actually been telling me that. I'm all caught up so I see what everyone is going on about, but I'll say this from a writing expertise perspective while keeping things spoiler-free.

And I’ll post it under this tab because this is gonna be lengthy:

One of MHA's biggest strengths has always been that it really doesn't have the "protagonist shield" problem. And even the most well-meaning, sweetest, most altruistic of characters, like Midoriya, are very flawed and have things they have to work on. This arc and the reason why it's so much more gloomy compared to its previous ones (minus the arc prior, because that was a relentless bundle of "Jesus Fucking Christ, you guys...") is a byproduct of that, because the series is wrapping up. But it's also a conflict that feels wholly organic, both due to what Midoriya knows by this point, and because of the events that have led up to this arc.

See, once in the actual anime, this bit people are feeling iffy about probably won't be more than a few episodes, so it won't feel AS prolonged and depressing, but it's also necessary from a storytelling perspective. The stakes are very high, and if this bit of misery were over before it began, then there really wouldn't be any weight to the final clash.

I'll give you guys an example.

MGSV is my favorite game of all time. It's a romp a minute that neevr stops being fun to play and replay six years later (holy shit, this game is turning six... O___O; ) but one of its biggest narrative weaknesses (besides Eli's inclusion and Skull Face getting thoroughly screwed) was pacing. Towards the end of the main story, Diamond Dogs is hit with a pandemic (how fucking topical) that sees the player actively bleeding staff, unless you can actively determine the common symptom and quarantine the right soldiers to prevent them from spreading the disease among your ranks. This is a great bit of storytelling because it adds serious pressure to you, the player, to wanna rush through the missions because the more staff you lose to the pandemic, the less functions you have in-game. And it works in the narrative because it pushes the main characters to their limits.

Juuuuuust one itty bitty problem...

There isn't a SINGLE fucking cutscene that actually showcases the virus spreading at mother base. You hear over radio from Ocelot and Kaz what's going on, and that's it. You visit mother base, and everyone's talking about the virus but at a glance, the base is perfectly fine. You never see Venom Snake or the other characters react to this development. It happens, and concludes after just a few missions. And the only cutscene we get is the one when it's finally resolved.

So going into the final battle against Skull Face and XOF, it REALLY doesn't feel as personal or significant as it's supposed to, because we, the players, may feel the weight of the virus, but the characters don't. Venom Snake doesn't even lend a single word on the matter, and he's the main freakin' character. Without those moments to really stew in the misery and the sheer weight of what is happening, the climax lost so much of its luster...and the way the final battle actually resolved sorta sealed the deal then and there...

MHA isn’t doing that.  It’s taking the time to really illustrate the blowback of everything that has come and really does make the situation feel almost absurdly hopeless.  And it doesn’t feel like there’s gonna be an easy solution to resolving everything either.  But we know there WILL ultimately be one, and that the consequences everyone’s now facing will be worth it in the end.  The weight of the situation feels real, and it helps that, despite the gloom, the scenarios are still exciting and the villains are still just as delightfully wicked as ever.  :P

The point being, I get why people aren't thrilled with this arc because we love MHA as the high-octane, energy-fueled, feel-good show that it is. And a lot of that feels absent here, given the circumstances. But they are necessary circumstances to ensure the ending and the series finale, as a whole, becomes that much more satisfying.  Especially because, unlike many shows (anime or not), MHA had the balls to REALLY show that there are consequences to certain things being so fragile and certain lines being crossed.  You don’t tease dire consequences if X,Y and Z happen, then shy away at the homestretch.  MHA didn’t fall into that pitfall, and while the consequences of certain events feel REALLY heavy, speaking for myself, it just makes me that much more eager to see the heroes finally triumph.

This is a great example of "showing, not telling," and it lends so much more weight to everything leading to the ending that honestly has me as excited as I am anxious to see how it all ends.

It also helps that, knowing the rules of writing as I do, I also know that this IS ultimately temporary. And that the show / manga will inevitably feel more like itself again once certain hard lessons are finally learned.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Psycho Analysis: Skull Face

(WARNING! This analysis contains SPOILERS!)

The Metal Gear franchise is well known for its complex, deep philosophies, and the antagonist of Metal Gear Solid V is absolutely no exception to this. Skull Face, while definitely on the more shallow end of the villain pool in terms of the series, is still one of the most intriguing and even pivotal villains the series introduces. Why is that?

In short, he is responsible for much of the bleakness that plagues Solid Snake’s adventures. But you’re not here for the short version, you’re here for the long one. So how exactly does the mysterious Skull Face fit into the incredibly dense and convoluted mythology of Kojima’s masterpiece of a franchise?

Motivation/Goals: Skull Face has a pretty surface-level motivation at first glance: he wants revenge against both Zero and Big Boss, as Skull Face previously worked for the covert project XOF created by Zero that cleaned up messes left behind by Big Boss during Virtuous Mission and Operation Snake Eater, XOF being the shadow of the FOX program, so to speak. After FOX disbanded in the 70s, XOF became the strike force for Zero’s Cipher. Of course, during all this time, Skull Face became resentful of both Zero and Big Boss alike, weary of being left in the shadows cleaning up the messes of men who would gain more honor than he did. This is the guy who assassinated Stalin in the Metal Gear universe, so it is understandable he’d be a bit miffed.

Of course, as any Metal Gear villain is wont to do, he takes his anger too far, and decides to play Cipher and MSF against each other, and sets into motion the events of The Phantom Pain by kidnapping, torturing, and possibly even raping Paz before having those bombs implanted in her as well as kidnapping and torturing Chico (and perhaps even forcing him to rape Paz). He then destroys Mother Base, which leads into Big Boss going into a coma when his helicopter explodes due to Paz’s bomb.

His ultimate goal from all of this chaos is this: he’ll create nukes only he can stop from detonating and distribute them around the world along with the Metal Gears needed to fire them, upsetting the global power balance in the process while also keeping Skull Face in control. Then, he would unleash the English parasite that kills its host whenever they speak English; when the world is liberated from English, the new world language will be one of nukes and Metal Gears, and the world will be at peace through mass nuclear deterrence, a sentiment similar to that of Hot Coldman of Peace Walker. And if that doesn’t work? Just kill everyone. The plan is ludicrously complicated and seems like it could easily be thrown out of wack by even the slightest of variables, which makes Skull Face a perfect Metal Gear villain.

Really though, everything boils down to his desire for revenge against the sleights he feels Zero and Big Boss dealt against him, be they real or imagined, which fits very nicely into the game’s deconstruction of the idea of vengeance and how ultimately seeking revenge can utterly consume a person and cause far more harm than good. This makes Skull Face thematically gel with the story while also being someone to root against and to, in the end, help Kaz and Venom realize how utterly futile their thirst for vengeance against Skull Face was and how destroying him does not bring back the years of suffering they suffered or all that they lost.

There’s also an element of the fear of being forgotten to his motivations, erased from history by his enemies in an attempt to eradicate any and all legacy he may have; however, in this regard he is far more successful than in his main evil plain, as he managed to pass on his vengeful, nihilistic philosophies to his enemies. Even though his body is burnt away due to housing parasites and even though the Patriots eradicate his existence, and even though the true Big Boss never acknowledged Skull Face or his existence, Venom, Psycho Mantis, Skull Face, Diamond Dogs, and even Cipher are forever warped by his philosophies and in part plays in to how Outer Heaven was created. Even worse, he actually does get his revenge on Zero, causing him to fall into the state he is seen in right before his death at the end of Guns of the Patriots. As special tapes show, Zero truly was remorseful for how things between he and Big Boss had turned out and truly wanted to communicate and reconcile… but because of Skull Face’s desire for revenge, he ended up preventing such a reunion from ever occurring.

“Poor communication kills” is another strong theme in the game, and Skull Face weaponizes such a thing, inadvertently ensuring all the tragedies that would follow in the Metal Gear timeline, all because of his thirst for revenge against two men who never intentionally wished to screw him over… perhaps if he had communicated, things would have turned out a bit better for all parties. Instead, he turned one man into an immobile, barely functioning shell and warped another into someone just like him: a monster who lives only to lash out in anger and vengeance at those he has perceived as wronging him. Even though Skull Face died, he still ultimately was victorious in the sense that Big Boss and Zero were both twisted and destroyed by his actions.

Performance: James Horan does a wonderful job voicing Skull Face, making him sinister, creepy, and hammy whenever the scene calls for it. In fact, his scenery chewing skills are nearly unmatched; Skull Face goes whole hog when it comes to hamminess. He’s certainly not Armstrong levels, but Horan knows what kind of series he’s in and is definitely having a lot of fun.

Final Fate: When Mantis hijacks Sahelanthropus, Skull Face ends up caught in the crossfire and crushed, so Kaz and Venom come up and blast his limbs off as payback for the limbs they lost. But then they realize that killing him is a pointless, hollow victory that won’t bring back their dead comrades or give back all they took from him, so they toss him his gun as he begs them to kill him and tell him to do it himself as they walk away. A powerful moment in the series…

...That Huey immediately ruins by going over, killing him, and then shouting “REVENGE!” in the stupidest manner possible, despite the fact that any grivance Huey could possibly have against Skull Face is petty at best. For such an important villain in the grand scheme of the franchise, he deserved better than being shot by Huey of all people.

Best Scene: It’s pretty hard to pick, as almost any of his disturbing tapes from Ground Zeroes could qualify due to their fantastic voice acting and horrifying content that cements Skull Face as one of the franchise’s most twisted villains. But if we’re talking in-game onscreen appearances, the scene in “Hellbound” where Sahelanthropus is revealed in all its terrifying glory while he poses and gestures in its hand, hamming it up for Huey and Snake, is just a truly golden moment.

Best Quote: “Who is doing this? Such a lust for revenge… WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!??!!?”

Final Thoughts & Score: Skull Face is a really cool villain, even with that dopey face mask. It may be because he continues the proud tradition of ridiculous, over-the-top bad guys that the series is known for, but gives one suited to the Big Boss era of the franchise; Volgin and Hot Coldman are not nearly as hammy or enjoyable as Skull Face is. And much like any great Metal Gear villain, Skull Face has some awkward moments, such as that uncomfortably long car ride and the fact he’s wearing a mask that makes him look like an edgy reimagining of the Hamburglar, but frankly these things just endear him more to me. The whole fun of Metal Gear is that these games have so many poetic, beautiful, poignant, and philosophical scenes juxtaposed against over-the-top absurdity and ridiculous levels of narm; Skull Face fits right in.

Truly this man earns his 9/10. Ultimately I keep him from the perfect score due to being killed by Huey, which is insanely embarrassing for any villain, as well as the fact that he’s a little underutilized and never really beaten in a meaningful way because, again, Huey is incapable of not ruining something. But none of that changes how thematically strong the guy is. He’s a lot of fun, and while it’s a shame he’s killed only about halfway through the game, the shadow he and his actions cast on not only the entire game but the franchise as a whole more than make up for his shortcomings.

[mundycorps]

i gotta know this: what did huey emmerich do. why does everyone hate him. i have never played a metal gear game in my life and i dont care about spoilers, this is need-to-know info for me

The Callout Post for “Huey” Emmerich (Huey is in quotation marks because he doesn’t have a canonical first name)

Backstabbed literally everyone who worked with him, and kept changing sides whenever it would benefit him (and only him).

Helped Skull Face and XOF in the attack against Mother Base. This put Big Boss in the hospital, killed hundreds of people, and got Kaz Miller captured.

Is the whiniest bitch in existence.

Tried to use his toddler son Hal as a guinea pig test pilot for the Sahelanthropus - basically, a giant walking nuclear mech.

Suffocated his wife, Strangelove, because she prevented Huey from putting his son in the machine.

Tried to blame his murder of Strangelove on Skull Face, who was innocent of that crime, and then claimed that she killed herself.

Wrote stuttering into his love letter for Strangelove. No, seriously.

Drowned himself and tried (and failed) to kill his stepdaughter Emma in the process. This gave her a crippling fear of water as a result.

Looks like this:

Awful man. I have nothing but scorn and disgust for him.

[sir-yeehaw-paws]

Kaz’s capture being orchestrated by himself and Ocelot headcanon/theory post.

Reposted AND rewritten because Tumblr didn’t save over half of the post I’d made, and then deleted it all entirely when I tried to edit it. Thanks tumblr.

Please keep in mind that this is strictly a personal headcanon of something that is heavily implied to be the case in-game. I’m just having fun here. Because I enjoy thinking and theorizing.

To begin, we know V escapes the hospital with Ocelot on March 11th, 1984. Before that, it takes V just over 2 and a half weeks to wake up. He has three wake-up moments prior to that.

First Awakening.

Second Awakening.

Third and Final Awakening (As well as his escape, so we can assume that this is March 11th)

After Venom escapes the hospital with Ocelot, he’s given the general rundown of what has happened with Kaz so far and what his mission is meant to be. As Ocelot calls it later his ‘warm up’ mission. Which already could imply that this wasn’t meant to be super difficult, so to speak.

Kaz knows that Venom (or as he thinks it, Big Boss) is being rescued at this time, and knows that Ocelot is going to be taking Big Boss onboard the Heiwa Maru to Afghanistan (see this tape here).

Kaz is also just enough in the ‘know’ to know that Big Boss is being held in Cyprus. As mentioned here.

A part where I don’t think Ocelot has been completely honest, is explaining to Kaz that Venom and Big Boss are two different people. That bit I believe has been withheld. It’s possible then that he told Kaz, soon after he got the infamous “V has come to” call, that Big Boss is in Cyprus, and now Kaz has a job to do: create a whole lot of ruckus at the ‘zero line’ to draw the 40th Armies attention.

As an aside, Kaz is also made aware of the ‘V has come to’ code phrase: It was given to him directly, by Zero, at some point.

This then would distract “Cipher” and give Ocelot a more clear opening for rescuing Big Boss. Kaz would-and seems to-have little issue agreeing to this.

 This is the timeline and situation as presented to Venom by Ocelot:

And this is how Kaz explains it later:

Ocelot has a good grasp of how much time Kaz has before there’s real trouble, and Kaz tells Venom that the entire point was that his job was loud, attention drawing and would create some havoc.

Here, their stories appear to be very straight and mesh well with one another. They are, for the most part (save Kaz being unclear about Cipher and XOF and who the true culprit to all this is) on the same page. They both know what happened, how it happened, and Ocelot was there waiting with Big Boss-and with Kaz’s glasses to boot.

Kaz later goes on:

The Skulls did not factor into this plan. Not for Ocelot, and not for Kaz. (I’ll take a second to admit here that I don’t know how they factored in period, as I don’t know why they just..let Kaz go, that bit I genuinely have no answer for. Perhaps I’ll come up with it later, but for now that’s one plot hole I can’t account for)

It’s also interesting that Kaz took the ‘best’ he had. Just to get them killed? I doubt it. The Skulls were a wrench in the original plan that Kaz and Ocelot didn’t-and couldn’t-account for.

This part is intriguing to me, and gives me a thought that I’ll again, admit is a bit far-fetched. “Average rank and file” So, the average grunt. Decidedly not interrogation experts ala Shalashaska type. I wonder if Ocelot possibly counted on this. After all, Kaz can handle himself around a bunch of grunts and average soldiers.

And both Venom and Kaz know Ocelot would be privy to a decent amount of info on the Soviet’s-and the 40th Army.

The Skulls were unaccounted for in this plan. The Skulls were the outlier here (save for again, information Ocelot himself witholds)

Kaz, as he sees it, had a job to do.

As Kaz see’s it, Ocelot (possibly) came up with the following plan for them:

When Big Boss wakes up, it’ll be Kaz’s job to take some existing missions that are considered dangerous and noise-worthy. He creates a ‘distraction’ (in addition to the secret Cyprus attack and other Big Boss that he doesn’t know about, and isn’t being told about) and holds on tight while waiting for Big Boss to come get him. I don’t know if he and Kaz could’ve or did account for just how severely tortured he would be, but in some ways, they both understood and followed the mission plan thoroughly.

This too, coincides with what Ocelot tells Venom about Kaz’s mission:

Ocelot has the glasses, the man, and the mission details. All Kaz has to do, is hold on and hold out long enough. By this point, Kaz must therefore know that Big Boss is awake (and gets Venom instead, but of course, this is not the part of the plan he’s in on).

He’s pretty disoriented when we rescue him (if you want a refresher, see this time stamped  1:01:42 youtube video from Kefka Productions here) but he’s ready and able to be talking once in the chopper.

It’s a crazy plan. It’s a downright batshit plan, but it’s also the kind of plan I could see the two of them coming up with.

I’m sorry if I forgot any other details, and if I think of some later, I’ll post them. Losing many of my thoughts in the original deleted post didn’t help.

[punishedvenomsnake]

Dr. "Huey" Emmerich was a mechanical engineer responsible for developing bipedal locomotion technology for the Peace Walker Project in 1974 and later served as the chief engineer of Metal Gear Sahelanthropus in 1984. He was the biological father of Hal "Otacon" Emmerich and the stepfather of Emma "E.E." Emmerich.

Biography

Early life and career

Emmerich was born on August 6, 1945, the day of the Hiroshima bombing, as the son of a scientist that worked on the Manhattan Project. He was born a paraplegic, unable to walk because his spine was abnormally shaped, and thus confined to a wheelchair. Although he used to respect his father because his research had saved American lives, his respect decreased significantly during the fifth grade when a Japanese transfer student showed him photos of what happened in Hiroshima after the bomb hit.

After skipping a few grades, Emmerich joined NASA after graduating from MIT and worked alongside Strangelove. While working with Strangelove, Emmerich was given the nickname "Huey." He was once considered to be part of a project involving space rockets, but he was eventually relocated after it was cancelled due to détente.

Bipedal weapon development

Emmerich met and became colleagues with Soviet scientist Aleksandr Leonovitch Granin, supporting Granin's bipedal tank theory by writing a paper that was criticized. In September 1964, Granin intended to send designs for such a weapon to Emmerich in the United States, after funding for its development was cut.

A photograph of Granin (left) and Emmerich (right), displayed in the former's office.At some point after 1972, Huey was hired by CIA Station Chief Hot Coldman to build the "Perfect Deterrent" for the Peace Walker Project, after supplying him with Granin's blueprints that Coldman had earlier procured via CIA contacts,[2] as well as later blackmailing him with the theft to keep him in line.[3] He was willingly working for Coldman, having been convinced that the "Perfect Deterrent" was to be used solely as a deterrent, never to be launched even once. Huey was also responsible for developing three prototype AI weapons.

Peace Walker Incident Main article: Peace Walker Incident

In 1974, Huey and Strangelove built several AI prototypes for the Peace Walker Project: Pupa, Chrysalis, Cocoon and Peace Walker.

However, Huey learned of Hot Coldman's true intentions to launch a live nuke from the weapon, in order to prove its power as a deterrent. He then got into an argument with Coldman, and refused to cooperate any longer. As a consequence, Coldman hurled him down a stairway, wheelchair and all. Big Boss (Naked Snake) attempted to help Huey back into his wheelchair as he tried to warn the former about Coldman's plans to launch a nuke. Huey would later aid Big Boss in Pupa's destruction when it was deployed to take Snake out.

Huey, circa 1974.After Big Boss destroyed the Pupa, Huey encountered the mercenary claiming to be an entomologist searching for butterflies for the Washington Treaty. Huey explained to Snake the nature of the Peace Walker project, and suggested a way to stop Peace Walker itself: by sabotaging the AI designed to operate the weapon, located within Dr. Strangelove's laboratory. Huey gave Snake his ID card to gain access to the lab, as well as a love letter addressed to Strangelove to deliver (although he allowed Snake to believe that it was a recommendation letter). Huey then decided that he might quit working in the field of science due to his role in nearly causing a disaster. However, Snake suggested that he instead join their "Outer Heaven" as Huey would fit into the group.

Afterwards, Huey was placed into the Militaires Sans Frontières' R&D division, where he provided further information on the AI weapons, as well as overseeing the development of the bipedal tank Metal Gear ZEKE, under his suggestion.[4][5] Upon being placed in the R&D Team, he then briefed Snake on the method to creating ZEKE, requiring salvaged parts from the AI weapons due to MSF not being able to afford creating ZEKE from scratch.[6] Huey was dismayed to learn that Strangelove had revoked his security clearance for Strangelove's AI lab, believing this had done so out of dislike towards him, forcing Snake to locate an alternate ID card.[7]

After Snake failed to sabotage the AI at Strangelove's lab, Huey gave MSF intel in regards to the location of Peace Walker's final testing base: an underground base disguised as a mine. He later supplied some info about the final test at a U.S. missile base in Nicaragua: namely that it needed some more modifications before it was launch capable, and that the launch date was deliberately chosen on the day of the SALT II talks in Vladivostok. He later operated the entire Mother Base as its skeleton crew while the majority of the MSF headed towards Nicaragua to put a stop to Coldman's plans. He later helped Snake achieve contact with the Pentagon, after Coldman activated Peace Walker and nearly caused an all-out nuclear war.

Huey held romantic feelings for Dr. Strangelove.Afterwards, Huey participated as a referee in a soccer match between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, and at one time even tried to stop a fight from breaking out, as they were not supposed to be enemies, quoting Big Boss during this point. During development, he constantly pestered Strangelove, resulting in her complaining constantly. After ZEKE was completed, he explained to Big Boss of it being utilized for outside operations from Costa Rica/Nicaragua, and also cited it as a work in progress.[8]

Shortly thereafter, under the suggestion of Kazuhira Miller, it was armed with a nuclear warhead recovered from the remains of Peace Walker under Lake Nicaragua's waters. When Big Boss asked Huey why he decided to arm ZEKE with nuclear weapons, citing its similarity to Peace Walker, which he despised, he claimed that it was because the two were actually different with intentions: the CIA won people over with charm, and turned their backs on them when things got hairy, whereas Big Boss was honest about his intentions, so he trusted Big Boss with the decision.

When Paz Ortega Andrade hijacked and used ZEKE against Big Boss, as well as the agent of Cipher threatening of nuking the East Coast and frame MSF with the deed should they not rejoin Cipher, Huey was horrified that his creation was once again being used in the exact way he didn't want it to be used for.[9] After ZEKE was damaged due to Paz hijacking it, he suggested to Snake that he should have a mock battle against ZEKE so that the next time something similar happened, Big Boss would be prepared before leaving for Mother Base's AI lab in order to check the progress of ZEKE's repairs.[10]

He later approached Strangelove regarding their relationship, and though he was still hesitant to discuss his feelings for his colleague, the two came to an understanding when Strangelove implied that he should "come walk with [her]" when he had gained enough confidence.

Post-Peace Walker

A few weeks later, Huey was one of the minority in favor of an inspection of Mother Base by the UN. He even sent a letter indicating that MSF had changed their minds regarding their earlier refusal, as well as getting at least two major western networks to do stories on them, with the intention of "proving" that MSF didn't have a nuke. Big Boss and Kazuhira Miller, however, were irritated by Huey's actions but their hands were tied and preparations for an inspection were made. Despite Huey's crush on Strangelove, he let go of the fact that his love interest left Mother Base due to the AI department not giving results as well as ZEKE being completed anyways, deciding that he had "bigger issues to worry about." As such, because of his involvement in the UN inspection, Huey was the only civilian to remain on Mother Base, with the other civilians having been evacuated earlier. Huey handled the preparations for the UN inspection while Big Boss went to rescue Chico and Paz in Cuba.[11]

Leaving the MSF soldiers disarmed for the inspection, Huey was relegated to the control tower of Mother Base's Command Center, and met the inspection crew personally. He reported that everything was going smoothly while Big Boss was returning to base. However, the inspection proved to be a Trojan horse for Cipher's elite strike force XOF, who succeeded in destroying Mother Base. Huey's body was never recovered from the ruins, causing Miller to believe that Huey had fled after the attack started and suspect him of treachery.

Over the next decade, Huey remained underground, strengthening Miller's suspicions of Huey's involvement in the Mother Base attack. He was eventually made chief engineer for the new Metal Gear that was being developed in an XOF research facility in Afghanistan, under their leader Skull Face. Huey primarily worked in his lab located in the Soviet Central Base Camp on behalf of the Soviets, who agreed to keep Huey protected as part of the agreement for the new Metal Gear. Here Huey was constantly under guard and was not allowed to leave under any circumstances unless to work on the new Metal Gear at the XOF facility.

Huey was eventually reunited with Strangelove and they became romantically involved. During their time together, Strangelove was allowed to keep the Mammal Pod inside Huey's lab, although at some point Skull Face ordered Huey to reprogram and modify the pod against Strangelove's objections. In 1980, they had a child together, whom they named Hal.[12] Huey was also allowed to develop an exoskeleton for his legs that would allow him to walk, abandoning the use of his old wheelchair. He also designed a smaller variant of Metal Gear which he named Walker Gear, a fully customizable war machine that could be used for both assault and stealth missions. Impressed by Huey's creation, Skull Face had Huey's prototype mass produced and sold several Walker Gears to the Soviet Army and several PMC's that were operating in Central Africa.

Phantom Pain Incident See also: Hospital Escape and Phantom Pain Incident

Skull Face confronting Huey.By 1984, Huey had nearly completed XOF's Metal Gear Sahelanthropus, which was thought to have been developed for the Soviet Union as they had financially backed Sahelanthropus' development. In reality, it was to be used by Skull Face for an ethnic cleansing campaign on the English language. During the development of Sahelanthropus, Huey also attempted to use his own son as a test subject, as Sahelanthropus could only allow for a child to pilot. However, Strangelove was outraged with his choice, resulting in a huge falling out. To prevent Huey from using Hal for any future tests, Strangelove sent Hal to America. In retaliation, Huey sealed Strangelove inside the Mammal Pod and let her suffocate.[12]

By the time Venom Snake awoke from a coma, Huey was in Afghanistan. In addition, Miller, largely because of what happened to MSF and Huey's direct role in it, harbored a huge grudge against him, which he made very vocal. Furthermore, various Diamond Dogs members who survived the events of MSF's destruction referred to Huey by the more impersonal "Dr. Emmerich" or simply "Emmerich", rather than his nickname of "Huey."

They eventually learned that Huey planned to defect from XOF to Diamond Dogs and decided to "ensure" he defected, wanting to exact revenge on him for his role in MSF's destruction earlier. Skull Face later learned of Huey's intended defection and personally threw him down the stairs and threatened him before detaining him at the Afghanistan Central Base Camp. Skull Face anticipated that Venom Snake would attempt rescuing him and only kept Huey alive to draw Snake out. Huey then noticed Venom Snake, and pondered whether he was really Big Boss. Venom Snake then put a hood on him, only briefly removing the hood to allow him to activate a special Walker Gear prototype so he could use it to escape. While Ocelot agreed that he should use Huey's prototype as a means of escape, Miller angrily objected stating that Snake didn't need Huey's toy. In any case, Snake made his way through the Soviet Base Camp and managed to make is way out. However, Skull Face unveiled that Sahelanthropus was active despite Huey insisting that it wasn't complete yet.

Huey, interrogated by Ocelot.After arriving back at Mother Base, a hooded Huey was later interrogated for six hours by Diamond Dogs' interrogation specialist Ocelot, who threw water over him, as well as injected him with truth serum. This was overseen by Miller and Venom Snake, presumably for his suspected role in XOF's attack on Mother Base nine years earlier. Wanting to know why Huey was associated with XOF, the scientist claimed that Skull Face had abducted him during the assault on Mother Base and brought him all the way to Afghanistan to design and build a Metal Gear for the XOF, claiming that he was being held in their facility against his will for the past nine years. Ocelot and Miller later interrogate Huey about Metal Gear Sahelanthropus, giving them detailed information about its armor and weapons systems, but was unable to explain its sudden activation during their escape from Afghanistan, explaining that he wasn't given time to develop an AI operating system to get Sahelanthropus fully functional.

Miller, who wasn't buying Huey's story of being abducted, took the time to exact his own personal revenge against Huey by using a magnetic device to bend one of his legs out of shape, noting that unlike the other MSF survivors, Huey never actually lost anything in the MSF attack in response to Huey's accusation that Miller was the mole due to his prior contact with Cipher. Miller and Ocelot then gave Snake, who was observing the interrogation from another room, a tape for what they have so far, and relayed that, though not much, Huey did give some useful information: Namely, XOF was primarily done in Afghanistan and went over to Africa, and that they planned to create a weapon that would surpass Metal Gear (with Snake deducing that what XOF was building was "not simply another nuke"). Huey later gave a suggestion on creating a new weapon system called Battle Gear. Venom Snake experienced a sense of déjà vu from this speech.

Despite not trusting Huey, they ultimately allowed him to work on the mech and depart,[13] although not before Ocelot whispered coldly to Huey that he only barely saved himself from the chopping block. Sometime later, Huey requested to speak with Big Boss in private, demanding to know if anyone else was listening in. Huey, who was being secretly recorded by Venom, tells him about the current state of the Les Enfant Terribles project and that Dr. Clark, who has become a recluse, took charge of the project. After the events in Africa, and learning from Code Talker that they are headed back to Afghanistan with Sahelanthropus, Miller and Ocelot utilized metallic archaea, destroying his glasses in the process, to interrogate Huey into revealing where they are headed, with his admitting that they're headed to OKB Zero, an outpost helmed by the Soviet Philosophers when they were still around. Content with the information, they then departed, although not before Ocelot sadistically placed the metallic archaea's syringe right near one of Huey's titanium legs.

Emmerich stands, using exoskeleton-assisted legs.Huey then accompanied them to Afghanistan, and after Venom Snake narrowly stopped Sahelanthropus which had been prematurely activated by Tretij Rebenok due to him being intoxicated by Eli's hatred of Venom Snake, whom he believed to be his father Big Boss, they then "paid a visit" to Skull Face, where Huey managed to kill Skull Face despite Venom Snake and Miller opting to leave Skull Face to die in agony. He then secretly repaired Sahelanthropus after it was delivered to Mother Base and also had the child soldiers, including Eli and his group, aid him in the repair work, also telling them everything about how the machine operated,[14] later claiming he thought they were just curious in how it worked. After Huey completed the Battle Gear, Miller, deciding his usefulness was expended and that he'll probably try something to Diamond Dogs, decided to investigate his role in MSF's destruction, and requested that Venom Snake go to the Soviet Central Base Camp in Afghanistan to recover The Boss AI.[15]

What they found inside the AI pod upon retrieving it was more than they bargained for: a human corpse that was relatively well preserved due to it being firmly sealed from outside air and emitting a low-grade temperature inside. Suspecting that Huey had a role in the corpse being inside, they interrogated Huey, and discovered the identity of the corpse: Strangelove[16] and also began finding holes in his story when he initially claimed no one could open it, yet then implied that someone DID seal her in. Miller recorded the interrogation session and submitted it to Snake, also notifying him of their discovery around the time Snake was at the Medical Platform of Mother Base due to Quiet being hospitalized after she risked her life to retrieve a necklace belonging to the deceased former leader of the Mbele Squad, Shabani, that had been dropped inside a vat filled with chlorine disinfectant.[16]

After Eli and the other child soldiers made off with Sahelanthropus, they investigated why it was operational again, and eventually discovered Huey's role in its repair, resulting in yet another interrogation sequence[14] where he lets slip that he had actually not only seen Hal (he had earlier claimed that Hal was been taken away from him by Skull Face before he could even see him), but also implied that he used him as a test subject for Sahelanthropus before he lost him. The interrogation was recorded on tape and sent to Venom Snake's iDroid, with Miller notifying him of Huey's role.[14]

Huey would later cause the vocal cord parasites on Mother Base to mutate by illicitly modifying X-ray scanners on the quarantine platform with a beta-ray emitter. When Diamond Dogs discovered the radiation leak resulting from the modified scanners, Huey claimed it was nothing to worry about. However, when this leak led to another parasite outbreak, forcing Snake to kill all infected soldiers, Huey's role in the affair was deduced by Miller, and proceeded to have him interrogated.[17] After finding out about Huey's role in the disaster, including causing the wolbachia to mutate in order to test a new parasite he intended sell to Cipher,[18][19] as well as for all of his previous crimes against MSF, Diamond Dogs and Strangelove, Miller and the remaining survivors all called for Huey's execution.

However, Miller decided initially to just try and find proof before convicting him and try to assemble the evidence first, after Huey begged to be spared. The Diamond Dogs staff had eventually gotten restless with having to wait, especially with their discovery of everything Huey'd been up to in addition to his role in the quarantine facility outbreak, thus forcing the Diamond Dogs to proceed with the trial ahead of schedule as well as Miller calling Venom Snake to return to base to attend to avoid a riot.[20]

After showing all the evidence they had uncovered, Miller then declared Huey "guilty, all counts", with the Diamond Dogs then demanding for his death. Venom Snake, however, decided that Huey was instead to be exiled from Mother Base via life raft. As the raft was being lowered, Huey ranted that he was innocent, the Diamond Dogs were the real murderers, and Venom Snake was the one who should be exiled. Due to his exoskeleton legs nearly causing the raft to sink, Huey was forced to discard them, leaving him unable to walk again.[12]

While Huey was in the raft, Ocelot stated that the former would one day understand the man he really was. Huey also left behind some of his research notes, and Diamond Dogs proceeded to replace him with the R&D Team to ensure his projects weren't abandoned from use by Diamond Dogs. Despite Huey's exile from the base, Miller wanted to have Huey tailed in case the scientist tried anything, but was immediately stopped by Venom Snake, telling Miller that Huey was gone and that he should finally let it go.

Later life

Huey eventually made it back to civilization and reunited with his son, Hal. He would later wed British national Julie Danziger, his second marriage at the time.[1][21] Circa 1997, Emmerich discovered that his wife was having an affair with his son, and decided to drown himself in the family pool, nearly taking his stepdaughter Emma with him.[22]Emmerich's suicide was later covered up as an accident, something his stepdaughter herself believed, although his own son knew the truth and blamed himself.[23]

[bexisanidiot]

Bee lore bc yes- (and I'm bored asf and made some changes, there's a lot)

TWs: grape, trafficking, mention of alcoholism

Bee's birthday is May 23rd, 1958 and her real full name is "Pheonix Vera Oh" bc she was adopted by Zero as an infant after her and Mantis' mom gave her away (she was forced to since she had Bee pretty young). Bee never really talked at all till she was 11 years old, she mostly only made weird screeching or hooting noises. Her powers still kicked in when she was 4 years old and ended up bursting into flames and screaming her head off because it randomly got extremely loud. (Imagine walking in and your adopted daughter is screaming at the top of her lungs while she's on fire laying and rolling on the floor😭)

She was eventually put out then was completely fine, no burns no nothing. So bc of it they started running tests on her and shit, mostly just a brain surgery and random checkups. She was given to The Boss to hopefully get a better understanding of her abilities bc the COBRA unit is mfs with special abilities like her. But after operation Snaker Eater, Zero had Bee meet her real parents and her mother decided to take her back but let her continue visiting Zero. The relationship between Bee and her bio parents was awkward especially because she was a freak, her mom understood Bee pretty well and was the nicest person to her. Dad kinda just ignored her existence unless something was needed or whatever. So that's when her name was changed to "Svetlana Vera Rebenok" (or whatever last name her parents had) for possibly safety reasons.

She didn't do much as a kid, kinda just hung around and ofc didn't speak at all. There were times she was caught digging into the trash for anything metal or glass or even aluminum, hiding in the woods and climbing trees next to owls nest to the point the owls just became chill with her being there like she was one of them in a way. Her eyes glow brightly from built up energy so she probably scared a bunch of other kids and in result of it she didn't have any friends other than birds (or any stray animal she came across). I wouldn't be surprised if she came home with a raccoon, opossum, or even a whole owl in her hands or following her along with have rusty cans or nails and broken glass in her pockets.

I imagine she was there for when Mantis was born and witnessed their mom die so it fucked her up good, she was there for Mantis for a little while till early or mid 1973 when she left for Vietnam thinking she could take war, she could not. She got 10x more fucked up within 2 to 3 months. In Vietnam she was burned by napalm and been captured by American soliders where she was taken advantage of while knocked out and nearly sold to human trafficking, she eventually discovered what was being done to her and she snapped then killed them all using her powers and stole one of their uniforms. When brought to Zero they had discovered one of the soliders have impregnated her but when the baby was born it was immediately put up for adoption. When she went back to Russia she decided to continue taking care of Mantis so there's a high chance she wasn’t involved in peacewalker or ground zeros. At some point after Zero became very sick then brain dead along with discovering Paz's death, she developed a cocaine addiction along with a group of friends and out of an episode of being high off her ass she had her twin sons "Alan David Morozov" and "Luke Viktor Morozov" on February 28th, 1979. Eventually she met Quiet sometime after the twins were born and became sober with Quiet's help. In 1983, Bee had a daughter named, "Irina Pacifica Baranov" out of denial of being a lesbian but she later came to terms with it. Irina's father died in the events of 1984 in the Cyprus hospital as an XOF soldier. Bee had joined XOF around the same time as Quiet has. Her original intentions in XOF was to betray Skull Face and kill him herself, but it turned into her being posted as a spy at Diamond dogs as Quiet was posted to spread the parasite. However, Bee commonly spilled everything to Ocelot and Miller even though her and Miller had a strong disliking to eachother (mostly on Miller's end). However when Quiet went MIA, so did Bee. At this point Bee has discovered what has happened to her and Mantis' village and learned that Mantis was the floating boy so naturally she went go hunt him down in Africa to reunite with him and take him to the USA with her, Quiet, and her 3 kids.

At some point when Mantis ran off to join the KGB, Bee went off to join FOXHOUND and the CIA as well around the same time. She was a double agent for the CIA and FOXHOUND. However when Mantis joined FOXHOUND along side her, she was absolutely pissed and ended up lying to the CIA about some stuff to hopefully keep Mantis at least a little bit safer (how did that turn out Bee? Hm?).

After the Shadow Moses Incident she basically disappeared for a few years, turned out she was in the UK maintaining the Cipher base. She finally left the UK in 2012 and went to visit the US to be with family and finally personally met her grandkids and Luke's (at the time) boyfriend, and overall caught up with a bunch of other things that she missed out on. Possibly reunited with old friends as well if any lived passed Shadow Moses.

In 2018 when Zero finally died, Bee took the full legal mantle of Cipher along with his position within the CIA and any other groups he was in.

She became a great grandmother in 2020 through her son Alan. And became a grandmother to Luke and his now husband's adopted son and daughter around the same time frame.

Bee now as of 2023 is Cipher and technically the last remaining patriot other than the AIs until she dies at 115 in 2073.

Extra notes:

Due to Bee's relationship with Quiet, Bee has inherited the parasite but it does not affect her vocal cords for an unknown reason but it does repair any damaged tissue. Her liver and kidneys for example due to the fact is an alcoholic. Yes she has the parasite flare but doesn't use it as often as Quiet does.

After Solid Snake's retirement, Bee has hunted down Solid Snake and killed him herself, keeping his bandana and even teeth.

Yes, she keeps people's teeth. If she killed someone there is a high chance she collected their teeth and dogtags.

She (almost) has always had a small explosive located in her lower spine but if it is remove there is a possibility she will never walk again since it has become a part of her skeleton at this point. It'll only go off if a certain amount of pressure is pressed up on it or if her back breaks. It can also be activated by built up gasses after death.

Due to her ability of being able to burst into flames, her body temperature is higher than the average person so she is able to be in Alaska or certain cold environments fairly fine until she uses that ability. If she uses the ability she'll fall asleep and become extremely cold (to her anyways), making her extremely vulnerable. YES HER SUITS/OUTFITS ARE FIREPROOF YOU PERVERTS(/playfully but also seriously).

However due to her special fire ability, she can heat stroke faster than the average person.

[firstaidspray]

Things about the Paz Lives AU that I'm going to eventually post about and you'll all think I'm unhinged. A brief rundown of it.

- The "hallucination" reasoning about the explosion being an enemy RPG and Paz having both bombs removed is true. This means, obviously, Paz lived, although she was in the helicopter crash with everyone else.

- She was also in a coma like Venom Snake. Before XOF arrived, Big Boss as Ishmael anticipated they'd kill Paz too, so he unhooked her medical equipment, covered her with a blanket, and splattered something on it to look like blood so they'd assume she was already dead. Ocelot was able to retrieve her after helping Big Boss and getting Venom Snake, and XOF had cleared out of the hospital. Regardless, she was moved to Diamond Dogs while still comatose, and kept in her room on the medical platform and taken care of there (primarily by my OC, Marlin).

- While comatose, she experienced what was essentially a whole new "life" which, was actually the events of Metal Gear Survive- this is because I made my character in that game into Paz with a shaved head (as she had when she went into the coma) and thought the idea was interesting. Her coma dream life had her exist as an MSF soldier, went through the weird shit of Survive, bla bla bla. It was all a dream though.

- When she wakes up, she has the obvious memory loss that makes her think she is the persona she'd created in Peace Walker- a situation which is canon, except she's actually alive here unlike the game which makes it a hallucination. Her hair has grown back to its usual length over this time, but has looser curls- I use this explanation as to why her hairstyle differs in this aspect from her tighter curls and more "styled" hair in Peace Walker, but I do think that her hair is naturally curly.

- As Paz wakes up and goes through all the medical and psychological treatments to help restore her memory over time, she is continually visited by Snake, Ocelot, and Miller. But it ends up that Ocelot is the one who visits most, since Snake is often busy and Kaz finds it difficult to see Paz in this state especially after the confusion in PW/GZ. This makes Ocelot and Paz become close friends. She is also drawn to him because of his red scarf, which reminds her of the red hood and ribbon signaling "evil" that she wore in PW, showing that some of her memories shine through.

- Unlike in the game where Paz self harms on her scar after being told Skull Face is dead, Paz does this BEFORE, due to hearing a conversation between Marlin and Miller about Skull Face in general. When Ocelot finds her like this, as he did in canon (which furthers my Ocelot and Paz besties agenda), he shows it to Snake. This is where Paz finally regains her memories, and has a small psychological episode in which she has to be tranquilized.

- She recovers from it and begins therapy, speaking not only with doctors in the Medical Platform, but Snake, Kaz, and Ocelot. She remembers the former two, and she remembers Camp Omega. With these memories, she decides that she will stay allied with Diamond Dogs, and not only that, but she wants to be a soldier for them to help avenge MSF and Chico.

- Snake and Miller disagree at first- Snake because he doesn't think she's suitable for combat and Miller because he still doesn't entirely trust her- but Ocelot asks them to give her a chance if he can train her one on one, as after their bonding during recovery, she trusts him and sees him as a sort of guardian or protector. They agree to this, even if Kaz is hesitant.

- Paz trains under Ocelot with firearms, and occasionally with Snake for CQC. Marlin also remains a part of her life, keeping tabs on her health and remaining friends with her. Despite his history as a caretaker of Paz, Ocelot is kind of annoyed by Marlin and doesn't like his intervening in the training sessions. He finds him to be a distraction to Paz. (This particular storyline is gonna be covered in my short comic series called Target Practice)

- Eventually, Paz is allowed to become a soldier for DD. Given an exclusive uniform, knife (from Snake, found on a wandering MSF soldier alongside a photo), scarf (an extra of Ocelot's that he accidentally left in her room, given to her to remind her of her close friend and trainer and to continue her "splash of red" theme from PW), tranquilizer pistol, and assault rifle. Also armed with grenades.

- Once they plan to go kill Skull Face, Paz stows away like Eli does, because Ocelot says she shouldn't go due to having such a personal stake in it, and she isn't combat ready, but she wants to anyways. Paz helps Snake fight Sahelanthropus from afar with an RPG stolen from XOF. Using an RPG mirrors the RPG that took out their helicopter.

- My idea for Psycho Mantis taking on a motif for Paz's revenge would probably be a tear in his clothing similar to the shape of Paz's abdominal scar. Her vengeful mind only briefly controls him, before she is startled and disturbed by his appearance before her and focuses once more on her objective.

- When they arrive to see Skull Face crushed under debris and Kaz and Snake get their revenge by shooting off his limbs, Paz also wants revenge, and gets it by cutting open the same place he'd put her bomb in and placing a grenade inside. The grenade has its safety pin pulled, but will only detonate, however, if he moves, since the safety lever has been kept in place by being squeezed against his body cavity right after being kept in place by Paz's hand. Once everyone walks away, instead of Huey killing Skull Face, Skull Face shifts, releasing the lever and detonating the grenade, exploding him into pieces. The three Camp Omega survivor victims- Kaz, Snake, and Paz- have gotten their "eye for an eye" revenge. On the ride back, they sit close together.

- Paz keeps the pin from that grenade on a chain as a necklace to remind her of her victory over the man who tortured her. Later, after the incident in Shining Lights Even in Death, Paz also has a necklace with a diamond pendant made of the ashes of fallen Diamond Dogs comrades.

- From there on, I'm still working on it, as I'm stuck in the Diamond Dogs/MGSV world and hate to think of life after DD for anyone. I want her to rekindle her friendship with Miller, to spend more time with Snake and repair their relationship (even if the memories on his end are skewed, combining some of the Medic's and some of Big Boss's), meet Quiet properly, and develop a closer friendship to Marlin. She continues to train alongside Ocelot and considers him her mentor and close friend. I like to think after the events of the game, should I think of them at all, Paz continued to work alongside him and eventually also meet Eva. I think often about their potential friendship.

Anyways that's all I'd like to share for now!! Hit me up if you have questions or suggestions or anything!! Please do not send hate or unwanted criticism, it makes me anxious. I understand if you disagree with any of my headcanons in this AU but please don't be rude about it.

Say peace!! 🦋💖

[absenceofwords-blog1]

Don’t forget that Quiet is not a very nice person. She is loving and friendly towards few people ,  everyone else, she wouldn't hesitate to kill you if that would be needed. 

She brutally killed innocent nurse and the doctor, then tried to kill Ishmael and Ahab too, even when she was on fire she continued until the flames went up. She does not give in easily. She also brutally murdered the men who tired to rape her.

She changed once she got to the Mother Base, maybe because she learned to love Venom and maybe because she felt more belonging there than to XOF...we might never know. But happenings on the Mother Base, made her better. Still she is not a good person completely, she doesn’t mind torturing, killing, sniping, stealing and child soldiers. She would follow Venom anywhere and she worked for Skull Face for years. Who knows what she has done. 

I love her a lot and I love playing with her, but let’s not forget that she too has her bad side, her flaws. No one is sweet and innocent all the time, her flaws, bad sides of her personality, are those that make her , her. She is a woman, but a very deadly one if you happen to get on her way.

[belliesandburps]

Followup with MGS4 Peace Walker and 5?

History has a funny way of repeating itself. :P

This one's actually gonna be long, so I'll cap it here to spare those uninterested in non-kink posts the burden of having to scroll past this fanboy rant. 'XD

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots

3. It's Okay

Soooooo...not a controversial opinion to say that I don't think MGS4 is GREAT. I adored it when it first game out, and I still enjoy replaying it from time to time. But good lord, so many of the interviews shed light on a LOT of this games problems.

Some backstory is required. Hideo Kojima was done with MGS by this point. He planned to move on and leave the series to the younger generation. But then, there was a lot of internal conflict and struggle to determine what MGS4 should be after Fukushima quit (AND was rumored to have been murdered by the Yakuza...how that rumor started...and became a SERIOUS rumor that millions believe, I do not know...). So Kojima came back, course corrected, and the end result was kind of a giant mess.

I'm not talking story because, there's just way too much to unpack. But as a game, MGS4 can't decide what sort of video game it wants to be. It had a brilliant idea that had never been done before with its Battlefield Stealth, which were the best parts of the game. And then they get dropped two acts in, and what gets replaced in their stead is not nearly as fun.

The game had substantially less boss fights than its predecessor, and a lot of them were mechanically simplistic or just didn't let you get creative with how you fought them. And we later learned there were a lot more bosses planned, more gameplay sequences planned, and an entire other PMC group that got canned in favor of the Scarabs so Shadow Moses could be guarded by machines instead.

There's a lot about MGS4 that I love. I think the first two acts are amazing, ESPECIALLY Act 2. I think the mechanics are great. REX vs RAY is criminally fun. The sheer buffet of insane weapons gives the game a good amount of replay value. And the graphics still hold up to this day!

But what I finally realized is that the game juggles way too many ideas and doesn't give any idea the time they deserve to flourish. Battlefield Stealth could've CARRIED MGS4. But it gets dumped before we can get our moneys worth. A disguise sequence could've been really creative, having to juggle different identities with OctoMask every time one identity is burned. But it's only used once and wasted because it's only used for a terrible tailing mission that doesn't let you actually explore the European City. And too many of the action set pieces are kind of bland except the bosses and piloting Metal Gear.

MGS4 should've been MGS4. Not MGS's "Best Hits."

Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

1. LOVED it!

I know this is unpopular to say, but I'll say it. Peace Walker is one of the best Metal Gear games ever made. I adored almost everything about it. The gameplay improves on MGS4 in most ways because it doesn't juggle a billion ideas all at once. It's MGS4 stripped down to stealth action from start to finish, and that's all I wanted. The level design is great. The insane volume of guns changes the entire feel of combat in later post-campaign gameplay. The mission select options mean you can jump into all the parts of the game you enjoy the most. There's TONS of bonus missions that are really inventive and fun to replay. And the story is one of the best in the series. It's straight forward, very tight, characterized well, and is the best iteration of Big Boss to date.

Peace Walker's also the FUNNIEST MGS game by Kojima as well. There's so much more personality and levity to everything, to the point where Big Boss often feels like an MCU character. That might sound bad, but it's really not. That corniness fits MGS PERFECTLY, and I'd argue is tonally spot on for this series. MGS doesn't need to be dark, gory or explicit. It's a silly series that's about giant robots, corny bad ass super agents with an anti-nuke message.

The only downsides to Peace Walker are the QTE's and the boss fights. This was a feature that only ever appeared in this game and for good reason...it was fucking terrible. So basically, you had cutscenes that forced you to do various QTE's or else get dinged on your ratings at the end, even if you played perfectly. Fairly minimal, but then, you get to Strangelove's torture. And this is the single most rage-inducing part of any MGS game ever made. It's an insanely physically painful button mashing sequence that will leave your fingers raw and your PS3 triangle buttons jamming. And the ONLY way you can replay one of the best missions in the game (the prison escape where you have no items) is by redoing that sequence over and over. And the boss fights? While inventive, they're all just grindy bullet sponges with no personality, no stealth tactics, and no room for creativity the way you can get creative with every other MGS game's bosses. This was the biggest disappointment for me because the stealth and combat mechanics of PW are great and would've been SO good against human enemies like what Portable Ops had. Instead, every boss is a mini-Metal Gear all voiced by the VOCALOID AI from the mid 2000's, and each one takes forever to destroy. It sucks because PW had a TON of bosses, but only a few of them are any fun, and that's only if you have weapons that are strong enough that they don't take ages to destroy.

But asides from the bosses, the REST of the game is so damn good that I don't even care because that's just one element to a much larger, grander game. Which is even more impressive when you consider PW was originally on the PSP before the PS3 port. And this game has more content and replay value to it than most games I've played since.

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain

1. LOVED it!

Hooooooookay...so, I've rambled about my storybook romance with MGSV for YEARS now. (Just ask @twistedtummies2, he's been subjected to my fanboying of this game more than anyone in existence XD) But there's a reason I regard this game as one of my all time favorites and the best MGS game to date.

It's REALLY freakin' fun.

Kojima had been re-energized by the time he got to MGSV. He'd been working on the game around the time he finished Peace Walker in 2010. He KNEW it was his final MGS game and wanted to do something completely different...

...He wanted to make a game where the central focus was on...waaaaait for it...the gameplay...

MGSV was designed to be, what he described, as a toybox. You have these missions that all take place in structurally unique outposts like any level in MGS. And the missions are designed with the structure needed so that they all feel different, but all remain so open ended that you can play them countless different ways.

MGSV's game model is everything GTA SHOULD'VE been. It fully embraces the open world freedom and incorporates that into the missions flawlessly. And it plays in such a way that stealth and combat both feel like they were the primary point. In MGS, combat is usually a last resort. But with MGSV, you can fly into an outpost blasting away on your helicopters mini-gun, shoot up the bad guys, rescue your target, throw them back into the chopper and fly away while "The Final Countdown" blares on your choppers loud speakers.

Every method of gameplay is valid and the controls, the enemy AI responsiveness, it's all, bar none, the best I've experienced in ANY video game. Sneaking around feels tight and tense and combat makes you feel like Jack Bauer on adrenaline. (I mean, he IS the voice of Venom Snake)

And I really like the story for the most part too. Its weaknesses are really glaring. Namely, the "Fun" of MGS is completely devoid in the story (which is really odd since it's FRONT AND CENTER in-game). Venom Snake only has maybe six minutes of dialogue in the entirety of this 30+ hour long game. And the way Skull Face gets completely undercut right at the home stretch is something I have NOT stopped bitching about for almost six years, and my friends can personally attest to that.

That and the ending feels too abrupt.

We know that Kojima got fired by Konami's VP and said VP scorched the entire production company after that and made a series of dickheaded decisions that pissed off a LOT of fans, burning much of the good will Konami IP fans had towards the company. But that had nothing to do with MGSV's abruptness. That was the plan from the start because only Kojima would think to end the entire series on a plot twist like that.

And I think the issue isn't the twist at all. In fact, I LOVE the twist. The issue is that the game should've continued beyond it so Venom Snake could cope with the truth and realize how badly he'd been screwed. I think even people who hated the twist could've been won over if there was a little more to the games epilogue than Episode 46.

Also, the games boss fights were a tad underwhelming. Not the fights themselves, I LOVED all five of the games bosses.

Oh? There were twelve?

No. I meant what I said. Because so many of the games bosses are rematches against the same bosses. All MGSV has is the Skulls, Quiet, Eli, The Man on Fire, and Metal Gear. They're great bosses that do everything the best MGS bosses always did; give you tons of options, incorporate combat AND stealth, have varied attacks AND even have multiple methods to sneak around the boss and avoid the fight completely. But for a game as long as MGS, you need more variety. And frankly, the bosses NEED more personality. Skull Face should've had more XOF assassins acting as the bosses in the game along with the ones we have. Elite assassins like Quiet, with their own powers and specialized weaponry so the fights feel completely different from the ones we have. And oh yeah, SKULL FACE HIMSELF SHOULD'VE HAD A GOD-FUCKING-DAMN BOSS FIGHT!!!!

Buuuuuuut those issues don't even matter if for all the games issues, I still replay it frequently when it's almost six years old.

So yeah! There's the massive rant you totally didn't ask for! :D