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Character Essay: Kaz and Ocelot in MGSV
Ocelot and Kaz the Power Duo
(AKA I can't fucking believe the plot twist of MGSV)
RIFE WITH SPOILERS.
(AKA I can't fucking believe the plot twist of MGSV was a Dreamwidth RP Slash Plot)
(THIS IS ALL JUST MY OPINION AND INTERPRETATION OTHERS ARE TOTALLY FINE)
The Fiddle That Was Played:
Now that I have played MGSV in its entirety, like everybody else I am digesting the big reveal: Kaz and Ocelot, Big Boss' most loyal men and your only omnipresent allies in the game, have been deliberately loyal to a fake Big Boss the whole game. That you have been playing a double as a smokescreen to protect the real one was also revealed for everyone who didn't put it together. You never play as Big Boss himself. Together, they commit warcrimes and decommission nukes for like a decade.
The ad campaign (that came AFTER the ad campaign of a fake company presenting MGSV under a fake name, HA HA, HA, HA) promised a game chock-full of Big Boss becoming a blood-soaked phantom demon, so that is what everyone was expecting. We have only ourselves to blame for trusting the tone of a Kojima ad campaign.
So the new Big Boss, aka Venom Snake, is reviving his legend and reputation after his near-death. Kaz and Ocelot are in charge of fostering his army AND him, which is why Diamond Dogs is full of WAR CRIMES. Kaz and Ocelot genuinely answer to Venom, and so do all the soldiers he gathers. But Venom is very different from the genuine article. It was distracting at first, but it makes sense now, because the whole point of this game is that you are not playing Big Boss. You are building the legend of Big Boss, which is a shared entity. And you're doing it as loudly as possible, all while distracting from and protecting the real Big Boss as he carries out his own plans.
That Kaz and Ocelot KNOW about this helps to explain Ocelot and Kaz's behavior in the game, retroactively.
What The Fuck Happened:
Kaz doesn't know about the double plan at first, that is clear. Ocelot flat-out omission lies to Big Boss about this, because he wants to be Best Girl. He doesn't tell BB that Kaz is captured, OR tell him that Kaz doesn't know about the double; he just tells him Kaz is "on the move" and generally implies that Kaz is in on it and agrees. Whatever Big Boss feels about this, he accepts it. Ocelot has Kaz's fucking sunglasses in his coat while he sexily lights BB's cigar. Ocelot then gives them to THE DOUBLE, Venom Snake, to be the one who saves Kaz from certain death, locking them in to imprint on each other. Kaz has been waiting to see him for nine years. He is extremely passionate with him in those first scenes, speaking to him and touching him like he would the true Snake. But even as emotional as he is, he can tell something is wrong. Snake isn't saying the right things or taking the right cues.
Taking that matter into his own hands, Ocelot fills Kaz in once he's rescued. (If you listen, you can hear Kaz is using a crutch by then when he walks away.) He tells Kaz this is Big Boss' will. Kaz is UTTERLY DEVASTATED that apparently, after he desperately waited for him for nine long years, Big Boss is totally fine with leaving Kaz to a double. Kaz miserably says that if he's lost Snake then he's lost everything, and he still agrees to play his role, but he vows to make the double BETTER THAN BIG BOSS for REVENGE. Ocelot becomes extremely hype, and challenges him to a Big-Boss-Off where the two of them settle an ALLEGIANCE SCORE TO THE DEATH in the end. But for now, they are to be BESTIES, raising the new Big Boss loyally together. The whole game, they're the only ones who know the secret. They are genuinely devoted and supporting of Venom Snake, building him up as a true Big Boss. It's assumed that its' going to take like, a decade. Maybe more. But they're HYPE.
The important difference is, Kaz goes into it deciding and believing this is now all he has.
And Ocelot doesn't. Ocelot is perfectly secure in believing he still has the original Snake. He just 100% thinks this plan is amazing and is ready to devote himself to it.
Why Isn't Ocelot As Thirsty As Usual:
Ocelot even tells the real Big Boss exactly how he operates. He says it's self-hypnosis doublethink, and that THE ONLY WAY he can stay true and raise the phantom instead of running back to Big Boss himself is if he really believes that the phantom is also Big Boss. Soo, Ocelot is basically explaining to Big Boss how he operates all the time. He does EXTREME LARP. Looking at it from that perspective, it's a lot more obvious why Ocelot speaks differently to Venom Snake, and has, hm, an air of just acting on assumed familiarity whenever he feels like it, but never intimacy, and certainly never the RIDICULOUS intensity he reserves for "John."
Ocelot is doing this, for a decade: [IN THIS SCENARIO, I AM BIG BOSS' LOYAL MINION. I AM SO GOOD AT IT. I AM POLITE AND SUPER HELPFUL! I ALWAYS ENCOURAGE BIG BOSS AND CARRY OUT HIS WILL. I AM THE FUN ONE WHO DOESNT SAY NO AS MUCH AS MILLER, BUT WE TAKE CARE OF DIRTY WORK TOGETHER. OBVIOUSLY, WE CAN TRUST EACH OTHER, AND HE NEEDS A GOOD COP TO BALANCE HIM OUT. I'M GONNA RAISE SUCH A GREAT ARMY. I GET TO SAFELY TORTURE SO MANY PEOPLE. WHAT A GOOD OCELOT.]
Knowing this is how he operates helps a little to explain why he's obviously always hovering around ♥Boss♥ and come on it's not like Ocelot wouldn't hit that, but he isn't quite intimate. He also helps to translate some of his other lines, like saying Quiet has fallen for "the legend," and saying he did the same once. The separation between "the legend" and "the man" is a constant repeated theme throughout the game. Basically, he didn't brainwash himself to be as in love with Venom as he's in love with John or anything, even though he genuinely thinks of him as the legendary Big Boss. Hence not PERPETUALLY HITTING ON HIM. Just occasionally. He's obviously sometimes drawn to Venom, especially when Venom acts JUST LIKE BIG BOSS. Ocelot is always a slut for Snakes. And since he's like, larping his role, he can get very personally involved and passionate as things develop. He can be moved on a personal level about some things! He can be very caring! He can have years of character development!! He cares about Venom, Miller, and Diamond Dogs. What a good Ocelot. This is the role he's ALWAYS WANTED, and he plays it wonderfully. (It's just not with John. And this is probably why he can keep it the fuck together.)
Meanwhile, Kaz.
Kaz Is So Fucking Thirsty:
Who, AFTER his rescue, also does not act like he really would around the real Big Boss. We know he is a very good liar after Peacewalker, and boy do we get to see more of it. He dives aggressively into treating Venom as Big Boss immediately, going from severe emotional turmoil to snapping right into all business for radio missions, like Nothing Is Wrong.
In person, there's the assumption that Kaz is acting differently with BB because he is now RAGE FUELED AND HELLBENT. Which is true. He's obsessed with what he's lost, and he does not give a FUCK about what he needs to do to get better. He is looking at THIS Big Boss, and Diamond Dogs, like this is all he has now, not just a sideshow or smokescreen.
Kaz is living the lie, but he's no ~method actor~ like Ocelot. Kaz is operating much more selfishly, and wants very specific outcomes. To Kaz, Venom is one of his old best soldiers, who lost everything to become a phantom. He is investing in him. He wants HIS NEW Big Boss to accomplish things a certain way. He wants them to rise in power together, and slaughter Cipher and take their revenge, and BECOME THE VERY BEST TOGETHER. EYES ON THE PRIZE, OF BEING SO MUCH FUCKING BETTER THAN A COUNTRY, WHAT EVEN IS A COUNTRY, WE DONT NEED ONE!!! TOGETHER!!!! And he wants the pain of what he's lost to stay fresh until he has everything he wants.
By virtue of this, he is ALREADY way more personally invested than Ocelot. It's not entirely unlike how he operated with the real Big Boss himself; He had a very specific goal he wanted with MSF and he used any means necessary to forward that goal, even if it meant keeping secrets from the man he loved, and even if it meant working with Cipher.
His genuine personal investment is why he seems so unquestionable in his loyalty, despite how he fuckin kept so many secrets from Snake. The last reveal of Peacewalker - after BB is done banging him on the beach - is one big fat show of how very much Kaz lies to him. Yet he is generally easy to trust in MGSV now. Why? Well, he's being genuine. His support of Venom isn't a lie. It's the same for Ocelot, even though Ocelot's minimum flirting and general quadruple-crossing is highly suspicious on a meta level. They are one hundred precent invested in Venom's success.
So, Kaz takes control. Who Venom actually is, one of his best men, comes into play. He treats Venom with respect, and plays his part as Big Boss' right hand well! But he also very obviously treats him like someone to instruct, order, and shape up. Kaz is the one who gives the speeches, not Venom.
And because Venom is different, it stays that way.
Venom Fucking Loves Kaz
Venom accepts Kaz as generally running things; why wouldn't he? Kaz used to run things for Big Boss. Kas used to be his commander for real, back when he was one of Kaz and Snake's most loyal men. For a massive amount of the game, Venom is operating on the pre-established legend of Big Boss. His soldiers love him automatically, because he is big Boss??? Kaz and Ocelot support him, because he is Big Boss. But Kaz wants to become demons together, and send Cipher to hell. Venom does, too. Because of everything Big Boss lost. Because of everything he lost. Because they lost the Heaven that they all called home. Kaz made him say he kept him waiting when he saved him from death, and clung to him and begged him for answers on the helicopter ride home. "Tell me what to do," Venom replied, "Like you used to." Venom's ongoing choices and struggles with being a "demon" are a direct reflection of Kaz's words. He defaults to Kaz for 90% of the game, only occasionally steering him otherwise. Venom wants them to find a new future. Kaz is trapped wanting revenge for the shattered future he used to have.
Development starts to happen. Venom doesn't just 100% conform to what Kaz thinks should happen. He has his agency and he chooses to use it, because he's fucking Big Boss. Kaz always folds to what he chooses, without much argument (for Kaz), even if he obviously disagrees and is severely frustrated. The total lack of being stubborn is very different from how he and Snake used to get into notoriously dragged-out fights. Kaz disengages entirely with Venom instead, prioritizing the hard fact that Big Boss is supposed to be in charge. He wouldn't not let big Boss make the decisions.
Then stuff REALLY starts to happen. They find bodies. They get hurt. They find horrible parasites and they find Skull Face. Venom's actions and feelings, what he has to DO and GO THROUGH because he is Big Boss now, start really mattering. And it obviously starts to impact Kaz. To Kaz, the two Big Bosses were never interchangeable to begin with. So when they actually start accomplishing things together, Kaz emotionally credits Venom with that accomplishment. Venom is amazing enough to carry out these missions. Venom beats Sahalanthropus. Venom, with Kaz, shoots the limbs Kaz lost off of Skull Face.
Kaz treats him like an equal from there on out (after nearly making out with him, christ). Venom is really becoming who Kaz desperately wants. So he starts to absolve and think the best of Venom, and assume Venom is not going to disappoint him... so he turns his turmoil outward, and he starts his TERRIBLE BAD IDEA WITCH HUNT. His aggressive focus is no longer on Venom but it's at the cost of turning it towards LITERALLY EVERYBODY else. He himself is a liar, so naturally he assumes it to be possible of everybody else.
And then mission 43 happens lol
Kaz does not want Venom to go into zombie hell. Does not want. He is dead terrified to lose Venom at that moment. After Venom handles it, and REFUSES TO SURRENDER THEIR SORROW TO THE HEARTLESS SEA!!1 Kaz is won. He is awed and grateful and sorry and defensive of what Venom chose to shoulder. At the end of it, he truly sees Venom as someone he wants to follow, the head of their new family. Not someone he is just "building." He tells him it's an honor and privilege to be with him, and it is heartfelt.
When Huey's trial hits, I think his willingness to SCREAM PASSIONATELY IN VENOM'S FACE speaks to this, as does the obvious turmoil on his face as he folds to Venom and storms away. There is an unavoidable conflating going on, comparisons Kaz may be making of what Venom does as his commander. But whatever he thinks, there's no take backs on Venom's true rise to being the rightful commander of the Diamond Dogs, and Kaz's true leader. not after what he personally has done for them. So there is no arguing with it.
Ocelot And Kaz The Dream Team
Meanwhile, Ocelot lol. He devotes himself to his method acting and lives his lies. HIS part in all this hasn't changed. He's always confident Big Boss will be Big Boss, and proud of him. That doesn't stop him from being genuinely invested! He is as ever Big Boss' LOYAL MINION and that means investment. Ocelot and Kaz's dynamic is basically amazing the whole game. They are living a mutual lie that they believe in, and they both know it. They cue off each other when they're on the same screen or in the same tape. Kaz seems intimidated by Ocelot, but it doesn't prevent him from going off on him, though he never doubts his loyalty, and relies on him in many ways. He expresses gratitude and consideration. Ocelot sure as hell isn't intimidated by Kaz, and in fact seems to quite like him now that they've sealed a death pact. He ALSO expresses care and concern for him in return. Kaz, of course, also expresses disgust and rage and annoyance, because Ocelot is disgusting and rage-inducing and annoying, and he is suspicious occasionally because he is not completely stupid. Ocelot gets exasperated and "eegh..." with Kaz because Kaz is exasperating and won't stop bringing up THE PAINN. They are occasionally just shits to each other. But they are ~~a team~~ and they have no issue standing side by side. They literally torture people together. They are BIG BOSS' MOST TRUSTED MEN, and they are making Big Boss' legacy together, the thing they both most honestly want to do with their lives.
And Ocelot pulled a fantastic play with Kaz, one he is quite invested in. He basically orchestrated the perfect true cover for their new Big Boss. Big Boss was so permanently associated with Kazuhira Miller that anyone looking for him would look for Kaz; Zero states that as his reason for making sure to take Snake away from Kaz, and to then keep them apart for nine years to keep Snake hidden. He drugged Miller and stole Snake out of his hospital bed expressly to take him away from him. Where Big Boss goes, Kazuhira Miller goes too. And Ocelot made that shit happen again. Kaz's genuine love and devotion for Venom is another point in the legitimacy of Venom as a true Big Boss. And also, Ocelot got to steal the real Snake from Kaz and be true Best Wife. WHAT A PLEASED OCELOT.
Ocelot and Kaz then follow Venom over the years and build a legend and achieve global nuclear disarmament. Incredible.
Both are totally loyal, and both believe Venom rightfully owns the genuine LEGEND of Big Boss. But that legend is something artificial, a fabricated tool. Despite swapping them out and living an AMAZING lie, neither Ocelot or Kaz think the men are interchangeable, and don't treat them that way. Ocelot loves John. And Kaz is still heartbroken over John, but he genuinely loves Venom too. Venom is the one who leads Kaz into a legacy he can truly be proud of - nuclear disarmament - and Kaz seems to have calmed the fuck down from screaming Cipher and Adelle to the sky at all times by the time they achieve it. If Kaz met the true Snake again, it's likely he'd be able to forgive him. Big Boss and Kaz are both in FOXHOUND later, after all, if lack of detil and rampant retconning doesn't make that false.
Of course, then, Venom is killed, and Big Boss' reaction is to go nuclear with Zanzibar Land. Which undoes the nuclear disarmament Venom and Kaz worked together to achieve.
Then we are at "Kaz helps Big Boss' son kill the fuck out of Big Boss" and "After a tied game of Which Big Boss Dies, Where Everyone Lost*, Ocelot Kills Kaz In His House Because They Made A Promise As Partners In Crime."
*Ocelot Won though
(AKA I can't fucking believe the plot twist of MGSV)
RIFE WITH SPOILERS.
(AKA I can't fucking believe the plot twist of MGSV was a Dreamwidth RP Slash Plot)
(THIS IS ALL JUST MY OPINION AND INTERPRETATION OTHERS ARE TOTALLY FINE)
The Fiddle That Was Played:
Now that I have played MGSV in its entirety, like everybody else I am digesting the big reveal: Kaz and Ocelot, Big Boss' most loyal men and your only omnipresent allies in the game, have been deliberately loyal to a fake Big Boss the whole game. That you have been playing a double as a smokescreen to protect the real one was also revealed for everyone who didn't put it together. You never play as Big Boss himself. Together, they commit warcrimes and decommission nukes for like a decade.
The ad campaign (that came AFTER the ad campaign of a fake company presenting MGSV under a fake name, HA HA, HA, HA) promised a game chock-full of Big Boss becoming a blood-soaked phantom demon, so that is what everyone was expecting. We have only ourselves to blame for trusting the tone of a Kojima ad campaign.
So the new Big Boss, aka Venom Snake, is reviving his legend and reputation after his near-death. Kaz and Ocelot are in charge of fostering his army AND him, which is why Diamond Dogs is full of WAR CRIMES. Kaz and Ocelot genuinely answer to Venom, and so do all the soldiers he gathers. But Venom is very different from the genuine article. It was distracting at first, but it makes sense now, because the whole point of this game is that you are not playing Big Boss. You are building the legend of Big Boss, which is a shared entity. And you're doing it as loudly as possible, all while distracting from and protecting the real Big Boss as he carries out his own plans.
That Kaz and Ocelot KNOW about this helps to explain Ocelot and Kaz's behavior in the game, retroactively.
What The Fuck Happened:
Kaz doesn't know about the double plan at first, that is clear. Ocelot flat-out omission lies to Big Boss about this, because he wants to be Best Girl. He doesn't tell BB that Kaz is captured, OR tell him that Kaz doesn't know about the double; he just tells him Kaz is "on the move" and generally implies that Kaz is in on it and agrees. Whatever Big Boss feels about this, he accepts it. Ocelot has Kaz's fucking sunglasses in his coat while he sexily lights BB's cigar. Ocelot then gives them to THE DOUBLE, Venom Snake, to be the one who saves Kaz from certain death, locking them in to imprint on each other. Kaz has been waiting to see him for nine years. He is extremely passionate with him in those first scenes, speaking to him and touching him like he would the true Snake. But even as emotional as he is, he can tell something is wrong. Snake isn't saying the right things or taking the right cues.
Taking that matter into his own hands, Ocelot fills Kaz in once he's rescued. (If you listen, you can hear Kaz is using a crutch by then when he walks away.) He tells Kaz this is Big Boss' will. Kaz is UTTERLY DEVASTATED that apparently, after he desperately waited for him for nine long years, Big Boss is totally fine with leaving Kaz to a double. Kaz miserably says that if he's lost Snake then he's lost everything, and he still agrees to play his role, but he vows to make the double BETTER THAN BIG BOSS for REVENGE. Ocelot becomes extremely hype, and challenges him to a Big-Boss-Off where the two of them settle an ALLEGIANCE SCORE TO THE DEATH in the end. But for now, they are to be BESTIES, raising the new Big Boss loyally together. The whole game, they're the only ones who know the secret. They are genuinely devoted and supporting of Venom Snake, building him up as a true Big Boss. It's assumed that its' going to take like, a decade. Maybe more. But they're HYPE.
The important difference is, Kaz goes into it deciding and believing this is now all he has.
And Ocelot doesn't. Ocelot is perfectly secure in believing he still has the original Snake. He just 100% thinks this plan is amazing and is ready to devote himself to it.
Why Isn't Ocelot As Thirsty As Usual:
Ocelot even tells the real Big Boss exactly how he operates. He says it's self-hypnosis doublethink, and that THE ONLY WAY he can stay true and raise the phantom instead of running back to Big Boss himself is if he really believes that the phantom is also Big Boss. Soo, Ocelot is basically explaining to Big Boss how he operates all the time. He does EXTREME LARP. Looking at it from that perspective, it's a lot more obvious why Ocelot speaks differently to Venom Snake, and has, hm, an air of just acting on assumed familiarity whenever he feels like it, but never intimacy, and certainly never the RIDICULOUS intensity he reserves for "John."
Ocelot is doing this, for a decade: [IN THIS SCENARIO, I AM BIG BOSS' LOYAL MINION. I AM SO GOOD AT IT. I AM POLITE AND SUPER HELPFUL! I ALWAYS ENCOURAGE BIG BOSS AND CARRY OUT HIS WILL. I AM THE FUN ONE WHO DOESNT SAY NO AS MUCH AS MILLER, BUT WE TAKE CARE OF DIRTY WORK TOGETHER. OBVIOUSLY, WE CAN TRUST EACH OTHER, AND HE NEEDS A GOOD COP TO BALANCE HIM OUT. I'M GONNA RAISE SUCH A GREAT ARMY. I GET TO SAFELY TORTURE SO MANY PEOPLE. WHAT A GOOD OCELOT.]
Knowing this is how he operates helps a little to explain why he's obviously always hovering around ♥Boss♥ and come on it's not like Ocelot wouldn't hit that, but he isn't quite intimate. He also helps to translate some of his other lines, like saying Quiet has fallen for "the legend," and saying he did the same once. The separation between "the legend" and "the man" is a constant repeated theme throughout the game. Basically, he didn't brainwash himself to be as in love with Venom as he's in love with John or anything, even though he genuinely thinks of him as the legendary Big Boss. Hence not PERPETUALLY HITTING ON HIM. Just occasionally. He's obviously sometimes drawn to Venom, especially when Venom acts JUST LIKE BIG BOSS. Ocelot is always a slut for Snakes. And since he's like, larping his role, he can get very personally involved and passionate as things develop. He can be moved on a personal level about some things! He can be very caring! He can have years of character development!! He cares about Venom, Miller, and Diamond Dogs. What a good Ocelot. This is the role he's ALWAYS WANTED, and he plays it wonderfully. (It's just not with John. And this is probably why he can keep it the fuck together.)
Meanwhile, Kaz.
Kaz Is So Fucking Thirsty:
Who, AFTER his rescue, also does not act like he really would around the real Big Boss. We know he is a very good liar after Peacewalker, and boy do we get to see more of it. He dives aggressively into treating Venom as Big Boss immediately, going from severe emotional turmoil to snapping right into all business for radio missions, like Nothing Is Wrong.
In person, there's the assumption that Kaz is acting differently with BB because he is now RAGE FUELED AND HELLBENT. Which is true. He's obsessed with what he's lost, and he does not give a FUCK about what he needs to do to get better. He is looking at THIS Big Boss, and Diamond Dogs, like this is all he has now, not just a sideshow or smokescreen.
Kaz is living the lie, but he's no ~method actor~ like Ocelot. Kaz is operating much more selfishly, and wants very specific outcomes. To Kaz, Venom is one of his old best soldiers, who lost everything to become a phantom. He is investing in him. He wants HIS NEW Big Boss to accomplish things a certain way. He wants them to rise in power together, and slaughter Cipher and take their revenge, and BECOME THE VERY BEST TOGETHER. EYES ON THE PRIZE, OF BEING SO MUCH FUCKING BETTER THAN A COUNTRY, WHAT EVEN IS A COUNTRY, WE DONT NEED ONE!!! TOGETHER!!!! And he wants the pain of what he's lost to stay fresh until he has everything he wants.
By virtue of this, he is ALREADY way more personally invested than Ocelot. It's not entirely unlike how he operated with the real Big Boss himself; He had a very specific goal he wanted with MSF and he used any means necessary to forward that goal, even if it meant keeping secrets from the man he loved, and even if it meant working with Cipher.
His genuine personal investment is why he seems so unquestionable in his loyalty, despite how he fuckin kept so many secrets from Snake. The last reveal of Peacewalker - after BB is done banging him on the beach - is one big fat show of how very much Kaz lies to him. Yet he is generally easy to trust in MGSV now. Why? Well, he's being genuine. His support of Venom isn't a lie. It's the same for Ocelot, even though Ocelot's minimum flirting and general quadruple-crossing is highly suspicious on a meta level. They are one hundred precent invested in Venom's success.
So, Kaz takes control. Who Venom actually is, one of his best men, comes into play. He treats Venom with respect, and plays his part as Big Boss' right hand well! But he also very obviously treats him like someone to instruct, order, and shape up. Kaz is the one who gives the speeches, not Venom.
And because Venom is different, it stays that way.
Venom Fucking Loves Kaz
Venom accepts Kaz as generally running things; why wouldn't he? Kaz used to run things for Big Boss. Kas used to be his commander for real, back when he was one of Kaz and Snake's most loyal men. For a massive amount of the game, Venom is operating on the pre-established legend of Big Boss. His soldiers love him automatically, because he is big Boss??? Kaz and Ocelot support him, because he is Big Boss. But Kaz wants to become demons together, and send Cipher to hell. Venom does, too. Because of everything Big Boss lost. Because of everything he lost. Because they lost the Heaven that they all called home. Kaz made him say he kept him waiting when he saved him from death, and clung to him and begged him for answers on the helicopter ride home. "Tell me what to do," Venom replied, "Like you used to." Venom's ongoing choices and struggles with being a "demon" are a direct reflection of Kaz's words. He defaults to Kaz for 90% of the game, only occasionally steering him otherwise. Venom wants them to find a new future. Kaz is trapped wanting revenge for the shattered future he used to have.
Development starts to happen. Venom doesn't just 100% conform to what Kaz thinks should happen. He has his agency and he chooses to use it, because he's fucking Big Boss. Kaz always folds to what he chooses, without much argument (for Kaz), even if he obviously disagrees and is severely frustrated. The total lack of being stubborn is very different from how he and Snake used to get into notoriously dragged-out fights. Kaz disengages entirely with Venom instead, prioritizing the hard fact that Big Boss is supposed to be in charge. He wouldn't not let big Boss make the decisions.
Then stuff REALLY starts to happen. They find bodies. They get hurt. They find horrible parasites and they find Skull Face. Venom's actions and feelings, what he has to DO and GO THROUGH because he is Big Boss now, start really mattering. And it obviously starts to impact Kaz. To Kaz, the two Big Bosses were never interchangeable to begin with. So when they actually start accomplishing things together, Kaz emotionally credits Venom with that accomplishment. Venom is amazing enough to carry out these missions. Venom beats Sahalanthropus. Venom, with Kaz, shoots the limbs Kaz lost off of Skull Face.
Kaz treats him like an equal from there on out (after nearly making out with him, christ). Venom is really becoming who Kaz desperately wants. So he starts to absolve and think the best of Venom, and assume Venom is not going to disappoint him... so he turns his turmoil outward, and he starts his TERRIBLE BAD IDEA WITCH HUNT. His aggressive focus is no longer on Venom but it's at the cost of turning it towards LITERALLY EVERYBODY else. He himself is a liar, so naturally he assumes it to be possible of everybody else.
And then mission 43 happens lol
Kaz does not want Venom to go into zombie hell. Does not want. He is dead terrified to lose Venom at that moment. After Venom handles it, and REFUSES TO SURRENDER THEIR SORROW TO THE HEARTLESS SEA!!1 Kaz is won. He is awed and grateful and sorry and defensive of what Venom chose to shoulder. At the end of it, he truly sees Venom as someone he wants to follow, the head of their new family. Not someone he is just "building." He tells him it's an honor and privilege to be with him, and it is heartfelt.
When Huey's trial hits, I think his willingness to SCREAM PASSIONATELY IN VENOM'S FACE speaks to this, as does the obvious turmoil on his face as he folds to Venom and storms away. There is an unavoidable conflating going on, comparisons Kaz may be making of what Venom does as his commander. But whatever he thinks, there's no take backs on Venom's true rise to being the rightful commander of the Diamond Dogs, and Kaz's true leader. not after what he personally has done for them. So there is no arguing with it.
Ocelot And Kaz The Dream Team
Meanwhile, Ocelot lol. He devotes himself to his method acting and lives his lies. HIS part in all this hasn't changed. He's always confident Big Boss will be Big Boss, and proud of him. That doesn't stop him from being genuinely invested! He is as ever Big Boss' LOYAL MINION and that means investment. Ocelot and Kaz's dynamic is basically amazing the whole game. They are living a mutual lie that they believe in, and they both know it. They cue off each other when they're on the same screen or in the same tape. Kaz seems intimidated by Ocelot, but it doesn't prevent him from going off on him, though he never doubts his loyalty, and relies on him in many ways. He expresses gratitude and consideration. Ocelot sure as hell isn't intimidated by Kaz, and in fact seems to quite like him now that they've sealed a death pact. He ALSO expresses care and concern for him in return. Kaz, of course, also expresses disgust and rage and annoyance, because Ocelot is disgusting and rage-inducing and annoying, and he is suspicious occasionally because he is not completely stupid. Ocelot gets exasperated and "eegh..." with Kaz because Kaz is exasperating and won't stop bringing up THE PAINN. They are occasionally just shits to each other. But they are ~~a team~~ and they have no issue standing side by side. They literally torture people together. They are BIG BOSS' MOST TRUSTED MEN, and they are making Big Boss' legacy together, the thing they both most honestly want to do with their lives.
And Ocelot pulled a fantastic play with Kaz, one he is quite invested in. He basically orchestrated the perfect true cover for their new Big Boss. Big Boss was so permanently associated with Kazuhira Miller that anyone looking for him would look for Kaz; Zero states that as his reason for making sure to take Snake away from Kaz, and to then keep them apart for nine years to keep Snake hidden. He drugged Miller and stole Snake out of his hospital bed expressly to take him away from him. Where Big Boss goes, Kazuhira Miller goes too. And Ocelot made that shit happen again. Kaz's genuine love and devotion for Venom is another point in the legitimacy of Venom as a true Big Boss. And also, Ocelot got to steal the real Snake from Kaz and be true Best Wife. WHAT A PLEASED OCELOT.
Ocelot and Kaz then follow Venom over the years and build a legend and achieve global nuclear disarmament. Incredible.
Both are totally loyal, and both believe Venom rightfully owns the genuine LEGEND of Big Boss. But that legend is something artificial, a fabricated tool. Despite swapping them out and living an AMAZING lie, neither Ocelot or Kaz think the men are interchangeable, and don't treat them that way. Ocelot loves John. And Kaz is still heartbroken over John, but he genuinely loves Venom too. Venom is the one who leads Kaz into a legacy he can truly be proud of - nuclear disarmament - and Kaz seems to have calmed the fuck down from screaming Cipher and Adelle to the sky at all times by the time they achieve it. If Kaz met the true Snake again, it's likely he'd be able to forgive him. Big Boss and Kaz are both in FOXHOUND later, after all, if lack of detil and rampant retconning doesn't make that false.
Of course, then, Venom is killed, and Big Boss' reaction is to go nuclear with Zanzibar Land. Which undoes the nuclear disarmament Venom and Kaz worked together to achieve.
Then we are at "Kaz helps Big Boss' son kill the fuck out of Big Boss" and "After a tied game of Which Big Boss Dies, Where Everyone Lost*, Ocelot Kills Kaz In His House Because They Made A Promise As Partners In Crime."
*Ocelot Won though
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Ocelot's self-hypnosis is something I've been pondering over for a few days now. I'M MORE ACCEPTING OF IT NOW THAN I WAS FOR MGS4 because god MGS4 just made it sound so unnecessary but now it comes off like an actual strange strategy. They say you can't hypnotize someone into doing something intense they wouldn't normally do, like harming themselves or robbing a bank or so on. I figure Ocelot's deepest feelings haven't been hypnotized; his heart isn't tricked by Venom even though his brain is. (I'm going to write sad smut fic off of this soon I swear.) Even in MGS4, Big Boss talks about Liquid Ocelot's hypnotism, saying you can't turn one person totally into another, and that sure shows with how very Ocelot he behaves in many of MGS4's cutscenes. Ocelot's self-hypnotism is incomplete at best, but it gets the job done.
I can't remember the word used (which was in Japanese anyway) but there was a group interview way back in which Sugita said Kaz... I think fears Ocelot? But yes DEATH PACT BOND now that Kaz at least knows where their relationship is going he somehow seems more at ease with working with him. Though I still ponder if Ocelot directly killed Kaz (WHICH I GUESS SEEMS MOST IMPLIED HERE) or if he directed Liquid into killing Kaz. I always thought the later but now I think it's more the former. Maybe he just gives Liquid this identity theft idea knowing Liquid is then going to order him to kill Kaz and then is like JUST AS PLANNED in his marathon of murdering everyone who ever used to be friends with Big Boss but turned against him.
Gawd I've been shipping Kaz and Ocelot and pondering how they'd interact ever since Peace Walker even though Ocelot wasn't in that and finally there is just. So much to look at now.
Also just a note that when I brought up Ocelot's polite Japanese speech patterns in plurk, I was saying he was a lot more respectful of Big Boss than he is of Venom, not the other way around. Still, that he has different speech patterns for them at all is really interesting.
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Ocelot has ALWAYS been hard for me to grok, so I was really trying to rip it apart this time to figure Kaz out. Because they're such a huge tag-team in this game. Surprise!1
I saw that!! I can definitely see that Kaz fears Ocelot, but over the course of their interactions, it seems like they genuinely get more comfortable with each other. Which is basically amazing in every way. At one point when Kaz is being snappy in Ocelot's general direction, not even AT him, he apologizes politely. Of course he also gripes at him for being such a sadist. (WHEN HE ALMOST SNAPPED HUEY'S LEG IN HALF. How hard was ocelot's dick for that i mean really) I think, they definitely trust each other's devotion to Big Boss, so there's that commonality there. And they know they are both in it for the looong haul.
I kind of felt that way about the hypnotism thing too lol. But "doublethink" makes more sense. He obviously REMEMBERS big boss. Just also genuinely believes venom is the real deal too.
In my heart I hope Ocelot killed Kaz :( it's more romantic that way. They would probably just laugh about it, it's not like Kaz would fight, not with Venom and BB dead. I doubt Kaz would really have any hate left. something like "Give my regards to our Boss." "Yeah, I'll tell him you won't be long."
also the most important thing here is that they could have an actually legitimate BDSM relationship with kaz bitching and moaning about how he doesn't have to go through all the rules this is dumb and ocelot just being like wow your safety is important to me kaz.
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Yeah geez Ocelot probably got really aroused when Kaz gets sadistic. I MEAN HE SURE GOT TURNED ON WATCHING THE TORTURE IN MGS3. But I also like how Ocelot is just like LET ME HANDLE IT GOD YOU'RE AN AMATEUR when Kaz wants to interrogate Eli.
A scene of Ocelot killing Kaz but having a nice chat first would be painful. I want it.
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man that is really interesting. i bet you're right about that, if ocelot would worry about ANYTHING he'd worry about what might put big boss in danger. and yeah i really need like, vulnerabilities in characters, so i'm real glad for that conversation =(a
god them arguing about eli. I'M NOT GOING TO TORTURE ELI AND NEITHER ARE YOU!!!! great job men
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What are your thoughts on Catherine Miller? Do you think Kaz will still father her someday or do you think she's retconned out now? Content that's from the manuals and not from within the games never seems safe from retcons. And didn't the entirety of Diamond Dogs get sterilized by the wolbachia preventative? (Or were they only treating people who knew Kikongo... I can't remember now gahh.)
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KAZ's PROFILE IS LIKE... 100% irrelevant now. Which is UNIQUE?? Usually Kojima works with what he's got, and doesn't like, completely go against everything currently there. But LITERALLY EVERYTHING about Kaz's profile is wrong. He's not 3rd generation Japanese, he has a totally different resume for where he worked. He lost his limbs so his "future" resume is wrong too. He is now totally sterile, they inoculated everybody, so he can't have a daughter. They also made him INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT to Snake?? Like, even the Patriots think he's critical to him and they need his war-business skills to re-establish Snake as an actual military organization, which is why they swap him off to the double to establish the double. And unlike Ocelot he doesn't work hard to stay low-profile in his affiliation with Diamond Dogs, so everyone knows he's with Snake. SO, LIKE... Kojima totally retconned in a 2nd-in-command boyfriend who invented PMCs which literally caused the war economy.
SO, PROBABLY, 1 PARAGRAPH DOESN'T CUT IT FOR HIM ANYMORE LOL. And probably Big Boss would think of him while he's dying in MGS4 8(
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