Disclaimer: This article is just for fun and contains possible links to Death Stranding and the MGS universe without going into too much detail.
It stands today that the Kojima fan base is split into two groups. One group that believes Kojima is pulling a ruse and creating a rumored game titled MGS6: Death Stranding. The other simply believes there is no ruse and Kojima is no longer working for Konami and now operates on his own creating a new IP titled "Death Stranding". There also appears to be some that believe Sony purchased the rights to the MGS saga or something and others believe Kojima owns it. No matter what the reality or the connection is, the community seems to dictate that the conspiracy must persists and I would like to take the time to analyze and see if there is anything that links Death Stranding to the MGS saga. First I want to start with a massive disclaimer here. I am not supporting the idea of the ruse in my article. I also want to state that Kojima could be creating a new IP that could potentially be connected and perhaps even related to the MGS saga without major legal consequences. There are ways around this. After all I don't expect seeing Solid Snake or Big Boss in this entry.
So are there really any connections at all? Or are we all just shoe horning things? Well as it turns out. There is one thing. The little engine that could.
Decima!
What is Decima? Many fans actually seem to put a lot of faith on a little Dutch trading post island in Japan named Dejima. While the artwork for the island has some interesting things such as market gardens, shore lines, baylines, there really isn't a whole lot of substance to create a relationship. The whole VOC flag really doesn't have a lot either. But we shall never forget September 5th 1944, known as "Mad Tuesday". The day where the Allies moved into the Dutch borders after the Normandy Landings. You can enjoy a read about Dejima here: http://ift.tt/1sXBot3
Decima has another meaning. In Greek mythology there is a group of Goddesses known as "The Fates". This is where things become meaningful for those who want to try and find a connection to the MGS universe. First let's explore an interview that came out after MGSV: The Phantom Pain was released. It can be read here: http://ift.tt/1QJLnxX
The question I want to examine is the following line:
"-- So with MGSV Kojima-san has given Snake back to the player. Is this the end of the Metal Gear saga? Yano: As a commercial product and as a physical thing, Metal Gear is definitely over. But in a way it isn't. At the start of Moby-Dick, the narrator, Ishmael, states that Captain Ahab's story is spun by (it's a stage production put on by) the three Fates - Atropos, Clotho, and Lachesis. Ishmael laments that they have made him the narrator, given him the "shabby part of a whaling voyage" in order to have him tell Ahab's story. But at the end of the book, Melville gives Ishmael an extraordinary role to fulfill. After the rest of the crew of the Pequod have died, including Ahab himself, he has Ishmael say, "... I was he whom the Fates ordained to take the place of Ahab's bowsman, when that bowsman assumed the vacant post..."" Understanding the Mythology of The Fates is quite crucial to what I'm about to explain. The following site is probably the best read you can find: http://ift.tt/1Beb2r2
A few interesting notes on the Fates:
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The Fates did not interfere in human affairs and believed in free will to an extent.
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Hercules is the only one to deny the Fates will and would not be held down by them. After he saw and flouted death. He said "I have come back". A famous quote by him is as follows: "I will hold fast the threads of the Fates and stretch out the wool upon their distaffs -- I can subdue remorseless Death." Some people may find that interesting because Hercules Avenue was Kojima's old LA headquarters.
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An interesting passage: Aeschylus, Eumenides 400 ff: "Then where is the man not stirred with awe, not gripped by fear to hear us tell the law that Fate ordains, the gods concede the Furies absolute till the end of time."
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My favorite quote is the following passage: Aeschylus, Libation Bearers 639 ff : "But the keen and bitter sword is near the breast [of Aigisthos (Aegisthus), murderer of Agamemnon] and drives home its blow at the bidding of Dike (Justice). For truly the injustice of him who has unjustly transgressed the sovereign majesty of Zeus lies on the ground trampled under foot. The anvil of Dike (Justice) is planted firm. Aisa (Aesa, Destiny) fashions her arms and forges her sword quickly, and the famed and deeply brooding Erinys (Fury) is bringing the son into our house, to requite at last the pollution of blood shed long ago." For those wondering what this passage means. It means that this son would return the age of conflict. Perhaps it was to bring peace to the corruption that exists. A similar quote is spoken by a character with a similar goal. "We need tension...conflict. The world today has become too soft. We're living in an age where true feelings are suppressed. So we're going to shake things up a bit. We'll create a world dripping with tension... ...a world filled with greed and suspicion, bravery and cowardice." ― Ocelot
There are three fates that go by the name Atropos, Clotho and Lachesis. Lachesis sings the things that were, Clotho sings the things that are, and Atropos sings the things that are to be. The will of the fates is often misinterpreted but it is agree upon that they are the goddess of birth and death and no mortal can escape their fates that they dictate. As it is their will. Of the three Goddesses we should take a particular interest in Lachesis. Why Lachesis? Who is she? She is the one the looks at the world and dictates it's fate. She is also the only one of the three to have said to been married and have a child, and perhaps more importantly her name is Lachesis. A name that is famously known for being the mother of Snakes. The Bushmaster. In many world mythologies Snakes are symbolized as for DNA strands, life, and freedom.
An interesting thing with Death Stranding is that the theme of the game is "Loss". More on this later.
It is an interesting note that in P.T. there is a little story on the Radio that speaks about a story from 75 years ago. While not quite that long ago, on October 15th, 1947 there was an old time Radio show called "Escape". An episode titled "A Shipment of Mute Fate" starred Jack Webb and Raymond Lawrence and the main antagonist was a Bushmaster Snake. A decade later the story was then adapted again for suspense starring Jack Kelly on January 6th, 1957. In the movie "Romancing the Stone" Jack T. Colton killed a Bushmaster while seeking shelter in a crashed plane. Without a doubt the key word was Jack in P.T. There seems to be a history of Jack's killing Bushmasters. I'm sure most of you are familiar with a man named Jack who killed a Lachesis who held the title of "The Boss". http://ift.tt/2hjPQL2
It is without a doubt that The Boss was based on the Lachesis Snake. These pit Vipers are often considered to be the deadliest snakes in the world (this is debatable) and are often called "The mute Rattlesnake" because they have tails that vibrate in a similar manner of a Rattlesnake. An interesting little fact is that the blast muzzle of the Patriot is said to resemble the sound of a threatened rattlesnake when fired. http://ift.tt/2huOb37
One of the greatest philosophical descriptions of the Lachesis Snake can be described as the following. "Lachesis may be viewed with the eye of a shaman to better penetrate the snake’s hidden genius. She provides the matriarchal image of all snakes, for not only is she the largest representative of the most evolved snake family, she is also the only pit-viper that is oviparous, producing eggs, all others are ovoviviparous, giving birth to live young. Hence she is the forerunner, the source and essence of all things serpentine and venomous, and the jungle is her shrine. This is significant. She comes from the bosom of Gaia (Mother Earth), from the reproductive centre of the planet, its metabolic heart, the equatorial rainforests of the Amazon basin. Here speciation is at its most prodigious; it is Gaia’s hothouse for the generation of diverse life forms – a teeming paradise – a Garden of Eden. Deep within its steamy density lurks the awesome bushmaster, her venom charged with the creative and destructive passion of the planet. She is the serpent of our genesis!"
This quote is very symbolic because not only is she the mother of Snakes symbolically. The way she gives birth is different. Hers come from an egg, while the others are live young. Some could draw a metaphorical connection to that birth of Ocelot from The Boss and Cloned offspring from Big Boss.
The Philosophy behind the Lachesis is also rather interesting as it goes into dualistic concepts as well as some interesting ideals that The Boss sometimes speaks about. I feel the following quote describes her in a strong manner. "This is symbolic of mankind attaining that level of intellectual and emotional capacity which permits "freedom of choice" and custodianship of the conscience, a release, unfolding and responsibility which were bound to bring conceit and conflict." I recommend reading this for a symbolic understanding of the Lachesis http://ift.tt/2hjP2pi I highly recommend doing some research on Lachesis and the metaphors symbolic meanings behind the Snake.
On the Whales: Whales are associated with both life and death. They are creative and filled with compassion and solitude. They are often a symbol of strength, spirituality, and protection. They also represent power and leadership. However they can be interpreted for darkness and experiencing loss. They are also a source of fear and superstition in some cultures. In Christianity they are connected with rebirth and resurrection. Whales are said to appear in your dreams during relevant times of facing an issue in your life. Most importantly they are symbolism of motherhood. Of a mother who protects her child. Some women claim to have terrible dreams of whales becoming stranded on the beach in masses when they feel they may lose their child or have a miscarriage. I recommend doing some research on the symbolism of whales.
Another possibility of the cetacean stranding is all the death and loss that associated with D-Day. The island that Norman Reedus was on looks familiar to one of the sights Kojima visited on his scouting trip to Normandy and Iceland back in 2014. The loss of brothers and friends can symbolically refer to the fallen soldiers. Brothers-in-Arms. Regardless of the reason, this would be a very symbolic metaphor for the events of The Boss and her experiences during WWII.
We are all quite aware that Normandy is the battle that The Boss gets shot and has an emergency C-section is performed on her in the battlefield to save the baby (Adam aka Ocelot) who is then taken by the Philosophers. Speaking of the Philosophers. In the Noon Universe the World Council is very similar to the concept of the Philosophers in their early years with the original members.
The 506th Fox (unit) Company would be the group that The Cobra unit was likely apart of. Operation Neptune and Operation Market Garden are two of the biggest battles in Normandy that the unit took part in. Both would likely be likely be large missions and/or portions of the game. http://ift.tt/2hdweJ1
While would not be related to the timeline of Death Stranding. It is worth noting that the 158th Infantry Regiment was known as "The Bushmasters" was branch from the Arizona National Guard who served in both world wars and exist today. In WWII they specialized in hand-to-hand combat, knife fighting, and extensive training in Jungle Warfare. They may have been a baseline to Big Boss's tactics in MGS3. The Cobra Squad and The Boss herself were likely highly trained in this regard. I highly recommend reading the WWII section at the following link: http://ift.tt/2hjXxRx
If Death Stranding is a MGS game. All these horror elements could be literal metaphors and symbolism of this horrible era and all the death, fear, and loss that surrounded it. Keep in mind all the members of the Cobra Squad would likely go under different names as they have not yet gone through some of their transformations yet. It's also possible that we'll play all the members of the Cobra Unit if we chose. Maybe even having 6 player co-op missions with each member having special abilities or gear. Like any Metal Gear Game there will be some radical changes involved to keep the gameplay fresh.
There's been some speculation that Mads Mikkelsen is the Sorrow. There biggest problem with this theory is that Mads Mikkelsen is in his 50's and the Sorrow would be in his very late 20's or early 30's. Of course we must consider that actors often don't play their age and Mads Mikkelsen is also one of Kojima's favorite actor and even has the looks to an extent. The Sorrow was originally based on Ed Harris's looks. Some believe Mads Mikkelsen does similar body language as The Sorrow in the trailer. The Sorrow was also a powerful spirit medium when he was alive, it's possible he could revive the dead and transfer his powers to them via umbilical chord. We can see his compass spin out of control in the trailer which suggests that either spirituality is involved or an influx of electromagnetic energy had occurred. Furthermore the loss his son after his birth in WWII did not treat him well. It would be quite obvious that he would try to track him down for the time being.
Who could Norman Reedus be? That's a tough one, but it's possible he could be The Fury. I recall reading a short Greek mythological passage regarding the Erinyes (The Furies) watching over a child and when he was born he was taken. The Furies who loved the child then came from the heavens to rain their vengeance down upon those who took the child. Unfortunately I can't find the story nor really remember it. So this is a very big stretch. The Fury would look normal and wouldn't be burned as he had not become a cosmonaut yet. With the whales all washed ashore signifying loss of a child and normal losing the baby. It's entirely possible that The Fury was the one to bring Adamska out after the C-section. For those who want another stretch you can look at the faces of the two characters and see that their eyes and face are quite similar. Again this is all just for fun. Who knows, maybe Idris Elba will be the vengeful one. Norman Reedus: http://ift.tt/1PZmC0O The Fury: http://ift.tt/2hjOdgh
If the rumors of Ron Pearlman being in it are true. I can't really think of a better role for him than The Pain. Those two are so corny that it's a perfect fit.
It's also possible that Guillermo Del Toro's character is a member of the American Philosophers.
While it's likely that Death Stranding will be an all new IP. There is a chance that it could be an MGS game set in WWII. Though it is still possible that this is all a red herring and P.T. stands for multiple things. Perhaps it's also known as "Project Troll" which would make it the successor of "Project Ogre" and is the 2nd of 3 projects that Geoff Keighley spoke of in this video: https://youtu.be/jSGbnbeZ9KE?t=2m47s Over all the video is quite entertaining and brings up some interesting things. Maybe the whole point of P.T. was just to be a teaser of the baby and the game wasn't really in development. Death Stranding is an action game first but what if it contains heavy horror elements to show the horror of the second world war and the fear of loss?
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