The Document of PGS: Preview excerpt! · 1:16am Jul 26th, 2016
Last night, for the first time in about two months, I went the whole day without writing anything. And I feel really bad about that, so by way of an apology, have this preview from the rough draft of the next chapter. Nothing spoilery (certainly nothing involving dokis or cherries), just a little bit of dialogue. It's my way of trying to make sense of the screwey non product placement firearms in MGSV.
"Hello," Snake murmured to her right. "What have we here?"
Twilight glanced in his direction to see him reach for the rifle and remove it from the rack. Visually, the gun reminded her of the rifles she'd seen P.W. troops carrying in the forest and the castle, but the design and aesthetics of the gun were quite different. Where the other rifles of that type she'd seen had brown, wooden furniture, this one was polished black plastic and metal, with a skeletal stock attached to the rest of the gun by a hinge. The barrel was shorter, and tipped with a fat cylinder that looked detachable. Twilight took it for a suppressor, like the one Snake's tranquilizer gun had.
"What'cha got there?" she asked.
"MRS-4," said Snake. "Haven't seen one of these since my mercenary days." He chuckled. "Arms Materials. Discount guns for the less-fortunate soldier of fortune."
"What does that mean?"
"Oh, uh." Snake ejected the gun's magazine and pulled back the bolt to clear the chamber, then rested the gun underneath his armpit, holding the barrel in his hand. "Arms Materials was a gun manufacturer a few decades ago; they made their living selling cheap, unlicensed derivatives, mostly to mercenary forces that couldn't afford better. Got sued into oblivion by FN Herstal over their MRS series." He jerked the gun's barrel for emphasis. "Figures that Pegasus Wings would get their hands on 'em, given what we've seen of their resources so far."
"Hm." Twilight tapped the fuel gauge with the tip of her hoof. The needle remained stuck on Empty. "So what's it doing sitting all the way out in the middle of nowhere like this?"
"On-site procurement means you never question why a gun is wherever it is," said Snake. "This is a boon. I'm not gonna look it in the mouth." He glanced down at the weapon's barrel and frowned. "Be a hell of a thing if it's I.D. locked, though."
Twilight was about to ask what "I.D. locked" meant before she caught herself. Eyes on the prize, Twiley. Get Snake talking about guns, and for all you know, he'll never shut up about them.
I've noticed that Snake and Fluttershy aren't much for talking, but talk to 'em with guns and animals and they'll be friends in no time.
4113008 It all boils down to reaching others through their personal interests, especially if said interest is mutual.
4113008 Naked Snake, totally, but Solid's never shown quite the same interest in guns as his dad. The most he's ever paid attention to a firearm is his inspection of the M4 custom in MGS4. He doesn't gush over them to the same extent that Big Boss did over the 1911 custom EVA gave him.
But that does give me an idea. Take this and this, and swap the voices. Give it a try.
4113366 I thought it was funny, hearing Naked Snake in Fluttershy's place. How did Solid know about the guns from GZ?
4113417 That's just me writing my headcanon into the story. From an IRL perspective, the non product placement guns like the MRS are probably in MGSV because of legal complications regarding the customization system. You know, being able to outfit a Heckler & Koch design with components from a Colt rifle, or making a hybrid Colt/HK/Kalashnivok rifle, that might not go over well with the legal departments of the manufacturers KojiPro had to license the guns from. Ergo, all the guns in MGSV are fictional, but obviously based on real world designs (the MRS being obviously based on the FN FAL with aspects of the Colt AR line).
But in universe, it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for U.S. Marines at Camp Omega to be wielding anything besides the M16, and it's even more incongruous considering the M16 was everywhere in Peace Walker, which was just a few months before Ground Zeroes took place. So, headcanon: All the guns in MGSV are unlicensed discount versions of guns that already existed in the world. MSF picked up the MRS specs and started producing them on site; Diamond Dogs did the same years later. The Camp Omega troops are using the Type 69 rifle because, I don't know, Skull Face is a cheapskate.
Of course, the original Metal Gear uses real-world guns like the Beretta 92, so in my headcanon, Arms Materials and the other gun manufacturers represented in MGSV went out of business due to legal troubles with legitimate gun manufacturers. Snake at some point probably handled an MRS while he was merc'ing it up, so that's what he knows it from.
It's not entirely clear from the excerpt, but Snake and Twi found the gun while poking around in the car that the Operator directed them to at the end of the previous chapter. P.W. has a collection of Arms Materials guns in addition to the low-grade AKs that you see soldiers carrying in the woods and in the castle.