new improved character survey bandwagon
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Old Snake is tall, about 6'2", and he's built. He's heavyset but not bara-like, but you can tell this is a man who's worked out for the better part of his life; always active, always training, and he's got the abs and muscles to prove it.
2. How old is he?
Snake is 42 years old, but due to accelerated aging, he looks to be in about his eighties.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Despite his physical age, Snake carries himself rather well. He sort of meanders but manages to keep his posture straight enough to be healthy.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Snake is healthy when it comes to his body. He's fit, doesn't overeat, doesn't undereat, and he works out plenty. However, his health is deteriorating due to his accelerated aging, he's also a smoker, so he's choking on cigarette smoke a whole lot. Add that to the nanomachine-heart-attacks he experiences for most of Metal Gear Solid 4, and you've got a guy that shouldn't be alive. Even Naomi Hunter, a genetics expert, says that he shouldn't even be alive, that the only thing keeping Snake together is his willpower.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Again, despite his physical age, Snake is quite careful and cautious. When on the job, he lowers his body somewhat and is mindful of how much noise he's making, where he can hide, what are the circumstances, etc etc. He's pretty agile, too, even capable of doing a high kick.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
If this were before Metal Gear Solid 4, I'd say Snake is very handsome and thinks he is, too. But as of Metal Gear Solid 4, it isn't tough to say that this man is not proud of how he looks. When Naomi tells him to undress for an examination, he flinches away, he's embarrassed to do so. He's not ugly, and he's handsome for a man that looks about in his 80's, but the thing that throws everyone off, even himself, is how a legendary hero like Solid Snake has become this old man, perhaps even just a shell of who he once was.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Snake's color has drained considerably, he's fairly lighter skinned, almost gray, and he's got plenty of scars over his body. Scars that have long since healed, bruises, and not to mental later when half of his face is severely burned by fire.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Snake's hair is white-ish gray, short and kind of spiky, at least at the top. Then he has a nice little mullet going on in the back, but it doesn't deter from his appearance at all, in fact it's still fitting for the old guy.
9. What color are his eyes?
His eyes are blue, as are the eyes of the rest of his family, at least the men.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
He looks pretty good in a suit.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
His back. It hurts so much, and he's always smacking it with his fist. Jumping from tall places? Even somewhat tall places? Yeah, leads go bad back pain.
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
Well, when he's on the job, he's most open in his sneaking suit, which is more utilitarian than anything. It doubles as a muscle suit, as well as offers him good camouflage when he needs it, and makes sneaking around especially sexy easy. Very dark colors, mainly a almost black navy blue. It's the only one he has, but it can change colors depending on where he is! 8)
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
His clothes fit veeeeeeery well. And he seems pretty comfortable in them, he can even sleep in them if he wants too.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
In his free time, he's usually wearing a long black turtle-neck sweater that's a bit clingy to his skin, as well as some camo pants and black shoes. The pants are a bit baggy, but his shirt isn't... Which shows that Snake doesn't know how to dress like an old man.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers, unless he's on a mission, whereas it's probably commando. /sob
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
It's somewhat deep, hoarse and smokey. Too many cigarettes and accelerated aging.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
He speaks evenly, but often times he'll just repeat what other people are saying, or take time to think about things while talking.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
He says "huh" a lot.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Snake can speak up to 6 languages with perfect fluency. Of them, we know he can speak French, English, Russian and probably Japanese.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Depending who he's talking to, he'll use the appropriate language, but he hasn't run into that problem too much, mostly since people conveniently speak English wherever he is.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
If he knows exactly what he's talking about, Snake has no problem speaking, but when he's in a situation where he's not quite on top of the conversation, he'll think about what he's saying or what he wants to say. (ie: talking with Big Mama.)
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
He's rude. He's much better at doing than saying, but when it comes to pep-talks, Snake is the one you want to tell you to stop whining and get the job done. (YOU WERE THE LIGHTNING IN THE RAIN)
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Snake is pretty much both. He's very intelligent, at least when it comes to combat skills and common sense, but sometimes he's pretty dumb, at least when talking about cooking...
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
He thinks on his feet, he pretty much has to, due to all the times he's on a mission. If a missile is flying at your face, you have no time to think about what to do.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Snake is very intuitive. He'll often do what seems right to him, and not really fill anyone else in about his plans unless they ask first.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Military training to the max. He's learned how to survive almost anything, learned six languages fluently, he can take out a tank by himself; this man is smart, and he has no problem with reading up on something if he doesn't know much about it.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Anything to do with combat, battlefield, war, CQC... All of these. Snake used to be called a Legendary Hero, until he practically tarnished that name by working with Philanthropy. He seems to want to learn more about how to live in peace if it's actually possible. Only got a few months left on him anyway...
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Snake is a strange mix of both, at least in Metal Gear Solid 1, but by the time of Metal Gear Solid 4, he's more of an introvert. He doesn't even flirt like he used to, so it's a little sad.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
If you annoy the crap out of him, you will get punched in the face, let's just put it that way. He's far more melancholy than cheerful, mainly due to his job and the fact that his life has pretty much sucked forever.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
Cautious. He never lets his guard down even for a second around new people or situations, and he's not very trusting of new people until they prove to him in some way that they can be trusted. Unless it's Naomi Hunter, and then he'll just do whatever she says EVEN IF SHE'S BETRAYING HIM AND STEALING HIS DNA.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
Act. Act act act. Snake is always acting instead of reacting, unfortunately. Although in Metal Gear Solid 4, he seems to sit back and react a little more, but he still has that ability to act when he deems it necessary, even if he's practically falling apart.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Fight. Unless there are about 30 GEKKO rampaging and hundreds of zombie nanomachine soldiers clawing at him... in that case, he'll run. His missions usually involve sneaking, and if he's spotted, running and hiding are things he's supposed to do, but when he finds someone he's SUPPOSED to fight, then he's not about to run off like a sissy.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
Old Snake's sense of humor is very, very dry. He often tells jokes that only he gets, and no one else laughs. You almost feel embarrassed for him.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
He's got some PTSD, due to having set his father on fire and watched him burn alive.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
There are too many; I suppose each time he beats a boss in the games, he grows as a person. But what's really defined him is his code name and his missions. He is Solid Snake; and that is the definition one needs to know.
14. What does he fear?
There doesn't appear to be much that Snake fears, but I imagine losing those close to him is his number one fear.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
He hopes to not die in three months.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
He doesn't seem to want to tell anything about his personal life to others. The idea is stupid to him, and he probably doesn't want to drag anyone down with him and how screwed up he is as a person.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
SUCKY. His father hated him and tried to kill him, and he didn't know the man WAS his father until Big Boss was burning to death and decided to say "I AM YOUR FATHER". As for Snake's surrogate mother, he only knew her for about two hours before she died.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Snake had two other siblings: Liquid Snake and Solidus Snake. And their relationships with him also sucked. They've all tried to kill each other at least once, and only Solid Snake has survived of the three.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
No. All of them, he can't stand them. Except his surrogate mom, he seemed to like her a lot.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
Roy Campbell, Hal "Otacon" Emmerich, Sunny Gurlukovich, Raiden, Rose. Roy Campbell was his old Colonel back in the early days, and has since been a big help in Snake's missions as the games go. Snake still calls him 'Colonel'. Hal Emmerich will be talked about in the next part. Sunny is the daughter of Olga Gurlukovich, and she's now being raised by Old Snake and Otacon. She's very young, cute, and smart, but sucks at cooking eggs. Snake worked with Raiden back in MGS2, despite meeting under confusing circumstances. Even if Raiden ends up pretty screwed up, Snake still considers him a friend. Rose is Raiden's girlfriend, or was... confusing stuff there. Anyway, he can talk to her for advice, and considers her family because of that.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Snake's best friend is Dr. Hal "Otacon" Emmerich. They met during the Shadow Moses Incident in 2005 (Metal Gear Solid 1), when Otacon was about to be killed by the Cyborg Ninja, and Snake inadvertantly rescued him. Otacon is a huge derp but Snake and him have been best friends ever since.
6. Does he have other close friends?
Roy Campbell, Meryl Silverburg
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
Snake does not make friends easily. But as for enemies? He makes plenty of those!
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
FRIENDS. FRIENDS. FRIENDS.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Snake is single.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
*COUGH*OTACON*COUGH**COUGH* No.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
At least in the Metal Gear Solid games, he was attracted to Meryl Silverburg. When that didn't work out, he seemed to move on but never really found anyone else.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Someone with a great butt.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
Sunny isn't related to him in any way, but he's taking care of her along with Otacon. Sunny counts as both Grandpa and Dad, due to his accelerated aging. Children never seemed like something he'd be interested in wanting, but he doesn't do half bad with Sunny. Except insulting her cooking.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Yes. Liquid Ocelot, Revolver Ocelot, Vamp, Beauty and Beast Corps., practically all the villains in Metal Gear Solid, mainly Liquid Snake.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Snake is straight, but he could also just be pansexual. He's very attracted to breasts, butts, and other womanly features, but he's also involved in a rad bromance with Otacon, so one can never be too sure.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Sex would be awesome for him. He'd love it. But he's never gotten laid and he knows he never will as an old man.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Snake loves butts. He doesn't like shirtless men.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
NO
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Neither. Not very important.
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
"We're not tools of the government, or anyone else. Fighting's the only thing I was good at, but at least I fought for what I believed in".
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
He tends to just bite his tongue, otherwise he might call you out on your crap.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He hates Metal Gears. All of them. Forever. And Russians are always up to something. His reasons? The games. He also hates it when people have been trained via VR Training, as he's been through all the real stuff.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
That's... never really explained. Otacon handles all of that, and they live on a plane. Probably better to not ask questions.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
He used to be the Legendary Hero, Solid Snake. Now he's Solid Snake, member of the Terrorist Group Philanthropy. He hated being seen as a hero, and he doesn't like the new title either, but he'd rather lie low than walk around looking for attention. It hasn't affected him too much.
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
Snake lives in the NOMAD, a plane owned by Philanthropy. It has a kitchen and a main area, and it holds a helicoptor. It's... comfortable, but there aren't many places to sleep and it's shared with Otacon and Sunny.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
Cigarettes.
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
Finds Metal Gears and destroys them or makes their existence public. He's very good at it, and though he feels alive when he's staring death in the face, he doesn't seem to actually enjoy what he's doing. He's just become an old killer, as he tells Meryl, 'hired to do some wet work'. Old Snake would probably rather be back in retirement.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Snake likes napping, smoking, eating and listening to music. He also seems to enjoy training. In his free time, he's usually seen sleeping or recuperating. But if he's got a magazine, then he's got other fun things to do in the meantime. *cough*
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
RASHUNS. Rations are what he's usually eating during a mission, as well as noodles. He'll eat pretty much anything he can get his hands on that's meant to be eaten, but he won't go out of his way to catch and eat something unless he absolutely has to, like dear old dad.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Blue.
2. Smell? Old Spice after-shave.
3. Time of day? Early morning.
4. Season? Winter.
5. Book? Heart of Darkness
6. Music? lolipop. er i mean--
7. Place? Parks filled with old people.
8. Substance? Marlboro.
9. Plant? Vines.
10. Animal? SNAAAAAAAAAAAKE actually manatees. Look at Old Snake, then at a manatee and you can't tell one from the other!
END
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