Wahhh I love. Raiden
Raiden is so special to me, with his broader identity narrative in Metal Gear Solid 2, and transgender subtext, he is my cool cyborg friend. Whenever I draw him, write about him in fic, etc, I make him a little out of character, but that's ok because historically, humans tell stories to entertain themselves (TLDR: Canon can be bent to my will haha)
In MGS2, MGS4, and MGRR, he is shown to have a strong moral compass, those who are vulnerable need protection from those in power. He is good with kids, finds comfort in his friends, and despite his difficult past, forms a new identity for himself.
I'm not sure why I like him as much as I do, but it might have something to do with his level of
He is also feminine!! And as a male character, that is /so/ important to me!! The other characters in MGS never treat his femininity as a sign of weakness, and elements of his appearance (claw nails, heels) have a tactical advantage. I also think it's hilarious that, despite being disliked by gamers in 2001, Raiden is canonically 'straighter' than most MGS men. He is definitely a queer coded character, but he sure does have a wholeass wife and kid.
My specific headcannons
Raiden's personality changes slightly between games, going from a heroic, but confused twenty-something in MGS2, to an angsty, depressed cyborg in MGS4, then to a true-to-himself murder machine in MGRR. I have my own personality differences when writing about him in fic or rp, that I will list here:While Raiden does primarily use he/him pronouns and masculine language for himself, he is very fluid in his gender. He never feels like he has to justify his strength with masculinity. He loves makeup, taking care of his hair, and other self care practices. After his cyborgification, this becomes more difficult. He feels like he can't embrace his humanity, either because it is physically impossible for him to do so, or he feels like he doesn't deserve it. After the events of MGS4 this becomes easier, as he reconnects with his friends Otacon, Snake, and Sunny, as well as Rose and his child, Little John.
Physically, Raiden is afab, but the specifics of that aren't too important. Getting his top surgery done at
Cosplays!
I made this outfit sometime in 2021. It's not perfect but I spent a long time making the pattern for his shoulder pads, chest piece, and getting together all his accessories. This is a modified version of his MGS2 outfit, because wearing the full skull suit would be very uncomfortable.
Drinking beer lol.
FANART
