Quiet

"I did not choose to be Quiet. I wanted to express my feelings to you. If only we shared a common tongue. Vengeance is what drove me to them... The only language left to me, revenge. But the words we shared... No, that was no language at all. That is why... I chose the language of gratitude instead, and go back to silence. I am Quiet... I am... The absence of words."

- Quiet

Quiet (Russian: Тихий, Tixij ), is a female sniper/assassin and one of XOF's elite operatives during the 1980s, and was feared by the Afghanistan-occupying Soviet forces. Quiet wore less clothing because she could only breathe through her skin following parasite-treatment due to the serious injuries she had sustained while trying to kill Big Boss during the hospital raid, and that wearing too much clothing would lead to suffocation. After being defeated by Venom Snake in Afghanistan, she becomes a prisoner at Mother Base until she is allowed to accompany Venom Snake on missions. Her weapons included two lethal sniper rifles nicknamed Wicked Butterfly and Sinful Butterfly as well as a non-lethal one nicknamed Guilty Butterfly.

Hospital Raid
An elite member of XOF, Quiet had been ordered by Skull Face to kill Big Boss. During the hospital raid on March 11, 1984, she had her sights on him, also killing the nurse and the doctor in attendance at the hospital during the raid, though she told her superior that she hadn't killed her target yet as "the man in the next bed" [Ahab] had seen [her] face." She then tried to kill Ahab, in order to remove any witnesses, only for Ishmael to fight her off. She was then hit with bottles of medical grade Ethanol, with the patient [Ishmael] setting her on fire. However, she still proved to be determined to try and kill Ahab, resulting in her being doused with another set of chemicals that refueled the fire and forced her to flee out of a window. Ultimately, she survived, although with severe enough injuries to force her to allow herself to be infected with a mutant strain of the "the one that covers" parasites used to create the Parasite Unit which allowed her to breathe through her skin and take in nutrients via photosynthesis.

Cloaked in Silence
True to her name, she kept herself silent to avoid speaking English and therefore being forced to kill Venom Snake, either by verbal communication or by writing, meaning interrogations against her were useless. However, she communicated with Ahab by using gestures as well as by humming noises. In 1984, she was later deployed in Afghanistan by Skull Face where she fought in a sniper duel with Venom Snake, where she was beaten. Although Kazuhira Miller wanted her dead due to believing her to be a Cipher agent, Venom Snake ultimately decided to apprehend her at Ocelot's suggestion. She uncuffed herself and seemingly escaped from the chopper, although she secretly stayed invisible while inside the helicopter. Shortly afterwards, while on the way back to Mother Base, a fighter aircraft pursued the ACC, with Quiet took down an approaching fighter aircraft by sniping the aircraft's pilot through the plane's closed cockpit, saving Snake's life in the process.

Despite this, Miller still didn't trust her, and had even gave orders to prevent a landing if Quiet was still onboard, not wanting her on Mother Base. However, she effectively surrendered herself into Diamond Dogs custody. Because of this, despite Miller's insistence that they kill her due to her being too much of a liability because of her discovering the location of Mother Base, Ocelot and Venom Snake instead suggested that they lock her up, although Venom Snake agreed that she might have to be killed if she proved to be too much of a threat to Diamond Dogs' existence, adding that he would be the one to kill her.

A member of Diamond Dogs
While Miller was extremely prejudiced against her, Ocelot was willing to let her prove her worth. Because she was unable to speak English, she could not communicate with any of Diamond Dog personnel. Messages from her often had to be conveyed through actions. During her days at Mother Base, she was completely cooperative with anything Diamond Dogs requested of her. The only exception was that she refused to wear clothes, and anyone who tried to put clothes on her ended up injured to the point of needing breathing tubes.

Later on, she sneaked out of her cell to accompany Venom Snake on a mission, only to be caught by Miller, who was dead set against the idea. Ocelot, however, decided she could prove useful on the field. Quiet attacked a Diamond Dog personnel for unknown reasons since she couldn't communicate as to why. Two operatives came to the personnel's aid only to be beaten down by her. Venom Snake intervened and subdued her, with the help of Ocelot, who gave her a sedative. She was taken back to her cell, with Snake warning that if she did that again, "there [wouldn't] be a third time." It was later revealed that she did this because the personnel in question was infected with the Kikongo strain of the vocal cord parasite, which she was able to detect due to Quiet herself carrying a strain of the vocal cord parasite. After destroying and recovering Metal Gear Sahelanthropus, Quiet is shown to be one of the leading members of Diamond Dogs, having stood next to Miller during his speech, alongside the other leading members, Venom Snake, and Ocelot.

She was later interrogated by Miller and Ocelot shortly after Code Talker was rescued, both due to her carrying the parasite as well as deducing her identity as the assassin who tried to kill Venom Snake at the hospital earlier (both due to doing an MRI and discovering the burnt remains of a Star of Bethlehem flower on her). Ocelot, however, requested that Miller take it easy on her and decided that she probably had no ill will that they could deduce since she had multiple opportunities to take them out yet failed to act on them, with Venom Snake agreeing. Miller then reluctantly let Quiet go. Secretly, however, Quiet talked with Code Talker and admitted in the Navajo language that she had actually been sent to Mother Base by XOF and Skull Face to infect the personnel with the English strain of parasite, but was unwilling to undergo her mission (hence why she was not allowing herself to speak).

A Quiet Exit
After another outbreak occurred on Mother Base this time due to a mutation of the parasites within the previously infected personnel, Quiet believed she could be at risk despite keeping silent and left Diamond Dogs. She later went MIA in Afghanistan and was captured by Soviet forces. She was forcibly clothed when taken prisoner, which slowly suffocated her. She tried to escape but was caught and nearly drowned by one of her captors, who then removed her pants in an attempt to rape her. Now able to breathe once more, she retaliated, slaughtering him and the other soldiers, all while Venom Snake was trying to track her down to take her back to Mother Base. He arrived just in time to catch the final moments of her escape. They then worked together to take down one last enemy tank unit. Unfortunately, she was badly injured by a tank round. Venom Snake attempted to carry her out of harm's way through a sandstorm. Along the way, he was bitten by a cobra. As Pequod attempted to pick Venom Snake and Quiet up, Quiet responded in Navajo, but Pequod couldn't understand what she was saying. Quiet was then forced to respond to Pequod in English, directing the helicopter to pick up Venom Snake who lost consciousness just as Pequod arrived. By the time Venom Snake was administered an antivenom, Quiet was gone. He went to search for her by tracking her footprints and found a cassette tape that she had left behind as a last message to him. In it, she regretted not expressing her feelings for him and was sad that she had to leave in order to protect him. Having activated the English vocal cord parasites, Quiet wandered into the Afghan desert alone.

Abilities
Before undergoing parasite treatment, Quiet was shown to be a fairly skilled combatant and assassin, as she was demonstrated to kill her foes with extreme efficiency and deadly precision. This was best demonstrated with her killing the doctor and nurse without even alerting them beforehand, as well as stopping Ishmael with minimal effort. She was also demonstrated to have a strong sense of willpower, as after being set alight by Ishmael, she still tried to continue on to fulfill her mission of killing Venom Snake. It was only a further fueling of the flames that permanently forced her to call off her mission and flee.

After undergoing the parasite treatment, Quiet developed a large quantity of new superhuman abilities while black markings appeared on her skin, primarily around her eyes. These blotchy markings could vanish and reappear either at will or at a time where she was using her powers.

The mutant strain of the Parasite Unit "the one that covers" parasite that she had in her skin as well as her vocal cords gave very similar abilities to those of the Parasite Unit itself, such as enhanced strength and speed in exchange for nourishing the parasite. Her own strain also gave the ability to camouflage not only her skin but also her clothes so as to appear invisible, although it did not allow for the armoring up of the traditional Parasite Unit members. She could also apparently use some limited form of intangibility, allowing her to escape from restraints while her powers were active. Her visual acuity was such that she could spot individual blades on a helicopter when they were at full speed, which could combine with her speed to allow her to even shoot in between them. Ocelot also remarked on her depth perception. Her strain left her mind intact, rendering her far more effective and deadly than the Skulls themselves.

Due to her injuries, the parasites compensated for her burned epidermis, giving her the ability to "breathe" through her skin rather than her lungs, negating any problems that could come from sway that could be the result of breathing too much while sniping, but also requiring her to wear as little clothes as possible, as covering her skin would suffocate her. As additional aid, the parasites compensated for the digestive organs she lost from her burns, enabling her to "drink" through her skin when showering so long as she did not move too much while in fresh water (saltwater burning her instead), as well as receiving carbohydrates through photosynthesis, much like The End.

This came at a cost, however; the mutant strain had been implanted with Skull Face's directive to become a lethal contagious form should she ever attempt to communicate in English, and the contagious form would force her to carry out her mission of killing Big Boss regardless of her wishes. In fact, she had the only example of English mating pairs of vocal cord parasites to be carried by a person until Eli infested his island.

Behind the scenes
Quiet first appeared in the 2012 trailer for The Phantom Pain, where she is briefly seen on fire inside the hospital.

Quiet was introduced in the E3 2013 trailer of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain, in which she is described as being "A Sniper deprived of her Words." In the extended trailer, she is seen being tortured by a soldier and Ocelot via electrocution while having a bag over her head. Quiet's likeness, voice and motion capture will be provided by the Dutch Japanese model and actress, Stefanie Joosten.

When asked about Quiet during a interview with Famitsu, Hideo Kojima replied: "In the game, Quiet is the main heroine. Whether she is friend or foe has yet to be revealed so I had to be careful when casting her role. MGS normally has old timers and old guys (laughs). Stefanie is very skilled in action but since she never held that type of gun, we asked her do some training at home." He also told 4Gamer: "With Stefanie, we had to make sure to focus her 3D motion on capturing her facial and body language and not her voice, since Quiet does not speak. She does make small sounds like “ugh” and “ah” though."

On September 6, 2013, in response to the mixed reaction concerning Quiet's characteristics, Kojima clarified exactly what he meant when he asked lead designer Yoji Shinkawa for a "more erotic" character. Speaking through a translator, he said: "Maybe the phrase 'erotic' wasn't really [the correct word for] what I was trying to say. What I'm really trying to do is create unique characters. One of those is, of course, Quiet. She's a really unique character, I wanted to add that sexiness to her. It wasn't really supposed to be erotic, but sexy." He also said, "You're going to notice [when you play,] but there's limited dialogue with the [Metal Gear Solid 5], and for that reason we really want to show the characteristic from each character. Sexy could be for guys, weapons, vehicles, it's really that characteristic." Shinkawa also weighed in at the Q&A, saying, "From my perspective, it's not just the characters, but often I look at a weapon or a vehicle and think 'That's really sexy.' It's not just the characters, but the mechs and weapons [as well]."

When asked for her thoughts on Quiet's design, Joosten stated, "Of course, I was surprised to see Quiet's outfit at first. But, you know, it fits in the Metal Gear universe, I think. I don't think I'm allowed to say a lot about this, but, well, Mr. Kojima has his reasons for deciding why Quiet [is] wearing what she's wearing. Players will just have to look forward to that."

On September 8, 2013, Kojima stated, "I know there's people concerning about 'Quiet' but don't worry. I created her character as an antithesis to the women characters appeared in the past fighting game who are excessively exposed. 'Quiet' who doesn't have a word will be teased in the story as well. But once you recognize the secret reason for her exposure, you will feel ashamed of your words & deeds. The response of 'Quiet' disclosure few days ago incited by the net is exactly what 'MGSV' itself is."

On November 7, 2013, some concept art for The Phantom Pain was leaked on the Tumblr account "european-extreme." One of the concept arts for Quiet strongly resembled Paz Ortega Andrade though Paz was killed in Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes.

During the development of The Phantom Pain, a fan theory circulated on the Internet that Chico, due to the trauma of his incarceration at Camp Omega, and the death of Paz in Ground Zeroes, underwent a sex change to become the female Quiet. Konami employees expressed their surprise and humor at the theory in the sixth episode of the English version of Kojima Productions' webseries, Kojima Station, but chose to not confirm or deny it in order to avoid spoilers. In the ninth episode of the Japanese version of Kojima Station, Stefanie Joosten addressed the theory, saying that "Quiet is definitely a female, while Chico is a male."

On September 11, 2014, Kojima Station featured a short clip focused on Quiet. The clip revealed that Quiet possesses the ability to become invisible, shown by her vanishing while escaping from a Diamond Dogs helicopter, only to later reappear behind the soldiers onboard Mother Base. According to Kojima, her ability and arrival on Mother Base was intended to be an homage to Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, more specifically the infiltration entry paths for Solid Snake and Raiden during the Tanker and Plant Chapters, respectively.

On September 18, 2014, during the TGS demo of The Phantom Pain, Quiet was shown to be one of many "buddy" characters available to the player during the course of the game. When arriving at a location set by the player, she will contact the player via radio and hum to indicate that she arrived at the destination. The demo also unveiled more of her abilities, more specifically she also possessed superhuman speed. During the demo, Kojima commented that Quiet had a weakness that tied into the story. He also implied that the full extent of her abilities depends on her bond with the player, and that the player, depending on their actions, may never even meet her at all.

In an interview with Dengeki Online after TGS 2014 ended, Kojima stated that the concept behind Quiet's design was nudity, "a naked sniper," and reiterated his statement that her reason for looking this way will surprise the audience. He also confirmed that Quiet is not Chico. Furthermore, he stated that characters in the game will question Quiet's appearance as well, and reiterated that she had the design for a reason. In a later interview, Kojima confirmed that Quiet will not be the only character with supernatural powers. He also revealed that Quiet and any other AI controlled buddy soldiers will not be played independently of Snake.

Quiet isn't the first character in the Metal Gear series with supernatural abilities, even though hers seem to be more extreme than those previously depicted. In Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater alone, the entire Cobra Unit, save The Boss herself, has superhuman abilities (though The Boss possibly has some supernatural force permeating her, evidenced when the lilies turn red and her scar moves out of her body when she dies), along with Colonel Volgin, who commands lightning from his body.

The Video Game Awards 2014 Metal Gear Online trailer displayed Venom Snake using similar powers as Quiet to escape being pinned down during combat.

The Official PlayStation Magazine and Official Xbox Magazine confirmed that Quiet is one of four partners the player can select to accompany them on missions. It also revealed that recruiting Quiet may have the downside of causing low morale among the troops at Mother Base. It also mentioned that chatter can be picked up about Quiet and her "bloody trail."

One of the playtesters of The Phantom Pain stated that after recruiting Quiet and getting her to a level that she's accepted among Mother Base, they found her sunbathing on one of the decks.

In the first E3 2015 trailer for The Phantom Pain, Venom Snake and Quiet are shown being attacked, presumably by the Parasite Unit, leading to their helicopter crashing, rendering Quiet unconscious, and Snake has to carry her away from the fight. In the second E3 2015 trailer, Quiet and Snake are briefly shown sparring at Mother Base with a knife. It is also shown that she can hold her own against Snake in melee combat. Finally, it is shown that she has a positive relationship with Snake, as she lit a cigar by shooting it with her rifle on his birthday. Snake shows his approval for her assistance.

Both the game and the official artbook translate Quiet's name into Russian as "Тихий", which is written in English as "Tixij" when Ocelot talks to Venom Snake about her. (a more accurate transliteration is Tihiy) The Russian language localization of the game names her "Тихоня" (transliterated as "Tihonya"), which means "quiet person" and is the feminine form of the word rather than what is literally the Russian word for "quiet" in its masculine conjugation.

According to Kojima's notes in the Piggyback Collector's Edition Guide's art gallery, Quiet's role is that of a strong and impressive character that is nonetheless defined by her failure: Specifically, how she failed to kill Venom Snake twice, with the player being prompted to ponder the implications of this, namely her emotional state and what she wished to accomplish, and whether her motives were truly vengeful in nature. He also explains that the black marks around her eyes portray her inner emotions, particularly her combat vigilance, and inferred that Code Talker has similar marks that appear and signify his emotional state.

There was a severe glitch in the game where, if Quiet was used for Missions 29 and 42, it would cause the game to crash and potentially corrupt the save data. Konami issued a warning to players that they shouldn't use her in those missions until a solution could be offered. A downloadable patch was later included into the game on September 13/14 that fixed the issue.

Gameplay
Defeating Quiet can be a bit of a challenge. If she moves, the marker disappears. But her movements does leave a trail of dirt movement if the player keeps an eye out for that, they can find her easily. She can also be easily beaten if the player marks her and does a supply drop directly on her.

Quiet can be acquired as a buddy after completing Mission 14 "Lingua Franca" and then completing a side mission given by Ocelot after a certain amount of time has elapsed. Upon visiting Quiet in her cell, after receiving the call from Ocelot, Ocelot will inform the player of Quiet's unique physiology and the abilities and disabilities that it entails. Afterwards he will also inform the player that her presence on base is affecting morale and suggests you take her on missions to distance her from Mother Base soldiers. Quiet can then be selected as a buddy in mission prep.

Depending on her approval rating, Quiet's reaction to the player in Mother Base can range from defiant and cold (at the lowest levels) to affectionate and friendly (at the highest). Quiet has 2 main abilities, 'Scout' and 'Attack'. As her approval rating goes up, more commands will be unlocked such as "Cover me", which will have her attack all enemies to allow Venom Snake to sneak up or through enemies and "Cease cover" which will cause her to stop shooting. Equipping her with the Guilty Butterfly, which fires tranquilizer rounds, makes it ideal to recruit soldiers as the player just has to hide and let Quiet take them out. The Guilty Butterfly however, is not powerful enough to penetrate a helmet. This can lead to the soldier being shot at to alert all nearby personnel. Higher ratings will also mean outfits and sniper rifles can be unlocked.

Scout will have Quiet go and recon a location the player has designated and locations of people and military equipment will be marked as she finds them. Once she has completed scouting Quiet will automatically enter attack mode. In attack mode, she will move to a designated vantage point and her green laser will become visible, either pointed at the player or a target in the center of the player's field-of-view (If the player is not visible from Quiet's vantage point she will target a random enemy). When commanded, Quiet will shoot any enemy the player designates (via focusing the camera on them and selecting "Kill Target" in the command menu).

Additionally, Quiet will shoot anyone she sees who spots the player. This can make recruiting somewhat troublesome because even if the player manages to grab the target, she can still shoot them in the head if they weren't fast enough, unless the Guilty Butterfly is used. When equipped with the Sinful Butterfly sniper rifle, Quiet can snipe enemy helicopter pilots destroying it instantly. The rifle is so strong, it can penetrate helmets and armor.

Her departure can be prevented, if players use the Butterfly Emblem, preventing the mission from starting. It does not bring her back after the mission is completed. The player can also choose to kill Quiet after the sniper duel instead of recruiting her.

What happened to Quiet after she disappeared into the desert is not revealed. She remains listed as MIA on the Mother Base development menu. If this has already happened, the player can just copy the save data to an external drive, delete it and start over to play the full game with Quiet as long as they remember to quiet the butterfly emblem.

Outfits
Quiet's default outfit is called Naked, but as the player's bond with her increases, they can develop other outfits for her. The outfits the player can develop for her are: Naked (Blood), Naked (Silver Q), Naked (Gold Q) and XOF Uniform. An alternate uniform called Sniper Wolf can be developed after Mission 40 has been completed.

Videos
Character making of Quiet

Location of Quiet on Mother Base in TPP