Laughing Octopus

Laughing Octopus was the stealth expert of the Beauty and the Beast Unit. She, along with the other members, suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Early Years
Laughing Octopus was born in a small seaside Scandinavian town known as the Devil's Village. It was there where octopus was eaten customarily. However, there was an anonymous cult that hated the village for this. During Octopus' teenage years, the cult was able to gain access to heavy weaponry, and they struck the village with a deadly overnight assault. Soon enough, the village became a war zone, ending with the cult gathering all of the surviving villagers and executing them one by one, all but Octopus. Instead, they referred to her as the Devil's Child, and forced her to torture her family and friends and then kill them herself, all the while making her laugh hysterically. Fearing death, she did so, killing her entire family. Eventually, the blood staining her skin turned from red to black, resembling the octopus ink which they loved so.

The event left her emotionally scarred, laughing while killing her victims. Eventually, she was recruited into the Beauty and the Beast Unit, soon becoming Laughing Octopus. She apparently was informed by Liquid Ocelot that by killing Solid Snake she would be cleansed of her pain and sorrow. She was fitted with an Octocamo suit developed by DARPA and a tentacle-barren helmet, which she could use to carry herself as well as attack.

Laughing Octopus was first seen in the Middle East, along with the rest of the Beauty and the Beast Unit, attacking local rebels. She displayed her impressive camouflage abilities by hiding in the shadows before striking with her deadly tentacles, killing several soldiers before being called away by Screaming Mantis.

She later was stationed in South America, leading the French PMC, Pieuvre Armement, to attack the South American rebel forces. Arriving at Liquid's safe house, she and Vamp secure the area and capture several rebels and government forces. She kills all of the rebels except for one, at Vamp's request. Changing her face to match that of Snake's, she tells the survivor that Snake was the one that killed all of his comrades, which would cause the local regime to hunt him down. Using her tentacles to grab the armored van, she left with Vamp.

Laughing Octopus was then stationed at the research lab where Naomi Hunter was being held. Snake eventually reached the lab and made contact with Naomi, but she was quickly escorted off of the premises by Pieuvre Armement troops and the lab was rushed by FROGS, commanded by Octopus. After Snake eliminated the FROGS, Octopus entered the lab herself, formally introducing herself to Snake before attacking him.

Laughing Beauty
Despite her impressive camouflaging and ambush techniques, Snake was able to defeat Octopus. Once defeated, her octopus helmet and face mask fell off, and Octopus fell to the ground. She remarked that she is an octopus, and the octopus' tentacles are beyond her control. Octopus then keeled over and began to spew what looked like octopus ink from her mouth onto the floor, all while laughing hysterically. Suddenly, Octopus seemed to come to her senses and came to terms with her PTSD, saying that she should have never laughed, and that in reality she was scared of the things she was laughing at. Snake subdued her and she fell to the floor, assuming the fetal position and finally bringing her to peace with herself and allowing her to silence the laughter.

Abilities
Laughing Octopus had a wide arsenal of equipment at her disposal, which, combined with her formidable agility and strength, could be used to devastating potency. The most prominent and distinguishing of these tools was a large, metallic harness strapped to her head, equipped with four robotic arms that can be manipulated to Octopus' will. This technology was apparently derived from that of Solidus Snake's, procured by Vamp and re-designed especially for her. These 'tentacles' were incredibly strong and durable, able to withstand prolonged gunfire and constrict enemies to death. They could also be used to traverse long distances very quickly and could scale walls and ceilings with little hindrance, making Laughing Octopus a difficult target to hit. Finally, Octopus could send an electrical charge through the arms to shock victims to death, as well as being able to spray clouds of ink from the headset for use as a smokescreen.

Laughing Octopus was as much a master of disguise as her FOXHOUND counterpart Decoy Octopus was, relying on stealth tactics and the element of surprise to quickly dispatch opponents. Using an advanced form of Octocamo, she was able to render herself almost invisible to the naked eye by blending into her surroundings. It is worthy to note that these disguises were not limited to just color and texture. Laughing Octopus' Octocamo was also able mimic shapes; as evidenced when she took the form of the Metal Gear Mk. II, a fallen Haven Trooper, or Naomi in her battle with Snake, in an effort to draw him out into the open.

Apart from this equipment, Laughing Octopus wielded a P90, identical to the ones used by the FROGs, and miniature heat-seeking bombs which could adhere to any surface.

Behind the Scenes

 * Laughing Octopus holds the distinction of being the first Metal Gear Solid character to use the word "fuck" in the English version of the series. However, in the Japanese version of the series it was first used by EVA, who says "Fuck you" in English to Volgin.  This was changed to "Go to hell" during localization.
 * Laughing Octopus' Beauty form is based off of Northern European model, Lyndall Jarvis.
 * Her FaceCamo is unlocked after defeating her "Beauty" form by non-lethal means.