Metal Gear Solid fans are showing off their bionic arms in weird Instagram posts

Here’s a rule of thumb you can pretty consistently follow: if you give a very excited gamer a piece of merchandise, they’re going to post pictures with it.

A couple of days ago Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain was released. It’s part of a series of games created in 1987 by auteur Hideo Kojima. The series is known for a few things, including very long games and a very devoted fan base. So devoted that Kojima took to Twitter today to remind fans to take breaks from playing:

Recounting the story of the games here would take a loooooooong time, so suffice it to say that you take control of Snake, a special forces operative with far too many aliases, and go on some very involved missions.

There’s one thing you do need to know, though: in this new game, Snake has a bionic arm (hence the name The Phantom Pain), which is featured heavily in the game and its promotional materials.

https://instagram.com/p/7I0B2QrRpX/

Because it’s standard operating procedure to release a collector’s edition of games now, there’s also a collector’s edition of this new Metal Gear Solid. And because Kojima and his publisher, Konami, are pretty good at marketing, the collector’s edition includes a “Half Scale Replica of Snake’s Bionic Arm.” The collectors edition costs $99.99.

This matters only because it means we get to see what fans have decided to do with their replica arms. On Instagram, they’re being very obliging. Some are just using it to show off their new game:

https://instagram.com/p/7JfGCrpRkw/

Some are getting a little more creative with how they do that.

https://instagram.com/p/7IsXebqU5n/

At least one fan is recreating images from the game.

While another is exploring a nesting doll-type situation.

https://instagram.com/p/7LI6lrrPqg/

And a couple want you to know that, don’t worry, they’re also into Pokémon.

Maybe even sadistically into Pokémon.

https://instagram.com/p/7K9gYKHOst/

Someone is using the arm to hold…a sword? A long x-acto knife? A mystery object?

While someone else is posing the arm with a Playstation 4 controller.

But nobody said that was original.

According to law, someone had to involve an energy drink.

And any other object someone feels like wrapping cold, plastic fingers around.

But the prize for “Best Use of a Hundred Dollar Metal Gear Solid Toy in an Instagram Post” as decided solely by me, goes to this image:

That said, someone should probably check on that dog.

Ethan Chiel is a reporter for Fusion, writing mostly about the internet and technology. You can (and should) email him at [email protected]