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cienie-isengardu · 6 months

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Tomas & Liu Kang

I’m trying to put things into right perspective about Smoke, Liu Kang’s approach to Tomas and how pushed into background he was during story mode so bear with me while I’m connecting dots.

Also, to be clear, I’m not here to morally judge the characters, just to talk about the dissonance between Smoke vs Liu Kang intro dialogues and the story mode.

For one, the pre-fight dialogues imply that Tomas lost his family due to Liu Kang (Keeper of Time)’s choice:

Smoke: "Did you intend for me to be orphaned?" Liu Kang: "Some threads must be cut to weave time’s fabric."

and

Smoke: "I'm not sure I can forgive you." Liu Kang: "Being Keeper of Time meant making many hard choices."

When Tomas was orphaned, Kuai Liang & Bi-Han’s father adopted him and made one of Lin Kuei. If the accusation is true, then we can assume Liu Kang wanted Tomas to join Lin Kuei, as he did in the past timeline(s). So, in theory, Smoke for whatever reason was important enough for the Keeper of Time to get involved and steer events to get the wanted result.

Which raises a question, why did Liu Kang not bother to recruit Tomas into Lin Kuei the same way he recruited Kung Lao, Raiden, Johnny Cage or Kenshi, by like, actually talking to him and taking for training? Or even why not just ask the befriended Grandmaster to take the boy (and Tomas' family) under his wings, which I think the man would do without further question.

Instead, Smoke was orphaned, taken in by Lin Kuei, adopted as son of Grandmaster and trained in magic to equalize his chances in the fight (in contrast, Bi-Han’s ice powers seems to be a natural part of him, related to specific bloodline).

Now, if Tomas was so important, if not in the greater scheme of things, then just for Liu Kang (and Kuai Liang), isn’t it weird, he is so sidelined and omitted by Fire Lord in the story mode?

Again, not judging characters, solely pointing out this choice of storyline, as this is especially visible during collecting the champions for the tournament arc.

In Chapter One, when the test was over and Liu Kang came to Kung Lao and Raiden to explain things, he specifically called only Bi-Han (the current Grandmaster) and Kuai Liang (Bi-Han’s blood-brother)

while Tomas was totally omitted and stayed behind with the rest unnamed Lin Kuei warriors.

Which, visually speaking, is weird, as just before that scene we could see Smoke walking alongside his adoptive brothers (with Bi-Han leading the group, Tomas and Kuai Liang walking a bit behind their leader, but before the unnamed warriors);

In the next chapter, again, only Bi-Han and Kuai Liang assisted Fire Lord in his quest to recruit Johnny Cage and Kenshi. Again, both Lin Kuei were addressed by their birth names, instead of codenames

while there is no information why Tomas was left behind. He likely was entrusted with escorting Kung Lao and Raiden to Shaolin Monks, yet the lack of proper mention emphasizes the pushing into the background.

We didn't learn officially Smoke's status as adopted brother of Kuai Liang and Bi-Han until Sub-Zero's chapter (#8). Unless I miss something, the first person on screen to actually address Smoke by his birth name was surprisingly Bi-Han.

Which makes even weirder the lack of including of Tomas from Liu Kang, as the Fire Lord and Smoke stayed allies through the story mode and intro dialogues (with some resentment on Tomas' side for death of his family) while the relationship between Bi-Han and Tomas was much more complicated to begin with.

We could make an argument that Liu Kang didn't want to antagonize Bi-Han by including adopted Tomas too much, however:

A) Bi-Han has never denied Tomas right to consider himself one of Grandmaster's sons - seen especially in Sub-Zero's speech pattern, as Sub-Zero always says just "Father", the same as Tomas and Kuai Liang, never putting emphasis on "my" as a reminder Smoke is adopted. The real conflict is not about whether Tomas is his and Kuai Liang's brother or not, but about him being a true Lin Kuei. What is also worth to keep in mind, any tension between brothers happened only in privacy (here and during the mission), never around Liu Kang.

(A similar thing can be noticed in intro dialogues. In Smoke vs Sub-Zero, Bi-Han specifically says "Because your blood is not Lin Kuei" however in Liu Kang vs Sub-Zero, when Fire Lord claims brothers (plural version!) miss him, Bi-Han doesn't correct his opponent about Tomas not being one. He instead says "Then they shouldn't have disobeyed my commands.")

B) Liu Kang did not show Bi-Han any special respect, especially not the kind of respect and friendship offered to Sindel and her husband, Jerrod. And yes, Fire Lord mentioned Bi-Han before Kuai Liang, and addressed him during the meeting before the mission (while the Sub-Zero's younger brothers - subordinates - stood together in silence)

but that basically it? Bi-Han didn't seem to be favored in any special way, I don't think he even was addressed as Grandmaster by Fire Lord at any moment in story mode.

Which is why I personally don't see why Liu Kang would omit Tomas solely to not hurt Bi-Han's ego or to not antagonize the man further - especially since Bi-Han himself didn't push the matter in any specific - openly - way nor didn't deny Tomas the right to consider himself one of Grandmaster's sons in the first place.

Frankly, as we don't see how Lin Kuei were informed about the upcoming meeting, we should ask, did Liu Kang call Bi-Han and specifically Smoke and Scorpion for the mission, or was that choice made solely by Sub-Zero? Because Lin Kuei for sure must have much more experienced warriors that Tomas (and Kuai Liang for that matter) but also sending on dangerous mission the Grandmaster AND the second* in line of succession seems impractical from the perspective of clan' inner safety.

*second and third, if Tomas was allowed at all to be the heir. Considering how neither Smoke nor Scorpion even for a moment considered that option and how Sektor & Cyrax would choose Bi-Han's corruption of the clan before accepting Kuai Liang as a new leader, the inner clan politics may not be so simple.

During the Lin Kuei mission (Sub-Zero's Band of Brothers Chapter) and during Bi-Han's betrayal (Scorpion's Civil War Chapter), the three brothers didn't address each other by codenames and as much as the situation allowed, freely interacted with each other.

However once Bi-Han is removed from the story mode, Smoke is even more pushed into the background. When asked, he will answer and make some (one?) observation however he barely interacted with other characters, mainly sticking to his brother. The most important exception is the scene when the heroes were wondering what to do after the big revelation and Tomas on his own talked about Lin Kuei and Bi-Han.

The story mode at that time was focused on other characters (like Mileena & Shang Tsung) so understandably, Lin Kuei brothers were put aside however even then Scorpion played a vital part, as it was Kuai Liang making the plan of attack, when Liu Kang wasn't around, while Tomas for most part was just there.

Again, no moral judging of characters just a mere observation how Tomas interacted the most freely with his brothers while was omitted by Liu Kang - and like, never(?) addressed by him in story mode, either by name or codename, even if the intro dialogues strongly imply Liu Kang was the one pushing Tomas into Lin Kuei in the first place.

Which makes an interesting contrast to Bi-Han & Smoke’s relationship but also shows how without intro dialogues, the relationship between Tomas and Liu Kang seems… non existing? I mean, even at the end of story mode, Liu Kang mentions Bi-Han

and his brother Kuai Liang building a new clan,

yet there is literally no mention of Tomas and his participation in the creation of Shirai Ryu and training its members (something confirmed in Scorpion and Smoke's endings).

Which only add to the weird feeling of alienating Tomas in story mode, not by Bi-Han but Liu Kang of all possible people?

#mortal kombat #tomas vrbada #smoke #bi han #sub zero #liu kang #tomas vrbada & bi han #i'm still trying to figure out how i feel about liu kang and tomas relationship and how smoke was always omitted by fire lord #and like not addressed at all?#tomas aided him during fight against titan shang tsung then helped kuai liang to make a new clan and train new members #but at the end of story mode liu kang still talked only about bi han and his (blood) brother kuai liang?#c'mon man #tomas deserves some praise here too #and this is all even more ironic #as majority of fandom seems to think bi han hates tomas' guts for being adopted kid?? when he included him in his task for liu kang #and actually address his brother in the same fashion he talks to kuai liang (granted he is frustrated by both and the never ending talk #about father and traditions so he is short tempered toward both brothers)#but like story mode wise we can say tomas and bi han has some serious relationship going on #when liu kang alone doesn't include tomas in any specific way even though intro dialogues imply he wanted tomas to be lin kuei?#what i'm supposed to think? that liu kang did not know that tomas was adopted by lin kuei grandmaster that worked specifically for him #like everyone in lin kuei did for generations??#i'm pretty confused by this story's choices sometimes

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murdermitties · 11 months

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Listening to neofolk really makes me wish warriors was a well written horror series about cats and religious beliefs, murder and mysteries that have you fearing for these cats lives, that has you guessing along with the POV on who you can trust and who's out to silence them.

Would love endlessly for these cats to live in delusion of their "gods" and "ancestors" being these almost all powerful beings in death, when in reality they don't exist.

And each leader goes to get their nine lives have to realise it's all a lie and if they want to stay in power they'll have to lie through their teeth to their clans, they'll have to sacrifice cats left and right to keep themselves from being hurt and exposing that they never got extra lives.

Because the cats wouldn't think "oh starclan isn't real" because of their ingrained beliefs, their first thought would be "starclan rejected your leadership, out with you."

I want starclan to be fake but the dark forest real, the good hot to rest forevermore but the bad live on to suffer for eternity.

You're own hatred or spite is what keeps you suffering, which is why cats who truly feel like they're not in the wrong (for example Ashfur) joins "Starclan" and get to rest even though they were awful in life.

Murder plots and possessions done in a way that actually makes you think or suspect the wrong person.

Struggles of strangers joining and either conforming to the clan's beliefs or questioning every turn, if they ask the wrong questions they disappear.

If they ask the right questions to the right cats, could they make the clans see? Could they make them question their own lives? Would it make life better or would it lead to death?

I want the clans to be the cults that they are, but more!

#kat murmur #listening to my favourite music does things for my imagination #god I love fucked up horror based around morality and mortality #gods and religious horror and mysteries and fuckery #love love love that shit so much #shoutout to American murder song for always giving me brainrot like no other #hozier to an extent makes the list too #kiki Rockwell got some good shit too #but the amazing devil and American murder song own me #wc #warrior cats

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genesiswrld · 4 months

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Giggling and Kicking my feet rn…🤭☺️ Had another dream about Liu Kang

I’m gonna throw up! I love him so much🥺😭

#this is like the third time…in a row😳#might love him a bit too much atp😭#he’s literally living in my head rent free #always thinking about him even in my sleep #me things #liu kang #mortal kombat #mk1 #mortal kombat 1

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shinshoyu · 3 months

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sick & tired of the cook johnny slander on my dash that man can make a risotto

#he'd call it a mean risotto too #this man can cook!!!!#he wasnt always a rich famous douchbag guys he got A PHD #he came from NOTHING ofc he knows how to COOK #maybe im just passionate abt cooking idk #johnny cage #mortal kombat johnny cage #mortal kombat #mortal kombat 1 #mk1

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synonymroll648 · 4 months

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headcanon that as sophie ages, she gets more and more off-put by how she still looks twenty at some age past 40. the only wrinkles she has are smile lines and a barely-there crease between her eyebrows that never leaves. no gray hairs. it doesn’t feel like there’s any physical evidence of how much stress aged her too fast.

(maybe she dyes more grays into her hair to feel better about her reflection, the more time passes by. maybe, on bad days, she contours wrinkles into her skin with makeup. maybe the bad days get more frequent as she ages outside the human lifespan. maybe.)

#i feel like fitz and dex are the only friends of hers that really get it #since fitz understands more surrounding human cultures than most elves thanks to his firsthand experience in the search #and dex grew up with his mom’s romcoms #which would probably show some human perspectives on aging #and his mom explaining some things that didn’t quite make sense to Smol Dex #but i’ve always imagined sophie turning up on fitz’s doorstep in the middle of the night #with tears running down her face and saying she didn’t know who else to talk to about almost-immortality feeling so so so wrong as she #gets older. not necessarily just because he knows more about humanity than most of her group #but also because like. there’s some part of her that says ‘if he can help you through learning to be an elf at 12 maybe he can help you at #42 too’. and they’re cognates. and they’ve gotten old enough to set aside teenage grievances with one another #and i like the idea of them sitting on a couch together by lamplight and trying to navigate the cultural and personal differences #in how the two of them and humanity and the lost cities view mortality #and not really reaching a concrete conclusion. but rather. a conclusion that keeps the two of them sane until they reach triple digits.#and then they have the conversation again. and come up with a plan to stay sane in their triple digits. and the same thing pops up in their #thousands. idk man the whole thing screams trust down to the bone and that’s what they should have when the war is over #is there anything more Cognate than talking through wildly different fears surrounding the same thing that make both parties #super vulnerable??? down to how your minds work in the face - or lack of - death?#maybe so but i can’t think of them off top of my head #kotlc #sophie foster #kotlc headcanons #keeper of the lost cities

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margareturtle · 4 months

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*do you get deja vú*

#was rereading city of ashes #and was like HOLD UP #WHISPER #kitxty’s word #THIS SCENE MAKES ME AHHHHH #I CRY AS ALWAYS #WHISPER IS A JACE WORD TOO #HMMM #COINCIDENCE??#the wicked powers #kit herondale #tsc #the dark artifices #ty blackthorn #kit x ty #the shadowhunter chronicles #the mortal instruments #ash morgenstern #dru blackthorn

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everythingwasalreadypicked · 9 months

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Pushing my Chris Rodriguez has a fascination with monsters agenda (not like the thing between Luke and Kelli tho) and yes this is all based on that one line of his in Sea of Monsters.

Chris Rodriguez who adores animals, who has a fascination with monsters. Who kept trying to befriend the sentient ones. Who has a scrapbook he filled with all the things he learnt about them. Who knows the best way to end conflicts with them without getting eating or fighting, knows the regular wingspan Stymphalian birds, food preferences of empousai, the exact PH of various dragons acids and how their reactions. Who regularly went into Princess Andromeda's cargo hold to sketch the monsters and spent hours there. Who gifts spare scales, feathers and tusks he finds to Ethan and Alabaster.

Alabaster doodling runes on his scrapbook. Ethan adding in information about poisons. Chris keeping the photos of his friends in the same book. Even after Ethan dies. Even after for all he knows Alabaster hates him. Because he may have left the Titan army. Doesn’t mean his memories did too.

#he has that book always on his nightstand ok #he took it with him to the labyrinth #he misses his friends #he adores Mrs. O’Leary too #in mortal aus he would be a veterinarian probably #pjo #chris rodriguez #alabaster torrington #ethan nakamura #yes they are friends #(nm that ethan joined the ta after chris left)#pjo headcanon #the titan army #titan army

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wishingly-mesh · 6 months

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Figuring out how to draw this guy! Ignore the ugly looking heads on the side :3

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littledreamling · 2 years

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Headcanon: Dream “nods off” more than he’d like to admit, especially after he and Hob start seeing each other more. Usually it’s just a split second shift; one moment he’s on the couch next to Hob, watching a cheesy movie, one that he missed during his imprisonment; and then there’s a fraction of a second where Hob is SURE that he’s on the couch alone, but then Dream is back and solid and tangible right next to him. But for that split-second, Dream lost his grip on the Waking, slipping seamlessly back to his own Realm in much the same way that a mortal would slip effortlessly into the Dreaming

And of course Hob teases him for it, because Hob has perfected the art of bantering with his Endless friend, but Dream has never spent this much time (voluntarily) in the Waking, so he’s not used to having to focus on staying present, he’s never needed to for such long periods of time before and when Hob realizes this, he immediately starts apologizing because they could always have their dates in the Dreaming but Dream puts the conversation to bed (pun fully intended) with a soft “Hob Gadling, I want to be in the Waking, here, with you” and Hob never mentions it again (partially because the instances happen less and less frequently, partially because thinking about Dream making the effort to be there with him makes him unreasonably soft every single time)

#I need soft Dreamling #I need Dream putting effort into their relationship and reassuring Hob that he WANTS to be there with him #I need Hob understanding that Dream’s effort isn’t always easy for him #some things are far easier for a mortal than for an Endless #love is one of them #staying for extended periods of time outside of their realms is one of them too #but Dream does both for Hob #and I need Hob to appreciate that effort #to see it for what it is - Dream making up for his past mistakes - and to acknowledge Dream’s efforts #dream of the endless #morpheus #the sandman #sandman netflix #hob gadling #dreamling

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