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partycatty · 4 months

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Omg youre feeding me!!!! I've been obsessed with Johnny Cage too and your blog is like an oasis, THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!! Also... would you mind writting some fluff/angst of johnny cage and reader? Like you trained with him in the wu shi academy and he always treated you like, a bit colder and distant than the way he treats the other 3 earthrealm champions. But thats atually not because he hates you but he likes you??? And he doesnt know how to express himself so he prefers to stay away, part because the reader is an amazing sorcerer under and is very battle-smart. But also the reader being like EXTREMELY SHY and introverted but very kind and reliable to the point that like all the guys from the earthrealm gangs make excuses just to spend time with the reader because they like them that much...

I'M SORRY THIS IS SO LONG IM SORRYYYYYYYYYYY I WAS CARRIED AWAY I LOVE YOU AND YOUR BLOG BUT NOT AS MUCH AS I LOVE JOHNNY CAGE BYEE SORRYYYY AGAIN

NO YOURE SO FINE DONT APOLOGIZE MWAH THANK YOU

johnny cage > envy

johnny can't find the words to describe how he feels around the new recruit, so he decides to say... nothing.

warnings: sad :(, ooc johnny? idk he's insecure

notes: reader is an outworld native sorcerer that lives in earthrealm. also, pretend that outworld natives can fight for earthrealm in the tournament LOL

masterlist <3

• you owed liu kang a favor after prior personal matters, so here he was asking for your strength at the wu shi academy. of course, you agreed. you may be an outworld native, but earthrealm was something to truly fight for. you considered yourself a lesser protector, one call away from fighting if necessary.

• you were highly respected in the field. liu kang knew that your powers were unmatched, probably matching titan shang tsung, and you still chose the good side. liu kang silently thanks himself and fate for keeping you on the side of justice. the lin kuei brothers also know you're on their side. as a secondary protector, you were acutely familiar with their styles and dynamics. in short, you were exactly what earthrealm needed.

• you didn't necessarily need training, but considering you were a contender for the title of champion, it was only smart to hone your skills.

• the boys warmed up to you very quickly; any friend of liu kang is a friend of theirs! kung lao had endless questions that easily flustered you, raiden found your sparring inspiring, and kenshi enjoyed your late night deep chats. the only one missing from the adoration was... johnny cage.

•it was... strange. you'd seen his movies, his public appearances. he was always a smiling, flirting ball of charm. you wondered if perhaps his recent divorce and failure in films contributed to his sour mood.

• but even so, he was still a charming devil around the others! references up the wazoo, loads of banter and he always had something to add to a conversation. it's just that, when you'd contribute something, his smile would fade while others laughed.

• it started with a king of the hill sparring to gauge everyone's skills at first. liu kang said the champion at the end of training would be selected the same way.

• "(reader), you are first," liu kang gestures to you with a smile. "please step forward."

• "cull the weak first," johnny smugly chimes in, hands on his hips. his smirk faded when liu kang said he would be first up as well. you, thankfully, were humble amidst your shyness. even so, you could kick major ass. johnny was knocked to the ground in only a few seconds.

• words were... hard for you. so instead, you extended a hand to johnny who was laying on his back against the cold stone. you smiled warmly and nodded, silently congratulating his efforts and genuinely enjoying the fight. sitting up, johnny let out a deep sigh with furrowed brows, and sat up on his own. he completely rejected your kindness, and for what? even the monks were taken aback by this.

• and again, since that day, johnny's just been incredibly cold toward you. spars after that day were increasingly more challenging. johnny's punches felt more... targeted. his anger was coming out in bursts, and it wasn't healthy. he gets borderline childish when he loses.

• "this can't be fair! you've got magic at your fingertips," he'd groan as he's knocked on his ass for the thousandth time. his skin was bruising from the repeated blows, and you weren't even being rough. "i've just got... fists. can you turn it off for one goddamn round?"

• "this... could be a learning experience?" you ask sheepishly, standing - one again - over johnny.

• "just forget it," he grumbles before walking off, rolling his shoulder. "showoff."

• completely stumped for an explanation, you ended up confiding in the man you grew closest to since beginning training: raiden. he was similar to you in many ways. shy, sweet, and endlessly humble. too humble, actually, to the point of not fully understanding your own strength. in a way, he reminded you of liu kang.

• "i don't understand, raiden. was it something i said? perhaps i'm not as aware of earthrealm culture as i thought i was?" you ask, perplexed.

• "have you considering asking him about it?" raiden replies with a frown. "he seems fine with the rest of us. it's only you he shows hesitation toward."

• he's right. you didn't once consider to actually... ask him. it just sounded like such a foreign concept, to confront someone. the thought made your skin crawl, but you were far more unsettled with johnny's behavior. you had to know.

• so, at the next meal time, you make it a clear effort to sit beside johnny, blocking him off from the rest of the guys. raiden gave you a shy thumbs up before you turned to face the star.

• "mr. cage," you spoke quietly so as to not disturb the others.

• "johnny," he coldly corrects you, eyes fixated on his plate.

• "johnny..." you're already flustered, but you try to swallow it deep down to keep control of the situation. "i'd... i'd like to talk with you, if that's alright."

• johnny's eyes lift to meet yours, but he seems upset. he leans forward to view the other boys and shakes his head.

• "no," he mumbles. "later. after training."

• the conversation stops dead in its tracks as johnny abruptly stands and relocates himself to the other side of the table. you're left dumbfounded as how blunt he is. raiden locks eyes with you again and just shrugs.

• training passes by slower than usual, probably because you're anticipating the conversation. that, and johnny won't stop staring at you every chance he gets. even across the training grounds, you find him staring with a completely blank face. he's cooking something up in his head, you just know it. lord knows what it'd be, though.

• night falls, and you weren't sure where or when to find johnny. as you shrug off the heavy robe and leave yourself in your skin-tight underclothes, you hear a gentle knock in the doorway.

• you spin around, face immediately flushed at the idea of being seen. instinctively, you launched a ball of energy toward the figure, but he dodged just in time.

• "good lord—!" johnny shouts out, slapping a hand on the top of his head to make sure his hair wasn't fried off. "remind me not to sneak up on you."

• "what are you doing in my room?" you ask, blushing deeply as you hug yourself to hide your curves. johnny scoffs and puts his arms up in disbelief, like you're dumb for asking.

• "you're the one that wanted to talk to me," he points in an accusatory way. once your shock wears off, you plop down on your cot with an embarrassed frown. he steps closer, standing above you. it wasn't until now that you realize his physique is incredibly intimidating. and kindaaaaa......

• you tense up, realizing your thoughts are wandering when he's literally right in front of you.

• "well come on. i haven't got all day, fancy pants," johnny jabs at your powers with a sour tone. something about his attitude makes your shyness completely vanish for a moment.

• "why do you speak to me like that?" you inquire bluntly, starting to raise your voice. "i don't understand. was it something i did? said? you've been nothing but cruel to me since i arrived. we're on the same side, johnny. help me understand why you hate me."

• johnny freezes completely, his eyes widening. his once crossed arms tense up before falling to his sides. he lets out a deep sigh.

• "i don't... hate you."

• "so you heavily dislike me."

• "no."

• "then what is it?!"

• "i-i don't know!"

• johnny rakes his fingers through his hair with a frustrated groan.

• "it's like... i want to hate you. i want to hate you so bad, (reader). but i can't. you're just so smart and perfect and... and wildly attractive... but a part of me wants to just—" he holds his hands out in a strangling motion as he rambles. when the thought finally clicks in his head, he sits on the ground, up against the wall opposite you. "i want to hate you because you're everything i could never be. you've got all these fancy powers. the guys love you. i'm just some washed up, divorced, broke—"

• you stand up and make your way to him, crouching down in front of him. your cheeks feel warm at the subtle confession of attraction, but your primary focus at the moment was reassurance.

• "none of those things define you," you say calmly, putting a hand on his shoulder. "for what it's worth, i think you're an incredible fighter. you do your own stunts. you stand up for what you believe in. that is admirable. you're quite funny, too."

• he looks down at you with a weak smile. he seems internally defeated, but outwardly flattered.

• "you're too kind," he chuckles breathlessly, looking around. "god i... i'm sorry to fall apart like that. please don't tell anyone you witnessed that."

• "i won't," you promise, returning with laughter yourself. suddenly, your mind calls back to his confession, and a smile tugs hard at your lips. your face burns. "did you say i'm 'wildly attractive?'"

• "yes! god!" johnny is now giggling, waving his hands at you. "have you looked at yourself? drives me crazy just sittin' here with you!"

• you let out a whimper and cover your face, burning hot. you try to protest in a muffled tone, but johnny just grabs your hands and holds them in his. he smiles warmly, the first real smile he's given you.

• "you're hard to hate, you know. you're just so damn cute when you're flustered. it's so easy to rile you up, isn't it?"

• you wiggle, flustered. you can only yelp out his name as you wordlessly beg him to stop the teasing. tragically, you opened the flood gates. he wasn't afraid of you anymore.

#mortal kombat #mortal kombat x reader #johnny cage #mk1 #johnny cage x reader

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tisaolin · 4 months

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Can you write Liu kang x Princess! Reader (Kitana’s and Mileena’s younger sister) angst/no comfort.

It can be where the reader in the past timeline was so in-love with liu kang but he was in-love and with her sister kitana. And the reader had found out and was completely heartbroken, she felt like a fool for being sad about it knowing she never stood a chance, because her sister was beautiful and graceful. He would never love her but she was still in love with him, doing anything for his approval and his safety and that leading to her death. He only ever found out about her undying love when he turned into a god (maybe he did like her before kitana?)

And in the new timeline he made her have a peaceful life with her sisters and mother. The third princess of the outworld, being favoured by both her mother and sisters. When liu kang came to the outworld with Raidan, kung Lao, Johnny and kenshi. She seemed to spark something with raiden, just like liu kang and her in the past timeline, she made her appearance just like how her and liu kang met, making liu kang have a bittersweet feeling.

The rest is up to you. Also you can change it up a bit to make sense!

Theres another request like this too which idk if its from you but I still want to write it because it involves Liu Kang

Fyi: I DID NOT PROOFREAD THIS!!

Warnings: slight mentions of death!

Your sacrifice was not in vain. Liu Kang was of course, deeply saddened, but very appreciative. Kitana, however, was speechless, she couldn’t believe her dear sister was gone. When Liu Kang defeated Kronika, he promised to give you the life you deserved, Kitana informed him of your little crush and begged him to let her down easily in the new era in case she fell in love with him again.

In the new timeline, you remained a hopeless romantic, throwing yourself on Kitana’s bed, sparking a conversation. “Kitana, im ready to start dating.” Kitana stopped doing her makeup and turned to you, “Sister you are SO not ready. You’re on the kind, merciful side, people tend to take advantage of that.” You groan and roll over. Kitana, trying to lighten the mood, decides to talk about the tournament. “Hey the tournaments coming up, maybe Liu Kang with bring some cute champions.” “Maybe…”

Today is finally the day of the tournament, you stand alongside your sisters and greet the guest. You sat alongside sister and watched as earthrealms newest champion, Raiden fought. He’d won against Li Mei and Reiko so you were a bit nervous for outworlds victory, nonetheless, you still befriended him at the banquet.

“Im sorry YOU’RE 10,000 YEARS OLD?” Kitana shrugged with a sly smile “Talk about aging gracefully. So how old are you?” Raiden leans over to whisper in your ear, letting you know to just ignore Johnny. Liu Kang noticed you and Raiden hitting things off and that bittersweet feeling of Deja Vu came to him. It made him think of the time he first met you, he actually liked you, but was unsure if you liked him, so he opted out on pursuing Kitana.

This hurt you, but you were supportive of your sister, whatever made them happy made you happy, you still wanted to try for Liu Kang though, even considering becoming a buddhist if it meant he would give you a chance. When all failed, you gave up, you wanted them to be happy, even if that means dying.

#mortal kombat #mortal kombat x reader #liu kang x reader #liu kang #mk1 raiden #mk raiden #raiden x reader #mk1 kitana #kitana x reader #mk kitana #kitana #raiden #mk liu kang #mortalkombat mk1 #mk headcanons #mk1

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kenshiluvr · 6 months

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Omg YES a fellow Kenshi lover!! Could I get some Kenshi with a reader who has nightmares from their traumatic past? Gn or fem reader, maybe reader seeks him out one night for comfort and has a big ole crush on him?

AAAA I LOVE THISSS

nightmares

kenshi takahashi/reader

summary: you seek out your crush after a hard night’s sleep.

tags: nightmares, comfort, confessions, fluff, first kisses, kinda slow burn? idk, kenshi is kinda oblivious

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Raiden’s back slams against the ground, the man letting out a soft grunt. “Nice hit,” he compliments, getting up with your help. “Thanks.” You respond, but your eyes are elsewhere. Scanning the people around you, you search for him. Did he see you succeed? Is he impressed? Did he see that? Is all that you can think about as your eyes land on Kenshi. He gives a kind smile, and a nod. Your heart explodes just from seeing it, and you smile back.

“Dude, you’re like… head over heels for him.” Raiden teases. “I am not!” You argue, finally looking at your friend. “You are! You’re always looking at him when you do something, and you follow him around like a puppy! You love his approval.” He snickers, shaking his head with amusement. “Shut up..!” you hiss, “he might hear you.” Raiden laughs, shaking his head once more. “Right, right. Of course. Come on, i’m starving.” He claps you on the back, leading you off to finally get some lunch after an hours worth of training.

Within a few hours, your muscles ache with the amount of training you’ve done. These monks really know how to hit! You like it here. No one pulls punches just because you’re a girl, they all fight fair. Glancing up from your dinner, you see Kenshi. You’ve managed to snag the seat across from him, and you can’t tell if this was a good idea or not. On one hand, you get to sit with him- on the other, every time you look up your heart begins to race and you have to look down again before you completely shut down. You’ve never met anyone that made you feel like this… you’ve never felt so strongly for someone, and you would tell him, if it weren’t for your fear of the swordsman rejecting you.

“Are you alright?” Kenshi asks, and you almost choke on your water. “Yes,” you respond, nodding. “I’m fine.” Giving him a smile, you hope he doesn’t press on this. “Are you sure? You look a little flustered.” Kenshi notes, raising his brows. “Well- I’m a little warm… but i’m fine! It’s nothing to worry about.” You wave him off, laughing a little. The man across from you hums, examining you a little before accepting your answer and turning back to his dinner.

Days pass. Gruelling days of training. Raiden is finally selected as Earthrealm’s fighter, and potential champion. He’s nervous, as would anyone in his shoes. A lot is on his shoulders, and he knows this. With fortune, or luck, or both, he wins the first few fights. Sitting at dinner with Kitana, who has taken a liking to you, you have to listen to Johnny’s gushing of the woman next to you. Kitana brushes him off, laughing softly. “Say,” she turns to you. “What’s with you and the swordsman?” Kitana asks. “Ah- you mean Kenshi?” You respond, glancing to the man at the other table. He’s speaking with Liu Kang, glancing to Johnny every now and then. You wonder what they’re talking about…

“Yes. You seem very… attached to him.” Kitana notes, her eyes following yours and looking at the man himself. “Well- it’s nothing.” You fluster a little. We’re you attached to him..? no, that’s ridiculous… but maybe a little..? “I don’t think it’s nothing.” Kitana laughs. “You’re in love. Aren’t you?” She looks to you, raising a brow. “What?!” Your eyes widen, “no- no, i’m not!” You shake your head, denying her very true claims. Kitana laughs softly, her hand moving to rest on your shoulder. “It’s alright. There’s no need to deny it.” She assures you. “But, perhaps you should talk to him.” The princess suggests. “No- I cant… because if he doesn’t feel the same way, I’ll ruin everything!” You whisper to her. “But if he does?” Kitana asks, giving you a pointed look. “I can’t risk it.” You mutter after a beat of silence. “I can’t. I don’t want to lose him.”

“Look. You are a strong girl. A fine one. If he doesn’t reciprocate, that’s no one’s fault, but it will be his loss. Talk to him..!” she urges you, shaking your shoulder a little. “I can’t..!” you stress. “I can’t do that. If I were to confess, I could risk losing the one person I feel for. To stay silent… it hurts, yes, but I have him. I don’t want to lose that.” You explain. Kitana nods slightly, sighing. “I cannot pressure you to do this… but think about it.” She tells you, turning back to her dinner. You sigh, giving Kenshi a glance. He’s already looking at you. Blinking, you give him a kind smile, watching him smile back as your heart hammers in your chest. Looking down at your plate, you wait for your body to calm.

—

The tournament is done. Earthrealm’s champion has won, and Raiden feels like he can relax. Heading home, you’re back with on Earth. It’s night, and everyone had decided to celebrate the victory. In your room at the Wu Shi academy, you lay in bed. Your heart is racing, but for a different reason. Nightmares. They plague you, follow you around, taunting you. Getting up, you swing your legs over your bed and immediately leave your room. You feel like you’re suffocating, your throat constricting, tears in your eyes. In a moment of weakness, your legs carry you to his room. Kenshi’s most likely asleep… but you need this. You need him.

Knocking gently, you wait for an answer, your heart in your throat. The door clicks, then opens. Kenshi, looking confused, gives you a look over. “Are you… okay?” He asks softly, noting how distraught you look. “Can I come in- please..?” you beg. He sees your trembling hands, the tears on your lower lashes, and nods, stepping aside to let you in. Stepping into his room, you listen to him shut the door. “Are you alright? What’s wrong?” Kenshi asks softly, his inked hand resting on your lower back. “I- it’s stupid, but I had a nightmare.” You whisper. Kenshi’s eyes soften. “Sit down… do you want to talk about it?” He offers, sitting you on his bed and taking a seat beside you. “No…” you choke out, letting your body collapse to his chest. Kenshi doesn’t push you away, simply curling his strong arms around you, holding you close.

“Shh, shh… breathe.” He whispers, rubbing your back gently; letting you hyperventilate into his chest. You’re having a rough time… and he wasn’t heartless. “Deep breaths. In through your nose, hold it, then out through your mouth.” He murmurs, palm stroking circles on your back. You’re shaking, clinging to him. If you weren’t so upset, you’d be embarrassed…

Slowly, with his help, you soothe. Pulling away, your eyes avert his. “I- I’m sorry.” You murmur, but Kenshi hushes you immediately. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. You’re only human.” He tells you, touching your arm compassionately. Your heart is racing, but now for a very very different reason. “Can- can I stay with you?” You whisper, eyes meeting his. “Of course.” He nods, smiling kindly. “I’m here for you,” Kenshi assures you, rubbing your arm gently.

—

Every other night, you’re in Kenshi’s bed. Sometimes you manage without, but most nights now, you’re sleeping beside him. For some reason… he calms the nightmares, him just being beside you as you slept helps you dream of other things. You don’t know what kind of trick it is, but you’re so thankful for it.

Lay beside him, you’re facing Kenshi, not sleeping just yet. You’re simply watching him, that warm feeling in your stomach. Your heart isn’t beating as fast. You’re perfectly calm… and you smile. Kenshi opens his eyes, turning to you. “Sorry- I didn’t mean to stare.” You whisper to him. Kenshi simply chuckles. “It’s fine. Is there something you want to talk about?” He asks, wondering if you’d finally tell him of your nightmares. Thinking of Kitana’s words… you nod a little. “Yeah, actually… there is.” You murmur. Kenshi rolls to his side, facing you. “Talk to me.” He encourages, smiling kindly.

“Kenshi… it’s not about my nightmares. But it’s something that I really need to tell you,” you start, watching him nod understandingly. “I… the truth is- Kenshi, I love you. I… I know it seems strong- but… I- I do, and I can’t help it.” You whisper, immediately afraid he’s going to reject you with disgust and kick you out… but he doesn’t. “Hey…” he murmurs, hand moving to gently stroke your face. “Do you… really?” He asks, eyes kind and gentle. “Yes… I do. I- I really tried to suppress it at the start but- I can’t hide it anymore.” You mutter, tears welling up in your eyes. You’re terrified of losing him to your stupid feelings. “Hey- don’t cry… don’t cry, it’s okay.” Kenshi frowns, pulling you into a tight hug.

“I’m so sorry- I just- I can’t help how I feel for you. Please don’t hate me.” You beg, pressing your forehead to his shoulder. Kenshi frowns, speaking your name firmly to get your attention. “I don’t hate you.” He murmurs. “I could never hate you… I… I feel the same way. You’re special to me.” Kenshi whispers. “Really..? you… you love me, too?” You look up at him, eyes wide. Kenshi smiles, pressing a soft kiss to your lips. Your heart explodes, and you immediately kiss him back. Kenshi chuckles against your lips, shaking his head with amusement as he pulls away. “I should of said something sooner.” He murmurs. “But in truth, I… I was afraid too. I didn’t want to scare you off.” He smiles. Kenshi presses a soft kiss to the tip of your nose. “Will you… be mine?” He murmurs. Your heart swells. “I will. I will be yours.” You nod desperately, your forehead accidentally bumping against his. Kenshi laughs at your enthusiasm, rubbing your forehead a little. “Easy, tiger.” He teases, kissing you again. “Sorry.” You smile, accepting his soft pecks. “Don’t be. You’re the only person I’d let headbutt me.” He chuckles.

Kenshi’s arms wrap around you tight, letting you curl to his chest. “I love you,” he murmurs, feeling a weight lift from his chest as he finally says it to you. “I love you too.” You respond, unable to wipe that lovestruck grin off your face. Maybe having nightmares is a good thing, because without them, you wouldn’t be here, in the arms of the man you love.

#kenshi takahashi #kenshi takahashi x reader #kenshi takahashi x you #kenshi x reader #kenshi x you #mk1 2023 #mk1 x reader #| kenshiluvr

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penforthewin · 4 months

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Bi-Han's betrayal and character could have been set up better. Imagine if NRS threw in a short scene of Bi-Han asking/demanded for a Lin Kuei warrior (although he's clearly referring to himself), be chosen as a champion for Earthrealm. But Liu Kang just gives him a sympathetic smile and places his hand on Bi-Han's shoulder.

"The Lin Kuei best serves Earthrealm by protecting it. Although I do not doubt the capabilities of you and your clan, it is not your destiny to partake in the tournament."

Bi-Han scowls. The Lin Kuei are above servitude, and their Grandmaster will see that he they will gain the power and influence they deserve.

A moment like this earlier in the game would have set up Bi-Han's ambition and upcoming betrayal better than just having a bad attitude. It could have explained his hostility towards Kung Lao, Raiden, and Johnny Cage (he didn't really talk to Kenshi). Why were these nobodies getting a chance at glory? He's Sub-Zero for the Elder Gods' sake. If anyone could represent Earthrealm's might, it would be him and him alone.

I also have many thoughts about the scene with Bi-Han and Tomas. The look on Tomas' face was hurt, but also surprised. Bi-Han's frustrations were likely reaching a boiling point at that time, causing him to lash out. If I'm right, and Bi-Han's outright hostility towards Tomas in this scene was uncharacteristic, then that could have been better portrayed by showing that Kuai Liang was surprised too.

If this was a normal thing, the Kuai Liang we know and love would have called Bi-Han out.

Fandom jokes aside, I don't think Bi-Han hated Tomas. At most he probably saw him as an outsider and possibly an intruder on him and Kuai Liang's relationship. If he hated Tomas, his position as Grandmaster gave him plenty of chances to keep Tomas as far away as possible, maybe even exiling him altogether. Also, this scene. He made sure they were both okay before continuing with the mission.

When he spoke of his plans for the Lin Kuei, he addressed both of them, not just Kuai Liang.

Idk MK1 could have been so much better man.

Tldr: Netherrealm Studios need better writers.

#bi han #kuai liang #tomas vrbada #sub zero #mk1 scorpion #mk smoke #mk1 #mortal kombat 1 #time to lose followers

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restinslices · 4 months

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Could you do the Earthrealm champions being invited by GN!reader to dance with them in a video?

If you need song ideas for this request, I got you covered:

Bet y’all ain’t know I like K-pop. Expect the unexpected. My internet is being dumb asf and I cannot add gifs so you’re getting dumb pictures I found on Pinterest

Johnny Cage

“I’m a star sweetheart, I don’t have time for silly videos”

*Proceeds to dance with passion*

Johnny cannot take shit seriously so if you think he’d be too proud to do a little dance for a video, you’re smoking

He probably wears something way over the top for the video as if he’s actually performing for a crowd

I don’t think Johnny is a natural dancer but he makes do. He probably practices to make sure he doesn’t look stupid and you’ll have to record the video multiple times until he’s satisfied

“I don’t like that one or that one or that one or-” “I’m gonna find a new partner. Oh my gosh”

Honestly I think he has more fun than you

“I think I should add ‘dancer’ to my lists of talents”

He probably asks to do it again

Idk if I see Johnny being into K-pop but the interest would start here and spiral

I also feel like he enjoys dances from girl groups more than boy groups. I once again don’t know why I think this way but it makes sense in my head

Likes more simple dances. It keeps the focus on his pretty face and outfits

“I think I’d be fantastic in a girl group” “Ok Johnny”

It’s giving “nurse! He’s out again!”

He has a new hyperfixation now. I hope you’re proud of yourself

Favorite thing to dance to is Cupid by Fifty Fifty

Kenshi Takahashi

Only does it because you asked him to, and even then he doesn’t really want to

He doesn’t hate dancing but he just doesn’t do it

Considering he escaped from the Yakuza, him being in a video with you isn’t the best idea. You can call him paranoid. He calls himself careful.

When he finally agrees, he's wearing the most obnoxious get up; hoodie, sweatpants, a hat, glasses, a mask and gloves. It's so no one can know who he is, but who in the Yakuza is randomly watching dance videos?

He won't change his mind though and wears it all.

You have to do an easy dance otherwise he'll sweat himself to death

I don't see him going out of his way to do it again. It was alright to him. He's not big on dancing so learning a dance then doing it wasn't the best way to spend his time. Also he was extremely sweaty so he's not tryna do it again

He will if you ask, but he won't bring it up first

He's trying to not be noticed but people can't help but notice him

I feel like he favors boy groups only slightly. Favorite thing to dance to is Still 24K by 24K but only the chorus because once again, sweat and heat. And YES I picked 24K because I'm never letting their name die. I miss them

Kung Lao

“I have better things to do, like training new recruits at the Academy” “If you're too scared of me dancing better than you, just say that”

He learns the dance that night

He's competitive so what's supposed to be a sweet couples thing, turns serious

Wants to do a hard dance just to prove how great he is even if it's stupid

Legit is angrily typing “hard kpop dances” and picking one at random

He has you ask the audience to comment who danced better or do a poll

If he wins, he's ecstatic and wants to continue showing off. If he loses, he's bitter. The vote was rigged. Real “Stop the count!” type shit

If he loses he wants to do it again so he can do better. He legit can't let it go. The problem is he keeps diving into hard ass dances and refuses to start simple

You have to pry his hands off the keyboard and help him pick something simple

Once he stops being stubborn then you two can actually have fun. Dancing can become a regular thing, but he's gonna keep making it a challenge

In his eyes, he always wins

Idk if he has a preference for boy or girl groups. I'll say his favorite thing to dance to is Monster by Exo because I feel like he'd want to do Chanyeol's jump

Raiden

I think he'd be shy at first. Super Shy if you will

He doesn't wanna fuck it up, yk? After being told it's not that deep and it's just for fun, he agrees

Besides Johnny, he's probably having the most fun. I feel like he enjoys spending time with the people he cares about and this is doing just that

Wants to do it again because it's spending time with you and it makes you happy

Before I even end this, he's a girl group stan and I'm standing on it

Idk why but I think he'd like 4Minute and I'm not changing my mind. He'd be bummed they're not together anymore

Honestly, his favorite groups have probably all disbanded or are on hiatus. He's not having a good time

“I like 4Minute” “disbanded” “2NE1?” “disbanded” “Miss A?” “disbanded” “CLC?” “I don't think they're disbanded but they're doing their own thing” “I hate my life”

I just feel like he'd have bad luck

Dancing becomes a new hobby though. He can't always be getting rid of threats.

Mainly does it with you

His favorite thing to dance to is Whatcha Doin’ Today by 4Minute. Honestly I can see that being his favorite song which is a real shame cause I think his favorite would be Jihyun and she got like, one line (I'm projecting)

Liu Kang

Big problem with your plan. He has glowing eyes and shades hardly dull them. How's he gonna hide that?

With TWO pairs of shades of course

I think he'd be reluctant to make the video because his existence isn't supposed to be known by random people

He'd be willing to dance with you alone, he's just not sure about the video and he won't be sure until you come up with a good idea that'll get rid of that problem

You can post it on your close friends though. They make sense

I feel like he'd like dancing to some random ass unknown group from the 80s or 90s. Who even are these people?

He did watch as civilization grew so he's seen tons of groups form and disband so I guess it's not surprising he knows smaller groups.

Idk if he'd have a preference for boy groups or girl groups. If it's good music, it's good music

I don't think it'd become a new hobby for him. He's not reluctant about it like Kenshi, it just doesn't interest him as much as you'd like

He makes it known he's doing this for you. Not in an asshole way, but in a “I really like when you're happy” type of way

I'm NOT looking up old ass groups just for this so imma say his favorite thing to dance to is Kard in general. Why? Idk. I’m spreading an agenda

I wanna write more MK1 intros but I’m brain empty. I’m miserable This was also short. My bad anon. Everyone has around 230 words

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heartsforhavik · 5 months

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heyy how are you ? i’d like to request some fluffy headcannons with kitana pretty please( gn or fem reader) ! nobody really writes for the females soo is it something you can do ? thanks in advance :)

kitana x reader hcs

warnings: none! just spoilers for mk1’s story mode.

summary: just some sfw hcs off the top of my head for kitana x gender neutral reader (which takes place during the new timeline) and reader being down bad for kitana (and i guess this is pretty long, idk i just wanted to feed the kitana fans. get it? fans? LMAO)

a/n: i’m doing great thanks for asking anon!! also, i understand you, i am a havik fan and i don’t get much content for my boy. in case you want more, i’ll happily write more kitana content !! :)

- let’s say this takes place during the new timeline, and you are one of earthrealm’s champions. you stepped into sun do, not expecting any excitement, until you and kitana locked eyes for the first time.

- it was almost cheesy, how quickly you fell in love.

- even when raiden had to fight li mei and reiko, you weren’t even paying attention to the fight. you just couldn’t help but look at kitana the entire time. she just looked so regal and beautiful on her throne.

- you even noticed she snuck a few peeks at you too, and always gave a small smile and giggled when she caught you.

- during the banquet afterwards, you immediately sat beside her and attempted to talk to her.

- key word: attempted. kitana was just so gorgeous and you felt as if you weren’t even worthy of being around her. because of that, you stammered a bit when you spoke.

- she didn’t mind though. she found you adorable, and never interrupted when you were struggling to speak. she even asked you a couple questions about yourself, having an interest in your skills and your hometown in earthrealm.

- you even went to sleep that night thinking of her, hoping you wouldn’t act like an infatuated fool the next time you spoke.

- what you didn’t know was that kitana would replace mileena to fight raiden the next day. you admired her strength and enjoyed watching the fight, even though she lost.

- “you fought very well, princess. it was very admirable.” you told her.

- “oh? i didn’t know my skills would pique your interest.” kitana replied.

- “you just fought so well and you looked great doing it, i couldn’t even take my eyes off of you during the fight. i mean, not in a creepy way, i swear…” you rambled.

- kitana smiled in response, surprisingly not creeped out by you. instead, her feelings for you grew larger.

- “well, i thank you for the compliment. you don’t look too bad yourself.” she winked, and walked away. her words repeated in your head over and over for the rest of your day. maybe you weren’t being delusional and she *did* have some interest in you..

- you fought side by side against shang tsung the next few days, and you just couldn’t help but fawn over her every time she fought. over the days that went by, you became closer and more comfortable with each other, but your feelings never shrunk. even though you were fighting for your lives.

- “if you don’t tell kitana how you feel, i will.” mileena teased, as you were taking a walk outside the palace. after defeating shang tsung and sindel passing away, mileena had inherited the throne and found it slightly exhausting, so you offered to walk around the palace with her.

- “what? what do you mean by that? what feelings?” you nervously laughed.

- mileena scoffed. “i can clearly see something going on between you two. it’s almost annoying how neither of you have said anything. but knowing my sister, i can imagine she has a lot on her plate right now. you should be the one who confesses. if not, i’ll have to do it myself.”

- so you confessed that night, and kitana fully reciprocated your feelings.

now onto the actual relationship hcs:

- kitana is the supreme commander now, so anytime she has to leave, she gives you a hug and kiss in case she passes away in battle. you always fear losing her so you don’t really want her to fight, but you understand that she is capable and most likely won’t die in battle.

- every night you go to sleep holding each other, not wanting to let go. she knows someday one of you will draw your final breaths, so she wishes to enjoy every second she has with you.

- on the rare occasion she has a day off, she always wants to spend it with you and her sister. she doesn’t have a strong preference for what activity you all do, as long as she’s spending time with you.

- speaking of which, mileena completely supports your relationship. she makes sure to look out for you since she sees you as family now. anyone kitana likes, she approves. she even makes sure you two have some time alone every now and then.

- but unfortunately, you’ll occasionally walk around sun do and be ridiculed for being an earthrealmer. sometimes you hear whispers such as: “i can’t believe kitana’s consort is an earthrealmer!” “kitana couldn’t choose fellow royalty?”

- but anytime you express your discomfort with those words, she immediately shuts them down.

- “don’t listen to the whispers of people who don’t understand you. i have no issues with you not being royalty, i love you for who you are.” she comforted, engulfing you in a hug. she never wants you to think she doesn’t love you.

- but since you’re still an earthrealmer and you get homesick sometimes, you like to tell kitana stories about your hometown or the food and people you came across. she would always listen intently, usually with you resting your head on her lap and she would run her fingers through your hair.

- in fact, she’d listen to you ramble about anything. petty drama you had back at home? your favorite foods and books? she can listen to you talk about anything for hours. as long as she can enjoy your company, it doesn’t matter to her.

- kitana just.. really loves you. a lot. she cherishes every moment she has with you, comforts you anytime you’re sad, makes sure you’re taken care of while she is away, and accepts you for who you are. she couldn’t ask for anyone more amazing and understanding. of all timelines she exists in, she knows she wouldn’t trade her current one with you for anything.

#kitana #kitana x reader #kitana mortal kombat #mk1 kitana #first time writing kitana lol #i hope youre satisfied with this anon!!#if not then i’ll gladly write more

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genesiswrld · 5 months

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I swear this is not me being a pick me girl on main, I just thought of a common phrase in my culture, "witing tresno jalaran soko kulino" which means that love grows out of habit. I was also inspired by this prompt.

We all know that raiden has a crush on kitana right, but him being an earthrealmer and her being an outworld princess kept them out of seeing each other on a daily basis after the tournament.

So raiden had befriended you, another liu kang's champion before the tournament. You were all friendly with each other during the training, so naturally, by the time the tournament ended, he was already accustomed to his new friends presence. He found out that something about you being around him and kung lao just felt so right. So he mentally added you to his close friend circle. He couldn't help learning all the tidbits about you, like the way you enjoy your tea, your eating habit, what dishes you like to order at madam bo, what tv series/movies you listens when you're doing your chores.. down to your favorite color.

The thought of kitana's majestic self had slowly been replaced by everything that you are, his endearing friend whose absence he couldn't help to mourn, even if it's just for a simple trip to see your friends and family. Just think about him missing your melodic laughter or the pleasant smell of your shampoo when you sit close to him, or him subconsciously glancing at the calendar, counted for the day of your return.

Also, consider how his friendly hugs started to linger or the joy he felt when you asked to borrow his jacket.

It's getting too long >< idk how to close it, but yeah basically imagine him slowly pining for you, his new bestie. I'm still learning how to write slowburn romance lol

Noooo cuz I think this is so cute!😭 idk I just like the best friends to lovers trope so much. I think about it so much especially with Kung Lao or Raiden. They just seem like best friend material (and then boyfriend material). I love the idea of you both mutually pining after each other and both are so oblivious but everyone around you sees how much you’re in love with each other. They’re just like, will you two just confess already!?😂

I wanna write something so bad for best friend Kung Kao or Raiden. I got inspiration from the same prompt list, but idk if I’d be able to do it😭

#ask me stuff #best friend!raiden #best friend!kung lao #mortal kombat #mk1 #mortal kombat 1 #raiden x reader #raiden #kung lao #kung lao x reader

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neoruby-loves-ut-aus · 3 months

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Since I started liking a new game called Mortal Kombat, I decided to make a crossover of Mortal Kombat and Undertale.

Sans as Liu Kang, Earthrealm's champion who later became a fire God in the future.

Frisk as Princess Kitana, Princess of Edenia.

Chara as Princess Mileena, Princess of Outworld.

Papyrus as Kung Lao.

Toriel as Queen Sindel

Gaster as Lord Raiden

Ambrose (my OC) as Shao Kahn

Asgore as King Jerrod

But Idk who will be Jade, Skarlet or other characters.

The girls unmasked:

Just like Mileena, Chara has this mouth because of the Tarkata disease.

Frisk and Chara's adoptive father was Asgore, King of Edenia, and their adoptive mother is Toriel, wife of Asgore, but he was killed after an arrogant emporer called General Ambrose Kahn (another goat king) had captured his Kingdom and forced Toriel to be his bride but even after becoming his bride, she hated him and cared for Frisk and Chara.

Asgore was resurrected later and got his family back. Then, he and Sans made a tournament to maintain peace between realms such as Earthrealm, Edenia, Outworld and Netherworld. This tournament was named as Mortal Kombat.

Ambrose was still arrogant and since there was no warrior stronger than him, Frisk and Chara began to deal with him and his right hand men, Han Tsung and Mal Chi, the realm's worst sorcerors.

When Sans was just an infant, his parents were brutally killed by a gang of Tarkatan monsters until Gaster saved him from getting eaten. Then he, Papyrus, Undyne and other warriors were raised to become Shaolin monks. After years and much training, Sans became Earthrealm's champion and became so famous that he became the chosen one to fight in the Inter-Realm tournament to maintain peace. Papyrus and Sans, though friends, they did not know that they are actually distant brothers because they have descended from the Great Papyrus, their ancestor who too was a champion but failed to defeat a four armed monster called Goro, who later killed him by tearing him into two pieces.

Frisk and Sans were like opponents in a battle when they first met but later loved each other.

One day, Toriel secretly fleed the realm of Outworld and with her daughters, she went to her late husband's kingdom and ruled there as a true queen. Then, it was decided that since Frisk and Chara are twins, after Ambrose Kahn's defeat, Chara would become the Ruler of Outworld while Frisk would become the Ruler of Edenia.

Kitana, Liu Kang and Mileena have a lot of costumes but this one was easy to make so if others want to do any other costumes like the MK9, MK11 or MK1, you're free to do. The outfits that Frisk and Chara are wearing are their MKII Klassic outfit.

Gift for all the Frans artists especially

@jjaydazo

@shorukarts

@sofiathehooman

@cjhern1109

@redlovess

@shayromi

@slastena-shipper

@shaylacousintale

@broomiepen

@stacycpr

@venelona

@naebulla

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tobiasdrake · 6 months

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Examining MK1 Characters: Earthrealm

Alright, I want to take a moment and go character-by-character to share opinions on the new versions of Mortal Kombat characters in Liu Kang's new timeline.

Let's start with the giant fucking sausage fest that is the Earthrealmers. I don't know what possessed Netherrealm to restrict "being female" to a trait solely possessed by aliens. IDK. But Kang's like, "Time to collect my warriors, no women allowed. Earthrealm is a Boys' Club now, and that is final!"

Maybe he's super creeped out that Johnny reproduced in the last timeline and is determined to stop that shit from ever happening again. Joke's on him 'cause Johnny still finds love anyway.

Liu Kang/Raiden

I'm putting these two together because they square danced into each other's spots so they compare more to each other than to themselves.

How does Kang compare to Raiden? Honestly, I loved him. As Protector God, Kang has a lot more personality than Raiden ever did. Raiden's always gone for this emotionless almighty deity approach, while Kang's performance shows a lot more of the humanity we know he carries with him. He emotes more.

Any time Raiden would speak with his champions, you could feel the godly distance between him and them. He wants them to prevail, but he is a being who is far detached from them and it carries in his lofty performance. But when Liu Kang speaks to his champions, you can feel his compassion. How much he genuinely cares. There's a likable softness to him that Raiden's never had. He meets people at their level because he remembers what it feels like to be there.

He is their god. But he engages with them as if he were a friend. Even when he reveals that he is the Creator God of the universe itself, he rejects any deference. I love that about him. Liu Kang is Best God.

Raiden/Liu Kang

For his part, Raiden is... He's almost an afterthought. I was worried he would overtake the story; That the writers would push too hard trying to make him the "new" Liu Kang. Rather than let anyone else shine, they'd swap Raiden and Kang's roles completely.

Instead, the opposite happened? Raiden is barely even in this story. He becomes Earthrealm's Champion and gets to show off his fighting skills to Sindel. Then he's dropped from the story almost entirely. He's a nice guy who punches well. He was not as good at punching as Kung Lao is, until one day, he was better. That's it. That's his entire plot.

Johnny Cage

Johnny's a hard character for writers to nail down. He's a self-important jackass and a great hero. Comically full of himself and a highly formidable martial artist who can hang with the best of 'em. His portrayals often struggle to capture that balance, veering too far towards either "Useless Clown" or "Totally reformed and genuinely virtuous".

MK1 struck that balance well. We get endless reminders of how Hollywood shallow Johnny is, without making a complete joke out of him. He's genuinely invested in being here and his character ending even reframes the whole "Johnny makes movies about his adventures" thing into a form of PR.

Kang wants to reveal the truth to the world, and the medium for that is Johnny's films. That's clever. I like it.

Johnny even gets to have a character arc. It's... not great? Like, his bromance with Kenshi is strong. But he opens his story with his wife leaving him because he's let his celebrity go to his head and burned all his wealth on trinkets and doo-dads. But then the trinkets and doo-dads wind up being his ticket into becoming a true hero, so actually it's good that he's Nicolas Cage-ing it up as hard as he can?

That sort of setup is usually supposed to inform us about a fatal flaw that the character must overcome. But instead, Johnny's rewarded for it. There's even a scene where he gets to use one of his money-sink toys to help the plot, while bragging about how wrong his nagging ex was. So I guess the central message around his ex-wife is just, "Man, bitches, amirite? Always trying to hold you back."

Meanwhile, the payoff to his arc is that Johnny returns Sento to Kenshi. But there's no indicator of character growth or development. The only thing that's changed between them since yesterday is that Kenshi had his eyes gouged out; That makes this come off like a gesture of pity rather than growth.

"Man, I would be a real heel to keep holding on to your sacred family treasure after you got disabled like that."

The intent is clear; This is meant to demonstrate the strength of their growing friendship. It feels like Johnny's still hanging onto Sento more to playfully tease Kenshi than because he genuinely feels entitled to it. But we don't get to see that growth. They trained together offscreen and now they're bros.

Speaking of which,

Kenshi

Kenshi gets a lot of focus and expansion in MK1. Prior to this, he was always "Wandering swordsman does swords real good in the name of Earthrealm". MK1 expands his character, delving deep into his clan's history and establishing grounded ties to the physical world. They do a great job of making Kenshi feel like a fleshed out character.

What they don't do well is making him into Kenshi. Adaptations/reboots/etc. sometimes come off janky when it comes to explaining how the character became the thing that's iconic about them. Sometimes it can feel like the Chains of Iconicity simply wrapped around them and dragged them inorganically into resembling their counterparts.

(This happens a lot to Jax, who has to have his arms ripped off in every portrayal somehow to justify his robot arms, even though the original had them installed apropos of nothing. He felt cool robot arms would make him stronger, so he got 'em.)

MK1 Kenshi is 100% a Chains of Iconicity character. He needs to get blinded somehow, so Mileena jams a pair of sais all the way through his eyes and somehow fails to puncture his brain. Then he needs to get Sento, so Johnny spontaneously hands 'er over without a fuss. Then he needs to gain spirit telekinesis, so Sento suddenly goes, "Hey, I'm a ghost sword and you have spirit telekinesis now." Even Kenshi's confused by how abrupt and un-foreshadowed that is.

It would feel like a random bullshit twist yanked straight out of the writer's ass if we, the audience, didn't already know it was a thing and expect it from a Kenshi-shaped character. He spends most of his journey as an interesting and organic character but then he suddenly gets kidnapped and pounded into a Kenshi mold.

Kung Lao

Kung Lao is the most consistent of the Earthrealmers. Which is to say, he's fine. All the Kung Lao stuff is there. He longs for greatness. He's devoted to protecting Earthrealm. He's part of the team. Raiden goes from nobody to champion and also Kung Lao is there. Johnny and Kenshi embark on this big mission and also Kung Lao is there.

He rarely stands out but he's certainly one of the boys. This feels like neither a step up nor a step down from past portrayals, where he was the other Shaolin guy standing next to Liu Kang while Kang was doing plot stuff. Kung Lao rarely gets to be distinctive or interesting. It's his curse to always dwell in the shadow of characters with more narrative focus.

Scorpion

Why is he Scorpion? Unclear. They go hard on making their Scorpion into a composite character of Kuai Liang and Hanzo Hasashi, even to the point of having him found the Shirai Ryu and marry Harumi. (And boy does that first Invasion want you to know this is what happened.)

It never stops feeling weird to see Scorpion running around as Sub-Zero's Lil' Bro. Even when they inevitably schism, Scorpion being outraged because Sub-Zero is a disgrace to the Lin Kuei remains utterly surreal from beginning to end.

Scorpion never feels like Scorpion; He always feels like Sub-Zero (the one we know) doing a cosplay.

As for the schism itself, this worked for me. Kuai Liang having to flee the Lin Kuei because their Grandmaster is a douche is one of those Iconic Things that has to occur, but having that schism with a living Bi-Han is unique and interesting. More on that in....

Sub-Zero

Bi-Han is the original Sub-Zero, but his Chains of Iconicity thing is Noob Saibot. Bi-Han typically exists to die immediately so he can come back as Saibot. This is the first time since the obscure platformer MK Mythologies: Sub-Zero that Bi-Han's been allowed to be an active player in events unfolding.

He more or less slots into the role of the unnamed Lin Kuei Grandmaster responsible for the cybernetic program that gives us Sektor and Cyrax. A supremely sinister figure involved in a major intra-factional conflict that previously occurred entirely offscreen. At once the wicked mastermind of a major development in the story and such an irrelevant footnote of a character that he never even warranted a name.

Kicking that role over to Bi-Han for the reboot is a strong choice. It puts an actual character into the lead position of this development and promises interesting things for the future. They took a character with no story to speak of and a story with no character to speak of, and fit them together like jigsaw pieces. Well played.

Smoke

Also Smoke is nearby.

Smoke is the Kung Lao of the Lin Kuei. Kuai Liang and Bi-Han have their drama, and also Smoke is nearby. In fact, he's so nearby that he gets punted from the story for the sake of the emotional Sub-Zero Bros having their showdown together, then jogs up to Liang afterwards like, "Yo, what'd I miss?"

It's hilarious how little the game cares about Smoke. If this is how you're going to handle him, why is he even here? XD

Sadly, this is not much of a change from previous portrayals. Smoke has always been "And Smoke". He's been Sub-Zero and Smoke, he's been Noob Saibot and Smoke, but much like And Kung Lao, "And Smoke" is the story of his life.

#mortal kombat #mortal kombat 1 #mortal kombat 12 #liu kang #raiden #johnny cage #kenshi #kung lao #sub zero #smoke #kuai liang #bi han #tomas

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420thewritersroom · 4 months

Text

A Burning Tree

~ok listen! I know I said that the next part would introduce Revenant!Kung Lao, but I got the brainworm to look at how Liu Kang and Shujinko handled Kung Lao's death and add more Dark!Raiden to the mix. Especially since I was heavily inspired to write a bit more about Dark!Raiden thanks to @sogekii-heii and their recent piece with Dark!Raiden (I still think about that, like oml!)~

~So here we go again! I promise this time, Kung Lao's coming back and it's going to be nasty! Also, this title actually has meaning to it, finish reading to get that meaning! Or skip to the end and get it anyways, idc~

~Before we continue just wanted to put some mild context to ensure this makes sense. Fire God Liu Kang starts getting deja vu as certain coincidences and events start playing out that are too eerily similar to how things played out during the MK9 game. All roads were seemingly leading to Kung Lao dying in his timeline, and Liu Kang struggled with how to cope and deal with this. On one hand, he did not want his friend-…His new teacher…To die, especially since he tried so hard to tailor-make this timeline to ensure everyone got a happy ending.

Yet, at the same time, he refused to stoop down to Kronika's level and start altering the timeline until it was his "perfect" utopia. However, his fears and suspicion about the situation become even more realized when Raiden gets gravely injured, and the only thing that prevented him from kneeling over was the thunder amulet infused with his person (and some other magical shit, idk). From this, Raiden gains his iconic white hair, and this gives Liu Kang a heart attack. To make a long story short, Kung Lao ends up dying at the hands of the villains, Raiden is going through the stages of grief, but he's going down the same dark path as the previous Raiden, now becoming Dark Raiden. And Liu Kang has to finally interfere.~

Still confused? Too late, now on to the story!

Previous // Next

Characters: Shujinko (MK1 Ver), Fire God Liu Kang, Raiden, Past Liu Kang, Past Raiden - Mentions of Kung Lao, Scorpion, Smoke, and Ashra

Word Count: 5,578

Ships: MK9 Liu Kang/MK9 Raiden (Unrequited Love)

Warnings: Canon Typical Violence (with less blood), Heavy Talks of Character Death

Shujinko still remembers that day, when Liu Kang called all his champions to inform them of the news. Old and new Earthrealm warriors were gathered for the news, and it came as a shock to everyone what Liu Kang announced.

"I may have made a…Selfish choice, when I chose each of you to become defenders of Earthrealm. The timeline I originated from, many of you were there as well. Protecting and fighting for our home against threats within and outside of Earthrealm…And with this new era, I foolishly assumed that I could…Replicate the connections that were made before. I have taken up all of your time with new worries, wounds, and ripped you away from the lives you once had before. So…I'm giving you the option…To walk away. From all of this. To return to your homes, your families, the life before I found you. There will be no shame or dishonor if you choose to retire the mantle. I wish each of you a fulfilling life…And I'm sorry."

Shujinko still remembers the near unified gasp and murmurs that filled the room-the questions that erupted in that moment as everyone tried to make sense of Liu Kang's decision. Liu Kang answered any questions that were brought to him, but Shujinko could tell that Liu Kang was set on his decision. Despite Liu Kang's stance on the discontinuation of Earthrealms defenders, many opted to continue their service to their realm, especially when Kuai Liang, Tomas, and Ashra argued against Liu Kang's decision to weaken Earthrealms defenses. And where Liu Kang would've listened to their concerns carefully and worked with others to meet in the middle, the fire god did none of that, uncharacteristically so. It seemed no amount of concrete arguments was going to sway Liu Kang into reconsidering.

If anything, the zeal the Shirai Ryu leaders and Ashra displayed encouraged others to stay and maintain their positions as Earthrealms protectors. After all they've been through, how could one do so? Discovering mystical powers that they all thought to be mythical, experiencing breathtaking realms beyond their own, and for few, the soul-changing truth and reality of their existence. For others, they might not have a home to return to; a life either filled with too many hurtful memories, broken relationships, or homes gone to the wind to never return again. All of that is nigh impossible to walk away from…But walk away few did.

Their reasons for leaving were their own, and they left with their excuses. But there were those who couldn't return to a normal life due to the aforementioned reasons before. They knew too much, saw too much; for some, a bit too much. Like a soldier returning from a grueling war, reconciling an average living after spending years, months, maybe even weeks under the wing of Liu Kang and his academy would be much to bear on the psyche. Almost ominously, Liu Kang promised to fix that for them.

What was done to these warriors was not publicly told, but Shujinko heard rumors and whispers about Liu Kang wiping away the memories of those who couldn't find it in themselves to leave behind their new life to return to their old one. It's presumed it's a consensual exchange, and Shujinko wants to believe that Liu Kang gave them the choice to lose those memories. But there was something disheartening about knowing that old friends Shujinko knew during his time in the Wu Shi Academy now viewed him as a regular stranger. That there are those who returned home who will never recognize the faces of those whom they considered allies, friends, and maybe even lovers.

Shujinko would know that pain. He experienced it before.

Raiden, long before he was exposed to the same memory wipe...When he was...Changed by his former master's death, revealed to him why there were gaps and contradictions in his memories. At that time, Shujinko noticed a change that was present in everyone. People were avoiding him, few wanted to train with him, and others spoke to him in such a careful manner as if they were hiding something from the young pupil. Before, Kung Lao, Raiden, nor Liu Kang would explain why he was treated differently, chalking it up to his new classmates needing time to get to know him.

And for a long time, Shujinko believed that...Until Raiden broke the news to him. It practically came out of nowhere when Raiden revealed this to Shujinko. Shujinko's training was placed in the hands of the thunder wielder, and after Kung Lao's death, he was far rougher and blunt than before, pointing out all his flaws but giving little instruction on how to improve. Even Shujinko's ability to copy other's abilities couldn't prepare him how to fight properly. And, at times, Shujinko thought that Raiden used their time training together as an excuse to use him as a punching bag. None of the other masters at the academy was as ruthless as Raiden was, even the ones who were notorious for being a "tough love" type of mentor. Shujinko slowly began to dread training with Raiden...Feared him even. It was almost like Raiden had some...Sick, twisted desire to break his spirit, along with those he encountered.

It was the day when Shujinko practically BEGGED Raiden to stop his assault on him, clearly yielding, nay, submitting, to the thunder wielder. His glowing white hair and eyes, along with the sparks of lightning bouncing off him, becoming an image Shujinko, even to this day, has a hard time disassociating from his idea of what Raiden is. Raiden gave him a light but firm kick, forcing Shujinko on his back after leaning on his side. Raiden walked a short distance away from him, taking in the mountainous view of the academy. Shujinko took that moment to breathe since Raiden rarely gave him breaks anymore.

"...You've been slightly improving, Shujinko," Raiden kept his eyes trained on the scene before him, his voice tainted with a sinister tone.

Shujinko only moved his eyes to look at his master, remaining silent, for he feared that saying anything would rile the thunder wielder. Especially since the clouds have been a dangerous gray for a long time since they started their brawl.

"But you're barely where you need to be. Not like you used to be, anyways." Raiden gibed, still keeping his view on the mountainous regions ahead.

Shujinko KNOWS he shouldn't speak back, he learned a long time ago with this...New Raiden, what happens when he talks back to him. But something deep inside the young monk wanted to bite back at Raiden. After all this time under Raiden's wing, he's been nothing but demeaning to Shujinko. Everything the pupil did seemingly irritated Raiden to no end. If anything, the reason he's 'barely where he needs to be' is because Raiden beats him to near death and doesn't actually teach him! Not like he used to, at least!

Without thinking, Shujinko opened his mouth, venom escaping his lips as he responded to Raiden, "Maybe I would be getting better if you didn't constantly beat the 'lesson' out of me. You know, like how a true master would teach their student. Even Kung Lao knew that."

There was a threatening pause, a silence Shujinko didn't felt until he heard the frightening sound of thunder in the air. It wasn't until now that Shujinko realized where he first fucked up, especially when he put Kung Lao's name in the conversation. Shujinko quickly sat himself up, hissing in pain slightly as his muscles began to strain, and he was reminded that his left leg was sprained. Raiden still paid him no mind, continuing to keep the stillness between them. Shujinko knew that a possible beatdown was waiting for him, so he tried to sneak away as quickly as possible.

"You know, before General Shao, you were the first person to make an attempt on Kung Lao's life."

Shujinko froze upon hearing that, twisting his head to look at Raiden. He almost wished he hadn't that day because the look of Raiden looking at Shujinko over his shoulder, white eyes staring deep into his soul, was another unforgettable image he could never scrub from his mind. His mind was swimming with questions. What did Raiden mean that he almost killed Kung Lao? Never has he ever intentionally attempted to hurt his former master.

"W-what do you mean, master? I would never hurt Master Kung-"

"It's reasonable that you don't remember, you copycat pest," Raiden chastised, making Shujinko feel goosebumps all over his body when Raiden gave him his full attention. "Liu Kang wiped it all away, the memories of the time you got power hungry and nearly compromised the sanctity of the realms."

This all came as a shock to Shujinko as he stared at Raiden stupidly, not registering that Raiden was slowly approaching him.

"And honestly, I think Liu Kang was too kind to you. I should've seen the threat you would become from a mile away. Especially when I watched you nearly snap Kung Lao's neck with your own bare hands. You should've been put down, like the dog you were and the dog you still are." Raiden continued his encroaching walk toward Shujinko, his hair, and eyes now glowing with power as static encompassed him.

Shujinko starts to uselessly crawl away from Raiden, but too frightened to take his eyes off the thunder wielder. "N-no. No, no, no, I would never-"

"JUST BECAUSE YOU DON'T REMEMBER DOESN'T MEAN IT NEVER HAPPENED, SHUJINKO," Raiden shouts at the confused pupil, an arc of lightening crashing next to the cowering student, dangerously close for comfort.

"R-RAIDEN, PLEASE, LEAVE ME ALONE!" Shujinko shrieks as he tries to regain his footing, ready to book it out of there.

But he wasn't fast enough, especially with his sprained leg that slowed him down further. Raiden zapped him with multiple streams of lightning straight from his fingertips as he tased Shujinko, the pained screams of his student bringing great inner delight to Raiden, to the amulet. "You're a threat to our realm, to all the realms. You could've been a valuable asset, but Liu Kang is too busy playing the peaceful politician to utilize you as a weapon. Too busy teaching you about harmony and peace when there are actually world-ending threats out there that could be stomped out if we didn't hold ourselves back. That's what killed Kung Lao..."

Shujinko groans in agony as he tries to get away, Raiden's constant assault making it difficult to move any part of his body. "RAIDEN, PLEASE!"

"...So, I guess the only way you won't become a potential threat, is if you are never a threat at all." Raiden began to intensify the bolts of lighting, the sounds of Shujinko howling in pain becoming music to his ears.

"RAIDEN!"

Finally, the lightning stopped, and Shujinko collapsed from the constant strain on his body. Raiden snapped his head towards Liu Kang, the one who gained his attention before he could finally kill Shujinko. The fire god rushed to the unconscious student before angrily looking at Raiden.

"You could've killed him, Raiden! What's gotten into you!?!"

Raiden stared at Liu Kang, not answering him but not showing any signs of guilt either. After a brief pause, Raiden turned his back on the pair and walked away.

"Raiden! Don't you walk away from me! Rai-"

Before Liu Kang could stop him, Raiden disappeared in a flash of lightning. Something Liu Kang was all too familiar with; Lord Raiden would do the same thing if he were to exit a scene.

The next thing Shujinko knew, he was in the many medical care rooms of the Wu Shi Academy, receiving treatment for his wounds. Multiple nurses dressed his injuries before Liu Kang approached Shujinko, expressing how Raiden would no longer be responsible for training him and that he would be assigned to a new teacher. While that was a relief to his ears...Something else bothered Shujinko.

"...Is it true that I almost killed Kung Lao...That I almost destroyed the realms..."

Liu Kang was so taken aback by this that he didn't immediately answer him.

"...Is that why my memories are missing, Lord Liu Kang? Because I'm a threat?" Shujinko's voice starts to shake as he can feel an overwhelming dread take over him.

Even though Liu Kang didn't answer him, the silence was telling. Despite this, Liu Kang didn't conceal the truth from him. Yes, Shujinko did nearly become a threat to all the realms...And yes, regrettably, he did nearly kill Kung Lao when they tried to subdue him. And there were others that Shujinko did kill...His best friend, Apep...Was one of the many casualties that Shujinko caused. All of this because Shujinko, at that time, became puffed up with pride and hungry for power. But it wasn't something that came out of nowhere. Liu Kang admitted that Kung Lao's early years of being a master at the Wu Shi Academy taught him many lessons in being humble; something Lao had to learn the hard way when he was teaching Shujinko the first time.

Liu Kang had no choice but to wipe his memories away, bringing him back to when he was first found by Liu Kang and his warriors. And like a house fire, the flames burned away nearly every inkling of his repertoire, leaving very little for Shujinko to remember. But that also meant, there was no way to recover those memories, even if Liu Kang wanted to give those memories back. Much like a valued family heirloom that was destroyed during a fire, there is precious little that can recover the lost item.

While this meant that Shujinko would not be haunted by the constant reminder of his failures...It still pained him to think that he COULD be a threat to be reckoned with. If anything, he almost wished he never learned the truth. Living in ignorance would've been preferable to living in fear of himself.

Shujinko blinks, not realizing that he's been standing idle in front of Liu Kang's private quarters for…Who knows how long. He didn't realize he was deep in thought as he was carrying a tray full of food to the fire god.

No one has seen Liu Kang-not since he disbanded the Earthrealm Warriors. Barely a week after that disbandment, Liu Kang became a ghost in his own academy. None of the monks can confidently say where they last saw the fire god. One moment, he's confined to his meditation area, then he's at the zen garden, or his private quarters. Other times, no one knows where Liu Kang is at all. Oftentimes, it was just best to leave offerings for the fire god at his (once) usual spots and come back an hour later. Usually, the contents were gone upon returning to retrieve them.

Shujinko should leave the tray behind, knock on the door, then go. But something compelled him to linger a bit longer after the initial knock.

"…Lord Liu Kang?" Shujinko meekly calls out. He tries the door, and to his surprise, it was unlocked.

"Are you going to l-let me die? Like you did Lao?"

"HE WOULD'VE WANTED TO LIVE WITH ME. SPEND THE REST OF HIS LIFE WITH ME! HIS FUCKING BOYFRIEND!"

"I LOVED HIM, LIU KANG! WITH ALL MY HEART, I LOVED HIM!!! AND YOU TOOK HIM FROM ME! YOU DID THIS TO ME!!"

"Even if you didn't know fully that Kung Lao would die, why didn't you tell us! Why didn't you save him?"

"BRING HIM BACK! BRING HIM BACK TO ME!"

"Why did you let him die"

Those words will always haunt Liu Kang. The pain in Raiden's voice, the intensity of his lightning strikes, the hatred he felt for Liu Kang. That's not something one can move on from, no matter how many years pass by. But these words cut deeper than Raiden, or anyone could ever imagine

In his youthful, mortal years, Liu Kang made the stupidest decision of his life, and fell in love with a god. Of all the people he could dedicate his life to, a beautiful Outworlder, a fellow best friend, a Special Forces agent, hell, even the Hollywood star would've (not really) been a better contestant than the LITERAL GOD OF THUNDER. An entity that will outlive him by decades, who probably went through multiple lovers-Liu would become another footnote in their unending life. Not only that, but he was pretty much RAISED by this man. He practically went through the entire spectrum of relationships with Raiden, first strangers, then friends, mentor/student, father/son…And now Liu Kang wanted to add lovers to that?

Liu Kang, even then, tried to psyche himself out of falling for Raiden. He had many other suitors, plenty of girls and boys who threw themselves at the Shaolin Monk, and he had plenty of options to choose from. But no matter how he tried, his heart yearned for Raiden. If you asked Liu Kang how he discovered that he grew an affinity for Raiden…There was no straight answer.

Liu Kang can probably point to his formative years as a teen already trying to traverse and reconcile with his growing and changing body. He remembered many times where he lingered at those he found attractive, one of those individuals being Raiden. But back then, Liu Kang assumed that he was just "admiring his physique" and using Raiden as a means of motivation to get stronger.

But the feelings of desire did not fade away as he grew older. If anything, they evolved. Soon, he was having silly daydreams about Raiden. Wondering how it would feel to be held protectively by the thunder god as he lifted them away from danger. What his white mane must feel like, and how Raiden would react if Liu ran his fingers through his hair or braided it. Or perhaps how would Raiden feel if Liu put in the effort to make him a meal, something that Raiden would love. He started noticing little details about Raiden that none did, such as the light glow in Raiden's eyes when he was talking with someone he fancied or the age lines when he smiled. But then these innocent daydreams became…Fuel for more carnal wants. Soon, it developed into memorizing his physique for…Reasons.

Liu Kang began to wonder how it would feel to have Raiden pull at his hair, to whisper in his ear, to pin him down, speak sweet nothings to him, to claim Liu Kang as his, something Raiden could do at any point in time if he wished. A god could take whatever it wanted, and Liu Kang would've gladly let Raiden do whatever he desired with him.

But what outweighed the carnality and the soft trances was the genuine love he felt for Raiden. On the same note of noticing small characteristics of the thunder god, Liu Kang did know of his favorite food (it's nuclear buffalo wings), he knew about Raiden's brother, Fujin, knew about the many adventures that Raiden partook in, both sad and joyful. Liu Kang KNEW Raiden and it made him fall for the god most spectacularly.

But Liu Kang overstepped his boundaries. He and Raiden were sparing together as Liu Kang wanted to demonstrate to Raiden that he was ready for the Mortal Kombat tournament. It was a sweat-inducing endeavor as there was an intense back-and-forth, each of them blocking and countering the others' attacks before finally, Liu Kang gained the upper hand, pinning Raiden below him.

"Do you yield?" Liu Kang says, out of breath.

"Y-yes. I yield," Raiden, just as winded, replied as he shoots Liu Kang with a reassuring smile. "You have improved thanks to Bo' Rai Cho's teachings."

"And I have you to thank for making me a recommendation," Liu readjusts himself on top of Raiden, sitting up on top of Raiden while not applying much weight to the god below him.

There's a moment where Raiden and he are quiet after some idle talk, Liu Kang only noticing that Raiden was staring at him with a growing smile. "…What?"

"You are ready, Liu Kang. You will be the one who will save Earthrealm from Outworld's attempts to merge the realms under their tyranny."

Liu Kang, even though he was praised by Raiden countless times before, cannot help the growing heat from surfacing on his face. He faces away from Raiden before muttering, "You flatter me, Lord Raiden…"

"You'll need a constant reminder that I, along with every defender of Earthrealm, will be cheering for you during the tournament. The kombatants you will encounter will test your might, your vigor, and your mental capacities. I believe you are ready. I know you will become the chosen defender that Earthrealm needs." Raiden softly professed as he leaned up, using his elbows to leverage himself.

Liu Kang looked at Raiden, meeting the thunder god eye-to-eye. Liu Kang saw his whole world in Raiden's white pupils, soaking in every hint of emotion that was displayed in front of him.

"Liu Kang?"

Liu didn't even realize that he was leaning closer to Raiden.

"Is there something you want to tell me?"

Liu Kang didn't even register that Raiden was asking questions.

Before Liu Kang knew it, he pressed his lips together with Raiden's. At last, his hearing decided to work so that he could hear the surprised "mph!" noise from the thunder god. It was perhaps Liu Kang's first kiss, he wasn't as adventurous as Kung Lao, who definitely had a few run-ins with various individuals. It being Liu Kang's first, it wasn't anything remarkable, but it was memorable to Liu Kang…But not for the reasons he would've wanted.

When they finally parted, Liu Kang felt like he could breathe again. The shocked expression plastered on Raiden's face, however, was unexpected. They both remain in total silence, neither making a move nor taking the first step to speak. Raiden would finally be the first to move, which indicated for Liu Kang to finally get off the thunder god. Liu Kang, courteously, helped Raiden back on his feet, his hand, however, did not leave Raiden's.

"…I…I must go," Raiden quickly excused himself, disconnecting his hand from Liu Kang.

Liu Kang watched Raiden leave, and the feeling of awkwardness and humiliation quickly overwhelmed him.

Since that day, the pair seemed to share the same idea of just avoiding each other. But where Liu Kang was avoiding Raiden out of embarrassment, Raiden...Liu Kang couldn't figure him out (that bit of mysteriousness always being an aspect of Raiden he did like). Before, Liu Kang didn't mind it, but when Liu Kang began to rediscover the courage to approach Raiden, the thunder god was always turning the other way or shortening their conversations considerably. He could never get a moment with Raiden as he was always in discussion with someone else, busy with other matters, or needed to consult those dreaded Eldar Gods.

But they would finally have a one-on-one...A literal week before the official Mortal Kombat tournament. Liu Kang and Kung Lao were sitting with their Shaolin Monk brethren and family, the spiritual brothers jesting from across the table and talking about their eventful day. Raiden was missing from the scene, but he would suddenly appear in the mess hall where they were all meeting.

"Liu Kang, do you have a moment?"

Many faces turn to Liu Kang with curiosity. The same kind of energy children would have when one is called to the principal's office. Liu Kang feels a knot in his stomach, and he wipes his face with an available napkin, "Yes, Lord Raiden."

"Ooh~! You're in trouble~" Kung Lao jokes, releasing the tension effortlessly in the room.

Liu Kang smirks at his friend, throwing a dumpling at the razerhat wielder before skipping away from the table. Approaching Raiden and meeting him out in the hallway, he noticed that Raiden continued to walk further into the Shaolin Temple.

"Was there a reason for my audience, Lord Raiden?" Liu Kang finally asked after a couple turns here and there, but Raiden still remained silent. The knot in Liu Kang's stomach grows tighter as he anticipates their stop, which means he'll finally be informed the news.

Liu Kang tried to calm himself when they finally reached a secluded area in the temple, outside near the zen garden. Raiden stops in his tracks near a still-in-bloom cherry blossom tree. Funnily enough, it was the same tree he and Kung Lao would often play near when they were children before sometimes secretly training together under said tree.

"...Is there...Something wrong, Raiden?" Liu Kang drops the professionalism as he tries to make this personal, trying to appease to the human side of Raiden.

"...About that...Day...When we both...When we both sparred together as we tested your skills for the tournament."

OHFUCKOHFUCKOHFUCKOHFUCKOHFUCKOHFUCK!

Liu Kang visibly (and if possible, verbally) swallows as he stares at Raiden's back, the thunder god still not facing Liu Kang and meeting him eye-to-eye.

"...Yes..." This was all Liu Kang could utter as he waited for Raiden to continue.

"I...Um..." Even Raiden was loss for words, as if he just decided RIGHT NOW that he wanted to talk about this. "...I...I recognize that you have developed a fondness for me."

It felt like Liu Kang's heart was going to jump out of his body or crawl out of his mouth. A large part of his being was vibrating with excitement. Is this it? Is this the part where they finally take the next step? Liu Kang couldn't help but step in place, leaning against one foot before placing added pressure on the other. Liu Kang wanted to say it. He wanted to declare his emotions in from of Raiden before the thunder god could finish.

"I love you. I love you so much, Raiden. You have no idea the night I would stay up with you on my mind. The pain I go through because I wanted to be near you, close to you, with you."

All of this and more, Liu Kang wanted to confess, but he is disciplined, he is patient. He will wait for Raiden to finish his thought, if he has more to tell.

"...And I have that same...Care for you too, Liu Kang. There's much history between us, and I can understand that you may have grown a deeper affinity for me."

There's a BUT in there. There's a MASSIVE BUT in there. But Liu Kang didn't hear it. He was too enamored, far too blinded by his own love for Raiden to even recognize the writing on the walls.

"But I must, respectfully, decline your love for me."

Liu Kang's world felt like it shattered around him. Somewhere, deep down, Liu Kang knew this could be a possibility. A high probability, in fact.

But it didn't make it hurt any less. Liu Kang stared at Raiden dumbfound. There must be a reason why. Is he not his type? Is it due to the circumstances with the tournament? Is Raiden already seeing someone else? What was the reason?

"…Goodnight, Liu Kang," and Raiden proceeded to walk away. Or, at least, attempt to.

It took all of Liu Kang's willpower to surge after him and grab his wrist, "Wait! W-why can't we? I mean, you said you felt the same way, so why do you 'decline.'" Liu Kang didn't mean to sound desperate, but he wanted to know. Maybe there might still be a chance he can still win Raiden's love.

"Liu Kang, you're letting your emotions control you. I said what I said; there's nothing more to it-"

Liu Kang forces himself in his line of sight, "Why Raiden. That's all I ask."

"Does the why really matter, Liu Kang?"

"It matters enough to me as your friend…"

"…We're not compatible," Raiden tries to say with finality.

"And why is that?"

"Liu-"

"Is it because I'm mortal? The tournament?"

"Liu Kang!" Raiden's eyes flare with godly power as his voice booms like thunder. This immediately quiets Liu Kang. Raiden takes a moment to breathe, reeling back his anger. "…You have many admirable qualities. You're handsome, patient, caring, determined, and good-willed. These are aspects that anyone would fall for and would be lucky to have you as their significant other. And…Perhaps, in another life, I could return your feelings. But I cannot provide you the happiness you think I can give. The amount of responsibilities and burdens…I'm sorry, but I just wouldn't be able to emotionally and physically give back to you."

Liu Kang was speechless as he gazed at Raiden. It hurts too that Raiden is just too good at keeping a stoic look, so Liu Kang can't even find any cracks in his "it's not you, it's me" speech.

"We both will have our 'plates filled' during and after the tournament. A lot of opportunities will be heading your way. I know a mortal's life is short; one must grab at every chance of life that one can. But believe me when I say, that you will find someone who will love you more than I ever could. And it might end up being someone unexpected." Raiden smiles as he places a hand on Liu Kang's shoulder.

Liu Kang slowly hangs his head low slightly, not exactly looking at Raiden's feet, but not meeting his gaze either. "I'm sorry for lashing out, Lord Raiden."

"Do not apologize, it's natural. Believe it or not, I have had plenty of experience with such bursts of emotions. I will always love you, Liu Kang, and I pray that someone will love you more than I do."

When Liu Kang recreated this timeline, his main goal and motivation was always to provide his friends a new life. A better life. A second chance at being happy. And sometimes, that meant changing and altering events so that his friends and companions could achieve that life they'd always wanted.

That's why Raiden's words cut so close to home. The old Raiden, the former thunder god, his mentor, his father…The one that got away. Liu Kang only wanted Raiden to be happy because he saw, from the outside looking in, the stress and pressure Raiden had to maintain on his own. And being a fire god himself, he can finally reconcile with those tough decisions Raiden burdened himself with. There were times Liu Kang just wanted to hold him, to kiss away any tears or fears Raiden had.

But they were never meant to be, but that never meant that Raiden's happiness never came first for Liu Kang. Liu Kang may not be able to provide for Raiden emotionally or physically, but he can give him a life where he doesn't have to worry about a single thing. So he put Raiden in his shoes and gave him everything Liu Kang would've wanted. A loving family, a best friend, a wise mentor…A home…Everything Liu Kang has lost or never had, he gave to Raiden…In some way, it was almost like a thank-you gift to the one god who gave him everything in his mortal life.

"Lord Liu Kang?"

Liu Kang opens his eyes as he's slightly disturbed from his meditation. He can see Shujinko peeking through the door, a tray full of food. I'm sorry to disturb you. I wanted to bring you a meal from the mess hall…"

Liu Kang's glowing eyes stare at the young pupil, and he gestures for him to enter. The young man hurries into Liu Kang's quarters, taking brief seconds to admire the gods' room before setting the tray in from of Liu. Just as Shujinko was about to leave, Liu Kang speaks up, "Please, sit with me. I…I would like the company."

"R-really?" Shujinko looks at Liu Kang in utter surprise. He doesn't know anyone in the academy who has sat down with Liu Kang ever since the fire god decided to isolate himself. He's probably the first in a long time to actually SEE Liu Kang in so long. "Are you sure?"

Liu Kang smiles as he picks up the bowl of rice and chopsticks. "I don't eat much anymore. You can have some of the items presented."

Shujinko was still dumbfounded as he watched Liu consume the rice. Shujinko would finally sit across from Liu and pick up a slice of bread and carefully takes a bite. The pair ate in silence, which was more than enough for Liu Kang. Just being near someone, even if it was someone he wasn't too familiar with, Liu Kang knew that at some point, he needed to break this cycle. If Kung Lao was here, he would've scolded him and drag his sorry-ass outside, and forced him to to rekindle himself with the world at large. Liu Kang actually chuckles to himself as he thinks about this.

"Hmm?" Shujinko looks at Liu Kang startled.

"Nothing, Shujinko…Just thinking…" Liu Kang smiles.

~whoo, I wrote "considerably" less this time around :D! So, the reason why I picked the title "Burning Tree" is because I was thinking of Shujinko because trees are often associated with family ties and how they're connected to each other. In this case, its more memories than any familial ties Shujinko has with the characters. With his memories gone, it's like a tree burning (or a better analogy being the house fire I mentioned in the story). A burnt tree is nigh reversible and you are stuck with whatever was left behind, if anything was even left behind. That can go hand in hand with Shujinko's (and even Raiden's) memories when Liu Kang removed them. Liu Kang, being the god of fire, can take away those painful memories, but once the deed is done, is irreversible. Even the most dedicated of therapy sessions won't return those lost memories. But like embers after a flame, small fragments might still remain. See, I'm hella smart :D. Also, if it wasn't obvious already, I'm a big Liu Kang/Raiden lover and I was shocked to see there was barely any fics about the pair on AO3. The horror!~

#Mortal Kombat #Mortal Kombat 1 #MK1 #MK1 Shujinko #MK1 Liu Kang #MK1 Raiden #MK9 Raiden #Shujinko #Liu Kang #Raiden #Oops Kung Lao's Dead Again AU #Wilted Cherry Blossoms Dark Thunderstorms Burning Hopes

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running-with-the-feels · 4 months

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Headcanon!

That dragon symbol we see on Shang Tsung's island (y'know the one that is synonymous with the game) is actually just the symbol for the tournament itself (a la the 2021 live action movie) and champions used to get invited with tokens bearing that symbol.

The island used to be a place where champions could train for tournaments (as it was common for realms to invite champions from other realms to increase their odds) regardless of what faction they were a part of (so a shaolin and a shirai ryu could both go, or an Edenian could come to Earthrealm to train)

Then Shang Tsung took the island over and used it to host tournaments on Shao Kahn's behalf, something he had done on other realms during their conquests

While the use of tokens has fallen out of favor, it is still common for champions to mark themselves with that symbol in some way (tattoos, inscribed on weapons/armor, embroidered clothes, etc)

idk if any of this has any basis in canon, but it sparks joy so I am inflicting it upon you all

#mortal kombat #mortal kombat x #mortal kombat 11 #mortal kombat 2021

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dubiousdisco · 2 months

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How about an mk1 au where the girlies are the earthrealm champions and the boys are... idk, the royal family and li mei. I think it would be cool if kitana and mileena were actually fighting side by side while the boys deal with their emotions and politics idk

#what would li mei do tho would she be like reiko. would sindel be shao. this is so funny to think about #do we have enough girls for the #kuai Thomas bi han trio

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advictoriams · 6 months

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I wanna see the kind of world Markus would create were he a Titan and the Keeper of Time.

Who is his Protector of that version of Earthrealm (it can't be him. My bet is either Liu Kang or Geras)

Who are his champions?

Will they too have to worry about idk... Onaga the Dragon King?

#dbh vs mk #detroit become kombat #markus rk200 #titan markus timeline plz #guys Markus isn't going to make any of the jericrew his Protector of Earthrealm or any of his champions #because they would be his guardians of the hourglass

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red-in-every-sense-of-the-word · 8 months

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Ive tagged this post to high heaven so if you somehow get spoilered because of this idk what to tell you. I've played through storymode, good chunk of invasions, and had a crack at the endings towers. Ngl Mortal Kombat 1 is a massive fucking fail and I'm so mad I didn't listen and cancelled my preorder.

After the first half or slightly under of the storymode it took a massive nose dive into complete mess, like not even mess as in the choices we're ill-advised, but mess as in you barely know wtf is going on and neither does the actual plot, they forget half the characters exist (they dropped Bi-Han's traitor plot completely after the Scorpion chapter and forgot about Smoke and Kuai Liang, Kung Lao may as well be a background character, Ashrah and Reptile fucking disappear after entering Earthrealm etc),

They ripped off other games ideas while also forgetting plot points from previous games they're going off of (the blatant Armageddon ending/MK9 opening final act ripoff that would've been better if it wasn't flooded with those stupid mutant champions and random copies no one asked for, forgetting the whole Shinnok's Amulet harms the user who uses it thing with Shao and forgetting the madness it causes, ripping off MK11's final battle with all the realms against the time keeper battle all over again etc.)

Essentially, this game has some good ideas and a very good first half up until Shinnoks Amulet randomly got dropped into the mix. I liked the twist of both MK11 endings being canon, I didn't like the fact that the writers decided to make a fucking avengers endgame ripoff out of the idea only for everything to magically snap back to normal reality after its all over. What the actual fuck.

They have such good ideas but never explain a single fucking thing about it in-game. Does Cris divorce Johnny instead of Sonya and Johnny divorcing then getting back together to spare them that pain in Liu Kangs design? Do Ashrah and Sareena know each other since they both worked under Quan Chi? Wtf is Rain's motivation for betraying his Edenian family? How about what happened to Hanzo Hasashi or Bi Han and Kuai Liang's father? Does Kenshi end up restoring his family's glory? Where do Ashrah and Reptile end up? How about Sareena? What the fuck is going on with Jerrodmac? Is Sonya ever gonna be apart of the damned story considering how important she is/was to Earthrealm getting a better timeline? Where the fuck does Kung Lao fit into the story now he's been sidelined AGAIN despite MK11 implying he'd finally get a shot at being the chosen one? Where is Raiden's personality for 95% of the game until timekeeper old Raiden shows up?

They leave all of this unanswered and instead just. Blow everything up and make it all substanceless epic emptiness. Like literally nothing meaningful happens in the last act on that pyramid. At all. The first section of Johnny's chapter where he's basically Indiana Jones had more substance to it then the whole last half of the game did! Oh yeah btw I love Megan Fox (Transformers Movie Fan) but God her Nitara voice acting blows so hard. MK11 Sonya wasn't bad at all yall give her too much shit and then they get bigger names to do roles in this shit and its just worse. Nitara was another character they did not explain at all. So was Khameleon and Darrius and Sareena. They were just There.

It sucks because there were some really cool concepts like Johnny and the gang in the Wu Shi instead of just the usual monks, the Johnny and Kenshi mini storyline was very good and sweet (honestly I see zero romantic chemistry there idk where yall are getting this from but their friendship here is so fucking good and builds off of their friendship in MKX very well and I'm glad it's still there and flourishing. There's not many well-written and healthy male friendships in media that I've seen and I'm glad this turned out to be a perfect example of one). I loved the way they portrayed Bi Han's descent into ambition driven betrayel and it would've been perfect if we were given more explanation. Especially when he gave Kuai Liang his infamous scar. That was sick as hell.

I know not many people were happy that he was being made a villain again but honestly if they tried making him a good guy I doubt they'd be able to pull off anything better than a bitchier version of Kuai Liang and we've already got one good Sub-Zero, it's more interesting to see the worser side of Bi-Han and if they explore him with Sareena again it could make their relationship more interesting when she joins the side of good eventually without him.

Essentially it comes down to a lot of wasted potential, the interface of the game and the towers and some of the rendering in invasions mode and the end of fight standing over you cutscene in story mode is so bad. I don't even think they properly rendered dark Raiden in one cutscene at all. It feels sloppy and rushed. The gear setup is worse and shittier then MK11, there's no variations. The Palette setup is an improvement from the rehash of a skin in 40 odd colours but there's only one gear option instead of three. The actual outfits in the game are very hit or miss mostly miss with such dull colours and clothing/accessories just not sitting right like Kung Laos hat and the odd choice of colours for Sindel (beige) and others.

As for the Kameo system, it's useless. I literally barely use it and when I do it's exactly like using the Konsumables in MK11 except they've changed the damned enhance button to the trigger to make room for a feature absolutely no one wanted ☠️

It's just disappointing. And I probably have more to say about it but rn I'm on almost 24 hours of not sleeping and have to make it another 4 hours before I'm allowed to crash so I'll leave it here for now.

Oh yeah and the Kombat Kids geting slaughtered. Only giving Cassie her "lesbian cut" on her MK11 model specifically now and massacring Jin's design only to kill them all. Didn't like that. I genuinely almost cried because seeing Cassie I almost got my hopes up for a possible playable future for her and then I saw Jin and I've never been more devastated in my life. He looks like Kabal for fucks sake.

Good evening and I'm never preordering a Mortal Kombat game again

#Milady Talks #mortal kombat #mk #Mortal Kombat 1 #Mortal Kombat 12 #Mortal Kombat 1 (2023)#MK1 #MK1 (2023)#MK12 #Mortal Kombat 1 Spoilers #MK1 Spoilers #MK12 Spoilers #Mortal Kombat 12 Spoilers #Mortal Kombat 1 Review #Mortal Kombat 1 (2023) Spoilers #MK1 (2023) Spoilers #MK1 Review #MK12 Review #Mortal Kombat Spoilers #MK Spoilers #MK Review #Mortal Kombat Review #The extra skins all suck too #Couldve put that 90 towards a ps5 or silent hill 2 remake but here we are.#absolute dogshit #Not a fan of Johnshi for the record I just dont get why people aren't satisfied with a good and healthy male relationship when theres barely #any of them out there to enjoy!! Two people can be friends without it being romantic guys I mean this regardless of all identities 😭😭#thats only a miniscule part of the shitshow here btw yall had me prepared to have my CageBlade canon heart destroyed but I was just faced #instead by two dudes who just had a really sweet comradeship going on with zero romantic shit whatsoever. Was dead confused #Anyways enjoy this shitty review it made me want to start smoking 👍

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