#mei lin li
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MK1 Headcanon Dump (Non-Romantic/SFW)
Kitana and Smoke are the babies of their respective teams (from now on to be known as Team Umgadi and Team Lin Kuei). Kuai Liang is younger, but Smoke, being kidnapped adopted, is their honorary Baby Brother.
Kuai Liang's fiery powers come from their mom, who, to the Grandmaster's surprise, is/was a pyromancer.
Syzoth is the honorary fourth Lin Kuei boy. Bi-Han, Kuai Liang, and Tomas Vrbada have taken him in.
Even in his human form, Syzoth's skin gets dry, itchy, and scaly when it's time for his true form to shed.
Johnny Cage can be the meanest motherfucker in the world when he wants to be.
The Outworld throne is matrilineal, and a prince can't become king unless he has no sisters. The realm's many cultures vary on this matter, but the capital and big cities lean matriarchal. Rain feels a little henpecked at times.
Mileena has a military career, judging from the armor she wears in the Umgadi group shot. She's gone off to war more than once, leaving Kitana and Sindel to worry themselves sick over her.
Kitana is an excellent spy. She follows Mileena into the most sensitive places in Outworld, and her calm presence puts people at ease, especially around her hotheaded sister. She's also the best eavesdropper in Outworld, but you didn't hear that from me.
She also happens to have the most sass out of the entire roster.
Li Mei's shishi (Chinese lion) is female. Yes, there's a mane, but the critters often guard establishments in opposite-sex pairs and show no apparent dimorphism. How do you tell them apart? The male has his paw on a ball and the female has her paw restraining a cub.
(I'm trying to get some good Tanya ones, I promise, but they're mostly romantic/NSFW. She does have amazing skin with a jealously guarded beauty routine, and Mileena is a point of contention between her and Kitana.)
Kitana doesn't go to war unless Mileena asks her along, and even then she won't let Baby Sis on the front lines. Kitana keeps her skills sharp by helping to train new military recruits.
#mortal kombat 1#unveiled thoughts#mk1#mortal kombat headcanons#headkitanons#kitana#mileena#tanya#rain#sindel#lin kuei#sub-zero#scorpion#scorpion mk#kuai liang#bi-han#li mei#reptile#syzoth#tomas vrbada#smoke#johnny cage
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MK hc
sooo I’m sick, got some time 🤷🤷🤷
Kung Lao gets his gossip from Johnny, then tells it to Raiden (who probably tells it to Tomas)
Liu kang knew the Lin kuei brothers when they were just kids
liu kang also helped train kuai liang to control his pyromancer (cause yknow he came from a line of cyromancers and how tf would they know what to do with fire when they use ice)
Bi-Han is older, but Kuai Liang is just barely taller, so whenever Bi-Han pulled the ‘I’m older card, Kuai Liang would pull the ‘I’m taller’ card (also despite being taller no one mistakes Bi-Han as the younger)….. Tomas is also taller than Bi han (just bc it would piss him off)
Raiden once pulled out an uno reverse card on Kung Lao after he tried to make Raiden pay a large bill (Kung Lao had to pay)
Liu kang’s hair took awhile to fade from the grey/white back to his original black
This being said his hair will revert back to grey depending on how much godly power he uses, so he literally has rapunzel hair (minus the length)
Syzoth gets cold easily, especially when in earth realm, so he is always bundled in blankets, sweatshirts, fluffy socks etc.
Bakara is basically a dad to everyone
Johnny is the best movie picker, and when he’s not it’s always on purpose
Liu kang has naturally good locks, it makes Kitana and Kung Lao jealous (mk11)
Liu kang and Geras are meet up at least once a month or one every other month
Liu kang is pretty much unrecognizable without a bandanna/headband (only people who can recognize him is Kitana and Kung Lao (sorta mk11 but can be both mk11 & mk1))
Tomas and Raiden often hang out a Madame Bo’s
Madame Bo is the ultimate mother/grandma figure, not even Liu Kang is safe
like she scolded him for about an hour for overworking himself with his godly duties
Shang Tsung tried (and failed) to befriend Raiden and Kuai Liang after the stairwell battle…. Didn’t end well
Mileena and Bi han would hang out and braid each other’s hair (bi han is better) and honestly gossip/shit talk
Bi Han has a deep and sorta raspy voice cause he obtained a bad throat injury (slit throat, crushed vocal cords, smth like that), also why he wears a high collar
Yes Tomas is one of the nicest people, but he is also one of the most scariest
Li mei surprising gets along with the Lin kuei and is one of the only people to get them to stop bitching at each other (the others is madam Bo and sometimes liu kang)
Bi han doesn’t flinch when fire/pyromancy is used around him (idk if that’s bc he’s cocky and a cyromancer or bc he was trained not to be scared) (I base this off the scene in cage mansion where everyone but bi han moved back when liu kang flared up)
#mortal kombat#mk1#mk11#lin kuei#bi han#tomas vrbada#kuai liang#hc#liu kang#kitana#mileena#kung lao#raiden#madam bo#li mei#syzoth
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youtube
I have been in a love/hate relationship with this video for 2 years, making sure it was perfect, but I'm so happy and proud of how it turned out. This is my first Nirvana In Fire video, and hopefully, I will be making more.
This video is dedicated to @not-saying-revolution-but after she made me a gifset from Guardian.
Drama: Nirvana In Fire (琅琊榜)
Song: This is War
Artist: Thirty Seconds to Mars
Edit: imsorryandthankyou
#nirvana in fire#this is war#thirty seconds to mars#琅琊榜#lang ya bang#nif#lin shu#mei changsu#xiao jingyan#meng zhi#Fei Liu#Princess Mu Nihuang#Mu Nihuang#gong yu#lin chen#li gang#zhen ping#nie feng#wei zheng#grand princess Liyang#Concubine Jine#Prince Qi#xia dong#xia jiang#marquise xie yu#marquise yan que#xiao jingrui#yan yujin#chiyan army#imsorryandthankyou
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Xiao Jingyan 🤝🏻 Fang Duobing
Falling in love with their boyfriend's more scheming, sickly identities and actually appreciating and caring about that side of them before they find out that their boyfriend is actually the bright, glorious sun that was their childhood love
#mysterious lotus casebook#li xiangyi#li lianhua#lian hua lou#fang duobing#Fanghua#nirvana in fire#Mei changsu#Xiao jingyan#langya bang#Jingsu#Lin shu
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Li Mei & Bi-Han: Why General send you then...
Reiko: The General wants you dead.
Li Mei: Then why did he send you?
Reiko: The General hates loose ends.
Sub-Zero: Then he should send someone competent to kill me.
#mortal kombat#bi han#sub zero#li mei#reiko#RIP REIKO#the most funny thing about that is#smoke's intro saying li mei reminds him mother#and considering the possibility tomas talked about his lin kuei mom#i can treat it as another reason to consider bi han the mama's boy#if li mei and his mom has similar attitude XD
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thinking about grief and love and my two favorite cdrama ships today, namely di feisheng/li lianhua (dihua) from mysterious lotus casebook (mlc) and lin chen/mei changsu (linsu) from nirvana in fire (nif). i apparently go for the old married couples where one of them is actively dying.
both mcs and llh are main characters dying from incurable poisons and both are more or less ok with that whereas their partners are less so. after that they do diverge quite a bit; lin chen rather famously declares that he doesn't know lin shu, mei changsu's previous identity, only mei changsu. di feisheng, on the other hand, is obsessed with who li lianhua used to be, li xiangyi, di feisheng's one and only rival.
lin chen shows up at the beginning of nif to set up mcs and then fucks off for 40+ episodes only to show up at the end to try to discourage mcs from fulfilling what he feels is lin shu's (his) destiny, because he's no longer lin shu but mcs and mcs has inherent value of his own. dfs starts out forcibly trying to cure llh to turn him back into lxy, but grows closer to llh over the course of mlc and they drink nuptial wine together and talk about the moon. at the end, dfs leaves the probable cure for llh's poison with him rather than shoving it down his throat like he would have at the beginning.
most relevantly to me, lin chen gets the chance to go with mcs to the very end. he enlists and follows him to meiling. he works to keep mcs going as long as he possibly can, he looks mcs's death in the face and does his best to delay it. he's there until the very last second. llh doesn't even leave dfs a body.
lin chen lives with the grief as it looms closer and closer and knows the shape it takes in his life. he's a doctor, he's faced this before even if it's much, much more personal this time. dfs is left widowed at the altar at their beach wedding with a hundred guests. he searches relentlessly for llh with all of the considerable resources available to him, and finds nothing. i wonder a lot about how long he searches. does he search forever? does he eventually give up? does he, a man steeped in death since childhood, actually know how to grieve?
i don't really have a conclusion to draw. i'm just thinking about who these two men leave behind and what different pictures the ones left have to work with. mcs leaves behind letters, but not to jingyan and not to lin chen, who most likely has to coordinate their delivery. llh leaves dfs his only letter where he offers fdb as his successor.
maybe it's that lin chen has to watch mcs die but gets the closure of being with him up until his final moments and dfs gets nothing. no goodbye, no grave, just the shards of lxy's broken sword. llh didn't even leave him those on purpose. maybe he gets the hope that it's not true, but at what cost?
god i love these two ships so much.
#mysterious lotus casebook#nirvana in fire#dihua#linsu#feihua#di feisheng#li lianhua#lin chen#mei changsu#rambling#i could also talk about my tendency to ship something just off the fandom juggernaut ship#either mc with someone other than fandom's designated boyfriend#or just straight up background characters#but like honestly that is another conversation lol#i'm only a little sorry i'm like this
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WAIT... So.. Are some of the Earthrealm characters just--- able?? To like... Travel to Outworld, without relying on Liu Kang to get them there? Like... Bi-Han or even any other people? Because I vaguely remember in an intro dialogue with Li Mei, he mentioned having operatives in Sun Do, and in a different dialogue with Scorpion and Li Mei. Kuai Liang mentions that his brother's trail has lead him to Sun Do, which is a village in Outworld.
Do the Lin Kuei have their own respective access to Outworld or is there someone like aiding them???
#mk1#mortal kombat 1#trying to currently wrap my head around.. ANY PART OF THE STORY OUTSIDE OF JUST THE MAIN STORY ATM AND TRYING TO PIECE TOGETHER THE INTRO#DIALOGUES RN AND I AM LOSING MY MIND OVER IT#Bi han#kuai liang#sub zero#mk1 sub zero#scorpion#mk1 scorpion#mk1 kuai liang#li mei#mk1 li mei#Lin Kuei
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Big fan of relationships with ghosts in them. Where there used to be someone. That someone died and now those that remain are forever aware of the empty spaces that can't be filled. Where the mutual grief becomes some hollow form of romance that can't stand up to the nostalgia that haunts their shared present.
#this is about so many relationships but let's see: (gideon)/(harrow)/ianthe (also the Body in any harrow romance).#li lianhua/qiao wanmian/(li xiangyi)/xiao zijin. and as ever: mei changsu/(lin shu)/mu nihuang#ghosts helpfully in brackets and also extra helpfully none of them are actually dead. well. hm.#they're busy haunting relationships and they couldn't even die properly about it.
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About the 7s visual novel's characters and their symbolism
Taking a break from fanfiction to infodump about my favorite thing ever, which is symbolism in etymology! Sit down because this is going to be a long one... and if you read the whole thing I applaud you and also would love to talk about your thoughts!
Lin Zhaoyu
The origin of her name is actually stated in game itself, coming from the Book of Odes- a Chinese poetry book. Meaning literally, "morning rain," it is taken from the following poem. The letters that make up her name are bolded.
蝃蝀在東、莫之敢指。
女子有行、遠兄弟父母。
朝隮于西、崇朝其雨。
女子有行、遠兄弟父母。
乃如之人也、懷昏姻也。
大無信也、不知命也。
Here is the translation of the poem:
The part about her being untrue to herself in marriage rings very true.
Li Sushang
The symbolism of Sushang's name is connected to that of multiple other characters, despite the literal meaning of it sounding quite simple on the outside. You might see her name via MTL written as "plain clothes," but it's a stark oversimplification of something that's partially lost in translation.
素 (Su) refers to plain silk which has not been dyed, or white silk.
裳 (Shang) is a dress.
The first letter of her name is shared with her mother. Between Sushang, Suyi, Lingshuang, and Su Mei, there is a correlating theme of clothing that I will touch on in each of their sections.
Qin Suyi
As she had amnesia, Suyi does not remember her birth name and was gifted a new one by Fu Hua. Following the trend of how she named Su Mei, her name was also taken from the book of odes. The word Suyi appears in two different poems- again, I've bolded it as written in both.
揚之水、白石鑿鍪。
素衣朱襮、從子于沃。
既見君子、云何不樂。
揚之水、白石皓皓。
素衣朱繡、從子于鵠。
既見君子、云何其憂。
揚之水、白石粼粼。
我聞有命、不敢以告人。
And the translation:
The second poem:
庶見素冠兮、棘人欒欒兮、勞心慱慱
兮。
庶見素衣兮、我心傷悲兮、聊與子同歸兮。
庶見素韡兮、我心蘊結兮、聊與子如一兮。
And the translation:
From the second poem, you can see the references to grief in regard to clothing. While Suyi and Sushang both have the same literal translation of their names, "plain clothes," Suyi's name also carries an additional symbolism. The second letter of her name, 衣 (Yi), refers to a robe instead of a dress, so her name refers to "a robe of colorless silk." This specific term is used in certain contexts to refer to mourning garments, as it is customary to wear white while mourning in some parts of Chinese culture.
This theme of dye is continued in other contexts, where Suyi is known among the Seven Swords as "The Blade of Ink-Dyed Incense." Additionally, her Xuanyuan sword, while known in English as Ebonstyle, is also referred to in Chinese as "Ink-Dyed Incense"- but the word for ink used is different between the two. (It is not letting me copy/paste Chinese words right now so, source: trust me bro)
To delve into my personal thoughts, I think it's so clever that Sushang is "a dress yet to be dyed," while Suyi is a mourning garment, since Sushang still has a long life ahead of her, and Suyi has passed on. Anyways please hit me with a car.
((fun fact: the last letter of Suyi's name, Yi, is shared with Raiden Mei (Yayi), hence why her name comes through MTL as "bud clothes" sometimes 😭😭))
Su Mei
We actually do not know Su Mei's birth name either! She was given a new first name by Fu Hua, and was going to be given Zhaoyu's last name (Lin), but chose to take her mother's surname instead. The reason as to why she chose (or was recommended by Fu Hua) to change her name while still remembering her birth name is unclear.
At Zhaoyu's recommendation, her name also comes from the following poem of the Book of Odes:
It is not letting me highlight the text :,) so the part of the poem that is her name is "margin of the water." Mei specifically refers to where the bank of a river meets the water.
Fun fact: Her surname Su is shared with the MANTIS Su! It is said in legend to also be the surname of Xuanyuan's descendants.
At a time where Filial Piety was of the utmost importance, her changing her surname to take her mother's surname is significant. To change your surname from your father's name could be seen the same as disowning him. At the time, women did not change their names to that of their husband when getting married, hence QIN Suyi vs LI Shen or LIN Zhaoyu vs MA Feima.
While not significant to her name itself, she continues Sushang and Suyi's clothing theme. Her ability revolves around being able to see the threads of fate and predict things that may happen. Hence, it is said about her that anything she says will come true. It's never mentioned in the text, but if you zoom in up close to this art of her, you can actually see her threads surrounding her.
From the threads plus her hair color, it makes me think of the legend of "The Red String of Fate," which is ironic being that she says she does not love anyone.
Cheng Lingshuang
Yes, she does share a surname with Cheng Lixue, but no, they are not related. Lixue was named by Fu Hua, and her surname comes from the philosopher Cheng Yi, and a saying about his disciples waiting for him in the snow, hence Lixue- Snow. Their names are so similarily themed that it's likely not a coincidence on Hua's behalf, but it's more of a homage than them actually being related.
Lingshuang means ice frost. It does not come from the Book of Odes.
To continue the talk on Filial Piety, Lingshuang is the only character to not go by her surname, either in character or on her actual dialogue name tag. She's only referred to as her full name twice, once when she is introduced as a baby, and twice when Senti is beefing with Sushang and low-key throwing shade on her master's name. Lingshuang is a character who ignores societal rules, and Filial Piety is no exception- she has no reason to care about her family or her father, so she disregards her name.
Any instance of her name being translated as "Ling Shuang" is a following mistake on HYV's localization team. (I did personally email them and they fixed it 😭😭😭) It was because the translators did not receive the context that she doesn't use her surname, so they assumed how her name was separated by first and last, as Chinese names don't have spaces between the two. If you spell her name with a space in the middle I will show up at your house at 3am.
The theme of clothes continues from her kid's as she has a loom in her house which she uses to make silk. She says that honing her fingers in such a way is also a way to hone her martial arts.
Ma... Yanqing, Feima
Ma Feima means "the horse is not a horse." He changed his name to this after getting married because he hated his past identity. It comes from "Bai Ma Fei Ma," a Chinese grammatical paradox that does not make sense in English. Don't ask me to explain it because I can't, but it means "the white horse is not a horse."
Ma means horse, and is also the most common surname within the Chinese Muslim community (specifically the Hui people.) It is used often in reference to the prophet Muhammad.
Yan means swallow, continuing Hua's bird theme.
A lot of his names and titles relate to horses. He really likes horses. A lot.
Jiang Wanxi & Wanru
These two get the smallest part because they aren't developed enough for me to GAF (I'm sorry 😭) basically their names come from a poem in the Book of Odes, which is funny since Hua isn't even the one that named them.
I hope if you read this that you enjoyed this session of Fun Facts With Mel and please tell me your thoughts. I also definitely forgot something so I might go back later and add things. Thank you for reading!
#honkai#honkai 3rd#cheng lingshuang#fu hua#honkai 3#honkai impact 3rd#7s#taixuan#taixu#sushang#li sushang#yanqing#zhaoyu#lin zhaoyu#hua#shattered swords#7s vn#su mei
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And this line does not mean join Shirai Ryu
They were captured, probably in Sun Do, and Cyrax chose to stay in prison or is planning something to trick them.
Because who is gonna be arrested with B-Han in outworld and save him after he got abducted and turned into Noob is definitely Cyrax
No way this is Sektor talking with Tanya, I can't imagine him comforting anyone. And he is not a warrior in mk1, he is the Lin Kuei's master armorer. And nothing seems to point him out as a woman too.
#mortal kombat#mortal kombat 1#mk leaks#mk1 spoilers#cyrax#cyrax mk#lin kuei#bi han#bi han sub zero#sektor#sektor mk#smoke#smoke mk1#kuai liang scorpion#scorpion mk1#scorpion mk#mk1#li mei#li mei mk#bihan#smoke mk#mk1 leaks
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Cdrama: Shui Long Yin (2024?)
042724 罗云熙领衔主演玄侠电视剧 《水龙吟》一秒江湖宣传片: Fantasy wuxia Shui Long Yin starring Luo Yunxi as Tang Lici
Watch this video on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALpE5kJ32Zs
#Shui Long Yin#水龙吟#Water Dragon's Chant#Qian Jie Mei#千劫眉#水龍吟#2024?#Hunan TV#Mango TV#youtube#cdrama#chinese drama#Luo Yun Xi#Luo Leo#Tang Li Ci#Xiao Shun Yao#Shen Lang Hun#Ao Zi Yi#Chi Yun#Alen Fang#Fang Yi Lun#Liu Yan#Bao Shang En#Zhong Chun Ji#Sebrina Chen#Xi Fang Tao#Jelly Lin#A Shui#avance#full cast
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Some little Lin and Mei Li thoughts
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Mortal Kombat Oc’s-part 2
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Rhyolite
Real name:Min Le
Age:18-20
Birth place:The Lin Kuei fortress
Current Residence:The Lin Kuei Fortress (formerly), The Shirai Ryu Fortress (after the events of MK1)
Family
-Father:Long Fei (deceased)
-Mother:Ai xue (deceased)
-Brothers:Bi Han, Kuai Liang, Tomas Vrbada
Appearance:Min Le is about the average height of a Chinese woman, with short, wavy, black hair that sits just above her shoulders. She’s got dark brown eyes with a usually bright smile.
Min Le has a lean build with somewhat muscular arms due to her training. She’s got some scars on her shoulders from sparring and a burn scar on her knee from a childhood accident.
Default outfit is the standard Lin Kuei/Shirai Ryu uniform but in a muted red. Her mask is a dark red and is reminiscent of a rhino beetle with pointed ends (like part of it points upwards and the bottom part points downwards)
Backstory:Min Le was born to the grandmaster of the Lin Kuei, Long Fei and his wife, Ai xue, almost two months premature. She was already a difficult pregnancy for her mother and it was feared that neither baby or mother would survive the first few days after she was born.
Thankfully, Min Le and Ai Xue would survive. Ai Xue would be severely weakened by giving birth, but that did not stop her from being a loving mother. Min Le was very close to her mother and father as both were overjoyed to have a daughter of their own. She resembled her mother mostly, leaving Long Fei to always say, “Min Le is just as pretty as her mother”.
Kuai Liang, Bi Han and Tomas were extremely happy to have a little sister and Min Le would go onto have a very sibling-like relationship as well. Yet, out of all of her brothers, she seemed to be attached to Bi Han the most. As a baby, if she would cry, he would usually be the first to pick her up and console her. Their relationship would quickly change after their mother passed.
Min Le was four when her mother passed away from illness. Bi Han would become more distant towards his sister, as he was closer to his mother than his father. He would partially blame Min Le for their mother dying as her birth resulted in their mother’s weakened state, which allowed her to get sick more easily. Despite this, Min Le was still too young to understand and was confused why Bi Han was so cold towards her. Long Fei would become somewhat protective over Min Le as well, as she was the last bit of his wife he had left. This would further distance Bi Han and Min Le apart as Bi Han believed that their father was showing favoritism towards her.
As Min Le got older, it soon became apparent that she showed an affinity for earth magic. This wasn’t surprising as she, Kuai Liang and Bi Han all come from a long line of elemental magic users. She would also be trained in the use of a Chuí (a type of hammer) that resembled a sledgehammer. She continued to stay close to her brothers but Bi Han would stay cold towards her. Min Le still idolized her older brother.
She eventually graduated to rank of a full Lin Kuei, yet her brothers would continue to be protective over her, not letting her go on certain missions. She now longs to prove herself to be just as strong as her siblings.
Playlist
-Am I Dreaming by Metro Boomin, A$AP Rocky and Roisee
-Brutal by Olivia Rodrigo
-Buy The Stars by Marina and The Diamonds
-Fear by Current Joys
-GO! by Santigold ft Karen O
-Vienna by Billy Joel
-What was I made for by Billie Eilish
Princess Yumi
Full Title:Princess Yumi Of Outworld
Age:looks to be early twenties, in reality much closer to 10,000 due to being Edenian
Birthplace:The Royal Palace, Sun Do, Outworld
Current Residence:The Royal Palace, Sun Do, Outworld
Family
-father:King Jerrod
-mother:Queen Sindel (deceased)
-sisters:Princess Mileena, Princess Kitana
-appearance:a tall woman, at about 5’10, Yumi has a fair complexion with a bit of a slender face. She resembles mostly her sister Kitana in terms of facial features though. She’s got long black hair normally worn in a braid that stops at her mid back and wears a smaller version of Kitana’s headpiece (Tiara? Idk what it’s called) that sits the crown of her head. Yumi is tall and slender, just like her sisters, very swan-like.
Default outfit is mostly similar to Mileena’s but in lilac with silver accents. She has arm guards like Kitana’s and does not have leg guards like Mileena has. She has sheer pink short train-thing (think of sort of like a bustle but much shorter-I’m so sorry I can’t describe this well) that sits on her hips and covers her butt.
Backstory:the youngest child of Sindel and Jerrod and third in line for the throne, Yumi knew from a young age she’d have less responsibility than her older sisters. Mileena was the heir and Kitana was next in line if anything would happen to her twin. So, Yumi was free of the responsibility of leading the empire. Despite her “interesting” reputation as an adult, as a child, she was actually a strict rule follower. Even more of a “goody two-shoes” than Kitana.
She was also quite intelligent, excelling in her studies. She also learned to fight alongside her sisters, coming to be skilled with a shield and club. Yet, compared to her sisters, Yumi was much less “like a princess” than her sisters. She was a bit of an ugly duckling to put it bluntly.
At age 14, she was sent to a boarding school to further her studies. She was gone for four long years, but often wrote to her parents and sisters. Finally, she returned to Sun Do on her 18th birthday and her transformation was eye-opening to say the least. She had grown several inches and had clearly grown into her looks. She was a lot more talkative, confident, but most noticeable, more reckless and less eager to follow the rules like she was before.
When it came to her parents, Yumi loved them but began to butt heads with them after she returned from her schooling. She didn’t like them “breathing down her neck”. On the night Jerrod died, the last words Yumi said to him “I hate you, father, just get out of my life!”. Yumi almost never lets anything bother her, but this was the exception.
Going into adulthood, Yumi basically became the “it girl” of Sun Do. Many would copy her sense of style and it was a sign of status if you were invited to her parties. She was also a great source of scandal though, from public intoxication or even having affairs “just for fun”. Yet, no one can deny that Yumi knew how to work a room and is surprisingly good at diplomacy as she knows exactly what to say to get on a person’s good side.
Playlist
-Confidence by Ocean Alley
-The Family Jewels by Marina and The Diamonds
-Maneater by Daryl Hall and John Oates
-No Scrubs by TLC
-Primadonna by Marina and The Diamonds
-She Wolf by Shakira
-SUPERMODEL by Måneskin
#mortal kombat 1 oc#mortal Kombat#mk1#mk oc Rhyolite/Min Le#mk oc Princess Yumi#lin kuei#shirai ryu#li mei mk#sindel mk1#kitana mk1#mileena mk1#bi han sub zero#kuai liang scorpion#original characters
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[MK1] Bi-Han & Kuai Liang. Good brother? Evil brother? Nah, just different reactions to trauma, part 4
part 1, part 2, part 3
Sources provided a clear difference how brothers felt about their father. For Kuai Liang, the man was a cherished parent AND authority figure he built his life around. For Bi-Han, father (and mimicking him grieving Scorpion) was a source of frustration and limitation he did not agree with. Bi-Han and Tomas definitely had a more complex relationship with their father than Kuai Liang did.
So far, we got only little bits in regard to mother and her influences on brothers and Lin Kuei politics but enough to see how Sub-Zero and Scorpion’s relationship with her differ from how they felt about father.
Before I will dwell on those relationships I would like to point out a small detail noticed during my research: so far there is no direct mention that the mother was in fact a wife of Grandmaster. She is either referred to as a mother or parent - which makes sense, because her importance is related to the brothers, not to their father, so it would be weird if Bi-Han, Tomas or Kuai Liang talked about her as the “wife of Grandmaster”. At the same time, the lack of implication of marriage bond between mother and father[1] and how she is refered feels similar to the obscure reference from original timeline:
Born in America, Sub-Zero was the oldest of three children, which included a brother and sister. Their mother wanted a normal life for her sons, who had already been chosen by the Lin Kuei to become warriors for the clan. She tried in vein to hide them from their father whose own life in America was only a cover for his true identity and purpose. Eventually they were found and their father returned with them to his homeland. Their mother and sister were never seen or heard from again. (x)
Due to this, I decided to not describe her as the wife or supposed wife of Grandmaster and stick just to provided by sources terms of mother, parent and Lin Kuei fighter - so in advance sorry for repetition of those words. At the same time, this specific way of including the mother in Bi-Han, Tomas and Kuai Liang’s story creates a possibility of a more complicated family relationship, both between brothers and their parents or between the mother and father alone. And as a result the whole Lin Kuei inner politics, as we already have a hint of its complexity due to Cyrax and Sektor's loyalty to Sub-Zero threatening Kuai Liang’s birthright to the title of Grandmaster. Keeping it in mind, here are some of my thoughts and conclusions about the mother and her sons.
Let’s start with Kuai Liang. There is no doubt he respected and deeply cared for father’s teaching. As I hopefully proved in the previous part, there is a solid reason to think that the loss of a cherished parent affected Scorpion to the point that grief influenced his behavior (mimicking father) and in result, relationship with brothers (barely talking with them if it didn’t involve father or tradition up to Sub-Zero’s betrayal). He expressed a burning anger at Bi-Han for letting their father die.
Kuai Liang doesn’t seem to have the same emotional bond with mother.
Sindel: Both your parents were excellent fighters.
Scorpion: I can only hope to live up to their example.
Like yes, he will acknowledge Sindel’s opinion and hope to be good as his parents but that is like the only one time we hear him saying anything about mother - and even then, she is mentioned alongside the cherished father.
Mind you, this is solely my impression, but this intro reminds me of film scenes in which a character is told by others about a parent they had never had the chance to meet or know too well. It may be a wrong impression, but there is something about Kuai Liang’s response that makes me wonder how old he was when mother died and if he lost a parent at a young age, did it fuel his deep dedication to father as there was no other authority figure to influence him as a person?
Granted, both Kuai Liang and Bi-Han never bring mother first in their intro dialogues - what A) says a lot about their upbringing and B) differs from some mentions of father. But in Scorpion’s intro there is hardly anything truly personal about his bond with mother, or her personal feelings on Lin Kuei duty, especially when compared to those focused on the previous Grandmaster.
In contrast, we have interaction between Tomas and Bi-Han:
Smoke: If Mother were alive --
Sub-Zero: She would applaud my actions.
Tomas and Bi-Han may have a different idea of how mother would react to their brotherly conflict, but both talk about her in a more personal way. Tomas invokes her the same way he brings father into discussion:
story mode: "Were he here, Father would advise us to wait without protest."
or
Sub-Zero: You were never truly one of us.
Smoke: Were Father here, he would disagree.
So we can assume mother had an impact on Tomas as he respected her as an authority figure similar to father. Alternatively, he thinks Bi-Han is more likely to listen about mother than anything he will say about their father.
The letter part would be an interesting parallel between Tomas and Bi-Han, because Smoke himself is implied to grow up without a father or not being close to his biological parent - when talking about his original family Smoke directly mentioned so far only mother and his twin sister.
Also, the same as happened with father in intro dialogues, Kuai Liang and Tomas do not talk about their Lin Kuei mother. Scorpion claimed that Tomas never mention his biological mother and sister:
Scorpion: You never speak of your mother and sister.
Smoke: Their ghosts no longer haunt me, Kuai Liang.
but as the other intro dialogues proved, Tomas does talk about them directly and indirectly with some characters,
like Kitana,
Smoke: My sister was my twin.
Kitana: How it must have hurt to lose her.
Tanya (priestess warrior)
Smoke: After losing my family, I lost my faith.
Tanya: It's the only thing that can sustain you, Tomas.
and Liu Kang (Fire Lord who may be responsible for their death)
Liu Kang: I cannot bring back your family, Tomas.
Smoke: You can't or you won't?
Like I said before, it is impossible to tell for sure about which mother, biological or adoptive, Smoke was speaking, but as he claimed Li Mei resemble him mother
Li Mei: I remind you of your mother?
Smoke: No-nonsense and tough as nails, just like her.
I personally assume he meant the adoptive one, as according to Smoke’s ending he lived with the Lin Kuei family for around 15 years. Logically thinking he would have more clear memories of her than about the biological parent he lost in childhood. We of course have no idea when - and how - his Lin Kuei mother died, but if I’m right in my assumption, then Tomas is providing vital insight into what kind of person she was. As Tomas said, a tough and no-nonsense woman and that fits perfectly the image of an excellent Lin Kuei fighter, because frankly, Bi-Han and Kuai Liang easily fit that description too. As presumably, the majority of Lin Kuei warriors.
Another thing to note, the adoptive mother is not identified by Tomas with kindness, comfort or warmth or anything most people usually associate mothers with. This of course does not mean his adoptive mother didn’t love him or was a bad parent but may give us an idea what it felt to grow up in a clan primarily focused on training warriors. A purpose that definitely affected how people interacted with each other and what was expected from children.
However the most interesting thing about Tomas considering Li Mei to be similar to adoptive mother is the fact that from all possible female fighters, he identifies mother with a woman forced into and shaped by Umgadi system of servitude but who found her true purpose outside said system.
Kitana: Resuming your old role is a waste of material.
Li Mei: Being First Constable is my first, best destiny.
or
Liu Kang: I hear the Umgadi want you back.
Li Mei: I prefer to remain First Constable.
And this finally led me to the eldest brother and Sub-Zero’s statement that mother “would applaud me”.
Bi-Han outright claims mother would be proud of him and logically thinking, supportive of his choices. Which is a drastic contrast to how he perceives father as he did call the man a fool that doomed Lin Kuei.
And here comes an important thing: though sources barely provide us an idea who Bi-Han’s mother was in original timeline - a Lin Kuei herself who knew what lay ahead of her sons already chosen by the clan or just a woman that was unlucky to meet and have three children with an assassin working undercover in America - she was literally the only person that tried to give Bi-Han and Kuai Liang a normal, safe life. This woman, whoever she was, challenged a powerful assassin clan to save her two sons and daughter and was presumably killed alongside the daughter by Bi-Han’s father. This definitely affected Bi-Han’s worldview and interestingly, the sources have never implied Sub-Zero had any strong emotional ties with his father.
Mythologies Sub-Zero’s backstory mentions only Bi-Han and Kuai Liang being kidnapped against mother’s will, that cryomancy was passed down to Bi-Han from father, that he took his place and mantle when the man died and that is basically all we know about their relationship.
Between brothers, it is always Kuai Liang to mention other male members of their family with respect, as can be seen with new timeline Scorpion and alternative timeline Kuai Liang:
Sub-Zero: I disown you in every way.
Noob Saibot: Then disown my name, 'Sub-Zero'.
Sub-Zero: The name was Grandfather's first.
and
Sub-Zero: Grandfather?
Sub-Zero: Defeat me to earn my mantle.
Sub-Zero: You honor me with your kombat.
despite the possibility that said Grandfather may be the one that kidnapped brothers to enroll them into the Lin Kuei clan, while Bi-Han as a Noob Saibot was the one bringing their mother, even if just to be sarcastic/ironic:
Noob Saibot: You disappoint me.
Sub-Zero: The feeling is mutual, brother.
Noob Saibot: Mother would be so proud.
and on two separate occasions talked to Jacqui about her mom that passed shortly before MK11’s events:
Noob Saibot: Vera's soul calls you.
Jacqui: Keep mama's name out your mouth, Revenant!
Noob Saibot: Revenant? I am Wraith!
and
Noob Saibot: Return to your mother's arms.
Jacqui: She's dead, asshole.
Noob Saibot: And her soul is mine.
and isn’t it a surprisingly similar thing to current timeline Bi-Han talking to Kitana and Mileena about their dead mother?
And yes, Liu Kang’s timeline is a fresh start and a lot of things have changed but some elements seem to repeat themselves, whether the Keeper of Time agrees with it or not. Which is why I think mother - and her fate - again deeply influenced Bi-Han, the same as he was influenced in the original timeline by her desperate attempt to save him and Kuai Liang from Lin Kuei bondage.
Bi-Han claimed mother would applaud his action, so she may herself feel resentment for Grandmaster’s idea of tradition and duty to Earthrealm and that resentment was passed down to her eldest son. Alternatively, it was her death that made Sub-Zero question both the nature of the relationship between Lin Kuei and Fire Lord and his father’s wisdom.
This leads me to another detail that may not be intentional on NRS’s part but it is repeated through the sources. The same as mother is never said to be the wife of Grandmaster - what admittedly is the most logical assumption for a traditional (patriarchal) clan as a way to secure the line of legal heir from proper marriage - the decision of adopting Tomas was made solely by Grandmaster. And so we have:
Smoke’s bio: As a boy, Smoke lived to hunt with his family. Their final hunt, however, ended in tragedy. Having accidentally trespassed onto Lin Kuei lands, they were attacked. Smoke was orphaned. Ashamed by his warriors' actions, the Lin Kuei's Grandmaster adopted Smoke. He raised him alongside his sons, Sub-Zero and Scorpion.
and
Kitana: You are Kuai Liang's adopted brother?
Smoke: His father's honor demanded that he take me in.
and
Reptile: Lucky for you, Kuai Liang's father took you in.
Smoke: It didn't feel that way at the time.
or
Bi-Han, story mode: Mind your place, Tomas. Father may have taken you in, made you one of us… but your blood will never be Lin Kuei.
As I talked before about Bi-Han and Tomas forced brotherhood on different occasion it struck me how the adoption resolved mainly around father’s selfish reasons like saving his honor and erasing the feeling of guilt rather the boy’s safety and emotional health. There is something truly disturbing about forcing a child to be part of clan that murdered his family over a trivial matter. But there is also something disturbing about how the mother had no say in the adoption of Tomas, as there isn’t any hint the man consulted that with her. Now, it is understandable that in a very traditional (patriarchy) clan the father, as the Grandmaster and head of his family, could make decisions without consultation with others, including his own wife or children. But usually people who love or at least mutually respect each other discuss the vital matters before making decisions whose consequences will have such a great impact on their and their children’s life. Adopting a child, so greatly traumatized and from totally foreign culture, is something that should be a joint decision of father and mother if both were supposed to raise said kid alongside their own. In that regard the father comes off badly, not only by how sources made his reasoning selfish (“his honor demanded”, “Ashamed by his warriors' actions”, “father wanted us to be brothers”) but also how uncaring he was toward the mother of his children, especially compared to Sindel and Jerrord.
We have no idea if Bi-Han’s father and mother were in love or were forced into a relationship by demands of tradition, maybe even through arranged marriage. But we have Sindel that though married Jerrord as a means to ensure peace,
Sindel's Bio: When Sindel ascended to Outworld's throne, she worried that she was ill-prepared. Adding to her stress: her impending arranged marriage to Jerrod, an Outworld noble. Forced into it to placate a rebellious region, Sindel could only pray that he was worthy. To Sindel’s delight, Jerrod proved an ideal partner.
she was loved, respected and supported by her husband and the feeling was mutual.
So far there is little suggesting Bi-Han’s mother had any real influence over Lin Kuei’s politics or that Grandmaster sought out her advice. She is not called the wife of Grandmaster, a title suggesting some high social position and so far only Sindel's remark gives us any idea what her role in clan could be. Liu Kang and Scorpion do not bring her dedication to Earthrealm and duty as a counterargument to Bi-Han’s resentment the way they talk about previous Grandmaster’s teaching and wisdom. She is pretty much removed from the picture and only Sindel and Tomas bothered to mention her at all. Sindel by praising Kuai Liang’s both parents as excellent fighters and Tomas by recalling her authority - the only one that Bi-Han seems to agree with, as according to him reclaiming Lin Kuei independence is what would please his mother.
If Tomas and Bi-Han have such a different idea of mother, the first question coming to mind is which brother speaks truth and which one is delusional. However I think that is not right question, because mother could not to speak about her desire to gain independence for Lin Kuei with Tomas - not because she didn’t love or accept the boy as her own, but because the orphan, as not born into clan, could not understand fully the Lin Kuei situation. Especially not when little Tomas was mourning the killed family and not when it became clear he and adoptive father became close.
Another thing worth to examine is the possibility that Bi-Han, consciously or not, also associates Li Mei with his mother, as
he clearly respect her, a former Umgadi turned into First Constable, more than Tanya, the current leader of priestess warriors:
Sub-Zero: No one in your order can defeat a Lin Kuei.
Tanya: A nescient boast which is easily disproven.
or
Sub-Zero: Mileena sends a bodyguard, not a warrior?
Tanya: Underestimate me at your peril, Sub-Zero.
vs
Sub-Zero: I hear your skills are formidable.
Li Mei: As are those of all who have been Umgadi.
he encourages Li Mei to stop serve Royal Family and govern themselves
Sub-Zero: Your constables could also govern.
Li Mei: We are sworn only to protect and serve.
something he usually does not do, as Sub-Zero has no interest in people outside Lin Kuei.
I’m painfully aware there is not enough source material to have clear conclusions and many of my thoughts are based on guesswork and comparative analysis. That said, I do think that as death of father deeply influenced Kuai Liang, the same happened with Bi-Han when their mother presumably was killed on duty. We have no idea what is the age gap between brothers, however I do think that Kuai Liang, as the younger brother, could not have a chance to know their mother well so all his devotion was focused on the living parent that raised him. If the mother personally wished for or actively supported Lin Kuei independence, she could do so as a way to ensure her children will have a better life than endless servitude, the same way the original timeline incarnation tried to save her sons from servitude to the assassin clan. In that case, Bi-Han was raised with an additional influence that shaped his mindset about his duty to clan above duty to Liu Kang and Earthrealm. If mother’s death was somehow the fault of Grandmaster and/or Fire Lord, as in, they sent her on ill-fated mission, it could be the origin of Bi-Han’s resentment against both men.
There is much more to say about the conflict between tradition vs independence and I for sure will talk about that soon, but the next part will be focused on POWER.
SIDENOTES:
[1] Alternative timeline seems the closest to presenting Bi-Han and Kuai Liang’s parents as the “normal family” as both look devastated when their children were kidnapped by Lin Kuei.
At the same time, MK11’s intro dialogues of Sub-Zero and Noob suggests their grandfather was once a Sub-Zero himself, with raises a question how much their parents were aware of danger from the assassin clan and if any of them were a Lin Kuei themselves.
#mortal kombat#bi han#sub zero#smoke#kuai liang#scorpion#tomas vrbada#li mei#bi han and kuai liang's mother#deserves so much better#the weirdest conclusion so far is how tomas provides more insight into kuai liang and bi han's mom than kuai liang alone#and how intros use smoke to compare female characters sidetracked by narrative (lin kuei mother and harumi) to women from game#also i don't wanna see bi han tomas and kuai liang's father as an abusive and/or despotic parent#but the sources doesn't paint him much in good light when there is jarrod to compare#i did not talk about the possibility that mom could be cryomancer herself and have this special bond with bi han due to shared ice powers#because there is barely anything how ice powers works in this timeline ;/
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None of this is changing how hype I am for NiF 3, which will apparently feature Wu Lei in some capacity.
#this rewatch really got me on the langya family front#i honestly wish we'd gotten more time with lin chen#mr who the fuck is lin shu himself#very fun contrast to jingyan#also I think if Jingyan had the chance to really see him with mcs he would die a thousand deaths#not even jealous just devastated#happy lin shu had a life and a person he could confide in a trust and uno#look after a kid with#who can offer him a life of freedom and adventure#and a dad who looks after him instead of uno. trying to murder him a bunch#agony! agony to see someone who looks at his beloved from the other side#don't worry baby u r all equal in his eyes#like in the eleventh hour we think woah is there someone mcs loves as an equal who doesn't need to be lied to and managed#whose devotion he doesn't run from? who he can stand to be honest with?#and then at the twelfth hour it's just like: nah#people who love lin shu love a dead man I need to be inviolate and untainted with what I've become#people who love Mei Changsu simply have bad taste and will be excited to meet my old self#who I can stand to inhabit for the purpose of dying#idk idk I really do just want him to sort his shit out#but I do think it's interesting that even in the happiest of endings#he can't be lin chen's wanderer and nihuang's husband and Jingyan's it's complicated all at once#pick two and it can't be lin chen and jingyan#the rancid polycule vibes of the previous generation are absolutely chasing them#consort jing like: love flourishes in unexpected places. build it where you can. and then there is my husband#objectively my worst and least favourite companion
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