loiola00

[loiola00]

alright, guys, listen:

the fact that fight at the tea house was staged by madam bo implies she wrote down a script. it's clear when interacts with tomas that he had some lines to memorize. so we can say, for sure, that his entrance was very specified.

which begs the question: did she specify kuai and bi-hans' entrances or were they generalized?

and if they were indeed specified, why the hell did she put bi-han on the roof?????

[loiola00]

this is so so so good!!! it's well written and full of valid points! the first one is the one hitting closest right now because what they did to cyrax and her accent was horrible, truly awful. I was rewatching mk9's story and male cyrax also had an accent and nobody cared. there was so much discourse about the cyborgs being genderbent so they could be love interests and sure, that's a valid point, but the misogyny and hatred they got simply for being women was through the roof.

Cognitive Bias in the Mortal Kombat Fandom

❥ GENRE: EXPLORATORY ESSAY

❥ COMMISSIONED OR SELF MADE: SELF MADE

❥ W/C: 1,314 (W/O SOURCES)

ঞ SUMMARY: The world is changing, and so is our perception of media. So why are we against these changes? What if everything remained the same from the beginning?

ᰔ KERMIT'S NOTE: I haven't made an exploratory essay since 2022. Mostly because I was afraid of what people might perceive me as. But for a while, I gathered the confidence to start writing more essays based on my personal views. Maybe that will help my writing skills. If you wish for more content like this, feel free to ask! Thanks for reading!

ʚ TAG LIST: @fsfghgee @laismoura-art @loiola00 Thank you for giving me the courage to write again 🫶

ʚ WARNING: Spoilers (maybe???) Racism, Misogyny/Misogynoir, and other graphic content.

Before I start, I just want to say that I only know Mortal Kombat through NetherRealm Studios, so I will be referring to them more than Midway. Now, I’ve only been a fan of Mortal Kombat for two years. I first started getting into it when my friend showed me a video of the Mortal Kombat 9 gameplay in 2022. Since then, I’ve been consuming so much of the MK media. From video games, to animations, to fanfiction, you name it! However, as I delved deeper into the Mortal Kombat rabbit hole, I noticed that there is a strong “bias” within the fandom. Now don’t get me wrong, there isn’t anything bad about having biases. In fact, some biases can improve problem solving skills by identifying different patterns and thinking accordingly to solve the problem. But since I’m talking about Mortal Kombat here, there won’t be as much problem solving. When it comes to NetherRealm Studio's interpretation of Mortal Kombat, fans and critics are quick to have some sort of cognitive bias. 

So why specifically cognitive bias? What even is a cognitive bias? Well, cognitive bias is a systematic thought process caused by the tendency to simplify (or fully reject) information through a filter of personal experience and preferences. But if cognitive bias helps with problem solving, how can it be harmful? In most cases, cognitive bias can contribute to poor and unfair judgment, especially when that judgment can affect the way we consume media. From my experience in Mortal Kombat, fans have the most bias between different characterizations; whether that’d be race, gender, or sexuality, plot, and even the companies itself.

Race/Ethnicity: Black female characters such as Jacqui Briggs, Tanya, Cyrax (MK1) are more prominent to be discriminated against based on their appearance, motives, and depiction throughout the MK series. Unfortunately, this isn’t just a Mortal Kombat problem. In fact, black women in different media are heavily underrepresented and often looked down upon. In the scholar work “Art Imitates Life: The Representation (Or Lack Thereof) of Black Women in Video Games” by Bug Gadson, the author makes an important claim that because of the systematic racism built on white supremacy and misogynoir (racism and misogyny), the “historical evolution of Black feminism in the United States not only developed through [black stereotypes],” but also how the media consume these types of harmful portrayal and use it to characterize all black women (Gadson, 2021). This is almost ironic because Mortal Kombat is known for its diverse characters. As a black non-binary student, it’s very painful to see racist comments of these black characters on Reddit, YouTube, and even Tumblr.

Gender: Along with racism, misogyny in the Mortal Kombat fanbase is no secret. As Mortal Kombat progressed over to NetherRealm Studios, women have grown to be less sexualized and played more dominant roles throughout the series. Because of this change, most fans complained that the women were ‘unattractive’ and threatened the NRS developers to revert to their revealing attire. One example of this outrage is when YouTube commenter, TrueUnderDawg made a petition on his Twitter and YouTube community post to enforce “cyber-swimsuits” for female Cyrax and Sektor, further engaging with the sexualization of female characters in video games. With Sektor and Cyrax being gender-swapped in MK1’s DLC: Khaos Reigns, fans believed that the gender swap was only implemented to add more relationships within the new timeline. While it’s true that Sektor and Cyrax were intended to pursue romantic relationships, I believe that it doesn’t overall deter their characterization. In fact, any form of relationship can build up motives and create a sense of agency for that character. For Sektor and Bi-Han's relationship, both share goals and concepts of building the Lin Kuei, so even if there is a gender swap, their relationship does make sense to a point (it’s also hypocritical to criticize Bi-Han/Sektor to justify Bi-Han/Sareena as both ships have their flaws). Tumblr user @fsfghgee made some pretty good points on Bi-Han and Sektor, so I recommend looking at them for more information.

Sexual Orientation: Since 2015, there has been a new splurge of canon and implied relationships in Mortal Kombat. In addition, there have been a handful of LGBTQ+ characters. Examples being Sindel, Mileena, Tanya, and Kung Jin. However, it didn’t stop fans from creating their own LGBTQ+ ships; with the most well-known ships being SubScorp (Scorpion x Sub Zero), Johnshi (Johnny x Kenshi), JadeTana (Jade x Kitana), and many others. With the new changes in MK1 (and Khaos Rain and Tanya’s relationship), most fans were claiming that NRS were erasing queer characters and relationships. For reference, I am pansexual. So, my personal view on ‘cis relationships’ might be different. While I do believe that NRS’s interpretation of relationships can be improved, it does have greater potential than Midway (sorry older fans). What really pisses me off is when fans were so quick to call “queer erasure” when non-canon ships weren’t implemented in the game. I’m not trying to say that NRS shouldn’t have more LGBTQ+ representation, but being blatantly cisphobic to the already canon ships within the series takes away actual queer erasure that purposefully diminishes the existence of the queer community throughout any other media platforms.

Writer’s Perspective: Ed Boon and Dominic Cianciolo are the main writers and directors for Mortal Kombat in NetherRealm Studios. As of 2023, they released a reboot of Mortal Kombat named Mortal 1 Kombat. After the dissolvement of the previous timeline (MK11), newly demigod Liu Kang resets the universe to create a more peaceful timeline. With the significant changes in the story, it’s almost difficult to adjust to the new storyline. Personally, I don’t like all the changes either. And I think it’s even more difficult to find someone who does like all the changes. Nevertheless, I believe that providing different perspectives can accommodate and even further regulate the story. It’s important to take note that the earlier timeline is nearly irrelevant to MK1. So rather than trying to implement older lore, why not use what is already canon and interpret our own theories? For example, let’s take Hanzo, who is a child in MK1. Hanzo’s survivor guilt could parallel Tomas (Smoke). Rather than accepting the death of his clan, Hanzo’s emotions could turn him to be vengeful and become more irrational and radicalized. Another example could be Bi-Han/Noob Saibot (The corrupted version of Bi-Han). His irredeemable actions and hatred towards his family could symbolize the corruption of leadership and foreshadow his ultimate downfall. Now here’s a side note: I know some fans believed that Bi-Han should’ve gotten a redemption arc, but this man openly claimed that he is willing to kill his OWN FAMILY to remain in power. So, like... I don’t know if he could redeem himself if tried. That being said, there is nothing inherently wrong with ‘maliciously evil’ characters if written correctly. However, there is a difference between ‘bad’ characters and ‘bad character writing’ (AHEM AHEM KOTAL KAHN AHEM).   

Overall Thoughts: I want to make it clear that there is nothing wrong with criticizing Boon and Cianciolo and giving them feedback to help them improve future games. However, there is a difference between constructive criticism and harassment. The NRS developers aren’t blocking people in different media because they can’t handle criticism, they’re blocking people because they are continuously being harassed and receiving death threats. Regardless of these changes, Mortal Kombat is still an enjoyable game and shouldn’t be torn apart by its own hypocrisy. There is nothing wrong with having bias. Sometimes, biases can help us interpret different information in a nuanced way. But know that change is necessary for the world to function, even if some of the changes can kind of stink. 

[loiola00]

Hello!

I want to ask you about your opinion of Kuairumi?

Thank you!!

hii!!

i absolutely love them! they have such a healthy relationship, it's so refreshing to see. they love and trust each other so much to the point harumi not only takes her husband's ex into her home, but she also sticks up for her, makes gear pieces for her. it's very cute.

and the way kuai knows she's an amazing fighter and is so proud of her. there's an intro with ghostface saying he'll see harumi and kuai answers:

"come near her and SHE will scorch you."

he knows his wife is amazing and can handle herself and i find that very cool. they really are that kinda couple with the ~~~ok, the one on the right is mine, let's do this quick 'cause i'm starving ~~~ vibe.

i know harumi gets a bit of hate because some fans can't really accept this particular change, but i think it was well done. through all the other timelines she's dead, killed by subzero from the lin kuei. and then, in this one, she saves two lin kuei warriors, marries one of them - her childhood best friend-, gets a deadly clan named after her and avoids her previous fates.

she's a true badass.

so yeah, l love those two together, i especially love the way kuai admires and respects her. that's a good relationship full of green flags.

[loiola00]

pls would you share your thoughts on sekhan? i really enjoy your opinion on smoke and subzero and i was wondering what you thought of the meltdown that happened once it was revealed that sektor and bi-han were a couple?

hey, thanks for reading my rants and ramblings!

my thoughts on sekhan are pretty neutral. it makes a lot of sense for bi-han to love someone who is lin kuei since birth. i've said it so many times now that he's a deeply flawed asshole and i really adore him, so to see him being soft and romantic makes me all warm and fuzzy.

i like sektor to an extent. she's ruthless and badass, but she, like bi-han, says some problematic shit that irks me. like telling mileena a woman like her shouldn't be an empress. and it's like...was that prejudice because of her disease or because of her sexuality? or both? like, wtf sektor, you're intelligent, why are you spilling bullshit?

as a couple, i think that at this point in time, since it's the very first game of the new era, they work well together. she refused deals and her title as grandmaster just so she could have bi-han at her side again. he's also very protective of her which is ~~~omg prottective bi-han aaaaahhhhh~~~

i also like their dynamic. if we go back to mk11, shao and sindel knew fine well that what they were doing was wrong but it didn't matter because they wanted power.

sekhan, on the other hand, they really believe they're in the right, that they're doing nothing wrong. sektor had the audacity to say kuai liang doesn't know the meaning of family AFTER she crashed his wedding and almost killed his wife. sektor and bi-han are both delulu and it's fun to see.

this also makes a possible sareena storyline perfect. because after doing all this, after yelling lin kuei this and lin kuei that, after dating a full lin kuei woman, he goes and falls for a demon??? oooohh in my opinion that's peak cinema.

as for the meltdown, i get it, we get attatched to chracters a bit too much sometimes, but honestly that's a tiny thing that can be fixed by fanfic. look:

"bi-han thought he knew what love was, that what he had with sektor was forever. until he met you."

excuse me 'cause i'm no writer but see? fanfic is here to fix the things we hate in canon, so i was taken aback by so many people saying they wouldn't write bi-han/reader anymore. it made me sad but luckly a lot of those people started writing again.

oof this was long. forgive any mistakes please, but i hope i answered your question properly.

[loiola00]

according to the ghostface intros, bi-han is the most romantic, overprotective mf out there.

a slap in the face to everyone who doubled down on the headcanon that he views women as whores used only to give him an heir.

think whatever you want about sektor/bi-han, but that storyline proved that bi-han, although an asshole with no chill, has a heart and i'm very thankful for it.

[loiola00]

since i'm here ignoring all my responsabilities, i wanna share yet another unpopular opinion of mine:

i adore bi-han but he's an asshole and he says some very problematic things about syzoth and baraka and i always get a tiny bit annoyed when the fandom goes through hoops to make it seem like he's not in the wrong. it's okay to like complicated characters, no need to erase the bad shit they've done.

i don't think his dad was abusive nor mean. tomas and kuai hold him in such a high regard. i believe he was very strict, yes, but not a monster. bi-han just really wanted to lead the clan because he thought he could do it better. he saw an opportunity and took it.

that said, i still believe if he had a child, he'd love that kid so much that it'd eventually make him question his own past actions. i figure he'd be in complete agony at the possibility of his kid treating him the same way he treated his father.

[loiola00]

hi i just want to say how much i love tomas' 3 seconds of screentime in KR.

he's so happy for kuai and harumi, that entire wedding scene he's walking behind them like: 😊🤗😍✨

then the way he smiles at johnny joking around before switching to fight mode and glaring at cyrax and sektor.

and how he comes to stand next to kuai when it's all over, crossing his arms all proud and imposing.

and don't get me started on how he TOWERS over everyone in that scene, he's so tall, truly a gentle (and deadly) giant ❤

[loiola00]

why is no one talking about that one small detail in khaos reigns when they get to the market and the girls wander around while kuai literally stops at a shop and checks out a mask?

that's very cute and just so lmao like, what was he thinking?

"would harumi think this one's cool?"

and

"...tomas would def think it's cool"

[loiola00]

this is something rather personal that's been bothering me. i hesitated to write it because it can easily be taken the wrong way but i feel like i need to get this out.

i see a lot of people complaining about mk1 and its plot and all these complaints are valid, but i feel like if people stopped and paid a little bit more attention to some details, then some plot holes would be filled.

a big one is syzoth and ashrah getting together after he just lost his family. that's not true. after the events of the main story, there's a big timeskip. it's evident in the intros and endings. kuai and tomas didn't create a new clan by just snapping their fingers, it took time and a lot happened in between that. by the time KR happens, shirai ryu is thriving with hundreds of students. for a while, they only had hanzo.

tomas not having a chapter in the dlc: why would he? this wasn't the final clash between lin kuei and shirai ryu, this was a prologue to show us bi-han becoming noob. tomas is second in command. if kuai is absent, tomas' the one in charge. he needed to stay behind, especially considering they had just been ambushed and attacked. there's no way kuai would even consider dealing with all that shit to rescue geras if he didn't know tomas was back home to protect the clan. and he's my favorite character and i would've loved to see more scenes of him at the wedding, but he really didn't need to be in havik's timeline. again, this dlc is not about lin kuei x shirai ryu. that war is still coming and that's where tomas needs to shine.

sektor and the cyber lin kuei: she made it clear in her ending that she doesn't care about being a grandmaster and the power it gives her, she cares about bi-han. bi-han is also grandmaster again as noob saibot. sektor hints at the cyber prototype during her intros with bi-han as subzero only. it's a different story with him as noob.

this is the third reboot, they're not going to copy the old storyline. if they were, why reboot it again? ed boon said he wants change and new storylines.

dominic, even as the sole writer, still needs an entire team to approve his writing. he can't just type away whatever he wants and then have it animated. there's a team that reads it, suggests some new stuff, reads it again and if they like it enough, they approve it. he's not the sole responsible for the plot.

and that's it. just wanted to get this off my chest. you don't have to like the story at all but some things are easily explained. and sure, "show don't tell" but they have limited time and a budget and they can't ahow every single detail.

[loiola00]

bi-han was never grandmaster in previous games/timelines but sektor always followed the gradmaster blindly.

ever stopped to think maybe man!sektor and lin kuei!grandmaster in mk9 had a secret thing going on?

seriously though, bi-han's biggest mistake was letting his father die. i feel like everything else could be forgiven easily but letting the father die is too unhinged. HOWEVER we know he cares about people (sektor, kuai and even tomas--called him adopted annd then the very next scene was concerned about his well-being). he's very hurt his brother left as he doesn't understand/can't see how wrong he is and he now feels jealousy towards tomas since kuai made him his second in command. but he's soft and tender with sektor, even as noob, and that's a great thing because he still has a heart. he's on the edge of the too far gone cliff but maybe sektor can bring him back. just because his redemption wasn't exactly how people imagined, it doesn't mean there will never be one. he thinks liu kang left him for dead when that's not the case at all.

i just think this hatred towards sektor is misplaced, especially because it's painfully obvious it's all because she ruined the "only love from reader/oc can save bi-han!" narrative. and don't get me wrong, i LOVE reader inserts but c'mon now...the beauty of fanfic is that you can pretend sektor doesn't even exist so why shit on her like this? especially when the sexist pigs in the fandom are already treating her and cyrax like crap? :/

[loiola00]

people shocked at smoke's animality really speaks volumes at how mischaracterized he is in this fandom. that man is a ruthless killer, strong as hell, and extremely protective of his own. he's not a sweet little submissive flower who follows kuai liang like a puppy and is scared of bi-han. he's second in command of the shirai ryu, he trains both hanzo and takeda, he takes charge every time he needs to. he's also very modern and has an entire personality. he likes the idea of appearing in movies and going out to bars as a wingman. he's not a fragile little thing who crumbles at the thought of sex or who doesn't know what a freaking period is. he's kind because he chooses to be, not because he's a pure innocent flower.

on that same note, bi-han is an asshole but he's also protective (even of tomas as he still asks if he's unharmed) and he respects women. he doesn't think they're beneath him, he doesn't call them whores and he wouldn't use a woman as an incubator until he got a son. if he ever had a little girl, he'd move worlds for her AND forge her into an amazing fighter.

i respect most headcanons but these ones have been bothering me for a year now. it's gross mischaracterization and i'm glad the dlc is setting the record straight somehow.