#Sonya had so much potential as a character

[vicontheinternet]

Dreamer didn’t deserve to die to put an end to a love triangle and make them closer by bonding over her death

[allaboutthedrama]

I know that I'm pretty late to the conversation, but I've just reread all of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines (possibly for The Untitled Jill Project) and it's the first time I've reread the VA series in years.

I'm just thinking about how, in my opinion, the quality of the VA series improved as we got into the last few books, and with Bloodlines, I think the reverse sort of happened. Spoilers for both series ahead. (Yeah, the last book came out nine years ago, but you never know.)

I think I hadn't realized how cohesive the ending of Last Sacrifice was. Details from as far back as the first book came up and were very relevant. The political plotline came together in a really tight way, Sonya Karp turned out the be Chekov's spirit user, we got more world-building details, the antagonists had complex and convoluted motivations, and even when there were plot threads left dangling, those actually served a purpose. I loved the part where Adrian pointed out to Rose that her actions had consequences and even though she had gotten what she wanted, not everything else was resolved, so people like Eddie and Sydney and Jill were left in bad situations, and she was partly responsible. It created a little more moral ambiguity, which I really enjoyed, especially since YA tends to like the very neat endings where everything winds up happily ever after.

The Vampire Academy books improved the deeper into the series you got. And, although I love Bloodlines, I do think that the first three books are much stronger than the last three. Which is a shame, because the series has so much potential.

I think Mead is at her best when she's writing something of a mystery. Last Sacrifice obviously comes to mind (they're solving a murder mystery, after all). Bloodlines had that, with the tattoos, Lee, and Keith being shady all building up to a really exciting climax. The Golden Lily wasn't quite as much of one, but the clues leading up to the reveal of the Warriors were well-placed. Indigo Spell went straight back into mystery territory, trying to find Jackie's sister. And then The Fiery Heart is where, in my opinion, things start to falter. There's a lot of interesting worldbuilding information introduced, with the new details about spirit and magic coming up, and it was fun to get into Adrian's head, but it definitely felt like this supernatural romance was shifting to become a lot more romance and a lot less concerned with the supernatural. But that's not such a big deal. It's the middle of the series, we're building tension, Re-Education has been a threat hanging over Sydney since page one of Bloodlines and we're finally seeing that fear pay off.

But then we get to Silver Shadows, and while I guess figuring out where Sydney is could be a mystery, it doesn't really resonate the way 'who killed the queen' does, in my opinion. Sydney's arc in Re-Education is great, and I do like the way the books deal with Adrian's mental health issues, but some of Adrian's chapters felt more like filler. And a bigger issue, imo, was that this was when we really started to lose the side characters. Some of my favorite parts of the first few books were characters like Jill, Eddie, Trey, and Angeline, and then the ensemble atmosphere was largely gone, because Sydney was in Re-Education and Adrian left Palm Springs. The final fight and flight sequence was really good, though, so I had high hopes going into The Ruby Circle.

The Ruby Circle is probably my least favorite of the books between both of the series, and I think that's a shame, since it's the finale. We'd just had a 'kidnapped character' arc, so I think there was less emphasis on describing everyone's reactions. We saw the biggest reaction from Eddie, but as a result, he got kind of flattened out from the really well-rounded character he'd been from the back half of the VA books and the first part of Bloodlines.

The Ruby Circle could have been a really good mystery, with lots of twists that tied up a lot of the lingering questions from the series. Except that a lot of threads from the rest of the series were dropped and didn't resurface. They never caught whoever was behind the assassination attempt on Jill. I don't think we even got an official resolution on whether Lissa managed to change the quorum law. The political plots that were integral to VA weren't significant in Bloodlines, despite it all starting because of a politically motivated assassination. We also never got a resolution on the rogue spirit user who turned Lee back from being Strigoi, or the spirit users who had been sent to the psychiatric facility in Tarasov (the prison from Spirit Bound). We never found Robert Duro. The bond itself was somewhat discarded, too, whenever it wasn't immediately useful for a plot point. Instead, we just got a scavenger hunt across the country, a few fight scenes where the protagonists were pretty much guaranteed to win, and a final showdown with a magic barrier that, as we learn after, would have dropped down on its own in a few hours for them to bring Jill food, anyways.

I obviously still like the series, since I'm rereading it and talking about it nine years after the fact. But I think that there were a lot of opportunities to continue plots from VA that were lost, even when they should have been brought back into the story.

If anyone has made it this far, I suppose I should throw in a pitch for The Untitled Jill Project, which will be my attempt to rewrite the Bloodlines series from Jill's perspective, because I think there's still a lot more story to be told. I haven't got it all mapped out, but I intend to at least tie up some of the narrative loose ends I mentioned that bothered me about the series in that story. I might write up another post here soon about how Jill's characterization also suffered as Bloodlines went on, if anyone's interested.

Anyways, if anyone has any strong opinions on what I said (agreeing or disagreeing) please let me know! I'd love to talk about the series with people, since no one in my real life has read it, and I'm curious to know what the rest of the fandom thinks about how the narrative progressed in Bloodlines.

[deadbydad]

What if Mortal Kombat...Was Turned Into A Show?

Look, I know that they already did something like this, but let's be honest it sucked.

The lore in Mortal Kombat is so interesting yet confusing, and I feel like that's what makes that game so special. And I think that, if done right, it could be made into a show and do well!

But I don't mean that the show needs to like show the whole plot or storyline because we've already seen that. Instead I want to see episodes about different characters and/or their relationship with other characters.

Here's a list of the characters I would like to see get an episode about them:

Kung Jin - He's one of the most underrated characters and it doesn't help with the fact that he was literally in only one game, and even in that one he didn't have that much of a chance to develop his character a lot. He's one of the first confirmed gay characters in the game series, and that's great we love to see great LGBT representation in games. In an episode I want to see more about his past, his parents and who they were and what happened to them, and especially his relationship with Kung Lao. I also want to see his relationship grow stronger with the other Kombat Kids Cassie Cage, Takahashi Takeda, and Jacqui Briggs. We hear about this character yet I feel like he has so much more potential and they could prove that with an episode just about him and how he develops.

Takahashi Takeda & Takahashi Kenshi - One of the father and son duo's, I feel like Kenshi gets way too much hate for doing something to protect Takeda from getting hurt or even killed like his mother did. Any father would do that for their family and their child. At first when Kenshi comes back to see his son after Hanzo Hisashi trained him as a Shirai Ryu warrior, Takeda hates him and says that Kenshi had no right to walk back into his life just to be a proud dad, but after Hanzo explains why Kenshi did it, Takeda tries to forgive him and give his father a second chance. And he does, later on in the game we see that they have a great father and son relationship. I want to see how that happened and how that developed in an episode. It definatly wasn't talked about enough in the game and I feel like in a show it would be better explained.

Hanzo Hisashi & Takahashi Takeda - Hanzo Hisashi had taken in Takeda when Kenshi asked him to take care of his son and train him until he was strong enough to fight. Hanzo did, and it seemed that Hanzo and Takeda had developed a father son relationship in some shape or form. Again, this wasn't really shown how it happened, and I feel like it would be greatly explained better in an episode instead of in a game.

Cassie Cage & Jacqui Briggs - Cassie and Jacqui are best friend that grew up together due to their parents, Sonya Blade and Jax Briggs, being close friends for many years. Not a whole lot of how their friendship began and formed was shown on MKX or MKXI, which is a shame. I feel like it would be interesting to see how these two grew up together and became friends over the many years they've known each other.

The Kombat Kids - Cassie Cage, Kung Jin, Takahashi Takeda, and Jacqui Briggs are the next generation of fighters and defenders against Shinnok. And basically the whole MKX game we see these four get to know each other and become closer. But that's it, we really don't know what happened between the four of them except that Jacqui and Takeda are married or engaged, but other than that we don't know exactly what happened to this group. It seems like they're all still friends which is a good thing but I feel like that an episode could be a great way to explain what happened and give us more details.

Kung Lao & Kung Jin - Okay NetherRealm make up your damn minds because in MKX it says that Kung Jin is Kung Lao's cousin but in MK11 it says that he is Kung Lao's nephew. Why make that change I have no clue, but that's besides the point on why I think these two deserve in episode of their own. The episode could show stuff that we haven't seen clearly in the games and stuff that we've heard through dialogue intros. The episode could show us them training or sparring, getting to know one another as family and hell maybe they'll fucking help each other with their damn egos, but that's what I love about these two to be honest. Not much is said about these two's relationship with one another and that is a damn shame if you ask me.

Kotal Khan & Jade - This couple really came out of nowhere, and the game did give us like a small hint about these two and how their relationship started, but it still just came out of nowhere. NetherRealm Studios could explain this and how these two got together and the whole back story of these two with an episode and it would be better explained than in a video game.

Johnny Cage & Cassie Cage - I love this father and daughter duo so much, but I want to see an episode about these two. Maybe how they're both dealing with Sonya's death and how they're navigating that together as a family, maybe Johnny helping Cassie with how to handle and use the green magic that they have, or maybe even just how Johnny is feeling about seeing his daughter growing up and how he deals with that too.

Kuai Liang and Bi-Han - I want to see an episode about these two growing up together, so badly. I want to really see how these two brothers interacted with each other before everything went to shit. I just want to see that. No like sad shit, I've seen enough of that, I want happy memories.

[typicalarkhamknight]

MK11 intros

warning: sexually implied, curse words, violence mentioned.

Doing a little Mortal kombat writing heheh.. also this is just fanfiction, not canon lol. You can drop Y/N ocs suggestions if you like!

character: Y/N is another Lin Kuei of the clan. Well, a samurai Lin Kuei. Before he were born, a Lin Kuei ninja married a female samurai from japan. The mother d!ed in childbirth, so the father used her katana as his own weapon, to serve Lin Kuei and to protect his son. When he fell in battle, the young Y/N inherited the blade. Kuai Liang raised Y/N as his own son, making him a better warrior fit to be the first Lin Kuei samurai in history. Y/N also has a deep connection with the katana, he always hears his mother's voice while wielding the blade. He has cryomancer abilties.. just not the same as everyone in his clan. Without his mother's katana, he can't do cryomancing abilities. When he does, the katana inherits cryomancing abilties, can be turned into a frost weapon much like Kuai Liang's frost sword in MKX. (He and Takeda also had a friendly rivalry. Like a resemblance of Sub-Zero vs Scorpion, but kombat kids).

PART 1.

CASSIE CAGE

Cassie Cage: I know you're useless without that magical sword of yours.

Y/N: (Smirked cockily) For me, it is quite the opposite.

Cassie Cage: Well run it, B*tch.

—

Y/N: Has anyone ever tell you you're a great leader?

Cassie Cage: (Chuckles) Well am I?

Y/N: No.

—

Cassie Cage: Aren't you the guy who's heart's supposed to be.. "cold"?

Y/N: Yet my heart burns when I see you.

Cassie Cage: Oh get a load of this guy..

—

Y/N: I seek Takeda Takahashi for a rematch with him.

Cassie Cage: Aw, couldn't you just spar with me instead?

Y/N: Later, woman.

—

Cassie Cage: Say hi to your mom for me!

Y/N: She says hi, mother. (The katana glows and makes a noise of appreciation)

Cassie Cage: Aw..

—

Y/N: You're father is getting a wrong idea of us, Cassandra.

Cassie Cage: Oh. Wait— so who are we, exactly?

Y/N: That's a question you must answer.

—

Y/N: Your mother told me about bob.

Cassie Cage: Ugh. First, tell her it's Dylan. And second, why do you care?

Y/N: I can treat you better..

JOHNNY CAGE

Johnny Cage: Are you sure you and Cassie aren't.. keeping a secret from us? (Raised brow and smirked)

Y/N: You've kept many of your porn tapes secret.

Johnny Cage: Ah. (nodded) Soooo.. does that mean you have a secret with her too?

—

Y/N: Look.. whatever you think it was, it's NOT what you think, Mr Cage.

Johnny Cage: You two are like Harry and Sally, brings a tear in my eye.

Y/N: ... Fucking cold winds of hell.

—

Johnny Cage: Marry Cassie and be hollywood royalty.

Y/N: I love the offer, but I don't need becoming "royalty" to prove I am the greatest.

Johnny Cage: Just trust me bro.

—

Y/N: Making new movies, Mr. Cage?

Johnny Cage: When I'm done with the sequel.. you, my friend, are V.I.P.

Y/N: That isn't so bad..

—

Johnny Cage: Y'know you remind me of Sonya. (Chuckles) you got her grumpiness.

Y/N: Is that good or bad..?

Johnny Cage: Well friend.. you tell me.

—

Y/N: Earthrealm's mightiest champion.

Johnny Cage: Mini-Blueberry ice.

Y/N: Another disgrace.

—

Johnny Cage: Tell your mom I said hi.

Y/N: He says hi, mother. (Katana glows a bit of energy, just not the same energy with Cassie)

Johnny Cage: Ah, she loves me.

SONYA BLADE

Sonya Blade: Johnny's having theories about you.

Y/N: And all of them aren't true.

Sonya Blade: I'll find out.

—

Y/N: You're the mother I never had.

Sonya Blade: I don't mind adopting a grown man.

Y/N: I know that meant "recruiting more young blood".

—

Sonya Blade: You fight your mother in your dreams?

Y/N: It is called "training".

Sonya Blade: Sounds like she and I are the same.

—

Y/N: You know, I have never felt so intimidated by a woman before..

Sonya Blade: Maybe because you haven't met one until now.

Y/N: A deservedly low blow, Mrs Blade.

—

Sonya Blade: You have potential of being a part of Special Forces.

Y/N: I belong to the Lin Kuei, they're my family.

Sonya Blade: Special Forces will be your family when you suck it up.

—

Y/N: Let me tell you, I've never had any mutual connections with your daughter.

Sonya Blade: She spends time with you more than she did with others, including her friends!

Y/N: To be fair, I AM far more superior than them.

—

Sonya Blade: Kuai Liang didn't teach you hard enough.

Y/N: What makes you think you're better than him?

Sonya Blade: Here's your first lesson, Y/N.

[xxrainbowvibezxx]

To be fair, NRS can't handle their straight ships either. Like, let's look:

Liu Kang x Kitana - basic at best and bland at worst. Kitana has more chemistry and sexual tension with her best friend than she does her supposed soulmate.

Jade x Kotal - passable. But this pairing was so out of left field and the writers knew it too. So they tried to be slick by shoehorning in that weak-ass "they knew each other in the past" excuse.

Mileena x Reiko - toxic and abusive. But it did highlight how Mileena treats physical and sexual validation as equivalent to love, as well as how truly love-starved she was.

Skarlet x any guy - guaranteed to be toxic or abusive in some way. Plus I continue to side-eye MK11 for attempting to ship her with Shao Kahn (her abuser and unfortunately adoptive father). Like why. Why was that necessary.

Bi-Han x Sareena - this one is personal for me. Their story during the OG Midway era was so intriguing and had a lot of promise. I love a "redeeming one's self through helping another" story and their story hit all the right beats for me. But in this current timeline? They cooked them. Look at what they did to my girl Sareena. They completely wasted her as a character.

Jacqui x Takeda - god,this one hurts. They were my one "straight ship so good that the gays ship it" ship circa MKX. They were so cute and the puppy love was palpable. Then Jacqui's MK11 ending happened. Sis, are you not engaged? Why didn't that come up when she decided to erase herself from history? (insert something here about women having to lessen themselves for men to succeed)

Johnny x Sonya - same issue as Liu and Kitana. Bland as shit. MKX was their most interesting run. Sonya would have never married Johnny if she hadn't gotten pregnant. Sad to say it,but it is what it is.

(The fact that there's this many more or less canon straight ships, but the one singular queer pairing that debuted circa 2015 is enough to set people off really says a lot about how far we still have to go.)

That's true.

People till this day will deny Taleena. They've been canon for almost a decade. It's just now, in mk1, it's not as discreet. Everyone knows they're bumping purses, but NRS isn't going full force with it. They wrote their relationship to be secretive and scandalous.

(I know damn well Mileena changed those umgadi rules the first day she was empress.)

Also, can we talk about how weird it was that they had Skarlet have some obsession over Shao khan and wanted to be his empress? I love Skarlet, but her writing, specifically that shit is so weird and unnecessary, like you said. Not every character has to be interested in another character, especially like that. Who the fuck writes that, goes over it multiple times and think, "Yeah, this is good."

I also had high hopes for Bi Han x Sareena in mk1. Very disappointed. I don't usually care for straight ships, but this one had potential, and the fact that they're both in mk1, I thought they would proceed with this ship in the new timeline.

I love Jacqui x Takeda, too. Justice for them. Honestly, if they had more time, they'd probably be the best straight ship in Mortal Kombat.

Hanzo x Harumi- Harumi dies (and then the only timeline she alive, Kuai is scorpion)

Kenshi x Suchin- Suchin is dead. Not much is known about their relationship (in mk1, she's mentioned in a few intros. Seems like they used to be something)

Nitara x Erron Black- happened off screen

Shao Kahn x Sindel- Sindel was retconned in mk11 to be as evil as Shao Kahn. Originally, she was forced to marry him. She offs herself to get away from him.

Sindel x Jerrod- They always loved each other until mk11 retcon. Mk1 kind of gave us more content. They definitely love each other in this timeline. It sucks that they're both dead.

Sektor x Bi han (mk1)- genderbent Sektor to make a straight ship.

Kuai Liang x Cyrax (mk1)- genderbent Cyrax to make a straight ship.

Kitana x Raiden (mk1)- Basically liutana.

Ashrah x Syzoth- I don't hate it, but I think they need better development if they continue with this ship in the future. Cause in storymode, Syzoth was depressed and mourning his family. Suddenly him and Ashrah are together? Idk, but if I had just found out my wife and son were murdered and realizing all the shit I did to keep them alive was for nothing, I wouldn't be jumping into a relationship. I just think this ship needs more time to develop. It happened too quickly.

[ryukang1995]

My latest collage of possibly the most prominent ships within my works based on Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Double Dragon.

Ryu x Cammy (American Street Fighter AU)

This pairing largely came from the what-if artwork that Akiman did of Ryu and Cammy's son, but beyond that? I do feel the two have quite a lot in common, especially personality-wise. Plus, Cammy actually admires Ryu in canon.

Guile x Chun-Li (American Street Fighter AU)

The idea of this pairing did technically start with Street Fighter II: The Animated Movie where Guile and Chun-Li teamed up to take down Bison and Shadaloo, but because Guile is more or less the main hero of the American SF AU, it just made sense to pair him with Chun-Li.

Even so, they do have great chemistry together in pretty much the entire franchise.

Liu Kang x Kitana (Main Mortal Kombat timeline)

The pairing that John Tobias intended as far back as the development stages of the first MK game where Kitana was planned to appear as a background character named Kitsune. It eventually was integrated into the canon starting with the 1995 MK movie, and to this day, fans wonder when will they have an offspring.

To me, this is like a mix between a classic fairy tale romance and the traditional tale of star-crossed lovers who may or may not be together in the end. Ultimately, I do want to see them settle together.

Johnny Cage x Sonya Blade (Main Mortal Kombat timeline)

This pairing was technically first hinted at in the MK comics by Malibu, but it first got major focus when it was featured in the 1995 MK movie. Since then, it was hinted at in the 3D games, and it eventually became integrated into canon with the NRS timeline where they ended up giving birth to Cassie Cage.

Despite my ups and downs with the relationship as well as how Johnny was often portrayed in later incarnations (mainly the NRS timeline and the Legends animated films), I do feel it can be done well when given to the right people. It's definitely an "opposites attract" dynamic, for sure.

Ryu x Chun-Li (Japanese Street Fighter AU)

Possibly the most popular SF ship, regardless of it not truly being canon. Many fans, myself included, have always wondered if Ryu and Chun-Li would ever hook up.

Even the SF2 manga from 1993 had it to where Chun-Li had romantic feelings for Ryu, so that might have been one of the seeds that planted the idea of them being a thing in our minds. Since then, Capcom have been teasing fans hard over whether or not they will get together.

Both characters greatly admire each other, and they definitely look cute together. I definitely wouldn't mind it being official either.

Liu Kang x Sonya Blade (Alternate Mortal Kombat timeline)

I would say this is my most prominent ship I have done fan work of, despite it not being the most popular out of these, especially when compared to Liutana and CageBlade.

The pairing was first hinted at in the MK novel by Jeff Rovin, but they never attempted to make it canon, or even drop hints of it in later incarnations. Regardless, I do feel it has great fan art and fanfic potential since the two actually have a lot more in common than you would think.

It genuinely helps that both characters respect and admire each other in canon too. I would also say both this pairing and Ryu x Chun-Li just make sense, considering it's the main heroes and the first ladies of both SF and MK.

Billy Lee x Marian Kelly (Console Double Dragon AU)

While Billy is indeed "player 1" of pretty much every DD game, several of the games also had it to where Billy and Jimmy had to fight for Marian (they were also a trio in the River City Girls games, but I digress).

However, it was the DD games for consoles such as NES that established Billy being Marian's true boyfriend, and so, that is ultimately why it's the case in the "Console" DD AU.

Jimmy Lee x Marian Kelly (Arcade Double Dragon AU)

The official artwork for Double Dragon II: The Revenge has it to where Marian is holding on to Jimmy as he and Billy battle the Shadow Warriors, which did sort of imply that Jimmy was Marian's boyfriend.

Since the arcade games never truly explored lore details, I decided to fill in the blanks as well as take some liberties by making Jimmy x Marian a thing. It also helps that Jimmy is the more mature and stoic Lee brother in this AU while Billy fills such a role in the "Console" AU.

There are some other pairings I left out, such as Ken x Cammy, Kung Lao x Li Mei, and Kitana with both Johnny Cage and Kuai Liang (again, as both Scorpion and Sub-Zero), but I would say these are the most prominent ones.

[tobiasdrake]

Examining MK1 Characters: Outworld

So, that was Earthrealm. Now for Outworld, which is in the opposite boat. This is where all of the estrogen fled to after Liu Kang declared that women were banned from Earthrealm.

Seriously, I don't know what Sonya did to warrant being unpersoned like that. Kenshi's ending even features the formation of the iconic Special Forces group from the previous timelines like, "And then Kenshi and Jax teamed up and formed their agency. That's right, Kenshi and Jax. That iconic and beloved Special Forces duo, Kenshi and Jax. Those are the names people think of when they think Special Forces. Kenshi and Jax!"

Did Netherrealm notice that people were upset about Ronda Rousey's performance as Sonya, and their takeaway is that the fandom doesn't like Sonya? Was that it? Is that why she's been banished to the mystical realm of Kameo-exclusivity?

In any case, if you want to be a woman, you gotta leave Earthrealm now. Outworld doesn't own a monopoly on women but it has absorbed Edenia's high concentration of female characters and brought most of them to the foray. Pretty much every Edenian lady is here.

Except Jade. Poor Jade.

Sindel NRS's Evil Sindel from MK11 was an extremely divisive character. You either loved her or hated her. Either she was an empowering portrayal that granted Sindel complete agency over the events that happened to her, or she was another example of taking characters created as victims of abuse and painting over them with deranged, monstrous villains. A lot of opinions were had and shared over the direction they took the previously-heroic Sindel in the reboot trilogy.

MK1 seems to have heard the criticisms, though, because they walk it back. Re-reboot Sindel is a mostly benevolent but flawed ruler who governs Edenia Outworld?

It's just Outworld now. Edenia doesn't exist anymore; Kang shunted all the good stuff about it into Outworld. Seems rude given how much of the Original Timeline Edenians' plot was about liberating their realm from Outworld, but okay. Edenia is officially decanonized.

In any case, NRS takes a crack at writing Sindel as a compassionate but flawed leader, eager to preserve peace between the realms but mindful of the potential dangers inherent to international politics and vulnerable to manipulation from those she trusts.

The genuinely complex political conflict unfolding between Earthrealm and Outworld, courtesy of mistakes made by both Liu Kang and Sindel, is the best part of the game. Sindel feels incredibly human and believable here, as both a person and a ruler.

She's also the only character in the entire game that dies, so it looks like NRS regrets how bloody they made the previous attempt at a reboot. Might seem odd for an MK game to be mostly bloodless but, surprisingly, it's pretty on-brand. It was rare for too many characters to die in the actual plots of the original Mortal Kombat series - and when they did, the sequel would generally find some way of ignoring it anyway.

Only one character dying while everyone else makes plans for what they'll do in the sequel is pretty normal by pre-reboot standards.

Mileena They keep trying to make Mileena pretty while still paying, pardon the pun, lip service to her iconic monstrous features. They tried giving her those weird, gross human lips in MKX. But the current approach, seen in MK1 and the newer Mortal Kombat film, is to have her be 100% pretty 99% of the time but she can mutate into the monster teeth for short spurts of screentime.

I don't like it. Let Mileena be hideous. Stop trying to fix her face. Female characters don't always have to be pretty.

As to her role in the story? Mileena and Kitana's relationship is one of the most underdeveloped things in Mortal Kombat. In the original canon, these two were raised together as sisters for 10,000 years before Kitana broke from their family - But the original games had so little storytelling and were so uninterested in examining Mileena as a character that very little was ever done with it. She was Evil Minion #6.

The reboot was a golden opportunity to finally explore the potential between these two characters. But they made the inexplicable decision to have Mileena literally born yesterday - while also sexualizing the hell out of her despite that. So she immediately alienates Kitana because they have no relationship. Then she dies.

So. No. Reboot trilogy was every bit as uninterested in examining Mileena and Kitana's relationship as the original.

This new timeline gives us a wildly different context for everything that Mileena is. But it also, finally, puts their relationship front and center of their characters. So, one step back, two steps forward. We get to see a profound bond of loyalty and love between the twin daughters of Shao Kahn Sindel - and without Shao Kahn's wickedness to break them apart, that bond is never shattered.

Every moment that these two are onscreen together is golden.

I have other thoughts about "Tarkat Disease" but we'll get to those when we get to Baraka. My main takeaway from Mileena's portrayal is that it's nice to finally see the dynamic between Mileena and Kitana share a spotlight in one of these games; to see Mileena handled as a character, and not just Kitana's Evil Twin/Shao Kahn's Evil Daughter.

Kitana As a consequence of no longer being the fugitive princess seeking to thwart her villainous father, Kitana's role takes a significant downgrade. She's the Kung Lao of Edenia now; It's Mileena and Kitana, there is no Just Kitana. Which is a bit of a twist given that Kitana is traditionally the true heir and Mileena's a counterfeit.

Consequently, Kitana doesn't get to do much besides hold Mileena's hand and support her, and occasionally throw hands on her behalf. Though, Kitana's the only one of her family that doesn't get a chapter, so she doesn't even get to be any good at hand-throwing. She's relegated to cannon fodder in fight scenes.

Going from Kitana Khan, ascendant supreme ruler of Outworld to Mileena's emotional support sibling and occasional Story Mode punching bag feels jarring. This may be what that stuff with Titan Kitana was thrown in to offset.

I'm okay with Kitana taking a more passive role here since it gives Mileena and Sindel, two dramatically underserved characters, opportunities to shine. But I hope they can find more for her to do in the next one. She's too beloved and popular to remain out of the spotlight for long.

(Still better than what Sonya got.)

Li Mei This character has nothing to do with Li Mei. They created a brand new original character and gave her Li Mei's name. That's what happens sometimes to D-listers. Li Mei was a character created for Deadly Alliance and then given almost nothing to do, either in that game or its sequels. So it's not surprise that they remade her from the ground up.

The new Li Mei's story is primarily governed by her relationship with Sindel. Jerrod died on her watch, fracturing her relationship with Sindel and resulting in a bitter and emotionally complicated dynamic between Sun Do's demoted First Constable and her Empress.

My favorite thing about Li Mei and Sindel's relationship is its sincerity. Neither of them are hiding anything. There's no big twists lurking. Well, there is one, and it's that a third party scapegoated Li Mei, but it wasn't Sindel who did it so it doesn't affect their dynamic with one another.

It's. Just. An emotionally intense relationship fractured by a sudden tragedy. You can feel the love that once existed between them in the fires of Sindel's grief-stricken hatred. But even demoted and denigrated and spurned as she is, Li Mei's loyalty and friendship is everlasting. This relationship is beautiful, and seeing it ultimately heal may be the biggest triumph in the game.

Tanya Tanya, the ever-traitor. Treachery is her name, deception is her way of life. Her "hat" so to speak is betraying her nation to whoever might be buying. She's the Kano of Edenia. The ultimate villain may change from game to game but if they need Edenian secrets, Tanya's the place to go.

She rebooted in MKX, where she was simply a devoted follower of Mileena. Then. Like. Fucked off. The writers have never cared much about Tanya.

MK1 keeps the part about her being a devoted follower of Mileena and tosses the rest. She's returned to where we met her in MK4: Serving the Edenian Outworld throne, but sincerely this time. Like Kitana, she gets little to do besides throw hands poorly at everyone else.

But they do ship her with Mileena. Got that whole Bodyguard/VIP romance going, which gets honed in on during Mileena's chapter. So that's neat.

Baraka Since Jade didn't make the cut, that brings us to the men of Outworld.

So. Tarkat Disease. Gonna say up front that I don't like this. I don't like boiling down a sentient race of beings into lepers. It's gross. I feel like they only did this so they had a means by which to make Mileena pretty. I don't like that.

But whatever the reason for that decision, Baraka makes out like a bandit. This is the first time in Mortal Kombat history that Baraka's been. Like. A character, rather than simply a token representative of his race. Throughout both original and reboot timelines, Baraka's simply been the Tarkatan. A character design more than a character.

It's like playing a Star Wars game where the playable characters include Darth Vader, the Emperor, Darth Maul, Boba Fett, and Stormtrooper FB-119. Who is FB-119? He's a Stormtrooper. He's here so you can play as a Stormtrooper if you want. That, historically, is Baraka.

He still is, to some degree. MK1 Baraka still engages with the plot on behalf of Tarkatans as a whole. But he also gets to be here as an individual; To tell his own personal story of who he is and how he came to be, independent of his race. That's new. That's something Baraka's never had before.

So it's easy to say that this is by far the best Baraka we've ever had. Speaking of characters defined by their race who suddenly get to be individuals:

Reptile Did you know Reptile has a name now? Because Reptile has a name now. Up until this point, he's always been Reptile. Because he is a reptile. That is how much thought previously went into this character. Reptile was his name. But now he has a name, in addition to Reptile.

Like Mileena, Reptile suffered from having a genuinely fascinating character concept drowned out by his role as Evil Minion #4. He was the last survivor of a race exterminated by Shao Kahn, raised by Shao Kahn to believe that his people were out there and to want Kahn's help to search for them.

Are you kidding me? That's amazing. You have an incredible protagonist on your hands and you're wasting him on bad guy grunt work? Reptile and Kitana should be teaming up as partners in uncovering daddy's dirty laundry!

His non-canon endings would always be like, "But then Reptile discovered the awful truth and turned against Shao Kahn!" But they never pulled that trigger. Despite his wealth of potential, Reptile wasn't a character anyone was interested in developing.

As with Mileena and Kitana, MK1 unwrites a lot of what made Reptile interesting, but also grants him the narrative focus and character examination that he's been lacking. About nine games too late, he finally gets to turn against his cruel masters and break free of the chains they've bound him with. And he finally gets a name to call his own: Syzoth.

Which has technically been his name since MKX but this is the first time it was revealed outside of questionably-canon pre-fight banter. Because this is the first time he's ever mattered as a character.

Rain Like Mileena and Reptile, Rain is a surprisingly complicated character on paper, but Evil Minion #3 in practice. The bastard son of an Edenian king's affair. An illegitimate heir to a throne that will never be his birthright, taken in by Shao Kahn as an orphan - who may or may not have played a critical role in Kahn's conquest of the realm. Man, Kahn collects talented children like he's Evil Batman.

Rain is a character with a wealth of potential but who has never had his day in the sun. Sadly, unlike Mileena and Reptile, that day is not this day. The new Rain jettisons that narrative entirely, reducing him to simply "Some guy who's good at magic". While the other two got increased narrative focus in exchange, Rain's still hanging out as Evil Minion #3.

Maybe some day, Rain. Maybe some day.

General Shao Shao. Motherfucking. Kahn. The Big Bad Evil Guy of Mortal Kombat. Writers have gone back and forth on what he is and where he comes from but make no mistake: Where he walks, the heavens do tremble.

Now he's the pissant Sec-Def who wants to fire nukes at the aliens.

That probably sounds like I didn't like this direction for him but I do. It's a plot point that Liu Kang explicitly went out of his way to disempower all of the villains. Shang Tsung and Quan Chi had their destinies interfered with and altered by Titan Tsung, causing them to become the villains they were never supposed to be able to.

But Shao? Tsung only conspired with him because it was convenient. Kang made it so Shao was born too sickly and frail to ever become the shit-stomping uber-warrior that he was, and Shao still made his way to the absolute peak of Outworld's military by sheer force of Shao Kahn-ness.

I wonder how Liu Kang felt years back, when he first heard the name "General Shao" emerge from Sindel's lips? Like. He went to so much trouble to prevent this and it still happened. And not because of extra-temporal invaders this time. Shao Kahn simply cannot be pinned down. No matter how weak you make him, he will find a way to make himself strong. That tenacity and resilience is what makes him so dangerous.

Reiko Also, Reiko is here. Another recipient of the "And X" treatment, Reiko is the other Outworld Military representative. His job is to stand next to Shao and go, "YEAH, what he said!" And occasionally get beat up so that we can have an Outworld Military guy beat up without diminishing Shao's menace.

Reiko's a good pick for Shao's "And X" partner. That's already what this character is. He does his job... adequately. Never stands out, but never falls flat.

If I had one criticism for Reiko, it's that they take him too seriously. His goofy obsession with Shao, styling himself after Shao and sneaking into his throne room to wear his helmet, all that fun stuff is absent from this portrayal. He snaps to attention, salutes, and says, "YES, SIR!" That's all there is to him.

Shang Tsung Ah, the game's main villain. I hope you like Shang Tsung because there's two separate Shang Tsungs here. Shang Tsung manipulates Shang Tsung until he inevitably betrays Shang Tsung, forcing Shang Tsung to turn on Shang Tsung and instead help to defeat Shang Tsung.

This would be an incredible satire if it wasn't played totally straight.

I'm not fond of Titan Shang Tsung, for the way he hijacks the story and forces it to abandon all of the characters and plotlines that had been developing up to that point. The big Titan free-for-all at the end was a disappointing conclusion for me, especially since it ends the game on a redo of Aftermath's ending.

But the native Shang Tsung? Much like Shao, Shang Tsung being a slippery enough worm to reach out and snatch the destiny that's been kept from him is a consistent character trait. Nonetheless, when we meet him, he's still growing and developing. He's an alchemist and sorcerer, but isn't quite the soul-hungry eldritch beast we know from other entries in the franchise.

Unfortunately, his role within the story is compromised by reference. This game wants really badly for you to notice that it's Reboot Deadly Alliance. They go hard on it. The Deadly Alliance forms up to awaken Reboot Onaga's Army like in Deadly Alliance, but then Tsung pulls the rug out from under them. So we have the Shang Tsung chapter, about the Deadly Alliance defeating Titan Tsung's forces alongside Raiden, with winking nods to how Raiden was their enemy in Deadly Alliance.

Then, after that, Titan Shang Tsung forms the Titan Deadly Alliance! DO YOU GET IT? DO YOU REMEMBER DEADLY ALLIANCE? I REMEMBER DEADLY ALLIANCE.

Like. What's the deal with all this Deadly Alliancing? Are Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, like, actually friends now or something? Even their extradimensional counterparts are attached at the hip.

Honestly, as cool as the novelty of "The Deadly Alliance is on our side now!" is, it's still just novelty. Shang Tsung is with us because Other Shang Tsung wants to kill him. But also, it doesn't matter because nothing he does once he turncoats has any consequence; Liu Kang defeats Titan Shang Tsung in a big Titan Armageddon, which the Deadly Alliance Plus Raiden's big victory has no effect on anyway.

Ultimately, the new Shang Tsung is a cool idea that winds up getting dragged down by the overarching decisions for where the story wants to go.

[taraljc]

I forgot how much the final season of Continuum really does not hold up to the rest of the show. But I feel particularly bad for Kellog, because they sort of shoehorned him into the position of bad guy and that never really fit for me I guess? just in terms of characterisation. I mean yes he was always out for himself, but he was also genuinely kind (if in a self-serving way) and so him suddenly stabbing people and shooting people just felt very non-Matthew Kellog to me.

That said, I really love Garza all the way through. Jasmine may well be my favourite. actually I ended up really loving all of the liber8 guys, although Chen got shafted by the shortened final season the most I think because his character is a pod person all the way through, and they never did explain why Lucas started hallucinating out of nowhere and then was miraculously fine. something tells me temporal displacement was something they had planned on following up on and then with the reduced run order on s4 it just fell by the wayside.

I do kind of like the idea that since it this was a completely new future that there are new 2077 versions of all of the liber8 folks wandering around not knowing that they had alternate lives. so the idea of Keira's sister and potentially Kellog's sister both being alive makes me happy.

Although there are still pieces that never quite fit that I'm going to have to go figure out. I was under the impression that Sonya recruited Travis but then we had that flashback episode where Travis visited his wife and daughter and he was already in liber8. and I still never understood why Kiera hooked her CMR up to Alec's system after she came back to 2014 from the collapsed timeline. at first I thought it was because she had hidden the time ball and was going to erase where she had hidden it from her own memory but then that made no sense?

I think they're a lot of bits and pieces of a show that don't quite fit together, but I did still really enjoy rewatching. and I liked Brad much better second time around. I remember the first time being sort of like why???? and the not a finale where everybody goes off and lives in the woods was very odd.

I think Erik Knudsen probably had the most fun out of the entire cast because he got to play two versions of his character and really go all out with the freaking crazy evil mastermind side of Alec.

I will say that the one group dinner in Evil Alec's condo was kind of a high point even if that is when Emily / Maya decided that she needed to take herself off the board. This show went through some crazy sets. like usually you have a couple of standing sets that you have for the whole show, but they were all over the place. and I never did understand if Marc Sadler/Escher came from the future or was actually from the 20th century.

[yourthirdparent]

Do u have any MK rarepairs?

hello llewayinghorses. yeah i have ummmm a lot lmao. for the purposes of this i'll be stretching the definition of rare pair a Little because while sure some of these have like over a hundred fics it still feels p small To Me. anywayd

biliang is one of them, as well as kuaitomas. both of these are mk1 btw. sorry beloved followers i am a scorpsmoke lover blame Do you feel it travel in and out your heart? on ao3 (i was shipping them way before i read that fic it's just my favourite). and a biliang lover but i've already mentioned that one before on here.

haven't been Incredibly into those lately though cuz the liu kang hyperfixation hit like a train and now all i can do is set him up with other people he can fuck nasty (or not fuck at all i do love an ace liu kang. more like liu king. sorry.) but they are still on the backburner.

for liu pairings aka my only pairings ever........... holdon let me just bust out the chart

ignore the fact that the colour doesn't mean anything Anyways liutana and liulao aren't rare, shangliu is actually surprisingly popular considering it has so few fics (like 50 total i think split between the liu vs fire god liu tags?), liuhan probably is considered rare but idk maybe it's just because i'm in my part of the fandom but i see it p often so probably not very rare. kuailiu and liutomas are both rarer than that. railiu is p rare, i don't really see it often (but i'd love to because it's actually such a good pairing it's so cool oh my god) uhhhh liugeras is pretty rare considering how much sense it makes but i get it w/e yk. uhhhh kenliu and liucage are both p rare. especially cuz i ship liucage the hardest in the 1995 mortal kombat movie (so sad that i can't write for that movie. cries) which already doesn't get much fandom activity. oh baraka and liu is like super rare lmao but they're so cool !! i think there's lots of potential there idk maybe i'm just a freak. i do mostly ship them in mk11 though (mostly just cuz i don't want to deal with contagion lmao). sindel and liu are rare i suppose (also i forgot to mark liu and jerrod but i do ship them as well they're a throuple) as are liu and syzoth but i don't really care for them Much they're just fun sometimes but they aren't on the brainrot list. quan chi and liu are also rare but yk same principle as syliu i don't care all that much. i just like them both and i think they could have Something. evil. also liu and mileena is mk11 specific and it's also complicated but the sad thing is there's no fic for them and i'm too scared to write it (that's a lie i'm just not creative enough)

uhhhhh i also ship kenleena which according to twitter is actually popular but i've not seen it a damn time which SUCKS !!!! guys please i love taleena but why should i care for Them in mk1 when i could be shipping mileena and the guy whose eyes she gouged out. i think that slays. taleena is also a slay ofc but in mk1........ i need something with a little more Spice like they had in mkx. give me toxic yuri or give me death. they need to be treacherous and then have a kid or i'm out.

let me pull out the mk11 chart too fuck it

again shangliu is p popular shockingly however mk11 shangliu is a lot less popular. sonya/liu is actually so rare that i made the ao3 tag and i'm one of like. four shippers lmao. but i mostly ship them in conjunction with liucage in mk11 and only really ship them on their own in mk21. liu/jax is similar in the sense that i like them more in the 2021 movie lmao. and again i'm the only one in the tag. mk11 liuhan is less common than mk1 which is sad because they're iconic. again baraka and liu are always rare, railiu is p rare (though it does have some absolute masterpieces in the ao3 tag. ty melochromatic can we please be friends you're so cool). fujin/liu is also uncommon but i love them so sosososis99ssjowehhrishwkshrkebf much (i just like both of the characters and decided to slam them together for my amusement) blahblah again with mileena and geras and liulao and liutana are both popular.

SIGH. in addition to all of these i have some bonuses like sindel/sheeva and jadetana which might not be Rare but it is lovely and frossie which definitely Is rare (heartbreakingly) and probably more that i don't want to list. GASP FOR AIR.

[summerwritesfics]

🎆We’ll Dream Of Neo-Tokyo Tonight, Chapter 2 - Neo-Tokyo

Pairing: Hanzo Hasashi/Kuai Liang Length: 2992 Words Rating: Mature Warnings: Cyberpunk AU, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Cyborg!Kuai Liang, Dystopia, Canon-Typical Violence, Corruption, Blood and Gore

We’ll Dream Of Neo-Tokyo Tonight Masterlist

Notes: This was the original fic I posted ^_^ I didn’t have to do too much editing with this one again, so that’s less work for me lol.

Rain poured down upon the streets of Neo-Tokyo, neon signage reflected in the puddles. Kuai Liang pulled his hood and scarf further over his face, but it wasn't to protect himself from the rain. He needed to keep his identity hidden, his face plastered upon multiple screens throughout the city alerting everyone to the fact he was a dangerous piece of stolen weaponry.

Glancing around to make sure he wasn't being followed, he slipped down an unassuming alleyway. Rain lashed against his legs as he came to a familiar door. Taking another look at his surroundings, he hit the buzzer.

“Yes?” A voice crackled from the box. A simple greeting on the surface, but Kuai knew by now the true meaning behind it.

“There are fates worse than death,” Kuai replied. It took seconds for the passcode to be accepted, and for the door to buzz open. He let himself in, making sure one last time there was no one else around, before shutting the door securely behind him.

He made his way down the hall, where a blonde woman stood waiting for him.

“Welcome back,” Sonya greeted, as he finally pulled his hood and scarf down. "Did you manage to retrieve what we need?"

“I did,” Kuai replied, discarding the wet coat he was wearing and hanging it on the wall. He turned to Sonya, tapping his temple, “Everything you need is ready for download.”

“Good.” There was an awkward silence where Sonya did not move out of the way. Kuai narrowed his eyes, there was clearly something she needed to tell him, but was reluctant to for some reason. She cleared her throat, before she finally said “we have a guest. And you aren't going to like who it is.”

Kuai didn't ask, he didn't dislike too many people, so it was a minuscule pool of who it could be. He walked into the meeting room, and his eyes set upon the man Sonya had been talking about. His facial recognition software went off, bringing up all the man's personal data, but even without that, he knew exactly who it was. Somehow, out of anyone it could potentially have been, it was the absolute worst person possible. Hanzo Hasashi.

“What is he doing here?” Kuai snarled, glaring the man down. To his surprise, Hanzo almost shrunk into himself.

“Mr. Hasashi has offered us information on Quan Chi's plans in exchange for protection,” Raiden spoke, very quickly making his way to Kuai and placing a hand in front of him.

“And you believe him?” Kuai sneered. Hanzo had never shown any concerns for what his boss was doing before now, had happily gone through with the plans, why would it change so suddenly unless it was a trap of some kind?

“I've vetted him,” Kenshi spoke up from his spot at the table. “They think he’s here to infiltrate us, but his own thoughts prove his real intentions. He's safe.”

Kuai glanced around the room, Jax, Johnny, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kitana and Jade all said nothing to contradict the psychic. The last person in the room, Fujin, stood lent against the door frame and only offered Kuai a shrug. He was outnumbered it seemed. He didn't have to be happy about it however.

“I understand your frustration,” Raiden started again, firmly placing his hand on Kuai's shoulder, “but we need the information he's offered us.”

“Speaking of information,” Jax interrupted, seemingly trying to move the conversation on, “did you get what we need?”

Kuai managed to just about suppress his rage, as he bit out “yes, it is ready for download whenever you are.”

“Then let's get that done,” Jax offered, standing from his position at the table.

Kuai's sensors alerted him to Hanzo making a sudden movement, and Kuai jerked his head towards him. Hanzo stopped dead in his tracks, looking like a deer in headlights.

“Keep him away from me,” Kuai requested, his snappiness making Hanzo flinch. Jax just silently nodded, patting Kuai on the back before gently herding Kuai out of the room.

They didn't say any more as they reached a second room, this one with a reclining medical cot, wires and a lot of computers. Kuai knew the drill, settling himself down on the cot. Jax quietly logged into the computer and started sorting through the wires.

“Look,” Jax finally said, trying to untangle a bunch of wires, “I'm not happy about him being here either...”

“No offence but it wasn't your brother he murdered,” Kuai retorted. Jax shot him a hurt look, a little note appeared in Kuai's vision chastising him for being rude. “Sorry. It's just...”

“I know, it's alright,” Jax assured him, and the note disappeared. “I get it.” Jax finally got the cables he needed, approaching Kuai and plugging them into the ports located either side of Kuai's head. “He was asking to talk to you, though.”

“Well I don't want to talk to him.” Kuai closed his eyes, as he could feel Jax start the download process in the robotic part of his brain. “I don't want to hear anything he has to say.”

“Yeah, I wouldn't either,” Jax agreed. Kuai felt a file being pulled from his memories, he screwed his eyes tighter and clenched his fists. “You okay, man?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. Taking them out just hurts more than putting them in.” Sometimes he wondered just why he'd been built in a way where such a basic function could cause him pain, but he had been a prototype. And his brother hadn't managed to complete his work before his untimely demise.

“Wish I knew enough about your cybernetics to be able to help,” Jax admitted. Kuai could hear him clicking various things. “I only just know how to maintain my arms, let alone the complex shit going on with you.”

“Yeah, sucks to be a new type of technology, I guess.” Kuai flinched at a particularly painful jolt.

“We're almost done,” Jax reassured him. “You're doing good man, way better than I'd be doing.” Kuai couldn't help but laugh at that. “5 seconds left. 4. 3. 2. 1. And done!”

Kuai felt the relief immediately, and he gave a groan. His eyes flickered open, just in time to see Jax hovering over him, unplugging the wires from the sockets. Kuai rubbed his temples, running a quick scan of his vitals. Everything was running how it should be.

“Do you need me for anything else?” Kuai asked, pushing himself off the cot.

Jax shook his head, “Not right now, I'll let you know if I need you again.” Jax once more patted him on the back, “try get some rest man, you look like you need it.”

“Thanks, I will.”

He walked back out, making his way to the meeting room to find it empty. He sighed, leaning against the table and considering what to do now. Footsteps disturbed him before he could, and he looked up, expecting to see one of his allies. Instead he was met with Hanzo, standing in the doorway and staring at him with a look that even Kuai's extensive recognition couldn't pinpoint.

“LK-52O,” he started. It was amazing how something so insignificant could make Kuai feel so angry.

“My name is Kuai Liang,” he retorted. Hanzo flinched again, yet another little note appeared in Kuai's vision. He elected to ignore it this time. He couldn't care less about the feelings of his brother's murderer. “What do you want?”

“I just wanted to talk to you,” Hanzo tried, holding his hands up as if to show he was not a threat. Kuai didn't believe it for a second.

“What about? How you murdered my brother?” Kuai snarled, baring his teeth like an animal.

“I killed your creator-”

“No!” Kuai exclaimed, storming straight towards Hanzo, who stumbled backwards. “Don't you dare try and dictate to me what my relation to him was!” Hanzo backed up into the wall in the corridor, Kuai stood in front of him, shaking with rage. “I may be partially metal and wire but I have flesh and blood! Grown from his own, so don't you dare tell me he isn't my brother!”

“I don't understand how you can defend him,” Hanzo remarked, shaking his head. “He built you to be a weapon. I did you a favour, freeing you from him.”

“I am not a weapon! He didn't make me to be a weapon,” Kuai countered, slamming his fist into the wall by Hanzo's head. The brick cracked from the force. “The Lin Kuei wanted me to be a weapon, not him!” Kuai felt tears rolling down his cheeks, his knuckles hurt but he was too angry to care. “You did nothing but make everything worse!”

“The Lin Kuei commissioned your creation, but Bi-Han was an arrogant bastard and if I hadn't killed him he would have continued to create abominations like you!” Hanzo's face dropped the second those words came from his mouth. “I- I didn't mean-”

Kuai's hand grasped Hanzo's neck, cutting him off before he could try to make a hasty apology. He choked as Kuai's hand started to squeeze down, slowly crushing his windpipe and cutting away his air supply. Kuai wasn't sure which part of the comment was spurring him on more, calling his brother an arrogant bastard or being called an abomination. His grip tightened, Hanzo gasping desperately, clutching Kuai's wrist. He knew if he didn't let go soon that Hanzo ran the risk of asphyxiation, but in a weird way that spurred him on.

A message popped up in his vision that read “if you kill him, you prove him right about you being a weapon”.

Kuai gasped and released his grip, sending Hanzo tumbling to the floor, desperately gulping in air. Kuai could only stare at him in horror. He’d almost killed Hanzo. After he promised himself that he would never harm someone, never ever let himself be used as a weapon. He almost broke that promise out of anger.

Hanzo looked up at him, grasping his neck, and he croaked out, “Kuai Liang.”

Kuai turned and walked away.

He didn't stop walking, even as he heard Hanzo call for him to wait. He found a dark corner under a table to crawl under and hide, curling in on himself and weeping.

It was hours before he finally reemerged. He got up, bleary eyed and kind of hungry. Glancing at the clock it was around 5 in the morning, and he was sure the majority of his companions would be asleep. He crept down to the kitchens, made himself something to eat, and made his way to the computer room.

He sat down in the seat next to the computer, turning it on and taking little time in logging on. He gathered the wires, plugging them into the ports in his head. Very carefully he navigated his files, finding the backup video files he made of his memories. He took a deep breath, and clicked the very first memory he ever had.

The screen turned black, before it parted to reveal Bi-Han's shocked face.

“Oh! Your eyes are open, that's a good sign! I think.” Bi-Han lent in close, face screwed up as if he was trying to work something out. “Ah, let's start basic. Can you confirm that you hear and understand me?”

“Affirmative,” Kuai's disembodied voice replied. He couldn't help but cringe at how robotic he had initially sounded.

“Okay, I suppose the human part of your brain hasn't had time to develop yet, but we'll work on that,” Bi-Han cheerfully told him. “Can you confirm your designation for me?”

“LK-52O.”

Bi-Han smiled at the answer and nodded, “good, that's good. Can you identify me?”

“You are Doctor Song Bi-Han. My creator.”

“Oh god yes. Yes!” Bi-Han pulled back, pumping his fist and doing a strange little dance that made Kuai laugh to see. His brother often came across as very serious and stern, but it was really cute to see how excited he'd get over scientific breakthroughs. “Oh, I did it. I actually fucking did it!” Bi-Han laughed, almost like he was out of breath, “an organically grown cyborg. I can't believe I actually did it.”

Bi-Han lent forward again, his smile wide. “Okay, listen to me. Your designation is LK-52O, but your name is Kuai Liang, do you understand?”

“Affirmative, I am Kuai Liang.”

“And... Well, you already know my name is Bi-Han. But I don't want you to think of me as your creator.” Bi-Han ran his hand through his hair. “You are my flesh and blood, you hear? We are not creator and creation, we are brothers.”

“Affirmative, Bi-Han is my brother.”

Bi-Han looked ready to cry. He reached a hand forward, Kuai could still remember what that very first touch felt like. He pressed his hand to his cheek to simulate that feeling.

“You and me, Kuai Liang,” Bi-Han whispered, “we're going to change the world together.”

“I've never seen that side of Bi-Han before.”

Kuai tore the wires from his head, shutting off the video, swirling around to see Hanzo standing in the doorway. Kuai stared at him apprehensively.

“The Bi-Han I knew was a pretentious asshole.”

“Yeah. He was a pretentious asshole. Arrogant, cocky and a smartass too clever for his own good.” Kuai reached to grasp the fabric of his shirt, his heart hurt so much, “and he was my brother. The only family I had.”

He turned away, staring at the wires. He was unique in this world, one of a kind. Sure there were lots of other cyborgs out there, but none like him. Other cyborgs had been humans who needed implants for various reasons. Kuai Liang had been born like this, his brother creating a robotic base and then, using his own DNA, essentially grew the rest of Kuai Liang over it. His brain was partially robotic and partially organic, a feat believed to be impossible before Bi-Han managed to figure it out.

“Before The Lin Kuei realised my capabilities as a weapon, Bi-Han had so many plans.” He blinked, warm tears rolled down his cheeks. “It could be a way to help people struggling with conception or to create a family for those unable to do so naturally. A robotic human brain could have cured so many illnesses, saved so many people.” Kuai tried to scrub his tears away. “He spent so long trying to figure out all the kinks. Teaching me how to feel, how to balance my robotic half with my human half.”

“I know there's nothing I can ever say to you that will change the pain I have caused you,” Hanzo slowly started. Kuai turned to look back at him. “I had been told your brother was using you as the template for an army... but, if that were true, why would he insist on you calling him his brother? Why would he bother teaching you to be human? That... doesn't align with what I was told.”

“Who the hell told you that?” Kuai asked, hiccuping slightly from his tears.

“Quan Chi.” Somehow that should have been obvious. “With this new context, things rather start to fit into place. Quan chi makes a deal with The Lin Kuei, convinces me to kill Bi-Han for the so-called greater good...”

“And there's no one to stop The Lin Kuei from using me as a weapon,” Kuai finished. Hanzo was right, everything seemed to fit conveniently into place. “Unfortunately they did not take into account that Bi-Han would know something was up and had some favours to cash in.”

“I understand why you hate me, I have no excuses.”

He didn’t hate Hanzo, disliked him greatly but not quite hate. Now knowing he was given misinformation that influenced his decisions, it did rather change the nature of the assassination. At the same time, it did not change the hurt he had caused Kuai Liang.

“You thought you were doing the right thing with unreliable information. I can't fault you for that,” Kuai sighed. “I still don't like you and I don't forgive you. But I do understand.”

“I will not ask you for more than that.”

“Uh, everything okay?” Jax's voice asked from behind Hanzo.

Kuai smiled gently, “Yeah, we're okay.”

“Good, cause uh, somethings come up, and we need you both.”

Kuai and Hanzo shared a look, but said nothing as they followed Jax back to the meeting room. Everyone sat around the table except Raiden who stood with a stern face at the head.

“Ah, good. I’m glad we've found you both,” Raiden started, gesturing for them to come closer. “Hanzo, you mentioned earlier that Quan Chi had plans saved that prove his guilt in aiding Shinnok's corruption.”

“He does.”

“And you know the passcodes for getting in and out of the building?” Raiden asked and Hanzo nodded. Kuai had a rather bad feeling about where this was going. “And as far as they are concerned, you have not betrayed them?”

“No, as far as they know, I'm infiltrating you.”

“Do you think it's possible to get Kuai Liang in there to download the files?”

Kuai hissed at the question, it went exactly where he was thinking.

“I... could.” Hanzo stared at Kuai, as if he was unsure that Kuai would agree to this too.

Kuai sighed, rubbing his temples, “I don't have much of a choice do I?” Raiden shot him an apologetic look.

Reluctant as he was, he knew that he was the most reliable form of data retrieval they had, and at the end of the day, Hanzo was the one with access to what they needed. Bringing down Shinnok and his corruption would bring down The Lin Kuei too. He needed to do this if he and his allies were to ever be safe in this world. He took a deep breath, swallowing his fears and uncertainty.

“Okay. What's the plan?”

[loregoddess]

Faye from FE for the ask game? :)

First impression: I didn't have any strong feelings for or against her, although I wasn't wildly keen on her writing for my first run, but in the "wow, the writers really messed up" kind of way and not like, "wow this character sucks" kind of way. I did like her as a unit though, she was pretty strong even though I eventually benched her bc I stopped using pegasus knights late-game (which was the class I had her in my first run).

Impression now: One of my favorite FE characters like, ever. Which started off as spite, I will admit, because she got a lot of hate from the fandom, but unlike so many other characters/games where fans criticize the writers, they just went straight for Faye as a character which was ??? bc like, what little writing she gets outside of her crush for Alm is Fine Actually, and again, she's a great unit in battle. So I decided that no actually I'm going to love this character, and then between critically reading her canon writing and coming up with my own headcanons and ideas for expanding her characterization, I ended up genuinely loving her a whole lot. Faye's great.

Favorite moment: This is hard bc again, *vaguely gestures at the game* she doesn't get a whole lot of screentime for anything, although I do appreciate that she comes to terms with her feelings towards Alm being unreciprocated, and is able to forge a friendship with Silque.

Idea for a story: Because I have this rarepair of Faye x Rinea (which was also born out of spite, I swear Echoes is actually tied for my top favorite FE game, I just also have a lot of spite in my heart I guess), I've been kicking around different ideas of how that could work in a mostly-canon but canon-divergent post-game story where Rinea is able to survive, and how Faye would help her along her healing journey while she also recovers from the war and comes to terms with her own feelings about Alm and stuff (and possibly have Faye help Sonya out with her witch recovery efforts in general), although I haven't gotten too far with any specific ideas to have a solid mental outline or anything.

A story exploring her life growing up with the other Ram kids would be pretty interesting too, although I'd probably get sucked into the research rabbit hole trying to learn about things like a complete history of farming and end up stressing about whether the fantasy farming village of Ram seemed like a legit farming community or not.

Unpopular opinion: I kind of feel like loving Faye is unpopular in and of itself, but yeah. Writing aside though, I do genuinely think Faye's a good character, like, from a visual design standpoint and also from a game mechanic standpoint, she's got a lot going for her. The writers did a poor job with her writing sure, but I think there's a lot of potential for her to be an interesting character in her own right.

Favorite relationship: Again, she doesn't get much, but I do like the friendship she has with Silque (and I don't mind the romantic ship of the two either even if it's not my first choice of ship for my own fleet), and I would have loved it if we got more insight into her relationships with the other Ram kids aside from Alm, bc I think there was a lot of missed potential there. Also, because Faye can be recruited to Celica's army instead, I would have loved if Faye had supports with at least Celica to explore what their relationship would have been like (I think they would have gotten along, even if Faye was a bit jealous of Celica at first). And well, of course my wild rarepair of Faye and Rinea.

Favorite headcanon: Hmm, I dunno if I have a favorite per se (since I mean, a lot of trying to expand Faye's characterization is just making stuff up that seems plausible), but I think since she was the only girl in a group of boys growing up that she's got sort of a rougher streak, like, she's willing and capable of throwing someone down in a fight, especially if they were picking on one of the other Ram kids (which could be reflected in her stats in the game, since she's pretty strong all things considered), and also due to Ram being a farming village she isn't really squeamish or icked out by things which some of the high born noble girls would have hated (bugs, dirt, mud, snakes, etc.). Like sure, Faye also enjoys wearing dresses and looking cute (she's very fashionable!) but she's also not really bothered by getting dirty and I'm very sure she probably picked up some critter out of Clair's tent one night with a slightly bored expression and released the poor thing outside. Hell, she'd even put some of the noble men to shame with her lack of fear of things that were normal everyday occurrences bc she grew up with a bunch of guys in a farming village (she's also definitely got some muscles as a result too). Also I think she makes all her own accessories by hand, and that she's overall very handy when it comes to sewing and crafts. I do think she's a bit of a picky eater though, not overly so, but just a bit.

[shiteating]

i finished the limbus event ages ago but forgot to post my thoughts (still gotta grind in the upcoming weeks) but what a tour de force of an event. i quite liked it. the chickens rolling 11-13 on one coin was pretty annoying so anyone reading this who hasn't started: bring your high rollers. at any rate, i like that it gave limelight to characters that haven't had much so far— it feels as if they combed through the script of the cantos released so far and listed sinners in order of not necessarily who said the least, rather who hasn't really had a chance to show off their personality as much. i do quite understand and feel it— "gives spotlight to characters who needed it" is quite cliché praise that conveys nothing, at the end of the day. but it's true.

spoilers under the cut, for like everything potentially, but especially the event of course. (also may include my grievances with the fandom so if youre not about negativity...well if you follow me here youre probably ok but just a warning out of courtesy)

I LOVED HOW IT GAVE FOCUS TO CERTAIN SINNERS!!!! especially meursault, yi sang and hong lu!! donQ was funny!! gregor was cringefail moe!! more of ryoshu is NEVER a bad thing!! (ryoshu pussy destroyer, apropos of nothing) i think even though sinclair had his introductory canto already with arguably the best sinner to story+dungeon integration and immersion so far, its nice to see him not suffering and just being some guy. i did say "they gave the characters who didn't do much more spotlight" rather than "didn't say much" because in the grand scheme of things, sinclair didn't do that much in canto 1 and 2, and 3 was an interesting facet of him but nonetheless we hunger for these sinners in any situation funny or tragic.

but also because i have a huge issue with "XYZ doesn't talk much" sort of justification for mischaracterization. this concerns mostly yi sang and meursault. now, to preface things, usually i am not the kind of person who likes to heckle people and demand they meet prerequisities before consuming a work (well it depends, for me personally i like going in production order when it comes to games and anime but this is different+if someone came up to me demanding stuff my response would be "no way" out of spite a lot of the time. though i try to respect the work by honoring its othee branches IVE GONE OFF ON A TANGENT SORRY), but yi sang and meursault in particular are about the most straightforward original book to limbus character translations there are probably. i think i mentioned it on main before, but the solution to "i don't know how this character is" is probably to look back on the source material. i suspect it is due to the short length of their respective sources, even yi sang who seems to take after his poetry as well and not just the wings, does not come up to even 50 pages all together probably. (i have not read all his poetry but i've read crow eye's view right after this event because i was further spurned to do so, i read the wings last week) the stranger is about 100 pages. it makes sense, when you have a longer source like for example crime and punishment, you have more room to do more topsy turvy aversions like mixing sonya and rodya's convictions together and switching stuff around ever so slightly... also the genderbending but that's obvious. prosthetics racism aside, they played with sinclair a bit still, but all in all it's following most of demian's beats quite closely, down to demian magically making kromer go away in an act of demian ex machina (though on screen as opposed to off in the book, though the mystique is arguably not lost because the fucker is floating like some kind of ghost or guardian spirit. not saying he is any of this but yknow). P.S. i think if they somehow work eva into limbus i might lose my mind that was such an insane part of the book

however even before this event, in the three cantos we have available, i feel that yi sang and meursault have been adequately characterized. i read the stranger in high school so my memory on it is fuzzy, and as aforementioned i read the wings last week, and they are represented quite faithfully! not to mention meursault wasn't even scarce in canto 3! i understand that they're a little dry as characters, maybe that is seemingly boring to some people but i don't think it is an excuse. there's no REAL need to read the books and that's not my point here at all, but still, i think what we have in the game even pre-event paints a quite clear picture as it is. i'm trying my best not to sound like i'm looking down on anyone, i say this all the time but before limbussy i had only been reading non-fiction books for years because i lost my spark for fiction. i'm happy it revived it. so i'm not gonna come from the angle of "read books or die" cuz that's not me. i'm saying this because i have intense anxiety but i will repeat again that while i speak strongly and perhaps even harshly, i do not think any less of most people. though maybe i cannot hide my annoyance at fandom types much even if i am trying. <-im just a guy

though i will spill the beans on myself and admit that i feel that you miss out on so much when not reading at least some of the books. sure, some of them follow quite closely, but there'a so much fun in comparing and contrasting. seeing the subversions and aversions, and what they chose to keep as is. I LOVE IT!!! i want you guys to know this joy. and i love that my reading block is going away. btw i am reading stuff in canto order. 👍

my comments on donQ in laconic because no one wants to hear it (will oblige if you ask but it is groanworthy so i will use my discretion regardless) (also clarifying again cuz i have anxiety but i do not ever think donQ being silly is bad. she is perfect. i have 0 complaints. it is more about fandom treatment):

and then there was hong lu.

this one's a real stinker. hong lu isn't topping much of my lists but i think he is a charming and nuanced character who is unfortunately probably the most flanderized sinner next to heathcliff and donQ (THE CROWD BOOS AT THE NOTION OF DONQ BEING FLANDERIZED). as with many people, i don't know if a day may come that i will read dream of the red chamber in whole— i may attempt it of course, but the length is undeniably daunting. i don't know much about it, only that hong lu himself is not a character in it, but more like some kind of metaphysical mishmash of different elements in the novel (even his name is derived from the title itself). it is not difficult to surmise that the odds are stacked against him. i don't think this section will be too long, but i feel that not only is the nuance in his character in limbus easily disregarded, but it is being superceded entirely by this phantom of what the fandom has thrust onto him. i am not anti-fun, nor am i "you're enjoying it wrong grrr" (this is a lie i kind of am sometimes but i am self aware of it)

but even just judging from the material in limbus alone i do not see where people got the "hong lu is a frivolous shallow whore" thing outside of idk, him being a handsome somewhat kind of sort of gender non-conforming male character and acting (strong emphasis on acting) a little ditzy and being showy. he's quite sheltered, i do not deny that he says ignorant things because of his upbringing, but the event did lay it on thick in one scene that he also enjoys messing with people a bit. but i think it will still be taken super literally regardless. he is a character with hidden depths, so far not much of it is revealed, but he shows moments of great emotional intelligence at times (like in canto 3 when he told a different sort of half truth to saude about effie being "fine"... i mean it's uh. not a lie) and the guy can definitely read the room if he so chooses to do so. the moment in the event where he got a little cagey and perhaps even introspective when faust used him as an example to explain distortion was another moment of depth uncovered: i think it will be a slow process overall. which is great. there are some characters that we will continue to learn more and more about incrementally throughout the run of the game (however long that will be, but i will be there no matter what) rather than getting a seemingly complete baseline right away. (because really, everyone has hidden depths still, it's just that sinners in the position not unlike hong lu's just have MORE hidden i suspect donQ is the same— /shot

but yeah. i had a lot to think about because of the event. but i love the direction it went with showing the sinners' individuality off and who they chose to show more of. i could not be happier with it. i feel like very few mobage are able to do this balancing act of fleshing out characters outside of story. i think fgo also does it well (CROWD STARTS THROWING ROCKS AT ME)

P.S. i do not assert that my interpretation of the characters is 100% correct and infallible EVER— everyone sees things differently. however what is objectively incorrect is stuff that just ignores canon outright and on a consistent basis. at that point idk if we are reading the same text.

[wvba-ringside-gossip]

*the doors bust open as a pair of burly Scottish lassies enter*

"Aye, there ye are! C'mere to us, we've got a question!" (Fiona)

"All our girls 'ave finally arrived so we thought we'd ask, who's yer favourite?" (Moira)

"Also say hello to that Irish lad for us, he's a friend of ours" (Fiona)

"See ya around ye puny bastards!" (Moira)

*The two stomp off cackling*

"I'll...uh...I'll be sure to tell him ya said Hi..."

"Anywhoozles- Obviously I gotta mention Hoggie, me and her just really clicked! She's such a hoot! And surprisingly, I get on well with Sofia too! I think it's cause she's daring Maple Rose, and cause of Hugger's connection to 'er- yadda yadda- you can piece it together. I think yer all swell, though that Frosty is REALLY cold, no pun intended, I-I'm sure we could be friends in the future but I'm not holding much hope unfortunately..."

"I echo Ruby in saying you are very VERY great people. Love talking to each and everyone of you. If I have to pick a favourite though? Bimbette and Lucky for sure! I just see a lot of potential for them, they may be bottom of the bracket but I can tell they're doing their best. Least favourite? That Jasmine really does get me riled up. I don't like her attitude. There is cocky but hers seems on a whole other level entirely. What her brother sees in her as a rolemodel I will never know..."

"..."

"...Uh...Robin?"

"Hmm?"

"You...you gon' answer?"

"Do I have to do it now?"

"Yes, now hurry up"

"Fine..."

"My favourites are easy. Ceyda, Celestia and Clarrisa. Ceyda and I are pretty alright, I've only gotten to know her as much as I have through Bull. Celestia and Sefi get on so naturally we do as well. And Clarissa is a sweetheart, and a real charmer, but I guess that's in her character, isn't it? Least faves would probably be between Phoneix and you twins. I don't dislike you guys, but the attitude can be off-putting. Also, calling us Puny Bastards doesn't really get you on good terms with me either but...yeah..."

"Seriously? That last part seemed a bit half hearted"

"Sorry, I'm just a bit distracted...trying to wrap my head around Sefi's bloody list for groceries"

"Tell her to get it herself!"

"Excuse me? I'm not making my pregnant wife do anything that could risk her losing our baby, you c**t!"

"......"

"W-what?"

"...YOUR F***NG WHAT!?"

---(INTERMISSION)---

"Ahem, is this on?"

*mic tapping*

"Greetings, viewers! Desire here. Yes, you heard that right. Sefina and Robin are expecting parents. We all found out about this fairly recently and we are STOKED!"

"Sonya had the delight and permission of sharing this news to all of us this evening on 'quibbler.com', here see it for yourselves"

"No idea who that last kid is, but our biggest congratulations and best wishes to them both. This, however, means that Robin will not be taking questions for the duration of this, as he will be helping Sefi adjust as well as going through parenting classes for himself.

However, Ruby and Jazzy will still be answering questions for you inquisitive folks out there. So don't stop asking.

Au revoir and Merci to you Robin, see you again in 9 months!"

[chestnutninny]

Hey there! Thank you so much for writing the Sonya SFW alphabet. Absolutely adored reading it, you’re like my fave writer on here honestly. You just capture each characters personality and quirks into your pieces so well.

Hope you won’t mind me requesting stuff for Sonya in the future cause she’s one of my absolute favorites. Probably something fluffy and domestic- she deserves all the love and appreciation in the world. What a shame they killed her off, she had so much potential and I really liked the dynamic she brought into the squad. And the amount of hate towards her is absolutely ridiculous… we might just be one of her only few fans. Have you seen Christine Lahtis interview about Sonya before? (WolfFilmsLawandOrder uploaded it on YouTube)

She finds such caring words for her role and the way she describes what might be going on in Sonya’s mind and the struggles she battles with just scream for a supportive, loving gf.

Anywayy I’m kinda yapping again here- but I just wanted to thank you for your brilliant work, thank you for taking your time to write it. Hopefully you’re doing well xx

(Also I kinda feel like I should add like a signature emoji or something haha, let’s pick a cute one)

-🫖

I've honestly really enjoyed writing for Sonya, I think she was an amazing and underrated character. I really appreciate your requests and I love how adorable you are.

I'd be more than happy to write for Sonya in the future and will be open to any requests you have for her. I haven't seen any of her interviews however I will definitely have to check them out.

I really am grateful for you thinking so highly of my work, it makes me really happy that you think I'm that good.

I also think that you should give me an emoji to use, I think it's such a cute idea.

[call-sign-shark]

Oh this was such a sweet chapter, a real breather after all the trouble!!

First of all I loved the whole setting you’re describing around Sonya: the silent mansion, the feeling of the cold stones and the tall weeds, the water’s temperature… Those are exciting small details that really give a lot of realism in your story. Besides, it’s incredibly immersive. I particularly appreciated that scene of Sonya swimming quietly and suddenly meeting Bonnie. When I told you I giggled when Bonnie appeared and made one perfect dive in the lake before coming to her I am not joking. I giggled like a fucking school girl.

I am so thrilled about this encounter — And I feel like there’s definitely some shopping potential between these two. I don’t know if you intended to write it this way but it’s what I’m sensing and I hope it’s going to be so. 😬 As is the case with all the characters, your depiction of Bonnie is outstanding and accurate. He’s such an underrated character so I’m glad you’re giving him a bit of spotlight. 🥺🖤 The whole conversation got me smiling so much, like Bonnie being the cocky and adorable boy he is, and Sonya turning stone cold and stubborn! What a great pairing.

Two of my favorite quotes:

“My brothers had been born in a caravan on some trashed car park, but now they owned houses like this” 🥺 Yesss the sky rocketing way Tommy climbed the social ladder is what we always keep in mind but I love that you don’t forget the family’s origins.

“As if I had been the one trespassing after all” This is so powerful, I adore watching Sonya unsettled by this lad who’s super confident and playful. Knowing a little bit about the dancing world, she’s probably not used to it.

(Don’t mind me. I’m with my family but I’ve waken up far earlier so I decided to keep reading your perfect series teehee.)

t r o u b l e // chapter six

A peaky blinders modern au balletcore story

Chapter List

Sonya

I lay awake listening to the quiet which remained after Ada had soothed little Karl and set him down to sleep. I knew she wouldn't be sleeping, I knew she'd be somewhere in her wing of the house, growing more agitated by the second. Sitting with her rage and stewing. She would feel just as we did, caged. Helpless to do anything and yet desperate to get as far away from this place as she could. From the evil world our brothers moved in.

I'd been trying not to think about what I would have been doing had I been at home in the flat I shared with Sylvie. It was 4:30am and I'd have been in the shower, fighting off sleep, thinking about the short tube journey into school. Rerunning the steps I'd been trying my best to get to know so well that I no longer had to think. Only had to relax into them and move as if strings were tied to my head, my wrists and my feet.

.I'd been trying not to ask what was going to happen when I didn't show for class, when I didn't show for my rehearsals later that day, but it was difficult not to because in that moment I felt like my whole life was caught on a precipice. Tommy was about to push me off.

In the end I gave up trying to sleep.

The sun was rising somewhere beyond the peaks and my body clock was so atuned to early rising that I saw no point in trying to change in now.

The house was silent, the family finally settled. Whatever disputes had been quietly raging all night were waiting now for the morning when Tommy and Ada would no doubt clash again.

It was much bigger than I'd noticed the night before when John had brought us straight to Tommy's study and then lead us straight to our room, but now that I was treading lightfoot down the hallways slender carpet past numerous doors I was beginning to realise that my brother was far richer than even I could have imagined. It was no secret of course, I'd always known that our family were much better off than we'd been when we were living in that tiny flat in poverty stricken watery lane. It had been obvious that my brothers had social climbed further than any of us could imagine when their names began to circulate the tabloids. When people had started filming Sylvie and I every time my brothers schemes made the news.

But this was a different kind of wealth.

Our "cottage" conversion in the country was palacial and beneath the quaint thatched roof there was money in every vintage church pew, painting and statue that lined the hall.

I trailed my fingers down the banister as I descended the stairs taking each step at a time, still a little sleepy and now hazy in awe of the house I found myself in, knowing that it belonged tp our family. My brothers had been born in a caravan on some trashed car park, but now they owned houses like this and I understood why it was known as Shelby Manor.

I wasn't really looking for anything in particular, simply hoping to get to know my new "home" whilst there was nobody else around. Whilst it felt empty and I had free reign over the halls, rooms and hopefully, the little nooks and hideyholes I would be able to escape to later when everyone else was at one anothers throats.

So, when I slipped through another doorway to find a darker, thinner hallway, the floor of which was made of stone rather than the polished hardwood in the majority of the house, my curiosity was piqued. Not least by the cool draft which hot hit my cheeks gently, it had that earthy damp smell that reminded me of exploring woodland with my sister when we were smaller. So I stepped through the door, gasping though I should have expected how the stone was cold against my bare feet.

It was dark but not pitch black, small fire safety lights making a path along the cieling that I could follow, one hand always trailing the cool stone wall. It felt as though I had stumbled across a secret passage in an old mannor house, the kind of tunnel that should lead out to Narnia or somewhere similar.

I wouldn't have been completely surprised if it had been a secret passageway, an escape tunnel that lead out of the house. That was the kind of thing our Tommy was probably into these days. Still, if it was supposed to be secret it wasn't exactly well hidden, the door left open as if it had wanted to be found.

It didn't occur to me that it had been left open on purpose, though had I though perhaps had I known my brother a little better I'd have worked that out when I reached the exit. A door which opened out into an overgrown garden, long dry grass grown up to my waist, the pollen brushing off on my pyjama shorts as I stepped outside.

The ground was dry and crumbly and as i stepped I felt pieces of snapped grass between my toes. But I wasn't the first to walk through the field that summer because there was a well trodden path already there for me to follow and as I did I realised that I wasn't in anybodys garden at all.

I was at the edge of the manor grounds, where the river which ran the perimeter of the Shelby land opened out into the mouth of a lake which stretched wide and early morning orange sparkling in the sunrise.

I remembered my brother telling me about it once, in one of our brief conversations. Not long after he'd bought the old farmhouse and begun converting it. He'd told me he was going to clear the lake for me so that I could go swimming in it like the lake our mother had taken us to when we were tiny children and she was still alive.

I couldn't help but smile as I lowered myself to crouch on the bank and peer down at the water curiously. He'd done as he'd promised. Perhaps the only promise he'd ever made to me that he'd kept. The water was clean and clear but for the reeds which broke the surface and whispered all wind in the willows peaceful. Daydreamy and alluring.

And so I couldn't resist. Slipping out of my tshirt and shorts into only my underwear, shuffling along and then down the little slope to dip my feet and ankles into the cool water. And it was cold, not icy but cool enough to shiver up my spine and draw a little gasp from me when the water lapped up around my waist. Still it was a good kind of shiver, a good kind of cold and, as I pushed off away from the bank I felt my body cut through the water gracefully, the water swallowing me up to my neck, my legs moving slowly as I kicked and swam smoothly. As I swam I felt the tension of the night before ease a little, washed away by the cool water and the sunlight which dappled and glimmered in warm shades.

I cut a slow moving stroke through the middle of the lake and when I was out far enough away from the bank that I felt a pleasant sense of isolation, I turned onto my back and let myself float, looking up at the clouds in the whispy sky. It was then that I let myself close my eyes, a soft smile on my lips as the water held me and I felt, for the first time in a little while, truly at peace. Truly free. And even though I knew that freedom and peace couldn't last long at all, I was happy to hold onto it and treasure it then for the little time I had been given.

That was until I heard movement somewhere on the bank behind me. My ears prickled at the sound of a foot scuffing at the side of a rock. Shoes being kicked off. The clunk of something heavy hitting the floor.

I jumped, startled, spinning round with a snap, my eyes wide when I saw a lad, shirtless, standing at the edge of the bank, apparently oblivious to me.

At least he had been, and I'd have preferred it to stay that way, until my startled splash had drawn his attention to me.

Now he stood watching me, just far enough that I couldn't read his expression, couldn't make out the colour of his eyes or their truthfulness.

I hovered in the water, a little shaken. Remembering why my brother had brought us back to the manor in the firstplace. Remembering that the outside world was dangerous now, that strangers were enemies as far as anyone sensible was concerned.

So i watched him cautiously and when he raised his hand in a slow wave I didn't return it.

And when he called out across the water to me I didn't reply straight away.

"Hello?" he called out to me, his hand still hovering by his dark curls.

I didn't call back, watching him hesitantly because although he didn't seem hostile he wasn't wearing a peaky cap and I didn't recognise him as anyone Tommy kept close.

And when I didn't respond he lowered his hand and without any warning at all he launched himself into the water in an elegant dive, his body swallowed whole by the water, the white splash frothing and bubbling as he disappeared below the surface.

I froze. Watching the bubbles as he cut through the water and burst through the surface. His slender frame cutting towards me at a much faster speed than I could have managed. Even if I was a quick swimmer, he moved like a fish, his body lithe but strong and powerful and I knew that if he was intent on catching up to me he would.

So i remained still, knowing that if something happened to me out here my brothers would only be angry I'd been out here on my own. That even Ada and Sylvie would want to know why the hell I hadn't put up a fight.

But when he slowed and stopped, treading water about a meter from me he was smirking, the kind of boyish smile worn by a harmless teenager.

"I don't think you heard me before..." he said, his cocky smirk getting under my skin a little as he trod water before me, his eyes flickering over my face and my shoulders, the little of me above water level. "I said hello."

When still I didn't say a word, only held his gaze coldly, stubborn not to show my nerves, he spoke again, still trying to be cheeky, still with a confidence I was sure he didn't deserve. "You're in my lake you know..." he added a little quieter, his smirk undeterred by my unamused pout.

"You're not a Shelby," I said as coldly as I could, my words causing a soft chuckle to ripple from him though I could see in his eyes that I'd caught him off guard.

"So?"

"So its not your lake." I said swimming backwards towards the edge of the lake, watching him watching me. I wasn't rushing, I wasn't "fleeing" but I was pushing quickly through the water, my heart beginning to race when he swam to catch up.

"You seem pretty sure about that for a lass who's never set foot on this riverbank before today..." he called after me, stopping at the bank a second after I did with a smile that would have been contagious had I not been so determined to be as Sylvie would have been had she been caught out like this.

When still I didn't relent he shook his head, half a laugh down towards the water as he leant on the grassy bank with his elbows. He ran his hand through his wet hair and left it sticking up a little scruffy, droplets trailing down his arm and splashing off the water onto me. "What if I told you I had Thomas Shelbys blessing?" he asked, teasing me his eyes twinkling with sarcasm, "would that put your conscience at ease miss?"

The whole time he'd been talking I'd been trying to place his accent. Almost Irish but not quite, familiar to me but only distantly. A part of my past hardly recognisable now.

"You're gypsy..."

"Don't think you're allowed to call me that anymore lass, ain't the 1920s anymore now is it..." he grinned, a caught out grin, a slight pinkish hue in his cheeks, "an I'd think you'd be a wee but more concerned about that an all if you're who I think you are..."

"Gypsy, traveller, romani... Its all the same to me," I shrugged as nonchalantly as I could, knowing that if Ada or Aunt Pol had heard me they'd be furious. That even Tommy and my brothers who still used that word whenever they wanted to put someone else in their place, would have scorned to hear me say that.

"Well," he said, lowering his voice a little, still softly spoken, still teasing, "well now I know you're lying to me Miss Shelby..." he said leaning in a little closer, knowing eyes glowing so that although he didn't look humbled, still looked as though he believed himself to have the upper hand - and he did have the upper hand - he looked a little softer. Enough to ease my fears a little. The knowledge that we were more alike than I'd anticipated putting me at ease, because there wasn't a travelling family in the whole of the midlands who didn't answer to my brother these days.

"You know I'm a Shelby?" I asked edging towards the grass myself about to push myself up onto the bank until I remembered that I was only in my underwear, that my pyjama shorts and tshirt had been abandoned somewhere the other side of the lake.

When he laughed I couldn't tell if he was teasing still or really just laughing at me. My apparent naivety.

"Aye little lass, reckon I know which Shelby you are an all..."

I held his gaze despite myself then, doing my best to remain cold and stubborn, doing my best not to reveal how vulnerable I felt. But my cheeks were heating up, an indignant blush revealing me completely.

"You can't possibly, we've never met."

"You're Sonya," he shrugged pushing himself up onto the verge, looking down at me, his legs still in the water, kicking them gently too relaxed for someone who should have been at least a little wary of a Shelby girl. Then again, he knew exactly which Shelby girl he was talking to, and if there was a Shelby lass not worth fearing I knew it was me.

"Eh don't look so sad," he flashed me another smile, one which riled my temper because I didn't like being teased by strangers who should have feared me. I wasn't used to it either.

In London people had feared me for a collection of reasons, some for my family, most for mt reputation. I was one of, if not the, most talented ballerina of my age. One not to be sniffed at. Someone to gaze at in awe. To be grateful to have met.

"That was just a lucky guess..." I said eyeing him suspiciously.

"Was it yeah?"

"Yes." I said finally, narrowing my eyes at him before backing away, "so, you know who my brother is, close your eyes if you know whats good for you."

I wasn't expecting him to do as I'd said but he did, quickly too. His hand shot up to cover his eyes and he made a point of turning away, laughing at me with a smile that lingered.

"Well I'll be seein yous Sonya," he said his voice light as ever, still teasing, still laughing. Too comfortable. Almost infuriating me so that I couldn't reply, could only hurry back to the trodden in path I'd followed, grabbing my clothes and scarpering as if it really had been me trespassing after all.

Next Chapter

[iliad24]

i just realized i've never posted my rant about what yaz could've been on here

basically i think the show gives yaz a bunch of different traits/experiences/etc as vehicles for messages to the audience and then never actually connects those traits/experiences/etc or lets them build up into a properly nuanced character. like when the show wants to Talk About Racism she talks about her experiences with racism and when the show wants to Talk About Mental Health we see a single crisis from her teenage years but those things don't come up outside of their respective episodes/scenes/messages

like. okay. here are some things we know about yaz. yaz:

quickly corrects gendered language

doesn't have a lot of friends

was/is the target of racist harassment

was bullied in school

ran away from home/is implied to have been suicidal or attempted suicide

celebrates the anniversary of her not-suicide with her sister but not her parents

is into women

all of these things so clearly connect into a full and complex character. but they're all so isolated! we never see how yaz running away and her sister being worried affects her once she starts traveling with the doctor (thereby disappearing from her family again). when her family isn't onscreen, we don't really hear about them-- we don't hear about whether sonya's worried about her, or what her parents think. she seems to have a good relationship with her grandmother but we mostly only see that when the episode is about it. we never hear about whether her race and orientation play into the bullying she got at school. we never hear about whether any of that is part of why she needed the tardis as an escape. the show somehow acts like her being suicidal is a one-time thing and fixed with a single pep talk, which anyone who's ever been suicidal knows is not how that works. if the scene isn't About the life event or struggle in question, it's like it doesn't exist.

and like... yaz as a character is so interesting if you connect these traits. if you think about her as a young pakistani muslim (closeted/repressed) wlw trying to get by in school, and then the trauma she incurred at the hands of others, and the bond she might've had with her sister, and the arguments she might've had with her parents, and then how all of that might've contributed to her running away/being suicidal, and then joining the police force thinking it'll help people because the one cop helped her when she ran away, and then realizing that she's not helping people/that the job isn't what she wants but she doesn't know how to get out, and then, after all of that, meeting the doctor and getting to travel time and space, and finally recognizing her love for what it is, and struggling with being away from her sister and with unpacking some of her childhood/her family stuff now she's finally separated from it-- if you think about all of that, you create such a beautiful and authentic character. but in the show, all of these traits and experiences seem to exist in isolation, and you don't see how they all come together to affect and create yaz's character.

i don't know. it bothers me that she has so much potential to be a really grounded character who i think a lot of people her age (also my age! i was 19 when twwfte came out!) could relate to. i always really wanted to see a scene in ghost monument where she has a moment of panic and realizes she's basically disappeared from her family again and has already almost died at least once and might not get back to them. it's just stuff like that that would have made her feel a lot more coherent and complete to me.