#about smoke's ending

[sterekvidinhasz]

Ever since I found out what happened to Hanzo, I've been really upset, not just as a Subscorp fan, but also as a huge Hanzo fan.

When I saw Smoke's ending, I was very disappointed. In fact, Kuai Liang's ending made me sad too. First of all, I would like to ask NRS why Kuai married Harumi if, since her introduction into the story, she has always been Hanzo's wife. If the intention was to give Kuai a love interest, wouldn't it be better to create an entirely new character or let him have a relationship with a playable character?

If they specifically chose Harumi because she is part of the Shirai Ryu, wouldn't it be better to put Hanzo in her place? After all, he was the grandmaster of Shirai Ryu in the previous timeline.

I don't understand why they assigned this role to Harumi, when it could easily be given to Hanzo, who has been a playable character in the franchise since launch. I also didn't understand why Harumi married Kuai Liang. Harumi was Hanzo's wife, this was literally his only role in the story, she was part of Hanzo's construction as a character.

I can't like the fact that they excluded Hanzo from the creation of Shirai Ryu, as the clan revolved exclusively around him.

It may seem silly, but to me Hanzo was disrespected in every way possible. He is one of the 7 original characters and received an animated film dedicated to him. You might think "but all that attention wasn't necessarily given to Hanzo, that attention was given to Scorpion". Yes, I understand your point, but that Scorpion is intrinsically Hanzo. The development of Scorpion stemmed from Hanzo's story about losing his family and clan. In Mortal Kombat X, he stops being a wraith and returns to being completely Hanzo Hasashi. In Mortal Kombat X comics, he restores his clan (and unfortunately sees his clan massacred again). In Mortal Kombat 11, he has an excellent redemption arc as he fights alongside the good guys and tells his past self to give up undisciplined revenge.

So, I ask: why give everything that made Hanzo Hanzo to another character?

I have no problem with Kuai Liang being Scorpion. He can have Hanzo's gameplay, weapon and powers, that's okay. But why erase Hanzo from his clan creation and not allow him to have Harumi and Satoshi?

For example, Mileena was finally able to have a family, now she is loved by her sister. But why can't Hanzo have everything he wanted most (Harumi as his wife and Satoshi/Jubei as his son)?

This seems unfair to me. They gave Kuai Liang characteristics of another character. I know that in the new era, the characters have new origins, but they simply gave everything Hanzo had to Kuai Liang. They could create a really new origin for Scorpion Kuai Liang, but they simply discarded elements of Scorpion Hanzo's lore and gave it to him.

Hanzo became a homeless teenager, probably an orphan, he probably continues to suffer, when he could be happy next to Harumi and their son, commanding the Shirai Ryu side by side.

As someone who has been following Mortal Kombat for years and dreams of seeing Hanzo finally happy, it hurt my heart to realize that having what he always wanted is impossible even in Liu Kang's timeline.

If they don't want to change too many things, they can just say that Hanzo and Harumi are a couple and are friends of Kuai Liang's family. Hanzo and Harumi welcome Kuai and Tomas to Japan and help found Shirai Ryu. The boy that Smoke finds on Harumi's property could be Takeda, who was born from an affair between Kenshi and Suchin, just like in Mortal Kombat X comics.

I understand that a new era shows new perspectives and is different from the previous era, but what happened to Hanzo was disrespectful, it was a disregard for the character.

Kitana is still daughter of Sindel & Jerrod, Kuai Liang & Bi-han remain brothers, Tomas grew up with them like in the previous timeline, Mileena is still dating Tanya, Suchin is still Kenshi's love interest (he mentions her in intro dialogues)... So why can't Hanzo marry Harumi and be Satoshi's father? Why they hate him so much?

I'm indifferent to Hanzo and Harumi as a couple (there's not much to think about them, Harumi is an NPC and all her appearances before MK1 were just flashbacks or mentions). The point is that Hanzo suffered for eons over the death of his lover and his son, he would do anything to get them back, this has been demonstrated so many times. I just want him to have the life he always wanted.

And honestly, was it really necessary to give Kuai Liang a completely sudden love interest? He spent 30 years single, why is this out of the blue?

I'm very frustrated with all of this. Hanzo was reduced to an insignificant role in the story (even though he assumed the mantle of the most famous character in the franchise for 30 years), the writers decided to shove Kuai Liang into a random and unnecessary romance, we will probably never have Subscorp again (yes, I know we have a lot of content from them, there have been three decades of many interactions and moments between Kuai and Hanzo, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to having more of them in the new era).

Please do not take this as a criticism of Kuai. I think he was also a victim in all of this. They didn't need to discard elements from Hanzo's old lore and give it to him, Kuai is already a well-written enough character, I even think that his part in MKX comics, where he destroys the cyber initiative and takes leadership of his clan, is the most amazing thing I've ever seen, his transition from a boy who lost his brother to a Grand Master is sensational. He didn't need it. Each character has their individuality, no matter what mantle they take on. For example, when Kuai became Sub-zero after Bi-han's death, he had his own story. Bi-han, now Sub-zero again, appears to have his own story as well, quite different from Kuai Liang's and quite different from his own in Mortal Kombat (1992), Mortal Kombat II and Sub-zero Mythologies.

Anyway, that was just a rant. I have a lot of attachment to Hanzo as a character, so seeing what happened to him is something that really frustrates me.

[me-beef]

@strangeravatar made a great point

i was gonna focus on the spike-hotboxing-celestia aspect but i got distracted somewhere along the way and i think i forgot what joke i was trying to make

but dont you think its interesting how many guards of the exact same color/body type she's managed to accrue?? i do

ooohh you want to go look at our stickers so bad

[artschoolglasses]

Americans not giving a shit about the wildfires burning down forests and homes in Canada until smoke starts spreading across the border. Meanwhile Indigenous communities across the country are far more likely to be impacted by the fires and I’ve seen all of one link to a charity and about nine million memes. 🙃

[jagalart]

Hue 16

[blorbologist]

hey im not over this. I just went to dig it up and. it's literally the exact same shot. (except Orthax is giving Ripley a smidge more personal space, and she doesn't have the glowy-glowy ember eyes)

[philyuri]

being a phannie is about winning the rpf lottery at the cost of your mental health

[suja-janee]

(Mostly) Harumi centric doodle page for a friend

[wtftaylr]

some 'on the boat back from fortification hill' goofs. This looks like the beginning of a beautiful one-sided friendship

[loycos]

what did you make of the scene where caitlyn hits vi ? the timing of the blow was so unexpected to me…she was kinda steadying herself and then WHAM. What was going through her head ? Was she making some kind of decision ? Mind still reeling that she chose (?) to gut punch Vi to signal the end of their relationship.

well, i dont exactly know what made her make this decision. it looks like a momentary lashout based on rage. i think her rage comes from a place of betrayal, so she wants to make vi as hurt as that betrayal feels.

i actually think the "misunderstanding" thats happening here is very well written. clearly we as the audience see that caitlyn is becoming more and more unhinged. vi sees it as well. caitlyn might have missed the shot and killed a kid- her composure at that moment was very much shaken. most people, given this scenario, would choose to opt out. so to us, caitlyn being so insistent feels callous and irretional. which, it is. but lets look at it from caitlyn's perspective.

so, caitlyn feels a lot of guilt about the fact she didnt shoot jinx back at the dinner table. its very well established. she mainly blames herself, but i think a small subconscious part of her also blames vi- vi is the one who got her to hesitate, after all. the fact that she "messed up" last time and that caused so much grief and pain not only to herself, but to the 2 cities, makes her EXTREMELY determined to NEVER make that mistake again.

vi told caitlyn to not bring back up, so basically, theyre each other's only support. caitlyn agreed, that means that to her she put 100% of her trust in vi to help here and to have her back. vi told her, my sister is gone. when u have the chance, take the shot. caitlyn is convinced theyre on the same page here. so when vi turns on her, shes in utter disbelief, and she starts questioning whenever vi ever had HER best interest in mind.

thats why i think caitlyn is so obsessed with bringing up the idea of who's "side" vi is on. you could read it as "piltover vs zaun" but i think what she means is "me vs jinx". at the dinner party caitlyn didnt shoot because of vi, and she wonders whether or not the girl she sacrificed everything for would do the same for her.

and at that moment, after she missed her shots, again, because of vi, she comes to the realization that vi would never choose her over jinx. and she flips out.

now. thats how CAITLYN sees it, im pretty sure. we know there are other things at play that have affected vi's decision, and that caitlyn currently is not seeing the bigger picture. but that's what i think she felt that drew this severe of a reaction from her.

[surrealpanda]

p4 dump feat. souyo and the hardboiled look (best outfit in game)

glasses version of 2 below the cut

[voltaical-art]

some obligatory "i finally finished the game" Avernus trio doodles

[porrigens]

hes a terrible smoker

[teenytinyapprentice]

LBMR week: day 3 - chills

quick smoke break (someone forgot their coat)

[hakuyukii]

made this bailey for @bobsquatley !

[mooseonahunt]

The way Luis asks for a cig when he first meets Leon and Leon responds with “You know, those things will kill you” and then Leon ends up lighting Luis’s final cigarette for him just guts me. Makes me lose my mind. I’ll be having a good day and then I’ll remember that and I’ll be inconsolable.

[dragoonwish]

Rivals