#i hunger for kuai liang content

[thetrueweaveroffate]

I mentioned how Bi-Han’s and Hanzo’s facial structure don’t seem to look similar enough if they were siblings. I’m trying to make some fanart in the future and noticed the following:

Hanzo’s head and forehead is taller and more narrow. Bi-Han’s head and forehead is shorter and more broad. Additionally, Bi-Han seems to have more of a sharp chin, whereas Hanzo’s face seems to be rounder overall.

This seems rather consistent with MK11.

It’s hard to see the entirety of Kuai Liang’s forehead, but he has a shorter head compared to Hanzo’s, but seems somewhat wider. Also his jawline is rather defined, compared to Hanzo’s smoother jawline. I am saying all this because:

1. There have been many comments on YouTube that suggest that Bi-Han and Hanzo look similar, but like, no. Bi-Han looks closer to Kuai Liang’s face in terms of dimension. Just because two Asian men with clean-shaven faces have similar outfits and man buns does not make them look similar.

2. Hair strand siblings? :3

[rottendollface]

Warning.

My age: 22 y.o.

Your age: no minors, only 18+.

I can (and will) write dark things, like yandere, stalking, violence, CNC, etc., because I'm interested in the motives and psychology of any sorts of violence, and by my writing I'm explaining it. Almost everything you read in my fics is described from the side of a mentally ill (psychopath) character and should be greeted with criticism. Please understand that this dynamic isn't normal in real life, and I write it because: 1) It's my page; 2) I like these genres and types of characters, such a way of art have the right to exist. It doesn't mean that I would like to repeat it outside my posts, and I don't urge you to repeat it, as well. It can be anything here, don't read me if you are uncomfortable.

About me

ENFP-clown, aquarius and dead inside. I love memes, stupid jokes and live in endless spooktober 🕯️🎃👻 My first serious crushes were Valtor from 'Winx' and Ben Drowned, so yeah, it says a lot. English is my second language, please bear with me.

SFW blog – @anemiaanemona.

AO3 page.

Characters I write for

Genshin Impact: Childe Tartaglia (Ajax), Zhongli, Rosaria, Kamisato Ayato, Wriothesley, Dottore, Pierro, Capitano.

Honkai Star Rail: Argenti, Blade, Dan Heng (+ Imbibitor Lunae), Veritas Ratio, Gallagher, Gepard Landau, Luocha, Sampo, Welt Yang.

Kamigami no Asobi: Hades Aidoneus, Apollon Agana Belea, Balder Hringhorni, Thoth Caduceus.

Uta no Prince-sama: Reiji Kotobuki, Camus, Ittoki Otoya, Ren Jinguji, Kira Sumeragi, Seiichiro Jinguji.

Katekyo Hitman Reborn!: Kyoya Hibari, Xanxus, Squalo Superbi, Byakuran.

Shingeki no Kyojin: Reiner Braun, Erwin Smith, Zeke Jaeger.

Dead by Daylight: The Trapper (Evan MacMillan), The Trickster (Ji-Woon Hak), The Mastermind (Albert Wesker).

Mystic Messenger: Jumin Han, Choi Saeyoung (707), Choi Saeran (Ray, Unknown), Kim Yoosung.

Boyfriend to Death: Strade, Ren Hana.

Mortal Kombat 1 (12): Shang Tsung, Sub-Zero (Bi-Han), Scorpion (Kuai Liang), Mileena, Sindel.

Lurking for Love: Jacob Alden.

I can write for your fav characters, but on this guys I have personal headcanons and ideas 👻

My preferences

🥀 this section can be updated 🥀

I write dark content mostly, and the biggest part of my fics is about any sorts of violence of a certain character over reader (it may be hidden or depicted graphically).

I like: drama (between character and reader or reader and society, etc.), mysticism (including all the forms of paranormal activities and devilry), dark, horror, body horror, ABO system, physical and psychological violence, sexual violence, surrealism, mental disorders, status difference, age difference (only with younger reader/older character), patriarchal and heteronormative relationships dynamic, misogyny, femdom, mommy kink.

I don't like it, but I can write it (no guarantees that the result will be good): fluff, healthy relationships (of any kind), rivals to lovers, enthusiastic consent, service top/power bottom, enemy mine, soulmates, domestic fics.

I won't write it: male reader (I'm not educated enough in it), scat, diaper fetish, genitals torture, character x character, heavy necrophilia (excluding zombies), cuckolding, manipulations with urethra, sugar mommy, zoophilia (excluding monsters), FWB, harem (reverse harem included).

Tools

To edit pictures I use: Meitu, GlitchCam, Mirror Lab.

To find pictures I use: Pinterest, Twitter (ecchi_aesth, tasteful_ecchi, tasteful_manga).

To create playlists: SoundCloud.

To find music: SoundCloud, YouTube, VK.

Favourite picrew: tap, tap.

Masterlist

Genshin Impact

Wriothesley

Guilty.

Dottore | Zandik

Prayer.

Childe Tartaglia | Ajax

Sons of Sin;

The Horror of Our Love;

Sugar storm;

I still dream about her;

Delirium;

Freezing Moon;

The Alien;

The Hunger Games AU pt.1;

Happy violence;

Jar O' Kinks Headcanons.

Zhongli | Morax

Dollhouse;

Uncut bijou;

Autocrat;

Remember me.

Venti | Barbatos

Eros.

Rosaria

Be my sacrifice.

Dainsleif

Agape;

Do Angels Never Cry and Heaven Never Fall?

Diluc Ragnvindr

Antihero.

Kaeya Alberich

Antihero.

Uta no Prince-sama

Kotobuki Reiji

Spotlight.

Boyfriend to Death

Strade

Like Home.

Lurking for Love

Jacob Alden

Pots of Kinks.

Mortal Kombat

Smoke

Smoke Relationship Headcanons.

HSR

Gallagher

Rum and Cigarettes.

[seventhstrife]

Know Your Enemy PT.2

💙💛SubScorp Week 2022 - Day 1- Vampire AU💙💛

Link on AO3~

RATING: Mature

PAIRINGS: Kuai Liang/Hanzo Hasashi

TAGS: Alternate Universe - Vampire, Enemies to Lovers, Vampire Hanzo Hasashi, Hunter Kuai Liang, Angst, hanzo’s in this of course there’s angst, Canon-Typical Violence, POV Kuai Liang

@subscorp-week

Chapter 2/?

For the first time in his career as a hunter, Kuai Liang retreated.

Chasing his targets while they were harried was textbook, but useless in this case; the vampires he hunted were supposed to be little more than animals wearing human skin. Deadly and violent, not—not whatever it was he'd witnessed. They were not supposed to talk to him, and avoid fighting back, or refuse to kill him.

No matter how freshly turned, instincts and hunger should have taken over as Kuai Liang had seen time and time again. The pulse of his blood should have been too tempting to ignore. The desire to kill, insurmountable.

But he'd witnessed nothing of the sort. Even when the elder vampire had come, not once had he removed his mask or tried to bleed Kuai Liang. He'd fought brutally, efficiently, with every intention to kill. And the more Kuai Liang reflected on the fight, the more he felt certain they wouldn't have bit him even once he was down. The older one clearly wanted nothing to do with him and neither of them had looked to feel the hunger even slightly.

Kuai Liang made himself rest in his hotel room because he needed to be prepared for what tomorrow would bring, but he did not fall into fitful sleep until daybreak, wracked by questions and doubts.

Had the Grandmaster known about this when he'd given Kuai Liang his assignment? There was 'crafty' and then there was what he'd witnessed. Kuai Liang had spent decades of his life perfecting the art of the hunt, but his hunt was for beasts. Not—not people.

That thought kept him awake the longest, unsettled and frustrated and at a loss for his next course of action. He tried to ignore the revelation but it was a truth he'd had thrown in his face ceaselessly all night.

The men he'd hunted were just that—men. Vampires, but still decidedly human in all the ways that mattered.

Kuai Liang hated it, but the real reason he hadn't pursued was that even then, the thought of striking them down felt...wrong.

They were an abhorrent weakness, these thoughts. He was simply taken off-guard, that was all. Once he'd rested, meditated, and centered himself—he would be resolved once more. He would not come back a failure.

💙💛

When he awoke to a knock at his door, ill-rested but unwilling to stay abed, he was surprised to see a familiar face.

"Smoke?"

"It's Tomas when we're not at the compound," Tomas reminded him, a small smile turning up his lips. He stood just outside Kuai Liang's door and gestured inside. "May I?"

Kuai Liang obligingly stepped aside, brow furrowing as he closed the door behind him.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were in Prague."

"I was," Tomas agreed, "But I finished earlier than expected. A small nest, hardly worth lingering around for." He took a seat in the one chair afforded Kuai Liang's room, tucked beside a spartan table. His gray eyes were curious when he looked back up. "And I arrived just in time to hear about this interesting assignment of yours, and from the Grandmaster, no less!"

Kuai Liang's frown deepened with suspicion. He took a seat on the edge of his bed, raising a brow as he crossed his arms.

"My assignment was given to me in secret," Kuai Liang pointed out. "How do you know of it?"

Tomas shrugged nonchalantly. "I have my ways."

"Indeed," Kuai Liang said dryly. "Do the Lin Kuei have any secrets when you are around?"

Tomas's smile became a grin. "Some, I'm sure. I'm content to leave a few alone for the sake of a good mystery. But in any case," Tomas clapped his hands together, "How does your hunt go? What have you found?"

Kuai Liang's amusement was banished.

"...What is it?" Tomas asked when Kuai Liang did not speak up. It was only a slight hesitation, but Tomas knew him better than anyone.

"I..."

Kuai Liang felt as if he were at a crossroads. Should he speak up about this issue and make his shame known to a man who was like a brother to him? Risk losing his respect? Or did he keep quiet, push back these foolish doubts, and complete his mission?

But all he had to do was think of the way the younger vampire had looked at him, how stubborn and strangely determined he had been despite fighting for his life. How he'd plead with the elder so earnestly, No killing.

Kuai Liang grimaced. As if there were any choice at all.

"...Not well," he admitted. Tomas raised his brows, shocked, and Kuai Liang continued, "These vampires were far more different than anything I've ever dealt with before."

Kuai Liang told Tomas everything, from his fruitless days of searching without so much as a hint of foul play, to his confrontation and the baffling, prematurely-ended fight with the other one. He told Tomas about the pyromancy he'd had to contend with, the fact that the younger vampire had been armed all along and had only drawn his weapon to stop their fight, the way the elder had stepped back after the confounding plea to stop fighting even though they had the advantage. Sane and smart and only fighting when necessary—going against every fact they'd ever known about vampires.

Tomas took everything in without interruption, clasped hands pressed to his mouth, elbows braced on his knees. His eyes were narrowed and his brows furrowed more and more as the story went on, until he looked as darkly confused and conflicted as Kuai Liang felt.

When the words dried up, they sat there for a long moment, both of them trying to assess the situation now that it had been laid out before them. Kuai Liang had hoped that talking about his experience would help him gain clarity, but he was no closer to a resolution than he had been when he'd woken.

"What did you report back?" Tomas finally asked.

"I...haven't sent one," Kuai Liang confessed. "I have nothing yet to report, and should I say what I found—"

Tomas was nodding before he'd finished, straightening up with a grimace. "There'd be a priority hunt out before the day was out, yes, I see your problem."

The wording gave Kuai Liang hope, even as it surprised him. "You—?"

"I think you did the right thing, not pursuing," Tomas said. "We don't have enough information as it is, and after such an encounter, treating them the way we do the rest of their kind would be too dangerous."

Relief took a bit of the guilty weight off Kuai Liang's shoulders. He'd done what he thought appropriate at the time, couldn't deny he still felt that way about his choice, but to hear he had the support of an old friend—it was appreciated.

"So...you won't report this?" Kuai Liang asked.

Tomas stood and clapped a hand on his shoulder. "No. You always have my support, Kuai Liang, you know this. I'd like to stick around, though, if you'll have me."

Warmed, Kuai Liang smiled. "I'd be grateful."

Tomas returned his smile, then his hand fell away. "Non-hostile vampires...I suppose I've seen it all, now."

Kuai Liang thought of burning eyes and death threats and careful hands melting bonds of ice so gently it did not hurt.

"You haven't seen them," he said quietly. "Not truly."

Tomas looked at him and studied Kuai Liang's expression.

"Show me."

💙💛

They waited until nightfall, armed and patrolling the streets, and it was almost like a real hunt, a normal hunt.

Until, that is, they neared the same intersection Kuai Liang's encounter had begun before, where he'd no sooner pointed the location out to Tomas when a figure rose from the roof.

It wasn't exactly the same spot, but it was damn near close, and most certainly the same vampire.

Kuai Liang and Tomas both froze in shock; a vampire, returning to the spot they'd been exposed? What kind of game was this?

Distant though they were, the vampire cut an obvious silhouette as he rose, his motions exaggerated and obvious as he raised a hand—in greeting?—and pointed into the darkness. Then he turned and leapt down and out of sight.

Kuai Liang and Tomas looked at one another, nonplussed.

"Well," Tomas said.

Kuai Liang sighed, already wearied by the night—though he was glad to have a witness to this madness.

Of course, they followed. Kuai Liang recognized the path almost instantly and his lips pressed into a thin line, but he followed nonetheless, slightly wary of a trap as they approached the same back-alley spot he'd fought in the night before.

It took him aback, slightly, as he and Tomas warily approached the mouth of the alley. Black scorch marks, shattered concrete, and puddles littered the space abundantly, like a very concentrated explosion had erupted here—which was more or less what had happened.

He hadn't realized how...zealous they'd been...

Tomas whistled lowly, inspecting a deep gouge in the concrete, filled with water.

"This you?" he asked, silver eyebrow quirked. "Must have been quite the spectacle."

Kuai Liang could feel his face warm. "One of them was...formidable."

"That means he got his ass kicked," an amused voice interjected, and both of them tensed, facing the source in a heartbeat.

It was the younger vampire—Takeda, Kuai Liang remembered. He stood just beyond the shadows of another opening into the alley, casual as can be with his hands in his pockets, shoulder propped against a brick wall, though his eyes watched them with a matching wariness even as his lips quirked up.

Had he ever known a vampire to smile?

"We were evenly matched," Kuai Liang said coolly, eyes tracking their surroundings; a small part of him was still wary of an ambush.

"Nah, Hanzo was taking it easy on you."

Kuai Liang glared even as his mind committed the name to memory: Hanzo. Hanzo. Hanzo. An opponent of worth, undoubtedly, and certainly one whose name Kuai Liang wished to remember. He'd never met anyone like him before, vampire or not.

"What is the meaning of this?" Kuai Liang demanded. "And how did you know I would return?" The thought that he might have been tracked and not noticed it did not sit well.

"I didn't," Takeda said. "I hoped, though."

"Hoped?" Tomas stepped forward, a dark frown on his face as he scrutinized the vampire. "Why would a vampire hope for hunters? Or do you think that we'll be easier prey with our guard down?"

Tomas took a step forward and then the vampire moved, lightning-swift, and held out a gleaming sword.

"That's far enough," he said, and the easy, jovial tone was gone, replaced by something much more stern and resolute. "I'm an optimist, sure, but not stupid."

Tomas stepped back to Kuai Liang's side, arms crossed, radiating impatience.

"You did not answer the question. Why did you seek me out?"

Takeda reluctantly took his eye off Tomas. "Because...because I wanted to talk. And I thought you might listen."

What this vampire wanted to say to him, a hunter, Kuai Liang could not even begin to imagine. But his curiosity had been won long before this.

"Speak."

Takeda blinked, mouth dropping open slightly; for all his hope, it was clear that he hadn't expected to be humored.

Steely determination smoothed his features just as fast.

"You've seen it, right? Me and Hanzo—we're different. We're not like the vampires you usually hunt."

Kuai Liang hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. It was an obvious overstatement, as undeniable as it was baffling.

But, "You're still killers," Kuai Liang pointed out, tone brooking no argument. "You prey on the innocent to survive."

"Okay, but we don't?" When he was only met with two disbelieving glares, Takeda insisted, "We don't! That's not our way. And wouldn't you have caught us if we had? We don't kill people. Well—except hunters who try to kill us," he said pointedly.

Every word out of Takeda's mouth was so unbelievable it bordered on the absurd.

At his side, Tomas scoffed.

"You expect us to believe that? A vampire that doesn't kill? And I suppose you don't need blood to survive either," he said caustically.

A flash of anger appeared in Takeda's eyes.

"I didn't say that," he defended, tone hard. "Of course we drink blood. But we can do that without draining someone. We're not animals."

Tomas waved his hand dismissively, his gaze just as hard. "You ask too much of our imagination. I can clearly see you have your wits still, that can't be argued, but the rest? That you can actually control your bloodlust? No. You're only trying to save your skin."

Takeda opened his mouth, face dark with the impending brewing storm of an argument, but then he paused, brows coming together in a thoughtful frown as he glanced away.

"What...if I could prove it?" he asked slowly. "Would you believe me then?"

Believe the word of a vampire? Kuai Liang and Tomas shared another look.

"Your call," Tomas deferred. "It's your hunt, after all."

After one last, hesitant moment, Kuai Liang faced Takeda and nodded.

"Produce this proof," he said, "Or our hunt resumes."

Takeda grinned, excitement plain to see, and he put away his weapon, exchanging it for a cell phone.

"What are you doing?" Tomas asked, suspicious.

"Telling proof to come here so you can see for yourself." Takeda glanced up, a mild look on his face. "If you think I'm just gonna ambush you, you can go any time."

"It could be an ambush," Tomas murmured, distrustful and uneasy. "He's still a vampire."

"True," Kuai Liang conceded. "...But if killing me was his goal, he could have done so last night when the odds were much more favorable. I'm willing to see this through."

Tomas sighed in reluctant agreement. "...Very well."

Takeda slid his phone back into his pocket. "Okay, should only be ten, fifteen minutes."

"Until more of your vampire friends arrive?" Tomas pressed.

Takeda frowned. "I know I'm kind of asking for a lot here, but I'm the one that's trapped in an alley with a couple of vampire hunters, okay?" Takeda focused on Kuai Liang. "I saw that you had someone with you but I still met with you. Shouldn't that count for something?"

Kuai Liang only frowned harder. "It means you are unpredictable," he said. "Which only makes you more dangerous."

"Fair enough," Takeda conceded. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, the only vampire friend I have is Hanzo. I don't even know if there are any other vampires like us out there..."

Even if Hanzo was the only form of reinforcement he had, that was more than enough. Kuai Liang had never fought someone such a highly competent adversary, exacting and ferocious.

"This Hanzo," Tomas spoke up. "Why is he not here?"

"He..." Takeda glanced aside. "He had other matters to attend to. But I'm sure you'll meet him. Hopefully when he's in a better mood..." He met their eyes again and asked, "What about you? Any more hunters I should be on the lookout for?"

"Just us...for now," Kuai Liang said, letting the threat hang in the air.

Until you reveal yourself to me. Until you step out of line and I decide to put you down.

"Good, that's..." Takeda nodded, "Good to know."

They stopped speaking after that, though the quiet was far from peaceful. Tension kept their wary gazes on one another, though Takeda seemed to be making an effort not to appear openly distrustful.

He seemed to be trying so hard to simply speak with them, to plead his strange, mysterious case.

It struck Kuai Liang how truly young Takeda was. He wondered how long he'd been turned...

All at once, fire suddenly erupted at his feet.

Kuai Liang jumped back, head snapping up, scanning the sky, and quickly he found the black silhouette as it leapt from the rooftop and landed just beside Takeda. That same golden mask, that same burning, furious glare.

Hanzo.

He and Tomas took ready stances, hands hovering over the stakes at their hips, ready to attack.

Takeda, however, wasn't even looking at them as he sputtered, "What are you doing here?"

So Takeda had not summoned him?

Hanzo cut his eyes to Takeda as he stood, entire body a coiled line of rage.

"Jacqui," he answered in a clipped tone, and Takeda seemed to grow paler.

"Why—"

"Because you had disappeared," Hanzo stressed, and he stepped close, grabbing Takeda by the upper arm and yanking him back and away from Kuai Liang and Tomas. "And when I asked her, she told me you had just contacted her, asking to find you here, where apparently you've decided to meet with the enemy."

"Hanzo—"

"What were you thinking?" Hanzo asked between clenched teeth. "To come here, alone, without saying a word to anyone until it was far too late? I did not think you so foolish."

"They're not—"

"They can't be trusted. Look at them," Hanzo threw out an arm to gesture and it was hard to resist the urge to flinch from the way he looked at them, unvarnished hatred and rage so vibrant in his eyes. "They are armed for a reason, Takeda, armed against you."

"You would condemn us for having weapons when meeting with a vampire?" Kuai Liang asked before he could consider his words. That tone, the dismissive, scathing way Hanzo looked at him—it rankled. "It would have been more foolish not to take the threat seriously."

Most of his face was hidden beneath that ornate mask, but Hanzo's sneer was obvious.

"While I have no doubt Takeda could kill you both, easily," Kuai Liang and Tomas bristled, "It is still an unacceptable risk," Hanzo stressed, turning his glare back on Takeda. "Especially since killing without thought is second nature to hunters."

Kuai Liang almost laughed aloud, the statement was so ridiculous.

"You confuse us with yourself," he challenged. "We are not the mindless beasts here."

Hanzo spun on him, releasing Takeda's arms, and his own curled into fists. Wisps of smoke began leaking from his mask and Kuai Liang felt a thrill of excitement, to taste the bloodlust and the promise of a fight teetering on the precipice.

Beside him, Tomas shifted uneasily.

"You attacked Takeda for no other crime other than being what he is, for something he can not change, for the crime of being a victim," Hanzo seethed, and Kuai Liang scowled, unwilling to be judged for something as trite as semantics—the boy would lose control eventually—but Hanzo wasn't finished, accused, "You and your people hunt us because you enjoy bloodshed, because beneath the thin veneer of honor and duty you are monsters just the same—"

"Hanzo! Hanzo!" Takeda closed the distance between them, stepping slightly in front of Hanzo so he could press a firm palm on his chest before he could fall over that edge and start the fight Kuai Liang had been anticipating. "Calm down. This isn't helping. I'm all right, okay? Yes, they're hunters, but they're willing to listen, which is more than we could have ever expected, right? So just...give it a chance. Please."

Hanzo went very still, staring into Takeda's eyes, the grim set of his features against the calm, steady way Takeda watched him back. Kuai Liang had to take a steadying, silent breath to calm himself, far too close to lashing out as well.

Tomas angled his body more towards him, though his eyes never left the vampires. It was a subtle gesture of support and a reminder as well, that control was paramount and that he wasn't alone.

Kuai Liang forced the frost that had begun to seep from his fingertips to recede, to inhale long and deep to slow the frantic beat of his heart. He did not often lose his temper, but Hanzo seemed destined to test him sorely each time they met.

"What did you hope to gain by meeting with us here?" Tomas asked, speaking up while Kuai Liang wrested himself back under control. "Besides spin this story of being new, improved vampires?"

Hanzo scoffed, not looking at them as he crossed his arms, and the reaction made Kuai Liang's gaze linger on him.

Takeda watched Hanzo for one last beat before he lowered his hand and faced them, face set with determination.

"I want the hunts to stop—"

"Impossible," Kuai Liang cut off immediately, eyes narrowed.

"Not completely," Takeda hurried to clarify, "Just not us, or anyone like us if you find them. We're still normal and we don't harm people, so there's no reason to—"

"You keep saying that," Tomas said coldly, "But how can you expect us to just believe that—"

Tomas stopped speaking suddenly and they all heard it: the sound of a revving engine, growing louder, closer.

"It's okay," Takeda said as Kuai Liang and Tomas gripped their weapons. "Friendly, I promise!"

Seconds later a motorcyclist eased out from the darkness of a wider alley, booted feet tapping on the ground as the bike slowed and finally stopped.

A woman dismounted, clad in a dark green leather jacket, jeans, combat boots. Gloved hands tugged off the shining black metal to reveal the face of a young, beautiful black woman. She shook out her braids, short ones that stopped at her chin, and when she hung her helmet on the handlebar of her motorcycle, she did so slowly, her dark eyes taking them all in with a mild, slightly worried look with her eyebrows high on her head.

Takeda visibly brightened to see her. "Jacqui!"

Jacqui held out a hand to him as he drew close and their fingers slotted between one another's.

"Hey..." Jacqui said warily, confused as she glanced at Kuai Laing and Tomas. And though it was a quick look, there was an assessment to her that spoke of training, the way her eyes darted to their shoulders and hips, where their weapons were, not obvious, but seemingly obvious enough to her.

But she was human, undoubtedly. Kuai Liang stared at their clasped hands in mild surprise.

She looked at Hanzo, then back up to Takeda again. Her eyebrow rose. "Boy, what have you done now?"

Takeda's smile was warm and sheepish. "You know, the usual."

"Uh-huh."

"So, Jacqui, this is..." Takeda trailed off, looking at them expectantly.

"Sub-Zero," Kuai Liang said flatly. Hanzo glanced up.

"Smoke."

Takeda shrugged at the obvious aliases.

"Nice to meet you? I guess?" Jacqui said politely. "Can I ask why we're meeting a couple of vampire hunters in some random dark alley?"

"I'm trying to prove that me and Hanzo are different," Takeda explained, and Kuai Liang could see the way his grip tightened around Jacqui's hand. "They aren't convinced we don't kill people for blood."

Jacqui's head tilted back slightly in a move of startlement, blinking.

"Oh," she said, and then she faced Kuai Liang and said, "He's telling you the truth," she said firmly. "Takeda gets his blood from me."

She said it simply, like it was nothing, even though it was one of the craziest things Kuai Liang had ever heard. A vampire drinking from a human without killing them? Regularly?

Jacqui nodded like she could hear his questions. "Yeah, it's been like this for what? Two, three years now?" She looked at Takeda to confirm, so she missed the way Kuai Liang and Tomas stiffened with shock.

Belatedly, Kuai Liang realized Hanzo—who before seemed to be pointedly ignoring them and barely tolerating their presence—was now staring them down unblinkingly, studying their reactions with narrow-eyed scrutiny.

"Three years next month," Takeda said, smiling, and Jacqui returned the fond look.

"Trust me, if he'd been getting blood from anyone else, I'd kick his ass," Jacqui said firmly. Takeda stared down at her with painfully obvious adoration. "I protect him during the day, and he drinks from me when he needs it. So he doesn't really have a reason to attack some random person on the street."

What she described...it sounded very much like the work of a thrall. Kuai Liang had put plenty of them out of their misery over the years, but they had been mere husks of their former selves, barely allowed enough blood to stay alive, emaciated and feral, defending their master's dark nest with all that they had, which wasn't much at all.

Jacqui, however, appeared healthy and strong and very much in command of her senses. She was, for all intents and purposes, a perfectly normal, happy, human woman. Young, in love—and apparently had been for three years into her relationship with Takeda.

Kuai Liang and Tomas looked at one another, nonplussed. If this was what Takeda had chosen as his proof, well... it was pretty damn compelling.

"What about him?" Kuai Liang asked, jerking his chin at Hanzo.

Hanzo's glare seemed to spark brighter, but he didn't speak.

"People—people are willing," Takeda said, hurriedly answering for Hanzo. "It's the same for him. No killing humans, that's our rule."

Kuai Liang had been reluctantly curious about them the first time he'd seen these vampires and realized how abnormal they were, but now? Now, with the evidence of Jacqui standing before his eyes, Kuai Liang was beginning to believe them.

"...Even if we wished to call off the hunt, it's not our decision to make," Kuai Liang finally spoke. "Our orders come straight from our leader. But if you'd be willing to meet—"

"Enough of this," Hanzo interrupted, apparently no longer content to be a silent, fuming watchdog in the shadows. He glared at Tomas and Kuai Liang and said, "We are not so desperate for peace that we'd willingly march to our deaths. And I won't," and here he aimed that glare at Takeda, "hear anything else from you on the matter. Your little attempt at co-existence was valiantly done, but now it is over and we are leaving."

A mutinous look came over Takeda's face, darkening his normally pleasant features into something outraged and resentful.

"But—"

Hanzo shoved his arm so he stumbled into Jacqui's side. "Go with her and take care you are not followed. Now."

Takeda's mouth opened, but Jacqui's hand on his shoulder stopped him. She shook her head and Takeda's anger seemed to drain out of him.

"Fine. Let's go," he said, a bitter twist to his lips. He nodded at Kuai Liang and Tomas, then followed his girlfriend to her bike. Hanzo stayed right where he was, unblinking as he guarded their retreat.

But when the motorcycle could no longer be heard and Hanzo made to leave, Kuai Liang could not keep silent any longer.

"You will not even try?" Kuai Liang asked, offended on behalf of his clan and his own pride, that Hanzo would accuse him of trying to entrap them.

Hanzo did not look at him but his hands tightened once more into fists.

"Are you truly so stubborn? So pigheaded that you will not take a chance at freedom?"

Hanzo's glare was bright with fury, a frankly incongruous amount of anger considering Kuai Liang was his one chance at true safety.

But it was clear he would not have it, despite Takeda's brave attempts.

"We are mindless beasts, remember?" Hanzo asked, voice bitter and dark. "Those were your words. We can only expect slaughter at your clan's hands, no matter what you might say."

"You are being foolish," Kuai Liang said, and he took a step forward unthinkingly—

Once more, his way was blocked by fire, though not the towering wall as it had been the night before, only a small burst, like a grenade, right where he almost stepped.

"I am keeping my loved ones safe," Hanzo declared fiercely. "I will not let you take him."

Hanzo turned his back and jumped in an incredible display of his supernatural abilities, clearing the entire building and landing on the nearest roof in a single leap.

And just like that, he was gone.

"...We could follow him," Tomas suggested, though he didn't sound as if he felt strongly about the prospect either way.

"No. We'd only be proving him right if we did and will only make him harder to convince."

"Convince?" Tomas faced him, eyebrows high. "You still think there's a chance for peace?"

Kuai Liang shook his head, then shot Tomas a beseeching, helpless look. "After what we've seen tonight, I feel as if there is no other choice. We have to at least try, don't we?"

"It won't be easy," Tomas warned. "Even if this pyromancer wasn't so against it, we'd still have the Grandmaster to convince."

"I know." Kuai Liang didn't relish how that conversation would go, the fact that his reputation might never recover should he fail and the Grandmaster lose all faith in him.

But covered as he was, Hanzo gave away much in his answers, in the way he fought and the fierce way he glared at them, always seconds away from going for the kill—in a way that had nothing to do with him being a vampire.

Takeda was trying to pave a better future, but Hanzo was clearly mired in some painful, terrible past, too blinded by anger to see the worth in leading a better life. But as different as they were, they were both innocent of the crimes hunters executed their kind for, and Kuai Liang did not want to kill them. He did not want to see them killed, as a matter of conscience. There was no honor in it.

"But it is the right thing to do."

[sasorikigai]

Dono, do you consider yourself more of a Ninja or a Samurai? Just curious ~♡

Random Inbox Shenanigans || anonymous, methinks it's @indulgentia || always accepting!

▬▬ι═══════ﺤ 🔥 || The road towards being the best Shirai Ryu warrior had been an endless road to fatigue, stress, contemplation, and betterment. Hanzo Hasashi still recalls heavy storm of tears of his youth, threatening to deluge over the caress of daily perspiration, as he desperately attempted to cross the broken bridges of regret he carried everyday. How the young apprentice’s heart wandered, with the trifecta of his body, mind, and soul hungry, his heart astray, despite vehement passion and abundant intensity he wielded, which still replenished his entirety. He could be severely damaged, distorted, and deranged in all forms and still force himself to move onward and forward, as if he was on the path to conquer the eternal war to make the Shirai Ryu the greatest and most respected clan of Earthrealm. 

Perhaps Grandmaster Hasashi has succeeded in making himself formidable and valuable, amidst the plethora of flaws and imperfections which make him painfully human. For there is something big living in his chest; as it aches with hunger, longing, inspiration, as he continues to feed them with defiant and resilient strength and intensity of his everburning fire. So long as he is trying, and completely aware that his destiny and success are the things only he can declare. 

Hanzo Hasashi has lived with the well-known implication of the ‘way’ of the sword, which is a complete philosophy as well as a military technique which centers on the sword. In its simplest, the Way of the Sword is an intense focus on learning how to use the samurai sword in the most effective way. In a more complex meaning, this Way is a complete devotion to a view of life based on the sword, its mystical qualities, and techniques of its use. To the Shirai Ryu Grandmaster, swordsmanship, combined with his essentric and unique use of the chained kunai became an art, with grace and discipline adding a focus on practice and perfecting movement. It is the unknown predictability which distinguishes the other warriors and instills unadulterated fear for those unprepared for his arsenal of skillsets. 

“I am whatever Earthrealm requires me to be,” for Hanzo Hasashi is stronger because he had to be, he is smarter because of his mistakes, he is content because he has overcome the sadness he has forever known and he is wiser because he has learned from his life, filled with strife and tribulations. Hanzo may ponder in thought, diving into the fathomless sea of emotions. Everlasting, neverending, much like the questions left unanswered by his old immature past life without somber quietness yet beautiful imperfections, as Hanzo poured his heart into the intricacy of kombat involved more than simply drawing the first blood and emerging victorious.

Kuai Liang should know this, for engrossing in vicious kombat entitles more than one-dimensional destruction and rebirth, but of pleasure and desire, which remain plentiful in his life. Almost simplistic are the demands of the life as the Shirai Ryu Grandmaster; grow, achieve, desire, learn, adapt. Anything beyond such a mentality hardly finds a suitable foundation to stand upon as a dedicated and formidable warrior of Earthrealm.

“The only manifestation I absolutely abhor and despise would be becoming unclear and unseen once again as the Netherrealm’s wraith; distant beyond past the painted resplendence of the reality, without bristles and struggles of inspiration that comes with being a mortal warrior. Scorpion’s motives were selfish and contagious like virus, multiplying and destroying the Earth and bringing embittered ire and vengeance.”  ▬▬ι═══════ﺤ 🔥 ||

[cienie-isengardu]

Lin Kuei: food

RELIGION <> ORIGINS / ARCHITECTURE <> FOOD <> FOR THE LIN KUEI <> ART <> CRYOMANCERS <> LIN KUEI SOCIETY <> MONEY & MATERIAL GOODS

The continuation of the morgianesffs-blog’s awesome list of questions about Lin Kuei. I initially divided them into smaller categories and the food will be the subject of the essay.

For the formalities, the original questions:

Food.  What foods do they normally eat? What foods do they like?  What foods don't they like? What foods do they absolutely love so much they'll stop what they're doing to get it?

I guess the Lin Kuei take on food may be stricte pragmatic one - they eat what is available. Preferable something that will keep them in top shape but everything will do, if necessary. Self-sufficiency and the art of survival are part of training so Lin Kuei would not have any second thoughts about eating stuff that people normally would not even think about. At the same time, there is a big chance that every adepts to some degree suffered from hunger and thirst, either as a part of punishment or test for endurance or a simply lack of skill to catch (steal) the food. I doubt the clan cares to feed warriors any fancy food, even more since the Lin Kuei headquarters (Temple / Fortress) is usually located in a harsh environment in which food is hard to grow to begin with. Because of this natural disadvantage, hunting seems like a good additional food source. It fed the clan but also gave opportunity for adepts / warriors to show their skills and gain experience (or in case of coming back with empty hands, bring them shame?). MK: Armageddon had the ice beasts marauding through the Arcika region - killing them could provide: food, furs, maybe some magic ingredients and safety.

Also, Lin Kuei knew about and used portals leading to Outworld - one of old comics, Battlewave #5, outright says the clan had a hidden passageway.

So the Lin Kuei could also get food from different realms, either by stealing the necessary stuff or as payment.. I kinda think that Lin Kuei has a system of related villages that serve the clan and satisfy the material needs like food and clothes. Maybe they pay tribute to the clan out of fear or maybe it is a more symbiotic deal? 

Anyway, I don’t think the clan would spoil their people with any fancy food to keep the rigorous discipline in check - albeit the clan could put on a suitable feast in honor of a respected guest/client like Shang Tsung if the occasion required it. At the same time, I don’t think it is forbidden to taste new dishes once the warriors were on mission. Especially not on a long-term kind of job when clan members must pretend to be normal human beings.

Because of that I suspect that those warriors who work undercover in various parts of Earthrealm and/or Outworld may indulge in eating all sorts of food, from expensive to the cheapest trash food. Whatever the budget / occasion would allow them, at least. And who knows, maybe the warriors like to challenge each other to eat the weirdest possible food, as some sort of courage test? Or just for personal fun? You know, like many young people do taste the freedom once they are on their own, far away from a strict “family”? 

At the same time, in times when there is not enough food, I can see the best parts or full portions being given to the most useful / essential members so the position in hierarchy may influence what and how much warrior is allowed to eat. Because let's be real here, (the old) Lin Kuei does not have a good track with empathy for weaklings. 

Now, I’m gonna head into headcanon-ish territory, so keep that in mind, please.

I know it is a pretty popular joke (included even in the game itself as part of “friendship” finish moves) that Sub-Zero likes ice cream but honestly, I do think that cryomancers in fact prefer cold food over anything else.

(Human hybrid) Cryomancers are said to develop their powers as an young adults(*) and growing the freezing skills with passing time (which Bi-Han being the exception to the rule because he developed ice ability earlier than usual), so the older they get, their bodies are more and more adapted to hold the toll of cryomancer nature (like temperature dropping to negative degrees?). So getting inside them anything remotely warm sounds more like torture than feeding. 

(Of course, it could be the other way, as needing the hot food to keep cryomancers from freezing from inside but the drastic temperature differences are not human-friendly. First aid in case of frostbite even cautions against heating the body too fast with too high a temperature to avoid negative effects. Which is why I’m sticking to cryomancers preferring cold food over anything warm)

The cryomancer kids may be less sensitive to the difference between temperature of their bodies and eaten food / drink - though I suspect cryomancer genes should not be dismissed even at such young age - but in all fairness, I can’t imagine Bi-Han or Kuai Liang eating anything else than raw food, preferably not touched by fire or at least deep-frozen / cold and ice-creams are both cold and can provide necessary minerals / calories to keep them going. 

So yeah, I can totally see Bi-Han and Kuai Liang buying dozens of ice-cream boxes for breakfast, dinner and supper like it was the normal thing in the world. And probably keeping various deep-frozen foods in the fridge and eating it raw. To Tomas, Sektor or Cyrax’s horror, whoever was unlucky to be stuck with cryomancers on an undercover mission. Okay, I lied. Bi-Han would probably just send others to do the shopping so he would not need to deal with annoying people.  

Bi-Han and Kuai Liang are capable of eating and drinking hot food because they were forced to learn that. That is why Kuai Liang was capable of brewing tea and why he used such a ceremony as a sign of good will toward Hanzo Hasashi even though drinking hot tea is, by nature, painful. 

As for taste, I think both Bi-Han and Kua Liang like plain flavors. Especially Bi-Han with his minimalistic nature. Kuai Liang seems more willing to taste different food and drink under Smoke’s challenge or suggestion. Ice creams may be the exception but less because cryomancers care for taste in itself and more because they are okay to eat any flavor as long as it is cold and available. Otherwise, they may just freeze various liquids (water, milk, juice) and eat them as ice creams. Something that actually could be pretty frustrating for other warriors if they left a carton of milk out of sight for a moment only to find Bi-Han or Kuai Liang freezing it and eating its content with a spoon. Because of that, the idea of coffee or tea with milk could be problematic (controversial) matter. Bi-Han accepts only Hydro’s need for milk added to coffee or tea - once Hydro gets it, the rest of milk is a fair game. And Cyrax seems to be bold enough to guard any open carton of milk or juice and keep it out of reach of Bi-Han, especially if he was the one responsible for shopping.

(Also, if Bi-Han even decided to smuggle the outside food for young Kuai Liang, I think it wouldn’t be anything sweet. More like frozen french fries just to tell his little brother how earthrealm people eat it heated up. Just imagine the shock and outrage of little Kuai Liang at the human stupidity!)

Comics!Hydro, as a close companion of Bi-Han is the most used to weird cryomancers eating habits. Because of water-related powers, Hydro likes everything liquid or with liquid consistency - soups, broths, jogurths, smoothies, everything will do. Somehow not really into meat. Also, the one advantage of such power is that Hydro can feed on water if necessary. 

In contrast to cryomancers, I imagine Tomas actually likes deeply fried or smoked stuff. Because without a fire there is no smoke and I like to think Enenra draws energy from fire / heat. Except the moments when Tomas is triggered by something from his past - then the smell or taste of burnt / burning meat (skin, hair) disgust him completely. May actually not like ice creams. Otherwise, he likes Czech food or in general, Central European / Central Eastern European cuisine because its taste is one of few things he remembers from his previous life. This is Tomas’ comfort food.

For me, Sektor with his obsessive behaviour is the one that tries to balance his food and reject the idea of eating anything for fun or out of curiosity. He wants to be in perfect shape and does not care for taste at all. To some degree, he also worries about how the foreign food will affect his strength, weight or body shape when on a long-term mission. The same as Bi-Han, Sektor is the last person that should be sent on shopping. However in case of the older Sub-Zero the problem lies in his abrasive nature and how he doesn’t conform to social norms (thus standing out too much) while Sektor won’t buy anything unless he reads the whole ingredients list and all additional information put on the package. Which means a shopping trip that takes like 10 minutes at best for other warriors usually takes Sektor around two hours, at least. You send him alone to shop for food and you are going to be hungry for the next few hours.

Considering how Cyrax is the most normal (balanced) Lin Kuei, he probably has the most healthy approach to food. Will eat anything that looks good, including fast foods ‘cause why not, it is cheap, edible and takeaway. And trust Cyrax to convince Sektor to eat that damn food too (the trick is to not let Sektor read what is - or is not - inside his meal). I don’t think Cyrax has a favorite kind of food because he doesn't like to limit himself. The same as Smoke, he may miss cuisine from his homeland but the general idea is to enjoy small pleasures like eating good food with companions.

Also, Cyrax is the only one that should be trusted with a shopping list if the Lin Kuei group for some reason ends in a shopping centre. A shopping list and the control over the trolley.

(Frost, like Bi-Han and Kuai Liang is all about cold / frozen food)

(*) From Mythologies Sub-Zero: “Sub-Zero learned of his ability as a young adult [...]. The ability to harness the element of cold is one that takes years of practice. It's full potential realized only by those who've mastered it at the latest stages of life. Sub-Zero's skills have the ability to develop much faster than those of the other Lin Kuei.” The fact that Bi-Han A) learned of his ability as a young adult and those B) develop much faster than usual at least suggest most modern cryomancers get their ice powers rather as grown up.

[sasorikigai]

“You didn’t seem like you were having such a bad time last night.” / modern verse but like after the first time djkskaka .

“Morning After” starters || @frozenbreath || selectively accepting

💥 || The night was so bright and Hanzo Hasashi remains evermore calm; the sky passes his heart with light impulses that are passing him through, as wracking convulsion in the throes of his shattering orgasm drowned the sempiternal shadows of his heart and soul, and he still feels the surge of his heated blood rushing through his veins in the bliss of their cosmic night. Kuai Liang’s fathomless oceans were deep and wide, as he plunged and thrusted himself in such wanton abandon. Such blasphemy of mingling his flesh in the height of carnal desire with the Lin Kuei prince was enough of a ruination; but how Hanzo Hasashi finds himself running his hearth fire of a hand over the length of ruin and finds Kuai Liang’s essence in the crux of his being, permeated into him. The winds of his breathing would swirl in brushstrokes, painting the colors of his revivified spirit across their shared empyrean sky with invisible energy that flies, in the currents of their uttered names floating like the litany over their dazed heads, locked in a clashing, colliding paroxysm. 

The way Hanzo Hasashi feels for Kuai Liang is like a ravenous, insatiable hunger inside; he still feels deep inside, as if it was coded in his DNA, like it was living there and being fed from the day he was born. It is like a passion a drive, past the physical plane. It is like he feels Kuai Liang on a metaphysical plane, like he hungers for the other to feel his fiery energy through and through. How he wanted to take Liang to a higher plane, past what they could be physically. Entwined energy had become the fuel to his flame ablaze, as his rolling thrusts became a wrecking ball crashing through, flowing through as Liang had stolen his heart away. No longer, the Commander feels bare bones crackling and splintering beneath the toil of volatile peril and destruction, as his gently exhausted and boneless body and soul utters silence other than the deathly motionless cold of unconsciousness. 

In the throes of unhinged passion and desperation, Hanzo Hasashi’s possessiveness had carved into Liang’s skin in stapled teethmarks and bruised petals, with supple, tender flesh giving into his gossamer touches as he traces the subtle ridges and hardness of the muscles beneath him. All he remembers is to letting his mind sink into the immersing, enchanted echoes of oblivion, where a carousel of vibrant dreams of their coalescence filled, instead of the vicious mobius’ strip of swirling grief chopping, mincing, and dicing him apart. How his countenance saturates with the pain of chasing a feeling still, even as they remain merely inches apart, to feel one another’s ebb and flow of hearts, the recreated fervency of warmth duplicated and amplified still. 

“I had the swellest time of my life ever since the tragedy struck,” it was a blunt, unapologetic truth, but the deep wells of his amber eyes reflect his strong, wild heart, as it beats so fiercely against Kuai Liang’s own. “My heart knowingly trembles with absolute truth and conviction. All I sincerely wish from now on is that it won’t be an ephemeral dream; but a reoccurring endeavor we could pursue as long as we are able.” How his forlorn, steeled lips carve into a smile, persistent melancholia shaped into contentment, as mirthful mischievousness paints the depth of his fathomless eyes. There is a storm in them, and there within, lightning flashes, encompassing the entirety of Kuai Liang’s nakedness as the salacious lust drips from the foretelling of rain soaking his loins. Perhaps it was a prognostication of what was to come. His demanding, bruising kiss further heightens and solidifies the need, as he quietly devours his beloved beneath the divine graces of his sensual ministrations, as well as the dominant claim which Hanzo lays upon Liang with the sweeping, securing hold upon the cinched waist. “I seek to unload my lungs onto you, as I surge into your waters and investigate what you could offer me in whole.” 💥 ||