#raiden is a god whos been around us mortals way longer than you were even a thought

[mrstsung]

If people could stop making my faves and f/o blorbo supreme stupid ooc or incompetent for plot. Canon and fanfics alike.

That would be appreciated.

[popi-the-fatui]

I'm confuse, what is the deal with Scaramouche and Baal? Please don't take it as rude but I just don't see why...

It isn’t rude at all comrade!! But you just opened a Pandora Box made of my incoherent thoughts, theories and love for the Harbingers 😈

So, first things first: in update 1.5 there is gonna be a new artifact set which is called “Pale Flame”. Among it, there is one key piece which is called “Surpassing Cup” which its description reads the following:

Now lets dissect some important parts of that description, shall we?

He was born with a face fairer than any other, destined to a long life and a hollow will. He was a transcendent being, divinely created, but he was cast aside like worthless dross.

I don’t know if you have heard of Honkai Impact (another game developed by Mihoyo), but one of the protagonists is a woman called Raiden Mei. She is the Herrscher of Thunder and she looks like this:

Getting back to Genshin, we know that Inazuma is the nation that worships Baal, the Electro Archon:

So people have speculated that Baal and Raiden Mei will be similar as Mihoyo has already done that to other characters in the game (please search Wendy Honkai Impact in Google and you’ll see what I’m talking about) and even though Baal has not been released yet, we are already are seeing some similarities between them as in the tittle Raiden and the element they use.

Not only is Baal the Electro Archon, but she is also the goddess of Eternity, and in Zhongli’s words, she is, apparently, obsessed with the idea of it.

Now, let’s look at a picture of Scaramouche:

See any similarities? Because in my eyes those two are the same person in different fonts.

I think it makes sense that a divinity obsessed with eternity would create another divine being that looks just like her (i.e. catholicism: So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them)

My theory is that Scaramouche developed a will that was not part of Baal’s plan and that is why she casted him aside. Something went wrong and he was no longer hollow, but sentient in a way that would defy Baal’s rule. This is also why I think the name of the artifact is SURPASSING CUP: I think Baal felt threatened.

Now, to the next part:

Yet, due to an error that cannot be known, he roused himself from slumber, and began to wander the mortal realm. Before the Fatui found him, he had drifted for countless years

This tells us that the person behind the artifact description is, indeed, a male Fatui. But which one? It is not my husband Childe, as we already know his origins and backstory. Probably not Dottore either (I also have a whole theory behind his backstory if anyone wants a post for another day).

Now, I ignore the reasons that woke this person up from his slumber, but the words wander and drifted for countless years remind me of a certain introduction to a character:

What is a vagrant, if not a person that wanders from place to place, without a home?

I think that kinda explains itself. Next part:

And in that time, this is what his experience had taught him:

"I am a human who surpasses all others."

"Even the gods daren't meddle in my fate."

"Neither mortal nor god, nor fate itself, is qualified to be my judge."

"I am free to choose how I wish to spend the remainder of my days."

If you were lucky enough to be in Genshin Hell by the time his event was released, you would feel that his whole persona and dialogue resembles a lot that kind of thinking:

It adds up to me.

And last, but not least:

“Since these mask-wearing people are so fun to be around..."

"I think I'll become one of them."

This is just a tiny easter egg for me but...

Scara is the only Harbinger we know that doesn’t wear a mask. So it is kinda funny and accurate that he calls the other Fatui as “these mask-wearing people”.

So in short:

The artifact description is talking about Scaramouche. I think he was created by Baal but things turned wrong and instead of a loyal, hollow servant she made a divine being with a will and she felt her eternal realm threatened so she casted him aside hoping he would die or something. But Scara, being the brat he is and we adored, survived out of pure pettiness, joined the Fatui to steal her gnosis and sent this to his mom/creator:

[whatifxwereyou]

Firestorm Part 3: Cross Your Heart

Fandom: Mortal Kombat 2021 Liu Kang x Reader

If you would like to be tagged for Firestorm when I post, let me know.

A/N: Almost forgot today was post day. Really enjoyed writing this one. Liu is just aldkjfwljaflj gah. Thank you guys for reading. Love you. Have a good weekend!

The Oncoming Storm Previous Chapter Next Chapter Chapter Index

Laying around and doing nothing would have been torture. Even with the storm raging as it was that day, your mind was too hectic to sit and listen. Too much had happened. The truth was that you were too exhausted to do much else either. Chen had lingered for a few minutes but had ultimately returned to her duties without saying so much as a word about what had so angered her. Deciding to work within your limits, you walked down the hall and to a small, covered balcony near the stairwell. It wasn’t much, just a stone archway leading onto a dusty platform that overlooked the ravine but it would do.

You’d meditate and the change of scenery would be nice. Raiden had told you to wait until you were feeling more yourself, but you decided to get a head start. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to wait, it was just that you no longer had faith that it was going to get better. What if it just kept happening? What if you kept getting sicker and sicker until you became a shell of yourself?

You couldn’t wait for better. You had fought too hard to come this far and fail.

You weren’t allowed to anything else, after all.

Doctor’s orders.

So you closed your eyes and meditated.

Meditation just became fantasizing about Liu Kang guiding you through meditation which may have been the silliest, most benign fantasy you’d ever had. It still helped to ground you but unconsciously the act had become associated with him.

No. No Liu Kang.

Meditation.

Once you got over the mental distraction that was Liu Kang, you managed to ground yourself. Meditation had been something that had brought you peace for years. As a kid you had relied on it heavily after losing Kung Lao. Even as you managed to find calm, your heart was beating still far too hard and too fast but it was world’s better than it’d been before you sat down. You were sure that if it had been a real problem then Chen never would have left you alone. It probably wasn’t even as fast as you thought. Just faster than you were used to.

As you opened your eyes and watched the rain fall, catching in streams over the side of the balcony, you wondered if you could force a vision. It seemed such a simple idea but you had never once tried to have one on purpose. It was kind of funny now that you thought about it. You’d always been afflicted with them. It had never been a gift and it had never been helpful until today. You shook ‘never’ from your mind and decided that you had to try.

It was a bad idea. You knew that. Bad things happened when you had them but if you didn’t try then you wouldn’t get control over them either. And besides, you would rather those bad things happen only to you and not to those you cared about.

You would try.

There was a significant chance that it wouldn’t work anyway considering that you had no idea how to make it happen or how to start. Your arm stung and you rotated your shoulder again. It was such a pain in the ass now. But you had faith that Raiden would find a way to help you get rid of it or at least keep it from getting any worse.

Deep breaths.

The throbbing in your shoulder was a rhythm you could focus on.

Pattering of rain muted to a dull sound, like distant tapping on a kettle. The sound grew quieter and quieter until it was gone.

It was dark and the weightlessness was unsettling. The room in front of you was odd and you couldn’t place it. A warehouse maybe? It was too dark to tell. There was light filtering in from somewhere to your left but it was cold and blue. The moon, probably. Everything was rushing around you, like smeared paint. Then you heard voices but the words were fuzzy.

You could make out an accent at least. An Australian accent, the kind you’d always been fond of. Even without words you could tell the man was confident, probably overly so. It was bordering on arrogant. There were two figures and they were struggling and then darkness spread beneath them.

Blood pooled and spread, far more than should have been in any one human. The figure that had come out victorious was looking right at you but his face was obscured and twisted. But the rest of him you could see and blazing in the darkness, a brilliant light on his neck.

The dragon mark.

He was a cruel man. A cruel man who had murdered in cold blood and it had resulted in him bearing the mark that would destine him to fight. The scene faded like someone had poured a bucket of paint over it. Your head was pounding and pain radiated through the back of it and down your neck. You had to focus.

You were seeing things, you just weren’t sure what they were or what they meant. His voice had seemed familiar. Had you seen this man before? You hadn’t ever met anyone from Australia before. Perhaps it had been from an earlier vision.

“Y/N!”

The voice called from behind you but you turned and it was like whiplash. Your body fell through the darkness and the sound echoed away into nothingness like the rain. Before you was a crowd of people and they surrounded a cage with two men fighting within it. They were shouting encouragement to the fighters within. An MMA match, maybe? You weren’t sure.

The crowd parted like the angry sea for you. You watched the two men within beat on each other but they were moving too slowly. Their faces, much like the faces of the other men in the warehouse or wherever it had been, were obscured. Hauntingly so. Their features smudged away by unseen hands.

But then there was the light of the dragon mark on the chest of one of the men. He was bloodied up.

Chicago.

You didn’t know why but you knew you were in Chicago. There were no signs that you could make out on the walls and the voices you heard were garbled and strange. It was as though you were underwater and the sound was distorted. Even the movements of the crowd and of the fighters were slowed.

A shadow grew on the other side of the cage. A shadow that spread like roots from a tree. You could hear crackling, like low static from an old radio but it became louder and more like fire.

That was what it was.

Fire.

Flames burned amidst the shadow and rose brightly within it. Inside the flames was the silhouette of a man. You tried to step back from the intimidating presence but your feet were firmly stuck beneath you. Had you stumbled too far into your vision? Were you getting more than you’d bargained for?

The man looked at you, bathed in shadow, hooded. He stared at you with white eyes. Then he took a step closer and the crowd froze along with the fighters in the ring. Fear left you frozen too.

“Y/N!”

The voice was calling to you again but you couldn’t place it.

Gasping suddenly for breath you shot upright from where you’d been laying. Your heart was racing and you grasped your chest and tried to take slower breaths than the ones panic was forcing you to take. Where was the balcony? This wasn’t it. Where were you? Oh. Oh wait.

It was your room.

Relief.

Okay.

You hiccupped trying to take deep breaths and found Liu Kang seated on your bed next to you, elbows on his knees, watching you. He’d been calling to you. It was unmistakable now. You’d heard his voice through your vision.

“Oh, god, Liu…” You were exasperated at the sight of him. “Did I hurt you again?” This was becoming abuse if you had. You laid back down, feeling your head spinning and Liu helped you do so. Sweat was dripping over your face, trickling down your forehead. Your heart was beating out of your chest. You placed a hand over your heart and swore it was going to leap right through it. What a horrible feeling.

“No, Y/N. Not at all.” He looked surprised that you’d be worried about him right now. He placed his hand on your cheek and then checked your eyes as though you’d struck your head again. “I found you outside, unconscious. You wouldn’t respond to me. I was about to bring you to the infirmary. Were you…” He looked to be filled with both relief and worry. You couldn’t blame him.

“I was having a vision.”

“Are you okay?”

“I think so?” You weren’t sure but you didn’t feel like you’d hurt yourself. Maybe you’d start laying down from now on when you tried. “I saw two men with the dragon mark.” You pinched the bridge of your nose while you tried to hold onto the little details.

“Should we call Raiden?”

“No, no it’s not urgent. I’ll write it down and tell him later. I was just… don’t be mad.” You offered a nervous smile and leaned up on your elbows. “I was just trying to get control over… well, anything.” You laughed. It had worked. You had no idea how you’d done it or what exactly you’d seen but you’d done it. You felt like crap but ink hadn’t exploded from you. You hadn’t hurt anyone but yourself. According to Liu, you weren’t even having a fit. You’d been unconscious.

You’d take that as a win.

It was a huge improvement.

“I thought that maybe if I tried to have a vision instead of being forced into one then maybe it would be less devastating.”

“Y/N…” Liu couldn’t have looked more concerned. He didn’t have to say it. You could just tell. “You should have told me. Or Lao. That’s not something you should do alone. It’s dangerous. You could have gotten seriously hurt and no one would have been there to help you.”

“I considered that, Liu, but I need to be able to handle this on my own. You won’t always be with me and I don’t… what if I hurt someone else? It’s different when it’s you. You’re a tough guy. You can handle it but what if… what if I hurt just… Chen or one of my friends? I’d rather it just be me.” You shivered. He smiled sympathetically; those dark eyes filled with a strange admiration. He seemed to have more to say but he held his tongue. He bowed his head in understanding. You appreciated that he was trying, even if he was worried. You’d lived your whole life without him by your side and you needed your independence. He respected that about you and you were grateful for him.

“You’re freezing, Y/N.” He grasped your hand and brushed his thumb over the side of it You got the shivers, but not because you were cold. He had the gentlest and most thoughtful touch.

“Fever probably. This is the second vision today. I suppose I was sort of playing a dangerous game of chicken without thinking.”

“You were. Living very dangerously lately, Y/N. Dancing in lightning storms, for example.” His eyes sparkled and flickered up to yours before down to the prayer beads wrapped around his wrist. He’d been fiddling with them less. Interesting. “I heard about your vision earlier today.” Liu’s smile was soft, his lips just barely upturned. He leaned a little closer to you. “You saved a lot of people from what I hear.”

“I don’t want to take credit for that, Liu. I just saw. I didn’t do any saving.”

“Not taking credit for it doesn’t make it less true.” Liu was often wise in ways that you could never be.

“I’m assuming that you brought me back to my room?”

“Yes. I didn’t want you to be out in the rain. I was going to bring you to the infirmary but I wanted to give you a chance to wake up if it was a vision. I knew that’s what you would have wanted. I figured it was safe to bring you here. Raiden has a way of knowing when things are going catastrophically. He would have found you before I did if it had been something worse.”

You wondered if that was why he had come to you earlier. Had he sensed you’d seen something important? Or perhaps he had felt your panic and knew you’d been in trouble? You struggled to push yourself into a sitting position so Liu helped you do so. His hands were careful and gentle, strong and secure. It reminded you of when you had first arrived at the temple. He had taken such good care of you. You bowed your thanks and then scooted enough so that you could look out your window and watch the rain.

The storm raged on but the thunder was distant now. Rain and wind were kings. Raiden had told you to get control of your visions and your arcana if you wanted to survive and have a fighting chance. It was your only shot to live through this long enough to figure out your truth. You should tell Liu but that was a conversation for another time. He was worried enough. If it came up then you would tell him. No secrets.

He sat next to you before the window but he faced you, legs folded. You watched the rain and he watched you watching it.

“May I say something?” Liu placed his hand on your forearm. His fingers were stained with soot and the soot stained your arm. He was warm. Dramatically warmer than you and it sent a shiver straight through you. He smiled but it faded quickly. “Confess something, rather.” Oh, you hated the way he worded that. What did that mean? You couldn’t make any assumptions. He’d tell you.

“Of course you can, Liu.” You shivered again. Fuck it. Whatever he wanted to say, you would deal with the fallout afterward. Why were you always afraid of rejection? Liu retracted his hand and you immediately missed his touch. He scooted so he was just next to you and stared out the window like you did. He seemed to struggle to find his words.

“Kung Lao and I made a childish bet over which one of us would win your heart.” The words came out very matter-of-factly, like it was a simple thing. You did a double take. Of all the scenarios you’d been panicking about in your head, this was not one of them.

“Huh?” How were you supposed to process that? A bet? What did that even mean, exactly? How could they bet on something like that? You knew how but you didn’t understand.

“It’s stupid. I know. We called it off. No more bet but I still had to tell you that we did it.”

“So… wait, huh?” You laughed in disbelief, feeling a little dumb for not understanding. “I’m sorry, but you made a bet? On my feelings? Like… some terrible movie-style bet made at my expense? Two macho jerks betting on the feelings of another human?”

“If it makes it any better the stakes were just chores.”

“Wow, my feelings are worth chores.” You gasped in disbelief.

“I never felt good about it, Y/N, but it was… harmless. We figured that you were going to make a choice at some point anyway. I uh…” He was suddenly tongue-tied, a very funny thing to see happen to Liu Kang. Like he knew what he had to say but no matter how he spun it, it would come out wrong. “It wasn’t an excuse to trick you into doing anything like… that.” He was uncomfortable talking about romance. Oh no. It was adorable. Like he could be any cuter. “It was just a stupid bet. I couldn’t get it out of my head. It felt manipulative and… I’m sorry, Y/N.”

This had Kung Lao written all over it in capital letters. You could even hear the proposition in Kung Lao’s voice! You bet that he’d put Liu up to it.

“Kung Lao felt guilty too.” Liu was avoiding your eyes. You could see the guilt weighing on his shoulders. Ah, yes. You recognized it now. They had both appeared guilty as shit in separate circumstances. That explained that.

“And what exactly would I get out of this bet, hmm? Like… is someone going to do my chores? I feel like either way I would have won so… someone should be doing my chores.” You tapped your finger on his knee and he laughed in surprise.

“Y/N!”

“What, Liu? Am I supposed to be mad?”

“I thought you might be hurt by it and…” Liu drifted off and watching him drenched in guilt made you a little sad. It was sweet but also sad. He’d been so worried about your feelings getting hurt. If you hadn’t known him so well then it would have hurt but you did. He never would have intentionally done something to hurt you like that.

“Well, answer a question for me.” You were going to have a hard time asking it.

“Of course.”

“Has any of what… you’ve done or what’s happened between us… has it been because of this bet?” That came out easier than you’d expected. Good.

“No.” He answered very quickly and then laughed at himself. “I even held myself back a few times because of it.”

“Then why would I be mad?” You turned to face him, resting your arm against the wall next to the window. “I mean, it does give me some clarity. It explains the few times I noticed you both looking guilty without reason and… the hesitating… some weird behaviors.”

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” He picked up your hand and held it close to him. Yeah. He was definitely sorry. “I’m… confused that you aren’t angry. I expected you to be at least a little bit.”

“Did you know that the monks in the infirmary are betting on which one of you that I end up with?” You were immune to people in the temple betting on your feelings these days. Maybe if the stakes had been you fucking them it would have felt different, but that hadn’t been the case. Liu clearly did not know they were betting on you in the infirmary, judging by the wide-eyed stare he gave you. You nodded to confirm that it was true and he looked away in disbelief. “It seemed to me like everyone except for me is making a profit off of my feelings. All I get to do is agonize over said feelings.” He laughed. You looked to him in mock aghast.

“It’s funny, Y/N.”

“Yeah, I guess it is a little funny.” You chuckled. Liu’s laughter faded and so did his smile.

“You’re really not angry?”

Wow, you thought you were the overthinker of the bunch.

“Did you fake any of it?” You nervously listed off the incidents on your fingers. “The touches… the close calls? The uh…” You couldn’t believe that you were talking about this so plainly. “The kisses?”

“I don’t think that can be faked, Y/N.”

“Then yeah, I’m not mad.”

“…I’m surprised. I was nervous to tell you.”

“…do I come off as particularly difficult to deal with? I mean other than the visions and the ink stuff.”

“No, it’s not that but…” Liu’s nervous laugh was quiet and cute. “I suppose that I don’t know you well enough to know how you’d react to something like that. And I felt terrible about it from the very beginning. I think that I built it to be something bigger in my head than it actually was.” Liu adjusted the prayer beads from his palm to his wrist again and you admired him as he did. It was kind of nice to see someone besides you a little nervous for once.

“...would you like me to pretend that I’m mad? Would that help? I can stomp around and huff and throw a fit about it. We can have a little pretend fight before I have a change of heart and understand why you did what you did, etcetera.” You suggested with a smile. Liu considered this and looked away but you could see a smile beneath his serious expression.

“That could be fun.”

“I’m really not mad, Liu.” You chuckled and rested your hand on his forearm. His posture shifted back to his usual confidence. “I might pretend that I’m a little mad until Kung Lao tells me though.”

“Oh, please do. This was his idea. Give him a taste of his own medicine.”

“It stunk of Kung Lao.” You gave his arm a squeeze. “Thank you for being honest with me.”

“It’s a huge weight off of my chest.” Liu beamed. You’d never seen him with such a goofy grin on his face. It was charming. “Are you hungry?”

“Umm…”

“Food. Are you hungry? Want to grab a bite to eat with me?”

“I’m not super hungry, but yeah, I should probably eat.”

“I can grab some food and bring it back here. You should be resting after today.”

“I’m fine to go to get food, Liu.” You smiled at his insistence.

“I’m happy to, Y/N. Then it can just be the two of us.” He practically bounced off of your bed and toward the door. You watched him in delight and then rested back against the wall. “I’ll be right back with food. Don’t try to have any more visions, okay?”

“I promise.” You laughed and watched him leave. Then you pulled the blankets around your shoulders, still freezing. Today had been a lot to process. Two visions. One had saved lives; the other was vaguer and more confusing. Either way, you hadn’t exploded with ink or hurt anyone but yourself and that was an improvement. Then there were those little sneaks, Kung Lao and Liu Kang. Making bets behind your back!

You’d been taken off guard but Liu had softened the blow. He had this way about him. Besides, what made their bet so much different from the bet that the monks had in the infirmary? There was no point in being angry about it. It’d only hurt you more. You had enough going on and in the span of things it didn’t seem so important. In fact, it was kind of funny. You were just glad that it had ended before anyone’s feelings had gotten hurt.

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Tag List

@shang-hung (lol i wasn't sure if you meant you wanted to be tagged or not so I guess here you go?? Let me know if you want me to take you off!)

[puttingfingerstokeys]

A Birthday Party for Liu Kang

Oh my god the spacing is all fucked and I’m so lazy. Uhghghghg nope it’s staying. The warring exes plan for Liu Kang’s second birthday. This is just before the third Mortal Kombat tournament. 

Warring exes (obv) ft New Kang

Restored timeline

 “The timing,” Shang Tsung purred as his swooping handwriting graced yet another piece of vellum, cordially inviting some (un)fortunate kombatant to the third tournament, “is fortuitous, pet. She is growing so quickly.”

 A long-suffering sigh resounded from a chair near an ornate bassinet in the sorcerer’s book-lined study. Under the light of an enchanted lamp, a book lay upon the lap of Raiden, the former thunder god and protector of Earthrealm—he had been this in another life, another time, and only he remembered it—but his eyes were not on the tome. Rather they rested upon Shang Tsung, who continued writing, even as he spoke. 

 The child cooed and rubbed her eyes with small, balled fists. She was a bit over eighteen months old, by Shang Tsung’s calculation. They had decided her first birthday was within a day or so of her arrival upon their island and, with that agreed, went about their business with the addition of an infant.

 “You would celebrate Liu Kang’s birthday—”

 “With the opening ceremony of the Mortal Kombat tournament, yes,” Shang Tsung responded smoothly, rolling the scroll and reaching for the wax spoon which lay near a small brazier. It was old, and long-stained red, as if seeking to pay homage to the blood which would be spilled at the tournament its presence represented. “Kombatants will present tribute and earn our favor.”

 Closing his strange eyes and shaking his head, a look of amusement (and familiarity) upon his face, Raiden closed his book and set it aside. “They do not require my favor,” he said. 

 “Then it will be mine they shall earn,” answered the sorcerer simply, waving one hand about as if it was of no real consequence whose favor was earned, just that one of the two primary occupants of this strange island was pleased. 

 Liu Kang cooed again, this time reaching upward, her bright eyes catching the light of the braziers around the room and sparkling with vitality. Leaning down toward the bassinet, Raiden grasped the blanket on either side of her and, ensuring she was wrapped completely, lifted the child and held her close. She reached for his face and he deftly dodged, holding her a little ways away from him. 

 She snatched at his medallion, at his hat, at whatever her small hands might lay upon. Cackling as only babies can, she flailed about and kicked her feet within the beautifully damascened blanket. The magic radiated off it in waves and it made Raiden feel more than a little giddy, but Shang Tsung had enchanted it so that he could hold his daughter, so giddiness was a small price to pay.

 Striding across the fine rugs of the study, toward Shang Tsung, his desk, and its growing pile of Mortal Kombat invitations, Raiden tilted the child so she could watch the sorcerer lay the wax seal and press the sacred symbol into it. The symbol, he thought wryly, of the Elder Gods—no… of the One Being. Do we invite disaster by once more using it? He dismissed the thought, however, focusing instead on the things he could influence, the here and now. He watched Shang Tsung lift the seal, observed the perfection of the lines, the way the light seemed to catch with particular fervor in the eye of the dragon. Does it watch us? Does it mock?

 Setting the scroll aside, Shang Tsung reached for Liu Kang and Raiden handed her gently over, taking care to avoid the fresh wax, the brazier, and the spoon. The sorcerer settled her upon his lap and began bouncing his knee, gesturing to a seat which was closer to his desk. Raiden sank into it with a lightness and grace uncharacteristic of a man his size. There were, in Shang Tsung’s memory, no men his size, however—or not many, anyway. At seven feet tall and some, he certainly stood out in a crowd, but that had not been the sole contributing factor to the sorcerer’s near-fatal attraction.

 Had he been asked, he might have expressed his interest in the workings of the divinities. As Lord Liu Kang was otherwise occupied and had done him the immense favor of providing his emissary—it was a clever deception and one Raiden no longer maintained and had not for quite some time—as a teacher, trainer, and mentor, it was only natural that Shang Tsung would want to know more about him. This was not untrue, of course, but the desire was much deeper, much more fundamental. It was, in fact, so deep, that now he had acquired his “prize”, rather than growing weary of him, the desire had intensified. It was truly fathomless, just the way Shang Tsung preferred it. What, after all, was life without mystery?

 “The Wu-Shi take a vow of poverty, Tsung,” Raiden reminded the sorcerer. Shang Tsung knew when he was being sweet-talked, of course. Raiden was an open book and when he used the man’s given name, it was a sure sign. But he was feeling indulgent. Liu Kang shrieked and grabbed for one of the baubles in Shang Tsung’s hair. A flick of his head removed the target from her reach and she grunted, eyes wide with surprise. Object permanence had, evidently, not yet set in.

 “The gifts needn’t be rich,” said the sorcerer, “only meaningful. It is the… thought that counts, is it not, o’ fulminator?”

 Raiden nodded. Shang Tsung would have his way, he knew, and there was little use arguing. Maybe it would not be so strange. There was nothing terribly conventional about the tournament anyway. This time, it was fair—Shang Tsung had not developed the habit of sending multiple opponents at one he simply wanted to see ended—and every realm had a chance to earn their place among the ranks of champions. Kung Lao would be returning, of course, and Raiden looked forward to seeing the sincere monk once more. With Kung Lao, however, would be his divine teacher, Liu Kang—the original—and with him would come questions.

 Lord Liu Kang had not visited Shang Tsung’s island since his trip there to compete in his tournament. He had not even set foot upon this timeline’s island. Raiden had handled all of that, having met Shang Tsung in the teaming streets of a bustling, busy city. He had no idea that Raiden was raising a child with their formerly bitterest enemy. It would be… incongruous, to say the least. 

 He had no doubt he could explain all of it to Liu Kang; the man was nothing if not reasonable. All the same, he knew he should have mentioned it before now! How many times had he gone to be with Liu Kang, at his side at the Dawn of Time, to advise him on some question or shifting of sands? How many opportunities had there been? Would Liu Kang see this as yet another breach of his trust? Not nearly so bad as murdering him, Raiden justified, and then flinched back from himself and that memory, but a betrayal nevertheless.

 “Would you hide her away?” Shang Tsung’s tone was not accusatory—it never was—but curious, genuinely sincere in its question. “From whom, I wonder?” This was not sincere in the least. Shang Tsung did not wonder; he knew. He was many things, but a fool was not one of them. Raiden sighed heavily once more, shaking his head.

 “He does not know of her,” Raiden confirmed, “and it is my doing. I… sought to…” He looked down at his hands, arcs of electricity dancing over them. “I… am unsure what I sought to do. The opportunity—”

 “Never presented itself,” the sorcerer filled in, good-naturedly. He did not presume to judge the motives of gods, lest they judge him. That, he had long since reasoned, could be disastrous. Best stay out of the business of celestial beings and feign righteousness, or whatever passed for it in his case. “You go to Lord Liu Kang to consult in matters of cosmic importance, not to tell him of the child who is named after him.”

 “I…” Raiden knew when he was being toyed with. He also knew when Shang Tsung was right. Shaking his head once more, he straightened and met the man’s eyes. “It was not the time, and not my place. It was—is—our place to present Liu Kang as ours… whenever we choose.” Whenever you choose, was the unspoken thought, though oddly enough, not without affection. Liu Kang responded to her name by slapping her fat little hands together and gabbling nonsense. It was not what one would call applause, but it delighted the sorcerer and he ran his fingers over her hair, praising her vocalizations.

 “You are right, of course,” said Shang Tsung, as if conceding a point. Raiden’s whole form seemed to sag a little, but there was really nothing for it. The longer he waited, the worse it would appear, as if he really was trying to hide the child. Besides, he had other things on his mind regarding the situation, things with which only Lord Liu Kang could assist him. He would require her presence to make his point anyway and, after all, he was not ashamed of her. Quite the opposite was the case, in fact. She made him happier than he could ever recall being and, in a life as long as his, this was remarkable. Her debut would be, in a word, opulent.

 Liu Kang squealed with delight and held her hands out toward Raiden, who received her once more. Shang Tsung took great care to ensure the enchanted blanket stayed in place as the child curled up in the thunder god’s huge arms and immediately stuck her finger into her mouth. She was tempestuous, this one, and though she shared more in common, looks-wise, with Shang Tsung, the explosive force of her demands were nothing less than thunderous. He said so, and then suggested the three of them take supper in their chambers, sending for a servant with a wave of his hand.

 The journey upward was filled with bowing and genuflecting servants, a cooing baby, and gently murmured speech between the two, of this or that or nothing in particular. Shang Tsung was concerned with the overall presentation of his island, wondering if they ought to string lanterns at the docks, or float them upon the water. Raiden reminded him that the beasts beneath the waves might not appreciate such an intrusion and so on it went until they were seated at the small table within their chambers and served. 

 As the utensils were sterling silver, Raiden could only watch while Shang Tsung spoon fed the child he had long thought of as his daughter—he had never said this, unsure what Shang Tsung’s reaction might be; he knew he was being foolish, once more, but the nagging doubt still crept its way into his mind—and wish there was some enchantment that would allow him to do this. She was grasping at more solid food, like bread now, and would not need to be coddled like this much longer. In point of fact, the only reason the sorcerer did it was to spare her the indignity of covering her embroidered bib with fresh peaches. His eyes found Raiden’s presently, however, and dark, finely-plucked brows knitted.

 “What troubles you, pet?” He left off feeding Liu Kang and set the small spoon aside, shifting in his seat so he could lean over and place a practiced, wicked hand upon Raiden’s thigh. He felt the muscle tremble under his fingers, a pleasing sensation that was not all voluntary. Some of it was most assuredly that deadly current of which the man was made, that most dangerous of traits which attracted Shang Tsung without end. He was eager, but not impatient; the same could not be said of their daughter. 

 Liu Kang pounded the finished wood of the lacquered high chair in which she sat. It, like her bassinet, was carved with dragons and gilded. Unlike the bassinet, however, there were no gems or mother-of-pearl. Food splatter made such a thing unwise, as did searching little hands—all the gems upon the bassinet were in unreachable places, for now. Shang Tsung had been thinking lately that she was due for an upgrade, perhaps a proper bed, albeit a small one, with rails. There was a prototype of an idea in his workshop far below the bedchambers already, in fact, but for now it was just an idea.

 “The tournament, I suppose,” Raiden admitted. This was half true and, for now, good enough for the sorcerer, who nodded.

 “Fifty years it has been since your Fire God’s student, Kung Lao—ah, but he is known as the Great Kung Lao now, isn’t he? Fifty years since he triumphed and secured Earthrealm’s safety. He was a fool to spare me, you know. Your Lord Liu Kang should have taught the brave monk to be more ruthless.” The smile on the sorcerer’s face was absolutely feral. Raiden sighed.

 “It is not in him to take a life when the victory has already been won, Shang Tsung,” Raiden chided. “He is a monk—more than that, he is an Earthrealmer.” And I would not lose you. 

 “Earthrealmers are soft,” spat the sorcerer. Liu Kang squealed at the tone and pounded the seat once more. She did not speak yet, but these syllables sounded like “MORE”. Reaching over toward her, Shang Tsung placed a finely-manicured finger upon her lips and clucked at her, shaking his head. Her eyes widened with a strange understanding and she was quiet, grasping at his finger, which he allowed her to hold. The movement had caused his hand to leave Raiden’s leg and, in the meantime, the thunder god shifted in his seat, crossing his arms and offering the strange ghost of a half-smile for Shang Tsung’s perusal.

 “You are an Earthrealmer,” he observed.

 “Cheeky,” purred the sorcerer, unperturbed. He reached out and unfolded Raiden’s arms, which of course the man allowed, and took one of those hands, grasping it with deliberate firmness. Lifting the knuckles to his lips, he first grazed with them, then pressed them firmly. Even unadorned, they were fine, beautiful, worthy of admiration, and sparking with electricity. One does not bed a deity without a healthy tolerance for pain—perhaps even a craving, he reminded himself as the arcs of power touched his lips and threatened. 

 He rose to the threat, the challenge, and pressed his lips down again, a little higher up, closer to the wrist. Raiden was, as ever, adorned in blue and white, but the robes were more flowing now, less tailored for kombat (though that would not stop him) and more for indolent lounging—reading and meditating were two of the thunder god’s favorite activities.

 The ever-present hat disguised very little from the sorcerer who, nevertheless, snatched it off Raiden’s head in one fluid motion and tossed it aside almost carelessly. Almost. He knew how much the silly thing meant to Raiden and would never have done anything to damage it, even in jest. As Raiden leaned to reach for it, Shang Tsung also leaned, serpentine and powerful, capturing those oh-so-formerly-chaste lips in a forceful kiss. 

 Liu Kang squealed at this, too, though as ever, she had no idea at what, precisely, she was squealing. She was also clapping in her stilted way and this brought laughter bubbling from between the two men, caught halfway between the ground and a fiery kiss. Had it been two less dignified people, they might have tumbled from their seats with it.

 They did not. Righting themselves, clasping hands, they did continue to laugh.. Their laughter fueled that of the child and Liu Kang gabbled and slapped her pudgy hands together with the delight of whatever they were enjoying.

 “You are, as ever, far too critical of yourself, dear Raiden,” said the sorcerer, once more lifting the hand he still held. Rather than kissing it, however, he squeezed it meaningfully, desirous to one day see at least some little bit of opulence thereupon—something simple, perhaps. Raiden did look exquisite in gold. Gold, Shang Tsung considered, and perhaps nothing else. The thought was lascivious, so he kept it to himself, but it must have shown in his eyes for Raiden’s expression had turned to one of chiding. Or perhaps this was in response to what the sorcerer had said. “I speak only truth.”

 “As you have ever done,” Raiden admitted. Shang Tsung had, in their decades together, never once lied to him, not actively, or by omission. He had always told the god of thunder everything which was on his mind—everything. It was this openness and trust which had saved him. It was what had saved them both. Raiden felt as if it was now his turn to be the serpentine deceiver and he misliked it. What horrified him most was his own skill at the art of subterfuge and deception, but not with Shang Tsung. They had seen too much, done too much together for such things. But Liu Kang did not know, nor did his brother, whom he had not seen since departing for the new timeline.

 So much had happened to them in a comparatively short amount of time, but that was no excuse. Life had simply happened at its normal speed, for a mortal, and Raiden was, admittedly, still adjusting thereto. He had become a teacher once more, a mentor, and a lover. He could still picture the moment in time where everything had changed, where he, hopefully, had altered the course of time for the better. 

 A much younger Shang Tsung—he could not have been a day over thirty-five at the time—had looked to Raiden in those awful moments at the end of the first tournament, standing over the desiccated husk of what had once been his mighty, final opponent, the man’s glowing soul clutched in his hand. Rather than turning away, the thunder god’s expression had been one of passive approval. The minute nod he gave was all the permission the sorcerer required and he took the soul into himself, lifting both fists and declaring himself victor.

 That moment had changed everything. Raiden's approving acknowledgement of his student's hard-won victory shifted the very sands of time, such that Fire God Liu Kang, the new keeper thereof, had offered commentary when they met later that evening. With that simple gesture, Raiden had set Shang Tsung upon a higher path, one he was elated to walk as well, hand-in-hand.

[sxvethelastdance]

Sleep When We’re Dead

Fire God Liu Kang/Johnny Cage

Broken Timeline

 A direct sequel/companion piece to I’m on Fire Again by my lovely friend over @puttingfingerstokeys

Do be warned: This here fic is first-person POV and about as artful it gets for someone who embraces the ‘patching half formed thoughts together like it’s going out of fashion’ lifestyle.  

I am me, and not. It is a paradox that would have given me a headache, were I still human. The experience, the being of godhood. It is a conundrum no more solved by this sudden ascension than it is, had I deliberated on it as the Liu Kang of past and present. 

He does not hear me enter the room. Rather, he sees me touch down upon the ground with more grandeur than I’d thought I had any right to after the portal has closed.

Everyone has gone off to battle. War. That is what we must call it, because that is what the circumstances demand of us, sacrifice and retaliation. We are defined by our battles. The ones we win, the ones we lose, and the ones we cannot fight. I know that my friend feels confined by these definitions, forced to watch his daughter go off without him and let go of his love a second time. It burns at him like it burns at me, knowing that I cannot stop what comes next. Only that we must deal in the aftermath.

“Liu... You’re. Holy fu-” I put my finger to his lips and let out a ‘shhh’, noting the questions that fill his face. We must keep it down, lest the late Grandmaster’s students come running. My presence is intentional, but I would rather not deal with the effects of my interference outside of our reunion. He knows that I am here, and somehow… I think he knows that this is my final stop before I join the others. What I hope is left of them when all is said and done. One cannot predict Shang Tsung’s machinations, only the inevitability of his betrayal. 

“I try to keep my promises when I can.” I look into his eyes and I see hurt and a fire that matches mine. I see his incomprehension and interest, and I find that the fire that envelops me is not in the literal. 

“I’m uh. Diggin’ the mop-top.” Or it is, and the cause is Johnny himself. That is more likely. My hands are at his arms, the same way his had been on mine all those years ago. He jokes, something about a “role reversal” and Reptile having been some variation of a “demon scaly” and I laugh. I am not above that, I will never be above that. Nor do I see myself above him outside of the most literal of contexts here. 

I want to make up for lost time, but with so few hours (minutes, moments. They are all one in the same) until my presence is required at the hourglass, I know that I cannot close the wound that I have opened. But there is time. Enough for one a last kiss. Because no matter what happens at the dawn of time, the things that have come to pass under my eye, they cannot stand. 

I do not lie. 

I did not lie. 

I lied.

What else can I do, when faced with enemies who have lied and slaughtered their way through the best of us? Who fight tooth and nail for the undoing, even if it is their own? It is madness, and perhaps that is what is required this time. Madness. 

I think no more on the subject when his lips are on mine, and that phantom flame ignites in my chest. I haven’t seen him in 25 years, and yet I saw him hours ago. Another paradox, another longing. He moves with purpose, as do I. We are both desperate and lonely in our own way. Our paths, crafted as they were by the mad titan were ours to walk. And walk we did until the time where we met again. I wrap my hand in his, still clutching the headband bestowed upon him by my other self, and he presses himself to me as if I’ll dissolve like the sands that dictate our lives. 

“You know the deal, kicky longstockings.” Johnny says, a watery laugh escaping him. I find beauty in it the same way that I find beauty in the creases of his face, the mark of his survival. No longer am I bitter about this, that I died young, no longer do I mourn for the man I never got to be. I have made peace with that, I have let go. I do not let go of him, my other hand squeezing tight enough to deepen the bruises that color him from what I assume are the previous night’s encounters. I know the deal, so I seal his mouth with mine again, and we take what comfort we can from this, my fingers wiping away at what tears have gathered at the corner of his eyes. 

He brushes the hair from my face (what I have left out in my ascension) and I feel sparks, both phantom and real dance upon my skin. The way that Johnny shakes out his hand gives me pause, but he’s having none of that. 

“I’m good, I’m good- Just...Whoa.” 

‘Whoa’ indeed. Fire is natural for me, but Lord Raiden’s gifts… I am unsure of how to describe it. They amplify the powers that I possess, but I am not completely unaware of the nature of these forces combined. This is another thought that loses itself in the hands that had found their way to my chest somewhere along my deliberation, a smirk planted firm on Johnny’s face. I may be a God, but the heat that washes over me is just as I felt it when I was alive. I am alive, death does not feel like this. My hands are hot on his skin, flushed red with delight. He knows what this does to me; and I know what I am going to do about it.

Some things never change.

This makes climbing atop him less an impulse and more an inevitability, though I am mindful of his leg. His current state of undress makes this endeavor a small undertaking, even if he is anything but. And much to my disappointment he has removed his hands from where they are in favor of my pants. Though I cannot stay mad for long with where his hands are. His neck is a sufficient target for my frustrations. 

We try to take our time, but I have mourned him once and he has mourned me twice, all to prepare himself for the unanticipated third time around. I cannot help the way my hands pull him to me anymore than he can help the way that his fingernails dig into my shoulder blades, welts in their wake. Sinking into him ignites a flame that not even my hottest strikes can compare to, and kissing him is just as I remember it. Better in some ways, even. The value of time comes full circle here, and it makes my heart beat without mercy. I know he feels the same, if not for the rapid-fire teasing, then for the hitch of his breath when I bear down upon him.

“Still have it in you, old timer?” He breathes deep through his nose, sweat gathering on his skin. It’s more tantalizing than it has any right to be. But what is Johnny, if not someone known to break the rules of what he can and cannot have. 

“If the ‘it’ is you, then sure thing, turbo.” He grins fiercely, and we are at odds again. If there’s anything else to be said here, it is that Johnny Cage has a talent for pushing just where he needs to for what he wants. I can also say that i shamelessly rise to the task, teeth and tongue to put that mouth to rest. 

One of the most fearsome aspects of godhood is the idea that I could go on for what would be eternity to a human. There is a satisfying ache in my bones, but I feel no real exhaustion, tangled up in him. His scent, that insatiable wit, the sunglasses that catch what little light that enters the room, characterized by their lack of presence on his face. It’s strange to see the man without them. But I find that I do not mind, having spent more time than I could ever bring myself to admit peering behind them. Putting together the pieces of a man with a deceptive wit and a need to be understood for more than an image. A well-crafted one, but an image nonetheless. 

This realization does not ‘hit’ me so much as it spreads. In my heart, in my lungs, in my veins. I see someone I understand. Someone I never had the chance to fully know, but someone I understand. That is what makes it so hard to part from him. Unlike my other self, it is daylight, and I cannot spare him the pain of watching me go. I can tell him that he has done well, that I am proud, and he can scold me for being so formal, something so uniquely Johnny to say. The air is tense, and I know what I must do. We both know  that it’s time.

I had moved to open the portal when he stopped me, resistance keeping me from slipping forward through the time stream. He hasn’t let go of my hand. Nor I of his. 

It seems we are both having trouble here. 

“Liu?” 

“Yes, Johnny?” He looked at me with a fondness that dissolved my tension and I squeezed his hand, my heart beating. 

“Kick the old lizard’s ass for me. Maybe slap baldy on the dome if she’s still up and tickin.” There’s humor in his voice, but I am aware of what this communicates. He is saying “do not forget me.” And how could I ever do such a thing? Johnny Cage is unlike any man I have met, and for this I feel that the blessing was not the gifts which bring me above my mortality, but the chance to meet someone so bright and blinding. There is much room in my heart for him, I have missed him and I cannot find the words to tell him this, I wish I could. But I cannot. I can, however, bring his hand to my lips. His eyes, blue as the dawn of time (I have seen it, felt it. I know now.) are wide. He hadn’t expected that. But even I am known to have the element of surprise every now and again.

“I will tell them who it’s from.” And then we are laughing again. I cannot help but pull him into another kiss. There’s a certain delight in the way his stubble, what little of it there is, scratches my cheeks. This feels less like goodbye, and more like “until we meet again.”

In another time and place, I know that we will. 

[fnlrndcllctv]

REVIEW: Mortal Kombat (1992)

Developed by Midway in 1992 as a response to the wildly popular Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat took a slightly different direction thematically than the cartoonish sprites of other fighting games. Opting for digitized photos of actors as the game’s fighters, Mortal Kombat looked stood out as looking more realistic and placed a much higher emphasis on strong, bloody violence in its gameplay.

It’s this violence that made the game incredibly controversial and, alongside games such as Night Trap and Lethal Enforcers, is partly responsible for the formation of the Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB), a governing body that requires all games to be rated.

The game was also originally intended to be called “Van Damme” and based on the muscles from brussels himself Jean Claude Van Damme, but a deal was never made, so it didn’t come to fruition. The inclusion of Johnny Cage, a diva-esque Hollywood movie star that could do the splits, in the game was a clear reference to the game’s origins (and an indication that the development team had a pretty snarky sense of humour!).

Gameplay

In comparison to its peers such as Street Fighter II and Fatal Fury, Mortal Kombat is definitely much trickier to control. With special moves that require longer, more precise inputs and blocking now being triggered by its own separate button (as opposed to simply holding back on the joystick/d-pad), getting good at the game was more challenging, but arguably more rewarding as a result.

The game also introduced the concept of “Juggling” to fighting games. Juggling takes advantage of the fact that when a character is knocked into the air, the player is unable to control their character until he or she lands and gets up again. It’s so satisfying to watch an opponent helplessly rage as you bounce them into the air to inflict more damage.

Then there’s the most infamous aspect of the Mortal Kombat games - FATALITIES. Each character has their own specific fatality, and requires a particular set of inputs to trigger them in the short gap of time between when game commands players to “FINISH HIM/HER!” and the opponent collapsing. Ranging from the still-beating heart being ripped from an opponent’s chest, heads being viciously removed with the spinal cord still attached to Scorpion removing his mask to breath fire and Liu Kang transforming into a dragon, these finishers are hilariously grim, and are one of the greatest parts of the game.

These gruesome finishing moves have become firm fan favourites across the series, and inspired many future fighting games to implement the same vicious elements in an attempt to “outdo” Mortal Kombat.

Story

The game’s main storyline centers around a tournament being held by the powerful Shang Tsung on an island in Earthrealm. For 500 years in a row, the dragon prince Goro has been undefeated in the tournament, and initially helped Shang Tsung take over the tournament in an attempt to doom the realm. This, the 10th tournament, sees a new generation of fighters enter in an attempt to become the new Grand Champion.

Mortal Kombat’s lore has grown massively since the first entry in the franchise, but here, things are kept relativelysimple. Each character has their own backstory and specific reasons for entering the tournament (instead of, ya know, just wanting to win a tournament?), and the introduction of the “earth is doomed” multiple realms and magic abilities make the whole thing feel like a martial arts movie mixed with the fantasy genre, while keeping things gritty and grindhouse-ish with its strong violent content.

Roster

Mortal Kombat features seven unique playable characters, each with their own backstory that ties in to the game’s general lore.

Johnny Cage - A martial arts superstar trained by several great masters from around the world. Utilising his fighting talents on the big screen, Cage is the star of such movies as “Dragon Fist”, “Dragon Fist II” and the award-winning “Sudden Violence”.

Kano - a thug who lives a life of crime and injustice as part of the Black Dragon gang, a dangerous group of cut-throat madmen. An expert mercenary and thief, Kano is feared and respected throughout all of crime’s inner circles.

Raiden - A deity known as the “Thunder God”, Raiden was rumoured to have received a personal invitation by Shang Tsung himself to take form of a human to compete in the tournament.

Liu Kang - A former member of the secret White Lotus Society, Liu Kang represents Shaolin temples in the tournament, and has a burning hatred of Shang Tsung.

Sub-Zero - At this point, Sub-Zero’s real name and identity is unknown, but due to the markings on his uniform, it is believed that he belongs to a legendary clan of Chinese assassins known as the Lin Kuei.

Scorpion - Much like his blue-colored counterpart, Scorpion‘s identity in this game is a mystery. From time to time, Scorpion has been known to show distrust and hatred towards Sub-Zero, which suggests that he belongs to an opposing clan.

Soya Blade - A member of a top U.S. Special Forces unit that was hot on the trail of the Black Dragon organisation. After tracking Kano and his men to an uncharted island, Blade‘s team was ambushed by Shang Tsung‘s personal army

Each fighter is equipped with various different fighting styles, the most recognisable being Scorpion’s ability to hurl a roped blade at his opponent to bridge any gaps between them (along with the iconic “GET OVER HERE” yell), Sub-Zero’s ability to literally freeze an opponent where they stand (living up to his namesake), and Raiden’s ability to teleport around a stage (thanks to being a god and everything).

Even the game’s non-playable characters are incredibly recognisable, especially the quad-armed Goro, who is an absolute nightmare to fight against.

Graphics

Mortal Kombat’s graphics have aged surprisingly well considering that it is now almost 29 years since its original release.

Vividly coloured backgrounds, large digitised character sprites and a very kung-fu/martial arts movie vibe that’s carried across almost every aspect of the game all work together to create an experience that isn;t just fun to play, but good to look at.

It wasn’t the first fighting game to make use of the graphics style (games like Pit Fighter beat them to the punch a couple of years prior), but it was one of the first to do it well.

The following 2D sequels improved on almost every aspect of the game’s look and feel, but having a more realistic approach to the game’s graphics in this first game certainly made a lasting impression in the genre.

Stages

There are a total of seven stages to fight on in Mortal Kombat;

Courtyard – Shang Tsung sits on his throne and looks on as fights take place in front of a crowd of monks in this Enter The Dragon-esque stage.

Palace Gates – Located at Shang Tsung‘s old island fortress, with a large statue of Buddha looming in the background.

Warrior Shrine – A shrine dedicated to honour the contestants of the tenth Mortal Kombat tournament.

Throne Room – Where Shang Tsung sits on his throne in his island domain and watches as the combatants fight each other for his amusement.

Goro’s Lair – Home to the tournament’s Grand Champion Goro, this level with stone walls and several dark passageways; human bones are scattered on the floor and a skeleton hangs from a few shackles at the center of the arena. Many pairs of glowing yellow eyes appear and occasionally blink in the dark portions of the back area.

The Pit – a bridge suspended over a sea of steel spikes, which is the source of death for anyone unlucky enough to be knocked off. When an opponent is defeated on this stage, they can be uppercut off the bridge where they will land on the bed of spikes. This is the game’s only stage fatality. There are many severed heads at the bottom of the pit, including those of the game’s creators Ed Boon and John Tobias.

Pit Bottom – This stage is only accessible when the player is fighting Reptile.

The stages show a wide variety of interesting locations around Shang Tsung’s island, and even though some of the background characters look a bit weak graphically (those monks in the audience of the Courtyard ALWAYS looked rough), there’s enough charm and impressive architecture here to make each stage feel incredibly unique and memorable.

Replayability

There’s not much in the way of unlockables in Mortal Kombat, but there are some cool bits in terms of bonus stages and hdden secrets.

Mortal Kombat‘s bonus stage is called “Test Your Might”. The minigame consists of the player’s character standing above one of five blocks of increasing hardness, depending on how far the player has progressed in Test Your Might. The player would have to hammer multiple buttons until the gauge next to their character passed a certain point, and then would have to press the Block button to strike. If they were above this point, their character would break the block in front of them. Otherwise, their hand would bounce off the object sitting in front of them.

Not the most original of minigames, as several other earlier titles had similar levels, but this one would return in later Mortal Kombat games, and become quite popular in the meantime.

Then there’s the main hidden secret in the game - Reptile. Although we would see the green-clad Reptile appear in future Mortal Kombat titles as a playable character, he remains a secret non-playable fighter in the first game. In order to face him, players had to execute a Fatality finish after fighting on The Pit stage, assuming a shadow flew over the moon in the background, without taking any damage or pressing the block button in the winning round.

It’s an incredibly specific process, but being “in the know” about it (and successfully pulling it off) during the pre-internet era felt bloody fantastic.

Final thoughts & overall score

Mortal Kombat is a nice start to an iconic franchise.

While the sequels were way more sophisticated in terms of graphics and moves, the first game holds a special place in fighting game history for its innovative gameplay tweaks and its hilariously bloody violence.

Do you agree with our review of the original Mortal Kombat?

Let us know in the comments section below!

[kinsbin]

Camping

Title: Camping Ship: Raiden/Alexys/Kuai Liang/Johnny Cage [Self Insert/Canon] Word Count: 2107 Summary: Alexys feels as though her boyfriends have been neglecting her. So, upon her best friend’s advice, she decides to take matters into her own hands and plan a little trip for them all, making the best of it the whole time.

A/N: Another commission for @bad-blue-moon-rising of her mortal kombat ships! <3

Getting all of them together was a struggle.

Alexys had never found her determination or grit tested in the way that attempting to plan a date with all three of her beloved boyfriends tested her, the organization of their schedules and the constant movements of their jobs and itineraries provided ample confusion and constant missing links between times for all of the men in her life. Often she had excused the flakes and casual reschedulings of plans, as she knew the defenders of Earthrealm were busy for many reasons. Perhaps she felt a bit bad about not being put first, but, she knew that if there was no Earthrealm for her to live on then there was no her to love for them. All three had expressed, time and time again, that that was the worst case scenario for every single one of them. That they would bend heaven and earth to avoid such a situation from ever happening. That they would, above all else, do work to keep her safe first and foremost.

At least that thought made her incredibly pleased, but, the loneliness was still hard on her.

Kano was the one to suggest the organization of a group date, his explanation quick whitted and somewhat annoyed in its tone of voice as he spent time with his best friend on one of her many days away from her boyfriends:

“If they won’t make time for you, make them make time for you. Yer not a piece a’ meat they can chuck to the side when they want to, Sheila, and I’ll kick their asses if they try again ya hear me?”

“It’d be three on one, Kano, you’d die.”

“Happily if it meant defending ya, trust me.”

While the words initially made her laugh, she had taken them into serious consideration. There was honesty to his statement as he left their home the following day, a wave of his hand an a reminder to consider the idea fading on his lips as she bit her own. Thus, the plan had begun to set itself into motion. When all three of her boyfriends had been between jobs and busy schedules, she had announced it. The plan that had been so difficult to organize up until this day with an exciting breath on her lips as she clapped her fingers together and grinned.

“We’re going to go camping!”

The words had shocked all three men at once, their jaws dropping with awe as she announced her plan. Arguments were attempted but shut down, mostly by Johnny who did in fact want to go out and explore the world with his best friends and lover as best as he could. What greater bonding experience was there than kissing your lover under the stars, after all? Movie star moments of a campfire, all of them around as they roasted marshmallows and kissing with laughter in their veins flooded his starstruck eyes. Kuai was...skeptical at least, towards the idea of trusting the outdoor and vulnerable landscape with their status as important protectors. Raiden was, lastly, seemingly unaffected by the group decision. If Alexys wanted to enjoy the bounty of nature, then, he would support her when time allowed it.

Months later it finally took place. Alexys balanced on the balls of her feet as she faced the massive entrance of the forested campgrounds. Johnny had volunteered to drive both themselves and Kuai towards the ground, while Raiden would meet them there after settling a few substitutions for himself at his Sky Temple. As they waited for the fourth and final member of their party, Alexys faced the other two men with an excited glimmer in her grey eyes.

“I’m so happy we could do this!” She cheered, hurrying over to press a kiss to both of their cheeks with an uncontained smile, “I appreciate you both taking the time for this...I know it was hard to do.”

“Hey now, don’t you mention it,” Johnny grinned as he leaned to give her a more bright kiss on her lips with a smirk, “We’ve been neglecting group bonding time haven’t we? Gotta give our beautiful girl what she wants once in a while for putting up with our bullshit ins and outs.”

Alexys laughed at the way he put it, and Kuai rolled his eyes as he gazed around the sky of the forest with a frown. “He’s late.” Is all he noted towards Raiden’s lack of appearance.

As if on cue, the ground shook as lightning struck the ground just before all of them, making them jump in surprise as Raiden’s form appeared in the center of the scorched earth he had left in his wake. Standing straight, the Thunder God cleared his throat and smile when Alexys called out his name, the tone excited as she all but threw herself around his neck and hugged him tight. He returned the hug with a laugh, while Kuai brushed off some debris from his casual outfit and glared, a mutter of ‘did he WAIT until I said that?’ echoing from his lips that made Johnny bark out a sharp laugh of amusement in return, slapping his friend on the shoulder playfully.

“I apologize for my tardiness,” Raiden murmured after sharing a kiss with Alexys, “Some organization at the temple took longer than expected, but I rushed here right after we had completed it.”

“You’re here now,” Alexys noted with another hug to her boyfriend, “That’s all that matters.”

Raiden sighed, apparently relieved that the answer was forgiveness, and then acknowledged both Johnny and Kuai with a nod of his head. Johnny gave a casual, lopsided grin and a wave while Kuai gave a sharp nod of his head in simple acknowledgement, still not too pleased about the sudden appearance after his words.

“Well,” Johnny hummed with a clap of his hands, “We’re all here now aren’t we? It’s time to head to the campsite!”

“We must hurry,” Kuai agreed, “Before it gets too dark. Animals are hungry at night.”

“For us!?” Johnny gasped.

“For our prepackaged FOOD,” Kuai corrected with emphasis, causing Alexys to laugh as the four began meandering through the woodlands together.

They walked through the woods, the hike decent but pleasurable as they gazed around the forest together. The trees towered over all of them, making even Raiden feel small in the presence of nature. Birds chirped with delight against the sky as they flitted about the branches of their home and the moss was cool under their moving feet as they walked through the otherwise warming temperatures. Alexys couldn’t help but sneak looks of her boyfriends, admiring the way their muscles flexed as they moved and the sweat that fell slickly off of them as they exerted the effort of hiking with her. Johnny wiped at his brow with the back of his hand at some point, his smile genuine in enjoyment as he made a joke Kuai tried hard to ignore. Raiden seemed to find it funny, though, as the slightest smiles stretched against his aging face. She blushed at the sight of them all. The fact that they were all with her overwhelmed her beyond anything she’s ever experienced.

Her mind was brought back into the semblances of reality as she felt her body ram itself into something hard. The tree before her scratched at the bits of her exposed skin as she collided with it, causing her to queak and fall backwards with a gasp of shock, parts of her body stinging with the sudden collision.

All three of her boyfriends were on her in an instant, hands reaching out to gently touch at her own as they gazed on in surprise.

“Are you alright, babe?” Johnny questioned, his fingertips brushing along her jawline to push some of her hair behind her face, casually removing a twig from the brown locks, “You went at that tree like it stole your life savings.”

“You’re not overheated are you?” Kuai murmured his concerns as he touched her arm, feeling how warm it was against his normally cool temperature and tilting his head. Raiden said nothing for a while as he felt the part of her leg that had run itself into the tree, assessing the damage with contemplation as Alexys blushed in surprise at all of the hands so suddenly against her sensitive form at once.

“I-I’m fine! All of you, seriously,” She huffed with redness to her cheeks, “I’m not gonna break just because I ran into a tree…”

“I know we’re distractingly hot,” Johnny teased with a smirk, “But you gotta be careful okay?”

The sputtering of her next phrase confirmed his suspicions, making him laugh and kiss her forehead before all of them helped her up. Once up and recovered, the group continued to make their way through the forest, appreciating all of the small things as they did so.

Their hike had brought them to the campsite, a comfortable area against the edge of a babbling river just calm enough not to pose a threat with fearsome rapids and angry waterfalls. Johnny’s eyes lit up at the sight of it, his body tensing. As if reading his mind, Kuai’s eyes widened with terror.

“No,” Kuai warned immediately, “You will not-HEY.”

Johnny was gone though, his backpack and important items shed as he ran. Alexys’ eyes widened as he took a flying leap into the water, diving into it and sending a light sprinkle splashing all of them as he made contact. When he surfaced against the water, he waved at them with his classic, shit-eating grin.

“Nothing feels better than a dip after a long walk in the woods, come on!”

“Absolutely not.” Kuai wrinkled his nose with moderate annoyance, “We have unpacking to do, and we must set up this camp before nightfall, so-!”

He sputtered when he felt Alexys shove him with a laugh, bringing them both forward to the edge of the water, where they fell in with a gargled amalgamation of screams and splashes.  Raiden was the last one left on shore, blinking in shock as he stared down at the three in the water. Kuai had surfaced with Alexys, his eyes wide with shock and confusion as he looked over at her. Her hair dripped against her face, clothes sticking to her wet body as she gazed down at the man she had taken with her. The glint in her eye was unmistakably amused as Johnny laughed somewhere in the distance.

“You looked like you needed to...COOL OFF.” Alexys joked with her ice-wielding boyfriend, earning a playful huff and a splash of water at her face from his free hand as they both sat up in the ankle deep part of the river. They all looked back at Raiden, who had patiently begun setting up all the items necessary for the night in their moment of enjoyment. Johnny crawled out from the more waist-deep waters and shook his head, slicking his hair back with one hand while he pat Kuai’s shoulders, earning him a splash of slightly more frigid than normal water.

Soon all were out of their soaking clothes, hanging them over a nearby branch to dry while they slid into their packed change of warmer, more comfortable ones. Alexys snuggled between Johnny and Raiden, Kuai off to the side as he mixed herbs he had brought along the way for some tea. The sun was beginning to set over the horizon of the visible sky through the trees, making the air more crisp and clean than it was before.

There was silence. A comfortable chill of wordlessness between the four as they enjoyed the warmth of the crackling fire before them. It was the perfect night with all of her boyfriends. Alexys felt the throngs of her hard work build itself up as pride in her chest as she reached around Johnny’s arm to hug him, sighing as she pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Thank-you all...for doing this with me. I know it was silly and took some time but...It’s the happiest I’ve been in a while.” She grinned at them. The boy’s felt their faces heat up with blushes of awe at just how cute the girl before them was. There was momentary regret from not doing it with her sooner, but, more passion at the thought of her enjoyment fueled each of them.

Kisses were shared, words of praise were echoed, and soon silence fell again, nothing but the group of them comfortably amongst one another and the nature surrounding them was left.

And it was perfect.

[whatifxwereyou]

Firestorm Part 9: Isolation

Fandom: Mortal Kombat 2021 Liu Kang x Reader

A/N: skalfjwealjf I live for the angst

Start From the Beginning << Previous Chapter Next Chapter >> Chapter Index

Your head was pounding. The stone you leaned against seemed to bounce with the throbbing of your head. A soft wet cloth was dabbed against it. Droplets trickled down your forehead and over your cheek only to be wiped away by a familiar hand.

Liu Kang.

You opened your eyes and found yourself curled against the wall in Raiden’s chamber. That was right. He’d had to read you after all that had happened in the fight pit. Each time you woke up from these experiences you had to face the terror of finding your friends injured and exhausted. But this time they didn’t seem to be any different than when you’d last seen them. Liu Kang’s eyes were filled with concern but he said nothing as he dabbed your burning skin. He offered you the faintest flicker of a smile to acknowledge that you were awake.

Behind him sat Kung Lao with his knees folded. He looked nervous. He had several scrapes that had been tended to while you’d been unconscious. Liu Kang looked like he hadn’t bothered seeing anyone for his.

“She’s awake.” Kung Lao’s eyes darted to the side as Raiden approached from somewhere behind him.

“Good.”

The guilt was overwhelming. Again. Guilt for hurting them. Guilt for being so useless in those moments. You’d been strong once but now you felt as though that were something you were incapable of. It was frustrating. You’d felt strong for just a few seconds before it had all gone horribly wrong.

“We must unravel this curse.” Raiden crouched next to where you were leaning. “I fear that there is not much time left for us to do so.” You had nothing to say. He was right. You knew that. “I think that we must uncover who you truly are, Y/N.”

“We know who she is.” Kung Lao was defensive. He’d always been defensive when it came to that kind of thing. Even as kids, he’d stood up for you when anyone questioned you.

“Kung Lao, that is not what I meant. I mean that there is more to her than what we know. I have a feeling that this thing is a part of you that’s hidden away, Y/N. Your gift of sight is unrelated to your arcana. I think that the answer might lie in your heritage. Something isn’t connecting. We have only parts of the full picture. There is a mystery within your mystery. I wish for you to return to the place where you were born to try and uncover it.”

“Most people went to Guilin for more complicated medical procedures. That’s probably a good place to start.” Kung Lao was again at your defense.

“I wasn’t born there,” You finally spoke but your voice sounded tired. Liu Kang kept dabbing the cloth over your forehead. The cold was soothing but it also gave you the shivers. You were freezing. It was probably a damn fever again. You missed having normal crappy days. Days where you’d been fine other than an annoying sinus headache or a stubbed toe. Everyday seemed to be something new and horrible now. At least it didn’t seem like you’d hurt anyone after you’d given yourself over to Raiden so he could understand what you’d seen. “I was born in South Korea. My parents moved to China shortly after I was born.”

“Really?” Kung Lao was surprised, maybe even a little annoyed that he hadn’t known that about you. He had been the Y/N-expert thus far. It was kind of charming how defensive he was over you.

“Yeah. Mom’s Korean and Dad’s Chinese. I’m trying to remember where it was.” You furrowed your brow and massaged your temple. Liu smoothed your hair back and you gave him a look but he averted his eyes with a slight smile. “Andong, I think. I meant to visit as I got older but never got around to it. I used to have the address to their old apartment but… that’s been lost. If I looked at a map, then I could probably at least find some familiar names.”

“When you have recovered then you will go to Andong.” Raiden instructed.

“To what end?” You frowned. What did he expect you to find there? It wasn’t like there would be answers hiding in any obvious places. For all you knew the apartment your parents had shared before they’d moved to China had been demolished and replaced with something else. And it wasn’t like you could ask anyone. Your remaining family thought you were dead.

“Start with birth records. There are memories, Y/N. Memories that I cannot see.

He could see your memories? Oh no. You didn’t like that.

“Memories?”

“Important parts of your history are locked away. They are hidden much like parts of your visions are. Someone doesn’t want you to know what is hidden there. Someone doesn’t want us to know. You must uncover these truths.”

“I still don’t understand how I’m supposed to do that.” It felt impossible.

“You will find a way. I have faith.” Raiden’s encouraging smile backed with the determination behind his eyes was encouraging even if you were running out of hope that there was anything after this for you other than being locked away until you withered and ultimately died. “Find a connection to your birthplace. Find your story where it starts. At the beginning.” When he said it, it made perfect sense but you still had no idea what you were looking for. “Liu Kang and Kung Lao will accompany you. I have a feeling that whatever has been hidden from you will be quite dangerous to reveal.”

“Okay.” You had no room to argue with a god. Any idea was better than no idea and Raiden seemed confident. Going to where the artifacts had been hidden in your vision had yielded results. If Lord Raiden thought that you needed to visit Andong and look at your birth records then you would.

“I’ll still take you to the city before we go. I promised.” Kung Lao smiled brightly at you. He seemed to be a beacon of positivity in a room of heavy energy.

“I could probably get what I need in Andong.” You didn’t see the point of taking a separate trip. You were far less worried about that now anyway. What was the likelihood that you even could get pregnant? You were so sick. Your body barely had any energy to give to you nonetheless a baby. You were pretty sure that something akin to a parasite would not survive within what you were now considering an inhospitable environment.

“No, no. I promised we’d go. And it’ll be a nice break before we go to Korea.” Kung Lao smiled and this suddenly seemed important to him so you weren’t going to argue. You didn’t have the energy to argue. Besides, you could use a few new things. “One of the monks offered to come with us just in case you needed medical assistance. Your friend. The mean one.”

“Chen?” You could not mentally comprehend the embarrassment of going on a trip with Chen and Kung Lao to the city so you could buy condoms and birth control because of Liu Kang. Later. That would be a horrible situation for later. Right now you were feeling too exhausted and defeated to deal with unpacking that. “Is that safe?”

“With Kung Lao there you should be fine.” Liu Kang spoke for the first time since you’d woken up. His voice sounded weary. He’d cleaned up but his scrapes on his face and arms weren’t tended to. The guilt again. It was awful.

“Raiden said he’d be on alert in case anything went wrong.”

“I just don’t know if it makes sense to do anything unnecessary right now.” You were afraid to go out into the world again.

“You can’t stop living because something might happen.” Liu bowed his head politely, clasping the prayer beads in his palm. He’d stopped dabbing your forehead. You knew he was right but it didn’t mean it was easy for you to consider putting anyone in harm’s way.

“Rest for a day or two. But no longer. There is work to be done.”

“I don’t think that whatever this is plans on allowing me to recover. It almost feels like… this happened because I had regained some ground earlier. It felt the need to take it away from me. I don’t know if that’s crazy or not.” You were sure that sounded silly. But judging by the look on everyone’s faces, they didn’t think it was crazy or silly at all.

“Rest, Y/N.” Raiden bowed his head.

“I’ll bring you to your new space so you can do that.” Liu Kang set aside the cloth, next to the bowl he’d been getting water from on the floor. He seemed to have much more to say on the matter but held his tongue. You guessed that whatever it was he wanted to say would be said in a private conversation later.

“I’ll start moving things.” Kung Lao jumped to his feet and dusted off his hands. Raiden offered you his hand and you took it. You were wobbly and exhausted, hands tingling. What had happened while you’d been out of it to make you feel this drained?

“Don’t be defeated. We will figure this out. I have a feeling that we’re close. Like you said, you were getting stronger when this happened. Whoever is behind this wants you to feel defeated. They want you to feel like you have no control. We will not allow that to happen.” Raiden’s determination on your behalf was remarkable. It must have been much easier to make lofty promises while being a god. You were a little touched that they were so willing to help you but the truth was that you were weak. You felt weak. The little bit of strength that you’d regained had been taken from you. You felt like you could have gone to sleep and never woken up. If it hadn’t been for Liu Kang and Kung Lao then you probably would have.

You thought that whoever was behind this was doing an exceptional job. Not to compliment them or anything but you were defeated. You were exhausted. At the end of your rope, even. Liu Kang offered you his arm and you took it. Raiden watched you go. Kung Lao chattered along the way but neither you nor Liu had much to say in return. It didn’t bother Kung Lao. He was happy to fill the silence.

“What happened when I was out this time?” You asked when Kung Lao parted ways with you. He was headed to your old room to gather some of your things while Liu Kang brought you to your new room. A much more isolated place. It was a far longer walk so far. Liu Kang sighed heavily as if he did not wish to discuss this. You were sure it was something ridiculous like talking in crazy demon voices and ink exploding out of you. “Come on, tell me.” You wanted to understand the exhaustion you were feeling.

“Nothing happened.” Liu didn’t sound very convincing.

“Bull.” You tried to joke but Liu Kang stopped walking in the hallway. He grabbed your hand to stop you from walking too and then stepped closer to you. He took your other hand and held both between you.

“Really. Nothing happened. You just… laid there.” He seemed more upset by this than he had been when you’d been speaking in odd voices and making ink thrones and dragons. “Raiden thinks that you were too drained to do more. At least that’s what he said.”

“And you don’t believe him?”

“I think that Raiden finds it easy to avoid saying things that might make us act rashly.” Liu Kang didn’t sound like he approved of the idea but he didn’t sound angry about it either. “Or sometimes he thinks it is better not to mention them.”

“And what is it you think he’s not saying” You didn’t like his tone. You didn’t like the implications. Liu Kang seemed to be the one avoiding saying what he thought was happening. He looked down at your hands and suddenly you understood without him having to say it at all. That was why Raiden had said that he didn’t think there was much time left.

Oh.

“We’re going to figure this out.”

“I’m not dying, Liu Kang.” You sounded awfully confident for a woman who had just considered going to sleep and never getting back up. Liu averted his eyes but you could see the slightest smile on his lips.

“I know.” He decided after a long moment of silence. “I won’t let you.”

You knew that neither one of you truly had control over life or death but you would fight until the end no matter what that end was. It was cruel to have someone like Liu Kang come into your life only for this to happen. It was cruel to be reunited with your childhood best friend only to slowly decay and potentially lose him again. You didn’t want to hurt them more than you already had. You had never wanted to hurt anyone. Even in your worst moments, when you’d been angry at the world, angry at the people of your hometown for treating you so terribly, you had never wished pain or unhappiness upon any of them.

But hurt was unavoidable. You had already hurt them.

“At least you didn’t have to fight my arcana while I was out of it this time.” You gestured down the hall and Liu Kang led them onward but didn’t let go of one of your hands. He just casually held it as you walked like that was no big deal.

“It is a pleasure to fight your arcana, Y/N. Even if you are exhausting in those moments.”

“You’re very sweet but I know that it’s draining for you. Maybe I was just too exhausted from everything that happened in the fight pit. Did Raiden tell you anything about the man I saw? How could I create someone and mimic their power like that without having ever seen them? I can barely create you two and control you properly and I know you very well.”

“He suspects that whoever has cursed you did it. Not you. That was all he told us.”

“I thought that thing was going to kill me. What a way to go. Killed by my own arcana. Are there any records of that? Would I be a first?”

“Not the first. There have been a few unfortunate incidents… one involving a laser and well, you wouldn’t be the first.” Liu Kang managed to joke with you and that was a relief. He led you down a flight of steps and the hall at the bottom was dark. Liu bathed his palm in fire and led you down the hallway and around the corner. The room he led you into was smaller than the one you’d had before but it was more secure. No windows and the doors were heavy. There was an old table with a singular candle atop it. Liu lit the candle before extinguishing the flame in his palm. “Welcome to your new home. Are you sure this is what you want?”

“I can’t think of another option, Liu.”

“But what if you get trapped… Kung Lao told me about that morning and…”

“No one else will get hurt because of me.” You spoke firmly. There was no arguing with you on this. “When I’m not this volatile then I will happily move back to the other room. But until then, Liu, this is the only solution that I can come up with.”

“I don’t like this, Y/N.”

“I know you don’t. I don’t either. But it’s the right thing to do.”

He sighed heavily. The door opened behind you and Kung Lao came in holding your entire desk. Then he slammed it down inside the room. “It’s too dark in that hallway. We have to put in some lights. I nearly died getting down here.”

“There’s got to be an easier way to move my things than you blindly carrying them through dimly lit hallways like a crazy person.”

“Name one.”

“I’ll go get a dolly.” Liu Kang patted you on the shoulder and then shook his head in dismay at Kung Lao before they continued about the task of moving your things to your new space. You sat on the edge of the desk and looked at the small, dark room. This was temporary. You would leave this space successful. You had to.

[puttingfingerstokeys]

turning of the wheel

or wheel of fate--I ain’t decided. they all kinda sound cheesy. Prequel to Lightning Rod

Yet more drama and angst at the dawn of time with Lord Liu Kang, Raiden, and a lovely Fujin cameo! I hope you guys want a wee bit of a nut punch today ‘cause here she comes. Oh as usual I’m too lazy to fuck with the italics, so hopefully y’all can figure that out. 

warring exes implied

broken timeline (leading into restored)

“Shang Tsung? Lord Raiden—that is madness!” Liu Kang’s face held the ardor of youth, and the shock of a child who had just been told his favorite myth was a man in a costume, or that it was altogether imaginary. Raiden appreciated the innocence in this look. For all his razor sharp intelligence, Liu Kang was still largely untainted by his new duties. His hands were not yet covered in the blood of billions, not this version of him. In time, Raiden thought bitterly. And I have done this to him—dare I ask for even a little more, much less what I would actually have?

“And yet I am sane,” responded the fire god’s advisor. Liu Kang looked him over, appraising, eyes narrowed. Something was amiss within his mentor, a strange conflict, and it appeared to be draining him. He had settled himself nearby, physically weary from the weight of whatever it was he was clearly carrying. Lately, Raiden had seemed distracted and listless; Liu Kang would not have said a word unprompted, however. “You must… for the sake of your restored timeline… weave Shang Tsung back in—only there, only one… it is… all I ask.”

“But how? Why?” The fire around his body flared and one fist clenched, hard. He recalled the strange relief and pleasure he had felt watching the wicked, serpentine sorcerer crumble into sand and blow away in a cosmic wind. In that moment, Liu Kang had witnessed something utterly foreign to the man’s darkly handsome features: Fear.

“I removed him from all timelines—what I have done… Raiden, I do not regret it and it cannot be reversed.”

“I do not… ask you to regret, Lord Liu Kang… only to… help me.” Asking for assistance was not Raiden’s strong suit; he was accustomed to requesting alliances, to challenging his friends to greater heights of prowess, and to giving them the tools to successfully defend Earthrealm. Upon this, especially, he had not wanted to elaborate, had hoped he would be able to overcome this weakness on his own. Alas, it was not to be. “I am deteriorating… because my body is mortal, as all mortals must. But... I also house… two souls.”

“Two souls, Lord Raiden, that is impossible!”

“For a human, yes… It would kill you instantly, had you no way to contain it, no training, but I am not human—not entirely—and you have the power to draw forth souls, do you not?”

In this moment, Liu Kang wished he could still blush. He thought he should feel shame for this, ever the humble monk. He nodded, however and moved closer to his mentor, reaching out to offer a hand. Raiden waved it off and shook his head.

“I will be still a while,” he said, closing his eyes and breathing deeply, “and then I will explain all.”

Patience was, indeed, a virtue when in the presence of a god, even a former god. For a being who had seen many lifetimes, and many eternities, a few minutes was nothing. Liu Kang assumed a meditative pose and stayed nearby, breathing deeply himself, drawing the air of the dawn of time into his lungs and exhaling, centering himself on the deep thrum of the hourglass.

He reflected upon his first lessons with Raiden, how intense the training had been, how focused he had been upon impressing his teacher and on bettering himself. It was this second trait which Raiden claimed was his strength. “Impressing me matters little, Liu Kang; I am not your opponent. You are.”

“When the Elder Gods punished Shang Tsung, they hollowed him out, made his greed endless, bottomless, fathomless—they removed his soul, Lord Liu Kang,” Raiden began. Liu Kang interrupted him.

“I know this, master; you have already taught me… and even if you had not, such greed cannot be attributed to someone who was in possession of his own soul.” I would have figured it out eventually, not that it matters; an evil like that must be defeated. Always, Liu Kang thought with some bitterness.

“But a soul is energy and energy cannot be destroyed.” Raiden’s voice rumbled across the space between them, heedless of the interrupted, resounding like a distant thunderstorm breaking on some foreign shore, the sound carrying over water, reverberating against stones, and finally settling in Liu Kang’s chest, his heart, his guts, his entirety.

“The man I destroyed… had no soul; he was a husk... so he could not truly die—Lord Raiden is he somewhere in the hourglass, biding his time? Does he await a moment of weakness? Please, I know patience is perhaps the greatest virtue, but is there time?”

“There is time, if only a little,” said Raiden quietly, sighing deeply. “They split his soul and placed it in a vessel which would never break—but which was already broken. A pair of vessels, in fact.”

“You are one of them, Lord Raiden. YOU house Shang Tsung’s soul… but why? Why you?”

“Two vessels, Lord Liu Kang. I do not house his entire soul, only half. I… must amend my earlier statement… one and a half souls reside in my body, yet another factors which grants us a little time.” He paused and closed his eyes, breathing heavily, steadily. “My brother bears the other half and… he does not know.” Raiden’s head hung low, shoulders sagging visibly. Liu Kang had not even registered that Raiden had not answered his question, nor had he clarified the meaning of unbroken vessels which were broken. It was too much around which to suddenly wrap his mind.

“Why did you never share this with Lord Fujin?” Liu Kang knew it was no time to grill Raiden, that time was, in a way, of the essence. All the same, he crossed his arms tightly over his chest and awaited the answer.

“I foolishly thought to protect him, as I did over and over during my time as Earthrealm’s protector. I know how futile that attempt was. In the end, I caused much pain and this will be yet more. I cannot make amends in a way I would have preferred, because time is short, so proper explanation will have to wait. He will not be pleased… nor would I in his position.

“All the same, we must summon Lord Fujin and remove the fragment from him…. And from me—we must weave Shang Tsung back into the timeline. It is essential, Lord Liu Kang, that we do this and let him lead his life.”

The pallor of Raiden’s features disallowed more questions. Liu Kang felt that he had little choice in the matter. He hated being caught this way, but was unwilling to lose Raiden so soon. If I am honest, he thought to himself, I am unwilling to lose him, ever.

Raiden knew Liu Kang had many questions, but was grateful he held his tongue for all that. He assumed the new god of fire and thunder was wondering how they would go about ensuring the old serpent would not simply engineer their end once more. Perhaps it was always his destiny to do so. Raiden had wondered the same thing when the initial pangs of the soul fragment came upon him.

He no longer had time to wonder, though he was sure the answer would come in time. For the moment, it was of utmost importance to contact and converse with Fujin. Summoning him to the dawn of time would not have been difficult for Raiden, had he been possessed of a more sound and less mortal body. As it stood, he would need to teach Liu Kang the technique of communication between gods.

“Align yourself… with your godhood, Liu Kang,” Raiden instructed, watching him, staying upright with great effort.

“Do not speak, Teacher,” Liu Kang begged, closing his eyes and reaching into himself. “Besides, who better to beseech help from a god than a monk? It was part of my training, after all.”

This brought a faint smile to Raiden’s face as he fought to stay conscious and whole. The soul fragment within him was active and angry, feeling as if it might slice through his guts and leave him bleeding out. He swallowed hard and focused upon his hands, clenched hard in his lap, keeping him conscious. Raiden knew if he gave in to the sweet temptation of sleep, he might not return. I cannot fail Liu Kang—not again.

In point of fact, Liu Kang need not have attempted summoning the wind god. Fujin appeared by the side of his brother with a look on his face that suggested he knew little other than the obvious fact that Raiden was in distress. He dropped immediately to one knee to confer with his now-mortal sibling.

“Raiden, what has befallen you? Is this because you have given your divinity to Liu Kang?” He gestured to the new god, who had turned with a start when Fujin appeared. He was mentally chiding himself for not assuming Fujin would automatically know when something was wrong with Raiden; on the other hand, he had not appeared until now, so evidently, the elder of the two still had a few tricks up his sleeve.

“Lord Fujin, there is no time to explain,” said Liu Kang. “Shang Tsung yet lives within you and Lord Raiden—”

“What foolishness is this?!” Fujin’s beautiful face was a mask of indignant fury. He grasped his brother about the shoulders and had begun to lift him when Raiden uttered a grunt of protest and lifted a hand.

“It is no... foolishness, brother,” he assured Fujin, struggling to stand on his own. “When the Elder Gods... cursed Shang Tsung, they removed his... soul. It was split for—for eternity—or so they must have... assumed—and placed within us.”

“And his soul is killing you.” Fujin’s voice bore a note of something Liu Kang did not recognize, but the urgency of the situation overrode his desire to delve deeper into the relationship between the gods of wind and thunder, and so he moved closer, urging with his expression and the tenseness in his body that they should hurry.

“It is,” admitted Raiden, standing only with Fujin’s help. “My body is… mortal and such a… finite thing cannot house... two souls.”

“What will you do with it once it has been removed?” Fujin’s eyes moved between Raiden and Liu Kang.

“That is up to… Lord Liu Kang,” said Raiden quietly. He met Liu Kang’s eyes for but a moment, and something passed between them, a sureness that, above all else, Fujin must not know their true purpose. Even now, Raiden was trying to protect his brother.

“Do it, then,” said Fujin through clenched teeth. He had wrapped Raiden’s arm over his own shoulders and was propping him up that way. “But you will dispose of it appropriately. Your new era cannot afford to have such a serpent entwined in its roots.”

Raiden could no longer meet Liu Kang’s eyes. He seemed paler than usual and the young god knew he had no more time. He was glad Fujin had agreed so readily, but in the meantime, he had to concoct a story for what he would do with Shang Tsung’s soul. His mind was a steel trap, but lying was not easy. It had never come easy to him. Kung Lao had once mocked him for this, but he still held it as a virtue. In truth, Lao did, too, but would never have admitted it.

Slowly, Liu Kang began to draw upon his own experience—that of his revenant—with soul magic and thence, to draw forth the essence of the thing which was vastly different within the two brothers, and similar to itself, once exposed. The essence was simple to spot, relatively speaking. It was the soul of a mortal, for starters, ancient, but not in the way a god’s was ancient, and filled with greed and ambition. Next to Fujin’s shining energy, it was little more than inky shadow. The soul seemed to have wrapped itself around Raiden’s, however. His soul, while that of a mortal, still did not bear the same essence as Shang Tsung’s. It was much older, though the sorcerer’s clung tightly to its host and was far more difficult to extract.

Fujin cried out but once when the dark essence was pulled from him. Fortunately, he stayed upright and strong, for when the oily ink had been removed from Raiden, the former thunder god collapsed heavily against his brother, breathing shallowly, pale as a ghost. Liu Kang wanted, more than anything in that moment, to run to his teacher, but he was busy wrangling the soul of a dark sorcerer.

Lowering the two of them to the stones, Fujin pulled Raiden’s hat from his head and set it aside. With utmost care, he also removed the cap and freed his brother’s hair, pulling it off his sweaty forehead and running his fingers through it tenderly. He held Raiden close, arms wrapped tightly about him, eyes squeezed shut, willing him to survive.

With no vessel in which to house the soul, Liu Kang turned toward the hourglass. He knew that entrapment in the glass itself was possible, but that one also ran the risk of tainting the Sands of Time for every single eternity. If anyone could taint it, Shang Tsung was that person. He had no choice but to quickly, with as much care as his limited experience would allow, weave the man back into the timeline of his new era. He was taking Raiden on faith, but his faith was great. 

His thoughts were distracted, turning ever back to the struggling deities behind him, but he had a job to do, perhaps the most important job of his life, aside from being the chosen one—and what a career that had turned out to be! Even Raiden himself had not anticipated that the meaning of “chosen one” referred to Liu Kang’s eventual divinity.

Meanwhile, Fujin was muttering quietly to Raiden, holding him close, cradling his head against his neck like a child. The god of thunder did not stir. Tears of frustration and terrified rage threatened to fall from Fujin’s luminous eyes, but he choked them down in favor of speaking.

“Brother,” he whispered, hoarse and constricted, pressing his lips to Raiden’s sweaty forehead, to his hair, his cheeks, his eyelids. “Raiden, please… I refuse to believe it was too late—you cannot have held out so long that this… I cannot—I will not allow it.”

All at once, both brothers began to give off a strange, eldritch illumination. Liu Kang turned just in time to witness the light enveloping them both. The power of it drove him back a few steps, but he held his ground as best he could, calling out to them.

In the midst of the light was not unlike the eye of an immense hurricane. Raw power swirled around both of them, but not a hair on either head was stirred. Raiden had opened his eyes and was looking up into Fujin’s, one hand clasped in his brother’s. Raiden held tightly to it.

“I thought I had lost you, brother.” Fujin’s admission was quiet. Raiden closed his dark eyes and shook his head.

“It is not my time, not yet—soon, perhaps, but I still have much to teach our young Lord Liu Kang.”

Now, it was Fujin’s turn to shake his head. “It would be teaching which keeps you anchored to mortality,” he said, sighing through his nose. As he did this, the shining, violent wind and lightning all around them began to abate and Liu Kang himself approached.

“You are your own again, Lord Raiden,” he reassured his mentor, bowing with palm over fist, to both gods, “and you, Lord Fujin. Though… you did not suspect something different was the case, did you?”

“You are wondering how I might not notice such a soul,” guessed Fujin, easing Raiden into a sitting position. It was only then Liu Kang seemed to notice the former deity’s state of undress and politely averted his eyes. Raiden rested heavily against Fujin, eyes closed, breathing deeply, at rest but not sleeping.

“I am, Lord Fujin, though I suspect our only source for a fully articulated response has been taken from us,” said Liu Kang, referring of course to the Elder Gods. Ripped from the quantum state where they both had and had not resided, one could almost argue that they had never existed in the first place, but if that was the case, then where did that leave the brothers of storm?

Free.

It left them free. Liu Kang was a believer, through and through. His faith had carried him where all else faltered. It had also gotten him killed at one point. With the eyes of a young man, of a god, and of a vicious revenant, he now saw the dominoes falling into place, set up eons ago by who could say what force and only now toppling in completion to reveal a great mural of suffering and joy, necessary agony and perfected bliss.

“My best guess is that the soul of a god is so radiant, it drowns out the dimness of half a wicked human soul,” Fujin offered, spitting the last words like venom. Raiden nodded, confirming that this was, indeed, the case. “How long have you known, brother?”

“The moment it happened, brother. Forgive me for this deception.” Raiden’s voice was no stronger than it had been, but it lacked the quality of degenerating breath, though it still sounded exhausted. Fujin’s frown was stormy for a moment, but then he shook his head and waved it off. 

“Why did you think you could hide it?” Now, it was Fujin’s turn, for once in their long lives, to scold. Raiden sighed. 

“Separating myself from Lord Liu Kang to remain as advisor, I noted a weakness which I took to be only that of a mortal. I… had not forgotten his soul… I had simply underestimated its effect upon mine.” Embarrassment was only a tiny portion of the emotion Raiden’s voice betrayed. The rest was something inscrutable, but Liu Kang thought it might have been a strange, melancholic fondness. “It was slow, at first… I thought I was merely aging. Even as a deity, I did not have the appearance of a young man.”

The sickness had, like Shang Tsung himself, crept up gradually, taking him piecemeal, content to dismantle with insidious slowness, not entirely unlike old age itself. When Raiden had first realized what was happening to him, he thought perhaps he could hold out long enough for his death to seem natural for the mortal he now was. This proved not to be the case, however, as the creeping had turned to the consuming spread of a wildfire under the influence of a strong wind.

“Well, he has been expelled,” said Fujin with finality. “And good riddance. Lord Liu Kang, your timelines are safe from his venom.”

Fujin held Raiden tightly still, even though he was out of danger, terrified to risk him again. Raiden leaned into his brother, wanting desperately to sleep, but knowing there was work to be done. At the moment, he was far too weak, however, and knew that there was little to do for now but rest.

“Please, Lord Raiden, retire to the Sky Temple for a time,” Liu Kang suggested. “I will be… I must learn to shift the sands on my own.” He was wearing a brave face for his mentor, but nothing terrified him more than the prospect of putting one grain out of place and re-initiating that which they had sacrificed everything to stop.

“I will take him,” said Fujin, shifting his grip upon his brother and standing. “If you have any need, Lord Liu Kang, please do not hesitate.”

The wind carried the brothers away, through time and space to the safety and peace of their Sky Temple home. Meanwhile, Liu Kang returned his gaze and focus to the hourglass. He had woven the sorcerer in with as much care as time had permitted.

Examining his work, he found it to be adequate, but there was still much worry. How would he ensure Shang Tsung’s nature would not overtake him and bring about another Armageddon? Raiden trusted him, but he did not trust himself. 

And he did not trust Shang Tsung.