#reign of the reptiles

[thienvaldram]

Silurian Speculative Ancestry

Edit: Updated to reference Suminisans

Prelude – Meta-Origins of Silurians

It is of note that the Silurians, upon original development, were very much intended to effectively be ‘dinosaur people’. With their reptilian appearance being indicative of the pre-Avian, pre-Jurassic Park reptilian dinosaur conception. Though with JP-style avian dinosaurs being depicted in both Dinosaurs on a Spaceship and Deep Breath among others, as well as the newer designs of the Silurians themselves, make such an origin retroactively very tenuous in Universe.

Their two names from their first couple of stories, ‘Silurians’ and ‘Eocenes’, reflect two eras of history in which they are implied to originate, though both raise massive chronological problems with regards to how their depicted, especially in later works but even in their early ones. The Silurian era (444-415 million years ago) predates the emergence of reptiles entirely (310-320 million years ago) whereas the Eocene (56-34 million years ago) postdates the Dinosaurs but also still predates humanity (300,000 years ago), the homo genus (2.8 million years ago) and Hominids (22 million years ago).

And the ‘Silurian dating controversy’ only gets worse the more Silurian stories got written over time, as various pieces of media date them anywhere between less than 1 million years ago to 65 million years ago to 1 billion years ago (Which is pre Multicellular life). This exacerbated by the idea that the Moon’s capture was the reason for the Silurian hibernation, a theory that was since superseded by the Theia impact theory in modern scientific consensus and either way would have been dated to the early Solar System.

Thus for the interest of Speculative Biology I have thrown out all specific absolute dates and specific geological events associated with the Silurians in favour of hashing together an origin that makes conceptual sense for the Silurians as a prehistoric sentient Earthbound species based on what knowledge of modern biology I happen to have, as well as what jives with the overall ideas of the DWU.

Speculative Evolution

Speciation

Template

Scientific Name – Colloquial Identifier for this writeup (DWU Name/Origin Story)

Genus

Bipeslacertia – Reptilian Kindred, Suminisans (Credit Tara) (Earth Reptiles)

Species

Bipeslacertia vehemenus – Primitive Ancestor (Primitive Ancestor)

Bipeslacertia volans – “Winged Kindred” (Winged Earth Reptiles)

Bipeslacertia diabolus – Sea Devils, Aquatic Kindred (Sea Devils)

Bipeslacertia homines – Silurians (Silurians, Eocenes)

Mondasian Parallel Evolution

Bipeslacertia diabolus abastrius – Sea Kings (Mondasian Sea Devils)

Bipeslacertia homines abastrius – Lizard Kings (Mondasian Silurians)

Subspecies (Winged Kindred)

Bipeslacertia volans mortuus – “Paleocenes” (Winged Species – Adolescence of Time)

Bipeslacertia volans malakhi – Wyrm Callers (Wyrm infected Paleocenes)

Bipeslacertia volans vivus – Luadans (TM: A Morphology/Reign of the Reptiles)

Bipeslacertia volans aurori – Zori (Reign of the Reptiles/Revelry of the Redacted)

Subspecies (Sea Devil)

Bipeslacertia diabolus sicutsimiae – Late Sea Devils (Comic Sea Devils)

Bipeslacertia diabolus sicuturtus – Early Sea Devils (Normal Sea Devils)

Bipeslacertia diabolus reditius – “Devolved Ones” (Inhabitants of the Nameless City – HP Lovecraft/Faction Paradox)

Subspecies (Silurian)

Bipeslacertia homines malus – Serad-dur (Serad-dur)

“Scholar” Caste

Bipeslacertia homines augurius – Fair Folk (Fair Folk- The Shadows of Avalon)

Bipeslacertia homines sapentia – “Senior” Silurians (Chibnall’s original classic style redesign – Cold Blood)

Bipeslacertia homines rostrata – “Middle” Silurians (Warriors of the Deep Silurians)

Bipeslacertia homines gravius – “Horned Kindred” (Bulky Horned Herbivorous Silurians – TM A Morphology)

Bipeslacertia homines labia – “Early” Silurians (Original Classic Who Silurians)

Bipeslacertia homines venefica – The Silurians from the 30th Anniversary Calendar

“Warrior” Caste (Alternatively “Hunter” Caste)

Bipeslacertia homines anguis – “Junior” Silurians (Silurian Hunters – Supremacy of the Cybermen)

Bipeslacertia homines sapiens – “Late” Silurians (New Who Silurians)

Bipeslacertia homines facultatem – “Alternative Future” Silurians (Rubathon Blue)

Notes

Bipeslacertia vehemenus is considered by the Reptilian Kindred to be an ancestor species and not part of the ‘Reptilian Kindred’ themselves, it is however considered to be in the same genus biologically.

Bipeslacertia volans mortuus was the earliest sapient subspecies to diverge from the Reptilian Kindred and the first to develop a civilisation, but was however rendered extinct by the Wyrm (Alongside the Wyrm mutated Bipeslacertia volans malakhi)

The Reptilian Kindred consider themselves to have five extant ‘Classes/Castes’

Sea Devil

Scholar

Warrior

Winged Kindred

Serad-Dur

And do not consider any greater subgroupings such as the ‘Silurian/Sea Devil two species grouping’ or the ‘Scholar/Warrior single species hypothesis’ as valid, from their perspective, the five main classes are considered the maximal groupings of Reptilian Kindred outside of the sole group that includes all of them, with the term ‘Silurian’ (Alternatively Earth Reptile or Saurian) being used to refer to all five rather than just the Scholar and Warrior castes.

The original Reptilian Kindred diverged from the ancestor of the Helodermatidae family of venomous lizards in the late Cretaceous, with the Bipeslacertia genus itself diverging from the rest of the family with the origin of its bipedal stance in the early Paleocene, just after the KT Extinction Event.

Most accounts of Reptilian Kindred-Dinosaur cohabitation are either later palimpsests (The Reptilian Kindred were a time active power during the Time Wars era, with an individual of Bipeslacertia homines sapiens appearing in the Alliance of Races alongside Rassilon) or instances of Reptilian Kindred bioengineering in the Eocene and Oligocene rather than true Jurassic-Cretaceous era native Reptilian Kindred species.

Their technological civilisation emerged in the Eocene, after the divergence between the “Scholar” and “Warrior” castes of Silurians but before full speciation.

Their full classification is

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Squamata

(Potential Clade: Toxicofera)

Suborder: Anguimorpha

Infraorder: Neoanguimorpha

Clade: Monstersauria

Family: Bipeslacertidae

Genus: Bipeslacertia

The emergence order of distinct subspecies was as follows

Cretaceous (145-65 mya)

Split of Bipeslacertidae from Helodermatidae

Paleocene (65-56 mya)

Bipeslacertia splits from the rest of the (extinct) Bipeslacertiadae genera, they are separately characterised by their bipedal stance as opposed to other lizard species.

Spilt of ancestor species from the rest of Bipeslacertia

Bipeslacertia volans splits from the rest of Bipeslacertia

The Zori split from Bipeslacertia volans before the full development of wings

Silurian-Sea Devil Split

“Paleocenes” split from Bipeslacertia volans, “Paleocene” civilisation forms (mostly) above the clouds.

“Paleocene” extinction at the hands of the Wyrm

Reptilian Kindred Civilisations first form.

Extinction of ancestor species

Eocene (56-34 mya)

Serad-Dur split from Silurians

“Early” and “Late” Sea Devils Split

Scholar-Warrior Split, emergence of Scholar Third Eye

Reptilian Kindred Civilisation reaches technological level

Fair Folk Split after Silurians are transported to Avalon

Oligocene (34-23 mya)

“Senior Silurians” split from Scholar caste

 Scholar Caste splits into “Early” and “Middle” Silurians

The Inhabitants of the Nameless City split from the “Early” Sea Devils and devolve, eventually disappearing entirely under the shallow seas of north Africa.

 “Junior” and “Late” Silurians split

Miocene (23-5.3 mya)

Speciation begins to slow down due to civilisation technological advancement

Reptilian Kindred civilisation enters hibernation due to disaster (Either the newest Moon or a planetoid close passage unrelated to the Moon)

Pliocene (5.3-2.6 mya)

Various apes modified and bred by the Reptilian Kindred begin to develop to fill the ecological niche left by the Reptilian Kindred’s hibernation.

Pleistocene (2.6 mya – 11,700 ya)

Evolution of Homo Sapien Sapiens (humans).

Holocene (11,700 ya – 1712)

Various sporadic reawakenings that are almost always killed off by the newly developed humans.

1500 BCE – Atlantis is destroyed, the Nameless City is forced above the ocean in Africa and the inhabitants are rendered (mostly) extinct

Anthropocene (1712 – 500,000 yf)

2023 AD – The origin era of Rubathon Blue of the Fifty Second Hemisphere Hatchlings in an alternative future

(22nd Century) Reptilian Kindred civilisation reawakens and is forced to cohabitate the planet with the human civilisation.

Relinquecene (500,000 yf – 2 myf)

Reptilian Kindred and humanity mostly abandon Earth for the first significant geological time (Previous abandonments had happened temporarily for much shorter timespans), whilst they would make sporadic returns, from this point onwards the Earth was allowed to evolutionarily develop without its previous intelligent species. (This is when the Haemovores evolve)

Perdicene (2 myf – 10 myf)

Earth was lost, and began being known by different names including Ravalox, Orphan 55 and Tellus. This is the point in which the Reptilian Kindred became no longer tied to Earth as a homeworld beyond as a cultural factoid (Unlike humanity who consistently returned and remained conceptually tied to it until its destruction in 10 myf and the start of the Posthuman era).

This document for the most part, only covers the Extant subspecies of Reptilian Kindred and does not account for the unknown species and subspecies that went extinct prior to the Anthropocene (nor the other extinct Bipeslacertiadae genera) with the exception of Bipeslacertia vehemenus, identified only due to Vastra’s devolution into one during ‘The Evolution Episode’ due to exposure to temporal radiation, Bipeslacertia volans mortuus, an early intelligent extinct species documented by Bernice Summerfield and Peter Summerfield and Bipeslacertia homines facultatem caused by the Fifteenth Doctor’s alterations to the evolutionary history of the Earth.

The Mondasian Parallel Evolution species (The Lizard Kings or Bipeslacertia homines abastrius and Sea Kings or Bipeslacertia diabolus abastrius) which were documented by both the Homo Sapien contra (Mondasians) and the Mondasian Cybermen are considered to be parallel evolutionary counterparts of their Earth twins and aren’t included, it is speculated their evolutionary tree is identical to that of Earth’s.

Despite being considered distinct castes by the Reptilian Kindred, the ‘Early’ Sea Devils (The Sea Devils), the ‘Middle’ Sea Devils (Warriors of the Deep) and the ‘Late’ Sea Devils (Legend of the Sea Devils) are considered to all be local or climate variations of the same subspecies of Sea Devil, Bipeslacertia diabolus sicuturtus.

I basically ignored most direct years given in DWU sources when doing this in favour of trying to work out something that conceptually made the most sense (IMO). Since DWU sources give Silurian origin or even civilisation years as far back as 450 mya, in the Ordovician, Pre-Reptiles, which is not conducive to trying to actually do speculative biology with, and the less said about 'They predate complex life entirely' the better.

I went with Eocene - Miocene because references to the Dinosaurs can always have been post-Cretaceous genetic engineering stuff (They have the tech) but references to "apes" should be theoretically constrained to early human evolution in the Miocene and Pliocene, and the idea that the Silurians existed for the entirety of the Ordovician, Silurian, Devonian, Carboniferous, Permian, Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleocene, Eocene, Oligocene and Miocene was... kinda ridiculous IMO for this exercise.

Subspecies Visualisation

Bipeslacertia vehemenus – Primitive Ancestor (Primitive Ancestor)

Subspecies (Winged Kindred)

Bipeslacertia volans mortuus – “Paleocenes” (Winged Species – Adolescence of Time)

Bipeslacertia volans malakhi – Wyrm Callers (Wyrm infected Paleocenes)

[No visualisation]

Bipeslacertia volans vivus – Luadans (TM: A Morphology/Reign of the Reptiles)

But the wreck, first seen from the air by a migratory tribe of the flying kindred en route from the tropical swelter of the Oriental Archipelago to the temperate climes of the Austral Spur, had confirmed to the profile of no known vessel from any of the saurian kindred, and Morrahaurm had been the only specialist available. And so, with many misgivings, she had embarked.

(Winged Kindred - The Book of the Enemy)

The globe was held by a creature like a mythical devil incarnate! Its oily green, needle-fanged head hovered just above the luminous sphere, the hellish red eyes darting from side to side in search of the intruder; and where the shoulders should have been were hunched lumps that made the man think of folded wings. The body and shuffling feet were invisible; the claws appeared in silhouette on the surface of the globe that the monstrosity held before it. A little it resembled a gigantic lizard, and the fanged snout, if not the same one, was at least practically identical with the one Sanders had seen in the room of horror. Only now it had lost its super- natural and diabolical aspect, appearing still hideous but only in a reptilian, scaled way. It propelled itself on hissing, leathery wings, and its sinuous body was clad in a blue, silken robe. About its ugly brow was a jewelled diadem; its claws were alight with jewels.

(Luadans - Reign of the Reptiles)

Bipeslacertia volans aurori – Zori (Reign of the Reptiles/Revelry of the Redacted)

He was a Zori, a subspecies of the Reptilian Kindred with vestigial wings on their backs that were useless on Earth, but perfectly adapted to low- gravity environments.

Revelry of the Redacted (The Book of the Snowstorm)

Subspecies (Sea Devil)

Bipeslacertia diabolus sicutsimiae – Late Sea Devils (Comic Sea Devils)

Bipeslacertia diabolus sicuturtus – Early Sea Devils (Normal Sea Devils)

Bipeslacertia diabolus reditius – “Devolved Ones” (Inhabitants of the Nameless City – HP Lovecraft/Faction Paradox)

They were of the reptile kind, with body lines suggesting sometimes the crocodile, sometimes the seal, but more often nothing of which either the naturalist or the palaeontologist ever heard. In size they approximated a small man, and their fore-legs bore delicate and evident feet curiously like human hands and fingers. But strangest of all were their heads, which presented a contour violating all know biological principles. To nothing can such things be well compared - in one flash I thought of comparisons as varied as the cat, the bullfrog, the mythic Satyr, and the human being. Not Jove himself had had so colossal and protuberant a forehead, yet the horns and the noselessness and the alligator-like jaw placed things outside all established categories.

Subspecies (Silurian)

Bipeslacertia homines malus – Serad-dur (Serad-dur)

“Scholar” Caste

Bipeslacertia homines augurius – Fair Folk (Fair Folk- The Shadows of Avalon)

[No Specific Description]

Bipeslacertia homines sapentia – “Senior” Silurians (Chibnall’s original classic style redesign – Cold Blood)

Bipeslacertia homines rostrata – “Middle” Silurians (Warriors of the Deep Silurians)

Bipeslacertia homines gravius – “Horned Kindred” (Bulky Horned Herbivorous Silurians – A Morphology)

Her mass alone would have made Morrahaurm the most conspicuous individual on board, even without the horns and crest majestically adorning her high forehead. Among her own she was known as a beauty, a graceful dancer and no mean athlete: here she was simply a bulky, lumbering target.

(The Book of the Enemy)

Bipeslacertia homines labia – “Early” Silurians (Original Classic Who Silurians)

Bipeslacertia homines venefica – The Silurians from the 30th Anniversary Calendar

“Warrior” Caste (Alternatively “Hunter” Caste)

Bipeslacertia homines anguis – “Junior” Silurians (Silurian Hunters – Supremacy of the Cybermen)

Bipeslacertia homines sapiens – “Late” Silurians (New Who Silurians)

Bipeslacertia homines facultatem – “Alternative Future” Silurians (Rubathon Blue)

Notes on the Meta-history of Earth Reptiles

The natural evolution of most species on Earth was a by-product of the anchoring of the thread, when the Time Lords locked down the rational Universe and rewrote all of history to suit their new rules. In the pre anchoring Universe, humanity was created using Time Lord Looms by the Original Mammoths, a powerful, psychic and magical sapient species that rivalled the Time Lords in the pre-Universe.

Whilst we have pretty much no knowledge of the Silurians from that era, we do know that they were a Time Active power in the Alliance of Races during the Time Wars era, shortly after the anchoring. Implying some kind of time active power, which would explain their appearances in eras of Earth history predating the one in which they originally developed in the Time Lord dominated rational Universe. It is, however, also of note that the vast majority of other more recent (in Universe) accounts depict the Silurians as a mildly advanced mostly stagnant species with very little space travel capabilities most likely indicating at some point between Gallifrey’s ancient past and relative present that the Silurians time active civilisation was erased from history. It is possible they experienced some equivalent of the Ghost Point (The point in which humanity became culturally sterile and stopped meaningfully advancing as a civilisation) though more extreme as humanity was still able to traditionally, if not conceptually, advance whereas the Silurians grew complacent and stagnant for presumably millions of years.

It is of note that New Who consistently depicts the Silurians as both coexisting natively with Dinosaurs and knowing humanities Ape ancestors despite an ~60 million year gap between the two eras. There are numerous potential explanations for this including human evolution occurring over a much longer period in the DWU relative to real life, the effects of the Last Great Time War on the history of Earth, genetic engineering resurrection of Dinosaurs in the Eocene-Miocene and potentially Silurian related dates being actually in months rather than years.

[crispy-bonnie]

crispy's kombatober (pt 1)

day 1 - favorite character (smoke)

day 2 - alternate universe (frosted skies au)

day 3 - favorite intro (omni-man & homelander)

day 4 - the black dragon (kano ft. hikari)

day 5 - khaos reigns (havik's citadel)

day 6 - outfit swap (reptile & ashrah)

day 7 - design your own skin (smoke)

day 8 - the special forces (oia!kenshi ft. johnny)

day 10 - favorite ship (jonshi)

day 12 - crossover (mk1 x rain world)

[legend-mei]

Can this franchise just stop forcing these awful half-baked romances into the cast. They really changed Sektor and Cyrax to women and immediately had it be Sektor and Bi-Han are together and Kuai and Cyrax are exe's. Sektor is also just the most annoying character, the biggest Bi-Han d*ckrider ever. This game also randomly threw in Ashrah/Reptile, and the last game had Jade\Kotal. Even Raiden and Kitana feels lazy because Raiden and Lui Kang switched roles.

Then there's Emperor Rain and Empress Tanya kinda weird that we spend a chunk of time with these alternate versions. The dragon stuff with Tanya was cool tho, nice reference to Armageddon. Johnny cage was also annoying as fuck, like i was getting tired of every single line being a quip. A bunch of Shaolin are being slaughtered and he just throws in a cheesy Game Of Thrones Reference? Overall, Khaos Reigns seems to just exist to bring Noob into the new era but, what's exactly going to happen to Sub-Zero now that Bi-Han is noob and Kuai is Scorpion? Is Frost just going to be the main ice user now?

This was such a huge step down from Mk11 Aftermath. From what I hear, Dominic is the sole writer for Mk1. So either they need to let him go and stop writing for this franchise or add other writers into the room. It's just so sad I can't bring myself to care about Mortal Kombat lore anymore....

[evilbihan]

Kuai Liang is not "nice"

This is technically the second part of my character analysis for Kuai Liang, so be sure to check out the first part focusing on Kuai Liang's personality, goals and his relationship with his brothers and Harumi.

This part will focus on how Kuai Liang treats other characters and upon closer inspection, the image of the "sweet wholesome guy everyone adores" that the fandom crafted for him starts to crumble very quickly.

Kitana and Mileena:

Mileena: My bond with Kitana can't be broken. Scorpion: I'd once thought the same of mine with Bi-Han.

Why exactly is Kuai Liang trying to make Mileena doubt Kitana's loyalty to her? We have all seen Kitana's tower ending. She has gone out of her way to secure her sister's reign, she defends Mileena fiercely and is genuinely worried about her. It upsets her to see other members of the court conspiring against her sister. Kitana is nothing but loyal to Mileena, in a way Kuai Liang was never loyal to Bi-Han.

"I'm disappointed in my brother's decisions and therefore everyone else's siblings suck too." That's not a healthy or mature mindset. He's projecting his own family issues onto Mileena and Kitana, who actually share a wholesome bond, and tries to create distrust and dispute where there is none. And why? Out of jealousy? It's hard to tell, but this was uncalled for.

It's particularly awful because Kitana is actually trying to help fix Kuai Liang's relationship with his own brother while it seems Kuai Liang is trying to ruin hers with Mileena.

Kitana: You've broken Kuai Liang's heart. Sub-Zero: It won't be the only part of him I damage.

Kitana: I understand congratulations are in order. Scorpion: How did news of my marriage reach Outworld?

Kitana: Weapons. Soldiers. Whatever you -- Scorpion: I have all that I need to defeat Bi-Han.

She's also offering him her and Outworld's support and is really just being nice to him, yet he never once shows gratitude and even tries to plant doubts about her in her sister's mind behind her back.

Nitara:

Scorpion: If you would only feed on lower species -- Nitara: Humans are a lower species.

"Lower species"? What species exactly is Kuai Liang talking about here? What's his definition of a lower species? Tarkatans? Netherrealmers? One could assume he means animals, but then why doesn't he say so? Instead, he's using a term that's often used in f*cist language. Who or what he's referring to isn't specified either, but it's definitely a questionable choice of words regardless.

Let's be honest, the mindset that there's "lower species" that are not deserving of life, as Kuai Liang basically implies by claiming Nitara should feed on them instead, says quite a lot about the kind of person he is. No matter what he's speaking of here, I still think this is pretty fucked up from any standpoint, especially because Kuai Liang doesn't explicitly say that he's talking about animals.

This is just my opinion, but even if he were to "only" be talking about animals here, I think it's downright wrong to say any animals are a "lower species", given the fact that we very much depend on certain animals for our own survival. Even if we give Kuai Liang the benefit of the doubt, he still sounds incredibly uneducated and ignorant. To not value the life of other creatures is not a good look on him, but then again we've seen how much he values his own brother's life so the bar is quite literally in hell.

Raiden:

Scorpion: Liu Kang's revelation has shaken my faith in him. Raiden: Understandable, given what he chose to hide.

Reptile: Am I right to put faith in Liu Kang? Scorpion: He's always proven worthy of mine.

Oh, has he now?

Kuai Liang is beginning to sound two-faced. He's certainly not conflicted because he still continues to follow Liu Kang and advices others to do the same. He also doesn't openly criticize or doubt Liu Kang like Tomáš and Bi-Han do. But he himself has lost some of his faith in Liu Kang, yet he judges Bi-Han for having done the same thing? Where does any of that make sense?

Bi-Han:

Scorpion: You would shed your brother's blood? Sub-Zero: Because you choose to stand in my way.

The first blood shed was Bi-Han's, not Kuai Liang's, but because Bi-Han doesn't bear a visible scar, no one acknowledges that.

Kuai Liang is once again showing manipulative behavior here. Blaming everything on his brother and pretending he did nothing wrong. Guilt tripping Bi-Han for something he himself has done.

Kuai Liang's actions are not even the biggest problem here. You can somehow justify what he did with him being hurt/angry when he found out about the true circumstances of his father's death. It's the fact that he refuses to take any responsibility for what he did and acts completely innocent although he's anything but, that shows he's not who the fandom makes him out to be.

Even Bi-Han stands by what he does. Kuai Liang can't even own up to his actions.

Liu Kang:

Liu Kang: You allow vengeance to consume you. Scorpion: I should not punish Bi-Han for his crimes?

So, Liu Kang seems concerned with Kuai Liang's thirst for vengeance. What's even more noteworthy is that we have Kuai Liang, a mortal, speak to Liu Kang, a literal god, about punishing someone else as if he's entitled to do so? Should it not be up to Liu Kang to decide whether Bi-Han deserves forgiveness or punishment? Do we need to add a god complex to the list of Kuai Liang's flaws?

There's nothing honorable about vengeance. It's honorable to be the bigger person and to forgive.

As Chinese philosopher Confucius said:

“Love thy neighbour as thyself: Do not do to others what thou wouldst not wish be done to thyself: Forgive injuries. Forgive thy enemy, be reconciled to him, give him assistance, invoke God in his behalf.”

Kuai Liang has none of that honor he claims to value.

Tanya:

Tanya: Liu Kang says we can trust you. Kuai Liang: As long as Outworld's goals don't conflict with Earthrealm's.

Let me translate it: "No, you can't. I'll stop being a reliable ally and might betray you as soon as our interests no longer align." Which is fair enough, he doesn't owe Outworld his loyalty. It's, however, funny that that's exactly what Bi-Han did with Liu Kang/Earthrealm too, but for some reason Kuai Liang is still delusional enough to think he's a more honorable man than his brother?

Kung Lao:

Kung Lao: I bet I could be Shirai Ryu. Scorpion: First, you must learn humility.

Also Scorpion:

Ashrah: I'd do well to follow your example. Scorpion: Then start by studying my kombat.

Quan Chi: Your brother told me of all your weaknesses. Scorpion: A short conversation, sorcerer?

Kuai Liang is a hypocrite who doesn't practice what he preaches. These are just two of many dialogues in which he comes off as overly confident and boastful. He will try to force his own values and ideals onto others but will not uphold them himself. These dialogues are not even the only example of his hypocrisy, but more of that to come later.

Smoke and the Shaolin monks:

Scorpion: Was it worth it, training with the Shaolin? Smoke: Let me show you what I learned.

Yet another example for Kuai Liang's arrogance. "Was it worth it?" What's that even supposed to mean? Admittedly, this might not sound as bad compared to everything else he's said but I invite you to go and listen to this specific intro and pay attention to the tone of his voice. To me, it very much sounds like, as a former Lin Kuei, he thinks there's nothing the monks can teach him and Tomáš anymore and therefore he sees training with them as a waste of time. Overall, Kuai Liang seems to hold little respect for his allies. He might not outright say it, but there's definitely a superiority complex there.

Johnny:

Scorpion: Your mansion was unduly extravagant. Johnny Cage: It came with the megastardom. Package deal.

What gives Kuai Liang the right to judge Johnny for what he does with his money that he's earned from his movies? Judging people and acting like he has the moral high ground over them in any situation is something Kuai Liang does a lot. That alone might not automatically make him a bad person, but it's tasteless and impolite nonetheless.

Johnny Cage: With your skills you'd be a hit, Kuai Liang. Scorpion: Do I look like an entertainer?

Again, if you listen to the actual intro, the distaste in his voice is obvious. He seems to not have much respect for Johnny's profession or for most of his allies' professions, really. Remember his reaction to Tomáš training with the Shaolin monks?

Rain:

Scorpion: Like a dog, you bit the hand that fed you. Rain: You've no right to judge me, Earthrealmer.

He doesn't -- because did Kuai Liang not do the same to Bi-Han? It doesn't matter that Bi-Han chose the wrong side, Kuai Liang's oath was to his grandmaster, not to Earthrealm. Bi-Han broke his oath to Earthrealm and by breaking his own oath to his brother, Kuai Liang is no better. And as I already explained in the first part of my analysis, Kuai Liang always meant to overthrow Bi-Han, even before Bi-Han abandoned his duties to defend Earthrealm. Bi-Han gave in to corruption and became a traitor, Kuai Liang was always a traitor in disguise. Kuai Liang is yet again being a hypocrite in this situation and displays double standards.

Kenshi:

Scorpion: Do not let Sento become a crutch. Kenshi: I could win this fight with or without it.

Does anyone else think this comment sounds a lot like ableism? Who is he to tell a disabled man how to handle his disability? Kenshi is a badass, he's proven that countless of times and he doesn't need Kuai Liang's advice, but Kuai Liang has a habit of acting like he knows better than others.

Bi-Han (again):

Shang Tsung: It was all too simple, pulling your brother's strings. Kuai Liang: It sickens me that he was so easily exploited.

Bi-Han fell victim to Shang Tsung's manipulation, yet here Kuai Liang is, blaming the victim. Meanwhile, Tomáš:

Smoke: I rue the day I ever met you. Quan Chi: No sense dwelling on the past, Tomáš.

Tomáš regrets ever meeting the sorcerers because he rightfully blames the people responsible for this whole mess, Shang Tsung and Quan Chi, not Bi-Han. Kuai Liang is miles away from the same level of emotional maturity Tomáš has.

Scorpion: "Bi-Han's trail has led me to Sun Do." Li Mei: "I'll abide no vigilante justice, Kuai Liang."

Scorpion: If you know where he is, tell me. General Shao: As if I would spill your brother's secrets.

Scorpion: I need help to find Bi-Han. Johnny Cage: Y'know I was only a TV detective, right?

Kuai Liang is making his own family feud everyone else's problem.

SPOILERS: At the same time, when Bi-Han will crash Kuai Liang's wedding in the dlc according to leaks, Kuai Liang will "apologize" to those who attended that they got dragged into his war with Bi-Han, once again painting his brother as the villain. Could he be any more duplicitous? I think the main reason why Smoke is not mentioned in any leaks is because the writers might deliberately not want him to be there because the way Kuai Liang acts (wanting to kill Frost, leaving Bi-Han to suffer and die) would go against everything Tomáš believes in and they can't have someone make Scorpion look bad, so they decided to just have Tomáš not be there at all. If that doesn't say it all, I don't know what will.

Kuai Liang:

Scorpion: I won't be consumed by vengeance. Scorpion: How can your father's death not burn you.

You know it's bad when your own alternate self starts judging you and criticizing your ways.

Geras:

Scorpion: I want to see the moment my father died. Geras: You are not ready to receive that knowledge.

I wonder why Geras denied Kuai Liang's request. Is he concerned that actually witnessing the event will make Kuai Liang lose his mind completely and he will make even more of an effort to kill Bi-Han? He surely seems to think Kuai Liang is too unstable to receive that information. But then again, Kuai Liang already wants to kill Bi-Han, he already tried to do it and he already knows what happened. When will he be ready in Geras' opinion? Once he already forgave Bi-Han (which seems like it won't happen at all)? Would that not just reignite his old hatred? Could it be that there's more to the death of Kuai Liang's father than we know? Is there something Geras is trying to hide from Kuai Liang on purpose?

Ashrah:

Ashrah: Bi-Han can be redeemed. Scorpion: I don't see how that's possible.

It sounds a lot like Kuai Liang doesn't want it to be possible. He wants to deny his brother a chance at redemption. He's also once again acting like he knows better than everyone else. It's getting to the point where he seems self-righteous and out of touch with reality.

So, tell me again, after all that, why are we calling Kuai Liang a nice guy?

To conclude this, Kuai Liang only appears "nice" in direct comparison to Bi-Han, not necessarily because he's a better person, he's just the more agreeable one of the two. Take Bi-Han out of the picture and it's plain to see Kuai Liang is really not that nice. I also don't see how Kuai Liang is the poor, traumatized victim that never did anything wrong in his life, as fans like to describe him as. Yes, he suffered as well, but victims can also become aggressors. There are plenty of situations in which that's the case for Kuai Liang. Again, this is not hate or an attempt to completely demonize him, just to show that the fandom has a wrong idea of who Kuai Liang is and what he's like.

[draconic-absurdism]

DESPERATE MEASURES

Story below the cut

An image of a doorway flutters in hir mind as ze shimmies upward ever further, nearing the flattening of the smooth linoleum pane, nearly teetering off the edge. And as hir vision blurs again, surely ze will fall. The wall, crisp and cold, audibly clacks, a desperate grasping with useless hooven fingers, tinged with a pulling at hir fuzzy chest as ze slides hirself up. There's no railing, nothing to grip.

Falling wouldn't be so bad, really. It never is, here in this place. Clouds roll on and on. It's comforting, almost, breaking barriers that, in a sense, are physically impossible, over and over again. To rely on something that contradicts nature. Or is it that nature itself is contradictory?

But ze's never made it quite this far before. As hir fingers crest the corner, ze pulls hirself up, slipping a final time before maneuvering one hoof onto flat land. But as ze huffs in relief, the image flickers again, and hir heart recoils into itself in horror as it realizes the door ze pictures has no stairway leading up, no clouds, no bluish tinge left to the sky. This is all wrong. How hadn't I realized?

Maybe this isn't the end of the path. But ze manages to arch hir head back far enough to get a glimpse up at the endless vertical stretch of the architecture, absurd in its scale, vanishing up into a single point in space beyond a layer of clouds so far up that they may as well have been pixels on a screen, and ze sees that this is indeed the wrong place and the wrong time.

I'm going to give up again. I'm going to stop trying again. It wasn't so bad in the water, floating around on the surface but never really breaking through. But even as ze mutters to hirself, the truth of the matter has already been decided, and bile rises in hir throat as ze realizes that an attempt at something so futile as this may not be worthwhile. Or maybe it is. Either way, in the end, you find that despite how gratingly alone you may feel, you aren't in solitude nearly as often as you think you are.

"Come up with me." The voice isn't startling. It's always a new one, but it says the same thing. It's the tone that really gets to hir. Sometimes sincere and sometimes otherwise, not like ze can ever tell the difference regardless.

"No," ze retorts, letting one hoof slip back down the slope.

The creature's slit eyes open up in what appears to be genuine surprise. "Oh."

"You can't help me. I'm in the wrong place."

"I don't think so."

'You don't get to tell me if I am or not."

"That's true...."

It's a nonsense conversation, the dragon lacking the entirety of context surrounding the boar's circumstances. Even if the discussion persisted for quite a while, it wouldn't understand beyond what is mostly universal, would it? But to say anything actually true to hirself would be to risk a level of vulnerability that ze's never quite known how to reign in. If it was called small talk, why did it always feel like hir lungs were set ablaze? A surface tension that can't be broken.

"...I can take you back down, then. So you don't have to fall, at least."

The offer almost makes hir laugh. Almost. "Frankly, I'd rather you just eat me at this point."

"Sure." It opens its maw.

The boar is genuinely surprised to have met someone who picks up on jokes even less often than hirself. Ze goes to scratch hir chin before realizing with a start that ze's still in a rather precarious situation, straightening up hir spine and smooshing her chest back up against the wall.

At some point in the moment of silence that follows, the dragon realizes its mistake and snaps its jaws shut with an audible clack. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry."

This time, the boar really does laugh. "You're fine."

Though the massive reptile's neck quickly disappears into a thick layer of fluffy white cumulus clouds, most of its body completely out of view, the boar gets the sense that its claws are shuffling uncomfortably in the grass so far below. The silence flows through both of their lungs on the next inhale, and the boar scoots up to stand along the edge of the flat plane, where there's a bit more room to shift around.

"I like the sound your hooves make," the dragon huffs.

"Oh, thanks. I liked the click of your teeth."

"Thanks."

There's another ten seconds or so of silence, and the shifting of the beast's claws grows slightly audible. But at least to the boar, it's not an uncomfortable silence, not really. Something about this thing in all its absurdity, its sheer size, the sharpness of its bladed face juxtaposed with its awkward expression, its fangs that jut out and give it a bit of a lisp, is really likable.

"I'm afraid that I like you." Why did I say that? What a stupid thing to say. You don't just tell people you like them. I wish you could.

"You don't have to be afraid of something like that," the dragon replies. This answer, while comforting, isn't convincing.

"I definitely do."

"You don't scare me."

"I'm not scary. I just like people a lot, but I'm not really good at showing it. I haven't had that many friends before, so I don't know how it works. I don't know how to connect with people, I don't know what I'm meant to say most of the time. Every version of myself that I've been before this very moment has been masked by some sort of complacency, some sort of veil of attempted normalcy that plagued me so deeply that I'd lost myself. And now I'm unpacking all these feelings I'd been trained to veil, and I don't know what to do with them. I'm not trying to complain or sound pathetic, it's not a self-pitying thing. I honestly like myself quite a bit, I just don't think I'm equipped for any of the situations I find myself in. I don't feel like the reality I was born into is one I can navigate so easily."

"Despite that, you've survived," says the dragon. "Though, you're kind of holding yourself back, don't you think?"

"Maybe so." I think of it just then, I think of what I have to do. It's the only way, really. Something I'd often been too stuck in my own head to ever really consider, and even on the rare occasion that I had, it didn't work out right. But the only way to find out if this time would be different is to try, and so I do. "Would you like to go sit on a rock with me somewhere?"

"A rock?"

"Yeah. Like, granite or something."

"I would love to. But um." The dragon shifts once more, this time with a bit more purpose as it leans in toward the boar. "I would still have to carry you. To get anywhere that has rocks, I mean."

"Oh." Ze hadn't really considered that, but the possibility of lounging in a dark enclosed space for a while was indeed enticing. "Yeah, that works."

"Anywhere that has rocks?"

"Anywhere that has rocks, yeah. Like a river or a forest or anything is fine, as long as we can both sit comfortably." The boar steps forward, a little cue that ze hopes might prompt the dragon, once again, to open up. Ze supposes its silly to rely on such things at this point. This, clearly, isn't someone who communicates through that muddling series of subtleties, a song and dance for which ze hadn't ever been quite able to get the footwork down, and yet would still attempt at times for the sake of acting as some sort of social chameleon.

It takes a second for the cue to click, or maybe the dragon is just unsure what to do with the near complete freedom of location. Eventually, it realizes it's time to go and opens its maw back up, and for the first time, the boar is able to see what's inside. To really see what's inside. Teal-green flesh and gums, metallic and slightly glittery in texture, accented pale minty green razor sharp teeth. A few are messy and chipped. And with that, the surface tension is broken, and the fluid of the beasts tongue engulfs hir, the wetness seeping into hir fur fully, not simply bouncing off. At first the sensation, alien and new, is unpleasant, and as ze squishes up against the beasts tongue as it closes its jaws around hir, ze shifts along the muscle and adjusts until a pattern settles. The grumbling of the great beast's throat as it lifts off. The relief of no longer teetering on that ledge as ze had so many times before. The fear that this might not last, that any expression of seeking longevity could come off as a bit too much for someone ze'd just met.

Though they hadn't just met, really, as ze recalled all the times before that the dragon had perched along that very ledge. Had it been the same one? Sometimes, probably. Not every time. This didn't really feel new, but it certainly felt more comfortable than times prior. Perhaps to credit this change to the dragon wasn't quite right. Perhaps it was hir own willingness to be vulnerable and ask the risky questions that rewarded hir with an experience that, while not new, didn't feel so scary this time. It feels stupid to admit that to myself in a way. I'd known all along that this would yield better results, so why, pray tell, was I so terrified? Why am I still so terrified?

Hir stomach drops as the beast's wings flap and it picks up speed, soaring through the endless sky, but its head stays mostly steady. And just as hir eyes begin to adjust to the darkness and the ridges along the roof of its mouth gleam a deep emerald jewel tone through the blackness, a beam of light shoots in with a gush of cold wind. The beast's teeth crack open just a bit, just enough to let the clouds enter its mouth and fill the space with dense fog, drenching hir in mist, the heat of the beast's body and the frost of the outside air swirling as one force of nature. The sensation reels through hir, and ze shudders as the beast's taste buds run along hir forearms. After it begins to run a bit cold, the teeth clack shut once again and dark warmth falls in again, that clicking sound of the sets of bones interlocking tingling in hir ears.

Something profound occurs to hir almost every day, it seems, and yet such things make progress only towards goals intangible to others. Something that lives in hir head and slams on a pane of glass and begs to be heard, but out loud it just sits there staring and waiting for an opportunity, waiting to be served something on a platter that isn't coming.

"I've known you for a long time, I think. I love you," says the boar. "I just want to tell you that, in case things go wrong somewhere down the line. I want you to know that, at least now, in this moment, I love you."

The dragon tries to respond, but finds that moving its tongue jostles the boar far too much, so it resorts simply to hugging the tiny creature with its tongue, curling each side up around hir body as a warm, wet blanket.

The silence is welcome this time.

[sinimake]

MK1 is such a bizarre experience bc on one hand some characters have benefited a lot from the "universe reset" (Baraka, Reptile, even arguably Shao who is less than a muahahaha conquer villain but someone who actually seems to care about his realm?). Others kind of raise interesting questions, like Shang Tsung : is he doomed to be bad or can he be good for a change? (In the story he choses to become a snake-oil salesman before joining the imperial family + there is an Union of Light Shang Tsung so him being good is a thing that could happen).

But then, instead of using that full reset NRS just leaves some things the same? Like. It's a reset. In 2023/2023. That was the perfect moment for implementing some (maybe not lots) changes. Perhaps starting making Johnny canonically bi? Just a small ripple towards a bigger change? Instead of getting stuck in same old ways?

YOW EXACTLY

Things i loved about Mk1 change:

Mileena and Kitana sibling relationship

Rain's character design

Tanya and Mileena!!!!

Sindel being badass empress and outworld thriving in peace under her reign

Baraka and Syzoth on the good side!!

Kenshi's yakuza past

Geras and Liu Kang's friendship! Liu Kang actually treating Geras as his equal 🥺 and Geras being so loyal to him 😫😭

Shang Tsung's zitsy behavior

Lin Kuei brothers 🥺

What i hate:

Hanzo being a kid and essentially everything about him being handed to Kuai Liang

Kung Lao being the second best again

Raiden and Kitana romance

Mileena and Tanya having the barest screen time

Controversial opinionated rant down below

I hated that they essentially just switched Liu Kang and Raiden's places. I started MK1 right after MK11 that i was furious to see Raiden chosen as the champion (IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN MY BOY KUNG LAO LET HIM SHINE ISTG) and then flirting with Kitana with Liu Kang's exact line (I hope we meet again under different circumstances)??? Tf??

I understand that some plot elements are too good to change but character romances? Don't replace one side of the pairing, then try to serve it to the audience again! Reboot should give us more variety of character designs, stories, dynamics, and relationships. Give us the genderbent, queer, poc characters BC YOU'RE NOT EVEN SACRIFICING ANYTHING when we literally have infinite alternative timelines you can recall classics from. For example, we have our human Raiden and old man titan Raiden. We can do variety. I wanna see female Fujin, i wanna see Scorpion Harumi and fighter Suchin, i want actual deserved queer representation in Kung Jin, and i. wanna. see. canon Johnshi!

My hypothesis is that NRS is gonna bring in mk children through dimensional travel so that they don't need to age up our current characters. I'm saying this to push my point further that we don't need to repeat romance plotlines (dont come at me. I have bais just as you have bais for ur fav old pairings)

Listen, i loved Sonya and Johnny in previous games, her and Cassie were a huge part of Johnny's character arc, but since Johnny is already maturing by the end of mk1, i don't see a point in Cageblade anymore (very controversial but it's my blog so i will yap as much as i want) We are not erasing anything by possibly making Johnny queer. Johnny and Sonya can be married in different timeline and Cassie is still their child. If anything, we are enriching the character, expanding the universe. Really, I don't wanna buy the exact same game story in different graphics. I don't want to see Suchin die again just to serve Kenshi and Takeda's dynamic.

And don't even get me started again on heteronormality of the game. We have 6 realms that have diverse variety of biological and sociological configurations AND YOU'RE TELLING ME THEY ARE ALL HETEROSEXUAL?? NRS is a fucking pussy for not having enough queer representation. They think they can give us vague "blink, you will miss it" moments and move on. There are so many high selling good games with good lgbtq characters. Literal 2023's the game of the year, BG3 is so fucking gay that it's off to space and you're telling me that NRS is just going 🥺👉👈 but our fans 🥺👉👈

Anyways, NRS can eat shit and Johnshi for the president 🤘

[starboltz]

Since a new TADC teaser came out, I really wanted to do an analysis of this post by gooseworx.

To start off with, in the quick flash of new characters we see in the trailer, 3 of them are seen in the teaser image - those being the cowgirl ghost, the candy princess, and the bubble man. The only character we don't see is the frog-looking character.

While not obvious by the reflection, the round part of the ghosts head is likely a hat, as seen in the teaser on the cowgirl ghost. I am fairly sure that both of these ghosts are the same character based on the dress silhouette of the reflection, and the design of the upper body of the ghost in the teaser. (If I am wrong about the ghost's gender and/or pronouns, I will edit this post.) I find it incredibly interesting that this is the most humanistic character yet on TADC.

The next character, the candy princess, has a silhouette that is very easy to match to the reflection. The only major difference is that her gloves and upper part of her skirt are a darker pink, but that could be due to lighting. She is very likely the princess of Candy Canyon Kingdom. If not, she's definitely royalty of some sort because of her crown. I did see a few people think that she was going to be similar to a betty spaghetti toy, but now that we see her in her natural setting, it seems like her arms are more like cake pops. The rest of her body seems to be a neat amalgamation of cake and other candies.

I don't have much to say about the bubble man, other than he appears to be a customer at Spudsy's - where Jax is being forced to work for minimum wage. If you look closely, you can see Jax's reflection in the bubble man's face. His (or it's? again if I'm wrong I'll change it later) reflection counterpart is a much darker blue, which again could be lighting, but it could also mean that other customers at Spudsy's are bubble people. (Also I love how Spudsy's is a ripoff/homage of McDonald's, hopefully it'll make for some good satire of the fast food industry).

While we don't see the frog character from Gooseworx' teaser image, a lot of people theorized that it is some sort of gummy frog or reptile, which makes sense when it comes to one of the other characters announced in the teaser trailer.

The gummy gator appears to be in the Candy Canyon Kingdom, and looks to be some sort of cowboy or guide. He has a white belly similar to the frog, which is why I think they exist in the same storyline/location. Something hard to see in the trailer is that he starts fading to green from yellow around his shoulders. It's hard to tell what he's holding, but it's very possible it is reigns.

Another character from Candy Canyon Kingdom is the chocolate ooze monster, who looks similar in style to the gloink queen. I love the details of candy corn teeth and jawbreaker eyes. It's difficult to tell if this will be the big boss of Candy Canyon Kingdom, or just an obstacle for the TADC crew.

A fourth character from the Candy Canyon Kingdom is revealed in the teaser, and that is the periwinkle drawing mannequin. It seems to be the only character from the CCK that is not made of candy, which leads to some questions. In the teaser it is screaming its head off, so it's likely it is running from the chocolate ooze monster.

Going back to the cowgirl ghost, another cute little ghost appears. It doesn't really have any defining features other than its puppy-like face, but its a ghost, so it works. This is the only other character in the western ghost town story revealed in the teaser. Though the gummy gator looks like a cowboy, I think the ghosts appear in a different location from the Candy Canyon Kingdom.

The last character I haven't talked about is the tape recorder. It doesn't really look like an animate character, but if TADC has taught me anything, inanimate objects can always become animate characters. It's hard to tell what storyline it's from, but based on the lighting, it's from the western ghost town storyline. One of the most unnerving things about it is that it is one of the most realistic looking characters in the entire show.

Overall, 4 characters were revealed for the Candy Canyon Kingdom storyline, 3(ish) characters for the western ghost town storyline, and 1 character for the Spudsy's storyline. I personally don't think all of these storylines and characters will appear in the same episodes, unless the TADC crew is split up like in ep 1. The Candy Canyon Kingdom and the Spudsy's storylines definitely don't, because Jax can be seen in the wagon, along with (at least) Pomni, Gangle, and Kinger, in the large image shot of CCK in the teaser. (I have no clue what kind of gummy animal is pulling the wagon.)

I also wanted to briefly talk about the unfinished location that Caine showed in the teaser. My first thought was that it was a baseball stadium, but after further inspection the field seems a bit off to be a baseball field. Regardless it definitely is set up to be a performance space, whether it be a theatre or arena of sorts. From the design, I don't think it connects to the other locations revealed in the trailer.

If you've made it this far, thanks for reading my theories on this teaser! If you have any thoughts, please comment or reblog to let me know!

[kombatkid]

Animalities are back!

I’ve already raved about them but I thought I should compile all the ones shown so far…

Confirmed animalities:

Mileena - Mantis

Smoke - 🦍

Kitana - Hummingbird

Takeda - Octopus 🐙

Sektor - Rhino 🦏

Cyrax - Wasp 🐝

Noob Saibot - Crocodile 🐊

Reptile - Venus Flytrap (no idea why)

Johnny Cage - Shark 🦈

Homelander - Griffin

Omni Man - Kaiju

General Shao - Bear 🐻

Reiko - Ram 🐏

Peacemaker - Eagle 🦅 (for obvious reasons)

Rain - Blowfish 🐡

Sindel - Spider 🕷️

Kenshi - Wolf 🐺 (my fave character as my fave animal)

Sub-Zero - Mammoth 🦣

Li-Mei - Panda 🐼

Scorpion - namesake 🦂

Liu Kang - Phoenix

Havik - Hyena

Geras - Hippo 🦛

Kung Lao - Tiger 🐅

Quan Chi - T-Rex 🦖

Ashrah - Unicorn 🦄

Tanya - Giraffe 🦒

Shang Tsung - Snake 🐍 (for obvious reasons)

Baraka - Porcupine

Raiden - Electric ⚡️ Eel (for obvious reasons)

Nitara - Bat 🦇 (for obvious reasons)

Ermac - Locust swarm

Ghostface - Vulture

We have all our animalities! We just need the other guest characters to complete the list…

Today, Let Khaos Reign!

[dalekofchaos]

I am not happy about Sektor and Cyrax's change from Cyborgs to power suits.

I am very excited for Khaos Reigns.

But I am not a fan of the redesign of Sektor and Cyrax.

I could care less that they changed their genders. But.... Jade, Sareena, Jataaka, Kia, Skarlet, Cassie & Jacqui and Khameleon were all right there.

I'm all for new interpretations of the characters, especially since this game is all about the multiverse, but MK1 has been building up to Countess Jade and Sareena has this great redesign that's wasted as a cameo.

Also? We have the perfect design from MK11 that they refused to let us play as and the new designs feel like a downgrade

And honestly MK9 did this better. Cyrax resisting automation while Sektor was fully prepared to lose his humanity to be a more efficient assassin. Cyrax gets his redemption in MK11(pointlessly killed because Ed didn't want us to play as him 🙃)

But we're doing this AGAIN for the sake of multiverse bullshit that I'm already tired of.

Also, if this is Sektor

Who the HELL is this from Sub-Zero's ending?

But what really bothers me is the change in design and going from Cyborgs to Iron Man Suits.

They took away all the depth and tragedy that came with the cyber initiative program and just made it....people in bodysuits...

So much for "gore is an important part of MK"…… Cyber Initiative was one of the biggest body horror elements of MK

It was such a traumatic event that left people scarred for life. The process of having no say in it then getting dismembered and replacing your body with machine was pure horror. Now it's just Iron Man army.

The main elephant in the room, the gender swapping, doesn’t really bother me. But taking away that fact that they’re cyborgs is mind boggling. That’s the main thing Sektor and Cyrax are known for!

It was such a terrifying and important moment in Lin Kuei history and really spoke to the lengths that Kuai Liang went to reform the Lin Kuei. It was one of the most scary and gruesome aspects of Mk, which is what mk is all about. I'm tried of these sterile and watered down versions of these characters.

If I'm being honest, storywise. The "new era" sucks in almost every way. There are good things like redeeming Sindel, Mileena being good and having a proper sisterly relationship with Kitana, Li Mei, Reptile and Ashrah. But everything else? No. Making Kuai Liang Scorpion was bafflingly stupid. Like why couldn't they just have the Lin Kuei and Shirai Ryu be at peace? Liu Kang's new era amounted to changing but the same shit happens anyway.

It just tells the same beats over and over again. It would've been really cool if they actually told a new and different Mortal Kombat with actually different versions of the characters or entirely new characters altogether. But in every way it's just the old story but with at best slight, insignificant alterations and at worst alterations that fail to account for what made the old stuff actually cool and interesting. It should have actually did something with Liu Kang making The Great Kung Lao his champion and that should have resulted with a new story in an early era. But they refused to take risks.

[scientistservant]

I have never heard of the Dark Crystal until I saw your posts. What is it about, and what do you like about it?

Oh ho?

Sit down, anon, and let me tell you the tale of... The Dark Crystal.

*theme music plays*

In a world called Thra, there exists a powerful gem called the Crystal of Truth. It is in tune to all of Thra, including the planet's most civilized race, the Gelfling.

A thousand years ago, new beings came to Thra: the Skeksis. The Skeksis, wise, hedonistic and benevolent, were tasked with protecting the Crystal of Truth by Thra's avatar/mother-nature of sorts, Mother Aughra. Because of their wisdom the Skeksis also ruled over the Gelfling and their seven Clans, while Aughra journeyed the stars and space.

But one day, the Crystal cracked, causing the Crystal to become corrupted, and a miasma, the Darkening, to spread throughout Thra. In an attempt to fix the Crystal, the Skeksis discovered Essence - the soul or life-force of every creature on Thra. Instead of taking life from the Crystal, they decided to take life from something else - the Gelfling. Because the Gelfling are the closest creatures to Thra, their Essence is pure, more potent.

The Skeksis became obsessed with Essence, and obsessed with draining Gelfling, killing them and drinking their Essence to obtain eternal life and youthfulness. All Skeksis, but the Emperor especially, were terrified of death. For when Skeksis die they do not return to Thra.

And so, a genocide occurred, and all Gelfling perished.

All but one. For there was a prophecy, told of a young Gelfling named Jen, who is destined to heal the Crystal and bring the Skeksis reign to an end!

What I love about The Dark Crystal is its world-building and characters. Its cast isn't just black and white in morality, it's more than that. The protagonists can make mistakes, and so can the antagonists. The Skeksis were good once upon a time, they once cared about the Gelfling, but their greed and fear of death overtook them. Thra is beautiful with many different settings and wildlife, even the Castle of the Crystal is gorgeous with it's fantastical and alien gothic architecture.

I'm mainly talking about the prequel series, Age of Resistance, here. It was made almost 40 years after the original 1982 film, but unlike many modern sequels and prequels it's not a cash grab at all; it was made with love and respect to the original, expanding on the world of Thra. Not saying the original film was bad, it's a wonderful piece of media! I just think it's lacking a bit in world-building and context, and Age of Resistance helps immensely.

As for characters, I'll be talking about the Skeksis, Gelfling, and Mother Aughra. There are other characters and creatures too, but I don't want to venture into spoiler territory!

The Skeksis

As I said above, the Skeksis are not from Thra. They are reptile-like alien vultures with a very hedonistic lifestyle. They adore food, various forms of entertainment, the most lavish of robes, and being praised for their wisdom and status as Lords of the Crystal.

Each Skeksis has a title and role they must uphold. For example, the Ornamentalist makes his fellow Lords' robes and decor for the Castle, while the Scroll-Keeper is in charge of the Castle library and keeps records of tomes and scrolls going back a thousand years of Skeksis rule.

All the Skeksis are important and unique, but the most popular and well-known by far is the Chamberlain. He has a "whimper" as a tic and speaks in slight broken English, yet is the craftiest, manipulative, and cunning of the Skeksis. A very Starscream/Littlefinger-type character, he's fantastic to watch. (He's one of my favourite characters, but not my top favourite, that honour goes to the Scroll-Keeper.)

The Gelfling

The Gelfling are small, elf-like humanoids that vary in looks, culture and skill between their seven different species/Clans. There is the Stonewood, Vapran, Drenchen, Spriton, Dousan, Sifan, and Grottan. Unfortunately, many Gelfling tend to be xenophobic and untrustworthy towards other Clans, though some do manage to become friends despite their differences. Most Gelfling are also illiterate, but there are a very small few that can read and write.

Gelfling are the closest beings to Thra, and have the special ability to Dreamfast with one another - a rather intimate gesture that allows them to share their memories and thoughts by touching hands.

They also differ between genders; female Gelfling have wings, while male Gelfling do not.

Because of their small noses and large eyes and ears, some of the fandom tend to call Gelfling "fairy mice", even giving them whiskers and tails!

Mother Aughra

Mother Aughra is Thra, and Thra is Mother Aughra. She is as old as the planet itself, and perhaps as old as the Crystal of Truth, too. She is connected to the Crystal, able to tell when it is healthy and when it is not.

She and the Skeksis used to be friends, admiring their wisdom and beauty, yet that all ended when she discovered what they had done to the Crystal of Truth.

Aughra is sassy and somewhat grumpy, yet she loves and cares for all the creatures of Thra, especially the Gelfling, who see her as a mother-figure. She has the ability to remove her one eye and use it to spy on others or to see things up close, even from far away.

If you enjoy the fantasy genre, puppets, practical effects, and alien worlds, I highly, highly recommend The Dark Crystal and The Dark Crystal Age of Resistance! There are also graphic novels, and YA novels by J.M Lee.

The world of Thra must never die!

[varianlikescheese]

Okay so here we go again

The 1st Sanctus-

(1855-1925) ~70year reign

i dont have much on these guys right now, though i will put names to species at some point.

The 1st Sanctus went remarkably well, the Yokai involved volunteered for the 'peace for all' program. They were randomly selected and given their powers, then all of them became the 1st Sanctus, serving their purpose with pride.

Once they began dying out, the heads constructed the tombs all around New York, as well as one in the Hidden City.

Domum Reptilian (home of the reptiles) is located deep in the sewers.

Domum Mammalia (home of the mammals) can be found in the basement of Central Park Zoo.

Domum de avibus (home of the birds) is built on the 4th floor of a forever abandoned building in New York.

Domum picis (home of the fish) is submerged at the bottom of a lake Ontario.

Domum amphibii (home of the amphibians) is

Domum de invertit (home of the inverts) is in a large forest, somewhere behind a tree.

So ya- this has been in my drafts for TOO LONG and now i have actually put names to species and made a proper group for Sanctus 1 but ill do that in a diff message.

Edit- i just realized there's nothing for Domum amphibii and thats because I HAVE NO IDEAS FOE WHERE TO PUT IT SOMEONE HELP ME

[nerumii0]

I have no words to express my happiness towards this nice reblogs ❤️❤️

I'm still on the challenge, I left it postponed due to the strong storms that cause blackouts in my city and affect my follow-up, but I promise to continue with. I have the ideas and I hope to finish then as soon as possible T T

Thank you for supporting this fanart :'3

And I'm sorry if I didn't reply, I don't know how to do it directly, at this point I feel like a noob old lady on Tumblr XD

But anyway, answering to @phdbabygirlism, yes, I chose the cover idea, thank you very much for the nice suggestion :>

And lastly for @pure-penguin-gold , ah, nice questions my pal, to be honest I didn't think about the whole backstory very well, since at first I planned to draw them as I usually do, like human versions, but I don't know, I thought the concept wouldn't have hit as much as it's currently doing.

But let's begin, answering your questions and to create a interesting background, which by the way I hope will satisfy your curiosity, if not, any idea and suggestion you have in mind is welcome ^^

I was considering maybe a rich human got them, I mean having a boa like Savio is already a complex issue, because he managed to break his enclosure system easily from the two zoos where he had already been. So, he wouldn't even strive to break a common terrarium without so many safety protocols from a regular guy and wouldn't make sense at all why he's stuck in that terrarium alongside Clemson's annoying company :P

Given how expensive the materials are for reinforcing a good terrarium and subsequently preventing his escape, among some possible candidates as his owner, a rich human is perfect, he could cover those expenses.

He did not necessarily take them just like that at the same time in the same place, but rather he obtained them separately.

Starting with Clemson, considering the original plot we know very little of his origin, more than he's a multi-talented lemur giving the impression of being a servile subject who sought the crown and the power to reign unsuccessfully. Then, we've got nothing. Applying a different dynamic where he have never been in the Central Park zoo, and he never met Julien, instead of being a king, he seeks something similar to Blue Hen, a sort of wealth that will make him powerful and rich using his impressive wit and pretending to be servile for the humans in order to get what he wants.

I'm not sure yet what scenario would be accurate for the backstory of how the rich human did find him, but I'm up with these possibilities, such as in a private zoo, maybe an auction or an exclusive collectors club,

Surely it goes hand in hand with illegality, but not so close to animal abuse or exploitation, like I mentioned, Clemson used his charms winning over the staff of one of these places, and therefore the staff realized the amount of money they could earn thanks to him, to which Clemson didn't really mind temporarily, we know he's also a greedy guy, and he aimed to achieve being in hands of an influent human to be on top later.

The human attended in one of the possibilities and he got impressed by his skills and charming, so he decided to buy him, although Clemson doesn't see himself like a pet, instead considered the human his personal slave rather than his owner, and so since he earned a comfortable life, he didn't find the point to escape, in other words the owner's home it's a huge paradise for him. He has jewels, books, cozzy cushions to sleep and so on.

And of course, he has more liberties than Savio, he is able to go wherever he wants and where he shouldn't be without his owner noticing.

On the other hand, Savio's backstory wouldn't change much. Given his dangerous nature, I imagined that perhaps as Savio earned his bad reputation, through the news it reaches this human, I already mentioned the human is an animal fan, especially with reptiles, so Savio quickly caught all his attention, but unlike Clemson, the human had a more complicated time getting Savio, since at first animal control took it upon themselves to catch this untamable snake, basically saving him the dirty work. Maybe with bribes and through various dirty illegal paperwork processes he got him, In addition, Savio was at a disadvantage considering that the zoos where he had been no longer wanted to accept such an aggressive boa.

Savio is unaware of what awaits him, believing that he would be transferred to another zoo until he ends up in this human's mansion and that is where he meets Clemson. Savio arrives the same way he arrived at the Central Park Zoo and obviously attracts Clemson's attention, seeing a new animal around the mansion, at first makes him feel threatened to lose his chance to be on top, suspecting that Savio could be a rival, but after getting to know him he sees that he hasn't the slightest interest in human possessions, other than taking his revenge against the penguins and King Julien.

[shouldaspunastory]

For @dreadfutures and @dadrunkwriting

June Lavellan x Dorian Pavus (SFW, Pre-Relationship) 477 words

---------------------------------------

Dorian grins as he spots June from across the courtyard and makes his way over to him. The elf is kneeling down near a small hedge beside the small backstairs that lead to Skyhold's kitchens.

"Hello there," June speaks softly into the hedge, slowly extending a hand towards it. "Shh, no, it's alright," the soothe to the unseen thing they are speaking to. "I won't hurt you." Dorian smiles, hanging back to lean against the nearby stone wall and watch the interaction with interest. "You didn't mean to scare the cook, did you? You were just looking for somewhere warm. Maybe catch a couple of mice," June smiles fondly. "That's it. Let's see if we can't find you someplace safer, hmm," the elf coos pulling back and straightening up once more with a small snake coiled neatly around his wrist and arm.

June manages to have the self-control not to jump and startle the creature he's just coaxed to him, but Dorian sees the way he momentarily tenses in surprise as he catches sight of his unexpected audience. The elf blushes a little at the tips of his ears where they poke out from beneath his dark hair, which the necromancer thinks is frankly so cute it out to be illegal.

"The, um, the Alienage used to get a lot of snakes. They came after the rats," the elf offers softly in explanation. "I was always the one they called on to catch them. Kept a few of them as pets, for a while, at least. Most animals don't mean any harm. They get scared and can lash out the same as we do," June says, smiling down at the snake.

"Sorry," the elf apologizes, blushing again as they seem to catch themselves. "Did you need something? Just let me find a safe place for this handsome fella, and I'm all yours."

I am not jealous of a fucking snake, Dorian thinks, doing his best to reign himself in as he watches the reverent way June handles and speaks about the reptile. He might, Dorian thinks, be slightly envious of the way June seems able to zero in on and find such simple joy in the smallest of things. In rescuing some poor scared little snake from the wrath of the cook. If more people could do that, find the beauty in everyday things, in not assuming everyone and everything is out to wrong or hurt them, the world might be a far happier and better place. Perhaps, with June leading the charge, one day it can be, Dorian thinks, falling into step beside the elf, a fond smile turning up the corners of his mouth behind his mustache as June begins seeking out a new home for the creature. Dorian can't remember why he originally sought him out anymore, but he finds he doesn't really mind.

[kusagrasskusa]

Hey there, Happy New Year.

If not a bother, could you do an MK Reptile X reader, please? You can be creative with it, I wouldn't mind.

Thank you for your attention

Yes, Happy New Year! Thank you very much for your request!

Reptile X Reader

This incredible piece was made by u/AnttiHako on the r/MortalKombat!

_____________________________________

Okay so imagine this- You worked for Shao Kahn and then get assigned something with Reptile.

You guys would work pretty good together to where you practically had the same thoughts- if someone attacked you, he would know what to do without you saying anything and the same the other way around

If you’re the quiet type, imagine that you guys would walk silently but the energy between you guys is just comfortable and casual. And if there was a scare or something on your guys’ adventure, you’d have a quick laugh and he’d express a small amount of humor the way a reptile would.

If you’re the talkative type/wouldn’t mind a conversation, imagine it being surprisingly easy to talk. He’s the quiet type but listening to what you have to say would be as calming as listening to the leaves blow to him. A comfortable background sound.

After your adventure, you’d find yourself as one of Shang Tsung’s regular parties, where whenever the couples go to the dance floor, the guy you’d been talking to in the corner of the room both smile as you’d watch the couples. That guy would be Reptile, who found you a little after the party started

It might surprise you he would talk to you but he was very attracted to the comfortable bound you surprisingly had with him. Not many people can make him feel that calm.

Eventually it becomes standard that whenever an expedition or task at hand, it’s best to send the both of you. You guys were as close as Eurasia- Seperate continents but are together as one giant piece of land.

People began to mistake you guys for a couple pretty quickly lmao

Like quickly. But to be fair ya’ll were like friends that didn’t know you were in a relationship yet

Well to you, you were in one already. You didn’t know how he felt, but you knew you thought he was cute

And lemme tell you, the day you heard Shao Kahn refer to his as Syzoth… Your heart melted. But you kept it secret for a while

But one day during an expedition, Reptile had slipped and fallen, making you laugh. “Are you okay, Syzoth?”

The way his name rang in his ears, how your voice complimented it, made him freeze for a moment. He cutely cocked his head, and with that look he gave you, I think you both knew you were better than partners in crime or best friends

It was sort of awkward at first- reptiles don’t ever mate for life and so breaking away from that evolutionary norm was a little hard for him. But he was IN LOVE with you, and whenever you reminded him of your love, he slowly began to realize all he had to do was stay

Rather than wanting to protect you, he wanted you to take the ladder during fights. He would hiss in the background excitedly, code for “GET THEM BABE”

PDA probably wouldn’t be a very common thing, especially since his way of affection was different from normal. He didn’t exactly have lips to kiss, but he had hands to throw for a love spar

Honestly fighting and killing foes was such a honorable and beloved thing to Reptile- like there was no better date then being sent to get the Ring of Delia and massacring a reign of foes who thought they could sneak up on you

With working for Shao Kahn and whatnot, finding other time for yourselves was difficult. But the few times you would wonder throughout Outworld together and get a day off, it was spent in the loving arms of each other

If you’re a human/Edenian/anything that literally is not Syzoth, cooking is definitely gonna be… interesting. Syzoth is interested in a lot of things that may not be particularly edible to you and so whenever it’s his turn to cook, he’ll just plop down a decaying scavenger and is just like “Try it!” So, let’s say it’s up to you to cook if you wanna eat

I can imagine Syzoth being like a dog almost. Laying his head on your lap all the time, all touchy when he wants attention, wrapping his arms around you from behind (though that isn’t very dog like), the snake tongue thing he does would be like a dog whining

Of course no one really cared if you two were together. Though sometimes the Kahn had no problem setting barriers between you two just for the fun of it

There would be months of you two not seeing each other and Syzoth would freak out about if his partner doesn’t wanna mate for life? What if he forgets about his promise to mate for life?

But no matter what when you two cross paths, the anxiety fades away. Gosh your arms are such a safe space—

[izzabela]

this fairy has thoughts...

in which i yap about the khaos reigns DLC

there's something remotely wrong with the DLC that's been universal in the gaming industry- writing. poor writing = poor game quality.

i haven't been in the MK fandom for a long time, i think this october will mark 4 months since i've established myself as a fan of the game. however, when i find something interesting, i will do my best to research and make myself knowledgable about the topic, and MK is not an exception.

MK1 2023 does a good job in fleshing out formerly flat characters, examples being baraka and reptile. it also does a good job provoking thoughts about direction Liu Kang has for humanity and their choices, concepts like "if this canon event does not happen, then the future might not play out as expected" (example being Tomas' dialogues with Liu Kang about his past). TLDR, the little things that help improve character depth.

the problem begins when writers need to write for long-established characters: bi han, kitana, raiden, etc. characters that have never been removed from the roster essentially. touching these characters is a gray area because of expectation and history. Bi Han, for example, has always been the brother that betrays the Lin Kuei, while Kuai Liang is always the good guy etc etc. for long time fans of the game, if they saw a sudden change in that fundamental aspect of the character, there would be more uproar than the overall shit writing the dlc has.

which brings me to my next point, the fucking DLC. there was so much potential in the exploration of the various timelines and worlds, so much potential in the conflicting emotions of humanity, so much potential on SKINS- but no, not a fucking chance. The closest I see to a change in character personality was Liu Kang and Noob Saibot during the fight of their lives. When Noob is about to fucking rip Khaos Havik apart, but Liu Kang stops him, that was the closest I saw that would have been a new, creative take on character personality changes in the game- but they had to keep the idea that Bi Han was always twisted inside and blah blah blah.

characters aren't the only place that writing fell short- the overall direction of how the actual DLC story went was fucking awful. the story was messy, and the ending felt even messier. something about this DLC felt incomplete, and compared to the past games and their matching DLCs, this one's writing direction was awful.

yeah that's it. send tweet

on a brighter note... how yall feeling about my aesthetic change?

[herebecritters]

Origins of a Curse pt 1

Ah the lore then. I’ll try to keep it as short and sweet as I can. I’ll only be covering the first part of this story, 66 million years is a long time!

A rough timeline, still gotta iron it out. For this post I’ll go up to Civilization 1. I’ll tell the rest of the saga later ;3

*clears throat*

LONG LONG AGO…

There was once a modest village in the middle of a forest. It teemed with a variety of small furry critters. They crawled out of their burrows at night in the safety of darkness, as the day was ruled by massive, sometimes violent, reptiles.

There were two siblings who grew up in a small burrow beneath a magnolia tree. They were known as Cro and Dumuzi. The Kimbetopsalis siblings were close. They both shared a desire to no longer live in fear of the day. They did not want to spend their lives hiding in the darkness. However, as they grew older they would ultimately take very different paths towards this future.

Cro began sneaking out during the day to go on adventures out in the open despite the dangers. He wanted to live alongside the other animals of the world rather than in fear of them. He got into lots of trouble, but also made great friends along the way.

Dumuzi on the other hand became a healer in an effort to save her people- she saved many, but still the trouble persisted. She could not save everyone.

Cro, now with a secret day life, spent a lot of his nights sleeping. As he slept, Dumuzi grew a close friendship with two other mammals in their village, Geshtu and Nergal. The three shared one common goal: to end the reign of the dinosaurs and to save their village.

Nergal was a warrior with some sadistic tendencies. Mischievous, petty, and often cruel, he had a passionate disdain for the reptiles who ruled the land. While he was a determined warrior, he was still small. He couldn’t fight the biggest of the beasts, so at nights he enjoyed sneaking into nesting grounds and smashing the eggs. He’d also kill hatchlings and smaller dinosaurs when given the chance.

Geshtu was a religious priest, he claimed to be able to commune with the Moon Deity, Theia. There was a small hidden cavern he’d frequently visit to do so. Stoic and cold, Geshtu was a hard one to get close to, but for what he lacked in charisma he made up for in intelligence.

Not a single one of the three was without a few screws loose, but perhaps that’s what allowed them to go so far with their mission. They met in secret in Geshtus cavern frequently, scheming their ultimate plan.

=> Part two