#mortal kombat speculation

[qdbs-writes]

okay, i can't wait anymore, time to break down the new mortal kombat trailer

Putting my mad theories and obvious spoilers for the ending and dlc for MK11 under read more because i would never subject any of this to you all unwillingly.

So it looks like Netherrealm have fully committed to establishing a new setting for the Mortal Kombat universe, which probably means a lot of the canon is going to be rewritten or otherwise changed.

So far in this trailer: Fire/Time/Lightning God Liu Kang, Kitana, Mileena, Scorpion, Sub Zero and Shang Tsung are confirmed. Shang Tsung appears to be a preorder exclusive, which is shitty because this trailer makes him out to be one of, if not the big bad.

Two people who look like Kung Lao are seen with Liu Kang throughout the trailer, however they have different hats.

so first thing is we have this hat, remind you of anything?

i think this is our boy kung lao, its missing the iconic blade, but we might see that change in the game

as for this guy ^, his hat reminded me an awful lot of Raiden's hat that we see at the end of MK 11 DLC

if this is Raiden, then it's probably going to be a return of mortal Raiden who now acts as an advisor to Fire/Time God Liu Kang. But it'll be nice to see all three of them together if that's the case, and i can't wait to see how their personalities have adapted in the new power dynamic. now that im looking at the outfits, the hat diagnosis makes more sense

Based on the Kitana and Mileena carriage scene, Outworld has a new oasis-esque look, or we might be getting a look at Edenia. But what is INTERESTING is the colour of the carriage! The carriage is PURPLE, which at first made me think that in this new timeline Mileena might be princess of Outworld instead of Kitana (Liu Kang maybe designed it that way to make their relationship less stressful?), BUT!

THE PURPLE ON THE CARRIAGE DOESN'T MATCH MILEENA! You can just about see in this screenshot (you'll have to click for higher resolution cuz tumblr hates anything above 64 bits), but Mileena's theme is more magenta, whereas the inside of the carriage (which matches the outside) is PURPLE. Who do we know associated with Outworld and the colour purple?

Our favourite retcon! This probably doesn't confirm Sindel showing up but it does strongly imply that Mileena and Kitana are riding in a carriage made for their mum! Which is a cute little nod to past canon and may indicate that Sindel has died again? or is otherwise not present, whether or not she might be a revenant is yet unknown.

Scorpion and Sub Zero seem to be allies again, which means we should get more of the friendship they had in MK11. They also appear to be in a tea shop (new au fucking sorted), and possibly in the Shirai-Ryu base? they are very matchy-matchy so this may be a hint to them fully teaming up?

also the eclipse/portal shit we see matches the fire portals we've already seen in the MK11 DLC, which implies that timeline fuckery is still occurring somehow and appears to be the main source of conflict in MK1.

phew, anyway that's all i have for now. if anyone wants to join me in theorising or mad speculation, please feel free to reblog and add on, im really interested in what other people think!

[fsfghgee]

Funny thing, if that guy is really Smoke's face model, Tomas is younger than me 😅

I just find out his age and he is 22!

Bi-Han would be 29 (his face model age)

Kuai Liang is 40 (his face model age)

[davi-doo]

Pls reblog if you vote for greater sample 💚🖤

[sqswisashitposter]

> bro, you're such an idiot ~

i want casual everyday version of kenshi's red jacket. please. pretty please.

[puissantveil]

FGLK, bless him, probably made things worse.

Everyone will still meet their fate, but with an extra dose of suffering.

Mileena and Baraka will become monstrous flesh-eaters…after a horrific downward spiral of illness.

Kitana and Mileena will become enemies…after the latter starts losing her mind and the former is helpless to save her beloved sister.

Jerrod will die…after Kitana (and presumably Mileena and Sindel) is old enough to remember, love, and mourn him.

Scorpion will arise…after meeting his end at the hands of his own brother rather than an enemy.

Shao will become a bloodthirsty warlord…after having a disability and undergoing a grueling training program as a child.

youtried.bmp

[scalproie]

they HAVE to set up the lin kuei/shirai ryu rift. they HAVE to. Ive been saying it ever since the first trailer. The setting couldnt be more perfect for it.

[valentinecult]

About the new Mortal Kombat trailer, how exactly is Shang Tsung still alive? Any thoughts?

Been a while since someone asks me on stuff on Mortal Kombat's lore.

And to answer your question, I'm...not exactly sure. There's a possibility that this Shang Tsung that we see might be from another timeline.

Even though Liu Kang erased Shang Tsung's existence in Aftermath's story, we don't know to what extent. He may have erased Shang Tsung specifically in one timeline but not the others. I could be wrong for this is all speculation.

Although, I feel like Shang Tsung is a red herring to something...or something even more dangerous and powerful. Remember, Kronika was a Titan and there's more of them out there in the Mortal Kombat universe. There's a chance that there is one lurking behind the scenes of the story mode and may be more dangerous than Kronika.

Some people claim that there's leaks or rumors about Onaga being in the game, but I take that with a pinch of salt. Still, if Onaga were back, can you imagine how dangerous this guy could be once he discovers the Hourglass?

Let's hope Liu Kang knows what he is doing.

[red-rose-corner]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Mortal Kombat - All Media Types, Mortal Kombat (Video Games), Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types, Sonic the Hedgehog (Video Games), Sonic X, Sonic the Hedgehog (IDW Comics) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Team Sonic (Sonic the Hedgehog), Team Dark (Sonic the Hedgehog), Team Rose (Sonic the Hedgehog), Team Chaotix (Sonic the Hedgehog), Team Eggman, Diamond Cutters (Sonic the Hedgehog), Original Sonic the Hedgehog Character(s), Other Sonic the Hedgehog Character(s), Original Female Character(s), Fire God Liu Kang, Cassie Cage, Takahashi Takeda, Kung Jin, Jacqui Briggs Additional Tags: Lists, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Game: Sonic Frontiers, Post-Game: Mortal Kombat 1, Time Skips, Post-Time Skip, Fan Characters, Guest Stars, Next Generation, Next-Gen, Heroes & Heroines, Villains Summary:

A concept for a fighting game roster for a Mortal Kombat and Sonic the Hedgehog crossover.

[drstrangedaughter]

𝐁𝐈-𝐇𝐀𝐍’𝐒 𝐅𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐘 𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐔𝐄𝐒

✦ 𝐀/𝐍: I NEED to talk about Bi-Han and his hypothetical relationship with his father and mother, and how this affected him and his choices according to personal thoughts. Although Bi-Han is not a character I like, I am fascinated by his psychological introspection. I’m sorry for the angst, I love to think that all three Lin Kuei brothers love each other, I swear— these are all theories.

Ph: far2wi1

[mortal kombat 1] [bi-han]  [sub-zero] [lin kuei brothers] [headcanons] [daddy’s issues]

➛ you can ask for headcanons ideas in the ask-box; this is a side blog, I can’t answer in the comments; you can commission me for customize x reader scenarios and letters from you comfort characters

It all starts from an exchange of phrases between Bi-Han and Tomas at the beginning of a fight:

« If Mother were alive—»

« She would applaud my actions »

My thoughts immediately focused on Bi-Han's response, was it his bravado talking or veiled feelings? This led me to reflect on what relationship he might have had with his mother, about whom we know nothing. Doing some research I was able to learn that apparently the two Lin Kuei brothers were brought to China by their father, who was a secret operative in the United States, to be trained as Lin Kuei assassins, against their mother's wishes.

Not knowing how old they might have been when this happened, I can speculate that this event worsened the relationship between Bi-Han and his father, he probably preferred to spend time with his mother and seeing himself forcibly removed from her must have affected him. There are children who prefer the company of one of the two parents from an early age, and seeing with how much anger Bi-Han speaks of his father during the story I imagine that from an early age the preference was for the mother, probably due to compliance with the exuberant character of the eldest son, perhaps always reprimanded by his father. As the eldest son and therefore hereditary of the Lin Kuei, his father must have forced him to follow teachings and ideals dictated by his experience, totally in contrast with Bi-Han's ideas. Serve the people with modesty opposed to the desire for power over the people themselves.

Kuai Liang he demonstrated growing up that he followed his father's ideals religiously, and this may have been another trigger: your figurehead preferring your younger brother to you, when you should be the firstborn, the best. I would add that I have the headcanon that Kuai Liang was his father's favorite, and this really bothered young Bi-Han, who grew up with hidden resentment. Bi-Han carried within him the dualism of not wanting to follow his father's ideals by thinking differently and the incessant need to still be seen as better than his brother Kuai Liang, who was evidently preferred. He must have found that acceptance that his father did not give him in his mother, who must have celebrated his revolutionary ideas for the future of Lin Kuei.

Then the father decides to take the brothers to China away from their mother, who was the only source of celebration for Bi-Han. Here something must have completely broken and the hatred for the father exploded.

Another trigger was the arrival of Tomas, yet another person who wanted to follow his father's values ​​without questioning, stealing the show from the eldest son who claimed to be the head of the family's favorite. And equally hatred was born towards Tomas, how could someone who didn't have the same blood as his father be preferred to him?

« You will never be one of us » —Bi-Han felt the need to continually tell Tomas, perhaps to convince himself that he was superior, better.

The mother seems deceased, and this loss must have pushed Bi-Han to act against everything and everyone in his family, the loss of his mother was like having lost the only sincere support and gratification towards him. For him, perhaps his father was even responsible for the little time he spent with his mother, because he had pushed him and his brothers away to train without her wanting it.

At that point, letting the father die in his time of need was nothing more than the only solution, I wouldn't be surprised to know that it was Bi-Han who killed him. His ego was now out of control, he was in charge of the Lin Kuei, of his brothers, now he was the one with the power. And Bi-Han would follow his ideals, those celebrated so much by his beloved mother. So much so that it even tramples on the fraternal relationship.

[shiresome]

I LOVE HIM

I joke about my tendency to cutesy-fy Mortal Kombat characters but I REALLY THINK HAVIK IS A SWEETIE. TRULY WITH MY HEART AND SOUL I DO

His new voice is cool but I'll definitely miss the whispery voice he used to have! I've seen people speculate that the "brutal punishment" he received is why his face is torn in this timeline, and oh my GOD, if that ends up being true I'll be sick. MY HEART WILL BREAK

I'm gonna draw a group hug with Havik 💔 and two other characters because he is so dear to me. LOVE HIM

I made a whole new font to use for him, that was all weird and chaotic-y, but it was a NIIIGHTMARE to look at and work with. Oh my god

[dontbesoweirdkira]

Hi! Are you still writing for Mortal Kombat? I have a little thought that won't let go of me: I started to wonder what kind of yandere family Blade and Cage are? What if the reader is an extremely radical rebel, who is not affected by threats or actions? (I remember how one of my family members almost killed me, but I didn't apologize and just went to school). If the reader has my stubbornness, who will be the first to give in (if that happens at all). Maybe they will go to other yandere to deal with the reader? All this is of course platonic.

A/N: First, let me say thank you for requesting again. It always, always warms my heart when I have reoccurring readers. It means the world that you like my stuff enough to request again. second, yesss! I literally have thought about being their adopted child again and just how dysfunctionally(?) perfect they'd be. I hope you'd enjoy thisss....

Warnings: trauma, dysfunctional family dynamics, toxicity, obession...ect

Characters: MK11 Johnny, Sonya, Jax, and no cassie because that complicates things lol.

Request: Always open for my babies..see masterlist

Dynamics and Motives

We all know that Johnny and Sonya have a rather rocky relationship themselves, I can definitely see them being a bit at odds with each other when it comes to parenting you. They are constantly pulling you in every direction of who they want you to be. There's so much pressure from them to be perfect that it's no wonder you started rebelling.

I think their parental dynamic is very much a good cop-bad cop situation. Johnny is the "good cop" while Sonya is the "Bad" one.

But Johnny is definitely more manipulative in his ways. Sonya is rather straightforward in her thoughts and feelings. Like if you were to ask her if she's trying to control your life, she'd answer you with absolutely no conviction. Johnny (obviously) loves pretending that he totally understands your rebellion and that he's on your side when in all actuality he's right there with Sonya.

Sonya has an authoritarian parenting style. She is speculated to have put work over family constantly while Johnny has to hold down the fort. (kind of refreshing tho because you'd expect that they'd make Johnny prioritize Hollywood and staying young over her.)

She loves you but she’s always absent. And when she is there, she's just so hard on you. She appears to mainly care about your academics, hobbies, and future careers but not really you…She has this idea in her mind about exactly who you need to be and you will be that. And that's just a mini version of her. You're forced to be an overachiever and to perfect any mistakes that she's made in her time...there's no room for error.

Johnny is a "smother mother" Johnny is a lot more involved and his drive as a yandere is to be your best friend. He so badly wants to be the cool dad. He wants his little girl to admire him and be an unstoppable daddy-daughter duo. He's also got this image in his head of who you are supposed to be. You're always supposed to stay his perfect little angel, never grow up, never date or do any wrong. WHo knows, maybe you'll become an actor just like him and follow in his footsteps. (without the womanizer claims and duis)

They both ultimately don't want their daughter to leave their supervision.. They have too much fear of letting go, you can't get hurt. They don't want you to go through what they did. Your parents don't wanna be forgotten while you go explore. Plus there's so much danger and evil lurking, why can't you just stay at home under their protection?? You'll never have to pay for anything or think for yourself. Stay their doll baby forever. Let them continue to feed you out of their silver spoon.

How it started

I think that to some degree Sonya and Johnny were always helicopter parents. You have a paranoid soldier and a celebrity with a crazed fanbase...it's not surprising that extreme precautions were taken.

But i will say things got worse as you got older and they started to realize that you no longer wanted to be suffocated in their home. You were originally an angel child, always doing what they wanted and never questioning anything....but then your eyes started opening to just how toxic and unhealthy they were.

So less and less did you spend time with them and stay away from home. I think Johnny would be the first to notice since he's home more often and closest to you. At first, he's playing it calmly. He knows all of your friends and doesn't really suspect too much. Johnny will of course pry about what you were doing and go through your things to confirm you're telling truths.

Then as you started bailing on tainings/classes they've forced you to take, switching up your style to something more edgy, and getting into trouble...some alarm bells started going off

Sonya was fairly pissed off when she found out you dropped a bunch of things and are off track of her plans for you. Johnny hates your new look and that you're getting into who knows what. Sonya wanted to readily go to some drastic measures to get you back in line but Johnny advised against it and decided to speak to you first since this all was new behavior. Maybe you just needed some gentle parenting?

Yeah..that didn't go as planned. Unexpectedly you couldn't give less of a care about anything that they said. You knew they wouldn't have taken your complaints about your upbringing seriously anyways,, so honestly, you ended up walking away when you had enough of their questioning and audibly trashed them to your friends for the rest of the night.

You just started a war

Antics

I think they would go light on you at first. Mainly because Johnny doesn't really want this to spiral so quickly. Sonya is like okay fine but only because she's slightly curious about your whole deal. How far are you willing to go and what are you trying to prove with all of this?

They're both overly critical and unsupportive of everything you do and relate it back to your rebelliousness.

They'd do small inconvenient things like removing your bedroom door, shutting off devices and wifi, taking away your car, and forcing you to drive with them.

They'd guilt trip you and threaten to take away more things if you don't behave but it'd all be tame in the grand scheme of things.

"Keep this up, Y/N and I will have I'll punish you like a real marine. You'll surely lean respect, then."

"..Come on...Just go back to how you were. This is causing such a strain on your mother and I's marriage."

yeah, they constantly blame you for their arguing and the decline of the family. Like no, ya'll been messed up.

but this grace period doesn't last long before they are crashing a hangout session with your friends, berating/embarrassing you, and then forcefully dragging you back home.

This is a common theme because it gets the most rise out of you. They'll find themselves at your school/campus embarrassing you and will monitor you and your friends. speaking of your friends/ They hate every single one of them. They're jealous of how much you prefer them over them, they're a threat. It doesn't matter that they're all on the dean's list/honor roll...those misfits have something to do with their poor little angel becoming corrupt (or maybe it's their parenting skills)

Isolation is a big thing. You wanna mess up your success by ditching the plans for your life? You wanna be away from them so badly? Fine. You aren't seeing anything. At. All

financial abuse and neglect are big things too. They are filthy rich but somehow there's never any food in the house anymore...and all your debit cards are declining. They want you to come begging for the things you need but only offer them in return for your obedience.

I don't think they'd get physical, but they'd keep going to more extremes with their abuse and threats to make you comply.

Would they get anyone else to step in?

Yes if nothing they seem to do is working. Plus they're anxious and impatient...this all is taking too long for you to break. Are they seriously going to lose their darling daughter? Definitely Jax. He's canon-ly a very close family friend to the couple and both Cassie and Jacqqui bond over their traumatic childhoods. It's implied that often they'd spent time at one another's house and that all parents were heavily involved with raising the girls. The same goes for you. You don't wanna listen to them? They're calling Uncle Jax and he's a freaking tank. okay.

Jax loves you like a daughter but he really doesn't have as much of a soft spot as they do for you. He's willing to do what they won't. Like this mf is Sonya's superior and you see how she turned out. You will be straightened out like you're a soldier, even if that means going to extremes. Jax doesn't want Jacqqui to see your rebellion and think that it's acceptable to behave like you. So he's more than happy to help his friends out. Having three parents ganging up on you and manipulating you is like hell. You're not escaping that damn house either, you are locked deownnnn.

With the help of Jax and military equipment, trackers, cameras, and government-grade security systems are emplaced. You will be knocked down, broken, and rebuilt into a whole new person.

Who would give in first?

You definitely would. I'm sorry but like you are NOT winning against them. No way a rebellious teen/young adult is conquering them. Your insults and tactics to get under their skin won't work. You will be stonewalled and denied of all civil liberties. It isn't worth it to keep fighting back, no matter how strong you are, you'd end up in asylum before you gain the upper hand.

"Okay, okay...you win. I'll go back to being who you want me to be just chill out.."

See..that wasn't so hard.

They are overjoyed to hear this and waste time destroying all your horribly edgy clothes and rearranging your classes. It's insanity because they act like none of this ever happened and Johnny instantly proposes a family movie night with takeout. You're back to being their perfect child and they're family is "healed". but just know some of their implements are staying and they will continue to keep a tight grip on you should you ever decide to pull a fast one again.

"See, you made this so difficult when all we really wanted was our happy family back..."

[txxxciii]

Happy PRIDE month!

As a way of celebrating, I will be posting my sexuality/gender-related headcanons of various Mortal Kombat sources, starting with:

MORTAL KOMBAT (2011) LGBT HEADCANONS

(Note: this won't be including guest characters)

Tbh Baraka doesn't have anything interesting going on with him until MK1, but I personally like to headcanon that tarkatans don't have gender norms in a way that we do; reproduction for them is not an important priority, just something you can do if you like how the other one smells or something.

Tarkatans are intersex by default, including Baraka. The "genders" are usually assumed by non-tarkatans, in Baraka's case, by Shao Kahn, who only wished to see male figures in his army.

Btw, tarkatans themselves never refer to each other by pronouns. They do it either by simply saying the name, or making a sound that is only associated with a particular individual.

You already know. The non-binary monarch (king but gn) of MK.

With so many souls living inside you it's only a matter of time when you just start using They/them. Something also tells me that Ermac doesn't mind being called other pronouns – well, not like they care.

I'm sorry, you cannot convince me that Jade "I care more about my friend's safety than myself's" from Edenia likes men. I can go and write a whole rant about Jade and Kotal and how I fucking hate that stupid Walmart Sonic on steroids (not only for his romantic ties though), but I'll save that for later, maybe. Until then, Jade developed a crush on Kitana over time and doesn't wish to let go of her since she's the only reason Jade keeps going everyday. Alas, the feelings are not mutual, but Jade knows better than to envy Liu Kang. She's happy that her friend found her love, and she wishes one day to let go and find her own, too.

Kabal is a gay man, but not a closeted one. He had partners throughout the spam of his adult life, from Black Dragon to police forces.

There were rumors going around inside of Black Dragon that he and Kano had a affair. Whether or not this is true is left for speculation, as neither Kabal or Kano wish to discuss such topic.

What is true, however, is his work romance with Kurtis. At first, Kabal actively denied his attraction towards him, but learned to be more truthful to himself. He had a hard time opening up though, as he did have bitter aftertaste of his previous relationships, but somehow things were pretty decent, mostly thanks to Stryker's demeanor.

(Yeah I'm a strykabal truther, how can you tell?)

Every iteration of Kenshi is demisexual in my eyes. Bad part? I can't really explain my reasoning. Sometimes you just see a character and immediately assume things about them.

Maybe it's due to Kenshi not really having any romantic interests prior to MKX, as far as I can recall. Maybe it's just an ace-dar (as someone who's on the asexual spectrum). Oh well, we'll never know.

Like with Kenshi, every iteration of Kung Lao is gay in my eyes.

I see it more as Kung Lao not realizing his sexuality yet as throughout his life he had no time to think about personal stuff. When he does realize, however, he'll view it as an advantage as monks are typically forbidden from getting married and having intercourse, thus meaning he will less likely be judged by his fellow ones. Yes, he'd plan on simply ignoring this aspect of himself as getting into a relationship would bring a lot of burden (and if Lao falls in love, he will fall HARD).

Mileena is canonically bi!! Duhh! She likes positive attention from anyone, regardless of the race or gender. Either way she will take advantage of the partner and eat them alive :)

She's also part tarkatan, which should technically make her intersex, but since Kitana's genes are the dominant ones, she's assigned female. However, she believes such limitations are stupid, so she uses She/they for herself. It makes her more proud of who she is.

Gods don't need s*x!! Also I think he's canonically genderfluid since he can be literally anyone.

Uhh idk that's it.

One of those times where I can't explain my reasoning... again.

I just feel like Rain liked the thought of absolute control ever since he was young, to the point where he wanted to control his own body's appearance. Even if he didn't realize it, he always wanted to have a body of man, to speak like a man and to be viewed as one as well. Once he finally reached his ideal physique, he felt like he was unstoppable.

... or something like that, lol.

I meaaannn... why else would bro CHOOSE to change into anyone?

I have this little headcanon that Shang Tsung gets bored very quickly. To cure his boredom he'd transform into one of his captured souls and go on with his day until he gets tired of that body too.

———

Alas, these are all for now. Tumblr won't let me upload another image but just so you know, Stryker is a closeted bisexual. No reason other than vibes.

Anyone else who didn't make it to the list are either cyborgs or those who I think are straight. Anyways, hope you enjoyed and understood everything I just wrote. Byeee :3

[meepispeepis]

Shang Tsung's Peril is not Liu Kang's Fault (A Headcanon Analysis)

Ok, so I've been meaning to make this post for a long time, but here it is! Shang Tsung, we all love him. You love him, I love him, we all love our sassy, unapologetic asshole of evil.

However, I found myself feeling off about Shang Tsung's story and how it relates to Liu Kang and his perspective on changing the timeline. In summary, back in MK11, Liu Kang becomes the Keeper of Time and alters the timeline, which leads us to MK1. Everyone in the Mortal Kombat series has been changed, but also keeping the trademark traits that many know them for (Shao Kahn being a tyrant, Kung Lao desiring to be in the spotlight, Johnny Cage being the comic relief, etc). However, where I, personally, took issue with the story is how the villains from the previous timeline are treated compared to Shang Tsung.

I think everyone can agree that Shang Tsung (and Quan Chi, but this isn't about him lol) was treated weirdly horribly in Liu Kang's new era. Now, understandably, if we look back to how Shang was pre-MK1, it's not unreasonable for Liu Kang to demote Shang Tsung the way he did…But when you look at how other villains are treated (General Shao, Sindel, Mileena, Tanya, Noob Saibot/Sub-Zero, etc) in Liu Kang's new era, Shang Tsung happens to stick out like a sore thumb. Now, I get it, outside of the game, Shang Tsung is an iconic villain in the Mortal Kombat franchise, and as storytelling goes, NRS is always going to bring him back as an antagonist figure.

But I feel like there's some missed potential and some story and character moments that are a bit…Contrived, for lack of better words. So, I want to go over how Liu Kang's power over his timeline is presented, why the treatment of Shang Tsung, at least for me, feels off, and how it could've been used a bit better. A.K.A, Shang Tsung's downfall isn't Liu Kang's fault, and let me explain!

The Hourglass, the Timelines, and Liu Kang

We're going to take a moment to analyze Liu Kang's timeline and how the Hourglass works based on the canon events and interactions from MK1 and a bit of MK11. We will be leaving speculation and theories out the door for this one and follow strictly what NRS told us from the story they weaved.

Starting with the Hourglass...We don't know anything about the Hourglass. Ok, that was an oversimplification of what we comprehend about the Hourglass, but believe me, we really don't know what it does.

From what we can ascertain about what the Hourglass can do, we know you can pear through the Hourglass to see past events. We witnessed this with Geras in MK1 when he used the Hourglass to determine who it was that talked with Shang Tsung at the beginning of MK1. We also know that it can be utilized to monitor the current timeline and, if needed, can be used to reset the universe however back the user desires. However, no one can just use the Hourglass. At least based on MK11, only someone powerful enough to wield the title Keeper of Time can control the Hourglass. Not only that, but one cannot reverse time whenever they want. We saw this first hand in the MK11 plot, where Kronika needed to fuel a crown with countless souls and obtain the Jinsei capsules.

Kronika, upon receiving the vials of Jinsei energies: "I now have the energy to resculpt the Sands of Time."

Kronika, while speaking with Revenant Liu Kang: "Timecraft requires an abundance of raw, temporal energy. Every mortal soul contains a lifetime of this power. Every hour, every minute, every second lived is stored within." "In his Well of Souls which, remains untouched, beneath his island. A destiny I crafted for Shang Tsung, in case I ever had need."

We also know that the Keeper of Time can stop time on a large scale. We can see this as Kronika brings back old and new allies and rivals from the past, while also stopping time during the beginnings of MK11.

And based on what Liu Kang tells us in MK1, the Hourglass is considered as follows:

Liu Kang, speaking with Empress Sindel: "A celestial object which lies beyond the realms, the Hourglass regulates time and destiny."

We'll actually come back to the 'time and destiny' thing later down the line. Now, there may be other things about the Hourglass that I might be missing, but thus far, this is all that we are shown and told, canonically, what the Hourglass CAN do. We're not informed much about any potential weaknesses of the item aside from that it requires Kronika's crown to fully reset and restart time. We're not even given other intricacies on how the Hourglass works either, which we'll get into later down the line. Right now, all we know is that:

The Hourglass can ONLY be used by powerful individuals such as Kronika, Shang Tsung, or Fire God Liu Kang. If anyone else were to attempt to wield the powers of time, they end up like Fujin.

The Hourglass, once wielded by said powerful entity, can monitor the current present timeline.

If the wielder so desires, they can also stop time at a worldwide or even universal scale.

The Hourglass can be used to revert time however long back the user desires. Even allowing them to completely change history and destinies. However, they require Kronika's crown and powerful energies to be infused in said crown for this to be possible.

So, we have those bases down. Now, let's talk about Liu Kang and the handling of his new timeline, the MK1 timeline.

Unfortunately, we don't get much insight into what Liu Kang saw when he peered into the Hourglass and what was done for him to change the current timeline. The closest we get to what he did when constructing the timeline is that he popped & locked while in front of the Hourglass. But we can ascertain what he did to achieve his new timeline based on not only the MK1 story but also the character interactions he has with the other playable fighters.

We'll start with what we have seen from the story mode. In Liu Kang's new timeline:

Tarkatans are now just diseased individuals who will eventually become ravenous monsters.

Outworld and its leaders are still hellbent on conquering other realms.

Raiden is now mortal, Kung Lao is still "Second-Best," Johnny Cage is still a struggling martial arts movie star, and Kenshi is part of the Yakuza looking for Sento.

Sindel is now queen of Outworld and has two daughters, Kitana AND Mileena. However, her husband, Jerrod, is once again dead.

Shao Kahn is no longer the king of Outworld, instead "demoted" to the status of General. Reiko is also his adopted son now.

Speaking of which, Mileena is no longer a science experiment made by Shang Tsung. She's now the actual birth sister of Kitana.

Tanya and Rain are also pacified, as Tanya is now a warrior priestess and protector of the throne, while Rain is the High Mage of the palace.

Shang Tsung has become a begging salesman, fooling people with mock potions and cures to make a potential living.

Now, I'm actually going to stop here because all of this we learn about of Liu Kang's new timeline before Shang Tsung becomes a literal threat. And so far, some things look good for Liu Kang's new era...However, there are some things that I question about Liu Kang's new timeline and we'll go down the list about it.

Starting with the Tarkatans, if you are aware of at least Mortal Kombat 11, you would know that Tarkatans are a race of people. Yet, in Liu Kang's new timeline, they're instead diseased people...Why? Now, before, when I first watched MK1, I thought that they were going to reveal that Tarkat (the name of the disease) was created by Shang Tsung...But it's not????

We actually learn this in the first 5 minutes of MK1, where Shang Tsung is advertising his healing remedies, and he SPECIFICALLY STATES how his mock cures could heal those affected by Tarkat. So that means that this was purposefully done when Liu Kang recreated history. Now, this isn't me blaming Liu Kang (we'll also get to that later too) because Liu Kang does mention that Tarkat's existence in his timeline was an "unforeseen consequence."

Liu Kang VS Baraka: "As my creator, you're to blame for my affliction." "It was an unforeseen consequence, Baraka."

But it's still weird that Liu Kang would allow such a dramatic change for a race of people. Now, albeit, Tarkatans were often depicted as fighting for Shao Kahn. You know, one of the main antagonists of the Mortal Kombat franchise. But it's still weird that Liu Kang decided this was a more suitable outcome, and we'll actually discuss this in a moment.

Next, I want to talk about Outworld itself, a very divisive realm that, in the previous timeline, was a practical breeding ground for most of our known antagonists (and protagonists, too). If you at least know about MK9, you would know that the Mortal Kombat tournaments exist because of Outworld. Shao Kahn, the previous ruler of Outworld, wanted to merge Outworld with Earthrealm. But the Elder Gods created a checks & regulations system called the Mortal Kombat tournament to keep not only the realms in check but also ensure that Shao Kahn didn't get too powerful (with some help from Sindel).

Now, you would think, in Liu Kang's new era, he would eliminate the need for that to happen, especially since Sindel was now the ruling force in Outworld…But no, the Mortal Kombat tournament still stands? Now, admittedly, Liu Kang does inform us that the more "militant force" of Outworld and its politics are the reason why Mortal Kombat exists. He and Jerrod agreed that this would maintain the peace between Outworld and Earthrealm.

Yet, it still feels off that Liu Kang would also allow such a tournament to still exist; an event infamous for causing conflict so great that his best friends, even HIMSELF, perished for it. Why should Mortal Kombat be the by-all, end-all to keep peace with another realm? Not only that, but Outworld is a world riddled with conflict. Now, they don't SPECIFICALLY say that Outworld has conquered other realms, but they do name internal quarrels that Outworld faced in its past. And, sure, these conflicts are not really described in any detail when mentioned, but it shows the troubled history that Liu Kang mentions when talking with Raiden and displays Outworld's desire for conquest. Which, once again, why would Liu Kang still keep Outworld as this conquest-driven realm where Mortal Kombat is NEEDED to maintain the peace?

Now, next is the many "new" characters we meet in MK1. Now, to properly talk about this, we actually are going to start with the villains of the previous timeline, and then we're gonna come back to the Hourglass being able to regulate time and destiny. Heavily going to talk about destiny, though.

Now, where to begin! Let's start with Shang Tsung since, believe it or not, this post is about him too. From the very beginning of MK1, we learn that Shang Tsung is a wandering charlatan who sells quack cures and fake magic. We see this as he tried to market an elixir to a crowd of desperate locals, only to be caught red-handed by a man who outs his falsities. After the fact, we are shown that Shang Tsung resides in an Outworld RV (a wagon), and he dons disguises so that he can easily fool others of his crafts. During his conversation with Damashi, we hear Shang Tsung describe his lifestyle as "barely survival." We don't know if he has an actual home to go to, but considering that his wagon is considerably full of stuff, he most likely lives and breathes in that wagon.

From this, we can ascertain that Shang Tsung lives a life of squalor. And if the opening 5 minutes of MK1 isn't convincing with his dirt-faced ass, sad little meow meow visage, then listening to his interactions with the other playable fighters should be enough to assure you that Shang Tsung was in poor conditions. Now, considering what Shang Tsung has done in the previous timelines (MK9-11 & MK-MK: Armageddon), you would say that this is a well-deserved fate...However, some things make Shang Tsung's life in MK1 seem glaringly unfair.

To discuss what I mean, let's look at the other villains in the Mortal Kombat franchise and their new life in MK1. Starting with Sindel. Now, say what you will about Sindel's retcon in MK11; it stands that she was a villainess in the most recent memory of the rebooted MK games. She has done some pretty horrible stuff, such as killing her husband Jerrod in the alternate timeline, lying and betraying her own daughter and her allies, imprisoning the Cage family, and specifically telling them that they will "breed slaves" for her new regime. Now, as I said, I am aware that Sindel was beloved because of her story before MK9-MK11 where she was once a villain, but she redeemed herself to become a hero. I'm not blind to this, but considering that MK1 is building off of what they attempted to tell in the altered timeline, Sindel is pretty awful. Considering that Liu Kang merged with Raiden and his revenant self and absorbed their powers and knowledge, you would think that Sindel would get a pretty bad life, much like Shang Tsung...Right?

Now, while the "restored" Sindel is an absolute W for Sindel fans, considering what Liu Kang did to Shang Tsung in his new timeline, it feels a bit off. Because mind you, Liu Kang wouldn't know about Sindel's "redemption arc," and considering that they also retcon Sindel's origin, she should be getting the same treatment as Shang Tsung, right? She was dangerously close to obtaining a realm where she reigned as a tyrannical queen.

But no, she's given what she wanted. She's now the Empress of Outworld. The only good thing about this is that she isn't the vile person we saw in MK11. Instead, she's a firm yet compassionate queen. She's willing to be at war with anyone who rivals Outworld's power, but she states multiple times how she prefers that to not be the case. She even talks down to General Shao by reminding him of the teachings his father told him about war. MK1 Sindel also loves her daughters and does her best to protect them. Mileena is a grand example of them due to her being infected with the Tarkat disease. Sindel tries to conceal her affliction to prevent those who would do their family harm from using this against them. And as foolish as this was in hindsight, she allowed Shang Tsung to concoct a temporary cure for her daughter. This time around, Sindel also loves her husband Jerrod, and his untimely death took a toll on her. And this time around, she didn't off herself because of it :D.

Ok, so Sindel got off scot-free, mainly because the developers realized they made a mistake by turning the most beloved character into the most hated. And that can be forgiven, so we'll overlook that for now. But what about Mileena? In the altered timeline, Mileena was created by Shang Tsung and Shao Kahn. The reason for this was because Shao Kahn believed that Kitana could possibly, and eventually, betray him IF she were to learn the truth of her origins. Being new to Mortal Kombat, Mileena's atrocities are not plainly told aside from her being a mean mama jama like her creators. She ruled Outworld for a time, even was called the "Mad Empress," only to be killed by Devorah in MKX. So, not many notable war crimes that Mileena herself has done, aside from assisting Shao Kahn in the invasion of Earthrealm.

So I'm not too mad (never was really) about Mileena also receiving a better life in Liu Kang's new timeline, despite being a villain herself. And, I honestly see it as poetic. In my opinion, and I don't know if the rest of the fandom agrees with this, but I always felt that Mileena's core theme was about family. And I'm kinda disappointed that this wasn't explored for the altered Mileena in MK9-MK11. Also two, I can somewhat understand Liu Kang wanting to provide Mileena a better life. Mileena was a child a circumstance, created by vile individuals who wished to use her for ill. She was pretty much a child, mentally, and had no choice in who she could become, should the winds of fate not breeze by her. So Mileena becoming Kitana's actual sister and still becoming the future empress is satisfying (another W for Mileena fans).

But, at the end of the day, Mileena was still a villain with very little redeeming qualities. She was supposed to be exceptionally loyal to Shao Kahn and perhaps even Shang Tsung. So why does she also get a happy ending while Shang Tsung ate shit for MK1?

Then, we have the most considerable outlier in MK1, General Shao. Based on what we saw in MK9 & MK11, Shao Kahn not only conquered realms, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent lives, but he was also complacent in the death of Jerrod. Shao deceived Kitana into believing she was his daughter, only to have Shang Tsung create a clone of Kitana (Mileena) to kill her, in case she rebelled. Killed Liu Kang's best friend (Kung Lao) TWICE, attempted to publicly execute Kitana, actually killed Shang Tsung and transferred his soul and powers to Sindel, stole countless souls in Earthrealm to make himself more powerful, was complacent in the death of all the beloved characters in MK9, literally broke Liu Kang's ankles, snapped Kotal Kahn's back and killed him in MK11: Aftermath, committed attempted GENOCIDE upon Earthrealm when he tried to invade and forcibly merge the realms. There might be others I'm forgetting, but the bottom line is Shao Kahn is the meanest motherfucker in Mortal Kombat history.

And being the primary antagonist, you would think that Liu Kang would run this guy into the ground! Better yet, not have him exist at all. You know where this is going, homeboy is quite literally in MK1. Even more mind-boggling is that, like Sindel, General Shao is still in a position of power. He may not be the emperor of Outworld, but he runs its military. THE MILITARY. He has an entire army of HIGHLY TRAINED soldiers at his command! And unlike Sindel or Mileena who fight for the good guys, General Shao is…Complicated. Let me explain.

From what we can ascertain about General Shao, based on how the other characters describe him before he fell into villainy; General Shao grew up as a sickly boy. His father fought hard to not only ensure Shao's survival but also bring him up into the warrior he is. We also learn that General Shao comes from a warrior clan or at least a long line of warriors in his family. His father, like all fathers in this game apparently, was highly respected by Sindel. So much so that she quotes him when talking to General Shao.

General Shao also presents himself as highly patriotic to Outworld, as we see numerous occasions where he's zealous for Outworld's victory and power over others. Now, Liu Kang does mention something that I find interesting.

That sentence alone would have us believe that even before Shang Tsung spoke with General Shao, Shao was already someone who was prideful of himself and had heavy prejudices towards others. We can see that plainly whenever he speaks with any of the Earthrealmers. But something tells me that General Shao isn't the villain that NRS wants us to believe he still is. When talking with Sindel in private, he mentions a lot about how he feels that Outworld is shackled by Liu Kang's supposed "influence" on Outworld.

Now yes, as we later know, it is Shang Tsung that's been feeding General Shao these lies. But remember, Liu Kang said that Shang "played" on these traits that General Shao had. This means that these feelings were harboring for who knows how long. I think NRS wants us to presume that these negative feelings were festering since Jerrod & Liu Kang agreed upon settling realm tensions with Mortal Kombat. But however long these emotions have been boiling within Shao Kahn, that's what made Shao vulnerable to such manipulations. Because General Kahn's speech consists of him feeling that Outworld is trapped and that it needs to be liberated.

But the underline point of this is that even General Shao, the biggest, baddest villain in all of Mortal Kombat, was given a better life than Shang Tsung. The very same man who killed Liu Kang's spiritual brother and best friend TWICE and nearly took over Earthrealm. He's given a high position of power, yet Shang Tsung was left to struggle for the barest minimum.

And this is where we need to go back to the capabilities of the Hourglass. Liu Kang and Kronika specifically mention how the Hourglass is used to establish history and destinies for those within the timeline. In Kronika's case, every time she restarted the timeline, everyone was essentially kept the same. We saw this when Raiden discovered that he and Liu Kang were always destined to fight, and Liu Kang was supposed to die.

And casual reminder, that destiny, by definition, means that there will be necessary events that will happen to one person or thing in the future. And the Hourglass, based on what NRS is telling us, is used to craft these destinies. So, you would think that Liu Kang would want to construct different futures for everyone, which he did, but why is Shang Tsung the outlier? Because Raiden is wholly distinct compared to the thunder god he was before, in his ending, Liu Kang purposefully changed Raiden so that he doesn't become Dark Raiden in his timeline. Sindel is also given a fresh coat of paint as well along with Mileena. Yet, Johnny Cage is the same, Kung Lao is the same, Kitana remains the same, but Shang Tsung is still a conniving little shit?

And during the interactions with Shang Tsung, Liu Kang mentions that he gave Shang Tsung this life because he wanted to reform Shang Tsung…Which, that doesn't make any sense! Because when Liu Kang FINALLY informed Sindel, Kitana, Mileena, and anyone who was in Shang's laboratory about the previous timeline, NONE OF THEM KNEW OF THIS! Nobody in the new timeline knew who they were before the change! How the fuck can someone be reformed for something they didn't even know they've done? Not only that but are you about to tell me that this BRAND NEW SHANG TSUNG is literally being punished and put in timeout ALL BECAUSE OF HIS OLD TIMELINE SELF? A VERSION OF HIMSELF HE HAD NO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF, WOULD HAVE NEVER HAD ANY PRIOR KNOWLEDGE OF, AND NEVER COMMITTED ANY OF THE ATROCITIES THAT THE OLD SHANG TSUNG HAS DONE????

Even more weird is this comment that Liu Kang makes:

Wait, what the fuck does that mean, 'other timelines'? Because in story mode, Liu Kang AND Geras inform us, the audience, that they've never seen other timelines exist outside of their own. Hell, Geras said that in the billions of years of him living, other branching timelines have never existed! And based on my research, the Hourglass has never been shown to let the user peek into the future. Yet, here, Liu Kang brings up how he saw what Rain and Shang Tsung have done in other timelines? Now, yes, these dialogue options could've been placed AFTER the events of MK1's story mode, especially since the majority of the interactions between fighters are spoken as though the events from the story AND their arcade ending have already passed.

But let's look at Rain for a brief moment. Going back to the first image I posted above, the exchange between the pair goes like this:

Rain: You took Godhood from me?

Liu Kang: Because in no timeline had you used it wisely.

And there's another one I want to point out too:

Liu Kang: Pride has been your downfall in all timelines

Rain: Then why not change me in this one?

So, from what NRS is telling us from these interactions, Liu Kang WAS aware of previous timelines when recreating history? So that means that when he was recreating Rain's destiny, or future, he saw multiple events where Rain was still harmfully prideful? Liu Kang SPECIFICALLY SAYS that in no other timeline, Rain as a demi-god was a detriment. And that would mean that he would HAVE to see into the future to see if keeping Rain as a demi-god would be worth the risk in his new era! YET, APPARENTLY, HE EITHER HAS SELECTIVE FORESIGHT, OR THIS IS A PLOT CONTRIVENCY BECAUSE THERE ARE MULTIPLE TIMES WHERE LIU KANG SAYS THAT CERTAIN EVENTS WERE OUT OF HIS SIGHT. HIS TALK WITH BARAKA FOR GOOD EXAMPLE, WHERE HE MENTIONS THAT TARKAT WAS A UNFORESEEN CONSEQUENCE! LIU KANG EVEN TELLS TOMAS (Smoke) THAT THE REASON WHY HE WAS ORPHANED WAS SO THAT HE CAN MAKE HIS TIMELINE, WHICH MUST MEAN THAT HE WAS ABLE TO CRAFT HIS LIFE FROM NEAR BEGINNING TO END!

SO WHICH IS IT NRS, CAN MY BOY ACTUALLY SEE INTO THE FUTURE? HOW LIMITED IS HIS SIGHT? DID HE OR DID HE NOT ACTUALLY KNOW ABOUT OTHER TIMELINES? And Rain is right to question, why didn't he change him? Because Mileena was changed, compared to the playful vileness she was before. And an even better example to compare to Rain, RAIDEN was altered! He's woefully humble, the nicest, sweetest farm boy to ever exist, and he too was demoted from literal Godhood! So why didn't you also change Shang Tsung? Why keep him as a charlatan who will lie, cheat, steal, and kill his way to power?

Now, yes, Liu Kang does mention how he wanted to leave everyone's fates in their own hands. But these are fates that YOU CRAFTED FOR THEM! AND DID VERY LITTLE TO ACTUALLY DIFFERENTIATE THEM FROM THEIR PREVIOUS COUNTERPARTS! Sure, their new life experiences that Liu Kang gave them, their personalities would change. But, that's practically null because most of the good and bad guys in MK1 are practically identical to their previous selves. Once again, Johnny Cage is no different from the Johnny Cage we saw back in MK9-MK11, Kung Lao is still the same since that same era, and even Shao Kahn is somewhat still similar to his tyrant self in the previous games!

So it's no wonder that Titan Shang Tsung was able to just swoop in and take this new Shang Tsung under his black wings because this "new" Shang Tsung is no different from what he was. All that changed is that the little shit doesn't know magic and is poor!

I'm actually going to stop here because I think you can get my point. Liu Kang did a horrible job recreating this timeline. Which the blame actually goes to Netherrealm Studios. While I do love the story of MK1, it's horribly too simple and vague when it comes to not only its story plots but also the capabilities of how Liu Kang constructed this timeline. Because this makes it seem like Liu Kang held some special prejudice against a Shang Tsung who didn't commit any of the crimes that his previous self had committed, yet still punished him for it, and called it "reforming" him. Yet, he's happily willing to overlook the crimes that Shao Kahn and Sindel have committed for some reason!

So, I actually want to write up an alternative story for how Shang Tsung became the way he did because the one that NRS gave us is flawed in so many ways.

Reimagining of the Hourglass & Shang Tsung

We're first going to further expand upon the Hourglass since this very item is the core reason why MK1 becomes a reality. We all know that Kronika has been manipulating the Hourglass for billions upon billions of years. We get this timeframe from Geras, who has been working alongside Kronika for many eons. And I'd like to think that the Hourglass, due to Kronika's influence, has been forever tainted with her vision. It has, for many millenia, saw the intended vision that Kronika wanted out of her balanced timeline, so when there is a disturbance to her vision, it slowly, like a snail, attempts to revert back to the "status quo." Now, whether or not this makes the Hourglass conscious or not I'm unsure if I would call it that. But, clearly, Kronika's vision and influence have rubbed off on this celestial item. This could be why certain characters in MK1 practically remain the same.

And with this in mind, Liu Kang noticed this. When he was recreating the timeline, he may have seen that no matter what he did, everyone, one way or another, would revert back to an aspect of themselves that they were before. So, Liu Kang had to make necessary changes. Raiden could no longer be the God of Thunder, Rain could no longer be a demi-god, Subzero & Scorpion would have to become blood brothers, Mileena and Kitana would become actual sisters, etc. As for the villains, Liu Kang must've known that, while there are people in the world who simply do terrible shit just because, more often than not, there is a reason for their villainy. So, he provided them what they wanted. Sindel remains as the queen of Outworld, Rain is instead a High Mage in Outworld, and while General Shao may not be the emperor of Outworld, he's still given a position of power by leading Outworld's armies.

So what would this mean for Shang Tsung? Well, why not give Shang Tsung what he wanted too? And to understand what Shang Tsung wants, we gotta first go over who he is real quick. Now, I'm not going all the way back to the arcade cabinet Mortal Kombat. If it hasn't been obvious, I'm mostly taking notes and points from MK9-MK11 because that's the jumping point MK1 is coming off from. And based on the research I made, not much is known about MK9 or MK11 Shang Tsung. We know he was from Earthrealm (most likely China due to his name) and that he had magical capabilities that led him to Outworld.

And other than that, there's not much of Shang Tsung's new backstory that we see here. He's kinda like a Joker character, just more sophisticated and not too insane in the membrane. Shang Tsung simply wants power and will do anything to obtain it. But, let's look into his capabilities to consume souls. From what we saw in MK9 & MK11, Shang Tsung MUST consume souls to remain young and strong. How he got this way, the games don't tell us, and I'm not going to rely on any of the multiple character endings in these games since they are infamously known to have endings that are either not canon, semi-canon, or have contradictory plot points. And, once again, I'm also avoiding any canons in the Midway Mortal Kombat games since who knows if any of the canon events BEFORE the first Mortal Kombat game still stands. See Sindel for a point of reference in MK11: Aftermath.

From what I saw in the MK fandom, many compare Shang Tsung to a vampire, which is a pretty apt comparison. Depending on the vampire media you consume, when vampires are deprived of blood for too long, they start to wither away and become decrepit; slowly or quickly reverting back to a frail, old state of being. And the only way they can prevent further degradation is by consuming blood, which changes them back to being youthful again. The same could be said about Shang Tsung. Once again, we don't know the rules of his soul consumption in the NRS games. Does Shang Tsung need to feed regularly on souls or risk becoming old within weeks or months? Or does Shang Tsung consume a soul, becomes youthful again, but year after year, as he gets older again, he knows he has to soul-suck another individual to keep his vigor? Regardless, Shang Tsung, selfishly, prolongs his own life at the expense of others if he does not wish to die. Which could also explain why Shang Tsung desired power so much. If he was powerful enough and had a steady stream of souls to collect, he could stay young forever, effectively immortal. Now, would this say that Shang Tsung has an inner fear of death? Maybe, why else would someone desire such a feat if not to avoid the dreadful reality of one's mortality. He was already well versed with magic before, so why not ambitiously expand his possibilities while also keeping his being alive eternally? It's classic TTRPG Lich shit.

So, what did Shang Tsung want in the previous timeline? He desired power and an endless supply of souls to upkeep his well-being so that he could continue to live youthful. That's pretty much what it boils down to. So, how would Liu Kang, essentially, give Shang Tsung what he wanted. We know that he depowers Shang Tsung, which is a good starting point. If Liu Kang hoped to ensure that Shang Tsung wouldn't receive any magical prowess, taking it away in the new timeline is a good idea. On top of that, keeping him in Earthrealm would also be a good idea. Now, yes, there are some Earthrealmers who gain magical capabilities and they're not from realms like Outworld or Chaosrealm. However, more often than not, the reason why they gain their powers is due to a freak accident, an item they possess, or due to being gifted by it from otherworldly beings of power. So the chances of Shang Tsung becoming a powerful sorcerer in Earthrealm, if Liu Kang played his cards right, would still be a low probability.

Another thing would be to put Shang Tsung in a position of power. This could either mean that Shang Tsung could've been born into nobility or even royalty like Sindel and her daughters. And I say could've because we gotta look at Kung Lao. Kung Lao still has the history of his ancestor, the Great Kung Lao, being the greatest Mortal Kombat champion. So I can imagine that Shang Tsung, when the time would come for his arrival, would've been born into a long line of respectable nobles or part of a royal house. And before we continue, we gotta talk about Sindel's interactions with Liu Kang. There are multiple times where Sindel questions the legitimacy of her own actions because she learned how Liu Kang created the timeline and is thus her creator. Yet, Liu Kang keeps reassuring her that her actions, decisions, and life is still her own. That she is not part of some grand plan that Liu Kang had for her. And I want to slightly expand upon that. To do so, we got to go back to the Hourglass.

The Hourglass, I feel, is like talking to a genie. It's a common trope that one must be careful when making any wish with a genie because the creature will take your word literally or twist it on its head. It's like the saying goes, "Be careful about what you wish for." And I can imagine that Liu Kang made commands, or wishes, to the Hourglass to gain the desired results he wanted, like inputting a command to an AI machine to get results. However, Liu Kang didn't want to have an iron grip on how people's lives were spent. Kronika has always made it where Liu Kang was the "chosen hero" of Earthrealm or that Shang Tsung would be a menace. So Liu Kang did the equivalence of putting in a simple command like, "I want Sindel to become the empress of Outworld." But to ensure that she still had the free will to achieve such a status, he probably put opportunities within her ancestors' history so that it would become a POSSIBILITY for Sindel and her daughters to become royalty, but never a guarantee. We'll get back into this when we discuss Shang Tsung again.

So essentially, Liu Kang had a looser grip on the fates of the characters of MK1, giving them ample opportunities to weave their own destinies based on the lives they lived and the chances given to them. And while these changes may have slowed down the Hourglass's capability to conform this new timeline back into Kronika's vision, this also left this timeline vulnerable to Titan Shang Tsung's meddling. Because, yeah, I think we're all overlooking the terrifying idea of Titan Shang Tsung being the catalyst cause for why MK1 becomes a thing to begin with. I would honestly his involvement in MK1 entirely to this instead.

When Titan Shang Tsung mentioned that he discovered the timeline where Liu Kang won the battle instead of him, they make it seem like that he learned of this yesterday and decided to act upon it today. Instead, I would've preferred that he was messing with Liu Kang's timeline without the Fire God even knowing it. Titan Shang Tsung should've been the reason Tarkat existed, Titan Shang Tsung should've been the one who pulled the strings for Jerrod's eventual death, Titan Shang Tsung should've been responsible for Smoke losing his family, TITAN SHANG TSUGN SHOULD'VE BEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR WHY LIU KANG'S SHANG TSUNG BECAME HOMELESS!

Because that would've made Titan Shang Tsung a more personal and deeper threat. Because he could easily blame all the events that happened in Liu Kang's timeline on Liu Kang himself. Because Liu Kang had a looser grip on how his timeline worked, Titan Shang Tsung saw holes in Liu Kang's timeline that he could use to agitate the timeline, thus giving the Hourglass ample reason to revert certain events back into Kronika's vision. For example, Mileena being infected with Tarkat and becoming the Mileena we know from the previous timeline, General Shao eventually wanting to become emperor of Outworld, or the Shirai Ryu becoming a rival clan from the Lin Kuei.

So, it would make sense for him to sabotage HIS OWN SELF so that this new Shang Tsung would become vulnerable to his schemes in the hopes of gaining not only a better life but power. I can imagine that Titan Shang Tsung disrupted the new Shang Tsungs family line by showing them forbidden magics. Magic so off-limits that Liu Kang himself had to intervene, which ruined the Tsung family and brought them into obscurity. Or, Titan Shang Tsung may have destroyed their family fortune due to political intrigue or financial bankruptcy. Whatever Titan Shang Tsung did, it brought the Tsung family to the lowest of the low, so much so that they either had to escape, move, or were somehow taken to Outworld. And being in Outworld didn't improve the family's lives as they would never reach the noble or royal status that they had before.

And this is where we gotta talk about freedom of choice with Shang Tsung because I feel like some people forget that his info card mentions this about Shang Tsung in MK1:

"Shang Tsung grew up in Outworld's backwaters. Too lazy for hard labor and too shifty for honest work, he eked out a living selling quack cures and fake magic."

Now, when we look at Outworld and the way it's presented, the realm is definitely a high fantasy realm. They don't have cars like we do, they use carts, they don't have advanced technology like cellphones or T.V. Hell, Mileena shows genuine awe when she sees Johnny fly a drone and calls it magic. So it can be assumed, as well, that they probably work up some elbow grease when it comes to planting, performing customer service work, and other hard labor. All of it is done by hand with little intervention from machines. Or, the convenience is done by magic, but we can clearly see that magic doesn't come naturally to just anyone since Rain had to go to school just to become a hydromancer. Also, to be fair, the magic system in MK is not really grounded anyway, so :/.

So I can imagine why work was somewhat undesirable for Shang Tsung. He didn't know magic himself, so he didn't have the convince to let the wills of the mystical to relieve him of work. And depending on HOW poor Shang Tsung was, Shang Tsung probably wasn't able to hone any skills. We know that he speaks well, but how much of that was due to any formal education or self-teaching himself to sound as though he knows what he's talking about. And considering the fact that he's considered "shifty," that must mean that he had to resort to a life of stealing from others when he was younger. And I refuse to believe that Shang Tsung never had opportunities in life to potentially rise above his poor lifestyle, but because of his growing guarded and selfish nature, he couldn't help but grow impatient when the comfortable lifestyle he wanted took longer compared to just finding way to sneakily get what he wants.

And like I said, in this headcanon scenario, Titan Shang Tsung essentially groomed our new Shang Tsung into this lifestyle and way of thinking. He probably manipulated moments in his life to make it seem like Shang Tsung had no choice but to accept a life of deception, that this Damashi character was his only hope of ever achieving that comfortable lifestyle he always wanted, along with weaving a fake story that people "conspired against him since his birth."

And to add to this tragedy, I want to go back to Liu Kang and how everyone blames him for the reason why their lives either went to shit or for why horrible things happened to them. Because, once again, I refuse to believe that Liu Kang would just create Tarkat, or let Smokes' family die, or even let Jerrod die for the 100th time (guy can't catch a break). I like to think that Liu Kang and Geras eventually connect the dots that it was thanks to Titan Shang Tsung's meddling in his timeline that events transpired the way they did. Yet, Liu Kang doesn't want to tell anyone this. Because while it was Titan Shang Tsung's fault, the Hourglass is truly the one to blame. Even beyond the grave, Kronika nearly got what she wanted as everything nearly reverted to some twisted version of how her era once was. So Liu Kang takes the blame for it all because telling everyone that they're potentially doomed to become the worst versions of themselves or that they will experience expected tragedies would be too much for them to handle. So Liu Kang allows them to use him as the scapegoat, to blame their blights on him for why events turned out the way they did.

And I'm finally going to stop here because this has gotten too long and at this point, I feel like I'm a rambling mad woman XD.

Essentially, the TLDR version of all of this is that Titan Shang Tsung is the true mastermind for why Shang Tsung became what he was. He manipulated events so that he could merge his timeline into Liu Kangs and fucked up Liu's new era because of it. Shang Tsung's downfall wasn't Liu Kang's fault and it shouldn't have been.

Anyways, I hope that you enjoyed this ramble, and please feel free to express your own opinions about Shang Tsung's story in MK1. There's probably something about MK1 that I missed that probably justifies Liu Kang being the reason Shang Tsung becomes homeless, but I did my best with the sources that was provided to me.

[grapefacegrfa]

Mortal Kombat 1 Trailer Animalities

OKAY

SO

Mortal Kombat isn't my current hyperfixation (at least not the main one), but that new trailer has me super hype for September. I know my usual content is fan art, but when I saw the animalities, I started thinking. We saw Mileena's is a Praying Mantis, but what about the other animals we saw in the trailers? Whose are those?

TW: Some of the images past the Quan Chi section have blood. I tried my best to avoid gore as much as I could, but I couldn't do so with the Wolf or Pufferfish animalities. I apologize. :(

Also, before you read the rest, please note that I'm not at all an expert on the franchise. It's one of my special interests, but I don't know everything. Additionally, this is more of a ramble post, but I did do my research. I'm merely speculating here. If your thoughts are different, please feel free to let me know what you think! I wanna hear what other people have to say too! :D

Since I'm doing these in the order as we see them in the trailer, let's start off with the hyena. My first thought was Havik, and that was before I even decided to look at it closer. Mainly because hyenas are known to be skilled opportunistic scavengers (they aren't just scavengers though), and I thought it fit with Havik because, while I don't know that much about the character, I feel like his characterization kind of fits with the hyena. Hyenas can symbolize cleverness, but they also symbolize greed, stupidity and viciousness. That was my first thought. Then I watched the trailer again to look at the hyena a second time and that's when it became obvious.

Notice it?

Similar, if not exactly the same, facial disfigurement. I'm fairly certain the hyena is Havik's animality. Moving on to the next one, we have the hippo.

I think this is Geras. My first thought was because of the glowing blue eyes, which makes sense as Geras is the only character on the MK1 roster with glowing blue eyes specifically and I'm pretty sure real life hippos don't have glowing eyes (/lh /s). Not only that, but even the saliva resembling sand (or maybe it is just straight up sand; it was hard for me to tell) and the odd looking veins (I think??) on the side of the head with a pattern resembling the face plate looking things on Geras's body and the color resembling his tattoos.

Hippos are symbols of great skills in problem-solving, confidence, self-reliance, and strength. Also, in ancient Egypt, the hippo was a symbol of power and fertility. Not only that, but the hippopotamus is said to have the strongest bite of all land animals at about 8,130 Newtons per square inch. They are herbivores, but if disturbed by humans, they can be very dangerous and cause fatal injuries (according to ifaw.org). Next is one that's honestly given quite a bit of trouble.

A gorilla. I'm having trouble figuring out who this might be. My first thought was Shao Kahn given that the fatality is done brutally with just the gorilla's hands. Gorillas are stronger than 10 or more adult humans combined. They're also known for being incredibly destructive and ferocious in fights. Their behavior and strength lead me to believe this is Shao Kahn's animality, but I'm not entirely sure because this could also apply to Reiko? Kind of??

While there was an animality involving a large primate in MK3, that one belonged to Reptile. It's possible that the gorilla animality could belong to Reptile again, but I highly doubt it. It doesn't fit Syzoth's character. Plus, if all the past animalities were the same in the new game, that would mean Scorpion's is a penguin again and, while that could be cool as a reference and for comedy, I don't think the devs would do that.

Then we have a fossilized T-Rex. Now, there has been a T-Rex animality before in MK3, but that one belonged to Stryker (if you ask me, it should've been a pig /lh /hj).

However, given it's a T-Rex's skeleton being manipulated here, I believe it's Quan Chi's because. Well. Necromancy.

Next image contains blood. I couldn't avoid it. :(

This one's Kenshi's. I don't have a doubt about it.

While Kenshi didn't debut until Deadly Alliance and didn't have an animality but Nightwolf did, whose was a wolf, the addition of the transparent wolf resembling the appearance of Kenshi's ancestors gives it away.

...

Do I even need to say anything here?

No, but I will anyway.

This is obviously Scorpion's animality. In MK3, this one actually belonged to Sheeva and Scorpion's was a penguin, but given they made Reptile's a chimpanzee in that game, I suppose that isn't too surprising. As for why Scorpion's was a penguin, I'm not sure.

It was most likely for comedic effect because you wouldn't expect Scorpion's animality to be a small creature associated with freezing temperatures. Thankfully, this was changed in the next game because Scorpion's animality is a scorpion in MK4.

Plus, the way the animality ends is similar, with the giant scorpion stabbing the opponent with its stinger.

Next image has blood too. Sorry. :(

The last one we see aside from Mileena's, which we know because we see her transform into a Praying Mantis in the trailer, is a pufferfish. Specifically a purple one. This is Rain's. Not only because it's an aquatic creature, but the color matches Rain's attire.

In MK3, Rain's animality was an elephant, which was most likely also for comedic effect, but it could've also possibly been because, with enough pressure and concentration, water could be strong enough to cut through skin. Pressure washers have this capability since their force is usually around 1600psi, yet it only takes about 100psi to puncture human skin. Of course, cutting skin off is different from simply blowing it off of someone's body, but while the water could easily cut through fat, muscle, and tissue, I'm pretty sure most pressure washers aren't able to cut through bone. That doesn't mean water couldn't do that, but the fact that the elephant blows the opponent's skin off rather than simply piercing right through their body is kind of similar to how much damage pressure washers could do. I don't know, I'm probably looking too much into it because MK3 had some goofy animalities and Rain himself as a character is inspired by the song "Purple Rain" by Prince, so maybe I'm just taking it too seriously.

Anyway, back to the pufferfish situation. The pufferfish is often seen as a symbol of adaptability and resilience. However, it also has negative connotations, as people who are associated with these animals tend to overestimate their abilities or talents. They may have a knack for making their voice heard and getting their message across, even if they have to project a prickly persona (meaning they lose their temper and/or get frustrated easily) in order to do it (according to whatismyspiritanimal.com). I think the negative qualities suit Rain. He's known to be obsessively ambitious and, from my observations, rather prideful, even in MK1.

And that wraps up my analysis! I spent over 2 hours on this post, but I love doing research of my special interests, and getting to do that for some cool animals and the Mortal Kombat series was super fun! Again, feel free to correct me and/or share your thoughts! I hope you enjoyed reading this and I hope you consider reblogging if you did. ^^ /nf

[puissantveil]

Time to address the elephant in the room.

What's the relationship between Tanya and Kitana? I predict that NRS will pit them against each other; either they'll come to blows over Mileena, or Tanya will treat Kitana like an annoying younger sibling the way Kitana treated Kung Lao in MK11. Their personalities clash, too. Tanya is brusque, raw, almost ascetic in her severity, whereas Kitana is calm - mellow, almost - gregarious, and not a little flirtatious. Classic "why are you allergic to fun" vs. "take things seriously for once".

Tanya could treat the bae's younger twin as her own little sister, and they could work together to care for and support Mileena through her affliction, but why let that get in the way of a perfectly good catfight, amirite NRS? 🙄

[odditycircus-2002]

Medusa!Reader and Shang Tsung in Mortal Kombat 1 Story Mode Part 11

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Spoilers for Mortal Kombat 1 Storymode: Proceed with Caution

The first thing you did when you and your group were finally able to get a safe distance away from Ying's Fortress was punch Shang Tsung in the face and then Quan-chi.

"That's for your part in the Other Shang Tsung's plan!"

Jerrod has to physically hold you back from doing more to them before reminding you there is a more pressing problem. He promises that both Sorcerers will face justice when this crisis is averted. Jerrod's assurance is enough to placate your fury for now. Shang Tsung scowls deeply at the Emperor's words but, for once, doesn't say anything.

You then turn to look back toward the fortress, finding legions of stone warriors marching as one in a long line, similar to ants. You listen as others start speculating about the army and strategies to defeat them, along with Titan Shang Tsung and Titan Y/N. Until the Shang Tsung you know, comes up with a good question about more than one timeline. Although, you looked like you physically wanted to vomit when agreeing with the Sorcerer.

"As much as it pains me to say, Lord Lui Kang, Shang Tsung is actually ri- ... Not wrong to think like that. My Titan self mentioned a timeline of her own, meaning there has to be more than two timelines."

"Precisely. We lack strength, but we could find it in other timelines."

Lui Kang appears surprised by your argument before his expression takes on one of deep thought. This gets the ball rolling as everyone starts strategizing to gather allies from other timelines in an overwhelming opposing force against Titan Shang Tsung, including a plan for Lord Lui Kang to reclaim his Titan powers again. You just hope he’ll be able to do so in time.

Meanwhile, your Titan self conspires with Titan Shang Tsung while overwatching the construction of the Portals Nexus point. Titan Y/N instructs Shao to defend the portals at all costs, as Titan Shang Tsung commands Geras to find Lui Kang. Although Titan Shang Tsung expresses frustration toward Lui Kang’s development, Titan Y/N assures her husband that they will succeed, and when they do, watching Lui Kang suffer will be all the sweeter to savor.

”You always know how to brighten my mood, my love.”

Meanwhile, you were observing the Dragon Army with the rest of Earthrealm’s champions, regrouping with them to talk strategy in Lord Lui Kang’s absence. Kuai Liang tasks you as the field medic and air support.

You’re not ashamed to say that when both Shang Tsung and Quan-chin opened their mouths again, you were seconds away from biting them both. Again, Jerrod had to hold your shoulder to silently tell you to drop it for now.

With everyone’s role assigned, you take to the skies. Immediately, some stone soldiers spotted you and started hurling boulders towards you. You were barely able to dodge the barrage of the first one, and even then, you got scrapped and bruised. So not only did you have enemies on the ground to assist against, but you also had them in the air, so nowhere was truly safe. Fortunately, you could stop constructing a newer portal by dismantling the scaffolding.

While you were supposed to be general air support, you often found yourself having to assist both Raiden and the Sorcerers. Such as with a Darker Rain and Smoke, turning both of them to stone after Shang Tsung and Quan-chi defeats them.

”Thank you so much, sweet Y/N.”

”Don’t tempt me to cut out your tongue and force Quan-chi to eat it.”

You finally got to take out some of your fury on a Dark Shao, which you 100% enjoyed helping to beat down. The fact his life force was connected to the portals was just a bonus. Although, he almost caught you off guard when you went to tend to Raiden to heal up his fractured ribs. Luckily, and unfortunately, Shang Tsung and Quan-chi saved the young Earthrealmer just in time. You didn’t miss Shang Tsung’s flirtatious look as he walked to confront Dark Shao. As much as you wanted to end Shao, you knew you had to heal Raiden first and even more this time considering he took a lot of hammer blows.

Fortunately, both Sorcerers succeeded and took both Dark Shao and Reiko’s souls, stranding the Dragon Army within Earthrealm. Saving your timeline. However, your relief was soon replaced with irritation when Shang Tsung reminds you and Raiden about how he and Quan-chi risked their lives to save the realms.

”I have to agree with Raiden. What you did hear was simply cleaning up your own mess.”

However, there wasn't a time to squabble amongst yourself. Not when there was still the remaining Dragon Army to defeat.

...

Back with your Titan self, you accompanied your Titan husband to Lui Kang's Hourglass. You arrived flanked by either side of your minions, some Shang Tsung crafted explicitly in a way so they may be gifted to you.

”Titans fighting Titans? Now that’s something new.”

You comment in amusement when noticing that Lui Kang has found Titan allies while giving them all an unnerving smile. A shiver of anticipation goes down your spine when Titan Shang Tsung reiterates the new plan he told you earlier of annihilating Lui Kang's timeline from existence.

"Shall we begin the process, my flower?"

"Let us proceed, darling."

Both of you then released your minions onto Liu Kang and his allies to keep them occupied. Shang Tsung and you walk hand in hand toward Lui Kang's Hourglass, stopping when you're both close enough to combine your magic with your Kitana and Mileena. The cracking of glass ringing out like chiming bells in your ears. Of course, Lui Kang's ever-faithful servant, Geras, attempts to save the Hourglass with his own blast of magic.

You let out a hiss before directing some of your magic to Geras, just enough to gain his attention so he looks directly at your eyes. Your gaze worked like a charm to turn Geras into stone. However, before you can celebrate, the construct shedded the stone off him like dried mud. So you bare your fangs in frustration as you try again to turn him into stone, only for him to then unpetrify himself. This cycle repeats long enough for Lui Kang and his allies to band together and use their power to overpower you and Shang Tsung's attempt at destroying the Hourglass, simultaneously repairing the relic of any previous damage. The magic overwhelmed you both to the point you and your husband were brought to your knees.

"Dearest!"

You shout as your face morphs into one of concern, with your snakes slithering in his direction and hissing in your shared distress. Shang Tsung gives you an assuring look.

"I have survived worse."

You both supported one another back on your feet to retreat into your timeline with the rest of your defeated minions. You glare at the rest of your fellow Titans, who were wise enough to not even look your way. Which only frustrates you more.

"Shang Tsung, I believe it's about time we gather some new allies of our own."

"Agreed." A/N: Remember to like, reblog, or comment! We just got one or two posts left to go!😁😁😁😁

Playlist

“Redemption” by Besomorph and Coopex

“Bloody Mary” by Lady Gaga

“Fix You” by Danny Olson