#some of them have good storie telling

[mariegreen-2000]

Sh1t post for the day:

Let me get this straight

Garten of banban is accuse for copying poppy playtime, poppy playtime is accused for copying bendy and the ink machine, bendy and the dark revival is accused for copying Bioshock

What is happening

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Good morning, Sleepyhead.

[First] Prev <–-> Next

[rebornrosess]

rewatching a “kid’s” film as an adult and realizing that it’s actually Very Good and enjoyable and smart and enthralling regardless of your age is one of my favourite forms of nostalgia. realizing a movie didn’t talk down to you when you were a kid is incredibly comforting, i think.

[bitchthefuck1]

Tom's line about Shiv being selfish and "find[ing] it very hard to think about me" is actually so telling because while it's absolutely true that she rarely takes his position into consideration, Tom never once thinks about what he can do to help Shiv unless it also benefits him.

Every single time he makes a move or sacrifice that might help her, it's always something that he thinks will give him a leg up. He volunteers to take the fall for cruises, not for Shiv, who is in no way implicated, or even for Waystar, but because he thinks it'll ingratiate him to Logan, and the second it seems like he might have to actually follow through on that, he immediately tries to get out of it and even throws Shiv under the bus. Meanwhile, for all that Shiv disregards his interests, there are a number of things she does that only help him, and she's the one who actually sacrifices something and undermines her position with Logan to beg him not to let Tom go to jail.

It just makes it so clear that no matter how much he might love her (and I think he does, in his own compromised way), for him their relationship was always built on the underlying assumption that it's her job to prop him up, but it's not his job to help her.

[monpalace]

ships .. (ocarina of time/majora's mask) link/reader, fierce deity/reader.

content .. the boys (separately) with a reader who feeds them well, and the fruits of their loving labor.

warnings .. unedited. no pronouns used (you/your). reader is implied to have more meat on their bones (vaguely). reader is in their housespouse era and they aren't even married (legally). non-graphic vomit and forgetting to eat mentioned (link). link and fierce deity are taller than reader. fierce deity is named aram for writings sake. reader is implied to be a god of sorts (fierce deity). fierce deity is literally my oc at this point.

notes .. my schnookums thought they could have big cheeks and get away from me? my cutie patooties thought that i wouldn't write about them eating right? my pookie bears thought that i wouldn't fulfill my duties as their #1? my baby faced sweethearts thought i wouldn't spend 2hrs looking for pictures like those? my favorite white boys? my honeybuns? my hollywood stars? my sugarpies?

i'll eat them. omnom

LINK has always been rather thin. That was especially the case when he was a child. Something about a Kokiri child's diet not fitting what a Hylian needed always kept him frail.

When you both were children, he had quickly gotten used to you plucking his arm when it was idle to compare his lack of fat to your surplus.

(He never minded. He always looked forward to being reminded why he put one foot in front of the other every day during his fight against Ganon, or repeated cycle after cycle when it came to Majora.)

(Funnily enough, you had always made fun of him for being shorter than you as a child as well. You always mentioned he needed to drink more milk and eat more cuccos so he'd one day pass you.)

It was when you were able to cook more than simple meals and wouldn't risk burning down your cottage that you would invite (force) Link over more often than you already have.

Link had always tried to limit his visits to when he absolutely needed to. Free food, bed, shelter, care, supplies, clothes, bathes (the list was endless), and whatnot were always appreciated, but he never wanted to become to comfortable lest he wake up one day (or night. Or afternoon. His internal clock was always ruined when it came to sleeping at your cabin) and decide not return to the world outside.

He does his best to turn down any seconds, or thirds, or fourths, or fifths, and so on you may offer him when he does stay long enough for you to finish whatever extravagant meal you made just for him.

Past experiences often make him sick (with trauma or physically) and result in him vomiting his food, but there's always more from you to replace what he had just eaten and the meal before (if he remembered to eat it).

What he can't finish at the table (or on the sofa, or in the bed), he takes with him when he leaves. Link is respectful in all meanings of the word and hates to leave anything to waste.

When it comes to thanks, he either finds ways to help around your cottage or brings back items from new regions for you to cook. Whether it be repairing the busted bathroom door you've been complaining about before fixing your water faucet so the pressure is what you want it to be, or bringing back a spice the Gorons specialize in you've mentioned wanting to try, Link typically feels his gifts fall lackluster when compared to your treatment of him.

(He trusts your skill and creativity enough to know you won't poison him on accident. He never brings back any recipes or instructions either if it's not a dangerous material.)

(He's always excited to try whatever new dish you've concocted, so his only condition is that you wait for his return to cook whatever it is he brought you. "A celebration, of sorts," he calls it.)

A look in a lone puddle had told him his cheeks had gotten fatter. He supposes he now understands why he was refused entry into one of the pubs when he had to retrieve Malon and Cremia's uncle.

He had noticed that the details of his arms were less visible through his shirts when a Goron had pinched one,— not in the same way you did when you were younger— he had mentioned that he had an amount of muscle and fat to be proud of before asking him to join a tournament. Any attempts prior to were quickly shut down.

During a day of horseback archery with the Gerudo, the sweltering sun had gotten to him enough that he had to remove his tunic and the shirt underneath to feel some sort of relief. One of the women who were training him took a look at his stomach and nodded approvingly, mentioning that he should praise his soon-to-be spouse for feeding him so well.

The last nail in the coffin came when he was riding Epona into Castle Town. His tunic felt uncomfortably small and his tights (curse those damned tights) felt as thought they were stretched more across the expanse of his thighs than they usually were.

He's back in your cottage when he finally vocalizes his thoughts, preferring you to any other tailor or seamstress in the country. "I've gotten to big for my clothes," he either sighs or signs to you while eating. His gaze held a thousand yards in them, idly watching his clothes move with the wind.

The tunic, hat, tights, boots hang outside the window on a string connected to your shed. They had to be washed after a (admittedly well-planned— even if they don't think) ambush by a hoard of chu-chus.

You throw a hazy look to them before returning to the bowl you were tirelessly mixing. You were making dinner, he thinks, or maybe it was in preparation for the big breakfast you were making with the variety of bread from the Gerudo he brought back.

You'd already given him a large snack earlier.

The thought makes him look down at the plate in his lap. Every spot of it was filled and piled with bread, and eggs, and meats, and jams. He couldn't see the white bottom of it even as he pushed and prodded around.

He takes a bite of it gratefully.

"I saw you before you left not even three days ago. You fit everything fine enough to me." At some point you had stopped stirring and held the bowl out to him. Link grabs something off the plate and dips it in without a thought, eating it before responding with a hum of approval. "I can make adjustments to then, if you'd like."

You leave the bowl with him before attending to something on the stove.

"Please," he responds, halfway through another bite of the (what he now recognized as) Gerudo bread and cocoa dip you had made. "Different pants would be nice, though. It'd be a nice excuse to finally get rid of those tights." Both tasted sweet by themselves, he realized, but left a calmer aftertaste that he'd like to savor.

"You've always hated the tights," you hum in response, moving from the stove to the coolers that he'd built you after bringing you a large fish that only lived in Zora's Domain. "What would you want to move on to now? Leggings? Shorts?"

Link watches you remove a pitcher from one of the coolers. He isn't sure how long it's been in there (he doesn't even remember watching you make it), but he assumes you took some ice out so the pink liquid wouldn't freeze over into complete ice.

He watches you try to take a cup from one of the cupboards, watching you struggle to grab his favorite one from the higher shelves.

He stands from the chair sat just outside the kitchen (he liked to watch you cook when you had the time), placing the bowl and plate on one of the many cleared counters (you liked to clean as you worked), and grabs the cup for you.

Link lowers his head with his hand when he hands the cup off, head resting upon the crown of yours as he watches you pour the pink liquid into it, idle arms wrapping around your waist as he makes some slick comment about eating enough milk and cuccos for your liking.

You don't elbow him in the stomach like you might have when you were younger and he doesn't hold the cup above your head teasingly like when he was younger to (— then again, he had to climb a counter to get it out of your reach.)

Instead, you wordlessly pass the cup back to him and he wordlessly drinks it despite not knowing what it was.

He likes it, as he does all your works, and notes how it was both sweet and sour. A taste that fills both his childhood need for sweet all the time and his older palate's need for other tastes.

Handing the cup back, Link tilts his head so he can press a kiss to your crown. "Anything you'd think I'd look good in," he finally responds, the flavor of the moment leaving a tooth-achingly sweet taste on his tongue.

ARAM is often humbled in your abode.

He may have acted arrogant to others in his younger years and horrifyingly aloof now that he's a more seasoned god, but he never failed to (willingly) crumble to his knees when in your presence during either times of his life.

He had no need for the sustenance mortals require, prayers and whispers of his name were always good enough for him, but he'd kiss the ground you walk on if it meant you'd bless him with another food you've created (he already does).

Aram is the provider to your fire-lit home, an arrangement the two have been living by for as long as he can remember.

He is the sword to your shield. The arrow to your quiver. The moon to ever burning sun (which he did create for you, after all). The wound for your gauze. The life to your world— and one cannot live peacefully without the other.

Your food had quickly become an addiction to Aram. He'd eat as much as often as he could, giving little response to when questioned why he loves it so much.

("Because it comes from your hands," he once explained hours later when you were sleeping. "Your hands, that create all. That nourish all it touches and replenishes all that is extinct. I am your antithesis, and I must destroy that which I love."

(You never had the heart to ask again.)

He has enough sense to slow his eating around you. One concerned comment about him choking was enough for him to indulge in needless your wishes, but a question regarding its taste had him eating like a mortal.

His relationship with food prior to getting hooked onto yours was brief and filled with obligation. He never ate to feel full, only to make the people he was fighting with shut up and leave him out of whatever conversation they were having.

It never lingered in his stomach like a warm fireplace that others had described it as. It never made him warm and filled with love. It never gave him the energy he needed to keep fighting.

It just went through his digestive tract (why did he even have one?) and disappeared like an heavy smog finally dispersed by a strong gust of wind before he had to fight again.

When a war was over, you always came. You took the battle-shaken soldiers away when it was their time and healed their ailments if they were able to withstand everything. You went through war-stricken cities and set everything as they should have been. You feed and clothe and bandage and sew and reunite and Aram isn't sure why he lingered.

He's seen the effects of what you can do long after you've left. He knows of the good you're capable of doing just as much as he knows the bad he can cause.

He craves your touch when he sees it at its peak. He indulges himself when he sees it first-hand.

Aram understands what the soldiers mean when you beckon him closer and offer him food, uncaring of how he stands tall above all else.

The soup warms his insides. The flavor resides on his tongue hours after he's finished it. His energy, though far from depleted, had made him feel as though he were a youngling again.

He craves more.

The addiction to your presence and your food (and subsequently, you) had started then. It's an event he could easily recall when asked, one he would happily recount to you if you ever forgot where his devotion to you started.

Meeting after a war or battle had become frequent enough that he had finally learned your name; not some silly alias those who followed you often referred to you as. He felt like one of those lovesick children soldiers talk about, tripping over himself and his words.

He's curious to you, an admirer more than a stalker, fortunately. When he wasn't on the battlefront, he was always hovering around as you worked, busying his hands with whatever task you've given him after noticing his lack of mortality.

You treated him well; doing so even after the era of wars were long gone and he was seldom needed. You cared for him as though he were one of the many wounded soldiers with no family to return to once all was done and said— and to an extent, he was.

He's eating when you bring attention to his softer thigh.

You were reading to him, a romantic thriller that held as much of his attention that your captivating voice did. His gaze focused heavily on you, watching as you lick your lips after each page, how your eyes rake over the page to ensure the tone you speak the next sentence in is correct. He notes how you shift less often, how he doesn't have to move you further up his lap so you can lean against his stomach.

"It's not as painful to sit on you anymore." Aram doesn't think that line was in the book, but he doesn't mention it. It dawns that you were talking to him when you look up, using your finger as a bookmark as you closed the book around it. "Have you gained weight?"

He's a big man; it's a fact he's known since the beginning of his existence. He has large arms, muscles well know for how he snatched prey up to bring back to you. His height made it a simple feat to reach into the trees and capture any avian you wanted to experiment with that night. His legs that would stomp on any fish swimming downstream during a day at the lake you suggested.

He was sculpted by the Goddesses themselves. If they hadn't meant for his body to change along with his lifestyle, they wouldn't have designed him to dough.

(He'd never be ashamed in the fact either. He was contented knowing he had someone to dote over him constantly; a sentiment he had gained after recalling a conversation with wedded soldiers.)

(Also, the prospect of defacing what the Goddesses had long since disgraced was exciting, in a way.)

Aram doesn't look at himself, already well-acquainted with his body as his brow raises in amusement. "You feed me well, My Grace," he responds with a peck on your temple, "I would hope to become more comfortable for your pleasure." He refused to stop eating as he indulged you in conversation, the leg you sat on jumping once in place of his busy hands.

You hum that sweet, quiet hum of yours that Aram has come to associate with your contentedness (he aimed to hear to several tomes every day). Removing yourself from his lap, discarding the novel to the side as you raise your hands to cup his cheeks. "It suits you. You look healthy. Happy."

"Did I look ill before?"

You don't fluster as you might have like in your younger years. He's honored to have grown alongside you, reminiscent of the older couples you've both watched and escorted when he was still an active god.

The same filling feeling your food gives him fills his heart. The lingering sense of peace that he felt since meeting you dancing through his body when your thumbs rub the apples of his cheeks, the softest and fondest gaze anyone's ever given him in your eyes.

"No," you answer in a quiet voice only he'd be able to hear. "Never. You've always looked perfect."

And Aram has never been more thankful that he separated himself from the Goddesses as he preens under your touch. Never been more thankful that he lingered after the war was done. Never been more thankful that he had readjusted his psyche to more readily accept your gifts and affection.

He frees a hand to cradle to back of your head, a threat to all that aren't you, and brings you beneath his chin in a protective gesture. "As have you," he murmurs, pressing a kiss to the crown of your head. "And as you always will be."

[dazais-guardian-angel]

Chapter 110 is 13 pages long welcome to hell!!! so in a lot of ways this is just more fuel for a theory that I've had for a few weeks now, that's only gotten stronger with each recent season 5 episode, which is that the last episode of the season is gonna end on 110, and that Asagiri/Harukawa and Bones have been collaborating to make this happen, specifically because it's a major turning point that would be the only good place to end the season on.

When we started getting especially long chapters again (like from 25-35ish pages, with the exception of 107.5, the last two being some of the longest we've ever had), at first I just assumed that Asagiri/Harukawa got freed up from some other obligations they'd been having to cause the extremely short/half chapters, like promotional stuff for the anime/Beast movie, or working on light novels. But then 109 happened, with the "supposed" death of Dazai, and heavy emphasis at the end on how literally everyone is at their lowest point right now, and I got to thinking. 11 episodes is a strangely specific number for an anime season -- why not 12, or 13, or even 10, like you'd usually see? Why have we gotten suddenly gotten two 35 page chapters out of nowhere, that's almost unheard of at this point? They're both beautiful chapters, don't get me wrong (as always), and maybe A/H simply just didn't want to cut them in halves because they felt like the full emotional impact wouldn't hit/that there were no good cutoff points in them, but you can't deny that it's surprising, after all the shorter chapters we've been getting. Why has the anime been going at such insanely breakneck pacing for the most part ever since around the Sunday Tragedy chapters, even more so than it has in the past? So much so that it feels dangerously close to overtaking the manga?

Well, maybe, just maybe, it's because..... Asagiri decided a long time ago that whatever happens in 110 is the only point that feels "season finale"-worthy enough, in an arc that still isn't anywhere close to being completely wrapped up, and so both the manga and the anime have been specifically coordinated to reach that part within 2 and a half weeks of each other?

I've seen a lot of people now think season 5 will end with 109, and as much as my sadistic side would find that hilarious, I honestly don't think they'd do that and realistically don't want it to happen; it'd be so cruel to cliffhanger the anime for years like that, and just doesn't feel like a season cliffhanger BSD would do, a series that is ultimately hopeful and uplifting. Seasons 2 and 3 had a positive, conclusive ending; the only reasons seasons 1 and 4 didn't was because they're technically not really full seasons of their own, and are more like the first cour of another "season" that also came out that same year (seasons 1 and 2 both aired in 2016, so they're more like one big season, and seasons 4 and 5 have both aired this year, so they're also more like one big season, again taking into account how episodes 12 and 50 are not satisfying finales like episodes 24, 37, and hypothetically, 61, are). I really can't see season 5 ending with Dazai and Fukuzawa's supposed deaths, Sigma being unconscious and maybe close to death, Atsushi being vulnerable and limbless again, everyone we love still vampires, and the entire world being basically doomed; that's just too depressing and not like BSD at all. However, having said that, if it doesn't end there, there really isn't any good place to end the season before that, either, that feels in any way satisfying or like a finale at all. And so, to me, that only leaves after 109: chapter 110.

I think things are really gonna turn around next chapter. Like I said, everyone is at their lowest point right now, it cannot possibly get any worse, the framing of Dazai, Fukuzawa, and sskk at the end of 109 is telling us that; this is the time for the heroes to finally start winning again, with Aya being so close to pulling out the sword, and for all the thematic reasons other people have talked about to death that I don't need to go into here again. This upcoming chapter being so short again makes a part of me wary of 110 being "the one", so to speak, I won't lie, but at the same time, it's very possible that it needs to be that short because that's all the final episode of the season will be able to reasonably fit in, since it's already gonna be VERY close if they do make it all the way to 109. And at the end of the day, I don't doubt at all that Asagiri and Harukawa can make these the most monumental and game-changing mere 13 pages ever if they wanted to; a chapter does not at all need to be extremely long in order to be an important and impactful one, even if short ones we've gotten in the past haven't felt the most important.

An additional thought I've had, though this is much more crack territory than all this already is, is that since we know from Anime Expo that a Stormbringer movie at some point is highly likely (judging from Asagiri's reaction when someone brought it up), it's possible that chapter 110 and thus the final episode will involve the long-anticipated return of Verlaine and/or Adam, or at least some other major reference to Stormbringer, that would naturally and smoothly lead into a Stormbringer movie to explain things to people who haven't read the novel. It would make a lot of sense, especially since the s4 OP has the Old World sign behind Chuuya, which might be a hint that this has been in the works ever since seasons 4/5 were first in planning with Asagiri. We also know that Dazai and Chuuya's voice actors apparently struggled to record their lines together this season, which probably relates to 101 and possibly 109, but it could be 110 too.... I could be very wrong, as I'm no expert on this kind of thing, but I kinda doubt they would bring Chuuya's actor in for just the vampire growls, and Asagiri placing heavy emphasis on Chuuya's importance this season in that one interview gives me the impression that he's talking about much more than just 101/109. But that's the least solid evidence I have, that's just mostly based on vibes I get.

So basically, I think a lot of factors -- the unusual episode count, how close the anime is to catching up to the manga with three whole episodes left, the seemingly arbitrary recent chapter lengths, and the climactic events of 109 -- can tell us that 110 might be a very, VERY big deal. Again, there's of course no way this arc is anywhere near close to being finished, with so much left to address and resolve, but since it is currently incomplete in the manga, unlike the previously adapted arcs, if the anime was going to adapt it at all, they'd have to find a place that feels satisfying enough to end this season, knowing there won't be more anime for a long time after this, and so I think they specifically planned for that, from both Bones' and A/H's sides. 10 episodes might not have been enough to reach that point, but 12 or 13 might have been too many it wouldn't have been if Bones actually decided to slow down and let the story breathe the way it needs to, but this post isn't meant to criticize the anime, so maybe 11 was just right. And maybe Asagiri and Harukawa specifically pushed to make recent chapters longer than usual, in order to make sure that the manga reached the story content in 110 the monthly release right before season 5 was to end.

Is this just copium? Absolutely. Am I going to look like an absolute clown in two days when this post ages like milk? Probably. But the evidence is There, so let me just enjoy my delusions until Sunday, okay 🥂🫡

[moeblob]

Look, I just think it's VERY funny and on brand that I thought of an entire premise of colorful characters for half the cast and immediately drew the only one void of color.

[lorepossum]

….y’all do realize that GBA isn’t just going to tell you how Bastards vs Zombies is going to go right?

Like…?

Theory crafting is one thing (but also you don’t need Geeb to confirm/deny your theory for it to have legitimacy and be fun for you), but some of y’all are just straight up asking him to spoil so much of the intrigue of a series with only 3 parts so far.

Become comfortable in having questions. It is by design that we don’t have answers yet. We’ve barely even started this story.

[herearedragons]

tag the oc that's most likely to get stuck in a time loop and what kind of time loop it would be

[croakings]

i apologize for mithrunposting incessantly but honestly if any of you expected better of me you shouldn't have

anyway i get it and some of the failguy jokes are funny. i can tell that nothing i've run into is even malicious. but also it would be really cool and awesome if there were simply less posts calling a disabled person a failure or baby or a dog or whatever for needing accommodation or extra help, especially when like. hey did you know the source material very on purpose did not do anything remotely like that. critical thinking question: could there be some reasons these phrases are not great, potentially

[andromeda3116]

people actually went on about how game of thrones made it socially acceptable to be a fantasy nerd, as though the lord of the rings movies hadn't been released less than a decade earlier and left far greater cultural ripples and i am just

got may have made the adults feel better about liking fantasy, but lotr got into the kids' heads when they (we) were just young and impressionable enough to be absolutely transported and emotionally rewritten by don't you leave him, samwise gamgee and my brother, my captain, my king and and rohan will answer

lotr was rewriting entire generations' brain chemistry long before asoiaf and so obviously it's not fair to compare any post-lotr fantasy novel to it, and each book series was trying to do different things within their own spheres and so that also is not a fair comparison, but in terms of the cultural impact of the adaptations that came out within a decade of each other, saying that it was game of thrones that made fantasy mainstream is baffling

game of thrones could only run because the lord of the rings movies laid the path, and i will die on this hill

[skcirthinq]

*me like. A few months ago?* Oh, I sure did enjoy @amevello-blue and @alicat54cwriting 's Double Rainbow series. I should check out other stuff they've written.

*me now, with like. 20 sketchbook pages filled* Y'all there's like. So many babies. And the gay-ass rabbit and the gay-ass turtle and the aroace-ass turtle who apparently can't see an unaccompanied child without adopting them. And the other turtle who can be described similarly. And the goths!

So anyways. I read Pawn's Gambit, loved it, filled a few pages just for that fic....

In no particular order, so spoilers ahead, obviously.

Assorted scenes from the fic! Everyone's fine! See, Sheldon's even fine! That's not Hamato ghost bs at all, ignore Gram Gram and oh fuck that's Sister Kraang.

And even worse.

Bishop.

Yeah, so if any of the sketches piqued your interest, go read Pawn's Gambit! There's context, I promise!

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Teruko and Yosano should've faced off. I think Yosano should've been posed that question that Atsushi was; that reveal of the "future war" - Teruko went along with Fukuchi out of a mix of indebtedness and being at a loss for what to do. War is all she's known; of course she doesn't know. But Yosano has been to the depths of despair and come back out of it again. She might've faltered at this horrific reminder of her trauma, but when it comes down to it, she saves the lives before her. She fought for a way back to light and life. I just think there could've been a really interesting conflict there. And it would've made Teruko's role much more tragic if she wanted desperately for there to be a third option but just didn't have enough time to sit with it and process what that third option might be before Fyodor made it all go to hell.

Also a fight between them would've been interesting, because Teruko is much physically stronger than Yosano, but Yosano can heal from any physical injury inflicted. However, since we now know Teruko can alter mental age, she could inflict psychological wounds by de-aging her, which would've been a good callback to the horrors of war in her backstory, and also been a nice bit of foreshadowing for Teruko actually being a child.

Teruko eventually allowing Yosano to leave out that door after seeing her resolve would've been a deeply bittersweet and powerful moment, I think, especially in hindsight after her backstory reveal.

[antianakin]

I'll never understand how some fans are so incredibly willing to just be okay with "it happened in a timeskip" to excuse bad writing lol. Like "oh yeah these two characters who have been enemies for like four seasons of a TV show had their entire reconciliation OFF SCREEN in the time skip between episodes right at the end so it works" or "oh yeah this character who was left basically broken had their entire growth and development where they came to terms with the thing that broke them in the time skip so it works" kind of stuff. Like that's literally the ENTIRE emotional climax of a story that's been building for a while and you're FINE with not getting to actually SEE IT???

Can't relate.

[littlespoonevan]

the thing about romcoms is just- it's never meant to be 'is it believable?' but instead 'do you believe it?' do you believe these two characters are actually falling in love with each other??? do you believe their chemistry??? do you believe whatever obstacle is thrown in their way is legitimately something that might keep them apart for a time and not something that could be solved with one conversation?? do you believe that they believe they need to fake date for this very specific reason??? do you believe the reason why they're 'enemies' at the start, no matter how silly a misunderstanding it may be??? do you believe the grand romantic gesture fits the characters and is actually how one character would show their love to the other?? like!!!! it's about empathy and authenticity and feeling what the characters feel so strongly that even if it's a trope or a cliché it doesn't matter because you believe it

[cienie-isengardu]

Everyone talks about Bi-Han being gullible/stupid etc for believing Shang Tsung + being manipulated by him. But Bi-Han sided with Shang Tsung because he wanted to break the Lin Kuei free from Liu Kang's control. He only accepted the alliance when he saw the Dragon Army and thought they actually had a good chance of winning. Meanwhile it's crickets on Hanzo "I killed your brother for no reason" Hasashi who got played by Quan Chi the man who actually killed his family & clan and whom Scorpion still grovels to. Not to mention that Raiden said he would try to get Hanzo's family restored if he didn't kill Bi-Han and this loser did it anyway. And this is only the tip of the iceberg for how much jackassery this fool pulls across every game. Yet Bi-Han is the irredeemable evil asshole because he *checks notes* says some mean things to his brothers >:( and some of this is done as Noob Saibot which btw loops back to Hanzo because Bi-Han wouldn't have ever become Noob if Hanzo hadn't killed him.

I think the most gullible person in MK1 was in fact Shang Tsung himself, who for some reason believed that a powerful mysterious being showing up out of nowhere would willingly share her power with him. Talk about a new level of naivety!

I have a theory of mine, that Titan Shang Tsung gave enough information about (previous timeline) Sub-Zero to his younger version, because breaking Lin Kuei from Liu Kang’s control was a personal matter to him. Like yes, it would weaken his enemy and bring the planned  chaos and “evilness” into the timeline he despited, but looking at the fact how Lin Kuei in majority of source material was an assassin clan with a strong, old-centuries ties to Shang Tsung, it feels to me likely that "reclaiming" the Lin Kuei was a matter of honor to him. Double so, as some sources went so far and presented elder Sub-Zero if not outright the favorite then one of favorite assassins working for the sorcerer. Frankly, as the story mode shows alone, “Damashi” talked and warned both Shang Tsung and Quan Chi about Lin Kuei before Sub-Zero even met any of them, so there was some behind-the-scenes preparation done and for all we know Bi-Han was targeted by the evil Titan before the main events even unfolded. 

As for Bi-Han, right now he has this misfortune to be blamed and hated for everything, whether he actually did it or not, so no matter what is the topic, he is in a losing position by definition. However, like you said, Sub-Zero did not agree on the spot to join Shang Tsung and actually had a chance to see what the supposed allies could offer him so it is not like he fell for empty promises alone. What is important to remember, Lin Kuei were one of major defenders of Earthrealm, so Bi-Han’s choice to switch sides actually would weakened Fire Lord’s forces, leaving him with Shaolin Monks and - depending how in Liu Kang’s timeline military technology evolved - the armed forces of nations that had no idea about Outworld’s threat. But the first part of Shang Tsung and General Shao’s plan was about depriving Sindel and her daughters of the throne, so there is possibility that before Earthrealm would be put in direct danger, Sub-Zero could alter his plans depending how well the teamwork would go with the sorcerers and General Shao.

If Kuai Liang and Tomas were either captured or eliminated from the picture, Liu Kang would not even know that Bi-Han switched sides until the attack - or, if the alliance played smart, Lin Kuei could backstab Fire Lord’s forces from the inside. And in the scenario in which Bi-Han was not captured by his brothers, he still could have an option (backup plan) to play Shang Tsung’s failure to his own gain if he was cunning enough. For example, he could betray the sorcerer to earn Earthrealm’s victory in the important moment and then lie to Liu Kang’s face that was his true plan from the start - the mission has failed, Lin Kuei brothers were outnumbered; he and Scorpion were trapped inside the fortress with Smoke, who if lucky, managed to hide himself (not something Sub-Zero could even knew). With no way to warn the Fire Lord and not seeing a better solution at that moment, under the pretense he is ready to betray Earthrealm, he learned what Liu Kang’s enemy were doing. Then trusting in brother’s skills, on purpose lied to Kuai Liang to piss him off enough so he could get out and reunite with Smoke. And when Bi-Han faced his angry brothers he fought only to let them run away, so they could carry on the important news to Liu Kang, while scarring Scorpion’s face as proof he was on board with Shang Tsung, so no one could doubt him. Because duty comes above family and isn’t that what was expected from Grandmaster and Lin Kuei?  Isn’t that what their father wanted? For them all to serve Fire Lord and Earthrealm at any cost?

And mind you, at this point in the story Sub-Zero had no idea that Liu Kang was in fact once Keeper of Time and had an access to Geras/Hourglass to rewind time and check what actually happened. For all Bi-Han knew then, the lie would be unprovable and, at worst, he would have to earn Fire Lord and his brothers’ trust again but then, it would be much more easy to play on their guilt, how easily they doubted when he was willing to go extra miles for the sacred duty they all talk and talk and talk about. At the same time, the experiences would teach Bi-Han he can’t trust his brothers and in future he needs to be more cunning about breaking out from Liu Kang’s control and probably relying more on Sektor & Cyrax. 

(And even if Kuai Liang would be upset, he couldn’t complain, because he is the one that wanted to uphold tradition. Bi-Han could then easily come back to the lie he tried to save father’s life and all the cruel things he said back then were an unpleasant necessity and how could you, my dearest brother, doubt me so easily…?)

Of course, in the end Sub-Zero was captured by his brothers and the possibilities thwarted but my point is, just because Bi-Han joined Shang Tsung, it does not mean he had no longer any autonomy over the course of action or that he wouldn’t make a backup plans for various outcomes. Lin Kuei were trained from childhood to do their duty and as far as we could see, they play the role of black ops for Liu Kang - what most likely also includes espionage. And in the espionage art one must be ready to act at any given moment and plan ahead. Bi-Han said himself, he has no loyalty to Earthrealm nor to Outworld and I do not doubt he would play the game with his survival and Lin Kuei’s best interest in mind. Who he would need to betray in the process would depend on who was winning and who was the most beneficial ally.

I think we all can agree that Lin Kuei mission and Bi-Han’s betrayal was a rushed subplot and both the brothers and emotional impact of the story would benefit more if Sub-Zero wasn’t cut off from the events right away after fulfilling his main purpose - giving a ground for new Lin Kuei vs Shirai Ryu conflict that won’t have any importance until the next games will use it. It is not even a matter if Bi-Han acted logically or not, but more the feeling of incompetence of everyone involved. Nitara and Ermac didn’t raise the alarm the moment when intruders were spotted (and Nitara literally screeched / screamed when she attacked Smoke). Bi-Han didn’t behead Shang Tsung when he had an occasion; instead he idly waited for enemy soldiers to run up to Lin Kuei - and really, if he knew the mission was endangered, he should have used the precious seconds to eliminate the target. Even if he was killed, there would be one enemy less for Liu Kang to deal with. Kuai Liang alone beat all the main fighters, burning the stone soldiers like they were nothing while Smoke, well he had one moment of serious panic and after that was just there, pushed to the background. Bi-Han’s choice and development of his subplot could be taken in interesting, even twisted directions in the hands of capable writers. And by that I don’t mean the intelligence of writers but capability to care for Bi-Han’s plot beyond the need to break Lin Kuei from Liu Kang. Because him acting either on impulse or seizing an opportunity he awaited for years does not mean he needs to stick to Shang Tsung & General Shao to the bitter end. I, for one, would like to see how cunning Sub-Zero could be in such a situation but for that NRS would need to let him be in the story as a full-fledged character that develops alongside the events and not be just there to push events and other characters' storylines forward.

As for original Scorpion, I feel there is in general a great change in perception of his and Sub-Zero’s storylines, as Scorpion in the earliest source materials, including the oldest comics, usually played the role of antagonist, while Sub-Zero even as an assassin could be pretty heroic on his own. Now the roles seems to turn around, however I suspect the main reason why fans give Hanzo benefit of doubt and forgive him any foolish decisions but won’t give Bi-Han the same treatment comes down to this: Hanzo is acting on strong emotions, something we can see by visually aspect of the games and heard him personally speaking about them while Sub-Zero does not externalize his emotions, because such openness is not in his nature (the old comics are better in that aspect but how many people even remember them these days?). It is much easier for fans to forgive character’s “stupidity”, the all wrongly made choices when character will openly admit to be upset, angry, devastated or traumatized than to forgive the one that won't spill out their guts, won’t cry or feel sorry for themselves and will just adapt and go on with their life. People forgive acting on overwhelming emotions when those are all over the place because emotions are something easy to relate - and who of us did not lose control over them at least one? Hanzo is powerful male character in terms of firepower and skills alone but he is also deeply messed up, traumatized man whose life was fucked up and now he is trying hardly to piece it together and to rebuild his sense of humanity and honor. Bi-Han as Noob Saibot just… adapted and moved on with his life and the amount of people he would admit any feeling of regret or injustice done to him I can count on one hand and still have a finger of two free. Meanwhile everyone who cares to learn, knows Hanzo is grieving after his clan and family or is upset or angry and so on. Which is also why I think so many characters (and fans) think Bi-Han as a Noob Saibot is so vile and evil - because in contrast to other Wraiths and/or Revenants, he does not show any sign of trauma, be it leashing out in anger or outrightly speaking how deeply wounded he is, even if he died in no less brutal way than rest of fallen heroes - and isn't it ironic that Kuai Liang was accused about that too? Of not looking traumatized enough because he does not show openly his pain . And accused by Sonya of all possible people?

It’s easier to relate and understand characters wearing emotions on their sleeve because all the reasoning and effects of their actions are either easy to trace and connect or explicitly stated by characters themselves. Hanzo is such a character. He is sad and angry so he acts in a way a sad and angry man would. Bi-Han though? If people except Bi-Han - a characters specifically connected to ice - to spill out his guts how he feels, to cry how unfair his life was and how everyone is mean to him or to vomit the over-sweetened praises for anyone he likes or jump at any occasion to cuddle anyone at arm length to know he feels anything at all, then… Well, that is definitely not the right character for them. Bi-Han just doesn’t work like that and sure, his anger may flare here and there, but as I was pointing out in different metas and analyzes in the past, that man is not overly emotional to begin with, even when talking with people he likes and cares for. I won’t lie, sometimes to understand Sub-Zero’s reasoning one needs to use all imagination and do some mentally gymnastics as the character won’t tell us what is happening inside his head the way Hanzo would. But that can be fun on its own, to examine and analyze and build theories. However, let’s be real here, it is not for everyone and each for their own.