#that's my curse of the gods tho to never escape shang tsung's little claws around my heart n soul oof

[mrstsung]

I want this shang but only the version in my head. Only the version i handcrafted away from the narrative and the hype schlock that was mk12/mk1. The version that is his humble beginnings,freshly cursed by the gods,former warrior of earthrealm,having a falling out with his former friend and mentor lord raiden and cohersd by shao kahn to serve under him thus betraying earthrealm. The version i handcrafted and carefully made with love. Tho it can apply to any and many of the various iterations of shang tsung over the years. I feel a young shang's misadventures is long overdue or at least a proper backstory that isn't overtaken and overshadowed by corporate meddling. (I would absolutely love to have mr.tagawa's input more on this personally,and his opinions and thoughts on my backstory for shang. But alas maybe some day)

But anywho. A young shang tsung would be nice but better written or given at least a better script.

Because mr. Alan lee is such an amazing talent. And i feel he deserves so much better as shang tsung,one of THE if not THE MOST iconic antagonist of the mortal kombat series. (As with many other actors and VA for said character.)

Like this shang's aesthetics(minus the claws gauntlets tho they are growing on me but they could look better. Maybe more snake or dragon motifs?),the charm is there,the feeling,the attitude,the actor does an amazing job,but the problem is....legitimately....everything else. When your "antag" is better than everyone else,and i mean that genuinely. Better than the script and plot,better than the protags,better than the other antagonists,etc. Then....it's not good. Of course i love shang and want a win for him once. Especially now he has legitimate reasons why he does what he does,why he is how he is,and you genuinely feel sorry for him,and want to hug him,give him a friend,ffs you just go "ah fuck man, you good?" Yeah. He actually has something shown at least. Not my personal flavor. However for canon to be bold enough to do so is shocking. But what pisses me off as a fan of both mk and shang tsung. Is that...

1. It took them waaaaay too long to make that happen.

2. It doesn't feel sincere even when they did.

3. It feels rushed and plot convenient. And centering shang's whole backstory around liu kang instead of well....shang tsung. At least it feels that way. It doesn't feel like the character has agency. So it feels like a half assed apology for doing shang dirty.

So that's why i don't like the story that shang is centered around. Now if we take the character,the concept of a shang tsung down on his luck,barely surviving off of scraps,even tho he serves a powerful kingdom and emperor with a cushy job as a court mage. That i would love to see. That's exactly how i always saw his og backstory, if you want him to rectify mistakes ACTUALLY FUCKING DO IT AND NOT BACKTRACK FOR STATUS QUO FOR YOUR "PROTAGS OR HEROES" TO WIN!!!! Like holy shit dude. Like crap,the Fanfics are better than canon writing and nrs knows it! They seem to even try to copy what we as fans to but fail so hard. But it's sad it feels so half assed when a "professional gaming company" is supposed to make this. But i feel its corporate meddling,and Hollywood greed that prevents this series,at least storywise and narratively from reaching its true potential.

Sorry for this vent. But this character I'm very very passionate about. But mostly this game series. I love this game. I love playing it. Almost all the games. It's my childhood as many others. And I'm not gonna stand for mediocrity and slander to one of my faves.

But anyways. Enough rambling. Back to shang.

Like mk12/mk1 shang tsung isn't bad at least looks wise. No more different than anyone else. But it still bothers me they all look "samey" and not in a memey,jokey,fun way. It looks sloppy next to him. Ignoring everyone else around him,looking at shang individually. Omfg he's a cutie. He's smug,he's the shang i know n love but just....younger. like in His 30s or so. Around my age. Which is cool. But....i still kinda wish his old man shang wasn't a ruse. I ignore it was a ruse tho so it doesn't count. In fact like i said. I'm rewriting the whole thing period.

Will it be kinda self indulgent? Maybe a bit self inserty,Yes. But i don't care. Because he deserves better than that.

We owe it to mr.tagawa. to shang's character. To all the voice actors and actors and amazing talent over the 30+yrs mk has been around. We deserve a good story,a better story,and even more so,a better fucking game. To play. To learn. To have fun with. Without paying and arm and a leg to even access it. Period.

Shang tsung baby you deserve better. So so so much better.