#the personalities are such a good mix and then ryu is perfect contrast

[jalapenobee]

kenta kanata and ryu as a shuffle team. yeah

[cienie-isengardu]

Noob Saibot: Death, Darkness and Shadows

Generally speaking, Noob's main theme is darkness, shadows and death. He talks a lot about those in character banters, what only adds to the sinister impression of him. Yet despite the Wraith's way to describe himself (e.g. Angel of Death, Face of Death, Death's Hand ), his ambitions to form the deadliest clan and bitter disappointment in Kuai Liang, Bi-Han's relationship with death and shadows is not one dimensional.

Death is a constant part of Mortal Kombat. Characters were killed during fights, some were betrayed, others died – or would die in case of failure - as punishment. Add to that gruesome ways to end one's life, the fact that the Netherrealm (hell) is real place and souls of good people can be enslaved and twisted by evil magic, it's no wonder why death in Mortal Kombat is tied with pain, cruelty and fear. Even if some characters aren't afraid of death itself, there is plenty creatures that can consume and enslave souls and I think the fear of what gonna happen “in afterlife” may be very real concern albeit not spoken aloud.

Bi-Han was warned by Raiden that his soul was tainted with evil, but he didn't want – or couldn't – turn away from Lin Kuei. Soon after his adventure with Shinnok's amulet, he joined Mortal Kombat Tournament and here was killed by Scorpion. Quan Chi captured and changed Bi-Han's soul into Wraith, Noob Saibot. At core, it's still Bi-Han albeit his ability to feel (positive?) emotions – and maybe feeling pain too - is cut away or at least numbed.

Bi-Han's own death was cruel fate. Burning alive is an awful experience and even worse for cryomancer who by nature prefer ice over fire. Since Bi-Han died for a crime he did not commit in the first place and his soul was enslaved by Quan Chi (whose magic does not bid him anymore apparently) he has a lot reasons to be angry about and to seek revenge. Surprising, in contrast to Scorpion, there is little rage or grief in Bi-Han's character banters.

Noob claims that “Death is the coldest ice” and it may explain why he adapted into it so well – he was, after all a cryomancer and the colder temperature the better for his state of mind. What also may be relate to another statement, how “in death I'm even more deadly”. Of course, if Bi-Han meant his growing powers or just the fact that as dead person he is much harder to destroy is not specified. Most likely both, since Noob on another occasion said also that “[Death] gave me unspeakable power” and  “soulnado did not kill me” or “What is dead cannot die”, what refer to new and/or growing skills and benefits of being dead.

Adding to the mix information from older source like Mythologies: Sub-Zero that:

Sub-Zero learned of his ability as a young adult. It was passed on to him by his father, a fourth generation Lin Kuei warrior himself. The ability to harness the element of cold is one that takes years of practice. It's full potential realized only by those who've mastered it at the latest stages of life. Sub-Zero's skills have the ability to develop much faster than those of the other Lin Kuei. This was realized by the Lin Kuei Grandmasters who picked the young warrior to take his deceased father's place as the next Sub-Zero.

And this may be another reason why Noob considers his resurrection as a improvement.

To master ice ability one needs years of practice and the full potential is realized usually by those at the latest stage of life. So, the older cryomancers became, the better their ice skills are. Even though Bi-Han's skills developed much faster than of the other Lin Kuei, he was still in his 30s at best (old source claimed he was 32  around MK Tournament). What could means he never had a chance to reach the fullness of his potential. Death took away the chance, yes, but at the same time Quan Chi's magic bonded him with darkness of the world of dead. Thus in cold embrace of death, Bi-Han has endless time and means to satisfy his personal strive for perfection and/or ambitions.

That view of death, as a way to increase one's power and/or reaching the full potential, can be seen also in:

Sub-Zero: Time has revealed your true character.

Noob: My true power, Kuai Liang.

Sub-Zero: Which corrupts you, Bi-Han.

Or

Noob: Death will increase your power.

Skarlet: My power comes from life's essence.

Noob: You are still mortal, Skarlet.

What may be another part of explaination why Noob Saibot does not regret his own death and being Wraith the way Scorpion does. Death extended Bi-Han's natural abilities while Hanzo is fueled by hellish (unnatural for man) fire.

Talking about Scorpion, it's worth to look closer at the dichtomy of darkness and fire of Netherrealm. As far as the Hell was usually shown, this realm is made mainly of a fiery landscape thus rather barren land in general. Despite the harsh environment, local residents (demons, damned souls, wraiths) adapted into living there. Fire has a lot meanings, but in general symbolizes strong emotions, either good (love) or bad (rage). There is also important duality of fire – it may be a symbol of light (Liu Kang's Eternal Fire that banish darkness/shadows) but it may be destructive as well. In contrast, shadows and endless night usually refers to coldness.

Hanzo's hellfire is related to his emotional state – it represents rage and suffering. The man himself said on many occassion that he cannot escape his rage. As it was pointed out in game(s), because of such strong feelings, Hanzo is person easy to manipulate. Quan Chi manipulated his anger and grief, Kronnika used past!Hanzo in similar way ("Do not trust Kronika! She uses your anger to enslave you, as Quan Chi did both of us." ).

There is interesting connection between Hanzo and other (main) revenants like Liu Kang, Kitana or Jade. They all are driven by strong hate and/or resentment for what happened to them. Revenant!Jade talked to her younger self how being loyal to Kitana brought her to the doom (“Blame your loyalty to Kitana. It led directly to our death.”). Liu Kang was motivated by hate toward Raiden and seek a way to avenge his unjustly death ("I have mastered Shinnok’s sorcery. I will add your soul’s strength to mine, and finally avenge myself upon Raiden."), while MKX!Kitana refused to listen Sareena & Jax's pleas to change because, like she said herself “I am a victim no longer."

But it's not just hate and rage that drive those characters, but also the suffering. They resent their persecutor(s) and/or people guilty of their deaths – to some degree, they also blame those who are dear to them; a feeling of hate and resentment most likely strengthened by Quan Chi's magic and Netherrealm place but not without base in reality. To some extent Hanzo and revenants are all driven by the feeling of injustice done to them. They aren't reconciled with death. They lash out in pain and anger and I think most characters can see it; the suffering under their harsh words and act of violence. What may be a reason why our heroes, after so many years, still hope to save (heal) revenants. Even if the hope seems to be foolish at times and slowly dying with passing time, there are still characters wishing to find a way to help or at least to open dialogue with former champions.

Frankly, Bi-Han is the only one(?) Quan Chi's creation that is not motivated by anger (as a reaction to his own suffering and dying). In contrast to Scorpion, Liu Kang or Kitana, Noob is truly cold-hearted character, who accepted his new form without much complain. Who, in contrast to others, adapted into offered darkness and moved on.

(And maybe that is why Noob is called Quan Chi's masterpiece both by characters (Kitana x2) and in additional kosmetic (skins) while Hanzo is referred to be sorcerer's slave (D'Vorah) or puppet (Kitana) or servant (skins). Bi-Han is unique in the way his sense of pain and emotional connection is numbed. It is much harder to manipulate someone who does not feel. Maybe this is also why Noob is the only Quan Chi's creation that has bond with additional intelligent(?) creature like Saibot... who may or may not be sorcerer's way to control reborn Bi-Han.)

I like to think Hanzo's inability to escape his own rage is fueled by hellfire; an element of Netherrealm used by Quan Chi to bent Shirai Ryu ninja to his will. Him, and the rest (of main) revenants are tighly connected to strong but negative feelings like anger, suffering and desire for revenge. From  Hanzo's words we know, Netherrealm is wealthy in pain and suffering what only adds to the idea of dependence between emotional state of revenant/wraith and helplessness to escape their fate. Netherrealm most likely feed their endless rage and pain. MKX hinted in Kung Lao and Jin endings and Sareena's words to evil!Kitana that there is hope for damned champions – positive emotions and aid/support of close people is the best cure (ironically, Kitana accused Sareena she get “corrupted” by emotions but the Empress of Netherrealm is corrupted by her own rage). The support and I guess, coming to terms with their own brutal death or death of people very dear to them is key to heal damned souls. Older Hanzo still griefs the loss of wife and kid, but he is slowly healing knowing now Quan Chi's was architect of their pain and paid for that, while past!Scorpion is driven by his emotions and clearly is not mentally okay.

In contrast, the death / darkness to which Bi-Han's soul was bonded numbed his sense of feeling – to the point heroes (Hanzo, Kung Lao) claim death made Noob even more vile... even though in game he barely did anything that outstanding evil.

>> Working with Sektor & Cyber Lin Kuei? He did so in MK9 already and game(s) implies he was on better terms with Sektor than Kuai ever(?) was in the past. So, if anything, he simply renew his already existing bond with clan member of  Lin Kuei. Blaming Bi-Han for embrancing old traditions of assassins clan that shaped him from young age is kinda hypocritical, because Scorpion did the same and yet I don't hear people claim it made past!Hanzo more vile or anything else like that. And Hanzo has a bad habit to look down on anyone who is mercenery, thief and killer even though he himself is/was not a saint. Of course, one may say Scorpion decided to change for better while Bi-Han does not show any implication of that. But seriously, good or bad guys, in Mortal Kombat universe, all fighters have blood on their hand. Cassie killed dozen of Black Dragon thugs without second thoughs, Kotal wanted to murder Tarkatan people and yet many heroes still see him as honorable man. Morality in this universe really depend on one's point of view. Bi-Han is simply loyal to the teaching that shaped him as Sub-Zero the same as Kung Lao or Liu Kang are loyal to their White Locus teaching.

>> Bi-Han's lack of reconciliation with brother? Well, Kuai Liang is the one openly aggressive and be like “Netherrealm can have you” and  “I disown you in every way” and claiming his brother does not deserve forgivness, even though MK11 highly imply that for two decades he did not have an idea his brother actually survived Soulnado. Just look at Frost's wish to destroy Lin Kuei and her former master, she has more rage in her than Noob showed at any point. Two things Noob really wanted was A) to form/have the deadliest clan and B) Kuai Liang stop using Bi-Han's old codename he took without permission and by that breaking the existing tradition. The whole ruling the world and/or being Death was not intended plan of Noob and happened mainly in his own ending. Twisted ambiton and stubborn dispute over title is hardly that big deal when one look at the all big bad guys like Shao Kahn (to conquer all realms) or Shinnok (destroy Earthrealm and Elder Gods) or Kronika (to restore her fallen son by making timeline to her liking). Also, as much as the dialouges between brothers are far from the nicest, they are hardly the most hateful either. Let's just agree Noob and Kuai Liang relationship is complicated.

>> Serving Kronika? Older Jax and past!Erron did that too and I don't see people jump and claim them being pure evilness. Bi-Han's motivation was selfish, true, but so was Jax's (keeping family safe and not dealing with trauma well), Scorpion's (restoring assassin clan and his family), Erron's (money) or revenants (revenge and destroying Earthrealm). Noob does not show much evil intentions beside having his new (dead) clan and maybe reclaim lost title.

Hell, I wouldn't say Bi-Han was that vile to begin with in MK9. He saved Earthrealm once (though that was more like fixing his mistake, but to do so, he risked his soul on trip to Hell) and at some point most likely changed sides in MK Tournament (otherwise his fight with Scorpion would not have any sense in-universe). Was Bi-Han the nicest person to deal with? No. He was sarcastic and harsh, but he hardly did anything truly evil in the previous game and all what happened after his death, happened under Quan Chi's control. Actually, I would say Bi-Han, the cold, uncaring assassin had an interesting parallel with Raiden that of course will depend on personal interpretation. Still, if game put focus on such small detail, it may be a hint that elder Sub-Zero is much complex character than first impression would suggest.

So, why Noob is seen as the one that death made more vile while revenants (rulers of Hell) are more pited than really hated and only those who think there is no chance to “save” corrupted souls (Raiden, Hanzo(?)) claim them to be true evil? Well, I think it all comes down to simple thing – showing emotions. Liu Kang, Kitana, Jade, even past!Scorpion. They all lash out in anger, they are all deeply wounded. They are victims of lies and manipulations. Twisted poor souls of champions that were killed in brutal way yet can't rest in peace.

But not Bi-Han. There is so little anger or hate, like he truly does not care. That indifference – the impassivity – is hard to relate for characters. This is not really about how much evil being Noob is because compared to other villains, he is hardly the most important or cruel one in storyline. This is rather about his lack of human emotions; lack of visible trauma, lack of reaction to physical and emotional pain.

That reminds me MKX intro between Sonya and Kuai Liang:

Sub-Zero: You think me a Revenant still? Sonya Blade: You sure seem un-traumatized. Sub-Zero: You know not my pain!

In which Sonya “accused” Kuai Liang to be still revenant just because he did not show any visible signs of PTSD. Even though she knew his personal story of losing brother, saw him killed in brutal attack and helped bring him back to life and had evidence he did changed assassin clan into trustworthy ally, the lack of, well, human response to trauma was  too suspicious. And if Kuai Liang, who was more socially adapted (polite) than Bi-Han did not show much struggle with past trauma(s), how much more Noob is terryfing in such lack of emotions?

In contrast, Hanzo (and Jax to some degree) is fueled by rage and regrets, even decades after coming back to life. Such contrast seems once again imply Bi-Han adapted into his new form much better than other damned souls. Noob stated in MK9 and 11 that Quan Chi perfected him. Most likely in the sense of cutting or shutting down his human feeling. No loyalty nor love for brother or Lin Kuei or former allies, no emotional dilemma whom Noob should serve. Himself, of course, but Quan Chi may not think through the whole matter and its consequences... or maybe he did, which is why revenants are tied closely to their negative feelings the way first Wraith (Scorpion) is, rather than cold and uncaring like Noob.

There is also one more thing to consider. Death as a relief (escape) from pain.

Burning alive was painful and did not kill outright Bi-Han. But pain of dying itself is still a part of life. Death ended Bi-Han's pain and brought cold comfort. In contrast, Hanzo is filled by flames – the pain, grief, anger, all the emotions that drives him all the time. Scorpion said his “The pain [of losing family] burns” what may not be metaphor  but reality. What add to the dichtomy of darkness (cold, not feeling) and fire (strongly emotion, being in pain).

Remember the little bargain attempt between Noob and Raiden?

Noob: Offer me a new life and clan.

Raiden: I offer only freedom from darkness.

Noob: Kronika's deal is better.

When Raiden offers freedom from darkness, he usually means the evilness. For Bi-Han rejection of darkness could be getting back his sense of feeling. Not only emotions but also pain he does not need or want. Asking for new life is not the same as asking to be bring to life (pain) again, which is no wonder he stick to Kronika's deal. Because as far as I remember, she did not promise making him alive in New Era, did she?

So far, death benefits Noob with powers and durability, perfection (by Lin Kuei standards) and most likely, a comfort (being cut away from pain and emotions).

So is all nice for Bi-Han and it's no wonder why he does not act around in a violent and uncontrollable manner and blame everyone for his poor fate (like Hanzo & revenants do at times). Death is all good and fine, except... the first impression of Noob is build on so many lies.

For one, Bi-Han did mention that the change into Wraith (losing Sub-Zero's mantle) was not his choice:

Noob: Still trading on my name?

Sub-Zero: A name you forsook long ago.

Noob: Not willingly.

That he was killed injustly and there is no (real) punishment for the killer:

Noob: I was killed unjustly.

Raiden: For that, Scorpion lost my trust.

Noob: That is no justice.

(And yet, his banters with Raiden aren't nasty, I-blame-you-for-my-death sort of, even though Thunder God is somehow responsible for Bi-Han's fate. He is the one accusing him of being Lin Kuei assassin yet using him on two occassions. Accusing Lin Kuei of being evil, yet doing nothing to stop process of forcing children into clan and training to made them killers. And Bi-Han wasn't the first nor the last Sub-Zero that helped champions and Raiden. Yet there is no anger at Raiden, nor for his lack of punishment for Hanzo who promised to spare Bi-Han but broke the promise. Nor for fact that Raiden keeps Hanzo & Shirai Ryu under his protection. Nor for decapitation of Shinnok, the supposed god Noob is working for.)

For someone who is supposed to benefit from his own death, Bi-Han also made bitter statement about death:

Noob: Give in to death.

Kabal: How much does he pay?

Noob: Death only takes.

So, if death only takes but not give anything in return, how this relate to Noob Saibot? The increasing power & comfort of not feeling are a consolation prize, a side-effect of Bi-Han's natural adaptation to new situation and his cryomancer genes?

Interesting is the fact that Bi-Han share his “complaint” about being dead only with few people – his brother and Raiden while at the same does not lash out in heated anger at Scorpion, the murderer and even in one intro by asking about their former partnership shows will to work with Hanzo again.

Another lie about Noob is him being “perfected” by Quan Chi, as in: freed from ties to other people. Like I said already, Noob has complicated relationship with Kuai; he does not deny their family bonds (unless situation calls for that) while at the same time he claims time after time dead are his only clan and kin. Which means he is bond to other people (including current rulers of Netherrealm?), thus has obligations to someone else than himself. Also, the whole idea of forming / having the deadliest clan ever – clan must be protected and ruled, clan means emotional investing, being in touch with others. For a loner like Bi-Han/Noob, this sound like big thing. And mind you, he rarely (if ever) stated he wants to rule. Bi-Han wanted form the deadlier clan than (Kuai Liang's) Lin Kuei, true, but forming alone and leading is not the same thing.

There is also interesting character banter between Noob and Liu Kang:

Liu Kang: I'm not your leader, Bi-Han.

Noob: You will govern the Netherrealm.

Liu Kang: By my ancestors, I will not.

And with Kitana:

Noob: You will be Queen of the Damned.

Kitana: The honor is Mileena's.

Noob: There is a dark mark upon you.

Which suggests that Noob is tied somehow to rulers of Hell and at least to some degree accept Netherrealm hierarchy of power and revenant!Liu Kang's leadership. Dead are his clan and even family but Noob is one of few characters to mention (or maybe even spoken to) deads that have little in common with Netherrealm (Vera, Kung Lao's ancestors, ice bros' mother). If one takes Noob's words at face value, that is.

There is also the loyalty to shadows (darkness).  Partially, this may comes from Lin Kuei upbringing itself. As assassin and master thief, Bi-Han operated in shadows all his life (“We are the Lin Kuei, more stealthful than the night, more deadly than the dawn!”).

I joked how “darkness is my friend” could be interpreted as Bi-Han talking about Saibot, but looking how bitter he is about trusting anyone – this is really amazing there is something (someone) he claims to be his friend. What may means that despite Quan Chi's best effort, some sense (or need) of loyalty stays strong in Bi-Han after two decades of being dead.

(And hey, maybe Noob's  mirror match when shadow defies him 'cause he is not “original Bi-Han” is a hint that Saibot is truly loyal only to elder Sub-Zero? What makes the dynamic of Noob Saibot duo even more intriguing).

Like I said, Bi-Han's relationship with death and shadows is not really one dimensional. He adapted into darkness, yes and maybe even found some comfort in it, especially now when Quan Chi's magic does not bond him anymore. No emotional pain to push him into rampage (like it happen with Scorpion and revenants at times) but at the same time he is not completely numbed to feelings. He sees dead as his clan and kin, thus still belong to something bigger than his own self. Characters claim Bi-Han became more vile, that he is pure evilness, yet his character intros rarely gave the truly I-come-kill-you-in-painful-way vibe. He is passive-agressive at times, sarcastic or looking down on some characters, yes, but he also shows amazing (for an evil Wraith) level of... consideration.

Like, take Shao Kahn:

Noob: Quan Chi no longer binds me.

Shao: Now what will you do, specter?

Noob: Kill you.

Or Kano:

Noob: Time to die, Kano.

Kano: Come on, Bi-Han! Our bizzo's been good.

Noob: Good for you alone.

Noob worked for Shao Kahn and by proxity, with Kano twice. Once, as Quan Chi's Wraith (when the evil sorcerer's magic bind him) and second, as Kronika's servant. Yet, the intros suggest Bi-Han -  freed from control of others - would  kill the former emperor and leader of Black Dragons for whatever (personal?)  reason. There is not much emotions; no much explanation why. Just desire to kill both Shao Kahn and Kano even though they are the guys that damned souls decided to work with. Except Noob, apparently who wouldn't mind kill them.

Compare it to the way Noob is talking to Sonya

Noob: You have lost so many.

Sonya: No soldier think's she'll live forever.

Noob: Join your comrades in Hell.

Or  Jax

Noob: Join me again in death.

Jax: That'd be a hell no.

Noob: You have no choice, Jax.

Or Jacqui:

Noob: Return to your mother's arms.

Jacqui: She's dead, asshole.

Noob: And her soul is mine.

and

Noob: Vera's soul calls you.

Jacqui: Keep mama's name out your mouth, Revenant!

Noob: Revenant? I am Wraith!

Noob still is willing to kill his opponents, true, but there is twisted as hell yet still an offer to reconciliation.  To join him or lost comrades/family in death. Sonya and Jax make sense; they are his former allies from MK Tournament (if he switched sides, that is) but Jacqueline? He never met her nor Vera, as far as games are concerned, yet he still offers (ask) Jacqui to reunite her dead mother. And is offended not at her angry outburst but that she called him revenant (though I think Bi-Han is the only one person who cares about the technical difference between terms).

There is also something ironic how Bi-Han and Kuai Liang share similar “taste” when it comes to respecting people. Both brothers are respecful (as much as Wraith can be) for Sonya and Jax and Jade, while despiting Kano and having rather unfavorable view of Frost and not liking (trusting) D'Vorah. It's hard not to wonder how much Kuai Liang's feelings toward people affect Noob's opinion of them (is Noob even aware of that?) and how much brothers are simply similar to each other in that regard.

Bi-Han's relationships with other characters in not one dimensional. There are people he offer to join death (and by that become part of his clan / kin?) rather than wish to kill and/or enslave soul. The same can be said about death, darkness and shadows. Does he adapted into those? Yes, mainly because coldness was always his natural environment thus finding comfort in cold embrance of death comes much easier to him than to rest damned souls. But that does not mean there is no resentment for what happened to him or no strong feeling of personal lost (the stolen title of Sub-Zero). Noob is either better at controling (hiding) his emotions or, as assassin, he was for years already mentally prepared for his own death than, let's say Edenian princess or Raiden's sons/pupils could ever be.

[tuchimuchibrainvomit]

Tales of Change -- A Case Study of Tales Character Design and Evolution

Ok guys, we need to talk... I’ve been watching all of the Tales Series Openings and something I’ve come to notice is becoming quite apparent: “When does clothing design take away from character design?” What do I mean by this? Well, just watch all the openings and pay close attention to clothing outfits and character designs. Maybe this is just my opinions, but as the games go on, I have become less and less of a fan of the character designs in the Tales series and I think it has to do with my principles of “Simple is best”. While the characters themselves are simple ― maybe suffering from Six Face Syndrome, but they are effective. You can tell they are part of the same series, which does make it rather successful in terms of affiliation. But am I the only one who feels that clothing designs are going a bit ― overboard? Let’s compare Cless and Stahn from the first two games ― Phantasia and Destiny ― to some of the more recent casts ― For example, Jude and Ludger from Tales of Xillia and Xillia 2. Notice that I want to leave out Velvet from Tales of Beseria because she actually has a strong design compared to her other Tales heroines. Maybe it’s as the series started, it was a fantasy based story with a focus on knights and magic. While that *KINDA* remains the norm, I feel the series taking a turn to a “Modern Fantasy”, I’m still trying to think of a good word for it. But in that ― I feel the series stagnating ― and the character designs most definitely reflect that.

But let’s compare:

Cless is rather basic by anime standards, but it was the first game. And the rest of his cast very much rounds him out, especially the half-elf Arche. I love her design. But back to Cless/Cress, his outfit is a simple knight’s armor with a red headband ― much like Ryu. And I feel his design is different enough from anime knights with that headband to make him recognizable. Successful, but also not the most unique ― noticeable and fitting of his world.

Next, Stahn:

He is my favorite protagonist in design from the Tales of series (though now tied with Velvet from Berseria). He takes Cless’ design and really makes it unique, giving him a golden mullet to contrast with the blue of his skin tight undershirt. His armor is simple but also works to expand his silhouette. Although, the extravagant patterns start here BUT they feel in line with his world. We could do without the green headband and armbelts though, I think it breaks his color scheme. Though they kind of balanced it with his red gloves, but even then, they are still tertiary. His scarf however, I wish was red. Blue just does not stand out compared to a sharp red like his gloves. Similar to Dante’s red coat, a red scarf would make his movement stand out and give him a passionate flame that is radiant in his personality. But that’s just me. I think he stands out and is extremely appealing to look at, especially in his spritework in the PS2 remake. Now, let’s shoot forward 11 games and look at Jude:

Although voiced by the adorable Tsubasa Yonaga, I think Jude shows what happens when you take a design too far without making an impression. Let’s face it, he’s bland. The Japanese spiky bangs are typical and the bishounen face does nothing to help. I can tell they placed more attention to his outfit ― and far too much to a fault. I may like Jude a lot ― but his design is not very successful. Perhaps this is more indicative to a problem as Tales games moved to 3D and then to Next Gen console hardware. Since 3D is NOT my forte, I’ll leave that to someone else ― but looking at the animated opening for Xillia, I can feel the pain placed on the clean-up artists and color artists to keep these patterns consistent. And that is too a fault. Even though I love Ufotable as an animation studio ― they rely on too much CG digital effects to cover for some animation problems. You can compare Xillia’s opening to Abyss’ ― perhaps it’s my love of Norio Matsumoto of Naruto vs Sasuke fame, but the focus on silhouettes of Luke and Ashe in Abyss made for much more interpretive sakuga.

Next:

Ludger kind of suffers the same issues as Jude, but I feel he started an incline back up for Tales designs. Even if his face and hair aren’t really individual, his outfit stands out to his other Tales protagonists, with a dress shirt, tie, slacks and suspenders making him a bit modern. But I wonder if this loses the fantasy setting that Tales started as. Xillia 2 doesn’t really have a clear identity, and even though Ludger has a better design than Jude, he doesn’t fit in this fantasy setting. I can tell they wanted more Sci-Fi aesthetics, but didn’t take it there ― standing in this odd middle ground. Especially since it is supposed to take place 2 years after Xillia. His cat Rollo is f**king cute though. But when you look at the penultimate shot from Xillia 2’s opening, there is one character that really stuck out to me as a design that brought gave this modern flair to me that was very appealing ― and that was Elle:

Her outfit maybe rather “down to earth”, there is something about it that makes her work as a strong design among the crowd of the other Xillia cast. Her hair and hat make a great silhouette for her head and her dress also adds a lot without the over reliance on complex pattern work or overdone coat tails. I really find her design successful as just a character design for a child character. But what does this all mean? I think it shows that as Tales has lived on, it has become more focused on clothing and sleekness compared to strong silhouettes and really creating an identity. If you want my example of strong Tales of designs, I can make a list of some real stand outs:

Velvet ― She is just a well designed protagonist. Maybe a bit edgy, but that’s sort of the point and lampshaded in Berseria story itself. I think her outfit, while revealing is VERY creative among Tales protagonist. I could see her being inspired by Ryuko Matoi and Ivy Valentine. Yuri ― Sort of the fan favorite Tales protagonist. I think his designated purple color makes him well rounded and the use of gold is subtle. He really works and the long hair makes him look cool as opposed to bishounen. Rita ― Asymmetry makes her standout from a first glance. She has a modern fantasy identity with the goggles. Rita is one of the few examples where a lot of clutter makes since for her character ― you can tell she is a mage, studious and messy. Her outfit is a nice mish-mash of Japanese robes and a simple shirt. I think the ribbons keeping her robes together is a little extra and the yellow ribbon better gets the femininity of her design. Philia ― A priestess done very well. Her hair is a break out point to her character and the strong lime green contrasts with the basic white robes and red aspects of her design. The glasses definitely add a moe factor to those who look for it, but all in all, I find her to be successful among the Destiny cast ― Which is already full of masterpieces of Tales’ design. Mila ― More like Velvet 0.5. The long hair is definitely nice and I like the cowlick. I prefer the coolness of her Xillia 2 blue outfit, which gives her a flighty, fairy like appeal. I feel like Velvet perfects her Xillia 2 design ― I find these Mila and Velvet to be like Clefable and Gengar to each other, respectively. Eugene ― Furries are pretty damn rare to be playable in Tales games, but Eugene’s purple body mixed with green ― it’s compliment and silver give him a cold exterior, but the flowiness of his tail and ponytail make him appear softer inside. It’s clear he is more Chinese inspired, but he really works to reflect his character. ― And more... In conclusion, while I definitely do have a soft spot for many characters across the Tales series ― as the series has gone into Next Gen, I can feel a messy chain of designs coming through that really hurt the strength of what Tales character designs can add to the world. Evolving into a modern fantasy, but still being stuck in this weird middle ground that lacks a true identity. I personally believe that if Tales wants to enter Sci-Fi, it should. Or if it wants to do Fantasy, it should. But having robots along with magic in Tales’ history feels ― incongruous with it’s spirit. I feel that Berseria is definitely a start as it stays very fantastical, returning to some routes. However, I want to see the series take a HUGE leap in aesthetic, taking it either to the future or to the past. It needs to pick one and really find an identity for itself ― similar to Final Fantasy. But I will come for Nemura sometime soon because HOLY crap, I have some strong criticism for his designs too ― especially after the zenith that was The World Ends With You. Always Bloom Proudly Guys. ― TUCHI OUT!!

[thedefinitionofbts]

Our First and Last (Ch. 7)

Ch. 1 | Ch. 2 | Ch. 3 | Ch. 4 | Ch. 5 | Ch. 6 | Ch. 7 | Ch. 8 | Ch. 9 | Ch. 10 | 

Ch. 11| Ch. 12 (Final)

Pairings: Jeon Jungkook x Reader (MAIN) | Park Jimin x Kim Taehyung | Jung Hoseok x Min Yoongi | Kim Namjoon x Kim Seokjin

Genre: Angst, Fluff, Soulmate Au, Scifi

Words: 3.3K

“Hobi, thank you so much for driving me, I am so nervous right now,” You wipe your clammy hands on your thighs as you sit in the passenger’s seat of Hoseok’s car. You were so glad he offered to drive you to Dr. Jeon’s lab because you would be running late otherwise, and being late on the first day would be a horrible way to start off and not to mention leave the most undesirable lasting impression.

“Hey, no prob, I wanted to meet this guy anyways” Hoseok says, head still turn towards the road in front. He was wearing his sunglasses, so you could only see the upward curve of his lips as he grins.

Traffic wasn’t too bad since most people were already at work around 10 in the morning.

When the two of you arrive, you see that it was a huge hospital building that looked very new and modern, with parts of the walls made of glass. The windows reflected the bright sunlight, and there were potted flowers and other shrubs near the main entrance. A round fountain with an abstract design was flowing with shallow water, and people were walking in and out of the automatic revolving door. It definitely seemed like a busy place.

“Whaa” Hoseok looks around in awe as the two of you walk in.

“His lab is on the 7th floor,” You say as you and Hoseok walk towards the elevator.

“Hey, do you think I can apply for an internship at this hospital? I think it’ll look good on my Med school application.” Hoseok says as the two of you walk down the hall. Hoseok was clearly amazed by the layout of the building, and you could tell he really liked it by gleam in his eyes and the excitement in his voice.

“Yeah, go for it! Then we can maybe even see each other sometimes!” You exclaim, forgetting about your nerves for a couple of seconds, but that doesn’t last long as the two of you close in on the lab entrance.

They were a pair of double doors, reminiscent of most biological labs, and on the wall to the side was a plaquer that had the words:

Dr. Jeon Jungkook MD-PhD Cognitive Neuroscience

You take a deep breath, trying to quell your pounding heart. Hoseok puts a hand on your shoulder, knowing how nervous you must be feeling.

When you push open the doors, you are immediately greeted with the smell of sterilization fluids combined with a faint whiff of various chemicals. The light in the lab room is white, and the room is very spacious, with rows and rows of bottles, petri dishes, flasks, and boxes of newly ordered supplies. There were a couple of scientists dressed in their lab coats, pipetting liquids into test tubes, others working under the hold for either maintaining cell cultures or working with hazardous chemicals, and a few sitting at desks, hard at work on their computers. There were the loud noises coming from large freezers in the back, and you even notice a whole area dedicated to different types of microscopes.

“Excuse me, I’m looking for Dr. Jeon Jungkook” You say to one of the researchers closest to the door.

“New student?” She asks, removing her gloves and shaking your hand as you nod. “He’s in his office, come” She guides you and Hoseok past the neuroscience lab where it was connected to another lab, in which you recognize as a genetics lab from the obvious PCR machines and the gel electrophoresis equipment set up. You finally reach an area where there is carpeting on the floor and some office rooms.

“Dr. Jeon, your new student has arrived” She announces after she knocks on the already opened door to his office.

You notice that the office room is very tidy; especially for a researcher since most of the time they don’t bother to keep their workspace neat. But then you remember that Dr. Jeon is also a neurosurgeon, which requires him to be very meticulous and precise. There’s a window with its blinds open to the left of Dr. Jeon’s desk, revealing the baby blue sky with a few white and fluffy nimbus clouds here and there, and a plant, which looks to be a juxtaposition of succulents that form a mini forest, sitting on the windowsill in a glass fishbowl-like pot.

Your eyes glaze over the stacks of papers next to the printer, and the shelves of medical textbooks and science magazines on the wall opposite to the window. After slowly soaking in the details of his office, you finally let your eyes land on THE Dr. Jeon Jungkook, the guy that Hoseok and you have basically fangirled and fanboyed over for the past few weeks.

His shoulders are evidently broad, forming a 90-degree curve where his white lab coat continues to drape down. His hair is dark brown, verging on black, and neatly combed, bangs half parted to the side.

Dr. Jeon slowly turns around in his seat, head still facing the computer, eyes glued to the screen for an extra few seconds before they land on you.

And at that precise moment, it was like time lingered for an extra millisecond, as if something powerful had momentarily disrupted it’s normal flow, because you forgot to inhale, and your lungs were confused by the sudden drop in oxygen levels as your heart skipped half a beat. It was like nothing you had ever experienced before, and you barely hear Hoseok’s “wow” come out as a whisper, as the both of you watch Dr. Jeon get up from his seat and walk over to greet you.

His enchanting dark eyes were mesmerizing even behind his thin-rimmed glasses, and the size and shape of all of his facial features, including his full lips, thick eyebrows, and sculpted nose was the perfect ratio to the size and shape of his overall face, everything perfectly aligned, but with a flaw here and there, as if acting as a reminder that he’s still human.

“Y/N? Is it?” Jungkook says as he approaches you and Hoseok, reaching a hand out to offer a handshake.

He’s towering over the two of you now, long lean torso straight as a pole despite years of being crouched at a desk either studying or writing up research papers. You realize that if you look straight, your line of sight only reaches his chin, and although Hoseok is taller than you, he’s still a good few inches shorter than the neurosurgeon.

“Oh, uh yes. It’s very nice to meet you Dr. Jeon” You say, as professionally composed as you can manage. You reach out your own hand to shake his. Upon contact you’re immediately reminded of how cold and clammy your hand is because of the striking contrast to Jungkook’s warm and dry hands.

“And this is…?” Dr. Jeon turns and looks at Hoseok, who is standing next to you.

“I’m Jung Hoseok. Very impressed by the research you do, sir” Hoseok says, grabbing Dr. Jeon’s single hand with both of his own hands and shaking like he’s meeting some sort of celebrity.

Hoseok has this wide grin on his face, and Jungkook returns it with a smile that doesn’t quite reach his eyes, like he was just doing it to be polite.

Jungkook dismisses the female scientist and proceeds to show you around the lab. Hoseok is just quietly following behind, not wanting to be a bother but also curious to see the research going on.

“We share some of our equipment with Dr. Ryu’s genetics lab and vice versa,” Jungkook says as he leads you past the lab you previously walked through to get to his office.

“Here is where we maintain cell cultures for experimentation, and it’s also where we grow our own Purkinje cells from neuronal stem cells. Be extra careful when you’re dealing with these because environmental factors play a large role in the formation of their dendritic arbors.” Jungkook says as he continues taking you on a tour of the lab.

He ends up showing you almost everything, ranging from where they store fluorescent dyes to how to operate the confocal microscope with an argon laser. You listen intently trying to absorb all the information Jungkook is throwing at you, and mentally scold yourself for not bringing a notebook to write all of this down.

He finally ends the tour by bringing you to your work area, which is relatively empty compared to the other areas of the lab, except for a set of pipettes and a box of 1.7mL test tubes.

“I’ll go over the project with you tomorrow” Jungkook says, as he notices you’ve gone silent due to the sheer volume of information you have just been given.

“Ok, thank you Dr. Jeon” You say, the sound of your own voice seeming out of place after the long tour of only Jungkook talking and you just nodding your head while following him.

He nods and walks back to his office, leaving you standing there alone and wondering where in the world Hoseok has ran off to.

Your eyes flutter open and you look around the room in a daze. You hated taking naps. Naps always made you wake up, still feeling tired and twice as disoriented. Taking naps was never a thing you did on a regular basis, but ever since your treatment with Dr. Kim, they had become routine during your session, they were unavoidable.

“How long was I out?” You ask, rubbing your head and looking at Taehyung.

“Oh, I’d say about 20 minutes” Taehyung says, as he looks up form his notebook and sighing.

“So did anything happen while I was knocked out?”

“You mumbled a few indecipherable things, but other than that everything was quite normal. How do you feel?” Taehyung asks.

“More calm”

“Good. Did you remember anything?”

You shift on the couch, sitting up and trying to organize your thoughts.

“I think someone I met recently showed up in my dream this time.” You say, as you vaguely recall a pair of chocolate brown doe eyes behind thin-rimmed glasses. “But then again, he feels like the same person who’s always been there in my dreams.”

“You mean, you’ve been dreaming of someone, and you didn’t know who they were until you met them in real life?” Taehyung asks.

You slowly nod, wondering how that’s even possible or maybe you’re just getting mixed up. Taehyung nods his head and purses his lips.

“You’re not going to tell me I have some clairvoyant ability are you?” You ask, looking at Taehyung with a doubtful expression.

Surprisingly Taehyung just laughs and shakes his head.

“Can’t come to that conclusion quite yet” He jokes. “But I’m curious, who is this person you’ve suddenly met in real life?”

“Um, he’s a professor I’m doing research under” You reply, feeling your cheeks flush. You didn’t know what had gotten into you lately, but Dr. Jeon has never left your mind since the first day you met him.

“I see” Taehyung nods.

“You don’t find any of it strange?” You ask, wondering why he’s so nonchalant, like it’s completely normal to dream about someone long before you ever met them.

“Isn’t it obvious that you might just be developing a crush on this guy?” Taehyung says, causing your mouth to drop and your eyes widen.

“But-what..how?” You try to form a coherent sentence, but fail as the embarrassment settles in as quickly as the heat that was burning on your cheeks now.

“I don’t want to perpetuate the stereotype that psychologists can read minds, but…come on, I’m a psychologist,” Taehyung says with a grin, looking at your mortified expression.

“He’s my professor and I met him yesterday!” You emphasize, voice almost coming out as a shriek.

“It’s likely that this person is not one person but a mix of two or more people. It’s not uncommon for someone in your dreams to actual be a combination of more than one person you know in real life. I think your affection for this guy might’ve just given him a ticket to merge with whatever person or people you’ve consistently dreamt of for most of your life” Taehyung explains.

You look down at your lap as you register the words coming out of the psychologist’s mouth. It makes perfect sense, but somewhere deep down; you know that whomever you’ve dreamed of all these years is way too distinct to be a mix of people you’ve known in the past.

“Tae, I’m worried about Dr. Jeon” Jimin says as they’re grocery shopping on a Saturday morning.

Taehyung, who was pushing the empty shopping cart stops in his tracks, narrows his eyes, and looks at Jimin.

“From a patient-psychologist standpoint!” Jimin quickly defends, knowing that Taehyung’s mind was probably going places it shouldn’t.

“Continue” The latter says as he begins walking again.

“It’s like he’s changed into a different person or he’s been possessed or something.” Jimin shakes his head and stares at tiled flooring of the supermarket. “He doesn’t look at me like I’m a joke, and he doesn’t say hurtful things anymore. In fact, he’s barely showing any emotion at all. Do you think it’s a sign that his depression is getting worse?”

“It’s a possibility. Or maybe some significant change occurred in his life.”

“That’s what I was thinking! But I can’t figure out what it is, and you know how difficult it is for me to squeeze anything out of that guy.” Jimin sighs as he grabs an 8-pack of peach yogurt from the dairy section and drops it into the shopping cart.

“Well there’s really nothing you can do except keep trying” Taehyung says as he and Jimin walk towards the snack aisle.

“Hey, look! It’s Yoongi!” Jimin exclaims as he spots the familiar figure standing in front of the shelf of chips and dip.

Yoongi turns around, startled by the sudden sound of his name. He spots the pink haired Jimin in a heartbeat and the brown-haired male standing next to him, which he assumes is the other psychologist from the clinic.

“Morning Dr. Park. And, umm… Dr. Kim?” Yoongi greets.

Taehyung nods in greeting as Jimin hops over to talk to Yoongi.

“Shopping for Dr. Jeon?” Jimin asks, eyeing the cartload of processed foods.

“Like always” Yoongi sighs.

There was a long pause as the two of them continue to stare at the pile of food, before Yoongi and Jimin both speak at the same time.

“How are the sessions coming along?” “Has anything big happened in Dr. Jeon’s life?”

“Oh sorry, you were saying?” Yoongi says, awkwardly putting his hands in the large front pocket of his baggy hoodie.

“It’s just that Dr. Jeon seems detached lately, and I was wondering if you know about anything that’s going on.” Jimin explains.

“Oh, umm, everything seems pretty normal from what I can tell.” Yoongi says, trying to think about all the events that happened recently. He’s still eating normally, sleeping as regularly as his schedule allows him, and balancing surgeries with experiments as perfectly as he always has. There’s really nothing that comes to Yoongi’s mind except one.

“Not a single thing has changed?” Jimin asks, disappointed that not even Yoongi, the closest person to Jungkook that he knows, can even help him.

“Well, he took in a new graduate student recently” Yoongi finally says, remembering the sleepless hours he spent filtering through hundreds of applications.

“A new student?”

“Since I assume you’ve already read up on my latest research on visual perception, I’m not going to bother reiterating the details.”

You were sitting in a chair across from Jungkook in his office as he explains the project you’ll be working on. He seemed so focused on explaining the experimental set up that it felt like he was giving a lecture to hundreds of students, which in turn made you feel sort of invisible sitting there. He wasn’t even looking at you as he talked, only pausing to give you the occasional glance to see if you were registering everything. The guy even made a PowerPoint for crying out loud, and he was so skilled at orating that it sounded like he had memorized the whole spiel.

“So the first step is to begin growing retinal ganglion cells derived from human embryonic stem cells.” Jungkook finishes as the last slide of his PowerPoint switches to a black screen.

“So if I’m not mistaken, the goal of this project is to determine the selectivity mechanisms in the occipital lobe?” You tentatively ask, hoping he won’t think you’re dumb for not fully understanding the first time around.

“More specifically, we’re looking to see how inputs in the axons of retinal cells are modified through each layer of the visual cortex and ultimately aid in neuronal selectivity. Basically the difference between what is there and what you actually see.” Jungkook explains.

You look at Jungkook with a lost expression, and although you try to hide it, he notices and sighs as he turns his chair and faces you for the first time. You try to keep eye contact to show that you’re completely focused, but fail as his unnerving stare causes you to look away. Maybe it was a bad idea to ask…

That tense, nervous feeling is back at it again as you swallow the saliva building up in your mouth and bite the inside of your cheek. You feel Jungkook’s gaze pointed at you, but you’re too afraid to look at his face to see his expression, so you keep your eyes down towards the floor. Hoping that he’ll think you were deep in thought or something.

“If I were to throw a ball at your head right now, you would dodge, right?” Jungkook asks, voice coming out not nearly as annoyed as you thought it would.

“Umm….yes…” You answer, wondering why he would suddenly asked such a random question. His tone had made you less nervous, but the question itself left you in a confused state.

“But even if you were slow by as little as a nanosecond, it would hit you square in the face.” Jungkook continues, and by now you’re wondering if this is his way to indirectly refer to your incompetency.

You slowly lift your eyes to look at Jungkook, preparing to apologize for not being up to speed with the experiment and all, but you notice that he’s focused his attention to the scene outside the window. You breathe a sigh of relief, glad that he’s not scrutinizing you anymore, but still feeling apologetically inept.

“But it takes times for inputs to the photoreceptors in your eyes to travel through the optic nerve and to your brain, where you ultimately see the ball flying towards you.” Jungkook pauses, waiting to see if you’re catching on.

You listen, still not quite sure where this is all going. Jungkook’s lips curve up slightly as he continues to explain.

“So how do our brains make up for that time?” Another pause, but this time so short that it’s barely noticeable. “It makes educated guesses. Predictions about the world we see because if it didn’t, everything you see would be the world nanoseconds in the past.”

As that last sentence escapes his mouth, the central idea Jungkook was trying to convey finally pops into your head.

“Which means that our brains have to construct a reality before we are able to see it.” You finish, finally piecing together everything Jungkook was explaining.

You see his mouth curve into a smile, and a faint glint in his eyes as he nods.

...

[himitsusentaiblog]

Top 10 sentai suits design.

This one is one I’ve been thinking about for a while since I got it in my inbox. There are a lot of possible answers to this but I wanted to hold off until I caught up on some others and give it a bit of thought. Now that I’ve had the time, here we go!

10. Ryu Commander from Uchuu Sentai Kyuranger

This is going to be the most recent entry on the list and places this low because of that.  That said, I love this look.  I have always been a sucker for the long coat look on tokusatsu heroes going back to at least Shinken Red’s Super Mode and Kamen Rider Wizard, both designs I adore.

When you add violet, which is my favorite recent edition color, to the mix, you have a suit that REALLY hits my sweet spots for awesomeness. Plus, you make it dragon-themed and that just pushes it over the line to being one of the ten best ever.

9. Dragon Ranger from Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger

Sticking with Dragons and extra Rangers for a moment I can’t let Burai’s hero outfit go by without adding it to the list.  He started the trend of taking the look of the original heroic suits and adding to them (in his case the chest protector and added gold bands) to the design to make the sixth hero’s outfit something really special. His is also just a great take on the general Zyuranger costume theme and his shade of green is particularly appealing to the eyes, vibrant and rich but not pastel or too dark.

8. Starninger from Shuriken Sentai Ninninger

I am not the biggest fan of the series Shuriken Sentai Ninninger but I am a fan of Starninger, especially his ridiculous outfit.  This may be because I live in Texas and am an American and Starninger’s cowboy rock star outfit is exactly what I expect the rest of the world to think of when they come up with a Texan hero.  Built in cowboy hat?  Check!  Lone Star faceplate? Check! Faux fringe on the faux poncho?  Check and check!  I also love the balance between gold, blue black and red with the gold being primary and everything else used as accent.  It’s a great look and I can’t help but love it!

7. Heart Queen from J.A.K.Q. Dengekitai

One design element of Sentai costumes I don’t think gets used enough are capes.  I love them but more about that later.  Of call the old-school pink heroines, I think Heart Queen has the best costume.  I love the sash across the shoulder to the hip that meets up with her belt, I love the yellow cape that gives a nice color contrast with the rest of her costume, I love the heart-emblem faceplate on the helmet and I really love the four colored triangles on the shoulder.  Each one represents a member of the team and functions as an anchor point for the cape.  Love that design element and I love designs that run diagonally across like that sash/utility harness.

6. Kyoryu Violet 2 from Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger

Two of my personal favorite design elements come into play here, the across the chest diagonal design and the color violet.  I really like the Kyoryuger costume designs and somehow, I like the new ones from the South Korean/Japanese co-production Power Rangers Dino Force Brave/Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger Brave even more with their addition of white accents for the helmets and areas on the uniforms.  However, none of those are violet so I ruled them out. This is a nice design and I really like the helmet with the dinosaur teeth and raised areas for eyes plus the little fins on the lower side to suggest the flippers of a plesiosaur. That little armored shoulder bit suggesting a dinosaur eye just completes the look

5. Vul Eagle from Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan

If you can’t have a cape, I saw go with a scarf.  Yes, it’s more well known as a Kamen Rider costume flourish but I think it works for Sentai as well. Vul Eagle makes this list because I love how simple and iconic his costume is. The white and red color balance is great.  His yellow sun disc stands out on his chest and looks great.  But what really does it for me is his helmet.  The design might be kind of simple but I love the look of it with the huge golden eagle in the front and the yellow accents around the visor suggesting wings.  It’s a really great look.

4. Dekared from Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger

This is another costume I like for the helmet design. That’s not the only reason but it’s one of the first.  I like the police lights on the side of the helmet, I like the way the visor narrows in the middle and sweeps up dramatically to the back.  The visor shape reminds me of the headlights on a Nissan 350Z (which came out about the same time). The other thing I really like about this costume is the way the number designation is done with it being integrated into the left side of the costume and leaving one arm red and the other arm black,  I have a thing for asymmetric costume designs and this one is just fantastic.

3. Gokai Green from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger

I really, really like the outfits from Gokaiger.  They pirate theme mixed with a Sentai costume really works with the flared boots, hat-like helmets, high collars and colored coat over a black undersuit just creates a unique look that I really, really think is one of the best designs in the last 10 years. So, why Gokai Green?  I like Green. It’s a good color when done right and Doc’s heroic costume is just the right shade of green to strike my fancy.

2. Akaranger from Himitsu Sentai Goranger

This may seem a pretty easy choice and it was for two reasons. 1) It’s the original Red Hero outfit and set the standard for what Sentai heroes look like. 2) It has my favorite design element of all time for a Sentai costume, that short cape. I love the way capes of that length move in battle and how easy they are to flourish dramatically without having them get in the way or drag like a long cape would. I also just love his thigh holster and high collar.  It’s a classy look that’s really passed the test of time.

1. MagiRed from Mahou Sentai Magiranger

Once more with the capes!  I love capes on Sentai outfits as I just said and I think the capes on the Magiranger outfits are just perfect.  I’m going to go with their original, non-powered up forms because I just think the outfits are better before the added on bits and changes.  The lines are clean and sleek, the material is nicer than the simple cloth used on Akaranger above and the helmet design works much better for me.  In short, good costume design is Magic!

[dothewrite]

Your suit hcs just killed everyone, so I was thinking.... what if you made formal wear hcs for the girls? Would that be possible? My gay ass is thirsty. Completely okay if you don't want to, though, or if you just can't imagine it. Just an idea. :)

Ladies clothing is a whoooole new can of worms. May you quench your thirst. ;D

Original Suit Headcanons here, part 2 and 3 respectively.

Kiyoko. [Elie Saab]

Long, plum velvet that falls to slightly below her ankles. The dress is a long, thigh high split dress with a staggering deep-v neckline that resembles two pieces of fabric falling forwards and being belted around her slim waist with an elegant twist of the cloth. Splits both below and above, this dress is reminiscent of a toga-style, bare backed and embellished with large crystal brooches the shape of bird feathers and other sequins and diamonds clustered around her left shoulder and her right hip. A pair of bare, strappy metallic sandals of around four inches complete her look.

This look is all Kiyoko. Her style, her choice and her favourite colour, this dress, although baring a lot, covers without fear any part that isn’t commonly seen. It glides around her like waves due to the reflectiveness of dark velvet, and the cutting wraps around her making her as slim and mysterious as willow.

By far, this isn’t the only thing she thought of wearing. Because of her milky skin and slim figure, she can almost wear anything at all and bring it to its potential.

However, for an evening affair and among such close friends, she chose fashion and elegance over making a statement or being too eye-catching. Perfect for her personality.

Her black hair is left in waves behind her back. Slightly curled and not too long, they cascade past her shoulders and swirl around the base of her neck, adding to her striking profile.

Truth be told, she rather dislikes having her hair up. With her jet black hair and stern expression, people usually assume that she’d wear something austere, but she much prefers to let loose.

There is minimal product in her hair, except for the heat curling and a setting spray. It looks far too shiny for anything else to tamper with the smoothness of her hair tonight.

She doesn’t touch the dance floor at all, despite being asked multiple times by multiple men, she declines them all politely. Preferring to spend time with her team and catch up with other managers that she’s become friends with, she nurses a single martini for the whole evening and enjoys the relatively relaxing mood of the jazz band.

Saeko. [Balmain]

One piece of cloth becoming the whole dress, this gown is a long reaching cloak that touches the floor and only held together with several hidden buttons around the waist and covered with an elegant knot. This dress is a bright magenta, a touch on the darker side, and the sleeves flare out like a kimono to mid-lower arm. The bottom being naturally wide open up till thigh level, the front also dips down almost to waist level with lapels much wider than, but similar to, a suit. The lapels are connected above to soft, dark brown leather shoulder pads that are slim and embroidered into the natural fabric itself. The accompanying shoes are a strappy stiletto with a crimson base, orange toe, and a turquoise ankle strap.

A vision of feminine empowerment, this is a statement piece through and through. The wide contrast of colours across her feet and the large splash of red that is dark enough to be elegant, yet bright enough to spark gossip, this is a dress best worn with her hands on her hips and a proud expression.

No other accessories accompany this look, except for Saeko’s confident smirk and cheerful grin that brightens up the shock-factor of her outfit.

It fits her completely, from her personality to her fashion forward choices (never shying from the risque), she blossoms underneath everyone’s slack-jawed stare of admiration.

Her hair colour is the finishing touch to her look. Bright, blonde and short, not only does this elevate a simple piece of fabric from ‘simple’ to ‘modern’, it shortens the line of sight so people focus on her torso and legs, rather than the stretch of her neck.

Like Kiyoko, there is little adjustment to her hair. No products whatsoever other than a shower and a blow-dry to make it stick straight and framing her face with a natural ease.

Honestly, she’s never worn something like this before in her life. Usually she goes for the edgy, yet practical look with a mix and match of clothing items, but once she caught sight of this in a store, there was no going back.

She’s also definitely going to be drunk by the end of the party. Going through every drink that all the men flocking around her hands her, she’s a good sport to give everyone a quick chat and dance, and Ryu has to drag her home by the end- not because she’s too drunk to walk, but because her feet hurt too much.

Yachi. [Valentino]

In a modern twist of a twenties look, this creamy dress is slim and straight, although not figure hugging, this dress leaves very little room for error. Falling into a very deep v-neck, almost down to her abdomen, this sleeveless dress falls straight down with silver and gold embroidery in petal-shapes, more frequently above the waist and tapering down into looser knit patterns lower down. Highlighted with small crystals, the dress falls past her feet, and is covered with a soft, transparent fabric that puffs up around her like a second dress, like a wedding veil over her body. Beginning from her neck, this fabric circles her wrists like balloon sleeves and drapes downwards like a light curtain. This look is completed with nude strappy stilettos with a wooden platform.

Yachi was never going to go for anything excessively bright, and this dress has enough lightness yet softness that doesn’t outshine her. A mixture of cream and light nude, it gives her an impression of effortless beauty that highlights her own face and figure rather than a physical representation of her personality.

Luckily, this does fit her nature, and with each movement the shimmering waves of her dress makes her look all the more otherworldly.

It also makes her far taller than she actually is, but nobody needs to know that.

Her hair is curled into a gentle, loose bun behind her hair, with wisps and the sides falling in front in light curls that frame her face. It doesn’t make it slimmer, but it makes it fuller and richer, and a dress like this doesn’t deserve to be covered by long hair, no matter how blonde.

It’s deceptively soft, actually. She’d never admit to how much hairspray and how much help she needed to make it stay, and by the time she’s done, she’s sweated so much that she had to do her makeup all over again.

This outfit in fact, does more than just match her- it brings her to life. This is nothing like what she would wear normally (this is her only formal dress, even though her mother had been encouraging her to keep buying more), because she doesn’t believe that she’d match up to anything fancy, but this gives her a surprising amount of courage.

This makes her grown up, she feels comfortable in her skin for once, and she’s not afraid to show off the way she walks or the way her head tilts, in contrast to her usual anxiousness. This is the first time she feels utterly powerful and in control of herself, despite the gentle picture she paints.

She’s definitely asked on endless amounts of dances (all which they discover she’s actually pretty terrible at, but she smiles so sheepishly that one can’t help but forgive her), and she has to be physically rescued by Hinata from all the guys asking for some of her time.

Natsu. [Hiromi Asai]

This outfit is indeed tailored for her vibrant hair. Wearing a kimono, this is made of dark navy fabric in one single swath, detailed embroidery of browns, pale lilacs, gold and white carefully placed on her left shoulder and tangling around the right folds of her kimono past her waist. There is a splattering of lighter decoration throughout the dress, and in the slight left, past her knee, there is a large embroidery of a white chrysanthemum among brown leaves and stems. A bold stripe of dark green cuts through the solid navy down the middle-right of the dress. The kimono is held together with a golden obi over a golden fabric base, orange, yellow and more gold swipes of a brush illustrate the obi and bring to life the brightness of the dress.

Nobody can call Natsu a lady-like or even calm girl, but there is an intensity in her eyes that burns just like her brother. Slightly less round yet more concentrated, Natsu’s hair burns like a bonfire at midnight against the dark of her kimono.

The point of navy is to make sure her best physical aspects pop out. If it were any other colour, green, for example, to match her down to earth nature, it would eclipse her hair and skin and instead place the focus on the dress. This dress serves only as a platform to show off her milky skin and ruthless hair.

She’s by no means a conservative person, but there is something that ties her to tradition, to elegance only found in traditional clothing, and a kimono traps and slims her figure into a sleek streamline, ending finally with a pair of wooden getas.

It doesn’t trap her spirit, oh no. Instead of her energy flowing sideways and outwards in any direction at all, this piece focuses her tension and bubbling energy into her posture and the way her face animates in the evening light. Especially at a party and not a festival, this dark toned kimono gives her enough gravitas to hold her own among western evening dresses.

Her hair is untouched. Decorum does state that hair should be tied up in a neat bun with a hair pin when it comes to kimonos, but her orange hair is wild, curling chaotically around the licks of her throat, the arch of her cheekbones and brushing the back of her shoulders like liquid fire.

She looks like a spirit of night, wrathful and glorious in her rage, but when she smiles, all falls away and everyone can only stare at the brightness that exudes from an evening piece.

[cienie-isengardu]

MK11 INTROS - ERRON & KUAI LIANG

Comparing character banters of newest and previous game, I feel like somehow in the time gap between X and 11, the relationship between Erron and Grandmaster of Lin Kuei improved.

In MKX, Erron wasn’t that much familiar with Sub-Zero’s powers:

Sub-Zero: You...

Erron Black: All this snow your doing?

Sub-Zero: I use my abilities more aggressively.

Now, when facing cryomancer, he is like:

Erron: Should have brought my parka.

Sub-Zero: Can you aim while shivering?

Erron: These hands don't tremble.

As much as it’s hard to tell how seriously should be taken intro dialogues, I think Kuai Liang does not treat Black’s words as an insult or simply ignore the sarcasm and maybe he is just genuine(?) curious if Erron is capable of aiming (fighting) without any additional protection from cold…what sounds pretty nice, in contrast to some banters.

Frankly, Erron’s general view of Sub-Zero changed in a visible way. From arrogantly claiming bullets are better than “snowballs”

Erron Black: You're an easy target.

Sub-Zero: As are you.

Erron Black: Bullets beat snowballs any day

his current reaction to facing in fight Sub-Zero is:

Erron: Ugh. Not this fight again.

Sub-Zero: You would prefer someone's else?

Erron: Hell, I'd fight a goddamned space cowboy.

So, I assume, Erron does not have the best memories of their fight in forest, when Lin Kuei saved New Gen and defeated Kotal’s army. We don’t know if those two actually faced in duel that day but the cowboy’s whole response is pretty hilarious in itself. Even more, since Erron rarely admits that he would rather not fight someone and up until now he showed little fear (or respect) towards gods, emperor(s) and other hard-to-kill and overpowered beings. Yet with Sub-Zero? Not this fight again. Also, if he had a chance to choose, he would prefer to duel the space cowboy than facing Kuai Liang. What only adds to the hilarious aspect, because as far as I’m familiar with Black, he is quite “sensitive” to any mockery of cowboy/Old West traditions and space cowboy sounds more like some silly Cage’s role than something pleasing Black’s sense of aesthetics.

Generally, Erron is not person to back down from challenge, especially not when there is nice amount of money involved (and from the wanted posters we known Sub-Zero is worth 5.000.000 which is one of the highest prices) and yet even such money aren’t that motivating. Either Erron is aware he is most likely going to lost or he isn’t interested in attacking Kuai Liang thus is not happy to be approached/challenged by Lin Kuei Grandmaster when for once he minded his own business.

Kuai Liang’s view of Erron changed as well.

In MKX, Sub-Zero accused Erron for betrayal of their native realm

Sub-Zero: You betrayed your realm.

Erron Black: I followed the money.

Sub-Zero: You have followed it to your doom.

but now is asking for reason he is not fighting for Earth rather than judging him for that:

Sub-Zero: Why not fight for Earthrealm?

Erron: Drinks are stronger in Outworld.

Sub-Zero: A fool and his vice are soon departed.

First thing to note: Sub-Zero dropped the malicious tone seen in previous game - doom is tied more closely to being destroyed or killed than being departed. In second banter, Kuai Liang is gonna kick Erron back to Outworld, yes, but he does not threaten his life like before.

Interestingly, Erron’s answer is more witty this time than the previous one about doing it for money alone. Black admitted on few occasion he feels better in Outworld than in his native realm (and having fun is as much important as being paid well, it seems?). Back then he went for “nothing personal, just business” attitude  and now he is telling Kuai Liang about thing(s) he enjoy and/or his preference. Does Kuai Liang believe him or not, is another matter but whatever if Erron’s comeback was serious or not (what is not easy to determine), still, in newest game Erron is much more open about himself than he was in MKX, to the point he told Cassie about his mother for no real reason beside that he thought mentioned mom would like her. Erron’s childhood most likely was not the happiest but I will address that in regard to Sub-Zero soon. For now, let’s note Erron right now is more at easy and dropped the “profesional act” in favor of witty comeback, the same as Kuai Liang is less likely to threaten his life.

Another thing to talk is this intro:

Sub-Zero: Guns are dishonorable weapons.

Erron Black: Rather be deadly than honorable.

Sub-Zero: Such folly will haunt you.

Kuai Liang, like some other characters, does not hold guns in high regards - this of course is a bit weird, considering fact that many of his closest allies (friends) use or were using guns at some point and there is no indication he despises them for that. It may be just Lin Kuei upbringing mixed with Mortal Kombat traditions in which people fight hand-to-hand, relying on their natural abilities and hard-earned skills.

Still, Kuai Liang is diplomatic here - he states his opinion on guns while not insulting Erron, like MKX!Reptile (“Only cowardss use firearmss!”) or MK11!Liu Kang (“Only cowards hide behind guns”) do. Frankly, even then Sub-Zero does not ridicule Erron’s guns as something trivial or non-threatening, like Tremor (“I laugh at your weapons.”) and Shinnok (“Weapons will prove ineffective.”) or MKX!Hanzo (“Mere firearms cannot stop me.”) did.

Black’s response is interesting on its own, because usually in such situations he was angered and his words carried a threat (“Gonna regret saying that.”, “Bad idea to insult me…”) yet this time he simply admits his preference to be deadly (alive) than honorable. What is more personal information than an actual taking offense.

Kuai Liang’s comeback may be seen as sort of insult; as in Erron is a fool but I rather see this as statement coming from Sub-Zero’s own life experiences. He (like Bi-Han and all Lin Kuei?) was once like Black; more concerned with being deadly than about honor. He was assassin, killing for money was what he did. But he died and went to Netherrealm and this place is a true hell. Sins do not go unpunished - even good people may be corrupted.. If one does not take care of his own honor (soul), his soul will go straight to the worst place in universe. Kuai Liang went there and he was changed into slave. That’s why I see it more as personal advice coming from experience - a warning that such attitude like Erron’s may come back to bite him some day and he will regret it. What is, again, more personal and polite than most character banters about Erron’s choice of weapons usually are.

Talking about guns, there is another important intro I will dissect into three matters.

Erron: Come for shooting lessons?

Sub-Zero: Are you offering, Erron Black?

Erron: Only to the quick and the brave.

One: the previous banter points out Kuai Liang sees guns as unhonorable weapon. Yet when asked if he came for shooting lessons (lessons?! Plural? Not one time offer then!), there is no bombastic talk how guns are below Lin Kuei or how much he despises them or that Erron is not worth his time. As Grandmaster. Kuai Liang is already top Earthrealm fighter and there is little people could teach him in regard to combat skills. But shooting? Not something Sub-Zero practiced much. New skill, even the less important one, gives a new perspective to improve (perfect) one's self. The strive for perfection is Lin Kuei trait, one Kuai Liang did not give up on. He may be surprised though, because Black is not someone giving his skills for free yet there is no mention of payment.

Even if Erron's offer was saractic (which I doubt, since he said „lessons”), his response is far away from joking or irony. Black is willing to teach (share his skills) which those he deem worthy. Since Erron already asked (thus offered), he sees Kuai Liang as one of the "fastest and brave". What I guess shouldn't surprise at all. Quite a lot of characters consider Sub-Zero to be great warrior to the point even Kotal an (ex)emperor wants him to train Outworld amies („Teach my army, Sub-Zero”).

The respect Erron holds for Kuai Liang is pretty nice, considering the fact he rarely keeps anyone in high regards. Also, Fun Fact: In Injustice 2, when Deadshot talks to Sub-Zero that he "has a bullet with your name on it", Kuai Liang responds "You are no Erron Black". So despite not liking guns, he has Erron’s markship skills in high regard, I guess.

Two: Kuai Liang and Erron Black are one of few characters that show a will to teach AND learns from others. Black already offered free(?) lessons to Sub-Zero and, sort of, asked Hanzo about spear throwing technique:

Erron: Don't s'pose you'd teach me that rope spear.

Scorpion: And divulge Shirai Ryu secrets?

Erron: I can make you share, Scorpion.

Black was quite sure Scorpion will not share clan secrets with him, yet he still showed interest in learning new thing.

Similar, Kuai Liang is known to train various people (New Gen., Special Forces, Frost) to the point Hanzo claims „Training outsiders is Sub-Zero’s passion” yet he is still willing to learn from others. It was seen above with Erron, when cowboy's offert was not turned down. Like Sub-Zero said, „A man's never too old to learn.”

Three: The improvement of Kuai Liang and Erron Black's relationship contrast with the change for worse(?) of Black and Scorpion's intros from MKX to MK11. Hanzo did not have good opinion on Erron in previous game – considered him Outworlder, did not want see any similarities between himself and mercenary. Now Hanzo outright says Shirai Ryu despite Black (not that he cares), that he understand little about his clan or that he has no respect for his own roots. Looking at those, Kuai Liang and Erron really somehow get from enemy to not-really-allies-but-not-despiting-each-other-people. They do not agree on everything, yet there is some respect between them. I guess, Erron works better with Sub-Zero, because the same as cryomancer, he is more cool-headed character than one relying on emotions like Hanzo.

Another intro:

Sub-Zero: Can you fight at close quarters?

Erron: Bet the farm on it, Sub-Zero.

Sub-Zero: You are betting your life

In which  Kuai Liang show again interest in Erron's combat skills. It may be a genuine curiosity, or old habit of (ex)assassin to find weakness in opponent. Still, Kuai Liang's response to Black's self-confidence (or arrogance?) sounds more like another „life advice” than MKX!Sub-Zero typical  „a serious error in judgment” answer he used to shot down other people's arrogant belief of their chance against him. I mean, Erron must be able to fight hand-to-hand, because Outworld is pretty dangerous place and like Kuai Liang said, he is betting his own life out there. Losing it will be much worse than losing farm (home) or material goods.

Looking how Kotal wish to hire Lin Kuei Grandmaster to train his (Kitana's?) army, one may wonder if Black was involved in negotiations – or more likely – carrying the message from Kahn to Lin Kuei Grandmaster and thus had a chance for some personal training / sparring with Sub-Zero.

Another interesting matter are things Kuai Liang and Erron have in common. I already mentioned their similar will to share knowledge (skills) and learning from others – quite rare trait in MK characters of Old Generation.

The other thing is lack of respect and faith in gods. What in itself is interesting, because Elder Gods are keep in high regard by Earthrealm (Raiden, Shaolin Monks) and apparently worshipped in Outworld too (not by everyone though, Tarkatans, Nankandas and Kytianns may disagree). Gods have real impact on fate of universe and people, this is fact hard to deny by mortals who took part in the latest events. Yet Kuai Liang and Erron aren’t fazed by gods walking among men. Quite opposite - they demand to learn a reason why they should pray to (or respect) gods:

Sub-Zero: The Lin Kuei do not worship the Elder Gods.

Cetrion: We seek gratitude, not worship.

Sub-Zero: I see no distinction.

or

Sub-Zero: Why should I pray to you?

Cetrion: Why does a bird flap its wings?

Sub-Zero: I asked a simple question.

and

Erron: And just why I should kneel in your church?

Cetrion: Have faith in your new god, Erron Black.

Erron: Like I take anything on faith.

or

Erron Black: Time for one of your heavenly lectures?

Raiden: You defy the will of the Elder Gods.

Erron Black: Damn straight.

Since they don’t worship or care much for gods’ will in general, they have some common ground to bond over. Even more when gods are either unhelpful or even harmful to their personal interest (like protecting Earthrealm or getting paid).

On side note, looking at hints about Erron’s past I wonder if his disrespect for faith and god(s) is not tied to the bad childhood he had. I guess, similar lack of respect that Kuai Liang shows from time to time may as well be a result of harsh growing up time Lin Kuei Temple.

Another common thing is that both are relicts of past. Erron is the old-schooled cowboy who wanders in Outworld full of wonderful and weird creatures, the lone Earthrealm looking for money and fun while Kuai Liang is the last of the old Lin Kuei clan, who lost family and friends and now alone faces sins of his clan and try to repair the damage done over the years. As such it is no wonder why they are more loner-type persons who keep their past mostly to themselves. Ironically, they are also the ones that do not avoid politeness.

I think we all may agree that Kuai Liang is one of the most polite (respectful) characters - albeit there is the impression that under politeness, Kuai Liang hides his emotional distance from others. Surprising for a merciless(?) mercenary, Erron shows from time to time his more polite nature - even if at times it sounds more ironic than anything else. It was especially seen in MKX intros, when he addressed Scorpion as Mr. Hasashi or Takeda as Mr. Takahashi or Kung Lao as Mr. Kung and even sometimes respectfully called Sonya or Cassie by their military rank rather than his standard “flirting”. MK11 has glimpses of this too (Erron Black: Hola, Mrs. Blade Cage. Sonya: Not that Sonya, asshole. Erron Black: Ain't you the sweet talker.) but it seems Erron is for most of time done with even pretending he cares about other people’s opinions about him. Still, he does not “skip” the introduction before fight. Which may be how he get somehow on better term with Kuai Liang despite all the bad stuff happening between Outworld and Earthrealm:

Sub-Zero: You approach me as a foe.

Erron Black: Depends on who's asking.

Sub-Zero': Allow me to introduce myself.

As much as Erron like to flirt with women (what is rarely, if even, welcomed by any female character), he has rocky relationship with pretty much all men. Shao Kahn is angry at Black cause he is not working for him and chose Kotal over Mileena. Jax sees him as scumbag with no code. Kano did not forget Erron left Black Dragons, while Raiden sees Erron as unworthy and in the service of evil. Johnny’s childish(?) attitude and jokes about westerns / cowboys do not amuse Black at all. Kollector has personal (death of brother) and “professional” (serving Shao Kahn) reasons to not like him. Hanzo despises Black and sees him just as thug. Liu Kang calls him coward and implies lack of skills. Noob Saibot is, well, Noob. Kabal and Kung Lao are closer to neutrality than disliking each other with Erron, but there is still vibe of challenging (boasting) or judging.

Even Kotal Kahn - a current boss of Black - faces the possibility that Erron may chose money over loyalty to him (albeit intros vs. Shao Kahn suggest Erron is not interested in killing Kotal on ex-emperor’s request). Hell, Erron is not really nice to his own self and would hurt the other without much guilt. From the amount of men, dialogue banters with Kuai Liang seems closer to politeness than I-see-you-as-a-lesser-man-than-me. Of course, there are matters that those two do not agree upon but at the same time, they don’t insult each other much, especially compared to their MKX intros.

Frankly, Erron complimented Kuai Liang twice.

Once in regard to skills (mentioned “Only to the quick and the brave”) another time about Sub-Zero’s look (uniform):

Erron: That's some outfit.

Sub-Zero: It honors Lin Kuei traditions.

Erron: Time to let past die.

Firstly, the amount of men that were complimented by Erron is really, really small. The other male character to hear anything nice is Kung Lao, both in MKX (“I like the hat.”) and MK11 (“One hat man to another, cool hat.”). Even if I’m reading wrongly Erron’s words, he rarely comments people’s choice (style) of clothing. Yet there is something in Kuai Liang’s uniform that catches his attention.

Secondly, since Erron is tied to Shang Tsung who himself had strong ties to Lin Kuei, I wonder if Black had a chance at some point if not meet Bi-Han, then at least saw or heard about him. He was after all mercenary working for sorcerer for like hundred years and later, he worked closely with Syzoth/Reptile, an another associate of Shang Tsung that also was present at Mortal Kombat Tournament that could provide some useful data about elder Sub-Zero. My feeling is that, Erron recognizes the true meaning of Kuai Liang’s uniform that not only honoring Lin Kuei traditions but his brother as well.

What may be a reason why Black’s final words are about letting past die. To move on. I mean, Kuai Liang reformed the clan and push Lin Kuei into more selfless direction as protectors of Earthrealm. Something that Kotal and his warriors (including Erron) had a chance to see for themselves during fight in forest (MKX). So what kind of traditions Sub-Zero could means? It’s not the assassin aspect to honor, because he changed that himself. Maybe it’s just the nature of clan, the strive for perfection and self-improvement - but then there is little reason for Erron to talk about putting the past in rest.

If the uniform is connected to Kuai Liang’s love/respect for fallen brother - who right now is an evil Wraith - Erron’s words sound like good life advice. I already talked how his own childhood was most likely awful, so I guess, Black himself came to term with his dark past (abuse) with passing time. To the point he is willing to tell Cassie about his mother - and other “tough women” he grew up around. Erron’s final words (“I hated Ma”) suggest it was something he used to do, but now may be not driven by such strong, negative emotion. In a way, Erron - by telling Sub-Zero to not “honor” past - may try tell him to stop hurting himself for something (someone) that brought so much pain to him. To let past die and focus on what is now, the same way Black did leave his own past (as in: the abusive family) behind him. Or may be not and it’s just me over-analyzing stuff again.

In short, I think Kuai Liang and Erron’s relationship improved over the years, from enemies who met on battlefield in fight Erron (and his boss) lost to something more on positive scale. Not friends, most likely not allies, but not men who despite each other either. I guess, put them together in one room and they will not try murder each other (like Kano with any member of Blade-Briggs-Cage family) or waste time insulting or annoying each other. They actually seems like people capable of holding polite and/or more personal(?) conversation or just use time to learn something from the other. Hell, maybe even have a nice drink and just spend time in more productive ways (learning, sparring) than looking for a mortal kombat-type of fight. Just two men chill enough to behave around each other like normal (or as much normal one can be in MK universe) adult people.