Are "Friends" Electric?

Your Li Mei is so cute!! She looks so young! How old is she? I loved the tooth gap! Gives personality! Also, dunno if it's accurate, but she makes me think of the word, spitfire! Like, if I were to describe her in a word, it would be this one! Loved her!!💜

And for Jade, woah, she's stunning! I loved the hairstyle! Tati Gabrielle inspired, you said? This one?

And the face too! Does that mean you approve her as Jade now? (I remember you being skeptical) If you reply to this, please, keep it spoilers free, I haven't seen the movie yet😭 but so far it seems she's being well received! Which makes me happy! I was rooting for her!!🥹💚

Also, loved what you're cooking with Soul Magik here!👀💚

Also, also!

Not to be ATLA obsessed on main (though I know that's impossible, I AM ATLA obsessed on main) but this gives me such Princess Yue vibes!

My Li Mei is indeed on the younger side! As an outworlder, she ages differently than earthrealmers so she's probably like a couple of hundred years old but in earthrealmer years, she's around the same age range as Liu and Lao (early to mid 20's throughout the story).

You pinpointed her personality well!! I think "spitfire" is indeed a good way to describe her. As you already know, I'm more of a Midway Era fan in a lot of aspects and that includes Li Mei's characterisation. Back when she was introduced, she was a fiery and bold young woman who stood up and rebelled against the oppression and enslavement of her village and people and she actually won the tournament held by the Deadly Alliance. However, in spite of her great kombat skills, she was too young, too naive and too reckless for her own good and her genuine desire to bring freedom and justice got her in serious trouble.

In my AU, she pretty much follows the same pattern with some twists but long story short: she was born in Sun Do, a humble coastal village oppressed by Shao Kahn's rule, she is the eldest of 4 siblings who was forced to become a parental figure and to work tirelessly especially after her father's death all the while being part of a secret resistance aiming to overthrow Shao Kahn and his empire. When the rebellion was busted and most of her fellow freedom fighters were killed by the Kahn Guard, Bo'Rai Cho took Li Mei to Earthrealm so she could hide in Fengjian where she was taken in by Madam Bo and worked at the Teahouse in exchange for her hospitality. She also attended the Wu Shi Academy to train and acquire more discipline. She met Liu and Lao and the three of them became friends (Kai and Jin will be there as well but I have to work them into the story.) Li Mei initially wasn't pleased with her life in Earthrealm but she learnt to like it and the people she met there, though deep down, all she's ever wanted was to return to her true home in Outworld in order to free it and her people.

SO YEAH- she's young, she's reckless, she's bold. She's got the kindness, the patience, the generosity and the altruism fitting for a caring oldest sibling and protector of her people but she's dangerously impetuous in her desire to see Shao Kahn's empire fall. She can also demonstrate some immaturity as well as a frighteningly short and hot temper due to her frustration of not being able to do anything to help Outworld because she's being forced to hide in the middle of nowhere in Earthrealm. However, she's also a kid who never truly got to be one, which is something Madam Bo understands and which caused her to bond rather easily with Lao (he loves the tooth gap too hehe-) 🤭

She still does end up in trouble at some point after she comes back to Outworld and finds her soul momentarily trapped in one of Onaga's mummified soldiers by Shang Tsung. She was saved by Bo'Rai Cho and Kung Lao at the very last moment but the ritual permanently turned her brown eyes green. Aaaaaand- kind of brainwashed her for a moment too.

When it comes to Jade, yeah, I took inspo from this hairstyle specifically, kind of winged it and mixed it up with other references. I love all the jewelry Tati Gabrielle adds to her hairstyle and she even convinced me to give Jade a septum piercing.

I indeed was frustrated when Jade's design was revealed, the same way I was frustrated when MK1 revealed Tomáš with his hair cut short. 😭 That being said, I objectively couldn't be skeptical of Tati Gabrielle herself because I had never seen her anywhere else, so even with the frustration of shaved-head Jade, I hoped she would at least give a good Jade portrayal and she did!!! Jade's character is just as she should be, which made me forget about that one single issue I had with her design. Plus, I think Tati does a good job (though tbh I'm very easy when it comes to actors- you could tell me an actor doesn't know how to act and I'd be like "I literally do not know-")

Still, seeing Tati Gabrielle with long braids/dreadlocks makes me even more frustrated because I would have LOVED to see Jade in the movie with that kind of hairstyle!!!! 😭 But hey, I think the movie kind of explains why she looks the way she does beyond the military status and I actually love that one background element for Jade so I'm totally including it in my AU. That means my Jade at some point actually had her head shaved but let her hair grow back afterwards (basically- as an Umgadi in Edenia her hair is long. Then after the destruction of Edenia, circumstances force her to shave her head but by the time the first game happens, she's had her long hair back for a long time).

I also wanted to make sure to draw Jade with proper black hairstyles. The first time I played around and drew Jade, I didn't know how to draw her hair so I went with her straight ponytail from MK9 but I later vowed to design her with a black hairstyle. So I did. And she rocks it!

I have honestly never watched ATLA in my life. 🫣 Which is too bad because the lore looks really good but that show originally aired in France when I was just 3 and when it aired again, it was on channels I didn't have or when I was muuuuch older and although not disinterested, I simply didn't have the time to watch. So I've only watched a few episodes of ATLA and TLOK while eating my cereals in the morning a few years ago. 😅🥣

I knew of Yue and her story but admittedly, I honestly don't think I had her in mind back when I thought about this background for Jade but hey, I don't mind at all and I'm glad you love it!! I really wanted to find a way to explain why Jade has this spiritual green energy with all these moves that make her intangible like a ghost, why her MK9 ending has her being connected to spirits and being possessed, why one of her gears in MK11 calls her a ghost and I also wanted to find a way to connect her to the Living Forest since she originally appeared in that stage as an Easter egg.

By the way, MK11 also tells us through Jade's gear that her father was a prince so that would make her a princess too?? Like, she would have become a princess following her father's death. Her father is named Jobashel according to one gear, Jade is referred to as the "ghost of Maktur" and she has a razor-rang named "Makturian razor-rang". So yeah, in my AU, Jade's father was the ruler of an edenian principality named Maktur and Jade should have been raised as the future princess of Maktur but she was either stillborn or died during infancy due to some illness. Her parents were so desperate and grief-stricken that they used a ritual involving soul magik in the Living Forest in order to resurrect her. Jade was successfully brought back to life and the family returned to Maktur. However, the ritual had unforeseen consequences on Jade, granting her out-of-control spiritual powers her parents did not know how to handle. Desperate, they asked Delia, the oracle, for advice. Delia told Jobashel and Qali (that's the name I give to Jade's mom based on the character from Conquest) that the best way to keep their daughter safe was to leave her into the care of the Umgadi. Jobashel and Qali agreed to leave their daughter to the religious order. Jobashel left his razor-rang to Delia, instructing her to give it to his daughter when the day would come for her to learn kombat.

I have other ideas in mind for Jade's background, her powers but also Maktur which also involves the griffins like Asgaarth but I've had a lore post about it in the work for a while now so I'll try to get back to it soon!! Same for Li Mei, there's a lot of details I could have talked about here but I'll keep some surprises for later!

I want you to know there's a scene in this movie where Johnny is going to fight Baraka after insulting him into agreeing to single kombat, and when he turns to the gang, Liu and Jax are doing prayer gestures like "Rip bro" and meanwhile, Sonya strikes a martial arts pose to hype Johnny up.

First of all, I think it's important to mention that I'm a big Lin Kuei fan overall. Bi-Han is not even my favorite Lin Kuei warrior, Tomáš is, but Tomáš is just my favorite MK character overall. But yeah, I just love every Lin Kuei character.

I also do hate Bi-han's MK1 ass and mostly, I hate what the writers did to his character. To be honest, this specific Bi-Han is so bad and ridiculous I find it hard to take him seriously so he ultimately makes me laugh more than anything. Anyway, Bi-han's characterization in this game is something I've already voiced my opinion on. Namely, that is not Bi-Han, that is a bad Sektor knock-off. I won't go over it again. Whatever, reasons under the cut.

My hatred for him began with mk1, but I have been around the fandom since mk9, and in that game I do like the lore decisions made for the Lin Kuei and the Lin Kuei brothers specifically.

While I'm willing to admit that I have never consumed as much of the Midway lore and haven't played mk mythologies Sub Zero (simply because I couldn't really find the time or a suitable way to do that) I like his characterization in midway AND in Netherrealm era from what I have seen and heard people talk about.

He was a great and honorable fighter in the Legends movies and in 9 and given how Kuai Liang speaks of him he must've been a protective brother to deserve such a task from Kuai to want revenge for his death.

Especially in Battle of the Realms (which I didn't personally like but watched anyway) Kuai chased Hanzo all over the world for his vengeance and even in the temple of the elements, Hanzo shows him mercy and explains why he killed Sub Zero and I feel like he said it like he didn't find out that it was Quan Chi who set up both clans deaths just and only for the shits and giggles (committed to the bit but also dick move).

So I should've definitely clarified at the start of my crusade:

Yes, I do like Midway and Netherrealm Bi-Han. He's nuanced, an interesting character, and I wish they did more with him in the NRS era to make him more than an antagonist. But I mostly like him for his brother

I hate MK1 Bi-Han because he's stupid, poorly written, evil for the sake of power and being evil, treats BOTH HIS BROTHERS POORLY and for over three years I've been scrolling through my Tumblr page and every fifth post has always been someone simping (to say it VERY lightly) for him and completely disregarding his crimes and actions through the game and I got so spiteful that I made my rage known.

I do understand and share the aversion to MK1!Bi-Han because not only is he poorly written compared to his OG self but I also find him to be very unlikeable and seeing people doing nothing but simp for him can be frustrating especially since I really don't understand how anyone could fantasize and lust over a dominant toxic macho who treats them like shit and degrade them- because based on the few things I saw in the tags back when MK1 was fresh and new, it was mostly just this. But hey, to each their own I guess. I hope for these people that they find themselves in good and healthy relationships irl tho.

I've seen people writing full analysis about Bi-Han in MK1 which might be totally justified but I'm sadly just too disinterested in most of the MK1 lore, which even includes the Lin Kuei, to care. The clan is no longer the same, Bi-Han is not Bi-Han, Kuai Liang is not Kuai Liang and I'm still unable to digest the Scorpion!Kuai Liang thing, Sektor is not Sektor... I'm obviously unable to dislike Tomáš and I actually love some aspects of his characterization they added to him but even he was criminally wasted and his new background is boring af, bring back enenra. Cyrax is doing well as a character and is actually closer to her MK9 self than most people realize. I love her in MK1 but she deserved more screentime and respect. She was unfairly mistreated when she did nothing wrong while this asshole Kuai Liang who treated her like shit for no reason was ultimately made into the Good One™.

I haven't played Mythologies: Sub-Zero either so perhaps I'll purchase Legacy Kollection to play it but I do adore the Midway Era and I've played the 3D Era games and yeah, Noob Saibot there is nothing more than another power-hungry villain, though I like to imagine his desire to take over the world and even have control over other people such as Smoke is his own corrupted way to reclaim control over his own afterlife after being denied the right to control his actual life. However, it's never explained that way so it's really just me trying to make interesting sense of things. Ultimately, he's pretty boring but I still think it's much better than his MK1 incarnation.

If you ask me, Bi-Han was really only done well in Mythologies and the 2021 movie even though they threw his original background out of the window. It admittedly bothers me but the way the character is used in the movie and the way Joe Taslim portrays him make it more than okay. Bi-Han in both movies has great moments, fight scenes and attitude. I hope they develop him in an interesting way in the sequels instead of relegating him to the grunt role.

MK9 was the start of his downfall in the games continuity. Don't get me wrong, I like his attitude here but that's also when he became an irrelevant jobber. And in Scorpion's Revenge? He shows up for two minutes and dies without even understanding what the fuck just happened to him which is both tragic and hilarious, not gonna lie. Plus, Bi-Han could have just been completely missing from this movie and it wouldn't have changed anything. The fact that the plot completely ignores Mythologies and isn't even an AU in which Bi-Han kills Hanzo's family like the cinematic universe renders Bi-Han's existence pointless. At the end of the day, he's just here to get his ass unfairly kicked by Hanzo in a cruel, unjustified but still pretty funny way.

First of all, I think it's important to mention that I'm a big Lin Kuei fan overall. Bi-Han is not even my favorite Lin Kuei warrior, Tomáš is, but Tomáš is just my favorite MK character overall. But yeah, I just love every Lin Kuei character.

I also do hate Bi-han's MK1 ass and mostly, I hate what the writers did to his character. To be honest, this specific Bi-Han is so bad and ridiculous I find it hard to take him seriously so he ultimately makes me laugh more than anything. Anyway, Bi-han's characterization in this game is something I've already voiced my opinion on. Namely, that is not Bi-Han, that is a bad Sektor knock-off. I won't go over it again. Whatever, reasons under the cut.