Tomas Vrbada - Blog Posts

i really liked your headcanons about johnny cage and general shao. could you write one for bi-han?? that would be most interesting

Thank you for the kind words! I’ve had a lot of fun making headcanons for MK1 characters. Compared to Johnny, I don’t have that many headcanons for Bi-Han, but I do have some on his childhood and familial relationships. Sorry if this turns out really long. Hope you enjoy!

Bi-Han was very close to his mother. She would comfort him whenever his father was very harsh towards him during training and reassured him that he would be a great leader and makes the Lin-Kuei strong. Her death was the catalyst for Bi-Han believing his father was unfit to lead the Lin-Kuei since she was killed by a vengeful former member. 

His father loved and cared for Bi-Han but his duty to train him to be the rightful heir to the Lin Kuei overshadowed that. He would train his son until near exhaustion, which led to Bi-Han being mostly isolated from the rest of the family in his early and late teens. He would tell him a great leader has to be strong and perceptive enough to lead. Bi-Han admired his father as a leader though rarely considered him his father- mostly calling him “Grandmaster” compared to “father.” His admiration turned to anger after his mother’s death and realizing how involved Liu Kang is in Lin-Kuei’s business. Bi-Han saw this as a weakness since Liu Kang wasn’t an official leader and perceived it as against his training and philosophy. Years later, his father was suffering a terrible illness. His father’s death occurred during a battle against rogue Lin-Kuei members who believed him to be too weak to continue as Grandmaster. By the end of the battle, Bi-Han found his father under rubble with a stab wound to the abdomen. Bi-Han decided to leave him to die so his father wouldn’t suffer from the illness and his belief that he is capable of succeeding as Grandmaster. 

Bi-Han and Kuai Liang were very close as little boys. There’s a headcanon where Kuai Liang was born too weak to wield cryomancy- he was even close to death. Liu Kang healed Kuai, giving him his fire powers. Being two years old at the time, Bi-Han was unaware of the situation’s severity though felt protective towards his little brother when he held him. Before mastering his pyromancy, Kuai’s body couldn’t handle cold temperatures or the frequent colds he’d get. Bi-Han would sleep with his sick brother to make sure he didn’t overheat or in case he needed help. While their parents were anxious about letting Kuai Liang fight, Bi-Han saw his potential to be a great fighter and his right-hand man when he became Grandmaster.

Although Bi-Han was very harsh towards Tomas, he saw his adoptive brother as family. The reason why he sometimes treats Tomas badly is because of resentment and jealousy. Bi-Han resented Tomas since his father gave him “leniency”- welcomed Tomas to the Lin-Kuei almost immediately- and acted more fatherly. He was also jealous of Kuai Liang and Tomas’s growing brotherhood during the bulk of his intense training. In a way, Bi-Han felt like he was being replaced. He tries to not hold it against Tomas though his unresolved anger gets in the way. 

MK1 Characters Ages Headcanon

Vaeternus: 1 year = 6k years

Edenian: 1 year = 400 years

Draconian: 1 year = 250 years 

*For Vaeternus, I made these calculations based on a Nitara intro. I believe Kung Lao asks her how old she is and Nitara says that she was a little girl when humans discovered fire. There were many differing accounts on when that happened but I decided to pick the one that said fire was a widespread, controlled source 125,000 years ago. It was the second most recent account- first being 12,000 years ago. I chose 125k since I assume the intro I mentioned is meant to hint how much older Vaeternus is than most races.  

*Since the story confirmed that Kitana and Mileena were 10,000 years old, I used the number to find an estimated number of Edenian years that equals a single human year. I considered Kitana and Mileena to be 25 in human years since it divides 10,000 evenly and the sisters look close to that age- dividing those numbers equaled to 400 years. So, 400 Edenian years is equal to 1 human year. 

*In the story, Sindel confronted Shao and mentioned how she remembered the sickly boy he was. This is evidence that Sindel is older than Shao by a few years- ten years at minimum; however, in my opinion, Shao looks older than Sindel so I believe the Draconian species have a shorter life span than Edenians, but they are still much larger than human’s. Unlike with the Edenians, I decided to have 250 Draconian years be equivalent to one human year because of an idea of an estimated range.  

*Liu Kang is slightly older than the Big Bang in the New Era. I couldn’t calculate Geras’ age since he’s experienced a ginormous amount of timelines. Calculations over a trillion is too difficult for any calculator to compute. 

Ashrah: 29 (human years) 

Baraka: 22k (Edenian years), 55 (human years) 

General Shao: 12,500 (Draconian years), 50 (human years) 

Geras: Can’t Calculate

Havik: 27 (human years) 

Johnny Cage: 28 

Kenshi Takahashi: 28 

Kitana: 10k (Edenian years; canon), 25 (human years) 

Kung Lao: 24 

Jerrod: 20k (Edenian years), 50 (human years)  [If he were alive]

Li Mei: 18,400 (Edenian years), 46 (human years)

Liu Kang: 13.8 billion 

Mileena: 10k (Edenian years; canon), 25 (human years) 

Nitara: 150k (Vaeternus years) or 12k (Vaeternus years), 25 (human years) 

Raiden: 24 

Rain: 10,400 (Edenian years), 26 (human years)

Reiko: 26 (human years) 

Reptile: 29 (human years) 

Kuai Liang/Scorpion: 26 

Sindel: 19,200 (Edenian years), 48 (human years) 

Shang Tsung: 27 (human years) 

Tomas Vrbada/Smoke: 25 

Bi-Han/Sub-Zero: 28 

Tanya: 9,600 (Edenian years), 24 (human years)

I forgot to say in my last reblog that I don’t think Liu Kang was at fault for everything that had gone wrong. Though he’s a god, Liu Kang is capable of making mistakes like a human. I do believe that there are events that can’t be changed such as the clans fighting, Tarkatans, etc. I actually wrote a theory post a while back on why I think Tarkatans couldn’t be erased. Basically, I believe Liu Kang tried getting rid of Tarkatans but couldn’t due to Time Keeper rules. So, he changed it into a disease that is pretty hard to contract. I think that Liu made a bad call giving Shang Tsung and Quan-Chi meaningless lives (as he put it in the story mode). I wish he specified his intentions with Shang and Quan-Chi’s life. It’s hard to tell if he gave them hard lives in hopes they’ll grow kinder or he gave them average lives and, unfortunately, he had no control with their lives getting worse (Quan-Chi being in the mines and Shang having a hard time making a living). Liu Kang definitely didn’t have a hand on Bi-Han’s betrayal because he didn’t expect the cyromancer to betray his brothers for his own interest. General Shao’s arrogance returned because of Shang’s manipulation. 

I’m the type of fan who sometimes overanalyzes things, especially when things aren’t explicitly explained. Because of this, I question which occurrences in the New Era are due to Liu’s interference or if it's meant to happen (a canon event). For example, Liu Kang interfered in Shang Tsung, Shao Kahn and Quan-Chi’s lives to make sure they didn't become their previous selves. He made sure Mileena was Kitana’s blood sister and not a clone. He also had the Lin-Kuei act as Earthrealm’s defense instead of continuing their assassination system that was for their own interest. That’s Liu interference. A mix of Liu’s ability to manipulate outcomes and his cryptidness definitely leads to questioning what else he’s done, at least for me. Time is a very complex matter so it leads to more questions than answers. I hope in the next story there will be an explanation on Liu Kang’s limits and what he specifically did to create the timeline. 

I don’t think I explained my reasoning on why I think having Kuai and Harumi together makes me feel like Kuai is kind of like “Hanzo with a different name” very well. 

My main reason for saying this is because they got together during a Tower Ending instead of the story. It feels rushed to add this relationship in 90 seconds so it feels like the writers did this to fulfill a checklist (have a Scorpion and Harumi together). I think I would like this relationship if the expansion story focused on them and I see why and what made Harumi and Kuai love each other. They could be in the beginning of their relationship and seeing their dynamic would be enough. But they are married so it wouldn’t happen exactly like that. I guess I’m the type of person who only really feels for a ship if I see their growth. From what I remember, all that has been mentioned about their relationship is that they are childhood friends and have mutual respect for each other, which is a good starting point though not enough for me to feel anything other than neutral. I’m very for the “Show don’t Tell” idea of storytelling.

I am looking forward to seeing Harumi in the story and what you listed about her makes me interested in her as a character. I hope she’s a badass who will be added to the main roster in future games. We need more female fighters.

I see your points on why you think Hanzo is an adult, but I still think Hanzo is underage. Not by a lot though, I think he’s at least 16-17. 

His arms are bigger than most teens but he’s been training and before that he had the minimum amount of skill to steal. Smoke stopped him because he’s trained longer but I am certain an average person would not defend themselves as well. In the image I added, you can see his muscles are smaller compared to the images you included. This shows that training and eating more (like you said Hanzo was starving before joining the Shirai-Ryu) were major reasons his muscles are larger, not age. What I’m trying to say is that it’s possible for a slightly underage guy to look like an adult due to physical fitness and eating right (I expect the Shirai-Ryu to have a healthy regiment). I think a time skip happened between my image and yours, but they are probably at least a few months to a year apart since Bi-Han doesn’t seem like the person who would wait very long. After all, he hunted Kuai and Tomas after Titan Shang Tsung was defeated.

Also we have to consider some things. Compared to a front view, a side view of muscles will look larger because of perspective (the second image you added proves it since his arms are slightly slimmer compared to the first image). Hanzo is flexing as well which makes muscles look larger. I also searched up what muscular guys (16-17 years old) look like and they look very close to Hanzo’s physique. 

With his voice, I agree that it’s deep though guys in my high school sounded very similar when they were 16-17 because of puberty. A deep voice doesn’t always equal being an adult. Also, it hasn’t been confirmed if the voice actor that did those grunts will be Hanzo’s in future appearances. They could’ve been another va who’s voicing another character that did those grunts because NRS didn’t want to hire a new va just for grunts. I’m going to wait for the voice actor hired for Hanzo’s official appearance in the games to see if Hanzo is a late teen or adult. 

I agree with you about adults being born shorts. Everyone grows at different rates and it doesn’t physically show someone’s maturity. I still somewhat considered it (though not as much as other points I mentioned) because the media usually use height to show age, especially in animated projects. Short adults or tall teens/kids are rarely shown unless for comedic reasons. I’m not saying Mortal Kombat is like that but I still keep it in mind in case they do use height = age formula. 

Although I see your points on why you think Hanzo is an adult, I’m going to assume he’s underage until the game confirms his age or at least gives strong enough hints to make an educated guess. 

Thank you for replying back to me! I appreciate your pov because it evolves mine at the same time. I enjoy our conversations. I apologize for taking the expected, life got a little hectic. Sorry for going into crazy specifics near the end. It was the only way I could think of to better explain my points. Also, I noticed in your tags that you don’t like being a Liu Kang apologist or something along those lines. I’m curious as to why. 

My Thoughts on MK1 Hanzo

(Spoiler Warning: Smoke’s Tower Ending is discussed)

I saw Smoke’s tower ending and was surprised to see Hanzo in the new timeline, let alone as a child. Although I’m open to how the writers will handle his character, I’m kind of disappointed that they went this route. When I learned that Kuai Liang would be Scorpion in the new timeline, I expected Hanzo to either not even exist or live a nice life with Harumi and their son. Instead, Kuai Liang is married to Harumi and Hanzo is much younger than them, which is so weird. I really hoped Hanzo would have a happy life and only be involved in the games through mentions at least.  Also, this decision paints Liu Kang in a bad light. It’s no secret Liu Kang made sure his allies had a good life while making some of his enemies’ lives (Shang Tsung and Quan Chi) insignificant to prevent them from turning into their past counterparts. So, it makes me wonder why Liu Kang didn’t think to give Hanzo a good life or at least watch over him. It’s shown that Hanzo is a starving orphan forced to steal for essentials. I have no doubt Liu Kang knows about Hanzo’s past since he met the older and kinder Scorpion in MK11 and Raiden has disclosed Hanzo’s past in MK 9. Plus when Liu Kang fused with the Hourglass, he most likely became aware of what happened in MK9 and MKX. He gave Shao Kahn the chance to be a better man by being the Kingdom’s general- a risk that didn’t pay off, yet didn’t give Hanzo what he always desired- his wife, son, and the Shirai-Ryu. It feels so out of character for Liu Kang to not make sure Hanzo had a good chance at life. 

If I had the opportunity to write Hanzo’s character, it would’ve been very different. I would’ve made him a former Lin Kuei member(he would be 5 or more years older than Bi-Han) who held the Scorpion title until he retired to Japan- where met Harumi and had their son. Hanzo would’ve also been the one to train Kuai Liang in his fire powers in the latter’s childhood. In his honor, Kuai would take the Scorpion mantle after Hanzo retires. Hanzo could also help Kuai and Smoke form the Shirai-Ryu but Harumi helps in recruiting and training while he takes care of their young son. 

Though, I still hold some faith that NRS will write the new Hanzo well. I guess I’m just disappointed because I wanted Hanzo to finally live a happy life where his family stays alive. He was one of my favorites in the MK9-MK11 era so I can’t help but feel a connection towards him.

Thank you for adding your thoughts to my post. One of my favorite things to do in fandoms is to discuss with other fans about the story, characters, etc.

I see your point about Liu Kang and his abilities but I think Liu Kang had a hand at Smoke being orphaned. In one of his intros with Liu Kang, Smoke asks him if he intended for his family to die. Here’s a link to the video: https://youtu.be/z-r4UecW7PM?si=sHMb4gmKGddNA9oY&t=485 (The intro is at 8:05). Liu Kang’s reply was a bit cryptic and can be interpreted in different ways but I believe it alludes to Liu having to make a hard decision to make sure the timeline went accordingly, such as Smoke joining the Lin-Kuei and befriending the brothers. Also, Liu made plans for Shang Tsung and Quan-Chi to live meaningless lives. I don’t think he would’ve risked letting them live freely without careful planning to make sure the plan kept its course, so I believe Liu Kang is capable of planning people’s lives but in varying degrees. Unfortunately, the game wasn't very clear on Liu Kang’s capabilities and restrictions so most fans have different interpretations of Liu Kang's involvement in how the new timeline turned out the way it is. I do give Liu Kang some slack since he gave up his powers decades (most likely centuries) before Hanzo was born.

Anyways, I should’ve been clear when I said Hanzo’s life seems bleak. I meant before being taken in by Smoke. I don’t think Hanzo not being the leader of the Shirai-Ryu is a bad life. My critique was about how Liu Kang made sure Shao Kahn didn’t have extensive capabilities to become emperor and have Mileena, who was his enemy in the old timeline, be Kitana’s blood sister- a change he must have done before relinquishing his powers- while Hanzo’s life before the Shirai-Ryu was hard. I had that expectation that Liu Kang would give Hanzo what he truly desired- his family- since he did that for Mileena- her MK11 ending hinted at her wanting to be a part of a family. I’m fine with Kuai having the Scorpion mantle because it gives the Scorpion/Sub-Zero a bit more depth and new intrigue. Right now, I’m neutral with MK1 Hanzo. There isn’t anything to go by about his character so I’ll be waiting until future installments to give my full thoughts. I do have some faith that NRS will write MK1 Hanzo well. All I hope is they don’t kill off Kuai Liang only to make Hanzo Scorpion again. It would make the change kind of pointless.

I wanted to be clearer on why I don't like Harumi and Kuai together so far. It's not because I see Harumi as only Hanzo's life. I've grown to like Kuai being Scorpion since it gives the Sub-Zero/Scorpion rivalry more depth, and he still feels like Kuai Liang but with a different title. Going as far as to have Harumi and Kuai get married feels like a tamper to that balance. With that decision, he feels like Hanzo but with a different name right now. I'm still open to changing my mind once new story content is released.

Sort of a side note, but I don't think is a young adult (I searched online and a young adult is usually a range between 18 and 25 years old). Based on his height and appearance, I think he is 14-15 years old (adolescent/early teens range). It is possible for 18-year-olds and above to be short but, in MK1, most male characters are around the same height. If NRS wanted Hanzo to be in the same age range, they would've made him closer to Kuai and Tomas' heights. However, I could be wrong since I'm basing this on the tower ending's art style instead of the game's 3D modeling.

Thank you for reblogging my post and adding your opinion. My favorite part about fandoms is to see fans’ different perspectives on story elements. I enjoyed reading your post. Btw, your art is really good! Your Scorpion Harumi’s design is my favorite.

My Thoughts on MK1 Hanzo

(Spoiler Warning: Smoke’s Tower Ending is discussed)

I saw Smoke’s tower ending and was surprised to see Hanzo in the new timeline, let alone as a child. Although I’m open to how the writers will handle his character, I’m kind of disappointed that they went this route. When I learned that Kuai Liang would be Scorpion in the new timeline, I expected Hanzo to either not even exist or live a nice life with Harumi and their son. Instead, Kuai Liang is married to Harumi and Hanzo is much younger than them, which is so weird. I really hoped Hanzo would have a happy life and only be involved in the games through mentions at least.  Also, this decision paints Liu Kang in a bad light. It’s no secret Liu Kang made sure his allies had a good life while making some of his enemies’ lives (Shang Tsung and Quan Chi) insignificant to prevent them from turning into their past counterparts. So, it makes me wonder why Liu Kang didn’t think to give Hanzo a good life or at least watch over him. It’s shown that Hanzo is a starving orphan forced to steal for essentials. I have no doubt Liu Kang knows about Hanzo’s past since he met the older and kinder Scorpion in MK11 and Raiden has disclosed Hanzo’s past in MK 9. Plus when Liu Kang fused with the Hourglass, he most likely became aware of what happened in MK9 and MKX. He gave Shao Kahn the chance to be a better man by being the Kingdom’s general- a risk that didn’t pay off, yet didn’t give Hanzo what he always desired- his wife, son, and the Shirai-Ryu. It feels so out of character for Liu Kang to not make sure Hanzo had a good chance at life. 

If I had the opportunity to write Hanzo’s character, it would’ve been very different. I would’ve made him a former Lin Kuei member(he would be 5 or more years older than Bi-Han) who held the Scorpion title until he retired to Japan- where met Harumi and had their son. Hanzo would’ve also been the one to train Kuai Liang in his fire powers in the latter’s childhood. In his honor, Kuai would take the Scorpion mantle after Hanzo retires. Hanzo could also help Kuai and Smoke form the Shirai-Ryu but Harumi helps in recruiting and training while he takes care of their young son. 

Though, I still hold some faith that NRS will write the new Hanzo well. I guess I’m just disappointed because I wanted Hanzo to finally live a happy life where his family stays alive. He was one of my favorites in the MK9-MK11 era so I can’t help but feel a connection towards him.

My Thoughts on MK1 Hanzo

(Spoiler Warning: Smoke’s Tower Ending is discussed)

I saw Smoke’s tower ending and was surprised to see Hanzo in the new timeline, let alone as a child. Although I’m open to how the writers will handle his character, I’m kind of disappointed that they went this route. When I learned that Kuai Liang would be Scorpion in the new timeline, I expected Hanzo to either not even exist or live a nice life with Harumi and their son. Instead, Kuai Liang is married to Harumi and Hanzo is much younger than them, which is so weird. I really hoped Hanzo would have a happy life and only be involved in the games through mentions at least.  Also, this decision paints Liu Kang in a bad light. It’s no secret Liu Kang made sure his allies had a good life while making some of his enemies’ lives (Shang Tsung and Quan Chi) insignificant to prevent them from turning into their past counterparts. So, it makes me wonder why Liu Kang didn’t think to give Hanzo a good life or at least watch over him. It’s shown that Hanzo is a starving orphan forced to steal for essentials. I have no doubt Liu Kang knows about Hanzo’s past since he met the older and kinder Scorpion in MK11 and Raiden has disclosed Hanzo’s past in MK 9. Plus when Liu Kang fused with the Hourglass, he most likely became aware of what happened in MK9 and MKX. He gave Shao Kahn the chance to be a better man by being the Kingdom’s general- a risk that didn’t pay off, yet didn’t give Hanzo what he always desired- his wife, son, and the Shirai-Ryu. It feels so out of character for Liu Kang to not make sure Hanzo had a good chance at life. 

If I had the opportunity to write Hanzo’s character, it would’ve been very different. I would’ve made him a former Lin Kuei member(he would be 5 or more years older than Bi-Han) who held the Scorpion title until he retired to Japan- where met Harumi and had their son. Hanzo would’ve also been the one to train Kuai Liang in his fire powers in the latter’s childhood. In his honor, Kuai would take the Scorpion mantle after Hanzo retires. Hanzo could also help Kuai and Smoke form the Shirai-Ryu but Harumi helps in recruiting and training while he takes care of their young son. 

Though, I still hold some faith that NRS will write the new Hanzo well. I guess I’m just disappointed because I wanted Hanzo to finally live a happy life where his family stays alive. He was one of my favorites in the MK9-MK11 era so I can’t help but feel a connection towards him.

My MK1 Fatalities Tier List (Main Roster)

Note: The placements are based on the average rating of both fatalities. For example, if I gave a character an S and a B then they would go to an A rank since that would be the average. Also, if rankings are next to each other then I will round up to the higher rank. For instance, I gave Li Mei an S and an A for her fatalities so she would go to the S rank since I'm rounding the overall rating to the higher one.

Here's a more detailed ranking (where I add + and -) if you are curious:

Ashrah

Fatality 1- B+

Fatality 2- B

Baraka

Fatality 1: B-

Fatality 2: S

General Shao

Fatality 1: C

Fatality 2: B-

Geras

Fatality 1: A

Fatality 2: S

Havik

Fatality 1: A

Fatality 2: B+

Johnny Cage

Fatality 1: A

Fatality 2: A

Kitana

Fatality 1: A

Fatality 2: A-

Kenshi

Fatality 1: A

Fatality 2: A

Kung Lao

Fatality 1: C+

Fatality 2: A

Li Mei

Fatality 1: S

Fatality 2: A+

Liu Kang

Fatality 1: S

Fatality 2: S+

Mileena

Fatality 1: A

Fatality 2: C+

Nitara

Fatality 1: A

Fatality 2: C+

Raiden

Fatality 1: B

Fatality 2: A

Rain

Fatality 1: A-

Fatality 2: B-

Reiko

Fatality 1: A

Fatality 2: A

Reptile

Fatality 1: S

Fatality 2: B

Scorpion

Fatality 1: B

Fatality 2: A+

Shang Tsung

Fatality 1: A

Fatality 2: S

Sindel

Fatality 1: A

Fatality 2: B+

Smoke

Fatality 1: C

Fatality 2: C-

Sub-Zero

Fatality 1: B+

Fatality 2: B

Tanya

Fatality 1: B

Fatality 2: B+

Kameos (Bonus):

Cyrax: S

Darrius: C-

Frost: C

Goro: A

Jax: B

Kano: C

Kung Lao: C

Motaro: C+

Sareena: A

Scorpion: B

Sektor: B+

Shujinko: A

Sonya: C

Stryker: C+

Sub-Zero: B

Etop it now

Smoke (Mortal Kombat)

(Bi-Han is cutting his hair)

Can you do Tomas Vrbada x Muscular! Fem Reader?

How Tomas falls in love with her while doing her heavy-weight workout?

HARD BUT WITH THE SOFTEST EDGES

tomas vrbada x reader | sfw

CW! female reader, soft tomas, romantic leaning

part 2

God was he enamored with you.

Even before his moment. You were muscular and beautiful. You could fight and looked pretty doing it.

What more could a man ask for?

You were benching more than him. Dare him say he’s never seen someone so beautiful while working out.

Your muscles and tall stature, and combined with your overall gentle giantess he couldn’t bare to say he’s wasn’t attracted to you.

“Tomas…?”

Kuai Liang asked with smile on his face. Knowing expression in his eyes, “A pretty thing she is.” He chuckled to himself.

“Yeah…” Tomas whispered as he watched you down some water. Sweat coming down your temple as you down the water.

Noticing him staring at you a smile formed on your face. Tomas waved with soft flushes to him cheeks.

“Wow aren’t you down bad.” Harumi mused out as she giggled with a chuckling Kuai Liang.

“Go get her tiger.”

“Harumi-“

Tomas was pushed and now he was walking towards you with a shy expression on his face. You titled your head at him with interest.

You were taller than him, and yet so cute. “Could we work out together?” His voice slightly trembling. He cursed Harumi and Kuai Liang who were laughing at his misery.

However all that disappeared when he saw your happy smile. “Oh yes! Please do join me!”

Tomas found himself pulled in by you.

Certainly the best day of his life.

Bi-Han stans are some of the most delusional and nonsensical MK stans I’ve ever seen. That, and most times the CONSTANTLY have to bring down other characters, especially Kuai Liang and Tomas(sometimes even their dad that we have not seen), to make him seem decent. I agree that his disapproval of Tomas dosent make him evil, but they be DRAGGING IT😭

Edit: I meant SOME stans y’all, bcs I obviously can’t speak for an entire group of the people. Don’t mind the reposts! Also, for the record, I fw Bi-Han😚

Idk how people can defend Bi-Han still, it’s no wonder they gotta make his dad, Kuai and Tomas look bad so he can look DECENT😭

Tomas: That the Lin Kuei won't aid us is unforgivable. Bi-Han has corrupted them totally.

Bi-Han orders the Lin Kuei to stand back and not help against Titan Shang Tsung.

But when the battle is over, the Lin Kuei immediately begin hunting down Tomas and Kuai Liang. To the point they're separated from allies.

That means Bi-Han and the Lin Kuei were watching as Kuai Liang and Tomas were fighting for their lives and did nothing.

Only waited till it's over to attack them. Do you know how sad that is for Kuai and Tomas? Their brother and old clan just threw them like trash and started hunting down like preys when the danger was over.

what your never had will disappear in time's hourglass

Mortal Kombat sketches and unfinished thangs :P

Look at him!

Madame Bo made him work off the losses with an unusual dress code...(+ little bonus under the cut)

I enjoyed playing as Tomas the other day and I just love him so much

Takeda is really like his friend's outfit...

Boy, come to your senses...

Happy end of pride month 💫

(trans Tomas save me and my mental health 🙏🙏🙏)

Бля, мне чё-то так стрёмно что-то сюда постить, потому что мне кажется, что скилл у меня ну прям отвратный... Хотя я не знаю, вроде всё не так уж и плохо. В общем мне жаль, если у кого-то глаза поломались.

Hey again friend.

How about a headcanon of being best friends and a student to smoke 😄😄 please

Tomas Vrbada / Smoke Friendship Headcanons

Note(s) : I'm still learning how to write about his character, so criticisms are appreciated.

If we're talking Lin Kuei, Tomas is probably the best option for a mentor because he's not as strict and, uh, scary as Bi-Han, and even less serious than Kuai Liang, although that's not hard because he's so responsible.

But, that doesn't mean he'll let you slack off.

Tomas has a schedule, which includes waking up extremely early, most likely 6 AM, getting dressed and having breakfast in the span of a few minutes, you're expected to be at training for at least 7 AM. Then you train until lunch, around 1 PM, which lasts until 2 PM and then you train until dinner, around 6PM.

He expects you, and everybody else who trains under him, to follow that schedule. He can accept a few excuses, injuries making it harder to get dressed, mental issues, maybe you were just really hungry and accidentally spent too long eating, whatever the case, he lets you off with a warning most of the time.

But if it becomes repeated behaviour you're going through more gruelling training for a week, only Bi-Han at that point can get you out of it, and everybody knows he won't.

He retains a friendly and casual relationship outside of your training, inviting you with his brothers to dinner, which is usually less than once a month. They're usually at Madame Bo's or another tea house, and he's usually the one paying.

You both talk while he trains you, mostly about other Lin Kuei members and their performance / behaviours. Smoke won't trash talk, but he will sometimes indulge in gossip. 'Did you hear about the new recruit who tried to fight Bi-Han?' 'They did what?!'

Even when you're fighting with more seriousness, he's still cracking a friendly joke here and there. Probably something about ice, fire, or smoke.

Speaking of, if you don't like puns about smoke, don't even talk to this guy. He somehow knows every pun in existence that even slightly relates to it, Bi-Han and Kuai Liang are so tired of them they both just leave whenever he starts with one.

He adores if you match his energy, you two bounce back with constant puns that you forget training and leave Bi-Han to scold you two.

Tomas already has a strained relationship with Bi-Han, the man doesn't view him as a brother, let alone squeal, even though that's all Smoke wants from him. He doesn't mean to burden you with his issues, but sometimes he might ask 'Do you think I'm deserving of being a Lin Kuei?'

He won't stop being friends with you if Bi-Han doesn't like you, but maybe he will if Kuai doesn't, he looks up to Scorpion and views him as a major influence in life. But, the likelihood of Kuai ever actually telling him he doesn't like you is low, so, you're all good.

Given how the Lin Kuei works, I think you'd also have to train under his brothers or others in the clan once and a while, but mainly under him. He probably has other students to train, and so he's not always free for casual talk or sparring because he has others to mentor.

I'd say, for a guess, he most likely gets at least a day off, if not, breakfast, lunch and dinner is probably a time where he's free to at least go to a restaurant for food with you.

Shirai Ryu Tomas is different. While before he had maybe one day off, now he's always free because of how there's almost no recruits, only Hanzo and a few other kids who didn't have a good situation before the clan formed.

You'd most likely help the younger ones, and maybe have an 'assistant' role when teaching, the training is fairly lighter because they're just kids, but any adults or teens will have the same training as you, with a tighter schedule that you have to help maintain.

He has more free time to just... Hang around basically, he's always inviting you to have food with Kuai or his friends, like Johnny, Syzoth and most other members of the Kast, he's a big fan of helping you out with tasks.

Tomas will enjoy cleaning, for example, he expects you to help him obviously, especially if it's your room or armour he's helping clean. But, he enjoys it because it's productive and he gets to spend time with you.

Smoke also loves when you do things like that for him! Especially cooking, he's not... The best at it, so he appreciates when you make food after a long day of training and doing small missions for Liu Kang.

He doesn't touch the kitchen. Don't make him go near it.

He might try and teach you Czech or Chinese, if you don't know either already, this totally isn't just so when you're in crowded areas you can talk to each other without people listening, what are you talking about?

Although, it took him years to learn Chinese, so he understands if you find it too difficult and don't want to learn, that won't stop him from muttering words under his breath when he's annoyed.

He's not the biggest fan of hugs, don't get me wrong, he absolutely will if you ask him or he needs it, but he doesn't think he's ever been hugged since he was a kid, so it's just a bit unfamiliar.

Smoke likes holding your hand though, not only will you not get lost in crowds, but you can have friendly contact without it being too much for either of you.

Never ask him for relationship advice, if you want a wingman, look the other way. His love life consists of nothing, a barren desert, and he prefers to keep it that way.

THEY HAVE THE SAME VA???

YURI'S VOICE ACTING GOD DAMN

(also I write for them wink wink nudge nudge)

thought they fit them

I am doing something with this I swear but I just wanna share symas yuri with syzoths tattoos I will never do the same way in my life bc theyre confusing and I keep forgetting where I put them

something something sorry not posting anyway

them❤️

symas yuri,,,save me,,, save me symas yuri,,,

SYMAS

women and not women version 🫶

some mk1 doodles including my oc that i now realize i explained really shitty

fem symas :]

hehe :)

My silly boy

Smoke keeps getting into trouble 😭

// I finally got this done!! Took me a while (send help)

It's smokin!

jian dui (煎堆)

(smoke) tomas vrbada x chef!reader

this is a longer more in-depth fic, completely self indulgent (no one is surprised) this is for all the overthinking thought daughters out there!

mentions of overwork and stress; comfort and fluff fic

4.5k

12 o’clock, midnight. You fight to keep your eyelids open, your grasp on the ratty broom constantly slipping like your will to continue sweeping the floor. There had been some form of celebration in the dinner rush, one of the village elder’s ninetieth birthday if you recall correctly- you could only tell because of the long-life noodle soup and fish orders that piled in your kitchen. 

That and the sound of vivacious chatter that rang damp and faded by the time it reached the kitchen, muffled out by the popping of hot oils and staticky songs that eked out your handheld radio. But the service floor was dim and empty now, the lingering smell of leeks and alcohol the only reminder of the hectic rush hours ago.

Seeing as the teahouse had officially closed hours ago, Madam Bo and the servers left long ago- the former only leaving after promises that you wouldn’t stay up too late and would lock everything up properly. Now, you had regretted not letting her stay, the silence and darkness culminating in a rather lethargic and lonely feeling. 

Deeming the floor clean of scraps, you set the broom and dustpan to the side and sit yourself down at a large, round table. The exhaustion of working a full day seemed to hit you all at once the moment you hit the chair, a strained sigh leaving your lips. The soft sound echoed throughout the airy building, sending chills down your spine. 

You spent many nights at the teahouse, finishing up closing- but usually it was not alone. Oftentimes, it was Madam Bo who accompanied you; with one last pot of tea brewing and ready to greet you once everything was done. The two of you would sit by the entrance, looking at the stars and quietly planning the next day’s quotas. Some nights Raiden and Kung Lao came by, usually by the latter’s plan, eager to annoy you into closing up faster. Raiden would sit at the smallest table, hat hung up neatly with some water while Kung Lao followed your every footstep, criticising for every speck of dust you left in your wake.

He’d pinch your waist, you’d kick him in the shin, and Raiden would laugh. It, ironically, often pushed you back to doing an extra hour of overtime, but the two’s company was more than welcome, even if you pretend like they were burdensome. 

Somewhere in the distance, you hear the sound of a dog barking. It’s far away enough that the sound doesn’t make you jump in your skin; you rest your head on top of your sprawled out forearm, strands of hair spilling onto the table. It was that time of night, where even the hardest of workers reached their homes and were greeted with dogs barking, warm dinner and naggy housewives. But you were here- at the teahouse, alone and stuck with a pile more chores before you could even think about going home. 

Once you did get home, everyone would probably be asleep and the house just as quiet as here. Then you’d leave at dawn, before anyone would have woken up. You turn to bury your nose into the crook of your arm, trying to bury the small feeling of dread that bubbled within you. 

You were tired, hadn’t had a day off in three weeks, and honestly couldn’t tell if a nervous breakdown and nervous breakTHROUGH was coming your way. In fact, a server had told you to try and take the next few days off, claiming to be sick or something rather. But if you were sick, who would man the kitchen? You still had that delivery of spices coming tomorrow, but then the meeting with the butcher on Tuesday, and…

Tears pool in the corner of your eyes. You pinch the nape of your neck, stifling a bitter laugh. Really? The butcher was the straw that broke your back? The laugh turns sour, and you sniff like a child ready to engage in full cry baby mode. But before you can indulge in a well-deserved cry, you catch a shadow in the corner of your eye. Human-shaped, moving at a slow speed.

A thief? You hadn’t had to deal with any thugs in a long time. Your body stiffened as adrenaline filled your arms, holding your breath as you waited for the right time. Maybe this was a sign- and you could take out your frustration with some good old combat. The moment you catch a foreign scent of leather you know the assailant’s close enough to strike, so you lash out first.

Twisting your torso you kick out the chair in front of you, knocking them back as your other leg coils back for a high kick. The trespasser is decidedly male, wearing all black, and in the blur you managed to catch of him, looked to be unarmed. You want to be confident in ending the confrontation soon, but he effortlessly catches your leg before it reaches him, gloved hands against your thigh and throws it down. The movement trajectory just about sends you to the floor but you catch yourself right before your chin collides with the table edge, nails uncomfortably jutting into the wood. 

He holds onto the back of your singlet, far too dangerously close to bare skin. Blood rushes to your ears, draining out the distant sound of the man yelling- you barely grab onto your tang jacket that had fallen onto the ground, whipping it behind you. The heavy fabric hits him in the face and has him let go of you to grasp at it, giving you precious time to regain composure and wind back a nasty cross punch. It lands beautifully, backed up with your weeks of unspoked upset, and the man falls flat on his rear, jacket slipping off his body and back to a puddle on the floor.

You stalk forward with all the intent of beating this man to a pulp and asking questions later. But sobriety shocks your limbs like cold water when you see who’s in front of you; straight nose, short silver hair-

“Tomas!” You cry out, dropping to your knees and gripping onto his shoulder. He offers a strained smile, holding onto his neck. “Oh my gods, are you alright? Why didn’t you say anything?” 

Your words are accompanied by a string of apologies and frantic, fleeting hands ghosting over wherever you thought you’d hit him. Right by his jaw, where you’d landed the punch, had a patchy red mark clear as day even in the midnight darkness. You cringe looking at it; why had you gotten him with your good arm? It would turn puffy and dark by the morning.

“I mean, I did say several things, but I don’t think you were listening.” Tomas peers up at you with wide, unblinking eyes, mouth quirked in a frown. 

His words were well-meaning; and you knew that being a part of the Lin Kuei meant that he got throttled around ten times worse for breakfast, lunch and dinner- but the idea that you’d so blindly struck a friend without rationalising the situation left you feeling like an angry, primitive caveman.

Tomas got back on his feet long before you did, his shadow offering a comfortable shade from the world. He offers you a large hand, fingertips just peeking into your field of vision.

“You hit pretty hard for a chef, by the way. What are you fighting in that kitchen?” You groan, letting your forehead unceremoniously clash onto the cold floor. Tomas laughs above you, and you feel him dragging you up to your feet. “Sorry, my bad.” The words come out between the occasional giggle.

You let him sit you down on the very chair that had been launched at him not a minute ago, and he settles for standing in front of you with his arms crossed. How he can laugh so brightly with that bruise on his face, you can only wonder; maybe you ought to take a couple notes when it comes to smiling in the face of adversity. You must’ve sighed again subconsciously, because Tomas shoots you a pointed look, his once full grin mellowed into a half-pulled awkward sort of baulk. 

A brief moment of silence passes you both, neither quite sure of what to say. The gape in conversation is emphasised by a hissing wind passing by, uncharacteristically cool for the July temperature. Tomas is looking somewhere directly behind your shoulder in an effort to make eye contact, and you aren’t sure how to react; he had always been the more outgoing, conversational one, and it seemed like his energy whether sheepish or cheerful was contagious.

You crack the knuckle of your ring finger in a moment of habit, and cringe when his eyes dart to the sound with mild alarm. 

Tomas, this time with a noticeable amount of surprise, asks you if you’re going to hit him again. You debate your answer, deciding to forgo one entirely for a new question. 

“Why are you here? You know our opening hours.” Tomas scratches the back of his neck, standing with his head down like he’s being scolded. Which he wasn’t, for the record. You just happened to have a stern way of speaking, is all. He begins several sentences, always halting and rephrasing himself before any of them could come to completion. And despite the smile on his face, his hands gestures in a way that you knew meant he was uncomfortable; before he can continue, you nod sympathetically. Even without big details, once you heard the words ‘brother’ you had a decent idea of the bigger picture. 

Tomas scrunches his nose in a way that is small and meek but genuine, sitting down amicably at the chair you pat the surface of. His pale eyes follow you as you stand up, and before he can ask where you’re going you speak first. 

“ I’m coming back, with tea. Want anything else?” 

“Don’t trouble yourself for me.” 

The sound of grumbling is more honest than his words, evident by the way his cheeks flush. You let out a laugh, a first proper one in what feels like days. He rolls his eyes in an attempt to brush it off, but he looks right back at you with a new purpose- hoping you’d listen to the not-so-subliminal subliminal messages he was sending you. A promise in the form of “i’ll see what i can do” is enough to satiate him (for now), and you’re free to shuffle to the dark kitchen, only able to find your way from the dim glow of moonlight. 

As the water boils, you scavenge about for anything that might qualm the bottomless pit that was Tomas’ appetite. Having cooked for him for- how long had you been working as a cook here? Four years? Four years was enough time to know that Tomas, who you lovingly refer to mentally as big-boy, could eat as well as he could fight. There wasn’t much to offer, though. Most of the stock was fresh produce, sauces and grains, though there was a little wrapped bamboo steamer nestled in the corner behind some baskets. 

You sigh, gingerly pulling it out. Raiden had gifted them to you, from this morning, homemade sesame balls made by his mother or grandmother- the maker not as important as how delicious they were as a sweet you fell in love with, even back when you had them for the first time at ten years old. The original plan was to eat them hot during the mid-afternoon lull, but you had been so busy the entire day they’d been neglected and turned cold. Well, now was as good a time as any, you guessed. 

Once the water boiled you prepared two large mugs of… passable tea (you were a chef, not a server) and balanced it carefully along with the bamboo steamer. You only almost dropped the ensemble twice, which all things considered was pretty impressive; even if Tomas’ gleeful snickering made you feel like it was your first day on the job.

Speaking of which, from the moment you exited the kitchen, the man had been observing you like a wide-eyed owl, knees tucked to his chest and two very capable arms hanging by his sides, neither of which made the smallest move to assist you. He watches you set the mugs and steamer on the table, having the nerve to ask where the teapot was if you were going to drink tea. 

“No fancy service after hours. Be thankful I didn’t just throw the leaves into lukewarm water.” Tomas snorts at your very real threat, and you let him think you were just joking. 

You take a sip of the tea while he enthusiastically blows on him more times than necessary, and you don’t miss the way his eyes dart to see if he’d gotten a reaction out of you. It earns a shake of your head, but you find yourself smiling behind the lip of your mug. 

He was trying to lighten the mood. Even after you’d been the one to deck him in the face- though to be fair he had snuck up on you. As a repayment of kindness, you nudge the steamer he’d been eyeing over to him. It’s comical, the way the mere thought of a snack could make his face light up. 

“As payment for rocking your shit.” He scoffs at your statement.

“I’ll have you know I let you ‘rock my’- Ooohhh, these look good. Are they jian dui? Do you have chopsticks?”

You laugh at how he eagerly rubs his hands together, even harder when you pass him the chopsticks you keep in your apron only to find him wrist-deep in the bamboo steamer pulling out two sesame balls. He lets out an incredulous sounding ‘What?’ before indulging himself in a hearty bite, eating the entire sweet in one fell swoop. The second one, squeezed between his middle and ring finger, is demolished right after he swallows the first bite. The only sound that comes from him is a content hum of appreciation, and then a muffled, food-filled offer of one the sweets; where you take out a single ball. 

With an amused huff you lean back in the chair, satisfied for now to watch Tomas eat so passionately. Seeing the way his previously tense face melt into genuine happiness was the kind of reaction every chef loved to see; it was also a reaction he gave you whenever he ate your food as well. It was probably why Tomas was one of your favourite people to cook for- you could even look past his shady Lin Kuei business and strange affinity with smoke bombs.

In between wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and taking a drink from his mug, Tomas asks you a very loaded question in a manner only describable as unceremonious.

“By the way, are you okay? You looked upset when I came in. ”

The question stunlocks you into speechlessness, and your change in posture was enough for him to flinch in his seat, quickly apologising if he had been insensitive. He hadn’t been, you make sure to tell him that, but you just weren’t really used to people asking you for a change. You stare lamely at your still untouched sesame ball, trying to find the right words. 

This wasn’t the first time you’d try to talk about your feelings- but you never wanted to burden your family or Madam Bo, and god knows that seriously talking about things with Kung Lao would just feel… weird. 

“I think…” You chew the inside of your cheek. “I’m tired? Not from work, I can do that fine; but- maybe it is work, and I’m lying to myself- I don’t know, I’m not making sense and it’s just complaining, probably.”

Tomas props his cheek against the palm of his hand. 

“Sometimes after training I cry.” 

The sentence, as much as it shocks you into sitting straight, comes out of Tomas like it’s nothing. Your face must’ve looked obviously surprised, because he offers you a half-shrug. 

“Not everyday, just when it gets hard. But I never know which part of it is making me miserable, so I end up crying like a kid in my room.” 

You look at him wordlessly, trying to find a response. He apologises again, saying he wasn’t the best at comforting people. And you understand- it must be hard, especially when his two older brothers aren’t exactly the role model of loving communication. But despite the blunt phrasing of it all, Tomas’ words helped you feel a little better. Knowing that someone with a lifestyle as different as yours, and one where he had to be tougher than you did, that he also felt the same way made you feel much less alone. You put your sesame ball back in the steamer and roll it amongst the sparse remaining ones. 

“I stuck my head in the icebox this afternoon so I didn’t freak out. Madam Bo came in to rush an order, and I got so scared the lid closed on me.” 

You still remember the nauseating smell of chilled meat that permeated the ice box, a scent that didn’t leave your hair for hours afterwards. Tomas laughs when you share that, and mentions how Bi Han does something vaguely similar with his ice affinities; it’s a strange image that you have trouble believing. He seems to have an equal anecdote to share for everything you tell him, which both helps you feel less ostracised for your more vulnerable moments and tells you a little more about the enigmatic character that is Tomas. You both talk idly until the mugs of tea had run dry, which seemed to give Tomas the encouragement to speak up,

“My brothers and I were in the area to meet Madam Bo, for a meeting, but I’m not sure what kind of business they had with her.” You raise your eyebrows at the change in his tone; a little more quiet and forlorn; and asking him why he wasn’t in the know only made his shoulders sag further down. “They don’t… tell me about these details. I just know when to show up and what to do.”

Tomas had always walked shoulder to shoulder with Bi Han and Kuai Liang, so for him to say that was a surprise. “I asked too many questions, and it pissed Bi Han off- you know how he is. He went on another one of his… tangents. I didn’t want to hear it, so I left, and came here.”

By the end of it he’s half-speaking and half chewing on the already raw nails of his thumb. He sounds incredibly downtrodden, but in a way where he’d been acquainted with the feeling for a while now; and even gives you the same half-hearted smile you give Madam Bo when she asks you about how you are. Bi Han’s ‘tangents’ weren’t too familiar to you, but you’d heard him angry once. Of course behind the safety of the kitchen walls you were safer than the two brothers actually speaking to him, but the boom of his voice still made you want to duck for cover. If you remembered correctly, he had slipped out something about Tomas not really being his brother- something of the likes. With how much Tomas admired him, you could only imagine how much that would hurt.

Gingerly, you pat his other hand, one that’d been fidgeting splayed out on the table. He takes your thumb, squeezing it in return. You study his hand, faded scars littering where his gloves could not cover. They vary from white to angry red, and there’s one on the joint of his thumb that’s circular, similar to an old oil burn below your knuckle. 

“We match!” Tomas seems suddenly overjoyed at the mundane discovery, bringing your smaller hand closer to him and looking over it with much precision. He even puts your hands side by side, smiling to himself when he sees that they really do line up. The warm sight is doing something to your already fragile heart, seeing him handling you so delicately- an experience you’ve missed from anyone in god knows how long; you begin to feel your throat clog up. 

He looks up at you, and instead of frantically apologising again, or trying to prevent it, he just takes your hand in both of his, soothingly running his thumbs along your fingers. 

And just like that, months of emotional suppression goes down the drain.

When the waterworks finally do turn on, you feel utterly embarrassed to be crying in the presence of a Lin Kuei member, even if he was patient in letting you pathetically gather up your thoughts in snotty blubbering nonsense. You tell him everything- or at least as well as much as you can without making yourself cry harder. Tomas doesn’t say much, only nodding and periodically affirming you when you make the odd negative comment about yourself. Right when you’re coming down from the bulk of emotional distress, you make the mistake of mentioning how upset you were that as a chef, you often went hungry and forgot to eat in favour of work. ‘

By the end of the thought you’re up and ready for another bout of tears until Tomas picks up one of the last sesame balls and feeds it to you. Well, it was more an involuntary feeding- the kind that you did to zoo animals like giraffes or gazelles, but the strange scenario of being hand fed a cold sesame ball is enough to stop the tsunami wave. You tearfully eat the sweet like a child, and everything seems to calm down until you accidentally bite Tomas’ hand and he mentions how even though you were hungry, you couldn’t eat him as well. You knew it was a light-hearted joke, but for some reason, it makes you cry again. He picks up the last one, having the gall wave it in front of you like a parent feeding their child mashed peas; it’s effective in ceasing your tears, but the offence you take from the action takes over an equal amount. 

You smack his hand away too hard by accident, sending it tumbling onto the floor and under the table. You yelp, and Tomas immediately ducks to try and pick it up, hitting his head on the table’s underside. 

A series of ‘ow, ow, ow, ow’ emits from him like a mantra as he slides off the chair onto the floor, clutching his head for dear life. You burst into watery laughter that grows in strength as he turns to side eye you from his awkward position. 

“Are they really that good?” Is a rhetorical question from you because- yes they were- but it’s one you ask to chide the silver haired man. He groans in response, ungracefully slumped over to a cross legged position, still scratching his patch of hair like he’s expecting a miraculous bald spot to have formed. “Don’t… even. Bullying me from the high ground.” he mutters. 

You then join him on the floor, knees bumping as you get yourself comfortable. Tomas scuttles momentarily before he turns over with the sesame ball, successfully retrieved, delicately held between two fingers. He blows on it once to get all the dust off, then presents it square in front of your face; you roll your eyes and make a show of blowing air on it like it’s a pinwheel. 

“Good as new!” 

“You are ridiculous.” 

Tomas sticks out his bottom lip and shrugs, and you find yourself feeling somewhat lucky to catch such a candid and free side of him tonight. You both split the last sesame ball and eat it under the table with the secrecy of children sneaking halloween sweets after bedtime, and you giggle when a dollop of the filling drops off of his half and splats right onto his shoe. He shushes you when you snort by accident, as if there were metaphorical adults downstairs ready to catch you red handed. It’s only half way through the motion he notices his own ridiculousness and relents, joining you in the delight of it all. 

Once the two of you wipe your hands, finally finished with all the sweets, you stare at the sky above you. Craning your neck to see it under the table, it looks different than it usually does- more daunting, mysterious, like it felt stargazing as a child. You’re not sure what mood overtakes you, but you lean to rest your head on Tomas’ shoulder, cheek squished against the fabric of his Lin Kuei uniform. It’s promptly followed by the feeling of him mirroring your actions on the top of your head. He radiates more body heat than you’re used to- and in the summer heat it borders on being clammy, but the feeling of his shoulders rising and falling is one that so perfectly cures your recent lack of simple human touch.

 You stay like this for a while, not moving much aside from Tomas occasionally nuzzling into you for a more comfortable position.  He suddenly speaks. 

“Sorry for scaring you.” 

“...Sorry for punching you in the face.”

“Apology not accepted.”

His voice is soft and cheeky- his usual tone. You elbow him sharply, and he doesn’t even budge. Soon, drowsiness overtakes you, the adrenaline from before melting behind the exhaustion of your work day. You let your eyes close, settling into the crook of Tomas’ neck with the intent of only resting your eyes for the time being. He huffs airly in response, sounding half-asleep himself. It’s incredibly peaceful- in a way that you haven’t felt since sneaking naps during a family reunion; and what was meant to be quiet relaxation turned into the best sleep you’d had in months. 

You wake up at the crack of dawn, to the feeling of Tomas being dragged out from under the table. He lets out a string of complaints and frantic this and that, begging the other person for mercy. The other person, as it turned out, was Madam Bo, coming in to open the teahouse. You watch in groggy amusement as he’s whacked in the head with the broom you left by the table last night; as the elderly woman goes on about Tomas being a stupid boy, and for him to leave her precious cook alone. 

Before he’s shooed away, he gives you a closed-eye smile and wave, telling you to have a good day at work. You barely have time to raise a hand in acknowledgement before it’s your turn to be dragged out by Madam Bo, thankfully with no broom this time. 

So Gods Do Exist… (Mortal Kombat x OC) ((Kinda))

Part 2

It’s been months since they started training and everybody has progressed significantly. Raiden was currently sparring with multiple other monks, all of them challenging him at once. He was able to easily take them down and give them feedback on things they needed to get better at.

Lemon, a couple of feet away, was fixing her roller blades.

"What are you doing?" Raiden asked, walking towards the teenager.

"Did I ever tell you that one of the monks here is an inventor?" Lemon asked, putting her rollerblades on and standing up. "He redesigned my rollerblades so I could use them in kombat, look!"

She dashed away from Raiden and towards one of the training dummies they had. She then jumps up and goes to kick the dummies waist. The wheels underneath the rollerblades start moving at lighting speed and cut the top of the dummies body off.

Lemon then lands on her feet and turns to smile at Raiden who looked dumbfounded. "Isn't it so cool!?" She gushed, rolling back over to her friend. "Now I can kill people!"

"That's not exactly something to be excited about…" Raiden muttered, chuckling a bit. "But I'm happy you found something for you."

"I am too!" Lemon replied before noticed Johnny in the distance and running towards him. "Oooh, Johnny, Johnny! Record me!"

Raiden sighs and raises a brow in confusion when Kung Lao walks up to him with his hat in his hands. Raiden noticed the blades on the hat and became even more confused. “I don’t see how that’s a smart idea.”

“It’s genius, Raiden! And it actually works.” Kung Lao said, running his hand on the rim of the hat and accidentally cutting his hand. “Ow!”

“Still don’t think it’s smart.”

Kung Lao smirks at his friend and throws his hat to a nearby training dummy. The hat neatly cuts the head off and returns back to its owner who was still smirking at Raiden.

“Okay, I was wrong.” Raiden says with a small smile. Kung Lao smiles back and goes to put the hat back on his head but Lemon skates up to him and snatches the hat out of his hands and twirls it in her own.

“Lemon, stop doing that!” Kung Lao shouted, glaring at the teenager who was inspecting the hat.

“Pretty cool hat, did you make it yourself?” Lemon asked, ignoring the man’s glare.

“Yeah? So what?”

“Nothing, just wanted to recommend to you a guy that I know that can possibly make your hat even better. Just to…you know…give it an upgrade!” Lemon suggested, rolling over to the two and handing Kung Lao his hat back. “And maybe make it even more useful for the tournament we’re going to have!”

“Speaking of that.” Johnny interrupted, walking up to the trio. “When is it going to start!? I can’t base a cinematic universe on Outworld’s monsters and magic if I don’t ever see them.”

Kenshi, who was actually just going to walk past them, paused after hearing that and turned to Johnny in confusion. “That’s why you’re here?”

“Liu Kang said that this gig would change the arc of my life. That’s how it gets done. My ex’ll rue the day she gave up on me!”

Kenshi scoffs. “So selfless.”

“Don’t act like you’re any different, Tattoo. You’re only here for your sword.”

“We all have our reasons for being here.” Raiden chimed in. “Some better than others. But we are not here to fight amongst ourselves. We are here to fight for earthrealm.”

A gong goes off in the distance signaling the return of Lord Liu Kang.

“Finally.” Johnny comments as the five of them walk over to the God of Fire.

“And today, one of you will be chosen to fight for it at the tournament.” Liu Kang states.

“Only one of us?” Raiden repeats. “But isn’t outworld fielding multiple champions?”

“The tournament’s rules give the host realm that advantage. And it is Outworld’s turn as host.”

“You know, I don’t know why I never asked this, but what’s our record at this tournament?” Johnny asked.

“Earthrealm and Outworld have long been evenly matched. But Outworld is gaining strength. Should it win, its more militant factions will be emboldened.”

“But I thought you admired Outworld?” Raiden questioned.

“It is a place of great knowledge, wealth, and beauty.” Liu Kang explained, walking past the champions, motioning them to follow. “We coexist peacefully because Outworld respects our strength. Should we show weakness…our rival will become our enemy.”

“I will not lose, Lord Liu Kang.” King Lao stated, looking proud.

“First you must win the right to represent us. Whichever one of you outlasts the others will be chosen.”

“Okay, then I have a question.” Lemon spoke up. “The champion gets to fight in the tournament, which is cool, but what do the rest of us do? Do we just go home?”

“No, Lemon, you do not. Being Earthrealm’s champion doesn’t just mean you're only here for the tournament, you’re also here to protect earthrealm as a whole. So you will come with us to Outworld as both guests and guards.”

“Hm.”

Liu Kang sits on his chair while the rest of the monks around him hit on their knees.

“Lemon, step forward.” He demands. Lemon does as said and politely bows to the man.

Johnny laughs. “Good call! Send the weak one first.”

“Excuse me?” Lemon questioned, turning to glare at Johnny but then turns back to Liu Kang with a huge smile. “Let me beat his ass, please let me beat his ass.”

“He was going to be your opponent anyway.” Liu Kang responded. “Step forward, Johnny Cage.”

“Let’s gooo!!!” Lemon cheered as she and Johnny went to separate parts of the battlefield.

“Alright, fine.” Johnny smirked, getting into a fighting stance. “But don’t be upset when you're on the floor in pain.”

“Are we forgetting which one of us actually fought in matches before? Have you ever actually punched a guy on set?” Lemon questioned.

The fight took at least 2 minutes. Johnny was more on the offense but Lemon was easily dodging and at some point apprehended Johnny by forcing his arms behind his back and forcing him to the ground.

“Alright, alright! I give up!” Johnny called, wincing at the feeling of Lemon pulling his arms. “Don’t break my arms, you maniac!”

“Oh, crap, sorry.” Lemon apologized, getting off Johnny and putting her hands behind her back. “Force of habit.”

Johnny stood and rubbed his arm while looking at the teenager in shock. “Breaking people’s arms is a habit of yours!?”

“...Yeah, I worded that wrong…”

“Lemon has won this fight!” Liu Kang announced, motioning for the two to step off the battlefield. “Kung Lao, Kenshi Takahasi, you two are next.”

Lemon, at this point, has stopped paying attention to the actual fight (except that one time Kung Lao almost sliced Kenshi’s neck off and started spewing apologies, which was something she thought he couldn’t do.) Anyways, Kung Lao won the fight so now they’re taking a small break before the last two fights.

“You want me to try and fight the man who’s ALWAYS won against me?” Lemon questioned, looking at Liu Kang in shock.

“It sounds like you’re already prepared to lose.” Liu Kang noticed.

“Yes…yes I am. Doesn’t mean I’m not still trying, but I’m like 80% sure I'm going to get my ass kicked.”

“I’m going to take all of that as a compliment.” Raiden chuckled. “But Lemon, you have been getting better and better. Don’t just assume you are going to lose”

“Eh, we’ll see how good I got with this fight.”

Lemon got her ass kicked. 

It was genuinely a pretty close fight, but Raiden has continued to prove that he was the better fighter.

“See?” Lemon sighs, letting Raiden help her up. “You’re just the better fighter, man.”

“Even so, it was an honor fighting you again.” Raiden replied.

“It was fun.”

“Our final battle will be Kung Lao and Raiden!” Liu Kang announces as Lemon walks off the battlefield to where Kenshi and Johnny are.

“Man…I was so close to winning…” Lemon complained, leaning on Kenshi’s arm. “I didn’t even want to fight in the tournament, I just wanted to kick Kung Lao’s ass…”

“Just ask him to spar later, it’s not that complicated.” Kenshi said, simply, making Lemon glare at him.

“It wouldn’t feel the same, I needed to crush his hopes and dreams like I did with him.” Lemon points to Johnny who looked flabbergasted.

“My dream wasn’t to fight in the tournament! It was to make a badass movie about it!” Johnny argued.

“Yeah, but you thought you were going to win against me and I immediately proved you wrong!”

“Shhh!” Kenshi interrupted. “They’re about to fight.” He then lightly bumped Lemon off of him. “And stop leaning on me.”

“Wha!? Loser…” Lemon muttered, crossing her arms and turning to face Kung Lao and Raiden’s fight.

“Fifty bucks says Kung Lao wins.” Johnny bets.

“Make it interesting.” Kenshi suggests. “Bet me Sento.”

“Ha! Not on your life.”

Liu Kang gets up from his seat and walks over to Kung Lao and Raiden saying, “The winner of this match will represent Earthrealm against Outworld. It is a grave duty, not to be taken lightly. You may step back now and suffer no dishonor.”

“I choose to fight, Lord Liu Kang.” Raiden states.

“As do I.” Kung Lao adds.

“Then may the best person win.” Liu Kang says, bowing to the two and sitting back down.

Raiden and Kung Lao face each other, backing away to their own part of the battlefield.

“Concede, Raiden. You have never beaten me, that won’t change today.” Kung Lao gloated.

“No. If the monks have taught us one thing, it’s that the only constant in the universe is change.” Raiden disagreed as they both got into a fighting stance.

Raiden, in the end, proved right as he ended up as the one standing in victory. “There is a first time for everything, Kung Lao.” He said, helping his best friend to his feet.

Liu Kang stands up from his seat and walks back over to the two with something in his hand. “Although you have all trained well, Raiden has excelled. This outcome does not surprise me.” He announces.

“How could I…” Kung Lao mumbled before politely bowing to Raiden. “Congratulations.”

“For the tournament…” Liu Kang started, presenting a small box and opening it. Inside was a blue amulet. “You will need this. Forged by the Elder Gods, it gives the wearer power over lightning and thunder. Go ahead. Try it.”

Raiden took the amulet out and examined how electricity came out of it and into his hand. He then turned to the statue behind him, tightened his grip on the amulet and aimed it at the statue. A powerful blast of electricity came out of the amulet and hit the statue, shocking everybody.

“Holy Arc of the Covenant!” Johnny gasped, recording the entire thing.

“That’s so loud…” Lemon muttered, covering her ears.

“It is incredible.” Raiden breathes, pulling his hand back. “But is it necessary?”

“In addition to possessing great might, the Outworlders you will face also wield great might.” Liu Kang explains. “The amulet levels the playing field.”

“You must be careful, Raiden.” Kung Lao worries, putting his hand on Raiden’s shoulder. “You could get hurt. Even killed!”

“Nobody has ever been grievously injured or killed in the tournament, there’s no need to worry.” Liu Kang reassures. “I would never send my champions unwittingly into mortal kombat.”

Raiden nods in response as Liu Kang announces to the others, “We leave in seven days for Outworld’s capital, Sun Do. The tournament will be held at the palace of Empress Sindel.”

7 days later the group (and a few other people) were standing in front of some sort of gate or teleportation system (whatever it was, nobody really knew). Liu Kang started opening the portal and while doing that explained to the others to stay focused and not feel overwhelmed by all the new changes that he described as intoxicating.

Johnny was, of course, recording everything and even tried to record Kenshi’s reaction. Kenshi slapped his phone away from his face as they all walked through the portal.

Outworld was exactly as the God of Fire described. Intoxicating, a bit overwhelming and colorful. It honestly looked like a true palace and that made Lemon so excited. In front of them were guards and two women. One dressed in pink and one dressed in blue.

“Oh my…” Johnny breathed as the women started to walk down the stairs. “Are those…”

“Empress Sindel’s daughters, yes.” Liu Kang answered.

“They do not disappoint.”

“We are Earthrealm’s ambassadors, Johnny. We’ll show them respect. Not unwanted attention.” Raiden scolded.

“Sure…”

Kung Lao noticed Lemon rapidly looking around at their environment and put a hand on her head to calm her down. “Stay focused.” He reminded her.

“Right. Sorry.” Lemon apologized.

“Lord Liu Kang, welcome.” The pink woman greeted as the Earthrealmers bowed.

“Thank you, Princess Mileena.” Liu Kang replied.

“You remember my sister?”

“Of course, Princess Kitana.” Liu Kang then motions to the people behind him. “May I introduce Johnny Cage, Kung Lao, Cheri Carr, who prefers to go by Lemon, Kenshi Takahasi and Earthrealm’s champion…Raiden.”

“I hope you’re prepared, Raiden.” Kitana warned. “Our champions are determined to win.”

“None more so than me.” Mileena added. “It’s been too long since we’ve known victory.”

“Princess Mileena…” One of the guards called, walking over to the princess. “We should be on our way. Empress Sindel awaits.”

“Thank you, Tanya.” Mileena then turns to their guests. “Follow me, please.”

They led them to two carts and asked them to climb on. Both were able to hold four people at a time so Kung Lao, Kenshi, Johnny and Kitana sat in one cart while Raiden, Liu Kang, Lemon and Mileena went in the other cart. They rolled through the village where a festival was taking  place. There was music and people dancing, it was so vibrant and colorful that it had drawn both Lemon AND Raiden’s attention.

“Those are Centaurians…” Raiden noticed, looking at the people in the crowd. “And Shokan!”

“The six-armed beings are Naknadans.” Mileena informed.

“The monks described them, but seeing them in person…” 

“It’s so cool!” Lemon gushed, slightly leaning over Raiden to see outside the cart as well. “I wonder what it’d be like to have six arms, that must be fun!”

“But wouldn’t it be a bit crowded?” Raider questions.

“Yeah, probably.”

“I see that Her Majesty one again spares no expense on the festival.” Liu Kang noticed.

“Should she not?” Mileena inquired. “It commemorates my late father.”

“I admire, Princess. I do not judge. As did all of Outworld, I valued greatly Jerrod’s fellowship.”

“And I thought the academy would be the best thing I’ve ever seen…” Lemon muttered, quietly grabbing Kung Lao’s hand and putting it on her head so she could force herself to focus.

“No offense, Liu Kang, but why bring a child here?” Kenshi asked Liu Kang, eyeing Lemon.

“She’s a warrior, just like the rest of you. She just became one in a shorter amount of time.” Liu Kang answered. “You saw that when she fought Johnny and Raiden.”

“I suppose you're right.” Kenshi agreed.

"Don't let her childish nature fool you."

Raiden was standing next to the two, slightly fidgeting with his fingers and deep in thought. He was worried and not exactly sure if he’d truly win this tournament.

Liu Kang noticed. “Worry expends energy for no purpose, Raiden.” He said.

“But the tournament, if i lose–”

“Focus on your actions, not the outcome. It is all you can control.”

A buff creature with horns walks through the town people, bumping into them without a care in the world.

“Red alert.” Johnny commented. “Incoming stock villain.”

"General Shao." Liu Kang informed. "Do not let him goad you."

The general notices the group and stomps towards them, standing in front of Raiden. "Is it me or is Earthrealm's champion scrawnier than usual?" He asked.

"Would you care to test his strength?" Kung Lao challenged. "Raiden will-"

"Will prove himself eventually." Liu Kang interrupted, pushing Kung Lao behind him.

"Have you still not told most Earthrealmers that Outworld exists?" General Shao asks. 

"It is safer that way, General."

"I suppose so. Your people's frail minds couldn't handle the truth."

"You presume them frail, General? Should you? Given how frequently they win this tournament?"

"We will destroy your champion, Liu Kang. He will taste no victory."

The General then storms off as the Empress walks into the palace along with her daughters, Mileena and Kitana. They showed how powerful they were just by walking to their seats.

"Welcome, members of the royal house. Welcome, our esteemed Earthrealm guests." The empress greeted. "We gather once again to honor my late husband's legacy. To continue the tournament that he founded with Lord Liu Kang in hopes that it would foster peace among the realms. May Jerrod's soul watch over us with pride from its resting place in the Living Forest. Lord Liu Kang.”

“Empress Sindel.” Liu Kang responds. “It pleases me to once again be your guest.”

“Here, you are always welcome. Now. Let us meet your champion.”

“Earthrealm’s champion is Raiden, Your Majesty.” Liu Kang steps to the side to show off his champion. “He has earned his place by embodying the very best qualities of Earthrealm’s people.”

“You seem nervous, young man.” Sindel notices.

“I’m a stranger in an unfamiliar land, here to compete against its greatest fighter. Yes, I am nervous.” Raiden says.

“As you should be. You have a difficult path ahead.” Sindel then stands up and announces, “It has begun!” A woman walks into the palace as Sindel continues to speak. “As tradition requires, Outworld’s initial competitor will be Sun Do’s First Constable…Li Mei. May she defend out realm’s glory as well as she preserves our capital’s order.”

Li Mei walks up to the empress and bows. “Your Majesty, I will honor both the royal house, and all of Outworld with my kombat.”

Sindel puts a hand on her shoulder. “If so, you will vastly exceed my expectations.” She says before whispering, “Remember, were it not for Jerrod’s tradition, you would not be here.”

“All you need do is your best.” Liu Kang says to Raiden. “The rest will take care of itself.”

“Yes, Lord Liu Kang.” Raiden replies. Liu Kang then walks away as Raiden and Li Mei face each other.

“Shall we see what you can do?” Li Mei asks.

“Hopefully, this will be the first of many victories.”

“I will prevail, Earthrealmer. This fight is more important to me than you can ever know.”

The fight ended with Raiden’s first win. Li Mei ended up on the floor in embarrassment.

“Guess Raiden’s really got this.” Kenshi mutters, watching Li Mei walk out of the palace.

“Of course he does. He’s bested all of us in kombat, why wouldn’t he best Outworld as well?” Kung Lao questions.

“My compliments, Raiden, on a well fought match.” Sindel congratulates. “We’ll see how you fare in the next. General Shao, Whom have you chosen as our next competitor?”

“Your Majesty, I have chosen Reiko, my second-in-command.” The General answers. Reiko then walks into the palace. “As a bot, Reiko was orphaned during the Kafallah War. Though Captured, his spirit remained unbroken. He scratched, clawed and survived.”

“He reminds me of Grumpy Cat.” Lemon chuckled.

“After the war, I took him in, molded him into the perfect soldier. Few others are as well versed in the ways of war.”

Reiko stood in front of Raiden and started punching and kicking the air either to show off, or intimidate Raiden (Which doesn’t even work.) He then asks, “In whose army have you served? In what war have you fought?”

“I have done neither.” Raiden admits.

“Then you are woefully unprepared, Earthrealmer. This will be your last battlefield.”

They always have some dramatic speech before Raiden beats them up. At this point it was a bit amusing to see Reiko get beat. Lemon had to cover her mouth to stop any laughs from coming out.

“Felled by a simple farmer.” Raiden brags, leaving Reiko to lay on the ground as he turns to Sindel. “I am ready for my next opponent, Your Majesty. Whom shall I face?”

“Patience, young man.” Sindel says, standing from her throne. “We are adjourned until first light. I hope to see you all at this evening’s banquet.”

“May I ask a question, Your Majesty?” Lemon asked, standing in front of the Empress. Liu Kang was watching from afar to make sure the woman didn’t say anything stupid or offensive.

“Yes, you may.” Sindel replies.

“Why do we say “Your Majesty” instead of “My Majesty”? I’ve always had questions about that.”

Sindel’s eyes widened a bit in surprise. Out of all the questions, she wasn’t expecting that. “You truly are young, aren’t you?” she chuckles. “Majesty means honor. So it’d be a bit abnormal for people to say “My Majesty” because that would mean they have honor, which they do not.”

“Ooohhh. Okay.” Lemon nods, bowing to the empress. “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Of course.”

“I could’ve answered that question for you.” Liu Kang says as Lemon walks back to her seat, next to Raiden.

“Really? I just thought it’d make sense to ask the Empress herself.” Lemon shrugs. “Wait, did she just call me young? I’m 17…”

“I’m pretty sure everybody here is older than 20.” Kung Lao comments. “You just have to admit you are the youngest one here.” He shrugs, smirking at Lemon who glared at him.

“Don’t talk to me with your mouth full.” Lemon scoffs, leaning back on her chair and crossing her arms.

“So, what sort of name is Lemon?” Kitana asks from across the table. “Is it referencing the fruit or something else?”

“The fruit.” Lemon answers, her smile coming back to her face. “It’s just a nickname that stuck with me.”

“I still don’t understand how it’s supposed to match with your name.” Johnny chimed in, leaning his head on his hand.

“You’ll figure it out at some point, it’s extremely basic, I promise you.”

Kitana perked up. “Oh! Che–”

“Don’t give him the answer! Keep it to yourself!” Lemon interrupts, holding her hand up.

“What!?” Johnny exclaimed.

“I just wanna see how long it takes you to figure it out.”

Mileena, a few feet away, started to quietly groan in pain as she held her stomach. Tanya walks over to her and puts a hand on her shoulder. “Are you unwell, Princess?” She whispers.

“I am fine, Tanya.” Mileena answers.

“I know I’m to fight Mileena…” Raiden started. “But will I also face Tanya?”

“By tradition, you will not.” Liu Kang responds. “But if you did, you would be challenged.”

“How so?”

“Umgadi, like Tanya, are warrior priestesses. Selected from the first born daughters of Outworld. From infancy, they are trained to defend the royal family.”

“Outworld must see much conflict if the Empress needs such protection.”

“Its past has been difficult. Though the last thousand years of Empress Sindel’s reign have been a true golden age, the memories of the strife still linger.”

Sindel stands up from her seat with a drink in hand. “My husband Jerrod believed that the future of our realms lay together. Let us move forward in open dialogue, letting no secrets tear our bonds asunder.”

Everybody stands up with their drinks as Raiden continues the speech. “Your Majesty, It’s an honor to be here and to meet your people. I can already see there’s more that joins us than divides us.”

Shao lets out a sarcastic laugh and stands up from his seat. “Our people could not be more different, champion.” He disagrees.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Earthrealmers are devoid of all–”

“That’s enough, General.” Sindel interrupts, glaring at him.

“My apologies, Your Majesty. Perhaps I’ve enjoyed too much of this excellent wine. With your permission…”

“You may go.”

The General walks off, knocking his glass off the table. Reiko follows after. The silence was loud after that, with no one daring to say a word.

“I am sorry about that.” The empress apologizes. “I’ll deal with him later. Liu Kang, you can show your warriors to the room you’ll all be staying in.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Liu Kang responds.

The “room” in question was more like a mansion than anything. It was made mostly out of wood but it was able to hold the six of them and the rest of the monks from Earthrealm.

“This just feels like a better orphanage.” Lemon comments, going up the stairs to one of the rooms and looking inside it. There were two pairs of bunk beds inside. “Yep.”

“Oh god, bunk beds!?” Johnny exclaims, looking inside the room as well. “Why would I wanna sleep with these people!?”

The rest of the group ignored them and just decided who would sleep in what room. Raiden, Kung Lao, Kenshi and Johnny were all going to sleep in one room while Lemon slept with, Bi-Han, Kuai Liang and Tomas (She still kept calling him “gray guy”)

Was Lemon happy she had to sleep with a bunch of grown men that she barely talked to? No. But it’s better than sleeping alone in her own room. That terrifies her.

“So, how does it feel to be famous?” Lemon asked Johnny. The two were in the living room with a bunch of other monks who were talking amongst themselves. Kung Lao and Kenshi were also there while Raiden went to sleep early to be prepared for the continuation of the tournament.

“Why are you asking me? Aren’t you famous as well?” Johnny inquired, holding a glass of wine in his hand.

“Well yeah, but I’m assuming that being a famous actor is different from being a famous kickboxer.”

“Sure, I might be famous because of how handsome I am while you’re famous for kicking a person, but I’m sure there’s some things that are similar. Like…can you just freely walk around your neighborhood without someone running up to you for an autograph?”

“No.”

“Do you feel like you need to be perfect?”

“Yes.”

“Do you need to always question who your actual friends are because one of those people could be a jealous asshole?”

“Yeah–Oh.”

“See? We have some similarities.” Johnny says, taking a sip of his wine. “When did you start to become famous?”

“When I was eleven.” Lemon answered, moving to cross her legs on the couch they both were sitting on. “I was already good at fighting but Justice showed me how much people would pay to see “professional” fighting. So…yeah.”

“Do you have any sort of goal?”

“Get out of the orphanage I live in. Take my girlfriend with me. My other two friends already left while we were training with the monks. Then after that…who knows! I just can’t wait until February! Being famous kinda sucks but you get money out of it.”

“True that!” Johnny laughed.

“So, do you have a goal Johnny?” Lemon inquired.

“I’m losing my fame a bit so I’m just trying to get that back. Main reason why I joined you all. I’m gonna make it big once again by making a movie out of this!”

“A movie? About Raiden fighting in the tournament?” Lemon questioned. “Sure, the people here look cool as hell but just making a movie about a tournament is kinda…eh.”

“Well, of course it’s not going to be just the tournament. Something interesting is going to happen at some point. we just have to patiently wait for the drama to start.”

“Patiently? Dude, ever since I’ve met you, you’ve been complaining about how long something was taking.”

“I’m a changed man now!” Johnny insisted.

“Ha! Sure.” Lemon laughs, looking at the table in front of them.

The continuation of the tournament was held outside the palace on the side of it. The seats where the Empress and her daughters were was in front of the area where the audience was supposed to be, so the fights would be right in front of them.

Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Kenshi, and Johnny were with the rest of the audience also feeling proud for their champion. Lemon was on top of Kung Lao’s shoulders due to a bet they made (she won), trying her hardest not to accidentally fall backwards and hurt them both. Raiden, as of right now, was standing proudly where he was, having already beaten three other people.

“Only two fighters remain. Are you ready, Earthrealmer?” Sindel asked Raiden.

“I am, Your Majesty.” Raiden assures.

“Then next you face my daughter. Kitana”

The two final fights went like this: Raiden beats Kitana (Mileena was absent for some reason) and Raiden beats General Shao (does this man have an actual name?).

“It’s over…” Raider realizes as a smile slowly creeps up on his face. “I have done it!”

Sindel stands up along with her daughter. “Congratulations, Raiden. Earthrealm wins.” The two walk away as Raiden walks towards General Shao who was on the ground in pain.

“May I assist you?” He asks, lending the general his hand.

“Stay away, Earthrealmer!” The general scoffs, whacking the man’s hand away. Raider backs away, getting his message.

“Well done.” Liu Kang congrats. “You have exceeded my greatest expectations.”

“Thank you, Lord Liu Kang.” Raiden replies.

“Because of you, the Outworlders who would disturb the peace will once again be held at bay.” Liu Kang then puts a hand on Raiden’s shoulder and guides him to the others. “Come. Let us bid our hosts farewell and return to Earthrealm.”

“You did great, Raiden!” Johnny complimented as they all walked off the field.

“Well done!” Kenshi added.

“Thank you, but uh…” Raiden turns to Kung Lao and Lemon in slight confusion. “Kung Lao, why is Lemon on top of you?”

“Lost a bet…” Kung Lao sighs.

“They’ve been making bets since last night.” Kenshi informs.

“You should’ve been awake to see it!” Johnny laughs. “Kung Lao lost every. Single. Bet.”

“He keeps trying though. To prove he can beat me, but he never will.” Lemon smirks, leaning her arms on Kung Lao’s head. “Isn’t that right, Kung Lao?”

“I will win a bet eventually, just wait and see!” Kung Lao announces.

“No. Kung Lao, just stop before she takes all your money along with your pride.” Raiden warned.

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Picrew link: TOON ME!

So Gods Do Exist- (Mortal Kombat x OC) ((Kinda))

Part 1

A teenager named Lemon was waiting to be called up to her kickboxing match. She’s a dark skinned woman with medium sized hair that was braided and put into a ponytail. As of now she’s in the waiting room with her coach, a light-skinned woman who was the same age as her.

“Alright, Cherry Lemon, you got this!” The coach said, putting her hands on Lemon’s shoulders. “Just remember to stay calm and focused…and fast. Your opponent is taller and buffer than you so yeah…be fast!”

“Got it, coach!” Lemon said, jokingly saluting. “I’ll do my best to make you proud.”

“I know you will.” The coach chuckled.

“Cheri Carr and Elizabeth Warner, come to the arena, please!” The announcer called through the speakers.

“That’s our cue.” The coach states, patting Lemon’s shoulders once more and helping the woman up. “Let’s go!”

“Right!”

“Standing on the left corner is Elizabeth Warner!” The announcer announced.

Elizabeth was a dark skinned woman with long hair that was wrapped into a bun. She looked just like Lemon’s coach said: Taller and buffer.

Could she also add that she was older? Like in her thirties?

“Her record is: 10 wins, 2 losses, zero draws and 3 KO’s! Standing 6’0 and weighing 160 pounds!”

Elizabeth smiled at Lemon who smiled back. They didn’t wanna have any ACTUAL beef with each other. It’s just a regular competition.

“Standing on the right corner is Cheri Carr! Her record is: 13 wins, 5 losses, 3 draws and 5 KO’s! Standing at 5’5 and weighing 135 pounds!”

The referee called both the fighters to get closer and they did. The man told the woman the rules of what to do and what not to do before letting the woman casually talk to each other.

“I’ll be honest, you’re a lot smaller than I thought.” Elizabeth noticed.

“I’ve heard that way too many times…” Lemon muttered. “Not my fault everybody here is just freakishly tall…”

“Hey, if it makes you feel better, the shortest person I’ve met was 2 feet tall…but they were a baby…”

“Oh my god…” Lemon chuckles and raises up her hands to be waist level of Elizabeth. “Let’s get this over with.”

Elizabeth lightly hits Lemon’s fist. “May the best person win.”

The referee told the two to go to the opposite sides of the ring where their coaches were.

“Remember your training and you shall win.” Lemon’s coach said in a fake deep voice. “But for real, stay calm and beat her ass, Cherry Lemon.”

“I shall sensei.” Lemon replied, giggling and fake bowing. She gave her coach a fist bump before walking back inside the ring to face her opponent.

“I admit, you have a very good record and haven’t lost a battle in a while.” Elizabeth said. “But I‘ll be the one to end your streak right here.”

“Go ahead and try.” Lemon taunted, putting her fist up. “We’ll see how long you last.”

(I have zero clue how kickboxing actually goes…so…uh…I’m just going to skip this fight…)

“Cheri Carr wins the match!” The announcer stated.

Lemon wiped some blood off of her lips and reached her hand out to Elizabeth who was laying on the ground in pain. “It was a pretty good match.” She complimented.

“I agree.” Elizabeth said, taking the woman’s hand and pulling herself up. “You’re a really good fighter, Cheri. This was really fun!”

“Hehe! You can just call me Lemon! It’s kinda weird when people, excluding the announcer, call me by my actual name.”

“Alright then, Lemon. May we meet again so I can have a second shot at kicking your ass.” Elizabeth smiled, bowing at Lemon.

“Now that I think about it, I don’t remember needing to bow in kickboxing.” Lemon chuckled.

“It’s just something I was taught to do at a young age, it shows respect.”

“Then I’ll do the same.” Lemon lightly bows back and smiles brightly at Elizabeth.

Lemon was now sitting on their bed, looking outside the window, at the dark sky. They didn't do anything after their match and just decided to stay inside their orphanage and just…exist. Justice (Lemon’s coach whose actual name is “Justine”) came to check on her from time to time and had to force them outside of their room at some point to eat dinner.

“Maybe I should go for a walk.” Lemon whispered to herself, glancing at the rollerblades she had in the corner of her room. She felt a smile grow on her face as she got up from her bed and picked up the rollerblades. “Or a skate. It’ll make it a lot more interesting.”

She puts the shoes on and quietly rolls outside her room, looking around the orphanage. There were a few others still awake but most of the teenagers and children were asleep at this time. Lemon made sure to not get anyone’s attention as she rolled outside the orphanage and on the sidewalk. Justice had told her about a skate park a few blocks away, so she’ll probably spend an hour or two there.

Once she got there she noticed that the entire park was empty except for one person.

"Justice?" She called.

"Hey, Cherry Lemon!" Justice replied, sitting on top of one of the ramps. "I knew you'd be here."

Lemon smiled softly at her friend and they both decided to skate together. They spent at least ten minutes doing as many tricks and acrobatics as she could. Cartwheeling between ramps, doing flips off small ramps (Because Lemon would rather not break a bone this late at night) and doing grinds on the ramps as well.

Suddenly the light went out and someone grabbed Justice's arm, pulling her away from Lemon and into the dark.

"Justice!" Lemon shouted before yelping when someone also grabbed her arm, pulling her to the bottom of the skate park and making her land roughly on the ground.

“What the hell!?” She cursed, looking up at the person who grabbed her. It was a man, that was all she could see in the pitch black of the darkness.

“Cheri Carr, you and your friend will come with me.” The man demanded, keeping his grip on Lemon.

Lemon could hear footsteps above her and guessed this stranger had friends with him.

“Who are you? What did you do to Justice!?” Lemon questioned before huffing. “Don’t tell me you're one of Elizabeth’s admirers and now you’re trying to jump me for being better than her. Come on…”

“That’s not why we’re here.”

Lemon frowns and glares up at the man. “Then why are you?”

“It’s none of your business.”

“Wrong answer.” Lemon quickly took a mini taser from out of her pocket and stabbed the man in the arm. “You suck at kidnapping people.” She presses the button on the taser and shocks the man, forcing him to let her go. The light from the taser let her see some of the man’s face and clothes. She noticed his clothes looked very…blue. Especially that weird mask he had.

“Okay, what the hell are you!? And where the fuck is my friend!?” She exclaimed, backing away from the man and taking out her phone, turning on her flashlight to fully see the blue man. “A ninja!? Only ninja’s wear weird shit like that!”

She made sure to back away from the man more before turning around and seeing at least 10 other people dressed in the same way the blue man was, but only three others truly stuck out to her. Two were wearing orange and gray with masks on their face and one was wearing a black cloak, but there was no way she could ignore those glowing eyes piercing into her soul.

“And that’s just fucking god.” Lemon whispered, still moving the flashlight to see around her. focusing her attention back on the blue man right

"Lemon!" Justice shouted, her eyes squinching when Lemon's flashlight hit her eyes. She was held back by the gray ninja who was flaring directly at Lemon.

"Justice!"

Lemon was about to run to her but heard something come her way and dodged a blast of ice. She didn’t really realize what the hell almost hit her until a second later. “Ninja’s have ice powers!?”

She had to block multiple attacks coming from the man and even dodge other ninjas that were trying to help the blue man. She put her phone in her mouth to keep her light and quickly took care of the ninjas that were all dressed in basic black, leaving the other four.

Lemon roughly took the phone out of her mouth and shouted, “Want to explain to me why you want to kidnap us now!? Especially since you know it isn’t going to happen!”

The orange man from above jumped down to where the blue man was, most likely going to help him fight. “We’ve just learned some interesting stuff about you two…so we wanted to see it personally.”

“Fucking weirdos…” Lemon muttered, getting into her fighting stance and noticing that she hasn’t had a stable stance since this all started. “Fighting me while I’m in my roller blades…do you know how weird it is to move in these!?”

The orange man took out some sort of rope with a blade at the end, twirling it in his hands. He then throws it, making it wrap around Lemon’s leg and pull her towards the two.

Lemon reacts quickly and kicks upwards once she’s close enough to the two, hitting the orange man in the face with her rollerblade. She then twists her leg to kick the blue man in the side, giving her the chance to start attacking the orange man and eventually knocking him out. Now she only needed to focus on three other people…thankfully. Then she can call the cops on these freaks.

“Knocked out your buddy.” Lemon taunted, looking at the blue man who was glaring at her. “Now you’re next.”

She once again takes her taser out and tries to strike the man with it, but he quickly freezes her arm and throws her over his shoulder. Lemon looks down at her arm in mild shock before slowly moving it up and down to see how heavy it was. “This could work…” She muttered, standing up and dashing towards the blue man, swinging her arm at the man’s face. The man quickly dodged and tried to sweep under Lemon’s feet, but the woman jumped over him and stomped on his chest, pinning him to the ground. She then took the chance to whack him in the face with her frozen arm, knocking the blue man out but sadly not breaking the ice on her arm.

Lemon takes a second to breath in and out before glaring up at the glowing eyed man and the gray guy. “Let go of Justice now!" She demanded, about to run up to the two.

“Sadly, no.” The glowing eye man stated, turning to the gray guy and saying, “You can hold her down now.”

“Excuse me!?” Lemon exclaimed before yelping as her hands were pulled behind her back. She looked back up at the glowy eyed man and realized the gray man was nowhere to be seen. “Ninja’s can teleport too–!? Actually, that’s not that impressive…” She then perked up once she realized something. "Ha! You're not grabbing Justice anymore! Justice run! Ru-"

She noticed that Justice was peacefully standing next to the glowy eyed guy with her hands in her pockets.

"Okay, I guess don’t run…?” She muttered as Justice and the glowy eyed guy slid down to where Lemon and the gray guy were. The glowy eyed guy pulled his hood down and introduced himself to Lemon.

“Hello, Cheri Carr.” The man said. “I am Lord Liu Kang, God of Fire and Protector of Earthrealm.”

“Yeah, okay, pause. Justice, what the hell is happening?”

“A test.” Justice answered with a smile. “That you passed.”

“Wha…” Lemon was so in shock that she didn’t even notice the gray guy had released her arms and quickly broke the ice on one of her arms, relieving her of the unbearable cold she was feeling. She then yelped as the blue guy started to stand back up, glaring directly at Lemon who looked confused.

“I thought I knocked you out?” She questioned.

“Like a weak hit like that could do anything.” The man scoffed, standing up and walking over to the orange guy to help him get up.

“Weak!?” Lemon shouted.

“They were holding back.” Liu Kang explained, turning to face the blue and orange ninjas. “Bi-Han, Kuai Liang, is everybody okay?”

“Yes. Nobody has any big injuries.” Kuai Liang answered.

“Okay, we need to start from the beginning here.” Lemon demanded and pointed to Liu Kang. “Who are you?” Points to the ninjas. “Who are they?” She then points to herself. “And why me?”

“Right.” Liu Kang agreed. “Like I said before, I am Lord Liu Kang, God of Fire and Protector of Earthrealm. The people you just fought are the Lin Kuei; they are a clan that are dedicated to protecting Earthrealm.”

“You keep saying Earthrealm, aren’t you just talking about Earth?”

“Earth is only a part of Earthrealm." Justice explained, wrapping her arm around Lemon's shoulders in a joking manner. "Earthrealm itself is one of the many realms on the universe."

"The realms are rivals of us and that’s why we need champions like you to protect ours.” Liu Kang added.

“Champions? For what? Are we fighting?” Lemon asked. "And Justice, how the hell do you know these people?"

“Yes. and it is almost time for the grand martial arts tournament between Earthrealm and the realm of Outworld. It’s held once each century and allows each realm to demonstrate their strength. Our realms are at peace but there are some Outworlders who would prefer to be at war with us. If we win this tournament, we’ll calm them down for at least another century.”

And I met them randomly like…6 years ago. They literally just teleported into my room in the middle of the night.” Justice added, smiling at Lemon who looked at her in shock. “They wanted me to help coach you and train you to help defend Earthrealm.”

“What the fu–”

“I know it’s a lot! But you’ll learn and you’ll be in much more interesting fights!”

“Yeah, okay, If I’ve learned anything from fictional books and movies, people outside of earth always have some weird powers and weapons." Lemon then turned to Liu Kang. "Why would you want someone who kickboxes for a living to help you fight people like that? I’m just going to die.”

“I never said you would die and I never said you were going to fight without some advantage.” Liu Kang reassured. “Nobody has ever died or been gravely injured in the tournament so you don’t have to worry about that. Just think about it like your regular fighting matches.”

“And ignore the fact that you basically said that if we lose this tournament there’s a chance we’ll be at war.” Lemon mutters and sighs loudly. “Okay, fine, I’ll help you. There has to be a reason you chose me out of…literally anybody else and I rather not have innocent people forced to fight a bunch of magical pieces of shit if we happen to lose this stupid tournament.”

“Thank you, Cheri Carr.” Liu Kang says.

“Just call me Lemon…”

“Alright, Lemon. The monks await you at Wu Shi Academy to start your training. Some of the people here will take you there while I still have more champions to gath-”

“Actually wait.” Lemon interrupted. “What about Justice?"

“What about me?” Justice inquired.

“I can’t leave you in the orphanage by yourself! What if you get beat up again and none of our other friends are there to help? I can’t risk that!”

“Lemon, I’ll be fine.” Justice reassures. “The shit only happened once, and because of that, I now have my friends/bodyguards around me 24/7. I feel like a celebrity!”

“But Justice–”

Justice wraps her hand around the back of Lemon’s back and pushes her head forward, prompting a kiss from the both of them. Lemon stays frozen in shock before Justice pulls away and chuckles at her friend’s reaction.

“I’ll be fine.” She reassures, lightly kissing Lemon’s nose. “Go and protect Earthrealm. It’s quite literally your destiny.”

“Right…” Lemon mutters before laying her head on Justice’s shoulder with a groan. “But that just made me want to stay even more!”

Justice lets out a laugh and turns to Liu Kang who was smiling at them both.

“She’s ready.”

“No…”

“This is the Wu Shi Academy?” Lemon muttered, looking around. The place was beautiful and calming with its lush greenery and cherry blossoms. “I honestly thought a dojo would look a lot less…peaceful.”

“Some are.” One of the monks said, smiling at Lemon. “Now follow me, we have prepared a room and uniform for you.”

“Uniform?”

“Oooohhhh, you mean the clothes everybody else is wearing?”

“That is what a uniform is, yes.”

Lemon slightly glared at the man who was doing their best not to laugh. “Don’t get all sassy with me.”

“Sorry, sorry!” The man apologized. “Now let’s get going. You’re most likely going to start your training first thing in the morning.”

“Good thing I’m a morning person.”

“AAAAHHHHH, WHY ARE YOU HERE!?” Lemon shouted. She was here, first thing in the morning like the monk said and while she was expecting a bunch of other people to be here, she wasn’t expecting anybody she knew. So seeing Johnny fucking Cage right in front of her scared her a bit, and the man too because his eyes widened at her shouting, same with three other men.

“Do you know her?” One of the men with a sedge hat asked.

“No, but I’m guessing she’s one of my fans.” Johnny answered with a smile, clearly using this as a chance to brag to the others. “I am pretty popular after all.”

“Okay, fan is an overstatement…” Lemon muttered, looking at Johnny in slight disgust. “But my coach...girlfriend...I don't know yet, is one and wouldn’t shut the fuck up about how good you were at fighting. My mind never once thought that you of all people would be one of Lord Liu Kang’s champions.”

“Wait, aren’t you Cheri Carr?” Another one of the men asked. This one had a whole sword with him. “One of the most famous kickboxers in the world?”

“Mhm! I am!” Lemon nodded, smiling at the sword guy. “But call me Lemon!”

“Lemon? What type of name is Lemon?” Johnny questioned.

“It’s just a nickname my coach-girlfriend gave me based on my actual name. But It’s been used so much that it’s weird to hear people call me Cheri. Kinda like how you’d feel uncomfortable if I called you John Carlton.”

Johnny visibly cringed and looked to the side. “Yeah, it’s weird as hell…”

The guy with the sedge hat chuckled at Johnny before politely bowing at Lemon who bowed back. “Well, hello, Lemon. I am Raiden.”

“And I am Kenshi Takahashi.” The guy with the sword introduced, also bowing.

“Nice to meet you both.” Lemon replied. She then turned to the last guy who was also wearing a hat, but she had forgotten what it was called. “And you are?”

“Kung Lao.” The man replied, not bowing but looking at Lemon in confusion. “Aren’t you a bit too young to be a champion?”

Lemon shrugged. “Don’t ask me. Ask Liu Kang whenever he pops up again. He’s the one that pretended to kidnap me and my girlfriend. That almost gave me mental and physical trauma.”

“Well, we’re not exactly here to focus on whether we should be here or not.” Raiden interrupted. “We’re here to get stronger and protect Earthrealm.”

“I guess.” Lemon replied. “But I do have a question for you all.”

“Hmm?”

“How’d you guys get forced into this?”

“Liu Kang and the Lin Kuei pretended they were trying to destroy a restaurant that belonged to someone close to us.” Kung Lao answered. “Turns out it was a test and the owner of the restaurant was also a part of it.”

“She basically trained us our entire lives for this.” Raiden added.

“That honestly sounds like some Hero’s Journey bullshit but is pretty cool.” Lemon commented and turned to Johnny. “What about you?”

“Literally just broke into my house and asked us to join.”

“Us?”

“Oh yeah.” Johnny wrapped his arm around Kenshi’s shoulders, “This guy also broke into my house to steal my sword!”

“It’s my family’s sword!” Kenshi snapped, pushing Johnny off of him.

“Bulllssshhhiiittt!” Johnny laughed. “I still don’t believe it!”

“If that is true then damn, Johnny, we need more interesting lives because these three seem to be more special than us.” Lemon said. “I know, let’s make something up!”

“Like what?

“We’re uh…aliens from a far away land and landed on earth in total confusion. We don’t know what this place is and why we’re here but for the past 18 years we’ve been raised by two human adults that have taught us to be humble and use our very random powers to save others–"

“Isn’t that just Superman?” Kenshi asked.

“No! Because there’s two of us now! We’re twins!”

“There's no way anybody’s gonna believe you two are twins.” Kung Lao laughed.

“They will if I tell them that I just stopped growing in…uh…elementary school!”

“PFFT–HAHAHA! Sure! We’ll pretend that’s true!”

“Kung Lao, stop laughing.” Raiden scolded. “By the way, we’re all late for our first lesson.”

“What!?” Lemon exclaimed. “You could’ve said something earlier!”

NEXT

MASTERLIST Picrew link: TOON ME!